Is the Price Right? Is the Trainer Right?

How much should you really be paying for a personal trainer? The average cost of a trainer is around $50.00- $80.00 per session (one hour) and I say average because there is just so much out there. For example, if you have a trainer at a private camp, your price tag is going to be the the quadruple zeros range. {$10,000} Then you also may know someone who is a good friend for a long time who will train you for $10 an hour. A lot of trainers will also do a service exchange with other licensed professionals. Example; Massage Therapists, Coaches, Photographers, Accountants etc.

So why does a trainer cost so much?
Would you want someone with the gym experience of a 15 year old to tell you what to do? Now you may want a trainer with the body of a 15 year old to train you, but to insure that they are qualified they need to get licenced. Most certification companies will charge between $500-$1,000 for books, materials, and the test. Now add a college degree on top of that, and your looking at a lot of debt. and it doesn't stop there.

After getting educated and certified many trainers will begin working for a gym to build up a client base. Some gyms require a trainer to get their own liability insurance and business licence. Add that up for another $500. Then with how saturated the market is, trainers will need to spend money getting their name out there. Separation yourself from the crowd is expensive, trainers may spend hundreds in their first year trying to draw attention.

Now you might be wondering how any of them get started. Well a new trainer will be focusing on just getting their name out there. You can probably find a new trainer who is willing charge $25- $35 for a session. If someone is new to the fitness field (less than a year of experience) this is a reasonable price. Keep in mind that your trainer is learning from you, don't expect them to know everything or to know what is proper for all health problems.

So if you are looking for a trainer make sure you ask them these questions
1. Who are you certified through? (Keep your eyes out for trainers who are certified through ACE, ACSM, NASAM, ISSA, AFAA. These are the leading certifications)
2. How much do you charge? (See if they have any discounts or packaging available)
3. How long have you been in the fitness industry (If they have a background in group fitnessthen keep your ears perked up)
4. How long have you been a personal trainer? (Does their experience match their price?)
5. What are you sports? (Keep your eyes open for an athlete)

If you feel like your trainer is someone who has expertise in a field that matches your needs (you have arthritis and they have been teaching water aerobics for 5 years) then you should defiantly keep them in your radar. If they are a bodybuilder and you want to do a triathlon then you should look for a trainer who better matches your needs.

Finally, you need to know when they are just after your wallet. The family rule is; if they are making something sound too good to be true, it is. If they are pushing you to buy right now "for the next hour if you sign up for a month you get %10 percent off" NEVER fall for this pressure sale! They want you to hurry into a contract without thinking about it. If they are offering a promotion and you want more time to think, just ask them if they will honor the promotional price if you can go home and talk to your spouse about it first.

So is training for you? This is up for you to decide. It is a big financial commitment, but in the long run you will live with a higher quality of life, be healthier, do more and spend less time in a hospital for health issues. Stay tuned for a post on the benefits of personal training. Have a fantastic weekend and remember to party safe!

As always, leave a question or a comment in the post comment box or the bottom community question box.

Workout Week 1

This week we are going to focus on a beginner friendly workout. We are going to cater to those individuals who need to work on their stability/ mobility base. So our two training components highlighted will be our Postural kinetic chain stability and kinetic chain mobility.
Kinetic means body weight, so all our workouts will only involve the weight of our own body. Everything this week will be your bread and butter, the basic moves of fitness. So who is ready to get started?

Monday
warm up, 5 minutes of movement
3 sets of 16 body weight squats

make sure to go down and up slow and controlled. You want to move around 2 counts up and 3-4 counts down.
3 sets of 16 calf raises

The same rules apply, go slow. If having both legs together is too easy, try doing one leg at a time.
3 sets of 32 hamstring/ glute lifts
(start with your back and butt flat on the ground, knees bent and feet on the floor, then lift up and squeeze you butt, pressing your hips up)

You need to really squeeze on this one, focus on the backside of your legs as well as your breathing (breath in as you raise and out as you lower)
-REPEAT AS NECESSARY-

Tuesday
warm up, 5 minutes of movement
 3 sets of 8 push ups
(TRADITIONAL)
 (MODIFIED EASY)
Remember to breath out on the contract and in on the release)
3 sets of 8 body weight dips

You can modify this  one by using a chair or step in you house and keeping your feet out away from your body on the floor

The easiest and most common way to get your biceps requires you to get some light to medium weighs
3 sets of 16 bicep curls

-REPEAT AS NECESSARY-

Wednesday
warm up, 5 minutes of movement
3 sets of 1 minute planks

Do not hold your breath and remember to keep your butt down and spine in line
3 sets of 16 Superman's (back extensions)

If this hurts you neck DO NOT push through the pain. Seek advice from a personal trainer or doctor.
3 sets of 16 oblique crunches each side

Keep your belly to spine and pretend that you are a 2D figure. you can only move up and down.
-REPEAT AS NECESSARY-

