Personal Trainers?

In 1998 I was employed in medicine, working in surgical supply, when my personal physican told me that, "bodybuilders are not healthy people. Only cardiovascular exercise has health benefits by all the standards we know."

This prompted me to take out my UT library access card and start researching myself. What I learned was that there was nothing, no real evidence whatsoever, for the opinion my physician had conveyed. In 2003 I began working as a training manager in corporate gyms, and their instructions to me also mandated that I advocate particular opinions which were also without any empirical, scientific, or clinical merit.

What I found was that doing cardio was boring, painful, and very discouraging for clients who I wanted to be motivated to exercise everyday for the rest of their lives. Cardio was a great disincentive, and took away time and energy needed for exercises which I found to have provable benefits, i.e. strength training.

My consideration of the Mayo Clinic benefits list are these:

weight control, stamina, decreased hypertension and type 2 diabetes, stroke, decreasing blood limpids [triglycerides, cholesterol].......These benefits accue to anyone doing any form of regular strenuous exercise, including resistance training. These benefits result from the metabolic use of energy sources in the body in response to any form of increased energy utilization. Exercising the heart in particular will not increase these benefits.

increased immunity and cancer....There is no evidence that exercise causes the immune system to "turn on," or that it prevents cancer. People who exercise regularly have stronger immune systems because they also follow other healthy lifestyle choices such as decreased stress, more sleep, better diets,etc., which ARE causes of a stronger immune system. There is a strong coincidental relationship there but no causal one.

"heart desease".....Once again, exercise has little noticable benefit regarding infecteous deseases of the heart, or conjestive heart weakening causing the heart to enlarge. Marathon runner and aerobic advocate Frank Shorter dropped dead of a sudden heart illness caused by a bacterial infection. His strong heart muscle and heart rate of 42 beats per minute was of no use.

Mood.....There is no evidence that doing cardio is more mood enhancing than resistance training. On the contrary, there are many studies indicating otherwise. We don't know why, but in my opinion having a strong musculature makes all physical tasks EFFORTLESS, from sitting in a chair at work all day to getting up out of a car seat. This constant feeling of effortless physical strength is emotionally encouraging. It is the corollary of learned helplessness and depression which all animals experience with the weakening of approaching death. These perceptions are strong subconscious motivators or dismotivators.

MDs have been advocating cardio for so long [since the jogging craze of the 1970s] that reversing themselves based on something as easily ignored as scientific studies and publications is something they just don't need to do. MDs never change their standards if doing so implies that their previous recommendations may have been in error, regardless of what the science indicates. This is the reason why they continue to recommend low fat diets, and statin drugs, although patients taking such drugs have the same rate of heart attack as those not taking them. Statin drugs do decrease blood cholesterol, but doing so has no proven benefit. The link between coronary artery desease and cholesteral levels appears to have no empirical merit.

theaustinescorts,

sorry but again I humbly disagree. But that's okay -- opinions are like butts - everybody has one. I personally do not think "bodybuilders" are very healthy people, for the most part. True bodybuilders are interested in one facet of weightlifting -- building muscle mass so they look better. They are not interested in the overall benefits of weightlifting.

I have been doing serious aerobic exercise for around 4 decades -- fastest marathon 2:53 (many years ago). Now a cyclist. Been doing fairly hard weightlifting for 20+ years (2-3 times a week, 80 minutes or so each workout). My lifting actually led to my decline as a runner -- added too much bulk to run well. If I had to give up one, weightlifting would be gone in a second.

Any exercise is better than none. The main factor is to ENJOY what you do. Many people will find cardio boring. I definitely am not one of them. I love spin cycle classes. I enjoy going on a 2-3 hour ride on weekends. I have a spin cycle upstairs in my house. I will get on it, put the TV on, and I'm off!! Can't do a weight routine at home. Actually I find the start of a weightlifting routine much more depressing.

As with any exercise, the benefits from aerobic exercise are pretty much hidden. Depends whom you believe. I eat what I want (healthy diet is not one of my strong points) but because of my aerobic workouts, my weight stays the same. I am with you in that many of the benefits listed in the Mayo Clinic article may be stretches of the truth. But I believe the heart is a muscle which can be made stronger, along with the cardiovascular system, and the best way to do that is with aerobic exercise.

BTW, I googled "Frank Shorter" and he seems to be alive and well. Physical exercise, whether it be weightlifting or aerobic exercise, guarantees NOTHING regarding death.

Also wondering what you, and others, think of the BMI.

Guy who introduced me to 20-rep squats, on the first very bad day - two plates - pulled the J-hooks so I wouldn't be able to rack the bar if I got tired. Somewhere around the 15th rep my vision has grayed out and tunneled, my blood's turned to acid and caught fire, I'm breathing fire, I feel like I'm going to die... he says, "Die on your feet. Die like a man."

Good news for me was, I got 20. Good news for you is, it's not a weight loss protocol; rather the opposite. Originally Posted by 78704

Oh in infamous 20 rep squat routine.. trying to break a plateau were you? I remember my first experience with that. Talk about a testosterone release.

