Questions to Ask a Personal Trainer Before Hiring Them
Hiring a trainer is not something to do on a whim…unless you’re willing to potentially churn through a lot of time and money, only to repeat the process again a short time later.
If you were to distill all the qualifications of a trainers down to two points, the things I would weigh most heavily are:
Is this trainer qualified?
Do I get along with this trainer?
The second item is one that only you can answer, but the first item is what we’ll dive into deeper below, as that can be harder to answer.
The list below is by no means exhaustive in what qualifies a trainer as “good,” but if they pass these qualifications, you’ve set yourself up for a good shot at success.
So with that in mind, here are a few good questions and considerations to ask before hiring a trainer.
Certifications
One of the best questions to ask your trainer is what certification(s) they hold, but not for the reason you may think. There isn’t necessarily one that is better than the other (see the bottom of this page for a breakdown*), but simply holding a certification should reassure you and communicates that the trainer has a baseline professional standard.
In today’s world of remote coaching and influencers, there are many unqualified individuals dispensing advice, and while a certification certainly doesn’t guarantee expertise, it shows they have the minimum foundational knowledge to work professionally.
A refrain you’ll often hear is that “certifications don’t matter” or something similar. That criticism may be valid at times, but a trainer with a current certification communicates a few things to you:
They are process oriented and care enough to maintain something that qualifies them professionally. Unless their experience spans decades and many advanced graduate degrees (or a PhD), this is an important quality. You are paying a good deal of money to work with a personal trainer, and it’s reasonable to expect they have professional standards for themselves.
All legitimate certifications require that you continue your education and log a number of hours in education seminars every few years. Perhaps more than any other industry, this is one that rewards constant education (more on this below).
The only thing that would disqualify or move my detector away from this is if the person is of such great renown that their experience supersedes any other expectations you derive from a certification. For example, you are an athlete who wants to qualify for the Olympics. If you have a coach in your area who has a lot of experience and has actually sent people to the Olympics, that alone supersedes the certification in my eyes.
Notice how I mention the word EXPERIENCE multiple times above. In today’s world, it’s easy to confuse experience with notoriety or followers. Some of the most qualified and best coaches and trainers I’ve known have a very small following on social media.
What results can they demonstrate?
The reason this is so important is that you need to know if the goals you’re trying to achieve are something the trainer you are looking to hire can even attain. A trainer who is an expert in strength training, but perhaps is less experienced in weight loss techniques, may be the wrong fit for someone trying to lose some weight before the summer, for instance.
Besides this, it is one of the easier things for a trainer or coach to provide to you. Some may even provide references that you can contact if you ask. For privacy reasons, trainers will often not offer this reference-check readily, but if you ask, they’ll likely canvas their current clients and accommodate the request.
I have a frequently updated page that shows the high achievers and successful clients at DiSalvo Performance Training. I can provide references readily. In a city like New York, any trainer you want to hire should be able to provide the same.
Do they train full time, or is this is a side gig?
A person who is working full time as a trainer or coach or a person who is aspiring and working towards filling their work schedule as a trainer and coach is the most desirable candidate to be your trainer. They spend hours each day with people like you and have dedicated their professional life to the pursuit of fitness and health as educators and coaches. You can reasonably expect that as long as you need them to be your trainer and coach, that they’ll be there. This is important because the phrase “fitness journey” is a fitting one— training with a coach is no short endeavor and it’s one you may come in and out of for years at a time as you progress. Having a model of consistency and a literal “rock” is very important to succeeding with a trainer.
This may be controversial to some, but anyone who is simply doing personal training as a side gig as a stepping stone to some other career is simply not worth your time. They are using the job to get somewhere else and are communicating to you that they checked out mentally towards training. In a city like New York, there will be many people like this, as you have individuals who are aspiring to work in other fields and are using training to keep the lights on, but will leave you at the first sign of a job in their chosen field.
I recognize this isn’t an easy question to ask someone, so you can do two things:
Hire a trainer at a reputable private training gym or studio (they typically won’t hire people who aren’t serious. I know we don’t at DiSalvo Performance).
Ask them about how long they have been training and similar follow-up questions to how they got to this point in their career. If there’s anything unsavory, it will likely pop up as they answer this question.
How many years experience do they have? Are they newer to the field? If so, where do they work?
