Q&A Thread for June
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My question is about the type of training I should do to drop some bodyfat and build more muscle once I am at goal (6 more pounds. I'm 5'5" and my goal is 135). I like my shape but I'm 55 and have more jiggles than I would like. I currently belong to a gym where we do small group high-intensity circuit type workouts that incorporate cardio, bodyweight exercises like planks, squats, lunges, etc., resistance training with bands, other stuff, sometimes incorporating 10-15 pound weights to these exercises. Each session is about 45 minutes. I go 2-3 times a week, and each class we do different combinations of exercise. I also do a lot of pretty serious hiking. Do I need to start doing a lifting program like stronglifts 5 x 5 as well?
A few points to make:
1) You should start sooner rather than later. The type of training you do to build muscle is also the type of training you do to maintain muscle during periods of dieting.
2) You don't necessarily have to do stronglifts but in general I would suggest some form of resistance training where your whole body is trained 2 to 3 times per week in total. So if that's a full body routine, 3 days per week would be great. If it's an upper/lower split, 4 times per week would be great (upper, lower, rest, upper, lower, rest rest or something similar -- point being it's getting the whole body trained twice per week).
The advantage to doing Stronglifts is that it's very efficient. You'll get strong and it's likely you'll improve your physique over time. The one downside is that there's a time investment to learning how to squat and deadlift and press properly. It's a very worthy time investment, but it's something worth noting in fairness. Not everyone is ready to commit to learning those techniques.0 -
Hi
I was wondering if you could help me shed some light on this...
Firstly, I'm 5'8.5 and currently weigh 162 pounds.
I've been dieting/training consistently for about 16 weeks now and have lost just over 30 pounds in that time (I started at 196pounds).
Training 5x a week (combo of lifting, HIIT & running). I eat 1600 cals a day and don't eat back exercise calories or track them (mainly bc I wouldn't know how much I burned to accurately track this and I find it easier to eat the same amount each day).
(Macro split of 120g protein, 53g fat, 150g carbs). I've had no problem losing this way (I've had the odd few days of going over / eating off plan recently due to special events but it's balanced out as I'm under on some days).
I'm close to where I want to be but still have some fat to shift and want to lose another dress size! However, lately my energy has dropped and I feel drained (even on days when I literally do nothing at all), my sleeping isn't that great and I'm experiencing slight hair loss (nothing major, just more comes out when I wash it which didn't happen before).
I think maybe I'm lacking a certain nutrient... but no idea what! I'm a Pescaterian & during weekdays I tend to eat the same foods and just mix up my evening meal.
Wondering whether I should do a diet break? Although I'm not sure how it works exactly or whether I should just take extra vitamin tablets and mix up my foods more / add more variety!
Any thoughts / recommendations on this?
Thanks
Regarding hair loss, that can be tied to a wide variety of things and while it certainly could be dietary, it also could be something else and for that reason I'd suggest a visit to your doctor just to be safe. And while I'd love to say "hey it's probably a deficiency in X" it could possibly be irresponsible of me if your hair loss is tied to a different condition entirely.
I do think you should consider a diet break. Bring calories roughly to maintenance levels for a good 2 weeks.
Thanks for your reply. I will book a doctors appointment this week, just to be on the safe side! Do you have any useful articles/links with more info ref diet breaks? - do you think they help you lose more in the long run, or is it more of a mental break from dieting?
I think a week of eating at maintenance would be good for me right now, however I'm not exactly sure what my matienance is (I kind of just guessed 1500/1600 for weightloss and it worked - I work a desk job, so I'm not that active outside of the gym).
Thanks,
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Hi I was wondering if you could help me shed some light on this...
Firstly, I'm 5'8.5 and currently weigh 162 pounds.
I've been dieting/training consistently for about 16 weeks now and have lost just over 30 pounds in that time (I started at 196pounds).
Training 5x a week (combo of lifting, HIIT & running). I eat 1600 cals a day and don't eat back exercise calories or track them (mainly bc I wouldn't know how much I burned to accurately track this and I find it easier to eat the same amount each day).