Sorry I mistakenly refered to Frank Shorter. I meant to say Jim Fixx, and his autopsy is now said to have shown coronary artery desease and blockage, this despite his constant running. He was only 52.

Everyone is different in terms of what kind of exercise they prefer, and doing cardio is definitely better than doing nothing if those are the choices.

Those chosing cardio exclusively should note that athletes who spend their lives running or cycling lose muscle tissue at the same rate as those who do no exercise at all. Only strength training will prevent the loss of muscle which eventually infirms all elderly people, and leads to the broken hips and such which my former industry of total joint replacement is built upon. After spending over seven years in the industry I cannot recommend such surgery to anyone except those who have become immobile without it. It's very traumatic surgery and the recovery is painful.

From the age of 17 to 25 I cycled regularly, usually 20 miles or more daily. I thought that I had built ample lower body strength, however when I started strength training at 26 I found I had little lower body strength. The resistance of cycling wasn't enough to built leg muscles...a big surprise.

When I started strength training I was six foot tall and weighed 172lbs. Now I weigh 214, mostly muscle. I can tell you though that because of my bulk I cannot run worth a shit, and probably wouldn't do well on a bike anymore either lol!

The lesson to be learned from Jim Fixx is that you can't outrun your genes.....and he had some very bad ones and he knew it.

The lesson to be learned from Jim Fixx is that you can't outrun your genes.....and he had some very bad ones and he knew it. Originally Posted by Flashbang

True. But Jim Fixx did not start running until he was 36 and died at 52. His father had a major heart attack in his mid-30s. He led a very sedentary lifestyle -- little exercise, smoking, bad diet, etc. I agree with you that running did not kill Jim Fixx.

A major question in this discussion is how do you measure overall physical fitness? It is definitely not how much weight you can lift or how you look in a bathing suit.

According to Wilkipedia (okay, not the greatest source):

Accordingly, a general-purpose physical fitness program must address the following essentials:

• Cardiovascular Fitness
• Flexibility Training
• Strength Training
• Muscular Endurance
• Body Composition
• General Skill Training

With no one discipline will you achieve "physical fitness" in my opinion. That is why I mix hard lifting with hard aerobic training (hard for me LOL).

I think you are taking the definition of cardio in an unintended direction. A high intensity circuit style program incorporating complex (multi-joint) movements and plyomentrics using a 1 minute "on", 30 second "rest" period will provide a greater caloric burn and a higher average HR than traditional slow and steady cardio every day.

Also, by incorporating complex movements and plyos you are incorporating a flexibility and muscular endurance portion.

P.S. Body composition and general skill training are bullshit categories created to sell training. If you handle the top 4, the bottom two are inherent.

I think you are taking the definition of cardio in an unintended direction. A high intensity circuit style program incorporating complex (multi-joint) movements and plyomentrics using a 1 minute "on", 30 second "rest" period will provide a greater caloric burn and a higher average HR than traditional slow and steady cardio every day.
Originally Posted by AustinBusinessTraveler

I don't disagree with you. However, in the 2 decades I've been weightlifting, I have seen maybe a handful out of hundreds and hundreds of people in the weightlifting rooms do a high intensity circuit style workout. You have your powerlifters who life immense weights and then take 5-10 minutes off before the next set. You have your "average" person in the weightlifting room who does a set, waits 2-3 minutes, and then does a second set, then a third set. The only people I have seen doing plyometrics are those that are working under the guidance of a personal trainer.

As for heart rate, if you've ever been in a spin class, a good instructor will vary your workouts, one day doing a high aerobic workout and other days doing a combined anaerobic/aerobic workout. Higher average heart rate is NOT what builds the heart muscle. It is the same as doing a speed workout on the track versus LSD (long slow distance). Speed work is for very specific needs and can actually be dangerous to you since it spikes the heart rate incredibly. LSD is much more beneficial to your heart and cardiovascular system since it makes your heart work steadily for a long period of time. I agree that if you are looking for caloric burn over a specific time interval, the harder you work the more calories burned. But you won't find a track coach anywhere who will work athletes anaerobically too often. Too much strain on the muscles. I can train aerobically every day.

Plain and simple bro. Eat right and do lots of cardio.

Diet is going to be a huge percentage of it. You have to remember to burn more calories than you intake. As stated before stay away from carbs cause they are not your friends if you are trying to lose weight. You should make lunch the last meal with high amounts of carbs. Hint on that is to stay away from white bread, and white rice. Try to eat small portions through out the day and make sure its mostly lean meat like turkey slices or Tuna just things with low carbs, fats, and calories. You will always be allowed that one cheat day where you can eat whatever the hell you want so dont worry about never eating anything tasty again.
You could also take up boxing lessons to make it more fun, it will definately keep you fit! I know because I do it and mostly if not all cardio training. You dont have to take my word for it just look at Angelina Adams and Dani Girl those two sexy ladies are into boxing.

High intakes of Carbs, protein, and certain fats are mostly the essentials you need to bodybuild. I know this because I am trying to increase in muscle mass. Pm me if you need advice.

