CategoriesMotivational

The Anti Highlight Reel

“Things are going to get interesting.”

That was the message my coach, Greg Robins, relayed to me two weeks ago after our weekly program check in. I had just hit a new squat PR that week and he proceeded to congratulate me on a job well done and then followed suite with his “things are going to get interesting” comment.

My mind swirled.

Like, did “interesting” mean we were going to switch gears and maybe emphasize muscle building over max weight? Did “interesting” mean something sphincter clenching like 5/3/1 or German Volume Training. No, wait, shit, Smolov? Please god, no, not that.

“Interesting” post workout kitty cuddles?

What, Greg, WHAT?!?!

Copyright: jtrillol / 123RF Stock Photo

Interesting = An Unexpected Week

As it turns out, I found out exactly what he meant by interesting when I opened up my Google sheet this past Monday to see what was in store for me this week:

Lifting

a

Metric

Shit

Ton

of

Weight.

I couldn’t help but do a double, nay, triple take when I saw what was on the agenda. I was slated to come close to if not surpass PR’s in the “big 3.”

  • Squat
  • Bench Press
  • Deadlift

I wasn’t expecting that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw

 

I was both excited and defeated.

Excited in that I’m always down to lift heavy things. However, I’d be lying if I said I felt ready. Not to make excuses (even though that’s exactly what I’m going to do), but the weekend prior I was in Philadelphia presenting the (Even More) Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint with Dean Somerset.

I always feel like a bag of dicks after presenting for 14 hours between Saturday & Sunday, but that feeling was exponentially compounded due to some hefty travel woes both Dean and I had to deal with making our way to Philly.

My flight was delayed seven hours from Boston on Friday and Dean ended up stranded in Toronto when his flight was cancelled due to inclement weather

Moreover, Dean texted me Saturday morning 90 minutes before our workshop was to begin to say he wasn’t going to be able to get on a flight until the following day which meant it was going to be the Tony Show all day Saturday into Sunday afternoon.

Okie dokie…

LETS…DO…THIS.

via GIPHY

To make a long story short: The workshop went splendidly. By the time I got back to Boston Sunday night, however, I was exhausted.

I didn’t even stay up to watch that epic “The Long Night” episode on Game of Thrones. Although, my wife and I ended up watching it Monday afternoon.

AYRA!

The Anti-Highlight Reel

I had a shitty week of training.

On Tuesday I missed my goal weight of 305 lbs. on the bench press. Actually, I didn’t even attempt 305 because I missed 290 lbs.

Puh.

My best bench ever is 315 lbs and it’s been a while since I attempted 300. I was disappointed I missed 290, and felt it prudent to share because, well, you know, everyone uses social media to highlight their wins.

I figured I’d keep it real and showcase a “fail.”

Although my buddy, John Rusin, did a wonderful job at making lemonade out of lemons with this comment:

“This is great for people to see. Not the miss (c’mon mayne!!) but a proper setup utilizing pins the way they were designed for. No horrific bailing, no jeopardized positions, just bar on safeties safely. Nicely done.”

And then today (Thursday) I missed my 605 lb attempt on the deadlift. I hit 585 (kinda-sorta easily) and was supposed to go for 615.

My training partner, Justin, kept it real though. He saw my 585 attempt and when I looked at him and said “what do you think? Should I go for it?”

He said, “you’re not going to hit 615.”1

He encouraged me instead to go for 605 since that would still be a 5 lb PR.

Annnnnnnd, nope.

 

Goddamit!

Two BIG misses in a week.

Not cool.

A few things to note from this video, though:

1. 0:24s = amazing post-DL fail ups.

2. 0:29s = Tony’s tantrum belt toss.

3. Because I want this to be a somewhat educational post, Justin did point out a great piece of constructive criticism on that particular pull.

If you look real close you’ll notice the bar get away from me a bit; you’ll see the plates roll forward juuuust a smidge as I initiate my pull.

Here, I slowed it down for you:

 

Full Disclosure: I think I would have missed the lift either way, but it does go to show how meticulous you have with regards to your set-up and execution to hit a big lift.

Nevertheless, I’d like to sit here and chalk up this entire fail of a week to stress, travel, and lack of sleep of late.

If I’m going to be honest with myself, though, I have to call bull to the shit on all that.

You see, I’m just like you dear reader.

There are times where I’m dialed in with my training, sure. But there are also times where I can get a bit complacent and lackadaisical and start to cut corners. I’ll skip my warm-up and there are even times where I don’t work as hard as I know I should be on my accessory work.

Hell, there are even times where I won’t complete all my accessory work.

I’m not perfect nor infallible; and this past week was a stark reminder I need to cut the shit. I need to hold myself more accountable and to DO…THE…WORK.

I want this to be a reminder to some of you reading too, because I know some of you can commiserate. Are you in a bit of a slump or not getting the results you want?

  • Go to bed. Hydrate. Eat to support you goals. Understand you’re not going to feel like Voltron every day. You’re bound to miss a lift here and there (it shouldn’t be a regular occurrence).

But too, be honest with yourself:

  • Are you really working as hard as you can in the gym?
  • Are you really hitting all your sets/reps?
  • Are you really doing the work?

I’m willing to admit when I’m slacking.

Can you?

CategoriesFat Loss Motivational Strength Training

You Want to Get Leaner. Here’s Why You Should Still Lift Heavy Things

With Avengers: End Game right around the corner it’s inevitable we’re going to be inundated with articles, interviews, and videos on how to get a Thor or Black Widow bod.

Follow “x” routine, and you too can look like a superhero.

To be fair: I have nothing against said routines. Pretty much anything will get someone lean(er) if they stay consistent and not eat like an asshole.

That said, I think one of the biggest mistakes people make when their goal is getting lean, is not placing a premium on strength.

What inevitably ends up happening is someone will crank up their training volume (lots of high-rep sets compounded with endless amounts of cardio) in addition to hopping onto the Keto train.

And while I’m not here to say that that approach is fruitless (<— ha, pun intended2, dumb, or won’t work – it probably will, for a stretch – I’m also a realist, and have seen with my own eyes the same thing happen time and time and time again.

Which is…(?)

A week, or two, or three (hell, maybe several) go by and you feel great. Your body fat is melting off, you can see some abs, and you can sense the inevitable influx of Tinder matches.

And then, you know, you don’t feel so hot.

You’re lethargic, you’re cold, you’re achy, and your motivation to train wanes.

The high volume of training tethered with a low-calorie/low carb diet begins to take its toll. You’re starting to think that the reason Wolverine is so angry all the time isn’t because he discovered some nefarious government conspiracy to turn him into a mutant and control his life.

No, rather, the reason he’s so angry all the time is – despite being ripped and the envy of fanboys everywhere – he’s sick and tired of all the EMOM sets of burpees and he just WANTS…SOME…FUCKING…CARBS.

Again, to reiterate, this is NOT to insinuate that all the popular programs people follow to lose fat and get lean are a waste of time.

