Bootcamp Workouts and Muscle Imbalances

A common thing you will see in Bootcamp people is muscle imbalances.

Let me explain with this Q&A that I did with Caroline Fitzgerald.

We all have clients who have nagging injuries that are holding them back and challenging us. I don’t know about you, but my certifications covered very little about dealing with client injuries and certainly nothing about how to help them fix the problem to continue working with me, getting more robust, and seeing better results!

There is a fantastic resource out there now…not only will it help you become a better trainer who gets better results for their clients, but it will also set you apart from other trainers who don’t have these advanced training skills. And this week, this fabulous resource is on sale.

Rick Kaselj’s Muscle Imbalances Revealed 2.0 is on sale this week! (NOTE: The sale prices show at checkout, not on the sales page.)

MIR2 offers trainers a comprehensive education on understanding, identifying, and addressing muscle imbalances in our clients. It’s thorough, easy to understand, and presented most conveniently. You really won’t find anything else like it.

I was lucky enough to grab Rick for an interview so that you can get an even more in-depth view of what MIR2 is all about. (Be sure to read to the bottom where he addresses using MIR2 for Boot Camps and check out the video tip he did just for Best Boot Camp Workout subscribers!)

Q&A with Caroline Fitzgerald

Caroline – 1. Why did you decide to produce MIR2?

Rick – MIR2 evolved from what I was doing with my clients and their successes and from my desire to share what I was doing with other fitness professionals.

After over 15 years as a personal trainer, I returned to school and earned a Master’s Degree in Exercises Science. Like many trainers, when I first started, I concentrated on cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility. These three tactics provided decent results, but I wanted even better outcomes. I conveyed what I had learned to my clients, and things improved, but we still weren’t where we wanted to be.

I began doing some reading on my own and came across the concept of muscle imbalances. I’d heard about them and usually addressed them with stretching, but I found out this was not the best way to deal with them.

I researched, practiced on myself, and worked with my clients to address muscle imbalances. The results were terrific. I was able to help them bust through fitness plateaus, prevent injuries, and overcome injuries. I quickly knew that this was something I wanted to share with other trainers.

To get an even more comprehensive perspective on muscle imbalances, I sought out five other experts in the area. Using video presentations and handouts, we all share the best assessments and exercises to help clients address muscle imbalances.

MIR2

2. Virtually all trainers work with injured clients at some point, whether it’s something as simple as nagging aches and pains or complete-blown injuries. Still, many certifications don’t prepare us to handle those clients. MIR2 is, in essence, the vital missing piece of a personal trainer’s education.

I feel this way because it is true that most clients have some old injury. With that old injury, what occurs are muscle imbalances. These muscle imbalances need to be addressed to get better fitness results, fully overcome the old wound, and prevent future injuries.

This does not mean that your client needs to do a 60-minute muscle imbalance exercise routine. Very often, a 5- minute routine will do the trick. Not just any 5 minutes of exercise will do the trick. However, it needs to be specific and targeted training.

This will set you apart from other trainers, and you will have more advanced skills than other trainers.

MIR2 offers CECs and CEUs

Caroline – 3. Speaking of certifications, is it true that MIR2 offers CECs and CEUs?

Rick – Yes, this is cool. I used to work in a small community, and it was challenging to get CECs or CEUs. I needed to take time off from work, travel to the course, pay for a hotel and then pay for the system. Quite often the travel costs were more than the cost of the course.

With MIR2, you can sit at home and watch the video presentations on your laptop, iPod, iPad, or DVD player. While watching the presentation, you fill in an exam and send it to us. We grade it and send you a certificate for nine different fitness associations.

(Muscle Imbalances Revealed has been approved for 0.6 NSCA CEUs, 0.6 NASM CEUs, 0.7 ACE CECs, 6.0 BCRPA, 6.0 AFLCA Credits, 6.0 BCAK CEC, 3.0 PTS/3.0 FIS CanFitPro CEC, 5.0 CMTBC, 6.0 OFC and CSEP 6 PDC.)

Corrective Exercise and Muscle Imbalances Difference

Caroline – 4. You’ve mentioned that muscle imbalances are more complicated than those that can be fixed by what we traditionally call Corrective Exercise…will you explain the difference?

Rick – I find that corrective exercise is not comprehensive enough to deal with muscle imbalances. Most corrective exercise systems focus on self-massage, activation, stretching, and integration. These certainly do help, but they don’t solve all the problems. I have expanded on corrective exercises and incorporated ten specific techniques to address muscle imbalances.

Caroline – 5. Okay, so I understand how MIR2 is invaluable to a trainer to help them work with injured clients and prevent injuries and imbalances in healthy clients. Will you explain how MIR2 helps trainers help clients bust through fitness plateaus?

Rick – Muscle imbalances lead to clients not getting the most out of an exercise.

If a client has muscle imbalances in their ankle, knee, and hip, this will result in any exercise involving squats or lunges being less effective. When the training is less effective, results decrease.

If you can address muscle imbalances, your clients will get more out of the exercise, which will help your clients bust through fitness plateaus.

It sounds simple because it is.

Caroline – 6. Can MIR2 be used in group training settings, like boot camps?

Rick – Yes! Numerous boot camp instructors have benefitted from MIR2.

What MIR2 gives them is:

1. Exercises that they can put in their boot camps to help all of their campers overcome muscle imbalances.
2. Quick ways of assessing their campers to highlight muscle imbalances.
3. A method to show the issues that can be slowing down their client’s results.

Caroline – 7. Is there anything else you would like my readers to know?

Rick – There is so much more trainers can do to help people than reduce fat. If you have a tool that allows you to address muscle imbalances, you will see better and more results for your client. It will also let you show that you can help people with their aches and pains. This sets you apart from the rest, gets more clients, and makes more money.

Thanks, Rick, for the great information on boot camps and muscle imbalances!

You can get more details on MIR2 here: