You might be wondering, is personal training worth it? Or should I do large group classes? Well, as you make your decision here are 6 reasons why personal training is worth the additional investment! Individualization. Personal training allows for the highest degree of customization possible when you training. A great trainer writes you a program that is custom fit to you, but then also knows exactly how to change that program from day to day, or even intra-session to ensure you’re getting the best results. There might be some degree of customizing within the context of a large group class, but it’s not going to be anywhere near what it is in personal training. Accountability. The number 1 reason people aren’t in better shape, healthier, exercising – overall making good choices for their long term selves isn’t knowledge. You might not be an expert, but you know you need to...Read more

Hiring a personal trainer is a big deal… and information overload doesn’t make it any easier to hire someone. For that reason, we created a short guide to Red/Green Flags to look for when considering hiring a personal trainer. Green Flags They don’t have “personal” relationships with the clients. It’s EXTREMELY common for trainers to have romantic/sexual relationships with their clients at one point or another. This is something you want to avoid at all costs. They hold their profession in HIGH regard. A true professional would NEVER dirty a relationship with a client by mixing business with pleasure. They have a dedicated training space. Are you getting bounced around from place to place? Do they rent a space? Own their own gym? Train you at the house? There are a myriad of reasons why you want a trainer with a dedicated space! Timing, convenience, predictability, etc. A dedicated space...Read more

Attention skinny guys: we can help! My name is Connor, and I own Spark Fitness in North Hollywood, California where we specialize in strength training delivered by world class personal training… I used to be very skinny. And I hated it. I messed around and made every mistake possible… until I eventually got things figured out and went on to gain 100lbs of useful, muscular body weight (all naturally). I went from 150 to 250 and became an entirely new stereotype “a meathead”. And let me tell you… it’s way better than being skinny. Anyway… Here is how we can help you become not skinny anymore. Strength train. If you don’t want to be skinny anymore you have to strength train. What is strength training you ask? Well I wrote this article about that. Read it. For the purposes of this article, strength training is lifting weight that is heavy...Read more

Here is a step by step guide of how you can make the best hire on your first hire if you’re looking for a personal trainer! Or, it can help you not make the mistake you made last time… Check the budget. This one sort of goes without saying. Personal training is expensive, but there’s a huge range in what trainers charge. Some might be as low as $50/hr, and some ranging to $500+… especially in Los Angeles. It’s important to have figured out what you can sustainably pay for prior to doing anything else, otherwise you are setting yourself up to fail. Imagine dropping a huge sum on training for 2 months and then needing to stop… it’s better than nothing but you would basically be stopping before getting started! Because it is expensive, you might need a little while to plan to build up your cash flow and...Read more

Last week, I wrote a simple FAQ about Strength Training. You can read it here. I want to make things as simple and easy to understand as possible – instead of complex and confusion. We got such a nice reaction that we decided to expand what we wrote to include some more common questions. Enjoy. Does strength training build muscle? It is the only way to build muscle. Will strength training make me toned? It is the only way to increase tone. Will strength training make me bigger? It will make men bigger everywhere, and it makes women slightly bigger in flattering areas, and executes positive features and minimizes unflattering features. (Don’t be scared – do you think you can grow bigger glutes… without getting bigger?) Is strength training safe? It is one of the safest forms of physical activity. Soccer is SIGNIFICANTLY more dangerous. Will strength training make me...Read more