Alexander Training - personal training in Austin, Texas

Personal training in Austin, Texas and customized strength programs in Austin, Texas.

Kathryn Alexander

Managing Client Expectations

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I recently contributed to a piece published on BecomeaPersonalTrainer.org called “40 Personal Trainers Reveal How to Manage Client Expectations.” 

The article contains a wealth of insight from many trainers and is a great read for both clients and trainers alike.

As a personal trainer, managing client expectations is key to setting them up for happiness and success.

You can read the whole article here. Spoiler alert! My advice is to encourage people to understand that the way to make a long-standing change, which is what people are truly seeking, is to make permanent changes rather than seeking a quick fix. 

Become a personal trainer.org

You’ll Be Proud With Progress

You might have a goal to gain 40 pounds of strength on your bench press, or to lose 30 pounds of fat. Both of these will require consistent work over a period of time, and you’ll be so proud and happy once you get there! 

Remember though, that you’ll be proud of yourself along the way. When you’ve worked hard and earned a 30 pound increase on your bench press, you’ll be happy! When you’re exercises and make good food choices, you’ll feel great when you’ve lost 10 pounds, and are on your way to losing 30. 

The bottom line that I want you to remember is that this is a process that requires consistency. You can do it!! You’ll be happy along the way!

Happiness, peace and personal pride are not reserved only for the end of the journey! 

Finding a Personal Trainer to Help on Your Journey

Are you looking for a personal trainer to help on your fitness and health journey? If so, I’d be honored to help you get started, or continue on toward your goals. You can find info about working 1:1 with me in person here, or online here. Please email me if you have questions or would like to do a consult. kathryn@kathrynalexander.com

Happy training! 

Related: What exercises are best for HIIT?

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Pushups on Vacation: A Success Story from the Beach

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Pushups on the beach: a happy client of Kathryn Alexander (Alexander Training) shares her picture from vacation.
Pushups on the beach: a happy client of Kathryn Alexander (Alexander Training) shares her picture from vacation.

Pushups on Vacation

This is a throwback text to one of my favorite client texts ever. Her goal with working with me was to improve strength and performance on a few specific tests, pushups included.

In the process, she found she was a good lifter, and good at pushups, and even enjoyed doing pushups on vacation!

Want To Improve Your Pushups?

This blog post details how to practice pushups and pushup negatives to get your first pushup, or get comfortable enough with them to be able to do more.

Check out The Home Team, my monthly workout that is created specifically for home exercisers. It utilizes a few dumbbells, a band, and yes, pushups! Follow that link to get your first week free.

How to Choose the Right Training Program For You

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Guillermo Gets Deadlift PR!

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You might remember a client spotlight of Guillermo, an online training client of mine. Guillermo is a fantastic client; he is a great person, super interesting, and hard working. He was one of my earliest fully online personal training clients, and he knocked it out of the park. Here’s a quick update on his progress.

Guillermo Gets a Deadlift PR at the Hyde Park Gym Push/Pull

Guillermo set a goal, put in the work, the rest, and kept at it patiently. It paid off when he reached his personal record.

Guillermo hits a deadlift PR; happy client success story! Alexander Training
Guillermo hits a deadlift PR; happy client success story! Alexander Training
Guillermo hits a deadlift PR; happy client success story! Alexander Training

Online Training Success

I’ve said it before: Guillermo was fantastic at working hard and lifting strong. I am really happy with his success and appreciate his willingness to let me share it with you. If you are ready to get started, I’d be honored to help you make a plan! Message me here if you’d like to do free consult.

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Emily’s Testimonial & Repping Pull-ups!

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Emily shares her testimonial of training with Kathryn Alexander, and of doing pull-ups before her wedding.

Emily is a smart, funny woman. A dream client, really. She showed up on time, worked hard on short and long term goals, and her sense of humor made me laugh every session. Let me share Emily’s testimonial with you.

Emily began training with me in July 2015. She was already beautiful and fit, but wanted to start being more active, both for her upcoming wedding, and to be healthy in general. The pull up goal, though… that might have been my favorite.

