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Need a motivation boost or are you new to our gym? Why not get acclimated and shape up with the help of a personal trainer?

Today, we will get to know Matt Alvin, our fitness director, who has been in the fitness industry for more than 30 years and has been working in the JCCNV Sports, Fitness and Aquatics department since 1996. Matt is an experienced certified personal trainer through AFPA, certified kickboxing/boxing coach, and holds a 3rd degree black belt from the American Karate/Kickboxing Institute. He specializes in fitness boxing training, kickboxing, strength and conditioning and injury rehabilitation.

What Matt most enjoys about working at the JCCNV are the people, particularly the friendly members and being able to share his love of fitness. His advice to members is to drink more water and keep moving! His training philosophy is “fitness is forever.”

In his spare time, Matt enjoys riding his Harley with his motorcycle crew, competing in mixed martial arts, and playing with his Boston Terrier.

Thinking about working with a personal trainer like Matt?

Personal trainers provide you with the accountability to keep up your fitness endeavors and transform your approach to training and exercise. Our trainers also teach you exercise safety, and form and technique based on your experience level, age, and abilities.

These are some considerations for choosing a trainer:

• Be honest with what you need: What drives you? A bit of tough love or ample positive reinforcement? Everyone will have a different coaching style, but they should all share one main trait: empathy.
• Make clear any special considerations (injuries, dislikes, etc.) from the get-go and ask how they can work around them. I believe being able to have a comfortable open and honest relationship with a trainer is one of the most important factors.
• Remember, attentive trainers will usually get to know you better, beyond your training history (perhaps they might ask about behaviors, lifestyle, idiosyncrasies, etc.). This is important to build rapport and so they learn about your experience with exercising, any injuries you may have, and your personal fitness goals.

Hope this is helpful. For more details, please read our previous blog post, “Do You Need a Personal Trainer?” For more information about personal training and to learn more about our trainers at the J, click here.