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A Lesson in Regression

July 9, 2012 / lancegoyke / 2 Comments

Not enough coaches out there discuss properly regressing clients.

Don’t get me wrong, I hate to do it because I love to see people moving forward, but you have to think about what’s best for your clients. Trying to drive through problems will make them mentally frustrated in the short-term and pathologically physically dysfunctional in the long-term.

When Should I Regress?

When you cannot get your client in the position you want them in, they should be regressed. There’s no shame in their body not being able to handle a certain load; it will get better, they will get stronger, and they will thank you for it.

For example, I was watching my good friend do some half kneeling cable chops the other day that he wasn’t happy with, to say the least.

I looked at it:

His spine was scoliotic (I think I made that word up).
The weight was very light.
This was obviously frustrating him, potentially enough to ruin his day.
The amount of tension all over his body was remarkable, even though this task should be easy for him.

He was struggling. He’s needs to be put in a situation where he can succeed.

Proper regression of your clients requires a few steps.

What’s the Problem?

The beginning step to regressing is to determine the “weak link in the chain”, so to speak, and use this information to help the client out.

For my friend, there were a few things going on. In order of importance…

Spinal instability
Shoulder instability, stemming from the unstable spine, weak scapular muscles, overactive big muscles, and dysfunctional small muscles.

The spinal instability is the biggest problem because it is the most proximal problem. If we were to leave the spine alone and just attempt to fix his shoulder, positive changes would never stick.

Offer Assistance

After determining the weak link, you’ve got to figure out a way to make this a non-issue.

When in doubt, move closer to the ground. The closer the body is to the ground, the more stability someone can get through their points of contact.

In my friend’s case, I put him in sidelying and told him to slowly row a light band. Each component of this regression has its own specific purpose. Let’s break it down.

We bring him down to the ground into sidelying position to give his spine more stability.
Adding the row makes the movement more complex. The primary reason for the row is to challenge his spinal stabilization pattern. For now, I almost don’t even care how the shoulder moves as long as it’s not producing pain.
I chose a row and not a push because the front of his shoulder is already very overactive.
Then I told him to row very slowly because his pulling technique has years of faulty patterning reinforcing it. Going slow will allow him the time to think through a new movement pattern and “feel it out” while getting those front side muscles to relax.

Looking back, I would make the row a simple isometric so that he can focus on the spine while strengthening his upper back and learning how a full range of motion row should feel. I may also lean towards a push instead of a pull to load the anterior core more once he’s progressed.

Sounds impressive, right? Not so much. It may be embarrassing for the client, but if you can get them past this psychological stage, they will perform better physically.

Where to Go Next?

Obviously, you don’t want their entire workout on the ground forever.

In a situation like this, where the client was once an extremely able-bodied individual (he was the fastest man in Georgia!), they need a training effect. They need to do something cool. I don’t care at all about the actual training effect, or the muscle he’s going to lose, or even so much the diminished strength, but I want him to enjoy training. Everything else is minutia at this stage.

The easiest way to get someone to stop working out is to take away all of the fun.

Blindly trusting a boring program doesn’t last forever. Eventually they will get sick of it and stop taking your advice.

The importance of this is stressed when you consider that they may never again do the things they used to call “training”. Maybe the guy never squats deep again. Maybe he never benches a barbell again. Maybe he never does another bilateral deadlift.

You will need to find things that can challenge this type of client so that they don’t forever feel like a patient. Now go get creative.

Self-improvement through watching television

June 16, 2012 / lancegoyke / 0 Comments

A quick synopsis of the final Game 6

Face meets glass, blood spilled, 5 minute major.
This penalty led to THREE goals for the Kings.

Ref gets trucked, blood spilled.

Dustin Brown is a phenomenal captain: scoring goals, getting assists, blocking shots, and being a very strong physical presence.

Attacking the goalie: game misconduct.

Irate Devils coach.
Peter DeBoer was really letting the refs get to him.

Blonde with a rack behind New Jersey’s bench.
It’s funny to watch her having such a good time behind DeBoer who is screaming his lungs out.

Final game of the playoffs and NJ gets plowed.
It ended 6-1. There were four goals, then an empty net goal, followed by another goal on Martin Brodeur. Ouch.

