How to Get the Most From Your Personal Trainer
The decision to hire a personal trainer is an empowering one.Putting a dedicated fitness expert in your corner can net you invaluable expertise and support for devising a smart workout strategy, overcoming emotional and physical roadblocks, and getting the real results you’re after.
According to an American College of Sports Medicine survey,
personal training is a top trend for 2011, ranking above core training classes
and boot camps in popularity. So, clearly, a lot of people are figuring out
that it’s well worth the investment. Establishing an optimal training
relationship, though, isn’t as simple as strolling into your health club and
booking a session with the first PT who has an open spot in his or her
schedule.
First, the two of you are going to be spending a lot oftime together, so it’s worth putting in some legwork upfront to make sure you
find someone with the right skills and chemistry. Second, you need to make sure
you’re ready to do your share of the work required to get what you want out of
the bargain.
“Whether you’re new to exercise or you’ve been working out onyour own for a long time, using a personal trainer can give you that extra
nudge,” says Tom Manella, senior director of personal training at Life Time
Fitness in Chanhassen, Minn. “But you’ve got to show up for the
experience, body and soul, and be really clear about creating a two-way
exchange that works for you.”
Making It Work
After two years of regularly going to a health club, Michelle
Nielsen, 36, of Phoenix, wasn’t seeing the results she had hoped for. She
admits she felt overwhelmed by all the choices. “I would walk in and see a
hundred machines and have no idea where to start. I’d flounder and wander, and
eventually I got really frustrated and stopped going,” she says.
Nielsen realized that what she needed was direction andaffirmation. “I wanted someone more knowledgeable than me to tell me what I
should be doing, and that I was doing a good job,” she says.
Because Nielsen’s husband had been successful working with apersonal trainer, she decided to sign up for training sessions, too. Having
never invested that much time or money in herself, Nielsen didn’t know what to
expect — from her trainer, or from the whole experience.
“Before the introductory session, I was really nervous. I sat in
my car for a really long time before going inside,” she says. But once she met
with the trainer, discussed her history and her goals with him, and began her
plan, her anxiety evaporated.
“My trainer, Ryan Clark, was a great match for me,” she says.
Nielsen was delighted to find that Clark was down to earth and respectful of
her need for an unintimidating environment. He helped her outline specific
goals and guided her toward them without pushing too hard. “It was a very
personal journey for me from the get-go, and Ryan recognized that,” she says.
“He was proud of me for being there. He knew that for me, showing up was a
battle in and of itself.”
Over the course of two months of training with Clark three timesa week, Nielsen experienced dramatic results. “My fitness improved leaps and
bounds, and my body shape changed — but more importantly, I noticed a huge
change in how I feel about myself.”
For Nielsen, hiring Clark proved to be time and money well spent
— a happy meeting of minds, personalities, priorities and expectations. Looking
to create that same sort of synergy with a trainer who’s dedicated to helping
you achieve your own goals? Read on to discover four essential keys to success
— gathered from experienced trainers and satisfied clients alike.
1.
Find the Right Match
“Shopping around and meeting potential trainers is an importantfirst step,” says Manella. Searching online can be overwhelming, so ask your
local club for recommendations based on your objectives and fitness experience,
talk with friends or family members who have used trainers, and speak with
trainers on the gym floor, he suggests.
“Begin by asking about their credentials,” advises Kelli
Calabrese, MS, CSCS, master trainer for Adventure Boot Camp in Orange County,
Calif. Certifications, she says, are one way to ensure that trainers have the
education required to competently design safe and effective exercise programs.
So be sure to ask how long they’ve been training and whom they’re certified
through. Because there are a number of organizations that certify trainers,
focus on someone with national certifications (such as those from the American
Council on Exercise, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, the
National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association, or the American College of
Sports Medicine) or a trainer with a degree in exercise science.
And make sure those certifications are current. “An expired
certification is not a good sign,” says Manella. Another bad sign: trainers who
work in run-down facilities. “Top-line gyms often have the best trainers,” says
Philip Goglia, PhD, a Santa Monica–based personal trainer, registered
nutritionist and author of Turn Up theHeat: Unlock the Fat-Burning Power of Your Metabolism (Viking
Penguin, 2002). If the place gives you the creeps, chances are good that the
trainer isn’t a winner either, he says.
Once you meet with the trainer or speak on the phone, you can
better gauge his or her experience, the experts say. “You’ll want to know what
types of training they specialize in and whether that fits with your situation
and goals,” Calabrese says. A trainer with a basic certification will likely
not be able to help you train for a figure competition or a triathlon, though.
“There are specialty coaches out there who can help you tap into getting an
edge on an individual sport,” she adds.
