personal training – Page 2

Why Attempting to Set PRs Every Week is F&*#!@# Stupid

Attempting to set a PR every single week is silly.

It’s an approach to training I have long advocated against (and a hill I will die on). Well, that and saying Sydney Bristow is the best character in television history…;o)¹

Training to get stronger isn’t necessarily about hitting PR’s on the regular. In fact, if you break down the training programs that most really strong people follow, they’re only hitting an actual PR once, maybe twice per year. And that’s even a stretch.

Today’s guest post by personal trainer Lance Goyke (whom I first met back in the day when he was an intern turned employee at IFAST in Indianapolis) helps to shed light on why chasing weekly PRs likely isn’t going to do you any favors.

Why Attempting to Set PRs Every Week is F&*#!@# Stupid

“PRs never look pretty.”

Well they could look pretty good, but most people don’t have the discipline for that kind of training.

If you’re the type of person who often has two weeks of awesome training followed by two weeks of remedial rehab, then it’s likely you spend too much time testing strength instead of building strength.

In this article, we’ll talk about strength, how it’s not quite what we think it is, and how striving for strength prevents you from actually building strength. I’ll give you a few examples of how biomechanics can change during max effort lifts, hopefully leaving you with a new, healthier, and more effective way to approach your training.

What is Strength? How Do We Measure It?

Strength is “the capacity of an object or substance to withstand great force or pressure”.

We measure it using the weight we lift in a training session, but that’s only an approximation of force production. And there are two types of forces: internal and external.

Internal forces sum to become an external force. Using deadlifting as an example, the calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, and back muscles (internal forces) all combine into pressure through the feet (external force).

Internal forces combine into a single external force during deadlift

We mostly picture muscles and tendons producing forces, but the joints and ligaments do as well. Though bones and ligaments don’t shorten like muscles, they also don’t collapse under heavy loads.

Err, well, hopefully they don’t collapse. “Bend and not break” as they say!

I find it helpful to think of these bones and ligaments as really good isometric contracters, i.e., they maintain length even under load. It reminds me of hitching a deadlift or putting an Atlas stone in your lap. They won’t pick up the weight for you, but it sure is nice to have a short break in the middle of the rep.

Since muscle is the only thing we have that changes length and can actually move a weight, we should aim for more muscle force production.

But setting PRs isn’t about training muscles, it’s about lifting weight. And this has consequences.

Anatomy of a Personal Record

When attempting a (literal) max effort lift, there are two main factors that decide the outcome:

Mindset
Biomechanics

The strongest people in the gym are good at mindset: I will get this done at any cost. If you don’t think you can lift it, your brain puts the brakes on your muscles. You don’t have to be totally insane, but you do need to believe that it’s in the realm of possibility.

Biomechanics is harder to predict.

Even isolation exercises like lateral raises hardly occur in isolation. The intricate web of neurology means that moving one joint moves all the others.

During a PR attempt, your brain gives commands and listens for feedback. You might go into a bench press with the intention of keeping your shoulders set down, but when the weight slows to a near stop, your brains says, “BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES! SHRUG THE SHOULDERS! LIFT THE BUM!” And before you know it, you’re doing an Unsupported Decline Press from Shrug Position instead of a Bench Press.

We’ve all seen someone do this, but why does it happen?

Technique Changes During PR Attempts to Temporarily Increase Force Production

If the pecs, deltoids, lats, serratus anterior, and triceps can’t stabilize AND press the weight, a useful strategy is to shrug the shoulders, jamming the shoulder into the acromion process while stabilizing the rib cage and clavicle with the neck muscles. This not only removes stress from the primary muscle groups of the lift, but also subtly changes the length of these working muscles. If the pecs are getting weaker because they’re getting shorter, let’s just elevate the clavicle to lengthen them and our force production capability will return.

But this comes at a cost. The shoulder joint wears out, rotator cuff gets injured, and the neck stiffens. All for a temporary increase in weight lifted.

And it’s difficult to argue that you’re even getting stronger! Yes, you might lift more weight, but most of that came from passive tissues instead of muscle. Even if you don’t get injured, are you planning on training your glenoid labrum to lift more weight next time? I hope not.

This type of technique change works for testing the max weight you can lift, but it’s not building strength.

Learning Technique Consistency

When a lifter tests strength by compromising biomechanics every week, she never learns how to maintain technique under duress.

Undesired Response to Increased Intensiveness

With time and extreme discipline, however, technique stays pristine even in the most difficult sets:

Desired Response to Increased Intensiveness

Many moons ago, I was having trouble staying consistent with training. I wanted to lift, but I had this two-week cycle of feeling good vs. joint pain. I stayed “broken” until I became strict about periodizing my training intensity and maintaining technique during really heavy sets.

If your training oscillates between wonderful sessions and remedial sessions, learn to be more consistent with technique across all sets and remember to deload your training monthly.

Examples of How Technique Changes During Max Effort Attempts

To cement this idea as a reality, here are three more examples of how changes in technique can prevent you from building strength. These will increase in complexity as we go along.

Deadlifting with Hitching Into Lockout

There are three main ways to lock out a deadlift:

Squeeze glutes (good)
Squeeze the low back (bad)
Hitching (you do what you gotta do)

Using the glutes keeps the spine neutral. Using the low back muscles arches the lumbar spine, introducing tons of wear and tear.

Hitching a deadlift is when the lifter briefly rests the bar on the thighs while trying to lock out.

Here’s a timestamped video showing a clear hitch, though it’s difficult to nit pick when the weight is 937lbs (@ 6:12).

This has many advantages for lifting more weight:

Short “rest”
Squat knees underneath the weight for support
Shorten moment arm on glutes
Increase moment arm on quads

If you hitch to lock out your deadlift, you’re deloading the glutes and hamstrings.

Squatting with Forward Weight Shift

Shifting forward at the bottom of a full squat is a common compensation for squatting more weight. You see it a lot with Olympic weightlifting due to the mobility demands of the sport.

Here’s a timestamped video example (@ 2:58).

This does a few things to help the lifter:

Stretches the quads and calves, stimulating a strong reflex which helps straighten the knee
Short break time with the butt and hamstrings resting on the calves and ankles
Removes stress from the glutes and hamstrings
Helps maintain a vertical torso

The biggest long-term issues with this forward weight shift are that the lifter is more likely to experience knee overuse injuries, hip mobility limitations like butt wink, and inconsistent performance. The latter is an especially important topic in technique-intense Olympic weightlifting: if you only get six attempts at a meet, you don’t want to miss one because of technique.

Additionally, quad overuse often makes people feel persistent tightness. They search for quad stretches, perform some, then feel better for a few minutes until the tightness returns.

You can still get the stretch reflex benefit out of the bottom of the lift even when avoiding a forward shift. Sitting down and slightly backward to full depth stretches the quads and calves, but also increases the stretch on the glutes and hamstrings. This is one reason why posterior chain exercises like the Romanian deadlift and good mornings can improve your squat.

Bench Press with Torso Twist

Alright, I wanted to throw in one complicated scenario: twisting the torso on a bench press.

Up until now, all of our compensations have been pretty symmetrical. But there’s asymmetry in the real world. Time to take off the training wheels.

When attempting a max effort bench press, the sternum will often move to the right. This changes a few things:

The right abs go into overdrive
The left ribs and elbow flare out
The left shoulder rises up due to this rib position
The bar tilts and twists, loading the right side even more
The lifter makes a face that’s not usually very cool (obviously most important)

Here’s a timestamped video showing the right sternum twist (@ 1:29); you can see it on rep 7, hard to not see on rep 8, and impossible to ignore on the 9th, failed rep.

