personal training – Tony Gentilcore

Maybe Your Shoulder Hurts Because Your Technique Sucks

Full Disclosure: I am not a fantastic presser. I’m not going to sit here and attempt to regal you with stories from high-school where I used to drive a Camaro, hookup with the Prom Queen, and bench 405 for reps (you know, before that nasty football injury in the State Championship ruined everything).

Nope, this is not that kind of story. I recognize the bench press often serves as a litmus test for general level of badassery, but I’ve always considered myself an average presser (personal best of 315 lbs at a bodyweight of sexy).

Or, in Dave Tate’s words “I suck.”

Not gonna argue with Dave…;o)

I know how to coach it, and have worked with many people in my years as coach to help them improve and increase their bench press. More commonly, though, is helping people work around a nagging shoulder injury that prevents them from “attacking” the lift in the first place.

NEWSFLASH: Many people complain that the bench press bothers their shoulder.

And while the first inclination is to nix the bench press altogether and jump into corrective exercise mode and start having people blow into balloons or perform any number of thoracic mobility or scapular stability drills to get at the (possible) root of the problem, I feel we sometimes need to pump the brakes.

I mean, I agree that for many people their upper back mobility is atrocious and that it’s likely a very good use of their time to address it. And yes, some people may have gunky tissue quality or less than exemplary scapular stability or kinematics which likely is playing a significant role in their ouchie shoulder.

A thorough assessment or appointment with a manual therapist can hopefully help.

But maybe, just maybe, the reason why someone’s shoulder(s) hurt during bench pressing is because their technique makes my eyes bleed?

*shrugs*

Maybe all they need is a little more coaching. As I always say:

“Correct movement can be corrective.”

This is why, when someone’s shoulder hurts during the bench press, my first “tier” to attack is technique. The fitness industry has become too corrective at the expense of coaching our athletes/clients. Taking the 5-10 minutes to address someone’s set-up can make a huge difference in how the movement feels.

Are they driving their upper traps into the bench?
Are they getting their scapulae retracted and depressed?
Do they press the bar up and out of the j-hooks, or do they “guide” the bar out?
Do they “let the bar settle” before they lower it?
Do they “meet the bar with their chest? Or do they allow their shoulders to roll forward?

All of these can be easy-to-fix snafus that may eliminate any shoulder discomfort during the bench press.

Bench Press Set-Up

What happens if you address technique, it’s sound, and the bench press still hurts? You can still implement other pressing variations that can work in the interim while you address the root cause(s).

Decline Bench Press

Think about what’s not happening during a decline bench press as opposed to a flat or incline bench variation?

In a decline there’s less shoulder flexion involved which helps keep many trainees out of the “danger zone” of shoulder pain. So if flat bench pressing hurts you may be able to get away with a decline.

Spoto Press (Invisible Board Press)

A common flaw I see is some people have a hard time “meeting the bar with their chest” and end up having their shoulders roll forward as they lower the barbell.

Popularized by Bench Press Captain America, Eric Spoto (722 lbs, unequipped), the Spoto Press is a variation to combat this where you stop the bar a few inches above the chest, pause, and then press back up.

When In Doubt, Use Dumbbells

When you grab a barbell with a pronated (overhand) grip, you “lock” the humerus in an internally rotated position which can be problematic since it narrows the acromion space.

Using dumbbells alleviates this issue because you can nudge a little more external rotation by adopting a neutral grip. This is a major reason why I prefer DB pressing variations for overhead athletes as opposed to straight bar.

Corrective Pressing Variations That Don’t Feel Corrective

While not always the case, a common thread I see when it comes to shoulder pain is the INability of the shoulder scapulae to be able to move. In order to move big weight you need to respect tension and stability. In some cases, however, the shoulder blades are kinda “stuck” (usually downward rotation) and lack the ability to move through a full ROM.

It’s still vital to be able to access scapular movement for overall shoulder health.

When this happens I prefer to use pressing variations that allow for a little more wiggle room. As in: we allow the shoulder blades a little breathing room. Push-ups will always be my first choice here. But relax, I recognize most would rather swallow a live grenade than read more about push-ups.

For those interested you can READ this brief article.

Off-Bench DB Press

Scooting a smidge to the side of a bench will allow more scapular movement. What’s nice about this exercise is that it’s also a great core exercise (you have to fire like crazy in order to not fall off the bench) in addition to an awesome way to further engage the glutes. You can’t quite see it with the angle of this video, but I’m also situated further down on the bench so my lower half isn’t resting on it.

Bottoms-Up Press – Off Foam Roller

I snaked this one off Dr. Joel Seedman. Using a KB and holding it in the bottoms-up position is a fantastic way to ramp up rotator cuff activation…you really have to fight to stabilize and keep the joint centrated.

Moreover, by lying on the foam roller the shoulder blades are now able to move to a higher degree. And, much like the off-bench variation above, there’s also a high degree of glute engagement as well as foot and ankle engagement.

And That’s That

Don’t be so quick to bust out the band external rotations and t-spine drills. Addressing technique on the bench press can be every bit as corrective in terms of addressing shoulder pain. Likewise, don’t be so quick to omit all pressing variations. All aren’t equal and it oftentimes is a matter of choosing the right variation for the individual and nice vice versa.

Press on.

August 29, 2025August 29, 2025 Tony

coaching personal training Program Design

How to Age-Proof Your Program Design Without Watering It Down

How to Age-Proof Your Program Design Without Watering It down

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a guest post on this site and I figured it was long overdue.

Today’s post comes courtesy of Austin, TX based trainer and gym owner, Nathan Stowe. Nathan is a long-time friend and colleague of mine who has owned and operated his own jam – HERE – for a number of years. He’s worked predominantly with “older” populations for most of his career and knows a thing or two about how to train and write programs for them without treating them as if they’re going to break their hip just by looking at a barbell.

Age Ain’t Nuthin But a Number

I’ve been working with people over 50 on increasing their longevity for over 16 years—way before it was cool. In fact, Pat Rigsby once told me I might have the strongest solo training business in the country for this demographic…

And when I think about how it all started, it still makes me laugh.

I was only a month into my first personal training job, killing it on the sales floor thanks to my background—then I tore my ACL playing a game of “21” with a buddy. I walked home on it. My friend, ever helpful, said, “Well… maybe I should’ve gone to get the car.”

Silver lining? The injury gave me time to get my NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist cert. I figured I’d pair the education with the experience and become the go-to for banged-up clients.

Plus, the gym paid more per session if you had more certifications—so win-win.

When I came back, I was the “knee guy.”

And in a runner-heavy city like Austin, that meant I got a lot of reps with real clients. I found out fast what worked in the real world… and what was just textbook theory.

One day, my manager asked if I’d work with a client who had a back issue. I said, “Matt, I hurt my knee. I don’t know anything about the back.”

He said, “I know. But I trust you the most to figure it out.”

That line changed my career.

I found a guy online named Eric Cressey—maybe you’ve heard of him?

Note from TG: Never heard of the guy…🙃

I devoured everything he put out and got great results with that client. So Matt gave me a shoulder client next. I told him, “Now that’s even farther from knees.”

Same answer: “I trust you the most to figure it out.”

So I did.

Eric led me to Tony (oh, hello!), Dean Somerset, Mike Robertson, Mike Reinold, Bret Contreras… the Mount Rushmore of evidence-based training for adults who don’t want to live in the PT clinic.

The deeper I dove, the more I realized this was it. I didn’t want to be the guy coaching from 5am–10pm every day. I wanted to be the specialist—the “jacked-up but not giving up” coach. Turns out, that meant working with a lot of adults who were free on Tuesdays at 10am and had real stuff to work around—past injuries, surgeries, chronic pain, or fear from all of the above.

