I say fat loss clients to make the distinction that I'm not training athletes or people that are specifically looking to get into kettlebell sport or anything. I'm talking about people new to the gym, and I'm sure very new to the concept of mobility. Gym shy people, often.
As we know (since we were there once), dynamic warmups and mobility sessions are unusual to see in the gyms and parks, so while I want to do the right thing with my clients, I also want them to come back. My fear is that a round of Toy Soldiers and skipping is going to quickly insure that they do not come back for session #2, so I want to start slowly.
I already have to baby step some into what I consider a good workout, so I can also baby step them into this. I just want to make sure I've got my bases (and theirs) covered.
My initial thought is to start them off with a bodyweight routine as the warmup and first part of each workout.
Scap Pushups
Cariaco "light" (less hip snap, and just concentrate on getting the movements down)
Bentover Ys
Glute Bridge
Pushups Plus
Walking lunges or prisoner lunges with twist (split stance rotation-ish)
Walking reverse lunges back to start
Stickups or wall slides
I know it's not perfect, but enough to give them a taste but not scare them away before we hit the weights. I can add it more and more thorough mobility session by session.
During actual "training," I've got facepulls and some other things to make sure we cover the bases, plus a little stretching at the end.
What do you guys do for new clients in this dept? Ideas?
I generally have them do a shortened version of a usual dynamic warmup and introduce them to why that and mobility work is important (good for the trainer to do along with them ).
Most cases I'll have them do toy soldiers etc... but if they are really tight or uncoordinated then have them hold onto something and do leg swings.
Your bodyweight circuit is a good idea, but the scap pushups and reverse lunges may be tough for someone overweight and not used to any exercise. I find that forward lunges and scap presses are challenging enough. Get them used to the concept of moving their scapula and where to feel a stretch in the lunging.
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Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
As we know (since we were there once), dynamic warmups and mobility sessions are unusual to see in the gyms and parks, so while I want to do the right thing with my clients, I also want them to come back. My fear is that a round of Toy Soldiers and skipping is going to quickly insure that they do not come back for session #2, so I want to start slowly.
I wouldn't worry too much about them thinking it's weird. I did a bootcamp earlier this year with dynamic warmups and no one blinked an eye--especially if you make it fun. Besides, people new to training don' t know WHAT'S "normal".
If your clients have a lot of weight to lose and have been very inactive, they may be *done* after that workout --- I mean, warm-up. By that I mean it might be fine for someone with 20 lbs to lose but not fine for someone with 50-100 lbs excess.
That's not a warmup for my overweight clients -- it would be a workout. For them, I do joint mobility standing up and focus on the shoulder and pelvic girdles. As a transition to the workout near the end, I stick in bodyweight quarter squats and some light jumping.
thanks for the input. I should clarify that most of them have been guys who have 20lbs or so to lose. Most have been "fit" in the past and never did mobility, so they feel stupid doing it. Women don't care and will do anything.
In a group or bootcamp setting, I don't think there will be an issue, male or female. It's the one on ones in a gym where no one else ever does mobility. period.
Ah, didn't realize you were talking about yerself!
He probably needs some hip mobility too so get that in there. And point out others that don't move well because they don't do what he's doing.
__________________
Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
Keep in mind the formerly fit male is a tough group to get to do just about anything, not just mobility. Unless it is the same routine of biceps and chest stuff they have done in the past and in high school football there is typically a bit of resistance.
A couple strategies that have worked somewhat well for me have been:
-Tie ins - make sure you are applying what you are doing to what they said there goals were. If they didn't mention mobility and posture, don't use those are reasons. These things make you feel better, burn more calories, lose more weight, get stronger, etc... Sometimes you have to fudge the truth a bit at the beginning to get buy in, but once they see and feel the results it gets much easier.
-Similar the the first, tie it back to an athlete or sport they like. Mention or e-mail them a video of GSP doing mobility, what the TPI guys are doing with there golfers, hockey guys with Mike Boyle, etc...
-If they have already purchased a decent amount of sessions, tell them to shut up and do it! (note this doesn't really work and isn't a great method)
-Make concessions "try this out for the next few weeks and see what happens" type of stuff can work really well with some people.
