Advice on finding the right personal trainer for you

Finding a personal trainer with the help of a…personal trainer

Hey there! Once again back again and here again this time to talk about finding the right personal trainer for you. Whether you are hoping to find someone to work with intermittently or consistently, for a few sessions up front or for years, I applaud your choice. It will (with the right trainer) take your fitness to a whole other level. It’s a pretty intimate affair in a lot of ways.. a lot of one-on-one time together. And the vibes gotta be just so… And there has to be some talent, some expertise. It is honestly, a pretty tall order.

A lot of my suggestions come from what I witness first hand in gyms across Toronto and what I have seen through other friends and colleagues using personal trainers. There are some blind spots people seem to have when it comes to this stuff and this will hopefully heighten your capacity to see what it is that you are looking for and to then note when it is or isn’t in your presence. So, let’s get on with it and figure out some ways that you can find the right personal trainer for you and your fitness journey.

Seek your personal trainer and ye shall find your personal trainer….hopefully

First things first I’d say ask friends. Got anyone you know and vibe with using a personal trainer that they are vibing with and getting them results? I’d probs start there. Another good question is even just if friends have heard of a good trainer. Like a friend of a friend kinda thing… or your cousin follows someone on Instagram… start asking around and you might be surprised at what pops up.

After that a hashtag search on Instagram like #torontopersonaltrainer something like that is good, as well as google.

A personal trainer in Toronto goes deep on what it is you are looking for

So, once you have found someone through some kind of search engine or through a friend or whatever - what are you looking for exactly? Well, a lot of it is personal - like back to vibe and what not. Just be honest with yourself about vibe-wise what is it you are looking for and then (with some flexibility) stick with that - even if it takes an extra minute to a personal trainer - it’ll be worth it.

You want a personal trainer with experience and / or a genuine passion for learning

This is crucial and absolutely number one (after vibin). Newbies are fine but they have to be fierce in their desire to learn more and grow in their knowledge. You do not need to pay someone to be a kind of experiment. You want someone who can take you and have a sense of a clear way forward and an ability to adapt. This comes with experience and knowledge. Period.

Find out how long they’ve been in gyms, how long they’ve been training others, did they do sports or other athletics etc etc etc. Find out what kind of honest relationship your prospective trainer has with what it is you are gonna be paying them to do.

Find a personal trainer who is really serious about technique

You are paying someone to make sure that you are doing some ofttimes complex movements well. You don’t need someone who is going to be picking you apart constantly but you do want someone who will be really serious about how you are handling the movements and your progression with them. It can take a while to get the hang of things and that’s fine but you want a personal trainer who goes deep on movement hygiene. It is one of the primary reasons you are hiring them.

Find a personal trainer who doesn’t get cute

I see this a lot in gyms. Trainers doing things with clients that are far more advanced then necessary or appropriate. Keeping it simple at first is the sign of a solid trainer in a lot of cases. Getting the fundamentals well in hand and then building from there is standard best practices and will ensure you are in good stead as you progress.

Find a personal trainer who practices what they preach

I think this is crucial. In your yoga teacher, personal trainer, therapist whatever the case may be. The person doling out the advice had damn sure better be following it themselves. There are ways in which, if you are not in the profession, you’d never be able to tell but - there are some subtle (or not so subtle) ways you can. Keep your eyes and ears open. Watch. Is this person living from the place they are teaching from or are they simply wanting to appear that way? Spoiler alert: posers abound.

A personal trainer in Toronto sums it up

In essence what you are looking for is a passionate, experienced, technique-focused, back-to-basics trainer who is very clearly legitimately deep in the lifestyle and who you vibe with really well. There are other traits that are crucial like how do they motivate you or how clearly they communicate etc but I wanted to focus mostly on some of the ones that you may not think of in quite the same way that I would, as a personal trainer. You may simply be looking for someone to motivate you through some fun workouts and that’s fine. Maybe you disagree with this list of “what YOU are looking for in a personal trainer” - also cool. But, I’d argue the point with you. Even if you are looking for something you think is super simple, it’s not THAT simple in actuality.

As always I hope this helps and I will see you again next time!