Anyone who has been reading my blog for any length of time knows that I don’t take myself too seriously, and that much of what makes my blog so popular is that I’m able to combine great fitness and health information with a pinch (or two) of an entertainment value.
I mean, where else can you learn about program design, exercise technique, corrective exercise, femoral acetabular impingement, and gluconeogenesis1, all while being peppered with Lord of the Rings references, self deprecating humor, and cute cat pics?
Anyhoo, today’s post is going to be a shining example of finding that balance between educating people (hopefully) and me being a facetious asshat.
It’s going to be short and sweet, though.
Okay, ready?
If you’re like me, whenever you train at a commercial gym you try not to vomit all over yourself from all the asinine things you see. Now, don’t get me wrong: there’s PLENTY of trainers and facilities out there who do a fantastic job and are great at what they do.
And, more to the point, I don’t want to come across as combining everyone into one massive bowl of fail.
I.e., NOT a bowl of fail. Rather a bowl of deliciousness
But I think we can all agree that those examples are few and far between, and that for the most part, a small piece of our soul dies every time we walk through the doors of a commercial gym and Celine Dion is blaring over the stereo system and/or some asshole is performing their WOD taking up half the gym equipment.
Then again, who the hell am I to judge, right? Sure I can roll my eyes at the two dudes who have a combined weight of one hamster performing their 47th set of bicep curls. And yes, it’s hard not get a bit eye rolley at the woman over there performing her 317th glute exercise of the day.
But you know what: THEY’RE ALL EXERCISING
And that’s pretty freakin awesome.
At the end of the day, it’s far better than the alternative which is sitting on their butts watching America’s Got Talent.
Even still, I’ll give most everyone a free pass because most people don’t know any better. Most people could care less that their elbows are flaring out on their push-up, or that leg extensions place a lot more shearing force on the knees (and that doing them shirtless is borderline weird).
Whatever the case may be, they’ll read something online or watch something on tv that’s interesting to them, and then they’ll try it out at the gym. That’s usually how it goes – and everyone has to start somewhere. They’re exercising and that’s all that matters anyways.
One of my biggest pet peeves, though, is when I watch a trainer do something dumb. That’s when my blood starts to boil.
Presumably these are people who are supposed to know what they’re doing, and it dumbfounds me at some of the stuff I see going down at some commercial gyms.
Take for example something I witnessed not too long ago as I watched a trainer spot his client through something as simple as a set of dumbbell bench presses.
Everything was fine and dandy until the client started to struggle and the trainer grabbed her elbows to help her out.
I thought maybe this was a one-time, fluke thing. But then I saw him do it again, and at this point I was just waiting for something bad to happen.
Luckily it didn’t.
I got home later that day and posted a casual status along the lines of “watched an inept trainer spot his client during DB presses by grabbing the elbows instead of the wrists.”
To me it’s common sense, and I didn’t think much of it and thought it would get some funny responses.
And it did.
But to my surprise I actually received two private message from personal trainers asking me why spotting through the elbows was wrong.
So, to review:
The Right Way to Spot Someone
If someone starts to struggle, you just guide their wrists to offer help. And try to refrain from being that guy who yells “all you, all you, all you.”
And the “Holy- S***-My-Client-Is-About-To-Crush-Their-Skull-And-Get-Face-Planted-By-That-Dumbbell” Way
Obviously this is said in a slightly tongue in cheek kind of way, but at the same time I feel this is something that should be obvious and that most trainers, coaches, and general fitness enthusiasts should understand.
In lieu of recent world events it’s been a challenge not to be a bit more introspective and to not get lost in a deeper train of thought.
Regardless of what side of the fence you reside on – relax I’m not here to judge2 – it’s hard not to be cognizant of and be disappointed by the cacophony of toxic rhetoric and word vomit being spewed in every direction possible.
I couldn’t help but notice some of the same parallels within health/fitness circles.
People like to argue.
A lot.
Admittedly, the vibe isn’t quite as dark and Apocalyptic in nature as the political/world scene, but people nevertheless have biases, like what they like, think what they think, and despite reason, science, or common-sense, cannot be swayed to see the bigger picture.
Or better yet…see the “middle ground.”
Alas, don’t be taken aback by the title of this post.
Zeitgeist.
It’s a word that looks and sounds scarier than it actually is. I mean, it looks like something someone screams as part of a finishing move in Mortal Kombat.
I promise it isn’t scary at all. The words that follow aren’t going to take themselves too seriously.
In his book The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins dedicates an entire chapter around the concept of morality. At the expense of walking on thin ice as it is – bringing up both politics and religion are generally two things I avoid (along with Coldplay) – all I’ll say here is that Dawkins notes how almost all societies and cultures have always had a knack for evolving.
No coincidence given his background as a Darwinian Biologist.
“In any society there exists a somewhat mysterious consensus, which changes over the decades, and for which it is not pretentious to use the German loan-word Zeitgeist.”
Zeitgeist = spirit of the times, or the dominant set of ideals and beliefs that motivate the actions of the members of a society in a particular period in time.
To drive the point home – and I promise I’ll be done with the serious talk – Dawkins notes how slavery, which was taken for granted throughout most of history, was abolished in civilized countries in the 19th century. Moreover, Women’s Suffrage, didn’t exist for a long time.
Here in the States, it wasn’t a law until the 1920s.
Today, in most societies, both events – rightfully so – would be considered egregiously absurd.
The point is: Societies change and evolve over time.
Although I’m still perplexed as to how skinny jeans have managed to last this long. It boggles my mind.
The health/fitness world mirrors this Zeitgeist phenomenon. Back in the early 20th century, when guys like Eugene Sandow were overhead pressing anything they could get their hands on – dumbbells, rocks, oxen (<— only a slight exaggeration) – they were considered odd and social misfits. Society as a whole deemed “lifting weights for pleasure or aesthetics” as something uncouth or what weirdos did.
Fast forward to the 1960-80s, often considered the golden age of bodybuilding, pretty much every adolescent kid had a poster of Arnold Schwartzenegger, Frank Zane, or Serge Nubret on their walls.
Using another example, prior to the 1970s the only reason to do any running was if you were 1) clinically insane or 2) happened to be being chased by a lion down Fifth Ave.
I suspect this was a common conversation:
Person 1 (1957): “Hey, wanna go for a jog?”
Person 2 (1957): “What in the name of Leave it to Beaver is a jog?”
Person 1 (1957): “It’s where we go outside and repeatedly run in a straight line for hours on end, you know, for fun.”
Person 2 (1957): “We can’t be friends anymore.”
“Going for a jog” didn’t exist.
Enter Jim Fixx’s best-selling book The Complete Book of Running (1977) espousing the many benefits of jogging for overall heart health, and the craze was born. Now millions of people use it as their main mode of exercise all around the world and entire events and social gatherings are organized around it.
Which begs the question: what other components of health/fitness have followed the same path? What has changed in the industry over the course of a few decades or years?
Here are some.
