CategoriesCorrective Exercise Exercise Technique

The Difference Between External and Internal Impingement of the Shoulder

Shoulder impingement.

Not to play the hoity toity Jonny Raincloud card, but the words themselves – shoulder impingement – is a garbage term.

It doesn’t really mean anything.

To one degree or another your shoulder is always being “impinged.” So when you or your trainer or someone with more letters next to their name (or the Easter Bunny) says “you have shoulder impingement” when your shoulder hurts, they’re not really saying anything significant and just playing the Captain Obvious card.

Thank you, that will be $149.99. Cash or credit?

Facetiousness aside, I should backtrack a bit and note that shoulder impingement isn’t a completely useless term – I mean, plenty of people still say anterior knee pain to diagnose, well, anterior knee pain – it’s just, you know, mis-managed.

The thing about shoulder impingement is that it’s very much a real thing. Like I said, everyone lives with it. While it’s a watered down description, when people refer to impingement they’re typically referring to compression of the rotator cuff – usually the supraspinatus, and over time, the infraspinatus and biceps tendon – by the undersurface of the acromion.

[Except for when it’s not and we’re talking about INTERNAL impingement. More on this below.]

This happens all the time – even in quote-on-quote healthy shoulders. It’s inevitable. It’s anatomy.

But the degree of impingement is what we’re really alluding to here.

In other words: the rotator cuff (RC) gets “impinged” by the acromion due to a narrowing of the space between the two.

In (other) other words: you have an ouchie. Or, for the non-PG people in the crowd “your motherfuckin shoulder hurts!”

98% of the time this type of impingement results in bursal-sided rotator cuff tears, and as Eric (Cressey) has noted on numerous occasions “happens more with ordinary weekend warriors and very common in lifters (not to mention much more prevalent in older populations).”

The thing that irritates me is that telling someone they have a shoulder impingement – assuming there’s pain present – doesn’t speak to the root cause of why their shoulder is flaring up in the first place.

Is it structural?

Tissue quality?

Lack of mobility somewhere? Relative stiffness elsewhere?

A programming flaw?

They wore green on a Thursday?

Moreover there are different kinds of impingement (external and internal; and the former has different categories: primary and secondary) which manifest in different ways, in different populations, and will require different approaches.

It’s beyond the scope of a blog post to peel back the onion on everything related to shoulder impingement – for that you may want to check out Eric Cressey and Mike Reinold’s Functional Stability Training series. But I did want to take some time to provide some information and help any trainers or coaches or anyone in the general population reading be able to differentiate between the different types of impingement and the mechanisms behind them.

External Impingement (AKA: Meatheaditis)

This is the one that’s relevant to most people reading, and the one we’re discussing when referring to anything related to the rotator cuff being impinged by the acromion via bursal-sided impingement.

Here someone can usually point to pain on the front of the shoulder and things like overhead pressing, bench pressing, and approximation hurt.

In addition to pain during those activities, another way we can distinguish if it’s (most likely) external impingement – is by implementing two simple screens.

FMS Impingement Clearing Screen

This is the exact screen the FMS uses to “clear” someone for impingement. Place palm of one hand on opposite shoulder and, without allowing your palm to come off the shoulder, lift your elbow.

Empty Can Provocative Screen

Place one arm in scapular plane thumb facing down and gently press down with other hand.

Pain with either of the two?

I’d seek out a reputable health professional to do a little more digging.

Read (NOTE TO PERSONAL TRAINERS AND STRENGTH COACHES): you’re not diagnosing anything. These are screens. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s information.

Also, on more of a side note: the empty can screen should NOT be used as an actual exercise. It’s a provocative test (placing people into impingement), used to ascertain if pain is present. Why anyone would use this as an actual exercise is beyond me.

That’s like saying, “Oh, banging your head against a wall hurts? Lets do more of it!” 

Anyhoo, like I said those are two very easy screens you can add into your arsenal to help gather information.

But this still doesn’t speak to WHY someone may have external impingement. And here’s where things get even more interesting.

Primary External Impingement

This can be considered more of a morphological/structural issue (and as it happens, what we have less control over).

Ever watch some old-timers train and they’re able to perform endless sets of overhead presses, upright rows, and bench pressing without their shoulder(s) ever hurting?

Most likely it’s because they have a Type I acromion.

Then there’s you, who just thinks about upright rows, and your shoulder flips you the middle finger. You may have a Type II acromion (more narrow space).

