PT Recommended too much Cardio
RhapsodyWinters
Posts: 128 Member
Okay, so I'm going back to the gym and decided that, while I'm losing weight via counting calories, I want to do some strength training and some cardio alongside it. The personal trainer at Planet Fitness seemed to know a lot more than the last person I worked with (spoke about specifics in regards to the different zones you get in cardio, and how to burn more fat when you're doing your cardio), but she also didn't have a clue on what MyFitnessPal is. Now I'm afraid that she thinks my only source of losing weight is the gym.
The reason I think this is that she wants me to do 30 minutes of cardio every day. For someone who's 5'4 and currently 243 lb, that seems like something impossible to me. I'm sure I could struggle through it, but after a week, I know I'd quit. I just can't do all of that PLUS weight training on top of it.
She hasn't given me the schedule yet (I met yesterday and she said she wanted to work on it overnight so that she doesn't forget to add something she may want to add), but this is roughly what she was thinking.
My actual goal is to build some muscle (I don't care for body building). Outside of working out at the gym, I'm counting calories as my method to losing weight.
Monday-
Set of Ab work
30 minutes cardio
Various sets for Chest/Abs
Tuesday-
Set of Ab work
30-60 minutes cardio (or maybe 20 min cardio and some strength training)
Wednesday-
Set of Ab work
30 minutes cardio
Various sets for Legs/Thighs
Thursday-
Set of Ab work
30-60 minutes cardio (or maybe 20 min cardio and some strength training)
Friday-
Set of Ab work
30 minutes cardio
Various sets for Arms
For someone who is going from no working out to working out, this is extremely daunting to me. For a while I tried doing 30 min a day of cardio on my in-home elliptical, but I struggled to meet the full 30 minutes, and I'd skip days just so I could actually accomplish 30 minutes every other day.
I'm also worried about keeping the weight loss slow (I'm set to lose 1.5 lb/week). I don't want to have to deal with all that stress of eating partial calories out when I'm semi-meal prepping. I plan out my meals before I eat them, and that's how I feel like I can sustain. When I suddenly have a lot of calories that I can eat back, I can't find something else to eat. I also don't want to eat when I'm not hungry.
I'm going to talk to her about it today to see if she realizes that I'm not going to the gym to lose weight. I can lose weight just fine without working out a day in my life. I'm going to the gym to build some lean muscle and because I hear from a lot of the success stories on here that doing some strength and cardio training while losing weight helped with the loose skin issue.
What should I do? Is this an actual workout for people who are looking to lose weight? I have a dog I leave at home at 7:30am. This workout would have me home by 6:30pm if I head to the gym right after work, which is almost way too long to not take my dog potty. Plus, I am very very much a beginner. If I'm given a giant goal that I fail to meet day in and day out, I will quit. It's not a matter of wanting to quit, it's a matter of becoming so depressed because I can't meet even one goal, that I just quit altogether so I don't feel that pit of depression. I'd rather meet small goals and not do any exercise and not be that depressed than have this huge goal that I fail all the time and feel like a humongous failure.
For those who think it relevant to the conversation:
5'4, 23 y/o female
SW: 261
CW: 243
GW: 140 (for now, I plan to reassess at that point in time)
Tl;dr- Beginner getting into some fitness to build lean muscle while I'm counting calories to lose weight. Trainer is setting giant goals that will just depress me when I constantly fail to meet them.
The reason I think this is that she wants me to do 30 minutes of cardio every day. For someone who's 5'4 and currently 243 lb, that seems like something impossible to me. I'm sure I could struggle through it, but after a week, I know I'd quit. I just can't do all of that PLUS weight training on top of it.
She hasn't given me the schedule yet (I met yesterday and she said she wanted to work on it overnight so that she doesn't forget to add something she may want to add), but this is roughly what she was thinking.
My actual goal is to build some muscle (I don't care for body building). Outside of working out at the gym, I'm counting calories as my method to losing weight.
Monday-
Set of Ab work
30 minutes cardio
Various sets for Chest/Abs
Tuesday-
Set of Ab work
30-60 minutes cardio (or maybe 20 min cardio and some strength training)
Wednesday-
Set of Ab work
30 minutes cardio
Various sets for Legs/Thighs
Thursday-
Set of Ab work
30-60 minutes cardio (or maybe 20 min cardio and some strength training)
Friday-
Set of Ab work
30 minutes cardio
Various sets for Arms
For someone who is going from no working out to working out, this is extremely daunting to me. For a while I tried doing 30 min a day of cardio on my in-home elliptical, but I struggled to meet the full 30 minutes, and I'd skip days just so I could actually accomplish 30 minutes every other day.
