20 Things I'm Thinking About

20 Things I'm Thinking About
by Mike Robertson
Last year, I wrote an article titled 28 Things I'm Learning. The key point being that I'm always learning and very few things in life are definite. My
original goal for this piece was to write up 29 things I've learned
since last year, since I'm a year older and (arguably) a year wiser.
However, as I got to 20 I realized adding nine more blurbs would be
much akin to a musical artist who releases a double-disc of average
content, versus one loaded with hits.

There's no filler here. I've
tried to include a mix of training related material, along with some
non-training stuff, as well. I'm all for taking the industry to the
next level, but we need to have a life and some enjoyment outside of
the gym. Plus, I write training articles all the time so doing
something different is just plain fun. I hope you enjoy my random mix of musings, rants, and eclectic thoughts!

1. Developing your serratus anterior is kind of important If
you've worked with shoulder injuries for any significant amount of
time, you can appreciate this sentiment. The serratus anterior is not
only key with regards to improving the stability of the scapulae, but
also for achieving full upward rotation of the scapulae. Stability is
kind of important (note sarcasm) if you appreciate your shoulder and
rotator cuff health. Upward rotation is kind of important if you like
having the ability to put your hands over your head. Quite
simply, the serratus anterior is a key muscle in keeping your body
healthy. For more information, check out the article Bill Hartman and I
wrote, Push-Ups, Face Pulls, and Shrugs.

2. As is developing your lower traps Much
like the serratus anterior, the lower traps are an often forgotten
muscle group. How many times do you hit the gym and overhear a guy
saying:
"I'm really looking to bring up my lower traps." Unless his name is Dwight Schrute, it just doesn't happen.

The
lower traps provide a bevy of benefits with regards to shoulder health
and performance. The lower traps are a key stabilizer of the scapulae,
and they, too, are integral in promoting upward rotation. To
start developing those lower traps to massive proportions, you'll need
to include a mix of both activation and strengthening-based drills.
Scapular wall slides are an excellent choice for activation. While lat
pull-downs, chin-ups, and pull-up progressions with an emphasis on
depressing the scapulae will get their strength up to par. If
you change nothing else about your upper body training this year, focus
on developing your serratus and lower traps. You won't be sorry.

3. Everyone is a critic This
industry is just like any other. There are people at the forefront who
are actually making things happen and others at the back who want to
take shots and sip Haterade all day. I have one goal: To keep
things positive. If I keep myself in check and do what I need to do,
good things will result. It's up to you to determine what you want from
life and go after it with a vengeance. Whether your goal is to become a
great coach, trainer, athlete, or just to make more money, by keeping
things positive and focusing on yourself versus others, you're sure to
succeed.

4. As an industry, we have a long way to go I'm
the first to claim that I don't know everything. In fact, the old
cliché is quite true — the more I learn, the more I learn that I don't
know. Unfortunately, there are far too many trainers out there
who are totally clueless. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, but
these trainers don't even know that they don't know!

I guess we've all wanted to smack one around at some point. While
getting some work done a few weeks back, Bill Hartman and I discussed
how blurry the lines are now between "trainers" and knowledgeable
"fitness enthusiasts." Some "trainers" out there are completely
worthless. In contrast, there are some people who do this fitness thing
for fun that are really bright. This is the information age,
with people having more access to information and knowledge than ever
before. The only solace I can take is knowing that bad trainers won't
be in the business very long.

5. Organization may be more important to eating correctly than anything else A lot of the people I start working with know how to eat. They know they should eat more fruits and veggies. They know they need to eat lean protein with every meal. In other words, they know all the basics to get them started. The problem? Organization! Organization
is one of the most vital components of solid dietary habits. If you
have your meals planned out, or better yet already prepared, you're
much more likely to succeed. If you get in a rush or something comes
up, you already have a contingency plan. When you aren't prepared, that's when convenience
will take over. You're starving and you know that king size
Whatchamacallit is heart disease in a wrapper, but damnit you're hungry! Bottom line: The more organized you become with your eating, the more likely you are to achieve your goals.

6. The intrinsic hip muscles are largely overlooked with regards to injury prevention They call me the Ass Master here at Testosterone for a reason. If you aren't the brightest bulb in the bunch, here's why:

We know the glutes are hugely important, whether your goal is injury prevention or better lifts. But the glutes are so
2005. It's 2008, and it's time to talk about the psoas, or your front
butt. And no, we're not talking about a BIF, Dunlop, or anything of the
sort. Just a little FYI.

