Old School Training In The Modern World Of Fitness

What is Old School Training?

In general, this phrase has been passed on from generation to generation without a great deal of thought. However, inherent with its usage comes a lot of misconception and folklore.

Firstly let’s ask…..Is ‘old school’ a method of training that is obsolete and therefore is of little or no value in modern fitness training? Or is it a tried and true concept that should be retained and blended with the new era of fitness training and technology?

‘Old School’ training can mean different things to different people. Generally it refers to a method of training that is no longer accepted in the modern era of fitness, because it is either too hard, too dangerous, or of no real benefit.

Further to this argument, many experts now say that the combination of technology advances and our increased understanding of the human body has led to ‘old school’ methods now being seen as harmful and unnecessary.

Sure, we have advanced a great deal in technology as well as explored hundreds of ‘new and improved’ training techniques, but have we complicated fitness to a level that now invokes confusion, boredom, and frustration amongst its participants?

Fixing the problems

Can the ‘old school’ graduates attend the ‘University of Correctness’? The argument here is that many athletes of bygone eras are now succumbing to endless amounts of rehab, hip replacements, and arthritic treatments which many experts say can be attributed to our lack of knowledge in the past.

The other side of the argument states that more injuries are occurring in today’s world of sports and training than ever before. So how is this so? Did athletes of the past just play through injury because the ‘old school’ made them tougher or are we being too cautious today and using injury as an excuse for everything?

Debate rages

This topic is open to ever broadening debate. Everyone’s mindset is different when it comes to training, injury, and what I call ‘mental stamina’.

I like to refer to ‘old school’ training as something of value and passion that inspires people to never give up, rather than labelling it as an extreme form of training putting the body at risk of injury.

It’s a style of training that does not necessarily mean its too tough or too dangerous, but a belief in oneself that no matter what the odds are, you can achieve great things and fight your way out of anything.

So why do we use the term ‘old school’ training? Why not just say ‘never give up’ training’? It doesn’t have the same effect does it!

The term really comes from many great comeback movies we’ve come to love over the years such as Rocky, Cinderella Man, Gladiator, and Remember the Titans. We often find ourselves thinking back to scenes of this genre of movies that inspires us to keep going no matter how tired, sore, and defeated we feel.

Similarities

Old school training is usually associated with exercises relating to boxing, boot camps, and kettle bell training, which is ironic considering that these are the fastest growing disciplines in the world of health and fitness.

What makes it even more ironic is that these three methods of training have actually been around since the ancient times of gladiatorial battles and warrior wars. Soldiers, gladiators, and warriors were engaged in this style of training not only to help them gain more speed, power, and strength but also to have the mental edge over their opponents to overcome fatigue.

Sometimes what we fail to understand as health and fitness professionals is that results are inspired by desire, and felt by passion rather than being motivated by facts.

“Inspiration is the diploma we graduate with once attending the old school” is what my old boxing coaches used to tell me while making me perform 200 left jabs with my right arm tied behind my back.

While we try to complicate the way the human body works and what ‘we’ think works best for our clients we detract from the simple fact that our clients work best by how they are made to feel rather than how they are made to look.

The future

There is no reason why ‘old school’ training cannot be conducted in a safe and consistent environment but where does it fit in the current health and fitness industry?

I couldn’t agree more with the fact that what we know now about the human body is vital to our future wellbeing, but perhaps by combining the foundations of modern fitness training with the principles of ‘old school’ training we may just bridge the gap.

As far as ‘old school’ training is concerned, perhaps what we really have is not necessarily time tested methods of exercise but rather inspiring thoughts of belief. And it’s those that keep us going in our weakest moments of pain, fatigue, and boredom.