I’m a personal trainer AMA

[PThelp]

Hello, I’ve got a few hours spare and happy to answer and exercise/ health/ fitness related questions 😊

I personally don’t, I am absolutely obsessed with nutrition though and am about to start a foundation degree in nutrition, so once I’m qualified I will. I feel quite uncomfortable giving advice on something that I’m not adequately qualified in.

A decent trainer should, yes.

I would want to know if they have experience and qualifications to train older adults and that they’d be prepared to write separate programs for you and run them both in the same session.

It will depend on a few things, but essentially you may not be in a deficit. You don’t state how long you’ve not lost weight, you calorie intake etc, so difficult to tell.

I’m not a fat loss coach, and I don’t give specific nutrition advice at the moment.

Absolutely not, I have current clients using mounjaro, it’s been life changing for them after years and years of being on a diet.

Well done so far!

I would say keep going with the fat loss, that will help the most.

Hi!

I’ve been seeing a PT twice a week for four years. It’s been life changing. We do strength and conditioning and they review my diet. I run twice a week as well.

I think my PT is worth every penny but the cost of seeing them is starting to pinch, and although I want to keep going it’s stopping me from making positive long term financial changes i.e paying my mortgage off early so I can retire earlier. Any ideas on how to tackle this please? I don’t want to stop because I really enjoy and see the gains -and the discipline is something I lack when going it alone, but the cost is just becoming a huge hurdle every month (£325).

Any advice would be really appreciated. Thank you.

I guess because exercise is a key pillar of health and a lot of people don’t have the time or energy to have to think of a program so pay someone else to do it for them. You get accountability. If you have a good PT they will literally change your life for the better.

I have a coach for myself, I find it invaluable.

Regular exercise prevents against cancer, heart disease, stroke, dementia, osteoporosis, osteopenia, depression… the list goes on and on.

I’d say it’s a worthwhile investment for many 😊

Thanks so much.
😍

I see lots of people online recommending lifting weights. I am very unlikely to join a gym, because i have had gym memberships before and hated going. But I do have an 8kg kettlebell and a 12kg kettlebell.

I would like to build up a routine for resistance training or even just improve muscle definition.

I run 3 miles 1x a week, walk 10k steps a day and row for 20 minutes 3x a week.

What weight exercises do you recommend (or YouTube videos) for me?

This is great thank you!

I’m literally the worst person to ask this to 😂

I would say is your health and fitness more or less important than getting your mortgage paid off early?

If it’s super important, then if it were me, I’d ask my PT if I could have a 2 day program but only see them once a week and absolutely commit to getting that second session in by myself, no excuses.

go to once a week & do a session on your own?

Have you had clients with piriformis syndrome and what do you recommend, particularly during a bad flare up?

I'm a running nut - so in my brain any other exercise is a waste of time I could be running. However at 58 I know I need to grit my teeth and do the weights. I have a routine for in the gym but I just hate doing it with all the guys in the weights area. I use dumbells from 3-8 kg depending on the exercise. If I was to buy some weights for use at home what should I get - I don't have room for lots of them.

Also - how do I motivate myself to actually use them?

I train 3-4x a week mixture of calisthenics and hiit, 10k+ steps a day, run approx 15 miles each week.
still overweight. 40 in Jan Please help!

Do menopausal women need to be mindful of their pelvic floor when working with weights and resistance?

Hi, thanks for this!

I do a lot of jump training, partially integrated into my main strength and cond sessions, and partially as a few sets at the end of a training session.

Typical would be

• 5 60cm box jumps, then
• 3x 8 press ups plus 3 60 cm box jumps with 30s rest in between, then,
• then 3-4 x 30s fast mountain climbers plus 6 40 cm box jumps with 30s rest, then
• then some slower box jumps holding a small weight plate or upvc bar overhead

Can you think of any good progression options to move this up a notch?

Hi, thanks so much for this! Am 45 and 10 stone and everyone is talking about weights and every video I see has squats in it but I have really bad knees and my back isn’t great. I work on a checkout all day so lift a lot of water boxes etc btw! What should I do?

@PThelp Do you think exercise classes can ever be detrimental to sustainable progress? I think they can be great as part of a fitness routine but what I mean by this is if they aren’t sufficiently targeted (as opposed to working with a PT) and encourage you to go ‘all out’ then do you think they can actually be a barrier to building strength and fitness sustainably? To give an example, I’m generally fit (swim and run frequently, plus weight train a couple of times a week supplemented by a couple of classes) but my weakness is definitely some of the stuff targeted by functional training-type classes, specifically jump-based exercises (plyometrics?). Because I’m used to pushing myself, and the class instructors are quite ‘hardcore’, I will go for it, but I find these exercises (like box jumps) so relatively difficult that I often wonder if this approach is the best for sustainable progress. Would I be better not to push myself so hard, e.g. do fewer reps or go slower, and build more over time? Also, do you have general tips for building agility sustainably (often, I think, a neglected part of fitness routines). Thanks

what do you think of techno gym style circuits with self adjusting machines?
my gym offers those and I like them for a quick half hour before work but wonder if I would be better off going for a run instead.

I am currently on mounjaro and losing weight well but I'm now confident enough to add more exercise into my routine and join a gym. I do however have a sore back at times from an old injury I've never had treated. Am I best to join a gym and carry on and build my strength or go to the Dr first and try and get my back sorted?

Thank you in advance!

I thought I had dodgy knees until I had a session with a good instructor. turns ouf my knees were fine, just weak.

bloodredfeaturewall

Unfortunately I’ve been told I have the starting of arthritis in them but actually yes I do wonder if a pt would say ‘that’s ok just push through’ and it’s be better than me worrying (I stopped running because my knees used to feel it so much)

How do you silence that voice in your head which says ‘you should be doing more’ when you’re getting older and have health issues.

When you’re used to doing so much more.

Oh and as a result you’re putting on a bit of timber.

I was very fit in 2000 but lost it all in lockdown. I’m trying to start again and I’m doing walking/exercise bike/dvds.
I’ve never had a gym membership and I keep saying I’m going to join but I’m scared! Please tell me it will be worth it.