Frequently Asked Questions

What services do you offer?

Strength Wise Barbell offers online coaching, personal training, and small group training.

We specialize in strength training, with specific expertise in barbell lifting, including Powerlifting and Olympic Lifting.

What happens in online coaching?

With online coaching, clients perform workouts on their own using a mobile app. The coach develops and updates workouts monthly.

Here’s how the process typically works:

  1. Assessment and Onboarding: You will submit a questionnaire that includes your lifting history, goals, interests, and injuries. Our coaches then review information that during a Zoom call to create a personalized plan. You’ll receive access to our coaching app along with a training guide.

  2. Program Development: Your coach will take 2-3 business days to develop a written program. You’ll review the timeline and the initial workouts, after which your coach will enter your first phase of workouts into the coaching app.

  3. Support and Accountability: Once you start training you’ll communicate with your coach through the app. We’ll answer any questions, provide feedback, and analyze your technique using a special tool called OnForm.

  4. Refinement: Coaches will use your feedback and data to refine your program. Every 4 weeks (a mesocyle), you’ll receive new workouts based on your goals.

what is small group training?

Small group training refers to workout classes between 3-10 people. With fewer people, the trainer can provide more personalized attention and workouts.

What is Semi-private training

Semi-private refers to small group training in which clients perform their own workouts developed by a coach or trainer. This model offers several other benefits:

  1. Access to excellent equipment without joining a gym

  2. Lower cost than personal training

  3. Community and camaraderie in a private studio

Strength Wise Barbell uses semi-private training in its classes. We love educating and empowering our lifters, which is more feasible in a smaller setting.

Why use the barbell lifts?

The barbell lifts offer three unique advantages.

  1. They’re very efficient - they work multiple joints and muscles simultaneously.

  2. They’re highly functional - lifting heavy objects carries over to real life.

  3. They’re infinitely loadable - as you progress you can always add more weight to the bar.

While we believe that barbells are uniquely empowering, we use all available tools to improve strength and health. Our workouts include dumbbells, kettlebells, bodyweight, as well as any other form of resistance.

What’s the difference between Olympic Lifting and Powerlifting?

Olympic lifting and powerlifting are both strength sports but they use different barbell movements.

  1. Olympic Lifting: The snatch and clean & jerk

  2. Powerlifting: The squat, bench, and deadlift.

These movements produce different results. Olympic lifts develop explosiveness and power, while powerlifting develops peak strength.

What is Functional Strength Training?

Functional strength training refers to weighted movements that prepare people for everyday tasks and challenges.

Examples include the squat, deadlift, overhead press, clean and jerk, and snatch.

You can use several different tools to perform these exercises including barbells and kettlebells.

Functional strength training differs from other forms of resistance training in several key ways.

1) Emphasizes compound movements that use multiple joints and muscles simultaneously, which is how bodies tend to work naturally. This is in contrast to isolation movements like bicep curls.

2) Emphasizes progressive overload. Unlike with bodyweight movements or machines, you can incrementally load barbells forever, which makes them a popular choice for functional training.

what’s the typical experience level you train?

A good personal trainer or coach will adapt to you, not the other way around. As such, we work with elite youth athletes all the way to 80 year old lifting for the first time.

With that said, we’ve spent most of our time working with recreational athletes, 40 and older, who want to stay active in their sports while managing families and careers.