Career Personal Training

How to Get Fit for Free

If you’d love to get fit but don’t have any funds just now to join a gym or buy the latest fitness equipment, don’t despair - you can still get fit without spending money at all.

• Socialize over exercise. Although not exactly free, it’s often cheaper (and therefore free in a way) than meeting a friend for a coffee or a meal. Why not meet up and go swimming or ice skating instead? Or take a class together such as belly dancing or tai-chi?
• Take advantage of Student Gyms. Many schools have excellent recreation facilities, and since these types of gyms are typically funded by student fees, you may have an automatic membership once you enroll and pay these fees - take advantage of it!
• Ask around. Some local authorities offer free classes and program to help promote health in the local community. Try one!
• Take advantage of open days at local gyms - as long as you’re strong willed enough (or poor enough) to avoid signing up for membership.
• Scour the web. You will often get a free selection of exercises of every type at membership sites which provide online fitness guidance. You could build up a whole routine with a little searching. Also check out government advice. Though the information is generally targeted at beginners, you might find a suitable routine.
• Watch TV. You’ll find many exercise programs on TV these days - find a few that suit your schedule in the listings - or record for later use. If you can’t find any exercise programs, learn How to Exercise While Watching TV!
• Exercise for a good cause. Charities often use fun activities (and sometimes really tough ones) as fund-raisers. Although it normally costs money to join, you may be able persuade a whole lot of people to sponsor you and cover your entry fee for a good cause. Plus, there’s added motivation, since you don’t want to let down the people or cause that you’re helping.
• Look for Freebies. If you ask or keep an eye out, you may find exercise equipment or a set of weights that someone is glad to get rid of. You may find people buy things with high hopes and then the the equipment lies around gathering dust, ready for you to happily take it off their hands.
• Become an Opportunist. Find opportunities for exercise throughout your day. Use the stairs instead of the elevator Park a little further away than you normally would. Stretch at your desk. Hold your tummy in when waiting in line. It all counts.

Do whatever you can to be more active wherever you are. It costs nothing.

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For more information about personal trainer school please visit our web site.

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Should I hire a personal trainer?

You have been working out for a while and you have not been getting the results you have been looking for. You think it might be time to hire a personal trainer. Before you start going through the phone book or go to the local gym trying to scout for a trainer you need to take certain things into account first.

If you haven’t reached the goals you set for yourself you may need to ask yourself are these goals reasonable and achievable? Of course you may not know what is achievable or reasonable, but the key is time. If you are overweight and have been overweight for more than 5 years then your body has become accustomed to being overweight and it will probably take longer for you to see results.

Something else you may want to look into is whether or not you are sticking to the plan you set to yourself. If you are one of those people that start working out or change your diet and then fall off the wagon, you need to get your priorities in order first. I do not need to tell you if you do not stick to the plan you will not see any changes.

The reason why you need to ask yourself these questions before hiring a personal trainer is so that you can avoid wasting your time or more importantly the trainer’s time. A personal trainer helps you achieve your goals and offers motivation in order to help you achieve your goals. If your goals are unachievable or unreasonable the first person you will blame is the trainer. That is why if you have decided to use a personal trainer you need state what your goals are and ask if they seem reasonable. The more information you give the easier it will be for the trainer to help you achieve your goals.

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For more information about hiring a personal trainer and personal trainer education please visit our web site.

You Don’t Need A Fitness Personal Trainer - Personal View Of A Fitness Trainer.

If you are looking for fitness personal trainers on the net, you will come across many many health and fitness websites extolling the virtues of why you should hire a personal trainer to achieve your fitness and health goals didn’t you? If you are reading this article of which you are doing now, you are probably surprised to find why a fitness personal trainer like me is telling you why you don’t need one. You will probably think that I am crazy. Perhaps I am. Well, read on and you may discover that I am not as crazy as you think after all.

• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you hated the commitment that entails once you hire a personal trainer. Anyway, you have been working out for many years without any commitment to anyone, even to yourself and that is why, you only workout as and when you are pleased. Well, you do concede that the results you get are never satisfactory and of course you are frustrated with your results. But what the heck, you prefer to waste time, waste gym membership fees and enjoy getting frustrated. You are entitled to your liberty.
• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you hated someone to push and encourage you so that you can achieve your health and fitness goals much faster. Your idea of going to the gym is to socialize and to chat up girls. So why should you subject yourself to a regimen planned by a personal trainer who can sculpt your body to be more attractive and desirable to the girls you wanted to chat up? Your beer belly will do just fine. Girls just love big beer bellies you justify to yourself. So who needs a flat tummy with those ugly six pack abs? You certainly don’t.
• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you believe in the precept of “no pain no gain.” So if you exercise using the wrong form and techniques resulting in painful or even worse, permanent injuries, well, that is pain isn’t it? So therefore with pain, there will be gains. Hmmm, such profound reasoning that even the great philosopher Confucius will be confused if he is still alive eh?
• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you pay your income taxes. So without someone to guide and train you scientifically, you will not lose much body and visceral fat, so you will still have that high blood pressure, that potential stroke and heart attack, so that you will eventually land in a government subsidized hospital and so that some of the taxes which you have paid will be utilized by yourself. That is great clever thinking eh? You are glad that even without a PHD in business studies, you can figure out how to get a wonderful return of investments from your taxes paid
• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you believe in conforming to the society. After all, most people in your country are overweight and not exactly glowing with good health, then why should you be otherwise? You are delighted to be like most people, obese and unhealthy. Hey, you are a good citizen aren’t you?
• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you can spy on people who hired personal trainers in your gym. You eavesdrop on their trainers giving instructions and then you secretly work out according to what you have overheard not realizing that each and everyone is different and workout plans are to be tailored to each individual condition factoring in other issues like lifestyle, dietary habits and even the choice of exercises. You prefer to “monkey see, monkey do” and eventually falling painfully off the tree. Or should I say falling off the Empire State Building where the mighty King Kong fell?
• The most compelling reason why you don’t need a fitness personal trainer is because you have downloaded my “Burn Fat Build Muscles Fast” e-books and now you have a personal trainer in your hands. By following the instructions in the books you have transformed your body tremendously and are now the proud owner of an attractive and desirable body not to say you are also glowing with excellent health and fitness. Whoever said that you need to hire fitness personal trainers in order to own a lean mean attractive muscular body that only others can dream of must be crazy, don’t you agree?

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Well, despite all these reasons if you still insist on hiring a personal trainer, you may visit our website to find out more about personal training and personal training schools.

Want to be a Personal Trainer?

Personal training is one of the fastest growing careers today with very high job satisfaction levels. The U.S. Department of Labor is forecasting a 50% growth rate for the industry through the next decade.

The job of a personal trainer is specific and highly customized to suit an individuals needs. Hence it is important to understand certain aspects of personal training to be a successful Personal Trainer.

Ask yourself if personal training is right for you. Before you jump into a new career, make sure that you are a good match. Do you like helping others, do you mind working nights and weekends, are you a good listener? And most important, are you patient? And if you are planning on starting your own personal training business, you are going to need to have exceptional communication and motivation skills.

Get certified! Choosing the right certification is important because most of your personal training education will come from the certification course you choose. Make sure you choose a program that covers the areas you are interested in. For example, if you want to work with kids, make sure your certification will qualify you to work with this special group. Plan on spending $400-800 dollars on completing the program including materials. Many certifications have self-study online options which can save you money.

‘Jack of all trades and master of none’ will not take you too far in this profession. Choose a specialty. In order to grow your client base, it is helpful to specialize in an area. You can choose to work with special groups like athletes, children, senior citizens, and people with injuries. Each of these groups requires special handling so make sure you know what you are doing.

Get the job! Working at a gym is a great way to get experience. Finding clients is easy, you get a steady paycheck, and your liability insurance is provided by your employer. But work hard to prepare yourself to start your own business. That is where the money is.

Start your own business. Once you develop a loyal following of clients, you are ready to venture out on your own. Make sure you understand all the complexities of running a business like insurance, payroll and taxes.

A successful business involves a lot of hard work and dedication so remember to schedule time off for yourself when starting your business. Burnout is a real risk when you are just starting out. Create and follow a business plan prior to, and during your business year. Remember that the professional organization you got your certification from will require a specific yearly number of CECs (CEUs) to maintain your certification. Make sure you plan for the time and money it will take to complete these.

Networking is key in this business, most of all when your are just starting out. Attending conferences and conventions is a great way to meet people, keep up with the latest fitness trends and research, and be able to really learn and see how others became successful. Plus, it’s fun- a whole group of people who are as passionate about health, fitness, and physical activity as you. You’ll leave feeling inspired.

