kettle bell
How to pick your personal or group fitness trainer
30/01/13 14:30 Filed in: Personal Training | Martial Arts | Strength & Conditioning | TRX / Cross Training | Kettle Bell | Other
As a trainer, I’m very critical towards other trainers and expect the same from them. Everyone can always continue to learn and should take steps towards continuing their education and skills, no matter how long they have been a trainer.
Now how do you choose a trainer? I’d like to share some things I find important to ensure that you select the right trainer who can help you reach your goals. First, you have to figure out what you’re looking for in a trainer:
- Is there a certain style, workout program you want to pursue or a specific piece of equipment you want to focus on and is the trainer competent in teaching it?
- Are you looking for someone to give you tough love or to hold your hand?
- How much time and money do you want to spend on a trainer and does his/her availability and price fit into your plan? Many people can afford a trainer on a regular basis if the trainer proves to offer a big return in experience, knowledge and results!
- Important: are you ready for this?
- …
Next, once you know what you’re looking for, it’s time to learn more about your trainer:
- Does he/she have certifications and if so, are they valid and significant? Personal trainer certification companies just pop up every other day. Many require some reading and an online open book test. This doesn’t make a trainer. Intense classes, exams, hands on training and a whole lot of time makes a good trainer (and even so, there are some incredibly smart trainers out there who still don’t get results because of other factors).
- Is he/she in shape? I know this is discriminating but would you hire a dermatologist with bad skin or a child psychologist with badly behaved kids? I doubt it. It’s the same with trainers. If they take their job seriously and love what they do, they’ll do it for themselves. I know of many trainers and coaches (both fitness and martial arts) who have all these goals and years later, haven’t accomplished any of them. Not a good sign.
- Does the trainer have people skills? He/she doesn’t need to be the most social person in the world but they need to be able to push you, motivate you and help you when you need it.
- Are they experienced in many different workout methods, equipment and programs? Variation is huge in fitness training, both for your physical results and to prevent mental fatigue. The trainer needs to be able to switch things up and keep it fun by adding variety.
- Is the trainer open minded and critical at the same time? Being open minded is an important thing in training (and everything else). New equipment or methods may come out and it’s great to take advantage of that. A good trainer will take great things from different sources and put them together for a superior training experience. At the same time, being critical is vital because there are a lot of useless things in the fitness world. It is a multi billion dollar industry so many people out there promise you everything but give nothing but false statements.
- Does the trainer do any kind of assessments? These are great to check on your progress but also keep you motivated.
- Does the trainer offer packages, multi clients sessions etc. These might save you some money!
- As with some chiropractors (from my experience), a trainer who pushes you to buy their supplements, is a huge red flag. It’s ok if they introduce you to it or if you ask about it. However, if they keep being forceful about it, find someone else!
Define Defense in Boulder, CO
- Mixed Martial Arts
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Self Defense Classes & Workshops
- Personal Training
- TRX / Cross Training Classes
- Kettle Bell
- Warrior Training
1805 11th Street Suite B
Boulder, CO 80302
Sander@DefineDefense.com
www.DefineDefense.com
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Variation over Functional Training
22/01/13 14:16 Filed in: Other | My experiences | MMA | Martial Arts | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu | Fitness | Strength & Conditioning | TRX / Cross Training | Kettle Bell
Often people come to me and ask questions about ‘Functional Training’. It seems like those 2 words are very fashionable the last few years. Functional Training is great because when done properly, it helps you:
- Prepare for everyday activities
- Avoid injuries doing everyday activities
- Improve balance and joint stability
- Improve range of motion
- Etc.
Functional Training has many more benefits and is essential to good health and performance. However we need to be careful not to get stuck with these 2 words in our head and instead open our mind to other things. That’s why, instead of praising Functional Training, I prefer talking about variety!
Fitness and training has taken huge leaps in the last decades and we have learned so much. People used to work out on standard resistance machine with single plane motions and even though these are relatively safe, they also have a lot of drawbacks. Others perhaps did bodybuilding or just some morning walks.
Now that we know so much more about training, it has also become more complicated for the average person to figure out which workout is best. One person probably woke up one day and though about a concept called Functional Training. It’s a great way to market the product and makes people understand what the goal is.
Functional training is great but I believe variety is more important. Depending on your goals, mix things up. Nowadays, so many workout classes and equipment (TRX, kettle bell and even some machines) already give you such a great workout with multi plane motions and work the stabilizing muscles that you don’t have to worry so much about what’s functional and what’s not. Simply switch things up and do some hiking, some TRX classes, Cross Training classes, Kettle Bell workouts and yes, weight lifting and other types of resistance training.
