Puffin
12-21-2010, 12:59 PM
Okay. In the middle of week 3 of the beginner's template (it seems like longer, but it really hasn't been) and I think I need to get myself a good coach. The trainer at the gym (not a weightlifting-centric gym) I go to has his strengths but I really want someone I can trust for Oly lifting critique.
That being said, there are three (THREE! OMG) people on the list of recommended coaches that are within a 150mile radius. The closest is about 70 miles one way. I did some preliminary googling and the ones I found nearer had websites that were out of order, or seem to focus exclusively on high schoolers. I'm 34, so that's a little out of my age range.
Would the USAW site be a decent place to start looking for someone local, or would you suggest I just bite the bullet and travel the 70miles each way for someone on the recommended list? I'm REALLY novice so at this point I figure any coach who isn't a complete moron is probably going to help me. Alternately, I have a couple of physical conditions that do affect my training (see: fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc...) and I do have to take that into consideration when thinking about recovery time. It also makes me extremely leery of injury, so I'd rather do it right sooner than do it wrong, injure, rehab, learn the right way, and do it right later.
I DON'T need someone coaching every single lift (I don't think?), and I'm self-motivated enough that I've been working out 4-6 days a week for the last 6 months without fail, so I definitely don't need someone checking to make sure I'm doing my homework.
What I would like is someone to watch and correct my lifts, give me some guidance on personalizing my program (I'm doing it on my own with suggestions from wonderful people), and making sure I'm not doing it so wrong that I'm going to hurt myself. Also making sure I'm not pushing too hard, nor pushing not enough. Usually the former is my problem, but since this is all really amazingly new to me, I don't have enough experience to know.
Opinions?
That being said, there are three (THREE! OMG) people on the list of recommended coaches that are within a 150mile radius. The closest is about 70 miles one way. I did some preliminary googling and the ones I found nearer had websites that were out of order, or seem to focus exclusively on high schoolers. I'm 34, so that's a little out of my age range.
Would the USAW site be a decent place to start looking for someone local, or would you suggest I just bite the bullet and travel the 70miles each way for someone on the recommended list? I'm REALLY novice so at this point I figure any coach who isn't a complete moron is probably going to help me. Alternately, I have a couple of physical conditions that do affect my training (see: fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc...) and I do have to take that into consideration when thinking about recovery time. It also makes me extremely leery of injury, so I'd rather do it right sooner than do it wrong, injure, rehab, learn the right way, and do it right later.
I DON'T need someone coaching every single lift (I don't think?), and I'm self-motivated enough that I've been working out 4-6 days a week for the last 6 months without fail, so I definitely don't need someone checking to make sure I'm doing my homework.
What I would like is someone to watch and correct my lifts, give me some guidance on personalizing my program (I'm doing it on my own with suggestions from wonderful people), and making sure I'm not doing it so wrong that I'm going to hurt myself. Also making sure I'm not pushing too hard, nor pushing not enough. Usually the former is my problem, but since this is all really amazingly new to me, I don't have enough experience to know.
Opinions?