The Huffington Post this morning published an article titled “The Benefits of Personal Training.” Without reading the article, I immediately nodded in agreement as if I knew what it was written about. After training clients and trainers for over 10 years I know what I would say. Unfortunately it didn’t say what I wanted it to, so I did what anyone in my position would: I wrote the Costa Rican version.

You may be thinking: “I live in Costa Rica not Los Angeles… I’m not a celebrity nor a professional athlete, so why would I need a personal trainer?” This is a little like the query “If I’m not planning to race Nascar then why am I taking driving lessons?” Except we are talking about a human body, not a car.

More specifically, your human body. The can’t-be-replaced, the you-only-get-one-of-them kind. I can think of at least 20 reasons why to get a personal trainer and to pay good money for that trainer, but today will only cover a few of those reasons.

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I know, I know… I am always advocating the cheap and easy way to stay in shape. I still advocate fitness at a discount, but education is worth paying for, and I think you may agree by the end.

To get the most of the personal training experience, it’s important that you find a qualified trainer, make sure he is the right trainer for you, and for the love of pete, avoid the common client pitfalls which I will cover in detail before we wrap up.

Many people will tell you that the surefire measure of quality with personal trainers is the certifications they wield. Usually those people are the trainers themselves. Although there are no regulatory bodies in Costa Rica to manage the quality or completion of said certifications (there are really none in the States either) in most cases a certification tells us more about the determination and discipline of the trainer, than of his intelligence.

It does not tell us about his ability to transfer that knowledge to his clients. To be fair, most of these courses are self-guided and filled with college-level learning. They’re not easy. My first certification was about the most challenging undertaking of my life at the time. But completing it had as much to do with my ability to actually train clients as what getting through high-school prepared me to be a grown up. Not much, but one has to get through these things.

A trainer’s credentials can be an outright lie too. I knew a guy who carried around a card “certifying” him as a “trainer for life.” He acquired it by requesting it from some company somewhere, and proudly showed me his credentials under a wry grin. What I should have done was shown him where he could stick his card, but this type of thing happens, and to the uninitiated knowing the difference is impossible.

Certifications from organizations like NASM, ACSM, ACE, are fairly common and should suffice but ISSA, AFFA are also seen from time to time. As important the trainer should have a valid (read: not expired) certification. Mine expired in 2005 thus the only person I train is myself; although my wife follows along most days. If you have any doubts about the trainer’s current qualifications a quick search through Google should help.

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But the uniform does not make the man, the man makes the uniform.

Personality is huge in personal trainers. In my book a good trainer should be firm, fair and friendly. I am talking about his leadership approach, not his physique. But he should be fit too. A good trainer is the one you will listen to, the one who gets you to your results. You may not always like your trainer, but it won’t be because he is rude, unprofessional or malicious.

The best education in the world, with all of the certification to be certifiable, isn’t worth a hill of gallo pinto if you don’t trust and like your trainer. The length of time you spend working with your trainer will invariably change the nature of your relationship but it should not cross the lines of professionalism; not at the gym, and definitely not while training. Source personality quickly and remember this person is not your friend, no more than is your family dentist your best pal.

For that reason, keep a professional distance or level of respect between you and your trainer. I have watched clients drag on with trainers I knew they didn’t like only because they didn’t know how to break up with their trainer. At some point they forgot this person was employed by them, not dating them.

Most trainers will offer a free consultation or hour of training, which can help with checking out their style. As an option for shopping the right trainer, many trainers teach group classes which may be included with your membership at the gym, or at the very least less expensive than buying a package of sessions sight unseen. Taking the class won’t hurt you and you can shop your potential trainer at the same time.

OK, let’s dig into some common pitfalls I have seen over the years.

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It should be said that if you walk out of the gym, and follow nothing your trainer has advised you once you’re outside of his watchful eye, then this relationship isn’t working. Frankly, it’s not your trainer, its you. Either way you might as well save your colones; you’re not into it. Being emotionally mature when training and getting results takes a certain person to accomplish. To be honest it is more often the exception than the rule.

A client who wants results will not spend session time talking about how their spouse is cheating on them. A great trainer wouldn’t allow that to go on too long either, but the clients who show up to work, get results. Those who show up to chat get affordable counseling. Since the trainer is getting paid either way, the client is the rudder for this. Don’t waste your time and money.

Don’t wait to train with the same trainer everybody else trains with because he is busy. Your fitness can’t wait and there has to be somebody else who can do the job.

Personality matters, but remember, this isn’t match-making. The standard of perfection can be catalyst for excuse. I knew clients who would wait months for a busy trainer to open up. Sorry, but no trainer is that good. Remember you are going to be doing all the work here.

Do I need to say be on time to your sessions, with water in hand, and a workout towel? That means after you get going with your program, you are warmed up before the session starts. Paying your trainer to watch you run on a treadmill is a huge waste of money unless he is correcting your stride.

Any trainer who has ever allowed a client to train cold, only to then injure said client, and consequently lose said client and accompanying reputation, will not allow any client going forward to train without warming up first. No excuses.

The last advice I would give you is be honest with what you want from this relationship before it starts, and convey your desire to your trainer. A trainer can be a constant partner in fitness, coaching you through every pitfall, and always pushing you to another level. This is not to be confused with paying someone to be there for the only workouts you ever make it in for, where you never make progress, and always have good chit-chats.

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We covered this. That’s not training.

The other role a trainer can play, for the motivated, is your own personal educator. This is a great way to “teach a man to fish” where you come out the back-end more educated, fully-empowered and self-reliant. This is the sort of client, who before long, is training clients of his own.

I have known some of these clients to work with several different trainers and amalgamate their collective knowledge. Others pay as they go, training for a time, going alone for a time. Both become great fishermen in their own right… er, trainers. You understand.

Having a clear idea of how you want to use your trainer will allow you to establish financial and time boundaries, and will allow you to get what you came looking for. If you are looking for inspiration and education then a trainer might be a good way to go.

The beauty of Costa Rica is that with lower cost of living, services like this can go for much cheaper than they are in the states. Shop the local gym or nose around Facebook, Trip Advisor or We Love Costa Rica’s forum for the advice of others. Try it out and see if you like it. With fitness, the only commitment you have to make ultimately, is to yourself.

Pura vida, and pura fitness.

Damon

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Written by VIP Member Damon Mitchell who spent over 10 years in the fitness industry before he moved to Costa Rica in search of a better work/life balance. Currently he lives in Playa Tamarindo in Guanacaste, where he and his wife Cristina are owner-operators of Pizza&Co pizza express, located in Plaza Conchal 2.

Daily, Damon runs on the beach or works out at Tamarindo Fitness Center, keeping fit by doing a combination of old-school weight lifting, calisthenics, TRX, stability ball work and just about anything he can do to create new and fun exercises. Most recently he is learning to surf.

if there is anything specific about staying fit and healthy in Costa Rica you would like him to cover in his next article.




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A Personal Trainer In Costa Rica?

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