Emily wanted to learn how to lift, but didn’t consider herself a gym person. (Yet.) She wanted to learn the right way, and that served her well.

Emily’s Words

Before last summer I hated gyms. I always felt intimidated when I would go because I did not know how to use the machines or weight lifting equipment. I needed someone to push me, hold me accountable AND I wanted to learn how to properly use gym equipment.

I wanted to be stronger and healthier. I wanted to not be scared to go to the gym by myself. Oh, and I wanted to be able to do a pull up.

I am really surprised that I liked squats so much. I mean I actually enjoyed working out! I didn’t enjoy pull-ups much, but it felt so great when I was able to do several of them in a row. The results I saw in the mirror were also quite nice. Having friends and family notice my muscles was very flattering.

Gyms aren’t scary (though I always knew that). I feel totally comfortable being the only female in the free weight section of the gym now.

See Emily’s whole story here: Emily does pull ups before the wedding!!

Start Your Strength and Health Journey Today

If Emily’s story inspired you, let’s get you started too! Leave me a message on this page, and we’ll make you a plan to get on the path of health, strength, and maybe pull-ups too!

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Success Story from Happy Client

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This success story is from a client who is one of the most darling people I’ve had the privilege to know. She one-in-a-million cute, sweet, and has the greatest sense of style. I loved working with her. She said something that made me so happy in a “catch up with you” type email after we finished our training sessions.

Weight Lifter for Life

“I am a weight lifter for life.”

Makes me so happy I can’t even tell you! I am proud of her for all her hard work, and for enjoying her success!

Success story for client of Alexander Training
success story, happy client of Kathryn Alexander, Alexander Training

Start Your Own Success Story

Are you ready to begin your own success story? I’d love to talk about your goals and help you succeed! Click here and leave me a message to schedule a free consult.

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Nadia Completes the Hotter’N Hell Hundred

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I am so proud of my client Nadia, and I have to share her story of the lead up to the Hotter’N Hell Hundred. Nadia is a very multi-faceted person and she is deeply interested in many things. She’s traveled more extensively than anyone else I know, she is an extremely talented crafter, and she is a dedicated cyclist.

We created a program for her to complement all the other activities going on in her busy life, and she executed like a pro.

Details of Nadia’s Online Personal Training

We chose to do online personal training for Nadia because she has the discipline and background in exercise. She didn’t need me to be there during her sessions, but she wanted me to plan them. Oh, and she lives out of town.

We chose some heavy-hitters for Nadia: sessions that were hard, fairly quick, and hit the high points. She didn’t need extra conditioning because she does that with her cycling training. She’s also busy, as mentioned before, and didn’t want to spend hours in the gym.

In fact, she didn’t spend any time in the gym. She trained with dumbbells, bands and bodyweight at her home.

Read below for her account of how training went.

Nadia, client of Alexander Training, completes the Hotter'N Hell Hundred
Nadia, client of Alexander Training, completes the Hotter’N Hell Hundred

Nadia’s Testimonial

I was on the verge of giving up.  After a few years of on-and-off workouts, Kathryn set me up with a fast, effective way to jumpstart my exercise routine.  I wasn’t sure how a few exercises and minimal diet restrictions would work, but it proved to be the best option for me.  She listened to my concerns and helped me develop a workout that I could fit into my schedule.  Her encouraging words and positive attitude are exactly what I needed in order to keep going.

Today, I’m in the best shape of my life and I attribute it to the exercise plan she developed for me.  Thank you, Kathryn.

Nadia McInnis, Wife, Mom, Community Volunteer

Try Online Personal Training for Your Busy Schedule

Learn more about online personal training here, and if you are interested, send me a message. We’ll plan a free consult and see if we are a good fit to work on your goals.

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Abby is Stronger!

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Abby was not a beginner when we began working together. She has historically been active, both in resistance training and cardio. She was looking to make a push through a plateau and get stronger, and that is exactly what she did!

