Best use of a personal trainer

Jambalady
Jambalady Posts: 155 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
after all this craziness with Covid and working from home vs returning to the office, I am finally back to somewhat of a predictable schedule. There are no good gyms that are easily accessible to my house, but I did join one for when I am in back in the office. That being said, I am in the office (and therefore can go to a real gym) on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. I also signed up for personal training sessions and I really like the trainer so far. We do Tuesdays and Thursdays (upper body/lower body - taking advantage of the barbells and machines).
What I'm trying to figure out is the best routine where I can take advantage of the days I have access to the gym vs Fri-Mon where I am working from home and have access to my dumbbell set (up to 30lbs) and a few kettlebells (up to 25 lbs).

Any suggestions on what I can do to get to a 4-5 day workout plan within these parameters?

My goal is primarily building muscle, strength training. I've just recently started squatting/deadlifting with the barbells again with my trainer again after a 2.5 year hiatus bc of Covid and before that I was just introduced to it. I'm still not comfortable lifting on my own (hence the trainer).

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,264 Member
    Have you asked your trainer these questions?

    For now, why not consider some pleasant mild/moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise in between your training sessions?

    You're saying you don't feel comfortable lifting on your own. I get that your primary goal is building muscle, but if you hit the same muscle groups day in and day out, that won't allow proper recovery, and may interfere with progress, especially until you build up some basic capabilities.

    Base CV fitness is useful in daily life, and there are some fitness adaptations that can help you even in your strength workouts to a certain degree (endurance, ability to deliver oxygen to muscles, etc.)

    You wouldn't want to do some super-intense thing on your non-lifting days, especially at the start (cumulative fatigue is a thing, hinders progress). It's not the case that "cardio burns your muscles" - that's a myth, especially if you keep things moderate.

    Also, cardio needn't be some miserable gym-y thing involving machines: Walk to the park; do a fun low-intensity YouTube exercise video; take a casual bike ride if you have a bike; play active VR or video games; play real life games like frisbee, ping pong, tennis, or whatever; do any one of dozens of kinds of dancing; learn a martial art; . . . I could go on and on, but I won't. You get the idea: Find something fun that involves moving, and gets your heart rate up a little. It needn't even be the same thing every time.

    Also, this needn't be the permanent decision: You can work this way now, work your way toward a multi-day home/gym lifting split of some kind later, if you like. A little bit of fun CV exercise in the mix is always a good thing.

    Just a thought.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited August 2022
    Your trainer should be able to give you "homework". Also keep in mind that you ideally don't want to work the same muscle groups on consecutive days and that you also need to allow for recovery time.

    I never worked with my trainer more than once per week, but he always gave me "homework"
  • Jambalady
    Jambalady Posts: 155 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Have you asked your trainer these questions?

    For now, why not consider some pleasant mild/moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise in between your training sessions?

    You're saying you don't feel comfortable lifting on your own. I get that your primary goal is building muscle, but if you hit the same muscle groups day in and day out, that won't allow proper recovery, and may interfere with progress, especially until you build up some basic capabilities.

    Base CV fitness is useful in daily life, and there are some fitness adaptations that can help you even in your strength workouts to a certain degree (endurance, ability to deliver oxygen to muscles, etc.)

    You wouldn't want to do some super-intense thing on your non-lifting days, especially at the start (cumulative fatigue is a thing, hinders progress). It's not the case that "cardio burns your muscles" - that's a myth, especially if you keep things moderate.

    Also, cardio needn't be some miserable gym-y thing involving machines: Walk to the park; do a fun low-intensity YouTube exercise video; take a casual bike ride if you have a bike; play active VR or video games; play real life games like frisbee, ping pong, tennis, or whatever; do any one of dozens of kinds of dancing; learn a martial art; . . . I could go on and on, but I won't. You get the idea: Find something fun that involves moving, and gets your heart rate up a little. It needn't even be the same thing every time.

    Also, this needn't be the permanent decision: You can work this way now, work your way toward a multi-day home/gym lifting split of some kind later, if you like. A little bit of fun CV exercise in the mix is always a good thing.

