Former Strength Coach with Advice

Hello - did not even know this board was here but Nichole (Nic) loves these boards and I go to the Grooms every now and then so I thought I would drop a line here and offer some adivce (which you will find after I tell you about me)

I left the industry about a year and half ago because I needed stability and the business is NOT stable ever. I worked as a Strength Coach. I differ from the Personal Trainers at Gyms in that I used different methods, more cutting edge and theoretical methods to achieve goals with my clients. To fully expalin would take forever.

Well anyway, I seen some posts here and thought maybe some of what I know may help.

OK, these are some facts that you may or may not want to know (but are facts).

() Spot reduction: Guys and Gals, working your thighs, stomaches, butts or whatnot will NOT cut the fat int hat area. Bodies will lose fat evenly throughout. Doing 100's of crunches will not give you a six pack - THE INFO-MERCIALS LIE!!

() Cardio: Cardio is NOT a synonym for Aerobics. Aerobics means WITH OXYGEN. Basically to be 'aerobic' you need to substain a heartrate of about 75% of your theoretical VO2 max (Max HEART RATE) for a period of 20+ minutes.

() Aerobic for weight loss. This is something that causes people to lose their minds. Aerobics IS NOT the best weight for fat loss. Aerobic exercise is said to burn protein for fuel - protein is MUSCLE. Muscle is NOT the enemy, fat is. Anerobic (without oxygen) is proving to be the most efficient weight loss method - Weightlifting, Sprinting are forms.
-- to prove the point. find pictures of Sprinters (anaerobic) and Marathon Runners (aerobic) and see who has the better physique. Marathon runners carry more fat and less muscle. Sprinters carry less fat and more muscle. It is because of the way they train!!!

() Weights DO NOT cause you to get muscular. Diet causes everyhting to occur. I am not talking about the 'fads: I am talking about what you eat. The equation is simple eat less calories then you burn off - you lose weight. Eat more, then you lose. OK, it goes into more detail but for the sake of this, you know what is good and what is bad so eat the good, lose the bad stuff and get an idea of what you take in.

() More is NOT better. Don't think 5 days in the gym and going all out is better. It could actually hinder your results.

() While getting fit, fix some posture problems. This is especially for the guys. Men, for whatever reason want big chests and frontal muscles...the 'Mirror Muscles.' This unfortunatley causes muscular imbalances, tighness and eventually (and I had this happen) SHOULDER INJURIES! And they are NOT FUN and take you out of the gym for quite some time. So while int he gym, when weightlifting, make sure you are doing AT MINIMUM 1 posterior Exercise for every anterior exercise!!! Posterior muscles - NOT LATS (which are actually an internal muscle that pushes shoulders forward)!!

I am not trying to get clients so PLEASE do not take it that way. I am tryign to lend a hand. If anybody needs help, trying to gain or lose weight, send a FM and I will try and help. I may be able to help guide you.

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Posted by Nic and Ant

Hello - did not even know this board was here but Nichole (Nic) loves these boards and I go to the Grooms every now and then so I thought I would drop a line here and offer some adivce (which you will find after I tell you about me)

I left the industry about a year and half ago because I needed stability and the business is NOT stable ever. I worked as a Strength Coach. I differ from the Personal Trainers at Gyms in that I used different methods, more cutting edge and theoretical methods to achieve goals with my clients. To fully expalin would take forever.

Well anyway, I seen some posts here and thought maybe some of what I know may help.

OK, these are some facts that you may or may not want to know (but are facts).

() Spot reduction: Guys and Gals, working your thighs, stomaches, butts or whatnot will NOT cut the fat int hat area. Bodies will lose fat evenly throughout. Doing 100's of crunches will not give you a six pack - THE INFO-MERCIALS LIE!!

() Cardio: Cardio is NOT a synonym for Aerobics. Aerobics means WITH OXYGEN. Basically to be 'aerobic' you need to substain a heartrate of about 75% of your theoretical VO2 max (Max HEART RATE) for a period of 20+ minutes.

