The “Functional Training” Trap
The conversation of holistic training comes up a lot in conversations with clients and friends of mine. The concept that there is a way of training that directly correlates to “normal” daily activity more so than other training models is strange to me. Labeling something holistic in the attempt to sell a watered down program to the masses is flat out wrong. Training is training no matter how you slice it. If you have a model that doesn't push you past your current level of capability your results are not “functional” they are weak. There aren’t specific movements in the gym that are more correlated to normal movement than others. There is no way you could work through a program that increases overall strength that wouldn't cross over to normal daily activity. Just because the stimulus is lower doesn’t mean the results are more functional. It tends to be something that is easier sold to the masses, I.e. people who have been lied to about their actual ability or those who have decided that they aren’t worth investing time and effort into. A program that insists on you moving little to no weight with little to no volume is going to produce little to no results. There are plenty of body weight programs out there that produce great results because of the high volume. There are plenty of weight lifting programs out there that produce great results with lower volume and higher intensity. Low volume and low intensity is not functional, it's a lie and a lazy approach to development.
The entire point of training yourself personally and professionally is broken down into two concepts.
To be more efficient at baseline movements/habits, which always grow
To see yourself in the future as something more and have a map towards that concept of what more looks like.
I met with a guy not too long ago over lunch. We had a light working relationship and the meeting was supposed to be about marrying the service his company supplies with the current clients of the business I was working for. I had planned out who would be the best fit for his business and who would have the best crossover and planned on being there for about 45-50 minutes. I say this to give you my expectations for what the meeting was set up for and the time frame I had allocated for this meeting. He and I discussed our business networks and how we could collaborate for about the first twenty minutes, the conversation was smooth and super collaborative. The point at which it turned into nonsense was when he asked me this question. “So, I see that you're dedicated to your career, how would you like to make an extra 3-4k a month?” I set my fork down and look him right in the eyes. “If this is a sales pitch for a supplement company or weight loss journey I'm out, let's not go there”. These were my exact words. The next thing I know we are twenty minutes into a conversation about a magic pill that in his words
“May not make you feel or act any different, you may not lose weight or be any stronger but you will be healthier, plus think about all the extra money you will make.”
This is where my integrity button gets smashed. I didn’t lose my temper or get loud, I didn’t let this guy know exactly what I thought. I was blown away that this guy, who I thought was a pretty stand up individual, was so focused on the “amazing cash flow” that he was totally unaware of the damage he was doing in the industry I was so passionate about. He is not doing any good for anyone, in fact he is actually damaging my ability and the ability for those who are trying to do the right thing for people. I know I am, even with everything I do to remove myself from these people, lumped in with him. They see the fitness world as something that is just another avenue for a quick buck.
The conversation slowly turned into his version of training. What he thought about going to the gym and pushing himself. I let him talk without interrupting him and he let me know everything I needed to know without asking any questions. To sum everything up he said he was “more into the functional version of training, sit ups, push ups, slow walks and moderate drinking”. The “functional version” was just a weak and lazy fitness model. The goal was to have something that didn’t make him struggle or bring to light any of his inability. There were no metrics to show growth or structure other than the way that he felt that day.
This is a trap a lot of us fall into. Professionally we want to find a development program that doesn't make us dig too deep. We can read a book, write down a few journals and feel good about ourselves. Personally, it's easy to want a program that makes us feel like we did something but does not require a change in our daily structure or diet. We are essentially looking for a scapegoat, something or someone that we can blame when we don't see results ignoring the fact that we actually never put much time or effort into it to begin with.
Something that is not challenging you is NOT changing you.
I understand what you see, lots of individuals on social media deadlifting hundreds of pounds and running marathons, signing million dollar deals or selling their 2000th widget that day. You have to understand this is a bi-product of years of training at an ever increasing level. This is not a day one or even year one outcome. This is only achieved by insisting that the level of stimuli is increased throughout training. You will never grow if you don’t challenge yourself. These people on social media are no different than you, they started somewhere. Some people might have advantages genetically over others. If you take me as an example, I am the exact opposite of someone genetically gifted for strength sports. I am 6’1, short legs and a long torso. If you want an individual built to throw around weight you want someone with proportionate legs and torso or the exact opposite of me, long legs and short torso. This was evident when I first started training for competitions. I was told time and time again I was not built for the sport of Strongman. I was too short, didn't weigh enough, didn't have the grit or so on. My first competition I was 15 out of 16. The only reason I beat that one guy was because he didn't show up. This could have destroyed my drive, I had plenty of reasons to not compete. I saw it as no more than a different path ahead of me. I am no different than the hundreds of guys and gals I have competed with that didn't allow others to dictate their abilities. Each training method and model will go through phases. You will start with something that is challenging and a few weeks or months later your baseline level of ability will match or exceed it. You then have to make a conscious effort to be real with yourself and move those stimuli higher. You are in control of your success and failure based on your effort level. This is why I have so much respect for those who compete on a high level. At some point they were better than everyone they were around. However, they still knew they had more in the tank. They upgraded their friend or pier group to enhance their ability further. They upgraded coaches, training facilities, models and personal expectations.
If we base our training on anyone other than ourselves we are going to give ourselves too low of a ceiling.
We live in a society that worships the easy way. That challenges in your life mean you are not on the right path. It also lies to you, saying that if you are doing the right thing doors will just open up without any challenge. This is total and complete bullshit. You are being lied to and cheated out of the real glory and happiness in life. Life is about challenges. It is about being pushed and changed and developed as it goes on. If a sailor never has to sail through a storm are they actually a good sailor? We are only as good as our ability to stay the course in a storm. Do we admire the athlete that is never faced with adversity? No, of course not. We admire the athlete that stays strong in adversity. It is a requirement of excellence to be challenged. We are only as good as our training has built us up to be. I am a firm believer that doors of excellence and achievement only open up for you when you are working hard. You have to acquire the right to go through new doors, they are not brought down to you.
The way we train our body and mind is the way we view our abilities and our future selves.
Training and development is not all about this hard, dungeon of chalk and iron or a never ending black hole of introspection. It is about finding something that challenges you and becoming great at it. Then finding something else that is hard and becoming great at that. The cool part is you get to choose, you get to be the master and commander of this ship and decide where the hell it sails. One of the reasons people find so much fulfillment in deep intense training is that it shows them the full level of control they have over their body and mind. Understanding you are in control is also understanding that there are no more scapegoats. You set a measurable level of expectations out for yourself and you achieve them. You hold yourself accountable and change when needed. The watering down of a training model either for your personal or professional development so its easily achieved should be a slap in the face. You are capable of the challenge laid before you.
In the end you get to choose your hard. Either its the difficulty that is presented to you because life has left you behind, physically, mentally and emotionally. Or the challenge of doing the work now, the daily activity to push yourself so you stay ahead of the curve.
I know which side I’m on.
