CategoriesMotivational personal training

A Tale of Two Clients

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…..

Even for those who aren’t avid readers, the words above are fairly recognizable. At some point in everyone’s life they’ve (probably) heard the phrase absent of whether or not they know the origin:

Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities.

Yeah, I haven’t read it either.

But the book reference serves as a nice introduction to today’s post as click bait. Because, you know, everyone goes bat-shit crazy over Dickens quotes.

I was asked two questions recently (from two different people) that I felt would be best served answering here as I know a lot of personal trainers and coaches read this site.

Question #1:

I’m curious what’s the longest amount of time you had the same non-athlete client and I’d love to see more articles on what makes a good lifting trainee/student!

Question #2:

Not sure if you have touched on this in a previous blog post but would love to hear your thoughts on how you go about motivating your general fitness clients vs. your baseball players. I imagine they come in with different experiences, expectations, etc. and I imagine they both pose unique challenges in getting them to engage and buy into the process.

Two different questions, albeit not altogether too dissimilar.

Before co-founding Cressey Sports Performance in 2007 I worked as a personal trainer in both the corporate setting and commercial setting….for five years. That’s five years of early mornings, late nights, working on weekends, working on Holidays, and working with every permutation of human being you can possibly think of save for a one-legged pirate and an Astronaut.

Repeating the borrowed prose from above, my life literally was “the best of times, and the worst of times.”

It was the best of times because I was doing something I loved. Right out of the gate I was making a living wearing sweatpants to work and hanging out in a gym helping people get stronger, lose fat, address an injury, and making people of the opposite sex want to hang out with them.

That didn’t suck.

Too, it was a point in my life where I was a sponge for knowledge ( I still am). Upon graduating from school I thought I knew what I was doing – I graduated Magna Cum Laude, I played four years of college baseball, I had been lifting weights since I was 13, I had six-pack, I got this! But once my first client was handed to me I experienced a hefty reality check.

I didn’t really know as much as I thought I did.

Luckily my first client survived, I didn’t set the gym on fire or anything, things were going to be okay.

It was that time where I found sites like T-Nation.com and other reputable publications that helped me peel back the onion and understand that what I learned in school wasn’t exactly how things are in the real world. I made it a point to read, and read a lot. And I got better.

It was the worst of times because life as a personal trainer isn’t shall we say……all that glamorous.

As mentioned above you work when others don’t, there’s a bit of “politics” involved – pressure to hit quotas and numbers at the expense of quality programming and coaching, and you learn quickly that life as a trainer is just as much about becoming a good “people person” as it is a coach.

Put another way: some (and I’d say most) clients are amazing, wonderful people; while others are life sucking, Debbie Downer/Johnny Raincloud, soul crushers that would give Godzilla a run for this money.

Given all that, however, I wouldn’t change anything from my past as a fitness professional. The one piece of advice I give all incoming personal trainers – especially to the entitled ones who think they’re going to train professional athletes their first day on the job1 – is that you should work in a commercial gym setting.

For 1-2 years.

You need to grind it out, work shitty hours, and learn to work with as wide of a variety of clientele as possible. You do this, and I GUARANTEE you’ll get better and learn to appreciate which niche – if any – you’d like to pursue to further your career.

In my 13 years as a personal trainer and coach I’ve had the opportunity and honor to work with so many different people. Everything from young athletes to professional athletes to CEOs, doctors, fat loss clients, powerlifters, post rehab, and anything you can think of in between. Still waiting for that Astronaut, though.

I’ve had clients who have worked with me for 5+ years – both in person and in a distance based format. Most often when I’ve been working with someone that long they’re someone I’d train for free. I’d be lying if I said you never build a rapport past the trainer-client dichotomy with some people. You absolutely do.

I’ve had clients become really good friends, and I even have one who’s going to be an attendant in my wedding this May.

I wouldn’t say this is normal or happens all the time.

But given that circumstance is more of an outlier scenario, here are some quick bullet point traits I find make for a good client(s).

1. They pay. You have bills, right? It sounds tacky and trite, I know, but if you have a client who pays, pays on time, and is willing to do it for months, and if you’re lucky, years on end….that’s grounds for a solid start.

2. They respect you as a professional. Admittedly, there are a number of examples across the country of inept personal trainers and coaches who give the industry a bad reputation. All you have to do is peruse YouTube for 30 minutes and a small portion of your soul dies.

So part of me understands why the industry as a whole is looked down upon by many people.

But nothing grinds my gears more than when someone hires me for whatever reason – fat loss, performance, dealing with an injury – and then proceed to question/bitch/whine every…single….thing I ask them to do.

When this happens I do this:

Me: “Say Al, what is it that you do for a living?

Al: “Well, Tony, as it happens, I’m an Astronaut.”

Me: “What the what. Finally! Can we be BFFs?

Al: “Only if we can practice karate in the garage.”

Me: “Obviously.”

“Also, you know, Al, I wouldn’t have the faintest idea what the ideal ambient torsional velocity should be when ascertaining the longitudinal axis of a rocket during space docking.”

Al: “I would think not.”

Me: “Soooooo, shut up and do your freakin deadlifts.”

The point is: I’m willing to bet they wouldn’t question an accountant about their taxes or their lawyer about their lawyering. While being inquisitive is one thing (and should be expected), they shouldn’t constantly question your expertise with regards to differentiating flexion intolerant back pain from extension intolerant back pain.

Mind you, you should have a rationale and be able to explain everything written in a program. Conversely it’s not too much to ask that your client trust you. That is what they’re paying you for, right?

3. They show up on time. They schedule on time. They wear deodorant.

4. They do the work. Both in AND outside of the gym. I often give my clients homework. This may be something like asking them to keep a 3-day food diary, or maybe doing an extra active-recovery circuit on one of their “off” days from working with me. Are they compliant? The ideal one’s make an effort to be.

