Why are personal trainers hesitant to teach you to lift?
Jambalady
Posts: 155 Member
I ordered both NROLFW and Starting Strength and have finished both with the intention of starting this week at the gym.
Since I've never worked with barbells, I set up a meeting with one of the trainers. She used to bodybuild and compete professionally. She said she was more than happy to strength train with me but flat out refused to work with any oly bars. She said that's how she got injured and if that was what I was looking for, we would not be a good fit.
Ok, happy she was honest with me, so I spoke to a second trainer. He was also excited to work on strength gains, but pushed TRX and kettlebell workouts. also didn't want to work with barbells.
I emailed a good friend who recently became a trainer. SAME EXACT response. She prefers body weight strength training, and while she did not try to discourage me, she definitely was not encouraging me and did not offer help.
What gives? Am I missing something? Is it the liability of a client getting hurt?
I don't have enough confidence to try this on my own and don't have a friend to go with who can spot.
Why are trainers so adverse to these programs?
Since I've never worked with barbells, I set up a meeting with one of the trainers. She used to bodybuild and compete professionally. She said she was more than happy to strength train with me but flat out refused to work with any oly bars. She said that's how she got injured and if that was what I was looking for, we would not be a good fit.
Ok, happy she was honest with me, so I spoke to a second trainer. He was also excited to work on strength gains, but pushed TRX and kettlebell workouts. also didn't want to work with barbells.
I emailed a good friend who recently became a trainer. SAME EXACT response. She prefers body weight strength training, and while she did not try to discourage me, she definitely was not encouraging me and did not offer help.
What gives? Am I missing something? Is it the liability of a client getting hurt?
I don't have enough confidence to try this on my own and don't have a friend to go with who can spot.
Why are trainers so adverse to these programs?
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Replies
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I don't know these people or their reasons but I'd venture to say that you just haven't found the right person who has the right capabilities, knowledge or specialties. You probably want to find someone with a powerlifting and/or strongman background. Let's face it, of the people who hire a PT, how many want to specialize in BB training? 5% at most?
Maybe seek out the local meathead gym to find someone worthwhile? I don't know what kind of gym you go to but if it's a generic chain gym like a PF or a 24HR fitness or whatever, you're gonna have a harder time finding what you're looking for.0 -
I don't know, exactly, but I'd imagine you're right about the liability.
In my city, there are a few strength and conditioning type private gyms who will do lifting lessons. Perhaps there's something like that in your area?0 -
At least those trainers were honest with you. I would also suggest more of a private gym environment. From my experience the trainers at private facilities are more knowledgeable and think out of the box versus the large chain gym trainers.0
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I feel like fitness goes through phases of what's in vogue. Body weight exercises seem to be really in right now if you look at (at least for women) the popular online fitness ladies. "Muscles" on women is in vogue but by using body weight, kettlebells, etc...unless you squat...everyone wants a woman that squats with a bar now lol.
I also wonder if there's just a lack of education. I wanted to use the TRX for working up to chin ups and there was a giant sign at my gym (24 Hour) for a workshop on how to use it. I went and the trainer giving the workshop was asking me about my goals. Really nice guy. But when I mentioned that I was currently in a deficit to drop body fat and doing 3 days of cardio with 3 days of lifting and then was interested in gaining muscle after I reached my goal. Even showed him my strong curves book so he could see exactly what I was doing. He went on to talk about how I could go ahead and start working to gain muscle while I was losing fat. So I guess certified doesn't necessarily mean fully education?
And the reason I showed him the book (have it on my phone kindle app) was because I was mentioning the different lifts I was doing and he was familiar with some of it so I showed him the pictures. I really didn't think there was anything fancy to the workout lol.0 -
I feel like fitness goes through phases of what's in vogue. Body weight exercises seem to be really in right now if you look at (at least for women) the popular online fitness ladies. "Muscles" on women is in vogue but by using body weight, kettlebells, etc...unless you squat...everyone wants a woman that squats with a bar now lol.
I also wonder if there's just a lack of education. I wanted to use the TRX for working up to chin ups and there was a giant sign at my gym (24 Hour) for a workshop on how to use it. I went and the trainer giving the workshop was asking me about my goals. Really nice guy. But when I mentioned that I was currently in a deficit to drop body fat and doing 3 days of cardio with 3 days of lifting and then was interested in gaining muscle after I reached my goal. Even showed him my strong curves book so he could see exactly what I was doing. He went on to talk about how I could go ahead and start working to gain muscle while I was losing fat. So I guess certified doesn't necessarily mean fully education?
