With various schools of thought on how often or how long to train, how much time off between body parts or how many days training are optimal for muscle growth, I’ll be giving my thoughts on this subject matter today. With over 30 years of experience in the fitness industry ranging from competing, training competitors as well as non-competitors, working in gyms as a personal trainer and now owning our own private training studio located near downtown West Palm Beach in The Warehouse District at 1177 Clare Ave., Unit 2, West Palm Beach, Florida, I hope to shed some light on this topic in my blog for today.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, this one here is worth a million. Too many times I’ve gone into a gym and seen people working out, only to see them still “training” while I’m out the door in an hour, headed home to refuel, rest, recover and GROW! Someone once said to me “What’s a baby do? He eats, he sleeps he grows”! I’m not sure if that’s the perfect analogy but it’s something that’s always stuck with me.
STIMULATE, NOT ANNIHILATE!
Breaking or tearing the muscle down. Should it take hours? If it does, then maybe less chatter, less filming of your feats of the day (which probably resemble yesterday’s), more reps each set whether it be by digging deeper, drop sets, forced reps or even supersets. Think of it like a scale of 1-10, with 10 being fresh and 1 being the muscles are broken down and ready for the recovery process to begin. Each time we do a set we are a step closer to the goal of reaching 1. By not resting as long we are able to break the muscle down without giving it a chance to recover fully….remember our goal of breaking down, not recovery while we’re in the gym.
While our training programs at Fit and Psyched differ from one another depending on if it’s a 35 year old mom wanting to get in shape after giving birth, a 65 year old man just wanting to feel younger and stronger or sometimes I’ll have a bodybuilder training for a bodybuilding competition. Each persons program will vary on intensity, full body vs body parts sessions, makeup of food in their nutritional program and many other factors. For our more advanced clients I recommend training each body part once a week with two days off from the gym entirely. Someone else might do a more functional, cardio based workout not particularly designed to break down a certain body part today but more as a total overall workout.
When hiring a personal fitness trainer one should research their background meaning testimonials, before/after pics, their history of accomplishments or simply getting a feel or knowledge of this persons credibility. Before joining, ask to watch a group session to see how it flows. Talk to present clients about how long they’ve been with this trainer and are they happy. Read their social media, google page, website or even Yelp reviews. Essentially do your homework. If you are presently looking for a qualified trainer in South Florida please check us out on our site, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @Fitandpsyched, our Google page Fit and Psyched or simply make an appointment to visit our facility by calling 561-223-1112!
