"To exercise at or near capacity is the best way I know of reaching a true introspective state. If you do it right, it can open all kinds of inner doors."
- Al Oerter
How to Work Out With Trainers
By Michael Masterson
The rising popularity of yoga, particularly among baby boomers, has apparently resulted in a minor epidemic of injuries. How people could injure themselves in such a gentle activity is beyond my comprehension. But the facts speak for themselves.
In Message #1699, Jon Herring explained that most of these injuries are the result of stretching too hard. He suggested that before starting a yoga program, ETR readers should look into the experience and training of their instructors.
That's good advice. But in case (1) you don't have a choice of qualified instructors in your area or (2) you don't have the patience to interview instructors or (3) you get someone qualified who's pushing you too hard, here's my advice:
The best way to avoid injury in any sport is to (1) pay attention to your body and (2) let your body, not a trainer or instructor, be in charge of how hard you push yourself.
The advice I'm giving here runs contrary to what I was taught. "Trust your coach," was the training mantra I grew up with. "He knows what's best for you."
For most of my life, I did whatever my coaches and trainers asked me to do. In high school football, I was famous for spearheading opponents (ramming them at full speed with my head), because my freshman football coach told me that was "the right way" to tackle someone. In college sports and afterward, I'd do whatever I was told to do - and (I'm embarrassed to say) continued to do so even when I was getting injured because of bad advice.
I never stopped to ask myself if these people really knew what was best for me. If they pushed me harder than I felt I should go, I figured it must be good.
About 10 years ago, at age 45, I hired a young guy to train me. He had all the right credentials - academic and practical - and he was himself in great physical shape. His approach to weightlifting was intense: Pile on the weights and push yourself to the limit. And you got results by doing that. Two kinds of results. You got stronger and then you got injured.
It happened to me and to several friends my age who were being trained by him. We had followed his program faithfully and believed we were making progress - but the reality was that we were all limping around in pain. At the end of a year's worth of this guy's expert training, I was so laden with injuries I could barely walk.
As I crawled out of bed one morning, I remembered something a college friend who practiced yoga said to me after we completed our respective workouts. (I had been squatting with 400 pounds on my back. He had been doing Sun Salutations.) "The thing I don't understand about the way you exercise," he said as I was hobbling along beside him, "is this: After you are finished, you are always exhausted. Shouldn't exercise make you feel better?"
He was half-kidding, but I understood his point. Unless you are trying to win a gold medal, the purpose of any exercise program should be better health, not sprains and tears and suffering.
At 25, I wasn't willing to give up my Western take on training: No pain, no gain. But at 45, I was.
I fired my trainer - qualified as he was - and designed my own program, a combination of yoga, Pilates, and calisthenics. Almost immediately, I started to feel better. After about six weeks, I was pain-free.
Since then, I've completely changed the way I work with trainers - whether it's in yoga, Jiu Jitsu, or strength training. I no longer put myself under their direction. I no longer do whatever they say.
I tell them what I want to accomplish, and I ask them to give me their best suggestions about how to do it. What I want, I explain in no uncertain terms, is for them to help me become stronger, more flexible, and more energetic. And I want them to help me do that without risk of injury or excessive pain.
If they don't understand what I'm saying, I don't hire them. If they say they understand me but then train me stupidly, I fire them. My attitude is tough but it's practical - and it's based on economics even an idiot can understand: If I'm paying you $60 to $90 an hour, you'd better make me happy ... or I'll find someone else who will.
In working with trainers and coaches, whether individually or in a group, you should figure out exactly what you want from your exercise program - how far you want to push and how fast you want to go. Explain these objectives to your trainer before starting. And if he's not willing to support you, look elsewhere.
LK, my strength and speed coach, is a very qualified trainer. He has several degrees in physical education, including a license to practice physical therapy, and he has tons of experience training people (including Navy Seals). His approach to physical fitness is very intense. If I allowed him to, he'd probably put me in the hospital.
"I'm not your science experiment," I sometimes remind him. "I am the guy who's paying for these lessons."
By being in charge of LK's program, I've reaped the benefits of his knowledge and experience within the parameters of my objectives. I am happy to have him push me to do that extra pull-up or dip, but I won't do anything that risks injury or entirely depletes me.
