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Master this key skill for longevity of your exercise practice

Master this key skill for longevity of your exercise practice

Plus: The power of subtle change

Geoff Girvitz
April 24, 2025

Today on Dad Strength

Master this key skill for longevity of your exercise practice
The power of subtle change
A book, a quote, a dad joke

Master this key skill for longevity of your exercise practice

We’ve got a new coach and three new interns at Bang, so I’ve been going over essential material — asking what I wished I would have known in my first few years as a trainer. One of the most fundamental skills here is mastering the art of regression. If an exercise isn’t feeling right, you want to be able to modify it quickly and effectively. If safety is 1st, then maintaining forward momentum is a close 2nd. You don’t want to have to stop or radically de-load a movement. Especially when there are equally productive options.

Here’s a framework I’ve adapted from Greg Rose:

The left side of the matrix is easy to understand – and most important for our purposes here. The only thing that might need elaboration is kneeling (one knee down, both knees down, or tripod (transitional positions with three points of contact, as shown above). The tattoo of Jack Dalton was completely superfluous… Yet also essential.

If a standing overhead press isn’t feeling right (or technique is lagging), try a tall-kneeling (maximum height — but with both knees on the ground) version.

The right side is of the matrix is also easy to understand — except when it’s not. Passive means that someone else is moving you – like a physiotherapist. Loaded means that you’ve got some substantial weight in your hands, on your back, etc. Unloaded is just a bodyweight movement performed with a high quality standard. The facilitated category, however, could use some explaining. For starters, it may come before or after bodyweight/unloaded, depending. Those two move around. More importantly, we need to know what happens there. There is a small amount of load… maybe a light weight or a mini-band. The purpose here isn’t to make things harder, however, it’s to make them easier to do well. Here, this is done by supplying increased feedback. Weight can also be used to deload the movement or provide a counterweight.

So, yes, you can regress weight but regressing position may be more effective.

A thing I legitimately like:

Before Toothpaste

Once again, I’m not making any claims other than I really like this personally and find it to be a better value than typical toothpaste. If you want to try it, click here.

The power of subtle change

We all know stories of transformation and growth where an intense challenge is thrust upon someone. Crucibles are important. Post-traumatic growth is beautiful. And that’s why intensity makes for the most compelling stories. Yet, stress doesn’t always equal growth. Sometimes, it just gets people to double-down on old ideas — and become rigid instead of pliable. That’s stress for you… We are just as likely to turtle up as we are to expand. And knowing that is important. It means that some of the most important inner work we do happens when things are quiet and peaceful… When the stakes are low.

I wonder what might challenge your identity… As a father. As a man. Or something else fundamental to how you see yourself… whether it’s through the lens of race, religion, or political allegiance. Usually, we write these things off as a reflex. Or strawman the stupidest arguments from the other side because it’s easier to see folks over there as villains or idiots. But let me give you something tougher:

In a quiet, calm moment, find something that challenges your beliefs… enough to create an emotional response. You don’t have to change in this moment. You don’t have to agree. But you don’t have to fight or argue either. You simply watch your own emotional response. How swift? How intense? How justified?

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What I’m reading/listening to:

The Totally Awesome World of Steph Curry by Neal. E. Fischer

If you have a kid who is really into basketball, this book ticks a couple of important boxes beyond general interest. It’s meaty enough, for starters. I find my son to blast through a lot of books that are light on text and heavy on pictures. This one is thoughtfully written and laid-out. And the vibes are right.

The Evolution of the Alpha Male Aesthetic (paywalled, so try pasting the link into this)