To help determine if a prospective trainer is right for you,
Manella suggests asking him or her these questions:
2) What results have you achieved with your clients? Over what
time span?
3) Can I talk with some of your clients? (A good trainer should
have no trouble providing references.)
4) How would you describe your style? (Some trainers are gentle
and encouraging, while others are more aggressive; some direct, others
collaborate.)
6) Do you offer small-group sessions or other services, such as
online training?
If possible, observe the trainer working with another client,
suggests Jamie Atlas, founder of Bonza Bodies fitness studio in Denver. “It
takes about five minutes of watching to know if the trainer is more into the
client or themselves. Habits like chatting too much, being easily distracted
and generally having low energy are warning signs of what might be to come,”
says Atlas.
Beyond that, personal dynamics are key, says Manella. In other
words, it helps if you genuinely like the
trainer. “That doesn’t mean you have to be mirror images of each other, but
common ground is important,” adds Goglia. “If you have one person who’s
cracking sarcastic jokes and someone else who’s very serious, that could be a
bad match. You want to be in tune.”
2.Focus on Clear Goals
Prior to your first active training session, discuss your
objectives with your trainer so that he or she can come up with an appropriate
plan to achieve them.
That process may involve some assessment drills: “You want to
have an initial measure of things like posture, balance, flexibility and
strength,” Goglia says. “It’s critical to record and retest to understand if
you’re getting anywhere.” Depending on the trainer and your goals, you might
also measure body-fat percentage, cardio fitness and body weight.
If you’re out of shape or haven’t worked out recently, your
trainer may recommend an initial period of training designed to help you build
a fitness base and avoid injury. That’s a good thing, because it will make all
your subsequent workouts more effective. But right from the beginning, you
should see the connection between the plan your trainer has laid out and the
goals you want to achieve.
“It’s important to tweak that plan every few weeks as you improve,”
says Alwyn Cosgrove, a Newhall, Calif.–based personal trainer and coauthor of The New Rules ofLifting book series (Avery). “But everything you do
should be moving you toward your goal — whether that’s improving your cardio
output, increasing your strength, losing weight or all of the above.”
If there are days you’re working out alone, you’ll need the
trainer to map out the specific exercises you should complete, along with sets
and reps. “Your trainer should provide you with routines that have a balance of
both upper body and lower body, and also focus on the weaknesses you’re trying
to improve,” says Goglia. “But you shouldn’t be doing the same exercises every
single session.”
3.
Develop a Strong Working Relationship
During the first few sessions, pay attention to how well you and
your trainer sync up. Do you understand what she’s telling you to do? How well
do you communicate with one another? Is she clued in to your body language to
know when you need to be pushed harder and when you’ve had enough? Do you feel
motivated or punished by her feedback?
As with any good relationship, you should feel like the trainer
brings out the best in you. How he or she goes about reaching that objective
may vary. “People have very different learning styles and motivational
preferences,” says Manella. “Some clients want to understand the science behind
every movement. Others just want someone to demonstrate how it’s done.” Some
clients appreciate a little tough love, he notes — the kind you might get from
a boot-camp-style trainer. Others want a gentler, more understanding approach.
The important thing, most experts agree, is voicing those
preferences to your trainer so that he or she can respond. “Ask yourself, ‘Am I
better with this person than I am alone?’” advises Manella.
A good trainer will also be open to answering any questions orconcerns you bring to each session. If something isn’t working for you, or you
hit a plateau, the trainer should be adaptable and work with you to adjust the
routine.
No matter what the trainer’s style, he or she should strive to
find ways to make exercise as natural and habitual for you as eating and
drinking, says Shannon Wallace Jr., CPT, founder of 368 Athletics in Frederick,
Md.
“I tell our trainers their primary job is education,” says
Manella. “A good trainer should give you everything you need to know to make
fitness a permanent part of your lifestyle.”
Of course, whether or not you comply with that encouragement is
up to you. “If you’re only seeing me once a week, then you’ll need to weight
train at least twice a week outside of our sessions to see the results you
want,” says Eric Wilson, MS, a Seattle-based exercise physiologist and creator
of the Comprehensive Lifestyle Plan, a personal-training philosophy that
focuses on the whole person. Wilson suggests you duplicate the training
experience at home as best you can: Put on music that gets you going, he
suggests. Warm up. Give yourself a pep talk. “You need to be able to get in the
zone even though it’s just you,” he says.
Happily, the more you get to know your trainer, the more you’ll
automatically hear his or her voice directing you through the moves. After a
while, you’ll begin to internalize that advice, and it will become second
nature.
4.
