A few years ago on Mike Robertson’s Physical Preparation Podcast (<— you should check it out if you haven’t already) I listened in as Memphis Grizzlies’ Director of Performance, Chris Chase, went into detail on the concept of the Trainable Menu.
It was such a simple phrase, yet so eloquent of an idea that it:
Blew my mind.
Melted my face.
Made me hate him because I didn’t think of it.
All the above.
I’ve written several blog posts and adopted the concept as my own in the years since, even championing the hashtag #findyourtrainablemenu on Instagram.
It truly is a splendid way to re-frame training (and program design) into highlighting what people CAN do rather than what they can’t.
One of my biggest pet peeves in the industry is when coaches or personal trainers treat program design as this one-size-fits all phenomenon; as if it’s an Old Navy knit scarf.
It drives me bonkers.
To take the mentality that a 60 year old “computer guy” with a history of low back pain (and who hasn’t touched a barbell since Dalton was practicing shirtless kung-fu and busting heads in the movie Road House) should have the same “menu” as a 21 year-old college basketball player is, well, dumb.
Don’t get me wrong.
Across the board – whether we’re talking about computer guys, basketball players, baseball players, someone training for fat loss, or Orcs – there are going to be more commonalities in everyone’s trainable menu than differences.
Meaning, most are going to be squatting, deadlifting, pushing stuff, pulling stuff, throwing stuff, carrying stuff, performing single leg work, doing an array of dedicated core work, and otherwise just getting after it.
However, where the difference show up are in the types or variations of those movement patterns being performed.
As an example, if I am working with a 6’7″ basketball player I’m probably not going to be too concerned with his or her’s ability to squat ass-to-grass.
I mean, it’s possible they’ll be able to do it (and do it well), just like it’s possible I’ll someday make-out with Jennifer Lopez.
But, it’s unlikely.
Rather, more often than not, if I’m working with a tall(er) individual, their trainable menu (which is an amalgamation and compromise between their health/injury history, training goals, ability level, and anthropometry) will consist of things like box squats, rack pulls, elevated Trap Bar deadlifts, pin squats, and the like.
Likewise, I can take the same train of thought with regards to any sport. For instance, I work with a fair number of endurance runners here in Boston; a handful of which train yearly for the Boston Marathon.
Strengthening a runner’s hamstrings and glutes and developing the ability to put more force INTO the pavement – in short: getting strong(er) – will undoubtedly help with getting to the finish line faster.
However, none of them are competitive powerlifters or Olympic lifters so I could care less whether or not they deadlift with a straight bar (or from the ground for that matter).
Every trainable menu should take into account an athlete’s sport, the demands it places on the body, what (s)he needs to do in order to succeed at that sport (from a movement standpoint), and then the cost-benefit of the exercises being prescribed.
To steal my own quote:
“A football strength & conditioning coach may look at a program that doesn’t include Olympic lifts and back squats as a joke.
Well, if we’re not talking about football players, what the fuck? That’s a completely different menu we’re talking about.”
A more germane angle to take would be what I am going through currently with my Achilles injury. For the past several weeks I have been highlighting some of my training sessions on my Instagram feed.
My goal in doing so is to prove to people that I’m still jacked AF despite an injury – even a significant one – you CAN still train.
I remember vividly as my wife and I were driving home after rupturing my Achilles I was sitting in the passenger seat actively building a mental rolodex of exercises I KNEW I was still going to be able to still pull off:
All the bench pressing and pull-ups I wanted.
Arms.
Affected Leg: open chain band curls and leg extensions, hip clams, etc.
Non-Affected Leg: Supported 1-Leg RDLs, 1-Leg Squats, etc.
Heck, even 1-week post surgery Hallway Lightsaber Battles were on the menu…
I didn’t attempt anything asinine, and in fact, took a full three days post-surgery to just chill and sleep like a champion. But I’d be lying if I didn’t reach a tipping point on Day #4 and was like…I…NEED…TO…DO…SOMETHING.
By Day #5 I was back in the gym doing a little of this and a little of that, and if felt gooooooood. Seated DB Bicep curls and 1-Leg Hip Thrusts never felt so empowering.
In my mind it was more about starting the healing process (without being an asshat about it) while also giving me a much needed mental boost.
I’m now six-weeks post surgery and fully weight bearing on my affected side (still in a boot, though). Just the other day I performed my first bilateral RDL @ 135 lbs.
Nothing crazy in terms of the weight on the bar, but I’m constantly tweaking and adjusting my Trainable Menu to match my current capabilities.
I have zero doubts this mindset is going to help expedite my recovery and rehab.
That’s the beauty of the Trainable Menu: It’s applicable whether you’re an athlete prepping for a competitive season or you’re someone trying to train through an injury.
I want to make something crystal clear before I proceed:
Exercise – I.e., lifting weights in particular – should have a degree of sucktitude attached to it.
No one became a brick shit house in the gym or built an impressive physique without pushing their body to the limits on a consistent basis. I’m often flummoxed by people who, when I post a video of myself or one of my clients doing something badass, will sometimes chime in with something to the effect of “oh, you better be careful. Such and such exercise causes too much stress on the body.”
I can’t help but think to myself: “Um, that’s kinda the point of exercise isn’t it?…
…to stress the body and force it to adapt?”
It’s a narrow-minded and boneheaded take if you ask me.
That being said, I do feel there’s a distinct difference between working hard and (always) striving to make exercise harder.
The easiest way for me to explain my train of thought here is to use a real-world example.
I have a client I started working with a few months ago. She’s a trainer herself, actually, and is no stranger to being a gym-rat, getting after it, and satiating her inner-meathead.
She reached out to me because she had been training on her own for several years and was sorta “stuck” in her progress. Namely she wanted someone to audit her technique with the barbell lifts (squat, deadlift, bench) in addition to having someone take over the mental gymnastics that’s often a side-effect of writing your own programs.
I can totally relate (even coaches need coaches).
As is the case with every client I work with there’s always a window where the two parties are kinda feeling each other out and getting the lay of the land. On my end I’m trying to ascertain how I need to temper my coaching style to better fit the personality, ability level, and needs of the client.
On their end there’s undoubtedly an adjustment to Techno Tuesdays or, I don’t know, maybe even coaching with no pants Thursdays.2
This was no different.
One thing that struck me in our initial sessions together was her proclivity to always want to beat her previous workout. Meaning, if she deadlifted “x” weight the week prior and didn’t surpass that number the following week (or at least attempt to) she’d be disappointed.
Now, in a general sense I LOVE this kind of attitude.
I want people to work hard and to push themselves in the weight-room.
A continual, consistent pattern of progressive overload – gradually doing more and more work over the course of weeks, months, years – is the key to long-term progress & success.
It makes my job infinitely easier when someone “gets” this concept. However, it can also be a double-edged sword.
In the case of my client, I got the impression that she was stuck in the trap of constantly testing her strength rather than building it.
More to the point, she was stuck in the trap of trying to always make exercise harder.
But Tony Didn’t You Just Say You WANT Your Clients to Work Hard?
Yes, I did (and do).
But working hard and always making exercise harder are two different things.
To help ruminate my point further I always recall this idea of “80% Workouts” I picked up from strength coach Paul Carter.
In short:
10% of the time you will feel like Leonidas leading his Spartan soldiers to battle and crush your workouts.
10% of the time you will feel like you spent the night in the Sunken Place and your workouts will crush you.
80% of the time you will just show up, get your reps in, and leave.
