How it's done at STEPS
“Bill, I want to be able to do ______ .” “Bill, I need to tone up.” “Bill, I have got to be able to _____ .” The old “ . . . if I had a dollar . . . “ phrase definitely applies in the gym. One of the reasons why I chose exercise science and biomechanics was to be able to help people reach their physical (which ties into their emotional, intellectual, and spiritual) goals. Need or desire-specific training can be a very complex, convoluted, and conflicted topic, even amongst those in the supposed “know.” Everyone has differing opinions on the best way to manage certain wants and needs of the client, but there is some theoretical commonality. At its base, specific training is (duh) the performance of certain actions and exercises geared towards the positive development of certain goals and performance levels. Those goals and levels can be anywhere from attaining better posture with less effort, maintaining one’s balance without a handrail, or power cleaning 300 pounds. And without limitations, either physiological, anatomical, or psychological, usually some weighty proportion of the goal can be met. However, despite evidence to the contrary, I do appreciate a more economical approach in the training arena – the most results with the least effort. To be as efficient as possible, a hard idea of your goals or end-performance level must be known. After that, an understanding of how to get there is paramount.
Your body adapts relatively well to specific actions. As an example, barring injury and disease, if you run on the treadmill, you will become a better treadmill runner. And if you are a better treadmill runner, then it follows that you will be a better outdoor runner as well. There is some correlation there, some carry-over effect, because the activities are so closely related mechanically. But, you might be surprised that some people do not become significantly better outdoors even if they are better indoors. Psychological and environmental factors (a TV for distraction purposes, a moving belt on the treadmill, a softer surface on the treadmill, temperature control, fluid breaks, etc.) play a significant role in many people’s performance of exercise. If you want to get better at running the hills at the Warner parks, then using a treadmill as a component of your training regimen can be a good thing. But, if and when possible, if you want to get better at something, do that something.
This is not to say that there is no place for cross-training or non-specific training. Your body can and will grow ‘stale’ (adapt negatively) by doing the same thing over and over again without change or manipulation. Cross-training and its derivatives allow for a more balanced, overall approach to fitness and specific training. They allow the body to get out of some bad habits. They impact the body with change, which, if performed, must be compensated for with differing responses. They also impact the psyche – mental monotony can be more destructive than the physical. Incorporating cross-training and adjunct training is as important to a plan as sleep and caloric consumption. But even with that in mind, they are detours for a specific goal.
In following monthly installments, I will elucidate differing stratagems for dealing with sport-related specific training goals. Though they will not be anywhere nearly in-depth enough, they will give you, the reader, insight into how trainers and coaches outline and devise training regimens for their clients and charges.
Bill Evans, Jr. Ph.D. - Biomechanics, NSCA-CSCS
S.T.E.P.S.
Scientific Training and Exercise Prescription Specialists
2424 21st Ave. S. Suite #100 ||
Nashville, TN 37212
phone: (615)269-8855 fax: (615)269-7068
email: stepsinc@bellsouth.net
for questions about the website email turbeauxdog@comcast.net