Abby is a fantastically fun person, both when exercising and not. She has a great attitude, and employed that through lifting dumbbells, pulling sleds, and generally working hard.

Read below to hear the story about her journey to get fitter and stronger.

Abby pulls the sled while training with Kathryn at Alexander Training.
Abby pulls the sled while training with Kathryn at Alexander Training.

“I Can Already See Changes in My Body”

I started working with Kathryn to help me take my workouts to the next level.  I am new to weight lifting and after seeing some good initial results, I entered into the dreaded plateau stage.  Enter Kathryn!  She helped design workouts for me that were specifically tailored to my abilities.  

Already in just a few weeks I am stronger and can already see changes in my body.  Best of all, Kathryn gave me the confidence to know that I was performing exercises correctly and could continue gaining strength without getting injured.  Kathryn is extremely encouraging and experienced.  If you are a beginner, or even a seasoned weight lifter, I strongly recommend Kathryn to help you reach your goals.

Your Turn to Get Stronger

Sometimes you just need an outside perspective or a new training plan to bust through your plateau and get stronger. I’d love to help you with that! Please feel free to message me here to talk about how we can take your training to the next level!

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Veronica’s Testimonial

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My client Veronica sent me the best testimonial and I have to share. She has done a great job of sticking to her exercise plan, both with me in the gym, and at home doing online personal training.

She has seen health improvements, and boy is she getting strong! I am all around happy for her.

Testimonial from client Veronica who got strong and healthy with online personal training from Alexander Training.
Testimonial from client Veronica who got strong and healthy with online personal training from Alexander Training.

Veronica’s Testimonial

First let me say that Kathryn is an awesome personal trainer. It is September 2015 and I have been remotely training with Kathryn for about 3 months now. I was in two really bad car accidents years ago and ever since I was not able to exercise without injuring myself again. I would always give up due to the pain. I have many other health conditions that make it very difficult for me to lose weight. I have been the exact same weight for the past 4 years. I have not gone over or under a pound, but somehow managed to maintain that weight. After my doctor told me that I would have to get on diabetic medication if I did not do something to move my weight down, I decided to look for a well educated personal trainer. I looked and did some research for about 2 months until I found Kathryn. I wanted to make sure I had someone that really knew their stuff. Well, I really hit the jackpot with Kathryn. She is amazing at what she does. I did not think I would be able to do much, but Kathryn created a tailored exercise and food program for me to follow. I have been following her recommendations and have lost 13 pounds. Thirteen pounds is a lot of weight to lose in 3 months especially for someone who has hypothyroidism and other health conditions that make it really hard for me to lose weight. My doctor cannot believe that the weight is coming off the way it is due to my health conditions.

My doctor is super excited for me. I owe a lot of that to Kathryn. her remote program is so easy to follow as she literally writes everything you need in a nicely structured sheet and emails it to you. She also includes videos that demonstrate exercises that you may not be familiar with. Her workouts are challenging but I have not injured myself once with her plan because she has taken all my health/injuries into account and made me my own program. I love her program so much that I have decided to start training with her once a week in person since I live in Austin. The cool thing about Kathryn’s remote program is that you do not have to live in Austin. She will email you everything you need and she always makes sure to check up on you weekly to see how you are doing and how the program is going for you. Again, I highly recommend giving Kathryn’s specifically tailored for you remote program a try. You will be very glad you did.

Veronica Cantu

Write Your Story

Kathryn again here. I encourage you to write a new chapter in your story, beginning with a new training program. It can make you so much healthier that your doctor notices, like Veronica’s. The best part is it can make you feel so much better. I’d love to help you on your journey. Email me, or send me a message here for a free consult about making a plan for you.

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Tara’s Lifts and Does Triathlons

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Tara was a wonderful client of mine, who worked so hard, both at her home and at the gym. She was busy, like many of us are. However, what she did so well was continue to prioritize her health and fitness with both strength and conditioning training. I am grateful to have worked with her! Read about our training together in her words, below.