I’m sure I can easily keep going, and maybe I will at some point down the road. I’d encourage you to look up some of Alwyn Cosgrove’s stuff on the topic. He’s written several things on how to build an ideal client roster and how to fire clients if need be.

Meet Eddie

Eddie is a professional athlete (baseball). He works his ass off. I’d make a case that he’s one of the hardest working athletes I’ve ever coached.

Lets be honest: any professional athlete who chooses to spend his off-season in Massachusetts – we’re currently under 2+ feet of snow with more on the way – probably doesn’t need much motivation to train.

The thing about Eddie is sometimes he’s TOO motivated.

As much as it is for us coaches – as a team – to write effective, efficient, and safe programming, a large portion of our job is also to pull the reigns or pump the breaks when needed.

It’s not uncommon for me to tell Eddie to chill out and that it’s okay if he didn’t break his PR for the 16th consecutive week.

While Eddie is also an outlier, we’re very lucky to have so many hard-working and dedicated athletes (and not just baseball players) walk through our doors at Cressey Sports Performance.

Motivation, generally, isn’t too much of an issue when them. They’ll either put in the work or get released. Their choice.

Meet Robin

Robin is not an athlete. In fact, she’s a working professional who started training with us three months ago. She came to us with a vague background in strength training, but was also dealing with a few nagging injuries.

One of the advantages I have is that most people who seek out my services KNOW what they’re getting into. They read my stuff, they read Eric’s (Cressey) stuff, they read Greg Robins, Tony Bonevechio, Miguel Aragoncillo, and the rest the CSP’s staff material.

People know they’re not going to be doing Zumba. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

So, in a way, most of the people I work with at CSP don’t need a whole lot of motivation to train. The brand sort of sells itself. What many of them do need – and especially in the case of Robin – is someone to help them gain their confidence back.

Some have been so “broken” for so long, and have worked with any number of other trainers, that it’s sometimes difficult to buy into what it is I have to say.

Showing them success is paramount.

They’re motivation is literally, training.

What can I do as their coach to get them to train pain free, or to do things that they thought they couldn’t do? It isn’t my objective to have everyone conventional deadlift on day one. Some people aren’t ready for that because it’s too aggressive or above their ability level. But I can have them perform some light glute bridges or some pull-throughs to get them to feel what turning on their glutes feels like in addition to grooving a hip hinge.

And then I can progress them from there.

If a female client can’t do a push-up, I’m NOT going to have her do “girl push-ups.” That’s lame and provides an initial connotation I’d prefer to avoid. Instead, she’s going to do push-ups – elevated on pins.

I’m going to show her success so that she gains some confidence. THAT’s oftentimes all the motivation anyone ever needs, and how I approach things with the bulk of my general fitness clients.

Prove to them that they CAN do “stuff.”  Once that happens it’s pretty much a domino effect in terms of progress and compliance with their programs. It’s not a sexy answer, but it works.

CategoriesExercise Technique Strength Training

Bench Press Tip: Let the Bar “Settle”

I’ve been working my way back from a pesky back injury for the past few months, and while I’ve made some awesome progress as of late (back to full squatting 315 for reps, and just started incorporating some heavy(ish) pulling into the mix), the guy who writes my programs – Greg Robins – has been making me bench press like no one’s business.

This isn’t to imply that “bench pressing like no one’s business” means I’ve been putting up some impressive numbers. To that I say:

“hahahahahahahahamsadasggwe**#1mwhupsas11hahahahhaa”

1. I’ve never been shy to say how much I hate bench press pressing.

2. And the reason for that is because I’ve never been good at it.

3. I hate bench pressing.

Giving myself some credit – my best performance on the bench press (raw, at a bodyweight of 200) is 315 lbs. Albeit it never would have seen a white light in any powerlifting federation, unless the name of it was the NBOTB (National Butt Off the Bench) Federation.

A 315 lb bench press for a raw lifter at 200 lbs isn’t too shabby, but it’s certainly nothing to brag about. However, truth be told the bench press is a lift I’ve never placed a high priority on. And it shows.

So as it happens, “bench pressing like no one’s business” means I’ve been benching a lot lately, which has been both good and bad. Good in the sense that I’m starting to see my numbers creep up to non-abysmal territory again. Bad in that I still hate bench pressing. But like a bro, I need to persevere!

Which brings me to the topic of today’s post. A common mistake I see a lot of people make when benching is rushing into the press itself and NOT allowing the bar to settle after a hand-off. Watch this video to understand more of what I mean.

Let the Bar “Settle” Before You Press

Yes, all the same rules apply to the set up: Shoulders together and down, chest up, slight arch, drive feet into the ground, don’t destroy the back of your pants.

NOTE: Read HERE why getting a hand-off is so crucial.

But learning to settle the bar is something that’s universally glossed over by a lot of trainees.

Hope that cue helps.

CategoriesMotivational

Focus on the Process, NOT the Outcome

Boston is in the midst of yet another snow storm today. We’re expecting a foot on top of the two feet we got in last week’s storm.

It’s probably good timing given most people called into work this morning anyways due to the Pats winning the big game last night.

Such an awesome game last night, as most people expected. And don’t even get me started on that finish. Nail biter to say the least!

Tough call by Pete Carroll to throw the ball instead of handing it off to Beast Mode (Lynch) with 1-yd to go to win the SuperBowl, but deflategate talk notwithstanding, the Pats won the game fair and square.

Cue the duck boats

So today I have a guest post from Lisa, my fiance. She’s a psychologist and knows a thing or two when it comes to behaviors and behavior change. Today she sheds some light on goal setting and how many of us view it from the wrong context or window.

Enjoy!

Focus on the Process

Purposes for physical activity abound. Feeling good, living longer, getting stronger. Better blood pressure, in-check cholesterol, enhanced mood, improved sleep, increased sex drive, looking hot, and on and on and on.

Any way you slice it exercise = good stuff.

If you are searching for a goal to focus on and help you get active, stay active, or increase your activity, your options are endless!

