How to Choose a Personal Trainer
When you decide to take control of your wellness journey, you sometimes realize you can’t do it alone. So, you seek out help, support, and guidance from a personal trainer… But how do you choose a personal trainer that’s the right fit?
As an exercise specialist, I look at it like choosing the perfect bottle of wine and leaving the wine tour happy, satisfied, and not broke. The price point needs to align with your budget, but it’s important to remember that more expensive doesn’t always mean better or that you are getting the most bang for your buck. You want a personal trainer to be refined, structured, not too complex, and with just a hint of humor, so you can leave every session without a bitter taste in your mouth (i.e., an awesome client experience).
How to Choose a Personal Trainer
I recommend looking for a well-aged and full-bodied personal trainer. By this I mean someone with lots of experience in a broad range of health and wellness areas who also walks the walk by being in good physical shape. When we look at the definition of health and wellness, it includes both physical and mental areas of training and experience. Now more than ever, our mental health is just as, if not more, important than our physical health. Choosing a personal trainer with training in mental health is a definite asset and will make your wine tour a lot more pleasurable. The Working Mind, offered by the Mental Health Commission of Canada is a great course in this area to watch for.
I have been working in the healthcare industry for over 20 years now and sometimes when I hear the term ‘personal trainer’ it sends a shiver down my spine. It’s not because I don’t like personal trainers, but because there is no legislation or healthcare regulation preventing anyone from calling themselves a personal trainer.
It is important to do your research, look up reviews if possible (is it at least a 90-point bottle of wine?), and talk to other people who’ve used their services - word of mouth is a very powerful thing! When meeting a potential personal trainer for the first time, you should interview them as if they are a new employee; they are, after all, working for you. Ask them what their education background is; I believe, at minimum, they should have a diploma – though a degree would be ideal – in the field of kinesiology or exercise science.
Personal Trainer Certifications
Beyond this, they should have completed their Certified Personal Training through the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology, or CSEP. As you are putting yourself at risk using new equipment in a new environment and moving your body in very different ways, you also want to choose a personal trainer who has current athletic first aid and CPR/AED training. And, if you really want to go for gold, a well-trained and experienced personal trainer will have their Clinical Exercise Physiologist certification through CSEP, meaning they have completed an exercise science degree plus the required practicum hours. But for platinum results, see if they are a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and a member of the Alberta Kinesiology Association – this definitely won’t leave a bitter taste in your mouth!
It’s important to look beyond what’s on paper, too. Ask any candidates how long they have been a personal trainer and what their previous experience is, including the types of populations they have worked with. Crucially, personal trainers should ONLY be working with relatively healthy populations if they have the minimum CPT certification. If you have a co-morbidity (i.e., cardiovascular issues, cancer, immunosuppressant disease), you should be working with a personal trainer who has their CEP and only after consultation with your family physician.
At the end of the day, the winning wine is selected by a certified sommelier; your choice for a winning personal trainer should be one who pairs well with your personality and taste on top of being certified, experienced, confident, and robust but not cocky.
By: Courtney Klinger, BPE, CEP-CSEP/HPS, CSCS, P.Kin. Exercise Specialist.