However, what I am suggesting is a slight re-frame or paradigm shift.

What Makes Muscle, Keeps Muscle

Even if fat loss and getting lean is someone’s goal, if they hire me as their coach I’m still going to have them strength train.

Maybe it’s the dumb meathead strength coach in me talking, but I strongly feel the bulk of anyone’s fat loss is going to stem from making dietary/nutritional adjustments.

Namely: Figuring out what strategy or approach will elicit a caloric deficit.

This, of course, can be highly individual. Some people do well with Keto (although, I’d argue most people who think they’re doing Keto are really just following a low-carb diet), some do well with Paleo, some do well with Intermittent Fasting, some do well, with, I don’t know, pick something.

The point is, the main determining factor of whether or not a diet will actually “stick” is whether or not someone will follow through and stay consistent with it.

Not to mention it should fit their lifestyle and goal(s).

But I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole of clusterfuckery. Too many mental gymnastics for me to deal with at this stage in the day.

I do, however, want to pontificate and persuade you on the merits of STRENGTH TRAINING with regards to getting lean.

While dieting the idea of strength training isn’t so much to build strength as it is to MAINTAIN as much muscle as possible while in a caloric deficit. It’s important to give the body the stimulus it needs to hold onto as much of it as possible during this time.

What makes muscle, keeps muscle.

And what accomplishes that is low(er)-rep, strength training.

Again (again), I’m not saying incorporating things like density sets, finishers, circuits, HIIT style training, or anything in between doesn’t have its place or serve a purpose; they all, indeed, can help expedite the process.

[But this is also why I feel one’s nutrition is going to be the main determinant when it comes to fat loss].

All I’m saying is, from my vantage point, people tend to place too much emphasis on all of the above protocols and unwittingly end up losing muscle rather than keeping it.

Many people (not all) end up becoming a smaller, weaker version of their original selves.

I do not want this to happen, and I feel there’s a simple way to prevent it.

It doesn’t have to be a complicated “thing” either. The obvious question, then, is how would I go about writing a program for someone in this situation?

Easy.

Have him or her hit a challenging set of 3-5 reps (maybe the occasional heavy single for more advanced lifters) a few times per week using the obvious exercises – think: deadlift, squat, bench press – and carry on with your traditional fat-loss programming self.

Example Muscle Maintaining Program (Not Fat Loss Program)

Day 1

A. Work up to a challenging set of FIVE on a Squat Variation (Front, Back, Zercher, Anderson, Safety Bar Squat)

B1. Same Squat Variation (same load you hit for 5 reps): 3×3
B2. DB Bench Press: 3×8

C1. DB Romanian Deadlift
C2. Push-Ups
C3. Gripless FacePulls

  • 8-10 reps each, 10 Minute Density Circuit

D1. 1-Legged Hip Thrust
D2. DB Curls

  • 10-15 reps each. 8 Minute Density Circuit

Day 2

A.  Work up to a challenging set of FIVE on a Bench Variation (Regular, Close Grip, Decline, Incline, Larsen)

B1. Same Bench Variation (same load you hit for 5 reps): 3×3
B2. 1-Arm DB Row: 3×10/arm

C1. Goblet Squat
C2. Pull-Through
C3. Reverse Crunch

  • 8-10 reps each, 10 Minute Density Circuit

D1. Prone, Incline Reverse Flye
D2. Tricep French Press

  • 10-15 reps each, 8 Minute Density Circuit

Day 3

A. Work up to a challenging set of FIVE on a Deadlift Variation (Conventional, Sumo, Trap Bar, Block Pull)

B1. Same DL Variation (same load you hit for 5 reps): 3×3
B2. 2-KB Racked Carry: 3×30 yds

C1. Chest Supported Row
C2. Goblet Reverse Lunge
C3. Band Reverse Flye Walkout

  • 8-10 reps each, 10 Minute Density Set.

C1. 2-Arm Landmine Press OR DB Push Press
C2. Bodyweight Step-Ups

  • 10-15 reps each, 8 Minute Density Set

See?

Nothing crazy.

This doesn’t need to be more complicated than it has to be. We’re not doing long-division here.

Keep….it….simple.

Work your ass off. But keep it simple.

All these workouts can be completed in less than 60 minutes (including a warm-up).

It’s likely this approach is in stark contrast to what many are used to seeing when it comes to a fat-loss program; no tantric length, more is better, workout palooza.

Assuming one’s diet is in check, this approach is all that’s needed to help keep muscle…which should be the goal in the long-run anyway.

Categoriescoaching Motivational

Porcelain Post: Fitness Marketing 101

NOTE: The term “Porcelain Post” was invented by 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.

Enjoy.

Copyright: dolgachov / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Fitness Marketing 101

The fitness industry is growing fast.

I was l listening to an episode of The Fitcast with Kevin Larrabee and guest Lou Schuler recently and Lou brought up an eye-popping stat saying something to the effect that within the past 3-5 years there’s been a steady rise of people graduating with a degree in Health Science.

I’m having a brain fart on the actual stat, but I wanna say it’s in the 200,000 to kajillion-billion range per year. It’s definitely closer to the former, but suffice it to say: there’s a lot of people entering the fitness industry.

And lets be honest: there’s not really much one can do with a “health science” degree.

Sure, some will enter collegiate strength & conditioning, maybe gravitate towards academia, or, I don’t know, join a ninja gang. The vast majority of people, however, will likely root themselves getting a job as a personal trainer at a local commercial gym.

And this is when the shit show happens.

Marketing.

via GIPHY

Most fitness professionals have a firm grasp on the intricacies of concurrent vs. undulated periodization, the nuances of breaking down squat mechanics, or hell, maybe they’re an uber nerd and can articulate every step of gluconeogenesis.

Many can write a program or assess scapular upward rotation with their eyes closed.

Yet, when it comes to marketing their services – and “wooing” new clients – they’re as lost as a White Walker in Westeros.

There’s intense pressure on trainers – especially in bigger box commercial gyms – to “recruit” more patrons into personal training each month and to hit quotas.

And this is where I feel most trainers have it backwards.

I believe time would be better spent – not to mentions it’s waaaay more cost effective – doing everything one can to foster an environment where client retention is the goal.

What’s more lucrative?

1. A trainer spending an inordinate amount of his or her’s time scratching and clawing to maybe entice two new people to sign up for one (maybe two) months of training, never to be seen again?

OR

2. A trainer who has a healthy roster of ten clients who are continually re-upping their packages?

SPOILER ALERT: the latter.

Some Stuff to Consider

None of this is to insinuate that the burden should be solely on the trainer’s back 100% of the time; I do believe commercial gyms can (and should) play a more proactive role in supporting their staff.

Offering (free) continuing education opportunities would be a nice start.

I.e., invest in their trainers.

That said, here are a few quick-n-dirty suggestions for trainers:

1. It’s quoted often and may induce a hefty amount of eye rolls, but Mike Boyle’s “no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care” line is never more germane than here.

