An Annoyance

[Kathi]

I wonder if they don't realize what "proper" form is. As a newbie to planks I've been searching for technique on how to do them. There are tons of videos on "how to do a plank". Some lacked basic information. Others gave great tips. All said when you start to lose form, quit. However, most did not specify what that meant. I found a video by a yoga instructor that demonstrated how to find one's most effective hand placement, very helpful. The directions given to me were very specific on what muscles to activate and said to place hands directly under the shoulders. The pilates video was more specific tan that. My PT assumed I knew how to do a side plank. He demonstrated it for me but did not have me do it with him. When I first tried them I wound up hurting my self. Then I found a video of a PT/trainer who was walking a client through a side plank. It was very helpful because it showed common mistakes (my mistakes) and how to correct them. I'm sure my PT would have helped me but I would have lost a week's worth of training.

My expectation when working with a trainer or PT is that they point out where my form is off and work with me until it is corrected. And yes, it is frustrating to put yourself up against others who do things sloppily and think they're stronger or better than you. I ski with friends like this. They have no technique but out weigh me by a lot so they can naturally go faster. I can't keep up unless I just let go and ski like them. I constantly work on my technique so it's frustrating for me to just be sloppy. My one satisfaction is that non groomed terrain (bumps, powder, trees) requires good technique so I handle it much better than they can.

[Catrin]

It is also possible that they THINK they are doing it properly. I've learned the hard way that proprioception can be difficult. When we've always done things incorrectly, even when someone describes proper form it may well feel that we are doing it that way. I've gotten much better at knowing what different body parts are doing when not looking at them, but this fails me when I try to lift overhead - I develop a strong valgus (knee inward collapse) and my feet immediately goes out like duck feet (my body is trying to compensate for my shoulder problems, which is why I am currently not allowed to lift above my shoulders). My point is that my body is doing all of that compensating but it doesn't FEEL like it - thankfully none of these things happen with other types of lifting. Veronica's group-mates may have been convinced that they were doing it properly for it may have felt right to them - just as I had no idea my body was doing all of that.

[OakLeaf]

That may be true for people working on their own, especially in a space without enough mirrors, or with an instructor who gives them only cursory attention, but from V's description, her trainer knows what she is looking at and does appropriate corrections.

That's a lot of why I was getting fed up with group ex even before my injury. In every class the *majority* of people didn't care about their form, and no matter how many times and how many different ways I tried to guide them, they continued to pay very little attention, do the moves in enormously dangerous ways, substitute exercises they obviously learned off TV in the '80s if they didn't like the way I was teaching, and refused to *try* to do things with proper form once they'd decided that doing it wrong "hurts."

Most people just don't care.

/rant

[Crankin]

Oak, I echo your statement. While the instructors at my gym don't do anything egregious, there is not attention paid to people who need to be shown modifications. It gets my blood boiling, because people often end up doing stuff that is either harmful, or not enough. And, there's the thing about warming up and cooling down. At 5:30 AM, everyone keeps to the time schedule, but warm up is often compromised. The spin instructors see the one hour as an hour of spinning. They all go over time, starting the cool down when the class should be over, or say to do it on your own. Yesterday, the instructor (boot camp) said, "I know I should stop at 20 after, but I just can't help myself!" Oy, the class is for the people, not you. What's so hard about keeping to a schedule? I never had any issues with this. But, they get away with it, because as you said, most people don't care!

[Kathi]

The comments on this thread or the reason why, besides a cranky SI joint, I've not jointed a gym and gotten involved in group exercise classes or worked with a trainer. When I did aerobics many years ago and a few spinning classes, the instructors reminded participants to arrive early enough for the warm up and not to leave before the cool down and stressed the importance of both. Occasionally there were late arrivals or early leavers. Sometimes it couldn't be helped and often the instructors were informed as to why. In the weight room and in the aerobic classes good form was stressed. An aerobics instructor once told me that many people don't have a sense of where there body is, i.e. they'll get others space or not know how to move arms and legs and not realize it. We ski with a friend like that. He'll cut too close or almost run into you but doesn't seem to realize it.

From the bloggers I read many people don't have the basic movement patterns to perform an activity successfully and trainers don't have the training to assess what activity is appropriate for a person to be doing. So they use a one size fits all mentality. My latest PT thought lunges and squats were appropriate for me but he kept telling me to keep my hips "square". As much as I focused on squaring my hips it just wasn't happening. When I got tested it turned out that my "trunk stability" is dysfunctional. It means that I have an inability to control my spine when moving. Because my PT didn't look at my movement patterns he didn't spot this. My exercises now consist of planks and half kneeling to restore my trunk stability.

In addition to clients not caring maybe trainers could do more too. This article spells out what trainers need to do to get better responses from their clients. http://breakingmuscle.com/coaching/t...ry-and-freedom. If I could find a trainer like this guy I'd hire him in an instant.

I also don't think the majority of people are lazy or uncaring or else they wouldn't show up. They just may not have the passion for using their bodies efficiently and are willing to take the easy way out.

[Catrin]

There are many good trainers and coaches out there, it just takes doing one's homework to find them. Personally I've seen far more improvement working with my strength/conditioning coach than I ever did with physical therapy. That doesn't mean that I am anti-PT, just haven't had much luck with the ones I've worked with in recent years.

[OakLeaf]

Oh, totally agree, which was my point actually. From everything V's said, her trainer is one of the good ones. Which leads to the inescapable conclusion that the person who was dissing her just didn't care to do it right, not that they didn't know how.