Build the body with weights; the size will drop

With the holiday season upon us, people are concerned about putting on the extra pounds from all the turkeys, hams and yams being gobbled down in the name of merry-making and good cheer. The average American is set to consume 4,000 calories in this one Thanksgiving feast and most would undoubtedly be looking for a way to lose it all in the following weeks to come to get ready for Christmas.

For some, ‘tis the season to get some extra help from a personal trainer.

George Arceo is a personal trainer in Pahrump who concentrates on building muscle on bodies. He is “Body by George” and trains at Custom Health and Fitness. Arceo is a certified personal trainer who has been doing business for the past 14 years in Pahrump. He works with young teens all the way up to senior citizens and is an expert on losing the calories through resistance.

He is a firm believer that bodies with more lean muscle mass burn more calories and therefore his clients work the weights hard.

In his field, there is controversy on how much cardio and how much weight training is beneficial to the body. Just Google weight training vs. cardio in burning calories and hundreds of articles appear. The following magazines all support Arceo: Women’s Health Magazine, Men’s Fitness, U.S. News &World Report. On the other hand, there are just as many that say otherwise.

Arceo explains things in an easy to understand way. Arceo says his program is all about building lean muscle mass. He says the more of this we put on our bodies the easier it is to burn calories. One of Arceo’s pet peeves is watching people go to the gym and just do a cardio work out and then leave.

“Cardio is not that huge to me. I like more muscle strengthening. To me, muscle strengthening is much better because it burns more calories when your muscles are strong. Cardio is just a small portion in my workout,” he said.

He said in general people that overdo the cardio burn too much muscle mass away. He compared long distance runners to sprinters.

“Look at the sprinters’ well defined muscles and then look at the distance runners’ body, very lean but little definition,” Arceo said. “I have a mix of people who want to just stay in shape and look good. As a trainer, I am not one of those who concentrates on dropping weight on people. I want them to drop sizes rather than weight. Once you work out you gain some weight because muscle tone is heavier than fat.”

Arceo does the body sculpting with weight circuits and says his clients get enough cardio just in one of his workouts. To get the cardio in the weight training he just cuts down on the recovery period.

“If I have cardio with their workout I just have them work faster. I have them do a set and then in between sets hardly any rest. They get cardio and build muscle,” he said. “I take them around the circuit type training. I work out all the body parts within the two days we are there, Tuesday and Thursday. By the time we are done the whole body has been worked for that week. The younger ones I do push them a little more.”

He says he works people on weight circuits depending on their abilities. Especially his senior clients. The idea of seniors working out concerns some, but not Arceo.

“I love helping out elderly people. I like to make sure they make their lifestyle much easier. I work on simple things like them getting up and walking around, I want to make that easier for them. As people age, the lack of use of muscle shrinks the muscle so much that they can’t use it. Seniors can bring back those muscles and this can lead to more mobility,” he said.

He helps his seniors through weights, but he does it in a manner where they don’t hurt themselves.

“There are some seniors that can’t. If you push them hard you can hurt them permanently. You have to understand that there are limitations to everything. As a trainer, you understand your client’s limitations. For seniors it is easy to push them too hard. You have to feed the muscle to keep them strong. You have to feed the muscle correctly. The older you are, the less activity you do, you need to take in less carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are fuel and you have to burn it. When you don’t consume it, your body will store it and when that happens you gain weight.”

Arceo says it’s not about the weight in his program.

“I have a couple where the wife has dropped some sizes, which is good she enjoys it. The husband used to have a problem getting up off the chair, now he pops up. Those are the things that make me enjoy what I do. The whole idea is to do something so we never get to the point where we can’t get up.”

Of course, his rigorous workouts lead to a slim and well-defined body.

Some of his hard-core clients are body builders. Jaime Schaffer is a client of Arceo and her body is testament to his practices. She has found that what Arceo preaches about lean muscle mass is true. She is preparing to compete in an upcoming bikini contest.

“A while back I was preparing for a bikini competition, so I worked out with him a lot. I did the weights with him and my body responded well to that,” she said. “I have known George for 13 years and he has taught me a lot about form and weights.”

She said with Arceo it is weight and nutrition too and the eating is the hardest part.

“The working out part is not so much,” she said. “It’s all about eating healthy and making good choices. I think anyone could do it if they really want to. It’s not as hard as people think it is, but I think we are so use to eating all this junk because it is so easy to get.”

Another client, 26-year-old Janet Pierce of Pahrump had been trying to lose weight for years. She tried P90x, a workout video and the treadmill with no results. She then tried it Arceo’s way and the pounds melted away.

“I have been with George since April and have lost 35 pounds and 4 pant sizes,” she said.

Arceo will be the first one to tell you that a good weight program must be followed up with healthy nutrition.

“If you look at a triangle, the little piece on top is cardio. Seventy percent of the triangle is nutrition,” he said.