Today I want to let everyone know about a pretty kick-ass (read: awesome) webinar that Alwyn Cosgrove is going to be hosting titled The Death of Personal Training. Believe me, as someone who started out as a personal trainer – and admittedly struggled – it’s stuff like this that really I wish I had the opportunity to take advantage of back in the day.
Lets just say that when I first same into this industry my strongsuit wasn’t the part where I had to ask for money for my services. It still isn’t to be honest. In fact, if I had to describe it, whenever the topic of money came up I’d say it resembled one of those scenes in a cheesy PG-13 movie. You know, where the shy guy stands there with his hands behind his back, looking down at the ground, shuffling the floor with his feet, while asking the hot girl out to prom?
Yeah, that was me. Everytime I had to ask a client whether he or she wanted to re-up one of their packages it was just Awkwardsville, USA, complete with crickets chirpping, tumbleweeds blowing, and an otherwise uncomfortable silence.
Of course, over time, I got better – and less awkward (for the most part), but it sure would have been a tremendous help to have someone like Alwyn showing me the ropes back then.
What’s more, the industry itself is constantly changing. Is one-on-one training the way to go or is semi-private training more advantageous? What’s the best way to develop leads? How about retaining clients? Is it a good idea to discount your services? And, what about referall bonuses – yay or nay? As a personal trainer, YOU ARE a business (even if you work in a commercial gym), and if you’re not taking the proper steps to stay on top of things in terms of building your brand, sadly, it’s going to be an arduous climb to the top.
Nevertheless, I HIGHLY encourage you to sign-up for Alwyn’s (FREE) webinar, which is going down this Monday, August 22nd at 8 PM EST. I’m not sure how many spots Alwyn has allotted for this event, so even if you have one inkling of interest, I’d jump on that train as soon as possible. A word of caution, though: make sure to bring your umbrella, because it’s going to rain nothing but cold, hard truths spit your way. In a Scottish accent no less!
Today I have a guest post from personal trainer, Michael Gray. Michael has been an avid supporter of this blog for quite some time, and he reached out to me several weeks ago asking if I’d be interested in letting him write up a little sumthin sumthin for the website. I’m always getting emails from upcoming trainers in the industry asking me how they can go about getting their name out there more and how they can get their writing published. And, more often than not, I always say the same thing: write (a lot), and write for free.
This is something I’m going to touch on in a bit more detail in a future blog post, so stay tuned…..
Suffice it to say, this may come as a shock to some reading, but the likelihood of writing for publications such as Men’s Health or T-nation.com – at least right out of the gate – is somewhere between not a shot in hell and mud wrestling with Jamie Chung.
Note: for those wondering who the heck Jamie Chung is. Most recently, she was in the movie Sucker Punch. You’re welcome.
All that said, Michael and I have been exchanging emails intermittently for about a year now, and in that time we’ve grown to have a professional repoire discussing everything from fat loss to functional anatomy. And, of course, ripping on Tracy Anderson.
So when Michael contacted me to write a post, I gave him three stipulations:
1. It has to be under 1000 words.
2. It can’t suck.
3. It has to include a reference to Saved by the Bell.
Okay, that last one wasn’t true, but he pulled it off nonetheless! What’s more, he came up with a solid post that I think you’ll all enjoy. So, I’ll shut up now and let Michael take over.
Fat Loss Basics
When Tony and I first talked about me writing up a guest post for his blog, we decided on a post that fell under the “fat loss” umbrella. From there, the concept was totally up to me.
When you think about it, that’s a pretty broad umbrella. There’s nutrition, programming, exercise pairings, recovery, off days, NEPA, as well as a few other topics that one could definitely write extensively on when discussing fat loss.
Being a regular visitor to Tony’s blog, I know that you all (his readers) are much more educated than the typical gym goer. I wrestled with what exactly to cover, hoping that I wouldn’t post something that everyone simply nodded their heads in agreement with, but rather, cover a familiar topic in a way that brought about some new insight, or at least a fresh perspective.
I don’t consider myself a fat-loss expert, or an expert in anything really (except maybe Saved By The Bell trivia……Note from Tony: ding ding ding. He did it!!!!!), but if I’m honest, the majority of my clientele are looking to drop body fat. And when you write program after program geared towards people getting their lean on, you start to notice trends. Certain exercise modalities tend to get people leaner more quickly than others. Others leave people so wiped out from their caloric deficit that they feel worse than a cheeseburger-eatin’ Hasselhoff.
Then of course there are modalities that are counter productive, (hello endless sets of high reps), as well as those that can just be flat out miserable. (Ever tried pulling heavy singles while in a caloric deficit? Welcome to Suckville, USA.)
