Do personal trainers work out?

This is a common question that pops its head up now and again from gym regulars and fitness side-liners alike:

Do personal trainers actually work out? And what keeps them motivated to move?

I can tell you that many personal trainers DO NOT actually work out. This may come as a shock to some, but it’s speaks to a larger socio-cultural issue in regards to our views about movement.

Let’s take a look at an analogous perspective first. I had a professional chef once tell me that, after a long day of cooking gourmet food for the restaurant he worked at, he often comes home and throws on some macaroni and cheese and a polishes it off with a budweiser. You may think that a chef would make himself a nice duck l’orange or chicken cordon bleu with a wild mushroom risotto as a reward for a hard day of work, however, the truth is that most chefs are probably sick of making gourmet food all day long. Personal trainers aren’t exempt from this same phenomenon in relation to exercise.

Now, before you break out the rulers and start smacking wrists, let’s consider that personal trainers are people, too, and often fall off the bandwagon of healthy living just like the everyone else. Some trainers give up regular exercise altogether, but some find another way to keep themselves motivated to move. It is the latter group of trainers that can share a valuable philosophy for those seeking to make movement less of a drudgery and more of an enjoyable experience over the lifespan.

The antidote to the disease of sedentarianism seems to be solved by not working “out”, which is nomenclature that needs to be workshopped. To me, working OUT means going outside of oneself to elicit a change without subscribing to the internal wisdom, abilities, and possibilities of one’s internal selves. From my observations of those that are the healthiest and most fit are those that work IN, and they do so by working within their own abilities, doing the best they can that day. Another observation is that they tend to do less regimented workouts and focus more on play. Yes, just like a kid, the most fit people play. Play doesn’t just mean swinging on a swing set or playing hopscotch, although those are fair game, too.

PLAY-(n)-engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose (dictionary.com)

Personal trainers and fitness professionals that commit to moving long term usually start to exhibit higher and higher levels of play. Even if they claim to follow a strict program of exercises on a spreadsheet with weight percentages and heart rate zones meticulously mapped out, they still tinker and play within the program itself. I see this as a subtle sign of that person’s inner desire for play and creativity. True states of play, meaning those that are free from all expectations, is rare in adults because it is a scary state for adults to be in at first. Play has no direct purpose, mission or objective. And we all know that adults need a reason behind everything. Once someone can let go of purpose and working OUT all the time, they can enter their movement practice with an open mind, free of the stress of expectations. This allows for the key of possibility to open the door of FUN in movement.

In my own recent musings with movement, i treat each movement session (notice how i didn’t say “workout”?) as a way to explore the realm of possibility at that particular point in time. I’m always testing myself in new and unique ways with the realization that my health and fitness goals will take care of themselves when i am enjoying what i am doing first, free from stressful expectations and approaching this practice with exuberance for the belief that my body might be able to do things and teach me things that i never thought possible. Programming and limiting myself to strict sets and reps all the time blunts this realm of possibility.

Now before i get written off as some kind of hippie counter-culturalist proposing that everyone throw away their heart rate monitors and workout logs, let me just say that i am not against these things. If one has a particular competition (i.e.-road race, weightlifting, triathlon, etc.), then there is merit to monitoring progress and progressing in a steady fashion to avoid injury and overtraining. However, blindly following programs all the time does not teach anyone how to listen in to their bodies, it instead outsources those duties to a piece of paper. Even though this may be a safe route because it locks someone in to statistically safe parameters, it doesn’t allow the individual to explore in the realm of possibility. For example, what if athletes, for 3 months out of the year (during the offseason), chose what they wanted to do as long as it was some form of movement. They could be encouraged to try a bunch of new sports, activities, etc. This, along with mental relaxation from the rigors of competition, could make moving exciting again as they rediscovered new ways in which their bodies could move. It could also make their bodies smarter and more resilient by challenging it in new dimensions.

So, to try and sum up my entire rant, i believe a missing link in health is playing in the realm of possibility. Stick to your programs if it provides peace of mind, however, i encourage everyone to step outside for a while and cater to the curiosity of what their body’s may or may not be capable of. This could mean including an element into ones workout that is random, or perhaps even spending weeks or months away from structure. This is especially important for those in high stress jobs who spreadsheet and forecast their working life, only to attempt to do the same with their movement practice. Could play be the skeleton key that unlocks the stress of life?

I dare you to play…TAG YOU’RE IT!

