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!

It's so complicated isn't it! I just tend to do the repetitions based on what I can endure, I find it easier to do the leg press exercises than the chest press for example! I see most women with amazing figures using the free weights especially the barbells but I have no idea how to set them up so I just go on the machines!

If you choose what you want, and do the right reps with only 2-3 left in the tank, it's not complicated. It gets complicated, with all the additional extra stuff people spout, but the basics are... basic!

To me, this is a 'nice figure', but I have no idea what to do to achieve it!

I don't know if this helps at all but my colleague is mid twenties and had a transplant
He was very into weights before and has been able to start again, but not HIIT style stuff
More slow controlled weight lifting like squats, deadlifts etc and he does a lot of stretching now too

OK, @blackbeardsballsack that's great. Dead easy. Well, the theory is: you're the one who has to push the weights, and they're going to be big ones. You are looking to build some muscle, so pick weights, for all of the exercises, where you can only do 10 reps. Do 3 sets, with 60 seconds rest between sets. That's it. That's your protocol.

For exercise choice you want

1. Vertical push (i.e. shoulder press)
2. Vertical pull (pull up/lat pull down)
3. Horizontal push (chest press)
4. Horizontal pull (row)
5. Squat
6. Deadlift

Have a google of variations on these you might prefer/have equipment for, and ask a trainer in the gym for a quick squat lesson one day, a quick deadlift lesson another day... build your knowledge.

Does that all make sense?

And how's your protein intake? You are going to have to put away some protein if you want muscles like those in the picture.

Thank you so much, that is SO helpful! Now I just need to force myself to fiddle about in the weight section! So intimidating!

I would say about 70g of protein a day, I'm 63kg. I've read different things about how much you should have based on weight also!

To build muscle, you need 1.4g - 2g of protein per kg of bodyweight.

So that's 88.2g - 126g per day, for you. You'll do ok on 70, but up it and I reckon you'll notice growth in a few weeks.

Have a look on exrx.net in the exercise directory, and learn one exercise at a time in the free weights area. You can do all the exercises I listed above on machines in most gyms, so don't overwhelm yourself with info. Just do the whole thing on machines to start with, pick one exercise, and observe people doing it, then ask a trainer to show you the basics and check your form. Once you do one or two exercises in the scary bit of the gym, you'll relax. And do you know what? TONS of people in there are doing it wrong, you see all sorts, so don't worry about perfection. Only about keeping your body safe.

I hope this all helps. I've just put myself out of a job!

do you have any recommendations on weight training programmes I can follow?

@Applecrumbleyum I would love her details, thank you so much for replying - I don’t know how to DM though 😂

What would you recommend for someone who wants to get fit, but not lose weight? My BMI is in the underweight category, (but I've always been this weight, eat fine and it's not causing any other health issues so I don't think it's a problem in itself) and I'm quite unfit. I've just started couch to 5k as I do definitely think I need to be fitter/healthier, but I don't want to lose weight. I'm not fussed about gaining it either, it's only health I'm interested in. Is it unwise to do something like running if it might cause any weight loss?

That's a great post!

I think I'd go for strength, in your position, @WeWereInParis Underweight is not usually strong, and if you think forwards, what happens when we get older (not old, I'm talking once we're out of our 30s) is that we get weaker and weaker. I'd like as much buffer between problematic weakness and me as possible, so I'd want to be strong.

Does that make sense? You won't automatically lose weight doing cardio, it depends how you fuel it, so I'd be looking to do enough cardio for health, eating well to compensate for energy burnt, and add some weight training. Eating to build some muscle.

Any idea why you're underweight? Some people just are. Do you eat much? Lots of carbs?

Being a middle aged woman my number one question would be “are there toilets in the park?” 😁

what can I do to sort my big fat bingo wings out?

would dumbbell weights help them?

Thank you, @Watchkeys.

How can I exercise when I have long covid, am very overweight, can’t stand for more than a very few minutes, and get breathless walking back from the loo? Would seated exercise with weights be any good for me?

Is it possible to tone up saggy skin around the bum and thighs? I’m healthy weight, lost quite a bit of weight when you get, but that is my major problem area I’m super self conscious about. Can I tone it up? I do lower body weights twice a week but don’t see much difference yet, although I’m going to start PT sessions soon as might not be doing right exercises/correct form.

*that meant to say I lost quite a bit of weight when younger! (I’m 30 now)

What would be the better fat burning cardio exercise from these two (have picked these due to having dodgy knees and cannot run) 30 mins on a treadmill walking at 3.5km/h with a 15% incline, or 30 mins on a rowing machine with moderate resistance?

@LibbyL92

Bingo wings are usually due to fat, and unfortunately, we can't 'spot reduce'. The only way to reduce them is to lose fat all over. Have you excess fat elsewhere on your body?

The other thing is muscle: think of your fat being a cloth covering and your muscle being like a ball underneath it. If you have underdeveloped muscles (ping pong balls) under a lot of fat (duvet), you won't be able to tell there's any tone at all. You'd have to increase the size of the ball considerably before you'd even be able to tell it's there. Get your muscles to basketball status, and you can maintain the fat you have and still look muscular, but that's probably not the look you want (unless you're a bouncer) The trick is to reduce the duvet to a duvet cover, and grow your muscles to tennis ball status.

Does that make sense? It's muscle and fat that both need to change ideally.

Time to lift some weights....

The one you keep doing, @secretrugbyfan But if you want to burn fat, do everything: CV, resistance, and a forensic look at your diet. Look into macros. It's highly likely that a drop in carbs and an elevation of protein will help you. Try MyFitnessPal, it's free, and will allow you to track your diet. I don't like doing that all the time, but a 3 day study can be helpful to gain understanding.

Get a heart rate monitor and use your heart rate to make sure you're in a good zone when you're doing your CV https://www.myprocoach.net/calculators/hr-zones/ Go for 2 - 3 on this one.

I’m definitely overweight. Although I’m very small at the top and my waist. So my arms just look really out of place.

my thighs are definitely bigger as well, but it’s my arms that I really dislike and hate.

I’m currently dieting and have lost over 11lbs, I’d say another stone and a bit and I’d be happy.

I have zero upper body strength at all. I recently bought some dumbbells 2kg and 4kg to begin with. I know I can’t spot check but would doing some YouTube dumbbell vids help with developing muscle? And then eventually losing fat all over through ‘dieting’

thank you for replying!

Thanks @Watchkeys. I do weight work for the bone density/resistance part of exercise and swim occasionally as well...I just wanted the CV side to see which was the most effective...if I'm only doing 30 mins of cardio after a weights session, it might as well be the most effective!

Yes @LibbyL92 , dumbbell exercises for shoulders and upper arms will help. But, I'd also advise you to get some bigger weights and do a full body workout. Muscles burn calories. If you do some work to develop your biggest muscles, (i.e. upper legs/thighs/back/core), those muscles will make you into something that burns more calories in general, so as your muscle builds, your fat will reduce. Feed yourself for muscle growth.

@secretrugbyfan

Sounds like you've got it covered. The heart-rate thing is really useful with CV work. Definitely worth getting a heart rate monitor, even just to educate yourself about what the zones feel like. Then you can manipulate to your heart's content. Literally.

Thank you!

will these be things I can do at home? I’m not currently a member of a gym and it’s not something I can join anytime soon.