1. Yes it CAN be an enjoyable career but it depends on your perspectives. There will be a lot of clients who simply don't care or try hard enough and it makes all of your hard work seem totally useless which will wear you down. However there will also be quite a few clients who try their best and see tremendous progress. Overall the job (like any other job) can be enjoyable if you genuinely like and accept the pros AND cons that come along with it.

2. Pay in the U.S. for trainers can be pretty small....as low as $25,000-$30,000 per year for full time....all the way up to 300,00-500,000 / year for professional trainers of major athletes and celebrities. Most trainers make approx $45,000 / year working full time at a busy gym. I don't know what it's like in Australia though. Private trainers can make virtually nothing all the way up to several million a year depending on who their clients are and how often they work.

3. Over here we have 1on1, group/fitness, celebrity/athlete/specialty trainers, and silver sneakers (specialized for older people). However, virtually any trainer can do any of those things...it's really just what you want to specialize in. Almost everyone starts out at 1on1.

4. Being a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist would definitely help you out in finding a job...as well as possibly making additional money.

5. No you do not have to be a bodybuilder or powerlifter to be a trainer. Obviously the way you look is going to attract specific clients. If you are the athletic swimmer type, you will cater to mostly people new to fitness, women looking to tone up, overweight males looking to slim down, and older people. You will NOT be training aspiring bodybuilders/powerlifters/strongmen or hardcore athletes. So keep that in mind that the way you look will definitely make a difference in specifically who you will get as a client. However, you can be a trainer at virtually any size....as there are clients out there with every kind of goal you could imagine.

Thankyou very much for such a swift reply And very informative aswell. Thankyou very very much. I will discuss this with my parents and other people of importance see what they say to me doing it and yeh I'll let you know how it goes I guess Thanks again

Okay, thanks!
How many g's of carbs should I intake on the refeed day?

On refeed day....take in the normal caloric amount split up into: 1g / lb of LEAN bodyweight of protein (this means if your 5-6% bf lean weight would be 150 lbs, take in 150g protein) then take in the balance of calories from carbs. Avoid sugars on this day. In addition, you can get some fat...but keep it to no more than 15-20g total.

Hey, I can't do any pullups. What workouts do you reccommend so I can build up and eventually do pullups?

heres my workout routine i usually do: any feed back?

I currently do 1 muscle group a day, and im trying to cut and lose some fat and get leaner, while gaining strength or maintaining my strength

All the following exercises are going to be 5x5 unless stated. I decided im going to try that instead of going 3 sets of 15.

Day 1: Chest

Bench Barbell Press
Incline machine (possibly switching to barbell incline)
Decline machine (can't stand barbell decline)
Freeweight dips
Pec Flys (machine, will consider trying dumbell)

Day 2: Shoulders and Traps

Cable Shoulder Press
Seated Military press machine
Reverse pec fly machine
Front deltoid raises cable or dumbell
Shrugs on a smith rack

Day 3: Biceps and Triceps

Biceps:

Preacher Curls
Cable Curls
Hammers

Triceps:

Freeweight Dips
2 Types of cable extensions
Might consider swaping out a type of cable extention for overhead freeweight extensions?

Day 4: Legs

Hamstring Curls
Leg Extensions
Seated Calf Raises on Leg Press
Leg Press
another seated calf raise machine
*this was before i considered trying to squat. going to learn form and try squat soon. also, does it mean im in wrong form if it hurts the bone on my neck when i hold the weight up?*
Squat will be 3 sets of 10-12 reps

Day 5: Back

Widegrip Latpull
1 Armed Latpull
Lawnmower rows
Seated Row Machine
Pullover Machine
*cant do pullups yet, also going to consider deadlifting once i learn the form. never tried because i've heard rumors etc about stunting growth (im only 5'6''-5'7'', along with squats, but im going to focus more on lighter weight like
3 sets of 10-12 as well*
Lower Back extensions

Im going to try to do cardio all 5 days except for maybe leg days. 30min-1 hour seem good enough? high incline speed walk for longer duration is how i was planning on doing it because i suck at running and get winded (hate cardio lol)

also, would a 3 day split like Chest/Bi and Back/Tri and then Shoulders Legs with 5 days of cardio be better for a cut? or is the 1 muscle group a day okay?

and of course im going to work on a better diet with alot less carbs. i dont use any supplements, and plan on doing it only with healthy foods, can u recommend any foods? i like only meat and broccoli really, broccolli is the only vegetable ill eat, and oranges and grapes are the only fruits ill really eat, maybe watermelon lol. and is pasta bad once in a while?

Looking for feedback on other excercises i may have been missing all along and if this would be good for my goals. (burning fat while getting stronger or maintaining my current strength)

Thanks

This post was edited by BeastOf_TheEast on Jul 10 2010 03:15pm

alright thanks so much

lat pulldowns =)

edit:

also there are negative pullup machines at many gyms that add counter-weight to every rep to make it easier

This post was edited by SKCRaynor on Jul 11 2010 12:58am

let me try to address each question accordingly:

1. for cutting you dont want to be doing a 5x5...please read the last 5 pages of the thread for a damn good cutting plan with exercise routine.

2. no weight training exercises will hinder your growth...that is an old wives tale. Only thing that stops growth is when you sustain an injury to your spinal column which leads to spinal column compression, disc damage, or growth plate damage. If anything lifting can make you taller by releasing additional hormones (IGF, TEST, ETC)

3. squats can often hurt the upper back...try using a pad on the bar.

4. do HIIT cardio...if u dont know what that is, please google it.

5. please go 5 pages back or so to find the big cutting diet and sample exercise plan.

hey Ray, i gotta quick question.

i used to do front squats in school for the weightlifting team, the reasoning was to get used to holding the weight in the front b/c clean & jerks were very important.

my question is, now that i dnt do c&j is there a reason to do front squats once in a while if im training for bodybuilding? b/c i obv. cant go as heavy as i would with back squats but only thing i can think of is it forces ur back to keep a straight line...
lmk thanks again bud.

This post was edited by TheOak on Jul 11 2010 03:35am