Searching for the RIGHT kind of trainer is never easy. It is the measure of that person that you select that may ultimately determine what path your training takes and to what end you see results; whether physical, emotional, or spiritual.

Some trainers can say that they have forsaken Friends, Family, personal time, personal possessions, vacations, love, self happiness. These things, to many, tend to be the most important possessions of all.

The true essence of the business of personal training is (or should be) beyond just "losing weight" or "sculpting the body of your dreams", like your favorite infomercial promised. The ability to enact change and bring enhanced health, vitality, and emotional satiety within oneself is the greatest of achievements that a trainer can deliver. The greatest of trainers have given up anything and everything that is for themselves and have given 100% of their soul to the people that need them to be everything.

As a trainer, we try to give you our all! We help direct you to lead a healthier lifestyle. We try to do this without ever asking "what's in it for me?" Through our skills and abilities, we could help you to change your life and give you greater vitality; vitality that will give you years beyond an irresponsible handling of your health and wellness.

For some trainers who TRULY care about their own honor, name, and that of the business of personal fitness, we realize that it is the client that makes us who we are. It is the client that defines us as what it is that we truly are: A coach, A mentor, A trainer, A motivator, A Friend. Without asking for anything in return, you trainer should be giving that to you.

When you finally begin your quest to find that "Right" trainer, ask yourself if that trainer believes in you and that it is an honor that YOU have chosen THEM? Or, does your new trainer truly believe that it YOUR privilege to be trained by him and that YOU should feel that he (she) is the real reward'

Ask yourself:

Is my trainer passionate about me?
Have they given the fitness business and its people their all?
Have they sacrificed for their clients?
Will they sacrifice for me?
Will they give me 100% of themselves?
Can they give 100% of themselves?
Is the person to whom I will entrust my prized health and vitality a good and true person OUTSIDE of our training as well as in'
Are they a person of TRUE honor and integrity or are they the wolf in sheeps' clothing?
Will they give me the advice I need and do they themselves stand behind those suggestions behind closed and LOCKED doors?

So when you seek the guidance of a trainer or a professional to help you in your fitness endeavors, ask him or her to qualify themselves. Their passion for their work will ultimately reflect in you.

Phil Sottile

Phil Sottile, the director and owner of Intelligent Fitness/Athlete’s Edge, has 15 years of experience in the health club industry having pioneered two previous fitness companies (one taken to IPO) and owned his own fitness centers. Mr Sottile has certified, educated, and tested other fitness instructors as a contributing author to a fitness certification course, extensively lectured to students at Dowling and Nassau Community colleges, motivationally spoken to high school students, educated our seniors, has hosted his own broadcast of INTELLIGENT FITNESS on 105.3FM Radio, has appeared on NEWS12 LONG ISLAND as “Personal Trainer to Long Island’s Kids”, currently co-hosts THE INTELLIGENT WAY TO WELLNESS on CABLEVISION CH.20, sits on the Technical Advisory Committee to BOCES and WILSON Technological center, and has been reported on by several local magazines, newspapers, and bodybuilding periodicals.

Sottile is a staff writer for New York SportScene Magazine and is also a guest writer for Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness Magazine. He has had several works published on topics of Health and Fitness and is a seasoned writer of philosphy and human emotion in his forthcoming book, THE PATH OF THE LONELY ROAD.

Additionally, he is a drug-free bodybuilding competitor and annually promotes two popularly growing bodybuilding shows, The Natural Long Island Experience and All Natural Revolution. Sottile has a background in Corporate Finance and Marketing and holds several levels of certified distinctions from Health Fitness Instructor to Fitness Therapist from the most respected, nationally accredited Organizations, such as; The National Academy of Sports Medicine, The American College of Sports Medicine, The National Strength and Conditioning Association, The International Sports Sciences Association, and The American Association of Health, Fitness, and Rehabilitation Professionals. INTELLIGENT FITNESS currently owns a sports medicine clinic and oversess operates the fitness department to a large gym in Suffolk County, New York.