Get Moving For Life Blog

In the last 10 years the fitness industry has gone from fanciful movements with the BOSU and other devices to make a training session “fun-ctional” back to basic human movements of lifting, pushing, pulling and rotating with the feet on the ground. During the last several weeks I started to learn the art and science of the Olympics lifts which can be used under the appropriate circumstances with rehabilitation clients, the elderly and high performance athletes.

A video of VERY poor Olympic lifting technique has been circulating recently within my peer group of Strength Coaches, Personal Trainers and Kinesiologists (see below); the clients in this video will most likely end up with acute and chronic injuries as a result. The discussion about the quality of Personal Training and coaching provided in the fitness industry these days has been ongoing for several months.

We are concerned that clients who are paying good sums of money are not being provided with the value and quality they deserve. Part of the lack of value is little movement education or correction during their sessions which places the client in situations where they could get injured in the short or long-term.

Lifemoves’clients are generally overcoming an injury, illness or surgery which has forced their bodies to create movement compensations and pain. When there is pain the neuromuscular system reflexively prevents that muscle from contracting optimally during movement and co-contracts others to create further stability or the movement needed. Consequences are 1) the overuse of muscles that are designed for stabilization or as secondary movers instead of primary movers 2) these movement compensations have shifted joints enough so that there are poor joint mechanics which leads to long-term deterioration of joint surfaces (think of osteoarthritis). Pain is a signal that something is not quite right and that the training stimulus needs to be changed, such as a correction or load reduction.

Anyone with a basic level personal training certification can lead a client through a workout session which leaves them exhausted at the end. Our Kinesiologists are looking out for our clients’ long-term health, fitness and wellness. It is important to us that our clients use the appropriate levels of stability and mobility to lift, push, pull and rotate.

How to Identify a Great Movement Coach

When working one on with a client or even in a small group setting coaches will:

• Breakdown movements into blocks and then piece them together much like the stages of learning to drive
• Listen to you when you mention you have pain by stopping the lift, ask questions and adjust the lift by correcting or regressing it
• Be less concerned about counting reps and more concerned about movement quality
  
• Be analytical and attentive
  
• Be moving around see your movements at various angles
• Be able to progress or regress each movement depending how successfully you complete it. For example a kneeling plank to alternating knee lifts (feet on ground) to full plank and the other direction
• Be consistently upgrading their coaching skills and knowledge via podcasts, discussions, webinars, workshops and conferences

As health care providers we don’t care how much you sweat or have a desire for you to collapse on the floor after your session. Our aim is to use an appropriate progressive level of resistance which improves your daily functional capacity and durability, but doesn’t not compromise exercise execution and technique. We are here to coach you and show how to move differently, more efficiently and more effectively.

Clients who have worked with Personal Trainers who made their client work hard, but didnt correct their form and did not adapt an exercise to manage their injuries have approached us due the lack of lack of attention they received. These intelligent clients seek training programs that will account for their injuries or medical conditions and help them navigate towards their goals.

We are always searching for the best methods of training such as exercise selection that meet our clients goals, needs and abilities.

If you are curious about the poor lifting video: click here

Excellent Coaching of the Power Clean

Labels: choosing a kinesiologist, coaching standards, exercise therapy, injury management, injury prevention, integrity