Since graduating college in 2008, I’ve worked at numerous commercial gyms before finally opening my own warehouse gym. Whenever I meet new people who want to get into training, I explain to them how difficult the field is. What most people don’t understand is how oversaturated the world is with lousy “personal trainers.”
To become a certified trainer, all you need to do is pay a few hundred dollars and take a crappy weekend course and your certification is in the mail. While in college, I wasted my money on one of these courses. To maintain these certifications, you must perform a certain amount of continuing education units (CEU). This means pay some money and do a class online or pay some money and fill out a survey in a watered down magazine. I’m proud to say that I’m no longer a “certified personal trainer.” Instead of wasting money, I traveled the country to learn from the best in the world! Minus the NSCA’s CSCS, I wouldn’t consider taking any of these classes.
Any commercial gym you join will have trainers who claim to be experts. Below are some things that will help you determine whether or not that trainer is the right coach for you.
1. Does the trainer brag about his education? If you meet a trainer who won’t stop talking about the certifications he’s earned, go elsewhere. For the past two years, I haven’t been certified and have never had a parent of a client ask me about my training certifications. It doesn’t hurt that most of these kids are earning all state and scholarships. Generally, if someone is his own biggest hype man, there’s a reason for it…
2. Is he constantly increasing his knowledge? This doesn’t mean CEU classes like I spoke of earlier. Whenever I go to weekend seminars and my kids ask why the gym will be closed, I jokingly tell them that if they didn’t keep getting better, I wouldn’t need to. Any serious trainer should be learning from proven greats. Will you become a better trainer doing an online course or attending an elitefts™ “Learn to Train” seminar?
3. Do you need to pay for a screening? Many trainers and/or gyms will require all new members/clients to pay X amount for a basic screening. During this hour, they will break the individual down to determine imbalances and then customize a workout routine for what that person needs. In other words, they’re stealing your money!
Any good trainer should be screening each client on every repetition of every workout. Some high level athletes that I’ve been working with for over a year still go through this in each workout. Personally, I use body weight movements as well as sprint techniques to determine what imbalances the athlete has and what we need to do to correct it. Many “certified personal trainers” may not have a clue how to do this, which goes back to point number two.
4. Is he a functional training guru? It seems like the whole functional training craze is beginning to die out (thanks God). What I’m talking about here is the fitness expert who is having his clients balance on stability balls or squat off Bosu balls. I’m pretty sure learning how to correctly lift things off the ground (deadlift) is much more functional than these things. To me, functional training is deadlifts, squats, weighted walks, and things that will actually benefit you in the real world.
5. Does the trainer walk the talk? It’s hard for me to believe that someone is a strength and conditioning specialist when he has never even had his body weight on his back. All trainers should be doing what they preach to their clients. I’ve never had any client of mine perform a movement or workout that I haven’t put myself through first. Remember—talk is cheap!
6. Are you seeing results? Results don’t lie! The reason I love the fitness industry is because it’s a profession based solely on results. There will always be local trainers hating the warehouse gym owner. Let them. If you don’t have haters, you’re doing something wrong! In the meantime, parents, coaches, and teammates aren’t blind. They know very well that if the top percentage of athletes are training at your gym, it isn’t a coincidence.
7. Does the trainer really care? A quote from Joe DeFranco that has stuck in my head for years now is, “If you get your clients results and give a shit, you’re going to have to turn people down.” The reason the top trainers are where they are is because they care! Each and every client they deal with is a reflection on them and they will do everything in their power to maximize results for the individual. If you’re in this field for the money, do everyone and yourself a favor and find a new gig.
8. What is the trainer’s title? This may not seem like much, but to me, it will explain everything you need. I personally refer to myself as a performance enhancement specialist. Strength coach, strength and conditioning specialist, performance coach—these are all names that the top tier of trainers will refer to themselves as because they don’t want to be considered “personal trainers.” This is because these coaches have been in the trenches and have learned from the best. They know that a personal trainer isn’t anything.
