NV Strength In Motion

When starting a training program it is essential to go through some sort of functional movement assessment, as long you are cleared by a doctor for activity.

Movement Prep (1 round)


	
X-Band Walks (8-10 Steps each direction)
	
Spiderman Crawls (20 Yards)
	
Prisoner Squats (10 reps)
	
Walking Lunges to balance (20 yards)
	
Walking Single Leg Deadlifts (SLDL’s) (20 yards)
	
Walking Lateral Lunges (20 yards each direction)


 
 
Single Leg Work
 
 4 Rounds (as much rest as needed)


	
Reverse Lunges with 2 53lb Kettlebells in Rack Position (8 Reps each Leg)
	
Single Leg Deadlifts w/135lbs on a Barbell (5 each Leg)


 
 
Bilateral Work
 
4 Rounds (as much rest as needed)


	
Front Squats with 2 53lb Kettlebells in Rack Position (8 Reps)


 
 
 
 
Recovery


	
Foam Roll and Mobility for 15 minutes

How do you find a good personal trainer?
Finding a good personal trainer/strength coach can be tough.  Unfortunately, there are a lot more lousy ones, than good ones out there!   Many aren’t certified, and just look for cool exercises on YouTube and in magazines, without knowing the purpose behind them or even teaching them properly.  Hiring a trainer is an investment, so you want to make sure that this person is qualified and can help you achieve your goals.  As a Trainer, I’ve a come up with a brief list of what to look for so you don’t waste your time or money on a YouTube trainer.

Here are 10 things to look for:

1.   Are They Certified?!

A majority of the time people will base it on looks more than knowledge base.  This is a big fault.  Just because someone looks fit doesn’t mean they know how to train someone!  I’m not saying your trainer should be sloppy, but they don’t have to look like a fitness model.  Remember you are trusting them to take care of your body.  Make sure they have a credible certification or a degree in kinesiology.  Here is a list of some acceptable certifications:

• Master’s or Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology/Exercise Science
• Z-Health
• C.H.E.K
• NASM
• NCEP
• NSCA
• ACSM
• ACE
• NFPT
• NESTA
• NCSF
• IFPA

Are they doing continuing education and up to date with what’s going on with current research in the health and fitness field?  No trainer knows everything, but the best ones are always learning and trying to improve their program.

2.  Do They Do An Assessment On You?

The assessment is the foundation of any training program.  Trainers should record your medical issues, past/current injuries, past & present sports and activities. After they know this they should then do a movement assessment and static posture assessment.   Finding movement deficiencies will help spot weak areas and asymmetries in your body.  This will allow them to come up with a good strategy to get you to your goals in a safe way.  If you can find someone that is a Certified Functional Movement Screen Specialist (FMS), you will be able to grade your movement and have a road map on what needs to be worked on first.  All too often a trainer will try to destroy a potential client the first time they meet, and use it as a selling point, by showing how out of shape they are.

3.  Can you connect (get along) with them?

You will be spending plenty of hours with this person and if all they are doing is counting reps for you and taking you from machine to machine, how motivating is that??  Make sure they have some sort of personality or you’ll be bored.  You should be working hard but enjoying the session as well.

4.  How much and what kind of experience do they have?
If someone just got certified you might want to let them get some hours under their belt before you hand your body over to them. Although they have the education, they may not have applied it to real life yet.  Find out if their experience fits what you are looking for.  If you are an athlete and go to someone that only knows how to train bodybuilders than you are doing yourself a disservice, and vice versa, if your looking to be a competitive bodybuilder you probably want to go to someone that has competed or trained body building competitors.  Every trainer has their “specialty”, so look for someone that has had success helping people achieve similar goals to yourself.

5.   Someone referred you to them.
If a trainer was referred to you that person probably had a good experience.

6.  Are they trying to improve you or just kill you?

A good workout doesn’t always mean that you should be on the verge of throwing up or passing out every time!  Don’t get me wrong, those type of workouts do have it’s place in a program, but you shouldn’t feel like that every single time.  You also don’t have to be sore every single time you workout!   I’m not saying that training should be easy, the goal is for it to be challenging but not impossible.  Your body can and will break down, if you are pushed to your limit every time.  Over-training and over stressing your nervous system and muscle tissues can hinder your progress.   You want your body to feel better in addition to looking better.  Remember training is supposed to make you healthier and move better, not injure you.

7.  Do they know their functional anatomy and how the body works as whole?

Would you take your car to a mechanic that didn’t know car parts and how each part affected the way your car functions? I hope not!  Essentially, a trainer is your body mechanic, just because they know what muscle an exercise works, doesn’t mean they understand the relationship between those muscles with the rest of the body.  Our bodies move by muscles working “together”, not in isolation.

8.   Do they place an importance on self myofascial release (foam rolling) and stretching?

If your trainer hasn’t harped on the importance of Self Myofascial Release and stretching before and after workouts, they are basically saying that its okay to let your body become tight and knotted up.  This part of the workout is just as, if not more important then the actual resistance training.   For those of you not familiar with SMR (Foam rolling), it is basically like self massage therapy, and the goal is to release knots in the muscles, so the muscles can be stretched optimally, allowing better muscle contractions and free movement.

9.   Are they constantly monitoring your progress and making sure you are moving towards your goal?
Checking your weight, taking measurements, performance tests, nutritional counseling (food logs), before and after pictures, and reassessments are all indicators of progress.  Keeping some type of record will help both you and your trainer know how things are moving forward and if the program you’re on is working or needs to be adjusted.  It’s always nice to know that your trainer cares about your progress and not just showing up to work you out.  This is why you hire us!

10.  Are they attentive and hands on?

If they are not paying much attention to your body position and letting poor form slide that’s not a good sign. If you are not able to get into the correct posture yourself they should be hands on help put you into the proper position.  Personal trainers need to be aware of proper body mechanics and lookout for movement compensations, to help prevent injury and increase performance.

This blog is about Steve Nguyen, who is a good friend of mine, but also one of my clients. After losing almost 30 pounds of fat with hard work and persistence, Steve is still striving to achieve his desired weight.   At 5 foot 5 he currently weighs 190 pounds. His ideal weight is 150. In addition to losing 40+ pounds Steve also wants to improve his golf swing and golf game.  In this blog we will be documenting the transformation of Steve’s body and the effect it has on his golf swing through an improved fitness level. We will be updating weekly. Follow him on his journey to his ultimate goal, and for those of you that are around him push him and don’t let him slack off!

Just the other day, Steve and I went out to the driving range and took some videos and pictures of his golf swing and his range of motion.  We found out that one of the biggest issues in making his swing the way he wants it, is his inability to make a complete shoulder turn.  Not having a complete shoulder turn limits clubhead speed by making the swing prodominantly with the arms.  Here is a video of Steve’s current range of motion for making a shoulder turn: