CategoriesUncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: I’m in NYC Edition

First things first:  I have to give a brief shout out to one John Romaniello and his new wife Mrs. Neghar (formerly Fonooni) Romaniello on their freshly minted nuptials.

I had the lovely honor of being invited to their wedding this past weekend (last night, actually) here in the Big Apple, and it was every bit as an amazing wedding, and night, as I had imagined it was going to be. The air was filled with a palpable vibe of love, laughter, and Star Wars references.

The tables were labelled not by something traditional like 1,2,3…. or maybe more appropriately (since we were in NYC) names of certain neighborhoods in and around the city.  No, no, no.

Rather, each table was named after a planet or location in the Star Wars universe.  I, along with Eric Cressey and wife Anna were part of the Felucia tribe. For those non-nerds out there, Felucia (see pic above) was a key planet in the Clone Wars, and because of its density of flora and fauna and other plant life, had strong ties to the Living Force.

But everyone knows that.

If that wasn’t cool enough, the Officiant of the wedding actually wore a Jedi Cloak during the ceremony.  A JEDI CLOAK!!!!!!! I wasn’t able to take a picture of it in the flesh, but this should give you a good idea of what it looked like:

The entire night was full of surprises (and amazing food) and at one point I was half expecting The Ultimate Warrior to come flying down the aisle and challenge the entire wedding party to an arm wrestling match.

Speaking of the wedding party (and guests), as you can imagine, the line-up (for lack of a better term) included a Who’s Who of the fitness industry. It was undoubtedly one of the “fittest” crowds ever put underneath one roof I don’t think I’ve ever seen more 500+ lb deadlifters at one wedding in my life.

Moreover, it was just great to catch up with old friends and finally meet a few others whom I’ve only conversed with via email or social media.

So now I’m here sitting in my hotel room crushing SportsCenter and writing this blog post – in a leopard bathrobe, thank you very much.

I’m going to be hanging out for the next two days visiting friends and a few family members, and I’ll also be making a few cameo appearances at Peak Performance and one of the Crunch Fitness gyms to do a couple of staff in-services.  I might also see how long I can go wearing a Red Sox hat before getting tackled on the street.  My bet is half the day.

And on that note, here’s some stuff to read….

But before I do that I just want to remind everyone that TODAY (September 30th) is the LAST DAY to take advantage of the early-bird registration for mine and Dean Somerset’s Edmonton Workshop.

We had a blast with our Boston seminar and wanted to bring it north, and are limiting it to 30 attendees. The downside is that we’re already halfway to selling out, but the good news is our early bird registration price of $399 is still on until TONIGHT at midnight (before Tuesday for those clock sticklers out there), after which the price jumps $100.

Along with the wicked weekend, we have continuing education credits for ACE, canfitpro, and the NSCA so trainers can keep up their certifications. We’ll also have some sweet give aways, door prizes, pony rides, and an intimate, hands on atmosphere that means you’ll walk away with a crazy amount of knowledge, experience, and direct access to Dean and I.

For more info, the itinerary, as well as sign-up direction go HERE.

Surviving Whole Foods – Kelly MacLean

This was an absolutely HILARIOUS write-up on the whole “Whole Foods” experience.  For anyone who routinely shops there you’ll be able to nod your head in agreement throughout.  For those who don’t, I think you’ll still get a big laugh.

The Deficit: How We Lose Fat – Leigh Peele

It’s just calories in vs. calories out, right?  It’s as simple as that, right?

Wrong!  There’s a bit more to it than that, and Leigh weighs in on a few things people may be glossing over.

9 Ideas to Improve Your Workouts – Dan John

When Dan John speaks, you should listen.  This is yet another gem from one of my favorite coaches and writers.

 

CategoriesUncategorized

Cutting CrossFit a Break

There’s certainly been no shortage of scathing articles directed towards CrossFit, its brand, and its oftentimes cultish followers in recent times.

I don’t know if it’s something in the water or because ObamaCare starts in less than a week, but it seems as if there’s been an influx of “CrossFit is the worst thing since Pepsi Clear” themed articles that have hit the media-stream as of late.

This is NOT one of those articles.

Yep, that’s right:  My name is Tony Gentilcore, and I’m growing tired of the incessant CrossFit bashing.

Now to be fair: I’ve written my share of “choice words” towards CrossFit in the past.  And to be perfectly frank, there’s still many things about it that I don’t agree with nor advocate.  Then again, I think Veganism is kinda weird and there are some people out there who think Justin Bieber makes good music – so who am I to judge?

We could make an argument that Veganism has it’s own list of benefits, and well, Beiber does have a few top ten hits so there’s that.

Moreover, there are plenty of things I used to quote-on-quote “hate” that I changed my mind on later in life. Hell, I used to hate Ben Affleck and Brussels sprouts, now I love em both!

Seemingly, however, there’s a growing “line” being drawn in the sand when it comes to CrossFit between those who love it and those who hate it.

It’s almost as if we’re in the midst of a modern day West Side Story where the Sharks and Jets still hate one another, albeit instead of knife fights and dance-offs, in this version the weapons of choice are kipping pull-ups and arguing over whether or not potatoes can be considered Paleo.

Those who love it espouse it as the end-all-be-all of fitness and point to it’s growing (viral?) popularity.  I don’t know about other cities, but here in Boston I can’t walk more than four blocks without walking past a new CrossFit affiliate.

Those who hate it blame CrossFit for everything from global warming to the copious amounts of injuries amongst its members.

To that last point a friend of mine  – who’s an avid CrossFitter herself – linked to an article that’s been making its rounds across the social media spectrum titled CrossFit’s Dirty Little Secret.

To summarize:  it’s basically an article taking a look into how CrossFit “nurtures” a culture of exercising to excess, to the point where the condition rhabdomyolysis – where myoglobin is leached into the bloodstream from muscle cells literally exploding,

which in turn puts many bodily systems (kidneys) at risk of shutting down – is a real concern for some members.

