(Don't) Get In Shape for the Summer

Training Continuum of Getting In Shape Part I: Structural Balance, or General Preparation (GPP)

Nearly everybody in New York City – or the world, for that matter – who is a candidate for personal training has an injury, an injury history, or a physical problem that predisposes them to injury in the near future. Structural Balance training is the art and science of evaluating the client for deficiencies in balanced levels of strength, and then designing programs to correct those deficiencies or imbalances.

Structural balance training should be the first phase of any new personal training client’s “get in shape” project. During that period, the major focus is on training weak points. The structural balance period can also be called the GPP period, for General Physical Preparedness, or General Preparation.

Here is where most people get hung up. Performing the General Preparation phase of training does not mean that you make no progress in strength, speed, or body fat losses during that time. What it means is that the primary goal is balancing your weak right knee, strengthening your left external rotator muscles, fixing your weak lower back, etc. Shoring up the weak areas sets the stage for SPP, or Specific Preparation, where the personal training client’s immediate goal is more specifically addressed.

The initial structural balance period for most corporate athletes is 12 weeks. For competitive athletes, due to the requirements of their job and the fact that they are farther along on the training continuum, the period can be roughly half that time.

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