Teaches you to be independent:Ironically, good trainers train them-
selves out of a job by teaching you how to do everything on your own.
After a few months, you should be able to set the correct amount of
weight, adjust the machines, use proper form, and modify your routine
as needed. Of course, if you’d never exercise by yourself, you’re wel-
come to hire your trainer for life; she’ll be glad to accommodate you.
Regardless, you should know how to do everything on your own. This
way, if you’re out of town on business or vacation, you can keep up your
workouts at a hotel or local gym. And if, heaven forbid, your trainer goes
on vacation, you won’t have an excuse to stop working out.
Speaks English, not jargon:Some trainers say things like, “Your patella
edema is a limiting factor in increasing your volume of oxygen uptake.”
Translation: “You can’t run faster because you have bad knees.” If you
can’t understand what your trainer is saying, find someone new. You
shouldn’t expend extra energy just trying to figure out what the heck
you’re being asked to do. Trainers with jargonitis tend to be really inse-
cure. Occasionally, however, a small dose of fitness verbiage is good for
you; a trainer may be trying to teach you something that you actually
should know, like where your triceps are. (By the way, if you don’t know
where your triceps are, read Chapter 12.)Getting the Most out of Your First Training Session .................................
Even with the guidance of a trainer, your first session may be a little awkward.
One friend of ours says she just had to swallow her pride while trying out the
weight machines for the first time. “Here was this cute, young trainer helping
me climb onto the hamstring machine,” she remembers. “I felt like a 40-year-
old woman trying to get on a horse for the first time. I’m lying on the bench
with my butt in the air, and the trainer’s saying, ‘Keep your butt down.’ And
I’m saying, ‘That’s as far down as it goes. It’s just big.’”Having a good sense of humor can get you through a first workout session
without any ego damage. So what if you sit backward on the shoulder machine?
So what if you sink to the floor when you hop onto the stair-climber? Your
trainer may as well earn his money showing you the right way to use the
equipment.Here are some tips to help ease your anxiety and make your first session
a productive one:Schedule the session at a time when the gym isn’t busy (any time
other than weekday mornings or evenings). This way, you won’t have
12 other members clamoring to use the arm-curl machine while the
trainer teaches you to adjust the seat.54 Part I: Getting Your Butt off the Couch