Chronic Intensity
Are you experiencing too much intensity?
If everything you do is at high intensity, where is your variety?
I used to coach group classes where consistently everyone would be so exhausted that they would drop to the floor, unable to form a complete sentence. I will no longer do that.
If every workout you do leaves you rolling around on the floor, is that variety? Or is it just different versions of the same thing?
Sure maybe there is variety in the movements that you do. But where is the variety in intensity?
You probably don’t need as much intensity as you think. Absolutely not every training session.
High level athletic teams don’t even constantly practice or train at high intensity. They have optional days. They have walk-throughs. They have film sessions. They have deload weeks. They even have rest days.
To make improvements in training we need to recover. If you aren’t feeling recovered from the previous day's training, you would probably benefit from reduced intensity. Especially your training is affecting other aspects of your life, like your mood, energy and sleep. And absolutely if your training is leaving you in pain.
Cost-Effective Movements
Are you getting the most bang for your buck in your training?
What movements in the gym give you the most bang for your buck?
What movement in the gym requires a lot of time and effort with minimal reward?
I want cost effective movements.
There is very little that is free.
Your training likely costs you time, money and energy.
I want to squeeze as much out of that as possible.
With that investment you deserve to be rewarded.
Maybe you only have so much time for your training.
Is it cost effective for you to spend 20 minutes of your training session learning the Snatch and Overhead Squat? Or would it be more time effective to work on the squat and press in that same time period. Two movements that you are comfortable enough with to effectively challenge yourself with.
The time, money, and energy you put into training should be cost effective.
This isn’t to say it should be cheap.
This is about returned value.
Any movement could be functional. But sometimes the investment into a movement may not give you the return you are looking for.
A good coach will assess you, learn about your goals and find the most cost effective program with movements that provide you the most benefit.
What Comes First? Pain Or Posture?
Is posture the source of your pain? Or is your posture the result of pain?
This is a chicken or egg scenario.
Did you get injured because of your posture?
Or is your posture because of an injury?
This concept comes from @greglehman. He originally mentioned the thought process from leg injuries.
Basic idea is that people start to limp due to a lower limb injury. They don’t get a lower leg injury from limping.
So why do you have the posture that you have?
Maybe it’s because you’ve adapted to a specific way of moving.
Or maybe it’s because of a response to an event, and your body has now adopted a new position (or posture) in response to it.
Do You Need To Fix Your Posture?
Is your posture wrong?
This is a question I hear a fair amount. It’s often brought up as a source and cause for pain.
What is good posture for you?
Why do you believe your current posture to be the problem? How have you isolated that to be the main cause?
In 1952, a standard reference for posture was created for what would be considered a normal posture. 2000 people were evaluated for their posture.
The “normal” posture was created using an ideal from the 2000 people, not from the average postures observed. Meaning of the 2000 people, none of them demonstrated what was considered to be a “normal” posture. They were all abnormal by their own definition of normal.
That was 1952.
There are now multiple sources of research showing that postures often viewed as bad (like forward neck posture) are not independent causes of pain. @aaron_kubal has multiple posts on the topic.
So does your posture need to be fixed? (being “fixed” is an issue on it’s own).
Or could you just benefit from more variety and movement?
Overuse is a thing. It can happen in many areas of your body. Maybe you could use some more variety in your positions to let things calm down.
More Difficult ≠ Better
How difficult does training need to be?
You can see this all over instagram, facebook, or even the gym you train in.
Just because an exercise looks more challenging, doesn’t mean that it is better for progress or results.
Maybe it’s a super high box “jump”. See this week's post on that.
Maybe it’s an unstable surface squat. Like those silly bosu ball squats that people fall from.
Maybe it’s a heavier weight on the barbell. We’ve all seen that really bad looking deadlift.
Challenging yourself is absolutely important.
But so are the basics.
Have you developed basic jumping and landing mechanics?
Are your squat mechanics consistent?
Is your lifting technique consistent at light loads?
If you can answer yes to those things, then yes you may be ready for a more challenging variation.
If not, then the basics are your low hanging fruit.
The Monitor Says You Burned “X” Calories…
Are calories burned accurate? Or important?
The monitor on the exercise machine says you burned 30 calories, is that true?
Probably not.
Unless you and the conditions of training fit a formula.
A common question people have when using exercise machines that display a number of calories is if that equates to calories burned.
Concept2 (popular rowing erg manufacturer) states that their formula for calculating calories on a monitor is based on a 175lb individual.
Are you exactly 175lbs?