THAT’s the key.
Those 80% workouts.
The workouts where nothing spectacular happens.
You just exist and do the work.
80% of the time or 8 out of 10 workouts (<— I’m a master in math).
Another way to think about it: You’re still working hard every session, straining, and training with intent…but it’s just not worthy of Instagram.
To that end:
You can still work hard despite having a poor night’s sleep.
You can still work hard despite being injured.
You can still work hard despite having a bad day at work and resisting the urge to throw a stapler into boss’s face.
The point is: Every session (and exercise) doesn’t have to be a ball-breaker or “battle” or leave you with no sensation in the left side of your face in order for you to make progress.
Life gets in the way often and it’s unhelpful to hold ourselves to the impossible standard of breaking personal records every single training session.
It doesn’t always have to be harder.
This is where using other metrics of effort – like Rate of Perceived Exertion or Reps in Reserve – can be useful. For example, lets say you have a client who had a poor night’s sleep the night prior or maybe lost a fist fight to Rambo.
Whatever, they’re in no shape to train at full throttle.3
Instead of hitting that scheduled heavy double with their squats, maybe a better approach would be to have them perform 2-3 sets of squats aiming for 2-3 Reps in Reserve (a concept popularized by strength coach Dr. Mike Israetel).
This way they’re still squatting and hitting a few challenging sets, but not risking injury or further piling on more CNS fatigue that will only continue to accumulate and further derail their training.
Alternatively, you can try this approach (which is something I picked up recently from strength coach Conor Harris):
Week 1: 3×5 @ 70% of 1 Rep Max + one set of as many reps as possible (AMRAP).
If AMRAP >8 reps, go up 5 lbs next session.
If AMRAP 6-8 reps, repeat next session.
If AMRAP <5 reps, go down 5 lbs next session.
This is a healthy compromise because it satisfies my preference of each repetition being (somewhat) fast and crisp, but the AMRAP set also helps satiate the more competitive clients.
If you’re like me you want nothing more than to tell it to stfuuuuuuuuu.
My wife and I were practicing some aggressive quarantining the past several weeks here in Boston, but reached our breaking point.
About a week and a half ago she turns to me and says, and I’m paraphrasing here (but not really): “Fuck this shit, why don’t we drive down to my mom’s place in Florida? At least there we’ll have access to a yard, a swimming pool, and a grandma.”
So we packed our car and made the 21+ hour drive in two days; toddler in tow (he did amazingly well. Thank you The Croods).
We arrived at 4:15 PM yesterday and were in the pool and hot tub by 4:45.
#grandmashouserules.
The Real Reason For This Post (Not That My Travel Shenanigans Aren’t Thrilling to You)
Speaking of the lockdown…
…I’ve actually been spending much of it catching up on some reading. Personally, I’ve been re-reading a bunch of Kurt Vonnegut novels
I just finished both Mother Night and Slaugherhouse-Five (which I haven’t read since 2002).
However, I realize not everyone is a Vonnegut fan and he certainly hasn’t got anything of value to add to the world of online coaching. So it goes.
If you’re looking for a great read while we’re all practicing social distancing, I want to send you a free paperback book.
It’s pretty obvious that online training is going to grow huge as trainers and gyms adjust to our new reality. But there’s always a lot of uncertainty when we’re changing how we approach our career as fit pros. You can remove that uncertainty today—by ordering this simple step-by-step guide from my friend Jonathan Goodman, founder of the Online Trainer Academy and master of the digital fitness market.
Not only that, but this guide—with over 25,000 copies already in print that sells for $19.99 on Amazon—can be yours FREE today.
(and when you order, you’ll get the audiobook and Ebook free as well!)
If you…
are just starting out online
are struggling to grow your online coaching business
have a PASSION for fitness or nutrition, but don’t know how this online thing works
want to build an unbreakable fitness/nutrition business that will THRIVE even in turbulent times
Then the Wealthy Fit Pro’s Guide to Online Training can help you.
Here’s a snippet of what you’ll learn:
-How to choose your online fitness business model (pg. 13) -How to identify and market to your ideal client (pg. 51) -Savvy PRICING and PACKAGING strategies, so you get paid what you’re worth (pg. 67).
-How building a set of pecs that can cut diamonds will yield more client retention (pg. I’m just kidding). -Smart client onboarding and remote assessment techniques (pg. 85) -The tech you need to DELIVER WORLD CLASS RESULTS (p.103)
There’s no one in the industry I trust more than Jonathan on the topic of online coaching. He and his team at the Online Trainer Academy have helped countless fitness professionals scale their businesses and/or build new ones from scratch.
I’ve benefitted myself from their expertise and insights, and I think you can too.
I can’t believe we still have to have this “debate” in 2020.
While it’s not nearly as prevalent of a thought process as a decade or two ago, there are still people out there under the impression that lifting appreciable weight – and therefore, by extension, squatting – will result in big, bulky, and stiff muscles.
Merely looking at a barbell will make you tighter than a crowbar.
I don’t even think that makes sense, but whatever…you get the idea.
The same people who fall prey to this mind-trap are the ones who likely still believe lactate acid causes muscle soreness, creatine is a steroid, starvation mode exists, and that Tom Selleck doesn’t have the sexiest and manliest mustache of all-time.
I could opine judiciously on why I feel the argument that lifting heavy/squatting makes you tight is a tepid and weak one at best, but I’m not going to because 1) this is blog post and 2) it’s not a dissertation (and my 3-year old is going to wake up from his nap any minute now).
Too, I can respect and appreciate that people are at the mercy of their milieu and can often succumb to the atmosphere, anecdotal experiences, and the echo chambers that feed into their biases.
I get it: You watch one too many Tom Brady documentaries and the idea of touching a barbell (or a tomato) makes you sick to your stomach.
Nevertheless, I do feel it’s a silly stance to take.
“Squatting doesn’t make you tight. Squatting like shit does.”
I’m stuck
Make no mistake: There are many nuances to consider with regards to squat technique and what variation, setup, and execution will be best suited given an individual’s injury history, goals, ability level, genetics, and anthropometry.
I don’t think there’s any ONE best way to execute or coach the squat, and I lose a lot of respect for coaches and trainers who play all hoity-toity and think THEIR way of coaching it is the only way to do so.
Again, and this can’t be reiterated enough:
Injury/health history
Goal(s)
Ability level
Genetics
Favorite He-Man character
Anthropometry/leverages…
…all need to be taken into consideration when coaching up the squat.
The internet likes to argue semantics on bar position, hand position, depth, stance, what day of the week it is, barometric pressure, and a myriad of other things that may or may not matter when it comes to enhancing squat technique and performance.
For me, so long as the feet, ankles, knees, and hips are appropriately positioned and loaded (using all the info above as guidance), “neutral” spine is maintained, and we’re doing all we can to prevent any destroying back of pants…
…we’re (probably) accomplishing some good things.
Moreover, if you think about what’s required to pull off a decent looking squat:
We could make the case that everything listed above is a splendid way to “offset” sitting at a desk all day, particularly when you consider a loaded squat will nudge or force people to adopt a little more thoracic extension, which is rarely a bad idea for that population.
By contrast, squatting (and by proxy, lifting appreciable weight) correctly can be viewed as the opposite of making someone tight.
NOTE: For some more insights on how I address squat technique check THIS and THIS and THIS out. Oh, and if your favorite He-Man character isn’t He-Man you need to check yourself before you wreck yourself.5
Before you go a head and post your 47th bodyweight exercise of the week on IG or send out another free e-book to your followers, give today’s guest post by Jonny Pietrunti and Erica Suter a read.
