How do you know if your trainer is good?

I have to say I have one of the best jobs in the world. Not just because I get to work outside all day in the summertime, or not just because I get to workout a lot and call it work. And not just because I get to wear workout clothes all day everyday and I am considered "appropriately dressed". No I get to help people change their lives for the better!! I have the ability to add years to peoples lives, to save them money and get them off of Cholesterol/Blood Pressure/diabetes medication. I help contribute to the betterment of their quality of life. I can help to give them memories they might not have otherwise had. With that being said, I have to say I am appalled and disgusted by the number of "trainers" out there that make false claims about their "expertise" or their experience, or for that matter decide that our job seems easy and fun so they go online and take a test and then start calling themselves personal trainers. Now don't get me wrong there are a ton of fantastic trainers out there, many of whom I admire and respect greatly. However there are also a very large number who have decided that our job looks like a good one, and they spend a matter of weeks studying and taking a test only to put initials behind their name. Years ago, our industry went about trying to weed out those certification agencies that were giving out personal training certs like they were candy. And to a large degree they have done that. But for the vast majority of the public out shopping for a trainer, none of those initials mean anything other than "my trainer is certified". The general public doesn't know which agencies are good and which are "fly by night". And unfortunately most people just trust blindly. As many of you know I work in a town that is extremely health conscious and outdoorsy. A lot of people in this town use trainers, and when the economy was booming, personal trainers were popping out of the woodwork at a steady stream. They still are and unfortunately the economy is not booming anymore and it is harder and harder to gain new business, especially with all the competition. I have seen recently advertisements for Running Clinics led by trainers who have no running background and have been training for a mere months. I have seen weight loss and nutrition clinics led by people who are teachers, but "have been training themselves all their lives". And I have seen trainers train without regard for their INDIVIDUAL client, putting clients through the same workouts over and over because they don't have the knowledge/background/and creativity to actually train to their client. It is called PERSONAL TRAINING for a reason. It is supposed to be personal. What works for the 50+ year old housewife should be different from the 30+ year old competitive Mtn Biker, and certainly should be different from what works for the 70 year old Grandfather recently retired. I strongly encourage everyone out there who is seeking the help of a trainer/yoga instructor/pilates instructor/masseuse, etc... do your homework. Make sure the person you are trusting your health and life with is capable. And I actually would say, make sure they are more than capable. Find someone with years of experience. Someone with a 4 year degree in Exercise Science or something related. Find someone who actually does what they are training you for, or have done it at some point in their life. If I wanted to learn to dance, I don't think I would hire a dnace instructor that runs marathons more often than they dance. And I want to stress too, that even those trainers with years of experience and degrees still may not be good trainers. So ask for references...ask to talk to other clients. Ask for a free session to "test drive" the trainer to make sure they ask questions about you, about your history, about why you came to them, and what success means to you. Make sure they are willing to invest in you before you invest money in them. I promise you will not regret the extra investigating. You may however regret it if you don't!! Happy Health and Fitness to you all!

Coaching and Personal Training

As many of you know I am a personal trainer and I also coach. It dawned on me the other day that they are very similar even though most people would never think that. Coaches deal with anywhere from 15-60 kids, assistant coaches, AD's, etc.... Coaches typcally deal with team sports and have to consider the team in all of their approach. Personal trainers typically have one or two clients at a time, their is no other trainer that works with those clients, and their really isn't any other consideration other than what the client wants. However, both positions require an enormous amount of "personal" contact. A good coach in my opinion is the one that know each and every athlete. The coach knows how to motivate athlete "x" and athlete "y". They know the strengths and weaknesses of all their athletes. They know how they handle disappointment and success. Personal trainers must know what their client wants, why they are coming to the gym, what obstacles to success lie in their path, how do they react to exercises, workouts, etc... If as a coach you approach every individual athlete the same, I can almost guarantee you will not be successful longterm. And likewise if as a trainer you approach all your clients the same, give them the same workouts, push them the same, you will have a lot of open time in your day, because people paying $50+ an hour for your time want more than a cookie cutter approach. They want personal!!!! At WRP and at Bend High I make sure I take the time to learn and get to know each and every client and athlete. Their success is my success. Build relationships. Spend time learning how best to serve your client or athletes. Invest in them and the payoff will be tremendous for everyone! Have a great day.