My goal in everything I do - in yoga, Pilates, Jiu Jitsu, speed and strength training - is to look forward to every workout. The only way I can do that (I've discovered after so many years of training the wrong way) is to obey my body, not my trainer.
In Messages #1735 and #1739, I described my current training regimen. Try it out, if you like. It's a great program that has helped me get fitter and grow healthier.
But whatever exercise program you follow, if you use a trainer, make sure he agrees to the following rules:
1. You are the ultimate boss of your body. If, at any point in the training process, you feel you are on the verge of injuring yourself, stop immediately and say, "That's enough." Tell your trainer that when you say "That's enough," he should not try to encourage you to do a single extra rep. Tell him you won't say it unless you've really had enough.
2. Stretching is just as important as exercising. Make sure your trainer works you through at least 10 minutes of stretching after each workout. Expect your trainer to be focused and attentive during that time. He should assist you in stretching just as he does when you exercise.
3. If it's not fun, you're not likely to continue to do it. Make sure your trainer understands this fundamental rule of coaching. Remind him that it's for his good as well as yours (meaning, if he doesn't keep his clients happy his business will dwindle). Making it fun means paying attention to how hard you are working. He should get you to work harder than you would if you were alone, but he should not work you like a drill sergeant.
4. If it's not interesting, it will become boring. It's your trainer's job to make every workout a little new and exciting. To do that, he is going to have to come up with different ways of working the same muscles. Some repetition is good, but too much of it will dampen your enthusiasm.
You are paying your trainer not because he knows more about exercise than you but because you need someone reasonably intelligent and attentive to encourage you to do the work you already know you have to do. Don't let your trainer boss or bully you. Make him work hard to please you. Expect results. If you don't get them, find a new trainer.
______________________________
Word to the Wise: Palaver
Palaver" (puh-LAV-ur) - from the Greek for "parable" - is idle chatter.
Example (as used by O. Henry in his short story "The Man Higher Up"): "He is glad to palaver of his many adventures, as a boy will whistle after sundown in a wood."
Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1841, 09-22-06], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.
- Al Oerter
How to Work Out With Trainers
By Michael Masterson
The rising popularity of yoga, particularly among baby boomers, has apparently resulted in a minor epidemic of injuries. How people could injure themselves in such a gentle activity is beyond my comprehension. But the facts speak for themselves.
In Message #1699, Jon Herring explained that most of these injuries are the result of stretching too hard. He suggested that before starting a yoga program, ETR readers should look into the experience and training of their instructors.
That's good advice. But in case (1) you don't have a choice of qualified instructors in your area or (2) you don't have the patience to interview instructors or (3) you get someone qualified who's pushing you too hard, here's my advice:
The best way to avoid injury in any sport is to (1) pay attention to your body and (2) let your body, not a trainer or instructor, be in charge of how hard you push yourself.
The advice I'm giving here runs contrary to what I was taught. "Trust your coach," was the training mantra I grew up with. "He knows what's best for you."
For most of my life, I did whatever my coaches and trainers asked me to do. In high school football, I was famous for spearheading opponents (ramming them at full speed with my head), because my freshman football coach told me that was "the right way" to tackle someone. In college sports and afterward, I'd do whatever I was told to do - and (I'm embarrassed to say) continued to do so even when I was getting injured because of bad advice.
I never stopped to ask myself if these people really knew what was best for me. If they pushed me harder than I felt I should go, I figured it must be good.
About 10 years ago, at age 45, I hired a young guy to train me. He had all the right credentials - academic and practical - and he was himself in great physical shape. His approach to weightlifting was intense: Pile on the weights and push yourself to the limit. And you got results by doing that. Two kinds of results. You got stronger and then you got injured.
It happened to me and to several friends my age who were being trained by him. We had followed his program faithfully and believed we were making progress - but the reality was that we were all limping around in pain. At the end of a year's worth of this guy's expert training, I was so laden with injuries I could barely walk.