If you are a coach, you need to be leading right now. No one cares about how many fitness stories you are posting on Instagram. And I’m not talking about me not caring…your clients largely don’t need this either.
What people really need now is LEADERSHIP.
I’ve been telling you for years you needed to hone your leadership and you thought learning 7,428 different Dead Bug variations and counting reps was more important than learning motivation theory and actually communicating with human beings outside of sales calls.
You mad? Good. I have your attention.
Also: we have a pandemic.
For better or for worse, I’m still in the wellness industry. Though I’ve largely discontinued diet and exercise programming, I still own a massage therapy and bodywork studio, and I still do a fair amount of mindset coaching.
I’m also a Navy Chief Petty Officer, and that’s something that never leaves you. I was trained to lead through change and crisis, embrace adversity, and run toward fires when others were running away. I was trained to be responsible for my actions and those of the Sailors that were in my charge.
The thing is: even if you train for the worst case scenario, you never really know how you will react when it happens, and even if you have a plan for it, no plan ever survives first contact. That’s the reality of it.
When Coronavirus started to make the rounds – and later kick in the door to crash every party around the globe – I began to notice workouts in my social media feeds. This started off innocently at first, with many gyms and trainers powering through, as we really weren’t sure about the severity of this virus.
But this phenomena grew to the point where everywhere I turned, I was seeing this crap in my feed.
Everywhere. From, EVERYONE.
Home workout stories.
Garage workout Facebook Live.
Push your car workouts.
Push up “challenges” and “nomination” chain-letters.
And it continues unabated.
I would make a crude virus analogy, but now is not the time or place for that level of nihilistic snark.
This is all very Kubler-Ross.
Between my leadership and psych backgrounds, it seems like a preponderance of people in the fitness industry are stuck in the middle of the Bargaining Stage of grief. The reaching out, the rationalization, the “if only”.
Much of this is a manifestation of fear.
People aren’t crowding onto Instagram to pump out an array of home workouts solely because they think it will be useful.
Granted, I know plenty of trainers that have clients that legitimately need some workouts, but a lot of people are simply panicking because their way of life is completely uprooted. It’s a coping mechanism.
It’s nothing to be ashamed of, but it is something to be AWARE of.
People are terrified and are operating out of fear. You and I are susceptible to this, too. I’m not knocking this or even saying that these feelings of fear are things you should repress or deny. Those of you that are familiar with me or are in my Facebook group know that I hate “toxic positivity”.
The world is not all sunshine, rainbows or unicorns, and if there is at all a reason that your mindset sucks, it’s because gurus are trying to tell you to ignore all of the bad things that are happening…and you are listening.
The majority of people don’t need home workouts right now.
Think about this: there are millions of resources for workouts, for both in gym and at-home settings. There are millions of simple books that anyone could buy if they really wanted to get a decent calisthenics workout.
I was in the military for over a decade, what do you think we did on the grinder? What do you think we reverted to while deployed to austere locations?
I’m not saying this to gloat, but to prove a simple point: people aren’t coming to you as a coach for simple information like bodyweight workouts. Rather, they are coming to you for leadership and the transformation that you provide.
They are coming to you for COACHING, Coach.
Your primary job is to lead. If you are in a panic mode and are unable to step back and provide sound leadership and guidance to your clients, whether through text, skype, zoom, or email, then you have essentially had a major gap in your skillset revealed to you.
I’m not immune to this, either.
This was a time of reckoning for me. My massage studio for athletes is closed until god-knows-when, and when I took stock of my mindset coaching options, I realized that I have middle and high-ticket coaching options for people, but I DON’T have entry-level offerings for mindset and goal setting.
Not even a lousy eBook!
If you are in the business of coaching, training, programming…you are also in the business of leading. Period.
You cannot have one without the other.
If you are training without leadership, you are an overpaid, glorified rep counter.
If you are coaching without leadership, well, that’s actually not possible while simultaneously being effective.
Social media, specifically in the fitness and wellness industries, breeds the exact behavior that ISN’T needed right now.
FitPros, by and large, exhibit a ridiculous amount of attention seeking behavior. This is great for marketing – I mean, you need to have a certain amount of flash and “it” factor in order to stand out from the sea of carbon copies and make a living.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the process of content creation as a marketing tool.
But…
The problem is that this isn’t the time for “Look at Me! Look at Me! Look at Me!”
Now isn’t the time to bask in the limelight of being an “influencer.”
People aren’t going to feel safe and at ease by watching you do a workout.
People don’t need to be giving you attention.
You Need to be Giving THEM Attention
You need to be LISTENING. What are your clients saying? What do they really need? Are you hearing this? It is very easy for us to get caught up in the cacophonies in our own minds during times like these and completely disregard what others are saying.
Pay attention.
Listen.
You need to be EMPATHIZING.
Some people are getting hit with this harder than others. Some have lost jobs. Others have lost loved ones. Do you understand this? Or are you just waiting for the smoke to clear so you can get them back on their normal billing cycle?
You need to be setting an EXAMPLE.
Show people that you are concerned, and that you are taking it seriously. For my part, I have been very candid about the fact that I have certain anxiety about this, and I have been using this as a way to educate followers on the importance of mindset training so that fear does not paralyze you, but rather drives you to positive action.
You need to be LEADING.
Pure and simple.
Some people don’t realize that when they sign on to be a trainer, they are also signing on to be a leader. Hell, leadership was something I didn’t want initially, it just came with the territory of being in the military. But I rose to the occasion. It wasn’t about me. It was about people that depended on me.
It’s time for all of us to rise right now. We don’t have a choice. It’s game time and the stakes are simply too high.
Let’s Get This ‘Free’ Thing Out Of The Way
Hi all, Erica here now.
^^ Erica ^^
Thank you, Jonny for opening this piece.
Of course, there were so many mic drops above, that he could’ve just exited stage right, and I could’ve gone home with my take-out pizza and called it a day.
But yo.
He fired me up and I’m ready to light this fire further.
In fact, let it burn.
So.
First and foremost…
Just like New York, it’s bad here in Baltimore, MD.
People are breaking into people’s cars. Ambulance sirens are going off every minute. Helicopters are hovering over my house. Crime rates are rising. Crab cakes are running low.
It’s scary times, no doubt.
The last thing I want to discuss are personal finance and spending more money in the midst of a global crisis.
Oh! And how “free services” are real freaking stupid.
However, I feel it’s necessary to unpack what people need during this time.
To kick things off, in the past week, I’ve seen more fitness influencers offer free workouts and programs than ever before. People who have been quiet in the online space are now suspiciously bubbling to the surface, and screaming, ‘get my FREE bodyweight workout at-home eBook!’
Look. I get it. People are scared out of their minds, offering free stuff with the hopes of retaining (or getting new clients) when this all blows over.
Or, on the other end of the spectrum, they’re financially privileged and are already in a good position to blast out free stuff. It doesn’t harm them to send out free coaching to the masses, as they sit comfortably in their abode, with a glass of wine, their spouse, a wearable blanket, Netflix, and a fully stocked refrigerator.
It is what it is.
Whatever the reason – fear or privilege – the fitness industry continues to be infused with people who don’t view themselves as valuable professionals with something high level to offer.
If you’re scared and offering free services, you’re devaluing yourself.
If you’re privileged and offering free services, you’re also devaluing yourself.
