Gym Movement: Karate Do or Karate Don’t

‎“Daniel-san, must talk. Walk on road, hmm? Walk left side — safe. Walk right side — safe. Walk middle — sooner or later, get squish just like grape.”

“White Lining” is a term bikers use for driving down the center lane of a road, which allows them to pass between two cars driving parallel. This is something which is fun for the crazy riders, and gets people killed each year doing it. Stay in the middle and it only becomes a matter of time before you will be crushed.

I have an opinion on everything. I don’t care who likes it or who doesn’t. I do not care if someone thinks I am entitled to my opinion either.

So part of my personality is a severe dislike for those who refuse to choose. Just as its a person’s choice to be a fence sitter, it is my choice to dislike them for doing so.

Concerning fitness – specifically a number of emails, calls, facebook messages, tweets, and text messages – I am going to fill you ladies and gentlemen on some shit. There is no need to reconcile Gym Movement with any other training system in the world. It is complete by design which is based 100% on YOUR DESIGN. If you are a human being reading this page – there is some shit you need to know.

#1 Everything is movement. All movement can be tested. Gym Movement is about using the fewest tools to do the most things. Everyone else is trying to put another tool in your shed, we are here to help you clean up your garage.

#2 Excessive tension will fuck you up. The elements of effort will fuck you up. Failing to listen to this simple marker will harm you. Wondering about that? Test it. I post an article saying stop using excessive tension and next comes a whole series of articles from other people regarding tension…I see you people can be lead and can be taught. Very good.

#3 Set in stone programming attempts to predict poundages in the future on a template, and “Do this” programming offers medicore gains on good days and will break you on the bad ones. Are  you dedicated to this style of programming and want to prove I’m wrong? Test it. Working for 12 weeks on a complicated schedule to net a 9-15lbs increase on a lift is not very impressive progress.  Especially if the cost is back sliding on all you other goals and picking up pain and injury. We offer an alternative.

#4 There is no such thing as perfect form and people do not need to be cued and blasted to move the way you think they should. Additionally, if someone else is trying to get you to move the way they think you should, this can cause some serious problems. What should determine how you move? Physics and body structure. Have you ever been hurt being cued by a trainer? I have.

I have been cued by an corrective exercise specialist whose cues directly put me in extreme pain while nit picking a simple exercise. Twice. The person who I worked with did not want to cause me pain. This person does not want to hurt anyone. But this person was (and is) locked into a belief that my movements are supposed to look a certain way. This was based off of a check list –  not off of my bodies needs. So in an effort to make a simple movement look “tighter” and get me doing it “perfectly,” an older back injury caused me days of pain.

This was not a new movement. This was something I often did and the goal was to make me “do it the right way” which of course fucked my shit up real bad. This occurred at an event where many people saw how much I was hurting.  We all can agree that good intention, no matter how good, can’t make a bad movement effective. We should look to how that person responds and meet them where they are at.

This is exactly what we do with the Gym Movement Protocol. Wondering about how that works? Put it to the test.

So what is good form? The form which tests better for you at that given moment. Flexed lumbar deadlifting has helped Brad Nelson of RadBootcamp.com address chronic postural issues which he has had all of his adult life. On his blog he has posted the X Rays of his back, with his 6 lumbar vertebra. Brad has spent a life time lifting with “perfect form” and is a senior instructor in a fitness organization. The prescribed drills of that system hurt him to the point where he switched to nearly all body weight training because lifting Kettlebells hurt him.

He has fixed himself to a large degree this year. Lifting with a rounded back: what some would automatically call “bad” or “dangerous” form- but form which tested well has both increased his sport performance and resolved pain. Sounds like perfect form is a crap shoot at best. Curious about this? Go test it

#5 There is no absolute need for corrective exercise strategy if you are doing movements which test well for you. I am a CK-FMS and I have screened hundreds of people. Here are some things which are very important  to understand as you explore this entire exercise system-

