CategoriesStrength Training

5 Reasons Your Glutes Aren’t Growing

The Dynamic Duo – Chris and Eric Martinez – are back!  This time with a vengeance, as they set their sights on the glutes (or lack thereof).

In this lighthearted, “investigative” report, Chris and Eric discuss some of the top reasons why your glutes aren’t growing.

Enjoy!

Have you heard the breaking news about people’s glutes plateauing and not growing? Well, word on the street and from the media is they are known as the “Top 5 Glute Killers”. Reports say that they are going around destroying people’s glutes and restricting further muscle growth and strength in today’s modern era.

We have heard certain reports saying the investigation is top secret and the authorities have no clue whether it’s one person or multiple people committing these glute crimes. All we know is that these criminals have been leaving messages saying “Glute killers are on the rise, glute hypertrophy will not be allowed and we will not be stopped, MUHAHAHA!”

Not many people seem to be doing anything about these glute killers, so we will have to take matters in our own hands. We will solve these crimes ourselves and be known as the “Glute Slayers!” Along this investigation we will have the help of the one and only Bret Contreras aka “The Glute Guy.”

In this investigation we will be using some of The Glute Guy’s awesome articles, research, and of course good ole anecdotal evidence to catch these monsters. We promise we will find these “Top 5 Glute Killers” and put them to rest at once.  Each glute killer will be exposed for their crime and will be sentenced with a solution, so they can never harm one’s glutes again…Get ready!

Glute Killer #1: Too Much Sitting!

Crime: Recently we just caught our first suspect. This criminal has confessed to us that he has been advising people to sit around all day long. We asked the suspect why they would do such a thing to one’s glutes? The suspect replied, “I want more and more people to live a sedentary lifestyle with no exercise, that way by them sitting all day they will accumulate chronic back pain, tight hip flexors, and tight hamstring muscles. I want to create more inhibitory consequences to excessive sitting, as compression slows down vascular function and interferes with nerve function.”

Sentence/Solution: Try your best to get up as much as possible and move around. We understand people have to work desk jobs for 8 hours. But this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get up from time to time to stretch, walk, and keep your blood flowing in your body. Try getting up every 1-2 hours to walk for 5-10 minutes, do some dynamic stretches, do some body weight glute bridges, practice your hip hinge, use the stairs when going places. Main point is to keep your glutes firing throughout the day.

Glute Killer #2: Glute Imbalances

Crime: When we caught the next glute killer, the suspect had a little more sympathy than glute killer #1. But the suspect still confessed to causing glute imbalances in harmless people’s glutes, so we still had to nail him. Glute killer #2 said “there are 3 main causes of Gluteal Imbalances,” he heard this from a man by the name of Bret Contreras, we didn’t believe the suspects allegations but we still let him state his 3 main causes:

1.)   Asymmetrical Human-Nature: By nature, we are asymmetrical beings; our anatomy itself can be asymmetrical. Therefore, it comes as no surprise then that one glute or region of the glute might be stronger and more coordinated than the other (1).

2.)   Inactivity: When considering the human body, we know that some muscles are more prone to inhibition than others, and the glutes are one of these “easily-inhibited” muscles. Neural and mechanical inhibition involving opposing muscles can interfere with gluteal activation, and therefore could shut them down. Gluteal inhibition can negatively impact posture, and poor posture can further inhibit glutes, thereby creating a downward spiral in gluteal function. Probably the biggest reason why the glutes shut down is due to inactivity (1).

3.)   Pain, Prior Injury, and Structural Issues: Pain is a huge inhibitor of the gluteus maximus, which is a pretty big deal at the end of the day. Research shows that glutes can become inhibited with just about any lower body or spinal injury. The glutes are major propulsion muscles. They produce powerful locomotion. Inhibiting the glutes will cause an individual to slow down so they can heal. The problem is that the glutes don’t necessarily turn back on automatically. They must be reactivated, restrengthened, and recoordinated back into every day movement and activity. Following injury, most people continue to keep working out, and their movement patterns suffer and other muscles will then compensate for others (1).

Sentence/Solution: This suspect was being very hard headed when we asked him for a solution to Gluteal Imbalances. He pretty much said you have to read this blog on how to correct Gluteal Imbalances or else they cannot be fixed.

Glute Killer #3: Improper Glute Activtion

Crime: Luckily Glute Killer #2 made our investigation a bit easier and turned in the next glute killer on our list. When we found out who this was, we were not surprised. This is a very common mistake many people make and it doesn’t help when you have criminals like our glute suspect showing you the wrong way to activate your glutes. For those that are not familiar with the term “glute activation,” it’s just a fancy way of saying warming up your glute muscles properly.

So we asked this suspect why he had been showing people the wrong way to warm up their glutes. The suspects reply was “glute activation is not important in my book, when people don’t activate their glutes properly they have a higher probability of getting injured and not gaining strength and muscle MUAHAHA!”

This was quite a disturbing answer by the suspect but we found a solution.

Sentence/Solution: Incorporate various glute exercises in your dynamic warm-ups for 15-20 minutes prior to a lower body session. Mainly glute exercises that target the glute medius, minimus, maximus, and even your TFL. These are all extremely critical muscles to activate and are often over looked.

Some examples are Monster and Sumo Walks with resistance bands:

X-band walks:

Glute Bridges:

And a ton more. For more glute activation solutions read here. Always remember your glutes are the steering wheel to your lower body, they deserve a proper warm-up.

Glute Killer #4: Not Working Your Glute Muscles Directly

Crime: After Glute Killer #3 testified, in order to reduce his sentence he was willing to give up our next suspect on our list. We caught him red handed in a big box commercial gym, we definitely thought he was smarter than this. We wanted to know his reasoning for not having people work their glute muscles directly.

The suspect said “there is no need for direct glute work; all you need to do is squats, deadlifts, a little Zumba, and the Brazilian butt lift videos.”  While we wanted to chuckle at his answer, we knew this was a serious matter and this is a very common mistake many make when it comes to resistance training. While squats and deadlifts are awesome and do help build the booties, but at the end of the day it’s not enough direct work to the glute muscles to increase hypertrophy.

Sentence/Solution: Do not take Squats, Deadlifts, Step-Ups, Good Mornings and, Lunges out of your routine. These are your vertical loading exercises. Simply add in other superior glute exercises such as the famous Hip Thrusts, American Hip Thrusts, American Deadlifts, Glute Bridges, Back Extensions, and Reverse Hypers.

These are all considered horizontal loading exercises (2).

Also, one must not overlook the importance of mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and muscle damage to promote hypertrophy in a muscle. Brad Shoenfeld says “hypertrophic benefits associated with eccentric exercise may be due to a greater imposed mechanical stress compared with concentric or isometric actions. Indeed, muscles are capable of generating greater absolute force when contracting eccentrically vs. concentrically. Despite this fact, however, muscle activation during maximal eccentric actions is generally less compared with those performed concentrically (4). So try and use different methods of resistance training: eccentric, concentric, or isometric when training the glutes. You never know which method your glutes are going to respond to best.

Glute Killer #5: Disuse of glutes in general (Flatassitis)

Crime: To wrap up this grueling investigation we caught our last suspect. Needless to say, this suspect was very easy to find. The suspect was relatively easy to find do to the disuse and inactivity of the glute muscles in general. There really was no reason to ask this suspect any questions, it was plain and simple that the suspect was trying to get people not to use their glutes overall.

