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One Size Fits All Fits No One!


“One Size Fits ALL Fits No One!”
(thank you Frank Putcher for the quote)
   Some may believe that All men and women are created equally, this may hold true in the court of law but in the world of fitness this is very far from the truth. No one person is the same, no one day is the same and therefore no one program should be the same.
   Before I get into this and explain what I am talking about, let me first address some exceptions. If you are a strength coach that deals with hundreds of athletes a day or a group trainer obviously it will be impossible to make programs for each person in a group. So therefore most of what follows will not apply to you. There are always exceptions to rules. This blog is geared to the trainers who make up one program and make EVERYONE they train do the same EXACT thing. 
   If we are truly “Personal” trainers then we must learn how to train each person. At FLO we mostly deal with High School Athletes. Our main focus is injury prevention and designing individualized programs based on that one athlete. So each training session is build around the person. We have a general format we follow but the exercises and tempo is focused on the goal of that one Athlete. It doesn’t matter if they play the same sport as someone else. Each person has there own set of physical abilities as well as mental blocks that need attention. 
  Different physical abilities in people are basically genetics. There is only so far a persons genetics will take them. Some people are built with more fast twitch while others are more slow twitch. In our athletes some kids are hitting growth spurts while others still look like little kids. It is not uncommon for an Athlete to grow an inch or two over the course of three months we are training them. This must be taken into consideration while designing their program. One day they may come in with joint pain from growing so everything we do has to be modified. 
   Different mental blocks is a Large part of our training “FLO osophy” at FLO Fitness. Some Athletes we get are super motivated while others lack confidence and motivation. We really do our best to empower the mind while training the body. We give our Athletes motivational material to read (go to www.simpletruths.com for examples). We have a “questions of the Day” that we ask them to try and pull out their inner truths about what they really want from their sport. The social demands on our Athletes is insane and we must be aware of what they might be going through in their personal life. Overloading the body on a day when they are mentally drained and depressed could be dangerous. On days like that we must cheer them up and empower them, so that they leave happy and ready to take on the world. Everyday is different and that’s why we can not design one size fits all programs. 
   As I said earlier we deal with a unique population that is normally neglected by trainers. High School Athletes are not an easy group to train and it is a shame how so many top level training centers neglect the needs of these Athletes. Every training center has their own theory of training and stands behind what they do. We believe in how we train and have seen great mental and physical changes in our Athletes.  Everything begins and ends with the mind. Empower them mentally and you will be amazed at the results you get. Better Athletes and most importantly, Better People!
-FLO

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