I'm a Personal Trainer - AMA

[Watchkeys]

I generally group-train parents in the park after they've dropped their kids at school, but also work in a residential care home, and have some 1-1 clients with weight loss and muscle gain goals. I want to know if there's anything I'm not covering in terms of 'questions people are too afraid/nervous to ask'... hit me!

Thanks for taking the time to explain this, it's so helpful.

How did you get started after qualifying? Did you work at a gym first? How do you recruit clients?

@ScottishBeth

This is so interesting. But surely even if the calories burned are from the banana it doesn't matter? If you didn't do the exercise the banana would ultimately be converted to fat wouldn't it? So doesn't it amount to the same thing

This is a very good point, but I think what we're looking at is 'correct banana guidance', so that our bananas don't end up as body fat. What we're doing when we burn fat is different from what we're doing when we burn recently eaten carbs, so it's about tipping the balance in the right direction. Anything can end up as body fat. Anything can end up as energy burned. Any fat can be lost. What we're trying to do is avoid banana misguidance! (Not a sentence you hear often)

Essentially you're talking about burning fat we already have v not gaining fat. They're two different things.

I'm glad the thread is helpful.

@shopsalot

a) how much cardio are you doing?
b) how much emphasis are you putting on diet?
c) you are not too old, and you can absolutely get the body you want. The thing about age is that it gets harder, but you're not trying to get there 'at the speed of a 20 year old', so who cares? Just keep plugging away, and you'll get closer to your goal, at your own pace.

@Fatandnearly50

Add the combo of the knees, the feet and the weight and you can see why I think people judge me

Do you actually think people do judge you, or do you think it might be down to insecurity, and therefore be a misperception? People don't usually give a crap ('scuse my french), and if they do, why would you care?

I think it might be nice for you to drop your gym membership, and hire a trainer who'll come out to you instead. Might that work? It sounds like you're not getting good value from the membership; might as well spend your money on something that's all about you!

Thanks @Watchkeys - just renewed a year gym membership a few weeks ago, so sadly not an option. I like going and doing the cross trainer with a friend a couple of times a week but I clearly need to be doing something else too.

You're right though about the perception of people judging, they probably aren't as much as I think and so what if they are!

I've had people call out rude things to me whilst out running, @Fatandnearly50 , and I've run marathons. There's always people who will judge and criticise, whatever shape we're in. You have to think about what sort of person you'd have to be to do that, or even to think that. I mean, if you saw a novice exerciser, what would you think? Probably same as me... 'Respect!', and 'You go for it!' etc.

Yes, my main thought would be at least they are out doing something and not sitting on the sofa. Fair point that people will judge whatever shape we're in.

Thanks for your input.

@Watchkeys thanks for starting this thread. You may not know the answer to this but I am fed up of asking doctors who just give me annoyingly carte blanche textbook answers (for example, after breast/lymph node surgery: “don’t do any lifting at all for 6 weeks” me: “I need to pick up my four month old”. Them: “get someone else to do it”. Me: “that’s not practical for 6 weeks, surely you can suggest some ways of doing it safely or things I should avoid?” Them: “no, it’s no lifting. Sit in a chair and get someone else to give you the baby for a little cuddle if you need to”. GET SOMEONE ELSE TO LIFT MY TINY BABY FOR SIX WEEKS??! FFS. I did carefully lift my baby when I needed to and nothing bad happened. Anyway I’m ranting and going off on a tangent)

I had a lumpectomy and auxiliary node clearance for breast cancer. I’m 37 and menopausal now because of chemo and/or hormone therapy meds, and once radiotherapy is done I want to go back to the weight training I used to do. They say lifting weights increases the risk of lymphoedema but no one can explain to me why, or whether that’s weight training in general or just specific exercises, or whether high rep/low weight would be okay but the opposite not, etc. It is so frustrating as I feel like I would benefit more from resistance training now than ever before but all I’m surrounded with is “do some light arm exercises with a can of beans”. That’s not what I want - and I also think the advice on fitness after breast cancer is rather demeaning to women who can and do exercise more than going for a little walk or chair yoga but that’s probably a thread in itself. Do you have any advice?

No Op is right - we are programmed to do as little as possible to save energy and calories. Hunting wasn't like a 9 to 5 job, we did it out of necessity. You are right environment has changed but our approach hasn;t.

Yes, @ferneytorro . The sad fact is that if our hunter gatherer ancestors had had a tube of Pringles, they would have sat and eaten them first before going hunting and gathering. That's why we've ended up with Pringles existing at all. They (and their fellow junk foods) are what we like best, and what we can't stop eating. Our bodies are evolved to want to store fat. It's our bodily equivalent of a full freezer: energy for later. We haven't evolved to deal with excess yet, though.