1) CrossFit
It started as a “fad” where people did stupid stuff in the name of hard-core workouts, shitting a spleen, and/or internet bragging rights.
A1. Trap Bar Farmer Carries (over a bed of hot coals) x 25 yds
A2. Run Over Right Arm with a Prius x AMRAP
First off: CrossFit can no-longer be considered a fad.
It, too, has evolved into a fitness powerhouse and bonafide spectacle of cultural achievement. It’s less popular today than it was in 2010, but it’s still relevant in today’s fitness culture. No one event in the past decade has gotten more people excited to exercise – specifically to pick up a barbell – than CrossFit.
For that I’d be remiss not to give it my nod of gratitude. If nothing else, CrossFit has served as an unparalleled vessel (or impetus) for people to train, and to train hard.
Are there still things about I don’t agree with? Of course. Are there still morons who open up a box who have no business doing so and end up hurting people? Absolutely. But those are few and far between, and CF is no where near the ocular train wreck it was once synonymous with.
I mean, to give credit where it’s due, CrossFit is so engrained into our culture now that there are people who think it invented lifting weights.
Oh, you squat? CrossFit.
That’s pretty impressive.
The time(s) of bashing CrossFit entirely are over. Some of it is warranted. However, it’s time we give it the respect it has rightfully earned.
2) Training For Life
To that end: can we please stop assuming that if a woman picks up a barbell or lifts anything heavier than a bag of groceries that she’s automatically “training for something specific.”
My wife is often approached in the gym by both men and women who see her getting after it, and while they certainly don’t mean any disrespect in asking, will inevitably say something to tune of, “Wow, that’s impressive, what are you training for? A competition? A show? Are you a secret assassin?”
My wife’s universal answer: “life.”
Women go to the gym to go to the gym.
Weird, I know.
Yes, it’s a bit facetious…but if we really wanted to respect the Zeitgeist mentality we’d respect the notion that women, much like men, view lifting weights in much the same way. As nothing more than something that’s simply done after work at 5 PM sharp.
It doesn’t have to be a thing.
3) Post Workout Window – Meh
I fell prey to the concept of the anabolic window in the early 2000s. The idea was that if you worked out and didn’t get some nutrients in your body3 within 30-60 minutes after, NONE OF IT COUNTED.
NONE OF IT!
Alas, the whole notion of the anabolic window, while a nice thought, is a bit of an over-exaggeration. We’ve come to understand that total calories over a 24-hour period matter more than some arbitrary caloric number ingested within a specific time-frame.
4) Cardio Will Not Steal Your Gainz
There’s been a bit of a renaissance on this front in recent years. There was a period of time where any thought of doing “cardio” would immediately zap your strength and make you look like Skeletor.
Although that doesn’t make sense, because, Skeletor is fucking jacked.
Regardless, for many years, mostly in the 90s into the early 2000s, the idea was cardio – any cardi0 – would zap your gainz.
It was, of course, a foolhardy way of thinking.
The body is a pretty resilient piece of machinery and if all it took was a 5k to lose all your muscle, we would have been wiped out eons ago.
Coaches like Alex Viada have played a huge role in the recent surge in popularity of “hybrid training,” or training for both strength and endurance simultaneously. The key to this approach is about working hard, but being lazy.
To quote Alex:
“In other words, do as little as possible to attain the necessary result. Lift less often than a powerlifter, run less than a runner, bike less than a cyclist, swim less than a swimmer… the body has limited recovery, and will quickly become overwhelmed.
Isolate what is truly important in each type of training, focus on those areas, and do them well. Cut out the junk miles, cut out the gym pissing contests, be draconian in how you approach routines – take those articles with the “ten exercises you should be doing” and toss them in the trash. The more you want to do, the less you should be doing.”
And it’s hard to discount the troves of research espousing the million and one benefits of cardiovascular health, not to mention the (positive) physiological adaptations that occur within the body (improved substrate utilization, better ability to buffer acid buildup from lactate metabolism) and the heart itself (stretching of the walls themselves eccentrically, more or less making a bigger pump and improving stroke volume) which makes it all worthwhile.
The fact of the matter is: improved cardiovascular health (when programmed accordingly and not to excess) will not only improve work capacity, but also improve performance in the weight room.
I was 25 at the time, and had just started working at my first “gig” in the fitness industry as a “Health & Wellness Specialist” at a corporate fitness center just outside Syracuse, NY.
The company I worked for, which at the time was a branch of Johnson & Johnson, was contracted by other companies to come in and “run” or otherwise operate their gyms on premise. Employees either before work, during their lunch hour, or after work would come in to not stab their boss in the face run on the treadmill, lift some weights, or let off a little steam…and it was my job to show them the ropes.
It was a win-win. Employees had access to state-of-the-art facilities (at $9 per month, a steal), and the company had reduced health care costs.
I wasn’t training professional athletes or Victoria Secret models or anything like that, but like I said…it was my first gig as a fitness professional, and I found the work rewarding. It was easy, I was getting paid to chill in a gym, and I enjoyed the people I was surrounded by.
As I recall, it was later in the afternoon, and because my supervisor encouraged us to workout/train on site, I’d usually get my workouts in at that time when several other guys would come in to train.
Many of them I knew well.
Like any gym there were many regulars and I was able to build a rapport with them. We’d lift, we bust each other’s balls, I’d play my EDM, life was grand.
I was younger than the bulk of them by a decade (if not more), and I remember one day after a heavy(ish) set of deadlifts one of the Clint Eastwood types (who didn’t train with us and spent the majority of his time on the elliptical) looked at me and repeated the quote above:
“You just wait till you’re my age. You won’t be training like that.”
I laughed and shrugged it off. I was in no way confrontational. What would have been the point?? He was watching a rerun of Murder, She Wrote.
It would have been too easy.
Plus, you know, I wasn’t interested in getting fired.
I’m not gonna lie…there was a part of me that was downright irritated. “Tha fuck outta here,” I said to myself. I loved training. I loved lifting heavy things. I was 25. I was bulletproof. I was going to do this till I was 90 years old. What the hell did this guy know?
I’m now 45.
And while I still feel the guy who blurted out that nonsense was and still is a tool, I’d be remiss not to acknowledge that he was kinda-sorta, in the teeniest-tiniest of ways…right.
Come Again Now, Tony?
Now, this is in no way to insinuate that I feel being over 4o is over-the-hill. Sure I have a few aches and pains here and there, but who doesn’t?
I look pretty good too.
Granted, male pattern baldness entered the picture a long time ago, but I still can hold fort with many guys younger than myself.
But I’d be lying if I said I haven’t had to alter my training the older I’ve gotten.
I can chalk 1/3 of that up to maturity.
Another 1/3 to life…(running a business, spending time with family, kitty cuddles).
I still love training, and I still love lifting heavy things, but it doesn’t have the same panache or gravity as it had when I was 25.
Back then it’s all I did. I lifted weights, weighed my food, hung out at bookstores, and watched Alias like a boss. As you can imagine I was a major hit with the ladies.
Now that I’m older, my priorities have changed.
