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.  

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!