Tara’s Story

I have been working with Kathryn for about 18 months.  In that time, she has educated me on the importance of building muscle strength in relation to my overall health and also direct improvement in other parts of my exercise routines.  I have always been a “cardio first” type of person and now that I have the knowledge from Kathryn, I realize that putting weights first on certain days will do nothing but help me in the long run! She keeps it fun and I always look forward to our sessions.

Tara Kalsu, mother, recreational triathlete

Can I Help With Your Success Story?

I’d be honored! Message me on the page, and let’s talk about your goals!

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Amanda Prioritizes Her Health

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Amanda’s success story is fantastic: she was in a great position to put her health as a priority, since she was newly pregnant with her first child. She worked hard, worked smart, and had a great payoff a few months later! 🙂

Amanda’s Story

I started working with Kathryn when I was pregnant with my first baby.  She tailored workouts for me that were challenging, while keeping the interest of me and my baby in mind.  I attribute my work with her as a very important factor in the healthy delivery of my baby girl, and working with her afterwards helped me shed baby weight.  Kathryn put a lot of thought into designing a program specifically for me and took a personal interest in my health and success.  Even though I live in a different city now, we keep in touch and I am still able to utilize the workouts she provided.

Amanda MacLennan, attorney

Can I Help With Your Success Story?

I’d be honored! Message me on the page, and let’s talk about your goals!

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Chris’s Success Story of Weight Loss

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Chris is one of the most smart and kind people I have ever worked with. He just needed a direction, and he put his head down and worked toward it. He achieved great success, and I am very happy for him! Read below for Chris’s success story.

50 Pounds Lost

I am 50 years old and had not exercised in years.  Kathryn worked with me to develop a personal training regimen that I could do and then built on it as I increased in endurance, strength, and  flexibility.   Kathryn’s positive attitude and encouragement helped me stay with her program and resulted in my loss of over 50 pounds and 6 inches off my waist in 4 months.  She has provided me with a program I can do on my own, but even though I only see her now for maintenance, she checks in regularly to see how I am doing and is always available to respond to my questions.

Chris Harrigan, attorney

Can I Help With Your Success Story?

I’d be honored! Message me on the page, and let’s talk about your goals!

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Brenda’s Success Story

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I was lucky enough to meet Brenda very early in my personal training in Austin, Texas. She worked very consistently, and very steadily, and saw the health and lifestyle benefits. I am so proud of her! She earned her success story!

In Brenda’s Words

I have been training with Kathryn since 2011, and I have been beyond pleased with her knowledge, guidance, and understanding. I was in terrible physical condition when I started working out, and I have had great results.  I have developed strength and endurance and have lost weight.  I am in so much better condition now and just feel so much better physically.  The personal training has greatly improved the quality of my life. Most importantly, my doctor has been impressed with the steady improvements in the state of my overall health.

I started working out once a week with Kathryn.  I retired from my job about three months after I started training with her and was able to increase my workouts to twice a week after my retirement. However, it doesn’t matter how often you are able to workout initially.  The important thing is just to get started. I consider my working out with Kathryn an absolute must in my life.  I have recommended her to numerous people–friends and strangers; young and seniors and in-betweens; men and women.  If you are looking for a trained, experienced, smart, and charming personal trainer, I highly recommend Kathryn.  I promise you will be happy with your choice.

Brenda Caldwell

Can I Help With Your Success Story?

I’d be honored! Message me on the page, and let’s talk about your goals!

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Should I Use Weight Lifting Gloves?

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You can be a lifter and have pretty hands and a pretty posterior. Sure, you’ve got to do work with your hands in the gym, but it doesn’t mean they have to get torn to shreds. That’s a common misconception.

Often I hear women say they don’t want to get calluses, and this is usually expressed before they’ve even develop calluses or curves. Talk about putting the cart before the horse.

I don’t mean to be insensitive; I hear you! Feminine, well kept hands are important to many women. I just want you to give it a try first and see that massive rough calluses don’t develop overnight.