Here’s a timestamped video showing the left elbow flare and bar twisting (@ 1:59).

And here’s a timestamped video showing both; the sternum start noticebly twisting on rep 15 (@ 3:29) and it’s really easy to see the left elbow flare on the failed rep.

And briefly, notice that it’s harder to nitpick mistakes in this 675lb bench press (timestamped @ 5:00).

We contort ourselves this way because of the normal asymmetry in the body. The heart on the left supports the left rib cage flaring. The big liver on the right supports the right abdominals. And because everything is connected, these asymmetries permeate all the way through our limbs.

This is a tough compensation to fix. You might consider warming up with some dedicated shoulder mobility exercises. Utilize more unilateral training like the split squat. If this problem is unfamiliar, you might find it useful to slow down as this gives you time to notice when mistakes happen (it’s usually around the sticking point). As you get more proficient, you can speed up.

In any case, you’ll need to be disciplined about your technique when you’re exhausted.

Building Strength vs. Testing Strength

Hopefully by now you have a better idea of how your body might compensate during a max effort lift. Remember: it’s okay to try hard! The point is that technique must remain pristine if it’s to be considered training.

Save the strange body conformations for your personal record attempts. And give yourself time to train between testing sessions.

I like to push my clients hard on week 4 of a 4-week training program. This gives 3 weeks to practice technique and acclimate to the training volume, preparing well for testing your body and mind.

Perfect technique does not mean the lift is light and easy. In fact, it should be harder to do because the muscles are reaching their limit and your brain must override your body’s instincts. This is real discipline.

I’ll leave you with a bulleted list of tips.

Guidelines for Building Strength

Test strength at most one out of every four weeks
“Testing strength” does not mean a single rep maximum, but a max effort for the pre-planned training program set and rep scheme
Train like a bodybuilder; aim to feel the right muscles working
Using less weight doesn’t mean you’re detraining; strength can fluctuate up to 18% in any given day
Don’t forget to deload your training roughly one out of every four weeks
Don’t forget to train endurance
Use cardio to speed up your recovery from strength workouts

And remember: spend more time building strength than testing strength.

About the Author

Lance Goyke, MS, CSCS has been a personal trainer and strength coach for over ten years. He’s currently working remotely with clients all over the world, including at Google, America, Scotland, and New Zealand. In addition to coaching, he also produces educational fitness writing, videos

June 10, 2022 Tony

personal training psychology

The Words We Use Matter

NOTE: In six weeks I will be in Dublin, Ireland with my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis, to present our Strong Body, Strong Mind Workshop.

In an effort to give insight and to help highlight some of the content we will be covering I figured today I’d re-publish an old(er) post from a few years go.

Much of what stresses us out as fitness professionals and gym owners is the psychological side of things as it relates to our clients:

Why won’t so and so listen to what I am saying?
If they just simply followed the plan as outlined things would be fine.
If I hear one more client bring up the Carnivore Diet I am going to jump through this pane glass window.

Nevertheless, motivation and long-term success in the gym often begins with possessing the soft skills necessary to communicate more effectively and efficiently.

As a reminder: I will be in Dublin on July 24th – HERE, in additional to Belfast, Northern Ireland, the weekend of July 30th – HERE.

I hope to see you there!

A few weeks ago, while in LA presenting, I was asked a simple question by one of the attendees:

“What’s the one thing you’ve adopted or changed the most as a coach in the past 2-3 years?“

A simple inquiry to be sure. However, it required a bit of heft to answer.

I mean it’s not like they asked my thoughts on Linear Periodization², kipping pull-ups³, or, I don’t know, the atomic mass of Manganese,⁴all of which can be answered with witty footnotes.

My response was likely a bit of a curveball.

While I could have easily gone into the nuances of assessment, program design, and the importance of positional breathing and what philosophical pivots I’ve made on each in recent years – or waxed poetic on why “textbook technique” doesn’t exist – I didn’t choose to.

Instead, I brought up the “words” we use as coaches.

Copyright: alphaspirit / 123RF Stock Photo

Words Matter

Let’s start with an inane example.

A word.

A word we use all the time in the fitness industry and one that serves as a cornerstone for what we do as a profession:

Assessment

For us (coaches, personal trainers, physical therapists, athletic trainers) the word infers or implies a start. We use an amalgamation of our expertise in anatomy, program design, bodily movement, and exercise technique/prescription (amongst other thing) and apply all of it to best fit the needs, goals, and ability level of the person sitting in front of us.

In other words: We attempt to find the most efficient, safe, and straightest line possible between Point B (where the client wants to go/goals) and Point A (where they are presently).

Alternatively, for them (clients/athletes/pirates), the word “assessment” can mean a plethora of things:

An evaluation
A screen
A test

Above all, though, I think most people feel an assessment is nothing more than 45-60 minutes of a complete stranger judging the shit out of them:

Your shoulders are internally rotated and rounded.
You have anterior pelvic tilt.
Your core is weak.
Your glutes don’t fire.
Your left eye is lower than your right. That’s weird.

In short: It’s a window of time where some douchy trainer takes every opportunity possible to showcase how much of a walking ball of fail someone is.

via GIPHY

I’ve personally taken steps to try to omit the word “assessment” from my vocabulary. I just feel the connotation breeds a negative tone out of the gate and is something I’d rather avoid.

Instead, I’ve opted to using terms such as “success session,” “meet and greet,” or “diesel deadlift house of fantastical dreams power hour.”

It just feels less judgy, doesn’t it?

The Power of ‘Of Coursing’

I have many friends in the fitness industry and it’s not uncommon for us to commiserate with one another about asinine things we read on the internet or maybe share a frustrating story regarding a client.

Here’s a recent back and forth I had with a friend:

“I have to share this with you…

Yesterday a lady who was given a gift certificate to take my women’s strength training class approached me after class to tell me she would have to take a month or two off from my class so she could “get some of this weight off…”

While I tried to control the stream coming out of my ears I said to her…

Well that’s kinda counterintuitive

She says:

I’m gonna start taking spin again! It really helped me lose weight…

Me: still trying to control the rage monster…

Well, have you done anything to change your eating over the last month? No. When you were taking spin, what did your diet look like? Well, I was tracking my calories and writing everything down that I ate.

So, you think the spinning helped you lose the weight?

Crickets

I burned 800 calories in spinning…. And I forgot to mention she sleeps horribly due to triplets (age 4 ) and she’s a DIETICIAN!

So I went on to explain what I thought she needed to do and how three days of spinning would be equivalent to pouring gasoline on the hormonal shit storm her body currently lies in…

Just ugh…”

Admittedly, after reading his description of events, I too had to resist the urge to jump in front of a bus. Why are people so adamant on repeating the same thing(s) over and over and over again to the tune of the same inconsistent results?

Not-to0-long ago Tony would have handled things the same way my friend did.

Present day Tony had this to say:

“Next time something like that happens do this:

Say, Of course.

Of course, you’d want to go back to spin class again. You enjoy it and it seemingly helped you lose weight. And, of course you want to go back to the same classes as before because they’re familiar and comfortable and not so intimidating.

However I do feel there’s a more efficient way for you to attain your goal(s) and to MAKE THEM STICK.

Give me 60 days. Let me take the reigns for 60 days. Do what I say, learn, try something different. If you don’t feel better after 60 days and feel as if you haven’t made progress, I’ll buy your next spin package.”