(Macro split of 120g protein, 53g fat, 150g carbs). I've had no problem losing this way (I've had the odd few days of going over / eating off plan recently due to special events but it's balanced out as I'm under on some days).
I'm close to where I want to be but still have some fat to shift and want to lose another dress size! However, lately my energy has dropped and I feel drained (even on days when I literally do nothing at all), my sleeping isn't that great and I'm experiencing slight hair loss (nothing major, just more comes out when I wash it which didn't happen before).
I think maybe I'm lacking a certain nutrient... but no idea what! I'm a Pescaterian & during weekdays I tend to eat the same foods and just mix up my evening meal.
Wondering whether I should do a diet break? Although I'm not sure how it works exactly or whether I should just take extra vitamin tablets and mix up my foods more / add more variety!
Any thoughts / recommendations on this?
Thanks
Regarding hair loss, that can be tied to a wide variety of things and while it certainly could be dietary, it also could be something else and for that reason I'd suggest a visit to your doctor just to be safe. And while I'd love to say "hey it's probably a deficiency in X" it could possibly be irresponsible of me if your hair loss is tied to a different condition entirely.
I do think you should consider a diet break. Bring calories roughly to maintenance levels for a good 2 weeks.
Thanks for your reply. I will book a doctors appointment this week, just to be on the safe side! Do you have any useful articles/links with more info ref diet breaks? - do you think they help you lose more in the long run, or is it more of a mental break from dieting?
I think a week of eating at maintenance would be good for me right now, however I'm not exactly sure what my matienance is (I kind of just guessed 1500/1600 for weightloss and it worked - I work a desk job, so I'm not that active outside of the gym).
Thanks,
Lyle McDonald has some information on them at bodyreomposition.com. There's really not much to it though, you just bring calories up to around maintenance levels and stay there for a while.
Yes, I think they are very useful for losing more in the long run primarily for adherence reasons. I don't think it's clear whether or not there is a physiological benefit but to me they are useful regardless. I also think they are under-utilized by many people.
Think of it as pressing the pause button so that you can recharge and keep going strong.
Regarding not knowing maintenance calories, don't worry too much about it. You can always do a longer break and start with a small increase followed by another one.
For example with one of my long time clients, she was at 1670 calories when she stalled out at about 149-150lbs for about four weeks. We put her on a diet break and I did it as follows:
Week 1: 1950 calories (lost 1lb this week)
Week 2: 2050-2150 calories (weight stable)
Then she stayed here for 2-3 weeks. I'd have to check her chart but I think she ended up gaining that 1lb loss back, plus one additional lb.
We then dropped her to 1850 (180 calories higher than where she stalled out at) and she went on losing slowly for another month, hitting about 147 if I recall correctly.
Possible mechanisms? Could it be upregulated leptin? I doubt it but it's certainly plausible. But it could be improved adherence from bringing calories up. It could be increased NEAT (more spontaneous movement) due to extra calories. It could be improved training performance in the gym due to extra calories.
Bottom line, she felt WAY better post diet break.
If you do this, I'd do it for more than 1 week. At least two, if not 3.
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I have a scheduling question.
Ordinarily (when weather and life's schedules cooperate) my routine is as follows:
M-W-F run 3-6 miles
Tu-Th lift, usually hit whole body
Sa-either run or lift depending on schedule, sometimes rest or walk (2 or 3 miles)
Su-walk (2 or 3 miles) or rest
This works pretty well for me. The problem is when the weather or other things interfere and I can't get out to run. On those days I generally have to turn to dvds to get some cardio in. I usually use some sort of circuit training dvd that gets the heart rate up alternating light to medium weights and pure cardio. I also have a couple of kettlebell dvds and a kickboxing one (yuck!). So for my question--is it okay to alternate that kind of cardio with the lifting days? I've always been worried that it is too much like lifting back to back. But when I am stuck inside, those are pretty much my options! Opinion?0 -
Did you have any thoughts about my t-spine issue (first pg of thread) if not just say I need a massage so I can tell hubs its "necessary."0
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Hi I was wondering if you could help me shed some light on this...
Firstly, I'm 5'8.5 and currently weigh 162 pounds.
