But personal training is expensive, on average about $120-$180 per one hour session in Los Angeles (though the price often drops in bulk and many trainers offer 30-minute sessions for half the price, or \u201cduets,\u201d which allow you to work out with a partner and split the cost). <\/p>\n
But still, why bother when there are more affordable ways to get fit?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe benefits come down to the three E\u2019s,\u201d says National Academy of Sports Medicine\u2019s <\/a>Tyler McDonald. \u201cEducation about form \u2014 knowing that you\u2019re accurately performing the exercises so you don\u2019t get injured<\/a>. Efficiency \u2014 a lot of people don\u2019t know what they\u2019re doing at the gym and trainers help you maximize your time there. External accountability \u2014 it\u2019s very easy to cancel on yourself, a lot harder with a trainer.\u201d<\/p>\n Most trainers these days focus on strength and conditioning<\/a>, often with weights, while weaving in elements of cardiovascular exercise. Many offer nutritional advice <\/a>as part of their program, others healthy habit counseling addressing stress management, sleep hygiene and hydration, among other areas. All will make modifications to exercises<\/a> and tailor equipment depending on your abilities, working with bands or body weight instead of handheld weights or machines, if necessary. <\/p>\n But often, it\u2019s what makes a trainer different that sets them apart. <\/p>\n Here are five personal trainers who have very different points of view. One is a yoga teacher-turned-strength trainer who considers your astrological sign; another is a competitive swimmer who trains you in the ocean; yet another is a self-defense-oriented trainer who works you out through martial arts.<\/p>\n Despite their different approaches, the priority, for each of them, is getting you healthy and strong through functional fitness<\/a>. Whether or not personal training is for you, perhaps just reading about them will motivate you to get moving this year.<\/p>\n Natalie Burtney at her home studio. <\/p>\n (Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n The astrology-informed trainer, Natalie Burtney<\/p>\n The universe called and it left a message: It wants you to move your body.<\/p>\n That\u2019s essentially trainer Natalie Burtney\u2019s<\/a> MO. She started her fitness career as a trauma-informed yoga instructor more than a decade ago, teaching classes at One Down Dog<\/a> and Equinox<\/a> before becoming a certified strength trainer. Since January 2025, she\u2019s also co-hosted \u201cThe Universe Called\u201d <\/a>podcast, which explores \u201ccurrent astrological transits\u201d and consults yoga philosophy to help listeners navigate through them.<\/p>\n As a trainer, Burtney focuses on functional strength-building (think squats, deadlifts, rows and weighted lunges as well as progressive weights), but she weaves in a panoply of other exercise styles and wellness modalities to fortify her clients. That includes yoga<\/a>, elements of Pilates<\/a> and mobility work<\/a> as well as breathwork,<\/a> meditation<\/a>, reiki <\/a>\u2014 and astrology<\/a>. Most trainers tailor their programs to individuals, considering their age, fitness level, past injuries and goals, among other things. Burtney adds in another consideration: their astrological sign.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to know my clients\u2019 astrological placements,\u201d she says, \u201cbecause it [shows me] \u2018Oh, this is the kind of person you are and how you like to communicate or what motivates you.\u2019 I\u2019m not an astrologer, but I know a lot about it and I love it \u2014 to me, it\u2019s an art form.\u201d<\/p>\n Burtney sage-cleanses her Eagle Rock studio before every client\u2019s session. It\u2019s a calming space with hardwood floors, plants, crystals and meditation bowls. She doesn\u2019t typically read clients\u2019 astrological charts \u2014 her sessions are often straight up strength training. But she does consider \u201cwhat\u2019s going on astrologically\u201d at the time of their workout, approaching clients\u2019 programs based on the sun seasons.<\/p>\n \u201cSo: if it\u2019s Capricorn season \u2014 Capricorn is a really steady earth sign focused on practicality \u2014 I might be like \u2018let\u2019s get back to the basics. We haven\u2019t looked at your squat for a while, let\u2019s go back to that,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s a natural feeling that happens to everybody when the sun changes signs and it just happens organically in my functional practice with clients.