It isn’t every day that you get to sit down and interview one of the strength training community’s most promising young minds.  Today I’ve had the incredible opportunity to chat with Mike Robertson as he shares tips on everything from assessments to dealing with knee issues.  Check it out!

Hey Mike, it’s good to chat with you.  I’ve been following you for a couple years now and you’ve had a tremendous influence on how I train people.  However, some of my readers might not know who you are so please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Thanks for having me, Mark.  I’m a strength coach, personal trainer and gym owner in the Indianapolis area.  I’ve done a little bit of everything in my day – speaking, writing, and obviously a ton of coaching.

I know you’re a bright guy and I want to get as much info to my readers as possible so let’s cut past the fluff and get down to business.  One statement that I’ve seen you write before is that “If you aren’t assessing you’re guessing”.  What assessments do you think every trainee should do (or have done) prior to creating a training program and why are they so important?

First off, you’re far too kind about the “bright guy” stuff!  I still have a ton to learn.  When it comes to assessment, I think everyone should be using a three-step approach:

- Static posture
- Isolated muscle testing
- Integrated muscle testing

Each component provides insight and helps give you a clear picture of what dysfunctions a client deals with.  If I could only perform a few tests, however, I’d do the following:

- Squat/overhead squat
- Lunge
- Gait
- Static posture
- Push-up
- Front/side plank

With those tests alone, I could have a really good idea of what’s going on and what I need to address with training.

Along the same vein, what would you say is the most common problem you see when assess people and how might the average Joe go about preventing it?

I’m sure people are sick of hearing this from me, but most people simply have no butt!  It’s obvious when they squat, lunge, or do just about any basic movement pattern.  Far too many of us are quad dominant, and it throws everything off within the kinetic chain. 

If we ONLY teach people how to recruit and strengthen their glutes, we’ve done them a great service.

Now I know you do everything from corrective exercise to fat loss, but I really love your Bulletproof Knees manual.  I don’t mean to kiss your ass here, but I’ve said before that it is the single best business purchase I made in 2008 and I stand by that.  Why did you get so interested in dealing with knees in the first place?

Well, unfortunately I had to learn about things the hard way.  I was a competitive powerlifter for years, and it wasn’t until a skiing injury in 2005 that I really got interested in knees.

The problem was I had an issue for months, and no one could tell me:

A) What the problem was, or
B) How to fix it!

The only option was to dig in and do the work myself.  I researched everything possible, and basically rehabbed myself.  I ended up squatting 530 and deadlifting 535 on a torn meniscus in my left knee, so I think I did all right!

After that, I did the whole surgery, rehab, etc., and things still never quite felt 100%.  I’ve found in my time dealing with knee issues that very rarely should we focus on the knee, and that we have to look at the big picture if we want to get good results.

My understanding is that you believe a lot of knee injuries and knee pain are not sudden occurrences and can often be prevented/treated by dealing with muscle imbalances and soft tissue problems.  Can you tell us a little more about your system for dealing with messed up knees?

Absolutely!  Like I said before, you have to focus on the entire picture, not just the knees.  That’s one of the biggest issues people have – they assume that since the pain is at the knee, that they have a knee problem.  And in my experience, it’s just not the case.

More often than not, you have to look at the joint above (the hip) and the joint below (the ankle) to find the true dysfunction.  The more people I evaluate, the more I agree with Gary Gray’s assertion that the hips are the center of the universe.  People may come to us with knee pain, but quite often the diagnosis is that they have issues with hip mobility, hip motor control, or even hip strength.  The ankles play a part as well, but I think the hips are often the limiting factor. 

Bottom line?  Fix the hips and a lot of knee problems tend to take care of themselves.

That’s some pretty good stuff Mike.  So…if you had to go back now and add a bonus chapter titled “Stuff I didn’t know about knees when I wrote this manual” what kinds of things would you add?  Did you learn anything new after you published the manual?

After I wrote the manual and had it published, I think I was ready for a re-write almost immediately! 

There’s always stuff that I’m reading about and learning that I want to add, but I think in version 2.0 one of the biggest issues I’m going to address is the hip flexors.  I think too often we lump all of the hip flexors together and assume they’re problematic, but it’s just not the case.  We need to know and understand what each hip flexor does, as well as its role in possible knee issues. 

I addressed some hip flexor issues in the manual, but when I re-write it I will definitely address this topic more in-depth.  As with all things, the more specific we can make things, the better results we’ll get.

I’ll be the first to attest to the fact that this program is great addition to anyone’s training library even if they have healthy knees.  Where can people learn more about you and your products?

Definitely drop by my website at www.RobertsonTrainingSystems.com, where I have a blog, a ton of articles, video clips, as well as Bulletproof Knees and other products. There’s a ton of information there that should keep even the most geeky fitness enthusiast entertained for a while!

Thanks for taking the time to chat.