Outside of an x-ray (and surgery) this is something you’re never really going diagnose and solve. But it can speak to how you’d alter your programming to better fit your anatomy.

Secondary External Impingement

This is where the rest of us live and plays into more lifestyle factors. This is more or less things we have control over.

Things like poor scapular positioning (too depressed, too elevated, too abducted, too adducted, all of which affect upward/downward rotation), poor T-spine mobility, poor tissue quality, poor exercise technique, rotator cuff weakness, unbalanced programming, lack of lumbo-pelvic hip control, stiff/shorts lats, inefficient breathing patterns, and host of other factors can come into play here.

Here’s where it’s the trainer’s or coach’s job to figure out which of these is the culprit (often it’s a number of them).

Internal Impingement

Unless you’re involved in overhead athletics, chances are you don’t have this.

With internal impingement someone with describe it as “inside” the joint and will generally point towards the back of the shoulder. Too, it will typically only hurt when they’re in excessive external rotation (think: cocked back/lay-back position for a pitcher).

As Mike Reinold notes: “as you move into humeral external rotation, the more aggressive it is, the more likelihood one will feel a pinching sensation towards the posterior-superior aspect of the glenoid.”

This basically alludes to the “inside” feeling described above.

Internal impingement deals with more of the ARTICULAR side of the rotator cuff, and specifically refers to the contact between the articular side of the supra/infraspinatus and the posterosuperior rim of the glenoid.

The more external rotation (lay back) one goes into, the more internal impingement will arise

And, as Reinold notes, “we don’t get internal impingement from sitting at our desks. It happens when people use their arms in an extreme abducted & externally rotated position.”

So, in short: unless you’re throwing a baseball during your lunch hour (or fighting centaurs1, you don’t have internal impingement.

Regardless in this scenario we’d want to place a premium on addressing scapular position (improve upward rotation), as well as address any shoulder instability. Overhead athletes are notorious for having super lax shoulders, so anything we can do to improve that – rhythmic stabilizations – would be ideal. That, and make sure they perform exercises like push-ups and row variations correctly.

 

And That’s That

Whew, I hope that all made sense. Like I said this wasn’t meant to be an all-encompassing diatribe on everything shoulder impingement, but I hope I was able to get you out of the weeds a bit on the topic.

Oh, And There’s This

This post is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of all the things I cover as part of mine and Dean Somerset’s Complete Shoulder and Hip Blueprint:

 

We discuss and breakdown anything and everything as it relates to shoulders and hips, obviously. Including but not limited to anatomy, assessment, corrective exercise, performance training, programming, etc, in addition to analyzing World of Warcraft strategies. Because, nerds rule.

 

Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint HERE.

CategoriesMotivational

Reflecting On Eight Years of Cressey Sports Performance

“Hey dude, wanna open up a gym?”

I had come home from a full day of training clients at SportsClub/LA (a former fancy pants high-end health & fitness club that was bought out by Equinox not too long ago) when Eric peeked his head through the doorway, plate of egg whites in hand, and said those seven words to me.

That’s more or less how Cressey Sports Performance came to exist.

That was roughly eight – eight! – years ago to this day. The two of us, along with Pete Dupuis2, decided to jump head first into gym entrepreneurship. The odds were against us to say the least.

Not that we weren’t confident in our abilities and work ethic, but if you were a betting man (or woman), and based off the somber statistics (8 out of 10 new businesses fail within the first 18 months of operation. A whopping 80% crash and burn.), there was more likelihood [cue Dr. Evil voice] Unicorns would fly out of an erupting volcano attacking us with freakin laser beams from their freakin heads than there would have been any chance in us succeeding.

I mean

1. We were (back then) two 25 year olds and one 30 year old with no track record of business ownership.

2. We were (back then) two 25 year olds and one 30 year old with no track record of business ownership.

3. We were (back then) two 25 year olds and one 30 year old with no track record of business ownership.

4. I was balding. Not that that had anything to do with anything, but I was sad.

The fact I’m writing this post eight years later speaks to the actual outcome.

We Survived. We Made It. We Beat the Odds

 

Make no mistake: the ride hasn’t been all butterfly kisses and rainbows. All three of us can recall very long hours, 6-7 day work weeks, sleep deprivation, limited time with significant others, subsisting on nothing but protein shakes, and any number of growing pains tied with opening a new gym (purchasing & assembling equipment, construction, lease negotiation, lead generation, marketing, payroll, cleaning, not to mention assessments, program writing, coaching, and arguing over what’s being played on the stereo).

