Ten Signs It’s Time to Change Your Personal Trainer

Investing in a personal trainer can pay back some BIG dividends. They can be a mentor and motivator, they can tailor your workouts to your goals, and they can lift you up when you’re feeling the frustration of hitting a plateau.

But what can begin as a positive experience, can slowly become a painful, inconvenient and downright depressing weekly meeting. So if you’re considering switching up your PT, the following ten signs are telling you that it’s time to call it a day.

Sign One: They’ve Become SUPER Unreliable

You set a session day and time. Then they call to rearrange. You set a different day - a different time. Then comes the email to shift it, again. Other times, they’re late.

Seriously, fitting in a commitment to working out is tough enough without diary juggling and twiddling your thumbs waiting around for them. Time to look for a new trainer.

Sign Two: You’ve Hit Your Goals and Know Where You’re Going From Here

You’re looking good and feeling great. There’s nothing that your PT has done wrong. You just feel as though you’re ready to go it alone or maybe using your personal trainer was always meant to be temporary. That’s perfectly fine.

Sign Three: They’re ‘All Talk No Joggers’

That first meeting was SO promising. You imagined ticking off those fitness goals week on week. But fast forward a month or two and it feels a little like your PT knows less than you do when it comes to shaping up.

Unfortunately, there are no official qualifications required to enter this industry. Any old Joe Bloggs could lay claim to being a PT, quite within the law. So it’s always worth checking and double checking what experience and qualifications your PT has before booking up for your first train.

Sign Four: There’s No Record Keeping, No Way to Track Your Progress

Knowing where you’ve come from and just how much you’ve achieved is an essential element that should guide your fitness regime. If your PT has ZERO way to track what you’ve achieved, nor are they forthcoming with any contracts or paperwork, you should have a re-think about your choice of PT pro.

Sign Five: There’s a Total Lack of Focus on Goals

Professional personal trainers will break down your end-goals into achievable mini-targets which motivate you and keep you focused. Useless trainers just meander through their sessions with a regime with no real structure.

Sign Six: They are CONSTANTLY on the Phone

Focusing on their status updates rather than your lifting form? Uh, RUDE. While they may have to answer the occasional call, there’s really no excuse for not providing you with their undivided attention the majority of the time.

Sign Seven: They Sell Supplements

No, no, no. If your personal trainer tries to strong-arm you into buying kit or supplements through them alone (rather than simply making suggestions as to the equipment that could be of use to you) consider this a red flag that your PT is less a fitness pro, more a MLM salesperson.

Sign Eight: They Don’t Educate and Empower You

Body-shaming? No darn way (kick them to the curb NOW). Your PT should be a source of inspiration and positivity - they should educate you about what you’re doing and why, they should empower you to push yourself further.

Sign Nine: After Months and Months of Sessions There’s Next to No Change

What, a, let, down. Personal trainers who know their onions will put together a plan for achieving your goals step by step. After several months there should be some clear signs of progression. If not, you may want to speak with a few alternative PTs to get their views and suggestions.

Sign Ten: It’s Their Way or the Highway

A good fitness trainer will be versatile and open-minded. While they may have their preferences of training styles, they’ll open up your fitness world to a wide array of options so you can see what works best for you. Switching up training styles also keeps your training fresh and exciting - challenging you in new ways and keeping you on your toes.

Do you have a great personal trainer who has helped guide you toward your fitness goals? Let us know and give them a shout out on one of our social media posts using the hashtag #ProworksFitness - We would love to hear from you!