Personal trainer
Paying someone to program the session and push you through it
Hiring a coach to plan the workouts and stand beside you while you do them. The programming matters, but for most people the real value is that a session is booked, someone is waiting, and the last hard rep gets done because another person is counting. Trainers also handle the boring parts: progression, rotation of muscle groups, and swapping exercises around injuries. It is the most expensive way to lift weights, which is partly why it works.
Who backs it
Sorted by strength of stance
- Jeff BezosDoes it
Amazon and Blue Origin founder · Six-page memos and eight hours of sleep
Trains with a trainer he says he loves, who pushes him harder than he would push himself. He calls that really helpful.
Source: Lex Fridman Podcast #405 transcript: Jeff Bezos: Amazon and Blue Origin - Oprah WinfreyDoes it
Talk show host and producer · The Oprah Winfrey Show
Trainer Peter, as she calls him, stands beside her on kettlebell swings to correct the movement and calls time on a plank she would rather keep holding. Whatever he throws her way is how she describes a session, from the ski machine to weights added mid-plank.
Source: TODAY: Oprah Winfrey, 72, Finally Nailed This 1 Fitness Move After Setting a Goal to Master It 2 Years Ago - Greg DoucetteRecommends
Coach and IFBB pro · Harder Than Last Time
For a lifter trying to reach the next level, his advice was to hire a coach or train with other lifters, and to never stop asking questions. He also called training alone one of his own weaknesses, since being the leader meant he never had a partner to learn from.
Source: Critical Bench: Interview With Powerlifter Greg Doucette
Aimed at the same thing
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Habit entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.