Probably not. And that's ok!
It’s also ok to not think of calories when doing a workout. I would encourage that.
Because why do calories need to be a metric of effort? When programming for clients I have largely stopped using them. There are other metrics like distance, time, watts, perceived effort etc. Calories are just another option for a unit of measurement. Sure there can be some different performance outcomes when training using different units of measurements but that's a different discussion.
You do not need to look at “burned” calories to feel successful in your training. This idea can lead to the feeling that you need to “burn” calories to earn the calories you consume. Which is an unfortunate mindset. Because calories aren’t inherently bad.
Miss Monday
Will the world end if you miss Monday’s workout?
Never miss a Monday is a bullshit “rule”.
Miss it.
It’s one day of the week. 1/7. 14%.
You have 86% of the week left.
I don’t know where this never miss a Monday “rule” for fitness came from. But it’s dumb. Probably from some “fitness” magazine that says you can lose 15lbs in 5 days. All you have to do is eat air.
You just had a really stressful Monday. You haven’t eaten much. Are you going to ruin your progress by missing Monday?
Nope.
I would argue you can even improve your progress by missing it and reframing the situation.
You aren’t missing Monday. You are preparing for Tuesday.
You use the time you would normally use to exercise to prioritize other aspects of your health.
Maybe you take a nap. Maybe you take care of some tasks that have been stressing you out. Maybe you cook yourself a nice meal. Or go out for dinner. Treat yo self.
You are ready for Tuesday.
And then you crush it.
Maybe over time you realize Monday just isn’t a good day for you to start your training week.
If the day ends in a Y, it’s a good day for you to start your training week.
What Is Your Perfect World?
What is your perfect world scenario?
If you could snap your fingers and make anything happen, what would your perfect world look like?
This was a question I asked a client recently as we discussed goals.
Sometimes people have very specific goals with their training. Maybe it’s to do 10 pushups, squat their bodyweight, or to not experience pain when they deadlift.
But if you wanted to make anything happen in your training would that be it?
Or is there more to it? What is the reason for those specific goals?
I have found that people can sometimes set really small goals out of fear or uncertainty of what a bigger goal would entail.
Maybe they are afraid that a bigger goal would cost them more time, money or energy.
Or maybe they lack confidence in their ability to execute on a plan for a big goal.
Maybe with a snap of a finger those people actually want to be as strong as their mom. Or to be able to say yes to activities with their kids without the fear of pain. That’s their perfect world.
Those may be big goals. They require a plan.
A knowledgeable coach can help you plan that process for you, while addressing any uncertainties that you may have.
Could Vs. Should
Should you lift that weight?
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
The day's workout has some strength movements in it. The workout instructions call for you to build toward a heavy set of 3. Maybe it's back squats. Maybe it’s bench press. Maybe it’s an olympic lift like a clean and jerk or a snatch.
When you are feeling great you would feel confident about lifting 100lbs.
But last night you didn’t sleep well.
You are sore from the previous day's workout.
You had a stressful day at work.
You can lift 100lbs. But should you?
What’s the risk and what’s the reward?
Are you a competitive athlete who will be rewarded with trophies, medals and money?
If so, there would be many situations (not all) that I would say yes, go for it.
But that’s 0.0001% of the population.
Here’s a guideline you can follow:
Is it Instagram worthy? Would you be proud to send it to a coach?
Some days that weight will be 100lbs. Other days maybe 90lbs, maybe more, maybe less.
And that's ok.
The weight you should lift is the weight that you can be proud of for your effort that day. It’s not the weight that matters. It’s the effort and quality you put into it.
Feeling Good Isn’t Enough
Does rehab stop when you feel good?
Rehab doesn’t end when the pain stops.
I’ve been that coach that heard someone was pain free after an injury and let them load a barbell with pre-injury weights. That’s not who I am now.
You strained your hamstring playing soccer on the weekend.
You are eager to get back to what you normally do in the gym. You want to get back to deadlifting, squatting, running and anything else your workout could bring. And of course you want to get back to playing soccer.
You are in pain so you go to get some rehab work done. Maybe that’s physiotherapy, maybe it’s chiropractic, maybe it’s massage therapy. Through a combination of manual therapy techniques you are able to be pain free, which is fantastic!
You can go through your day pain free now. You are back in the gym doing your normal activities.
So are you done? Are you back to 100%?
The healing time of a muscle strain can range from 1 week-6 months. Maybe you feel great at 4 weeks but your tissue healing still needs more time.
