CategoriesMotivational personal training

Talent Matters

I was chatting with one of our high-school athletes yesterday when I asked how his (baseball) season had been going so far. We had a miserable winter here in Massachusetts and for a lot of our athletes they’re still practicing indoors.

This athlete, however, goes to a school that had the opportunity of traveling down to Florida recently so they were able to get their cleats dirty and see some green grass for a change.

“We played okay,” he said. “Our team, though, is having a hard time. We have a bunch of guys who just don’t “get it” and have hard time with the team concept.”

“How so?,” I asked.

He then went on to tell me how one teammate, during a game, in the dugout, took out his phone and started using Facetime.

My jaw dropped.

He then told another story where, with the team back up North, another teammate decided he was too cold to cheer and support the rest of the guys and took off for an inning to go hang out in his car to warm-up.

Again, I was flabbergasted.

If I or any of my teammates even thought about doing something like that back when I played in high school and college we would have at best been taken out of the game and suspended, or at worst been given a soap blanket party Full Metal Jacket style.

It just wouldn’t have happened.

Sadly, in both scenarios above, each athlete is headed to a respectable Division I program and I suspect each one feels they’re above the rules and/or have an overwhelming sense of entitlement.

It’s a case where both feel their talent is enough to be successful….despite the woeful lack of respect and social filter.

Here’s another example.

A good friend of mine opened a gym in downtown Boston a few months ago. It’s his dream, it’s kicking his ass, but he’s loving every second of it. I finally made it down there earlier this week to check it out and to get a quick lift in.

In between sets he told me how, a few weeks prior, he was contacted by a local organization asking if he’d be willing to allow a group of their personal training students to stop by and observe for a few hours.

Everything was set up so that the students would come by and watch as he and one of his other coaches were training clients. As my buddy noted, “something like 10-12 students came in, all in their early 20s, and they were pretty obnoxious and loud which pissed me off because it was distracting. All but one were talking to one another, texting, and not really paying attention.”

At the end, the group coordinator wrangled all of them together for the opportunity to ask my friend any questions they may have had.

“How do you make money?”

“How do I start my own gym?’

“Blah blah blah…How do I not do any of the work, but have what you have?

I told him that if I were in his shoes at that point I would have 1) probably Sparta kicked one of them in the chest and 2) picked someone randomly to show me and the entire group how to coach someone through a squat pattern.

My guess is that the result would have been worse than the infamous Miss South Carolina “Where is America on the Map” answer…..

Maybe I’m coming across as nothing more than an old, ornery strength coach who’s next order of business is to shake my fist and yell at people to get of my damn lawn.

I don’t know.

I’d like to think I’m just shelling out a dose of tough love and perspective.

A few weekends ago I was at my alma mater (SUNY Cortland, in central New York) as part of the Annual Strength & Conditioning Symposium. At the end of the day all the presenters were brought to the front of the room as part of a Q&A panel.

Giving credit where it’s due: I was impressed with the attendees, and praised everyone who attended for being more proactive in their learning and continuing education. The fact that they were there and chose to do so, on a Saturday, spoke volumes.

One theme kept popping up though, subtly, time and time again as students were asking their questions. Something to the effect of:

“How did you become so successful?”

“What do I need to do to get to where you’re at in your career?”

Opposite of the examples above – with the baseball players – I do feel the students in this case knew that “putting in the work” was part of the equation and that none of them had illusions of landing a gig which them training professional athletes on Day #1. All because they got an A- in Kinesiology or because they read SuperTraining once.

Many asked about blogs and websites and Social Media. All of which are pertinent, important questions to ask. We live in an ever growing digital age now, and all of those things matter and play a role – to a lesser or higher degree, depending on the person – in the development and growth of one’s fitness career.

But here’s the thing, and it’s something that Nick Tumminello stressed…..

Talent Still Matters

Or maybe a better way to put it: BUILDING talent matters.

