Please help me plan a session for my trainer!

[June2009]

I have been given the challenge to plan a gym session for my trainer this saturday...male, 20 yo, very fit, he wants a six pack for the summer.
It needs to be hardwork and fill an hour. Some of these exercises will be done in parallel, but some of them (the hanging ones at the chin up bar for example) we'll have to take turns.

I am thinking:

Warm -up

• skipping to warm up 5 minutes - if you mess up with the rope you do a press-up
• burpee, / press up / sit up / jump squat - 3 sets of 8 - 60 seconds rest in between

kettle bells workout

• 150 kettlebells swings (24kg) Target in under 6 mins.

Abs workout:

• dragon flag (lying on a bench, gripping the bench on each side of yours ears, lift your legs up until the they're pointing directly up making a straight line from chest to feet, top of the shoulder blade are on the bench) - as many as you can.
• hanging knee raise (2 sets of 10)
• hanging leg raise (2 sets of 10)
• full rotation hanging knee raises (twists left and right, 2 sets of 10)
• weighted gymball crunch (2 sets of 10)
• press up jack knife (2 sets of 10)
• gym ball plank, raise your feet one after the other (10 times)
• medicine ball lower leg (lying down, ball between your feet, hold your leg straight up (2 sets of 10)
• sitting down, balance on your bum (legs in the air, not too high) + medicine ball: twist your body and alternate left and right with the ball (2 sets of 20)
• plank to pess up 10 each arm

Stretch.

Even though we want to work abs, is that too much abs do you think?
and will that fill an hour....

Thanks for your input! I'm totally open to other ideas.

I've found reading other people's blogs a good way to find new exercises and ideas. T-nation has a lot of interesting articles and people blog on there about their training. There is a huge variety training for different reasons, so some might be training to improve their sport performance, others are powerlifters, doing olympic lifting, bodybuilders etc.

The spartacus circuit is good, I have the mensfitness book of exercises which is a good resource.
Shame about the high staff turnover at the gym. I keep reading about all these amazing gyms in the states where they have huge tyres you can flip, and ropes and trx suspension training and prowlers etc. Do gyms like that even exist over here? My gym even removed the step box from it the other day because of health and safety! I went in and did some negatives yesterday (am up to a 30 second slow descent), and some assisted chip ups, and some one armed planks and then some pikes.
I know what you mean about the loose skin, I have some across my lower stomach which unfortunately will not be going anywhere without surgery.

hey how is it going, any progress on the chin ups?
I tried out the spartacs circuit this morning, what weights dumbells/kettlebells do you use? I found it very hard work (in a good way), it made me feel dizzy a couple of times.
I did it twice, didn't have time for a third round as my rests were longer than the recommended 15s on the first go. Definitely doing this again :D
which mens fitness book do you have? I looked it up on amazon and there are quit a few different one, saw a women's one as well, have you had a look at that one?

Sorry, my post should have read, 'the spartacus workout looks good', I have not actually done it myself , though have used all the exercises in various other programs, but never in combination. Needless to say, no kettlebells at my gym! Still no real progress on my chin ups, have really hit a plateau and am struggling to know what to do next, and am starting to doubt my form and technique on just about everything. I am thinking of looking for a trainer even if it's just for a couple of sessions so that they can make sure I am doing the exercises properly and can maybe point me in the right direction as to what to do next. I have no idea how to go about finding one though really, and how do you know if a trainer is going to be any good?! Did you meet and talk with yours first before deciding to book sessions with him? I hope he is still around and hasn't left for a better job yet!

The book I have is this one. I got this rather than the women's one simply because Waterstone's had this in stock so I could look through it first. I have since read that the women's is pretty much the same though, just with female models.

oh no I hope they're not the same, I bought the womens one cause it was available the next day and ordered the one you have as well (but that takes 1-2 months to come).

I think it's a really good idea to get a trainer to check your form etc, the ones at our gym would usually do the first session for free, or give you some kind of incentive (like 3 sessions cheaper if you pay in advance). definitely try and negociate on what they first tell you.
as to how to know whether they are good or not, well I'd say meet/talk to more than one first.
there is a exercise professional registry here
it says what level of fitness they have studied to.

Ask the trainer you talk to for a reference? and ask them questions about what a typical session would be like, if they take your measurements/weights etc.