I’m of the belief that too often people try to accomplish too many things at once. They try to drop 10 pounds of fat, put on 10 pounds of muscle, and add 50 pounds to their deadlift…all in the same month.
While they can be lauded for their efforts, they’re most likely not going to have much to show for them.
So to be brief, if you’re trying to lose body fat, everything you do should be geared towards that goal while attempting to maintain other elements of your training (muscle mass, strength, mobility, etc.)
While some coaches will say that the only difference between a fat loss program and a mass building program is the amount of calories you take in, I think that’s a little over-simplistic. I’ve had much greater success with fat loss when I tweak the elements and structure of my clients programs from what I would program for a typical strength client.
Below are a couple of examples of exercise pairings (or quadruplings) that are representative of one of the ways I program for fat loss.
Complete A1-A4, only resting long enough to move from one exercise to the next.
A1. I always, always, place the most technical and compound lifts first. For obvious reasons, these need to be performed in the freshest state possible. Remember, the goal of this type of programming is to maintain mass and strength, not increase it.
You’re not looking to set a new PR. If you shooting for sets of 3, it’s OK to work with a weight that you could pull 4-5 reps with. It is important to work with a weight that you can safely lift, especially as fatigue sets in during consecutive sets.
A2. I like to follow A1 with something that still has a bit of a technical compenent to it, but isn’t terribly demanding from a strength stand point and does a decent job of keeping the heart rate jacked up. The above examples are MB slams and kettle bell swings, but you could use other things like sledge hammer swings, moderately weighted sled pushes, rack carries, etc.
A3. This goes back to a more traditional compound, strength exercise, but again, it’s technical demand is much lower than A1’s considering fatigue is starting to settle in a bit. Things like lunges, push ups, chins, rows are great here.
A4. Bodyweight exercises that are low on a technical standpoint are perfect for the end of your set. Things like planks (and all their variations), jumping jacks, jump rope, and high knees finish off the sets nicely.
THE RATIONAL
Transitioning back and forth between traditional strength based exercises and ones that are a little more explosive and cardiovascular based do something pretty cool. They provide a constant elevation of your heart rate while giving you a chance to rest your muscular system from intense demand. This allows you to get into your next strength exercise without letting you heart rate drop. Or in other words, burn more calories.
I am not in any way opposed to the traditional way strength coaches design fat loss session, i.e. strength work kept separate from cardio/metabolic conditioning/energy systems work. In fact, I often program for a lot of my fat loss clients that way. But I have found it to be incredibly beneficial to them to have at least one day of their weekly training to be set up in a fashion similar to what is above.
There are countless combinations that you could use, and there isn’t any reason that you have to pair four exercises together. That’s just what I used for this example.
Whether you choose to try these on yourself or on your fat loss clients (to be honest, you should always attempt something before you have your clients do it) I hope you find them to be another tool in your bag of tricks.
I’d love to know how they work for you, so give them a shot and let me know what you think!
For more information on Michael, be sure to check out his website: www.michaelgrayfitness.com, or check out his Facebook page HERE.
I’m going to keep this one short and simple today because, well, the video speaks for itself. Simply stated: training environment is everything. Or, put another way, a component that’s – at the very least – highly underrated and something that most trainees never really get to experience.
In addition, one of the things we pride ourselves most with at Cressey Performance is the sense of camaraderie and “family” that’s instilled amongs our clients and athletes. We don’t have a secret handshake or anything (Note to self: we totally should), but everyone knows that when they walk through those doors, it’s go time. It’s time to work. And, even more importantly, there are absolutely no cell phones allowed.
^^^ See, I’m not kidding.
Anyways, getting to the point, the video below shows one of our clients, Dr. P, hitting a personal milestone of his – a 315 lb bench press.
Setting the stage, he actually missed his first attempt – bringing the bar down a little too high and failing just off the chest.
Not to be defeated, though, Dr. P wanted to give it another shot. He waited another 5-10 minutes, fired up his iPod, and set up for another attempt. Now, when I say that the entire gym literally stopped to watch and cheer on Dr. P, I’m not exaggerating. The video doesn’t show it, but there was a circle of clients and CP staff surrounding the bench as he set up for his second attempt. And well, I’ll just shut up now and show the video:
BOOM! Smoked it. Yeah, yeah, we can get all nitpicky and say that the descent was too fast, but it was under control. Don’t be a hater!
What you can’t appreciate, however (because the video was cut short), was that when Dr. P racked the weight, he leaped off the bench and was swarmed by everyone. People were jumping up and down, patting him on the back, as if he had hit a game winning walk-off homerun or something. It was pretty freakin cool. The only thing that would have made it more baller was if, after racking the weight, Dr. P got up and karate chopped a 2×4 in half.
