Not sure what to advise. I didn't use a trainer to learn the lifts. Youtube videos were and still are my trainers. I hope you don't get too discouraged as Stronglifts is a good program.

Ditto this. Never used a trainer and I think they are all full of ****.

I used you tube as well, although my husband used to do bodybuilding years ago so he helped to check my form. It is useful to have a second pair of eyes. One way to get around that is to post videos of yourself on here and get critiques of your form.

If you use you tube, search on "mark rippetoe" because his starting strength programme is nearly the same as stronglifts and he's excellent at explaning form (much better than mehdi the stronglifts guy) ......... for pendlay rows (because they're not in starting strength) there are probably videos of rippetoe demonstrating these, but even better there's at least one of glenn pendlay, the guy who the lift is named after, demonstrating them (sorry can't remember if he spells glenn with 1 or 2 n's)

This.

Also I don't like Mehdi. :laugh: He comes off like a chauvinistic used car salesman.

OP if you still want to work with a trainer, go back and talk to management. Tell them specifically you want someone who will help you learn these 6 lifts and that you are not interested in body weight stuff.

eta: 115 lbs is a great beginning deadlift!

But yeah, I mean, if the gym has all you need, shove it in their faces that you don,t need their silly expensive program to get it done for yourself. You got this!

This is what I did lol... now I just wave and smile at the trainers when I go do my routine.

I'm sorry you've had so much trouble with this.

Personal trainers are often full of you-know-what.

You said you could get your BF to come along. I had my husband watch videos of form and look at Starting Strength and he became my PT for the learning phase. Now, he spot checks form every so often (I work out at home, so sometimes, he's wandering around when I'm lifting).

You don't need an expensive program or personal trainer, just the confidence to do this.

Trust me, if I can do it, at my weight, anyone can!

So, go forth and lift! You'll like it once you get into the groove!

I wont comment on the PT or anything as you already got great advice on that.
For the squats I was told my feet were too far apart as well...

Then I read an article posted in Eat Train Progress...about hips and pelvic bone placement, how your leg joins etc and realized my wide stance being comfortable was probably due to that my hips are wider and chances are my legs are placed in such a way that my wider stance is more comfortable for me so I am sticking with it.

the thing about squats and foot width does my head in. It's not possible or advisable for everyone to squat below parallel with their feet shoulder width apart. I have really short shins, and short shins + relatively long femurs means your centre of gravity goes back too far during squats, to compensate for that you need either a wider stance or raised heels. A wider stance limits how far back the centre of gravity goes and compensates for the femur length (the femur's at more of an angle, therefore the centre of gravity is not so far back)... and raising the heels compensates for a short shin, as it puts the knee in the position where it would be in someone with the same length femurs but proportionately longer shins.

I've always squatted ATG my whole life (mostly bodyweight squats) and have always naturally taken a wider stance, I've also noticed that my 7 yr old daughter also naturally takes a wider stance, and my friend's toddler does as well (and we all know what they say about toddlers and squat stance) - what i've noticed is both these kids have quite short shins and long femurs... they're both kids, the toddler is doing what comes 100% natural to him and my daughter's had some very basic instruction on squat form (that didn't involve me telling here where to put her feet) and so she's taking a stance that's natural to her. I've never had a problem with regular squats unless I've been told I *have to* have my feet shoulder width apart (then I fall on my *kitten*) or unless it's pistol squats... I can't do them at all without raising my heels.... same in ice hockey with shoot the duck (i.e. pistol squat while skating)... always fell on my *kitten* with that one... point is I can try as hard as I can to keep my centre of gravity over my foot doing a pistol squat, but it won't go because my biomechanics won't allow it to. With a raised heel, my centre of gravity stays over my foot all by itself, the difference is huge.

what told me that this was a anthropometrics issues not a balance one was when I couldn't even do pistol squats while holding onto a chair for balance... and trying to force my centre of gravity over my foot by using the chair hurt my knees and ankles.

