Most men hire trainers based on the wrong information. Rick Richay, NASM Master Instructor and 2022 IDEA World Personal Trainer of the Year, breaks down what to look for, what to ask, and the red flags that should send you walking.
Most men pick a personal trainer the same way they pick a supplement or a pair of sneakers: they go with whoever looks the part. The shredded guy on Instagram. The trainer with 200,000 followers. The one charging luxury prices because expensive must mean effective.
According to fitness expert Rick Richay, that logic usually leads men in the wrong direction.
“A great physique tells you that person trains themselves well,” Richay said. “It doesn’t tell you whether they can train you well.”
That distinction matters more than most people realize.
Richay, a NASM Master Instructor and host of The NASM CPT Podcast, says the best trainers are rarely the loudest people in the room. What actually separates a quality coach is their ability to assess, adapt, and communicate. A trainer should understand movement, injuries, limitations, progression, and psychology, not just workouts.
The first thing he recommends looking for is legitimate education and certification from organizations like National Academy of Sports Medicine, National Strength and Conditioning Association, or American College of Sports Medicine. Beyond credentials, the real test is how they think.
”My Job is to listen.”
Before hiring anyone, Richay says men should ask a few simple questions: What’s your training philosophy? How do you handle injuries or movement limitations? How do you measure progress? And have you worked with clients who have goals similar to mine?
The red flags are usually obvious once you know what to look for.
If a trainer skips assessments and throws you straight into workouts, that’s a problem. If every client seems to be doing the exact same program, that’s another one. And if a trainer can’t explain why you’re doing something, they probably don’t fully understand it themselves.
The biggest warning sign of all: pushing through pain for the sake of intensity.
“If a trainer doesn’t know how to modify, they don’t know how to train,” Richay said.
His philosophy is simple. The best trainer is not the one with the best abs. It’s the one who listens, pays attention, and builds a program around the person in front of them. Everything else is marketing.
This story was originally published by Men’s Fitness on May 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men’s Fitness as a Preferred Source by clicking here.