Next time.
Congrats Dr. P!!!! You worked your ass off, and we couldn’t be prouder.
How’s that for a title to pique some interest!? It’s no secret that we’re obsessed with fat loss in this country. I mean, anyone who’s spent a sleepless night channel surfing or perused the magazine rack in the grocery store is seemingly bombarded with infomercials and articles claiming to be the “next best thing” with regards to winning the battle of the bulge.
You all know what I’m talking about. And, if you’re like me, you’re constantly in a state of eye rolling.
Thing is, though – as much as we’re inundated with television shows, news stories, websites, books, webinars, magazines, and DVDs telling us how we can go about getting our sexification on, as a whole, when you take a minute and actually look around, we’re still pretty freakin fat. What gives?
Truthfully, I just feel that our efforts are going in the wrong place. Of course, first and foremost, diet is going to (and always will be) the determining factor. I’m sorry, but if you’re one of those people who hightails it to the local Starbucks after a workout in order to reward yourself by inhaling a Frappuccino and bagel you’ve got your priorities mixed up.
I know this is going to come as a shock to some people reading, but trust me when I say this: there’s no way in hell you just burned off 900 calories trudging along on the elliptical trainer for the past 45 minutes. I don’t care what the calorie tracker told you, it didn’t happen. Not even close. In related news – there’s no such thing as the Easter Bunny.
To expound on this a little further: when it comes to creating a caloric deficit (which in turn leads to increased fat loss), diet trumps exercise every time. If someone is really (and I mean REALLY) getting after it in the gym, I’d say it would generally take 45 minutes of vigorous exercise to burn off 500 kcals. Compare that to just NOT eating those three Oreo cookies you typically have as a mid-afternoon snack, and it becomes pretty clear which is the most efficient use of your time speaking strictly in the context of fat loss.
Moreover, my good friend, Mark Young, noted recently that there’s quite a bit of research which suggest that adding exercise to an already effective diet produces little (if any) additional weight or fat loss.
Of course, this isn’t to say that exercise (in any form) is a complete waste of time or doesn’t have any merit – that would just be looney talk. But, it does say something to all of these crazy “metabolic disturbance” type protocols that many trainees tend to follow when the main goal is fat loss.
As Mark demonstrated in THIS post, when already in a caloric deficit, adding in ANY type of exercise is not going to have a huge impact on weight (or fat) loss.
That being said, with regards to fat loss, exercise should be used for a different purpose altogether. Not so much as a form of burning calories (which doesn’t hurt), but moreso as a way to MAINTAIN MUSCLE MASS!!!!!!!
What makes muscle, keeps muscle. That’s the REAL key to fat loss. Do your best to retain muscle in the form of lifting heavy things, and let the diet take care of everything else.
Maybe it’s the strength coach in me talking, but I truely feel that if more people followed this mantra, they’d see marked improvements in their results.
Today is the last day of Muscle Imbalances Revealed initial launch, and as such I thought I’d share an interview that I did with fellow contributor and good friend, Dean Somerset. Coincidentally, it was roughly a year ago right about now (during the original release of the series) that Dean and I “met” and instantly became cyber BFFs. He asked if I’d be interested in doing an interview for his website, I obliged, the world became a better place, and the interwebz has never been the same since.
In all seriousness, Dean’s a great guy and pretty freakin smart to boot. Since he knew he was going to be on his honeymoon during the actual launch this week, he and I decided to plan a head and cross-interview one another about life, nerd stuff, and of course MIRU (you can check out my half of the interview HERE).
As a quick heads up, Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body is on sale for the inital promo until TONIGHT (August 11th), and the price pretty much doubles after that. So, um, yeah………you do the math.
Nevetheless, enjoy the interview, and again, thank you to everyone who’s supported the product!
Tony Gentilcore (aka Dragon):You’re basically a veteran when it comes to the Muscle Imbalances series, having taken part in the original Lower Body version – what topics are you covering this time around? And, more importantly, is Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body going to get people swole?
Dean Somerset (aka Nighthawk) – Well, if by veteran you mean I was a part of the one and only other Muscle Imbalances revealed DVD, and am the only returning shmo alongside Rick (Kaselj) from the original, then yes, I am a veteran. I’m going to be talking about myofascial training for the upper body, which is a continuation of a discussion on the same topic for the lower body.
I’m also talking about Advanced Core Training: From Rehab to Performance. It’s pretty boss. The lineup on Muscle Imbalances Lower Body was pretty stellar. I mean, when guys like Mike Robertson and Bill Hartman are dropping knowledge bombs like Sonny Corleone in a front alleyway, it’s pretty tough to measure up. That said, this edition definitely delivers a shot to the dome in a fishing boat, if you know what I’m saying.
