Is my personal Trainer legit?

[muscatiDoc]

Hello to All,

I hope all of you are keeping fine.

I am asking this question because i was bull****ted before. So i tend to get a bit skeptical.

My stats: weight 86kg. Height 170cm. Body fat - 30%

I am sure only a personal trainer can point out and say if this PT is legit or not.

So i am about 86kgs now, have been lifting but this time around got fed up and thought to myself to be trained under a professional and get the techniques right.
My goal, to lose fat and bulk up.

My PT divides the 4 days into
Day 1 - chest
Day 2 - Legs
Day 3 - Back
Day 4 - Shoulders + Arms

This is his theory: Squat, deadlift and powerclean? (lifting barbell over the shoulders), no use of machines! 2 - 3 exercises a day. Everyday is a squat day regardless its chest or back or legs. No abdominal exercises. Cardio only 10 mins. Light walking.

I am bit fed up of squatting. I squat fine, deep with right posture. On chest day, we''d do bench press, 5 sets of heavy weights and incline press. Thats all. Nothing else. So chest day is = squat + bench press + incline

Legs - 7 sets of squatting with very heavy weight + 1 alternative leg exercise using dumbells. No machines, no presses, nothing.

Back day - 6 sets of deadlift, 2 other exercises which include dumbells only.

Shoulders + arms - powerclean as he says it + a MIX of super set + drop set for triceps and biceps all together. So it will be bicep curls going from weight 50 to 40 to 30 to 20 to 10 followed by tricep extension from 50 to 40 to 30 to 20.... and repeat. and thats my bi/tricep exercise!!!!!!!!

At the end of each day, il have a bonus round .... which somehow includes SQUATTING!!!!

Im 4 weeks in. He hasnt touched any abdominal exercises, says itl be taken care of by itself. I havent felt any difference or any tad change of difference in feeling in chest, bi or tri. All i know is that my legs have gotten a bit stronger, back has gotten stronger but my belly still hangs there, saggy lower chest. I look ugly and i feel weird with this guy.

What style is this? legit or bull****?

[jamesovercome]

I dont think youre getting screwed. Youre doing basic compounds to get stronger overall. Cardio on your off days wouldnt be a bad idea though

[KyleAaron]

You didn't mention food. The presence of absence of a chubby belly, as well as muscle size etc, will be to do with your food. Did your trainer speak to you about food? If so, did you ignore him?

You've been training 4 weeks. How long did it take you to get your chubby belly? Was it longer than 4 weeks?

Results take time.

[WoofieNugget]

Sounds like he's focusing on building muscle (which you need) and not wasting your time doing cardio (which you probably don't, especially when you're with him). Likely he's focusing on squats because they use a ton of muscle, but if you're bored with them you can express that to him and he can probably substitute something like lunges/leg press/step-up as long as the loads can stay the same.

He might be following a standard Starting Strength protocol, which is better than most trainers will do. Give it time like others have said. Ab exercises aren't going to make your stomach any smaller and focus on your diet as well.

Has he explained a laid out plan? I always tell my clients what to expect in a few weeks if they inquire because I have it laid out ahead of time. Maybe you should ask him about what his intentions are with your program long term (ie more than 4 weeks in).

[ohiosmitty]

sounds like a trainer that actually knows what he's doing. Like others have mentioned, your diet is a major part of this battle as well. Make sure it's on point. Good luck

[muscatiDoc]

It is a relief to see all of you reply positively. I have been an offline reader of this forum and i do know some excellent advises are given and legit PTs are here.

Sorry about the paranoid post. But you would also get annoyed with squatting when your coach gets an orgasm when he sees old school squatting machine. He told me "Look at that queen, jus sitting there, legs opened up..welcoming you to come in and explode" LOL

This is the food i am recommended:
Morning: 4-5 eggs and oatmeal
Mid mornign snack - apple
Afternoon - Chicken breast with brown rice. Palmful.
Mid afternoon snack - Banana/apple/strawberries
Night - Fish/steamed or cooked.
If hungry - Go for juicing --> That is Drew Canoles way of extracting juice from vegetables and drinking that.
I havent followed this plan to the dot. I initially made bad mistakes.


