This Saturday I will be hosting the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s (NSCA) Nevada state clinic at the studio. We have 8 speakers (including myself) scheduled to present 50-minute presentations on various strength and conditioning topics. Training the glutes, programing specific to mixed martial arts, and how stem cell therapy has influenced the fitness industry are a few of the hot topics that will be discussed. These events provide professionals in the fitness community the opportunity to maintain their certified professional status, acquire continuing education credits and remain current in the industry. Coaches typically leave events like this inspired, motivated and ready to apply some of the concepts on Monday. There in lies the problem.
Gray Cook is an internationally recognized physical therapist and one of the leading minds in the strength & conditioning field. He is one of the co-founders of the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) which has become the gold standard assessment tool used by fitness professionals. Similar to having your blood pressure, temperature, and weight checked when seeing your physician, the screen allows a trainer to see how well someone moves before designing an exercise program for them. Gray recently did a talk for the employees of Google that was revolutionary. It was ground breaking because he was in front of a room of non-trainers and fitness practitioners. This audience didn’t possess an in-depth understanding of exercise. He couldn’t take many of the assumptions he usually can when presenting. He was forced to speak in simple terms to convey his point of how diagnosing someone’s movement quality is important when creating an exercise program. I watched the presentation online because I feel there’s a lot I can learn from the way he discussed his subject matter.
A big problem in the fitness industry is after a trainer attends an event, they return to their clientele on Monday and proceed to “throw up” everything they learned over the weekend in a single session. I’ve attended events where legends of the fitness arena such as Pavel Tsatsouline, Charles Poliquin and Gray are featured. One of the key points that gets lost in translation is that these presenters are in front of an audience highly motivated to hear what they have to say as they listen, sitting on the edge of their seats. The speakers come from a high level of credibility, and nothing they say is questioned. For a trainer this is the equivalent to seeing Steve Jobs launch a new product at a Mac event years ago.
The average trainer needs to understand that when they are speaking to Mary the school teacher on Monday they will have to first earn her trust, and then understand that she has a limited knowledge of exercise. They will need to take the necessary time to help Mary feel safe and comfortable. In her eyes, you’re not a superstar, just someone who may be able to help her. The trainer shouldn’t be offended when Mary ask, “Why am I doing this?” Mary is outcome goal oriented. She wants to lose 20lbs. and look attractive to her husband. The kettlebell swing may be apart of the process to get her there. As a trainer you should direct her towards embracing the process. Coming to you 3 days a week is the process. Pushing a weighted sled along the turf is part of the process. The key is to not lose Mary along the way. Keep her focused, provide emotional support when needed, and create a program catered to her needs. No matter how eloquent you put it, she could care less about hearing the benefits of shoulder stability while performing the Turkish Get up. She has a dress in her closet she wants to fit into.
So, my message to my fellow trainers out there is to continue to learn and grow. Listen and read literature from the leaders in our field and then remember who is standing in front of you on Monday morning.