And when you work with enough people like that, you start to notice patterns…

Here are five timeless training techniques I use with every client over 50 to make progress without breakdown—whether they want to deadlift their bodyweight in their 70s or keep jumping in their 70s with Parkinson’s (true story).

1. Use Volume Instead of Intensity As Overload

You’d be shocked how many people stall out (or get hurt) jumping from a 15 lb dumbbell to a 20 lb one. But anyone can go from 1 set to 2 to 3.

Or from 8 reps to 10.

We build strength by layering volume—quietly and safely.

2. Use Range of Motion for Overload

Most people in their 60s are tighter than a snare drum.

Rather than chase perfect form out of the gate, I let ROM be the progression.

Start RDLs mid-thigh → then to the knee → then below the knee → then finally to the floor. Same thing with step-ups or split squats—stack 2 inches of range per month, and in a year they’re moving like they’re 20 years younger.

3. Use Tempo for Overload

You noticing the theme here?

More time under tension = more adaptation without jacking up the weight. We’ll add longer pauses. Slower eccentrics. Controlled transitions.

It builds control, resilience, and confidence—especially in people who feel fragile.

4. Glutes and Abs First. Everything Else Later

We go all-in on glutes and core for six months.

Why?

Because most of my clients come in with knees that feel like cement and glutes that forgot how to contract sometime around 2007.

My go-to progression:

Barbell Glute Bridge → Cable Pullthrough → RDL → Rack Pull → Trap Bar Block Pull → Floor Pull → THEN Squats.

All the while? We pair every movement with isometric ab work to control that pelvis and build true trunk control.

5. Push With the Body, Not Against It

Pushups. Landmines. Bands.

Anything that lets the shoulder blades move and the body find its own rhythm.

Once they can do a picture-perfect pushup? Then we talk dumbbells and barbells. I used to have shoulder flare-ups with half my clients by week 12.

Now?

I can’t remember the last time it happened.

These are just five of the tools I use daily. There are at least a dozen more I could list—and if you’re curious, I talk about all of them on my blog at StoweTraining.com.

About the Author

My name is Nathan “Nate” Stowe, and when I’m not being Ella’s dad or Laura’s husband, I dabble in personal training—helping people in Austin, Texas live longer and get stronger. I write daily, so if you liked this, you can find more at StoweTraining.com.

August 19, 2025August 19, 2025 Tony Gentilcore

personal training Program Design Uncategorized

How Much Weight Should I Use? (revisted)

There are few questions that illicit my inner Jaws theme music than the title of this blog post. Other nominations include

Hey, do you do CrossFit? – DA NUM

So I saw something on Instagram about this detox tea that supposedly makes you shit out your spleen, but whatever. I heard it’s totally healthy and worth it. Thoughts? – DAAAAAA NUM

Babe, can you empty the dishwasher? – DA NUM, DA NUM, DA NUM, DA NUM, DA NUM…

Admittedly, it comes across as a bit weird and hoity toity that I’d roll my eyes at such an obvious question I’d receive given what I do to pay my bills. I mean, would an accountant be so crass as to be annoyed at a client asking whether or not they deducted business expenses from their taxes? Would a family doctor not expect to be pelted with questions about cholesterol or how to manage diabetes on a daily basis?

Would Han Solo be irked about constantly bragging about completing the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs?

I think not!

It all comes with the territory and is part of the job.¹

To that end, I try my best to be a reliable source of information for my clients and I try to keep things as simple as possible. We live in an era where OVER information is a thing and it’s not surprising to me that so many people are confused and seemingly paralyzed over something as inane and common sense as to whether or not an apple is viewed as a viable snack (and that eating it, despite (evil word) glyphosate!, you won’t cause you to grow a third nipple).

One question I receive on an almost weekly (if not daily) basis is ~~can your pecs cut diamonds?~~ how much weight should I be using on this exercise?

Again, it’s a very relevant question to ask given what I do for a living, and one that, unfortunately, takes a little time to answer. When working with people in person I have this handy protocol I like to call “coaching” where I’m able to give them instant feedback on a set-by-set basis.

I’ll tell them to increase/decrease/or maintain weight on any given exercise as I see fit.

Sometimes I give them a sense of autonomy and allow them to choose how much weight feels comfortable to them (and allows them to execute good form), and then we just make an effort to increase the load in subsequent sessions.

The idea is to give them a maximal training effect using the minimum effective dose without causing harm or pain. Challenge people, encourage progressive overload, but not to the point where they feel like they can’t feel the right side of their face during their workout.

Pretty self-explanatory stuff. Also, here’s a hint: if your client can’t feel their face, please call an ambulance.

Where things get tricky is when people are on their own and don’t have someone telling them what to do.

What then?

Here Are Some Options/Considerations/Whathaveyou

For Beginner Lifters

I like two options:

1. Pick Something

As I alluded to above, just have them (or you yourself) choose a weight that you KNOW can be done with good technique and feels “doable” to them. The research is pretty hefty on this front…

…beginners can use as low as 40% of their 1-rep max on any given exercise and still see strength gains.

In other words, they can look at a dumbbell and get stronger.

You DO NOT need to load them very aggressively at the start. The goal should be to acclimate them to what it feels like to be under load and to build familiarity with the exercise.

Progress from there.

2. Provide a Rep Window

Once the initial shock of lifting heavy things has passed and you’re gaining some competence then what I prefer to do is give a “rep-window” to adhere to. In simplest terms let’s say someone’s program says to perform three sets of bench press at 8-12 repetitions (the rep window).

The goal would be to stay with the same load until the upper rep limit is attained on every set. This could take anywhere from one session to several weeks. With the latter it may look something like this:

Week 1

– Set #1: 175×12
– Set #2: 175×10
– Set #3: 175×9

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDVuQi4gdtk

Week 2

– Set #1: 175×12
– Set #2: 175×10
– Set #3: 175×10

Week 3

– Set #1: 175×12
– Set #2: 175×12
– Set #3: 175×10

Week 4

– Set #1: 175×12
– Set #2: 175×12
– Set #3: 175×12

NOW the weight can be increased 5-10 lbs. and you start the process all over again.

ADDENDUM: While this approach works very well 95% of the time, one thing you have to consider is that some people will invariably undershoot themselves. You’ll give them a rep range to follow (8-12) and they will follow it (increasing load accordingly), but they’ll end up using a load that they can easily perform 20 reps with. Alas, it’s human nature to take the path of least resistance. In this case what I like to do is to toss in a pop-quiz of sorts and to test them to see if they’re pushing themselves enough. On their last set I’ll instruct them to do an AMRAP (As Many Sets As Possible) set. Ideally, if they’re locked in it should look something like 12-10-9-8. If they’re fudging it, it will look something like 10-10-10-17.

Cue death stare here.

For Intermediate Lifters

To set the tone, to me, an intermediate lifter is someone who has had at least 2+ years of (serious) strength under their belt. Meaning, they’ve made a concerted effort to consistently train with barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, machines, not Orange Theory for a minimum of two years.

At this point we’re likely past the point of utilizing a rep window to direct loading and we need something that takes into account day to day and week to week fluctuations in energy levels, stress levels, and general fuckery.

As I have been known to say in the past: some days we show up to the gym feeling like Thanos with all the Infinity Stones in hand and we can push the envelop with our training. Other days, not so much.