Despite it all, we’ve managed to not only not suck…but thrive in the eight years we’ve been in operation.

I’m not going to sit here and blow sunshine up our own asses, but it’s pretty satisfying knowing the three of us have been able to build what started as a 2200 square foot gym located inside an indoor batting cage facility with broken windows and a bathroom which required a tetanus shot to use…

…to a 15,000+ square foot flagship facility that’s often regarded as one of the premier “go to” training facilities in North America (if not the world).

Not too shabby for a place located in little ol’ Hudson, MA.

And yes, I could easily sit here and wax poetic on all the things we did right. Work ethic, having a client roster right out of the gate (because we were both already sorta-kinda established in the area, between Eric and myself we had a list of 40+ clients who were willing to train with us on Day #1), starting small and only building out/expanding when it was appropriate (and fit our needs), only hiring when it was within our means, starting an established internship program, and understanding that by identifying an under serviced demographic (in our case, baseball players) it was more than okay to target – and eventually own – a niche market.

All of it played a role.

I’d also be remiss not to mention how fortunate we’ve been in how are coaching staff has grown throughout the years. Our first hire was Brian St. Pierre who has gone on to a very successful career with Precision Nutrition.

Right now we have eight coaches who, on top of being profound ambassadors of the CSP brand, have also gone on to build their own successful brands within the fitness industry. Something we adamantly encourage. Everyday I feel fortunate that I get to work in a place that’s not only super fun, but challenges me to get better on a consistent basis.

But more importantly, it’s about the people we have the privilege of working with on a day-to-day basis

While I still have to sometimes pinch myself at the shear number of professional athletes I get to interact with – my 13 year old self would flip out and punch my older self in the face in disbelief if he knew how many guys I’ve met whose baseball cards I collected back in the day – it’s everyone who makes CSP such a special place to work and train.

Gerry, a 60+ year old who first came to us after having major heart surgery 4-5 years ago, who’s now hitting the weights 3x per week without fail. And busting my balls every step (and Prowler push) along the way.

Emma, a 20 year old who originally started coming to CSP because her father, Clint, did, who’s now training for her third powerlifting competition. And can do this:

 

Or any number of our Strength Campers – male/female, varying ability levels, varying ages, all shapes and sizes – who come in and get after it week in and week out.

Everyone – athletes and general pop clients combined – buy into the #CSPFamily mindset, and it’s amazing and a testament to the culture we’ve worked so hard to establish, cultivate, and maintain.

And lastly, just to put things into perspective.

Pete and I were having a conversation the other day reflecting on the whole “eight year thing.” Everything I mentioned above (and the dozens, if not hundreds, of things I failed to touch on) could fall under the “why we made it” umbrella.

Pete brought up a good point, though.

Vision vs. Actuality

I find that many coaches, trainers, and people who love the gym (and will end up stabbing their boss in the neck if they have to spend one more day behind a computer) who entertain the idea of starting their own gym, tend to battle a large gap between their vision and what is manageable and realistic.

Pete never had the vision of turning CSP into a 10,000 square foot mecca. The thought never entered his head. Rather, his goal, the thing he day dreamed about, was to have his own office. A place where he could shut his door and not worry about signing people in, answering the phone, and listen to me and Eric bicker about why Tiesto should or shouldn’t be played more often on the gym floor.

He eventually got his office. In year FIVE of our business.

Thank you everyone for your support and patronage throughout the years. And thank you Lisa – my wife – who has always been my biggest cheerleader.3

CategoriesUncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 7/10/15

I wanted to keep all of you reading abreast on some upcoming events I’m involved in you may be interested in.

First up: I wanted to take a few moments to highlight a few things coming up on my speaking itinerary that many of you may be interested in.

1. Elite Training Workshop – Boston

An entire day hanging with the likes of me, Mike Reinold, Artemis Scantalides, and Ryan Ketchum.

It’s going to be an awesome day for fitness professionals to learn from some of the best minds in the biz. CEUs are available. And I may or may not perform an interpretive dance of “I Believe I Can Fly.”

Click HERE for more information.

2. The Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop

Dean Somerset and I are excited to announce our end of summer into early fall traveling workshop series: The Complete Shoulder & Hip Training Workshop.

 

The idea is to discuss and breakdown anything and everything as it relates to shoulders and hips, obviously. Including but not limited to anatomy, assessment, corrective exercise, performance training, programming, etc, in addition to analyzing World of Warcraft strategies. Because, why not?

Like I said, we’re excited about it and we feel everyone who attends will be excited too.