I'm also worried about keeping the weight loss slow (I'm set to lose 1.5 lb/week). I don't want to have to deal with all that stress of eating partial calories out when I'm semi-meal prepping. I plan out my meals before I eat them, and that's how I feel like I can sustain. When I suddenly have a lot of calories that I can eat back, I can't find something else to eat. I also don't want to eat when I'm not hungry.
I'm going to talk to her about it today to see if she realizes that I'm not going to the gym to lose weight. I can lose weight just fine without working out a day in my life. I'm going to the gym to build some lean muscle and because I hear from a lot of the success stories on here that doing some strength and cardio training while losing weight helped with the loose skin issue.
What should I do? Is this an actual workout for people who are looking to lose weight? I have a dog I leave at home at 7:30am. This workout would have me home by 6:30pm if I head to the gym right after work, which is almost way too long to not take my dog potty. Plus, I am very very much a beginner. If I'm given a giant goal that I fail to meet day in and day out, I will quit. It's not a matter of wanting to quit, it's a matter of becoming so depressed because I can't meet even one goal, that I just quit altogether so I don't feel that pit of depression. I'd rather meet small goals and not do any exercise and not be that depressed than have this huge goal that I fail all the time and feel like a humongous failure.
For those who think it relevant to the conversation:
5'4, 23 y/o female
SW: 261
CW: 243
GW: 140 (for now, I plan to reassess at that point in time)
Tl;dr- Beginner getting into some fitness to build lean muscle while I'm counting calories to lose weight. Trainer is setting giant goals that will just depress me when I constantly fail to meet them.
0
Replies
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There's nothing wrong with cardio 30 min a day. You can do 15 min, weights, 15 min. Your cardio could be walking, elliptical, bike, or a combination. Full body strength would be better than body parts once per week. You will get stronger faster with full body two to three times per week.7
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Start with 10 mins of cardio a day and slowly increase the time by 5 mins every week until you reach your goal.7
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The trainer's strength training recommendations leave a lot to be desired IMO.
If doing 30 minutes of cardio every day is too daunting at the moment then start with maybe 3 and work your way up...or do 3 days per week of some kind of moderate effort cardio and 4 days per week of just walking (walking is cardio) and work up to having more moderate sessions than not.5 -
I stopped reading at "the personal trainer at Planet Fitness."22
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just my experience...
my highest "recorded" weight was 248.8, I am 5'2.5" cw 195, GW 145(ish) I had to work up to 30 min of cardio...I started with somewhere of about 7 min on the elliptical. I absolutely HATE cardio. I am a firm believer in finding something you love and sticking to it (at least in the beginning)
I know how you feel with the feeling of being overwhelmed. I would give up before getting started if someone told me I had to do all that.
Are you paying her? If not, tell her thank you for your time and do what you were going to do anyway. If so, then she is working for you - let her know you need to start small and work your way up.
This is YOUR journey, no one can do it for you, but lots of people will have advice (I see the irony here
) but in the end you need to do you. 5 -
Started at 295.5 30 mins of cardio a day 3-4 days a week 2 days strength training, then just a slow pace walks on "rest days" currently down 84lbs .. Maybe cardio 3 days strength 2days ? Breaking it up helped me1
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cwolfman13 wrote: »The trainer's strength training recommendations leave a lot to be desired IMO.
This. I would find another trainer based upon this one's recommendations, tbh.
Also, no, exercise isn't about losing weight per se, but cardiovascular activity is good for your heart and just your overall health. I don't think you should start out with any specific goal, but maybe just try walking your dog everyday and slowly increase the walks. Don't make it so much "exercise" or a specific goal to obtain just make it something you do. Or even just increasing your activity level in general.2 -
I didn't become a runner overnight. It took a year of walking and slowly adding running into the mix. By year two I was able to run thirty miles a week and take on a half marathon. When I started there was no way I could even imagine such a feat. I would do fast walking and slowly add distance until you hit your goal. If you like you can add some running until you transition to all running. Its weird, I hated running when I started but now I love it and crave it.1
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cwolfman13 wrote: »The trainer's strength training recommendations leave a lot to be desired IMO.
