In the almost 5 years that I've been personal training, this is a quote that I have heard countless times during my initial session with a new client. Addressing the goals of a client is a huge part of seeing success in a personal training program. If I had to sum it up in numbers, I'd say that 90% of the people that come and see me say just that, "I'm looking to lose weight and tone up." I'm not going to pick on you if this is your personal goal. I want to try and help out those people who have this very generalized goal in mind. After reading this article you should have a better plan of attack to make your fitness goals happen.
Be specific with your goals
If you are going to begin a trip but don't know exactly how to get to your destination, the best thing to do would be to ask for help from someone who knows the area better than you do. This means that you shouldn't just say, "When you have time, direct me somewhere near this location." You should have an exact destination in mind and an accurate arrival time which would best fit your schedule. This can be related to the world of fitness as well. Don't just say to yourself that you want to lose weight and tone up. Be specific with your goals. The road to your ultimate body should be planned out as efficiently as possible; getting exactly where you want to be at a precise time should not be overlooked.
Where should you be?
If I could set up a personal training program without a scale I would. It's been my experience that a scale usually does more harm than good, especially with someone brand new to a workout program. When a de-conditioned person begins a workout program, their body-weight usually does not change or in some cases even increases during the first month. The reason for this is because when a de-conditioned muscle receives stimulus through an external resistance, that muscle increases the amount of actin and myosin contractile proteins, resulting in hypertrophy. Hypertrophy is a gain in size and strength in a muscle, which will also add weight to the overall mass of a person. It's been my experience that while a de-conditioned person to a workout program will lose a significant amount of fat during their initial weeks of training, they will generally gain more muscle mass than fat lost. So when they step on the scale they feel that all their hard work is not paying off. Which is why a better indicator of progress in a workout program is how your clothes are fitting and what your body fat percentage is. The quickest way to find out your body fat percentage is through a bio-electrical impedance device. Most gyms will have this for you to use, just ask a personal trainer to give you a hand. To give you an idea of what healthy body fat ranges are for both men and women, I've included some numbers to aim for when calculating body fat percentages. For men, a healthy body fat range is anywhere from 6-20%. Women should be aiming to get in the 14-25% range. Remember, how you feel about yourself is way more important than what the scale says.
Plan of attack
Here is a small list of things to do that will get you started on your way to your ultimate body.
Interval training- this means doing short spurts (20sec-1min) of high intensity work followed by a longer rest period (unless doing negative work to rest ratio training). For example; running up a flight of stairs then resting for 45 seconds when you get to the top. I would classify this as cardio interval training if you repeat this process throughout your workout. This is the best method I know for burning the most amount of fat in the shortest amount of time. When you put your body through short bouts of intense cardiovascular stress, a phenomenon known as EPOC occurs. EPOC stands for excessive post exercise oxygen consumption. The National Academy of Sports Medicine defines EPOC as the state in which the body's metabolism is elevated after exercise. Your body gets the highest level of EPOC from doing intense interval training. Basically, your body's metabolic rate is elevated a whole lot longer (up to 36 hours!) after an intense cardio interval session than after a steady state cardio session.
Multi-joint exercises - a multi-joint exercise is any exercise that requires the movement of more than one joint to perform a set of repetitions of that exercise. An example of a multi-joint exercise is performing a squat rather than doing leg extensions. To perform a leg extension, you are only pivoting at your knee joint. But if you look at a squat, the hip, knee, and ankle joints are being moved. Multi-joint exercises are going to give you more "bang for your buck". And in most cases are more functional than single joint exercises, but that's another article.
Nutrition- I'll be the first one to admit that nutrition is the hardest part of a workout program. I mean who doesn't like to eat good food? But if you are serious about meeting your goal as quickly as possible, you will make sure that you are eating the correct food. You need to eat food that is going to fuel your body for prolonged periods, not food that will just give you enough energy for an hour or so. I love this quote that my friend Gregg Miele from New York Strength and Conditioning said, "When food enters your body it has two choices: get used as energy, or get stored as fat." We obviously don't want the latter. So be wise with the choice of what kinds of food you put in your mouth you will see your results much sooner if you make smart eating decisions.
Final Thoughts
I want nothing more than for everyone who wants to look better and feel better to do just that. But the reality is not many people make it all the way to experience what it feels like to reach their ultimate fitness goal. It is my advice to get started on your program with the help of a professional. This means to go find a certified personal trainer to help you reach your goals quicker than you could do on your own. Now notice that I said "quicker". This does not mean that doing a program by yourself will not yield positive physical changes. It just means that with a professional, you will see the changes in your body sooner. Feel free to email me with any questions you may have about starting your program. I also want to receive emails updating me on the progress you guys make on the way to your ultimate body. I want to hear about compliments you receive, daily activities that are getting easier because of your new fitness level, or any other signs of progress you see along the way. Also, this is my first article so bear with me. I should be improving as time goes on!
