Program to overtrain?

C

Charlie Golf

0
I wanna get some opinions on this. I decided to sign up for some personal training at my gym to help me get through a plateau I'm on and really accelerate to my goals. My experience thus far has been less than pleasing.

The first trainer was very young and timid...actually a nice kid though and the workout he put me through was great. I just think he's new and have no problem working with him again.

The second trainer (the first left on a 2 week vacation) basically just walked from machine to machine and said do this, do that. Very little motivation or "logic" to what he had me doing but the biggest disappointment was he cut the session short and didn't even apologize or say it would be added for a makeup. He also seemed very distracted by a lot of other stuff going on in the gym...kinda like he had ADD or something.

The third trainer I almost worked with (1st still on vacation) was probably the most disappointing and the reason I am writing this. I actually didn't work out that day, but all we did was sat at a desk while he wrote down a "program."

Here's the chest/shoulder/tri routine he set up (all machines):

4 sets of each exercise, 12 reps, followed by 1 set of 25 reps @ 50% weight for "muscular endurance" [sic].

Chest Press
Incline Press
Pec Fly
Decline Press
Lat Raise
Shoulder Press
Tri Ext
Rope Tri Ext
Seated Dip

Crunches 3X30
Leg Lifts 3X20

I'm supposed to finish all of that in 30 MINUTES! :eek:

Then he wants me to follow up immediately with 1 hour of cardio.

The back/bi and leg routines he set up are 7 and 8 different exercises respectively with the same set/rep breakdown. Now I will say this, the guys seemed a little out of it the whole time he was putting this together and I never got to work out with him (scheduled for the next day) because he was put on administrative leave for some reason or another.

Just for my own amusement, I tried to finish as many of the exercises as possible in the 30 minutes he stated.

I got through 4 of them -- Chest Press, Incline, Pec Fly, and Lat Raise -- 4 sets of 12 followed by 1 set of 25. I took timed 30-second rests between each set and about 45-60 seconds between each exercise. Four was all I could do and it was kicking my ass at the weight and lifting pace I was doing. I would have easily take me another hour to finish the remaining exercises and IF I wasn't too crapped out to go do some effective cardio I would have ended up being in the gym for 2.5 hours at least.
 
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Charlie Golf said:
I wanna get some opinions on this. I decided to sign up for some personal training at my gym to help me get through a plateau I'm on and really accelerate to my goals. My experience thus far has been less than pleasing.

The first trainer was very young and timid...actually a nice kid though and the workout he put me through was great. I just think he's new and have no problem working with him again.

The second trainer (the first left on a 2 week vacation) basically just walked from machine to machine and said do this, do that. Very little motivation or "logic" to what he had me doing but the biggest disappointment was he cut the session short and didn't even apologize or say it would be added for a makeup. He also seemed very distracted by a lot of other stuff going on in the gym...kinda like he had ADD or something.

The third trainer I almost worked with (1st still on vacation) was probably the most disappointing and the reason I am writing this. I actually didn't work out that day, but all we did was sat at a desk while he wrote down a "program."

Here's the chest/shoulder/tri routine he set up (all machines):

4 sets of each exercise, 12 reps, followed by 1 set of 25 reps @ 50% weight for "muscular endurance" [sic].

Chest Press
Incline Press
Pec Fly
Decline Press
Lat Raise
Shoulder Press
Tri Ext
Rope Tri Ext
Seated Dip

Crunches 3X30
Leg Lifts 3X20

I'm supposed to finish all of that in 30 MINUTES! :eek:

Then he wants me to follow up immediately with 1 hour of cardio.

The back/bi and leg routines he set up are 7 and 8 different exercises respectively with the same set/rep breakdown. Now I will say this, the guys seemed a little out of it the whole time he was putting this together and I never got to work out with him (scheduled for the next day) because he was put on administrative leave for some reason or another.

Just for my own amusement, I tried to finish as many of the exercises as possible in the 30 minutes he stated.