Sentence/Solution: As the old saying goes “If you don’t use it you will lose it.” Well our new version is “If you don’t use your glutes, you will lose your glutes.” So get out there and put those glutes to use or else you will never fill out those expensive jeans you buy and you will always envy another big booty Judy when they walk by.

Investigation Conclusion:

Wrapping up this very intense investigation, we are pleased to say we caught all of the “Top 5 Glute Killers” that were going around harming people’s glutes. We would like to give a huge thanks to “The Glute Guy” for helping us out with this one, not quite sure we could’ve done this on our own.

The mayor of our city has presented us with the key to the city for our duties. We are now known as the “Glute Slayers” around town. All we ask is that we hope you put all of the solutions to use from now on. These solutions are great tools and will only benefit your training and help you achieve the goals you are after. Until more glute killers break loose, we leave you with this, “If you don’t use your glutes you will lose them.”

References:

1.)   Bret Contreras (2013). How To Fix Glute Imbalances

2.)   Bret Contreras (2013). The Science of Glute Training. NCSA Conference 2013

3.)   Brad Schoenfeld. Potential Mechanisms for a Role of Metabolic Stress in Hypertrophic Adaptations to Resistance Training. Sports Medicine (2013) 43: 179-194.

4.)   Brad Schoenfeld. Does Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage Play A Role In Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy? Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2012) Volume 26: number 5.

About the Authors

Chris and Eric Martinez, CISSN, CPT, BA, also known as the “Dynamic Duo” operate a world class personal training and online training business “Dynamic Duo Training.” They’re also fitness and nutrition writers, fitness models, and coaches that love helping people reach their goals. Their philosophy is “No excuses, only solutions.”

Visit them at:

Dynamic Duo Training

Blogsite

YouTube Channel

CategoriesExercise Technique Strength Training

The Post Where I Slap the Wrist of a Deadlift Troll

As it happens I don’t get a ton of hate mail or “troll” activity that’s directed my way.  Part of that is because I generally – not always – steer clear of controversial topics (CrossFit, intermittent fasting, Jacob vs. Edward) that somehow always gets people’s panties all up in a bunch.

On the other side of the coin, I like to think I go out of my way to provide top-notch content with a little lightheartedness that doesn’t come across as me being an uppity know-it-all snob.  And even if I do take a strong stance on something, I’m always willing to keep an open mind and respect other’s opinions on the matter.

That said, on the off-chance that I do get someone going out of their way to be a big meanie head and write me a scathing email or comment, I’ve learned to politely say “thank you,” or ignore them altogether and move on with my life. It’s just not worth getting into a war of words with some people.

It was a hard pill to swallow when I first started writing. I took any negative feedback I received as a direct blow against my character, and I’d be lying if I sat here and said that it didn’t sometimes affect my mood.  I wouldn’t cower in the corner in the fetal position sucking my thumb or anything, but there were times back in the day where I’d be thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to turning on a Julia Roberts’ movie and crushing a pint of Ben & Jerry’s.

When you think about it though, anytime you open yourself up to the masses and decide to write in an open forum, whether it be blogging, articles, or any form of media, you’re going to expose yourself to criticism.  It’s the nature of the beast, for better or worse.

Throughout the years I’ve learned to pick my battles.  Sometimes I deserved to be called out and I was always appreciative (although maybe not right at that moment) in the long-run, because part of why I’m in this industry and why I write is to learn and help people.  I’m not that much of a conceited person where I can’t say “my bad, I’m wrong” and move on.

And then you just have those people who have nothing better to do with their lives than to be a big, fat meanie-head.  Like I said, normally I ignore stuff like this and use it as a good laugh, but for some reason I felt this particular person, based off his holier than thou tone alone, deserved a little taste of his own medicine.

I think most of you reading will agree.

Here’s the email that was sent my way in its entirety – with a few words/lines highlighted on my end.

Why are you stating that an upper rounded back in a deadlift is incorrect. Please explain the shear you speak of.

So I guess Konstantin Konstantinov must be a shitty deadlifter eh? The fact is it depends on body composition and the weight being pulled.

It would be nice if you trainer, no back and no trap, types get your shit correct before you put this crap on the web.

RD

+500lb deadlifter

So, essentially, what this guy was saying was that:

1. He read ONE blog post of mine (I don’t know which one) and decided that that encompassed my entire thought process on everything deadlifting. And….

2. Because he watched a Russian deadlift once, on the internet, that that somehow makes him an authority. And….

3.  He’s a +500 lb deadlifter (allegedly), so he obviously knows what he’s talking about.

For starters, one blog post doesn’t define me and my thoughts.

Secondly, here’s a picture of some random dude juggling some chainsaws.  Man that is nifty!  I could probably do that!  In fact, I know I could do that because I saw it on the internet.

Thirdly, isn’t it funny how everyone somehow deadlifts over 500 lbs????  Uncanny.

Anyways, here was my initial response to him (with more to follow afterwards):

Riiiiigggggghhhhhhttttt.

Well, if you actually read more of my stuff, you’ll understand that I’ve also said that when someone is lifting heavier loads it isn’t always going to be pretty.

And as a coach and trainer I’m certainly not going to teach someone to deadlift with a rounded back. It’s just not worth the risk. If or when they get to the level of Konstantinov then they’ll get a little more leeway..

Thanks for setting me straight, though, I really appreciate it.

+570 lb deadlifter (ie: more than you).

I’m sorry.  I just couldn’t resist closing off my response with that last line.  Childish, I know – but sooooooooo worth it.

So lets break this down in a more conducive, less confrontational way.

His main beef with me was stressing how I’m not a fan of people deadlifting with a rounded upper back.  Specifically he asked if I could explain this whole “shear” phenomena, as if I was pulling a random word out of my ass.

Let me clarify a bit before I proceed.

For starters, as the co-owner of a gym (and as such: having the luxury of paying liability insurance), part of, if not the most crucial component of my job is to keep people from getting hurt.

Think about how much responsibility we accept when a parent drops off their 14 year old kid to train with us. How do you think it bodes for business if we have kids injuring themselves left and right because we don’t take the time to teach them how to lift correctly (but more on that in a bit)?

As someone on my Facebook page so succinctly noted, “it must be nice to Monday morning quarterback from a far. If they did have their butt on the line everytime an athlete picked up a bar, this junk would be the last thing you would be arguing about.”

More to the point, if we were to look at the biomechanics of the lumbar spine (or read anything Dr. Stuart McGill has written in the past 15+ years:  HERE and HERE would be a nice start), we’d understand that the spine can handle compressive loading fairly well (assuming it’s not loaded and someone is living flexion), but it’s shear loading that many fail to pay attention to.

What is shear loading?

When the (lumbar) spinal muscles – namely the erector spinae, longissimus, iliocostalis, etc – are doing their job when lifting heavy things off the floor, they’re mainly counteracting perpendicular forces to the axis of the spine which attempt to slide the components away from their normal axis.

As my boy Dean Somerset noted,  “McGill showed elite powerlifters could get their spines to within a few degrees of full flexion and maintain that position through the pull, whereas amateurs or intermediates would go beyond full flexion without control and wind up exposing their discs to stupid forces and injury, so teaching a rounded back to a beginner is completely different than allowing an experienced puller to creep into flexion during their max lifts.

It also doesn’t talk about how when the experienced lifters are training with less than max weight they get closer to neutral and work on maintaining and grooving that pattern while staying away from flexion.”

