Choosing A Personal Trainer

A personal trainer can help you toward your fitness goals.  She provides accountability, program design specific to your needs, motivation, and professional advice regarding exercise and basic fitness nutrition. But how do you choose the trainer who is right for you?  Here are some tips.

1.   Personality:  Would you rather work with a trainer who is quiet and reserved or outgoing and perky.  Make sure the personal trainer you choose fits your personality preference.  

2.  Location:  Pick a personal trainer who works at a gym or has a private studio close to your home or work.  Some trainers will come to your home for sessions, or work with you via the Internet as well.  If your company has a fitness center, personal trainers may be available on-site.  Your personal trainer needs to be conveniently located to help keep you motivated to show up on a regular basis.

3.  Gender:  Do you prefer working with a man or a woman?  Does it matter?  Take that into consideration when making your choice.

4.  Professionalism:  Choose a personal trainer who is profession.  Make sure she dresses neatly, shows courtesy toward you and others, let's you know at least 24 hours in advance if she has to cancel or reschedule, and shows up on time and prepared for each session.

5.  Certification:  Make sure your personal trainer is certified by an organization that is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).  Examples are National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), American Council on Exercise (ACE), National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

6.  Cost:  Look at your budget and see how much you can reasonably afford to pay a personal trainer, then research several in your area.  Personal trainers who work at box gyms or community centers are generally less expensive than those who have their own studios.   Be sure to take into consideration what is included in the fees of each trainer.

7.  Specialty:  Do you have a specific goal or issue to consider when picking a personal trainer?  If, for example, you have a specific health issue such as diabetes, you may want to work with someone with experience training clients with health issues.  Or if you're training for a marathon, you may want to work with a trainer with experience in that area.

It's a good idea to work with several trainers before choosing the one you would like to work with on a regular basis.  You have a right to do so.  Many gyms provide a free session with a trainer with membership.  Let each trainer you work with know you're considering other trainers before signing on with one in particular.   Personal trainers at gyms are available to assist members in general, not just paid personal training clients.  And, remember, you can always work out on your own, at home, too.  The Internet has some great fitness resources.  One of my favorites is the American Council on Exercise's website.  They have tons of information, including exercises, workouts, fitness facts, and recipes.  

I hope these tips help.  

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hi everyone.  I've just joined Bloglovin.com so you can follow me there as well.  Hope to hear from you.  Have a great weekend!  <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/14286961/?claim=u4cx5tz9qq3">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a> 

What to Wear to Work Out

Me in 2008 when I was in the best
 shape of my life, hitting the gym
2 hours a day, 4 days a week.

When you walk through the doors of the gym, you can expect to see patrons dressed in a variety of workout clothing.  Some wear shimmering spandex, others come in wearing an old tee shirt and baggy sweatpants, and still others don muscle shirts and basketball shorts.  All of these are appropriate.  Don't think you have to go out and buy fancy new gear.  It might be a motivator to buy one or two new outfits, but you don't have to go hog wild.  There's no special clothing required to work out.  Just remember to wear something that's comfortable, cool, breathes well, absorbs moisture, and allows you to move freely.  

Wear comfortable shoes, as well, that provide overall support for running, walking, jumping, or whatever activity you will be participating in.  Whatever type of shoe you're comfortable in, go for it, but skip the flip flops, dress shoes, and work boots.  Go for rubber sole that aren't too fat to help avoid tripping up.  If you don't already have appropriate shoes, look for them at discount, department or sporting goods stores.

My favorite clothes to workout in are tee shirts and stretchy shorts or sweats.  They're simple, affordable and easy to care for.  They do retain odor, though, I've noticed.  I have to replace them quite often.  But I just don't personally like the ones that are more absorbent and breathable.  It's my personal choice.  You'll need to make your own choices as well.  Go with with feels good and motivates you to hit the gym for fun, effective workout.  

What do you prefer to exercise in?  

Fun Fitness Blog Posts

Hi!  Happy Wednesday!  I hope your week is going great so far.  I haven't felt well this week so I've been dragging, but I've gotten some work done on my blog which I'm thrilled about.  I'm happy to be back on Blogger!  As I was transferring blog posts from my previous platform, I checked in on my old Blogger blog, Fun Fitness.  I haven't posted to it since last year.  Why, I don't know.  I just lost track of it, I guess.  I also was switching over to life coaching so didn't focus in on the fitness blog as much, although fitness is very much a part of my life coaching business.  So, I decided to share a link here to my Fun Fitness blog which contains nearly 50 posts on fitness, motivation, and nutrition.  I hope the information included proves helpful to you.  If you have any questions or comments about either of my blogs, please let me know.  I welcome your feedback.  Take care.

