Hi,

I'm getting certified in personal training and decided to put my knowledge to the test! I am revamping my own workout to in order to be a walking advertisement for my business.  I spent some time getting my diet in control and cardio where it needs to be to shed fat and  now I am starting my weight program.  I found out my 1RM and now I need to design my own program to look like a figure competitor. I am not sure if I should pyramid my weights or go for the heavy lift through my sets and how many.  I have tried many combos in the past but have been missing the diet and cardio pieces until now. I can eventually figure this out after some trials and errors but why waste time? Any suggestions?

Thanks, SCPT

Hey SCPT,

Great to see you wanting to be a walking billboard!! That’s def. great advertisement..

Whether trying to lean out or gain muscle, your goal should always be maximum recruitment of muscle fibers when weight-training. The more, the better. People tend to make the mistake of dropping the weight in an effort to burn more calories, which works against this. If cutting, your calorie deficit and cardio will be the primary factors, in terms of direct bodyfat loss. Maintaining muscle will give you in indirect factor on bodyfat loss.

You can try the following:

-        Keep a rep range of 6 – 15 reps throughout your program

-        Keep reps constant within each workout  

-        Vary the rep number every time you perform the same bodypart again

-        Perform between 24-30 total reps per exercise (4 sets of 6, 3 sets of 8, 2 sets of 15,…)

-        Limit total workout to 45 minutes max

-        Limit rest times to 60 seconds. That’s the only parameter I would use within the workout to help stimulate direct fat-loss

-        I would not perform pyramids, supersets, or other techniques as such if performing cardio as well. This might tax you too much and slow down progress in the long run..

Hope that helps. Let us know how things go.

Raf

Hey Raf-

Thanks for all your wonderful advice. After reading you last post, I was curious to know why workouts should be limited to 45 minutes. Is that for just lifting or is that the same for the days that you do cardio. I know you are not supposed to lift after you do cardio but is it ok to lift in the morning and then do cardio later in the day or is it too much?

Hey Fran,

When I refer to the 45 minute limit, I'm referring to the weigh-training session. Anything more, in terms of weight-training, is usually overkill and counterproductive. If a had to do cardio, I would follow it up with maybe 20-25 minutes max. Any more cardio, I would do at a separate time.

Yes, its OK, actually better to split up sessions. It won't be too much, as long as your calorie deficit isn't too low.

Hope that helps.

Raf

No this is good to know. I usually lift for 45 so glad to hear that I am doing the right amount. Today is a cardio day which I will do 45 minutes of...but I am actually thinking about perhaps doing 2 workouts on various days if possible or if I am motivated enough.

Have a bit of a motivation issue happening now with the workouts though. perhaps it is the colder weather that has come on so suddenly. Not sure what the deal is. Has that ever happened to you or anyone in the community for that matter? How do you overcome it? Just not so excited to do cardio anymore which I used to LOVE to do.

Time to switch it up,Fran! I hate normal cardio..But, I usually end up reading a couple of books when I have to, as I diet down (as in now!). So, in that regards, I look forward to the books I'll read.

Switch it up. Try a class, or take it outdoors when you can. Make it fun somehow!

Raf

Thanks for the advice Raf. Yeah, I like to read when I am on the arc trainer or the eliptical and have to admit that it has been forever since I used the stairmaster. Probobly should do something about that.

On Sat. , I was pretty psyched as I ran for 45 minutes...a post that I read on the boards actually inspired me to push myself to run an extra 5 minutes. It was a great run and now i am actually looking forward to getting back on the treadmill. Guess i hit a motivation plateau. :)

Hey Fran,

Yes, motivation can be tough to find at times. People always ask me how I stay motivated. For me, its the competitions I have to shoot for. My schedule is already mapped out for next year. So, there's motivation year round. Its always best to shoot for something to help in that regards. Whether its aiming for the summer or a specific event, always give yourself ample time, and it becomes more of a personal challenge to yourself that'll usually end up with good results...

Raf

As always, Great advice :)