Our Services...

​Bottom line, fitness is about health.  To help you reach the best version of yourself, we will help coach you to a healthy lifestyle across all fitness dimensions.  We have worked with a wide variety of clients, from people looking to achieve a healthy weight to seniors looking for more endurance, to children looking to build fitness after spending too much time with video games.  

In all cases the call to action is clear, coaching to a healthy lifestyle.

All of our programs are individually designed based upon client needs and goals.  Do not settle for a one size fits all approach from any trainer that you work with.  Make sure that you always understand how each session helps you achieve your goals, and that you understand the fundamentals of your program.  
​
Working with a personal trainer is motivating and rewarding but it is very important to make sure you get someone who is certified and follows proper protocol by a safe and effective program based on your needs.  Being certified means that your trainer has attained a minimum level of competency across a broad range of health and fitness topics including kinesiology, nutrition, anatomy and handling special needs for special populations.  If your trainer is just walking you around from station to station without rhyme or reason, or you are not getting the results you want, then it may be time to have a talk with them about your program design.. 
​
We strive to build trust and partnership with our clients with the sole intention of improving the client’s fitness and health and enabling them to meet their goals in a safe and effective manner.  The client’s success is our only focus, nothing else.  

Fitness Consultation

The fitness consultation is the initial meeting between the trainer and trainee.  Rapport and an initial partnership is established, and background information is shared.  The initial assessment will likely include things like height, weight, body composition, flexibility measurements and kinetic chain assessments including posture.  If the goal is strength gains for example, then strength testing may also be included but likely not until the first training session.  Exercise progression will start from your baseline and build gradual and safe improvements moving you steadily to your goals.  This is an important aspect of our training approach in designing the most safe and effective training modes. 

The trainer will also discuss your goals, exercise and health history with you.  This baseline information will allow for the trainer to design a program specifically for the client.  

Both Individual programs and small group programs ALL start with a fitness consultation.  If the client wishes to continue and purchase training sessions then a contract will be offered that specifies the pricing along with laying out any risks associated with the training. 

The trainer will also discuss basic components of nutrition.  Nutrition is a vital component of any fitness program.  Unless your trainer is a nutritionist as well, they will not prescribe meal plans for you.  However, your trainer will be fully educated on the My Food Pyramid as well as general nutrition guidelines and will be able to counsel you on basic understanding in these areas.   In most cases this is sufficient for client’s to reach their goals, however some clients want more.  In these cases we can recommend a nutritionist to work with the client in tandem with their exercise program. 

Safe and Effective Training 

Once the client enters into an agreement for training, either small group or individual, then the trainer will use the information collected in the fitness consultation to design a program based upon the client’s goals.  Most programs will be directed toward overall fitness and health improvements which includes cardiovascular, strength and flexibility improvements.  The training plan will specifically target areas of weakness in each of these in a specific way for the client. This is what maximizes the efficiency of the sessions as well as how the client feels. 

All training plans will have built in periodization and progression.  This means that the client will make continual progress toward their goals at an appropriate rate and pace.

Training plans all have goals, which can be anything that you want to achieve, whether it’s to lose weight or run a marathon.  In all cases the trainer will use the specificity of training principle to engineer specific overload targeted at the appropriate system that will yield results, if the program is followed. 

Several measurement periods may also be engineered into your fitness program.  These measurements, which are usually baselined in the fitness consultation, serve as a gauge by which physical improvement can be measured, if the client desires.  Measurements can take many forms such as VO2 max, flexibility measures or standardized strength tests.  Some people like measurements, others like some but not others and some don’t like any.  The trainer can work however you feel comfortable.
As far as session duration goes, we would suggest initially starting with express sessions. These sessions usually have about 30 minutes of exercise programming and also have a warm up and cool down period.  This is usually adequate for most clients to make significant progress toward their goals.

A Typical Training Session

Training sessions will usually start with warm up and static stretching.  We usually advise that the client start early, ahead of the trainer, to start their warm up, after receiving initial instruction on how to perform this from the trainer.  This is especially true for express sessions and can save the client time and money if they are interested.  Again, this would depend on what the client wants as well as their individual capabilities.

The warm up will be followed by some light movement exercises designed to get the muscles warmed up.

Following the warm up, the session will progress into the exercise period.  The exercise period is where the trainer applies principles of exercise science and kinesiology to design a program that will allow the client to achieve their goals.  The trainer will be working very closely with the client during this time, explaining what is being done and why, demonstrating exercises and guiding the client carefully through each motion.   For each session, the client should bring plenty of water, especially for this period of the program.

The session will conclude with static stretching and a cool down period.  In total, an express session will last approximately 30-40 minutes (with client performing warm up and cool down) and a full session will last about an hour, maybe a little more.

If this all sounds very complicated and busy... don’t worry.  The trainer will explain it all in great detail at each session and in no time at all it will be second nature.