Personal Trainer Diaries!

Anyone who knows me know I have very strong opinions about personal trainers.... the range of good and bad is crazy! I have seen, and experienced, bad PT's. By bad I mean those who don't listen to your goals and just train you like they train themselves, they don't communicate with you outside of your sessions so you could be eating shit (As I was) but going to your session and seeing no results (admittedly that is my fault but I think a PT should be looking at your diet too!), and my biggest pet hate with PTs... CHIT CHAT! I think i'm paying them a pretty hefty price to get me results, not to chit chat with me outside of a standard rest period.

So when one of my besties told me about some PT she signed up to I kind of totally dismissed the idea straight away as I cannot see what benefit they will bring me... I train, my diet is good, I am very self motivated!

HOWEVER.... she went on to tell me that he was offering a free consultation to find out about me, 3 FREE 1 hour PT sessions, then if I wanted 3 additional sessions for £50.  So I actually thought why not? £50 for 6 PT sessions is nothing really especially when the average cost of a session is £25 - £45 for most PT's.

So.... here goes!! Could this PT actually have any chance of changing my mind?


Session 1: Consultation

So upon speaking to Dan he asked me to pop in for a consultation to discuss my goals and current lifestyle!

He was extremely friendly and polite when I first met him and VERY professional which is important to me as I find some PTs can be quite unprofessional (15 mins late to sessions, texting, having cups of coffee whilst you're slogging away!) Dans only down side so far... no Green Tea!! (Had to mention this as I am admittedly the only person who would ever ask for a Green Tea in such a situation).

We chatted for a long time (I am quite the gabber as most of you know) about what I am hoping to achieve. I took my current training plan with me and he spent some time looking over this which I thought was good as he didn't just brush it off and say "no I can do this with you". He was honest, I think he realised pretty quickly that I knew what I wanted, was very motivated and didn't necessarily want a PT... so maybe he had his work cut out!!

He asked about my diet (wahoooo.......finally a Personal Trainer who wants to know what you're eating!!!!). My diet is consistent and bang on to be fair so he couldn't really comment too much on it as when it comes to food I have learnt that you simply cannot out train a bad diet... get your nutrition right and the rest will come. BUT... I have to praise him for simply asking and spending some time scanning through my log of food for the past month (Again... I think he was a bit shocked by how bang on with it I was...or maybe how geeky I was! who knows).

After about 60mins of chat I left feeling ready to see what he could do for me. I knew something wasn't working in my current lifestyle as I wasn't seeing the results I wanted, so I knew he could offer me something.

1st Session.... The Fitness Test!

I shot myself in the foot didn't I? When I arrived he told me he has tweaked his standard fitness test as after our chat he realised I was probably fitter than quite a few of his clients he saw! So I ended up doing some HIIT session (12 mins of exercise) but what a killer!! He taught me something straight away.... Measure your cardio! not through time but by how many of each exercise you do! i.e. how many mountain climbers are you doing in 30seconds. He also showed me that my cardio i.e. hiit training on a bike or stepper is no where near as effective as the burpees, mountain climbers, steppers etc!! He gave me some food for thought straight away!

We then took measurements, pictures and heart rate etc. I realised quite quickly that Dan was equally as geeky as I was.... with a spreadsheet set up for me already, a little book with my name on to track my work outs and progress, a massive data geek. This was my type of PT.  My past experience of PT's is writing things on their phones, not logging your week on week progress with activities you were doing, or scribbling things on scraps of paper.

We then spent the last 20 mins of the session looking at deadlifts.... I will get onto our weight training in the following sessions as this was just a taster!

Sessions 2 - 6.... the real taster sessions

So I am combining these sessions as all have a similar format...

Each session starts with another 12 mins of HIIT training! WOW!!! I have never had a PT who makes you do cardio! and this was always my biggest issue. I AM carrying some extra weight, I am wanting to lose some body fat so why would I NOT be doing cardio? I hate cardio. BUT when a PT makes you do hiit training you do it! I personally think all PT's should incorporate some cardio into their sessions but non of mine ever have... just simply stated it's all weights weights weights.

So... I got my cardio out of the way! This is a relief for me as I wouldn't do that type of cardio on my own, nor would I push myself so much so I love this part of the sessions (even though at the time I am cursing him , out loud).  He has 4 different hiit sessions planned and his plan of action for future sessions is for you to beat the last session you did.... I am EXTREMELY self competitive so this works for me.

Weights wise... So we cover:

1. Deadlifts.... obviously!
2. Squats
3. Bench Press
4. Single Arm Rows
5. Lat Pull Down
6. Shoulder Press

Of these I do all already but bench press and shoulder press!

