Working with a personal trainer for weightlifting goals
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LJay89
Posts: 91 Member
Hello,
So today I contacted a PT to get me started (again) with weightlifting.
He asked me what my goal was. Although I said to him I do want to lose weight, ultimately what I want from him is to help me get as strong as possible on the squat, deadlift, benchpress and pushpress. I am hoping that weightloss/a learner looking body will be something that comes from strength training being my ultimate goal.
Might sound odd but how do I communicate this to him so that it is clear??
I had a PT before and despite expressing my want to follow the four main lifts she was adamant that I should follow her plans, which didn't contain that much lifting, which would help me lose weight etc.
Thanks
So today I contacted a PT to get me started (again) with weightlifting.
He asked me what my goal was. Although I said to him I do want to lose weight, ultimately what I want from him is to help me get as strong as possible on the squat, deadlift, benchpress and pushpress. I am hoping that weightloss/a learner looking body will be something that comes from strength training being my ultimate goal.
Might sound odd but how do I communicate this to him so that it is clear??
I had a PT before and despite expressing my want to follow the four main lifts she was adamant that I should follow her plans, which didn't contain that much lifting, which would help me lose weight etc.
Thanks
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Replies
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Hello,
So today I contacted a PT to get me started (again) with weightlifting.
He asked me what my goal was. Although I said to him I do want to lose weight, ultimately what I want from him is to help me get as strong as possible on the squat, deadlift, benchpress and pushpress. I am hoping that weightloss/a learner looking body will be something that comes from strength training being my ultimate goal.
Might sound odd but how do I communicate this to him so that it is clear??
I had a PT before and despite expressing my want to follow the four main lifts she was adamant that I should follow her plans, which didn't contain that much lifting, which would help me lose weight etc.
Thanks
Tell him you want your training to be oriented toward powerlifting. If he has no knowledge or experience with powerlifting, find another trainer.4 -
Hello,
So today I contacted a PT to get me started (again) with weightlifting.
He asked me what my goal was. Although I said to him I do want to lose weight, ultimately what I want from him is to help me get as strong as possible on the squat, deadlift, benchpress and pushpress. I am hoping that weightloss/a learner looking body will be something that comes from strength training being my ultimate goal.
Might sound odd but how do I communicate this to him so that it is clear??
I had a PT before and despite expressing my want to follow the four main lifts she was adamant that I should follow her plans, which didn't contain that much lifting, which would help me lose weight etc.
Thanks
Tell him you want your training to be oriented toward powerlifting. If he has no knowledge or experience with powerlifting, find another trainer.
This exactly...0 -
I'm not a trainer but what you've said seems pretty clear to me. If s/he doesn't get it, just fire the trainer and find another who does.
You apparently want to focus your strength training on the lifts used in powerlifting, which also happen to be used in beginning programs like Stronglifts and Starting Strength but I don't hear you saying that you actually want to become a powerlifter. So, I'd avoid telling the trainer that you want a program oriented towards powelifting.
Better to say IMO that you'd just like his/her help in getting stronger by focusing only on the lifts used in the Stronglifts program, which are the DL, SQT, BP, OHP and Rows.
I suggest Stronglifts because Starting Strength uses Power Cleans instead of Rows, which is a more difficult lift intended to develop explosive strength for athletics, which does not seem to be your objective.
However, you may want to use the 3x5 set/rep routine in Starting Strength vs the 5x5 routine used in Stronglifts because it allows you (based on my experience w/both programs) to lift heavier weights and get stronger quicker than you can w/Stronglifts, while also reducing the risk of injury by avoiding doing too much too quickly.
Before you actually discuss these matters w/a potential trainer, I suggest you read and learn about both programs 1st. You just have to Google them to find that info. The programs are very similar but there are distinct differences that you need to understand in order to design the program that is best for you
As for getting leaner, weight lifting will not do much if anything for you in this regard. Only diet control and weight/BF loss will and using MFP to log your food and exercise is your best tool for that purpose.
Any trainer you speak to should say nothing that would contradict this. If they do, I would be wary of any advice they give you in this regard.
Good luck!
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I'm not a trainer but what you've said seems pretty clear to me. If s/he doesn't get it, just fire the trainer and find another who does.
You apparently want to focus your strength training on the lifts used in powerlifting, which also happen to be used in beginning programs like Stronglifts and Starting Strength but I don't hear you saying that you actually want to become a powerlifter. So, I'd avoid telling the trainer that you want a program oriented towards powelifting.
Better to say IMO that you'd just like his/her help in getting stronger by focusing only on the lifts used in the Stronglifts program, which are the DL, SQT, BP, OHP and Rows.
I suggest Stronglifts because Starting Strength uses Power Cleans instead of Rows, which is a more difficult lift intended to develop explosive strength for athletics, which does not seem to be your objective.
