People use personal trainers as a way to reach their health and fitness goals sooner. Ideally, a personal trainer tailors a special exercise program to your personal health needs, motivates you to exercise and offers sound advice on good nutrition.
Good places to start looking for a personal trainer include local gyms, health centres or fitness centres. Ask friends and workmates for word of mouth recommendations or look in the telephone directory for personal trainers in your area – listed under health and fitness centres.
Take your time before you make your final choice. Make sure your personal trainer is properly qualified before entering into any agreement. Also, while professional credentials and experience are vital, it helps to rate personality and communication high on your list of priorities as well. You’ll be spending a lot of time with this person.
Qualifications and experience
Interview each personal trainer. Your first questions should focus on their professional credentials and experience. The recommended minimum qualification for a personal trainer is to be a Kinect Australia (incorporating VICFIT in Victoria) registered fitness leader and hold a Certificate IV in Fitness. Some personal trainers may have other qualifications, such as tertiary degrees in physical education or exercise science.
During the interview:
- Ask about their professional qualifications.
They should show you proof of their certification.
- Ask about their experience. How long have they been working as a personal trainer?
- Ask what sort of results they’ve helped other clients achieve. They should be happy to provide you with a list of references. Make sure to contact these references.
- Ask how they keep up-to-date on health and fitness research. For example, they may take refresher courses, attend industry seminars or subscribe to exercise science journals.
- Ask if they or their employer have insurance cover. They should show you proof of this.
The professional relationship
Factors to discuss with the personal trainer include:
- How much does it cost to hire their services and what
type of payment options are available? Do they offer a discount for larger training packages (for example, for more than one session a week)?
- What about other fees, such as extra services or cancellation fees?
- Are they available at the particular times and days when you’re free to exercise?
- Do they recommend that you have a medical check-up before embarking on a new exercise program? This is particularly important if you haven’t exercised in a long time, are overweight, are aged over 40 years or have a chronic medical condition.
- What range of physical activity options do they offer? Would you be working out in a gym, at home or outdoors?
- Ask how they tailor exercise programs for clients. How would your preferences be taken into account?
- What about updates to the exercise program that accommodate your improving fitness levels?
- Are they trained in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation? They should show you proof of their certification. (You want to make sure you’re in good hands!)
- Can they offer nutritional advice or refer you to appropriate sources of information on the type of diet you should be following?
- What sort of services do they offer to support you in achieving your goals?
- Will they offer a free first session or a discounted trial week before you commit? This is important so you are sure you will feel comfortable training with this personal trainer.
The personal relationship
You could be spending many hours every week with your personal trainer, so you need to get along with them. Questions to ask yourself during the interview could include:
- Do I find their personality pleasant or not?
- Do I feel relaxed with them?
- Do they give me the feeling that they know what they’re talking about?
- Are they good communicators?
- Do I feel comfortable enough to ask all sorts of questions or do they intimidate me?
- Are they asking me enough questions about my fitness goals, general health and lifestyle?
- Do they seem interested in helping me reach my fitness goals?
- Can I imagine happily spending a couple of hours with them three or more times per week?
Free first session
You should be offered a free first session or discounted weekly rates so you can trial the relationship in its professional setting. The session should include:
- A health questionnaire to fill out before starting any exercise
- A thorough fitness assessment or interview
- The workout itself.
Beware of dubious operators
Some people who profess to be personal trainers aren’t qualified and have very little experience. Occasionally, personal trainers are unethical even though they have the correct credentials. Generally speaking, warning signs include:
- They can’t or won’t provide proof of professional credentials.
- They can’t or won’t offer references.
- They try to force you into a training contract during the first session.
- They try to sell you supplements or dieting aids, or insist that particular supplements or dieting aids must be taken as part of the program.
- They advocate useless or dangerous exercise aids, eg saunas, passive exercise machines or body wraps.
- They have a ‘one size fits all’ exercise program that doesn’t take the individual’s health and fitness into account.
- They insist that their method of training is the only method that works.
- They want to do a workout on your first meeting, rather than discuss their qualifications and your health and fitness requirements.
- They have a vague cancellation policy or scarce client introductory information pack.
- They don’t turn up on time (or at all) to appointments and are difficult to contact by phone or email.
- They look out of shape.
Where to get help
- Your doctor
- Staff at fitness centres
- ‘Go for your life’ Infoline service Tel. 1300 739 899
Things to remember
- You can find personal trainers at your local gym or fitness centre, by asking friends for word of mouth recommendations or by looking in telephone directories – listed under health and fitness centres.
- The recommended minimum qualification for a personal trainer is to be a Kinect Australia registered fitness leader and hold a Certificate IV in Fitness.
