What would you consider a red flag in a trainer?

It’s YOUR workout, a good trainer only exercises during a session in order to teach you proper form or to be supportive. Is your trainer unclear about her pricing, policies, or credentials, a good trainer is upfront about costs and policies, respects your time, and is presentable upon arrival. Whatever he’s doing, you can bet he’s not paying attention to what you’re doing, a good trainer has his eyes on you every minute you’re exercising. Sadly, there’s a good chance your trainer puts you on a machine, counts to twelve, and repeats, a good trainer asks you what you want to accomplish and then crafts a workout specifically to help get you there. Does he focus on what you can’t do yet, instead of pointing out how strong and capable your body is right now, a good trainer respects your body, is excited about everything it can do, and helps you feel that same respect and excitement. If you’re not sure how your trainer feels about you and your body, walk away – he’s a jerk who’s likely to do you more harm than good.

They don’t do any type of movement assessment before training you. A good trainer should be able to determine your strengths, weaknesses, and body composition, and use this information to develop your training plan. You should also complete a Par-Q, a health history form, and a form that indicates your exercise experience and goals. The first meeting should be very little training, lots of paperwork and movement assessments. They don’t help you with proper form. As a gym-goer, it’s surprising for me to see trainers with their clients, and they’re not actively watching them. They should be correcting you along the way to make sure you’re executing the moves safely and with proper form. If they’re daydreaming, or looking at someone else, red flag. They tell you what and how much to eat. This is a huge NO. It’s outside the scope of our practice to tell clients what and how much to eat. We cannot give specific eating plans. However, we can share healthy meal ideas. If your trainer writes you a meal plan without any background training, bye Felicia. They spend the whole time talking about themselves. Yes, friendly banter is important but the emphasis should be on YOU, your goals, your family, your jobs. If you want to talk about it. And if you want to be silent while your trainer counts reps and corrects form for you, totally cool. They don’t create a plan for you, and seem to “wing it” each time. Many trainers will wing sessions based on a goal they have in their mind. At the same time, they should have a file for you with weight progressions so they know how to build up. They should also phase your training so you don’t hit a plateau.

No certification is a serious indicator of a lack of seriousness and dedication on their part. They lack motivation, you want a Personal Trainer who will be there for you to help you improve your routine during every single session, and not just leave you with a sheet of exercises you’re supposed to complete during a session. No proof is also a red flag, people can sing their own praises, and they often do so, but you should never hire a Personal Trainer who is unable to provide actual proof of the work they’ve done and the results they’ve achieved with other people. They design a program unfit for your experience, a Personal Trainer has to be able to design an exercise program that will be suitable for you and your level of fitness and workout experience. They cancel appointments, cancelling a single appointment due to an unforeseen circumstance is completely OK and can happen to anyone, however, if appointment cancellation becomes a trend, rather than a sole exception, there’s no reason for you to continue. No workout log is also a problem, monitoring your progress is important, and the only way to adequately do so is for you and your Personal Trainer to keep a workout log. No explanations, you want a Personal Trainer who will explain everything to you, and not one that would intentionally keep you in the dark for fear of not needing them anymore.