In all seriousness (poop), this edition has some smart guys on it and some jerk named Somerset, dropping knowledge on areas they know a lot about and are considered experts in their field. The lineup is solid, it has an interdisciplinary aspect to it, and it’s jam-packed with easy to put to use information that any trainer, physio, athletic therapist, strength coach or dude looking to get his swole on in the gym can start working with right away.
TG:Now I know you’re not into World of Warcraft or anything, but when the topic of fascia comes up, I know you like to get your geek on with the best of them. Can you give a little teaser as to what you cover in your presentation on the topic?
DS: Yeah, I was never into those kinds of games. I grew up in a small town in southern British Columbia, Canada, and for fun I would do things that today I pay a lot of money to be able to do again, like go mountain biking, skiing, hiking, and all that stuff. I never got into WoW or Dungeons and Dragons, but I still like to get my geek on. If you get this product for only one lesson, this is it:
Medical science previously thought of fascia as a vestigial support network that just held stuff in place. They also thought the meniscus in the knee was a vestigial organ and often removed it with knee pain complaints, but that doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do. Doctors also thought running more than 1 mile would lead to an increased risk of sudden cardiac death, so they discouraged everyone from running, which is why the push to run the 4-minute mile versus the sub-2 hour marathon all those decades ago. Sorry, back on topic. We know that fascia is more proprioceptively active than entire joints, and that it has the ability to contract and relax just like smooth muscle.
Fascia is considered the new frontier of research into how the body functions, heals and improves performance. The whole concept of foam rolling is built on the tissue response of fascia, but it’s incomplete, only working on half the specific receptors necessary. I’ll show you how to work on the other half.
Muscles don’t “hold tension” very well over long periods of time, which is why someone with jacked up posture can still be weak and inflexible. A muscle that’s chronically activated should theoretically be strong, shouldn’t it? That being said, fascia holds tension extremely well, and can explain how someone can sit in a Mr.Burns-like hunch for years and never have any complaint of pain. Can we fix these problems? Absolutely.
TG:The core. Do people even know what the hell that word even means? Taking it a step further, where are most trainees missing the boat in terms of how to train it?
DS: I think for the most part, people understand what it means, but not how it works. If I said that the core is the abdominal muscles, the multifidus, transverse, diaphragm, and pelvic floor muscles, most people would nod approvingly and say “yeah, that sounds right.” But if that was the case, we’d easily be able to address low back problems in a heart beat, we would never have to worry about chronic postural issues, we would never have to think that pelvic positioning problems would result in shoulder impairment issues. So is the core simply the aforementioned muscles? Nope.
I think most people miss the proverbial boat when it comes to core training by getting stuck in the mindset that there’s only one way to train the core. Sure, (Dr. Stuart) McGill presents a unique way of training the core based on research, but the Australian method showed a very specific adaptation from their research as well.
Note from TG: For those wondering, the Australian method entails focusing on TA (Traverse Abdominus) activation; or, the “drawing-in” maneuver. Also, the picture above is of Australian swimmer, Stephanie Rice. She’s kinda hot.
Are they both right? YES!!! They have specific uses for specific situations. It’s like trying to build a house and only using a hammer. You’re gonna be at that sucker for a long time, and I sure as hell don’t want to live there!!
Different people need different ways of approaching core training, so stepping outside of a comfortable box means you will probably have more tools available to get better results for your clients.
I can understand someone’s enthusiasm for training some elite athletes and saying that “this method works awesome for all my guys!! It’s all I use!!” Sure, but what if they train someone who has back pain? When the spine is injured, the muscles AT THAT SPECIFIC SEGMENT OF THE SPINE begin to atrophy faster than J-Lo goes through husbands, which means conventional core training programs are a waste and possibly dangerous.
Likewise, using a rehab protocol to ensure proper core activation in highly trained and powerful individuals is not only a waste of time, but also incredibly redundant. If they’re not in pain, it won’t do anything to have a guy who can deadlift 600 pounds work on spinal stabilization.
Another major faux pas is the belief that the spine should never go through flexion. In all honesty, I’ve never heard of a spine being injured going through flexion, it’s usually when the spine comes out of flexion!!
Think about it: the typical injury is when someone bent down to pick something up, moved wrong and wrenched their back. They entered into flexion fine, but didn’t have the requisite strength to get back out with the additional load or to handle the new position without getting injured. Does that mean they shouldn’t have gone into flexion, or that they should have trained their body to better handle being in a flexion posture without adverse affects?
Tell a gymnast or a diver or even a fetus that spinal flexion is a bad thing. To that end crunches won’t kill you any more than deadlifts will, but BAD crunches and BAD deadlifts are some of the worst things you can do for your spine.
