I'm helping a friend learn to lift

**MAURER** · 07-May-04, 06:06 AM

ok so yeah im teaaching a friend of mine to lift. hes never lifted but now he wants to get in shape. so of course im being supportive of that. trouble is, i have never tought anyone before and he can't get the money for a trainer. so what do you think i should teach him? i was thinknig the basics... bench, squat, deadlift, miitary press, and barbell curl all with just the bar the first time. also how to properly use all the machines. i don't want things to go over his head so i'll stress the importance of free weight over machines and compound lifts later. what else, or what changes, do you think i should make the this plan?

bgodd1 · 07-May-04, 06:56 AM

That's great. I probably would not get too serious in the beginning, keep it simple. Let be fun, let him get a feel for the gym. If he is going to work-out with you, I'd have him follow your routine with you. If he's going to work-out alone, plan it out for him. I think you have the right ideas, sticking to compound movements.
You will learn alot from teaching. This is going to be a great experience for you.

**MAURER** · 07-May-04, 09:06 AM

yeah im very excited about it. i dunno if he should follow my routine quite yet, i'm not going to lift while im there, just teach him. i'd be halfassing my workout if he was with me. once he knows the basics he'll start to lift with me. i will run with him though.

**Firehawk** · 08-May-04, 05:14 PM

You should take it upon yourself to try to get him to BELIEVE that he can make a difference in his body man. Make it a priority to do that. Too many people try to work out and quit after 2 weeks. Keep his spirits up, make him believe he can succeed. Any little gain make notice of it.

One thing that really helped me to get to the point I am now (which is very determined) is that I always talked with a friend of mine (who is also tryin to get down to his abs) about my routines nearly every day. I look to him for advice when I need it and he has been instrumental. He kept my spirits up when I was ready to quit in the beginning and now he makes me look back at exactly how much progress ive made.

I remember when I first started deadlifting. I think it was with 245 lbs which is sad for my size. I remember tryin to deadlift 315 and couldnt barely even budge it. Now it feels relatively light. He makes me notice things like that and he always keeps me aware of exactly how well I am doing and how much passion i show for my training.

I think if you can keep your friend going like that, it will pay you back man. I hope one day that I can get on stage at a fitness competition, win it, and thank him publicly.

DexMan · 08-May-04, 05:52 PM

Just teach him the basics for now... Show him the movements of the exercises and have him do this with little to no weight so that he can get the form down correct... Because it is probably easier to teach him the correct way now, instead of trying to fix a habit down the road...

If anything, have him use machines first to help him, and once he gets it down, move him to free weights...When he lifts... make sure you point out where you should feel it and make him concentrate on contracting that muscle...

Also you might want to set goals with him and chart out his progression... This way he can see "statistically" what he's doing... because for some people they look at themselves and don't see the difference, but they could bench press 20+ more pounds than they use to 2 weeks ago...

jimmyv · 08-May-04, 05:56 PM

"Also you might want to set goals with him and chart out his progression... This way he can see "statistically" what he's doing... because for some people they look at themselves and don't see the difference, but they could bench press 20+ more pounds than they use to 2 weeks ago..."

This is fantastic advice. Even just keeping a log of his top sets in each exercise will be truly amazing encouragement. It's fairly easy to remember what you did at the last workout, but often the month-ago workouts fade into the recesses of lost memory. When you can look at your progress and compare, quantitatively, to what you did two months, you really do start to believe in what you're doing.

Also, have him start lighter, with higher reps -- an early injury due to bad (well, unpracticed) form would be a great source of discouragement and could turn him off to lifting forever.

tweeter · 10-May-04, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAURER

yeah im very excited about it. i dunno if he should follow my routine quite yet, i'm not going to lift while im there, just teach him. i'd be halfassing my workout if he was with me. once he knows the basics he'll start to lift with me. i will run with him though.

he CAN follow your routine, he SHOULDNT follow your weights. the hardest thing that even i use to not be able to understand where i wanted to be that guy lifting 345 on the bench. it just wasnt going to happen.

first thing i tell my friends or anyone is DONT worry about what the other guy is lifting. for the 1st 3 weeks help him find proper weight/form. help him with foods to eat also, make it fun like others have said. the gains for noobs(for the most part) to lifting are great so give him something to shoot for

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**MAURER** · 10-May-04, 03:57 PM

yeah i know tweetwe. infact, he decided hes jsut gonna do the machines for a few months and then im gonna teach him the free weights and more complicated excersizes. im still gonna support him alogn the way and help with diet though.

NateDogg · 10-May-04, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAURER

yeah i know tweetwe. infact, he decided hes jsut gonna do the machines for a few months and then im gonna teach him the free weights and more complicated excersizes. im still gonna support him alogn the way and help with diet though.

I would not suggest going about it this way. Have him do what you do, with less weight. There is no need to start him out on machines.

**MAURER** · 10-May-04, 06:50 PM

i dunno well he really just feels more comfortable doing the machines for now and i really don't see a problem with him doing that for a littel while if he's like. they are a bit safer i think.

DexMan · 10-May-04, 07:22 PM

What you could do is let him for the first week use the machines to get his body use to the motions... Then after that, at least once a week he doesn't use machines and uses freeweights (best time would probably be mid-late in the week). Then this way he's exposed to free weights, and maybe he'll notice the difference and would want to get on freeweights faster... who knows... Then as he progresses, slowly "take" the machines away from him...

bgodd1 · 12-May-04, 08:32 AM

whatever it takes to keep him in the gym. he'll notice a difference using machines, then he may take it upon himself to use free weights. I would jsut let him know the benefits of using free weights as opposed to machines, let him decide from there.

C-bad · 12-May-04, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAURER

i dunno well he really just feels more comfortable doing the machines for now and i really don't see a problem with him doing that for a littel while if he's like. they are a bit safer i think.

I totally agree with that. First things first.. his muscles have to get used to working out! After a couple weeks switching some of the machines (ie benchpress) to using the bar, he'll have some strength and it would be a smoother transition. I've been working out since I was a teenager but only the last couple weeks have I started to work out again, and I'm starting with the machines for now until I build up a bit strength and then I will switch to alot more manual exercises.

At the moment I'm also teaching my gf about weight lifting.. but it will probably just be limited to the machines, cardio, and aerobic classes.

NateDogg · 12-May-04, 01:46 PM

Why the assertions that you can't learn to lift using freeweights? Use light weights, teach proper form, and he will progress more quickly than if you started him with machines. Start him with machines and he'll have to relearn how to do all of the lifts with free weights.

C-bad · 12-May-04, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NateDogg

Why the assertions that you can't learn to lift using freeweights? Use light weights, teach proper form, and he will progress more quickly than if you started him with machines. Start him with machines and he'll have to relearn how to do all of the lifts with free weights.

Good point there. When I started working out in highschool I loved doing DB curls.. this made my biceps quite strong. I can do ALL the weight on the "machine" at the YMCA.. and I can curl 40-45lbs in each arm, which isn't bad for my size. As far as my chest, I can't bench more than 120-140 8-10reps on the bar (I'm not really sure though) cause I've trained mostly with crappy machines.

Also whoever said to have your pinky higher than other fingers doing curls... You can really feel the burn! Good tip!

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