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PancakeOfDoom
07-20-09, 2:35 pm
so just got back from a free PT session at my gym for legs. only took him up on it b/c
a) was free
b) have had no growth in my legs for months despite my best efforts.

overall went pretty good, went in w/ an empty stomach and still felt like throwing up after only 40 minutes, i mean, it was pretty damn brutal. did some single leg squats and good mornings, then some leg press drop sets, then some leg extensions w/ a couple negatives thrown in, and some lunge holds. not really my idea of a hard workout overall, but the pace was insane, no rest between sets almost aside from 20sec water breaks.

overall was pretty pleased, i can get a session here and there fairly cheap but my only qualm was when on my way out he told me: "hey bro load up on some ibuprofen, its a great anti-inflammatory".

so ummm, correct me if i'm wrong here guys, but i always thought IB was to be avoided like the plague unless you need to use it b/c it screws w/ muscle hypertrophy. am i right?

anyways, just lookin for thoughts on this as i think he can help me get some growth out of my stubborn ass legs... but not at the cost of listenin to PT bullshit cuz it drives me insane.


take him up on his offer and overloook some stupid shit that was said, or drop it?

GJN5002
07-20-09, 3:59 pm
Not only is it not good to take ibuprofen post workout ( there was one study showing it didnt have an effect on hypertrophy effect but it was done it 70 year old people) but it is horrible to just eat that stuff. ibuprofin/aspirin/acetominophin etc are all liver toxic when taken liberally. I only take it when Im really hurtin i.e. pinched nerve or something severe.

Read up on the forvm and other sites and educte yourself and you will not need a personal trainer. Spend that money on food instead.

dannynb
07-20-09, 9:01 pm
I say take him up on his offer. Hell it's something new that might just be what ya need to stimulate growth. As far as his comment, you know better so don't take everything he says as gospel. Been a PT for 13 years now and love it, there are some out there that give us a bad rap but for the most part there are some really educated trainers out there that can help.

SailinScotty
07-21-09, 12:06 am
I would go for it. I had one and was glad I did. He taught me alot, was knowledgeable, and he used to do shows, which helps cause he has been there and can help you get there. If this guy doesn't click for you maybe try a different one. I had one that was nice but just didn't click and really enjoy his workouts. Then I got my last one and enjoyed it. I would have kept going to him if I hadn't moved.

J-PILE
07-21-09, 12:19 am
Not only is it not good to take ibuprofen post workout ( there was one study showing it didnt have an effect on hypertrophy effect but it was done it 70 year old people) but it is horrible to just eat that stuff. ibuprofin/aspirin/acetominophin etc are all liver toxic when taken liberally. I only take it when Im really hurtin i.e. pinched nerve or something severe.

Read up on the forvm and other sites and educte yourself and you will not need a personal trainer. Spend that money on food instead.

ditto. I think if he is truly a bodybuilder, then it would be worth it for a little while. If he is just some dude with "Trainer" stamped his shirt, then hell no. If you live on this forum for a while, and learn as much as you can from people that actually know what they are talking about, you won't need a trainer. You'll be one.

gsb239
07-21-09, 4:49 am
avoid the ibuprofen, save it for when you're actually injured. I read a while back that some of the gains made through hypertrophy might actually result from the inflammation in your muscles after a workout. LIke someone said above, shit ain't too great for your liver either and you can build up a tolerance and dependancy to these things pretty quick if you're not careful. Eat fish, oils, nuts and seeds if you're worried about anti-inflammation, these foods are much healither.

As for the trainer, if its free and you feel his workouts are good then why not? You got nothing to lose and everything to gain by the sounds of it. Give it a shot, worst comes to worst you take what you learned from him and part ways if you feel the need later.

ryanlemley1
07-21-09, 12:02 pm
i'm with GSB...you'll be sore as hell...true...but taking the IB isn't necessary. I'm a NSCA personal trainer and i never once pushed or told any of my clients to load up on the IB. i informed them of muscle soreness...which is a given. our advice was to move around in the next couple of days following a workout...especially legs. stretching is also good...but as we all know..never stretch a cold muscle. i never trained someone who was wanting to bodybuild...a majority of my clients were femaies who were looking to buff up.....haha...acutally lose weight and increase their stamina. i was extremely successful with all of them. as to the question...i'd stay away from the IB.

CuttDeez
07-21-09, 12:40 pm
Be cautious about bad mouthin personal trainers. There are a lot of us out there that know what we are talking about.

That being said everyone makes mistakes. I would give it a go.