This is a tactic I stole from my wife few years ago and is a keen example of the plethora of tactics she covers during her block in the Strong Body, Strong Mind Workshop.

Instead of berating or guilting a fat-loss client who ate a bowl of Golden Grahams before bed – “you’re weak,” or “I guess you don’t want it bad enough,” or “I’m not mad, just disappointed” – I’d opt to “of course” him or her to death.

“Of course you want to eat Golden Grahams before bed. They’re fucking delicious. However, let’s see if we can come up with some healthier alternatives together that may be a better fit for your goals.”

Or what about the client who misses a few workouts?

“Of course you’d rather go to a Norah Jones concert rather than come to the gym to deadlift. She’s a delight and a national treasure. I have all her albums myself. That being said, no matter how many times you listen to “Don’t Know Why” it’s not going to help you hit your goal. Let’s see what we can do to prioritize your sessions more?”

Or what about the client who wants to give keto a try?

“Of course you want to try the ketogenic diet. It’s all the rage right now and everyone is doing it. If it’s sustainable and matches your lifestyle I see no reason why you shouldn’t give it a go. However, if after two weeks of not having carbs your response to your office mate saying “hey, good morning,” is to stab them in the throat with a stapler, we’ll likely need to have a talk.”

By leaning in and recognizing why someone would choose to do what they do – and not being an uppity curmudgeon about it (and more importantly…offering a solution or alternative) – you open up the doors for change to actually happen.

Try it.

I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the results.

June 8, 2022 Tony

personal training

Laying the Foundation: What to Expect As a First-Year Personal Trainer

Being a personal trainer can be a very rewarding career.

The first step to “success” in this industry, however, is understanding that there’s a difference between it being a hobby and you taking the necessary steps to make it a career.

The second step to success is expectation management:

You will not work with professional athletes or celebrities right away (or ever).
You will not be earning a six-figure salary right away (or ever).
You will not be working remotely from a beach in Hawaii while sipping a smoothie made from strawberries fertilized with unicorn tears and free-range protein powder grown in Wakanda right away (or ever).
You will be wearing sweatpants to work everyday. Score!

Year one is a challenging year. But if you prepare yourself well and are proactive in certain facets, you’ll easily separate yourself from the masses sooner than later. Read below for more tips via Virginia based personal trainer (with 20+ years of experience), Detric Smith.

Congratulations, You’re Now a Certified Personal Trainer

You may have worked hard to get here either going through college or working through a personal trainer certification. You may feel that you have learned a lot, but the learning has only just begun. When I first started on the gym floor freshly armed with my personal training cert and big biceps, I thought clients would be falling on my feet.

How wrong I was.

My first year as a trainer was difficult, no doubt. Lots of mistakes were made and now you’ll benefit from this. Here are a few challenges, opportunities, and advice to help you survive and thrive in your first year on the gym floor.

Let’s dive in.

What To Expect In Your First Year

It will be fun, exciting, scary and you will be tired.

Those early mornings are great but that’s why you got into it right? To drink lots of coffee, wear tracksuit pants, and coach people up.

Quick Tip: Don’t “coach” your clients like this. Creep.

Plus, the days will be long as you try to build up your clientele. You’ll be training people in the early mornings and early evenings with plenty of free time in between. This is the perfect opportunity to watch other trainers at work, read everything you can get your hands on, and ask plenty of specific questions.

When everything is new, every day will present new challenges and you will be nervous and apprehensive. Every day will feel different as you interact with people who may end up teaching you more than you teach them. This is why we have two ears and one mouth as listening is a skill that needs to be developed during your first year as a trainer.

Because there is a trap during your first year where you think you know everything, and nobody can teach you anything.

Don’t be like that. Keep an open mind on everything.

I remember overthinking everything 20 years ago.

I took hours to write a workout or two trying to write the perfect program when the perfect program didn’t exist. This was a rookie mistake. The trick here is not to be discouraged when making rookie mistakes or when things take longer than they should.

Remember everything is a learning experience. Store it in the memory bank and move on.

Overall, it’s a great atmosphere being surrounded by people trying to make a positive change in their life. The people that actually make it to the gym would rather be there than work. For the most part, gym-goers are great. Stay away from those who are not.

Money Will Be Tight

It can be a challenge financially until you start to develop your skills and build your clientele. And you might need to have multiple fitness jobs at the same time, or it might be a part-time job outside of the fitness industry. In this industry, most trainers have to work at two different places to make enough money.

You will be discouraged about the lack of zeros on your paycheck and there is a tendency to equate your worth to your paycheck. Please don’t do that because you’re in the process of changing lives and getting your name out there. Not every success is measured with cash, and it helps to remember this if you’re struggling financially.

Other Challenges Beside Money

Time – to get your reps you might have to ignore the advice from the online training guru selling you the 4-hour workweek lifestyle. Most of us had to do those 5 am sessions, and long days at first. Train anyone at first, so you can pick and choose later.

Job opportunities – you will be faced with tons of opportunities- some good, some not so good. And it is hard to know the difference. There are positives and negatives to all of the different types of places you can work with. This leads me to my next point.

Places to work – Just about every trainer prefers to start working at a studio or small chain, getting paid high dollars. Or at an exclusive high-paying big gym but the truth is most of us have to start with big-box chain gyms to get hours. And yes, some of those hours might be the dreaded floor hours where you clean and walk around and talk to members. This is all part of the learning process

Impatience – it helps to have realistic expectations because you don’t have the experience to train the superstar athlete or the high profile celebrity. Keep getting your reps in and showing up every day is key.

There is a business coach under every rock- there is nothing wrong with selling the dream, but I am here to give you realistic expectations. If you remember nothing about this article, remember this.

“There Is no such thing as overnight success.”

I hate to see people leave the industry before they even get started because some “guru” gave them unrealistic expectations for success. You can accomplish anything, but it takes time, patience, and lots of hard work. So, if a guru who knows nothing about your background tells you to train online and make 6 figures in year one…. Run.

Here’s What You Should Focus On In Your First year

Now you have realistic expectations of your first-year experience, the long hours and money being tight, here are a few things to focus on for you to get better.

Experience over money – this is not to say money isn’t important because you need to eat. But placing yourself in learning situations and extending yourself out of your comfort zone will pay off in the long run.

Networking – going to fitness expos, and local community events will help you meet like-minded people and potential clients. This is not only important in your first year but every year you’re a trainer.

Find mentors – the path has been walked before by others before you. If you want to shorten your learning curve and set yourself up for a long career, it helps to have someone in your corner who has done it before.

Get better at your craft- a no-brainer really. Nobody wants to hire you if you cannot get results, but exercise and programming are only small parts of your job. Getting better at the soft skills and getting people to do the work when the going gets tough for them is important too.

Wrapping Up

Starting a new profession coaching humans is tough and there are a lot of pitfalls to navigate. Lack of money, long hours, and business coaches praying on your vulnerabilities just to name a few. But when you focus on getting better at your craft and putting yourself in learning situations to make you better, the rewards will come.

Remember you are laying the foundation for hopefully a long career of helping people be better. And you’ll be getting better together.

About the Author

Detric Smith, CSCS, ACSM EP-C, PN-1 is the owner of Results Performance Training in Williamsburg, Virginia. He has over two decades of experience as a personal trainer and sports performance coach.

He develops personal trainers through his site DetricSmith.com, and serves as a mentor through various fitness organizations.

Follow Detric on FB and IG

May 31, 2022 Tony

coaching personal training Program Design

The Importance of Feedback

I am currently galavanting around in my favorite place in the world…

…London.

I spent the weekend with my good friend Luke Worthington putting on our Strategic Strength Workshop and now I am in Day one of a three day introvert extravaganza. My plan is to do nothing but walk around the city, talk to as little people as possible, and eat carrot cake.

I am hoping to get a little writing in while here, but until inspiration strikes I have a lovely post today from another colleague of mine, Ottawa based personal trainer, Elsbeth Vaino.

Enjoy!

The Importance of Feedback

“That was awesome!”

“Good job!”

“You are on fire today!”

Everyone likes to hear they’re doing well, and the feedback you give clients can take their workout up a level or two. If their form isn’t the best, feedback can help them get the more out of that exercise. But that’s actually not the kind of feedback I want to talk about.

I want to talk about the feedback you ask for from your clients.

No, not about how well you’re doing, although it is nice to hear clients tell you how much of an impact you are having on their life.

The best feedback is the stuff your clients tell you about the exercises they’re doing. I’ll be honest that I only clued into this gem a few years ago, which means I spent way too long training clients without all the facts. I don’t even remember why I started asking “where do you feel that?” and “how does that exercise feel?”, but I do remember how high my eyebrows shot up at some of the answers.

via GIPHY

Me: “How’s that plank treating you?”

Client: “I love it. It’s a great back exercise!”

Me:

Me: “Where do you feel that most?” (asking about a glute bridge)

Client: “Here.” (pointing to her quads)

Client: “Here.” (pointing to the low back on his up-leg side)

Client: “Here.” (pointing to his hamstrings)

Me:

Me: “How easy or hard is that?” (asking before their second set of split squats)

Client: “It’s really hard on the left leg and pretty easy on the right.”

Me: “Where do you feel that most?”

Client: points to the left quad. (while doing the exercise with the right foot forward)

Client: points to the left quad. (while doing the exercise with the left foot forward)

Me:

via GIPHY

I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest I’m not the only trainer whose clients feel some exercises in unexpected ways. I’m not saying there’s anything inherently wrong with the responses above, but I am saying that if you put a glute bridge in someone’s program, you’re probably doing it with the goal of strengthening their glutes, not their quads or hip flexors.

Sometimes form issues in an exercise are easy to spot, with obvious ones being round-back deadlifts, or deadlifts where the person clearly pulls up from their back vs drives from their legs and hips. But the truth is, sometimes an exercise looks good, but still isn’t accomplishing what we think it is.

In addition to clients telling me they feel muscles in a way I don’t expect, sometimes they also give visual clues. If you or your client is stretching or rubbing the low back right after an exercise, ask why. The answer is almost always one of two things:

It’s just a habit
The back feels tight.

If the back feels tight after doing an exercise that isn’t intended to work the low back, something unexpected is probably going on.

If you’re on board with the concept that maybe you (or your clients) aren’t getting what is expected out of some exercises, the next question should probably be: “what can you do about it?” Thankfully it’s not super hard.

Here are the steps I suggest:

Step 1: Make Sure You Understand What the Exercises You’re Doing Are Supposed to Be Working

Some are simple: glute bridges should primarily work the glutes, side planks work the sides (aka obliques), planks work the abs, split squats and lunges work the legs, primarily the front of the front one. Most rows work primarily the upper back, while bench press is primarily about the chest.

No idea what this works

Some are less simple as they work more muscles. Deadlifts work basically everything, but really, the low back is just stabilizing while the legs and upper back do the heavy lifting. Given that, if you ask your client how they feel after deadlifts and they mention their back is sore or tight, odds are something is off. Similarly, squats work almost everything but it’s mostly a lower body exercise.

If you’re not sure, find out, because this is important. How? If you have a trainer, ask them. If not, check in with a book or articles from one of the trainers on the internet whose stuff you think is good.

Step 2: Find Out What’s Actually Happening By Watching and Asking

“Where do you feel that most?” “How does that feel?” Ask yourself/your client upon arrival “how are you?” or “how did you feel after the last workout?”

Does the answer match the goal? If yes, great! Carry on. If not, now what?

Step 3: Coach, Adapt, or Replace

Pretty much every exercise issue can be solved by one of these three things, and in my opinion, they should be tried in that order.

Try to re-coach it first (or review the form if you’re doing your own thing). As trainers, we can be quick to assume that if an exercise isn’t performed properly, we need to bring in approaches to correct it but maybe the person just didn’t fully understand the movement. Before assuming you need to adapt the movement, coach it again – with different words if you need to.

If that doesn’t get the desired result, then try to adapt. There are lots of options:

Add a riser to limit the range of motion (maybe temporarily)
Add a band to help the person feel the intent of the exercise (e.g. band around the knees in a squat)
Move the arms from the floor to a bench for the plank or side plank (if you or your clients have ever felt planks or side planks in your back more than abs or obliques, or in your shoulder and neck this is a game-changer)

Did that work?

If so, great! If not, try another adaptation if you know one.

If that still doesn’t work, replace it with something else.

Contrary to what the internet wants you to believe, there is no exercise that you have to do. (ducks to avoid the lightning). And most of the time there are other exercises that will actually achieve the desired outcome for you or your client.

Here is how I have addressed a few of the examples noted above:

The plank that works the low back:

Coach it: “Think about shortening the distance between the bottom of your ribs and the top of your pelvis, and I want you to stop if you start to feel it in your back.” In this case, if they make it to twenty seconds before it goes into the back, we keep the plank as is, with the goal of twenty becoming twenty-five and then thirty… If after a few workouts, it’s still at twenty, we move to adapt it.

Adapt it: “I want you to do the same thing, but this time with your forearms on a bench.” I’m not sure who decided that planks from the floor is where everyone should start, but in my experience, there are a lot of people who should be starting with an incline plank. This adaptation is often a game-changer. Once the person can get to a minute at an incline, we try moving to the floor, while coaching them to stop if they start to feel it more in the back than the abs.

Replace it: In this case, we rarely have to replace it, but if need be, dead bugs can be a good option, although they might need coaching to ensure the back doesn’t arch.

Single-leg glute bridges felt mostly in the hamstrings:

Coach it: ”Push your hips up as you press your foot into the ground and also think about pressing your toes through the front of your shoes”.

Adapt it: Provide some extra support by switching to a 1.5 leg glute bridge where you have both feet on the floor, but only put as much pressure on the second foot as you need to feel the glute working.

Replace it: Try a cable hip extension or two leg hip thrust.

Split squat for the side where it is felt more in the back leg:

Coach it: “Lean forward at the hip and when you get to the bottom, really drive the front foot into the floor to push yourself up.”

Adapt it: Put a band around the front knee and pull it forward as they do the movement.

Replace it: Switch to a lateral stepup (or a reverse lunge.

About the Author

Elsbeth Vaino is a personal trainer and gym owner at Custom Strength in Ottawa, Canada, where she and her team primarily train regular people who don’t love the gym but do like what going to the gym allows them to do. Before becoming a trainer, she worked as an electronic warfare engineer (you know, same old story). Check her out on Instagram (HERE) for exercise videos or head to her blog (HERE) for those who prefer words.

April 25, 2022 Tony

personal training

Everything Is the Same

Today’s post marks the return of Paul Levitin who some may recall wrote an excellent piece here a few weeks ago on self-sabotage.

Being a successful fitness professional, much like every profession, takes practice, patience, a bit of luck, and an unyielding desire to not be average. If you’re a new trainer I urge you to read Paul’s “lesson(s)” below. And even if you’re a veteran coach I think it’ll be useful to be reminded that you’re not that special and the basics still work.

Enjoy!

