Nora (Tekva) asked if I could share some of my favorite media type programs that I've worked with over the years.
My main goal, once I'm certified, is to train folks in their homes using minimal gear and these programs all fit that criteria.
As I mentioned in my long post in the "influences" section of the board, I've used a lot of home fitness media and have gotten not only excellent results from them but I've learned a lot of cool variations on exercises.
Probably the most creative DVD instructor out there is Tony Horton. He's the guy who created Power 90, P90X, Power Half Hour, Power 90 Masters Series and recently the 10 minute trainer (which I don't have and it's way overpriced so I won't be getting it any time soon :)).
Anyway, my favorite programs of Tony's are the Power 90 Master Series (my overall favorite) and P90X. But,Power Half Hour is right up there. For anyone wanting a lot of interesting cardio and strength exercises (plus flexibility because he's into Yoga), Those programs really have a lot of variations I've not seen before.
I actually originally found out about P90X from some Personal Trainers on a fitness board I have been part of for years that's geared towards home exercisers. I figured if they were excited by this stuff then I'd give it a shot. They were right! :)
Anyway, Tony's programs use very minimal equipment. Pretty much you could conceivably get away w/ a Yoga mat and some resistance bands. For P90X it's ideal to have free weights and a pullup bar, but not completely necessary.
For the other programs, the mat and resistance band is all you really "need".
Tony utilizes a lot of diciplines in his programs, from plyo, kickboxing, functional training, various types of athletic moves etc.
Another instructor is Gunnar Peterson (who is an ACE certified instructor BTW) who trains a lot of folks in Hollywood (like Sly Stallone and others). He put out a great stability ball program called "Core Secrets" years ago. I ended up getting a bunch of them thru amazon marketplace (both on VHS when they were REALLY cheap, and DVD).
He has a great way of getting a lot done w/ just the ball and some dumbbells (plus a mat is helpful to have). I've learned a lot from him and my wife even loves his programs as well!
He does a lot of full body circuit training type work on the programs which are very effective and fun at the same time. I think most clients would enjoy the exercises that are appropriate for their level.
Recently I picked up a program called "Melt It Off" w/ Mitch Gaylord (1984 Gold Medalist/1st amercan gymnast to get a perfect 10 ....). Anyway, these are medicine ball type workouts and they are extremely well done, lots of cool exercises and again, use minimal equipment. You only really need a med ball and an exercise mat is nice to have also.
Also, I like many of the 10 minute solutions programs, Quick Fix, and many others. To me, having these are great resources to see what many creative fitness instructors have come up with, especially because they are geared for the home fitness market which means that "for the most part" they are pretty safe. Some of the instructors "push the envelope" w/ using plyo stuff and other more risky things, but of course you can take what you want and leave what you don't want.
I almost forgot. A cool piece of equipment I got is something called a Powerbase. It's a system which consists of a base w/ lots of resistance tubes and you can add various handles to it. It weighs next to nothing but really gives a lot of variety and enables some exercises than just a set of resistance bands wouldn't be able to duplicate as easily. Plus by being able to connect several tubes to the handles, there is a LOT of resistance you can get.
The guy who invented it, Michael Flynt, lives locally. He was in the news because about a year ago, he went back to college at 59 years old and played football at Sul Ross State University in Texas. Look up Mike Flynt in a search engine and you can read about his story, it's amazing. I got to meet him when I bought my powerbase and he's a fascinating guy. He's being managed by Lebron Jame's management team. He wrote an autobiography that has yet to be released and I believe a movie is a very good possibility. He trained for years, using nothing but the powerbase, and that kept him fit enough to go out for the team at 59!
Anyway, the Powerbase is a great tool, especially for a personal trainer who travels. I can't wait to train people with it! The Powerbase also came w/ a bunch of dvds as well which are pretty cool.
Besides more conventional fitness programs, I have about 100 Yoga programs of various styles and a whole boatload of Pilates/Pilates inspired programs. My favorite of all the Yoga teachers is Baron Baptiste.
For Pilates, the best instructional program I have is Stott pilates "Basic". It's a boring program to practice w/ but a good one to learn from. Other programs that I enjoy to practice w/ are from Ana Caban, and Hilary Burnett among various programs by Michelle Dozios (pronounced "Doz-wah") and Tracy York who have teamed up to do some interesting programs. There's so many other programs I have but it would take too long to write them all out.
Just by way of background, I was trained as a musician(composer/pianist) in college (Berklee College Of Music Grad 1981) and one of the most important things is the ablility to analyze and assimilate music and then take those concepts and make them your own.
To me, fitness is very much the same thing, basically "variations on a theme" if one want to be able to be creative at their craft. Even when I do the media programs, I always modify and adapt the exercises to myself, never following blindly. So even though the format is being spelled out, it's still a personal process of exploration.
So I believe personal trainers can benefit from these types of things in order to give us food for thought, not only in terms of exercise routines and fresh variations on exercises, but in the way things are broken down and explained. It's just another great resource to have available.
Scott, I'm running short on time tonight so can't answer as fully as I want to, but I couldn't read that without saying THANKS for putting this up!
Hi Nora,
You're welcome, I hope there's some things there that folks might benefit from! I've gotten so many great ideas that I can't wait to be able to use w/ clients (of course modified to fit their fitness level).
