I just joined a gym locally after being a jogger for the last couple of years and getting burned out by doing only jogging for exercise.

I am thinking about getting a personal trainer to teach me how to do strength training as I have no real experience with lifting weights.

I am 23 years old, 6'1'', stocky build, and 196 lbs. today. I obviously have way too much fat on my body and want to work towards being healthier and happier with my body as it is in pretty poor shape.

If anyone could give me a little advice on how to choose a personal trainer, I'd really appreciate it. My gym has a list of them but I'm not sure I'm prepared to really choose one at the moment.

Any help?

IMO i have never known a good personal trainer,as far as weights are concerned.
they normaly do a course for whatever time and then come out doing all the latest fads like having you use exrcise balls etc,they also tend to have you doing exercises where you need them to help you that way they get more work.
why not just ask what you need to know on here.

Are you from the UK Buzz? If so then I mainly agree with what you're saying.
The US seems to be a whole different deal though, the PT's on this site really know their stuff

uks2h - Where in the UK are you from?

CCR, it's not a different deal in the US from what I've heard. The PTs here are the exception (as there are exeptions to the rule of pts being bad everywhere)

Maybe that's true, but did you know you can become a qualified personal trainer over here in 45 days?

That sounds crazy to me

lol some of the certs in the states are pretty bad too. I don't know any details though.. it's the same in Norway too, you don't need much knowledge.

Thats because they dont really need to know much.
do they...

I guess not, most of the machines have instructions on anyway

im from manchester,dont know about the us mate,but it doesnt take much to become a PT over here.
two PTs where doing squats one day,so i asked could i join in,they said "sure is it your legs day" i said "no i do fullbody 3x a wk" he said " but that doesnt give your DOMS time to recover

So, what does the list have? Just names? or qualifications? I mean if it's just names, I'd pick a girl that sounds hott.

Anyway, in all seriousness, there is no way to know the quality of a personal trainer without first knowing something about weight training yourself. I suggest you do some research of your own first, and then ask a personal trainer to help ease you into things.
If the trainer has you doing for instance, tricep kickbacks as a primary exercise for fat loss, something is probably wrong.
Weight training 101 thread should help you out.

The chances of finding a good personal trainer are slim. I don't know if you go to one of those like, healthclub gyms, but then the chances are even lower. I talked to a personal trainer where I lift once after my workout, and she told me that squats were bad for you... what. the. hell?

One trick could be to look at the legs, if he/she squats then they automatically gain a bit of respect from me.

They also need to have a decent posterior chain; any PT with a skinny back, no arse and big biceps isn't worth considering.

yeah if the first thing they tell you to do is either a squat/deadlift, followed by the one they didn't show you to do deadlift/squat then it's probably gonna be a good deal. I've never seen a personal trainer tell epople to do these for some reason, it's ridiculous. and people wonder why they dont' reach their goals doing curls and kickbacks all day.

I would recommend that you make sure they are Certified! NASM is a pretty intense course to go through here in the USA, you have to know your stuff to pass the OPT model. Make sure that you like your trainer, don't be afraid to interview a few of them to ensure you are going to be able to follow direction from the one you end up with. There's nothing worse than paying to work out with someone you can't stand! Good luck!

Had a look at the outline, looks pretty easy.
Wonder how long it takes for the course.
Also you only need 50% to pass and three goes, would you want someone who has failed before or only just passed the exam, i doubt that information is provided when considering who you choose as your PT, needless to say its mostly for the money, the more people pass and gain acreditation the more money goes into their pockets.

Its ridiculous isnt it. Thats why we are lucky in New Zealand that we have what is called REPS it is called registered exercise professionals. Its an organisation that takes into account your qualifications and experience then gives you a reps registered level.

It is done very professionally with regular checks etc on knowledge and results for cliental. It really helps weed out these cowboys.

The fastest you can become a p.t over here is a year I think. Im doing a degree in sports science so thats 3 years. Thank good I can work at the moment though Im on holiday!