I'm not not sure how I feel about it. She wants me to do circuit training in order to improve muscle endurance and lose fat (I actually never told her I wanted to lose fat but I guess that is assumed when you are a fat girl). Also, she said something about getting lean, not bulking. Whatever, anyway, I told her I was interested in Powerlifting one day and she said I need to do this first. So I guess I'll give it a try.

She had me do almost everything on a stability ball. I did chest press, tricep press, bicep curl and rows on the ball. I have no idea why she made me do a bicep curl. I did all this with 6-8lbs. Then she had me do lunges without weights and some deadlifts with 15lbs. She wanted step ups with 15lbs too. Then we did some pilates. She wants me to do two sets of 15 reps then work my way to 3 sets of 15 reps. I think I am going to get bored REALLY fast. I usually don't do more than 2 sets of 8 reps. If I can do more, I add more weight. I just get bored with so many reps. But then again, she says I NEED to do this before I try lifting heavy. She did tell me I could go up with the weight for the deadlifts since I usually do 45lbs.

So what do you think? Will I get bored silly and just give up? What do you think about circuit training? I uh, will admit I wasn't too keen on it. I don't know though. She insists everyone should do these things before doing their heavy weight work. I guess. But I've been doing strength training for over a year? I AM weak though. I surely do admit that. I'm a bowl of jelly.

With my husband she totally killed him. He said it was a rough workout. But I saw her have him do some sort of tricep kick back! She also had him to Arnold Presses which I had already told him in the past I would prefer he never do. But, oh well. He says it really felt difficult so I guess whatever she did will help him. I just thought it funny when I look over across the gym and I see my 6'5" 215lb (13% bf, so not a fat guy) doing some sort of tricep kickback. I started to wonder what on earth she was going to ask me to do.

I think muscle endurance is a good thing and should be part of your strength training, but then, I'm not an expert, so take that for the amateur opinion that it is. I've been with my trainer for three years and he still has me focus on muscle endurance sometimes. Sometimes we do heavy lifting, sometimes we focus on muscle endurance, sometimes we do agility drills, sometimes we do plyometrics. It's all good and it's all working.

I don't know about the importance of doing muscle endurance before heavy lifting, but I do know that my trainer didn't start me out with heavy lifting. And I had already been working out with another trainer for six months before I started with my current trainer, so it wasn't like I was a complete newbie or totally out of shape.

I think the more important question is whether or not you felt like you got a good workout in with your trainer. Even when we are focusing on muscle endurance, I still feel like my workout with my trainer is hard. In fact, the muscle endurance workouts might even feel a little harder than when he has me lift heavy. If you didn't feel like you got a good workout, then I think maybe you need to ask your trainer to step it up a bit for you.

The stability ball is for your core, every exceesize you do on the ball works that part of your body as well as your back and stomach so it is like doing 3 excersises in one. Circut training is desinged to keep you moving on different things thus keeping you busy to avoid the bordem. As far as the reps go for women in order not to bulk up with muscle is is better to do more reps and less weight, if you notice when you are at the gym the big guys are doing less reps with large amounts of weights what your trainer is trying to do is build lean muscle mass rather than bulky. It sounds more like you were not thrilled with the trainer, a trainer should motivate you during a workout and if it did not you should try someone else you will know when you meet the right one.

Sorry to disagree, but as a trainer and a long-time lifter, I think you are totally off base here. Unless a woman has hormone issue (PCOS for example) it is HIGHLY unlikely that she will ever bulk up like a guy. FOOD will make you bulk ups, but it takes a huge amount of work and eating to grow to gain a lot of muscle mass.

Muscle endurance, plyometrics are great parts of a workout. If you are a newbie lifter, you don't want to go to muscle failure because your ligaments and tendons take longer to become strong enough to handle the weight that you muscles can. But if you've been doing this for more than a few weeks, it shouldn't be a problem.

I would suggest keeping reps in the 8-12 range, This will give you size, strngth and shape. If you are really training to power lift, that's a whole different story. Take a look at true power lifters- the women are NOT lean. You can't be in a caloric deficit and power lift. You and your trainer need to seriously talk about your goals.

Mel

As usual, I totally agree with Mel and would add tha this trainer is either ignoring your stated goals or doesn't really know how to get you there, so is giving you what she knows.

And, powerlifting doesn't mean you need to be bulky and/or fat either so don't worry about that. Just focus on getting strong.



Cheryl Anderson
2007 & 2005 USA Powerlifting Women's National Champion
2008, 2007 & 2006 #1 Ranking in USAPL - 97 lb. and 105 lb. Open classes
2008 NAPF Gold Medalist & 2005 IPF Women's World Silver Bench Press & Overall Bronze Medalist


If you are a beginner,I would start off with a program like Mel mentioned as then soon move you to a good 5x5 program to develop a strength base.

I recommend checking out http:\www.stronglifts.com for a solid 5x5 program.

Then familiarize yourselft with more specialized strength routines after you get some time under the bar.

http://www.elitefts.com and http://www.westside-barbell.com/ and http://www.powerliftingwatch.com/federations/usapl

And most importantly, find a good powerlifting gym in your area and hook up with likeminded individuals.