I
first started thinking about the role of the psoas after viewing
Michael Boyle's "Functional Strength Coach" DVD series. Shirley
Sahrmann also states in her Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes that a weak or inhibited psoas can lead to issues with the tensor fascia latae (TFL). If
your primary hip flexor can't do its job (i.e. psoas), then others
(like the TFL) are forced to take over. It's very similar to how an
athlete can strain their hamstrings or adductors when their glutes
aren't firing correctly. So what does this have to do with
anything? Anterior knee pain is a huge cause of concern. I frequently
work with people who have soft-tissue problems in their TFL/IT band and
their rectus femoris. Want to know what they typically have in common?
Their psoas is slacking on the job! Here's how it looks:
Weak psoas -> overactive TFL -> excessive tension on the IT band -> lateral knee pain Or...
Weak
psoas -> overactive rectus femoris -> excessive tension on the
quad tendon/patellar ligament -> anterior knee pain To
properly activate the psoas as a hip flexor, the hip must be above 90
degrees. In other words, the knee must be above the hip. I like to
start my clients out on a low box where it's a more isolated
contraction. Think about staying tight and tall and driving via the
hip. If you lean back or forward to create the movement, you're not
doing it correctly.

Once
the seated version becomes easy, you can move up to a standing
progression. This variation is much harder when done correctly, because
you're forced to do multiple things:
• Stay tight and tall, especially through the core and thoracic spine
• Extend the opposite side hip (i.e. contract that glute)
• Balance!

These progressions can be used in the warm-up or throughout the day for motor control purposes. Get
your psoas firing correctly, while simultaneously working to loosen up
the TFL and rectus femoris. Your knees will thank you.

7. The pendulum is swinging the other way With
all things in life, there's a natural ebb and flow. In the nutrition
field, we've seen high fat diets and low fat diets. High carb diets and
low carb diets. Right now, two of the biggest topics of discussion
going
on in the training world are interval training and foam rolling. For a
long time, low-intensity, long duration cardio was the
way to lose fat. A couple years back, the pendulum swung back in the
opposite direction, as trainers and coaches espoused the benefits of
interval training. Even today, we can already see a little backlash and
certain members of the industry going back towards steady-state work. Foam
rolling is another topic that has garnered a lot of debate. I'm still a
huge fan, especially early on in the training process. But, I've also
said all along that hands-on soft tissue methods are a must as part of
a holistic training and recovery program. With most things in
life, the truth lies somewhere in between. More importantly, understand
that everyone is different. Whether it's training age, chronological
age, injury history, biomechanics, or a host of other factors, the
easiest answer is always "it depends" until you get your hands on
specifics.

8. Lift Strong should be the product of the year In case you haven't
heard of the Lift Strong CD ROM, here are a few snippets:

• Over 800 pages of materials
• 50 leading authors contributed
• It only costs 25 bucks
•
All of the proceeds go to fund cancer research If you haven't purchased
a copy yet, what are you waiting for? Check it out at LiftStrong.com.

9. Life is precious 2007
was particularly difficult for me for a lot of reasons. Most
importantly, I had four key people in my life all pass away within a
six-week time frame. The hardest to deal with was one of my best
friends (a former college roommate) who committed suicide. Since
that time, I've made it a goal to focus on the positive things in life.
We'll always have things that are negative around us; stressors that
make life a little less enjoyable. But, do your best to rid yourself of
these whenever possible. Finally, take the time to let those
close to you know that you love them. I know this sounds cheesy in an
article, but you have a different outlook on life when things like this
happen. Alwyn Cosgrove has told me multiple times that beating cancer
twice
has totally changed his outlook on life. Hopefully, people like you and
I don't need a bout with cancer to remind of what's most important in
life.

10. We must work to balance research and applied
sciences I'm at fault here to some extent on this one. When I was in a
research setting, I wanted everythingto be supported by studies. After
I came out of the research setting, I was a little disenchanted with
the whole thing. I'd seen up close what goes on, and for some reason it
left a bad taste in my mouth. It had nothing to do with the people I
was associated with. In fact, I worked with some of the best and
brightest in the field. In a lot of ways, though, research just wasn't
for me.

If
we really want to take our craft to the next level, though, we need to
get better at balancing research and applied sciences. We need to know
what the top coaches andthe top researchers are doing. There
used to be a greater disconnect between the two; the coaches were doing
one thing and the researchers studying another. I think both are
getting on the same page now, and we need to see both sides of the
equation to make more informed decisions with regards to training.

