Source: Want a Program Mick?
BACKGROUND
Paudi (the boss) and I were chatting at reception about the benefits of High Intensity Training (or GAA, probably GAA) when I noticed Michael in our studio on the CCTV. He wandered aimlessly for a few moments and I decided to walk up and see if he would like to book in for a program. He did, and an idea came into my head. I would take Michael on as a project for a blog post with his permission. I would train him for 4 weeks, do pre and post program fitness and physiological testing, take before and after pictures and write a post about his progress over the 6 week period. He agreed……just!
Consultation, Screening and Pre-Testing
The main purpose of the consultation is to get to know the person a bit better and create some rapport. We use a screening form to find out if the person has any medical or physical condition that needs special consideration during a program. Then we need to find out what the person wants to get from training. In Michaels own words; “Tone up and increase upper body strength”. Delving deeper I found out Michael wants to lose fat from his tummy/midsection. Michaels test results, along with 2 “before” pictures can be seen in the picture below.
ADVICE: Get tested every 4-6 weeks. How will you know if you are making/not making progress otherwise??
The Plan
Michael’s program would start on Thursday 12th of November with a finish date of 10th December, a total duration of 4 weeks. His main aims were to lose body fat and strengthen his upper body. Upper body exercises and interval style training will serve Michael well over the coming weeks. We will meet weekly to make small changes to his program and assess how he is progressing. Below is Michaels program from Week 1. We focused on 3 main exercises, with intervals between and supersets of exercises to compliment the big 3.
16th November at 4.15pm
Michael is on his 3rd 500m rowing interval. This is the end of his second full session (his first was last Friday 13th) and his report so far is that after his first session he was very sore and stiff. This is VERY normal with somebody starting a weights program. Michael had DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) meaning he was quite stiff and sore during most of week 1.
Friday 20th November
I haven’t seen Michael since we spoke on Monday the 16th. This can be a downfall of many gym programs; not seeing your trainer and perhaps not asking for updates because of this, hitting a plateau and getting fed up not seeing results, you quit. But that’s for another blog post.
I don’t normally text members from my private phone but I made an exception in this case. I wrote;
“Hi Michael, Mark in Spirit here. How has the body
reacted since we spoke last week?”
This question is less intrusive than “have you been to the gym since I last saw you?” which sounds almost argumentative and bossy. Michael came into the gym about 2 hours later and we chatted about updating the program so we booked it for Wednesday 25th at 2pm.
Wednesday 25th November
We updated the program, added some new exercises, changed rep ranges and rest periods with a view to adding strength. A picture of Program 2 is posted below. Michael spoke of his quality of sleep improving, his energy levels are higher in work and he is finding tasks in work easier as he is more mobile. These are the undervalued “results” that clients fail to embrace at the start of a program. Many get hung on up weight and how they look. These will come, but in time, and only with consistent effort and proper programming.
Friday 27th November
I arranged to meet Michael to repeat the physiological tests (weight, body fat and measurements) to see, if after 2 weeks, the results are going the direction we want. Michael arrived early and had left before we met so we re-arranged for the following Wednesday (2nd December, only 8 days from the end of the 4 weeks).
Then I decided against it.
With 8 days to go what was the point? If the results were positive – happy days! If the results weren’t positive, Michael may be disheartened (me too) and his session may have suffered. I mean if the program isn’t giving you the results you want wouldn’t you be annoyed? This is also the reason I encourage persons on programs to ditch the scales. Constant weighing doesn’t offer the full picture, but that’s another blog for another time.
Michael still came in that day and I told him my reasons for not completing the tests. He understood and agreed to continue his program. The next tests will be on Wednesday 9th December exactly 29 days since we first started his plan. Hopefully the results will represent the effort he has put in over the last 4 weeks.
Monday 7th December
Michael completed his last full session today with only a repeat of the fitness testing on Wednesday to complete. Obviously, I hope to see a change in body fat, measurements and strength but it’s not the end of the work if there isn’t. Four weeks is a drop in the ocean if you consider a lifetime of exercise and for strength gains this time period may not provide massive increases. If his Bench 1RM goes up by 5kg (sounds like nothing right?) it would mean a 10% increase!! Nothing to be sniffed at.
Wednesday 9th December – Post-Testing
DE-LIGHTED!! Great results! Down fat, up muscle, up strength, peak flow up too! Measurements a bit scattered but depending on areas where fat loss is greatest and muscle gain is occuring these figures will only show patterns after the 3rd or 4th test.
Notice how Michael’s weight ‘only’ dropped by 1.6kg (3.5lbs) BUT he lost 2.8kg (6.2lbs) of fat in total. The relatively small drop in weight is because he also gained 1.2kg of muscle.
**#FitFact – Muscle is NOT heavier than fat, it’s denser. Also muscle does not turn into fat or vice-versa**
DON’T LET THE SCALES MEASURE YOUR ‘SUCCESS’
Below is a split screen of Michael’s before and after pictures taken 29 days apart. I must admit that being a bit of a perfectionist I do realise that the after pictures are at slightly different angles/distances from the camera. This was not intentional or done to mislead. The results speak for themselves even without the pictures.
My first reaction on looking at the pictures (without over analyzing) was:
- I don’t see a major difference
Look again – what do you think? It may have been easy for Michael to look in the mirror and think that no changes were occurring. BUT THEY DID, and the tests have shown it. He has felt the difference in his energy levels, sleep quality, his strength and confidence in the gym too. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the psychological (confidence, energy, mood) benefits will be seen before the aesthetic changes. The tests also show that great strides were made in the first 4 weeks. A 2.8kg drop in body fat and an increase in muscle of 1.2kg are very enviable results. Get tested, get a program, hatch a plan to complete it, and stick with it.
THANK YOU!
I want to offer a massive thank you to Michael for granting permission to be a subject for this post. It takes guts to be put online like this and have pictures put up too! Nothing top secret took place. Michael completed 2 programs, each for 2 weeks for 3 days per week. Simple. A program, a plan and adherence (sticking with it!) were the key! AND we didn’t even look at his nutrition….yet.
Hopefully this won’t be the last we see of Michael on the blog – fancy an update again in 6 months? I’ll ask him, see what he says!
Written by Mark Caulfield with Michael McNena
markcaulfieldcoaching.ie 