Training into Perspective

(This is Cooper) Nice snarl huh?


Put your training into perspective. Here is another expert from "Winning Ways: How to succeed in the gym and out"


Self-Cancelling combinations.


"I want to get huge, shredded, strong- I want it all." It's a familiar refrain, and it would seem that with a little creativity and a lot of effort, it's possible to pull it off. As you know, however, appearances can be deceiving. As much as you might like to believe you can have everything, you can't. In fact, the best way to get nowhere is to try to get everywhere at once.


It is important to have a goal, and focus on that goal. Don't try to do everything at once and don't feel you have to. 


I know so many people who want to get into the gym and do this: lose fat, build strength, pack on muscle. Those three are really, really difficult to accomplish all at once. Now you can get stronger and lose fat, but it's harder to accomplish the combination, mostly because this will involve a really regimented diet.


To be successful, I would recommend writing down your goals and then researching to find a trainer who appreciates your goals, has the knowledge to help you and will work closely with you to reach them.  Ask them if your goals are realistic, have a conversation about it. You need to respect and like this person, treat them like the professional they are. If you cannot do that, you have picked the wrong trainer. 


If you cannot afford a trainer, then write down your goals and go easy at first. Results do not occur overnight, or even in a couple weeks. It took years to get fat, don't expect it to go away overnight.  Don't set too many goals, shoot for one. Perhaps something like lose 5 pounds in one month by weight training. Don't give yourself the goal of losing 5 pounds in one month and adding two inches on your biceps. 


It's like the harried housewife who has small children running all around the house, she is trying to cook gourmet meals, keep the house neat and tidy, maintain a beautiful garden and be a super star Figure Competitor. 


She cannot do everything at once.


I hear from women quite often "How do you do it?" "How do you fit it all in?" They feel like failures, and they should not. First, no one should ever compare themselves to anyone else (Competitions aside- those are an event specifically to compare individual physiques). We all live very different lives and there is no way any one of us can do, or should feel that they had to do the same thing anyone else does.


I started to work out before my son was born, so we are talking over 17 years ago now, and I continued through my pregnancy. As soon a he was old enough (6 weeks I think), I left him in the gym daycare as I trained. I was not serious then, but I was devoted. I wanted to be lean and look good. I worked a full time job and had a new born, but made it to the gym at least 5 days a week.


I went through one career with an hour long commute each way, there wasn't much time for the gym in those days. I really didn't get serious until my son was much older, when he was no longer an infant. I believe he was 9 or 10, then I started to devote more and more time to my hobby. It took me years to get where I am now. I never gave up though. Sure I got discouraged, but I learned to stop doing the things that took up time that I could instead spend in the gym. It was a choice I eventually made.


This blog is twofold.


One is be kind to yourself and understand that sometimes we cannot have everything we want, when we want it. Perhaps the kids need to grow a bit, just do what you can, and be proud of yourself. Know that you have honestly stopped doing the things that prevent you from getting to the gym (like watching TV....) and you have made efforts to improve. Start eating better. Respect your body the way you should.  Eventually you can spend more time in pursuit of your craft.


The other, is when you are in the gym, always have a specific goal. Don't go in with the self-cancelling combination "I want it all", you are only setting yourself up for failure. Have a goal that is reachable, then another and another, it's a transformation and at the same time, a change in your life habits.


I really enjoyed the book by Dr. Randall J. Strossen, Winning Ways: How to Succeed in the Gym and Out. I am a firm believer that our lives are determined by our minds and attitudes, Dr. Strossen seems to feel the same way. 

My Second Trainer- SC

SC stands for Strength Coach. I am not showing you his picture, I am not saying where he works, nor will I reveal his name. You can take a look at his ear though.....

He never should have been training me and I don’t want to jeopardize anything he has going on right now, simple as that.

I met SC in 2007. I was looking for a qualified RKC and we connected via email. I arranged to come by his facility and meet with him. I will never forget the day I walked in there, oh the place was wonderful, absolutely huge with Olympic platforms, racks, free weights, glute ham raises and really, really loud music.