CEU’s will be available for all workshops as well.

EDMONTON (in August, so it won’t be cold as balls).

ST. LOUIS (in September, maybe catch a Cards game?)

CHICAGO (in October, Wrigley. Nuff said.)

Now on to this week’s stuff to read.

Training Clients Around Pain: A Guide for Personal Trainers – Will Levy

As Will notes in this article: some personal trainers like to play the “corrective exercise” card despite 1) not having any idea what that actually means and 2) not knowing what they’re doing.

BOSU ball + body blade + stand on one leg = Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

With regards to the term itself – corrective exercise – there’s a phrase I often use to help explain things:

“Correct movement is corrective.”

Or in more sassy talk:

“Doing shit right is corrective.”

Taking things a step further, corrective exercise could also mean simply adjusting or regressing a certain exercise to better fit the needs and ability level of the individual.

Deadlifts hurt your back? Try bracing your abs and squeezing your glutes at the top. Doesn’t hurt anymore? We just straight up corrective exercised the shit out of you.

Anterior Pelvic Tilt Influence on Squat Mechanics – Mike Reinold

I’m always amazed when a coach or trainer writes something or or says something to the effect of “everyone needs to squat this one way, and this way only, no deviations, ever, or else you suck at life.”

It could be reference to bar position, foot position, depth, whatever…everyone should squat this one way dammit!

It’s stupid. And Mike addresses why it’s stupid in this excellent video.

The Last Word on Lats – Tony Bonvechio

For some reason, in recent years, the “lats” have gotten a bad reputation. The fitness industry is prone to over exaggerate things. “Dietary fat will make you fat,” or “Deadlifts will make your spine explode,” or “people didn’t eat grains in Paleolithic times”4.

While overactive or short/stiff lats do need to be addressed in certain populations (like overhead athletes), you’re not some walking ball of dysfunction if you happen to turn them on to perform an exercise.

Tony B breaks it down in this excellent article.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Hover Deadlift

Anyone who’s read this site for any length of time knows I have an affinity for several things:

1. Matt Damon5

2. LOLCats6

3. Beef Jerky7

4. Star Wars.8

5. Deadlifts9

With regards to strength and conditioning there’s probably no one topic I’ve written about more than the deadlift.

And, as it happens, I’m currently working on a project for the Personal Trainer Development Center I feel will end up being one of the most thorough (and entertaining) resources on the deadlift ever written.

It’s tentatively titled Deadlift – catchy, right? – and based off my initial draft, looks as though it will run the length of a Dostoyevsky novel. Or a Bret Contreras blog post.

So keep your eyes peeled for it within the next few weeks. Fingers crossed.

And on that note I have a new exercise you should try.

Hover Deadlift

 

Beard!

Who Did I Steal It From: Massachusetts based strength coach, Mike Perry. You should check out his website Skill of Strength. Amazing stuff on there.

This is an excellent drill for newbies learning to deadlift correctly.

What Does It Do: For me the biggest mistake many people make when it comes to performing the deadlift is taking a haphazard approach to their setup. The key is to get (and MAINTAIN) tension throughout the duration of the lift (or set).

Ever watch someone deadlift and immediately see their upper back rounding or the their hips shoot up first? This is usually indicative of lack of tension (or the weight is too heavy, but the sake of brevity lets assume the former).

The Hover Deadlift is a simple (and quite ingenious) way to help teach someone how to get tension in their lats/upper back, and more importantly to MAINTAIN that tension throughout their rep/set.

Key Coaching Cues: I used two kettlebells in the video above, but you could just as easily use one if that’s how you roll.

Stand directly above the bells, push your hips back, knees out, and try to melt the handles in your hand(s). This last cue will help teach you to pack your shoulders.

Instead of standing straight up with the weight, you’ll first “hover” an inch or two above the ground. This will ensure you maintain tension in the lats/upper back to prevent rounding (and so that the bell doesn’t move away from the body).

Lock out at the top, squeezing glutes hard.

Return back to the ground, hovering again 1-2 inches above the floor before coming to a complete stop.

Reset and repeat for 6-8 repetitions.

CategoriesInterview Media

Squeezing Oranges With Tony Gentilcore

I had the pleasure of being invited onto the Side Quest Fitness Podcast (the unofficial podcast of Fitocracy) recently with Rob Farlow, and I wanted to toss the link everyone’s way in case 1) you’re super bored at work today and needed a dose of “Tony Time” to help pass time or 2) you’re not at work, you’re not bored, and you’re just straight up obsessed with me and can’t get enough.

