I remember when signing up for college classes I would try to pick classes based on what my peers would tell me about a professor they had when they took that class. Was he/she easy, hard, take class attendance - you know, the important stuff :)
In picking a personal trainer, you have much more leeway, but at the same time it's important to do your research to increase your chances of choosing the right trainer for your needs. Below are some criteria for choosing a trainer.
1) Good Connection - This is the one thing that is going to make your experience positive or negative. A good, positive relationship with your trainer will foster your motivation and drive you to work hard and get the results you want. Typically you should be offered a consultation in which you can meet with a trainer so you can have a candid conversation about your goals, opportunities for improvement, time constraints, etc. This will also give the trainer an opportunity to explain their philosophy, specialties, and certifications.
During the conversation, ask yourself these questions:
- Can I see myself working with this person on a weekly basis?
- Was the 1st impression a good one?
- Does this trainer seem to have my best interests in mind?
- Are my goals aligned with what he/she offers?
- Do we have good dialogue?
- Did we have a positive connection, i.e. - did we 'click'?
2) Trust - In my opinion, this is the one of the most important criteria for choosing a trainer. Can you trust your trainer to prescribe the best program to meet your needs based on your schedule and goals? You will be able to establish this trust through talking with your potential trainer and through the initial training sessions.
3) Referral/Testimonials - Ask your friends, relatives if they've used a personal trainer and if they'd recommend one. Ideally your friends/relatives that have had a positive experience will share their good fortune with you.
4) Shop Around - I would encourage you to interview a few trainers to find the one that fits your goals/needs the best. While interviewing them, ask them for references, testimonials, why you should pick them. After all, you are hiring them, so feel free to ask the questions that you need answered to make your decision.
5) Certifications - A Personal Trainer needs to have a current certification - end of story
6) Plan - Does your trainer have a specific plan for you, or does he/she just see you twice a week and give you random exercises that change every 4-6 weeks. You want a trainer that tailors specific workouts to your needs/limitations and a plan to follow outside of your time together. This is the way to get you results you want.
These are just some of the criteria you should consider when hiring a Personal Trainer. Hiring a Trainer is an important decision in reaching your wellness/fitness goals so do your research and make a decision based on what is important to you.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
Within the next few weeks I've got a few options for races on the weekend of June 5-6, namely Dam to Dam and Copper Creek Sprint triathlon. Dam to Dam has two options, either the 20K road race or a 5K race. Below I've listed my options with the positives and negatives of doing either the 5K and Copper Creek or 20K and Copper Creek. Now, a few parameters that we need to consider - Hy-Vee Oly is the week after these races, Copper Creek is a 'C' race for me, and I have had some tendinitis in my knee, but I think I'm about 90% now. I've pretty much made up my mind for what I'm going to do, but I think this will be a valuable nonetheless.
D2D 5K and Copper Creek:
Pros:
Fresh legs for Copper Creek.
Plenty of time for recovery for Hy-Vee
5K is more race specific toward Hy-Vee
Cons:
Run training has been geared toward longer distances
Personal preference is to do 20K and Copper Creek
D2D 30K and Copper Creek
Pros:
Personal preference
race specific training for long course
Most of my training has been focused on longer training sessions (~8 miles)
good endurance benchmark
Cons:
legs will be trashed for Copper Creek
Higher risk for re-aggravating knee
Haven't had enough long runs for D2D (~10-11 miles)
Enough recovery time for Hy-Vee?
Taking a look at the analysis, the smart decision would to just do the 5K and Copper Creek to ensure full recovery, the race specificity of the 5K for Hy-Vee, and mitigate risk of injury to my knee. Another option is to just do one or the other, but what's the fun in that?
D2D 5K and Copper Creek:
Pros:
Fresh legs for Copper Creek.
Plenty of time for recovery for Hy-Vee
5K is more race specific toward Hy-Vee
Cons:
Run training has been geared toward longer distances
Personal preference is to do 20K and Copper Creek
D2D 30K and Copper Creek
Pros:
Personal preference
race specific training for long course
Most of my training has been focused on longer training sessions (~8 miles)
good endurance benchmark
Cons:
legs will be trashed for Copper Creek
Higher risk for re-aggravating knee
Haven't had enough long runs for D2D (~10-11 miles)
Enough recovery time for Hy-Vee?
Taking a look at the analysis, the smart decision would to just do the 5K and Copper Creek to ensure full recovery, the race specificity of the 5K for Hy-Vee, and mitigate risk of injury to my knee. Another option is to just do one or the other, but what's the fun in that?
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Change Equation
During a discussion with my business coach last week he presented me with an equation he often uses with business owners, and those clients that are stuck in a proverbial rut. The formula allows you to quantify, and justify making a conscious decision to make a change or choice in your life and it applies directly to beginning or rejuvenating your fitness.
(D x V) + F > R
OK, so what does this mean? Let's break it down a little bit
D = Dissatisfaction (quantify your level of dissatisfaction with an element in your life)
V = Vision (quantify your vision for how you want your aforementioned element in your life)
F = First step - quantify how well you know what that first step is
R = Resistance - quantify how resistant you are for change
Let's do a practical example and pertain it to fitness:
Dissatisfaction with current weight - 50
Vision of ideal body weight - 50
Confidence in what the first step is - 50
Resistance to making a change - 100
(50x50) + 50 > 100
2550 > 100 - you are clearly ready to make that change!
I encourage you to try this for parts of your life you aren't completely satisfied with, or with a decision you are dreading making. Having some sort of subjectivity helps with the decision and creates a logical quantification of the factors in play.
(D x V) + F > R
OK, so what does this mean? Let's break it down a little bit
D = Dissatisfaction (quantify your level of dissatisfaction with an element in your life)
V = Vision (quantify your vision for how you want your aforementioned element in your life)
F = First step - quantify how well you know what that first step is
R = Resistance - quantify how resistant you are for change
Let's do a practical example and pertain it to fitness:
Dissatisfaction with current weight - 50
Vision of ideal body weight - 50
Confidence in what the first step is - 50
Resistance to making a change - 100
(50x50) + 50 > 100
2550 > 100 - you are clearly ready to make that change!
I encourage you to try this for parts of your life you aren't completely satisfied with, or with a decision you are dreading making. Having some sort of subjectivity helps with the decision and creates a logical quantification of the factors in play.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Wildflower Long Course Race Report
To start off, Wildflower Long Course is the hardest course I've ever done, hands down. Many describe it as difficult as doing an Ironman and I believe it.
I arrived at the Wildflower campground on Friday morning with 2 friends and we set up camp and headed down to the lake to pick up our packets. We knew we didn't want to make the long trek down to packet pickup that night again for food so we picked up some sandwiches at the local general store and headed back up to camp. The rest of the night was spent talking about the course (read: friends telling me how brutal the course was).
Woke up in the morning for some pre-race breakfast of a banana and PB sandwich. The race started at 8:00 so we headed down in the morning around 7:00 to set up transition and get ready to race. I felt really relaxed, well rested, and energized. I felt like I was ready for this race.
The water temp that morning was a cool 58 degrees - I got in the water to get acclimated to the cool temps and swam around a little bit so I knew what to expect. The gun went off and off we went. The course was an 'L' shape with a ~200 m out, then a right turn at the buoy for a long stretch, another right turn for ~200 m and then back. Thinking back I think I pushed the first 600 pretty hard because I struggled for the rest of the swim. My breathing was heavy and I couldn't find a good rhythm for the entirety of the swim. Coming out of the water I walked to transition, which I didn't want to do and tried to get my bearings and get rolling on the bike.
Right out of the gate there is a steep incline that had my HR maxed out and my chain fell off as I was switching gears. I had to stop, put the chain back on, and start sideways in order to get going again. The first 40 miles of the bike after that were challenging, but very doable with some of the flats going comfortable at 22 mph. Great scenery, some hills, and long descents. One of my reservations coming into the race was my lack of comfort on descents. On the first long descents I tried to reach for my brakes but my hands cramped up so I just went with it. After that, I had no issues with the downhills and actually enjoyed going 35-45 mph down the hills.
