Beginners' block
A coached block for people who have never lifted. It runs every month, and every month it fills.
The beginners' block is how most people who have never touched a barbell start at Hammerhouse. It is a small group, all beginners, taken through the basics by one of the coaches from the first session onwards. You turn up knowing nothing and that is the point.
What gets covered is Kelly's to say rather than ours to promise, so the honest version is this: you learn to move a bar properly, slowly, with somebody watching every rep. Nobody is left to work it out from a video.
Skip to the next block and sign-up Read the questions we always get asked
Who it suits
The group is made of beginners, not athletes. If you have ever wondered whether there would be anyone like you in the room, this is the list.
- People who have never lifted a barbell
- People in their sixties doing a first squat
- Women who found the place intimidating from the road
- People who have been to a gym before and never knew what to do with the racks
- Anyone who would rather be taught than left to it
No experience is expected and none is checked for. The powerlifters are in the same building on other platforms; every one of them started with an empty bar too.
The question sheet
The questions we always get asked, answered once
These are the messages Kelly answers on Facebook every month. Here they are in one place, so you can read them before you decide and she can get back to coaching.
- Do I need any experience?
- No. The block exists for people with none. If you have never held a barbell, you are exactly who it is for, and so is everyone else in the group.
- Do I need to get fit first?
- No. You start with a broomstick or an empty bar and the coach adds weight when your movement is ready for it, not before. It is not a bootcamp and nobody is timed.
- What should I wear?
- Whatever you can move in. Trainers, something comfortable, nothing special. Have a look at the photographs on this page and on Inside Hammerhouse; that is what people actually wear.
- What happens on day one?
- A coach meets you at the door, so you are not walking in on your own looking for the right person. You meet the rest of the group, who are all in the same position, and you start on the basics together.
- How many people are in a group?
- Few enough that the coach can watch every person's reps. Kelly fixes the number for each block, which is the reason it fills, and she confirms it when she replies to your sign-up.
- What does it cost, and what is included?
- The price covers the coached sessions for the block. Kelly confirms the current price with your place rather than us printing a figure here that drifts out of date. There is no contract behind it and nothing else you have to join.
- Do I have to become a member afterwards?
- No. If you want to carry on, membership is monthly with no contract, and you will already know your way round the room. If you don't, you don't.
- What if this month's block is already full?
- Put your name down anyway. It goes on the list for the following block and Kelly lets you know the dates. See if this one is full, just under the form.
If this one is full
It usually is by the time the month is under way, and that is not a dead end. Your name stays on the list for the following block, you get the dates as soon as Kelly sets them, and your place is held in turn. You will not have to ask twice, and you will not have to ask on Facebook.
Not ready for a block yet?
A group can still feel like a lot. Start with one coach instead.
The free first session is one of the coaches and you, at a time you book, so nobody walks in on their own. Plenty of people do that first and join a block afterwards, once the room feels normal.