Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint – Vancouver, April 1-2nd.
Dean Somerset and I will be in Vancouver that weekend to talk shoulders and hips and to start a tickle fight.
For more information and to sign up you can go HERE.
SUNY Cortland Health & Wellness Conference – Cortland, NY, April 8th
I’ll be at my alma mater the weekend of April 8th speaking at what I believe is the 4th or 5th annual SUNY Cortland Conference. Other guest speakers include my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis, Mark Fisher, Brian St. Pierre, and Dr. David Just.
In a few weeks I’ll be offering a new service…CORE Online.
It’s basically the closest you’re going to get to training with me at CORE without actually stepping foot inside the facility. Each month I write programs that’ll help give you structure and purpose with your own training. You log on with your own CORE Online app, watch me demonstrate exercise, and you get diesel.
If you want to get stronger….this will be for you.
If you want to get leaner or bigger….this will be for you.
If you want to move better…..this will be for you.
If you want to beat Channing Tatum in a dance-off….hahahahaha. Good luck.
4. Registration Now OPEN for Online Trainer Academy
Enrollment only happens twice per year and you only have a few days to act before it closes. If you’re having a hard time developing your own online training business and frustrated by your lack of systems, oh man do you need to check this out.
With a curriculum that includes some of the most notable names in the industry – Dr. John Berardi, Molly Galbraith (of Girls Gone Strong), Pete Dupuis (of Cressey Sports Performance, John Romaniello, and Alex Viada – you cannot go wrong.
Go HERE and start building a valid and legit revenue stream with your integrity still intact.
This is the best article I’ve read this year so far. Dan NAILS it.
You know all those bootcamps, spin, and group exercise classes that advocate long, lean, and toned muscles for women?
1. Inside scoop: many of the most popular classes/brands that are popular with women only allow women of a certain body-type to take those classes. Also, some people pick the right parents. They look how they look because that’s how they look, not because of some class.
2. Many of those same classes follow the same ideas and principles of successful bodybuilders. GASP! The exact opposite of what they stand for.
Now, before anyone gets their panties in a tissy….I am not against box jumps. I implement them into my training as well as into the programs I write for other people and think believe they have a time and place (as does most any other exercise in existence1).
I mean, any strength coach or trainer worth his or her weight in paleo brownies understands their role in helping to train explosiveness and athleticism. And, if we were to peel back the onion a bit further, we’d note the REAL benefit(s) of box jumps are:
Force summation, Rate of Force Development, or learning to put force into the ground.
Landing mechanics: or, learning to absorb force.
It’s not to try to jump onto a box at the highest height possible or to perform them for endless repetitions.
Dumb
Really Dumb
Dumber
Commentary on Video #1
Before the record button was pressed you know those two guys were thinking to themselves “Dude, if you hit this jump it’s going viral and you’re totally going to get laid tonight.”
He’s lucky he didn’t break his back or neck.
Commentary on Video #2
Considering the number of banged up knees and scraped shins I’ve come across I really wish CrossFit would begin to understand that box jumps aren’t a great conditioning tool, and that there’s an abyss of better options.2
Hell, running over your right arm with a Honda Civic would be better than high-rep box jumps.
Commentary on Video #3
Yeah, yeah, I get it: It’s JJ Watt, it’s an old video, he’s an elite professional athlete, he nailed it, quit belly aching Tony.
Admittedly that was a baller jump and I too would have full confidence in JJ’s ability to jump over Mordor and then some. However, from a cost-benefit standpoint…..as a coach who’s worked with plenty of high-level athletes myself, I wouldn’t touch that with a ten-foot pole.
I have to wonder, though, did the coaches in that video prescribe or allow this to happen because they felt it would make their athlete better, or because they were chasing YouTube views and likes?
Not worth the risk. Refer to video #1.
My Real Beef: Not Box Jumps, But HIGH Box Jumps
A few months ago I watched a stellar video by Nick Tumminello where he went into detail on why he didn’t like HIGH box jumps, and he made a brilliant point I had never thought of before.
High box jumps reward those people with excellent hip mobility, particularly those with great hip flexion. Here’s an example:
Stand next to a high box and lift your leg in the air.
The distance from the bottom of your foot to top of box is the “real” distance you’re jumping. Not so impressive now, huh?
And this is what the same jump looks like when someone doesn’t have the ability to clear ample hip motion:
They start cranking through their lumbar spine, over and over and over and…..”awwwww, goddamit I blew out my back again.”
“Ma, meatloaf! We want it.”
And speaking of the lumbar spine, how many times do you watch someone perform their box jumps and it ends up looking something like this:
Box Jump: Poor Landing
Happens all the time right?
Yuck.
If your box jumps look like this you’re using too high of a box and are reaping ZERO benefit from doing them.
How you start (chest up, knees slightly bent and not caving in, athletic position) is how you should end. Like this:
Box Jump – Good Landing
Another not so great thing thing many people end up doing is landing too loud on the box. Remember: one of the main benefits of the box jump is absorbing force.
Box Jump – Loud Landing
If someone can hear your box jumps in Idaho you’re doing them wrong.
Instead, you want to make sure you land softly, or what I like to tell my clients “like a ninja.”