I still train 4-5 times per week, but my life doesn’t revolve around it. I don’t hyperventilate into a brown paper bag if I happen to miss a training session (for the record: I don’t miss many).
And, Alias reruns are still a thing.
The last 1/3 of the equation, and I say this reluctantly, can be attributed to physiology. Yes, as we get older, our body’s will inevitably remind us that we’re not 25 anymore.
However, rather than succumb to the adage “that’s just how it is, deal with it,” I’d like to offer some insight on how guys my age can (and probably should) tweak their training to help set themselves up for long-term success.
1. Train Like a Powerlifter & Bodybuilder
I’m a strength coach and meathead through and through, so of course I’m a little biased when it comes to the “Big 3.”
If you want to get bigger and stronger it behooves mostly everyone to cast a spotlight on the squat, bench press, and deadlift. This is not to say other exercises don’t enter the discussion, but those three tend to be the big players when it comes to building an impressive physique that performs well.
An easy equation I like to use for old(er) guys is:
“Train the “big 3” like a powerlifter, then satiate your inner bodybuilder.”
What I mean by this – and this is just a suggestion, nothing set in stone – is that every training session should start with one of the “big 3” and you’d work up to a few heavy sets of three or sets of five.4
Once you do that: you’d drop the weight (10-20%) and perform 1-2 sets of AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible). Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 is a great example of this protocol.
Another option I like is using the EDM (Estimated Daily Max) protocol. The advantage of this approach is that it takes into account daily/weekly fluctuations in one’s readiness to train.
In other words: Some days you feel like the Rock and want to get after it hard in the gym. Other days you feel like you’ve been hit by a rock and just don’t have the juice.
Using EDM sets just means you work up to a “daily max” (usually 3-5 reps) FOR THAT DAY. It’s not a true max effort.
It’ll look something like this:
Back Squat
A. EDM of 5: Take as many sets as you need in order to hit a challenging set of 5 (where you have 1-rep left in the tank).
Once you hit that number, stay there, and then perform an additional 2-4 sets of THREE reps. This will allow you to get some more volume in with an appreciable weight, but you should still be able to perform them reasonably fast and with impeccable technique.
After that, all your accessory/assistance work will be high(er) rep in nature. For me accessory work should have a purpose.
Namely it helps address a weakness or technique flaw in one of the “big 3.” So for example, if you tend to be slow off the chest with your bench press a great accessory movement would be the Spoto Press.
High-reps reduces the loading, which results in less wear and tear on the joints. And you still get the pump.
In reality, though, the benefit is that training in both fashions provides more of an undulated approach where sets/reps/loading is constantly altered.
In essence: you get the best of both worlds.
2. Hire a Coach.
This was a game changer for me personally. Part of the reason why I hired my own coach was because I was sick of doing my own thinking. I write hundreds (if not thousands) or programs each year, and by the time it’s time to write my own program…I’d rather swallow a live grenade.
My brain is mush and I don’t want to deal with it.
Having my own coach takes the guess work out. I tell them my goals and they write me monthly programming to help me get there.
It’s fantastic. Coaches need coaches too.
3. Live a Little
Remember that part above where I mentioned how I used to weigh all my food? Looking back, it sucked.
Now, don’t get me wrong: I understand there’s a time and place for it. I’ll often recommend it to people just so they have a better appreciation for just how much food they’re actually eating.
Too, I understand that competitive aesthetic athletes or fitness models may need to be a little more meticulous with keeping tabs of what they put into their body.
Where I believe it becomes a problem is when this action starts to have an effect on people’s relationship with food and/or has a negative effect on their day-to-day routines.
I like to follow the lead of my good friend, Bryan Krahn, who, outside of the times when he’s purposely trying to get shredded (at 40+), doesn’t sweat the technique when he has a few slices of pizza and beers one night or heads out for some extra dessert.
He trains like a beast, so who cares if he wants to have some homemade apple crumb!?
The key is that he’s back on task the following day. A one-day “excursion” is exactly that…one day.
It’s like what Dan John has to say on the topic:
Recently, a woman told me her friends can’t make a mistake.
What? Well, what she told me was this: Since they were attacking fat loss with aerobic work and strict dieting, they didn’t have any wiggle room. The woman, who holds herself nearly year-round at a very impressive 19% bodyfat, told me she enjoys desserts, cocktails, BBQs and fine food. But, and this is a big but, she can also do 10 pullups. She is very strong in the weightroom. In other words, her glass is so big, she can afford to cheat a little here and there.
That made no sense to me. Then I watched her train and thought about some other women I work with. When she presses an impressive kettlebell overhead (half her bodyweight with one hand!), her entire system has to gather up resources, and then adapt and recover from the effort. When little Edna at my gym thinks the five-pound dumbbell is heavy, she isn’t going to tax her body very hard.
Edna can’t eat cake.
4. Caloric Intake Should Match Activity Level
I’ve been at this long enough to know what I need to do – nutritionally speaking – to lose some fat or gain some weight if I choose to do so. I know what foods I need to eat and which ones I tend to “handle” well.
On days I train – especially on lower body days – I tend to push my calories a little higher.
On days I don’t train, I don’t push the envelope as much.
One Caveat: We tend to forget that even I days we don’t train our body still needs calories to promote recovery. I feel many make things way too complicated than they have to be by following some sort of periodized Lunar Intermittent Fasting protocol on non-training days and Carb-Back Loading on training days, and then, every other month, Paleo.
Stop making things so complicated. It’s a fucking apple. Eat it.
Admittedly, this “rule” could be applied to anyone at any age. But I find that as we get older and we’re a little less active and little less spontaneous, and “things” tend to slow down, it provides a ton of merit.
5. Hey, Guess What? You’re Not a Spartan Warrior (or a Navy SEAL)
Stop purchasing and following programs that cater to this bullshit.
The 21st century has graced us with a bevy of technological advances:
High-speed internet.
Telescopes that now treat us to images of Black Holes
Nanotechnology to help improve manufacturing, healthcare, climate change, and agriculture.
Pizza crust made out of cauliflower.
The health/fitness sector has also benefitted. Trainers have the ability to work with clients from all over the world in real-time.
Seriously, cauliflower is now used to make pizza crust! Even more miraculous is that it doesn’t taste like sawdust.
We also have the capability to measure things like bar speed and heart rate variability via applications on our phone; all of which provide data to help us gauge our “readiness” to train on any given day.
Technology surely is great.
However, when it comes to ascertaining one’s readiness to train I tend to lean more toward the anti-app route, and instead rely on what I call “INDICTOR SETS.”
The easiest way to explain is via some anecdotal observances.
I was walking to my studio to train the other day where the plan was to show up, warm-up, crank a little Mobb Deep over the stereo, get angry enough to want to fight a tornado, and work up to a heavy(ish) triple on my deadlift (535 lb).
On paper it looked like a done deal.
But once I started warming up, things didn’t go quite as planned:
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 3
405 x 1 (didn’t feel horrible, but didn’t feel great)
455 x 1 (INDICATOR SET)
An indicator set basically lets me know whether or not I have “it” that day.
