Message to Humanity: Social Media has created cowards of you

Before the times of social media face to face communication was practically the only way of interacting with other people. If you wanted to say something to someone you had to confront them and bring it to their attention. Social media has definitely made us more social but at the cost of human contact. We are social beings and we thirst and crave for the attention of others. But we have traded physical communication with others for communication behind a phone or computer screen. Here are a couple of issues that has completely destroyed face to face contact with other people thanks in part to social media. If you're reading this it's because you know that something is very wrong with modern communication. Why? Because you feel it and you know it to be true.

Social Media makes us less confident
Texting, messenger, chatting have replaced phone calls. Calling people and actually listening to someone's voice is no longer sufficient. Whole entire conversations are communicated through texting. How about replacing texting with writing a book or blog for a change. The act of approaching someone either to ask them out on a date or even approaching someone to confront them about a pressing issue is no longer done face to face. We hide behind the screen of a phone and message through social media. It takes a lot of confidence to approach someone and bring up an issue. It can be very uncomfortable to express your feelings with someone whether it be romantic or maybe an issue that they have brought upon you. Regardless, the act of communicating face to face to bring up issues with people has been replaced with a simple text.

Ghosting
As if face to face communication isn't enough anymore for this modern age of lost humanity we can't muster up enough bravado to express to other people that we don't want to see them anymore so we simply vanish into thin air. An act called GHOSTING. With no explanation, usually very sudden they disappear. You can send them as many messages as possible trust me they won't respond. The only way to get a hold of them is to track them down and confront the issue in front of them.

The solution
In an article titled "The Top 5 Regrets of The Dying" (Click Here for article) highlights people's regrets on their last moments of their lives. One of those regrets was...

"I wish I had the courage to express my feelings."

People suppressed their feelings in order to achieve peace and avoid confrontation with others. This only creates an existence of holding back what is truly calling from within to come out. When we suppress within, we live a life of neglect and never really become what we were meant to be. Therefore, the only solution is to build courage and approach the person face to face (assuming distance isn't an issue). It will be uncomfortable. But in the end, you will feel better that you did. You will feel so good about yourself that you expressed your feelings. That's what it takes and it's the only solution. Keep in mind that courage doesn't mean the absence of fear...it means acting in the presence of fear.

Coach Cano

Huxley's Sliding Filament Theory: how muscles contract

The sliding filament theory by Andrew Huxley was first postulated around the early 1950's to describe how muscles contract. This will be a very brief introduction to muscle contractions and what happens when muscle fibers are innervated.

Sliding Filament Theory
It all starts with an action potential that signals the muscle to fire coming from the brain. The action potential signals the release of acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter) to be released at the synaptic cleft along with calcium ions opening up the channel of neurotransmitters to stimulate muscle contraction.

The synaptic cleft is the terminal region where a neuron meets a muscle fiber. From there, calcium ions attach to actin causing what is called cross bridging between actin and myosin. ATP is the compound that powers this cross bridging to happen. From there, actin and myosin overlap eachother causing the muscle to contract.

The sarcomere which is the unit that contains the actin and myosin filaments shortens. There is much more details that go into the science behind muscle contractions. Wanted to give you guys a very brief and quick introduction to the science of muscle contractions which is also known as Huxley's Sliding Filament Theory which was found by Andrew Huxley a biophysicist who won a Nobel Peace prize in 1963.

Coach Cano

Why you can charm your way to coaching and training without needing credentials

Coaches and trainers are out there. Some are good, many aren't, and few are above standard. When you get their business card or see their online profile you might see the several initials after their name:

John Doe CPT, NASM, DOC, CSCS, CPR, ATC, PES, CES, and much more.

In a nutshell, yes...and no.

Why it doesn't matter
Many people who are not part of the strength world or training world have no idea what those initials mean. They are simply looking for the best trainer and or coach that they can afford and or connect with. It's similar to the saying that says, "No one cares what you know, until they know that you care."

Charm and perception: it's powerful seduction
An absolutely charming trainer and or coach can use their charming skills as a spell to seduce as many clients as possible. YOU might have been under such a spell in the past. This is a risky approach toward selecting a trainer or coach. I've met coaches and trainers in the past with absolutely no education or credentials yet were attracting clients like crazy!!!!!!! We are all vulnerable to charm when it's skillfully directed in such a manner that has a powerful and moving effect on us. For the uninformed prospect, they are truly victims.

How to inform yourself and select a great coach and or trainer
The best coaches will always rise to the surface. These are the coaches who have the educational background to support their knowledge but have the people skills, communication skills and most important experience to support their value. Also, they have produced great athletes in the past or have created great results with clients.

Initials
For the experienced coach and trainer, having initials after their names does matter. It's a reflection of their credibility in the industry they represent. It reflects the thousands of hours invested in studying the research and science to become the best they can be.

If you are new to the industry and have credentials but lack experience please understand that you are going to struggle in the beginning and that it will take you years to become well known and to become very good at your profession. If you are starting out seek both education and experience to become the best you can be. If you are a prospect looking for a coach and or trainer do research and see what they know and who they have helped and if they are producing some content such as articles, blogs, videos on social media.

Be informed. Be mindful. Keep in mind, the professionals will always stand out.

Coach Cano