personal trainer question

[thinsgreat]

hello-- i just went back to the gym today after a long time off--- i have gained about twenty pounds , i spoke to a personal trainer and he said that my incline walking of 45 min /day isn't going to do it--- popular misconception he said--- and that i need to instead do high intensity 15-20 minutes on elliptical or step 5 days/week--- in addition to 3-4 weight training days...do you agree? i love my morning walks-- which do tire me out-- it's mostly uphill ( does vary )--- hate to give that up. i also read some posts where cathe talks about doing cardio only on days that you don't do weights...i'm confused

 

[Vee]

I dont agree with your trainer completely.

Incline walking is a great form of cardio. Before high intensity cardio become so popular a lot of people lost ft/weight with steady state cardio. Walking is safe on the joints. If you enjoy it, you should not be hasty to give it up.

I think his suggestion for adding weight training is a great idea. Even 2 times a week to get started (full body) or just one body part a day for 15 min (Day 1 - Legs, Day 2 - Back, Day 3 - Chest, Day 4 - Shoulders, Day 5 - Bi+Tri, Day 6 - Abs and Low Back, Day 7 - Rest, and cycle again from the top) will help. Building muscle boosts the metabolism and that promotes fat loss.

Cathe's 4DS has cardio and then weights on the same day, so are you sure she posted about not doing both on the same day for a specific context, rather than as a rule?

My suggestion for you:
a. Combine weights and cardio in a format that you think you will enjoy the most. If you want to do incline walking for 45 minutes every day followed by weight training for 1 body part each day for 15 min - great. If you want to do walking and weights on separate days for 45 minutes each - go for it.
b. Try the rotation for 4-6 weeks and see the results you get. Tweak it if it does not work for you.
c. Change up your routine every couple of months to keep your body guessing. It need not be high intensity cardio if you dont like it, but lift in a different rep range, switch between total body weight training to split routines, switch between hi rep and moderate rep, try throwing in the elliptical for some steady state sometimes. this will ensure the results keep coming.
d. Do what you enjoy. Consistency is the number one factor for success. Everything else comes after. If you pick a supposedly more effective program, but dont like it, the chances that you will be motivated to stick with it are low.

You may want to consider trying high intensity cardio just to see if you enjoy it. High intensity is a good protocol, but it is definitely NOT the only effective protocol. If you like it, you can throw it into the rotation. But dont do it unless you really like it is my suggestion.

I have to ask. Have you tried Cardio Coach workouts? You can get a high intensity workout just with walking too if you clevery use incline and speed walking. Cardio Coach makes machine cardio magic and really effective at any current fitness level.



~* Vrinda *~

 

[Fit_mommy]

Different strokes for different folks. Personal trainers are knowledgable and can tell you what they THINK will work but even they can't be sure with every person because we are all different. In addition, you need to find cardio you enjoy or you will not continue to do it so if you like your walks why not do half and half? Do a your PT's suggested high intensity on the elliptical and then you can do your 20 minute incline walk on the TM. You also might want to try interval work.

HTH!

 

[catwoman88]

I agree with your trainer to a certain extent. For weight loss, I'd definitely do weight training 3-4 days per week. I don't think you need to do 4-5 days of high intensity cardio, though. Maybe 2-3 days. But I think he's right on the walking thing. Research does indicate now that walking doesn't do as much for weight loss and overall conditioning as weights and high intensity cardio do. If you want to lose weight, running and circuit training and high density (high density = short, intense, with short rest periods) weight training are proven to be the most effective fat-burners, while walking falls low on the spectrum.

 

[LauraMax]

I'm with Vrinda. If you really enjoy those walks, stick with them! Why fix it if it's not broken? But you could try other stuff if you want to spice up your routine a bit. Also variety in your cardio will speed the weight loss process. And the 3-4 days of weight training will help your metabolism kick into high gear.

I'm a little unsure about the 15-20 minutes of cardio as well. I'd heard that you should do at least 30 minutes of cardio. I can't even imagine 15 minutes of cardio, that sounds like a warm up! :+

Catwoman, I'm surprised to hear you say that about walking. I've heard walking, along w/swimming, is among the best form of cardio b/c both exercises have your body moving naturally, rather than the less natural movements of step, KB, machines, etc.

Anyway, the bottom line is if you don't enjoy your routine you won't stick to it. So do what's fun for you.

 

[thinsgreat]

i talked with him again and he told me i am defintely overtraining-- ( usually workout about hour and 45 min/day.) he said that i should do 15 min elliptical (200 someting or other in that time) do my weights then do another 15 on elliptical...whole thing should be about 70 minutes. told him i read that you neeed to do at least 30 minutes to start burning fat--- he said not so...it's all about intensity.

 

[Fit_mommy]

I am doing a program right now created by a top name in the personal training and fitness industry. He advocates interval training big time and not alot of it either! 10-15-20 minutes of it at a time, a few times per week. That's it. He says if you want to do some steady state, try adding it after your intervals. Do you interval work, rest/cool down for 5 minutes and then do some steady state-your incline tm walks.

HTH!