For the visual learners out there, it goes a little something like this:

Now, to be fair: guys like Konstantin Konstantinov have a TON more leeway because he’s trained his body to stay out of danger when the shit hits the fan. He’s the elite of the elite. Using him as an argument as to why lifting with a rounded back is advantageous is borderline the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Excuse me while I go throw myself in front of a mack truck.

Moreover, it’s important to note that as a coach I’m ALWAYS going refrain from teaching the deadlift with a rounded back because it’s just common sense.  It’s important to engrain the proper motor pattern, and CEMENT that pattern with smart, properly progressed strength training so that if or when they do start lifting heavier loads, they’ll be better prepared to not crumble like a deck of cards.

That and so their max pulls don’t end up looking like this walking ball of fail:

So that’s my more “polite” response. Agree?  Disagree?  Want to give me an internet high-five?  Please share below.

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: New CP Site, Recap of Elite Training Workshop, and Boston Strong!

1.  CHECK IT!

Cressey Performance has a brand spankin new website that went live a few days ago HERE. If you have a few minutes to spare, I’d love to hear any feedback you have.

Please shoot me an email if you have anything specific you’d like to share, comment on, or point out that we can improve.

Thanks!

2.  Holy moley: My head is still reeling from the Elite Training Workshop we hosted this past weekend at Cressey Performance.  The lineup was pretty baller and could probably rival the 1927 Yankees.

You had Eric Cressey leading things off discussing the importance of anterior core training and how it’s crucial to assess and address many pathologies ranging from sports hernias to femoral acetabular impingement proximally (core) to distally.  We’re all quick to set out fires were we see the actual symptoms, but more often than not the source is elsewhere.

Looking at the core, and more specifically pelvic alignment, can have far reaching dividends as far as keeping people healthy.

Mike Robertson followed with a fantastic presentation on how to go about working with the general fitness population and helping them to not only train more athletically, but feel more athletic to boot.

One valuable piece of advice he gave was how we use basic terminology with our clients.  If you have someone who’s only goal is to shed some fat and to maybe not embarrass themselves in their recreational basketball league, do you think they really care or take any credence in “soft tissue modality” or “self myofascial release” or whatever other Feng Shui term you want to use here?

Most likely they’ll look at their program, look at you as if you had a Shakeweight in your back pocket, and probably have everything go in one ear and out there other.

Instead, Mike and his team over at I-FAST came up with their R7 System which breaks down one’s training session in a more easily chewable fashion.

Up next was the band-man himself, Dave Schmitz, who basically gave everyone a direct shot of adrenaline into their left ventricle and introduced the crowd of 170+ to the benefits of band training.  In particular he discussed the benefits of including more horizontal vector training.

I’m not exaggerating when I say Dave is a ball of energy.  He’s an awesome coach and one of the more passionate people I’ve ever come across.

I had the task of speaking right after lunch which meant it was my job to keep everyone awake after crushing food for an hour.

The title of my presentation was Training Effect: Trust Me – Your Clients Aren’t Delicate Flowers, and the premise was simple:  demonstrate to everyone that as coaches and personal trainers, you can ALWAYS find a way to train around an injury.

Specifically I spoke to shoulder impingement, how that’s a really poo-poo term and doesn’t really tell you anything, and also delved into the subtle (yet very important) differences that arise when you work with the general fitness population (computer guy) who sit in flexion all day as opposed to the overhead athlete population who live in more extension.

I also included a Han Solo, Jason Bourne, and Professor Dumbledore references, so there’s that too.

Mike Reinold followed me, and he spoke to the intricate relationship between core function and hip kinematics (as well as other nerdtastic stuff like unstable surface training and how there is some (key word: some) efficacy of its use in the healthy population). In addition he also discussed the importance of regressions, and how, sometimes, those can be the most beneficial thing you can do for an athlete/client.

Closing things off were Steve Long and Jared Woolever the co-creators of Smart Group Training, and they demonstrated how to integrate the FMS into a group training format which I thought was pretty impressive and then they took those who participated through the gauntlet.  Which was even cooler.

All in all I think it’s safe to assume that it was an awesome event for all, and people learned a lot. I know I did! Also, I wanted to thank all those who personally introduced themselves to me and had such nice things to say. It’s always humbling on my end when that happens, and it’s always cool to put a face to the name.

Thanks again to all those who attended!

And for those who didn’t – be sure to keep your eyes peeled for future Elite Training Workshops in your area!

3.  Taken from Mike Reinold’s site (<====Important)

We are all still saddened here in Boston.  It seems everyone has a connection to someone who was either impacted or part of the relief team.  For those of you around the country and world that would like to help, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino have announced the formation of The One Fund Boston to help the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013.

Bob Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots has offered to match donations to The One Fund Boston, up to $100,000, if donated through the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation.  This is a fantastic opportunity to double any donation you may want to consider giving.

Huge Discount on My Products with Eric Cressey with All Proceeds Going to the One Boston Fund

I’ll personally be donating through the New Patriots Charitable Foundation, but in addition, I want to persuade you to donate as well.

Eric Cressey and I have decided to offer both Optimal Shoulder Performance and Functional Stability Training for the Core for 33% off today only, with all proceeds going to the One Boston Fund.  This is the lowest price we have ever offered either program.

For more information go to either FunctionalStability.com or ShoulderPerformance.com.  Be sure to enter coupon BOSTONSTRONG during the checkout process to get 33% off.  We will donate all proceeds from today’s purchases.

CategoriesUncategorized

2 Big Mistakes

Had my latest article posted up on T-Nation recently:

Chances are if you’re reading T Nation you’re interested in muscle, and you’re interested in packing on as much of it as possible.

Whether it’s to improve performance on the field, look better naked, or to stop the, “Hey, you look like that skinny kid from the movie Road Trip” taunts, it stands to reason that a fair share of the people reading this have gone through a bulking cycle or two.

And failed miserably.

Bulking isn’t easy – it takes a lot of hard work, time, and dedication. But if you’re someone who’s consistently making the same two mistakes below, then it’s time to make some changes.

CONTINUE READING……

Also (See Below for a Stellar Gwyneth Paltrow/Tracy Anderson Burn)

Everyone and their Little League coach is seemingly making the trip to NYC this weekend to support my boys John Romaniello and Adam Bornstein for the book launch of their new book Man 2.0: Engineering the Alpha Male.

Unfortunately, while I was invited, I won’t be able to make the trip because I’ll be presenting at the Elite Training Workshop (alongside Eric Cressey, Mike Robertson, and Mike Reinold) at Cressey Performance this weekend.

As I noted earlier in the week, John is offering some pretty sweet additional bonuses for those who purchase the book on the official Engineering the Alpha website HERE.  Offers that end tomorrow (Saturday, April 20th at noon).  These offers ALSO apply to those who buy the Kindle version (so long as they forward their receipts of purchase).

If that’s not incentive enough I have one more ulterior motive to entice you to purchase the book that I want to throw your way.  The current #1 Hardcover Health/Advice book on the New York Times best sellar list is It’s All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great by none other than Gwyneth Paltrow. The same Gwyneth Paltrow who, while being BFFs with “celebrity” trainer Tracy Anderson (of the “no woman should lift a weight heavier than three lbs” and “baby food diet” fame), was also diagnosed with osteopenia (a precursor to osteoporosis) two years ago; in no small part to the extreme diets and food restriction she has long advocated.