The stronger one gets and the more stress they’re putting on their body, the more important it is to understand that the “juice” isn’t always going to be there and that sometimes it’s just a matter of getting some quality reps in rather than hitting a pre-prescribed load or rep range. To steal a saying from a long-time colleague of mine, and owner of Bonvec Strength (located in western Massachusetts), Tony Bonvechio:

You need to teach people how to load themselves rather than telling them.

One tool to accomplish this is using the RPE or Rate of Perceived Exertion (although I prefer to say Effort) system.

Popularized by renowned strength coach, Mike Tuchscherer, the RPE system is a rating system that describes how hard or how much effort you should be applying to a lift.

Generally speaking it looks like this:

RPE 10: Maximal, no reps left in the tank

RPE 9: Last rep is tough but still one rep left in the tank

RPE 8: Weight is too heavy to maintain fast bar speed but isn’t a struggle; 2–4 reps left

RPE 7: Weight moves quickly when maximal force is applied to the weight; “speed weight”

RPE 6: Light speed work; moves quickly with moderate force

RPE 5: Most warm-up weights

RPE 4: Recovery; usually 20 plus rep sets; not hard but intended to flush the muscle

An RPE below four isn’t important.

So for example I may write in a program something like this:

A. Work up to 1×5 @ RPE 8 on Deadlift

B. then accumulate 15 total reps at 90% of top set above (3×5 or 5×3)

In this case if someone ends up ramping up to 1×5 @ 275 on their deadlift (at an RPE 8), then that means they’ll follow that with 3×5 or 5×3 at 90% of 275 which is 245-250 lbs. In this scenario I know that all subsequent repetitions are likely going to be “fast,” clean, and pristine and give the lifter an opportunity to accumulate training volume that won’t destroy him or her in the long-run.

To quote Coach Tuscherer:

If the RPE system seems awkward at first, don’t worry. You’ll get used to it and be able to use it quickly. An easy way to gauge the RPE of a set is to ask yourself how many more reps you could’ve done with a particular weight. This tends to be tough for the training hotheads who always want to go heavy but also for the timid who are afraid to push themselves. You must be disciplined to use this method effectively!

Is this approach perfect and a panacea for everyone. No. But I do find it provides a sound base for trainees to work off of and teaches them to listen to their bodies.

But like many people, I just haaaaaate repeating myself. I can thank the PTSD I got from working at Hollywood Video while in college and having to incessantly repeat myself on a Friday night to annoyed customers that Shrek 2 wasn’t available to rent. ↩︎

January 8, 2025January 8, 2025 Tony Gentilcore

personal training

Vetting Your Personal Trainer

I became a personal trainer and coach back in 2002. Shows like Alias and 24 were all the rage, *NSYNC still had Justin Timberlake, and The Two Towers was rocking my world. So much so that I went to the theater to see it like four times.¹

Admittedly, it seems like eons ago. I mean social media didn’t exist back then. Or Warby Parker for that matter!

Needless to say in the 20+ years I’ve been in “the biz,” I’ve seen my fair share of good trainers which make me proud to be in the industry, and bad trainers who make me sometimes want to light my face on fire.

I could sit here and type endlessly about the traits I feel any “good” trainer should encompass: a basic understanding of anatomy, movement, and program design would be a swell start. Do they look the part? As callous and nebulous as it may come across – what does looking the part even mean? – my friend Bryan Krahn hits the nail on the head:

“In the fitness industry, appearances matter. Now, that doesn’t mean six-pack abs or muscles the size of boulders need to be prerequisites for the job. But your trainer should be healthy with a physique that suggests some level of mastery in his chosen field. If they talk the talk, they should walk the walk.”

Do they dress professionally or as if they just stepped out of an MMA class? Are they punctual? Are they prepared and organized? Do they take the time to ask questions and perform some semblance of an initial assessment? Unfortunately I’ve witnessed a few trainers in my time do nothing more than demonstrate how to insert the pins on various Cybex machines as part of their “thorough assessment.”

Why not just make paper airplanes for an hour?

Are they friendly, personable, able to exhibit some empathy, and maybe most important of all, just generally a non-douchy person to be around? Because, lets be honest, no one wants to train with an asshole, much less pay for it.

All, I believe, in a slightly tongue-in-cheek way, are relevant questions and observations to note when deciding who to hire as your personal trainer. I find it weird how some people are more diligent with who changes the oil in their car more so than who’s in charge of telling them what to do with their own body.

Some Other Stuff to Consider

Finding the right personal trainer that fits your goals and needs can be just as much of a nuisance as car shopping. Granted few things are as annoying as car shopping – save for an uncontrollable eye twitch or yet another Taylor Swift song about breaking up with a dude (all of our fingers are crossed Travis) – and you (generally) don’t have to deal with the shady salesmen antics when seeking out a quality trainer.

However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be on guard and go out of your way to be a more proactive consumer when hiring a personal trainer. Consider many people shell out upwards of $60-$90 per session (sometimes more depending on one’s location), it only makes sense to try to get the most for your personal training buck.

Two Questions to Ask a Trainer

Omitting the obvious questions such as “are you certified?(1)” or “do you have any references/testimonials to share?(2)” or “what’s your favorite hip hop album of all time?(3)” here are a handful of less common (albeit no less important) questions to ask a someone you’re considering in hiring.

(1) = Being certified is a “must have” when vetting a trainer. Gold standard certifications in the industry are NSCA, ACE, ISSA, NASM, and ACSM. Also, I believe any trainer who has gone through the Show Up Fitness course(s) is more than qualified as well.

(2) = Just having a few letters next to their name doesn’t mean much. Do they place a premium on continuing education? When’s the last time they attended a national conference? What’s the last book they read? Do they have a list of current clients you can contact about their own experience with this trainer? All are pertinent questions to ask, and questions any trainer should be able to answer without hesitation.

(3) = anything by Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Gang Starr, or not anything past 1996 are acceptable answers here.

“Do You Workout Yourself?”

I understand it comes across as a bit uncouth or oxymoron(ish) to ask a trainer/coach if (s)he workouts. It’s analogous to asking Jason Bourne whether or not he knows where all the exit routes are when he enters a room, but it’s unsettling how often this happens.

Before co-founding my own facility in 2007 I worked in numerous commercial gyms beforehand, and it amazed me how many colleagues never worked out.

I’m not referring to looking the part (I.e., fit), which has already been covered above.

I’m referring to personal trainers who literally do not exercise themselves!

It’s a blunt question to ask, but if you’re going to spend good money hiring a trainer, do you really want someone to be in charge of your body who doesn’t practice what they preach?

“What’s Your Training Philosophy?

Likewise, it’s also smart to ask what a trainer’s general training philosophy is.

Are they someone who places an emphasis on strength training or are they more endurance based?

Do they include a thorough assessment – movement screens, going over injury and training history, etc – as part of their approach? If not, I’d say “bye, Felicia” and shop elsewhere.

More importantly, if they’re a competitive powerlifter, bodybuilder, figure competitor, or CrossFitter (to give a few examples), do they have the ability to separate their own training preferences to yours?

What good does it do you if you’re interested in improving your deadlift and squat numbers and your trainer has you performing a “bicep day” because it was his bicep day?

Or maybe you’re goal is to add some strength training to help you prepare for a half marathon. If so, why are you doing all these crazy MetCon workouts and kipping pull-ups?

The point is: your trainer should cater to YOUR training towards YOUR needs and goals. Not their own

Bonus: One Question a Trainer Should Never Ask You.

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I heard this question being asked when I worked in various commercial gyms.

A client would walk in, greet their trainer, and the trainer would then ask….

“So, what do you want to do today?”

