Let me start by saying that as a personal trainer my job is to write programs and provide results for regular, everyday people. I am actively involved in strength and sports conditioning training for athletes (particularly boxers and other fighters), but my bread and butter comes from regular, everyday people looking to improve their body shape.
The first thing I have to take into account when writing programs for these people is that they are not professional. They have days jobs, they have wife/husband and children, their mother is frequently in hospital and work is frequently sending them interstate. Every client has issues like these preventing them from maintaining the perfect training routine.
As a result, there is little point in my prescribing the perfect 4 or 5 day split and demanding they perfect their protein/fat/carb ratio. Working out simply cannot take priority over their job and family. That becomes my problem, not theirs. I have to provide results for them or I'll lose my client. If my client only has time to wolf down half a sandwhich for lunch, then thats what he has for lunch. If his wife makes him a creamy pasta dish loaded with fats and carbs for dinner, then you bet your arse he's going to eat it rather than piss her off. Too bad, so sad.
In the end, its MY problem, not his. He gives me money, I change his body shape.
This is the sort of person I must gear my advice to. I don't write 4 day split programs, because your average punter will only follow it for 1 week before reverting back to whatever ineffective program drove them to hire me in the first place.
Eating properly is the biggest problem I face with clients trying to put on muscle. Remember, muscle mass is not priority number one for a lot these guys. They would like to fitter and with more lean mass, but there is a lot of other stuff going on in their lives.
Eating properly is where most strength trainers let themselves down period. Protein intake is usually the main deficit, and this is diabolical for anyone wanting to put on muscle.
In order to grow, one must provide the body with stimulus (weights) and energy (nutrition). Without either of these, proper growth will not occur.
Lately I've been having great success giving protein challenges to clients.
Instead of saying, "try to eat 2 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight," I've been saying, "I want you to eat 6 eggs, a 425g tin of tuna, and a steak/chicken breast everyday."
This has been VERY effective. It's not a lot of protein by some lifters standards (Warboss I'm looking in your direction here), but everyday people see it as an enormous quantity.
Clients have gone from saying "Oh, I didn't have any meat today but I did have a handful of nuts, and they've got protein haven't they?" and instead of that drivel they are responding to the challenge! It's great - I'm finally getting proper results from guys I've been training for a while.
When the prescribed amount of protein intake becomes habit, I increase it again. I wish I'd been saying this to them earlier.
Try it guys - for anyone who has a problem jamming down protein everyday, or for anyone relying too much on supplements and shakes, set yourself a daily food challenge, NOT a daily protein intake level.
Instead of saying, "Gee I'm 55g short of my protein requirement today," you can think to yourself, "Ok thats the tuna done, and I'm having steak for dinner, I've just got to eat the eggs."
It's worked well for my clients and I'm setting myself similar challenges. I'm finding it a very easy way to keep eating sufficient protein everyday, and I'm now eating so much that I've managed to cut back severely on protein shakes. I'm not relying on shakes like I used to, I just have them PWO and before bed and having wholesome, real food the rest of the day. And it's easy to maintain, and easy to keep track of.
The first thing I have to take into account when writing programs for these people is that they are not professional. They have days jobs, they have wife/husband and children, their mother is frequently in hospital and work is frequently sending them interstate. Every client has issues like these preventing them from maintaining the perfect training routine.
As a result, there is little point in my prescribing the perfect 4 or 5 day split and demanding they perfect their protein/fat/carb ratio. Working out simply cannot take priority over their job and family. That becomes my problem, not theirs. I have to provide results for them or I'll lose my client. If my client only has time to wolf down half a sandwhich for lunch, then thats what he has for lunch. If his wife makes him a creamy pasta dish loaded with fats and carbs for dinner, then you bet your arse he's going to eat it rather than piss her off. Too bad, so sad.
In the end, its MY problem, not his. He gives me money, I change his body shape.
This is the sort of person I must gear my advice to. I don't write 4 day split programs, because your average punter will only follow it for 1 week before reverting back to whatever ineffective program drove them to hire me in the first place.
Eating properly is the biggest problem I face with clients trying to put on muscle. Remember, muscle mass is not priority number one for a lot these guys. They would like to fitter and with more lean mass, but there is a lot of other stuff going on in their lives.
Eating properly is where most strength trainers let themselves down period. Protein intake is usually the main deficit, and this is diabolical for anyone wanting to put on muscle.
In order to grow, one must provide the body with stimulus (weights) and energy (nutrition). Without either of these, proper growth will not occur.
Lately I've been having great success giving protein challenges to clients.
Instead of saying, "try to eat 2 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight," I've been saying, "I want you to eat 6 eggs, a 425g tin of tuna, and a steak/chicken breast everyday."
This has been VERY effective. It's not a lot of protein by some lifters standards (Warboss I'm looking in your direction here), but everyday people see it as an enormous quantity.
Clients have gone from saying "Oh, I didn't have any meat today but I did have a handful of nuts, and they've got protein haven't they?" and instead of that drivel they are responding to the challenge! It's great - I'm finally getting proper results from guys I've been training for a while.
When the prescribed amount of protein intake becomes habit, I increase it again. I wish I'd been saying this to them earlier.
Try it guys - for anyone who has a problem jamming down protein everyday, or for anyone relying too much on supplements and shakes, set yourself a daily food challenge, NOT a daily protein intake level.
Instead of saying, "Gee I'm 55g short of my protein requirement today," you can think to yourself, "Ok thats the tuna done, and I'm having steak for dinner, I've just got to eat the eggs."
It's worked well for my clients and I'm setting myself similar challenges. I'm finding it a very easy way to keep eating sufficient protein everyday, and I'm now eating so much that I've managed to cut back severely on protein shakes. I'm not relying on shakes like I used to, I just have them PWO and before bed and having wholesome, real food the rest of the day. And it's easy to maintain, and easy to keep track of.
