Q & A
DO I NEED EXPERIENCE TO STRENGTH TRAIN?
You don’t. Our goal is to teach you how to move with strength. We use weights to accomplish that, but the weights aren't the point. They're a tool. Our goal is not gym strength. Our goal is functional strength...
WILL I GET BULKY FROM LIFTING WEIGHTS?
This has become a pervasive myth in fitness. Around 85% of new clients, male and female, ask this question. The answer is simple. You are in complete control over how much muscle mass you add to your body. If you want to get bigger, you can. If you want to get stronger without getting bigger, you can…
WILL I HURT MYSELF IN THE GYM?
Over the last 10 years, strength training has certainly gotten a bad rap, thanks to Crossfit, where mechanics and form are absolutely not a priority. Lift Silverlake is the opposite of Crossfit. Mechanics is all we care about. Moving well is all we care about. If you are moving with strength and balance, you don’t need to worry about injury. Our job is to look for glitches in how you move, and make adjustments, so that you won’t hurt yourself in the gym, or out in the real world.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD I STRENGTH TRAIN?
It depends entirely on your goals. If you're trying to maintain your current shape, once a week is plenty. If you're trying to make improvements, you may need more. Here's a nutrition analogy: if you want to drop 5 pounds, you can cut 200 calories per day and reach your goal in 3 months; or you can cut 600 calories per day, and reach your goal in 1 month. In other words, the more you do, the quicker you get there.
WHAT IF I HAVE LOWER BACK PAIN?
The lower back is by far the most misunderstood and under-appreciated part of our bodies. There is a persistent myth that the lower back is an inherently weak muscle group. We are told that it is problematic, so we should be careful. We are advised to move in very specific ways to protect it from too much work. All of this is blatantly false. In fact, avoiding letting your lower back work is the best way to get weaker and weaker, until you finally do hurt yourself…
HOW IMPORTANT IS DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS?
Diet will always account for around 50% of any successful program. There is no way to out-train a bad diet. Shifting the way you eat can often be more challenging than training, so do yourself a favor and don’t buy into the myth that cutting body fat is complicated. It’s not. It’s very, very simple. People like to pretend it's complicated because it gives them an excuse not to do it. You can certainly make it complicated, but it absolutely isn’t...
CAN I TRAIN WITH AN EXISTING INJURY?
It depends on the severity of the injury, obviously. But in most cases, the answer is yes. In fact, our goal is not just to speed up your recovery, but to adjust your mechanics so that you avoid further injuries. We consider this the most important, and most interesting part of our work. We study your mechanics well enough to understand what’s contributing to the injury, and shift the way you move, so that whatever stresses are being put on your body, the load will land in the right place - your glutes, for instance, instead of low back…
1. What is a personal training gym?
A personal training gym is a private facility where you train face-to-face with a coach instead of working out alone. Lift Silverlake is a private strength training gym on the Eastside of Los Angeles. There are no classes here. Every session is one-on-one with a strength trainer, in your own dedicated station, and you never share equipment.
2. What does Lift Silverlake train people for?
Lift Silverlake trains people for strength, weight loss, mobility, posture, endurance, added lean muscle, low back corrections, and regaining muscle lost to GLP-1. The trainers build a fitness roadmap around your specific goals. You set the target, and they lead you to it. Every workout is customized to your exact skill level, from complete beginner to experienced lifter.
3. Do I need experience to train at Lift Silverlake?
You do not need experience to train at Lift Silverlake. All you need is a little ambition and a lot of enthusiasm. Every workout is customized to your exact skill level, whether you are an experienced lifter or just starting. The trainers teach you how to move with strength. The goal is functional strength rather than gym strength.
4. How long is a workout at Lift Silverlake?
A workout at Lift Silverlake runs 30 minutes. The gym packs an hour of full-body strength training into that half hour, and the trainers describe sessions as fun, challenging, and fast. Every workout starts with a check-in on how the body feels, then moves through strength work, mobility work, and short conditioning blocks. Short sessions are also easier to repeat week after week.
5. How many people are in the gym at once?
Never more than six people are in the gym at once. Lift Silverlake is appointment only. You always train in your own dedicated station and you never share equipment. The gym opened in an old print shop 17 years ago with a single goal: making strength training accessible to everyone.
6. How much does it cost to train at Lift Silverlake?
Training at Lift Silverlake costs $50 per session. It is a flat rate with no membership contract. When the gym opened 17 years ago, the average cost of personal training was $130 per session, and the goal was to make strength training accessible. Your $50 does not buy a class, because there are no classes. You train face-to-face with the trainers.
7. How do I book a session?
Book a session by texting Chenell at 323 627 1759. She gets back to you within 24 hours. The gym is appointment-only, so sessions are scheduled rather than drop-ins. Lift Silverlake is at 3048 Angus Street, Los Angeles, CA 90039, around the corner from Trader Joe's in Silverlake, and serves Franklin Hills, Los Feliz, Atwater Village, Echo Park, and Silverlake.