Well, it’s that time of the year again – new year, new me. You start your new diet, new workout routine and new lifestyle until you get a couple weeks in, and you start missing workout days and ‘cheat days’ become more frequent until finally you just stop your new lifestyle altogether. “This year is going to be different”; that’s what you tell yourself every year, right?
Or midyear you suddenly decide to try again only to quit…again. It becomes a cycle you can’t break. But you really want to change this year so you thought that maybe having a personal trainer in Markham would help keep you on track.
Living a healthier lifestyle is not just about weight management, even though you want to rid yourself of those extra pounds. It is so much more than that. It is becoming the best version of yourself by improving your overall health and achieving personal goals.
Now, since you are serious this time you probably decided to Google “Markham personal trainer.” So let’s help you find the best one for YOU. Your body is not the same as everyone else’s so therefore you need a trainer that knows how to help your unique body.
I am going to be covering two important topics when finding the right personal trainer:
- First topic is common mistakes people make when browsing for someone to train them
- Second topic is 10 criteria you can use to find a trainer that can help you be the best you
But before we continue, I just want you to be aware that I may have a teeny tiny amount of bias… I’ve been a personal trainer since 2006. I even have a team of trainers. Now, not to toot my own horn or anything but I think we’re pretty good. I could say that we’re the best but that wouldn’t be accurate, because as you will find out, there is no ‘best’.
If you do decide you want to see if we would help you reach your goals, there is an application form on our home page. If you end up filling it out, we’ll just get on a quick, 10-15 minute phone call or zoom call to answer your questions. No pressure, no obligation.
Now, let’s carry on with the article!
Common Mistakes When Looking for a Personal Trainer in Markham
Mistake #1: Believing the First Google Results You See
I know what you’re thinking, “is that not what google is for?”. And while that is what Google is for, there is also a catch to it. Google can trick you if you don’t know the tricks.
If you Google ‘best personal trainer Markham’, a ton of results come up. But did you know that a lot of the sites that list the best personal trainer in any city are often paid sites?
Those sites are not going to interview each trainer and decide which one is best. No, they’re going to accept the money and put their name first.
So really when you Google that it becomes a game of who has enough money and not who actually is the best.
Plus, let’s be honest, it’s a long, time-consuming process to discover the best personal trainer in Markham. Someone would have to use every personal trainer long enough to see results so not only would it take years it would also cost a lot of money.
Additionally, it’s hard to determine which is the best because every Markham personal trainer could be better in a different area or focus on one area more than others. For example, you could hire a personal trainer to lose weight, build muscle and lift weights, contest prep, fascial stretch therapy, or online training. That is also why you need to find the best trainer for your needs.
Mistake #2: Only Going Based on Certifications
Don’t get me wrong, certifications can be a good thing. I mean you have to take courses to get them so why shouldn’t they? Here’s the thing though: just because trainers have a specific certification does not mean they will use it.
Do you use all the knowledge you learned from school? Probably not. You probably only use what you can remember and that you like using. Same goes for most people.
Yes, you can say that someone went to school for 4 years for it, so they must be good. Length of time it took someone to get a certification does not always equal a better outcome.
Someone who got a certification for a weekend course can be just as good as someone who did a 4-year degree, or a 2-year diploma and it has everything to do with how they use the information they learned. Having a 4-year degree in kinesiology myself, I can tell you how little useful content they teach that I actually use with my clients.
That’s not to say that education is not important. It is. In fact, I even wrote some other articles that outline my approach to education. One is an article about what I personally do for professional development and another one on the best seminars I have attended.
Mistake #3: Not Specifying What ‘Best’ You Are Looking For
Remember how I said that your body is not like everyone else’s? Yeah, this is where it starts to show.
Just searching for the best is too vague, you need to narrow it down. Because the best personal trainer is not going to be the same for a professional athlete than it is for someone trying to lose weight.
Personal trainers are not a ‘one size fits all’ type of thing; no, you have to find one that can help you achieve your personal fitness goals.
For an example, the best personal trainer for exercise and nutrition during and after cancer treatment that I know of is Riaz Aziz. On the other hand, the best personal trainer for helping people step up on stage and look good in front of an audience is probably Mike Demeter (as far as I know). These are only trainers within my personal network. I don’t know every trainer in Markham, but these are from my own experiences (by the way, these 2 gentlemen are not in Markham, but in Toronto).
So, you can see that personal trainers are better at different things. For instance, my team and I are good at:
- Fat loss for women over 40
- High blood pressure (I even wrote an Amazon bestseller on the topic)
- Type 2 diabetes (I wrote another bestseller on that topic)
- Osteoarthritis
- Osteoporosis
- Chronic pain
But I’ll also readily admit what’s not our forte, and it’s a long list:
- Children’s strength and conditioning
- Bodybuilding
- Multiple sclerosis
- Cancer
- Neurodegenerative conditions
- Rehabilitation after a car accident
…and more.
So, as you can see, in order to get the most out of a personal trainer you must do a little research on them. Not every trainer is good at everything and if they say that they are then you should probably investigate a different trainer.
Now that we have covered common mistakes let’s move on to our next topic: criteria to help you find a Markham personal trainer to help you with your fitness goals.
10 Criteria to Find the Best Personal Trainer for You
#1: Relevance to Your Goals
Okay if your goal is to lose weight do you really want a trainer who focuses on making kids run faster in sports? No, probably not because then your goals will not be met. A personal trainer is someone who focuses on achieving the clients’ goals and makes them comfortable in their own skin.
Therefore, you want to find someone who can suggest correct exercise and nutrition strategies for a client’s body and lifestyle. Sometimes a diet is not really a diet at all. Rather it’s a few strategies to control binge eating, stress eating, cravings etc., so you want someone with experience and a positive attitude so they can suggest plans to you without making you feel bad about yourself.