Either way it’s a win-win.

I had blast recording this episode. Rob and I cover everything from my start in the fitness industry and why I feel every young fitness professional should spend time working in a commercial gym setting to other career advice (such as, what’s the deal with squeezing oranges?) and even movies. Read: we geek out about Star Wars for a few minutes.

HERE is the link on the website, or if you prefer you can listen on iTunes HERE.

Enjoy!

Categoriesrant

The 5 Worst Types of Trainers

I’ve been on a bit of a “ranty” mission lately with some of my blog posts and it seems it’s spilled over to my article writing as well.

With my latest article on T-Nation.com I discuss some of the attributes and characteristics I feel make for the worst type of trainer(s).10

Granted, anyone could write a similar article geared towards any profession11 …but it seems the fitness industry has an affinity for attracting some of the worst of the worst.

I had fun writing this one. I hope you enjoy it.

—> CLICK ME <—

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 7/3/15

Happy July 4th Weekend everyone!

First up: I wanted to take a few moments to highlight a few things coming up on my speaking itinerary that many of you may be interested in.

1. Elite Training Workshop – Boston

It looks like early bird registration for the Elite Training Workshop here in Boston featuring myself, Mike Reinold (his facility, Champion Physical Therapy & Performance is hosting), Artemis Scantalides, and Ryan Ketchum has been extended. Woo-HOO!

But it’s only lasting through the holiday weekend.

It’s going to be an awesome day for fitness professionals to learn from some of the best minds in the biz. CEUs are available. And I may or may not perform an interpretive dance of “I Believe I Can Fly.”

Click HERE for more information.

2. The Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop

Dean Somerset and I are excited to announce our end of summer into early fall traveling workshop series: The Complete Shoulder & Hip Training Workshop.

The idea is to discuss and breakdown anything and everything as it relates to shoulders and hips, obviously. Including but not limited to anatomy, assessment, corrective exercise, performance training, programming, etc, in addition to analyzing World of Warcraft strategies. Because, why not?

Like I said, we’re excited about it and we feel everyone who attends will be excited too.

CEU’s will be available for all workshops as well.

EDMONTON (in August, so it won’t be cold as balls).

ST. LOUIS (in September, maybe catch a Cards game?)

CHICAGO (in October, Wrigley. Nuff said.)

Now on to this week’s stuff to read.

Understanding Fasted Cardio and Fat Loss – Adam Bornstein

As with anything – leg extensions, eating ice-cream for breakfast, kitten kisses, watching an episode of Downton Abbey – there’s always a time and place for it. Although, Downton Abbey? Really? I’d rather jump into a live volcano.

The topic of fasted state cardio for fat loss has always been a controversial topic within fitness circles. We could make a case for it, but Adam does a superb job at explaining why it’s not as beneficial as some may think.

Deconstructing the Deadlift – Mark Rippetoe

This one is a doozy. One of the most thorough and all-encompassing articles I’ve read in a while on the biomechanics of the deadlift.

If reading stuff on the deadlift gives you a boner, WARNING, this article is like Viagra.

Our Trip to the Farm: Where Does Your Food Come From? – Ian Fagala

Western and Southern Massachusetts is chock full of farms, so living in a kick-ass city like Boston I’m lucky in that Lisa and I have easy access to various farmer’s markets in and around the area.

We try our best to purchase as much locally sourced food as we can from markets, stores, and even when it comes down to choosing where we’ll eat out for “date night” on Saturday nights.

It never hurts to be more aware of the food you’re eating and where it’s coming from.

Note: since it’s pictured above, I’d highly recommend reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Do it!

 

CategoriesMotivational rant

Shut Up. And Do the Work.

My Junior College baseball coach, Joe Antonio, was a hard ass.

I played for him at Onondaga Community College (located in Syracuse, NY) from 1995-1997, and can honestly say it was two of the best years of my life.

Coach Antonio is #11 pictured above. Can you spot me?, taken during my first spring trip to Florida, circa 1996? Hint: I’m the pasty white guy.12

Coming out of high-school I was a good baseball player. I was a Varsity player for three seasons, earning All-Conference honors both my Junior and Senior years as a right-handed pitcher.

I was good, but I was also untested. I was a big fish in a small pond (graduating class of 55) coming from a very rural part of the state, a town devoid of any traffic lights and fast food joints, surrounded by dairy farms and corn fields, and wrapped in its own bubble of blissful naivete.