PancakeOfDoom
07-21-09, 1:50 pm
Be cautious about bad mouthin personal trainers. There are a lot of us out there that know what we are talking about.

That being said everyone makes mistakes. I would give it a go.

true, didn't mean to try and give all you guys a bad rap, but there are a lot of bad ones it seems at chain gyms (although there are usually one or two that make up for the rest there)


ditto. I think if he is truly a bodybuilder, then it would be worth it for a little while. If he is just some dude with "Trainer" stamped his shirt, then hell no. If you live on this forum for a while, and learn as much as you can from people that actually know what they are talking about, you won't need a trainer. You'll be one.

i woudln't say he is a bodybuilder as far as aspirations for comps go. but he is stronger/bigger than me and is a couple years younger and has been training for less time. i'll take it he prolly has been doing something i haven't been.

even if not, its more or less for those really brutal leg days. i lost my training partner that used to help push me through them, and generally speaking i have a hard time stayin focused on leg days.

CuttDeez
07-21-09, 1:54 pm
i woudln't say he is a bodybuilder as far as aspirations for comps go. but he is stronger/bigger than me and is a couple years younger and has been training for less time. i'll take it he prolly has been doing something i haven't been.

even if not, its more or less for those really brutal leg days. i lost my training partner that used to help push me through them, and generally speaking i have a hard time stayin focused on leg days.

There is nothing like motivation in the weight room. If you think you will be a better heavy shit mover around him than it could be worth it!

J-PILE
07-21-09, 4:28 pm
Be cautious about bad mouthin personal trainers. There are a lot of us out there that know what we are talking about.

That being said everyone makes mistakes. I would give it a go.

I didn't mean to offend any pt's out there, and if I did I apoligize. I just go to a gym that has about 50 of them walking around having people doing all sorts of wierd shit that is pointless. On the other hand, the old gym I went to had a couple of trainers that were kick ass and knew their shit. They pushed their clients very hard and you saw them blowin' up fast.

If you think the guy will help you with your intensity, or teach you some things you can learn from and use then by all means hire the man! ;-) Just make sure you tell him /her exactly what you want to achieve and go from there...

mritter3
07-21-09, 4:37 pm
there you go again J, stirring everything up man....its not gonna hurt to do a session or 2 with him, but like danny said dont take everything he says as gospel, if you feel like your getting something out of it keep going, if your not learning shit, than stop, but like Jpile stated if your on this site long enough and do enough searching and asking questions you should be in good hands.

Toro23
07-22-09, 10:08 pm
good call ryanlemly1 - i tell my clients that muscle soreness is just part of the process and is usually considered a "rite of passage" for the first couple weeks to new lifters.

as far as taking ibuprofen, i would avoid it for about 36 hours post lift sessions. IB is considered an NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug). think back to how supplementing with nitric oxide (NO) works. when we lift (especially as hardcore as many of the guys in here), blood rushes into the muscles to deliver valuable nutrients (remember arnold's discussion of the pump?) to your starving muscles. this is a mild inflammatory phenomenon, and to take IB/NSAIDs would be severely reducing this rush of nutrients to working muscles since they are anti-inflammatories and thus decrease this vasodilation. without these extra nutrients, hypertrophy could be severely hindered and it may take your muscles a longer time to recover/repair themselves. if the pain is nonmuscular in origin (such as inflamed tendons, aggravated nerve, etc), then it might be safe to take a small dose of IB 36 hrs post lifting. if the pain is that bad or persists for over 5 days, consult an orthopedic or physical therapist.

as a personal trainer and bodybuilder myself, i think having an outside opinion/perspective might be a good thing. i frequently turn to others for advice, whether it's about posing, nutrition, different exercises, etc. you are only as good as you, and sometimes the outside help might be the extra boost to get you through a plateau. as some of the other guys pointed out, make sure he's not some softie who just patrols the gym and trains housewives. try to find a guy who knows his shit: knows the game, knows some basic exercise physiology & anatomy, and is compatible with you. best of luck

Vinny G
07-23-09, 3:26 pm
walk away from this guy.

most trainers today learn from a BOOK, and very little in the gym. most trainers have no idea about training intensity, and deep sorness. and the training they do is off a ball, a balance board, ect..

im not saying that stuff is bad or wrong.....i use it my self with my clients too.
but i also make sure they WEIGHT TRAIN too. most trainers today dont have the "floor" experience and that is very important.

i have seen trainers with nasm certs, and almost hurt someone....and i have seen trainers with NO cert at all, and are great trainers.

go find a trainer that had 10 years under his/her belt first, someone who knows the body from TRAINING not a BOOK.

