Organizing a workout
Quinn says that when someone engages him, or another trainer, they’re on the right track because they’ve already made a commitment. “They paid,” he says, “but they come in and have no idea where to start. Most of the people are a whole lot younger than I am. Maybe they want to lose weight, tone up for a wedding …. They have no idea what to do. A good personal trainer will take somebody and work on their balance, their flexibility. My goal is to get them to pass a core strength and stability test. Hold a ‘plank’ [basically a position similar to a push-up posture, only you’re resting on your elbows and forearms instead of your hands] for a minute, then raising each arm and leg for 15 seconds, for a total of three minutes. If somebody can get through that maneuver, they have a pretty stable core.”
Regardless of age, Quinn starts in the same place.
“What a good trainer does is evaluate the client. Find out what’s their reason for coming in. What are their limitations? Goals? What medications are they taking? Then set a plan in progress. Someone who can’t get up off the floor? I gave her leg raises to do in bed before she gets up. A good trainer has to find things to do knowing that limitations are there.
“You’ve got to show how to organize a workout. Warm up first on a bike or walking for five or ten minutes. Then stretch problem areas, just to loosen up, not hard stretches.
Do lower body, then core, then upper body, chest back shoulders first, then biceps and triceps. Then core specific exercises, then five to ten minutes of stretches. Use stablilty balls so people have to fight to maintain their balance.”
