• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

KEEPING FIT; A Dose of Discipline; Personal Trainers Jump-Start Stalled Fitness Programs

Posted on: Tuesday, 1 March 2005, 12:00 CST

Wayne Westcott Qualified personal trainers maximize fitness and minimize injury for clients. A good trainer will educate and motivate clients to the next level. Trainers also ensure proper form while exercising, perform fitness assesssments, set realistic training goals and design a workable plan. Good personal trainers have an excellent network of dietitians and doctors to assist you with an overall wellness program. Some very basic decisions depend on your personal preferences. Do you feel more comfortable with a male or a female trainer? Do you relate better to a younger or an older trainer? Do you prefer to train at home or in a fitness facility?

Once you make these decisions, you should carefully examine the professional characteristics of a potential trainer. Your starting point should be a nationally recognized personal trainer certification. Although Boston has some excellent local certifying agencies, the two top levels of national certifications are:

Most Prestigious: National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA); American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM); American Council on Exercise (ACE); Cooper's Institute; and YMCA of the USA. Highly Respected: International Fitness Professionals Association (IFPA); National Strength Professionals Association (NSPA); National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM); and Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA). The best trainers will have passed a nationally recognized personal trainer qualifying examination. Personal trainers who have a related college degree (two-year, four-year or graduate level) are likely to be better prepared in the areas of exercise physiology, performance bio-mechanics, motor learning, injury prevention, cardiovascular conditioning, musculoskeletal development and exercise modalities than those who have not had formal training in the fitness field. Of course, training experience may be just as important as book learning. Most people don't want to be a surgeon's first patient and most exercisers don't want to be a trainer's first client. Ideally, your personal trainer should score high in all three areas: (1) national trainer certification; (2) formal fitness education; and (3) several years of training experience. Next, get recommendations from the trainer's clients. Ask specific questions to determine the depth of the trainer's knowledge base, personality characteristics, professionalism and program individualization based on client needs and abilities. Find out what clients like most and like least about their trainer and the exercise programs. If possible, observe the trainer working with a couple of different clients. Try to evaluate the entire training session from start to finish, especially in terms of personal attention and positive interactions. Watching a trainer in action is perhaps the best gauge of your compatibility in a trainer/client relationship. Once you identify one or more trainers you would like to work with, two critical questions remain: availability and affordability.

Matching schedules can be a problem, particularly with top trainers who typically have fewer openings. Then there is the cost factor. Some of the best trainers charge more than a $100 an hour. If you're already a member at a gym, the club's trainers charge closer to $30 an hour. If price is a barrier to getting the trainer you want, consider that one or two personal training session a week with the ideal trainer might be better than three sessions a week with a less motivating mentor. Keep in mind that you may not need a personal trainer indefinitely. However, for the time that you do need guidance and support, enlist the best personal trainer available. Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., is fitness research advisor at the South Shore YMCA, Quincy, and author of 20 fitness books.

Source: Patriot Ledger, The; Quincy, Mass.

More News in this Category