Her studio is CLEAN. After catching a staff infection at a local gym, it was refreshing to use Shawn's private facility, where everything (even the floor!) is wiped down with disinfectant wipes. This meant a lot to me.
Shawn always challenged me without overdoing it. I never experienced ANY personal injury or training setbacks from being pushed so hard that I damaged something. After checking out a number of other trainers first, I can tell you that an inexperienced one that is seeking a client roster like they are on the TV show Biggest Loser is NOT what you want. You want to be able to train at a good challenging pace on each visit without setbacks from pulling this or tearing that. Shawn was able to find a good edge for me personally that was challenging and aggressively catered to my personal needs, and she was able to keep me there on each visit. If I had more energy or strength on a given day, we could easily step up the aggressiveness, sets or reps to suit the need. She has a good barometer to tell when I was tired or fatigued - which is often due to my own ridiculous 3rd shift schedule. It became very clear after just a few visits that she possesses enough knowledge to challenge even the most seasoned triathlete to the point of tossing their cookies outside if she wanted to - pun intended. Most trainers take minimal courses - even just weekend ones (like some local gyms I won't mention) and then are even able to call themselves master trainers. Shawn IS a master trainer -- with volumes of experience, and the knowledge to back it up. She regularly competes and wins local races, regularly placing outside of her own age bracket, and even out-pacing people ten and twenty years younger.
She always monitored my personal progress with fat caliper measurements, scale weight, took notes on each exercise and weight & reps used, body mass index, and blood pressure when needed. A comprehensive and complete track record was always kept, and I can go back on my own and track all my progress.
Another big factor in a trainer... Shawn is ON TIME. EVERY time. In over four years with her, I never once had to hear an apology as to why she wasn't there. Many local trainers are not disciplined in this area. If anyone was late, it was me. And if I was, she would give me super sets to squeeze in the same bit of aggressive workout in the given time we had! LOL Ha!
If you wanna waste your time and hard-earned, go futz about with local wanna bees. If you want a REAL trainer, of which, there aren't so many around, enjoy a beautiful (but short) morning ride down into Trabuco Canyon, take in a bit of scenery and fresh air along the way, and get your day started right, with a FANTASTIC trainer, who knows how to care for you, and challenge you to your best potential at the same time.
If I had not faced personal financial challenges, I'd still be seeing Shawn regularly. If I won the Lotto, I'd be seeing Shawn five days a week.
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