Interview with Personal Trainer Linda Burke

Extreme Fitness Now had the time to catch up with Linda Burke, a personal trainer, to ask some questions about training.

Question #1 Tell us a little about your background and how you got started in fitness?

Answer: I have about 25 years of experience in weight lifting/strength training and about 15 years experience as a certified personal fitness trainer. I got my ACE (American Council on Exercise) certification and my AFAA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America) certification in May of 1994. I am currently AFTA (American Fitness Training of Athletics) certified.

I actually got into fitness as a means of weight control. I?ve always been one of those people whose body likes to carry about 10-15 extra pounds more than I am willing to accept. So, it is a constant challenge. Plus, I really, really, really like to eat. Really.

Question #2 What is your current workout routine like?

Answer: I am actually doing a routine that is very different than anything I have ever done before. And believe me, after over 25 years of strength training, I've tried just about everything at one time or another. So to say that I am trying something different is no small feat. One of my favorite mantras is there are many ways to skin a cat!

However, currently, I am alternating fat loss and muscle building routines from week to week. This week I did fat loss and next week I will be focusing on muscle building; I'm on my 4th week of this and I'm liking the results, so I will do this for 2-3 months and then change up again into something different.

Question 3: What does your nutrition program consist of?

Answer: First, I figured out what my caloric intake needs are in order to maintain my weight. I did that through equations using my height, weight, gender, age, and activity level. I implemented those figures and monitored my weight on a daily basis, eating 5-6 small meals a day, dividing my caloric intake accordingly. My calorie count varies from day to day according to how I am training and how I feel.

I like to take in a bit more protein on the days that I strength train. I take my total calories and divide the macronutrients (carbs, protein, fat) into the desired percentages.

I track it using the nutrition software that comes with my online training program at www.straightforwardfitness.com pardon the shameless plug. Check it out! It?s only 20 dollars a month and I design workouts specifically for your fitness goals and assign them to your very own calendar page that you can log into at your convenience. The nutrition software that comes with it is very cool and makes tracking your nutrition a piece of cake?sorry, I couldn't resist the food pun. But seriously, it helped me immensely.

Question 4: Do you feel the use of supplements are necessary to be in good shape?

Answer: No. I don't feel supplements are necessary. I am not the kind of trainer who pushes supplements. The only one you will ever really hear me kind of push is a multivitamin, which I look at as insurance.

I believe we should try to get our nutrients from whole foods when we can; however, due to issues like depletion of nutrients in our foods and our soil where we grow the foods, steroids being injected into our animal food supply, pesticides, pollution, genetic altering, etc., this can prove to be very challenging.

I still believe striving to eat a consistently proper diet will pretty much negate the need for any other supplementation. So, as far as supplements like metabolism enhancers, creatine, fat loss pills and such, I do not condone them nor do I recommend them to any of my clients.

The closest I will come to recommending any supplement is with protein supplementation in the form of a good quality whey powder. I think this may be acceptable if you are exercising and if you are finding it difficult to get your required amount of protein in the form of food.

Question #5 What do you think are some of the biggest obstacles for people who are trying to get in shape?

Answer: One of the biggest obstacles I hear most often is probably TIME. Everybody is so busy trying to multitask and manage their lives and their families' lives that just finding the time to work out or get to the gym can seem almost impossible. So, NOT ENOUGH TIME is the biggest excuse I hear.

To the time issue I say this: I can appreciate and understand this problem. However, the bottom line is that we all make time for the things that we really want to do.

If it means you have to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning to work out, then that is what you have to do. Think about this: if you do not make time to take care of yourself because of your familial obligations, you are really shooting yourself and your family in the foot. If you die early due to not taking care of yourself, who is going to take care of your family then? This may seem a little harsh, but it's the plain and simple truth. You must prioritize it in!

Question #6 As a female trainer are there any exercises you feel women over or under train in?

Answer: I see women do cardio and then when they go to strength train they only do crunches or leg exercises or a couple of choice machines and they completely ignore certain muscle groups. This type of training can lead to imbalances and injury. You need to train every major muscle group in order to reap the benefits of strength training.

Another thing they'll do is come in daily and do the same thing day in and day out. Your muscle needs time to recuperate between workouts. So, you should never train the same muscle group two days in a row.

Also, many women will use very light weight with very high reps and perform them way too quickly in poor form. You will not get much out of these exercises performed in this manner. You need to do a heavy enough weight that the last two reps in the set are very challenging yet still doable in good form.

Slow it down, go with a rep range of 8-12 unless you are elderly or arthritic, which in that case you may want to do 12-15. Do a couple of sets of each exercise with about 30-60 seconds rest between sets, according to your goals and capabilities. You may try alternating workouts with less rest between sets on one workout and longer rests between sets at the next one.

