Hi guys-

I'm just curious how many competitors on here have hired a trainer. I have never had one, and just basically have you guys as my "trainers!"

The thing is, I guess they can really cater a workout to meet your individual needs and change it frequently (which is where my problem lies), but the diet is a whole different story. I don't see many trainers adapt to the beverly diets. Many figure gals at my gym have trainers, and looking over their diet, I see dairy and whole wheat breads, which are not part of the beverly "staples."

Just curious what you guys are doing regarding personal trainers..

Thanks!

If you need the motivation its always a nice thing. I personally like to train by myself. My wife needs a trainer (me) to push her when she trains. I will have someone help me with my diet though for contest prep.

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and just basically have you guys as my "trainers!"

We take that with honor.

It depends on the level of competition you're going to attain. Some of the pro body builders are trainers, but when it comes time to compete, they'll have someone else work with them for many reasons and one, you can only see yourself but there's no better vision than through the eyes of your competitor. If there's another very successful competitor working out on their own, you may consider approaching her and teaming up. That worked very well for me. Coaching each other's posing, etc.

As for training parters, that can be both, a plus and a negative. I trained with the perfect partner. He was 100 lbs heavier and pushed me. If I didn't make it, he worked out at the same level and so did I. We were neither dependent on it or thought negatively if we could not workout at the same time. You sound similar in that you can workout on your own.

Now, there may be some things that you need, such as understanding how squat parallel or just a way how to do a certain lift. You'll have to question yourself who it is you're going to ask. If someone comes to me for a technique, I will flat out tell them, I don't know and one example is I was asked how to do an O lift. I'm not an Olympic lifter and don't practice those lifts, so I cannot show a proper form.

As for those diets, just about any work for a weight loss when you go negative calories. We like to think of fat loss, muscle gain and not shed one pound. That would be ideal!! As we all know, that's not always the case.

I would love to shed fat, build muscle and stay at 195, but...that's not going to happen.

I'll be in NM in April and if not, I'll definitely save it for your contest date.

Have a great week!

A GOOD personal trainer isn't exactly a "dime-a-dozen". It depends on your goals, your needs, and certainly has NOTHING to do with your diet. If you find a Personal Trainer giving you diet advice, more often than not, DON'T LISTEN!! That is what we are here for!! I ONCE HEARD A PERSONAL TRAINER TRYING TO GET HER CLIENT TO SWITCH OVER TO RAW FOODS INCLUDING MEAT!!!! WHAT AN IDIOT!!???? That is malpractice and it is NOT uncommon with the general personal trainer population!

My personal experiences with VARIOUS personal trainers that I've spoken with and watched train their clients have been very negative in about 98% of the cases! I am not an advocate, but I am not saying that there are no good ones out there, just beware...

Ever seen that show "WORK OUT" on Bravo?? That show is one of my favs and it really entertaining, but come on! Have you seen some of the **** that they make their clients do?? How about some of their diet advice? It will make you angry watching that show..... which is part of the entertainment I suppose.........
Anyways that is a good show, but sad to say, it is pretty indicative of what to expect from a personal trainer.

My 2 cents...

Thanks for your input everyone!

I have to say that no one knows our own body as well as ourself, so having someone come in and dictate how we should be doing things, is very questionable!

I have to admit- I did have a free session with one the trainers at my gym, who comes highly recommended by many figure gals. I just wanted to get some training advice- no diet suggestions. She wanted to know my diet so I showed her the bev diet I was on and she frowned on it. Especially the fat loss diet that incorporates the 2 carb up days. So this is what she suggested for me:

For 3 days:

meal 1: 6 egg whites, 1/2 scoop protein, 1/2 cup oats

meal 2: 1 scoop protein, 1/2 cup oats

meal 3: 5 oz chicken breast, 1/2 cup brown rice

meal 4: 32 gms protein (2 scoops), and 25 gms of complex carbs like 1/2 cup brown rice, or 1/2 yam

meal 5: 5 oz chicken breast, and 7 gms fat (1/2 tsp almond butter)

THEN after 3 days, do 1 day of this:

meal 1: 4 egg whites, 1 cup oats

meal 2: 1 scoop protein, 3/4 cup oats

meal 3: 46 gms complex carbs (1/2 complex, 1/2 fibrous) 20 gms protein

meal 4: 54 gm complex carbs (1/2 complex, 1/2 fibrous), 20 gms protein, 7 grams fat (1/2 tsp almond butter)

meal 5: 54.5 grams of carbs (1/2 complex, 1/2 fibrous), 20 grams of protein)

And for cardio she said I should be doing double sessions now EVERY DAY! I'm 11 weeks out and 17% bf.

