As more people hire personal trainers to help them get into shape, misunderstandings and myths inevitably arise. And while you should have questions (and you should ask them!), here are a few major myths about personal trainers that I can clear up for you now.

Disclaimer: my answers to these personal trainer myths are based off of my experience as a certified personal trainer. When I write “personal trainer”, I mean someone with experience, certifications and hours under their belt.

Myth #1: Personal trainers are just fitness fanatics who want to get paid for it.

While yes, most personal trainers ARE fitness fanatics, an obsession with fitness does not the personal trainer make. Credentials matter. Training is important. To earn a certification in personal training, I had to pass a course from an accredited training school. I am required by that school (the National Association of Sports Medicine), to take continuing education courses and earn credits to re-certify every two years. On top of that, I’ve taken specialization courses to better understand and learn how to help people with very specific goals: women’s fitness and weight loss.

Any certified personal trainer is required to certify his or herself, and to continue to educate themselves in the world of fitness and exercise. When meeting a trainer for the first time, always ask what their credentials are. Are they certified? Are they required to continue their certification? What do they specialize in? These are all completely fair and relevant questions to ask.

Myth #2: Your personal trainer will be a drill sergeant.

Shows like The Biggest Loser make it easy to believe that every personal trainer out there is going to push you to the edge of your abilities and leave you feeling nauseous after your workout. Is your trainer going to push you harder than you might push yourself? Yes, hopefully. But a good personal trainer won’t push you to the point of real pain.

Your personal trainer should get to know you. A good personal trainer will learn what motivates you, where and when they can ask for more effort and where and when they should back off. If you’re the kind of person who WANTS a drill sergeant, your personal trainer can adapt to that. But not everyone wants a drill sergeant.

Your personal trainer should align their training style to your goals and preferences. I have some clients who want me to be by their side, pushing another rep out of them. That’s where they thrive. I only train like that if my client is ready. I have other client’s who prefer a quieter style of workout. They’re are able to push through a planned, progressive workout program and neither require nor desire an in-the-face, drop-and-give-me-20 interaction.

Myth #3: You will see immediate results.

Hiring a personal trainer is not the beginning and the end of your fitness plan. Your body will not change immediately. And while you might start to feel results within a few days (more energy, more motivation), you probably won’t see results for at least a few weeks. Real change takes time.

Real change also takes consistent effort. While your personal trainer can develop an amazing plan that, at least on paper, will propel you directly towards your fitness goals, if you don’t commit to that plan and execute it, you won’t get the results you hope for.

Think about it this way: it took you how long, how many years/meals/inactive days/etc. to get to where you are now? Is it fair to ask your body to change so rapidly just because of a sudden change of diet/exercise/personal trainer status? Real change is a marathon, not a sprint.

Myth #4: Every personal trainer is also a nutrition expert.

Every personal trainer should have at least a basic understanding of nutrition. It’s part of their accreditation course, and any trainer worth their weight in dumbbells knows that diet and exercise are a 1-2 punch in terms of results. However, having more than a passing knowledge about calories, macronutrients and hydration basics isn’t required for a personal training certificate.

Most states in North America have laws about what a personal trainer can and cannot do without further education. That means that unless your personal trainer has some training and accreditation in nutrition, they aren’t legally allowed to advise you on nutrition beyond healthy habit recommendation and some general advice.

I’m a certified nutrition coach through Precision Nutrition, a world-renowned sport-and-exercise nutrition program. I’ve studied nutrition extensively, but I’m not a registered dietitian or nutritionist. The advice I give my clients is never meant to diagnose or cure illness. I never prescribe stick-to-this-or-else diets. What I can do is give my clients tools, strategies and advice to help them eat healthier, think about food in a healthier manner and shift from a negative diet mindset and misguided habits to a healthier, happier and far easier way of fueling and feeding their bodies.

Myth #5: A trainer’s job is to help you lose weight.

If your goal is to lose weight, your personal trainer should help you do that. But that’s not everyone’s goal, and it’s not the only result that your trainer wants for you. If you want to build muscle and get stronger, your trainer should help you do that. If you want to age gracefully, your trainer should help you do that. If you want to gain weight, your personal trainer should help you do that. The point is this: your personal trainer should develop a plan with you and your specific goals in mind, no matter what those goals are.

To take it one step further, your personal trainer should help you develop that goal into a solid, specific plan. Instead of “I want to lose weight”, your trainer should help you turn that desire into a SMART goal. SMART goals are measurable and time-bound. You know when you succeed, you know when you haven’t. SMART goals help you to stick with your exercise program even in the moments when you want to give up.

Related post: If You Want to Achieve Your Goals, Set SMART Ones

Myth #6: Your one-hour training session is the most important part.

I can’t stress enough how wrong the idea that crushing it in your 1-hour training session is enough to get you through the rest of the day and the week without thinking about your fitness or health. Your personal training session is a great time to focus specifically on your goals and get expert, monitored help. But it doesn’t (read: cannot), stop there.

Say you work out with your personal trainer 2 times a week for 1 hour at a time. That’s 2 hours a week. That’s less than 2% of your week! You can work as hard as you want in those 2 hours, but if you sit on your butt eating Cheetos the rest of the week, you aren’t going to get the results you want. And believe me, that’s as frustrating for your trainer as it is for you.

If you feel like you need help figuring out the rest of your week and your trainer hasn’t offered up ideas, ask. If your personal trainer responds with nothing but “I’ll see you next session”, it’s time to find a trainer who is willing to help you develop a healthier routine for the hours you aren’t in their care.

Myth #7: You have to train in person.

If you haven’t heard of online personal training, let me tell you about it. I love training clients online because I can connect with those clients and help them in ways that I can’t do as easily with 1-on-1 clients. Here’s why training online instead of in person might work for you:

You get more bang for your buck when you train online. 1-on-1 training is great, but it can be costly. Training online is often cheaper and lends itself to a more rounded, whole-life encompassing coaching strategy.

You are location and scheduling independent. When you train in person, you must be located near your personal trainer and the gym they work out of. You must work around their schedule. With an online personal trainer, you can work out where you want and when you want.

More on this topic: What is online personal training?

Myth #8: Your personal trainer follows all of the same advice he/she gives you.

You go to your trainer with a goal, a fitness and health history that is all you own, a set of abilities and limitations and desires. Your personal trainer should develop a program that is specific to YOU. That means that every piece of advice you get is not necessarily going to be the advice your personal trainer follows his or herself.

Think about it this way: Tom Brady probably has a personal trainer. Guess what? Tom Brady’s personal trainer is not as good at football as Tom Brady is. Tom Brady’s personal trainer is not going to train/eat/live the way Tom Brady does.

Just because your trainer doesn’t have the same goals as you or follow the same plan, doesn’t mean he or she can’t help you reach your goals.