I don’t know the numbers offhand:  but there have been several documented cases of rhabdo in the CrossFit community.

They even have a mascot for it ————————–>

I’d argue not the best choice, but I’m not the head of the marketing department.

My friend asked for my opinion on the article, and here’s what I said (with some other stuff added because I actually had some time to sit down and think about what I wanted to write).

I think it (the article) is a bit sensationalistic – and just a way to take a hot topic, use it to toss some numbers out there, raise some alarms, and to garner some significant web traffic.

It absolutely succeeded in this regard.

This isn’t to say that I don’t agree with some components of the article. We had a client who switched to CrossFit a few years back, and she was someone who’d I have complete confidence in being able to do the WODs with no issues at all.

Except that she was in really good shape and had a killer mentality, and did NOT know when to stop. She was one of those people who would push herself, and unfortunately she ended up in the hospital for a week with a severe case of Rhabdo.

It IS a REAL concern, and something that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

This, among other things is what I don’t like about CrossFit. I don’t like that there’s a low barrier to entry.  All someone has to do is take some weekend course to become “CrossFit Certified,” then pay the franchise fee, and BAM, they’re in.

Baking a homemade apple pie is harder!

It uses a one-size-fits-all programming model which I think is asinine considering you have people from all walks of life walking into CrossFit gyms on a daily basis.  To say that Mrs. Smith who’s never lifted a weight in her life (let alone knows the difference between a squat and deadlift), is 25 lbs overweight, has two herniated discs, and just so happens to be a type 1 diabetic should be doing the same workout as Greg, who’s a 25 year old former college athlete and has been lifting weights for the better part of a decade, is downright absurd.  But it happens.  A lot.

Compounding this last point, and while it varies from affiliate to affiliate, there’s a definite lack of assessment which takes place, as well as a lack of a proper progression and regression system.

As an aside: Last weekend at the CP Seminar I was talking with a fellow strength coach and he mentioned that his wife walked into a CrossFit affiliate, and without any assessment, she was put through a workout that included overhead squats and high-rep cleans and snatches on day one.

I don’t know about everyone else reading – but I’d trust a coach who advocates high-rep OLY lifts about as much as I’d trust a barber with a mullet.

But now I sound like a cynical SOB and am just regurgitating what everyone else says.

To save face there’s also a lot that I like about CrossFit.

There’s no question that it builds an unparalleled sense of camaraderie.  People are EXCITED to train and workout!  How can I hate on that?

In an era where we celebrate gluttony to the point where competitive eating is broadcast on ESPN, it’s hard for me to dismiss anything which gets people fired up to get off their ass and move  – regardless of how much it makes me scratch my head.

CrossFit also emphasizes compound movements (awesome – assuming they’re coached well), and they don’t waste time advocating traditional “aerobic training,” which as many may recall from a few weeks ago, is a topic which caused a shit-storm on my blog when I suggested that there are other ways to elevate your heart-rate other than climbing onto a treadmill.

Offhandedly, I do feel that CrossFit isn’t the right choice for a lot of people who don’t otherwise move well.  There are people who take on a bit more than they can chew, who end up hurt, and worse, end up causing serious harm to their body.

And much of that is on the shoulders of the affiliates who don’t take the time to properly assess their clients and who don’t otherwise implement appropriate exercises progressions and regressions.

I really have a hard time believing people can’t agree on that point.

The affiliates who give a shit, actually assess their clients, and take the time to coach the lifts properly are the ones that generally do very well and are the ones which I applaud.  Unfortunately, it’s the “bad apples” that give CrossFit as a whole its bad reputation.

I “get” the tone of the article, and understand that it’s just trying to raise awareness of an actual issue, but it most certainly doesn’t apply to all affiliates or should serve as the umbrella of the CrossFit mentality.

Many affiliates do what they do very well and they should be applauded for their efforts.

Another article, or rather picture, which has set the interwebs ablaze is that of 35-year old Lea-Ann Ellison who, two-weeks before her due date, was photographed, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S HOLY…………..lifting weights.

This is a case where I wish people would just STFU and mind their own business.

To her credit, Ms. Ellison, prior to her pregnancy (which for some reason many people deem a disease that should leave every woman incapable of doing anything past putting dishes away or walking up a flight of stairs), had been participating in CrossFit for two and a half years.

It’s not like she decided two months into her pregnancy that she’d head down to her local affiliate and start tossing barbells over her head and dragging cars across the parking lot.

She had a solid foundation of fitness underneath her belt, and even though she was consistently training throughout her pregnancy, she admitted that the weights she was using were far LOWER than what she’d normally use, and that her workouts were far less CrossFitish in nature.

She listened to her body and knew when to back off when needed (which is advice I’ve given to every female client I’ve trained through their pregnancy as well).

You can read more HERE, if you’d like.

Here’s a woman who had the audacity to take a more proactive approach to her pregnancy and not subside to societal norms, and people are going to go out of their way to judge her for it?

The human body is a lot smarter than we give it credit for.  If putting a barbell on our back and squatting it (or doing anything which requires physical exertion) was so detrimental to the existence of the human race, we would have died out a loooooooooong time ago.

I’m unsure about what actually caused all the hooplah in the first place: whether it was the fact that she was performing CrossFit workouts so close to her due date, or that it was a provocative photograph that was taken?  I guess that’s up for interpretation.

But at the end of the day people are exercising.  And that’s cool.

CategoriesMotivational personal training

Beyond the Clipboard: 4 Keys to Surviving as a Trainer

A short while ago I was asked by the higher ups at BodyBuilding.com if I’d be interested in writing a piece geared towards personal trainers.  In their words:

“We really want to see a piece targeted toward personal trainers that teaches coaches to coach. It can be based on tips to run a successful personal training business and what it takes to build a name for yourself. The personal training world is full of hacks and posers, but guys like you, who know what the hell you’re doing, can formulate a playbook to dominate the business.

It would be very interesting, to say the least.”