Small Change: It Adds Up!

Hi all!  I hope you're having a good week.  Jim came home again yesterday with some extra money.  He's made a practice for years now of looking for small change wherever he goes.  A penny here, a quarter there.  And now that he's in the vending business, he finds even more.  Coin jams, money left in the coin return or on top of the machines--it's all his as long as he checks in to make sure no customer has put in a request for a return at the office.  He puts all found money in a vacation fund--at times it tops $1000 or more in a year.  All from loose change!  It all adds up, folks.

The same goes for small changes in other areas of our lives.  You may think that losing a pound a week is nothing; you want to lose weight faster so you try drastic measures, only to gain some or all of it back.  Slow weight loss is the best.  It may be only a pound per week, but that adds up to a whopping 52 pounds per year!  Or, you may be smothering in your cluttered house. Every time you walk through the door, you feel overwhelmed with the mess.  Make a commitment to clean out one drawer; just one drawer.  See how that lightens the weight on your shoulders.  It feels so good!  I know because I did that very thing over Memorial Day weekend.  The office is a mess, so I started with one drawer and it boosted my mood so much!  Try it and see what happens.  I tell ya, you'll feel great.  Then build on that momentum and before long you'll have your whole house looking awesome.  

Make the process of change fun.  Make looking for small change of any kind, whether monetary or otherwise, an adventure.  If you're trying to lose weight, put together an energetic cardio playlist or ask an upbeat friend to work out with you.  If you're cleaning out your house, crank up the music and sing and dance your way through the mountains of papers, junk mail, food, boxes, toys, clothes, magazines, and books that litter your living space.  

Whatever the changes are that you want to make, remember to take baby steps.  Don't expect the change to happen overnight.  It takes time and commitment.  Small, sustainable change can mean a big pay off over time.

What small changes have you made in your life that paid off mightily in the end?  Please share your story here in the comments, or email me at amy@acnlifecoach.com.  Thanks!

What Type of Life Coach I Am

Hi all.  Here's my first video post.  It gives you an idea of what type of coach I am, my personality, etc.  I hope you enjoy it.  If you have any questions, just ask!  Hope to hear from you.  Thanks!  Take care.

Know When to Back Off

I've seen many posters online with saying such as "No pain, no gain," and "I'd rather suffer the pain of a workout than the pain of humiliation and regret from not working out."  I've read a lot of comments along the same lines from trainers on the Internet.  Don't buy it.

Sure, if you're sore after your workout--even a couple days after--that's okay.  You've been working your muscles; some soreness can be expected.  But never, ever work out through sharp, throbbing pain.  It's not safe, it's not worth the damage it could cause, and it's just not smart.

It's difficult to stop when you're on a roll.  I get that.  You're getting into your workout, you're psyched, you're energized and feeling pretty good about yourself.  But then, it happens.  You feel something snap, feel a sharp pain run though your body.  Aw, come on!  You think maybe you'll be fine.  You just need to shake it out.  But that doesn't work.  

It's time to stop.  

I've experienced two such occasions recently: 

1)  About a month ago, I got new shoes.  I eased into wearing them, and put bandaids on areas of my feet prone to blisters whenever I wore the new shoes.  Well, that didn't seem to work this time around.  One day I took off my shoes and socks to find a big, nasty blister on the side of my left foot.  I had been planning to walk with a friend at lunchtime that week, but she suggested we postpone it because of the blister.  I was bummed.  I'd recently gotten back into walking regularly and was just starting to hit my stride again.  But I knew that I needed to back off.  I'd had a lot of health issues--some involving my feet--over the years.  I knew not to press me luck.  

2)  I'd worked my way back to walking with Leslie Sansone DVDs.  I could work out at my own pace and slowly get myself back up to speed in the comfort of home.  I could sit down when I felt like my foot needed a rest.  It worked well.  Although the blister is still healing (the doctor said it would possibly take three weeks, which is where I'm at right now.  Time to call him back, I think.), I was feeling pretty good about my progress.  And I liked that Jim joined me for the work out sessions sometimes, too.  Then yesterday I wrenched my knee--somehow.  No clue how.  Now I'll be walking along just fine and then my knee gives out.  Yow!  Not a pretty picture.  Yep, it hurts.  And it comes out of no where.  I don't know when it will happen next.  Oh, the frustration!  So, now I'm benched again for the time being, until the knee feels better.  Maybe I'll put some Icy Hot on it.  Does anyone else out there use that stuff for pain?  I'll use regular ice and heat on injuries, too, but lately I've been going to Icy Hot.  I don't like to over-use any medications, whether over-the-counter, prescription, or natural.  They all have potential side effects.  But I do tend to grab Icy Hot when I have pain that is enough to potentially keep me up at night.

