The perception of what constitutes a good personal trainer is subjective. Most people, when considering hiring a personal trainer Austin, don't know exactly what attributes to look for.
Perhaps you are in a similar position are you choosing a coach by personality, age, or gender? Is it about the work ethic or similar ideals of physical fitness? What should potential customers know about the person they choose? Are there "deal-breaker" questions? Does it matter if a coach doesn't really have any education in fitness, physiology, or nutrition? If you are looking for a personal fitness trainer, get answers for yourself and hire the trainer with the answers that most closely match the suggestions below.
First of all, fitness trainers are not training partners. Rather, a professional coach listens to your personal needs and goals; assesses your physical condition; designs a means to track your progress; motivates, pushes, or inspires you to keep moving forward, and then creates or creates a program specifically for you. The level of experience, professional training, and education that these tasks require is not negligible. Ask your trainer if he is a certified fitness trainer. Some highly regarded certification fitness associations include ISSA. Whether your potential trainer is a certified strength and conditioning specialist or a certified CPR health and fitness specialist, you're off to a great start.
What about college? Of course, it is possible to be a certified trainer without a four-year specialization in health, fitness, and/or wellness programs. However, any preliminary or additional college-level education certainly elevates a prospective coach a notch or two above the competition. Additionally, trainers who are excited about fitness-oriented seminars, training opportunities, and/or alternative industry certifications should stay on the list of potential trainers. If they are interested in improving themselves, they are probably also really interested in improving you and your fitness.
Why all the fuss about record keeping and accountability? The ability to track a client's progress in a concrete, easy-to-understand way often separates the good personal trainers from the great ones. It is not as easy as it looks. Ask a trainer how he plans to map your fitness. Will you receive copies of the training to take home and do on your own? Will the trainer use a computer program to track his progress? Get a clear picture of what training will "look like" with anyone you really want to hire. If a coach can't give you a clear and concise answer to these questions (or better yet, show you real examples of model workouts, readings, etc.) take them out of the race.
Lastly, how serious is your coach with you? Does this coach give you full attention during the personal time you pay? Or does he talk to other gym members as you struggle with the last pull-up, lose your rep count, and/or aren't ready to train you? ("Let's fly today ..."). Your health and fitness are important to you. It should also be important to your coach.