Fitness

How to choose the best personal trainer for your fitness goals — and budget

Published

2 days ago

November 2, 2024

How to choose the best personal trainer for your fitness goals — and budget

Irv Rubenstein holds a doctorate in exercise science and has run a personal fitness training studio for 35 years in Nashville, Tennessee. Obviously, he speaks positively about the benefits of using a personal trainer, and this goes for grizzled-gym goers as well as beginners.

“Most anybody can teach you how to do a bicep curl,” Rubenstein said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But only a few people can tell you how to do it if your shoulder’s hurting.”

It can be a maze finding the trainer who is best for you, Rubenstein acknowledged.

How much should credentials and education matter, or are personality and motivational skills more important? What about the cost? And how frequently should you use a personal trainer? These are just a few of the questions anyone who is searching for a trainer should ask.

“How do you discern who is best?” Rubenstein asked. “That which works best for you is the best. But finding that is the challenge.”

Education and credentials

In the United States — and in many other countries — there is no national or local government body that licenses trainers. Certification is typically issued by private entities, some more respected than others and many are in the business of generating income more than credibility.

The American College of Sports Medicine is the best known in the United States. In Canada, it’s the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine.

Personal fitness trainer Richard Lamb, leads a group in an outdoor gym class in London, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. Credit: AP/Alastair Grant

“You probably should ask if the person is certified,” said Rubenstein, who runs STEPS Fitness. “I think that’s valuable, but I don’t think it’s essential. And you should ask about academic training.”

He also issued a caveat.

“If a person is getting all their information off the internet — to the extent you can discern that — I would avoid that person,” he said of a potential trainer.

Personality and motivation

Guy Andrews runs Exercise ETC. out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Like Rubenstein, he says trainers and clients have to jibe. Credentials are important, but a personality match is essential.

Personal fitness trainer Richard Lamb, gestures as he leads an... — Personal fitness trainer Richard Lamb, gestures as he leads an outdoor gym class in London, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. Credit: AP/Alastair Grant

“Primarily, it’s a service relationship,” Andrews said. “So, first you have to bond with the trainer. You’ve got to like them. The personality of me is paramount. I don’t care how well qualified someone is, how well educated they are. If you cannot enjoy working with them, the relationship is doomed to fail.”

Asking friends or gym operators for referrals could be helpful in your search. A good benchmark for a successful relationship is how many years has the referrer spent with their trainer?

“If clients have been with a trainer for eight or 10 years, that’s a good sign,” Andrews said. “Looking good in a tank top is not enough.”

Rubenstein injected another truth and laughed: “Most people who are working with a trainer for any length of time will tell you they are the best.”

Another good sign when rating trainers is whether they offer a “non-contractual relationship.” Meaning, you would not lose money if you discontinue the service.

“Then you have a trainer with integrity and confidence and probably the skills to help you,” Rubenstein said.

There is also a trainer’s style of motivation to consider. Rubenstein repeatedly said the quality of “compassion” was key in choosing the right person. But some may want a basic training drill sergeant to push them.

“The rah-rah military attitude might work for the young, the very fit,” he said. “But for the average person that type of behavior might not be motivating or stimulating.”

What’s the price?

Price is difficult to pin down. Costs vary by country and within countries by geographic region. In the United States you might pay $100-150 per hour in larger cities, maybe $50-75 in other areas. Rubenstein also said the cost compared favorably with manicures and similar personal-care services.

The cost can be prohibitive for some, Rubenstein said. It often eliminates the young and might favor older clients who have more spending power and need the service more.

“It weeds out the people who would like a trainer from those who need one,” he said.

How often with a trainer?

Andrews and Rubenstein said that beginners should meet with a trainer two or three times per week for the first six weeks. After that, once a week might be enough, or even once or twice a month for maintenance and evaluation.

“In terms of motivation, for the average person I don’t believe once a week is enough at the start,” Andrews said.

Rubenstein elaborated: “If a person is not accustomed to being in a gym, not comfortable with it or not feeling safe, twice a week with a trainer is a basic routine that will give them benefits — muscular, cardiovascular, balance, etc. Once they learn it, a person can go once a week or once a month. But that means they have to be motivated.”

Setting goals

So, you’ve found your trainer and are ready to get to work. Now what? Set some goals.

There are four main goals — depending on the client: weight management, overall fitness, special needs and overall health.

For each client, “the routines may intersect but the frequency, intensity and duration will vary,” Rubenstein said.

Setting goals in the initial interview was critical, Andrews said.

“If both parties are not on the same page when it comes to what they want, they’re doomed to failure,” he said.

A good trainer will recognize unrealistic goals, Andrews said.

“It’s often centered on how they want to look after hiring a personal trainer,” he said. “In my experience, a client whose focus is on how they will look after training — instead of how they will feel — is setting themselves up for disappointment.”

