Q for personal trainers on BB

[Turkish Delight]

Hi,

I know there is one (there may be more) P/T in the making on BB but for the life of me can't remember their name (Sorry).

Just a q for you though..

I've lost 15kgs through diet and exercise. I haven't been going to the gym for about 7 weeks and began going again this week (boy, i feel good). I had reached a plateau and wasn't losing weight (i have about another 6kgs to lose).

Will me, not going to the gym for the past 7 weeks and me going again jump start my weightloss? Will it be like when you first begin to exercise and you lose a whole lot of weight at the start or will my body just think oh, this is normal, she's finally got off her big fat a*se?

Thanks.

[morgan78]

Congrats on the 15kgs loss.
RachelM is one of the PTs to be on here.
Good luck with those last stubborn kilos

[C~Q]

Hi TD Congrats on your weight loss!
As Morgan said i'm not a personal trainer...yet so this is just advice based on what I have learnt so far.
Just a few questions, did you put on a any weight in the 7 weeks? How many days a week can you make it to the gym? Do you have a heart rate monitor?

Now you're back at the gym I would recommend a combination of Cardio training and resistance training. Resistance training is really important in weight loss as lean muscle mass has a higher metabolic rate than fat so the more muscle mass you have the more KJ your body will burn when you're resting. You should be aiming for 3 sessions a week with weights at about 70-85% of the heaviest weight you can lift (there should be instructors on the gym floor that can help you figure this out) and you could do say...3 sets of 12 reps (the last set you shouldn't be able to complete, when you can up the weight). Focus on all your major muscle groups, allow 24 hours between resistance training sessions and 72 hours between training those muscles with weights again eg Upper body on Mon - lower body on Wed and upper body again on Fri.

For your cardio, a very rough guide to work out your correct training intensities is by using a formula to predict your maximal heart rate which is Predicted Maximal Heart Rate (PMHR) = 208-(0.7xage) so your PMHR would be 186.

For fat loss your training zone should be between 55-70% of your PMHR which is a heart rate of between 102 and 130bpm if you have a heart rate monitor it's easy, if you don't you can use the RPE scale (rate of perceived exertion) which is basically a scale of one to ten and you want to feel like you're working at a 5-7 with 10 being very hard, maximal.

You should be doing your cardio training at LEAST 3 times a week, 5 times is best, for at least 20 minutes, about 30-50 is good.

Hope this helps, good luck! You might want to try some classes as well if your gym does them. The time flies and it's really great fun!

[Turkish Delight]

Hi CQ,

Thanks for the reply. Greatly appreciated

I did gain weight in 7 weeks but that was on week 7 and it made me hit the gym! I gained 1.4kg. I was 67.6kg and crept upto 69kg.

I did and still plan to go to the gym 4 days per week,1 hr at a time. I do 2 sessions of cardio and 2 sessions of weights.

For cardio, i warm up (5mins brisk walk) i jog (9.2speed) for 1 min and walk (6.4 speed) for 1 min for about 25mins, then do incline walking for about 20 mins where i increase the incline 1% every minute til about 12% where i HAVE to reduce the walk speed to about 5.4 to complete the minute without holding on to the handrails of the treadmill and then slowly reduce the incline the same way i built up to 12%.

I do weights, dumbells, barbells, clean with dumbells. use medicine ball for quick feet and a range of others i don;t know how to describe.

This week i went to the gym 4 days and watched what i ate and i shed 2.7kg, dropping to 66.3kg but was a little naughty over the weekend and had choc. This morning i weighed 66.9, still good but am angry about the 600g I had the most sorest thighs over the weekend. Could not sit, stand, walk or even DTD!

I have an apron belly which i CANT lose. Any suggestions?? I know these last 6kgs are going to be hell to shed.

Goodluck with your training. I'd love to be a fitness instructor, that way you have to be in shape!

[C~Q]

To be honest I wouldn't bother with weighing yourself. Your weight can fluctuate so much in one day and muscle weighs more than fat. I'm hoping to lose some fat and gain muscle so i'm expecting to put on weight in the next 12 weeks. You're much better off measuring yourself. I can give you all the details of the proper places to do it if you need?

As for the apron belly it's impossible to spot reduce unfortunatly The best thing to do is just shed the weight, work on your abs to tighten the skin a bit. I have an instructor who is insanely fit and even she has a little wobbly bit from her kids

To give your system a little shock try to up the interval training you're doing to run (almost to the max) for one minute, jog for 5 mins, walk for 2 min something like that. Interval training is fantastic for beating a plateau!

