• Direct proper form of exercises
• Direct to exercises to achieve your fitness goals according to individual capabilities
• Give diet & nutrition guidelines
• Watch for health conditions that may require seeing a health professional
• Provide updates to exercise regimen as your physical condition progresses
• Keep you motivated to continue your workout

Your first hint that you are meeting a Personal Trainer that can help you is their own physical condition. If they can not get themselves in shape then how well can they help you?
Still, a muscle-bound competitive bodybuilder or thin in-shape woman does not mean they can do anything for your either. It takes knowledge, experience & more importantly committment on their
part. The biggest problem with Personal Trainers is they do not pay specific attention to proper form of an exercise being done. Without proper exercise form you will not achieve
the intended results from the exercise and yet worse may hurt yourself. The second most seen problem is that many Personal Trainers give everyone they work with the same workout.
Everyone’s goals, body and physical condition is different and therefore everyone’s workout program will be totally different. If the Personal Trainer is not committed to Your Goals
then they will probably not be of much help to you. An all too common theme with many Personal Trainers are when people are trying to lose weight. The Trainers will “throw in” some
free weight & machine exercises while directing to extended time on cardio (tradmills, elliptical, bicycles, etc.) machines. They do not care about the weight exercises except to
keep you hiring them because, their expectation is the cardio will get you to lose the weight. An excellent indicator of a good Personal Trainer is one that asks YOU a number of
questions. To be able to help you meet your goals they need to know what your goals are, physical condition, health, available time, diet and much more. If they do not ask you
these questions there is no wayfor them to create a program specific to you. Then you need to ask them questions.
Ask questions when hiring a Personal Trainer:

• Are you Certified?
• Certified by what organtization or association?
• Can you help me with my diet?
• How long have you been training people?
• Can you give any references?
• How is working out with you different than the exercise program I found on the Internet?
• Are you certified in CPR (a requirement for nearly all Certifications)

You also should take some time to watch (from a distance) the Personal Trainer as they work with someone else. Are they paying full attention to their client or running their
mouth or looking at the other people in the gym? Are they doing basically the same workout program with everyone?
Once you begin using a Personal Trainer, you need to make sure they are truly helping you.

• In the middle of your workout are they doing other things (phone calls, talking with others, working the desk, etc.)
• Telling you to use non-mainstream supplements or questionable products
• Causes you to be in actual pain for several days. Muscle soreness is one thing but real pain is another
• Fails to answer your questions or respond to yoru feedback
• Never gives you advice on proper form. It can be advantageous to do an exercise set wrong to see

You are paying for their time and they should give you their time. You always have the right to change Personal Trainers. Do not stay with a personal Trainer that does any of the above.
Besides your intended goals, your health may depend on it. Understand that a Personal Trainer is to HELP you achieve your goals. YOU are the biggest factor. If you do not follow
the program given to You then no Personal Trainer can help you.

CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINERS

For a Personal Trainer to be considered “Certified” they must have undergone some education and passed a test. This only shows they have a minimal competency. It does not prove they will
truly help you. There are a number of schools & organizations that provide the education & testing
for Certification although each has different requirements. Some are done as mail-order home-study while others require classroom training. The actual Certification is given by
several organizations. The most respected is the NCCA (National Commission for Certifying Agencies) although each program can range from very respected to worthless. NCCA Acredited
programs include:

• ACE – American Council on Exercise
• ACSM – American College of Sports Medicine
• The Cooper Institute
• IFPA – International Fitness Professionals Association
• NASM – National Academy of Sports Medicine
• NCSF – National Council on Strength and Fitness
• NESTA – National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association
• NETA – National Exercise Trainers Association
• NFPT – National Federation of Professional Trainers
• NSCA – National Strength and Conditioning Association

Two Non-NCCA accredited programs:

• AFAA – Aerobic and Fitness Association of America
• ISSA – International Sports Sciences Association

The most respected programs from gyms and fitness centers are NASM, NSCA, ACSM and more recently ACE. Some gyms will not hire Personal Trainers from the other programs even though
they may be accredited from the NCCA.
It also should be noted that you may not need a Personal Trainer at all. Some people only need gym staff or other people working out at the gym. While they can not provide the other
things, they may be able to show you proper form on machines or workouts. Many find the group classes offered at gyms that encorporate various exercises teach you proper form. Good
group instructors watch & direct the particpants for proper form. Many classes are offered Free of charge to fitness club members.