Personal Fitness Trainer - Routine Suggestions

robbyf1971

I got a free session with a PFT for the first time today. He seemed to make a lot of sense. My body fat % was 19% and said I need to lose 10 lbs of fat around mid section. He also said I don't have a good balance in muscle particularly weak back and my pecs are pulling my shoulders forward giving me a slouched look. My chest has never been great. He said I have been doing too much flat bench with SL and need to vary my routine.

My current routine is a modified SL 5X5 with extras thrown in. See below for ideal week

M
Squat 5X5
Bench Press 5X5
Cable Row 5X5
Cable Xovers 4X7 X 2 different settings lowest and highest
Cardio 36 min on Arc Trainer

T
Cardio 54 min arc trainer
Shoulder Shrugs 4X7
Arm Curls with bar 4X7

W
Squats 5X5
Shoulder Press machine 5X5
Cardio 36 min

Th
Cardio 54 min
Upright rows 4X7
Arm curls bar 4X7

F - same as Monday.
Sat or Sun - cardio + any missed squats + shrugs/upright rows

His suggestions
Only 30 minutes of cardio 5X week. He aid you get most of the fat burn at lower heart rate.

Weight training only 2X week. Legs and arms 1 day and the chest, shoulders and back the other day. Do abs at end of each workout.

Now he wants me to sign up ($$$) to get his detailed plan but based on this summary, what do you think? Any suggestions?

TR0berts

What do I think? He's only interested in your money.

You do not need to vary your routine - not in the way he's suggesting. Also, you're not doing SL - I wouldn't even call that a modified version. It's truly something much different.

His strength routine seems to suck. Only one day for each body part? That's a recipe for going nowhere.

He's still in "fat burning zone" think. Yeah, um, no. That's largely inconsequential.

Also, if he thinks you're doing too much flat bench (you're doing it twice a week), he's a moron.

I have a simple recommendation, but first I feel I need to ask - where did you get that routine, and why are you doing it? Or, more specifically, why are you doing what you consider a "modified SL5x5," instead of SL as it's laid out?

robbyf1971

Thanks. It was definitely a sales pitch at the end.

I modified SL over time due to back issues. Replaced barbell row with seated cable row. Replaced OH press with seated press machine. Stopped doing deads after I threw my back out doing dead lifts.

I added trap work and curls just because.

He did say my hamstrings & gluts were weak which I agree with. I thought my squats were hitting those but he said only about 30% and most of squat is focused on quads.

rileyes

Try adding barbell hip thrusts with main lifts at the weight of your row (lighter) or deadlift (heavier). Bent over rows and deadlifts are not in your plan because of back issues? Can you go lighter without issue? You may want to add variations of planks and rotations (focused stabilizing) for your core too. Have you considered various (frontal, reverse, static...) step-ups or lunges as well as lighter band/cable circuits in another block for mobility?

robbyf1971

rileyes

u think there's that much difference between a bent over row and seated cable row? another reason I like the cable is it is much quicker as time is a factor for me in the morning.

I will definitely add more lunges. I did a few with the trainer and my balance was pretty bad. Also my hamstrings were actually sore afterwards. I have been doing heavy squats for some time too but the lunges really made my hamstrings sore.

rainbowbow

I briefly read over what he suggested.... i don't really disagree with anything he said and if you think you need a trainer to help you get to your goals i think you should do it.

My only real advice here is to not sign up for a LONGTERM contract if it was with a corporate gym.

It sounds like he thinks you have upper cross syndrome which is a postural distortion pattern. Working with someone to correct this imbalance may be highly beneficial not only for your training, hypertrophy, and physique in general but also in preventing an injury. It's characterized by having tight and overactive pectorals/upper traps and weak/lengthened middle and lower traps/scalenes. I shouldn't have to mention that when you have a postural disorder you are moving in altered movement patterns, which, overtime cause muscular imbalance, poor neuromuscular efficiency, altered reciprocal inhibition, etc.




If you have been performing the same maximal strength routine for an extended period of time it may very well be beneficial to switch things up and work your way back up again.

As far as his recommendation for cardio, it's actually the national recommendation for cardiorespiratory exercise. Either 30 minutes 5 x a week of low/moderate intensity exercise OR 3 times a week 25 minute high intensity exercise. If you're someone who just wants general cardiovascular health and you don't have any specific cardio goals (such as running a race or something) then i think the recommendation is spot on.