TG: Well played sir, well played. I agree that oftentimes we as fitness professionals get caught up in semantics and tend to swing the pendulum either too far to the left, or too far to the right. Thanks for bringing us back to the middle.
So, while Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body is geared towards a wide spectrum of fitness professionals, I think the one population that has the most to gain are new and incoming trainers. Obviously we can tie this question into the product itself, but speaking in general terms as well, what do you feel most upcoming trainers should do or concentrate on in order to get better at their craft?
DS: The funny thing is that when I came into training, I thought I knew everything there was to know about training everyone, and that I was going to be the best ever. Well, maybe not to that extent, but I was pretty close-minded to a lot of things. I mean, I had just finished an intensive science-based degree from a pretty good school, had some hands-on experiences with people you normally wouldn’t find in a gym (cancer patients, high-caliber athletes in different disciplines, firefighters, mental/physical disabilities), plus I had an 8-pack and looked awesome in a pair of gym shorts!
The downside is that I had no idea what I was doing, and it took me the better part of a year or two to figure this out and to change my head to figure out that there was knowledge to be gained from other sources outside of my comfort zone. New trainers coming into the profession need to know that this isn’t something that they will be good at right away, but rather it will take years of cultivated effort just to be thought of as merely “good.” Too many trainers come into it thinking that it’s glamorous, that they’ll make crazy bank overnight, and that their thought process is somehow “unique” and “better” than everyone elses.
By getting out and taking courses from a wide variety of different coaches, they have the ability to learn a lot of different methods of training different clients, which will increase their value across the board. It may also show them how similar or how different their thought process is compared to those people, which can either add feul to the fire or cause them to completely change their approach to make the best of their capabilities. Like the old GI Joe paid service at the end of their cartoons used to say, “Knowledge is power,” so come get some!!!
TG:Wow, a GI Joe reference – nice! Okay, being that I’m the only American affiliated with this product (and currently residing in Boston), how mad are you that the Bruins won the Stanley Cup?
DS: You son of a bitch. I grew up in BC (the province where Vancouver is located) and always waited for the day when the Canucks would make it to the Finals and get a chance to win the Stanley Cup. Yeah, the Bruins may have won the championship but like 80% of the players were Canadian, so that’s something, right? By the way, how did the Celtics do last year? Patriots? Red Sox? Thought so. For making me relive that travesty, you’re no longer on my Christmas card list.
TG:Ahem, seven world championships in the past ten years. Just sayin…..
With regards to myofacial considerations (and we might as well throw corrective exercise into the mix as well), do you feel there are coaches/trainers/practitioners out there who tend to focus TOO much on these components? This isn’t to say that I feel neither are unimportant, but I do get a sense that many out there tend to go a little overboard. Thoughts?
DS: Oooooh, totally!! We used to have a trainer who would take beginners, intermediates, advanced, and any kind of athletic individual he could get his hands on and spend about 4-5 weeks on just soft tissue work, whether they needed it or not!! He had one guy who had a bang-on PERFECT squat right out of the box, and he insisted on spending about 20-30 minutes at the start of each session rolling out his legs, which did absolutely nothing for the guy because he wasn’t pushing any kind of weight and wasn’t getting any kind of training that would result in any alterations in soft tissue pliability.
Suffice it to say that jack-bag didn’t last very long, as most of his clients started requesting another trainer within a few weeks.
Sure, most people need SOME, but if someone has never worked out a day in their life, odds are they don’t have the same need to break up soft tissue restrictions as someone who works out 10-12 times a week in athletic competitions.
TG:And wrapping up, if you had to pick THREE reasons why people should pick up this product, what would they be? And no, you can’t use “one of the bonuses is a signed 5×7 picture of you and I re-enacting the Predator handshake.”
DS: Simple:
Where else are you going to get a product that has info about fascia, core conditioning, breathing mechanics, corrective strategies, shoulder health, and a bunch of other topics coming from an elite strength coach, a chiropractor, a kinesiologist, and a post-rehab specialist? Answer: no where else, baby!! This is packed with more knowledge bombs than you can shake a stick at. And believe me, you can shake a stick at a lot of knowledge.
You’ll get ripped, have hot chicks hanging off you all over the place, become rich and famous, have puppies cuddle you all day long, and probably find the cure for cancer. NOTE: None of these claims can be substantiated, but hey, you never know.
THIS IS TONY’S FIRST PRODUCT, YO!!! The fact that he had the choice of who he wanted to pony up with in a lot of different products and he chose to hitch his wagon to the MIR freight train in order to pop his cherry means this is going to not only be crazy informative, but also reek of awesomeness.
