Flickr: adria.richards

I recently have realized that if I want to have any chance of beating Oprah’s Marine Corps marathon time in October I will need to up the ante a bit. Along with a good friend of mine I decided to hire a personal trainer for the months leading up to the marathon. (Note: Doing semi-privates with a personal trainer definitely cuts down on the cost, but make sure that you have similar goals and time availability as your friend before committing to do this together.)

Hiring a personal trainer is kind of like finding the perfect boyfriend as it takes some time to actually find one that you are compatible with. After a couple of “Mr. You aren’t quite what we are looking for” we found someone who has the ability to whip us into shape, challenge us to try new things and also put up with our “We can’t do this” whining. The best part is that after only a few sessions with this trainer I have actually seen improvements in what I can do. So, who is the trainer?

Meet Tara Postnikoff – Tara is the founder and owner of Healthy Eating Active Living (H.E.A.L.) and apart from being a kick ass personal trainer she is also a registered nutritionist (have since hired her to help sort out my nutritional needs). She has run a number of half marathons, marathon and triathlons, so really understands the needs of athletic people. She’s kind of like the female version of Tommy Europe from the Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp.

I recently asked Tara what her top 5 exercises were for getting into shape and here they are – no equipment (or no excuses) required:

1. Planks – builds great core strength and everyone needs a strong core
2. Walking lunges – great lower body workout for the butt, thighs and calves
3. Push ups – great for upper body and core strength.
4. Push planks – good core and upper body workout.
5. Burpees – total body + cardio- really gets the heart pumping

Why is it that all of the exercises I hate doing are the best ones for me?

If you are interested in finding out more about Tara and what she offers check out her website. She also works out of Absolute Endurance in the Davisville area.

For the last couple of weeks I have been seeing a personal trainer with my friend. Although this is not a cheap thing to do I think it has been helping me realize a few things about my own fitness levels.

1. I really should be incorporating some form of strength training into my fitness routine. Running alone has really not improved my cardio levels. Two sessions with this trainer and I am questioning whether I can even call myself fit. After running two marathons this is pretty pathetic.
2. It actually isn’t a bad idea to pay someone to develop a routine for you that both challenges and switches things up for you.

Personal training can set you back around $80-120 per session, but my tip is to find a friend who is reliable to share the costs with. They also should have similar fitness goals as you. Added bonus: it is nice to have someone next to you that really understands the pain you are going through!

If hiring someone isn’t an option, but you are looking to get some new ideas and inspiration I suggest you turn to the Internet. There are some fantastic online resources out there that show you how to do everything from a jump squat to a proper bicep curl. Check out ehow.com, Fitness magazine and Women’s health. I also found this great video on eHow.com on how to do a proper jump squat which apparently is ‘the move’ to get strong and sculpted legs (or at least according to Yahoo Health).

How to do Jump Squats Leg Exercises