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By
Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley
Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com/ecm8/ezGaffurl.php?offer=xxxxx&pid=1
For reasons that still elude me
after several years of considering this issue, most personal trainers still
insist on treating their novice/out of shape/deconditioned clients in the
most disinterested, condescending, and punitive manner possible.
Typically, “beginners” get their first taste of the fitness World
through their experiences with elastic tubing, selectorized weight machines,
stretching, and treadmills. The most commonly prescribed exercises are devoid
of both challenge and fun: low-skill, single-joint, low-coordination, high-rep,
mindless, and boring.
These initial experiences confirm
what the novice client already expected: exercise sucks the big one. No wonder
the dropout rate in fitness centers is as high as it is.
But what if we broke a few rules? In fact, what if we violated every dearly-held
principle and practice in this wonderful fitness industry of ours and allowed—
even better— encouraged— our novice clients to have a little fun?
And by “fun” I’m
not referring to the all-too-common paternalistic, condescending fake enthusiasm
conjured up by your local Johnny McTrainer at the Planet Fitness near your
house. Actually, I’m talking about stuff we would find fun: stuff like
power cleans, ball throws for distance, deadlifts, tire flipping, car-pushing,
dumbbell snatches, farmer’s walks, and creative ab drills.
My rationale for the above choices stems from the reality that simple, easy
drills are inherently boring, while more challenging skills are inherently
interesting and fun. The big mistake most trainers make is that by removing
the difficulty… by eliminating the challenge, you also strip the activity
of any real worth or value. And I believe clients realize this, even from
day one.
At Bed & Barbell
(my facility in Gilbert, Arizona), we specialize in introducing everyday folks
to the three essential resistance-training disciplines: weightlifting, powerlifting,
and strongman. While most trainers consider these disciplines the “last
bastion” of the fitness frontier, we consider them the first (and only)
choice for anyone looking to get the best possible results from their workouts,
while having a blast at the same time.
The reason most of tend to “miss
the forest for the trees” is that we don’t realize that nearly all
“hard core” drills are in fact scalable to almost any level of ability.
For example, you can perform a farmer’s walk with a pair of 10-pound
dumbbells right? It doesn’t have to be with 250 pounds in each hand.
Similarly, Olympic lifts can be initially taught with an empty bar, or even
a lightweight 25-pound aluminum bar in cases where it’s warranted. And
if you aren’t strong enough to push or pull a big truck, why not start
with a subcompact?
If you’re not having fun with your training and/or if you’re not
getting the results you think you should, it’s time to go hardcore, not
softcore. If you’re a trainer, consider distinguishing yourself by being
the guy who starts off their beginning clients with strongman events and Olympic
lifts rather than pink dumbbells and rubber bands. Your clients will have
more fun, they’ll get better results, and guess what? You’ll have
more fun too.
And after all, if you’re not having fun, why are you doing this stuff
anyway?
About The Author
Charles Staley...world-class strength/performance coach...his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.
Click here to visit Charles' site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with "Escalating Density Training," Charles' revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.
http://www.staleytraining.com/ecm8/ezGaffurl.php?offer=xxxxx&pid=1