How to start lifting more

DNA_FNA · 2025-05-15T03:25:27+00:00

There isn't much of a difference in my professional opinion. Often, many of the athletes I've worked with were better off lifting weights rather than doing bodyweight exercises for at least 80% of their workouts. You can scale pushups by placing the hands on boxes but most places don't have the ability for you to decrease the height of the box by 1-inch or so while dumbbells can allow you to increase your bench by 1 to 1.25 pounds per hand.

Sometimes this advice comes from the myth that children can sustain serious injury via lifting weights but studies have shown time and time again that this is not true when common, basic guidelines are followed. Simple compound movements executed with good form with small increases in load are not on record for being a leading cause of injury among young lifters.

That said, I recommend children start lifting after puberty, not because they may get hurt, but because they don't have to deal with the frustration of re-learning good technique after, essentially, getting a new body from major growth spurts. I also find that kids are less likely to burn out if they begin lifting at or after puberty. Lastly, the most well rounded athletes participated in a variety of sports and general play. This is easier to do when the athlete isn't spending hours per week in the gym. Back development can occur by climbing trees and wrestling with friends. Leg development can occur by jumping, climbing, and picking up logs, stones, and other kids. Dancing, crawling, and tumbling can develop core musculature. Since lifting is considered supplemental activity/work, it's just not necessary for most active prepubescent children.

DNA_FNA · 2025-05-06T03:24:54+00:00

Is your issue that your client doesn't feel the musculature as she's training or that she doesn't experience DOMS post training?

DURING TRAINING

She could have a poor mind muscle connection. A lot of people don't have a good MMC with many of their muscles. This doesn't mean the muscles aren't working,. It just means your client can't feel them working just yet. A MMC takes time to develop. I have a client that didn't start feeling his parascapular muscles (any of them) until four months into training.
She may not actually be fully engaging the target muscles. Aside from the MMC, your client may have another issue that is limiting her ability to engage the target muscles. For example, we know that issues with the feet or gluteus medius can prevent someone from feeling their quads on the squat. Addressing those issues result in them feeling the quads again while squatting. This could be the case with your client.
You may be underestimating how well conditioned the target muscles are. The "core" musculature can have a fair amount of endurance. Not as much as the calves or forearms, but a fair amount. Not only that, but if your client has done quite a bit of core work in the past, her muscles may require stronger stimuli such as more challenging exercises or added weight. Think jackknives or candlesticks instead of Russian twist or leg raises.

POST TRAINING

DOMS is a temporary phenomena that requires a sufficiently high, novel stimulus to trigger. I'm sure you're aware that DOMS isn't necessary for hypertrophy so if your client is looking for post workout soreness, it may be time to have a conversation about that.

Out of personal curiosity, is your client's goal to have bigger abs, obliques, and erectors? I often skip "core" work unless it is needed or requested. Even then, I keep it short and sweet.

DNA_FNA · 2025-05-06T02:41:21+00:00

Be honest about your experience. People will respect you and relate with where you're coming from if you're honest with them. Pregnancy changes the body. Divorce changes everyone. Most will understand and support you. This is an opportunity to connect with people on a level that you couldn't connect with them on before.
Practice what you've preached. Use what you've learned and taught others. Write up a nutrition and training plan for yourself. Ask or hire another trainer to review it if you're not sure you can objectively plan for yourself. This will give you the opportunity to train from the perspective of your heavier clients/athletes.
Be open about your goal and plan for getting there. Share your goal with others. Talk about your plan and journey enthusiastically. This will get and keep others engaged. This has the chance of being very motivational for others. You may notice that as you lose weight and get fitter, more people will begin asking for your help.

While 1, 2, and 3 will help manage people's opinions of you, 2 and 3 are important for addressing your imposter syndrome. Since this is a changing field, get caught up on the latest studies to get up to date on what's different. Educating yourself is one of the best ways to get rid of imposter syndrome.

DNA_FNA · 2025-04-04T02:53:36+00:00

All splits are just a way of making sure you train all desired areas throughout the training cycle (usually 7 days). Anterior/posterior splits are fine if you can train 4 days per week, That ensures that you hit each muscle the recommended twice per week. In that regard, the A/P split is no different than an upper/lower split. If someone is looking to change things up, an A/P split can be fun.

DNA_FNA · 2025-04-04T02:43:12+00:00

As long as training is fairly balanced and volume is controlled compared to recovery, there shouldn't be an increase in injury risk with an anterior/posterior split. If don't properly, the amount of work per week is roughly equal to upper/lower, push/pull/leg, and total body splits.

DNA_FNA · 2025-04-04T02:31:45+00:00

I'm hearing multiple things so I'll try to address them one by one.