• Asymmetry in the body is perfectly natural and is most likely a trait of the body which represents efficiency. You have a dominant: everything. One eye works better, one ear works better, one hand…so on and so forth. Ask a PT and they will tell you 10-15% variation is expected everywhere in the body from bone structure to movement. Mike T Nelson has posted a lot of information on the topic of corrective exercise programs on his blog. Chasing symmetry is a never ending battle.
• No particular movement is 100% effective all the time as nothing is automatically “good” or “bad.” The more functional question is: Does this make a person better or worse right now?
• The concept of “dysfunctional” is based around the idea of how things should look, not on how they should perform. To this end it can be argued by a corrective system that Kobe Bryant is a dysfunctional athlete even though he is one of the most dominating players ever…We say Function and Performance are the same thing. A high performing athlete is functional by definition. If you are a powerlifter, you rate your performance by pounds on the bar not how well your shoulders move through non-specific patterns. If you run marathons, your training should decrease run times. Most people are exercising to reach a goal or outcome, not simply exercising to do it. So if someone wants to lose body fat, we help them lose fat as safely and quickly as possible. Maybe one day they will want to move better but first me meet them at their goal not tell them how it should be.
• What I will agree with is this- there are things with a person which need to be addressed. With testing and The Movement Model you will address these issues. If you are not able to do this, you can contact me, Frankie, or one of our coaches. We are here to help.

#6 General warm ups, “Neural warm ups,” Foam rolling, and “Dynamic Joint Mobility” are not required, and possibly have negative impact on you- this can all be tested. Tying in to the above bullet point- a given movement makes you better or worse. At best these practices can give moderate gains, often temporary. On average many of these practices waste time, time which is better spent doing things which bring you closer to your goals. At worse you can be injured. From a trainer’s point of view- when someone tells me they want me to train them, it is because they want to lose weight/gain muscle. Doing 20 minutes of nonspecific work when they are paying for the time is bad practice. Wondering about this? Test it. I can promise you this, no one will ever call me and tell me they are prepared to pay hundreds of dollars to do closed chain flat foot inversions at multiple speeds while having perfect control. I do not waste people’s time, I get results. I do not need to foam roll you or stretch you at the end of the day because I do not hurt you during your exercise time.

#7 Your eyes are in front of your head facing outward. Focusing on internal muscle contractions and how joints are moving when no pain is associated is counter productive and a blue print to harm yourself. What should you be focused on? The objective or outcome of a movement. Your body is already equipped with an extremely advanced warning device- its called pain. If you are not in pain as you move, and you do not experience excessive tension, why would you focus on muscle contraction or joint movements? When I walk to my car I do not strive for sensation of my feet, ankle, knee, hip, spine, and shoulders as they move, I am trying to get to my fucking car. I am looking for traffic on the move and crack addicts who may want to rob me. What makes moving a weight different?

#8 There is no magic movement, no perfect tool, and no one size fits all solution for fitness. There are a lot of ways to do this whole exercise thing. What they all have in common is movement. All movement can be tested, which means the only thing you need to ask is does this test well for me.

I have made exceptional gains in my strength and tissue density by bending steel objects over the last few years. Anyone who has even touched the tissue in my chest or forearms has asked how I got it to feel the way it does. Does this mean the solution for thick strong connective tissue is to bend steel? Is that the perfect solution for everyone? No, it is a solution for the tiniest chunk of the population.

Are barbell squats mandatory for strength? No, in fact, a huge chunk of the adult population will never be able to squat for shit due to a lot of factors. Does that mean they should give up dreams of strength and physique transformation? Nope, it just means they need to do something different.

To this end there is no reason why you should think you are supposed to deadlift, beat up tires with hammers, do muscle ups, do swings, snatch a KB for ten minute sets, or swing little bowling pins around…you need to do things which are good for your goals and good for your body. I will not think less of you for doing that. In my opinion, you are not a better person because you can deadlift 500lbs, or mouth rape Fran in 2 minutes, or run a mile in under 6 minutes…or any shit. I am impressed by the people who are going out and handling their business. Whatever that means to you…

#9 You (some of you) have a brain and have the ability to think for yourself. More importantly you have a body which is already giving you billions of pieces of information which allow you to operate it. The idea that someone else is more qualified to run your body over you should bother you. Being told to “shut up and color” should bother you…well it least it bothers me. Being told you are wrong and someone else is always right should bother you.

No one is qualified to run my shit and a 1-5 day course of exercise and systems does not give them leverage to declare themselves competent. Titles and ranks are fun for organizational games and determining who gets to sit at the head of the dinner table, but it does not mean anyone is capable of running your body for you.

So here are you options- listen to others, or listen to yourself. Hard to do both at once. One method is to allow someone else to pretend they know best for you and tell you what to be, the other method is you lead yourself and follow your bodies feedback. I honestly do not care what the fuck you do, but make sure you note the bottom quote….

“Follow anything other than your body and you will break your body.”

-Frankie Faires, Gym Movement creator

This is really the core of why we are doing what we are doing. The fact that so many people in the world are frustrated with their progress is of minor importance compared to vast number of people harming themselves daily because they are square pegs trying to shove themselves in to round holes.

Pavel and I used to talk about my deadlifting program every few months. One thing he pointed out several times was how I am not built to pull, and how an older spinal injury would always slow me down. This was prior to my knowledge of testing protocol.

I would flip through books and magazines which all featured articles by authors who told me “You must do this” and I thought- well that guy is more qualified than I am because he is in the magazine. My deadlift progress was steady – but slow and marked by injury through out the years. My best pull was 2.75 BW, and left me sore for weeks afterwards. The problem here, I was consulting with one person to get the opinion of another person’s opinion all the while ignoring the most important person: myself.

I would work on correctional strategies, I would work on CNS based joint mobility programs, I did muscle confusion, I did isometrics, I did high volume, I did single sets, I did single reps, I did sets of 5×5. I would do all kinds of shit. two steps forward, three steps back, 4 steps forward, 2 steps back…and I thought that was ok to do. I told  you, the reader of this page, how my progress was going. I wrote articles, I did posts on message boards, I trained others.

Since I have abandoned set schedules, programming templates, excessive tension, and set in stone beliefs on how things should be- I have made incredible progress. I am stronger, leaner, denser, faster, my endurance is the best its ever been, my movement is the best its ever been.

I do not always get to do what I want to do- but everyday is marked with progress which is absolutely measureable and quantifiable. This makes me happy. Not being able to bend steel 4 days a week may sound like a problem for a person who loves to bend steel, but being better every time I do it- with no pain is pretty sweet.

I refuse to ignore my own feedback just to meet the requirements of a piece of paper or screen of text on what one person thinks is a path to a goal. The people I train now operate the same way- guided by their own feedback. I exist to them to offer suggestions, recommendations, and expand their education. I do not tell anyone what to do other than, “Test it for yourself and make your own call.”

When I was a boy, I used to love watching movies on VHS cassette tapes. As a teen I loved to watch movies on DVDs. As an adult I enjoy watching movies on BlueRay. As an old man, who knows? Holograms maybe? The point is when new technology emerges I look forward to using it to improving my life. This is the way of the world: when something better comes along, you discard the old shit and use the new shit. I don’t see a lot of Model-T Fords driving along at a blazing 25 MPH these days on 394 when I make my way to downtown Minneapolis….

So to this end, I have something better than what I used to. When I first started training as a dumbass kid, I lifted the way I saw other people at the gym lift. Later I learned the “right way to train” by reading books like “Dinosaur training” and “Rock, Iron, Steel” which told me to work my dick in to the ground and everything is about “Do or Die.” Later on I learned the RKC method of training. Later I learned about Z health. Later I learned about CK-FMS. Later I learned Gym Movement.  Later, I will learn about something else, something better.  Hell, I may even discover it.

The key is not “what you do” to get better, it is “how you do it” We are the science of better. We are where all of the floating concepts can be associated or thrown away.

So it’s easy. Put it to the test. What do you have to lose? Most people I am observing are making such shitty progress day to day, why are they afraid to do something different? Do you train with Kettlebells? Do you still struggle to press the 32kg bell? Have you not heard comrade that you are not considered a man until you do? I guess you’re not a man yet, because you’re still struggling with it. Why are you so worried to try something different?

We are not going away. We are not leaving. We are expanding daily. So many people have been spending time writing about me, about Frankie, about Gym Movement, claiming this stuff does not work. So now I would like to address my critics. I figure it would be fair to do the same every now and again.

Obviously you want more of my attention, now you will get it.

I have been emailed and I have read this on message boards and blogs: my marketing is aggressive and rude. What do I do about these criticisms?  I consider the source.

Here is something to think about. If you know something is bad, would you tell anyone else to do it? If you would, you are not someone I want to be around.

If my statements and actions repulse you, that is called – a good thing. Don’t think that is a one way street, because I am not impressed with your bullshit either. At the “advanced” level II course last year, most of the class showed up with what the instructors called “very poor form” but is that accurate? What the class showed up with was exactly how they run their shit at home. Consider whatever they called a swing was what they were teaching to their classes and clients to get them results.