Box Jump – Who’s the Ninja? You Are That’s Who
A Few Other Random Thoughts
Even with a (seemingly) low box height, the idea is to cue your clients to jump as high as they can (and then to land soft). External cueing works wonders here:
Try to hit your head on the ceiling.
Jump away from the ground.
OMG, there’s a snake!
I like to program box jumps for low reps. Sets of 1-3 are ideal.
Moreover I LOVE performing box jumps on lower body days prior to squatting or deadlifting as it serves as a nice way to potentiate or wake up the nervous system.
Perform 3-4 sets of 1-3 reps and you’re good to go.
I personally hate the term bootcamp as the connotation is that all participants are there to get yelled and screamed at and otherwise Full Metal Jacketed for an hour.
I find those instructors who rely on the drill sergeant approach tend to be compensating for a lack of differentiating their ass from their acetabulum3 In today’s guest post, Cressey Sports Performance strength camp coach, Frank Duffy, helps shed some light on a few lesser known factors that can help make your large group training classes more effective and enjoyable.
Large group training classes, commonly deemed bootcamps, often get a bad rap for the training they provide. Injuries and cases of exercise-induced health conditions, like rhabdomyolysis, are more prevalent than ever before. Sleep and nutrition play critical roles, but running ourselves into the ground day-in and day-out with our training is a surefire way to end up on the shelf injured over time.
Your training shouldn’t crush you. Plain and simple.
Quality over quantity, just like anything we do in life, is something I continuously hammer home to our Strength Camp members here at Cressey Sports Performance (CSP). While the program’s variables are entirely in our hands as coaches, there are other ways to dictate the intensity of training environment subtly.
1. Set the Tone Through Music
Nope, this isn’t a joke.
I have zero research to back this up, but I truly believe the music you have blaring through your speakers plays a huge role in regards to the intensity of your training floor. Powerlifters will always love their hardcore metal, the female high school athletes will always love their pop music, Tony Gentilcore will always love his Wu-Tang Clan and Tiesto.
Note from TG: Tony’s Techno Tuesdays will live on F.O.R.E.V.E.R
The CSP Strength Campers I work with are primarily in their late-30’s to mid-50’s, and don’t want Avenged Sevenfold blasting at 5:30 in the morning. Instead, we rock out to Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam… the list goes on.
It’s much less aggressive and music that most of our clients grew up with, making it much more enjoyable. It also helps that they tolerate my tone-deaf voice whenever Summer of ‘69 comes on.
Target the age range and musical interests of your clientele. It makes the training much more fun and shows them that it’s not about your own personal preference.
2. Preach the Importance of “Filler” Exercises
Our clients come to us for a kickass workout, not to sit through an hour of mobility exercises. However, I make sure that every training session entails one or two unloaded mobility drills as filler exercises to our heavier movements. My favorite way to do this is by implementing Controlled Articular Rotations (CARs) into the supersets prescribed.
I use CARs because they’re bodyweight movements that could be performed every single day without a single piece of equipment. It’s also a great way to learn how to control joint end-ranges of motion, where we typically get injured.
By getting clients to move through their end-ranges of motion in a controlled environment daily, we’re able to maintain and even expand our current mobility. Improved mobility equates to better movement with training and everyday life, why wouldn’t we want this? It’s important to hammer this point across to your clients, regardless of what route you take to improve their quality of life.
Monday and Friday are our primary strength training days, where we’ll train the squat on Monday and deadlift on Friday. In between our warm-up sets, I’ll always prescribe shoulder or scapular CARs in order to improve our range and control with overhead movements. They’re also a great way to give the lower body rest in-between sets.
These slots aren’t just limited to CARs, though. I absolutely love dead bugs, plank variations, kettlebell pullovers, and other drills for core activation in between our heavy lifts. It’s important to avoid exercises that will crush your clients for their squats and deadlifts in these filler spots.
Here’s an example I’ll use for our Friday training sessions: A1.) Deadlift 4×5
*A2 and A3 are performed during warm-up sets of the deadlift.
There’s a million different ways of going about this. Find what works best for your clients; it helps when they enjoy the exercises.
3. Talk to Your Clients
As cliche as it sounds, communication is key in all aspects of life. An important part of providing a great training experience to your clients is your ability to talk and learn about them. Everybody has a unique voice, and your job should be to listen to what each client has to say.
The ability to hold a conversation throughout a training session is also a great way to gauge how your clients are exerting themselves as well. Anything above 140 heart beats per minute is typically above the threshold in which normal conversation could no longer be held. This is a zone I’ll stray away from for long durations. As fatigue kicks in, form likes to go out the window.
Note From TG: Do you know your client’s spouse’s name? Pets’ names? Do you know their favorite movie or television show? Do they know where the term “cottenheadedninnymuggins” comes from?
TALK TO THEM!
I try to target 110 to 140 beats per minute with our Wednesday circuit training, which is a sustainable zone for longer periods of time. It’s also what our industry considers the “sweet spot” for improving overall aerobic capacity.
Our clients aren’t equipped with heart rate monitors, so assessing their ability to hold small talk is my judgement tool for how they’re exerting themselves. If you don’t have monitors at your disposal, I highly suggest you do the same.
