How to Select a Personal Trainer

If you are clueless about how to start an exercise program to get in shape and lose weight, hiring a personal trainer is as sensible as hiring an attorney to write a will or settle a divorce case.

But in big cities, personal trainers are as ubiquitous as lawyers, as well as Starbucks and McDonald's, so how to weed through the potential candidates?

Ask your friends or coworkers if they can recommend a trainer. If you can't find one through a referral, try a Google search or use Craigslist to find one.

If you are looking to lose, say 20 pounds, try to find a trainer that either has personal experience losing weight or ask the trainer to supply you with testimonials from clients who have successfully lost weight in a given amount of time.

A skinny trainer who has never had to worry about losing body fat or a trainer that has muscles bulging out from every body part might not have the knowledge or experience in helping you achieve your goal of losing the most amount of body fat in the safest and shortest time possible.

If you need to get in shape for a specific event, say a wedding, you will want to start working out with a trainer at least 12 weeks before you get married, because the average body takes that long to show significant physiological changes.

Does it matter if your trainer is certified? Most gyms will only hire trainers who have a nationally-recognized certification (ACE, NASM), however, even trainers that are certified might not be the best match for you.

There are some gym rats who have been trainers long before it was required to carry a certification and receive the compulsory continuing education credits.

Sometimes the best education one can get is on the job. Some uncertified trainers will help you look like a lean stud in your tuxedo or wedding gown with over 10 and 20-plus years of experience. That's because they know exactly which exercises you should perform and how many sets and reps to do like the back of their hand.

Ask your potential trainer if they have a portfolio. Excellent and dedicated trainers maintain visual proof of their work with before and after pictures of clients who have transformed their physiques.

Interview your potential trainer as if you were the CEO of a company or the head of HR and the trainer is applying for a job.

Ask the trainer specifically how they will help you reach your goal of losing body fat and increasing muscle density in a safe but highly effective manner. You'll most likely be able to tell if they sound legit.

Tell your trainer you are not interested in bodybuilding workouts as very few people have the genetics to workout as a competitive bodybuilder would. In other words, if your trainer tells you that your workout will include 10 sets of bicep curls on Tuesdays, that's going to be a waste your time and money and could potentially damage your joints.

Also ask your trainer if you will be provided with nutritional recommendations to ensure that your workouts will be supplemented by the most sensible eating plans to help you lose fat. (Remember: it's more important to concentrate on the amount of body fat you lose; not overall weight.)

After all, if you continue to eat junk, all the money in the world thrown at your trainer will not make you look like a sexy hunk.

Again, interview the potential trainer as if you were interviewing them for a job. Don't be afraid to ask questions. It's your money. It's your hard-earned money; spend it wisely.