Four Benefits to Using a Personal Trainer to Get in Shape

You know exercise is good for you. But that doesn't mean you know what to do or where to start. It also doesn't mean you have the motivation. It doesn't mean you know what exercises you should do to meet your goals or you know how to do them. It's not something you're born knowing, and the knowledge isn't magically endowed upon you when you decide to start going to the gym.

Never fear, there is an option for you.

You don't have to go to the gym and worry about not knowing what to do, or do the exercises inefficiently. You don't have to let your lack of knowledge, experience or motivations stop you exercising and meeting all your goals. You can hire a personal trainer.

Most people think hiring a trainer is out of reach. You might think it's only for people who have a lot of money. But, trainers are very reasonably priced these days. Your gym will probably have access to two or three they recommend. They might even be on staff. You can pay for their time and get the help you need and skip all that trial and error and hit the ground running or lifting!

OK, now you have your personal trainer on board and they're standing over you telling you what to do, you're probably thinking you're back in grade school, and asking yourself why exactly you got yourself into this. There are four good answers to that question. You get the answers when you see the benefits to having a trainer.

Here are my favorite four benefits being a personal trainer myself:

1. Number one is you're going to get an accurate assessment of your abilities. You can't judge usually judge at the beginning how well you can do something. Underestimating your abilities will mean you won't be getting a challenge from your workout program. But overestimating means you run a good risk of hurting yourself because you're doing too much. A qualified trainer is going to be able to accurately judge what you can do, and can help you set up an appropriate workout program.

2. The second benefit to using a trainer is you're going to learn how to do everything the right way. You will learn the proper form for each exercise, and the right way to use the various machines or free weights. At best, using the wrong form on an exercise will cause you to lose a lot of the benefit from it. At worst, you run the risk of seriously injury to yourself. A personal trainer will show you the right way to do each exercise and use the equipment to ensure you get the most benefit.

3. Motivation is important. At some point you'll lose your motivation and things will get harder and life will begin to get in the way. You'll lose your focus and will start slacking off. It happens to everyone. The third benefit from having personal training is motivation. Human nature is such that when you're accountable only to yourself it's easy to justify slacking off. You can convince yourself you've a good reason to take today off. But, when you have someone you have to talk to about your workout, and who is encouraging you to keep going, it is hard to disappoint that person. A trainer can also help keep you motivated by changing up your workout plan. Boredom makes it easy to lose your focus.

4. The final benefit is that you will get a workout that is completely customized to you. Before you even do one exercise or evaluation you and your new personal trainer will sit down and talk about your goals. You will tell your trainer what it is you want, and he or she will make a plan for you to ensure you meet your goals - providing you do the work be consistent with your workouts.

If you want to start working out, the best way to make sure that you get the most out of it is to hire a personal trainer and follow the plan they put in place for you. And always have fun.

Liane Blyn is the co-owner of Athletic Based Training in the Metro-West Boston area and helps athletes of all levels and ages optimize their athletic performance. Liane runs programs for Strength and Conditioning in Milford and Holliston Massachusetts locations and you can get more details about her programs at her website here: http://www.athleticbasedtraining.com/

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Getting Back Into Shape

The steps to getting into, or back into, shape are simple and finite. No matter what condition you are in, you can get back into reasonable shape by following the 10-step process outlined below. This process works well for those individuals looking to improve their personal level of fitness, but works equally well for a person desiring to enter their first 5K road race.

1. If it has been a while since you've had a physical, I suggest you get one. Have the doctor say it's okay to start an exercise regimen. I had a man start a nutrition and fitness program with me, recently, that was Stage 2 hypertensive and didn't know it.

2. Start gradually from where you are. Start the program by setting aside time each week day to get some exercise. Shoot for 30 minutes initially. I say "week day" because most of us baby-boomers are weekend warriors and get adequate exercise on Saturday, followed by much needed recuperation on Sunday.

3. WEEK 1 - Once you have the time-frame scheduled, do some light stretching (every session), followed by walking at a reasonably quick pace...Like you're late for a meeting or something. You should feel your heart-rate rise and your respiration increasing, but not to the point where you are short of breath. Enjoy the fresh air and knowledge that you are doing something valuable with your time, but don't overdo at this stage.

4. WEEK 2 - After a week of this, you will likely find yourself wanting more. Increase your speed to a relatively fast pace. You should start to feel a little winded, and should start working up a sweat by the end of your power-walk.

5. WEEK 3 - Increase your walk to 45 minutes at the same quickened pace. After 20-30 minutes of burning glycogen, stored within your body, your body will shift into fat-burning mode for the remainder of your workout.

6. WEEK 4 - This week, introduce intermittent 30-60 second cycles of slow jogging every 5 minutes, followed by fast walking. Your jogging speed should be slightly faster than your power-walk speed.

7. WEEK 5 - Increase your jogging intervals to 2-3 minutes each cycle, followed by 5 minutes of fast-walking.

8. WEEK 6 - By now, like any thoroughbred, you want to run. Before doing so, make sure you are doing your stretching prior to each work-out. Stretching becomes very important as the intensity of your workout increases. After thorough stretching, warm up the muscles first by walking first, transitioning into a slow jog after a few minutes. Continue your jog for as far as you feel comfortable. After several minutes, if you feel exhausted, back off to a fast walk until your heart rate slows and your respiration returns to nearly normal. Then jog some more, as you feel able. No one is keeping score or holding a stop watch. Again, enjoy yourself.

