What You’re Doing in the Gym May Not Be Worth Your Time
You’re a busy person who knows it’s important to be fit. You want to be sure you’re getting the
most bang for your buck while training in the gym. And as a strength coach who focuses on
performance, I want the same for my clients. But too often the workouts I see are not effective
and are, at times, counterproductive.
My first goal in training is to Do No Harm. My clients train hard but they follow scientific
principles of progression which take into account both acute and chronic injuries, illnesses, life
stressors and past training experience.
My training programs help clean up faulty movement patterns by looking at what my clients do
regularly and include exercises that counter the effects of repetitive movements and postures.
Most people sit far too much with shoulders rounded forward, hip flexor muscles shortened
and butt muscles deactivated. The cumulative effect is tissue damage leading to back pain, sore
shoulders and necks.
Too many people in the gym are reinforcing bad movement instead of improving movement. I
have heard it suggested that if you follow the average male around the gym and do the exact
opposite of what he is doing for a workout that you can get a pretty effective workout. You
know the routine: bench press, bicep curls and maybe some time on the bike or treadmill.
Females tend to focus on the inner and outer thigh machines, lifting light dumbbells to avoid
“bulking up” and the long, slow walk to nowhere on the treadmill. Neither gender ends up
working on the things they most need.
In either case, these workouts tend to reinforce repetitive movement patterns and muscle
imbalances that are responsible for chronic pain and injury. Our predisposition to take the path
of least resistance and only do those exercises we already do well, actually hurts us and makes
workouts ineffective.
Bruce Cohn Fitness programs address these issues and empower clients to improve
performance with reduced injuries as they participate in the game of life. Our programs
reinforce function through practice and progression.
At Bruce Cohn Fitness all of our clients do Kettle Bell swings, Medicine Ball throws and Battling
Ropes to improve power and burn more calories. And make no mistake about it: power is not
just for athletes. Every time we get up from a chair, climb stairs or react to a fall we are using
power. Does your workout involve force production and force absorption? If not, why not?
In addition to power training, our programs include all of the 6 basic movement patterns:
hinging at the hips, bending at the knee, stabilizing the spine, upper body pulling, upper body
pushing and loaded carries. In simple terms we program exercises involving:
Lowering to and raising from benches, floor etc.
Balance, core stability and improved tissue quality
Raising knees, toes and extending hips
Pulling shoulder blades down and in
Doing upper body pulling exercises in 2:1 ratio to pushing
Want to perform better in your recreational passions or activities of daily living?
Call Bruce today at 781-454-8500 or email: bruce.coach@gmail.com