Progression can equate to “feel” of a set too. It’s not always about MORE weight and MORE reps. Oftentimes keeping people at “x” weight for an extended time, so that it feels less effortful, can be a great form of progression.
There aren’t many people out there as respected as Dr. Kleiner. Her book, Power Eating, was one of the very first books I ever bought after graduating college (and started taking my own personal continuing education more seriously).
This article keeps things simple, and keeps to the facts.
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, on the internet will top THIS clip of Wu-Tang Clan performing a 20-minute tiny desk concert covering some of their greatest hits.
I mean, don’t get me wrong: I hope you take some time to listen to the two podcast appearances below (one of which is a joint episode I did alongside my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis). They’re both chock full of insight, wit, and humor.
But neither contain any sick beats or rhymes…
“I bomb atomically, Socrates’ philosophies and hypothesis can’t define how be droppin these mockeries…“
Revolutionary You Podcast – Episode #157: The Best of Both Worlds
A strength coach and a psychologist get married and do a podcast together…
Jason Leenaarts invited us onto this show to discuss a number of topics ranging from how social media affects our clients, to the importance of strength training and sleep, to how Lisa and I continue to bring out the best in each other personally and influence each other professionally.
This was a fun show to do.
For the iTunes snobs out there you can download HERE (Episode #157)
Lift the Bar Podcast: Laying the Foundations For a Successful Fitness Career
Stuart Aitken is one of my all-time favorite hosts/interviewers.
1. He has a Scottish accent. So there’s that.
2. More importantly, Stuart is SO engaging and such a “natural” interviewer that it comes across a just two people having a conversation and talking shop, which I dig.
This was my second appearance on the Lift the Bar Podcast and it was a pleasure to be invited back on.
And, again, for the iTunes peeps in the crowd, you can go HERE to listen/download. (episode #146)
One of my biggest pet peeves about the fitness industry are those people who tend to be absolutists about stuff.
They feel that just because something worked for them that it must mean it’ll apply to everyone, and you’re an idiot or inept if you feel otherwise:
You have to back squat if you want to get strong.
You have to follow a Paleo diet if you want to get ripped.
You have to wear pants when you’re training clients.
It’s all a bunch of hooey if you ask me. Nothing is set in stone, and nothing is going to apply across the board towards a diverse population with varying injury histories, goals, and ability levels.
This train of thought applies towards the deadlift as well.
There aren’t many exercises as maligned or misrepresented as the deadlift.
On an almost weekly basis I’m having a conversation with someone who offhandedly says “so and so mentioned to me how deadlifts are dangerous,” or “such and such said deadlifts are the worst thing ever for your back,” or “I heard deadlifts give you gonorrhea, is that true?”
Listen, deadlifts are no more “dangerous” than any other exercise that’s performed incorrectly (or with too much load/volume that surpasses any one individual’s threshold to recover from).
When performed well, and with the appropriate progressions in place, the deadlift is one of the best bang-for-your-training-buck exercises out there.
It’s also pretty freakin versatile.
Another popular fallacy of the deadlift is that it has to be performed with a straight bar, and that it has to be heavy.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Picking anything up off the ground – whether it’s a barbell, dumbbell, a bag of groceries, a baby, or Mjolnir – with the knees slightly bent, hips flexed, and with an upright torso, can be considered a deadlift.
Not so dangerous now, huh?
To prove my point check out this gem of a variation.
Band Resisted KB Deadlift
Who Did I Steal It From? – Strength & Conditioning legend, Vince McConnell.
What Does It Do? – I had my client, Jessica (who’s in the video above), perform this last night because we’ve been working on troubleshooting through some hip shenanigans.
To put it bluntly, Jessica is strong AF.
Her best deadlift is 350 lbs with a straight bar, and I’m pretty sure she’s undefeated in Fight Club. Thing is, though, she’s always had trouble feeling her glutes during a deadlift.
As with most people, she’s gotten really good at compensating, and every now and again she’ll get a bit of a back niggle.
Not necessarily an injury; but, you know, just an annoying “something.”
This exercise serves a few purposes:
Using a KB – so her center of mass is OVER the load – makes this exercise infinitely more “back friendly.”
Adding the band takes advantage of accommodating resistance where the load gets more challenging at a position where she’s strongest (terminal hip extension).
Too, adding the band, really helps with engaging the glutes to a higher degree at the top of the movement. I don’t know how better else to explain it other than “IT JUST DOES ALRIGHT. WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO QUESTION ME?”
