Get Ripped - Metabolic Resistance Training

'Metabolic Training' is one of the new buzz phrases in fitness. In a previous blog entry I outlined the type of exercise that we can do to maximise calorie burn for fat loss, not only during workouts but also maximising afterburn (EPOC) following a workout. This week I'm getting more specific and providing a sample workout (and video) to show what could be done with a beginner client.


Basically, metabolic resistance training is performing a number of resistance training exercises with little or no rest in between - it's very similar to a "circuit" style workout. It's a very intense way to train, and also very time efficient - workouts tend to be shorter because most of the rest periods are eliminated. We are trying to achieve a very high level of fatigue so we can maximise calorie burn during the workout and metabolic rate (afterburn) following the workout.

Metabolic training is for advanced clients, right? Sure, the principles of metabolic training are ideal for challenging advanced clients and reaching new heights (or depths) of fatigue using higher intensities and less rest. But like most things in the gym we can take the basic principles and modify them for the beginner client. In my experience most clients want to be challenged and they want to feel like they are being progressed to more "advanced" exercise, plus clients generally love the euphoric feeling of completing a really tough workout. The tricky part is handling your clients with enough care and using your professional judgement to get what I call the "Goldilocks" workout - not too hard, not too easy... but just right.

So... Metabolic training is all about resistance training? No. You can achieve excellent metabolic stimulus from doing the right type of cardio, especially from High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). But for today I'm only outlining a metabolic resistance training workout suitable for a beginner.

Metabolic Resistance Training - The Guidelines:

1. Use multiple resistance training exercises - for beginners I recommend 4-5 exercises in the set.
2. Complete your 4-5 exercises in a "circuit" style workout - i.e. no rest in between each exercise. When you have completed one complete set, have a restricted (timed) rest before repeating.
3. Use primarily large muscle groups, compound movements. For beginners, you might modify this by using 2-3 compound movements and 1-2 isolation exercises during the working set.

Check out my basic guidelines for progressing metabolic resistance training workouts here or click on the link below this screenshot.

Click here to view the full downloadable version

So... What does a metabolic resistance training workout for a beginner look like? Click on the video below to view a simple metabolic training set suitable for a beginner. It is intended to target primarily chest and shoulders, it combines four exercises that are suited to the client's level of skill and fitness level.

Training in this way is extremely time efficient, it allows the client to achieve a level of fatigue (i.e. overload) using 12-15 minutes of exercise that would take much longer doing a traditional resistance training program. For the personal trainer, this frees up time for some cardio or perhaps core conditioning but still able to have a short, sharp 30-40 minute session with a client rather than a longer one hour session.

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Keep your Clients Working out During the Holidays

With Christmas around the corner, a number of Personal Training clients will take a break from their regular training as they perhaps go on a vacation or just choose to have some down time at home with family & friends.

For the PT, this spells a potential double disaster. Firstly the unavoidable excesses of eating and drinking over this period can often derail some excellent work in the gym and put the brakes on our successful body fat loss.

Secondly - and more importantly in terms of your business - a large percentage of clients who take an extended break simply don't come back, and that means you are losing a paying client and will have to again pound the streets for new revenue. Christmas and Easter tend to be the worst times for putting a dent in your business.

So, get proactive with your clients and talk to them about how you can support them during the festive season. Invest some time now to find out what your client needs to help keep them on track and (more importantly) remain focussed on their goals so that the holiday does not result in them deleting you from the contacts list in their mobile phone!!

Most clients are very similar and will have needs centring around food & drink, or exercise. A few things that you could produce in order to support your clients and keep them thinking about PT during the holidays are:

• List foods & drinks to avoid over Christmas - keep it simple, clients can stick it on the fridge.
• A few strategies to avoid over-indulging. E.g. drink more water, low carb beers etc.
• A simple exercise plan that clients can perform at home in minimal time without equipment.

Today I'm uploading an example of a simple exercise program I produced for a client. It's simple, quick, requires no equipment and could be done in a lounge, hotel room or outdoors by the pool. There are no excuses for not doing exercise when someone puts it down on paper like this, you could even consider asking your clients to keep a diary of what they do over the holiday so you can yell & scream at them when they return. Oh the joy.

It's designed as a beginner program, and could easily be beefed up to include more exercises, or maybe even add a group of core exercises to the program. Use your imagination.

You can see the full program at this link.  Check it out & tell me what you think.

Click here to see full program

PT for beginner clients

Today I'm uploading a program that I designed for Personal Training a beginner client. Peter is 47 yrs old, he was unfit and out of shape when we began (about 5 weeks back) but he did have a history of competitive rowing and high levels of fitness in his youth. Please note, due to his exercise history I'm not treating Peter as a complete beginner and some exercises (e.g. box jumps) are not suitable for clients with zero training age.

Pete was suffering from a range of issues when we began, he felt that he needed to lose 10Kg. He also suffered some bursitis in his shoulder, and had poor posture (rounded shoulders). Pete was having regular physio for these issues and I worked with him to make sure I was doing things that were going to complement the physio work and not make any of his issues worse.

I'm having the "big" re-appraisal with Pete this week, we've been training just over a month and I believe this is long enough to make measurable changes against his key measurements. We had a weigh-in after two weeks and he had lost 3Kg which I thought was a fantastic result.

I decided to split Pete's program (two days), because I wanted to work on a variety of things with him and I also wanted to avoid DOMS interfering with his subsequent workouts too much when he first began. I'll probably progress Pete to a three-day split soon.

I've saved Pete's program on Google Docs so you can see it via this link so check it out.

Click here to see the full program