Next time you’re thinking of hiring a trainer to shed that extra weight or increase your performance on the playing field, use this list to screen the trainer and determine whether he’s worth the investment. The point of this article isn’t to bash commercial gym trainers. I’m sure there are many top level trainers working at these gyms throughout the world. However, realize that the top percentage of trainers generally start at these gyms and end up leaving to begin their own warehouse style gym. The best advice I can give you is find the closest warehouse gym in your area and sign up!
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Adam Spizman is a performance enhancement specialist who runs his warehouse gym, Spizman’s Strength Systems, in Oswego, New York. He specializes in training high school, college, and professional level athletes. For more information on his methods, visit 
great article. i’m working at a commercial gym now and when i finally get the chance to open up my own place im hoping that i can bring in quality athletes and coach them, not personal train
I agree with the article. I have to drop $200 by December 31 to keep my certification. I have been doing lots of real world coaching, clinics, videos and books. Does that matter? Nope. I still gotta buy their articles and take quizzes on stuff that probably won’t help me get better just to keep my certificate.
i have a private warehouse gym in england,i get people functionaly strong and inshape ,everything they do in my gym makes them function better when there not in my gym,i thought thats what functional training was until i saw trainers in a commercial gym doing there version !!! i am glad i have been doing it wrong for a long time!!!
“After a successful high school athletic career, Adam went to college at SUNY Cortland where, in September of 2008, he earned his B.S. in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Science. Adam is currently an IKFF (International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation) Certified
Kettlebell Teacher, and Certified Underground Strength Coach through Zach Even-Esh. Since entering the fitness industry, Adam has attended numerous workshops/seminars to improve his knowledge and to stay current in techniques of training.”
Seems like you are bragging about your own education, right? What is the difference between this and what others do? I don’t have a problem with someone listing their certifications and education…it is part of being qualified in a legitimate sense instead of just calling yourself qualified.
Well interesting aside to this whole situation is that if you keep doing continuing education you won’t ever lose your CPT. I work in a big box as well as coach athletes out of a “warehouse” gym like Defranco.
Since October of this year I have earned over 5.0 CEUs….I need 2.0 every 2 years to update my CPT. So if you travel the country and learn (Just went to Perform Better Learn by doing in Fairlawn New Jersey) you can still keep your cert.
Education bragging is fair game. “I have my Masters….I Have my PHd…I am CSCS….” I don’t really mind and I don’t think it defines a trainer being good or not, to each his own.
I don’t disagree with the entire article, there are a bunch of terrible trainers at my Big Box, but I also have met plenty of crappy “strength coaches” that own their own gym. Saying just to join the local warehouse is more than a little self serving, and probably EliteFTS website catering to the wrong audience.
Adam,
Excellent article. I thought the point about functional training was particularly salient. I watched a trainer have someone bench one day with a ten pound plate on one side of the bar and a forty-four pound plate on the other side of the bar. When I suggested to the trainer later that they could achieve the same effect more safely by having their perform perform single arm dumbbell bench presses they looked at me like I had just french kissed their mother and told me that their training was “functional” and one-arm presses were not. I never got an explanation from them as to why one was functional but not the other.
@Hmmm
While you write your education on your resume, you answer questions in the interview from experience gained in the trenches. Constantly referring back to your education is a clear indication of a lack of experience.
Great article, I love it, it’s filled with truth!
I have my CSCS and ppl dont ask and I dont tell them. I train ppl and get results, the end.
I also agree that extra money for a screening is a rip off. I cant stand ppl that do things like that.
It’s your job to screen them and make a program, you cant/should charge extra. (my opinion)
Ps. Merry Christmas everyone
It was inspiring and cleansing to see someone so young preaching the most important aspects of being a trainer. Being lucky or unlucky enough to have worked side by side withe likes of Dr. Ken Leistner, the things that you talk about are what we have been preaching for over 35 years. Continue your profession inquest of good health and strength.