I stood in front of him, all 125 pounds of me and told him pointedly:

“I don’t need someone to motivate me, I don’t need a coach, I don’t need anyone to show me what to do. I  know the basics of kettlebells, I just want to master them and learn more about them so I don’t injure myself.” I kinda thought I was all that.

He was big, not a lot taller than me, but a big, buff, young guy. He smiled; we talked a bit longer and came to an agreement.

We started training on Friday afternoons, just like I do with Roy.  The very first time we trained he asked me to show him what I knew. Immediately he stopped me and corrected my transition when changing hands with a one hand swing. “Never change in the back” he said.

So much for the “training” I received at Courtside.

I became quite good, I learned everything. Turkish get-ups, suitcase deadlifts, one hand swings, two hand swings, snatches, we went for speed, we went for volume.

He had big bowls of chalk. I loved to walk up and plop my hands in it, then smack my butt so I had two nice hand prints there.  I would get huge calluses, my hands would bleed. He was very caring, when the blood was really bad he would follow me into the kitchen as I rinsed my hands, then squirt liquid dish soap on them and say “wash ‘em!” ha ha

One day as we sat in his office he looked at me and said “Kristy, I have taught you everything I know. You are good, really good. You could be an instructor yourself. You would easily pass the RKC test. I can’t teach you anything else”

I said “Then teach me all you know about strength training. I want to learn”

So began a three year odyssey.

I learned to deadlift. I learned squats. I learned to do pull ups with a kettlebell strapped to my waist. I pushed a prowler in the hot sun on artificial turf.  I still carry my cute black patent leather cleats in my car, just in case I get to push a prowler again. 

I swung a sledge hammer with football players in the hot sun in a sand pit, smacking a huge tire, sweat dripping into my eyes, clothes soaking wet.

I would swing those bells, at the end of each session usually 10 sets of 10, heavy ones too, each time blood blisters would form.  I slammed leather med balls against the ground while on my knees, I learned to do eccentric chin ups for much longer than anyone would want to every think about.

I learned all the words to 2pac’s music.

I learned the Olympic lifts. Clean and jerk, hang cleans, snatches. It was scary heaving the barbell up like that and actually letting it drop. It was fun to watch it bounce. SC used to compete in Olympic lifting, he knew what he was doing.

We would train for a couple hours sometimes, I loved it. After each session I would go to the locker room and take a long shower, and then we would talk in his office. I told him that I really want to understand what makes it all work. So he gave me a text book to read. He expected me to read then report back what I thought of the theory, of the data. What was this book?

Science and Practice of Strength Training by Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky and William J. Kraemer.  I ended up buying my own and have read it two more times, it is that complicated. It is a college textbook and not cheap.

I ended up reading countless books and e-books he gave me, and we would discuss them as we found time.

I then became his “guinea pig”.  We tried experimental things such as isometric training, sessions of high volume, sessions of heavy weights. He would write up a new program every few weeks. The first time we would go through the exercises and make sure I knew what they were, we would set weights then I would record my training the rest of the week. The following Friday I would come back and he would increase the expected weights for the next week.

At one point I started to get pretty ripped, muscular and people kept asking me if I competed. Competed in what? I didn’t know what they meant, I thought there was only bodybuilding. I started to research it all. I told SC I was going to hire a nutritionist and I would consider competing. I told him I work my butt off and I want something to show for it, I want a goal to keep driving me forward.

He thought that was a good idea, but looked me in the eye and said “I hate bodybuilders!” that hurt me, but he then said that I wasn’t a bodybuilder, I knew more than any bodybuilder did.

I remember once I asked him if he went easy on me because I wasn’t one of his athletes, I was a woman and I was almost as old as his mother. He replied “Kristy, I expect the same from you as I do all my other athletes”. And he probably added something about stop whining and start lifting….