What a bunch of BS.

So, if you don’t buy Man 2.o (a book that’s actually written by two well-respected people IN the industry) and help it climb to #1, you’re essentially supporting Paltrow Skeletor and Anderson Mephistopheles.

Okay, that’s a bit harsh, but hopefully you see my point.

Ladies, This Means You, Too.

Understandably, a book not starting with the words 50 Shades of.… and revolves around how to go about increasing T-levels isn’t high on a woman’s “to read” list. To that end, John has placed his best-selling program Final Phase Fat Loss on sale as a “peace offering” for any women out there feeling left out and still interested in getting some top-notch information in their hands.

You have to act quickly, though, because the offer ends tomorrow (Saturday, April 20th).

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Prone Plank Push-Pull

There’s no debating the fact that planks (and all their infinite variations) have a place at the “big boy” table in terms of exercises which 1. offer a horde of benefits, and 2. are wildly popular in the fitness community.

Personally I have a love/hate relationship with them.

I love them because, well, it’s hard not to appreciate/respect the long-standing work of guys like Dr. Stuart McGill, Dr. Craig, Liebenson, and a slew of others who are way smarter than me who have routinely shown that building and improving upon spinal endurance is a key factor in addressing low-back pain.

Having the ability to buttress shear loads and maintain a “neutral” spine both from an anterior/posterior perspective (prone planks) as well as laterally (side planks) goes a long ways in demonstrating one’s ability to control the lumbo-pelvic-hip area.

While I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me, Dr. McGill has noted that one should be able to hold a perfect prone plank position for roughly 90-120s, and a side plank for roughly 60s (on both sides).

If one is unable to do so, compensates in any way, or there is a major asymmetry between left and right sides on the side plank, it’s cause for a red flag and more than likely will result in a dolphin gets punched in the face.

In short, planks (or to be more precise:  the ability to perform them correctly) can be a valuable assessment tool.

Which brings me to why I also hate them.

Walk into any gym, anywhere, at any time, and you’ll undoubtedly see people planking away.  And, more often than not they look god awful.

There’s this….

And this….

And this, which is actually kinda cool….

Worse is that some people will brag – like it’s a badge of honor – that they can “plank” for five minutes.  Well la-de-freakin-do. Unless you’re training for some World Planking Championship, who cares????

And that’s not even the worse offense. I’ll give a free pass to the general fitness population because they don’t know any better.  But what really grinds my gears is when I see personal trainers having their clients perform planks for minutes on end, and it looks like the first two pictures from above.

What purpose does that serve?  And more to the point:  how is it you’re letting your client get away with such atrocious technique???????

AHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Okay, deep breaths Tony.  Everything will be okay.

Just so we’re on the same page:  I am NOT saying that planks are a waste of time.  Like I said there’s definitely a ton of efficacy for their inclusion in a well-designed training program.  But I’m also in the camp that believes there’s a rate of diminishing returns after a certain point.

If you’re working with a banged up client with a history of low back pain that’s one thing; but if you’re working with a “healthy” client with no contraindications or symptoms then I’d rather make planks more challenging rather than go for longer periods of time.

Which brings us to today’s exercise you should be doing.

Prone Plank Push-Pull

Who Did I Steal It From:  fellow strength coach and Cortland State alum, Justin Kompf.

What Does It Do:  it definitely brings a new flavor into the mix on two fronts.

1.  By taking one arm off the floor, you’re taking away a base of support which inherently makes the exercise more challenging.

2.  It also adds a dynamic component where the trainee has to RESIST me  with the push component, and then pull AGAINST my resistance with the pulling part.

All this while still maintaining a “neutral” spine and not allowing the torso to compensate in any way.

Key Coaching Cues:  All the same rules apply, and this means making sure your technique is spot on.  Meaning, there should be absolutely no compensating in the lumbar region (dipping or hiking), no forward head posture, and the glutes should be firing along with a significant abdominal brace throughout the duration of the set.

Additionally, I like to yell out the cues during the set:  Push!, Pull!, Push!, Pull!, your sister’s hot!, Push!, Pull!, Push!, Pull!,  so on and so forth.

Shoot for 6-8 reps on one side, switch, and repeat the same process on the other.

And that’s about it.  Give it a try today and let me know what you think!

CategoriesMotivational

Boston

Fuck.

Sorry for the blatant profanity – but how else to describe what happened yesterday?

Like so many of you reading, I remember where I was when 9/11 went down.  I was actually in my microbiology lab class either fumbling with a bunsen burner or observing some paramecium colony under the microscope (I can’t remember which) when my professor walked in from the back room and said, “a plane has hit the World Trade Center.”

My lab partner, Connie, who was originally from Long Island and whose brother worked in the World Trade Center immediately jumped out of her seat in a panicked state and sprinted out of the room.  Not long afterwards the rest of the class – most of which were also from the NYC area – excused themselves from class in an effort to get hold of family members or friends to make sure that they were alright.

As it turned out: Connie’s brother made it out of the building safely.  Unfortunately, we all know that that wasn’t the case for so many others.

It was a sad day for all of us. It was a day that will forever be singed in our minds.  It fucking sucked.

Much like yesterday did.  But unlike the events of 9/11 (which I’m not downplaying in the least), what happened yesterday hit me in the stomach a tad harder because it took place in my back yard.  Well, two-miles from apartment, but still.

Thankfully, I wasn’t anywhere near the chaos. I was at Cressey Performance – roughly 20 miles west of Boston – when I happened to walk into the main office area and Pete just said, “dude, shit is going down in the city.  A few bombs went off near the finish line of the marathon.”

Knowing Lisa took the day off from work because her brother (of all days) was in town visiting from Texas, and knowing that the two of them had made plans to walk around the city to take in the sights and sounds of the marathon, I immediately grabbed my phone to make sure that she was alright.

She was.  In fact, she was at home the entire time.

I had a few friends who were in the vicinity of the blast(s), but again, no one I know on a first-hand basis was injured.

But that doesn’t mean I’m still not very disheartened and saddened by what happened.

Like everyone else part of me feels the fear and sadness, which makes sense.  But a larger part of me is also pissed as hell.  I guess the best way I can describe it is when someone makes fun of one of your siblings and you want nothing more than to rip that person’s head off.

I’m not originally from Boston, but in the almost seven years that I’ve called it “home,” where I’ve watched countless games at Fenway, spent endless hours reading in Boston Common, ate my fair share of cannolis in the North End, and walked the very sidewalks on Boylston St. where all the madness happened…..I’ve fallen in love with it.

And the fact that this happened so close infuriates me to no end.

I know I’m not alone.  I know the entire country is just as mad.

More importantly, though, I can’t even begin to articulate how proud  and in awe I am of the random strangers and first repsonders who took it upon themselves to risk their own lives to help others in need.

By now we’ve all heard of the harrowing stories of people running TOWARDS the blasts to help.  Maybe even more telling are the stories that circulated of runners themselves streamlining it from the finish line straight to the hospitals so that they could donate blood on the spot.

Unbelievable!

I think actor and comedian Patton Oswalt might have stated it best in his Facebook status that has since gone viral:

I don’t know what’s going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths. But here’s what I DO know. If it’s one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet.

So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, “The good outnumber you, and we always will.”

You can read the entire passage HERE.

