Why lifting in a group is great for beginners.
Wondering if you should start your weightlifting journey in 1-2-1 sessions or group training?
It's a common question for adult learners in any sphere. The assumption being that if you get more attention from a coach/teacher you will learn the skills faster. While this may be true for some skills and can be true in certain contexts within weightlifting, there is something about a group setting that I feel increases your chance of success.
Watch and learn:
You may not yet quite realise how much time is spent NOT touching a barbell in a training session. As you get stronger and need more time between lifts you could be resting up to 3 minutes. Thats 1-3 minutes between every practice rep(s).
In a small group training environment you'll spend that time watching other lifters. Some will be better than you, others not as good, some making the same technical errors and working on similar corrections. That time spent watching and processing quickly adds up and can enhance your own learning.
When does 1-2-1 coaching become a priority?
The individual coaching process is hugely valuable and we're not discouraging anyone from undertaking it. We find the best approach is often single coached sessions where technique can be scrutinised and analysed in more detail. This will be followed up by a specific programming solution to fix errors and improve technique or position specific strength. After some time away working on those specifics you'll be a better lifter for the 1-2-1 attention.
It takes time and lots of practice to get really good at lifting. A personal coaching session will help you figure out any errors and put you on the path to fix them but it won't necessarily make you instantly better. Only time and intentional practice will do that.