Very few of the "personal trainers" at the big gyms have any sort of serious training. They're just idiots off the street that know slightly more than average about fitness.
I'm asking because I don't really know much at all about lifting, all I've ever done are sports where coaches were more concerned with cardio/skills than strength. I could probably google some P90x type shit, I was just wondering if there was anybody here who could help my...core strength? Is that what I'm going after? Maybe it's better balance that I need. Long story short, I'm an absolute amateur in all things strength training, and I'd like to be less light in the ass.
The weird thing about cross-fit is that so few things are based on cardio, but people are effectively using only cross-fit to train for things like ultra-marathons and the like. I don't get it. It shouldn't be possible. The only thing I can chalk it up to is metal toughness.
I dig the figure competition girls before they start cutting. Little muscly afterwards and a lot of the time they loose dat ass'. Every time the two figure girls worked out together at my schools gym this is all I could think about: Dirty naughty girls.
My gym really pushes buying personalized training sessions. They give you 3 free ones when you join, so I figured I'd gve it a shot. I filled out a training packet so they could pair me with the right trainer who could customize my routine for me based my goals (body building). They paired me with trainer "Scott" who was supposed to be a "weights and strength expert." I was expecting a large, angry looking bald dude who could push me when I started slacking off. What I got was a guy who was 5 inches shorter than me with a faux-hawk, weighed 160lbs, and had little to no muscle mass. During my first free session, he said he knows what hes talking about and is well educated in training. I asked him what he majored in while in college, all he did was reiterate that hes a fitness expert. Then he took my weight and height, even after I put them in the packet. To start our weight training routine, he wanted me to run on the treadmill, then the exercise bike. When I asked him about bench pressing technique and if he could show me what I'm doing wrong with mine, he said he didn't think bench pressing was good for weight training. On my second trip, Scott wasn't available and I had "Kathleen" as my substitute trainer who wanted to go through all the same bullshit as Scott did. What a waste of money trainers are. If I'm going to have a trainer, at least give me one that bullshits what the hell he's talking about, not one that has zero clue. And sorry ladies, as a guy, I don't want a female trainer for weight lifting. Thats probably sexist, but it's the way it is.
I've been wondering why I'm so sleepy today, and then I remembered that last night I had a sex dream about Jon Hamm. My mind is probably just wanting me to go back there.
To be fair, there are plenty of good trainers out there, even at shitty gyms. Most of them are leased from personal training agencies so the experience of the trainer you get is more tied to their agency than the gym you're going to. For example Planet Fitness in Boston had some of the best trainers I've seen (barring CJ from the Real World) in a regular gym, mainly because they had their own workout area which is all free weights, while the rest of the gym was all machines and max 60 pound dumbbells.
A few years ago I became interested in getting into lifting, so I took up my (at the time) gym's offer on a free session with a trainer. He taught me a bunch of bullshit using machines. Maybe because I'm a girl? I gave it a shot because I was trying to be open minded, but it sucked so I stopped. Meeting people later who actually knew how to lift and could teach me made a huge difference. They weren't trainers.
Good answer. Here's the bible. Read it all the way through, and do it. You'll see results very fast. Log your training and watch yourself grow. <a class="postlink" href="http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224</a>
Huh? EVERYTHING is based around cardio in Crossfit. That's the point. I think you are confusing "cardio" with getting on a treadmill, elliptical, or rower. Keeping your heartrate in the "cardio" (aerobic) zone for an extended period of time is the definition of cardio training, and that's what Crossfit is all about. On top of that, most of the stuff will push you into anaerobic stuff often, which means it is incorporating intervals as well. Interval training is important because it trains your body to recover extremely quickly from intense effort.
I'm lucky because, where I work, I have access to Olympic level trainers on a daily basis so I'm a little jaded. That said, I've taught quite a few people to lift and it has worked out for them, but I'm not a "trainer" at all. As for your gym pushing, the average gym business model revolves around people NOT coming to the gym. They make it look as non-threatening as possible (which means a lot of treadmills, TVs, clean towels, and Nautilus machines), sell a year long membership, and hope they never come back. A crowded gym is intimidating to people, especially out of shape people. On top of that, personal training sessions are another huge way the gym makes money, which is why they push them so much. They take a huge chunk of money from the trainer for each of these sessions, and don't hold their trainers accountable for the client's results. If you want to find a good trainer, go to your local college and asked to get sessions from one of their strength and conditioning coaches. Those people are paid because they get results, and are generally happy to make a few extra bucks if they have time.