It’s not the only thing that matters, of course. But it’s still pretty damn important. You just don’t want to be an uppity, entitled, brat with no work ethic like the examples above.

Far too often – at least nowadays – new trainers and coaches place too much weight on how many Twitter followers they have, YouTube views a certain video gets1, or how many “Likes” a certain article gets.

Some even brag about how many books they’ve read. Which is awesome.

But that doesn’t mean anything.

That’s like me bragging about how I read The Science of Hitting by Ted Williams 47 times cover to cover.

Unless I actually go out and do it, hit a baseball hundreds of times a day, day after day after day, for years on end, to the point where my hands start bleeding, I’ll never come close to sniffing Ted Williams’ ability……much less the Mendoza Line.

Ted Williams had talent, but he also worked his tail off.

You can read about the intricacies of breaking down the deadlift all you want, but unless you actually 1) deadlift yourself 2) deadlift appreciable weight 3) and coach other people through it, I don’t give a shit how many books you read.

It takes TALENT (and hard work) to become a good coach.

It takes TALENT (and hard work) to become a good writer.

It takes TALENT (and hard work) to hit a baseball.

It takes TALENT (and hard work) to get through an entire season of Downton Abbey. Trust me, I’ve tried.

Talent doesn’t happen without work ethic. The two go hand in hand.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Prone Sphinx

If you were talking to twelve year old Tony, the Prone Sphinx sounds like some sweet WWF Wrestling move that Hulk Hogan or Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka would perform on one of their opponents during WrestleMania.

Alas, I’m not twelve, and don’t watch WrestleMania on Mondays anymore, so in this context it refers to the mythical creature that has the head of a human and the body of a lion. You know, real life.=

Kidding aside, the Prone Sphinx is the name of an exercise I feel has a lot of merit and usefulness.

Who Did I Steal It From: Dr. Mark Cheng in his Prehab=Rehab 101 DVD.

What Does It Do: It’s an awesome drill that helps to improve scapular stability in addition to core stability, and with certain progressions works on t-spine mobility and pectoral length.

Key Coaching Cues: Due to the position of the exercise you’d have to clear someone of extension-based back pain before implementing it, but assuming there’s no issues some things to consider:

1. It’s important to reset the scapulae prior to each rep. This ensures that no shrugging occurs and that the shoulders are packed.

2. The non-moving side must remain packed throughout!

3. Don’t rush through the progressions. This drill is a lot harder than it looks.

4. Probably best used as part of an extended warm-up or as a filler exercise for most people. But I could see this exercise being used as a “main movement” for some.

Prone Sphinx

 

CategoriesNutrition

How to Conquer Your Trigger Foods

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Registered Dietician and nutrition coach, Georgie Fear. I first “met” Georgie a few years ago when she was a coach for Precision Nutrition, and immediately found her take and approach to nutrition as refreshing and non-dogmatic.

Her new book, Lean Habits For Lifelong Weight Loss, was just released today.

What is a trigger food?

Most people would say that “trigger foods” are foods that they have trouble eating a reasonable portion of. Most commonly, it’s sweets like cookies or chocolate, and sometimes salty, crunchy snacks like potato chips or tortilla chips. If you feel like you have ever lost control while eating and consumed an unreasonable amount, you’re not alone, and you’re not messed up. The unpleasant experience, however, would make any level-headed person think “Gosh, I don’t want to do that again” and look for a way to prevent it.

It’s common to label a food that was involved in an incident such as this as a trigger food, and to be wary of it. If you’ve been bitten by a dog, it’s also normal to be a bit tentative to pet dogs afterward!

When a client refers to something as a “trigger food”, I always want to hear more. Further discussion usually reveals not just one unpleasant interaction, but a rocky ongoing relationship, where the food is like an on-again-off-again romance. They love the taste of the food, but repeatedly buy it, overeat it, and swear it off for a while.

