A visit to a Palm Desert Personal Training gym

Each one of us knows deep-down inside that exercise is the answer to many of our problems. The trouble is, most of us simply lack the motivation to get on with it. Oh, we still take that evening walk with our spouse; the one that started off at a mile or two, but has since dwindled to a meager once-around-the-block. Some of us tougher ones religiously do our daily push-ups; when we were in our 20s we could do 50 or more--now it’s five if we’re lucky. We’re always saying that we’d give anything, including our eye-teeth, to be able to work on our biceps again; our triceps; our abs--our entire, sagging body.

Then one day while sitting with our spouse, watching TV, we see someone interviewing a famous actress who’s discussing her personal trainer. You know, the one she “has on the payroll” to keep her in tip-top shape year-round--that well-buffed, perfectly trim and always fit, physical condition we can’t help notice. “Maybe I’ll start working out like she does,” you say to your mate. Then you grab a handful of popcorn, guzzle some soda pop, and go back to mindlessly surfing the channels.

“That’s about as far as most people get.” said David Martinez, a professional personal trainer. “Most of us have become such couch potatoes it’s much easier to sit watching TV and just think about exercising.” Martinez was talking to me while his next client parked her car in the lot in front of Creek’s Personal Fitness Headquarters in Palm Desert where David plies his trade. “Also, most people think that having a personal trainer will drain them financially. Not true .” He clarified, “Having a personal trainer is a heck of a lot cheaper than, let’s say, playing one round of golf per week.

“People also think the training programs we guide them through will exhaust them physically. That’s also not true ,” adds Creek Williams, the gym’s owner. “If anything, after a few weeks on a regimented training program, the client will be the opposite of exhausted, they’ll even be looking forward to their next work out.” A Los Angeles police officer for 26 years, William’s athletic appearance was earned the hard way, preparing for and working the oft-violent streets of a major city. Williams took up personal training only after a back injury prevented him from continuing his law enforcement career. “I desperately wanted to stay in shape; who would have ever thought of a better way than having a job where working out is an every day part of it?.”

In contrast, David Martinez planned his gymnastic career from the very beginning. Raised right here in the Coachella Valley--a graduate of Palm Springs High School--David started body-building when he was 16-years-old; he began competing professionally two years later, working diligently on his body in local gyms, and in Venice, California. He was to eventually find his niche as a trainer 10 years ago, quite literally by accident. When people began asking him how he had obtained his winning physique, instead of telling them how he did it, David would show them. After a while, he began charging for his advice, turning something he had always loved into a paying proposition.

Martinez likes to use diversity in his sessions--he calls it cross-training--adding hiking, jogging, biking, even rollerblading to a client’s customary regimentation. “It takes them out of the gym, keeps them from getting too bored,” he says, “working out with nature as your partner keeps you interested.” David has a few clients who prefer their training sessions in their own homes. Some of them have spent a fortune. “They have entire state-of-the-art gymnasiums set up in a special room, even beside their pool;” he told me. “For others, you have to haul your equipment to the residence, set it up, take the client through their training session, and tear everything down again--then you take it all right back to the gym! That’s why in-home workout sessions always cost the customer more,” he explains. They end up paying for our travel time.”

I observed as David and Creek Williams put their respective clients through their paces. It reminded me of the basics I learned in high school gym class: stretching and bending exercises to warm up; (those always notorious) push-ups; presses with the barbells; working with weights and pulleys; followed by (some of those gut-wrenching) situps; finally, a short workout with the dumbbells. Everything done in series of three, then on to the next exercise, always drinking a lot of water between sets. “Drinking water is one of the keys to a safe workout,” David added. “You must always take in plenty of liquid to replace the fluids lost during the (any) workout. We always recommend that our clients drink a lot of water.” Both trainers make their sessions a fun time, talking and joking with their clientele as the hour progresses while sticking to prearranged plan.

David validates that nutrition plays another key part in personal training. A person’s diet is always connected to a well-planned exercise program. “ ‘You are what you eat,’ he says, “supervising a client’s daily diet is a vital part of the specialized program I create for them; something they’ll want to adhere to if they expect results.”

Matt Kane, a client for two months, appears to be working hard on his new exercise program. “He’ll improve much more as we go along,” Creek tells me, “it takes time. Come back in two more months,” he tells me, “you’ll see a big difference.”

Another client, Jessie Nishikubo, a lab supervisor at the Eisenhower Medical Center, has been a regular for three years. She breezes through her training session like it was nothing, knocking off numerous push-ups, situps, and weight-lifts with a mellow ease--and, of course, she handles it like a pro.

I’m told that at first most new clients are fearful, anxious and uncomfortable finding themselves in a situation where they know they might at first look bad. “Please don’t be discouraged,” David tells his new prospects, “excellence in anything is achieved through practice. Lots of it. All it takes is some time, concentrated effort, discipline, prioritizing your health, and stick-to-it-ness to groom your body, and even more time and sweat to keep it that way. When you begin to see some progress, you’ll want to see even more progress. And you’ll love it when someone you want to notice those changes--does just that!