Moved over to Wordpress

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Charlie

Jack's Gym: A Story of Physical Culture

5am.

I awake, rouse myself from my slumber, and wait for my good friend Josh to arrive at my house to embark on a journey 70 miles to the south of San Francisco. The destination: a small place called "Jack's Gym".

We stopped for coffee along the way at 7am. After sitting in our car for a few minutes postulating about the man we were about to meet, a tiny red Toyota MR2 speeds next to us. A bright eyed-man, just shy of 6 feet tall wedges himself out of the tiny sports car. We exchanged formalities and he invited us up to his gym (called 'Core Strength'), to show us around. Exuberant with knowledge and excitement, Deric Stockton was quick to share his knowledge about training and his unique philosophy on training. You would think, being a 40-year old powerlifter squatting almost 800 pounds, he would be quick to talk about periodization schemes, how to increase speed on the bar, and assistance exercises to load the body with more weight.

However, what we found was quite the contrary. Deric has developed his own paradigm of training that focuses on developing awareness of the deeper layers of the body. So many of us nowadays are unaware of our bodies, leading to instability, poor posture/movement patterns, and pain. Deric's philosophy centers around getting the muscles to not only contract, but also to relax so that their action potential is much greater when the time comes to move, which allows for improved performance AND decreases in injury prevalence. Deric spends just as much time on recovery, if not more, as he does training. Much like a Tai Chi master, Deric has figured out that the key to health and strength lies in balancing the Yin and Yang.

As we followed Deric through the evergreen hills of Ben Lomond, we arrived at a small garage space called "Jack's gym". The door opened up, and the scent of rubber, and oxidized iron sent back memories of personal records achieved in garages similar to this in years past. This is where strength is practiced, built and celebrated. The tools used are simple, no shiny chrome dumbbells or towel service here. Not unlike a NASCAR mechanic's shop, the tools slightly rusted and worn, covered in dust, pictures of heroes and past personal records, we readied ourselves for a tune up. After doing some joint mobilization drills that Deric showed us, we were ready to go to work. Today was Bench Day. Always intimidated by the Bench Press since it was one of my weakest lifts, i was hesitant to go heavy. I've never Bench Pressed over 235 in my life. After some technique work and some great coaching cues, i managed 10 reps with 225! Then, following that, i pushed out 255 for a triple! I couldn't believe it, i was stoked. After that we followed our workout up with some assistance exercises, including Dumbbell floor presses for reps. I ended up pulling out 14 reps with 85 pound dumbbells! Stoked. This was a testament to how strong the body can be when the body's joints are in the right position and working together.

Gleeming with accomplishment, we left the gym to head back to Deric's house for some grub. After eating, we sat in his living room chatting about Tennis (one of Deric's favorite sports). Nobody believes a big guy like him could move around on a tennis court, but he plays regularly and is apparently pretty solid at it, too. We watched a tennis match on TV as Deric pointed out the superiority of one player over another and how in elite athletics, athleticism can only be extended by those who harbor ever-increasing strength and power. Ultimately, those that are the strongest and most powerful will be the most successful athletes after the skill has already reached elite levels.

We said our good-byes, although we could have stayed and hung out all day and talked shop. Deric, out of all the strength guys i've met, seemed to harbor a peace of mind about him that i haven't seen anywhere else. He has cultivated through his years of wisdom an inner strength as well as an outer strength that resonated with both Josh and I. He gives us hope that our society hasn't lost it's physical culture, reminding us that we can still be strong AND healthy. I hope we can all preserve all of those garage gyms out there, building communities of strong people who challenge themselves no matter what their ability level, age or limitations. The realm of possibility was pushed that day even, as Deric's training partner lifted over 400 pounds in the deadlift...and he has two bilateral hip replacements! Amazing indeed.

The Iron game has been threatened and challenged by nay-sayers who, through fear, have sought to eliminate heavy lifting, saying that it is "dangerous", "contraindicated" or "Unnecessary", however, for those whose life it has enriched, it is something that will live on, even if it is in garages all over the country. When done properly, heavy lifting can be a very positive stimulus on the body, and Deric is living proof of that.

