Hiring a personal trainer is a huge and bold step. You’ve decided to make healthy lifestyle changes, and are even willing to pay a professional for guidance.
But before you hire a trainer, here are five things you should do.
1. Define your goals
Defining your goals makes it so much easier to achieve them, whatever they may be. And when it comes to fitness, your goals are likely to be specific to you, even though it may not seem that way.
As an example, you may be looking to lose a few pounds because you don’t like your belly fat. That would be very different from someone who wants a six-pack because they want to be more appealing to the opposite sex.
Even though these two goals are similar – lose weight – the end result can help your trainer to design a routine that works for you
2. Identify the kind of help you need
Identifying your specific needs makes you less likely to become a difficult client. For some people, they have all the motivation they need. They just need a professional who can recommend workouts based on their goals, needs, body type, and schedule.
For other individuals, they need someone to push them to achieve all the goals they know they can achieve. You may also need a CPT to help you overcome some of the mental roadblocks that hold you back.
It helps to make a list of all the reasons why you haven’t achieved your goals, and then narrow them down. That way, you know exactly what you want from your trainer.
3. Meet trainers face-to-face before signing up
Many trainers prefer to meet clients face-to-face before agreeing to work with them because your relationship determines how much you’ll gain from the experience. I highly recommend you add this step to your process.
You’ll spend a lot of time together and if you don’t have that pleasant vibe, you won’t look forward to the sessions as much. And you certainly won’t be open to sharing your fears and reservations, making it harder for your trainer to help you.
4. Prepare to put in the work
Hiring a CPT isn’t a magic pill. You’re not going to pay for the service and immediately lose 20 pounds. Instead, you’ll still have to put in the work, show up, watch your diet and do everything else your trainer tells you.
[bctt tweet=”Hiring a CPT isn’t a magic pill. You’ll still have to put in the work and show up. It’s unreasonable to pay and immediately expect to lose 20 pounds.”]
Clients who don’t want to put in the work are the bane of every personal trainer, and you need to make up your mind before paying a cent.
5. Take a before-picture
This one is actually for your trainer.
When looking for a CPT to hire, the odds are that you wanted to find a trainer who could get you the best results, and stunning before and after pictures went a long way in changing your mind.
Taking a before-picture can help your trainer showcase their expertise to potential clients. And it’s great for you because you know you made remarkable progress if your trainer is willing to show you off.
PS. If you can have an entire week of cheat meals and off days to look your absolute worst, even better!
