This writing began as a revision of my website bio. I find the current version to be both intentionally and unintentionally vague. It was written in early ’21 when we were in the midst of a collective bardo and I don’t enjoy reducing myself to labels. Well, we’ve entered into a new phase (Happy ’23 Year of the Yin Water Rabbit) and whatever else I am or am becoming, I’m a Personal Trainer. That label seems more hollowed out by the day but attempting to relabel my profession feels like pretentious overreach (although Exercise Shaman sure does have a nice ring to it). Instead, I wish to provide clarity. The challenge in doing so is that words can’t quite capture it. I don’t exactly know what will happen until a specific person is in front of me in a specific moment. This is especially true for introductory sessions and even holds with longtime relationships. We’re a dynamic process, no day will be physiologically identical to any other. Below are the 891 words that have poured out thus far in the attempt to share some of the foundational concepts which shape my thought process. Too long to be a bio, even though I like the idea of filtering out tourists? More thoroughly examined, could these concepts become the chapters of a first book? Working title, ‘Exercise as Story: Y’all, with a Brooklyn accent’. Feels like article length in its current form so putting it out there and I welcome your feedback.
Body Scan to Open Practice — drop awareness into the body to attune ourselves with its signals. Exploring joint mobility is my preferred method of achieving this. Programs provide helpful guidelines and are effective motivating tools but the ultimate outcome of a session should remain undefined. The plan might be for Mondays workout to begin with deadlifts. But if the hips feel disconnected during our body scan this signal may indicate the benefits of calling an audible; activate the area before deadlifting with a resistance band side step or choose to replace the exercise altogether and leave it for another day.
Structure Determines Function — the structural design of the body provides a mechanical blueprint. These will vary from limb to limb, joint to joint, and person to person. The ball and socket design of the hip functions very differently than the hinge design of the elbow. Mr. Thick Rib Cage and Short Arms is going to have a very different experience bench pressing than Mr. Long Arms and Narrow Rib Cage.
Getting Closer to The Root of Movement — muscles control the distance between points of attachment. This is made possible by internal force production. Because muscles can only pull, this force is called tension. Muscles contract (force) and relax (allow). Visiting one pole opens a path to its opposite.
Specificity > Simulation — playing basketball is the best way to become a better basketball player. Strength training is the most efficient method of improving strength. While complimentary benefits exist between these practices, some distance should be kept between them (shooting free throws with a weighted basketball).
All Exercise is Resistance Training — typically the term resistance training refers only to those activities which utilize external applications such as a dumbbell. However, even during a bodyweight practice such as yoga asana, examples of resistance include the practitioners mass in relationship to gravity and the friction created with the ground.
Isolation is a Holistic Symphony — we are distinct but not separate; joint motions can be isolated, the body cannot. Although we possess mechanical traits, we are more than mechanisms. Even a bicep curl requires the integration of the entire organism. External tools offer the opportunity to shine attention on aspects that might otherwise prove elusive.
The Body is Intelligent — the view of compensation insinuates otherwise, that pain and discomfort are mistakes that need to be fixed. I believe a more accurate view is that of cooperation. Lower back pain while undesirable, is not stupid. Often, it is an orchestrated re-patterning applied to support the surrounding structure. Focus on reciprocating the kindness of the lower back quite literally, having our back, rather than dismissing its internal embrace. To be continued…
Connections and Interconnectedness — the lower back is more broadly part of the lumbopelvic hip complex, otherwise known as the trunk. When investigating the contractile ability of muscles that support the LPHC, it is not uncommon to find that certain areas, e.g., glutes and trunk rotators, are at least partially disconnected. Reestablishing connections in this case is a precondition for balance to be restored.
Playing Risk — life cannot exist in the absence of risk. Nevertheless, mitigating its effects while challenging the body should be synonymous with our notions of exercise. The more externally motivated the activity, the more it begins to resemble a sport. I enjoy surfing, despite the best interest of my skin suit not being the top priority (the juice is worth the squeeze). How can we energize our inherent joy? Exercise at its essence is a practice of internal knowing and the embodiment of self-love.
Nurturing Intuition — human intuition is a perennial threat to the power and profit model of institutions. A current example of the attempt to sell back to us that which we already possess is provided in the form of fitness trackers, apps, and algorithms. Organisms adapt to the environment they experience most often. When well-being is prioritized the answers to our questions will arise from within. Following this through to its conclusion; to do my work well is to make myself unnecessary (quite the salesman I am).
“Check yo reflection make sure that it’s cool
For yo protection learn yourself before you learn in school
That you inadequate
Truthfully I’m an advocate
For these savages chasing these objects that be inanimate
I wish that I could give them something way more tangible
It’s hard to get yo gift from God when both yo hands is full”
— Tobe Nwigwe (I Choose You)
Restoring Balance to Close Practice — exercise excites the nervous system. Shifting gears before leaving the gym can support equanimity and the recovery process. Down regulation breathing can facilitate this transition from a sympathetic state (fight or flight) to a parasympathetic state (rest and digest); sit down with a straight spine for 5 minutes and breathe through the nose; 4 second inhalation, 8 second exhalation. Make it weird and find a spot to do this on the gym floor, just not in the squat rack please.
Radical Integration Bonus Track — expansive times are upon us. The fast flow of information today can feel imposing in the absence of a cosmic sense of humor. Open-sourcing has accelerated the process of sharing ideas which were once thought to be proprietary. These concepts only reflect the synthesis of teachers I’ve encountered to date. I welcome opposing viewpoints and embrace paradox.