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The other night I attended a social gathering at a shmancy restaurant in Chestnut Hill, MA, put on by Privatus Healthcare - a very smart nursing and care Company in the Boston area.
I met terrific people who, like me, are engaged in evolving healthcare quality as the Age Wave comes in (Don’t worry – Nancy Pelosi isn’t
the only person at work on this…).
After trying the pizza (it was OK) I had a thought provoking conversation with Sarah Marcotte, membership coordinator of Cambridge at Home – a wild organization of Cambridge, MA residents uniquely re-defining “retirement”…
Sarah, an advocate for scores of people eager to age freely in their own homes, asked me a $Million ($Trillion?) question:
Who helps people age better, The Personal Trainer or The Physical Therapist???
I promised Sarah a PowerWire on her question, and the anwer is:
UNANSWERABLE - as both therapist and trainer are part of one tapestry. And lemme-tell-ya, separating the actions of these two fields leads to stagnation and trouble. Here’s Why:
The Job Sarah wanted done for her people is the Job we all need done: Becoming Better via Exercise…The rub in all this lies in just what exercise is anyway….
Precise definitions matter, Ranks Readers, so here we go – Adam Poock’s definition of Exercise:
Exercise is - Stress inducing desirablepersonal adaptation
The nature of exercise is, you see, a synthesis of training and therapy.
“Stress” is just energy – efforts –
push-up’s and bicep curls, sprints and pigeon poses –
The magic of our biology is that sufficient stresses cause adaptation: muscles strengthen, circulation densifies, nervous systems hone – this hard-got work is wrung out of us by great coaches
Advantage: Trainer
BUT – and this is a big BUT, such adaptation must be corrective and Desirable –We all possess specific vulnerability and have specific needs –. Whoever applies the stress must possess PROFOUND anatomic and postural diagnostic skill along with great hands. Stress is dangerous stuff without a careful plan.
Advantage: Therapist
In my own experience My great teachers have been offered a balance mind-opening and butt-kicking. Two Examples from my twenties:
Gary Gray from Adrian, Michigan is an ingenious Physical Therapist and teacher who transformed and massively advanced my understanding of anatomy’s interconnectedness
Brad Crews, my first and most brilliant yoga instructor put me to work – awakening my power of breath and connected core to build handstands, splits and great endurance– there was none of that in my program at Boston University.
Most importantly, Gary would never have had his impact on me if not for Brad bringing anatomy alive, and Brad’s work could not have been internalized if not for Gary’s model of how bodies work. I needed them both for either to take hold!!
This is the educational foundation of the Ranks – bringing these seemingly separate worlds together as one problem-solving force.
So my answer for Sarah as to who gets the job done is: A Synthesis of the Two
- The Therapist who is part athlete, knows the feel of training and the fluidity of performing
- The Trainer has to study posture and physiology – I’d recommend Davies’ Trigger Point Therapy Workbook for starters
- And EVERYBODY should take some kind of anatomy course every year – that stuff is tricky, and a lot more than memorizing where everything goes!!
Great Problem-Solvers in Healthcare will be born of surprising intellectual collaborations – massage tables and running shoes, medicine balls and anatomy charts.
The Ranks Trainer Training Program teaches collaboration – anatomy hits the yoga mat and deep tissue work frees strength – Building people who get the job done means planting our feet in two worlds together – our solutions are there – we just have to keep working them out.
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