Meet You Where You Are At

A good coach will meet you where you are at. It’s always interesting to me when someone says I need to get in shape before getting a coach. It would be the same as saying I need to stop being sick before I go to the doctor. Watching people online or even when you are at the gym train can be overwhelming or even scary. I remember being completely intimidated the first time I stepped foot into a weight room freshman year of high school. So intimidated, in fact, that I stopped going. Only to later realize I would not have to lift the same weights as those who have been doing it for years. Learning to start where I’m at instead of trying to jump ahead or being forced to perform at a level that I’m not at has been so beneficial to my journey. Many fitness classes do not have different levels, many times this leads to going too hard too soon. I think a majority of people think that these classes are what fitness has to be in order to achieve results or that if you go to a trainer, their job is to bury you into the earth. Neither of these are facts. These are everyday battles coaches (different from trainers because they actually coach you not just cheerlead) have to combat, the idea of having to kill someone during a “workout” in order for it to be effective since that is what so many people believe to be true. What is true is that you have to have the mindset of getting better everyday. You just need to do better than whatever you currently are doing. As long as you start where you are at and work to progress then you can achieve your goals.

One of the most important things that a good coach will do to ensure that they meet you at your skill level is to perform an assessment. However, an assessment is only as good as the questions but more importantly, the answers. Being as truthful as possible will help you out in the long run. Lying to your coach will help nobody including yourself. Have you ever heard the expression, “you’re only cheating yourself?” This is huge in the sport world. The premise is if you cut a corner short during a drill, or give half effort, or give up, that it’s not affecting the coach but it’s only affecting you (and your teammates and blah blah blah dont argue). So don’t cheat yourself, disclose your not ideal habits such as late night junk food eating, or full poured glasses of wine daily or whatever it may be. The coach is there to help YOU, let them help by being as honest as you possibly can be.

The second thing a good coach will do is put you through some sort of movement screen. There are many different ways that coaches like to do this with the most common form being the FMS (functional movement screen.) Any manner of screening your movement is acceptable. The purpose of this screen is to see how you naturally want to move so there usually is not any coaching during this time. During the screen the coach is watching for any asymmetries( things that are not the same on both halves of the body) any dysfunctional movement such as knee valgus (knees falling in) and anything else they deem worthy of taking notice of. This screen helps the coach decide what movements would be good to include in your program which will help them meet you where you are at. This will ensure that they do not start you off with a movement that is beyond your current capabilities. It does not mean you can never do the movement just that it may not be right for you at the moment!

Generally if someone is just starting off, then a good coach will teach them the basics. The basics include squats, deadlifts, pushups, rows, pullups (depending on overhead mobility), planks and often farmer carry. Really this can be broken down into movement patterns, lower body push, hip hinge, upper body push, upper body pull and core. What this makes sure to do is to either bring your body back into balance or to ensure that it remains in balance. Also, all of these patterns are the basis for all movement. You can easily regress or progress depending on where you are with each individual movement. Hence meeting you where you are at. Depending on where you are, you may have to spend more time doing mobility work than the actual movements so that you can then perform the movements well.

Now, as a coach, their job isn’t to keep you where you are at but it is to help you become better because everyone can be better and you didn’t seek them out to remain the same. Once you’ve learned the basics and you’ve become sufficient, what’s next? Time to progress! My daily workouts still stick to the general movement patterns I listed above. However, since I have been training for over a decade I am performing more advanced versions of each movement. Without getting fancy you can always do lower body push, hip hinge, upper body push, upper body pull and core to infinite and beyond. You may find that now that you are sufficient at the movements you may want to learn some barbell moves or more advanced kettlebell movements. This is a discussion you and your coach can have together. To make sure anything you decide to do is going to help you achieve your goals.

This is a system, systems are good, I like systems. Say it with me, “ SYSTEMS ARE GOOD!” Systems help to limit the amount of F ups that you generally make. This is especially good when wanting someone to meet you where you are at. A trainer will just willy nilly throw you into the fire and expect you to come out. A coach will help you maneuver around the fire to thrive in the future. Wherever you are on your fitness journey, now is the right time to seek out a coach. You are ready!

Shape Your Environment

As I was training the other day, I accidentally glanced at myself in the mirror and read my shirt which simply said, “STRONG”. I instantly felt much stronger and became more attuned to my training. At this moment I became aware of what I have read everywhere, how your environment influences your behavior and the way you feel. Want to change what you do and how you behave, then start by changing your environment. As they say, “action begets motivation,” and the first action to take to create behavior change is shaping your environment for success. I think this step in creating behavior change is often overlooked which can explain the difficulty many people have when trying to make long term changes.

Having things in my environment that remind me of Strength has helped me deal with hard situations in my life, such as dealing with my father's dementia, moving to a new city without a job, having a certain leader attack everything I stand for. T-shirts that say “Strong” or “Strength” on them. Books about Nelson Mandela or black suffering which reminds me of people who have dealt with far worse and how they remained strong through their situations. Placing reminders in your everyday surroundings can really help shape your environment for a successful behavioral transformation. For example, if you want to start thinking of yourself in a different light you can try placing sticky notes around the place you lay your head that says words that trigger you to feel a certain way. Or you can buy books that tell stories of people who demonstrate whatever behavior it is you want to change and then leave it in eyesight around your home or take it with you everywhere you go. Get creative in choosing things to bring into your environment to help trigger you to feel and behave a certain way.