Yours truly Ralph Raiola
Good article Adam. I deal with people asking me if I’m certified all the time which always leaves me scratching my head wondering why they ask this when they don’t know anything about the certifications to begin with. They should be asking for the social proof. But I do think an assessment/structural balance is important to know how to orientate an athletes training right from the beginning. It’s just that most of the assessments out there are garbage, so I can understand why you’d think it’s not worth doing.
Hey Adam, first off fellow Red Dragon alumni! I must have crossed paths with you at either Tomik or Woods because I graduated in 2009.
I was most curious about the continuing education piece. I agree with the quizzes and such being taken for a ride of sorts. I have to do the same thing for physical therapy so I’ll be doing plenty of continuing education my whole life. Do you believe that hands on conferences or lectures are not beneficial at all? Or do you believe that those are good resources but there are better ways of learning?
@joe def miss the good old tomik days, I went there last yr and they got some good new equipment. Hands on confrence is def the way to go. Not only will you learn from the speakers but I’ve met a lot of great trainers at conferences the idea of the point was to get out and meet other like minded people of there are good speakers and you can get Ceu from it then def a good idea
Thank you for this piece. Any recommendations for a garage gym with a quality strength coach in the los angeles area?
-JG
Sorry, can’t resist..”performance enhancement specialist”? You go by the nickname “Viagra”?
Another one common in at least my area- in a trainer’s bio online they list their “specialties” and under it are 10+ bullet points with everything from fat loss to Olympic level coach. Great list though, I’ll definitely be reposting it on my gym’s blog. Thanks!
the most important point you mentioned is caring. I’ve worked in a commercial gym training clients before and 90% of my co-workers only cared about re-signs and money. I do it freelance now, i consider training to be the best part-time job/while going to school. The small number of trainers who care are a rare bunch but overtime your clients are the one’s with the best results and word of mouth works wonders!! The training certs tests are ridic easy Like ISSA LOL! though NASM strength and movement science cert’s are some of the best books i’ve learned from/test regarding correcting muscular imbalances and improving human performance while understanding every single detail that is going in the human body during.
I don’t totally disagree with this article but alot of it is subjective opinion. There is nothing wrong with having a solid educational foundation and bragging about it. Whenever you go to a conference, the bio of the keynote speaker is read and the majority of it is his or her education. This qualifies the person to the crowd. It’s no different than people publicizing on their website that they have been featured on FoxNews, NBC or CNN.
Secondly, you can’t say that charging for an assessment is wrong or ripping people off if it provides quality. Some people spend time and money honing their craft and providing a quality screening to clients. I agree that it is an ongoing thing but to call it a ripp off because you don’t do it is self serving. I have a degree in physical therapy and I’m a practicing strength and conditioning pro and my initial screening provides not only me but my clients a visual and OBJECTIVE baseline of their ability and proves what I did for them worked. You call it a ripp off I call it instant credibility. I payed time and money to learn my craft and just because I choose to charge my client for it doesn’t mean I’m ripping them off. Your opinion though respected is just that an opinion.
I think you bring up a lot of great points in this post based upon the types of trainers that are out there in the real world that pollute the system. Nonetheless, I think I agree with @Eric on this one. It isn’t a bad thing to charge for your services or time, period. I am a also a strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and have spent a ton of time and money to promote and educate myself and I don’t hesitate to charge folks for my time. Personally I know I’ve earned it. I don’t charge for screenings, but I don’t have a problem with people that do if they are qualified individuals.
Secondly, I understand what you are saying about the referencing of one’s education. I think this is more appropriate when saying that education and experience are lumped together. Without being able to reference either one then how does the client or participant know what you are talking about? The combination of these 2 variables are your identity. I know that guys that walk around bragging about this are annoying, but I’m talking about the clearly competent trainer that has to combat misconceptions and doubts in the field based on past experiences. Sometimes you have to say “I know what the hell I’m talking about because of X,Y,Z.”
Don’t get me wrong you made some great points here and I do appreciate it! You do speak the truth when it comes to poor quality people that are in the field. People also do need to know what to look for before hiring a quality person. This is true in every industry! Great job my friend.
I like this!