Sometimes, maybe even more than we’d like, people go out of their way to suck.  But we can’t forget that the good far outweigh the bad.

Thanks for all the well-wishes and comments that people have sent my way the past 24 hours.  We’re all in this together, and it’s my hope we’ll all come through this a little bit stronger.

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Engineering the Alpha and Yet Another Red Meat Scare (sigh)

UPDATE:  The post below was written roughly four hours prior to the horrible events that happened in Boston today.

Just wanted to say thank you to all who reached out via email and social media to check in on me. I am okay (I was actually at CP when everything happened). Had a few friends in the vicinity of the blast(s) and they’re okay, thankfully. I just made it home (in Boston), and suffice it to say it’s utter chaos here.
My prayers go out to all affected, and I hope whoever is behind this senseless act is brought to justice soon.

For the record

1. Today’s a pretty cool day for a variety of reasons. For starters, and this really only applies to those who live in the Boston area, today is Patriots Day where the entire city enters a state of batshitcraziness and plays hosts to the Boston Marathon.

In roughly five hours when whichever Kenyan is favored to win finally hits the homestretch down Boylston St. towards the finish line, the rest of the 20,000+ pack of runners will be cruising/jogging/shuffling/limping past my apartment in the same direction.  In every sense, it’s a sea of people and it’s impressive to watch.

Which, of course, is why I’m getting the hell out of dodge. I’m in no way interested in dealing with the logistical nightmare of weaving my way through the maze of one-way streets, detours, and porta-potty roadblocks and will be leaving to head to the facility before the madness starts.

Good luck, though, to all the runners.

Secondly, today is a pretty cool day because Man 2.0: Engineering the Alpha Male, the long awaited fitness and lifestyle book written by both of my good buddies John Romaniello and Adam Bornstein is finally hitting the bookshelves today.  Everywhere!

I couldn’t be happier for these two guys.  Sure, they’re both friends and it only makes sense that I’d support them in any way I can. Speaking freely, however: these two consistently put out fantastic content, and more importantly I know how much time and work went into writing this book, and after previewing an advance copy, I can honestly tell you this is going to be a game changer.

I mean, for starters, the Governator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, wrote the foreword.  Like, whoa!

But more to the point, I just feel this is a baller book that every guy should own.  Not only is it chock full of information on how to transform your body into a specimen that women will crave and guys will envy, but it’s also a book that’s going to help transform yourself into the best version of YOU possible – from all facets of life.

Everything from having six-pack abs to improving your sex life to understanding why wearing white past labor day is a major feux pas.

Okay, maybe not so much the last point, but consider that a freebie on my end…..;o)

Like I said it’s not only a fitness book, but a lifestyle book, too.

Anyways, I have a quick favor to ask. Rather than hightailing it to the nearest Barnes and Noble or opening up a different window to log onto Amazon to order the book, I want you to order it through the book’s official website.

Why?

Simple: Roman his offering a TON of high value bonuses for ordering the book—bonuses that you can ONLY get by ordering through the site.

So, if you’re down with getting about $100-300 in extra value in addition to a soon-to-be New York Times bestseller, pick it up at the site HERE.

Roman’s a good dude, and he didn’t have to go out of his way to provide all the additional bonuses.  So lets show my friend some love and help get this book on the best seller list!

2.  There’s a new “study” (and I use that word lightly in this instance) making its rounds around the interwebz and mainstream media that was sent my way a couple of days ago which stated – again, even though it’s been debunked more times than I can count – red meat is a main factor in the incidence of heart disease.

For those curious, the study I’m referring to is THIS one (which was featured in the New York Times no less) where the researchers, at this point clutching at straws, pointed the finger at Carnitine (a compound found in red meat, and not coincidentally is found in every cell in your body, and plays a critical role in energy production. And when I say critical, I really do mean critical. It transports fatty acids into the “engines” of your cells – the mitochondria – so they can be oxidized to produce energy.) as the main a-hole in promoting heart disease.

I don’t claim to be a “nutrition guy,” so I’d be lying if I said I was able to interpret the actual data presented.  That said, I do have an uncanny ability to smell bullshit, and as soon as I read this story I was gagging in it.

I reached out to several colleagues of mine to ask their opinion and to see if my assumptions were correct.  And they were. Pretty much all of them pointed me in the direction of Anthony Colpo.

I HIGHLY encourage everyone to read THIS review by Anthony himself where he breaks down the actual “research,” and essentially makes the people and organizations behind this study come across like a bunch of doucheholes.  Which they are.

Big time!

I’d really like to have a better understanding on how “studies” like this actually get released.  Seemingly these are well-educated people running these things, and anyone with common sense (and an internet connection) would recognize that the whole red meat/cholesterol and heart disease connection has been refuted time and time and time again.

What’s more, while I recognize that we live in a world where 24/7 news is the norm and all these outlets have time (and pages) to fill, how much culpability should be directed towards the journalists who continue to regurgitate this crap?

From the sounds of it, it seems like I can take a piece of paper and type all these fancy words on it, make all these grandios assertions like putting butter on your toast will give you Ebola, then slap some glitter paint on that bad boy and BAM: I’m published.

That’s pretty much how it works, right?

CategoriesUncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Get-Ups, Conditioning, and Becoming the Expert

WIth Lisa starting the process of studying for her licensure exam on a nightly basis (she’s currently on the home stretch of her post-doctorate Fellowship), it’s given me the opportunity to catch up on some much needed reading.

Of course, like an asstard I made the mistake of starting season three of The Walking Dead the other day which has totally derailed any semblance of productivity during the past 72 hours of my life. While I’ve gotten some reading in (see below), most of my time has been spent doing nothing but watching zombies getting beheaded, blown up, shot, and otherwise pwned in every way possible.

And it’s been glorious.

I’m trying to place a finger on why it is we as a society are so obsessed with zombies. Much like the teenage vampire phase that’s dominated our pop-culture the past five years (Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, Let Me In*), it seems like zombies are enjoying a fair share of the spotlight as well.

Although the “trend” has been around for a lot longer than people think.  Anyone who hasn’t watched Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead or Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later (and the equally impressive, albeit lesser known sequel, 28 Weeks Later starring a pre-Hurt Locker Jeremy Renner) are missing out.

Not to mention we could go waaaaaay back to George Romero’s 1968 classic, Night of the Living Dead, which in many respects was the influence behind Michael Jackson’s seminal 1980’s zombie-fest video Thriller.  Talk about a pop-culture phenomena!

And that’s not it, either.  Right around the corner is Brad Pitt’s long awaited movie, World War Z:

Annnnnnnd, I just destroyed the back of my pants.

That’s going to be awesome!!!!

Whatever it is, I hope the current zombie love-fest doesn’t stop because I’m digging it.

Anyways, you didn’t log on today to talk about zombies.  But if you did, you and I need to hang out more often.  Here’s some stuff to read.

5 Reasons to Love the Turkish Get-Up – Dave Hedges

I’ve been featuring a lot od Dave’s stuff in recent editions of Stuff to Read, and with good reason: the man just makes sense! Like him I won’t sit here and say that the Turkish Get-Up is the end-all/be-all of exercises; it’s not going to make you bulletproof, it (probably) won’t add 100 lbs to your deadlift, and it certainly won’t fix your bed-head (would it hurt to grab a comb by the way, sheesh!).  But there are a bevy of good things that arise from incorporating more get-ups into your life.

