Trina Aaltink

CLIENT BACKGROUND

I have had some interesting challenges in my years of helping people achieve their fitness goals, but one of the most unusual I have experienced was the one presented by Trina Aaltink, and I'd like to share it with you.

30-year old Trina is an enthusiastic, high energy, individual who is of such independent nature that she backpacked the world on her own in 1999. She visited such far off destinations as Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and visited Great Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Croatia etc.

She has always been a very physically active "outdoorsy" person, participating in activities such as hiking, swimming, camping and the like. She was a former competitive High School track athlete specializing in the 50, 60 and (her favourite) 100 metre sprints for the 5 years she attended.

She had some exposure to a formal exercise program, having been a member of a Karate/Exercise Club. Her dedication to a regular fitness program during that time was "on and off" at best. It was pretty much "off" when she sought my help.

PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED

Trina's wedding was only 10 weeks away when she approached me. Her initial stated objectives were "to tone-up, lose some weight, achieve a higher degree of fitness, trim down thighs and stomach, sculpt arms and calves" and most importantly "to look great in her wedding dress" on the big day. She actually looked to be in fairly good physical condition, but the time available to dedicate herself to a structured fitness program was very restricted. And considering all the expenses that would be associated with the wedding, budget was also limited.

PLAN OF ACTION

My strategy was to blend the fitness program into her busy lifestyle as efficiently and seamlessly as possible while still having it yield the effectiveness necessary to achieve her goals.

Trina filled out a standard Questionnaire, outlining her objectives, detailing her health history, exercise experience, current exercise activities and nutrition practices etc. We reviewed it thoroughly at our first session. I then introduced her to the principles of resistance training, i.e., Intensity, Volume, Frequency, Overload, Adaptation, Individuality etc. and how they related to each other. I described how the workout itself only served to stimulate muscle growth and that it was the rest period between sessions, if properly applied, when recovery and ultimately adaptation and positive change took place. We also discussed exercise performance in detail, the importance of eliminating momentum in the movements, both from a safety and effectiveness standpoint, the functional advantages of exercising through a full range of motion and establishing the mind/muscle connection i.e., focussing on feeling the muscles working rather than just lifting the weight.

We then proceeded to the Training Area where I demonstrated correct exercise form on a wide variety of movements using my electronic metronome to set and monitor cadence. I showed her how to perform the exercises in a slow, controlled manner, working through the full range of movement with deliberate pauses at both the contracted and stretch positions. No momentum, no bouncing, or ballistic turnarounds. She found this approach fascinating and enlightening as it was so very different from anything she had previously practiced or witnessed at a gym.

Trina proved to be a quick study when it came to mastering proper exercise performance, which enabled us to more efficiently get on with the task at hand.

We determined that Trina would train on a once per week basis at my facility, while also performing an abbreviated supplementary routine at home once a week, using some dumbells that she was able to borrow from one of her sisters. Since she also enjoyed swimming and had easy access to a pool, I prescribed a once per week swim session to add some variety and to serve as a different type of exercise stimulus. I also encouraged her to incorporate some vigorous walking into her daily routine, whether before work, during her lunch break or in the evening. The strategy was to keep her as physically active as possible, melding a formal exercise program with activities that didn't feel as structured so that she didn't feel overwhelmed with demands. I felt confident that this approach would help ensure compliance to the program as a whole.

In the initial stage, Trina's Pre-wedding Tone-up/Tune-up resistance training routine consisted of the following:

Warm-up
5 minutes on the Air Dyne Exercise Bike which works both the upper and lower body simultaneously.
A series of light stretch and limbering movements
Legs:
Bowflex Thigh Extension (3/3/3/1 cadence)
Hack Slide (4/1/4/1 cadence)
Leg Curls (4/2/4/1 cadence)
Standing Smith Machine Calf Raise (3/2/3/2)
Chest
Bowflex Bench Press (3/2/3)
Smith Machine Bench Press (4 down/1/3 up/1)
Back
Bowflex Seated Row (3/3/3)
Seated Palms Facing Pulldown (4/2/4/2)
Delts
Standing Bowflex Lateral Raise (3/3/3)
Arms
Standing Bowflex Curl (3/3/3)
Theraband Tricep Pressdown and Pushback (3/3/3)
General
Trap Bar Deadlift (4/1/4/1)
Ab Work
5 minute Air Dyne Bike Cool-down and Thorough Stretch

COMMENTS:

• One warm-up set and one work set were performed for all exercises.
• The initial rep range for each exercise was between 10 and 12, which I felt would be ideal to expedite the development of exercise movement skill proficiency and neuro-muscular efficiency through repetition.
• Wherever possible I had Trina emphasize full muscle contractions by incorporating slightly longer hold times in the fully contracted position to help develop the mind/muscle connection (especially when employing the Bowflex when, due to the variable nature of the resistance, the main advantage lies in its contraction intensity potential).
• Since both the anterior and posterior deltoids were thoroughly stimulated by her chest and back exercises, the only specific delt work we employed targeted the medial head with the Bowflex Lateral Raise.
• Before concluding each session with some ab work and a cool-down sequence, I had her perform a set of Trap Bar Deadlifts with a weight that would permit 12 to 15 repetitions in perfect form. This exercise is a favourite of mine in that it is so effective from a muscle stimulation and overall conditioning standpoint, working virtually all the muscles of the body in one synergistic movement.
• Ab work consisted of Bowflex Crunches, a series of pelvic tilt floor exercises and a timed core stability "Plank Hold". She performed the same exercises at home as part of her supplementary routine, with floor crunches substituting for the Bowflex Crunch.

