Finding Your Perfect Personal Trainer
These days there are endless opportunities to work with a personal trainer! Small independent studios, large commercial gyms, specialty studios, trainers that come to your home, trainers that train out of their homes, to name just some of your options. But with so many options, how do you find the trainer that is right for YOU? We each come with our own set of physical limitations, injuries, fitness goals, etc. So it’s going to be on you to find the right trainer, but what do you look for when you decide you want to start training with someone? Here are a few ideas to help narrow it down. Referrals: Talk…
Wisdom From Weeds
Spring has sprung, although even as I write this it’s 47 degrees and drizzly outside on May 1. Our flora and fauna is coming to life again! But . . . along with the blooming of flowers, growing of grass and reappearance of leaves . . . the weeds are growing in full force. I abhor weeds. I loathe, detest and cannot stand weeds. I hate weeds! Yet every year they reappear to torment me. Despite my very best efforts (endless amounts of time and money spent year after year with no end in sight) weeds just grow back again and again. The process makes me feel very powerless, and…
The Ripple Effect
It was the summer of 2010 and my sister had left me a voicemail. In her typical stoic way she informed me that she was on her way to the ER as she had woken up that morning with one leg twice the size of the other! She lived in Albuquerque and I was here in Edmonds. She’s my only sister, younger than I, just mid-30s at the time. She could have died from that blood clot in her leg, and she needed surgery pretty quickly. They placed a couple of stents in her arteries and kept her in the hospital for three days to recover. She was on blood…
The Consistency Factor
I got Invisalign a couple of months ago. It’s basically a substitute for braces, a series of plastic “trays” that fit on your teeth. After a couple of weeks you switch to the next tray and your teeth move accordingly, so on and so forth until your teeth are where you want them. A client of mine also got Invisalign last year. She is still on her first tray (I’m on tray 7 of 10). We laugh hysterically about it, because she just doesn’t remember to wear it, can’t remember where she puts it until day(s) later, and she’s already lost that first tray three times! But we recently realized…
Outdoor Walking vs. Treadmill Walking
I stepped outside to walk at 7am this morning and realized that it’s not just darker now, there is also an undeniable chill of fall in the Edmonds air. For someone like me, an avid outdoor walker, it’s time to prepare for inclement dark weather and the possibility that I will need to hit the treadmill on some days this winter. I don’t mind reverting to a treadmill in bad weather as long as I have music and reading material. But most days I look forward to getting outside for my walk, especially when it’s a sunny day, no matter what the temperature. However, there are many people I know…
Starting a Fitness Program
As a trainer, I take exercise very seriously. As a business owner, I put a great deal of energy and effort into providing professional and valuable services to my clients. As a woman who considers her body her temple, I make it a priority to keep myself healthy. So, would you believe that fitness became an integral part of my life pretty much by accident? When I was twenty years old I took a year off from college to live in Hawaii. My boyfriend at the time dragged me to the gym almost daily. Although I was often thinking only of the pizza that we would eat afterwards, I eventually…
31 Days of New Year’s Fitness Inspiration
Water–an essential weight loss tool. Make it a habit, bring it with you. Hydrates, filling, ice cold burns more calories. A little goes a long way. Take the stairs, park farther away, eat a bit less each meal, skip that final drink. It adds up. I once knew someone who lost 60lbs and kept it off by eating just 50% of her meals, without fail. Smaller portions work. You will have to deny yourself something at some point. Stay focused on what you want to accomplish. Discomfort will pass. Set & focus on a specific goal. “I want to lose weight” is not as effective as “I want to fit…
Boosting Low Morale
For reasons I won’t bother expanding on, I have been physically unable to walk for seven weeks. I am talking about my daily four-mile-long fitness walks through my Edmonds and nearby Woodway neighborhoods that I have been doing almost daily for about as long as I have lived in Edmonds. Not only does my career revolve around fitness and health, but one of the ways in which I personally define myself is through my own exercise program. Most especially walking, which I consider to be crucial for my overall health and well-being. Walking is also particularly good for helping me stay grounded and purposeful in my life. My walks are…
It’s Mine To Choose
It’s Friday evening and my last client just left. I head toward the door. I’ve been on my feet all day, my stomach is growling and there is a glass of wine with my name on it in the near future. The very NEAR future! Then I stop at the door, because I just remembered that I haven’t done my workout today. Today, I’ve designed and implemented personalized strength programs for each of my clients. Today, I’ve motivated, energized (I hope!) and entertained each client while making sure each of them had a safe, effective and enjoyable workout. Today, I’ve kept in mind specific and individual injuries and limitations for…
The Many Levels Of Strength
Years ago, when I was starting out in the fitness industry as a trainer, I considered working at a gym that required that all trainers complete a standardized fitness test every six months. There were many reasons I didn’t end up working there (none of which had to do with me being unable to meet those requirements) but I remember thinking that it was ridiculous that every trainer—both men and women in a wide age range—had to meet the same blanket fitness requirements to be considered qualified to train clients. A person who has achieved a certain level of strength and endurance does not magically become a good trainer. Experience,…