I quickly learnt that my form had slipped on most of these, I was having trouble with my knees in squatting and struggled to progress my weight... Dan saw the issue straight away and fixed it for me. Deadlifts, I was constantly doing Romanian deadlifts we switched the style and my god does it make a difference! I get an all over work out from these instead of just my hammys!!

Lat pull down and Single arm rows.... I had increased my weight quite a lot on these but Dan made me go right back down and master my form! I felt weak and frustrated with this but cannot believe how much difference I felt from them! Slowly but surely the weight is increasing again!

So some Pro's of the sessions so far?

- Form is so much better, he is a perfectionist

- I have incorporated all 6 of the exercises into my normal day to day training at the gym so getting a better overall work out instead of focussing on exercises to pad the sessions out

- HIIT training every time.... Cardio has now become a big part of my training with me trying to do it 5 times a week thanks to Dan encouraging me to do this!

- Having a PT session booked in on a Tuesday night at 7pm and Saturday morning at 10am makes me train... I never train in an evening and have Saturdays off so this is making me do it on days when I wouldn't normally!

Some kind of cons of the session so far? (I say kind of cons as they aren't really that bad... I am trying to keep this blog as balanced as possible!)

- Dan is a mahoooosive baby....sore fingers, sore legs...he will tell you about them even when you're struggling to breath after the hiit sessions so you feel like slapping him.....although admittedly this makes me laugh but had to give it a mention!

- Self motivated... the bestie I mentioned above is going to this PT for motivation, I don't need that. Is motivation what you pay a PT for? I think quite a lot of the time it is but I'm ok as I am so I started to question whether I needed him.

- I felt like some of our sessions were quite slow to start with sometimes although I think this is partly my fault as I ask a lot of questions (the geek in me likes to know what is going on!) but up to session 5 I was thinking I could be pushed harder, we could fit more into our sessions! He can get quite distracted easily, however....keep reading and you'll see my opinion has slightly changed on this!
 
To buy or not to buy? That is the question!

So I came to the end of my 6 sessions and now had to decide whether to buy the sessions at his normal price! So it is £300 for 15 sessions (£20 a session) or you can do shorter blocks and the price increases!

I am quite flippant with my money however having booked some amazing holidays, changing jobs, studying, building my kit up for my make up work I knew I needed to really think about this and consider whether I thought it was worth it or not.

So.....I started thinking. What have I got from the sessions? I've not lost that 1 stone I want to lose (god damn it... haha!!) but I also know that would be impossible! I have improved my technique especially on my deadlifts and squats but could I go away and do this myself and keep practicing? Yes probably. Could I motivate myself to keep doing the cardio I am doing? Yes I could.  Do I need the motivation? No as I am focussed.

BUT.... something in my mind and i honestly don't know what was telling me to stick with it and see how it goes. I think subconsciously I felt like it must be benefitting me as I wanted to keep training with him.. So, I paid for 5 sessions instead of 15 to continue to monitor how I was getting on.

The strange thing was as well I was recommending him to people I knew...So this could only mean that I rated him right?

The geek within...

So!! How was I going to track how I was doing?? As I mentioned above in session 6 things changed a little! I left feeling WEAK, feeling like we had really achieved something, feeling SO frustrated at myself.... That is GOOD for me. I need to feel like I am failing in order to push myself more and more!!

This has continued to happen... I am now 2 sessions in to our paid sessions and I feel like 1. my fitness has improved (smashing a hiit session this morning and beating the previous time I did it!) 2. Form has improved dramatically, really happy with the progress i am making! 3. Our sessions are harder, faster and more about DOING! 4. Even though Dan is, and always will be, easily distracted I now feel more comfortable just cracking on and we chat just in my reasonable rest periods which is good! not 5 min rests like some PTs have you doing so you can have that chit chat!!

So... these are how I feel and think but now I have my fitbit I thought right, lets see what my body is doing!! Admittedly calorie burning on a FITBIT is not precise, nor is it the right thing to look at however it enabled me to track our sessions consistently against my own!

So on average my own sessions I was burning between 220-240 calories in an hour, this includes some form of hiit training and weights with my heart rate ranging from 80 - 110 never going over 120!

In my sessions with Dan I am burning on average 340 calories in an hour with my average heart rate at 114. AVERAGE, not range!! My average in my own sessions is more like 95!!

So... the geek is satisfied. He is obviously doing something that I am not... whether that is pushing me more, enabling me to go heavier, making me do HIIT pre weights whereas I do it post (we have discussed this!), I honestly don't know what it is but this data has kind of sold him to me.  I DO need him to train me as until I get my own training up to a similar standard he IS doing something for me.   

