The Origin of Spring Waters

Recently I posted a link to a great resource for aiding our discussion on the evolution of fitness. Today I share with you a piece of Southern Indiana history and our place in the origin of bottled spring water.

French Lick Resort and West Baden Springs were at the center of the booming spring water industry in the United States during the early 1900's. These storied resorts played an enormous role in health and later fitness in the North American culture during a booming period. From the 1830's till the early 1980's many of the political and social elite flocked to see and be seen in this quiet valley.

Fitness and Leisure at West Baden included: 

Creation of "The Eighth Wonder of the World"

In 1888 Lee W. Sinclair acquired controlling interest in the West Baden hotel and within a few years was its sole owner. He transformed it into a sophisticated resort, adding an opera house, a casino, a two-deck pony and bicycle track and a full-size baseball field.......The hotel offered something for everyone, including golf on two courses, horseback riding, billiards, bowling, baseball, swimming, hiking on scenic trails, bicycling, movies and nightly theater. 

Recapture a little bit of a time gone by, I encourage anyone to explore the history of these resorts and continue to redefine your goals and expectations of health and fitness as you learn more about how the past 100 years has shaped your current beliefs and decisions about your "fitness" routine.

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Fitness Fads

"The History of Fitness" by Lance C. Dalleck, M.S. and Len Kravitz, Ph.D.

By now I hope that I have stimulated a few thought provoking questions. For me there are a few main questions I want you to consider.: 1) Why do I perform the type of exercises that I do regularly? and what do I expect to gain from them? 2) Why does fitness have so many different definitions and forms? 3) Why does this defination have such a different meaning in other cultures?

The above link provides an excellent frame of reference for these questions.

My challenge to you is to re-write your definition of fitness.

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Professional development

During high school I participated in Bigger Faster Stronger. This was the program that the coaching staff choose for the football team, and the MAX days were combined with our "clubs" for total weight club, max and points.

The thing I remember most is that the few "star" athletes received the most complete and continuing coaching.

These programs were a "one size fits all"- Defined here:

The term is also sometimes used pejoratively to describe a simplistic approach to a problem. This is a reference to the fact that “one size fits all” is not exactly a truism, since people often get left out when they have unique needs and issues. The term also suggests that all people are the same, which is clearly untrue.

What we know from the research is that a "one size fits all" sports performance improvement program design has a few consistent results when discussing comparison of Pre-Post test performance: 1) A few athletes improve performance greatly; 2) the majority improve mildly or remain the same; 3) some have a decrease in performance.

The problem is that the majority of those leading these programs lay blame for the poor results on individuals "not giving full effort", "not being consistent",   "not being very athletic"; and take credit for those that made gains because "they are true athletes", "I developed a great program", "they did what I designed"......and on and on.

Here is my point: 

As personal trainers and movement coaches it is our job to develop: The right program; for the right person; At the right time.

There must be consideration given to individual differences in movement and motor programs.

This is how I approach program development and implementation for all of my clients and groups.

Individualized attention first, prior to and in addition to the general program. This allows my to appreciate and modify techniques to maximize the end result for movement and athletic improvement

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Y Balance Test

I recently had the opportunity and honor to present the Upper and Lower Quarter Y Balance Test TM at the Good Samaritan Hospital Winter Sports Medicine Symposium in Dayton, OH. What a great opportunity to learn from experts in the field of Sports Medicine. Thomas Palmer MS, ATC, CSCS from Northern Kentucky University; Joseph Heiler PT, CSCS of SportsRehabExpert.com; Brian Padilla MS, PT, CSCS of Physical Edge; Brett Hoffman MS, ATC, CSCS of Good Samaritan Hospital Sports Medicine Center; and Dr. James Klosterman, MD of Good Samaritan Hospital Sports Medicine Center. It was a privilege to be able to participate, Thank you to Brett Hoffman for including me in this day.

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Kettlebells Los Angeles: It's been long overdue

Kettlebells Los Angeles: It's been long overdue

I am grateful to have mentors such as Dr. Mark Cheng along my way. Check out his website for greater insight into one of the masters of our time. His teaching and insight has helped me learn how to be a better student.

Movement

Movement.
There is a great new text out that will challenge your thoughts about how we as personal trainers and rehabilitation specialists approach our clients and patients. This is the one text that clearly describes a common working language for medical/ rehabilitation professionals and personal fitness trainers to effectively communicate. I highly recommend this new book from Gray Cook. After reading and absorbing the chapters you will be able to expand your approach to program development and client assessment, as well as have a greater appreciation for how working with other health and fitness professionals we can better serve our clients.

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Neuro-Developmental approach to Shoulder Stabilization

One of the ways I approach developing quality movement patterns in clients is to use a Neuro-Developmental approach. By building the fundamentals of movement from the ground up we help to reestablish our original movement program. This approach allows us to set a solid foundation upon which to build a better athlete.

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HKC

HKC. A year ago I participated in a couple one day seminars on incorporating basic stabilization exercises with kettlebells for shoulder patients. From those initial courses and working with Thomas Knox DPT RKC CSCS in the clinic daily I became more interested in pursuing a better foundation in basic kettlebell exercise technique.
The HardStyle of kettlebell exercise made sense in that the emphasis is on developing strength and power by adhering to the rule of quality over quantity and correct movement matters. In April of 2010 I completed the HKC course in Chicago, IL under the instruction of expert instructors: Jon Engum, Mark Cheng, and a dozen other RKC instructors. It was during this certification course that I knew I had found the training method that fit my beliefs and experiences that matched my rehabilitation background and education. This is what I have been looking for over the past 10 years when I refer a patient to personal training after completing rehab; smart personal training. And this is when I began offering personal training to my former patients that were unable to find it in any of the centers and gyms that are still focused on fixed joint exercises (machines) , and group (spin, yoga, step) defination of fitness.

