Anyone Learn to Lift Heavy without a Trainer?

I tried NROLFW without the proper equipment as well. I found it complicated. I switched gyms and programs.

I would read NROLFW and Starting Strength. Watch a lot of videos. I did this and then started the Strong Lifts 5x5 program. It's easy, effective and has a phone app that keeps track of your routine for you (when, what and how much). It's starts with just the bar which weighs 45 pounds and progresses 5 pounds with each session. If you find a gym with a power rack that has safety bars, you may not need a spotter for quite a while.

Also, check out these groups:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/10067-eat-train-progress-

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/102-new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-nrol4w

Good luck to you.

BUMP

Another vote for StrongLifts 5x5: www.stronglifts.com

MFP also has a ladies group for this program.

It takes 300 to 500 reps to go from clean slate to motor memory. It takes about 3000 reps to adapt from bad motor memory to new motor memory.

So if you don't have access to a trainer, the next best thing you can do is make videos of yourself lifting then compare against how-to videos for each exercise. You can get a tripod for a smartphone for cheap from a variety of sources if you don't have a video camera.

Start with light weight, because form and technique are far more important. Be critical and diligent in analyzing your technique. You aren't going to hurt yourself with 5 lb or 10 lb dumbbells. That's the time to learn it right.

Good luck!

Check out Jamie Eason's Live Fit. It's a 12 week program and intense. You don't need a trainer. I'm in week 8 and seeing great results !

^^^ This. I'm only on week 3, but I absolutely love it so far! http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html

My advice is to get a session with a trainer. Lots of gyms out there will let you pay for a session without joining the gym. This way you can learn the basic mechanics of lifting. "Packing" your shoulders, keep your core tight, how to keep a flat back on lifts, pushing through the heels in squats, etc.
There's lots of visuals on videos, but it's a different deal when you actually have to perform them yourself and can't see your own form.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I was at the gym the other day and got to watch a trainer with a client between my lifting sessions. They were using the squat rack next to me, and it was obviously their first (and I hope only) session. The PT loaded the noob up with 145 lb, placed the bar with a foam squat sponge on the guy's neck, and off he went. The client did about 8 wobbly quarter-squats with the bar traveling in a figure 8--I got to see this, the trainer did not, because I was watching the client from the side and the trainer was cheering him on from behind.

I come to powerlifting from years of yoga, where alignment and form were emphasized heavily. Reading Starting Strength after yoga anatomy books was easy and intuitive. (I am reasonably sure that my form is close to decent, but I would still want to shoot a video of myself lifting to be certain of this.) If you do not have any background in any discipline that teaches you about your body's relationship to gravity and how to avoid injuries, I recommend reading a good book (such as Starting Strength, or NROLFW) and then looking for a trainer WHO KNOWS WHAT S/HE IS DOING. The only way you can be sure the trainer knows what is going on is by doing some advance homework yourself. Otherwise it is a waste of your time and money and can do you more harm than good.

There is more than one "correct" way to do things, but there are many more wrong ways to lift.

Check out Jamie Eason's Live Fit. It's a 12 week program and intense. You don't need a trainer. I'm in week 8 and seeing great results !

I liked this one too, it's free on bodybuilding.com and the workout is laid out for every week and they have videos if you want to see how to do a move.

I do wonder how long you can go without a barbell, so definitely look for a squat rack at the next gym you go to!
I never had a trainer. I did the Jamie Eason 12-week, read starting strength but then did Stronglifts. I am still not very strong....

Just skimmed the thread, but what about taking videos of yourself and comparing them to youtube clips and form instructions. On the New Rules for Women facebook page, some people submit their videos for pointers, there may be other pages out there to.

I did the first workout with New Rules of Lifting for Women, but my gym just didn't have the right equipment available when I needed them. So, I switched to Stronglifts.

If you go for it on your own, please be careful! I tried originally to learn by myself and managed to really injure myself. I did bench presses with "just the bar" thinking it would be a light warm-up and pulled all the muscles in my chest - turns out I was using the 45 pound bar. I really didn't know what I was doing and I was in pain for a long time after that.

A few years later I had my super athlete brother train me and it made a huge difference to go in with somebody who knows what they're doing and can take the time to teach and show you good form. I'd agree with the suggestions to book an intro session with a trainer, just for safety's sake. I now do the New Rules of Lifting for Women and love it

I was fortunate that my man was my "trainer". He turned this little pudgy, party animal gut body OUT. LOL As per previous comments, sounds like you're doing great.

I agree with previous suggestions such as NRoLfW, Stronglifts, or LiveFit 12wk trainer. If my man didn't show me, I'd have showed myself eventually. If you want it, you do it.

LiveFit has videos for every exercise as well as a daily diet plan. It's all outlined day by day, so if you are clueless on what to eat, they hand you all the info and all the calculators on the daily. I enjoyed that program. Only did it once, but it's a good way to learn a lot of exercises, eating plans and carb-cycling.

I found a groupon in my area for a month of bootcamp for $30.00, which turned out to be a good deal because found out that he normally charges $30.00 a week on top of the gym membership. I learned a lot from that one month class and he gave lots of advice and encouragement. It was lots of fun too. Maybe you could find something like that.
After my bootcamp class, I started Chalean Extream. I love working out with her at home, but you would need your own dumbells or you could use the resistance band that comes with it.
There are plenty of fitnes magazines out there that can help as well.
Good luck with what ever you find for you!

Bump - i am currently going through the same thing & need guidance also.

I never had a trainer. I bought the book Starting Strength, took form check vids and posted them online for my friends on Fitocracy to review (plenty of very experienced lifters there), and started low to work my way up while keeping form as the highest priority.

TBH most trainers don't know a damn thing about heavy compound lifting. They'll have you doing smith machine high bar quarter squats onto a yoga ball with the bar pad, and flared elbow wide grip bench press with your feet on the bench.

If you want to lift heavy, seek out information from people who specialize in lifting heavy; powerlifters. There are some great online resources and TONS of teaching videos on YouTube.

Bump.

Form is everything. You can't go straight into lifting heavy. You have to learn form first and gradually move up to heavy lifting.

The book Starting Strength and its instructional DVD on barbell training helped me immensely, but it's still wise to get a trainer as you can't observe your form completely even with a mirror (a mirror can also impede learning form properly). Bad form and heavy lifting will lead to serious injury.