The 10 Best Fitness Trainers

Nicky Wesley, personal trainer
Trainer Nickt Wesley is less concerned about her clients’ appearance than she is about their daily activities. "I tend to train more from a functional standpoint," she says. "It’s about improving their quality of life so whatever they choose to do is going to be easier for them." Improving client Mary Jo Volpe’s quality of life included helping her overcome cardiac disease. She suffered a cardiac arrest in 2002 and had bypass surgery in 2004, which failed in 2006. She now wears a defibrillator. "Nicky has been through all of this with me, and she knows what I can and can’t do better than I do," Volpe says. In 2002, Volpe could only handle a few minutes on the treadmill and stationary bike. Now she’s up to 40 minutes on the treadmill and works with eight-pound weights and kettlebells. Because Wesley has a more scientific-based background, Volpe says, "I feel safe when I’m with her.

Healthy Lifestyle Tips: Our trainers offer suggestions to help you improve your fitness.

Keep a journal to jot down what you eat, how you work out each day and what you did for personal growth. This will help you stay focused and reach your goal of creating balance between your body, mind and soul.—Amy Lademann

Many of us focus on our weak points, but we have to remember we all have positive attributes that the next person might not possess. We really only need to be in competition with ourselves.—Claudia Lorelli

To maximize the effects of your weight-training program and improve muscle recovery, drink a protein shake or eat a protein snack within 30 minutes of completion of your workout. —Nicky Wesley

Establish a baseline of where you are now. We need an accurate way of measuring things like your body fat. I don’t care about weight loss; it’s about altering body composition. So set measurable goals.—Bill Davey

People think that starvation and skipping meals is the way to lose weight, but it causes your metabolism to shut down. You need to have six small meals a day to regulate and speed up your metabolism. —Sly Solomon