Strength / Weight Training

I've gone back to finish off at Roar, despite me telling them that I've continued training for the entire period of lockdown and have just completed a strength block they've put me back on the Noddy weights. I've asked to go back to the point I was out when we entered lockdown, but they seem intent on getting me to sign up for another training block (which I'm not going to do), saying that they can only go heavier as part of a new program.

I'm there at lunchtime today so will see what they have decided to do.

For example - shoulder press at home, with my weights - 26kg. Max that Roar would allow, 12.5kg. So I'm de-training, in training sessions that I've paid for.

What's roar? Maybe a PT then?

I read this article by Seamus O'Reilly about a gym in the city called Roar, started going there last year for (what was meant to be) a three month program.

Having experienced it there are definite positives, but outweighed by the negatives (for me).

With that said, today I'm 75.1kg, 12.5% body fat according to the US Navy calc, with a 33" trouser band measurement - down from 85.5kg with a 36.5" trouser band (and way less lean mass) when I started, so overall it's been worth it.

Roar cost £3,500 for the three months, three hour long sessions a week with a PT and three nutrition appointments over the time. I've got five sessions left now and one nutrition appointment.

Signing you up to a new training block will obviously be their priority, but not yours.
I guess they will hope to retain clients who have got used to gains at home without PT sessions.

Hopefully they will do a session to check your current performance and revise for the final 4 sessions.

Roar cost £3,500 for the three months, three hour long sessions a week with a PT and three nutrition appointments over the time.

Also, to add to Acliff's thoughts, you probably could get that with a normal gym membership and PT for exactly that and for less i suspect. lets say its £200 for both (guessing and trying to pick high), and you could still get the best PT. Also, they will listen to you, give you goals based on you now rather than try sell you their next course.

They'd have had a much higher chance of retaining me if they'd taken 30 minutes before my first session back to talk over what I've been doing since they saw me last.

September 17th 2020 to April 16th 2021

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+1 to the above. My partner's coach is a lot less boutique price than that. They'd train at Athlete Lab at Bank before (she's a triathlete) and via Zoom since lockdown. Nutrition and training to a target goal/race. He'll update or tweak the plan as need be if she's missed sessions, injured etc. (and manages to not kill her given how fickle her adherence to the plan can be at times).
Strength and conditioning, swim, bike and run. Happy to forward his details. He knows what he's talking about.

Roar cost £3,500 for three months

WAT. Matey in that article used to drink 14 glasses of wine a week and 10 biscuits a day. I could have got him to lose the belly for a whole lot less than >£1000/mo. Absolute bonkers fucking nonsense.

Solid GAINZ tho. Thick, solid, tight etc.

Is this our first before after shot of the weightlifting thread?

Are they 1 inch holes?

Is that a real mirror selfie?

Wait.

Towel rail has changed. And radiator.

Conclusion: fake

~12 hours of training 1:1 with a PT per month, plus “luxury” gym membership for said month. It’s not badly priced per se, more the issue is that the management are not very focused on their clients needs, but what they perceive their own to be.

It’s not badly priced per se

What you get in terms of PT time and facilities make it sound slightly less mad, but I still think any vaguely motivated person could achieve those results while spending a lot less cash. You're results are obviously great btw.

The whole bonkers thing about getting you to sign up for another 3 months while putting the weights way back down stinks of bullshit to me tho. If I went back to any of my old coaches, the first thing they'd do is a quick bit of baseline stuff to assess where I was - if I told them I'd been training at home they definitely wouldn't half the weight I was using.

100% agree.

Increasing hair length checks out.

I’d say you look leaner than 12.5%!

The whole bonkers thing about getting you to sign up for another 3 months while putting the weights way back down stinks of bullshit to me tho

Yup, that's the bit that makes it a bad deal.

Gym membership say £300pm for a posh one, then £75ph for the PT.
That's definitely in the ballpark.

But if you're signing up to 3 hours a week up front for a period of months then you should expect essentially a coach instead of a polished OTP plan.

The coach might want to check your tekkers if you've been working at home. But to deload you that much seems excessive. I'd have thought : "ok. You say you can do X, let's see you doing what we left you at, then quickly go up until I spot a problem, stay at that and then go up again".

IANAGB

I just can't conceive an individual needing 3 hours a week of PT time unless they're either elite or needing A LOT of guidance. It should be 90%+ working in the gym/doing the program.

I'm up north admittedly, but I thought I was paying a lot when it was £70/mo for my Olympic weightlifting gym - which was all coached sessions and with programming. I was in 6 days a week at the time and I didn't feel short of coaching at any time.
Coaching wasn't one on one, but they were always there. Just checked and even now it's only £100/mo.

But christ, a shoulder press is a shoulder press. I feel like micromanaging each exercise is part of the culture of promoting the need for a lot of PT time.

How much more are you going to get out of them now. I guess you have 80% + of learning you will get. The rest is programming and motivation. They have shown themselves up on the programming and you never seem short of motivation if you decided to do something. You could pay a decent pt for programming and one session per week and prob have better results now.

Sounds like they have done a good job at the start but maybe you have already progressed past what they offer

Great progress! :)

NI gyms opening again April 30th.

The detraining is...immense.

Higher rep, lower weight sessions for 2-3 months as we are not 20 anymore, have to ease in carefully.