Finally BF!!!

[esteveze]

I had it done today!
Is was with Calipers (skinfold).
the guy took my measurements.
arms, chest, waist, hips, thigh.
then he proceeded to weight me.
Later took measurements with calipers of:
arm(back) abs(upper), thigh.
it came up to 17.7%
well???
after that he proceeded by telling me that I should do weight training. REALLY emphasized LOW weight HIGH reps.
QUOTE:
"you do not want to do heavy lifting because your legs would get very big"
I will keep doing what u girls/guys advised me to do in these boards. It is working for me and that is what it matters.

 

[Sassy69]

When someone tells you something like that that conflicts with what your understanding was, you should ask what their background is, including physical training AND nutrition? I think this is a valid question because my experience is that no matter how qualified people appear to be or how much experience they have, I can never get the same answer to a question and they will actually dispute any other proposed answer I have - e.g. if they say one thing and then I say "well i asked so and so and they said this" -- then the person will say something like "well they probably only know how to train themselves - not other people" or "well that probably works for them, but they can't apply it to other people" -- same shit, diff trainer. That is so annoying because they ALL act like they know everything. But if you can't get a straight answer that you understand, then you should question their qualifications. Personally I don't trust anyone who won't at least acknowledge that other answers are valid.

And also - if he isn't asking what your goals are and just assumes that you want to be a cardio queen, then tell him to go fuck himself.

BTW -- congrats on your bf! That's great! Because there is always dispute as to how accurate measurements are (e.g. caliper, tanita scale, etc etc), you can at least use that number as a base to measure relative changes from - get some measurements done every 6-8 weeks or something.

 

[esteveze]

Ohhh!!
he ask me what my routine was like...
and once a told him
Mon--legs
wed--back, tris
Fri----chest,bis
on tues, thur abs.
He told me that I should workout abs at leat 4Xweek
and that I should change my routine. I imediatly told him that my weight training routine was going very good...since everytime I workout a body part I get sore for the next few days.
I left it at that...he asked me to ask him some questions.
I could be a bit%## sometimes...but i did try to be nice.
HE starting sying that my body looks very good and that I look good for my age..etc (waw she hitting on me??")
and I told him That all I needed to know was my BF...and that I was running behing schedule for my workout. Thank him for his time and CIAO!!!

 

[Raina]

I completely agree with Sassy. I've met some really clueless trainers. The one I had before this one was so ignorant I couldn't tolerate him. I asked my current trainer about which was better and he said that low weight/high reps is a great thing to do if you want to waste time and pretend to do something-- that's why I've stuck with him.

If anyone is wondering which is better, high reps/low weight vs high weight/low reps, I'd encourage them to try each for a week. I used to do the high reps/low weight and I never felt it. I personally want to feel fatigued in the muscles that I worked for a day or so after I lift. I've never gotten that from low weight high reps. I'd rather do 3 set of 12 reps high weight and push myself until I dripping with sweat rather than swinging my legs care-free for 50 reps at 10 pounds. That seems like an utter waste of time.

Congrats on your bf and I again agree with Sassy, it's a great way to get a more accurate idea of your progres (as the scale is fairly useless). Mine is a lot higher than I'd like it but I'm working my ass off to lower it. Ironic that my bf got so high because of the high cardio, high carb, low-fat, low-protein diet plan that I followed for so long. Even after a few weeks of eating clean and lifting heavy with reduced cardio I can visibly see the difference in myself. Good luck. Are you going to find a different trainer??

Oh, another good question is to make sure that the person is certified as well as insured.

 

[esteveze]

Raina..
this guy is not my trainer. he is one of the trainers(staff) at my gym.
I might want to go to one of the other locations that my gym has and try taking the BF again.
I just might...

 

[Sassy69]

I guess take the poor guy for what he is -- some poor slob trying to make a buck. He's just trying to act like he knows what the hell is going on. Since you already know he doesn't, its the same as the guy who passes out fliers standing on the street - basically when he hands his little sales promo thing to you, he is really saying "Here, YOU throw it away".

I think the important thing for you is to have the knowledge you need to achieve your goals. Most trainers seem to be trying to protect their value by not providing the information that enables you to manage your own health, and instead be completely reliant on them for the next "health secret". WRONGO buddy! We are elite and we aint' payin ya to be an expensive spotter!