Another trick that has helped me remain strong in situations where I may feel helpless and weak is to surround myself with people who demonstrate strength, whether this is in person or online. Many times some of the behaviors we want to change may not be the popular choice, such as being healthy. This can be difficult to find people in person to surround ourselves with. This is where the beauty of the internet comes into play. Finding people online or online communities through facebook or instagram can be a good alternative especially since more and more of our time is spent looking at screens. In person, you can look for social events, gyms to join that are in your community in hopes of meeting people on the same mission as you. For many people looking to enhance their health, finding a good gym can be the most beneficial thing they can do. In a good gym, the environment for change is already in place, the reminders are all around you, people on a similar journey are all around you and in general triggers that would set you up to make decisions that won’t help you reach your goals are removed.

The last necessary piece to help create an environment geared towards changing your behavior is to get rid of things that trigger you into behaving in your old ways. For example, if you are trying to eat better but you keep cookies and donuts in your crib, you have to get rid of them. Or if you want to get work done but find yourself watching TV instead, then you don’t have to get rid of your TV but stop doing your work in the same room as the TV. Removing triggers usually takes a little trial and error. You first have to figure out what sets you up to make the opposite choice of the behavior you wish to emulate. Once you figure out what triggers you, you then have to decide how you are going to go about combatting this trigger. Once you have decided the how, then you must do.

It’s hard to argue with the sentiment that you are a product of your environment. Obviously there will always be a few people who do not match this statement and they’re called outliers. For the majority of us, what we expose ourselves to daily is what we are. If we want to change ourselves then we need to change what we expose ourselves to on a regular basis. If you take action to change your environment then you won’t have to depend on “motivation” to do things differently. The goal of Power of Strength since the beginning was created to be a part of people’s environment that could trigger them to feeling Strong which would then lead to being Strong.

Focus on Solutions Not "Problems"

Insecurities. We all have them. We unfortunately live during a time when companies are preying on our insecurities while disguising themselves as our friends. Bombarded by ads meant to make us feel insecure and promote a product that will “help” rid us of that insecurity. Since we cannot control what these big companies are doing, or the ads that we are bombarded with on a daily basis, all we can control is ourselves. We can decide to not let our insecurities control our actions. We can look for long term solutions to remaining healthy or taking our health back instead of the often quick band aid solutions that are sold to us. There are a few insecurities that seem to plague our society. Worrying about appearance is on the top of that list, whether it’s how fat we are, gray hair, wrinkles or just “looking old”.

I want to start by saying there is nothing wrong with you and nothing needs fixing. Having these insecurities is completely normal and every person has something that bothers them.There is nothing wrong with trying to change yourself. However, quick “fixes” usually do not help the problem. They usually do not leave you feeling better about yourself, or feeling more comfortable in the skin you’re in. This can often lead to a snowball effect of having to keep going back and using more of a product or having a more extreme procedure done. Unfortunately, plastic surgeons and  cosmetic/pharmaceutical companies prey on this knowledge. It can be like an addicting drug. You can never quite get enough of it. This is why I think it is so important to work on the mental aspect of it all. Whatever it is you do not like about yourself, try to get down to the bottom of it. Why is it that you do not like it. Once you have figured that out, which can be a stressful process, try to reshape the way you think about it. Focus on the qualities that you love about yourself, and even start to learn to love the qualities that you want to change by accepting them as who you currently are.

Working diligently on your health is the most beneficial thing you can do. It will help improve your mind and body all at the same time. Often when we work on building healthy habits, other things seem to fall in line such as self confidence, mental clarity, and overall mental health. Focusing on developing habits is a great way to not focus on the problem but on the solution. We can get caught up in problems and festering over the annoyances but that usually doesn't help create change. It usually just leads to a toxic mental state that can spill over into other parts of your life. When you create healthy habits and put effort and energy into sticking to them, the benefits go far beyond yourself. Suddenly relationships are better, work becomes better, life becomes better.

Investing in your health can save you thousands down the road. Not to say that it is easy to create new behaviors, but when talking about preventing a lot of headaches down the road it is well worth it. However, you have to be thinking long term and not short term. This is probably the most important healthy behavior that you can develop. The ability to plan for the future and not fall victim to instant gratification, can lead to happiness when hard times strike. When hard times come you will have plenty of practice being strong and you will be prepared for it.

Solutions are far more valuable to spend time on than the issues themselves. Work on becoming a better you one step at a time, one habit at a time, one day at a time. There isn’t a rush. A wedding, vacation, or school reunion is no excuse to pick up unhealthy behaviors to achieve a certain “aesthetic”. Remember to stop and think about the why and think long term. Planning now for the future will give you the longevity you will be looking for down the road. “Today’s habits build tomorrow’s destination.”