And the reason I showed him the book (have it on my phone kindle app) was because I was mentioning the different lifts I was doing and he was familiar with some of it so I showed him the pictures. I really didn't think there was anything fancy to the workout lol.0 -
No idea. I use the bar and weights for squats, dead lifts, Romanian dead lifts, and calves. Form is harder on free weights than machines, but I also think they work additional muscles to balance.0
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My pt is happy to but I go to a competitive body builders gym as bizarrely feel more comfortable walking into a gym full of men than women.
You are paying for their service find someone who works for you.xx0 -
Its just the latest fad.0
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what kind of gym are you going to? every single one of the trainers at my gym trains with free weights.0
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I ordered both NROLFW and Starting Strength and have finished both with the intention of starting this week at the gym.
Since I've never worked with barbells, I set up a meeting with one of the trainers. She used to bodybuild and compete professionally. She said she was more than happy to strength train with me but flat out refused to work with any oly bars. She said that's how she got injured and if that was what I was looking for, we would not be a good fit.
Ok, happy she was honest with me, so I spoke to a second trainer. He was also excited to work on strength gains, but pushed TRX and kettlebell workouts. also didn't want to work with barbells.
I emailed a good friend who recently became a trainer. SAME EXACT response. She prefers body weight strength training, and while she did not try to discourage me, she definitely was not encouraging me and did not offer help.
What gives? Am I missing something? Is it the liability of a client getting hurt?
I don't have enough confidence to try this on my own and don't have a friend to go with who can spot.
Why are trainers so adverse to these programs?
Trainer 1 told you why, she hurt herself and stays away from it herself.
Trainer 2 doesn't do that, he does TRX and Kettlebell.
Trainer 3 doesn't do that, she does body weight strength stuff.
Here are some reasons I've heard for avoiding heavy lifting ("heavy" meaning 100+ lbs on the bar):
- Lifting too much weight at once isn't ideal for people who are 1) over a certain age and 2) who've been sedentary their whole lives. Too much strain on already degrading connective tissues. Too much risk for not enough reward.
- Hernias0 -
Shop around more, my trainer loved having me lift. You've got to research and find one that is knowledgeable and comfortable enough to teach and guide you. My trainer is stacked, in his 60s, and has a big, grey handlebar moustache! The point is, don't go for a cross fit bred, fad following, just out of college trainer
find one that has spent some time doing it themselves. 0 -
Every trainer in the gym i go to will teach you bar bell lifts and dumb berm lifts you just have to pay their free0
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I feel like fitness goes through phases of what's in vogue. Body weight exercises seem to be really in right now if you look at (at least for women) the popular online fitness ladies. "Muscles" on women is in vogue but by using body weight, kettlebells, etc...unless you squat...everyone wants a woman that squats with a bar now lol.
I also wonder if there's just a lack of education. I wanted to use the TRX for working up to chin ups and there was a giant sign at my gym (24 Hour) for a workshop on how to use it. I went and the trainer giving the workshop was asking me about my goals. Really nice guy. But when I mentioned that I was currently in a deficit to drop body fat and doing 3 days of cardio with 3 days of lifting and then was interested in gaining muscle after I reached my goal. Even showed him my strong curves book so he could see exactly what I was doing. He went on to talk about how I could go ahead and start working to gain muscle while I was losing fat. So I guess certified doesn't necessarily mean fully education?
And the reason I showed him the book (have it on my phone kindle app) was because I was mentioning the different lifts I was doing and he was familiar with some of it so I showed him the pictures. I really didn't think there was anything fancy to the workout lol.
That's not really the worst advice in the world.0 -
I ordered both NROLFW and Starting Strength and have finished both with the intention of starting this week at the gym.
Since I've never worked with barbells, I set up a meeting with one of the trainers. She used to bodybuild and compete professionally. She said she was more than happy to strength train with me but flat out refused to work with any oly bars. She said that's how she got injured and if that was what I was looking for, we would not be a good fit.
Ok, happy she was honest with me, so I spoke to a second trainer. He was also excited to work on strength gains, but pushed TRX and kettlebell workouts. also didn't want to work with barbells.
I emailed a good friend who recently became a trainer. SAME EXACT response. She prefers body weight strength training, and while she did not try to discourage me, she definitely was not encouraging me and did not offer help.
What gives? Am I missing something? Is it the liability of a client getting hurt?
