
13 things I’ve learnt from RTS Mastery
First, I want to express my deepest gratitude to the RTS organization, specifically Tom Purvis and Dr. Mark Slavin. I went through RTS Level 1 twice with Mark and then decided, along with my super pro trainer colleague, Marc Sonderegger, to finally see the infamous and legendary Tom Purvis in person and he did not in any way disappoint my expectations.
I’ve actually never met anyone in this industry who is so meticulous in his whole approach towards perfection. His work is pure art. Tom’s gym in Oklahoma is fully equipped with machines from all over the place, Nautilus, Kaiser, Cybex etc. But no machine has been left untouched. Tom has been modifying his machines, accessories, cams etc. like you will never see it again in any other place. All pieces of equipment have been accommodated to match the strength profile. Which means you can basically max it out in all your available ranges without significant drop-offs in your weakest positions.
His gym is a big lab where also other physios and trainers work. Tom loves challenges easily gets bored with regular stuff. No miracle. He has such a fast and in-depth view of exercise along with a sharp mind, which is unparalled in this industry. Even with his 63 years of age, he doesn’t seem to get any slower. It’s his pure passion and even more, obsession that keeps him going, along with the endless determination to change this industry towards the better. Think science, speak client: this is a mantra he keeps repeating.
I therefore call him the Yoda of exercise biomechanics. And we all know. There is only one Yoda. And what baffles me even more, unlike all the other coaches I have learnt from, with him there are no quick fixes, no generalisations, no easy solutions, no absolutes. And furthermore, he also admits if he doesn’t know something. Even if it might be something that other coaches would see as a clear indication, he then goes to try and elaborate things first, before taking any fast conclusion. To be honest, he often replied with “I don’t know,” which makes him an even greater source of wisdom. As a sidenote, this blog is my own interpretation of the RTS Mastery and therefore not free from potential mistakes.
Remember the main principles Tom teaches:
- No absolutes, no generalisation
- Always ask. What am I missing?
- Always reference. And use terms like: it might be xyz for client.
- No Projections
- Effort, not outcome
- No assumptions
- Nothing is predetermined
- Empirical mindset
- Always aim for progression. Nothing is perfect. It’s a constant process to evolve.
Train muscles, not movements
Exercise is all about movement. NO. Exercise is all about force. Every exercise is a resistant. Even when you walk, at least in a very limited range. Muscle training is always also a nervous system training. And it should be the foundation of all your training. To not just do movements but to actually know what muscles you want to really work on. A lot of times you hear trainers telling you it’s about the movement, not the muscles.
You need to train your nervous system. What do you think creates movement? And what trains your nervous system? Fact is, the more of an advanced trainee you are, the faster a movement can be (if this is your goal for example explosive contractions) but nevertheless, you need to master the skill of muscle contractions before you start to swing the weights around. So remember. Movements are created by muscles, working in synchronized orchestration. Train your muscles accordingly, and coordination, balance, stability and strength will follow. And even better. Your joints will love it. Healthy joints=better and more efficient movements.
Stick to the basics
Nowadays there are many trends, such as neuroathletic training etc. These are great add ons but the foundation will always be to go through your individual resistance training, adjusted to your structure, goals, tolerance etc. All the other stuff comes on top. Not the other way around. But it’s all about where you currently are in your progression. And it should be the foundation of all your training: to not just do movements but to actually know what muscles you want to really work on.
If you manage to do so, add weights/reps, tempo etc. You need to earn it first and master your technique. But if the goal is hypertrophy, it is advisable to always control your weights and not the other way around. You always want to make it as hard as possible. The opposite of what your brain wants.
Everything is context and client-specific.
You always start with your goal, with what you have available (joint range of motion), and what you own and tolerate. And no, progressive overload isn’t just about adding weights and reps. Strength training isn’t simple mathematics. Because we have a body that isn’t just linked to rational numbers. It’s much more complex as to rationalise it. This means even the fact that you get better in your exercise execution is a form of progressive overload.