OH, And PRIVILEGED WITH NO CONCERN TO PAY BILLS AND FEED YOUR KIDS.
It’s frustrating, to say the least.
Let’s go over this first: I don’t want to be inconsiderate of the handful of people this might be helping now. Your free stuff is benefiting some…maybe.
Chances are, though, if these people are struggling to make ends meet, pay rent, and pay credit card bills, as they homeschool their kids, and argue with their spouse about taking the trash out, the last thing they want to do is your 100 burpee, 100 air squat, 100 push-up free workout.
Instead of taking into account people’s emotional needs, they’re blasting out general, cookie cutter templates.
Moving on…
We’ve All Been Giving Free Stuff for Years, Anyway
This isn’t a novel concept.
At least, I’d hope.
Whether this has been through blogs, podcasts, email newsletters, Tweets or Instagram posts, or continuing education “office hours” we’ve been overdelivering the free content.
And then guess what? If your audience enjoys it, respects you, and wants more access to you as a professional, you tell them about your coaching services.
Not just any coaching, but quality, intensive, detailed coaching.
It’s hard to give this out for free, especially if people want to make it tremendously transformational and life changing.
With that said, I urge fitness professionals to sell away during this time.
For one, selling doesn’t have to be this greasy thing.
Two, selling during times of crisis isn’t out of integrity.
Three, there will always be people appreciative of your expertise and willing to invest in you and themselves.
For the past eight years, I’ve given out so much free content with a smile on my face.
And I’m going to say this right off the bat: I’m incredibly happy that this free content has been life changing for some, especially my most motivating and empowering articles HEREHERE and HERE. And not to mention, creating this content has truly been passion, in-my-flow work that doesn’t take the brain power it takes to solve backwards calculus equations.
To that end, customized programming to the athlete takes an immense amount of brain power. And for me, I’m so incredibly picky with how I coach and write workouts, and want to bring the juice, if not, overdeliver it. It takes energy, man. And admittedly, I lose sleep over it at night.
Too, the people who have seen the most sustainable change, the consistent habits, the daily routines, and the best results, have been my paying coaching clients. For years.
Let me backtrack before the “money is the root of all evil” crowd comes at me.
Last week, I offered a free email campaign to my email list. I sent out two at-home exercises a day from the kindness of my heart. I ran this campaign for 10 days, and initially, I was only going to do it for 5 days.
Not only did it take me 30 minutes to draft these emails in the midst of my most chaotic work schedule of 12+ hour days, it left me with a jarring outcome.
The open rate of my free workouts was immense. A boasting 600 opens.
On the other hand, the click rate on my exercises was disappointing. A meager 15 clicks.
OUT OF 600 OPENS.
That’s Pathetic, to Say the Least
Especially for a woman who truly wanted to provide and service people with some free stuff during a crisis.
The click rate on the free exercises started strong (I guess) with an average of 50 clicks, then 30, then 25, then 20, then 15…
Now this isn’t to discount the folks who actually did my workouts. Shout out to you! You rock. I appreciate you and I’m so proud of you for doing them.
But this begs the question to everyone else, what do the majority of you need during this time to stick to something meaningful? It sure isn’t a library of free workouts.
No.
Right now, humans need leadership and accountability – two things that empower you to stick with something for the long haul, and be inspired to take action on consistently. As Jonny mentioned, you need to feel safe and connected to another human in times of isolation.
And it shows in my private coaching groups. With my in-person and remote athletes, they are committing to a program as a community, with weekly check-ins, training sessions, added resources, personalized teaching videos, mental journaling habits, and accountability from group exercise video uploads.
People thrive on engagement within a community. The lazy, once-a-month check-in, or quick email blast, or free circuit on Facebook LIVE are not going to suffice.
People are in turmoil more than ever before, so high level coaching – from accountability, to motivation, to community, to meticulous programming, to technique teaching, to direction, to done-for-you-outsourced-work, to connection, are all needed.
Good old-fashioned leadership.
Transformational leadership to be exact.
I’m sure some of you are exclaiming now, ‘well no one needs more people selling right now!’
Listen, Bunky, selling is a service.
It’s a service to tell people what gems you will bring into their lives.
It’s a service to tell people how you’re going to help them maintain a routine.
It’s a service to tell people how you’re going to track and measure progress.
It’s a service to tell people how you’re going to weave them into an empowering community.
It’s a service to tell people how amazing you are to hang out with.
Selling. Is. A. Service.
Also, here’s your stimulus package for your crashing economy: PAY YOUR SERVICE PROVIDERS.
And surprise! Training is a service. Coaching is a service. Mentorship is a service. Programming is a service.
Pay.
These.
Professionals.
To take the conversation away from the fitness industry, would you not pay your hair stylist now?
Your accountant?
Your maid?
Your babysitter?
Your gas station?
Your Uber eats delivery man?
I digress…
Why do trainers work for free? It’s unprofessional.
And why do people expect we work for free? It’s disrespectful.
And why does the fitness industry laud that we work for free? It’s degrading.
Now more than ever, I’ve had to adapt so hard to be able to deliver for my athletes. Even in the online space, prices stayed the same, too.
Why would I drop them? Why would I offer for free?
It’s not like I became a bad coach overnight as soon as the apocalypse happened.
It’s not like I lost my Master’s Degree as soon as I went into quarantine.
It’s not like my strength coach certification disappeared as the toilet paper supply ran out.
I’m still the same coach, offering the same service, if not more quality than ever before. Virtual coaching has its way of pushing my creativity, channelling my infectious aurora through, as well as forcing me to sharper and more articulate with verbal cues.
Mind you, it’s a tremendous amount of work to deliver the passion through a glowing screen and ensure your clients feel your energy x one billion.
So it’s business as usual.
And then some…
I’m adding more value, more service, more energy than in person training – from extra Zoom calls, to articles, to private YouTube videos for my paying clients, to guest trainers, to customized training phone apps based on equipment access at home, to technique coaching Google Drive folders, to community with group messages, to mental coaching with accomplishment journals.
Truthfully, I’m happy to do so.
Yes, I go hard as an in-person coach, but I’m going even harder as a virtual coach, doing more than what is expected of me…multiplied times 100. Again, people need connection now, and better yet, personalized coaching videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhlLfbhS6Xo
So I’m pointing at you, trainers, who are offering a free service. I ponder if you are working this much overtime?
I wonder if you are paying for advanced systems?
I wonder if you are writing painstaking, personalized programs?
I wonder if you are working 12+ hour days to go above and beyond for your clients?
I wonder…
Coming back to Jonny’s point, ‘if you are coaching without leadership, well, that’s actually not possible while simultaneously being effective.’
Be a leader.
People need you during this time, Coach.
Sure, some people you train may go through the motions and get by with free workouts thrown together on the web. And some people you train may be going through lay-offs and income cuts. Fine. This article isn’t for them.
This is for people who need connection, accountability, and leadership, and who can afford it, which is most of your clients right now.
In times of chaos, it’s a disservice to yourself and others if you play small and scared.
Play big.
Value yourself.
Rise above the noise.
But more critically, be a leader.
About the Authors
Jonny Pietrunti is a former Navy Chief Petty Officer and the owner of Brooklyn Body Mechanic in Brooklyn, New York. He specializes in massage and bodywork for athletes as well as mindset coaching. He holds a BA in Applied Sport Psychology, is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), and has numerous other letters after his name that no one cares about. In his spare time you can catch him rescuing pitbulls and playing video games.