Key Coaching Cues – All I did was wrap a Jump Stretch band across two pegs at the bottom of my power rack and then loop the same band underneath the handle of a kettlebell.
Then Jessica lifted it.
And then it was Glute O’clock.
Normally I’m not a fan of high(er) rep deadlifts, but this variation lends itself to me breaking that rule.
Today’s guest post comes courtesy of TG.com regular, and my 1-day-per-week training partner1, Justin Kompf.
Listening, I mean really listening, is a learned skill and takes a lot of (purposeful) practice to master. Those who are able to so, however, are often the ones who separate themselves from the masses in the fitness industry.
I take a deep breath before I knock on my advisor’s office door.
“Keep it together Justin, whatever you do don’t cry”
I take a seat in his office and immediately start crying. We don’t need to go into details, but I was in a tough place.
Fine, my girlfriend broke up with me and I had no idea where I was going with my career. Okay, great, sharing feelings, my favorite.
Can we move on?
I’m sitting in his office, which mind you is surrounded by other offices, just balling.
But as I’m talking, I’m starting to feel better.
Why?
Well, here’s what he was doing. Just listening, providing me with enough silence to think thoughts and say them out loud. He asked me open ended questions without giving advice. That was special for me because up until then I don’t recall ever really being heard like that.
Of course, there are friends I could say anything to, but I never really had this kind of experience before. This experience profoundly changed the way I interacted with people and even changed my approach on coaching.
Empathetic Listening
The other day in a lecture I hammered home the importance of forming relationships with the people you coach.
Given enough time in anyone’s life, something stressful (which is not necessarily bad) or crappy is bound to happen with different magnitudes of crappiness.
Sometimes I like to think of God as Donkey Kong from Nintendo just throwing barrels filled with crap (like bad or stressful events not actual poop) at people. It’s not a bad thing, that’s just life and it happens to everyone but it’s nice when you have someone to help you work through it.
Low levels of crappiness might be failing to get a promotion at work whereas high levels of crappiness might mean going through a divorce or a death in the family.
Many of the clients I train I’m close with, especially those close in age to me. I’m sure lots of other trainers are the same. Over time, trust forms and when things that bother them come up, they know I’ll listen.
This isn’t to say that a lift should turn into a therapy session, because it shouldn’t. But imagine how much a client would appreciate it when something came up and you just said:
“Hey, it sounds like you’re going through some tough stuff, let’s grab a coffee after the session”
How to Do This Empathetic Listening Thing
I don’t have set in stone guidelines on how to accomplish this, but I know when I’ve done it the right way and I know when I’ve failed.
I think one of the biggest issues people have in conversations is that they wait for their turn to talk. They have already concluded what they are going to say next even before the person in front of them has finished talking.
Yes Karen2, you’re guilty of this so pay close attention.
As soon as you’re thinking about what you are going to say next, you’re not fully engaged with the person, so that means you’re not listening.
Side Note: This is also super important for a successful initial consultation with a client if you want to truly understand their goals and why their goals are important.
If you’re going to be a good listener, you need to suspend your thoughts.
Good listeners don’t jump to give advice or relate their experiences to the person in front of them. If you feel like you have something that the person can relate to, try saying:
“You know, everyone’s experience is different, and I don’t want to pretend like we’ve gone through the same thing, but I’ve got a story that I think you might relate to.”
People don’t always talk to get advice back.
They just want to talk because things are tough, and they want to get it off their chest. If they want advice, they’ll probably say “what do you think I should do?”
The last thing that I know for sure is that if you want to be a great listener you need to put your phone down.
All the incredible memes will still be there when your conversation is over.
The Subtle Art of Shutting Up
Listen…
Listening is incredibly important. Yea, sometimes it can be just about as comfortable as being single for the third year in a row at your families Thanksgiving get together.
Right…
But in order to be a good listener, you need to shut up.
Something great happens when a person feels accepted and can speak their mind. You might find out way more about the person you are working with, whether it’s about their goals or about their life, by saying nothing.
Just like lifting, writing, or slipping high brow poop jokes into casual conversations with your highly successful clients, listening is a skill that needs to be practiced.
So, I would encourage all of you to go out their and in the appropriate times, just shut up.
About the Author
Justin Kompf is doctoral student studying exercise and health sciences. He is a personal trainer in Boston at CLIENTEL3.