So it is safe to say I am now 2 sessions into my paid sessions so 8 in total and I am now keen to keep training with him, but going to continue to monitor my progress in my own little way as I do & see how I get on!! Having a PT can be extremely expensive and I believe you have to be seeing some results from it because ultimately what's the point otherwise especially when you aren't doing it for motivation?

Has he changed my mind on PTs? NO, but he certainly stands out from the crowd in terms of his approach & his focus on cardio / weights in equal balance.

Has he helped me change things outside of our sessions? YUP! he massively opened my eyes to the fact that I am kidding myself when I think I'm active. Yes, I am more active than quite a lot of people as I do train 6 days a week but I train for 1 hour - 1hr 20mins a day from 24 hours.... That isn't ACTIVE! I do hardly any other exercise around that (even walking) so he has made me realise I need to be more active in general... walk more, start running, do some gym classes... hey i am even considering joining my friends netball team which is NOT me at all!!

So for me...I think if you are looking for a PT who is very honest (he will tell me straight when I am failing!!), who is good value for money (especially as he gives you some free sessions / discounted sessions to get you into it!) and who has his own studio so no gym full of people a massive benefit for so many people then I would definitely give him a go!

I will update you again after my next block has expired & we see how I am getting on!

The sweet treats!

I get asked a lot which "meal replacement" bars or "protein bars" i have when I am on the go... I very rarely have meal replacements as I usually prep so well that I don't need to just grab something but when I have a busy Saturday filled with training, visiting my dad and make up clients, all before I head out I sometimes need to grab a protein bar that is friendly to my macros and also tasty in flavour!! I use these bars a lot too as mid morning snacks, especially ones higher in carbs, as post work out they just hit the spot!!

I have tried a few now and my love for some has changed over time... I have been surprised by some, hated some straight away and hunted around for the best price on others!!

I thought I would review a few for you guys and recommend which ones to give a try!

My Protein Clusters

 

I ordered these with little hope for them! I thought I would give them a try as they were on offer so why not? Wow I was surprised!!

They are SO mourish!! I love crispie cakes (always have!) and these absolutely hit the spot for that! I firstly got a tad confused with the packaging and thought the whole thing was one serving but it isn't, there are 4 servings in each! I have never had just 1 serving though, i treat the whole thing as 1 serving!

Macro wise:

Calories 168
Fat 6.4g
Carbs 18.4g
Protein 8.8g

That's for all 4 cluster squares! I personally think the macros for these are fantastic especially if you need a chocolate fix and you can spread them out throughout the day!

Taste - 4 stars out of 5

Only downside to these is you have to order them from My Protein only - I find the service of my protein a bit poor (bad experiences!) and think the delivery cost is slightly annoying!

PhD Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar

I was in a mad rush last week with make up clients so had to pick this up from Boots for lunch!

Do you ever get that feeling when you bite into something and think "this is not worth the macros!!!!" I had that but was so hungry and in such a rush I couldn't get anything else.

Flavour is poor.
Texture is poor.
Macros.... so not worth it!!

Macro wise:

Calories 216
Fat 6.9g
Carbs 26g
Protein 15g

Zero Stars out of 5...I would NEVER have one of these again!

Quest Bars (all flavours....I think I have tried them all)

These bars came into my life a few months ago and WOW what a treat that was!

I love them! I love the range of flavours, the taste, the intensity of flavour! I found the texture slightly odd at first as some taste quite grainy/chalky but you get over it quite quickly as the taste is fab!

I love pretty much every flavour, I haven't had one I hate! I particularly love the cookies and cream & mint chocolate!

Downside? You can only get them online (although you can get them at a range of websites), they can also be relatively expensive especially when paying postage (Around £2 plus a bar)

Macro wise (for the cookies and cream):

Calories 190
Fat 9g
Carbs 20g
Protein 21g

I find the carbs quite high in these bars compared to some others (one of which is coming up) although they are a decent size and definitely worth giving a go for a sweet treat!

3.5 Stars out of 5!

Quest Peanut Butter Cups

Most people who know me know I am obsessed with Reeses peanut butter cups (and any other product they do!!) so I saw these and thought....YES!!!!

I ordered them straight away when ordering my quest bars and thought I would give them a go!

First thoughts upon opening the package  was good size! Then as I was taking them out of the packet to eat I noticed they were quite powdery (chocolate powder), upon taking the first bite I thought they were quite chalky/bitty (admittedly peanut butter can be like this!)

They were....OK! Was that because I had high expectations though so was disappointed?