Large group does not correlate with extremely high-intensity training modalities. Just like private, and semi-private models, your large group training service will produce much greater results when you stray away from running your attendees into the ground. Of course, you’ll always have your fitness junkies that want to give 110% effort every session. It’s our job to explain to them the importance of submaximal training’s benefits, and how exercise is only a sliver of the pie.
If you’re not sleeping adequately, eating properly, maintaining stress levels that life’s situations throw at you, can you really overcome these obstacles with a training session that leaves you crawling out the door?
I’d argue not.
Making your clients better isn’t entirely about the time they spend with you lifting iron. Make it a point to talk to them about their sleep patterns, maybe ask what they had for dinner last night, when was the last time they took note of the color of their pee?, or, I don’t know, maybe discuss the last episode of The Walking Dead. All of it is information that not only will help you help them, but will also build a better sense of camaraderie.
Author’s Bio
Frank Duffy is the Head Coordinator of Strength Camps at Cressey Sports Performance. As a Functional Range Conditioning Mobility Specialist (FRCms) and Precision Nutrition Level One Nutrition Coach (Pn1), Frank tries to tailor the program around longevity through optimal movement and nutrition habits. You can learn more though his website, www.frankduffyfitness.com and his Instagram account…HERE.
Today’s guest post comes courtesy of central NY based strength coach, Justin Kompf. Justin’s written several guest posts for this site and I always appreciate his contributions.
Today’s post is one that every coach should read. We may feel some athletes are “dogging” their workouts and get mad, and we may not like every client we work with. That’s okay. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t treat each person with respect and understand that people are often much more than the behaviors they demonstrate on any given day.
In middle school I played the trombone (and if you must know had a bowl cut too). In fact, when asked to describe my young awkward years, I often tell a story of carrying my trombone in one hand and a stack of books in the other only to have those books knocked out of my hands by some nice classmate.
I didn’t like playing this instrument, I had been doing it for a few years and just wasn’t having fun. To express my distaste for the trombone, I would intentionally mess up in practice. Rather than play to the beat I would basically play whatever the hell I felt like.
So why do I tell this story?
From the small screenshot of my behavior you might come to the conclusion that I wasn’t putting in any effort.Maybe you would think I was a bratty little kid who was just trying to be funny. But what if, given the situation I was in, I was actually giving my best effort?
When we look at s small screenshot of behavior we ignore the person as a whole. We might ignore the fact that six months prior I had tried to tell my instructor I was not having fun and would like to quit only to be disregarded. We might ignore that I would rather be playing basketball or that I didn’t enjoy being the person that lugged around a 4-foot instrument through middle school.
When we look at the fact that I felt I was being forced to do something I didn’t want to do and wasn’t having fun doing it, my behavior shouldn’t seem surprising. Maybe I actually was doing the best I could with the situation I was in.
The notion that people are doing their best in all circumstances resembles a psychological concept called unconditional positive regard (which is towards others) and unconditional positive self-regard (which is towards oneself).
I believe that holding a mindset of unconditional positive regard (UPR) is a crucial component to being a great coach.
This is especially true when we are working with people who want to change health related behaviors such as exercise and diet. UPR means holding no conditions on acceptance of an individual, caring for people and recognizing that each person is unique with different backgrounds and experiences. It does not mean you have to like everyone you work with or even approve of their behavior, but it does mean withholding judgment.
To me this mindset means the acceptance of behaviors with the capacity to evaluate and then self-regulate to make healthier or better choices.
It is the belief that once you consider an individual’s circumstances, and realize that their observable behavior does not define them as a person, that people are trying their best. This is a mindset that can be accepted not just towards others but towards oneself.
When you experience UPR towards yourself you are able to, in a non-threatening way, evaluate all of your behaviors and feelings. Negative feelings about behaviors can easily threaten our sense of self-worth and cause us to engage in further negative behaviors to avoid self-evaluation.
Being human, every coach has had negative thoughts about their clients or athletes behaviors. Maybe an athlete is having an off day and you become upset about their effort levels or listening ability. You might think, “Why isn’t this kid busting his ass to be a better athlete?”
You might be training a client who consistently breaks their dietary plans and wonder what is so hard about eating a salad or having a protein shake for breakfast rather than a bowl of cereal. You might wonder why you care more about your client’s health than they care about their own.
If you’ve been coaching long enough you’ve inevitably heard the saying “people don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care”.
Often times when you are coaching you will in fact care more about a client or athlete’s well-being than they care about their own. You will have many occasions where the people you are working with will make mistakes. Your job is to evaluate how you can help without judging these behaviors.
It is your responsibility to look at the people you work with as more than just a set of behaviors.
When an athlete or client fails to give what you perceive to be 100% effort, rather than assuming that they are lazy imagine what could have happened to them that day. Maybe they had two tests, maybe a family member is ill, or they are having relationship problems.
It is your job to listen and show that you place no conditions on how you care about them as a person. Their performance in the gym or adherence to health behaviors should not affect how much you care.
‘Unconditionality,’ then, means that I[you] keep on valuing the deeper core of the person, what (s)he basically is and can become.
Once this sense of UPR is established you can help the person you are coaching work towards healthier behaviors in the face of whatever other struggles they are currently dealing with.
Summary
Accepting this mindset is conscious work and also unlikely to be maintainable every second of the day.
I’ve found working towards owning this mindset makes coaching and teaching more enjoyable.