A trainer who has many years of experience working full time with demonstrable results that you’re looking for are obviously the best choice, as they’ve seen just about anything you can throw at them. Especially in New York City, where the churn of trainers is so high, someone with a track record and many years of experience is a desirable candidate because of their staying power in such a difficult and competitive city.
That said— being a newer trainer (less than 2 years experience for example) should not be a disqualifying factor inherently. What they lack in experience, they can often make up for in time and added value to you, as they are likely not as busy in their first year. The best new trainers have ambition and are willing to work very hard for the clients they have.
A new trainer at a private personal training gym or studio often had to pass the standards of the owners or head trainer, and those individuals often work very closely with new trainers. At DiSalvo Performance Training, trainers that are brand new to the field have to work as assistants for a few months to learn the operation of the gym, and work weekly with me to learn the essentials of running sessions and programming. By the time they are available for sessions, they are ready to help, and more importantly, are supervised on a programming level by me.
This won’t always be the case though. You’ll have to be discerning about the gym and other employees and trainers there. If it’s a place with a great reputation, you are very likely in good hands. If it’s a chaotic, large environment that has the appearance of little oversight, that probably is the case.
Other Considerations & Last Words
One thing that may merit your attention based on more personal and performance related requirements is the college degree(s) (undergraduate or advanced degrees) your trainer has. In the world of performance, this is a hotly debated topic, but bear in mind that a degree does not confer instant qualification for training athletes or the results you may be looking for.
In the end, it goes back to how this article started: does this trainer meet qualifications you’re comfortable with, and more importantly, are you comfortable with them?
A little patience and thoroughness will go a long way, but it’s important to remember that the positive, sustainable habits you build are ultimately what makes you most successful when training and working out. Try to set yourself up for that consistency and and success by committing to someone that seems like they’ll be able to best foster that in your life.
Good luck with your search and please reach out to us if you think we can help at DiSalvo Performance!
*ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on Certifications
A note on certifications and what they communicate:
The highest and most difficult to obtain certification available for trainers and coaches is the NSCA’s CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist). I do not say this lightly, as the CSCS from NSCA communicates the following:
The trainer holds a bachelor’s degree.
The trainer passed a certification course and test that is 100 & 200 college level difficulty in many exercise physiology related courses.
The focus is on strength training and performance.
The trainer must re-certify every 2-3 years based on how long they’ve held the certification.
There are no other certifications that require the collection of knowledge and credentials as a prerequisite. This alone doesn’t guarantee success, but you can at least rest assured that your trainer has been exposed to a minimum of concepts required for success as a trainer.
It’s important to note that the CSCS was developed for strength and conditioning coaches in the athletic fields (professional, collegiate, and amateur sports), and while that doesn’t change the knowledge base, it may change what those trainers tend to focus on.
From the CSCS, the next tier of certifications are one of the 3 following:
NSCA Personal Trainer Certification: from the folks who brought you the CSCS is the exam that has a great deal of carry-over, but puts a bit more emphasis on personal training and doesn’t require the bachelor’s degree in other to hold.
NASM: One of the most common certifications, NASM is a large organization that certifies perhaps the largest number of personal trainers. Their background and educational materials evolve with the times and is a good starting background for a trainer to hold.
ISSA: This was an early certification that dates back to the early 1990’s as it was created by one of the earliest and best contributors to the field, Dr. Fred Hatfield.
All of them focus on personal training specifically and teach the minimum skills you’d like to see at a ground-level with a personal trainer.
Lastly, it’s worth mentioning the CPPS (Certified Physical Preparation Specialist certification), as it was developed by two great trainers who understand the skills and education that needs to be synthesized for trainers. I’ve been quick to refer clients who move out of state to someone holding this certification. Note: it’s usually one people carry in addition to one of the above, and not typically on its own.
About the Author: Mark DiSalvo, CSCS
Mark is the founder and owner of DiSalvo Performance Training. He brings over a decade of experience training clients and athletes of all backgrounds and is the strength and conditioning coach to grapplers of all levels and disciplines: from youth to professional and Olympic-level. He is currently a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu himself, with 10 years of experience in the sport. You can read more about him here.
A graduate of Northeastern University, he’s an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Sports Performance Expert with a specialty in combat sports. He’s also a Steve Maxwell Certified Kettlebell Instructor (Levels 1 & 2).