Plan 1: 4 Week “Quick Shape Up” Plan – $65.00

Quick Shape Up Plan. This popular program includes your four weekly fitness programs, a weekly 20-minute phone (or in-person meeting for local Wichita, KS area residents) coaching session, and a four week meal plan with grocery list.

Plan 2: 8 Week “Body Sculpt” Plan – $125

Body Sculpt Plan. My most popular program includes your eight weekly fitness programs, a weekly 20-minute phone (or in-person meeting for local Wichita, KS area residents) coaching session, and a eight week meal plan with grocery list. After week four there is a nutrition follow-up which includes: new meal plans, new grocery list and assessment report.

Plan 3: 12 Week “Body Transformation” Plan – $175

Platinum Body Sculpt Plan. My most effective and comprehensive plan includes your twelve weekly fitness programs, a weekly 20-minute phone coaching session (or in-person meeting for local Wichita, KS area residents), and a twelve week meal plan with grocery list. It also includes 3 nutrition follow-ups which include: new meal plans, new grocery lists, and assessment reports. This program helps us establish a more realistic date to reach your targeted body weight goal.

Exercise Prescriptions:

4-Week Workout Program – $25
6-Week Workout Program – $35 
8-Week Workout Program – $45
12-Week Workout Program – $60

Exercise Prescriptions:

4-Week Workout Program $25.00 6-Week Workout Program $35.00 8-Week Workout Program $45.00 12-Week Workout Program $60.00

A new internet trend is doing just that. The “online personal trainer” is coming to the rescue of an increasing number of budget-conscious, over-scheduled Americans, presenting the latest solution to help us master our fitness goals. While some may argue that the online plans can never exactly duplicate the experience of having a trainer at your side during your workout, the designers of these programs have gone to great lengths to match and, in some cases, improve the overall benefits that you receive.

As you would when hiring a personal trainer face-to-face, you need to ask questions and research the various plans and services to find the program that works best for you.

Meeting Your Personal Needs

As our personalities differ so do our personal training needs.

There are a variety of solutions currently being offered online from auto-generated weekly workouts to personalized workouts created by trainers who interact with their clients on a regular basis via email or live instant messaging.

If it is just the basic information that you need, subscribing to a service that simply provides you with a weekly workout may be the right fit for you. Most of the service providers have some means of assessment to provide you with a starting workout based on your fitness level, so it is important to answer these questions honestly in order to receive the workout that most closely fits your needs. You are sent exercise plans on a regular basis and expected to follow them on your own. These programs are designed to meet the needs of those people who are motivated to work out and simply need a plan to keep them on target from week to week.

For those who truly want to keep the “personal” in personal trainer, some service providers offer the additional option of having direct interaction with a trainer via email or instant messaging. How much interaction you receive often depends on the level of service plan that you choose, however, almost all provide a cheaper option to the traditional approach to personal training.

More Bang for Your Buck

If you’ve ever asked a personal trainer for their rates and gone into immediate sticker shock, you’re not alone. The current, average rate for a certified personal trainer is $60-$90 per hour. Multiply that by two to three hours per week you’re quickly looking at hundreds of dollars per month. In short, that kind of expense just isn’t an option for many of us.

Online personal training services, like many internet service offerings, are discounted because businesses are able to service a much larger customer base with less overhead. The automated programs are obviously the cheapest option because they require no actual human interaction.

If you want the customization and one-on-one guidance of a personal trainer so that you have someone on your side as you work toward your goals, many sites have an extended service that gives you access to a live person. Again, service levels and costs vary depending on the provider. For example, some sites allow you to email your personal trainer, providing a means for asking questions. A new site, Road2fitness.net, is taking the interaction one step farther to provide its personal training clients with daily access to their trainer via Instant Messaging. Clients will have the ability to open a chat window with their trainer in which they can carry on a real time conversation.

“Our mission is to provide our clients with the support they need to become fit for life,” says Becky Watson, CEO of Road2fitness.com. “In effect, we’re providing them with even more access than they would have if they hired a personal trainer at a gym for a small fraction of the price. They have daily access to their trainers for asking questions, getting a little extra support on the bad days or encouragement on the good ones.”

Making Fitness Fit Your Day

As the American lifestyle continues to get more hectic, online trainers are helping people fit fitness into their lives. Traditionally, hiring a trainer has meant coordinating your schedule with theirs. The problem is that more often than not, the hours that you are available – generally before work or after – are the same hours as those of every other client a trainer has.

The online personal trainer solves this issue by making your training programs available for download at any time. Since your workout is not dependent on someone else’s schedule, you are free to fit your workout in whenever you have the time. Additionally, since contact with your trainer takes place electronically, the trainers can work with several clients at the same time making them more accessible than the in-gym trainers that only work via appointment.

Surrounded by Support

For those of us who have used a personal trainer before, we know that there are several more hours in the week than the two or three that we are actually able to spend with our trainers. It is easy to remain motivated in the presence of our trainers, but what happens when we leave the gym and try to fit our goals into our daily lives? This is one area where one online training site in particular truly excels.

