There Are Some Really Good Trainers Out There

“When John Goddard finally got tired of weighing more than 300 pounds and constantly feeling fatigued, he decided a personal trainer could help him slim down and tone up. But before walking into his health club – 24 Hour Fitness in Carmichael – Goddard wisely went on the Web. He pored over all the alphabet jumble of certification acronyms and developed a list of goals and questions to ask trainers. But Goddard eventually hooked up with personal trainer Nick Fortino at 24 Hour Fitness. That was three years ago. Now Goddard, who is 6-foot-2, weighs 216 pounds. He has cut his body fat percentage to 13.5 percent from 33 percent, and he has reduced his waistline to 31 inches from 42. Well, it's 31.6, actually. But who's counting? Goddard, actually. ‘I have a competitive mind-set and am focused, and I knew I needed someone who was willing to go there with me,’ Goddard says. ‘I can get very obsessed with what I'm doing. It's like dating someone. You have to get along with them and spend time with them. Our rapport developed over time, but I knew right away I found the right guy.’ Goddard says he knew he had found a knowledgable trainer when Fortino initially assessed him. ‘He looked at me and said, 'I can tell your dominant side is your left, based on your balance,' so he had me do some corrective exercises to balance me out,’ Goddard recalls. ‘He went through things I hadn't told him that I knew were wrong. I thought, 'This guy knows what he's talking about.' Kerri Miller, a personal trainer at Integrated Fitness in Sacramento, says she welcomes scrutiny by potential clients. Miller, a former competitive runner, has a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and exercise nutrition from California State University, Hayward, and has been a personal trainer for 16 years. ‘You've got to know what they can and can't do,’ she says of her clients, ‘and build from there.’ Miller sets up nutrition programs for all her clients and always gets a complete medical history. ‘If there are issues like thyroid problems or diabetes or MS, I'll tell them to go to the doctor before we even start and, if they get checked out, then come back and we'll deal with it,’ she says. ‘But most important is to listen.’”

http://www.sacbee.com/273/story/1467421.html