FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I am not used to Fitness Coaching. How does it work? – A supervised FC session is essentially the same as a personal training session, your coach will monitor your work out, make changes to the program, record weight (more on that below) and make any notes you will need. The FC is NOT training you though. They are simply guiding you through the work out. You need to pay attention and don’t be afraid to ask questions. You are getting a lot of information thrown at you at once and it will some time to assimilate every thing.
Who tracks my progress? – You and the FC do! KDR will track your progress a few different ways; bi weekly measurements (don’t forget your compliance forms!) and weekly program monitoring. That is why it is essential that you write down your weights for each exercise that you do every day. We as coaches need to see that so we know where you are at and how to best manipulate your program to get you the most optimal results.
I eat that way I am supposed to. Do I still need to fill out the compliance sheet? – Absolutely! Your FC needs to SEE that you are following the program. It is not that we don’t trust you, it is just that a lot of people will miss a meal here and there and not think too much about it. You must be 90% compliant and we need to see that! Would you take a teacher’s word that your child is doing well in school or would you want to SEE that they are doing well.
I am not losing weight, but my clothes are fitting better/my inches are down/body fat down. What gives?! – A lot of times people are so consumed with what the scale tells them that they are oblivious to the obvious signs. Body transformation is not an easy thing to accomplish…that’s why you hired us! Because every one is different, transformation happens in different stages and in different ways for everyone. Rest assured! If the scale is not moving, but everything else is then something IS happening.
It feels like I am eating more. I want to lose weight not gain it! – This is a common complaint. Remember a few things; the more you eat the more you burn, the more you eat the harder you can work out, the more you eat the more energy you will have, the more you eat the more muscle you will build and the more you eat the more you can cheat! Don’t eat bad food though! You know what your supposed to eat, stick to that and any weight gain that will happen will be purely transitory as your body gets acclimated to the higher caloric level. We only want you to increase calories typically by 200 per day…that’s about 3 oz of chicken. You will not get fat eating an extra 3 oz of chicken per day.
Don’t body builders only eat protein? I don’t want to be a body builder! – Protein is a macronutrient your body needs to repair tissue. It is not an exclusive ingredient that only body builders and athletes need. Obese people eat a lot of bad food (mostly high starchy carbs and fats) how much high starchy carbs and fats do you eat in a day? Shouldn’t you worry about being obese?
Why do I have to eat every 3 hours? – The biggest reason is to raise your metabolism and to control insulin. Eating every 3 hours is like feeding a fire every 3 hours with wood. If you don’t feed the fire, it goes out. If you don’t feed your body it will decrease its metabolism.
Why don’t I do more cardio? Isn’t that the only way to lose weight? – Cardio is a poor term to use. At the end of every work out you will do Energy System Development. The term cardio is too broad. Being in better “Cardiovascular” fitness means that you are essentially a more efficient utilize of energy, i.e. calories. In other words, a marathon runner walking up a flight of stairs will burn less calories then an average person, assuming all factors being equal except for the marathon runners higher level of cardio vascular fitness. Since weight loss is about burning as much calories as possible we want you inefficient at burning calories. We want you burning the most amount of calories possible at all times!
It (cutting calories/working out more/running/step class/etc.) worked for me before but its not working for me now…why not!? – Because that was the past and this is the present! Your body changes as you get older due to age but also environmental factors (work, kids, stress, etc.). What worked in the past will not work now. Also, typically there were many factors that were going on to get you to lose weight (calories were low, food may have been better, activity levels were up, stress was down, age was lower, etc.) and you most likely put all the weight back on plus some. Essentially you dieted to gain weight!
Why does my weight fluctuate? – The body is in a constant state of rebuilding and destroying. Your weight fluctuations are a reminder of that. Try to only weigh your self once a week at the same time and in the same condition.
How is muscle built and why is it so important? – Muscle is basically built by the principle of progressive overload. Your body responds to all stimulus, cut your self and you heal, twist an ankle and you recover, eat more food and your metabolism elevates, etc. So when you perform an exercise your body will respond to that stimulus. The work out session breaks down muscle, and since your body always want to survive it will seek to not let that break down happen again. Exercise (of any type) is not good for us, it’s the results of exercise that we want.
What is progressive overload? Why do I have to try to increase my weights every time I come in. I don’t want to bulk up! – Progressive overload is the gradual increase of stress placed upon the body during exercise training. It was developed by Thomas Delorme, M.D. while he rehabilitated soldiers after World War II. This technique is recognized as a fundamental principle for success in various forms of strength training programs including fitness training, weight lifting, high intensity training and physical therapy programs. Every time you come in you are a little bit stronger and your functional capacity is a little bit higher then the time before. You can handle a heavier load and more work. If you are not getting stronger you are getting weaker or staying the same. And since the body needs to be overloaded in order to build muscle and you don’t want to get weaker or stay the same (you’re here to change your body!) you need to try and increase the weight you life by some degree every time you come in.
Wont lifting heavy weights get me bigger? – NO! Muscle growth is more affected by calories and the amount of time the muscle works for, called time under tension (TUT). Calories have to be high and TUT high in order to elicit high levels of muscular growth. Body builders work out for hours a day, seven days a week and eat ALL THE TIME to get where they are. You work out three days a week and are worried about hitting your every three hour mark. And remember, the longer your TUT the greater chance for growth…tell that to your friends who are doing reps of twenty. The only reason they aren’t HUGE is because they only eat 1300 calories a day.
Why can't I just join KDR and come in on my own and work out? – We are not like a commercial gym. We actually care about your goals. All of our members are here because they are serious about their results and want the best the upper valley has to offer in terms of fitness facilities and staff. All of our coaches have advanced certifications and degrees in exercise science. You don’t walk in and cut your own hair…you don’t walk in and “just work out”.
Why is it semi private training? – KDR Fitness has adopted semi private as opposed to one on one for three main reasons; it keeps the cost per session low, our coaches can get the same if not better results training in a group because of our system and it just makes sense.
What is my responsibility to my coach? – You are responsible for making an honest effort to do what ever your coach asks of you. We have the easy job, we just tell you what to do. Show up on time, do what we ask, put an honest effort in and trust us. That’s about it.