A good personal trainer can provide the education and motivation that’s necessary to elevate you toward achieving a specific fitness goal. On the other hand, a bad personal trainer can mislead you, cause you to make ill-informed decisions, and become a de-motivating force. So if you’re shelling out hard-earned cash for assistance to get bigger, stronger, faster, you’ll want to know the signals that tell you whether the person you’re trusting with your body’s well-being is a passionate professional or just in it for the paycheck. At Proven 4, we always want our NSF Certified sports supplements to paired with proper personal training. Here’s how you can ensure that you’re getting the best training possible:

Red Flag #1: You’re Going Workout-To-Workout

A quality personal trainer will do a physical evaluation to test your current fitness level, discuss specific goals, and then devise a plan of action. If the person you hire doesn’t provide or has never asked you for specific goals, how can you accurately measure progress? Now, that doesn’t mean you won’t progress under their direction, but you may be missing out on essential info you can use when you decide to opt out of your personal training sessions.

Red Flag #2: Your Questions Don’t Have Answers

The human body is a complex organism, and nobody has all of the answers to every question. But if you ask a lot of questions — and you absolutely should — that seemingly never get answered directly, it’s more than likely that A) your trainer has no idea what the answer is and never bothered to do homework after you asked, or B) the trainer wants you to become codependent on their service.

Red Flag #3: They Don’t Practice What They Preach

When someone knows what it takes to do what you’re attempting to do and lives the lifestyle to get there, they’re going to understand your struggles. That means they’ll also have a plan for you to overcome those struggles. So when you’ve plateaued and are fighting to improve, they’re going to empathize with you and know how to push you and when to back off. If all they do is talk the talk — they’re out of shape, don’t eat a clean diet, rely on old adages instead of science, etc. — they’re just a rep counter.

Red Flag #4: Their Warm-Up Is Lukewarm

The time is takes to warm-up varies from individual to individual. Some of us require a full-blown 15 minutes to get our muscles and joints ready for a workout, while others need a slow-and-smooth five or 10 minutes. That said, in an attempt to keep you safe and injury-free, your trainer should take the cautious route and put you through a comprehensive warm-up that uses dynamic movements before you train and static stretches afterward. In other words, if all that they advise is a few minutes on treadmill or elliptical before you start your training session, your safety isn’t a high enough priority.

Don’t let a lackadaisical or unmotivated trainer pass those traits onto you through your workouts. Take charge of your personal training and ask the questions that need to be asked. Find the boost you need with NSF Certified sports supplements from Proven 4 and head into each session ready to make real progress.