Personal Trainers

The concept is similar: On the path of knowing our faith, we need religious intructions from people who have mastered and studied the path to guide us. On the path of spirituality, we need shuyukh who have tasted that sweetness of faith to lead us towards tasting that sweetness which he has tasted. On the path towards health, we need a personal trainer to train us properly towards achieveing a balanced outcome. Below is an extract from wikipedia:

A personal trainer is a professional who educates people about physical fitness. Personal trainers are also referred to as "trainers," but should not be confused with athletic trainers. Personal trainers typically design exercise routines and teach physical exercises to their trainees. While some personal trainers work with only one client each session, others also teach groups of clients (like in aerobics).

Personal trainers typically work with clients to improve body composition (weight loss or muscle gain). They may also be hired for more specific goals, such as an increase in strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, or flexibility. Some trainers are qualified to improve sports performance, including speed and power. While not as common, some trainers may also be qualified to work with people who need help with physical dysfunction, including the improvement of balance, range of motion, knee and shoulder issues, and those released from physical therapy.

Personal trainers work with clients on several time intervals. Some clients meet for a single session to answer questions and to develop an exercise program (or to ensure that their existing program is balanced). Others prefer to work with a trainer for several months for the purposes of motivation, variety, exercise design, or to work toward a specific goal. And still others work with a trainer indefinitely for motivation, accountability, variety, or to ensure consistent progress.

Personal trainers often also have a specific method of motivating clients. Common techniques for motivation include demeanor (some trainers have an aggressive and commanding demeanor; others are more calm and supportive); incentives for reaching goals; and positive re-framing or visualization.

Typically a personal trainer will first do a health screen to make sure the trainee is cleared for exercise. If necessary, a doctor's consent may be obtained. A waiver is typically signed to release the personal trainer of legal obligations.

Personal trainers will usually proceed through an intake evaluation, either verbal or written, to identify goals and concerns. Fitness testing may follow, usually measuring indicators of physical fitness. These tests may include tests of strength, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, and postural abnormalities. In addition, body composition (body fat) is often evaluated. Specific numerical measurements of body fat and cardiovascular health can help clients to set specific goals.

For the typical requirements of a client seeking a change in body composition, a complete routine will include a warm up, dynamic (not ballistic) range-of-motion movement (static stretching is no longer placed before exercise), strength exercises and/or cardiovascular exercise, a cool down, and static stretching. Many trainers will add supplemental exercises.

Most trainers will complete a session by running through the exercises they have selected for that day, selecting how much weight the client should be using, and explaining how many repetitions and sets a client will perform.

If there are postural issues, a trainer may add exercises for the rotator cuffs, shoulders, etc. These are used to correct existing abnormalities, and at times may be used even up to a month before beginning the more basic exercises in order to prevent injury.

Some trainers begin all trainees on machines and rely on machines for progress. However, many fitness professionals believe that machines force the joints to work with a fixed axis, which can cause injury over time. They also believe that certain machines lead to injury, especially in people who arrive at the gym with pre-existing knee or shoulder problems. In addition, these trainers also believe that the body should be exercised using its natural movement patterns (instead of machines). They claim that this helps the body to use all the muscles in coordination to promote stabilization and a balance of strength within each muscle group. Proponents of free weights favor the ability to use more variation to change the stimulus on the muscle and the ability to perform certain exercises which are not possible with machines. These trainers typically only use machines with cables.

And take my word for it ... weights-less/no-machines trainings are really so much tougher :)