Why should I consider working with a personal trainer?

• Working with a personal trainer is great for both newcomers and advanced enthusiasts. For newcomers, there's so much information out there and a personal trainer can help you sort through what information is credible and what training regimen will work for you that is both safe and challenging. For advanced enthusiasts, a personal trainer can help push you past those plateaus and show you some new tricks to keep those gains coming.

I'd like to work with you, but this just seems like a lot of money. Why should I pay for this?

• There are two ways to think of personal training: as an expense or as an investment. If you see it as an expense, it'll always compete with what else you could have used that money for. However, if you see it as an investment, then it becomes something you can see long-term value in, although the results do not come overnight. So think of it less as 'paying' for a service and more as 'investing' in the life you want to have and truly deserve, feeling your absolute best along the way.

Can't you just write me a workout routine to do for one session and that will be enough?

• Common (and great) question! Training is about pushing the body to make adaptations, and each phase I take you through each month will focus on new adaptations that build on each other. So it's not about making you sweat, but providing programming that we adjust together to help you reach your long term goals with built-in accountability. That takes time indeed, much more than we can do with one session!

What should I expect in working with you as my personal trainer?

• You can expect lots of laughs, an empathetic ear, careful observation of your form and technique to make sure you're getting the most out of each exercise, and continuous check-ins during the week to make sure we're staying on track to meet your goals.

I know exercise is important, but I've also heard nutrition is too for my goals. How do you build that into your programming?

• Within my scope of practice, I can give you very general advice on nutrition for your specific goals. However, I partner with a number of local registered dietitians who are certified and extremely knowledgeable to help you also succeed in the kitchen (aka "the second gym").

I’ve been hearing a lot about body positivity. What is that and do you incorporate that as part of your approach?

• While there are many definitions that are out there, in general body positivity is self-love and appreciation towards one’s physical body/appearance and the ability to appreciate one’s body in spite of popular representations of ideal body types that associate a certain look (usually thinness or muscularity) with happiness. Many people work out in order to feel better about their bodies. However, we start with the idea that your body is already ideal for you in many important ways and I share the information about each exercise we do from a health-first over aesthetics-first approach. Think of it as the difference between Googling “exercises to help me lose weight” versus “mental and physical health benefits of particular exercises." The focus becomes less on how you “look” and more on how you “feel.” This does not mean that a body-positive client cannot have body composition goals like fat loss or muscle gain–in fact, many do. It just means they are secondary or the byproduct of bigger health goals, and can make the journey more enjoyable than torture. It also means you become the definer of success, rather than external sources like the mirror or the scale.

I'm interested in working with you. What are the next steps?

• Awesome! First thing is to email me (natedumascpt@gmail.com) and let me know you're interested. Then I will send you a brief survey to fill out to learn a little more about your goals, likes/dislikes for exercise, and other things that will help me understand you as a person. We'll set up a follow-up phone call and then get you scheduled for your first assessment session.

You mentioned 'assessment session.' What exactly does that mean and why can't we just jump into working out?

• An assessment session is the session where I get to learn both objective and subjective information about your body and the way it has been 'conditioned' to move based on your lifestyle and daily activities. It will include some movement exercises to see where your body wants to compensate and which muscles are overactive/underactive (i.e., which muscles to stretch and which ones to strengthen), as well as cardio assessments to see what kinds of cardio exercises we can have you do as part of training. For advanced bodybuilding clients, this may also include strength assessments to see what your 1 rep max (1RM) is so we can know where to push you. Once we establish these baselines, we can see how close we are to achieving your goals and make sure your fitness program is tailored especially to you.

How do I know if I should select in-person training at your gym location or at-home personal training?

• Another great question! Ideally, training at my gym location is best if you're the kind of person that needs a break from the distractions of the house, has limited access to fitness equipment in your home space, and if you just enjoy the gym atmosphere. If you do have a safe home gym setup that is able to be managed without distractions (or want to set one up), and you just don't feel comfortable yet in a gym environment, training with me in your home space might be the best option for you.