There are a lot of " Personal Trainers " out there telling crap to their clients. yes i quote the title. is because they are NOT real trainers.
Here is a video posted by an ex US national athlete who is working with one of the most reputable strength coach in the WORLD Charles Poliquin.
What he is about to tell you is the TRUTH about many trainers out there. "part time uni students who wants to make some quick cash, who has NO passion, DO NOT care about their clients, Never lifted anything in their entire life and yet claim to be an expert. I probably should not share this with you because this probably can get many trainers fired, but since incompetant trainers piss me off so much I would like you to know what is really going on in your training sessions.
Unlike most PTs would tell you "just use lighter weight and you can still train" I would either change the exercise or send my client home.
Ask yourself this: " Am I training because I want result? or I am doing it because I just love being in the gym on a friday night at 7pm when it is dark outside"
There is a difference between not motivated and pushing your physical limits. Know the difference. If you are just lazy and don't want to train and the last training you did was 2 weeks ago there is NO EXCUSE.
on the other hand, If you have been squating twice a day, for 14 days straight and your poor knee feels sore on the 15th day. please take a rest.
training 90%+ 3-4 times per week will get you results.
training 50% or less 365days / yr will get you NOWHERE.
Something about your sleep...
How good is your sleep? No really, how good is it? When I ask this question, many of my clients tell me "yes i sleep well" and then i make them realise they sleep like crap.
you should be aiming 8-9hr of uninterrupted sleep, meaning you don't get up in the middle of the night, you don't even wake up for a split second and go back to sleep. Research shows that it only take 3sec for you to be out of your deep sleep.
why is sleep so important?
-improve energy level.
-reduce depression
-improve body composition (fat loss, muscle gain)
-improve recovery (from anything you do ) ect.... so is pretty important.
when should you go to bed?
The earlier you are asleep before 12pm the better, this can be tricky for many of us especially with work load and family commitments or good TV shows... but try to be in bed at least by 11:30pm so hopefully you'll be asleep by mid-night.
What to do if you have poor sleep?
Eat, Sleep and Train
Without a doubt would be one of the best "rule" you should follow if you are looking to get result in your training (regardless of your goals)
It is good advice because most people are doing at least one, often all 3 WRONG.
If you ever wonder if you have made training your lifestyle, holiday is a good test, if you still got the motivation to train during breaks, most likely you are in what i call the "safe zone" meaning training has become part of your routine.
I recommand ALL my clients to train during holiday period because it is holiday, they can squize more time for themselve and look after their health. ( I am also secretly testing their commitment)
Fair enough it is xmas, and you want to spend time with your family and friends, so you want to keep training short and sweet (it means 90%+ intensity)
Here is a split for you to do if you want to train twice per week.
Day 1
Front squat / Back squat / Goblet squat (pick ONLY 1) don't try to be a HERO.
How many reps and set? let's see how many you can do in 25min. (GO HEAVY) Don't squat with dumbbels my girl clients can curl. (ie. 12-14kg)
Day 2
A1 Pull up / Pull down / Variation of Row (pick one ) 4-6reps 20s break
A2 Push ups / Knee push up (girls ONLY) 30sec As many as you can 20s break
A3 Farm walk with Dumbbells. (use the heaviest dumbbel you can lift) pick it up and walk for about 30sec
Rest for 60sec continue this whole process for 30-40min respect the rest time please !!!!
"what if I want to train more?"
My answer: Do this routine 4 times per week. ONLY if you can do them exactly the way i wrote it with appropriate weights on the bar.
Enjoy the pain :D
Go heavy but go all the way.
When I tell people they need to get stronger so they can be bigger, using heavy load will stimulate more growth, this is nothing new.
Heavier load under the condition which you can perform the full range motion. those tinny little movements, so small that i need to use slow motion to see it will not get you big or strong.
On a Monday night you will see lot of testosterone driven amateur gym rat trying to bench press, except on is destroying elbow the other is having a back workout and screaming "is all you bro.. is all you."
Training in the gym is not the time for you to show off and see who can have the most plate on the bar and get the spooter to lift it for you.