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Fitness

Too Much Sitting Harms the Heart, Even in Folks Who Exercise

Published

6 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Press Room

Too Much Sitting Harms the Heart, Even in Folks Who Exercise

MONDAY, Nov. 4, 2024 (HealthDay News) — There’s just something about sitting.

New research shows that too much time on sofas and chairs harms the heart — even among people who get the minimum recommended amount of daily exercise.

“Taking a quick walk after work may not be enough” to offset the health dangers of sitting, said study lead author Chandra Reynolds. She’s a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Her team published its findings recently in the journal PLOS One.

The data comes from an ongoing study of over a thousand former or current Coloradans, 730 of who are twins. Reynolds’ team focused on participants aged 28 to 49.

Study lead author Ryan Bruellman said the cohort was relatively young, because “young adults tend to think they are impervious to the impacts of aging. But what you do during this critical time of life matters.”

Bruellman is now a PhD candidate at the University of California, Riverside.

A lot of the participants were sitting a lot of the time: An average of almost nine hours per day, according to the study.

Exercise rates ranged from 80 and 160 minutes of moderate physical activity per week and less than 135 minutes of vigorous exercise weekly.

The Boulder team then assessed each person’s “heart age” using two key heart health indicators: total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein and body mass index (BMI).

The result: As sitting time increased, heart aging did, too.

Even when folks met minimum daily exercise recommendations — about 20 minutes per day of “moderate” exercise — the deleterious effect to the heart of all that sitting didn’t budge.

Adding in “vigorous” exercise (for example, running or cycling) for about 30 or more minutes per day did seem to help counteract the harms from sitting, however. But it still didn’t bring those harms back to zero.

According to a news release from the university, data from the twins in the study suggests that “replacing sitting with exercise seemed to work better to improve cholesterol than simply adding exercise to a full day of sitting.”

The researchers’ suggestions for folks who sit a lot: Try using a standing desk at work, get in at least 30 minutes of vigorous exercise per day or add in strenuous workouts on your days off as a “weekend warrior.”

More information

Find out more about the health dangers of sitting at Johns Hopkins University.

SOURCE: University of Colorado Boulder, news release, Nov. 1, 2024

Fitness

Once bodybuilders, Gold Coast couple breaking world records in their 80s

Published

14 hours ago

November 3, 2024

Press Room

Once bodybuilders, Gold Coast couple breaking world records in their 80s

David and Gioia Berry aren’t your typical octogenarians.

Rather than travelling the world, the 81-year-olds have opted to spend their retirement years breaking world records in fitness competitions.

“Our prime function is to try and stay as fit and healthy as we can for as long as we can,” Mr Berry said.

The pair already have an impressive list of achievements between them.

David currently holds three world records for various indoor rowing events in the men’s 75-to-79-year age category and another for the 100-metre sprint for his 80-84 age group, with a time of 17.9 seconds.

Gioia, on the other hand, recently broke the world record on the SkiErg – short for skiing exercise machine – in the 80-to-84-year age category for 100 metres, clocking 25.5 seconds.

The Gold Coast couple, who have been married for more than 60 years, have no plans of slowing down either.

Mr and Mrs Berry have been training for the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast. (ABC Gold Coast: Danielle Mahe)

They’ve spent the past few months training at their local gym and pool for the indoor rowing event at the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast this week.

“I do a split body routine: chest and triceps on a Monday; back and biceps on Wednesdays; and we do legs and arms as well as shoulders on Fridays — so that keeps us pretty busy,” Mr Berry said.

On alternate days, they swim about a kilometre, followed by an ice bath for recovery.

“I used to do yoga and pilates but I can’t fit that in anymore because I’m trying to train for the Pan Pac games,” Mrs Berry said.

Bodybuilding after having kids

Despite their lifelong love for health and fitness, it wasn’t until they were in their late 30s that they decided to take it more seriously by opening a gym and entering body building competitions.

“I was training with weights in the backyard when I was 16 years of age, but I was pretty skinny then,” Mr Berry said.

“I trained reasonably hard up until I met Gioia [at 17 years], and then we got married [three years later in 1964], and we had kids, and everything went on hold for a few years, and we started again probably 10 years after we were married.”

bride and groom — Mr and Mrs Berry on their wedding day in 1964. (Supplied: David Berry)

At 37, Mrs Berry entered the very first Miss Australia bodybuilding competition in 1990.

But Mr Berry said convincing his wife to compete was “a real challenge”.

“She was horrified but like a true champion she bit the bullet and lined up for the comp and did very well,” he said.

“She placed fourth out of about 25 girls, most of them aged between 19 and 22 … but she got the Most Outstanding Achievement Award.”

Mr Berry entered his first bodybuilding competition about a year later at 39 and won the masters category for his age group in the Mr Australia contest.

He ended up going on to become the first person to also win the 50s, 60s and 70-year age categories.

man and woman at the beach — Mrs and Mr Berry at the beach in their late 50s. (Supplied: David Berry)

Mr Berry says despite being prone to injuries these days, he hopes they’ll be able to continue doing what they love together.

