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Hiring A Certified Personal Trainer

Exercising hard doesn’t equal results — exercising smart does. Versed in the science of exercise certified personal trainers deliver evidence-based health and fitness solutions to their clients. They help clients maintain and enhance their physical appearance, physical performance, level of health and fitness, and their quality of life.

Whether you’re a beginning exerciser or have been exercising for years a good personal trainer will provide the structure and accountability you need to meet your health and fitness goals. A certified personal trainers’ comprehensive knowledge of establish exercise standards and guidelines facilitates the design of safe, effective exercise programs.

In addition personal trainers:

Hiring a certified personal trainer

Not all trainers are alike. Their expertise, experience, and workout styles vary. Finding the right personal trainer is important. It can mean the difference between getting the results you want and not getting them. Here are a few tips to will help you shop smart when shopping for a personal trainer.

Step One
Chooses wisely. Don’t hire the first personal trainer that comes a long, is inexpensive, or that your gym assigns you.

Step Two
It is very important that you choose a trainer with a current national certification. Beware of in-house trainers who work for training companies, or trainers certified by gyms. For example in addition to having nationally certified personal trainers gyms like Bally's Total Fitness, and 24hour fitness have their own certifications. They give their employees crash courses on fitness and exercise — then pronounce them “certified.” In-house trainers and gym trainers primary objective is to sell a lot of training sessions.

They sell a lot of session and they sell them cheap. In-house trainers, and gym trainers lack the experience and therefore the expertise that makes independent personal trainers so effective. Poorly compensated, in-house trainers, and gym trainers are usually the least effective personal trainers you can find. Independent trainers are self-employed, have years of experience, and are well educated. Unconstrained by sales quotas independent personal trainers commit their time to their clientele, profession and continued education. They are best personal trainers in the industry.

Certifications to Look For

The International Health, Racquet and Sports Club Association (IHRSA) and Medical Fitness Association (MFA) recommend that gyms, health club owners and medical fitness facility operators only hire fitness professionals holding a current certification from a certifying organization/agency accredited by the National Organization for Competency Assurance. The NOCA originates from the 1977 congressional creation of the National Commission for Health Certifying Agencies (NCHCA).

With federal funding made available through the Department of Health and Human Services, its mission was to develop standards for quality certification in the allied health fields and to accredit organizations that met those standards. With the growing use of certification in other fields, the NCHCA leadership recognized that what was essential for quality certification of individuals in the healthcare sector was equally essential for other sectors. Hence, NCHCA evolved into the National Organization for Competency Assurance in 1987. http://www.noca.org/GeneralInformation/AboutUs/MissionandVision/tabid/56/Default.aspx

Below is a list of NOCA accredited fitness educators that certify independent personal trainers:

Step Three
Hire a Personal trainer with experience. Any trainer can design an exercise program for you but experience makes a trainer wise and effective. Required by their certifying body to expand their knowledge via continuing education units, experienced personal trainers have years of education. Experienced personal trainers get the best results for their clients.

Step Four
Ask if the trainer has current CPR and liability insurance?

Step Five
Before committing to a number of sessions ask for a trial workout. You should walk away from your first session feeling that your trainer is genuinely interest in you and your goals, and that she understands your level of fitness and limitations.

Step Six
Beware of a trainer you feel is setting impossible goals or pushing you too hard. Good trainers motivate and challenge with smart exercise. Training a client hard is often the mark of inexperience or a lack of knowledge. This doesn’t mean you can sit on your butt! A healthy body is one that is challenged. Experienced personal trainers know how much is too much and how much is enough. It’s what makes them so effective.

Step Seven
You’ll be spending a lot of one-on-one time with your personal trainer, so it’s important that you like her, and that her personality is suited yours.

Step Eight
Ask your personal trainer for references

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