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Personal Trainer or Friend?
Has your workout session turned into happy hour?
When you hire a personal trainer, why do you do it?
The answer for all of my San Diego personal training clients and most others I would assume is to “look their best” or to maximize their body to it’s fullest potential. My clients are looking for flat stomachs, trim thighs, jiggle free arms, and a solid cellulite free butt because my resume proves that I can do so. My job as an experienced trainer is to give them just that…and in most cases I do. (of course the clients level of commitment comes into play too, but that’s for another blog.)
My clients are also looking for the accountability and motivational factor but in the end, results are what truly speak volumes. It’s not about looking better than before. It’s about being the best that you can be. It’s about a winning attitude…anything less than that is not worth your time/money.
I received an interesting email from a trainer who says that his clients are content with the “better than before” results that they are getting in exchange for his/her great personality and attitude. I’d like to see a client write that testimonial…
While as a personal trainer my job is to be friendly with my clients, my job is not to be their paid “friend.” If I wanted to do this, I would hold sessions at the local happy hour hot-spot. Of course I would never do that because I take my job very seriously. I don’t mislead or deceive my clients and most importantly, I practice what I preach. I do not want to disappoint my clients. I don’t want them to feel better… I want them to feel the best that they’ve ever felt.
So what do you think? Personal Trainer or friend?
San Diego Personal Trainer Being Plagiarized
As a Personal Trainer here in San Diego, I realize the hard work that it takes to build up your own personal brand, establish a method of training, and get clients to commit. I take pride in the fact that I have done all of these things and much more in less than one and a half years time. I am so blessed to have a full schedule of clientele who all believe in me and my unique methods of training. I continue to move forward, challenging both myself and my clients, to create the most current and cutting edge personal training techniques.
While my excellence as a trainer and ideas cannot be duplicated, they have been replicated. Yes, someone here locally in San Diego is plagiarizing the unique material that I have worked so hard to create on my website. While some would be flattered, I am offended.
Being that I am very passionate about my work and have built my business from the ground up, I am extremely offended that someone would commit such a crime with my copyrighted work. I am an author. I am a creator. I am an educator. I am a mentor. No one can take this from me, but they can try. I think that being a performing artist makes this even more emotional for me. It reminds me of someone stealing choreography (happens all the time in the dance world). I used to wonder why choreographers were so uptight about who was permitted to perform their work. Now I understand.
Personal trainers are defined by their creativity. This fraudulent trainer obviously doesn’t have the creativity to write her own words, and for that I am truly amazed.
Moreover, this individual does not deserve the credit or clientele that she has received by using my words. This is why I will not mention who this individual is or leave a link to their website. Nor does this person deserve the hits to their lack-luster website. How embarrassing would it be for this trainers clients to find out that the content on their website was actually “personal trainer Nikol Klein’s” material! (too bad my schedule is full…)
I urge you all reading this to be individuals. There are no shortcuts in life. Do not take credit for the work of others. Create your own voice in this world…don’t try to steal mine…and please, write your own damn material for crying out loud. If you can’t do that, then find a new profession. You may find that the karma you have coming isn’t worth the “apple” “c” you pressed on your keyboard.
Best in Health,
Nikol Klein
San Diego’s Most Trusted Personal Trainer for Women
Choosing a Female San Diego Personal Trainer
As a San Diego Personal Trainer, I specialize in working with Female clients. Whether I am doing in-home personal training or training them here at my Del Mar home gym, I find that Women typically see better personal training results with female trainers.
A female Personal Trainer can help you reach your goals!
There are more Women interested in losing weight and getting fit than there are men, so why are there so few female trainers out there? First off, before I answer this question for you, I want to say that I am in no way sexist. I am just making an observation after my 8 year career as a trusted and successful Personal Trainer. In any case, here is my idea: If you are a guy and you’re a Personal Trainer it’s kind of like a status thing. A lot Male trainers are usually the guys who had the ego problems in high school or were on the Football team. This isn’t the case for all of them…there are some truly wonderful male trainers out there. (think bob from Biggest Loser) But I see this a lot in San Diego and hear about meat-head trainers from a lot of my female clients who now refuse to sign over checks to them.
Women on the other hand usually become Personal Trainers because of a huge change that they made at some point in their lives. Since strength training isn’t necessarily seen as a part of life for Women growing up, female trainers like to promote this to other Women to show them the benefits. Men on the other hand, are taught “weight lifting” from age 12 as it is now introduced in gym class.
Here are the reasons why I feel that Women should train with Female personal trainers.
Not every San Diego personal trainer is created equal- When it comes to choosing a personal trainer, you will find that the market is over-saturated with male trainers advertising their services by the size of their muscles. Women typically are looking to lean out their muscles, so why would they choose to train with someone who is advertising a bulky product?