I ordered them again to try again this time with lower expectations! No, I was still disappointed! in fact I had to break them into my porridge as I didn't particularly enjoy just eating them! Too powdery and dry for my liking!

I would give these 1 Star out of 5!

Macro Wise (per cup):

Calories 120
Fat 8.5g
Carbs 5g
Protein 10g

A normal Reese's peanut butter cup (white chocolate):

Calories 110
Fat 6.5g
Carbs 11g
Protein 2.5g

My advice here? Stick with the real thing and find your protein elsewhere!!

Grenade Carb Killer

 

 

I have saved the best until last by far!!!

 

LOVE these bars more than anything!!

 

They taste so naughty....really chocolately! I first tried the caramel chaos bar and I'm not a massive caramel fan but loved it! Then I discovered the cookies and cream bar! WOW!!! The best thing I have tasted in a while!!

 

Other pros of these? Good size! Filling! Can buy in Holland and Barrett (I got them on an offer 3 for £5), they seem to be available in a few supplement shops near my house and can be bought online on most decent websites!



Macro wise:

Calories 214
Fat 7.9g
Carbs 13.5g
Protein 23.2g

Relatively high in protein but I would use my protein allowance time and time again on these!! I absolutely adore them! They don't seem to have the same exposure as Quest bars but I don't know why!

Massive 5 stars for these bad boys!!




If anyone else has tried any different bars / snacks they have tried and love let me know as I would love to give some others a try (even though I am currently waiting for my delivery of 24 grenade bars from Musclefood!!)

Enjoy!!

Snacks....some of my faves!!

I thought it was about time I shared some of my favourite snacks!! I eat 5 times a day, 2 of which are snacks. These are usually high protein snacks as I have 170g protein per day so need quite a bit to make this up!! I have some firm faves that I turn to! These are very quick & easy to make, can all be frozen and reheated and are great as snacks or mains for any meal!

Check out the recipes below (included the macros as per my ingredients):


Cauliflower Cheese (Serves 4)

This is one of my firm favourites! I have this as a snack quite often but I also use it as a side with dinner. It is so cheesy...I absolutely love it!

 

Ingredients:

600g cauliflower
200g total 0% Greek yoghurt
360g Tesco light cottage cheese
80g mozerella grated
192g onions


Method:

1. Chop the cauliflower into florets and boil for 5 minutes until slightly softer
2. In a mixing bowl combine the diced onions, cottage cheese, Greek yoghurt and some salt and pepper.
3. Add the partly cooked cauliflower into the mix gradually stirring half the cheese in
4. Once combined pour the mixture into a large ovenproof dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top
5. Place in a pre-heated over, 200 degrees, for 10 minutes until golden brown


Macros (per serving):

Calories  181
Fat          4.4g
Protein   20.1g
Carbs     17.5g



Tuna & Courgette Fritters (Serves 4)

I have only recently discovered this recipe but WOW!! Not only is it lush but it is also really cheap to make! I have been having these as snacks but also as my breakfast to get some protein and carbs in post work out (makes a change to the standard porridge)

Ingredients:
 
160g drained canned tuna
160g courgette (Grated)
80g wholemeal flour
1 egg
5ml light soy sauce
2tbs coconut oil

Method:

1. Combine the tuna, courgette, flour and egg in a mixing bowl. Add salt and pepper and the soy sauce for flavour
2. Heat a frying pan and melt some coconut oil
3. Split the mixture into 4 and pour one portion into the frying pan and lightly fry on both sides (about 3-5 mins per side)
4. Once golden brown on both sides place on a cooling tray

Macros (Per serving):

Calories     182
Fat             7.9g
Carbs         14.4g
Protein       12.3g



Cheese & Corn Pancakes (Serves 3)

Ok bear with me on this one as the macros seem high (especially in carbs) but this is one of my favourite breakfast dishes!! Absolutely perfect for post work out, I usually have these for breakfast with some Heck Chicken sausages & asparagus!

Ingredients:

200g Tesco light cottage cheese
150g Wholemeal self raising flour
325g Sweetcorn (not drained)
2 Large eggs
112g Onions (Diced)
Red chilli (to taste)

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl combine the cottage cheese, sweetcorn (including the water), the flour and eggs
2. Mix in the onions and chilli to taste
3. Season well and add a splash of water until the consistency is a batter
4. Heat up the frying pan and add a little oil
5. Make 6 small pancakes, flipping and cooking for 5 minutes on either side until golden brown and cooked through

Macros (Per Serving):

Calories     394
Fat             6.9g
Carbs         57.8g
Protein       20.4g



Give them a try and let me know what you think!! As I said these are some of my absolute faves.....Enjoy xx