Systems Thinking and Poo Flinging

A system is a group of interconnected elements working together to achieve a common purpose or function.

According to Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy, in order for us to consider something a system, it must have three things:

Elements: The individual parts of the system.

Interconnections and interdependence must exist among the elements.

Purpose or function: The objectives of the organization as a whole have a higher priority than the objectives of its subsystem(s) (Credit: Stuart McMillan)

A systems thinking approach helps when it comes to designing a training program.  Based on the individual and the goal there are at least two ways you could initially approach things based off the screening and performance data.

The Elements first approach: What is available to me, and what can I do? If Barbells were considered the ideal element for an intended purpose, but are not available, or I lack the ability to safely teach others how to use them then they’re not an element.  

If you’re essentially married to a singular element, then you’re limited to it.

The Purpose or function first approach: What is the goal? Can I train someone to this goal? Previous success may not be as great of an indicator as we’d like to think. A lengthy track record tiling towards positive outcomes is a good thing so long as we remember that there are always outliers, and that what works for one works for many might not work for an individual. 

Think of this as knowing where you’re going before you leave the house.

Not to diminish the other two, but interconnection and interdependence is where things often seem to drop off.  Given the individual and the goal/purpose, I look at the connections between elements within the session and how they evolve over subsequent sessions and cycles.  There is a “why” behind and between each element.

The opposite of the Systems Thinking approach is what I like to call  “The Poo Flinging approach”.  Essentially a trainer keeps throwing crap until something sticks. Either they are playing amateur hour, have misplaced over-confidence, don’t give a damn or perhaps a combination of those things.

Systems Thinking applied. I am currently building a home training center. 

Purpose and Function are clear. Build with an eye towards longterm needs and the capabilities of people above, below or differently skilled from myself.  

Elements in this case are the individual pieces of equipment, and build quality a personal priority.  

Interconnection and Interdependence between elements helps maximize investments.  Can the item be used for a singular purpose (is it highly specialized?) or can it be used in multiple ways, and do those ways contribute to the Purpose and Function? 

Poo Flinging applied.  I would be buying stuff simply based off looks based and impulse.

Systems thinking might be considered a lengthier process, and could invite paralysis by analysis. Ideally, it lessens the odds you’ll wind up with a face full of poo, or in my case reduce the odds of poor investments and buyers remorse.

A lesson from Tupac

“We’re not being taught to deal with the world as it is. We’re being taught to deal with this fairy land that we’re not even living in anymore. And it’s sad because it’s me telling you, and it should not be me telling you.” – Tupac Shakur (goguardian.com)

The take-home message: Tailoring education to the specific needs of the trainer, while instilling a strong foundation in the basics.  In my opinion, the basics is where the personal trainer credentialing organizations are failing the graduates.

The trainers  performance of what I consider to be generally accepted basic techniques tells me a lot about them.  I qualify these as “generally accepted” since they are common to the majority CPT texts: Pull,Push,Squat,Hip Hinge,Lunge, Rotate and Carry.

I recognize individual differences in form and style, but there is only so much departure from the basic that can be had before it becomes something else.

This opinion only solidified when trainers were asked to teach the material, improve an individuals performance and explain how the technique could be programmed.  Testing in this manner provides multiple opportunities to shine, but also shows where the trainers weaknesses lay.  It also screens screens out people with insufficient skills in the fundamentals.

Trainers can choose to grow from this wake up call, or not.

Facts
The certification body did their part by selling you an exam. If thats the only book you read then you’re limited to it.

After certification, it’s up to you to make more of  yourself.

Education should never stop. To think you’ve got it all is both arrogant and ignorant.

Don’t be afraid of a challenge or information that conflicts with what you’ve been taught.

Old Man Strength

Time is catching up on me.  

In the last five live courses I’ve taken I’ve been among the top 2-3 oldest people in the room.  I used to think that being the oldest person in the gym wasn’t the worst vague goal a person could have. I’ve since changed that to being the oldest capable person in the gym.

FACT: Whining and complaining about our advancing age will not stop the aging process.  We all eventually lose in our fight against time.

Three things we know about time…

1.  Our muscle mass starts to decline. 

2. Th brain cells responsible for controlling movement reduce in number. 

3. Our tissues begin to stiffen and dehydrate.

In light of 1-3, our functional skills and abilities are on a decreasing slope…unless we choose to do something about it.

Resistance training slows the decrease of muscle mass, and even non-previously trained elderly populations can grow muscle. The major problem is not having a balanced approach in training.

Varying movement patterns can help increase our neural cells. Moving in multiple planes of motion, at various intensities and velocities is what we are designed to do.

Flexibility, Mobility, Stability and Balance.  There are different things and don’t simply mean being able to touch your toes or scratch your own back.  This means becoming more limber and being able to control ranges of motion.