CuttDeez
07-23-09, 3:30 pm
walk away from this guy.

most trainers today learn from a BOOK, and very little in the gym. most trainers have no idea about training intensity, and deep sorness. and the training they do is off a ball, a balance board, ect..

im not saying that stuff is bad or wrong.....i use it my self with my clients too.
but i also make sure they WEIGHT TRAIN too. most trainers today dont have the "floor" experience and that is very important.

i have seen trainers with nasm certs, and almost hurt someone....and i have seen trainers with NO cert at all, and are great trainers.

go find a trainer that had 10 years under his/her belt first, someone who knows the body from TRAINING not a BOOK.


Ha Ha my cert is NASM...... don't i feel sheepish

IRBS
07-23-09, 3:55 pm
walk away from this guy.

most trainers today learn from a BOOK, and very little in the gym. most trainers have no idea about training intensity, and deep sorness. and the training they do is off a ball, a balance board, ect..

im not saying that stuff is bad or wrong.....i use it my self with my clients too.
but i also make sure they WEIGHT TRAIN too. most trainers today dont have the "floor" experience and that is very important.

i have seen trainers with nasm certs, and almost hurt someone....and i have seen trainers with NO cert at all, and are great trainers.

go find a trainer that had 10 years under his/her belt first, someone who knows the body from TRAINING not a BOOK.


x2! No offense to the young guys who have certs and are trainers, but a 20 year old with a piece of paper isnt going to be able to help that much....

dannynb
07-23-09, 6:59 pm
walk away from this guy.

most trainers today learn from a BOOK, and very little in the gym. most trainers have no idea about training intensity, and deep sorness. and the training they do is off a ball, a balance board, ect..

im not saying that stuff is bad or wrong.....i use it my self with my clients too.
but i also make sure they WEIGHT TRAIN too. most trainers today dont have the "floor" experience and that is very important.

i have seen trainers with nasm certs, and almost hurt someone....and i have seen trainers with NO cert at all, and are great trainers.

go find a trainer that had 10 years under his/her belt first, someone who knows the body from TRAINING not a BOOK.
I agree.....been doing this for 13 years and learned more from doing it than from any certs that I have gotten.

Toro23
07-23-09, 7:06 pm
x2! No offense to the young guys who have certs and are trainers, but a 20 year old with a piece of paper isnt going to be able to help that much....

hey man, im a 22 year-old trainer who's certified by ACE and i think im a pretty knowledgeable trainer. i graduated with both a BA & BS in Biology/pre-med plus a double minor in Chemistry & Italian, and am working as a trainer to help pay for my degrees as a doctor of physical therapy, fellowship as a Sports-Certified Specialist in physical therapy, and a phD in exercise physiology. i learned just as much from books (journal of exercise physiology, biochemistry, principles of athletic training, biomechanics, sports rehabilitative anatomy, medical physiology, molecular biology, genetics, etc) as i did from my training as a bodybuilder. i could lecture for hours about the type of stuff that goes on in the gym - RER, plyometrics, pharmacology, PNF patterns, diagnosing injuries & the anatomy behind them, the biochemical foundations behind nutrition, sports supplements, the physiological basics to exercise, etc. don't label a guy before you actually talk to him and find out what he's all about. on the outside im a 22 year-old trainer "with a piece of paper", but i guarantee you i know more than 99% of the people who train in the gym.

Vinny G
07-24-09, 10:58 am
hey man, im a 22 year-old trainer who's certified by ACE and i think im a pretty knowledgeable trainer. i graduated with both a BA & BS in Biology/pre-med plus a double minor in Chemistry & Italian, and am working as a trainer to help pay for my degrees as a doctor of physical therapy, fellowship as a Sports-Certified Specialist in physical therapy, and a phD in exercise physiology. i learned just as much from books (journal of exercise physiology, biochemistry, principles of athletic training, biomechanics, sports rehabilitative anatomy, medical physiology, molecular biology, genetics, etc) as i did from my training as a bodybuilder. i could lecture for hours about the type of stuff that goes on in the gym - RER, plyometrics, pharmacology, PNF patterns, diagnosing injuries & the anatomy behind them, the biochemical foundations behind nutrition, sports supplements, the physiological basics to exercise, etc. don't label a guy before you actually talk to him and find out what he's all about. on the outside im a 22 year-old trainer "with a piece of paper", but i guarantee you i know more than 99% of the people who train in the gym.

if you ever come to jersey.....your hired