Download Topic 3: Resistance Programming for the outdoors

How to Become an Outdoor PT Star
Topic 3: Resistance Programming for the outdoors
What should outdoor trainers be doing when it comes to
resistance?
All outdoor trainers should be practicing safe, effective and balanced
resistance programs. This means making sure that the client is performing
exercises for chest (push), back (pull), legs and core- in every session. For
most clients, especially those who are training for weight loss, increased
strength and better general physical health, the session should focus on
functional, compound exercises.
WHY should trainers be doing this?
As personal trainers, we will be dealing with different people who have
different goals, needs, wants and abilities. It is up to the personal trainer to
come up with a plan to safely and effectively guide their client towards
achieving those goals. Every time we write a program we should ask
ourselves “WHY?” Why are we prescribing this particular program? Why is
our client doing 50 push ups and 50 dips for the 12th week straight? Why do
they have to run for 20min?? If you can justify your answers to these
questions correctly you will manage to prescribe a safe, well balanced,
effective and FUNCTIONAL program.
Background on the Human Body & Movement
The human body is a complex yet amazing structure designed to move
through the linking of bones, joints and muscles into myofascial chains from
toe to fingertip. Early research into human body movement was conducted
in the 1930s. Researchers connected electrical equipment to cadavers to
stimulate the muscles in order to see what effect it had on bones and joints.
The conclusion from this research was that movement occurs in the joint,
and that muscles need to cross the joint in order to create movement.
Research progressed in 1950s when the similar tests were conducted,
however this time research was conducted on live bodies. Both tests were
done with subjects lying down on tables. It was around this time that body
building machines were introduced. Most of these machines worked muscles
in a single joint as a result of the research results.
More recent research has improved our knowledge of how body movements
occur. We now know that nothing we do in life is in isolation and most of
our daily activities (besides sleeping) are done in vertical position, not lying
down. For example when you drop something on the floor, how many joints
do you use to bend, pick up the object and return to a standing position?
Therefore, to create functional resistance programs you need to plan for
compound multiple joint movements. Functional exercises involve the
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co-ordination of the nervous system and musculoskeletal system working
together. The latest research has found that the body is made up of
myofascial chains, which connect the body in many ways and create the
forces we need to move.
Myofascial Chains
There are many various ways the body is connected and blended through
different lines and slings. Training and programming in this manner is much
more functional and life specific, especially in the outdoors. As a personal
trainer the main slings and lines you need to focus on are:
Posterior Oblique Sling
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Gluteus maximus
Latissimum dorsi
Thoracolumbar fascia (TFL)
Example Exercise: Lunge Row
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Anterior Oblique Sling
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External obliques
Internal obliques
Intervening anterior abdominal fascia
Adductors of the thigh
Example exercise: side lunge
chest press with rotation
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Lateral Line
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Peroneal muscles
IT band
Hip abductors
Tensor fasciae
latae (TFL)
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Gluteus maximus
Lateral obliques
External/internal
intercostals
Sternocleidomastoid
Example exercise: step up with
shoulder press
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Spiral Line
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Splenius capitis & Cervicis
Rhomboids
Serratus anterior
Infraspinatus
External oblique
Abdominal aponeuroses
Internal oblique
Linea alba
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Tensorfasciae latae (TFL)
IT band
Tibialis anterior
Penoneus longus
Biceps femoris
Sacrotuberous ligament
Sacral fascia
Erector spinae
Example exercise: DB lunge to uppercut rotation
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Superficial Front Line
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Short and Long Toe
Extensors
Anterior tibialis
Patellar Tendon
Quadriceps
Rectus Abdominus
Sternchondral fascia
Sternocleidomastoid
Note: You use this line everyday and in conjunction with other
myofascial chains. Basic movements done standing up such as
walking or running will incorporate this line.
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Superficial Back Line
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Plantar Fascia
Achilles Tendon
Gastrocnemius
Hamstrings
Sacrotuberous
Ligament
TDF
Erector Spinae
Note: You use this line everyday and in conjunction with other
myofascial chains. Basic movements done standing up such as
walking or running will incorporate this line.
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Longitudinal Sling
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Erector Spinae
Deep Lamina of theTDF
Sacrotuberous Ligament
Biceps Femoris
Peroneus Longus
Example exercise: squat press
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Rarely is the entire sling activated during the whole movement,
there are parts that are active and others that are inactive.
Designing programs utilising slings and lines takes practice.
