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Primitive Initiative™- Biomechanical Training

March 26, 2015 By Garrett

As mentioned in the previous blog the Primitive Initiative® is a movement oriented training model based on 14 fundamental movement patterns arranged in a specific sequence to maximize results.  It combines biomechanical training with energy system sequencing to provide real life fitness for real life movements.  This can be an “end all be all” program or can be supplemented into current training programs.  Because this is a real life program it is specific to each person.  If someone likes to do bodybuilding, power lifting, distance running etc. many of these movement patterns can still be implemented in each person’s training regimen for better results and less injuries.

So let’s get started……..what is “Biomechanical Training”?  Well, that’s just a fancy way of me saying human movement training.  I have identified 14 human movement patterns that are common throughout life.  As young children we incorporate many of these as we learn to move and play.  As we become older we either begin to become sedentary or very specific in the nature of our training.  In either situation, we start to lose or neglect certain movement patterns.  This gets worse and worse as we go through our life.  The biomechanical training is designed to help reestablish the mobility and movement of the early years in our life.

Here are the 14 movement patterns that I have grouped into 3 categories:

 

Manipulative:

  1. Throwing/Catching: To propel an object through the air from a limb and then to grasp and hold onto an object as it propels back to the body.
  2. Picking up: Bringing an object up off of the ground and then bringing it back to the ground.
  3. Pushing- To press against an object with force in order to drive or impel in the direction of the force.
  4. Pulling- To exert force upon an object so as to cause or tend to cause motion toward the force.
  5. Chopping- To make a quick stroke or repeated stroke in an arcing motion.
  6. Carrying- To move an object through a distance while supporting it.

 

Locomotive:

 

  1. Reaching- ability to touch, pick up, or grab by moving, stretching, or extending limbs.
  2. Jumping/Landing: To spring into the air and then absorbing impact as the body is brought back to the surface.
  3. Getting up: Bringing the body up off of the ground from a laying position to an upright position.
  4. Crawling:  To advance in a prone or supine position where hands and feet are in contact with the ground.
  5. Climbing:  Moving suspended from the ground with gradual continued process.
  6. Crouching:  To lower the body stance while bending at the legs.

 

Variable:

 

  1. Transit:  An act of passing through or over terrain.
  2. Dynamic Methods- Activities that are fluid, connected, and skilled in their patterns. (Ok, I will admit this my catch all category for those movements that were hard for me to classify.  Things like dancing, tumbling and fighting will fall in this category)

 

Some of these are self-explanatory, some are not.  I will use future posts to further explore each movement and how to progress people through the movements.  Much like any program design, progression is key.  After all, if people have come to a point where they have not done a certain movement pattern since their childhood they are just as likely to injure themselves in a gym setting doing it as they would in a real life setting.  That is why they need to be progressed.  This we will leave for later, but for now, try to absorb the movements and look at your own programs to see what they might be missing.  Next week I will discuss another fancy word: Energy System Sequencing.

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Filed Under: certification, functional assessments, functional movement, fundamental movement patterns, human movement, movement, periodization, personal training, running, sports performance, strength and conditioning, weight loss Tagged With: beginnings, functional assessment, functional movement, fundamental movement patterns, health and fitness professional, human movement, movement, periodization, personal training, program design, weight loss

Nutrition- The Magic Pill

January 30, 2015 By Garrett

Since I am not an expert on nutrition my well is starting to run dry.  This will be my last blog on nutrition, at least for a little while.  My last blog focused on being realistic.  That concept flows nicely into this blog.  Today I would like to talk about “magic pill” nutrition.

We live in a world that is filled with “the answer” to your weight loss or performance goals.  These “magic pills” or magic nutrition programs boasts results unlike any other…..life changing weight loss, increased strength and stamina, getting ripped!  And what’s more, you apparently have to do little effort for these results to be obtained (at least that’s what is advertised).  Just buy this supplement or pay for this diet program and start your path to a better you!

Not too long after you start down that path you quickly realize that you either bought some snake oil or you actually have to put some effort into it.  You see, there is no such thing as a magic pill.  If something sounds too good to be true, it generally is.  In my time in this industry the only magic pill that I have found comes from within: discipline.

Now, I must commend people on taking that first step down that path.  After all, that is the hardest step they will ever take…..to make the decision to make a change for the better.  And I will never take anything away from that!

But here is the thing……..I have never found a supplement or diet plan that worked without a certain level of effort and discipline involved.  In most of the “magic pill” scenarios that I know about you have to follow a certain nutrition plan that either reduces calories, controls portions, cuts out processed foods or any combination of these.  Some accompany this approach with shakes, pills, meal replacement bars, or full out delivered meals.  And guess what….it works!  People who stay disciplined to the rules of the “magic pill” product will have positive results.

Imagine that!  Someone who is disciplined in controlling their calories, portions, and content of their food having positive results…………. Oh, and taking the “magic pill” too.   Who knew?   Well, I hate to break it to all those people out there who are doing one of these “magic pill” programs.  It’s not the “magic pill”.  It’s the discipline of eating right that will get you the results!

