Ok, been talk of doing a thread on this, but it's taken me a VERY long time to figure out how to approach it.
For those who don't know, I'm a certified trainer in a number of different fitness areas. I coach classes at a local gym several days per week. The number of people I coach is typically anywhere from 60-100 per week, so I see a lot of different people in very different stages of their journey.
I receive a number of private messages here asking for help. In short, I can't really provide programming for anyone publicly for free. Given my employment, there are clauses about doing that in my employment agreement. It's a local business with only 6 of us employed there, and the owners are friends, but I'm very mindful of honoring that. If anyone DOES want a plan or programming from me, I can absolutely do it and could explore the option of making a subforum here with special access for those of certain PNWFF Supporter levels who request it. Since it's not publicly viewable, I can absolutely provide it there. I also can't do it for free, thus the special access for certain supporter levels.
With that, there still is some advice I can offer outside of giving specific plans or programming to help you out.
1. As we age, I think many (or majority) of folks seriously underestimate the importance of REGULAR exercise. As in, a habit that happens nearly every day. I also think most underestimate how much they actually have to do in order to receive the real benefit. Many say things like "yeah I walk my dog around the block once a day which is all I need." I mean, sure, that's better than nothing. But you're not even coming close to stimulating the nervous system in a way that's going to do much more than barely slow your physical decline. I also think some don't think we can be physically fit as we age: I coach many in their 60s and even 70s who would literally and figuratively run circles around many in their 20s. You just have to put in the work and know that recovery may take a bit longer.
2. If you're attempting to do this on your own, I can almost guarantee you're doing it wrong. I can't think of a more diplomatic way to put it, so I'll just be blunt. Whether you're coming up with a program/plan yourself, watching youtube and following along, reading an online program from some website or blog, etc... I can almost guarantee, without exception, that you are not doing the movements correctly. How do I know? After working with hundreds to possibly thousands of people who walk through the door the first time and say their experience is "doing my own thing." Nearly every single one, unless they had previous professional coaching or other experience, does the movements in a manner that at best doesn't give the desired result, or at worst leads to injury (the more likely one). You might THINK you are doing what you're seeing on screen, but there's so much you're missing, and often our body awareness isn't as sharp as we think when starting out.
3. Proper movement requires professional assessment. This is a continuation of the previous point. Whether it's your squat, lunge, push-up, pull-up, any number of weightlifting movements, and I'm not just saying this to "sell" services, it's just my 15yrs of experience speaking; without someone who really knows what they're doing correcting and getting your body into the proper positions and mechanics, you are at risk of poor range of motion, poor mechanics and injury. I say this as someone who hates seeing people put in work and not getting the results they expect, and worse, seeing someone end up injured, losing their motivation they found in the first place.
4. Self-motivating rarely works out for long. It takes a very rare, specific type of person to make a plan, workout at home (or a globo gym like Golds or whatever) and stick to a very consistent regimen that gets results. How many times have you started something, done it a couple times then fizzled? Probably a lot (I know I was one for a while). Without accountability, be it a coach, a class, or group of friends who meet every day to workout, it's going to be a very tough road ahead to stay consistent.
5. You need to do more than you probably expect. I see so many people start, and really stick to what's "comfortable" or the path of least resistance. I'll always say that something is better than nothing. But a lot of the somethings are not much better than nothing. Sitting and doing bicep curls a couple times a week is doing almost nothing for you (which could send me on a whole other tangent I'm probably going to hit in the next point). Walking the dog is absolutely something that is better than sitting on the couch (and some days, it's the only thing I do). But it isn't much of a fitness regimen. Getting to the level that is going to actually get you in better shape and active as we age is far beyond this. It requires a certain level of resistance training, and sustained aerobic exercise at certain heart rate levels.
6. Bodybuilding vs functional fitness. Many confuse the two. I talk to many who go to a gym, hit the same cable machines every day and call it good. These isolated muscle movements are for bodybuilding and provide very little benefit to our overall fitness. Their goal is aesthetics, not a functional movement that recruits supporting muscle groups. There's a few free weight isolated bodybuilding movements like dumbbell curls as well. Nothing wrong with these per se, but they're a separate category that I don't think benefits the audience here the way they think. There's of course some overlap here and there, but resistance training should be movements that recruit stabilizing muscle groups and core.
Ok I've already typed more than most will probably care to read. I am happy to answer some questions here outside of giving any workout plans. But if there's interest in programming and more structured help, I can start entertaining the idea of a PNWFF FITNESS MEMBERSHIP WITH ACCOUNTABILITY.
I've attempted to help friends with programs and stuff over the years (outside the gym), and almost none of them, ever, have followed my advice. I'm willing to try again and change that.
