Picking a personal trainer

Jacqueline Stenson MSNBC contributor

How can you find a personal trainer who's fit for the job? And are there any ways to save money on trainers? Smart Fitness answers your queries. Have a fitness question? To e-mail us, click here. We’ll post select answers in future columns.

Q: I've read that it's so easy to become a personal trainer that some people get their certification over the Internet in a weekend. If that's true, how do I go about finding a trainer who's truly qualified? I need someone good to help me stick with a fitness plan and lose some weight.

A: Industry experts estimate there are anywhere from 40 to 400 personal training certification programs available, so it's easy to see why consumers like yourself would have questions about where to start in finding a good fitness pro.

"Over the last several years, everybody and their grandma is coming out with a certification," says Neal Pire, a New York-based personal trainer who serves as chair of the personal training certification committee for the American College of Sports Medicine.

But if you're shelling out $60 or more an hour on a trainer, you'll want to make sure you're spending your money wisely. A good trainer can assess your health and fitness status, suggest a safe and appropriate exercise regimen and keep you motivated to stick with it. A bad trainer may not know enough to design an appropriate plan or keep you working at a safe pace.

So what should you look for in a personal trainer? One new development that may help consumers sort through the many certification programs is a recommendation by the Boston-based International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) that programs become accredited by a third-party agency such as the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.

IHRSA has asked that, starting next January, its member clubs only hire personal trainers who have been certified by a group that has at least initiated the accreditation process.

Accreditation doesn't necessarily mean that one certification program produces better trainers than another. But it's a good sign, experts say, because it means that a group's certification standards are sound — which is not likely to be the case with Web outfits that send training certificates to people who do little more than give out their credit card numbers.

"We believe our recommendation, if followed, will prevent consumers from relying on a certified personal trainer who may have never had to demonstrate an appropriate level of expertise before becoming certified," says Tom Richards, public policy manager for IHRSA.

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Already accredited are the certification programs of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the American Council on Exercise. The American College of Sports Medicine is in the process of seeking accreditation, according to Pire.

Beyond certification, there are other qualifications you should look for in a trainer. "There's a lot more to it than just the credentials," says Pire.

Be sure to ask about experience, particularly experience with people like you, he says. So if you're hoping to improve your golf game, for instance, or you're someone with a heart condition or arthritis, seek out a trainer with expertise and experience in those areas.

Also ask how well the trainer keeps up with developments in the field through continuing education, and whether he or she has college-level experience in exercise physiology or a related field.

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