Everything Is the Same

When I started my career as a personal trainer, it was at a “big box” chain gym. I was hired, even though I had never actually trained someone before. I just enjoyed working out, and passed a test that said I could now train other people. I was in way over my head.

My manager at the time was a guy named Chris. He walked me around the gym floor, started showing me where things go. I still remember the conversation from that day.

“So, when you’re here, your job is to talk to people. Help them with the weights, spot them, drum up conversation. Then, if they seem interested, offer them personal training. A lot won’t be interested, but some will. The more people you talk to, the better chances you have. It’s a numbers game.”

Just like John Cutter said, “always bet on black.”

We continued our walk.

“In the beginning, it’s going to be slow. It takes time to get going, because you don’t have any experience right now. Once you get a few clients under your belt, and get more comfortable, things will start to get rolling. It might take a few months, so you’ve got to hang tight in the beginning.”

I nodded. Not like I had anything else better to do.

“A lot of people look at training and think ‘oh, that’s a cool job! I like working out, so I can get paid to do that!’. But that isn’t really how it is. It’s a hard job, and you get out what you put in. It is time-consuming, and draining at times. It is not nearly as glamorous as you might think.”

Kind of weird to be telling me on my first day, but I just continued to listen.

“Any questions so far?”

So I meekly chimed in, “Yeah well, you know, I don’t really, like, know how to train people? What do I do if I actually get a client?”

“Ha. Don’t worry about that. I’ll tell you a little secret: no one knows when they first start. You learn by doing. Sure, you read the textbook, but the REAL education starts now. Don’t stress about it. It comes with time, and practice. I started just where you are, everyone does.”

That helped a bit, but I persisted.

“Yeah but, won’t people know I’m just faking it? Who is going to pay me to train them when I’ve never done it before?”

Chris looked me dead in the eyes:

“Listen, you might think you don’t know anything, but that simply isn’t true. We hired you right? You went through the interview, you were tested. You wouldn’t be here if you knew NOTHING. Is there room to grow? Sure. But you know far more than you give yourself credit for, and you DEFINITELY know more than anyone coming in here off the street looking for training. You just need to know enough to answer their questions, and enough to ask for help when you don’t have the answers.”

via GIPHY

A week later, I had my first “orientation.” (my gym’s name for the free training session given to new members, with the real goal being a sales pitch for more expensive personal training at the end).

I got through the training session, I made the guy sweat. Burpees, planks, all the usual suspects (please, it was 2014, it was a different time). Then, I got to the sales portion, and I completely froze. I ended up bumbling my way through the pitch, and the guy gave me a weird look, said “no thanks,” and walked out.

Chris was there watching from afar, and he asked “So, how’d that go?”

“Not good,” I said “I sucked.”

“That’s ok. No one knocks it out of the park on their first swing. You can’t. It’s just like working out, you’ve gotta put in the reps. The more practice, the smoother it will become. You will work out the kinks, but it comes with time, patience, and persistence.”

That helped me feel less crappy, but I still wasn’t pleased.

“I don’t get it,” I bemoaned to Chris “I did everything right! I killed him. Burpies, battle ropes, he was panting by the 15 minute mark! I know his legs are going to be so sore tomorrow, he even said this was the best workout he’d ever done.”

“Here’s the thing,” Chris said to me, “First of all, what makes you think he wanted to be crushed? Did he tell you that, or did you assume it?”

“Well, I just thought…”

“That’s right. You assumed that because that’s how you want to work out, that that’s how he would want to work out. But he isn’t you. Next time, take the time to ask, rather than just jump right in with assumptions. you’ll see as you do this, that less is more. People are out of shape, overstressed, overtired, and overwhelmed. It doesn’t take a lot to push them over the edge. What they need from you, is help and guidance, not to be crushed by the world’s hardest workout. Any bozo can do that, it takes tact and skill to actually give people what they need, not simply what you, or they, think they want.”

I got that.

via GIPHY

“And in general,” he continued, “It’s better to start slow and build. It’s easy for you to add more to their routine over time. However, you can only do that, if they stick around. If you overwhelm them so much that they don’t keep coming back, you end up helping them less, rather than more. Trying to do too much, too soon, ends up backfiring.”

This all made a lot of sense to me, and I continually worked to implement Chris’s advice and techniques.

Eventually, I found my groove.

I sold a few training packages, which gave me confidence to sell more. I started training clients, and learned that I could help people with the knowledge I had, which helped me feel less like a “fraud” (Imposter syndrome anyone?). I went on to become the top trainer (and salesperson) in my gym, and soon the entire company.

via GIPHY

I remember those lessons from Chris in my early days, and think about them often. Not because I need help being a better personal trainer anymore, but because I am always trying to be better at something.

Somewhere in my life, I am always trying to improve, as I hope you are too (and I suspect that is the case, since you are reading this right now).

Which brings me to my main point: everything is the same.

There were many lessons that Chris taught me. Lessons that took me from newbie personal trainer, in over my head and feeling flustered and overwhelmed, to the top of my company. Eventually, I was promoted and given Chris’s job, and put in charge of training new personal trainers on how to have more confidence, train their clients, make more sales, and overall be successful.

Each of these lessons, although given to me in the frame of personal training, could have just as easily been about working for a Fortune 500 company, building a business from scratch as an entrepreneur, or a romantic relationship. In reality, all of this advice was really just about life.

Take out “personal trainer,” and replace it with “salesman,” “entrepreneur,” “athlete,” “dieter,” “spouse,” or other. It doesn’t matter.

These lessons are about life, they transcend career paths and specific goals.

What did my manager really teach me?

It’s a numbers game. You get better with practice.
Things aren’t always as glamorous as they seem from the outside. It takes hard work, and you get out what you put in.

Give it time. It is hard in the beginning, but if you can stick with it, you’ll see success
You have more to learn, but that shouldn’t stop you from taking action right now
Ask for help when you need it, and don’t be ashamed if you don’t know an answer
Don’t assume that everyone is like you. Humans are unique, and what works for one person, even you, doesn’t work for everyone
It’s better to start slow and build up, than to try to do all-out right out of the gate

Name a place in life, a challenge you face, a goal you might want to work towards, where these are NOT true. Go ahead, try to find one, I’ll wait. This is advice I could give to anyone, about anything, and it would always hold up. Why?

Everything is the same.

What we need for success is not unique to one realm. Success is success. It is built from the same materials, no matter the location. If you can internalize these simple lessons, you will be able to build success wherever you choose.

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

March 17, 2022 Tony

personal training Program Design

Building Your Sessions Around Effort

One of the more challenging concepts for new(er) clients to grasp is the idea of training effort. Sure, there are a select few who are psychopaths and think a training session only counts if you come close to shitting your spleen.

The vast majority, however, tend to UNDER-estimate what it takes to put forth appreciable effort during a training session.

Effort that will lead to consistent results.

I don’t know about you, but I find the missing link for most trainees (and why they never seem to make progress) is they lack a thorough understanding of what effort is and the types of effort that can be utilized.

Today’s guest post via Boston based strength & conditioning coach, Dr. Michelle Boland, helps to shed light on this topic.

Building Your Sessions Around Effort

Are you constantly having to hold your clients back from giving TOO MUCH effort?

…yeah didn’t think so!

Effort is one of the most important variables for client and athlete success, while also being one of the hardest things to extract from the people that you coach.

So, how often are you accounting for it, teaching it, and programming for it?

As coaches, we want to make sure our clients are matching their effort with our goals for them.

If we want Karen to improve strength, there needs to be a difference between the weights she grabs for a 5 rep set and a 15 rep set. Those two repetition schemes require two different efforts.