He didnt explain me any laid out plan. He is aware of my goals. I write what i eat and show it to him and he changes it.

I had few questions for you guys. Please feel free to answer.

1. Post workout - I usually waddle back home and i shiver out of lack of energy. Because the PT makes me go very heavy with no compromise. I lose my mental energy and post workout i have good 5 - 6 hours to put in for some heavy mental work/my job. What should i consume post workout that resolve this problem? as I need good amount of energy to continue my day

2. Am i bound to gain fat in the process of gaining muscle mass? can it be even avoided?

3. What does a PT mean when he says ''You are my project''. He makes videos and takes pics and records every little thing he teaches me and how i respond. He scales down the strength...etc.

thanks

[WoofieNugget]

That diet is idiotic, and if he doesn't have a plan he can actually tell you about then it looks like he is crash dieting you and making you lift heavy in hopes of rapid weight loss. In answer to your questions:

Carbs can be consumed post workout without a problem. You aren't going to gain much on a diet like that. If he's recording stuff, that's good - if he's recording stuff and putting it on the internet without your knowledge or permission, that's bad.

[muscatiDoc]

That diet is idiotic, and if he doesn't have a plan he can actually tell you about then it looks like he is crash dieting you and making you lift heavy in hopes of rapid weight loss. In answer to your questions:

Carbs can be consumed post workout without a problem. You aren't going to gain much on a diet like that. If he's recording stuff, that's good - if he's recording stuff and putting it on the internet without your knowledge or permission, that's bad.

Great. Thanks for the reply.

What should my diet look like then? This is more important than lifting heavy!

[shadow9041]

That diet is idiotic, and if he doesn't have a plan he can actually tell you about then it looks like he is crash dieting you and making you lift heavy in hopes of rapid weight loss. In answer to your questions:

Carbs can be consumed post workout without a problem. You aren't going to gain much on a diet like that. If he's recording stuff, that's good - if he's recording stuff and putting it on the internet without your knowledge or permission, that's bad.

What part of that is idiotic, its your basic cutting diet and its extremely well rounded. OP is trying to lose weight you know.

[94beastmode]

Your trainer sounds like a good trainer. Be glad his not doing bosu ball squat curls and other bull****s commercial gym workouts

[94beastmode]

That diet is idiotic, and if he doesn't have a plan he can actually tell you about then it looks like he is crash dieting you and making you lift heavy in hopes of rapid weight loss. In answer to your questions:

Carbs can be consumed post workout without a problem. You aren't going to gain much on a diet like that. If he's recording stuff, that's good - if he's recording stuff and putting it on the internet without your knowledge or permission, that's bad.

Diet looks fine and you can't say a diet is idiotic if you don't know the macros *******

[muscatiDoc]

That diet is idiotic, and if he doesn't have a plan he can actually tell you about then it looks like he is crash dieting you and making you lift heavy in hopes of rapid weight loss. In answer to your questions:

Carbs can be consumed post workout without a problem. You aren't going to gain much on a diet like that. If he's recording stuff, that's good - if he's recording stuff and putting it on the internet without your knowledge or permission, that's bad.

Brother can you please reply? Why do u think the diet is bad?

[WoofieNugget]

Diet looks fine and you can't say a diet is idiotic if you don't know the macros *******

I can see why you're red.

While you're right we don't know his macros - that diet is probably about 1200 calories at best and uses fruit as both snacks mid morning and afternoon (while there's nothing wrong with fruit as a snack, he could add/adjust to make things more optimal for his goals depending on when he is working out). There's no attention paid to anything he's doing pre or post workout and only having a piece of fish at night. He's on a starvation diet. If he wants to actually train hard and be able to build any lean mass that simply isn't going to do it.

OP, head over to the nutrition section and post the diet there - some of those guys can give you some insight as to what you should change.

[WoofieNugget]

What part of that is idiotic, its your basic cutting diet and its extremely well rounded. OP is trying to lose weight you know.

He's trying to lose body fat - not weight. Although I just noticed his profile says he's 167 pounds but he states he's 189 in his post.

[NorwichGrad]

The program your trainer prescribed is legit..