I personally do TRX, kettle bell, body weight exercises, MMA, traditional and olympic weight lifting and I feel like my body is very prepared for everyday activities plus my injury rate is extremely low, especially if you consider all the activities I do on an everyday basis.
So don’t get hung up on 2 words that’s used for marketing purposes. Instead, try new things, do different classes and switch it up! As long as you work out responsibly and give your body the time to adjust, you will be happy you did!
By Sander Vanacker, owner, head instructor and personal trainer .
Define Defense in Boulder, CO
- Mixed Martial Arts
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Self Defense Classes & Workshops
- Personal Training
- TRX / Cross Training Classes
- Kettle Bell
- Warrior Training
1805 11th Street Suite B
Boulder, CO 80302
Sander@DefineDefense.com
www.DefineDefense.com
$148 Personal Training Certifications Really?
10/01/13 12:00 Filed in: Other | Personal Training | My experiences | Fitness | TRX / Cross Training | Kettle Bell
I am in shock right now. It was just brought to my attention that Livingsocial sold online personal training certifications for $148 and sold 1,162 of them! I get that people want to pursue their career of choice and become a trainer but is this really the way to do it? Hey, maybe I should watch a documentary about space travel and call myself an astronaut… OK, maybe too much.
It seems like anyone can create a personal training certification company and start selling certifications, without any guidance, limitations or quality control. How can you possibly become a good personal trainer by only taking an online course, without any hands on experience? There definitely are many individuals who have been training for years, would make great trainers but are missing the papers. For others, this might be the first step of many to come so they can become a fitness trainer. Fully understandable, however the majority of these vouchers sold are most likely to people who think it would be fun to be a trainer, have no background whatsoever and think this will suffice (thank you tv networks for creating a certain image).
This kind of practice degrades our industry. I spent 3 years in college, graduated cum laude and continue to pursue more skills and knowledge to make myself a better trainer. Throughout college, my peers and I had about 32 hours of classes every week, of which 10-12 hands on sports practice, coaching etc. In my mind, there is simply no way you can become a trainer by only taking an online course and test (which you can use your lesson material for).
There are fantastic trainers who are not certified or never went to school for sure but you can see my point. Some of the individuals who purchased this deal will still charge the same as a qualified, properly instructed trainer does. This practice undervalues the real trainers, is dangerous and unethical.
I personally still take courses (as I did with TRX and Kettle Bell because when I went to school for my degree, this was not practiced yet in Europe) and these are great if you are a trainer with a strong base and a thorough understanding of training, physiology, anatomy, exercise form etc. It is not great for people who have never trained clients before and think that, once they take the one day course, they can call themselves a trainer. For example, when I did my TRX certification course, there were some wonderful trainers there but also loud annoying individuals who didn’t even have the slightest understanding of what training is about! You can talk all you want but your clients won’t gain from it. So let’s raise the standards! Let’s make a harder to become a trainer! I spent my time, money, blood and sweat to become the trainer I am today and it is my mission to keep improving as long as I can.
Sorry for being so upfront but a person can’t call him/herself a doctor after watching ER right? Pretty much the same thing.
By Sander Vanacker, owner, head instructor and personal trainer .
Define Defense in Boulder, CO
- Mixed Martial Arts
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Self Defense Classes & Workshops
- Personal Training
- TRX / Cross Training Classes
- Kettle Bell
- Warrior Training
1805 11th Street Suite B
Boulder, CO 80302
Sander@DefineDefense.com
www.DefineDefense.com
Tough Mudder Team Training
Define Defense is again participating in the Tough Mudder in Beaver Creek, Colorado on June 16th, 2013! Tough Mudder CO is a 12 mile obstacle course to complete with a team (not a competition!). It’s a blast and gives you a great goal to work towards while having fun with your team mates. And let’s not forget, it gives you bragging rights for a long time!
We will be training all our participants and have a great offer for our team mates. If you join our Define Defense Team for Tough Mudder, you can get a 3 month unlimited fitness membership at our facility for only $200 or a 6 month membership for only $345.*
This membership applies to all our TRX, Cross Training, Warrior Training and Kettle Bell classes. On top of these, we will also do additional specific workouts to prepare ourselves for Tough Mudder.
That’s a stunning 50% off normal membership fees!