I wrote the article and submitted it to “my guy” with a side note which said, “I kinda went off.  I hope you can still use it.” It was one of those rare instances where, once I sat down to write, the words just spilled out and my keyboard took a beating. And, well, I don’t really remember much after that – I think I blacked out.

In any case, they did end up using it and below is the intro with a link to the rest of the article.

As always, I’d greatly appreciate any social media love you can offer.  Share it, Like it, Tweet it, Twerk it….do whatever.

Thanks!

I recently heard an ad on sports talk radio in Boston, that proclaimed the need for qualified personal trainers is at an all-time high (Thanks type II diabetes and trans fat!). The spot ended with this bombshell: “Certified personal trainers who get X certification, on average, earn a six-figure salary within …” I can’t remember how it ended because I was trying to avoid wrapping my car around a telephone pole from laughing so hard.

I don’t doubt that personal training is one of the fastest-growing professions. It’s simple enough to see why: People go to college, get an expensive degree, and then discover there are no jobs in their field. Many then opt to become a personal trainer because they like to lift and there are few roadblocks to halt their newfound passion.

Continue Reading….

CategoriesUncategorized

Reviewing the Cressey Performance Fall Seminar – Part Two

Yesterday in PART ONE I reviewed a little less than half the line-up at last weekend’s Cressey Performance Fall Seminar

Today, in part two I’ll highlight the rest.

The Role of Physical Therapy in a Strength and Conditioning Facility – Eric Schoenberg

Eric is the founder, President, and all around badass of Momentum Physical Therapy located in Milford, Mass. We send pretty much all of our more delicate or serious cases to Eric, and he does a fantastic job of getting people better but not treating them as if they’re trapped in some bubble where they can’t train or get after it in some way.

We’re really lucky to have Eric in our back pocket and it’s only a matter of time before his name starts getting thrown out there more and more.

1. The fields of physical therapy and strength and conditioning are moving at a thousand different directions, but what would happen if we combined our strengths, where there was clear communication and NO egos?

We’d see and bare witness to:

– More thorough evaluations and re-evaluations.

– Improved programming, progressions.

– Better movement quality.

– Less dysfunction/pain/injury.

– Improved performance/results.

– Happier customers!

2. Don’t just refer out, refer to someone who have a relationship with – understanding the language and communication used by a facility or practice you refer out to is imperative.

3. You don’t have to be an expert on everything. Just try to be good at something.

4. When you combine forces (Strength and Conditioning and PT) a few cool things happens:

– Able to offer a premium service to your customer.

– Optimal outcomes (people get better quicker,and stay consistent).

– Better retention.

– Improved credibility.

5. The role of both the PT and strength coach has evolved.

PT: expert in human movement; evaluates and integrates multiple disciplines and body systems (no longer is someone ONLY a Graston guy or ONLY an ART guy or ONLY a DNS guy); bridges the gap between PT and S&C; many are now CSCS certified and understands exercise principles and progressions; understands scope of practice.

S&C Coach: has created a “niche” (trains baseball players, fat loss expert, combine prep, prepares for the Zombie apocalypse); often wears multiple hats (business owner, coach, writer, speaker); currently carries the torch for growth and development of new ideas; understands scope of practice.

Getting to Know Your Athlete – Chris Howard

I thought this was a fantastic presentation and a topic which I feel is an often glossed over as irrelevant when it’s anything but.

1.  There are three learning styles as popularized by Neil Fleming: Visual (29%), Auditory (34%), and Kinesthetic (37%), and people will generally gravitate towards a preference (as shown with the percentages).  That said, it’s often efficacious to dabble in ALL THREE to be most effective.

2. It’s important to show (visual) then explain (auditory) the name of an exercise to a client. If he or she still struggles, then it may be pertinent to place them in the proper position(s) with your hands (kinesthetic).

Note from TG:  This is something I talk about in more detail in Play-Doh Coaching.

3. Chris also spoke to the differences between introverts and extroverts – both from a client standpoint and coaches standpoint – which I always find fascinating.  As an unabashed introvert myself it was refreshing to hear Chris speak to this topic in more depth.

Introverts:

– Tend to recharge by spending time alone.

– Lose energy from being around people for long periods.

– THINK before they ACT.

– Use a lot of eye contact when listening (but exhibit the opposite when speaking).

– Prefers one-on-one conversation.

– Enjoys reading, writing, and watching Jason Bourne movies (<— I added that one).

– Prefers quiet, non-stimulating environments.

– NOT the same as shy.

Extroverts:

– Gain energy from other people.

– Recharge by being social.

– Drained by isolation.

– ACT before THINKING

– Show lots of expression

4.  Coaching the introvert – be patient; ask relevant questions; let them observe first.  Some challenges that arise when coaching the introvert is that they often do no ask a lot of questions,and that they don’t demand attention so it’s important to check in with them.

Coaching the extrovert – you may need to help them “get to the point;” reign them in.  Their strengths are that they’re outwardly enthusiastic and they bring a lot of energy to the gym.  The obvious challenge is that they’re typically not great at listening to instruction and feedback.

5. The introverted coach – strength is in listening; often calm and quiet.  Challenges may include coming off as “unapproachable,” and he or she may not give as much feedback or encouragement.

The extroverted coach – strengths include lots of energy and very encouraging to clients.  Challenges of weaknesses include they get easily distracted, not great listeners, and they may want to jump too quickly to the next thing/client.

Excellence in Group Training – Greg Robins

Greg has really jumped into the scene the past year where he writes a weekly guest post on Eric Cressey’s as well as making cameo appearances in various websites and magazines in the fitness realm.  In addition he recently launched is own brand spankin new website TheStrengthHouse.com which you should absolutely go out of your way to check out.

On top of being one of our full-time coaches, Greg also runs our bootcamps during the week and he had a few sage words and advice on how to operate a sound group training environment.

1. What’s important?

Movement Quality and Technique: get people to move better, feel better, and know how to and trust themselves in performing exercises correctly.

Work Capacity: help people develop a base level of “fitness” so that we can throw progressively more challenging training means on them.

