Prep work/Food Questions - First day with trainer tomorrow

numindan

Thanks to great advice from the MFP hive mind last week, I've gotten a referral to a trainer from my physiotherapist who specializes in assisting people with injuries. I've never been to a gym before, nor lifted anything heavier than small hand weights or groceries/household items. The first session is set for 30 minutes and we're supposed to be working with dumbells and learning a few exercises/proper form.

My session isn't until later in the day when I'd normally be scarfing down supper. Should I eat before the session? After? Add an extra snack to my day?

Also, for those of you who are trainers or have worked with trainers, is there something you wish you (or your client's) knew on day 1 that you didn't learn until AFTER you arrived at the gym that you'd be willing to share?

jjblogs

Just go for it and have fun. Nothing much to think about before hand that I'm aware of. I wouldn't eat a huge meal, but a little snack might help. Apple & pb, etc..

marycmeadows

you should always eat something within 30 minutes of working out. period. regardless of whether its with a trainer or not! .... also you can have a high protein snack prior to the workout - but make sure to have it at least 30-45 minutes BEFORE your workout. Also, you probably want to do a 5-10 minute warm up walk before your session.

Sp1nGoddess

I normally have a small meal about 1 hour or so before your session. Like a small turkey sandwich, 1/2 a protein shake with fruit or fruit & yogurt. It's normally a good idea to get there a bit early do a warmup before your session that way you don't waste time & $ - but the trainer may have something specific in mind.

After you'll want something like a protein shake to feed your muscles.

numindan

Also, you probably want to do a 5-10 minute warm up walk before your session.

Thanks. I'm walking to the gym which is about 15-20 minutes from my house. Would that be sufficient for a warm-up or will it be negated by getting there and needing to change clothes/shoes? I can always plan to get there earlier and do some time walking on a treadmill or indoor track.

numindan

you should always eat something within 30 minutes of working out. period.

Good plan. Until now my workouts have always consisted of stretching activites assigned by my physiotherapist, long walks after dinner or climbing stairs at work on breaks. For the walks and stair climbing there's always been some food involved. I guess that while I do consider walks and stairs exercise, I just never considered it to be "working out"...

Sp1nGoddess

I think your walk to the gym is a great warmup, it takes about 15 minutes to cool down so you should be ok with having to change clothes.

numindan

Thanks to everyone for the great advice. Now I'm going to ask another silly question but don't feel like starting a new topic so hopefully everyone will bear with me :flowerforyou:

After meeting with my trainer on Friday and going over my long term goals (improved core strength so I can ride my mountain bike without backpain, improved leg/knee muscles to help hold patella in place so I can run again one day & improved strength so I can lift/carry 50lb bags of dog food and cat litter around with no difficulty) and my extensive list of injuries (back, knee, hip, clavicle, brain), he's developing a program that is supposed to build endurance before trying to lift anything heavier than 5lb dumb bells.

The program seems to revolve mostly around body weight/resistance exercises (lunges, squats, planks, stairs, pushups, minor weights (those 5 lb dumb bells I referenced), and a bit of HIIT for cardio at the end of each circuit) and he says once I'm able to do the circuit 4-5 x in an hour on a regular basis we can start learning to lift heavy.

I like the trainer and his energy levels but I am on a semi-limited budget. Does this endurance/resistance pre-development program seem reasonable prior to learning proper form to lift weights?