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PERSEVERA Basics
Q: How do I request an introductory consultation and training session?
A: We encourage all prospective clients to request an introductory consultation and training session to experience Persevera firsthand. Please email us or complete and submit our online form to request an intro.
Q: How long does an introductory consultation and training session last and how much does it cost?
A: An introductory consultation and training session lasts 45 minutes to an hour and is offered at a price of $100, due at the time of the appointment in cash or check payable to Jim Clarry.
Q: Are there any age restrictions?
A: You must be 18 years of age or older in order to train with us. People who are under the age of 18 must have permission from a parent or legal guardian who is 18 years of age or older in order to train with us. As more fully outlined in our Privacy Policy, this website is not directed at or intended for use by individuals under the age of 13.
Q: How much attention will I receive?
A: The vast majority of our sessions are performed on a private, one-on-one basis.
Q: Are there any initiation or membership fees?
A: No, there are no initiation or membership fees at Persevera.
Q: What are the training session fees?
A: Training session fees vary by trainer, and range from $85 to $150 per session. All fees are subject to change. Your trainer will be pleased to provide you with all fee information during your introductory consultation and training session.
Q: How am I billed?
A: Fees are due at the time of an appointment and may be made in cash or check payable to Jim Clarry.
Q: What are Persevera's hours?
Training sessions are conducted on an appointment-only basis throughout the week. Please email us for more information or to discuss your scheduling requirements with your trainer.
Q: Where is Persevera located?
A: Select Contact on our website’s navigation bar to view our location.
Q: How long do training sessions last?
A: In-studio and remote training sessions typically last 30 minutes each. Sessions begin promptly at the designated time.
Q: What is Persevera’s code of conduct?
A: We strive to create a welcoming and comfortable environment for all of our members. We therefore kindly ask that you adhere to your trainer’s instructions while in studio. To respect the privacy of all of our members, we also ask that you refrain from taking photos while in studio.
Q: What is the dress code?
A: Please wear apparel that allows you to complete your training regimen comfortably. If you have specific questions or concerns regarding attire, please consult your trainer during your introductory consultation and training session.
Q: How do I train remotely?
A: If you plan on traveling outside of the New York City area, consider talking to your Persevera trainer about training with us remotely between your studio visits to maintain or accelerate your progress. From choosing a video chat platform to taking stock of the fitness tools that you may have at your disposal while you're away, we will work with you to structure your remote sessions to have the greatest possible impact.
Q: How do I schedule, change and cancel training session appointments?
A: You can schedule, cancel and otherwise change training session appointments by contacting your Persevera trainer.
Q: What is the cancellation policy for training sessions?
A: Clients who have made an appointment for an in-studio or remote training session may cancel, postpone or otherwise change the time of the session with a minimum of 24 hours’ advance notice to avoid charges. Late cancellations, postponements, changes or no-shows may result in a full charge for the session in question.
Q: Must I review and agree to a liability waiver before training at Persevera?
A: Yes, clients must review and agree to a Waiver of Liability before training with us in studio or remotely.
Q: Must I review and agree to Persevera's terms and conditions, including Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, before using Persevera's online and offline services?
A: Yes, clients must review and agree to our terms and conditions, including our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, before using our services.
Q: Should I consult my physician before and while engaging in a training program?
A: We strongly encourage you to see your doctor before and while engaging in strength training, metabolic conditioning and recovery techniques. We are not certified dietitians or nutritionists, and we strongly advise you to consult with your physician before taking supplements or undertaking any dietary changes.
Methodology and Philosophy Basics
Q: I have very specific training goals. Can you help me?
A: We pride ourselves on designing tailor-made training programs for our members. At your introductory consultation and training session, you’ll tell us about your overall levels of health and fitness, your goals and your scheduling limitations. We will customize an initial training program for you, and will then update and refine your program as you make progress.
Q: Persevera members typically train for just 30 or 60 minutes per week. Is it really possible to get optimal results from one to two brief weekly workouts?
A: We do not subscribe to a “more is better” training philosophy. In fact, such an approach may lead to overtraining and ultimately do more harm than good. Rather, we consistently demonstrate how real results are produced, and goals are achieved, by designing programs for our members that apply the appropriate type, intensity and frequency of exercise. After honing our methods for three decades, we have succeeded in stripping away the nonessential noise that often accompanies exercise regimens.
Q: I have friends who have suffered injuries while trying out the latest crazy trends in fitness. Is Persevera safe?
A: Our members’ safety is of paramount importance to us. We emphasize precision, form and control during training sessions, and help our members to resist the temptation to overtrain. We furthermore encourage members to provide us with continuous feedback on their sleep habits, diet, activity and stress levels and overall health so that we may adjust the intensity of training routines accordingly.
Q: What are the four pillars of a member’s program at Persevera?
A: Strength (or resistance) training, metabolic conditioning, recovery and nutrition are our four primary areas of focus.
Q: What is Persevera’s philosophy behind strength training?
A: Resistance training can produce a variety of fitness and health benefits, ranging from the obvious (such as enhanced power and improved muscle tone) to the often overlooked (including enhanced mobility, stability and coordination, improved bone quality, a reduction in body fat and an elevation in endorphin levels). Based on thirty years of experience and scientific research, we take a detailed approach to resistance training by honing in on the benefits and limitations of the three types of muscle contractions involved in strength training.
Q: What are the three types of muscle contractions in strength training?
A: Resistance training involves three types of muscle contractions. When lifting weights (the concentric contraction or positive motion), muscles shorten while generating force. When lowering weights (the eccentric contraction or negative motion), muscles elongate under tension. When holding a weight steady without movement (an isometric, or static, hold), muscles generate force without changing length. At Persevera, our trainers design resistance training sessions using a combination of these three types of muscle contractions based on factors including the member’s goals, fitness level, training frequency and overall health.