Since you are probably not a powerlifter or olympic weightlifter, you don’t need to just worry about the weights, sets and reps. Try first to improve your motor skill learning and go intentionally with more effort instead of just moving a weight and use the muscles that are already strong enough. Tom mentioned this great analogy of “running is some sort of cheating from fast walking”. I love this. Which means, you need to earn the “right” to be able to run. Before, try walking, then walk faster, then go incline. Besides, strengthen your joints with proper training. At some given point you might go running. (but definitely not when you are overweight)
Wide grip pulldowns, opposite to the general opinion…
are suboptimal for training the lats because of limited scapula movement and path of motion (externally rotated instead of more internal).” Your scapula is limited in range and as you might know, training the lats is all about scapula movement as the lats attach to the scapula and the humerus (of course not just). Try to use more somewhat of a shoulder width grip/neutral position. You don’t need to straighten your arms at the top but think of more letting your shoulder blades glide up into full elevation and then you start by fully depressing them while holding constant tension and contraction in your lats. End up with your elbows going slightly behind your torso into full shortening. I know, this will take some training.
It’s sort of an art to really feel your lats like you have never felt before. If you can, use some sort of these (pulldown straps). They will help you not pulling down with your hands but more with your elbows which also removes any grip limitations. Check out this short video here how they could be applied and how a real lat contraction looks like.
Soundbites
The fitness and nutrition industry is full of it. And I get it. It’s just easier to sell and market. Do this and you will get more range. But don’t you think that there is a reason why you maybe currently have a “limited” range? There can be be multiple reasons for that and some of them you don’t want to challenge. While some others are the result of your lifestyle choices and habits.
First and foremost. There isn’t such a thing as a quick fix. Even if many influencers seem to tell you. It doesn’t exist. Your ranges, posture etc are mostly the result of your lifelong choices, along with genetics. You will only be able to partially change them with time. Realise, your body likes these positions you spend the most time in. We are and will always be creatures of habits. No upper back posture exercise will give you a quick fix here. And no, chest exercises will not make you end up like the hunchback of Notre Dame.
Assessment(s)
As I have learned over the years, it has always been crucial for me to do some initial assessments before creating a workout plan. But what are we actually looking for? And are we sure that what we assume is “wrong” with the client is really the case? RTS doesn’t see any benefits from all these functional movement screens and it makes perfect sense. In fact, every form of training is, at the same time some sort of assessment. Every training session is an assessment in itself.
We are in constant motion and therefore, top professionals always check what’s going on right now. And not in form of any weird screening but more in terms of what the client has available. First and foremost the active range of motion. This can be checked through a variety of “movement” tests along with a given resistance, either through our own, any weight, bodyweight or whatsoever. And this is also where muscle testing falls short. Just because, at that moment, you showed some signs of weakness, doesn’t automatically mean, you are out of order or weak. This is way too subjective and underlies many variables and things can go wrong. Also muscle testing is very specific, as well as most other assessments. They are not applicable to real life, with real weights and other given situations.
No symmetry
As you might have heard, we are not symmetrical. Still, lots of “functional trainers” try to press clients into the notion that they need to be perfectly symmetrical. This is impossible and also not possible to achieve. So stop the nonsense. There is a reason why your body might be asymmetrical at a given time. And mostly it’s not because something is “wrong”. We don’t need to fix something there until someone really has severe pains.
Full ROM
Also, something the industry loves to constantly spread. And I have been on that “train” for a long time, too. But what if full range doesn’t really help you with your goals? And even worse, will injure your joints and passive structures? Let’s start with this: ROAJP. Range of available joint position. But what does that mean?
Range of joint position, or more commonly known as Range of Motion (ROM), refers to the distance and direction a joint can move between the flexed position and the extended position. It is an essential aspect of physical fitness and overall health, impacting everything from daily activities to athletic performance.
Definition and Types of ROM:
- Active Range of Motion (AROM): This is the range of motion that you can achieve using your own muscle strength without any external assistance.
- Passive Range of Motion (PROM): This is the range of motion achieved when an external force, such as a therapist or a piece of equipment, moves your joint through its range without your muscle activity.
The problem is when you get forced through resistance into too much passive range of motion. This can cause serious issues over time. Also, because you don’t have full control in that position. This doesn’t mean, you can never go there but what you should do is actively being able to hold your positions in full control before you even try to extend or increase your range. Better take it slow and steady rather than letting your body being forced into positions it doesn’t know yet. And besides, you don’t know your joint structures. It can be possible that you are structurally limited. So don’t force your body to go there just for the sake of potential more range.