You need more time to heal and a graded return to sport or activity. You need measurables to assess your strength levels relative to your pre-injury state. This likely doesn’t happen by feeling pain free and then jumping in on a fitness class and going 100%. But this can happen with a team approach in your rehab (that includes knowledgeable coaches).
Rehab doesn’t need to be an endless loop. You don’t need to always bounce between injured and pain free.
It may take more time than you want it to. But the results will last longer too.
Preparation Over Perfection
How perfect do we need to be?
We aren't prepared if we are perfect.
How we do things is important.
How we move in the gym is important.
But if we search for perfection we will find ourselves underprepared.
Life is not perfect.
Outside of a vacuum, or a simulation, there is no perfect movement.
If the goal is to prepare yourself for the many tasks that life will throw at you, you will need variety. You will need imperfect conditions.
Many people get halted in their journey for improvement while searching for the perfect conditions.
The perfect amount of sleep.
The perfect nutrition.
The perfect technique.
But then the process never gets started because those perfect conditions are not found.
Search for improvement, not perfection.
You Don’t Need To Snatch
Are specific exercises that important?
This isn’t about the Snatch. It could be about the Clean and Jerk. Or Muscle Ups. Or any specific exercise.
You don’t NEED to do any specific movement.
Especially if it doesn’t align with your goals.
Doesn’t matter how “functional” people claim it to be.
There is no proof that a snatch will make you any more fit and healthy than a kettlebell swing.
There is no proof that a back squat will make you any more fit and healthy than a lunge.
Sure there are theories. That “Insert” movement also does XYZ and “insert” movement does not.
There can always be those debates.
But there are SO many ways to develop your health and fitness. You don’t even need to touch a weight or go to a gym.
The key is that you find the thing for you and your goals. The thing that you are going to commit to.
Maybe it’s barbells. Maybe it’s rock climbing. Maybe it’s running. Maybe it’s dancing.
All that matters is that you do it, that you enjoy it, and that you are seeing the results that you want.
Sure if you want to come compete in the sport of Olympic Lifting, you should probably snatch. It would be really hard to compete without that skill. But if you don’t want to compete, there it is just another movement.
And yes, you don’t even need to do burpees.
Beliefs and Success
What is a crucial component of success?
What is the most important component variable in your success in training?
Your beliefs.
If you believe it will work, if you feel confident with the plan, this will lead to the highest likelihood of success.
The details of the plan and process are important, but they are not the most important. Your beliefs are what matters.
If you are going through a rehab process and believe strongly about the use of a specific thing or exercise, this will greatly influence your success.
If you are choosing an exercise program and believe strongly about a certain form of exercise, this will greatly influence your commitment to the process and the results that come from that.
If you do not believe in what you are doing for training or for rehab, changes need to be made.
Maybe something is unclear about the purpose of certain things. A good coach could help clarify that to help you believe in the process.
Maybe there are movements in your training program that don’t align with your goals. A good coach could optimize the movements in your training program to make them specific to you.
Maybe you aren’t seeing the results of the rehab program you are on. A good coach could help clarify expectations and timelines to increase your understanding of the purpose, while also trying new things that may work better.
You don’t need to settle for something you don’t believe in.
You Get What You Tolerate
Are you too tolerant?
If you are consistently experiencing pain when working out this post may be for you.
You’ve been working out consistently for years. You love it, it's an important part of your life.
But there has always been a movement that has caused you pain.
Maybe it’s running, maybe it’s squatting, maybe it’s deadlifting.
You have always pushed through the pain. You’ve tried rest, you’ve tried ice, you’ve tried some exercises you found on youtube.
Nothing has been the solution.
So you continue on, tolerating the pain.
Eventually your pain tolerance even increases. But you are still in pain.
You need someone to ask some important questions.
Are you over-stressing your body?
Do you have some restrictions that could affect those painful movement patterns?
Are there factors outside of the gym that influence your pain?
These questions (and more) will lead to a better path towards solving your problem.
Training with a small amount of discomfort or pain can sometimes be appropriate. This is why I give specific pain tolerance directions for my clients that are specific to the issue we are trying to solve. Sometimes it’s below a 4/10 for perceived pain. Other times it could be to move in 100% pain free ranges of motion.
But if we are only ever experiencing pain, with no positive changes, then we need to find a different path.
Moving Poorly
When is it ok to move poorly?
PSA: If you have been going to the gym and are currently experiencing pain with certain movement patterns this post is likely not for you. But I may still be able to help you. Just in a different way.
