Starting Your Fitness Journey (The Beginner’s Guide) - Interview with Isaac at NTX Strength & Conditioning in DFW Texas

In this interview series, we sat down with personal trainer Isaac Fakasiieiki from NTX Strength & Conditioning, a private gym setting in Arlington, Texas, to discuss the foundation of lasting fitness. With over a decade of experience helping clients achieve and maintain their health goals, Isaac specializes in sustainable weight loss, strength and conditioning, and helping absolute beginners find confidence in the gym. If you’re tired of the cycle of losing and regaining weight, or if you’re feeling intimidated about getting started with a personal trainer, this interview is for you.

Interview Series  – Part 2

Starting Your Fitness Journey (The Beginner’s Guide)

Q: The idea of starting exercise or going to a gym is often intimidating, especially for absolute beginners or those who have put their exercise routine on hold for a long time. How do you help clients ease into training?

Isaac: If you haven’t done personal training before or you are feeling out of shape, we understand that a gym can be an intimidating place. Everyone at NTX–whether it’s the co-owners or any of the other expert trainers on our small, experienced team—we each do our best to make the space here comfortable. We aim to provide our clients with a personal training experience where it is easy to get started, no matter what level you’re at.

Part of what makes this a welcoming space is that we operate an appointment-only gym setting, which means that you’ll be working individually with your trainer. This helps you avoid the noise of the general workout crowds that you might expect at other places that don’t operate by appointment like we do. In other words, we’re fully set up to provide a comfortable, approachable, personalized experience for each client during their personal training session, all without unnecessary public amenities or distractions.

So the gym setup is one thing, and then there’s the way we train our clients. Typically, with new clients who have had little to no training, we’ll start by teaching them how to work out: the technique and the proper form for everything. We start with a very light workout, doing very easy reps. Often, our clients are going to be using the same personal training routine for a long time, because we have to build up the nervous system and the muscular system to be able to handle lifting any kind of heavier weight.

Q: What are the foundational movements you teach all beginners in a personal training session?

Isaac: The main movements are things like squats, deadlifts, push-ups, and pull-ups or a variation of those things, and we explain everything you’ll be doing and how to do it. These basic exercises are important because they are what you’re going to be doing on a day-to-day basis: pulling things, pushing things, picking things up, squatting down, walking upstairs. For normal functional activities and movements, we have to make sure you’re doing them right so that you can do them for a long time throughout your entire life, things like carrying heavy groceries.

Q: What would an absolute beginner expect during their first few sessions with a personal trainer?

Isaac: What they’ll expect is a lot of talking, because we have to explain everything. Initially, it’s explaining how the body works, why we’re doing what we’re doing, so they can understand and be able to do it on their own. If I’m doing my job as a personal trainer, then you won’t need me for the rest of your life. I work with a variety of clients–both men and women–who started as complete beginners, and now they’re much more experienced and confident in their fitness routine. Many people do choose to stay with me because they like the accountability and the guidance. With that one-on-one guidance, clients don’t have to think while they’re working out; they just do what they need to do and then go about their day. 

Q: For a first-time client at NTX Strength & Conditioning, how does the initial personal training consultation work?

Isaac: The consultation is an hour, roughly, and all we’re doing in that session is going over a lot of different personal training movements just to see what you can and can’t do. We check to see if you have tightness in your hips, if your knee is hurting when you do a squat, or if your back hurts when you do a deadlift (a deadlift with just a few pounds, not maxed out). We explain all these movements.

If you struggle to pick things up off the ground, we teach you how to do all these things so that you can perform all this on your own without risking injury. Sometimes people are worried about how it will feel when you’re first starting off with personal training. Here, you’re not going to be super sore or hurting after your first sessions. Our gym and training approach is not like a sink-or-swim boot camp where you’re just thrown into the fire. We design the training sessions for your abilities and needs.

Q: What is your final advice for someone who is looking for a fitness coach but is on the fence about starting personal training?

Isaac: I always tell people, just come in. We are not for everybody, and I may not be the personal trainer for you, but it’s good to just talk and see what you can do here in the gym. If you don’t like it or want to go somewhere else, that’s totally fine. But if you’re on the fence about it, the first action is just to do something. If you want to be fit and healthy, you can’t sit at home and not do anything. Just check it out. All of the trainers here at NTX really want to see the change in people. We want people to focus on not just looking good, but feeling good, and living a good life.

Check out a related interview in this fitness blog series: Part 1: Why People Start Personal Training and Focusing on Health

Note: This interview series has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Ready to take your first step toward your fitness goals?

NTX Strength & Conditioning is a conveniently located private gym setting in Arlington, Texas, perfect for individuals across the wider DFW area–just a short drive from cities like Colleyville, Bedford, Irving, and more.

To set up a personal training session that meets your needs, reach out to Isaac Fakasiieiki to schedule your initial consultation and start your journey toward lasting fitness results.