\u201d<\/p>\n Not surprisingly, Burtney describes her training style as \u201csupportive, mindful, creative and fun\u201d \u2014 however, she does give homework. She provides an app, with exercises for clients to do, as well as more than 100 videos on demand that they can utilize for free at home or while traveling.<\/p>\n So what does Burtney\u2019s own future hold, according to her astrological chart?<\/p>\n \u201cI want to open up a gym that feels like a yoga studio,\u201d she says. \u201cOrange lighting and skylights and filled with plants. So it feels calm.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a dream aligned with the stars.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a Taurus,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re into practically, but also beauty and comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n Melinda Hughs at the Strength Shoppe.<\/p>\n (Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n The somatic strength trainer, Melinda Hughes<\/p>\n Melinda Hughes would like to get to know your central nervous system \u2014 and you too.<\/p>\n Hughes is a certified personal trainer with a masters in holistic nutrition and about 20 years of experience helping clients get strong with weights. She specializes in slow-motion strength training<\/a>, or \u201cPower of Ten,\u201d in which the exerciser moves weights on machines excruciating slowly, eliminating momentum and putting muscles under greater tension for longer periods of time, which forces them to work harder.<\/p>\n Hughes also practices somatic experiencing<\/a>, a psychodynamic modality helping people tap into their bodily sensations as a way of processing emotions. \u201cIt helps them process chronic stress and unprocessed trauma,\u201d she says. \u201cThe idea is: If you allow yourself to feel the painful or unpleasant emotions, they don\u2019t stay trapped. You free yourself of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Now Hughes blends both somatic experiencing and slow motion weight training at her personal training gyms, the Strength Shoppe<\/a>, with locations in Pasadena, Mid-City and Echo Park. It\u2019s a natural pairing. As clients go through guided workouts on five to seven machines, such as a leg press or shoulder press for example, they are pushing their muscles to failure. That can feel scary \u2014 I\u2019ve trained at the Strength Shoppe and can attest. The heart rate elevates, muscles quiver, the skin can feel hot and prickly because of increased blood flow. \u201cYour body goes into a natural fight or flight response,\u201d Hughes says, at which point she (and other trainers at the gym who are educated in somatic responses<\/a>) help clients regulate their central nervous system \u2014 whether they realize it or not \u2014 through verbal and physical cues.<\/p>\n If a client has stored grief or trauma<\/a>, Hughes says, pushing the body to muscle failure can occasionally trigger \u201ca big emotional reaction\u201d that could include tears because the intense movement \u201ccan feel confronting. It\u2019s a release of stress.\u201d In such cases, Hughes encourages them to let the emotion out, to feel it, as part of the workout.<\/p>\n \u201cYou help them alchemize or metabolize the emotional experience and then it becomes an experience in the past, where that feeling has been able to escape the body,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n In addition to personal training, Hughes and gym co-owner Arjen van Eijmeren offer stand-alone somatic experiencing sessions through the Strength Shoppe. About 20% of their clients participate. It\u2019s a way for clients to \u201cgo deeper\u201d with the modality. That, in turn, allows them to push longer and harder in weight training, Hughes says, expanding their \u201cwindow of tolerance\u201d or the nervous system\u2019s capacity to deal with things that are confronting, challenging and stressful.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a level of emotional strength or resilience being cultivated through the binding of somatic experiencing with physical strength training,\u201d Hughes says. \u201cYou\u2019re becoming stronger in everything, not just physically.\u201d<\/p>\n Rashad El Amin kicks a punching bag.