More info about Deric can be found on Liz Koch's site www.coreawareness.com (there is an audio interview there with Deric and Liz, as well as a link to Deric's seminar, which will be hosted at his gym called "Core Strength" in scotts valley, ca on July 25th)

5 reasons why i'm Against Treadmills

1) Treadmills are not fun! That's why commercial fitness facilities have to strap TVs and iPod hook-ups to them to create a diversion to the monotonous work that your body is performing day after day

2) Treadmills are performed in a relatively small range of motion, not allowing an exploration and practice of high-quality movement. Also, treadmills have a predictable speed and surface which doesn't challenge the proprioceptive system to respond quickly to changes in surface level/shape/etc. I believe this has a direct correlation to sprained ankles and other foot dysfunctions due to poor dexterity and reactivity (along with the type of footwear chosen, of course. Why not do cardiovascular exercise that encourages moving your joints through all ranges of motion? Some of the best group exercise classes do this and it kills two birds with one stone by getting cardiovascular fitness covered along with improved joint mobility, motor control and awareness, and strength.

3)If you live in California, there is no reason why you can't exercise outside 90% of the time. The benefits of being outside far outweigh the risks. There may be some hurdles to overcome in big cities, but the excuses stop there. Sunlight exposure is a good thing for Vitamin D production which we know helps with mood and bone health; fluorescent lights from being inside, however, are not conducive to the aforementioned.

4) Treadmills negate the work of the body's posterior chain musculature (glutes, hamstrings, back extensors, etc.) by actively pulling the legs behind the body from the powered belt, instead of having the body's musculature do the work. This reinforces flexed postures which contribute to posture-related health detriments like back pain, knee pain, shin splints, and migraine headaches, to name a few. There are treadmills that are not powered, which would be a better alternative since they force the body to use it's posterior chain.

5) Treadmills are expensive to purchase and expensive to maintain. Thousands of dollars are spent purchasing new and repairing old ones. This cost could be subsidized by what some smart gym owners have done by attaching the treadmills to a power generator and using the human kinetic energy to cut down on energy consumption. However, the maintenance fees still stand. What if we used that money to fund more group exercise classes, cut down on personal training fees for clients, and perhaps gym membership fess as well? The possibilities for diverting this unnecessary revenue succubus are endless.

If you currently run on treadmills, i encourage you to try running for a week outside to see and feel the differences. It's all around a better choice, and yes, you CAN bring your iPod with you.

CR

p.s.-what's even worse is that we're now exposing our pets to the woes of treadmill usage...

Traditional Education is largely a failing system

For those of you that know me, i have been immersed in a graduate degree program at San Francisco State University for the past year. Now, i suppose i'll preface by saying that this is by no means an attack on any one individual, however i seek it to be an observation of what i believe to be a failed system of education.

The Traditional model of Education...

1) Sign up for classes each semester
2) Sit in a class for 1-3 days a week
3) Maybe do homework assignments, some projects related to the course material
4) Standardized testing periodically to check for retention of material

This model does not show the student how to apply the knowledge, it encourages book memorization as well as the ability to regurgitate facts, and maybe apply some concepts, in a standardized testing environment. This leaves those exiting the program with little understanding of how to apply this knowledge in an open setting. Graduate programs likely just produce more researchers, not necessarily more and/or better practitioners.

The Constructivist model of Education....

1) Receive ALL materials for the coursework of the degree
2) No class lectures, only open forum times for the students and faculty to meet, discuss the material, and ask questions of the academics in regards to how to traverse the course material. This encourages accountability on the part of the student to have read the material and formulate specific questions to help them teach themselves, as opposed to lecturing, which is not as effective
3) Internship or field experience required before entering the degree program as well as during the degree program. One must have the ability to apply as well as learn material simultaneously. Knowledge is useless without its proper application.
4) No time limit on the degree. People can take as much or as little time as they'd like. This takes the pressure of trying to jam material into one's brain, allowing those that are slower to learn more time to absorb, think about the material, rethink, and apply. Our society's emphasis on expediency comes at expense of others with practitioners working on half-truths, poorly understood principles, and little application.
5) Everyone will be allowed access to the material who wants it without having to get into the university, however the degree will require one to the work correctly. Also, the student can turn in the work as many times as he/she would like. Monetarily speaking, the student would have to pay each time they turned it in so that the professor grading the work is compensated for his time. This, in theory, takes the pressure off of having to just get it right the first time.

It's not a mystery why so many people drop out of graduate degree programs, especially in the field of exercise science. The students are not encouraged to understand and apply simultaneously. At the same time, the system does not support self-accountability with personal support. If you are not doing the research that the professors are doing, chances are, you're shit out of luck.

from Tynjala's paper titled Towards expert knowledge? A comparison
between a constructivist and a traditional
learning environment in the university....