SC never had a good opinion of personal trainers; he said they gave Strength Coaches a bad name.  Strength Coaches have studied a long time, they have advanced degrees in the subject matter, and a personal trainer can just take an online course and pass an exam. This certainly doesn’t mean that there are not personal trainers out there who are not qualified, but I would get an idea of their training and background before committing to them.

SC is probably one of the smartest people I have ever met when it comes to strength training. 

To my knowledge, SC only trained one other “non-athlete” during those three years, a young guy as a favor to a friend, and then he had a 2 month stint with a group who wanted him to train them how to use kettlebells. Other than that, it was me and I still don’t really know why he agreed to do it or even continue it.

SC started checking my bodyfat weekly with a 9 site caliper test, I don’t think it ever went above 12% and when close to a competition, it would go as low as 4%.

In the first year with SC I started to compete in Figure and then brought a new trainer into my life, an IFBB Pro. I would end up training with both of them for about a year and a half. My fun and strength development was with SC, my “sculpting and posing” was with my Figure Pro. As I write about her, trainer #3, I may bounce back and forth between them a bit.

Later, after I had been working with my nutritionist (I will write about her later), some of his female athletes wanted to know how I looked the way I did. He said “ask her what she eats” I wrote up a few diets for some female athletes trying to drop some bodyfat.  

In the end, we had to discontinue our training, not that either one of us wanted to but circumstances forced us to. SC has taught me more than I could probably learn in a Kinesiology course in college; he gave me practical knowledge and shared his experiences with me. He taught me the importance of research, studies, books, data and gut wrenching hard work.  I would not be the person I am today had he never come into my life. 

In Between Trainers (2007)

Once I realized I was on my own, and wouldn't have a trainer, I actually developed my own routine quite quickly.

The gym opened at 4:30 am and I was there 5 days a week before they opened. The gal who worked the front actually gave me the code to the key box in case she was late for some reason, so I could enter the code, get the key and open the door.

I would wake up at 3:30 am (yeah I got kind of fanatical) and then run to the gym! It was 4 miles each way. I would put on one of those silly orange reflective vests, and off I went to the gym. Once I got there I lifted weights, then I put my cute little vest back on and ran the 4 miles home again. People teased me, people laughed, but who’s laughing now?

I started to read a lot, so I could understand what to do and what not to do. I read all the magazines but then I bought books. Most of them were about strength development, how the muscles worked, definitely not bodybuilding that was the furthest thing from my mind at the time.

I looked mainly at men’s strength training; I don’t believe women should train any differently than men should. I bought e-books, I bought videos, and I taught myself everything I didn’t learn from Baz.

I got very comfortable and felt I started to really know a lot. The diet was not anything I concentrated on, I just tended to eat a lot healthier than before and I gradually ate better, but it was not a focus of my life as it is now.

As you can see in the picture above, I was lean and fairly muscular, but not in a Figure competitor way, that takes a different type of training.

Then I had a problem, my gym was going to be sold yet again. I freaked out, as they said they would be remodeling and you know what that means! I also researched the company taking over who had one other gym and I was not impressed. Plus the name of the place was not very inspiring "Anastasia's Club Fit" what on earth was that?! I set out to find a new gym before they changed hands.

After locating all of the gyms within the distance from my home I would consider, I narrowed it down to the ones that opened no later than 5:00 am, which was really the latest I could train.

I then set out to visit them, there were only 4 of them and unfortunately since I live in a fairly upscale community, only one was a low cost “chain".

I ended up at the most expensive one, Courtside Club, but it really is a great place and I have come to call it home, I have been here now since 2007.

I can tell you all about why I didn’t choose the others but that isn’t the point.

I arrived at Courtside strutting in like I knew everything, but quickly felt out of place. This was no bodybuilders gym, in fact, most people didn’t even venture into the weight rooms, this a a club and the folks here like cardio best, or tennis.

I slowly developed friends among the morning crowd, a very friendly group of people indeed.

I started reading about kettlebells; I got several books by Pavel. Who is he? Here is a bit from Dragon Door:  Pavel Tsatsouline Master of Sports, is a former Soviet Special Forces physical training instructor who has been called "the modern king of kettlebells" for starting the Russian kettlebell revolution in the West.