Every day I work with people that seem to be lacking effort. I have athletes that could work harder, I have students that could listen better and I, like all humans, engage in behaviors that are in conflict with how I see the best version of myself to be. This is human nature, every single person, acts in ways that are in conflict with how their ideal self would operate.
But every person can also work towards pursing their own unique steps towards self-growth. Adopting this accepting and unconditional positive mindset can be helpful in evaluating and changing health related behaviors.
Author’s Bio
Justin is the head strength coach at SUNY Cortland. He is also a lecturer in the kinesiology department at the university. Cortland hosts a health and wellness conference each year, this year on April 8th. Speakers will include Tony Gentilcore, Dr. Lisa Lewis, Brian St. Pierre, David Just and Mark Fisher. For more information go HERE.
Note From TG: The conference linked to above is $60 to attend. That’s a steal considering the quality of presenters coming in and the information that will be shared. Students: you can’t use the excuse of “that’s too expensive” because I know full-well you’re spending that much (if not more) drinking on the weekends. Fitness Pros: this is Cortland, NY, in April, for $60. Shut up and get your butt there…;o)
I started utilizing distance coaching back in 2005 before “distance coaching” was a thing. Hell, Facebook was barely a thing at that point in time, but I managed to survive.
Come to think of it I didn’t get my first cell phone or laptop until 2006, so it’s any wonder how I was able to turn distance coaching into a viable source of income for myself.
It’s taken years, of course, to turn it into a viable source of income, and, admittedly, there are innumerable coaches out there who have built online training empires that would make what I have built seem like an anthill compared to their Taj Mahal.
Fuck those guys…;o)
Just kidding. It’s altogether impressive to see how successful some people have gotten with their online training businesses. Kudos, and well done.
Nonetheless, I wanted to take today and discuss my experiences with distance coaching: Why I do it, the pros and cons of doing it, mistakes I’ve made along the way, and whether or not you should considering dipping your toes in the water.
Above all, when it comes to online training, you need to ask yourself this question:
Are You Doing It For the Right Reason(s)?
There’s a fairly naive notion that those who do online coaching are living the high life. They’re traveling the world on their hovercrafts writing programs and answering emails while sipping Pina Coladas. Indeed, for some, this is very true. I mean, hovercrafts are awesome.
However it’s not the norm.
If you’re entering the world of online training under the guise that that is normal, and that you’re going to be making between a metric boat load and metric shit load of money without any effort, let me say this:
Personally, I’d make the argument that online coaching is more time consuming and more of a grind than people are led to believe. Then again, those who believe otherwise are the ones who think all you need is a YouTube page, a smart phone, and nice smile to build a bonafide fitness business.
Basically it comes down to this:
If you decide to enter the world of online training (only) to make a bunch of money, good luck. I doubt you’ll last long.
If you decide to enter the world of online training to actually help people (first), to offer a good service with integrity, and then yeah, eventually, maybe make some decent money, now we’re talking.
Those Who Do Online Training Gooder: A Huge Caveat
I didn’t take on my first online training client until 2005. I had just moved from Syracuse, NY (where I had been working in both corporate and commercial gyms for the previous three years) to Danbury, CT where some guy named Eric Cressey convinced me to move to to start working with him at a local gym in the area.
A client of mine (back in Syracuse), Bobby, emailed me after a few weeks and asked if I’d still be interested in writing his programs? I like to think he couldn’t live without my witty personality and incessant GoodFellas quotes.
Until he had asked it had never dawned on me to write programs in a distance-based fashion. I was like, “uhhhhhhh, sure.”
I had a digital camera, a desktop computer, a sick bicep peak (<– very important), and an Excel spreadsheet.
I made it work.
But how?
Looking back my systems were terrible. But that’s also comparatively speaking. What I had access to back in 2005 in terms of technology paled in comparison to what is available today. I might as well, proverbially speaking at least, have been shucking corn with a scythe. Or, I don’t know, playing video games on an Atari 2600.
Bobby would send me a check via snail mail, I’d write his program, email it to him, and then if he had any questions I’d either have to write a Tolstoy’esque email back explaining every step of every exercise, or attempt to send him an impromptu video, which, honestly, back then, was more of a pain in the ass than writing everything out.
There was no such thing as YouTube. How did we survive?!
But it worked because of one thing, and it’s something I can’t repeat enough: I had years of experience training people in REAL LIFE.
To that end……
I think the best online coaches are those coaches who have experience training people in-person for a few years and then transition to some degree of distance coaching.
“It’s only when you work with people in person, gain a better understanding of their diversity and how to properly cue and coach different people with varying goals, current/past injury histories, and ability levels, and then have experience APPLYING what you read and watch to an actual individual, that you’ll (likely) be more successful virtually.”
In the years since I have developed better systems and my online coaching business is loaded with my own required desiderata – my laptop, PayPal account (to accept and send payments), DropBox (t0 receive and critique training videos), set of questionnaires, intake info, and screens (sent via vide0) to better ascertain prospective clients’ needs, a relationship with Exercise.com and their use of their sweet platform, not to mention my baller Spotify chill mix for optimum program writing prowess and badassery.
But what about the pros and cons (for both client and coach) of online training? What are they?
