Aspen Personal Trainers

Keeping fit is now big business, as evidenced by Roaring Fork Vallley's growing population of personal trainers, who are available now to almost anyone at local gyms and health clubs. A certified trainer can be an educational resource, whip cracker, nutritional adviser and companion, all rolled into one. Local fitness clubs and gyms have personal trainers on staff or allow independent trainers to work with clients...

...If you want to see results sooner rather than later, you need to be pushed. Or sometimes, according to trainer Jean-Robert Barbette, owner of Jean-Robert's Gym in Aspen, "the trainer must put on the brakes". A good trainer, Jean-Robert said, should guide a client in all aspects of fitness so that a workout includes flexibility and aerobics and strength conditioning. Some people lose fat, but forget about posture. Some people do heavy weights, but forget the heart," he said. Like all trainers, Jean-Robert, 34, stresses proper technique. "Some people go back to the gym for the first time since high school and proceed to do exercises that professionals now know cause injuries. Maybe if they never do anything, they would be in better shape because they're doing it wrong," he said.

Jean-Robert Barbette works out on some unique exercise equipment at his Jean-Robert's Gym in Aspen, including this rowing machine that simulates the side-to-side motion of paddling, rather than just a back-and forth movement. The gym also boasts an exercise machine that simulates the muscle movements of in-line skating. Devon Meyers photo.