<\/p>\n (Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n The self-defense trainer, Rashad El Amin<\/p>\n Foxy and Fierce<\/a> is a women\u2019s kickboxing gym that trainer Rashad El Amin opened 15 years ago in Hollywood with his wife, Crystal El Amin. The two are seasoned martial artists \u2014 she\u2019s a third-degree black belt in Seido karate and he\u2019s practiced karate,<\/a> boxing<\/a> and Muay Thai kickboxing <\/a>since he was a teenager.<\/p>\n The gym offers group fitness classes for women mixing strength training<\/a> and martial arts<\/a>; and it holds self-defense <\/a>seminars. But El Amin\u2019s personal training program blends it all: Muay Thai kickboxing, strength training, cardio and self-defense moves to get clients strong \u2014 in both body and mind.<\/p>\n \u201cWe punch things. I teach people how to defend themselves if they need to,\u201d El Amin says. \u201cIt\u2019s very empowering to know how to defend yourself \u2014 you walk through the world in a different way.\u201d<\/p>\n Muay Thai kickboxing is called \u201cthe art of eight limbs,\u201d El Amin says, so he teaches clients how to fight using their fists, elbows, knees and feet. They learn to throw straight punches, elbow strikes, knee strikes and roundhouse kicks. They hit the heavy bag \u2026 and him.<\/p>\n \u201cYour whole body becomes a weapon and you learn how to touch a target,\u201d El Amin says. \u201cThat target, moving around with a chest protector on and a hand mitt, is me.\u201d<\/p>\n El Amin also conveys proactive self-defense techniques, such as spacial awareness and being attuned to your environment, and he shows clients how to use their voices as defensive tools.<\/p>\n For extra sculpting and toning, he may also weave in strength training with weights<\/a> and old-school calisthenics <\/a>(think push-ups, pull-ups and dips). But kickboxing, he says, is \u201cthe ultimate conditioning because every kick you throw, your core is engaged. Your cardio gets strong; it\u2019s good for building bone density. And it\u2019s just fun.\u201d<\/p>\n While a portion of El Amin\u2019s clientele are celebrities (Kristen Stewart<\/a>, Bill Burr,<\/a> Ana de Armas<\/a>), he also trains kickboxing newbies, teenagers and septuagenarians. Helping clients feel safe in the world is what\u2019s most fulfilling, he says.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of women who\u2019ve trained with us and have had an experience where this has saved their lives,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I have so much gratitude for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Igor Porciuncula works out in the water.<\/p>\n (Ren\u00eae Carlos Marques )<\/p>\n The aqua trainer, Igor Porciuncula<\/p>\n Igor Porciuncula<\/a> is an aqua fitness trainer from Brazil who teaches private swimming lessons<\/a> in Los Angeles, primarily for children, and offers personal training <\/a>for adults. He\u2019s also an open water competitive swimmer, participating in races internationally.<\/p>\n Have a pool <\/a>at home (or a friend with an apartment complex pool)? Porciuncula will come to you for one-hour training sessions. He also trains clients at public pools<\/a>, with the pool\u2019s permission, renting a lane if need be (the cost would be included in the session). Live near the beach?<\/a> Porciuncula loves training clients in the ocean and on the sand.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking out in water is great because you have resistance \u2014 you\u2019re working your whole body, especially the core,\u201d Porciuncula says. \u201cIt\u2019s great for aerobic conditioning, losing weight and muscle toning. It\u2019s also low-impact, so reduces risks of getting injured.\u201d<\/p>\n The term \u201cAqua fitness\u201d <\/a>may conjure images of seniors tepidly wielding foam noodles to \u201850s pop tunes. But Porciuncula\u2019s water fitness classes are \u2026 \u201chard,\u201d as he puts it. His longtime business, Bootcamp H20<\/a> \u2014 fitness classes for adults held at private and public pools around L.A. \u2014 blended high-intensity interval training, circuit training, aerobics, plyometrics, strength training and endurance training. Bootcamp H20 closed during COVID, but Porciuncula works all of those modalities into his personal training.<\/p>\n Pool sessions are 70% aerobic-based, 30% strength training. \u201cWe use dumbbells like you\u2019d use at the gym,\u201d Porciuncula says, \u201cnot those inflatable ones or foam ones, plus weighted medicine balls, kickboards, paddles and other aqua resistance equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n Porciuncula also weaves in workouts on the deck, such as planks, sit-ups and crunches. Clients stretch in the water and on the deck afterward.