The Client
Cons:
Since I like to get bad news out of the way first (like, I’m writing this post with no pants on) let’s start with those, in no particular order:
Your coach isn’t actually there with you: That’s sort of the point of distance coaching right? But unless you’re highly motivated, you’ll find this as an excuse to not make it into the gym or skip certain parts of your training session. Lame.
Feedback comes later than you need it: Since you’re (hopefully) sending videos to your coach you won’t know until after you’re done with your lift if you performed things up to their standards.
It’s really easy to find a shit coach: If you spend 10 minutes browsing the fitness related hashtags on Instagram, I bet you could find about 50 random guys and gals who just finished training for their first show and are dying to offer you one of the limited spots in their online training group. Who knows what this person knows and where they learned it. If you don’t do your research you’ll end up wasting your money on some random jabroni.
It can be tough to form a relationship: If you found your coach online, it can sometimes be tough to form a relationship with them. Really, who wants to keep spending money on someone that they don’t have a great relationship with? And if you haven’t really bonded with them or trust them, why would you keep killing yourself in the gym for them? This is why I always make it a point to send random pictures of my cat here and there. Because it builds rapport, and because she’s awesome.
A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on
Pro’s:
Enough of the Debbie Downer talk! There’s a lot to love about working with a coach as a distance client!
It’s cost effective: This is just a fancy way of saying cheap! The cost per session of working with most distance coaches is substantially less than paying for them in person and is typically even way cheaper than paying for an atrocious trainer in person. For just a few bucks per lift you can have a great coach write your programming for you; it’s awesome.
Low stress: What do I mean by this? I mean that you don’t have to worry about schedules nearly as much as in person. You work weird hours and want to train at 2 am? Sure, pyscho, go train at 2 am.
You can work with just about anyone: As long as a coach is taking clients and you can afford them, you can work with just about any coach in any realm of fitness. It doesn’t matter where they are located; you can get a Chinese weightlifting coach, a Brazilian booty coach and a Turkish get-up coach if you want.
It can last a lifetime: If you’re lucky enough to find a coach that you have a good relationship with, trust and see results with you can train with them essentially forever. Regardless of where either one of you moves, the training relationship can remain solid.
A good community: I’m lucky that my coach (yes, I have a coach) had done such a good job with his distance coaching prior to me hiring him. When I started working with Greg, The Strength House had a vibrant online community where people are able to post videos to get feedback from Greg and Tony B. as well as other clients who may know what they are talking about. It makes a huge difference with staying accountable to my program.
The Coach
To be truthful, a lot of the points that are true for clients are true for coaches. It can be tough building a relationship with someone that you’ve never met.
Cons
There is a world of shit out there: People move like crap, and it’s hard to “manage” people from a distance unlike you can in-person. Being able to instantly provide verbal and tactile feedback is what gives in-person coaching a more than slight edge over online training.
More challenging to keep clients accountable: Are your clients really doing what you tell them to do? Are they really doing their deadbugs and dedicated warm-ups or skipping them in lieu of extra bicep curls in front of the mirror?
It Can Get Weird – Like that one time I started with a new male client and while on a bus on my way to NYC to visit friends I opened up all the postural pics I had him send me. Sorry random woman who looked over at me looking at half-naked pictures of a man. #awkward.
There’s a lot of moving parts: To be an effective distance coach means having a few systems in place that work really well and those can be difficult to manage.
A good way to track programs and ensure clients get them in time.
An effective means of communication, or else you’ll end up with an abyss of emails and texts to answer. Personally, though, I rarely give out my cell phone number for this very reason.
A good video library to pull demo’s from.
A solid network of coaches and trainers in other cities to be able to reach out to for help (Hey, I’ve got a client in your city, they’d like to meet with you for an hour and work on their hip hinge)
A strong system to collect and track payments.
Distance coaching isn’t for everyone: Truthfully, some people really just do need one-on-one in person training. Maybe the client isn’t motivated enough, maybe their needs are beyond what you can provide via an email or Facebook message. While it will mean you lose their monthly fee, this is definitely a client you should help find a local trainer to help them with their immediate goals.
It’s not all butterfly kisses and rainbows: Despite what the internet tells you, most people who do online training also have another job. Very few can live off their online business alone. It can be a drag to come home after coaching (or working) an 8-hour day only to have an inbox full of client questions and inquiries. As I alluded to above: online coaching, I find, is more time consuming than people think – especially if you lack having systems in place.
Pros
You can work with anyone: This is by far the coolest part. Right now I do remote coaching with people all over the world. I have clients all over North America, Europe, and even the Middle East. Many people have limited access to quality coaching and online training allows me the opportunity to work with people I otherwise would never cross paths with. Note to Optimus Prime, I have a few spots open.
It’s a decent bump to your income: I’m not going to tell you it’ll make you a millionaire, but I remember when I first started I told myself I wanted online training to help me cover my rent each month (and maybe pay for my then Match.com membership). It did and has since. Pretty cool.
Note: Match.com profile was deleted when I met my wife….;o)
Clients for life: If you’re good at what you’re doing, you’ll have clients that you’ll keep around forever. Also, since we in the fitness industry know that word of mouth advertising is more effective than anything else, happy clients will tell their friends and family.
