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How Not Training Can Help You Make Progress

Q:  I’ve noticed in my own training that rest seems to smash PB’s (Personal Bests) for me more than being in the weights room every other day, or that is how it seems.

Let me give you an example.

Three weeks ago I hit a PB on deadlift of 160kg (352lbs, ish) for 1 rep, then I went away on holiday to my dad’s place on a small island off the coast of Wales, then took part in a combine in London nine days after departing. I was away for 13 days total, and the only real training I did was the combine tests and a set of hill sprints. Nothing resistance based aside from the bench press.

Upon returning home, I decided to hit deadlifts as my first session and I was feeling quite energised so I thought I’d try and beat my PB. I managed to get up to 172.5kg (380lbs)! A 50lbs gain to me is phenomenal in a time which  I thought I would have potentially dematerialized.

Do you know why this comes about, and how? I’ve noticed it with Bench Press and Squats as well, but on the flip side, I’ve noticed if i do too much of either of those, the numbers go substantially down.

If you could shed any light on this it would be awesome!

A:  First off, congrats on the new personal best, and I hope for many more in the future for you.  Secondly, if your Dad is ever looking to invite some random person he doesn’t know – say, a certain strength coach who’s blog you’re reading – to come and use his place for a week, I may have someone in mind.  Just throwing it out there.

Thirdly, to answer your question: much of what you described can be explained by discussing the Fitness Fatigue Model.

Vladimir Zatsiorsky summarized the fitness-fatigue theory (or two factor theory) by stating, “The immediate effect after a workout is considered a combination of (a) fitness gain prompted by the workout and (b) fatigue. The summation of positive and negative changes determines the final outcome.”

Fatigue will always mask your “true” fitness level. Many trainees (myself included) make the mistake of constantly pounding away each and every week, adding more and more volume.  Or, in some cases, just never taking a break. Inevitably, you feel like you’ve gotten run over by a mack truck, performance drops, and whole lot of frustration follows.

The best analogy I’ve heard describing this phenomenon is something Eric Cressey has used on several occasions.  Lets say we figure out your 1RM deadlift.  After a few high fives, I then tell you to go out and run ten miles.  Have fun with that.

Upon returning, I have to retest your deadlift. what are the odds you’ll even sniff that original number?  Chances are, if you tried, you’d only break something, and we’d have to spend valuable time fixing it.  Your ego or back.  Pick one.

In general, just learning how to fluctuate your training volume on a weekly basis will go a long way to help prevent fatigue from deterring your progress in the future.  While there are definitely exceptions to rule, we tend to use the following format when writing monthly programs for our clients at Cressey Performance:

Week 1:  High Volume
Week 2: Medium Volume
Week 3: Very High Volume (you basically hate life)
Week 4:  Low Volume (deload)

There are a multitude of factors that can be tweaked that will dictate training volume – total sets/reps, time under tension, rest periods, or even what exercise is performed – but the important thing to note is that fluctuating training stress is kind of a big deal, and an often overlooked component of program design.

You can’t expect to set personal records each and every week, and if you’re one of the many who feel that in order to make progress you need to 1) regurgitate your pancreas every training session, 2) constantly add more and more volume each and every week, or 3) never take a day off……you’re really shooting yourself in the foot.

Again, fatigue will always mask fitness. The fact that you took a good 1-2 weeks and just allowed your body to recover, chill, and at the expense of using big words and sounding like a complete nerd – supercompensate – undoubtedly helps explain why you were able to crush your deadlift PB upon returning, even without doing much (if any) “real” training.

Hope that helps!

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Exercises You Should Be Doing: Inchworm Complex

Last Friday I wrote a little sumthin sumthin about my visit to the Diesel Strength facility, and how I essentially felt like a kid in a candy store training alongside my boy Jim “Smitty” Smith.

Traveling to other facilities to see what various coaches are doing with their clients and athletes, as well as using that time to simply sit back, observe, and really absorb the knowledge that others have to offer is an invaluable use of time that far too many fitness professionals don’t exploit nearly enough.

As is the case from last week, I spoke about the warm-up – albeit briefly – that Smitty took Lisa and I through that really opened up my eyes as to how “archaic” my approach to warming up has been for the past few years.

Now, not to throw myself under the bus entirely, the warm-ups that we use at Cressey Performance do serve a purpose, and are without question a step above what most trainees encounter at their local globo-gym where doing a few hamstring stretches coupled with some arm circles is considered a “warm-up.”

That’s just lame, and woefully inefficient.