A newcomer to the online community, Raod2Fitness.net, offers areas that allow you to talk to other people who are working towards fitness goals similar to yours. The message boards provide a forum for sharing tips and encouragement while you progress. It’s a fantastic medium for swapping recipes and gaining a little extra motivation on those days that you just don’t feel like working out, and it is the perfect place to share your successes with people progressing toward the same goals as you are.

According to Rod Watson, CEO of Road2fitness.net, the community aspect is just as important to the overall success of many clients as a good eating plan and working out.

“In my 8 years of helping people reach their fitness goals, I’ve found that the plan is often only as good as that person’s system of support, which is truly outside of the reach of a personal trainer,” says Watson.

“We wanted to provide a forum for our clients where there would be nothing but positive encouragement from peers experiencing the same challenges and working toward similar goals.By providing our clients with a support system, that they might not otherwise have, as part of our plan, they’ll always have a source of encouragement to help them stay on track.”

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Ways to Find the Motivation:

• Be aware of the benefits. Are you looking to trim inches off your waist? You tried on those summer shorts and they don’t quite fit as comfortably as they did last time.  Are you looking to fit into a special dress? Those are the benefits. Some should have long range, and some short range goals.
• Do not be afraid of making yourself a list. Write down each and every benefit that you can think of. Some may even be silly, but the point is that the list will be there for you if get to the point where you want to slack off on your fitness program.
• Exercise with a friend. “Misery loves company” is a great saying, and sometimes you will feel miserable or your friend will, and you can both help each other out and encourage each other.  But remember.  Working out does not have to be torture.  Find exercises that you enjoy.  You can also appreciate the good feelings that after you exercise.  If exercising makes you miserable then you are not doing it right for you.  See a personal trainer for ideas on what could work better for you.
• Set a goal.  Don’t forget to write down that goal.  Until it is in writing, it is a wish. When you put it on paper, it becomes a goal and you can commit to it.
• Plan a reward for yourself when you reach that goal. You could reward yourself with a trip.  Being able to travel, or going to visit friends motivates some people. If that’s the case for you, take a picture off the Internet or out of your scrapbook and put that picture where you will see it every morning.  People love to reward themselves, and this may work well for you.  Having something to look forward to can keep you driving down your road to fitness.
• Always make exercising as pleasant as possible. If that takes a MP3 player to listen to books while walking, or playing your favorite music, then that’s what you should do. However, variety is the spice of life.  The more exercises, machines and equipment you include in your fitness program, the more benefits you will receive.  For example, using each of the different types of cardio equipment in the fitness center will keep the body guessing and avoid plateaus.  It will also help you avoid overtraining or simply keeps you from getting bored.
• Wear good shoes and the proper exercise clothing. If you need special shoes, please do not hesitate to invest in some. Your feet will thank you as the rest of your body will.
• Someone who is in the know may be telling you that you need to exercise, such as your Doctor or a loved one. Loved ones are a tremendous motivator at times, for your desire to spend your “old age” with them may have made you spring to action.
• It’s truly unfortunate, but you may know someone who has died recently because they were out of shape and such. Seeing yourself in that condition may just give you the motivation to begin a fitness program.
• Motivate yourself with your own “before and after” pictures. Once you begin to see changes in yourself, it becomes easier and easier to keep motivating yourself to keep up with your fitness program.

If you want to get fit, and more importantly stay fit, you and only you can pick the motivation tips that best fit you, and once you begin to exercise, you’ll be amply rewarded to stay motivated! Whether it’s the fact that you lost pounds on pounds, or can now go up a row of stairs without huffing and puffing, or can get into that jeans you wore in college, you can have it if you find what it takes to keep you on the right track and stick to your workout commitment.

About the Author:

Rod Watson is the founder and lead Certified Fitness Trainer for Road To Fitness.  Rod and wife,Becky are the owners of Anytime Fitness Franchises in Wichita, KS and Park City, KS.  Rod can help you take charge of your health and fitness level. Learn more by visiting http://road2fitness.net

Buying and maintaining a health club membership can be pretty complicated, but if you follow these 10 tips, you’ll save money and be on your way to greater fitness.

1. Make a list of your specific fitness needs and wants. Will you be comfortable working out in a large club with both men and women? Will you need access to more than one club? Are you looking for one-on-one personal training services? How often do you think you’ll work out each month? Do you think you’ll be able to keep up your fitness regimen? How much can you afford to pay for a membership each month?

2. Once you’ve identified your requirements, visit health clubs that meet your needs. Get a free pass for each club (at least a one-week’s pass) and workout at each club as often as possible during the free periods.

3. Don’t sign up for a membership at any of the health clubs while you’re using free passes. You’ll be under a lot of pressure from salespeople and managers, and they will tell you that you need to sign up today in order to get discount pricing. Don’t. Health clubs offer discount pricing all the time.

