Is Your Trainer Helping You… or Just Making You Sore?
Full disclosure – I’m a fitness professional, and just like the allied health industry, not all coaches, PTs, or group fitness gyms are created equal. Over the last 14 years, I’ve seen the full spectrum – from exceptional coaching that transforms lives to lazy programming and pointless workouts that waste people’s time, money, and energy.
The goal of this blog is to empower you to spot the difference between a good coach who helps you get results and a bad one who just makes you sweaty and sore so you keep paying for more of the same.
Let’s get real. Let’s get raw. And let’s get you the results you actually want.
Group Fitness: Progression Over Punishment
A good group fitness gym does not run random workouts to "smash you" into the ground.
Here’s what good coaching looks like in group fitness:
Workouts are progressive – meaning they build on each other over time to help you improve strength, fitness, or skill.
Each movement has a WHY – not just filler exercises, but intentional programming designed to serve a purpose.
Scaling options are provided – workouts are made accessible for all fitness levels, not just competitive athletes.
Workouts suit the general population – not every gym member is chasing competition; good gyms program for their members, not for ego.
Coaches explain the why behind the workout, keep you in the loop, and guide you through it – not just shout encouragement.
Bad group fitness gyms?
No clear direction, just random exercises to fill time.
Pointless programming – like burpee challenges and silly circuits that have no carryover to your goals.
No scaling, no coaching – just cheerleading.
The only goal is to leave you wrecked, so you feel like you got a good workout (but it’s just smoke and mirrors).
PT: Individualised, Goal-Focused, and Results-Driven
A good personal trainer is not just a workout buddy. They:
Understand YOUR body and YOUR goals.
Relate every exercise back to why it helps YOU.
Provide regular check-ins to track progress, adjust, and keep you moving forward.
Are constantly learning and improving, so they can serve you better.
Focus on movement quality, skill development, and long-term progress, not just making you “feel it.”
A bad PT?
Just wants to make you sore every session.
Doesn’t ask about your goals – or worse, doesn’t care.
Gives you random exercises without reason or progression.
Relies on making you tired to create the illusion of effectiveness.
No check-ins, no feedback, no progress tracking – just reps and sweat.
Good Trainers Know How to Work With Injury – Not Around You
Another trait of a good coach or PT?
They know how to work with injury, not work around you because of it.
If you’ve got an injury or a niggle, a good trainer will:
Ask questions
Understand the diagnosis or limitations
Give you safe, effective alternatives so you can keep training
And a really good trainer?
They’ll go one step further and include rehab-focused movements to help you recover faster – without derailing your training.
It’s not about babying you or pushing you through pain.
It’s about knowing what to adjust, how to progress, and how to keep you moving safely while you heal.
How to Know If a Workout is Actually Good
Let’s kill a myth:
Soreness is NOT an indicator of a good workout.
F45 and similar franchises are notorious for this – workouts designed to smash you with eccentric movements (e.g., endless tricep extensions) just to make you sore the next day. Why? Because they know if you feel sore, you’ll think, “That must have worked!”
Wrong.
Soreness is just a reaction, not a result. You can feel sore from bad training just as easily as from good.
Here’s what a real, effective workout looks like:
It’s accessible to you, no matter your fitness level.
You understand what you’re doing and why.
There’s clear direction and a sense of progress.
You may feel cooked afterward, but it’s controlled fatigue, not random destruction.
The coach checks in with you, fixes movement patterns, and helps you get better every time.
Don’t Confuse Friendship with Coaching
This one’s big: rapport is not the same as coaching.
Some coaches are great at being your mate – high-fives, banter, good vibes. That’s cool, but if they’re not coaching you, fixing your movement, or guiding your progress, you’re just paying for a hangout.
On the flip side, some coaches might not connect with you socially, but they have a wealth of knowledge and genuinely want to help you succeed. If you find a coach who knows their stuff AND connects with you – hang onto them. They’re gold.
Bottom Line: Are You Getting Results?
At the end of the day, your results are the indicator.
If you’re doing what your coach tells you – showing up, putting in work, following their guidance in and out of the gym – and you’re not seeing results, it’s time to ask questions.
A good coach controls what happens inside the gym and can guide you on what to do outside (nutrition, recovery, lifestyle). But you need to follow through. If you are – and still not seeing progress – it’s time to find a new coach or gym.
Final Thoughts
Don’t settle for average. Don’t pay to be smashed for no reason. Don’t confuse soreness with success.
A great trainer or group fitness gym will educate you, progress you, and empower you to get the results you’re after.
You’re not there to be a repeat customer, you’re there to get better.
Your time is valuable. Get the most out of it.