Interview: Jono Freeman

A big hello to everyone reading today, I would like to introduce Jono Freeman once again as he has guest blogged for me before.

(See here-  http://deanjamiesonpt.com.au/guest-blog-fascia-and-posture-how-its-linked-and-why-it-really-matters/)

In this post I’m going to ask Jono a few questions about what he does and his experiences in the Fitness industry.

Jono Freeman is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist, Sport Scientist and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

After completing a Bachelor of Exercise Science & Nutrition Jono continued on to further complete his Masters of Exercise Science (Rehabilitation). He practices as a certified Active Release Techniques (A.R.T.) and a Functional Movement Screen Practitioner.

In the media, Jono’s articles have been featured in the top Fitness magazines and he has also published academic literature in the Journal of Australian Strength and Conditioning. Jono is the creator of the Foam Rolling App for iPhone and iPad and the author of ‘The Complete Guide to Foam Rolling’.

Jono and I played semi-professional Rugby League together, since then we have both gone on to work in the fitness industry and speak regularly over the phone about different methods of training application, often bouncing ideas off one another.

Q: Jono, thanks for answering a few questions for me today – Mate tell us what you’re up to work-wise at the moment?

A: Great to be here. Mate lots on at the moment, still got the functional training and rehabilitation clinic going well on the Gold Coast, looking to expand with a couple of trainers currently doing internships with me. Also got an online education portal coming soon and slowly trying to launch some other corrective exercise and strength training programs online.

Q: Jono you deal a lot with injured athletes/ clients – in your professional opinion where are Strength coaches/ PT’s getting in wrong in regards to training programs and exercise prescription?

A: I would say from my experience that around 80% of individuals either get injured exercising and/or currently train in pain, which as you know causes compensation leading to further injury.  The most important aspect of exercise is safety; if exercise isn’t safe we get people injured and lose clients, which isn’t good. As pt’s and strength coaches we need to be aware of movements of the body that cause pain or are likely to injure our clients. In saying that, the most important aspect of safety is assessment; not knowing how our clients move or what they have previously injured makes it tough to prescribe exercises that they need.

The biggest risk factor for injury in the gym is previous injury, something we can’t control unfortunately. However the second biggest risk factor is compensatory movement, something that is developed after an injury or due to life long movement patterns like poor posture.

Symmetrical training is extremely important. Something we often overlook is simply balancing both pushing and pulling movements as well as knee dominant and hip dominant movements (squatting and deadlifting for example). Further to this sometimes our strive for a certain body composition or body image gets in the way of our training, as we move away from what we should be doing (strengthening function) to what we want to be doing (bicep curls and crunches 😉 this generally leads us to poor exercise selection.

At the end of the day we need to give our clients what they need, whether it is Olympic lifts to improve power, corrective exercises to fix back pain or simply stretching to help with posture. Every exercise has a regression and a progression and we must use these when we deem appropriate, we shouldn’t be scared to regress someone if they need it. My best advice to all PT’s to keep their clients injury free, find out what they do all day then do the exact opposite when you train them.

Q: You built a quality Foam rolling app from the ground up – can you explain the importance of working with a roller?

A: Thanks mate. Soft tissue work is extremely important especially as the general public is exercising more and more. As we contract muscles in either exercise or just everyday movement we develop trigger points. These little points cause the muscles and surrounding connective tissue to not function as well as it should further increasing the risk of injury. If everyone had enough money to get either ART (Active Release Technique) or massage done everyday then we wouldn’t have near the amount of injuries we have from exercise, this is where the beauty of the trusty old foam roller comes into it, it’s basically self massage! My advice is to start with a less dense roller and progress as you become more comfortable with the feeling of it; obviously the harder one is the better effect it has on your body.

Q: You have spent a fair bit of time working as the Strength and Conditioning coach for Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Queensland cup – If you had only three exercises you could give Rugby League players what would they be?

A: Foam Rolling – they just have nowhere near the mobility they should have (same goes for the general public with this one)

Lateral Lunges – Anything single leg is great for hip, knee and lower back stability. Getting them strong in frontal plane (side to side) is important to maintain mobility also.

Deadlifts/ Glute Thrusts – Yes I know this is 2 but any hip dominant work they can do the more powerful they become and hence easier to break a tackle. The deadlift is also the foundation of Olympic lifts (something most strength coaches dismiss), which is extremely important to master before beginning high level lifts.

Q: What is the most common injury you see from general public clients? And what do you think causes this?

A: By far it would be lower back pain. Poor squatting mechanics, minimal hip dominant exercises in the program and poor exercise selection like crunches and leg press are the biggest causes of lower back pain in the gym. Don’t get me wrong, the spine is suppose to flex, extend and rotate but constant flexion, extension and rotation under load like the leg press will guaranteed you’ll herniate a disc at some stage in your life. Squatting ass to grass is only for individuals with appropriate hip mobility, squatting ass to grass isn’t for 75% of the population because 75% of the population cant maintain neutral spine at that range. Crunches is my other love to hate exercise, it trains one part of the trunk and places constant flexion of the spine, what would happen when you keep bending a piece of wire over and over? Your spines the same, it will break! Train the core and trunk to resist motion (pallof press, cable chops, cable lifts etc) rather then forcing motion your back will love you for it.

Thanks for answering my questions today mate and really appreciate your time.

Cheers,

Dean.