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Measuring fitness

One of the key indicators of progress in a fitness program or training regime is attainment of a goal.
In the health and fitness world there are dozens of tests and measures ( fitness evaluations and assessments) used by coaches and fitness trainers: height, body weight, BMI, HR, BP, vertical, sprint speed, 12 minute run, push up test, sit up test....................on and on and on and on. We even a peer-reviewed journal ( Joural of Strength and Conditioning Research )that is dedicated to these type of tests and measures. But what do all these pre-tests really tell us about the individual athlete in front of us and how do these numbers and values add to the development of a quality program to improve their athletic performance?
My question is: WHY do you do the things you do prior to designing and implementing a training program?
And I expect a better answer than because I want to know how it improved after the program is completed, or because the coach wants to know their 40 time.
Defend your methods, ...if you can.


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RKC- Russian Kettlbell Certification training

I have been in the process of preparing for the RKC (Russian Kettlebell Certification). The decision developed over the past year as I again began to train individuals (post rehab) and teams. I cautiously learned all I could before jumping in but knew that the "way we always do things" was coming up very short of the goal. Most team training programs revolved around 60-90 sessions 2-3 x week for 6-8 weeks; of which in a group larger than 10 usually fell apart and the "most improved something" result is "ok" as long as you can show the coach his stud athlete decreased the 40 yd time. Individual training revolved around either fixed joint machines or Olympic lifting techniques because that is what the client thinks they want in a fitness program. No Thanks not for me, Speed and Agility drills"Speed in a Box", and Plyometrics are a component of a program not a program, Olympic lifting is a sport not a general fitness program. I want to prepare individuals for participation in sport by improving their foundation, a strong foundation upon which sport specific coaches can then place technical movements on and athletes can go on to develop skill needed to excel in their chosen sport. I can't take credit for this concept (Athletic Body in Balance) but it does make sense.


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RKC- Russian Kettlebell Certification training guide

RKC Prep       by Brett Jones	Week #30 ---240Lbs	Week # 29	Week#28	Week#27
Monday   Rest Day(bike/run)	----
Tuesday         Snatch test day	5/5/S16
Wednesday         Snatch test day	5/5/S16
Thursday         Rest Day(bike/run)	Bike/correctives
Friday
Swing
Clean & Press
Swing
Clean & Front squat
Swing
Get Up
Swing
Snatch
Swing
Saturday
Clean & Press
Swing
Clean & Press
Clean & Front squat
Clean & Press
Get Up
Clean& Press
Snatch
Clean & Press
Sunday
Clean & Front squat
Swing
Clean & Front squat
Clean & Press
Clean & Front squat
Get Up
Clean & Front squat
Snatch
Clean & Front squat

RKC Prep Training Guidelines (by Brett Jones)

Perform 1-3 circuits of the drills in the order listed.

Perform 5-8 reps per each set (except swings where you increase reps as long as form is correct)

Rotate intensity of volume and weight:           16kg KB for 3 circuits one day; 24kg KB for 1 circuit the next.   Single KB drills one day; Double KB drills the next.

Legend: # circuits/ # reps/ Single bell #kg or Double bell #kg

Who are you Chasing?

A few days ago we talked about a few of the early innovators and promoters of general fitness, Jack Lalanne
and body building Charles Atlas (great article in his own words (shows Atlas performing a Pistol (ahead of his time?)). But how was their original message twisted, translated or misinterpreted? Did every generation take the part they understood, liked and could perform and leave out the rest?

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Charles Atlas

Charles Atlas  is a name many associate with the modern view of health and fitness. Jack LaLanne can also be said in this same context. Both offered their idealistic outward view of the correct shape and proportions for society (mostly males) and the techniques and approaches to achieve it. No matter what the intent of the original messages the impact has been a broadly accepted interpretation that fitness is "looking fit", and even today no-one wants to be the the nerd on the beach getting sand kicked in his face. I agree with the assertion that these men created the foundation that is the root of modern day body building and first brought concepts of general fitness to the larger population. My question is: How did the term fitness come to mean using isolated portions of Olympic and power lifting exercises to achieve the "look of a body builder"?.

I think Jack was more movement goal oriented but the ad campaign for Atlas is one which nearly 70 years later most teenage boys of even today at least will recognize.
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Mentorship Continued

I have heard many times, some what jokingly, "when the student is ready the master will appear".
I loved watching the tv show Kung Fu  I would watch them over and over again, the story line seemed the same; student, bad guy, student has dilemma, student seeks guidance (often does not understand or ignores guidance), fight, student questions the masters unwillingness to help, teaching moment occurs, student ticked off that he still does not understand the masters guidance, goes off in a huff and realizes understanding of a lesson from a few episodes earlier (all be it a little late).
Does any of this sounds familiar?
My point is in my own haste to be the major contributor to a project or to get recognized for my role, I forget to see the masters standing in front of me, teaching and guiding me to be a better student.
Thank you to my mentors, I am fortunate to have many more than I will ever realize. They allow me the opportunity to grow and learn both personally and professionally.

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