Baur au Lac Fitness

1. What is your professional background?

I completed my studies as a movement trainer in Basel. After that I was trained as a personal trainer, body art teacher, pilates and yoga instructor .

2. What exactly is body art?

It is a mixture of yoga and pilates. You do a lot with active stretching, work with balance and a bit of Chinese medicine, more precisely Meridiane. The idea is to create a bit of a flow. It's a complete body workout.

3. How long have you been working as a personal trainer?

For 8 years. I started in Basel and moved to Zurich later.

4. How would you describe your style?

For me, pilates and yoga are the most fun. However I like mixing different sports – customizing the training plan, depending on what the client needs. It's a pity if you only use one style and always do the same thing. It's good to bring variety into the process.

For example, I always start with a warm-up. Depending on the level of cardio the client desires and their physical health, we either proceed with the warm-up on a treadmill or do a mobilisation exercise on a mat. Then I do all the strength workouts. At the end I finish with pilates or yoga for the stretching part.

For Pilates I use the mat training (which includes mat & towel). To make things more exciting I also use the pilates ring, ball and roller.

5. How do you create a training plan for a new client?

First, I do an introductory interview and complimentary training session to understand how they are performing physically and if they have any medical conditions, surgeries or allergies that I need to know about. Then I talk to them about what they do physically, what they have done so far and in what direction they want to go. And most importantly, what they enjoy doing. I get a sense of the direction they want to go and from there, we make a plan.

6. What should a training session include?

A training session should include a warm-up, strength exercises (using weights of at least 1-2 kg), balance exercises and stretching. Active stretching is a great way to unwind.

7. How often do you switch exercises in a training plan?

I make sure that we do exercises in the same direction for at least 1-2 months. That way, we build up the basic muscles. When I notice that the exercises are getting easier, I adjust them so that everything gets one level more challenging.

8. How long should a session last for it to be effective? How many sessions should you do in a week for the training plan to be effective?

A one-hour session is more effective because we can fit everything in, including warm-up and stretching.

In general, 2-3 times a week is effective for beginners so that we can build up a routine. However, if the person is active (they do a lot of extra activities like hiking, cycling, sports classes etc.), 1-2 times a week is already enough to complete the training routine.