A Better Way To Understand Professional Trainers

Most Fitness Professionals know that as every New Year approaches, people start to think about the significance of exercising as it relates to weightloss and general health. Many New Year's resolutions are made to start an exercise program or increase one's amount of physical activity. In line with International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), more than 12 percent of gym members join in January compared to a typical of 8.3 percent per 30 days for the full year. New gym memberships also show an increase in March as people start to focus on the way they want to look for the summer months.

As a certified Fitness Professional that works as a Personal Trainer in a corporate gym, it's amazing to determine how many gym members try to achieve their fitness goals on their own own with minimum understanding of sometimes even how exactly to operate the machines they elect to use. In many cases members count on friends that they deem "in shape" or "fit" to help them to reach the perceived amount of fitness success they can have, with no real science behind their exercise routines or programming. What many people fail to realize is that the main difference in someone's body type can often have an impression on how their body responds to the same exercise done by somebody else with another body type.

Apart from consulting with a medical professional ahead of starting any exercise program, it's also critical that an initial fitness assessment be conducted by a licensed Fitness Professional. This assessment should take note of a person's health, fitness background, current level of activity, previous injuries, surgeries, medications being taken and any limitations or specific recommendations given by a healthcare professional. These important elements about someone will be crucial to a Fitness Professional just before any exercise program design. An "in shape" friend with no education or know-how about a scientific approach to exercising will likely not do an initial assessment and could unintentionally coach their friend in to a possible injury because of this neglect.

The perception of what constitutes an excellent personal trainer is subjective. Most of the people once they consider employing a personal trainer do not exactly determine what attributes they will want to look for.

Perhaps you discover yourself in a similar position-is selecting a trainer about personality, age, or gender? Is it about work mentality or similar fitness ideals? What should potential clients must know about the person they choose? Are there "deal-breaker" questions? Does it matter if a trainer does not actually possess any education in exercise fitness, physiology, or nutrition? If you're within the marketplace for a personal fitness trainer, get answers for yourself and hire the trainer with the answers that most closely match the next suggestions.

First of all, fitness trainers are not workout buddies. Rather, a professional trainer listens to your personal needs and goals; assesses your health and fitness; designs a means of tracking your progress; motivates, pushes, or else inspires you to keep moving forward; and after that creates or builds a program specifically for you. The level of expertise, professional training, and education required by these tasks is nothing to sneeze at. Ask your trainer if they are a certified fitness trainer. Some recognized certification fitness associations include ISSA, the national Academy of Sports Medicine and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. If your potential trainer is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist or possibly a Health Fitness Specialist and CPR certified, you are off to a great start.

What about college? As always, it's possible to be an authorized trainer without having a four-year major in a health, fitness, and/or wellness program. Yet, any preliminary or additional college-level education certainly takes a prospective trainer up a notch or two over the competition. In addition, trainers who get pumped up about fitness-oriented seminars, training opportunities, and/or alternate industry certifications should be kept on the potential trainer list. Whenever they are interested in bettering themselves they're probably genuinely excited about bettering you and your fitness too.

Why all the hoopla about record keeping and accountability? The capability to track a client's progress in a concrete, easy-to-understand way often separates the great personal fitness trainers from the great ones. It's not as easy as it sounds. Ask a trainer how he/she plans to map your fitness. Will you get copies of workouts to acquire and do on your own? Will the trainer work with a computer program to track your progress? Get a clear image of how training will "look" with anyone you are serious about hiring. If a trainer cannot give you a clear, concise response to these questions (or better but, show you actual examples of model workouts, readouts, etc.) take them out of the running.

Lastly, how serious is your trainer about you? Does this trainer give undivided focus on you during the personal time you pay for? Or does he/she speak to other gym members while you struggle over the last chin-up, lose count of reps and/or come unprepared to train you ("Let's just wing it today..."). You well being as well as fitness is very important to you. It should be essential to your trainer too.