Um, isn’t that what you’re paying THEM to figure out? That’s like me walking into my accountant’s office and him looking at me and saying, “so, you read up on all those new tax codes?”

This comes down to my comment above regarding organization and preparedness. Whomever you hire should have a game plan.

They should be writing programs not workouts!

This isn’t to say they shouldn’t ask for your feedback or insight on any given day – maybe you were up late the night prior with a sick kid or you had a long day at work and were thiiis close to ending your boss’s life – which may require tweaking that particular day’s session.

However, in the grand scheme of things, they should be prepared a head of time. With few exceptions they shouldn’t be “winging it.”

And, as you can guess, I was a massive hit with the ladies. ↩︎

November 14, 2024November 14, 2024 Tony

personal training Program Design Strength Training

The Illusion of Infinite Progression: 3 Strategies to Evolve Without Increasing Weight

I have an excellent guest post for you today. I was recently invited back onto the More Train, Less Pain Podcast hosted by my good friends Dr. Michelle Boland and Dr. Tim Richardt.

This season on their show they’re focusing on training around injury. This is one of my wheel houses (alongside deadlifts, how to look jacked even while wearing sweatpants, and Ted Lasso), as I am always preaching the benefits of finding each client’s or athlete’s TRAINABLE MENU.

My episode – #13 – dropped today (links below), but in concert with that Tim was kind enough to write a little “companion piece” that ties in nicely with the overall theme of the show.

I hope you check both of them out.

3 Strategies to Evolve Without Increasing Weight

If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’re a big fan of lifting heavy things. On this we can agree, and be friends.

via GIPHY

Think back to the first time you consistently trained a squat- Linkin Park blaring, a thin haze of aerosolized pre-workout and chalk filling the air – and being able to add 5-10 pounds, like clockwork, week after week after week.

It’s the honeymoon phase of strength training- nothing hurts and there’s seemingly no impediment to riding this sweet, sweet train of linear progression to, inevitably, being able to sit down and stand up with the weight of a Honda Fit on your back.

But, like all marriages, reality eventually has to settle in.

Over the years, aches, injuries, and movement limitations accumulate and the simple strategy of adding more pounds to the bar is suddenly not so viable.

What, then, is an iron warrior to do?

I host a podcast called More Train, Less Pain (on which the venerable Tony Gentilcore has guested twice), along with another contributor to Tony’s blog- Michelle Boland- where we dive deep on strategies to keep people training hard in the gym despite injuries and mobility restrictions.

The focus of our current season is on maintaining a strength training practice in the setting of persistent pain, something of personal obsession of mine as I’ve struggled with persistent hip pain due to congenital structural hip defects for virtually my entire adult life. Over the past dozen or so episodes, we’ve talked with some of the brightest minds in the industry (Mike Boyle, Bill Hartman, some schlub we’ll call “Tony G”) about this very problem, and one theme keeps re-emerging over and over. We can’t keep progressing load forever. Infinite progression, in the weight room or any other endeavor, is a myth.

NOTE From TG: You can listen to my most recent chat with Tim HERE – titled “Easy Training, Stoplights, and Making Bigger Cups.”

In order to stay in the strength training game and continue to build muscle, power, and movement quality, we need to find ways to evolve our exercise selection and programming strategies so that we can continue to train without creating undesirable tissue damage or reducing access to comfortable range of motion.

Below are three strategies to do just that, lifted directly from this season’s podcast guests and thoroughly vetted by my own personal and professional experience.

1. Timed Sets

In the most straightforward manner of progressing lifts, we add load to the bar every week, keeping the set/rep/rest scheme the same, essentially the missionary of the strength-training world.

Not THAT missionary. Head out of the gutter

As we stated – this works…until it doesn’t. What if, instead of increasing load, we simply increase time under tension? In fact, what if we throw away the conventional “rep” dosing structure and just endeavor to dose an exercise by time, increasing the time (under tension) over the course of a 6 week training block.

In practice, that progression might look something like this.

Exercise Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

Foam Roller Wall Squat 3×1′ 4×1′ 4×90″ 4×2′

In this way, we can accumulate absurdly high amounts of workload (and stimulus) with reduced axial loading. If you struggle with SI joint pain every time you get under a bar loaded with over your bodyweight, give a single set of a 2’ timed Roller Wall Squat a try.

With only a fraction of the loading required for a conventionally-dosed barbell back squat, you’ll still feel every bit as fatigued, and continue to stay engaged with the training process as you build time under tension across a program.

This strategy works particularly well for exercises where increasing weight isn’t convenient due to the nature of the position or loading- think anything with a zercher or goblet hold OR a position that requires a more involved set up.

2. EMOM Supersets

People in our industry love talking s&^t about CrossFit, but they’ve popularized several things that have impacted the general fitness landscape for the better – gymnastics skills, concurrent training, snorting lines of grass fed whey protein isolate before a set of 30 hang snatches, and EMOM sets.

In an EMOM set, you’ll keep the load of an exercise the same but perform a certain number of reps every minute on the minute (EMOM).

In my own training, I’ve found it useful to combine two exercises into an EMOM superset – meaning that every minute we’ll do a predetermined number of reps for each exercise, rest for the remainder of that minute, and repeat. In practice, a 6 week progression might look like this:

Exercise Rest Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

A1. Trap Bar DL 0′ 4×3 5×3 6×3 7×3

A2. Alt. 1-Arm DB Bench Remainder of 60″ 4×8 5×8 6×8 7×8

Trap Bar DL EMOM

1-Arm DB Bench Press EMOM

The cool thing about EMOM sets, especially for athletes making the switch from conventional, load-obsessed strength training, is that they possess an entirely novel strategy for dramatically ramping up total load in a program without increasing axial load for any one particular set.

Mathematically, we can contrast a session of EMOM deadlifts with a session of conventionally-progressed deadlifts, which would look something like this:

Exercise Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 4 Workload

TBDL 6×3 @ 225 8×3 @ 225 10×3 @ 225 12×3 @ 225 8,100 lbs

TBDL 6×3 @ 255 6×3 @ 275 6×3 @ 295 6×3 @ 305 5,490 lbs

Over time, this may represent a more sustainable long term strategy for continuing to progress workload when absolute loading on any given repetition can no longer be increased. Additionally, plugging a few EMOM supersets into your training each week can serve as a mild conditioning stimulus for those who struggle to fit in aerobic work.

3. Feel-Based Training

The previous two strategies have emphasized unconventional strategies for increasing the overall workload of a training session, but our final strategy is a different beast altogether.

We love to think about increasing an exercise’s output via weight on the bar or overall pounds lifted throughout working sets. But what if we got “stronger” simply by executing an exercise more efficiently, potentially using a larger range of motion, while making no changes to dosing or loading throughout a cycle?

Depending on a client’s goals and injury history, somewhere between 20%-50% of exercises I program will be progressed by “feel” alone. This means they’re not allowed to do anything “more” over their 4 week cycle. Not more load, not more reps, not faster reps, not even more cowbell.

via GIPHY

We’re deliberately freezing these variables to clear cognitive bandwidth for getting as close as possible to *flawless* execution of the drill.

In something like a FFESS, for example, I may stick to 4 sets of 8 reps per leg throughout the entire cycle, loaded with a #25 KB in a goblet hold, but endeavor to improve other aspects of performance. Can a client maintain foot contacts on both the front and rear foot? Does their pelvis stay fairly level in the frontal plane? Do they control the degree of anterior and posterior pelvic tilt at the top and bottom of the range of motion, respectively?

Can they get the back knee further down towards the ground? Are they able to push UP and BACK to take advantage of the retropropulsive, joint-opening qualities of this drill?