Muscles grow best in the lengthened position dogma
Also something that we have been taught over the last couple of years. So can you just train muscles in their „stretched“ aka lengthened position and expect all the growth. Nope, muscles should be challenged through their entire spectrum of available range. Also because of joint health. And if you look at the length/tension model in multijoint muscles, you will see that more contractions take place in the mid range of the motion. The length-tension model shows that muscle fibers generate different amounts of force depending on their length.
The maximum force is produced at an optimal length (resting length), while both shorter and longer lengths result in less force production. This model is crucial for understanding muscle function, training, and rehabilitation. For example, if we take the seated leg curl which starts in the lengthened position. More tension gets actually created in the middle of its range rather than just in the lengthened position. And besides, if you “overstretch” a muscle, it becomes slack and cannot produce the tension it needs to. This is why it’s crucial to stay in your active range of motion.
Free weights are gold, machines are bad dogma
Respectively, free weights are more functional. No, they are not. The challenge with free weights is that they only defy gravity (top down). Meaning, it’s hard to accomodate their resistance profile to the strength profile of a muscle. Think dumbbell lateral raises for example. You are weakest at the top at 90 degrees. This is where the dumbbell is heaviest. Not a good thing if you want to max out until the last rep. But that doesn’t mean they are useless. Very skilled trainers know how to adjust it accordingly. On the other side, the problem with most machines is, that they have suboptimal profiles and limitations for an individual set-up. Therefore, it requires a lot of skill of a trainer to adjust the resistance profile accordingly.
Resistance Profile & Strength Profile
But why do you need to accomodate the resistance profile to the strength profile?
First of all, the resistance profile is what the machine offers in terms of resistance, or the free weight. Meaning how does the resistance change throughout the range. On the opposite you have your strength profile (strength curve of a muscle). Remember, the muscle that is fighting most the resistance, is the main working muscle. And by the way, you cannot isolate muscles. You can though differentiate between single and multijoint muscles. And just as a side note. Every muscle that crosses a joint is also a stabilizer. Got it? It’s not about training the “small” muscles because they are stabilizers.
Stretching has no benefits in terms of injury prevention or elasticity.
Muscles are tight and weak and therefore you need to stretch it and get it stronger.
First of all. What do you think happens when you stretch a muscle? You lengthen it. But what about the passive tissue? How much do they want to get lengthened? And if so, to what degree and with what consequences? If you stretch something, it should be staying in place, right? Otherwise it wouldn’t make sense. But all it does it elongates the active and potentially some passive tissue for the current moment. Then goes back to its original position. What for? Okay, if it feels good for you, do it. But time is limited in our world, so you‘d better do something that is more efficient.
And by the way, we all are built different. Meaning, from structure to joint capsules etc. we can and never will be able to tell what’s really going on under the surface. If you want to feel better in your posture, move your joints, train your muscles in all possible spectrums of your available joint positions and don’t just rely on walking or running. Because in fact, also long walks can make you feel tight. Now, you should know why.
Good vs. Bad exercises
Generally speaking, there are no absolutes. No exercise is inherently bad. But there are some that just don’t make much sense to incorporate because they have a higher risk to benefit ratio than others. This doesn’t mean they will automatically lead to more injury risk but if you can prevent them, do it. You will thank me later in maybe 10-20 years. Such an exercise for example is the dip, whether it’s with your arms on a bench, or on any dip machine. Bringing your arm behind the torso while being loaded is just putting unnecessary pressure on your shoulder capsule, which, by the way isn’t as tolerant as your hip capsule. Therefore, why on earth would someone do upright rows (in an internal rotation position) to train delts/traps? There are far more and better exercises to serve this purpose. The same goes for the behind the neckpress. As long as you don’t have to do it for your sports, don’t do it. Do it as a front press, your better off. And there are of course more exercise I’d rather you not to do if you don’t need to.
It’s not just about what is the function of a muscle that tells you if it’s working. It’s mostly who is fighting against the resistance and has the best mechanical advantage. So please don’t just limit your perspective in terms of kinesiology. Think broader. Your body will thank you.
Special thanks to you Marc Sonderegger for not letting me procrastinate on this one. To see Tom Purvis live in real has always been on my bucket list. Thanks for this amazing trip with you. You have been awesome along the way.
And don’t get me wrong, there are far more than these 13 learnings during the 9 day course and over 100 hours of videomaterial (we had to go through before attending the course). But listing them all would end up in a master thesis.