Why are personal trainers hesitant to teach you to lift?
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Go to a place that specialises in barbell lifting.
Crossfit box, powerlifting gym, oly lifting club.
Then you'll find someone who knows the lifts and teaches the lifts. I live in the *kitten*-end of nowhere and I've recently discovered there's a PL gym only 12 miles away from me and a CF place 2 miles away. Who knew?0 -
CarlydogsMom wrote: »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.
This................I'm 65 and spent a year doing body weight, resistance and core work with a trainer. When she moved on I found a new one at the same gym, a former Marine, and I'm doing 175 lb dead lifts now as well as the other lifts. He wasn't a bit afraid of training me. I guess it's finding the right person for the job.
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I myself am a qualified PT and the truth is that PTs aren't really taught a lot about the use of barbells and dumbells. Only very basic stuff and none of it using olympic bars. These are covered in other courses that very few PTs actually take because none of the larger/corporate gyms want anybody grunting or getting chalk all over their clean floors.
Chances are your first trainer had poor form and injured herself that way so now she steers clear of that type of training. I myself have a few injuries from using poor form when I was young, but have instead adapted my training which includes barbells, dumbells and machines.
The important thing is to find an instructor who knows what they're doing and performs the lifts themselves. Watch them lift, if they poor form, stay away from them. But if they have good form go for it and ask if they'll teach you.0 -
pennydreadful270 wrote: »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.
That's what I'm thinking too.
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As others said above, it's about what's in vogue, and what folks are trained to do, and barbell work just isn't in vogue right now unless you're at a gym full of powerlifters.
You just need to shop around until you find the right trainer that wants to help YOU with YOUR goals.
I started with Stronglifts 5x5. No trainer. I watched videos, watched myself in the mirror at the gym, and started slow with low weight, as recommended. My current combined max weights for bench, squat and deadlift is 980. So you can do this.
There are some serious powerlifters at my gym that I've come to know and talk with over time. Many of them have complimented me on my form, particularly squats because I go very deep, and few people do. You can actually learn do all the barbell lifts by yourself. They are not that difficult. But if you want a trainer to get started, just find the right one.
Being strong is awesome. And compound lifts are a great way to get there. Don't let the personal trainers you've talked with deter you.0 -
After years of lifting with no trainer and multiple injuries I happened to run into an IFBB competitor/trainer who goes to my gym. May sound strange, but as an firearms instructor my favorite students are women - simply better at fine motor skills and describing fine details than men (generally). For lifting we started out with just the oly and she pointed out multiple flaws in my form, which once corrected enabled me to lift (over time) far more than I ever dreamed of before. Now there are several videos out there, but you really need a trainer to describe where your effort should be directed and to check your form from all angles.
Keep shopping around for a trainer willing to work with your needs, not marketing their program. I have not tried TRX, but my wife swears by it. I may try at some point, but happy with my current regimen.0 -
that's very odd to me. I am starting with a trainer on Monday with the specific purpose of lifting since I don't know technique and don't want to go at it alone- I told him my goals, and he was happy to accommodate. We already had our first fitness orientation and did squats with the bar (minus weight- just to learn proper technique) and the bench press, again, no added weight, just for technique. I think you need to just find the right trainer.0
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I agree with the others telling you to keep shopping. My trainer didn't start with Oly bar lifting, but we always did dumbbells for deadlift, squat and bench. He progressed me up to the bar and now we do other lifts with the bar. This is all combined with other exercises too. He still has be watch videos that show me proper form and good breakdowns when he see them.0
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This................I'm 65 and spent a year doing body weight, resistance and core work with a trainer. When she moved on I found a new one at the same gym, a former Marine, and I'm doing 175 lb dead lifts now as well as the other lifts. He wasn't a bit afraid of training me. I guess it's finding the right person for the job.
I have nothing to add to this discussion other than you are my hero!
I hope when I'm 65 I'm still heavy lifting.
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colors_fade wrote: »As others said above, it's about what's in vogue, and what folks are trained to do, and barbell work just isn't in vogue right now unless you're at a gym full of powerlifters.
You just need to shop around until you find the right trainer that wants to help YOU with YOUR goals.