I don't have enough confidence to try this on my own and don't have a friend to go with who can spot.
Why are trainers so adverse to these programs?
Trainer 1 told you why, she hurt herself and stays away from it herself.
Trainer 2 doesn't do that, he does TRX and Kettlebell.
Trainer 3 doesn't do that, she does body weight strength stuff.
Here are some reasons I've heard for avoiding heavy lifting ("heavy" meaning 100+ lbs on the bar):
- Lifting too much weight at once isn't ideal for people who are 1) over a certain age and 2) who've been sedentary their whole lives. Too much strain on already degrading connective tissues. Too much risk for not enough reward.
- Hernias
Again, not the worst advice in the world. I wouldn't start training a noob straightaway on the oly. There are reasons why a trainer would be hesitant. My guess is there's a lot of people that walk in with a book or magazine and say, "I want to do/look like that." Most of them would benefit from a hardcore TRX/Calisthenics workout.0 -
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If you want to lift, keep shopping around for someone to teach you. I hired a trainer who is an oly lifter. Best money i ever spent. He taught me two of the big three, and my best friend taught meto bench. Empowering in the strength I've gained, empowering because I am a woman lifter!
People/trainers don't want to teach it because it isn't encouraged outside of sports, especially for women.
Movement need not always be functional. So you're not lifting anything in a 7ft bar in real life. You want to in the gym and it is in your goal set so go do it
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Did they do any sort of evaluation on your movement patterns? Did they say they would never work with you on a barbell or not right now? A good trainer will check the trainee's movement patterns. Maybe the person has issues that would make barbell training dangerous and it would be better to start with bodyweight or another form of resistance and progress.0
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That is so strange. I go to my local YMCA and we can do anything. If I don't know how to do something I ask--or ask them if if I'm doing the proper form. I like doing everything except running. I love boot camp, core classes, body weight workouts, biking and weightlifting. If they won't teach you something it really isn't worth going!0
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I ordered both NROLFW and Starting Strength and have finished both with the intention of starting this week at the gym.
Since I've never worked with barbells, I set up a meeting with one of the trainers. She used to bodybuild and compete professionally. She said she was more than happy to strength train with me but flat out refused to work with any oly bars. She said that's how she got injured and if that was what I was looking for, we would not be a good fit.
Ok, happy she was honest with me, so I spoke to a second trainer. He was also excited to work on strength gains, but pushed TRX and kettlebell workouts. also didn't want to work with barbells.
I emailed a good friend who recently became a trainer. SAME EXACT response. She prefers body weight strength training, and while she did not try to discourage me, she definitely was not encouraging me and did not offer help.
What gives? Am I missing something? Is it the liability of a client getting hurt?
I don't have enough confidence to try this on my own and don't have a friend to go with who can spot.
Why are trainers so adverse to these programs?
Trainer 1 told you why, she hurt herself and stays away from it herself.
Trainer 2 doesn't do that, he does TRX and Kettlebell.
Trainer 3 doesn't do that, she does body weight strength stuff.
Here are some reasons I've heard for avoiding heavy lifting ("heavy" meaning 100+ lbs on the bar):
- Lifting too much weight at once isn't ideal for people who are 1) over a certain age and 2) who've been sedentary their whole lives. Too much strain on already degrading connective tissues. Too much risk for not enough reward.
- Hernias
Again, not the worst advice in the world. I wouldn't start training a noob straightaway on the oly. There are reasons why a trainer would be hesitant. My guess is there's a lot of people that walk in with a book or magazine and say, "I want to do/look like that." Most of them would benefit from a hardcore TRX/Calisthenics workout.
I never said I wanted to go straight to0 -
I never said I wanted to go straight to lifting 100+ lbs on an oly bar and I wouldn't consider myself a total noob. I do Trx regularly as well as boot camp/cardio sculpt classes. I just wanted to try something different bc lifting heavy seems to have gotten results for a ton of people here. I was just surprised that so many trainers would be hesitant to show me how to squat or deadlift with more than a 20lb kettle bell which I can easily do. I just figured all trainers would at least be willing to show a paying client the basics of good form and how to use equipment.
I'm honestly surprised how hard it is to find a trainer who will.
I belong to a corporate gym, lots of business folks on their lunch breaks but also a good contingent of young muscle heads.0 -
Packerjohn wrote: »Did they do any sort of evaluation on your movement patterns? Did they say they would never work with you on a barbell or not right now? A good trainer will check the trainee's movement patterns. Maybe the person has issues that would make barbell training dangerous and it would be better to start with bodyweight or another form of resistance and progress.
