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.
Banners And Flags
Why pride flags are important in gyms.
How many gyms have banners of their favourite equipment companies?
Maybe it’s Rogue Fitness. Maybe it's Tydax. Maybe it’s Eleiko.
But they haven’t or even won’t put up a pride flag.
Putting up that banner took time and effort. It was a choice to put it there.
And it has little to no influence on the client or member.
I doubt someone will walk into a gym and say “Oh they must use Rogue equipment, this gym is for me”.
Put up a pride flag. And understand what it means and why you put it there. Make it about the client or member. Make it a welcoming and inclusive space.
@safegymtraining
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.
Normal Does Not Exist
Are you normal?
For something to be abnormal, we also need to know what normal is.
I use range of motion assessments with my clients. We measure and assess so we can improve.
But no one is normal or abnormal.
It can be easy to slide into the idea that if you are not like someone else, that something needs to be improved. That if you don’t meet someone else's idea of “normal” that you need to change.
But we are all different and unique.
Maybe a client has 3.5 inches of dorsiflexion on their left ankle and 1.5 inches on their right.
So what would the desired range of motion be for that client?
It depends on their goals. Maybe they need 3.5 inches on both legs. Maybe they need 5.5.
But we don’t base the process on others' perception of “normal”.
We base the process on the clients goals.
Because normal is a made up thing, and it's full of bias.
Why Do You Workout?
What is your reason for working out?
Let's hear it...
Your answer today could be very different tomorrow and that's ok!
Priorities change and we want our training to match those priorities.
I started working out to be a better basketball player.
Then it was to get through military training.
Then it was to get bigger.
Then it was to be a better rower.
Then it was to get better at CrossFit.
Now it's to make sure my body feels good and that I can do whatever I want outside of the gym pain free (primarily golfing).
What's your why?
@activelifeprofessional
Not Enough Hours In The Day?
How many hours in a day are for you?
Let’s make some progress. Even if it’s not the big step you wanted to take.
You’ve had a stressful day.
There are many tasks remaining on your to do list.
One of those tasks is working out.
Normally your workouts take 60 minutes.
But today that 60 minutes isn’t in the cards.
So what do you do?
Do you skip it? Or do you try to force it into your schedule?
If you would need to sacrifice food or sleep to fit that workout in, then that workout is not needed. Prioritize sleep and food, those aspects are crucial for how you feel the next day. You are moving the needle forward in your recovery.
How about adjusting the plan?
Maybe you can get 10, 20, or 30 minutes of movement. That’s still moving the needle forward.
That could be doing the warmup that was programmed. Or doing part of the assigned session.
One small step forward is better than none.
A good coach will help you prioritize what is important in your training with the time you have.
Throw Like a Girl
What does it mean to throw like a girl?
Here’s an insult that needs to go away.
Where did this insult come from?
Cultural and sexist norms. That continue to be used.
There is a principle in training called the SAID principle. Specific adaptation to imposed demands. Basically says that you adapt to tasks you are exposed to.
People throw the way they do because of their exposure to throwing.
Something I learned from a Medball training course from @ericcressey is that baseball players became excellent at throwing from something called humeral retroversion. It's an adaptation in growth plates that allows people to demonstrate more movement in their shoulders.
Many people, especially women, have not developed that ability.
And it’s not their fault.
It's the people who have said things like:
“Baseball is a men’s sport”
“Throwing is for boys”
“No I can’t play catch with you, go play with your dolls”
Many people that aren’t good at throwing are a product of norms that denied them the ability to learn and adapt to that activity.
Jackie Mitchell was one of the first female professional baseball players in history. After learning to walk her father taught her how to throw. At 17 years old she played in an exhibition game against the New York Yankees. She struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, two of the best baseball players in history.
Babe Ruth was quoted saying: "I don't know what's going to happen if they begin to let women in baseball. Of course, they will never make good. Why? Because they are too delicate. It would kill them to play ball every day."
Days later her contract was voided, and women were banned from professional baseball. It was said that the game was “too strenuous”...
There could be a lot more people like Jackie Mitchell. If we allowed them to participate in the same activities as everyone else.
Mitigation>Prevention
Can we prevent it? Or mitigate it?
In the realm of injuries, mitigation is better than prevention. Because prevention doesn’t exist.
Mitigation is the action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something.
Mitigation accepts that there are certain things that are out of our control.
We can’t control that hidden patch of ice that you slipped on in the winter.
We can’t control that box that fell on your toe.
We can’t control the car that forced you off the road into a biking accident.
We can control the steps we take to have those uncontrollable things be less severe.
We can prepare ourselves physically to be able to recover quicker from those incidents.
We can make it more likely that a 6 month recovery becomes a 3 month recovery.
We can make it more likely that you can be less hindered in the ability to do the things you want to do.
There are those that will recommend you do some weird training to prevent injuries. Those things may look cool, but unfortunately prevention is not possible.
Because life is going to happen. We can’t prevent that. But we can make the most of it by being as prepared as possible.
When to Use a Foam Roller
When should you use a foam roller?