If you can meet them beforehand then it's better I think. I mean they have to look like they work out :D

I have had two female trainers before and I feel like this male one pushes me harder, definitely not looked better before even though I have been at this weight before. I feel a lot stronger too. Not sure if that's a male/female thing though. I'm stronger than both female trainers so maybe that's something to do with it too.

I reclaimed the record for this gym challenge, it's up till nxt week, we'll see if my competition tries again and how they score.

my trainer is still around, going on holiday at the end of the week though so I'm booking some muy thai sessions with another trainer (independant one and I didn't check her on the register actually...)

better go for now

Thanks for all the advice. I don't think any of the 'trainers' at my gym are actually qualified personal trainers, they seem to mainly now how to demonstrate the machines that are in the gym and that's about it. I had a look at the REPS site and there seems to be alot of people with 'exercise to music' qualifications in my area, but not much else! Maybe the answer is to train to be one myself

Has the gym challenge finished yet? And what is the women's version of that book like, any good?

Hope the sessions with the new trainer go well, it sounds like you have so much variety in your training, it's great.

Yes, DO IT :D I want to train as a fitness instructor/personal trainer as well...I don't know if I have enough time to do it. I think dh would prefer I put my energy in our business (understandable... ).

Can you actually book personal training from someone at your gym at all?
You should definitely be a qualified instructor, you'd make a killing if there is no one else around!! :D

I had my body fat measured last week and came up 21% (with the calipers when they measure you several places on your body. (Charles Poliquin biosignature). So happy with that, so much better than the nearly 50% when I started!!! (when I said I never looked better even when I was that weight, that's except for my belly..so awfully saggy :()
Trainer said let's try and get it down to 17/18% and see what happens then.

Have you seen the charles poliquin site and facebook page? There's a video of mary pier gaudet doing weighted pullups (on the site) and some martial arts (on CP's facebook videos, don't think I can link to that?).

I'm not sure if the gym challenge is over yet, I'll have to check tomorrow. I think there should only be a few days left but my trainer is the one who initiated it so it might be on until he comes back at the beginning of May.

I saw the muay thai trainer this morning for the first time and we went over the basics. She seems good & tough, she's definitely thorough with technique which is great and what I need. I have told her I'm only checking it out while my trainer is on holiday (so 4 sessions) and I guess I'll have to make a decision after that. I don't think I can afford both my trainer and her, also if I could afford it then that would mean that I could afford my trainer once more every week or every two weeks and the question then is "wouldn't I rather do that"?. We'll see. If I have to cut down on the hours I spend with him to spend some with her then I'm not ready to do that at the moment.

The book is very good, very thorough. Tells you an exercise then the variations and whether that makes it easier or harder and why. (all the stuff that I don't know at the moment.)
I would imagine it looks exactly the same as the man's one. I think it was probably stupid to buy both without checking first. We'll see when the other one comes.

I have to go prepare some food for tomorrow, lots of people coming over for easter...take care!

oh well, I got my book and they're both the same :( same exercises, same pics except it's a male model in the mal book and a female model in the female book, bummer!!

Can you return one of them? Nice to know there is a decent book aimed at women though, usually the books and magazine articles all follow the 'low weight, high reps, lots of cardio' line.

Congratulations on the huge transformation you've achieved, going from 50% to 21% bodyfat is incredible! I have the same saggy skin on my stomach, I think it does improve a bit over time, but surgery is the only thing which would ultimately fix that.

Thanks for the website recommendations, I'll have a look. HAve you decided whether to keep the two trainers on? What was the outcome of the contest?

I feel like I've made some slight progress the last couple of weeks, can now do 3 sets of 6 chin ups down to 30k assistance. When I tried to do an unassisted one the other day though I still just hung there unable to move like a fish on a hook

Wow, she makes those chin ups look sooooooo effortless.

haha, it does get better, keep it up ;) have you tried several hand grips? I usually have the narrow grip (looking at my thumbs iyswim).
I kind of realise the bodyfat percentage is impressive, everybody I see either at the gym or family/friends comments on how slim/good I look which is really nice.
I have been training 6 or 7 hours a week for almost a year now so it is hard work finally paying off.
I bought some size 10 jeans last week which I had not done in over 10 years, always been a size 12-14 (going up to 22 at some point - that's when I stopped buying clothes...)
Somewhere in my mind though whenever someone says how good I look I automatically think "you mean I look good for someone who put on so much weight, or "you look good for someone your age" or "you look good for someone who has ha a baby". I think I've lost a lot of confidence.

