PERSONAL TRAINING - THE SMART START
ixty percent of Canadians are not active enough to realize any health benefits. Of these, about 10% are dedicated couch potatoes who have absolutely no intention of doing regular exercise. If you are a part of the remainder - not active enough but not dedicated to sedentary living - trying to start a regular physical activity program may be frustrating unless you approach it correctly.
Do you acknowledge and value the health benefits of regular physical activity? Have you thought about being more active over the past few weeks and made some sporadic but largely ineffective attempts at getting more active? Do you feel more comfortable exercising on your own or with a friend rather than in a group program? If you answered yes to all three of these questions, perhaps you should consider hiring a personal trainer to help get you started.
Pam Robinson is an experienced personal trainer at Carleton University's Physical Recreation Centre. She sees a wide variety of people in her work, but most of her clients are beginners who want a fitness program that suits their personal needs and they want to learn how to do the exercises properly.
"If you know how to do the exercises effectively, it saves a lot of time in the long run," she says.
Pam has been working in thefitness industry for over 25 years, first as a fitness leader, then as coordinator of the employee fitness program at the Ottawa General Rehabilitation Centre. For the last four years she has been a part-time certified personal trainer and fitness instructor at Carleton University.
When asked what she gets out of her work as a personal trainer, she says, "the satisfaction of helping people get started properly and knowing that they have learned important skills and knowledge." She says the two most important traits of an effective personal trainer are, "how much you know and how much you care."
Recent research shows you are more likely to stick with a new exercise program if: 1) you know the benefits of the activity; 2) you have confidence in your ability to do the activity; and 3) when the "costs" of the activity are reasonable (like money, time, risk of injury).
Hiring a personal trainer can be a good first step toward meeting those objectives. If you are interested in our programs and assistance, contact Physical Recreation and Athletics at 520-4480 or visit our website www.carleton.ca/athletics for more information.
Greg Poole is Associate Director Physical Recreation and Athletics at Carleton University.