[gatsby]

i may be wrong...but
what do you think?
at the gym today i asked one of the instructors how to do a deadlift properly. i know theoreticaly how but i wanted him to check my form.
he asked me why i wanted to do that? well to work out my legs and butt and it's also good as an allround body lift. he told me not to do that. then he showed me another exercise using a half ball thing that i could do squats on. it was actually pretty cool so i didn't say what i was really thinking. which was: IS THIS WHAT YOU TELL THE GUYS WHEN THEY ASK YOU FOR ADVICE? and this exercise uses no weights execpt a medicine ball for balance.
oh and then he says to use the 8lb ball but he couldn't find it so we used the 10lb ball successfully. but he still said to use the 8lb ball if we can find it next time!!! what the???? my 60 year old mom turned to me and said why don't we just use the 10lb ball? yeah!!!

then he told me not to squat with the bar across my back but to use the dumbells instead because the bar could compress my spine. so i told him i know how to place the bar and and squeeze my shoulder blades to take the pressure off. and anyways i can't get a good squat using the dumbells because i can't grip the weights that are heavy enough to work my legs and butt. he didn't get that and insisted that i don't use the barbell. again IS THIS WHAT HE TELLS THE GUYS??? i don't think so

am i crazy or have i just experienced my first episode of trainer?

gen

[lessofsarahtolove]

Originally Posted by gatsby

am i crazy or have i just experienced my first episode of trainer?

gen

Gen, my friend, I'm thinking trainer. Most definitely a case of trainer. I'm surprised he didn't offer to move that big old heavy ball for little old you while he was at it! Sheesh. I'd give my feedback to his supervisor. You're knowledgeable, what about the women who aren't and are turning to him for guidance? That stuff just really pisses me off.

By the way, your mom sounds cool!

[tikanique]

You should have thrown the medicine ball at him.

Tiki

[Meg]

Gen -- your mom is so cool! You're right -- that guy was a jerk! Fortunately, not all trainers are that way. The BEST thing that ever happened to me was finding a trainer who taught me how to work out "like a guy" ( I was told that once like it was an insult -- I took it as the highest of compliments ). He put me through the same workouts that he did -- none of the "high reps, low weights, machines only" stuff that some trainers stick their women clients with. He promised me that if I lifted as heavy as I possibly could, I'd only get smaller -- and he was right.

So your instincts were absolutely correct -- there aren't "male" and "female" ways to work out. It's all the same and you're right to demand that your workouts not be "dumbed down" just because you're a woman.