Senior Jason Sibley-Liddle starts with an initial assessment of his clients and then puts them through a series of physical tests, such as having them run a mile and lift weights, to measure their abilities. He said being a personal trainer is a great experience for what he wants to do after college — own his own fitness center.

Sibley-Liddle, an exercise science major, is one of nine personal trainers at the Ithaca College Fitness Center and has been working there the past three years.

“It’s more about the experience,” he said. “It’s convenient because you are able to apply the skills from class right to what you are doing.”

Students at the college can acquire a trainer, such as Sibley-Liddle, for $85 for 10 sessions or $60 for 10 sessions for two people.

Meanwhile, at Island Health and Fitness, located on Taughannock Boulevard in Ithaca, members and nonmembers pay $50 to $65 per hour for personal training services including cardio equipment, weight-training equipment and exercise classes.

Scott Yaple, a personal trainer at Island Health and Fitness, who has worked as a trainer since 2000 and currently has 12 clients, said Island Health and Fitness is more expensive because the trainers are more experienced.

“We have experience in dealing with the public if someone is recovering from surgery, cardiac rehab or muscle imbalances,” he said.

Island Health and Fitness is in partnership with Cayuga Medical Center, so clients coming off an injury can use a transition program as part of their rehab.

Trainers at Island Health and Fitness are required to have a four-year bachelor’s degree and a certification in training from associations such as the National Strength and Conditioning Association, the American College of Sports Medicine or the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

Though trainers at the Fitness Center are not as experienced, they are still expected to be qualified.

Sarah Hawkins, the program coordinator at the college, said trainers must have appropriate class experience and can shadow others to become a personal trainer.

While many of the trainers at the college are health science majors, anyone can apply at the Fitness Center in order to become a trainer, Sibley-Liddle said.

Sibley-Liddle went through the certification process with the NSCA, which is not required by the Fitness Center.

He starts out training his clients according to their ability level and tailors the sessions toward their personal fitness goals.

As the sessions go on, he tracks their progress and adjusts the levels of difficulty based on the clients’ development.

“You have to be able to communicate effectively with people and read people to adjust their intensities,” Sibley-Liddle said. “I try to keep it new and exciting so they don’t get bored.”

Two of his clients, juniors Danielle Giserman and Emily Eastman, have been training with Sibley-Liddle for about a year. They said they have seen major improvements in their fitness abilities and strengths.

Eastman said she has noticed improvements in all aspects of her workout experience.

“You are more comfortable in the gym and know the proper and effective way to get the best workout,” she said. “You have a stronger core. We have increased our weights by 10 pounds since we started.”

Junior Willie Matthews is one of the newest additions to the personal training staff this year at the Fitness Center. The physical education major hopes to be a sport psychologist for the military after college. He said personal training has been an extension of what he has learned in his classes.

“It is a different dynamic to be one-on-one with your clientele,” Matthews said. “I like being able to teach someone and seeing them achieve their goals will be cool for me.”

Matthews’ client, senior Idan Bail, said he has already taken away positive fitness tips from his training sessions. Bail has been a facility monitor for the past two years at the Fitness Center and said he wanted to learn more about exercising for his own personal knowledge and habits.

“It has opened my eyes to how much I didn’t know,” he said. “[After the first session], through the week I was applying the breathing techniques I learned and was able to lift more weight.”

Matthews has developed a framework of what he wants each training session to look like. First he will start with a warm-up, followed by lifting, core training, running and ends with a cooldown.

Sophomore Willie Sleight, who spends six days a week working out at the Fitness Center, said he doesn’t use a personal trainer but thinks the student trainers do a good job despite having less experience. He said they can help people of all experience levels.

“They’re probably the most beneficial to people just starting out who have no idea what they’re doing,” Sleight said. “But I feel like they can help anyone ... if I were to ask them a question, nine times out of 10 they’d know the right answer or have some sort of answer for it.”

Matthews said he strives to give his clients the benefits of the gym that they may not have experienced alone.

“[The gym] can be an intimidating environment,” Matthews said. “Being able to teach people and having them know what they’re doing gives them confidence.”