After spending 10 years as a personal trainer, the most common complaint I heard from my clients was that they had no idea how to start working out. Most people think dropping weight and getting fit only requires willpower. Determination is a big part of it, but sustainable weight loss is more complicated than it seems.

If you’ve been active your entire life, fitness comes second nature. You already know what exercises work for your goals. Instead, put yourself in the shoes of someone just starting their journey. All the diet hacks, equipment options, and “do this, not that” videos from influencers can leave them more confused than before.

A personal trainer can recommend targeted exercises and hold them accountable until they reach their goal weight. However, maintaining body composition requires deeper insights than the average trainer can provide.

When you hear the term “personalized fitness”, you may think it just means a list of custom exercises to sculpt your ideal body. But we actually use advanced screenings to optimize every aspect of your wellness, including your body composition.

How Rise Customizes Your Fitness

Whether you’re starting from scratch or hitting the gym regularly, there’s always room for smarter fitness strategies. By documenting your unique health goals and accurately measuring the factors influencing your build, we can circumvent your fitness barriers with tactics that accommodate your inner workings.

Comprehensive Health Evaluation

A holistic view of your overall health is the foundation for any successful long-term fitness plan. The in-depth consultations we take each patient through cover important ground like medical and family history, nutrient intake, energy output, and preexisting conditions.

Let’s put this into a scenario I see often at Rise. A member wants to lose 20 lbs of fat and increase lean muscle. They’re exercising often and feeling stronger, but the numbers on the scale won’t budge.

Through the intake questionnaire, we can see not only exercise frequency but the types of exercise they’re doing. If the member reports strength training five times a week but only trains zone 2 and HIIT cardio once a week, I can infer that their current regimen emphasizes bulking over fat loss — producing underwhelming results.

This also helps us prioritize goals with our members. If I know fat loss is more important to this specific member, I can build their fitness plan around tactics that deliver results faster. Once the member hits their targeted fat percentage, the focus can shift to toning muscles.

Individualized Screenings

Think of the comprehensive evaluations and screenings as a cause-and-effect exercise. By understanding “what” you’re feeling, we can execute a screening process that addresses the “why.”

Before starting a fitness program, it’s crucial to understand how your body works. With the groundwork laid from the consultation, the Rise team can dig deeper to see why your body responds the way it does and understand what it needs to reach your goals.

• DEXA Body Composition Analysis: A quick, non-invasive DEXA scan accurately measures your body’s unique makeup. The results will show us where you currently stand with your muscle mass, fat distribution, and bone density. With this information, we can create exercise routines targeting the right muscle groups and metabolic processes involved with your goals.

• Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) Testing: Your resting metabolic rate measures how many calories you burn while you’re at rest, indicating how your body uses energy. This not only tells us how much you need to eat but also how many calories you need to burn through exercise to reach your target weight. With the customized nutrition and workout plans we build through RMR testing insights, we can ensure you’re eating enough to balance your metabolism and drive energy output.

• VO2 Max Testing: A VO2 Max testing measures how efficiently your body uses oxygen during exercise. We use this data to customize your aerobic training zones and improve cardiovascular health. By personalizing your exercises to your aerobic fitness, we can increase your endurance gradually and help you regain your stamina.

• Premium Lab Panels: Our Premium Lab Panels provide an end-to-end look at your internal health. By analyzing your blood work, we can assess key biomarkers and strategize how to fill nutritional, hormonal, or inflammatory gaps. If we need to adjust your diet or consider supplements, our lab panels will show us exactly what you need for a manageable fitness plan.

• Hormonal Evaluation: Hormones play a crucial role in your body composition and energy usage. Imbalances in cortisol, insulin, and thyroid hormones can sabotage your fitness efforts, making it harder to lose weight and gain muscle. Through evaluations and targeted treatments, we can identify your hormone imbalances and optimize your body’s ability to respond to exercise and recover.

• Orthopedic Evaluations: An orthopedic injury can impact your exercise ability and quality of life. Whether you have one or not, we need to make sure you can work out comfortably and safely. We evaluate your joint and bone health to guarantee your exercises are effective and align with your physical capabilities.

Fitness In Action

With your unique data in hand, our team of sports medicine experts craft workout routines that fine-tune your metabolic processes and engage targeted muscle groups. However, achieving your desired body extends beyond the gym.

You’ve heard all about movie stars, influencers, and pro athletes with their all-access passes to fitness plans, personal trainers, and advanced testing. Rise connects you with all these things, plus more amenities geared toward long-term fitness.

• Rise Complete Supplements: Our science-backed supplements are designed to fill nutritional gaps, enhance muscle recovery, and help you reach your wellness goals faster. Depending on your membership track, your Rise specialist will recommend a supplement option that aligns with your ongoing needs. This removes the trial and error of starting a new supplement routine — delivering results you can see and feel faster.

• Meal Prep: Nutrition makes a difference in a successful fitness routine, and we’re here to ensure you don’t offset your hard work in the gym with sneakily unhealthy foods. Making the right dietary choices is easier when meals are prepared for you. With our meal prep services, each plate is customized to your calorie requirements determined by your resting metabolic rate test, helping you stay on track with portion sizes and macro goals without the hassle of planning and cooking everything yourself.

• Fitness App: We provide a fitness app with every membership track featuring daily guided workouts. These workouts are personalized to your fitness plan to keep you consistent and accountable, whether you’re at the gym or exercising at home. With video demonstrations, progress tracking, and push notifications, the Rise Fitness app makes it easy to integrate exercise into your daily routine and achieve steady, measurable progress over time.

See What a Smarter Fitness Plan Can Do For You

I've spent a decade helping people navigate the complexities of fitness, and one thing is clear: no two bodies are the same. Generic advice and “gymtimidation” don’t work; tailored guidance and science-backed resources produce the most effective, sustainable results. Rise’s ethos of proactive healthcare revolves around providing everyone with tools that work for them.

From advanced screenings to personalized strategies, we ensure that every step taken leads to a stronger, healthier you.

The hardest part of any fitness journey is starting. But with the right support, it can also be the most exciting part. With Rise, you don’t have to figure everything out yourself — you’ve got a team of fitness experts who want to see you thrive in your corner.

Another secret I’ll let you in on: there is no perfect time to start. If you know you could be healthier, you’re already in the right mindset. All you need is a little push. Book your consultation today, and let’s build your perfect fitness plan together.