Is A Personal Trainer Right For Your Child?

By Sue Zeger

In my work as a personal trainer and fitness professional, I've worked with many types of clients — from children seeking to improve their coordination and overall fitness level to athletes preparing for competition to older adults with orthopedic and cardiovascular concerns wanting to improve their health and well-being.

While adult clients usually have gone through an internal inventory of their reasons for hiring a personal trainer, I've found that parents need to become more informed about how to choose the right trainer for their child and also to decide whether hiring a trainer is a good idea.

For your child to have a successful experience with a personal trainer, it's important to understand that your support of a trainer's program is crucial to its success. You will be a very potent factor in guiding and encouraging your child in-between training sessions, and ensuring that your trainer's recommendations become integrated into your household as a part of your child's daily life.

Here are some tips to help you determine if hiring a personal trainer is a worthy investment for you and your child:

1. How much do personal trainers cost?

If you'd like your child to work with a trainer at a gym, you may need to buy a gym membership (usually discounted for youngsters) and have your child work with one of the gym's trainers. Package deals are usually offered where you're given a discount if you pay for a quantity of training sessions upfront. Membership fees, session prices, the length of a session, and session discount packages vary from gym to gym.

If you'd like a trainer to work with your child at your home or at a nearby playground or park, you'd save money by avoiding the gym membership fee. Per hour session rates could range from $50 to $90 (and higher) per hour.

2. Do you and your child have the same level of enthusiasm and commitment to the sessions as well as to the work that will be recommended in-between sessions?

If you're hoping that one weekly 60-minute session will meet your child's health and fitness goals without any consistent encouragement and follow-through during the week in-between sessions, the results that you're seeking will not be attained, and hiring a trainer will not be worth the money spent. However, if you are on-board to follow your trainer's healthy eating, exercise, and lifestyle suggestions during the week that follows your child's session, then your expectations will stand a much better chance of being realized.

3. Does your child "connect" with the personal trainer who you've chosen?

Ideally, the personal trainer who you're thinking of hiring will offer you a free introductory consultation where you can have your questions answered as well as get a sense of the trainer's interaction with your child. A positive child-trainer connection will help ensure your child's enthusiasm for future sessions. It will also give you the peace of mind that your child will be physically, mentally, and emotionally comfortable during the work-outs.

4. Is the personal trainer who you're considering qualified?

While many of the prominent certifying organizations do not require a person to have a college education or exercise-related degree to become certified, many personal trainers have a bachelor's degree or an advanced degree in an exercise science (i.e. exercise physiology, kinesiology, human performance, physical education).

In terms of certification, there are reputable organizations that certify trainers, but currently, there is no one official governing body.

The following is a list of several professional organizations that provide certification for personal trainers:

American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) http://www.acsm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Get_Certified

American Council on Exercise (ACE) http://www.acefitness.org/getcertified/certification_pt.aspx

National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) http://www.nasm.org/getcertified/

National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) http://www.nsca-cc.org/cscs/about.html#prerequisites

When you're interviewing personal trainers for your child, it would be completely appropriate to ask about their credentials, certifications, and educational background. Also, be sure that the personal trainer who you're considering holds a current CPR certification.

If a regular weekly personal training session fits into your budget and schedule, and your child is motivated by and is comfortable with the trainer, then your investment will be wise and your child's health and fitness goals will be achievable.

A successful fitness program for your child — or for anyone — needs to be progressive, flexible, and educational. It also needs to mesh with your child's lifestyle. With these program characteristics in place, your child will be prepared to make exercise, movement, and healthy eating a consistent part of his/her life.

Sue Zeger has a BS in physical education and athletic training, and an MA in exercise physiology. She has worked as the head athletic trainer in West Milford High School, taught Boxing for Fitness classes for the After School Enrichment program at the former Rand School, and is presently the Health and Wellness chairperson at the Charles H. Bullock School. Sue is also a fitness and wellness coach of children, teens and adults in the Montclair area. For more information, please email Sue at: sue@suezeger.com