However, you may want to use the 3x5 set/rep routine in Starting Strength vs the 5x5 routine used in Stronglifts because it allows you (based on my experience w/both programs) to lift heavier weights and get stronger quicker than you can w/Stronglifts, while also reducing the risk of injury by avoiding doing too much too quickly.
Before you actually discuss these matters w/a potential trainer, I suggest you read and learn about both programs 1st. You just have to Google them to find that info. The programs are very similar but there are distinct differences that you need to understand in order to design the program that is best for you
As for getting leaner, weight lifting will not do much if anything for you in this regard. Only diet control and weight/BF loss will and using MFP to log your food and exercise is your best tool for that purpose.
Any trainer you speak to should say nothing that would contradict this. If they do, I would be wary of any advice they give you in this regard.
Good luck!
Thank you.
I am familiar with the programs you are talking about so i feel confident to discuss this with him.
I do want to lose weight and i have signed up to MFP for this reason. I am hoping lifting with the aim to get strong and calorie counting will be a good combo.
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Cherimoose wrote: »
I have lifted before and followed SS and SL 5X50 -
You mentioned what a past PT said when you told them your goals, but what did this PT say? Is there some reason you feel he didn't understand what you said?
Your goal sounds quite clear to me. "Get as strong as possible on the squat, deadlift, benchpress and pushpress." I don't know how one could be any more clear than that!0 -
Countless people have gotten very strong without using an Olympic barbell, myself included. There are hundreds of excellent exercises out there, so unless you want to compete in powerlifting, i would be flexible about the exercise selection.
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barbell lifting is awesome! get strong! You need to find a trainer that trains for those lifts, the PT you have now apparently isn't that kind of trainer.1
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Cherimoose wrote: »Countless people have gotten very strong without using an Olympic barbell, myself included. There are hundreds of excellent exercises out there, so unless you want to compete in powerlifting, i would be flexible about the exercise selection.
Do you have any suggestions of what I could be doing?0 -
You mentioned what a past PT said when you told them your goals, but what did this PT say? Is there some reason you feel he didn't understand what you said?
Your goal sounds quite clear to me. "Get as strong as possible on the squat, deadlift, benchpress and pushpress." I don't know how one could be any more clear than that!
I guess so... I just want to be very clear that all I want him for is to help me get as strong as possible in those lifts...0 -
You mentioned what a past PT said when you told them your goals, but what did this PT say? Is there some reason you feel he didn't understand what you said?
Your goal sounds quite clear to me. "Get as strong as possible on the squat, deadlift, benchpress and pushpress." I don't know how one could be any more clear than that!
Well we are meeting to discuss more fully so I will see what his background is. I don't think he could help me if I wanted to add in some Olympic lifting but he does have people on his website discussing how he helped them with lifting... but it is mainly endurance based stuff.0 -
Getting as strong as possible while in a calorie deficit is a slight conflict. To get a strong as possible requires energy and while in a deficit you do not have the spare energy so to speak. You will likely make some initial strength gains from neuro adaptations but eventually these will run out. Mass moves mass. speaking from experience of working to add just 2.5 tiny kg to my squat over the past 6 months and still failing because i have been at maintenance or in a deficit.5
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You mentioned what a past PT said when you told them your goals, but what did this PT say? Is there some reason you feel he didn't understand what you said?
Your goal sounds quite clear to me. "Get as strong as possible on the squat, deadlift, benchpress and pushpress." I don't know how one could be any more clear than that!
I guess so... I just want to be very clear that all I want him for is to help me get as strong as possible in those lifts...
That is crystal clear and should be to your trainer too.
But if you start out with the preamble "I want to lose weight..." then expect that clarity to go.
In your OP your message is muddled and the assumption might be that what you say first is your #1 priority.
"Although I said to him I do want to lose weight, ultimately what I want from him is to help me get as strong as possible on the squat, deadlift, benchpress and pushpress."
Ultimately isn't right now.
Think you should restate your goals to your PT precisely how they have evolved during this thread.
It might be worth mentioning that you are losing weight and they may give sensible advice along the lines of "keep your deficit low, keep your protein high, watch out for lack of energy and poor recovery" but your PT is to help with your training not your weight loss.2 -
I only used a coach to show me the lifts. I have gone back and had basically form checks. I used Starting Strength for my programming as I don’t believe a novice needs any special programming. Until you hit at least intermediate progression there is no reason to reinvent the wheel.1
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karenbeckwith5 wrote: »Getting as strong as possible while in a calorie deficit is a slight conflict. To get a strong as possible requires energy and while in a deficit you do not have the spare energy so to speak. You will likely make some initial strength gains from neuro adaptations but eventually these will run out. Mass moves mass. speaking from experience of working to add just 2.5 tiny kg to my squat over the past 6 months and still failing because i have been at maintenance or in a deficit.
