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Personal Trainers: Finding One Who Works for You
by Eileen Nicol

It’s June in Seattle, and the forecast is rain with a 60 percent chance of media-induced body image anxiety, all wrapped up in those two little words: swimsuit and thighs. Recognizing how shallow that is doesn’t mean we don’t still want to feel stronger, have more energy and (okay, we admit it) look better. In short, most of us want to be in good physical shape. But what’s the best way to achieve our fitness goals, especially if we have already tried and failed? And how can we possibly cram it into our already full schedules? It can seem like a daunting task, and many women have turned to personal trainers to help.

Jenny Ingersoll, a self-described type “A++” personality, owns her own cleaning business in Redmond. Ingersoll tried going to the gym on her own. “But the first time I went there a few years back, I fizzled. I was embarrassed and didn’t want to go in the room with all the men,” she says. “So on my birthday I went in to ask about getting a trainer. I wanted someone to be accountable to.” She’s been working with Anita Norton, personal trainer at the Northshore YMCA, for nearly a year and a half. She credits Norton with teaching her a lot about nutrition, as well as the proper way to perform exercises.

Barb McAllister, a business coach and mother of three, moved into a new house last summer. “My major goal was to be able to start my lawnmower,” she jokes. She hired a personal trainer last August to help build her core and upper body strength. After three years of major life changes, including breast cancer surgery and divorce, she appreciates the spiritual component of her workouts with personal trainer Olivia Carey at Island Fitness on Bainbridge Island. “I concentrate on what I’m pushing away when I’m doing the resistance exercises, and what I’m trying to pull into my life. It’s more than just a physical workout.”

Where to Start
Maybe you’ve struggled with your weight for years, and you’re determined this time to take it off for good. Maybe an injury prevents you from participating in your favorite sport, and you need to find some alternative ways to stay in shape. Maybe you’re fit enough – but a teeny bit bored with your routine. Whether you need a coach, a drill-sergeant, a teacher, a mentor or all of the above, a personal fitness trainer can help.

In the Seattle area, fees for personal fitness trainers range from $30 to $70 an hour. Many trainers will give you a discount if you commit to a certain number of sessions. In any case, you’ll be forking over your hard-earned dollars and your perhaps even-harder-to-come-by time, so you’d best do some shopping around. If you’re already a member of a gym or health club, observe how the trainers there work with others to decide which ones you’d like to interview. If you don’t belong to a gym, visit a few to speak with their trainers or look in the phone book. Some trainers will even come to your home. In any case, the place you decide to work out should be convenient. If you have to drive across town in rush hour traffic after work, you may just head home to the Haagen-Dazs in the freezer instead.

Personal training can take place outside the gym, too. Steve Rhoades, of Rhoades Cycling, coaches his clients in bicycling, surfing and even mountain climbing. “You have to have a goal. Just learning how to ride your bike could be a goal,” says Rhoades. He charges $500 for three months, and creates a targeted weekly program that – depending on your goals – may include stretching, power walking and group bicycle rides. Judging from the line of brightly clad riders cycling behind him, it’s a fun and effective way to get or stay fit.

If family time is at a premium, consider finding a place where your children can come along. “One of the biggest challenges I see people having is that time at the gym can take away from time at home with family,” says Norton, Ingersoll’s trainer at the Northshore YMCA. Involving your family members in your healthy lifestyle can be a winning decision for everyone, and that’s easy at many YMCA facilities, where your kids can take swim lessons while you pump iron or run laps.

Before you hire a trainer, take some time to think about and write down your goals. Do you want to lose 20 pounds? Run a 10k race? Be able to roll around on the floor with your grandkids? You’ll be sharing these goals with your potential trainers, so it’s to your advantage to be clear about what you want.

What You Should Know
When interviewing personal trainers, find out how they work, how much they charge and what those letters behind their name mean. Learn how and when they will evaluate your fitness to determine whether you’re meeting your goals. Pay attention to how well they listen. Norton says “Listen First” is the new mantra of the YMCA culture. “This technique actively engages the member in the process by identifying their concerns, past experiences, comfort level and goals.”