We need to teach Karen how to choose the appropriate amount of weight, what different types of effort feel like, AND why they matter. Progress in the weight room can be dictated by four specific types of EFFORT.

Substantial Effort
Sustainable Effort
Sprint Effort
Reset Effort

When working with general population clients, prescribing a set amount of repetitions ISN’T always the best STRATEGY to get results. INSTEAD, cue different efforts and select exercise variations that will allow them to adequately express that effort.

For example, if you want Karen to row for 10 minutes at a steady rate, Karen can’t start sprinting and crying 30 seconds into the row.

She needs to learn how to maintain her pace for the duration of the time and not be too gassed at the end. Hard work and effort have variations and aren’t always just maximum exertion.

The more Karen understands this, the better she can perform the exercises you select with the appropriate amount of weights and with the appropriate amount of exertion. Thus, she will be able to express the appropriate outputs and get the BEST RESULTS.

Now, let’s dive into the four different types of effort and how you can cue exercises and choose variations based on them…

1. Substantial Effort

Think about the effort you would put into lifting a car off your child.

Seems morbid, but I bet you wouldn’t hold back or look at your WHOOP band for advice.

A substantial effort should be challenging and be deliberate. You may have to tell your client to prepare and be ready to put in work.

A strategy for teaching a substantial effort is to program separate repetitions. This DOESN’T mean max weight. It means allowing your clients to prepare for a considerable exertion without the momentum of bouncing the weight on the ground using a rebound effect.

For a deadlift exercise example, cue your client to keep their hands on the barbell while letting the barbell rest on the ground after each repetition. Separate repetitions will teach the first pull from a dead stop, which requires the most substantial effort.

For an exercise that is performed on one side of the body then repeated on the other, make sure you take a break between sides. For example, perform a heavy split squat for 5 repetitions with the right leg forward, then set the weights down to regroup mentally, then complete the split squat with the left leg forward.

Keep the repetitions low (2-5ish), the speed will most likely be slow, and the weight should be RELATIVELY high. This again, doesn’t mean maximum. Submax loading is advised by TONY and works. Substantial efforts will be associated with the adaptive fitness quality of Max Strength.

2. Sustainable Effort

Think about speed walking.

It’s harder than regular walking but you can probably do it for a long duration of time.

Sustainable efforts should feel like they can be maintained over a long duration and continuous in their repetition. A coaching strategy for sustained efforts can be cueing the client to tap-and-go without resting the barbell on the ground.

For an exercise that is performed on one side of the body then repeated on the other, DON”T take a break between sides. For example, perform the split squat for 8 repetitions with the right leg forward, switch legs, then perform 8 repetitions with the left leg forward, making the effort continuous between sides.

Keep the repetitions moderate to high in the 6-30ish range.

This range may seem large, but most general population clients need a wide range to build an aerobic foundation, volume tolerance, and to learn associated weight ranges. Sustainable efforts will be associated with the adaptive fitness qualities of Strength Endurance and Hypertrophy.

The speed of the repetitions will be moderate: too slow and you may fall asleep, too fast and you won’t last…dang that rhymed! …Hence the word SUSTAINABLE.

3. Sprint Effort

Think about running for your life Karen.

via GIPHY

Sprint efforts should feel powerful and quick. To program sprint efforts, find ways to help your clients be quick, such as…

Create some race challenges such as the Cone Stack Drill

If you have fancy velocity tracking equipment, use it
Find ways to unload them using bands

A coaching strategy to teach sprint efforts can be cueing the client to push the ground away and get tall to the ceiling during a deadlift. During the deadlift, the full rep doesn’t need to fast, focus on the pull from the floor (typically applied to the concentric portion of lifts) and they can lower the barbell down at a self-selected pace.

For an exercise that is performed on one side of the body then repeated on the other, make sure you take a break between sides.

Keep the repetitions low to moderate (2-8ish) and low weight (better to have lower weight than to be slow). Cue your clients to move fast, “push the ground away”, and to get off the ground quicker by YELLING “the ground is LAVA, KAREN”. Sprint efforts will be associated with the adaptive fitness qualities of Speed and Power.

Get YOUR CLIENTS to MOVE FAST.

4. Reset Effort

Think about being a light switch, have ‘on’ and ‘off’ modes.

A reset effort is being able to duplicate substantial efforts.

Why is this separate from substantial efforts?

Substantial efforts are focused on a single attempt. Reset efforts are focused on your client’s ability to repeat high level effort.

Can they use the rest period to regroup and recover?

A coaching strategy to teach reset efforts is to program cluster sets. A cluster set can look like this: perform 3 substantial effort repetitions, then let go of the barbell, rest for 20-30 seconds, then perform 3 substantial effort repetitions, then let go of the barbell, rest for 20-30 seconds, then perform 3 substantial effort repetitions.

Rest should NOT include another exercise, it is a full rest period.

For an exercise that is performed on one side of the body then repeated on the other, make sure you perform ALL repetitions within the cluster set on one side of the body before moving to the other side of the body. AND definitely take a break between sides.

For a Split Squat example, perform 3 substantial effort repetitions with the right leg forward, then let go of the dumbbells, rest for 20-30 seconds, then perform 3 substantial effort repetitions with the right leg forward, then let go of the dumbbells, rest for 20-30 seconds, then perform 3 substantial effort repetitions with the right leg forward.

Put the dumbbells down, take a longer rest, then repeat that with your left foot forward.

Summary

Teaching and cueing effort will allow you to get the best from your clients. You will be better able to match your exercise selection with their output and goals. Make different types of effort known to your clients and when you want them to express them.

If you have any comments or questions please feel free to email me at [email protected].

If you enjoyed the exercise videos in this article, check out the MBT Exercise Database for 1,200 more videos to use, embed within your programming, and up your exercise selection game.

About the Author

Dr. Michelle Boland

Owner of Michelle Boland Training
PhD in Exercise Physiology
Instagram @dr.michelleboland
Check out Michelle’s Free Training Program Considerations Handbook!

March 9, 2022 Tony

personal training Program Design

4 Keys to Staying Athletic As You Get Older

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Boston-based personal trainer and S&C coach, Matthew Ibrahim, who’s latest (online) resource, Forever Athlete, is available for purchase.

Matt’s a phenomenal coach and I always gravitate toward his content because it’s so accessible and realistic. If you’re at all interested in “holding on” to your athleticism give this article a read and definitely considering checking out Forever Athlete program.

4 Keys to Staying Athletic As You Get Older

What’s one common theme with every single person below?

Female high school volleyball player with a 20” vertical jump
Adult male being able to perform hurdle hops with pristine technique
Middle-aged mom performing a heavy set of goblet squats
NFL running back with a 118” broad jump

Although this sample list above demonstrates people within varying populations, they all represent examples of athleticism.

The point? All humans are athletes, regardless of age or ability level.

Not only can we remain athletic as we age, we should do everything in our power to push the athletic envelope as the years pass. Ultimately, age should never be something that holds you back from feeling and being athletic.

Everyone is an athlete and everyone has the right to train like one, too.

Let’s break down 4 keys to focus on for the purpose of staying athletic as you get older:

Jumping and landing for power development
Lifting heavy weights to improve strength and reduce the risk of injury
Building muscle to feel good and look good
Conditioning for heart health gains (even though you hate it)
Beating a pack of ninjas in a street fight (BONUS added by Tony. Sorry, couldn’t resist)

You do these 4 things on a weekly basis and I promise that your path toward long-term athleticism will be that much easier for you.