Thursday
warm up, 5 minutes of movement
3 sets of 16 sumo squats

Keep your toes out and do not lock your legs at the top
3 sets of 16 no weight dead lifts

Now remember, we are not using weights yet. Just lean forward and keep your legs straight but not locked. Then squeeze you backside as much as you can as you raise up to standing.
3 sets of 1 minute shin taps

Now we don't have a picture of the workout. Above is your target muscle instead. You are going to lay on your back with your feet up in the air. It is ok to have your knees slightly bent or against a wall. The point is to get the legs up. Then you are simply going to tap your feet in the air as quick as you can as if you are tapping you toes to a song. Do this as quickly as you can for one minute then shake them out and repeat twice more.
-REPEAT AS NECESSARY-

Friday
warm up, 5 minutes of movement
9 minutes of arm waves

In the first minute rotate your arm forward quickly as you can in circles about the size  of a grapefruit. In the second minute rotate backwards. In your third minute begin to rotate not only the arms but the shoulders will roll as well as if you are turning a big handle, then rotate backwards for your fourth minute. In our fifth minute you are going to flex your arms and make a flapping motion as if you are trying to take flight. (as silly as if feels it is so good for you) In your sixth minute  you are going to raise your arms up slightly flexed and bend and press up like you are trying to lift up the word over and over quickly. In your seventh minute make figure eights to the side (similar to the top photo) In the eighth minute you will do your figure eights vertically. Then finally the finale minute you will just hold your arms out straight for a whole minute (if you can!)
3 sets of 16 superman arm presses

remember our superman position? Now grab some light weights and take you hands all the way behind your body and raise up (note: picture has arms out to the sides, you will keep your arms behind you and your legs down)
3 sets of 8 Australian push ups

You can have your knees bent or straight, but you will be pushing against a table, wall or step.
-REPEAT AS NECESSARY-

Saturday
Warm up, 5 minutes of movement
3 sets of 16 leg up crunches

Remember to breath in as you go down and out as you lift up. Keep it slow, the slower the better.
3 sets of 1 minute bicycle

Lift up your body and pedal your feet as if you are riding a bike. For extra spice you can rotate the body and touch opposite elbow (should feel more like reaching a shoulder) to the knee
3 sets of 1 minute reverse plank

note, photo has fingers facing back, try it with fingers facing your feet.
-REPEAT AS NECESSARY-

Ok
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Physical Wellness

Ok, remember back on my post The Five Components of Wellness? I said stay tuned for more on physical wellness. In a nutshell physical wellness is really all about what your eating and what your doing. If you eat potato chips and soda pop all day, you will be on the heavy side, getting bigger every day. If you eat organic fruits and veggies with water, then your body will reward you with glowing skin, energy, and better health.

The American Council on Exercise teaches that their are 12 components to physical fitness as far as exercise goes. (We will go over these twelve in a minute) This is much more in depth than the classic formula (Aerobic fitness, muscular strength/ endurance, and flexibility) Maybe for some of you, your workout only consists of one of these groups and you don't cross train.
I highly encourage runners to lift weights and do their stretching. This will keep your muscles in balance and help prevent common running injuries like shin splints, IT band syndrome, and knee issues. Same goes for weight lifters. Guys especially, you need to spend time doing cardio. I see it all the time, boys lifting heavy weights and taking protein. In the long run you will develop injuries, gain weight (as in fat) and stunt your growth. Then you have your yogies, those who swear by yoga and Pilate's, not that I don't love my yoga (I practice it regally) but unless you spend time lifting more than your body weight and strengthening your heart. You will develop over flexibility and imbalance problems. I know several die hard yogies who only do yoga, then once they try hot room yoga or need to do something physical, they pass out because they are not adapted to a dynamic movement.

So if you haven't gotten your major 3 into your routine yet, you really should talk to a trainer or friend who studies fitness and get some cross training in your routine. It is very common for NFL players to take ballet classes as part of their training to improve their game. Swimmers spend time lifting weighs, and its common for rock climbers to do yoga.

Now back to the big 12, if you followed this then your workout would consist of; Postural kinetic chain stability, kinetic chain mobility, movement efficiency, core conditioning, balance, cardiorespiratory aerobic fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, metabolic markers (ventilatory thresholds), agility/ coordination/ reactivity, and finally speed/power.

This is where it will be easy for me to go off on a tangent on all these different components, but I will try to post on each of these later. For now I want to leave you with the thought of breaking out of a humdrum routine and getting serious about fully dedicating yourself to your workout. Ya a 5 minute walk a day has been extensively proven to increase health benefits in overweight and obese individuals. However if you want to loose any weigh you need to be putting some sweat in the gym.

Physical fitness is SO much more than the classic crunches and push ups. Its time you take your time very seriously when it comes to your hour or half hour you dedicate daily to your routine. The next following 6 weeks (starting September 18th ) we are going to go through a routine that covers all twelve of the ACE components of fitness. Please join me in a dedication to you. Feel free to leave a comment or question at the very bottom of the blog. And as always, stay positive and enjoy the journey.