  • Be punctual.
  • Be professional.
  • Never underestimate the power of a hand written note.

All are more apt to maintain a client’s business more so than your proclivity to break down synergistic dominance or name every articulation of the body in alphabetical order.3

2. Try not to be a fitness industry T-1000.

Maybe you think it’s cool you haven’t missed a workout in four years, post shirtless pics of yourself eating a kale salad, and haven’t eaten gluten since 2009, but your clients could likely give two shits.

They want to be able to build a connection with you.

This is NOT to say you shouldn’t practice what you preach and be proud of it. This is also not to say you’re #1 goal and priority in keeping clients is to elicit results.

It IS to say, however, it wouldn’t hurt to be a bit more relatable and not give the impression you eat, drink, and breath fitness at all times.

Remember that one time you ate an Oreo after 9 PM?

Share that.

Or, what about that time you lived life dangerously and didn’t spend your Friday night watching YouTube training videos and instead watched Eyes Wide Shut?

Share that.

Or, I don’t know, maybe not.4

Either People prefer to know they hired a human to interact with and are more inclined to stay with someone they can relate to.5

3. When I was at Cressey Sports Performance the most valuable way we “marketed” our services was to be present and attend our athlete’s games whenever we could.

First of all, our athletes loooooooooved it; and what better way to build long-term rapport than that?

Second, it was a free advertising and it wasn’t uncommon for other parents to approach us and inquire about our services.

Third, it’s not lost on me that many of you reading don’t work with athletes and that it would be awkward to just randomly show up at your client’s open mic poetry slam reading or their powerpoint presentation at work on “How the 2018 Tax Laws Affect Free Market Sales of Industrial Strength Penis Enlargers.”

That said, maybe you started working with someone who’s going to compete in their first powerlifting meet or figure competition or kite flying contest.

Go!

Be a voice and beacon of support for them.

They’ll love it and will undoubtedly be loyal to you as a client for the foreseeable future.

I Guess What I’m Trying to Say Is

Be unapologetic with regards to making your CURRENT clients happy and fostering those relationships. It’s a slight reframe from what we’re programmed to do and think, but one I feel will pay huge dividends.

CategoriesMotivational

Limit Your Mistakes

Learning from our mistakes is what we do as humans.

Like that one time I was a teenager taking my driver’s exam and I forgot to put the car back into “drive” after the “reverse” part of my 3-point turn attempt.

Oops.6

Or that other time I wanted to warm up my previous night’s dinner and forgot to take off the aluminum foil before placing it in the microwave.

My bad.

Failing, as a standard practice, is what makes us better in the long run. We fail, we learn, we (hopefully) don’t make the same mistake again.

Today’s guest post by Shane McLean delves into this concept as it relates to health/fitness. He’s made some mistakes so you don’t have to.

Copyright: oskanov / 123RF Stock Photo

Limit Your Mistakes

Starting your fitness journey when everything is shiny, and the gains are coming thick and fast is exciting. You feel like you can’t do anything wrong because every weight you touch turns to muscle.

OR

You’ve been in this game a while and you still enjoy working out, but the gains have slowed, and you’re frustrated by your lack of progress.

Any errors made at the start are covered up by newbie gains and these slip ups become more magnified the longer you’re in the lifting game.

How do I know this?

I’ve been there.

After training clients for 10 years and training in gyms for longer than I care to remember, I’ve witnessed or experienced these blunders myself that can hold back progress.

And while making mistakes is all part of the learning process, minimizing them while you’re under the bar will help keep you safe, keep you making gains and keep the doctor away.

Think of this as all gain and no pain.

1) Program Hopping

It’s natural to think the grass is always greener on the other side. After all, you’re saturated with new exercise fads and their results look incredible and besides, your program isn’t doing squat.

Change is not a bad thing.

Change is required when you plateau and or when your routine has become stale. However, too much change doesn’t give your body a chance to adapt to your current program because not everything in the weight room happens straight away.

It’s a fine line.

My general rule of thumb is finishing the program first and then evaluating whether it worked or not.

For example, loss of body fat, smaller waist or bigger muscles.

Or if you see no changes after six weeks, then it’s okay to try something new. Which brings me to the next point.

2) Not Tracking Progress

How do you know if a program working when you’re not tracking progress? That’s a rhetorical question.

Look that up, if you don’t know what it means.

If you’re not recording your sets, reps, weight lifted or taking measurements of your waist, hips, arms and legs before, during and after your program, you’re guessing and not assessing.

Because going by what you see in the mirror and the scale shouldn’t be your only measurement of progress. And occasionally testing yourself to see if you can lift more weight than before, never goes astray either.

3) Not Working on Strength

No matter what your goals are in the weight room, whether it’s muscle building or fat loss, all goals are easier by being stronger in the core lifts.

Which are:

By getting stronger, you’ll have more gas in the tank, and the ability to more work without constantly burning yourself out. And while there’s a whole bunch of strength standards in cyberspace, concentrating on adding more weight to the bar or performing more reps with the same weight is all you need to worry about.

 

Working in the 2-6 rep range in the core lifts for cycles of 4-6 weeks will get you where you want to go sooner.

4) Not Asking for Help

There’s no such thing as perfect form in the weight room because we’re all put together differently.

You can take a deep dive into cyberspace and find out how to do certain lifts, but nothing beats a trained professional (like me) to pick up on any major technique issues

For instance, I deadlifted incorrectly for years and ended up herniating three discs. If I’d asked for help sooner, I would have saved myself a lot of pain and money. So please, if you’re unsure about a lift, please ask for help.

I wish I did.

5) Ignoring Pain

Common complaints heard in gyms around the world.

“ My shoulder hurts.”

Then he goes straight to the bench press without a warm up.

“Squats hurt my knees.”

Goes back to the point #4.

“My back hurts.”

Then they go straight into their crunch routine.

There are times when stuff hurts, and you feel the need to push through it because you feel you’ll be left behind, or you need to work off the hamburger you ate last night. However, ignoring pain and exercising through it over a long period never leads to anything good.

Please remember the adage ‘if it hurts, don’t do it’.

It will save you from a ton of pain and your wallet from despair.

6) Groundhog Day

Have you seen this movie?

If you haven’t, check out the clip below:

 

Doing the same routine over and over, for weeks on end when you’re starting out is okay if you’re still making progress.

However, if you’re experience, doing the same program repeatedly and not making gains, then you need your head read.

This goes back to point 1 and 2. Finish the program and track your progress. If what you’re doing isn’t doing it for you, it’s time for a change.

Finishing Up

Yes, mistakes happen along the way but learning from them and limiting them will help you progress in the safest possible manner. Because lying on a Physical Therapist table wrapped in resistance bands is not the definition of a good time.

Author’s Bio

Shane “The Balance Guy” McLean, is an A.C.E Certified Personal Trainer working deep in the heart of Louisiana with the gators.

CategoriesMotivational

Everything In Moderation Makes You Mediocre At Everything

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of TG.com regular, Dr. Nicholas Licameli. 