For the record: Yes, I did grow up with electricity, and running water. And no, even with a graduating class of 55 people my Senior year I wasn’t nominated for any “Best…” or “Most Likely To…” quips in the yearbook.

Not even “Best Biceps” or “Most Likely to Have Hair For All of Eternity13” or anything like that.

Pffffft, whatever.

High-School Senior Pic, 1995. Such a boss.

So anyways, off I went to Syracuse to play for Coach Antonio. Syracuse isn’t a huge city by any stretch. But when you hail from a town who’s highest building is three stories (if that), your options for “fine dining” aren’t limited to the rotating hot-dog rack in the local gas station, and you have access to, like, stuff, like, Old Navy and Applebees, it’s a pretty big deal.

Going to college in a somewhat big city immersed me in an environment where the lights blocked out the night sky, cars zoomed everywhere, there was stuff to do, and people stayed up past 11 PM.

On top of that, my coach, Coach Antonio, as a I noted above, was a hard ass. The complete, polar opposite of my high-school coach who was as laid back and easy-going as could be.

Coach Antonio’s style rubbed a lot of players the wrong way. I don’t know why, it just did. OCC was a very successful baseball program back then and every Fall dozens and dozens of guys would show up for tryouts (on top of the ones who were recruited by Coach, like myself).

He yelled, he cussed (not AT players), he held his players accountable, he was a perfectionist. There was a certain way he wanted everything done, and if you didn’t follow through he’d let you know…even during warm-ups.

Within the first week of tryouts many guys, some of whom were All-Conference (and in some cases All-State), from much larger schools than myself, started dropping out and quitting. I can only guess as to what their reasons were. But if I had to guess it was because most of them were coddled, maybe slightly entitled. and/or weren’t willing to put in the work.

Many expected to make the team based of their accolades alone.

Coach was tough, but to me, he wasn’t that tough. In my mind, if you did what you were told, worked hard, and didn’t slack, he’d be the guy in your corner and championing your praises once Division I,II, and III schools started contacting him for players.

And that’s exactly what I did. I showed up on time, did what I was told, put in the work, kept my mouth shut, and was often the guy (along with several other teammates), who would stay after practice to lift and do sprints.

All of this isn’t to insinuate I wasn’t ever chewed out. Boy was I ever! But I never took Coach chewing me out as an attack or some stroke against my manhood. He was trying to teach me and to better prepare me for what lied ahead in my baseball career (and life).

He made me a better baseball player (I ended up receiving several scholarship offers, and ended up at Mercyhurst University in Erie, PA). But he unquestionably made me a better, stronger, more resilient man. Attributes I feel, to this day, helped shape my career as a fitness professional.

What’s My Point?

Sometimes I want to tell young (sometimes old), upcoming (sometimes veteran) fitness professionals to shut up.

There’s a phrase that myself (and Eric Cressey) use quite often:

“You have two ears, two eyes, and one mouth. Use them in that order.”

Listen, watch, learn…shut up.

I was having a chat not long ago with a student who was a year or two away from graduating. In the ten minutes or so we were conversing I couldn’t help but notice all he was doing was railing on this and that professor; that “this guy (ex. phys. professor) was an idiot,” and that “this one (Sport Development and Human Movement) had no idea what she was talking about,” and blah blah blah.

I wanted to be like, “dude, shut the eff up. You haven’t done anything. Just because you read T-Nation and publish a podcast on the side that four people listen to doesn’t mean you’re God’s gift to wannabe strength coaches.”

Sure, are some of the things we learn in school out-dated and archaic? Absolutely. And when discussing higher education, I’d like to think there’s open discourse between professor-student and that, sometimes, questions DO need to be asked and conventional ways of thinking DO need to be challenged.

However, there’s a fine line between that and being a know-it-all-dick.

It’s analogous to the the personal trainer who’s been working for three months and starts worrying about building his or her “brand.” They can’t fathom why their self-published e-book isn’t making them six-figures yet, or why is it the only people who’ve signed up for their newsletter is themselves, their mom, second cousin, ex-girlfriend, and their kitchen toaster. Don’t ask.

Things aren’t just going to happen without earning it and putting in the work…over the long haul.

No, you’re not going to sip pina coladas while you swim in a pool of passive income. No, you’re not going to work with professional athletes on Day #1. And no, you’re not going switch on the lights to a brand spankin new 10,000 square foot facility tomorrow and people are going to be knocking down the doors. Nor will it happen next week. Or next month.

Could those things happen? Yep.

But not until you shut up and do the work.

[Drops mic, exit stage right]