Finding out how many calories you should consume, how to divide those calories through the day, and where those calories come from should be the cornerstone of any nutrition program.  This is the foundation.  Without a strong, solid foundation everything else will fall apart.

Before you go throwing a lot of money towards these “magic pill” programs, start with the foundation first.  Shop the periphery of the grocery store, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, eat quality proteins and grains, and avoid anything that is fried or has highly processed food/ingredients in it.  The less man made and manufactured food the better. But be realistic in your approach.  If you need the structure/accountability of a program or the ease of a prepared shake/meal or even a plan to start with then by all means look into these programs.  But know that they will not be nearly as successful if you do not take care of your foundation and stay disciplined in your approach.

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Filed Under: nutrition, personal training, weight loss Tagged With: diet, nutrition, personal training, weight loss

Nutrition: Being Realistic

January 20, 2015 By Garrett

I love pizza!  I love Chinese food!  I love burgers!  And don’t get me started on bacon!  Man, if you tried to eat my bacon good chances you would be pulling back a bloody nub!  I love food in general.  It is my biggest weakness when it comes to the health and fitness equation.  I am active through the day.  I workout 5-6 days per week (sometimes 7).  My workouts are designed appropriately for me (I know a good trainer!).  I get 7-8 hours a sleep per night (most of the time).  But food….oh food, that is my Achilles heel.

When I was younger (see my Blog “All about those pants”) this love of food and my lack of physical activity really caught up to me.  So I made some changes.  Not only did I start to exercise, I started paying attention to what I ate.  At times I was misguided.  I used to eat white rice with ranch dressing on it thinking it was healthy.  I didn’t know.  I was doing my best, but I have learned a lot since then.  But most importantly I realized then that in order for me to change the way I looked and felt, I needed to make a change to how I was living my life.

Change is something that people struggle with.  It’s different.  It’s uncomfortable.  It’s strange.  But, unless a person changes the way they do something, the result will be exactly the same.  If the result is not desired, the factors that influence that result have to be changed.

But here’s the thing…….these changes don’t have to be extreme.  I have always said that extreme measures rarely last.  If it doesn’t last what is the point.  The goal should be able to find a nutrition “lifestyle” and not a nutrition “diet”.  Find something that you can live with for the rest of your life.  After all, that is what we are talking about…..a lifelong pursuit of optimal function and health.

I would love to say that “you need to completely cut this out” or “you need to only eat this way” but in reality, we both know that won’t last.  Life is to be enjoyed.  However, moderation is the key.  We can’t enjoy life to the point of it being a detriment to our health, function or attitude.  So let the times of enjoyment be earned through times of discipline.

Make small changes and let them build to big ones.  Cut back on certain foods that are bad for you and increase foods that are good for you.  Live 80/20, 90/10……or whatever percentage that helps you realize that you should eat healthy a majority of the time.  If you are realistic in your approach your results will be permanent and you will be a much happier person.

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Filed Under: nutrition, personal training Tagged With: health and fitness professional, nutrition, personal training, weight loss

6 Truths of Human Performance and Physical Development

January 7, 2015 By Garrett

Ever wonder why you are doing a certain amount of reps and sets of a certain exercise?  Ever wonder how certain exercise programs are chosen for different goals?  Ever wonder why you have to rest so many days before you do the same exercise again?  Or how much protein, carbohydrates and fats you should be eating?  These things are all based on research studies.  There have been countless research studies dedicated towards how the human body works and how it responds to different stimuli.  In those research studies, participants would do a certain training program or nutrition program for a certain amount of time and the researchers would record any changes to the participants using various measuring techniques.  Through those research studies the science of human performance and physical development was derived.  But, within this science are wide ranges and overlaps of how certain stimuli affects an individual.  We are individuals after all and we all do not respond the same way to the same thing.  This is where the art comes into play.  Science has given us the foundation and direction, but the art, the application, is what gives us the result.  The art is where we take the science and make it fit the individual to give them the result that they desire.  Here is where the science and art meet to form undeniable truths of human performance and physical development. If you take these truths to heart and apply them to your workouts, then you will be sure to maximize your results!

 