Nick normally writes about stuff like how not to eff up your shoulders during a bench press or how to address your low back pain when you sit in front of a desk all day.

Today, however, he’s throwing us a curveball and discussing a topic that’s a little more nuanced, albeit something that we can all appreciate: the “grind” and the work-life-training “tightrope.”

I think you’ll enjoy it. I did.

Copyright: nomadsoul1 / 123RF Stock Photo

 

One of my least favorite sayings is, “everything in moderation.”

Everything in moderation makes you mediocre at everything.

Everything in moderation makes you mediocre at everything.

But we must realize a truth that is self-evident, undeniable, and timeless: saying yes to one thing is saying no to another.

Whether you’re Betty White, Barry White, or White Goodman, we are all given the same number of minutes each day.

Life, then, is a constant series of choices and decisions as to how we spend our time. There is no arguing that dedicating time to each of our roles is essential. However, everything in moderation makes you mediocre at everything. Instead of creating balance, which is usually the reasoning behind taking everything in moderation, it creates mediocrity.

Some of my roles, in no particular order, are bodybuilder, husband, son, brother, friend, and medical professional. I would venture a guess that majority of those reading can relate, at least somewhat, to these roles.

At the core, they are sport, family, friend, and profession.

When walking across a tight rope, one does not stay perfectly straight for the duration of the walk. While still maintaining balance, the walker is able to lean this way and that way with each step. Similarly, a plane does not remain on a straight path for the duration of its flight. The pilot makes adjustments up, down, left, and right depending on weather, air traffic, etc., but it manages to stay the course and eventually reach its destination.

Life is sort of a balancing act, leaning this way and that way, with each step. Think about your life. There will be times along your journey when you’ll have to grind in certain areas.

Sometimes that’s going to be sport. Other times it will be family. Other times it will be your profession. Sometimes you will have to dive 100% into one role in order to accomplish something great.

So yes, you may be sacrificing, but you’re just leaning, not falling.

Side note: When I say, “grind,” what I mean is a temporary grind. The grind occurs due to special or unusual circumstances. If you’re always grinding, you need to find a way to improve efficiency and effectiveness because at the end of the day, there are always people who are better than you, busier than you, and have accomplished more than you who have never missed a training session, a birthday party, or a day of work. So remember that next time you feel yourself grinding.

Ask yourself, “Is this grind necessary or are there things I can do to better organize my day?”

If you’re training for a bodybuilding competition, you’re going to have to grind. Training, nutrition, sleep, and more will all take you away from other areas of your life in one way or another. For that time, you will be leaning toward bodybuilding on your tight rope, understanding that saying yes to bodybuilding is saying no to other roles.

Death in the family? Special birthday party? Holiday or family tradition coming up? Get ready to lean toward family on your tightrope, understanding that saying yes to family is saying no to other roles.

If there’s a big project coming up at work that you are passionate about, you’re going to have to grind, understanding that saying yes to work is saying no to other roles.

How Do We Make It All Work?

Here’s the key to making this work: while leaning on the tight rope and grinding in one area of your life, be sure to truly be present and give it your all.

There is a very good chance that other people will not “get it.”

They won’t understand why you’re so passionate about bodybuilding or that family tradition or that silly project at work.

That’s fine.

Being truly present in each moment will help lessen negative kickback from different aspects of your life. Thinking about training or work while you’re spending planned time with family won’t help training or work and will hinder family time. It doesn’t make sense to choose to grind at work but fog your brain with guilt that you are not with your family.

Similarly, it doesn’t make sense to miss a birthday party to finish that work project if you’re not going to be fully present and committed to it in that moment. You’re essentially becoming a mediocre professional and mediocre family member.

You are limiting your productivity at work and wasting quality family time. When you choose to grind, proceed with confidence and understand that those other areas of life will have their time, it’s just not now.

1. For example, if you have to sacrifice family for work or for training, it’s going to be OK as long as the time that you do give your family is 100% undivided attention, presence, and love.

2. When you sacrifice from work, it’s going to be OK as long as you’ve given work your 100% time and effort when it was work’s turn.

3. If you can’t stay late for that meeting because your son has a baseball game, it will be OK because you’ve grinded for work during work’s time and have made it clear to everyone at the office the type of person you are.

4. If you have to sacrifice training/nutrition to give time to your family or work, it’s OK so long as committed and productive work has been put toward training during its time.

Being 100% committed and present to a role during its allotted time will lessen the sting when the time comes to grind in a different role. While grinding in a particular role, think of making deposits of trust.

Stephen Covey uses the metaphor of an “emotional bank account,” which describes the amount of trust that has been built up in a relationship1. For the purposes of this article, we can call it a “role bank account.”

While leaning on the tight rope, pennies are deposited into each role’s account if and only if you are 100% present and committed to it. Being partially present or dividing your attention results in no deposits at best and a withdrawal at worst. Debt will never be accumulated while grinding in a certain role so long as you’ve been making genuine and consistent deposits in each role.

What Are Some Deposits?

For a bodybuilder, deposits may be meal prepping ahead of time, hitting macros while at a social event, keeping perfect form during the last set of deadlifts as fatigue sets in, or getting a full 8-9 hours of quality sleep.

As a member of a family or as a professional, deposits can be as simple as saying a kind word, going out of your way to offer a compliment, going above and beyond the job description, being honest and truthful, doing a favor without expectation of something in return, being present, listening with the intent to understand rather than be understood, showing deep empathy, saying, “I love you,” apologizing sincerely, and much more.

By making these deposits, we are able to grind in certain areas of our lives without feeling guilty or hurting people and/or roles we love.

Go build up those accounts!

Don’t Fall

Keep in mind that if you lean too much on a tight rope, you will fall.

If you lean too much to one side for too long and neglect the principles of physics, you will fall and once you fall, no amount of counter balance will help. If you excessively withdraw trust, you will accumulate debt.

Understand, however, that it’s okay to grind every once in a while. You are not a bad person. You are a person who aspires to be great, not in one role, but in all roles. You are a person who understands that at times it is necessary to sacrifice and grind in order to achieve and exceed high reaching goals and dreams.

Take what I say with a grain of salt. I don’t know everything. I could be completely wrong. I may look back on this (maybe when I have children some day!) and feel differently.

However, right now, I truly feel that everything in moderation makes you mediocre at everything. The occasional grind, together with confidence and steady deposits into our various accounts, will allow you to achieve balanced greatness in all of your roles. Don’t settle for mediocre.

Go get ‘em!

 

About the Author

Nicholas M. Licameli

Doctor of Physical Therapy / Pro Natural Bodybuilder

Youtube: HERE

Instagram: HERE

Facebook: HERE

Every single thing he does, Nick believes in giving himself to others in an attempt to make the world a happier, healthier, and more loving place. He wants to give people the power to change their lives. Bodybuilding and physical therapy serve as ways to carry out that cause. Nick graduated summa cum laude from Ramapo College of New Jersey with his bachelor’s degree in biology, furthered his education by completing his doctoral degree in physical therapy from Rutgers School of Biomedical and Health Sciences (previously the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey) at the age of 24, and has earned professional status in natural bodybuilding. His knowledge of sport and exercise biomechanics, movement quality, and the practical application of research combined with personal experience in bodybuilding and nutrition allows him to help people in truly unique ways. Love. Passion. Respect. Humility.   Never an expert. Always a student. Love your journey.

