A personal trainer is your own personal fitness coach. A personal trainer can help you achieve your short- and long-term fitness goals, provide information on different ways to exercise or train your body, offer coaching on nutrition and healthy eating plans, and support you and challenge you as you work towards your fitness goals. In addition, personal trainers will coach you to reach your goals safely and successfully.

Certified personal trainers or personal fitness trainers must undergo extensive practical and academic training in order to receive the personal training certification that attests to their overall excellence and fulfillment of industry standards and requirements. Many personal trainers have athletic backgrounds, such as playing college sports, bodybuilding or participating in races including marathons and triathlons

Some personal fitness trainers also teach group fitness classes while some focus on one-on-one and small-group training sessions. Likewise, some personal trainers work at large health clubs, some run small personal-training focused gyms and some personal trainers will even come to your house and use the equipment you have at home to design a workout plan.

If you’re interested in finding a personal trainer to help you lose weight, build muscle, train for a specific fitness challenge or simply provide some needed motivation, look for someone who has experience with your particular interest and make sure you choose your personal trainer with care.