Getting a Personal Trainer!!!!

In my experience its so hard to find a decent Personal Trainer or for that matter gym instructor who actually knows what they are talking about. Its so easy to get quialfied now but what the new trainers dont realise is that you must keep learning and most important learn by experience, by trying everything out there. Im not saying that Im the best in business but I try to keep an open mind and try to keep learning.



First thing to look for is apperance, if they look in good nick and train regularly then thats atleast a good start, Im not saying everybody in good shape knows what they are doing but atleast its a start.



After that the relationship is important, you must be able to get on with the person and not get to carried away with social talking, you can talk but when its time to train they must be focused (and dont worry if they lose count).

Case Study Client

The perfect way to attracted new clients is to start a case study to help advertise what you can do. If you can get somebody in great shape and record their results, pictures, training info, and nutrition info then you will be taking the first step into getting a good name for yourself.

I did this in my current gym with great results, after a 3 month study I went from having 0 sessions a week to 8-15 sessions a week and this happened straight away.

The client I used was very motivated and willing to stick to the nutrition plan and training, it is so important to pick the right person as you could waste a lot of time and effort if they don't stick to everything which will then affect your results!

After 12 weeks the before and after results are as followed..........

Weight: 66.2kg 59.5kg

Bodyfat % (Machine): 34.2% 25.6%

Bodyfat %: 29.6% 21%

Waist: 30 26

Hips: 40 38.5

Arm: 11 10

Thigh: 22 19.5

Overall the results were great and she looks fantastic..... This could really boost your client base to a whole new level!!!

Update!

Been so busy this January, haven't posted in a while.
Iv got a few things I have written that will be posted in the next few days when I have time!

My cut is going quite well so far, I have had a few bad days but Im doing much better than usual, Iv lost an inch off my waist and down about 3.5kg so going well. The most noticable diffrence is the way I look as i can see I have lost weight. New picture and measurements will be up on the 31st January, 1 month after the first assessment. The only thing i changed was my training as I decided to go back to splits as I injoy training everyday I started to miss it as with a full body routine you train every other day. During a cut most people wil see a slight decrease in strength but so far most is atleast staying the same and I had a PB doing weighted pull ups :) managed 7 reps with 30kg very tough. Full update with updated picture will be on the 31st.

Powerlifting Squat

In Powerlifitng you have to Squat so your hip is lower than your knee! I had always only squatted parallel but when you go that little bit lower it gets very hard to balance but practice makes perfect!

No Deadlift Grip!!!

The Deadlift is the DADDY of all exercises and is difficult to master but for a lot of my clients the most difficult bit is keeping their grip with heavy weights.

People with this problem will often start using straps to take the load off their finger tips so I designed a helpful guide to beat the straps.......

1. First always use the Olympic style grip (Both hands over). You will be using light weight as you master your technique so for the first few weeks your grip shouldn't be a problem.
2. After you start to add more weight and you feel your grip starting to slip as you reach the last few reps, change your grip to one over one under which is when you change one hand position to the opposite side (one palm facing you and the other facing away from you).
3. If you then manage to get heavy enough for your grip to suffer invest in some chalk that you can buy from any mountain climbing shop. I love using chalk and after competing in powerlifting events this year I have found my grip staying strong after deadlifting 180kg for reps.
4. If all else fails buy some straps but to be honest you don't need them until you're really lifting heavy or if you have injured fingers etc.

When I deadlift I never use a belt as it will weaken the muscles it is supposed to be protecting, only ever use a belt if you're attempting a 1 rep max and please never wear one when you do bicep curls especially if your doing bicep curls on a squat rack

Happy Training

First Programme Found!

I found a load of old fitness programmes and to my surprise my first ever programme written for me with the first weights I ever pushed was in there. To me there is a lot wrong with it, take a look......

The programme was a simple split Chest/Triceps-Back/Biceps-Legs/Shoulders
All Exercises consist of 4 Sets of 6-8 Reps!

