AboutBonnie Hardie Expertise I am a personal trainer/boot camp instructor in SouthEast Florida. I am certified in:
personal training,aerobics,nutrition,womens,senior,youth and boot camp fitness.I can answer questions about workouts,sets and reps.Pyramid training,drop sets,etc.I can give suggestions on the best exercises to do for different body parts.Machines vs free weights.Home workouts or gym workouts.I can tell you what to look for when planning to join a gym.
Online Personal Training!!!
www.fitnessgenerator.com/rpbfitcamp
Experience I have been a personal trainer,aerobics instructor,nutrition advisor and boot camp instructor for several years,in South Florida. I generally prefer to train people outdoors in a park setting.The workout outside is just as tough as a gym workout.I can give people a excellent workout using just their bodyweight.I do a bootcamp style class with groups of 5-10 people.
Question QUESTION: Bonnie,
Im 57 and a US expat living in Veracruz Mexico. I surf and scuba dive and have an active lifestyle.
So far this summer the waves here in Veracruz havent been the best. Additionally in the morning which is the best time to surf here, I ve been involved with my work which ties me to a computer 4-6 hours per day. I REALLY have missed the way I feel after a decent day in the water.
Because of that I recently purchased a home gym (weight)machine and have started using it regularly. I also have been surfing the web to try to find a program for someone like me but unfortunately most of what I have found seems geared to either weight loss or increasing muscle mass. I dont need to loose weight, Im 6'4" tall, weigh between 160 and 170 Lbs, my weight since I was a teenager....and have a very rapid metabolism.
Since Im not looking primarily for muscle mass I ve been keeping the weight lower and doing more reps....I have not been exercising to temporary muscle failure since I dont much care for the accompanying discomfort.
What Im looking for is a guide or program as a general framework to work in. Additionally I need to find information about what each exercise is called and which muscle group it is intended for. Unfortunately my home gym did not come with anything other than an assembly and parts manual.
I dont have any problem getting on the machine. The problem I have is having the discipline to stay off of it. I really like the endorphin buzz and I ve learned through the web recently that weight training and physical fitness helps prevent everything from bone loss to alzheimers.
Any help or pointers would be deeply appreciated
Regards
Carr
ANSWER: Hi Carr,
Thank you for question.
Do you know what the name of the home gym is that you have or what some of the exercises are that can be done on it?
Do you have a picture of your machine?
Most machines will have parts for a full body workout:
you will be able to do biceps,triceps,back,chest,quadriceps,hamstrings,calves and abdominals.
If you can tell me some more about your new machine-I will be happy to give you a general weight training prgram.
Thank You,
Bonnie
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QUESTION: Bonnie
Many thanks for the prompt reply and request for more information!
ANSWER: Hi Carr,
Your machine looks like you will be able to do exercises for all bodyparts on it.
What exercises are you currently doing?
Thanks,
bonnie
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QUESTION: Bonnie...
Sorry I took a day to get back to you and thanks so much for your curiosity and willingness to help..
Im not sure of the correct name of the exercises...in a warmup set Ill use 2 weights and do butterflies and then vertical presses (where the butterfly part of the machine is locked from the arms pivoting and the entire unit can be pressed outward like on your back on a bench with a barbells or dumb bells pressed straight up from shoulder level). Then leg curls. Then with the upper pulley station and the long bar Ill do pulldowns both in front and behind the head. THen I will use the same setup and pull the bar down with elbows locked , pivoting from the shoulder. After than then using the short bar with the chain extension on the lower cable station (the one on the leg curl arm), Ill install the padded bench rest and do forearm curls...elbows on the padded bench in front of me raising the bar pivoting at the elbow. After that I ll move the short bar to the upper attachment or station (where the long bar was before) and add a lot of weight...pivoting at the hip, with the bar locked behind my neck with both hands, accomplishing close to a situp without the back wear and tear on a floor or mat. Then standing with the short bar back on the lower (leg curl) station, and again locked behind my head at neck level with both hands Ill do what I guess are squats or stands...trunk erect, raising my body weight and the weight on the bar with just my legs. after that, generally heel lifts with the short bar held at waist level and my toes on a block, touching heels to the floor then raising slowly (for calves). I so far am using heavy and light days. On heavy days Ill warm up in the morning with a minimum of 20 reps on each exercise until I can feel both elevated CV activity and the start of a burn toward the end of each set. Later in the day I double the weight to 4 weights and again do at least 10 reps of each but will NOT go all the way to faulure. Ill follow that up late in the day with another set and sometimes at night wigh a final for 4 sets. On light days I generally will do from 2-3 sets but only with 2 weights. I alternate light and heavy days. Today is a heavy day. I was up at 5 AM, did a warmup set then went to the beach to check for waves and the ocean was as flat as a floor. Back to the house (I live 3 blocks from the water) and a light breakfast (a frozen fruit/raisin/cream cheese dish made for dessert from the night before ) and then the first heavy set of the day. I ve just completed the afternoon set and will do one more before bed.
It just feels great! I also like on the lighter sets changing from one exercise to another without resting for the CV loading. Hope this helps. I eat at least three times a day and recently more. I had a shoulder injury from surfing about 6 months ago, went to therapy and got it rehabbed with only slight pain remaining. I find now that there is no more pain from the joint. Additionally my family has a history of arthritis and I ve taken glucosamine for years...I also find that there is no more joint pain at night like I used to experience before I bought the machine. WOW!
Carr
Answer Hi Carr,
It sounds as if you are doing the right exercises-just make sure that you do not overtrain-since you feel great now-that is good-but if you start to feel run down or sluggish,that is a sign that you are overtraining and need to slow down.
Please do not workout everyday-I hope that you are working out 4-5 times per week.
The thing that I see that concerns me is when you use the upper
pulley station with the long bar and you pull it down behind the head-it is not a good idea to do that because that is very bad on the shoulder joint.You have had a shoulder injury and even though your shoulder is feeling fine right now,I do not recommend you pulling weights down behind your head.
Make sure that you are eating enough for all of the energy that you are expending;more carbohydrates and protein,less fat and sodium.
Any more questions,feel free to ask Carr,
Thanks,
Bonnie