Go all the way, work the muscle properly, don't let your ego ruin your training. In the sports of strenght or fitness whatever you want to call it, longivity is the key. save your joints, you will be very pleased with the resutls.
If you train in a commercial gym you will probably have many people trying to give you advise about what they did... for (...) and it worked !
Very few people actually study and read about the sport of fitness and nutrution when I say read fitness magazine does not count.
Very few people actually walk the walk... including trainers.
But when it comes to giving advise everyone become an EXPERT !
Here are a few myth of training that I have seen in the past few years working in Brussels.
How much weight you use for training is NOT a reflection of how STRONG you are.
In the gym, specially near the bench press and biceps curl machine, it is always FULL of testosterone, men trying to out lift all their friends see who can biceps curl with the wrost technique and most load.
If you train correctly, you will get stronger, faster, probably avoid plateau and most probably injery free, so you can keep training.
One of my clinet this morning did a FULL depth goblet squat with 35kg Dumbbell holding infront of her.. it is a SHE, and she is 66 this year, and she trains only with ~16-20kg dumbbells.
use a percentage when you are lifting in the gym, don't head in and see how much you can lift today. have a big goal but also each training session you should have clear goal of how much and how many you are going to lift. STICK to it.
i.e My goal today was to close bench press 5 sets of 7reps @ 85kg at a tempo of 2010.
Because i had a clear goal, used the proper % for my training goal I did 7,7,7,7,6 reps. so my session today was successful.
Don't matter if someone next to me had 90kg on the bar and did 2 reps. focus on your OWN training and you will out lift them any day.
In order to get the best result from your workout you not only need to train hard but mostly importantly train smart.
If you take a quick look at people in the gym, they are eighter screaming the house down lifting till they can't lift anymore and say " spot me " then his friend will help him to lift some more reps. OR poeple can multi task while they are working out, ie. running and texing, or benching while on the phone... they are not even close to be in the "training " zone.
when you push too hard all the time you will get injured, if you don't bump up the density of your training you just won't see any result.
How can one train optimally? one, you can hire a coach who will make sure you don't over train. if you can't afford it then keep reading.
Let's say your goal is to lose body fat. the quick answer to losing body fat is to combine density with intensity. Many make the mistke of having too much density ( short rest period ) but not enought density. lets have a look this sample workout.
[A men who can squat 100kg for 1, Push press 60kg for 1 ]
A1- back squat 5x20reps @ 20kg (just the bar) 10sec rest
A2- Push press 5x20reps @ 10kg (a small bar) 10sec rest
A3- Alt. fw lunges 5x20reps @ body weight 30sec rest and repeat...
This workout will get your heart rate pumping, you will be sweating and you will think "Wow that was hard... and i better lose some fat doing this"
Naaaaa... you won't. because the load is too light. your workout is not well balanced. you need to "feel the burn with a heavy ish load" to produce all the important hormones which will HLEP you to lose fat. ( i won't bore you with all the names... )
let's try this ...
A1- Back squat 5x (12-15) @ 60-65kg 3sec down 10sec rest
A2- Push press 5x (12-15) @ 35-40kg 3sec down 10sec rest
A3- Alt fw lunges 5x (10-12) with 6-8kg dumbbel/side 60-90sec rest and repeat..
Okay, your goal is not to lose fat but to be stronger....
well there are many tips i can give you when it comes to strenght training, a easy one to apply is to "always leave some int he tank when you train for strenght"
let's look at this guy who is doing bench press
He is bench pressing 100kg with a spoter... aim is to bench 110kg.
Set1 3reps
Set2 3reps
set3 1rep
by this now he should stop benching and pick something else but he continues because he "trains hard"
set4 1rep + (4more lifted by his friend doing a back workout)
set5 0reps + 6more lifted by his firiend...
let say he is really stupid... keeps going. 1 more set.
set6 0rep + 6more reps from his friend.
1st, he has a stronge friend, bent over row 100kg for reps. 2nd he drained completly his CNS and will not be lifting anyting @ the optimal intensity for a few days. if he tries too soon he will fail get depressed, or keeps trying and get hurt.
