Personal trainers are in high demand. The aging population is hitting the gym with more physical needs than ever before. Busy professionals want efficient and personalized programming. New parents, post-injury clients, and young athletes are looking for qualified guidance that ranges from highly regarded coaches with years of experience to novices who took an online test and called it a day. If you want to invest serious time and money into your fitness, it’s important to know the difference. Jeff Payne has seen this variety up close. She runs a personal training studio in Connecticut and freelances runs a YouTube channel dedicated to training fitness professionals about how to improve your work. He knows what separates a good trainer from a great one, and he has a lot to say about what clients should be looking for.
Certifications are not optional
Every legal coach should have one nationally recognized certificationand not what you complete through a three-day online course. Payne points to five organizations that deserve credit: NASM, ACE, ACSM, NSCA, and ISSA. A comprehensive exam in anatomy, exercise science, nutrition and programming is required to pass. Most future PTs spend three to four months studying, often while juggling jobs and families.
“You only have six months to take the exam, and it’s usually recommended to take it in three to four months,” Payne said. Muscles and fitness. “Basically, you’re completing a college course on exercise science, anatomy, nutrition and basic exercise form at the same time.” To get through this material without burning out, Payne relies on Pocket Prep, a training program he’s been recommending to his YouTube audience for years. The program tests users with exam-style questions, tracks weak points by subject domain, and allows trainers to study in short bursts of time throughout the day rather than hours spent in a textbook.
“Pocket preparation is a huge time saver,” he said. “You can work on your phone for 15-20 minutes, answer questions, learn a bunch of different things. It allows you to add to it throughout the day.” This program covers most of the major certification exams, including several specialty trainers after receiving their initial certification.
Upskilling: Certifications that set trainers apart
However, the best trainers don’t stop at the basics. During the first year, Payne recommends adding nutrition certification, a skill set that is constantly in demand and applies to almost every client. Organizations like NASM and Precision Nutrition also offer respected credentials in the field, he adds.
After that, the way is up to the customers. Remedial exercise certificates are increasingly valuable. “Every year, more and more of the aging population is coming in,” Payne said. “They have a lot of physical limitations. It’s very beneficial for a personal trainer to know some corrective exercise techniques.”
Payne notes that prenatal and postpartum certifications are another good specialty. Sport-specific credentials provide opportunities for coaches at all levels to work with athletes.
Most of these additional certifications are online courses that a certified trainer can complete in two to three months. Each of them expands the range of clients that a trainer can work with safely and effectively.
Beyond the hard skills that matter
They will receive a certificate at the door of the coach. What keeps customers coming back is harder to quantify. Payne identifies two traits that separate truly effective coaches from others: adaptability and accountability.
Adaptation means reading the room and the person. Clients’ needs are constantly changing, she says, whether it’s an injury that changes the program, a busy week that calls for a light session, or a life stage like pregnancy that calls for a completely different approach.
Reporting, says Payne, may be the most underrated skill in the entire profession. It is also one that no program or AI program has been able to crack.
“People pay me to come into my facility because they need that appointment,” he said. “It’s so easy to skip a workout when there’s not a person waiting on the other end. If you’re stuck with a personal trainer, you feel differently about it.”
There is also the issue of consistency. Payne goes back to the idea that the most physically fit trainer in the gym is automatically the best choice. In their studio, the trainers who consistently take on new clients and keep them long-term tend to be approachable and knowledgeable, not necessarily the ones with the most impressive physiques.
“The average person who hires a personal trainer is a little intimidated at first,” Payne said. “They see that body builder and think, ‘I can’t do that.'”
Client Checklist: 3 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a PT
So how does a daily gym consultant assess the surface level? Payne says there are three things to check before signing up with a trainer.
- First: Do they have a legal certificate from a recognized organization?
- Second: How much real-world experience do they have? At least a year or two is the norm. It takes enough time to work a learning curve that no textbook can fully prepare you for.
- Third: Can they show evidence of results with clients who had similar goals to yours?
“If you’re trying to lose weight, show me some evidence that you’ve lost weight to other people,” Payne said. “Hopefully there are some testimonials or some reviews online.”
Payne notes that when potential clients visit her studio’s website, there are only two pages they consistently check before arriving: the home page and the trainer’s bio page. People want to know who they will be working with and whether these people are qualified.
A great personal trainer is part educator, part motivator, and part behavior coach. If all three line up, you’ve found someone worth investing in.
Muscle & Fitness and JW Media, LLC were not involved in the creation of this sponsored content. The opinions and assertions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Muscle & Fitness or its editorial staff.
