Today, Physical Therapist and Strength Coach, Charlie Weingroff had a great post in his blog about a discussion he, Carson Boddicker, and I had regarding program design.
Check it out HERE.
The discussion started with me questioning the need to add extra mobility work into the actual training session since it should have been addressed properly in the warm up. My idea was that we often throw so much at a client in the way of exercise intervention, that it may be better to just have them work on getting really really good at a few things.
Basically, Charlie’s reply was, “it doesn’t matter”, as long as people are moving well, and that may mean that not everyone needs to be doing extra mobility work. I can respect that answer and it falls right in line with my overall philosophy on training:
- Move Well – Improve your overall movement and be able to own basic/fundamental patterns.
- Train Correctly – Use proper lifting technique and establish a program that allows for appropriate progression in exercise difficulty, volume, intensity, and frequency.
- Get Fit – This can mean different things to different people. To some it may mean losing body fat, while to others it may mean improving their vertical jump and sports performance. Honestly, whatever get fitmeans to you, it doesn’t really matter if you can’t grasp the previous two points, as you wont be able to get there without good movement and a sound training program.
Charlie went on to give some program design examples, and the thing that is most important to me is where he places the word need in the training program. This “need” is based on the individual and will depend on what you have determined – based on your assessment – that the individuals weakest link is.
In my opinion, this is the most important part of Charlie’s post, as it plays to the importance of individuality in a training program. One size does not fit all, and understanding your clients abilities are important. Many develop their training programs in a general way that has every client performing the same mobility drill (be it hip mobility, t-spine mobility, ankle mobility, etc). I have done this same thing before in the past as well and the most important thing I learned is that, when I did it this way…I missed people! People may all have the same general needs – hip mobility issues, t-spine mobility issues, etc – but the reason those areas are problems may be different for each person. Having our assessment govern the clients need is a better way, in my opinion, to get that client moving as best they can. After all, you have to move well first!
This leads nicely into a blog that I should have posted next week titled,“Why Even Bother Assessing?”