I'm Not Picking Up Weights, I Don't Want to Bulk-Up

July 11, 2010 By 2 Comments

Whilst chatting with a client this week about how we are going to progress her personal training schedule, she mentioned that she has been doing some additional ‘fat-burning’ exercises that she had read about in a magazine.  Upon questioning her further, I soon realised that a few truths about effective exercise needed to be straightened out.  All too often we are told in order to lose fat we have to exercise in the ‘fat-burning zone.’  Whilst it sounds completely logical, there is a much better way to lose fat. 

The harder the intensity of exercise, the more fat you will burn due to different energy pathways.

What concerned me even more though, was the fact that female readers of the article were being told to exercise without any additional weight and do lots of repetitions (up to 100!) in order to avoid ‘bulking-up.’  If you can do up to 100 repetitions of a certain exercise, then it will not be very effective!

Here are some physiological facts:

  • Males produce the hormone testosterone in varying amounts, some more than others.
  • Women produce much less testosterone. 
  • In order to build muscle bulk you need large amounts of the muscle-building hormone, testosterone. 

For anyone who wishes to build muscle bulk they need to train extremely hard and heavy, possibly even twice-a-day.  The majority fail to do this, especially females due to physiology.  Your nutrition also has to be optimal.

So girls, despite being told to avoid the weights because you’ll get big, it is very very difficult for females to build muscle bulk.

However, strength training is a very important part of any exercise schedule and whilst it is difficult for females to build muscle bulk, it is still very important to keep muscles strong and toned which in turn will burn more fat in the long-term by keeping the metabolism raised.

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Personal Training Diary…A Wet Sunday Cycle Ride

May 30, 2010 By 1 Comment

Today’s cycle ride looked oh so promising when my personal training client and I left home at 10.00am.  A few miles down the road whilst making our way out to the planned hilly climb (she is training for an endurance event at the end of the summer and I wanted to throw in some heart rate intervals), spots of rain started to fall.  “Let’s keep going, it will only be a short shower.”  Yeah right!!!  Oh well, it was only a bit of water.

One of the great things about this time of year is that as soon as the rain stops and the sun makes an appearance, you know it won’t take long to dry off.  That’s exactly what happened as we started to climb.  A short while later our heart rates were elevated and we were steaming…literally!  The clouds disappeared and the view was spectacular.

We enjoyed the ups and downs of the ride and dried off very quickly.  After a well-deserved short snack stop (to get sustained energy release by mixing carbohydrate and small amount of protein), we made our way back home.

It would have been so easy to turn around at the first sight of the clouds at 10.15am and go do the personal training session inside.  OK, so we got a bit wet, but the enjoyment and sense of achievement for my client at the end was worth a soggy t-shirt for a while!  Once again, she amazed herself at how much stronger she is feeling, especially when the hill climbs are getting tougher.

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I Can Do It All By Myself

April 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Surely you have the motivation, dedication and discipline to get the most from your exercise?  We are forever hearing about the importance and benefits of exercise, so surely these three thngs are easy to achieve?

I once thought I knew all there was to know about personal training.  In my opinion, all fitness instructors wore lycra and shouted at their clients to, “Move it or else!”  It is only now that I view this industry through very different eyes.

For how many years or months have you been exercising, doing the same routine over and over again and getting the same results, i.e. that extra layer of bodyfat just doesn’t seem to be shifting.  We might work towards our goals by different training methods, but we generally all want the same thing – to feel great and have our health.

There are several factors involved in achieving what you really want:

Motivation – how often have you used the excuse that you don’t have time or motivation to exercise?  You don’t schedule the session into your diary and then wonder why you haven’t found the time.  One of the major benefits of working with a personal trainer is that your session will take place on a given day at a specific time.  All you have to do is turn up! 

Dedication – we are constantly bombarded by the media about the latest fad diet, the latest piece of equipment that guarantees results in 10 minutes and we wonder why we quickly lose interest when these guarantees don’t materialise?  Do we ever stop and fully research what we are reading or do we take it that if it is being mass-marketed, it must be worthwhile?  In order to achieve results, we must be dedicated and not expect a ‘quick-fix’. 

In order to make something a routine, we have to do that something between 16 and 20 times.  Anything less than that and we struggle to make it part of our routine.

Take personal training sessions for example.  In today’s financially-driven society, you could feel that it is difficult to justify paying to work with a personal trainer.  Or, perhaps you feel that the one-off session is enough to set you up with everything that you need to achieve your goals?

The rules of exercise are these:

You should train between 3 and 5 times each week, at the right intensity, including both cardiovascular and  strength training.  Your nutrition also plays a vital role any training programme.  Can you write your training programme and perform all of the exercises in optimal posture? Do you know how to progress the programme and go through the stages of periodisation?  Does your nutrition provide your body with all of the nutrients that it needs for health?

Remember, in order to make something routine, you have to do that something 16 to 20 times.  Can you really do it all by yourself?  Will you achieve the frequency PLUS stick to the rules of exercise without any guidance along the way?  Hopefully by now you can start to see the value in personal training.  It shouldn’t be deemed as a luxury, for some, it should be an absolute necessity!

 

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