Four weeks, two languages, and the value of practice.

Preface.
In the month of July, a good friend of a current client visited our gym from
Guadalajara, Mexico. I had the pleasure of training him, and was faced with an
interesting situation: with me was a 76 year-old man who spoke very minimal English
(and my grasp of Spanish tenuous at best) and had spent the past few decades as an
instructor of Mathematics. In the course of four weeks he had asked to develop improved
movement and function, as well as create a practice to take home with him that he might
continue his training until finding a suitable facility and trainer. The following month was
a practice in success; Oscar (the good friend) responded excellently to the work
accomplished, learned kinesthetically as well as intellectually the purpose of the
movements used, and left Portland confident in his ability to continue his practice and
select a good trainer in Guadalajara.

This was accomplished not in spite of, but because of the language barrier. Our
communication was necessarily very simple; demonstration and hands on/touch coaching
played a large role in supplementing the simple instruction used. This simple instruction
allowed Oscar the freedom to experience and learn the movement without unnecessary
mental distraction, smoothing the learning process.

Oscar.
Oscar, like most who have spent many years over books and papers at a desk, had
succumbed to gravity. Forward shoulders and head, inflexible hips, and a stiff back had
taken a toll on his movement, sapping strength restricting his movement. Like many, he
had little trust in the balance or strength of his legs and midsection. He noticed a
shallowness in his breathing that once was deep, and to climb a steep hill was more a
challenge than not.

This is not to say the man was unfit. He had a background of good, diverse
physical activity, and no outstanding injury. He simply found that neglecting his body
over the years had brought him rather suddenly to a place where that which was once
easy was now hard.

The Work.
The goal was to restore function. For Oscar, functional meant that he ought be
able to lift, carry, and move objects with strength and confidence, have the endurance to
be active for long durations, and interact with his world without (or with less) physical
restriction. The work itself was very simple: steady improvement of mobility through
daily practice, bracing the midsection, learning to use the legs and hips well, finding
strength in the muscles of the trunk and shoulders, breathing (a big one!), and posture.
We quantified the challenges according to what needed the most attention through use of
the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and Oscars stated goal. (For those who use the
FMS, his score improved from an 8 to 14)

The important part of this is that the work was very simple. There was nothing
revolutionary being done. The practices are (or should be) fundamental knowledge for all
personal trainers. We did not run Oscar in to the ground with intervals or excessive
intensity. We trained to develop his movement ability by improving range of motion and
stability where needed, learning to express strength with a healthy posture, and tying
together endurance and strength with good breathing habits. He trained these skills in the
gym, and was tasked with practicing them wherever appropriate and integrating the
patterns into his daily life

The Lesson.
The unusual part of training, and the one that yielded a good lesson, was the
means of communicating these concepts through a relatively broad language barrier. To
explain to someone how to breathe deeply or lift properly in another language is a
process of simplification. Minimal, efficient instruction and ample practice of the
postures and movements put Oscar in an environment where he was unburdened by
unnecessary thoughts and was able to focus completely on his body. This trend was true
for all of his training.

Oscar learned very quickly. He quickly felt in his body how these techniques
improved his ability, created mobility where there was stiffness, and developed use of the
body as a single unit. This was at first rather surprising to me. However, I reflected to
time spent at the dojo. There, instruction is very much so the same: few words, ample
demonstration, and physical correction of alignment/technique by the sensei. In the dojo
setting this creates an environment where the student is taught not about the muscles
involved in a movement, or knowing intellectually how to do something, but rather by
learning to self correct and feel what efficient, quality movement truly is.

Training Oscar through the barrier of our language forced me, the trainer, to mold
the practice such that Oscar rapidly learn to evaluate his own body by feeling. I showed
the direction, drew his attention to mistakes, and enabled him use his own intelligence
and awareness to learn what felt strong, what felt efficient. Teaching someone to self-
correct a movement calls upon a different awareness than teaching them why or
how a movement is accomplished. It is a kinesthetic (or body) awareness rather than an
intellectual awareness. The lesson is that developing kinesthetic awareness is not
something explained by words, but must be practiced intentionally. With intentional
practice, the practitioner learns exercises as methods of movement rather than specific
exercises (for example, a dead lift is not just a dead lift; its a very effective way of
picking things up). With that awareness, what began as an exercise in the gym becomes
awareness and movement ability that can be adapted needed. The practitioner learns to
express the skills and fitness developed in the gym in the rest of their lives



Its relevant to all of us.
You can say, ah well, thats nice, but I speak English and am a perfect physical
specimen! or perhaps ah well, that sounds exactly like me! Perhaps youve seen this
decline in your elders and peers who are bound to sedentary or sporadically active
lifestyles, but you are still spry. Still this lesson can be important. When you exercise,
when you move, no matter your current physical state, there is no better opportunity to
feel and learn to use the body. Get a coach if you must, practice on your own as often as
possible, and learn to feel your body. An exercise is an exercise, but how you practice
directly influences your ability to express ability in that exercise elsewhere. Being
healthy, strong, and confident in your body is a state of being available to all of us. All it
takes is patience, a teacher (these come in many forms, from injury to friends to coaches
to simple observation), and practice.

Your occupation, athletic background, age, current physical state, etc. are not relevant to
creating improvement. Those all must be considered in selecting the appropriate type of
activity to engage in, but have little bearing on how you engage that activity. The human
body is amazingly effective at adapting, and regular, intentional practice is the surest way
to create the change you wish to see in yourself.