Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to common questions about personal training, healthy aging,
medical exercise, weight loss, and senior fitness in Scottsdale.
Getting Started
No you don’t. Your Scottsdale Personal Fitness Trainer will perform an in depth evaluation of your fitness levels to determine what your baseline personal fitness capacities are. From here, we build you a systematic program structured in phases of progression. Our programs are fun, educational and of course, challenging.
A personal trainer is an expert on the science of conditioning the human body for total body homeostasis. With corrective exercise you will keep muscles and joints properly aligned and highly functional. Corrective exercise is an art in itself that requires additional schooling outside the realm of general fitness and weight loss. Most humans in my 18 years in the health and fitness industry suffer from numerous imbalances, which will affect the quality of life sooner or later.
When muscles stretch beyond a sedentary state, there is likelihood that the worked muscle will be sore. Case in point. Those who take Yoga classes are habitually sore as muscle fibers are often stretched to the extreme. Although we do everything within the scope of our expertise to prevent this, it does happen. The good news is the more frequently you work out, the more difficult it is to achieve soreness.
Length of time for weight loss and visual definition is contingent on how much weight you need to lose to get to your desired outcome. It’s never a problem to get clients to lose weight, but is this muscle loss or fat loss? Our goal is to preserve your lean body tissue and sizzle away fat. This approach will keep your metabolism optimized. On average we see clients lose 3-8 lbs per week. If you need to lose 10lbs then its possible to achieve a weight loss goal in 30 days. If you need to lose 100 lbs then we are talking a long-term commitment to proper nutrition and well-crafted exercise.
Medical Exercise & Injury Recovery
My background is in medicine and I am a certified medical exercise specialist. I have worked on many individuals with orthopedic issues as well as individuals with neurological issues such as Multiple Sclerosis and ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) I am happy to say that I have a proven track record of greatly improving the lives of individuals with a myriad of medical problems.
Absolutely! I provide in depth flexibility and spinal corrective exercise routines to reduce the likelihood of you re-injuring your back again. Once your spine and hips are working in sync we will graduate you to a different program, which emphasizes overall body stability.
In most cases, exercise will not exacerbate a hypertensive medical condition.
Majority of the hypertensive clients I have worked with have had to titrate, or discontinue their medicines within a few months of training. Exercise will actually lower blood pressure naturally. It’s a wonderful thing!
I need to discuss your specific case with your cardiologist before working with you.
In most cases its not dangerous if you are with a well-qualified personal trainer. In addition to being a Scottsdale Arizona Personal Fitness Trainer, I have certifications as a Scottsdale Arizona Medical Exercise and Post Rehabilitation Specialist; I have worked with numerous people who have had Coronary Artery Bypass grafts, aortic valve replacements, sinoatrial node ablation, and pacemaker implantation. A properly designed and monitored cardiovascular fitness program has never harmed a client under my watch. In fact cardiovascular health returned to pre condition shape.
Healthy Aging & Senior Fitness
Congratulations on making it to 85! Your Orthopedic surgeon is spot on in his recommendations. Why you ask? Well for many reasons. First, the supportive muscle of your hip and leg has atrophied over the past 6 months. This results in very poor flexibility and very weak legs. You’re at risk of falling again, until you regain adequate strength, flexibility and better balance in your legs. Second, the balance receptors which surround the femur (your leg bone) have been compromised during the surgery. They are essentially not working. The good news is these non-working balance receptors can be revitalized with proper hip conditioning and balance training.
Without a doubt. It’s a well know fact published in many Psychology and Sports Medicine Journals that Exercise creates a high sense of mental clarity and balance. Anecdotally, many of my busy professionals engage in fitness programs with me for both physical and mental health benefits.
Weight Loss & Hormone Health
Your Doctor is absolutely correct in recommending an exercise program! Women tend to lose muscle mass and gain belly fat during menopause. It has been shown that even slight increases in physical activity will thwart weight gain. Also by losing weight, you will reduce your risk of breast cancer. Menopause weight gain can pose serious ramifications on your health. With menopause weight gain comes a high risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. And best of all physical activity will improve your psychological health at this stage of life when women find their emotions attenuated.
Sports Performance & Athletic Conditioning
Great question! My answer is a resounding yes! I am an experienced cyclist myself, and have raced in numerous triathlons including the famous Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. Over the past 30 years, Sports Conditioning has become an integral part of the training program for most if not all of the Tour de France competitors. Their programs focus on power phase training for conquering the 10%- 20% grades of the French Alps and Lactic Acid endurance training for maintenance of high RPM cadence on the flats, which correlate to higher maintained speeds during the time trial stages. Last but not least training functionally will prevent common injuries of the leg joints, hip and the spine. All common points of repetitive stress.