Q: What is the rationale behind eccentric training?
A: The single most important factor in building lean muscle tissue is the real or perceived net load against which individual muscles are exposed while exerting force. The heavier the real or perceived load, the more intense the exertion, and consequently the more hypertrophy (or growth in lean muscle tissue). Lifting weights (the concentric motion) requires more force than lowering weights (the eccentric motion). Under traditional strength training methods, whereby a weight is lifted and lowered repeatedly, the load is limited to that which can be safely lifted. The load on the negative motion is therefore insufficient to build optimal lean muscle tissue. At Persevera, we address this problem by assisting members into the shortened position, allowing them to lower an optimal load under strict control on their own in order to build lean muscle tissue safely and efficiently. Our focus on the eccentric motion in private strength training sessions is one key toward providing members of all fitness levels and athletic abilities with proven and sustainable results in a short amount of time.
Q: When is concentric training appropriate?
A: At Persevera, we strive to avoid overtraining in order to prevent excessive inflammation and injury. While eccentric training is very effective in promoting lean muscle gain, excessive eccentric training can prove too demanding on muscle tissue. Our trainers will therefore also likely incorporate other types of training into private strength training sessions. Concentric training offers unique benefits to members, and, given that it is less demanding on muscle tissue, complements eccentric exercise well. Concentric exercise produces very little in the way of muscle soreness, and may also speed muscle recovery. Concentric exercise furthermore encourages calorie burn that promotes leanness, similar to traditional aerobic exercise.
Q: When is isometric training appropriate?
A: An isometric, or static, hold, in which a member generates force by maintaining a contraction without moving (such as holding a weight, without lifting or lowering, in a steady position set by the trainer) is also less demanding on muscle tissue than eccentric exercise. Isometric training can therefore be included as a component of a member’s private resistance training program to guard against overtraining. Because of its lack of motion, isometric exercise allows members to safely work at the most vulnerable positions that a joint can encounter. Such exercise not only enhances performance, but also encourages injury resistance. Isometric exercise has furthermore been found to aid in sculpting the body.
Q: What does mobility and stability training entail?
A: Ideal positioning when performing any type of motion— whether such motion is part of an athletic activity or simply the action of moving through everyday life— promotes optimal power output and wellbeing and helps to prevent injury. To aid our members in developing proper joint range so that they may achieve their full potential, Persevera may incorporate mobility and stability exercises into members’ programs. Members demonstrating an advanced fitness level will concentrate on more dynamic exercises. Less advanced members, or those with physical limitations, will benefit from static postures, where alignment and stability can be challenged and improved. In addition, using myofascial release techniques, mobility and stability training will relax tense muscles, improve blood and lymphatic circulation and disinhibit an improperly limiting nervous system.
Q: How does metabolic conditioning fit into Persevera’s philosophy?
A: Metabolic conditioning, which encompasses cardiovascular exercise, burns calories while you work out and maximizes calorie burn following a workout. Its primary goal is to enhance the storage and delivery of energy, and helps to improve stamina to perform everything from demanding sports to everyday activities. However, metabolic training at only a high level of intensity can produce injuries and inferior results, while metabolic training exclusively at a low intensity level requires prolonged periods of exercise that can lead to chronic inflammation. Using various advanced conditioning tools, Persevera designs conditioning programs for members to round out their strength training regimens using a “high/low” model. Such a regimen eliminates or mitigates the disadvantages of metabolic conditioning exclusively at one of the two extremes, while providing the benefits of both high intensity, or anaerobic, training (i.e., improving power, increasing metabolism and insulin sensitivity and promoting fat oxidation and muscle mass maintenance) and lower intensity, or aerobic, exercise (i.e., promoting blood flow, stimulating the energy delivery system to muscles, replenishing neurotransmitter dopamine and increasing work capacity). Depending on a member’s goals and his or her schedule, we may recommend that certain metabolic conditioning protocols be pursued outside of the member’s training sessions.
Q: Why is recovery important?
A: Following a workout, especially one involving highly effective eccentric exercise, muscle tissue will exhibit evidence of trauma. Such trauma is a desirable outcome because of a phenomenon called hormesis, a biological reaction to stress in which a beneficial effect ultimately results. In order to avoid overtraining and injury, however, muscles, along with the nervous system, bones, hormones and metabolic factors, must be allowed to recover. We therefore work with our members to ensure that they have sufficient downtime between training sessions, and may also recommend tools and techniques for members to use in studio or at home to promote recovery.
Q: How does nutrition fit into my overall program of wellbeing?
A: Proper nutrition is as important to a member’s overall wellbeing as proper training. Persevera’s trainers share nutritional tips based on a member’s state of health, fitness level and training frequency in order to help achieve goals ranging from fat loss to lean muscle growth. While there is no one-size-fits-all diet, our nutrition protocol is generally based on a gradual adaptation to fat as a primary fuel source— which results in gradual or spontaneous calorie reduction. Carbohydrate intake is then adjusted depending on individual tolerance and the types and amount of activities performed. Our trainers encourage self-experimentation (with a doctor’s oversight) and welcome member feedback. In this manner, nutritional programs can continually be analyzed and adjusted. Note that we are not certified dietitians or nutritionists, and we strongly advise you to consult with your physician before taking supplements or undertaking any dietary changes.
More Questions, More Answers
Q: I have MANY more questions. How do I get answers?
A: We would be pleased to answer any other questions that you may have! Please email us for more informaton!