A Trainer Tells All...

I was reading one of my friends' blogs when I came across his feature of a trainer who shared his learnings and experiences of working as a trainer in the fitness industry over the last 12 years or so.  His account is complete with really great tips and tricks to help guide those of us trying to in shape-hope you enjoy:

I was riding my mountain bike yesterday and all of the sudden it just came to me. I just started thinking about how many things I’ve learned through my own personal working out (since I was a kid and playing competitive sports) as well as being a trainer (since 1998). So today I just wanted to share some of the things this 36yr old has personally learned about all things health and fitness….in no certain order….

• Pushups are the best upper body workout designed….no machine can replace that…you don’t need any equipment and you can do them anywhere.
• It’s easy to become a certified trainer (as I have seen overweight people become certified)….it’s not easy to work as one full time (hence a high turnover rate in many clubs)
• Diet is 85% of where results come from…..for muscle and fat loss. Many don’t focus here enough.
• Working out too much doesn’t lead to good results….hence most people are still struggling after years of hard effort and little return.
• Most people do not lift heavy enough to make stronger muscles.
• It’s never too late to build muscle….and is more important as we grow older.
• The only real cure is prevention….don’t get sick in the first place otherwise you may be in for a long road back to health
• If you eat whole foods that have been around for 1000s of years, you probably don’t have to worry about counting calories
• Sugar is not our friend
• High Fructose Corn Syrup is making people fat and sick
• The biggest 2 threats to our health are inflammation (silent and chronic) and insulin resistance
• Our dependence on gyms to workout may be keeping people fat….as walking down a street and pushups in your home are free everyday…but people are not seeing it that way.
• If I had to pick one sport for a child to start with it would be gymnastics, the strength/speed/balance/body control they will learn can be applied to any sport down the road.
• I hate to jog….I love to run
• Never listen to any advertising telling you what is healthy….as they are just trying to sell you something
• There is no such thing as spot reduction…but there is a great business in selling that concept (Ab-reclining chair anyone?)
• The fittest people I know keep active daily doing what they enjoy
• Fitness and Muscle magazines never got me any real results
• Supplements were are waste of a lot of money for me
• The best performance enhancing thing I know of….is a cup of coffee 30min before a workout/playing sports.
• To build muscle, throw away your Whey protein and eat more steak and eggs
• More people are taking muscle building hormones than will ever admit to you
• The best way to lose weight for most is lower carbohydrate eating/cycling
• I was skipping breakfast long before I ever found out about intermittent fasting (IF)
• It’s a lot easier to stay fit and strong….once you get there
• Meat and Fat are my friends
• Muscle size does not tell a person’s real strength
• Muscle size is mostly glycogen and water
• Whole foods can never be replaced by a multi-vitamin
• Most people need some Fish Oil to control inflammation
• Many brain functions may be vastly improved with a diet of no sugar/higher fats (esp DHA from fish/fish oil)
• Breakfast is not the most important meal of the day
• Eating 6x a day provides no metabolic advantage for losing weight than 2-3x a day…it’s still about calories and blood sugar/insulin control
• Mainstream media is 5 years behind research studies….research studies are 10 years behind what people are already doing for health and results
• The eat low-fat advice was the biggest health disaster in the last 30 years
• The greatest learning experience was helping people with autoimmune/arthritis to get healthier…..I never got more appreciation for my own health and how important prevention really is.
• The saddest thing to see is someone crippled by a potentially preventable disease while they are young which keeps them from doing simple daily activities and on multiple medications
• I was 215 lbs in college and thought I was big and had muscles….now at a much leaner and defined 185lbs I know I was more fat than muscles back then
• I can still keep up with the 21 yr old hockey players…..I just am a little more sore the next day now….
• Mountain biking is fun….snapping off my derailer and making it a single speed is even more fun
• The smartest trainer I know does not have a website or best selling ebook….as he is too busy training real clients
• Apple Cider Vinegar is the only medicine I take if I feel sick
• I can go up and down up to 10lbs in a week depending on glycogen and water balance
• The first big amount of lbs you lose in the first week dieting is mostly water
• If you want to get better at running….you run…..at biking…you bike…….at a sport…you play that sport
• I know a professional athlete making millions and a star on his team…yet he can’t do a pullup…but he doesn’t need to
• There is no one right way for anything…..as 20 different ways can get you results…
• 80/20 rule is so true…..80% of your results come from just 20% of the exercises, 20% of the food in supermarkets, and spending 20% of your time working out.
• Results are just the simple yet important things done on a consistent basis
• Losing more than 2lbs a week is probably not all fat
• Gaining more than 2lbs a week is probably not all muscle
• All diets fail over the long run….but lifestyle changes last
• All diets books are saying the same thing in general…they just make a new way to present it
• Bill Phillips was a marketing genius
• There is nothing new in health and fitness…..just ideas that resurface that are long forgotten
• Fads are created to sell more specialized equipment/gear, lifting/throwing something heavy and running fast has been around for 100s of years and still works
• Want a strong “core”? Lift something heavy over your head and walk around trying to stabilize it…the motivation to not drop it on your head will work wonders
• There should be a law against selling any dumbbells less than 5lbs….or ones in neon colors
• If your trainer can not get you to lose weight, fire him/her. You are not paying for his/her company or excuses….go find someone who can deliver or knows how to get results
• Squatting to parallel will only give you weak hamstrings and lead to more knee issues….you should be able to go down like you were going to pick something off the ground….as that is the reason our bodies were designed to squat
• The best thing anyone can do for their health/results is to just try new things…see how their body adapts and responds…and learn how to take total control no matter life may throw at them in the future
• Blogging is more effort than I would ever imagine….but I enjoy sharing what I know
• If you like what I write…the best thing you can do is help spread the word…so others can start improving their health and fitness too

Original Source: www.fitnessspotlight.com