I think she's just getting at the idea that high intensity barbell training is not a good training regimen for something like a marathon, running long distances is. Whether you agree with that or not is a different story, but using terms like 'core' and 'cardio' has become a really fucking annoying game of semantics at this point... I don't know where I was going with this but O'Doyle rules. Someone get me another glass of scotch.
Somewhat off-topic, but a strength/conditioning trainer for a college plays in one of the leagues I do, and I was matched up against him (in the championship game I mentioned in the R & R thread. We lost, btw). Absolutely could not move him.
LA Fitness pushes their trainers on you by having "free assessments." They give you a standard BMI, weight, hand held fat %, and then proceed to kick your ass doing circuit training. Since I had only been weight training I was worn out. The dude claimed that it was obvious I was out of shape and only his help could get me in it. I just kept asking about technique. I tried a few months later with a different trainer for a free session and he pulled the same thing even though I told him I wasn't into circuit training.
There's a whole former RMMB forum/website dedicated to this at instrength, including a solid weightlifting plan for beginners. There's also an entire forum thread dedicated to working out on this very board. And just to add something new, love him or hate him, if you have low strength, Joe DeFranco has a modified Westside template for "Skinny Bastards" at defrancostraining.com (under articles). It doesn't really matter which one you do for the first two months. Just actually, umm, lift weights. Less talk, more do will help a lot. After the first week or two, figure out what goals you want (improve your strength for rebounds in your pick-up league or whatever), and then take it to the experts. There's a million specialized venues for this shit.
Sweet, got some good advice, thanks a bunch. Now, as thanks, a gif of two young folks having the intercourse: NSFW
MEGA RAVE: I DROVE ALL THE WAY TO NEW BRAUNFELS AND BACK (about a 700 mile round trip) TO SEE THE TOADIES, AND WAS NOT HARASSED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT! That has never happened to me on a long trip in 10 years! The concert itself was a mind-blower; I've wanted to see the Toadies play for 15 years, but somehow I've always managed to miss them whenever they are in my area. For this show (Fourth Annual Dia de los Toadies), they played a TWO HOUR set. Talk about getting your money's worth (ticket was $33!). Highlights include: -The fact that this was the first concert since highschool that I have seen sober. -My friend who came along with me took a few hits off of a joint that he is pretty sure was laced with something, because he was tripping the fuck out (and he smokes a lot of pot). -A drunk girl (not bad looking, by the way) came up to me during the Toadies' set and just clamped onto my hand, raising her hands (and mine) into the air and cheering. As soon as that song was done, out of the blue she pulled me in and kissed me, jamming her tongue into my mouth. After that, she had her hands all over me, and I was having ideas about taking her back to the hotel room. Then my sober mind realized that this is the kind of girl who would probably puke all over the room, then pass out and wet the bed. She eventually left and never came back, saving me the task of turning her down. -When my friend and I got back to the room, the door was wide open. No maids around, and nothing was missing. But unsettling just the same, because the night manager had no explanation. When I bitched about it to the General Manager the next morning, they deducted the cost of one night and gave me a pass for a free night anytime in the next year! I guess I know where Li'l Bandit and I will be staying next time we go to Schlitterbahn! -I was getting compliments on my car everywhere we went, including offers to buy it. -Aside from the drunk chick mentioned above, the crowds were so much friendlier than they are in my part of Texas. At first I thought that it was because I was white, and most of the crowd was too, but my friend is Latino, and everyone was cool with him too (and I was expecting him to get some bad treatment because of it). Down here, mosh-pits usually end up with a couple of guys beating the shit out of each other and being escorted out with gushing head-wounds. Not at the Whitewater Amphitheater. Maybe I'm living in the wrong part of the state. -I got to see a kickass psychedellic/acid rock band called The Black Angels, whom I'd never heard of before (even though they've been around for 8 years! Once again, maybe I'm living in the wrong part of the state). They're reminiscent of Monster Magnet in the early '90s, and other acid rock bands. I'm definitely gonna be digging their music for a long time to come. Another great band was a metal band called The Sword; check 'em out. There were a few other bands earlier on (the show started at 2pm), but we didn't get there in time to see them. There was also a second stage, and we didn't want to lose our places. Here's an example of the stuff I got to experience: