So you’ve decided to start your fitness journey, that’s great! Some of you might do things on your own, and some might hire a trainer or coach. Hiring a trainer or coach can be one of the most valuable things you can do. A good trainer can help you see real progress. Here’s the problem, even a bad trainer can help you see progress at first. So how do you know what to look for in a good trainer? Well, I’m going to map out for you some of the things to watch out for that I would consider to be red flags. If a trainer or coach does some of these things, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they ARE bad, but chances are, it isn’t looking good.

RED FLAG #1- THEIR ENTIRE SOCIAL MEDIA IS PICTURES OF THEIR BUTT AND THEIR ABS

While it is not a red flag that your trainer has abs or a nice butt, when every photo on their social media is a picture of them showing off their abs and their butt, it’s not a good sign. A lot of these “influencers” have never trained clients before or have never trained clients in person before. Some of them may not even have any certifications and the education to write proper programming. Not every trainer is going to flood their social media with client success stories, some might not use social media much at all. If you’re looking on instagram or TikTok for a trainer, there’s a few things I would ask…

What certifications/education do you have?

If they say something to the tune of “I don’t really have any formal education, I’ve just been doing this a long time and know what works” -run for the hills.

Have you/do you train clients in person?

An online coach is a great resource, you’re able to connect with someone that could be in another state, maybe even another country. I would, however, be weary of any online fitness coach that has never trained people in person. While it’s not a complete dealbreaker, the skills you learn by coaching people in person is more then anyone will get reading books. Coaching people online is very difficult in the sense that you can’t put your hands on someone to correct their form so you have to rely on your words and cues. You learn over time while training in person what cues work best.

RED FLAG#2- THEIR WHOLE “BRAND” IS BASED AROUND A FAD DIET (ie: CARNIVORE, VEGAN, KETO)

A good nutrition coach is going to steer you far, far away from fad diets. Diets don’t work. A good nutrition coach wants to give you the tools to learn how to make healthier choices and be on a meal plan that is sustainable for every day life. If they choose to eat that way, that’s fine, it doesn’t make them a bad coach, but if they are asking you to do some kind of 30 day carnivore challenge- run.

RED FLAG #3- THEY DON’T FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR MAINTENANCE CALORIES ARE AT AND JUST IMMEDIATELY TELL YOU WHAT YOUR MACROS ARE GOING TO BE

Calories, macros, it can all get a little confusing. This is where having a good coach can be extremely beneficial. They can do all the work for you to figure out what your macros and calories should be at to give you the best results. The problem: a lot of them will just put your height and weight into a calculator and figure out what they should be. Well, anyone can do that. If your coach isn’t asking you the question: Do you know how many calories you’re currently eating in a day? – run.

A ton of people don’t know how many calories they’re eating in a day, and that is fine! Some people may have a hard time with tracking numbers and it can be triggering for them, that is also okay. Without knowing a baseline of what we’re working with- we’re kind of just taking a shot in the dark and hoping it hits. If your coach asks the question and you haven’t been tracking, so you don’t know what your current maintenance calories are, their next course of action should be telling you to either track or write down what you eat the next few days without changing anything. This can give a coach a pretty good idea of where you’re currently at.

RED FLAG# 4- THEY IMMEDIATELY PUT YOU ON A 5-6 DAY A WEEK WORK OUT PROGRAM

If the 5-6 day a week program that they’re putting you on is only 15-20 a minutes a day, then you’re good, but usually, that’s not the case. A lot of trainers want to show their clients results fast so they will put them on these crazy work out routines coupled with a massive cut in calories. Sure, you’ll probably see the number drop on the scale, but you will most likely lose a lot of muscle in the process and be on a terrible path to overtraining and burn out.

Unless you are a high level athlete, training for a specific event, you don’t need to train this much. If you like going to the gym 5-6 days per week for the social aspect or for the consistency, you still can, but you shouldn’t be lifting weights that much unless it’s for a short period of time. Going to the gym every day can help some people set up a routine, which is great. You could do other things while you’re there like walk on the treadmill, do some mobility or yoga.

If your trainer is telling you the only way to get the results you want is by training an hour plus 5-6 days a week, run while you still can, because chances are- training like this will result in an injury.

RED FLAG# 5- THEY DON’T DO AN ASSESSMENT/CONSULTATION WITH YOU

A training assessment is key to giving the best results to a client. An assessment helps us trainers see how you move, your limiting factors in mobility and movement, gives us time to discuss your goals and any injuries you currently have or have had in the past. Without knowing all of these things, we cannot properly write you an effective plan. If I have a client who just recently had shoulder surgery last month- the last thing I want to do is be programing a bunch of overhead presses and raises.

With online coaches, doing a proper assessment can be tricky, but it can be done. If your online coach is not asking you to schedule an assessment before starting to train you, find someone else.