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a vigorous athletic workout,\u201d he says, \u201cbut also suited for people temporarily unable to work out on land due to an injury, but who still want an intense workout.\u201d<\/p>\n Porciuncula also trains clients at the beach<\/a>, alternating between sand and ocean workouts, though clients must be intermediate-level swimmers for such sessions.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t really take a five-pound dumbbell into the ocean,\u201d he says, \u201cso we\u2019d do that part of the workout on the sand, then do swimming drills in the ocean, plus treading water or maybe aqua jogging with fins, then going back onto the sand. Half and half.\u201d<\/p>\n Pool workouts are effective, Porciuncula says, but working out in the ocean takes training to another level.<\/p>\n \u201cThe currents, the waves, it takes a lot more effort,\u201d he says. \u201cPersonally, ocean swimming gives me a sense of freedom, of being in nature, it\u2019s outdoors. You feel great after a workout \u2014 maybe sore but in a good way, not beat up.\u201d<\/p>\n Kris Herbert at the Gym Venice.<\/p>\n (Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n The trainer for bodies over 40, Kris Herbert<\/p>\n Kris Herbert will be the first to tell you: Older bodies<\/a> have different training needs than younger ones.<\/p>\n Herbert specializes in training exercisers over 40 years old<\/a>. He opened the Gym Venice<\/a> in 2019 catering to that crowd and now 95% of his clients are between the ages of 40 and 65, with a few in their 70s and 80s.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter 40 we lose muscle at a rate of 3-5% a year until age 70. Then it increases,\u201d Herbert says. \u201cAs a result, your metabolism slows. Some of my clients also have osteoporosis or arthritis, others have balance issues. Building muscle helps protect our joints, our balance \u2014 we work to get all that back.\u201d<\/p>\n Building new attitudes for his clients is as important as building muscle mass, Herbert says. Older exercisers who are new to strength training may feel shame or hesitation around their abilities, eventually leading to dropout.<\/p>\n \u201cThey tend to feel really far behind or out of place,\u201d he says. \u201cBut you want them to come in and feel initiated, inspired. We give them the manual your body didn\u2019t come with.\u201d<\/p>\n Herbert gives all new clients a full body assessment followed by mobility and ability tests. He then designs a customized training program for each one, careful to modify movements if clients have limitations<\/a>.<\/p>\n Much of the equipment at Herbert\u2019s gym caters to mature bodies<\/a>. There\u2019s a belt squat machine, for people with shoulder impingement or spinal compression issues; a bilateral leg press which helps with imbalances; \u201cspecialty bars\u201d which help avoid impact on the shoulders.<\/p>\n Many of Herbert\u2019s clients are also lifelong desk workers<\/a>, so they may have postural issues. To offset that, he pays extra attention to strengthening the posterior, or back, chain of their bodies. The added skeletal muscle mass not only helps with posture, but with metabolism, bone density and regulating hormones, he says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about building a strong foundation,\u201d he says. \u201cWe make you strong for everyday things, like getting up from a chair, carrying your children \u2014 real world movements.\u201d<\/p>\n With age comes perspective, which is also an important piece of Herbert\u2019s training philosophy.<\/p>\n \u201cA deeper part of this is creating healthy lifestyle habits and passing on that manual of how to treat your body to the next generation,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s where longevity <\/a>comes from \u2014 from being consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n ![\"Natalie](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767269951_70_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Melinda](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767269952_914_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Rashad](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767269953_812_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Igor](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767269954_460_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Kris](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767269955_605_.jpeg\")
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