Being Effective vs Showing Off

One of the things that has perplexed me throughout my career as a Personal Trainer is the use of flashy exercise rather than using effective exercise. Now I'm all for exposure, it was one of the things that made me as busy as I am now. But, the exposure that I used was letting others see me workout. I used Zercher Squats, Box Jumps, Heavy Squats and Deadlifts. Tell me, which one of those doesn't transfer over to the sports that I compete in?

I'm talking about the Burpees with a BOSU Ball in the hand, or the "18 million part to get one rep" kettlebell exercises. Next time you are doing an exercise, ask yourself, "Why am I doing this?". If you are working with someone who does your programming, like a Personal Trainer, or even a more experienced friend, ask them that question. If they can't come up with a better answer than, "Oh, because its hard as hell." or "This is going to work your biceps." you need to find someone else to do your programming. Everything you do, or someone has you do should tie in DIRECTLY with your goals. Other wise they, or you are just trying to show off.

I know the first argument is going to be, "Well I'm training metabolically!". Guess what smart guy? When training metabolically it doesn't take kettlebells, sandbags, and BOSU Balls. If you can't have your ass kicked with your own bodyweight in a metabolic sense, you need to find another way to train. Sprint up hills, do Tabata work, pick 5 bodyweight exercises and do them for 60 seconds each back to back.

The next argument is going to be, "Matt, you Squat and Deadlift with 400+ lbs almost every time you're in the gym, isn't that just showing off?" or "Matt, why are you doing all those Box Jumps? They're just for show." When I compete I use maximal effort with every throw and I have to be explosive, therfore my training should reflect the way I compete.

It drives me up the wall to see some people train ther clients in a "flashy" manner and not get them results. So the next time you see someone standing on a BOSU having a medicine ball thrown at them, then doing a woodchop and throwing the medicine ball back, don't pay them any attention. That's all they are there for anyway-attention, not getting bigger, or faster, or stronger.

RANT DONE