Originally Posted by shiznit2169

have you shown your client how to perform it by having them watch you?

tell them simple analogies to compare certain lifts to other things that are similar?

That's all i can think of for now

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

I also have them squat to something, but it is something that is very low. There is typically a step kicking around whether it be an aerobic one or the bottom one from a flight of stairs. Tell them to sit back and boom.

I initially do an unweighted overhead squat test to see where they may be lacking along the kinetic chain in strength and flexibility. The first time I have them do it I have them do it the way they want to do it, then I instruct them on the proper way to do it. That gives you an idea of their normal movement pattern. You may have a person that can do it perfectly when instructed without weight but when you add weight their form sucks. If there are no flexibility/strength issues seen by the unweighted test, there could still be poor motor patterns, which typically show up more with heavier weights.

Originally Posted by Squaggleboggin

Obviously I'm not a personal trainer, but I have taught a few of my friends how to do certain lifts. My brother in particular had a very tough time keeping his back straight during the whole movement on a deadlift (he also thought it was dumb to puff out the chest; I told him to stop being such a woman). So after many different tips and little tricks that typically help people, I just grabbed a piece of plywood and held it vertically on his back and told him he should feel it during the whole movement on his whole back. If his back lost contact wth the board, he was rounding; if he kept contact, he was doing it right. This really seemed to help him a ton.

Originally Posted by PWGriffin

slightly off topic....but who here has ever tried to give a little instruction to someone and it gone completely ignored...for instance maybe a friend at the gym is doing something kinda off or just wrong (not "different" but bad) and you offer ur 2 cents and they say some shit like, "well that's how I do it," or "I like the way this FEELS better"

Here's a good example:

Guy asks me to spot him on bench...I've seen him before, freakin retard, completely clueless...He's holding the bar somewhere between a close grip and a standard grip and when he pushes, EVEN with a spotter....not only does one arm go up faster than the other but they don't even stay even horizontally either...resulting in him banging up against the rack hooks a couple times...I tell him he might should widen his grip a little...not only so he can hold more weight, but hold it with more stability...and he replies with, "this is how I do it, I feel it in ma pecs more."

Originally Posted by PWGriffin

slightly off topic....but who here has ever tried to give a little instruction to someone and it gone completely ignored...for instance maybe a friend at the gym is doing something kinda off or just wrong (not "different" but bad) and you offer ur 2 cents and they say some shit like, "well that's how I do it," or "I like the way this FEELS better"

Here's a good example:

Guy asks me to spot him on bench...I've seen him before, freakin retard, completely clueless...He's holding the bar somewhere between a close grip and a standard grip and when he pushes, EVEN with a spotter....not only does one arm go up faster than the other but they don't even stay even horizontally either...resulting in him banging up against the rack hooks a couple times...I tell him he might should widen his grip a little...not only so he can hold more weight, but hold it with more stability...and he replies with, "this is how I do it, I feel it in ma pecs more."

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

I also have them squat to something, but it is something that is very low. There is typically a step kicking around whether it be an aerobic one or the bottom one from a flight of stairs. Tell them to sit back and boom.

I initially do an unweighted overhead squat test to see where they may be lacking along the kinetic chain in strength and flexibility. The first time I have them do it I have them do it the way they want to do it, then I instruct them on the proper way to do it. That gives you an idea of their normal movement pattern. You may have a person that can do it perfectly when instructed without weight but when you add weight their form sucks. If there are no flexibility/strength issues seen by the unweighted test, there could still be poor motor patterns, which typically show up more with heavier weights.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

Pile squats are where they hold the DB between their legs?

Originally Posted by P-funk

you got it. a kettlebell works really well too.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

No one ever takes my advice, even when they ask me for it often times. I do, however, bitch out every person I see who doesn't squat deep enough. I'm on a mission to make everyone in the fucking gym squat, and squat to parallel at least. Panzy half squatters make me mad.

Originally Posted by fufu

I remember one day I was doing squats, there was this kid asking how long I was going to be using the rack. I told him I had 5 sets. I finished my shit and unracked the plates(something that noone else does). I walked away and I saw him load two 45's on each side of the bar. I was like "wtf" because he was going to do a first set of 225. I wanted to see what he was up to, so I just kept glancing over. He strapped on his trusty weight belt and proceeded to unrack the bar. He started the movement, went down about 1/4 of a regular squat and came back up. It was silly. hehehehehe.

btw- for me, I find I have the most power when squatting when I go just a bit past parallel.