CategoriesMotivational personal training Uncategorized

Is Age Just a Number? Is There a Way To Be Taken Seriously Before 30 In the Fitness Industry?

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Sydney, Australia based strength coach Meer Awny.

There’s a common theme in the fitness industry, especially amongst young and upcoming coaches/trainers, that in order to gain recognition or notoriety there’s some “deep state” secret algorithm that exists:

Social media follows + number of letters you can squeeze next to your name in your bio / (selfie to shirtless pic ratio) x (# of days you brag about either going to CrossFit or how you feel so UHmazing you feel going ketogenic7)

In fact, it’s pretty simple: get good at what you do, be consistent, and consider some of the strategies Meer points out below.

Copyright: bowie15 / 123RF Stock Photo

Is Age Just a Number? Is There a Way To Be Taken Seriously Before 30 In the Fitness Industry?

You’ve graduated with a piece of paper and want to work with athletes.

I mean of course they should work with you, you’re now one of the exclusive 15,000 fresh graduates who have inundated the industry and you…are…important.

But you quickly realise that’s not the case.

The title of “Sports Scientist” doesn’t hold career certainty and so you find yourself working on a gym floor, putting weights away and training general population clients. Now, there should be no shame in being able to apply good coaching principles to a wider audience.

But you also wanted to train the sports stars and get recognition.

With the advent and saturation of social media, it’s easy to feel pressured to have a voice and make a contribution to the field you’re so passionate about.

But often we fail to contextualise and ask how did the person I look up to get to where they are?

Instead of asking the harder questions and actually doing the work, the list of books to read gets larger, and the search for the perfect Instagram filter continues.

That’s not always the answer.

Eventually you come to realise the ‘big names’ in the industry aren’t the same age as you, have a lot more experience, and go out of their way to provide consistent, quality content for free and don’t complain about it.

You just want to be taken seriously despite the “Oh you’ve got plenty of time” diatribes every time you announce you’re a 24-year-old coach.

But what is experience?

We’re told that it’s learning through trial & error and that with more relative experience, through the years, you gain wisdom. And so you vision the day you’re a 35-year-old coach working with all the people you hoped you would from day one.

Age is wisdom, right?

Or is the value of the time spent more important then the time itself?

Here are some ways to add more value to the time you have rather than waiting for the clock to provide you with experience.

1. Volunteer

Get comfortable with this.

If you aren’t willing to give up your time, as precious as it may seem, then things aren’t going to bode well for you. It doesn’t necessarily mean an internship (we’ll get to that), but it does mean being genuine and selfless when it comes to learning and working with people.

This includes taking the time to talk and to have conversations with your athletes and clients.

Remember: To steal a well-known quote from strength & conditioning icon, Mike Boyle:

“Your athletes don’t care about how much you know until they know about how much you care”.

2. Internship/Mentorship

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was “Find the person that is doing what you want to do and go and learn from that person.”

In 2017 I packed up for five weeks and flew across the world to Denver, Colorado (I’m an Aussie).

In those five weeks I grew new branches on my tree of networks (BTW – I didn’t know what a metaphor was until I was 17), made friends, and had the opportunity to learn from one of the best strength coaches in the field…Loren Landow.

Not to paint a smooth picture, the process in making this happen took time, patience and persistence.

Words can’t describe how much I learned and how indebted I feel for the opportunity. Also, internships allow an opportunity to “ooch,” or to test out and dip your toe into an area or field you’re not too experienced in.

You may feel like you want to work with athletes (or circus performers or pre & postpartum women)…but how do you really know?

An internship offers an opportunity to gain experience, but also a way to get a taste for whether or not you want to be in this field or work with a particular demographic.

3. Networks

The cliché will always stand:

“Who you know is more important than what you know.”

Reading all the books and knowing every muscle insertion and programming variable will not trump the friends you have in the industry.

Act on this by attending conferences, worthwhile seminars, and giving up your time to learn from people who can improve your attributes as a practitioner and more importantly, as a person.

Attendance alone is not enough.

You need to be active in introducing yourself (even if your bio isn’t ‘Hot’), taking emails/phone numbers, asking questions and then following up within two weeks post event.

Getting good at this will open opportunities, and also give you some credibility as a young coach.

4. Patience & Expectations

Setting realistic goals and expectations are important.

Don’t expect to work with world champions in the first year.

But don’t deny that you will eventually.

Put in the work, get good at what you do, be consistent, and it stands to reason people will seek you out.

5. Hobbies & Yourself

Being immersed in the ‘field’ is great.

Know the content and all the science.

But understand that this job involves communication with lots of different people; so being broad in your knowledge will help. Spend time away from reading sport related material, develop new hobbies, read outside of the common ‘self development’ section of the bookstore, and you’ll find a heightened ability to connect with people from all ages and sorts.

A strong mantra to apply daily is:

“How you do anything is how you do everything.”

Constantly show up and make it clear that you care about the people you work with. It shouldn’t be too hard; otherwise you might be in the wrong field. Gary Schofield did a great presentation and used the metaphor of “dogs and monstah’s” (He had a pretty cool Boston accent-almost as cool as Matt Damon”) to describe two types of people (10s mark).

 

The dog needs guidance, treats, and their hand to be held.

The monstah asks ‘What more can I do?’ and gets after it. Time is not irrelevant, and experiences will come with years of effort. That can’t be denied. What you can do is be a monstah and apply some of the mentioned principles to be taken seriously before 30.

About the Author

Meer Awny is a Strength & Conditioning coach & Personal Trainer from Sydney, Australia.

His work is primarily centred on working with combat sport athletes, ranging from amateur levels to national competition, as well as top #10 ranked athletes in the world; across a variety of martial arts.

Meer has travelled the world to better his development of the ‘fighter’ and himself as a coach, and has spent time with multiple UFC fighters and learnt from some of the best combat sport performance coaches in the field.

In his spare time Meer likes to attend coffee tastings, scuba dive, read, cook, travel and continually practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxing.

You can find Meer on Instagram HERE.

CategoriesMotivational

Lessons In Lifting From a Dad: Year One

My son was born January 31st, 2017.

He’s a few days short of turning 14 months old and I have to say, at the expense of coming across a tad braggadocious, I’m pretty darn proud of myself and my wife: Julian’s happy, healthy, and has only been caught once running around with a pair of scissors.

Kidding.

It was twice.8

Far be it from me to describe every parent’s first year with their first child in the same light, but for us the past 365 days and change can best be described as somewhere between organized chaos and a dumpster fire.

