It’s not uncommon at all to hear recent college graduates in the strength and conditioning field talk about how they encounter a number of things in the “real world” that were never even considered in an exercise science curriculum. And, while I’ve previously shared my thoughts on this topic in Is an Exercise Science Degree Worth It? – Part 1 and Part 2, the focus of today’s post won’t be debating the merits of this degree. Instead, it’ll be outlining some of the holes in a typical exercise science curriculum and learning accordingly. With that in mind, here is my first point that rarely gets consideration in strength and conditioning textbooks:

Fascia actually exists.

Amazingly, I went through an entire undergraduate education of anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, and biomechanics without the word “fascia” being mentioned a single time. In fact, we didn’t even discuss it when I had gross anatomy; the med students cut it away so that we could look at what was deemed “important” stuff: muscles, tendons, bones, ligaments, and organs. And, when I got to graduate school, fascia really wasn’t discussed much in my endocrine-heavy kinesiology curriculum or the graduate level physical therapy courses I took for my electives.

Now, think about why so many personal trainers have never used a foam roller with their clients, or why a physical therapist or doctor might not appreciate how manual therapy could help with everything from anterior knee pain, to hamstrings strains, to ulnar collateral ligament tears. It’s a school of thought on which they may have never been schooled.

Needless to say, “fascial fitness” is extremely important, and you need to understand why as well as how you can achieve it as you identify movement inefficiencies in your clients or athletes. To that end, here are some recommended reads on this front:

8 Steps to Achieving Fascial Fitness – This was my write-up of a presentation from bodywork expert Thomas Myers back in 2010.

Anatomy Trains – This is Myers’ famous book on the topic.

I’ll be back soon with more lessons the college textbooks never taught you, but in the meantime, get to reading on this topic and you’ll quickly separate yourself in the strength and conditioning field – and make a lot of clients and athletes happy with their results in the meantime.