Despite this plethora of purposes, many struggle to stay consistent with their physical activity pursuits…

Several weeks ago, we thought a bit about your “continuum” of motivation, and considered ALL of your motives to be important contributors to your ongoing success. Our motivations are often connected to an outcome – a goal.

Consider your motivations, and then identify at least one goal (or more) that you have recently identified as important to you…

What do you notice?

Hopefully, and similarly to motivation, you’ve identified a few goals, if not many, that cover a range of outcomes, like health, fitness, energy level, mood improvement, and last, but probably not least, appearance.

Lookin’ good. We all want to look good, or better. It’s part of human nature to want to improve ourselves and to be attractive to others. But if we are exclusively (or mostly) focused on weighing less, being a smaller/larger pant size, or looking more attractive to others, we might be set up for failure.

“How could this be?” you ask? “Since everything and everyone promotes the importance of exercising for improved appearance” you exclaim!?

Let me count the ways:

#1. It’s not really your goal anyway.

Where on earth did you get the idea that your thighs should be “longer and leaner”? I bet you some long, lean lady on TV. Who told you a 6-pack is the way to “finding a mate”? I bet some “Health” magazine columnist.

What is the true significance of dropping a dress size or a waist size? I bet you’ll tell me, “that’s what I want”, but is it really? Or have you been led to believe that some arbitrary appearance-based outcome is a means to a happy end?

We are inundated with images and messages about what bodies should look like all the live-long day. Not only do these messages include impressive, often impossible-to-replicate images, but also judgment, guilt, and the especially toxic shame.

Just last month, a large commercial gym (which shall go unnamed here) posted a sign in the lobby, “Santa, have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?” To the sadistic and probably-sedentary marketing bastards who incite guilt and shame to boost membership sales, I ask, are we seriously shaming Santa?

Guilt and shame. Motivational?

In the short term, maybe. But over time, heck no.

In the long run, we internalize guilt and shame (a shift from, “I ate something bad” to “I am something bad”… from, I had a “dirty meal” to “I am a dirty fat slob”). Belief in the latter renditions of guilt and shame do nothing for getting us to the gym, and often enable giving up, sitting down, and digging in to a bigger, nastier bag of chips (Or as they say in 12-step programs, a case of the “F-it’s”).

Focusing only on an outcome (in the absence of other goals and motives) can be a thankless, fun-less, motivational vacuum that drains your moxie and damages your confidence and self-image.

#2. Appearance-related goals often focus on a superficial, societally valued outcomes.

How long can you stay in hot pursuit of bigger biceps, skinnier thighs, or a smaller belt size? A week? A month? Right up until the evening of the wedding/reunion/gala?

The motivation based on the reward of a few less pounds or a smaller dress size has an expiration date. There are a few different reasons for this, but first and foremost, external rewards lose their motivational power over time. Anyone who’s ever hit a goal weight and then has trouble staying consistent with his or her nutrition and training regimen knows this.

A “goal” to attain something society values isn’t a goal, so much as a “should”.

The surreptitious, insidious belief that you “should” be ‘skinny’, ‘lean’, or have a ‘6-pack’ of abs has gotten a hold of you. As Dr. Ellis, father of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) liked to sometimes say to his patients, “You’re just ‘should-ing’ on yourself”.

In other words, it is a B.S. goal – someone else’s goal that you have adopted (mistakenly) as your own.

Symptoms that you are “should-ing” on yourself with an outcome goal include A). Resentment toward the goal, or to those who have achieved the goal. B). Constantly “breaking rules” that make obtaining the goal impossible, and/or C). Feeling excessive guilt or shame about your “inability” to achieve the goal.

#3. You are focused on the outcome – instead of the process.

I know. “Eyes on the prize”. “Go for the Gold”, right?

It seems only natural to focus on the desired outcome in order to keep you pushing toward it. However, focusing on the outcome ONLY can drain motivation, impair performance, and actually have a negative impact on goal achievement. On the other hand, a focus on the process of your goals can be more enjoyable AND more effective in helping you achieve the outcome.

In other words, a process oriented goal focuses on the journey – not the destination.

Now, you don’t want to throw your outcome goal out with the motivational bathwater! Having a goal of any kind is good – you just want to mix it up, particularly if your goal is long term.

For example:

Let’s say you’re getting married in three months and 28 days (just for example2), and you want bring down your body fat percentage by 5%.

Focusing ONLY on your body fat percentage during the next four months will be no fun at all!

But as you monitor your macros and get after it at the gym, here are some in-the-moment goals that focus on the process and facilitate continued striving toward the ultimate outcome:

  • “When I squat today, my goal is to focus on form… brace abs, ass to grass, slow down, fast up…”
  • “My chin ups will rock the house this morning! Dead hang, solid core, exhale up quick, inhale down, slow…”
  • “I’m eating more slowly… noting how I feel before and after… I’m learning how to feed myself differently… how to fuel my workouts… I’m cooking new recipes that look delicious… I’m paying attention to how I feel after my meals…”

Do you see the difference? Your outcome goal focuses on the end. Your process goal focuses on the means. Your outcome goal involves the infinite form of a verb (“I want to be 10 pounds lighter” or “I want to have biceps that are two inches bigger).

Your process goal involves the gerund (I am squatting to depth” “I am pushing the barbell away from my chest, and pulling the barbell toward my chest”).

Remember, process goals can always act in the service of an outcome. Setting an outcome goal, but then focusing on the process can be worthwhile for a number of reasons:

  1. Performance enhancement: If you are thinking about the process of your workout, and not just the outcome, you can bet you’ll have better form, stronger focus, and increased resolve to add weight, reps, or both.
  1. Avoiding negativity: Sometimes, outcome orientation causes us to focus on what NOT to do (“I will not eat any Doritos this week!”). Guess what happens when you try to NOT think about Doritos? Or skipping a day at the gym? Or how bad you will feel if you don’t hit your goal? Focusing on the process is foolproof, because you’re ALWAYS thinking about what to do. Process orientation keeps you in the present moment, away from shoulds, guilt, and doubt.
  1. Enjoyment: It’s true! Being fully engaged in a goal-directed activity is an evidence-based way to be a happy camper. If you’re interested in learning more about this, check out Flow (2008), written by another favorite psychologist of mine, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

So, want to give it a try?

