Hello! Just joined... (personal trainer)

VernerDixon

Hi there,

My name is Verner and I just joined this community to hopefully help in the near future.

I am a personal trainer in the San Francisco area and I routinely advice my clients to use MyFitnessPal to log and track their food. I think it's a great resource and I thought that maybe I could join and help answer any questions that anyone has in terms of health, nutrition, diet, exercise..anything!

A little about me: I'm 32 years old, and like I mentioned, I live in San Francisco area with my new fiance!

I work at a local gym and my specialty is weight loss.

So, if you ever feel like you struggle with self control, changing your eating habits, postpartum weight loss, consistency, or anything else.. I'd love to help!

Thank you for allowing me to join and I look forward to getting to know this community!

- Verner

LeslieTSUK

Hi Verner,
great to have you here on the forum.

And since your offering help, grins, just a little question.

I have nerve damage in my arms/hands/feet and back, so my mobility is limited.

I'm ok on the food side, got that well in hand, could you recommend any types of exercises or equipment that would be helpful to tone up tummy and thighs as i try to loose the extra weight.?

Big thanks in advance.

I'm based in england uk

p_emmel5

Welcome Verner. as a personal trainer you can use this as a great tool for your clients. My nutritionist logs on the check my food log and makes adjustments during the week before my appointment.

VernerDixon

Hi Leslie,

What is your nerve damage from?

If it is based in the back (ie disk issues) I'm hesitant on giving you workout advice without knowing your issues better.

In general, exercising with nerve damage should be done with low to no impact.

Swimming is a great way to exercise, as well as biking. You'll want to take it slow and just have common sense when exercising.. if it hurts or doesn't feel right, avoid it.

Gentle stretching and a proper warmup as well as balancing exercises can be great for long-term care.

LeslieTSUK

Hi Leslie,

What is your nerve damage from?

If it is based in the back (ie disk issues) I'm hesitant on giving you workout advice without knowing your issues better.

In general, exercising with nerve damage should be done with low to no impact.

Swimming is a great way to exercise, as well as biking. You'll want to take it slow and just have common sense when exercising.. if it hurts or doesn't feel right, avoid it.

Gentle stretching and a proper warmup as well as balancing exercises can be great for long-term care.

Hi verner,
I've been diabetic since young, and until 3 years ago it was really badly controlled.
Now i have that well and truly A1, but the neuropathy was from the diabetes.

I did used to walk a lot so was very fit though big, until the nerve damage kicked in and got weaker over time.

I think my discs are ok, probably just weak muscles and obviously pain from the nerves.

Slowly loosing the weight to get better mobility hopefully, but all my weight mainly around tummy area so was just looking for any possible ways to try target that area, help tone it up as the weight comes off.

I know you can't give anything too specific totally understand that, but do you know of anything that could possibly help or worth a try?

Swimming does sound a good idea, will look into that

Many thanks in advance

And totally appreciate the help

tomaspetro

Hi Vermer, thank you for your kind offer. I'm 64 and have been over 300 for the last 25 years. Since January, I've lost about 100 pounds on a 1200 to 1400 calorie diet and walking 10 K steps a day, every day. I'm at 240 right now. I've been thinking a lot about running but based on a couple of 20 step trials , it's more like lumbering than running. Would you advise continuing to try or maybe just increase my walking intensity or something else entirely?
Thanks
Tom

LeonCX

I haven't started any exercise yet, but would love a PT's advice when the time comes. Hope you will add me and thanks.

VernerDixon

Welcome Verner. as a personal trainer you can use this as a great tool for your clients. My nutritionist logs on the check my food log and makes adjustments during the week before my appointment.

Exactly. It's a great tool for both client and trainer to both review together.

VernerDixon

Hi Leslie,

What is your nerve damage from?

If it is based in the back (ie disk issues) I'm hesitant on giving you workout advice without knowing your issues better.

In general, exercising with nerve damage should be done with low to no impact.

Swimming is a great way to exercise, as well as biking. You'll want to take it slow and just have common sense when exercising.. if it hurts or doesn't feel right, avoid it.

Gentle stretching and a proper warmup as well as balancing exercises can be great for long-term care.

Hi verner,
I've been diabetic since young, and until 3 years ago it was really badly controlled.
Now i have that well and truly A1, but the neuropathy was from the diabetes.

I did used to walk a lot so was very fit though big, until the nerve damage kicked in and got weaker over time.

I think my discs are ok, probably just weak muscles and obviously pain from the nerves.

Slowly loosing the weight to get better mobility hopefully, but all my weight mainly around tummy area so was just looking for any possible ways to try target that area, help tone it up as the weight comes off.

I know you can't give anything too specific totally understand that, but do you know of anything that could possibly help or worth a try?

