Questions for the exercise experts...

VALORIE1
on 3/25/08 4:34 am - TRINITY, NC
Questions for all the exercise experts out there.... Is it better to work out 5 days per week 1 hr per day or 3 days per week 2 hrs per day? Is it better to work on 1-2 areas of the body each session or work all areas every session? My trainer does the whole body method along with some cardio for each hour session. About 20 min cardio 10 stretching and 30 minutes of whole body strength. I don't get sore and I don't really feel the pain. Am I really getting the best work out this way? Is it really true, "no pain, no gain?" Thanks in advance for your help. Hugs, Valorie
peace0309
on 3/25/08 7:02 am - Alexandria, LA
Hi Valorie, I'm not the expert by any means but this is what my personal trainer does. She works one particular area, such as chest/back, or biceps/triceps, or lower body at each session, along with some cardio, such as spinning or climbing stairs, etc. I am used to working out, have done it since the dark ages. But, man, when I finish a session with her, I feel like my butt has thoroughly been kicked! I am usually sore for the next couple of days, although it's not too bad. It sounds to me like maybe your trainer is concentrating on too much at once, especially if you don't feel the pain. Maybe he/she should take a body area at a time? Like I said, I'm not the expert! Deidrah
CeCeXercises
on 3/28/08 12:01 am
Valorie, If you are talking strength training five days a week, then it is best to divide up body parts and concentrate on certain areas so you don't get overuse injuries and the muscles worked have at least 48 hours rest to repair the tiny tears and actually build up. Muscle tissue is actually built during the repair phase, not the work out phase. Regarding your personal trainer following the whole body each session, I think that if a person only has a limited number of sessions with a trainer and is just getting back into exercise or is a newbie, the whole body method allows the trainer to give their client an overview of what they can do on their own, provide them with the proper form for numerous types of exercises and give them a good basic workout. Then, the client can learn to develop their own programs which can concentrate on certain muscles or muscle groups on alternating days. I personally like to do cardio as many times per week as I can but I vary the intensity, time or the activity so I don't get too worn out, injured or bored. I like to do a little cardio warm up to get the blood flowing in the muscles, then strength train, then do a more strenuous session of cardio and I always stretch because of my various joint/tendon issues! When I teach I always do abs at the end of the session but in my own workouts, I tend to wait to do abs when I'm watching tv. I have to confess that working abs isn't my favorite thing to do! That's probably because before my LBL, I never saw any return for my effort!!! Now with the muscle repair, working abs is HARD! If you aren't as satisfied as you'd like with your training sessions, talk with your trainer. You could let her know that you would like to do the majority of your cardio after your session - on your time! Remember, you hired her! It's your money and your time. She may have the knowledge but you need to be happy. However, as far as not being drop dead sore after sessions, I've seen trainers work people to the point that they throw up!!! I think there's a balance! People want to get the best bang for their buck but I hate to see people get tortured too!! I know you had sessions prior to your traffic accident and you had started back but I don't remember how many sessions a week you have with her or how long you have or are going to work with her. As a trainer, I know she knows that the body needs change to stimulate it and doing the same thing over and over won't get continued results. She'll mix it up and, like I said, if she doesn't, talk to her! I love the fact that you are so into working out now!!! The exercise part quickly became addictive to me 10-11 years ago. Too bad eating healthy consistently and in the right portions wasn't as easy to do! Oh, well! We're hard at it now, huh? CeCe
VALORIE1
on 3/28/08 1:42 am - TRINITY, NC
CeCe, How are you feeling? Have you gotten your drains out yet? I hope everything is going well for you. I have missed you this week but understand that you probably haven't felt like holding your arms out to type. I had 20 sessions with the PT and I spaced them 2 per week. I am on my own now and really trying to develope a plan that works for me. I normally do 10 mins of cardio to warm up then stretch for 5 minutes. I work abs every time I am at the gym and have been doing a bit of everything every time. I think I need to change to do only 1 muscle group per session like you say. That is what I am trying to establish. I go to The Rush Gym, not sure if you are familiar but they are a mega- huge gym and half of the equipment I have never seen before much less know how to use. The good thing is that their equipment is color coded. Like yellow for arm, purple for lats, green for legs. What I have been doing is going from 1 color machine to a different color machine- like yellow to purple to orange to green then abs then a second round in the same order. Usually if I complete 2 rounds, I have accomplished 1 hour of exercise. What I really need to know is: should I shoot for more than 1 hour sessions or is that sufficient? Is it ok to do abs every time? WHat groups or muscles should be worked together? I know I have a lot of questions. I appreciate your help if you have time to explain some of this to me. My main thing is that I want to get the max results for the time I invest. Hugs, Valorie
CeCeXercises
on 3/29/08 10:04 am
Valorie, I promise to write more later but just sat down to check the board for a few minutes! Yes, I am drain free! I got them out Thursday and have been feeling better than I'd dreamed! I guess not having complications this round made it much easier! My energy didn't drop and even though it's not fun to turn over in bed with all these stitches, it's going better than I'd thought! Hope you and everyone else is having a great weekend! Let's keep our fingers crossed that Susan is having a very happy weekend! CeCe
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