What do you want from the time you invest in your workouts?

My criteria are as follows:

1. Safe. If I get injured, it is a major drag on my progress, my motivation and my enjoyment, which brings me to my second priority.
2. Fun. If my workout is not fun, I can guarantee you, I will not keep it up.
3. Effective. If I am not seeing the results I planned or dreamed of, this is also very discouraging and, therefore, not fun.
4. Efficient. If I start spending vast quantities of time in my workouts, my family, friends, and career let me know in no uncertain terms; and, long workouts usually mean I am not getting the most out of each session.

If I can fulfill these simple four criteria in each of the protocols I design---whether for me or my clients---I feel it is a job well done. For new clients, all I need is just a little information on general health, life style, goals (weight loss, general fitness, training for an event from a fun run to a triathlon to strength training), and current level of fitness, and then I am off and running, so to speak.

Let's look at each of the four criteria individually.

1. Safe. In order to meet this criteria, I must know what physical limitations you may have, and your current level of conditioning. I have a form that we can fill out together in less than 10 minutes. That is usually sufficient, but if there are any indications that I should confer with your physician before we begin, I would ask for your clearance to do so---your safety and health being paramount.
2. Fun. I will want to know what you really enjoy doing and then try to incorporate the workout routine with those favorites. I have designed routines around gardening, cooking, and even reading! Yes, you will get out of breath from time to time, but only to the peak of it being a pleasant and invigorating sensation. There is no need to feel that you have been brought to the edge of death in order to receive marked benefit.
3. Effective. If the program is going to be effective for you, we will have to look at your specific goals ( if you do not have any concrete goals, I can help here too) and then we will agree on the level of exertion that will be required to achieve those goals on a timely basis.
4. Efficient. While a good program requires daily attention---OK, at least 6 days per week--- I will not be recommending more than 30 to 45 minutes per session. I guarantee that you will feel sufficiently "worked-out" and surprisingly refreshed in that amount of time. Also, with just this level of commitment, you will see astonishing results.

So, where do we go from here? As I said in my first post, I am very new to this whole blogging thing. ( I know, I know, I promised a picture in my first blog, and I still promise it will be up soon. ) Anyway, until I get the hang of this stuff, and since I want to be very "hands-on" with each client, (I am not sure that came out just right!) I suggest we correspond by email to get the necessary information. I will then design the program and be with you each step of the way as you implement it on your own. You will be able to tell me immediately what works for you and what you would rather eat worms than do one more time. By this process, we can refine the program until it is humming your tune and the results start mounting.

Yours in health,

Walt