George Bernard Shaw stated that “Youth is wasted on the young.” The strength and conditioning industry typically attracts people when they are in their twenties. As with most industries, as you learn strength training principles and protocols, initial reactions and stances on subject matters can be myopic in perspective. In exercise, most coaches and trainers will form their opinion of an exercise based upon how it feels to them. Based upon which direction you take in the fitness industry (youth fitness, athletic training, general population, etc.), your thoughts may change over time. As a trainer who is currently in his mid-fifties and trains people from the general population who range from 50- 70 years of age, I tend to use exercises in my programs that are low impact and joint friendly. Years ago, when CrossFit gyms were all the rage, if you passed by one of those facilities as they were starting a group workout, it was commonplace to observe the members taking a 15-minute run as part of their warm-up. Around the block from my studio is an ice skating
rink and we frequently observe the hockey kids running outside as part of their off-ice conditioning. For most of the people we serve at the studio, running is not a good option. I want to add that we do work with a select population of young athletes returning from injuries and a running protocol is part of their program. To participate in their sport, running is required. This is more directed towards people in the general population training for health and fitness. Out of fairness to any runners who may be reading this, I understand the many health benefits associated with running, but it does come at a cost. This cost has been identified as orthopedic cost.
Internationally recognized coach, Mike Boyle, defined orthopedic cost as “the stress and strain imposed by an exercise on the non-target tissue.” To use our prior mentioned activity of running, it’s a great activity for building lower body endurance and cardiovascular strength, but the high impact places unwanted stress on knees and the spine. High impact activities can produce three to five times, one’s bodyweight of force on the body, I’ve seen some higher. That means a 175-pound male will experience 525- 875 pounds of force on their ankles, knees and lumbar spine when running. Some may argue that stress is a good thing and it’s this stress that forces the body to adapt by becoming more resilient. I agree with that theory, to a point. I like to use the sandpaper analogy to make a point. Having slightly calloused skin on your hands is a benefit. If not, activities such as holding bars and kettlebell handles during exercise would cause damage and could break skin making them bleed. If you took a piece of sandpaper and scuffed your hands with it for a couple minutes, they would become calloused. That’s a good thing. If you took that same piece of sandpaper and rubbed your skin of your palms for thirty minutes, they would bleed. When I look at an exercise, I consider if that drill will make a person’s body “bleed” over time.
When I began mapping out the equipment selection for the studio, and the exercises that would be my foundational movements, I gravitated towards drills using the TRX suspension trainer, the Ultimate sandbag, and kettlebells because I could place a positive stress upon my members at a minimal orthopedic cost. Sandbag cleans, suspended push-ups in the TRX, kettlebell goblet squats produce good strength outcomes with minimal stress on shoulders, knees, and lower backs. Here’s an example of a bent over row partnered with an overhead press using a 54lb kettlebell. If I were using a barbell, I would need 135 pounds to get the same training effect.
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Another influence is the thirty-four years I’ve spent training people. I’ve had time in the big box gyms and have used some of the more popular exercises you may see. I’ve also seen when people have a bad outcome and complain about back or shoulder pain. I opened this rant today stating Shaw’s quote on how youth is wasted on the young, because many trainers in their twenties will argue that orthopedic cost doesn’t exist. My response to them is to come back to me after twenty years of not only training yourself, but also training over two hundred people.