I mean, the whole purpose of a warm-up is to:

1.  Help increase core temperature.

2. Help stimulate the central nervous system (CNS), and in turn better prepare you for the more dynamic nature of the training demands placed upon the body during your training session.

3.  Improve tissue quality and target those areas of the body that tend to be “problematic.”  For most reading this would entail:  weak glutes, poor ankle dorsiflexion, hips that are stiffer than a steel beam, poor thoracic mobility, atrocious pec length, overactive upper traps, and a very weak anterior core, to name a few.

4.  Improve tissue length/extensibility.

5.  Provide ample opportunity to scope out the hot chicks. Obviously.

Too, and this is something that’s been on my mind lately:  the warm-up should be fun.  I mean, when you think about it, the warm-up sets the tone for the rest of the session.  Training, for 90% of the people reading, 90% of the time, should be fun (and practical). It should be specific to your goals, of course, but it should also get you excited to the point where come 2 o’clock, all you can think about is how you’re going to make people destroy the back of their pants when you crush your deadlifts later on in the day at the gym.

There’s a time a place to put your game face on, and get after it (1RM attempts come to mind), but for all intents and purposes, if training is fun and is something you look forward to, you’re more prone to stick with it.

Raise your hand if actually look forward to warming up.

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

In much the same way, the warm-up should follow the same parameters as your training.  It needs to serve a purpose, and there should be some semblance of individualization involved, but concurrently, it should also be fun.

As I noted above, this is where I feel I could step up my game a bit, as I feel many of the warm-ups I program are very “robotic” in nature.

Quadruped Extensions-Rotations

High Knee Walks

Reverse Lunge with Posterolateral Reach

Scapular Wall Slides

Put your left foot in, take your left foot out, do the Hokie Pokie, and turn yourself around………blahblidy blah blah. Boooooooooooooooring.

Sure it gets the job done, but the example above can be very uninspiring and feel more like a chore – kind of like doing the laundry – than anything else.

Which is why I LOVED the warm-up that Smitty had us do a few weeks ago, which had more of a “fluid” flow to it.  Rather than do one drill for “x” number of reps, and then moving to the other, Smitty prefers to COMBINE exercises and provide a little more value for your warm-up buck.

Not only does his approach still address many of the weaknesses and imbalances that most people possess, but it also takes a bit of the monotony out of the equation.

For example, lets take a look at the Inchworm Complex:

What Is It:  I just told you what it was – the Inchworm Complex.  GOSH!

What Does It Do:  holey moley where do I begin?  This badboy works a lot of stuff:

  • Serratus activation
  • Anterior core activation
  • Hamstring length
  • Ankle dorsiflexion
  • T-Spine mobility (specifically, extension)
  • Scapular mobility
  • Chin tuckification (meaning, one should tuck their chin, and therefore maintain more of a neutral spinal position throughout).
  • And I’m sure I neglecting to name a few more benefits

As you can see, this one drill combines several exercises which helps to target a lot of stuff at once, but is also shortens the warm-up time (perfect for those in a rush).

Key Coaching Cues:  try to have as little movement as possible in the torso.  If you have to, use a wide(er) stance to maintain more of a neutral spinal position (although, a teeny tiny bit of spinal flexion isn’t the end of the world……relax!).  Also of note, I’d be reticent to use this exercise first thing in the morning when the spinal column is fully “hydrated.” Doing so many compromise the spine and cause an ouchie.

Taking it a step further, we can add another element into the mix and perform the Inchworm Complex Plus.

Here we take all the benefits from above and add in some hip flexor/adductor length, in addition to some more thoracic spine mobility.

The possibilities are endless, really.

Try them out today, and let me know what you think.

I do want to stress that it’s still important to master the basics first, and that drills like the ones above aren’t what I would advocate for people who have the movement quality of a snail.   Having said that, I really feel taking more of a “progressive” approach to warming-up is exactly the kick in the ass most people need to make it a little more palatable to do.

Try it out and let me know what you think!

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Bench Press Article Teaser

Either later this week, or most likely next week, my latest article on Livestrong.com will come out titled Tips for a Badass Bench.

In it, I discuss some of the variables that get overlooked when it comes to benching.  Namely, how to properly set-up.

It’s not the sexiest topic in the world, and I can only imagine how many people will roll their eyes and scoff, but it’s a topic that often gets drastically overlooked. In fact, I’d garner a guess that if more people paid attention to how they set-up, and not just flop themselves on the bench like a dead fish, they’d see a drastic improvement in their benching performance.

But all of that is for another time.  Today, rather, I’m going to share with you a section that I had to omit due to word count restrictions.  In no uncertain terms, I submitted the original version and received a comment back from my editor along the lines of “WTF Tony??????”