I started with Stronglifts 5x5. No trainer. I watched videos, watched myself in the mirror at the gym, and started slow with low weight, as recommended. My current combined max weights for bench, squat and deadlift is 980. So you can do this.
There are some serious powerlifters at my gym that I've come to know and talk with over time. Many of them have complimented me on my form, particularly squats because I go very deep, and few people do. You can actually learn do all the barbell lifts by yourself. They are not that difficult. But if you want a trainer to get started, just find the right one.
Being strong is awesome. And compound lifts are a great way to get there. Don't let the personal trainers you've talked with deter you.
Thanks. I decided to just try to feel my way around the gym on my own today. Grabbed a 50 lb barbell (one of the shorter "girlie" ones) and did 2 sets of 12 easy peasy. Grabbed a 60 lb and unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to get it over my head on to my shoulders (wasn't as easy to just lift it over as the 50) and didn't want to knock anyone over trying so I definitely need some help in setting up and positioning myself in an actual squat rack I think.
I'll keep looking around. Sounds like I just haven't found the right trainer yet.0 -
This................I'm 65 and spent a year doing body weight, resistance and core work with a trainer. When she moved on I found a new one at the same gym, a former Marine, and I'm doing 175 lb dead lifts now as well as the other lifts. He wasn't a bit afraid of training me. I guess it's finding the right person for the job.
I have nothing to add to this discussion other than you are my hero! I hope when I'm 65 I'm still heavy lifting.
totally agree. this is awesome to see!
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Nothing wrong with the shorter bars. They are the ones I use right now. My trainer says it is better to learn with because you can balance it. Just do more of the 50 pounds first----don't rush it! Look for lots of weight lifting videos too....they can help too. Just remind your self of how to do a squat and look for the perfect form0
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HereWeGoAgain7 wrote: »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.
That statement isn't discounting CrossFit trainers. It's discounting the "cross fit bred, fad following, just out of college trainer". If it was meant to discount CrossFit trainers, the rest of the descriptors would have been left out.0 -
I would also add that if you're new to resistance training OP, perhaps they want to start you off more basic. While it is pretty common place around MFP to just jump into lifting heavy, it's not always the smartest way to go about things. Perhaps they want to start small before you go big...like learning to swim before jumping into the deep end.0
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Secondly- most people don't feel like they got their money's worth if they aren't sweating super hard and out of breath- so your general client will vaguely feel like they were cheated if they aren't dying "burning" and sweating- the value of a hard work out trump technical experience. Few clients will specifically seek that out.0
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For checking form and how to handle the equipment. I honestly have no clue around anything other than dumbbells and kettle bells, and like today, I knew I could handle squatting more than 50 lbs, but couldn't figure out how to safely get a heavier bar on my shoulder.0 -
Don't necessarily give up on the corporate gyms- My 24 hour fitness has an whole section dedicated to olympic lifting, and I see trainers with clients working with them frequently.0
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Secondly- most people don't feel like they got their money's worth if they aren't sweating super hard and out of breath- so your general client will vaguely feel like they were cheated if they aren't dying "burning" and sweating- the value of a hard work out trump technical experience. Few clients will specifically seek that out.
+1
This is another valid reason that I think the thought process of a lot of the newer breed of Personal Trainers follow. And, also everything from Zumba to Crossfit to TRX in this last decade or so has preached that if you are not burning your eyeballs with pouring sweat you are not really working out. So their clients look for those sweat junky trainers.
For checking form and how to handle the equipment. I honestly have no clue around anything other than dumbbells and kettle bells, and like today, I knew I could handle squatting more than 50 lbs, but couldn't figure out how to safely get a heavier bar on my shoulder.
As you gain experience with the bar you will eventually out grow dumbbells and kettle bells (except for a more circuit style training) Checkout this link out about the 5x5 program. A lot of information, can be done by anyone at any age and as they now say "They have an app for that". Something I never had way, way back when I started, LoL.
stronglifts.com/5x5/
Keep looking, don't give up. Good Luck.0 -
Just be glad they were honest and up front about what they were confident in the style of training they could provide. Many aren't0
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