Strength or Resistance Training: get people stronger, and to understand the importance and benefits of strength training.

2. Variables to consider with group training: time, equipment availability, demographic, setting, number of people, # of coaches.

3. The right REGRESSION is a great PROGRESSION

Note for TG:  well, well, well – it just so happens I also wrote on this topic as well.  Click ME.

4. Group Training Programming Schemes:

Intervals (strictly assigned work to rest ratios) – STRENGTHS: easy to organize, forces movement, very adaptable. WEAKNESSES: does not allow for effective coaching, limits “strength” component.

Density (more work in less time, group of exercises in assigned time) – STRENGTHS: easy to organize, allows for effective coaching, blends strength & conditioning.  WEAKNESSES: allows for “slacking” if not monitored.

Classic (prescribed sets and reps) – STRENGTHS: maximizes strength component, allows for extensive coaching.  WEAKNESSES: can be difficult to monitor in large groups, higher risk if not not managed well.

Training Jane From Joe:  Do Women Need to Train Differently Then Men? – Tony Gentilcore

1.  Short answer: um, NO!

** While there’s really no inherent reason why women need to train differently then men, there’s are circumstances where women can (and probably should) train differently (pregnancy, differing goals, etc).

2.  If anything, stressing PERFORMANCE based goals – performing an unassisted chin-up, for example – should take precedence over what the scale says.  Get women to “buy” into strength and performance and it’s not only liberating but empowering as well.

3.  Yes, I dropped an EPIC f-bomb during my presentation.  And yes, it was totally directed towards Tracy Anderson, thank you very much.

Best quote during my Anderson rant:  “I’m half expecting her to come out one day and say something equally as asinine such as bathing in unicorn tears will help decrease cellulite.”

4. You can’t build perkier, rounder, or sexier anything without building muscle. And anytime someone says they want to get “toned,” what they’re really saying is “I want to be less fat.”

5. Comparatively speaking, unlike a few years ago, I’ve changed my stance on yoga and recognize there’s plenty of benefits and redeeming qualities.  Having said that, I still get mildly (okay, a lot) irritated about how it’s marketed as this all encompassing panacea of health.  Without hesitation, I 100% feel that strength training trumps yoga in every department as far as what most (not all) women are looking to do with their bodies.

6.  I hate the term “girl push-up.”  Instead I prefer to always place a priority on showing women SUCCESS in the gym and I don’t feel as if telling them that there’s such a thing as “girl push-up” is doing them in any favors.

7.  I do feel there’s an archaic mindset when it comes to training women through a pregnancy. I know it’s a bit crass:  but if a woman is capable of growing a human being inside her body, she’s capable of still working out.

Still, each pregnancy is different and it’s ALWAYS a smart approach to place her comfort level first.

For a MUCH more detailed look into my thought process on this topic, I highly suggest reading What to Expect When You’re Expecting (In the Gym).

And that’s that.  See you next year!

 

CategoriesUncategorized

Reviewing the Cressey Performance Fall Seminar – Part One

You know the feeling you get when you demolish an ice-cream sundae so fast that you end up with one of those annoying “brain freezes” which makes you crumble to your knees in agony and forces you to make one of those weird, contorted faces that’s about as unattractive as unattractive can get?

No?

Well, maybe a better analogy would be actor Gary Busey.

Take his face (seen to the left) which is essentially what he looks like 100% of the time, and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

Okay, now that you have an ample visual:  that was me this past weekend during the Cressey Performance Fall Seminar. Not to suggest, of course, that I was swimming in a cocktail of vodka and bat-shit crazy, which is more than likely a typical breakfast for Mr. Busey.

Oh snap!  No I didn’t! That’s a Busey burn!

But rather just to suggest that 1) my brain hurt so much from all the quality information thrown my way that I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that’s how I looked and 2) that I needed a day away from blogging in order to decompress, digest, and assimilate all the information.

All told we had roughly 150-175 people make the trek out to CP to hang out, network, and listen to several pretty smart dudes discuss everything from CrossFit to corrective exercise to coaching types to twerking.

Maybe not that last one (next year?), but needless to say there was A LOT of stuff that was covered.  In lieu of all the glowing comments and reviews that followed via Facebook and Twitter, there were a number of people who asked if we filmed the seminar.

Sadly we did not.  But I’m going to take the opportunity today to try to highlight a few points and insights from each presentation.

Today I’ll cover what Eric Cressey, Brian St. Pierre, and Mike Reinold discussed.

Cracking the CrossFit Code – Eric Cressey

Starting the morning off with a bang, Eric decided to address one of the more hotly debated topics in the fitness community: CrossFit.

Contrary to popular belief Eric (as well as myself) aren’t adamant CrossFit “hater” protagonists.

We both see a lot or redeeming qualities in it, but we’re also not dowsing ourselves in the Kool-Aid.  Nevertheless, here’s some points Eric hit on.

1. Interestingly, Eric started off his talk discussing how history is loaded with selective retention.

I’m not going to spoil the surprise (as I know Eric DID film his presentation and have to assume he’s going to offer it as product), but lets just say there’s a reference to Adolf Hitler and CrossFit.

HOLD ON:  before people get all Twitter happy and say that Eric Cressey equated CrossFit to Hitler, HE DID NOT DO THIS!!!!!

But he did make a fair point that Hitler was responsible for things like improving highway infrastructure, airplane travel, and a bunch of other things.  CrossFit, too, for as much as it’s poo-pooed on by the masses, does have a lot to offer.

2. Such as:

Insane camaraderie.
Unparalleled social experience.
Brand recognition.
Interval training preferred over aerobic training.
Variety.
Stresses compound exercises.

3.  But there are also a fair number of caveats or “bad” points to consider as well. Such as:

Low barrier to entry.
Lack of assessment (this is affiliate dependent, but it’s fair to say that many DO NOT offer a keen assessment).
One-size fits all programs.
Prioritizes technically advanced exercises (for high reps, no less).