Ask the trainer about their training. “First and foremost, a potential client must research a trainer’s educational background,” says Monica Shriber, Member Services Director at the Seattle Athletic Club. A trainer should have a B.S. in an exercise or science- related field, or have attended a reputable vocational school. She recommends certifications from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Your trainer may be a CPT (Certified Personal Trainer), an HFI (Health and Fitness Instructor), a CEP (Certified Exercise Physiologist) or any number of designations. Who is doing the certifying, and what does the designation mean? These things should be easy to find out online, and if they’re not, be suspicious. “There are hundreds of personal training certifications,” says Norton, who is accredited by five national organizations and is now studying Applied Behavioral Science at Bastyr University. “Many of them only require reading a book and taking a test online. You should ask the trainer how much hands-on training they have had.” Feel free to ask for references, too.

Be wary of the trainer who is willing to overstep their educational boundaries. “A client should never work with a trainer who recommends supplements or tries to give nutritional advice unless the trainer is also a registered dietician,” says Shriber. Make sure your potential trainer has a solid referral network of other health professionals should the need arise. You might also want to know about your trainer’s knowledge of CPR, and whether they have liability insurance.

What not to consider at the interview stage? “I have often heard people say that they would like to work with a trainer because they want a body just like this particular trainer’s,” says Shriber. “The client is bound to become discouraged as body shape has a strong genetic predisposition.”

Finally, do a gut-check. Do you enjoy spending time with this person? Remember, she may be holding large weights over your head. Would you feel comfortable talking to her about issues that may arise? If it hurts, you have to be able to say so. “Some issues may be difficult to discuss – eating behaviors, body image, lack of family or social support, medical issues and other stressors,” explains Norton. She believes that although they don’t necessarily have to be discussed, a good trainer is sensitive to such issues within the scope of his or her practice.

Don’t be reluctant to switch trainers if you aren’t satisfied. “I actually did a couple of training sessions with another person and he’s very good and very competent. I just didn’t have the chemistry with him,” says McAllister. “I recommend you take the time to find someone you really click with. It’s a person that’s pushing you beyond your comfort zone.”

Follow Through
Once you’ve invested the time, energy and money in finding the right trainer, there are some things you can do to increase your chances of success. “I think one of the biggest pitfalls is unrealistic expectations,” emphasizes Norton. “It is a co-created experience, with a majority of the work falling on the client.” Shriber agrees: “The truth is, no one can depend on their trainer to make all of their goals happen. On average, trainers see their clients one to two times a week. This is only one or two hours out of 168 hours in a week. The trainer has absolutely no control over what their client is doing in their off time.” You and your trainer can agree on goals and devise the ideal fitness program, but, says Shriber, effective training takes “a strong personal commitment to lifestyle change.” The wise trainer knows how difficult this is, and modifies her style according to the personalities of her clients. “Anita is very subtle,” adds Ingersoll. “She knows I would resist someone just telling me what to do.”

Both McAllister and Ingersoll plan to continue working with their trainers. McAllister says, “The best thing is a sense of satisfaction that I’m really making progress. I went cross-country skiing this year and I noticed a big difference in my fitness.” For McAllister, daily walks with her dog, thrice-weekly yoga, and two half-hour sessions a week with trainer Carey result in better mental, physical and spiritual health.

Ingersoll counts on continued guidance and motivation from Norton to meet her goals of eating more nutritiously and improving her overall fitness. She supplements her twice-monthly personal training sessions with water aerobics every Saturday, and hopes to do more kayaking this summer. “Last summer I had to ask for help getting out of the kayak onto the dock,” she says. “This summer I’m anticipating it will be a lot better.”

Eileen Nicol is a writer and vice president of a computer services business. She lives on Bainbridge Island.

©2005 Caliope Publishing Company