So there’s this kid that I work with who works the front desk. When Bobby started, he was great – constantly cleaning up the gym & willing to do anything that anyone asked of him.
Just a cute side story: Once Brittney, another trainer who always leaves a disaster of equipment in her trail, was walking towards the front desk & I noticed a strange exchange between Bobby & Brittney. Bobby got up from the front desk & started cleaning up the gym floor. When he returned, he said “Thank you, Brittney for letting me work today.”
Anyway, so that’s the kind of kid Bobby is. Although the front desk workers are not allowed to use the fitness center for personal use, Bobby is interested in working out & asks me questions about routines, exercises & nutrition.
Let me say here that everyone is different. Men’s metabolisms are faster than women’s, as we age, our metabolisms slow, but also, everyone’s body is different. He’s 21, so in order to gain muscle, he needs to eat. A Lot! But, a lot of the right things.
There are 3 basic body types: Ectomorphs, Endomorphs, and Mesomorphs. Ectomorphs are those folks who can eat basically anything & not gain a pound. Endomorphs are those who have a hard time losing weight, and Mesomorphs are somewhere in the middle. Because Ectomorphs have a hard time gaining weight (be it fat or muscle) they typically do better on a high carbohydrate diet, and their strength training routine is going to be less frequent with higher weights, lower repetitions & little cardio (assuming that this person wants to gain muscle). An Endomorph is going to weight train more frequently, with lower weights, higher repetitions and incorporate more cardio into their program. Endomorphs typically do better on a lower carbohydrate diet; higher in lean proteins.
So Bobby has started asking me weird vague questions. “Is an Egg Sandwich good for you?” Well, I guess that depends on whether you made it, or you got it from McDonalds. What’s on it? Was the egg fried? Is there cheese on it? Is the bread whole grain or white? Is there butter on the bread? I mean, come on.
Another: “If you wanted to just look ‘athletic’ & not get real big, how would you workout?” If I wanted look ‘athletic’? or if you wanted to look ‘athletic’? Since I am a 39 year old woman, my workout is going to look vastly different from a 21 year old man who may or may not be a different body type than I am.
Okay, so maybe I’m being hard on the kid. But this one really takes the cake: “What’s the difference between Vitamin C & Multi-Vitamin?”
Duh?
