My Trainer Adjusted My Posture, NOW IT'S SO MUCH HARDER!

Have you ever had this happen? You're happily going about your workout and then you can see the trainer make a bee line for you. Your heart jumps. You must be doing something wrong. The trainer offers a few words of (hopefully) gentle correction and then the exercise becomes nearly impossible.

During your next set you try to abide by the advice given, but it makes the exercise 10x harder. 

Why is that?

Let's compare your muscle to a group working on a project. In any lift or exercise, there are multiple muscles being asked to perform different functions. When you give the signal to your muscles to "bring that barbell from my waist to my shoulders" you will perform a biceps curl. But not all biceps curls are created equal. 

Not all teams are created equally either. I can remember group projects in college. They usually went something like this: one group member is the bossy one and is bound and determined to get an A on the project. Two group members are neutral and will do the work required of them. And one group member shows up to the first meeting, and then is never heard from again. 

At the end of the project, everyone is there to put there name on it, and they all share the same grade. Even if one person did most of the work. 

Your body does the same thing. When you are doing an exercise, the strong muscles in your body are like the enthusiastic group member. They are all over it. The normal strength muscles are doing the job they are assigned. And the weak muscles? Well, they tend to only show up briefly, and then when they feel overwhelmed, will disappear. 

When your trainer comes over to adjust your posture, he or she is trying to get your weak muscles to do the work that is required of them. And that is uncomfortable and difficult. It's the physical manifestation of having a disengaged employee or family member (i.e. teenager) be forced to integrate and cooperate with the group. It can be very uncomfortable and for awhile it seems like it was a bad idea.

With enough persistence and focus that employee or family member may turn things around. They may prove to be a vital part group moving forward. 

The same is true for your weak muscles. When you force them to do the work required of them, your strong muscles will feel like they are not getting enough work, like it's all a waste of time. Slowly, the weak muscles begin to build strength and can become a regular contributor to the work. When that happens, progress and growth are sure to follow. A well groomed team works better than one thoroughbred and a bunch of donkeys.

The next time you get a correction, be thankful, because it could be an opportunity to work your way to a whole new level of awesome.

Andrew Biernat
[email protected]
Author, Speaker, Coach
Check Out Andrew's Book
Grow Your Mind, Shrink Your Waist