This is the best kind of transformation. This client has extremely complicated health issues, which I won’t and can’t detail here. But just read her email and smile. I did.
Early on in my career I began to work increasingly with incredibly difficult health history clients. I enjoyed the challenge and found that they generally were ill-served by popular fitness or even mainstream medicine. It means I can’t share a lot of my coaching stories, since it involves health history they won’t/can’t share (especially for clients who are public figures, certain business leaders or well-known personalities). But when we make breakthroughs, it’s BIG. When I say BIG, I mean going-from-dying-to-living BIG. Every win can be big, even classic transformation stories (this same client is also down about 30lbs and much stronger) or your made-it-to-the-gym-today triumph. It doesn’t have to be troubleshooting hardcore health issues and regaining life. Whatever it is, I like her idea: have your smile for the day.
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I heard this sentiment from the creator of the UCLA Olympic weightlifting program. He escaped Poland at a time thought to be impossible, later beat cancer, and obviously went on to be an incredibly influential coach in the athletic world.
We’re all familiar with the phrase “path of least resistance.” But I think we’re less familiar with his take, namely, that we often choose the path of least immediate resistance only to end up with the path of greatest long term resistance. It has an analogy in cardiology. We can suffer the momentary discomfort of physical training, which indeed raises the systolic blood pressure as high as 2,000 (that’s not a typo), in order that we live out the rest of our moments and days in a mental, emotional, and physical peace. Or, we can trade those hard moments for a physical state which is persistently overstressed, albeit only slightly. Of course, slight elevation of blood pressure will kill you and degrade your remaining days if left to persist. The fascinating piece within this scientific fact is that the human body will improve with outrageous but momentary spikes in blood pressure. But you will cut your life short and a less enjoyable one at that by avoiding those momentary spikes. I believe the spirit, too, will flourish with momentary but incredibly high stressors. And it will dwindle with persistent but lower stressors. Every day we can choose a path of least immediate resistance. What we get in return is a path of greatest long term resistance. Thinking we dodged a bullet, we in fact stepped right in front of the gun. There are analogies in relationships, parenting, hard conversations, work places, business opportunities, and so on. Easy choices, hard life. Hard choices, easy life. *at holiday party*
people: *excited expression* “you look better than everybody here and the best you have in 10 years! What are you doing?” CLIENT: “I work with this coach named Jonathan.” people: *even more excited expression* “OMG! What is the SECRET?!” CLIENT: “he just walks me through realistic changes I can make, prioritizing strengthening, nutritional sufficiency - we get a bit into the science and psychology of it. He discourages short term thinking.” people: *excitement face giving way to puzzled face* “... so there’s no like pill or detox or intense group class?” CLIENT: “no. It’s just really about sensible change, sustainable lifestyle, meeting people where they are, and citing supporting research without swearing by a diet or one school of thought AND he really understands how the body works AND...” people: *already lost interest and broke eye contact* I wish it weren’t true. But on average it is. The above is a paraphrased exchange I heard (which was nearly identical) from three SEPARATE clients of mine this past week. It’s paraphrased, but barely. It may as well be an exact quote. I’ve run into it a lot over the past 15 years in this profession. Most large organizations capitalize on it and play into the false expectations. I never have. People talk about unfair bosses. My boss is the marketplace. And the above is an accurate portrayal of the overriding marketplace. My boss wants to pay me based on excitement, not on deep science, not on tens of thousands of professional experience hours, not on solid methodology. I’ve left a few million dollars on the table by never once going with the trend or the fad. And I still made it work, and well enough to take care of my family, well enough to still be doing this health and wellness thing as my only gig 16 years later. Plus, I get to look at myself in the mirror. People who rode the trends? They made their millions or not; but most aren’t in this industry any more. And if they are, it certainly isn’t their sole focus for the primary breadwinner. On the other side of the equation, as the consumer, you too can make it work by bucking the trend, by skipping the fad. It won’t be as exciting. It won’t be riding the current wave. But 16 years later, you can be solidly and actively growing in your journey. Can you actively and readily control your shoulder?
Here (video: https://www.instagram.com/p/B52XXsFjQzw/) I focus on scapular depression and shoulder adduction/extension while gaining a sense of contraction through the latissimus dorsi, teres major (posterior deltoid and several other structures as well). Some people don’t care for the hand pressure or hyperextension at the elbow; but you could just as easily practice the movement while standing and imagining you are pressing the hand down into something. Connecting with the back musculature and practicing all facets of shoulder ability is paramount in fitnesses. This little movement is a simple way to check some of the control and/or even work the back when adding the suspended tension of part of body weight. By Wednesday of this week I’ll have completed over 100 virtual sessions in just the past three weeks. It’s taught me a ton - at least a few hundred different insights. We’d be here for weeks to cover half. So, I’ll just share three.