For those who don't know, I'm a certified trainer in a number of different fitness areas. I coach classes at a local gym several days per week. The number of people I coach is typically anywhere from 60-100 per week, so I see a lot of different people in very different stages of their journey.
I receive a number of private messages here asking for help. In short, I can't really provide programming for anyone publicly for free. Given my employment, there are clauses about doing that in my employment agreement. It's a local business with only 6 of us employed there, and the owners are friends, but I'm very mindful of honoring that. If anyone DOES want a plan or programming from me, I can absolutely do it and could explore the option of making a subforum here with special access for those of certain PNWFF Supporter levels who request it. Since it's not publicly viewable, I can absolutely provide it there. I also can't do it for free, thus the special access for certain supporter levels.
With that, there still is some advice I can offer outside of giving specific plans or programming to help you out.
1. As we age, I think many (or majority) of folks seriously underestimate the importance of REGULAR exercise. As in, a habit that happens nearly every day. I also think most underestimate how much they actually have to do in order to receive the real benefit. Many say things like "yeah I walk my dog around the block once a day which is all I need." I mean, sure, that's better than nothing. But you're not even coming close to stimulating the nervous system in a way that's going to do much more than barely slow your physical decline. I also think some don't think we can be physically fit as we age: I coach many in their 60s and even 70s who would literally and figuratively run circles around many in their 20s. You just have to put in the work and know that recovery may take a bit longer.
2. If you're attempting to do this on your own, I can almost guarantee you're doing it wrong. I can't think of a more diplomatic way to put it, so I'll just be blunt. Whether you're coming up with a program/plan yourself, watching youtube and following along, reading an online program from some website or blog, etc... I can almost guarantee, without exception, that you are not doing the movements correctly. How do I know? After working with hundreds to possibly thousands of people who walk through the door the first time and say their experience is "doing my own thing." Nearly every single one, unless they had previous professional coaching or other experience, does the movements in a manner that at best doesn't give the desired result, or at worst leads to injury (the more likely one). You might THINK you are doing what you're seeing on screen, but there's so much you're missing, and often our body awareness isn't as sharp as we think when starting out.
3. Proper movement requires professional assessment. This is a continuation of the previous point. Whether it's your squat, lunge, push-up, pull-up, any number of weightlifting movements, and I'm not just saying this to "sell" services, it's just my 15yrs of experience speaking; without someone who really knows what they're doing correcting and getting your body into the proper positions and mechanics, you are at risk of poor range of motion, poor mechanics and injury. I say this as someone who hates seeing people put in work and not getting the results they expect, and worse, seeing someone end up injured, losing their motivation they found in the first place.
4. Self-motivating rarely works out for long. It takes a very rare, specific type of person to make a plan, workout at home (or a globo gym like Golds or whatever) and stick to a very consistent regimen that gets results. How many times have you started something, done it a couple times then fizzled? Probably a lot (I know I was one for a while). Without accountability, be it a coach, a class, or group of friends who meet every day to workout, it's going to be a very tough road ahead to stay consistent.
5. You need to do more than you probably expect. I see so many people start, and really stick to what's "comfortable" or the path of least resistance. I'll always say that something is better than nothing. But a lot of the somethings are not much better than nothing. Sitting and doing bicep curls a couple times a week is doing almost nothing for you (which could send me on a whole other tangent I'm probably going to hit in the next point). Walking the dog is absolutely something that is better than sitting on the couch (and some days, it's the only thing I do). But it isn't much of a fitness regimen. Getting to the level that is going to actually get you in better shape and active as we age is far beyond this. It requires a certain level of resistance training, and sustained aerobic exercise at certain heart rate levels.
6. Bodybuilding vs functional fitness. Many confuse the two. I talk to many who go to a gym, hit the same cable machines every day and call it good. These isolated muscle movements are for bodybuilding and provide very little benefit to our overall fitness. Their goal is aesthetics, not a functional movement that recruits supporting muscle groups. There's a few free weight isolated bodybuilding movements like dumbbell curls as well. Nothing wrong with these per se, but they're a separate category that I don't think benefits the audience here the way they think. There's of course some overlap here and there, but resistance training should be movements that recruit stabilizing muscle groups and core.
Ok I've already typed more than most will probably care to read. I am happy to answer some questions here outside of giving any workout plans. But if there's interest in programming and more structured help, I can start entertaining the idea of a PNWFF FITNESS MEMBERSHIP WITH ACCOUNTABILITY.
I've attempted to help friends with programs and stuff over the years (outside the gym), and almost none of them, ever, have followed my advice. I'm willing to try again and change that.
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