By Roland Semprie, BA, B.Sc.

The mark of a good trainer is not necessarily the workout you get, although that is a good part of it. The true measure is in a trainer’s ability to help clients believe in the philosophy that a workout can encompass the five aspects that make training fun and motivating through great results. Those five aspects of training also happen to be the foundation on which Truestar Health was founded: Attitude, Sleep, Nutrition, Vitamins and Exercise.

What should I look for?
Clients should look for a few key factors when deciding whether or not to work with a trainer. These factors are both tangible and intangible. The tangible aspects include the credentials and type of training a trainer has received, as well as the number of years of experience, feedback from other clients and a reputation for getting results. The intangible aspects are the trainer’s adaptability to any situation (lack of equipment, bad weather, etc.), the level of customer service provided, the type of advice the trainer gives regarding physical health issues (and knowing when a situation calls for a referral that is beyond his scope of knowledge) and an ability to listen to the client’s needs.

When choosing a trainer, look for an individual who is respectful of your needs as a potential client. Also, look for a trainer with a good reputation and a great personality. Having a great personality does not mean your trainer is trying a stand-up comedy routine on you during the session; it means the trainer is able to recognize your personality and style and respond accordingly.

It is imperative that your trainer encompasses a work ethic and philosophy of exercise that is acceptable to you, while you keep an open mind toward new training styles and techniques. Choose a trainer who will push you to a level that you are unable to reach yourself through your own workouts. Remember, a trainer’s goal is to help you reach your goals in a controlled, scientific and fun environment where you are exposed to the latest and most comprehensive types of training that will benefit you through a consistent exercise regime.

The best trainer is organized, educated and professional and listens to your concerns. As a client, you do not want to hear, nor do you care, about what your trainer did on the weekend. The time with your trainer is your time to be transformed into whatever your trainer has programmed for you based on your goals. A trainer should focus entirely on you for the duration of your session, as if there is no one else in the room.

What can I expect from a trainer?
You should expect that a trainer will always keep a scheduled appointment, unless you cancel the appointment. Most trainers have a cancellation policy; find out what your trainer’s policy is. The cancellation policy is to give the trainer enough time to schedule another client in that now vacant time slot, to provide his service to someone else who could not previously find time with that trainer.

You should also expect that your trainer can train you at your home or at a gym. Understand, however, that a home workout is completely different from a gym workout. There are many distractions at home that take away from the workout experience you would otherwise have at the gym. The type of equipment one has at home is usually just enough to get a maintenance workout done, so you can justify not having worked too hard, but just hard enough to put your guilty mind at rest. The variety of equipment at the gym can enhance your workout and break the monotony you would get from constantly using the same type of equipment; you can only do so many variations of certain exercises with limited equipment. With the equipment available at the gym you can have a new workout as often as your trainer decides.

What about credentials?
A good trainer will be educated with a degree from an accredited university in physiology, kinesiology, biomechanics, physical education, exercise physiology, neurology, physiotherapy or athletic therapy. A trainer should also possess a recognized personal training certification, preferably from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Academy of Sports Medicine, the American Academy of Health, Fitness and Rehabilitation Professionals or the National Federation of Professional Trainers, to name a few.

A trainer who also has a rehabilitation-based certification to complement the personal training certification can bridge the gap for clients recovering from physiotherapy. This can add a new dimension for the client—the ability to speak with other rehabilitation specialists in their language and facilitate the healing process in a more structured way.

A superior trainer is one who can motivate clients to strive for exceptional things inside the gym, so they will want to do exceptional things outside of the gym. The motivation to be exceptional is contagious.