"Lift Like a Woman" Fitness Assessment
leooftheyear
Posts: 429 Member
So I went to the gym for my fitness assessment last night, the first guy I met with was a COMPLETE *kitten* and was telling me how I should be doing higher reps/lower weight with 10lb dumbbells vs the stronglifts 5x5 program, and told me some convoluted math problem to convince me I’d be moving more weight doing high reps with a 10lb dumbbell than with 5 sets and 5 reps with an 80lb barbell…. UMMMM OK WHATEVER DUDE! So the trainer took me out on the floor and did squats, deadlifts, chest, core, back, shoulders, triceps, hip flexibility and a little cardio (with the heavy ropes you move with your arms) and we went back into the room and the *****HOLE was like “what were her strengths and weaknesses?” the trainer goes “Her core and back are really strong, her deadlifts and squats are perfect and her only weakenesses were her chest, triceps and left hip” the *****HOLE changed his tune after that and was like “Have you ever thought about doing a strong woman competition”
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Maybe you should take up boxing to rid yourself of the pent up anger0
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Would have been awesome if your trainer would have said "That's for me to discuss with her privately."
There really is something to be said about lifting volume through more reps or more sets, but the benefits are seen in size increases more than in strength. Plus there is a threshold. If your reps are too high then the benefits of the increased volume drop off (that's why you'll never see video of Arnold doing 500 reps with a ten pound dumbbell).
If you want to see greater strength increases without as much increased size (think firm dense muscles that give the lean, toned look most women want) then intensity becomes more important than volume.
Besides, 5x5 is a solid compromise between volume and intensity. Your reps per set are on the low end which increases the intensity, but you're performing 5 whole sets which increases the volume.
So he basically displayed his ignorance in several ways:
1) He either assumed he knew your goals by advising high volume for increased muscle size or he has no clue what results the higher volume he touts would even produce.
2) He assumed you were capable of less than you are (weak women should only work out with little bitty weights because they can't handle a real workout so let me give her some maths about volume to convince her to follow my stereotype).
3) He seriously thought converting an 80lb barbell to 10lb dumbbells for higher volume was a logical conversion. Even if higher volume would better suit your goals, dropping that much weight would have you doing so many reps that any benefits of the higher volume would be long gone. A better conversion would be to drop to a 60lb bar and increase your reps per set by about 5...IF it fit your goals.
4) He assumed your business was his business.0 -
leooftheyear wrote: »
Most trainers at a commercial gym are going to suggest high reps, low weight over a program like SL 5x5. And most trainers at commercial gyms aren't "meatheads"
He might have been frustrating but he's doing his job the way he was taught.
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leooftheyear if I could triple-like your post, I would!0
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eh...I don't have to PROVE myself to anyone, but me. I can understand your frustration, though.0
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okay- I'll bite.
If you know what you're doing- why were you wasting your time with them??
(not snark- legit question)0 -
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I did the same thing. Had my "free assessment and training session" with him showing me how to squat, DL, OHP, and row0 -
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Looks like I missed the fact that the first guy was another trainer. I was thinking it was just a random dude at the gym being a nosey know-it-all.
So maybe he wasn't really assuming your business was his business...but he still had rotten advice. Just goes to show that just because you have a cert to work at a gym as a trainer doesn't mean you're good at what you do or even know what you're talking about when you give fitness advice.0 -
I get this in a different way. I'm 4'8" and 135lbs. While I don't go to the gym, I get tired of people (men AND women) telling me to step aside or let someone else come over to load hay/feed/equipment. The worst offender was a man who came to buy a truck frame from us and told me that he would come back with another man because, "I can't load this by myself." I asked him, "So am I supposed to go somewhere else? There's two of us, we can load it."
After a lot of hemming and hawing he finally agreed (I may have also told him if I got hurt, I was in my own yard loading my own frame, so it wasn't like I could sue him).
I explained that my husband works from 6:30-6:00 and if I need anything done, I have to be able to do it alone. This means getting a tractor implement hooked up alone, loading hay alone, hunting and cleaning game alone, vaccinating 400lbs hogs alone.
But the WOMEN who get snarky over it are worse than any man. I cant count the sneers I get when I help load feed with my husband. After hearing a bunch of comments from several 20-something socialite-wannabes while my husband and I loaded feed I wheeled around and said, "What am I supposed to do if im not helping? Stand here and look pretty? Talk on my phone? He just got off a ten hour shift of moving equipment that is heavier than he is and he STILL drove me all the way here and helped me load it. You seem AWFULLY helpful stading around like a freaking mannequin-your husbands must feel lucky to have such pretty ladies to stare at."
I may not be the best looking, or the friendliest, but i'll be damned if im letting my vag stop me from being helpful with heavy items after my husband worked his hands to the bone all day.0 -
I'd be taking my awesome body and money elsewhere.