30 min a.m. treadmill, moderate pace
weight training in pm doing giant sets, 5-6 exercises for each muscle group using diff angles(1 hour), then another session of 45 min cardio (moderate pace)

Sundays no weight training, but 2 session cardio still.

I just went for an initial consult to see what she recommended.

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Originally posted by KellyKel:
Thanks for your input everyone!

I have to say that no one knows our own body as well as ourself, so having someone come in and dictate how we should be doing things, is very questionable!

I have to admit- I did have a free session with one the trainers at my gym, who comes highly recommended by many figure gals. I just wanted to get some training advice- no diet suggestions. She wanted to know my diet so I showed her the bev diet I was on and she frowned on it. Especially the fat loss diet that incorporates the 2 carb up days. So this is what she suggested for me:

For 3 days:

meal 1: 6 egg whites, 1/2 scoop protein, 1/2 cup oats

meal 2: 1 scoop protein, 1/2 cup oats

meal 3: 5 oz chicken breast, 1/2 cup brown rice

meal 4: 32 gms protein (2 scoops), and 25 gms of complex carbs like 1/2 cup brown rice, or 1/2 yam

meal 5: 5 oz chicken breast, and 7 gms fat (1/2 tsp almond butter)

THEN after 3 days, do 1 day of this:

meal 1: 4 egg whites, 1 cup oats

meal 2: 1 scoop protein, 3/4 cup oats

meal 3: 46 gms complex carbs (1/2 complex, 1/2 fibrous) 20 gms protein

meal 4: 54 gm complex carbs (1/2 complex, 1/2 fibrous), 20 gms protein, 7 grams fat (1/2 tsp almond butter)

meal 5: 54.5 grams of carbs (1/2 complex, 1/2 fibrous), 20 grams of protein)

And for cardio she said I should be doing double sessions now EVERY DAY! I'm 11 weeks out and 17% bf.

30 min a.m. treadmill, moderate pace
weight training in pm doing giant sets, 5-6 exercises for each muscle group using diff angles(1 hour), then another session of 45 min cardio (moderate pace)

Sundays no weight training, but 2 session cardio still.

I just went for an initial consult to see what she recommended.

Her protein reqs on the first 3 days might be a little high, but I like the diet. its similar to what I did to get ready for my shows.

higher carbs, and double low intensity cardio sessions when glucose is lowes, 1) out of bed and 2) post training.

She then has you on a refeed meal.

Its pretty solid actually. I bet you could train harder and more intense on this and you would fill out. I would probably take protein though on the first three days to 150 or less for your lean mass and add a little more carbs....

Its not a bad recommendation, society is still so carb phobic and way overeats protein.

Just my take on it....

Good Luck

Jason-

I really value your opinion. And I thought it was somewhat similar to the beverly lean gain, but with a bit more carbs. See my problem is that the carb increase really freaks me out because I AM so carb phobic. I tried it and I actually felt really good on it and hit training like an animal and STILL had the energy for am cardio. So I guess it's just a modified version of the bev diet. And of course this diet won't remain the same til show time. It will be tweaked every couple of weeks up until show time. I do need to add muscle badly. And the mistake I made was following the fat loss diet too soon (rotating- two weeks fat loss diet, then 1 week lean gain). I was exhausted all the time and had no gains at all- flat!!

I'm stickin with it and taking your suggestion about the protein cut back.

Thank you =)

Just in case you want to test the macros...

here is how I set up a womans diet using my formulas for what I did for my show.