In some ways, this is the most boring option for “progression,” but if you can get it into your and your client’s respective heads that we can freeze dosing and simply work on movement integrity and fidelity, a myriad of other training options open.

And options, more than anything else, help folks train consistently for years to come.

If you liked the content in this article, I’d recommend checking out More Train, Less Pain; Engineering the Adaptable Athlete- S3E13 with Tony drops today.

Available on both Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

About the Author

Tim Richardt is a Colorado-based Doctor of Physical Therapy and Strength and Conditioning Coach. He works with runners, climbers, CrossFitters, and tactical/mountain athletes to better help them manage long standing injuries and reach higher levels of physical performance. He also mentors young clinicians and coaches to help them develop their own unique treatment/training model. You can find out more about him at TimRichardt.com or through his IG HERE.

December 4, 2023June 19, 2024 Tony

personal training

The Lost Art of Saying I Don’t Know in the Fitness Industry

“I don’t know.”

Three words a large swath of fitness professionals have a wretched relationship with.

Copyright: salamatik / 123RF Stock Photo

The Lost Are of Saying “I Don’t Know”

The prevailing thought, it seems, is that admitting ignorance is a sign of weakness or that you’ll somehow lose credibility points for not knowing the answer to a client’s question…

…as if the fitness industry’s equivalent of Unella is stealthily lurking somewhere to shame walk you down a corridor for not memorizing every delicate step of the Kreb’s Cycle.

Shame, shame, SHAME!!

via GIPHY

Listen, there are some things a personal trainer/coach likely should have a firm grasp on:

The muscles of the rotator cuff?…✅
How to program around low back or knee pain?…✅
How many calories in a gram of protein?…✅
Who Mel Siff is?…✅

But you can’t expect to know EVERYTHING about anything:

Where’s the Levator ani located?…🤷‍♂️
And, more importantly, what the hell is the Levator ani?…🤷‍♂️¹
What are the benefits and pitfalls of concurrent periodization?…🤷‍♂️
What’s the atomic number of Adamantium?…🤷‍♂️

Maybe you knew the answer to all of the above, and if so, can we hang out? But if not, and on the off-chance someone in your life – whether it be a client, colleague, or your second cousin on your stepmother’s side – asked, and you didn’t know the answer, how would you handle it?

Rather than play hero, pretend to be an all-knowing smarty pants Spartan Jedi Wizard deadlifting demigod, and manufacture some false, pseudo-intellectual response…I’ve found it to be best practice to be honest with clients.

Simply put, to say…

“I don’t know.”

This bleeds of authenticity and I’ve found that, 100% of the time, clients appreciate and respect the honesty. Kind of like when you do someone a solid and let them know they’ve got something in their teeth.

via GIPHY

I’ve never lost a client because I was unable to answer their question regarding the functions of the psoas muscle or, I don’t know, the efficacy of heart rate variability training in undertrained grizzly bears.

Namely because 1) I TOTALLY KNOW WHAT THE FUNCTIONS OF THE PSOAS ARE and 2) the latter is ridiculous.

But too, it just never happened.

If I don’t know the answer to a question or a client asks to dive deeper into something I have little expertise in, I’ll say “I don’t know,” followed by “but I know someone who does. I’ll ask them.”

This happened to me not long ago.

I had a client express interest in learning more about the Olympic lifts. Up until that point she and I had been working together for several months focusing on the basic barbell lifts – deadlift, squat, bench press, etc.

She was a stark newbie when she walked into CORE the first day but had made a ton of progress in a short amount of time. It wasn’t long before she started asking whether or not I’d be willing to add OLY lifts into her programming?

(cue crickets chirping on my end)

Full Disclosure: I don’t have a lot of experience performing – let alone teaching – the OLY lifts. I even wrote about why I don’t include OLY lifting in my programs HERE. TL/DR version: I’m more qualified to fly an Apache Helicopter than teach a passable barbell split jerk.

Without blinking an eye I connected her to a handful of coaches in the Boston area more equipped to help her out.

And it couldn’t have worked out more splendidly.

She sent me the most gracious email a few weeks later saying how much fun she was having and that she had “found her people.”

Some people reading may say something to the effect of “dude, Tony, you lost a client. That’s the opposite of what I want to happen to me.”

Touche.

In the literal sense I did lose a client.

However, what do you think is the likely outcome when she’s approached by one of her family members or friends or colleagues asking if she knows of any reputable trainers in the area?

She’s going to refer them to this guy that’s what’s going to happen.²

If There’s Two Things to Remember From This Post…

1. Your clients won’t care that you don’t know the answer to something. Saying “I don’t know” is the responsible response.

Followed by “but I will try my best to find the answer for you.”

2. Don’t think pointing your clients towards other fitness professionals (especially locally) is a poor business decision. In my experience every time I’ve done so has resulted in the same client referring more people to me. Once they understand you have their best interests in mind they’ll often reward you with unabashed loyalty.

3. Just to be clear: I don’t know shit about fuck when it comes to the Kreb’s Cycle.

April 19, 2023 Tony

Motivational personal training

The Most Important Metric of a Training Program Is…

[Cue EPIC drum roll here]

First…lets first delve into what’s not important:

Access to special, fancy schmancy equipment.³
Being anal about nutrient timing/intake.⁴
Posting a picture or video of every workout and every exercise you performed on Instagram.⁵
Following the programs elite lifters do.⁶
The whole BS notion that muscle confusion is a “thing.”⁷

And Those Things That are Important. But Really Only Kinda-Sorta Important. Actually, We’re All Just a Bunch of A-Holes Who Like to Argue Over the Internet

Exercise selection
Exercise order
Exercise technique
Goal(s). Powerlifting vs. bodybuilding vs. OLY lifting vs. CrossFit vs. Fat Loss vs. Mechagodzilla
Training history/age
Past and current injury history
Ideal number of sets/reps
Time of day to workout
Length of workout
Best exercises to make your pecs cut diamonds

[EPIC drum roll is still cued]

Facetious tone aside, all of the things mentioned above are important and play an important role in program design.

However, there’s one metric that seems to always get overlooked.

And that is…..

Attendance

“The most important metric of a training program’s success is…attendance. People need to show up”

You can write the most baller scientifically-based program addressing all the criteria listed above that’s based off block periodization with meticulous percentages written in, laminated with Vladimir Zatsiorsky’s⁸ chest hair, and none of it will matter if people don’t show up.

Make no mistake…getting people to “show up” is a skill in of itself.

Of course, the monetary commitment to hire a personal trainer or coach is enough to motivate most people to “show up.” But even then it’s often a crap-shoot, let alone entices someone to invest their time (and in themselves) long-term.

There are numerous, outside-the-box factors that often come into play:

The ability to listen to and validate someone. Are you a trainer/coach who likes to “win” or prove to everyone how smart you are and how you’re always right? Better, less uppity communication skills can have a profound impact on your sales and retention as a trainer/fitness business.⁹
It’s not about you. It’s about THEM. Get your clients to talk about themselves.¹⁰
Take the time to introduce your clients to one another. Maybe you have two clients who really enjoy squatting or, I don’t know, old-school Jean-Claude Van Damme movies. Either way, introducing client A to client B often helps build camaraderie and community.
With regards to program design: It’s not necessarily about choosing the best exercise possible to entertain people. Rather, it’s about choosing the most appropriate exercise(s) to better set people up for immediate and long-term success. These are really boring.
“Think trainer, speak client.”¹¹You in your head: “Dan is really crushing his posterior Mediastinum on those squats.” You to Dan: “don’t arch so much in your lower back.”
Design for your space. You don’t always need all the bells and whistles to impress people. Audit your equipment. Almost always, the less you have, the better your programs will be. Most people don’t need as much variety as they think they need anyways.
Strive to make your clients autonomous.
Play more Wu-Tang. Just, because.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I do feel serves as a delicious amuse bouche in helping fitness professionals understand that it’s not always about credentials, certifications, and deadlifts.

