Monday, February 8, 2010

Learning from the best

One of my favorite (annoying) sayings is: "If you want to learn physics, and Einstein is available, go see him." Well, I don't need to learn physics, but in my never-ending quest to be the best trainer I can be, I always seek out the best instructors and trainers in the business.

Brett Jones, Master RKC is one of those.

Brett lives and works three hours away from me in Pittsburgh, an irony not lost on a Browns fan. So I have begun making the trek once a month to his studio, to have him improve my physical performance, which in turn will help me help my clients.

Brett, along with Gray Cook and Lee Burton are the have developed a movement screen that addresses weaknesses and imbalances in a person's body. I have used the screen to assess clients, but have never had been screened myself. Boy was I in for a shock.

I knew shoulder mobility would be an issue, but I didn't know how imbalanced I was in other areas. Could this be the reason for so many nagging injuries? Studies have shown that low scores on the movement screen correlate to lost-game injuries in the NFL, so there is a case to be made for this.

The good news is that correcting these imbalances is relatively simple -- if you are willing to go back to basics, and stay with exercises that are not, "sexy" like a kettlebell snatch. In fact, my protocol includes breathing exercises, rolling over from back to front and vice versa, and partial Turkish Getups.

The better news is that two weeks after my first session with Brett my injuries are subsiding. The back pain that laid me up for several months is gone, and I actually feel like I have more energy. And, despite shoveling my driveway this weekend, I don't hurt, except for soreness in my glutes -- which means I was moving properly.

The screen is easy, and painless. The stepping back into basic exercises means checking my ego for a bit. But the results are well worth it.

For more information on the Functional Movement Screen, check out http://functionalmovement.com/ .

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