For instance, in the previous two weeks, 455 lbs (which is ~80% of my 1RM) literally flew up. Based on “feel” of my bar speed, and how effortless the set felt, I knew I could make a run for a high 500’s pull.
Put another way, I gave myself the green light to go for it, and I did.
Conversely, 455 felt like absolute garbage the other day.
It felt slow off the ground. And it felt even slower at lockout, which I normally never have any issues with. The indication was: “Tony, if you attempt to go any higher you’ll run the risk of shitting your spine.”
So, I did the smart thing and called it.
I re-racked the plates, turned the page, and did my accessory work: DB reverse lunges, a little pouting in the corner, and some pull-throughs.
Listen, it’s not a perfect system, nor is it anything remotely scientific. To be as transparent as possible: I am not anti-technology. But I am anti-technology to the point that many (not all) people tend to miss the forest for the trees when it comes to their readiness to workout.
If their Apple watch indicates a modicum of fatigue they’ll shut that shit down faster than you can say, well, apple.
Just because your watch says you should avoid training on any given day doesn’t necessarily mean you have to. Besides, I’m not entirely sold on the reliability of those apps anyway. I’ve had clients walk into a session feeling like a million bucks only to have their watch tell them danger, danger, DANGER, and to not even look at a barbell.
On the flip side, I’ve also had clients show up feeling like they made out with a petri dish, only to warm-up, move around a little, and then feel like Leonidas leading the Spartans to battle.
Indicator sets help you learn to FEEL whether or not you’ve got the juice on any given day. In short: It’s a form of auto-regulation that helps you to not have to rely on some algorithm.
Plus, it’ll save you a few hundred dollars…😙
At least in this scenario you’ll have some tangible, performance-based evidence to help you gauge things. Muscle fatigue is one thing and tends to be easier for many people to use as a metric.
If you’re overly sore you can feel that and tweak your programming accordingly. CNS (or nervous system) fatigue is a bit more nebulous and harder to pinpoint, or even feel for that matter.
Indicator sets help you with the latter.
To that end, I encourage you to start utilizing indicator sets as part of your warm-up on the days you know you’re going to be pushing the envelop.
Pick a weight during your warm-up that you can use to “gauge” where you’re at that particular day. This number should be heavy enough to be challenging, but one you KNOW you can perform fast and with immaculate technique.
(this will likely be around 80% of your 1 rep-max)
Trust me. The whole mindset of lift heavy or go home – while admirable – isn’t always the best approach.
Just to be clear: This blog post has nothing to do with the reality series, The Real World…😉
Speaking of which, I crushed that show in its early days. I watched every season up until Paris (season 13); after that it kinda lost its luster for me. Watching people make out in hot tubs wasn’t my idea of must-watch-tv.
(Excuse me while I go catch up on The Bachelorette).5.
Nope, today’s guest post, written by NY-based personal trainer Elaine Studdert (who wrote THIS post on sustainable fitness on this site a few months ago), pertains to strength training as it relates to “real world” activities like yard work, rough-housing with your kids, hauling suitcases, and fighting off a pack of ninjas.
We’re enamored if not programmed to think that the more advanced an exercise or program the better it must be. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
I’m a proud hockey mom to three boys. As my boys grow older their hockey equipment grows with them. Back when they were just little Mites, I’d carry their bags – which were heavy but manageable.
Fast forward to the Pee Wees and Bantam divisions, those same hockey bags have gotten exponentially bigger in size and weight. Even though they carry their own gear now every once in a while they need a hand. This is one of the many reasons I need to maintain the ability to pick up heavy stuff.
And this is true for everyone, whether it’s a hockey bag or a trash bag. In all of our lives, there will be situations that require heavy lifting.
This is real world training.
Training that doesn’t take place in a gym.
This is the type of training we need more than that weekend boot camp class.
Carrying suitcases, hauling groceries, walking up a flight of stairs, picking up your kids/grandkids, running after your dog, moving furniture, picking laundry up off the floor, etc.
The list goes on and on.
These everyday activities may not seem like a workout. In fact, we usually take for granted our ability to manage these tasks, until it becomes a challenge. That’s why it’s so important to put the work in every day. Being consistent over time will keep you in form to be capable of these everyday activities.
In the healthcare industry these movements are called ADL’s (activities of daily living).
Basic self-care activities that people do on a daily basis. We learn these basic skills as young children. As we play, run, jump and navigate the playground our body is figuring it all out and getting stronger. It’s important to find your adult playground to maintain this functional movement. Maintaining the ability to perform ADL’s as we get older should be top priority.
So even if we’re not training for a sporting event, we should technically be in training every day for life.
How Do We Get Fit for Life?
Real life requires us to:
Squat – ex. getting up and down from a chair
Hinge – ex. pick something up off the floor
Push – ex. Push a shopping cart
Pull – ex. opening a car door
Carry – ex. holding a suitcase or grocery bags
Training these movements with external resistance or load is essential for maintaining muscle mass. And as we age, we want to hold on to our muscle as long as we can.
This doesn’t mean we have to be become bodybuilders or Olympic lifters. For most of us, this just means picking up some weight and performing these movement patterns 2-3 times per week. Strength training with movements that mimic real life will prepare you for all the activities you do on a daily basis.
It’s really as simple as that.
Where do we start?
The overwhelming amount of fitness information and resources we have access to can be confusing and complicated, especially for someone who is new to exercise.
What is the right plan?
Who do I follow on Instagram?
What app do I download?
Which device do I need to monitor my activity?
Breaking it down to the simplest components will make it less intimidating. Don’t overthink it. The quality of the exercises is way more important than quantity. Just start with the fundamentals and take it from there. Put one foot in front of the other and the rest will happen.
Here’s a Sample @Home Workout
A1. Squat: Goblet Squat w/ Lowering
A2. Hinge: Band Pull-Through
A3. Push – Gripless FacePull to Press
A4. Pull – Band Row Rotational Row w/ Weight Shift
A5. Carry – Goblet Carry
Carrying some weight, making small gains day in and day out, pushing yourself hard but not killing yourself. It all adds up and keeps us in shape to do the things in life we enjoy.
About the Author
Elaine Studdert is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer based in Westchester, NY. She trains clients virtually and in-person at HealthyFit in Mamaroneck. Elaine specializes in functional movement and kettlebell training. She loves to work with clients who are looking to improve their quality of life through movement. See her most recent article on virtual fitness training at Larchmont Loop.
When Dean Somerset & I created the Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint and the (Even More) Complete Shoulder and Hip Blueprint (both currently on sale for the next 72 hours at 40% off their regular price…wink wink, nudge nudge) our goal was to provide a resource for people to better connect the dots between assessment and performance
Too, it was to champion the idea that strength is corrective. It’s rarely necessary to send someone off to corrective exercise purgatory when their shoulder or hip is acting up. While it’s inevitable a swath of time & effort may have to be dedicated to proper breathing mechanics or improving scapular upward rotation, what I have found that often “sticks” the most and provides a greater “buy in” to rehabbing an injury…
…is to make rehab look and feel more like training.