4.  One must (and should) be able to dominate the sagittal plane if he or she is going to be succeed in a traditional CrossFit program.

5.  There’s no bones about it:  untrained individuals (of which are what CrossFit attracts) move like poop, and its imperative that appropriate progressions AND regressions are in place – especially if you’re going to use a “one-size-fits-all” format.

Insulin: The Hormone, The Myth, The Legend – Brian St. Pierre

It’s always a treat when Brian makes it back to his old stomping grounds at CP.  Not many people realize this (or remember), but Brian was actually our very first employee.

But then he had to go get married, buy a house, advance his career with Precision Nutrition, have kids and stuff, and move to Maine.  What a jerk!

It’s been a pleasure to see Brian grow as a professional and he’s undoubtedly one of my “go to” guys when it comes to anything nutrition related. In his presentation he tackled the often quoted, yet often woefully misunderstood hormone insulin.

1. Insulin is ONE of MANY hormones involved in fat storage. It increases the activity of lipoprotein lipase, decreases the activity of hormone-sensitive lipase, which together leads to an increase of fat into fat cells. Insulin enhances this process, but NOT necessarily for it.

Key Concept: Insulin permits fat storage, it does not regulate it.

** For the nerds out there: The hypothalamus does.

You can gain fat with or WITHOUT elevated insulin levels.  So for all the anti-carb aficionados out there who deem them more evil than Mordor:  nah nah nah nahhhhhhhhh.

2. Hypoglycemia is incredibly rare.

3. The amount of insulin from protein rich food is positively correlated with satiety levels from that food.  So, put another way:  insulin CAN be considered a satiety hormone.

How’s this for a mindf@&k: Potatoes, which are generally regarded as one of the highest insulinogenic foods on Earth, are also reported as having one of the best satiety effects.

4. Nutrient partitioning is real phenomenon, and when used to your advantage, can help to increase recovery and adaptation to training load.

5. No news here:  (purposful) exercise creates a physiological environment where carbs are even more beneficial.

Ie:  carbs have their place.

Integrating Corrective Exercise With Performance Enhancement – Mike Reinold

Before I dive into Mike’s talk, let me just say that he’s an absolute Jedi when it comes to PowerPoint.  Some of the graphics and tricks he uses are unreal.  I’m half expecting one day for Mike to pull a rabbit out of his Macbook or go all “Prestige” on us and clone himself.

Plus, you know, he’s a brilliant therapist on the side.

1.  Mike noted that if you Google “corrective exercise”  in almost every picture there’s a physio ball or someone coaching the shit out of something completely innocuous, like this:

Apparently the message is this:  if you’re not incorporating the use of a physio ball, you’re just pretending…..;o)

2.  The term corrective exercise is a garbage term and is something that’s thrown out there in an effort for people to make themselves sound smart.  There’s no shortage of long-winded definitions out there, but Mike gave one that was about as succinct and to-the-point as they come:

“Corrective exercise are exercises designed to enhance how well you move.”

3.  Why corrective exercises sometimes may not work:

You didn’t assess well, or worked beyond your scope.
You picked the wrong correctives.
You are only addressing part of the problem.
You jumped straight to motor control/stability (you still need to get people stronger and emphasize strength).
Person is in pain.

*** If your correctives aren’t working, don’t work harder.

4. Components of Corrective Exercise:

Alignment (if you strengthen in misalignment you’ll create an imbalance, if you stretch in misalignment you’ll create instability).
Mobility
Stability
Postural Balance

5. Integrating correctives:

Pre-Training: work on alignment (PRI breathing drills), mobility, activation, motor control.

Within the Program: A2, B2, C2 (assist the “1” lifts)

As an example:

A1.  Goblet Squat 3×8
A2.  Lying Deadbugs – 3×6/side

Post-Training:  repeat foam rolling, work on breathing drills (up-regulate parasympathetic system), etc.

And that’s going to be all for today. I told you there was a ton of information covered!  Tomorrow I’ll highlight the presentations from Eric Schoenberg, Greg Robins, Chris Howard, and myself.

CategoriesUncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 9/20/13

I know I’m going to come across sounding like a broken record here, but I’m going to repeat myself nonetheless.

There’s only a little over a week left to take advantage of the early bird special for mine and Dean Somerset’s weekend workshop up in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) on October 19-20th.

The Boston version held a few weeks ago was a huge success, and we’re looking for more of the same this go around. Don’t believe me, just ask some of the people who attended:

“Dean and Tony are not only two of the brightest guys in the field, and they’re also two of the most entertaining.  Newer trainers will get brought up to speed on progressive training strategies and take away hands-on coaching techniques.  More experienced coaches will benefit from Tony and Dean’s refined understanding of more complicated concepts.  The only part that was weird was at the end when they made everyone do a group hug for 10 minutes, but after they explained it was really a “mind meld,” we all understood.  Don’t miss this seminar!”

– Mark Fisher, co-owner of Mark Fisher Fitness, NYC

“These guys are legit.”

– Han Solo, Capt. Millenium Falcoln, Tony Gentilcore BFF

You can click on the link provided below for more of the nitty-gritty details (and to register), but suffice it to say:  CEUs will be offered, you’re going to learn a ton, and it will undoubtedly be a fantastic opportunity to network.

—> Edmonton Workshop <—-

And with that, here’s some cool stuff to check out. For those heading to Boston this weekend for the CP Seminar, safe travels and see you in a few!

6 Ways You Might Be Over-Coaching Your Clients – Chet Morjaria

This is something I struggled with when I first started as a trainer, and it’s something that we address here at the facility with each incoming intern class.

As a coach I think it’s crucial to place a premium on technique and making sure people are performing exercises correctly, but at the same time it’s really easy to fall into the trap of over-coaching, sometimes to the detriment of the athlete or client.

I felt this article hit the nail on the head, and HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who trains people for a living.

Are Bulgarian Split Squats Superior to Regular Squats? – Ben Bruno

It’s funny how Ben is pegged as the “single leg guy” when the fact is he (and his athletes) regularly squat AND deadlift some heavy ass weight.

