Personal Trainer pushing me to do machines

NOOOOOO! Tell him that YOU are the client and that you want to learn good form for the weight lifting you have been doing. If he/she is not capable of doing this, then you want a new person to train you. Tell him/her to quit it!

1. Tell him or her that you'd like to focus on learning good form with free weights.

2. Ask him or her why they're encouraging you to use machines.

3. Depending on the answer you get from #2, decide whether or not you want to keep working with them.

It could be that the trainer didn't fully understand that your goal is #1 and would be happy to change how they train you. Or, it could be that they noticed a serious problem with your form and want to use a machine to help correct that problem before you hurt yourself. You won't know unless you ask.

1. Tell him or her that you'd like to focus on learning good form with free weights.

2. Ask him or her why they're encouraging you to use machines.

3. Depending on the answer you get from #2, decide whether or not you want to keep working with them.

It could be that the trainer didn't fully understand that your goal is #1 and would be happy to change how they train you. Or, it could be that they noticed a serious problem with your form and want to use a machine to help correct that problem before you hurt yourself. You won't know unless you ask.

This.

The personal trainer is there for you! BUT they're educated in their field and generally knows what's best. Perhaps he does have a really good reason and he just needs you to explain again that you prefer to use free weights and work on your form with free weights. If he is unwilling to listen then get a new PT that follows a similar set of ideals as you do. I've met a bazzillion different personal trainers and I disagreed with some of their methods and agreed with others... Some I agreed with all, some none. You get it. Find someone that you are comfortable with and will listen and adhere to your goals very precisely.

Trainer may not (probably doesn't) know how to use barbells.

I'd agree with jwdieter - It sounds like the trainer you're using is not comfortable enough with barbells to work with them properly.

My overall feeling is that your trainer is try to get by putting you on their basic programming rather than doing any work to help you with your goals. I've had similar experiences with trainers and I dropped them very quickly when I realized they were not helping me achieve my goals.

I'd either ask around for a trainer at your gym that's more aware of how to work the barbells or look around at other gyms that specialize in powerlifting for even just one session to get you going.

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions!

If you don't belong to the 5x5 group on here, I suggest you join. You can take form check videos of your unsure exercises and post them in the form check thread. I too am doing 5x5 and had the same thing happen when I signed up for the gym. Everything I've read on here basically points out that freeweights are better than fixed machines and I have also experienced that to be true. I just watched a lot of videos and took a lot of myself to check form.

You say he 'put you on the machines', but there's not a reason in the world you can't express that's not your desire and go back to your course. Seriously with the form check vids though. You can see exactly what you're doing and how it compares with a proper form.

a trainer is a waste of money if all he is going to do is put you on machines.

Okay yeah, I really expressed how I wanted to stay with free weights and on the days I wasn't with him I'd be doing it. He's claiming the machines will help my form but somehow it won't really? Doesn't practice make perfect?

For a complete noob, the machines can help form by building the main muscles used in an exercise. I would recommend to anyone brand-new to lifting to start on some machines to build some strength before moving to free weights. The machine locks you into a particular motion or range, and can be used to develop good form.

HOWEVER...After lifting free weights for a while, I had a trainer warn me against going back to machines. Once you have done free weights, where there is no machine to ensure that the bar is even or that you are following a nice track on the exercise, you have built up the smaller stabilizer and support muscles. Going back to the machines, you can lose a little of that.

Think if it this way ... When bench pressing you're not just working the major muscle groups. You are working small muscles in your forearms and shoulders to keep the bar in the right motion area, level and even. On a chest press machine .. you just push with your major muscles and dont have to worry about grip, stabilization, etc ...

ETA: Practice doesn't necessarily make perfect. If you practice bad form you will reinforce bad form. Only perfect practice makes perfect.

So I've been doing the Stronglifts 5x5 for a few months now and got my weights up significantly. I just felt like my form was terrible so I wanted some help with that.

So I hire a PT to help me out and now he's put me on machines! I really enjoyed the free weights, should I pressure him to let me do free weights or should I just shut up and do as told?

You are the boss. Turn to your trainer say, "You don't even lift, brah." Then move on to another one.

Good job with the free weights! Machines don't allow for a natural movement and can often lead to injury by overdeveloping specific muscle groups and now allowing stabilizers or tendons to grow with it. The only machines that are fine I suppose are the lat pull downs and cable machines.

If you want to stay with free weights, and the trainer says you have form issues they are worried about, tell them you are willing to drop the weight to work on form, but don't want to use machines. If your trainer is any good they will jump on your willingness to check ego at the door and get back to basics.

So I've been doing the Stronglifts 5x5 for a few months now and got my weights up significantly. I just felt like my form was terrible so I wanted some help with that.

So I hire a PT to help me out and now he's put me on machines! I really enjoyed the free weights, should I pressure him to let me do free weights or should I just shut up and do as told?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let me tell you, I am on my second trainer, I won't fire this one!! The first one would tell me what she felt I needed to do and NEVER listened to me at all!! In turn I got hurt, got emotional and I stopped going to the gym!! Determined I returned, got a BETTER trainer and have him 3-5 days a week instead of 1 day with the other girl!! If they don't work with you on form and stuff I would get a different trainer, one who listens to you!! YOU are paying for the service!!

Just a sidebar...my trainer has me doing circuit work on the turf most often. His belief is that it addresses everything.. He says sitting on a machine doesn't fully benefit me the way turf work does. Now if I work with him MORE than 3 days, he will use a day or 2 on the machines to do strength so I don't overdo it.

Good luck! Let us know how you do!