Jumping & Landing for Power Development

I just turned 33 last month – and let me tell you – I’m no spring chicken anymore.

Does this mean I should give in, create a lifelong indentation on my couch, bury my head under the pillow and binge as many Netflix series as possible until the rest of season 4 from Ozark officially drops?

Of course not.

Although, Ozark is awesome. (Tell me Ruth isn’t THE most bad-ass character ever!)

Anyways, my focus should be on continuing to do the things that I love while being strategic in the process.

Part of that includes playing pick-up basketball, feeling athletic in the gym and sprinting (when the weather permits). Jumping and landing become super important for me in this area if my goal is to continue hooping, sprinting and feeling athletic.

Jumping comes in a variety of forms, positions, angles and planes of motion. The simplest way to understand jumping is to break it down into extensive plyometrics and intensive plyometrics.

Here’s an example of an extensive plyometric exercise:

You see how there’s fluidity and rhythm involved? That’s because extensive plyometrics helps you focus on coordination at lower intensities so that you can get the hang of it. Think of extensive plyometrics as keeping the training wheels on.

In the opposite light, you can think of intensive plyometrics as removing the training wheels and letting it rip at higher intensities. The goal here is to be as explosive and powerful as possible.

Here’s an example of an intensive plyometric exercise:

The exercise examples above aren’t as important as the intent behind them. Use extensive plyometrics in the beginning stages as you’re learning and getting the hang of jumping. Then, start incorporating intensive (explosive) plyometrics once you’re ready to take on more force.

Just remember, the more force you produce in jumping, the more force that you’ll need to control when getting back down to the ground. This takes me to my next point: landing.

Controlling your body is pivotal for staying athletic. A simple way to do this is to build the ability to land with body control and organization. Basically, you want to look like Michael Jordan (OK, maybe one-tenth of that) every time he would land after throwing down a monster dunk.

Body control? Check. Smooth and fluid? Check. Organized? Check.

Power development is also important for people as they age due to the positive impacts it has on the nervous system, coordination and overall function when it comes to physical activity.

Planning to join your local adult club soccer team? Interested in being able to play pick-up basketball in summer rec league on a weekly basis? Or, maybe you just want to be able to play tennis with your friends soon since the warm weather is around the corner?

Either way, developing and harnessing power through jumping and landing is a pivotal step toward staying powerful, explosive and athletic.

Lifting Heavy Weights for Strength Gains & Injury Risk Management

I think this is the easiest “sell” on this list.

Honestly, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past 20 years or living somewhere underwater as you begin the evolutionary process of turning into a mermaid, it’s become quite clear both in practice and evidence that lifting heavy weights (safely) is a no-brainer for building strength.

Of course, we always need to mention the importance of using good form and technique especially when it comes to lifting heavy weights. That should also be a no-brainer.

The other important part of lifting heavy weights, in addition to getting yolked (strong), is that you’re helping to reduce the risk of injury to your body.

How, you ask?

Well, every time you lift heavy weights, your entire body gets stronger. No, this doesn’t happen instantaneously like heating up a hot pocket in a microwave. It takes quality time to develop strength. On the shorter end of things, strength gains likely take a month or two to truly start seeing and feeling the gains. For more noticeable strength gains, it takes a year or two of hard work and consistency to really see things pay off strength wise.

When it comes to gaining strength, not only are your muscles becoming stronger, the rest of your body is as well. Muscular strength is important for the purpose of being able to produce more force, and in some cases, at faster speeds. Think about what we talked about in the previous section as it relates to power development. Pretty cool that strength and power go hand in hand, right? Science can be cool, sometimes.

More importantly, think about the importance of bone mineral density as we age. Think about having strong support structures in our body like joint strength, ligament strength and tendon strength. Remember: bones, ligaments and tendons all have an interplay (to some extent) with the muscles in our body.

Suffice to say that, when all is said and done, managing the risk of injuries becomes a heck of a lot easier when you’re stronger. Lifting heavy weights, relatively speaking, is also never a bad idea if your plan is to stay as athletic as possible as you age.

Building Muscle to Feel Good & Look Good

Arm farm is soon to be a national holiday. I swear, it’ll be on all calendars at some point soon.

Until then, why can’t we give in and just be more open about wanting to build muscle to feel good and look good?

Oh, so you’re not trying to build a sweet pair of biceps to flash at the beach this summer? So, what you’re saying is that, even though you just ripped off 50 reps of tricep extensions, that arm training isn’t important to you?

Sure, keep telling yourself that.

Or, let’s just all be cool about it. Look, I like building muscle, feeling good about how I look and chasing a pump just as much as anyone else. Admittedly, my calf muscles are often the target for when I’m trying to chase a pump, but that’s neither here nor there.

The point is that building muscle is actually a great thing if your goal is to stay athletic as you get older. Think of muscle as your body armor. This ultimately coincides with what we just talked about in the previous section.

(Side note: have you noticed a trend so far with how each section piggy-backs off of the previous one? Go figure.)

Lean body mass (LBM), otherwise known as muscle tissue, is a great thing to develop in the human body. Not only does having more muscle help you from a body composition standpoint, it also enables you with the ability to develop power and strength with more ease.

Building muscle and being athletic can both exist together in your weekly training. Looking good, feeling good about how you look and performing well are all achievable qualities with the right approach.

Conditioning for Heart Health Gains (Even Though You Hate It)

OK, OK. I get it. Nobody likes doing cardio or conditioning.

But, everyone wants to jump right into playing rec league sports, pick-up basketball games and flag football, right?

Stop for a moment and think about that.

(Crickets.)

Yup, exactly what I thought.

Doing the first thing makes doing the second thing much easier.

I’m not saying that you need to spend countless hours on the treadmill trying to morph into a hamster wheel. Nope, not at all. Instead, incorporate anaerobic (high intensity) conditioning intervals and aerobic (low intensity) conditioning intervals on a weekly basis.

Let’s simplify even more by having you consider adding in the following each week:

Anaerobic example = 1-2 days each week of sprints: keep the distance (15-20 yards) and volume (6-8 reps) short while the intensity (85-90% effort) and rest periods (60-90 seconds) are high.
Aerobic example = 1-2 days each week of tempo running: now, focus on longer distances (1 lap around the track) at lower intensities (70-75% effort) with a recovery walking lap in between and a higher total volume of work (1.5-2 miles).

These are simply a couple of examples you could use, but quite frankly, the options are endless. You could easily do sprint intervals on the bike instead for your anaerobic conditioning and 30-minute weight vest walking for your aerobic conditioning.

The primary goal is to hit some high intensity and some low intensity conditioning on a weekly basis. Think of high intensity conditioning as building your ability to be powerful for short periods of time and low intensity conditioning as building your ability to last for a long duration of time with more of a sustained output.

When performed together consistently, this type of weekly conditioning routine gets you fit enough to play all the pick-up games and rec league sports you want without ever batting an eye or stopping to consider whether or not you feel conditioned enough to play. Cardiovascular endurance and stamina are real game-changers and they’re super important in the process of maintaining your athleticism as you get older.

The best part is that being well-conditioned also positively impacts your ability to build strength, power and muscle. Overall, athleticism leans heavily on these 4 physical qualities.

Closing

Let’s face it: we all want to stay athletic and powerful as we get older. We all want to stay strong, durable and muscular, too. And, even if we hate to admit it, we know that conditioning is key for staying fit and healthy. Unlock your true athletic potential by focusing on these 4 key areas for staying athletic as you get older.