I take the same approach as Ben and feel that single leg work is important, but so too is getting people stronger with the bilateral lifts.

In this article Ben offers some case studies which hopefully better prove his point:  they they BOTH have their place.

Back to the Basics: Why You Must Do Push-Ups – Lee Boyce

It’s no secret that I love me some push-ups.  Well, ice-cream is probably on top of that list (with old school Transformers cartoons a close second), but somewhere in the mix is push-ups.

I think they’re a fantastic assessment tool, as well as one of the best bang-for-your-training-buck exercises out there.  Sure, many guys will poo-poo on the push-up deeming them “too wimpy,” but it’s eerily universal just how many of the same guys can’t do them correctly, let alone for a set of ten without wanting to pour battery acid into my eyes.

In this article, my boy Lee gives his case for why push-ups deserve to get some more love.

CategoriesFat Loss Nutrition

3 (Unorthodoxed) Reasons You Aren’t Getting Better at Lifting Heavy Things

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of the one and only Leigh Peele.  Leigh and I have known each other for about six years and in between co-hosting The FitCast together and exchanging numerous emails on Lord of the Rings philosophy we’ve grown to be good friends.

About two years ago Leigh kinda fell off the radar, and inexplicably went into stealth mode.  She and I lost touch, and in that time I moved in with my girlfriend, learned that wearing white past Labor Day is a big no-no, and became a cat owner while Leigh wrote a book.

A really good book.

Little did I know that the reason she “disappeared” was because she was knee deep in research and writing her butt off.

The end result?

Starve Mode: Explaining & Resetting Metabolic Problems That Can Come From Dieting.

Giving full disclosure:  The book was released a few weeks ago and I was a little late in the game and have only just begun reading it, but from what I have read thus far it’s a game changer.

Leigh truly outdid herself, and all the praise she has received from various fitness peeps – Tom Venuto, Jonathan Fass, Jen Sinkler, Nia Shanks, etc – is well deserved.

That said when Leigh extended the offer to write a little something for the site I happily agreed.  Not that she ever really left, but it’s great to have her back.

Enjoy.

3 (Unorthodoxed) Reasons You Aren’t Getting Better At Lifting Heavy Things

Tony is known for many things. Mostly it’s wearing small t-shirts and lifting heavy s**t. [Note from TG:  Excuse me, I wear smedium sized shirts thank you very much.] When he asked me if I had any knowledge I wanted to relay I thought first about those small shirts, but then I thought about you guys – the readers.

From what I understand you are a hodge podge of age and gender who also like to lift heavy s**t. What I am going to talk to you about is a major roadblock I see for people who have this as a goal. I am going to help some of you get better at picking up and putting down heavy things.

The best way for me to help you? Pointing out your flaws of course! Below you will see three problems on your journey to getting stronger. I tried to bypass the standard advice or calling you a wimp.

Problem #1 – Your Aren’t Making The Act Of Picking Up Heavy Things Your #1 Priority

Funny isn’t it? You say it’s your goal. You talk about the importance of your goal, but it is the furthest thing from priority when you look at their actions. Trying to lose fat while lifting heavy things? Not such a good idea. Trying to achieve the record title of endurance in push-ups or performing a couch to 5K trial run?

Yep, this is not action towards your goals.

Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t as if you shouldn’t lift those weights while losing fat, but how long do you want to drag this fat loss thing out for? Pacing your fat loss with intelligent deficits and refeeds – yes. Dragging it out and training in a constant state of barely fed, binge lifts, and weight regain fear – no.

Can you have other training goals while lifting heavy things? Yeah, but maximum strength takes focused energy and effort. So give it some.

Problem #2 – You’re Trying To Get Strong Lifting in a Stunted or Decreased Metabolic State

I am not saying you can’t get strong when you aren’t feeding yourself. I’ve actually been amazed with what I have seen people do who were robbed of solid nutrition. But less surprised when they end up crashing, binging for months, collecting injuries and bone fractures – you know the fun side effects of lifting heavy things and not feeding for it.

You might think, “Isn’t this the same as number one?” No. It isn’t and I will tell you why.

A certain subset of the fitness population will avoid weight regain from fat loss or increase of weight in general at all cost. This happens even with men, but more in “not losing definition” than scale weight alone.

At any point and time we fall on a certain line of being underfed, fed (roughly for our needs) and overfed. Technically we never achieve a perfect balance but you see what I am getting at. When an individual becomes nervous of any weight rebound or truly fueling their metabolic potential, they eat more towards the “underfed” state on a constant basis.

It might not be an intended deficit, but it can lead to a downgraded metabolic activity. Recovery gets robbed, nutrients get robbed and the next thing you know you are praying to find a PR or any sign of progress.

Take home point: If you hadn’t tested your metabolic potential or understood the difference between weight gain and fat gain – get on it.

See what you can do when fed and rested.

Note from TG: For those looking to dig a little deeper, Starve Mode is a fantastic resource for that.

Problem #3 – Not Resting or Going With The Flow

You can only drive yourself so hard before you reap the “benefits” of doing so. Are you the inspiration for the memes on Facebook telling people their legs giving out is “just an excuse to use your arms?” Let me appeal to you on a corkier level on why you should work smarter, not harder.

Apollo Robbins is a master of pickpocketing and misdirection. He gave a fantastic TedTalk recently explaining how we can manipulate attention. I highly encourage you watch it.

What does this have to do with anything? You can steal someone’s wallet by beating them up, ripping their pocket and running for your life (and the cops) or you can misdirect their attention and with minimal physical effort.

And just as fast as you can say abracadabra – the wallet is yours.

Clearly both are illegal and morally corrupt, but both expend two different energies and stress levels to achieve the same goal.

Sure you might reach your goals doing four lifting sessions a week, lots “metabolic work,” restricting carbs, and eating “clean.” But what if you can achieve the same physical and strength goals using strategy, feed timing, and pacing yourself?

