Fitness experts or trainers, being guides to others in their health journeys, must keep fit as a job prerequisite. A fitness trainer is much like any other professional. They work in shifts – typically eight to ten hours at gyms – sometimes longer. A typical workday involves training clients, demonstrating exercises and additional administrative work like gym management or planning workout and diet charts for trainees. It is a taxing schedule and by the end of it, considering the physical drain, it is hard for fitness experts to plan a workout schedule for themselves. So how do coaches maintain fitness?
Importance of fitness routine and rest for trainers
For fitness trainers, maintaining fitness is both a personal and professional quest. They need fitness to improve alertness, maintain physical performance, energy and strength to demonstrate exercises for the clients. They, often, are motivators to those they train and so keeping themselves in peak form is important. Personally, it helps them lead a healthy and active life.
“It is important for fitness experts to maintain their fitness levels,” says Salman Sheikh, master trainer and instructor at Shapes Active Lifestyle Gym in Karachi, Pakistan. “Despite the certification, looking fit also matters. This is important because the clients expect us to stay fit to be their inspiration or role model.”
With constant client engagement, planning and training sessions, a fitness trainer’s work schedule may last till bedtime, literally. Since their day starts early, most trainers have less sleeping hours and if personal workout is squeezed in, the rest period becomes even lesser.
Maintaining a healthy and adequate sleep schedule is important for fitness trainers, much like everybody else. A good night’s sleep will ensure better performance the next day, especially while performing aerobic and strength training exercises.
“If your circadian rhythm is disturbed one may feel tardy and lose the will to work out. It might also lead to sleep disorders,” says Sheikh.
A fitness trainer’s exercise routine
Sheikh starts his day with a personal workout routine, which he believes keeps him active and energetic. He is the manager of the gym and so he may not have time to workout during the day. Working out in the morning is the only workaround. There are some fitness experts who prefer workouts in the early afternoon, usually a lull period in gyms.
Sheikh works out five days a week. His fitness mantra involves giving his body time to recover. Keeping himself hydrated throughout the day by sipping electrolytes or water every 15-20 minutes, is also one of his mantras.
Sheikh follows two workout patterns: alternating between days when focus is on pull exercises (back and biceps), and push workouts (chest, triceps, shoulders), and other muscles including core and legs. He follows this routine to avoid plateauing.
On Mondays Sheikh focuses on back where he includes exercises such as lat pulldown, lat pushdown, single arm dumbbell row and the rowing machine.
On Tuesday it is the chest muscles (bench press, incline dumbbell press, decline press, decline dumbbell fly and cable cross).
Wednesday the focus is on arms where he does bicep curls, hammer curl, EZ bar curl, preacher curl, triceps extension, diamond push-ups, triceps kick back and push down.
“Usually on Thursday I take a break from the routine or do cardio like swimming, or I do sauna for recovery. On Fridays and Saturdays, I focus on shoulders and legs respectively and Sundays are usually rest days. But no rest from work though,” adds Sheikh, whose shoulder workout includes military press behind and over the neck, side laterals, rear laterals, narrow grip shoulder press and Shrugs. For legs he includes, leg extension, leg curls, squats, leg press and lunges.
He usually does three sets for each exercise. In his first set he adds six reps for muscle strength and second set of 12 reps for muscle hypertrophy and third set of 14-20 reps for muscle endurance. Sheikh also mixes up high and low intensity exercises. High intensity workouts are quick and less time consuming.
“On days when I am not working out or mentally tired, I go on a calorie deficit diet or alter my calorie intake. And when I am mentally tired, I choose relaxation techniques like steam bath or sauna bath,” adds Sheikh. He prefers cooking his own meals as that ensures awareness and control over his diet.
Takeaways
- Fitness trainers stay fit to maintain their physique, getting ready for competitions and ensure they are physically strong, staying active and energetic to guide their clients.
- Rest and sleep are important for fitness trainers, much like the rest of us.
- Fitness experts squeeze in their workouts early in the morning or early afternoon so that they don’t disrupt their work schedule as well as sleep patterns by doing exercises late in the night.