If you do, you can think back to your current goal, which is probably an outcome. Now, take a moment to consider the processes that are involved in this outcome (lifting, learning, cooking, sleeping, and so on). Each week you work toward your outcome, choose a specific process to focus on.

For example, clean up your deadlift technique, finally learn how to “braise” all of that protein you need to be eating, or dedicate a workout to focusing on your breath, throughout all your reps and sets.

Experiment a little and see what you notice. Does the time fly by at the gym, because you were so wrapped up in exhaling and inhaling? Or could you add a few more chin-ups because your breath was so big and strong? Or do you just feel like a bad ass at the end of a focused, fully committed training session?

No matter your current goal, an overarching life long goal for you might be feeling good, living longer, or getting stronger. All of these are a process, and ideally a pursuit that never ends. So, enjoy your journey by focusing on your process.

Good Luck, and let me know how it goes!

CategoriesOff Topic

Favorite Movies of 2014 (The Fan Boy, I Promise I Don’t Still Live in My Parent’s Basement Version)

In case you missed it, I shared my uppity snob list of favorite movies of 2014 not too long ago. You can check it out HERE.

To enjoy it and to really bask in it’s uppityness, I’d encourage you to peruse it while bathing in a gold plated tub filled with Riesling while a Victoria Secret model feeds you caviar with a diamond plated spoon shaped like Mitt Romney’s wang.

Or do it while listening to some Mozart.

I don’t know. Either way I’d give you a high-five.

Facetiousness and penis jokes aside, it IS a list I stand behind and one I feel represents my own personal taste as a movie buff/fan and as a movie connoisseur with a palette for awesome.

Before I dive into the fanboy list, though, there are a few other films I wish I could have added to the original list.

Some Others to Consider

Foxcatcher – the trio of Steve Carrell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo makes this well worth the watch. Tatum and Ruffalo (especially Ruffalo) have shown off their drama chops before; Carrell was a nice surprise.

Begin Again – I’m not scared to admit it, I have a crush a Keira Knightley. And, Mark Ruffalo stands out (again!) in this superb film by the same director as Once.

Locke – Annnnnd, I’m also not scared to admit I have a man-crush on Bane, Upper Traps Mcgee, Tom Hardy. You want to talk about an impressive acting performance? How about this one by Hardy where it’s – literally – just him sitting in a car for close to two hours talking on a phone. It sounds about as exciting as watching NASCAR, I know….but the movie works. It really does.

Obvious Child – hahahahahahahahahaha. Abortion is hilarious. Note sarcasm.

Yet, in this case…it actually is.

The Skeleton Twins – Lisa gave me the look of death for taking her to go see this movie. Then again I can’t say I blame her. She’s a psychologist who, on a weekly basis, has to deal with real people wanting to kill themselves in real life.

The last thing she’d want spend a Sunday afternoon doing is watching a movie about a pair of suicidal siblings. My bad.

It’s analogous to me being forced to watch Tracy Anderson try to coach someone how to squat correctly. I’d last two minutes before wanting to wash my eyes out with battery acid.

Giving credit where it’s due, though, and despite being depressing as hell, both Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader are really good in this.

Alright Already, Unleash the Nerd Gentilcore

It’s more or less guaranteed that any self-respecting movie nerd who’s nerdy enough to refer to him or herself as a movie nerd is amped up for 2015.

I don’t have to remind you that Nerd Jesus, JJ Abrams, is unleashing the next Star Wars on December 18th, which is 321 Days, 4 Hours, and 18 Minutes away.

Not that anyone’s counting.

In addition we have other nerdtastic releases like Marvel’s Avengers: The Age of Ultron, Jurassic World, Mad Max: Fury Road (Tom Hardy!), Spectre (the next James Bond film), Terminator Genisys, Fantastic Four, The Hateful Eight (<– Tarantino, mofos), and of course Magic Mike XXL.

Yes, I watched the first one when it first came out in theaters. Yes, I liked it. Yes, I own the Blu-ray. And yes, I’m not wearing any pants as I type this post.

Alas my friends. 2014 was pretty high on the nerdtasticdom spectrum in its own right.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This is probably my favorite Marvel movie to date. And that’s saying a lot….especially given the tendency that most sequels suck.

I don’t know if it was the sweet fight scenes, Scarlet Johannson being Scarlet Johannson, or Chris’ Evans pecs….but this movie hit the mark at every level. Maybe what made this such huge hit for me was the fact there’s actually a plot.

I have a Y chromosome. I enjoy explosions, ninjas, zombies, girl on girl fights, and explosions as much as the next guy. In fact I’ll pay good money to see it. But this movie really set the bar in terms of providing a TON of action, but providing some substance to boot.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy

Quiz:

1. Prior to this movie – which made him more of a household name – what else did star Chris Pratt appear in?

2. Prior to this movie – what do you feel the over under would have been that something revolving around a talking tree, a gun-toting raccoon, a green skinned Zoe Saldana, an ex-professional wrestler (Dave Bautista), and that Chris Pratt fella would have been one of the top grossing (and well reviewed) movies of 2014?

Answers:

1. Crickets chirping for most of you?3

2. About as high as me deciding to train for the Boston Marathon4

One of the funnest movies I’ve ever watched.

3. The Raid 2

The first ‘Raid’ movie was one of the best action movies I’ve ever watched. Bar none.

This one may be better.

The first one took place in a building, 15 or so floors, with one ruthless crime boss and his army of gun wielding/machete yielding/kung-fu goons vs. an elite police squad armed to take them down.

There’s no sugar-coating it fellas – the fight scenes will give you a raging boner.

The second one picks up immediately where the first one ends, and I can’t even begin to describe the even more epic fight scenes and cinematography.

