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Have a Clue….

A word of advice to any personal trainers who happen to read this blog: KNOW YOUR CLIENTS and what they’re capable of.

I accompanied my girlfriend to a local gym yesterday because she’s looking for something that’s closer to home. Oh, how I miss working in a commercial gym and the plethora of material I would have for blogs and articles from all the absurd stuff I would see on a daily basis.

In the ten minutes that I was there I saw some goofy stuff, but nothing as bad as watching another trainer put her client (also female) through a plyometric workout.

Plyometrics for ANY “newbie” is questionable, but this was just brutal. I literally cringed when I saw this trainer have her client perform alternating lunge jumps. Each time the poor girl jumped up in the air and landed, her hip would internally rotate and her knee would cave in each and every time her foot made contact with the ground. I was half expecting to see an ACL injury right then and there. Needless to say, it did not look pretty. Donald Trump dressed in drag would have looked prettier.

I will never understand why some trainers will use advanced training protocols with de-conditioned clients. It just doesn’t make sense. Actually, I do know why…..they want to look unique and different from other trainers. As a result they resort to more advanced tactics thinking it will make them look good.

We as fitness professionals need to know our clients and what they’re capable of doing. Someone who is fat doesn’t need some advanced fat loss program which includes HIIT and complexes and what not; they just need to freakin move. Advanced programs won’t help them shed fat any quicker. Someone who can’t even land on the ground correctly, doesn’t need to be doing advanced plyometric training; they need to strengthen their posterior chain (rack pulls, pull-thru’s, lunges, squats, etc), and just get stronger in general. Then and only then will they be proficient enough to get into the positions you want them to get into without risking injury. Basics people, basics.

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Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess

There are only a handful of things in this world that really irritate me.

1. One is the fact that Paris Hilton is considered a celebrity. She can’t act: three words, “House of Wax.” She can’t sing: a rhinoceros passing a kidney stone would sound better than her. And she has no athletic ability other than making every guys’ pee pee she comes in contact with itch.* (I have my sources)

*Okay, I lied. I don’t have any sources other than common sense.

2. The other is the fact that with the New Year right around the corner, every book store in the country will now be inundated with fitness/diet books such as “5 Minute and 37 Second Abs,” or “The Oreo Cookie Diet.” It never ceases to amaze me the obnoxious books that get published. Walk down the health/fitness isle of your local bookstore and you will undoubtedly find books that are geared towards quick fixes and false promises (lose 24 lbs in seven days).

Despite all the “smoke and mirrors” of most fitness related books, there are a handful that I come across that I’m more than happy to endorse. One such book is “The New Rules of Lifting: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess,” written by Lou Schuler, Alwyn Cosgrove, and Cassandra Forsythe.

Women are often told that in order to get the look they’re after, they need to spend an inordinate amount of time on the treadmill, take every yoga class possible, and to shy away from lifting any appreciable weights. Rubbish. In NROL for Women, every myth concerning women and weight training is dispelled.

1. Learn why the terms “toning, shaping, and sculpting” need to be banned from your vocabulary.

2. The treadmill is probably the last thing you need to be doing. While it is a tool, it’s not a necessity for fat loss.

3. No, you won’t become “big and bulky” just because you’re lifting weights.

4. Prolonged calorie restriction is the wrong approach…..how come?

5. In all actuality you may need to eat MORE to attain your goals.

And all of these are just the tip of the iceberg.

New Rules of Lifting for Women is geared towards women and helping them realize that what they have been told by all the mainstream magazines is wrong. With Lou Schuler’s practical writing style, programs written by Alwyn Cosgrove, and a nutrition plan by Cassandra Forsythe, this book hits all fronts and will serve as a valuable resource to enhance LIFELONG success.

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Mobility vs. Flexibility

Surprisingly, many people mistake mobility and flexibility as being “one in the same.” In other words, they feel that if they’re flexible, they must have ample mobility (and vice versa). This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Mobility: how a joint moves.

Flexibility: length of a muscle.

A perfect example demonstrating the difference between mobility and flexibility would be in the ankles. As Mike Boyle has pointed out on numerous occasions and even more so in his new “Joint-by-Joint Training and Warmup” dvd, if the ankle is restricted due to a mobility issue, then static stretching the calves won’t fix the problem. Unfortunately, many trainees will still want to stretch their calves in the hopes of improving their ankle mobility.

MOTION is needed to fix a mobility issue.

As crazy as it sounds, many dysfunctions up the kinetic chain (particularly anterior knee pain) can be attributed to mobility restrictions in the ankles. It makes sense really. When you consider that many athletes (especially basketball and football players) tape their ankles (providing stability to a joint that normally wants to be mobile) and wear high top cleats and sneakers, it’s no wonder that many suffer from knee pain eventually.

A simple solution is to include more ankle mobility work into your basic warm-up.

Wall Ankle Mobilization:

Key Points to Remember:

1. Basically all you’re doing is pushing the knee forward into the wall. Work your way as far from the wall as possible without the front heel coming off the ground.

2. Use what ROM (Range of Motion) you have. You may only have a few inches to work with, which is fine. The more you do this drill, the better your ankle mobility will get as the weeks pass.