"According to Geisler (1994), during general education students operate in both
problem spaces, content and rhetoric, with naive representations. In the early years of
undergraduate education some students begin to work with more abstract representations
in the problem space of domain content. At the same time, however, their
rhetorical problem space remains basically naive. Late in their undergraduate education
or in graduate school, this naive representation of the rhetorical problem space
undergoes in some students a major reorganization and abstraction process, where
the rhetorical dimension of expertise emerges as distinct from domain content. This
growth of an expert representation of the rhetorical problem space is the "nal stage in
the acquisition of expertise. It is only when both the domain content and the
rhetorical process of a "eld are represented in abstract terms that they can enter into
the dynamic and mutually transformative interaction that produces expertise. **Knowing
that++ and `knowing how++ are linked with each other. Only a few people develop
362 P. Tynja( la( / Int. J. Educ. Res. 31 (1999) 357}442
integrated expert knowledge of this kind, although, as Bereiter and Scardamalia
(1993) have pointed out, schooling could be organized in a way that would promote
expertise in everyone." (Tynjala, p. 362-363)


What is even worse is that those that do not make it into a graduate program in exercise science, for example, choose to go around it by seeking outside education through certifications, certificates of purported expertise in a specific area, and trade schools. These schools and certification seminars are stripped down versions of education, removing the fiber of critical thought, research, and problem-solving, leaving only the sugar-filled pamphlets of quick-fixes and algorithms for getting results for clients. These people are receiving knowledge second-hand, at best, from industry "experts", naive to the fact that much of the research being disseminated could largely fall prey to the biases, opinions and interpretations of the person delivering the information. Wouldn't it be great if, as a free service offered by universities, people could attend classes about how to critically analyze literature and then apply it?

As the dilution of information spirals down from researchers, to field experts, to novice practitioners, the mess of confusion, contradiction, and frustration leaves a broken system that has failed to do what it purports to do. What are we doing to ensure quality learning for ourselves, our friends, our colleagues, and our clients?

A Perspective on Core Training

(image: http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/img/userPics/image005.jpg)

The topic of core training is a rubix cube for me. I pick it up, play around with it for a bit, and then put it back in the drawer for a while. We all have our own ideas and beliefs about how we address the core problem. Core stabilizing, pilates, front and side planks done till your eyeballs bleed, and constantly contracting the abdominal musculature to maintain neutral spine at all times during training.

Some questions...

Does a neutral spine guarantee safety and even core control?

If the core is indeed "weak", how much strengthening is needed for that person, and how does it relate to their function?

What could be potential causes of a weak core?

My musings about the problems with traditional core training and where we should be heading more towards:

Just tensing the muscles to maintain neutral spine is not enough. Abdominals are phasic muscles, which are meant to contract and relax. If chronically tensed, this will affect digestion, bloodflow, muscle recovery, respiration, posture, and de-stabilizing of the deep stabilizing muscles of the body (deep fibers of the psoas, multifidus, paraspinals, rotatores,etc). As an end result, this may do the opposite effect of what we seek to do. Teaching "Core awareness" and "Core control" as opposed to "Core strength" and "Core Stability" would be a better approach.

Core training should be from the ground up, making sure all the joints are working well together, functionally, along with the aforementioned awareness and mindful practice. What about the feet? Are the feet sending the right sensory input up to the core to allow it to respond to movement changes? I guarantee that most people's feet aren't as functional as they think, and the overly-padded shoes don't help.

It would be disadvantageous to go with the reductionist approach of just telling someone to maintain neutral spine when a fitness coach's purpose, i believe, is to encourage an exploration of the myriad of movement possibilities held within the human animal. Releasing fear by not being afraid to move outside of neutral is a true celebration and liberation of the human experience. The more movements a person can do under control, the better off the body will be. This, of course, doesn't mean that someone should do heavy back squats with 500 pounds, however the body is designed to go into spinal flexion, for example (e.g.-grabbing something off of the ground).

Traditional Core stability training is a reaction meant to control the physical body and the torso to “protect”. However, this is a fear response which further spirals the body downwards towards functional movement inhibition. Function, the way the body's joints work together as a unit, and in the body's designed postural alignment, is more important than any one muscle group.

I believe a movement practice should be to make smarter, more functional bodies which transcend the “core” by itself.

