HelloDan Member

Can't tell you about the US, but in the UK, you will need to do a REPS level 3 course. You'll also need to be awesome at sales, as the most successful PTs tend to be the ones who are salesmen, rather than the ones who have awesome knowledge. Its a tough gig, especially if the gym you're at charges a high rent. Check out…

I was going to, but then I decided to leave it to you instead, so that you could feel important and useful!

Not just the time factor, but the fact you don't develop strength either.

The main reason to get the womens bar would be if you are female and plan to compete in the future, as this is what you will use in competition. The secondary reason is if you have very small hands, as the bit you grip of the womens bar is 25mm diameter and the mens bar is 28mm. It's also slightly shorter at 2.1m v 2.2m…

I agree with most of what you said, and most collars are not this heavy, or necessary, but just for information competition collars are 2.5kg each, so basically 5lb a piece. *EDIT* For a visual - not what most people use!

If you're only going to get 1 bar, and you've got the space for it, get the Olympic bar. You can use it for pretty much anything, and providing it's decent to start with if looked after, it should last a lifetime. Are you only planning on getting the bar? Are you going to buy plates at a later point? Are you planning on…

It Depends on the alternatives available, but yes, otherwise I wouldn't suggest it. I think too many people have some crazy fear of the lifts being impossible to learn and too technical. At a competitive level, yes there's a lot to fine tune to max out your total, but for an average gym goer to safely and acceptably put up…

Of course a back squat would be optimal, but given no squat rack, a front squat seems to be close to the next best alternative to get a decent load. I mentioned in my first post that for an efficient lifter back squat should be about 130% clean, front squat would be a lot closer around 110% would be possible. Of course…

I was going to say clean and then front squat. If you can actually clean and overhead press a worthwhile back squat amount, you have an immense press, given that a back squat should be around 130% of what you can C&J, for an efficient lifter and an even greater percent for an inefficient lifter.

I don't box, but when trying to find weightlifting stuff, I have the same problem, and it seems many places that sell weightlifting stuff, also sell boxing stuff. Try suggarrays.co.uk I think they sell a lot of boxing stuff. Also look for MMA shops, and finally, I've just ordered some weightlifitng stuff from a shop in…

For sure, I was actually being slightly facetious, as I think most people don't need a weightlifting shoe, and I see more people that have them and don't need them, than the opposite. Given that I compete at weightlifting, my needs are not the same as the average gym trainer that wants to do many things. I disagree with…

I wear weightlifting shoes for weightlifting, Adipowers, bright red, just to make sure you don't miss them!

Without seeing your form, I would agree with this, I would primarily look at mobility of the ankles, hips. If you google this stuff, there is a ton of information out there that will help. Ideally though, you'd post a form video, as that would most likely reveal exactly what is happening.

Like this - http://youtu.be/dosTfJMbJEM

That's pretty normal, sounds like the right spot, takes getting used to at first, but soon you won't even notice. If you watch weightlifting competitions, you'll often see people unable to make the jerk after a decent looking clean, because they let the bar sit on their windpipe too long. Less frequently, you'll see…

I mentioned some of this in my earlier post, but will add some more. It's nothing that can't be overcome with a bit of mobility work for the wrists and shoulders, and that's assuming you can't do it already. Remember the bar sits on your shoulders, and you can actually open your hand a lot, you don't need to grip it in…

Do you know where that comes from? If you ask me, that looks someone demonstrating a "stripper pull" which is how not to do a first pull for a clean\snatch.

I didn't want to edit the above post, but I did want to add one more thing. The reason it's done in big deadlifts is to get favourable leverage, by reducing the distance between your hips and the bar. It also depends how you round your back. If you round your back gradually, so that the rounding is caused by a lot of…

Romanian Deadlift or Stiff-legged? Stiff-legged you normally expect a bit of back rounding, it's commonly used in strongman training, to build up strength to deadlift with a round back, or for picking up things like atlas stones, which is almost impossible with a flat\extended back. It's extreme positions that are…

I personally don't believe this is as black and white as everyone wants to make it. There are degrees of extension and flexion of the back, if you're in an extreme of flexion or extension, you're at a greater risk of disc herniation, than just a mild flexion or extension from neutral. It's like when people get obsessed…

Patience is essential, no one grows into a beast overnight! I was going to say no one grows overnight, but that wouldn't be entirely true! What's your goal, and where are you starting from? I know you said you did a split, but what do your workouts look like? and what kind of weight are you moving at the moment?

How you program them is going to vary with what you want to achieve. A powerlifter is probably not going to bother with them much at all. A weightlifter is probably going to do them a lot more, as catching a clean and then not being able to stand up is pretty useless. A bodybuilder might add them in and out of their…

I'm with the food option too, although I did and do use protein shakes to keep my protein intake up, as I found it easier to eat carb dense foods than protein dense foods. I might have done it too slowly for your liking though, I gained 10kg over 18 months, so my rate of gain was not far off what you're getting now, but my…

Once you get efficient, you should be able to front squat about 80-90% of your back squat. However, I'd recommend you start light, and work up to this. Initially you will likely find the limitation is mobility, particularly the areas Chris mentions above, and being comfortable in the rack position. On the topic of rack…

I see what you are saying, however, think about it this way, you're pretty small right now, so any belly will be much more exaggerated against your frame. If you're 125lbs and have 18.75lbs of fat, you'll have a BF% of 15%, if you don't lose or gain any fat, but gain 25lbs you'll be 150lbs and 12.5% BF. Just something for…

What do you want to achieve? aesthetics, strength, something else? Do you want to win powerlifting or weightlifting competitions? Do you want to win bodybuilding or figure competitions? Do you want to build big muscles, or do you want to cut fat? There is no one answer to your question, it depends on the end goal.

You'd think so, but then I guess any sensible person who trains would. However you'd be surprised at the number of people I see who don't, although to be fair, although a few people are just unaware, most are bros who just want "t-shirt muscles". It's just like all the guys who only bench and curl. Also most people have…

Just thought I'd throw this out there - For all of you who specifically shrug, do you also target the lower traps and rhomboids specifically? If not you could be setting yourself up for an imbalance which will affect the scapulae and shoulders.

If you always avoid the free weights, you'll always be in this situation. Noone was born knowing what to do with them, at some point we've all had to take the plunge, and be the beginner until we have learnt. I'd do some research on free weight routines, books, online articles, videos etc.. and get stuck in.

I would get a proper program to follow, that way adequate rest, loading and periodisation will be taken care of. Unless you fully understand all of these concepts yourself, you'll be much better off following a plan created by someone who does, until you do.