I worked with my original PT for a little over two years and he was absolutely amazing. Due to some outside circumstances I recently switched to a new PT and love her as well. In fact everyone I associate with at my gym (other PT's, group instructors, and members) are nothing but supportive, encouraging, and help me explore new avenues. There are times I go to the gym even though I don't feel like it because I know I'll run into someone I know.
I couldn't imagine being in a gym w/ any other type of atmosphere......0 -
This, plus it was a free fitness evaluation for joining a new job, so i figured why not to check form and such and not hurt myself, the trainer himself was great and i figure the personal training will be a good way to supplement the Stronglifts 5x5 program0 -
leooftheyear wrote: »
This, plus it was a free fitness evaluation for joining a new job, so i figured why not to check form and such and not hurt myself, the trainer himself was great and i figure the personal training will be a good way to supplement the Stronglifts 5x5 program
I wouldn't do both SL AND do sessions with a PT.
That's a great way to end up with overuse injuries.
Pick one or the other
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KGRebelRanch wrote: »I get this in a different way. I'm 4'8" and 135lbs. While I don't go to the gym, I get tired of people (men AND women) telling me to step aside or let someone else come over to load hay/feed/equipment. The worst offender was a man who came to buy a truck frame from us and told me that he would come back with another man because, "I can't load this by myself." I asked him, "So am I supposed to go somewhere else? There's two of us, we can load it."
After a lot of hemming and hawing he finally agreed (I may have also told him if I got hurt, I was in my own yard loading my own frame, so it wasn't like I could sue him).
I explained that my husband works from 6:30-6:00 and if I need anything done, I have to be able to do it alone. This means getting a tractor implement hooked up alone, loading hay alone, hunting and cleaning game alone, vaccinating 400lbs hogs alone.
But the WOMEN who get snarky over it are worse than any man. I cant count the sneers I get when I help load feed with my husband. After hearing a bunch of comments from several 20-something socialite-wannabes while my husband and I loaded feed I wheeled around and said, "What am I supposed to do if im not helping? Stand here and look pretty? Talk on my phone? He just got off a ten hour shift of moving equipment that is heavier than he is and he STILL drove me all the way here and helped me load it. You seem AWFULLY helpful stading around like a freaking mannequin-your husbands must feel lucky to have such pretty ladies to stare at."
I may not be the best looking, or the friendliest, but i'll be damned if im letting my vag stop me from being helpful with heavy items after my husband worked his hands to the bone all day.
THANK YOU!!!!
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I'd be taking my awesome body and money elsewhere.
I worked with my original PT for a little over two years and he was absolutely amazing. Due to some outside circumstances I recently switched to a new PT and love her as well. In fact everyone I associate with at my gym (other PT's, group instructors, and members) are nothing but supportive, encouraging, and help me explore new avenues. There are times I go to the gym even though I don't feel like it because I know I'll run into someone I know.
I couldn't imagine being in a gym w/ any other type of atmosphere......
The actual trainer himself was AMAZING and i'm going to sign up for at least a months worth of sessions with him, it was just that guy in particular who had some interesting ideas about women and weights?!? Even the guy i signed the contract with was amazingly helpful and supportive
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I can't speak as a woman because I'm not one. I do have plenty of experience being underestimated, however. I don't see myself getting angry or upset by the other trainer giving me bad advice when I know better. I just see myself rolling my eyes.
If he's going to be a PT working with women, though, he really needs to read this:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/berardi12.htm
He also needs to check up on Layne Norton's video logs about reps/sets and total volume.0 -
leooftheyear wrote: »
The actual trainer himself was AMAZING and i'm going to sign up for at least a months worth of sessions with him, it was just that guy in particular who had some interesting ideas about women and weights?!? Even the guy i signed the contract with was amazingly helpful and supportive
Maybe he was having roid rage
Lol jk. Feel a little self confidence boost that you surprised the guy and move on. I'm sure you have run into plenty of neigh-sayers and people who have underestimated you before in life. Be excited to work with the trainer though! After 2.5 years I could easily save myself $40 a week and train on my own....but the benefits and accountability and soaking in their years of fitness knowledge is too good to pass up since I can currently afford it 0 -
KGRebelRanch wrote: »I get this in a different way. I'm 4'8" and 135lbs. While I don't go to the gym, I get tired of people (men AND women) telling me to step aside or let someone else come over to load hay/feed/equipment. The worst offender was a man who came to buy a truck frame from us and told me that he would come back with another man because, "I can't load this by myself." I asked him, "So am I supposed to go somewhere else? There's two of us, we can load it."
After a lot of hemming and hawing he finally agreed (I may have also told him if I got hurt, I was in my own yard loading my own frame, so it wasn't like I could sue him).