Erica Suter is a certified strength and conditioning coach in Baltimore, Maryland as well as online for thousands of youth soccer players. She works with kids starting at the elementary level and going all the way up to the college level. She believes in long-term athletic development and the gradual progression of physical training for safe and effective results. She helps youth master the basics of balance, coordination, and stability, then ensures they blossom into powerful, fast and strong athletes when they’re older.
We’ve worked on everything from me finally addressing the fact my biological father left me when I was three to my incessant negative self-talk to, I don’t know, Michael Bay deciding to make more than one Transformers movie.
She’s helped me through some shit, to put it mildly.
When we first started working together we met upwards of 1x per week for about a year (OMG was that hard). That was eventually “downgraded” to every other week for a number of years. And now we’re in a nice routine of meeting once per month as a sort of “check-in” on life and other shenanigans.
Truthfully I’ve felt great for awhile now and have questioned whether or not I should even bother continuing on. As tepid as I may be at times, I still consider my therapy session(s) a stand-alone, non-negotiable appointment akin to getting my car’s oil changed every 5,000 miles, or, I don’t know, working out.
In short: It keeps me from wanting to throw my face into a brick wall.
As it happens, my most recent session served as a stark reminder of all of this.
I left the States for Europe on February 26th…just as the Coronavirus had kinda-sorta started to take shape here in the States (and had most certainly entered the day-to-day psyche of the average European).
I spent five days in Athens, Greece (workshop and pleasure).
Two days in Paris, France (pleasure; mostly to eat cheese).
Five days in London (two more workshops and because I’m obsessed with it).
Each day that passed I saw more face masks in public, more people carrying hand sanitizer and keeping their distance, and more general unease.
I flew back to the States on March 10th.
Two days later the US had made the decision to implement travel bans while entire countries had started the process of shutting down completely.
A week after that, a Thursday, was my first therapy session. By then the world had changed (and toilet paper seemingly ceased to exist).
And boy-oh-boy did I unload on my therapist.
The theme was loss:
I “lost” clients.
I “lost” all my workshops scheduled for later in the year.
I “lost” my new gym (I had to renege plans to expand CORE to a larger location).
I “lost” all my pants (I mean, shelter at home advisory = who needs pants?).
After 20-30 minutes I finally gave pause and my therapist, with a reassuring smile, made the time-out sign with her hands.
She said simply:
“You didn’t LOSE anything. Things are just on pause at the moment.”
NOTE: Now, of course, this wasn’t meant to imply there wasn’t substantial suffering and real loss going on the world (then or now). No one, least of all my therapist, was making light of the situation.
That said:
Holy Fuckin A – what a baller re-frame!
Her words punched me in the kidney.
It was exactly what I needed to hear (and something I hope resonates for the bulk of fitness professionals who may be reading).
Like many of you I’ve vacillated between determination, fatalism, ennui, and just trying all I can to clone anything that feels normal.
The health/fitness industry – like many industries – has been decimated in recent weeks.
There’s no sugar coating things.
It’s bad.
Thousands of us have been left to marinate in uncertainty, doubt, and the feeling of inevitable loss.
The unknown.
It’s not fun and it’s going to stick around for a while.
But not forever.
As cheesy and as impossible as it sounds…
…the pause button has been pressed.
What this means for me:
– Checking in and being there for my clients.
In the end I know my clients will come back (or I’ll kill them). It’s important to recognize we’re in the service industry and that we should still serve our clients. This could mean accommodating them with at home workouts of course, but it also could mean nothing more than sending a “hey, how are you doing?” text.6I haven’t lost my clients; the pause button has been pressed.
– Making the pivot to more online & virtual training until social distancing measures are loosened. Who knows: maybe it’ll turn into a more viable and robust revenue stream when all is said and done? I haven’t lost in-person training; the pause button has been pressed.
– Recognizing that I can (and will) reassess expanding my gym at a later point this year. I haven’t lost my new gym; the pause button has been pressed.
– Recognizing 2021 will be an EPIC travel year for workshops. I haven’t lost all my workshops; the pause button has been pressed.
– Finally getting my head out of my ass and watching Ozark on Netflix. No excuses here.I suck.
NOTE: This is a blog I originally wrote back in 2017, but I’m repurposing it today because:
It’s really fucking good.
AND
2. It matches well with the release of Psych Skills for Fitness Pros, my wife’s (Dr. Lisa Lewis), latest resource for personal trainers, strength & nutrition coaches, and physical therapists designed to improve their communication and motivational skills.
It too is really fucking good…;o)
This is the last week you’ll be able to purchase it at $100 off the regular price.
My Wish for Female Fitness: Less Talk About Less
“Why should I be fit?”
Ask a male that question and you’ll hear a bevy of terms and phrases ranging from “to get swole and jacked” to “to get swole and ripped.”7
Ask a female that question? Well, the bulk of them will have an entirely different orientation or framing of answers.
Most of the time we’ll see an avalanche of words like:
Lean
Slim
Toned
Thin
In other words: For many women the idea of being fit revolves around being LESS. Rather than embracing and accepting their body as something unique and worthy of its own admiration (regardless of size), many women are fixated on the notion that less is sexier.
Healthier.
Better.
This is in stark contrast to the psyche of their male counterparts. Peruse any magazine rack and you’ll immediately notice a different tone:
Big
Strong
Mass
Gain
Here, the goal is MORE.
My wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis, who speaks on this topic and phenomenon frequently, refers to this as a Growth Orientation.
Woman are (generally) programmed to strive for less. By contrast, men are (generally) programmed to strive for more.8
“Striving to Be More, Instead of Wanting to Be Less”
Rather than being seduced into the rabbit hole of incessant “weight loss,” which, lets be honest, is the quicksand of the industry – slowly swallowing any semblance of enjoyment and fun out of fitness – I’d like to see more women gravitate towards something I refer to as 3×52.
Instead of a goal of weight loss and steady diet of disappointing results (and Paleo recipes that taste like old lady fart sprinkled with sawdust), the ultimate goal, as far as my own female clients, is to get them in the gym 3 days a week, 52 weeks a year…aiming for CONSISTENCY and PERFORMANCE.
I find if I can get them “married” (for lack of a better term) to finally conquering a chin-up, or deadlifting their bodyweight for reps, or, I don’t know, beating Xena Warrior Princess in a street fight, the aesthetic goals they’re chasing (often saturated with a tone of weight loss) just kinda-sorta…happen.
Better yet…they forget about them altogether, and just want to crush weights.
It’s All About Motivation
This is where my wife Lisa would chime in with her expertise, but I’m going to take as stab at it.
In the seminal book, “Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Exercise and Sport,” a light read (said no one, ever), motivation is described as:
“….[is] an internal state that energizes and drives action and behavior and determines its direction and persistence.”
The fitness industry, as it relates to women (exponentially so), is very much fixated on extrinsic factors: external appearance, sex appeal, being less.
This isn’t entirely wrong or altogether a bad thing. I understand that for many women looking at magazine covers like the one above, or perusing any number of Instagram accounts of fitness celebrities can be motivating.
However, it’s also very superficial.
Happiness, it would seem, is tethered to one’s waistline or ability to look a certain way society (or magazine editors) deems attractive.
This is not healthy.
And, funnily enough: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard stories and have seen personally people (both men and women) who have sacrificed a lot to look a certain way.