Getting people to show up via other means is often the key to effective program writing.

December 2, 2022 Tony

coaching personal training

Training Athletes vs. General Population Clients

A few years ago, while presenting at the NSCA Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, I mentioned to the crowd that I don’t work with a lot of athletes anymore.

By choice.

Training Athletes vs. General Population Clients

Instead, I explained that currently 90-95% of my clientele are made up of general population clients.

You know, “normal” people.

What’s more, I noted that I actually preferred training them over professional athletes.

There was a cacophony of crickets chirping and cold, blank stares. You would have thought I had just told the crowd I had given up everything just so that I could go walk the land and practice kung-fu.

via GIPHY

During the subsequent Q&A later that day I had a handful of people approach to ask ~~if I was okay and whether or not I needed medical attention for saying something so blasphemous~~ me to further elaborate my comment from earlier:

“So, uh, you said you stopped training athletes to work with general population clients.

Like, why?”

Here’s What I Said

Before I peel back that onion, I think it’s important to address the elephant in the room.

I think the overlying credo in the fitness industry is that once you get to the point where you’re working with (professional) athletes or celebrities you’ve somehow “made it.”

You’re elite.

You can now write your memoir.¹²

Quick Aside: I also feel there’s a tendency for people within the industry to give more credence or credibility to certain certifications over others. For example if someone is a CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) they’re obviously smarter and more qualified than a lowly CPT (Certified Personal Trainer)….and they can probably walk on water.¹³

Certifications are great and all (and necessary to some degree), but I guess I fall into the camp that tries not to place too much weight on the letters next to someone’s name, and more so on their experience and overall track record.

I get it: Training Gary from accounting doesn’t attach itself to as much prestige and luster as, say, an NFL player or Zac Efron.

However, as my friend and colleague, Mike Connelly, eloquently stated back in the day:

“We all train people. Whether or not they get paid to play a sport does not change their “peopleness” nor does it impact your status as an elite trainer. You either know what you’re doing or you don’t and there is plenty of both on either side.“

Training professional athletes and actors has its benefits and setbacks, as does training general population clients.

I’ve been fortunate to work with people on both sides of the fence.

I can tell you that throughout my career I’ve been every bit as excited watching one of my female clients nail her first strict, bodyweight chin-up as when I was watching an athlete of mine make his Major League debut.

Fun Tony Factoid: I watched one of my former athletes make his Big League debut the night of my Bachelor party.

Anyways, far be it from me to tell you which is the better fit or more rewarding route to take.

All I can do is speak for myself.

Speaking of which, how about I finally STFU and get to the meat and potatoes of the post.

“Tony, why did you CHOOSE to not work with pro athletes?”

Here’s What I Actually Said

1. You’re not my Mom, you can’t tell me what to do.

2. The truth is I still do train athletes. My previous coaching position was at an institution – Cressey Sports Performance – which is known for working with a metric boat load of professional athletes.

Especially overhead athletes.

So, in effect, me switching gears and not training (professional) athletes at the same abundance was very much a result of that.

I simply am not around them as much compared to the past.

Rest assured, though, if Mike Trout wanted to train at CORE I wouldn’t turn him away….;o)

3. When I decided to leave CSP and open up my own small studio in Boston I knew the demographic I’d be catering to the most would be normal, everyday, all-I-want-to-do-is-to-be-able-to-pick-my-kid-up-and-not-hate-life people.

Partly because of the location of my studio, and partly because that’s what I wanted to do.

Don’t get me wrong: I loved working with athletes – and I still do.

However, as far as absolute joys in my life are concerned, outside of a good tickle fight, a heaping bowl of ice-cream, or rough-housing with my 5-year old, I have always gotten more out of helping “regular peeps” nail their first 2x bodyweight squat or helping someone finally conquer his or her’s chronic low-back pain.

I wanted to get back to former and the joy it brought me.

So that’s what I did.

Bye Felicia.

Besides, I don’t feel there’s any less pedigree of coaching involved at accomplishing any of the things mentioned above compared to improving someone’s VO2 max or vertical jump from 31 to 32 inches.

In fact, this quote from Vince Gabriele sums things up nicely:

“I get more satisfaction helping a level 3 become a level 7, than a level 8 becoming a level 9. The former is so much more rewarding.“

4. Also, if I really wanted to be honest with any young fitness professionals reading:

There’s more general population clients out there in the world than there are professional athletes. It’s an inevitable mathematical likelihood that, despite how important you feel you are and that only the elite of the elite can (and should) be privy to your superior training methodologies, you may, never, work with professional athletes.
But if you do, training athletes can provide a level of prestige that can be leveraged to garner more business.¹⁴ That said, and I think a lot of gym owners will agree with this, it’s general population clients that pay the rent and often result in more consistent revenue.

Something to think about.

And That’s That

If anything I hope this little rant resonates with those who may struggle with the notion that they’re “less qualified” because they don’t work with athletes , models, actors, or clowns.

That’s a bunch of hogwash.

Maturity in a trainer/coach is revealed in ‘the process of progress’ rather than who’s connected to it.¹⁵

November 4, 2022 Tony

personal training Program Design

The Ultimate 5-Step Guide to Progressing a Client Workout

Last week I received an email from Jon Goodman. At first I thought he was going to extend an invite to me to come up to Toronto for a weekend of watching Jean Claude van Damme movies.

But that wasn’t the case.

Fingers crossed for next time.

Nope, instead Jon was curious if I’d be interested in him writing an article for my site highlighting his new & nifty (and FREE) program writing software for coaches.

Uh, hell yes!

Jon is notorious (in a good way) at giving away stuff that he could easily charge good money for. Not only that, there aren’t many people who have had as much positive influence on the industry as Jon…he continuously brings the tide up for everyone.

Check it out.

The Ultimate 5-Step Guide to Progressing a Client Workout

Note From TG: Before I defer to Jon, let’s begin with this: It’s NOT by spotting someone like what’s pictured above. OMG this is one of my biggest gym pet peeves. Well that, and people who refuse to share equipment.¹⁶ I don’t know who the person is that gives the okay or thumbs up on all these registered images showcasing a trainer spotting their client this way, but they need to be fired. There’s got to be room in the National Defense Budget to fix this travesty, no?

Workout programs often last a month.

Then, a coach ‘changes it up’ for no reason other than it’s been four weeks.

This is wrong.

My programs don’t start and stop: They evolve.

Every four weeks I’ll review, assess, and adjust the program.

The goal’s to balance fun and progressive overload.

This article shares how I think about progressing workouts.

This is a picture of me in workout attire. I felt like one belonged here but have basically zero pictures of me training. So, here’s one of the few I have. It’s old. K, moving on.

Four-Week Program Assessments Are Based on 5 Questions:

Exercise flow: Did anything not work?
Stalling: Is anything important not progressing?
Limitations: Is anything outside of our control affecting programming?
Boredom: Is the client bored or do they hate anything?
Moving forward: How should I progress the program for next month?

Next, I’ll show ya how I use these questions to evolve my own program.

My goal’s hypertrophy.

The program I’m doing three different workouts repeated twice a week for four weeks (24 total workouts).

The split:

Legs / shoulders
Chest / back
Arms / core

Let’s dig in:

To start, I’ll pull up my list of completed workouts using my free software for personal trainers, QuickCoach.Fit.

