Standards
By Patrick Gilles
Any trainer can beat the shit out of someone and make him or her sore. That is not the point of training and not what we do at Pat’s Gym. We approach training with realistic expectations based on the amount of time our clients are willing to invest in a goal. That goal may be sport specific such as training for the Olympics or the next NHL season or it may be a life goal such as losing 30lb or getting fit for a wedding. Every workout, every set, every movement has a purpose. Depending on what your goal is you will be held to a specific set of standards that will help you reach your goal.
What exactly do I mean when I say “standards”? There are 3 different types standards I have at the gym.
- The way you act in the gym. Give 100% effort in everything you do and be willing to fail.
- Form. You must have perfect form for a rep to count.
- Exercise standards based on numbers. Such as a Powertap (power/wattage) on a bike, a computer on the rower (time/pace), a weight amount or rep number often for time.
The third type of standards is what most people think of when I say “standards”. They are quantifiable and comparable. They are expectations for different common activities or exercises. These are likely what the top 5 finishers would achieve in a competition that they have spent months training for. Here are some examples:
- Pull-ups: 40x males, 15x females
- Front Squat: 2x bodyweight males, 1.5x bodyweight females
- Dead lift: 3.5x bodyweight males, 2x bodyweight females
- Row 2000m: sub 6:00mins males, sub 7:00mins females
- Row/ski 500m: sub 1:25mins males, sub 1:40mins females
- Run 5k: sub 18mins males, sub 20mins females
At the gym we ask a lot of our clients. They learn to do the movements the right way right away. They learn to show up to work hard or stay home. Anything less than their best effort is a waste of time. Standards can both limit and motivate individuals. Some people need them to get out of bed, some need them to stay on a path, and some use them to comfort and reassure.
An interesting thing about the exercise standards we have at the gym is that you can hit all of them but never at the same time. They are high enough that you’ll have to develop quite a bit of specificity in order to achieve one and that specificity will prevent you from reaching another. For example a professional hockey player might reach a strength standard that a professional endurance athlete is not even close to. And vise versa. The whole notion that you can train all areas across the board and be the best athlete is bullshit. The truth is that no one can achieve more than 65% of his or her potential across all aspects of fitness at the same time.
I love standards that represent a way of thinking. The right way of thinking leads to overcoming obstacles and you will have success in the long run. Ditch the egocentric scale of standards. It is great when you hit a target/number but why did you hit it? Are you stronger physically or mentally? Can you apply it to your goal/sport?
If you are doing things correctly your target and timeline must constantly change. Change with it and keep pushing to become better. Find the environment where you won’t quit and you’ll never be satisfied. It needs to represent an expectation of your level of commitment. Standards should force you to change behaviors (mental or physical) that hold you back. Set your own standards for where you workout and whom with.
I know that if I have an off day people around me at the gym will make me push my limits. They will expect more from me and in turn make me expect more from myself. Some days are harder than others but the minute I walk through the gym door I know that mental and physical standards are expected.