Which was was her way of saying, “lets cut this bad boy down a few hundred words. Whadya say?”

Nevertheless, I did exactly that but figured the information was still valid and could be useful for a lot people out there reading.  Soooo, here you go.  Enjoy.

Tips for a Badass Bench (the part I had to ax)

As with any exercise, the bench press follows a strength curve. Meaning, depending on length-tension relationships of the muscles involved with the movement, certain portions of the lift may be more problematic than others. For instance, some trainees tend to have more trouble off the chest, and tend to miss the lift during that portion. On the flip side, some may lower the bar to the chest, crush it, and then stall mid-way through or even closer to lockout.

Or, you know, you’re delusional and the weight could simply be too heavy.

Just throwing it out there……..

Everyone’s different.

Speaking in general terms, however, for those who tend to miss off the chest, some dedicated speed work may be in order.

In other words, getting faster will undoubtedly help you get stronger.

I go into a little more detail on this in the actual article (which I’ll link to once it’s available), but suffice it to say placing a little more emphasis on bar speed, and subsequently, possessing the ability to plow through any sticking point will go a long way in terms of increasing one’s bench pressing prowess.

Relative to most trainees reading, though – especially beginners and intermediates –  it wouldn’t hurt to incorporate some high(er) rep dumbbell presses into the mix. Dumbbells allow for a bit more range of motion compared to the bench press, which, for those who tend to be weaker off the chest, can come in handy.

For those who seem to stall halfway up, or even at lockout, board presses would be very useful.  Below is a video of Jen Comas Keck board pressing her ass off.  She’s a lot better looking than me, so I figured the guys reading would appreciate the hook up.  And, for the ladies, they’d have the opportunity of seeing another female lifting appreciable weight.

Basically, while board presses do decrease the range of motion, they allow you to overload the ROM where you’re weakest.

Simply put, you take a pair of 2-by-4s and either tape or nail them together. From there, either have someone hold them in place on your chest or just stick them underneath your shirt.

You set up as you normally would, un-rack the bar – with a hand-off, of course – lower the bar to the boards and come to a pause; let the bar sink into them, and then press as explosively as you can.

The above is an important point because many trainees tend to use more of a tap-n-go approach which is flat out wrong.

Using a variety of boards – 1 board, 2 boards, even 3 and 4 boards – is a fantastic way to help increase your bench. But only use them sporadically and not as a substitute for full-range bench press variations.

And finally, as counterintuitive as it may seem, spending more time building the backside of your body can come in handy when trying to increase your bench press. Firstly, from a postural standpoint, training the backside can help to offset many of the imbalances that can arise when benching too much. Yeah, I’m talking to you.

It’s not un-common for many coaches and trainers to program more horizontal rowing variations like seated rows, 1-arm dumbbell rows and chest supported rows to help retain more structural balance. In fact, it’s not un-common to see some coaches program two to three rowing variations for every ONE pressing variation.

Also, having a strong – and thick – upper back will provide more of a base of support to bench from. Look at the backs of any lifter who has an impressive bench – powerlifters are a great example. They’re backs are ginormous.

You can’t expect to build an impressive bench press JUST by bench pressing. While specificity is important, you also need to address your weaknesses. And for many, it’s a small and weak upper back.

Nothing revolutionary, by any means, but hopefully these tips shed some light on a few of my thoughts; and trust me, the full article will be way m0re boss.

Have any of your own tips?  Chime in below……

And remember, I’ll keep you posted on the actual – full length – article as soon as it’s up.

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Tony Visits Diesel Strength

One of the coolest parts about my job – other than all the free t-shirts – is the fact that I have the opportunity to meet a lot of smart and really amazing people in the industry.

As an example, I remember way back in 2006 when I had just started getting my name out there (I had like two or three articles on t-nation.com), I met Dr. John Berardi for the first time in person. He had come to Boston to do a presentation on his G-Flux System, and Eric and I were “hosting” him during his stay.

Having read most of his books and articles up until that point, and looking up to him as someone whom I greatly respected, you could say that I had a little bit of a man-crush on the good doc.

When he arrived at the gym where he was presenting, I felt like a school girl at an N’Sync concert. Weak kneed and with brown paper bag in hand, I feebly approached him and introduced myself.

Me:  Hey John, it’s really great to meet you, I’m Tony Gentilcore.

JB:  Oh, hey Tony!  Nice to finally meet you. I’ve read some of your stuff.

Me (hyperventalating): Uh, I like turtles.