They give up social events and carbs (CARBS!) in pursuit of six-pack abs or tank-top triceps, only to attain the goal and be like, “huh, that’s it? Well, that’s a bunch of bullshit.”
The moral of the story, however, is to help your clients find and recognize INTRINSIC factors that will fuel their motivation to get fit and healthy. And do so long-term.
The difference and power of intrinsic factors is that they have less to do with external appearance and sex appeal and more to do with finding value in other ways, like:
How exercising makes someone feel.
Exercise matches their values and beliefs.
Someone feels exercise is an important part of their personality, and makes them the best version of themselves possible.
You do that – help someone seek intrinsic motivation – and Tracy Anderson will have less of an influence.
This is where being a good, intuitive coach brings value. I’m a strength guy and love the barbell lifts, so it stands to reason I have a little bias towards them.
While I’m at a stage in my career where the majority of women who reach out to me know what they’re getting themselves into – a healthy dose of deadlifts and Tiesto – I also recognize that for some, I can’t force feed anything.
If someone would rather jump into a live volcano than perform a back squat…what good is it to force them to do back squats. That’s a sure-fire way to crush motivation.
It’s my job, then, to do the best I can to match their goals with shit they’ll actually want to do. Maybe instead of back squats we perform Goblet squats, or a crap-ton of sled work?
More to the point, if I can identify their strengths and talents – and utilize things that make them feel like a rock star – we’re in a good place.
A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on
2. Highlight Ways to Grow
Building autonomy should always be the goal with any client. You should want them to eventually leave.
Listen to a client’s goals and ALWAYS create plans based on those goals…..always. Allow room for goals to change, be modified, or even abandoned. Everything is negotiable.
A large reason why so many people fail to get results – even when working with a trainer – is that the trainer sucks balls. He or she never takes the initiative to provide education and feedback to increase competency in their clients.
I don’t feel there is nefarious intent or that such a thing is done purposely much of the time, but it does speak to the pure laziness of some trainers and coaches.
I know when I start to work with a new client (female or otherwise) I go out of my way to explain everything, why we’re doing a certain exercise, it’s benefits, and why it will help get them closer to their goals.
Moreover, I make sure to meet her where she’s at.
This kinda mirrors what I said above – I.e., not force feeding YOUR preferences onto your clients – but a crucial component of sustained motivation is competency. This is why I rarely have someone – male or female – straight-bar deadlift on Day #1.
Clients want to feel as if they know what the hell they’re doing, that they can do “stuff,” and that they don’t look foolish.
Foolish
Less Foolish
Look, a Demon Kitten (Which Has Nothing to do With Anything)
3. Build Relatedness
Your relationship & rapport with clients is an essential element of success. Be mindful of your clients’ social needs in regard to their fitness.
For example, if you partake in semi-private training as I do, and you’ve just started with a new female client and you know she’s a bit timid and self-conscious…it’s probably not a bright idea to pair her alongside your male client training for his next powerlifting meet.
Another example, especially when training female clients, Beyonce Radio on Pandora is like female relatedness catnip. It never fails.
Never.
Less Talk About Less
Taking all of the above in consideration will, I feel, help with all the “less” talk that permeates female fitness.
No! We want more.
More confidence, more autonomy, more competence, more muscle (because, why not?), more cowbell, more Beyonce.
What burns us out as coaches isn’t sets/reps, breaking down deadlift technique, or writing a metric-shit ton of training programs (although that last one can be debated). No, what grinds our gears are our…
…clients!
They can be inconsistent, unmotivated, drop off the face of the Earth only to show up three weeks later wondering why they’re not getting results, have poor boundaries, smell really bad, any number of things.
All of which require communication skills to deal with.
Creating a long-lasting career in fitness, one that rewards you with loyal clients who stick around, isn’t about how much you lift, how great your butt looks on Instagram, or how much you spend on Facebook for advertising.
It’s about creating a CONNECTION with your clients.
Today is the last day you can purchase Mike Robertson’s latest resource, Complete Coach Certification, at a hefty discount.
Mike’s one of the best coaches I know, and if you’re at all affiliated with the fitness industry it would behoove you to consider investing in this awesome product. There’s so much more to being a coach than the x’s and o’s of program design, breaking down deadlift technique or, I don’t know, being able to draw the Kreb’s Cycle blindfolded.9
Those are all important of course, but what I appreciate about Mike’s approach the most is that he also covers more of the soft skills of coaching – being professional, saying people’s names, meeting clients where they’re at in terms of exercise selection, learning how to simplify your cues, wearing pants…you know, the usual.
In the spirit of that I thought I’d take some time to pontificate on a few components of coaching and program design that aren’t often discussed, are a bit off the beaten track, and are under-appreciated by the masses; digressions if you will.
You know it, I know it, your mom’s second cousin’s Little League baseball coach’s sister knows it, everyone knows it…
…people always skip their warm-up prior to training.
Hell, [industry secret revealed] I skip my warm-up more than 50% of the time.10
Now, to back track a bit, I am not anti-warming up and I do advocate my clients and athletes do follow one.
I do write them in.
However, what I am not a fan of is the laundry list approach to warming-up.
You know what I mean: the warm-up that consists of a never-ending list – 10, 15, sometimes 20 exercises deep – of positional breathing, t-spine mobility, glute activation, and stretching drills.
I take a gander at something like that and am like…
This is not an attempt to discount or demerit the importance of doing any of those drills mentioned above. I just know humans, and I know the vast majority of them would rather jump in front of a mack truck than do their warm-up.
Which is where the idea of “fillers” comes in.
These are nothing more than low-grade, low-intensity mobility or activation drills that are performed DURING the workout, typically during rest periods.
In short: It’s a sneaky way to put the shit that people need to work on in the program in a way that they’ll actually do it.
I’ve written about fillers in the past and how to best incorporate them depending on the main lift of the day:
This is a phrase I stole from Mike, but it mirrors much of what I do with all of my new clients. In the beginning all I am really concerned with is letting my clients marinate in the basics.
I want them to hinge, squat, push, pull, carry, and perform some single leg work.
Now what variation of all those things will depend on a multitude of factors: health & injury history, goals, ability level, not to mention their anatomy (anthropometry and leverages).
When all is said and done, though, from a programming standpoint, my clients should be underwhelmed. I want their programs to be mind-numbingly boring.
People need reps out of the gate, a lot of reps…of the same thing(s). That is the only way they’re going to learn and begin to “own” their movement.
What they don’t need is a bunch of novelty and a coach who’s only goal is to entertain them.
I can appreciate (and understand) that training should be fun and stimulating and fill everyone’s love tank to the ‘enth degree.
However, in my eyes, that needs to be earned via lots and lots and lots of repetition of the same shit.
No one ever got strong or mastered any exercise by constantly changing things up.
Wow your clients with customer service; underwhelm them with exercise selection.
3. Easy Training is Good Training
Keeping in tune with the whole “underwhelming them early” vibe, I’m a firm believer in the anecdote – astutely stolen from Dan John – that “easy training is good training.”
Put into other words: I’m less of a “holy shit I can’t feel the left side of my face, that workout was awesome” kinda guy and more of a “huh, I could totally do more, but [insert anything from going to see a movie and hanging out with your spouse to reading a book and drowning in kitty cuddles]” kinda guy.
See, I’d rather my clients/athletes leave a session feeling as if they could do more, maybe even wanting to do more, but don’t.
This is not to say “easy” training doesn’t involve some amount of effort or uncomfortableness; far from it. It is to say that pounding your clients into the ground every…single…session isn’t necessarily making them better or more resilient or whatever other cute adjective you want to toss in here.