Much of the time the “fix” is a matter tempering one’s training volume (most people are simply doing too much of something) or adjusting a specific exercise – stance, ROM, tempo – in an effort to better mirror one’s injury history and (current) ability level. <— FYI: Dean & I cover this extensively in CSHB 1.0 and 2.0.
If a part of the body hurts when someone performs an exercise it doesn’t automatically mean we have to cancel the exercise altogether.
Cancelling Nazis (and Birthday clowns) = good.
Cancelling Squats = whoa, whoa, whoa…pump the brakes a bit.
The Bar Every Gym Should Have
This post is not meant to wax poetic on the back squat.
If you want to do it, cool.
If you don’t, that’s cool too.
No one outside of a competitive powerlifter (and maybe He-Man) HAS to perform a traditional barbell back squat. I think they’re a great option if your goal is to be brutally strong & athletic and you want to build an impressive physique.
They’re a tool in the toolbox.
I will say, however, the back squat (when performed with a straight bar) does tend to eat up a lot of lifters’ shoulders. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that straight bar back squats are more of a shoulder destroyer than the bench press any day.
I know the barbell back squat provides a degree of prestige and “street cred,” and I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a time in my career as a personal trainer & strength coach where I’d ride and die with the statement that everyone, regardless of goal, sport played, or highest Scrabble score should have back squats in their program.
That said, I’ve always prided myself in taking a middle-of-the-road approach to most things in the health/fitness industry. I know some coaches who are adamantly PRO back squat and others who are just as adamantly against.
Which brings me to the point of today’s post.
The Safety Squat Bar (also referred to as SSB or Yoke bar), while still technically a back squat, has grown into one of my preferred ways to program (back) squatting into most people’s programs. I also take the stance that it’s a bar that EVERY gym should add to their equipment arsenal.
Why Your Gym Needs an SSB Bar
1. Shoulder Friendly
Back squatting with a straight bar requires a fair bit of shoulder mobility. Many lifters lack the requisite shoulder abduction & external rotation to be able to comfortably rest the barbell on their upper traps (high-bar position) or rear delts (low-bar position).
As alluded to above, part of the appeal for me is that SSB bar coincides very well with my mantra “strength is corrective.’
There’s an element of literal synergy here; the SSB bar still allows someone to lift heavy things. However, the obvious advantage of the bar is its design, and the fact that the handles are located in FRONT of the lifter.
There’s zero shoulder mobility required. To that end, if I am working with someone who’s shoulders don’t handle the straight bar well, I can have them use the SSB bar and continue to TRAIN without irritating the joint.
2. More Upright Torso
There will ALWAYS be a degree of forward lean when squatting. This is not to suggest a more forward leaning position when squatting is inherently wrong or deleterious.
However, back squatting lends itself to more of a forward lean compared to a front squat. As a result, and as a general rule, the more of a forward lean there is, the more “shear” loading will take place on the spine.
Photo Credit: www.PowerliftingTechnique.com
The high(er) bar position with the SSB bar allows for the torso to be more upright (similar to a front squat) and as such a bit more back friendly as well.
Personally speaking, I know when my deadlift volume is high I’ll revert to SSB squats for the bulk of my squatting during that particular phase of training because my lower back will take less of a beating and thank me in the long run.
3. Increased ROM & Upper Back Strength
Pigging back on the above point, because the high(er) bar placement of the SSB bar allows for a more upright torso it’ll also equate to a more robust range of motion for most trainees as well.
In addition, the high(er) bar placement will force the upper back to work overtime because that area needs to work harder to prevent the bar from “rolling” the shoulders over.
So, in effect…we can make the case that the safety squat bar recruits the upper body more (compared to traditional squats).
4. Reneges Upper Body Injuries
The SSB bar does a splendid job at opening up one’s TRAINABLE MENU in lieu of an upper body injury. Lets say you just had surgery on your shoulder and you’re in an arm sling for several weeks. Or, I don’t know, you got in a tickle fight with an Uruk-hai and ended up busting up your wrist.
Both situations make back squatting problematic if not altogether impossible.
Not with an SSB bar, though.
LOL.
You can still train your lower body.
Nice try.
5. Hatfields!
Last but not least, the SSB bar allows you to CRUSH “supported” single-leg training like Hatfield Split Squats.
I’m certain I’m neglecting to think of other cogent benefits, but that’s what I have at the moment. Feel free to forward this post to your local gym’s owner/manager so that you can start incorporating this SSB bar soon!
Anyone familiar with Boston knows that the two-day window of Aug 31st-Sept 1st is a crazy shit show of shit where thousands of people and thousands of moving trucks play musical chairs within the streets.
There’s really no other way to express how much it stinks; especially if you’re someone who’s partaking in the shenanigans.
A day trip to Mordor is seemingly more delightful.
Last week marked the first time in almost five years my wife and I moved. It wasn’t something we wanted to do. Outside of a few annoyances we enjoyed the apartment complex where we lived. However, like many people during the height of the pandemic, we came to realize that living in cramped quarters in a cramped city wasn’t spectacular, so we decided in the spring to begin searching for a new, large(r) space to move to.
Thankfully we found a place less than a mile from where we lived and in the months from then to last week we planned our best (I.e., crossed our fingers a bunch) for everything to go swimmingly.
I’ll spare you the nitty gritty details, but will just point out that the moving company we hired made a MAJOR gaff.
Okay, eff that, I’m going to tell you: We own a rather large couch. In fact, this couch was one of the first pieces of furniture we purchased together as a couple when we moved in together back in 2011.
There’s a history and a bit of sentimentality there.
We love our couch.
When our son, Julian, was born back in 2017, a week after bringing him home from the hospital we were privy to being handed a notification to vacate the premise within 60 days because the apartment complex we were living in at that time was going to be converted to condos.
When we moved from that place to the one we had just left, on the day of our move we packed our couch along with all of our other belongings in the moving truck only to realize that it wouldn’t fit in either the elevator or the stairwell of the new apartment complex.
Lisa ended up hiring a separate company to meet us at our old place so that they could literally take our couch apart, fold it up like a Transformer, haul it to our new apartment, un-fold it, and leave us in a state of astonishment at how fucking cool that was.
Anyway, this is all information I reiterated to the moving company I hired for our most recent move. They gave me a quote and I was like, “you’re certain that you can take our couch, right? We had to hire a separate company last time to do it because it won’t fit in the elevator or stairwell.”
“Yes, we dissemble and reassemble, we got this!”
To no one’s surprise who’s read thus far…
…no, they didn’t got this.
The movers who helped us that day were amazing; borderline superheroes. However, they took one look at our couch and were like “nope.”
Okay, they weren’t at all that callous, but did politely inform me that they couldn’t take apart that particular couch due to liability reasons.
This was unfortunate and news to me.
We had a hard window to stick to in terms of when we had vacate our apartment or otherwise forego our security deposit in addition to “inconvenience fees” if we decided to just leave our couch there.
