What should I look for in a personal trainer? And man v. woman?

[Anonymous]

I want to get a personal trainer for the first time. What should I look for or what questions should I ask? I'm 2.5 months post-partum and need to lose 30 pounds (UGH). Am still breastfeeding. Also, did you prefer working with a man or a woman and why? THANK YOU!

[Anonymous]

I found a great trainer at my gym pre-wedding. I talked to the manager and asked for someone who would give me a real workout, and boy did he! I learned really good habits and how to push myself from him. Btw he was very young (early 20s) so I wouldn't discount someone on that basis. I think that in some ways it was a good thing - as a super young guy, he had no idea how much harder things get physically in your mid-late 30s so he pushed me hard.

Another thing, I'd look for someone who really lives the life (i.e., is fit and in good shape). I once went to a trainer who was not in much better shape than me and I feel like the workouts were way less intense. I wondered if she went easy on me because she also went easy on herself. Good luck! I'll be right there with you in a few months (third trimester right now).

[Anonymous]

Find a fit for your personality. Personally, I prefer men - they work me harder, are more relaxed and tend to keep things humorous. Also agree on the age and fitness.

Don't trust the gym to match you up. I did that once and they gave me an older guy who was less in demand. You might even want to do a session each with a couple possible trainers.

The one thing up for debate is certification. It can be iffy in many cases. I suggest you do your research online to determine which certification associations are better and have put your trainer through legitimate tests.

[Anonymous]

I agree about trying out a few trainers before signing on. You want someone who is going to be paying attention to your form, rather than distracted about the conversation that you're having. I can't tell me how many times I've seen trainers at my gym (which requires that all their trainers have the highest level of certification) not correct their clients poor form because they really weren't focused - any if you have poor form, you are either going to get hurt or not get much out of your workout. I've also seen clients not really advance (lose weight, specifically) because they spend half of their training sessions chatting with their trainers rather than working (part of this is procrastination on their part, I know).

And you want someone who is going to listen to you rather than just give you the same workout that s/he gives everyone else (unless that workout happens to work for you).