Are you looking to hire a personal trainer? The odds are that they won’t tell you any of these five things before signing you on. But it’s not because they are being malicious or trying to scam you.
Instead, some of these subjects are irrelevant, and may even hinder your progress if you knew them. But under the right circumstances, they can also help you on your fitness journey
1. You don’t have to hire them to see results
You can imagine why your trainer would not share this information with you. Many people have completely transformed their physical health without the help of a trainer. By sheer discipline, they’ve identified the best diets, adopted a fitting exercise routine, and powered through.
Most people hire a trainer because they need someone to motivate them to work out or to stick to the best lifestyle for them. They may also need guidance on the best exercise routine to get them in shape.
If that’s you, don’t stress about it. It’s better to hire a professional than to go out on your own, hurt yourself, and then pay double – for treatment and training.
Here’s another statistic to make you feel great about hiring a trainer: The number of personal trainers in the US alone is expected to grow by 8% in the next few years because of the increased demand for their services.
2. Not all physiques are attainable
The longer and harder you wish to train, the more money your trainer will make. So it’s in their best interest that you aim as high as possible, even if you’re trying to become like Arnold in his prime.
Many trainers will, however, tell you that some physiques are a far cry from what most people can achieve. The keepers will even tell you about all the work and dedication that goes into it. But if you’re insistent on getting as big as possible, they probably won’t stop you.
There’s a fine line here, however. A great personal trainer will want you to have realistic goals so they can help you achieve them faster. Realistic goals also equal achievable milestones. And as you reach these milestones, you find more motivation to keep going.
If you stay focused on the unattainable, you may quickly lose motivation which is bad for you, and for your trainer’s track record.
3. Not all personal trainers are natural
In the fitness industry, a “natural” is someone who doesn’t take steroids. Many personal trainers cycle on and off steroids and it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Steroids can help you build muscle faster, recover faster, and achieve your dream physique really quickly. As you get older, they also help to override your natural body tendencies by speeding your metabolism instead of it slowing down.
Most personal trainers won’t tell you they are on gear (steroids) because of how the substances are viewed. People who don’t understand think taking steroids is cheating. But the truth is steroids without exercise won’t get you very far. You still need to put in the work to get results.
Another reason your trainer won’t tell you about their steroids is that they don’t want you to view their physique in a different light. Most trainers get hired based on how they look so if you knew they used gear, you may somehow lose faith in their ability.
4. The certifications may not mean much
How do you decide if a personal trainer is qualified? Their certification, physique, and client track record, right? But as we’ve seen, judging by the physique isn’t necessarily the best approach. But using certifications isn’t perfect either.
That’s because there are so many organizations offering personal trainer certifications these days. As someone outside the industry, it’s impossible to keep track of all of them. What most people do is, Google “top personal trainer certifications” and check to see if a trainer has any of the top ones.
But as an unbiased party, I can tell you that most of these certification bodies teach pretty much the same thing. And it doesn’t necessarily reflect the trainer’s competence. Just like with hiring a qualified health and fitness copywriter, The most reliable way to judge a personal trainer is to look at their track record.
5. A 6-pack isn’t the end all be all of physical fitness
You’d be surprised at how many people hire a fitness trainer just to get a six-pack. They want to look shredded with visible insertions all the way to the hip. But a six-pack isn’t necessarily the definition of fitness.
Whether or not your trainer shares this information with you depends on how likely you are to achieve the goal. If they believe you can make lifestyle adjustments, eat healthily, and put in the work, there’s no harm in aiming for a six-pack.
However, they may also tell you about other, more reliable, measures of fitness. These include your waist-to-height ratio, your BMI, your cardiopulmonary endurance, and even your base strength level.
Plus, most people that have a six-pack will tell you that they appear and disappear depending on the time of day, what they’ve eaten, and a combination of other factors.
If you’ve lost a ton of water that day, your stomach is empty and you’ve just finished a gym session, your 6-packs will be clearly visible. That’s very different from if you’ve had a big lunch, some salty snacks, and have been lying down all day.
The bottom line
If you have a personal trainer, you’ll know that the trainer-client bond is special. They give you great advice and encourage you to push past your limits. Now that you know these five facts, I hope you’ll see your trainer in a different light, and appreciate their work even more.