In 1998 Pavel introduced the ancient Russian strength and conditioning tool to the American public in his subversive article, Vodka, Pickle Juice, Kettlebell Lifting, and Other Russian Pastimes. The article was published by MILO, a magazine for tough hombres who bend steel and lift rocks. When Pavel started getting mail from guys with busted noses, cauliflower ears, scars, or at least Hell's Angels tattoos his publisher took notice.

Several years later Dragon Door published Pavel's book Enter the Kettlebell! which became the golden standard in kettlebell instruction. It was followed by Return of the Kettlebell which introduced the most advanced Russian strength and muscle building techniques.

Pavel is a subject matter expert to the US Marine Corps, the US Secret Service, and the US Navy SEALs. A kettlebell in his fist, he was voted the 'Hot Trainer' by Rolling Stone and appeared in media ranging from Pravdato Fox News. Dr. Randall Strossen, one of the most respected names in the strength world, stated, "In our eyes, Pavel Tsatsouline will always reign as the modern king of kettlebells since it was he who popularized them to the point where you could almost found a country filled with his converts…"

I also have books by the above mentioned Dr. Randall Strossen…Anyway, Courtside didn’t have any kettlebells, I thought this was crazy! So I decided to buy some of my own and teach myself.

Well, if you have ever seen anyone try to use KB’s that hasn’t, you know they are not as easy as they appear. I asked the Fitness Director at Courtside if I could keep my KB’s there, in the trainer’s room and use them when I was at the gym. That’s was fine and worked well until they sometimes locked the door and I couldn’t get to my own equipment! I also decided I needed a trainer so I asked who in their huge cadre of trainers knew about KB’s. I was steered toward a woman (no longer there) and purchased 10 very expensive sessions with her.

“KB Trainer” said she knew what she was doing, well, she wasn’t certified, had never had any formal training and basically taught herself KB’s…the wrong way.

After that expensive lesson I started searching for a qualified instructor. I went to the Dragon Door website and emailed every RKC (Russian Kettlebell Certified) in San Jose. The conversations went back and forth quite a bit and I finally arrived at a choice: SC (Strength Coach) who would go on to train me for about three years.

Soon: My second trainer, “SC”

Oh, Courtside now has two full sets of kettlebells including "the beast"

My First Trainer - Baz

Mark really, but we all called him by his last name for some reason. He always wore this hat too! 

I met Mark a couple years after I first started to workout, and I watched as he led a very small group (3) of women in a boot camp. They all looked like they were having so much fun in the basketball gym, I wanted to join. But there was no bootcamp on the schedule, something odd was going on, I think they were all just friends.

So one day I went in and just asked if I could be their "friend"! ha ha

Mark and the girls said "sure I could join in" and I started attending his "bootcamp" twice a week. He had to start an official one with the gym, so we ended up paying a nominal fee, and had so much fun together!


I really enjoyed connecting with the other women and sharing a fun activity together.

Spinning class was also required since his main "gig" was a spinning instructor there, I think we did that once a week at our gym and once at the other gym he trained at. We showed up as "celebrity  spinners", this was back in 2005 to very early 2007 (the pictures here are in 2005 and 2006 so I am 45 and 46 years old) and I think spinning was just getting started.

Baz taught me everything, the basics. I knew nothing other than the fact I wanted to get "in shape" that was my goal, not real specific but I wanted to lose some weight and feel better about myself.

Baz taught me that I needed a combination of weights and cardio, that I needed to increase lean muscle mass to increase my resting metabolism and also that I needed cardio to burn the extra calories, and to keep a nice tight butt and shapely legs..He had a good set himself!

Sometimes it would be just the two of us spinning in the basketball gym, the music so loud that the racket ball crowd would complain.

Here he is demonstrating some goofy balancing trick on a bosu ball, I will need to them perform it to perfection after he has demonstrated. 