Swimming does sound a good idea, will look into that

Many thanks in advance

And totally appreciate the help

Dr. Stuart McGill is an expert in spinal biomechanics, and when dealing with diabetic neuropathy it's best to play it safe with your spine and nervous system.. Check out McGill's stuff on Youtube ("McGill crunch) to see demos on how to perform the exercise right. McGill's stuff is great and probably up your alley.

Memowe

Welcome to MFP! I also new around here but the community has been wonderful! I have a little question, When I bike ride my right foot goes numb after thirty minutes, I'm not sure what causes this and in any other exercise that I do it never happens. Is it dangerous to continue biking or is it just an odd nerve problem?

VernerDixon

Hi Vermer, thank you for your kind offer. I'm 64 and have been over 300 for the last 25 years. Since January, I've lost about 100 pounds on a 1200 to 1400 calorie diet and walking 10 K steps a day, every day. I'm at 240 right now. I've been thinking a lot about running but based on a couple of 20 step trials , it's more like lumbering than running. Would you advise continuing to try or maybe just increase my walking intensity or something else entirely?
Thanks
Tom

I would say continue to try Tom! You're doing great!

If you like running, by all means, continue running, nothing's holding you back. Walk when you need to walk and run when you can again.

And 100 pounds?!? That's awesome Tom..Congrats and keep it up, you're doing great!!

mhmustaq

Hi Verner,

Nice to have you here... I just started here and today is my first day. I do care about my health but in last couple of years i put up so much weight. My problem is my food habit, sometimes i cant control my eating habits as i skip my normal food and instead go for Junk.
Is there anyway to think in-different and get on with diet.

Regards,

Mustaq

KCarlssen

Hello Verner,

It's nice to have someone with professional knowledge to turn to on this site.

Four years ago I fell in the shower and bruised my right shoulder. It has actually
never felt the same since. My physician did give me some steroid injections at the
time which helped, but he warned that they should not be repeated. I don't have
the strength I used to and I really need to do something to stop the downhill
slide of my arm strength. Is it a bit weird to only lift weights on one side? I am not
sure the right side could handle weight training, so the left side would look great and the
right not so great. :-(

My uncle had rotator cuff repair surgery a few years ago and he was totally im-
mobilized for a month afterward. I am working fulltime and cannot take that kind
of time off. So am hoping for a strength training program that will get me a bit
more strength and get rid of the "batwings" too! Hahaha. Gotta get in shape
for retirement!

Thanks for any input you can provide. Have a great day.

Kathy

VernerDixon

Welcome to MFP! I also new around here but the community has been wonderful! I have a little question, When I bike ride my right foot goes numb after thirty minutes, I'm not sure what causes this and in any other exercise that I do it never happens. Is it dangerous to continue biking or is it just an odd nerve problem?

Could be a shoe problem.. One foot might be bigger /wider than the other, maybe check out the fit of your shoes.

VernerDixon

Hello Verner,

It's nice to have someone with professional knowledge to turn to on this site.

Four years ago I fell in the shower and bruised my right shoulder. It has actually
never felt the same since. My physician did give me some steroid injections at the
time which helped, but he warned that they should not be repeated. I don't have
the strength I used to and I really need to do something to stop the downhill
slide of my arm strength. Is it a bit weird to only lift weights on one side? I am not
sure the right side could handle weight training, so the left side would look great and the
right not so great. :-(

My uncle had rotator cuff repair surgery a few years ago and he was totally im-
mobilized for a month afterward. I am working fulltime and cannot take that kind
of time off. So am hoping for a strength training program that will get me a bit
more strength and get rid of the "batwings" too! Hahaha. Gotta get in shape
for retirement!

Thanks for any input you can provide. Have a great day.

Kathy

Hey Kathy,
I have a few clients with bad shoulders and even if you don't have a bad shoulder now, it's important to keep up the strength and stability of the shoulder joint.
This is a great site and shows a ton of exercises you can do to strengthen your shoulders.

http://functionalresistancetraining.com/exercises/shoulder-stability-exercises

Check it out.

I recommend starting withOUT using weights and just concentrate on getting the motion right.
Start with Prone Cobra, and Y,T, and I's (you'll see them on that link above) and add one new exercise a week.

KCarlssen

Thanks so much, Verner. I will look at the material and
get started on building stronger shoulders asap.

Kathy

Graelwyn75

Two questions.

1) I have COPD (68% lung function approx), but train hard regardless and have done for several years now (boxing, weights, cycling, circuits, running, elliptical on intervals) and have always wondered if, because of the extra effort I am having to exert, I am likely to be burning more energy off? I have noticed that when I am on track with my workouts, I seem to drop fat pretty rapidly and can get away with eating quite a large amount.

2) After 2 months off from training from Nov to January, due to severe chest infections, during which I ate pretty freely, I got back to training end of Jan and after feb 3rd, stopped my periods for 7 months. Never happened before. I thought it was early menopause, as did my gp, but after gaining 6 Ibs rather rapidly over the course of a month(no idea why it went on so fast), my period returned. I was around 12% bodyfat prior to getting ill, but had certainly gone up a fair bit from that during my months off, and I still got periods at 12%. Is it possible getting back into working out hard stopped them ?

nancybuss

Welcome !!!!

juliemwhite12

Hey there! I am also new to MFP & would love some friends lol, hope you add me

VernerDixon

Two questions.

