Understandable. I’m protective of my dad as well. Priorities one and two are making the experience accessible and enjoyable. After that, my major concern is getting the dose of training right. I think the best way of accomplishing all of these things is involving the person in the decision making process, giving them some understanding of what they’re doing and why.
Here’s a brief review of how I would apply this to my own father:
Frequency
No concepts to introduce here at first. Rather, ask about resources to lift (e.g. time, gym, etc.). Then, make a recommendation based on existing level of fitness. For people just starting out, two to three times per week of lifting is reasonable. Fitter people are likely to need more training for continued improvement.
Exercise Selection
Introduce the concept of four major movement types, e.g. squat, hinge, push, pull. Ask if there are any exercises or implements they would prefer to do for each of these movement types. If someone is very green, some additional info may be needed, e.g. “Do you prefer free weights vs machines?”
In the absence of strong preferences, make decisions about 2-3 exercises for each movement pattern for variety.
Weight Selection
Introduce concept of progressive loading, e.g. as someone gets stronger/more fit, they will need to add more weight, reps, etc. in order to drive further improvements. This naturally leads into a discussion of how heavy/hard a set should be on any given day, which is a great time to discuss RPE even if you don’t call it that by name. You could simply say, “most of your sets that count should feel challenging, but not maximal. It should feel like you could only do 2-4 more reps. You’ll have to adjust the weights you use periodically based on how you’re feeling.”
Technique
Introduce concept of exercise technique, i.e. the way an individual coordinates their body as they perform an activity or movement. Reinforce that there is no consensus on what “good” or “bad” technique is. Rather, we’d like someone to adopt a technique that is repeatable, efficient, and meets the points of performance of a specific movement. Discuss the points of performance for exercises that have been selected. Provide examples and provide reassurance that exercise is safe (with appropriate loading relative to an individual’s fitness level) and technique tends to “self-organize” over time.
Other things I’d address would be:
- Logging (the Barbell Medicine app is free)
- Nutrition (would likely just start by adding 1 protein shake post workout)
Later, I would go further in nutrition, address conditioning, specialized lifting equipment (shoes, straps, etc.), and further tweak programming.