I feel one of the most misunderstood and neglected parts of fitness, high-performance sport, etc is technique. The world is filled with millions of trainers. You have the many strength and conditioning associations NASM, IUSCA, NSCA, ASCA, SCS, UKSCA, IASC, etc, and if the technique isn’t overlooked it’s generalized or it’s over-emphasized in a deconstructive way.
Like grandmother used to say, “it’s not what you do but how you do it that’s important.” Everyone is different. You can’t always apply the same “fitness parameters” that you were taught in your strength and conditioning courses the same with every single client, athlete, etc.
I would say the guiltiest teaching and interpretation belongs to those teaching and demonstrating the squat. Fundamentally it is a rather simple exercise. Technically it’s difficult to execute correctly for many people and even more difficult for many trainers and so-called strength and conditioning people to teach. They like to complicate the squat with heels up, wide stance narrow stance elevated heel stance and the list goes on. Simplicity is always the best place to start.
Visually looking at the downward and upward movement and trying to figure out the person’s most efficient, effective, correct position. Moving on from that, if they don’t have solid mechanical movement then you must figure out why so that you can teach them to execute correctly. Maybe there is a problem with the tightness in the hips the hams the calves the lower back the upper back. So many things can derail the correct technique and body position of the squat or any exercise for that matter.
It’s not just about teaching the squat. It’s about having the foundational education to teach the basic movement and then the experience and expertise to adjust the movement to its most efficient proper position. This is where most fitness professionals fall short. Needless to say, without proper technique in exercise, a million things can go wrong. Moving too quickly, using too much weight, try an exercise that’s too complicated for your fitness level. The list goes on.
Put more succinctly learning how to execute, teach and understand correct technique is the foundation of almost everything life has to offer. Teaching technique is basically problem-solving. It can be simple or quite complicated. The best trainers come up with the best most effective solutions. From Art to exercise, even sex! Technique, technique, technique. The difference between good and great is knowing what you are doing.
Sports Professor Howard Dell is an internationally recognized expert in high-performance sports training with a specialty in athletics. He’s a former Olympian, professional football and basketball player as well as a 7-time gold medalist in athletics at WTG. A cardiac care specialist, and nutritional microscopist, he has worked with the best athletes in the world in 5 different sports. He is a representative of the International Association of Strength and Conditioning in Romania.
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