If I am aiming for a change in body composition... if I ate at my TDEE and lifted heavier masses overtime, would, theoretically I see some changes?0 -
You mentioned what a past PT said when you told them your goals, but what did this PT say? Is there some reason you feel he didn't understand what you said?
Your goal sounds quite clear to me. "Get as strong as possible on the squat, deadlift, benchpress and pushpress." I don't know how one could be any more clear than that!
I guess so... I just want to be very clear that all I want him for is to help me get as strong as possible in those lifts...
That is crystal clear and should be to your trainer too.
But if you start out with the preamble "I want to lose weight..." then expect that clarity to go.
In your OP your message is muddled and the assumption might be that what you say first is your #1 priority.
"Although I said to him I do want to lose weight, ultimately what I want from him is to help me get as strong as possible on the squat, deadlift, benchpress and pushpress."
Ultimately isn't right now.
Think you should restate your goals to your PT precisely how they have evolved during this thread.
It might be worth mentioning that you are losing weight and they may give sensible advice along the lines of "keep your deficit low, keep your protein high, watch out for lack of energy and poor recovery" but your PT is to help with your training not your weight loss.
Ah, yes, okay. I will be more specific. I am coming up with some specific goals such as increase my deadlift by xxx so I think this will be better. Thanks!0 -
karenbeckwith5 wrote: »Getting as strong as possible while in a calorie deficit is a slight conflict. To get a strong as possible requires energy and while in a deficit you do not have the spare energy so to speak. You will likely make some initial strength gains from neuro adaptations but eventually these will run out. Mass moves mass. speaking from experience of working to add just 2.5 tiny kg to my squat over the past 6 months and still failing because i have been at maintenance or in a deficit.
If I am aiming for a change in body composition... if I ate at my TDEE and lifted heavier masses overtime, would, theoretically I see some changes?
I lost 60lbs in 8 months and going from not lifting to a 1000 total. In last 4months I’ve lost an additional 7.5lbs while getting to a 1180 total.
I agree there is a time when you’ll have to eat at maintenance. I also think the higher your body fat the longer you can go before then. Still it’s hard and rest and getting enough protein are even more important for recovery. Still don’t think you can’t get stronger while cutting as a novice. You absolutely can.
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karenbeckwith5 wrote: »Getting as strong as possible while in a calorie deficit is a slight conflict. To get a strong as possible requires energy and while in a deficit you do not have the spare energy so to speak. You will likely make some initial strength gains from neuro adaptations but eventually these will run out. Mass moves mass. speaking from experience of working to add just 2.5 tiny kg to my squat over the past 6 months and still failing because i have been at maintenance or in a deficit.
If I am aiming for a change in body composition... if I ate at my TDEE and lifted heavier masses overtime, would, theoretically I see some changes?
Recomp is certainly possible. It all depends on your goals and which is more important. getting stronger and hitting a certain weight for each lift or weight loss and muscle maintenance. If the first you could continue to cut and loose weight until you start to see you strength numbers stall and then consider eating at TDEE until they stall again and then consider the need for surplus cals to gain additional muscle and mass. depending on experince and how close you are to maxing out at your current weight will determine how quickly you'll need to move through the stages outlined above. after 3 years of crossfit and a year of focusing on compound movements i have finally reached a stall point that I can't seem to move beyond without additional mass.1 -
karenbeckwith5 wrote: »karenbeckwith5 wrote: »Getting as strong as possible while in a calorie deficit is a slight conflict. To get a strong as possible requires energy and while in a deficit you do not have the spare energy so to speak. You will likely make some initial strength gains from neuro adaptations but eventually these will run out. Mass moves mass. speaking from experience of working to add just 2.5 tiny kg to my squat over the past 6 months and still failing because i have been at maintenance or in a deficit.
If I am aiming for a change in body composition... if I ate at my TDEE and lifted heavier masses overtime, would, theoretically I see some changes?
Recomp is certainly possible. It all depends on your goals and which is more important. getting stronger and hitting a certain weight for each lift or weight loss and muscle maintenance. If the first you could continue to cut and loose weight until you start to see you strength numbers stall and then consider eating at TDEE until they stall again and then consider the need for surplus cals to gain additional muscle and mass. depending on experince and how close you are to maxing out at your current weight will determine how quickly you'll need to move through the stages outlined above. after 3 years of crossfit and a year of focusing on compound movements i have finally reached a stall point that I can't seem to move beyond without additional mass.
I really like this post. I have been lifting for less and all of it has been focused on strength. Still this would fall in line with my experience. My total is still going up as I cut down to 105kg. Sure it’s a very slow cut and I took a short maintenance break.0
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