How to find Your "ideal" Personal Trainer...

 

Not Just A Pretty Face w/ a HOT bod 

How to Find Your "Ideal" Trainer

Spend much time in the fitness industry and you'll see plenty that's good—and bad, including everything from the fad equipment claiming to help you drop weight and “tone those flabby muscles,” to the diet of the month that contradicts last month’s fad diet. To navigate this world, you may seek out a trainer—only to find that he's pushing those same fads. In a world so full of false promises and confusing misinformation, I want to discuss what I think are some important (and often overlooked) virtues of a good trainer.

Look Beyond Looks

To find a great—not just good, but great—trainer, you may need to look beyond the obvious. I’ve seen many a good-looking trainer on the floor of the gym working with clients. It would make sense that trainers would practice what they preach, and look like they put in at least a few days a week at the gym they work in, right? In most instances I would agree, but that’s not always the case. Although it is unusual, I have known trainers that didn’t look anything like what we would expect. I know one trainer who looks more like a client in need of dire help than the professional he is. Yet he ended up being so good at what he did that he easily became the favorite trainer at his location and eventually went on to become a leader in the region. What set him apart, besides his obvious ability to overcome stereotypes, was his genuine caring for his career and his clients, each and every one. I once had the opportunity to take a session from him on the benefits of stretching, and I could immediately sense an empathy about him. 

It didn't just make him seem nice—it made what he said make sense. This was also someone who understood his clients, in part because he has been where they are. In short: you are looking for someone who loves what he does, and who also empathizes with you and your situation. To find that trainer, you may need to be empathetic as well. Never judge the book by its cover. Had you done that with this man, you would have missed out on enrichment. 

Demand To Be Special

A good trainer is trying to figure out not just how to achieve what you want, but also what you need—he is looking out for your best interest. Clients often have unclear goals—precisely because they are not fitness professionals. I have often heard clients express their goal as getting “toned”. But when it comes down to specifics, “toned” can actually be many different things. It is your trainer's job to figure out what it means for you. This focus on you is the key to a good trainer. Trainers can easily fall into the trap of treating every client the same. Just because clients use the same general language to describe their goals, or have similar training issues that they are working on, doesn't mean that those clients need the same program. It’s easy for lazy or inexperienced trainers to train every client the same way; one can even get a degree of good results from it. The problem comes when the client settles into the routine. Getting healthier literally means that the client is adapting to the routine and is on the road to losing fitness. The human body is an adaptive machine; the minute you adapt to the current routine you begin to lose progress and, in essence, your fitness. That’s what a plateau is, an adaption to a routine. A good trainer knows enough about the client, and not just from what that client may or may not say, to keep develop a plan for making progress. And that plan should be particular to each individual. 

Find a Trainer, Not an Instructor 

A trainer is a specialist, which means that a trainer is not a group exercise instructor. That’s not to say that a trainer can’t and shouldn’t teach group classes. There are many excellent one-on-one trainers that also teach great group classes (I myself teach group classes every day). But a group class is a cookie-cutter way of training. An instructor can only teach to the group and not the individual. And since the classes are general, participants are responsible for keeping a sense of their own boundaries and knowing for themselves whether what the class is doing is okay for them as well. Unfortunately, many trainers teach individuals as though they were in a class. Such a trainer may have a good overall philosophy, and great exercises. But if he isn't tailoring the workouts for each client, he's making you, the client, be responsible for monitoring your limits. Instead, a trainer's inside knowledge of his individual clients should include injuries and propensity for injury. Nothing impedes progress like an injury can. A good trainer knows the physical limitations and potential for injuries that each client has. He can adapt the routine accordingly to keep each client going despite potential set-backs, something only a specialist can do. But he has to take care to do it.