After a while, they inevitably buy it again (either hoping it will end differently this time, or already accepting that overeating it is the plan) and go through the cycle again.

Break The Cycle: 3 parts

Three things will help you turn a trigger food into just a food you like. First, let’s clarify who’s in charge here. You. Not the food.

Is it hard to stop eating that food after one serving? Heck yeah, I will never say it is or should be easy. But difficulty need not be confused with impossibility.

You may have felt like you lost control in the past, but that doesn’t mean you did. The food did not jump in your mouth. I realize it can be very difficult to manage strong impulses, but you are never without control. You always have the option to not take another bite. With help and practice, I know you can do this.

Second: Forbidding specific foods rigidly leads to increased cravings for that food1,2.

Most people who do find peace with all foods only are able to do it after they start eating previously-taboo food in a planned, enjoyed, and allowed way. Associating guilt with a particular food, on the other hand, has been found to predict continued weight gain and feelings of helplessness around that food item3.

That doesn’t mean you have to eat your most willpower-challenging dessert with every meal, or every day, but planning to eat it at least every now and then and enjoy it mindfully is important.

Note from TG: ice-cream (and carrot cake).

Sometimes, people wonder if they have a physical addiction to that particular food, food in general, or sugar. Most contemplate that maybe, like an alcoholic, they would be best off abstaining.

Rest assured, you have options besides a.) keep the cycle going and b.) kiss the food goodbye for good. Here’s how you can choose c.) turn it into just another food that you can choose to eat or not, in whatever portion you choose.

Third: Start collecting experiences where you successfully eat your former trigger foods in a way that leaves you feeling good. Every time you prove to yourself that eating this food does not automatically result in an overeating experience, you’ll gain more confidence.

I know it can be a daunting or even frightening task to deliberately eat a food you have previously struggled with managing, so here are tips on ensuring a good experience.

Remember that your eating behaviors are significantly impacted by your expectations, including how strongly you believe you will lose control when eating4.

If you expect to lose control and be unable to stop after one cookie, you are more likely to have that happen. If you expect that once you eat your chosen portion of frozen yogurt, you’ll head to the park with your spouse for a walk, you have a better chance of making that happen.

Instead, think in small steps, and realize that not every situation is equally triggering, so you can start with easier scenarios. The physical environment, company, time of day, even the brightness of the lighting and whether it’s the weekend or not can impact how much you eat5.

It’s not about the food itself.

Let’s say potato chips have been a “trigger food” for you before (see what I did there, past tense because you’re leaving it behind and not believing in trigger foods anymore). It’s incredibly tough to eat a single portion of chips if you are stuck in a car, as the passenger, on a 12 hour drive across the midwest with nothing to do and a 2 pounds bag of Lays in your lap. That’s a perfect storm of challenge-increasing factors.

But, let’s say it’s 5 am, and you stop at a convenience store, half asleep, on your way to work. You have a slightly queasy “got up too early” stomach, and someone offers you a bag of potato chips with your coffee. They aren’t your favorite flavor. And they’re expired. You might not want ANY chips in those circumstances, and if you did get a single serving bag and eat it, the odds of driving back to the store in a chip-possessed maniacal fashion to buy and eat more are (I’m guessing here) slim.

To use an even MORE over the top illustration, if you were eating the food you used to think of as trigger food and the phone rang and your mother was in the hospital and you needed to come right now, would you be able to stop eating the food?

Gosh I hope so.

Everyone is different, but in general, eating excessive portions is harder to resist if we are home, alone, emotional, have a large quantity of the food in front of us, it’s later in the day, it’s a weekend, we have nowhere to go, and are stressed or upset5–7.

Ladies, throw in PMS. When you are working on reclaiming control over a food, you want as few of these factors increasing the challenge as possible. Make it as easy as you can for yourself to succeed! That means you may want to have company, be outside the house, only have immediate access to a single serving, on a day you’re feeling pretty good, and know after you have your treat you’ll be doing something else.