What the what!!?!?!?!  He knew who I was!?!  And, he read some of my stuff! This is amazing!  OMG, do I have something in my teeth??  I’m going to be so embarrassed if I have something on my teeth.  Deep breaths, Tony.  Deep breaths.

Okay, it didn’t really go like that, but suffice it to say, at the time, it was kind of a big deal for me.

That same weekend, coincidentally, I met another dude for the first time, Jim “Smitty” Smith.

Many of you who read this blog on a regular basis will know Smitty very well.  He’s the author of Accelerated Muscular Development, AMPED Warm-Up, has been featured in numerous publications like Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Livestrong.com (to name a few), and he runs a very successful blog himself, www.dieselsc.com.

Throughout the years, Smitty and I have exchanged emails and even bumped into one another at various seminars and symposiums, always talking shop and exchanging ideas along the way.  He’s a really bright guy, and unlike me, developed an un-canny ability to look at things from outside of the box.  I swear if there was a strength coach version of MacGyver, Smitty would be it.

This past summer, Smitty and I both attended the Peak Diet and Training Summit, and I came to find out that the gym where he trains is literally like a 45 minute drive from my hometown in central New York. For some reason, in all the years that we’ve known each other, I didn’t realize that.  Then again, I don’t remember what I had last night for dinner, so he could have very well told me several times, but it went through one ear and out the other.

I told him that the next time I’m home visiting family, I’d try to make a cameo appearance to get a lift in.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, while visiting my old stomping grounds during Thanksgiving, Lisa and I took a trip to Horseheads, NY to visit Smitty.  Yes, you read that correctly – Horseheads, NY. Where I’m from, towns have weird names.  For those wondering, it’s about five miles east of Goatsvagina, NY.

The facility (Elmira Fitness Center) is HUGE!!!!  The building itself is a renovated grocery store of some sort, and they took half of it and made it into a gymnastics club – which is where Lisa and I walked in and met Smitty with his crew warming up.

Cue the Wu-Tang, and we were ready to go.  Smitty led the group, taking us through more of a hybrid, fluid-based warm-up – where movements weren’t quit as “robotic,” but instead melded into one another. It was a definitely a nice change of pace and something that I’m going to start incorporating more into my programming (see AMPED Warm-up, above).

Adding onto that, all the jumping, rolling around that was included (on the spring board loaded floor, mind you), and I have to say it was one of the best warm-ups I’ve ever been through.

From here, I’m just going to have the videos do the talking.  All I’ll add is that it was an awesome experience, and Smitty did a superb job of getting me outside of my comfort zone. He coached the shit out of myself and Lisa, and at the end, Lisa looked at me and said, “babe, that was the most fun I’ve had training in a loooooooong time.”

Can’t say that I disagreed with her.  Thanks Smitty for letting us stop by, and for an amazing experience!

Diesel Row

Here, Smitty combined three movements (inverted rows/pull-up/glute activation) into one.

Softball Pull-Ups (AKA: Smitty Ball Pull-Ups)

Here’s a more challenging variation of pull-ups using softballs as handles.  Brutal!

Bamboo Stick Press

To make the stick, Smitty used two PVC pipes.  From there, all you do is attach a kettlebell on each end (or a light weight plate) and press away.  This is a fantastic drill to help build shoulder stabilization and to get the rotator cuff to fire in a more functional manner.  Smitty likes to use this as a pre-cursor to regular benching – oftentimes telling his guys to get “x” number of reps in prior to their bench session.

As you can tell from the video, I kinda sucked at it the first time through – but around the 3rd set I started getting my groove.

Macebell

Indian clubs have grown in popularity in recent months as a way to build shoulder mobility and core strength.  So of course, Smitty being Smitty, he took it a step (or seventeen) further and decided to attach a f***ing bowling ball at the end of a stick.

Yeah, that sucked!

To end the session, Smitty took me through the Diesel Man Maker – the name says it all. I thought it was going to involve chopping down a tree or something……….but I was wrong.

The video is still uploading on Youtube, so I’ll have to wait to post it later on today.  Check back again when you’re bored.  Until then……….

UPDATE:  see video below

ALSO:  Today is your last chance to purchase Dean Somerset’s Post Rehab Essentials at the discounted $60 off the regular price. Dean went out of his way to provide a really solid product that will undoubtedly help a lot of trainers out there become better at their craft and learn to program around almost any injury they’ll come across in a commercial gym setting.

After midnight, though, the price goes up – so take advantage now while you can!  Tick, tick, tick…….

The Diesel Man-Maker

After watching that again, I still hate my life.

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Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 12/8/2011

First off, my apologies for not putting up a post yesterday. I was having some technical difficulties with the site, and was trying not to jump out the window, but thankfully the guys over at Copter Labs took care of it in two shakes of a lambs tail (name that movie reference), and now we’re back on track and ready to roll.

