At Port Plums, we seek to bring joy and health to your life - even outside of the kitchen! We've partnered with subject matter experts to bring you this guest blogger series. Please enjoy the first installment by local fitness expert, Bruce Cohn of Bruce Cohn Fitness.

Everything You’re Doing in the Gym Just Might Be Wrong

You’re a busy person who knows it’s important to be fit. You want to be sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck while training in the gym. And as a strength coach who focuses on performance, I want the same for my clients. But too often the workouts I see are not effective and are, at times, counterproductive.

My first goal in training is to Do No Harm. My clients train hard but they follow scientific principles of progression which take into account both acute and chronic injuries, illnesses, life stressors, and past training experience.

My training programs help clean up faulty movement patterns by looking at what my clients do regularly and include exercises that counter the effects of repetitive movements and postures. Most people sit far too much with shoulders rounded forward, hip flexor muscles shortened, and butt muscles deactivated. The cumulative effect is tissue damage leading to back pain, sore shoulders and necks.

Too many people in the gym are reinforcing bad movement instead of improving movement. I have heard it suggested that if you follow the average male around the gym and do the exact opposite of what he is doing for a workout then you will get a pretty effective workout. You know the routine: bench press, bicep curls, and maybe some time on the bike or treadmill.

Females tend to focus on the inner and outer thigh machines, lifting light dumbbells to avoid “bulking up”, and the long, slow walk to nowhere on the treadmill. Neither gender ends up working on the things they most need.

In either case, these workouts tend to reinforce repetitive movement patterns and muscle imbalances that are responsible for chronic pain and injury. Our predisposition to take the path of least resistance and only do those exercises we already do well, actually hurts us and makes workouts ineffective.

Bruce Cohn Fitness programs address these issues and empower clients to improve performance with reduced injuries as they participate in the game of life. Our programs reinforce function through practice and progression.

At Bruce Cohn Fitness all of our clients do Kettle Bell swings, Medicine Ball throws, and Battling Ropes to improve power and burn more calories. And make no mistake about it: power is not just for athletes. Every time we get up from a chair, climb stairs, or react to a fall we are using power. Does your workout involve force production and force absorption? If not, why not?

In addition to power training, our programs include all of the 5 basic movement patterns: hinging at the hips, bending at the knee, stabilizing the spine, upper body pulling, and upper body pushing. In simple terms we program exercises involving:

• Lowering to and raising from benches, floor etc.
• Balance, core stability and improved tissue length
• Raising knees, toes, and extending hips
• Pulling shoulder blades down and in
• Doing upper body pulling exercises in 2:1 ratio to pushing

Want to perform better in your recreational passions or activities of daily living?

Call Bruce today at 781-454-8500 or email: bruce.coach@gmail.com