[Turkish Delight]

Thanks CQ.

I did take your advice and went for a jog/run last night on the treadmill at the gym and guess what?? I ran for 5 mins I really can't run. I am not a runner at all. I was afraid of running but last night decided to run and just see how far i got without having the need to stop and i ran for 5 mins. I was so proud of myself. What i did was i ran for 5mins, walked for 2mins and kept going on til i completed about 30mins. Then incline walked for about 30mins.

Thank-you for giving me the encouragement to run. I never thought i could! I will definitely be running from now on.

[paradise lost]

Hey TUrkish - i'm not a PT either, just an interested person

I am also not at all a runner. I'm endomorphic (tendency to gain weight easily, always at the heavier end of BMI, even when "thin", tend to gain fat all over not just on the hips/bum area) and as such i'm far more suited to swimming. But in 2006 after DD was born i decided to give running a go. I did my first 10k road race in May 2007, and a half marathon in September 2007. I have a 10k this sunday

I am SLOW (9.5min/mile is my sustainable race pace, 10-11min/mile is my normal training speed) but i enjoy myself and i have learned that there is NO person who is "not a runner", it's all about getting your body used to it. With good trainers, sensible training and some patience anyBODY can run. I know a guy on a runners website whose first mile took him 23 minutes on a treadmill, he weighed over 230kg, now he weighs less than 100kg and is FAST!

Anyway, if you want to run i'd recommend the couchto5k (just google it). It's interval training, not dissimilar to what you're already doing. And if i can run, ANYONE can

Bx

[C~Q]

Woohoo TD that's awesome!!! And listen to Hoobs - she really knows what she's talking about

I'm going to be working out my interval training tomorrow with my PT and I am scared! Going to be hooked up to the heart monitor and working out all my levels for peak training so i'll let you know how he does it to give you an idea.

And congrats again that is so awesome...you can do ANYTHING you put your mind (and legs) to!!!

[Turkish Delight]

Thanks Hoobs and CQ.

I will google couch to5k. I ran for 2 x 5mins intervals yesterday just to prove to myself that the day before wasn't just a fluke. I did it alright. Don't enjoy it as much as incline walking but i feel good knowing that i can run to some degree

I'm a naturally fat person. Always have been since a kid. My fat is mainly concentrated on my thighs, bum and tummy. Typical mediterranean body. No boobs. In fact, i joke that they are concaved in now!
My lower abdo fat has decreased. Not as saggy as it was. CQ, your advice on losing more weight will reduce my lower abdo fat too is true.

Congrats on the great running work Hoobs. I really admire those that can push themselves to the limit. It is such a high to achieve sporting goals when your body isn't designed to be an athlete. But then again, you can train to be one. Goodluck on Sunday and remember that i do envy you!

Oh, and another... i have broken my plateau! YEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH.

I had crept up to 69kgs and today i am 65.1kg. Total loss of 3.9kgs in 2 weeks. I know i should not weigh myself everyday but i love my scales and it shows me that i have to be good for the day. I read that people who do weigh themselves daily are better at being "good" i.e not eating crap. For me it does work. When i see the scales creeping up i quickly get back to good behaviour again.

CQ, any pointers would be GREAT! Having somebody stand over you, watching, monitoring must be torture. I did a boxing class last week and the instructor would come over and check technique and i would get all unco. Not fun at all. Goodluck. I await your good results!

I'm going on a cruise in November, so i have to lose the 5.1kgs by then.

[C~Q]

Well done on the weight loss! I think if weighing yourself everyday gives you motivation and encouragemnet then do it!

I did my interval training and it was full on!!! Wow, what a workout. It's really helpful if you can get a heart rate monitor as the ones on the treadmills etc are really innacurate. First I did 5 mins on the Xtrainer at a level that got my heart rate (hr) up to 85% then 5 on the treadmill making sure my hr didn't drop below 85% then on to the rower. I rowed 1038m in 5 mins. Then we did it all again and the second row I did 1081 and my god was it hard!!! Then after the second row I did 10 mins on the bike again keeping my hr up. It was the hardest thing I have ever done!

I wouldn't recommend doing what I did though, it was very full on and very intense. Again, for fat loss you want to be between 55-70% not 85%! Maybe try one circuit of what I did and see how you go - but don't over-do it! And don't forget to ask for help if you need it. There should be fitness instructors on the floor who are paid to answer questions and help out!

5.1Kg by November - easy, you can do it