I got through 4 of them -- Chest Press, Incline, Pec Fly, and Lat Raise -- 4 sets of 12 followed by 1 set of 25. I took timed 30-second rests between each set and about 45-60 seconds between each exercise. Four was all I could do and it was kicking my ass at the weight and lifting pace I was doing. I would have easily take me another hour to finish the remaining exercises and IF I wasn't too crapped out to go do some effective cardio I would have ended up being in the gym for 2.5 hours at least.
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Why would you waste money on a personal trainer when you know people experienced on this matter can help you design your own program for free?

yes, its a crap program
 
^^ While I dont agree with this, I do agree that that is a pretty piss poor program. IMO if you enjoyed the first trainer, then you should wait for him to return before using up your sessions.

Its all about finding the trainer match, and it seems you may have it with the first person.
 
tonymcclellan said:
^^ While I dont agree with this, I do agree that that is a pretty piss poor program. IMO if you enjoyed the first trainer, then you should wait for him to return before using up your sessions.

Its all about finding the trainer match, and it seems you may have it with the first person.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more!
 
You should also inform the facility management of your opinion. Most of the PTs I see, I think people are wasting their money. I think every facility would want to employ trainers that leave people wanting to repeat spending money on personal training.

You should find out which organizations the PTs are certified through. That can often detail as to their quality.

I think what you need at this point is good guidance in program structure and form technique.

Do you have any specific goals?
 
Phate89 said:
Why would you waste money on a personal trainer when you know people experienced on this matter can help you design your own program for free?

yes, its a crap program
Click to expand...

Thank you for volunteering. ;)

I need a body-part specific program that involves NO equipment -- body weight exercises only -- that I can accomplish in a hotel room when I have no access to weight equipment.

Thanks in advance. :D
 
evolution said:
You should also inform the facility management of your opinion. Most of the PTs I see, I think people are wasting their money. I think every facility would want to employ trainers that leave people wanting to repeat spending money on personal training.

You should find out which organizations the PTs are certified through. That can often detail as to their quality.

I think what you need at this point is good guidance in program structure and form technique.

Do you have any specific goals?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I actually am thinking about going and sitting down with their manager of personal training. He's a good guy but I get the idea that he is primarily tasked with selling packages of sessions and most other things are taken out of his hands -- by discussions I've had with him regarding management/HR changes made by the parent corporation. Unfortunately, this is a big name gym and I get the distinct feeling they have people with minimal qualifications who are just trying to gain experience before moving on. It's really a shame because they could have a very good product overall if they really wanted to -- of course it's giving me some business ideas! :)

I guess what I am most frustrated about is that the management is probably the culprit of a lot of this. Trainers scheduled too tightly to discuss/debrief clients as to the what/how/why, no time scheduled to do evaluations of present fitness levels or establish goals, limited levels of experience/certification, etc.

I had a session today with the first kid and it was good. I picked his brain a little and was not really shocked to find out they only pay their trainers $6 per session. They have to have at least 1 certification but they don't specify which, and neither did he.

I don't really need guidance as to structure or form, but rather just need someone to be accountable to while I build my self-discipline muscle and am willing to pay for that. I also just need a little variety because I tend to not be super creative and fall into the rut where I only do exercises I am most comfortable with. It's also a little bit of an experiment for me as well.

Lastly, the guy that came up with the routine I posted above was let go that day. He actually seemed a little out of it while he was writing all that stuff down so maybe he was on something for real. :D
 
I think what would be extremely handy for you my friend, is a set of kettle bells.

You say you're willing to pay for a PT?

I'll do you a deal, you invest in a set of kettle bells, (you can use these in a hotel room), and I'll design you a kettle bell program for free.

This will ensure muscle building if that is what you seek. (It seems that way anyhow, obviously along with a good eating plan, as this is whats most important)

Kettle bells are ace! :D

Marty.
 
What is magical about kettlebells in relation to muscle building?
 
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