Beware the Bottom Line

In the rush to improve their bottom line, many gyms and even individuals have focused on the seller and not the trainer. This is the smooth talker who makes a great first impression, but who has little to no ability to work with the variety of people needing personal attention for their fitness and health. Many people end up coming out of something that should have been a positive and life-changing experience with intensely negative feelings. Unfortunately, this impacts the industry as a whole, and not just that trainer. Increasingly, ours is a global community, which means that thoughts and ideas traverse the boundaries of oceans and countries. A negative opinion by just one individual, especially when based in real experience, can have a big impact on how people perceive our industry. The message here is that it’s not just up to the trainers to change how they do business, but the responsibility is also on the client. Don’t just sign up with whoever makes the hard sell or offers the best deal; in many cases you get what you pay for. Get a feel for the person you might choose as your specialist. 

1. How much experience does this individual have and in what categories? 
2. Does this person have cert's to back up his words? Even so, understand a cert doesn’t always mean the trainer is qualified.

A certification shouldn’t be the sole grounds for you choosing a trainer, any more than his smooth words, as there are many trainers with certs that might not be worth the paper they are printed on. A cert is just one way to tell the trainer’s experience before you actually try him on for size. 

Assess Honestly

To sort out if your trainer is a match for you, take some time to think through the following five questions: 

1. What is the trainer’s experience? Specifically what is his experience with my needs and wants, and with helping people reach my particular goals? 
2. Does my trainer have certifications? If so, what are they in? If not, where does their experience come from? 
3. Does this trainer ask me questions about myself? Does he asses any injuries? Does he ask about my own experiences? How well does he try to get to know me before we actually begin to train?
4. Does my trainer do the same things with me as with others? If so, can he explain why?
5. Does my trainer help me get better and feel good? Have I improved not just in my physical appearance, but my mental state as well? For many people, training is an excruciating time that feels closer to suffering than improving your health and wellness. If it wasn’t so tough everyone would be doing it themselves and obesity probably wouldn’t be the epidemic it’s considered to be today. But take any of those individuals that have achieved some measure of success and ask them how they feel about what they’ve done and the person that has helped them get there, and the response is usually the same: joy and a sense of pride in accomplishment. The most important aspect of a good trainer in my opinion, is how they make you feel at the end of the day.

Source:

GILLETTE'S 6 STEP GUIDE FOR MEN on how to get that super great shave

 

Quick Checklist: When Making Plans w/ a potential client

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Bar & Restaurant Manager Resume Example - Update Yours for 2018

If you are: 

1. an experienced bar manager looking for a new job or 
2. you're a bartender who aims to become a bar manager,

below are some useful facts about the position.

Whatever the place (from pubs to high-end luxury bars) the core duties related to the bar manager or restaurant manager position are standard.

You will need to direct, plan and manage all the operations from managing the staff and adjusting their schedule to making sure the quality standards are met, customers are happy and maintain the efficiency at maximum for maximum profits and minimum waste.

Good Examples of Achievements for a Bar Manager Resume

• Increased bar revenue with 20% through advertising featured cocktails with limited resources by using word-of-mouth strategies.

• Decreased total costs by analyzing team member's strengths, hiring skilled bartenders and changing the schedule accordingly to their needs.

• Upgraded the payment process by implementing a “pay in advance” system thereby ensuring no payments remained pending.

• Proved to be a good team-player with the management team by providing innovative solutions, introduced new concepts, actively negotiated and resolved differences and employed a constructive criticism approach.

Bad Examples of Achievements for a Bar Manager Resume

• I increased the bar revenue because of my financial knowledge.

• Because I am good at reading people, I managed to hire only the most talented people.

• The payment system was out of date, therefore I upgraded it to a new one that worked better.

• My team-working skills made it possible for the bar to be successful as I was delegating tasks in a smart way and bartenders liked my working style.

Check out this GREAT example below:

SOURCE

Useful Guide: How Much Should You Tip?

INFO-GRAPHIC: A Visual Guide to Reducing Financial Stress

How to Worry Less and Save More: 
A Visual Guide to Reducing Financial Stress

Got a DROID Phone? If so, You'll Want to Check OUT These 5 Settings to Adjust Immediately

If you got a new Android smartphone for the holidays, here are some things you want to do right away!

1. Don’t Skip the Google Account Setup

When you set up your Android for the first time, you’re asked to provide your Google account credentials. Doing so is the fastest way to set up your email, calendar, and contacts (core PIM functionality), but it’s optional, some people don’t have Google account, or for whatever reason they decide to skip the step. If you skipped it, go back and complete it, even if you’re using someone other than Google for your basic PIM functions.