To make up for it, check out the picture to the left (<===== No, you’re other left), which should provide a few LOLs.

In light of the conversation from two weeks ago, where Congress deemed tomato paste, and as such pizza, a vegetable, I thought this picture (sent to me from Mike A.) was hilarious.  Giving credit where it’s deserved, regardless of how messed up the whole situation is, whoever the manager is of that particular Pizza Hut obviously has a sense of humor.

Also as a quick aside, this is the last day to take advantage of the $1 trial offer by Pat Rigsby, Eric Cressey, and Mike Robertson on The Fitness Business Blueprint.

For what it costs to buy a pack of gum, you can take it for a test drive and see what it actually takes to build a successful fitness business. What’s more, at the end of the trial, if you like it, you’ll save an additional $100 off the regular price. BOO-YAH!  It’s a no brainer. Act quickly, though,  because the offer only lasts until the end of the day today.

*** Sorry for the late notice on this one.

Ladies and CrossFit:  Will the Weightlifting Make Me Bulky? – I have no idea

Tuck your chin, for the love of god!!!!

As much as I grumble about CrossFit – and I do, I admit it – there are a few redeeming qualities and many affiliates out there who go about doing it the right way and don’t make me want to throw a chainsaw into my face.  This article was forwarded to me by one of our ex-clients because he knows how much I love reading material that advocates for women to lift heavy things.

This is one of the better articles I’ve read at articulating to women why lifting weights won’t make them bulky or turn them into Chyna.

Intra – Set Cocaine is a Hell of a Drug – Lee Boyce

As I’ve noted time and time again, there’s nothing to be gained from consistently making yourself want to shit your small intenstine every time you train.  Sure, there’s a time a place for it.  And, I’d argue that it’s actually necessary in order to make significant progress in strength, performance, as well as aesthetics.

Having said that, hard(er) doesn’t necessarily mean better. Taking it a step further, quality of movement oftentimes trumps quantity of movement.  Here, Lee offers some insight as to why not beating yourself into oblivion is the key to long-term

Functional Assessment and Exercises to Enhance Hip Flexion – Mike Reinold

For those in more of a nerdy mood, this is an excellent post by Mike on how to assess and enhance hip flexion – which is an often overlooked (and woefully deficient) movement pattern in today’s society.

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Post Rehab Essentials

I don’t care if you’re a personal trainer who just started working at the local Gold’s Gym last week, or a seasoned veteran who’s been training people for the past 10-15 years, it’s inevitable that you’re going to be working with the walking wounded at some point in your career.

Everyone  you work with is injured to some degree. While some may walk in on day one with an already pre-existing condition – like an ACL injury or AC joint issue – others may walk in completely asymptomatic and be pain free, yet if you were to take an MRI of their spine, it could very well resemble something coming out of a meat grinder.

Nevertheless, having the ability to work around various injuries and not only help “fix” people but still elicit a training effect in a safe and timely manner, is an invaluable skill for any trainer or coach to possess.

Furthering the point above, those trainers who go out of their way to better themselves and learn to develop a bit more of a corrective exercise background, are the one’s that tend to separate themselves from the masses.

Which brings us to my good friend, Dean Somerset.  Dean just released his latest product, Post Rehab Essentials, which is designed for trainers looking to increase their knowledge of how to work with various injuries in a gym-based or studio setting. Truth be told, there’s a rather large knowledge gap between those who know a whole lot about every aspect of training and those who are looking to get a strong foothold and take a step up from average.

Dean was kind enough to send me an advance copy a few weeks ago and all I have to say is that after viewing it, I wish I could just hop onto Craigslist, do a search for “Flux Capacitor,” and then go back in time for the sole purpose of scissor kicking myself in the face for relying too heavily on what my text books told me.

Suffice it to say, it would have saved me A LOT of time if I had resources like this back then.

To that end, Dean was nice enough to sit down and answer a few questions regarding the fitness industry as well as discuss Post Rehab Essentials.

And, because I know some people won’t even bother to read the interview (tsk, tsk, tsk), here are some important things to consider:

1.  Dean breaks this down into four sections:  Introduction, Upper Extremity, Lower Extremity, and the Spine. He not only discusses some basic anatomy, but also covers assessment as well as programming variables. It’s pretty much one of the most baller products out there geared towards rookie and intermediate trainers.

2.  I think it’s an awesome product that will help a lot of trainers out there become better at what they do. This undoubtedly gets the Tony G seal of approval.