Below I am doing it, and why I am wearing silly gloves I cannot explain, I have grown since then, I don't wear them any longer, for anything other than tire flipping! 

We learned to use dumbbells, bodybars, balls, jump ropes, spinning bikes (and there really is a proper way to spin you know), and many body weight exercises. I really knew nothing to start and my knowledge grew.

As time progressed I wanted more. The group sessions didn't interest me any longer and the others often failed to show. If we all weren't there, there could be no class. This was not working for me, I was hungry to learn.

I asked Baz if he would be my personal trainer. Just me and him, lifting weights. It was deal between just the two of us.

My life would change completely after this.

I am strong, and even back then I was pressing some good weight, here I have 65 pound dumbbells and I was pressing reps! I am holding them so straight so the numbers can be read....

I got lean, there was no question about that, but I wanted muscles, I wanted to be full and have shape and make people go "wow!" when I walked by. 

I learned how to bench, I can see I am doing 135 here but don't think it was for many reps.

I loved cables then and love them now. They make my arms really look good.

Baz didn't teach me the science of strength training, I wasn't ready and probably wasn't interested, that came later in my lifting career. He did eat a lot healthier though, as we became good friends the foods were discussed more often. 

E-Z-curl bar!


At one time another member asked Baz if I might help her and he encouraged us to talk. We did, she started to follow me, I found that I was being held back by her. She knew nothing and I suddenly felt I knew so much. 


I eventually had to tell her that she couldn't follow me and train with me, I worried about it for weeks and I felt horrible, but she was causing me to focus on her, when I wanted to focus on me. This situation will continue throughout my years in the gym, but I quickly end it now before it can start, unless I want it to continue.

David and I would go to Baz's for parties and BBQ's, he loved to host and always had healthy, lean meats. That is the one thing I really recall is he was a stickler for lean meat, and no fat at all could be on a chicken. In the back of my mind, I think he had a job as a butcher many, many years prior.

I asked David what he remembers most about Baz and his response was "clean chicken, he could strip a chicken of every bit of fat and sinew faster than anyone I have ever seen!"

Baz has two kids, close in age to Cooper, so the kids were usually included, we would swim, BBQ and have fun.

 

Baz now owns a Planet Beach in San Jose, close to Santana Row.

As I wrote this I shot him an email, he and his girlfriend Silke are at Los Gatos Music in the Park, having a good time as always. 

In the end, Baz stopped working at my gym, so we could no longer train together. We discussed me coming to his other gym, but it wasn't close by, so we ended parting ways. I think I trained with him for a little over two years. 


Once we were no longer training together it was sort of frightening. I was nervous about going in and lifting on my own, would I know what to do and in what order? Who would spot me on the bench press? 


Then the thought of being on my own was exciting. Very, very exciting. You see, I had found that I really am a loner, I prefer training on my own. It's me and my music, or me and my trainer. 


I discovered that I do not really enjoy group exercise, I don't want to be held back by someone else, and it seemed I was always being held back, it was never the other way around.


I learned that a woman's place in in the squat rack, and beautiful women have muscles, skinny is not attractive.


I started seeking those muscles with a vengeance after this.

The next year and a half I would be on my own. And this year and a half would encompass more personal growth and discovery than I will probably ever experience again.

My Heart, My Body, My Soul

I am a thinker, I think about everything and probably over analyze it all, I am a very critical thinker- details, steps, process, it all needs to fit.

There are some people at work who absolutely LOVE my way of working, and, unfortunately I tend to drive others CRAZY!!!!

But, I can take an abstract idea and turn it into reality in a split second, complete with detailed steps, process, procedure and expected outcome. I love it when someone throws a concept at me and I can turn ideas into reality. My staff knows what is expected of them, and they also know that I will provide them with every necessary tool or training to get there. No surprises.

I was thinking about my own training and how I ever arrived at my present state. I believe myself to be well rounded, knowledgeable, current, tolerant and practical.

I have ideas, and they become works of art, functional working pieces of life.

