Costco Connection - January 2010

for your health

Up close and personal Working out with a professıonal trainer

… stop,” explains Costco member Liz Carney, a CPT in San Clemente, California, “A trainer can show you new tricks and keep it fun.” Exercising incorrectly can also lead to muscle imbalance and injury. “Having a professional correct your form is one of the biggest reasons to hire a trainer,” adds Carney.

Carney, a licensed sports nutritionist, also counsels clients on nutrition. A healthy diet helps the body build muscle, increase metabolism and burn fat. Atlas delves into the big picture: the client’s lifestyle. “;e gym isn’t always the answer,” he explains. Atlas ;ne-tunes the client’s program to embrace all aspects of his or her life. He starts by suggesting small changes—for instance, for the busy CEO/husband/dad, setting aside a time and a place for family exercise at home.

Costco member Joann Tarricone, a CPT in Sunnyvale, California, agrees that ;tness is more about lifestyle and less about being a gym junkie. She helps her clients learn to use their bodies or whatever is handy—bands that stow easily in a suitcase for travel, exercise balls for home use—anything to make ;tness a more natural part of the day.

A sound ;tness plan will focus on building strength, ;exibility and cardio, and should melt seamlessly into a person’s life. ;e end result: hanging in there for the long haul of a lifetime. C

Jacqueline M. Duda is a freelance health writer based in the Washington, D.C., area.

By Jacqueline M. Duda

WITHOUT A LITTLE GUIDANCE (or prodding), even the most gung-ho gym rats are tempted to drop their weights when they encounter a hiccup—an injury, a health crisis or a change in job routine or hours. Sometimes sheer boredom simply kicks in, and they go AWOL. Exercise newbies might dive into the gym, only to ;nd themselves overwhelmed and frustrated with the results (or lack thereof), feeling awkward and unsure of what exactly to do. And for people who are not accountable to themselves, going it alone won’t work.

;is is where a personal trainer can help. Personal trainers help educate their clients, increase their ;tness-awareness quotient, and bang out a routine that zeroes in on the indi-

46 ;e Costco Connection JANUARY 2010

COMSTOCK

vidual and his or her ;tness goals and lifestyle.

“Some people get lucky and make the right [workout] choices right o; the bat,” says Joey Atlas, a Costco member and certi;ed personal trainer (CPT) turned lifestyle improvement coach from Jacksonville, Florida. Unfortunately, most don’t. “;ey do too much and end up getting hurt. ;at scares some o;,” Atlas explains. Personal trainers, however, begin with a health and ;tness assessment (just like going to a new doctor). ;e results give the trainer a ;tness baseline and alert him or her to the client’s health status.

Other exercisers might copycat a friend’s routine and do the same thing over and over again. After a while their muscles quit responding. “;ey fail to see results, and just

Finding a
personal trainer

MEDIA BAKERY

ANY TRAINER worth your money and health will be certi;ed by one or more of the following:

• National Strength and Conditioning Association ( www.nsca-lift.org)

• National Academy of Sports Medicine ( www.nasm.org)

• American College of Sports Medicine ( www.acsm.org)

Trainers should be insured and ;rst-aid/CPR certi;ed. Initial client health, medical and workout assessments are a must. If a trainer doesn’t start with one, look elsewhere. Ask for references. And take advantage of free trial sessions to see if you gel with the trainer, and vice versa.