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It’s Official….

As of this morning, I will officially be done with all of my Christmas shopping. I think my girlfriend is really going to love what I got for her. I mean what says “I love you” more than a years subscription to the Beef Jerky Flavor of the Month Club? I can’t wait for May (Tangy Teriyaki)! Hey, I wasn’t voted Boston’s most romantic boyfriend for nothing.

Since I won’t be updating this blog until next week, I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy Holiday Season. Enjoy your time with family and friends and bask in the glory that is your mother’s homemade peanut butter fudge. I’m totally not sharing.

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Form Phobia

If there is one thing that will totally discredit a personal trainer in my eyes, it’s lack of reinforcing proper form. I don’t care how long you have been training people, or how many letters you have next to your name. If you stand there and your client is performing an exercise with atrocious form and you do nothing to fix it, you just lost all credibility, and you enter “you suck” territory.

FYI: the picture below is a perfect example of someone sucking. Well, not so much her (the picture is of Krista of stumptuous.com, and she’s purposely showcasing bad form as part of an article on deadlifting properly). For the sake of this blog, imagine a personal trainer standing next to Krista. Now imagine how much that trainer sucks.

Case in point, I was training at another facility not too long ago, and out of habit I observed the trainers there. I saw one of the “master” trainers having his client perform Romanian Deadlifts. In a nutshell, the client looked like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Knee’s shooting forward, no hip extension, and a completely rounded back (just like the picture above). Even worse, the trainer just stood there watching, counting reps as if everything was as it should be. Matter of fact, the client finished his set, and the trainer said, “good…perfect.”

I thought to myself two things:

1. “Wow, if that is what he considers “perfect,” I’d love to see what he considers “bad” form.”

2. “I didn’t realize the Helen Keller School for the Blind was giving out master trainer certifications!” Zing. See what I just did there? I’m like a word play ninja.

It’s frustrating to be in a field where mediocrity is rampant. Worse yet, the consumer often has no clue. Half the time I want to keep my mouth shut. Who am I to judge other trainers? However, the other half feels an obligation to call these trainers out. Our number one job as strength coaches and personal trainers is to keep people healthy. A huge part of that is making sure that clients are performing movements correctly. We must not forget this……EVER. Why do so many miss the boat in this regard?

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The Shoe Talk

There are a few things one will notice upon walking into our facility (Cressey Performance in Hudson, MA).

1. No foo-foo machines. It’s a place designed by athletes, for athletes. As well as for those who are serious about making a serious commitment to their long term health. Although we did break down and buy a treadmill a few weeks back. You know, to make the place look official.

2. Trainers/coaches/employees who actually look like they lift weights. Ever walk into a gym and notice that some of the trainers look like they could use a trainer themselves? It’s akin to the health teacher who smokes; who’s going to take advice from him/her?

3. Everyone wears Nike Frees or is training barefoot 50% of the time. One of the first things we do with new clients is to have the “shoe talk” with him or her. More often than not, people need to get out of their atrocious footware. Many postural issues and dysfunctions up the kinetic chain can be attributed to what someone is wearing on their feet while at work (ahem ladies: are high heels worth it?) and to the gym.

Nike Frees are designed to emulate barefoot training and allow trainees to learn to use the small, intrinsic muscles of the feet again. Additionally, they will work wonders in terms of improving ankle mobility, which as I stated above, will go a long ways as far as fixing any “issues” up the kinetic chain (ie: lower back pain, etc). On a side note: they’re super comfy and will totally help you score more chicks.

It should be noted that I don’t make a dime endorsing Nike Frees, but if there happens to be a Nike executive reading this blog, feel free to send me a check:

Tony Gentilcore

18 Rock Hard Abs Boulevard

Awesomeville, USA

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Who Says Girls Can’t Lift Heavy Stuff?

This is a video I took of my client Tina over the weekend while she was training. A few things to note:

1. Tina works her ass off. Matter of fact, she once split her pants wide open while warming up to squat and even though she didn’t have an extra pair of pants, she was willing to wear a towel around her ripped pair in order to finish her training session. So for all those people who “forget” to bring their workout shoes to the gym, and as a result, end up going home; you could learn something from Tina.

2. Tina still looks like a girl, despite being stronger than most of the men she trains around. She’s actually rather petite, coming in at 5’2″ and 145 lbs. She’s also considering training for her first power-lifting meet sometime this year. This coming from a girl who when I met her, was reluctant to lift anything over 25 lbs.

3. You might be wondering what the heck is Tina doing?

Name of Movement: Giant Cambered Bar Box Squat. The cambered bar tends to be much easier on the shoulders and provides a different training stimulus as compared to a regular “straight” bar.

Box Height: 12 inches

Bar Weight: 205 lbs. She also had three chains (20 lbs each) on each side of the bar which adds roughly 120 lbs of additional weight at the top of the movement. However, in her case, the chains weren’t adjusted properly so she had roughly an additional 60-80 lbs of weight at the top of the movement. As she squatted down, the bar would “de-load,” with the chains resting on the floor. Tina performed this for 6 sets of 3.