Remember that some of your clients will be de-conditioned or
lacking in sufficient fitness/strength to perform these exercises.
You will need to regress and build a solid foundation for technique
before moving on to the more advanced exercises.
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Functional “Life Specific” Exercises- Planning for the outdoors
Most elite athletes enlist the help of sports conditioning coaches. They are
responsible for periodising and designing a sports specific program to help
an athlete reach their ultimate goal. They work on improving or maintaining
an athletes strength, power, endurance, flexibility, agility or balance. One
of the key things that strength and conditioning coaches focus on when
planning a sports specific program is the principle of training movements,
not muscles.
Most clients are like our own mini athletes, and they all need a functional
“life specific” program. Training your clients in life specific movements
allows them to perform day to day complex actions as efficiently and
effectively as possible. While they probably don’t have to tackle, swim or
ride a bike for a long time, most of our clients participate in ‘life events’
such as ‘The 9 Hour Office Challenge’, ‘The Mother’s Obstacle Course’ and
‘The Public Transport Contest’. Even though the majority of our clients
won’t be the next Tiger Woods or Michael Phelps, a thorough foundation of
strength, power, endurance, flexibility, agility and balance will help your
clients to negotiate life’s challenges with energy and efficiency.
Therefore just doing back, chest and legs as mentioned above is becoming
more and more ‘out dated’ – a more advanced way to program is to provide
your client with resistance exercises that target the myofascial slings and
lines within the body.
A myofascial sling is when muscles, fascia, bone, tendons and ligaments lie
in a series, parallel to one another. These slings are anatomically
connected and functionally related. The whole body is connected this way,
for example, you have front and back lines that run from your foot all the
way up to your skull.
Slings allow the body to store kinetic energy and when they contract they
act as one continuous muscle. You use slings in every movement you make
during the day, for example walking, running, getting in and out of the car
or preventing yourself from falling over.
Rules of programming for functional life specific resistance
exercises
When planning a functional program some of the rules that you need to
remember are:
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Train a movement, not a muscle- functional movements require
multiple joints
Functional movement is multi-planar
Most of our everyday movements are done unilaterally
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Most of our everyday movements are anterior, so plan for posterior
focused exercises to encourage muscular balance throughout the
body.
Train a movement, not a muscle
Everyday tasks such as taking shopping from the car, pushing a baby stroller,
moving furniture, lifting your children or pets require multi joint movement,
muscles working together and good core control. From this, we can see that
adopting the method of training muscles in isolation will not adequately
prepare the client to undertake these tasks. Research has proven that
training in isolation will lead to an increase in injuries and will also create
muscle imbalances. Another consideration of prime concern is that most
isolation exercises, especially those conducted on machines do not require
core control. This is important to remember because around 80% of all
people will experience back pain at some stage of their lives and this can be
due to poor core control. Take a sit up and a wood chop- which do you think
is more life specific and functional?
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Sit Up
Wood Chop
Focuses on superficial muscles
• Focuses on deeper postural
muscles
A large number of workers
spend a great deal of time in
• Requires balance
an anterior flexed position
• Is life specific (e.g. trunk
(e.g. sitting at a desk, driving
rotation is performed in many
a car) so they need extension
daily activities such as
not more flexion
twisting to hand something to
Larger clients will find it more
someone)
difficult to perform a crunch
• Is not limited by size of the
effectively as their excess
client
girth restricts movement
• Can be easily progressed and
Performed in a supine
regressed as necessary
position, it requires little
balance or co-ordination and
is therefore not functional
Less functional <------------------------------> More functional
Functional movement is multi-planar
Whether we play sport or just enjoy going for an easy jog, our bodies are
designed and often required to move forwards or backwards, turn right or
left and to rotate. Our training should enhance our ability to make these
movements more efficiently, therefore we should aim to train in 3
dimensions. More traditional exercises are performed in linear movements
such as a straight pull or push resulting in an increase in strength- but only
in those planes. Unfortunately, life is not lived in linear so it is therefore
important to carry out exercises in all different planes- for example,
choosing a multi-directional lunge over a static lunge.
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, Take
5
To refresh your planes of movement knowledge, check out:
http://training.seer.cancer.gov/module_anatomy/unit1_3_termi
nology2_planes.html
Most of the everyday movement is done unilaterally
Walking, running, throwing, brushing our teeth are all preformed by one
limb. Even when we stand we tend to transfer more weight on one leg than
the other. Training in unilateral fashion will improve coordination and also
help with some muscle imbalances. How many people are stronger in their
writing arm when compared to their non-writing arm? You will notice the
same imbalances in the lower body; most people will be tighter and stronger
on one side of the body opposed to more flexible and weaker on the other.
