Many
times I have written to you on the importance of planning, but there
comes a time when you must stop thinking, planning and organizing, and
just DO IT! Your goal for your fitness career or any other aspect of
your life is to aim for success… not perfection. My observations are
that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Fear of being criticized.
Like most of our fears, this is irrational, for the only way to avoid
criticism is to say nothing, do nothing, and be nothing. Confronting
your fears and allowing yourself to be human can, paradoxically, make
you a far happier and more productive person.
- Nutrition News:
- I am advising all IFPA Trainers to use
caution about making any recommendations on the ATKINS DIET or any
other “low-carb” diet. According to several reliable sources,
there will be information coming out soon about the health hazards
of high-fat/high-protein diets. I’m sure many of you have already
heard the rumors that Dr. Atkins may have suffered a stroke that
caused his fall and resulting death, that he was obese at the time
of his death, and there are numerous lawsuits resulting from the
Atkins Diet. I have not seen any hard evidence of this yet,
but you are setting yourself up for potential liability if you
make these or any other diet prescription. In most states, only
Registered Dieticians (RDs) are permitted by law to prescribe
diets. All IFPA courses, books, manuals and software programs
follow established American Dietetic Association (ADA) guidelines.
Your clients are looking to you for guidance and education; make
sure you are not following the latest “FAD.”
- Exercise News:
- The biggest exercise fad going around
today is CORE or Functional Training. While there is nothing
WRONG with CORE training, it may not be RIGHT for
everyone.
- Core Training has been around since
the first circus was promoted in ancient Egypt (and no – I was not
there). Physical therapists began using “physio balls” since the
early 1900’s. While CORE training is an excellent modality for
physical therapy and improvement in sports performance, it does
little to help our citizens with the obesity epidemic, losing
weight or muscle hypertrophy.
- The more unstable the exercise, the
less major muscle activation. While CORE muscles work hard during
unstable exercises, major muscle groups may receive as little as
30% of the muscle activation seen in a similar stable exercise.
- Since most research indicates that
resistance intensity needs to be in the 40-120% of 1 RM
(Repetition Maximum) to stimulate muscle size and strength gains,
CORE training would be an inappropriate training program for
anyone interested in size and/or strength increases (remember the
SAID principle: specific adaptations to imposed demands). If your
client’s goal is to make significant changes in body composition,
you will need traditional strength training to stimulate muscle
hypertrophy and you don’t have much time. If your client doesn’t
see results in 2-4 weeks, they’re gone!
- The NSCA, Journal of Strength and
Conditioning Research, 2002, 16 (3), 416-422: Muscle Force and
Activation Under Stable and Unstable Conditions; Behm, et al; is
an excellent report on this issue, and I recommend it highly to
all trainers that are using CORE training principle for all their
clients.
- Your focus should be to do the best
job you can for all your clients – not follow FADS.
