Personal trainer
Jean-Robert Barbette works out on some unique exercise equipment at his Jean-Robert's Gym in
Aspen ,including this rowing machine that simulates the site-to-site motion of paddling, rather than
just aback-and forth movement. The gym also boasts an exercise machine that simulates the
muscle movements of in-line skating. Devon Meyers photo.
Keeping fit is now big business, as evidenced by
Roaring Fork Vallley’s growing population of personal
trainers, who are available now to almost anyone at
local gyms and health clubs.
A certified trainer can be an educational resource,
whip cracker, nutritional adviser and companion, all
rolled into one.
Local fitness clubs and gyms have personal trainers
on staff or allow independent trainers to work with clients.
Rates typically range from $50 to $100 per hour.
Joy Myers, 39, is one of the independent ilk. She
meets with clients at Aspen’s Bleeker Street Gym, but
her services aren’t limited to the confines of a weight-
lifting room, or even to lifting weights. Myers incorpor-
ates aerobics, stretching and yoga into workouts. And
a strenuous hike up Smuggler Mountain might well be
part of the routine.
Not everyone needs a trainer all the time, Myers said,
but developing the proper technique in any fitness pro-
gram is essential. It’s the key to avoid getting injured
and discouraged, and then quitting, she said.
A personal trainer develops a workout that will
accomplish a client’s goals, but that also recognizes a
client’s abilities, according to Myers.
A good trainer will tailor-make a program for you.
Your have to have a feel for your clients, she said.
Motivation and know-how are the two key ingredients
personal trainers bring to the weight room, according to
Bleeker Street Gym owner Joe Vernier.
“People don’t really know the best way to go about
training for their goals, he said. ?Whether it’s competit-
ion bodybuilding or losing 50 pounds, a trainer can help
you get going in the right direction.
Most U.S. trainers are certified through the American
Council on Exercise, American College of Sports Medi-
cine or the Aerobics and Fitness Association.
ACE, which began offering the certification in 1990,
saw 2,200 trainers pass the exam in the first year. The
numbers have grown since: 5,193 passed the exam in
1995 and 3,300 have passed so far this year. There are
now 15,100 trainers currently certified through ACE,
according to an organization spokesperson.
Personal training really took off about five years ago,
said Cameron MacDonald, 27, assistant manager and
fitness director at the Aspen Athletic Club. “People just
decided they needed to take their fitness to a different
level and strength training has gotten a lot of good press
for its health benefits.
Aging baby boomers are among those reading the
headlines, Myers said.

When you’re 20 or 30, you can get away with not
being fit, she said. At age 40, it’s a different story. Your
body is the vehicle that’s going to get you through your
life.

You can’t give yourself the workout a trainer will give
you, she said. ?When you think you can’t do one more,
your trainer will say, ‘OK, do three more.’ The motivation
and the results double ... you work harder because the
trainer pushes you.

Nobody can push themselves as hard as they can be
pushed, concurs Curtis Schwab, athletics director at the
Maroon Creek Club in Aspen. If you want to see results
sooner rather than later, you need to be pushed.
Or sometimes, according to trainer Jean-Robert
Barbette, owner of Jean-Robert’s Gym in Aspen, the
trainer must put on the brakes.

 A good trainer can push you, but also slow you
down ... too much is not always better, he said.
Schwab agrees.
If anything, people are too active here. Clients I have
who are real active outdoors, I don’t let them work out
more than two days a week, he said. Or, if they’ve
been snowshoeing up Buttermilk, that’s not a leg day,
we just do uppper body.
Proper nutrition is essential for active individuals, as
well, Schwab stressed.
A good trainer, Jean-Robert said, should guide a
client in all aspects of fitness so that a workout
includes flexibility and aerobics and strength
conditioning.
Some people lose fat, but forget about posture.
Some people do heavy weights, but forget the heart,”
he said.
Like all trainers, Jean-Robert, 34, stresses proper
technique. Some people go back to the gym for the
first time since high school and proceed to do
exercises that professionals now know cause injuries.

Maybe if they never do anything, they would be in
better shape because they’re doing it wrong,” he said.
That’s one reason Jean-Robert does not sell
memberships simply to use his gym facility.
Everyone works out with a trainer ... Jean-Robert
or one of his two staff trainers, when they work out
there. He has, however, instituted small-group
sessions each evening, led by a trainer.

Like Myers, Jean-Robert’s training sessions aren’t
restricted to the gym. He takes clients skiing, hiking,
bicycling, rollerblading ... sometimes helping them to
do what they would not have otherwise attempted.
There’s an attorney from Miami, for example, who
never thought he’d climb a 14,000-foot peak or ski
Steeplechase at Aspen Highlands ...
until Jean-Robert took him there.
Everybody is an athlete inside ... I just show them,
he said.
Trainers can help give the clients a psychological
edge, agreed Dee Black, an independent trainer who
works out of the Bleeker Street Gym and The Gym in
Basalt. She also works with clients in their homes, if
they prefer.
You can psychologically and physically push them
further than they would go on their own,? Black said.

A lot of times, it’s a psychological block rather than a
physical one that they (clients) can’t get past.
Aside from the motivation and instruction, Black, 45,
said her clients appreciate letting the trainer do the
thinking. She keeps track of their progress and knows
when to push them a mile farther or demand five more
repetitions on a weight machine.

Paying a trainer to take a hike, so to speak, may
seem frivolous, but for some clients, it can make the
difference between marginal exercise and a good
work-out, according to Black.

If they go alone, first of all, they’d just saunter along,
she said. It’s real easy to back off on speed and not
achieve the aerobic workout you need to burn fat.
And sometimes it’s social ... 20 minutes can seem like
an hour when you’re alone.
If an individual is going to work out, he or she might
as well achieve the optimum benefit, Jean-Robert agreed. If you’re going to spend the time ... you might as well do it right, he said.


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