Things I Learned in 2011

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There are countless times I remember saying to myself, “I am so glad I have done this workout ” and that I am able to explain it to a client. I have not done it all, but I never try to give a client an exercise I have not performed myself or a demanding workout I have not done myself. Of course there are some exceptions, but for the most part, I practice what I preach. As I continue to grow and learn from each client that I train, I like to look back and see how much I have progressed. I will never stop learning and trying to educate myself. I have bought at least 10 books and gone to 1 seminar in the past year, and have developed so much by just interacting with people and clients on a 1 on 1 basis.  I love to try and generalize what I have learned, from training people on a personal level, and thus here are the things I have learned this past year…

1) If you cannot feel a muscle working it probably is not working

In any given task the stronger muscle will take over and do the work leaving underdeveloped muscles, well underdeveloped. How do you go about fixing this issue? Fixing your recruitment patterns. This is a must, and should be the first thing people focus on when they go to the gym. If you can’t feel your glutes fire when you walk or extend your hip then your not using your glutes. If you can’t feel your clavicualr portion of your chest when you bench then your not using your that portion of the pec muscle. This mind muscle connection is the link between mind and body, which is a huge part of achieving optimal fitness. However, there are instances where you may not feel a muscle working based on the muscular vs reflexive demands of the activity (squats vs sprints).

2) Stay Balanced

With that being said I think there are 4 main areas everyone should focus on and understand. There are many more but basically it boils down to these qualities. In no order of importance they are

1. Strength

2. Speed

3. Endurance

4. Flexibility

Most people are either gung ho about one  of those qualities and neglect all others. It is like they are clueless about the other forms of fitness. If your not an elite athlete, be good at them all. I understand the jack of all trades, master of none philosophy, and that still holds true. The key is to focus on different qualities throughout the year, while never neglecting the others.

3. Train Smarter not harder

I love to go hard and heavy, but sometimes too much. This is how you get injured. Luckily I have never been seriously injured, or anyone that I have trained. However, I have come to love the training process. Precison and focus in exercises will always be more important than adding an extra 10 lbs to the bar. I want to be able to train the rest of my life and not be hurt. Understanding physiology and biomechanics is a must, and only once you can comprehend those disciplines can you really start to design programs. Every exercise has a unique demand that is placed upon the body, and the body will adapt to those demands.

4. Train your stabilizers!

In almost any injury, it is always going to be a stabilizer muscle that has failed. When do you hear someone get hurt because their bicep didn’t work, or because their quad failed. There was a quad strain or bicep tear because a small stabilizer muscle near the joint was not doing its job, and the bigger muscle had to compensate. The bigger muscle was overloaded with work and could not handle the job. Think rotator cuff muscles, pelvic floor and core musculature, and hip stabilizers. This is why when you go to a Physical Therapy clinic they give you wierd exercises to work a muscle you never heard before. Do preventative exercises for those areas to stay injury free. Thanks to Eric Cressey and Mike Reinold for the exercise videos…

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5. Personal Trainers train people, we don’t write books, or try to market products.

The best trainers are too busy to do all that stuff and don’t have time. The best trainers are in the trenches training the people they care about. This is why you never hear about them, because they are busy doing their job. Sure we try to write a little here and there and get our names out there, but be wary of the ones that post blogs all the time, send emails everyday, or are out trying to market themselves. We all want to make money, just be able to filter the good from the bad.

6. Training is a long term developmental process

No matter what your goals are, if you come with a mindset that you are going to lose 50 lbs in 3 months, or increase your bench by 50 lbs in 1 month, then you are in for a surprise. Sure, those results are possible, but for most people training is a long process with short and long term goals. If you set them too high, you are setting yourself up for emotional collapse, failure, and quitting. These are things as coaches and trainers we must convey to the client. Sometimes it may take years to achieve certain goals, and I know from experience that that has been the case. The enjoyment comes from the process and knowing that it will come. There is nothing else that is so raw and truthful than the weight room; many egos have been bruised along the way. Many people cannot stand that fact and end up quitting, or have little interest in resistance training. In my mind that is the beauty of it.

7. If it looks right, it probably is right

Charlie Francis,  the late great Track & Field Coach, once said, ” If it looks right, it flys right. Along the same lines, Michael boyle once said, “if it looks athletic, then it probably is athletic.” If a movement looks smooth and technique is sound, then it probably is good. Our eyes can tell us so much information, and coaches and trainers seem to have a keen eye for human movement. This is why a good coach or trainer will be worth the money and 10x more.

8. Individualize 

I often cringe when I think about bootcamps, crossfitters, group exercise classes, etc. Being able to individualize workouts specifically to the client, is in my mind absolute necessity. The adaptations that occur are specific to the demands placed on the body. If there are underlying physical conditions that make a certain exercise contraindicated, then you should NOT be doing that exercise.  Once you understand the biomechanical and energy system demands of an exercise can you properly program it for the individual. I don’t think 1 on 1 training will ever “die.”  Clients can benefit immensely from the individualized attention, and it helps them figure out their needs and their body.

9. Train using submax intensity

I tend to program exercises in the 70-80% range and only seldom do I go in the 90% and above range. This goes for all forms of exercise. The intensity and stress that occurs when you go 90% and above is extrememly demanding and requires a huge amount of recovery. Muscles require much less recovery then the CNS and can recovery in a few days. CNS demanding workouts like 90% and above can take weeks if not months to recover from. Keeping loads in the 70-80% range allows loads to be high enough for adaptation but not too much where it taps into your capacity to recover. Technique can be also practiced much more effectively at the lower intensities. This runs true across the board for all forms of fitness..weights, sprinting, cardiovascular, dance, martial arts, etc. Competition is the most stressful situation placed upon any athlete regardless of sport. Physical, environmental, and emotional stress are at all time highs during competitions.