I explained that my husband works from 6:30-6:00 and if I need anything done, I have to be able to do it alone. This means getting a tractor implement hooked up alone, loading hay alone, hunting and cleaning game alone, vaccinating 400lbs hogs alone.
But the WOMEN who get snarky over it are worse than any man. I cant count the sneers I get when I help load feed with my husband. After hearing a bunch of comments from several 20-something socialite-wannabes while my husband and I loaded feed I wheeled around and said, "What am I supposed to do if im not helping? Stand here and look pretty? Talk on my phone? He just got off a ten hour shift of moving equipment that is heavier than he is and he STILL drove me all the way here and helped me load it. You seem AWFULLY helpful stading around like a freaking mannequin-your husbands must feel lucky to have such pretty ladies to stare at."
I may not be the best looking, or the friendliest, but i'll be damned if im letting my vag stop me from being helpful with heavy items after my husband worked his hands to the bone all day.
Random but..I like you 0 -
The advice he gave you at first was the safest advice he could've given someone who just walked into his gym for the first time, from a liability standpoint. He had no idea whether or not you had any idea what you were doing. Next time you're there, take a moment and look around at what everyone else is doing. I'd bet you'll see at least one person who should've been told to lower their weight before they hurt themselves. Believe me, I really do understand how frustrating it is when people assume that you can't lift because you're a woman. But it probably wasn't personal at all -- it was a CYA thing.0
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The advice he gave you at first was the safest advice he could've given someone who just walked into his gym for the first time, from a liability standpoint. He had no idea whether or not you had any idea what you were doing. Next time you're there, take a moment and look around at what everyone else is doing. I'd bet you'll see at least one person who should've been told to lower their weight before they hurt themselves. Believe me, I really do understand how frustrating it is when people assume that you can't lift because you're a woman. But it probably wasn't personal at all -- it was a CYA thing.
I agree with you to a certain extent, i told him i have been doing stronglifts for 6 months on and off, mostly on and i have been going to the gym and doing the classes, specifically mentioned body pump, for 2 years, so im not a new person off the street. But, yes i do agree from a safety standpoint, but he did not have to be demeaning about it! or give me *kitten* advise that didn't fit in with my goals of toning and losing inches, NEVER MENTIONED BULKING UP AT ALL...then out of nowhere he recommended a strong woman competition?!?0 -
Oh, I totally agree he was a jerk! I just think it was probably less about you personally and more about his corporate environment. And nobody mentions bulking to women, even if you specifically say that gaining muscle is your goal. I have a lot of fun watching people at the gym do the shocked double-take when I bring it upleooftheyear wrote: »The advice he gave you at first was the safest advice he could've given someone who just walked into his gym for the first time, from a liability standpoint. He had no idea whether or not you had any idea what you were doing. Next time you're there, take a moment and look around at what everyone else is doing. I'd bet you'll see at least one person who should've been told to lower their weight before they hurt themselves. Believe me, I really do understand how frustrating it is when people assume that you can't lift because you're a woman. But it probably wasn't personal at all -- it was a CYA thing.
I agree with you to a certain extent, i told him i have been doing stronglifts for 6 months on and off, mostly on and i have been going to the gym and doing the classes, specifically mentioned body pump, for 2 years, so im not a new person off the street. But, yes i do agree from a safety standpoint, but he did not have to be demeaning about it! or give me *kitten* advise that didn't fit in with my goals of toning and losing inches, NEVER MENTIONED BULKING UP AT ALL...then out of nowhere he recommended a strong woman competition?!?
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Maybe you should give him feedback about how he could improve his service. He would probably get more clients. We are half the population, he should learn how to communicate with us in a way that isn't alienating.0
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hehehe0
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I get how you'd be annoyed and irritated, but do you think maybe your anger right now is just a bit dramatic?
Yeah, the guy was an idiot, that's been established. And instead of being proud of being able to show both him and yourself just how strong you really are and changing someone's mind about women lifting, you are over here on the forums blowing up and focusing on how some stranger thought you weren't strong enough.
Let it go.0 -
Blow it off. I wanted to use proper form the first time I did a DL at my gym so I asked one of the trainers. Her response was "I should only lift the bar and not worry about lifting any weights with it". BAM! I seriously lost respect for her and any ability she would have at training.
Who cares, cuz I'm strong! laughs0 -
I consulted with youtube on how to have proper form while doing certain lifts, plus watched an Arnold Schwarzenegger documentary for further clarification. On a serious note I lift heavy and worked with a trainer years ago. Proper form is my specialty and I try to really focus on that, so no swinging of the weights or super quick movements. Slow, heavy, and steady.0
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Dude. Go eat something.0
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