The best line I’ve seen to describe this movie is one by EW movie critic, Chris Nashawaty:

“Fight sequences so bananas they make Jackie Chan/Bruce Lee predecessors look flat-footed.”

Full disclosure: the entire movie is subtitled.

4. Edge of Tomorrow

I love Tom Cruise, but given his recent track record of sci-fi fails (namely, Oblivion) I wasn’t expecting much from this one. Compound that with Emily Blunt playing the role of a hard-ass, ass-kicking Army Captain – which, come on…..it’s Emily Blunt, who’s all of 110 lbs – I wasn’t buying it.

But it’s sci-fi. Anything can happen. If an X-Wing Fighter can blow up a Death Star, Emily Blunt can kick the shit out of aliens.

And I’ll be damned it worked.

This was one of the better surprises of 2014. Awesome story-line (Tom Cruise plays a non-soldier who, after “inheriting” the ability to re-live the same day over and over and over again (ALA Groundhog Day), must team up with Blunt to figure out a way to defeat the aliens who have attacked Earth), with some awesome action. Not the most articulate explanation of a movie, but whatever. Poop.

5. The Equalizer

Think: Taken, but with Denzel Washington.

Literally, this is Denzel Washington vs. the Russian mafia set in Boston. What’s not to like?

6. Snowpiercer

This one was, well, different. But in a good way.

It’s the future. Earth has fallen into some dystopian clusterfuck of sucktitude, and all that remains of mankind is a train that continually travels around the world with the fancy schmancy people near the front living the good life, and the less fortunate slumming it near the tail end.

Ain’t nobody got time for that!

What follows is Captain America Chris Evans and his band of renegade misfits making their way towards the front, with each stop along the way unveiling a world that just grows weirder and weirder.

7. Interstellar

Let me get this straight. This is written and directed by Christopher Nolan (Dark Knight trilogy, Memento, Inception), stars Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, and Michael Caine, and takes place in space?

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!!!!!!

So there you have it. Got any to add yourself? Chime in below.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 1/30/15

Before we dive into this week’s list of stuff to read I wanted to remind everyone about TWO workshops I’ll be doing down in Australia in March.

The first one will be a 2-Day event held in Ballina, NSW on Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8th. Details can be found HERE.

The second one will be a 1-Day event held in Sydney, NSW on Saturday March 14th. And details for that one can be found HERE.

To say that I’m excited (and honored) to be invited down to Australia to speak is an understatement. I mean, I’ve been practicing my Crocodile Dundee accent for like a month straight. It’s going to be epic.

Also, for something a little closer to home, I’ve been invited to speak at the New England Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association Annual Spring Conference on Wednesday, May 13th (<— two weeks before my wedding!) in Providence, RI. I’m not sure if it’s open to the public (it kinda has that Harvard Final Club vibe to it)5, I think it is, but for more information you can contact NEHRSA.org.

Core Training Facts, Fallacies & Top Techniques – Nick Tumminello

Nick is one of the top fitness educators I know and someone I have a lot of respect for. His latest resource is something that, when I first watched it, made me re-think some of my own approaches to core training.

Nick’s a very forward thinking, innovative coach and I’d HIGHLY encourage any fitness professional (or anyone who takes their fitness a little more seriously) to check this out. It definitely tops my list as one of the best “core training” resources out there.

The sale price ENDS TONIGHT (Friday, January 30th) at midnight. You better hustle.

Yoga for Athletes: Why Activation and Inhibition Matter More Than Stretching – Dana Santas

From a meathead perspective, yoga is about as exciting as watching NASCAR. I get it. Or worse, Les Miserables. But I PROMISE you this isn’t your typical yoga article.

Dana gets it.

She’s doesn’t talk about “lengthening muscles,” toning, chakras, or anything on par with those things that make a small part of my soul die.

She does talk about alignment, squats, and helping people get out of their own way and to start addressing their “real” issues. This was an excellent article.

Risky Fitness – Jen Sinkler

World renowned fitness model, Greg Plitt, died tragically a few weeks ago being struck by a train while filming an exercise video.

At a time where everyone is trying to be seen and one of the only ways to separate yourself from the masses is to perform risky stunts, Jen offers some sage advice on why this is not a good idea.

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Exercise Technique

Making Difficult Lifts Easier

The word “easier” is subjective in this context.

I mean, can we really make a squat or deadlift easy?

Maybe a better way to state things is to say “easier to perform so that someone doesn’t shit their spine.”

As a strength coach it’s obviously important for me to help get people stronger – especially with the big lifts. Too, and maybe more importantly, a large portion of my job is to “fine tune” technique so that a particular lift or exercise is more user friendly for my athletes and clients to perform.

Almost always everyone I work with is going to be squatting, deadlifting, and performing any number of compound movements to some degree on a daily basis. This DOES NOT mean, however, everyone is barbell back squatting, squatting deep (or ass-to-grass for the brosefs reading), conventional deadlifting, and/or performing max effort anything on day #1.

Much of that will depend on one’s current (and past) injury history, training experience – not to mention goal(s) – as far as what variation of squats or deadifts (or whatever) I’ll start them on. In short: I need to figure out their “Point A” (starting point) before I can get them to “Point B” (squatting 2x bodyweight, hitting a 500 lb DL, arm wrestling a grizzly bear, etc).

Often I’ll need to break down subsequent movements into specific parts in order to groove technique and/or introduce a new exercise into someone’s training repertoire.

Which is the topic of my latest article on BodyBuilding.com. In it I discuss some simple drills I like to use to break down the deadlift and KB Turkish Get-up.

Continue Reading…..

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

The Most Neglected Function of the Core In Training for Sports

Note From TG: Today I have a treat for everyone: a guest post from world renowned strength and conditioning coach, writer, and educator, Nick Tumminello.

