August Archives

I suck today, and don’t really have anything in particular to write about. Although I just finished training my bi-weekly female training group no less than five minutes ago, and have decided that I’m going to start a “Female Training Group Quote of the Day.” Today’s entry comes from Judy:

“My legs hurt so bad, I have goosebumps”

Not really sure whether this even makes sense, but it’s quote worthy nonetheless

Side Note: I can’t even tell you the quote from earlier in the week, because I think it’s illegal in 17 states*. Lets just say that Tammy has a poo-poo mouth, and if I were her mother, I’d wash her mouth out with soap……………………twice.

To their credit, the ladies have been doing very well since starting a little over four weeks ago. All told, we’re now just starting to hit our stride, growing more and more confident each week with everything I’m throwing their way. What’s more, as you can imagine, it’s been awesome to see the progress they’ve made already. Granted, they’d rather eat rat poison than push the sled, but such is life. I could just as easily have them walk on the treadmill for twenty minutes like most trainers, but you know, I actually want them to get better. Besides, my day isn’t complete until one of them calls me an a-hole.

Keep up the great work ladies. And to those who may be interested in finding out more information, click here, and here.

In other news, I want to say congratulations to my little brother, RT, who finally proposed to his girlfriend of eight years, Rayann. It seems like only yesterday that he literally pushed me through his bedroom wall when I wouldn’t let him play with my Thunder Punch He-Man, and we both destroyed the back of our pants once we realized that our parents were going to kill us. And by “kill us,” I mean send us to bed with no dinner, and “I swear to god if I catch you playing your Nintendo I will run over it with my car,” kill us. Ah, the Hallmark memories.

Have an awesome weekend everyone.

I’ve had several emails in the past few days telling me that the blog has been acting batty. After posting Monday’s blog, an error message started to appear along the lines of ~ (WTFTHEINTERNETSUCKS) ~ Apparently the issue is not a Boston Herald issue. Rather, it’s totally the internet’s fault. I’ve had people who use Internet Explorer write me, as well as those who use Firefox- and to no avail, both have been affected. Fun fact: there’s another Tony Gentilcore out there who’s a programmer for Firefox. For the record, I’m way cooler. And have a six pack. I win.

In lieu of this debacle, I’ve decided I’m suing the other Tony Gentilcore for being pretty much the worst programmer ever, and I’m asking for a kajillion, billion dollars and/or a 1983 Donruss Willie McGee rookie card. No one messes with my blog traffic and gets away with it dammit!

In any case, it’s been a while since I’ve had an Exercise You Should Be Doing post up- here’s hoping that this actually works.

What Is It: DB Waiter Walk

Who Did I Steal It From: Originally, I learned about this particular exercise from Gray Cook in his Secrets of the Shoulder dvd. Likewise, Dan John talks about this exercise extensively in his book, Never Let Go.

What Does It Do: Teaches trainees to learn to “pack” their shoulder (glenohumeral) joint into the scapulae, providing more shoulder/thoracic stability when pressing objects over their head. You’ll notice that when I lift the DB over my head I’m not shrugging it- instead, I “pack” my shoulder back through a mechanism Gray Cook calls irradiation. In short: crush DB with your hand = sends signal to the rotator cuff to “turn on.” How’s that for simplicity? That’s what I like to call physiology people.

Furthermore, this is also a fantastic way to train the core musculature, as well as unilateral hip stability due to the asymmetrical nature of the exercise.

Key Coaching Cues: Outside of packing the shoulder, the trainee must do his/her best to stand as erect as possible throughout the duration of the exercise. Which is to say- chest tall, no tilting to either side, etc.

I like to go for distance if possible. So I’ll have clients walk 30-40 yds with one arm, switch, and walk back. However, I realize most people don’t have an indoor sprint track to use, so you could also go for time as well. Start with 20 seconds and work your way up to 30-45 seconds per arm. Two to three sets should suffice, at the end of a training session.

Now someone get me Jim “THE HAMMER” Shapiro (Syracuse’s finest) on the phone. Tony Gentilcore has a world of hurt comin his way.

Q: Hey Tony. I was hoping you could give me some advice on how to get into training athletes. I’ve thought about getting into personal training for a while now, and while I think I’d love it, I also think I’d hate training fat out of shape housewives who don’t want to work. I just never want to be one of “those” trainers. I’d love to train with people who have a desire to improve themselves, and to help them reach their goals, all while making a living at it. Anything from formal education to certifications, etc would be very helpful. Thanks

I don’t know if it’s something in the water, but it seems I can’t go a week without someone emailing me asking how (s)he can get into the fitness industry. For the record, I’m more than willing to help and offer some insight- elated in most cases! In fact, I’m often humbled that anyone would turn to me for such sage advice. I mean lets be honest, I can’t even decide on which Jessica I’d let date me (Alba or Biel), let alone offer career advice to complete strangers.

