A Different Approach To Training and Coaching

Recently, I enjoyed a hike in the mountain surrounding Lake Moraine. The climb was steep right from the start- enough for me to notice how quickly my heart rate went up, and my breathing rate followed suit. Huffing and puffing, I recalled a lesson I have learned from Gray Cook, that of self-limiting exercise. Many injuries, and therefore delays and deterrents to performance/achieving our goals are the result of overuse. It's not hard to reach the point of overuse given our emphasis on more- quality over quantity. Self-limiting exercise could be the answer.


A self-limiting exercise is one that demands high levels of precision in technique, timing and alignment without which the you will experience failure of some sort. In essence, it does not allow quantity at the expense of quality. Think jumping rope- timing and posture are required. Walking on a balance beam. In his classic book, Movement, Gray provides this a of self-limiting exercises.


While I was hiking, I focused on my breathing. As the steepness of the slope continued to increase, I found myself breathing through my mouth, my chest heaving up and down. This is dysfunctional breathing as it makes use of accessory muscles. The sternocleidomastoid (SCM), the scalenes, upper trapezius, and other muscles of the upper chest and neck area assume the role of ventilation, a function largely controlled, under normal circumstances, by the diaphragm. The cascade of substitution and compensation that follows is very far reaching, as explained by the concept of regional interdependence.


In this article discussing cervicogenic headaches, the author expertly described this situation. "Diaphragmatic breathing allows the lungs to fill on inspiration by increasing chest volume. In patients with diaphragm dysfunction, the accessory respiratory muscles (scalenes and SCM) lift the rib cage to facilitate lung filling during inspiration. These secondary muscles are often tight and hyperactive in patients with chronic neck pain due to deep neck flexor weakness. In faulty respiration patterns, these tight muscles are readily activated and continue to facilitate the patterns of muscle imbalance with each breath."


With this in mind, one way to insert the concept of self-limiting exercise was to allow myself to breath ONLY through my nose. If I went at a pace that was too fast, I found that I ended up back to mouth or apical breathing. It forced me to slow down and believe it or not, I felt the tension release from my neck.


Recently, one of my clients missed several training sessions under chiropractic direction. Those very muscles I described as accessory were taped following a diagnosis of acute torticollus. It's certainly a fancy term- even I had to look it up. Torticollis (wryneck) is one of a broader category of disorders that exhibit flexion, extension, or twisting of muscles of the neck beyond their normal position (emedicine.com). What brought this episode to mind was that my client said she had no idea what she had done. She had just gone hiking over the weekend.


When I'm working with someone who has a medical condition, I make it part of my job to communicate with the medical professionals he/she may be seeing. I depend on their medical expertise and they on my movement, exercise and training specialty. For both of us, that the client progresses towards their goals pain-free is the top priority. In communication with my client's chiropractor, not only did she tell me the diagnosis, she mentioned the same stuff- dysfunctional breathing, accessory muscles. Because of the pain my client was feeling, certain exercises were no longer available as options in my programming. Push ups, planks, loaded squats. Balance was also a bit of an issue for my client so even though we tried to stick to lower body stuff, the need to throw the arms out every so often meant that even that selection was limited. And "cardio" was perhaps the worst option. Because my client was using those muscles unawares, any exertion to the point of 'feeling it' would undoubtedly reignite the problem.


In the end, we went back to lying on a mat and simply learning how to breath. Through pictures, videos, and hands on exercise instruction, I pointed out which muscles were working, which ones should have been working, how to inhibit the overactive ones and facilitate those that were inhibited.


A trainer's job is not just to burn calories. It's about being very knowledgeable and observant. The client's goal are important, so I listen. Their movement profile is important, so I listen to that too. And so we dance. I learn as I watch them move and pay attention to how they feel about the exercises and positions I'm asking of them. They learn as their feedback directs my decisions and short-term and process goals are consistently revisited and adjusted. Even if it means we lay on the mat and address something as elementary as breathing, educating the client is how they achieve their goals.


That is personal training. 

That is coaching.

Phil Page, P. (2011) Cervicogenic Headaches: An Evidence-Led Approach To Clinical Management. The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy Volume 6, Number 3,  Page 255