There’s a common saying I’ve seen many other coaches use and it bears repeating:
“Your progress in the weight-room is directly correlated with how well you’re able to RECOVER from said workouts.”
This entails training with sub-maximal loads (65-80% of 1RM) more often in addition to other things such as encouraging more GGP/Zone 2 work (think: heart rate hovers in the 120 BPM range), sleep, calories to support one’s goals, and hydration to name a few.
4. Is It Necessary to De-Load Often?
It’s common practice for many gyms and trainers to use every fourth week as a rudimentary “deload week” (or a structured tempering of training volume, load, or both) for their clients and athletes.
It makes sense…especially when you consider billing cycles.
For example, to a large degree I still use this approach because every month my clients “re-up” their packages and I get to ding their credit cards in exchange for a freshly curated program.
But even then I have to take into consideration a few things.
Training Frequency: someone who only trains 2x per week won’t necessarily do enough work to warrant a de-load as compared to someone who trains 4x per week.
.
Training Experience/Goals: someone who is working out for basic health or is a complete newbie will have a stark difference in approach to de-loading compared to someone training for a powerlifting meet or has more experience and is just stronger as a general observation. The former may go weeks without the need for any type of deload while the latter may be best suited for one every 3-4 weeks.
.
Life: Work, vacations, the beach, your slow-pitch softball schedule, your kid’s explosive diarrhea…all have a tendency of tossing us organic de-loads as it is. Oftentimes there’s no need to go out of my way to plan de-loads for some clients because “life” takes care of that anyway.
All of this doesn’t even get into the weeds on all the different types or ways to implement a de-load. I already touched on the idea of lowering one’s overall training volume or even intensity (personally I’m a fan of lowering volume but keeping intensity on the high(er) side of the spectrum, if not the same), but there are a bevy of other options too:
Omitting compound movements in lieu of more isolation type movements (I.e., less axial loading).
Going into full-on body-part-split-per day bodybuilder mode for a week or longer (<— this is fun).
Reducing training frequency (instead of 5x per week, go with two).
Get out of the gym entirely and partake in more outdoor activities.
For the Record: I’m very much a fan of people taking a full-week off from training – particularly if they’re consistent – 1x per year just to give themselves a break.
That said, I will sometimes push the boundaries with some of my clients and won’t implement an actual de-load until 1) I see a drastic decrease in their progress or performance on the gym floor 2) they’re eyes start bleeding or, you know, 3) they simply ask.
Often, especially if a client shows up to a session and they look like death, I’ll implement a de-load session, affectionately referred to as a Bloop, Bloop, Bloop workout.
HERE the idea is to listen to them, understand that, yes, life gets in the way sometimes, but to also not let them off the hook so easily.
They’re still going to workout and move – it just won’t involve working up to a heavy triple on their front squat.
I am not exaggerating when I say Mike covers everything as it relates to setting you up for as much success as possible as it relates to being a better, more well-rounded coach.
The only he doesn’t cover is making your meals for you.
TODAY (9/6) is the last day to take advantage of the discounted rate.
It’s on sale this week only (until Friday, 9/6) at a hefty discount.
If you’re a strength coach, personal trainer, you work with athletes, non-athletes, Doug from accounting, or ninjas, this resource will make you a more well-rounded health/fitness professional.
I had some questions for Mike about the product, but more specifically about his coaching philosophy and what he feels we (as an industry) need to do better.
TG: Mike, first things first: When I came onto your podcast a few weeks ago I introduced you to muy new favorite obsession: the Take It Personal Radio Podcast. How much do you love me it? Which has been your favorite episode (I know it’s hard to choose)?
I have only two words:
Life changing.
Seriously, I love that show so much. I mean, it’s all of the artists I grew up listening to, chopped and mixed to perfection.
My favorite so far is the Wu-Tang episode, but anyone that really knows me knows that I’m a pretty massive fan of the WU!
Note from TG: It’s hard to pick my favorite, but if I had to choose I’d go with the DJ Premier Tribute. Eight freakin hours or Premier beats. My head just about exploded when I listened to it for the first time. And then there’s the Native Tongues (Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifah, Money Love, etc) tribute that’s something like 12-13 hours long.
MR: Simple: To push our industry forward, and over time, positively influence 10,000 trainers and coaches across the globe.
Unfortunately what I’m seeing nowadays is a dearth of trainers/coaches who have gone the traditional route – school and a certification – and then struggle to be of any value whatsoever on the gym floor.
They can’t interact with other humans.
They can’t progress or regress clients.
And forgot about asking them to write a program! Their brains are so scattered and influenced by random Instagram trainers you can’t get a cohesive, streamlined program out of them to save their lives.
And while I may sound a little harsh, the fact of the matter is, it’s not really their fault.
This is the culture we’ve created for training and coaching.
So my goal is to fix that.
To show trainers and coaches how systems and procedures can make their lives easier, and help them get better results.
To show them it’s not about knowing 1,879 exercise variations, but knowing 10-15 really good exercises, being able to progress/regress as necessary, and then coach the hell out of them.
And to show them that if you act like a professional and get really good at what you do, this can be an amazing career.
One where you can make real money and have a life outside of the gym as well.
At the risk of sounding bold or narcissistic, here’s where I’m at:
I’m only 41 but I don’t think it’s too soon to start thinking about my legacy.
What did I bring to the table?
Did I really make an impact?
Or did I live a life where I could’ve done more, and instead settled to play small ball?
If I go out tomorrow, I want people to be like “That Mike Robertson wasn’t perfect, but damn he did his part and made a massive push to drive this industry forward.”
TG: I, uh, taught my toddler to go pee-pee in the potty last week. That’s my legacy…haha. I know this is about as lame of a question as I can ask (but I’m going to ask it anyway). What are some common mistakes you find coaches make with regards to program design?
MR: I don’t think it’s a lame question – it’s actually one we need to be asking more often.
Here’s a brain dump:
Having no clear goal.
Having too many goals and “program jumping.”
Not knowing the basics of program design (sets/reps/time under tension, how they all work together, etc.)
Poor (if not awful) exercise selection.
A lack of cohesiveness across all elements of the program (resistance training, conditioning, etc.)
Failing to meet a client/athlete where they’re at.
Failing to give a client/athlete some of what THEY WANT in the program.
Letting their beliefs/training focus influence that of their clients/athletes.
Being too boring with their programming.
Being too random with their programming.
I mean I could go on and on here, but hopefully you catch my drift.
As an industry, we have a looooooooong way to go to get our program design skills up to snuff.
TG: What do you feel has been the biggest change or maturation in your own programming since you first started coaching? As an example, for me, it was the under-appreciation of sub-maximal training; I’m a firm believer (now) that easy training is good training.
MR: Man this is a really tough one, so I’m going to give you two:
1 – I do a better job of planning and programming all elements of a program nowadays. For instance in the past, I was a powerlifter so I skewed everyone towards a strength focus.
Because if it was good enough for me, it was good enough for them. Right???
It’s taken me a long time to break that habit, but now I can write a really smooth and well-rounded program for virtually any client or athlete.
TG: Oh man, good one!
2 – The second piece is I’m better at streamlining and transitioning clients between two programs.
Let me explain that in a bit more depth…
Imagine taking a client who is doing an accumulation phase and they’re using like 60-70% of their 1 rep max.