Here Dave lists a few which I couldn’t agree more with – especially #2

Conditioning:  You’re Doing It Wrong – Molly Galbraith

The fitness industry is funny – it’s always shifting from one extreme to the other.

1.  One day spinal flexion is okay, the next everyone is shitting a pink dumbbell if someone even mutters the word. For the record:  I used to be one of those people who poo-pood on flexion no matter what, but soon realized that it’s a bit sensationalistic to demonize it entirely.  I mean, it’s part of normal human movement to be able to bend your spine. LOADED flexion is another story entirely.  That’s just dumb.  Stop it.  Stop it right now!  I swear to god I’ll turn this car around!

2. More to the point, back in the 1980’s aerobic training was the flavor of choice.  Everyone was quick to grab their leotard, leggings, and head bands and high-tail it to the next step class faster than Olivia Newtown John could say Lets Get Physical.

Then, somewhere in the mid-90’s, you were given the Scarlet Letter if you were caught running for more than 20 seconds because HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) was the new popular kid in town.  For fat-loss and conditioning, doing more short bursts of work was the key.

While not technically wrong – and definitely a step in the right direction – again, it’s a bit overkill.  It IS still important, even for more explosive based sports like football, track and field, baseball, etc – to have an aerobic base.

In Part One of this article, Molly sheds light on why we shouldn’t turn our backs on aerobic training altogether

Becoming the Expert – Jon Goodman, John Romaniello, Dean Somerset (and Company)

There’s only another few days (till the end of this week, 4/14) to take advantage of the reduced sale price and world wide FREE shipping offer on this superb DVD set.

In a time where becoming a “successful” fitness professional is equal parts knowing your shit and more importantly, being really good at what you do, having an internet presence and possessing the ability to articulate yourself through the written word is climbing the ladder of importance as well.

If you’re a personal trainer or coach and struggling to drum up business or just clueless when it comes to this whole interwebz thing, then this DVD set may be right up your alley.

And did I mentioned there’s free shipping throughout the world?

Note:  there’s free shipping.

* = while this one is good, it’s actually a remake from the 2008 film, Let the Right One In, which I felt was much better.  Just sayin…..

CategoriesMotivational

The End Is Near: (Wo)Man Up!

Today’s guest post comes from Justin Kompf who’s a fellow Cortland State Red Dragon and the man responsible for organizing my little homecoming a few weeks ago. At 23 Justin is already doing big things.  Not only is he making waves in the fitness industry, but he’s already teaching COLLEGE courses as an adjunct professor at Cortland.  I think back to when I was 23 and all I remember doing is crushing Beverly Hills 90210 re-runs and bicep curls in the squat rack. 

Suffice it to say, everyone, meet Justin. He’s gonna be someone you should remember.  Good things are a head.  

The world is coming to an end, or at least it must be. I have my bachelors of science in kinesiology – key word science. Not to say I’m in love with the whole cellular function of microbes or what Van Der Waals forces are, or even if I spelled that right, but I am keen enough to make observations and make fairly educated conclusions.

For example, if I pick up this weight and move it around I get bigger and I get stronger. Or how about this: people who don’t lift weights actually progressively get weaker until they have legs the size of toothpicks and need a machine to get from A to B.

Another mind blowing (yes sarcasm) discovery I’ve made is that if I eat crappy food my body feels and looks like crap.  On the other side of the equation, if I eat lean proteins, fill my plate with vegetables, and sweet potatoes somehow I feel satisfied, don’t get sick, increase strength, and look pretty darn good too. As a scientist I have come to this radical conclusion that if I eat well and exercise well I feel and look good.

It doesn’t take a white coat, nerdy glasses and beakers to be a scientist. I just proved it. Science is the intellectual and practical activity of gaining knowledge through systematic observation. Pay attention, observe outcome. We learned the principle in elementary school Aà B. If Christina picks on me she totally digs me right?

One more time AàB

So wait this isn’t anything new? Eating healthy and exercising are healthy habits that everyone should be doing?!?!?!? I didn’t need to go to school for four years to make this discovery?

This is the reason why I have concluded that the world must be coming to an end.

Humans are logical, intelligent creatures. If the general population was forced to be honest, they would admit that they know what it takes to get healthy or at least healthier, but instead they continue to fuel the cyclic, destructive habits that have made them obese, sedentary and sick. Trips to the grocery store are always pleasant reminders of why the world is coming to an end. People who are obese continue to load their shopping carts up with processed foods, carbohydrates, lunch meats, microwaveable dinners, sodas, and candies.

They bring these foods home to their kids who then begin the pathway towards obesity. They don’t know any better, you’d have a better chance of convincing Charlie Sheen to keep his eyes closed in a strip club than you’d have convincing a kid who’s been shoveled processed, sugary foods on a daily basis to voluntarily put down the candy, ice cream or soda.

On another note…We live in a society that rewards people who don’t work hard. Sure, if you don’t want to work that’s fine. Just rest on your laurels! Nobody works hard these days anyways, right? Being successful and getting rich is all pure luck. Just put your feet up and wait for your pot of gold. Don’t want to work, that’s fine the government will pay you not to work.

Nate Green had a tremendous article on his scrawny to brawny website called the “SB2 Manifesto: Rules For Living a Bigger Life”. In the first rule he talked about how there are two versions of us, our ideal selves and our shadow selves. Our shadow self is the guy in our head saying, “it’s okay to sit on the couch for four hours a day watching TV, its okay for us to wear our pajamas the whole day and not learn anything new”. It’s the version of us that thinks that success can be put on the back burner. The shadow self – the procrastinating, lazy, undisciplined self is kicking millions of ideal selves’ asses all across America. Yes, it’s possible to kick your own ass.

We’re on the brink of the end of the world, maybe I’m being a little dramatic here but there is an unavoidable devolution of the mindfulness and work ethic occurring all across the country.

If you’re on this site and you’ve gotten this far in my article I’ll confidently assume two things about you.

First: You’re a meat head; you like to push your body to its limits to see what it’s capable of.

Secondly:  You possess a mind that wants to expand.

Note from TG:  I’ll also add a third:  You obviously have great taste in which blogs you read. Well done.

If you’re nodding yes and yes to each of those, you’ve got a deadly combination of being a meathead with a brain. You not only want to be big, healthy, and strong but you want to be educated about it, too.

You’re not one of those guys questioning why you’re not getting bigger when your program consists of preacher curls, smith machine upright rows, and cable flys and a pre workout big gulp (not the bigger you wanted).

You squat and you deadlift and you read a lot.

Anyways, while we’re low in numbers I feel that guys like us hold some of the last hope the world has.

So let me personally welcome you to the remaining population of mindful, driven men left in the world. Tragically, our species is nearly extinct.

We are a club that defies boundaries, pushes limits in and out of the gym, and observes with the intention of asking why, learning something and applying it to our own lives, thoughts and habits for self-improvement and the betterment of the lives of those around us. Sure, for the most part we keep to ourselves and if you’re like me do a lot of observation on the current state of the world. I believe this is a good thing, we think before we talk and try not to spew out BS like most people out there.

So without further delay, I’ll share a few things I believe us men with active minds and active bodies can do to stave off, and maybe even prevent, the end of the world.

Train for at least one physical event a year.

I’m in the last week before my very first powerlifting meet. I look forward to learning from more experienced people but the last four months of serious training and following Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 program have been great.

