Here's a sample of the new information and insight I picked up from Mike Boyle's Functional Strength Coach 3.0, the eight-DVD set that I mentioned in this post:

• Mike categorizes exercises with a small variation on the original Ian King system. In addition to the well-known designations -- knee dominant, hip dominant, vertical push, vertical pull, horizontal push, horizontal pull -- he adds a category for diagonal movement patterns.
• In recent years, he's shifted from an equal emphasis on horizontal and vertical pulling to one that favors the former over the latter. The vertical pulls, he says, were leading to upper-trap dominance in his athletes, which is why he now does twice as many rowing-type exercises, vs. pull-ups and pulldowns.
• He divides hip-dominant exercises into two subcategories. First are the expected deadlift variations. The second is what he calls the "bridge pattern," which includes supine leg curls, using a Swiss ball or Valslides.
• Mike's views on core training are accessible in lots of places -- this TMUSCLE article, for example, is a perfect introduction to training your anterior core with rollout-type exercises. The big take-away I got from his new material on mid-body training is that fitness professionals have to understand there's no such thing as "normal" for the people they train. In his lectures and demonstrations, Mike notes that some of his strongest athletes can't do rollouts particularly well, while he has a 60-year-old client who can do them better than many of the competitive athletes he trains.
• A similar point: Some people will naturally have more arch in their back when their spine is in a "neutral" position. It only becomes a problem if the arch gets more pronounced during the exercise. 
• In the last DVD of the set, Mike encourages his audience of personal trainers and strength coaches to remember that the people they train aren't like them. They don't always think like athletes, and they don't necessarily like to work out. Even athletes sometimes hate to train. And you can never assume that your clients, whether they're athletes training for a sport or people who want to get to get into better shape for health or weight loss, understand what you want them to do. People won't push themselves to lift more or work harder unless it's clear that's what you expect of them. 

Perhaps his most controversial argument -- that there's absolutely need to do any traditional steady-state aerobic exercise unless you're training for a sport in which you run, ride, or swim at a steady pace -- isn't even on the eight-DVD set I got from Mike.

It's on this video, in which he says, "I don't believe there's any need for an aerobic base." Aerobic training gives you "the gift of slowness." Athletes need improved work capacity, which is achieved through start-stop activities and other forms of anaerobic training. The capper: Mike says the best hockey players he trains do the worst on tests of aerobic fitness.

I should note here that I received a review copy of FSC 3.0, which sells for $200. I should also note that I receive lots of books and DVDs, and rarely have the time to read or watch them. Even when I do, I almost never write a detailed review. So why am I reviewing this one?

First, I've never gotten to hear one of Mike's lectures at a conference. People who do tend to give them rave reviews. Second, Mike was one of those writers I always looked forward to working with during my year as an editor at TMUSCLE. When he has something to say about training, I'll listen.

That's why I jumped at the chance to check out this new DVD set. I came away with a lot of new exercises to work into my program, and a lot of fresh insights into what I should be doing, and why. I recommend it without reservation.

Tags: mike boyle, aerobic training, product reviews