It is very common to distinguish a trainee as beginner, intermediate or advanced on the basis of the duration of training. In this method, a trainee can be categorized as follows depending upon the training age
- Beginner: <2 years
- Intermediate: 2-5 years
- Advanced: 5+ years
But this is not a reliable way to categorize a person. The main problem in this approach is that many individuals have been training for a decade and still execute a squat movement very inefficiently or with incorrect technique. So in order to determine the level of a trainee just considering the training age is not enough but it should include the following pointers together
- How long has the trainee been training?
- How efficient and graceful is the technique of the movement?
- How much does the trainee think consciously about the movement while performing it?
- How much can the trainee lift?
The answer to these above questions should give a better understanding of the level of the trainee.
Categorize a trainee on the basis of each of these questions on a scale of 1 to 3. Whatever is the lowest score out of all these questions is the level of the trainee
| 1: Beginner | 2:Intermediate | 3:Advanced |
|---|
How long has the trainee been training?
The training age alone surely doesn’t give a good idea about the trainee but it surely gives some useful insight about the trainee. Adaptation from any training keeps improving if it is regularly practiced. More training age may denote more adaptation from the training.
How efficient and graceful is the execution of the technique of the movement?
The execution of any movement gives a fair idea about the level of a trainee. The movement should be executed in a proper manner. For example: If a person is squatting with excessive forward lean and while coming up extending the knee first and then extending the hips then the trainee still has to learn the proper technique. When coming up from a squat position the trainee must extend the knee and hips simultaneously while keeping the spine almost neutral or slightly extended. Similarly, all the movements should be executed with good technique while engaging the correct combination of muscles. So much so that the trainee must possess the ability to control the level of contraction by squeezing the relevant muscles.
How much does the trainee think consciously about the movement while performing it?
While executing the movement an advanced lifter isn’t really very conscious of the movement while a beginner has to continuously think about the execution pattern while performing the lift. For example: When deadlifting, a beginner has to use internal cueing to make sure that the spine is not flexing too much while lifting the bar from the floor. An advanced lifter on the other hand can do simple mathematical calculations while performing the exercise with proper technique.
How much can the trainee lift?
The strength of the trainee can also give a fair idea about the level of adaptation that has occurred which can help to categorize the trainee as a beginner, intermediate or advanced.
Here is a general strength standard for a person
| Level | Squat | Bench Press | Deadlift | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | |
| Beginner | <1.2x | <1x | <1x | <0.5x | <1.5x | <1x |
| Intermediate | 1.2-2x | 1-1.75x | 1-1.75x | 0.5-1.25x | 1.5-2.5x | 1-2x |
| Advanced | >2x | 1.75x | >1.75x | 1.25x | >2.5x | >2x |
Note: This is not a universal chart and the strength standard has certain limitations including various factors like genetics, initial strength and muscle mass,etc. This chart is just to give a general idea about the trainee’s strength levels which is very close to what different experts around the world have set for each category.
Conclusion
In order to categorize a trainee as beginner, intermediate, or advanced one has to consider all the questions discussed in this article.