YES, you technically burn more fat at long periods of low intensity exercise. But ultimately it comes down to your overall calorie deficit. So, if you were to run at high intensity you would burn more calories (and ultimately burning more fat) in a short period of time; even though you were using mostly gylcogen stores to fuel the run at that time.

Did you tell him you want to only train twice a week or something? Or could you only train with HIM twice a week?It's just a split routine, but generally i recommend 3-4 days at least, but it can work depending on your schedule.

As far as training abs go, you can train them whenever (although training them isolated at the end of a workout will allow you to not fatigue them before heavy lifts where you NEED them for bracing).


All in all, the information that he recommended follows the guidelines of the accrediting certifications in the fitness industry. He did not recommend anything that does not have scientific backing. So it really comes down to whether or not you want to work with him and think it will be beneficial.

P.S. I am a NASM certified personal trainer and judging by his postural comments (i'm assuming he had you do a squat with your arms overhead? or a pushing/pulling assessment?) he probably is too if i had to guess. Especially when you said he focused on balance, because the very first phase of the Optimum Performance Training module works specifically on raising muscular endurance, stability work, and fixing postural problems so that when you progress to strength you get the most benefit and the least liklihood of injury.

rileyes

robbyf1971 wrote: »

rileyes

u think there's that much difference between a bent over row and seated cable row? another reason I like the cable is it is much quicker as time is a factor for me in the morning.

I will definitely add more lunges. I did a few with the trainer and my balance was pretty bad. Also my hamstrings were actually sore afterwards. I have been doing heavy squats for some time too but the lunges really made my hamstrings sore.

The difference may be stabilizing muscles. You may need to learn to activate your core (includes glutes) more during exercises. For instance, when lunging, focus on contracting the glutes in the movement. This can help with better form and perhaps maximize full-body muscle activation.

robbyf1971

rainbow

that is great info. He did mention that my slouching is weaker rhomboid muscles. What are good lifts for that?

I struggle with the cardio theory. My diet is not the best so I would try to really do long cardio to burn a ton of cals. He said and I agree I need to lose 10lbs of fat, mostly around mid section. That low intensity cardio is the most ideal for burning this fat. But I assume I am burning less calories so how will I lose weight burning less calories?

robbyf1971

He also had me stand against a wall. He pointed out that my palms were facing behind me. It felt very unnatural to have them face forward but he said that is b/c the muscle the form my posture are not developed properly.

sjohnson__1

Seated cable rows modified a bit will help.

when u start the movement, focus on pulling the shoulders back by contracting your rear delts and upper back (pull your shoulder blades together). Do this and hold for a slight second before the completing the pull portion of the movement that forces you to bend at the elbows. This should help you get used to pulling the shoulders back.

The main thing is to work on your posture and strengthen those upper back muscles and rear delts.

Try:
Bent over rear delt fly's
Med ball rear delt fly's with dumbells
Several different rowing movements - bent over, verticle, and horizontal.
Face pulls

sjohnson__1

kudos to rainbowbow for the very informative response!

cgvet37

There are good trainers and bad. Ask to speak to some his other clients. If not, he has something to hide. I don't totally disagree with what he said. You can just do flat bench press, and expect to have an overall strong chest. You need to work your upper, middle, and lower chest. Same with shoulders. There are three heads. Front, side, and rear delts. Plus your traps. If you are short on time, I suggest a full body workout. Choose one movement for each muscle group. Complete 4 sets of 10 reps for each movement. If one day you do flat bench, do incline the next, and decline the following, etc. If you need ideas for routines, feel free to send me a message.

cwolfman13

If you have muscular imbalances, it will be very helpful to take a step back to basically rehabilitate that issue. Not everything is about training to push and pull a gazillion Lbs. My guess is that those issues are probably a result of previous training, not necessarily the current stuff you're doing...left to their own devices, guys tend to ignore their posterior chain because they're not the beach muscles.

I also really like @rainbowbow post...should probably take that to heart.

SciranBG

I signed up for a trainer at one point and while it great motivation and pushed me to work harder. It was sub par information. Personally I wouldn't recommend it unless you really have the money to spend AND no one to train with.

I agree with the suggestion of doing abs at the end of each workout, just something small like planks or weighted crunches.

I would also suggest to always have your cardio at the end of the session/never before weights.