Fit Facts
Reap The Rewards of Personal Training
All the rich and famous celebrities have one. In fact, some are rich and famous themselves. But you don't have to be either one to reap the benefits of hiring a personal trainer.
More and more people, novice and veteran exercisers alike, are working with personal trainers because they offer a practical and affordable means of getting and staying healthy.
A trainer for everybody
Many automatically equate personal training with gyms full of hard-core strength trainers and bodybuilders. This is only part of the picture. Anyone, young and old, in-shape and out, can utilize a personal trainer for a variety of reasons.
For example, many professional and amateur athletes work with personal trainers during the off-season to prepare themselves for in-season competition. Individuals recovering from an injury or accident may enlist the help of a personal trainer (in conjunction with their physical therapist) to get them back in top form.
The work of the majority of personal trainers focuses on increasing and/or maintaining their clients' fitness levels, assisting them in weight loss and overseeing their strength training and cardiovascular activities. Strength training, in particular, has received increased recognition in recent years because a lack of strength is now known to be a risk factor for disease, especially for older populations.
Tailor-made training
Personal trainers wear many hats, serving not only as coach, but also as confidant, role model, educator and a major source of motivation and encouragement.
Some people may want constant supervision - two to three times a week, which makes them more likely to stick to their program because they are accountable to someone else for their exercise time. Others may prefer to see a trainer only on occasion to update their exercise program, or for periodic fitness testing to receive feedback on their progress.
It is the novice exerciser, however, who may find a personal trainer most valuable. Working with a personal trainer for a few sessions is often all it takes for some people to feel comfortable with independent exercise.
The following describes the most common services offered to those beginning an exercise program:
*Fitness evaluation
This is a series of tests designed to assess cardiovascular fitness, body-fat percentage, flexibility and muscular strength and endurance.
*Personalized exercise program
An individualized exercise program is designed based on the individual's fitness evaluation results and personal fitness and health goals.
*Supervised exercise
Personal attention during exercise is the primary function of personal trainers. Clients are given a detailed orientation that addresses the aerobic, strength and flexibility components of the exercise program, and are educated about the fundamentals of strength and aerobic training, as well as the proper and safe use of equipment.
Choosing one that fits
Once you have made the decision to hire a personal trainer, all that is left is to find one who best suits your needs. Of course, you want a personal trainer who is certified by the American Council on Exercise, American College of Sports Medicine, National Academy of Sports Medicine or National Strength and Condioning Association. (Call 614-306-2168 to locate the a certified Personal Trainer from Excel Fitness that is right for you.)
This is your assurance that you're working with a trainer who has the knowledge to provide you with a safe and effective workout. Don't hesitate to ask for references, and be sure that the trainer has liability insurance and provides business policies in writing.
Rates will vary, depending on the trainer's experience and the length and location of the workout session. While some health clubs offer personal training services to their members at reduced rates, most personal trainers typically charge $15 to $75 per hour for their services depending on what type of training session you purchase. Types such as: 1-1, group, 1/2 hour, 45 minute or Boot camps. Below find discriptions of each type and benifit.
Finally, ask yourself if you could get along well with the trainer and whether or not they seem genuinely interested in helping you. If they meet all your other prerequisites, this is the trainer to hire. Together, you and your trainer can determine your best route to better health and fitness.
Weight Loss Plateaus and Pitfalls
It's kind of like running into a wall - that feeling you get when, after a few months on a weight-loss program, you suddenly stop seeing results.
This is called "hitting a plateau" and it is not uncommon. In fact, unless you continually update your program to reflect the changes your body has already experienced, you can almost be guaranteed to plateau at some point along your journey toward reaching your goal weight.
Weight-loss woes
The first thing you should do upon hitting a plateau is try to determine the cause. Could you be eating more calories than you think?
Research shows that most people underreport the number of calories they eat - it's not that they're lying, they just don't know how to make an accurate assessment of how much they're eating. And even if you're eating less calories than before you lost the weight, you could be eating just enough to maintain your current weight at your current activity level.
It is important to keep in mind that as you lose weight, your metabolism slows down because there is less of you to fuel, both at rest and during activity. So, while a diet of 1,800 calories per day helped you lose a certain amount of weight, if you've hit a plateau, it could be that 1,800 calories is the exact amount you need to stay at your current weight.
Exercise your options
This leaves you with two options: Lower your caloric intake further or increase the amount of time you spend being physically active.
The first option is less desirable because you may not be able to get sufficient nutrients from a diet that is very low in calories, and it is difficult to stick to it for very long. It is much better to moderately reduce calories to a level that you can sustain when you reach your goal weight.
The same is true for exercise. Trying to exercise for several hours per day to burn more calories is a good way to set yourself up for failure. Not only does this type of regimen require an enormous time commitment, it is hard on the body, making you more susceptible to injury and overuse syndromes.
To help balance the intake with the expenditure, a good rule of thumb is to multiply your goal weight by 10 calories per pound, and add more calories according to how active you are. Again, be realistic. Don't attempt too much in an effort to burn more calories.
Instead, aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity most of the days of the week and, as you become more fit, gradually increase the intensity and duration of your exercise sessions. Choose activities that you find enjoyable, whether that be in-line skating, step classes or even mall walking.
Another means for getting you off the plateau is strength training, which has been shown to be very effective in helping people manage their weight because the added muscle helps to offset the metabolism-lowering effect of dieting and losing weight.
Muscle is much more metabolically active than fat; therefore, the more muscle you can add, the higher your metabolism will be.
Get off the plateau
If you've stopped losing weight, the key to getting off the plateau is to vary your program. The human body is an amazing piece of machinery, capable of adapting to just about any circumstance or stimulus.
By shaking things up a bit and varying your program by introducing some new elements, you'll likely find yourself off the plateau and back on the road to progress in no time.
Obsession -vs- Control
The best way to hold yourself accountable is to weigh yourself once a week at the same time of the day. Whatever you do, don't get carried away and start to weigh yourself everyday.
Do you want these ABS? Then listen to me when I say that there is no magical exercise that will channel the fat burn from the belly to the working muscles of the abs. There is no direct link to muscles and fat. Unwanted body fat must be burned through cardiovascular exercise and circuit traning. The fat will fly off if done correctly and consistently. Fat will come off the last place it was deposited. I will teach you how to work out smarter so you can spend your time in the gym more effectively. Hire an Excel Fitness Personal Trainer to help you, and watch the fat melt away!