PERSONAL HEALTH : If You Need Some Help Getting Motivated

Finding the perfect exercise teacher--now that you’ve resolved once more to shed some skin--is no small task.

Nationwide, about 125,000 aerobics instructors teach everything from low-impact and stretch-and-tone classes to the newer specialty step and funk classes.

You want a teacher well-trained enough to keep you off the injury list and savvy enough to keep you coming back.

How do you find the teacher who’s best for you?

* First check out the teacher’s training and certification. Four major organizations--and several smaller ones--now certify aerobics instructors. Some large health clubs train their own. Certification is voluntary and earned by about a third of teachers, estimates Peg Jordan, a spokeswoman for the Aerobics and Fitness Assn. of America and editor of a forthcoming textbook for fitness instructors.

Ask the health club manager or the teacher directly if an instructor is certified. Some organizations will verify certification by telephone (See box).

* Try several classes before settling on one class type or a specific teacher. While exercising, assess the class and the teacher’s expertise, suggests Susan Johnson, director of continuing education for the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research, Dallas.

Notice whether the teacher offers safety cues--caveats on specific exercises, for instance, to students with back problems.

And don’t neglect the fun factor. “Is the class enjoyable? If not, try a different instructor,” she says.

* If you’re participating in a specialty class such as step or funk, ask if the teacher has had special instruction, Jordan advises.

“Classes are getting complex,” she says. “We’re seeing more ‘funk’ damage--back problems and other injuries that occur from street moves that would be fine if executed on a wooden dance floor but not on a carpeted aerobics studio floor.”

In the quest for style, Jordan says, the teacher shouldn’t overlook safety: “A class is not meant to disable you.”

* Whatever the class type, the workout should have a definite structure: a warm-up that includes controlled movements plus some stretching, a cardiovascular interval if it is a cardiovascular conditioning class and a cool-down.

* Look for a teacher who keeps track of all the students, checking to see if their form is correct. A good teacher asks you to monitor your heart rate periodically, usually at the end of the cardiovascular conditioning portion and then again after the cool-down period. Teachers should explain ideal heart rate ranges to newcomers.

* A good teacher will demonstrate alternative ways to perform a routine--or remind you to rest during such movements as sit-ups if you need a break. Look for an instructor who isn’t in a hurry to leave class, but stays around to answer questions.

* Decide if your personality meshes with the teacher’s. Some die-hards might do best with a drill-sergeant style instructor, but most students are looking for a kinder, gentler motivator, says John Reitano, an exercise physiologist and health educator at FHP, a health maintenance organization in North Hollywood.

“The most important quality of an aerobics teacher is the capacity to empathize with people in the class,” says Reitano, who has also managed corporate aerobics programs. “A good instructor can pick out who’s hurting. You need to find a teacher who has given up the old ‘no pain, no gain’ motto and instead follows the concept of ‘train, don’t strain.’ ”

A teacher’s appearance should not necessarily be a deciding factor, adds Reitano. “Some of the best instructors I’ve seen wear sweats, not leotards,” he says. Not all of the best teachers are reed-thin or “hard-body” types, either, he adds.

* Reitano suggests looking for a program that operates on more than a physical level. “If the teacher’s language focuses only on physical appearance, that is not going to be a good (long-term) motivator,” he says.

People also exercise, he finds, for the health benefits and for what he calls the “self-nurturing” aspect, the satisfaction of being good to themselves. A good teacher will acknowledge this, he says, via the type of communication with students. A teacher who acknowledges the physical appearance benefit, he says, might comment that a student looks thinner or shapelier. But a teacher who acknowledges the self-nurturing benefit might comment that a student looks happy or radiant.

* Finding a good teacher does improve the chances of sticking with your workout, says Larry Gettman, an exercise physiologist at National Health Enhancement Systems in Phoenix who has researched exercise perseverance. “Logically, it makes sense that a good instructor will help with motivation and add to adherence,” he says.

When They’re Certifiable

Certification of aerobics instructors is voluntary, although some exercise experts are proposing mandatory certification. (In California, legislation to mandate a licensing system for fitness instructors has been proposed, but not passed.)

Here are four of the largest certification organizations. Each will verify certification of instructors by telephone.

* The American Council on Exercise, (800) 825-3636.

* The American College of Sports Medicine, (317) 637-9200.

* The Aerobics and Fitness Assn. of America, (800) 445-5950 extension 219.

* The Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research, Division of Continuing Education, (800) 635-7050.