Nick’s someone whom I have a lot of respect for, and someone who I feel is at the upper echelon of coaches who “get it.” He recently released an excellent resource, Core Training Facts & Fallacies and Top Techniques that I feel would be an excellent addition to any fitness professional’s library (or for anyone who likes to geek out to anatomy talk and debunking a lot of misconceptions in the industry). 

Enjoy!

Gajda and Dominquez first used the term the “core” in their 1985 book Total Body Training to describe all of the muscles which compromises the center of the body. So, contrary to popular misconception, the core is not just your abs and lower back; the core is all of your torso muscles (shoulders, chest, glutes, abs, mid-back, lats, etc.) minus your extremities (arms and legs). (1)

Now that we’ve got that established, we can’t talk about using core training exercise applications that will likely transfer into improved core performance until we first establish what the trunk (i.e., core) muscles do in athletics (and in general function).

In addition to its respiratory function, the core musculature does two things:

1. The core functions to transfer force by limiting movement.

This is the one we hear about a lot: The function of the trunk musculature is to remain stiff in order to transfer force between the hips and the shoulders.

As an example, during a barbell push-press, both the legs are able to work with both the arms simultaneously to drive the weight up by transferring force through the trunk via the torso musculature remaining stiff and creating a stable platform, which allows the extremities to more effectively express force.

As another example, during sprinting, the torso musculature stiffens and limits the amount of torso rotation in order to effectively allow the hips to transfer force up and across the trunk (i.e., diagonally) to the opposing shoulder, and to allow the shoulder to transfer force down and across to the opposing hip.

In short, along with running and sprinting, many of our free weight and cable-based strength training exercise applications – from squats and deadlifts to pressing and pulling movements – involve torso stiffness where your core muscles are primarily functioning to transfer force between the extremities.

This reason is why we use a variety of anti-rotation, anti-extension and anti-lateral flexion exercise applications: to potentially improve the ability of the core muscles to remain stiff and more effectively transfer force during a variety of movements.

2. The core functions to produce force by creating movement <–This is the most neglected aspect of core function in sports performance training.

What we just covered above can easily give us the false impression that our core musculature only has one kind of a passive role in performance: where the torso only functions as a stable platform that channels force between the hips to the shoulders vertically, horizontally and/or diagonally.

Hence the current emphasis the training and conditioning field has with “anti-movement” core training exercise applications.

However, the torso musculature doesn’t just transfer force, it also helps to produce force.

This reality is perfectly summarized by the researchers in a 2012 study published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, which stated:

“Core strength does have a significant effect on an athlete’s ability to create and transfer forces to the extremities” (2).

And, it’s this aspect of core muscle function that’s often ignored and neglected by strength coaches, fitness professional and athletes, which is why I’m highlighting here in this post.

Put simply, just by looking at athletes in action one cannot deny the obvious active, movement role in power production (i.e., force summation) the trunk has in sporting actions like throwing, golfing, batting, punching, etc.

As you can see in the images above, in the loading phase (before the exploding phase) of a baseball pitch, a soccer throw, swinging a golf club, and throwing a punch, there’s movement of the trunk, which creates eccentrically lengthening (in various planes of motion), so the torso musculature can actively contribute, along with the legs and arms, to produce power.

Power is the Summation of Your Levers

It’s often said that power comes from the summation of force. But it’s your levers (i.e., your joints, which are controlled by muscles and connective tissues) that produce the force. So, producing power is really about summating your levers in a coordinated and synchronized fashion to produce maximal force.

Keep in mind that your spine is one big series of levers – each segment is a small lever. With these realities in mind, you can appreciate the trunk’s contribution to power production in sporting actions like throwing a ball and swinging a golf club or tennis racquet.

You can also appreciate the active contribution the torso has in power production by trying this simple experiment:

First, perform an overhead soccer medicine ball throw (use a medicine ball that’s approx. 4-6lbs) in the normal fashion (as it’s performed in athletics) where you extend at your spine and hips a bit (I didn’t say go to end range) in order to allow your (anterior) torso musculature to eccentrically load. ]

Then, compare that to an anti-extension soccer style throw where you don’t allow your spine to move at all. You already know which of the two throws will be more powerful. Not to mention, which throw will feel more natural and athletic.

Check out this video to see this topic being discussed in real time:

It’s important to note that what we’re really talking about here is heavily related to the “Serape Effect,” which Logan and McKinney discussed in their 1970 book Anatomic Kinesiology (3).

So, although identifying the fact the torso doesn’t just transfer force and reduce force by limiting movement, but also helps to produce force by contributing to many foundational movements to athletics, is nothing new it’s one of the most ignored, and therefore neglected aspects of core training.

Improving Core Performance

Now that you understand both aspects of core function in athletics: to transfer force and to produce force, you know that you need to train both in order to maximize your strength and performance.

You can learn the exact exercises we use in our core training system to maximizing performance and improve core function in the Core Training: Facts, Fallacies & Top Techniques 3-part video series.

These videos give you a virtual front row seat to a closed-door workshop uncovering the myths and misconceptions around core training and teach you the Full Spectrum Core Training System.

Learn More Here

References:

  1. Dominguez, R, and Gadja, R. Total Body Training. New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons; 7-12, 1982.
  1. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Feb;26(2):373-80. Effect of core strength on the measure of power in the extremities. Shinkle J, Nesser TW, Demchak TJ, McMannus DM.
  1. Logan, G., and W. McKinney. The serape effect. In: Anatomic Kinesiology (3rd ed.). A. Lock- hart, ed. Dubuque, IA: Brown, 1970. pp. 287–302.
CategoriesUncategorized

Because Heavy Things Won’t Lift Themselves Workshop(s). I.e., Tony and Lisa Are Going to Austrailia

Wait, wait, wait! Don’t click away!!!

Most of the people reading this don’t live in Australia and (probably) won’t be interested in the details that follow. Fair enough.

So, in an effort to make up for it – and so that you don’t leave this post empty handed – I wanted to share my latest article on MensHealth.com titled How Low Should You Squat?

Okay, we good? No hard feelings, right? Cool.

