I read Brian Grasso’s most recent post to the IYCA website, and realized something about my own approach to training – both of myself and of my clients.  Brian interviewed renowned strength and conditioning coach Juan Carlos Santana about the way JC trains kids at his facility.

Reading the interview, I realized that I approach all of my clients the way J.C. describes his approach with child-athletes.

Then I realized something else…that this focus we have on “adulthood,” and on “acting like an adult,” is another of the cultural mores I was talking about in my most recent post.  Similarly with the other items on my list, being “adult” ultimately costs a lot more than being a “child.”  Not in terms of energy – kids are infinitely more active in general than adults – but in terms of wear-and-tear on the system in general.  Think about the things we associate with adulthood (here’s a list from Wikipedia):

• Self-control – restraint, emotional control.
• Stability – stable personality, strength.
• Independence – ability to self-regulate.
• Seriousness – ability to deal with life in a serious manner.
• Responsibility – accountability, commitment and reliability.
• Method/Tact – ability to think ahead and plan for the future, patience.
• Endurance – ability and willingness to cope with difficulties that present themselves.
• Experience – breadth of mind, understanding.
• Objectivity – perspective and realism.
• Decision making capability – as all of the above correspond to making proper decisions.
• Priorities – Ability to determine what is necessary at that place and time.

While all of these are qualities that we associate with adulthood/maturity, and they’re all “necessary,” the degree or extent to which each quality is emphasized is a matter of debate.

In fact, I’d like to make a point, and then ask that you read that list again.  I’ve seen all of these qualities exhibited in children.  The degree, or ultimate direction of their action might be different than it would be for an adult,
but the qualities they exhibit are identical.

All human beings learn by doing, by interacting with their environment.  They learn that they can manipulate things through the repetition of movement “experiments.”  They learn responsibility when their actions come back to bite them.  They learn endurance when an old method no longer works in a new situation, and they have to continue to experiment to find the answer.

What we associate with “adulthood” in this country is a certain type of demonstration of the qualities in the list above.  And I think the one thing that characterizes this type – adulthood – most, is inflexibility or lack of experimentation.

Think about it.  What is the one quality present in children, that is not commonly present in most adults, that is also missing from that list?  Creativity.

The creative, flexible, experimental attitude of children is one of the things that allows them to learn and grow at such an astonishing rate.  There are other things, such as their lack of experience, that also help them to be more receptive than adults can be at times, but the open attitude that is associated with creativity and experimentation is central to learning.

These qualities are also associated with something that is deemed “childish” by our society – Play.  We look at adults who like to play (I mean, really play, not professional athletes…they aren’t playing, they’re working) as being simple or foolish.  And we only allow a few of the very top professional athletes to exhibit anything remotely resembling play.  Only those who have “paid their dues” or who exhibit such otherworldly performance as to be beyond reproof (or the ones we set up as our jesters, our fools, the ones whose antics are part of their work) have the right to play during their sport.  This is one of the reasons that I’m a member of organizations like the IYCA and Exuberant Animal – those organizations foster growth through play – one focused on children, the other on “adults.”

So, how do I train my clients?  The same way I would train anyone, of any age.  First, I assess their current state.  Where are they starting from?  What, based on my experience, do they need to do to create a solid foundation for future health and fitness?  Then, I ask them what their goals are, what their prior experience with exercise is, etc.  I’ll explain to them why we might be starting at a point that seems far removed from their ideal goal-state.  Then I’ll design their program.  But for just about everyone (just about), the programming is the same:

• Postural/structural focus
• General warmup
• Basic movement abilities/patterning
• More specific warmup
• Strength training
• More movement focus
• Stretching/cooldown, and more postural work.

It seems like a lot for one session at first glance, but the lines between posture-correction and warmup start to blur, as does the junction between specific warmup and strength training.  Also, movement focus occurs throughout the workout.  (I don’t like isolation exercises, unless there’s a very specific reason for them).  That list takes about 50 minutes to an hour from start to finish – which just happens to be the length of a training session – and provides a workout that supplies stimulus to every movement ability my clients possess.

One of the main things I try to do in every session is to create opportunities for creativity, problem-solving, and exploration.  I can do this subtly, by asking the client to perform a new movement, or one that they haven’t done since they were a child, or more directly, by having them choose the next exercise, or the way the exercise is performed (within the limits of safety, of course).

Basically, I just try to do what every good parent does – create a safe place where the individual’s capabilities can flourish.  And you know what, they always do.