choosing a personal trainer

by Matthew Barbour

choosing a personal trainer | help and info

help and info

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organisations

David Lloyd Leisure
www.davidlloydleisure.co.uk
Has 59 clubs across the UK and offers Personal Training among many other sports and activities.

Fitness Industry Association
4th Floor
61 Southwark Street
London SE1 0HL
Website: www.fia.org.uk
Represents over 2000 members across the UK and works closely with Government, as well as commercial and non-commercial organisations to get more people, more active, more often. The site has a UK gym finder and info on instructor qualifications.

Fitness First
58 Fleets Lane
Poole
Dorset BH15 3BT
Tel: 0870 898 80 80
Website: www.fitnessfirst.co.uk
Largest health and fitness group – offering to look at your motivations, help you set goals and guide you on a journey to improve health and fitness and change the way you feel about yourself.

National Register of Personal Trainers
PO Box 3455
Marlow
Buckinghamshire SL7 1WG
Website: www.nrpt.co.uk
Provides details of qualified, insured and experienced UK Personal trainers via a fully searchable online database and a forum.

Register of Exercise Professionals
8-10 Crown Hill
Croydon
Surrey CR0 1RZ
Tel: 020 8686 6464
E-mail: info@exerciseregister.org
Website: www.exerciseregister.org
Those registered must have passed a basic theory and practical exam.

YMCA Fitness Industry Training
111 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3NP
Tel: 020 7343 1850
Website: www.ymcafit.org.uk
Original and largest exercise instructor-training operation in the UK.

websites

How to Choose a Personal Trainer
www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/trainer.html
Gives advice on what you should expect from a trainer and more importantly a list of warning signs in order to avoid those who may engage in unethical practices.

The Price of Keeping Fit
http://money.guardian.co.uk/savingmoney/
story/0,,1688273,00.html
Personal training can seem expensive but after paying joining fees and advanced membership at a gym you don't use, it can work out cheaper.

Staff Prove Themselves Fit for the Job
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/online/businesssolutions
/story/0,,1398997,00.html
To maintain a healthy workforce, reduce stress levels and lower absenteeism, a US-UK company is offering its staff subsidised personal fitness trainers. Could this be the way forward to curb the obesity crisis looming?

reading

	Becoming a Personal Trainer for Dummies by Melyssa St. Michael and Linda Formichelli (Hungry Minds, 2004) Straightforward and informative book that covers every conceivable aspect of the personal-training industry. Get this book
	Ultrafit: Your personal trainer by John Sheperd (A & C Black, 2004) Whether thinking about joining a gym, or beginning a training programme, this book is filled with essential information on how the body works, how to exercise effectively and the techniques to get and stay fit. Get this book
	Your Personal Trainer by Douglas Brooks (Human Kinetics Europe, 1999) People who are struggling to come up with or stick to an exercise programme should benefit from this book. The author – a personal trainer – presents the programme components and exercise techniques that he prescribes for his clients on a daily basis. Get this book

(January 2007)

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