11. Cardio doesn't have to suck If
you're still running like a gerbil on a treadmill, I feel sorry for
you. I'm a fast-twitch guy at heart. In the immortal words of Eric
Cressey,
"The only thing I run for is seconds." Cardiovascular training doesn't
have to suck, though. There are two ways I try to accomplish this:
A) Make it fun, and/or
B) Make it competitive If
you do either (or both) of these things, people will buy into it and
stick with you a lot longer. I really like Tony Gentilcore's idea from
a while back. It calls for rolling a dice at the end of each workout,
with each number associated with a different training medium. It could look something like this:
1) Kettlebell swings and snatches
2) Prowler pushes (pictured below)
3) Bodyweight circuits (push-ups, bodyweight squats, lunges, etc.)
4) Sled drags (forward, backward, side-step, carioca/crossover step, etc.)
5) Medicine ball circuits
6) Low-intensity sprints, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), or even low-impact agility drills

By
incorporating this into your or your clients' training, not only will
you achieve your goals, you may just find yourself enjoying it.

12. All coaches should be forced to present their views on training To
develop the content for my Australian Seminar Series (and now for my Indianapolis Performance Enhancement seminar),
I looked to the main tenets behind my training programs. Quite simply,
I wanted to give the audience my keys to successful programming for the
core, upper extremity, lower extremity, etc. Let me tell you
this: Correcting things on the fly and coaching is one thing. Being
able to rationalize, defend, and present your entire coaching
philosophy is totally different. If every coach was forced to present
their overall training philosophy to a group of strangers, the industry
would be in a lot better place.

13. Progression, as it relates to program design, is largely
underappreciated by the training community One thing I see far too
often is the arbitrary inclusion of exercises into various programs.
When
we're talking about progression, we not only need to know where to
start someone, but how to progress them, as well. You figure out where
to start someone with your initial assessment. But, how do you take
them from the assessment to a point where they've achieved their goals?

This
is where the good coaches make their cash. It's not about the "quick
sell" and getting someone to purchase your super duper six-week
training package. It's about continually improving the people you work
with over the course of months or years. If you can continually
progress them and help them achieve ever higher goals, you'll never
have a cash flow problem at your facility or within your business.

14. Depth of understanding is far more important than learning new stuff I'm
often accused of not bringing enough "new" stuff to the table. What can
I say? In all honesty, I don't think there's that much "new" stuff to
begin with. And even less is actually noteworthy. Instead, start thinking about the depth
of your understanding. For instance, I was watching a DVD with Guy
Voyeur from the SWIS conference a few years ago on the topic of low
back pain. I've had great success helping people with their low back
pain, but Guy was getting into some very heavy microanatomy that I
wasn't too familiar with. The point I'm getting at here is
this: Don't worry so much about "new" stuff. Instead, really focus on
the depth of your understanding. Just because you've had great success
up front doesn't mean you can't have even better success by delving deeper.

15. Don't stop giving back My
former partner, Mike Dodd, was on me for years to start doing some
volunteer work. He constantly told me about how much I'd enjoy it and
how it'd enrich my life. While I wanted to do it, "time" was not
something I wanted to sacrifice. I was answering a ton of random
training related e-mails per day, trying to help people achieve their
goals. That should count, right? In my eyes, that absolutely
does count. I want to help people succeed, and this was a way to do
that. But a few weeks ago, my wife and I started volunteering at the
local Humane Society, and it's been a great pleasure. Honestly, I'm
kicking myself now for not starting it sooner.

You're doing something positive and they get a new butt to sniff. Everyone wins. If
you're a big believer in a well-balanced and holistic life, take the
time to do this for yourself. Maybe you just want to donate cash to a
good cause. If you're light on the green stuff, maybe you could take an
hour or two to play cards with some old folks (leave the hustle at
home). Just don't put it off like I did. Once you do it, you'll understand just how important and enriching it can be.

16. Learn from all of the smart people in this field There's
not a lot more I can tack on to this one. Listen to everyone, but try
to understand their vantage point and frame of reference. Everyone has
biases, both good and bad. Even if you learn absolutely nothing
or disagree with everything someone says, at least you have a better
idea of why you do things differently!

17. We need to get mobility from the right areas if we want to stay healthy C'mon now, I'm the mobility guy. Did you really expect me not to bring this up? Michael
Boyle's "Joint-by-Joint" approach is a great starting point. I think I
did a good job of modifying it to my needs in the article The Mobility-Stability Continuum.
For the easily distracted, I'll give you the one-minute synopsis. Every
joint has a trade-off, or balance, between mobility and stability. The
ankles, hips, thoracic spine, upper cervicals, scapulae, and
gleno-humeral joints generally need more mobility. These joints have
more freedom of movement, in more planes, than the joints above/below
them.