I called the woman at the moving company who told me they’d be able to take care of everything and she owned up to the gaff. She offered a discount on services, however that didn’t solve the situation with the couch terms of getting it from the 13th floor to the moving truck.
Unless a wizard showed up, we were in a pickle.
And while neither of us had one on speed dial, thankfully, as a second resort, both myself and my wife have spent a fair portion of our adult lives lifting weights.
We ended up having to saw a portion of our couch off so that she and I could enjoy the bonding experience of finagling it down 13 floors ourselves to the moving truck waiting for us at ground level.
It was an unexpected chain of events, but we both looked at each other, said “fuck it, let’s do this,” and did it.
And pretty easily I might add.
Don’t get me wrong: It wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t an insurmountable feat to pull off either. For a lot of couples, though, I feel like it would have been. For Lisa and I it was more like a somewhat challenging deadlift session.
I don’t write this under the guise that we should receive accolades or a ticker tape parade. (And I’m really trying to avoid coming across as one of those whiny white people that go out of their way to complain about 1st world problems like their local Whole Foods running out of kale)…😂
But I will point out that it’s random events like what happened last week which uniquely reminds me that lifting heavy things helps prepare everyone for life’s spontaneous dumpster fires.
“I haven’t come across anything yet that can’t be cured by getting stronger.”
I heard this quote several years ago. I can’t recall who said it, but whomever it was was assuredly someone who’d make my top 10 list of people I’d want to hang out with.8
It stuck with me, and save for male pattern baldness I agree with it 100%.
3 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Better at Lifting Heavy Things
Outside of the minor nuisance of being the default person your friends & family rely on when furniture needs to be moved, there’s very little that can go wrong with getting stronger.
Athletes will typically jump higher, run faster, be able to change direction on a dime, and otherwise dominate the competition in their respective sport.
And they’re not the only ones who reap its benefits.
Getting stronger works wonders for regular gym folk (both male and female) as well. While many have a goal to perform better in their recreational basketball, flag football, softball, or Laser Tag league…
…building a solid foundation of strength bodes well for the more aesthetically minded individual too.
BTW: If you’re actually in a Laser Tag league, congratulations. You’re awesome.
For the most part strength = muscle.
Guys who can deadlift 2.5x bodyweight aren’t small.
To steal a train of thought from the great Dan John, women who can perform 5+ chin-ups (I’d even make the case for ONE chin-up) typically don’t need to fret over eating an extra slice of carrot cake.
And to that point, even if someone’s goal is fat loss, the more muscle they have the less “aggressive” they’ll have to be on the dietary side of the equation. This isn’t to imply the process is any easier and that you’re less likely to want to stab someone in the throat whenever you’re hangry. But, for all intents and purposes, those who have more muscle (and therefore probably a solid base of strength) generally don’t need to go into “I hate my life mode” when it comes to dieting.
Stronger people tend to be more resilient and don’t get hurt as much either. The saying “getting strong(er) is corrective“ can’t be stated enough.
Above all, those who are stronger are generally harder to kill once the zombies eventually take over.
So what are some factors that prevent or deter people from getting stronger?
Omitting the obvious culprits like not using progressive overload, listening to one syllable that comes out of Tracy Anderson’s mouth, or, you know, dying, below are a few less common talked about factors.
1. Recovery
I put this first because:
1. It’s that important.
2. Admittedly, it’s the most boring and most likely to be glossed over.
HINT: DON’T SKIP THIS.
“You’re only as strong as how well you allow yourself to recover.”
Physiologically speaking you don’t get stronger (or bigger) during a workout. You break down muscle tissue and accumulate fatigue.
Both are necessary and it’s what causes the body to adapt, grow, and become stronger and stuff.
However, it’s how well you allow yourself to recover in between bouts of training which dictates consistent and long-term progress.
This can mean any number of things.
It’s hydration, it’s ensuring ample total calories in a 24 hour period (peri and post-workout nutrition isn’t nearly as life-and-death as we’ve made it out to be in the past), it’s keeping up with soft tissue quality (foam rolling, occasional massages), and most importantly it’s making sure you go the fuck to bed.
Nothing kills all the hard work you put in the gym then not getting ample sleep at night.
I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with high-school, collegiate, and professional athletes throughout the years where they’re scratching their heads as to why they’re not getting stronger and why they always feel as if a mack truck ran them over:
Are they not doing enough sets/reps?
Maybe it’s because they’re not taking “x” supplement?
Only to find out they’re up until 2-3AM every night playing Halo or flipping left/right on Tinder.
It’s a drastic example, and most reading right now aren’t quite as oblivious.
But this does speak to those of you who stare at a television, computer screen, or iPad for hours leading up to bedtime (or what I like to call nighty nights sleepy time) which then results in less quality rest.
I’m a huge proponent of setting a ritual for bed.
My wife and I bought room darkening curtains to block out as much outside light as possible, and I always sleep with a fan on at night to serve as “white noise.”
In addition I’ll always read in bed.
It’s more or less a signal to my body to “shut up.” And, to be honest, it’s rare that I can get through five pages before I’m nodding off.
So, long story short: GO TO BED.
Also, to the CrossFitters reading: it’s okay to take a day off occasionally. It works wonders for recovery. And no, going into your box on “free days” to perform a front squat Tabata or, I don’t know, ‘Alejandro’9 doesn’t count.
If you want to do something go for a walk.
2. You’re Lifting Heavy Things Too Much
I know many of you reading are thinking I’m off my rocker with this one, but hear me out.
There’s a popular line many strength coaches have used throughout the years:
“Far too many people are concerned with constantly testing their strength (1RM) rather than building it.”
I couldn’t agree more.
For the fun of it, audit yourself.
When was the last time you tested your 1RM in something?
If you’re like most people it was yesterday. And prior to that it was last week. And prior to that it was the week before that.
Don’t get me wrong: Training in the 85-95% 1RM range IS important from a strength development standpoint. Here we see many positive adaptations, like:
1. Maximal number of motor units are recruited.
2. Fastest MU’s are activated (high-threshold motor units).
3. The discharge frequency (rate coding) is increased.
4. Activity – inter and intra muscular coordination – is synchronous.
5. Potential for future hypertrophy gains (especially when you revert back to a “hypertrophy” specific training phase).
6. At least 37 IQ points (<=== it’s science).
Photo Credit: Elitefts.com
However, it’s important to understand that most of the popular strength-based programs out there – 5/3/1, Cube Method, Juggernaut, etc – the bulk of the volume hovers in the 60-80% (1RM) range.
That’s in stark contrast to what many people perceive as the right approach when strength is the goal.
To reiterate: It’s still very important to train heavier than that – and the above programs do include work in the 90% + range – but it doesn’t have to be as frequent as one might think.
Training heavy all the time is going to wear you down. Not only will your joints take a beating, but it’s neurally taxing as well.
In the end, for most people most of the timer, it’s SUB-MAXIMAL work that needs to be prioritized more frequently.
