Congrats on deciding to invest in yourself! Seriously, this is an awesome moment and I’m sure you’re riddled with excitement about getting started. But, if you haven’t already, how do you go about finding a personal trainer? What do you need to lookout for?

In an era of online “coaches” it’s important to look out for a few things:

1. Make sure they are accredited by a national institution.
2. Find a specialist (want to learn to snatch or clean? Find someone USAW certified, etc.)
3. Ask for a free consult, make sure you are comfortable with the trainer and like their training methodology.
4. During said free consult, ask for an injury report. Then follow it up with the following questions:
   1. How many of their clients/athletes become injured?
   1. How many of their clients have continued to train with them outside of a year?
   1. How long have they been training?
   1. What certifications do they have?
   1. What drew them to their field?
5. If you’re looking for a sport-specific coach, make sure you’re asking about their athlete roster. Would current clients recommend you? Why? What is your turnover rate for clients? How often do your athletes sustain serious injuries? Etc.

• What emphasis do you place on education? How long does it take for someone to become self-sufficient in the gym?

In my opinion, these are excellent questions for establishing a baseline on who you’re going to be working with. Are they empathic? Are they pragmatic? Are they able to train around injury/life events? Are they capable of explaining to you the ‘why’ of certain forms, functions, and scope of programming?

As a trainer, there is nothing more irritating than watching a ‘trainer’ work with a client who is clearly disengaged, uninterested, or unable to educate you on what you’re doing. Personally, it is always my goal to educate whomever I am working with. I want you to understand why I want your thumb to be over the lat-pull down bar versus under, I want you to understand why your squat stance is going to be different from James (who is busy quarter squatting) and why it’s important to squat to depth, etc. My goal is to always educate and build a foundation for everyone to carry with them long after they’ve left me as a trainer.  

 And here’s the thing, that should be everyone’s goal. Unless you’re training for a specific goal (entering a powerlifting meet, doing a bodybuilding show) or just absolutely are enamored with your trainer, you shouldn’t NEED to be with a trainer for more than two years (now, this obviously is talking to a mostly able-bodied audience. Clearly there are vast exceptions to this).

So, as you trek into your next phase of fitness (or whatever you want to call it) don’t be afraid of asking questions. Interview the trainers as if they are applying to work for you! And most importantly, make smart/safe decisions. If something feels off, sing it like Ariana Grade “Thank you, Next!” and shimmy your way to another trainer.

Signing off,

Your Friendly Neighborhood Soldierfit

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.