Question For a Personal Trainer?

Ask away - I'll give you my professional opinion, and what I think is correct. Hopefully everyone would gain a bit of knowledge from reading this thread!

I've recently joined Goodlife Fitness on a corporate membership. One of the perks is they offer personal trainers to us for a rate of around $20 per session. Do you have any opinions about the general quality of these trainers? I don't have a lot of experience with free weight exercises, ie bench press, can they help me? I'm 5'9, male and 155 lbs., looking to bulk up over the winter. Thanks!

$20/session does sound a little low. The lower the cost of the session doesn't necessary mean they are bad trainers - they can be fresh graduates of a fitness program with little experience, or a graduate of a kinesiology program with no certification.

Before you sign the contract, ask for the information on the specific trainer that you're being assigned. They should have a certification (ACSM,NASM,CPTN,ISSA,ACE - all well known) and some background in fitness. Any trainer can instruct you to perform a bench press, but do they really know what's happening? You have to read the trainers biography, have a chat with him/her and read their body language and SEE if they are confident with training. If they are shooting ******** (they might) then just find another trainer. All the trainers @ Goodlife have a monthly quota, so sometimes they'll say ANYTHING to sell you a training package.

To answer your question - I would NOT buy sessions from a trainer for $20/session. You you really want to trust your body with an inexperienced/un-educated trainer, then go for it. But in my opinion, I would pay top dollar for a trainer that can get me results, than a half ass trainer that may get me injured.

Hello,

I am thinking about purchasing either a treadmill, an elliptical trainer, or a stationary bike. Which would you recommend if I am trying to lose weight? (i.e. which would burn more calories on average). Would you have any other general advice?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Regards,

Blazin_Sunfire

Originally Posted by Blazin_Sunfire

Hello,

I am thinking about purchasing either a treadmill, an elliptical trainer, or a stationary bike. Which would you recommend if I am trying to lose weight? (i.e. which would burn more calories on average). Would you have any other general advice?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Regards,

Blazin_Sunfire

It's not about the equipment that burns more calories, it's the intensity/duration that you do. It really depends on the person, a treadmill can be real useful in winter if you don't like running outside, BUT it is weight bearing and can cause some serious injuries. For example, if you have flat feet, or an altered gait (the way you walk), the treadmill could do more harm then good. Hitting high intensities is great on treadmill because you have a lot of freedom.

Ellipticals and stationary bikes are non-weight bearing meaning that there is zero pressure on the joints. Much more safer, but could be a little more difficult getting your heart rate up.

Now to answer your question: I would purchase a treadmill/stair climber because they recruit a little bit more muscles and are much more harder in general. Keeping that heart rate high won't be a problem, but injuries may occur. But honestly, everything you do nowadays can cause injury. You might regret purchasing an elliptical/stationary bike because you cannot hit those heart rates that you need, and it would be a disappointment to re-sell it and purchase a treadmill.

You can perform interval training on treadmills (working hard, followed by rest). There is a lot of science behind it, but I would say do a 2:1 ratio. Pick a good speed to jog/run for 2 minutes, then run/walk for another 1 minute and repeat. Interval training makes you work at higher intensities, but for short durations. Higher durations = more calories being burnt.

Thank you for your quick reply. I like the idea of the 2:1 ratio. I was leaning towards a treadmill as well. Now to find a decent treadmill for a decent price!

Originally Posted by Rocklobster

It's not about the equipment that burns more calories, it's the intensity/duration that you do. It really depends on the person, a treadmill can be real useful in winter if you don't like running outside, BUT it is weight bearing and can cause some serious injuries. For example, if you have flat feet, or an altered gait (the way you walk), the treadmill could do more harm then good. Hitting high intensities is great on treadmill because you have a lot of freedom.

Ellipticals and stationary bikes are non-weight bearing meaning that there is zero pressure on the joints. Much more safer, but could be a little more difficult getting your heart rate up.

Now to answer your question: I would purchase a treadmill/stair climber because they recruit a little bit more muscles and are much more harder in general. Keeping that heart rate high won't be a problem, but injuries may occur. But honestly, everything you do nowadays can cause injury. You might regret purchasing an elliptical/stationary bike because you cannot hit those heart rates that you need, and it would be a disappointment to re-sell it and purchase a treadmill.

You can perform interval training on treadmills (working hard, followed by rest). There is a lot of science behind it, but I would say do a 2:1 ratio. Pick a good speed to jog/run for 2 minutes, then run/walk for another 1 minute and repeat. Interval training makes you work at higher intensities, but for short durations. Higher durations = more calories being burnt.

Check out treadmillfactory.ca if you want a brand new one. Prices are pretty reasonable, but if you don't have the money - RFD, craigslist, kijiji would do :p

OR you can always join a gym - you're going to need a set of weights if you are working at home by the way!