() Aerobic for weight loss. This is something that causes people to lose their minds. Aerobics IS NOT the best weight for fat loss. Aerobic exercise is said to burn protein for fuel - protein is MUSCLE. Muscle is NOT the enemy, fat is. Anerobic (without oxygen) is proving to be the most efficient weight loss method - Weightlifting, Sprinting are forms.
-- to prove the point. find pictures of Sprinters (anaerobic) and Marathon Runners (aerobic) and see who has the better physique. Marathon runners carry more fat and less muscle. Sprinters carry less fat and more muscle. It is because of the way they train!!!

() Weights DO NOT cause you to get muscular. Diet causes everyhting to occur. I am not talking about the 'fads: I am talking about what you eat. The equation is simple eat less calories then you burn off - you lose weight. Eat more, then you lose. OK, it goes into more detail but for the sake of this, you know what is good and what is bad so eat the good, lose the bad stuff and get an idea of what you take in.

() More is NOT better. Don't think 5 days in the gym and going all out is better. It could actually hinder your results.

() While getting fit, fix some posture problems. This is especially for the guys. Men, for whatever reason want big chests and frontal muscles...the 'Mirror Muscles.' This unfortunatley causes muscular imbalances, tighness and eventually (and I had this happen) SHOULDER INJURIES! And they are NOT FUN and take you out of the gym for quite some time. So while int he gym, when weightlifting, make sure you are doing AT MINIMUM 1 posterior Exercise for every anterior exercise!!! Posterior muscles - NOT LATS (which are actually an internal muscle that pushes shoulders forward)!!

I am not trying to get clients so PLEASE do not take it that way. I am tryign to lend a hand. If anybody needs help, trying to gain or lose weight, send a FM and I will try and help. I may be able to help guide you.

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great advice and well said!!

thanks for the post!

I agree-it makes sense since I notice a difference in my body when I strength train as opposed to when I spend time on the elliptical.

Thanks

Thank you so much for your post! I hope it is helpful for everyone here!!!

I totally agree with this- when I get lazy I just run on the trendmill- I took 2 weeks off from lifting and
then I went back to lifting this week- I already see the difference in my body

from now on I wont be skimping on the lifitng-

okay ..and where were you a few months ago

Well, maybe when I get home form my honeymoon I will ask you to help me set up a routine...if thats okay?

Hmmm - so how much cardio per week is ideal? I feel like I HAVE to do cardio - or it doesn't feel like working out. So I will do weight training then some cardio, or straight cardio.

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Posted by SuzBride

Hmmm - so how much cardio per week is ideal? I feel like I HAVE to do cardio - or it doesn't feel like working out. So I will do weight training then some cardio, or straight cardio.

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Why don't you feel like you are working out from weight training? What exercises and weights are you using? MAybe you aren't training hard enough.

I would suggest 2 days of high intensity intervals either by itself or after upper body, and 1 or 2 days with steady state cardio after weights, or by itself.

Thank you so much for this post! I have a torn ACL (it's holding on by just a few strands - lucky me!) and I can't use the elliptical anymore and I hate the bike (I get enough of that at physical therapy!). I'm so excited to go to the gym tonight and try weight training instead I also have those resistance bands for my arms at home - are those effective? Thanks!

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Posted by Nic and Ant


() Aerobic for weight loss. This is something that causes people to lose their minds. Aerobics IS NOT the best weight for fat loss. Aerobic exercise is said to burn protein for fuel - protein is MUSCLE. Muscle is NOT the enemy, fat is. Anerobic (without oxygen) is proving to be the most efficient weight loss method - Weightlifting, Sprinting are forms.
-- to prove the point. find pictures of Sprinters (anaerobic) and Marathon Runners (aerobic) and see who has the better physique. Marathon runners carry more fat and less muscle. Sprinters carry less fat and more muscle. It is because of the way they train!!!

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OMG! that totally makes sense! wow... thank you!

Hmmmm....sorry Ant, I have to disagree with some things that you've said. I think I see what you're trying to say, but you just didn't explain it well enough.

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() Aerobic for weight loss. This is something that causes people to lose their minds. Aerobics IS NOT the best weight for fat loss. Aerobic exercise is said to burn protein for fuel - protein is MUSCLE. Muscle is NOT the enemy, fat is. Anerobic (without oxygen) is proving to be the most efficient weight loss method - Weightlifting, Sprinting are forms.

