Do You Want To Get Better?

Is probably not as dumb a question as it sounds.

Because while everyone SAYS they want to get better, not all that many people DO with any consistency what it takes to get there.

Which brings me to the picture to your right. No, that is not the Dutch flag (upside down colors – I know) – that is my wrist after attending the Smart Group Training seminar this weekend. You got it, the old ball coach had the honor of being screened by the best of the best, and this is what I ended up with.

You know what? That’s perfect!

Because I want to get better, and I know that when I work on the correctives I received I will GET BETTER.

And I wasn’t alone. There were about 35 coaches that attended this seminar, and all but 4 of them ended up with MULTIPLE bands. These guys were really picky, which is a good thing.

But let me back up a bit for those of you unfamiliar with what these crazy bands are all about.

At Get Fit NH we are huge believers that the foundation of training is good quality movement. When you move well, you can train hard and get superior results. You try to train hard on top of movement dysfunction and you get one thing – HURT!

If you are coach reading this – STOP hurting people!

If you are reading this and you go to a coach hurting people, STOP doing that!

But back to the bands. We screen every client for movement quality and injury potential using the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). If your movement quality isn’t quite up to par in a certain pattern, we want to FIX it before we load it. This is crucial to getting you the best results in the least amount of time. So if we screen you and we identify an issue, we use the SGT bracelet system so we as your coaches and you as the student know exactly how you should train. Getting a bracelet doesn’t make you a bad person, we still love you! 🙂 In fact we love you so much we are going to show you how to fix the problem so you don’t get hurt.

So I don’t look at my getting an extra band or two as a bad thing. These guys did me a huge favor by confirming some underlying movement challenges I have been experiencing and helping me get better. How can I not appreciate that?

These bands are crucial to my health and well being, and I am going to own that.

But don’t think I am not going to do the work necessary to get out of them.

What about you?

Does where you train care enough about your long term health to do the extra work necessary to train you appropriately, or do they just smash you hard regardless? It’s a question worth asking.

For those of you really smart people who already train with Get Fit NH 🙂 wanna make a bet who gets out of their bands first?

Let’s Make It Happen Together!

Coach Dean

Why Do We Go The Extra Mile with the FMS and SGT?

Great question, I am glad you asked! We are excited about the outcomes we have seen since we applied the Functional Movement Screen and SGT into our group personal training systems.

Take a few minutes to find out why Get Fit NH continues to lead the way.

Cutting Edge Training Philosophies

Movement training is groundbreaking, and something that most trainers are unfamiliar with, but when it comes down to it should be the foundation of your training program.  You don’t pop out of the womb ready to run a 5K, and in the same way if you are just getting back into exercise it’s important to crawl before you walk before you run. Taking the time to build a solid foundation allows your body to perform at it’s best. You don’t put a Ferrari body on a go-kart chassis.

Increase Efficiency to Increase Results

Your body is much less efficient with dysfunctional movement patterns and asymmetries in comparison to moving well. By discovering how you move we can find the weakest link and improve it, and this in turn can help accelerate your results and break through plateaus. Have you ever had a door that creaked and squeaked on its hinges? It didn’t close as smoothly as it could, did it? The sqeaking hinge needed attention. Now your joints may not creak and squeak, but if there is a hitch in your giddyup, we want to find it and address it. Ther results? You move more smoothly and get better quicker.

Decrease Risk of Injury

This is the best part of the whole process. By screening for injury potential now have a great chance of avoiding that injury that may be just waiting to happen. It’s as close to telling the future as we can get!

Know That Your Program is Working For You

Scoring criteria allows you and your trainers to see if your movement patterns are improving, and if the training program is having a positive or negative effect on your baseline movement.  This way you know what is happening with your training based on fact.  This a great tool to add to body composition measurements. We can objectively measure results and make decisions based on outcomes.

So Why Now?

It is a logical question to ask “Why now, why not sooner?” and the fact is we have been working for a long time integrating assessing and screening on a client by client basis, particularly when the health history intake indicated an orthopedic challenge or injury history. We wanted to kick that level of service up a notch by formally screening all of our clients, for the reasons discussed earlier. Our primary focus is helping you get better, and this is another tool in the kit to achieve that goal. We have a great history of injury prevention, but my goal is always going to be 100%.

Another factor is this. In talking to and working with health professionals such as Physical Therapists, Spine and Orthopedic Doctors, Chiropractors and ART Specialists we understand there is a “gap” in how patients are treated once they are back to what is considered “clinically normal” and they are discharged. All these pros want their clients to continue to make progress, but both practitioner and patient can be hesitant to recommend or start a training program.

How do they know that the program is suitable?

Using the Functional Movement Screen allows us to see how the client is moving when they come in, helps us train them correctly, and also allows us to communicate with their physician or practitioner, in language we both understand, in order to insure we are on the same page. We have seen the benefit of this over and over again. The SGT system allows all of our coaches to help you better, and that’s what it’s all about!

To experience the Get Fit NH difference, click here to register today!

Make It Happen,
Coach Dean

Red Light, Green Light. What Do You Mean I Can’t Do That?

