When I first meet with clients they are often surprised that the session does not involve a trainer that is giving them a workout that leaves them seeing stars and feeling like they got hit by a truck.

That’s amateur hour

Throughout my career I have had the privilege of training at different facilities.  At one facility where I worked, there were a number of professional athletes training and I noticed they spent a LOT of time doing the dynamic flexibility workouts and mobility drills that I worked with my clients on.

I would point out to my clients that these guys who get paid MILLIONS were doing the same exercises they were.  They must work!

These guys weren’t in the weight room trying to lift the most amount of weight with terrible form.

There were a number of athletes who utilized the Pilates studio and equipment as well to work the deep core musculature to protect the spine and also because the core is the body’s main powerhouse.

These athletes were training for FUNCTION.  It wasn’t about break my body down as much as possible because that could potentially lead to injury.  It was about, “Let’s make my body the most functional it can be for optimal performance.”

Which one do you think would lead to longevity and optimal performance in a given sport?

Which one do YOU think will lead to increased longevity of doing what you want to do and optimal performance in life?

Boom.  

“Let’s make my body the most functional it can be for optimal performance”

Most trainers in the fitness industry get their training advice from bodybuilding philosophies which have NOTHING to do with function.

Bodybuilding is simply about the way you look.  Function and health be darned.

It’s not the smartest nor safest way to train for longevity and lasting results.

The modern day InstaFitness, Social Media Training, and “kill yo self” bootcamp style training is just as bad with their break yourself down and no rest days mentality.

People think that is the way to results when that could not be further from the truth.

Stimulate don’t annihilate

Lee Haney is the 8x Mr Olympia whose famous training phrase was “Stimulate Don’t Annihilate”.  He did not believe in breaking the body down to the point of no return during training because that would lead to injury.  You also would not maximize muscle gain because heavy lifting with terrible form or too much training would not allow for optimal range of motion and recovery.

With this type of training philosophy It is no coincidence that Lee Haney is still healthy and fit into his 50’s with no major injuries so he can continue to work out.  Some of his counterparts who trained with enormous amounts of weight and annihilating training sessions can barely walk and are constantly having surgeries due to numerous injuries.

If your goal is longevity to do what you would like to do in life, then annihilation during working out is not the best option.

There was a time in my training when I was trying to lift heavy weights as I had been told and I ended up with a lower back injury and an inflamed shoulder.  Now I don’t focus on the amount of weight.  I focus on how i am able to MOVE the weights. It should be challenging but not annihilating.

Function First

Instagram Fitness, Social Media Trainers, and people who are training for the mirror are training for the mirror first and function maybe.

I believe you need to train for function first and the look will follow.

During that same period when I got injured, I was just weight training and doing cardio.  I wasn’t even following my own training philosophy of the integrated method where you work on Stability, Mobility, Flexibility, Power, Conditioning, and Strength.

This is the system I use to train my clients with and why people continue to improve instead of ending up burned out and injured because they think that the way to results are to break your body down with excessive workouts.

So what about these soul crushing workouts that everyone craves

I have no issue with people wanting a challenging workout but people who haven’t exercised in years shouldn’t start off with a very challenging workout.

People need to work on the fundamentals of stability, mobility, and flexibility and then work to improve from there.

An athlete doesn’t start off training for the Olympics.  They work on the fundamentals first, master those, and then begin to refine their technique.  The best athletes continue to work on their fundamentals because they can ALWAYS use improvement for optimal performance and function

InstaTrainers, Social Media, and the Kill Yo Self crowd is to by pass the fundamentals and give people really hard workouts like powerlifting or the Kill Yo Self workout of the day they found on Youtube because they want quick fix results.

At first The Client is happy because they will see results quickly and they will feel terrible (they think that means they are doing something) but it won’t last.  It won’t be long before an injury occurs due to not mastering the fundamentals or the person burns out altogether.

Train Smart

After watching professional athletes in action and also studying what truly makes a great workout, I decided to stick with my system of training because it works.

Clients will see results, they will feel good, they will move better, and they will be able to continue to train in a safe and effective manner so that they can enjoy their lives!!

If you’re interested in fat loss, the same philosophy applies AND those stability, mobility, and flexibility exercises are no joke.  They work your entire body which is what you need for effective fat loss.

If you’re interested in learning more, then e-mail me: geneva@fiercelyfitlifestyle.com