I hope this will give you some idea about how "hard" you should train to get the bestr result out of it.
How to get stronge and toned arms?
train your back 2-3 times per week. (if you are beginner)
train you arms 2-3 times per week (if you are more advanced) then i also expect you to train back 1-2 times per week.
how do you determine your level?
MEN: 15 full range chin ups as adanced
WOMEN: 75% of body weight, 6-8reps on lat pulldown machine as advanced.
personally, I train my back 2-3 times per week, direct arm work 2-3 times per week. Yeah that's a lot, but it works great.
Remember to stretch... !!!!
Is your training making you big?
Clients sometimes don't want to look big, and that is fair, however often trainers get blamed for making the client "bigger"
Bigger dose not mean fatter, let's use two people's leg for example, let's say both right legs measure 60cm girth, and one leg is 10% fat the other is 15%, then the 10% will LOOK bigger, because it is more defined. that's why you have the sport of bodybuilding. Same thing goes if a man wants to have a V shape, he needs to work on his shoulders, and have a small waist line. It is all about the illusion you create.
Someone with lots of lean muscle will look HEAVIER than someone with less muscle, but they probably both weigh the same. You need to distinguish the difference.
If you are losing body fat %, and you are losing waist line, it usually means you are losing fat and that is a good thing (if your goal is fat loss) so even though you might look bigger in the mirror really you are NOT, at best you are the same size but with less fat.
Be Wraned, some trainers will make you fatter, that's just because they suck at what they do. 
Are you giving it all when you are doing your set?
Doing my arm training this morning, i noticed myself tent to stop 1 or 2 reps after it starts to BURN. depending on your training goal, the burn is what makes the different between an average body and one that stands out.
Most people would stop once it starts to burn, some will stop just before. i think you are letting yourself off the hook way too easy. Think is about it for a second, anyone with a great physique did not do 3x10 and the body magically changed.
if you look at most guys in the gym with great body, they most likely are doing some crazy workout that makes you feel sick just listening to it.
train harder, train smart, embrace the pain, love the pain... give everything you got at each set, because every single rep and set count towards your finally result. Everytime before i do a heavy set I always tell myself, "this is a war between me and the weights, and I am going to win it"
enjoy your workout, hopefully this will give you some motivation.
Is protein powder good for everyone? protein is essential for anyone's health but not everyone using protein powder will get he same result. some will get fat, some will gain lean muscle and actually lose body fat.
generally speaking, if you are fat 15%+ Male or 20%+ Female you don't need to worry about taking protein powder.
I would recommand unflavored, whey isolate or concentrate. perferbly from Newzealand. Try to avoid commercialized protein, with all the fancy flavores. they usaully taste really good, with low carb containt, BUT BUT over consumption of protein will eventually make you FAT, not muscular. protein powder is a SUPPLEMENT, not a replacement of meat.
Some arm training tips. I have been looking at my training book 5 yrs back and I use to train arm EVERY single day... yea, no joke.
I was reading a book from Charles Poliquin and it suddenly hit me, Intensity + Volume = Strength and Mass. This sounds so simple but not many are doing it.
For the past 2 weeks I have been training arm 5 times per week, regardless of my training routine, and guess what.... I am stronger and I have put on a little bit of size as well, maybe 2mm, in just 2 weeks !!!
This dosen't have to be just for arms, you can apply it for Shoulder, Legs... any body part you want really...
Is soy good for you?
A lot of vegeterian clients of mine are using soy are protein source, I might be generalising too much here but if you look at someone who is consuming much soy product, (milk, tofu ect ) I usually find they carry significant lower body bodyfat. fatty legs and butt if you like.
Would I recommand soy? No. should you take my word for it... welll if you think soy is still good for you then keep eating it, i've been back to Sydney Australia for 3 weeks now, and seems like 2 yrs ago there were soy ad everywhere on TV, this yr the TV is bashing soy big time.
Bottomeline, if your goal is to increase lean muscle mass, losing body fat, increase, natural testosterone and aiming for that six pack, soy would definitly be your enemy here.
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