Strength Training Part #4 (Body Type 1)

This information is coming directly from the certification I received from Adapt Training. Keep in mind this was about three years ago so perhaps their ideas have changed in that time. One of the main components of the training system was the ability to understand key characteristics of your clients body to help you understand the right type of demand to use with them. I have never heard anyone break this down better than the man who created it, Brian Cassidy. I will do my best to give you each of these body types in as much detail as I can to help you understand which of these you may be.

In this post I want to go over what I have been using in the Athletic Training Philosophy Class I teach. I have stayed true to the 4 major bod types that I have been using over the past several years as well as a few modifications for individuals that have multiple characteristics of different body types all within their own body.

First Lets discuss Body type #1. The basic idea behind this body type is someone who through training improperly have created some significant strength imbalances in their body. This is commonly found on those who workout at the gym and do a significant amount of isolated muscle training. Isolated muscle training refers to many of the machines we use or by doing body part training. You see people at the gym that work on a single muscle group over and over and over again. I have spoken to body builders who claim they will work a single muscle group like the chest or the back for 3-4 hours at a time. Where do they get that much time?

The end result of doing isolated muscle training is that you develop serious imbalances throughout your body. We spoke earlier about creating muscular efficiency to promote better movement of the body. Isolated muscle training works very well for creating a certain look to a muscle,  (although I would argue that by following our training system you will get better results on this as well) it actually creates a lack of ability for your body to move. There are very few things we ever do in our lives that ask our body to use only one muscle at a time. All movements are done by coordinating the movement of structural joints. Imbalances in strength prevent this natural movement.

 I saw this a few months ago and I apologize to whomever needs credit for it but this guy is completely a body type #1. 

Some common identifiers for other factors that can tell you if you are a body type #1 are pain symptoms and common injuries. Chronic knee and lower back pain are common issues you may be suffering from. These pains come from those areas of your body being under more stress than they are designed to be. Look at this picture on the right and notice the position of the knees on this person. This is from muscle fitness.com. The guys leg are enormous obviously but notice the knees. They should be pointing straight ahead but see how they are twisting way out to the sides? This is not the natural position for the knees to be in but he has lost the efficiency of his muscular system so the muscle no longer hold the joint in the correct position. The knees are like a hinge on a door. They should flex and extend only. Imagine if you bent the hinge on your door but then still forced it to move. Can you see the damage potential? 

Also it is common for Body type #1 to suffer from major injuries from sometimes basic tasks. Major knee injuries from running or playing basketball are very common. Severe lower back injuries from daily tasks such as lifting objects. I once knew a guy who herniated a disk in his back from sneezing. If this happens to you, you are a body type #1. 

So what do you do if you are a body type #1? Well first please stop doing the isolated muscle training. Instead start focusing on integration moves. Look back at the integrators post for more on this. Your goal needs to be to get your muscles working for the improved movement of your skeletal system, not just to look good. 

Next up we will go over body type #3. I am going to skip #2 for now and come back to it. 

Final thought, if you see a squirrel like this, run…fast.