10 things to look at when hiring a Personal Trainer

10 things to look at when hiring a Personal Trainer

Personal Trainer County Durham | Chester le Street | 07983570574
If you want to invest wisely next time you hire a Personal Trainer, follow my 10 tips and you will end up with a real asset rather than a drain on your finances.

1. Price tag / cheap means rubbish when it comes to a health professional

2. Exercise variation / if your PT just does Pilates, weights or kettle bells they are an instructor and not a Personal Trainer.  She should use a wide wide variation every time.  This will reduce neuro muscular adaptation and continue results.

3.  Personal Attention / if your PT keeps talking to others, checking out the opposite sex or checking their watch or phone too often this means they aren’t really commited to you, just move on.

4. Are they a Class Instructor? if they teach a number of classes then all of their learning and knowledge comes from attending class courses, and if they dont do classes or teach the odd class it’s much more likely that they SPECIALISE in one to one training aka Personal Training.  Class instructors and personal trainers are not the same!!!

5. Goal setting / Your coach should always be helping you set goals, without a set of clear goals then your training is aimless.  Training to take part in a 5km fun run for example will give you all the motivation to keep attending training and a fun aspiration to head towards.

6. Website and branding / just because they haven’t got a web site or branded clothing doesnt mean they are bad, however if they do have websites and branded clothing it tells you they are serious and not just a class instructor.

7. Personal investment / this ties in with how much they charge, if your trainer only charges £15 per hour how can they afford to buy books on mindset, nutrition and training or attend courses to improve the service they provide to you.  They should have a number of recent specialist qualifications and should be almost constantly on course, if they are not how are they developing?

8. Nutrition advice / as much as not all trainers are expert in nutrition they should have really attended some formal training and have read books on nutrition in order to provide you with up to date advice and support.  I tend to offer all my Personal Training clients a free dietician consultation in addition to my food support.

9. Blogging or being the go to guy in the area / a great way of helping a number of people in their health battle and being a credible coach is blogging and spreading your knowledge far and wide...just like this blog.  Again if your PT doesnt have a website, or blog how credible are they???

10. Not everyone provides extras, but I believe giving a little extra builds a stronger team and helps motivate even the biggest procrastinating clients.

• some things i provide my tribe:
• goal setting motivation bands, flip bands makes life easier
• eBooks on exercises, motivation, nutrition and all sorts.
• Recipe books for healthy food.
• Free Bootcamps
• Free dietician resource to all clients
• Mindset coaching using NLP Neuro Linguistic Programing
• Home training App including workouts and videos
• Training t-shirts 
• Sports Massage and injury Rehab
• Adventure Coaching and activities

• Free event training used with goals

Hope this list can help you chose the right Personal Trainer to motivate you through 2016.

For weight loss and personal training in County Durham and Chester Le Street, text 07983570574 for a free no obligation consultation.

Kind regards team and good luck in 2016

glenn Hill
07983570574
www.personaltrainerchesterlestreet.com

mind-health-fitness chester le street

Mind, body and weight loss the story of Glenn Hill’s methods

Heya tribe please have a look at a recent press release, talking about a new way to look at improving someones health & fitness..

10:30am Monday 23rd November 2015

By Jenny Needham

Having caught the fitness bug in the army, Glenn Hill is now using his expertise as a personal trainer, employing unique mind and body techniques. Sarah Millington reports

IT may not sound like the best recommendation but Glenn Hill admits that the first time he talks to a client, they often end up in tears. 

This, he quickly points out, is not his doing but the result of years of them trying, in vain, to lose weight. Meeting Glenn represents a turning point.

“Often they’ve failed so many times, they think it’s hopeless,” he says. “Unless you change that limiting belief, they’re always going to be in that cycle. Often people have been through all the diet clubs and they’re at their wits’ end.”

With clients like this, Glenn treads carefully, establishing a rapport and – crucially, trust – before subjecting them to the rigours of intense exercise. In fact, if someone doesn’t feel up to it, a session might not involve any real exertion at all.

“Every time a client comes in, I look at how they’re acting,” says Glenn. “If they’ve had a bad day, I won’t even take them in the gym – we’ll go and walk round the park. In the summer, I’ll get them to take their shoes off and we’ll walk on the grass. I’ll sneak some exercise in as we’re out there. Inevitably, the sessions become really hard at the end, but by then, their body and their brain are conditioned to it.”