However, I gotta be honest and say my eyes got big when you wrote "Shoulders + arms - powerclean as he says it" because if you feel your arms and shoulders doing powercleans, you are not doing them correctly.. It's an explosive lift that relies on a violent hip and leg extension.

Other than that, the program itself imo is very good compared to other personal trainers who do worthless exercises..

[SerpentHearted]

program seems pretty straight forward no nonsense stuff. which is good.
diet seems pretty terrible & old school broscience based.

[muscatiDoc]

I can see why you're red.

While you're right we don't know his macros - that diet is probably about 1200 calories at best and uses fruit as both snacks mid morning and afternoon (while there's nothing wrong with fruit as a snack, he could add/adjust to make things more optimal for his goals depending on when he is working out). There's no attention paid to anything he's doing pre or post workout and only having a piece of fish at night. He's on a starvation diet. If he wants to actually train hard and be able to build any lean mass that simply isn't going to do it.

OP, head over to the nutrition section and post the diet there - some of those guys can give you some insight as to what you should change.

Great. Thanks mate.

Il post my diet on nutrition section but needed some insight from you.

I workout from 2 to 3 pm. What do you think i should eat for pre and post workout?
The training is good enough but now after u guys pointed important things out, what should i add/adjust?

Thanks to everyone for the input

[MkADcision]

Without knowing your exercise history/goals/background, I'm going to give you some general advice.

-Don't feel that you can't question your trainers methodologies and program design. If you have concerns or issues bring them up!

-Unless your trainer is a registered dietician/nutritionist, they shouldn't be giving you a specific meal plan.

-I have no idea why you're squatting every session..again ask your trainer. Especially if you're going heavy as you say), you need at least 48-72 hrs recovery before training them again - otherwise you're not giving you're body a chance to rebuild itself.

[muscatiDoc]

Without knowing your exercise history/goals/background, I'm going to give you some general advice.

-Don't feel that you can't question your trainers methodologies and program design. If you have concerns or issues bring them up!

-Unless your trainer is a registered dietician/nutritionist, they shouldn't be giving you a specific meal plan.

-I have no idea why you're squatting every session..again ask your trainer. Especially if you're going heavy as you say), you need at least 48-72 hrs recovery before training them again - otherwise you're not giving you're body a chance to rebuild itself.

Background: On/Off lifting. Stopped for a long time rejoined back after a year. Not in shape at all!
Goal: Lose body fat and gain lean muscle mass
Stats: Weight 86kg. Height 170cm. Bfat - 30%

He tells me that legs are everything. Stronger lowerbody means you can lift better for upperbody and that squatting uses a lot of muscle which I need at this point of training. Once i get good with squat, deadlift and bench, hel change the exercises.

[muscatiDoc]

To personal Trainers and others:

Please kindly have a look at this bad math and tell me what am i suppose to do with the remaining calories!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So from what i understand:
For a male who exercises moderately 3x5 times a week needs - 31kcal/kg/day. (31x86) Hence i need 2666kcal/day

My goal: Lose fat and gain lean muscle mass.

Subtracting 15% (and adjusting later on) - 399.9 (2666-399.9 = 2266kcal/day) So my caloric intake should be 2266kcal/day

Protein: for someone with moderate to intense excercises and goal of muscle bulk and fat loss --> 2.5g per lean kg weight = 215g of protein

Fat: 1g per lean kg weight = 86gs

remaining cals for Carbs = Total cal needs - ([protein grams x 4] + [fat grams x 9])
Therefore grams carbs = (remaining cals)/ 4

Carbs = 632/4=158
2266 - (860+774) = 632

So i need:
Protein = 860 calories
Fat=774
Carbs=632


===============================================
If my diet looks like:

Morning: 5 egg whites + oatmeal
Mid morning: Apple
Pre workout - 1 cup of coffee/tea
Post workout - 4 pieces of chicken + brown rice bowl
Mid afternoon - Milk
Night - 2 tuna cans + veges

================================================== ====
Protein: Target: 860.............. Eggs (115)+3+5 (18*4=72)+5+16+50 = 266 (594 calories remaining!)
Fats: Target: 774..................: 8+3 + 32 + 2+ 10=55 (719 remaining)
Carbs: 632...........................: 31+17+35+45+24=152 (477 remaining)


How am i supposed to fill those calories up? By eating more?

