Before you go, I wanted to let you know that Dean Somerset and I have just announced that we will be traveling to Dublin, Ireland next fall to hold our 2-day hands-on workshop The Complete Fit Pro Blueprint.
Taking place on the weekend of 3-4 October 2026 @ Bodynamics in Dublin. We will cover a lot of material from assessment and planning around injuries to more of the things most fit professionals need…
- Build systems to help you manage your time and make more money.
- How to prevent burnout and make more money.
- How to build a brand and possibly a gym! (to perhaps earn more money).
- How to better motivate your customers to be consistent and earn more money.
And much, much more.
You can see the full itinerary as well as sign up for Early Bird pricing HERE.
WU-TANG!
Getting Strong is Corrective
“Oh, I forgot to tell you… my previous trainer told me that I have a winged shoulder blade, my left hip is a little internally rotated, and that my posture is not good.”
It was less than five minutes into an initial assessment with a new client and it took everything I had to keep my eyes from rolling out of their sockets. The evil side of me wanted to say something like, “Oh my god, yes, me completely see it. Did he also mention how your left ear is lower than your right? This is confusing. We have to fix it.”
But I didn’t.
No, all I did was sit there, shake my head, listen carefully and keep repeating to myself “don’t stab yourself with that pen, don’t stab yourself with that pen, no, Tony, NO!”
People think they are broken
It never ceases to amaze me how some people will seize on the silliest things regarding their bodies and performance and then regale me with stories about how their previous coach or trainer was a “corrective exercise specialist”.
I won’t invalidate their stories or experiences, of course, but it’s hard for me to hear them sometimes.
They’ll describe their “workout” for the past months (if not years) and it’s filled with positional breathing exercises (which, for the record, I’m a fan of), posture stretches, and a foam rolling sequence that rivals the length of a Ken Burns documentary.
I’ll follow up with “So, have you ever followed a strength training program consistently?”
“Yeah sure, we did a bunch of remedial exercises and after 19 weeks we finally got down to a body weight squat. I still need to work on my big toe dorsiflexion. Fingers crossed I can improve it by December.”
My…
As an industry – and I’ll call myself on this too (especially early in my career) – we’ve done a great job of helping people feel like a bunch of failures:
- Your shoulders and upper back are very rounded.
- Yes, your pelvis is tilted forward.
- Oh… Gosh… we need to work on the upward rotation of your scapula.
- Shit, your FABER screen came back positive. How can you walk?
- Also, FYI: you have chlamydia.
It doesn’t surprise me at all why so many people walk around thinking they are fragile snowflakes who need to fix or “fix” everything before they can get any worthwhile training.
It’s our fault.
Strength coaches, personal trainers, physical therapists, athletic trainers, sherpas, we’re all guilty.
We box and need to do better.
And it starts with reacquainting ourselves with our primary role as fitness professionals…
…to create a training effect with our clients/athletes.
Again… Getting strong is corrective
I say that with a grain of salt because “strong” is subjective and can mean different things to different people.
- Being able to deadlift 2 times your body weight is powerful.
- Being able to do 15 pull-ups is powerful.
- Walking from Trader Joe’s to your apartment without dropping your bags is possible.
- The ability to wear white after Labor Day is strong.
- It is possible to do what Cirque du Soleil artists can do.
However, since I’m a bit biased, “getting stronger” in this sense – and more persuasive in the debate – refers to TRAINING.
That is, to lift heavy things.
Unfortunately, many people have been led to believe that lifting weights is dangerous. It seems you can’t go more than three clicks online (or research some available certifications) before you’re told that barbells, dumbbells, machines, kettlebells, squats, deadlifts, high reps, low reps, and/or squats are dangerous.
And just to set the record straight and push back with all my will to those people (worst of all, doctors, nurses, etc.) who continue to spread the message that strength training is dangerous (especially when dealing with an ongoing injury)…
…I give you the LAWS of Loading:
Wolff’s Law – Bones adapt to the loads under which they are placed
Davis’s Law – Soft tissues will heal according to how they are mechanically stressed.
For the “you only have one back” guy… isn’t that why we train? Squats and deadlifts, when properly loaded and progressed, will do far more good in someone’s recovery from injury than most alternatives.
I hate the “everything makes you dysfunctional or dysfunctional” crowd.
to which I say…get the hell out of here.
My friend Bret Contreras has the perfect counterpoint to this mistaken mindset:
“If you think lifting weights is dangerous, try being weak. Being weak is dangerous.”
And that’s why I’m a staunch ambassador for encouraging people to get stronger or more to the point by helping them figure out their “trainable menu.”
Rather than pointing out everything that is wrong with someone, I would rather use the initial assessment (and subsequent trainings) to highlight what box do.
Let’s use the classic example of someone who has a “computer” attitude. That is, rounded shoulders, forward head posture, pen affinity.
When someone walks in this posture, many trainers will write down a list of stretches, thoracic (lower back) mobility exercises, and other “corrective” exercises to do.
Well, first, some will go out of their way to make the person feel like Cersei Lannister during the walk of shame.
Shame, shame, shame….
And then, you know…let’s make amends, son!
They are not wrong to do so.
I am not opposed to using corrective modalities to address postural deficits or mobility limitations.
But I find that when these things are emphasized and serve as the “meat-and-potatoes” of a training program, it often sets people up for failure. they are more fixated on perfection at the expense of progress.
And let’s be honest: NO ONE gets excited at the gym to do more T-spine extension exercises.
I don’t want my clients to feel like an eternal patient.
I want them to train, because the training tends to be more enjoyable than Scapular Wall Slides. It helps people stay on task and not be bored to tears.
And on that note, want to learn a great drill that helps push people into a little more thoracic extension?
Kipping pull-ups.
FORWARD CONSTRUCTIONS.
As you descend closer to the ground, you have to “fight” not to fold. In many ways, the correct execution of the exercise itself is self-training. or dare I say, corrective.
If you don’t maintain chest extension, the bar rolls off your shoulders.
It may come across as the self-styled strength coach saying this, but I find more value in having my clients train – in a way that emphatically shows them success (matching planning with their goals and skill level) – rather than remedially practicing them to death.
Empower your customers.
Show them what it is box do.
And for the love of god take them education.