Dumbest Question on earth!!

So I apologize ahead of time for anyone I offend here, but there is one question that I am sure every trainer/nutritionist/physician/coach is beyond tired of hearing. "What can I do to get rid of the fat on my _______ (fill in the blank)?" The general public is still desperately holding onto the thought that if they just do crunches they will lose fat around their belly. Or if they lunge themselves into oblivion, the fat on their butt or thighs will magically go away. What it comes down to is everyone is truly looking for the quickest/easiest way to get in shape. And American marketing companies do nothing but foster this hope! With every new fitness commercial or infomercial we are teased into believing that if we just do "x" we will look just like the models/TV personalities, etc... In reality all those things do is set everyone up for failure. Good health, and good physical conditioning take time and effort. It is a lifetime of dedication and commitment. There is no easy fix! There never has been and never will be. Every day make a choice...choose to live healthy, eat healthy, and take care of your body the way we should! There is no time like the present to get started...and it is never too late. Any day can be your first day :)

WillPower!

So one of our fantastic trainers here at WRP suggested to me that we change the name of the class I teach to WillPower instead of Functional Fit. At first I hesistated, but the more I think about it the more I like it! Functional Fit is the fad term that best describes how we train here at WRP. And for that reason I like to name, however what we really do here at WRP is far more than just functional fitness. We instill confidence in our clients. WE make them realize that they can do far more than they think they can. We push them to new limits which they then take into their live and translate that into huge 1 hour PR's in Ultra Races, or new conquests of mountains they wouldn't of dreamed of climbing before, or simple things like walking without a limp, or being able to buy a new wardrobe since they lost 25 lbs. We challenge them to believe in themselves! We empower them to have a better quality of life, whatever that means to them! So for those reasons, I like WillPower. We all have it, we don't use it enough, but when we do, amazing things can happen! Where there is a WILL, there is a way~!!!

Have a fantastic day, and do something next week you don't really think you can do! Because you can :)

Corporate Wellness

When I was in college I did my internship in Corporate Wellness at a big company in Washington D.C. called COMSAT Communications. There was actually a whole "specialty" in Exercise Science at Colorado State related to Corporate Wellness. Now not to date myself but that was in the late 80's and early 90's. So why in 2010 are we just now realizing that big companies would be better off paying for preventative health options, rather than paying outrageous health insurance premiums? And why is it such a shocker that employees that take care of their health are better, higher producing, less absent, happier employees? So let me see if I get this right, if you are not obese, don't smoke, don't drink to excess, and exercise regularly and eat well, you cost your employer less!?! And actually can make your employer more money by being more productive. And Companies that have implemented Corporate Wellness programs, have greater employee retention rates, higher stock values, etc... Maybe it took an outrageous Health Care Bill, to finally get people to look at the prevention side...I don't know, but whatever did it, I say "yeah"! At WRP we have been doing corporate wellness programs as long as we have been in business. Everything from onsite workouts, to health and nutrition lectures, to Wellness challenges and health fairs. So if you are a CEO, CFO, COO, GM, or just the janitor at a Central Oregon company and you want to make your place a better, healthier, and more productive place to work, Call me! I would be more than happy to share my 20+ years experience in this area.

Football Conditioning

So I learned today that high schoolers are not as dumb as previously thought. After last weeks debacle at Conditioning with 30% of the participants puking at some time in the workout, today we had no pukers! Great workout guys...keep up the hard work. It will no doubt pay off in the fall!!