By Leo Pinto NYC Peronal Trainer

Everybody wants to get in shape!  To be in great shape and have a beautiful  body is the dream of many men in women. It’s human nature to want to feel good about yourself and want to improve your self esteem. It’s amazing how much valuable real state the idea of having a healthy, lean and muscular body occupies our minds.                           

Advances in technology has made it possible for people to have easy access to a lot of information regarding fitness and how to get in shape. It can be confusing and overwhelming to choose how to find reliable information these days. I see people relying on all kinds of different sources such as magazines, internet articles and websites, books, your fit friend at the gym, etc.                         

 I noticed that people have more questions than answers when they start doing their research about how to get in shape: what is the best type of training? When will I see noticeable results? Should  I be  eating whole grain bread?  Is CrossFit a good for me? What’s better : spinning or Personal Training? These are just a few of the question I’m asked everyday.                        

After you read this article you won’t have the answers for all of these questions But you will have a solid idea and directions regarding what it takes for you to get in shape: These are the 5 basic things you should know before you start any kind of fitness program.      

                    Define your goals: This says it all – know what you want. Be very specific here- the more details you have  the better (my experience shows that it helps if you write things down).  When it comes to fitness, it’s important to visualize and have a good idea of what exactly you want to accomplish:  Look good in a wedding dress, lose weight or reduce body fat, , to increase strength,  to get a more muscular chest or to rehabilitate a muscle or movement post trauma,  pre and post natal etc. Defining your goals is a crucial first step and will help determine the length and the financial cost of your fitness program.         

                Budget : like everything good in life there is a cost involved with your fitness project. Once your goals are well defined , you should understand there will be costs you will be facing: I’m not talking just about money, but you will need to take a look at your schedule and reserve time for this activity ( as far as the workouts are concerned ) – you will need: comfortable clothes that allow movement, a good pair of sneakers, a gym membership (this is optional  depending where you live if weather allows you can exercise pretty much anywhere) , to consult and hire a good professional ( highly recommended especially if you never worked out or belonged to a health club or don’t know much about nutrition ) a good professional can definitely save you time, money, not to mention promote safety  performing exercises with correct form avoiding potential risk of injuries from working out by yourself. So figure it out time and money that you want to invest on yourself. You must take into account: how aggressive your goals are and be sensitive that everybody responds to exercise in a different way – for example: some people lose a lot of weight on their first month of their exercise regimen – others don’t. Please be patient and allow time for your body and mind adjust to the new life style. My suggestion is to commit for a minimum of 6 months to a year so you can get a solid foundation on  your program.                        

Hire a good professional: This is a big one. Now that  you know what you want and have an idea of how much you want and can spend, it’s time to choose which way to go as far as exercises, gym, personal trainer, which classes to take etc.The key here is to do some home work and research. Based on your budget you will make a decision of how much to invest on a gym membership that offer classes and personal training. My suggestion will be to hire a professional personal trainer if you never exercised before. If you haven’t been in the gym before, chances are that you will be overwhelmed with the amount of equipment and classes that your club offers.   You will probably waste a lot of time, energy and even get hurt in the process of figuring it all out. I have been working in the Fitness industry for over 15 years and have worked pretty much in every position there is to work in the gym.  I can’t tell you how many people give up on their membership either because they lose their first month enthusiasm ( too bored following  the same old magazine routine designed for someone else ) or because they pushed to hard during an advanced class that was not appropriate for their fitness level.          

             When hiring a personal trainer, check his/her references (make sure your trainer is nationally certified by a reputable organization), watch him or her working with their clients and check if you like what you see, talk to other members in the gym (usually members know who are real good and who are not), have a conversation with your prospect trainer and see if they have a good eye contact , firm handshake and ask him or her to show you programs for some of his clients. Of course you have to stick to your budget but please don’t make a mistake to chose your trainer  by their price tag alone. A lot of good trainers are also good business people so most of them – especially independent trainers will work with you to accommodate your budget – ask for options: if you can pay by session, by packages, monthly, if there are referral opportunities. It’s your budget – make it work. Once you find a good trainer, stick with him or her – we all know how hard is to find good professionals in any area.                         

Nutrition is key:  We all know that nutrition is important, but how important? Well, very important – a whole book could be written on how nutrition influence your fitness program. What you need to understand is that if you are interested in getting results you must adjust your nutritional needs to your exercise program goals demands. I will not go on great detail here because but I had to mention nutrition and its importance – when thinking about exercising and getting in shape – nutrition will account for at least 40% of the equation or a lot more depending of your fitness goals.                         

Commitment : if it was easy everybody would do it! The hardest part of any project is to start. Once you figure out the information above – make sure to stick to it. It takes a lot of hard work to put together this project and it’s entirely up to you how successful you will be at end. Do not be discouraged by set backs or slow pace results, try to avoid comparing yourself to everybody else and make a good use of your time in the gym, park or wherever you chose to exercise. Without consistency of good work ethics – you will not see the desired results. Much like in life, in fitness you have to practice good habits often in order to let go sedentary unhealthy habits. It’s a process – it takes time but it’s totally possible – as far as your workouts: work hard and consistent, you don’t have to have a ‘ mission impossible workout ‘ everyday.  Remember please to be kind to yourself and respect  your body and mind limitations. You are getting in this journey to get healthier and promote your well being – As much as I hate fitness cliches, this one comes to mind as I type this: your fitness journey should be more like a marathon – NOT a race. Pace yourself, be committed to your goals, take it serious but have fun and enjoy what you’re doing. Be courteous to your fellow members and be mindful or your space in the gym. I hope this information helps you on your decision making regarding your fitness. Until next time.