Not that kind of engagement, and not the TV show either. Nope, this time we’re talking about hiring and working with a personal trainer. So, what are these rules of engagement?
Search for trainers who are a good match for you in these basic areas:
expertise, experience and credentials in your goals
convenience in schedule and location
personality that suits yours
affordability
How do you find them?
Seek recommendations, do phone screening, visit clubs and observe trainers in action, contact national certifying bodies like ACSM, ACE, NSCA, NASM, NESTA. Once you have narrowed it down to 2 or 3, set up a visit to ask them:
What experience do you have working with people like me, with these goals?
What results have you and your clients like me achieved?
Can I talk with some of your clients?
Will you give me a plan for working out on my own?
Describe your style?
Are you available when I want to workout? What do you charge?
Pick 1 or 2 for a trial workout and make your decision.
These apply to both of client and trainer:
Be clear about your goals and where you are now, so the trainer can map out the best plan. If you don’t see how something helps with your goal, ask.
Be open, so the trainer knows how to communicate with you. If you are not getting what you want, say so.
Be honest. If you’re hurt or uncomfortable with something, say so. If you haven’t been doing your homework, admit it.
Be on time. The trainer cannot usually go past your hour without inconveniencing other clients. Plus you may not get the whole workout in.
Be attentive. Get your sleep, don’t be distracted by TV or chit chat. Focus!
Be good on the eating side. You won’t reach your goals without good nutrition.
Be trusting. If you don’t trust the trainer, get a new one. Your trainer does not profit from you getting hurt or being unsuccessful.
Be excited! It’s your goal, it’s your time, it’s your expert. If you don’t care, no one else will. Work hard.
It’s St. Patrick’s Day – and that means we are thinking of all things green. For this post, going green is not about pretending to be Irish; green is referring to the environment. Working out is good for your body, but can be bad for the planet. Here are some tips to help you take care of the Earth while taking care of you.
1. Walk or ride your bike whenever you can. To work, to run errands, even to Healthy Habits! Not only do you get in some of your daily exercise, but you’ll also save fuel (have you seen gas prices lately??).
2. Take your own, reusable water bottle. Whether going for a walk in the park or to the gym for your workout, bring your own.
3. And take your own towels. One for you and one for the equipment. You can even take them home, air dry, and reuse to save water and energy washing and drying them after one use.
4. Carpool to your workouts. Save money and socialize at the same time.
5. Rather than buying your own equipment, use the gym’s. Or buddy up with friends and share equipment. Saves the material and energy used to produce another one.
6. Eat fresh, whole, organic foods. While the initial cost may be higher, the food provides better, more efficient fuel for your body, which will make your workouts more efficient. It also reduces pesticide use.
7. Help the gym save energy. Turn off lights if you are the last one out of the room; turn off equipment when you are finished, turn on a fan only when you need it. They are little things, but they add up over time.
There’s some tips to get you started on being more environmentally friendly with your workouts. What else can you add to the list?
One of the predicted fitness trends for 2011 is buddy/group workouts. Why? For the support. About 95% of all participants in an exercise program will stop exercising due to a lack of support. Research has shown that exercisers with some kind of support system have a better chance of continuing.
There are many ways to get support for your fitness efforts. Having a supportive family who works with your schedule so you can get your workouts in is a big help. So are supportive friends and co-workers, even if they don’t workout themselves.
But having a support system to workout with can be the most beneficial. Hiring a personal trainer who will always hold you accountable is the step many people need to get started and keep going. Even if you only meet once every week or two, you have to show up and tell your trainer what you have done (or not done!) since the last time you met.
Having a buddy to work out with can also make you more accountable and make the workout more fun. Keys to a successful workout buddy are having similar fitness levels and goals. Want a workout buddy but no friends or family members available? Talk to your personal trainer. Chances are they know someone else looking for a buddy, and sharing the pain (and cost) of the trainer can turn strangers into friends. Ready to give it a try? We are offering a Partner Training special through mid-March. Check out the homepage for details.
Another option is a small group workout, say 4-5 people total. While you may not know each other when you start, the shared goal of improved fitness and regular contact through the workouts can create a support network in a short time.
Still having trouble finding the support you need to maintain your fitness routine? Try some online resources. This article contains links to a wide variety of sites designed to support you and hold you accountable. And if you are already on Facebook, post your exercise goals and results there. Chances are several of your Facebook friends are doing something similar and you can offer support to each other.
Healthy Habits is on Facebook as well. We’d love to have our members “like” us and share their triumphs and challenges. If you goof off we won’t let it slide, but no one will support you more when you keep going.
If you feel your fitness motivation slipping away, take some steps and get the support you need to keep going.
Are you thinking about hiring a personal trainer but can’t afford or don’t want one 3 times a week? Are you motivated to workout but just need some guidance? Do you need accountability, not supervision?
A personal trainer can help. We are contractors, just like builders or financial planners. You hire us to do the job that you want done; we advise you on the best way to do it, we tell you the cost, and you hire us or not.
If the job is to get you ready and able to workout on your own, the solution may be to start out at 3 times a week with a trainer, but then taper off to once a week, then once a month, maybe even once a quarter. Since changing up the workout is important, I would advise some kind of continuing contact with your trainer, but the timing can be yours. In this case, the trainer should be transitioning to more of a coach over time, helping you to understand the basics of planning your own workouts and workout schedule to achieve your goals.
No, its not a snake or a mistake. The SSS is for Sitting, Standing and Sleeping postures, which can have a profound effect on how we feel and function. Humans are designed to be upright on two feet, with our torsos and heads supported by our spines and hips. We have functioned this way for thousands of years, until now. Now we sit most of the time, and this is causing us problems.
