Extremes

Aristotle defined virtue as “a mean between two vices, the one involving excess, the other deficiency…its character is to aim at what is intermediate.” Basically, he means that a virtue is the middle-ground between two extremes; for example courage is the mean between cowardice and bravado. I believe that this concept of a mean applies to other things in life besides virtues, like for example, training (what else would I write about?). Training can fall into one of three categories, two extremes and one mean. The extremes I speak of are: too much training and not enough rehab/prehab and too much rehab/prehab and not enough training. The mean is a healthy dose of both training and rehab/prehab work.

This summer I had the opportunity to undergo training under the Functional Movement Screen, a very good assessment technique established by Gray Cook. I love Gray Cook’s stuff, he definitely knows his stuff. However, my issue was with the Movement Specialists whom were heading this seminar. There was a lot of misinformation being presented to us (especially sucking in the “core”) as well as a tremendous emphasis on making sure everyone scoring a 21 on the FMS. I agree that there are priorities when it comes to making sure people move correctly, but this was the extreme. There was the assumption that everyone could conform to this “perfect” model; assessing a .5cm rise in one shoulder over the other and trying to tell someone to correct it is absurd. No one is anatomically symmetrical. It was also a pain to try to explain that not everyone can squat ATG with their feet facing forward and feet under the shoulders because of individual differences in hip joints and that turning the feet out allows the hips to open up and so on… They were cringing so much when they saw my active shoulders on pullups and OHS.

Their hearts were in the right places but this emphasis to us personal trainers to focus solely on moving better was excess. Clients like to train, not focus on silly movements to correct “rotary stability”. I didn’t pass that test the first time I tried it; they assumed my core was weak; I was just not familiar with the movement. The next day I nailed it to their surprise. Most of these FMS assessments can be mastered without emphasizing routines constructed of corrective exercises, as most compound exercises utilize our stabilizing muscles and build upon correct movement, not some silly “core sequence” or stability disk exercise. A contralateral overhead lunge is a more effective “core” exercise than “mountain climber” variations. They were movement specialists but they forgot the most important thing: moving. They wanted perfect “test” scores prior to moving onto normal compound exercises. This could take weeks or months depending on the person! You will see much quicker results putting clients into the actual movement, assisted or what-have-you, than trying to strengthen the little muscles first.

The other end of the training spectrum is those who focus solely on their training. It is about adding more weight to the bar, shaving off time from this workout, and so on. There is nothing being done to solve any imbalances that they may have and are not aware of. I see this all the time while I’m working out or working with clients. People are just worrying about the weight and reps and not the movements themselves.

Some people workout for the sake of working out and throwing around weight. I see people thinking they’re tough as nails because they’re doing half squats or deadlifts or even power cleans. What they don’t realize is they keep adding weight to that bar and their form goes out the window. Their movement patterns end up sucking as a result of reducing the ROM, handling too much weight, and just ripping that weight off the ground. You can see me physically cringing when I see people workout many times. The worst thing I saw was seeing someone bastardize “Fran” with terrible push presses and pullups with a 3” ROM.

I am very happy to see more people squatting, deadlifting, and cleaning (but God please stop curling in the effin’ power rack!), but I would be even happier to see better form on all these lifts, especially deadlifts. Hell, make your shrugs count too by actually using a weight that allows you to protract your shoulder blades! I do go out of my way to pass on some advice to those who listen. I’m seeing some people actually squat below parallel for once. For those who do not listen, whatever. A slice of humble pie is served when I work out next to them.

What these people don’t realize as well is that all this rounded back lifting is going to leave them broken and battered years from now. Their joints are going to be impinged and overworked, flexibility compromised, herniated disks, rotator cuff issues, and the list goes on and on. All of these can be prevented by solving movement deficiencies.

The intermediate between these two is an adequate mix of corrective exercise and a balanced training program. My clients want to workout, not train in order to workout. However, I want to make sure they move best and are using appropriate form for every exercise. The great thing about training beginners is that they adapt very quickly to movement patterns, so good form can be learned and should be learned very early in training. I incorporate the movement patterns that they are best at into their warmups to keep those fresh. Depending on the client’s level of fitness, I focus on one deficient movement per session, which gets incorporated into a strength workout. Soon enough movements build upon one another and there is less need to focus on deficient movement patterns, just making sure they remain as well coordinated as before.