That is why in your Google search you need to specify your goals and who you are. When looking for qualified personal trainers who specialize in weight loss, muscle building, or other goals relevant to you need to be specific about what you’re searching for, in order to get amazing results.
Some examples of google searches may be:
- Personal trainer for fat loss
- Personal trainer for diabetics
- Personal trainer for a slow thyroid
- Personal trainer for depression
And so forth….
#2: Time in the Industry
The amount of time a trainer has been in this line of work is also important. There are a lot of trainers who work part-time and do not take it seriously. That’s not good for you.
Time is kind of weird though because someone who has been a trainer for 3 years full time is definitely not going to be the best. Now, that doesn’t mean they aren’t good because they very well could be. But with time comes knowledge, so the longer you’ve done something the more knowledge you have when a problem happens. Assuming you’re analytical enough to learn from your clients, and fill in gaps in your knowledge.
Certifications, experience in fitness training, nutritional help, and helping clients reach their goals are all keys to a good personal trainer. The experience helps the trainer to introduce new things to you safely, so the risk of injury is lower.
#3: What They Do for Professional Development
As I said before, you don’t want to trust someone’s abilities just because they have numerous certifications. Some trainers collect certifications to look fancy but do not actually use or apply the information learned.
That being said, most trainers are not going to spend around $2000 per course to not use any of the information.
Many personal training certifications have you take a certain number of courses to maintain the certification. But you don’t want someone who does the bare minimum. You want someone who goes above what they must do to maintain the certification because they want to do it. Because they like doing it. Not because they’re obligated to.
#4: Nutrition
If your goals are weight loss, muscle gain, or athletic performance enhancement then nutrition is important for success.
When you think of nutrition most people think ‘oh it’s a meal plan’, and there’s thousands of websites and apps that will take your preferences and give you a plan for free. One of the best that I’m aware of is Precision Nutrition. But, let’s be honest, no one sticks to a meal plan. So, a meal plan is not exactly what is meant by nutrition. What you need is a trainer who will help you with:
- Emotional eating
- Stress eating
- Mindless snacking
- Cravings
- Lack of planning
Getting those under control is how you stick to diet plans. A good diet is one that makes you feel happy and healthy.
#5: Wellness Concierge
A good personal trainer is one who also knows a little about health-related issues. They also know when to reach out to someone who is more knowledgeable in a specific area, if needed.
For example, a trainer should have a general knowledge of how common medications affect the body. But if a client needs more in-depth help with their medications, the trainer should be able to recommend a pharmacist to help the client.
Another example, a trainer could be great in helping a client recover from an injury but that is only to an extent. For some injury related recovery, a client needs a different set of skills, so the trainer should have a good chiropractor or osteopath that they can refer the client to or even refer to for advice to make sure they don’t put you at risk of reinjuring yourself.
That is why you want a trainer that excels in their area (exercise), but also has broad knowledge in other areas to ensure your success.
#6: Success Stories Relevant to You
Now that we have determined that there is no general best but actually the ‘best’ is what is more relevant for you. So when you are looking at potential personal trainers, you want to view success stories most closely related to your goals.
A personal trainer whose success stories are mainly about improving the speed of youth basketball players probably isn’t the coach for you if you’re an adult trying to lose weight, while working a 9-5 job, and maybe taking care of a family.
On my website there is a whole section of success stories. These case studies will show you which areas we excel in, along with the areas that aren’t our forte.
#7: Price
Now, since you are reading this article, you probably anticipate spending some money on a personal trainer. You pay for the quality of a personal trainer so the cheaper a trainer is the more you put yourself at risk. I explain this more thoroughly in my article on why a more expensive personal trainer is usually better.
But everyone has a budget so it is something you should look at and pay attention to when finding a good coach. It just shouldn’t be the only criterion.
#8: Personality
You figure you are going to be spending hours per week with this trainer, so you want to make sure you get along with them comfortably.
Do you want a drill sergeant? Someone gentle? A Zen master who gives you fortune cookie wisdom? This is something you need to think about when talking to the personal trainer. After all, if you’re going to be spending 1-4 hours per week with someone for months or even years on end, you want to make sure that they’re pleasant to be around.
You want to be able to voice concerns with them and share things with them, so make sure you are comfortable.
#9: What Do They Offer?
Virtual personal trainers are becoming more and more popular, especially with COVID. But virtual training also makes it easier to avoid conflicts in schedules, like vacations or being in different cities/countries.
Another option besides using an online personal trainer is in-home personal training. This may come at a higher cost mind you, but it is an option for some personal trainers.
So find what makes you feel safe, whether that be at the gym, at home through a screen or even at home with someone.
#10: Can You Sample Them for Low/No Risk?
You have doubts that you will like a personal trainer, so you are really dragging your feet on hiring one. But did you know that some trainers offer some kind of low risk/no risk way to sample their style? It’s a way to learn about the personal trainer without wasting any money.
Some ways to do this are:
- Their blog. From here, you can learn their approach, their tone, and whether it resonates with you.
- Their podcast
- Their YouTube channel
- Complimentary initial assessments
- Short phone/zoom calls to ask your questions, to assess compatibility
- In my case, you can check out my books on Amazon for a very low price, as well.
Taking up a trainer on a no-cost or a low-cost offer is a great opportunity to get to know the certified personal trainer that you’re considering. Are they extremely friendly and understand how to achieve your health goals? Training sessions need to be with someone you get along with and trust.
My team offers the last two. If you are interested just go to our home page and fill out the application. After that, we can have a short conversation over the phone, zoom, or even email – whatever you are comfortable with. There will be no pressure, and no obligation.
Hopefully your Google search for “Markham personal trainer” took you to this page, and you got what you’re looking for 🙂
