When does Human Anatomy and Basic Biomechanics not Matter Anymore?
When the certifying agency says so…
First off, I love the TRX.
I think it’s a great product and the educational back-end support on their site is really first class.
They mostly get it right, especially for the non-“fitness professional” user.
Point of Contention:
People shouldn’t do pushups like this.
From Mens Health, not TRX, but that’s kinda sorta how they show it in the manual.
It just ain’t right.
The head of your humerus is all up in your acromion process and stuff.
As my Freak Beast of a friend, THE Alex Goldberg recently said in regards to TRX pushups: <—on my Facebook Page, where interesting fitness related musings take place daily go “like” it….
“I like when people ask me how they can stop the straps from rubbing against their arm. I always say they need to make a choice between the strap rubbing against their arm or the head of their humerus rubbing against their scapulae. Oddly enough some people choose the latter.”
Truth.
Biomechanically, this is bad for the shoulder…
I don’t care if it’s on a TRX, on the floor, using a bar or those power pushup things.
And, NO, I don’t think TRX is out to blow out shoulders, it’s just NOT the optimal pressing angle for shoulder health in most people.
I appreciate that the strap rub sucks, and they’re trying to stop that.
I’ve cut myself open before from it and it blows.
But it’s better than a messed up rotator cuff.
Now to my point.
A client asked why I used the bar pad Tampons on the TRX for pushups.
I Dropped this Knowledge Bomb:
The tampons take the sandpaper like effect of the straps away and it’s more comfortable to press in a shoulder friendly (elbows tucked) line.
Personally, I prefer rings or the EliteFTS Blast Straps for suspended pushups, the line of pressing is smoother.
Read why you don’t want to press with “flared elbows” by clicking on this sentence.
Made sense to me, and her, but not the other Fitness Professional in the room.
“Are you TRX Certified? Because if you’re not I don’t think you should be telling people how to use the TRX properly and should just do it the way TRX says.”
You see this Fitness Professional got caught up in the Certification Scam.
The Certification Scam In a Nutshell:
You can only sell so much equipment.
Seriously, how many people are going to buy a TRX for their house when the gym they pay $100 a month for has a whole room of them.
If the growth of the TRX is any indication…
You can sell a lot..
But, eventually you need to keep selling something other than glorified gymnastics rings the base product to keep the business growing..
This is where Certification comes in.
Sell courses to fitness pros on how to “use” the equipment or apply a concept.
But if you’re profession is human movement do you really need a certification to tell you how to use some suspension straps for a pushup?
I don’t think you should.
I mean, it’s not new, it’s not a novel motion,
It’s just a Pushup.
Now before the hate mail begins.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there is some valuable information at the TRX cert.
I’m sure there is some valuable info at any of the various kettlebell and even the Battle Ropes certs.
But, again, if you’re a human movement professional should you really have to spend a day and a few hundred bucks to understand the basics of how to use some straps for some general movement patterns?
Do the straps change how you perform a squat, lunge, row?
Don’t worry, TRX isn’t the only company that does this just about everyone does.
Do you really need a cert to know how to wiggle some ropes?
Didn’t they call that circuit training pre 2006?
And this my friends is the crux of the Certification Scam.
They sell you “knowledge” that a professional should have already figured out as a prerequisite to be in this industry.
I’m not talking about the nuance of “setting” the lats in a kettlebell swing. <—that’s the 2% that helps, but doesn’t make or break someone the movement.
That’s an important nuance and I know they stress that at the HKC and many knowledgeable people never think of at first.
I know I didn’t, but a HKC buddy taught me….
And it made my swing BETTER.
But know what happens if you don’t set the lats hard?
Not much.
It’s just not as tight, just not quite as good.
But if the bell is still high, hands in the crotch and hips hinging you’re gonna be ok.
But know what happens if you swing a bell from the low back and not the hips? <—-the 98% you better get right from the get go.
You end F-ed up, or at least your low back does…
That’s, the difference here.
There are some basic paradigms of movement/ biology that are just the way it is.
Even if the Certification Guru says otherwise.
Yes, even if it makes the movement easier/ more comfortable, whatever…
Neither Does the piece of toilet paper Certificate.
I once heard a very smart (and successful) trainer comment on fitness certifications,
“They are rarely worth the value of the paper they’re printed on”
And from what I’ve seen with people who have all the industry certifications for this or that contraption and this or that “style” of training….
He’s right.
You’d be better off taking spending that money and time on a biomechanics/ exercise physiology course at your local community college.
Or investing in some physics and anatomy books.
At least then you’ll have some real knowledge to go with your toys.
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