When I started I was the typical trainer and I pretty much went with the flow. Chest and tris, back and bis, legs at the end....the basic body building philosophy. Day of rest, abs every day....
I learned pretty quick that people could pretty much do that themselves. They didn't need me to decide if it was the pec deck or the chest fly machine.
As a trainer I wanted to provide more value for my clients.
My training methods started to change. I started to get creative and I created a better experience for those that I trained.
As the years rolled by I began to transition from one on one training to teaching classes. While it is fun to instruct one person I have always felt that I could make more of a difference with a group.
From ski and sports conditioning to 8 week boot camp classes to the "permanent" program that we have now my methods have constantly changed and constantly evolved.
In my 16th year as a coach and as a trainer I have molded a training methodology that I believe suits the most of our people and gets the best results.
So back to the question: why we don't do bicep curls.
My philosophy on training revolved around simplicity, time management, intensity, variety, goal setting, and competition.
Simplicity: In reality we only do a small number of actual exercises. We keep it simple and try to stay away from complexity. We don't do snatches. We don't do machines. We don't do one legged over head presses. These are all great things but we also want to focus on...
Time management: What does this really mean? It means that for the most part people are busy and one of the excuses that people use is that they "don't have time". If you have to drive 15 minute to the gym, get changed, stretch, mingle, learn a skill, do a workout, cool down, stretch, shower and then drive home. That could be 3 hours. I see why people don't have the time. I believe that when class starts at 6 am well then, by golly, at 6 am you are working out and you are done at 6:35 am because I also believe in....
Intensity: Everything that we do (with maybe the exception of Yoga) involves a degree of intensity. How do you get a full body, results orientated workout done in 30 minutes or less? You make it hard! You focus on multi-joint exercises that drive up your heart rate and tire you out quicker. When you workout with appropriate intensity all parts of your body get engaged and you get a better workout. Is it hard? Yes! The way that we make it hard but interesting is we add a lot of....
Variety: To go along with this we are also bold. We change up a lot of things with the routine. 50 sit-ups can be done as 5 sets of 10 or as 50 all at once. A mile can be 4 rounds of 400 meters or a mile straight. We change everything all the time. Sometimes the numbers are high and sometimes the numbers are low. Sometimes the workouts at 15 minutes and sometimes 40 minutes. Your body is always guessing to your body is never prepared. This means only one thing. RESULTS. Many workouts also unleash the power of....
Goal setting: No all, but many of our workouts have an ending. There is a destination and you are tasked with doing your best to get there. This, because of human nature, drives you to be more and to be better. You set a goal and go for it. A goal to simply finish is still a goal and it pushed you a little harder and it drives you to do your best. This is sometimes....
Competition: Many people shy away from competition. Not me. Competition brings out the best in people. It shows exactly how much people have in the tank. By adding an element of completion into some workouts everybody is empowered to get the best possible results. Completion isn't about who can lift the heaviest weight or who can do the workout the fastest (but sometimes it is) but it's about the goals and objectives of the individual. If there are 10 people in a class looking at the workout on the board I would almost bet there are 10 different goals in the room. This will bring out the best in the 10 individuals GUARANTEED!
So did I answer the question yet? Maybe.
But wait there is more.
We also don't do crunches, calf raises, triceps press, wrist curls, neck curls, chest fly, shoulders shrugs.....and other exercises that are single joint "body building" moves.
So why don't we do these?
1. We focus on metabolic (think high heart rate) conditioning. These exercises just don't get your heart rate up that high.
2. Single joint moves build muscles at a single joint. Yes, bicep curls will build big biceps. Guess what the standing row does? Guess what pull-ups do? THE SAME THING except these exercises build multiple muscle groups and your cool at the same time while jacking up your heart rate.
3. Isolation exercises are fine but multi-joint moves are just so much better. We only have so much time. I'd rather use the time to build overall fitness as opposed to a single muscle.
And the biggest reason that we don't do bicep curls...
My arm. Clearly I need to do bicep curls....
4. It doesn't fit into our training philosophy. Period.
In conclusion I want to do a little commentary on fitness methodology.
There are lot's of ways to get fit. There are lots of methodologies and lots of philosophies. None are right and none are wrong. All work to some degree with some people. I picked ours based on my own personal opinion. I am not right.
You can train the way you want to train and I am not going to be critical of you. There are very few true answers in fitness. It's almost all opinion.
That being said.... you are still not doing bicep curls in my gym.... or shoulder shrugs or calf raises....
Did you get value out of today's post? If so then please share. I'm sure one of your friends would love to disagree with me.
THANK YOU for reading.
Are you local to central Florida? Is this the year for you to get the body of your dreams? check out what one of our members said about our program....
"Incredible!!!! We have been going to this class for a little while now and the results are amazing.... the people there don't judge you or stare at you, they welcome you!! It's like a family... I really don't like the gym scene so my friend told me about this place and it's one of the best things I look forward to every week!!!! Thank you Rick and Teresa!!!!! - Al"
If you'd like to get some results and look your best check out our webpage: www.NoLimitsFitness.co
Rick Copley | No Limits Fitness 352-989-6795 ~ rick@nolimitsfitness.me www.NoLimitsFitness.co