Another thing for me with the mobility and dynamic w/up stuff is that in my gym we don't have a ton of space so I rarely plan to do anything that involves a lot of movement. If they have to carioca around a bunch of people doing crunches and other stuff its tough to get them to keep doing it. So I do mostly stuff that can be done in place. This has helped get people to keep with it too.
Danny
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Limitations are for people who have them.
Dynamic warm-ups and mobility certainly can improve their performance on bench press, deadlifts, etc. as a result of being able to move better, so hit them with that angle.
When I put a lot of attention on my own mobility, it took a little while but eventually people got curious about it and started asking questions because they saw me doing it all the time. Several even commented that since I was the only one in the gym doing it, I must know something everyone else doesn't, and they wanted a piece of the "secret".
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Mike Pipes
Massive fat loss survivor and aspiring trainer in training
Ah, didn't realize you were talking about yerself!
He probably needs some hip mobility too so get that in there. And point out others that don't move well because they don't do what he's doing.
*cough*jerk*cough*
I'm sure he does. I'll baby step into more and more. Now that he "knows" how to do these with me, we can do them faster as more of a warmup/circuit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DKing
Keep in mind the formerly fit male is a tough group to get to do just about anything, not just mobility. Unless it is the same routine of biceps and chest stuff they have done in the past and in high school football there is typically a bit of resistance.
A couple strategies that have worked somewhat well for me have been:
-Tie ins - make sure you are applying what you are doing to what they said there goals were. If they didn't mention mobility and posture, don't use those are reasons. These things make you feel better, burn more calories, lose more weight, get stronger, etc... Sometimes you have to fudge the truth a bit at the beginning to get buy in, but once they see and feel the results it gets much easier.
-Similar the the first, tie it back to an athlete or sport they like. Mention or e-mail them a video of GSP doing mobility, what the TPI guys are doing with there golfers, hockey guys with Mike Boyle, etc...
-If they have already purchased a decent amount of sessions, tell them to shut up and do it! (note this doesn't really work and isn't a great method)
-Make concessions "try this out for the next few weeks and see what happens" type of stuff can work really well with some people.
Another thing for me with the mobility and dynamic w/up stuff is that in my gym we don't have a ton of space so I rarely plan to do anything that involves a lot of movement. If they have to carioca around a bunch of people doing crunches and other stuff its tough to get them to keep doing it. So I do mostly stuff that can be done in place. This has helped get people to keep with it too.
Danny
Good tips. and we often have zero space to skip around, so no cariocaing. Hip mobility is the worst offender when it comes to guys not wanting to be stared at.
As to tie ins, I lead and end with them. I tell them how we're going to improve x and then tell them how we did it at the end. It's the years of sales training catching up to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mpipes
Danny has a good point.
Dynamic warm-ups and mobility certainly can improve their performance on bench press, deadlifts, etc. as a result of being able to move better, so hit them with that angle.
-Similar the the first, tie it back to an athlete or sport they like. Mention or e-mail them a video of GSP doing mobility, what the TPI guys are doing with there golfers, hockey guys with Mike Boyle, etc...
Great advice.
When I first start working dynamic warmups/mobility with a new guy I give a brief explanation along with the aforementioned tie-in to a sport they like and then make it seem it's just natural, and this is what real training consists of.
__________________
Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
Dynamic warm-ups and mobility certainly can improve their performance on bench press, deadlifts, etc. as a result of being able to move better, so hit them with that angle.
Bingo! It's why I keep doing the dynamic warmups myself even though I know more mobility is good on its' own, it's the effect it has on performance that makes me & probably a lot of other peepz stick to it.
Also, nearly every REAL athlete spends time doing warmups of some sorts & who doesn't like to be addressed as an athlete even when they are overweight... especially when they USED to be in good shape!
I usually use FMS and some other screening things at the beginning to see what the issues are. The good thing about this is that they get a very good indication of where their problems lie. You're having them do basic things that look very simple, but they can't do them. This usually gets their attention, but only if you explain WHAT you're looking for, WHY they can't do it, and HOW it can be fixed.
Then, once you have a plan of action for correction, it's a matter of 5-10 minutes at the beginning of a workout. At this point, they should already understand why you're doing it and that it's a good thing.
Warmups, mobility, etc. with new fat loss clients
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