2.42 x lean body mass = carb saturation, I start them (depending on fat loss needs) at either 50 minus that number for training days and 100 minus that number for non training days.
1.25 x lbm for protein needs
15% of the total caloric intake will equal fat calories that you need to add to diet. Then divide that number by 9 for fat grams per day.

I then advise to start with 30 mins low intensity cardio twice daily and train 2 on, 1 off, 2 on, 2 off. Cardio twice daily EVERY day whether you trained or not.

As the show approaches I will then take them 100 below saturation on training days and 150 below on off days, if necessary 150 below on all day, but thats harsh once you get rolling on it.

I was increasing strength up till about 2 weeks out and always had energy to train, now I did get hungry though.

Compare the macros you were given with these numbers......cosmetic performance athletes NEED some carbs in their diets, sedentary adults do okay on atkins type diets, but you ARENT sedentary to say the least.

As always more than one way to skin a cat, I prefer to eat and do a little more cardio than to starve and overeat protein which is not satisfying to me at all.

Good Luck....

quote:

As always more than one way to skin a cat, I prefer to eat and do a little more cardio than to starve and overeat protein which is not satisfying to me at all.

I'm with you here, Jason. The high protein, low carb is good for initial fat loss without cardio. I've done my own research. WITHOUT CARDIO. If you add the csrdio, flatten and doomed is how I've seen it.

Now the, "if you add cardio" is where it's going to be important. You need cardio, period and that's simply for overall health, but it will 2X-3X move fat.

I seem like old-school where I "push" the 50:20:30, but it's only for a short period of time, say, the first 4 weeks of a 16 week diet, then my carbs are increased, decreased, increased, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Frank:

quote:

As always more than one way to skin a cat, I prefer to eat and do a little more cardio than to starve and overeat protein which is not satisfying to me at all.

I'm with you here, Jason. The high protein, low carb is good for initial fat loss without cardio. I've done my own research. WITHOUT CARDIO. If you add the csrdio, flatten and doomed is how I've seen it.

Now the, "if you add cardio" is where it's going to be important. You need cardio, period and that's simply for overall health, but it will 2X-3X move fat.

I seem like old-school where I "push" the 50:20:30, but it's only for a short period of time, say, the first 4 weeks of a 16 week diet, then my carbs are increased, decreased, increased, etc.

Totally agree. You can't stay on the 50:30:20 diet and hope to come in full, hard and RIPPED. The most you can hope for is lean, stringy, not particularly full.

You have to manipulate carbs. They are not the enemy (unless you count Skittles and Maple Syrup as a carb source). They will spare protein and keep your muscles fuller. DOn't get me wrong, I myslef push for the 50:30:20 diet, but I manipulate it with various high carb days, cheat meals, post-workout carbs. You kinda have to or you'll go catabolic way to quickly.

Too many people dieting for a show overeat protein and undereat carbs.A person should never go below 100 grams a day.When dieting down for a show make sure to consume 40 grams of complex carbs before and after weight training,this will give you energy to train and also help you recover.The other meals throughout the day use mostly lower glycemic carbs(Learn T o Love Your Veggies!!!.If you wake up first thing in the morning to do cardio never do it on an empty stomach,take a scoop of Muscle Provider and down it then proceed to cardio.(This will help spare lean muscle tissue and get your metabolism cranking).

I don't need no freaking cardio.. esp. twice a day, doing CrossFit! Give that a try and see how lean it'll get you!

quote:

Originally posted by scott fanti:
Too many people dieting for a show overeat protein and undereat carbs.A person should never go below 100 grams a day.When dieting down for a show make sure to consume 40 grams of complex carbs before and after weight training,this will give you energy to train and also help you recover.The other meals throughout the day use mostly lower glycemic carbs(Learn T o Love Your Veggies!!!.If you wake up first thing in the morning to do cardio never do it on an empty stomach,take a scoop of Muscle Provider and down it then proceed to cardio.(This will help spare lean muscle tissue and get your metabolism cranking).

This is a good point. Cardio on an empty belly coupled with low caloric intake is very risky and most likely will cause further catabolism. I gotta tell you though, MP first thing in the morning? BLAHHHHGHHH! MP by itself is gross dude!!! I couldn't do it, I would rather down 2 servings of Glutamine Select, or even better, take 10 Density tabs! Get that quick shift into the anabolic spectrum!