Please let me know if the calculations above are correct or not.

[foodandfitness]

Until you can squat twice your body weight for a couple reps, you need to keep squatting as much as possible.

[bigballin6161]

Very average program. ****ty diet. For someone at 30% bf you should be focusing your training around more GH release.

[E-Tank]

Very average program. ****ty diet. For someone at 30% bf you should be focusing your training around more GH release.

aww yea gh release for explosive gains

[JohnnyJ1965]

If you want to lose fat, diet is the most important component. No point killing yourself in the gym just to stuff your face with junk. Abs, are 'made in the kitchen, not the gym'. You have abs just can't see them under neath all that fat! Get rid off the fat.

Yeah, maybe too much emphasis on squats. Deadlifts works lower back. What other back exercises you doing? Rows? Pull ups?

I think the programme is fine on the main (apart from maybe your back day). Diet seems fine - but that depends on how much you eat. It's about calories as well as eating healthily.

losefatgainmuscle.hpage.com

[majj268]

His program is focused on compound lifts and muscle building. But the diet plan (or lack of) is not up to far in terms of building muscle/burning fat. I suggest cardio on at least 1 off day. As far as post workout, high glycemic carbohydrates immediately after your workout will help replenish glycogen levels and essentially put you in a better mood. Some of these foods include white potatos, white rice/bread, gummy bears, pixie sticks. Basically anything really high in dextrose -which gets directly into the blood stream. Fructose or any other sugar (mainly in table sugar, honey, or fruits) have more glucose than dextrose, which is a slower-digesting carb. So stick what I listed whilst aiming between 20 - 60 grams of this carb post workout.
You want to lose weight or burn fat -it all depends on your diet, workout intensity, and sometimes genetics. So keep track of all your meals, workouts, mood, etc. You won't know how well you're doing if nothing is tracked.
As far as your PT stating that your his project, he's just trying to tailor his normal workout regime's to see how effective it is. He probably found new research that triggered his idea in changing around his workout plan for you. So don't take offense to this. Just keep pushing forward and do your research as well.

[barbecueyeah]

Not a PT but I think this all sounds kinda bonkers.

Here's why I think it sounds weird:

1) Squatting every session. What about resting the muscles? It sounds like a ticket to snapcity. The day before you go very heavy on squats, you do squats. The day after you do deadlifts, you do power cleans. By the time you get to the power cleans, that lower back has taken 3 previous days of lower back training and should be pretty exhausted and that sounds kinda risky?

2) No vertical movements for lats like pull ups?

3) Errmm, creepy vibes from the part where he says the PT takes lots of pictures and videos of him while saying "You're my project"?

4) Hmm, isn't bulking (which you want to do later) a bad idea for previous overweight people...?

[palufitness]

Hey buddy. I agree with everyone below me. saying his not a bad trainer. Theirs alot of compounds movements which is a plus. Ideally If you want to lose bd fat around your stomach youve got to control your food intake. sounds like the program is more strength and Olympic program. I think you want more of a hypertrophy program where you get a massive pump.

[Paulie_G]

This trainer seems to generally know what he is doing. It's refreshing to see a PT actually focus on compound movements and free weights. There are probably 2-3 more exercises I would add, and I would decrease squatting to 2x per week. I really think that more than this is overkill, and over time can create some problems for those people who are susceptible to knee problems, or those who need more recovery time. As for diet, it seems to be a decent cutting plan. However, you do need to keep a check on progress over a few weeks, and see if the diet is effective. If not, then some small changes are in order. I would recommend HITT cardio on the days when you are not strength training.

[Simmo0508]

We can't comment for you. We'd have to see the sessions in person and judge that way. Too many variables to just write off a guy or praise him.

His program doesn't mean squat (pardon the use of your favourite word again) if it isn't coached properly to begin with.

Only you can judge if he's a good trainer, not us. Are you seeing results? Does he seem knowledgeable and explain things to you in detail throughout the workout or does he just stands there with a clipboard and watches and counts reps for you?

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