    Just a thought.

    I did ask him and he gave me homework but it felt a little half baked. I actually love working out and going to the gym so it's not at all miserable to me. It's actually my form of therapy. I love the results of weights and I do try to go for walk walks/play dance games with my kids etc., but I'm a girl that needs structure and routine and WANTS to do a weight focused workout. I'm not necessarily trying to burn myself out but after I wrote this post I was thinking maybe

    Monday - legs/lower body at the gym (access to machines and heavier equipment)
    Tuesday - upper body with trainer
    Wednesday - off
    Thursday - lower body with trainer
    Friday - off
    Sat or Sun - upper body at home
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    What do you mean by "half baked"? Is your trainer good? My experience may differ, but my trainer and his wife own their own gym specifically for training and train a wide variety of clients from professional and collegiate athletes to regular janes and joes like my wife and I. When I first started working with him, the training was quite a bit different from most of the off the shelf programs I had run, namely because it was more specific to me than an off the shelf program that has to be catered to masses of people.

    I thought some of it was kind of weird and that some of the homework he was giving me seemed off, namely because it just didn't seem like enough. In the end I trusted him and the process and the 3 years or so I was working with him I was in the best shape of my life with the physique to match.

    I guess I don't really understand paying a trainer and them giving you a program and homework and then just doing your own thing anyway. That said, I don't have a whole lot of experience with big box gym trainers if that's what you have...and from what I've seen of those trainers in my big box gym, I wouldn't hire one of those guys in the first place. I'm sure there are good ones out there, but most of them seem pretty green to me and just getting their foot in the door.
  • michael6186
    michael6186 Posts: 27 Member
    I'm a big advocate of trying to get structured movement in at least five days a week with the other two days being low intensity not so structured movement such as walks.

    Using a concurrent training model can help you to fill in the days that you're on your own so that you're still working towards your goals without taking away from them.

    Things you can work on when on your own are endless.

    Supplemental lifts=same but different basically where you're using a different modality or different grip or stance. So a traditional deadlift would be with your trainer while you could work some single leg dumbbell deadlifts on your own to help ingrain the pattern.

    Accessory lifts=smaller muscle groups that need more attention to help aid your bigger lifts. Bicep curls for pulling or something.

    Stability/Mobility/Flexibility=This is useful for injury proofing or rehabbing injuries. Also let's not forget grip and "core". "If you can't grip it, you can't lift it." Core is often a big limiting factor in the bigger lifts but it's not just the abs that need work but the glutes and hips and low back too.

    "Cardio"=So many different types depending on your goals but a healthy aerobic system never hurt anyone.

    There's a lot you can do it's just about choosing the right dosage (load management) with the right methods to support your goals.
  • Jambalady
    Jambalady Posts: 155 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    What do you mean by "half baked"? Is your trainer good? My experience may differ, but my trainer and his wife own their own gym specifically for training and train a wide variety of clients from professional and collegiate athletes to regular janes and joes like my wife and I. When I first started working with him, the training was quite a bit different from most of the off the shelf programs I had run, namely because it was more specific to me than an off the shelf program that has to be catered to masses of people.

    I thought some of it was kind of weird and that some of the homework he was giving me seemed off, namely because it just didn't seem like enough. In the end I trusted him and the process and the 3 years or so I was working with him I was in the best shape of my life with the physique to match.

    I guess I don't really understand paying a trainer and them giving you a program and homework and then just doing your own thing anyway. That said, I don't have a whole lot of experience with big box gym trainers if that's what you have...and from what I've seen of those trainers in my big box gym, I wouldn't hire one of those guys in the first place. I'm sure there are good ones out there, but most of them seem pretty green to me and just getting their foot in the door.