Did I just use the word “can’t”?

Actually I did because “currently unable” was too big for the title of this post. 🙂

But it did get your attention didn’t it? Because that is not a word that we use at Get Fit NH.

“Currently Unable” is not just semantics, it is a fact. Just because you are unable or it is inappropriate for you to perform a particular movement or exercise now doesn’t mean you never will be able to do it.

And that concept fits right in with what we talked about last week when we introduced SGT and reinforced the concept that training quality counts.

As we roll out SGT (smarter group training) you have no doubt seen some changes in the gyms. Funny colored acronyms on the board, corrective posters, etc. Corresponding with these is what are called red light exercises.

What exactly is a red light exercise or movement pattern?

Red Light = Currently Unable

The reason we red light an exercise is to minimize risk of injury while maximizing your results. It means the screen has shown us something that needs to be addressed. There has been a weakness, imbalance or dysfunction detected, and the next step is to implement a strategy in your training to address it.

After the corrective strategies are used and the pattern clears, then it is time to train that pattern. No holding back, just getting after it. By getting you moving better, you can now train harder, and you will get better results.

Win Win!

So what’s that look like in the real world?

It may mean that after your screen you may not be doing an exercise you have done in the past, at least for a little while.

This is a good thing!

You see that’s why we screen. Because as good as your coaches are, they may not be able to detect an underlying problem that is going to bite you at some point in the future, short term or long term. We have been researching and studying the best way to mitigate that fact, and we are really excited about putting a formalized system in place that reinforces excellence.

The Red Light is not to hold you back, but to help you get better – faster.

And rest assured that your coaches have been screened and are using the system in our training as well. An old guy like me needs all the help he can get, and if I have to take a step backward to take a giant leap forward, I am all for it.

If you have any questions, that is what your coaches are for. We are New Englanders, we don’t like change, I get it. We don’t necessarily like people to think we have “limitations”.

But “Currently Unable” is not a scarlet letter, it is merely a recognition that we are getting better, little by little, every day.

Make It Happen!

Coach Dean

Training Quality Counts!

At Get Fit NH we as your coaches are always looking to do one thing – get better.

Why?

Because when we get better at what we do, it helps us help you reach your goals, and that is what we are all about.

You see it’s not all about you getting trashed every time you walk into the gym (believe it or not). I mean we all love to feel like we have worked hard, but crawling out to our car every day would be counterproductive. Those training sessions when we have left it all on the floor and feel great are an expression of all the hard work (sometimes backing off being the hard part) that we have done to get to that point. Our training is cyclical for a reason – because it works, and it works better.

To that end I am excited to tell you about one more way Get Fit NH is helping you get better. We are in the process of integrating the Functional Movement Screen into all our program design and coaching.

Over the past couple of months Coach Erin has been  laying the groundwork and doing a practical test of the system by taking a selected few of you through the Functional Movement Screen, and you will see this expand into Epsom as well as both Nancy and I have completed our course work and passed the FMS examination.

Our beliefs and methodologies have been based around these training systems for quite some time, but we had no baseline screening system for classifying if someone is able to safely enter our program to get the results they are looking for.

Our team at Get Fit NH really believes that this form of screening and standardizing movement is essential for safe, timely, effective results.

In order to better understand the premise of where these beliefs stem from, let’s take a look at some of the rules that Functional Movement Systems are based around.

• Pain should not be present while performing basic bodyweight movement patterns.  If there is pain associated with these basic movement patterns, movement patterns will be compromised and substantially increase the likelihood for developing further injury to the site of pain.  Also, this could lead to a secondary injury from the body compensating to avoid the pain or restricted movement.
• Having multiple limitations within several basic movement patterns, even if they’re pain free, can create compensations and general weaknesses that may lead to a greater likelihood of injury.
• Basic unilateral movement patterns should be symmetrical on both right and left sides of the body.
• Fundamental and basic movement patterning should precede performance related activities.
• Basic before Complex, Stable before Unstable

Foundational movement patterns need to be assessed before we can create a program designed to fit each individuals needs.  Our goal at Get Fit NH is to provide the best personal training services available – bar none.

Using the Functional Movement Screening Systems, we were able to establish a solid baseline screening system to better help manage and prevent injury to the musculoskeletal system.  Also by establishing a baseline scoring criteria, we will be able to monitor and track progress to ensure that the right program is being implemented.

All of this screening, assessing, and implementing the right mix of corrective exercises into the programs are going to help keep our clientele safer and healthier for long periods of time.  We realize that injuries can happen.  However, it’s our job to reduce the likelihood of injury.

Exercise should be enjoyable…Exercise should be well thought out and serve a purpose…Exercise should help you meet and exceed your goals…Exercise should help improve movement patterns and make daily activities more enjoyable.

This training philosophy is the foundation of our group personal training program design at Get Fit NH.  It’s our job to get results and keep you injury free.  It’s all about the quality of the movement, not the quantity.

So don’t be surprised when you get a tap on the shoulder to set up an appointment for the screen. No matter how good we move, we can always get better!

Keep Making It Happen!

Coach Dean