Where are these people?

Successful. Willing to work toward goals in their careers and in their personal lives. Want results for their efforts. Knowledgeable and understand how to assess the value of their choices. Always looking for ways to improve their work, their homes and themselves. They have evaluated their priorities and organized them accordingly.

Whew! If this were a social meet-and-greet website, everyone would be asking: Where are they?

Well, about 100 of ’em are regular, consistent clients of Personal Training Associates.

They could have joined a gym. They’re under no obligation to continue; we have no contract that binds them and we have almost no turnover. Why? Remember that part about results for their efforts? And the part about evaluating their priorities? They know their health and energy levels are the most important priority. They’re able to be better spouses, better in their work, and better to their families, if they take better care of themselves first.

I recently spent almost a year trying to find a new qualified trainer because the four of us were fully booked. I finally found someone and we can finally accept new clients. What makes a trainer “qualified”? There are about 400 organizations that will certify someone as a personal trainer. All that’s needed is a name. Of those 400, I accept four (ACE, ACSM, NASM and NSCA). Those four represent the top standard in our industry. They are not handed out by some weekend course. They require months of study, passing a rigorous national exam, and then have continuing education requirements for as long as they maintain their certification. Am I saying all the other certification organizations are substandard? I’m saying bluntly most of them are but these four are the ones I have confidence in.

It’s not about the trainer’s appearance or even about his or her fitness level. It’s all about that person’s knowledge of anatomy, physiology and kinesiology to safely serve the client. How well the trainer has trained oneself is irrelevant. Clients have a wide range of challenges, goals and issues that only knowledge and education can address. That is our responsibility and we love what we do.

The advantages of working toward your goals with a qualified trainer are many. You will safely improve how you move, how you feel and you will increase your energy level. You will be accountable to someone who cares about your progress and continually adapts your efforts to your improvements.

If you’ve had an injury or surgery, your post-rehabilitation, after physical therapy, is essential for a full recovery. If being overweight is an issue, consider this: dieting leads to loss of valuable lean muscle tissue and consequently, a lower metabolism. This does not support keeping the weight off. Safe, effective training includes gain of lean muscle tissue and the resulting metabolism increase. This is necessary to sustain reduction of body fat.

No market study is needed. There are thousands of people who will benefit in so many ways by working with a qualified trainer. Including many of you reading this. Please take the time to do some research and homework, find where you’re comfortable and start your self-improvement. You’ll always be thankful you did.