Dips on Frame- Bodyweight
Bench Press- 40kg
Dips on Bench- Bodyweight
Incline DB Press- 15kg
Skull Crushers- 20kg
DB Flys- 12kg

Close Push Ups- Bodyweight
Wide Pull Ups- Bodyweight
Chin Ups- Bodyweight
Wide Bent Over Row- 20kg
Bicep 21's- 16kg
DB Single Row- 10kg
DB Hammer Curl- 12kg

Squats- 20kg
SL Deadlifts- 20kg
Leg Extensions- 20kg
Hamstring Curl (Ball)- Bodyweight
Calf Raises- 28kg
BB Jerk and Press- 20kg
Arnold Press- 8kg
Lat Raises- 5kg
Front Raises- 5kg

Now 2 years on my current workout today...................
Consists of 2 Full Body workouts every other day-
(The first 4 exercises on both workouts are compound and consist of 4 sets of 6-8 Reps, the last 2 exercises are isolation and are 2 sets of 6-8 reps)

DB Chest Press- 50kg
Close Lat Pull down- 125kg
Squats- 65kg (20 rep, recovering from pulled knee ligament was about 150kg)
DB Shoulder Press- 36kg
Tricep Pushdown- 75kg
Hamstring Curls- 70kg

Decline Bench Press- 110kg
Wide Bent Over Row- 80kg
Deadlifts- 160kg
Arnold Press- 30kg
Incline Bicep Curl- 12kg
Lat Raise- 10kg

I think you can see by looking at the first programme I didn't like to train legs. My goals haven't been to get bigger just to get into shape so some areas have had big improvements but others need attention but quite strange to look back and see what I was lifting......

Nutrition Made Easy!

Key points to a healthier diet that can be used for weight loss or muscle building:

Ø Eat plenty of Fruit and Vegetables
Ø Eat plenty of Lean Meat & Fish
Ø High protein and High Fibre
Ø Balanced Diet including Fat
Ø Plenty of Water
Ø Controlled Portion Sizes
Ø Small Alcohol Intake
Ø 4 to 6 small meals a day


Eat plenty of Fruit and Vegetables-

Fruit and vegetables contain important vitamins and minerals that your body requires to function properly, without them it will not function as it should to its full potential. Also take note that vegetables don’t contain many calories compared to other foods so you can eat a lot more of them.

Lots of lean Meat & Fish-

Lean meat and fish contain high amounts of protein, which help repair and build your body and low amounts of fat. Please note your body still needs fat to work sufficiently.

High Protein and Fibre-

Protein takes longer to digest than carbs and fat so if you eat high amounts of protein you will feel fuller longer, also high fibre foods will make you full up for longer as fibre isn’t digested and helps with digestion.

Balanced Diet including Fat-

Fat is a very important part of a diet and we all need a small amount, omega 3 and 6 types are very important and can be found in oily fish like salmon and mackerel.


Plenty of Water-

Water is used in every system in the body and is vital to a healthy diet. 80% of muscle is made up of water so if your looking for bigger muscles make sure you drink enough. Keeping yourself hydrated is also important when trying to lose weight.

Portion Sizes-

Portion size plays a very important role in weight loss. Sometimes when you serve food on a plate you don’t realize how many calories are in the food. For example 100 grams of wholemeal pasta uncooked has 316kcal in it which is a lot considering if you had a medium size bowl of pasta you could have up to 300 grams which is nearly 1000kcal more than half of your daily requirements and that isn’t including the sauce or meat. So its important you make sure your portions are reasonable so you don’t over eat.


Alcohol Intake-

Also linked with portion size, for example instead of having two large glasses of wine have to small glasses of wine and always sip and take your time to make the drink last longer.

Try eating 4 or 5 Small Meals a day-

Eating small and regularly has many benefits including raising the rate at which you burn calories at rest, as your body will be working all day digesting the food. When done correctly it also takes away the feeling of hunger, which will then stop you over eating at meal times or between meals. This will then improve overall maintenance and running of the body.


Helpful Tips:

Ø Eat Slowly and chew food properly, there is a chemical in your body that tells you that your full. This chemical takes between 10 and 15 minutes to be released and gives you that feeling of fullness so if you eat more slowly than usual you won't eat as much.

Ø When eating a meal always have a drink of water with it, after every mouthfull try sipping some water. This will increase the time of your meal and fill you up quicker as you will be drinking more water than usual. Or maybe try using a smaller plate to trick yourself into eating a smaller portion.

Ø Only eat when you’re hungry never out of boredom. If you do snack try eating fruit or nuts.

Ø Try reading nutrition labels on food to help find out what you are actually eating and try to stay away from processed foods that are usually loaded with saturated fat (Bad Fat) and high amounts of salt and calories.