Need expert advice...

[naughtoj]

I need to know how you guys would work this....

If I continue to see this trainer I have been seeing I need to know how to incorporate my Cathe workouts into my workouts with him.

Many of you know already that I work out with Cathe at work, with 2 other women, so I don't want to drop the lifting all together at lunch, because they look forward to it as well and look forward to me being there.

This week at work we were going to do S&H again, but I need to fit in legs with the trainer. Do you think then I should not do S&H in favor of maybe Pyramid Lower and then work out with him that same evening??

I think it could work if I am "smarter" than last time when I almost killed myself. If I really load up on the protein after lunch and get enough calories, I think I could handle another leg workout in the evening?? What do you all think?

Since I lift heavy, it is most of the time very hard for me to fit legs in more than once per week, because of lingering soreness and the fact that on my non-leg days I am usually doing something leg-intensive, such as IMAX or Power Circuit or BC cardio.
So, how would you break your workouts out with Cathe tapes assuming I wanted to do Upper body ONCE a week and Lower body ONCE a week during my lunch hour AND I wanted to work with the trainer three times per week breaking it up like this:
Chest/back
legs/shoulders
bi/tri/abs
I was thinking I could continue with S&H, since it is the same breakup, but would that be too much? The trainer has me lifting heavy, doing supersets to keep my HR up, and the last workout was relatively exhausting.
Any advice????

TIA!! Janice

 

[naughtoj]

OR....

I could just keep two sessions with the trainer and do Upper and Lower real heavy once per week with him.

I want to see results above and beyond what I have seen so far, so do you think I could with this breakup??

 

[FitnessGoddess]

Janice,

there is a woman on www.mindundermuscle.com--WriterChick, who is a personal trainer. If you go over there to the workout temple, she might answer your question. She's super cool--tell I told you to ask her.

 

[naughtoj]

Thanks Deborah!!

 

[Maribeth]

Hey, Janice,
Been away for awhile, but wanted to comment on your new training regimen. I know how hard this is, but overtraining will sabotage your goals just as quickly as undertraining, and to be able to do what you want--sticking with your trainer 3X per week and working out with your co-workers--will be very tricky.

My suggestion would be to try to rotate the Cathe workouts so that you are training the same body part at noon as you will train that evening, but lighten the loads during the Cathe workouts--at least until you see how your body responds to the double sessions. If you are too tired to give your evening session your all, then what you may have to do is to work different body parts in your noon and evening workouts--then you'll have to schedule the workouts so that each body part gets at least 48 hours of rest between training sessions.

How training will affect you will depend on body type and your goals, too. Refresh my memory on this, please!
Maribeth

 

[naughtoj]

Thank you for your advice Maribeth! I really did get an "expert".LOL!!

I know if would be tricky. However, it just got a little less tricky in that I don't think I am going to go 3 times a week. Too expensive. I am thinking once.

Do you think it would benefit me in any way if I see this trainer once a week? I would like to use him for the real heavy stuff so I was thinking...maybe I could kindof do a "total body" workout with him, sticking to exercises that build mass well and also work the most muscles. For example.... bench press, deadlifts, squats, pull ups, bent over rows..maybe lunges?? Can you think of others??

I would still do my regime during the week, but this way I would not feel like I was "wasting" my money AND I could get a spotter for the real heavy-mass building lifts. I would also like to throw in some good core work, since I know I need it!

You are right. Three times a week without aborting Cathe would have been very hard. Even now, training with the right weight loads, I can stay sore for 2+ days in some areas. I figure if I work with this trainer maybe on Saturdays, I won't have to worry so much about my Mon-Fri routine, except to avoid lifting on Friday.

What do you think Maribeth? And by all means, if any one else is reading this, I would like more feedback! Thanks!!

Janice

 

[Maribeth]

Janice,
I think you're right on track with using a weekly session with a trainer for heavy compound exercises where he can spot you, correct subtle form losses and employ some advanced training techniques. What you might do is to do a full body workout with the trainer, then have a day with just cardio, then do Cathe upper body strength, and a day of Cathe lower body strength. This will give you two upper body and lower body weight workouts, one very heavy and intense with the trainer, then a Cathe workout that can be the lighter of the two days. In between, you can do a couple of the cardio workouts.

I would do as you mentioned if you work with the trainer on Saturday--pass on lifting on Friday's workout.

Lemme know how you do!
Maribeth

 

[Francine]

Hi Janice! How are you? I'm catching this post late but wanted to chime in! Firstly, I hope you are enjoying your workouts with your trainer. What a wonderful way to re-evaluate your fitness, love the fitness assessment tests and whole body measurement process! This is a fabulous oppurtunity to shake things up as far as your workouts go. I would recommend communicating with your trainer and ask alot of questions, especially on why certain exercises have been chosen for your session. Pay special attention to your form(always), the lengthening and shortening of your muscles and have total body awareness(especially when you are getting to the point of muscle failure(track this progress) You will also notice at this point(fatigue) that your form will be jeopardized--again body awarness to align your body properly and work the muscle that you are concentrating on! You want this experience to be not only beneficial with reaching your goal(which I'm sure the trainer gave you a specific workout plan to help you reach that specific goal) but you want to learn to be "self sufficient" in the process.(keep records of your training and progress) Eventually you will be able to take the knowledge that you are learning now and you'll be applying it on your own to create future programs. I don't know what workouts you have been doing at home or at work, so I'm winging this,(you could try to substitute your weights in work with cardiokicks or another cardio and switch to using the gym machines for weight training then switch up with the free weights at home and then use the cables at gym for variety training) (for cardio(besides Cathe) maybe you can take a class at the gym ,spinning or for flexibility training take a power yoga or pilates class or a get on the ball class for your core workouts) but for now (knowing the info that you gave), I recommend sticking with your trainer,(tell him about your concerns/needs) learn a new program(consider this a cross training experience for you),let your body be challenged from a new angle and enjoy the journey and your results! Train smart, Eat well & Have fun

 

[naughtoj]

Thanks so much Francine for all your advice. Yeah, the trainer is what I consider "fun", but really not necessary. I need something new right now though. Mostly I just want him as a spotter. I don't know anyone here that is as serious about working out as me and definitly no one as committed. Plus, he gets everyone else off the machines and that is cool so I don't have to talk to anyone!!


As far as self-knowledge goes, well, I am not using him to educate me. Really I think I know about as much as he knows if not more. I am excited anyway that my body may change since many of the exercises we do I don't normally do in a Cathe tape.
Right now I run every now and then for cardio and rollerblade, but maybe I am stagnating lately cuz it seems I have not done much of that lately. Don't know. Just tryin' something new. He agreed though that I don't need to build any more size, and he was actually quite impressed with my musculature considering I only lift 2-3 times per week. I just need to lean down, and that is all diet for me...

I will keep you updated and thanks again!!

Janice