FINDING A GREAT PERSONAL TRAINER
Last week I wrote Choosing the Perfect Gym. Once you’ve found the facility, you may want to now seek out a great personal trainer. Benefits of having a personal trainer include safety, education and motivation. A trainer can help you choose exercises based on your desires and needs, teach you proper form and provide you with encouragement. You’ll probably look first at the trainers the gym you’ve joined employs. You can observe how these trainers are interacting with others at your facility or ask fellow gym members for referrals.
A trainer should be certified. Here’s info from a NextAvenue.org article by Linda Melone, Which Type of Personal Trainer Will Help You Most? A guide to the best certifications if you’re over 50:
The major certifications are from: The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).
To make matters more interesting, specialties exist within each of the major certifications.
For example, the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) is only one certification given out by NSCA. Those in the know recognize that a CSCS is one of the most difficult certificates to earn, requiring a four-year college degree.
Other specialties geared toward those over 50 that you may want to look for include:
- ACSM’s Health Fitness Specialist (HFS) and Clinical Exercise Specialist (CES)
- NSCA’s Certified Special Populations Specialist (CSPS)
- ACE’s Advanced Health & Fitness Specialist (AHFS), Senior Fitness Specialist (SFS) and Therapeutic Exercise Specialist (TES)
- NASM’s Senior Fitness Specialist (SFS)
A trainer who holds a senior specialty certification is qualified to safely train men and women over the age of 50. These trainers know how to incorporate appropriate modifications and techniques to prevent muscle loss, improve bone strength and quality of life. A senior specialist can also design programs to combat the effects of osteoporosis, arthritis and age-specific conditions.
The International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) has an Age-Friendly Personal Trainer Checklist to help seniors identify the ideal personal trainer. Just as your health and physical abilities differ from others, so do the skills and personalities of personal trainers differ. It is important that you feel comfortable with a trainer to get maximum benefit. The following questions are a starting point to determine which is a good match for you.
What Questions to Ask:
(The ideal trainer for you will have the most “Yes” responses)
Experience
- Does the trainer have at least two years of experience as a trainer?
- Does that include experience training clients my age?
- Will the exercise program be based on an individual assessment of my goals, abilities and health status?
- Has the trainer worked with people with my medical conditions? (eg, arthritis, diabetes or back pain)?
- Has the trainer worked before with a physical therapist or a physician?
- Does the trainer know about exercise limitations for the medications I take?
Education
- Does the trainer have education in exercise sciences and program design?
- Is there specific education in gerontology or the changes that occur as people age?
- Does the trainer have a personal training certification?
- Is there a resource (advisory board, professor, colleagues) the trainer uses to answer questions and generate ideas?
- Does the trainer feel that you should “work through” pain you feel during exercise? (The answer should be “no.”)
- Does the trainer recommend a diet or supplement? (The answer should be “no” unless the trainer is also a registered or licensed dietitian.)
Personality
- The trainer has told me what to expect from the sessions.
- My time commitment, including days exercising on my own, is clear.
- The trainer seems to have a sense of humor and personality that I like.
- The trainer listened carefully to my questions and answered them.
- The clothes, posture and verbal skills are a good match for me.
- I think I can spend several hours a week with this trainer.
Business Practices
- The trainer can work in my home (if applicable).
- I will receive written invoices and records of my sessions for myself and insurance company.
- The trainer offers other services I’m interested in, e.g., referral to a dietitian or massage therapy.
- The costs of the session are clearly stated.
- There is a cancellation policy I understand.
- The trainer will give me references to past clients.
- If coming to the house, the trainer is insured or bonded.
Even after asking all this, you’ll still want to feel that the “chemistry” between you and the trainer is right and that he or she will help maintain your enthusiasm for fitness. If you have reservations, trust your instincts. Keep interviewing personal trainers until you find the right one for you.