For anyone who is inexperienced in exercising or maybe even have never exercised before:
I would rather you move poorly than not move at all.
This isn’t to say that you should put 300lbs on a barbell and have at it.
This is about the fear of movement.
The fitness industry can be so polarizing saying that certain movements will cause you pain.
Or that you need to move a certain way. And it can lead to people being afraid of starting what could be an extremely fulfilling process.
But here’s our reality: so many people are not moving. And so many of the claims that people read and hear are not true.
Move. It’s good for you. With proper progression and activities you enjoy, you will feel better.
Maybe your knees move in different ways when you squat.
Maybe your back rounds a bit when you deadlift.
Maybe your arms don’t lock out when you press.
When you are new to movement, I am ok with all of those things.
This isn’t to say that we aren’t going to try to improve how we move.
But not a single person is perfect. It would be absurd for a coach to expect movement to be perfect.
Not sure where to start? Let’s chat.
“I’m So Weak”
Are you weak?
This is one of my least favourite gym sayings. It can also be heard in the rehab world.
It’s unlikely to be helpful to you and unlikely to be helpful for others.
First: There is no defined quantity of what is strong and what is weak. Sure, each of those words has its own definition. But at what point is one weak? At what point is one strong?
Are you strong when you can deadlift 100lbs? 200lbs? 300lbs? 600lbs?
And if you can’t lift any of those weights are you weak?
Let’s replace “I’m so weak” with something along the lines of “I’m going to make it a priority to get stronger”.
Let’s say you can deadlift 300lbs and you say that you are so weak. The person next to you who just joined the gym can deadlift 50lbs. I doubt they will feel great about themselves when they hear that.
But I believe we can all unite around the idea of wanting to get better at something.
So let’s all make sure we aren’t referring to our starting point as weak.
Goals Based Coaching
How should you be coached?
Changing how someone moves has to be about their goals.
Prescribing a movement to a client has to be about their goals.
There is so much absolutism in the fitness industry.
“You need to squat below parallel”
“Your posture needs to be this way”
“You should never round your back”
“You need the olympic lifts to develop your functional fitness”
For so many reasons these statements don’t make sense.
I believe the fitness industry needs more goal based coaching and less absolutism.
If a client is going to be told to do (or not to do something) there needs to be a reason or logic behind it. And that can’t be because it worked for some random person.
What you do for training needs to be related to your goals. Unfortunately many coaches never get to the stage of learning what those goals are.
Olympic lifts help you feel stronger and more confident? Let’s do them.
Olympic lifts make you angry and leave you wanting to skip the gym. That’s a no for me dawg.
Squatting below parallel gives you back pain? And it’s a priority for you to address it? Oh we are addressing it.
Squatting below parallel gives you back pain? But you couldn’t care less about your squat and there are other squatting variations that feel better for you. Ya let’s do those.
Without knowing what your goals are, we could be going in circles.
Knowing what your goals are, we can find the right path to achieve them.
Fail Fast
Is failure bad?
When you find failure, you can find areas to improve.
When you improve those areas, you find results.
More failures = more results.
Failure is so often viewed as a negative thing. It can sometimes even lead to people giving up.
Failure isn’t enjoyable. It’s uncomfortable.
When we can embrace that discomfort we will be more likely to experience success.
Don’t Exercise to Avoid Feeling Guilty. Exercise to Feel Good.
Why should you exercise?
So many people are working out because they feel guilty if they don’t. This is extremely common. People train because they have negative feelings if they don’t, not because they have positive feelings when they do.
I often ask people why they train so much or at such high intensity and they are quick to say... because I will lose my fitness if I don’t...
People are so afraid of losing gains, gaining weight, or becoming less “fit”, that they feel guilty if they don’t train at a certain intensity and frequency.
If you are reading this, and it resonates with you, comment below.
If you are reading this and you know someone who feels this way, send this to them
If you are reading this, and you are also experiencing pain, let me know in the comments.
Age ≠ Pain
Is physical pain because of age?
Pain is not inevitable.
When we believe that our pain is due to our age, we relinquish the control we could have with how our bodies feel.
If the statement was true, that pain was inevitable, at what age could we expect it?
At 30? 45? 60?
That information to answer that question does not exist.
Is there an aging process that could contribute to pain? Absolutely.
But we aren’t helpless against it.
There are things we can control. We can control how we eat, sleep, move and think.
The idea that pain is inevitable can be easily spread and believed by those who aren’t sure what to do about it.
Know someone who believes their pain is due to age? Share this with them.