Another great benefit from training unilaterally is that our clients will need
to activate their core just that bit more.
Most of the everyday movements our clients perform are
anterior so plan for posterior
As outdoor personal trainers you should avoid the trap of always planning for
pushing movements or training only the anterior lines of the body.
Remember that a true craftsman chooses the best tools for the job, not the
favourite, so do not always revert to push ups, dips and squats. A number of
clients work sitting down in front of the computer for long periods of time.
If their workstation is not set up correctly and if they don’t have good
posture and a strong core, they will most likely be tight through their chest,
sitting with their shoulders rolled forward and with a hunched back. If you
prescribe numerous push ups for this client, with no pulling movements
planned, you will be enhancing the effect of the shortened chest muscles.
This will result in poor posture and, most likely, lower back pain.
It is imperative that a program is prescribed with emphasis placed on
muscular balance, postural improvements and core control. Simple exercises
such as standing Resistance Band row are very effective for clients who
spend a lot of time sitting down. This type of exercise will encourage your
client to open up their chest and hips, and will also work their core.
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Topic 4: Core programming for the outdoors
Muscles of the core
The core is the body’s power house. Every movement or exercise you
perform needs to start at the core. Therefore having a strong, functional
core is crucial for everyone. The muscles that make up the core are:
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Transversus abdominis
Multifidus
Diaphragm
Pelvic floor
Internal & external obliques
Quadratus lumborum
Rectus abdominis
Erector spinae.
Incorporating core exercises in the outdoors
From large commercial gym chains to the local yoga and pilates studios,
core stability seems to be the popular term to use with pretty much
everything, but what does the term ‘core stability’ actually mean and why is
it so important?
The core refers to the trunk region, incorporating the muscles mentioned
above. It connects the upper and lower body and therefore is responsible for
movement, balance, posture and protection. This is why, whether you are
training an athlete who needs to throw a ball very fast or a client who needs
to maintain correct posture at their desk job (in order to alleviate lower
back pain), you need to include exercises in your program which will
improve your client’s core stability.
Exercises such as Back Squat, Dead Lifts, Cleans, and any standing unilateral
exercise all require good communication between your brain and your
muscles to stabilise the spine and pelvis and engage the core to produce
smooth, strong and functional movements. This is why these exercises are
effective compound and functional core stability exercises. You can increase
the intensity of core exercises by adding unstable equipment such as
swiss/fit balls, balance discs, and BOSUs.
As an outdoor personal trainer you need to prescribe functional, life specific
core exercises – not just ab curls that work on the superficial ‘6 pack’
muscle. Using equipment such as resistance bands and medicine balls and
doing exercises unilaterally can create functional core exercises. It is very
important to continually program and prescribe core exercises for your
clients because it will not only improve their performance and efficiency, it
will also reduce risk of back injuries and pain. Alternately, if you have
clients who suffer from back pain, doing specific core exercises may reduce
their pain and aid in quicker recovery.
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To improve someone’s back you must also work on their front.
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When doing core exercises, remember to focus on perfect
technique. Keep asking for feedback when doing these exercises make sure the client is ‘feeling’ it in the targeted area.
To learn more about the core, including how to assess and re-train
core control, see another Network CEC course- “Nailing the Core” by
Lisa Champion.
Example outdoor core exercises
Wood chop
TRX push up and roll in
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Straight arm wood chop
Band side step into wood chop
Overhead med ball chop
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Med ball smash-pass back
Stick Wrestle
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Med ball wood chop- high to low
Med ball wood chop- overhead
Stick wrestle
Partner taps
Med ball lunge with partner taps
~
Stop Watch the following clip for demonstrations of the above exercises:
and
OUTDOOR CORE EXERCISES
Watch http://www.fitnessnetwork.com.au/ceccourses/outdoorptstar
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Topic 5: Flexibility programming for the outdoors
What is flexibility?
Flexibility is known as the range of motion at a given joint. Flexibility is
joint specific and sports specific. There are two types of flexibility dynamic and static.
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Dynamic flexibility (moving): Describes the use of the desired range
of motion at a desired velocity (usually quick). Dynamic stretching is
best used in the warm up session prior to training. For example slow
and controlled leg or arm swings or torso twists.