Start at the maximally supported situation you can think of, and get a few exposures to that food with success. Prove to yourself it is possible.

A typical one my clients use is going out with a friend or significant other to buy one single portion of the food, and then having something else planned to do. Popping gum in your mouth can help even more to move on from the taste.

Then, consider if you want to move along the spectrum and open up the flexibility of your eating that food. There’s no end point you “have to” or “should” reach. If you find it’s easy to avoid overeating certain foods by not keeping them in your house, or by only buying single serve portions – great! Use that knowledge to help yourself succeed.

Many people find that they quickly build confidence and soon don’t need the company with them or can bring the food home and be totally fine with it. Awesome!!

It’s also okay to decide to not bring a food home for the long term if it’s too difficult. There is no “I can keep every junk food imaginable in my house and resist it” merit badge.

If you choose to make certain foods “out of the house” foods, it’s not because you “can’t” but because it’s easier to eat it in the manner you enjoy if you choose to have it in a different setting. That’s not making a rule, it’s making a wise choice.

My husband Roland and I don’t keep cookies at home, because if we want a cookie, it’s easiest for us to eat one cookie if we go buy one cookie. Having cookies around here just makes it an added willpower challenge to not eat them in excess. Not having them around makes it easy to not even think of them.

The relationship you have with a particular food, like so many other things in your life, is one you can choose and make reality. You might choose to set some boundaries, and reserve particular foods for certain circumstances, or eventually feel at ease having any food at any time in any scenario. There is no right or wrong. 

For more help in attaining a healthy relationship with food and reaching your leanness goals without ever dieting again, pick up my book Lean Habits for Lifelong Weight Loss and join my free Facebook Group for support. You can also find my latest articles over at AskGeorgie.com.

About the Author

Georgie Fear is a registered dietitian and professional nutrition coach and the author of Lean Habits for Lifelong Weight Loss.

One habit at a time, she teaches clients around the world how to get lean and live better lives through improving their food habits, without suffering or calorie counting.

In her coaching, Georgie draws from her research expertise in appetite regulation and human behavior change to ensure clients are not only well fed physically, but supported emotionally and given autonomy throughout their journey.

She adores teaching, has an analogy for almost everything, and loves to help her clients fall in love with themselves. While she has worked with NCAA teams and Olympic athletes, her favorite type of clients are normal everyday people who are sick of dieting and want to an enjoyable, healthy relationship with food.

Works Cited:

  1. Massey A, Hill AJ. Dieting and food craving. A descriptive, quasi-prospective study. Appetite. 2012;58(3):781-785. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2012.01.020.
  2. Meule A, Westenhöfer J, Kübler A. Food cravings mediate the relationship between rigid, but not flexible control of eating behavior and dieting success. Appetite. 2011;57(3):582-584. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2011.07.013.
  3. Kuijer RG, Boyce J a. Chocolate cake. Guilt or celebration? Associations with healthy eating attitudes, perceived behavioural control, intentions and weight-loss. Appetite. 2014;74:48-54. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2013.11.013.
  4. Fitzsimmons-Craft EE, Keatts DA, Bardone-Cone AM. Eating Expectancies in Relation to Eating Disorder Recovery. Cognit Ther Res. 2013;37(5):1041-1047. doi:10.1007/s10608-013-9522-7.
  5. Stroebele N, De Castro JM. Effect of ambience on food intake and food choice. Nutrition. 2004;20(9):821-838. doi:10.1016/j.nut.2004.05.012.
  6. Rolls BJ, Morris EL, Roe LS. Portion size of food affects energy intake in normal-weight and overweight men and women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002;76(6):1207-1213. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/76/6/1207.short. Accessed April 4, 2015.
  7. Crowther JH, Sanftner J, Bonifazi DZ, Shepherd KL. The role of daily hassles in binge eating. Int J Eat Disord. 2001;29(4):449-454. doi:10.1002/eat.1041.
CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Books I’m Reading, Places I’m Speaking, and Stuff I’ve Gotten For Free (That I Like!)

