Many of you have reached out saying that you want to work out, but are intimidated to go to the gym. One of the reasons why you're intimidated is because you don't know how to use the equipment. Make sure to visit your YouTube channel for more videos like the one below!

Looking for a simple, yet effective exercise that you can do anywhere? Give Farmer Walks a try!

We love hearing the reasons why our clients enjoy coming to see us at Specialty Athletic Training. Many of them have the same goals as many of us do when we join a gym; lose some weight, gain strength, and live a healthier lifestyle. Gyms can also be a great place to socialize and meet new people as well and many of our clients have found their new BFFs during their workouts :) Here is our buddy Matt explaining why he likes coming to Specialty Athletic Training.

How many trainers have you seen lately on Instagram posting photos and videos highlighting their clients doing insane workouts? Social media has been a great resource for sharing ideas and knowledge, but unfortunately it has been a great resource of what not to do as well. Don't believe me? Just look at @gymfuckery on Instagram. People are now posting things hoping to be the next viral profile; worrying more about likes and engagement that their posts receive rather that providing a quality product for their clients. And sadly this happens more and more with trainers training the general and special populations. 

Olympic lifts are being programmed for people that struggle with basic movement patterns and by trainers that also aren't certified to coach them. It is also becoming popular for trainers to try and create a new complex exercise for their clients to do, which often are inefficient and can result an injury to their client.

If you are a trainer, remember that it has all has been done before. Chances are that you are not the first one to think of that "awesome" new exercise and that the basics are the basics for a reason; they WORK! Instead of focusing of being the next viral sensation on IG, focus on providing a quality service to your clients and keeping them safe by providing proper progamming. 

One of the very first pieces of coaching advice I received from @coachphil21 my first year coaching college football was that, "There is something to be coached on every rep." That holds true whether it's on the field or in the weightroom. It's your job as a coach to increase certain behaviors, while decreasing others, to get the desired results from your athletes. This is done through reinforcement.

Learn what types of reinforcement your athletes respond to. It may be different for each one of them, but please don't passively coach and only put them through a drill or weight program.

Remember, there is something to be coached on every rep. Be an active coach. Your athletes deserve it! 

Photo Credit: Mary Rebekah Moore 

​Our buddy Marcus has been coming to see us at our Vancouver, WA for some time now. Emily Hatch, our Vancouver facility manager, asked Marcus what he enjoyed about his visits with us.
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​Words cannot express how much we love the community that we have been able to create at Specialty Athetic Training. Here is a clip of our buddy Patrick attempting a PR with the support of his Specialty family at our Lewis & Clark College location.

Featured in Spring 2019 edition of Spectrum Life Magazine

Specialty Athletic Training is a personal training company that specializes in fitness for special populations. Founded in 2012, founder Ryan Lockard aimed to create a program that provided access to healthy living to a community that the fitness industry often overlooks. With a client-centered approach and focus on making fitness fun, Specialty Athletic Training has grown to 5 locations and has served over 350 individuals of various ages and diagnoses throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington.
 
Many of our clients have had a negative experience with fitness in the past. They also are usually the busiest people that we know (outside of their parents) with super tight schedules filled with therapies and doctors’ appointments. Rarely do they have control of their schedule and are constantly being critiqued and told what their weaknesses are and what they need to improve on.
 
We take a different approach at Specialty Athletic Training by meeting our clients where they are and allow them to provide input on their workout routine, giving them ownership of their program. We strive to make their sessions fun and provide a positive fitness experience, so that they can’t wait to come back for their next workout. Filling them with self-confidence and self-esteem unlocks their intrinsic motivation, which is the most powerful thing of all!
 
Parents have come to us in the past wanting us to work with their child on their running form for various reasons; their posture might not be ideal, their gait might be a little awkward, or they don’t use their arms. This leads me to ask the question, “How often do they run?” which often leads to the answer, “They don’t because they run funny.”
 
They are not encouraged to run because they don’t have the typical running form that their peers may have. If this sounds like your child, the biggest thing that they need is your encouragement and for you to provide opportunities for them to have extra practice with that movement in a natural setting.
 
If your child is having difficulty running, take them on a run. Don’t focus on their awkward form, but rather reinforce that they are being active and how much joy it brings you to be running with them. This will be the beginning of turning it into an activity that they enjoy, rather than dread. Once you can get them in a positive mindset about running, then you can start making small suggestions to their form to enable them to run more efficiently.
 
The body simply needs practice moving to move properly. Many of those same kids that have an awkward gait or have trouble running, typically don’t have a physical outlet and are sedentary. They could benefit from basic exercises that you can do at home. These movements not only work on movement patterns and build strength but will also become more fluid over time. Here are 5 exercises that you can do with your child at home.