Due to the fact that my industry is unregulated and anyone can call themselves a trainer after taking a weekend course, it is generally filled with some pretty interesting characters.  What still amazes me to this day is the fact that people will blindly walk into a fitness centre and sometimes invest thousands of dollars, simply under the promise that they are going to lose weight, get ripped or be able to perform like a high level athlete in no time – and not even interview the person properly!  Some trainers prey on this like a lion devouring a carcass, and take advantage of people who are emotionally vulnerable as a part of their selling process.  You can see examples of this all over YouTube if you just search for “personal trainer sales”.

Other trainers will use a personal relationship to take advantage of their clientele and drop their service level – sometimes to the point of completely neglecting them and what they were hired for in the first place.  Because they now see the client as a friend, they allow themselves to forget the professional side of the equation.  Trainers generally aren’t good business people, which is why they get into an easy entry profession in the first place, and chain gyms pretty much guarantee that even a totally incompetent idiot can get clients if they just stick around for long enough.

This bothers me.  I tend to take my job as a trainer seriously, and what a lot of trainers (and clients) need to learn is that when you a trainer is affecting someone’s body in a positive or negative way they are impacting a lot more than just their physical well-being.  Also, I don’t know many people who can afford to waste $60-100 an hour and not get value for it.  I know I can’t.  Our industry is also rampant with unprofessionalism.  Trainers texting, eating, or ignoring clients to chat with other people during workouts.  Trainers who talk more than they coach.  Trainers who come in to work hung over and brag about it.  Believe it or not, this is actually common – and it really shouldn’t be.

So in a nutshell, here are some very good reasons to fire your trainer.  If you are a client reading this and can relate to one of these, fire your trainer.  Today.  If you are a trainer reading this and get fired (or have been in the past) well then odds are you should probably stop doing one of these.

1)      They don’t show up for work. 

Trainers who constantly cancel, take loads of time off and always make excuses or reschedule should be fired immediately.  You are paying someone for a service and they are supposed to be focusing on you and your results.  A trainer who no-shows for any reason in this day and age should likely be fired right away.  With texting, email, easy ways to communicate there is no excuse beyond a legitimate emergency and this should happen once in a blue moon.

I personally know a trainer who took over 65 days away from work last year and constantly cancelled sessions last minute – but then would charge his clients if they did the same thing.  That’s 13 working weeks away from his clients, and for some reason – he didn’t get fired by some of them.  Good thing he got paid up front!  As a client, don’t let your trainer use a personal relationship to abuse the fact that they are hired to do a job.

2)      When they do show up, they act like you are hanging out with a buddy. 

If you are talking more than you are working then the session probably isn’t doing you a lot of good.  A skilled trainer can maintain a conversation (if you really need them to) while you are doing movements.  Frankly, if you are resting too much because you are chatting, why are you paying that person?  Most trainers cost over a dollar a minute – make sure you are getting value for your time.  Personal training also isn’t a therapy session or a “nutrition consultation” where you pay the person to solve problems that are outside of their scope of practice.  Doing ten sets of exercise in 45 minutes isn’t going to get you very far either.  There should be a plan, and it should be executed properly.  I know that often I don’t even have time to get everything in that I want to do in an hour long session, never mind chatting.

One big test – if your trainer is talking to you about their own personal issues a lot, get rid of them.  The session should be about you and what you are accomplishing towards your fitness goals.  Be serious about your physical fitness and health and find a trainer who is too.

Oh, and if they ever pull out a cell phone during a session except to use it as a timer or they have an emergency, you might want to think about how much they respect the time they have with you.

3)      They don’t have a plan, long term or even during a session.

“What do you want to work on today?” was a normal thing I heard when I worked at some gyms.  Um…it is your job to figure that out and tell me, that is what I’m paying you for.  Can they modify or change a workout in the moment if it is needed because you ended up moving furniture the day before and your back is sore?  If your trainer doesn’t have a plan for that workout and then moving forward odds are they really aren’t focused on getting you what you want – results.  If you tell them that you don’t want to work a particular body part because it is already tired and they give you blank stare, run for the hills.

Part of the skill as a trainer is also being able to figure out what is appropriate for that person in the moment and constantly be assessing ability.  This can change even movement to movement.  If a client comes in and hasn’t slept, didn’t eat right or has another problem and the trainer just goes ahead with a hard core circuit workout (that they have likely done with every client that day) then they are putting you at risk of injury.  Is someone who either doesn’t know better or doesn’t care worth investing in?

I actually heard of a guy who would put a daily workout on a wipe board and have every client do it that day – no matter their condition, age, size, etc.  Ridiculous.  And not worth your money.

4)      They have no experience dealing with your specific issue.

I know you have a personal relationship with your trainer and would never want to leave them, but honestly sometimes if your goals change or something happens you may need to find a new one.  An example would be a client who gets pregnant and their trainer has never worked with a pregnant woman before – is that really a good idea?  If I suddenly decided to enter a powerlifting competition and my trainer was a marathon runner that might not be a great fit.  If I seriously injure myself and my trainer has no background in that particular injury, is it really wise to hope that they learn with you as a guinea pig?

A trainer with integrity will refer out when situations like this come up, not simply wing it hoping for a good result.  Don’t be afraid to suggest that maybe they could find you someone more suited to your needs.  Likely the money you invest will get you a better result.  Personally I’m never insulted if/when this happens and I have a good network of other professionals that I can refer to.

I know that sometimes I am negative on my industry, but realistically these things happen less often than you think.  Just make sure that they aren’t happening to you!  In order to improve your results, you need to make sure you are working with a top quality professional, and they are definitely out there.  Sometimes you just have to weed through them a bit before finding a good one.  Let me know if there is anything you would add to this list and feel free to comment and subscribe!