Then the next week, you decide they need to move to max strength and so you start crushing them with 90% loads.
Can you imagine how jarring that is to the body?
So it’s been a big goal of mine to smooth out all of the elements I have to program for my athletes – from speed/power, to strength, to conditioning – and trying to make those transitions from block to block smoother and easier on the athlete.
It’s never perfect, but I’m light years of where I was even a few years back.
TG: Complete off-topic, but is Bill (Hartman) a cyborg?
He is, but here’s the strangest part – he’s not alone.
There are actually a few hiding in plain sight in our industry.
I’m sure there are others, but these three I can confirm from first-hand experience.
TG: I lived with Eric for two years and was a business partner for eight, I can confirm he’s not a T-1000 (but close).
One of my biggest pet peeves in this industry (other than kipping pull-ups) is how some coaches take this bravado approach and more or less “bully” people into thinking that THEIR way is the only way to coach “x” exercise.
I feel this is a narrow-minded take and fails to appreciate (much less consider) each person’s individual anatomy and how that will dictate set-up and which variation of certain lifts will be best suited for them.
Your take? Agree? Disagree?
MR: Couldn’t agree more.
TG: Okay, whew, good. Cause if you didn’t shit was gonna get awkward.
MR – and that’s where I think progressions/regressions come into play.
I have a model for what I want a squat/deadlift/push-up/whatever to look like, but I also realize that everyone is going to move different.
They have different lever lengths.
Their body (thorax, pelvis, hips, etc.) are positioned differently.
They have different joint structures on top of that.
So while I might have my model, I also have to realize that every/client athlete is going to find the strategy that works most effectively for them, based on their goals.
Part of the evolution of coaching is realizing that how you think/feel/move is great, but it shouldn’t necessarily impact how you train other people.
Once you get there, training and coaching become a lot more fun.
TG: One missing component of program design, I feel, is centered around the soft skills of coaching. It’s one thing to write a solid program, but then how it’s executed and coached is whole different matter.
I know you touch on this in the certification, but can you maybe elaborate on this here?
MR: Look man, I got by for my first 3-5 years on the floor because of soft skills, so I’d like to think I’m better to speak on this than most!
A big part of my success early-on was due to my ability to relate to people, to empathize, and to build rapport – NOT due to my coaching or program design skills.
I know John Kiely has talked about this in the past, but there’s actual research out there that shows if a client likes you and has positive emotions about you, that they could potentially get better results than someone who might have a “superior” program!
TG: The fuck outta here Mike Robertson! What’s next? Telling me bacon isn’t delicious? That Bachelor in Paradise isn’t where one find true love?
Isn’t that crazy?
When they like you, they have the right biochemical make-up when they enter the gym, and they end up getting better results.
But this is why I’m such a stickler for finding that blend between the hard and soft skills.
Relationships, rapport, and trust are critical – if you don’t have them, you won’t have success in this industry.
Period.
But the results are fast tracked when you have streamlined programming and coaching on top of that.
I’m sure you would agree, it’s not an either-or proposition – but finding the balance that works best for you as a trainer or coach.
Complete Coach Certification
I know I say this all…the…time, but it needs repeating:
Those who invest in themselves will last longer in this industry, are less likely to burn out, and, frankly, will often make more money and be more successful.
There aren’t many coaches whom I direct other coaches to more than Mike.
I’ve learned a ton from him throughout the years, I still do, and he’s really outdone himself with the Complete Coach Certification.
It’s on sale this week only and includes the option to pay with installments rather than one-lump sum. Everything from basic anatomy, breathing mechanics (<– SO important), keys to coaching, program design, and Mike’s “R7” protocol is covered.
There’s also a bevy of additional bonuses, including training templates, exercise regression/progression charts, and access to Mike’s fitness business webinar.
I often joke that when other coaches and fitness professionals come shadow or observe me for a day that they leave underwhelmed by what they see.
“Huh, Tony’s not really doing anything innovative or exciting with his athletes and clients. I mean, sure, it’s interesting he refuses to wear pants, but all in all…he’s pretty lame.”
Now, I don’t necessarily feel what’s written above is precise representation of their inner dialogue, but I will admit…
…I’m lame AF when it comes to the exercises I prescribe and the programs I write.
Peruse social media and you’ll see a bevy of videos from coaches showcasing their athlete’s jumping prowess. Some are “vanilla” and “quiet” in nature, simply highlighting an athlete jumping onto a box with little to no fanfare.
My favorite.
Others, however, will go out of their way to “one-up” everyone else and seemingly highlight a video that’s more concerned with garnering likes and increasing “viralability” than offering anything useful or of substance.
Don’t get me wrong: There’s a time and place to have fun and to not take things so seriously.
I get it.
That said, with regards to youth athletes (and, to be honest, even with high level or professional athletes 98.2% of the time) I don’t feel this sentiment applies or is warranted.
Videos of athletes/clients jumping to boxes at 40, 50, or even 60+ inches in height (with poor form) and/or that involve circus like acts – such as jumping onto a stack of foam rollers while juggling a pair of chainsaws – don’t impress me much.
I want my athletes to do the simple things, and do them well.
Here’s one of my high school basketball players – Theo, 15 – performing a Box Jump to a 1-Legged Landing.
Could we have used a higher box?
Maybe.
Could I have had him look straight into the camera after sticking each rep, rip his shirt off, and yell “THIS….IS….SPARTA“?
Next time.
Neither is the point of the drill, though.
The point is to:
1️⃣ Learn to create force (putting force into the ground to propel him up), but to also ABSORB it and learn to decelerate.
Athletes need to know when (and how) to turn on their brakes. It’s serves no advantage to ALWAYS focus on the throttle, or acceleration.
I often tell my athletes to “land like a ninja.”
If I hear a loud THWAP when (s)he lands, especially if I’m across the room, and even more especially if it’s over a sick Tiesto beat in the background, then I know they’re not landing correctly.
Too, if the landing is noisy, the height of the box may be too aggressive. Train force development (the jump) AND force absorption (the landing) and NOT the ego.
I’m more concerned with the fact Theo had no idea who A Tribe Called Quest was before he started training with me then I am about the height of the box he’s jumping onto.
2️⃣ OWN the landing.
I shouldn’t see any “excessive” caving-in of the knee or foot as he lands. Nor should I see his posture collapse as he lands on the box.
If that is the case the height of the box is likely too aggressive.
Lower it.
Moreover, there’s nothing wrong with performing Single-Leg Hops on the ground. It isn’t sexy, it won’t win you any “innovative coach of the year awards,” but by gosh will it ever transfer more eloquently to the daily needs of your athletes/clients.
On a Side Note: I told Theo to hold his landing position for a 1-2s count so we could reinforce it. Slowing athletes down is often advantageous so they learn what appropriate positions look and feel like.
3️⃣I also feel appropriate technique requires stepping off the box rather than jumping off it back to the ground…👍.
4️⃣ Oh, I also feel you’re cra-cra if you haven’t started watching Mindhunter on Netflix yet. Season two just came out.
Get to it.
NOTE: And yes, I understand that on Theo’s first rep his knees caved in a little as he was generating force. Not ideal, something we’re going to work on, but certainly not an egregious error and nothing where I felt he was going to hurt himself.
My expectation isn’t perfection out of the gate – especially with beginners (of any age) – but each rep got progressively better, and subsequent sets were even more betterer.
God, I’m a wordsmith.
In any case, there’s always going to be a learning curve when introducing new exercises, even the “simple” ones.
