What every Personal Trainer wishes you understood.
1. The effects of weight/resistance training VS cardio, when trying to loose weight and tone up.
The main goal is to speed up your metabolism. You want to do the work in the gym, but you also want your body to keep working for you after you leave the gym. It’s easy to hop on the treadmill and burn 500 Calories and call it a day. Thanks to the EPOC effect (Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), your body will still be burning additional calories for roughly an hour after you leave the gym. Sounds great right? But get this!! If you do a combination of weight/resistance training, HIIT training and strength endurance training, you will not only still burn a high number of calories during your workout, but your body will burn additional calories for 24-48 hours after your workout! This way your body is still working for you LONG after you already left the gym!
2. Weight training = BULKING??
YES and NO! The results from weight training depends on your goal. It is possible to grow big and bulky muscles if that is your goal, but it’s also possible to NOT get ‘bulky’ and to just tone-up or lean-out. The results will depend on HOW you use the weights. The exercise selection, the number of sets and reps, the amount of rest in between sets and reps and also the weight selection. Your daily diet will also have a big effect on the results. So make sure you are educated on what to do to achieve your desired results.
3. No two Personal Trainers are the same.
Just like dancers and artists all have different styles, so does every Personal Trainer have his/her own style. I always find myself staring at other Personal Trainers. Analyzing what they are doing or making their clients do. Let me put it this way, most of the times I DON’T agree with them. Only because my style of training and training clients is very different. Maybe you had a PT or two BEFORE your current trainer? Every trainer filled your head with a different story of what to do, when to do and how to do it! They could all be right, in different ways, depending on their styles and expertise. Just make sure that you have a good trainer who actually knows their sh*t, lol! It’s not that “uncommon” anymore to get certified as a PT, so make sure your trainer is good. At first glance, you should be able to tell if your trainer lives the life they preach. After your first session, you should be able to tell even more about your trainer- whether they also talk the talk (in a way you understand- not necessarily scientific language) and whether or not you feel comfortable with them and trust them to get you to the results you desire. If your trainer is not an inspiration to you, then he/she is probably not the right trainer for you and that is OKAY! Don’t feel bad about telling your trainer that you would like to first give a few other trainers a try, before deciding which one you want to stick with.
4. Five Personal Training sessions are not going to make you skinny!
YES!!! Personal Training sessions are PRICY! That we know! Especially at big gyms that either charge trainers ‘rent’ or take 50%+ of what the trainers make. So of coarse they need to mark it up! I always say: “The best investment you can make is in your health!”. But the truth is, there are a LOT of people out there who can NOT cough up $300-$900 a month, for 1 or 2 PT-sessions a week. Maybe you decide to give it a try for a month and buy a 5 session package! GREAT! If you have a trainer who is very informative, then you might be able to learn a lot about what to do in the gym to get you to your end goal. Not everything is so black and white though. You might do great for a few weeks training by yourself, but start to struggle to implement the information and never even get to see results OR you might quickly reach a plateau you can’t get past. To see good and lasting results, you will need a lot more than 5 sessions. Depending on your goals and your timeline, it takes about 3-6 months of consistent work with a trainer, to really start seeing results and then also learning how to maintain the results. Depending on your starting point and end goal, this might even take a year or more. Find a good trainer (in-person or online), put in the work and be patient.
5. You are NOT cheating the Trainer, you are only cheating YOURSELF!
Have you ever been to a group fitness class, doing a plank or push-ups and while the instructor is assisting someone in their form on the opposite side of the room, you quickly fall down and do nothing! But only until the instructor turns your way again and you quickly get back at it, pretending that you can plank or do push-ups all day? YEAH!? You aren’t alone! Lol! There are many different examples depending on the situation, but in my case - I train my clients online and deliver their programs through an App on their phones, where they ‘check-in’ daily for scheduled workouts. On my side I can see when they “checked-in” for a workout, showing me that they completed the workout and that they are staying on track. Of coarse it would be easy for someone to quickly “check-in”, not actually do the workout and go ahead with their daily activities. They could do that every day for a week and I would probably throw a few words of praise their way for “killing it” and not be on their tails to catch up on missed workouts. I can give them “nutritional guidance” that they can pretend to follow, while making horrible food choices! They can adjust their measurements to make it appear like they are loosing weight! But ultimately- YOU ARE ONLY CHEATING YOURSELF!!! In the end, you are the one who is going to feel bad about yourself for not reaching your goals and for wasting time and money. So don’t cheat yourself! You deserve to look and feel amazing!! Your program is only going to work, if YOU put in the work!
6. Your Trainer has heard it all!
I’m going to keep this short and sweet! Coz lets face it- there are some really creative minds out there! Excuse after excuse for why you couldn’t do it, couldn’t show up, couldn’t complete and the favorite, “ DIDN’T HAVE TIME”! Discipline yourself to not let your excuses define you or limit your results. Get up and get it DONE! If it’s a priority, you will make it happen! 😊
-Marcelle Carlile
(Online Personal Trainer @ Balance Me Fit)