3.  Post Rehab Essentials is on sale only from now until Friday (12/9).  After that, the price increase $60, so be sure to take advantage of the savings while you can.

Okay, I’ll let Dean take over from here.

TG:  Dean, lets cut the formalities, most of the people reading this know who you are, because we’re always creepin on each other’s blogs.  For those who don’t, here’s a quick primer:

Dean’s a personal trainer and exercise physiologist who specializes in post-rehab programming, and being really smart. He likes walks on the beach, and, much like me, has an affinity for obscure Jedi references. Heck, we’re practically the same person – except he likes hockey, and I’m way better looking.

Anyways, Dean, tell us a little bit about the driving force behind Post Rehab Essentials. 

DS:  The whole program came about when I had 32 medical professionals referring me business a few years ago, and wound up at a point where I literally couldn’t take on any more business without training 4 or 5 people at once, and that was something the insurance providers and the referring professionals got pissed about.

As a result, I began to look for other trainers to off-load some clients in order to keep business flowing, but I wanted to make sure they had the right skillset to work with these people. No sit and reach testing or max rep pushups here, I wanted to have people who could look at a client and determine why their rotator cuff was getting all beat to hell.

 

As I’m sure you can attest, these kinds of trainers are few and far between, so I had to build a program that would cover the basics to up the games of those who would be working for me, coving all the major injuries you would see in a gym setting: rotator cuff tears, ACL reconstructions, disc herniations, and a few dozen others.

Once I began teaching the trainers what to do and what to look for, they also wanted to have some pre-made programs they could use with their clients (and even themselves) to help get the ball rolling. This was an idea that also piqued interest with a few doctors and insurance providers, so having the standardized plans in place helped actually build more business. Plus, it meant if a client came in with a rotator cuff issue, I could hand them to anyone and they would get a safe program that would help them out.

TG:  That’s awesome, and just goes to show how establishing a solid network of other fitness professionals can be a powerful thing.

Would you agree that the gap between the personal training side of things and physical therapy side of things is closing?  In my opinion the gap is smaller than we think, but it’s a dangerous line to walk because we now have plenty of personal trainers out there thinking they’re capable of diagnosing things because they read a book or two on the topic.  What are your thoughts?

DS: I totally agree that the gap is getting smaller, but I need to preface that a little more. The gap is getting smaller AT THE TOP of the fitness industry, and seems to be getting wider at the bottom, where the entry-level certifications are pumping out trainers with little to no experience with injuries whatsoever.

As a result, I’ve seen trainers telling clients with some obvious structural issues to “push through it” when performing overhead press and weighted crunches. Serious spin kicks needed in those situations.

At the same time, you’re absolutely right when trainers feel they can diagnose after reading Sahrmann or McGill for a weekend. The funny thing is that I’ve specialized in injury post-rehab for the better part of a decade, worked with dozens of doctors, physios and chiropractors in their clinics, observed multiple surgeries, and had my training programs picked over by some of the best minds in rehab, and I don’t even diagnose.

Sure, I can tell a lot about someone by looking at them, but there are some really specific red flags that I look for to see if going to keep training with me or go back for more treatment. I may know in the back of my mind that the person in front of me is presenting with all the right symptoms for a specific diagnosis, but I want to make sure I’m right before I decide on anything, otherwise my wrong move may wind up causing some big issues. I always want to have two sets of eyes looking at a client to make sure, and every other trainer should do the same.

TG: What do you feel are the key components for success in this industry?  More to the point, what can incoming (and current) trainers do to better set themselves up for long-term success.

The biggest advice I could get for any trainer is simple: Get better results for your clients, and get better results for more clients. Knowing how to help a client lose 5 pounds is great, but if you can help them lose 50 pounds, they’ll pay closer attention. Likewise, if you can help them lose 50 pounds, increase their strength, make their back not hurt anymore, and reduce their odds of having a total knee replacement (or helping them do all this after they’ve had a knee replacement) can make or break your ability to have someone open their wallet to get you to help them. The more problems you solve, and the better you solve them, the more in demand you will become.

 

The next piece is to make yourself a specialist in SOMETHING. I hd a client a few years ago who was a young lawyer, and he was all excited when he got his first actual business card, which read on the back “Specializing in marital law, business law, tax law, criminal defence, civil rights, andreal estate.” This means he didn’t specialize in anything at all.

He was a generalist. You shouldn’t be a generalist, because when someone needs something really bad, they want the best at what they do. They’re going to come to you, because you are the best at what you do (hopefully). Whether it’s preparing for a figure contest, getting baseball players ready to throw heat, or helping someone fix their wonky knees, make it your goal to have something account for 80% of your business.

