Question for personal trainer or those who used one?

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  • liftingbro
    liftingbro Posts: 2,029 Member
    CeeBeeSlim wrote: »
    @liftingbro - thanks. In my gut I felt the HIIT sessions (or at least THAT session) were not for me. I’m not sure why I’m so tentative but I can just ask her to develop a strength training program, no? In my research HIIT was described as a mixture of strength and cardio so I thought the session made sense - but it wouldn’t leave me looking forward to our sessions.

    My articulated goal to her was to lose 10-15 pounds. Look more toned. She did mention this would be more about my diet, but went straight to HIIT (jump box squats, battle ropes, shadow boxing with weights, mountain climbers, jump squats in a line).

    Yeah, my suggestion would be do compound lifts and light to moderate cardio for no more than 2hrs a week.

    So squats, deadlifts, bench press, rows, over head press...ect. Modify those to fit your ability at this point but do mostly compound lifts and do enough cardio to be healthy. Nutrition is always going to be #1 but as far as exercise goes lifting is #1 and it's not close. The type of training she's working on is more something that might help with athleticism and will burn more calories during the session but isn't geared for changing body composition. The problem is that what lifting will do is raise metabolism for 72 hours afterward, reduce muscle loss while eating in a deficit, gain strength and for many people seeing lifting numbers go up each week is more motivating than trying to figure out the progress you're making in a cardio workout. It's much easier to see that your bench press went up 5lbs this week. It's easier to set non-weight loss goals. So, you cans say my goal is to lose 15lbs and bench press 100lbs. As long as you are progressing on weight or lifting you are making progress . Weight goes down you are leaning out, lifting goes up you are getting stronger and perhaps you gained a little muscle.

    If you want to lose weight and make everything look more lean and tight, a lifting based program is best.

    I would ask the trainer for a lifting based program. You are paying her, if she doesn't give you the type of workout you want then you should find another trainer. The primary job of the trainer is to find their clients a workout that achieves their goals in a way that works for them. If a trainer isn't willing to change a program to suit the request/needs of their client then they're not doing their job. In any case, if she isn't willing or can't give you the type of routine you want then it's better for both of you to move on.

    I don't want to make assumptions but the type of workout she is having you do sounds like one of the cookie-cutter ones Gyms mandate their trainers do. I'm not confident that this trainer would be able construct a solid lifting program on her own, but see what happens.

  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,454 Member
    liftingbro wrote: »
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    liftingbro wrote: »
    I'm a certified trainer. I wouldn't recommend paying a trainer just to check form unless it's a one-time thing. Also, many gyms have a policy about trainers working in their gyms, so unless the trainer is associated with the gym they probably wouldn't be allowed to train you there.

    I'm not 100% aware of what Curves is but it seems like a self-guided circuit training gym. They are probably all machines, which are very easy to use and are typically the best for beginners who don't have a trainer because it's less likely that you will get injured from poor form.

    If you are having pain using machines it could be simply tightness in the back (if you don't have a known injury) or it could be you need to train your core more to alleviate stress on the lower back. If I were to make a recommendation it would find a good trainer at a more traditional gym. It sounds like you may need some corrective training. A good trainer may be able to guide you in a program that could fix your back issues so that you can train without pain.

    The OP is talking about Strong Curves, not Curves. Strong Curves is a program developed by Bret Contreras who is a well known and respected fitness expert (20 or so years in the industry and a PhD in exercise science). Is it going to be perfect for everyone, of course not, but given the expertise of the person who developed it's better than most programs not specifically tailored to the individual.

    If you're a trainer you may want to pick up Bret's new book Glute Lab. I got an Amazon gift card for Christmas and may pick it up.

    https://www.amazon.com/Glute-Lab-Strength-Physique-Training-ebook/dp/B07X9F6RPZ/ref=pd_sim_351_1/130-5100323-2718159?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07X9F6RPZ&pd_rd_r=03b1a3fd-77b1-44f7-a945-590cd98b4c4f&pd_rd_w=VQwqG&pd_rd_wg=JKbye&pf_rd_p=04d27813-a1f2-4e7b-a32b-b5ab374ce3f9&pf_rd_r=55AQ823K306HWK7QD53X&psc=1&refRID=55AQ823K306HWK7QD53X

    Curves is a franchised female only exercise studio that uses a circuit of resistance machines, I believe with some sort of pre-programmed cuing telling when people should move to the next station. I'm thinking there are some still out there but all of them in our areas closed years ago.

    There are a ton of fitness experts selling books these days. Pretty hard to keep up with all of them, particularly when most of them are just rehashing stuff others did.

    If you look around most of the "experts" do not have the chops of Contras. The book I linked is the "layman's version" of his PhD research.
  • liftingbro
    liftingbro Posts: 2,029 Member
    edited December 2019
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    If you look around most of the "experts" do not have the chops of Contras. The book I linked is the "layman's version" of his PhD research.

    I'm familiar with Contras, just never read the book. Also there are literally thousands of PhD's out there in the fitness world right now. I'm not saying he's not good or doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm just saying I'm not familiar with that particular program. Like I said, there are literally thousands of books on fitness, many by PhDs and experts, you can't read them all.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    His name is Bret Contreras. Seeing as he knows more about lifting than everyone on this thread put together (including me), you should at least spell his name correctly.

  • liftingbro
    liftingbro Posts: 2,029 Member
    Azdak wrote: »
    His name is Bret Contreras. Seeing as he knows more about lifting than everyone on this thread put together (including me), you should at least spell his name correctly.
    Excuse us...lol

    Like I said, I'm not disputing his work at all. So not sure why the snark.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,454 Member
    Azdak wrote: »
    His name is Bret Contreras. Seeing as he knows more about lifting than everyone on this thread put together (including me), you should at least spell his name correctly.

    Actually I fat fingered Bret's name on my second post. That may be where he's picking up the poor spelling.

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