Being honest with your personal trainer will go a long way toward establishing a good relationship with this fitness industry professional. When your trainer asks you how much you work out on your own time, what type of diet you consume, and how comfortable you are with certain types of exercises, honesty is always the best policy—even if doing so seems a little harder than stretching the truth. It's important to be honest with your personal trainer in other ways, however, including being open about the following topics.

Your Workday Stress

When you get to the gym after your workday, your trainer might ask how the day was. You might be keen on shrugging off this question, but it's not just your trainer making small talk. He or she legitimately wants to know how the day was. The trainer is likely concerned about how much stress you experience during the workday. In addition to its ability to affect your mental health, stress can also affect your physical health. For example, if you're highly stressed, you may have a sore back and neck. In this case, your trainer may have you devote a few minutes extra to stretching the muscles in these areas before you begin your workout.

Your Relationships

If your trainer asks about your relationships, he or she isn't trying to pry. Rather, the trainer could be wanting to know more about you for different reasons. For example, if you indicate that you're stressed in one of your relationships a considerable percentage of the time, your trainer may give you some stress-reducing exercises that you can perform even when you aren't at the gym. He or she may recommend going for a jog every evening to help reduce stress before bedtime.

Your Family's Physical Activeness

It's also possible that your personal trainer will want to know how active your family is. Trainers understand that an active family is a healthy and happy one in many cases, and if you're concerned that you're the only one in your family who is making a point of staying fit, this can be a problem. When you're honest about what is going on with your family, the trainer may give you some suggestions on how to incorporate more physical activities into your family's life. For example, there might be a free day for family members at the gym, or the trainer may simply advocate getting your children involved in youth sports and you and your spouse contributing as coaches or referees.