I've been dieting/training consistently for about 16 weeks now and have lost just over 30 pounds in that time (I started at 196pounds).
Training 5x a week (combo of lifting, HIIT & running). I eat 1600 cals a day and don't eat back exercise calories or track them (mainly bc I wouldn't know how much I burned to accurately track this and I find it easier to eat the same amount each day).
(Macro split of 120g protein, 53g fat, 150g carbs). I've had no problem losing this way (I've had the odd few days of going over / eating off plan recently due to special events but it's balanced out as I'm under on some days).
I'm close to where I want to be but still have some fat to shift and want to lose another dress size! However, lately my energy has dropped and I feel drained (even on days when I literally do nothing at all), my sleeping isn't that great and I'm experiencing slight hair loss (nothing major, just more comes out when I wash it which didn't happen before).
I think maybe I'm lacking a certain nutrient... but no idea what! I'm a Pescaterian & during weekdays I tend to eat the same foods and just mix up my evening meal.
Wondering whether I should do a diet break? Although I'm not sure how it works exactly or whether I should just take extra vitamin tablets and mix up my foods more / add more variety!
Any thoughts / recommendations on this?
Thanks
Regarding hair loss, that can be tied to a wide variety of things and while it certainly could be dietary, it also could be something else and for that reason I'd suggest a visit to your doctor just to be safe. And while I'd love to say "hey it's probably a deficiency in X" it could possibly be irresponsible of me if your hair loss is tied to a different condition entirely.
I do think you should consider a diet break. Bring calories roughly to maintenance levels for a good 2 weeks.
Thanks for your reply. I will book a doctors appointment this week, just to be on the safe side! Do you have any useful articles/links with more info ref diet breaks? - do you think they help you lose more in the long run, or is it more of a mental break from dieting?
I think a week of eating at maintenance would be good for me right now, however I'm not exactly sure what my matienance is (I kind of just guessed 1500/1600 for weightloss and it worked - I work a desk job, so I'm not that active outside of the gym).
Thanks,
Lyle McDonald has some information on them at bodyreomposition.com. There's really not much to it though, you just bring calories up to around maintenance levels and stay there for a while.
Yes, I think they are very useful for losing more in the long run primarily for adherence reasons. I don't think it's clear whether or not there is a physiological benefit but to me they are useful regardless. I also think they are under-utilized by many people.
Think of it as pressing the pause button so that you can recharge and keep going strong.
Regarding not knowing maintenance calories, don't worry too much about it. You can always do a longer break and start with a small increase followed by another one.
For example with one of my long time clients, she was at 1670 calories when she stalled out at about 149-150lbs for about four weeks. We put her on a diet break and I did it as follows:
Week 1: 1950 calories (lost 1lb this week)
Week 2: 2050-2150 calories (weight stable)
Then she stayed here for 2-3 weeks. I'd have to check her chart but I think she ended up gaining that 1lb loss back, plus one additional lb.
We then dropped her to 1850 (180 calories higher than where she stalled out at) and she went on losing slowly for another month, hitting about 147 if I recall correctly.
Possible mechanisms? Could it be upregulated leptin? I doubt it but it's certainly plausible. But it could be improved adherence from bringing calories up. It could be increased NEAT (more spontaneous movement) due to extra calories. It could be improved training performance in the gym due to extra calories.
Bottom line, she felt WAY better post diet break.
If you do this, I'd do it for more than 1 week. At least two, if not 3.
This is super helpful, thanks so much!
I will try this out for the next two weeks and see how I get on. I think it will definitely help with my performance in the gym 0 -
Other than thyroid are there other medical issues that can hinder weight lose through a calorie deficit? I met with my doctor yesterday and he is only running test for thyroid issues.0
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Other than thyroid are there other medical issues that can hinder weight lose through a calorie deficit? I met with my doctor yesterday and he is only running test for thyroid issues.
Well, even with thyroid issues if you are in a caloric deficit you should still lose weight, it's just harder to maintain a deficit because your energy expenditure drops. I believe Cushings would be another one along with a couple of genetic disorders but those things would be known shortly after birth.