Thanks @Watchkeys - I don't do much cardio at all but do keep my daily steps average at about 15,000. In the past I've done interval training on exercise bike and rowing machine - only 10/15 mins though!
Diet - I try and eat protein every meal, very little processed food, but I do snack a lot and have a sweet tooth.
I would just like to be more toned and less flab. I thought being slim that it wouldn't take me long to tone up but clearly not! How many sessions would you advise a week weight training and cardio?
Thanks again for taking the time to answer our questions

Thanks for sharing the calculator. I’m average height and a size 10 and need nowhere near the government ‘recommendation’ of 2000 calories a day. It’s no surprise that the nation is growing fatter!

My question is how do I get my DH to improve form. He seems to have no awareness of his body placement and his back, particularly the top half, is very rounded when squatting or doing rows. He goes for depth on squats by dropping his head and shoulders rather than his hips. I am worried he will end up injured. What tips do you have?

Interesting thread OP, thank you. My question is, what would you recommend as the best exercise(s) to improve diastasis recti?

When you go to the gym does it matter much what you do there, as long as you are doing something? I just make it up whilst I'm there!

@WorryMcGee I’m a PT too and couldn’t not reply to your post, I hope the OP doesn’t mind.

You need quite specialist advice and guidance, I have a fabulous contact who is a cancer nurse and a qualified PT who specialises in helping people get back into fitness following cancer, she’s also pre and postnatal qualified, is a pelvic floor specialist and also specialises in menopause and early menopause caused by cancer treatment. She’s actually just about to go on maternity leave, but if you want her details, please dm me, as I’m sure she may be able to sign post you to someone who can help.

Great thread OP. I used to manage a centre that had exercise on referral PTs - they do all seem to have a multitude of qualifications. Quite a few were ex military and I got the impression they were encouraged to get the qualifications prior to discharge. (They were usually pretty gentle and encouraging and not like the Ant Middleton drill master sterotype.) Your local council should have a team of exercise on referral PTs running sessions your GP can refer you to if you have a chronic condition.

At the risk of being over evangelical and given there seem to be a number of ladies of a certain age on here can I extol the virtues of the Jeff Galloway run walk method for those who find straight running hard on their joints or their blood pressure. Transformed my life -- I've just run London marathon which is something I didn't think I'd ever be able to do.

I know that you can't speak for other trainers but after 3 years of sitting on my backside after a transplant and physios telling me I am completely deconditioned I wonder about getting a PT to give me the kick up the backside that I need.
I just worry that I am so unfit that the little I can do isn't worth their effort.
Are there people who might be able to help or are PTs just for the already fit?

@ceecee32

Just get a PT

We've all got different aims. Some like to train muscly 22 year old men, some like training the elderly, some specialise in a particular sport, but basically, we just want to get people fitter than they are now. Have a look at PTs in your area, and ask at your local gym. There'll be a match made in heaven out there for you.

@londonmummy1966

The London Marathon! Brilliant! Did you have a good day? Can you walk again yet?!

It matters. What do you do now, and what are you aiming to achieve by going there? You'll achieve discernible results much more quickly if you focus your training on your goals. I'll give you some pointers if you want.

I had hoped that you wouldn't say that! I hate the gym, I only go to try to achieve a 'nice' figure. I usually do something like this:

5k on the treadmill/10k on the bike
5 x 15 leg press 63kg
5 x 10 hip abductors 18kg
5 x 15 lateral pull down 18kg
3 x 8 chest press 14kg

I know people have a dedicated arm or leg day but I don't know why! Or why people have push or pull days?

@blackbeardsballsack

Splits (like a push pull split, or a body part split) are to do with the body's requirement for rest. So, if you want to work out each body part twice a week, and you want to do 4 sessions, you'd alternate the muscles you use. You wouldn't work out push muscles on 2 consecutive days, for example, but you could do a push workout one day and a pull workout the next, without over-taxing any particular muscle (group)

Why do you choose the number of reps like that for each exercise? You'd want less than 5 for strength, 6 - 12 for strength/muscle growth, or 15 - 18 for endurance. You seem to be training your body to do different things all over.

The main question is, what is the nice figure that you want? Some want to be very slender. Some want to weigh 3oz and have a bit of tone. Some want muscular definition. If you work out what you want, we can look at specifics in terms of reps/weight/exercise choice.

How much do you charge for a 1-1 session?

I don't think I ought to give details of my specific business, in case MN think I'm touting for business! It ranges from county to county, @WestOfWestminster , although I think it's better value in the south east because it's not as elevated as the cost of living, compared to the north.

Not sure that made sense. Or was relevant. Hmm.