I strive to be the best I can be, yet like most others, I also enjoy the fine things in life, the good foods, the wine, the sweets, lazing around in bed late (OK, I am lying, I never sleep in), and sitting in the sun doing nothing.

Yet, no matter what, my alarm will sound at the allotted time so I will be at the gym when they open, everyday. Even when I am not working and don’t have a schedule to adhere to, it drives David nuts!

What makes me tick different than others? Why do I have a drive that stuns so many other people? Why do I feel invincible when others feel defeated? Why do I feel I can continue when others feel they will drop?

Vision

Goals

Celebration

Rejuvenation

Entitlement

I have a VISION of the muscular and lean body I can be, and that I have been.

I have a GOAL to be bigger, leaner, and shapelier than before.

I CELEBRATE when I have pushed myself hard and know I will reap results.

I feel REJUVENATED when I lay in the steam room after a long, hard session, just clearing my mind of all clutter and cares.

I feel ENTITLED when I enter any club or gym and and I have every right to be there, using every piece of equipment that I choose, wearing what I feel comfortable wearing. I have a right to train how I want to train.

I have also trained and learned from many wonderful and talented individuals. I have read numerous text books, training books, journals, medical logs, and research and silly magazines.

I have learned so much of what to do, and what not to do, from all of my trainers. And when I say what NOT to do, I mean only what doesn’t work for me. I feel that all of my trainers have been well qualified, experienced, caring individuals, and were right for me at that time we were training.

I recall something very fun and interesting about each trainer, I have had four in my life, yet I only started training seriously 10 years ago. I would never replace any of them for anyone else, and I value my lessons from each.

I approached each session with a goal. I wanted to learn, I wanted to grow, and I also wanted interaction with someone else. Someone who could help critique me, motivate me, help me to self critique, self motivate and set goals.

I have never relied on anyone to motivate me day to day, yet when training intensely, I could always use a boost from someone else to remind me to stop being so critical of myself, to help me see that I am indeed growing, to help push me that extra bit.

Today? I trained my usual 2 hours on Saturday at 6:00 am and then went home and ate, did some things around the house, then back to the club to meet Stacy for cardio. We were texting the night before, she said she had an hour of cardio to do, I said I NEVER do that much cardio! Her reply? “Yes you do, that’s how we met!”

She was right, after I broke my rib that’s all I was able to do, so I would walk on the stairmill for an hour a day. I met her one day as she was doing the same. I blocked it out of my mind I guess.

Stacy and I met, talked as we sweated away on the stairmills (only 30 minutes though) and then to my house for Greek salads and David’s homemade rose in the backyard. I think we talked for about three hours!

Every time I got up, my legs ached, but nothing too bad, the next day would surely be the worst.

We had a great time, talking about everything under the sun. Having relationships with people who have similar interests can be so invigorating and exciting.

Coming in the next few days: My past and present trainers and what I learned.

New Trainer

I have been without a trainer for a year now. Previously I worked with two at once! One for strength, one for Figure. They were often at odds as to what they believed I should be doing. 


I worked with SC (Strength Coach) for about three years, maybe longer, I enjoyed that more than anything. Every Friday I would leave work early and would hit weights so heavy, sometimes my whole body would shake.


I would work with FP (Figure Pro) leading up to competitions, and since I was doing three a year, that pretty much covered the year! I would see her on an evening after work, we did mindless weights (even she said that), but she was great at assessing what needed work. 


I stopped training last year and was on my own. I have decided it is time to find a new trainer, one who meets all my criteria.


I went to meet a new trainer after work on Monday, so we could talk and decide if we might work well together. I already sent him my list of requirements, down to the only day and time that I could train, none of this silly "jumping around stuff", just pure heavy weights, muscle building only, I am looking to add mass, as much as naturally possible, and he was in agreement.


I told him "I don't need to lose weight, I don't need to lose fat, I need to build mass, get big and ripped!"  He said that training a figure competitor would make it very interesting.