 

[woollis2]

I have a question. I'm not sure that it is in a old post or not,the only thing I could find was how BF was measured. I wasn't very good at researching before I asked this, so don't be mad,k? But where can you get this done at. I live in a small town Iowa and wasn't sure where I could get this done at or who does it.

 

[esteveze]

well...
I had my BF measure at the gym.
I live in NYC...my gym does not charges for that type of thing...(they already are very expensive) so I guess is included.
The last time I did it was a 18 months ago..and was done at the gym from my employer. my BF then was 25.1% ouchh...
Have gone a long way.\
U might want to inquire at your gym..
Good luck

 

[FitFossil]

Congrats on your progress! Don't worry too much about that "trainer". He's either too far in the dark ages or only wants another paying client to babysit while she never makes any progress. Also (and this is hard to believe for us Elite ladies) some women really do just want the tubular no-shape look and work out only for entertainment, so his advice is right on for those ladies. Don't worry about converting him. Just keep doing what you're doing - it's obviously working.

 

[esteveze]

hey...thanks.
But my concern is the following:
It this measurement good??? to be honest I was expecting about 20%BF..
I mean I am looking leaner....but 17.7% I do not know how lean should that be.
This is what I remember were my measurements
weight--134lbs
Arms----12"
chest---34"
waist---26"
hips----37".....wuuppppsss(kind of big)
thigh-???do not remember.
These were the measurements taken with the centimeter.
Later he preceded to measure with the caliper.
I think I will ask him for a copy of the data today.
What do you think ladies?? based on the info I provided???

 

[FitFossil]

Bodyfat results can vary no matter what the method. Two different people could measure you on the same day using the same method and probably come up with different bf%. And when you compare one method of measurement to another, the results vary widely. Don't get too caught up in that % number. Just use it to judge an overall trend of whether it's rising or falling.

I've had the same person measure me for the past 3 years and I've kept all the caliper measurements for the different sites. I look at these more than the final %, but they can be iffy because a millimeter is so small, and whether you're measured in the same spot the same way, etc. Lots of variables even when using the same person and the same method. It's fun to get a number, but I think progress pictures are the most telling.

Remember that muscle is denser than fat, so a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat. Say you replace 5 pounds of fat with 5 pounds of muscle. The scale would stay the same, but your measurements like Arm - ??" would be getting smaller.

 

[wilson6]

"you do not want to do heavy lifting because your legs would get very big"

You should have said to him, "so I guess that explains why your legs are so small?"

W6

 

[esteveze]

W6..
To my surprise..the guy was very lean and big muscles.
yeap!!!
I guess he does not wants to give away hes secrets.
By the way..this is my 5 week eating clean food. BUT
Next week I am going one step further.
Meaning, now that I am use to eating clean and my craving for Junk is to a minimum, I am going to start cooking my chicken breast in a diferent way.
I will only buy chicken breast(boneless-skinless) and will boile it, and eat it with broccoli, green beans, good veggies.
will try to stay with chicken and fish for 2 weeks, to see how my body will change.
What do u think???
This is staring on Monday 7---for 2 straight weeks.

 

[fhg43]

Iowa State and University of Iowa both have one, I believe. ROAD TRIP!

Go Cyclones and go Hawkeyes!! Yeah-good to see another from the homeland of corn.

Sorry off topic.

FHG

 

[new@gettinbig]

WTF??? Yes that is why 90% of guys don't train their freakin legs..pure laziness and well it hurts just a little to do it...Your legs are not going to get big..if you eat like shit..yeah u will get fat legs..but as far as muscle goes..NO!! You would have to take a lot of shit to get massive legs that were considered huge!!! What kind of fuckin trainer is this? Ask him why he thinks low weight high reps would be beneficial to a woman trying to build lean mass and lose bf?? Ask how you are stimulating that muscle growth w/ pink dumbbells?

 

[new@gettinbig]

Oh and if he is that smart I would seriously consider getting my body fat done by someone else as well...God only knows if he was doing that correctly!

 

[Fatback]

Personally, I have problems with trainers who don't walk the walk of their own talk. I mean the last person you ask advice from to flatten your stomach is the man with the potbelly. At my gym there are a bunch of young, some overweight personal trainers, I just don't get that logic. Is it do as I say, not as I do?