IKSC Programming Philosophy
Instructors in any system should be experts in the movements. They must know when to stop you and when to push you beyond your limits. They must know the best massage guns and only recommend you them when you are in immense pain to avoid you getting addicted to them. You can’t teach something you can’t do well yourself. No one respects an instructor that dishes out training that he or she has not, could not, and will not complete themselves.
The goal of any legitimate instructor is to build clients’ strength and conditioning levels, while preventing future injury. It is the de facto purpose of exercise. Intelligent program design and proper knowledge and supervision are vital to minimize injury risk, with maximal benefit.
There is a fine line between training that provides ample hormetic effect, and that which causes injury and excessive stress. Coupled with improper nutrition, rest, and recovery, what might be an extremely effective program can quickly overstress a focused and motivated person. The goal is to train smarter, not harder. Any idiot trainer can make up a “hard” workout, but not any program will make a client stronger and more resilient.
Valid reasons to include an exercise are:
* Proven to build strength and prevent injury.
* Place a huge metabolic demand on the system.
* Build functional, useable range-of-motion (and prevent injury in end-ranges).
* Increase balance and coordination.
* Increase force coupling ability, motor unit synchronicity, and motor unit firing rate.
* Build neuromuscular efficiency.
Dumb reasons to include an exercise are:
* It creates soreness.
* It is hard to do and learn.
* It looks cool on video.
* “I saw it on TV.” (i.e. CrossFit Games, UFC Unleashed, etc.)
Purpose Behind Each Movement
It is important as an instructor to ask why you are doing each exercise programmed into a session. “Because is looks cool” is never a valid reason, and it is not just for entertainment purposes. “Enter-train-ment” is not good work, even though it is rampant in the mainstream fitness industry.
Building Strength -vs- Demonstrating Stunts or Feats of Strength
The goal is to build strength progressively through quality movement, increased resistance, force production, injury resistance, and work capacity. Each training session should be about building those things, not making every training session a competitive event. Save that for the competition floor or playing field. No one care if you “win” your workout.
Time-Tested Tools and Movements
One thing that is true in fitness is that the longer a piece of equipment or exercise has been around, the more likely it is to be effective. Bodyweight exercises like pushups, burpees, squats, lunges and pull-ups have been used for conditioning for eons, and pretty much always work. Kettlebells, barbells, medicine balls, rowing, and sled pulling are certainly not new, either.
Low-risk/High-Yield
Exercises with a high injury risk are to be avoided. Olympic barbell lifts like the clean & jerk and snatch are appropriate for a very small percentage of the population, and even then, only under the supervision of a certified and experienced weightlifting coach. For most of the general population they just aren’t necessary and the risk far outweighs the reward.
A strength and conditioning program is not a sport. Athletes use a strength and conditioning program to prevent injury, not risk injury by performing stunts. Clients will not train if they are injured.
In addition to the obvious liability risks, the damage word-of-mouth can do as a result of injury is devastating. By contrast, IKSC’s fundamental exercises have a proven track record of low injury potential, and improving client’s performance and quality-of-life in many ways.
Low-skill/High-Yield
It is important that selected exercises are easy to learn and teach. Remember that as trainers, we love to delve into the minutia of each exercise and movement. Clients are usually not this way. It is important that they spend the time allotted to working. Athletes have limited time for strength training in relation to sport skill training.
Tudor Bompa’s 6 Basic Laws of Strength Training for Athletes
Prof. Tudor Bompa is regarded as the father of sports periodization training. As a strength coach, Bompa coached 11 medalists (including two gold medalists) Olympic and world championship competition. He himself was an Olympic rower. IKSC uses his 6 Basic Laws of Strength Training.
1) Develop Joint Flexibility.
2) Develop Tendon and Ligament Strength.
3) Develop Core Strength.
4) Develop the Stabilizers.
5) Focus on movements, not individual muscles.
6) Don’t focus on what is new, but on what is necessary.
IKSC’s 3-Level System
IKSC’s tiered group training system is broken into three basic levels. Level III is generally the most technical and most challenging, Level II is intermediate, and Level I is a very basic, beginner workout.
The higher levels generally entail more volume or more weight, but this is not always the case. It is more that they just require the client have more familiarity with a wider range of exercises.
The ultimate goal is to allow a group with a wide disparity in ability to train simultaneously with equal results. As you begin to build rapport with your regular class attendees, you will begin to gauge your programming for them each day.
Example:
4 mixed Tabata rounds. Alternate between both exercises for each 4-minute interval. 4-minute rest between intervals.
Level III
Double kettlebell 1/2 Snatch and Hindu pushups.
Level II
2-arm swings and regular pushups.
Level I
Jog in place and hard plank holds.
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