He doesn't train at my club, he has his own facility and has completed courses through the Poliquin International Certification Program (P.I.C.P.) and the BioSignature Modulation Program. That's how I found him, browsing through the list of PICP trainers listed on the Charles Poliquin website.


I showed up Monday evening at about 7:30, the facility is located in one of those small industrial type areas, where you will find lots of auto body shops, and small manufacturing shops, the kind that is a long driveway, with roll up garage doors, all in a row.


I drove down the end of the drive, not much open at this hour, so I looked for an open garage door, and there it was, with a nice Ducati parked right in front.


There were two trainers, and two clients, nice! The place has just about everything I could want, a dual cable, one power rack, glute ham raise, lat pull down, dip bars, back extension, kettlebells, lots of free weights, med balls, some benches, a huge trampoline, mats, a heavy bag, a sled and big, thick ropes. In other words, not a bunch of sissy machines, my club has plenty of those (and I do use some of them depending on my training at the time).


I sat on one of the big thick mats, occasionally talking but not much. Roy said I didn't look like I had been off training for 4 weeks, I told him that he should have seen me 4 weeks ago! ha!


I watched Roy train, watched how he treated the client, and liked what I saw. He was calm, thinking, watching, paying attention, taking notes, speaking when necessary, but not much. He was working on a full body workout, not what I want but his client was training for fat loss, he said his plans for me are very, very different. That is good, you really can't gain a lot of mass by doing full body, dynamic workouts, and he agreed, it would be heavy weights, body part splits just as I am used to. He understands I want to gain muscle mass, I don't like group training and circuits, that's not real training in my eye. He understood completely.

We talked for about a half hour afterward, about my goals, my needs, and diet.  We talked about supplements and sleep, he seems to know quite a bit but at the same time was very interested in how I maintain such a low body fat percentage all the time!  He asked if I do a lot of cardio? (NO!), do I take fat burners  (NO!) ....hmm, how do I stay so lean? I started just rattling off how and I forgot how completely natural my diet has become in my everyday life.


What I liked was he considers the whole person when training, it's not just the weights or the diet, but your sleep, supplements, energy levels. 


He told me about the fat measurement of the subscapular, if it is at 8mm or less, then I am probably naturally lean and can eat carbs till the cows come home, and not gain a lot of fat. If it measures at 10 or higher, I would be insulin sensitive and starchy carbs would not be a good thing for my body.


I told him that I have my 9 site bodyfat measurements on a spreadsheet for over the past year, I would check it out as soon as I got home. Yes, I have it from March of 2009 to September of 2010, last time I think I saw SC and he checked it. My subscap? Went up to 8 twice, and the rest of the time low as can be.


Want to see the measurements?


Kristy Body Fat


He said he was a little scared when I explained how I broke my rib, I am not sure if that was because he thought I might injure myself again, or I was just a bit too aggressive. I assured him I am fine, I had a DEXA scan not too long ago, I have the bone density of a 27 year old!


We agreed to start with a month. I will show up at noon on Fridays (today, first day!) and he will start by testing my max in lifts, lower body today, upper next week. He will write a program, increasing weights weekly.


Last piece was to change my work hours, once again to fit my training. Thank goodness I have a very supportive supervisor! Fridays, now I work 7:30 to 11:30 so I can get there on time. We will see how it goes, I am looking forward to it.


Watch out world!

Deadlifts and Squats

 

People ask me all the time what they should do in the weight room. I know there are so many different exercises, it can be overwhelming and intimidating.

First, as I have always said, you really need to hire a trainer. Not just any trainer, but someone who understands your goals and has the knowledge to help you reach those goals.

Interview them, find out what experience they have and make sure they are in agreement with your goals. I once had a trainer who thought women shouldn't be muscular- only "toned" so we ended up parting ways as I wanted to get big and he didn't want me to get big. We are still friends though.

Anyone (and I mean anyone) can be a Certified Personal Trainer, it isn't rocket science. There are some certifications that are considered better than others, and some can even be taken online, which means anyone could actually take the test...

You may actually have a friend who is willing to help out, just don't suck up too much of their time, they need to train too.

