In this EXCLUSIVE interview, Sensei Sarah gives the Kick-Ass characters the chance to ask one question each about her latest giveaway… the FREE Back Pain Buster! Success Map & Training Bundle.
Here’s what went down…
Optiks: What inspired you to create the “Back Pain Buster! Success Map & training Bundle”?
Sensei Sarah: I’ve been treating and training clients with all kinds of injuries for more than twenty years and in that time, I’ve had various roles; corrective exercise specialist, low-back pain specialist, functional movement specialist, sports injury therapist, and more.
Despite all the fancy titles, when it came to the reality of helping people with their injury problems, there didn’t seem to be any cohesive way of combining the treatment stuff with the exercise. It always seemed that I was either doing one or the other.
That’s when I began to experiment with applying my treatment knowledge to my movement knowledge, to see if I could reach the areas of the body I was trying to treat on the table, through movement.
After many years of experimenting and tweaking my movements, I finally managed it… but that’s when all the holes in the current industry approach started to appear.
Most of my clients saw me as a hands-on therapist and they enjoyed coming to my clinic and just laying on a table. They didn’t want to be doing exercise with me… they had trainers and coaches for that – and once the pain was gone, they were “fixed”, right? And let’s not even get started on the money issue!
The trainers and coaches weren’t allowed to (and most didn’t want to) do anything related to injuries because it either didn’t interest them or it would push them into areas that weren’t their responsibility… that’s what the therapists were for.
But the therapists didn’t have enough time (or didn’t like spending time) on rehab.
Which left everyone involved frustrated.
Clients got mad because their injuries kept coming back, therapists were frustrated because most clients stopped coming as soon as the pain had gone, but that’s only half the job… and trainers were frustrated because clients kept disappearing while they were being treated for injuries, with no idea how long they’d be gone for, or how much they were able to do when they got back.
That’s when I realised that the industry is way too skewed towards TREATING the pain – and all the injury focused qualifications for Personal Trainers are too.
They’ve been created by therapists and they try to teach trainers treatment skills… but that’s not what trainers want to do, or what they’re best at!
Personal Trainers are in the BEST position to see injuries coming BEFORE they happen – and take early action, whether their clients have pain or not, especially when they can use movement to do it.
And besides, with the healthcare systems in the state they’re in after COVID – where else can their clients go for help?
That’s what inspired me to create this map, movement & training bundle, so trainers can do what they do best… and use it help their clients to dramatically change their lives.
Skillz: What’s included in the bundle and how does it help clients struggling with back pain?
Sensei Sarah: Inside you’ll find the map itself, so you can see the process laid out in front of you. You’ll get training on each step in the process and 2 different playlists of movement videos that your clients can just follow along with at home or whenever they’ve got the time. All you have to be able to do is share a link!
Your clients can then follow my PROVEN method to be able to help themselves out of pain, while you learn more.
Giggles: how does your approach differ from traditional methods?
Sensei Sarah: Like I mentioned earlier, most other training focuses on how to treat the pain, but pain is not and never will be a trainer’s responsibility. Instead we focus on restoring movement to the joints because in my experience, in most cases, it’s the lack of movement that allows the pain to develop in the first place. When we restore movement, the pain goes away – and if we keep the joint movement, the pain never comes.
In other words, other approaches focus on what the body can’t do or isn’t doing, we focus on what it can.
What advice do you have for introverted Personal Trainers to help their clients achieve the best results possible?
Sensei Sarah: Introverts are particularly good at this approach because we don’t need to shout about what we do, we just get on with it. We’re great at observing the non-verbal signs of pain or discomfort, and both of those things are exactly what our clients want.
They don’t want to have to tell us they have problems, and they don’t want to spend half their time with us focusing on what their bodies can’t do either – they just want to feel like they’re training well.
So, if you’re an introvert like me, embrace that about yourself and take advantage of this opportunity to offer an even better service to your clients, because more outgoing trainers won’t even stop to consider this.
Codey: What tips do you have for avoiding causing more pain when treating back pain?
Sensei Sarah: That’s simple. Don’t. This approach that I call “Injury Hacking” is not in the business of TREATING back pain. We’re simply restoring movement which reduces the strain on the lower back. If that happens to take the pain away, great… but that’s not, and never should be, your goal.
As far as not causing more pain goes, it’s kind of hard to do when all the movement is non-painful anyway!
Kick-Ass Katie: What do you hope people will take away form your FREE Back Pain Buster! Success Map & Training Bundle?
Sensei Sarah: Hmmm, good question. For me, it’s definitely the idea that you don’t have to be an injury specialist to help with your clients’ pain, and you don’t even need to know anything about injuries themselves. But also, to remember that taking away someone’s long-term or low-level pain is probably one of the most powerful things you can do for a fellow human being.
Wreck-It Rose: Don’t trainers need some kind of injury qualification to do this?
Sensei Sarah: No. And you don’t need any separate insurance either because you’re not doing anything outside of what you would normally do… which is non-painful movement, right?
If you’d like to find out more, head on over to https://kickasspt.com/backmap to grab your FREE copy of this amazing map, movement, and training bundle. You won’t regret it!