- Professional credentials and experience are vital, but it helps to rate personality high on your list of priorities too, since you’ll be spending a lot of time with this person.
This information has been provided by the Better Health Channel. Fact sheets are updated regularly. For the most recent information on this topic go to www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au.
Take your time before you make your final choice. Make sure your personal trainer is properly qualified before entering into any agreement. Also, while professional credentials and experience are vital, it helps to rate personality and communication high on your list of priorities as well. You’ll be spending a lot of time with this person.
Qualifications and experience
Interview each personal trainer. Your first questions should focus on their professional credentials and experience. The recommended minimum qualification for a personal trainer is to be a Kinect Australia (incorporating VICFIT in Victoria) registered fitness leader and hold a Certificate IV in Fitness. Some personal trainers may have other qualifications, such as tertiary degrees in physical education or exercise science.
During the interview:
- Ask about their professional qualifications.
They should show you proof of their certification.
- Ask about their experience. How long have they been working as a personal trainer?
- Ask what sort of results they’ve helped other clients achieve. They should be happy to provide you with a list of references. Make sure to contact these references.
- Ask how they keep up-to-date on health and fitness research. For example, they may take refresher courses, attend industry seminars or subscribe to exercise science journals.
- Ask if they or their employer have insurance cover. They should show you proof of this.
The professional relationship
Factors to discuss with the personal trainer include:
- How much does it cost to hire their services and what
type of payment options are available? Do they offer a discount for larger training packages (for example, for more than one session a week)?
- What about other fees, such as extra services or cancellation fees?
- Are they available at the particular times and days when you’re free to exercise?
- Do they recommend that you have a medical check-up before embarking on a new exercise program? This is particularly important if you haven’t exercised in a long time, are overweight, are aged over 40 years or have a chronic medical condition.
- What range of physical activity options do they offer? Would you be working out in a gym, at home or outdoors?
- Ask how they tailor exercise programs for clients. How would your preferences be taken into account?
- What about updates to the exercise program that accommodate your improving fitness levels?
- Are they trained in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation? They should show you proof of their certification. (You want to make sure you’re in good hands!)
- Can they offer nutritional advice or refer you to appropriate sources of information on the type of diet you should be following?
- What sort of services do they offer to support you in achieving your goals?
- Will they offer a free first session or a discounted trial week before you commit? This is important so you are sure you will feel comfortable training with this personal trainer.
The personal relationship
You could be spending many hours every week with your personal trainer, so you need to get along with them. Questions to ask yourself during the interview could include:
- Do I find their personality pleasant or not?
- Do I feel relaxed with them?
- Do they give me the feeling that they know what they’re talking about?
- Are they good communicators?
- Do I feel comfortable enough to ask all sorts of questions or do they intimidate me?
- Are they asking me enough questions about my fitness goals, general health and lifestyle?
- Do they seem interested in helping me reach my fitness goals?
- Can I imagine happily spending a couple of hours with them three or more times per week?
Free first session
You should be offered a free first session or discounted weekly rates so you can trial the relationship in its professional setting. The session should include:
- A health questionnaire to fill out before starting any exercise
- A thorough fitness assessment or interview
- The workout itself.
Beware of dubious operators
Some people who profess to be personal trainers aren’t qualified and have very little experience. Occasionally, personal trainers are unethical even though they have the correct credentials. Generally speaking, warning signs include:
- They can’t or won’t provide proof of professional credentials.
- They can’t or won’t offer references.
- They try to force you into a training contract during the first session.
- They try to sell you supplements or dieting aids, or insist that particular supplements or dieting aids must be taken as part of the program.
- They advocate useless or dangerous exercise aids, eg saunas, passive exercise machines or body wraps.
- They have a ‘one size fits all’ exercise program that doesn’t take the individual’s health and fitness into account.
- They insist that their method of training is the only method that works.
- They want to do a workout on your first meeting, rather than discuss their qualifications and your health and fitness requirements.
- They have a vague cancellation policy or scarce client introductory information pack.
- They don’t turn up on time (or at all) to appointments and are difficult to contact by phone or email.
- They look out of shape.
Where to get help
- Your doctor
- Staff at fitness centres
- ‘Go for your life’ Infoline service Tel. 1300 739 899
Things to remember
- You can find personal trainers at your local gym or fitness centre, by asking friends for word of mouth recommendations or by looking in telephone directories – listed under health and fitness centres.
- The recommended minimum qualification for a personal trainer is to be a Kinect Australia registered fitness leader and hold a Certificate IV in Fitness.
- Professional credentials and experience are vital, but it helps to rate personality high on your list of priorities too, since you’ll be spending a lot of time with this person.
This information has been provided by the Better Health Channel. Fact sheets are updated regularly. For the most recent information on this topic go to www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au.