It’s honestly fun: I really enjoy this part of my job. It takes me out of the daily routine of local clients that I work with and gives me something else to think about. It has become another skill to try and master and I like that challenge. Figuring out how to get great results with someone training in their home gym in North Dakota is much different than having that same person in front of you in your gym. You learn how to broaden your horizons as a coach and try to always get better and improve your systems.
Ultimately it’s up to you to decide whether or not online training is your cup of tea. I think when done well, for the right reasons, and with the right systems in place, coaches (and clients) can do very well. However, when taken for granted and with little attention to detail, it can be more detrimental than helpful.
My good friend, Jon Goodman, has developed what I believe is one of the best resources out there with regards to becoming a bonafide online trainer. If I had something like this back in 2005 my systems would have been much more organized, and I’d probably be married to Jennifer Lopez. True story.
Enrollment is extremely limited and only happens twice a year. Enrollment for early birds will begin February 21, 2017 (tomorrow!) and will close a few weeks thereafter. If you hurry, you can go HERE to download the Lasting Laws of Online Training and get onto the early bird list to save $200 off registration.
Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint – Vancouver, April 1-2nd.
Dean Somerset and I will be in Vancouver that weekend to talk shoulders and hips and to start a tickle fight.
For more information and to sign up you can go HERE.
SUNY Cortland Health & Wellness Conference – Cortland, NY, April 8th
I’ll be at my alma mater the weekend of April 8th speaking at what I believe is the 4th or 5th annual SUNY Cortland Conference. Other guest speakers include my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis, Mark Fisher, Brian St. Pierre, and Dr. David Just.
The 1-arm DB Row. You do it, your best friend does it, the girl whom you have a crush on at the gym yet have never said hi to does it, everybody does it.
However, it’s still one of the most commonly butchered exercises out there. Check out my most recent “tip” on T-Nation on how to perform it right. [Video]
The first John Wick was the best action movie I’ve seen since The Raid (and the Raid 2). A little know fact about John Wick is that the guy who wrote and directed it was also Keanu Reeves’s stunt double throughout all of The Matrix movies.
Pretty bad ass.
4. Registration Closing Soon for Online Trainer Academy
You only have a few days left to take advantage of $200 off joining The Online Trainer Academy. Need a little convincing? Check out this FREE ebook by Jonathan Goodman titled the 16 Lasting Laws of Online Training…HERE.
Don’t worry, Jon won’t spam you. Because he’s not a dick.
I used to be the snobby, douche of a trainer who felt using machines was a waste of anyone’s time and that all anyone ever needed was to use barbells and dumbbells.
It’s a very stupid notion to think that training should be a “one or the other” endeavor. Thanks to Aleisha for including me on this awesome piece written for Adam Bornstein’s site.
This was a very pertinent article to read on my end given Lisa is tw0-weeks postpartum herself. She trained all throughout her pregnancy hitting the gym 3-4x per week on top of teaching 2-3 spin classes per week.
Psycho.
She’s been taking it relatively easy the past few weeks. I mean, she did take her body through the wringer giving birth to our son, Julian. Thankfully the fruits of her labor (<— pun totally intended) in the gym paid off in that she hasn’t had to deal with any significant health issues that many women face after giving birth.
Nonetheless, this was an excellent piece on things to consider.
NOTE: the term “Porcelain Post” first came to fruition last year between Brian Patrick Murphy and Pete Dupuis. Without getting into the specifics, it describes a post that can be read in the same time it takes you to go #2.
Huh, I guess that was more specific than I thought.
The Birddog Exercise: Please, Start Coaching It Right
The birddog exercise is a common drill used in many components of health/fitness. It’s most commonly utilized within yoga/pilates circles and referred to as either the donkey kick or chakaravakasana. Which, as we all know, is Elvish for, “doing something poorly and making my corneas jump out of their sockets into a fiery volcano.”
Okay, that’s not true.
But we all know that the bulk of people performing this exercise, whether they’re in a yoga class, performing it on their own, or following the tutelage of a strength coach or personal trainer, end up looking like this (not always, but enough to warrant an intervention in the form of this brief post):
The birddog exercise not only targets the back, but also the hip extensors. It also, and more importantly, teaches the discipline of using proper hip and shoulder motion while maintaining a stable spine.
The picture shown above is the complete opposite of that. What we see instead is a gross exaggeration of lumbar (lower back) extension and a lengthening of the rectus abdominus compounded with excessive rib flare and cervical extension.
Essentially this person is tossing up a ginormous middle finger to any semblance of spinal stability.
Now, in fairness, maybe the woman pictured above was coached into that position for a specific reason:
Prepping for the World “How to Eff Up Your Back” Championships?
Because it’s Wednesday?
I don’t know the true details. Maybe I should lighten up.4 But what I do know is that I find little benefit in performing the birddog, and it’s likely doing more harm than good.
And when I see it performed this way it makes me do this:
What’s most frustrating is the reactions I get from some people when I ask them to perform the birddog. I’ll get someone coming in with a history of low-back pain, and after taking them through a series of screens to see what exacerbates their symptoms I’ll then have them demonstrate this exercise.
What follows is typically a few eye-rolls and a seemingly crescendo of “come on Tony, really? I’ve been doing this exercise all along, can we please turn the page?”
