just tell them what define "sexy" in a man's point of view... guess they don't have the authority to argue with u in this case... then tell them how could + what should they do to achieve that goal.
just tell them what define "sexy" in a man's point of view... guess they don't have the authority to argue with u in this case... then tell them how could + what should they do to achieve that goal.
I think that it is important to communicate and listen to the women you train. One time (about 7 years ago) my hubby got me a trainer for Christmas. This trainer wanted me to lift light weights with tons of reps --- I hate to lift that way. If I had to continue doing light weights with 20+ reps, I wouldn't have continued. Luckily, for me I got another trainer --- a woman --- who though didn't agree with what I wanted to do, pushed me the way I wanted.
Ultimately, I lift for health and fun --- I love the way my body looks even though I know it is not ever going to make it on the cover of a fitness magazine. But, I don't think that I am ever going to change my body that much. I did the first few years I lifted, now I appreciate my strength and muscles and know that I will never get the magazine body but both my hubby and I both enjoy it the way it is.
I am sure that I am harder to train than a man is. I don't want something done to me, but with me. Another example, I hate using machines, especially the arm curl machine --- just give me some dumbbells if you want me to focus on one arm at a time. Whenever my trainer would try to make me use a machine, I bulked. I let her know the machines that I would use and which ones that I would only use free weights.
I do like to be pushed hard; I don't like going to failure --- just right to the edge. When I hit failure, I feel like I failed. So, if I bench press 135 - 8 times I feel successful. If you want me to do it 12 times and I fail at lift 10 I feel like I wasn't successful even though I did 2 more than the other lift. This is a personal thing for me. So, I like it when my trainer gives me a range --- like 8-12. When I am at 8 and the trainer sees that I can do more and encourages me to bring it --- I feel good if I can only do 10. ---- Again you would find this out by listening to the client.
I am very vocal about what I want. I don't know if all women are as vocal as I am. You might have to dig to find out what they are looking for. You also might have to provide information about the way you want to train them to get them on board.
I haven't used a trainer in a long time. I tried to remember what I wanted out of a trainer. Hope that some of it helped.
One reason its great is because this is a tough issue, and various interpretations really piss different people off. On the one hand each of us is an individual and doesn't really fit into anybody's little box. On the other hand, you can make generalizations and nobody should get offended. Many women do train just like men, as hard as men, with as much focus as men. And my impression based on nearly ten years in the business is that most men and women wandering around your nearest Globogym need to step up both their focus and their intensity.
As a trainer I always work the girls just as hard as the men. I tell them those pools of sweat on the floor are fat cells leaving their body, and most of them eat it up! I train them as hard as their bodies can take because that's the best way to get them to their goals. But overall I think it is fair to say that female clients sometimes require more emotional support, and that some of them require a lot of encouragement and education before they are willing to really bust their butts for me.
I can understand how both sides get frustrated. As a male trainer and former professional athlete, I feel very few people are up to the way I'd like to be able to train them. At the same time, it is obvious to any trainer with a brain that the ability to read and react to your clients' attitudes, and harness them to their training, is one of the greatest keys to this profession.
Women are different than men, but more importantly, every client is different than every other client!
Personally, as a girl who is probably not the most knowledgeable when it comes to every t of working out and someone who in the past when I was more clueless worked out with a trainer I suppose I could offer some feedback.
From my personal experience training it's super hard for me to build bulky muscles, but for my best friend Ashley, she had a tendancy to bulk up a little - mind you, this was while we were in swim team together -
pretty much a form of cardio I did every day for a could of hours at _ dah dah, high reps at low weight- she bulked up like I said, I didn't. Her case is rare though from my observation, it's really hard for girls to bulk up without use of steroids. And personally, after reading NEW4W it does talk a bit about the fact that unless you are going the extra mile to add those lbs of muscle, you're not going to get them.
I've found, what works best for me, weights 3-4 times a week with light cardio in the morning (simply walking on an incline or bike riding with a little resistance for 30-45 mins every morning before I eat so I'm not burning sugar in my blood, but since I've slept and blood sugar levels are depleted, I'm just burning fat- and if I can't make it in the morning, after my workout is also a time when blood sugar is low so your body will resort to fat burning)
And BONUS, women often times have problems with osteoporosis and weight lifting (more specifically those workouts that put pressure on your whole body) encourage your body to stregnthen bones and reinforce them and lower the posisbility of brittle bones later in life which is a HUGE advantage to weight bearing exercises - not only are you improving your health, but your engaging in all sorts of prevenative messures that ensure you live a longer, happier, more fulfilling life- because when everyday tasks are easy, and you have energy and vitality, it helps your psyche, your mood, your outlook on life, which translates to how you treat people and is a small and simple way you can help to change the world.
So, kudos to you for being a trainer and making the world a better place.
I'm new at lifting weights - started a year ago w/ a trainer who badly need a new client at a commercial gym in my area. He's patience and I worked out w/ him until last mo. when I decided to try NROLFW by myself.
When I just started, I had no clue why he made me do squats, and I just have to trust him that whatever he prescribed would be for my own good. We did a lot of machine stuff and high reps Barbie dumbells, plus bodywt exercises, and 5m cardios. After 3mo or so, I started reading about weight training, and came across Krista's stumptuous.com - that's how I got serious about lifting. I'm not afraid of bulking up, and I don't want to be skinny stick. But it took me awhile to convince my trainer to train me more seriously and ditch the machine, until I got my NROLFW.
Some women wants to be like Monica Belucci, some looks up to Gwyneth Paltrow, and some like me aspires to be powerlifter, or at least able to squat, deadlift and benchpress more than 25lb. As a trainer, it's your job to ask them what they really want from your service. I wish my trainer would ask me the question you asked here.
The books that I really like is Lou & Alwyn's NROLFW, also 101 Workouts for Women, and Eric Cressey's Max Strength and various sources from the web like stumptuous.com and stronglifts.com.
What I want from a trainer:
- discipline, coming to session on time
- explain the movements
- ask questions to client about their needs etc
- being respectful, esp. male trainers to their female clients. women who are overweight usually have low self-esteem, they need to be empowered and encouraged that they can do whatever they set their hearts to.
- open to new things - like not all women like to do machine, not all like lifting 2lb weights 25 times.
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