I often describe myself as a teacher rather than a trainer. The reason for this is that I see the word “training” as a simple stimulus-response exercise that becomes integrated into one’s behavior such that you don’t have to think about it anymore. Its how we often think about animal training, ie, the trainer gives a command or cue and the animal responds. In some ways, this can be a good thing. Integrating correct movement patterns into your everyday life is a great way to maintain your physical health. The problem a lot of people run into, however, is that they are not conscious enough of their body to determine if they are actually moving correctly.

When I meet with a client for the first time, I begin by observing how they stand and walk. I pay attention to their posture both sitting and standing and as I take them through a series of basic exercises, I start to get an understanding of how aware they are of their bodies both at rest and in motion. Once I understand that, the teaching can begin.

A lot of people like myself are not intuitive movers. You could call us the non-natural athletes. It doesn’t mean that we cannot learn to be athletic, it just means we have to access a lot more of our resources to learn how to become athletic. In my case, its pretty much every time I acquire a new skill whether that be lifting weights, paddle boarding, or running. The most frustrating thing for me in this learning process is when I am trying to learn from someone who clearly has the skills, but only knows how to communicate those skills through the lens of their own ability and/or experience. For this reason, I often find it easier to learn from people who had to struggle a lot themselves to acquire the same skill.

Here’s why.

Human beings have a lot of resources when it comes to learning. You may have heard about the dominant learning styles before, ie, visual, auditory, and tactile (kinesthetic or touch), but there are actually more than that. More importantly, we have the ability to use all of them and more we use them, the more easily and effectively we can learn new skills and ideas. Why? Because when you can have an easily recalled visual, auditory, tactile, emotional, logical, etc. system for accomplishing a task, you have a more comprehensive safety net for when things become difficult. Those of us who have struggled with learning have had to draw on all of our available resources and learn how to access new resources and therefore have more ways to teach new learners.

Let me give you an example:

The throws in the Highland Games are rather complex and require perfect timing, coordination, strength, and power. Because these are complex movements that occur at great speed, a casual observer may not understand what exactly is going on that they need to replicate. When I first started, I didn’t have any idea what I was doing and tried to learn from anyone willing to work with me. I have had some not-so-good teachers and some excellent teachers over the years and what I have realized is that my teaching style reflects the fact that I need a lot of different inputs to learn to do physical tasks well.

For me to be successful at these throws I need the following:

• A visual understanding of the movement and all the individual parts.
• An auditory understanding of the rhythm of the movement.
• A kinesthetic understanding of what parts of my body need to be under tension or relaxed.
• A kinesthetic awareness of how my body feels when I am executing the movement.
• An idealized, metaphor of the movement.

When I teach someone to throw the weight for distance in Highland Games, I begin by demonstrating the throw in real time so my student can see what it looks like. (Visual) I will then pantomime the throw in slow motion or show them a slow motion version of the movement as in the video above. This gives them a better understanding of the sequence of events. I will then break down the movement and separately demonstrate what the feet and hips are doing vs what the upper body is doing while giving verbal cues. (visual and auditory) During the feet demonstration, I will clap out the rhythm of the foot contact through the turns as this aids in timing. (auditory)

Instead of having the student begin by attempting the throw, I have them conduct a series of drills that mimic the different parts of the throw. We do turning drills both with and without the weight so they can get the rhythm down and feel how their center of gravity shifts. We do release drills where they stand still and throw the weight using the rotation of their upper body and sequential extension of their hips and chest. Through all of this, I encourage them to be aware of areas of pressure and tension in their bodies as well as the feel and sound of their feet contacting the ground. (kinesthetic)

During both drills and full throws, I am providing constant auditory feedback so they can correlate the feeling of success or failure with an auditory cue. I also take video if we run into a challenge or are having some success so they have a visual correlation as well.

*Pro tip, you do not have to video every single movement. No matter what you are teaching, give yourself and/or your students some time to just practice and work out their kinks. Ultimately, we want them developing a physical awareness that they can rely on consistently. Videos in practice are most useful for demonstrating that what they are feeling is not what they are doing or vice versa.

What does this have to do with a forklift or a trebuchet? A forklift is a complicated machine with multiple moving parts that can move heavy loads up and down a relatively short distance at a constant velocity. A trebuchet is a rather simple machine with one movement, but because of the way it is built with both tension and slack, can heave heavy objects a rather far distance utilizing balance and acceleration. The most common mistake students make in learning to throw is to start as fast as possible when it is the acceleration, going from slow to fast, that delivers the greatest results. You want that weight to be at its maximum acceleration when it is released from your hand so you have to start slow. The trebuchet demonstrates this elegantly and quite simply, I urge my students to be a trebuchet, not a forklift. (metaphor)

That example was a bit complex and truth be told, I have a few more tricks up my sleeve for people who struggle with those steps, but I did that on purpose so I can provide you with a much more simple task. The following exercise is something you can do in just a few minutes at the start of your day and a few times throughout to boost your physical awareness.

You can do this exercise seated or standing. If you are seated, make sure your feet are in contact with the floor and your legs are not crossed. Take about a minute to go through each step below.

You are going to begin by pressing your toes against the floor. Without looking down, think about what that looks like. What do your toes look like? Your feet? What do your legs feel like while you are doing this? Do you have any specific sensations in your upper leg? Lower leg? Is it primarily in the front or the back?

Now, lift up your toes and shift your center of gravity over your heels. Again, think about what that looks like. How does the sensation in your legs change? Do you feel tension in the front or the back? How high up your body can you feel the change in tension?

What do your hands feel like?

Relax your legs and now sit or stand up straight so that your center of gravity is over your midfoot (this can be anywhere between your arch and the ball of your foot, just behind the toes). What does that feel like? Are you centered? Do you feel balanced?

Push your hip bones forward and pull your belly button into your spine. Pull your shoulders back, lift up your chest and try to make yourself as tall as possible. Pull your head back so that your ear is in line with your shoulder. Visualize what this looks like. How does that feel? Do you feel you have to make an effort to maintain this position? Did you have to engage any other muscles to position yourself correctly? Is this tiring?

While maintaining your upright posture, raise your arms up as high as you can, take a deep breath and let it out slowly while lowering your arms back down. Put your right hand over your heart. Visualize your heart circulating blood to all of the parts of your body. Do this one part at a time:

• Head
• Chest
• Arms
• Belly
• Pelvis
• Legs
• Feet

If you haven’t figured it out, the purpose of this exercise is to increase your awareness of your own body. Our nervous system does a pretty good job of keeping us balanced and upright such that we don’t notice what we are physically doing most of the time. If you repeat this exercise, you may notice that your awareness increases. For example, when pressing your toes down or raising them up, did you notice any tension in your hands or forearms?

If this was a relatively new experience for you, don’t feel bad. Chairs and couches have made it very easy for us to be comfortable without exerting any physical or mental effort to remain mostly upright. A childhood spent riding in strollers and being carried after we’ve learned to walk deprives us of the neurological and physical development that would come from a less convenient life. Cushioned shoes deprive us of the kinesthetic feedback of walking over varied surfaces and adjusting our postural muscles accordingly. These are just some of the things that rob us of the physical awareness we evolved to need for survival and optimal health. But all is not lost.

A lack of physical awareness can lead to a lot of dysfunction over time, but it is a very easy thing to fix. Physical awareness is the very first step in developing postural skills and those skills are the foundation of all movement. If you want to better yourself physically and don’t know where to start, just remember that like all learning, it begins in your brain. Most importantly, practice makes perfect.