What you should know before working with an Instagram trainer or fitness coach

What you should know before working with an Instagram trainer or fitness coach

Dallas-based fitness influencer Brittany Dawn came under fire this week after she reportedly defrauded thousands of women who purchased her online personal coaching plans. Dawn, whose real name is Brittany Davis, sold services such as fitness coaching and macro consulting through her website, which she marketed heavily via Instagram to more than half a million followers.

More than 4,500 women have joined a Facebook group called Brittany Dawn Fitness Complaints to share their personal stories about how they purchased personalized training plans from Davis and never received them. In an apology video posted to her YouTube channel, Davis attributes her mistakes to simply biting off more than she could chew.

"When you're given an opportunity like this, you'd be foolish not to take it and run with it," Davis said in the video, referring to her massive following. “Unfortunately,” she concluded, “I ran too fast for one person.”

While it may seem easy to point the finger at the women who fell for Davis' alleged scam (#FyreFestival, anyone?), the truth is that Davis — and many other influencers — can be damn convincing. Thanks to the explosion of people offering online fitness coaching in recent years, it's becoming increasingly difficult to tell who's legit and who isn't.

“The Internet is a very easy place to scam and be scammed,” says Alex Silver-Fagan, an American Council on Exercise-certified personal trainer and certified functional strength coach. “The people who bought into [Davis’] programs bought it because it was easy to believe.” (Silver-Fagan is also on our list of legit, certified trainers to follow on Instagram.)

Brittany Dawn's story could soon become a catalyst for change in the fitness industry at large. “I feel like our business is going to have a massive impact — and it has to,” says Denver-based trainer Natalie Uhling, who is certified by NASM and several other organizations.

Trainers like Kayla Itsines (founder of BBG), a certified personal trainer, made training clients online seem easy when she launched her Bikini Body Guides five years ago. While many programs like theirs are legitimate, their success helped pave the way for many (non-certified) fitness influencers to spoof their business plan - essentially dumping workouts into PDFs and selling them in bulk online, regardless of whether they had the appropriate qualifications.

That's not to say that all trainers you find through Instagram or other online platforms fall into this category. Partnering with someone in this way can make perfect sense when it comes to convenience and affordability. (After all, that's one of the reasons it's so tempting.)

With that in mind, here are the most important questions to ask yourself before committing to a coaching program—or making a payment.

1. What are your certifications?

You should be at least a certified personal trainer, says Silver-Fagan. Check their Instagram profile and website to see if they are accredited by organizations such as the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), or the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

“At this point in fitness, I definitely think you want someone who has multiple letters after their name,” she says. "You wouldn't just go to a 'doctor' who had read a book about the body; you would want someone who went to school."

However, it's also worth noting that certifications don't always tell the whole story. “It’s not just about certificates, it’s about experience,” says Uhling, pointing out that time as a trainer and in the gym counts and cannot be given away by letters after the name. Did they train clients at well-known or local gyms – or did they just take a test?

2. What do references say?

It goes without saying that you can't trust everything you read, so it's important to check references. If a trainer has a customer testimonial page on their website, that's a good starting point, but these can also be carefully curated. (Consider it a warning sign if everything is overwhelmingly positive.)

Do not hesitate to request personal references from the trainer and contact them yourself. And remember, the barrier to entry as a fitness influencer is low: "I couldn't even teach [at an athletic club] without having tryouts and certifications to back me up, but there's no online verification," says Uhling.

3. How accessible are they?

If you are receiving a personalized program, your trainer should want to know certain things about you, such as: B. what your goals are and what your current fitness level is. If they are not available by phone or even a video call to discuss these things with you, you should reconsider working with them. “Our technology is now so advanced that you should be able to quickly FaceTime with whoever is training you,” says Silver-Fagan.

4. Are the before and after photos exaggerating?

An Instagram feed or story filled with amazing customer transformation stories may seem positive, but you have no way of knowing if they are legitimate or how they were achieved. “The problem is that it’s just perception versus reality,” says Uhling. Also, before and after photos could be created through very unhealthy means that the posters certainly don't tell you. Again, it's about recommendations and conversations with real people who have worked with this trainer.

5. Do they also sell nutrition plans?

Be careful not to trust anyone who sells both exercise plans and nutrition plans unless they are a nutritionist. “Prescribing diets when that is not your area of ​​expertise is irresponsible,” says Uhling. (And in some cases, it may actually be illegal. Check what your state's rules are for providing nutritional advice.) "If you don't know [a client's] blood work or medical history, how are you supposed to recommend what they should eat?" she says. When it comes to food, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian instead.

Verification aside, just because you can train with a trainer you find online doesn't necessarily mean you should, and it's definitely not for everyone. Instagram can be an excellent place to look for motivation and workout ideas, but it can also bring up some hard feelings: One study called it the worst social media platform for body image, anxiety, and depression.

There's also something to be said for training one-on-one with a trainer who can see how you move, adjust your form, get your complete health history, and progress based on your goals. (

Trainers share what they would tell their younger selves about fitness

“I think it’s great to be inspired by people,” says Uhling, “but there’s a lost art in the personal touch.”