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Static flexibility (still): Describes range of motion without
consideration for speed of movement. This is the maximum range a
muscle can achieve with an external force such as gravity or manual
assistance. Static stretches are best done when the muscles are really
warm at the end of the session. Clients can perform static stretches
anywhere in the outdoors and this can be a very relaxing way to end
the session. Because flexibility has many benefits, it is important that
the cool down and stretch section is not rushed and that each stretch
is held for at least 30 seconds. If your client has an area that is
particularly tight, it can be stretched multiple times. Ensure that
clients have a mat to lie on and a towel or band to assist with
stretching.
Partner stretching
A star outdoor PT should always have some degree of hands on care with
their client and stretching your client at the end of the session is a good
method to demonstrate you care. If you haven’t been stretched before using
the above methods, ask a friend to stretch you and see just how good it
feels.If you have a large group, you can buddy up your participants and do
partner stretches.
Another form of partner stretching that is very effective is PNF
(proprioceptive muscular facilitation) stretching. This is when partner “A”
passively stretches the muscles while partner “B” - who is getting stretched,
contracts the same muscle by pushing against them in an isometric
contraction then relax the muscles and repeat.
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It is important that the group participants are educated on the
safety and correct technique of stretching before they perform
partner stretches or PNF. It is also essential that the pairs
communicate with each other and don’t over stretch their
partner.
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Why is it important?
It is important to include flexibility training as part of every session. Here
are some of the reasons why stretching is important:
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As we age our tendons and ligaments lose their elasticity, so it is
important to stretch to maintain the ROM of your joints
Flexible muscles are more forgiving, if they’re tight and contracted,
you’re more likely to be injured
Having good flexibility allows you to increase your physical
performance, allowing the joint the ability to move further with less
energy
It increases blood supply and nutrients to joint structures, which in
turn increases circulation, leading to greater elasticity of surrounding
tissues
Good flexibility improves posture
It allows good range of motion, may improve motor performance and
skill execution
May reduce post exercise muscle soreness, or DOMS, by reducing
muscle spasm associated with exercise
Maintaining and gaining flexibility decreases risk of injury from sports
or basic activities in life e.g. reaching into the back seat to retrieve
your laptop
Stretching can improve your coordination. This is beneficial to sports
but can help you out walking on uneven surfaces
Relieve stress, improve your mood and alertness
How will it improve the function of myofasicial chains?
Through life and poor posture our bodies have the tendency to allow certain
muscles to tighten up and create knots through the muscles. When muscles
are tight, unbalanced or knotted our body will not function to the best of
it’s ability. In these situations sometimes stretching is not the best answer,
for example if you have very tight hamstrings where the fascia is thick and
there are many knots throughout the muscle, a static stretch will only
succeed in stretching the end points (origin and insertions) of the muscle
making that section longer but having a minimal effect on the body of the
muscle where it is tightest. In this case, massage or self-myofascial release
(SMR) can be most beneficial. When the muscle is warm it is possible to
break down these knots (known as adhesions) and allow the muscle to be
stretched. Foam rollers or tennis balls can be a great tool to aid in this
process.
If a particular sling or line is unbalanced or has tight/knotted muscles
throughout, it will significantly decrease the function of the sling or line.
For clients to reach their potential they need to have balanced, flexible
muscles. If you neglect your client’s flexibility training you can be sure that
they won’t reach their potential and will most likely plateau in strength as
well as increase the chance of injury.
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It is essential that the body is adequately hydrated prior to
commencing flexibility training as dehydrated muscles have very
poor elasticity.
Stretch the tight muscles, strengthen the weak muscles and
perform flexibility training (including the use of rollers or massage
tools) after each session with well hydrated muscles.
Posture Assessment
It is imperative that joint movements are not looked at in isolation, as more
distant joints will influence each movement. An effective test you can
perform to demonstrate this to your client is detailed below:
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Start with your client sitting on a chair
Ask them to slump forward creating poor posture
Whilst maintaining this position, ask them to elevate both arms above
their head
Now have them straighten up creating good posture and try it again
Unless your client presents with any shoulder problems, they will be able
to elevate more with a neutral spine than a slumped one. By assuming a
slumped position, the thoracic spine is inhibited from extending
properly. This extension of the upper back is necessary for full range
elevation. Without extension, it is difficult for the shoulder to fully
elevate. Prolonged slumping over time may eventually cause
compensation elsewhere in the body (such as the lower back, or the
shoulder itself). This may eventually lead to breakdown of these joints
due to the excessive movement.
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