1. Exercise flow: Did anything not work?

BB Romanian Deadlifts (RDL’s) are performed on day 1. This thrashes my hamstrings.

Then, on day 2, I perform BB bent-over rows.

While I didn’t get hurt, the idea of loading heavy BB bent-over rows with sore hamstrings isn’t ideal.

The goal’s back training, not core stability.

With that in mind, I’ll switch the BB bent-over rows for a bench-supported DB row moving forward.

My previous plan (with bent over bb rows)

Notice that the sets, reps, and all other variables (I use RPE) stay the same. When evolving a program, things like exercise selection / grip often change but stuff like sets, reps, order, tempo, etc. don’t.

Beyond that, the flow was good.

Moving on . . .

2. Stalling: Is anything important not progressing?

For each program, there’s 2-3 exercises I monitor progress on.

They’re usually representative large multi-joint movements.

I’m currently basing progression on two exercises:

Incline BB Bench Press
BB Romanian Deadlift

To check up on progress, I’ll pop open the Past Performance tab in QuickCoach:

I’ll then search for the exercise I want (BB Bench Press), and click on it to view performance.

Based on this it looks like progress is stalled.

But I also know that I was coming back from a layoff to begin this program so pushed the weights up quickly to start.

With that in mind, I’m not going to change anything for this phase.

The other key exercise in my routine was the BB Romanian Deadlift.

I’m also happy with the progress and will keep it in the program.

Four weeks isn’t a long time with fitness.

Changing it up too quickly is a mistake.

3. Limitations: Is anything outside of our control affecting programming?

With a 5-month year old baby, my time’s stretched.

To save time, I’m training at the community center around the corner.

A downside is that the DB’s max out at 55lbs––not heavy enough for conventional pressing. (#humblebrag)

Instead of a DB press, I’ll do higher-rep alternating DB presses to increase time under tension.

It’s not ideal but it’s necessary.

The right plan for a client should fit their life at that time, even if it’s not the Capital B-Best exercise.

Sub it in, and let’s move on…

4. Boredom: Is the client bored or do they hate anything?

As a trainer, your client is your boss.

Changing a workout because you’re bored isn’t OK.

Changing it because they’re bored is.

That, and sometimes client’s just hate certain things.

There’s usually a change you can make that’s just as good for the client’s goals that they hate less.

Here’s a few things I didn’t like in my previous training phase:

Cable ab crunches feel weird. So I replaced them with ab wheel rollouts.
Russian twists drag on for me. So I replaced them with side planks.
I switched cables for DB’s for chest flyes as noted in a comment I had sent to myself early on in the previous program.

5. Moving forward: How should I progress the program for next month?

I’m following a four week undulating periodization plan.

Week one is a deload. Then volume increases followed by intensity ramp up.

Week 1 I’ll do 3 sets at an RPE of 8 (Using the Borg CR10 scale).
Week 2 I’ll bump up to 4 sets.
Week 3 I’ll increase RPE to 9.
Week 4 I’ll increase RPE to 9.5.

Then I’ll deload again. And repeat the process.

I’ve found this to be a great way to progress without crushing myself.

If my life revolved around training and I didn’t have a family or business to run, I might be more aggressive.

For now, the deload week each month helps keep my body in check.

24 Workouts Cued Up and Ready To Go

Here’s how it looks on my side as a coach.

From this page, I can reorder and edit anything and it’ll change in real time on the client view.

Then when it’s time to train, I pop open the client link on my phone, click the next plan, and I’m ready to go.

Here’s what the client (in this case: me) sees:

Go Deeper: Watch me share my screen as I build this program in real time using QuickCoach (19 mins)

I recorded myself building this entire phase of programming in real time, exercise by exercise, using QuickCoach.

If you’re interested in watching it and hearing me talk through my thinking it as I go

Elevate Your Brand With Professional Coaching Software Today

All screenshots from this email showcase QuickCoach in action, which you can use 100% free with your clients.

QC is professional coaching software, built by coaches, for coaches.

It works for fitness, nutrition, habits, physiotherapy, chiropractic, and running––both in-person and online.

Join 14,000+ others and register your free account at www.QuickCoach.Fit to start playing around.

Also, as crazy as it is, I think that this is the first time that I’ve ever shared my own workout and thought process behind it.

Wild.

Does this officially make me an Internet Fitness Bro?

Do I need to start posting pics of me half-nekkid?

I have so many questions . . .

Anyway, thanks for letting me share my thought process with you. Hope it helps.

About the Author

Jonathan Goodman has 17yrs in the fitness industry and is the author of Ignite the Fire (1,000+ 5⭐ ). His current project is free software for fitness and nutrition coaches: QuickCoach.Fit. Follow him (along with 100k other trainers) on his Personal Instagram where he is very active.

September 14, 2022 Tony

mindset Motivational personal training

4 Tips I’d Give Myself on Day 1 of My Fitness Journey

As I type these words on my keyboard I am aboard an Irish Rail train en route to Galway. We just spent the past five days in Dublin being tourists making the typical pit stops at sites like Trinity College, the Temple Bar neighborhood, and I even had a Guinness at the renowned Gravity Bar atop the Guinness factory.¹⁷

We still have several more days lined up exploring the sites of Ireland with everything culminating in Belfast where we plan to hit up the Titanic Belfast Museum as well as the Giants Causeway and a few filming locations of Game of Thrones.

#nerdlife.

Suffice to say I am in no mood to write new content. Thankfully my man Paul Levitin was thoughtful enough to send me a guest post before I left on my trip. He’s written a handful of excellent posts in recent months and this one no different.

Enjoy!

4 Tips I’d Give Myself on Day 1 of My Fitness Journey

After working in a gym for nearly a decade, and collecting every certification under the sun, it’s easy to become jaded and say “everyone knows this stuff.”

Factually, most people do not.

Today, instead of thinking about where I am now, with 10 years of experience, I want to go back.

It’s easy for me to say “I don’t count calories anymore,” but that’s because I counted calories for nearly a decade, and I have more nutrition labels memorized than I do phone numbers at this point.

So If I had to start from scratch, if today was day 0 of my fitness journey, where would I begin?

Knowing what I know now, what would I do to most leverage my time and energy?

via GIPHY

One thing is for sure: When I first started, I had no clue what I was doing. I wasted a lot of time, literally years doing the wrong things. I wasted money, buying useless supplements and other gimmicky products like sauna suits.

So if i could travel back in time to the first day of my fitness journey, here are my 4 tips that I would give my 17 year old self:

1. Don’t Overlook the Simple. Don’t Overvalue the Complex

Some things are so simple, so easy, I just couldn’t understand how they might be helpful

Things like, parking farther away at the parking lot, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking to the store instead of driving.

Like, yea, I get it, you get some steps, but could the hundred steps it takes to get from one end of the parking lot to the other, or the extra two minutes it takes to walk three flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator really make a difference?

It turns out that yes, yes it can.

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Most people think that exercising, whether it’s lifting weights or doing cardio or anything else, represents a huge amount of calories being burned.

In reality, an hour of even the most high intensity exercise will only burn a few hundred calories, a small percentage of your daily calorie intake and burn.

The vast majority of your calories are spent each day simply living. Between bodily functions, like keeping your blood pumping and keeping the lights on in your head, to doing daily tasks like walking, eating, typing, and everything else you tend to do.

It makes sense, since simply proportionally, even if you spend an hour in the gym five days a week, that’s only five hours out of 168, which is 8.4%. Just logically, we have much more opportunity during the remaining 91.6% than we possibly could in the exercise time, no matter how hard we try to push it during those 4 or 5 hours.

