As a personal trainer I get asked all the time by my clients ‘So what kind of fitness training do you do?’ Well today I thought I’d let you all know.
Being a personal trainer my job keeps me fairly fit, but when I working I’m kind of working out at the clients level of fitness so I tend to hit the gym 5 times a week so I can get some sessions in to push my fitness.
I cycle to the gym at a pretty fast pace, 15min to get there and 15min back, this does me pretty much for cardio and works as a good warm up so I can hit the weights as soon as I get to the gym.
If you get yourself a personal trainer you will probably find they will put you on a split routine for weight training once you are fit enough. A split routine divides up the muscles of the body into groups so while one is working another is resting. I’ve been doing a split routine for years now, they are great because you do something different each time you are at the gym so you don’t get bored.
A personal trainer will get you using a variety of rep ranges, I personally like to start on some heavy set while my muscles are fresh then lower the weights and up the reps as my muscles tire. Here is the routine I use:
Day1 Shoulders
Seated Dumb bell shoulder press 7 sets 6-8 reps
Seated Barbell behind the neck press 4 sets 8-10 reps (don’t do this one if you have shoulder problems!)
Dumb bell front raises 4 sets 10 reps
Lateral Raises 8 sets 12-16 reps
Cable lateral raises 3 sets 20+ reps
Smith machine shrugs 7 sets 12 reps
Day2 Chest
Dumb bell bench press flat 6 sets 6-8 reps
Dumb bell bench press incline 6 sets 8-10 reps
Incline dumb bell flies 6 sets 12 reps
Cable cross flies 6 sets 12 reps
Day3 Arms
Barbell tricep extensions (skull crushers) 8 sets 6-8 reps
Tricep cable push downs (straight bar) 7 sets 8-10 reps
Weight dips 4 sets 12-16 reps
Dumb bell tricep kick backs 3 sets 12-16 reps
Bicep curls with barbell 8 sets 6-8 reps
Incline dumbell bicep curls 6 sets 8-10 reps
Bicep barbell curls 2 sets 21’s (to really get them pumped!)
Day4 Back and Calfs
Wide grip chin ups 6 sets (as many as you can each set)
Close grip chin ups 3 sets (as many as you can each set)
Seated Cable row (close grip) 3 sets 8-10 reps
Seated Row 3 sets 8-10 reps
Lat pull down 5 sets 10-12 reps
Lying rear flies 5 sets 12 reps
Calf Raises on smith machine 7 sets 12-16 reps
Day5 Abs and legs
Hanging legs raises 7 sets 12 reps
Kneeling cable rope pull downs 4 sets 12 reps
Planks 4 sets 40 secs
Regular sit ups 3 sets 16 reps
Medicine ball twists 3 sets 40 reps
Barbell backwards lunges 6 sets 12 reps
Leg Press 4 sets 12 reps
Leg adductor machine 4 sets 12 reps
(I’d like to do more on legs but I need to be able to run the following day for my job)
With Regards to rest days I take two rest days per week these vary each week with my work schedule, my busy personal training days I take a rest days.
So there you have it that is how a personal trainer trains! If you are thinking of using this workout I suggest you get some advice to make sure you are performing all the exercises correctly. Of course if you want to train like a personal trainer you need to eat like one to, see my article eat like a personal trainer.
To book a session or for comments and questions call or e-mail me:
E-mail: pete@petegriggs.com. Phone: 07947 049889
Please Read Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the above articles are those of the authors and theirs alone. Information in the articles is not to be taken as medical advice, please consult you doctor before undertaking any type of exercise programme especially if you have any medical conditions.