Subconscious Function

As a fitness professional I am motivated to get people tomove better, and this literally applies to everything, so many definitions andapplications. I dissect everything I seeand am fortunate to work in many different settings with a variety of physicalabilities, ages, training ages, etc. I dissect everything I see which allows meto really make decisions on what, as a coach, to correct, encourage and stop.The truth is proper movement is IDEAL but so is doing an actual workout itself. Making these two worlds coexist vs. collide while keeping the client informed,engaged and happy… well that’s the art of coaching.

Through my lens it seems that the fitness industry is in a“corrective exercise insurgency” as if to be nursing the “functional training” hangover. It seems everywhere I look, I am witness to an unnecessary (or unhealthy) obsessionwith perfect movement patterns. Now don’t get me wrong there isabsolutely no part of me professionally condoning allowing people to move “shitily”but the craze has gone TOO FAR, and, in many instances, we are providingprograms that are weakening our clientele.

Fitness professionals need stay keenly aware of what THE client’sgoals are when they arrive for their session. If a client comes in with a goalto start moving more, lose some weight and feel young again – programaccordingly. After a period of inactivity, it is likely most individuals will experience poor shoulder mobility, tight hips/hip flexors and janked up claves so when beginning an exercise program squatting without low back pain is virtually impossible.

Which with the client goal, I’ve seen far too many fitness heroes’excited share a new technique they just digested on a ’30 second clip from Instagram in terms the client can barely understand unknowingly high jacking this person’s motivation to get started. Don’t try to sound smart, it comesacross like an asshole pretending to be smart. Stay in your lane. Our clientsdon’t want to spend their entire day doing supine ‘correctives’, Trigger pointreleases and all exercises from a ½ kneeling or prone position.

NO!

They want to move, squat, throw sh*t and leave the sessionsfeeling worked, educated, SAFE and excited for the next one.

As I write this I realize where concept gets tricky, stickyand cerebrally difficult – is with the existing athlete population. When an athletecomes to a fitness professional and they want to ‘get after it’ BUT you must doeverything to get them to move better, keep them strong, increase theirmobility and infuse better mechanics… GAME ON! Now I can start my dissecting.

This is where my mind goes when I begin to dissect humanmovement to help my clients achieve their goals:

I am borrowing information from Gray Cook (a professional I followand respect the hell out of) in that he has made a very clear point to all ofus in the coaching, not treatment, end of care.

If ANY individual comes to you with pain, stop.It is your professional duty to refer them to a clinician that can diagnose andprescribe treatment.

If they are coming from an injured state andhave been “cleared” to resume activity, then stop continuing to treat like thePT or AT they were seeing in an area you know nothing about and get themphysically moving.

Far too many coaches become obsessed with the“hardware” of a client. “Oh your shoulder is doing this because of that. Your q-angleis greater than most and this is causing…” Nope, stop talking! It’s not thehardware, it’s the software. It’s the way their body has learned to move withthe equipment they were born with. Now go make it work ‘better’.

The key element here is that humans innately move away frompain to protect an ‘area’ from further damage and moving the “correct way”hurts too damn much. Defaults or compensations begin to develop and as a coachit is my duty to identify where and why they are moving incorrectly/inefficiently.

 Stand in front of someone and watch them squat. If I immediately say to myself “no thank you” I give instruction on what I would rather see. Often, I’ll see no changes made with my corrective cues, you seemost people will do something inherent with their movements that isn’t correct,and they have no idea. It’s how they have been moving for so long that it isthe only way they know how to move. They are subconsciously dysfunctional(let’s call this phase 1).

When we point out to someone what is going “wrong” or“compensation” in their movement they will do one of two things.

Continue to do it poorly/improperly (consciousdysfunction). (phase 2)

They can execute it correctly while thinkingabout it (conscious function). (phase 3)

 Going back to my previously mention point about the“corrective craze” and exercise prescription. If we give a client, theopportunity to become aware of their compensations and they have the ability toeffect it we are empowering them! Good job coach.

If we make them aware of poor mechanics and they remaindysfunctional here is where we effect change but also a point where we mustkeep your clients trust. They came to a professional to workout and they wantto continue to “get after it” so we need to decide are they allowed to continueto squat? … Is the breakdown in mechanics gross and they shouldn’t be doing it,or should the squat just be done better? I’m not here to riddle you that,unless you work at CPC.

 The version of the primary movement (squat) isunacceptable, stop and correct it with other modalities. The continuance of apoorly executed movement, under load, is only going to exacerbate the issueitself.

If acceptable then use other modalities as anopportunity to “RE-PATTERN” and re-write the individuals software to movecorrectly. This will allow the appropriate Nero-muscular systems to engage,stabilize and execute exercises properly with the correct muscles. (This is also a stepping off point forfeed-forward vs. feedback that I will take on in my next blog post).

 After identifying the issue(s) the exercise program iscompiled of activities & stretches to support correct movement patterns sothat the sessions executed result in the software being re-written. When thistruly takes hold the client can squat correctly. They don’t think about it orsecond guess it. Rather it’s just the only way they know how to move. They havenow achieved subconscious function (phase 4).

 Getting athletes to this level of movement proficiency(phase 4) is what the field of coaching is all about. This ensures that whenthey step onto the field of play and their mind is focused on the game, thecurrent play and what is needed of them by their teammates... that’s where itstays. Their mental focus is not shifted the concern of their hip, knee, ankle,spine, etc. They just do what their subconscious tells them to do. They toedthe line to compete and you did your piece to allow them to move better andthus take that step into their greatness!