And anyone who tries to blame this on lack of ankle flexibility (which can have the same effect) I actually hurt my ankle quite badly trying to over-flex it to get my centre of gravity over it. The amount my ankle flexes is more than the amount other people flex their ankles when doing pistol squats with their proportionately longer shins. yes ankle flexibility can be an issue, but in my case it's not. I just have really little short shins, I blame neanderthal DNA (seeing as this is a derived neanderthal trait).

Anyway, the correct width of stance for squats depends on anthropometrics. To quote Mark Rippetoe "you can't force someone with goofy anthropometrics into your idea of what a deadlift should look like"

I had a terrible time with a trainer at my gym too. He made me feel like I could never progress without him. He told me that SL was an Internet fad that didn't work. Never mind it's based on basic compound lifts. He tried to sell me on some crazy nutrition plan. He also told me I was obese even though I only have 15ish pounds to lose (maybe 17 at the time). Then to top it all off he showed me a picture of his "baby mom" in her underwear and said he got her into shape within 7 months of her having a baby. Amazingly she was my height, my goal weight, and exactly as far postpartum as I am! Never mind that her head was cut out of the picture and he probably just found it on google somewhere. The only lifts he showed me were squats on the Smith machine and bench press. By the end of the appointment I was near tears. I cried a little in my car on the way home.

I seriously considered leaving the gym, but this one is the best option for my area since it's the only one with child care. So I went back. I didn't buy his extra sessions. I watched the videos on YouTube. I like the buff dudes videos cause the narrator is so over the top it's funny. They also show you what not to do so that you can watch yourself for common form mistakes. I was so nervous the first few times. I was afraid he'd see me in there and judge me. I was afraid I would hurt myself and look like a moron. But you know what, it's been fine. He has seen me a few times but hasn't said anything to me. I'm not paying him. I didn't buy his bs, so I doubt I'm of any concern to him. I've been at this for 6 weeks and it feel plenty confident now! I applied the "fake it til you make it" approach and it worked out fine. You can too! If you have another option for gym, go ahead and switch if you like. No matter what though, don't let anyone discourage you. These are YOUR goals and it's YOUR body. You pay for that membership and you should get out of it what YOU want.

Also I squat with my legs further than shoulder width. And great job on DL! I made the mistake of starting too light and just got to 115 tonight. Oh well...at least it's starting to get challenging!

a lot of big box gyms have 'trainers' that have anything from half a day to a weekend of tuition on being a 'trainer'. They are sales people designed to make you dependent on them and their 'training' and they have neither the knowledge nor confidence to go off programme and do either what you want or what would be best for you. Most of their clientele are middle aged women who want to lose weight and 'tone'.

Unless you can find a trainer who lifts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OloLS5kTrVs)! then do it yourself and with us and you'll be fine

that is how he made me feel as well, that I couldn't/wouldn't/shouldn't progress without months of his guidance.

I lucked out and had a trainer that was able to help me, and it was a female, no less! Three sessions with her wasn't enough to really learn everything I needed to know, so like most of the ladies here, I've really taught myself by reading and watching videos. Just walk in like you own the place and do what you need to do. Like someone else said, now that you're not paying, he probably won't even pay attention to you.

There's lots of knowledgeable ladies here to help with any questions. Good luck!

I lucked out in middle school and the high school football coaches taught me to lift. No judgment as I was the little sister of one of their biggest players. The only lift I was never taught was OHP. It remains my hardest lift. I was also not allowed to clean and jerk as ONLY boys needed to do that. lol.

You pay the trainer. The trainer does what you ask. Period. You don't feel guilty about wanting what you want. The trainer did not do what you asked. I would ask for a refund. If you went in and said "I want to do the SL program. I need you to teach me OHP, Squat, deadlift and bench." That's what should have happened. If you went in and said I need the basics for lifting, well then, that is a different story. Core and body weight exercise would apply.

You paid for your membership. Only you can judge you. Other people are just accessories to your life. :drinker: