Personal Training

Hi everyone. As you know, I've spent the past two years or so getting ready to make fitness a part of my career. As it turns out, some things went really well in some other areas of my work life, and I have taken a full-time job as the Director of Communications for the San Diego Sports Commission. I couldn't be more excited for the new challenge - great people, amazing projects, very fun culture.

However, I have also turned a corner when it comes to what I'm ready to do professionally with personal training. I've been teaching my boot camp for over a year now (amazing, time flies), and have been teaching at the Mission Valley YMCA now for about 3 months. I'm ACE Certified and am reading as much as I can on a daily basis to be on top of the new developments in the fitness industry, etc.

Which brings me to my point - as of today, I am officially offering personal training services to my friends and family (and anyone else who is interested). I am going to be exclusively an outdoor trainer using some equipment I've compiled along with what mother nature has to offer to put together exercise regimens, and I'll help design diet plans and all the other elements of working with a fitness pro. I promise to be the most motivational, engaging and informed trainer with whom you've ever worked. That is my brand, and it's something I take seriously.

I also hope to be one of the most well-priced trainers in town. I'm going to charge $20 per hour, and I'll work out breaks for anyone who wants to do more than 10 sessions in one month. We'll take it on a case-by-case basis for now. The money is not as important to me as someone that is serious about their goals and ready to make a commitment to reach them.

I'm also offering small-group training. The prices are $35 per hour for two people, $50 for three, $60 for 4, and we'll work out groups larger than 5 depending on how many and how often the groups want to meet. I highly encourage you to try small group training, it's fantastic because you are really connected with the people around you, and I can spend a lot of time working with each person in the setting.

For those interested, I do have a connection through World Gym on Balboa where I can train people there. The only catch is that both persons in the gym have to have a day pass, which is $10 per person, so if anyone wants to train there, the cost would be $40 per hour session. I'm not a fan of charging that much money, but it's really the only way to get into a gym and train using heavy weight, without me having a relationship with a big ticket gym. I'm not crazy about doing that, because it goes against just about every principle I've adopted in my approach - individualize everything, get outside and feel good about where you're working out, work in groups when possible and enjoy life while you're exercising.

I understand that investing in personal training isn't easy or something you may be interested in. Please don't feel like this is a sales pitch - it isn't - it's just the very beginning of my outreach to people who I know are supportive and might either be interested or know people that are. The most important thing to me is the relationships that I have with each of you, and I really do appreciate everything you have all done to work with me/support me in the last 18 months or so.

I'm almost done. If you are interested or know anyone that is, please have them either comment on this message, send me an e-mail (jesselovejoy@yahoo.com), call me, or connect with me on Facebook.

Thanks to all, and I hope to see you soon.

-Jesse

Did You Know?

I'm taking the ACE Certification Test a week from today, and I figured a good way to help me study (and provide some interesting information for everyone) would be for me to share some of the things I've been studying that I found interesting about exercise, the human body, etc. I can honestly say that the last 18 months of my life have been the most educational period I have ever had, both personally and professionally. I can only hope to continue to learn and grow in the same way as I progress in my career.

I hope you learn something fun! Did you know ....

ACSM (the American College of Sports Medicine) recommends that a person get 150 minutes of moderate-level exercise each week, combined with at least 2+ days of full-body resistance training? And that the number is even HIGHER for children aged 6-17, in an effort to fight childhood obesity?

That almost everyone who does a squat lifts the majority of the load with the quadriceps instead of the hamstrings, placing (very dangerous and harmful) shearing forces on the knee? Studies have shown this is one of the most common ways people injure their knees in a gym setting. Check this out for a great tip on how to maintain proper squat technique. REMEMBER - weight in heels, hips back first, knees never past the toe, you should be able to wiggle your toes at any point in the movement.

That proximal stability = distal mobility? Think of that as "my core must be strong before my appendages can be strong/mobile." One of the most fundamental principles your trainer should instill in you is that you MUST have strong balance, core musculature, posture and understanding of movement patterns before beginning a resistance training program. A very common error made by trainers is not breaking their clients of bad lifting habits, which exacerbates current injuries and puts their clients at risk for others.

That most people will actually start feeling better (not just performing better) after only 2-4 weeks of regular exercise? This happens primarily because of an increase in neurotransmitters and hormone levels - serotonin, endorphins, etc.

I could go on and on but I won't ... just a few things I found interesting. Test is Saturday, and then I promise I won't mention it here again (except to hopefully celebrate passing it).

Testing ... Testing

So I officially registered for my ACE Certification exam. May 14 at noon. It will be the culmination of a long journey of education, studying, and experience, and I'm really looking forward to it. Once I finish, I look forward to getting a gig training at a gym somewhere (hopefully the Y, where I'm working now as a boot camp instructor), but if not, somewhere else that I enjoy.

Also, the LJBC (Lovejoy Boot Camp) that I host will take on a bit of a different feel after I'm certified. I hope to include even greater challenges and make it even more fun. I'll also begin charging a nominal fee, which I hope isn't something that will dissuade everyone from coming out - lord knows I'd be nowhere without your support.

Until then, wish me luck ...