Working freelance from Bannatyne’s health club in Chester-le-Street, Glenn sees all kinds of clients from those just wanting to tone up and lose weight to people with long-term health problems. As word of his success in tackling the latter spreads, he finds he is increasingly helping those facing a broad range of physical and psychological barriers.

Glenn’s approach is unconventional. 

Having invested £5,000 in self-development courses, he draws on the latest techniques to harness the mind in helping the body to function effectively. “I can often fix a client without touching them or by tapping them on the head or the area that’s injured,” says Glenn. “That’s what the backbone of my personal training is – being able to help people using cutting-edge techniques.

“Some stuff I do is called Body Map, which is like an MOT for the nervous system. If someone has an issue with function, pain or flexibility, it’s often the brain that’s causing it. Once you make the brain feel a bit safer, that gives them back their function and often removes pain as well.”

The science may be complicated, but Glenn’s methods are simple. He performs tests, like getting a client to extend their arms to assess flexibility, and uses things like tapping and vigorous rubbing to spur the brain into action. As far as he knows, he is the only personal trainer in the region to take such an innovative approach.

 “I do a something called Applied Movement Neurology and Neuro Linguistic Programming as well,” says Glenn. “It’s all based on modern science and some ancient science and it all works amazingly well together.”

His current role is a far cry from Glenn’s former career as an Army engineer. He joined up at 17 and spent 19 years as a soldier, throwing himself into any opportunity to learn new fitness skills.

“It wasn’t until I joined the Army that I realised I had a natural flair for health and fitness,” he says. “I competed at nearly every sport – hockey, football, rugby, kayaking, rock climbing – pretty much everything. I must have taken thousands of recruits on fitness and adventure training. I’m a very competitive chap so I tried to go on every single course I could. That’s what made me become a personal trainer and become one of the best – that competitive spirit.”

Having already decided to leave the Army, the move was prompted by Glenn being hit by a roadside bomb in Nad-e Ali, in Afghanistan’s notorious Helmand province, on New Year’s Day 2011. Escaping with minor injuries, he returned to his native North-East and set up the women’s gym Ladies At Leisure, in Chester-le-Street, where he now lives.

Despite its success, including nominations for Ladies’ Gym of the Year and Personal Trainer of the Year in the 2014 National Fitness Awards, he couldn’t make it viable, so was forced to close it. Since then, Glenn, 40, has been based at Bannatyne’s – though he hopes this will be temporary. “Next year I’ll start afresh,” he says. “Now I find it hard doing some of the hard fitness – I get injured all the time. I’d like to mentor other personal trainers so they can do what I do and have a venue somewhere else.”

Alongside his regular personal training, Glenn runs campaigns inviting those struggling with weight loss to contact him for free advice. He feels strongly that there is a need for more support in this area.

 “I don’t think the Government does enough,” he says. “Giving someone money towards a diet class doesn’t work. It’s a short-term fix because they’re still left with the issue that caused them to overeat in the first place. I offer nutritional advice to everybody. For some I’ll give them a full nutrition plan. Every personal training client I have, I send to a dietician.”

Even when he is away, Glenn makes his presence felt, providing apps containing everything from videos of himself demonstrating exercises to tips on getting a good night’s sleep. “It’s like having a little Glenn on their shoulder,” he laughs.

An outdoor adventurer at heart, he dreams of one day relocating to the Alps, where he hopes to host retreats incorporating fitness, adventure, psychology and relaxation. Whatever happens, Glenn will continue with his two great passions – exercise and helping others.

WIN SESSIONS WORTH £1,000

Glenn is offering one reader the chance to receive 30 free personal training sessions, worth £1,000. To be considered, email Glenn at i.trainhard@yahoo.co.uk, explaining in no more than 500 words why you feel you would benefit from the sessions.

 The closing date is Jan 2016.

Glenn’s top tips for a healthy New Year

1 Try to get at least ten minutes of fresh air a day.

2 Drink five glasses of water a day.

3 Try to have an extra hour in bed.

4 Eat food with the least number of ingredients possible.

5 Make time for yourself. Keep a diary and write down only positive things. At the end of the week, read all the good things you have done.

www.itrainhard.co.uk

07983570574