Low and behold 9/10 (if not 10/10), the same person who has been complaining of weeks/months/years of low back pain in addition to a bevy of other fitness professionals espousing the merits of the birddog, when asked to demonstrate it, ends up looking exactly like the second picture above.
Case in point. I had an eval with a new female client last week. She was a referral from another trainer located here in the Boston area and she informed me that this client had been battling some chronic low-back shenanigans for the past few years. To the other trainer’s credit: much of what she had been doing with this client was spot on (and I have zero doubts this client was coached very well). However, the birddog lends itself to be one of those “hum-drum, don’t worry, I got this” exercises where people (I.e., the client), when left to their own devices, becomes complacent and lackadaisical in its execution.
Play close attention to the before and after videos below:
A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on
Before = her execution of the exercise was “feeding” into her symptoms and most likely resulted in a kitten dying.
After = ticker tape parade for coaching!
With a just a few subtle cues and a “molding” of the exercise to better fit her current ability level, we were able to significantly clean up her technique and the exercise not only felt more challenging, but she felt better.
The difference maker was placing a ValSlide underneath her moving leg so that she’d be less likely to fall into extension.
From there, with the leg fully straight, I then had her lift her foot off the ground an inch or two and then “OWN” the movement/position.
She then held for a 3-5s count, performed 3-5 repetitions per side, and we then fist pumped to some Tiesto.
Coaching oftentimes involves paying closer attention to the details, even with the more mundane exercise that we often take for granted. With the birddog it often behooves us to slow people down, get a little more hands on with them (provide more kinesthetic awareness), and hold then accountable to be SPOT ON with their technique each and every rep.
This is what separates correctives and programs that work (and serve a purpose) and those that lead to less than exemplary results due to haphazard execution.
Happy Valentine’s Day everybody. This is mine and Lisa’s first V-day as parents (two weeks in). Her Mom is in town this week helping out with our little guy, and this is the sort of dichotomy is going down.
I went to BU to get a quick lift in, and Lisa headed down to Newbury St (downtown Boston) to hit up a fancy hair salon. HA – who says romance is dead?5 Thanks Grandma for babysitting.
No wordsmith foreplay today, lets get right into things….
1-Legged Glute Bridge Floor Press
Who Did I Steal It From: My man, Ben Bruno. He mentioned these a few years ago in a few blog posts of his and I immediately thought to myself 1) was a brilliant idea and 2) I’m an idiot for never thinking of something like this myself.
What Does It Do: I refer to this as a “hybrid” exercise in that it combines two exercises into one and trains several key functions:
The Floor Press component is a great fit for those with cranky shoulders or where pressing with a full ROM may be problematic. The floor prevents the shoulders from “rolling” forward (from too much glenohumeral extension) and is a nice way to provide some kinesthetic feedback so trainees know when to stay out of the “danger zone.”
The Floor Press also serves as a nice tricep accessory movement.
The Glute Bridge component obviously serves as a prime way to train the glutes. Holding the isometric hold increases time under tension.
Additionally it helps improve hip stability (the idea is to keep the hips “level” throughout. I like to cue people to pretend their hips are headlights and that they shouldn’t dip or move).
Maybe most important of all…the exercise just looks bad-ass.
Key Coaching Cues: I gave one away above (keep the hips level). By and large I believe this is a pretty self-explanatory exercise. Start with the DBs on your lap and then bump/scooch them up as you lower yourself towards the floor. Even though you’re on the floor, you still want to practice proper scapular positioning (down and together). Bridge up with BOTH legs (then decide which one you want to elevate).
From there press away. I like to force people to come to a complete stop when their upper arms touch the floor. Another thing to considers is to try to keep the elbows at a 45 degree angle in relation to the body. You don’t want to have the elbows too close to the torso (crowding) as that will increase the chances of the shoulders rolling forward, and you also don’t want the elbows flared out too much as that will often place the shoulder in a vulnerable position in terms of overall stability.
Elbows at 45 degrees tends to be the Goldilocks position. Just right.
Of course, I love the Goblet squat. As you should too. It’s a wonderful little exercise that serves as a “catch all” to groove a better squat pattern. And on top of that…it’s super versatile. As you’ll come to realize after reading this excellent guest post from Shane McLean.
The Goblet squat has revolutionized the way the squat is being performed and taught throughout the world. If don’t know what a Goblet squat is, I’m getting Dan John to come over to your house and slap you upside the head.
If you don’t know even who he is, I suggest you Google him. Pronto.
Dan John stumbled upon this excellent exercise by chance.
“Years ago, I was faced with teaching 400 athletes to squat correctly. I attempted move after move and lift after lift, yet I failed every time.
I saw glimmers of hope from teaching one kid the Zercher squat and a few picked up the pattern when we lifted Kettlebells off the ground but nothing was really working.
The answer was somewhere in between a Zercher and a Potato squat. It came to me when I was resting between swings with the weight held in front of me like I was holding the Holy Grail.
I squatted down from there, pushed my knees out with my elbows and behold, the goblet squat.” (1)
I guess you can say he choose wisely.
Thanks to Dan’s discovery people in gyms everywhere have discovered the joys of squatting. The Goblet squat is an exercise that’s great for beginners and advanced exercisers alike.
But what makes the Goblet squat so good?
Holding the weight anteriorly encourages you to stand up straighter, get that upper back tight and puff out that chest which sets the table for good squat. Furthermore, the weight acts as a counter balance that encourages you to sit between your legs and not over your knees.
