I truly, seriously, have the best clients in the world. I don’t know how other trainers handle the loss 🤷♀️My clients are world-changers with enormous hearts, big thinkers, and inspirations who keep me on my toes…and most of them have already uncovered some of thesesurprises about having me as a personal trainer:
1. I don’t give meal plans…
…and I will do my very best to help you eat as many of the foods you love and still reach your goals quickly! I don’t “take away” anything, but I do offer a variety of alternatives if your progress suggests you need a change, and I am always an advocate of an anti-inflammatory diet.
2. We don’t spend more than 8 minutes of your session doing cardio…
…but I do give cardio “homework”, usually starting with the idea of moving for about 10 minutes a day outside of our training sessions. No treadmill warmups at my studio! I pack as much into our hour as I can.
3. I don’t think HIIT is for everyone.
Or running. Or hot yoga. Or synchronized swimming. Or parkour. Or winning the Tour de France…or even the MS-150. I don’t have an agenda for the “best” cardio workout, and I don’t often think that “more intensity” is the answer! The best answer for you depends so much on everything else that’s going on in your life, your goals, your workout history, your available time, your sleep…I’ll never try to convert you to anything except….
4. I do mean it when I invite you to my Zumba classes!
I am so thankful that I’m at a point in my Zumba career where my classes can sustainably be free to you most of the time, and I think that Zumba is:
- killer cardio, done at your level
- excellent cross-training
- amazing for lowering your stress levels and getting grounded
- a fun way to make friends with the other elite alpha squad I get to work out with every week
5. The workouts I give really vary from client to client
I program each workout for you and the goals you want to reach. Some of my clients never touch TRX! Some of my clients only touch TRX!! Some of my clients never sit down, and some of my clients get 90-second breaks between sets sometimes. Back at the start of 2020 I had set up a “swap a set” jar to swap part of your workout with another client, just so everyone could get a taste of what else goes on in the studio. But, that jar is probably what unleashed the pandemic, so I’m scared to bring it back now.
6. I mean it when I say to text me.
I invite my clients to text me when:
- they’re doing a home workout and forget what a certain exercise is (of course)
- they’re at a restaurant and need help making a great choice
- they’re out of motivation
- they’re struggling with whatever
- they find a funny meme, naturally
- they’re meal planning/grocery shopping and need a boost
…and so many other times! I really care about my clients, and I offer as much support as my time allows.
7. Our hour of training flies by every week
I keep things fresh enough, familiar enough, challenging enough, approachable enough, and humor-filled enough that the hour or two we spend together each week flies by so quickly. It is rare that someone has time to complain between sets 😂😂 although my complaint department is always open!
8. My clients really do make progress in just an hour or two of weekly training!
I think that programming/progression and exercise selection is the secret sauce of personal training. I try to specialize in pushing “just enough” so that you barely notice (most of the time…) the upgrade but you get the results ASAP. Nearly all of my clients lose 1-2″ off of their waists in just our first month of training.
9. I don’t do contracts or commitments.
We are both too awesome for that – see me just once, for a month, or for a decade+ – I’ll be here! For that matter, I don’t sell supplements either!
10. I am more than happy to translate recipes, meal services, instagram workouts, and whatever else you bring me into something you can use for your best results.
There are so many kinds of weight lifting, for example…so if you bring me a Bikini Competitor workout, I’ll gladly find the usable pieces and explain the difference in their periodization. Smitten by somatics? Addicted to aerobics? Whatever it is, we will make it work together.
11. Most importantly – I do not ever judge you for your workouts, nutrition, workout gear, lack of sleep…
We are all humans here, and humans go through processes. Processes are not usually linear. I don’t care if you come to train in a fresh lulu set or the same Old Navy leggings I’ve seen you in for 8 years. I am not worried or upset if you over/under/weirdly eat, even if you had set a goal not to. I ask questions each session about cardio, nutrition, hydration, sleep, and whatever else we are working on so that I can know how best to help you, and my most honest clients get the fastest results.
I absolutely love that I get to train full-time, and I want to know…if you’ve worked out with me, what surprised you the most? Your own strength?!
I meant it about Zumba…see you there!
- Wednesday 6:30pm Zumba at Jerabeck Athletic Center – last class of the semester will be 4/24 (free; second floor dance studio, street parking)
- Saturday 9:30am Zumba at Montrose Collective (free, meets at 888 Westheimer, street/garage parking, and make sure to use your Zumba discount at the Plant Project!)
- Sunday 9am Zumba (free, meets at Levy Park – 3801 Eastside)
- Monday 6:30pm Zumba (free, meets at Levy Park – 3801 Eastside)