And that, my friends, is a wrap. As I noted above, today (Thursday, August 11th) is the last day to take advantage of the initial sale price of MIRU which is $77. After that, it bumps up to $147. So, if I were you, I’d take advantage of the savings and order your copy today. Do it for the children!
First off, I want to thank everyone for the kind words and for supporting the initial launch of Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body yesterday. In reality, however, all the kudos should go towards Rick Kaselj who’s the mastermind behind it all – the man behind the curtain if you will. So far, feedback has been great and Rick has gone out of his way to provide people with a bunch of awesome bonuses during the initial launch.
For instance, those who purchased yesterday received a presentation that Rick did on “Advance Training Concepts in Exercise Rehabilitation of the Rotator Cuff.” Likewise, for those who purchase Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body today, you’ll receive information on a VIP Coaching Call where you’ll have the opportunity to call in and take part in a Q&A session with all the contributors. And, who knows: maybe I’ll sweeten the deal and offer to bust out my rendition of R. Kelly’s “Ignition” for the hell of it. Parts I AND II.
Rick, if you’re reading, that needs to happen!
And that’s that. Oh, and before I forget, be sure to check back tomorrow because both myself and fellow contributor (and current newlywed), Dean Somerset, will be running a cross-interview we did with one another discussing everything from MIRU to my affinity for Star Wars references. It’s pretty awesome. The interview, I mean.
Admittedly, I’ve touched on the whole “packing the neck” thing in previous posts and articles, but Brendon brings to light two other concepts that I had never thought of before, which I felt were VERY cool.
And speaking of deadlifts – and not to overshadow Brendon’s article or anything – here’s a video of me pulling 505 lbs for eight reps yesterday.
All in all a fantastic, real, look into some of the more common ways the industry trips over its own feet. The best part, though, was the last few paragraphs where Andy kinda-sorta calls out the ADA – the same organization he’s affiliated with. Nevertheless, it’s nice to know that there are some independent thinkers out there who aren’t ADA zombies.
I’ve never met Neghar in person (pictured above), but I’ve read enough of her stuff to know that I’d definitely include her on my list of “Badass Females Whom I’d Like to Give a High Five.”
In my ten years experience as a fitness professional, I have encountered a handful of intrinsically motivated females. There are some who train purposefully, fearlessly and intentionally. Most, however, have required some convincing, and it is through the power of persuasion that I have had the unique pleasure of watching countless women experience a paradigm shift.
And that, in a nutshell, is what Neghar is all about. And I can dig that.
People have been asking me for some time now when I was going to get off my duff and produce my own fitness product. Truth be told, it’s only been within the past year or two that I’ve felt “ready” and comfortable enough to take the plunge and jump in headfirst.
To give a little backstory – I entered this industry back in 2002 (before iPads!!!) simply working as a personal trainer at various gyms, trying my best not to suck. Along the way, I came to the conclusion that I had a few things to say and because I could differentiate between they’re/their/and there (and that I had a knack for combining fitness with self deprecating humor) – logically, this meant that I should start writing articles!
Fast forward to today: I’m one of the featured authors on t-nation.com, as well as Livestrong.com. I’ve appeared in Men’s Health Magazine numerous times, and I also happen to be the co-owner of a pretty sweet training facility (Cressey Performance, located just outside of Boston, MA). The logical progression, seemingly, has always been to develop a fitness information product, right?
Well kinda.
Truth be told, if or when I decided I was going to do a product, I didn’t want to do it for the sake of just doing it. I wanted my “first time” to be right. I wanted it to mean something. You know, I wanted it to be special. Something I’d never forget. So, I did what any warm-blooded strength coach would do: I splashed on some Old Spice, lit some candles, busted out a little Boyz II Men, and……….oh, wait a minute. My bad. Wrong first time!
Actually, to be completely honest, I’ve seen lots of money hungry people come blazing into this industry, eager to produce their first DVD or write their first E-book only to fall flat on their face because, well, their product ended up being complete garbage.
I didn’t want to be that guy. So I waited…
I waited and actually coached people for the past nine years. I waited and wrote articles. I waited and built a blog that started with ten readers (on a good day) to now attracting upwards of 2,000+ per day. Call me crazy, but I waited to actually get good at what I do before I even thought about putting my name on a product.
So, of course, when Rick Kaselj asked me if I’d be interested in contributing to Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body, along with Dean Somerset and Dr. Jeff Cubos, it seemed like a slam dunk, and I jumped at the opportunity.
“Perfect,” I thought to myself. What better way to get my feet wet than to collaborate on the sequel to an already highly successful product (Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Lower Body) with a handful of VERY smart guys, whom I HIGHLY respect?