But maybe you don't want a trainer, or can't justify the expense, or you don't know anyone who can help out, what do you do in the gym?

Deadlifts and squats.

These are the two most important lifts that you can learn and you should do.  They should be the core of your training, you should do them every week without fail.

What are the least popular lifts in the gym, the ones that few people do?

Deadlifts and squats.

Why? The answer to both is simple. They are effective and they are hard.

That's why they are the best and the least popular!

These two lifts work your entire body, every inch of it. And any strength coach worth their salt will tell you the same thing. Also, they are not going to aggravate a bad back or bad knees if you do them properly.

Please don't mistake a 40 pound fixed weight bar with a proper Olympic bar- with weights added!  You need a real weight, one that will scare you a bit and make you take a deep breath as you approach it.

Oh and if you are a woman, you know what will impress men more than any other lift in the gym?

Deadlifts and squats.

Start lifting and start living!

Below is a video where Matt Wenning watches a lifter squat, and corrects his technique.  Matt is one of only a handful of people to total over 2600 lbs in a professional competition, hold an all-time world record of 2665 lbs in the 308-lb class, and bench press over 800 lbs in a full powerlifting meet. He currently the owner and a private strength coach at Ludus Magnus gym in Columbus, Ohio, a personal trainer to many executives and professionals at Capital Club Athletics, and contracted by the US Army. He also works with firefighters, physicians, children with disabilities, and all forms of athletes in the Columbus, Ohio, area. If you like this video, there is a part 2, 3 and 4 of the same fellow as Matt helps him to increase the load he is able to squat.

You will be able to find the rest of the videos at EliteFitnessSystems

Email readers will need to navigate directly to the blog to view the video.

Training that "Fits"

Do you walk into a shoe store and sit down and tell the salesperson "give me shoes I will like that make me look taller and slimmer"? And then you expect him to bring you exactly what you needed, the same shoe he would bring everyone else?

No, you probably go find some shoes that you like, then ask to try them on, and feel how they fit, then decide if you like them. Maybe you don't like them, maybe you do. They need to fit just right or you won't buy them.

You need to do the same with a trainer or a training program.

I like to watch the trainers at my gym, I think might learn something. Unfortunately, more often than not, I only learn what not to do. Not every time mind you, but quite often.

Most of them stick to the same old thing time after time. In fact, I see some who have all of their clients do the same workout! Can you imagine? Obviously that isn't tailored for the clients is it? It is tailored for the trainer's convenience. How can any trainer even think that the same workout will be appropriate for different ages, body types, skill sets, goals?

Then there are some who never leave a small patch of padded flooring, they always have their clients use a ball or a mat or those plastic discs or some other gadget that basically does nothing, and he stands there talking. I haven't seen changes in his clients in over a year.

When you decide to hire a trainer, you first need to get an idea of what your goals are so you can actually articulate this to them. Then, you need to interview them and ask what they would do to help you accomplish this goal.

Do you need someone who will push you and be with you? Or do you need someone to teach you proper form? Do you just want someone to spot you? Do you even know what you want? You have to be able to tell them what you expect if you are expecting anything from them.

Talk to some of their other clients, ask them what they like about their trainer and what could use improving.

I talked to a woman the other day who is overweight, by more than a few pounds. She said she hurt herself doing plyometrics that her trainer instructed her to do. A trainer has no business telling an overweight person to do box jumps or squat jumps, obviously they will get injured.

If your trainer tells you that he or she can help you lose weight and gain muscle at the same time with their expertise, question it. If you are not in an "elite" category already, and first need to get down to an average body fat, they are handing you a pack of lies.

We all want to lose body fat and gain lean muscle mass at once, and it is possible, but extremely difficult and it takes years of training and experimenting with your diet to find the exact program that works for you.

Your average trainer at a gym most likely cannot do this for you, you will need a qualified nutritionist, one who specializes in athletes.

While training is vital, you will not show gains without proper nutrition, all the time. You cannot out train a bad diet!

Some food for thought.