9. WEEK 7 - Workouts now will be similar to Week 6... Thorough stretching, adequate warm-up, and jog as long as the body allows comfortably. As you continue this routine you will find that your fitness level improves weekly. By now you are likely jogging for 20-30 minutes continuously or, maybe even with a couple of rest periods.

10. WEEK 8 (and beyond) - At this juncture you are ready to begin thinking about a 5K benefit race in the not so distant future. Jump in your car and measure out a 1.6 mile stretch from where you begin your workouts. If you start from your house, measure out 1.6 miles and try to jog out to your mark and back, 2-3 times per week. Take a rest as you need it, but wean yourself off the rest periods about a month from your race date.

By now you are well on your way to participating in a local 5K race, if you should so desire. Go to Active.com or CoolRunning.com and check out some local events. Pick one and sign up for it. In my experience, there are few things more motivational to a runner than the knowledge of a looming race date.

Whether you are planning to do a few races, or not, the benefits of increased fitness cannot be underestimated. Regular exercise is critical to overall health and longevity. So enjoy the fact that, win, lose or draw, you have made a positive impact on your health by getting back in shape.

Dennis Lampman is a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Counselor, Certified Personal Trainer and Staff Writer with the Health Enhancement Group of New England, LLC, an education-based provider of health and wellness products and services.

As a 30-year veteran of the nutrition and fitness industry, Dennis possesses a depth of experience and knowledge that is difficult to find in this rapidly emerging field. He has competed in organized athletics since the 1970's, competing in football, track & field, weight-lifting, karate, wrestling, boxing, body-building, motocross and ice-hockey.

Now in his 50's, Dennis continues to play league ice-hockey in the winter and is a competitive triathlete in the summer. He and his wife of 31 years currently reside in the New England area. For more information about Dennis or the Health Enhancement Group of New England, go to: http://www.healthenhancementgroup.com/.

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What Is Healthy About A Shape?

What kind of shape is your health? The shape of your health determines the shape of your life.

Christmas was quiet at our house. All three of our children and their families celebrated at their respective homes. The shape of the distance between their homes and the shape of their lifestyles do not usually allow them to get together for holidays. That means the shape of our lives affects where and how we spent Christmas.

Our daughter, son-in-law, and 2 oldest grandchildren live 4 hours from our California home where we needed to be this year because of the shape of needed maintenance. The shape of our daughter's life is that they must be at their home for Christmas as her husband is the pastor of a church who always has a Christmas Eve candle light service and our daughter is in charge of the music program. Of course, this year, they had to be there on Christmas Day for Sunday services.

They arrived at our house yesterday for after Christmas family time with a very strange shaped gift. Instructions for us were to guess what was in the package. It was difficult because the shape did not make much sense. We could not only see the general shape but could also feel it although they told us to be careful not to break it. Some things we suggested were: a model airplane, a bird, something that flies. Actually we did pretty well; we were actually in the ball park!

Keep reading to learn what we received.

Shapes definitely have an effect on us.

How often do you say, "I've got to get the house in shape before company arrives?" After all you would not want company to walk into an out of shape house. An out of shape house will have a different meaning to different people at different times. It may mean a messy house filled with clutter. It may mean it is dirty and needs a deep cleaning. Or it may just need a few minutes of tidying up.

Our daughter and family also brought a box of mixed chocolates. Who can resist this time of the year! I go for the caramels but how can you tell? My secret is the shape. Sometimes the shape is deceiving and I am a little disappointed. This particular box of chocolates has been true to me. The 2 pieces I have chosen were caramel. Yummy!

What kind of shape is your health? Again, the shape of your health means different things to different people.

Does the shape of your health allow you to take a mountain hike with your family?

Does the shape of your health prevent you from doing regular exercise so you can get in shape?

Does the shape of your health leave you energized and able to think clearly and shape your life?

Does the shape of your health help keep you disease free?

Does the shape of your health allow you to wear your favorite clothes comfortably?

My husband, son-in-law, and grandson just came in with another load of wood for the wood stove. They had to be in good shape to be able to use the chain saw, load the wood in the tractor bucket, split the wood, and stack the wood so it is ready to keep us warm. Our wood pile is in good shape once again!

What does being in shape mean to you? Let me know in the comment section of this article.

Oh, I just about forgot to tell you what was in the strange shaped gift! A clever hand-made flying swan mobile made by a church member and sold at our daughter's church bazaar.

Pat Moon specializes as a health and nutrition coach. She gives her readers helpful information on how to stay healthy with proper nutrition. You are invited to visit her blog at http://www.bestrealhealth.com/ Her articles provide up to date, practical tips on how good nutrition reduces the risk of serious illness. Pat has worked in the health and nutrition industry for over 25 years. Your comments and questions are welcome and useful in writing future articles.

Thank you for visiting and commenting.

Be on the watch for your FREE 10 Day Challenge to Better Health. Coming soon!

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