Lack of sleep, colic, blowouts, lack of sleep, breast feeding, lack of sleep, 10 pm “how to swaddle” Google searches, lack of sleep, 11 pm walks in a blizzard (goddam colic!), more blowouts, lack of sleep, he just pissed all over the place, Llama Llama Red Pajama, lack of sleep, what did he just put in his mouth?, scissors, and lack of sleep.

Okay, it wasn’t all that bad. In hindsight Lisa and I did a pretty damn good job.

That said, lifting heavy things was/is probably last on most guys’ minds during this period of time, let alone the notion of actually making progress in the gym.

What follows are some tidbits and insights on what most dads can expect to accomplish on the training side of things in year one.9

Copyright: rudall30 / 123RF Stock Photo

 

I’ll be the first to admit I’m a bit of an outlier here.

I’m going to wax poetic below on how most guys need to pump the brakes with regards to their training and that training will often take a backseat to life (and laundry) once they become a Dad.

However, this past year was arguably one of my best training years in recent memory, highlighted by the fact I finally achieved a long-time goal of hitting a 600 lb deadlift.

40 Years Old + (A Then) 9 Month Old at Home = #humblebrag

To put things into perspective, though:

  1. I work in a gym. I have/had no excuse not to train.
  2. I had a wonderful support system in place.
  3. I did implement much of what I write about below.
  4. I’m pretty awesome.

1. Expectation Management

Lets cut to the chase: The idea of training 5-6x per week needs to be given the kibosh right out of the gate.

Well, you can train that often; it just won’t be good training.

It behooves everyone involved to have some feel and a degree of expectation management in the weeks (if not months) after baby is born. Think less “I’m going to train for my first powerlifting meet while also competing in my first Ultra-marathon while also following a ketogenic diet” and more “lets try to get through 20 minutes without falling asleep in the power rack.”

In short, attaining a minimal effective dose is the name of the game.

For most guys a reasonable goal would be to aim for 2-3x per week of full-body training revolving around the compound lifts

2. What Does Minimal Effective Dose Even Mean?

Basically, it means doing as little work as possible while still creating a training effect.

You don’t have to kill yourself in the gym in order to make or even maintain progress during this time.

For most guys who are stressed and woefully sleep deprived, a reduction in both training volume and intensity is warranted (and wise).

Most will read that and assume they’ll lose all teh gainz; that the diminished training frequency (and loading) will turn them into small, weak, girly men.

Actually, no.

On the contrary I’d make the case those 2-3 training sessions per week can and will be very productive sessions.

Counterintuitively, as an example, it’s rather “easy” to maintain strength levels with a reduction in both training frequency and intensity.

As Dr. Vladmir Issurin notes in his book, Block Periodization, in order to maintain maximal strength, there’s a window of 30 +/- 5 days to work with.

Meaning, regardless of any secondary emphasis you can leave alone and maintain certain qualities for “x” days without much (if any) reduction in performance.

If you’re still not picking up what I’m putting down let me put it like this:

“You don’t have to do a lot of something in order to maintain something.”

When it comes to maintaining strength, the body (or, more specifically the central nervous system) just needs to be nudged or reminded every 30 +/- 5 days that you’re into it and maybe want to make out.

For the sake of brevity, the bulk of my training hovered in the 60-85% range most of last year with some 90-95 percenters peppered in every 3-4 weeks.

That’s pretty much it.

3. Okay, That’s Cool Tony….But I Could Give Two S***ts Jars of Pureed Beef Pilaf and Vegetables About Being Strong.

I can respect that.

I got your back.

I wrote an article a few months back on BodyBuilding.com catered to the newly-minted Dad and it described what I felt would be a highly effective – and reasonable – 2-3x per week training program most could follow without batting an eye.

You can check it out HERE.

What It Highlights

1. EDM (Estimated Daily Max) Sets

I like this concept for a lot of dudes, but especially for sleep deprived ones who feel like a bag of dicks for a lengthy period of time.

Utilizing a bit of auto-regulation in your training and taking into account day-to-day fluctuations in energy and one’s ability to recover is key.

The key advantage to EDM sets is they still allow you to lift some challenging weight…albeit based on how you feel that day.

Here’s an example:

A. Squat Variation – 5 EDM

  • Work up to challenging set of 5. Pretty self-explanatory.

B. Same Squat Variation – 3×3

  • Whatever your 5 EDM ends up being, use the same weight and perform 3×3.

Those nine reps should be crisp, beautiful, relatively fast reps that will make me roughly 65-70% aroused.

2. Embrace Your Meathead

There’s a lot to be said about utilizing more isolation, bodybuilding type exercises to keep guys motivated to train, improve their ability to recover, and to help maintain training economy.

This can be as simple as tossing in a little “gun show” work at the end of a session in order to feel a pump.

Here’s a favorite (stolen from the guys over at The Strength House):

  • DB Hammer Curls x eight reps, rest 15s, repeat for six minutes.

You can also utilize Density Sets. Here, all you’ll do is set a timer for 8-12 minutes, pair two exercises together (or maybe a circuit of 3-4), and do as much work as possible during that time.

Lower Body Example:

  • DB Goblet Step-Ups x 8/leg
    Cable Pull-Through x 10
    Foam Roller Bodysaw x 10

 

Upper Body Example

  • DB Bench Press x 8
    TRX Row x 12
    Upper Cut a Grizzly Bear x2/side

The permutations are endless and what you choose is dependent on goals, what hurts, what doesn’t, and equipment availability. The bigger picture to appreciate, though, is that something is better than nothing.

And your workouts don’t have to be marathon sessions. You can get quite a bit done in 30 minutes.

3. Sub-Maximal Training Works, Trust Me

Even when a baby isn’t thrown into the mix, sub-maximal training (60-85% of 1RM) is something that should be stressed more often.

You need to build strength, not test it.

What’s more, hanging out in this range won’t beat up the joints as much

4. You May Think It’s Lame…But Walking Will Prevent You From Wanting To Kill People

Baby can’t sleep? Go for a walk.

Baby is aimlessly meandering around whining? Go for a walk.

The Price is Right just ended? Go for a walk.

Going for walks is what keeps parents sane. Exercise doesn’t have to be in the form of lifting things. Walking is actually a very underutilized modality and something I did often with my little guy.

I’d put him in the stroller, put on a podcast, and walk around the neighborhood.

It served as an easy way to get out of the apartment and to get my Zone 2 work in.10

In addition my walks spawned the #popupjulian phenomenon, which initially started as a way for Lisa to keep tabs on us when she went back to work after maternity leave.  During my walks I’d send Lisa videos of Julian “popping up” around Boston.

Caffe Nero

Lee’s Burgers

BU Strength & Conditioning

#popupjulian makes a cameo at @terrierstrength. Recruiting class of 2040.

A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

Go for walks.

A lot of them.

5. Teamwork & Asking For Help

My wife is the shit.

Training is every bit as important to her as it is me…so it wasn’t a hard “sell” to ask her to take over watching Julian so that I could go train; and vice versa.

