It never fails. Every time I attend a workshop or conference I come away with the realization that I didn’t really know what I thought I knew. That things I thought should work for correcting an issue, or making someone stronger probably wasn’t optimal.
Am I not as an effective trainer as I thought I was?
It is for these reasons the vast majority of trainers never attend conferences such as Perform Better Summit. The city I live in probably has more than 100 gyms, and I’d guess well over a thousand trainers. Counting myself there were exactly three in attendance who live near Portland at the largest educational conference on the west coast. And those two others live well outside of Portland. So what education are those other 999 trainers getting… I hear about what people see at other gyms all the time. Scary stuff.
I truly enjoy going and having my feathers ruffled, and coming away with new perspectives, and hopefully refined skill sets that allow me to help others more effectively. Looking back at programs I wrote 8 years ago causes a deep shudder, as well it should.
Are you doing the same exercises you did 10 years ago? Can you honestly assess what has or hasn’t worked with your own workouts or those of your clients?
Recently I began reading Mark Singleton’s book “Yoga Body: The origins of Modern Posture Practice” which calls into question the very roots of the most Westerners believe about yoga. His research, which was for his Doctoral dissertation, turned up a historical trail whereby he traces the roots of asana (postures such as downdog) in yoga to surprising roots.
Is this what the ancients did?
It turns out that the sequences of postures most of us assume are steeped in tradition are in reality a relatively recent 20th Century innovation. Modern major schools of yoga such as Ashtanga Vinyasa “stands in a complex relationship to history, and the influence of (European) pedagogical gymnastics is just one (major) element in its composition.
Essentially Singleton found that most of us have been sold a bill of goods when it comes to the spiritual or ancient associations with yoga postures. In fact it owes more to European bodybuilding and gymnastic influences than what yogis 200 years ago were actually practicing.
This is not to say there is less value in practicing yoga because of it. If it works it works. But lets look deeper into the how’s and why’s of what movements/exercises/stretches work. Of course this should apply to every aspect of fitness, from conditioning methods – Tabata everything and 7 minutes of burpee nonsense, to lifting weights.
Do you know why the bench press or back squat became thought of as must do exercises for guys wanting to build muscle? Were those movements promoted in order to sell equipment or help market a brand? Or do those movements really work that much better than other exercises that require less expensive, simple equipment?
Might this then lead us to question the wisdom of doing classes based around one piece of equipment? Are we looking to get better at using a TRX or are our members looking to just move and look better period? If the answer is the latter then… You get the drift.
Back to my struggle in maintaining a “beginner’s mind”.
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About the Author:
Owner of Elemental Fitness Lab in Portland, OR. Our approach to training is to integrate research (I'm an NSCA CSCS, certified Functional Movement Screen, and Precision Nutrition) with practical experience. I've studied martial arts in Japan and the U.S. for many years, and have put in my time in the gym, in the water, on the snow, on the rock wall, and on the bike.