Fitness Tips

WE live and we learn. Sometimes we learn by doing, sometimes we learn from others. While getting started on your fitness journey, it is hard to know what’s what. It is not common knowledge that, “no pain no gain,” is simply not true. It is not common knowledge that you do not need to throw up, become like Alex Mack and turn into a puddle (who knows this reference?) after every workout, or grind through pain. Asking others around you who are more experienced is a great place to start if you ever have any questions.

Fitness Tip: Basics are all you need but you can get even more from expanding your toolbox.

There can be a lot of intimidating looking workouts online. You do not have to do those, unless you aspire to achieve those things. Completing a backflip into a pushup isn’t a prerequisite to becoming fit. Learning how to do a squat, hip hinge, plank, pushup, row and farmer carry are all you really need. However, if you want to get the most from your fitness, then gaining the mobility to do overhead exercises can really pay off, such as doing a one armed overhead press or a pullup. These skills can really add to the quality of your life. Making putting on clothing easier, as well as placing items in the overhead bin a breeze. If you wish to remain well balanced and powerful then adding in some joint friendly ballistic movements such as kettlebell swings can be a good option.

Fitness Tip: There isn’t a rush to becoming “fit”

When some people start their fitness journey, it’s pedal to the metal. Usually it’s due to some sort of deadline such as a wedding, or the summer is coming, or something along those lines. Often what this leads to is going too hard too soon. The body needs to be eased into shape not whipped. If you are sore for more than 3 days after a session, feel free to pump the brakes before your body slams on them. Going too hard can lead to injury and sideline you from achieving your fitness goals. This is the opposite of what working out is supposed to do. It is supposed to improve the quality of your health(life). If you become injured, then the quality has gone down and so has your health.

Fitness Tip: If something hurts, it is not right for you at the moment, find something else to do.

If you are performing an exercise and it causes pain, STOP! Make sure you are performing the move correctly. If you are doing the movement to the best of your ability and it still is causing pain, then regress the movement. If it still causes pain even once you’ve taken a step back, then remove it from your workouts for the time being. It is not right for you at the moment and maybe after doing more mobility and soft tissue work, you will be able to do the movement in the future.

Fitness Tip: Have FUN!

Everything else in life can be OH so serious, allow fitness to be a time to have fun. Move your body and be a kid again. Definitely take your health seriously, but try not to allow it to feel like a daunting task forever. If at first it needs to feel like a chore that’s fine, but over time try to figure out what you enjoy doing and do that.

The gym is becoming more and more welcoming to people from all walks of life. To think the gym is not for you is self limiting. The gym is for everyone. So ask all of the questions you need to ask and then get started on your fitness journey. The future you is waiting.

Health is Wealth

Remember, your health is the number one asset you have. Without it not much else matters. When it comes to exercise, do you do just enough to check the box or do you go above and beyond? Do you go above and beyond at work but fail to do so for yourself. When is the last time you were able to hashtag #treatyoself? I know a lot of people love the hustle, love the grind, whatever you want to call it, I honestly don’t care. Love to say work don’t stop, grind don’t stop. No one is saying that the hustle needs to stop but you must make sure you are taking care of yourself as well. Don’t you care about yourself? Certainly you have to value your health more than your job. But maybe not. The way I like to think of it is you don’t want to ignore your health until you have no option but to pay attention to it.

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends strength training at least 2 times per week. They specifically state using a weight level heavy enough to tire the muscles. Are you doing enough to check the box that you think you are checking off? Remember, you have to put in work. Also, they recommend 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise. Both of these mean your heart rate needs to be elevated, it should not feel as if you are chilling at the park having a nice picnic. If you are just starting out then moving is obviously better than not moving. Building that habit first is far more important than just trying to go balls to the wall sporadically. Consistency is always going to be key.

I think the worst thing for killing progress is not working hard enough to ever achieve progress. Typically it is progress that keeps people motivated, that keeps the fire lit under their arse. Measuring progress in more than one way can be crucial to long term success. You can measure fat loss (which is different than weight loss), strength gain, speed of which you get through the work, or ability to do a movement better. All of these measurements are great and are very important to highlight.  

Now, innately we do not know how to strength train or do aerobic or vigorous exercise. Yes you can most certainly get results on your own but how sustainable are they or how confident are you with doing what you are doing. Many times when I visit corporate gyms such as planet fitness or equinox, there are many people who are all doing an awesome job of working towards their goals. However, many of them display movement patterns that are not the best for the body. Whether that is doing back squats with knees caving in towards each other, deadlifts with a rounded back and no tension or bench press with elbows flaring very wide. Again, I commend them for at least trying. However, this can usually lead to injuries especially as we get older which can cause us to stop moving, and generally when we are older and we stop moving, even more bad things start to happen. Suggestion: find a strength coach even if it’s only for a short duration and have them teach you how to move. Preferably a strength coach who is a StrongFirst certified instructor.

Something is always better than nothing, as I always say. This isn't meant to be taken to the extreme though, I still value effort. If your choice is nothing or something, obviously choose something, but effort needs to be a focus to truly reap all of the rewards of exercise. You can only know the Power of Strength if you work on building strength. There are so many valuable lessons that come along with strength training that help with life outside the gym.