A key step towards health then becomes trying to do more in your non exercise time. That walk from the end of the parking lot here, taking the stairs there, getting off your train a stop early and walking, or deciding to explore a new city on foot rather than take an Uber, these things can seem trivial, but over days, weeks, months, and years, they add up.

They keep you moving, they keep you burning, and it’s a key habit that all healthy people adopt, either consciously or unconsciously.

2. Eating for Health and Eating for Weight Loss Are Not Necessarily the Same. Exercising for Health and Exercising for Aesthetics Are Not Necessarily the Same

This one throws people through a loop. It definitely took me some time to wrap my head around.

I saw countless clients as a nutrition coach, as well as myself, getting frustrated saying “I’m eating so healthy, but I’m not losing weight!” That’s because these goals are not one in the same, and taken to extremes, can actually be counter to one another.

The problem comes from the ambiguous definition of “healthy.” To many people seeking to lose weight, they use the terms interchangeably.

A doctor, nutritionist, or health blog however, might use the term “healthy” to mean more nutritious, with more healthy fats. This however might mean more calories, which means that a big bowl of almonds every day might be hurting your weight loss, more than helping it.

Or, some “naturalist” type, might say “healthy” to mean less artificial ingredients. To them then, a 200 calorie kombucha would be “healthy,” but a zero calorie, zero sugar diet coke, would not, even though the latter would result in less calories consumed, and thus more potential weight loss than the former.

The same can be said for exercise. Hang around any heavy duty lifting gym for long enough, and talk to enough jacked and shredded bodybuilders and powerlifters, and you know what you’ll hear?

Stories of torn rotator cuffs, blown out backs, and bad knees. Probably some disordered eating as well, and quite potentially, the use of some illicit substances.

People might look “good” (whatever that means), but their health is actually suffering because of it

Now, does this mean these things are mutually exclusive?

Of course not.

You can eat in a way that is both healthy and ideal for weight loss, and you can exercise in a way that makes you look and feel sexy af, while also improving your overall health and longevity.

I am simply saying that this is not inherently the case, and the sooner that you come to grips with that, the less frustrated you will be.

That brings me right to the next point…

3. Optimal Is Only Optimal if You Do It. Don’t Optimize Yourself Out of Consistency

For a long time, I tried to force things,

I was a personal trainer, so I studied the science. I studied the studies.

Squats are more optimal for muscle development than leg press. Cool, no more leg press, only squats.

The optimal weekly routine has you hitting each body part 2 to 3 times per week, that means more focus on big muscle groups like back and legs, and less on arms, abs, and anything smaller.

Optimal cardio is low intensity steady state, those HIIT days are killing your gains. Ok, no more HIIT, only walking. (Jury is back out on this one).

As time went on, I continued to optimize and tweak and adjust, until where I started was nowhere at all where I began.

Now, this in and of itself, certainly isn’t a bad thing. It was the constant learning, optimization, and tweaking that allowed me to achieve the results that I had, like reaching a 500lb deadlift or sub 10% bodyfat.

But that was me. I was a personal trainer, spending seven days in the gym, eating, breathing, and sleeping fitness and nutrition information. It was my life. I was uniquely dedicated, and there was nothing that was going to throw me off course.

Often, people would see what I was doing, be it friends, family, or clients, and try to do the same. Unfortunately, they weren’t me (Sad, I know).

What I mean is, they weren’t coaches. They had lives outside of the gym, they had responsibilities, they had families, they had limited time.

Because of that, often what the science might have said was the most OPTIMAL workout might not fit with their lives.

Beyond that, what is more important, is that what is OPTIMAL does not take into account what is ENJOYABLE.

I was nut, I was going to do whatever it took to get lean and strong.

Normal people, which you might consider yourself to be, might want to, oh, I don’t know, enjoy their exercise routines?

Eat food that doesn’t look like it could be fed to a rabbit?

Crazy huh?

The thing is, in the quest for optimization, individuality is lost.

If we are assuming that there is ONE optimal way, (which we can argue about, and people on the internet surely will) that means that anything other than optimal is inherently deemed “wrong” or “worse”.

That can be disheartening for people who are already struggling with just getting to the gym or getting off the couch, now they are being told they are doing it wrong too.

So while I do think there is a time and place for doing what’s best, not if it comes at the expense of actually doing the damn thing.

So many people these days hear that strength training is the end all be all of exercise. And for good reason, it’s the bee’s knees, the benefits are basically endless.

BUT, if you’re someone who loves Zumba and going for long runs, should those be poo-poo’ed because they aren’t as optimal as lifting weights?

If you try to force yourself into a box, there’s a chance you might fit, but there’s always also a chance you might get claustrophobic and go crazy

This takes experimentation, and some knowledge of self

I’m not saying don’t try to optimize or ever do what’s best. Just saying, tread carefully, and a non-optimal workout routine done consistently for years is infinitely better than the most scientifically optimal workout that you do for 6 weeks then quit because you hate it

Which, brings me to point four,

4. In the Long Game, Consistency Wins. This is the Long Game, Whether You Like it or Not

When I was 17, I cared about one thing, and one thing only: looking good. More specifically, looking good right now. If I absolutely had to wait, I would accept results tomorrow, but beyond that we were really starting to push it.

Unfortunately, at the time, I was living in this dumb stupid super annoying place called “reality.”

It really was the worst.

Every day, I’d go to the gym and do abs, then lift my shirt up, and NO ABS. It was like a cruel joke.

Now you might be saying, been there Paul. And if you have, maybe you know what my next step was: obviously, logically, it was, more.

More abs!
More cardio!
More more more!

Looking back now, I can see how the logic might have been a little flawed. What I’m not doing isn’t working? Hmm, let’s do more of it!

Poor exercise selection and actual workout programming aside, this route couldn’t work for one key reason: it was unsustainable.

I’d sit doing abs in the gym for 2 hours some days, and be so sore the next day I couldn’t move, or so tired and lethargic I’d skip the day’s planned workout.

And simply logistically, there was no way for me to do 2 and 3 hour workouts like that consistently.

The problem was, I was looking at everything with a short-sighted view. Life, on the other hand, is long. So all my plans revolved around getting results as fast as possible, even though I was a teenager, and barely even started my life

And this is unfortunately how most people look at exercise, eating, and health in general. It’s all about now. Some people think about longevity, but it’s an afterthought at best

The thing is, life is going to happen, whether you want it to or not. You are going to get older. You are going to be 30, 40, 60, 80, whatever, at some point. So for better or worse, you might as well start thinking about it now.

Internalizing these 4 tips will help you create a lifestyle that works for you, and you can keep up with. That way, you can be healthy and enjoy it, not for weeks, or months, but years and decades.

About the Author

Paul Levitin spent a decade as a personal trainer & strength and conditioning coach, becoming the number one trainer in his entire company, while collecting over 30 certificates (CES, CSCS, PRI, PN1, FRC, & many more).

Wanting to better serve his training clients, he began to study behavior change, and eventually became a Board Licensed Health & Wellness Coach (NBHWC). This led him to create his education and mindset coaching company “The Healthy Happy Human Academy,” where he now helps clients deal with things like self-sabotage and perfectionism, to allow them to build a healthy, happy life.

He seeks to bridge the gap between the worlds of fitness and nutrition, and the frustrated, overwhelmed masses who just want to move more, feel better, and live a little longer.

https://www.instagram.com/paullevitin/
The Healthy Happy Human Podcast
The Healthy Happy Human Academy FREE Facebook Group

August 1, 2022 Tony