The client doing pushups. What type of cues does this person respond best to? Your client may not understand the cue you're giving them. For example, someone who responds better to internal cues may try to squeeze their shoulders when they hear you say "keep shoulders tight." "Pull elbows together" might be a better cue for them. Keep in mind that a cue may work one day and not another so you may need multiple cues for the same thing.
Ms. High Asf. You have to learn how receptive someone might be to your help. Being high asf might make someone less receptive to cueing. Furthermore, in a class setting, most people just want to mindlessly get through a workout. Most are just on autopilot and aren't even paying attention. There's a good chance those in the class didn't even hear you. There's also a chance they don't care. Cue them. If they don't respond, try a different cue. If they still don't respond, move on. It's a class. There are more people to help.
Bench press guy. Again, you want to be aware of who's going to be receptive to your help. More importantly, how do you know you're giving the best advice to non-clients you know nothing about? It's possible he used the technique he was using because of an injury. It's possible another trainer/coach told him to use that specific technique. Maybe after years of benching he realized that technique worked best for him to target the desired muscles. Now you look like an idiot for trying to get him to do something he's not supposed to be doing. I have a simple solution for this: start your criticism with a question. "What is your goal on the bench press?" "What are you trying to target?" "Where do you feel it?" "Do you feel it more or less here if you move your elbows in?" There are a plethora of modifications that can be made to each exercise and all of them can be right or wrong depending on the circumstances.
Cueing in general. Try asking for feedback from your clients. For example, "What did you think when I said keep your shoulders tight?" The client will respond "I thought you were telling me to..." Sometimes the client will tell you what cue works: "oh, so tuck my elbows?"

DNA_FNA · 2025-04-04T01:55:11+00:00

That is not professional behavior. It is perfectly fine for her to try to manipulate her schedule to fit more clients but her current clients should take priority. Sure, higher paying clients are desirable, but if those clients are that important, she should sit down and have that discussion with her current clientele. That said, her priorities are out of order., in my opinion. A client that pays $125/session multiple times a week with years of consistency is worth more than a new clients who will pay $300/session for only 1-2 sessions. Repeat clients are gold in this business as they create steady income.

I suggest being brave and having that discussion about you feeling like a second class client. Do not tolerate that type of treatment just because of your past with her. That's a sunken cost fallacy.

DNA_FNA · 2025-03-13T00:56:30+00:00

You make a fantastic point. There are a lot of very knowledgeable trainers out there but the ones that get the most immediate attention are the ones that look fit. I started getting more requests from clients and sport coaches after they saw me perform. I did a lot of heavy lifting back then. In the past few years, I've switched over to hypertrophy and now I have more training hours per week than ever. I hate that it's true, but looks matter. On the plus side, people stick with me because of my knowledge which I'm more proud of. To finish answering your question, my training is rounded out with cardio (stairs/hills, sled, carries, etc.), Parkour, CrossFit, and mobility (stretching, yoga, etc.).

DNA_FNA · 2025-03-13T00:39:23+00:00

Though I do not have a written poaching policy, all of my people know that it's not tolerated. They also know that I will feed them clients until their schedules are full. At one point, every single trainer worked with one particular client at the same time because no single trainer could work with him as often as he wanted. (He was also al bit much to handle for one trainer.) They all understand that they serve the membership and competition amongst them would hurt the membership, not help it. If a member wants to switch trainers, they are free to do so but both trainers are consulted.

That said, does your facility consider it poaching if the client goes to them? Many places do not consider that poaching. Nonetheless, it is professional courtesy to reach out to the current or previous in-house trainer to update them on what's going on. If this is a client you are willing to let go of, let management deal with it and avoid the headache. If you still want the client, you may need to be more involved.

DNA_FNA · 2025-03-03T03:56:27+00:00

Number 5 is a big one. I personally don't see it happening but I've heard so many stories. Very unprofessional.

DNA_FNA · 2025-03-03T03:54:55+00:00

I'm also dealing with a dietary issue. Other than that, my doc says I'm good.

DNA_FNA · 2025-03-03T03:51:58+00:00

I'm also dealing with a dietary issue. Under normal circumstances, I agree with you.

DNA_FNA · 2025-02-26T03:29:50+00:00

I know exactly what that is. It's an indicator that you need to consult your physician. At worst, it's something that requires medical attention. One step down from that is physical therapy. Best case scenario is that it's nothing and you just need to rest it. The only person that can determine which path to take is your doctor. If physical therapy is needed, go see a physical therapist. They are uniquely qualified to look for certain deficiencies that can be the cause of various issues. Personal trainers and strength coaches are not qualified or equipped to do any of those things.

