Q: How to do you assess whether a personal trainer/strength coach is competent?
A: ”It’s very easy. Can his female clients who have trained with him for 12 weeks do 12 chinups? I don’t care how big her butt is and/or how old she is. A competent trainer can take any untrained female and get her to 12 chinups in 12 weeks. Yes, that means there are very few competent trainers out there.”
This Q&A is by Charles Poliquin.. he’s one of the most recognized strength coaches on Earth, having coached Olympic medalists in 12 different sports. Many personal trainers are incompetent, and to be blunt… stupid. A good rule of thumb is to take everything a trainer says with a grain of salt, unless they have proven themselves to be knowledgeable in their field. I can’t tell you the number of times my friends have been approached by gyms to become a trainer, even when they were first starting and had no idea what they were doing! But they “looked the part”.. so they were offered the job. All I am saying, is be aware that not all personal trainers are good at what they do, no matter how many “certifications” and classes they have taken. Be careful =)
