sNEMatii’s BodyBlog

Today’s mood: totally and completely unmotivated. Why? I don’t know. The warm weather is here and I should be thrilled about training and showing off all my hard work….I couldn’t care less. I guess my training thrives in cold weather…I need to move back to Moscow, if that’s the case.

Any suggestions?

Today I squatted 125lbs (4×6)which as close as I’ve gotten to my BW… Now, for anyone who knows me, I hate squats. I will do anything to avoid squatting, but I started a program last week which has BB back squats in it. Since I had no choice, I decided to embrace it.

So if the rule is squat 1.5xBW and DL 2xBW…I’m at 125(squat) for 6 reps and 225(DL)for 3reps…not tooo shabby. By the end of summer I should be doing big things!!!

Watch this space!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a great week everybody!

This being a networking site, you come across people from all walks of life. Fitness professionals, bodybuilders, aspiring bodybuilders, figure athletes, trainers, (certified?maybe..) offering customized training and nutrition plans for pre contest prep or just to get you ready for the beach/cruise wedding, etc for dirt-cheap. It’s almost too good to be true, because walking into a gym and hiring one of their trainers would run you anything from $300 +/month. So what’ my point?

Well, I was thinking about this the other day. Your trainer tells you he will give you a customized nutrition/training plan, right? So you PayPal your money to him plus an e-mail with all your stats, photos, goals, etc. and you can hardly wait for his/her reply. You keep checking your e-mail, you update your profile, take your ‘Motivation level" up to 10..ok let me stop.

Did you ever stop to think of how many people’s plans he has to ‘customize’, including yours? Did he ask you how much you , what equipment is available at your gym, past injuries, family history? I’m assuming this is vital information considering the fact that you’re not meeting in person and he can’t make a fair assessment of your fitness level. A photo can only tell so much…And as for your ‘customized’ eating plan, did he take into account your goals, body type, etc?

Ok, here’s a red flag based on personal experience….

1.If your ‘customized eating plan’ hasn’t changed in a month regardless of your goals, I hate to break it to ya….it ain’t ‘custom’. You just got the ‘No.4′, just like the McDonald’s No.4, minus the onions and the pickle. Think more along the lines of ‘cookie-cutter’ or ‘one-size-fits all’……And you thought you were special.

2. If you said you want to lose fat and he has you hopped up more diet pills than crack-head, right off the bat…you may wanna rethink your options. Especially if it’s over the recomended dose on the bottle.

3. If he/she has you doing copious amounts of cardio and the scale isn’t moving, you’ve voiced your complaints and it fell on deaf ears or he/she called you lazy(Lol)…..there’s a good chance that they don’t know what they are doing. Many a times, you’ll get the question "Are you following the diet like you’re supposed to?" You stutter, he pounces.

4. If you think your plan is ’customized’ and every one of his clients is on the forums talking about  ‘tuna and asparagus Mondays’, yeah……not so much.

5.If you’re eating the same crap day in and day out regardless of your activity level…that’s a no-brainer. Unless you’re doing the same crap, day in and day out

Remember cheap can sometimes be expensive. And that expense could be your metabolism, your health. If your workout for the day includes Barbell Squats (go HEAVY!!) and you’ve never squatted before, are you gonna step into the squat rack, just to get your workout in to please your trainer?

A person can train, diet and in a few weeks be shredded, six-pack abs, etc. But does that mean he can train YOU and get YOU shredded? You have to take certain things into consideration…genetics, steriods (shhh!! ‘I’m all natural, baby!"), etc… Let’s face it, this is a very visual-oriented industry and obviously you wouldn’t take on a slob of a trainer but at the same time don’t judge a book by the cover.  Do some research.

Just food for thought.

Happy Easter!

Today, I did my personal best. Today I gave it my all. I finally did my first real chin-up. It seemed like forever to get up there, but I just kept pulling, sometimes losing control of my legs, but I refused to quit. Boy, wasn’t it ugly(LOL)! But we’ve all got to start somewhere. I’ve been working with bands for 4 weeks now, watching them get smaller and smaller and still doubting if I’d ever get it. Next goal is 5, unasisted.

I also pulled my heavy-ass trainer on the sled today..lol. Next goal, him + plates.

And I pulled 225lbs a  couple of times on the trap bar deadlift. I’ve pulled 225lbs before but that was different because I was doing pyramids and had worked up to it.