    You're very lucky to have that type of personalized situation. I'm in a big commercial chain gym. I know it's not ideal but he is good on the days he trains with me. I've worked with a few trainers before, all from the gym (not exactly this gym but other commercial gyms) and none have actually wanted to give "homework" or build programs outside of when I see them. I think it's somewhat intentional to keep you needing them more and actually not being fully self-sufficient. But, I get the business model, and as much as I have heard of these mystical trainers who give homework and do programming, I personally have yet to meet one (or at least one who does in person training at a commercial gym, which is unfortunately , all I have access to.) I do it because I need the motivation and someone to teach me form and how to use machines, which he does, and I've seen good improvement in the couple of months I have trained with him so I'm getting enough from it to keep seeing him, but want to do it little extra on days that I don't see him.
  • Jambalady
    Jambalady Posts: 155 Member
    michael6186 wrote: »
    I'm a big advocate of trying to get structured movement in at least five days a week with the other two days being low intensity not so structured movement such as walks.

    Using a concurrent training model can help you to fill in the days that you're on your own so that you're still working towards your goals without taking away from them.

    Things you can work on when on your own are endless.

    Supplemental lifts=same but different basically where you're using a different modality or different grip or stance. So a traditional deadlift would be with your trainer while you could work some single leg dumbbell deadlifts on your own to help ingrain the pattern.

    Accessory lifts=smaller muscle groups that need more attention to help aid your bigger lifts. Bicep curls for pulling or something.

    Stability/Mobility/Flexibility=This is useful for injury proofing or rehabbing injuries. Also let's not forget grip and "core". "If you can't grip it, you can't lift it." Core is often a big limiting factor in the bigger lifts but it's not just the abs that need work but the glutes and hips and low back too.

    "Cardio"=So many different types depending on your goals but a healthy aerobic system never hurt anyone.

    There's a lot you can do it's just about choosing the right dosage (load management) with the right methods to support your goals.

    Thank you. This is exactly what I am looking to do. I guess I should try to communicate this better to the trainer and be as specific as you were kind enough to take the time to type in this post. Maybe "give me something to do on my off days" wasn't specific enough instruction and if I laid out exactly what I was looking for, his recommendation may seem less half-baked than I originally thought. Maybe I didn't communicate well enough?
  • michael6186
    michael6186 Posts: 27 Member
    Jambalady wrote: »
    michael6186 wrote: »
    I'm a big advocate of trying to get structured movement in at least five days a week with the other two days being low intensity not so structured movement such as walks.

    Using a concurrent training model can help you to fill in the days that you're on your own so that you're still working towards your goals without taking away from them.

    Things you can work on when on your own are endless.

    Supplemental lifts=same but different basically where you're using a different modality or different grip or stance. So a traditional deadlift would be with your trainer while you could work some single leg dumbbell deadlifts on your own to help ingrain the pattern.

    Accessory lifts=smaller muscle groups that need more attention to help aid your bigger lifts. Bicep curls for pulling or something.

    Stability/Mobility/Flexibility=This is useful for injury proofing or rehabbing injuries. Also let's not forget grip and "core". "If you can't grip it, you can't lift it." Core is often a big limiting factor in the bigger lifts but it's not just the abs that need work but the glutes and hips and low back too.

    "Cardio"=So many different types depending on your goals but a healthy aerobic system never hurt anyone.

    There's a lot you can do it's just about choosing the right dosage (load management) with the right methods to support your goals.

    Thank you. This is exactly what I am looking to do. I guess I should try to communicate this better to the trainer and be as specific as you were kind enough to take the time to type in this post. Maybe "give me something to do on my off days" wasn't specific enough instruction and if I laid out exactly what I was looking for, his recommendation may seem less half-baked than I originally thought. Maybe I didn't communicate well enough?

    You're welcome. I'm happy to help.

    I think you should ask how to help bring up weaknesses and limiting factors within yourself and/or how to help train supporting factors. These can be easily identified if he did and provided an assessment to you.

    Depending on your goals and what the assessment consisted of, you should have a pretty good idea of what to do when you're on your own (with his guidance).

    If you're getting sufficient training with the things you're doing with him then you should ask about the aforementioned so that he understands exactly what you're looking for.

    There are millions of ways of going about things so I think for the time, as long as you're working with him, it's best you get your advice from him. Only because not only have you put your trust into him but it's hard for us on the outside looking in to give you the best advice without having all the pieces to the puzzle.



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