Sitting too much for too long causes a long list of problems: weak glutes, excessively curved spine, shortened abs, tight hip flexors, rounded shoulders, overly arched neck, all of which cause further complications by themselves and in conjunction with each other.
One such complication is that Standing becomes problematical, since it requires the joints to work in the opposite way from Sitting. Feet are less used to weight bearing, the spine is hard to erect, and the hips don’t like to extend. So, we have to compensate, causing other complications. If you throw in high heels, then it’s really a mess! The center of gravity shifts forward, so the knees may have to continuously bend, and the pelvis tilts forward, causing the low back to arch. So, now you have pain in the knees and low back.
Sleeping would seem to be safe, right? But the same consequences of Sitting too much which make Standing a problem also affect those who Sleep on their backs, causing low back pain. Side Sleepers commonly have their arms and shoulders in front of them, further rounding the back and tightening the chest muscles. Face down Sleepers often have pain from too much arching of the low back and from twisting the neck.
So, what’s a body to do?
Be aware of your own postural issues and compensations and try to alleviate them
Sit as little as possible, change positions and chairs often, get up and move around periodically
Make sure that your desk, computer, etc are set up to promote good posture, not bad
Choose smart shoes based on health not fashion
Eliminate upper body posture habits when Standing that make things worse (crossing your arms, carrying a heavy bag on one shoulder, putting your hands in your pockets)
Try sleeping with a pillow under your knees when face up, and between your knees when on your side
Use a pillow that keeps your head in line with your spine
It turns out that “the Great Satan” is not America or Iran, but Sitting!
Got a new personal training client last week. JM belongs to a local Memphis club and wanted to use a personal trainer on occasion to update his workouts and keep him on target for his goals. He doesn’t need someone to meet him every workout or even every week – monthly may be enough. The trainers at his club were not interested in working with him, I guess because it wasn’t going to be regular enough.
So, he called Healthy Habits because we state on our website that we see people on their schedule, not ours. We have clients come in 4 times a week, 4 times a month, 4 times a year. JM bought our smallest package, 6 hours of 1 to 1 sessions, which we will schedule as needed.
Anyway, in our first meeting, we did a Fitness Assessment on JM, including many components of the Golf Fitness Assessment. Based on those results and his goals, I devised a workout for him to do. In our second meeting, I taught him the basics of the exercises and why he was doing them. We both agreed that he understood them well enough to get in the gym and try them out. Some of them are stretches and floor exercises that he may choose to do at home. We agreed that he will call me if he has any questions or concerns, unless he can get one of the apparently really busy trainers at his club to answer a quick question. Finally, we agreed that he would call me after Thanksgiving to report on his progress and discuss timing on our next session.
The point of this blog is that there are many ways to use a personal trainer, and many personal trainers who will give you what you want / need. You are the boss, you should get what you want. If you don’t find someone who will give it to you, keep looking.
JBo is the anti-Jlo, and in fact, she probably doesn’t even know who JLo is. JBo is 84 and has been a personal training client of mine for at least 8 years. She mostly does strength training, with some cardio, stretching and balance work. She takes care of the plants, which were her gift, along with a bird feeder and bird bath. She has numerous charitable commitments and is active at her church. She sends other clients and our trainers cards and gifts for special occasions (or for no reason at all), and adds a sunny presence in the studio. She even had an embroidery done for me that reads “The Lord loveth a cheerful lifter”.
JBo started because she “was afraid of becoming frail.” Now, she wants more definition in her shoulders and triceps, to match what she has in her biceps. Despite such physical challenges as arthritis and easy bruising, she works out hard three times a week, and does some treadmill work at home. Occasionally, we meet at Shelby Farms to walk and enjoy the weather.
JBo likes “peppy” music for working out, and she certainly peps things up when she’s here. She even pays her bill before it’s due! I highly recommend every personal trainer have his/her own JBo. But you can’t have mine!
For years, I have been joking with my longtime clients about how my role has changed, at least in part, from – pick one: exercise guru, task master, drill sergeant, meanie, masochist, etc – to more like a bartender. Monday night on the Marketplace show on NPR, I heard a story about faith and fitness which quoted a personal trainer saying that she was a cross between a therapist and a bartender. She said she often prayed with her clients about some problem. I have never done that, but I have prayed for clients.
In addition to supervising exercise, stimulating conversation, and providing witty repartee, I listen. Clients tell me about work, family, friends – their lives – and I tell them about mine. Joys and sorrows, hopes and dreams, likes and dislikes, all kinds of stuff. Occasionally, we tread on dicey territory, but not often, and I’ve never had to tell a client they were out of bounds. Nor have they had to tell me.
In some of my trade journals, we are told to keep things strictly professional, keep it about exercise, don’t get personal! How can you not get a little personal with someone whose sweaty feet you are holding while they do oblique crunches on a stability ball? Its PERSONAL training, after all. I think we have to provide a sympathetic ear, be a sounding board, empathize with our clients and rejoice with them. We all need connections in this world. There are some days that I spend more time with any one client than I do with my wife.
But, I limit my advice and counsel to exercise and nutrition matters. I don’t do parenting or marital therapy, I don’t solve problems, and I only occasionally make suggestions. And despite the temptation, I never smack a client upside the head, even if that is what they need. I stay within my scope of practice.
I regard listening as one of my more important professional skills, but it’s not covered in any certification or continuing education curriculum that I know of.
Healthy
Habits offers 1 to 1 personal training, partner and group fitness
programs, BioMetrics nutrition and exercise plans, golf fitness and
weight loss programs, post-rehab clinical exercise, and beginner and
intermediate yoga classes in Memphis, Germantown, and Collierville, TN.
Not that kind of engagement, and not the TV show either. Nope, this time we’re talking about hiring and working with a personal trainer. So, what are these rules of engagement?
