Experiencing the Details

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When it comes to improving a client's exercise experience as well as your value in their mind, I think one of the biggest things you as the exercise consultant and professional can do is to put a huge amount of focus and energy into the little details of each exercise.  In fact, being a real stickler when it comes to enforcing what exact positions you want your client to hold while performing precise motions under control (assuming both the positions and motions are within their abilities) can completely transform the sensations they are experiencing and may actually allow you to stimulate the tissue(s) you are intending to.

Look, most people can perform elbow flexion on their own.  If you put a dumbbell in somebody's hands, as long as the weight is less than the torque-producing capabilities of their elbow flexors, most people will still be able to perform the motion of concentric elbow flexion while holding that dumbbell.  So how much value are you creating in yourself if you just allow the client to move the dumbbells as he or she pleases?  Additionally, how is your value going to be perceived by the client if what they do with you feels exactly the same as what they do or could do on their own?

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I've written before how sensation and experience can be altered through cuing, which can be improved by you experiencing the cues, as well.  I've also written about the importance of experimenting with different resistance profiles for yourself so you are better-able to provide different experiences for your clients.  All of these things can be influenced by where a client's mind is at, what they are focusing on, and their intention with each exercise.  And all of these things can be amplified by focusing on the details.

What are the precise words and phrases you are using with you client?  What is it exactly that you want them thinking about, and  how are you communicating that?  And now, after you yourself have experienced different resistance profiles for similar motions and/or in an attempt to stimulate the same tissues, how are you going to create one that is absolutely specific your client's needs and abilities that not only feels good, but feels like nothing else they have done before?

In order to effectively enforce the details, you have to have a detailed picture in your head of exactly what you want.  You have to be confident enough in yourself to be able to regress a client when necessary, not just allowing them to continue on with the exercise with uncontrolled and/or imprecise motions and an inability to maintain positions.  Also, you have to be able to effectively communicate with your client, whether it be visually, verbally, via tactile stimulation, or some combination thereof.

How much are you enforcing the details of exercise?  How much is your client experiencing them?

Your body.  Your training.

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Training With Others

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Last Friday during study group at Precision Human Performance we had the opportunity to work out with each other.  Now, personally, I almost always train by myself.  In fact, I can distinctly remember three times over the past 13 months that I trained with another person.  Otherwise it was just me doing my thing.

Now, what made Friday particularly interesting was not that we had training partners but that those partners were also trainers.  We used it as an opportunity to practice cuing and creating different experiences for each other than we would normally create for ourselves.

I tell you what, having someone there who was focused on cuing me made SUCH a huge a difference in what I was experiencing during the exercise.  Similar to when I was at RTS class, it gave me a better understanding of the importance of cuing and the impact it can have on both what the client is feeling as well as the adaptations that are trying to be created with each exercise.

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One thing that was different about this past Friday than RTS class is that cues that I often use with my clients were used on me.  A couple cues in particular really stood out to me.  The first was being verbally guided along the arc that I was wanted to move while doing biceps curls.  I have used this cue with my clients in the past, but to be honest I didn't think too highly of it.  It just seemed like a so-so cue to me.  But I hadn't experienced it before.  After Friday, I realized that for me, it was a much more effective cue than I had imagined in terms of creating a different sensation than I had ever felt while doing biceps curls.

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Another cue I had been using often without first experiencing is providing a little manual guidance for how I wanted my client to move, such as having him push his elbows into my hands while performing a row, for example.  When this cue was given to me, it wasn't a huge restraint to my motion by any means, but it sure felt that way.  So much so that I didn't have to really think about which way to move myself any more and could almost completely focus on generating huge amounts of tension.  In a sense, it felt a little bit like I was rowing on a machine in that my path of motion felt much more fixed than it did without that little cue.  And that was with using two relatively light bands that were well within my ability to row with so it wasn't like a virtual restraint was the main contributing factor to that sensation difference.

One of my main takeaways from this study group was the benefit that can be provided by training with other trainers from time to time.  I know it is really comfortable and really easy to keep to your own schedule and do your own thing each day, but I realized that sometimes lab time should be done with other exercise professionals so you can better-understand what you are subjecting your clients to in terms of the exercise experiences you are trying to create for them.

Do you ever workout with others or always by yourself?  If you do workout with others, are they there purely for motivation and accountability purposes or are they actually allowing you to practice and get better at your craft through providing experiences that you are trying to create for your clients?

Your body.  Your training.

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Lab Time

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A concept that is discussed in RTS is, if you are a trainer, using your personal workout time as lab time to experiment with all of the different variables that comprise exercise.  Personally, I hadn't done much of this up until the past four weeks or so, opting instead to carry on with the programs I was writing for myself in order to improve my bench, squat, and deadlift and to just get physically stronger.

Funny enough, nobody was paying me to help them increase their bench, squat, or deadlift and maybe one of my clients truly cared about getting significantly stronger.  All of my clients, however, were coming to me because they enjoyed the way their body felt while they worked out with me thanks to the experiences I was able to create with exercise.  At least that's what I was telling myself.

