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Okay…okay…okay! Enough already!!! It seems like with every new
term, every new invention or just about anything that is
seemingly not “Everyday” that we all become flustered and assume
we know nothing, which is both a testament to our lack of faith
in ourselves and also a reflection of our ever-growing
dependence on externals to give us a little reassurance where
our natural instincts should be in high gear.
My intention with this article is not to offend anyone
especially those that whom, without their continual support I
would surely be seeking a new line of work, and yes I am
referring to my clients, so please don’t feel like I’m bashing
“you” if I ever refer to any particular individuals or events,
no names will be mentioned though. Okay so…a while back, a
client that I really respect and admire as a person had a
dilemma that caused quite a bit of frustration for him and the
other party that was involved…his daughter, also a client. What
happened (an avoidable sport related injury) was tough on all
involved, including myself, which, for me was my integrity as a
fitness professional, something that I don’t take lightly and
also a profession where in today’s world either has a negative
connotation or if viewed positively, “we” are all equally
educated and equipped to handle all aspects of fitness when it
comes to the customers specific and infinite diversities; be it
post-rehabilitation, specificity of sport, special populations
or general fitness concerns or needs... All fitness trainers are
not “professionals” (imagine that!) nor are they equal in their
abilities and hardly ever do you find a fitness trainer with
expertise in a variety of different specialties! It takes many
years of education, study, application with thousands of
delicate intricacies (people are complex) that make us all,
well…‘us”, minutely distinct. It also requires an understanding
of unique differences in personalities and the ability to cope
with a multitude of unknown, potential disasters; not to
mention…likes, dislikes, opinions, lifestyles, cultures, beliefs
and so on… And it’s not just a general understanding of anatomy,
physiology, exercise-science or athleticism… It also includes an
aptitude in psychology, communication and a deep desire to help
others and to serve your fellow man with all that propels you
forward…or at least that is what it is to me!
I’m a pretty sensitive guy especially when it comes to my
client’s needs and the fulfillment of their needs and when
something strikes to the bone such as this particular incident,
I become so absorbent of their concerns it usually drives me to
really dig deep into myself and hopefully I become a better
resource for my clients out of these situations, which
ironically if you read on is why I am writing this piece in the
first place. The previously mentioned sport related injury of a
talented young athlete is what motivated me to put pen to paper,
she is very gifted and posses the kind of personality that we
desperately need as role models in modern day athletics. But she
was injured by a degreed professional and it seemed like there
wasn’t anyone around that could see ‘the picture’ clearly: The
“DIAGNOSIS”…rehab-therapy mingled with the rigors of hard-core
team training…this boggled me; rehab always precedes specificity
(sport) training, build, repair and then if recovery is
attained, hit the hard-core stuff, plain and simple because
re-injury will surely squelch the spirit and possible prevent
true talent from ever recognizing it’s infinite potential.
This article is actually on core training or as I’ll title it…
Kore-Training, but what is really functional training and not
just abdominal/tummy training or training the body from it’s
core center of gravity or even training the body beginning with
it’s proximal musculature moving outward toward the distal focal
point. The big misconception with core training is that it is
just mid-section training and all you have to do is some quick
crunches or even worse hyperextensions and your “core” will be
stronger and leaner. I hear this all the time and it still
puzzles me, its one thing for the customer seeking fitness to
not be 100% sure what core training is, but a professional
should know better! Guess what? Too many fitness trainers,
sports and conditioning coaches and other so-called
“professionals” have no idea that core training is! In essence
it is just functional training and ‘functional’ simply
translates to the training of function/daily uses of the body or
just training our bodies as they were designed to move. This
obviously varies from person to person, athlete to athlete and
the specific uses of each and every individual. Now, for a
little tech-talk…
If you wanna get down to nuts and bolts, the primary vicinity of
the core is called the…are you ready for this?
Lumbo-Pelvic-Hip-Complex and in order to enhance the integrity
of the core, what we are really doing is developing better
dynamic postural control, increasing muscular balance, a greater
degree of neuromuscular and bio-mechanic efficiency and building
or rebuilding structural endurance and stabilization strength
and power. And that’s core training… What does this mean to the
layman? Crunches? Sit-ups? No! It means something different to
each and every one of us. Are, ab exercises part of core
training? Perhaps, if the lumbar region is strong enough to
endure these exercises, but usually crunches are performed so
poorly that a greater potential for injury will nullify what
positive effects the crunches might possibly provide. So, the
answer is both yes and no, depends on who is asking and your
particular conditioning level, however rather than sticking our
bodies in odd looking machines we should use movements that are
relative to our activities or our sport or more specifically we
should just use movements that keep our bodies free to move
through space as we target various muscle groups, and if
pondered, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. The truth
is both the Greeks and Romans trained for competition like this
thousands of years ago, not to mention the fact that our bodies
have not changed that much biologically, biochemically or
physiologically, we are made of the same material as they were
then.
Common sense is the key, move our bodies as they were designed
to function and allow them to improve through progression and
repetition. If we are looking to rehabilitate, repair or
strengthen debilitations or genetically pre-disposed weaknesses
then my advise would be…consult a qualified professional and by
professional I mean someone who has a back-ground in this
specific area of ‘application’ or applied expertise: this
“expert” should give an assessment and then a prescription of a
detailed movement protocol for the individual, what you should
be weary of is the “professional” that eagerly dispenses a
standardized penciled-in work-out sheet that resembles
your…‘Free-Introductory-Work-Out’ card at “Jack’s Work-Out
Shack”. Also, if any of these “professionals” hurt you… Then,
they simply are not “PROFESSIONALS”! Final note, I am adamantly
opposed to “knocking” hard working, well intended others of my
particular profession as well as those of the medical community,
but when injuries are concerned, we should always do our selves
justice and seek more than one (1) ‘professional’
opinion…degrees, credentials and “leg-up” opportunities
aside…and I know you don’t need me to tell you that. I, applaud
each and every one of you that chooses the right choice, because
the right is merely an echo of truth!
About the author:
Kurt Lee Hurley's clients refer to him as the "Secret Weapon"
and after over 3,000 weight loss successes, his Provo, Utah
Wellness Facility has become known as a "Results Factory" a
"Living Laboratory" of Achievement, Enhanced Human Performance
and a place to congregate for Empowerment and of course, the
Success of attaining Weight Loss RESULTS!
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