No need to give a witty introduction or quip. The title of today’s post pretty much sums it up.

I’m a huge fan of Jon Ronson (^^ this guy, in case you’re wondering). I first heard of him a few years ago while watching The Daily Show as he was making the rounds promoting is then new book, The Psychopath Test.

It was an amazing book that I devoured within days of purchasing it. It helped that I started reading it the day Lisa and I moved in together and I was stuck in our apartment waiting for the cable company to show up. I had nothing to do but read.

In the few years since I’ve read most of his books, and I’m always anticipating the release of his next deluge into the abyss of human behavior and how messed up it can be.

His latest, released last week, So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, is nothing short of extraordinary.

After experiencing a case of identity theft (on Twitter) and confronting the people who pretended to be him, out of curiosity Jon decided to invite the culprits to a friendly chat and film the interaction. In his mind, maybe he’d get an interesting story out of it.

He posted the video on YouTube and was surprised at the public reaction. Commentors were saying the most vulgar things possible towards the “fake Jon Ronson’s”, and some even went out of their way to make death threats.

The experience piqued Jon’s interests, and he decided to seek out other casualties of public shaming. People like Justine Sacco, that of the now infamous “AIDS Tweet”

This woman has been through HELL in the past two years. Losing her job, forced into exile, being called every name possible, putting up with death threats, stuff I can’t even begin to imagine….all because of a Tweet – which, admittedly, shows a drastic lack of social filter, joke or not – she sent within seconds before she hopped on a plane and went to sleep.

When she awoke, her life was forever changed.

Or Jonah Lehrer, a New York Times best-selling author who, a few years ago, was caught in the middle of a self-plagiarism scandal and has been struggling to recover ever since.

And many more examples.

It really is a thrilling read into human behavior and the “psyche” behind social media and how it’s altered the instantaneous stream of conscious landscape we all now live in.

Some Other Books to Check Out (Non-Fitness Related)

An Appetite for Wonder – Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins is no rookie when it comes to controversy – especially with regards to spiritualism, God, and the never ending debate over creationism vs. evolution.

He’s a scientist, and I respect that.

Five Came Back – Mark Harris

Written by one of my favorite entertainment/movie/tv columnists, Mark Harris, this book combines two of my favorite subjects to read about: movies and World War II.

The only way this book could have been more “Tony” is if he had included references to He-Man, GI Joe, and chocolate covered pretzels.

Hint: I love chocolate covered pretzels.

Other Books to Check Out (Fitness Related)

The Science of Lifting & The Art of Lifting – Greg Nuckols

All I have to say about these two books is: holy shit-balls.

I’m not getting ANY affiliate sales from saying this, so you can pipe down guy who’s gonna email me and say “you’re only saying what you’re saying because you’re getting a little kick-back.”

Nope.

I’m saying what I’m saying because 1) I think both of these books are game-changers 2) Greg Nuckols deserves all the kudos and accolades he’s been receiving for writing these bad boys and 3) he has an epic beard.

Stuff I’m Wearing (Cause I’m So Fancy)

One of the cool things about the continued growth of this website is the free stuff that’s often sent my way.

It’s not uncommon to receive several emails weekly from people asking me if I’d be interested in trying out their new product – usually a supplement or fitness gadget or some kind of apparel. I don’t always accept, but if something sounds up my alley I’ll bite.

Still waiting for Rolex to contact me, though.

Anyhoo, recently I’ve gotten a slew of new companies sending me their apparel to try and I wanted to share some of them with my readers because I know many of you reading are always looking for comfortable, stylish, and/or cool things to wear or workout in.

FYI: I am NOT receiving any kick-back or affiliate money for pointing you in the direction of the following companies.

Vuori Clothing

The people from Vuori contacted me asking if I’d like to peruse their line, and if there’s something that caught my eye if they could send it to me to try (and keep).