Women know Women- Sure you have to study anatomy to become certified, but there are certain things that you just have to experience in life in order to grasp a true understanding. Take female hormones and menstruation for example. Need I say more? A male trainer will likely have no idea what it feels like to hit the gym hard during “that time of the month,” thus he probably will not know how to adjust your workout program accordingly.
Knock, knock- If your San Diego Personal Trainer does in-home training, how comfortable do you feel having a man that you barely know come to your house to give you a one on one personal training session? Even more, how does your spouse feel about that?
Choose a specialist- If you are looking for real results, you are best off choosing a trainer who specializes in weight loss for women. This trainer should be able to get your body to the desired look you are going for. More than likely this will be a female trainer.
I hope that you are able to better understand how a female San Diego personal trainer will have a better understanding of female clients, thus get them the desired fitness results they are looking for. Now go out and find one!
Del Mar Personal Trainer Nikol Klein, specializes in Personal Training for Women. She conducts in-home Personal Training, Weight Loss and Nutrition programs in addition to Boot Camps. She is also an accomplished Professional Ballet Dancer.
San Diego Personal Trainer- Get Terrific Triceps
Here is a simple exercise to help you on your way to getting terrific Triceps! It uses light weight with high repetition to give you that slender yet toned Tricep that you are looking for. I hope you enjoy the burn!
Tricep Pee Wee’s
For this exercise use very light weight 2-3 pounds for beginners, 5 pounds for advanced.
Start with knees bent, slightly bent forward with an arched back to protect the spine. Holding the weight, start with your elbows up and bent as pictured below.
Now extend the arms so that the elbows are now straight as pictured below. Repeat for 15-20 repetitions, 2-3 times.
Remember, this exercise alone will not get you the full results you are looking for, but it will work in addition to a structured fitness program. For more exercises like this that build lean, toned muscles and not bulk, contact San Diego Personal Trainer Nikol Klein or find more exercises here.
Committed to Your Health,
Nikol Klein, Certified Personal Trainer/ Nutritionist
Abdominal Exercise Choreography
Crunches don't work for everyone!
As a Personal Trainer for Women here in San Diego, I come across many different types of clients with very different weight loss needs. Usually the most common trouble area for Women is the abdominal region. Whether you are post-natal, obese, or wanting a six-pack you can benefit from abdominal training. But do all abdominal exercises work for everyone?
Not all types of abdominal exercises are beneficial for everyone.
This is where a lot of trainers go wrong. These are the things that you don’t learn from a certification or book. Through working with different body types and situations, you learn what works best for the client.
For me, it’s like choreographing a dance…you have to see how the client moves before creating the perfect workout for them. Just like a choreographer would not give a dancer a step that they can’t move through fluidly, a Personal Trainer should not give a client an exercise that does not work for their body. Your average Personal Trainer does not have a creative eye for this.
For example; A Woman who is looking to get back in shape after having a child would have a way different set of abdominal exercises than the aspiring Female Bodybuilder looking to get a six-pack. One may focus on the deeper transverse abdominal muscle engagement while the other may do exercises with weights.
Is your trainer giving you nothing but crunches that pull and cramp your neck? If so, then it is time to find a new trainer. Your trainer should be able to design a program for you that efficiently works the areas you are trying to target without doing damage to another region of the body.
So my point? When embarking upon a new abdominal strengthening routine make sure you hire a trusted and proven fitness trainer who is able to create a custom abdominal program for your body’s specific needs.
Committed to Your Health,
Nikol Klein, Certified Personal Trainer/Professional Ballet Dancer
Finding the Best Personal Trainer for you!
When it comes to Personal Trainers, you definitely get what you pay for.
The first step is to find out what the average going rate for Personal Training is in your area. In a place like Southern California you’ll find rates of $90 an hour to be about average for a good trainer. In the Mid-West you’ll see prices more along the lines of $40 an hour.
Regardless of where you live, you will always come across a trainer who is advertising their services at $20 an hour… Beware of this trainer. This is a huge flag that this trainer is inexperienced or working without a certification or insurance! Worst of all, you could get hurt!
Once you narrow your search down, there are a few more questions you will need to ask before signing on the dotted line;
Is the Trainer Certified?
Is the Trainer Insured?
Are you training in a gym or at home?
Is the trainer Male or Female?
Will you recieve a discount if you buy sessions in bulk?
Is Nutrition included?
Does the Trainer have a website?
Getting the answers to these key questions will help you decide what that Trainer is worth. A trainer who comes to your home in Los Angeles, for example, is well worth $100 an hour, as you will not need a gym membership or equipment. Good Trainers will typically have their own websites or videos. Some Trainers are even published in Magazines and Books or write blogs such as this one.
I’m hoping that this information will help you decide who is the best Personal Trainer for you!
-For more information on Nikol’s Personal Training Services visit her website www.nikolklein.com.