Also this.
Why so much dedicated ab work? There are plenty of ways to work abs through variations on other strength exercises. I only do 2 ab exercises a week - everything else is because I'm doing single arm rows with dumbells blah blah blah. Plus, abs are made in the kitchen and all that. Trite, but the truth.
And surely the cardio doesn't have to be in the gym. Walking the dog at a pace that means you get a bit sweaty and out of breath counts...
I'd try and find a trainer with a strength and conditioning qualification, and/or qualified to teach Olympic lifts. It doesn't mean you have to DO that stuff, but they're the people who believe in strength training as a route to getting lean. And they also know about cardio.
Trainers who don't have the extra qualifications tend to know lots about cardio and not much about strength training.
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I would do what you can. If 30 min a day seems too daunting, start with 15 mins a day. Also, there is no need to train abs every day. You could train core every other day and that would still be more than enough. You could take that time and either do cardio or strength training instead. At the end of the day it's a marathon not a sprint. even if you do a little every day you are still doing something. or use the gym to weight train and take your dog for a walk as cardio!2
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I suggest you don't need a training.... run the program strong curves or starting strength (3 days/week strength training) and do cardio on off days if you want. use the trainer to help with form on the lifts, but no reason to run a program as they laid out. a beginner is much better off doing a 3 day full body routine as opposed to splits.4
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cwolfman13 wrote: »The trainer's strength training recommendations leave a lot to be desired IMO.
This. I would find another trainer based upon this one's recommendations, tbh.
Also, no, exercise isn't about losing weight per se, but cardiovascular activity is good for your heart and just your overall health. I don't think you should start out with any specific goal, but maybe just try walking your dog everyday and slowly increase the walks. Don't make it so much "exercise" or a specific goal to obtain just make it something you do. Or even just increasing your activity level in general.
I agree with everher. Start using the time you spend walking your dog as your cardio time. I don't think the trainer is putting herself in your shoes and thinking about what would work for you. It's better to start with smaller, attainable goals so that you can be successful and gradually aim for more and more.
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You mentioned you have a dog.... "cardio" doesn't have to be on a machine at the gym, do you take your dog on walks? 15 minute walk before work, 15 minute walk after work, there you go, 30 minutes of cardio. If that's too much than start lower. As you progress you can build on duration and/or intensity. Incorporating some cardio into your life is important for your overall health, walking is a perfectly acceptable form of cardio and a good starting point.
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You mentioned you have a dog.... "cardio" doesn't have to be on a machine at the gym, do you take your dog on walks? 15 minute walk before work, 15 minute walk after work, there you go, 30 minutes of cardio. If that's too much than start lower. As you progress you can build on duration and/or intensity. Incorporating some cardio into your life is important for your overall health, walking is a perfectly acceptable form of cardio and a good starting point.
Exactly this. 30 minutes a day of walking is cardio. especially if you're 5'4" and 243 lbs
Get outside smell the flowers oogle the butterflies. enjoy moving.8 -
stanmann571 wrote: »You mentioned you have a dog.... "cardio" doesn't have to be on a machine at the gym, do you take your dog on walks? 15 minute walk before work, 15 minute walk after work, there you go, 30 minutes of cardio. If that's too much than start lower. As you progress you can build on duration and/or intensity. Incorporating some cardio into your life is important for your overall health, walking is a perfectly acceptable form of cardio and a good starting point.
Exactly this. 30 minutes a day of walking is cardio. especially if you're 5'4" and 243 lbs
Get outside smell the flowers oogle the butterflies. enjoy moving.
Seriously, I used to scoff at walking until it became the only exercise I was allowed to do. Now it's my favorite part of the day. I go out for 30 min and it usually turns into an hour, just because I'm enjoying being outside.2 -
There is a lot of good advice above. The current CDC recommendation is 45 minutes per day of moderate intensity exercise. It isn't that difficult, once you get used to it and it can be broken up into shorter segments.
Walk the dog before and after work. Ours gets two to three walks every day, for a total of 2-8 miles. My favorite time of day is the 1/2 hour we walk before bed. I love being out at night in the summer. Not as much in the winter, but it can still be beautiful on a cold winter's night
If half an hour at a time seems like too much or too boring, then split it up so you do 15 minutes on the elliptical and 15 on the bike, or do a dvd and only do half the repetitions until you can do them all.
