A good list. in the past i have seen people completely fall out with personal trainers, and it could have all been avoided if they had followed a simple check list like this. This is a good list to go by for sure, just don't fall victim like those I knew. research people!

www.stayfitbug.com

While points three and four are common sense, one and two are debatable. Knowing their education doesn't help you at all... you don't know the difference between ACE, NFPT, AFTA or NASM; thus that question is irrelevant as you would not understand the answer given to you. If you had the kind of time to look up the nuances of each, you might as well utilize that time more properly to study health and human physiology. Personality is likewise, irrelevant. You're hiring the personal trainer to help you workout... you're not paying them to become your friends. If being a friendly trainer was important, the military would've reformed those antagonistic drill sergeants long ago.

*edit* My friends are personal trainers and couple of them are professional bodybuilders, so I've been fortunate to not ever have to hire one as I could just ask. However, I do not use a personal trainer as I know what exercises/diets my body responds to - though on occassion, I do ask a question here or there as sometimes we all need outside perspective.

@SeiGe_Jet@xanga - Thats just ignorant. The reason you should know their educational  background is because you wanna make sure they know what they're talking about.  You may not know the difference between the training companies, but looking them up to find out doesn't take the same amount of time it takes to study and learn healt and human physiology.  Just knowing that their certification is legit at least gives you comfort that they know what they're talking about and aren't just looking up youtube workouts for you.  There is a certain way to train for different goals, but most people just think ''high reps low weight will make you tone, low reps high weight will make you big''.  I have news for ya, the body is complicated and there is a lot of false training and health tips out there, so knowing your trainer is actually educated is valuable if you wanna get real results.  And personality is very important in a trainer.  True you aren't hiring a friend, but at the same time you may not respond well to someone who yells like a drill sergeant, which will discourage you from coming back to see them. It only works in the military because you can't just stop working out if you don't like your drill sergeant, you signed your life over to them, but in a gym if you don't like your trainer just don't go back.  If you don't get along with someone you're not likely to stick with it. A lot of my clients come back because I make them feel comfortable in the gym, and without yelling I can still push them to be better and get results.

Ok, I understand that most people might not look up the certifications, and that people are generally lazy, but that's why they get a trainer, for motivation.  If they don't understand the certification, at least they will have some confidence that their trainer is educated and it is easier to trust them.  And yes, the person hiring a trainer is probably out of shape, which is why they get one in the first place. Just getting them to their goals helps them realize how great it feels to not be fat and lazy and then they are healthy and in great shape. 

The body is complicated, you have to take into account how men and women respond differently due to their genetic and hormonal differences, or how people with different body types will respond differently to exercise and diet, or how age and/or health conditions effect each individual.  Why do you think athletes are in such great shape, or why certain races tend to excell or lack in certain areas of fitness and health?   An NFL lineman is in better physical condition than most of the general population, and they workout just about the same way as the skill players such as receivers and running backs, but are still big and have more body fat.  Any idea why... because everyone responds differently due to their own physical makeup.  Trust me, along with my ACE certification, I have a degree in kinesiology specializing in exercise physiology, I have a pretty good idea what I'm talking about. And I'm not saying that to sound smart, but generally, people believe that just because something works for them its generally correct for most other people, and that is just not true. 

The only thing I can agree with is that most people would benefit more from a nutritionist or dietician than from a trainer.  Using both though would maximize the benefits. 

Yeah, your point is more clear now.  I honestly just like to argue so I saw a challenge and went for it.  With the lineman/skill comparison, I was trying to illustrate just how different people will respond to exercise, even if they do the same exact thing.  What you said is ''I'm sure most people utilizing proper form for the correct exercises doing isolation or compound supersets will respond somewhat similarly", and I disagree.  Sure everyone's biceps will respond to bicep curls, but because everyone has their own unique genetic potential, the way in which they respond will be different. But putting the lineman/skill player analogy aside, I'll compare my friend to me. My friend can do the same bicep workout as me (same weight and reps of each exercise) but still have large fat-looking arms, while I have smaller more defined arms. We both have the same diet and cardio routines too, but as an endomorph, his body is naturally more large and round, and as a mesomorph my body is more lean muscular.  Its all in tailoring your workouts to your own individual needs knowing how your body responds, the way you say you do.  Many people don't understand that, which is why they get a trainer who can design a program.  Thats why I say the body is complicated, not because everyone has to do different or radical exercises, they just have to do them in a way that their body will respond how they want it to.  Does that make more sense than how I said it before?

Yeah, trainers aren't very necessary, believe my I know.  The funny thing is that people look at them as a 'magic solution', and they're not. I can point people in the right direction, its on them to make sure they follow it.  The first thing I tell my new clients and emphasize to my current ones constantly, is that diet is extremely important, and no matter how hard I kick their ass in the gym once they get home if they eat crappy there's nothing I can do.  And you're right about my friend, he could get better results from a better diet, i just meant to show that because of different body types people respond differently, but I know you got that. 

And yes it is always good to see counterpoints in an arugment, i like the challenge.