Originally Posted by Rocklobster

$20/session does sound a little low. The lower the cost of the session doesn't necessary mean they are bad trainers - they can be fresh graduates of a fitness program with little experience, or a graduate of a kinesiology program with no certification.

Before you sign the contract, ask for the information on the specific trainer that you're being assigned. They should have a certification (ACSM,NASM,CPTN,ISSA,ACE - all well known) and some background in fitness. Any trainer can instruct you to perform a bench press, but do they really know what's happening? You have to read the trainers biography, have a chat with him/her and read their body language and SEE if they are confident with training. If they are shooting ******** (they might) then just find another trainer. All the trainers @ Goodlife have a monthly quota, so sometimes they'll say ANYTHING to sell you a training package.

To answer your question - I would NOT buy sessions from a trainer for $20/session. You you really want to trust your body with an inexperienced/un-educated trainer, then go for it. But in my opinion, I would pay top dollar for a trainer that can get me results, than a half ass trainer that may get me injured.

That's great, thanks for the advice. I have a follow-up question regarding diet during muscle building. I know that I have to consume more calories than usual on my lifting days, what about my off-days? The same, less, more? Do you recommend a different ratio of protein/carbs/fat?

In order to gain weight, you need a POSITIVE caloric intake. What that means is you need to be eating more then you're burning - it's that simple. But, the nutrients that you're intaking should be high-quality nutrients (not nutrients from burgers, fries, etc).

You should be eating more calories then you burn regardless of the day. There is something called BMR (basal metabolic rate) and it determines how many calories you burn in a day at rest. It's a equation using your weight, height, gender and present activities (google it!). For example, if yours is 1,900kcals, all you need to do is eat more than 1,900kcals (worth of high-quality nutrients).

As for the ratio, you're going to hear a lot of things. I focus on the 40 (carbs)/ 40 (protein)/ 20 (fat) ratio. It's a pretty good guideline for any goal, if your goal is more specific to sports performance or hypertrophy (growth of muscles) it may change ALITTLE bit. You may think "Wow, 40% of what I eat should be carbohydrates?". The answer is YES - every carbohydrate is different, and has a different role in your body. The reason why the carbohydrates have a bad name is because of the media. There are two types of sugars - simple & complex. Simple carbohydrates are utilized much faster (burst of energy) in your body, and complex carbohydrates are utilized much slower (energy throughout the day).

If you want me to go in-depth about the ratio, just keep posting. Hope that helped.

I keep hearing about how you're supposed to have an electrolyte drink after sports/workout. So...how about salt + water mixed together..or lemon + water?? instead of paying for gatorade etc..

Originally Posted by lessthanthree

I keep hearing about how you're supposed to have an electrolyte drink after sports/workout. So...how about salt + water mixed together..or lemon + water?? instead of paying for gatorade etc..

Good question. You lose a lot of electrolytes due to sweat while working out. The best way to replenish your electrolytes is taking a liquid with potassium + sodium. If you're scared about taking Gatorade because of the calories, don't be. Your body is thriving for nutrients right after a workout, and depending on your goal (gaining weight/losing weight) then taking simple sugar like Gatorade may be the way to go.

Gatorade replenishes your electrolytes AND re-fuels your body immediately. The only "disadvantage" is that taking high amounts of sugar will cause a spike in your insulin. It'll make your cells much more sensitive towards absorbing nutrients, but the cells may absorb other nutrients that you may not want. So for weight gaining, go for it - if you're planning to lose weight I would still take Gatorade, but not as much.

Hey there,

I work 4 nights a week (wed-sat) and i get about 5-6 hours of sleep a day. I was wondering what a sample meal plan would look like for someone working a 10 hour night shifts as i do get those snack cravings at 3:00am and head for the vending machine frequently.

Work can mess up your diet big time. Try packing some snacks to munch on! Pack a tuna sandwich with some light mayonnaise with lettuce and tomatoes. I usually make my own blend of nuts with seeds to bring to work - every so often I would just grab a couple and munch on them. You can also prepare fruits the day before and keep them in the fridge, but never buy candy from a vending machine :P

Pack your lunches!

How effective is the stair climber at the gym? I did 30 minutes of it, and was covered in sweat, but didn't feel any 'burn' in the thighs...?

Originally Posted by AnnaBanana

How effective is the stair climber at the gym? I did 30 minutes of it, and was covered in sweat, but didn't feel any 'burn' in the thighs...?

Stair climbing is very effective, but you need to consider the depth of your steps. Most building stairs are 7-10 inches in height and when "stair climbing" on a machine you need to ensure that hips and knees are bent to ensure good hip and knee range of motion (i.e. deeper stepping). The other factor is resistance of the machine, more resistance will slow down step frequency, so you need to find the appropriate balance between depth of step and resistance of the step. I see too many ladies at the gym doing "micro" steps and they are sweating, but unfortunately they are really not doing too much in terms of strenuous exercise.

You want a burn in your thighs? Get a copy of P90x Plyometrics. Burn guaranteed