Mel is my hero I've had bad trainers and I've had good trainers. Bad trainers tell you what they think you want to hear "this is so you don't bulk up". Good trainers tell you what you don't want to hear "we are going to work hard, build muscle, get strong, now lets get cracking". I was blessed with a good trainer when I first started working out with weights. She was a tiny thing but she could lift lots of weight and had good muscle development.

I do agree that you need to talk to your trainer and tell her about your goals and that you want to work hard and build muscle and strength.

I think this whole "you have to work on endurance first" is drilled in to their brain. And they totally ignore the fact that you may have ALREADY been working out for some time. Not all people higher trainers when they are couch potatoes.

I would see some benefit if you are totally new to exercise to do some of what is described first (for a couple weeks) because often the stability muscles are very very weak and learning form first is good. Get the body used to moving first.

Ugh. I've typed out two responses and lost them.

The workout was sorta challenging but I didn't feel like my core was all that challenged. Which seemed her whole point.

I agree with Mel on bulk. I am a woman and it isn't likely I'll ever get bulky. You have to train with purpose to get bulky. I ate 1400 calories yesterday. I don't think I'm at risk of waking up looking like Becca Swanson (I would never expect to lift like her either! Even later when I'm eating as much as I can shove down, I'm not going to look like this. Becca Swanson. Now, if after years of hard work I ended up looking like Jennifer Widerstrom I would be perfectly happy with that. Though it obviously takes a LOT of hard work to look like she does. Even she doesn't keep up with it. Jennifer Widerstrom

Now, I never told this trainer I had any fear of getting bullky. I guess she just assumed since I was a woman that I do. I don't. And I thought I had made that clear.

She insisted she's trained powerlifters, bodybuilders and football players who can lift like crazy but have no core strength because they ignore that area. Therefore, she wanted me to work on it before I did anything else. She NEVER asked me what kind of training I've done on my own. She NEVER asked me how much weight I use for exercises (she gave me 8lb dumbbells for the chest press when I've been using 15's) and she NEVER tested my core strength in comparison to my other strength. I thought these would be important before decided what to do with me. Aren't they?

I don't have to train with this person again. I like her and we have the same ideas about nutrition (Weston A Price Foundation methods). We've gone through a lot of the same issues, seen the same stupid holistic doctor,etc. When I told her I wanted to try training in Powerlifting, she told me she had done it herself. So, I thought it would be a good fit. Now, I don't want to give up on her if she really knows what she is doing and what I need. I'm just not sure she does.

Sometimes you have to give them a kick in the pants, I did with mine and I think it is getting better. I was shocked myself that there was no "current status" evaluation. I thought that was what we were doing the first day and then I realized, no this is the "workout". Maybe things have changed but I remember the FIRST thing we did when I was taking weight training classes (the intent being to BECOME a trainer) was to establish a baseline on a few exercises. I think 1 rep max on bench, legpress and a few others.

I think the word we really look for these days is 'functional' fitness. The 80s brought us machines which could bring us muscle strength but were in pure isolation and often not in the best mechanical positions. Oh also if a trainer puts you on a machine, you also need to question that as well.

functional is good. though, when on earth am i going to sit on a bouncy ball and lower something heavy behind my head 45 times in real life?

this trainer doesn't like machines. she had to show them to us once but she went through it quickly and kept telling me "i am not telling you to use these, i just have to show you". it's the gym rule. if you want to meet with the trainer they have to show you the machines first. it's stupid but its their rule.

Mel...?? for you..you mentioned that it is possible that women with PCOS can bulk up? Do you see this frequently? I do have PCOS..and I have an EXTREME fear of gaining weight from ST?? Main reason I have avoided it. I have lost alot of weight..but I still have ALOT of body fat..especially in my middle area..indicative of PCOS. Oddly..when my test. level was checked..my RE said my level was normal..but I sometimes the liver circulation prevents it from showing high in blood checks?? He diagnosed me via other symptons.

I have a desire to ST...I am just scared out of my beejeebees to do it..even more so now??

Skinny,

I have PCOS and I never bulked up. Also it really does take a lot of hours of heavy lifting to bulk up. Men even have some issues bulking up themselves after a certain point.

The only reason you could bulk up with PCOS is if you had an elevated testosterone level and were eating more calories than you burned but then again you'd still need hours and hours of heavy lifting.

I have no experience in that area. I have a few friends with PCOS but they have never tried lifting. Why not give some strength training a try and see how you like it? You can always stop if you don't want to do it. Though I doubt you will want to stop after you've tried it.

I have PCOS. In the three months since I've officially been diagnosed, I have lost 30 pounds and 3-4 sizes. I did it increasing the intensity of my cardio (running, or if I'm walking I'll up the incline) and by finally starting a strength training program. I also dropped the low-fat diet and went to a lower carb/good carb program. This isn't my first (or even second) effort to lose this weight, and the strength training is the major difference in the attempts. I'd been walking consistently for almost two years (an hour a day) before I was told I have PCOS, so redirecting my efforts to HITT and weights HAS to be the reason for the losses, at least that's what I'm convinced.