Adaptation by Daniel Pare, strength coach
What is adaption and how should you incorporate it into your strength training program?
The kind of adaptation I am going to talk about is not the one you are used to hearing, but the one you need to hear. This one refers to adaptation to the exercises someone is doing. Some of you are now retired and want to enjoy working out. With that in mind, do yourself a favor, find someone with experience. I am not a big fan of online videos and the ones that I have viewed are, for the most part, so out of touch with reality that I just click X.
I have worked on adaptation for years and here is how the process works. First, you do not give a program to everybody just because you can write/type! You must put some thinking into it.
When someone comes to see me, it is because they need help. Some of them tell me that they are tired of hearing the same thing and getting the same kind of program. As a strength coach, I take the time to analyze what he/she tells me. Some of your clients have restrictions caused by a lack of flexibility, bad posture in general, overweight, injuries and the list goes on.
All of them need to be addressed. When an older person comes to my gym, I make sure to watch everything they do like standing, walking, moving … then I take them through some basic exercises like squats/deadlifts for starters. I could use a leg press or a deadlift machine except that I do not have any machines in my gym. All free weights.
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