The true misdirection in a large part of the fitness community is thinking you have to grind yourself into the ground to get what you want.

Be it concepts like biofeedback or simply enjoying yourself in the gym again, get back to working smarter.

CategoriesUncategorized

Are Speed and Agility Drills Necessary to Get Faster?

“I need my kid to be faster!”

It’s a statement that I hear on an almost daily basis at the facility from numerous parents whenever I ask what their (and their kid’s) goals are moving forward.

My business partner, Eric Cressey, wrote a fantastic blog post last year titled “Make My Kid Faster” so I won’t belabor many of the same points here because he already did most of the work.  And, speaking truthfully, there really isn’t much more I can add to what he already said.

That said, I recently wrote an article for Stack Magazine which tackles the same question – albeit in the context of a young baseball player asking how he can go about lowering his 60 time.

I wanted to make sure that my answer addressed the fact that GETTING STRONGER is a sure-fire way to get faster.  For me, many of the “speed drills” that are popular in today’s youth athletics are nothing but smoke and mirrors designed to look cool and to give the illusion that something is happening.

It all comes down to how well (and efficient) one is at developing force.  If an athlete is weak, it’s going to be hard to develop any force regardless of how many ladder drills are done.

Force production is all about how much of it one is able to generate into the ground.  Sure, there are a multitude of exercises we can implement that will help and will undoubtedly get the ball rolling in the right direction, but if an athlete is weak from the start (has no horsepower), there’s really no reason to get cute programming.

What good is it going to do to tell little Jonny to work on his foot speed if, once he’s out on the playing field, he can’t even change direction without crumbling to the ground like a Jenga game gone awry?

How is a ladder drill going to help someone throw a ball harder? Or run faster?

Now, I’m not throwing all these types of drills under the bus – there is a time and place for them, of course.  But when we’re talking about young athletes and even upwards on up to the high school and collegiate ranks (and yes, even the pros), learning how to squat or how to perform a push-up properly takes more precedence in my eyes than running against a parachute.

But I digress.

In the article linked to below I give some further insight on my thought process on the matter, but I also throw a bone and offer some “speed” drills that I find efficacious for baseball players on improving their 60 time.

And, as always, whenever I link to an article I’ve written on another site, I’d really appreciate if you’d “Like” the article (on the actual site) and share it on your social media if you so choose. Anything that helps spread the word would be great, and if I ever meet you in person you’re totally getting a hug.  Thanks!

—> Tony, Make Me Faster! <—-

CategoriesMotivational

9 Things Fitness Professionals Should Do

Before I get to the meat of today’s post I wanted to remind everyone that this weekend (September 22nd) is the 2nd Annual Cressey Performance Fall Seminar and that spots are still available.  With talks from myself, Eric Cressey, Brian St. Pierre, Greg Robins, Mike Reinold, and Chris Howard it’s sure to be a full plate of top-notch information for personal trainers, strength coaches, chiros, physical therapists, fitness enthusiasts, and Star Wars geeks alike.

There’s no point in sugar coating anything:  my presentation will definitely include a few Star Wars references. It’s part of my charm.

In any case, for a full itinerary as well as sign-up information you can click THIS link.

I hope you see you there!

Last week on my Twitter feed I linked to an article written by CP coach Greg Robins titled 22 Things Fitness Professionals SHOULD Do,  and I liked it so much I decided to “steal” his idea and write my treatise on the subject.

Some things will mirror what Greg already stated, but I’m going to add a few of my own grains of wisdom into the mix too. To that end here are nine of them, because eight is lame and ten is what everyone else does.

1. Practice What You Preach:  Nothing grinds my gears more than someone who’s a hypocrite.  Well, anything related to Justin Bieber tops the list, but hypocrites are a close second.

I can honestly say that I’ve never programmed an exercise or protocol that I haven’t tried myself.  Likewise, as a strength coach I think it’s important that I actually, you know, lift weights.

Sadly I know of some fitness professionals – some of which have written national bestsellers – who don’t even follow the same advice they regurgitate.

And this relates to everything:  yoga, pilates, cleanse diets, Shake Weights, you name it.

Integrity is kind of a big deal in my book.  Success will come and go, but integrity is something that shouldn’t have a price tag.

2. Don’t Train Clients How YOU Want to Train:  Powerlifters like to lift heavy things.  Olympic lifters like to lift heavy things quickly. Bodybuilders like to have freakishly orange skin. Yogis like yoga.  And Prancercisers like to, well, I don’t know what the hell it is they like to do, I’m speechless:

The point is – and this is something I had to battle early on in my career – people like what they like, and it’s human nature to want to gravitate towards our own personal preferences and biases when helping out others.

Try really hard not to do this.

You should cater someone’s program to THEIR goals and and THEIR needs; not yours.  As weird as it may be, not everyone wants to deadlift a mack truck.

3. Be Professional:  Stealing right from Greg’s original post: Basically, show up on time, be prepared, act like an adult, make ethical decisions, and treat what you do like a career, not a hobby. If it is a hobby, go find a real job.

Also, on an aside, don’t be that guy who posts blatant shirtless pics of yourself all over the internet (especially your personal website). We get it: you have a six pack.  It’s still kind of douchey.

4. Educate: My degree is actually in Health Education, and I was thiiiis close to becoming a high-school health teacher.  I decided I’d rather spend my days in a gym rather than talking about cell-mediated immunity in a classroom (and have to wear a tie everyday).

Although when you think about it, in many ways, as trainers and coaches, we’re still doing a fair bit of teaching.  I’m constantly answering questions, sending articles to clients, and coaching them on how not to shit a spleen when they perform heavy back squats.

Stop being solely a rep counter and be more proactive with your clients!  Teach them!

5.  Know Your Limits:  I’m still dumbfounded whenever I hear stories of personal trainers diagnosing things like shoulder impingement, low back dysfunction, and everything in between.

The internet has made information readily available, but just because you read Wikipedia doesn’t mean you know what you’re talking about.  Trainers and coaches DO NOT diagnose ANYTHING.  And you sure as shit better not be treating anyone, which in this context pertains to manual therapy.