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Aerobics does NOT burn muscle. Well, not right away. It CAN burn muscle, but only after all sources of energy (carbs) are burned first. Then, the body has only one other energy source, namely muscle. When the body burns muscle it's called 'hitting the wall'. And, this typically only happens to people who do extreme forms of cardio for a long period of time, such as marathon runners.
But what I think you were trying to say is that only doing cardio is not the BEST way to lose weight. That said, only lifting weights is also not the BEST way to lose weight. It's a combination of the two that works the best. Now, for people like me who are naturally thin and have a high metabolism.....we can get away with not doing any cardio and only lifting weights, and can stay thin that way and also lose weight that way. This isn't true for everyone though.
Also, diet is extremely important, this is true (which you say below). Diet is 90% of the equation; you can do awesome workouts, but you're only pushing your goals further away if you're eating a poor diet.

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() Weights DO NOT cause you to get muscular. Diet causes everyhting to occur. I am not talking about the 'fads: I am talking about what you eat. The equation is simple eat less calories then you burn off - you lose weight. Eat more, then you lose. OK, it goes into more detail but for the sake of this, you know what is good and what is bad so eat the good, lose the bad stuff and get an idea of what you take in.

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This also isn't true, but I see what you're trying to say.
Women can be afraid of weight lifting because they think it'll make them bulky. But that isn't true unless you're dedicated to a strict weight lifting regimen and eat a super-lean/clean diet plus use some form of enhancers (whether they be tons of supplements, or worse, steroids).
So you were trying to say (I think) that women shouldn't be afraid of lifting weights, and that the better your diet is, the better luck you'll have with building lean muscle. Right?

Sorry to butt in; I just don't want anyone to be mis-informed. Cardio is good, and VERY important for women to do, especially since heart disease is the #1 killer of women.....
And weight bearing exercise is also really important in helping prevent osteoporosis.

AnniesGirl:

Cardio!!! Not Aerobic. Not anerobics. Cardio is it's OWN word. it cannot be interchanged with either of the 2. That is a HUGE mistake the is routinley made.

Cardiovascular exercise is any that is accelerating the heart rate. YES Weightlifting is a form of cardio vascular exercise ALTHOUGH anaerobic. Aerobic exercise is ALSO a form of cardiovscular exercise. Just the heart rate during anearobic (without oxygen) is not increased for periods of time of 20 minutes or longer. instead the heart Increases a great degree opposed for a short interval then returns to a lower level.


Aerobic exerice: As I said, this a VERY argued topic!!! To a point that the slightest mention of it annoys me.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40253000/jpg/_40253489_griffithjoyner270.jpg

http://steelkaleidoscopes.typepad.com/steel_kaleidoscopes/marathon-runner_370.gif

Notice the muscle definition. Much more visible in the spinters body and more defined. The maraton (aerobic) athelte is more skeleton like while the Sprinter (anaerobic) atheltes has a healthier physique and does not look as manourished.

Post Exercise Caloric Expenditure (PECE): PECE is greater amongst those who train with weights because the body must repair micro tears in the muscle (these tears are good). This means that for 24-36 hours FOLLOWING a workout the body is burning more calories at rest then it would after an aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise PECE is shorter. The body will go back to in normal state in a more rapid time frame.

Weight training CANNOT get you 'big' and 'muscular' unless diet allows it too.

Equation
Calories In - Calories Out. if the number is potive you gain weight. If the number is negative you lose (barring the use of anobolic steroids and / or pro-hormones).

If you DO NOT eat more calories you burn you cannot gain weight. Muscle? any sunbstantial gains in muscle will require a large amount of protein in the diet. It is actually THAT SIMPLE in regards to weight loss. For fat loss it is a little more complicated because it will look deeper into the diet and the quality of the foods.

So I WAS TRYING TO SAY, that a women can use weight training as the catalyst for FAT LOSS while sparing muscle atrophy that routinely occurs when attempting to lose fat. Muscle IS healthy. KEEPING muscle burns more calories then losing it (muscles USE calories).

Heart disease kills MEN TOO. I am all for a healthy heart of course. BUT cardio is NOT only running or riding for extended periods of time.

I totally understood what you were getting at, but that's because I know a lot about fitness and nutrition. But, for someone that doesn't know as much as you or I do, what you said could've been confusing. So, I thought it just needed to be explained a little further.
I could talk about this stuff all day so I know it's hard to explain what you mean in just a few sentences