  1. Consistency- doing something over and over again to get a progressive response and feedback from that response.  In order for a result to occur the body must experience a stimulus.  When it experiences that stimulus (if applied properly), the body will change accordingly.  Once that stimulus is taken away, then the body will revert back to the status quo.  For example, to become stronger we must strength train and strength train on a regular basis.  If we strength train once every other week we are not giving the body enough stimulus on a regular basis to perpetuate results.
  2. Proficiency- doing something accurately or the correct way.  Doing something with perfect form and technique is crucial to safe and effective workouts.  Our body, our movements, and our muscles are built to work a certain way.  Our body is a kinetic chain where all muscles/joints have a role in performing even the simplest of movements.  If we start to perform exercises incorrectly and with bad form we do not activate the correct muscles in the correct order.  This makes our movement/exercise inefficient (meaning you are not getting the most out of it!) and can potentially lead to injury.  These are two things that need to be avoided when it comes to working out.
  3. Specificity- To get better at something, you have to do that something.  If you want to get better at running, you need to run.  If you want to get better at Bench press, then you have to do the bench press.  The more similar a movement/exercise is to what you want to accomplish, the better your specific result.
  4. Intensity- Doing something at a level that will elicit a training response. Your body is an amazing machine.  It will always try to rise to the occasion.  If we apply a stimulus greater than it is used to, it will attempt to step up, so that the next time it will be able to handle that stimulus.  It also works in reverse.  The body will match the stimulus, so if it is not enough, the body will get weaker.
  5. Recovery- Allowing the repair process to take place.  Keep in mind that exercise is the stimulus.  It does not alone make us better.  In fact, it makes us weaker in the beginning because we are breaking systems down (more or less).  It is the time that we rest and recover that we become better.  If we do not allow that time rebuild the systems and allow them to come back stronger we will continue to break them down until they are completely broken (overtraining).  Having rest and recovery days as well as the proper amount of sleep is crucial to a fitness program.
  6. Dietary- Eating the correct amounts of macro and micro nutrients.  Just as rest is so crucial to the repair process, so is eating correctly.  Food is our fuel.  If we put garbage in, we get garbage out.  The cleaner a person eats, the more likely a person will accomplish their goals. Clean eating really just means eating less processed and fried foods and eating more natural foods.
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Filed Under: personal training, strength and conditioning, weight loss Tagged With: health and fitness professional, personal training, weight loss

It’s All About Those Pants

December 31, 2014 By Garrett

This is my first blog of many to come.  I feel that it would be fitting tell you a little bit about how I ended up in this field.  My personal story is very common amongst fitness professionals.  I once was sedentary and overweight.

As I grew up my parents owned a pizza shop, which we also lived above.  Can you imagine!  Unlimited supply of pizza and subs all day long!  Sounds heavenly doesn’t it?  Well, I won’t lie…….it was.  Unfortunately, the combination of this amazing food (I still can’t find a pizza that can beat it!) and an inactive lifestyle (my big weekend plans consisted of a large pizza, a couch and a tv) caused the inevitable.  My weight began to balloon.  Heck, my sister called me curtain butt on the account of how my shirt draped over the old gluteus!

It wasn’t until my 8th grade year that I decided to do something about it.  Sadly, I will admit that it was to fit into a pair of pants for the 8th grade formal.  Those Dockers were pretty sweet!  You should have seen them, pleats and all!  Unfortunately, they didn’t have them in my size but I just had to have them.  I vowed that I would fit in them for the dance…and…you know…actually be able to move in them without busting out the seams.  So I started to run.  I basically did a Couch to 5k, before Couch to 5k existed (I should be a millionaire!).  I ran a little, walked a little.  Each day I ran further and further until I was able to run 2 miles without stopping.  With each step I took, the curtain became less and less prominent!  My sister eventually had to find something else to make fun of me (don’t worry, she had plenty to choose from!).  And then it happened.  I decided my progress warranted a dress rehearsal to see if I met my goal.  I slid on those sleek, pleated, Kahki Dockers and to my surprise, they fit like satin Isotoners!  (ask Dan Marino how good those feel!).  Not only did they fit, they were a little loose!  I tucked my stonewashed jean shirt in, put on my leather braided belt and pegged up (tight rolled for you Midwesterners) my pants.   Damn…….I looked good!  I was ready!

Something that started out as an aesthetic mission, actually turned into an athletic one.  You see, I was never blessed with amazing athletic coordination (don’t believe me, throw something at me and see what happens).  As it turns out, I was ok at running.  Never great, but good.  At the end of my 8th grade year, after I rocked it out on the dance floor in my pantaloons, I went out for the summer track program.  I also started to lift with those old plastic encased cement weight sets in my basement.  I started to feel capable and confident.  I went out for the cross country team and track team in high school.  In college I ran track and power lifted.  In grad school I was a graduate assistant coach for the cross country and track team.  I also started to work at a local gym as a fitness instructor.  I wanted to learn more about helping people reach their potential.  I became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and then have amassed multiple other certifications and specializations.  I pursued a professional career in the field and have been here ever since, learning, exploring, and evolving so I can better serve my clients.  It was like a domino effect.  One thing led to another and my path to my career was laid out.  It’s funny, I owe my career to those pants!

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Filed Under: personal training, running, sports performance, strength and conditioning, weight loss Tagged With: beginnings, career, health and fitness professional, origins, personal training, running, weight loss

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By: Rashid Azar

Latest Blog Posts

  • Healthy Lifestyle vs. Busy Lifestyle
  • Primitive Initiative™- Climbing Progressions
  • Primitive Initiative™ Jumping Progressions
  • Primitive Initiative™- Crouching Progressions
  • Primitive Initiative™- Getting Up Progressions

Latest Blog Posts

  • Healthy Lifestyle vs. Busy Lifestyle
  • Primitive Initiative™- Climbing Progressions
  • Primitive Initiative™ Jumping Progressions
  • Primitive Initiative™- Crouching Progressions
  • Primitive Initiative™- Getting Up Progressions

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