MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Scattered throughout Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune are fitness centers. There, Department of Defense personnel and their families work to get in shape, stay fit or prepare for upcoming events. Also in the fitness centers are men and women who can help people set goals, give advice and act as personal trainers, for free.
Marine Corps Community Services has in its employment seven personal trainers, each one nationally certified and always willing to help someone set an athletic fitness goal and work with them to achieve it.
“Throughout our fitness centers, we have usually one to three fitness trainers,” said Tina Brooks, lead personal trainer with Semper Fit, MCCS. “The great thing that many people don’t know, however, is that the service we’re offering is free.”
This was the case for one of the participants going through the program.
“A friend of mine had a personal trainer and had great results,” Tatianna Johnson, a Marine spouse. “The moment she told me it was free, I signed up.”
Not only do the personal trainers help people free of charge, they are also flexible with scheduling.
“We aren’t cookie cutters, the same workout won’t work for everybody, so we specialize every workout to the client’s needs,” said Brooks. “We also help them achieve their goal and specialize in what they want.”
The trainers are qualified and confident in their abilities, sparing no expense to make sure their clients are satisfied. Some trainers have special strengths but no matter which trainer they get, they can be assured they will get the same excellent experience.
“We also help out special populations,” said Brooks. “If someone’s pregnant or has diabetes for example, we take that into consideration when setting their workout routine.”
When patrons come in to receive help from a personal trainer they go through an initial evaluation. Throughout the evaluation their blood pressure, heart rate, cardio muscular strength and endurance along with many other things are checked. The statistics they receive, plus their goal, will help the personal trainer set workouts that suits their specific goals.
“My goal was to lose weight,” said Johnson. “After two months of working with my personal trainer I am now down two and a half sizes and I attribute it all to her. I am going through school and there were times we had to work around my school schedule.”
Even after they part ways, Johnson said she will keep working out and she knows that if she ever needs advice or help she can turn to her personal coach.
“We’re at the end of our two months together, and she has met a lot of her goals,” said Mary Lam, a personal trainer with MCCS. “I love sports and helping people; we’re definitely going to stay connected.”
To sign up for a personal trainer, people can fill out a sign-up form at any of the gyms located throughout MCB Camp Lejeune.