Dear Mr. Vergel,

I have been working out. I doing the basic cardio for 30 minutes 5 days a week and weight training 3 days a week. Have been working out for 2 years. I have try trouble staying motivated and would like some guidance and motivation from a personal trainer who works with people with HIV. Any knowledge of any personal trainer who works with people with HIV in my neck of the woods? I live in Longview, Texas. Thanks for all that you do, Mr. Vergel.

I wish I could help you

I get this kind of emails so frequently. My wish is to have some sort of minimum required reading for trainers about HIV and then get them listed in a resource book, but I have no time or manpower to do this right now. A trainer that trains people with HIV has to not only know how to perform and teach safe exercises on the joints and back, but also be aware of issues surrounding neuropathy, myopathy (muscle weakness), lipoatrophy, wasting, lipohypertrophy, metabolic disorders, lipids, and bone issues. May be one day soon I can put together a manual for trainers and a test they can take for that purpose. But until then, I have very little to contribute to people who ask me for recommendations in their areas.

Nelson