In the Media
Edmonton Examiner April 14, 2004
Bringing the Workout Home to You
By Carrie McFadzean; Examiner staff
Finding time for a quality workout is no longer a struggle for new mom Cindy Neufeld.
The 39-year-old Belgravia resident discovered Defining Eve, a new mobile personal trainer service, shortly after having her second child eight weeks ago.
Finding time to fit in a workout with a brand new baby and a 10 year old can be challenging, Neufeld admits.
But, having a mobile personal trainer makes all the difference in the world.
“For me, being a new mom, it makes sense to have someone come to my home versus going out to a gym because of the amount of time it takes you to prepare to leave,” she says. “The travel time cuts into a lot of your available workout times.”
Twice a week for one hour, Neufeld spends time with personal trainer Alexandra Senkow of Defining Eve. Starting her initial workout only three weeks after giving birth – with her doctor’s approval – Neufeld says having a personal trainer come to her home and work with her has improved her recovery immensely.
“We started with Pilates-type strength exercises and we’ve added more of the weight training as we’ve gone along,” says Neufeld. “Now, I’ve been able to do more weight bearing cardio exercises, like running, within the past two weeks.”
Neufeld says a personal trainer at home offers much-needed flexibility. Not only does she not have to travel to a gym, she has the flexibility to cut her workout short if her baby needs feeding.
Having a trainer also allows people to work toward achieving their goals, says Neufeld, who wants to increase her strength, tone her muscles and keep up to her kids.
Her trainer makes the workouts fresh, exciting and continually motivates her to do better.
It’s different than seeing a personal trainer in a gym atmosphere, says Neufeld, who knows from experience.
“Sometimes the trainer gives you exercises you can only do when you are with the trainer and that’s frustrating because if you have equipment you can’t always do them,” she says.
The program built for her allows Neufeld to work out at home anytime.
Each client has a program built specific to their needs, says Senkow.
“We can make your program design a lot more efficient,” she says. “A lot of people have the tendency to work harder, not smarter when they go to the gym. They might be doing the wrong exercises, exercising at the wrong heart rate, and we can help them.”
Senkow starts by meeting clients, discussing their goals, health history, what they’re hoping to accomplish, and how frequently they want to work with their trainer.
After the initial consultation, Senkow can develop an individual program after another three to five sessions.
“It takes about five sessions to assess someone’s posture, their muscle and balance,” she says. “It’s very individual and not a cook-cutter type program.
Some clients simply want a workout regime built for them, while others want the personal trainer there for their exercise time to motivate.
Having a personal trainer develop a program will help an individual see results, whether it be weight loss, toning or help to complete a marathon, says Senkow.
Workout programs often incorporate Pilates, Yoga, traditional weight training, cardiovascular exercises and core stability work.
Defining Eve aims to make people comfortable and excited about getting active. If that’s in their home, work or a gym environment it doesn’t matter, says Senkow.
Many of her clients own their own fitness equipment in their home, so Senkow can design a program accordingly.
“People don’t necessarily have to have their own equipment,” she says. “We’ve designed programs for people who just use a stability ball and mat.”
She can even bring equipment like balls, free weights and mats to an individual’s home or business.
While mobile personal trainers are relatively new to Edmonton, Senkow says it’s common in Europe and other parts of North America.
According to a Canadian Fitness, Lifestyle and Research Institute study, more than one third of all Canadians prefer to exercise in their home.
After a year in business, Senkow says there has been a really positive response.
“A lot of people are really grateful that they can have someone come to their home,” she says, noting Defining Eve has six personal trainers on staff.
In addition to its personal trainers, Defining Eve also runs Pilates classes, golf clinics and learn to run clinics.
Despite many people’s perceptions, hiring a personal trainer isn’t for the elite, notes Senkow. For more information on Defining Eve, contact 482 – 7030 or visit the Web site www.definingeve.com.
