How the TPPP can help you

What is the Tufts Personalized Performance Program? I want to pack some pounds of beefy mass on my frame, and I hear that it can really help. I see the trainers walking around the gym in their stylish black shirts, tucked precisely into their dark-colored athletic pants, and I have to know: How can I get down with the TPPP trainers? -- Dennis Doyle in Lewis Hall

Well Dennis, the Tufts Personalized Performance Program is a program designed to improve the long-term health and fitness of members of the Tufts community. Through it, a participant learns how to adopt a healthier lifestyle based on his/her specific needs and goals. In order to get involved, just send an e-mail to kristina.maiello@tufts.edu expressing interest in the program. She will set you up with a trainer for five sessions at no expense to the student (that's right, FREE personal training!).

You, the student, can expect the following upon enrollment in the program:

First, you fill out a questionnaire via e-mail in which you answer basic questions concerning your lifestyle, your level or activity, your medical history, and the goals you want to accomplish through participation in the program. After submitting this, you are given a date and time (based on your availability as specified in the questionnaire) during which you meet with a trainer for an initial consultation.

The first session is pretty informal, and gives the trainer and client a chance to meet and get to know each other. The trainer goes over the online questionnaire with the client, making sure there were no mistakes, and elaborating on any points that need further explanation. After the initial interview, the trainer will test the client's flexibility and give him/her a postural assessment.

This initial meeting serves a few purposes--first, it enables the trainer to get a feel for the general fitness level of the client. Secondly, it lets the client meet the trainer, and get comfortable with him or her. Thirdly, it gives the trainer important insight into the client's physical background that will go into the program that he or she will be designing for the client in the future.

The second session consists of a short warm up, followed by implementation of a flexibility routine. Establishment of flexibility training early on allows the client to develop the proper habit of stretching before every workout. After stretching, the trainer allows the client to choose from a variety of fitness tests including the v-sit, vertical jump, standing broad jump, and the flexed arm hang.

These serve as a point of comparison in order to measure progress throughout the course of the client's training cycle. If the client has specific goals in mind, such as a faster mile, then it is during this session that the client records the initial mile time to compare to subsequent, progressive times.

The third, fourth and fifth sessions are workout sessions. The trainer takes the client through a workout designed specifically for him/her. These occur in the fitness center or in Gantcher, and are preceded by a ten-minute warm-up and stretching. After the fifth session, it's up to the trainer and the client whether or not to meet again.

Usually, the client will follow the prescribed program for a specified amount of time, and will then have another session (this time at the cost of $20) in order to check progress and possibly get another, more advanced program. If the student doesn't want to pay, then the client and trainer can agree to meet a few weeks after the fourth session instead of the fifth.

The program also has the ability to refer clients to different areas of the athletic department and health services, as well as the nutrition school (for help with designing a nutrition program). Therefore, if the client has any questions, concerns, or other areas of physical well being that he/she wants to focus on, the trainer has the resources to connect the client with the appropriate department.

That being said, if you still have questions, Dennis, feel free to approach any of the trainers in the gym (as long as they aren't working with a client) and ask as many questions as you would like.