If you are seeking to lose weight and improve your physical condition, hiring a personal trainer to help get in shape is something you may have thought about. Trainers can be helpful in achieving fitness goals by providing professional advice and supportive encouragement. But there are many types of personal trainers. Which one is right for you?
There are an increasing number of fitness trainers available, especially in a booming area like Nashville. Since there are so many personal trainers to choose from, many trainers have a specified target niche they specialize in. Choosing the right coach is essential to getting the most out of your workouts and achieving your goals. Personal training is a profession just like any other, so there is a wide range of competence and quality out there. Caveat emptor!
Many reasons motivate people to work with personal trainers. It doesn’t matter whether you want an individualized program to support weight loss goals, to get stronger, to get in better physical shape, or just to feel like you’d benefit from added accountability for overall health, a personal trainer can come in handy. But which type of trainer is best for what you’re trying to achieve? Regardless of where you are on your fitness and weight loss journey, a personal trainer can help you with support, tips, and training programs.
Fitness trainers are certified professionals whose #1 job is to help their clients maintain their physical fitness. But personal trainers also help their clients reach their goals by developing exercise and nutrition plans, offering healthy lifestyle advice, and holding them accountable. It is natural to need a little motivation, or a little extra help, or a training program revamp whenever your results aren’t as good when you’re working out on your own. Whatever your goals are, whether you want to lose weight, improve your lifestyle, or change your body shape, the right personal trainer will help you succeed.
Personal trainers differ from one another in terms of experience, educational background, personality, areas of expertise, and training styles. Methods of training and teaching must be customized to fit your individual needs. A number of different styles of personal training exist, so finding the right one may prove challenging.
So how can you find the right personal trainer? We’ll explore a little more in depth some types of personal trainers, and how to select the type of personal trainer that will work for you:
Types of personal trainers
Fitness Coach:
A fitness coach assists clients in reaching their physical fitness goals by mentoring them during their journey towards a healthier body. The duties of these professionals include
- Developing fitness training programs based on the client’s needs,
- Facilitating physical fitness training sessions in an individual or group setting,
- Learning the clients’ medical and orthopedic histories to prevent risk,
- Monitoring the progress of clients, adjusting the programs as necessary.
Fitness Coaches create exercise and fitness programs tailored to the individual or group. In accordance with the physical needs of the client(s), they assign exercises, supervise the workouts, and monitor progress. Fitness coaches provide guidance and support in order to help you reach your fitness goals, working on various aspects of your physical, postural, and athletic abilities. In addition, a good fitness coach will build a relationship with their clients, motivating them to stay on track and reach their goals.
Sports Trainer:
A Sports Trainer’s job is to make athletes’ bodies better for their sport, and to help prevent injuries. Using anatomical expertise to teach players how to avoid injury is a preventative measure, as is providing first aid to treat injuries as quickly and efficiently as possible. Upon recovery from injury, a trainer focuses on improving functional abilities, enhancing tissue healing, and ensuring a systematic progression of strength and mobility. It is important to set specific goals during the return to function phase. Trainers supervise practice sessions and competitions for a variety of sports teams. Additionally, Athletic Trainers (ATCs) can help athletes treat injuries, whether they are short-term or long-term.
Physique Trainer:
In this category, the personal trainer specializes in helping people prepare for physique competitions and/or bodybuilding competitions. It is common for people to want to change the look of their bodies, so trainers help them do that. But a physique trainer helps people take their bodies to levels beyond just an athletic look. They prescribe strict diets that decreases bodyfat to competition levels, and put together workouts to maximize muscle size. As part of your prep for a contest, your physique trainer will teach you how to pose, give you a workout schedule and meal plans, and ensure that you follow contest guidelines.
Also, a personal trainer specializing in physique competitions will keep you disciplined and focused throughout the strict timeline leading up until the competition.
Health Coach:
An experienced health coach facilitates health behavior change through skillful conversation and clinical interventions. By individualized food and lifestyle changes that meet their unique needs and health goals, Health Coaches serve as supportive mentors and wellness authorities. The goal of health coaching is not to promote any specific diet or lifestyle, but to lead clients to better health practices within a system that works for their lives.
Cardio Trainer:
In cardio training, the heart, lungs, circulatory system, and muscles are all put under more pressure to support cardiovascular work. By doing cardio exercise, you increase the amount of blood and nutrients you provide to your working muscles, as well as the amount of waste that must be eliminated from those muscles. Cardio trainers are specialists in helping clients prepare training programs for cardio-specific events such as marathons, cycling trips, or triathlons.
Training for Strength:
Almost all personal training will include some type of strength training, but a Strength Trainer specializes in training programs that focus almost exclusively on building strength. Powerlifters and Olympic lifters are typical clients of Strength Trainers. Often a Strength Trainer will be responsible for implementing a strength and conditioning program for a sport team that aims to enhance athletes’ performances, reduce sports injuries, and teach lifelong movement skills.
Special Populations:
Some trainers specialize in people with specific medical or orthopedic needs. Prenatal/postnatal exercise, workouts for cancer patients, exercise programs for diabetics, and post-joint replacement patients are common specialties. If you have a special need like these, be sure to seek out a personal trainer who specializes in your particular situation.
Questions to ask your personal trainer
If you are seeking a particular kind of personal trainer, here are some questions to ask your trainer so that you can determine if they are right for you:
- What kind of experience do they have?
- Do they generally work with certain types of clients?
- Is their experience relevant to your needs?
- What is their schedule like?
- What are their fees?
- What is their cancellation policy?
- What kind of packages do they offer?
- Is it possible to get references from them?
Also, be sure to get a feel for a trainer’s style and personality, to make sure it will be a fit with you!
Since The Fit is so important, we at Basics and Beyond fitness & nutrition welcome you to try before you buy – just drop up a note and we’ll find a time to talk and figure out who on our team you’d like to try out.
The best trainer for you will be one who can create a fitness program tailored to your lifestyle, goals, and body type. Regardless of where you are on your fitness journey, everyone could use advice and reminders on how to prevent injury, stay motivated, or maintain proper form. In most all cases, trainers provide workout routines designed to fit your lifestyle, nutrition advice, fitness technique instruction, and goal setting advice as well.
Your search for a trainer can begin at the gym regardless of the kind you are looking for. Also, you can find local personal trainers online by searching for the type of trainer you need. Finding a personal trainer is, on some level, like dating: It can be a challenge to find a match who understands your goals and can motivate you to achieve them. If the fit isn’t right, your training sessions can feel like blind dates in that you sign up and immediately wish you could say, “Check, please!”
You can use these strategies to find a fitness professional who will help you achieve all of your fitness goals. You should use this guide to determine which personal trainer is right for you. It is important to have an idea of what you are looking for so that you can narrow down the trainer who would be a good fit for you. Whatever type of training you prefer, there is an instructor out there who can meet your needs. Getting some fire in your fitness journey starts with focusing on what you’re looking for. Knowing what each trainer focuses on will help you make the right choice and reach your fitness goals!