On mile 41 there is a long hill, followed by 'Nasty Grade', an 8 percent incline, followed by another long hill. About halfway up Nasty Grade my chain fell off again causing me to stop, put the chain back on, and bike sideways in order to get going again. I have NEVER faced a hill like that before, and it is one I will never forget. The remaining 8 miles of the course were a bear and I struggled to get to the end and couldn't wait to get off the bike.
Entering transition I was totally spent and hardly had any energy left. I began the run and was only able to run about 1/2 mile before I had to stop. My HR was high and I had no energy. I set up a new plan to run a minute and walk a minute and even that was a struggle. As a side note, the run course is harder than the bike course that is 60% trails and 40% road with very little flat stretches. After struggling through the first 4 miles, I came to the conclusion I wasn't going to make it if I continued to run and succumbed to walking the rest of the course.
It was very hard for me to write this race report because I am really disappointed in my performance, but at the same time, it provides some motivation for the rest of the season and I was able to learn some great lessons:
- I used a 23 cassette which was not smart at all - I should of used a 27
- my base isn't near where it should be - actually, not even close
- need to re-evaluate my nutrition for pre-race and race
- need to pace according to the course terrain
- more dress rehearsal rides
- more brick workouts (didn't have any before this race)
- your back needs sunscreen too
I arrived at the Wildflower campground on Friday morning with 2 friends and we set up camp and headed down to the lake to pick up our packets. We knew we didn't want to make the long trek down to packet pickup that night again for food so we picked up some sandwiches at the local general store and headed back up to camp. The rest of the night was spent talking about the course (read: friends telling me how brutal the course was).
Woke up in the morning for some pre-race breakfast of a banana and PB sandwich. The race started at 8:00 so we headed down in the morning around 7:00 to set up transition and get ready to race. I felt really relaxed, well rested, and energized. I felt like I was ready for this race.
The water temp that morning was a cool 58 degrees - I got in the water to get acclimated to the cool temps and swam around a little bit so I knew what to expect. The gun went off and off we went. The course was an 'L' shape with a ~200 m out, then a right turn at the buoy for a long stretch, another right turn for ~200 m and then back. Thinking back I think I pushed the first 600 pretty hard because I struggled for the rest of the swim. My breathing was heavy and I couldn't find a good rhythm for the entirety of the swim. Coming out of the water I walked to transition, which I didn't want to do and tried to get my bearings and get rolling on the bike.
Right out of the gate there is a steep incline that had my HR maxed out and my chain fell off as I was switching gears. I had to stop, put the chain back on, and start sideways in order to get going again. The first 40 miles of the bike after that were challenging, but very doable with some of the flats going comfortable at 22 mph. Great scenery, some hills, and long descents. One of my reservations coming into the race was my lack of comfort on descents. On the first long descents I tried to reach for my brakes but my hands cramped up so I just went with it. After that, I had no issues with the downhills and actually enjoyed going 35-45 mph down the hills.
On mile 41 there is a long hill, followed by 'Nasty Grade', an 8 percent incline, followed by another long hill. About halfway up Nasty Grade my chain fell off again causing me to stop, put the chain back on, and bike sideways in order to get going again. I have NEVER faced a hill like that before, and it is one I will never forget. The remaining 8 miles of the course were a bear and I struggled to get to the end and couldn't wait to get off the bike.
Entering transition I was totally spent and hardly had any energy left. I began the run and was only able to run about 1/2 mile before I had to stop. My HR was high and I had no energy. I set up a new plan to run a minute and walk a minute and even that was a struggle. As a side note, the run course is harder than the bike course that is 60% trails and 40% road with very little flat stretches. After struggling through the first 4 miles, I came to the conclusion I wasn't going to make it if I continued to run and succumbed to walking the rest of the course.
It was very hard for me to write this race report because I am really disappointed in my performance, but at the same time, it provides some motivation for the rest of the season and I was able to learn some great lessons:
- I used a 23 cassette which was not smart at all - I should of used a 27
- my base isn't near where it should be - actually, not even close
- need to re-evaluate my nutrition for pre-race and race
- need to pace according to the course terrain
- more dress rehearsal rides
- more brick workouts (didn't have any before this race)
- your back needs sunscreen too
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