To be a successful personal trainer one must be careful and avoid disreputable certifications. A proper certification should require several months of preparation and a proctored exam. Avoid sites that offer quick certification for under $100. Do your research and check the organization’s credentials to make sure that their certifications are recognized. Trace their name to one of the “big ones”- ACSM, ACE, NSCA, NAFT, and IDEA. Working with special needs groups can increase your liability. Make sure you know what you are doing and have the proper insurance coverage.

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For more information about how to become a personal trainer please visit our web site.

How to Get Fit

Being “fit” essentially means being able to perform well in a wide variety of physical exerting circumstances. For some people, it also means being able to “fit” into their favorite clothes. Either way, if you find yourself running out of breath when doing simple things like walking up a few stairs or playing catch, it’s time to improve your physical condition.

Here are a few steps that will help you to keep fit.

Step 1.

Incorporate more physical exercise into your daily routine. You’re probably out of shape because you don’t regularly challenge your body to do anything out of the daily range of motion. So start your own exercise regimen and stick to it.

Step 2.

Switch things up. Any physical activity that causes at least a little bit of strain will help you get fit, but it’s important to remember that variety is the spice of life. Keep both your body and your mind guessing by enjoying a diversity of activities and having fun:
* Dance for exercise. Anything from ballet dance to breakdancing will increase your fitness if you stick with it.
* Jump in the pool. It doesn’t matter if you’re treading water, dog paddling, or mastering the butterfly stroke. Swimming is a good form of exercise that can be fun, too.

Step 3.

Give your body fuel. As you become more active, you’ll need more food, but not just any food–you need healthy, energy-laden food that’ll jump start the next phase of your day, not weigh it down. Learn how to eat healthy and drink more water everyday.

Step 4.

Let your body rest. When you’re giving your body a run for its money with varied physical activities, you also need to let it recover and renew by getting a sufficient amount of sleep. Determine how many hours of sleep you need in order to feel refreshed in the morning, then discipline yourself to wake up and go to bed at the same times on a daily basis.

Step 5.

Get a check-up. To stay fit in the long run, you should perform regular maintenance on your body, just as you would with a car. Take yourself to the doctor and dentist regularly to make sure everything’s running smoothly on the inside and to prevent any potential problems from arising.

Tips

• The benefits of a healthy lifestyle and physical fitness are easy to obtain with a small amount of know-how and a serious commitment. If you have decided that you’re going to work out, you have to follow through, and not look for excuses to ignore the routine. Many people say, “Tomorrow…” No! You have to start now, else you’ll be going nowhere.
• If necessary, have a serious heart-to-heart with all of your loved ones. Explain to each and every loved one that you want to be there for them for many healthy years to come. If they don’t happen to share your fitness ambitions, ask each loved one to at least respect your will to get fit, so that you can enjoy a healthy way of living.
• Also if you are overweight start with something simple like jogging 5 minutes everyday than the next week go 10 minutes a day and so forth
• Once you have gotten to your desired fitness, continue the steps that got you there. Wellness is a lifestyle!

Warnings

• Always consult a physician before beginning an exercise or diet regimen.
• Don’t over do it and cause pain. Try your hardest but if it hurts, take rest for the day.

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For more information about personal trainer school please visit our web site.

NASM Personal Training Certification

The National Association of Service Managers is the oldest, professional nonprofit association of product service executives in the United States. Founded when service techniques were just beginning to be highly recognized as a sales and marketing tool.

NASM has three objectives: improve the service industry’s quality and effectiveness; foster communications and cooperation among managers in the industry; and provide quality educational opportunities directly related to the needs of the industry. Certification recognizes those individuals who have accomplished a prescribed level of competence in their fields.

Standards for certification are established and judged by a consensus of the profession’s members, usually represented by a professional society or association. In this way, individuals are judged by their peers against standards that are recognized at an acceptable level of professionalism in the occupation.

AFAA Certification Personal Training

AFAA’s Advanced Personal Training Certification is an intensive 15-hour workshop and certification exam. This two-day workshop will give an advanced credential in the growing field of personal training. The Advanced Personal Training Certification program addresses advanced training principles for performance and athletic-related goals. The participant will practice research-based strength training techniques, and will learn to dispel common weight lifting myths.

The Advanced Personal Training Certification course curriculum includes sports nutrition, functional fitness, advanced fitness assessment and more.

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For more information about personal trainer certification please visit our web site.

How to Choose a Personal Trainer

Hiring a personal trainer can help you make the most of your gym membership. A trainer can give you a well-rounded workout that will work every muscle group, and help you develop core strength as well. Another benefit to having a personal trainer is that you learn the correct way to use the machines and weights, and you will also learn many floor exercises.

