This week, we zoom in on the moment you decide to get help—how to choose a trainer (and a gym) that won’t waste your time or your joints. Srdjan contrasts the incentives inside big-box facilities—where volume and sales often dominate—with the owner-led standards, community, and results focus he’s seen in private gyms. The gist: when reputation’s on the line, care gets personal and outcomes matter.

From there, we get practical. What should a good consult sound like? Clear, specific explanations you can feel in your body—not canned answers you could Google. Srdjan also walks through how his own injuries shaped a post-rehab training style that prioritizes safer alternatives without sacrificing progress, and how that experience helps him quickly troubleshoot pain and modify movements.

Finally, the playbook: “shop your trainer.” Take multiple free sessions, compare approaches, and notice who supports you between workouts—texts about nutrition, label reads, and the kind of client-to-client encouragement that keeps you showing up. The goal is a relationship that’s personal, evidence-driven, and sustainable over years, not weeks.

Links & Notes

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