With that out of the way…..

I’M GOING TO FREAKIN AUSTRALIA!!!!!!! (<— Nah, Nah, Nah, Naaaaaah)

First: I think it goes without saying I’m really6 excited for this opportunity.

Second: I’ve been hinting at it for a while now and have given some subtle “blurbs” here and there that something was in the works….but now I can FINALLY give everyone the details.

I’ll be giving TWO separate workshops in early March. The first one – a 2-day workshop – in Ballina, NSW on March 7th and 8th; and a second one – a 1-day workshop – in Sydney, NSW on Saturday, March 14th.

Ballina Workshop

When: Saturday and Sunday March 7-8th.

Where: RAW Fitness and Sports Training, Ballina, NSW.

Cost: $299 (AUD) Early Bird, $399 after February 20th.

Contact/Sign-Up: Shannan Maciejewski ([email protected]), or go HERE to sign-up.

This will be a jam packed tw0 days where my objective will be to give the attendees as much of a Cressey Sports Performance experience as possible without actually stepping foot inside the facility.

I’ll be covering assessment, warm-ups, “corrective” exercise, program design, as well as placing a heavy emphasis on coaching the “big 3” (squats, bench press, deadlifts), as well as things like get-ups, swings, and probably bicep curls, because bicep curls are awesome.

In addition, my fiance, Dr. Lisa Lewis, will be in attendance and speaking on more of the “psychology” and behavioral change aspects of personal training and coaching, which is something many fitness professionals gloss over.

Sydney Workshop

When: Saturday, March 14th

Where: iPT, Woolloomooloo, NSW (<— say that 5x fast).

Cost: $199 (AUD) Early Bird, $249 after February 20th.

Contact/Sign-Up: James Garland (James.Garland.rapidpt.com.au), or go HERE to sign-up.

With this workshop I’ll be placing a heavy emphasis on assessment (particularly upper extremity) and also speaking to “corrective” exercise strategies and program design around many common shoulder pathologies. And, I’m sure they’ll be some deadlift talk too.

Also, my fiance, Dr. Lisa Lewis, will give a brief presentation on the “psychology” behind training athletes and clients and how we can better create behavioral change.

As we say in Boston “she’s wicked smaht.”

Hope to you see you in a few weeks.

CategoriesOff Topic

Favorite Movies of 2014 (The Uppity Movie Snob Version)

I’ve made it known that if I weren’t a strength coach I’d somehow try to find a way to watch movies for a living.

Okay, that’s a lie.

First I’d want to be a professional baseball player. Second choice would be an Avenger. And third would have to be starting my own taxi service using nothing but tanks. Because that would be awesome.

And then, if none of those stuck or paid the bills, I’d want to be a dude who watches movies. And get paid for it. Basically I’d be the most diesel movie critic in the history of ever.

For as long as I can remember I’ve loved watching movies. Like most guys my age (38) I grew up watching 80s classics like Star Wars, The Goonies, The Princess Bride, Top Gun, and couldn’t even begin to tell you how many times I watched Bachelor Party.

What can I say? I was 12. Boobs+swear words (x more boobs to the boobiest power) = boobs.

And then came the 90s. Which, in my opinion (and I realize everyone defends different decades as THE decade of movie basassery), was the shit.

Pulp Fiction, Saving Private Ryan, The Shawshank Redemption, Schindler’s List, Seven, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Rushmore, Heat, Can’t Hardly Wait, Being John Malkovich, Swingers, Reservoir Dogs, Jerry Maguire, Casino, Good Will Hunting, GoodFellas, Tommy Boy, The Chase7 ……

See what I mean? Movies in the 90s were so money, it didn’t even know it.

Anyways, it was starting in the 90s when I began the process of seasoning my movie going palette. It was during that time when I developed a finer appreciation for film. I mean come on: if you would have asked me to sit down and watch something like Amelie (a foreign movie + subtitles? Pretty much a guy’s worst nightmare outside of talking about feelings) prior to the 90s I would have told you to go fuck yourself.

Actually it probably would have been more along the lines of…

“What the heck! Are you kidding? He-Man is on. I’m not gonna watch that malarky!”

He-Man dominated my adolescence (take that statement as you will). That, and my mom would have had a field day washing my mouth out with soap if she caught wind of me swearing like that.

Post 90s, however? I was (and am) all about Amelie.

It’s a delightful film. You know I mean it too cause I used the word delightful. Only the snobbiest of movie snobs use that adjective to describe a movie. It’s analogous to a sports announcer saying “that will come back to haunt them,” or a girl you really, really like in high-school saying “NO I WON’T MAKE OUT WITH YOU TONY SO STOP ASKING!!!!!”

But seriously, Amelie is a movie everyone should watch.

Long story short: I like movies. I like them a lot (<— said like Jim Carry in Dumb and Dumber. Not coincidentally, another fantastic movie made in the 90s).

Drama, action, documentary, comedy, mystery, foreign, it doesn’t matter…I’m down with every genre. Even ones that don’t exist. Like Zombies vs. Godzilla.8

So it’s with that I’d like to share my picks for Favorite Movies of 2014. This list will list those movies which are more universally recognized (Read: the one’s most people reading have probably seen themselves or have convinced themselves to go see because the Golden Globes and Oscars told them to).

Note: I’ll be adding another list – the non-snobby/fan boy/OH MY GOD I DIDN’T REALIZE MATT DAMON WAS IN INTERSTELLAR!!!!!9 list – soon.

Note #2: I’m only going to highlight EIGHT movies on this list, because everyone does ten and ten is lame.

Note #3: Unfortunately, this list doesn’t include movies like Nightcrawler or A Most Violent Year because I haven’t seen them yet (but I’ve heard good things). It also doesn’t include The Fault in Our Stars because, among other things, I have a penis.

1. Whiplash

As it happens the week I saw this at the theater (quick shout out to my 2nd home, The Coolidge, in Coolidge Corner, Brookline, MA), I felt inclined to write my very first movie review. You can read it HERE.

