Fitness

Finding a Personal Trainer

Right, so it's you're all pumped to get going on a more effective exercise regime, but where do you find a trainer who can make the critical difference? FitnessDoc has some ideas

Finding a Personal Trainer - Right, so it's you're all pumped to get going on a more effective exercise regime - but where do you start to find a trainer who can make the critical difference? And what's the difference between a personal trainer and a biokineticist?

According to Health24's FitnessDoc, Ross Tucker, word of mouth is the way to go when looking for a personal trainer that will suit your needs.

"At the moment there is no clearly defined controlling body for accreditation and training of personal trainers, although there are perhaps four or five large, established training providers. ETA is perhaps the most well known, as well as Reebok Alliance, Bodyline and the Health Professionals Fitness Alliance (HPFA)," he said.

He added that while one has a better chance of striking it lucky and finding a good personal trainer if they've come through one of the abovementioned bodies, there are also good personal trainers who have qualified through smaller institutions.

Biokineticists vs. personal trainers – what's the difference?
"The relative lack of control among personal trainers in the industry is perhaps the biggest reason why I personally would advocate that someone seeks out the advice of a biokineticist for specific training queries.

"This will no doubt label me an academic 'snob'," says Tucker, "and I certainly don't wish to generalise, but when a person sees a biokineticist, they are assured that the person has come through at least four years of university training, plus a full year of practical experience training. That level of qualification and training ensures a much higher quality of service in most cases."

However, he reiterated that the best way to find a good trainer is through word of mouth: as "a trainer's reputation is very easy to identify and establish", he pointed out. So ask around, and bear in mind that a technically highly skilled person might not be a compatible person: it's not called a personal trainer for nothing. If you don't click, and if if your trainer doesn't "get" your personality, it's not going to be a great experience.

"Once a trainer is identified, they must be held to the highest performance standard – which is actually the responsibility of the client. I feel that too often, clients/members of public accept sub-par service, when they should demand the very best.

"The problem is that personal trainers often stretch themselves too thin, across too many clients at one time and so provide a lacklustre service to all but a few clients. Every member of the public must demand the best, with no allowances being made," Tucker said.

Check out the following sites:
Exercise Training Academy (ETA) at www.exerciseacademy.com
Reebok Instructors Alliance at www.reebok.co.za
Bodyline Fitness Academy at www.bodyline.co.za
Health and Fitness Professionals Association at www.hfpa.co.za

Read More : Here's An Excellent Weekly Plan To Walk Off 5kg

How To Spot a Bad Trainer

Admin F 9:09 PM Add Comment Fitness

A personal trainer who has not been properly trained can do you a lot more harm than good. Here are the things you should look out for

How To Spot a Bad Trainer - If you can afford it, having a personal trainer is a great route to take to achieve your fitness goals safely and effectively. However, if your personal trainer isn't up to scratch, not only will they add nothing to your fitness regime, but they can actually cause you to suffer injury.

Always do a little research around your choice, and check their references. The experts always also have some suggestions about how to tell the good from the bad:

When good trainers go bad

According to Robyn Morgan of Flex Ladies Health and Fitness Centre in Cape Town, one of the most common mistakes personal trainers who are not properly trained or are inexperienced make, is to give each of their clients the same workout programme. It's essential, she said, to cusomise programmes according to clients' abilities and goals.

Morgan suggests the best way to find a qualified trainer is to look for someone with a background in physical education or coaching.

"The trainer should look at you as a whole, and not just in terms of centimetres and weight. It's important that you like the trainer and feel comfortable with him or her, as well. I think word of mouth is the best referral."

JC Moolman, medal winning SA athlete and personal trainer at The Zen Studio in Table View agreed with this and said nothing made her cringe more than watching someone at the gym in the hands of a trainer who was clearly not qualified. According to her, what separates the good from the bad is experience and people skills.

"If you're looking for a trainer, watch how they work and how they train their other clients to get an idea of their style and ability", she suggests.

Spotting that bad trainer

So how do you spot these under-trained trainers in a gym environment? According to Morgan, if you already have a trainer and an injury occurs, or if injury is ongoing occurrence with every workout and it is not dealt with but avoided, it could be time to find another trainer.

Should your trainer neglect to make sure that you are doing the exercises correctly, and fail to correct your posture when you're doing exercises – it could be time to move on to a better trainer.

Top of the list for when to lose your trainer? "Any trainer that encourages you to take anabolic steroids is a big no-no," says Morgan.

Moolman's list of mistakes made by bad trainers includes "overbooking themselves, then being tired as a result and not paying proper attention to the client. A good trainer gives a full attention and explains every exercise, where on the body it works, what it does and how the muscles work," she said.

What's the big deal?

Apart from the fact you're shelling out your hard-earned cash on someone who is not earning it, poor training can have some devastating physical repercussions.

"Poor training can result in permanent injury or make an existing orthopaedic condition worse. If your potential and individuality are not accurately analysed, and if you are not taught in a scientific way, you can get hurt," Morgan said.