Now, I know what some of you may be thinking: sequels, for the most part, bite the big one. And, 99.99% of the time, you’d be absolutely correct. But, I assure you this isn’t Speed 2: Cruise Control we’re talking about here.
Hell no! We’re talkin more along the lines of The Godfather Part II territory. A sequel that, much like the original, definitely holds its own.
To that end, rather than rant and rave about the product itself, by now, you’re probably wondering what’s included in Muscles Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body. Well, a lot, actually:
8 Killer Presentations
***sneak peaks below
1. Corrective Exercise Strategies for Overhead Athletes (and Meatheads, Too) – Tony Gentilcore
2. Avoiding Common Programming Bloops and Blunders – Tony Gentilcore
3. Myofascial Training for the Upper Body – Dean Somerset
4. Advanced Core Training and Conditioning – Dean Somerset
5. Linking Breathing with Rehab, Training, and Performance – Dr. Jeff Cubos
6. Picking the Right Soft Tissue Tool for the Problem – Dr. Jeff Cubos
7. Unraveling Muscle Imbalances in the Shoulder – Rick Kaselj
8. Neck Exercises for Prevention, Rehabilitation and Strength – Rick Kaselj
What’s more, Rick has included literally TONS of great bonuses into the mix, and if that wasn’t enough, you can also earn Continuing Education Credits (CECs) as well.
So, whether you’re a personal trainer, strength coach, physical therapist, athletic trainer, or just someone who likes to lift heavy things and get his or her nerdification on, I truly feel that this product wil not only serve as an invaluable resource for you and your athletes/clients, but will also help to take your knowledge base to a whole new level.
I don’t really know what else to say, other than if you don’t buy this product a kitten dies* and you’d be remiss not to take advantage of the introductory sale price – running from now until this Thursday (August 11th) which saves you $50 off the regular price.
NOTE: For those willing to do so, leave a comment in the comments section asking any questions about MIRU that you may have. Thus far, the feedback we’ve been receiving is great, but I’d be looney to think that we’re going to please everyone. So please, share any comments, concerns, tidbits of awesomeness you may have below!
* Okay, not really. But seriously, a rainbow will cry.
Well, to be fair, we’ve had a Twitter account all along – it’s just taken a while for us to realize the power that social media has at creating a buzz.
Both myself and Eric are routinely discussing the importance of training environment and how that can have a profound effect on not only motivation and the results people get (try missing a PR with George Abele screaming in the background), but more importantly, the camaraderie that often developes amongst clients and athletes alike.
It’s not uncommon for cliients to drive upwards of an hour and half (both ways) to come train at Cressey Performance. Likewise, it’s not uncommon for a 14 year old athlete to walk in on any given day during the winter and train alongside 20 professional baseball players from several different Major League organizations. Needless to say, it’s kind of cool, and there are A LOT of shenanigans that go down on a daily basis.
I mean, where else will see stuff like this?
Stanford Pitcher, Sahil Bloom, Crushing 405 lbs For Reps
And CP Intern, Brad, Pwning Water
Of course, we’ll also be highlighting athlete performances from around the country, intern death circuits, staff going ons (Tony’s Techno Tuesdays!!!), and I’m sure there will be a Tank sighting here and there – because no Twitter page is complete without some cute puppy action.
For starters, to show how diesel I look in my vintage Captain America t-shirt, which seems appropriate considering I’m finsihing up week 3 of The Super Hero Workout as of today. BOOM! But more importantly, the video demonstrates a cool and simple way to hit up a little soft tissue work on the backside of the body (particularly the rhomboids and traps) using nothing more than a lacrosse ball and (what I hope) is a clean sock.
We all know the importance of soft tissue work, so I won’t belabor the point here. But giving credit where credit is due I stole this idea from current CP intern (and resident nutrition guru), Tyler Simmons, when I saw him using this contraption with a client the other day. Initially, I thought to myself “what in the what is he doing?” But then I quickly realized that Tyler was onto something, and thought it was a downright brilliant concept that I felt needed to be shared with the masses. Check out the video below for a quick tutorial.
A few things:
1. Yes, using a foam roller and/or a PVC pipe is standard issue around CP; but I’ve found that in order to really get after the rhomboids and traps, using something a little more “focused” is ideal – hence the ball against the wall. In addition, this protocol can be problematic because the ball slips around and falls to the ground much of the time. Thowing a sock into the mix, however, just makes it a bit more convenient and less cumbersome in the long run.
2. Of course, another contraption I’ve mentioned in the past is the Thera-Cane, which I’m a huge proponent of.
Thing is, a sock is free. And if you’re like me, you have a million and one of them anyways so why not toss a ball in there and kill two birds with one stone. Not only will you have a pretty nifty (yes, I just said nifty) soft tissue tool, but you’ll also have a makeshift weapon if or when you ever find yourself being attacked in an alley by ninjas. You never know!
