Working with Athletes : Meet Personal Trainer Tim Gesualdi

Personal Trainers create training plans that are personalized to your specific fitness goals. When it comes to athletes, weight training and cross training can reduce your risk of injury, improve total fitness, and help you get the results you are looking for. A Personal Trainer can teach you the combination of exercises most advantageous for you to achieve those results. Today we’re interviewing Tim Gesualdi for our Meet the Personal Trainer series. Tim often works with young athletes looking for an extra edge in their sport.

QUESTION: Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you become interested in Personal Training?
What certifications do you have?

My name is Tim Gesualdi. I am currently the Sales and Personal Training Manager here at New Milford Fitness & Aquatics Club and am a certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). I was a college baseball player and became interested in personal training when my sports career was cut short due to multiple injuries. Because I love all things sports, I turned to the gym to stay in shape and realized I loved everything about working out and the environment that surrounds it. I decided I wanted to help athletes like myself to prepare them for the next level, while being able to help them prevent injury with correct form.

QUESTION: What type of baseline assessment do you use? What criteria do you use when creating an exercise program for a client?

I always start off with listening to what the client is specifically asking for out of their personal training experience. Some clients may be looking for weight loss while others will be looking to gain muscle mass and strength/speed and agility. I like to do a movement assessment for specific movements we will be doing with weights before actually introducing the weights to the exercise. This helps identify imbalances and anything we need to tweak in the client’s form to avoid injury and ensure we are working the muscle in the most optimal way. When the weights are introduced, different rep ranges, amount of sets, and
amount of weight will be used for clients looking to gain weight vs losing weight. It is important to
establish an idea of what a client’s limit is on these exercises so we can train at different percentages to achieve more reps with less weight or less reps with more weight.

QUESTION: What type of clients do you tend to work with?

I tend to work with younger athletes who are looking to gain strength and work on different skills within their sport, including speed and agility. As a former athlete, I know how important it is to have a workout plan that works toward your specific sport.

QUESTION: Strength training is one of your specialties. What are the benefits of this type of training?

There are many benefits when it comes to strength training besides the obvious fact that
it makes you stronger and helps build muscle. For one, strength training helps burn calories more
efficiently. Building muscle will help boost your metabolism. Strength training boosts your
metabolic rate up to 72 hours after your workout, meaning you are still burning calories even after
you had your workout session. Strength training can also help you prevent injuries at any age.
When we are increasing our strength, we are increasing joint range of motion, strengthening
tendons and ligaments, and even strengthening our bones. This can help aid in the prevention of
injuries during athletic activities, or even help prevent a significant injury from things such as
falling when we are older.

QUESTION: We know that sometimes injuries are unavoidable, but are there things people can do
for injury prevention in general?

Injuries can be unpredictable, especially if you are involved in sports. However, as a Personal Trainer, we can work with clients to help them avoid injuries by teaching them correct form on exercises that translate to movements we may make during practice and games. Correct form is so important when it comes to weight lifting. If your form is incorrect, you aren’t hitting the muscles you need to work in the most optimal way — and you may find yourself with an injury due to improper use. When it comes to the speed and agility aspect, it may be as simple as teaching good landing techniques for athletes that jump a lot or good balancing techniques for athletes who need to be quick on their feet trying to avoid a hit from someone else.

QUESTION: How do you keep your clients engaged and motivated?

I like to switch things up by introducing them to new exercises each time we meet. This helps prevent sessions from becoming too repetitive and keeps things fresh. As a former athlete, I know how important it is to try out new exercises, both ones that you enjoy and ones that really help push you to different limits.

QUESTION: What do you like most about being a Personal Trainer?

I enjoy the interactions that I have with my clients. I love being around people, especially people that share the same interests and goals as me. I also love the fact that I get to help those people achieve their fitness goals!