Have Your Own Personal Trainer?

Nine Secrets of Top Trainers

Don't you wish sometimes that you had your own personal trainer to guide you through your workout and give you hints about getting more out of your exercise? You may not be able to afford a trainer of your own, but by incorporating these trainer hints and tips into your day, you'll be on your way to making your workout even more effective!

1. Buddy up. One of the best benefits of having a personal trainer is having someone to hold you accountable for your exercise. A trainer is paid to do this for you, but the easy (and free!) solution is within your own circle of friends. Ask a reliable friend to be your workout partner and just the knowledge that they are depending on you to work out will increase your odds of staying on track with your exercise.

A unique way of ensuring success is to allow each partner a certain number of cuts per month at a price. Failing to show up for a session with your trainer still costs you money and so should skipping your workout with your friend. Pony up $10 for each cut and let it accumulate for six months or longer. At the end of a predetermined time frame, count the money and use it to treat you and your workout partner to a luxurious splurge.

2. Shorter workouts can be as effective as longer ones. Sure, everyone would like to be able to workout for 45 minutes of uninterrupted time, but let's be serious! With today's busy schedules and demanding jobs, finding time to exercise can be a struggle. The good news is that you don't need a huge block of time to see results. Studies have shown that workouts as short as 10 to 15 minutes can strengthen the body and improve your health.

Fit several brief workouts in your day and you not only increase your metabolism, but you also reach the ideal activity level of 45 minutes to one hour. Don't let yourself be discouraged by a lack of time; do the best with what you've got.

3. Gym membership isn't required. It's too easy to use lack of a gym membership as an excuse for not getting it done. The fact is, bodyweight workouts are just as effective, if not more than conventional gym equipment. It reduces the risk of injury, and everybody has one! I have quite a few clients who've seen tremendous results while working out at home, with or without equipment!

4. Add variety to see results. Undoubtedly the fastest way to see changes in your body is to keep surprising it. Changing up your routine every few days prevents your body from becoming conditioned to the same exercise day after day and requires it to call on different muscles for different activities. This means more muscles are worked over the course of just a few days, so you see the effects on your body in much less time than usual. An excellent method of adding variety is to incorporate weight lifting into your cardio routine. This requires the body to respond to challenges to balance. It speeds up your results, too!

5. Intensify for more strength. Most trainers recommend increasing the intensity of your workout to see improvement in your strength and aerobic capability. Too often people become comfortable with their level of exertion and aren't working as hard. Boosting the intensity keeps the body challenged and working harder. Taking deep, wide steps during aerobics and squeezing the buttock and thigh muscles challenge the body to a higher level of exertion and produce some amazing changes in just a few workouts. Those of you who weight train should try adding 3-5 pounds to your current weight and see the difference in toning and strength after a few sessions.

6. Know your excuses and head them off. Clients can make all kinds of excuses to get out of a session or to avoid a certain exercise, and a trainer keeps a client on track without offending. When you are your own personal trainer, it can be difficult to discipline yourself to your exercise schedule unless you give yourself an advantage. Sit and write down all the excuses you would use to avoid exercising or eating better. Once you've done that, go back and counter all your excuses. If you wrote down lack of time as an excuse, oppose it with suggestions for short, frequent workouts rather than one long session. If you wrote down sugar cravings in the evenings, be prepared for those by having a pre-determined meal plan. If you can anticipate your own excuses and know how to respond to them, you've won half the battle.

7. Make it fun! Perhaps the most common complaint about exercise is that it becomes boring too quickly. Personal trainers help you get through boredom by changing your routine or offering you new choices for activities. Help yourself break out of the boredom by choosing activities that appeal to you. Instead of spending 30 minutes inside on the treadmill, go for a hike on a local nature path. Rather than doing your aerobics video for the millionth time, go outside with your kids and jump on the trampoline for a while. The goal is to choose an activity that you enjoy and that requires physical activity.

8. Schedule and commit. Signing up for a personal trainer is a commitment of your time, money and energy, and perhaps because of that commitment people with personal trainers tend to stick with the program and get results. Apply that same sense of obligation to your personal at-home exercise program and you'll increase your chances of having a consistent workout plan.

Schedule your workouts just like any other appointment and write it on your calendar or PDA. Knowing that you have set aside time for exercise can help you follow through and stick to a successful program.

9. Reward yourself. Set checkpoints throughout your exercise program to assess your progress. Whether your goal is to lose weight, build muscle, or simply improve your health, take the time to check up on your improvement and then reward yourself for all the hard work!

Resources: web site; Tom Storms, Tom offers his services, books and products worldwide.

Cheers,

Eve :-)