I have been to this gym for over 7 years and have taken multiple classes with all 3 of the trainers. They should be aware of my capabilities from class.
I'm a regular at the gym.0 -
I think it's a combination of many of them not knowing how to really work with barbells and therefore unable to correctly teach others, the "safety / liability" aspect, plus it's easier for them (and you) to just go and do a circuit of machines and send you on your merry way...0
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I'm surprised they don't have a weightlifting 101 class. I have been doing one for about 3 weeks now0
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We still do pretty basic stuff .....but you have to do that too. No point doing squats lifts if you can't do a basic squat the right way. Do you have a HACK machine at your gym. I really love that machine...it allows you to do weighted controlled deep squats.0
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I'm a 53 year old woman and found a trainer, this 30-year old ex-military medic who loved training me on barbell weights. One of the best things I've ever done. Keep looking until you find what you want.0
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Packerjohn wrote: »Did they do any sort of evaluation on your movement patterns? Did they say they would never work with you on a barbell or not right now? A good trainer will check the trainee's movement patterns. Maybe the person has issues that would make barbell training dangerous and it would be better to start with bodyweight or another form of resistance and progress.
I have been to this gym for over 7 years and have taken multiple classes with all 3 of the trainers. They should be aware of my capabilities from class.
I'm a regular at the gym.
Then maybe this is the reason? They know you and do not think you will at this point benefit from this type of training? They might be thinking that you can, at your current status regarding fitness or strenght, get results with the routines they are suggesting with less risk?0 -
Thing is, barbell lifting is pretty simple. you only do about 3-6 different lifts to get a whole workout. There is a lot of other stuff to train, like posture, and how to increase weight, but the basic lifts don't change. Kettle bells and TRX (nothing wrong with them btw- fun!) have like 90 million variations and this is how personal trainers make their money; by putting together routines that are complicated and you couldn't easily do on your own.0
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Having once been a gym rat and given it up for my own garage. My best guess is it is out of fashion these days. The Personal Trainers in my days at the gym looked like they belonged there with the Olympic bars. The ones I see these days, 99% percent don't look like they could lift the 45lb bar off the floor. Having said that I know perfectly well strength is not always a matter of bulk. I'm saying that most trainers feed on what is the most popular thing going and what their employers at those chain gyms want to sell the most of.
Find a small gym that specializes in weight or power lifting. They may look like meat heads and some truly are. Though the guy/girl at the front door will know who is the personal trainer in the bunch and knowledgeable enough to train you. Anyone at any age, unless there is a distinct disability, can start lifting Olympic weights when taught by a trainer that knows Olympic weights and the proper technique of each movement. I think that is the key part "proper technique of each movement". While most of us think we know, most don't. Which is the most likely reason Trainer #1 said she was injured while using Olympic style lifting or she was not lifting in a rack like she should have been.
Newer trainers are most not likely taught this as part of their certifications as most gyms these days are filled to bursting with all kinds of machines. Machines do not require technique to use properly and they can be used to get a client lifting "heavy" quickly. Though machine "heavy" lifting is not comparable to Olympic Style "heavy" lifting. Olympic styles uses far more of the bodies musculature to lift with creating a much more real world strength.
Once you find a smaller gym ask about starting a Strong Lifts 5x5 program. They will more than likely jump at the chance. If you can lift a 45lbs Olympic bar already you are at the starting point of the program. Also, since the system is set to move a 2.5lb increments it is not going to be to much to fast and there are built in progression safeties should you not be able to complete reps or sets.
Hope that helps. Good Luck and Go Lift Olympic Style.0 -
Jennloella wrote: »Shop around more, my trainer loved having me lift. You've got to research and find one that is knowledgeable and comfortable enough to teach and guide you. My trainer is stacked, in his 60s, and has a big, grey handlebar moustache! The point is, don't go for a cross fit bred, fad following, just out of college trainer find one that has spent some time doing it themselves.
So why automatically discount a CrossFit trainer? While I agree there are some bad coaches out there, two of my coaches were previously Olympic lifters. A good CrossFit trainer will work with you on your goals to include focusing on basic form first. The key to any trainer/trainee success, IMHO, is to communicate openly. The three the OP talked to were open enough to tell her they would prefer to trainer her in other ways. She was able to communicate that she wanted to do lifting. So tell your trainers WHY you want to lift with a barbell.
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