The 4 Levels Of Learning

Have you ever stood in the middle of the gym and wondered to yourself 

“Soooooo, what now??”

Or have you ever stepped into a HIIT studio and thought, 

“I don’t know what half of these exercises are let alone if I can do them or not?”

This, my friend, is the first level of learning which us in the fitness industry label ‘Unconcious Incompetence’

Sounds a bit mean but it basically means that you don’t know what you don’t know.

In order to gauge where a client is in terms of their skill set, we scale them on what is called the ‘4 levels on consciousness’ or as I’ve come to know it as ‘the 4 levels of learning’

Now the foundations of this were founded by a guy named Martin M. Broadwell, who was a management trainer and used it to train (you guessed it) managers.

Since then it evolved by different individuals across history and has made its way into the fitness industry over the last few years.

This concept can be applied in any walk of life and is a great tool to help people learn.

The reason we use it in the fitness industry is so we can adjust training programs to suit the individual.

Now you’re probably thinking, ‘all trainers do individual programs’

Read through the explanations and the summary at the end to understand why I think this should always be the first step in working through a training plateau.

So as I’ve mentioned, there are 4 levels of learning. They are…

Unconscious incompetence

Conscious incompetence

Conscious competence

Unconscious competence

Unconscious incompetence is like I mentioned before, it’s something that you had no idea existed until that point in time.

If you’ve never seen a shoot through let alone heard of it. You unconsciously had no idea it existed until the dreadful class you ended up in started, so it’s no fault of yours that you don’t know how to do it.

The same happens at work with a new employee. They have no idea how the systems in the office work so how can you get angry at them for not doing what they're meant to?

This is usually where ever novice lifter will start off. This is a beautiful place and one that ignites the imagination in your brain and possibilities.

Ever had an adrenaline rush after doing something you have never done for the first time?

You may have never experienced that feeling before so you get your kicks off it. You want more so you explore more.

This is an exciting time for a trainer. We can plug and play almost anything and you’ll naturally be attentive to it as you wish to learn it.

This brings you into level 2, Conscious incompetence. 

You know what a shoot-through is now so you do it, understand it and get better at it.

This is the easy part and what we are taught at a young age. 

You don’t last too long here but it should be enjoyed!

Level 3 brings us to Conscious Competence

This means you can do it if called upon but you haven’t quite mastered it.

This is usually where a lot of people sit in life and with their training.

You know how to do a squat, but if asked to do a front squat, the whole dynamics change massively for you.

It’s still a squat, we’ve just shifted the external weight.

This is when mastering your craft comes in. 

It’s putting in the countless amount of reps to perform the exercise to the best of your ability.

That then brings you to the final level, Unconscious competence. 

That is when you can do something without even thinking about it.

The best example I can think of is tying your shoelaces.

It doesn’t matter if you have on chucks or work boots, you never forget how to tie your shoes.

This is where advanced lifters LIVE!

Mastering groove and the understanding of their own bodies so they can complete the exercise without even thinking. 

So much work goes into getting here but even more, work goes into staying there.

That’s why when someone calls you obsessed, you should smile at them and thank them.

They’re acknowledging the work you’ve put in to get there.

So why is this important when it comes to your training?

Knowing what level you are on with every exercise you do is your key to progress.

Your squat could be on level 3 but your bench is still on level 2

Your chin up could be on level 4 but your bent over row on level 2

Knowing where you are means you can grow into improvement and tailor your program to hit those areas of weakness and level up.

Even if you are a level 3 in your squat, you could learn a slight variation to your squat to target your butt over your quads and then you’re down to level 1 just like that.

Understanding this concept means you’re forever learning and building your craft. Something that will never plateau.

This sort of program design is what separates the good PTs from the great ones.

Understanding the balance of learning with the understanding of movement.

Tomorrow we touch on GPP Training and SPP training. 

We discuss the difference between the two 

Why it’s important to understand the two

And how we can add this to our program design

Training plateaus will be a thing of the past after this week. That I can assure you!

Have a great day and keep living your best life!

James