Know When to Move On
Eventually, all training relationships come to an end — ideally,
for the happiest of reasons: The client has achieved his or her initial goals,
has successfully integrated exercise into his or her lifestyle, and no longer
feels the need for a trainer.
Perhaps there’s another chapter in store — refresher sessions,
next-phase objectives, sports-specific training — or perhaps not. It’s entirely
up to you. Let your budget, priorities and training appetite be your guide.
For Michelle Nielsen, the conclusion of her training sessions
felt like a graduation of sorts. “Ryan and I both sensed my confidence and
skills had reached a point that I might be able to join his small-group class.”
That way, says Nielsen, she still benefited from his direction and expertise,
but the classes were more affordable than private sessions.
For some clients, a limited package of training sessions is all
they want or can afford at the moment. Other clients are in it for the long
haul: “They have the means to pay for a trainer indefinitely, and they like the
ongoing accountability and motivation the trainer provides,” says Manella.
As long as the cost-benefit analysis is working in your favor,the decision to keep training is easy. But what do you do when the relationship
just isn’t working, or when the investment isn’t paying off the way you’d
hoped?
Many clients rightfully walk away when they lose confidence in
the trainer’s commitment to their results, says Jamie Atlas. “Clients sense
when a trainer has stopped caring and started taking them for granted,” he
says.
“If you’re unhappy with your results, or with the
experience, you need to sit down and talk to your trainer,” Goglia says. “But,
be honest with yourself about whether or not you’re doing the work.” (See the
“10 Tips for Making the Most of Your Training Sessions” sidebar.)
Also pay attention to how you feel before, during and after your
training sessions. A bit of preworkout apprehension is natural, but if you find
yourself dreading each appointment, that could be a red flag. During the
workout, you should feel challenged, but not pushed beyond your limits.
Afterward, check in with yourself: Are you happy you went? Did you try
something new and succeed? Do you feel empowered, or beat up?
An off day here and there is normal, but if you see a pattern of
decline or negativity, it could be a clue that you need a change. “If you talk
to the trainer and he’s not being responsive or adjusting, it’s time to move
on,” Wallace says.
Scott Jackson, CPT, CSCS, founder of Real Life Fitness facility
in Nevada City, Calif., recommends an honest approach: “They’re in business,
and they need to know how to improve. If the problem was their personality or
their commitment, letting them know in a gentle way could help them in the
future.” Then, he suggests, find another trainer — “ASAP, while your motivation
is still strong.”
10 Tips for Making the Most of Your Training Sessions
If you’re spending valuable time and money on personal training,
you deserve to get great results. And a lot of that depends on you. We asked
some top-shelf PTs what they wish more of their clients would do in the name of
great fitness outcomes, and here’s what they said:
1.
Ditch thechitchat. Although a little back and forth builds rapport and keeps things
lively, a constant stream of small talk can be detrimental — particularly when
you’re both distracted from your efforts, timing and form.
2.
Show up on time. Every
minute you’re late chips away at the time you scheduled for fitness and can
totally throw off your trainer’s workout plan. Many trainers like clients to
arrive early for a proper warm-up before their session starts.
3.
Respect thestopwatch. There’s a reason your trainer is specifying 30- or 60-second
breaks between sets and asking you to hold the intensity of cardio intervals
for specific durations. Adhere to that timing, and you’ll see far better
results.
4.
Clean up youreating. No amount of working out can hide the evidence of a lackluster
diet. Follow your trainer’s nutritional advice, make the switch to more whole,
natural foods, and you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.
5.
Don’t fib. Your
trainer will have a hard time managing your program and results if you claim to
be exercising more or eating better than you really are. Be candid about what
you’re willing to do — then let your trainer be frank about the results you can
expect.
6.
Be a “yes”person. Many trainers have an aversion to the phrase “I can’t do that.”
Have an injury? Say “I have an injury” — and let your trainer adjust
accordingly. But be open to trying new things, even if they don’t come easily
at first.
7.
Trust your trainer. It’s
OK to ask questions about why you’re doing certain exercises, but in the end,
you either trust your trainer’s expertise or you don’t. Interrupting and
arguing can waste time and undermine the dynamic of your relationship, causing
frustration for you both.
8.
Get good Z’s. Your
fitness recovery and progress hinge on adequate sleep. And so does your
available energy for workouts. Showing up exhausted drastically limits the
potential of your sessions.
9.
Speak yourtruth. Personal trainers can be intuitive, but they’re not mind readers.
Tell them how your body feels, and how your motivation is faring, so they can
tweak your regimen based on your feedback.
10.
Put your heart intoit. If you really want to get healthier and more fit, bring that attitude
to your training sessions — and to your willingness to change your life.
Enthusiasm breeds success.
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