“When one picks out anything in nature, he finds it is attached to the rest of the world” -John Muir

Iliopsoas: The Superhero Muscle

The iliopsoas muscle has always deeply intrigued me. It’s shear size and length is impressive alone, but it’s function and purpose within the body is often a hotly debated one…

Some anatomists call it a “hip flexor”, having its primary purpose to move the legs during walking and running. However, this seems to only be the tip of the iceberg with much of its function being shrouded deeper beneath the surface deep within the body. I like to look at the iliopsoas as a comic book superhero of the body, and just like many superheros, it is often wrongfully accused for crimes it didn’t commit all the while trying to protect its citizens (the body). From the outside looking in, the psoas looks to be a menace to our body’s muscular ecology, always tightening down on the pelvis, causing hyper lordosis (excess arching in the lower back), low back discomfort/pain, groin problems, etc. However, like many superheros, what if we didn’t completely understand the greater purpose that our superhero has been fighting for? Could it be that the psoas is simply reacting to changes elsewhere in our body and in our psyche to protect our structure?

The saga continues…

Fitness trainers, physical therapists, etc., are like the police force, trying frantically to control the actions of the iliopsoas by enforcing rigorous routines of stretching, pelvic tilting, and abdominal bracing to maintain neutral spine at all times. This order imposed on bodies that are chronically in chaos seem to be fraught with discontent, at best.

Let's take a look at the anatomy first:


(http://www.thepilatesacademy.com.au/assets/images/iliopsoas.jpg)


-it attaches from the T12 vertebra and all of the lumbar vertebra, wraps through the pelvis and then meets at the lesser trochanter of the femur. Some suspect that, on average, the psoas group has enough contractile force to hold up a volkswagen! When we talk about core strength, we would be remiss to forget about the Psoas.

Function of the Psoas…

-Not just a hip flexor, although it certainly does do that
-Guy wire of the body, helping with proper alignment of the bones (when the bones stack on top of each other in good postural neutral, the muscles don't have to fight to hold it up, thus avoiding fatigue and tightness...remember that muscles often get tight because of instability)
-Functions as a counter-balance to anchor the body when the abdominal muscles are doing work
-Hydraulic pump assisting with respiration, pumping of synovial fluid through the spine, massaging of organs to aid in digestion

In her lovely compendium, The Psoas Book, Liz Koch outlines in beautiful detail the beauty of the psoas muscle and how it relates to the body’s function. She talks about how our culture of exercise focusing on external or “show” muscles comes at a price to our deeper structure. Over emphasis on conditioning the abdominals without access to the deep stabilizing systems held within the body, the psoas reacts by tightening further, thus creating stress and strain on soft-tissue structures, referred muscle pain, and stress to the diaphragm and other viscera. She even delves into topics ranging from emotional states and how they relate to psoas function, women’s menstrual cycles, and even sexual function! According to Koch, and i agree based on my observations with myself and my days doing therapy, the psoas does not respond well to stretching, as it seems to be too harsh of a stimulus. The psoas should be released via gravity and mindful awareness. This may sound like smoke, mirrors, and snake oil, however those that have not experienced a true psoas release would do well to undergo the experience and see for yourself. Her website is coreawareness.com and she regularly has podcasts, psoas retreats, and wellness workshops to help people re-establish and re-discover their deeper self. I highly recommend her book, as she talks so much more colorfully about the psoas than I ever could.

Most of my friends and colleagues know that I don’t like to focus too much on one muscle, however, if there was one to focus on, I think the Psoas would be it. Just like a superhero trying to do good and fend off evil from a city, often times the plight is that the very people in which our superhero is trying to protect retaliate negatively. Perspective, in the case of the psoas, is important in understanding how the psoas relates in function, both through physical, mental and emotional means. This is a good lesson to be aware that muscles don’t perform just one action; this is a “systems” approach to the body, which limits the ability for the person/practicioner to understand scenarios in which the muscle doesn’t act the way in which a book says it does. In this regards, an open mind and a keen eye trained to see function and the possibility of something that may not be in a book is key to cultivate long term. Why are the muscles reacting the way they do? Could it be that the problem isn't the site itself?

What is in store for our hero now? Will he be doomed to live a life of isolation deep within the bowels of the body? Or will he establish rapport with his fellow muscles to work together in improving movement and, thus, quality of life? I vote for the feel-good ending.

CR