“So far, the future is looking good as we both are still breaking records in our age categories and certainly hope we can continue for a while yet,” he said.

‘Never too late to start exercising’

Bond University academic Kieran Le Plastrier says the couple are proof that it’s never too late to start exercising.

doctors portrait photo — Kieran Le Plastrier says people should not be deterred from exercising as they age. (Supplied: Bond University)

“It turns out the literature is pretty good in that it reminds us that even if we don’t make changes till our 30s, 40s or 50s … the things we do in our 40s can make a huge difference into our older age and even into advanced age, which is anybody over 80 years of age,” Dr Le Plastrier said.

He encourages older people to prioritise resistance training, like lifting weights, because it reduces the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and falls.

“Now, you don’t necessarily need to enter a competition and become a bodybuilder, but we know that resistance training actually leads to long-term health benefits,” he said.

“So what I would encourage us to all take away from this story is that no matter when we start, as long as we get started, we can improve our health outcomes into old age.”

Fitness

Weekend exercise just as good for preventing dementia as daily workouts

Published

22 hours ago

November 3, 2024

Press Room

Weekend exercise just as good for preventing dementia as daily workouts

Group of older friends relaxing after exercising

(© RawPixel.com
– stock.adobe.com)

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Are you too busy to exercise during the week? Scientists have good news: weekend workouts may be just as effective at protecting your brain health as regular exercise Monday through Friday.

The study, which tracked over 10,000 adults for 16 years, found that “weekend warriors” who exercised just once or twice per week had a 25% lower risk of developing mild dementia compared to those who didn’t exercise at all. This reduction in risk was similar to – and even slightly better than – the 11% lower risk seen in people who exercised three or more times per week.

This discovery could be particularly meaningful for busy working adults who struggle to find time for regular exercise. The research suggests that cramming your weekly physical activity into the weekend could still provide significant protection for your brain as you age.

“To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first prospective cohort study to show that the weekend warrior physical activity pattern and the regularly active physical activity pattern are associated with similar reductions in the risk of mild dementia,” the study authors, led by Dr. Gary O’Donovan from the University of the Andes, in a media release.

The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, is the first of its kind in Latin America to examine how exercise patterns affect dementia risk. While previous research has shown that physical activity can help prevent cognitive decline, most studies have been conducted in wealthy nations in Europe and North America.

The researchers followed 10,033 adults in Mexico City with an average age of 51. At the start of the study, participants were asked about their exercise habits and divided into three groups: those who didn’t exercise, “weekend warriors” who exercised once or twice weekly, and regularly active people who exercised three or more times weekly.

Seniors, older adults enjoying exercise class at gym — “Weekend warriors” who exercised just once or twice per week had a 25% lower risk of developing mild dementia. (© LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS – stock.adobe.com)

After 16 years, participants took a standard cognitive test called the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) to assess their mental function. The results showed that both weekend warriors and regular exercisers performed better on the cognitive tests compared to non-exercisers.

Perhaps most striking was the finding that if all middle-aged adults exercised at least once or twice per week, about 13% of mild dementia cases might be prevented. In Mexico alone, where dementia costs nearly $3.8 billion annually, this could translate to savings of about $378 million per year.

The findings are particularly relevant given that dementia cases are expected to surge from 57 million globally in 2019 to 153 million by 2050. In Latin America, the number of people living with dementia is predicted to triple by 2050.

Paper Summary

Methodology

The researchers recruited participants through door-to-door interviews in two districts of Mexico City. They collected detailed information about exercise habits, education, income, blood pressure, smoking, body mass index, sleep patterns, diet, and alcohol consumption. Sixteen years later, they assessed cognitive function using the Mini Mental State Examination, which tests various aspects of mental ability, including memory, attention, and language skills.

Key Results

The average cognitive test score was 24.5 for non-exercisers, compared to 25.8 for weekend warriors and 25.6 for regular exercisers. When defining mild dementia as a score of 22 or lower, 26% of non-exercisers met this criterion, compared to only 14% of weekend warriors and 18.5% of regular exercisers. These benefits were similar for both men and women.

Study Limitations

Exercise habits were self-reported rather than measured objectively with devices like fitness trackers. Additionally, the cognitive test used can screen for dementia but isn’t a clinical diagnosis. The study also couldn’t account for physical activity from daily tasks like walking for transportation, which is common in Latin American cities.

Discussion & Takeaways

The study suggests that exercise’s brain-protective effects might work through several mechanisms, including increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factor (a protein that supports brain cell growth) and improving brain plasticity. The findings are particularly relevant for cities like Mexico City, which closes 50 kilometers of roads to vehicles every Sunday for their “Ciclovía Recreativa” program, allowing around 80,000 people to walk, run, or cycle safely.

Funding & Disclosures

The study was approved by the Mexican Ministry of Health, the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology, and the Central Oxford Research Ethics Committee. The data came from the Mexico City Prospective Study, which makes its data available for open-access requests through Oxford University’s Clinical Trial Service Unit.