Would You Rather....

Have you ever played the game "Would you rather"? It is a game that challenges the player to pick between two equally ridiculous situations. For example "Would you rather be allergic to rain or get a paper cut every time you touch paper?" or "Would you rather have scissor hands or duck feet?" or "Would you rather be without elbows or without knees?" Tough questions with no right or wrong answer which always leads to lengthy discussions about the way one can protect themselves from touching rain, the benefits of never having to look for scissors again or the fine art of sitting down without knees.

As a personal trainer I often want to know WHAT the client wants. And I do this by playing my own game of "Would you rather..." Although the choices are often not ridiculous they still are a matter of preference and up to the individual. With the goal of increasing my client's cardiovascular capacity, I often ask a series of questions that may go something like this..."Would you rather workout inside or outside?", "Would you rather use a machine or your own body?" To me it matters very little whether you use a treadmill, ride a bike, take an aerobics class or walk your dog. As long as you are getting your heart rate up and challenging yourself. The same is true for muscle conditioning. Whether you like to use free weights, machines or bodyweight it makes no difference to me. I am happy to give my client the choice of WHAT to do. And the answers to these questions leads to a motivated client that is doing something that they like to do.

At a point in every session the conversation moves from WHAT to HOW. And it is at that point that I stop asking "Would you rather..." questions and start making "I would rather..." statements. Ask any of my clients and they will tell you that my favourite "I would rather..." statement is "I would rather have quality moves then quantity of moves." Let us use the squat for example. I would rather have a client do 4 squats that are engaging the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, back and calves, as well as protecting the hips and knee joints rather then 20 squats that make your quads burn and your knees and back ache. A few well executed squat creates a solid foundation on the muscular level that will allow for more repetitions and heavier lifts in the future. Which will lead to stronger muscles and less chance of injury.

So when it comes to exercises let yourself have fun and pick something that you like. But whatever it is you pick make sure that each move is done properly.