Interview with Spartan Training's Owner/Personal Trainer, Robert Leasure.
When it comes to losing weight or getting in shape for the New Year.
Robert, in your opinion, when it comes to losing weight or getting in shape for the New Year, how much is wishful thinking for people and how much tends to be truly possible?
Well you could say it all starts with wishful thinking…I always say…think it…feel it…see it…be it… Yes it is true, the biggest failures with New Year’s resolutions are in weight loss and fitness…however that doesn’t mean you cannot fulfill your weight loss and fitness goals… as a fitness expert I have used some extremely effective strategies that have helped hundreds of my clients, lose weight, get in shape and sculpt the body that they have always desired…
What do you see as the biggest challenges with people right after the start of the year? For example, would it be unrealistic expectations, or maybe that they start out all gung-ho and then lose steam?
The hardest part is just getting started and sustaining your motivation until fitness becomes habitual...Once you develop the habit...which can take as little as thirty day...your whole life will change for the better...
The biggest mistake which creates the biggest challenge quite simply, the setting of unrealistic goals…Setting realistic and attainable goals are crucial for success...You must have tangible short-term and long-term goals for your weight loss and fitness program…
In-order for you to gauge your progress and stay motivated...It’s crucial to have a “baseline” before you begin so that you can measure your success...If you don’t have a personal trainer…Spartan Training, offers a free fitness analysis and nutrition plan…that will aid you in developing a personalized fitness program which addresses your particular needs…Having goals...particularly short-term goals...allows you to track your progress and keeps you motivated when times are tough and you don’t feel like exercising.. Keeping a journal of your cardio and resistance training workouts...as well as tracking what you eat is a major step in your weight loss and fitness success… Just remember that your goals should be realistic and attainable...The best way for you to understand what is realistic and attainable for you is to talk to a fitness professional...please do not buy into the “hype” of infomercials or diet and fitness products that blatantly mislead...
What is the best way to lose weight for most people? A special diet, certain exercises, or a combination? In your opinion, is losing weight more important or overall fitness? (Or maybe it varies from person to person?)
I always say: “the best prescriptions for health care are exercise and nutrition…It is by far much more important to focus on optimal health…than any one specific area such as just dieting for weight loss…or just cardio for weight loss…or just resistance training for weight loss…a balance of proper nutrition combined with resistance training and cardio training…are the most effective way to reach optimal health…
What is the most important thing for people to understand about getting/keeping in shape with help from professionals such as yourselves rather than trying to do it all on their own?
One of the most important things to understand is the fact that, most people who lose weight and get in shape…fail when it comes to maintaining their fitness level and weight loss, long term…Here at Spartan Training we teach our clients how to intergrate health and fitness into their lifestyle in a way that exercising and eating healthy, simply becomes a part of who they are... The body is designed to be healthy, strong, flexible and full of energy...Being physically fit affects every single aspect of your life, you sleep deeper, eat healthier, love stronger, overcome stress easier, work longer, communicate clearer, and definitely look and feel happier...
How has the economy affected the fitness world in general, and your business in particular?
From my current level of understanding, I think that the fitness world in general is affected by the economy to the degree, we as individuals allow ourselves to be affected...For some the ecnomy has negatively impacted the indivdual business owner to the degree that it has negatively impacted their business...You can always look at the economy from a negative perpsective or you can look at it from a positive perspective...The negative perspective always creates more negativity and the positive perspective always creates more positive experiences...For me as a business owner...Vicki and I opened the Spartan Training personal training studio May 1st 2009...Just to give you an example of how much our business has grown...Our first month of business we did 120 training hours...and have continued to increase every month...our monthly training hours are now well over 300 and we are signing up new clients every week...So business is great and we are enjoying helping people lose weight and get in shape... Truely with a passion we are 100% dedicated to health and fitness...we live the lifestyle that we teach and we get results for each and every one of our clients...Vicki and i have some of the greatest clients ever...we enjoy training each and every one of them...
Spartan Training is located at the Summit in Chandler on the S/E corner of Alma School and Chandler Heights Rd. Our address is 985 W. Chandler Heights Rd. #12. Our phone number 480-802-2222 and our web address is http://www.Spartan-Training.com.
The Studio:
Our Grand Opening was May 1st 2009… The studio is about 2000 sq.ft…featuring all brand new equipment,machines, free weights and cardio equipment…basically everything we need to help our clients lose weight and get in shape…
What happens at Spartan Training?
Initially with our new clients…we first do a fitness assessment…we get the bodyweight… waistline measurement… and we do a 3 point body fat evaluation…on the triceps…abdominal area and the thighs… and from this information we determine our 30 day projections…how much weight can be lost… how many inches we can lose from the waistline… and how many points of body fat we can reduce from certain areas. We also do a nutrition counseling…we explain what metabolic syndrome is and the effects it has on the body… and how it relates to the clients current condition… we talk about how to reverse the symptoms of metabolic syndrome through exercise and nutrition…we explain the effects nutrition has on weight loss…then we design a nutrition plan that will be effective in weight loss and fit the clients lifestyle…
Tell us about the personal training sessions:
The personal training session are one hour…the Spartan Training system is a system that we have developed over many years of personal training…it is a very effective and efficient system of training and teaching the client the proper way to use their muscles and perform the exercises…we use a system of resistance training along with resting activity…the intensity level of the training is based on each individuals conditioning and ability to perform the exercises…with the resistance training we use free weights and machines…and the resting activity between the resistance training sets…will be either an abdominal exercise or a cardio movement…we want to keep the client active and moving for the entire session…so the session remains intense but at the same the intensity level is determined by the conditioning level of the client…we also teach the client how to perform the exercises properly and effectively… we also teach our clients how to use their muscles effectively… through the principle of dynamic tension and by hitting the stretch positions and isolating the muscles…that are being used in the exercise…we also recommend that out clients do 20 to 30 minutes of cardio after resistance training…reason being that during resistance training glycogen supplies are depleted and the oxidative path becomes available…so this is optimum time to burn fat…
How about scheduling:
When a client signs up… they schedule the days and the time in which they want to come in for their training session…for example…Mon…Wed…and Fri…at 10AM…through experience we know that flexibility is key in scheduling our clients…most of them have very busy lifestyles…and need flexibility in their schedule…so Spartan Training has developed a way to accommodate our clients need for flexibility…this allows the client to re-schedule or just come in…during our hours of operation…
From the clients perspective…what is it like training at Spartan Training:
We have a very fun and energetic environment…I always say…motion creates enthusiasm…and enthusiasm creates an energetic environment…so there is always lots of energy in the studio…sometimes a client will come and say they almost didn’t show because they where feeling tired…but once they got here and started moving…they were feeling energized and ready to go…so exercising in our studio always creates increased energy…along with a sense of well being…
On a closing note… …are you taking care of your health today? I always say…health care is not about the govt. taking care of your health…health care is about you taking responsibility for your own health…the foremost and best prescription for health care is exercise and nutrition…are you taking care of your health today???