Moolman said that if you have been working out with a trainer for a while and you're still not seeing any results, if they do not explain how the exercises work and why you're doing them, if they over-train you to the point where you can't walk for days… it could be time to do a little spring-cleaning and rather find yourself a qualified trainer.

Sources: Robyn Morgan, Flex Ladies Health and Fitness Centre; www.flex.co.za

JC Moolman, personal trainer, award-winning athlete; The Zen Studio, www.zenstudio.co.za

Here's An Excellent Weekly Plan To Walk Off 5kg

Admin F 9:02 PM Add Comment Fitness

Here's an excellent weekly plan to walk off those excess kilos without getting bored.

Here's An Excellent Weekly Plan To Walk Off 5kg - If you’re finding it tough to get back into your gym routine – don’t! Our easy-to-follow walking programme will get you slim outside.

Make the most of the spring weather with these easy but powerful workouts.

Research shows that routines like these can significantly lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

Yes, walking has had a bad rep in the past, thanks to its yawn factor and less-than-stellar kilojoule burn, but our program eliminates those problems.

You’ll alternate between three walks (take a different route each time), so you’ll never do a single one more than twice a week.

And because picking up the pace can increase the kJ burn by 50 percent, you’ll vary your speed. See how much weight you can lose the easy way — and you can brag that you did it without setting foot in a gym.

Weekly plan

Day 1 Walk 1, the Energising Blast
Day 2 Walk 2, the 3 kilometre Fat Burner
Day 3 Walk 3, the Power Hour
Day 4 Repeat Walk 1, the Energising Blast
Day 5 Repeat Walk 2, 3 kilometre Fat Burner
Day 6 Repeat Walk 3, the Power Hour
Day 7 Off

If you’re just starting to exercise, rest on Days 4 and 7 and repeat Walks 1 and 2 on Days 5 and 6.

How it works
For each walk, choose a route that matches the specified distance and includes hills.

Use a pedometer if you have one, to track your mileage, or follow our time estimates instead. Adjust your speed to meet the rate of perceived exertion (RPE).

An easy pace is closest to your everyday speed. A moderate pace is the one you’d use if you were late. A brisk pace should feel like you’re just about to break into a jog.

Walk 1
Energising Blast

Distance 1.5 km
Time 22 min (will vary based on your pace)
Kilojoules burnt 750

DISTANCE	TIME	PACE	RPE
0.25 - 0.35	4:30 - 5:30	brisk	6
0.35 - 0.45	5:30 - 7:00	moderate	5
0.45 - 0.55	7:00 - 8:00	brisk	6
0.55 - 0.65	8:00 - 9:30	moderate	5
0.65 - 0.75	9:30 - 10:30	brisk	6
0.75 - 1.00	10:30 - 14:30	moderate	5
1.00 - 1.25	14:30 - 17:30	brisk	6 - 7
1.25 - 1.50	17:30 - 22:00	easy	3

Walk 2
Three-KM Fat Burner

Distance 3 km
Time 45 min (will vary based on your pace)
Kilojoules burnt 1 254

DISTANCE	TIME	PACE	RPE
0 - 0.25	0 - 4:30	easy	3
0.25 - 0.50	4:30 - 7:30	brisk	6
0.50 - 0.75	7:30 - 11:15	moderate	5
0.75 - 1.25	11:15 - 17:45	brisk	6
1.25 - 1.75	17:45 - 25:15	moderate	5
1.75 - 2.25	25:15 - 31:45	brisk	6-7
2.25 - 2.50	31:45 - 35:30	moderate	5
2.50 - 2.75	35:30 - 38:45	brisk	6
2.75 - 3.00	38:45 - 45:00	easy	3

Walk 3
Power Hour

Distance 5 km
Time 1hr 15 mins (will vary based on your pace)
kJ burnt 1 672

DISTANCE	TIME	PACE	RPE
0 - 0.50	0 - 7:30	easy to moderate	3-4
0.05 - 0.75	7:30 - 10:45	brisk	6-7
0.75 - 1.25	10:45 - 18:15	moderate	5
1.25 - 1.75	18:15 - 24:45	brisk	6
1.75 - 2.75	24.45 - 39:45	moderate	5
2.75 - 3.25	39:45 - 46:15	brisk	6-7
3.25 - 4.25	46:15 - 61:15	moderate	5
4.25 - 4.50	61:15 - 64:30	brisk	6
4.50 - 5.00	64:30 - 75:00	moderate to easy	3-4

Walking tips

The kilometres will fly by — with no cramps or stiffness — if you focus on these pointers, says exercise physiologist, Michael Brazeal:

Look straight ahead; your chin should be parallel to the ground.
Keep your elbows bent and close to your sides.
Swing your arms forward, then drive your elbows behind you (don’t cross your arms in front of your torso).
Pull your shoulders back and keep your chest slightly lifted.
Keep your fists loose (imagine you’re lightly holding walking poles).
Push off strongly from the balls of your feet. The heel of your front foot should hit the ground first, then roll through to your forefoot.