The Case Against Gloves

What’s so bad about gloves, you ask? They make it a little tougher to grip the bar, because they make the diameter of what you have to grip larger. They slide. They are another thing you have to drag around. They get sweaty, smelly and their annoying Velcro strips grab everything in your gym bag.

Ditch the Gloves

So what’s a girl to do? I suggest you forgo the gloves. If you truly want to use them, you can, absolutely. Give it a shot without them first, though. Your grip will get stronger, which is always a good thing. Initial discomfort of grip intensive exercises will dissipate.

Your calluses will protect you, remember. You earned them.

Grip Strength is Always Beneficial

When in life would it benefit you to have softer hands or a weaker grip? I can think of no situation in which that is beneficial. Even if you do minimal work with your hands – no, especially if you do minimal work with your hands – that one time you find yourself really in a bind, you’ll wish you hand a stronger and tougher grip!

Are you shopping for someone? If so, instead of gloves, check out this guide: gifts for powerlifters.

Weight Lifting Calluses

Maintained calluses don’t scratch, rough you up, or tear. Those pictures you see online of people bragging about their bloody hands are usually from exercises like kipping pull-ups, in which the exerciser continued to lift despite signs that their hands were going to be damaged. Ripped, bloody hands are not the result of one or two extra reps; these are situations where the exerciser could have chosen plenty of times to stop. Perhaps they were in competition, perhaps they doggedly went after a goal number of reps, but regardless, it was their choice to continue.  

Callus prevention and smart training choices

When you are doing your own workout in the gym, and your hands have had enough for the day, you can choose to do a different exercise. In fact, I highly suggest that. It won’t help you to be out for days while your torn-up hands heal, so choose your exercises intelligently and be able to work out tomorrow.

So yeah, you will develop tougher hands. While you probably won’t develop giant calluses that rip and bleed, you might have a broken nail every once in a while. That happens anyway. If you ever feel like your hands are a little worse for the wear for your time in the gym, well you might be right.

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

What Made Me Fall in Love With Fitness… and Why Everybody Belongs in the Gym

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I grew up in a pretty sleepy small town that didn’t have a whole lot of fun activities to offer kids. It was beautiful, though, and quiet and spacious. My parents gave me the best gift in the whole world, which was a house on land with a barn and horse in the back yard. 

Kathryn riding a horse at the barn circa 1991
Little me taking riding lessons. Yep, it’s a picture of a picture because, 1991.

I spent a lot of time outside, and remember watching my dad play around with some old weights. They were old Sears weights, my mom tells me, and they belonged to her brother when he was growing up. My dad would use this old barbell and curl them, and occasionally press them on a bench he had made.

Dad and Maverick
My dad and Maverick playing in the backyard. They were big buds and had so much fun.

Somewhere along the way, I got the itch for lifting, and asked to go to the gym. I wasn’t allowed until I was 12, which was the minimum age at the only gym in town. But when I turned 12, my parents bought me a membership, and I tagged along with my big sister. From then through the end of high school, I ended up just kind of being a gym rat, soaking up the experience and knowledge people had earned along their fitness journeys. I asked a million questions and received an outpouring of genuine advice in return. 

I Fall in Love With Fitness

This was my first experience with the amazing supportive environment that gyms produce. It breaks my heart when people think gyms are full of critical, judgmental beautiful snobs, because the truth is that the core members of a gym usually provide the best support a person could imagine. I LOVE the support groups gyms provide.  People truly would be so pleasantly surprised to realize what a great environment gyms make for personal and physical growth. 

Anyway, here I am. Many the best times of my life and many wonderful relationships have formed in a gym.

I encourage you to try joining a gym. If you can, find a neighborhood gym, or at least one that is not a huge chain.  You’ll find the regulars to be hard working people who understand that everybody has to put his or her time in. Truly, try it!  It’ll be more rewarding than you can imagine!

I’d love to help you fall in love with fitness and a gym too! Please message me if you have any questions, qualms, or are trying to get started. kathryn@kathrynalexander.com

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.