I have my last paid session with the muay thai trainer this sunday, she's great and really hot on technique which is what i need cause I'm all over the place when I'm boxing. I want to carry on seeing her once a week, whether I can afford it is another matter. I can do another 4 sessions at the moment.

My gym has been bought by virgin active, I'm not sure if it'll have repercussions on my other trainer's employment so it's nice to have some kind of backup trainer in mind in case he does leave though I don't think I would like the woman as a personal trainer, she has a power plate which she keeps mentionning and it is so not my kind of training at all. She is great at Muay thai though.

How many children have you had? Is surgery something you would consider? I've always thought I would never go that far. (When i look at my smaller saggier boobs though I do despair...) One of my husband's cousins had breast surgery before her wedding after having 2 children. At the time I thought it was "totally out of character" (judgy pants on...) now I kind of understand!

Well, I saw my usual trainer yesterday and he told me he has given his notice in. It looks like he is leaving for good this time. I was expecting it but I'm still really gutted.

The good news is that means I can carry on muay thai, the bad news is that I have to find another trainer at my gym for once a week. It'll probably be good for my body to have a different kind of trainer/training, just need to find the right one. I have someone in mind already, another male trainer which is probably not going to go down well with dh, he would really like it if I trained with a female, the ones at my gym are so wishy-washy though I only considered it for 5 minutes.
My current trainer is just excellent though so I'm really gutted right now. :(

Sorry about your trainer. Would you consider changing gyms if he gets new employment nearby so you could keep training with him? At least you have the Muay Thai to tide you over and keep you motivated whilst you search for a new one. Could your trainer recommend one of the others at the gym whom you could work with, I imagine he knows what they are all like and he understands you and how you work and what you want to achieve from your sessions so he might know someone who would be a good fit. Can you ask him to put together a new programme for you to follow whilst you are looking for a new trainer?

Congrats on the size 10 jeans. I have two children and feel my self esteem and confidence has definitely taken a nose dive and it has taken me a long time to come to terms with the fact that my body is never going to look the same again. Now I try and concentrate on training to get stronger and once I had that as my main focus rather than just exercising to lose weight then things sort of fell into place a bit, both physically and mentally. I've always been anti plastic surgery but I must admit, if surgery was free and completely risk free then I would have the saggy skin on my stomach removed and my boobs lifted back up to where they are meant to be! Why does the weight always go off your boobs first and your hips last, so unfair!

I wish I could change gym and still see him but my trainer's new job is in Greece...
I'll have another trainer sorted as soon as this one leaves I think, there are two other male ones at the gym to choose from. 3 female ones as well but I have already trained with 2 of them in the past and I don't feel like they push me enough.
My trainer has recommended one of them who is similar to him in how he trains people. Apparently "he is dying to train me" I wonder if I can negociate his prices based on that ;) I know him a little bit but he looks a little bit too hyper/crazy and friendly/chatty for me to be honest. I would like to try the other one as well, looks more calm/poised and tough. Is that twisted to prefer that? I'm not looking for a friend or a confident, don't want to be chatting between exercises iyswim. I don't know their individual prices yet, I used to get a good price from my trainer as I used to see him twice or three times a week. Only once a week with the next one.
I think it'll boil down to who can train me at the times I can go. I am going to be careful with how I approach it and not commit too soon. Maybe do three or ten sessions with each one and then make a decision. Someone else better might come along to replace my trainer as well.

It's good to know you have made progress with your fitness and to hear that things felt like they fell back into place. I've still got work to do for this and this is my next goal I think. It'll be good to train with someone new who can see where I stand now and not where I've come from. They'll probably have a clearer picture of where I need to go.
I really more and more want to qualify as some kind of instructor/trainer, just afraid of actually writing it down as a goal in case I can't follow it through. I think I'm going to bite the bullet and look into what to do. Also want to get in touch with my old body combat instructor who was going to talk to me about qualifying just before I got pregnant. He does personal training as well actually.
Have you ever looked into the Les Mills stuff?

Next week is going to be tough, last week with my trainer, I feel surprisingly emotional about it. I don't even want to think about our last ever session and actually saying goodbye. I've been training with him for just under a year now so we've spent quite a lot of time together, it's weird that I won't see him again, probably ever!
Oh well now I know what to do with my mens fitness exercises book, it'll be my leaving present to him!

I'd better get to sleep, speak to you soon!