The thing was, I was starting to get frustrated with myself and my inability to really create these experiences with a purpose.  I could break down the magnitude profile of a machine or exercise with little difficulty.  I could tell you what tissue was being challenged and where the approximate resultant was that was being created when I would apply more than one force to a point.

In other words, I could see the whole and break it down to the pieces.  I was struggling with the inverse, though--knowing what specific piece I wanted and creating an exercise for it--until I actually started using my own workout time as lab time.

There's nothing wrong with how I was training before, but if wanted to actually understand what I was doing and how to create it from scratch, I needed to experience it first-hand.  So that's what I've been doing for roughly the past month.  I practice figuring out different ways to challenge, for example, my elbow flexors at different points in the range, intentionally increasing the torque production demand of my tissue at some points in the range and decreasing it at others by manipulating moment arms and force angles.  I experiment with different things to focus on during the reps as well as use different tempos and use different tools to manipulate the resistance.

The result of all this has been a significant improvement in my ability to actually construct exercises as well as create an experience for my client.  Furthermore, it has forced me to think more creatively when it comes to designing exercises, which, when applied appropriately, has improved client experience.

If you don't already, I highly recommend substituting at least one of your regular workouts each week for lab time.  Do the things you have your clients do.  Create the awesome experience for yourself that you are trying to create for them.  Don't be the proverbial skinny chef of personal training!

How much time do you spend each week getting better at creating exercise experiences?

Your body.  Your training.

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Mindfullness In The Weightroom

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How often do you zone out during the workout, thinking about anything and everything outside of the gym? How many times has a song you do not like training to come on your MP3 player that you don’t even notice until it's almost over anyway. Do you ever finish a workout and, when thinking back to how it went, have trouble recalling exact weights used, feelings of fatigue, or even the actual exercises performed? In other words, how many times have you gone through your workout routine on autopilot?

We all have habits. The brain creates habits as a way to make us more efficient at the tasks we perform most frequently. They allow our bodies to do what we want them to without the brain consciously instructing. Although there are many habits that benefit our daily lives, there are some that hinder progress and therefore, maximum performance. One example of the latter can be found in the weight room.

Although the habit of exercising daily is generally beneficial to overall health, the habits that take place during the actual workout session may be one thing holding you back from the results you are looking for. There is an inverse relationship between the comfort one feels with their workout routine and the mental presence and focus one needs to perform the routine. In other words, as someone becomes more and more comfortable with what they are doing, they begin to think about it less and less, until eventually they can go through the entire workout on autopilot. At this point, progress significantly diminishes, often resulting in a “plateau”.

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There are essentially three zones for which activity, such as physical training, falls into; the comfort zone, the learning zone, and the panic zone. The comfort zone is where many people spend the majority of their time training, performing the same exercises, using the same weights, and keeping the same rest times as they have always done. This is where habits form that are often detrimental to progress. Growth will only occur when one is pushed outside of their current comfort zone, and into their specific learning zone.

The learning zone consists of exercises, weights, rest times, and other training variables that are just beyond what someone is currently comfortable with performing, forcing the body and mind to adapt, and resulting in an expanded comfort zone. However, the progression from the comfort zone into the learning zone needs to be appropriate for the individual at that specific time. If they are not ready to be progressed, over-training and/or injury may occur. This type of activity would fall into the third zone, the panic zone.

The panic zone is when the mind or body is overwhelmed by the stimulus placed upon it and, therefore, either results in no progress being made or actually taking a step backward as a protective mechanism.

Spending too much time in your comfort zone creates habits that can slow or stop progress completely. Appropriately pushing yourself into your learning zone will force you to become more mindful of what you are doing in the weight room and allows your body to change and grow. Going beyond what you are ready for can lead to over-training and/or injury.

Retake control of your progress by practicing these ways to increase mindfulness in the weight room:

• Alter training variables regularly:  This can include switching to an entirely different program or as simple as shortening or lengthening rest time between sets. Allow your body adapt to the training stimulus before changing.
• Visualization: Visualize yourself going through the workout either the night before or the morning of. Vividly picture yourself executing every lift to perfection.
• Appropriate progression: Pushing yourself into your learning zone will force you out of your current habits and require extra focus.
• Constant preparation and analysis:  Before every lift, think through all your cues and the technique. After the lift think about how well you performed that lift and what you can improve on.
• Breathing:  Focus on your breathing. Paying attention to your breathing during the lifts, as well as during the rest times, will keep your mind where it should be. Try holding water in your mouth and breathing through your nose between sets to help stay fully.

Tony Cates is a business management major at Edgewood College in Madison, WI.  He is a certified personal trainer, performance enhancement specialist, and the S&C Coach for Edgewood College Men’s Basketball.  He can be reached at catestony@gmail.com or (608) 852-7433.

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