I have often thought of this from someone’s point of view that is not a professional in the fitness industry. Because you may be considering using a PT/coach it stands to reason you are not 100% sure of what you are doing or in fact sure of what you are looking for. How then would it be possible for you, with limited knowledge, to sift out the weeds from the chaff?
There are 1,000s, possibly even 1,000,000s of videos with appalling form all over social media. Some stand out as particularly bad and others just poor. It is tricky but here are a couple of things for you to look for that can help:
- Qualifications – there are so many ‘influencers’ that unfortunately do just that with zero qualifications to speak of. Yes they have a body of a God and 100,000s of followers but that doesn’t mean they know how to write programs or train YOU to get the best out of YOU or indeed work around YOUR strengths and weaknesses to get YOU to progress more!
- Reviews – it’s a simple and easy thing to check on peoples reviews but actually read what their reviews say. Some reviews can carry an undercurrent of issues such as something like, “After 6 weeks of training with them I snapped my neck doing overhead squats. He/she is great at rehabbing me though!” .
- Insurance – I never get asked if I have insurance (as it happens, I do!) but if I was personally being given help for something that can cause injury, if carried out incorrectly, I would want to know that I and they were covered.
- Pricing – this can be less of a thing but can sometimes lead to a small insight into the PT. If they are too low for the area then the chances are that they are new to the job/industry and are unsure of themselves and what they are doing. Too high and they may well just be a chancer. It should reflect what they offer. Are they there just for the money, do they see you for the hour and leave until the following session or do they offer help and support between sessions also? If online, how much support do they offer with check ins, if any? Are they easily contactable?
- Association – as another form of review, if you know other people that have been trained by this person then quiz them. Also, if they are associated with a bigger brand then it is more likely (not guaranteed) they have their s**t squared away. Being associated with a larger brand is going to be less common due to most PTs standing alone.
If you have done all of the above and you feel you want to be trained by this person then great. If they offer a consultation or one-off sessions then use them until you are satisfied with who they are and that they have everything in order. Ensure you are comfortable around one another as the PT-Client relationship can also be key to your success.
I would also recommend you maintain that focus and your PT does the same. The enthusiasm should be there for your sessions together regardless of how comfortable you are or have been training with one another.
If you still love the content they put out but aren’t sure then maybe ask someone for a second opinion.
If you are still unsure then they probably aren’t for you. Continue looking, the right one will pop up eventually. If you go through 10s of PTs and still cant find the one you ‘connect’ with, maybe look closer to home for the ‘issue’.
Good luck out there, it’s a minefield of great and not great PTs.
