Back in 2002, a wealthy 39-year-old walked into my gym complaining about knee pain. This guy was an active athlete—surfing, skiing, running, cycling—you name it! He also strength-trained religiously with a well-known personal trainer in the Greater Toronto Area. But despite all the money he had and all the experts he had seen, his knees were still killing him.

He had heard about me, so I became the next person to try to help.

The Initial Consultation

During our conversation, I asked about his training. It was heavily core-based—but only the anterior core. The posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, lower back) was largely ignored. His abdominal training consisted of high reps, multiple exercises, and frequent sessions, with little regard for muscle balance. On top of that, his workouts crammed in as many upper and lower body exercises as possible within a limited timeframe.

“Do you squat?” I asked.

“Oh yes,” he replied, “I can do up to 300 pounds for reps.”

Now, this guy was 6’2” and 195 pounds, with limbs that looked like twigs. Something wasn’t adding up.

The Reality Check

I led him over to the power cage. He took one look and said, “Oh no, not with that. We use a Smith machine.”

Ah, that may be part of the problem…

Still, I asked him to show me his squat—just with an empty bar.

He unracked the bar, stepped back, and… performed a good morning instead of a squat!

I stopped him. “Try again—this time, bend your knees.”

No success. No matter how much I tried to correct him, he simply couldn’t squat properly.

The Bigger Issue

This was a classic case of pattern overload—his muscles had no idea how to work together. Years of Smith machine squats, excessive anterior core work, and high-rep ab training had completely thrown off his movement mechanics. Even basic functional movements, like getting on and off a toilet, were compromised.

We had to go back to the basics and completely revamp his training approach.

But what does all of this have to do with balance training and a rock star?

Find out tomorrow.