For most gym-goers, the Goblet squat may be the only squat you’ll ever need. It beats squatting on a stability ball by about a trillion. Why do people do that?
Now that I’ve established the Goblet squat is the bomb, let’s look at some variations so you can squat like a boss.
1. Goblet Box Squat
If it’s been a while since you’ve squatted or you’ve never done a Goblet squat before, this variation is a good starting point. Reducing the range of motion combined with a reference point with the box will help you groove proper technique.
Pairing this with single arm press/pull combined with a mobility drill works like a charm. For example:
1A. Goblet Box Squat
1B. Single Arm Row
1C. Half Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch
2. KB Goblet Squat with Lowering
Tony calls this lowering but I’d prefer to calling this a biceps curl. Any excuse to work on the guns, right?
The pause at the bottom of the squat with the ‘curl’ helps you ‘own’ the bottom position and creates extra tension in the anterior core and the posterior chain. It’s going to tickle the legs a little also.
Pairing this with a suitcase carry will provide a greater challenge for your lungs and grip strength. Try this little finisher that I borrowed from Dan ‘the man’ John.
How do you make Goblet squats more enjoyable? By adding a looped resistance band of course. Adding a band to the kettlebell helps you control the eccentric portion of the movement and provides extra resistance on the concentric portion also.
Furthermore, some gyms don’t have big enough kettlebells to challenge advanced lifters and adding a band helps…… or hurts depending on your perspective.
This exercise can be done for straight sets but if you’re feeling ambitious you can pair this with a little exercise called the Goblet lateral walk. For example
1A. Goblet squat with band 8-12 reps
1B. Goblet lateral walk 8-12 steps each side
1C. Your grip will love you
4. Goblet Squat 1 ½
Adding a half a repetition to this exercise will make you hate life but will increase tension in your legs, anterior core and the posterior chain. These factors will give you a lower body of steel.
This exercise can be used as a finisher at the end of your leg training or can be super-setted with a core exercise for a rousing good time. For example:
1A. Goblet squat 1 ½
1B. Push up position plank
5. TG Addition: Goblet Elevator Squats
A nice progression for 1-1/2 rep Goblet squats would be elevator squats. I learned this one from my good friend Ben Bruno.
Here you’ll squat down into the bottom position, come 1/2 way up, back down again, then 3/4 of the way up, back down, and then stand tall. This is a great option for those who A) can’t think of any other way to make them hate life more and/or B) have limited options in terms of load you can use (the increased time under tension is a leg killer).
Wrapping Up
The Goblet squat makes it possible for most people to squat with good form and to reestablish the squat pattern for those who have ‘lost’ it. This also doubles as an excellent mobility exercise for the lower body.
Start choosing squats wisely. Incorporate the Goblet squat into your routine pronto and make Dan a happy man.
About the Author
Shane “The Balance Guy” McLean, is an A.C.E Certified Personal Trainer working deep in the heart of Texas. Shane believes in balancing exercise with life while putting the fun back into both.
Julian has officially been home for a week, and Lisa and I have officially turned into zombies. I’m not complaining, though. I recognize lack of sleep is what every (new) parent must endure and understand it’s a right of passage.
Doesn’t make it any less sucky mind you. I feel like I got hit over the head with a bag of dicks.
Enough about dicks, lets get to this week’s list shall we?
Half the reason most peoples skip their warm-up prior to training is because most take way too long Here’s the “perfect” warm-up done in just five moves….HERE.
2. Early bird registration for the Online Trainer Academy is now open.
I started doing online training back in 2005 before it was a thing. I had no idea what the hell I was doing back then. All I had was an Excel spreadsheet template to write programs on and a flip phone. One of my most vivid memories is when my then ex-girlfriend thought it was weird that I had all these pictures of half-naked people on my computer.
Pffffft, whatever.
Nevertheless, today, online training is a big deal. If you’re someone who’s thinking about it, but having a hard time developing the systems to make it a viable way to make money this is definitely something you should considering investing in.
You can take advantage of the early-bird registration and receive $200 off the regular price. Check it out HERE.
3. 2 Workshops Coming Up
Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint – Vancouver, April 1-2nd.
Dean Somerset and I will be in Vancouver that weekend to talk shoulders and hips and to start a tickle fight.
For more information and to sign up you can go HERE.
SUNY Cortland Health & Wellness Conference – Cortland, NY, April 8th
I’ll be at my alma mater the weekend of April 8th speaking at what I believe is the 4th or 5th annual SUNY Cortland Conference. Other guest speakers include my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis, Mark Fisher, Brian St. Pierre, and Dr. David Just.
Unstable surface training, more often that not, comes across as gimmicky. Sure, there’s a time and place for it, especially for those coming off injury, but most people use it as a way to garner Instagram views.
However, this was an awesome article. And, Meghan is a beast.
Mike’s 11 DVD set on anything and everything covering his approach to assessment, program design, and helping people increase their general levels of badassery is currently on sale at $100 off the regular price.
This is easily one of the best resources out there, bar none.
Social Media Shenanigans
Twitter
Deadlift Tip: it’s called a DEADlift (not a bounce lift). Come to a complete stop on the floor…;o)
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