Finding the right class with the right instructor at the gym can be tough. Making this choice is even harder if you have a Billy Blanks box set waiting for you at home, but that's a pretty specific case. You can choose a trainer based on really anything — availability, class difficulty, or whether they're just too peppy for you. But, as our friends over at Women's Health wonder, should the trainer's own physique influence your decision?
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Although they may not look like it, with their glowing skin and neon, lycra ensembles, trainers are essentially as human as you are. And the thing about humans, says exercise physiologist Mike T. Nelson, PhD, CSCS, is that our bodies all have limits, and it comes down to how they're constructed: “From muscle shape to arm length to the position and angle at which muscle attaches to bone, people are built differently." While it might make sense to enroll in classes with the buffest trainer around, there's no guarantee you'll end up looking like that after many sessions.
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Also, keep in mind that these people get paid to lead specific, body part targeting workouts. That probably means they'll always be doing the exercises more frequently than you, and have a body that reflects those billion squats or all that time spent on the stationary bike. It's not that you shouldn't want to be as fit as your trainer — it could be ideal if the person you choose serves as inspiration — but you shouldn't pick an instructor with that as your only goal. Hopefully you also enjoy their classes and their style of teaching. If you're really lucky, they'll be as encouraging as Mr. Blanks himself.
Click through to Women's Health for more on how to find the instructor that's right for you. (Women's Health)
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