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I'm having a problem with a very tight t-spine and tight shoulders. The t-spine limits my squat depth and really starts to ache after about 5 reps. I do some mobility work during warm up and stretch it between sets and then roll it nightly and use a tennis ball for self-massage. The pain is pretty much located around the medial edge of my scapulae and the R is much much worse than the left. Anything else I can do? Any good mobility drills? Or assistance strengthening exercises? My job has me at a desk about 1x every two weeks for the day and at the end of that, sitting and typing for the day I can barely sleep it hurts so much...the two pregnancies and months spent carrying a baby in front of my body with rounded shoulders didn't help either. With respect to my shoulders...it might also be t-spine mobility but I can't do an overhead squat. Not even with a broom handle. I have to lean forward. Elevating my heels helps somewhat.
Other than what you are already doing I don't really have any advice. I would say though, that I'd be curious what the squat looks like because it's quite possible that it's not T spine issues causing depth problems and it's also possible that arm placement and bar placement could alleviate some of the symptoms while you are actually squatting. Let me know if you can post a vid.0 -
Now if you DO want to train 4-5 days/week the solution in my opinion would be to modify the programming to accommodate that.
I have a question about adapting the routine.
I saw my trainer again today because she said she'd come up with something better for me. The gist of it is that she wants me to do the following:- Warm-up on the rower for 5 minutes
- 3 supersets of 15 reps of dumbell chest press on a bench with 2 x 5kg weights, and 15 reps of the seated cable row at 18kg
- 3 supersets of 10 deadlifts at 20kg and 10 clean & heave presses at 12.5kg
- 3 supersets of 15 kettlebell swings at 8kg and 10 (each leg) kettlebell lunges at 2 x 4kg
- 3 supersets of 10 kettlebell double swings at 2 x 4kg and 10 kettlebell double squats at 2 x 4kg
- Cool down on the cross-trainer
Now, I know that you said you won't build a routine for me and that's not what I want.
Instead, I feel like this isn't really enjoyable - I don't like kettlebells at all. I also feel like there's too many reps per set. When I saw my trainer I specifically said that I want to increase my general strength and my core, but it seems she somewhat ignored that. Attempted to bring it up with her but she didn't really take it on board. I reckon I probably won't be seeing her again.
It's not that I don't think this routine as it is won't work, but I've read here and there stuff about how many reps to do for strength, hypertrophy, etc. and I really want to go for strength mainly (with an element of hypertrophy - though I appreciate that this won't really happen to any real extent until I'm eating at a surplus) and I think that 15 reps per set is possibly too much?
I want to take out the kettlebells completely and add back squats, bicep curls and more core-orientated moves (these I'm still currently researching but I have some ideas) instead. I also think it might be better for me to up the weights and lower the reps on the chest presses, cable row, deadlifts and clean & presses.
Would you say that that is a good idea?0 -
daaaaaanielle wrote: »Now if you DO want to train 4-5 days/week the solution in my opinion would be to modify the programming to accommodate that.
I have a question about adapting the routine.
I saw my trainer again today because she said she'd come up with something better for me. The gist of it is that she wants me to do the following:- Warm-up on the rower for 5 minutes
- 3 supersets of 15 reps of dumbell chest press on a bench with 2 x 5kg weights, and 15 reps of the seated cable row at 18kg
- 3 supersets of 10 deadlifts at 20kg and 10 clean & heave presses at 12.5kg
- 3 supersets of 15 kettlebell swings at 8kg and 10 (each leg) kettlebell lunges at 2 x 4kg
- 3 supersets of 10 kettlebell double swings at 2 x 4kg and 10 kettlebell double squats at 2 x 4kg
- Cool down on the cross-trainer
Now, I know that you said you won't build a routine for me and that's not what I want.
Instead, I feel like this isn't really enjoyable - I don't like kettlebells at all. I also feel like there's too many reps per set. When I saw my trainer I specifically said that I want to increase my general strength and my core, but it seems she somewhat ignored that. Attempted to bring it up with her but she didn't really take it on board. I reckon I probably won't be seeing her again.