TG: Great insight, Dean.  I couldn’t agree more.  And lastly, if you could, can you give my readers the 5 minute elevator pitch – or in this case, the 500 word pitch – as to what Post Rehab Essentials brings to the table?  Basically, how will this make trainers more awesome?

DS:  Knowledge is power, and this is never more resonant than in fitness.

The trainers who spend the most time learning from as many different sources as possible tend to make the most money, and tend to have the best reputations as fitness professionals. I’m also a big believer in quality, usable content that you don’t have to have a PhD in biomechanics to understand, so I made this product cut to the chase, show why specific injuries happen, how to assess for them, and what to do with the info you get from your assessments.

This is a quick reference guide to help you solve more of your clients problems than ever before, which makes you a better trainer at the end of the day, and as a result make more money and have a greater impact on the quality of your clients lives.

If that’s not enough, consider this: more than one third of asymptomatic people walking the streets would show a partial or full thickness rotator cuff tear on MRI, especially if they’re over 60. More than half of those asymptomatic people also had disc bulges, some at more than one level. What this means is that whether you want to work with injured clients or not, you already are, so not knowing what to do about it will be the fastest way to put yourself out of business.

If that’s not enough, I’m also going to show you a thousand different ways to make your workouts better, more effective, and way more pimp than you ever thought possible.

TG:  Awesome stuff Dean.  Thanks for your time! 

====> Post Rehab Essentials <====

 

 

CategoriesUncategorized

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Multivitamins, In-Season Training, MMA, and More

1.  Q:  There are a few vitamins and minerals in my diet that I don’t get quite enough of so I try to supplement with a multi-vitamin. I’ve been reading that a lot of people think that multi-vitamins aren’t really too effective though. Do you take a multi-vitamin? If so, which one do you like? If not, why not?

A:  I’ve always taken more of a minimalist approach when it comes to supplements. On one end of the spectrum you have those people who take a supplement for everything at the expense of ignoring basic food. At the other end, you have those like Steve Jobs (RIP) who, as I’ve been reading in his biography, Steve Jobs, would go extended periods where all he’d eat is fruit, and ignore supplements altogether.

As is the case with everything, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.

With regards to a multivitamin, I’m actually indifferent, as I feel if your diet is diverse in fruits, vegetables, and dead animal flesh, you’re probably good to go.

Having said that, it’s pretty near impossible to ingest EVERY mineral and vitamin known to man.

Some will argue that the body can’t (or won’t) absorb anything in pill form.  Others say that’s a bunch of foo-foo nonsense. If anything, I feel taking a multivitamin is a great way to at least cover your bases. I mean, multivitamins are fairly inexpensive, so I don’t see the big deal.

At the end of day, at best, like I said, you cover your bases.  At worst:  you’re down $10 for a six month supply.  No biggie.

As an alternative, you can try something like Athletic Greens, which I feel is an awesome product and something I’ve been using for the past few months.

2.  A HUGE congratulations goes out to CP coach, George Abele, on an impressive win in his MMA amateur debut this past Saturday night.

George had a big cheering section as all the coaches, as well as many CP clients headed out to Western Massachusetts to support him beating some dudes head in.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never gone out of my way to watch MMA.  Sure, I’ve seen a few fights here and there on Spike tv, but I’d usually watch a fight or two and then flip it back over to Dukes of Hazzard re-runs or something. I just never got into them.

Let me just say, though, that when you go see the fights in person – and you actually know someone fighting – it’s a whole nother ball game.

It’s sick.

At one point, after round 2, I wanted Sparta kick a chair or something and then go all Gladiator and just stand up and yell at the top of my lungs:

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!!?!?!

Oh, I was entertained!  Great job George.  We’re proud of you.

3.  I had a senior in high-school email me about in-season training and whether or not it could be done.  Here’s what I said.

Yes

LOL. Okay, I said a little more than that.  Here’s what I actually said:

In-season training can be a bit of a conundrum, but it stands to reason it can’t definitely be implemented if done correctly.  The key is to:

  • Understand that you will lose some strength during the season. You can’t be under the impression that you’re going to make much (if any) gains during the season. So don’t get pissed if you see your gym numbers dip a bit.
  • The main emphasis of an in-season training program is to prevent injury and maintain some semblance of progress you established during your off-season training.
  • Condense training stress as much as possible.  For instance, with our high-school baseball guys, we like to hit the lower body pretty hard the day after a game.  Then, depending on the position one plays, we’ll have them get 1-2 more sessions in during the week based around their practice schedule.
  • Generally speaking, though, two or three sessions per week is completely fine (and I’d lean more towards two).  I’d make it a point of allotting one of your session to be the day after a game and then maybe another session two days prior to your next game…………..and, if you can pull it off, maybe a REAL easy GPP/mobility session the day before.
  • Please, for the love of god, refrain from doing any excessive agility or “jump specific” training during the season. You get enough of that playing your sport (basketball).  Seriously, don’t do it!