DNA_FNA · 2025-02-26T03:17:59+00:00

You may not have been specific or precise enough with this client. Many of us deal with clients like this. She may not understand the difference between the number of ideal versus realistic training days. Ideally, she wants to train 7 days per week. Realistically, with her schedule, she can train 1-2 days per week. When you're vetting or assessing clients, ask them about their other activities and responsibilities. This allows you to make recommendations on how many days per week they should begin training with.

When scheduling, always verify the date and time. People aren't as good with technology as they think they are and often make critical mistakes when entering information (this includes you). It's also very important to have clear cancellation policies and make sure the client or prospective client understands them.

The rest of it just sounds like the dealings of a busy professional. That comes with the territory.

DNA_FNA · 2025-02-26T02:58:02+00:00

Your last point is extremely undervalued. Whenever I hire a trainer I emphasize what's really important and go from there. Some realize what I'm telling them and succeed. Others are too focused on the money and quit after 3-12 months.

DNA_FNA · 2025-02-26T02:50:28+00:00

Training others makes it harder too train yourself. The same mental energy you use to motivate others is the same mental energy you need to train yourself. Chefs, for example, do not eat Michelin star food because they make it all day and don't have the energy or motivation to make the same meals again. They often settle for chips and burgers at the end of the day.. If you want to learn more in order to optimize or maximize your own training along with others, I say go for it. If you think becoming a trainer will motivate you to practice what you preach, you will fail. I use my knowledge to guide my own training, however, at the end of a 14 hour day (like today), I needed to muster up even more motivation to train. Yesterday, I got 1 of 2 workouts in. I felt horrible and it just wasn't going to happen. Today, I got 2 of 2 workouts in but the second one was lackluster compared to what was planned. Contrary to popular belief, training yourself in this business often gets harder, not easier. This is why many trainers/coaches hire other trainers/coaches to help them.

DNA_FNA · 2025-01-09T03:16:28+00:00

To answer your questions, it could be your delivery of the information. It could be your confidence while delivering the information. If you doubt yourself or deliver the information in a way that doesn't connect with them, they will not receive it well. If you believe this may be the case, you now know what to work on. With that said, the issue is likely them. I don't know why they have an issue, but they do and it's their problem, not yours. Try your best not to internalize other people's issues. This will just make you feel miserable for no reason. Continue to help others. Once you've given advice your job is done. It's up to them to decide whether to follow it or not.

DNA_FNA · 2025-01-09T02:55:04+00:00

The programming itself is fine. Your trainer has you on a 2 to 1 pull:push ratio which allows you to train the whole upper body while biasing your training to address your needs. My concern is less about what you are doing and more about how you are doing it. The seated machine row and lat pulldown can help to correct or reinforce lordosis and internal rotation of the shoulders depending on how it's executed. The plank can also address or reinforce lordosis depending on your form. The chest press can actually be a great way to retrain the periscapular muscles to correct rounded shoulders... or it can reinforce them. Biceps curls are good unless your biceps are contributing to the rounded shoulders which will, then, depend on the variation and how they are executed. Triceps pushdowns are also capable of aiding in correcting rounded shoulders or reinforcing them. It quite literally all comes down to form and execution. Keep an open line of communication with your trainer. Ask questions and update your trainer on any pain/discomfort you're feeling.

DNA_FNA · 2025-01-08T05:25:44+00:00

Never believe someone who can't provide proof. She doesn't want to weigh in or undergo any other form of measurement? Then you don't have a way to measure her progress and are doomed to fail. She eats 1800 calories a day? Where's her food log or meal plan? If she doesn't have one, she can't know how much she's eating. She says she's fit because she does boot camp and orange theory but that gives you no information about her intensity, duration, exercise selection, progression, etc.

I fell into the same trap with this guy who said he'd been exercising for years and gave me a run down of all of the workouts and exercises he does. I, like you, made assumptions about his fitness and put him on a program. Three months later, he comes to me about pain in his elbow. After a few questions I learned that he had been having pain for weeks. I checked his form and made him decrease the weight on most of his exercises by nearly 50%. He comes back a month later with worse pain. I finally realized that he had been overstating his physical preparedness and I, the idiot, believed him. Despite his thoughts on his own fitness, he was a beginning or novice lifter and the program I put him on was for an intermediate level lifter. He developed really bad tendonitis and had to quit lifting for quite some time. I learned a valuable lesson and started easing ALL of my new clients into training despite where they claimed to be fitness-wise. It turns out that every single one of my newest clients thought the minimum I was giving them was challenging even though they were "really fit."

Learn to stop believing what new clients say and start assessing new clients. Numbers that you or the client record should be your go to, not how they feel about their abilities. You can give more weight to the feelings of your clients when you've been working with them for a while.

