Coaches & Returning Lifters
Section updated .
This section serves two groups: coaches and trainers, who need cueing language and a safe group session structure, and lifters returning after injury or childbirth, who need a sensible process that stays within medical clearance. A fourth guide covers equipment and gym setup, including shoes, belts, straps and rack settings. None of it is individual medical or rehabilitation advice.
A coach decides for a group, which changes the standard of care. People will keep going because the session is paid for, because a partner is waiting, or because nobody wants to be first to stop. A written structure that anyone can point to is the best protection.
A lifter returning from injury or childbirth has a different problem: the instinct to restart where they left off. The guides give questions to ask your clinician, signs to monitor and a way to stage the return, and leave the prescription to the professional who knows your history.
Guides in this section
Coaching cues and cueing language
How to choose cues that improve movement, avoid language that harms, and check that a cue worked.
Read the guide →Running a safe group strength session
A structure for warming up, spotting, equipment sharing and stopping a session, written down before it starts.
Read the guide →Returning to lifting after injury or postpartum
Questions to ask your clinician, signs to monitor and a staged approach, within medical clearance.
Read the guide →Equipment fit and gym setup
Shoes, belts, straps, bar and rack settings, and how to check that the equipment fits the person using it.
Read the guide →How to work through this section
Coaches should start with coaching cues and language and then running a safe group session. Anyone coming back after time away should read returning to lifting with their clinician’s advice alongside. Use equipment and gym setup to check that the environment suits the person using it.
For D Frame guidance as cues, not personal instruction. For E Stay within the plan agreed with your clinician.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a good coaching cue?
One that is short, points attention at the movement, and can be checked with the next rep. The cueing guide gives examples and describes language to avoid.
How should I structure a group session?
Write down the warm-up, equipment sharing, spotting rules and stopping rules in advance. The group session guide gives a template to adapt to your venue.
When can I start lifting again after childbirth or an injury?
That decision belongs with the clinician who knows your history. The returning guide lists what to ask them and how to stage a return once you have clearance.
Do I need a belt, straps or special shoes?
They are optional tools. The equipment guide describes what each does and does not do, and how to check fit.
Can a coach give rehabilitation advice?
A coach can deliver training within a clinician’s clearance but should not diagnose or prescribe rehabilitation. The returning guide describes the boundary.
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