When I first started if the fitness industry 14 years ago………..
It was in the early days of huge shift in focus on to corrective and functional work.
Making sure the body functioned properly.
Addressing any imbalances and so on.
A worthy approach, of course.
Unfortunately,with many trainers, this often came at the expense of doing things that would actually get results.
What followed was years of seeing trainers get their clients to do one legged bicep curls on a BOSU.
Because it’s ‘functional’ apparently.
Doesn’t actually do much in terms of getting the clients any discernible results though.
The last few years the focus has shifted back to ‘intensity’.
Which is good too.
Working the body at a level that will cause it to adapt and change.
And look better 🙂
Unfortunately, in many cases, this has led to a generation of trainers (and, therefore, their clients) just thinking that ‘harder is better’.
That the type of work out that leaves you dripping in sweat and, possibly, vomit, is the way forward.
We see it all the time on Facebook.
Saw it recently from an ex-member of ours who trains elsewhere now.
Or at least she will until the motivation wanes there too and she moves onto the next ‘new thing’.
Her posts regularly say things along the lines of “The hardest workouts I’ve ever done” or “I’ve never known such pain” or “I actually threw up during that”.
Thing is though, since she left us and has been going there she’s gained a good few stone of body fat.
If getting strong and fat is her aim, that’s cool.
But it’s not.
Appropriate intensity is an important part of programme design, of course.
But it’s not the only thing.
Harder isn’t automatically better.
Ultimately, the best programme is the one that gets the best results for that person.
The one that gets them the thing they joined for.
That’s why our programme has led to us having HUNDREDS of before and after pictures and their associated success stories.
Why the walls of our club are covered in them.
Check them out here if you haven’t seen them already.
While most FitPros have somewhere between zero and, maybe, five to show.
Working hard is part of the process sure………
But working smart at the same time is where the magic lies.
myrise.co.uk/briefing-meeting if you like the sound of actually getting in shape while having fun more than pain and vomit for little benefit.
Much love,
Jon ‘Stronger as less fat than I was last week’ Hall and Matt ‘Considerably stronger and less fat than this time last year’ Nicholson
P.S. Speaking of strong, got a lesson from Britain’s Strongest Man tomorrow