Los Angeles Kings get their first Stanley Cup.
Making history.

Dustin Brown becomes the first US born captain to drop an F-bomb in a live interview right before hoisting the cup.
Apparently he’s done it before…

UPDATE: Jonathan Quick did it too.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Henrik Lundqvist did it too on stage receiving the Vezina trophy at the NHL Awards.

Simon Gagne carries the cup for the first time and almost eats it.

I don’t think I could have more respect for Dustin Brown. He is such a physical presence, but never seems to lose his cool. He opened the floodgates when he started scoring and his team followed suit. And he swears on live television. I wish he was a Red Wing.

If you don’t think hockey can be interesting, you didn’t watch this game.

How to be more like a Stanley Cup championship team’s captain

My personal developmental take-home points:

Don’t let minutia bother you. The end goal is the only thing that deserves your focus.
Leading by example is a very strong leadership trait.
Be prepared to divulge blood, sweat, and tears when everything is on the line.

The Hypertrophic Journey

March 14, 2012 / lancegoyke / 0 Comments

When I see someone who looks strikingly similar to a toothpick, I feel bad for them. Sure, they’re missing out on all of the great things that can come from having a healthy, muscley body, such as not constantly feeling cold, being strong enough to move furniture, and increased frequency of sexual interactions (no guarantees on duration of said interactions, sadly). However, my real concern is the ignorance to all there is to be experienced in this hypertrophic journey.

The First Rule

Every person who can’t seem to put on weight has one thing in common: they’re not eating enough.

The n00bz make this rule especially important, so much so that I suggest it being the only dietary advice you suggest to them. Now, if we talk a little about the psychology of this suggestion, I would be a little more specific, showing examples to the person in question as to what exactly you mean.

I put on 5 pounds during a hockey season in high school by eating 6000 calories a day. How did I get that many calories? I had a gallon of milk every day. I always had double lunches when I was at school. I had 5 meals a day, and after at least 2 of these meals, I would feel like the food was at the edge of my esophagus, full to the brim.

Paint a picture. Engage their senses. Your advice will stick. They’ll picture you with your gallon of milk every time they sit down for a meal. They’ll put an extra scoop on their plate at dinner, and you know what else? They just might accomplish their goals.

Where is the Journey?

The journey comes from within. Aside from that being the most cliche thing I have ever said, there are tremendous benefits to be gained. Shoveling in perseverance, however trivial the task may be, can give this person heaping amounts of perspective. They can always think back to the time they were convinced they were never going to get any bigger. They thought, “I couldn’t have another bite,” but when they filled another plate, they dominated it like it was their job and overcame expectations.

Losing weight can give you a similar experience, albeit slightly different. I prefer gaining weight because it places more emphasis on putting in hard work (eating more) than developing the willpower to say no (eating less). Obviously, both have their benefits.

I mentioned the trivial nature of this whole topic. The rich kid can’t stuff his face more? Boo hoo, Africa is starving. There are many things far more important in the grand scheme of things than putting meat on some kid’s bones, but I take you back to the topic of gaining perspective.

Now that they have succeeded, this person knows what it means to work hard and how great it feels when all of that dedication pays off. What if they get the chance to go to Africa? They want to experience that success again. They help out, bring food, and feed the people there. How many lives have you indirectly impacted by teaching this person to put on weight?

It seems simple, but simple is most often the way to go.

Live, Learn, and Pay it Forward

We’re all in the business of education. Parents, coaches, mentors of all kinds. Nobody wants to leave the world before they’ve left their mark on it. Whenever you get the chance, try to teach something to someone. I don’t believe that there is a single feeling that I enjoy more than seeing something click in someone else’s mind.

Think about it: planting ideas of hard work in those around you will surely not go to waste.

Deep Squats Suck

February 6, 2012 / lancegoyke / 5 Comments

Guys, I get the bravado. I understand where you’re coming from. “He’s a pretty little girl because he doesn’t break parallel when he squats, bro.”

I could go on and on about how there are millions of things more determinant of one’s character than how low he squats. For the love of all that you value, though, stop being so thick-skulled! He could shave the squats high because of a number of pain issues, structural limitations, or past experiences.

The Restriction of the Vertical Shin

Squatting with a vertical shin is quite common. For example, if you don’t have adequate ankle mobility, you have to keep your shin vertical or you get a valgus collapse up the entire leg.

A valgus collapse

How about when someone has had a history of knee trouble? What if she’s 65 years old and has a reconstructed ACL? Squatting with a vertical shin will decrease the shear stresses on her knee, and shear stresses are the ones we as trainers are the most worried about.

The problem is, how deep can you squat with a vertical shin?

Try it out, I dare you. You need FREAKY levers (or powerlifting gear) to accomplish such a task.

So is our old lady with a bum knee going to be squatting below parallel? No.

Problems at the Hip

The multitude of problems that can happen at the hip is remarkable.

Torn labrum? The extra movement of the femoral head may be eliciting pain.

Unstable pelvis? The hip flexor muscles are getting overworked to try to get you SOME stability. Then they start screaming in pain because you’re working them like a slave driver.

Glutes don’t turn on? If your glutes aren’t turning on and your knees aren’t getting out, you can run out of room for hip flexion before you even get to parallel.

Bony impingement? Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is when there’s abnormally shaped bone in the hip joint. Forcing range of motion to “get deep” causes back pain and hip labrum tears.

Bony block due to poor positioning? This ties in with a number of previous examples, but what if the pelvis is oriented in such a way that the correct motion cannot be obtained? Maybe you can’t sit in to your left hip, so you shift your weight to the right and overload that knee.

Is This Really Necessary?

Do they even need to be squatting that deep? Aside from the potential aforementioned ramifications, maybe the reward just isn’t enticing enough.

Take a basketball player. Does he really NEED to get deep? Every time there is a reverse of the direction of motion, there is an isometric phase. This is the hole of a squat. Isometric training develops strength within 15 degrees of the joint angle trained. How many athletes can you think of whom need to develop extreme hip and knee extension power from such a great angle of motion?

Psycho-Babble

I hear a lot of people tell others to check their ego before they start doing their half squats with insane amounts of weight. You are blaming this man for doing something that makes him happy. Leave it alone and stop dragging people into the sulking oblivion in which you live.

What if he struggles with depression and bending his knees with a ton of weight on his back makes him happy? Do your Supermanly deep squats on your own and maybe he’ll ask for your advice. If he doesn’t ask, he probably wouldn’t listen to your unsolicited advice anyways.

Maybe he’s very introverted. He doesn’t like to bother other people. Asking for a spot is the most embarrassing thing he could possibly do in the gym, so he squats high, where he’s confident he’ll be able to manage the weight.

Maybe he has been stapled to the floor before by a weight, which he blamed on going too deep, and he simply never recovered from this traumatic experience. The bar crushed him and he doesn’t want that to happen again because it hurts, physically and mentally. Some people are just more resilient than others.

Support Over Judgement

So what if the guy squats a little higher than you do?

First off, I’d like to make the point that he’s squatting. Not many people do any lower body training at all, so there’s something to be said about that.
If he’s talking down to you, he is not worth your time and needs to read this article. You cannot make snap judgements about people. I would have thought Dr. King’s words would have reached everyone by now, a half century later.
Maybe he’s trying to get a training effect despite the crap joints his genetics and past training experiences brought him.
There is someone, somewhere out there who is stronger than you. Get used to it and be the best you can be.
Squatting heavy weights makes you feel better than squatting light weights, right? He’s doing it because it feels good. Can you hate him for that?
There are PLENTY of other things worth worrying about over someone else’s squat technique, like your income, loved ones, equality, world hunger, world illiteracy, rampant diseases, and our government’s view of food.

If you’re going to make assumptions, why not assume that he has a good reason for doing half squats instead of assuming he’s simply dumber and weaker than your alpha male persona.

The broscience has to stop. If the words “Go deep or go home!” are on your door, realize going deep is a choice, not a necessity. Stop pressuring people into changing the way they do things and you will gain the respect of many. Training full range of motion is an excellent philosophy, but “full range of motion” and “to parallel” are not interchangeable.

This isn’t meant to be an instructive post. I could talk for hours about POSSIBLE limitations. Rather, I want you to walk away with perspective. Quit looking at things through your own small filter and open up your eyes.

Most importantly, offer up support, not judgement. It will take you MUCH further.

Why Gross Movements are Not a Sufficient Assessment

February 5, 2012 / lancegoyke / 0 Comments

Gross movements are multi-joint movements. They can also be disgusting and offensive, but we’ll save those for a more off-topic post. Some common examples of the gross movements we’re discussing in this post are the overhead squat, push up, and lunge.

I don’t want to belittle these tools because they are extremely useful. They can suggest a lot of things about the way a person moves, but those things still need to be confirmed. Some conclusions cannot be drawn from gross movement alone.

To break it down to basic logical thinking: gross movements are NECESSARY in an assessment, but not SUFFICIENT as an assessment on their own.

A Reading from the Book of Gray

As I believe the great Gray Cook has said, “It could be a mobility problem. It could be a stability problem.”

No truer words have ever been spoken in the wonderful world of client evaluation.

This reminds me of an assessment I did just the other day. During the gross movement portion of our assessment, our client was doing lunges. After banging out a few reps, he began to complain about his big toe feeling stiff.

The obvious prediction is that his toe will present stiff, showing some soft-tissue restrictions. I then cried, “It’s a mobility problem, Gray!“

Surprisingly enough, when we laid him down on the table, I was able to take his toe right back. His great toe extension was completely normal at 70 degrees. My guess was wrong. Since he has normal motion in his toe, he doesn’t need to be more mobile there. He does need more STABILITY, however, since his lack of stability in his lower body makes him incapable of accessing his mobility.

Ideally, he uses his butt to extend his hip and push his foot into the ground. In this case, the butt isn’t turning on, so the big toe grabs the ground, giving him stability and extending his hip. I know it’s hard to picture, so stand up and try it out.

Ultimately, this finding means we don’t have to prescribe pointless toe mobilizations, and instead points us to a hip extension weakness. We program things like clam shells and glute bridges to turn his butt muscles on and this toe thing clears up.

Always Get Better at What You Do

As seemingly everyone in the fitness industry says, “If you’re not assessing, you’re guessing.”

Seek out the information to become a better trainer (which is why you’re here, duh!).

Watch an assessment from someone who knows what they’re doing. If they have their own custom assessment, fine-tuned to their liking, there’s a good chance they know what they’re doing.
Read the literature. Start with Kendall’s book, Muscles: Testing and Function, to get an idea of some common tests, and go from there. Mike Robertson and Eric Cressey think this is a must-have, and that’s enough for me, but if it’s not for you, there was also a positive review of it in the Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association.
Watch people move. Not only is it fascinating (to a geek like me, at least), but you can learn a lot. Look out for limitations, compensations, and normals. Warning: this has changed me. Now instead of looking for the size of a woman’s chesticles, I grade her upper back development. Slumped shoulders = DEALBREAKER.
Practice! Play around with your significant other (HA!). Ask your friends if you can try this new test you just learned on them. More and more repetition will make you more and more comfortable with what you’re doing and more and more confident in what you’re seeing.

See the Big Picture

A thorough assessment is actually something that vastly improved the life of my friend and co-administrator of this site, Jae Chung. As you may know, Jae had pain in his foot… FOR EIGHT YEARS. The $500 he spent on orthotics did nothing. The foot doc only looked at his foot, and subsequently missed the boat, failing to see the big picture.

It’s like blaming your low squat numbers on weak muscles, when in actuality, it’s your technique that’s holding you back. Stop focusing on the symptoms and find the actual problem.

Fast forward in time, Jae comes to IFAST to see Bill Hartman, gets his first thorough assessment, and is cured soon after.

Eight years of pain, gone. For those who don’t know, chronic pain sucks the life force out of you. It’s amazing to imagine how much better he felt mentally after just a short assessment. I want that quality of life for all of my clients, and I hope you do, too.

The doc who just looked at Jae’s foot wasn’t thorough enough. Don’t make the same mistakes with your clients.

Lance Goyke

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