Sheepishly, I wrote back saying I really liked the look of their Movement Hoodie, and that I’d understand if they’d prefer not to send it to me since it was their highest priced item.

“What an a-hole this Gentilcore guy is” is what I assumed they were muttering to themselves back in their office. “This guy has a lot of nerve.”

To my surprise, they sent it. Sweet! Along with a few of their t-shirts (Crest Tee, and Tuvalu Tee).

I’ve been wearing the hoodie everyday since I got it, and everyone at the facility has been sweating it. Too, the t-shirts are super comfy and more importantly make my biceps looks extra bicepy.

You can tell they put a lot of pride in the material they choose to use, and all I have to say is everything feels great to wear.

Be sure to check them out

Gym Reapers

These shirts are badass. Nuff said.

Granted Lisa’s not a fan of the evil skull head, but I think it’s awesome.  While I can’t back it up, I’m pretty sure your squat will increase by at least 50 lbs if you wear this shirt during your next training session.

It’s science.

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

Mark Fisher Fitness Motivate and Movement Lab

I don’t which makes me more excited: the fact I was invited to go speak at Mark Fisher Fitness, or the fact that, if I wanted, I could wear a cape during my presentation while simultaneously speak into a microphone shaped like a dildo.

And no one would bat an eye.

The Fitness Summit

This is growing to be one of the “go to” fitness events every year. I was fortunate enough to be invited to speak last year, and had an amazing time. I wrote about my experience HERE.

The vibe is much more informal and intimate (<— in a non-creepy way) compared to other large fitness events, but that’s also what makes The Fitness Summit so unique.

I’ve been invited back again this year and the line-up looks sick. I know registration has officially been closed for a few weeks now, but there is an email address you can write to about any possible openings.

If you can make it, do it!

New England Health & Racquet Sports Club Association Spring Conference

This one isn’t until May 13th, but I was given the green light to help spread the word. I’m (again) very honored to have the opportunity to be chosen to speak at this year’s event.

This will be my first time attending this conference and I know it’s kind of a big deal. Which is to say I’ve been repeating to myself over and over and over again, “No Tony, it is not okay to swear. Even a little. No Tony, it is not okay to swear. Even a little. No Tony………”

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Second List This Week Because Why Not?

I know I posted one of these earlier this week, sorry. Fridays are the days I typically slap this stuff up on my site and I wanted to try to get back on track.

Plus, it’s my website. So there. Deal with it.  And, here’s a picture of a cute kitty.

Did You Hear High Performance Handbook Is On Sale? – Eric Cressey

;o)

Last chance to get HPH at $50 off the regular price. Sale ends Saturday (4/4)

I know the internet is tired of hearing from Eric Cressey this week, but there’s a reason why so many people have been singing his praises. He’s written a program that works.

It’s never a bad thing to have one of the best strength coaches around guiding you through four months programming – includes pre-assessment to cater the program to your needs and goals in addition to over 200+ video demonstrations with commentary (that’s like two hours of content right there).

Rep 29: Mark Rippetoe Asks “Are Physical Therapists Really Frauds?” – Scotty Butcher

About a year ago (maybe a tad longer), strength coach Mark Rippetoe wrote a scathing article on T-Nation bemoaning the efficacy of physical therapy. I can’t say I agreed 100% with his commentary, but I also can’t say I wasn’t nodding my head in agreement for most of it either.

I felt this article by Scotty Butcher was an excellent introspection.

You Don’t Have To Do This – Greg Robins

Nice to see Greg back to writing on his site. I hope he continues to do more of it.

There is no honor in nay-saying the person who chooses to run for exercise, or to play hoops, or to skip “leg-day”, just because you are “power-lifting” or identify with some other STRENGTH SPORT. In reality, these people are enjoying their training approach, they are reaching their goals, and in most scenarios they are happy, healthy and look great by the only measure that matters; their own. An EliteFTS t-shirt and a pair of Converse All-Stars doesn’t make you better than anyone. Doing deadlifts is in no way superior to other productive forms of resistance training if you aren’t invested in the growing pains of learning how to do it well.