Don't look at cardio as being just for weight loss, it is good for your health in a lot of different ways. It also is good for your long term weight maintenance. Most people who keep weight off in the long term spend an hour or more a day exercising. It needs to become a habit.3 -
why did she say she wanted you doing abs everyday????0
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OP I went to a PT at Planet Fitness many moons ago, and I got pretty much the exact same workout plan. I would not put a whole lot of stock into it being the only option, especially if you have doubts already.
I started with walking 10-15 minutes a day for 5 days a week (at work) and slowly built up from there. Since you are doing this for fitness, then just work towards progress each week and make small adjustments as you build up to it. Add a few more minutes to your walk when you can or add a day as you get stronger. If 30 minutes a day seems too much right now, just build up to it.
As for strength training, I didn't end up using their program so I can't attest to how it works. But don't give up on strength training- I have loved adding it to my workout and I use a dumbbell program I found at the thread below:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1
There are a ton of options- just ease into whatever you chose to do. Small changes are easier to incorporate into your life and are generally more sustainable. For example, for a few weeks, just work on increasing walking time. Then, start alternating days of longer cardio with strength training a few days a week. And then you continue to build from there.
Good luck, OP. I hope you find something you enjoy and works for you.0 -
_dracarys_ wrote: »I stopped reading at "the personal trainer at Planet Fitness."
Awesome.
.... and smart too.1 -
I would take a walk with the dog, as suggested above.
I'd look into starting strength or strong lifts to do on your own. Or something similar. Full body, compound lifts will be the best start.0 -
OP, it does sound like you were being given a one-size-fits-all, poorly designed program. I'm going to agree with what everyone else has said. Make your life and your dog's life better by taking it on a 10 min walk before work and a 10 min walk when you get home. Work on slowly increasing that time or adding a third short walk.
Meanwhile, check out the link in @Penthesilea514 's post, there are even some body weight routines you can start with at home. Start wherever you can and just work on improving over time. Good luck!1 -
I started at 244 5'2" doing 15 minutes of cardio via a PT with the goal of working up to 30 minutes. It really didn't take that long. It doesn't have to be continuous just regular. At that time I could just make it the 15-18 minute walk to the bus stop when someone suggested maybe I would start walking to work (3 miles) - my though ha-ha NEVER! now I walk some days both ways. I know it is harsh when people say 'don't focus on what you can't do' but that is really what it comes down to. I have surprised myself in so many ways with what I can do. Be strong and true to yourself but give it an honest heartfelt try.3
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_dracarys_ wrote: »I stopped reading at "the personal trainer at Planet Fitness."
Seems awfully inexperienced.
Walking is great. I'd start there 30-40 minutes a day, even if it's just 10-15 minutes after every meal for now, then add one a couple of 20 min higher intensity sessions, running, cycling, rowing, find something you LIKE to do.
Strength training 3-4 times a week, not on the same days as your higher intensity cardio sessions.
Watch what you eat, it's 80% diet.2 -
you dont burn more fat doing cardio, you may burn more calories than say weight lifting, but fat is burned/lost in a deficit. if you overeat and do cardio till your brains fall out ,if you are still burning less than you take in you wont lose fat.1
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RhapsodyWinters wrote: »Okay, so I'm going back to the gym and decided that, while I'm losing weight via counting calories, I want to do some strength training and some cardio alongside it. The personal trainer at Planet Fitness seemed to know a lot more than the last person I worked with (spoke about specifics in regards to the different zones you get in cardio, and how to burn more fat when you're doing your cardio), but she also didn't have a clue on what MyFitnessPal is. Now I'm afraid that she thinks my only source of losing weight is the gym.
Current PT talked about different zones in cardio to burn more fat, or the last guy? If it's the current one then this is another red flag. The idea of "fat burning zones", etc has been debunked.
