Understanding Grip Strength Regulation
Grip strength autoregulation can be a useful tool in order to maximize your workouts on any given day - grip strength is a good indicator of full body readiness. If your grip strength is good, then you typically do a more challenging workout, versus a low grip strength which may be a sign to hold back or modify your workouts. Generally, grip strength testing is simple and easy to use, but should still be used intelligently in the context of your training program.
I Hate The Cult Of Productivity
Productivity Culture focuses more on what influencers can sell you than if doing more work is actually good for you. People hesitate to stop and ask why they need to be “doing more.” Often, there is a finite amount of work to do and it’s not actually possible to be “more productive,” meaning that trying to always be productive isn’t necessary. Long term success when it comes to accomplishing goals and mastering skills is more about having the right skill sets, building sustainable practices, and finding work that is meaningful to you, regardless of how productive you are.
Process Vs Outcome Based Goals
Outcome based goals, like SMART goals, can be useful in goal setting, but can also lead to a negative feeling feedback loop when outcomes are not met. Process based goals focus on building and maintaining habits as the goal, which alleviates the pressure of a specific outcome being achieved. It’s a method of goal setting that takes into account the differences between genetics, environmental circumstances, and fact that people are imperfect and have bad days. Process based goals more often lead to long term success because they help people learn to enjoy the practice and decouple the feeling of accomplishment from an ultimate outcome.
Do Athletes Make Boring Clients?
In personal experience, athletes - especially hobbyist or aspiring athletes - require little in terms of unique training methods, but are demanding and impatient in their relationship expectations with their trainer(s). “General population” clients have a huge range of limitations and needs, which makes their programs more tailored and specific, giving the trainer an opportunity to learn more about a wide range of fitness options. Of course some athletes can be great and interesting to work with, and general clients can be frustrating or boring. Every person is different and it’s important that as a trainer, you are open to learning many styles and continuously improving your knowledge of health and fitness.
Training For The Hypermobile
Hypermobility is a condition where joints are unusually loose or unstable and often presents itself in people as excessively flexible bodies with poor proprioception (the sense of knowing what space your body is taking up and what it’s doing). The risk of injury that comes with hypermobility means that clients should focus on stability rather than flexibility, avoid extreme ranges of motion, be careful with controlling movement and form, and be aware that their strength will grow slowly. Personal trainers should familiarize themselves with common conditions like hypermobility in order to best support the wide range of individualization their clientele will need.