If you’ve recently joined the gym or have had troubles reaching your fitness goals it’s natural to seek the guidance of a personal trainer. So the first thing you do is open up your IG to look up some #bodygoals. Your new personal trainer should be tan, strong looking, tall and have a six pack right?

 

Nope.

 

But this is how most people determine whether a trainer is good or not. They walk around their local gym pick out the guy or gal who looks the strongest (or with the fanciest moves) and go from there. But should that be a deciding factor?

 

This is What Makes a Personal Trainer Good

Let’s face it there are way too many trainers. Way too many “coaches” out there who have no idea what they are doing in terms of body science, but they’re super quick to sell you some shake or detox tea and workout plans. Is that what a trainer should be? Not necessarily.

Related: How I became a Personal Trainer

 

 

A trainer should most importantly certified and know how to safely and effectively design a workout program that gets you results, matches your goals (not theirs), and gets you results. More on that here. Surprisingly enough there are trainers out there who are in the best shape, but do not  know how to train other people. Like at all.

Related: Tips on Designing your Workouts

 

There are also a  lot of Instagram trainers out there, having  girls follow diets and workout plans that are NOT for them. If you are not training for a fitness competition you should NOT be following a cutting program or diet. A trainer that can’t cater a program that is meant for you personally is NOT a good trainer. Here’s what you should look for in an online workout.

 

So I know that many trainers have their ideal client or a type of workout that they specialize in and that’s fine. But they need to be honest about that. Be  very wary of trainers that sell cookie cutter workouts to people. They are out there!

Related: Fifteen Things I’ve Learned about Personal Training

 

 

 

Very Fit Bodies or Realistic Bodies?

It’s amazing to see realistic fitness gurus who don’t have overly fit bodies, such as Cassey Ho and Anna Victoria getting so much respect in the industry. Not everyone (including me) is willing to sacrifice their health or sanity to conform to what society expects of us. Which is one of the huge reasons I DONT diet.

 

So most people when they find out I’m a trainer probably question themselves like ‘Oh but she doesn’t have a six pack or oh I’m skinnier than her. Ok, but can you squat as much as I can or lift a barbell or kettlebell over your head? Bet you aren’t faster than me either;)

Related: My Fitness Transformation

 

 

It’s easy to fall into the notion that because someone has abs they’re automatically in better shape than you or stronger or faster. But that’s not true. And just because someone has a six pack does not mean they should be giving you advice on your body.

 

I personally know girls/guys who have aesthetically pleasing bodies without having to workout as much or who don’t have nearly as much transferrable strength or knowledge as I do.

 

So What’s the Message Here

 

“Don’t Judge A Trainer by their abs”.  Not all great trainers have six pack abs and they probably never will.

 

 

This post was originally published on July 27.2016 and has been updated.