I’m currently coaching a client and I couldn’t be present during one of his sessions. He claimed he “hyperextended” his elbow as he racked a squat due to the squat rack set up. Now I’ve seen the squat rack and am sure it is possible to miss this rack but with that said I know hes not hurt I know he has full mobility with minor pain. There is no bruising signaling anything major such as a tear but even as I’ve told him he’ll be ok to get back under the bar he won’t. He saw a doctor and the doctor told him to quit lifting so much weight and to rest it. My client squated 255 for 5 his last session. This as you know is not alot of weight. How do I get him back under the bar? How do you tell a client it’s all in his head? Thanks guys!
I would not ever tell someone that “it’s all in their head”. This person is afraid. Ask them what they’re afraid of, and start working from there. Perhaps they can be reasoned with – either to get back under the bar as previously planned, or perhaps even with some modifications to ease their fear - for example, what if they were more comfortable getting under a safety squat bar to avoid moving / using their elbow on day 1? It’s not ideal, but it may be a good way to transition them back sooner than they otherwise might.
So bottom line: figure out what they’re afraid of, and deal with that.
Would have never thought to approach this as fear. Thank you!
One of the things I have noticed during my coaching is that when I empathize with people, they “hear” me better. For example, I had one trainee who was TERRIFIED of their knee cracking/popping/grinding when they would stand/sit. This was purely auditory and resulted in 0% pain or discomfort. As a result, they were terrified the squat with a bar because they didn’t want to “blow out their knee”. I demonstrated to the trainee that I experience the same thing and talked about how my knees have felt better since I started heavy squats. We started with the empty bar and slowly went up as they became more comfortable with the idea of squats.
I guess what I am trying to pass along in my experience is that (and I’m not asserting that this is exactly how you are acting) you can’t immediately dismiss everything that a client is worried about. Rather hear their concerns and work with them to have them conclude that they are not experiencing a super special problem.
We all started the weightlifting journey and ran across some issues where we thought we were breaking out bodies:
-Wrist hurt during squats
-Squats have us a red mark on the back
-Belt gives you bruises
-Bruises on chest from benching
-Ripping hands from deadlifts
While these were all super concerning when we first ran across them, small form changes quickly got rid of them. Sorry for the novel!