It's not that I don't think this routine as it is won't work, but I've read here and there stuff about how many reps to do for strength, hypertrophy, etc. and I really want to go for strength mainly (with an element of hypertrophy - though I appreciate that this won't really happen to any real extent until I'm eating at a surplus) and I think that 15 reps per set is possibly too much?
I want to take out the kettlebells completely and add back squats, bicep curls and more core-orientated moves (these I'm still currently researching but I have some ideas) instead. I also think it might be better for me to up the weights and lower the reps on the chest presses, cable row, deadlifts and clean & presses.
Would you say that that is a good idea?
This is one of those things where we're not talking in absolutes. Can you get stronger on the above routine? Yeah you could, if you had a specific progression model attached to that program (I don't see how it's being progressed -- did she outline that for you?) and you're able to increase load or total volume over time then you will also get stronger.
But I don't think that's optimal if the goal is strength development first.
Why isn't she having you barbell squat?
Did she outline how to progress?
Overall, that's certainly not how I'd program if someone had the goal of strength development.
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daaaaaanielle wrote: »Now if you DO want to train 4-5 days/week the solution in my opinion would be to modify the programming to accommodate that.
I have a question about adapting the routine.
I saw my trainer again today because she said she'd come up with something better for me. The gist of it is that she wants me to do the following:- Warm-up on the rower for 5 minutes
- 3 supersets of 15 reps of dumbell chest press on a bench with 2 x 5kg weights, and 15 reps of the seated cable row at 18kg
- 3 supersets of 10 deadlifts at 20kg and 10 clean & heave presses at 12.5kg
- 3 supersets of 15 kettlebell swings at 8kg and 10 (each leg) kettlebell lunges at 2 x 4kg
- 3 supersets of 10 kettlebell double swings at 2 x 4kg and 10 kettlebell double squats at 2 x 4kg
- Cool down on the cross-trainer
Now, I know that you said you won't build a routine for me and that's not what I want.
Instead, I feel like this isn't really enjoyable - I don't like kettlebells at all. I also feel like there's too many reps per set. When I saw my trainer I specifically said that I want to increase my general strength and my core, but it seems she somewhat ignored that. Attempted to bring it up with her but she didn't really take it on board. I reckon I probably won't be seeing her again.
It's not that I don't think this routine as it is won't work, but I've read here and there stuff about how many reps to do for strength, hypertrophy, etc. and I really want to go for strength mainly (with an element of hypertrophy - though I appreciate that this won't really happen to any real extent until I'm eating at a surplus) and I think that 15 reps per set is possibly too much?
I want to take out the kettlebells completely and add back squats, bicep curls and more core-orientated moves (these I'm still currently researching but I have some ideas) instead. I also think it might be better for me to up the weights and lower the reps on the chest presses, cable row, deadlifts and clean & presses.
Would you say that that is a good idea?
This is one of those things where we're not talking in absolutes. Can you get stronger on the above routine? Yeah you could, if you had a specific progression model attached to that program (I don't see how it's being progressed -- did she outline that for you?) and you're able to increase load or total volume over time then you will also get stronger.
But I don't think that's optimal if the goal is strength development first.
Why isn't she having you barbell squat?
Did she outline how to progress?
Overall, that's certainly not how I'd program if someone had the goal of strength development.
I asked about progression and all she really said was to add more weight but ideally come back and see her and she would tweak it. Which I think is personal trainer speak for "you will have to pay me more money to get this updated to progress properly".
The lack of squats is a bit of a mystery too - that was one exercise I specifically told her I enjoyed doing. When I asked, she said they were "not really necessary" for what I wanted to achieve.
Her credentials, specialties stated on her website, etc all implied that she focused primarily on strength workouts for women but this doesn't really resemble most strength workouts that I've seen suggested for women.
I think I'm probably going to drop her. I primarily wanted her to check my form with the lifts and she's confirmed that there are no issues with them (I did video myself too and compared it with videos portraying good form so I am happy that I've got the form down).0 -
daaaaaanielle wrote: »daaaaaanielle wrote: »Now if you DO want to train 4-5 days/week the solution in my opinion would be to modify the programming to accommodate that.
I have a question about adapting the routine.