Here’s a question I received via Facebook from a strength coach based in Ireland that, once I actually answered it, thought would make for a good blog post:
Q: Got a question for you. A few of my guys have asked me to write about motivation and how to stay motivated to train. This can be such a personal issue that I thought I’d ask a few people who I know and respect to give me their opinions on motivation.
A: As someone who has been in this industry for coming up on a decade now – and likewise, as someone who has participated in sports and been involved with some form of fitness all his life (I got my first cement weight set when I was 13) – I’ve often been asked, “dude, what keeps you motivated to train?”
A few things, in no particular order:
Hot chicks. I think for many, at the end of the day, deep down, we stay motivated to train because we want members of the opposite sex to want to hang out with us. Pretty basic.
But more specifically, actually having a purpose to train is really the meat and potatoes.
Notice I said train, and not “workout.” Far too often, at least in my experience, people tend to workout and not train. What’s the difference, you ask? Well, people who workout just kind of show up and go through the motions, and don’t really have a set plan or rationale for why they showed up that day.
These are the ones who do a few arm circles here, a few lat pulldowns there, pound their Gatorade (because we all know how draining walking on the treadmill while watching Dr. Oz can be), hop on the ab crunch machine, and call it a day.
As a result, they basically do what they always do, and what they’re good at, and not coincidentally, look exactly the same now as they did three years ago. Which is to say fat, weak, and really frustrated.
Of course, this doesn’t apply to everyone – but for 90% of trainees, 90% if the time, it most certainly does.
Taking it a little further, people who workout also tend to be the ones who flip flop from one program to another seemingly on a weekly basis. One week they went to focus on fat loss; the next they want to dabble in MMA (LOL); the following they’re going to give intermittent fasting a try; only to top that off by deciding they want to train for a powerlifting meet that’s next weekend.
If this describes you, is it really that surprising you’re not getting any results?
Conversely, someone who TRAINS has a sense of purpose and conviction. They have a PLAN; or better yet, a goal. They arrive to the gym on a mission and don’t waste any time pitter puttering around trying to figure what they should do that day.
In a way, there’s a sense of “I’m here to wreck some shit, everyone get out of my way, because I’m going to make Susie ElipitcalTrainer and Jonny McBenchEveryday destroy the back of their pants.”
That in of itself is all the motivation one should need.
Simply put – pick a goal for yourself. I don’t care if it’s to lose ten lbs by the end of the month or to squat 300 lbs by the end of summer. Just have SOMETHING to train for. It makes all the difference in the world when you actually have a purpose for why you’re heading to the gym everyday.
Likewise, when dicussing the topic of motivation, making a concerted effort to train around like-minded people is an often overlooked component. It’s no wonder people aren’t getting any stronger or lack motivation to train when they’re surrounded by others who complain when the air conditioning is off and think 50 lb dumbbells are too heavy.
Even if it’s only once per week, make an effort to train in an environment that encourages you to step outside of your comfort zone and breeds “stop being a pussy” (no offense to any ladies that may be reading).
Seriously (boobies) it makes all the difference in the world. I remember back in 2005-2006 when both Eric Cressey and myself would drive 45-60 minutes (both ways), 2-3 times per week, to train at South Side Gym in Stratford, CT (it’s no longer there, unfortunately). Friday afternoon traffic would suck pond water, and I’d literally contemplate driving my car off a cliff, but it was well worth it when we’d walk in and see 8-10 dudes setting up for max-effort bench night. You couldn’t beat the atmosphere – dudes, chalk, rusty barbells, sacrificial goat, angry music, it was awesome.
Every time I left, I’d feel like I got stronger. And, I did, because I was training with people who were a lot (A LOT) stronger than myself.
Moreover, when in the right environment, how could you not get fired up after watching something like this:
The video above was taken the other day at our facility – dude is a freak (and only a sophomore in college).
it’s totally worth the extra 15-60 minute drive it will take to train at another facility. Just think of how glorious it will be to perform your deadlift day without some Zumba class going on in the background! Sure it’s a pain to have to travel, and spend more money on gas, but it may be all you need to light a fire underneath your ass, and actually not suck.
Okay, you don’t really suck, but you know what I’m trying to say. Training around people who will not only push you, but get royally pissed if you blow them off will be all the motivation you need.
Do you have any thoughts or words of wisdom with regards to how you stay motivated to train? It doesn’t necessarily have to pertain to getting stronger, it can be anything – I don’t care. Share them below!
And, do me a favor and click the “like” button, because, you know, this was an awesome blog post, and more people need to read it!