I’ve hit rep records on just about every lift while making it to the 181 weight class. I usually weigh about 195 pounds. I’ve learned a lot about pushing my body in the gym in combination with smart dieting. My friend recently asked me if I would be interested in doing a tough mudder in October.

Sure why not, it’s certainly not what I am built for but let’s do it. Training for an event creates concrete goals. Also, if you’re not exploring your body’s capabilities then what the heck are you doing? Another benefit of training is that it helps to clear up a lot of other things in your life. I make sure my diet is spot on when training and I make sure I get the appropriate amount of sleep when training. It helps clear up stress and basically acts as your own personal therapist if you need it.

*here is the end result of the competition- 510 deadlift ohhh yeaa!

Read, read, read

Yes I said it three times and there’s a reason. Here’s my three reads:

Read 1: Personal pleasure. E.g. I’m reading Howl’s Moving Castle. Before you Google this I’ll give you the heads up that it’s a movie and it’s a cartoon. So what – don’t judge – I wanted to read the book.  I’m also getting a little into The Red Badge of Courage.

Read 2: Business Development or Self Improvement. E.g. Right now I’m reading Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson.

Read 3: Career related book: Orthopedic Knowledge Update: Shoulder and Elbow second edition.

Try to read every single day. If we get in the habit of letting our shadow self win day in and day out he’s going to get stronger making it more and more difficult for our ideal self to win. I’ve been through periods of stagnation where my shadow self put a beating on my ideal self. Believe me it’s best to keep your shadow self’s victories to a minimum.

Create forward progress every single day

There’s a wise proverb that says “Without vision [man] perishes”.

Set goals, daily goals, weekly goals, monthly goals, career goals and get on a path towards success. I doubt anyone can say for certain what they want to do with their life. For example, my dad who has been an accountant for about 30 years has been talking about getting into training people who are older when he retires. You can be in your mid fifties and still not know what you want to do for sure.

I’ve gone from everything from wanting to be a personal trainer, to strength and conditioning coach, to a nutritionist and now onto a physical therapist. Mind’s change, luckily I didn’t have a dramatic career change of heart so just about everything I’ve done so far is applicable.

Even if you’re not positive where life is taking you that’s no excuse for stagnation. In fact you’re in a beautiful position to explore all of your interest to find what suits you. Hop on some kind of path, you don’t have to know where it’s heading, just know you’re moving forward.

Your weekly, monthly, and yearly goals should match up to career goals. My long term career goal is to become a physical therapist. On my path towards that some things have pleasantly popped up that gave me opportunities to do what I love doing while getting paid for it.

What am I doing to make this career goal happen?

Daily: Reading my current career book as well as peer reviewed articles

Weekly: Shadowing a physical therapist every Wednesday

Monthly: Working on prerequisites for school. I am currently taking chemistry

Yearly: continuing with prerequisites and everything else necessary to get into school

Pleasant surprises that have popped up along this path: I’ve had the opportunity to teach personal training and strength and conditioning classes at my college. I’ve gotten to work with athletes at Syracuse University which has given me the credentials to teach these strength and conditioning classes at my college. The coach I work with at Syracuse gave me a recommendation to teach another class at a community college as well.

Now all I need is a fedora and a whip and I’ll be a full on professor!

The sooner you realize getting drunk isn’t cool the better your life will be

I’m 23 years young, so I still live in that time period where a lot of people my age think staying up until 3 am and getting drunk is still awesome.

Sad thing is that I see people ten years my senior still trying to live the college dream. How productive are you the day after drinking? Not at all. Do you get good quality sleep? Nope. Is it possible to train like a man when you drink two or three times a week? No way. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy a beer or two. I do, but it’s not a keystone coming firing at me out of funnel anymore.

Now, small huddle of mindful, hard-working, meatheads – break! Go keep doing what you’re doing, do it better, and convince some other men out there to help push back on the end of the world while you’re at it.

Thanks for reading; I believe there is still some hope left in this world as long as we all set positive examples by respecting our minds, bodies, and of course others. Try to train for something at least once a year, read, read, read, set goals, and try to behave yourself at bars.

Author’s Bio

Justin is a  certified personal trainer and certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He  holds  a bachelors degree in Kinesiology from the State University of New York at Cortland where he graduated magna cum laude. He has worked with a wide variety of clients and has spent time at two division one Universities, Syracuse University and the University of California Riverside. He currently assist at Syracuse under Veronica Dyer, the head strength coach in the Olympic sports room. Justin teaches a personal training class at the State University of New York at Cortland and will be teaching two strength and conditioning classes along with an intro to kinesiology course next fall. He likes deadlifting, the shoulder, almond butter, dragon ball z, and Zooey Deschanel. He dislikes bench pressing and people that say YOLO. His website is cortlandfit.com and he can be contacted at [email protected]

CategoriesUncategorized

5 Mistakes I Made as a Trainer and Coach That You Should Avoid

Here’s a little TG trivia for all of you: it was never my intention to become a personal trainer or strength coach. That wasn’t my game plan at least.  Nope, my game plan, and what I went to school for, was to become a health teacher.

Bachelor’s degree in Health Education, thank you very much.

Well, actually, my real game plan all along was to become a professional baseball player, sign on with the Oakland Athletics, and become an honorary member of The Bash Brothers alongside Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco.

Growing up I had the exact same poster you see to the left hanging on my wall in my bedroom, and I can’t even begin to tell you how many hours I spent outside in my side yard hitting a baseball back and forth pretending to be a Major Leaguer hitting a 3-2 fastball to win game 7 of the World Series.

By my count I think I won roughly 5,974 Game 7s. Not too shabby!

Moreover there wasn’t any point throughout the year where I wasn’t playing a sport or game of some sort.  Wiffleball, basketball, kickball, football, tennis, swimming, cops and robbers, duck-duck-goose, you name it, I played it.

All of this to say I was a very active kid growing up.  “Fitness,” even though I didn’t know any better back then, was always a part of my life.

I got my first weight training set when I was 13 or 14 (Santa dropped it off one Christmas), and I remember setting up shop downstairs in my parent’s basement, slapping the poster on a wooden beam, and religiously following the diagrams with the muscly dude (who wore really short shorts) to a “T” every other day until I entered high school and had access to a real weight room.

All throughout my high school career, I’d stay after school to lift weights for 45-60 minutes and then take the “late” bus home which ended up being another 45-60 minute bus ride.  During that time I’d sit there, usually alone, and day dream about playing college baseball while jamming a softball between my fingers which I ascertained would make it easier to grip a baseball to throw a forkball (which, coincidentally enough, was the go to pitch of Oakland A’s ace, Dave Stewart).

I could easily sit here and go on and on about my high school (and college!) baseball playing days, but I’ll spare you all the details because I don’t want to bore you to tears

Although, there was this one time, at baseball camp……….

KIDDING.

Long story short, I had a few professional tryouts but nothing panned out.  Apparently there wasn’t much of a demand for a 6-1 right-handed pitcher with a mid 80s fastball.  Go figure!

That’s me my senior year at Mercyhurst College (home team) pitching the first game of a double header. And let me just say I looked gooooooood in baseball pants…..;o)

With my playing days caput, I moved back to my homestate of New York and transferred to SUNY Cortland to pursue my degree in Health Education.

I figured that as much as health and fitness was a part of my life, I might as well make it a career.

