News reports indicate that more than 8.3 million health club participants have access to personal fitness trainers in the UK. Fitness trainers are professionals with the requisite skills to help people live healthier lives through exercise. Working with these workout experts has several advantages, as their success rates with clients seem higher than those who embark on fitness training themselves. Therefore, if you are currently looking for a fitness trainer, you may find it useful to consider the pointers below before settling on one.

1. A full body assessment

This is done to get an idea of the client’s body weight, flexibility, mobility, and any other piece of information that helps in planning a workout routine. As a matter of fact, this is standard practice. Therefore, if you have a personal trainer who began working with you but failed to do this, you may want to bring the topic up. Another reason a full body assessment is done is to rule out the possibility of a medical condition that may hinder the client from partaking in any set of movements that could aggravate an existing health issue.

For instance, if you have chronic backache, your trainer may exempt you from lifting weights exceeding a threshold. These precautions are necessary for the client and the trainer for credibility protection. In the unfortunate event that some activity caused more injury, the trainer may lose their credibility and, by extension, future clients.

2. Licensed professional

A license is the most reliable indication that you opted for someone with the requisite skills. More importantly, it could also mean you are in safe hands. The last thing you want is to start your training sessions with an individual with no knowledge of what must be done. An ITEC diploma or an NVQ in the field is required in the UK. Therefore, assuming that you are interested in taking Pilates sessions, your trainer may have already taken the test online to get approved.

3. A nutrition plan

Fitness training without a nutrition plan may be a fruitless endeavour. Exercising and healthy eating go hand-in-hand because the two complement each other. An experienced fitness trainer will be in the position to offer advice on what foods to eat, the quantities, and, more importantly, how your meals impact your workouts. Without a nutrition plan, you risk not achieving the primary objective of your training. The guiding principle here is balance. Your trainer’s ability to strike a fair balance between what you eat and how much you work off can play a role in your entire workout duration.

Unfortunately, sometimes, people cannot stick to the meal plan proposed by their fitness trainers. This, therefore, often leads to undesirable outcomes and a move away from the original plan. If you have a strict personal trainer, you may succeed at sticking to the proposed meal plan. However, the commitment to stick to a meal plan is entirely yours as the client. It helps to bear in mind that the personal trainer will not be around all 24 hours of the day.

4. Strength training and cardio workouts

Exercising is more than moving your body and breaking a sweat. For a personal fitness trainer, every exercise is categorised and is supposed to achieve a purpose. This is why certain routines are described as cardio workouts while others are strength training. Whatever your option, you may want to ensure that your trainer has the right set of exercises for you. A personal trainer will take you through strength training and cardio sessions to improve the outcome of your sessions.

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.