You’re a young kid, and resilient.  Assuming you’re not injured or have a funky injury history, I’d recommend Eric Cressey’s Show and Go program. It’s FOUR months of programming, and it includes 2,3, and 4 day templates, so you could easily fit it into your schedule.

4.  The following is a video that’s been making its rounds around the interwebz the past few days.  I’ve had several people send it my way asking what my thoughts were on it. But first, the video:

Here’s the description of the video on the page itself:

Taken from an event with veteran CrossFit athletes. Hitting axle clean and jerks. Supervised by Strongman Certified Coaches. Axle weight is about 10-15lbs. This lift is not a standard Clean and Jerk.

I almost feel like this is some sort of hoax. How anyone who claims to be a “veteran CrossFit athlete” or “certified strongman coach” would allow this video to see the light of day is beyond me.

I feel like the peeps who put this video up are just trying to throw more flame onto the fire – given all the negative talk about CrossFit – and get a laugh at everyone else’s expense.

I mean, seriously!?!?!?   Why not just take everyone who appears in that video and strap a rocket to their back and launch them into a brick wall?  At the very least, it would make for a killer WOD.

It’s pretty sad (and frustrating) to see this.  As a coach, it pains me to see that this is the kind of training that’s being “sold” to the masses about CrossFit. Don’t get me wrong, there ARE affiliates out there who do it right – and those coaches should be commended for their efforts.  But this?  This is just garbage.  And the  coaches involved – whether it’s CrossFit, Strongman, Olympic, whatever, I don’t care – should be ashamed of themselves.

I’m not kidding, though:  this HAS to be a joke.  Right?

5.  And finally.  I’m posting this video because it’s awesome.

CategoriesUncategorized

How to Set-Up to Deadlift Properly

I’m throwing you a curve ball today, and starting what I hope will be an on-going series of video blogs here on tonygentilcore.com.

My hope is that:

1.  I’m able to better convey the information I’m trying to relay to the masses. Writing is one thing, and I feel I do a decent job of not sucking at that. For many, though, they’re more visual learners, and this is the perfect medium for those types of people.

2. 2012 is looking to be the year where I put on my big boy pants and start doing more speaking engagements. The way I see it, video blogs will help me hone my skillz and hopefully teach myself to not swear like a sailor, stop saying “um” every other sentence, and to stop USING MY HANDS WHEN I TALK FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!!!

3. And, more importantly, save my fingers from all of this damn typing!

Anyways, the catalyst for today’s video blog stemmed from my incessant (maybe un-healthy?) obsession with deadlifts. But more to the point, it stemmed from various questions and comments I’ve received on articles and blog posts I’ve written in the past concerning how to set-up for the deadlift properly.

Sometimes, things are just lost in translation, and I figured a video would help elucidate my thoughts more clearly and showcase some simple coaching cues I feel will benefit a lot of people.

The tipping point, however, came when an online client sent me a video of his deadlift set-up and I had to do everything in my power not to face plant into my keyboard.

It was bad. Like, “how is his spine still in one piece?” bad. And with that, I knew I had to do something other than write back “Um yeah, you need to stop doing that.”

The result?

How to Set-Up to Deadlift Properly

A few things to note:

  • I feel the set-up is something that many trainees take far too casually.  Let me be blunt:  deadlifting success and performance starts and ends with the set-up.  Foot placement, bar placement, learning to activate the lats, as well as hip placement all come into play. With the latter point for instance, people tend to set their hips either too high, where their lower back takes a beating, or they set up too low, and it turns more into this weird, squat/deadlift, hybrid thingamajig.

Hopefully this video clears some of the murky water.

  • Thanks to Kyle for being my model (and for the sweet Presidential-like wave in the background when being introduced).  Also, thanks for Marco for being Spielberg’esq with the camera work.
  • My goal was to do this sucker in one take. I succeeded. In re-watching it, though, there were definitely some “did I just sat that?” moments (did I just say “finger Kyle?” Dammit Tony!). Trust me, I’ll get better. Promise.
  • I’d love to get your feedback, so please feel free to comment below.  In addition, I’d also be interested in ideas for future installments. Is there anything you’d like to see covered?

Okay, I’ll shut up now.  Here’s the video: