By Alexis Louise Reda
As a Personal Trainer and Quantum Health Coach, I realize a broad spectrum of approaches in the realm of fitness. What it means to be fit is very different depending on your goal that underlies your training and daily living.
Some people just want to be healthy and feel abundant vitality. Some people want to do whatever it takes to build the most aesthetically appealing physique they naturally can, as is the goal of bodybuilding. Others’ sole purpose in training is performance-oriented and sport-specific, not concerning themselves much with the look of their body in the sense of proportions and body composition. Others still, are in between, desiring to build the best body that they can without sacrificing technically-demanding performance abilities in specific movements or activities where sometimes the requirements within these activities clash with each other.
So, what to do?
To be a good coach, I must meet people where they’re at first. I need to clarify their goals so that we are on the same page, and then identify their needs and potentially educate them on any contradictions that may realistically impede the ability to meet this goal – at least, to meet all goals at once. In such cases, I need to educate them about the nature of the processes required to get there and potential trade-offs (which are a super-important factor in life, in my opinion). Ultimately, though, I need to understand that these different people with different goals need different implements and are seeking my expertise to help them identify all the factors I have mentioned above. In other terms, different people need different percentages of the different pieces of the metaphorical pie that is “the realm of fitness.”
That’s a big pie…
And that sounds like a lot of “different” within its mysterious flavours.
But not to fear! Good news is, there are many ways to eat it, measure it, and move away from flavours that you don’t like at the moment. More specifically, there is no standard protocol in training and therapy in getting a person from A to B to C to D and so on; there are only tools in the toolbox that may work for some people, but not for others.
As an astute individual, I have craved to discover what I think of as “grand truths” which I could grasp onto like rocks in my practice when planning effective programs for others, and so this idea of having no standard protocol has haunted me in times past. Through my practical attempts, however, I have come to realize why “standard approaches” can also be limiting, and it is best to employ a non-rigid structure in your thinking while adhering to the laws defining your scope of practice (Scope). This means a good trainer, coach, or practitioner should know when to refer clients out to other professionals when their approaches are not jiving with their clients and they have run out of approaches within their Scope.
Here, I’d like to lead up to my general approaches to fitness and wellness which I incorporate within my practice at Vital Sphere thus far:
With my lifetime background in solo and team sports, bodybuilding-style training (without ignorance to powerlifting or Olympic lifting programming, periodization, and nutrition science), and yoga practice (not limited to asana) – this encompassing the “physical activity” aspect of my life – naturally I am extracting principles that are tried and true to myself alongside regulated scientific meta-analyses of larger populations. The components in my practice that stick have proven their efficacy to me, so I keep them easily accessible in my toolbox and trust that they will be useful for other people, too; but I am not so ignorant as to say my ways will be the best thing for everybody. Even for myself and for the people for which my favourite methods are working, I never forego their reevaluation. Methods are continuously put to the test with every case study. I keep my senses open for ways to adapt to ever-changing life circumstances and new discoveries.
I started this article off by describing some of the general goals of different people I have come across. If you know the science and application, you’d understand that many of these goals clash with each other, such as being as strong as possible and being in condition to run a marathon. Some are less of a clash, like building maximal muscle mass and being as strong as possible, but they still require a trade-off in optimality. I have to make sure people understand this before proceeding.
Some people have these goals – maybe goals that don’t even clash – but an injury or mental blockage limits them. It is then my responsibility to take that into consideration, but via integration, so as not to cut them off as completely broken individuals unless they really are broken and should be in the hospital or some intensive rehab. If they are still functional to a manageable degree, I believe in getting them on the road towards their goals past the ailment as soon as possible. The percentage of time their sessions will demand for more precise, ailment-related training will therefore vary depending on the degree of the ailment – and this can also vary on a per-session basis, depending on what activities their plan calls for and those activities in relation to the condition of their affected area on that very day. I use mostly yoga therapy techniques to remedy these things – mostly because it gets people mentally in-tune with and in control of their bodies which facilitates the healing process from the fundamental level. If absolutely necessary, I will add some light physical cues or pressure points that will aid in their awareness of certain muscles or forces.
Every discipline, every specific task, every goal in the gym or in life has its progressions. There is a specific periodization involving sub-goals that is necessary for each pursuit. Even so, honing the power to autoregulate our program is a crucial skill. It means that we know when to step back when we’re fatigued, or push extra hard when we’re “feeling it”. This is of utmost importance regardless of what the plan is on paper. Remember: we are holistic beings – mind, body, soul; STRESS IS STRESS IS STRESS; there is more out there than physical optimality – and we are living in an artificially constructed world. Our program is not excluded from this “Construct.” So pay respect to yourself and take the darn rest day if needed. And if on occasion you need to do a long-distance run even if it totally isn’t contributing to your progress about your objective, oh well. Then we’ll learn for next time and choose our trade-offs better.
This is what training and coaching are: a science and an art.
Objectivity and intuition (subjectivity) share the same playing field.
So please, enjoy your training and smile often.
