Personal trainers either work in health and fitness centers or they work privately, visiting their clients at home or the office. As you can see, it’s not hard to find a personal trainer, but knowing what to look for in a personal trainer can be a bit more challenging. Before you hire one to help you reach your fitness goals, make sure the personal trainer you’re interested in can pass the test before they try to push you to your limits.

Here are some tips to help you know what to look for in a personal trainer:

Certification & continuing education
Do not assume that because your personal trainer is working at a gym that they are certified. If you find that they are certified, that certification should come from a legit certification body. This is one of the most important aspects to know when learning what to look for in a personal trainer. The American College of Sports Medicine, National Academy of Sports Medicine and the American Council on Exercise are some of the most recognized and sought after certifications for personal trainers. When you find a personal trainer that you might hire, visit the website of the certification body that they claim to belong to and check your trainer's certification. However, some personal trainers may also be certified athletic trainers (National Athletic Trainer's Association), strength and conditioning coaches (CSCS) or exercise physiologists.

When your wondering what to look for in a personal trainer, you want to see that the personal trainer is also keeping his certification current. You want to make sure that when you find a personal trainer that they continue to attend classes, seminars or successfully complete continuing education courses for credit. Your personal trainer should also be currently certified in first aid, CPR and automated external defibrillator. There may be moments when a gym-goer (either you or someone else) will need medical attention. Any number of things can happen: dropping a weight on a body part, sprains and strains, fainting spells or even cardiac arrest. Your personal trainer should be able to react quickly and efficiently until further professional help arrives.

Medical history and fitness evaluation
Before a personal trainer puts you through your first workout, they should take your medical history and have you perform a fitness evaluation -- if they don’t, you should tell them what to look for in a personal trainer. A fitness evaluation may come in the form of a Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q), which will ensure that your personal trainer is aware of any conditions that may affect your performance (such as asthma, diabetes, fibromyalgia, and scoliosis). Also, musculoskeletal or orthopedic injuries have to be considered when choosing exercises and any exercise modifications that have to be made. The fitness evaluation includes your fitness goals, your target heart rate, blood pressure, starting weight, and body composition. Don't forget to sign the informed consent form.

Fitness programs
Once your personal trainer completes their initial evaluation, they will set up a program that incorporates your goals, but they should also address your needs. For example, if you sit at a desk all day, your chest is probably tight and your rhomboids are probably weak. Your hamstrings and piriformis will also likely be tight and weak. As a result, postural issues and imbalances should be addressed and/or corrected. Men are notorious for neglecting their lower body and it becomes the personal trainer’s job to help you train all muscle groups. Every four to six weeks your personal trainer should make changes to your routine to avoid a plateau, helping you continue to make fitness gains.

Costs
If you are hiring a personal trainer that works for a gym, the gym will offer different personal training packages depending on how many sessions you buy. Generally, it’s cheaper to buy a package instead of single sessions. Upon joining most fitness centers, you may receive up to three free personal fitness training sessions. The price may range from $70 to $90 per session. Depending on the personal trainers level of certification, they get a cut of $20 to $40 per session. If you’re hiring an independent personal trainer, expect to pay anywhere from $75 to $125, depending on the services provided. Will they visit you at home? Are they bringing their own equipment? Are they offering sports massage after your sessions?

References
Before you hire a personal trainer, don't be afraid to get references. Talk to their previous or current clients to get a feel for how that personal trainer addresses their fitness concerns, handles cancellations and rescheduling, and whether or not they have made progress while working with them. Also, check if your personal trainer only trains a certain type of client. Are all their clients already in shape or do they have clients on a variety of fitness levels and are able to work with all of them?

getting personal
A personal trainer who approaches you to offer a session or give pointers on your form, shouldn't look like they need a personal trainer themselves; they should be in good physical shape. In the health and fitness industry, a personal trainer's appearance is definitely part of their marketing. If you've been a member of your fitness club for sometime, you may have noticed some of the personal trainers on staff working out between clients. Can your personal trainer demonstrate the exercises they're asking you to perform? Some of your training sessions may be outdoors -- cross-country running, boot camp training -- and your personal trainer will actually workout with you. It is important that before you shell out bucks and put your trust and, in some instances, your health in the hands of a personal trainer, make sure they are fully prepared, trained and professional.