Here are a few steps to help you choose the right personal trainer:

1. Don’t be in a hurry. You don’t have to sign up for training sessions with the trainer who gives you your initial tour of the gym.

2. While you’re using the gym, pay attention to the trainers who are working with their clients. Staring in a gym is rude, but if you are using a machine near a trainer and client you can hear how they interact and get an idea of how knowledgeable the trainer is.

3. Gym membership usually includes a free monthly training session. Use these to get acquainted with the different trainers in the gym.

4. Personality matters. No matter how good a trainer is, if you don’t get along with him you won’t be happy. Some people want a drill sergeant, but others are intimidated by forceful trainers.

5. During your free monthly training sessions, interview the trainer. A good trainer will listen to you, find out what your goals are, and help you reach those goals.

6. Make sure that your trainer is certified. A good personal trainer goes through schooling to learn about nutrition, muscles, etc.

7. If the trainer seems more interested in selling you supplements than helping you work out, get a different trainer.

8. If you sign up for a number of sessions and find that you’re not getting along with the trainer, ask the management if you can switch.

9. Your personal trainer can’t do his job if you don’t do yours. Show up on time, bring a towel, and bring your water. Between training sessions, do your workouts on your own as recommended. Don’t expect to reach your goal without a lot of work and sweat.

Warnings

• Always consult your doctor before you start an exercise program.

• If any exercise hurts, tell your trainer immediately. He should be able to give you alternatives that won’t injure you.

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For more information about personal trainer school please visit our web site.

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Tips on Finding the Best Personal Trainer for Your Workout

In the past few years, there has been an increased demand for personal trainers. Personal trainers teach you how to maximize your workout as well as serve as a motivator for you. They are also able to keep you accountable for your workout because you now have someone to check in with on a regular basis. Finding the perfect personal trainer for you can be challenging, but once you find the right one, your body will benefit. There are several things to look for to ensure you are getting the best personal trainer for both your money and your body.

Certification

Certification is not a must for a good personal trainer, and the reverse is true as well. Just because a personal trainer has certification does not necessarily mean they will be good. The one certification that a good personal trainer must have is CPR and first aid certification. If something goes wrong during one of your workouts, you want someone who will know how to help you.

As far as school certifications go, there are several reputable associations that give certification and those are: National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), American college of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and American Council on Exercise (ACE). Certification from these organizations does not guarantee a good personal trainer; it simply means that he fulfilled all requirements necessary.

Exercise Plans

A good personal trainer will tailor a workout specific to your needs. Everyone has a different body type, and workouts are designed as such. One sign of a poor personal trainer is one who uses the same workout for all of his clients. This is not effective for you and you will not benefit from this kind of personal training. The whole point of it being “personal” is that workouts are tailored to meet your specific needs. There is no cookie cutter workout that satisfies every single body type.

Health and Fitness Assessments

These are absolutely necessary in order to see your progress. Some personal trainers will offer a written assessment at the initial session, and some will prefer to challenge your body (strength, endurance, etc.) to see what needs work. A good personal trainer will track your progress for you so you can see how far you have come since that first session. Personal trainers should be taking measurements at each session so they can tailor your workout to suit your needs.

Diet and Nutrition

Your personal trainer does not double as a nutritionist, but they should be able to offer you advice on your diet to compliment your workout. They know that exercise alone will not work unless you are eating right. More than likely, they will not come up with an entire meal plan for you, but they can suggest what foods you should be eating to refuel your body after a workout.

In order to find the perfect personal trainer, these issues above will need to be addressed. It may be necessary to “try out” a personal trainer, or even several personal trainers before you find the right one. Talk to people at your gym to see who they recommend, and ask your trainer for references. If he is good, he should have no problem giving you a few names. Information gathering can be tedious, but I can assure you that your body will appreciate all the work once you’ve found a good person

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For more information about personal trainer certification please visit our web site.

Home Workouts: Are They Really Worth It?

The DVD is loaded in the player, you have the TV turned to just the right angle for viewing, you have a cold-water bottle strapped to the side of your exercise bicycle, and you’re ready to begin your home workout.

But can you really gain as much benefit from workouts at home as opposed to working out at a gym or with a personal trainer?