We were (and are) a team.

Teamwork is vital during this time. Sacrifices and compromises are par for the course.

“Sure, babe, you can go have drinks with the girls…for a small fee of 37 foot massages.“

Moreover, and this is something Eric Cressey wrote about when he was a new father, many guys will balk at the notion of asking for or taking help as if it’s a strike to their ego to do so.

To that I say, “bull to the shit.”

Someone offers to watch your kid for a few hours so you can have a date night? Take it. Emphatically.

Hire someone to write your programs. That’s what I did.

It’s okay to ask for help and/or to delegate tasks when needed. I mean, shoot, Batman had Alfred.

Even he didn’t do things all alone.

6. You’re Going to Fail…and That’s Normal

Sometimes you’re going to have a case of the “Eff Its” and not want to train. And that’s okay.

Sometimes you’ll prefer to order a pizza. And that’s okay too.

My friend, colleague, and new(ish) Dad himself, Bryan Krahn, put things into perspective:

You’re going to fail.

You’re going to be less than perfect.

That’s okay.

Welcome to the club.

CategoriesMotivational personal training

Community is the Change You Need: A Call to Action For All Fitness Professionals

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Syracuse, NY based strength coach, Ricky Kompf. Ricky interned at Cressey Sports Performance when I was still a coach there and has been doing a superb job building a reputation as a “go to” coach in the Central NY area.

Today he discusses the importance of community and how building one can make all the difference in the world with your clients/athletes and fitness business in general.

Enjoy.

Copyright: ammentorp / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Community is the Change You Need

I consider myself a pretty mindful and deep guy. Over the years of working with people I find myself delving deeper and deeper into psychology based reading and realizing what I read to be valuable and applicable to my job as a coach.

Many times that little gold nugget of knowledge in a book on psychology is even more powerful than the knowledge bombs I find in strength and conditioning text books.

I would like to share an experience with you that was pretty excruciating yet gave me quite the breakthrough.

This moment not only gave me confirmation that I am doing the work I was set out to do and I am fulfilling my purpose in life, but also gave me a realization that there are more people out there that NEED our help as fitness professionals but don’t necessarily WANT our help.

That experience was of course while serving for jury duty…

I was in a room filled with 375 random people who live in Central New York waiting to hear if they have to sit in on trial or not. Whatever picture you have in your head right now… Trust me it was worse than that.

People were pissed, impatient and probably a little hungry.

It’s pretty safe to say no one wanted to be there.

I know I didn’t want to be there, but there was no point in stressing over something I couldn’t control. So I practiced some diaphragmatic breathing while sitting in a room for 8 hours waiting to hear my fate.

It was then that I started to look around the room and become the silent observer. This was the perfect sample size of what society around me is like. Many were overweight, seemed slightly depressed, poor posture, and just looked a little run down. I actually counted in the room how many people seemed like they were in pretty good shape.

I could count them all on my hands.

It was then that the lady in charge asked a very important question, “If you have a medical condition that could affect your ability to serve as a jury please come up front.”

Half the room stood up and walked/limped to the front.

That’s right…there were just as much people sitting down as there were people in line waiting to tell this lady about their illness. That was well over 150 people! I’ll factor in that some people were just trying to get out of jury duty but still!

via GIPHY

That’s when I realized something, something that really speaks to our society as a whole.

We live in a nation where it is the minority to be healthy and not have issues with your health.

We are fat and depressed; we rely on the drugs of pharmaceutical industries to keep us just barely going. All the while we are living with this belief that this is the norm. We look to the people around us and see that they’re unhealthy and it gives us unconscious confirmation that it is okay to be unhealthy as well.

To me the words healthy and happy are prerequisites to each other.

You have to be healthy to be happy and you have to be happy to be healthy.

The more and more people I come in contact with and work with, I realize it’s not the great physique they’re after or the even the edge on the competition. Even if they really think it is.

It’s happiness.

It’s the feeling you get when you’re in control of your health, the quality of life you have, and most of all control over your own destiny.

As a fitness professional remember you’re not just delivering results, you’re delivering happiness.

Like the feeling you get when you witness two kittens snuggling. That kind of happiness.

So you may ask yourself, I’m a fitness professional but how do we get all these people who either don’t want our help or can’t afford our help to change and become healthier?

It all starts with community.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “you are the average of the 5 people you hang around with most?” The people you hang around with will influence every decision you make.

Well How Do You Use This Information?

As strength coach’s or personal trainers you may notice that you’ve build a mini community around you. These communities of clients are like minded people, they want to become healthier and support each other.

If you’re really good at what you do they even hangout with each other outside of the gym!

That’s your change right there.

You may have even noticed that most of your clients now are word of mouth based, which means people are talking about you outside of the gym and sending business your way.

The more you double down on your community and focus on building a support group of people, the more likely you will make an impact on your community’s health as a whole.

This may even be indirectly.

The larger the community you make the more of an impact you will have. This is also why I think one-on-one training can be detrimental to your business if your goal is to influence as many people as possible.

Community is the secret sauce to your goals.

Mark Fisher Fitness: the epitome of how to build a lasting fitness community.

Community gives people permission to change; or, more to the point, “nudges” people to change.

Having a community of like-minded individuals who implement a healthier lifestyle and share common goals is often the key determining factor that help others change their behavior.

Look at your clientele base now:

  • Do they hangout with each other?
  • Do they communicate on social media?
  • Do you show them off on your social media?

And how excited are they to tell people about what you’ve done for them?

If you’ve never thought to consider these questions, or worse, the answers are a resounding cricket chirp, then I’d recommend getting your butt in gear.

As a fitness professional, you are the mayor in your “health conscious” community. Exercise is a vehicle for a life well lived.

…. Mic Drop.

via GIPHY

Actionable Takeaways

  1. Create a Facebook group that brings all your clients together to support each other and give information to them regularly. Hold special 10-15 minute Live Events that inform them and keep them engaged in the journey. Highlight THEIR videos and exercise accomplishments.
  2. Use your Instagram account to show off how badass your athletes and clients are. Everyone loves recognition.
  3. Plan out events to do as a group that brings people together outside of the gym. This could be Spartan races, 5k’s, team dinners, book and movie clubs, even mass text messages can go a long way.
  4. If you have athletes, go to their games! They worked so hard for you, and they will love to see your support.

About the Author

Richard Kompf, BS, CSCS

Strength and conditioning coach and Internship supervisor for Scollo Strength and Performance. Located inside of Pacific Health Club, based just outside of Syracuse, NY. Specializing in explosive athletes and general population clientele.

Categoriescoaching fitness business Motivational

3 Tips For Personal Trainer Personal Development

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of good friend and Jedi strength coach, Todd Bumgardner. Many don’t know this, but Todd was one of the people who encouraged me most when I was thinking about leaving Cressey Sports Performance and going off on my own.

He’s a no-bullshitter and someone who tells it like it is. There’s a reason why 100+ fitness professionals trust him and the other coaches of The Strength Faction to help separate themselves from the masses; to get their shit together.