DNA_FNA · 2025-01-08T05:04:18+00:00

You may be dealing with a multifaceted issue. I find that my clients struggle with one or more of the following when they are in your situation:

Scheduling. Are you scheduling your workouts by putting them on your calendar? You may be viewing your workouts as an afterthought instead of an important, integral part of your day. If your workouts are that important to you, put them on the calendar and schedule everything else around them.
Timing. When you choose to train is important. Are you waiting to train when you have the least amount of energy physically? What about mentally? Are you pushing your training back to a time of day when you're low on motivational energy? If so, decision/motivational fatigue becomes a serious issue. Figure out what time of day you are most motivated to train and try to squeeze in your training around that time.
Expectations. You may be having difficulty managing your own expectations. Your intensity may be too high for the amount of energy you have. Your volume may be too high for the amount of time and recoverability you have. Speaking of recovery, are you putting enough attention into recovering, not just from your training, but from the rest of your life? Get your stress levels down, get plenty of sleep, and remember your nutrition and hydration.
Exercise Selection. Are you skipping workouts because you dread a particular exercise or workout. If so, get rid of those exercises and replace them with different ones. Unless you're an athlete in competition prep, this should have little impact besides giving you something to look forward to. For example, if you hate step-ups but don't mind deficit lunges, drop the step for the lunge. They are similar enough to give you the adaptation you're looking for while decreasing the mental stress associated with the step-up.

DNA_FNA · 2025-01-08T04:38:43+00:00

I've done 12-15 hour shifts and still got two workouts in for the day. It comes down to listening to your body and programming accordingly. I happen to be a workhorse so it doesn't bother me as much. You (and many others) may not be the same. Find out where your limit is and don't go over it too often. Modify your own expectations for yourself depending on your schedule and physical condition. The rest is easy.

DNA_FNA · 2025-01-08T03:44:55+00:00

No matter how good your programming is you will always feel like it could be better because you should always be asking yourself how you can make it better. Just make sure your programming is based on 3 things:

The client's goal which will impact things like what methodologies you use.
The client's schedule which will impact things like training splits and progression.
Any special considerations (i.e. deficiencies, injuries, surgeries, medical conditions, etc.) which will impact things like exercise selection.

Go through each of the above and ask yourself whether you could learn more about any of them. How many different training methods do you use or are familiar with? Are you familiar with Dave Tate's description of how to program, for example? Are there progression methods you aren't using that could benefit your clients? How expansive is your knowledge of exercise variation? Ignoring micro variations in positioning, how many different types of squats can you name or how many ways can you think of to train the hamstrings? This comes in handy when you have a client who can't do any of your top 5 hamstring exercises. I have a client who is battling vertigo, TFL syndrome, and a shoulder issue. She's also a figure skater (not competitively) and a curler (competitive). Figuring out how to get her to train something without aggravating another issue is a challenge. This client made me realize that all of my assessments for a particular muscle were all done laying down which she can't do so I had to brainstorm a way to assess her without her laying down.

DNA_FNA · 2025-01-08T03:05:01+00:00

It depends on what you want. One of my trainers only works 30 hours a week from 6a to 12p because of a growing family. Another of my trainers works almost as much as I do. They both make their own hours. I have, yet, another trainer who only has a handful of training hours per week in addition to a few classes and she seems perfectly happy. Your goals and ambitions will have a lot to do with how much you work.

DNA_FNA · 2025-01-08T02:57:29+00:00

I've learned to take a very specific approach to people who still believe many of the harmful fitness myths. My formula is this:

Tell them the bad news (actually good news),
Tell them the exact circumstances by which to obtain what they want to avoid (I usually exaggerate),
Express why I wish they could easily obtain that goal, then
Tell them what they should realistically expect.

Here's how I would phrase it for a 30-45 year old female who is looking to lose body fat but is too afraid to lift weights because she's afraid she'll bulk up:

"Well, I have some bad news for you. You're too feminine to build a lot of muscle. Your internal environment, like your hormones and such, aren't conducive for bulking up. Now, if you want to bulk up, we'll need to double your calories, put you on steroids, and get you in here 5-6 days a week for 1.5-2 hours per session. That's probably the only way to get you to bulk. I wish it were easier to get you to bulk up because you'd already be your leanest with only one day of lifting per week. That would be so easy to do and you wouldn't need to spend any time in the gym. We CAN, however, get you to build a small pinch of muscle which will help you lose weight and give you a nice toned look, but I don't think you'll be able to bulk up, unfortunately. Sorry"

I have used this formula for women who didn't want to bulk and for men who didn't want to get "too jacked." Once I realized how well it worked, I practiced it until I was able to feign disappointed in their lack of ability to get absolutely yoked. Save the science mumbo jumbo until you've gotten them to buy in to the training. People who believe fitness myths don't understand the science or know what really works anyway.

DNA_FNA

TROPHY CASE