This sort of bugs me. To be honest, these so called trainers are really nothing more than hand holding BFFs for some clients. Which in a way is good because they would not go to the gym on their own. So the gyms benefit from it and the client benefits from it by actually going and doing something. (opposed to sitting at home doing nothing). A great personal trainer is one who doesn’t keep a client for long. Because they give them the necessary tools and resources (to research) and find out things on their own once they have the basics down. Everyone is different and every one will have a different journey on their fitness quests. No one knows your body better than you do and that is what a good PT should teach.
On a side note, has anyone ever noticed that the so called gurus that the pros use look like shit?

Look at an old football coach. Overweight, out of shape. More experiance in his little finger than all the buff, young bucks in the field.

If the arthritic, out of shape trainer is like that football coach and gets results... Sure.

Gotta be in shape in my opinion and thats the opinion of the personal trainers at my gym.
I asked em yesterday with this post in mind.
And they are aswell, prob juice aswell. 1 of em is an ex rugby player, he's massive, prob 1 of the biggest person their, only 1 or 2 who dont do anything. It's a large gym with about ten PTs and about 5 learning.
They think it matters to be in shape, personality comes into it a lot aswell.

My trainer would have to be female and f&cking HOT.

it depends.. if they are old then yes. older guys have harder time to get in shape.. but if they are young or middle aged, hell no, if they cant help themselves then they cant help me. but i have paid many coaches who were ex pro bodybuilder that are fat now and it worked in my favor

lol I'm not paying a fat girl to tell me how to get in shape, never.

I think there a waste of money. i dont pay someone to spot me.

Probably not but I would not hire a trainer unless they where a drill sergeant or something Common bitch! push you fucking pussy! 2 more common! This would be more helpful until I hit him with a weight.

no i would NOT

i wouldn't even hire a buff one... that shit is a joke. we all know most gains are made in the kitchen and using steroids anyway

The way I see it is Like this.If you had to go into battle,Would you want your leader to have Read Sun Tzu The Art Of War from cover to cover, 10,000 classroom hours studying the subject, with no previous physical experience?

Or would you want a Leader that has successfully completed 10 tours of duty,without a framed piece of paper hanging on the wall?

Experience and real world results are what it is about in my opinion.

There isn't a single trainer in my gym who's in good shape. I find it odd that anyone would pay them. Kinda like planet fitness not wanting anyone who's actually in shape to be there. Not a great sales pitch when the entire staff is overweight.

from what ive seen over the last couple years at my gym is that its just as much personality as it is personal training ... the trainers that get the most clients seem to be incredibly friendly and very personable, also that their client is the only person in the entire gym. theres lots of ppl that have trainers that seem like they wanna spend every rest between sets chattin it up. knowing your shit and guiding the clients to results is of course most important, but not worth a shit in that field if you're not likeable imho

would you eat food prepared by a skinny chef?

I would have to take it on a case-by-case basis: just because you look good doesn't mean you know shit. Likewise, even if you look like shit you might have your shit down pat.

I've been training for almost 4 years and have recently gone to see a sports psychologist, he is built like a straw (runs marathons), and to tell you the truth I am a bit skeptical to take advice from him (although I will be going through with the personal training program). The personal trainer I will be working with is in good shape, but doesn't look like someone who is built, muscular. Nevertheless I am going to go through with the program. People should really learn to not be so narrow minded, just because that trainer is smaller than you or out of shape doesn't mean he doesn't know what he is doing and does not have knowledge, especially someone with 10+ years of experience. Their personal goals may not be the same as yours, they may just want to stay fit, run marathons, box, etc. It wouldn't hurt to get another perspective and a professionals opinion.

i have this babe thats a personal trainer at my gym, great ass, slim figure... i always hit her up to measure my body fat... and she once asked what core exercises i do.. I said squats and deadlifts... and she said no, that's not core, you need to do planks..

Lol wtf. Her integrity was questioned that day.

its a tough call. most people would go with a trainer that is in shape. over someone who is just skinny. if you were choosing a PT just on looks, did not get to talk to them or anything, and the choices were duchaine or someone that had a build like arnold, who would you choose? i think the majority would choose someone who looked more like arnold. because you can see results of their knowledge. im sure there are some older women or men, who is just wanting someone to guide them in better health may not want someone who is massively huge. again, i think the main thing is its not about how muscular you are but to look healthy, be in shape. to be overweight or extremely skinny just shows the lack of efforts you put into yourself so how can I get you to put belief into me that you can make me look better?

Unless its a complete beginner I can't understand why anybody would want a personel trainer anyways, there's so much info out there for free. I'm not going to pay someone £25 an hour to stand there and count my reps and write down my workout!

I like to practice what I preach so if I was looking for a trainer I would expect the same from them. If I was looking to pack on muscle I wouldn't hire a trainer that looked like a runner. He may be in great shape but I don't want to look like I run marathons, I want MUSCLE. I would like to be able to relate to the trainer's personal experiences in how he built muscle and he would be able to give me pointers along the way that may have hindered him in the beginning. If he hasn't been down the road I'm trying to go, he probably won't be of much use to me. Now if I was the average gym goer who is there just to try and lose weight, I would not have a problem with a "skinny" runner type of trainer. He must be doing something right to be so skinny:)

i have ZERO respect for "personal trainers" that are not in shape. I am not asking them to look like arnold or nicole nagrani but at least be in shape or healthy.

i would never hire a fat trainer.