Not only does it ensure immaculate technique – which allows people to “express” their strength more effectively – but it helps in building a much larger base so you can attain a higher peak (in strength).
3. Making Stuff Harder For the Sake of Making It Harder
Some people just want to be crushed in the gym, and that’s cool. I appreciate and respect whenever someone likes to work hard and get after it.
Here is where I have a TON of respect for CrossFit.
But making an exercise “hard” for the sake of making it hard (or to make yourself feel tired) won’t necessarily equate to better results.
When I write a program I need to be able to back up my rationale for every exercise I have someone perform. It’s easy to make someone tired.
Push a Prowler for 30 minutes.
It’s a whole nother ball game to enhance someone’s performance; to get them better. I need to be very particular with what movements and exercises I include given someone’s goals, injury history, and current ability level.
You know the saying “you’re only as strong as your weakest link?” Well, if getting stronger is someone’s goal that’s pretty important.
When most people think “get strong” they look to the big 3: squat, bench press, and deadlift.
In terms of any accessory movements I include in a program, 95% of them are going to be aimed at addressing some form of weakness or technique flaw in the aforementioned big 3 lifts.
The other 5% is dedicated to bicep curls.
Because, biceps.
A Few Examples
Someone is falling forward or having a hard time out of the hole in the squat – An easy fix would be to have them spend more time within the ROM they’re having the most trouble in. Pause squats for 2-5s (with 50-70% of 1RM) is an excellent choice. Another option here is to perform more Safety Squat Bar squats
Someone is weak off their chest in the bench press – Again, more time spent where they’re weakest would be ideal. Pause bench press or maybe high(er) rep sets with the Spoto Press.
Someone is weak at lockout with the deadlift – Dedicated speed/technique work with a lower % load would work, as would adding chains to the lift, or maybe some RDLs.
The theme to hammer home is to use your accessory work to address something useful, rather than making exercise hard for the sake of making it hard.
But if I would have titled it what I wanted to title it:
“That Time I “Fixed” Someone’s Squat In Five Minutes, BOO-YAH, God Damn I’m Good. And While I’m Here Bragging About Myself: Did I Ever Tell You About That Time I Almost Single Handedly Won the Sectional Championship For My High School Baseball Team Back in 1995? Oh, And I Made Out With a Girl Once.”
A Tale of Two Squat Patterns (But Seriously, Though: I Did Fix It In About Five Minutes
Last week I had a gentleman come to CORE for his initial assessment. After some initial back-and-forth and pleasantries we got into the topic of his training and injury history. He had noted that he had never really participated in strength training before and after digging a bit further he also noted that he’d had a history of chronic lower back pain (L3-L4).
Most people can commiserate.
A vast majority reading these words right now have likely experienced some form of low-back pain in their lifetime.
(raises hand)
It’s never fun and can leave most people in a seemingly never-ending state of frustration and despair. In dealing with many people in the same predicament throughout my career as a coach & personal trainer my goal during their initial session isn’t to spend it telling them how much of a walking ball of dysfunction they are.
Rather, my objective is to take them through a few rudimentary screens, watch them move, see if anything exacerbates their symptoms, and if so, modify things to see if we can reduce them.
Low back pain is very common and has myriad of root causes:
✅ Tight this
✅ Overactive that
✅ Inactivity
✅ Aberrant movement patterns
✅ Losing a street fight to Jason Bourne
✅ It’s Tuesday
Whatever.
It’s rarely ONE thing, which makes it altogether impossible to look someone in the eyes and say, definitively, “x is why your back hurts.”10
Which is why I prefer to get people moving during their assessment.
It’s easier for me to ascertain and glean a larger picture of things when I can watch someone show me their movement strategies through a variety of tasks.
Don’t get me wrong: I’ll perform several screens on an assessment table: Thomas Test, Craig’s Test, Slump Test, active vs. passive ROM, etc.
However, I also believe it’s important (if not crucial) to get them off the table and have them demonstrate to me how they choose to move.
It’s simply more information.
Without any prompting from me (I didn’t want to coach him on how to perform the “test”) here’s what my client’s squat pattern looked like:
Before
Notice how he immediately “falls” into an aggressive anterior pelvic tilt as a descends toward the floor? Likewise, notice the speed or lack of control as he lowers to the ground?
Furthermore, notice anything as he finishes at the top and “locks out” his hips?
He hyperextends his lower back.
I.e., he finishes with LUMBAR extension rather than HIP extension.
I had him watch the same video above and then broke down in more detail everything I explained here (and that my suspicions were that those may be the culprit of his low-back woes).
I then spent a few minutes breaking down some simple “squat technique tenets” I like to pass along when breaking down the movement with clients.
✅ We talked about foot pressure and corkscrewing his feet into the ground (to help ramp up torque in the hips).
✅ We also discussed the abdominal brace.
✅ I broke down the canister position and how that’s ideal (rib cage down and stacked over the hips)
✅ I reiterated that the squat is equal parts breaking with the hips & knees simultaneously so the net result is squatting DOWN, not BACK.11
✅ I wanted him to think about “pulling” himself down toward the floor rather than falling.
✅ Lastly, I encouraged him to “finish tall” at top; to squeeze his glutes (lightly) rather than ramming his hips forward.
Five minutes later this happened:
After
By no means was it a perfect squat (does that even exist?), but that wasn’t what I was after.
I was seeking PROGRESS.
And I think we achieved that.
Here’s a top (before)/down (after) comparison:
The bigger indicator, though, was that he had zero pain while squatting after these minor tweaks to his technique were made. And it didn’t take me giving him a laundry list of “corrective exercises” in order to “fix” it.
Sure, I could have told him to foam roll for 37 minutes and stretch his hip flexors, followed by an abyss of varying glute medius exercises…
…and he likely would have felt better as well.
However, we wouldn’t have really addressed anything.
In short: Help people find their trainable menu. COACH them. Show them what they CAN do, rather than barking at them what they can’t.
This article is not going to dive into the x’s and o’s of program design.
For that you can peruse my Resources Page and find plenty of options to fit your fancy. Instead, today, I wanted to peel the onion (so-to-speak) and discuss the layers of program design that rarely get discussed.
How to Make Your Programs Programs Your Clients Will Actually Follow
This post is going to hit on the more nitty-gritty and nuanced stuff.
The stuff that is the culmination of equal parts time under the bar, experience, and not sucking. The stuff that, while I feel are very important and what helps to separate the great coaches from the sub-par ones, might come across as trivial or inane to some, and certainly won’t win me any additional Instagram followers.
Wow, I’m really selling it here aren’t I?
Lets dive in.
1. It’s Not About You
No, really, the programs you write have nothing to do with you.
Sure, you’re writing them and it’s your expertise and coaching people are paying for. However, the program should be about your client/athlete and reflect their needs and goals.
I think it was Alwyn Cosgrove who first coined the phrase
“You should write programs, not workouts.”
On top of that, and equally Earth shattering, is a common quote I often defer to from the great Dan John:
“The goal is to keep the goal, the goal.”