I saw my trainer again today because she said she'd come up with something better for me. The gist of it is that she wants me to do the following:- Warm-up on the rower for 5 minutes
- 3 supersets of 15 reps of dumbell chest press on a bench with 2 x 5kg weights, and 15 reps of the seated cable row at 18kg
- 3 supersets of 10 deadlifts at 20kg and 10 clean & heave presses at 12.5kg
- 3 supersets of 15 kettlebell swings at 8kg and 10 (each leg) kettlebell lunges at 2 x 4kg
- 3 supersets of 10 kettlebell double swings at 2 x 4kg and 10 kettlebell double squats at 2 x 4kg
- Cool down on the cross-trainer
Now, I know that you said you won't build a routine for me and that's not what I want.
Instead, I feel like this isn't really enjoyable - I don't like kettlebells at all. I also feel like there's too many reps per set. When I saw my trainer I specifically said that I want to increase my general strength and my core, but it seems she somewhat ignored that. Attempted to bring it up with her but she didn't really take it on board. I reckon I probably won't be seeing her again.
It's not that I don't think this routine as it is won't work, but I've read here and there stuff about how many reps to do for strength, hypertrophy, etc. and I really want to go for strength mainly (with an element of hypertrophy - though I appreciate that this won't really happen to any real extent until I'm eating at a surplus) and I think that 15 reps per set is possibly too much?
I want to take out the kettlebells completely and add back squats, bicep curls and more core-orientated moves (these I'm still currently researching but I have some ideas) instead. I also think it might be better for me to up the weights and lower the reps on the chest presses, cable row, deadlifts and clean & presses.
Would you say that that is a good idea?
This is one of those things where we're not talking in absolutes. Can you get stronger on the above routine? Yeah you could, if you had a specific progression model attached to that program (I don't see how it's being progressed -- did she outline that for you?) and you're able to increase load or total volume over time then you will also get stronger.
But I don't think that's optimal if the goal is strength development first.
Why isn't she having you barbell squat?
Did she outline how to progress?
Overall, that's certainly not how I'd program if someone had the goal of strength development.
I asked about progression and all she really said was to add more weight but ideally come back and see her and she would tweak it. Which I think is personal trainer speak for "you will have to pay me more money to get this updated to progress properly".
The lack of squats is a bit of a mystery too - that was one exercise I specifically told her I enjoyed doing. When I asked, she said they were "not really necessary" for what I wanted to achieve.
Her credentials, specialties stated on her website, etc all implied that she focused primarily on strength workouts for women but this doesn't really resemble most strength workouts that I've seen suggested for women.
I think I'm probably going to drop her. I primarily wanted her to check my form with the lifts and she's confirmed that there are no issues with them (I did video myself too and compared it with videos portraying good form so I am happy that I've got the form down).
Hard to say for sure, but that does seem silly that you don't have a progression included with the program. It certainly could be a sales tactic but I can't say that with a 100% certainty.
I have had clients where I intentionally do not progress of them but I make it clear to them that they need a few weeks of practice at a given weight for technical reasons.
Feel free to post or send me the videos if you'd like another opinion on your technique.0 -
daaaaaanielle wrote: »daaaaaanielle wrote: »Now if you DO want to train 4-5 days/week the solution in my opinion would be to modify the programming to accommodate that.
I have a question about adapting the routine.
I saw my trainer again today because she said she'd come up with something better for me. The gist of it is that she wants me to do the following:- Warm-up on the rower for 5 minutes
- 3 supersets of 15 reps of dumbell chest press on a bench with 2 x 5kg weights, and 15 reps of the seated cable row at 18kg
- 3 supersets of 10 deadlifts at 20kg and 10 clean & heave presses at 12.5kg
- 3 supersets of 15 kettlebell swings at 8kg and 10 (each leg) kettlebell lunges at 2 x 4kg
- 3 supersets of 10 kettlebell double swings at 2 x 4kg and 10 kettlebell double squats at 2 x 4kg
- Cool down on the cross-trainer
Now, I know that you said you won't build a routine for me and that's not what I want.
