Yup I did it again so here's an extra helping of the things that I've found.
P90X and Muscle Confusion: The Truth- I'm not necessarily one for telling people any sort of movement is bad. I just have a hard time watching people buy into a certain companies BS. No I don't care if you've "seen" fantastic results. I promise you if this is the only workout you do, when that zombie apocalypse hits, you and anyone that does as such will be eaten before the likes of me. It's an old one, but why go on a rant when Mr. Charles Staley has taken care of that for me. Why You're Still an Intern- As someone that has been through a few internships this one really hit home. Mark Watts does a great job outlining how you can over come a seemingly endless cycle of internships and how to land that job that pays something not so meager. I've been there and done that, it's not a picnic. Why CrossFit Doesn't Make an Elite Athlete- Mark Hansen certainly set off a few nerves with his guest post on Tony Gentilcore's site. It provided some discussion. For those of you that are about to blow your gasket, read the whole thing, then you can let loose. What Does the Term "Retention Strategy" Mean to You?- I personally love the message here. Pete Dupuis gets it when it comes to how to take care of clients and customers. I have always been a firm believer that you should be doing the right things to the point where you don't need a retention strategy. Overtraining is Killing Your Kids Athletic Development- Parents that have kids playing or plan on having their kids play sports, take this article into your brain. This stuff drives me absolutely crazy, to the point of where I need to be committed. I see it so many times with parents and kids, just stop and let them have some fun PLEASE. Have a read over Dr. Greg Schaible's work here on The Strength Doc and apply this, I'm begging you.
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I felt this was an appropriate topic seeing as I've just shaken hands with some Physical Therapists that are operating right accross the street today. Hope everyone enjoys!
Anyone that’s been through Physical Therapy, or PT, has experienced the feeling of completing it, but something still seems off. You do your “homework” religiously and rarely, if ever, miss an appointment. Then why is it once you are done the PT you leave, you feel great…mostly. There’s still that weak feeling, especially if it was a particular limb, it feels like that whole side is much weaker still. The plain and simple answer is PT got you back to the point where you can function, and for most that’s about all they need. However, if you were strength training, running or doing any physical activity, recreationally or in some sort of occupation, regularly, that’s not where you were before. This is where my job comes in, my job post PT, is to get you back to where you were before you got hurt. Physical Therapists worth their salt will almost always look to send you off to a strength coach or trainer to get your strength back to where it was. Why? Because a PTs job is to get you back to working order so you can continue with your life as normal as possible, but if you want to get back to where you were before, assuming you didn’t have some catastrophic injury, then you need strength training. An NFL running back does not get done with his PT and suddenly he’s ready to get into a few mini car collisions. They go to the team’s strength coach (or their personal one) and they work to get him back to where he was before he got hurt. Coaches that are dedicated pro’s will have, or at least be forming, a network that they can refer people out comprised of physical therapists, message therapists and doctors. A coaches job does not include rehabbing an injury, that’s the PTs job, if you ever have a trainer trying to rehab you…. start asking questions for your health’s sake. Clients also need to do their trainer’s a favor go to PT when it’s called for. Nothing will drive me wild quite like when a client says they just want to train with you instead of PT. *BUZZER* Wrong answer kids, that is not in your best interest. Strength coaches MIGHT know SOME strategies to what’s going on with you, a good, licensed PT will likely have more if not all the answers. You wouldn’t have a coach diagnose a tumor, perform open heart surgery or prescribe anxiety medication would you? Why are you going to ask them to diagnose and do PT on your injury? Do you and your coach a favor and go see the right person, if you’re not sure where to go ask. Like I said most guys and gals will have a couple answers in their back pocket should direction be needed. Believe me I know there are some quack physical therapists and the like out there and it can be scary to leave the comfort zone of who you've been working with. You still should ask if you don't know. Once you’re done your PT, assuming things went to plan, come back to the strength coach and they'll get you back to beast mode. The coach probably has talked to the PT and knows the things to do and not to do. Communicate with your coach or trainer what issues you have, if you feel discomfort in a way you shouldn’t and especially pain. There can be a gray line and the line gets thicker as time passes. There are points that it should be obvious to one of you, if not both, that you need to seek additional help. Obviously part of the goal in training is to never have to see someone like that again, but shit happens. Be smart about it and don't make things worse before you seek additional advice. You know that time you unexpectedly take two days off from working and you suddenly have to cram everything you planned on doing over five days into three? No? Yeah me neither. For real though I’m still only at 90% or so, please bear with me on this today. Had a good thought provoking e-mail the other day that made me do one of those old fashioned SWOT analysis in terms of my coaching. I figured why can’t it be translated to your training right? OK for those that don’t speak businessese (look it up it's a thing), SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. These are things often gone over for businesses and project ventures.
Things like a SWOT can (should) be applied to your training every few months or so. Odds are that you are not going to be in the same place you were a few months ago in regards to your ability levels, schedule, energy levels and basically every external factor you can think of. Doing something like this, it doesn’t have to be a fancy acronym like SWOT, can help make sure you are still going down that righteous path to being awesome! Lets look at what you can find in your SWOT so to speak: Strengths (What are you good at?) -Physically strong? Good Power? In what areas (lifts)? -Are you pretty mobile? What areas (squat depth, shoulder mobility, etc)? -Is your gym schedule locked down not even a cutting torch is going to break it up? -Is your nutrition game on point? Weaknesses (Where are you lacking?) -Feeling weak on a lift? What one? -Got the mobility of a picnic table? (Foam roll now!) -Are you hitting the gym regularly and for the about the same amount of time each session? -Does your diet look like that of a teenage video game addict? Opportunities (Where can you grow?) -Maybe your schedule has made it that you only have limited time. Use that limited time to really nail improve that weak point? -Is a friend or your S.O. also looking to make strides in their nutrition or in need of a gym buddy? Use this chance to make each other better. Threats (Where can the rug be pulled out from under you?) -Are you at risk for overtraining? This is rarely the case with many, but it can happen. Those 20 gym sessions might be cutting into your results and an injury could be lurking from overtraining. -Do you sleep well enough to recover from your lifts? Kind of goes with the one above, but make sure you sleep at night! Instead of watching that 8th episode in a row of (insert trashy TV show) be nice to your body. Go to be so it can recover from your training and you can be ready to rock the next one. -Are you getting adequate kcals after you train? Same as above, goes with the first point. Too little intake on the food means you will not be a bad ass at the gym or on the field. -Is your work schedule usually hectic but has been calm the last 6 weeks, what storm might be brewing there? Brace yourself and always have a "break in case of emergency" gym plan. -Are you hyper mobile, thus exposing your risk to injury as well? Work on stabilizing instead of stretching. Doing anything loaded beyond the actual end range of motion of a joint will only spell injury, stabilize first you little hypermobile folken. These are all just some of the things to look at when you’ve gone through a month of training. I know I certainly haven’t gone through a few months of training without some hiccups (thanks to this illness I can start that clock over again). It happens, but just try to take a look at how you can minimize issues that come at you. That's it for today everyone, thanks for reading, go out there and get after it! |
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AuthorJarrod Dyke, CSCS Archives
December 2023
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