Personal Trainer says NO weight training and 100% cardio

M

mbamiss

0
To keep it simple, I've lost 50 lbs since 1/6/06 by exercising 5-6 days a week and eating "right". I started by doing approx. 50 mins of cardio 3x/week, and 25-35 mins 2x/week along with 30+mins of weight training. I saw weightloss quickly but I hit a plateau at 40 lbs and started with a personal trainer. He recommended NO WEIGHT TRAINING and 100% cardio because he felt I was in danger of becoming "too" muscular. Does this sound right to you PTs out there??

So the last 3-4 weeks I've been doing 99% cardio and 1x/week light all-around weight training. I've lost an additional 10lbs. I burn about 1000 calories at the gym 5-6x/week. I am trying to keep my daily calorie intake at 1200 but I am hungry all of the time so I'm finding it difficult. Is it unreasonable to stay at 1200 calories or should I just grin and bear it? Also, should I be staying away from weights?
 
Im assuming you're a woman (calories, name miss, bulky w/weights) and I have to disagree with your trainer. Trainers are not nutritionists and some give crazy eating advice. What is your current height/weight? Being a female, you cannot get "bulky" by doing weights, in fact weight training could be even more beneficial than cardio for some.

To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you take in. What burns calories...muscle. The bigger the muscles, the more burned calories. At the same time, muscles that are used instead of unused burn more calories (so you dont need huge muscles for effectiveness). With your activity level, and obviously by the way you feel, you need MORE calories. Try going up to 1500, see how you feel, if still sluggish, go to 1800. Being that active you should probably be even higher, but I dont know your stats.

Cardio 5x a week is also not needed, you could make things work with 4 if you wanted, with 2-3 days strength training. Women can't bulky because of hormones, they dont have enough testosterone. Its a common myth that hasnt been dissolved.
 
Definatly hit the weights, and you'll need to up the calories just because of the extra training.
 
Your trainer is following an old and fallacious argument. Don't worry about bulking, women don't have enough natural testosterone to actually bulk up.
 
Remind your trainer that fat people finish marathons all the time...so cardio does not necessarily=skinny. Also, ask him to compare the physiques of sprinters vs long distance runners and which looks better.

Also, how do you know if you are burning 1,000 calories? Ask him what formula your PT is using to determine you caloric expenditure. If he is not using METs, ask him why...because he is not getting an acurate estimate.

Even if you were burning 1000 calories and you're only eating 1200 that means you're only living off of 200 calories and that's not enough to support your BMR (basal metabolic rate), so he's basically keeping you in a catabolic state which is doing more damage than good. Stop worrying about weight and notice how you are looking...how your clothes are fitting...get your bodyfat percentage checked.

In fact, print this out and take it to him.

The only way you will get bulky is through food and AAS. Getting "bulky" is a bi-product of caloric consumption and YEARS of weight training...'specially for women.

Fact:figure competitors lift weights and I would not call them "bulky." Along those lines, all the women you see as lingerie models, Miss America pagents, and etc lift weights. Lifting weights has so many benefits for women, not the least being for prevention of osteoporosis.

Actually, fire your PT and find a better one. Find one that is certified through ISSA, NASM, ACSM, and/or NSCA.
 
Last edited:
HI mbamiss, your PT is feeding you a bunch of BS, period. I am not gonna repeat all the info the other members supplied, but I'll just tell you this. You need to eat more, you're just about starving yourself with 1200 cals. And DEFINITELY lift weights. Train ALL your muscle groups. If you have questions, please ask us, we are here to try and help out. :)
 
Thanks to everyone for your replies. I'm a little embarrassed as I see this is the men's portion...and yes, I am a woman (should have clarified that). You have all confirmed what I suspected was true. My stats are basically that I am almost 6' tall and weigh....ugh...let's just say that the trainer guessed me to be 50 lbs lighter than I actually am when he "guessed" my weight. I have an athletic build and tend to build muscle and definition very easily. My biggest fear was becoming "too" muscular (read: "manly") and he said that I should be doing only cardio until I get to the weight I want to be. I am seeing dramatic differences in my clothing and have dropped 6-8 inches in my waist size alone, but honestly....most of the weightloss came from the period when I was also incorporating weight-training. I measure the amount of calories I am burning my inputting my weight into the machines and adding up the calories burned per workout.

It is just frustrating....none of the trainers in my gym (Golds) actually look like trainers and yet they don't allow outside trainers. I am spending 2 hours a day at the gym and am having difficulty dealing with the conflicting opinions. I want to thank all of you for listening to me vent and offering your advice....it is greatly appreciated.

PS. This trainer is certified but I'm not certain which certification it is...I'll find out though
 
mbamiss said:
It is just frustrating....none of the trainers in my gym (Golds) actually look like trainers and
Click to expand...

Thats funny. Well when you're sessions are up, start back with weights. Oh and two hours is way too long to be in the gym. Cardio for two hours? That is insane.
 
As said, your trainer is a joke. Just curious though, what exactly is he doing if you are only doing cardio? Perhaps he is as lazy as he is ignorant. This kind of stuff is my biggest pet peve. I need to find some one to slap now.
 
My sessions with him were every 1-2 weeks so the cardio was in essence "homework" or should I say "gymwork". During the sessions I've had with him, because I have specifically requested it, we do an all-body weight training session. If he had it his way, he would standing next to the ellyptical and watch as he does with his other clients.

Please.... :rolleyes:

Oh and btw, I cancelled my session with him this past Sunday thanks to all of your advice and direction :) This morning was awkward to say the least.....
 
You made the right decision. If all a PT has to do was to tell you to get on a machine there's not much point to pay for it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top