私人教練或者在健康健身中心工作，或者私下工作，到家里或辦公室拜訪顧客。正如你看到的，找私人教練并不困難。但是，清楚的了解我們可以從私人教練那里得到什么，這更富有挑戰性。在你雇傭私人教練幫助你健身之前，必須確保私人教練在上崗之前能夠通過測驗。

這里是一些提示，幫助你了解從私人教練那里能得到什么。

證書和繼續教育

不要因為私人教練在健身房工作，就認為他們是稱職的。如果他們通過某項考核，其證書應該由合法團體頒發。了解學習時我們能從私人教練那里得到什么，這是最重要的一個方面。美國學院、國家科學院的運動醫學科和美國運動理事會，是公認的認證機構，私人教練可以到這里尋找。當你發現，你想雇傭的私人教練宣稱屬于某個認證機構，而且瀏覽此機構的網站，那么核對私人教練的證書。不過，有的私人教練同時也是運動教練（國家運動教練協會），力量和健身教練或運動生理學家。

當你不清楚可以從健身教練那里得到什么時，你應該看一看教練的認證領域。當你尋找私人教練時，應該確保私人教練還在繼續參加學習班、研討班或完整的繼續教育課程。你的私人教練應該通過急救鑒定，包括心肺復蘇或自動體外除震。去健身房鍛煉的人（你自己或其他人）都經常需要醫療照顧。許多事情都可能發生：砸傷、扭傷和拉傷、暈倒、甚至心臟停博。你的私人教練應該能夠在專業救護到來之前，反映迅速且正確。

病史和健康評價

在私人教練開始你第一次訓練之前，他們應該了解你的病史，并對你的健康做評價——如果他不這樣做，你應該告訴他，私人教練應該做什么。健康評價以體育鍛煉調查問卷的形式進行，這能讓私人教練掌握影響你健康狀況的因素（比如哮喘、糖尿病、纖維肌痛和脊柱側凸）。在選擇運動項目時，還應該考慮肌肉骨骼和外科損傷。健康評估包括健身目標、心率目標、血壓、初始體重和體組成。不要忘了將這些填入表格。

健身計劃

私人教練完成最初的評估之后，會根據你的目標制定健身計劃，當然，必須滿足你的要求。比如，你整天坐著，你的胸腔可能會很緊張，菱形肌會很脆弱，腿腱和梨狀肌也會很緊張脆弱，那么就應該校正姿勢問題和不平衡感。人們常常忽略日益變差的身體，讓你鍛煉所有的肌肉群，就是私人教練的工作。每4～6周，私人教練都應該改變課程表，避免停滯，幫助你繼續健身。

費用

如果你雇傭一個在健身房工作的私人教練，健身房會根據你的項目提供不同的私人教練組。一般地，購買一整套比單獨的項目要便宜。當你加入健身中心，可能要接受3個以上的訓練項目。每個項目價格為70～90美元。根據私人教練的水平，大概能拿到20～40美元。如果你雇傭一個獨立的私人教練，根據所提供的服務水平，大概需要支付75～125美元。他們到你家里來嗎？他們帶著自己的運動器材嗎？他們是否提供運動后的按摩？

證明人

你想雇傭私人教練時，不要擔心找個證明人。同他以前的或現在的顧客交流，了解他怎么樣消除顧客的憂慮、控制進度表，以及訓練后是否有進步。還要核實私人教練是否只訓練某一類顧客。他的顧客是否身體健康，或者是否有一定的運動水平，是否能一起鍛煉。

了解私人教練

提供健身訓練并給你指導的私人教練，看起來不應該是，他自己都需要教練。他們應有健康的體形。在健康健身業界，私人教練的外形絕對是市場的一部分。如果你曾經加入過健身俱樂部，你會注意到有些私人教練與顧客有明顯不同。你的私人教練能否詳細解釋他要求你做的動作？有些訓練項目可能在戶外——越野跑、劃船訓練——你的私人教練必須和你一同參加。在你像雄鹿一般沖出去和完全信任私人教練之前，在某些情況下你的健康掌握在私人教練手中，保證他們是合格的、受過訓練的話專業的，這非常重要。