Let’s dive into some claims about foam rolling.
One of the big claims for foam rolling is decreased soreness. Studies have shown no negative effect of foam rolling (increased soreness) and found about a 2% improvement in perceived soreness. This was studied using a 10x10 back squat program and 20 minutes of foam rolling.
Some claim that it promotes blood flow. So does running, walking, squatting, biking, rowing, or just moving. You would have to foam roll crazy fast to match the amount of blood flow created by those activities.
Another claim is loosening muscles. A commonly spread idea is that it will loosen knots in your muscles. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Let’s take someone who squats 500lbs. Their muscles and body structure have adapted to move 500lbs. A piece of foam isn’t going to do much to those muscles. But can change happen? Yes. But it won’t last long. Studies looking at improving range of motion showed that foam rolling prior to training can improve range of motion but that the improvement lasts approximately 15 minutes.
So how would I use it for myself or my clients?
To me, 20 minutes of foam rolling isn’t worth it for 2% improvement. I would rather manage the training volume and overall recovery (sleep, nutrition, etc) better. But for athletes, this could make a lot more sense. Athletes can’t control when their games are or how intense a game is. If it helps, do it.
For some people who feel restricted in movement, foam rolling could be useful. Let’s take someone who has very stiff ankles and it is restricting their squat or ability to run. Small bouts of foam rolling on the calf prior to training could provide a short-term window of improved range of motion. Next, we would use that range of motion. We would load it. Want to change your muscles? Load them. If we load that new range of motion, it will be more likely that that range becomes more permanent. So that eventually increasing range of motion could be less of a priority.
Lastly, the placebo effect is real. If you have been foam rolling, you enjoy it and are seeing results, then keep doing it. No need to change something that is working.
Shoutout to E3 Rehab for the majority of the content for this post. They have some great resources on the topic on youtube.
When Foam Rolling Isn’t Enough
Is foam rolling the solution for you?
You’ve got this knee pain that is affecting your ability to run. You love to run. It’s an escape for you, a part of your routine.
You see a video on Instagram of someone saying to use a foam roller to reduce knee pain. They seem smart. They run a lot too.
So you start foam rolling. You start with 5 minutes of foam rolling before your runs. It helps for 5 minutes but then the pain comes back.
So maybe more is better. You try 10 minutes of foam rolling. It helps for 6 minutes but the pain comes back.
This cycle continues until you spend 30 minutes before and after running on your foam roller.
That’s an hour of your day.
Is the foam roller the solution for you?
Maybe there’s a more appropriate solution for your needs.
It could be strengthening your hips, quads, calves, feet, etc.
It could be managing your recovery better through sleep and nutrition.
It could be managing your running volume more appropriately.
It could be a lot of things. And maybe it includes using that foam roller. But not for an hour a day.
Feel like you are spending time doing something and not getting the results you want in the time you have available? These are the problems I aim to solve.
What Worked For Them May Not Work For You
You don’t need to do what everyone else does. Especially when it’s stupid.
“My friend tried this thing where they rubbed French’s ketchup on their low back while wearing hockey gloves in the shower. It solved their back pain!”
First: Heinz ketchup. Always. End of story.
Second: Yes this is an extreme example. And if this example is true for anyone, that's really cool. And weird. And unlikely to be an actual solution. More realistic examples include foam rolling, ice, rest, KT tape, medication, etc.
Just because it worked for them, doesn’t mean you need to try that thing.
Sure they may have very similar symptoms or problems. But they are not you.
You deserve solutions that are specific to you.
You deserve educated direction and guidance to solve your problems.
No quick “fixes” or gimmicks.
I Squatted. Now My Knees Hurt…
Is squatting the problem?
So your knees are hurting. You’ve been running a lot. You are in a busier time in your life.
You go to the gym and your coach has squats planned for the day. You do your squats. They feel surprisingly ok.
The next day while running your knees feel worse! So what’s to blame? Is it the squats?
Not necessarily. Squats for unfortunate reasons can get a bad reputation for knee pain. Some of that is misinformation. But it’s also a reasonable conclusion. Your knees hurt so it must have been something that used your knees that led to your pain.
Pain can come from multiple inputs and we can be complicated beings.
Your habits, beliefs, coping methods, lifestyle, emotions, anatomy, activity levels, and more, all influence how your body feels.
This can make it difficult to identify a cause, but not impossible to find a solution.
Looking at someone's pain experience requires analysis and assessment of who they are and where they are at. From there a path towards a solution can be found.
Only sleeping 4 hours a night? Imagine what an extra 2 hours could do for your recovery.
Eating 1200 calories a day. Very unlikely for that intake to be enough to meet your needs. Imagine what more food could do for your recovery (and your mood).
Are you constantly foam rolling and stretching to address your pain? Maybe you need load and not length to recover.
Are you feeling unsupported in your physical goals by others? Maybe being in a more supportive environment could change your outlook on pain.
Pain is frustrating. It can be easy to place blame when we are unsure of a solution.
The solution requires introspection and effort.
The problem probably isn’t squats.