Question #7 Many women are fighting a battle to lose weight in the stomach, legs, hips, butt, etc. What are some exercises you suggest to help tone these problem areas?

Answer: Great question and probably one of the most popular questions that people ask if not THE most popular.

I almost feel like it has been asked enough that the cat should truly be out of the bag by now. But just to be sure you get it, here is the answer: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SPOT REDUCING. You can spot tone, but you cannot spot reduce.

Let me explain: Let's say you have very underdeveloped calves or no butt or no muscularity in your arms. You can work extra hard on these areas to bring them into the sculpted shape you wish them to be by hitting them harder than any other muscle group for a while. That would be spot toning. However, that will not reduce the fat in those areas; it will, on the other hand, develop the muscle in those areas.

If someone walks up to me and says, I love my body except my butt is too big or my calves are too fat, can you give me exercises to tone my butt or calves? Well, it just doesn't work that way. So the short answer is No. Any strength training exercise is going to cause hypertrophy, which is muscle growth, toning and conditioning, not fat loss.

So, when somebody asks me how to get rid of these problem areas, what they are really asking is, "How do I get rid of this fat that tends to hang around mostly my stomach, legs, hips, butt, etc.?" These are the common problem areas for most women.

The answer is very simple in theory, but not so easy to implement. Here it is...are you ready? It's CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE!!

That's right, you have to lose the fat. So the best way to do this is to get the whole fitness regimen together.

1) You must do cardio to burn the fat.
2) You must strength train to tone and condition your muscle because the more muscle you have the higher your metabolism to burn off more calories even at rest and to sculpt your body.
3) And last but not least, you have to get your nutrition program together so that all that hard work shows and pays off.

Question #8 Many women I talk to shy away from strength training because they fear they will become too bulky. What can you suggest for these women?

Answer: Listen up ladies: You are doing yourself and your health a great disservice by not strength training. This is just an unfounded fear; it's just not going to happen! You see, the thing that makes a man bulk up with a fraction of the effort it takes a woman to put on muscle size is TESTOSTERONE!

We don't have it ladies. Not enough to make us bulk up anyway. I promise, I have tried all my life to get bigger muscles because I am one of those girls who loves a muscular physique on anybody, male or female, but I train myself waaaaaaaay harder than I train most of my clients and I still can?t get big. So trust me on this, you are NOT going to bulk up. No way, no how.

REMEMBER: The more lean muscle you have, the higher your metabolism which means you'll burn more calories even at rest. Take it from me, you need to strength train! Without it you will have a much harder time controlling your weight.

Question #9 Should women train differently than men when it comes to strength training?

Answer: For the most part, no. However, it is truly according to what your individual goals are and what your fitness level is at the onset. Of course a woman seeking general fitness shouldn't train like a male power lifter or body builder, but as far as general fitness training goes for men and women, there really isn't a lot of difference.

If a man and a woman come to me wanting to feel better, lose a little weight, tone and condition or simply stave off the aging process their routines can and may be very similar.

There is no difference in female muscle and bones and male muscle and bones, physiologically, when it comes to what it takes to tone, condition, and reap the benefits of strength training. The thing that makes a man bulk up isn't so much the exercise routine, it's the testosterone.

Most importantly, there is no such thing as one workout fits all. I design workouts with each specific client?s goals in mind.

Question #10. What keeps you motivated to stay in shape?

Answer: It has evolved over the years. In the beginning I started this whole thing to try and control my weight and it was all pretty much about vanity.

Now, as I've gotten much older and many, many years have passed, (as in 25 years), it has become more about nurturing my vitality and health. I want to enjoy my life as I age. I want to be and stay active throughout my entire life and into my golden years.

I truly believe that the only true fountain of youth that exists that is safe and effective is a proper health and fitness routine; that in and of itself motivates me.

Also, helping others get and stay healthy is a great motivator for me. It is very gratifying. Please do not hesitate to contact me at www.straightforwardfitness.com if I can do anything to help you reach your fitness goals or if you need help in getting or staying motivated.

Go to www.straightforwardfitness.com to sign up for my free fitness newsletter while you are there. It goes out the 15th of every month. It?s a great way to get motivated too!

Thanks, Lauren, for the opportunity to do this interview and I wish you and your readers good luck and good health! May all your fitness goals come true and improved health and vitality be your new reality!

From my heart to your health,

Linda Burke, CPT

www.straightforwardfitness.com

straightforward.efitnesstracker.com

I would to take the tim to thank Linda Burke for taking the time to answers our questions. Please visit her site for more information.