First, people have stepped up big time to support small businesses. Second, there is no reduction in coaching need AT ALL. It’s gone UP. Third, there is a stark contrast between genuinely/personally connecting with people and whatever it is that fitness opportunists are doing. It’s been interesting to watch the learning curve during panic. Companies scrambled to piece together virtual programs. Any time I get on my phone I receive sponsored ads from newbs on how to do remote and online work even though they just started and I’ve been doing distance coaching for 10 years. As far as I can tell, all of those companies and personalities are just vomiting out millions of exercise variations and regurgitating routines. That is not actually helpful. It’s a distraction. Right now people need progression. They need accountability. They need leadership, direction, connection, program, consistency. A template doesn't do that. Another routine doesn't do that. Lots of exercise variations don't do that. People can get in incredible shape with the same 5 exercises consistently performed, and progressively outperformed. Variation is nice. But it quickly becomes a distraction from skill development, health and fitness, and athleticism. A jack of all trades is a master of none. Real coaches need to step up. Real trainers need to step up. Because the cookie-cutter templates and 30-day sign-up deals never worked for anyone before the pandemic; and they sure as hell aren’t going to cut it while people are struggling with motivation and mindset. The "influencers" who've never worked a day in an actual professional fitness business are the ones gumming up social media news feeds right now. The profiteering large fitness companies are shlepping online challenges and massive "engagement" groups on Facebook. Where's the personal human connection? Where's the listening? Where's the individual focus? Only with real, experienced coaches. So, the real, experienced coaches and trainers need to do what they do best. The marketplace wants and needs it more than ever. What’s on your shelf? Your web search, IG likes, YouTube watch history, calendar, your mind. Anything edifying?
I was digging though my library the other day for one of my clients, for some of my initial personal training certification material and strength coaching specialist workshop guides (that client is pursuing certification!). I’ve got 5 floor-to-ceiling book cases; and when I peered at this shelf in particular, it occurred to me: what do people actually put in their minds? My kids asked me about the “creepy” (their words) Elf on A Shelf they’ve heard about. And I explained that it’s an attempt to get children to reflect on how they themselves behave. Likewise, when you reflect on what self is on your shelf, is it material which will build you up or is it something else? No judgments. But it’s a legitimate ask about where you direct your mind. Think about it. DNA/genes lost a trait 50 million years ago, but the trait was preserved: https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(19)31374-1…. This is sort of a big deal, since evolutionary biologists had long hoped to pin everything on genetics. Moreover, classic evolutionary models predicted (incorrectly, we see here) that advantage (survival of the fittest) goes hand-in-hand with trait preservation and genetic preservation. Yet here again, we find that genetics alone is bankrupt as a complete explanatory model. The forces of evolution (namely natural selection, gene drift, and gene flow) are missing vital explanation.
This is news to the layperson, but specialists in the field have been questioning the forces of evolution for some time, since they don’t sufficiently account for a lot of findings. This is, in fact, why we now include gene drift and gene flow in the model. Even mutation isn't understood in the strict sense (to be clear here, I mean that we don't know exactly why certain mutations occur instead of others; and we certainly cannot yet predict them, even in short timetables with simple viruses - if we did, our flu vaccines would predictably be above 50% efficacy). Molecular biologists have no use for natural selection. But even beyond mutation, drift, and flow, there exist some other players; and thus we’ve developed the terms epigenetics, proteome, membranome, and microbiome. DNA doesn’t cut it. These other worlds (not a typo) help explain things better. And this is just the beginning of the revisions in our understanding. Genetics, genetics, genetics. People worship genetics. People blame life on genetics. Unfortunately (or FORTUNately, if you catch my meaning) for them, the genetics house of cards has been getting actively destroyed by 60 years of scientific discovery, leading to these other terms above and even more not contained within this post. Genetics as abused by the lay populace is largely a rehash of the pseudoscience which blames outcomes on the Fates or the gods or the stars or the "cards" or the power crystal in your pocket. Most people are drawing causal connections based on unsubstantiated quackery. As the study referenced above shows, DNA is not the be-all end-all explanation for traits. Guess what: there is no single simple explanation in causation, and the explanationS certainly aren’t all to be found in ideas of heredity. We choose our fate. We choose our stars. We do not choose which cards we're dealt; but we alone play them. Just a reminder that your spouse, NOT YOUR FAMILY, is more predictive for lifespan: https://www.genetics.org/content/210/3/1109… . The impact of heritability itself is up for revision. I’ve taken this subject on time and time again: https://www.elev8wellness.com/…/most-of-the-things-we-want-… Fatalism needs to die. And it is. |
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