Why? There are a few reasons. Not only will your contacts be synchronized with your Google account, they’ll also be synced with any Android’s you get in the future (if your current phone is lost, stolen, damaged, or in a year or so when you decide to upgrade). Additionally, you’ll need it for the Android Market.

While it’s probably true that you don’t need the Android Market to install apps on your phone, there is one case in particular where you’d want to: if your phone is lost. To the best of my knowledge, the Android Market is the only app store for Android that allows for remote installation of apps. Simply log into the Market using a desktop browser, then find an app called Plan B and install it (remotely) to your phone. Within minutes you’ll have an email telling you exactly where your phone is! Of course there are other apps that let you do similar things, but most have to be installed and configured before you lose your phone. The appropriately named Plan B app takes care of all of that for you, all you have to have done is set up your Google Account.

2. Get a Car Kit

It’s becoming illegal in more places — and is generally frowned upon everywhere — to use your phone in your car. Take that as an opportunity to trick out your ride for Android!

Click Motorola H720 Bluetooth Headset

to learn more about this device

Two things you’ll want to get are a Bluetooth headset and a USB car charger, but if your phone has a car dock built specifically for it, you’ll probably want to consider that option first.

A car dock usually attaches to your windshield or dash and holds your phone where you can see it. Many have a charging solution built in (some will plug into your phone’s USB charging port, others, like the dock for Nexus One charge using three gold dots to carry the power — the dock for the Galaxy Nexus isn’t readily available yet). Some also connect to your phone’s audio, which not only lets you listen to music on your car’s sound system, they also do double-duty as a speaker phone.

Whether or not you opt for a car dock with these features built-in or opt for a USB charger and Bluetooth headset, you’ll appreciate having a fully-charged phone when you start your day at school or the office, and will be much safer keeping your phone out of your hands while driving.

3. Turn on Your WiFi 

There are three reasons why you’ll want to turn on your WiFi right away.

WiFi is probably faster than your phone’s 3G or 4G data connection, so when you’re under a WiFi bubble, your phone will be faster!

WiFi uses less power than traditional cellular data, so your battery will last longer when using WiFi rather than cellular data.

With almost all carriers throttling or limiting your data once you hit their data threshold, using WiFi whenever possible could save you quite a bit of money and frustration, which lets you save your cellular data for when you need it.

4. Set Your Data-Hungry Apps to Update Less Often

If you’re like me, you’ve got at least a couple social networking apps, a couple news and RSS apps, and maybe even a couple weather apps installed. These apps try to connect to various data services to keep the information on your phone up-to-date. This makes their apps feel faster because the information is already on your phone, before you ask for it. Unfortunately that means the app is going out on the Internet frequently to get updates — updates that you may never see.

To help keep data usage down and battery life from magically disappearing, you should open each type of app that I mentioned above and check its settings for “Update Frequency”. Some social apps are come set top update every 15 minutes. I set mine to update every 4 hours, or “only when charging”. Some apps even have an option to only sync when connected to WiFi. Keep in mind that some of the smarter apps use something called “push notifications” which only update when the server “pushes” a notice to them that there is something to update.

Check your apps and set them to something that’s more in-line with how often you actually use the apps. 

5. Log in to Google Talk

Google Talk is the chat app that comes built-in to your Android, and it’s terribly under-used. You can use Google Talk not only to instant message people with other Android smartphones, but also those who use Gmail on their desktop and laptop computers.

What’s really cool is that many of those computer users have microphones and speakers, and with the right plugin can audio chat with you. This is essentially a free way to make voice calls to anyone in the world with a Gmail account — and it’s built in to every Android out there.

What’s more, if your Android Smartphone has a front-facing camera, you can also use Google Talk to make and receive video calls! You can video call with other Android users, or computer users that have a webcam. This comes in particularly useful during the holidays when friends and family may not be able to come together. Unlike other video chatting solutions, Google Talk should work just fine over 3G, 4G, or WiFi.