Nevertheless, whenever I get these sort of emails, I try my best to point them in the right direction. Which is to say, I generally tell them to steer clear of the following:

• Muscle rags
• Tracy Anderson
• Anything and everything dealing with The Biggest Loser
• BOSU balls
• Smith machines
• Any diet Oprah endorses
• The Bender Ball
• Personal trainers who still use body-part splits
• Anyone who uses the term “functional training” as a selling point
• Oh, and gonorrhea.

All kidding aside (hint: I’m not really kidding), as much as I’d like to help out the young lad above, I have to admit that this particular email rubbed me the wrong way. It’s apparent to me that many new trainers coming into the industry have an overwhelming sense of entitlement. Whether it’s complaining about working long hours, or thinking that they don’t actually have to train people (but can make their money writing lame e-books instead), it often amazes me how naive these trainers can be.

I remember listening to Mike Boyle speak once, and he told a story of an intern showing up on day one and asking when he would be able to train Mike’s professional athletes. Hahahahahahahaha. Riiiiigggghhhtttt. Who wants to bet that that same intern was stuck teaching twelve year olds how to foam roll for an entire month?

I want to train athletes, not fat, out-of-shape housewives who don’t want to work.

Let me ask you this:

1. What are the three external rotators of the rotator cuff?

2. Which is the only hip flexor that functions above 90 degrees of hip flexion?

3. You have a baseball player with GIRD (Gleno-humeral Internal Rotation Deficit), how are you going to fix it? Furthermore, what is the significance of testing GIRD in the first place?

4. You have a basketball player with a chronic case of anterior knee pain- what “red flags” are you going to look for?

5. What are the three main functions of the rectus abdominis? I’ll give you the easy one- trunk flexion.

6. What energy system is primarily being utilized during bouts of exercise that last under 20 seconds?

7. Which is not an actual muscle: quadratus lumborum, rhomzipidus, lumbricalis, plantaris, serratus anterior, or the longissimus? The picture below shows one of them- can you name it?

8. Can you explain to the average person why there is no such thing as a “fat burning zone?”

9. Someone comes to you with lower back pain- how can you tell whether it’s flexion based or extension based?

10. If you have bills to pay, are you really going to deny clients- even the so called fat, out-of-shape housewives whom you presume won’t work?

11. Honorable mention: How can one man (i.e- me) have all the answers to life’s biggest questions? Such as How much would would a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?*

Honestly, if you can’t answer any of the questions above, you have no business training anyone, let alone athletes. And lets drop the sense of entitlement. I mean, I could sit here and say how much I want to train the New England Patriot Cheerleaders, but it’s probably never going to happen. Freakin restraining order!

I’m not saying it’s wrong for you to want to train athletes-I think that’s awesome, and a great goal to shoot for. But it stands to reason you’re going to have to “earn your stripes,” and work with a wide variety of clientele in the meantime. Who’s to say that working with out-of-shape housewives is a bad thing? Some of my best clients are housewives. Besides, I can think of just as many athletes with piss poor work ethics as all the housewives you claim aren’t worth your time.

However, because I don’t want this post to be completly devoid of anything useful, here’s what I would suggest:

1. Read, and read often. Check out mine and Eric’s recommended resources pages- you’ll find plenty of stuff to read that will make you better. Side Note: the link to my page will take you to my very incomplete new website that will hopefully be done in 1-2 weeks.

2. Find a mentor or someone who offers internships. I can’t stress enough how important it is that you observe as many professionals as possible- particularly ones who have the same philosophy as yourself. Additionally, most college strength and conditioning programs are more than willing to allow you to come in and observe for a day. My only piece of advice here is that you have two ears, two eyes, and one mouth. Use them in that order. As well, show up looking like a professional. Showing up un-shaven, with a Budlight t-shirt on isn’t going to bode in your favor when trying to make a good first impression.

3. Work with as many different people as possible. It might not be as “sexy” to train the overweight lawyer who complains everytime you make him squat, but the value you’ll get from interacting with a wide variety of clientele will only make you a better trainer in the long run. Being a personal trainer is just as much about being a “people person” as it is getting your clients results. Half the time, people just want someone to hang out with and to listen to them talk about their kids.

4. Attend as many seminars and conferences as you can. Perform Better travels all throughout the country and is easily a cut above the rest in regards to the quality of presenters they have. While dropping upwards of $200-$300 for a conference seems daunting, you can’t think of it as an expense. Rather, it’s an investment- in yourself.

5. Did I mention you need to read?

6. Stop being an a-hole. You’re not that special. Put the time in, and good things will happen.

* Answer= Magic!