Pt useless?

First of all, I am not ragging on the pt's on this board. The fact that you frequent a site like this leads me to believe you are the upper echalone of pt's. however; there are a lot of useless pt's out there that know nothing about actualy working out.

My gf wants to lose some weight and she went to a pt. I spoke with the guy for a bit and he's clueless.

My gf could lose about 20lbs. I am not looking for free advice or a routine, but id like to know what kind of program u would give her. An answer as simple as "starting strength" or "low weight high rep" would be all I need. I just want to see of its in line with this other pt.

Diet is a given.

Thx guys.

Is diet a given, really? Losing 20lbs is a great goal and she should be proud to have it. However, nutrition is going to ultimately make or break it from my experience. Without actually assessing her it is hard for me to offer any kind of specific advice. Cardio for heart health and to lose some calories fast and resistance training to raise metabolism for a couple days after the workout.

Nail down caloric needs. Eat clean (watch what she DRINKS too!!!). Maintain deficit. Profit.

A lot of PT's fall into the "low weight high rep to tone" line of thinking, which is total crap. If she has no experience exercising, I'd start her on a 3 day per week, full body workout program focusing on squats, deadlifts, pressing variations, and rowing/pulling variations. The first month or so could focus on reps in the 12-15 range just to get her used to the movements and get the motor patterns down. After that, I would stick with reps of 6 and under for the main exercises. For assistance work, reps of anywhere from 8-15 should be fine. Change it up to keep her interested, but keep the main exercises the same so you can gauge progress. One thing I do as a PT to save time is supersets and/or tri-sets. For example, I'll start each workout with hex bar deadlifts, overhead presses, and band pullups all done consecutively. The first two sets are done without rest and low weight as a warmup, while the last 3-4 sets are usually in the 4-6 rep range with a little bit of rest in between each tri-set. This is a good way to get a lot of work done in a short amount of time.

Although cardio isn't an absolute must if her diet is on point, she should still aim for at least 3-5 days of 30+ minutes of moderate activity per week.

I love it when I can just quote stuff; [QUOTE=jalundah;1015595873]If she has no experience exercising, I'd start her on a 3 day per week, full body workout program focusing on squats, deadlifts, pressing variations, and rowing/pulling variations.[/QUOTE]

Pretty much this to be honest. (in a gym environment anyways) However it all depends on your girlfriend. If she has a history of exercising, and just fell out of it a bit, she might already enjoy something very much.

I have 1 client who needs to go back to exercising, she fell out of it because she had a kid and now hasn't done anything for 3 years, and her upper body is very weak (no arm strength whatsoever really). However, she used to love running and I need to get her back into the routine of working out again before she can start addressing specific issues.
If I have her start with upper body stuff she's not going to stick with it, even though she really needs it. I have to incorporate a bit of running into her program.

Can't edit for some reason; If your GF doesn't mind a boring work out I might even start her on SL 5x5. I love that program in a gym environment TBH. If she can stick to that for 3 months+ she will see amazing results.

As you can see from the responses, there is no simple solution for a specific individual without much more information.

1. Why does she want to lose 20 lbs?
2. Does she just want to see a number on the scale?
3. 20 lbs fat or does she not care about muscle?
4. Does she have any pre-existing conditions that doesn't let her do an exercise?
5. Does she care about cardiovacular health?
6. How much free time does she have?
7. How many times a week does she want to lift or do cardio?

There are a million more questions that would entirely change the plan of action for a PT. She could lose 20 lbs just by cutting 500 calories under maintenance to cut 1 lbs a week and be at her goal in 20 weeks. No cardio or lifitng needed. Or she could do cardio. Lift weights. Alter nutrition and much more

Thx guys. My plan all along was to go to the gym with her and have her do isolation excersizes with dumbbells/machines until she got comfortable and then get her on sl or ss.

I would want to know what she could do before I gave her a program. Assuming she's of decent health/fitness, I would likely start with a foam roll/body weight warmup and then teach her movement patterns: core, squat, hinge, press, pull and a single leg exercise. I might start with bodyweight or dumbbells depending on what she could do. Something like plank, goblet squat, pull through, pushup, seated row and step up. I would give some cardio recommendations for her to do on her own. No reason for me to watch her on a treadmill.

[QUOTE=kingofturtles;1015741093]Thx guys. My plan all along was to go to the gym with her and have her do isolation excersizes with dumbbells/machines until she got comfortable and then get her on sl or ss.[/QUOTE]

Isolation? Compound exercises mate.

I am not certified, but I would try to relax on any exercises that are major "stressors" on the joints as well. If she just wants to lose weight then that is very simple with eating under maintenance. You should explain to her the benefits of lifting and cardio and how beneficial they are to the human body physically and mentally. See what she truly wants to do; without some type of motivation optimal results won't exist.

If "diet is given" then that's enough to drop weight. The point of exercise is to improve strength, endurance or mobility. You can lose weight without getting stronger, fitter or more mobile, and you can get stronger, fitter and more mobile without losing weight. They're separate issues, there's some overlap but basically they're separate.

Is the PT useless? you ask, without telling us what the PT said. In other words, "please tell me that my ideas are right so that my girlfriend will do as I tell her in the gym." We're not here for that. You should not train your girlfriend. It's not good for your relationship or her training.