However, in order to get this amazing deal at our cutting edge studio, you have to commit to joining our Tough Mudder Team first. There is absolutely no monetary gain from your registration for Define Defense. However, we do this because it’s a lot of fun!
Everyone is welcome! We just ask you to come motivated and bring your team spirit!
REGISTER HERE AND JOIN OUR TEAM!
When you register, you have to click ‘Join an Existing Team’, the next page will require you to type in our team name:
Define Defense Martial Arts & Fitness
When you are all set, please email us at Info@DefineDefense.com to confirm your registration and we will get you set up with your unlimited membership for our TRX, Cross Training and Kettle Bell classes!
Do you have any questions? Just shoot them over!
*For new members only*
Kettle Bell Certified Instructor at Define Defense
This past Sunday, I got my Kettle Bell instructor certification training by the USAKL. It was one of the things that I’ve been wanting to do for a while and get better at. As a trainer, I was able to do many things with kettle bells but the advanced technical moves were not part of my skill set yet. The reason for this was that when I went to college for Phys Ed, Sports Management and Personal Training, kettle bells weren’t really used in Belgium.
Another reason was that I was shown incorrect form on many occasions. When I went to some other gyms or worked with other trainers, I was shown certain methods to do the clean, jerk and snatch. On all of these occasions, I left with lower back pain and extreme muscle soreness.
At the instructor certification course however, I learned PROPER technique and how to perform the clean & jerk and snatch in a correct way that will increase your skills, endurance, mobility, body awareness etc. I must have done 800 scoop swings yesterday (yes with low weights but still many reps) and there is no sign of any back pain or other muscle soreness.
I was very impressed with the course and am very proud to be a certified kettle bell instructor that can demonstrate correct form in a responsible way. There is of course a long way to go and much to learn but learning these technically advanced moves was a huge step in mastering the idea behind kettle bells, therefore being able to teach safe and performance enhancing kettle bell classes!
Soon, Define Defense will start kettle bell classes, combined with cross training by using all our other cutting edge equipment in our facility. Come check them out and join a class for free. Kettle bell exercises are great to get in shape, strengthen or tone your body and improve your performance. As I experienced, I guarantee you it’s a fantastic workout like you’ve never done before!
By Sander Vanacker, owner, head instructor and personal trainer .
Define Defense in Boulder, CO
- Mixed Martial Arts
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Self Defense Classes & Workshops
- Personal Training
- TRX / Cross Training Classes
- Kettle Bell
1805 11th Street Suite B
Boulder, CO 80302
(720) 340 6254
Info@DefineDefense.com
New tutorial video : Leg Workout
19/01/12 11:23 Filed in: Personal Training | Fitness
Define Defense in Boulder, CO
- Modern Martial Arts
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu & MMA
- Self Defense Classes & Workshops
- Personal Training
- Cross Training / TRX Classes
1805 11th Street Suite B
Boulder, CO 80302
Kettle Bell Class Pictures
Here are some new pictures of our kettle bell classes last week:
Kettle Bell Class Pictures
Here are some new pictures of our kettle bell classes last week:
New Year Resolution Deals!
22/12/12 14:29
If you want to work on your New Year Resolutions, you can take advantage of the following deals during January:
All memberships: 50% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH
All punch cards: 20% additional free classes for the same price!
Before 1/1/13, you can still take advantage of the following deals:
Mixed Martial Arts:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free T shirt or tank top
Self Defense:
Four self defense classes, a Mace 10% Pepper Gel and a Define Defense T shirt or tank top for only $99
TRX / Cross Training:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free T shirt or tank top
Kettle Bell Program:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free T shirt or tank top
Personal Training:
First session is free!
Youth Martial Arts:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free Gi
Holiday Deals
20/11/12 09:34
Holidays are coming and Define Defense is in the holiday spirit! We are offering our new clients our best deals to date! We offer high quality training in:
- Mixed Martial Arts
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Self Defense Classes & Workshops
- TRX & Cross Training Classes
- Kettle Bell Classes
- Personal Training
From now until January 1st 2013, we offer the following deals:
Mixed Martial Arts:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free T shirt or tank top
Self Defense:
Four self defense classes, a Mace 10% Pepper Gel and a Define Defense T shirt or tank top for only $99
TRX / Cross Training:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free T shirt or tank top
Kettle Bell Program:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free T shirt or tank top
Personal Training:
First session is free!
Youth Martial Arts:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free Gi