Instead, I feel like this isn't really enjoyable - I don't like kettlebells at all. I also feel like there's too many reps per set. When I saw my trainer I specifically said that I want to increase my general strength and my core, but it seems she somewhat ignored that. Attempted to bring it up with her but she didn't really take it on board. I reckon I probably won't be seeing her again.
It's not that I don't think this routine as it is won't work, but I've read here and there stuff about how many reps to do for strength, hypertrophy, etc. and I really want to go for strength mainly (with an element of hypertrophy - though I appreciate that this won't really happen to any real extent until I'm eating at a surplus) and I think that 15 reps per set is possibly too much?
I want to take out the kettlebells completely and add back squats, bicep curls and more core-orientated moves (these I'm still currently researching but I have some ideas) instead. I also think it might be better for me to up the weights and lower the reps on the chest presses, cable row, deadlifts and clean & presses.
Would you say that that is a good idea?
This is one of those things where we're not talking in absolutes. Can you get stronger on the above routine? Yeah you could, if you had a specific progression model attached to that program (I don't see how it's being progressed -- did she outline that for you?) and you're able to increase load or total volume over time then you will also get stronger.
But I don't think that's optimal if the goal is strength development first.
Why isn't she having you barbell squat?
Did she outline how to progress?
Overall, that's certainly not how I'd program if someone had the goal of strength development.
I asked about progression and all she really said was to add more weight but ideally come back and see her and she would tweak it. Which I think is personal trainer speak for "you will have to pay me more money to get this updated to progress properly".
The lack of squats is a bit of a mystery too - that was one exercise I specifically told her I enjoyed doing. When I asked, she said they were "not really necessary" for what I wanted to achieve.
Her credentials, specialties stated on her website, etc all implied that she focused primarily on strength workouts for women but this doesn't really resemble most strength workouts that I've seen suggested for women.
I think I'm probably going to drop her. I primarily wanted her to check my form with the lifts and she's confirmed that there are no issues with them (I did video myself too and compared it with videos portraying good form so I am happy that I've got the form down).
Hard to say for sure, but that does seem silly that you don't have a progression included with the program. It certainly could be a sales tactic but I can't say that with a 100% certainty.
I have had clients where I intentionally do not progress of them but I make it clear to them that they need a few weeks of practice at a given weight for technical reasons.
Feel free to post or send me the videos if you'd like another opinion on your technique.
If I still have the videos on my phone, I'll perhaps post them.
So in summary, would the tweaks I was considering be reasonable enough? Less reps, higher weight, adding in squats, bicep curls and core-focused exercises?0 -
daaaaaanielle wrote: »daaaaaanielle wrote: »daaaaaanielle wrote: »Now if you DO want to train 4-5 days/week the solution in my opinion would be to modify the programming to accommodate that.
I have a question about adapting the routine.
I saw my trainer again today because she said she'd come up with something better for me. The gist of it is that she wants me to do the following:- Warm-up on the rower for 5 minutes
- 3 supersets of 15 reps of dumbell chest press on a bench with 2 x 5kg weights, and 15 reps of the seated cable row at 18kg
- 3 supersets of 10 deadlifts at 20kg and 10 clean & heave presses at 12.5kg
- 3 supersets of 15 kettlebell swings at 8kg and 10 (each leg) kettlebell lunges at 2 x 4kg
- 3 supersets of 10 kettlebell double swings at 2 x 4kg and 10 kettlebell double squats at 2 x 4kg
- Cool down on the cross-trainer
Now, I know that you said you won't build a routine for me and that's not what I want.
Instead, I feel like this isn't really enjoyable - I don't like kettlebells at all. I also feel like there's too many reps per set. When I saw my trainer I specifically said that I want to increase my general strength and my core, but it seems she somewhat ignored that. Attempted to bring it up with her but she didn't really take it on board. I reckon I probably won't be seeing her again.
It's not that I don't think this routine as it is won't work, but I've read here and there stuff about how many reps to do for strength, hypertrophy, etc. and I really want to go for strength mainly (with an element of hypertrophy - though I appreciate that this won't really happen to any real extent until I'm eating at a surplus) and I think that 15 reps per set is possibly too much?