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I do about 100 minutes of cardio 5 days a week. It's mixed though, circuit training, jogging, walking, body weight training, all done without stopping so it keeps my HR between 110 to 150ish so it all counts as cardio. Nothing wrong with 30 a day, but I'd take at least one rest day a week from everything. If you're trying to lose weight I'd drop a bit of the weight training (not stop) if you have to but keep the cardio. Just my .02.0
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BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »RhapsodyWinters wrote: »Okay, so I'm going back to the gym and decided that, while I'm losing weight via counting calories, I want to do some strength training and some cardio alongside it. The personal trainer at Planet Fitness seemed to know a lot more than the last person I worked with (spoke about specifics in regards to the different zones you get in cardio, and how to burn more fat when you're doing your cardio), but she also didn't have a clue on what MyFitnessPal is. Now I'm afraid that she thinks my only source of losing weight is the gym.
Current PT talked about different zones in cardio to burn more fat, or the last guy? If it's the current one then this is another red flag. The idea of "fat burning zones", etc has been debunked.
Beat me to it!
OP if you find the idea of 30 minutes of cardio daunting build up to it. As the old expression goes "Rome wasn't built in a day", as others have pointed out your cardio could be walking or riding a bike or swimming etc .....something that you enjoy and that doesn't need to be done within the confines of a gym (I'm not a fan of treadmills but they are handy if the weather would otherwise keep you indoors, same with stationary bikes). It sounds like your PT may not be terribly knowledgeable (there are some "certifications" that are little more than a rudimentary on-line course)
You've gotten lots of great advice above....0 -
Go at your own pace. I'm the exact opposite though. When I was at 204 I STARTED with 2 hours of cardio every day. I have crazy patience, energy and stamina. That is just me though. I have gotten better at balancing my workouts. Right now sometimes I do 30 minutes and sometimes I do an hour and then weight training.
You want to push your limits a little at a time. Don't rush it.0 -
I think I am about the 10th person to say it but use your dog walking as cardio, don't waste your time in the gym doing it if there are other more enjoyable places that you would rather be. For me personally I HATE getting up in the morning but every day that I am able to force myself out of bed for a light 30 minute stroll I feel better throughout the day. My mood is better, seems like my mind is sharper and I am definitely more awake and ready to face a hectic day at the office. Walking is something that I used to consider to not be real exercise. Boy was I wrong. I love my walks now and try to get dropped off a few kms from my apartment and walk home after work too. I bet your dog will be happier too if you can get out and take him for a couple nice walks a day.1
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Sorry it took so long. Lots of stuff going on in my personal life. To everyone suggesting I walk my dog, I would love to do that but am not really allowed to as per vet's orders. My dog has a luxating patella and some early signs of arthritis. If she gets any exercise outside of short potty walks, she's limited to swimming. Currently she's on joint supplements and canine-specific pain medication for when she throws out her knee due to the luxating patella. I feel awful for her, but I try to get her swimming at a river that's about 20-30 miles from where I live every weekend. (I get a bit of swimming in too, though it's only leisure swimming.)
I did have that meeting with the trainer, and she had fixed the schedule to ease me in. It gave me a lot of mobility so that I can leave the gym on my terms. She told me to do some cardio every day and choose a 1-2 from each section and alternate which workouts I do. She said she wanted me to try and do abs every day because they would help with balance and posture? This is how the schedule looked as she gave it to me:
Workout Name
(3 sets of 10 reps for all except the abs. Abs are 3 sets of 15)
Overhead Press
Arm Curl
Lat Pull Down
Arm Extension
Rear/Fly Delt
Row
Chest Press
Back Extension
Leg Extension
Leg Curl
Calf Extension
Leg Press
Hip Abductor
Hip Adductor
Abdominal
Ab Crunch
Torso Rotation
(These only after a few weeks when you're ready to implement them)
Plank - 1 Min Total
Side Plank Dips
Hanging Leg Raise
Toe Ups
Reverse Crunch
___________________________________________
Sit Down Bicycle -
Zone 1- 124 to 134 2 to 3 mins
Zone 2- 143 to 153 0 to 90 Secs
Zone 3- 162 to 172 0 to 30 secs
Alternate between these zones for 20-30 Minutes
OR
Select a workout option on machine for 20 minutes
So using this chart she gave me, I worked out a plan for myself that uses at least 20 minutes cardio every day (maybe 10-15 if my legs get too sore), and a few workouts from each category. This is how mine looks (it's a screenshot from my spreadsheet). I may remove the abductors on Tuesday and Thursdays depending on how I feel after doing a full week's workouts next week.
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