So when I am in a class where 60 of the 80 people fail a course, I have to question who is right and who is wrong. All you folks from level II, your ass is not off the hook here either. Most of the cert attendees in my level II class would bitch to me in a corner how they disagreed with the use of tension or the test for a given movement, or how it was graded yet they still endorsed the actions, still endorse the training, still endorse all of it, yet you personally do not train that way.

How the fuck does that all work when you call yourself a trainer for a given system yet you do not train that way yourself?

Some of the people in the class failed their jerk because they lifted their heels, which was a course no go. 8 of you bitched to me about how you attended a workshop with the AKC head coach who taught you to do that. When you failed your test you dropped their chins and went home empty handed. When I reviewed your youtube page, I see jerks with heel lift. So obviously you still do it, but you won’t stand up and call it correct? Hmmm.

Additionally a number of the level II candidates in the June 2009 class failed their press test, which of course means no title that day. The test is a 1/2 BW one arm press…but technically that is only up to 106lbs as that is the heaviest KB. Just for shits and giggles I did press over 1/2 BW that weekend with a 56kg stacked press because I said I could do it and I was asked to show it. Now an interesting question came up than, and I will ask it again. Could all of the instructors and assistant instructors press 1/2 BW that weekend? Of course not.

A few of you who were there could not press 40% of your BW, even if a gun was held to your head. If the training model is not working to produce instructors who can match course requirements, it must give one a moment to reflect- why? It is because their shoulders hurt. Their shit was hurting because of too much tension. They all told me they could press this bell or that bell, but 1/2 BW eluded them- easy association to me of too much tension.

Yet that weekend, like many other weekends before and after them they cued people to get tighter. Squeeze harder. Breath harder. Try harder. Is harder really the answer?……by the way I know a few of you still can’t press 1/2 BW and that is perfectly fine too.

The difference between all of you and I, is I do not endorse shit I do not do. So if I am endorsing high tension training, its because I do it. If I say its not what I do then I will not recommend it to anyone else.

I don’t give two shits who likes me or does not. If you do not care for me because I no longer snap my hips on my snatches or because I do not train the way you do, or whatever…well it’s hard for me to find even a gram of “give a fuck.” I am here to be better. That is all…except for the personal attacks which are becoming all the more common directed at me. I have only taken stance against practices, you want to talk about me personally.

Here we go. Search my page top to bottom and you will not find personal attacks against any of my former colleagues or instructors prior to this above post. Search their pages, their message boards, their blogs and see what they have to say about me.

I am here to talk about results, you want to talk about “ethics” and systems. You want to talk about what I should be doing, or that I am a fucking bad guy for introducing game changing information which is improving peoples lives?  You are fucking cowards.  You consulted with me all the way in to April then turn and call me Judas for being better and moving on to new models. You have meetings about me. You exchange emails about me. Know for a fact the message always comes back to me. It is time for me to share some more insights to guide your next meetings where the topic of Adam Glass comes up. So here they are in order:

Your message boards find my name there weekly even though I left it in the beginning of Feb in a very quiet way and did not return to post again. What other people have posted and continue to post is all their shit – address them if it’s a problem. I do not blog, tweet or FB fuck with you personally.  Know that every post where you attack me just pulls me more traffic, more followers, more talk.

Keep pointing your people to me. Your community draws to me no matter what I do because I am the one who is always moving forward. Even tonight as I write this I find posts in which people direct others to me. They say “I dont like him but he is one who can do this or that.” Based on results, people will always come to those who move forward, people who move fast, people who go far.

Remember, I am the one who is not always right. I am the one who is not professional. I don’t have to play pretend military because I did spend a decade of my life doing the real shit. I don’t have to kiss anyone’s ass and I do not ever expect others to do it for me. I am not a guru, I am a science experiment. I am the one who doesn’t give a fuck.

I love the fun and games of marketing, but when it gets personal you must understand I don’t have to protect a reputation because I have always been known as an asshole. A strong asshole who helps everyone out when they ask and who puts out great training information.

Most of you are assholes, too, but you try to hide it. You would not care for me to get specific in my comments and share the dumb shit you have all said to me on the phone, in emails, and in person. It would surely damage your “good” names.

People will keep watching me no matter what i do because they won’t turn away from the freak show and they all want to get better. If this was a dodgeball match I would feel like I am playing against kids.

Play smart, play nice, or don’t play at all…