Choosing a Personal Trainer For Your Health and Fitness Needs

Jason Richardes asked:


There are several wonderful advantages you get from having your own personal trainer to help with your health and fitness needs. A personal trainer can give you motivation, professional expertise and personalized attention. All of this can make it easier for you’re to attain all of your health and fitness goals. However, each individual personal trainer is different when it comes to their educational background and costs along with their philosophy, training and consulting practices. So how can you make sure you get a personal trainer that matches your individual needs?

Do your research properly:

Before you hire your first personal training be sure to learn about their individual philosophy, education/credentials, experience and rates to make sure you are getting the right one. This not only allows you to make sure you are getting a qualified personal trainer, but it ensures you are getting someone who meets your personal needs and will work hard to help you meet your health and fitness goals. After narrowing your list of trainer then talk with each of them to make sure they clearly understand your health and fitness goals and objectives to make sure they are best suited to your needs. The following are some important questions to ask each trainer when determining which is right for you.

First ask why they wanted to become a personal trainer. Not only should the ideal personal trainer have a passion for health and fitness, but they should also want to share their expertise with you and help you to reach your personal health and fitness goals.

Second ask if they keep up with current research. A personal trainer needs to be continually updated through seminars, workshops or books. This guarantees you are getting a personal trainer with up to date knowledge on the safe and effective means of helping you reach your health and fitness goals.

Be sure to look for proper references:

Third, be sure to ask for references. If a trainer is good they will have satisfied customers who they will be willing to put you in touch with. Be sure to call two or three of these clients to check on the trainer’s strengths and weaknesses. A good trainer will be remembered for being professional, informative and dependable. A good trainer will also explain the reason behind their recommendations and individual decisions.

Fourth, be sure they have liability insurance and are certified in CPR and first aid. Good personal trainers will protect their clients by having liability insurance against personal injury and property loss. A personal trainer must also know which procedures to follow in the event of emergency situations.

Lastly be sure to get information on fees and training/business policies. You should be sure you are clear on the fees and any additional rates so you can be sure the personal trainer will work comfortably within your budget. You should also make sure the policy doesn’t include any extra fees, contracts, cancellations or billing procedures that can affect the cost which will have an impact on your ability to reach your health and fitness goals.



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The Key to Health and Fitness

C Lynn Beebe asked:


The key to achieving good health is really quite simple. About now youre undoubtedly thinking, if it is so simple, why is the health level of the overall population declining at a record pace?

Of course the key to how one becomes healthy and maintains health is not difficult. In fact you may already know several of the things you should be doing to improve your health. It becomes complicated when we are faced with choices that are less than healthful and they cloud our judgment. These distractions compete for our attention with more healthful alternatives that may not seem quite as exciting.

We must allow ourselves to become focused by gaining an understanding of what is required in order to get the big prize – a healthy life. Basically there are three parts we need to master including proper nutrition, fitness, and finally the motivation to keep on track with both.

Proper nutrition, or healthy eating, is probably the most basic and easiest to understand principle of good health. Virtually everyone is aware when they are eating something that is healthful versus a food that is void of nutritional value.

Many times the simplest method of including a majority of healthful foods in the diet is to focus on good foods to eat rather than on bad foods that should not be eaten. As with most things in life, focusing on the positive usually produces the best results. Try to include as many fruits, vegetables, lean meats and whole grains as possible in each days meal plan. By including a large amount of good foods each day, you will find that theres little room left for the not-so-good foods. Proper nutrition will be nearly automatic.

Unlike nutrition, fitness is a bit more difficult to incorporate into daily life. The primary reason for this is that everyone must eat in order to live. Achieving proper nutrition simply means making the right choices for something you are going to do anyway. Activity, however, is not something we must do every day. Even though we should move every day, we wont suffer major consequences immediately if we dont. Instead, the price will be paid years down the road.

The key to increasing ones fitness is to build upon the activities already in place. For example, walking is an activity that most people perform every day. To get the most of this daily activity, expand the amount of walking you do. For example, park in the back of a parking lot to increase the number of steps it takes to reach your destination. Once inside a multi-level building, take the stairs to move from floor to floor rather than the elevator. Start with small changes and build from there.

Once you have increased your natural activity level it is time to focus on developing a fitness routine. Start slowly with just a short period of time devoted to your program each day. Even ten minutes is a good start. The key is to start a program and stick with it.

Sticking with it is where the motivation factor comes in. Motivation is tricky and its different for everyone. Many people are motivated by doing something routinely and building on it. If youre one of those people, consider yourself lucky and just get started with your health plans. The rest will take care of itself.

For the rest of us it is important to find what motivates us. Maybe its buying a new workout outfit or trying a new healthful recipe. Many people like to read fitness magazines and search online for new tips and exercise techniques. Others read inspiring stories and quotes.

Whatever it is for you, find it as soon as possible and hold on to it. Getting motivated is the number one key to achieving your health and fitness goals.



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