[QUOTE=KyleAaron;1015757803]If "diet is given" then that's enough to drop weight. The point of exercise is to improve strength, endurance or mobility. You can lose weight without getting stronger, fitter or more mobile, and you can get stronger, fitter and more mobile without losing weight. They're separate issues, there's some overlap but basically they're separate.

Is the PT useless? you ask, without telling us what the PT said. In other words, "please tell me that my ideas are right so that my girlfriend will do as I tell her in the gym." We're not here for that. You should not train your girlfriend. It's not good for your relationship or her training.[/QUOTE]

Good post.

I am not training her tho. She asked what I thought she should do. I showed her some sites eg:strong lifts.

I just find most pt's around here, like most nutritionists, know dick all.

[QUOTE=kingofturtles;1015766483]Good post.

I am not training her tho. She asked what I thought she should do. I showed her some sites eg:strong lifts.

I just find most pt's around here, like most nutritionists, know dick all.[/QUOTE]

Personal trainers can definitely be very ignorant and careless just because of the regulation of the industry. However, nutritionists and especially Registered Dietitians know what they are talking about. The course to be an RD is extremely difficult and some of the younger RDs will definitely be up to date and provide the best information about nutrition.

[QUOTE=LostLlama;1015586133]Is diet a given, really? Losing 20lbs is a great goal and she should be proud to have it. However, nutrition is going to ultimately make or break it from my experience. Without actually assessing her it is hard for me to offer any kind of specific advice. Cardio for heart health and to lose some calories fast and resistance training to raise metabolism for a couple days after the workout.

Nail down caloric needs. Eat clean (watch what she DRINKS too!!!). Maintain deficit. Profit.[/QUOTE]

agreed completely most people think their diet is fine and most of the people I try and sign up for SmetonFitness are totally clueless. exercise is good and it wouldnt happen without exercises, and weights are the best thing for losing fat and gaining muscle, cardio added when needed; however great nutrition, counting calories, and learning how your body responds to those calories are key.

quite a few girls theyll text me and say they are drinking wine or they wont give up moderate drinking on the weekends , like 6-9 drinks over the weekend, I just nicely say your not ready to hit your goals because you say you want to reduce bodyfat (usually this is more common than the skinny girls) and you wont do whatever it takes, these girls need to find a personal trainer thatll stroke their ego. Im about results

Simply put examine her diet first. Everyone always thinks their diet is in check or pretty good and usually that is not the case. Nothing happens without proper nutrition. If you want to get some activity in there after checking the diet go with compound weightlifting movements. That will go a lot further for a female than making her a "cardio bunny".

[QUOTE=kingofturtles;1015581743]First of all, I am not ragging on the pt's on this board. The fact that you frequent a site like this leads me to believe you are the upper echalone of pt's. however; there are a lot of useless pt's out there that know nothing about actualy working out.

My gf wants to lose some weight and she went to a pt. I spoke with the guy for a bit and he's clueless.

My gf could lose about 20lbs. I am not looking for free advice or a routine, but id like to know what kind of program u would give her. An answer as simple as "starting strength" or "low weight high rep" would be all I need. I just want to see of its in line with this other pt.

Diet is a given.

Thx guys.[/QUOTE]

You can't give a solid routine with TWO facts about the client. "shes a girl looking to lose 20 pounds"
There's a whole LIST of criteria to making an effective routine that I would have to go through to maximize her progress. Lifestyle, stress factors, external ****, internal, activity level, weight, bodyfat percentage, medications? handicaps? Accessibility to gym? injuries? Medical conditions? Diet/nutrition? Sleep habits? i could go on, and on.

As others have said it's very hard to give advice with so little info. However that being said the most basic routine is a good start for anyone new to training. I tend to learn towards lower weight high reps, the reason for this is so anyone new to training can really get movements down. I'd stick to a 4121 tempo and do an all over body workout 3 times a week. Don't overload with compound exercises right away and looking at the nutrition is a must.

[QUOTE=kingofturtles;1015581743]First of all, I am not ragging on the pt's on this board. The fact that you frequent a site like this leads me to believe you are the upper echalone of pt's. however; there are a lot of useless pt's out there that know nothing about actualy working out.

My gf wants to lose some weight and she went to a pt. I spoke with the guy for a bit and he's clueless.

My gf could lose about 20lbs. I am not looking for free advice or a routine, but id like to know what kind of program u would give her. An answer as simple as "starting strength" or "low weight high rep" would be all I need. I just want to see of its in line with this other pt.

Diet is a given.

Thx guys.[/QUOTE]

just check it out, you won't be disappointed. There is great information on here. at the very least you and your girl friend will have a rock solid starting point and through understand of how to get the most out of your workout.

youtube.com/kandufitness

give me a week to finish getting up a few more videos, so everything will be somewhat covered in a general sense. however, my "general" sense is pretty in depth when compared to my personal training counterparts.

Also, feel free to shoot me a tweet
twitter.com/kandufitness

good luck to you and your girl
-k

I'd tell your girlfriend to do 10 sets of 1 rep of her max lift in Bench press. After that do 500 sit ups. Have her do that twice a week and tell her she has to eat lots of double cheeseburgers, cakes and drink lots and lots of soda and beer.

Of course I'm a PT so it might be smart to take this advice with a grain of salt. We're not known to be the sharpest tools in the shed you know.