Author: SSAC

Categories
Personal Training

4 Questions to Ask Your Swansea Personal Trainer Before Hiring Them

Personal trainer chatting and discussing training plan with client during a workout in the gym.

Hiring a personal trainer is the first step on your journey to greater fitness so it’s really important that you pick the right one. A good personal trainer is someone with both a passion and an understanding of personal fitness, a desire to help others reach their goals, and someone who can communicate what can be quite technical fitness concepts plainly to their clients.

In order to find the best Swansea personal trainer for your needs, it is, therefore, a good idea to ask them a few important questions first…

1. What Industry Qualifications Do You Hold?

Before you hire a personal trainer, you should always be sure to ascertain their educational level. Do they have a sports degree or relevant certifications? 

What is their education? Do they have a relevant degree? What about extra certifications and internships/workshops? Do they do continuing education? If yes, this is an excellent indicator that they know their stuff when it comes to exercise, physical fitness and the body, which means you’re less likely to get injured and more likely to actually achieve your fitness goals.

2. How Much Experience Do You Have?

Asking personal trainers how many clients they have worked with, what type of clients they have worked, how long they have been training people and what kinds of training they have offered in the past is important, because being a good personal trainer is, to some extent, as much about how much you’ve practised as it is how much you know. According to popular wisdom, on average, it takes 10,000 hours to get really good at something, so the more work a trainer has put in and the more experienced they are, the better they are likely to be at the job.

3. Do You Have References and Testimonials?

One of the best ways to work out if any professional is good at their job is to find out how many people would recommend them, and another is to see the results they’ve achieved in the past. Personal trainers are no different. If they cannot provide you with genuine testimonials, their client’s before and after pictures, or they can’t put you in touch with past clients to chat about their service, it could be a warning sign that they are not the personal trainer for you.

4. What is Your Training Style?

Personal trainers all have different ways of doing things. Some swear by cardio and a balanced diet, while others preach keto and lifting as the route to a better body. This is fine, but before you hire one, you need to figure out what training style you’re looking for and then ensure your trainer can provide it. If the two of you don’t mesh, it’s likely to be a miserable experience, whereas if you’re on the same page, your training sessions are likely to be both enjoyable and fruitful.

Hiring a Swansea Personal Trainer

Armed with these questions, you can be sure that you choose the best possible Swansea personal trainer. Here at Swansea Strength & Conditioning our team of fully accredited personal trainers are highly specialised in a wide-array of training disciplines to achieve whatever the desired health and fitness goals. Whether your goal is weight loss, muscle gain, toning, flexibility, injury rehabilitation  or improving strength or your general fitness we have the expertise you’re looking for.  So why not get in touch with us today on 07814 731224 and we’d be happy to answer your questions.

Categories
Injury Rehabiltation

Sports Injury Rehabilitation: 5 Top Tips to Accelerate Your Recovery

Athlete with sprained ankle needing sports injury rehabilitation

The adage that prevention is better than cure is certainly true when it comes to all types of sports injuries. This can be done by being physically and mentally prepared no matter what the sport. It can also mean having the right coaches or personal trainers to ensure you follow the correct training programmes and techniques that are suitable to you and your sport.

No matter how careful and diligent sports players and athletes are with their preparation, there will be times however when you experience a sports injury, so knowing what to do when that happens will help you accelerate your recovery. Here a five important sports injury rehabilitation tips to help you:

Seek Treatment Immediately

Seeking the right treatment at the right time will ensure you’ll give yourself the best chance to recover. For example when you sustain a pulled or strained muscle injury, you should immediately stop what you are doing and commence the PRICE Method of recovery.  PRICE stands for Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation, and this can be done at home or started immediately where the injury occurred

Stopping what you are doing simply means, you will be protecting the injury. Rest ensures no further damage occurs and allows for healing to start immediately. Applying ice to the injury reduces bleeding into the muscle tissues as well as decreasing pain. Compression involves strapping the injury tightly   (but not not to tight preventing circulation) using an elasticated bandage. This helps reduce the swelling as well as adding a support to the injury.  By elevating the injury (above the level of your heart if possible), you are using gravity as a way of reducing blood flow to the injured area and in turn reduces swelling.

Assess the Injury

After using the RICE method above, the next step is to assess your injury to ascertain if you need to seek further professional medical help and advice from a doctor or physiotherapist . You know your body so consider the pain and discomfort you’re experiencing and whether you feel there’s something more serious going on.

Use Professional Sports Injury Rehabilitation Services

It can take time to recover from sports injuries; however, using the right sports injury rehabilitation service will help you on that journey. From Biomechanical Analysis, neuromuscular control, strength development and sports massage- these are all key components within the injury rehabilitation process that a professional expert injury rehabilitator can provide .

Acknowledge Timescales

Healing times do vary from person to person, however, knowing the average time for recovery will help you manage your expectations. For example, if a sprained ankle is minor, it could take a little as a week to 10 days to recover, whereas a severe sprain could take up to 6 weeks. The important thing to remember is to always follow professional medical advice and avoid rushing back too soon.

Take Baby Steps

You don’t want to return to sports too soon  causing further injury and damage. Start off slow, steady and gradual. Opt for low impact exercises, and if you still experience any pain, stop, rest and seek further medical advice. Only increase your intensity when you’re pain free and feel ready and  up to it. 

The above are just some tips to help you accelerate your recovery should you experience a sports injury. Of course, the main aim is to prevent an injury in the first place. This means paying close attention to ways to avoid such injuries. including warming up, and cooling down correctly.  If however you’ve sustained an injury, minor or severe, and you’re looking for professional injury rehabilitation specialists then don’t hesitate to contact us. All our professional personal trainers are adept at working with all kinds of sports injuries to help you recover in the best, quickest and safest possible way

Categories
Personal Training

Personal Training- Benefits of Regular Exercise Infographic

Benefits of exercise and physical activity

As specialist personal trainers in and around Swansea we consistently promote to all our clients the importance of leading a healthy, exercise driven lifestyle.  Regardless of your age, regular exercise and physical activity provide a multitude of benefits on a physical. psychological and emotional level.

When it comes to exercising and physical activity that doesn’t mean you have to pound the streets and clock up the miles. Far from it!!! Exercise and physical activity comes in many different forms, and selecting the right kind for you should be dictated with what you enjoy and what suit’s your lifestyle. So regardless of what you decide to pursue, rest assured you’ll be making a hugley positive lifestyle choice that will see you reap the benefits for years to come…providing you stick to it of course!!!!

Below we’ve put together an infographic, highlighting the main benefits of exersise and physical activity, plus the physical activity recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the different age groups.

Click on the image to view the full-size graphic, to download the image and for you to share with your friends and family on platforms like Instagram and Pinterest…we would really appreciate it if you could.

Personal Training- Benefits of Regular Exercise Infographic

Share this Infographic On Your Site