Corrective exercise is one thing, and I think it’s important for fitness professionals to be “comfortable” in that regard. But even then, it’s important to know (and understand) your limitations as well as scope of practice.

Which parlays into the next point……

6.  Establish Networks: I’m very lucky in that Cressey Performance has an extensive list of PTs, chiros, physicians, other trainers, and the like whom we can refer clients to if or when needed.

If someone is in pain, refer out.

For a better idea of how to go about doing that, read THIS post by Dean Somerset.

7. Have an Open Mind: It’s important to have the ability to adapt, and it’s also important to understand that there’s more than one way to do anything.

Sure, I have my own biases…….but I also like to think that I have an open mind and that I’m capable of trying new things. While it’s a right fit for some, I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of people who pigeonhole themselves into only using kettlebells or only using the TRX or only doing yoga.

They all have their benefits (and drawbacks), and I believe as fitness professionals we’d be remiss not to take advantage of everything at our fingertips.

I think it’s important to have a general philosophy which will serve as the main umbrella of your core beliefs, but just as important is having an open mind to other trains of thought.

8.  Be Comfortable With Saying “I Don’t Know:” You can’t know everything, and if you’d did you’d be Gandalf.

It’s okay not to know the answer to everything, and it’s okay to say “I don’t know” if a client asks you something.  At best you tell them you’ll look into it and hopefully have an answer soon (Hint hint: this is where having a network comes in handy), and at worst you end up causing harm to someone because your ego got in the way.

9. Don’t Treat Your Clients Like a Patient: I call this the “Delicate Flower” syndrome, and it’s something that pervades the industry, especially when working with clients coming off an injury (or who are de-conditioned)

Of course this isn’t to say that you should go all CrossFit and throw them under the bus; at the end of the day it’s your job to implement appropriate progressions.

But at the same time, even if you are dealing with someone with a unique injury history or who is a complete newbie, give them a training effect!

No one thinks working on glute activation for 30 minutes is fun.

Okay, I could easily keep going, but it’s time to train.  Do any of you have any insights on the matter or some sage advice to share?  I’d love to hear them in the comments section.

CategoriesMotivational

Who Says You Can’t Get After It at 80?

Back in April one of our long standing clients approached me and asked if I’d be willing to work with his dad who, the year prior, had some health issues go down and was looking to give this whole weight-training thing a try.

Greg (the son) had been trying to convince his dad for a while to come to the facility and check it out because he knew in the grand scheme of things it would be beneficial for him.

Finally, after enough convincing Bill relented and finally made a promise to stop by.

To his credit, Bill, was a whipper snapper from the start.  It’s not as if he was one of those guys who sat at home and watched re-runs of John Wayne movies and peered out the window to make sure no medling kids were walking on his lawn

A bit of a cliche stereotype and makes Bill sound like he’s from an old Scooby-Doo cartoon, but I couldn’t resist.

Nope. When I first sat down to chat with him and discuss his goals and concerns he came across as someone who’s very active considering his health background.  There was just a slight intimidation factor, and maybe a smidgeon of doubt that this whole “picking stuff up and putting it back down” rigamarole was a good fit for an 80 year old with absolutely no experience and background.

I’m not going sing about rainbows or gloss over the details.  Upon starting Bill couldn’t perform much, and as I alluded to above he had a slight “say what now?  You want me to do what?” attitude.

When I told him that soon he’d be crushing deadlifts and push-ups like no ones business he looked at me as if I just asked him to climb Mt. Everest.  Blindfolded.  In flip-flops.

I think his exact response was “MUhhaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Yeah, right.  And next I’m going to break Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak record!”

It took us five months of hard work, progressions, and more importantly……consistency, but dammit, Bill’s come a long ways.

Here he is hitting up some kettlebell deadlifts with some elevated push-ups (from the 3rd pin) – With a bonus double-bicep pose at the end!

Mind you, when we first started he had issues simply hip hinging to a wall and performing push-ups from the 15th pin.

Now, I’m pretty sure he can arm wrestle a grizzly bear if I asked him to.

But in all seriousness, here are some points to consider:

1.  At the start it was all about showing Bill success.  I didn’t want him to feel overwhelmed or that I was throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him. To that end it was all about using the proper progressions with him.  Take hip hinging for example:

We started with a simple glute bridge to get him to learn what it feels like to fire those bad boys, and to groove a proper hip hinge pattern.

From there we went as follows:

Bodyweight hip thrust (upper back on a bench, feet on the floor), wall taps (pushing hips back into the wall, increasing the distance between him and the wall as he progressed), Pull-Throughs, elevated KB Sumo deadlifts, and then working our way closer to the floor (which is what the video showed.  And now, next week, he’ll be playing around with some trap bar deadlifts.

Progressions, Progressions, Progressions

And maybe to a broader point, by doing everything in that context, he didn’t feel like I was babying him.  Each week (or month) I challenged him, but not to the point where he felt like he couldn’t do it.

2.  To help ease the collective egos of the cardio crowd, yes, we did incorporate traditional cardio.  But that was also because that was a goal of his.

Even still, I did convince him, when the time was right, that doing more circuit based or finisher type exercises would help too.  In that sense it wasn’t long before he was doing circuits like this:

A1.  1-Arm DB Farmer Carry 30 yds/arm
A2.  Prowler Push – on turf 30 yds
A3.  Side Plank x15s/side

2-4 rounds, with 90-120s rest in between.

Heart rate was elevated and we were able to work on other “stuff” that he needed to work on; ie core stability, grip strength, single leg strength, conditioning, etc.

And wouldn’t you know it:  he actually asks for the Prowler now!  I’ve created a monster!

Basically we didn’t use his age as an excuse.  He’s 80. No big deal…..;o)

I don’t know:  I guess the only reason(s) I posted this today was because I felt it was pretty cool and that I hoped it serves as a little motivation for someone out there.

Don’t make excuses.  Get it done.