Recovery becomes more serious as we age, and as low level as it sounds, the simple act of drinking water can be a difference maker in your life.

A tale of two-capabilities…At one time I had two older clients, one male and one female that were less than a year apart in age.  On any given day either could have been the oldest person in the gym.

That ends the similarities, in training they were polar opposites of each other.

The lady looked a conservative decade younger than she was. She could engage the ground for Yoga postures and control free weights in space.  She was a joy to train and I looked forward to our next session together. You couldn’t ask for a better client. 

The male on the other hand looked like someone exceptional at beer drinking, chili-dog eating and remote control using. He seemed to hate training and wouldn’t follow instructions…or he just hated me.

I removed exercises from his program due to his inability to answer if something hurt or not.  I take a direct approach with pain, if I ask if something causes pain and the answer isn’t a No, then it’s a Yes.

By any set of measurements he needed to lose weight and admitted so himself. I am well-aware that people can be stuck in their ways of eating unless there is a serious medical intervention beyond my scope of practice. 

Anticipating the two-pronged difficulty, I set the bar low…but high enough to since achieving consistency was a need. I asked that he start walking 10 minutes a day in his non-hilly neighborhood, and drink 33% of his bodyweight in water daily for a week. Previous to this he reported only minimally walked around the house and didn’t drink much water. In hindsight I might have set the bar too high.  

“For two weeks I ask they (the client) only do two things:  Park the car further away from the store and drink two glasses of water a day.  At 9:00pm I will call and ask if you’ve done both.  I know when it takes a number of rings that they are getting in that glass of water. ”     Dan John.

A week later I asked how the daily walks and water drinking went. He stated he did both, but not without giving me an eye roll and insolent tone.  I swear it was like talking to the worlds oldest looking teenager. 

Hearing about this success, I asked if he could up his walk time to 12 minutes and water intake to 50% Bodyweight. I would have taken the 12 minutes broken into two 6 minute rounds but the conversation never got that far.  My motivation exceeded his, and I was told “No” with a look that I’ll describe as an “FU Smirk.” 

I relieved myself as his trainer the following week, I know when I can’t help someone.  

Balance these similar aged people against the three things we know about aging and imagine how they might stack up in just a few years.  

A tale of two courses.

Four years ago I received a free course from a well-known accredited personal trainer organization. It was completely online and in full-transparency. I admit to barely looking at the material. 

I carelessly clicked my way through the course and passed the multi-choice in less than 45 minutes.  Once the certificate was printed I was officially a “specialist” according to this company and fulfilled all my continuing education credits. I never applied any of this information in the gym, or even to another person. 

The sad fact is that courses like this appeal to some trainers: Maximum credit for minimum effort and post-nominals upon completion.  

I’m not one of those trainers, and I can’t relate to those that are.  “Did I improve?” is an important self-question.

Two years ago I  took a unaccredited course that was a mixture of nineteen books and recorded seminars.  The reading requirements alone told me there was NO WAY I could get through the material in six months, even with my daily reading habit.

I purchased the major texts and started reading before ordering the course.  It took 11 months just to get through one book alone, and the other books required multiple readings in whole or part and all videos were watched multiple times.  

“You need to add some weights to your library”  Louie Simmons

Add I did.  I spent 18 months training 4-6 days a week in order to understand the material being covered.  Along the way I took four other courses to supplement the education. 

Chris Duffin, Kabuki Movement Systems- Intro to Loaded Movement

Dan John, Dragon Door – Hardstyle Kettlebell

Dr. Andreo Spina – Functional Anatomy Seminars – FRC Mobility Specialist

Rik Brown – Mace Swinging

Gray Cook – Indian Club Fundamentals

Out of state weekend travel was required for two of those courses, and the purchase of specialized training equipment followed. 

Like the unchallenging course taken two years previous, the test was also open-book and online. That’s where any test similarities ended.

The answers were largely in essay form and could not be direct quotes from the textbooks without explanation in my own words. It was even stated that direct quotes would be marked wrong.  There were few multi-choice questions and the test was hand-graded by the author of most of the required reading.  There was no way to pass this exam with lucky clicks or rote memorization.  You had to know the material and be able to show your work in terms of equations and programming.

I finished the exam with less than 20 minutes remaining on the clock, and  waited two-months for the results.  Had I failed, it would have been a four-month wait to re-test with no idea what area(s) I failed.  

I passed on my first attempt.  The material learned has been used consistently and synthesized with material learned from other high value courses.  I’ve been able to apply many of  the training principles learned on people ranging from untrained beginners to highly qualified lifters and trainers ranging from year one to veteran.

Take a guess which course made me a better trainer.