4. A few of the high school guys that were in the facility training at the same time as her were later found hiding in the corner in the fetal position, sucking their thumbs.

5. To all the women who read this blog: Not every woman will be able to train like Tina does, but that’s not to say that you shouldn’t want to get stronger. Put down the 20 lb body bar and start using some real weight for peets sake. Oh, and just so you know, lifting heavy weights won’t make you “big a bulky.” That 4th Christmas cookie you just ate will.

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The Perfect Snack

Two words: Beef Jerky

I can’t think of many things more perfect than beef jerky. Scratch that. Kate Beckinsale in a bikini feeding me grapes while I’m watching Star Wars in my private jet on the way to Hawaii would constitute as perfect. What can I say? I’m a man of simple pleasures. But after that, not many things top beef jerky.

As an added bonus; eating beef jerky will automatically make you more manly (my apologies to any women reading this blog today). What’s more manly than eating a bag of beef jerky? Matter of fact, if I had to list the top five manly things in the world they would be:

1. Eating beef jerky.

2. Leaving the toilet seat up and not giving a damn.

3. Getting teary eyed during the movie “Rudy.” What guy didn’t get emotional when they carried Rudy off the football field?

4. Fighting forest fires with your shirt off.

5. Calling your mom every weekend.

I work with many clients who sit in an office all day and have little to no time to eat often enough, let alone bring prepared meals with them to work. One simple solution is to put a bag of beef jerky in their desk drawer. For those busy-body types it’s a perfect snack. It’s easy to store, it’s a high protein/low-fat snack, and depending on what brand you get, it’s low carbohydrate as well.

Be leery of those brands that have more than five grams of carbohydrates per serving. It’s a safe bet that those brands with more than five grams per serving are loaded with additional sugar and preservatives that will do more harm than good. Read those labels!

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The Inevitable Conversation

One of the pitfalls of being a strength coach/personal trainer is that you can never escape the inevitable conversations you’re going to have with complete strangers once they know what you do for a living. To be honest, sometimes I feel like all those parents who dread the day they have to discuss the “birds and the bees” with their children. It’s just not fun.

I attended my girlfriend’s company Christmas Party over the weekend, and while I insisted that she tell her colleagues that I’m an ex-Special Forces operative whose bare hands have been classified as lethal weapons (along with his wit and charm), she refused, and told everyone that I work as a strength coach and personal trainer. So instead of me telling stories of how I have parachuted into active volcanoes and destroyed tanks just by looking at them, I resorted to discussing the finer points of A1 adrenoreceptors and B2 adrenoreceptors and how they correlate with stubborn fat loss. Boooorrrring.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE what I do and I thoroughly enjoy helping people reach their goals. But sometimes I just want to be brutally honest with people instead of being nice:

Random Person: “So Tony, your girlfriend tells me you’re one of those fitness type people.”

(Cue theme music from Jaws)

Me: “Yes I am.”

Random Person: Like, how can I lose 20 lbs?

Me: Stop drinking four glasses of wine every night. Don’t skip meals, thinking that saving your calories throughout the day justifies eating a whole pizza for lunch everyday. Get off the treadmill; it’s doing more harm than good. Lift heavy things off the the ground. Yoga mostly sucks; sweating in a 100 degree room doesn’t mean you will get lean. Eat more veggies; and no that lettuce on your roast beef sandwich doesn’t count. Don’t tell me you don’t have time to train. If you have enough time to watch 20 hours of television every week (the national average in the United States), you have enough time to go to the gym and train. Oh, and those 100 calorie snacks you’ve been bringing to work everyday (thinking they’re a healthy alternative) are about as useful as a one-legged man in a kickball tournament.

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Exercises You Should Be Doing (Half Kneeling Cable Chop)

Contrary to what many people believe, there is no clear evidence that exists to link tightness or weakness of a particular muscle group to injury. However, it has been shown that a significant amount of injuries were noted in those trainees with right-left strength and/or flexibility imbalances (asymmetries).

When evaluating new clients, I always like to use certain movement patterns to find any right-left imbalances that may exist. Rather than putting each client under a looking glass, I’d much rather get them out on the floor and observe how they move and see what “shakes free.”

The half kneeling cable chop is a great assessment tool, and is also a exercise that I like to use in many of my clients’ training programs to improve overall core strength and endurance.

As I have stated on numerous occasions, the core’s main function is to keep the trunk over the pelvis by preventing hoop stress (rotation). Additionally, the core serves as an “intermediary,” transferring force in a spiral or diagonal pattern from the lower body to the upper body.

What’s great about this particular exercise is that it takes advantage of the body’s natural tendency to function in those same opposing spiral/diagonal movement patterns. The chop (or lift…which I’ll showcase some other time) can be performed in various lower body positions to specifically address and identify imbalances that may exist in the core.

Key Points to Remember:

1. There really isn’t much I can say that the video doesn’t show. The key here is to not cheat and make sure you complete quality repetitions. The moment you have to lean forward, or hike your hip, or rotate your shoulders to complete the movement, you know that either you’re using too much weight or an imbalance exists. If you do happen to find an imbalance between the left or right side, then you know which side needs more work.