4. When you’ve decided a health club, go back and speak with a salesperson about membership choices. Don’t feel pressured to sign a long-term contract at any health club. Remember that long-term contracts are really installment loans with high interest payments. If you don’t think that you’re going to keep up your workouts, don’t even think about signing one of these contracts. Gather all of the written information about each type of membership, then go home and review it at your leisure. Don’t feel pressured to sign up for any membership at the club.

5. When you’re speaking with the salesperson, ask all of the questions you want. Don’t feel rushed or pressured. Never forget that any contract you sign supersedes any promises a salesperson gives you. Even if the salesperson writes it into the contract, it probably isn’t legally enforceable. The contract is king. Read it carefully before signing.

6. Compare the costs of each membership type, and remember that you should make the ultimate decision based on your own needs, not on short-term discounts that may sound like you’re saving money, but will end up costing you more money in the end.

7. Make sure you fully understand the cancellation requirements of each membership type. Many long-term health club contracts are almost impossible to cancel. A month-to-month contract may be a better solution.

8. Don’t sign up for automatic payments via credit card. If you no longer want a membership, and you’re able to cancel, you may find it difficult to get payments stopped.

9. Keep track of all your payments in case there are any disputes with your health club.

10. If you do cancel you membership, make sure you get the cancellation in writing from your health club.

By following these 10 tips, you will certainly set yourself up for fitness success.

Protein is always a wonderful choice. The reason for this is because protein will not only fill you up and keep you satisfied during your workout, it will also provide a ton of energy and help maintain the muscle that you already have while you are exercising. The best time frames for consuming protein are anywhere from 30 minutes to 45 minutes directly before your workout. This will ensure that you are going to have enough energy and power during your workout in order to make it through and avoid breaking up the muscle that you are have already obtained. You will need to do it this way, especially if you are trying to build muscle mass. Your body will automatically reach for energy in the most recently applied fat stores, making it a requirement that you consume a very high energy food, like protein.

Remember to stay hydrated during, before, and after workouts. Not only is this good for your workout, it is also very safe. You do not want to get dehydrated or become overheated.

So remember, a good workout means a great pre-workout meal plan. Always remember to go with lean proteins and keep your carbohydrates reasonable. Too much sugar can send you crashing, defeating the purpose altogether. Be sure to have this pre-workout meal every time you workout. You can even experiment a little if you would like, not everybody is the same, and sometimes what works for you will not work for another person.  By the end of your workout, you will be glad you made the choice of having an energizing pre-workout meal plan and your body will love you for it.

About the Author:

Rod Watson is a retired U.S. Navy Officer, Certified Fitness Trainer, founder of Road To Fitness, LLC.  and Fitness Club owner, but most of all he is dedicated to providing you with health and fitness information to lose weight and get into the best shape of your life.  Please visit http://road2fitness.net to learn more.

There are many similarities between conducting routine maintenance on my engineering systems and tuning and maintaining your body.  When we conduct the routine, preventative maintenance on the engines and support systems, we welcomed the benefits of a more efficiently running plant, fewer unexpected equipment casualties, and of course a little more maneuvering room in a tightening budget.

Your body is a machine and your heart is the engine.  Just like my engineering plants or your automobile, your body needs quality fuel (which translates to low-fat, nutritious foods) and regular checkups to keep the engine in good condition.

The heart is an incredibly complex organ. However, it is also a muscle.  It just happens to have valves and blood flowing through.  Just like any other muscle, if you don’t work it, it’s going to atrophy (that means become a sluggish mess).  Unlike the muscles in your arms, legs and throughout your body, your heart gets its workout from beating quickly for prolonged periods of time.  The heart responds to metabolic demands of your muscles. So when you are exercising and contracting your muscles in prolonged activities (cardio) such as running, jogging, walking at a brisk pace (outside your comfort zone), or cycling, you are exercising your heart.

If you are not including cardio in your workout, it’s time to get your heart and other muscles moving.  If you are already doing cardiovascular exercise, that’s great.  However, I have one question.  Are you mixing it up?  Too often gym members settle into their favorite machine and go at it at a steady pace.

You need variety in your cardiovascular exercise program, just as you do with your resistance training.  If you keep doing the same thing over and over again, your body adapts to the work load and will not see continued progress unless you increase the intensity or duration.  Varying the intensity is a great idea.  But, most of us don’t time to keep adding more time to your cardio workout.

If you need advice on however inject variety in your workout program.  Contact me, your Road To Fitness Certified Fitness Trainer at (316) 350-4510 or email me at road2fitness@hotmail.com.
About the Author:

Rod Watson is a retired U.S. Navy Officer, Certified Fitness Trainer, founder of Road To Fitness, LLC. And Fitness Club owner, but most of all he is dedicated to providing you with health and fitness information to lose weight and get into the best shape of your life.  Please visit http://road2fitness.net to learn more.