Why is investing in a personal trainer a good investment?

Mario Campoamor, husband of Countess and creative director of the brand's men's line, is one of Madrid's most sought-after personal trainers. But first, let's find out how he got here.

One of the people responsible for Mario dedicating his life to sports is his grandfather, Ángel Campoamor, a lightweight boxer who debuted in Madrid in the 1930s. He had to put his professional career on hold due to the Civil War. Once the conflict ended, Ángel had to focus on work to support his family, but he never abandoned the athletic and fighting spirit he instilled in his children and later in his grandchildren. Following in his footsteps, and thanks to the unconditional support of his son, Mr. Gregorio, father of the protagonist of this post, Mario began training from a very young age in various disciplines: from soccer to cycling and, of course, boxing. In Mario's words: "my grandfather always spoke to me about boxing as a noble sport, practiced among gentlemen to fairly measure strengths from man to man. But also as a means of self-improvement and escapism in times that proved difficult to live through."

Graduated in Physical Education from the European University of Madrid, after finishing his studies and having worked at various private gyms in Madrid, Mario continued with specialized programs in Swedish gymnastics techniques. According to these techniques, all parts of the body can be trained with minimal equipment and machinery, a return to basics, a return to authenticity, a trend that prevails today and that he foresaw before it became fashionable, which is why we can assure that he is a true visionary.

Thus, with his grandfather's and father's philosophies ever-present, Mario has been working as a personal trainer in Madrid for over a decade. In the heart of the Barrio de Salamanca is Campoamor Sport Club, the space where he has attended and continues to attend countless clients with very different objectives but always with something in common: the need to improve. For this, he assures that complex machines are not needed, but rather a good coach who motivates you, accompanies you at all times, and pursues the same goal as you: your personal happiness. Something you do for yourself and only for yourself; the benefits are endless.

Mario, how should one choose a good personal trainer?

The first question you should ask is if they are a certified Physical Education graduate. Graduates have very comprehensive training for personal coaching and, especially, at a physiological, anatomical, medical, and muscular level… Now there is a lot of unauthorized practice from people who have trained a couple of friends and done a few weights. In the end, they can only train healthy people between 20 and 40 years old, without spinal, knee, or other problems…

And why invest in a personal trainer?

Investing in a personal trainer is a good option for a very simple reason: because you will achieve the goals for which you start exercising. Everyone has a different goal, such as getting strong, losing weight, reducing abdominal fat… The first should be health, but in the vain world we live in, the second goal is to look good and be attractive. A personal trainer will guide you to change your 'less good' habits for healthy ones and set specific training guidelines for your anatomy. This saves time and, in the end, believe it or not, money. Many people come to me frustrated from the gym because they haven't achieved anything or haven't gotten hooked on sports, and a personal trainer helps you exercise on your own, so you can go on vacation and go for a run or swim in the pool. That's a very important step forward.

And how do we define goals?

Goals, like everything in life, must be long-term. Anything express and quick in sports is not effective. It takes time for the benefits achieved to last, to stay in the body, and for you to be able to use them at any time in your life. There's no point in pushing someone hard for two months to run fast if they're then going to get injured, or get tired of running for the rest of their days… I prefer them to do it slowly, to see progress, to hold out longer each time, to lose weight, to improve their time… In sports, speed is not a good advisor. When a person comes, I usually try to bring them back to reality. Everyday people are not elite athletes; they cannot achieve certain things, and we should not force too much. We need to reach a point where the client and the trainer are comfortable with the goal they want to achieve.

Let's talk about diets…

Diets, detox juices… an excess of information. There has been a boom for almost ten years now about exercise, miracle diets, organic products, healthy living… For those of us who have been doing sports all our lives, this is just another trend. Trends are fleeting, and if they are not based on science and proven, they are worthless. If you want to go on a diet, the first thing to do is go to an endocrinologist, not even a nutritionist. It has to be a doctor. In good diets, you don't go hungry, you eat all kinds of food, and they don't involve any miracle shakes or future proteins. It's about eating what you burn. If you eat more than you burn, you gain weight; if you eat less than you burn, you lose weight. As for juices, it's the same; they've become very fashionable, but the downside isn't mentioned. All the juices we consume, even if they are made from fresh and natural fruit, contain sugar. Fruit has fructose, which is not bad sugar (like that in a pastry), but it is still sugar. If you overdo it with juices (2 or 3 juices a day), all you are giving your body is glucose. If you don't burn glucose, it turns into fat, which is another serious mistake. Some people then suffer a brutal rebound effect. Juices are a supplement. Chewed fruit is much better. What matters is what you can prove. If you want to know about fitness, you have to go to a specialized person. Advice from fashion magazines or trainers who sell invented systems is not valid. The effective way to lose weight is this, with professional guidance, don't let them tell you stories.

Alright, and now how do I choose the ideal gym?

If you've already chosen your trainer, you should demand that the gym is qualified and has a whole range of equipment available to you. But above all, it should provide the training to push you to 100%. The good thing about a trainer is that they will get everything out of you, and every day is different. You should demand that with the tools they provide, they help you reach your maximum performance.

So, how do we kick off "Operation Summer Return 2018"?

You should start very gently, with basic exercises, continuous running to work the heart, joints, and muscles, and to help them "de-rust". About 20-25 minutes is good, depending on each person's fitness level. Also work on abs and some upper body (shoulders, chest, back, biceps). With this, we get a small tune-up. All muscles must be worked equally so that the result is balanced, because if not done this way, muscle imbalances can lead to injuries. If you work your legs but not your upper body, you'll have back problems; if you only work your upper body, you'll have knee and hip problems. You have to start very slowly. I would recommend 3-4 days a week: about 20 minutes of continuous running or swimming, about 10 minutes of abs, and another 10-15 minutes of upper body.

Finally, what advice would you give on how to distribute weekly exercise?

For weekly training, I like to do almost everything every day. I like to mix up the exercises. You have to keep changing and varying to see what works well for your body. Everyone is different, but I would recommend 40-45% aerobic (which is the basis of any sport; the heart needs to be in shape), 20-25% strength training, and another 20-25% stretching, endurance, flexibility, proprioceptive exercises.

Well, now you know the best trainer in the Capital of the Kingdom. If you want to take the step you've been looking for, don't hesitate, call him. Mario is the personal trainer you're looking for; you won't regret it. And to get the jackets you've seen in this post, it's as easy as clicking here.