As I crawled out of bed one morning, I remembered something a college friend who practiced yoga said to me after we completed our respective workouts. (I had been squatting with 400 pounds on my back. He had been doing Sun Salutations.) "The thing I don't understand about the way you exercise," he said as I was hobbling along beside him, "is this: After you are finished, you are always exhausted. Shouldn't exercise make you feel better?"
He was half-kidding, but I understood his point. Unless you are trying to win a gold medal, the purpose of any exercise program should be better health, not sprains and tears and suffering.
At 25, I wasn't willing to give up my Western take on training: No pain, no gain. But at 45, I was.
I fired my trainer - qualified as he was - and designed my own program, a combination of yoga, Pilates, and calisthenics. Almost immediately, I started to feel better. After about six weeks, I was pain-free.
Since then, I've completely changed the way I work with trainers - whether it's in yoga, Jiu Jitsu, or strength training. I no longer put myself under their direction. I no longer do whatever they say.
I tell them what I want to accomplish, and I ask them to give me their best suggestions about how to do it. What I want, I explain in no uncertain terms, is for them to help me become stronger, more flexible, and more energetic. And I want them to help me do that without risk of injury or excessive pain.
If they don't understand what I'm saying, I don't hire them. If they say they understand me but then train me stupidly, I fire them. My attitude is tough but it's practical - and it's based on economics even an idiot can understand: If I'm paying you $60 to $90 an hour, you'd better make me happy ... or I'll find someone else who will.
In working with trainers and coaches, whether individually or in a group, you should figure out exactly what you want from your exercise program - how far you want to push and how fast you want to go. Explain these objectives to your trainer before starting. And if he's not willing to support you, look elsewhere.
LK, my strength and speed coach, is a very qualified trainer. He has several degrees in physical education, including a license to practice physical therapy, and he has tons of experience training people (including Navy Seals). His approach to physical fitness is very intense. If I allowed him to, he'd probably put me in the hospital.
"I'm not your science experiment," I sometimes remind him. "I am the guy who's paying for these lessons."
By being in charge of LK's program, I've reaped the benefits of his knowledge and experience within the parameters of my objectives. I am happy to have him push me to do that extra pull-up or dip, but I won't do anything that risks injury or entirely depletes me.
My goal in everything I do - in yoga, Pilates, Jiu Jitsu, speed and strength training - is to look forward to every workout. The only way I can do that (I've discovered after so many years of training the wrong way) is to obey my body, not my trainer.
In Messages #1735 and #1739, I described my current training regimen. Try it out, if you like. It's a great program that has helped me get fitter and grow healthier.
But whatever exercise program you follow, if you use a trainer, make sure he agrees to the following rules:
1. You are the ultimate boss of your body. If, at any point in the training process, you feel you are on the verge of injuring yourself, stop immediately and say, "That's enough." Tell your trainer that when you say "That's enough," he should not try to encourage you to do a single extra rep. Tell him you won't say it unless you've really had enough.
2. Stretching is just as important as exercising. Make sure your trainer works you through at least 10 minutes of stretching after each workout. Expect your trainer to be focused and attentive during that time. He should assist you in stretching just as he does when you exercise.
3. If it's not fun, you're not likely to continue to do it. Make sure your trainer understands this fundamental rule of coaching. Remind him that it's for his good as well as yours (meaning, if he doesn't keep his clients happy his business will dwindle). Making it fun means paying attention to how hard you are working. He should get you to work harder than you would if you were alone, but he should not work you like a drill sergeant.
4. If it's not interesting, it will become boring. It's your trainer's job to make every workout a little new and exciting. To do that, he is going to have to come up with different ways of working the same muscles. Some repetition is good, but too much of it will dampen your enthusiasm.
You are paying your trainer not because he knows more about exercise than you but because you need someone reasonably intelligent and attentive to encourage you to do the work you already know you have to do. Don't let your trainer boss or bully you. Make him work hard to please you. Expect results. If you don't get them, find a new trainer.
______________________________
Word to the Wise: Palaver
Palaver" (puh-LAV-ur) - from the Greek for "parable" - is idle chatter.
Example (as used by O. Henry in his short story "The Man Higher Up"): "He is glad to palaver of his many adventures, as a boy will whistle after sundown in a wood."
Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1841, 09-22-06], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.
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