All in All dont give up! Its going to be tough but the reward is definitely worth it!

Here's a sites that might help when it comes to counting calories and carbs
http://www.calorieking.com/

Jim Fixx certainly wasn't killed by running, but it's discouraging that someone who did so much of it wasn't able to reverse a fatal case of coronary artery desease [which MDs usually preach should be the case]. It begs the question, what about all the "cardiovascular fitness" ascribed to cardio? Does doing cardio really result in lower blood lipid levels? Is it really the amount of lipid levels in the blood that determines whether the arteries get clogged or is it something else, such as inflamation, which causes the arteries to accumulate fats and restrict?

I believe standard medical practice has no remedy for these issues. And as far as I can tell from the research I've seen, cardio's benefits seem to be stronger heart muscle and lower beats per minute, but no benefit to coronary artery health [the leading cause of heart failure].

Nor am I persuaded that "genetics" determines that a person's arteries must necessarily clog up. There may be a genetic propensity for such, but surely behavoirs which can countervail this deadly process should work for everyone....I just don't think cardio is among those potential remedies. Nor for that matter is strength training or any kind of exercise.

As far as I know, and I'm not an expert on this, the only studies which have shown a reliable way to decrease the accumulation of fats in the arteries are related to patients on one of the Atkins diets, and that would suggest that blood fats are like any other form of fat created in response to eating more calories than are used, and that a diet which restricts caloric intake will decrease fat accumulation in the arteries. If I had arteries which were prone to clogging up I would look seriously at these studies and diets. What I would not do though is have coronary bypass surgery as my first option, especially at the urging of a MD whose hedging his bets in telling you that you MUST have it TODAY. My experience with MDs is that they usually seek to cover their asses when the prospect of mortality might be in the cards by recommending a decisive standard treatment [even if the remedy is riskier than the desease].

If a physician cannot weigh the risks of acting or not acting [and they almost always cannot] then they will always go for remedial action and usually mislead their patient by over-stating the risks of doing nothing. The reason for this is that they are never blamed if a standard remedy results in a bad outcome, but they would be blamed HARSHLY if they did nothing and a bad outcome occured. That's the system we have, and it's why there are more expensive medical procedures here [as opposed to other countries] but with little better outcomes to show for all this expense.

Poor President Clinton lived with the same level of artery blockage for several of his last years as President, and none of his Docs wanted to be the one to interrupt government by pressing him into bypass surgery. But the moment that he was no longer President this same level of blockage suddenly became a mortal crisis as explained to him by his Docs, and they wheeled him immediately into surgery which almost cost him his life on the operating table, resulting in eleven months of setbacks and convalescence, and then another major thorasic procedure to clean out all the infection and sepsis which built up from the original procedure. He's never been the same since, and his horrific experience is not that unusual. Cardiac surgery is always very hazerdous.

TFF, all this talk and only two that address the original post I made. I don't give a shit about the meal, the cardio, circuit training blah blah blah.. I asked if anyone KNEW a trainer, that's all. A good trainer would dictate the diet and/or routine. I certainly wouldn't take advice posted here. Not that it isn't good, or that it's bad, but that would be part of the program associated with the trainer.
Diet was NOT the question now was it? Somehow this turned into a debate about god only knows what.

Nuglet, sorry for taking the discussion off in several interesting side conversations. Getting back to your original question about a good personal trainer who will work your ass off. If your goal is strictly weight loss, I just read an article today that exercise helps you maintain weight but does not reduce your weight.

Hi SpeedR;
Thanks.
The person I was looking for a trainer for has decided to go the surgery route. Puerto Rico is nice this time of year and the creds are good ..... Now let's see where the thread goes.. Medical Vacations are a growing business and are even endorsed by a lot of insurance companies. Of course it lowers their cost due to the price of procedures stateside, but the quality of care and the services are up to, and in some cases, exceed US standards.
I've had dental work in Mexico for years and can personally testify to the $ difference and quality of work.
This is just another case of doing the homework......

Absolutely! Why not have more unnecessary surgery? The surgeons who collect the fees will love you for it, and we can all pay higher insurance premiums.

btw...both my grandfathers died from untreatable hospital-borne infections following minor abdominal procedures [I'm sure they have nothing like that in Puerto Rico though].

TFF, all this talk and only two that address the original post I made. I don't give a shit about the meal, the cardio, circuit training blah blah blah.. I asked if anyone KNEW a trainer, that's all. A good trainer would dictate the diet and/or routine. I certainly wouldn't take advice posted here. Not that it isn't good, or that it's bad, but that would be part of the program associated with the trainer.
Diet was NOT the question now was it? Somehow this turned into a debate about god only knows what. Originally Posted by nuglet

Well we were just trying to explain to you what a Personal trainer would. You'd save a few dollars to hobby but if you have money to blow then fuck it do surgery or hire a pt. Its your money, although in my opinion your already fucking up by not having the motivation to do research on how to begin or what health tips will help you achieve your goal. Good luck.