I had an interesting conversation with a colleague last week, which is kind of the reason for this post. We had a little chat about how many potential clients actually ask us what kind of credentials we have.

Shockingly both of us were able to count on one hand how many people have asked us throughout our career.

It was a bit surprising because in this day and age people question everything about anything but it seems they don’t question things about their health as much as they should.

Many fitness pro’s choose to place all of their credentials beside their name. But the mind set is that the client doesn’t care about credentials…only results – which is…I guess somewhat true. But as a client you still need to know what type of education and experience this person you will be potentially working with have.

I understand that many trainers have an array of fitness and personal training credentials and there’s probably no point in writing an insane amount of letters beside their name but I believe that having one or two credentials beside my name would give clients (you) a good sense of my credibility and reputation.

Granted, that a bunch of letters beside a trainers name doesn’t guarantee you anything, but it does prove that they have taken the time to actually study what they preach and pass along to clients.

Keep this in mind if you are looking to get in shape or take your fitness to the next level in the new year by hiring a trainer, remember to ask questions, ask the trainer what kind of credentials they have, what kind of experience they have and maybe some contact information of past clients. It’s your health and it’s your lifestyle that the trainer will be impacting so make sure you let your voice be heard. Personal training is not a one-way road. Both parties must always be on the same page.

Marci Lall, FLMP, CSEP-CPT