What would you say to letting your fingers do the walking and finding a work out buddy that is not only available when you want to work out but is part motivational speaker, part nutritionist and part fitness guru?

In the 90's, hiring a Personal Fitness Trainer became the rage - someone dedicated to helping you improve your overall fitness level quickly and safely. Celebrities had been doing it for years with amazing results and suddenly it was possible for everyone to benefit from the one-on-one attention of a trainer. Fitness levels improved as did the overall knowledge of the typical exerciser as trainers taught as well as trained.

Since then, the Personal Fitness Instructor industry has blossomed into solid a niche within the fitness industry. While they still offer the one-on-one training and counseling, they have discovered that variety is the key to overall fitness and have developed individual and group programs that incorporate sound fitness with fun! Most trainers offer programs such as boot camp classes that take fitness out of the gym and into the real world to add variety, motivation and a killer workout! Many trainers also offer beginner-running classes and some even offer a mini-triathlon class for people interested in competition.

The latest fitness trend is making the exercise enjoyable and developing a program that suits the individual - Personal Fitness Trainers corner the market on exciting new exercise ideas!

How do you find a trainer that you will challenge you, motivate you and, most importantly, listen to you? The same way you find any professional - talk to friends, look in the local yellow pages, talk to the staff at your fitness club and, once you have a few names, make some phone calls. Most trainers offer free first appointments that do not include any exercise but instead offer a chance to sit down and see whether their programs fit your lifestyle. Keep in mind that personality is a significant part of whether you enjoy working with a Personal Fitness Trainer so take your time to find out if this is a match that will work over the long haul.

Some questions to ask when you first sit down with a trainer include:

• Their credentials and experience. Generally, you want someone who has been in the fitness industry for at least five years or has a degree in physical education or kinesiology under their belt. This is your health you are putting in their hands so do not take it lightly!

• Do they have insurance?

• What are their views on fitness and training? Do they take a hardcore approach where everyone should exercise to the point of exhaustion or do they have more of a real world attitude?

• Success stories. Do they have any before and after photos or testimonials from clients? What are their views on weight loss and body image?

• Their availability. Its all fine and dandy to hire the most popular trainer in your city as there is a good chance they will live up to their reputation but if they do not have time to work with you that fits your schedule, no matter how good they are, it is not going to work. Busy trainers often hire assistants - make sure the confidence you have in your trainer also includes their assistant and that your personalities will work well together. Nothing is worse than paying the big bucks to have the best and end up with the blue light special when it comes to trainers!

• Finally rates. Trainers that offer packages are wonderful - they know that you will both see better value if you see them more then once and a package guarantees your return. Another nice offering is a package for one-on-one work once a week but also group exercise sessions for the other two to four days a week are the most cost effective. If they are hung up on only the one-on-one sessions then question the benefits of that type of session versus doing some group sessions.

After talking to several trainers, you will have a good idea of what works for you and what will not. Make a choice based on personality balanced with knowledge, cost and overall attitude. Not completely sure this partnership will work? Hire them for a few sessions to see how it fits - you can always rehire them but nothing is worse then having three months worth of sessions paid for and no way to back out of the contract.

The important thing to remember is to take your time and make sure that the investment in a trainer is going to give substantial enough returns to make it worth the cost. Hiring a fitness instructor should be a fun experience, not a chore - the work should only begin once you change into your sweats!