If the thought of transforming yourself from a sofa-surfing slouch into a Twinkie-spurning exercise junkie turns your quadriceps to jelly, consider this: You don’t have to go it alone.
A fitness trainer can help you set goals, motivate you, prevent injury and monitor your progress. But how do you find a good one?
You can start at your gym, if you belong to one. Or get a reference from a friend or physician. You can also check the responses on a July 21 Fit City blog post that asked Central Texans why they love their trainers. Here’s a sampling.
Trainer Liana Mauro, 28, of Mauro Pilates and client Joe Stephens, 28, attorney and triathlete
Working together: One year
What Stephens says about Mauro: “With Liana’s guidance and personalized programs, I qualified for the Boston Marathon (with a 3:03 here in the Austin Marathon) and for the 70.3 World Championships at Ironman 70.3 Texas. She tailors all her workouts to me. I have stayed 100 percent injury free and my all-around performance has skyrocketed. And she keeps things fun — you should just try one of her paddle Pilates classes.”
Endurance athletes pride themselves on their toughness. “So when you walk into a Pilates studio, especially as a male, you think anything is going to be easy,” Stephens says. “With Liana, the exact reverse is true. Sometimes I’m more comfortable on a 100-mile bike ride than during a workout in the studio with her.”
Training: Certified by Stott Pilates in mat work, reformer, stability chair, arc barrel, spine corrector, ladder barrel and Cadillac.
Specialization: Pilates for athletes (specifically triathletes), paddle Pilates, Pilates for kids, barre, injury prevention/rehabilitation and weight loss/toning.
Favorite exercise: Side bends on the reformer. “It works on a lot of things at once, spinal mobility and it’s a good core strengthening exercise.”
Best advice: “Listen to your body.”
Philosophy on pushing clients: “I was taught by so many traditional trainers to push through pain, which ultimately led to injury. If you’re working with a trainer, make sure they have adequate education about anatomy and movement and that they encourage you to be intuitive with your body. There is a fine line between a good burn and compromising your body — it really is possible to work hard, have results and be pain free.”
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