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By
Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems |
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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.
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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.
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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?
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About The Author
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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. His counter-intuitive approach and self-effacing
demeanor have lead to appearances on NBC’s The TODAY
Show and The CBS Early Show.
Currently, Charles competes
in Olympic-style weightlifting on the master’s circuit,
with a 3-year goal of qualifying for the 2009 Master’s
World Championships.
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