CategoriesFemale Training Motivational

Female Fitness Marketing: Why Performance Matters

I like training women. I think it’s easier in many ways.

Women listen.2

Women tend to be more patient. In the gym that is. Lets not get carried away here….LOL.

They’re patient in that they’re less likely to add 50 lbs to the barbell when I’m not looking and performing a set with atrocious technique.

Women tend to take constructive criticism more lightly and won’t interpret it as me judging them.

And women tend to have less ego compared to their male counterparts.

And less BO.

These are all loose observations, of course, and by no means should be taken as concrete. Some of my best clients have been men; but I have found throughout the years, as a whole, women tend to be easier to coach.

I know many of my fellow Y-chromosome’d colleagues would agree – Bret Contreras, John Gaglione, Mike Robertson, to name a few.

I have to assume my female coaching friends will agree?

We’ve seen a shift in mindset with women within the last decade when it comes to lifting weights, and more to the point, strength training. I’d be remiss not to give a tip of the hat to CrossFit for leading the charge.

Nothing (so long as I can remember) can be attributed to the tsunami of interest and enthusiasm of people getting excited to lift weights than CrossFit – men and women both. But mostly women.

Tracy Anderson and the Thigh Master can suck it!

Before I get flak for going soft on CrossFit- there’s still much of it that drives me batshit crazy. Funnily enough, the quality of CrossFit is getting better. More and more boxes are recognizing the importance of assessments, ramping people properly (regressions and progressions), having some semblance of periodization/programming, and understanding that not everyone can walk in on Day #1 and perform 100 reps of wall balls, box jumps, and 400m sprints……on their hands.

What’s funny about it is I hear all these CrossFit coaches waxing poetic about how much better CrossFit is now, and how it’s “changing.”

Exactly!

Because most of the boxes who are quote on quote “doing it well” aren’t doing CrossFit anymore. They’re, you know, having their clients perform smart, progressive, sensible programming without all the high-rep/WOD bologna that makes a small part of my soul die.

But that’s neither here nor there, way off-topic, and something I don’t want to get into at this point. Besides, I’m hangry right now and feel like I may cut someone.

But even with the shift of more and more women turning their backs to the elliptical trainer and gravitating towards the iron, there’s still a massive gap to bridge between what the mainstream media is relaying to women and what people like myself are trying to do.

Not a week goes by where I don’t shake my head in disbelief or come close to punching a wall from something I read or watch from the mainstream media on the topic of women and fitness.

All I have to do is walk through my local CVS and be slapped in the face with magazine cover after magazine cover telling the reader how to “lose 10 lbs in 1 month,” or how to “tone this” get a “sleek that,” all while following a detox diet that has you drinking nothing but grapefruit juice and unicorn tears for 47 days.

Which is all BS because 1) everyone knows unicorn tears are only effective after 49 days and 2) each magazine cover is plastered with a celebrity who’s been photoshopped beyond recognition and to a point that’s unattainable or with a model or figure competitor who spent the last three months dieting and prepping to look that way for ONE day.

Check out THIS post by Kelsey Reed on more of the shadiness behind the scenes with fitness marketing towards women.

And none of this speaks to the eye wash that I constantly come across on shows like Dr. Oz, Ellen, and The Biggest Loser.

It’s frustrating at times, if not 100% nauseating.

Which is why I love working with women. I love “de-programming” them (for lack of a better term) and helping them to pull the blanket from over the eyes.

In a lot of ways it’s similar to that new show on Netflix, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Kimmy’s been trapped in a Dooms-Day bunker for 15 years and is finally released into the “real world.” She’s been programmed to think one thing (many things, actually), only to find out that everything she knew was wrong. Or, slightly off.