THE HOME STRETCH - ROUTINE 2:

With only four weeks until the "impending nuptials", I decided to change things up a bit and further challenge her physiology with the introduction of some unfamiliar exercise stress to her weekly session at our facility, to keep her body guessing and responding. Air Bike cardio intervals were inserted at pre-determined points between bodyparts during the workout. This tactic was employed to keep her heart rate elevated throughout the session to more quickly improve overall conditioning levels and raise metabolism. It also served as variety to keep the session fresh and interesting. Trina really enjoyed this approach. As is my usual practice, we monitored her heart rate regularly during each session. We also altered her resistance program in terms of order of exercises, introduction of some new movements, varying cadence etc., to continue to stimulate increases in muscular growth and strength.

The actual routine looked like this.
Warm-up
6 minutes Air Bike
Series of light stretching and limbering movements
80 second Air Bike Interval (10 sec slow/ 10 fast/10 slow/ 10 fast/ 10 slow/ 10 fast/20 sec slow)
Overall:
Trap Bar Deadlift (4/1/4/1)
Legs:
Bowflex Thigh Extension (3/3/3)
Standing Bowflex Single Leg Kickback (2/3/2)
Hack Slide (4/1/4/1)
Standing Smith Machine Calf Raise (4/2/4/2)
80 second Air Bike interval (all Air Bike intervals were performed as previously described)
Back:
Bowflex Seated Row (4/3/4)
80 sec Air Bike Interval
Chest:
Smith Machine Bench Press (4/1/4/1)
Bowflex Incline Bench Press (3/3/3)
80 second Air Bike Interval
Deltoids:
Standing Bowflex Lateral Raises (3/4/3)
Arms:
Conventional Low Pulley Peak Contraction Curl (3/3/3)
Bowflex Bentover Tricep Kickback (2/3/2)
80 second Air Bike Interval
Ab Work:
Overall:
Trap Bar Deadlift (4/1/4/1)
Cool-down:
5 minute Air Bike, Thorough Stretch

COMMENTS:

• We continued with the 2 set protocol but increased the intensity of both sets. The first was still a sub-failure set, but the second was carried to the point of momentary muscular failure (with the exception of the Trap Bar Deadlift which, although taxing, left a rep or maybe even two "in the tank").
• We progressively decreased the rest periods between exercises and sets.
• We "sandwiched" the resistance routine with the Trap Bar Deadlift by opening and closing with it, which was very challenging both physically and mentally.

DIET:

In terms of diet, I explained in detail how critically important controlling insulin response and maintaining stable blood sugar levels were in achieving her goals.

Like most people, Trina was eating her '3 square meals' a day and not paying particular attention to what those meals consisted of. I recommended that she adjust her eating habits to include 6 feedings per day (3 meals and 3 snacks) to stabilize blood sugar levels, with each feeding comprised of lean protein, low glycemic carbs and healthy fats. We also addressed the subject of balancing macro-nutrients, portion sizes, food cravings and the importance of adequate daily water intake (also, sufficient sleep and making a conscious and concerted effort to control daily stress levels).

Trina felt that she could manage the nutrition component of the program on her own, armed with the information I had shared with her and a new Food Counter book she had purchased.

We monitored her weight on a weekly basis, at the beginning of each session to see where we stood and determined what dietary adjustments might be required. Her weight decreased at a steady rate, which indicated that we were on the right track.

CLIENT PROGRESS

I have little faith in the accuracy of bodyfat measurement methodologies, with the exception of Hydrostatic Weighing and the Bio Analogics System, neither of which I currently have access to. In Trina's case, in addition to the scale, we decided that the criteria on which we would base her progress would be how she looked (the mirror, photos, feedback from others) and how her clothes were fitting.

Trina had lost 8.5 lb. by the time the wedding rolled around. Her strength had increased dramatically in just 10 weeks (even taking improved skill proficiency into consideration). Her overall conditioning also improved significantly and most importantly, she did look great!

My wife and I were honoured to attend the wedding. As I turned to look at Trina walking down the aisle on her father's arm I couldn't help but marvel at not only how beautiful she looked in her wedding gown, but how amazingly toned and fit she appeared. As she and her new husband emerged from the church after the ceremony, a lady in front of us remarked how fabulous she looked in her dress, and I commented out loud to my wife "look at those delts and arms". The lady overheard, turned to me and said "you must be her Personal Trainer". After I proudly admitted that I was, indeed, she then laughingly agreed with my assessment.

KEY LEARNING

In retrospect, even though I was very pleased with the overall outcome of the program, I feel certain that if I had assumed greater control of the nutritional aspect of the program, the results would have been more dramatic (to what degree is, of course, speculative). However, at the time, taking into account all the food choice challenges she would be facing due to the frantic pace of her life at that point, I felt that the eating plan I would have ideally prescribed would have been too difficult for her to fit comfortably into her lifestyle, and would have compromised overall program compliance.

CLIENT COMMENTS

Trina was kind enough to provide some photos taken by the wedding photographer and the following comment:

"Working with Deane has been a lot of fun, and really has set the pace for the kind of exercise that I want to continue with for my life. It feels great to have the body that I like, and Deane is the only reason why I have it. His workouts are always challenging and thorough and I leave feeling great. I looked forward to my workouts with Deane and still do".

Deane Cooke lives in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. He can be reached by e-mailing DeaneCooke@hotmail.com.