When I do my morning cardio I do cardio respiratory not vascular. I pedal VERY slowly and my heart rate is barely 15 beats above resting. No protein no BCAAS all that will effect insulin to some degree, I want to be in a fasted state where there is no insulin in the blood stream and blood sugar is very low, much like sleep where much of our bodies processes are ran on fats, thats what I try to mimic with my cardio respiratory.

I know everyone is like that doesnt work, try it. And most of my prep I ate 225 grams of carbs. Research it and see what you come up with before dismissing it.

Good Luck Kelly, youve got quite a bit of conflicting info here, more than one way to skin a cat.

My fat loss stack was 5 synergy, 5 GH Factor, 3 7 keto or YCA all taken at once along with 5 grams plain glutamine, worked like a charm.

The point of doing cardio like this is to save leg muscle, what do you think would happen if you trained your chest 7 days a week which is what you are essentially doing with these crazy HIIT regimens, yeah it would look like ****....

quote:

what do you think would happen if you trained your chest 7 days a week which is

Man, Jason!! Thanks for reminding me. I've been struggling with chest. Lats and legs are incredible, but my chest is just not catching up. This reminded me of a workout. I do workout legs at least 5 days per week.


Hmmmm.

quote:

Good Luck Kelly, youve got quite a bit of conflicting info here, more than one way to skin a cat.

Some, but not really conflicting. Piece by piece, injest and ponder to see where it fits you and use what feels right once you see the overall picture.

Crossfit, I didn't get enough info on it. It seems to be a form of cardio in that you're conditioned by intensity where you can gain the best of both worlds, hence "cross".

With CrossFit workouts you hardly do any real "cardio" workouts, some are high intensity combos of bodyweight exercises together with free weights, sometimes there are some runs (400 - 800 meters mostly) included, occasionally a 5K run or row, then you have your "heavy" days where you do basic lifting (i.e. deads, squats, presses, O-lifting) down to triples and singles. Normally I train on a 3 day on/1 off cycle, if you look at my picture posted at the bottom of the Northern 2008 "Random backstage" section I don't think anybody can say that my legs were weak.. LOL! I prefer my training intense and short (done that even with "traditional" lifting), no low intensity cardio sessions for me, that's for sure.

quote:

Originally posted by Rainer:
With CrossFit workouts you hardly do any real "cardio" workouts, some are high intensity combos of bodyweight exercises together with free weights, sometimes there are some runs (400 - 800 meters mostly) included, occasionally a 5K run or row, then you have your "heavy" days where you do basic lifting (i.e. deads, squats, presses, O-lifting) down to triples and singles. Normally I train on a 3 day on/1 off cycle, if you look at my picture posted at the bottom of the Northern 2008 "Random backstage" section I don't think anybody can say that my legs were weak.. LOL! I prefer my training intense and short (done that even with "traditional" lifting), no low intensity cardio sessions for me, that's for sure.

Interesting... This is kinda like what they did for the actors in the movie "300". Non-traditional workouts. Looks like it works for you! But dude, 5K? 400m? 800m? that sucks! Give me a 100m or a 40yd dash anytime.

quote:

Interesting... This is kinda like what they did for the actors in the movie "300". Non-traditional workouts. Looks like it works for you! But dude, 5K? 400m? 800m? that sucks! Give me a 100m or a 40yd dash anytime.

I do this in the warmer weather. I haven't seen anything on Crossfit, but I'll bet it's close to what I've done by instinct.

Trust me, I'm not a runner either, but by now 400's are okay for me. 800 hurt, 5K's suck, but I do them whenever they come up. And the program certainly works for me.. around 7% offseason, 3.5% right now.

quote:

My fat loss stack was 5 synergy, 5 GH Factor, 3 7 keto or YCA all taken at once along with 5 grams plain glutamine, worked like a charm.

Thank you all for your advice!

I have been using the stack, Jason, and seems to be working great. Also, the respiratory cardio is doing the trick. The macro formula you gave me puts me right where I need to be.

Thanks again!!