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AS the new year approached, you made a decision to hit the gym and sculpt the body of your dreams. Two weeks after the ball dropped in Times Square your gym bag still stood by the front door--waiting for you.

Then spring rolled around and you swore that this year you were going to wow the masses with your new physique on the annual Memorial Day weekend cruise. But once again, you wasted money on gym outfits, vitamins and supplements and a new gold membership at the hot new gym, and you're still not acquainted with the treadmill.

Now, summer is almost over and the six-pack you wanted is more of a 40-ounce. If you're finding it difficult to go to the gym and get yourself in shape, you may need a personal trainer who knows the secrets of motivating minds and changing shapes.

"Most people need challenge and motivation," says Kass English, who (with his 34-year-old brother, Tony) runs Fitness Market, Inc., a high-profile Studio City, Calif., personal training business, and their high-profile clients include Kenneth (Babyface) Edmonds, singers Chante Moore and Kenny Lattimore, singing group B2K and gospel recording group Mary Mary. "If you have high expectations of yourself, then it's good to have a coach."

Personalizing is one of the keys that trainers use to deliver the best results to their clients. No two bodies are the same, and people usually don't want to work out the same way, Tony English says. Trainers take clients' goals, schedule and workout preferences and create a routine that will fit into their lives and produce the results they want.

Motivation and communication are other tools that trainers use to help their clients. Trainers keep their clients focused on their goals instead of giving in to the everyday distractions--from the 99-cent pack of potato chips at the gas station to a gourmet buffet at an overseas business luncheon. "It's easier and it's convenient to get out of shape now," Tony English says. "People nowadays are more international and it's convenient to go out of the country and wine and dine. You have to make sure they make the right choices."

Larry Nash, owner of Larry Nash Fitness in Chicago, has been a certified personal trainer for more than 10 years and says there are many benefits to having a personal trainer help you achieve your goals.

"The benefits are having someone who can assess your needs, what your health and workout history is and how much time and effort you want to put into it," Nash says.

A good personal trainer will work with clients and take all the guesswork out of exercising, says Lawrence Ester, a Chicago personal trainer for more than 20 years who designs programs for people of all backgrounds, shapes and sizes. "You have to work with your clients," he says. "You have to be an example for them instead of just saying, `Do 20 of these.' If they've never [worked out before], then it's not easy to do."

A good trainer, Tony English says, will also understand that different people need different motivations in order to work out. Some people want a drill instructor directing them through different exercises. Some want a teacher who will explain how each exercise works the body. Others like the feeling of having a buddy to support them and encourage them while doing a difficult routine.

The English brothers say that personal training is more than just an hour or two in the gym three days a week. Taking the "personal" part seriously, trainers create nutritional regimens for their clients that help aid in the fitness process. Trainers also make themselves available for clients outside of the gym to make sure they don't cheat. And with clients who include entertainers with upcoming video or photo shoots, a trainer's phone can ring all day.

"Some people call for food; some people call for exercise; some people call for both," Tony English says. "Some people even call me when they are about to make a bad choice and just need to hear someone say, `Hey, you know what? Don't eat that. Make a better choice.'"

Does all this interaction, personalization and motivation work? You bet it does, say Tina and Erica Campbell of the gospel-singing duo Mary Mary. The Campbell sisters worked with the English brothers for a couple of months in preparation to promote their new album, Incredible, and both sisters say that they are pleased with the results.

"What's really great is watching your body change," Erica Campbell says. "The first two weeks you're like, `Okay, what am I doing this for?' About week three, for me, I started to see a little change, and it motivated me a lot."

The trainers had Tina and Erica in the gym training for three hours a day in the morning--an hour of cardiovascular exercise, an hour and 15 minutes of weight lifting and abdominal exercises, and stretching at the end. The nutritional and fitness routine may seem grueling at the beginning, but the sisters quickly adapted to it, Tina Campbell says.

The nutritional aspect is important, Ester says, because "without it, you're wasting your time. You have to know how to fuel your body."

# posted by Medical Information : 2:57 AM