No im not talking about some douche personal trainer who is gonna have me doing circuits on machines or whatever.
Ive never really done any Olympic lifts (snatch, cleans, jerks etc) and woudlnt want to jump into something the wrong way and really fuck myself up (ive already done that plenty learning how to deadlift/squat over the years)
And thought it would be beneficial if I could find someone to work with to learn olympic lifts with great form, as well as improve my deadlifts/squats which im sure arent perfect.
Ive never lifted with any kind of trainer before, so have no idea how hard they are to find and how expensive someone who isn’t a complete fucking moron is.
I mean are things like crossfit the best way to go about learning all these advanced movements? Or like what options are there really to truly improve myself ?
Im still young and have more than plenty to learn, so thought its time I spend the cash and learn from a real professional.
[quote]dcm1602 wrote:
Ive never lifted with any kind of trainer before, so have no idea how hard they are to find and how expensive someone who isn’t a complete fucking moron is.[/quote]
I’ll repeat what I mentioned in a recent thread about finding a trainer: It’s the same way you’d find a great doctor. Ask around, especially talking to people who’ve been happy with their “treatments”/results, then have a consultation where you talk about your goals and their abilities, try one full appointment/session and see how it goes from there.
Facebook can actually be a useful tool in this regard. People always seem to talk about when they workout, and most trainers or gyms have a FB page. If they’ve got a shred of common sense (or business sense), they’ll have some client pictures on their page too.
Where do you live and how far would you be up for traveling?
For as much hate as they get, the quality of Crossfit trainer varies as much as in any other gym, you’ll find smart and talented coaches and you’ll find nitwits. Dan John, Dave Tate, and Mark Rippetoe all, at one time, did seminars to teach Crossfit instructors. They don’t currently (Tate may, I’m not positive), but that’s another issue altogether. 
If it’s as basic as you wanting to make sure your form is solid, you can always take some videos of your technique and toss them around here on the appropriate forum. Some of the more experienced guys will usually chime in.
I actually live in NY long island, about 20~ minutes east of Stony Brook.
I mean if I could find something where you go maybe once a week or every other week, JUST to work on/learn technique id be willing to drive a little more.
Im not really looking for a personal trainer (ie someone to walk me through an entire workout), but really just perfecting the complex lifts and learning Olympic lifts
Ive hurt myself a bit in the past, and know several people who have really effed up their backs/hips so I really wanna get as close to perfect form as possible
[quote]dcm1602 wrote:
I actually live in NY long island, about 20~ minutes east of Stony Brook.
I mean if I could find something where you go maybe once a week or every other week, JUST to work on/learn technique id be willing to drive a little more.
Im not really looking for a personal trainer (ie someone to walk me through an entire workout), but really just perfecting the complex lifts and learning Olympic lifts[/quote]
Ha, cool, man. I’m in Westbury. That’s a bit of a trek though.
I know Crossfit Long Island is over in Yaphank, but I don’t have any personal experience with them or their coaches. There’s a place in Central Islip, Sports & Fitness Performance, but they’re more of a “general” gym (though the head trainer is definitely a good guy).
Gaglione Strength is in Farmingdale, but again, that might be out of range. That’s off the top of my head.
In the meantime though, maybe try to video a few heavier sets in your next session and start a thread in the Olympic Lifting forum here.
If you can find them–and can’t find a trainer right away–pick up World Class Coaching: The World’s Fastest Lift, The Snatch and The World’s Most Powerful Lift, the Clean and Jerk, training videos. These two videos are awesome but hard to find, and take you through the basic training progressions and drills to learn the lifts properly. Live, competent coaching is obviously better, but as far as videos go, these two are badass.