1) I have COPD (68% lung function approx), but train hard regardless and have done for several years now (boxing, weights, cycling, circuits, running, elliptical on intervals) and have always wondered if, because of the extra effort I am having to exert, I am likely to be burning more energy off? I have noticed that when I am on track with my workouts, I seem to drop fat pretty rapidly and can get away with eating quite a large amount.

2) After 2 months off from training from Nov to January, due to severe chest infections, during which I ate pretty freely, I got back to training end of Jan and after feb 3rd, stopped my periods for 7 months. Never happened before. I thought it was early menopause, as did my gp, but after gaining 6 Ibs rather rapidly over the course of a month(no idea why it went on so fast), my period returned. I was around 12% bodyfat prior to getting ill, but had certainly gone up a fair bit from that during my months off, and I still got periods at 12%. Is it possible getting back into working out hard stopped them ?

Hi Graelwyn75,
Great questions. I'll try my best..

1- It sounds like you're a pretty hard worker and I would suspect that your body is pretty use to training at a lower lung capacity, so I don't think it has much to do with your COPD. I suspect that when you get back into working out hard, your body just responds well.

2- I would suspect that if you lost your period for that long (7 months) then yes..it was due to over exertion and/or low body fat..

Read this: (from medscape.com)
Amenorrhea presents in two forms. Primary amenorrhea is the complete absence of menstruation by age 16 in a female with secondary sex characteristics. Secondary amenorrhea is the absence of 3 to 12 consecutive menstrual periods after menarche.

Secondary amenorrhea should never be considered a normal response to intense training. Once amenorrhea is detected, the etiology must be determined.

Exercise-associated amenorrhea (EAA) is the most common cause of secondary amenorrhea in athletes. EAA is believed to be the result of a disorder in the hypothalamus and results in a hypo-estrogen state. Specifically, there is a decrease in the pulse frequency of gonadotrophic-releasing hormone. This results in a decrease in the frequency of luteinizing hormone from the pituitary. In time, low estrogen levels can result in diminished bone mineral density and osteoporosis., it was due to a decrease in body fat. is the absence of menstrual periods. Women who are athletes or who exercise excessively on a regular basis are at risk of developing.

VernerDixon

Two questions.

1) I have COPD (68% lung function approx), but train hard regardless and have done for several years now (boxing, weights, cycling, circuits, running, elliptical on intervals) and have always wondered if, because of the extra effort I am having to exert, I am likely to be burning more energy off? I have noticed that when I am on track with my workouts, I seem to drop fat pretty rapidly and can get away with eating quite a large amount.

2) After 2 months off from training from Nov to January, due to severe chest infections, during which I ate pretty freely, I got back to training end of Jan and after feb 3rd, stopped my periods for 7 months. Never happened before. I thought it was early menopause, as did my gp, but after gaining 6 Ibs rather rapidly over the course of a month(no idea why it went on so fast), my period returned. I was around 12% bodyfat prior to getting ill, but had certainly gone up a fair bit from that during my months off, and I still got periods at 12%. Is it possible getting back into working out hard stopped them ?

Hi Graelwyn75,
Great questions. I'll try my best..

1- It sounds like you're a pretty hard worker and I would suspect that your body is pretty use to training at a lower lung capacity, so I don't think it has much to do with your COPD. I suspect that when you get back into working out hard, your body just responds well.

2- I would suspect that if you lost your period for that long (7 months) then yes..it was due to over exertion and/or low body fat..

Read this: (from medscape.com)
Amenorrhea presents in two forms. Primary amenorrhea is the complete absence of menstruation by age 16 in a female with secondary sex characteristics. Secondary amenorrhea is the absence of 3 to 12 consecutive menstrual periods after menarche.

Secondary amenorrhea should never be considered a normal response to intense training. Once amenorrhea is detected, the etiology must be determined.

Exercise-associated amenorrhea (EAA) is the most common cause of secondary amenorrhea in athletes. EAA is believed to be the result of a disorder in the hypothalamus and results in a hypo-estrogen state. Specifically, there is a decrease in the pulse frequency of gonadotrophic-releasing hormone. This results in a decrease in the frequency of luteinizing hormone from the pituitary. In time, low estrogen levels can result in diminished bone mineral density and osteoporosis., it was due to a decrease in body fat. is the absence of menstrual periods. Women who are athletes or who exercise excessively on a regular basis are at risk of developing.

one more thing.. exercise is very beneficial and is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle.. it becomes UNhealthy when it becomes extreme or interferes with your normal bodily functions (ie hormone pathways), or could potentially hurt you long-term.