The
feet, knees, lumbar spine, lower cervicals, scapulae, and elbows
generally need more stability. These joints have less freedom of
movement, in fewer planes, than the joints above/below them. The
"mobility" joints (with the exception of the gleno-humeral joint) don't
seem to get injured as often. They lose mobility (or become too stiff
relative to the surrounding areas), and the "stability" joints take the
brunt of the workload. If you want the full recap, read the articles.

18. Karma is a bitch Don't
worry, I'm not going to get all spiritual on you here. But, I should
make it known that while I'm not spiritual in a "go to church and pray
every day" kind of way, I do believe myself to be spiritual. And I've seen karma work, in both good and bad ways. The
bad people I've been surrounded with in my life may get by for a while.
Outwardly, they may even appear to prosper. Bad things always come
around to them in the end, though. On the other hand, good
karma is true, as well. I've been lucky enough to surround myself with
some amazing individuals in my life. Not coincidentally, these people
are always moving forward and enjoying greater satisfaction within
their own lives. Some might call it luck, chance, or a number
of other words. I don't buy it. Karma, either good or bad, will find
you at some point in time. It's up to you to determine which it'll be.

19. The VM/VMO is a pretty sweet muscle If you checked out my Bulletproof Knees article or purchased the manual,
you already know that I'm not a huge fan of isolative work for any
muscle. But, recent research has shown that the vastus medialis and
vastus medialis obliquus (VM and VMO) are definitely unique when
compared to the other quadriceps muscles.

Here are a few bullet points to help clarify:
•
We know that the more distal portions of the VM (i.e. the VMO) have a
greater angle of pennation when compared to the more proximal fibers.
• The VM/VMO has three motor points, whereas the vastus lateralis (VL) and rectus femoris (RF) each only have one.
•
When stimulating the more proximal motor points of the VM, the
associated musculature attached directly to the quad tendon. In
contrast, the lowest motor point and the stimulated musculature
attached directly to the medial patella. (1, 2) What does all
this mean? It appears as though the VL, RF, and superior portions of VM
are there to extend the knee (duh!). In contrast, the most distal
portions of the VM are primarily there for patellar stability and
medial tracking. This would appear to be true, especially when you see
that the angle of pennation changes andthere's
a separate motor point to promote muscle activity, as well. The jury is
still out on this one, but it's interesting research nonetheless.

20. Take time to review your goals and reasons for training I'm
constantly shocked at how many people have no real clue why they're
training. Sure, they may want to get a little bigger, a little leaner,
or a little stronger, but they have no real plan of attack. What do all these people have in common? They may
get a little bigger, leaner, or stronger. But usually they won't.
What's worse? They'll typically go backwards — getting a little
smaller, fatter, or weaker! As life changes, we need to be
willing to adapt our training related goals and processes. When we're
younger, we usually have fewer responsibilities and can dedicate more
time to training. As we age, our responsibilities typically increase
and our priorities shift, as well. Quite simply, we may want to
continue to see progress, but not at the expense of having a great life
in a lot of different regards. By taking time every week or
every month to review and evaluate your goals and progress, you give
yourself the best chance for long-term progress. The program that
worked for you one year or even one month ago may not work for you now!
Do your best to stay in tune with your body and your goals, and you'll
rarely be disappointed with the direction your training is headed.

About the Author
Mike
Robertson, MS, CSCS, USAW, is the President of Robertson Training
Systems in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mike received his master's degree in
sports biomechanics from the Human Performance Lab at Ball State
University.
To learn more about Mike, visit his newly updated website and be sure to check out his products at the online store.

References

1. Lefebvre, R., A Leroux, G. Poumarat, B. Galtier, M. Guillot, G. Vanneuville, and J. Boucher. Vastus Medialias: Anatomical and Functional Considerations and Implications Based Upon Human and Cadaveric Studies.
2. Toumi, H, G. Poumarat, M. Benjamin, T. Best, S. F'Guyer, and J. Fairclough. New Insights into the Function of the Vastus Medialias with Clinical Implications.

» Thinking Ahead to Prevent Laptop Theft
» 5 Things You're Missing by Chad Waterbury
» 15 Things I Thought I Knew by Michael Boyle
» 47 Things I've Learned
» Stupid Things Young Guys (And Some Older Guys) Do in the Gym

20 Things I'm Thinking About

20 Things I'm Thinking About :: Commentaires

20 Things I'm Thinking About

Sujets similaires

Sujets similaires