Any Joe Schmo with biceps and a weekend personal training certification can write a hard workout that will make someone hate life.12
Writing a program – one that’s individualized – serves a purpose, addresses one’s unique injury history, caters to his or her’s goals, takes into account ability level, and on top of all that, is flexible, takes some thought, professionalism, skill, and attention to detail.
Listen, I am all for getting people strong (which, granted, is subjective) and I can appreciate anyone who places a premium on having their clients squat, deadlift, bench press, and deadlift.
Deadlift is listed twice….because, deadlift.
However, if your client is a newbie or is just looking to lose 10-20 lbs, or could care less about benching 2x bodyweight, the program should reflect that.
There’s two extremes that generally end up happening:
1. Trainer/coach doesn’t give a shit. Client shows up, trainer is ill-prepared, and what follows is some smorgasbord of laziness, complacency, and fitness industry cliches. I.e., client is paying for a babysitter who just so happens to show them how perform a shitty looking lunge.
2. Trainer/coach does give a shit. Albeit is too much of a narcissist to recognize that because he or she prefers to train like a powerlifter, Olympic lifter, bodybuilder, or CrossFitter, doesn’t mean ALL of their clients need to train the same way too.
Before you know it you have:
14 year old’s who have never mastered a squat performing Tri-Phasic 1-Legged Pistol Squats vs. Bands while dragging a sled
35 year old house wives working on their quad sweep
55 year old CEOs with poor shoulder flexion performing kipping pull-ups for AMRAP.
Makes sense.
At the end of the day people are more apt to follow and stay invested in a program – long-term – if they know it’s catered to them and has their best interests in mind.
Like it or not, this is a SERVICE industry….and while I recognize there’s a bit of head-butting between what people need to be doing and what they want to do, it’s your job as the fitness professional to find and include that balance.
2. Avoid Fitting Square Pegs Into Round Holes
Yo, check it.
1️⃣ No one HAS to back squat. And if they do, no one HAS to use the low-bar position.
2️⃣ No one HAS to pull from the floor. And if they do, no one HAS to use a straight bar.
3️⃣ No one HAS to bench press. And if they do, no one HAS to use a crazy excessive arch. Or use a barbell for that matter.
4️⃣ No one HAS to listen to A Tribe Called Quest radio on Pandora. But you kinda do. Trust me.
Another “trap” I see a lot of fitness professionals fall into is marrying themselves to any ONE way to do or perform anything.
For lack of a better way of putting it: I fucking hate this way of thinking.
I lose a lot of respect for coaches who are that narrow-minded and unwilling to understand that there are other coaches out there getting just as good (sometimes better) results not doing what they’re doing.
Piggy backing on what was mentioned above (on individualization) – everything kinda falls under this umbrella…from exercise selection, order, and even the variation.
I mean, if someone has the shoulder mobility of a pregnant rhinoceros it makes zero sense to force them into back squatting, let alone using a low-bar position.
Photo Credit: Menno Henselmans
It won’t do them any favors and will likely frustrate them as it will feel weird (possibly even hurt) and will do little in building a greater degree of competency.
If I felt squatting was still important for them and it fit into their goals, a better way to build success (and competency) would be to use a SSB (Safety Squat Bar) variation or maybe even Anterior Loaded KB Front Squats:
Here I can still groove a sexy squat pattern but take the upper body restrictions out of the equation.
Likewise, with deadlifts, no one outside of a powerlifter or weightlifter must pull from the floor. It’s a rare instance – kinda like a Centaur or a vegan dish that doesn’t taste like wallpaper – when someone walks into my gym on day one and can demonstrate the mobility (and stability) requirements to do so safely.
Honestly, my first order of business with many people is to help them find their hip-hinge before I worry about lifting anything heavy off the floor.
To that end, if someone lacks the ankle dorsiflexion, hip flexion, or t-spine extension to get into proper position, maybe a trap bar would be a better option?
I find it’s a more “user-friendly” way of introducing the deadlift.
What’s more, in terms of stress and sheer loading on the spine, the trap bar will be a better option for most people anyways. With a straight bar the center of rotation is further away from the bar, whereas with a trap bar it’s right smack dab INSIDE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-sA3PG1kGY
Want to make your programs programs your clients will actually follow?
One of the best strategies is to include exercises and movements that best fit their ability level, shows them success, and helps to build competency.
Everyone is different. Respect that.
3. Other Stuff I Was Going to Elaborate On But This Post is Already Long Enough
As in, write down and keep track of what your clients are doing per session (and encourage them to take ownership and do it themselves).
A funny thing happens when people start to keep track of what they do session to session. This little thing called progressive overload manifests and people start seeing results.
It motivates them.
Soon they’re lifting weights (for reps) they couldn’t sniff three months prior.
And it’s a beautiful thing.
2. Experiment with Semi-Private Training
My good friend and former business partner, Pete Dupuis, wrote a fantastic article on this topic that you can read HERE.
It’s not for everyone, but I find the semi-private training model works like a charm to help motivate people. There’s a lot to be said about being surrounded by like-minded individuals and training amongst a group of people who will push you, encourage you, and call you out when you skip sessions.
3. Know When To Back Off
This coincides with what I mentioned above when I said a program should be flexible.
You may have programmed for a client to work up to a few heavy sets of triples on their deadlift on a particular day, but they show up and it’s readily apparent they had a horrible night’s sleep, or maybe they’re just mentally exhausted from resisting the urge all day to Sparta kick their boss in the throat.
Regardless, whatever was planned is…just…not…going…to…happen.
You better have a plan B in your back pocket.
4. Don’t Forget To Put In Stuff They WANT To Do
It bears repeating, this is important: I’m all for playing the “there’s a reason why you’re paying me, I’m the expert” card.
But it’s only going to work in your favor to toss your clients a bone and not take yourself so seriously sometimes.
My female clients love it when I put in some extra glute specific work at the end of their training sessions. My male clients are 100% down for a quick 5-minute “Sun’s Out, Guns Out” arm finisher.
Pants optional.
5. Sprinkle in Some Markers
As in, don’t be afraid to write in prescribed loads you want your clients to hit.
I find many people are notorious for underestimating their ability (or maybe hesitant to push the envelop) and need a little nudge from their meanie head strength coach.
Here’s an example of what I mean, a snidbit of a program I wrote for one of my female clients last month:
Week 1: Trap Bar Deadlift
3 sets of 5 reps @ 155 lbs
Week 2: Modified Sumo Stance Deadlift
Warm-up
Hit 200×1
Then 3 sets of 4 reps @ 180 lbs.
Week 3: Modified Sumo Stance Deadlift
Warm-up
Hit 205×1
Then 3 sets of 2 reps @ 190 lbs
Week 4: Modified Sumo Stance Deadlift
Warm-up
Hit 215-220×1
Fist pump x infinity
Then 3 sets of 5 reps @ 160 lbs
One of her goals, before the end of the year, was to hit a 200 lb (straight bar) deadlift. She crushedthat goal, a few months early mind you, because I didn’t baby her and gave her some markers to hit.