I did all the course work, even did my student teaching in both a high school and middle school placement.  If you can believe it I actually had to teach Sex Education to a bunch of 7th graders.  I challenge anyone to say the word penis to a group of 13 year olds and not participate in all the giggling.

To this day I’m still amazed that I was able to make it through alive.

Ironically enough, academia wasn’t the road I ended up travelling down. As part of my concentration (Health and Wellness Promotion) I also had to complete an internship that following summer, and luckily for me I found one at a corporate gym just outside Syracuse, NY.

After three months, I had to make a decision:  I could either wear a suit and tie everyday…..or sweatpants.

It was a no-brainer.

That was a little over ten years ago.  Looking back I can tell you I made a crap ton of mistakes when I entered this field. While I thought I was the bees knees and that I knew everything there was to know, I can tell you from experience I was a walking ball of fail.

Don’t get me wrong, I feel I was better than the average trainer, but I’d ve lying if I said I was anything to brag about.  I had my fair share of ups and downs, and if I had to pick which were some of my major mistakes

1.  Trying to Prove to Everyone How Smart I Was

In an effort to showcase to every new (or prospective) client how smart I was, I used every opportunity I could to use big words and talk over them – as if that was going to be the “x-factor” in winning them over.

Reciprocal Inhibition

Synergistic Dominance

Active/Passive Restraints

Accomodating Resistance

Onomatopoeia

Blah blah blah. While I thought I was wowing them with my knowledge base and extensive vocabulary, looking back, all that really happened, much of the time, was coming across douchier than a Jersey Shore reject.

Listen, if you’re working with someone who’s coming to you with chronic low back pain, they could care less about what Dr. McGill says about compressive loading, force vectors, and biomechanical breakdowns.  Well, some may care and actually be interested. And if so, I want to hang out with them.

But 95% of the time, they do not care in the least.  All they care about is whether or not you can help them get out of pain.  Or lose 15 lbs.  Or help them increase their bench press.  Whatever the case may be.

One piece of advice that I’ve always relayed to other trainers (and I only say this through experience) is that if you can’t explain something to a cocktail waitress on a napkin, you’re making it too complicated.

2.  Being Scared S***less to Ask for People’s Money

To be honest: this is still something I struggle with, but through the years I’ve gotten much better at it.

As a new trainer, and especially when I moved to Boston, this was something I really had to work to get better on.  It’s never easy to ask someone for their money, but when you consider that you’re offering a service, and you’re damn good at what you do, you need to recognize that you should be compensated accordingly for your time.

More or less I feel that if you’re a good person, demonstrate that you actually care and are invested in helping someone, and act professional (and don’t try every trick in the book to swindle them), people will more than likely commit.

It’s just the whole conversation of asking for money that I’ve always had a hard time with – especially when I first started out. I’d have 1-2 comped sessions with a new member, and then after their last session the crickets would start chirping, a few tumbleweeds would blow through, and I’d be like, “soooooo, uh, wanna train with me?”

Of course my delivery improved throughout the years as I gained confidence in my abilities, but time and time again, if there’s ONE trait that upcoming trainers say they need to work on, it’s learning to ask for money.

3.  Training People the Way I Wanted to Train Them (Emphasis On “I”)

There’s no secret that I have an affinity for lifting heavy stuff.  I think everyone should place an emphasis on strength and getting stronger, and good things will happen.

Thing is, as a trainer, sometimes, begrudgingly, you have to remember that not everyone’s goal is to deadlift a mack truck.

If someone is paying you good money as their trainer, you have to realize it’s a bit of give and take.  On one end you’re the trainer, the expert, the guy (or girl) who knows WTF they’re talking about.  It’s your job to dictate to your clients what they need to do, not necessarily what they want to do given their goals, health history, and ability level.

Powerlifters like to train people like powerlifters.  Bodybuilders like bodybuilders. Jedis like Jedis.  So on and so forth.  And that’s okay.  In my younger years I used to gravitate towards telling people that they have to get strong, they have to squat, and that they have to avoid body part splits at all costs.

While I still feel that’s the case much of the time, I also know that I turned off a lot of clients back in the day for being so pigheaded.

Just remember:  Yes, you’re the professional.  People are paying YOU for your expertise.  But it’s also important to understand that your goals aren’t necessarily their’s.

4.  Not Networking Sooner

Establishing a close-knitted network of other professionals that you can exchange ideas with, talk shop, and learn from is CRUCIAL.  This is something I completely ignored my first 1-2 years in the industry.

It wasn’t until I started reaching out to other people via email and asked for their advice I certain thing that I felt I was making strides in my career.

Many people don’t know this, but Eric Cressey and I met through the internet.

Now, it’s not like we met on BestFriendStrengthCoachFinder.com or anything, but we always seemed to cross paths on various fitness websites and what not. Before long we corresponded through email, met in person at a group gathering in NYC in 2004, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Going out of your way to reach out to other trainers or coaches or practitioners is a big deal. Asking a local coach if you can stop by to observe one day is pretty much standard practice nowadays.  Most are more than willing to help out, and chances are it’s going to lead to other potential networking opportunities down the road.

Hey, you never know what it could lead to!

5.  Continuing Education Is Kind of a Big Deal

This is something that took me a while to grab onto back in the day.  To me, because I wasn’t making much money out of the gate (and trust me, most trainers don’t), I felt everything was a cost.

Whether it was a book, a DVD, or heading to a seminar or conference, my immediate thought process was “how much is this going to set me back?”

And then I heard Mike Boyle speak on the topic, and he changed my mindset entirely. Instead of viewing things like books and seminars as a cost, you need to view them as an investment!

You’re investing in yourself – and more often than not, what you pick up or learn will end up paying for itself (and then some).  I remember going to see Dr. McGill speak once to the tune of a few hundred dollars, and upon heading back to work, easily picked up 2-3 clients because I was able to articulate some knowledge bombs I learned regarding managing lower back pain.

And since I’m on the topic of continuing education, as it happens, my good friends Jon Goodman, Dean Somerset, and John Romaniello released their killer Becoming the Expert DVD set today.

It stands to reason that a vast majority of people who read this site on a daily basis are trainers or coaches and are either trying to pick up more personal training clients (and struggling to do so) or trying to build their business or brand (and struggling to do so).

Becoming the expert today is more than just book smarts, training knowledge, and good looks (although, that doesn’t hurt….wink).

Having a repertoire of unique skill-sets like the ability to write, creating a reputation online, and finding a niche market are huge selling points and serve as fantastic ways to separate yourself from the masses.

Any edge you can gain is a good thing, and these guys went out of their way to divulge some of the things that helped them succeed in their respective careers.

Jonathan Goodman – Social Media Domination for Fitness Professionals (2hrs)

John Romaniello – Fuck Mediocrity: Kick-Ass, Take Names and Make Money Your Way to World Domination (3hrs)

Dean Somerset – Specialization and the Expert Experience (1hr)

What’s more, there are several 20-30 minute BONUS videos from the likes of Lou Schuler, Neghar Fonooni, and Mark Young, to name a few.

The whole set is on sale for $87 through this week, and that includes FREE SHIPPING anywhere throughout the world.  It doesn’t matter if you live in England or Botswana – there’s no additional cost with shipping.

But that only lasts for THIS WEEK only (ending 4/13).

I don’t think I need to tell you that the information provided is solid, and I really feel this is something that will help a lot of upcoming (and veteran) trainers out there take their business to the next level.

===> Becoming the Expert <=== (Click Me)