Opinions differ widely on whether there are any real benefits to home workouts or if there might be some benefits, but not what you would find by working out at a gym or with a personal trainer. Those who stand to profit from the sales of home workout items such as books, exercise videos and exercise equipment are understandably quick to offer up reasons to support the assertion that there are benefits to home workouts. While others, dispute most of the claims made about the benefits possible with home workouts.

The truth lies somewhere in the middle of these two schools of thought on whether home workouts are just as beneficial to physical health as gym workouts or those done under the guidance of a personal trainer. There are advantages and disadvantages to home workouts.

You can work out at home when it is convenient for you to do so, day or night. Gym workouts and working out with a personal trainer are subject to the gym’s hours of operation and your personal trainer’s work schedule.

Inclement whether doesn’t normally interfere with a home workout. It can however, prevent you from being able to get out and travel to a gym or to meet at a designated place with a personal trainer.

The camera angle on an exercise done in a video or the illustration of how to do an exercise from a book may not be as clear as it needs to be for you to perform the exercise correctly. This places you at risk for sustaining an injury. With gym workouts, you have fitness experts who can guide you on how to properly do an exercise to avoid injury. The same is true with working out with a personal trainer.

Books on home workouts may contain outdated or even incorrect information about what types of exercises you should be doing to benefit your health the most. The experts at a gym and the expertise of a personal trainer can guide you to the exercise workouts that have the most health benefits.

With home workouts it may be hard for you to find the motivation to continue with home workouts on a long-term basis. Working out in a gym or with a personal trainer provides you with the encouragement you may need to stick to an exercise routine long term.

With a home workout you can exercise in your underwear or in the “buff” if you like. Most gyms do require you to wear a shirt, shorts, or pants, and shoes. A personal trainer is not likely to want to see you in your birthday suit either!

A home workout is much better for your health than no workout at all. If you balk at joining a gym or hiring a personal trainer and use that as reason not to workout at all, by all means workout at home!

Well-rounded health workouts include: gym workouts, instruction from a personal trainer, and workouts that you can do at home.

Home workouts: are they really worth it? The answer is yes and no. It depends on how often you do home workouts, whether you’re performing exercise correctly, and whether you supplement your home workouts with other workouts.

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For more information about personal training schools please visit our web site.

Phone Personal Training: Does it Work?

Personal training is a fitness trend that is really gaining momentum. A recent development is personal training via phone or email. Most phone personal trainers will converse via email as well. With most services, there is a part of the population that will benefit from and enjoy phone personal training. However, there are definitely some negative aspects of doing personal training over the phone. Each side will be outlined in order to provide you with an overall picture of how (and if) personal training over the phone will work for you.

Positives

• Busier people will definitely benefit from this service because it enables them to workout on their own time and report in when they can. People that do not have the leisure of scheduling a three-day-a-week workout at 9am, and instead have to stagger their workout times will find this service easier to use due to its flexibility. Many phone personal trainers available advertise a weekly phone session to check up on progress so a workout plan can be adjusted.

• Most people know how to work out already; they are just looking for a personal trainer for motivation. A phone personal trainer provides the encouragement and motivation that one needs; it still gives you someone to be accountable to and check in with. Phone personal trainers provide more coaching than anything, mainly because they are not with you when you are working out but are tracking your progress nonetheless.

• Based on your specific goals, a phone personal trainer will still design a workout program specifically for you. The weekly phone sessions are used to talk about the week’s progress and see what works and what doesn’t. The workout plan is then tweaked from week to week to increase intensity and help you reach your fitness goal.

Negatives

• The most obvious negative to using a phone personal trainer is that you lose that “personal” part - your trainer is not there with you working out because they only available over the phone once a week. Some people need the motivation in the moment, not after the workout has been completed. When working out with a personal trainer, they are going to push you harder than you would push yourself if they were not there. Two more reps of an exercise or two more minutes of running can make a big difference in the long run - both for your body and for your self-confidence.

• A benefit of having a personal trainer in person and not over the phone is that there is immediate feedback on your workout. Your personal trainer is able to coach you on form and technique immediately instead of a week later. If you go a week doing a workout that was designed for you, and you are doing one part of it wrong because you weren’t sure of the technique, that could be precious time (and money!) wasted.

The bottom line is that for some people, phone personal training will work out wonderfully. For others, it will be a waste of time and money. You have to figure out how motivated you are and whether or not you are comfortable with your technique and form in order to decide which option will best suit your needs. Either way, you are gaining someone to be accountable to, and fitness goals aside, sometimes that is all people need.

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For more information about personal trainer courses please visit our web site.