I want to take out the kettlebells completely and add back squats, bicep curls and more core-orientated moves (these I'm still currently researching but I have some ideas) instead. I also think it might be better for me to up the weights and lower the reps on the chest presses, cable row, deadlifts and clean & presses.
Would you say that that is a good idea?
This is one of those things where we're not talking in absolutes. Can you get stronger on the above routine? Yeah you could, if you had a specific progression model attached to that program (I don't see how it's being progressed -- did she outline that for you?) and you're able to increase load or total volume over time then you will also get stronger.
But I don't think that's optimal if the goal is strength development first.
Why isn't she having you barbell squat?
Did she outline how to progress?
Overall, that's certainly not how I'd program if someone had the goal of strength development.
I asked about progression and all she really said was to add more weight but ideally come back and see her and she would tweak it. Which I think is personal trainer speak for "you will have to pay me more money to get this updated to progress properly".
The lack of squats is a bit of a mystery too - that was one exercise I specifically told her I enjoyed doing. When I asked, she said they were "not really necessary" for what I wanted to achieve.
Her credentials, specialties stated on her website, etc all implied that she focused primarily on strength workouts for women but this doesn't really resemble most strength workouts that I've seen suggested for women.
I think I'm probably going to drop her. I primarily wanted her to check my form with the lifts and she's confirmed that there are no issues with them (I did video myself too and compared it with videos portraying good form so I am happy that I've got the form down).
Hard to say for sure, but that does seem silly that you don't have a progression included with the program. It certainly could be a sales tactic but I can't say that with a 100% certainty.
I have had clients where I intentionally do not progress of them but I make it clear to them that they need a few weeks of practice at a given weight for technical reasons.
Feel free to post or send me the videos if you'd like another opinion on your technique.
If I still have the videos on my phone, I'll perhaps post them.
So in summary, would the tweaks I was considering be reasonable enough? Less reps, higher weight, adding in squats, bicep curls and core-focused exercises?
It would likely be an improvement.0 -
I've been working primarily towards greater strength for months now, made good progress especially on my bench press numbers, but with my recent shoulder pains I'm debating swapping to more of a muscle-building program for a couple months with lighter weights, give my shoulders a break. It's not my anterior (front) delts which are painful, but my lateral (side) delts, which is the only thing giving me pause in my proposed plan.0
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I've been working primarily towards greater strength for months now, made good progress especially on my bench press numbers, but with my recent shoulder pains I'm debating swapping to more of a muscle-building program for a couple months with lighter weights, give my shoulders a break. It's not my anterior (front) delts which are painful, but my lateral (side) delts, which is the only thing giving me pause in my proposed plan.
Does bench hurt your shoulder?
Have you tried decline bench to compare how the shoulder feels?0 -
I've been working primarily towards greater strength for months now, made good progress especially on my bench press numbers, but with my recent shoulder pains I'm debating swapping to more of a muscle-building program for a couple months with lighter weights, give my shoulders a break. It's not my anterior (front) delts which are painful, but my lateral (side) delts, which is the only thing giving me pause in my proposed plan.
Does bench hurt your shoulder?
Have you tried decline bench to compare how the shoulder feels?0 -
Thanks for the suggestions. I will try to pm you a video this week...assing side and back angles? Now thinking about what you said about arm/hand position and I think I should experiment with that a bit. Front squats result in less back pain than back squats...more deltoid pain tho so it's a bit of a pick your poison kind of situation. It's tension in my right rhomboids or lower trap and it's all knotted between the medial border of my scapula and my spinous processes. I guess I was still hoping you'd recommend massage thank you for being so generous with your time and knowledge. Much appreciated. 0
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Thanks for the suggestions. I will try to pm you a video this week...assing side and back angles? Now thinking about what you said about arm/hand position and I think I should experiment with that a bit. Front squats result in less back pain than back squats...more deltoid pain tho so it's a bit of a pick your poison kind of situation. It's tension in my right rhomboids or lower trap and it's all knotted between the medial border of my scapula and my spinous processes. I guess I was still hoping you'd recommend massage thank you for being so generous with your time and knowledge. Much appreciated.
You know I really think you need a massage. *ahem*
Regarding form vids, one from the back and one from the side.0
