Personal Training Benefits Any Fitness Routine:
Adds variety, motivation, and results
By Kylie Blanchard

With the New Year underway, exercise is on the minds of many looking to meet resolutions or establish new routines. For those who need a change of pace, or even a change of lifestyle, personal training may be the answer to creating variety, building motivation and producing results.

“A lot of people exercise, but they may not be putting everything together right,” says Emily Vasey, certified personal trainer and lifestyle and weight management consultant at Medcenter One’s Women’s Health Center. “Many people get stuck in the same routine and quit seeing results.”

Vasey says personal training brings variety to an exercise routine and helps participants reach new goals. “Working out with a personal trainer is a great option because I can change what they are doing and switch their routine.”

Vasey works with clients of all ages and experience levels, and develops fitness routines to meet individual abilities and goals.

Kami House, 26, trains with Vasey once-a-week and says she initially chose personal training to get in shape for her upcoming wedding. “I wanted to get back in shape and get toned,” she says. “I wanted to make it a lifestyle thing and the wedding was good motivation to get started.”

Vasey set up a variety of workout plans that House incorporates into her weekly fitness routine. “She gave me a couple of different programs to follow that I refer to when I’m working by myself,” she says. In addition, House attends weekly group fitness classes.

House says she has noticed many positive changes in her daily life since she began training with Vasey. “I feel better, I feel stronger and I don’t feel tired at work,” she says. “My clothes fitting better is also a plus. I’m just happier overall.”

Having a trainer to explain correct equipment usage and set up an appropriate exercise plan has also increased House’s commitment to exercise. “It has helped me to stay motivated because I see her every week. It just helps to get to know different machines and exercises you wouldn’t have decided to try.”

Kat VanLishout, certified personal trainer at the Women’s Health Center, says personal training is designed to meet the needs of all types of participants. “Anyone can use personal training and just work at their level. It benefits everyone in their own way.”

The number of times a trainer meets with a client depends on the client’s needs and schedule, explains VanLishout. “It depends first on motivation levels,” she says. “If you get a trainer to work out with you a couple times a week that can really help.” She adds other clients meet with a trainer once every six weeks just to develop a new program and then continue to work out on their own.

Cheryl Rising, 55, has trained with VanLishout since September 2009. “I meet with the trainer once-a-week, and she also has a program developed for me that I do on my own time,” she says. “Every time I meet with her she does something different, it works very well.”

Rising says she has always been active, but realized she needed to make a change in her fitness routine. “I just felt like I was at a plateau. The older I got the easier it was to gain weight even if I was exercising.”

Rising adds it was often difficult to commit to exercise classes, and personal training has fit her schedule well. “To meet once-a-week and then have an organized plan to follow, it has really helped increase my strength and endurance.”

Both Vasey and VanLishout say there are many benefits to regular exercise, especially for women. “Osteoporosis is one of the most common reasons I see women,” says Vasey. “There are certain exercises we can do to prevent that – women need to strength train, too.”

Personal training also helps women focus on certain muscle groups, explains VanLishout. “A lot of women have their ‘problem areas’ that they can’t seem to improve,” she says. “If people have a certain body part they want to work on, we can focus on that and get results.”

Fibromyalgia, a syndrome marked by widespread pain in muscles and soft tissues, can also be helped with regular exercise, says VanLishout. This is a lesson she learned personally in her battle with the condition. She was diagnosed after four years of unexplained pain, and soon learned of the benefits of regular exercise in controlling her symptoms. “You hurt all the time so you are scared to exercise, but it actually makes you feel really good,” she says. “Now that I know what to do to make me feel good, I can help others feel better.” She is now focusing on helping others with fibromyalgia and developing programs specific to clients with this condition.

House says working with a personal trainer has changed her outlook on exercise and given her the motivation to maintain an active lifestyle. “Exercise is really important and I realize that now,” she says. “Emily has brought me to the point that if I wasn’t working with her, I would still be working out myself.”

Vasey and VanLishout say personal training isn’t restricted to individuals, and there are mothers and daughters training together as well as groups of friends. Both trainers enjoy helping others develop active and healthy lifestyles.

“I love being able to teach people to exercise,” says Vasey. “The most rewarding aspect for me is teaching those who are completely new to exercise, because it is truly a lifestyle change.”

VanLishout says helping others was a key reason she chose to become a personal trainer. “I love working out and I love helping people, so I thought ‘why not help people get physically fit?’”

For more information on personal training or to set up a free personal training consultation with Vasey or VanLishout call the Women’s Health Center at 701-323-6376.