Hopefully both problems will pass soon, so I can get back to my cardio workouts.  Working the muscles, raising the heart rate, and working up a sweat feel great.  It's a feeling that I don't want to go without for long.

If you experience pain, stop immediately.  The longer you work out with an injury, the worse it can get.  Take the time you need to rest and recover, and be sure to seek medical attention if the sharp pain continues or gets worse, you experience streaky redness and/or swelling in the injured area, or fever develops.

Have you worked out with an injury?  Let me know what happened as a result.  Let's talk about it. I'd love to hear from you.

What Is a Life Coach?

Hi!  Welcome to my blog.  I'll be writing about life and life coaching.  Some topics I plan to cover are motivation, weight loss, fitness, special needs, goals, positive thinking, habits, balancing work-home life, getting unstuck,  community involvement, self-esteem, making your dreams come true one step at a time, breaking down road blocks that stand in the way of you realizing your goals, how to get the most out of your life coaching sessions, believing in yourself, and shaking up your life to make it the best it can be.  

First, though, what is a life coach?  

What is a life coach?

A life coach helps you change your life for the better.  A life coach is a guide, a motivator, and a listener, not a psychotherapist, counselor, or consultant.  A life coach doesn't have the answers, but she does ask the questions which will help guide you to your own answers to problems in your life that make you feel "stuck."  Let's say, for example, you are bored with your job but you don't see any way that you can leave it.  The life coach helps you figure out, through discussion and exercises, how to jazz up that current job and make it more satisfying. (Click here for more information.)

Benefits of working with a life coach.

You are in control.  You decide what to discuss during the sessions.  Your life coach is your partner, guiding you through the sessions and providing non-judgemental support throughout the coaching process.  A life coach can provide you with accountability to keep you moving toward your goals.  You'll discuss and work through your life issues in a safe, trusting atmosphere.  There is no blaming, no yellinng, no guilt trips.  The life coach is in your corner throughout your working partnership, cheering you on toward a happier, more fulfilling life.  (Click here for more benefits of life coaching.)

What kind of life coach am I?

I'm pretty casual.  I want you to feel at ease and able to talk about your issues, dreams, and goals with me.  I provide the guidance, exercises, and accountability mentioned above.  I make sure that you follow through on tasks meant to bring you closer to your dreams.  I provide regular email support, sending you links and articles to compliment the coaching sessions.  We'll laugh, maybe even cry a little.  We'll celebrate your victories along the road to reaching your ultimate goals.  If something isn't working, we'll change direction.  No pressure.  What we talk about is up to you.  You lead the way and I'll guide you along, toward the happier life you desire, by asking appropriate questions.  Your answers to these questions will bring you closer to solving the issues that are standing in the way of your living the best life that you can.  I will help you discover your own answers to life's questions, and uncover the real you, helping you to become the best You you can be.  Through discussion and exercises, I can can help you break down barriers that are keeping you from experiencing life to the fullest.  

I will absolutely keep all your information and my conversations with you confidential.  I have a variety of coaching packages to choose from--short-term, medium-term, long-term, email coaching, phone coaching, month-to-month, etc.  You decide which package you would like.  You decided when the coaching partnership ends.  If you have any questions, be sure to contact me.  If you are interested in the free session to see if life coaching is for you and if I'm the right coach for you, click here. 

Do you need a life coach?

You may find life coaching beneficial if you:

• feel stuck in your current life situation 
• want to jazz up your life in general
• need accountability, motivation, guidance and/or support to get through a temporary setback
• need support and guidance during a loss of loved one, job, or pet
• think about starting a fitness program but don't know where to begin
• fear getting hurt if you start working out
• have a health issue and wonder if you should be working out
• have mobility issues due to an injury or medical condition
• would like someone to provide accountability, motivation, support, encouragement and guidance as you make fitness a part of you life
• need accountability, motivation, guidance and/or support to get through a temporary medical setback
• have issues with family and/or friends related to mobility and medical problems

Check out the blue individual coaching tabs on my home page to see which type of coaching might be a good fit for you.  And, again, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  I'd love to hear from you.