Go a head read it.

I said read it!

I won’t say too much here because, you know, you can read my review (Hint: you should read it), but all I’ll say here is that both JK Simmons and Miles Teller are amazing and that if you’re not like “WTF!!!!” during the last ten minutes, then, well, I don’t know what to say other than you should read my review….;o)

2. The Grand Budapest Hotel

Without question the most visually stunning movie I saw all year. Every frame, literally every frame, comes across like it’s own painting.

That in of itself makes this one of my favs on the year. That and it’s directed by Wes Anderson, who could make a movie about two toasters banging each other (which doesn’t even make any sense!), and I’d watch it.

There are only a handful of directors where, when you watch a scene or two, you can immediately ascertain their thumb print on a movie. Tarantino, Scorcese, Lynch, etc.

Anderson is known for being a more quirky and idiosyncratic director which, admittedly, isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But it’s definitely mine one of the many reasons why I’d recommend it.

3. Boyhood

It’s pretty hard not to give credit where it’s due on this one. It took Richard Linklater twelve years to make this movie. I know some people who can’t go twelve minutes without eating a carbohydrate.

The amount of patience, diligence, and persistence it must have taken to make this movie is astounding to me.

It’s something that’s never been done before – for a feature film at least – and I give Linklater all the credit in the world.  While it’s easy to chalk this one up on a “best of” list for the novelty alone, it truly is a great piece of film making.

Also, special kudos to Patricia Arquette for her amazing job in this movie. And why not, Ethan Hawke too. I’m not necessarily an “Ethan Hawke guy,” but he was pretty damn good too.

4. Chef

This movie probably wasn’t on many people’s radar, but it should have been. This was such a fun and “feel good” movie to watch. And don’t even get me started on the food porn.

OMG…..the food!!!!

All I’ll say is that a grilled cheese sandwich has never looked so sexy.

Anyways, Jon Favreau wrote and directed this film and the only issue I had with the plot was the fact his character – a fat, ornery chef – was hooking up with smoke shows like Scarlett Johansson and Sofia Vergara.

Riiiiiiigggggghhhhhhhttttttt.

Then again: You know what they say:

If a man can cut vegetables like that……………

Actually, I have no idea where I was going with that.

This is an excellent movie. You should watch it.

5. Gone Girl

I’ll admit it: much like Wes Anderson, I’ll watching anything David Fincher directs. I mean, look at the man’s catalog of movies he’s directed: Seven, Fight Club, Panic Room, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Game, The Social Network, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Zodiac, Alien 3 (<—-okay, meh).

Plus he’s one of the peeps responsible for bringing House of Cards into our living rooms.

In my book he can do no wrong.

I tend to gravitate towards dark, non-butterfly kissey, non-rainbowey, non-warm-and-fuzzy-feelingey movies.

This was about as dark as they get and it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Screw them I say!

6. Birdman

Michael Keaton plays an aging actor who used to play an iconic superhero, who then gave it up, who then became a nobody, who then tries to rekindle his career by adapting a play on Broadway.

Seems fitting given he played Batman back in the early 90s. Not to understate anything, but it goes without saying he’s superb (and will most likely win the Best Actor Oscar).  The rest of the star-studded cast is excellent too (Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone)

The real star, though, is the director, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. The camera work in this movie is unparalleled, and gave me a boner, the likes I haven’t experienced since Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men.

Shot in a way where it seems like the entire movie is done in one massive take…..you’ll be like “whaaaaaaaaaaaaat!”

7. The Imitation Game

This would be the opposite of a feel good movie. Amazing (true) story about an amazing man (Alan Turing, and his quest to conquer the Nazi Enigma Code, and basically go on to invent modern computing) with a not-s0-amazing “thank you” by the British government for helping to save the lives of over 20 million people.

Khan Benedict Cumberbatch deserves recognition for his work.  He’s like, really, really good. How’s that for selling it?

8. Star Wars: Episode VII –  The Force Awakens (Teaser Trailer)

 

Whatever.

It’s my list. It’s Star Wars. Deal with it.

So what about you? Have any favorites of the year to share? Come on: you know you’re inner movie snob wants to chime in! I’d love to hear what movies topped your list!

And remember: Stay tuned for my fan-boy “Best of 2014” list coming soon.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 1/23/15

I made a cameo appearance coaching up the Cressey Sports Performance Strength Camp (formerly known as Excellence Bootcamps) this morning in lieu of head CSP Group Fitness Instructor/Strength Camp coach George Kalantzis‘ absence.

Why was George away? He had to go off and get married and have a kick-ass honeymoon this past week. As if that’s a good excuse!

Obviously I’m kidding with the whole ornery vibe10. Of course I’m very happy for George, and it was actually a nice welcome back, because I was once the “Friday guy” for a few months last year. It was fun to come back and coach some old (and new) faces and see people’s reactions to this AM’s workout:

The other benefit of coaching so early in the morning is that I get to leave early. I’m now home sitting at the table in a comfy pair of sweatpants catching up on some stuff. You know, writing this blog post, responding to emails, catching up on Season 3 of American Horror Story: Coven. The important stuff.

So, with all of my procrastination aside here’s this week’s list to stuff to read……

Why “Chest Up” In the Squat Is Wrong – Chris Duffin

“Arch, arch, arch, ARCH.”

For years that’s how we’ve always been told to squat. Unrack the bar, arch your back like a mofo, and then drop it like it’s hot. Whether or not you come back up is hit or miss.

The cue to arch isn’t wrong, it’s just not ideal.

Not ideal for a number of reasons, and Chris does a solid job at explaining why.

Which Routine Is For Me? – Andy Morgan

Andy is known for more of his nutritional expertise (he’s one of my “go to” nutrition guys), but I felt this was an excellent piece on discussing some of the criteria that needs to be considered/addressed when figuring out which programs is the right fit for any one individual.

The Pros and Cons of Powerlifting Training – Ben Bruno

Nailed it.