It’s because of articles like the one he’s sharing today.

Copyright: gajus / 123RF Stock Photo

3 Tips For Personal Trainer Personal Development

As personal trainers, we’re like de facto members of the personal development industry. God, it feels weird to say that it’s an industry…almost spewing sacrilege. But it’s a reality. We spend a lot of time, and money, on personal development—and we really should. It’s worth it—it’s the sole reason Chris Merritt, Mike Connelly, and I run Strength Faction.

Commitment to personal, and professional, development has set all of our lives on an upward trajectory, and we want to help as many fellow fitness folks hit that same upward spiral.

I’m sure that you want the same thing for yourself and for your clients—a gradual ascension that carries everyone forward. Well, here’s some pretty goddamn obvious thinking: you can’t help your clients ascend unless you’re committed to the process. It’s a long game, and it’s worth playing. Here are a few tips we’ve found helpful for staying in the game and moving toward the goal line.

1) Realize That It’s Important

Let’s start here.

We love the X’s and O’s of our profession. We want the answer when someone asks us how many sets we should be doing for hypertrophy (there is no real answer, by the way), and we love being able to pontificate with each other on the virtues and vices of a given energy systems development strategy—when in reality ninety percent of our clients wouldn’t be affectively able to use it.

Professional development is important, so please, don’t take that as a slight.

We have to be good at what we do, and we have to get results for our people. But most of our impact, and our money, is made by being a human that’s worth being around. Granted, we all start with different raw materials—some folks have natural propensities for human connection, others have a difficult time. Some, yet, are born assholes and have to learn how to be someone worth being around. I mostly fall into the latter category.

Aw, come on: does this look like the face (or body) of an asshole?

In the context of our careers, personal development is the scaffolding that allows us to display our professional development.

Being a growth-centered human being gives people cause to feel attracted to us—people like people headed in the right direction. It also gives us the chance to actually connect with the people that want our help. The New Zealand All Blacks live by the value that “better people make better All Blacks.” The same is true for personal trainers.

Beyond the toil of our work, personal development, in my limited understanding of life, is what we’re here to do. By the time the casket closes and the loved ones that we leave behind say their goodbyes, we should be the best possible thing that we could evolve into. I believe that’s the most important thing in the world.

2) Decide What You Value

“I really need help with time management. I’m not always sure what I should be doing, and I waste a lot of time. I feel like I never get done all of the things I should get done.”

The quotation is a conglomeration of three common statements I hear on coaching calls. Most folks feel like they need to do a better job managing their time—and they’re not wrong. But I don’t think the main problem is time management, it’s value management.

It’s tough to use time wisely if we don’t know what our aim is, what’s most important to us, where we’re trying to go.

I think we just try to be busy because it seems like everyone else is busy and that’s what we’re supposed to do. It’s the illusion of hustle perpetuated by guys that are really good at marketing on social media. They convince us that if we “grind” and follow their lead, we’ll get all the shit we want.

It’s circular, empty promise.

But it does lead us back to the starting line, the initial question: what do you want, and what do you value above all else?


Having the answer to that two-part question will give you the best insight into how you should manage your time.

Personally, I value human development for development’s sake above all else, so I don’t mind busying myself with it. But it also helps me order how I should spend my time each morning, each afternoon, and each evening.

It decides who, and what, get my time, and most importantly, my attention.

You don’t, however, have to hustle and grind if that’s not what you value—fuck the Jones’. If you value living in rural America and raising chickens, figure out how to do more of that.

If you feel aimless with your time, work through what you value you most. That will give you your aim. Then, when you have an aim to develop yourself toward, you’ll be better able to manage your time doing the little things that take you closer to that aim.

3) Just Have Good Friends (Forget About Your Goddamn Network for a Minute)

Psychological safety, unbridled truth—it’s a concept we use to guide our actions as leaders at our gym and as leaders of Strength Faction. What it means is we create a consistent, supportive environment that allows people to be themselves and feel like they are safe. Once this happens, people usually open up enough to hear the truth—from themselves and from other people. But the environment has to exist first.

That’s what a good friendship is—an environment where you feel heard and understood enough to let people tell you the truth.

And a good friend will tell you the truth, not just pat your ass and tell you that you’re special.

They’ll unconditionally show you that they love you while also holding up a mirror so you can look at yourself, recognize your faults, and do something about them. That’s the community we’ve created in Strength Faction. Our members have become friends. They look out for each other. They support each other.

And they tell each other the truth.

Here’s an example from the Summer ’17 Faction.

One member posted a poll to gather strength coach’s opinions on yoga.

At the end of the questionnaire she included a question that quite a few members thought was off-putting and unnecessary—so they told her about it.

She, then, engaged them in dialogue and explained herself.

The conversation went on, and everyone expressed their opinions, their truths, without attack. They stayed in dialogue. They were friends…even though many of them had never met other than in our private Facebook group and on our weekly ZOOM calls.

That’s what a web of friends does for your development. There’s not a lot of talk about that in our industry. Mostly the conversation centers on expanding our networks.

Don’t get me wrong, that’s important. But if you want to develop, networks need to evolve into friendships, or sometimes you have to prioritize friends over networking. Each needs to exist, but a web of friends in a community that’s moving in a good direction will do more for your life, and development, than an expansive, superficial network.

Personal Trainer, Personal Development

It’s a long game, folks. But when we commit to ourselves, and the process of personally developing over the long haul, this strange thing happens—things get better. Make some time for personal development, prioritize based on values, and make sure you have the right people around you. You’ll keep inching toward the goal line.

Enrollment for the Fall ’17 Strength Faction is currently open!

If you dig learning more, or enrolling, check out the link below.

—> Fall ’17 Strength Faction Enrollment <—

CategoriesMotivational

Coach Stella: Training Begins But Never Ends…

The life of a strength coach is equal parts rewarding, frustrating, hard, even harder, up, down, celebratory, and chaotic.

With a peppering of high-fives, butt slaps, atta boy’s/girl’s, and DMX radio.

It’s not a glamorous gig by any extension of the word. It’s a world populated by inconvenient schedules, dank weight rooms (which can be the best ones), and a fair number of meals eaten out of tupperware containers.

Copyright: tonobalaguer / 123RF Stock Photo

 

However, what the life lacks in glamour is made up for by an abundance of perseverance, grit, and hopefully a metric shit-ton of deadlift PRs.

It’s a life (and career) that never stops challenging you and demonstrating, to each individual willing to work hard, what it really means to get out of if that you put in.

It’s been awhile since I’ve watched something that has inspired me and helped broadcast a message I feel anyone can benefit from – strength coach or not.

This brief documentary was sent my way last week. It just went live today. It follows Coach Stella, a Boston-based strength coach who, for all intents and purposes, doesn’t let something like a headache or a case of the “eff its” prevent him from getting after it.

This is seven minutes I feel is worth your time

Coach Stella:

Coach Stella from C49 on Vimeo.