She’s still living in the 90s with an out dated mentality about the world and how it now operates.

NOTE: the show is hilarious. Co-created by Tina Fey, so if you like that type of humor this show will be right up your alley.

I find that many (not all) women fall in line with Kimmy.

They’ve been told that lifting weights will make them bulky, that if they’re going to indulge, light weight (high reps) is the best way to go, and that to get toned and lean (buzz words!) they should perform copious amounts of cardio. And eat 1200 kcals per day.

I’m not going to begrudge someone’s goals. If “toned” and “lean” is what they’re after….cool. Lets do it!

But Lets Focus On Performance

Whenever I start working with a new female client – particularly if she’s not a competitive athlete – I always try to refrain from buzz words like toned, lean, etc.

I’ll let them use those words, and I’ll play along, but I’m almost always going to entice them to go down a path they thought they’d never go down. Similar to Alice going down the rabbit hole. Except with less opium involved.

Rather than have them focus on more superfluous goals like losing 10 lbs (it’s always 10 lbs) or more aesthetic goals like how their arms look in a certain dress….I’ll try to get them to buy into more of the performance side of things.

Things like:

1. Finally being able to perform an un-assisted, full ROM, chin-up.

2. Performing 10 clean push-ups. Not girl push-ups. I hate that term. Push-ups.

3. Deadlifting their bodyweight for reps. Deadlifting 1.5 bodyweight for reps. Hell, why not go for 2x bodyweight?

At first there may be a little push back. “Tony, I don’t care about my deadlift.” It’s to be expected. But I always say, “give me 60 days.”

“Do what I tell you to do for 60 days, and we’ll re-assess things.”

It’s amazing what happens after only a handful of weeks.

More often than not they find they’re doing things they never thought they’d be able to do. What was a challenging weight two weeks ago is now easy. Okay Tony, deadlifts aren’t so bad after all.

“OMG, I can do a chin-up!”

 

Something clicks or switches on, and many become addicted to pushing themselves in the gym. There’s a fire that’s ignited.

What’s more, many find that those goals they’ve been working so hard to achieve – toned arms, losing that 10 lbs – just kinda, happen. On it’s own.

It’s magical. Sans the Unicorns.

Women can lift weights. They should lift weights. And while many people are under the assumption that Eric Cressey’s High Performance Handbook is geared toward athletes or only men…they couldn’t be more wrong.

I’ve seen many women follow this program at Cressey Sports Performance with amazing results. And for those who feel a bit skeptical about following a program completely off the internet, check out these results from Stacey R, 38 (she said I could use her age!) from New Jersey.

Stacey Before

Stacey After

Stacey came to SUNY Cortland last weekend to listen to me speak. A day later she sent me an email thanking me not only for the workshop, but for being someone who tries to empower and encourage women to lift weights.

She mentioned that she had always been into fitness but had never focused on a structured strength training program. She decided to give Eric’s HPH a try because she wanted to get stronger, and to help with her recreational volleyball.

It’s obvious Stacey was in good shape prior to starting the program. But you can clearly see she made some amazing progress. She noted that, despite putting on 8-10 lbs, she was still able to maintain the same level of body-fat.

She also added…

My overall game, vertical and responsiveness have improved, I’ve found an absolute passion that’s helped me through some difficult personal stuff in recent years, and I’m challenging myself to go completely out of my comfort zone by shooting for a figure competition in June…which is conceptually ridiculous for me on multiple levels, but is proving to be a great focal point.

Now, this certainly doesn’t mean everyone will get the same results as Stacey. But if someone with Stacey’s background and experience can make this much of an improvement….imagine what YOU could do.

All she did was follow the program, focused on strength and performance for a change, and stayed consistent with it.

And good things happened.

It’s magical. Sans the Unicorns.

High Performance Handbook is on sale this week at $50 OFF the regular price. It’s not just a program for men.