My online training program – Forever Athlete – places a strong emphasis on these 4 areas so that you can remove the guesswork and become the most athletic version of yourself.

About the Author

Matthew Ibrahim has been a Strength & Conditioning Coach since 2007 while working with athletes looking to build strength, improve performance and maintain healthy lifestyles. He is also a College Professor of Exercise Science and a Ph.D. student in Human & Sport Performance.

As a public speaker, Matthew has presented at EXOS inside Google Headquarters, Sports Academy (formerly Mamba Sports Academy), Perform Better, Equinox, Stanford University and for the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) on several occasions. His work has been featured in Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, T-Nation, Science for Sport, StrengthCoach.com, Exxentric, TrueCoach and TrainHeroic.

Connect with him on Instagram – HERE

February 24, 2022 Tony

personal training Program Design psychology

Reframing the Way You Make Your New Year’s Fitness Resolutions

I can sense the eye rolls already.

“Really, Tony? A post on New Year’s resolutions? How profound and unimaginably unique!”

Touche.

I can appreciate that there’s no shortage of similar posts you’ve undoubtedly come across in recent days. You’re likely thiiiiiiis close to introducing your forehead to the keyboard in front of you. What could I possibly have to say that’s any different or inspirational or less vomit-in-your-mouth(ish) that hasn’t been regurgitated ad nauseam already?

Read on…

I Promise This Will Be Different

To follow the lead of my coach (I.e., I’m just going to cut and paste), Sarah Moorman, who had some sage words to share herself on the topic:

Almost 40% of the population makes New Year’s Resolutions. From that number, a vast majority of resolutions are within the gravitational pull of health/fitness:

Eating habits
Exercise habits
Building a pair of pecs that can cut diamonds
You know, stuff like that

However, much like Sarah, I’m more of a fan of, actually…I’ll just let her say it:

“I’m largely in the camp of setting goals about consistency to help set new habits. For example, instead of a weight loss goal of a specific number of pounds, I advise you to hit your calorie or macro goals 6 days a week.”

“Why?

If someone is more consistent with hitting their calorie goals, their focus is on their eating habits as opposed to the weight on the scale.”

To parallel this viewpoint, the other day T-Nation.com memed me, which is always an honor.

I’ve long championed the 3×52 mentality.

Do something (anything) 3x per week, 52 weeks out of the year (preferably with an emphasis on lifting heavy things⁵), and something stellar is bound to happen.

Why THREE days and not:

Well, because for most people 3x per week is a number they can wrap their head around; it’s not intimidating.

It’s doable.

It emphasizes REALISTIC consistency.

Like I said, T-Nation made the meme and then posted it up on their IG account the very same day. I had to chuckle at a number of the initial comments:

“6×52 is better.”
“No days off!”

So on and so forth.

I have a hunch that if I made a Venn diagram and the circles consisted of:

1️⃣ I have zero kids.
2️⃣ I have no family responsibilities.
3️⃣ I am not a coach and/or I read a book on fitness, once.
4️⃣ I like to brag about my 225 max deadlift and/or my entire identity is tethered to how many followers I have on IG.

That that would pretty much represent the type of person who would end up right smack dab in the middle of the diagram and who would make such asinine remarks.

Listen, you’re not a Spartan warrior or a Navy SEAL.

Relax.

Being hardcore (or pretending to be online) doesn’t get results long term. It’ll work, for a bit. Maybe. And then you realize you’re NOT Rambo or Valentina Shevchenko.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Being a bit more realistic with the degree of consistency needed and more importantly, expectations one places on one’s self, is key.

It’s human nature to dive right in and to go from zero to 60 without really thinking things through:

Says here this detox tea is legit. After 47 days my body will be cleansed of all these pesky “toxins” and I’ll be able to see sounds! Fuck my liver and pancreas. They don’t know what they’re doing anyway.
I haven’t exercised since before the pandemic, so I may as well start with some German Volume Training.

We all think we’re more advanced then we are and that we can skip all the seemingly unnecessary & annoyingly rudimentary steps to go from Point A (where we currently are) to Point B (where we want to be) in the fastest way possible.

Can people attain their health/fitness goals in such a haphazard way?

Sure.

But it rarely sticks, because they fail to hone in on the necessary habits to make things click long-term.

So, with 2022 upon us I encourage you to consider reframing the way you go about making your resolutions. Instead of saying “I want to deadlift a bulldozer” say something like “I want to follow a strength training program 3x per week for the next 52 weeks.”

The latter will undoubtedly be more palatable and realistic.

January 5, 2022 Tony

Exercises You Should Be Doing personal training

Two Ab Wheel Rollout Variations: 1 Entry Level, 1 John Wick Level

Ab wheel rollouts are a common choice for those looking to work their (anterior) core muscles. The main objective of the exercise of course is to ~~make you hate life~~ resist too much extension of the lower back.

In short: It can be considered a (mostly) anti-extension exercise.

Today I wanted to quickly share two different variations:

One entry level (that pretty much anyone can perform, and serves as a nice starting point for most).
One John Wick level (that pretty much only world class assassins can pull off).

Let’s go!

But First

I’d be remiss not to at least go into some detail on proper set-up and technique of a standard ab wheel rollout. There’s no since in re-inventing the wheel (👈 ha, I love puns) here, because I actually posted about this on my IG feed not too long ago:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore)

I hope that helps.

That said, performing a rollout on the floor can still be a rather aggressive choice for many people to start off with. Most lack the requisite strength/stability to get remotely close to the floor which can be deflating. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather try my best to demonstrate as much success as possible to a new client rather than make him/her feel like something is too challenging or out of reach.

Or, worse case: Painful.

To that point, I came up with the following regression that I feel works really well:

Incline Rollout

These are a great entry point for people just starting out with rollouts as the inclination helps to keep them from “falling” into their lower back excessively.

For those of you looking for something a bit more challenging I offer this:

Anchored Rollouts

Giving credit where it’s due: I originally got this one from strength coach Mike Volkmar and upon seeing it for the first time was like 1) this is awesome and 2) I’m an asshat for never thinking of this myself.

As he points out, anchoring the ankles against the band activates the hamstrings, turning off the hip flexors.

As a result, climate change is resolved!

YAY. WE DID IT EVERYONE. Congrats.

(In all seriousness, give these two variations a try and let me know what you think).

November 18, 2021 Tony

personal training Program Design Strength Training

The Art of the Indicator Set

The 21st century has graced us with a bevy of technological advances:

High-speed internet.
Telescopes that now treat us to images of Black Holes
Nanotechnology to help improve manufacturing, healthcare, climate change, and agriculture.
Pizza crust made out of cauliflower.

The health/fitness sector has also benefitted. Trainers have the ability to work with clients from all over the world in real-time.

Seriously, cauliflower is now used to make pizza crust! Even more miraculous is that it doesn’t taste like sawdust.

We also have the capability to measure things like bar speed and heart rate variability via applications on our phone; all of which provide data to help us gauge our “readiness” to train on any given day.

Technology surely is great.

However, when it comes to ascertaining one’s readiness to train I tend to lean more toward the anti-app route, and instead rely on what I call “INDICTOR SETS.”

What the Heck Is An Indicator Set?

The easiest way to explain is via some anecdotal observances.

I was walking to my studio to train the other day where the plan was to show up, warm-up, crank a little Mobb Deep over the stereo, get angry enough to want to fight a tornado, and work up to a heavy(ish) triple on my deadlift (535 lb).

On paper it looked like a done deal.

But once I started warming up, things didn’t go quite as planned:

135 x 5

225 x 5

315 x 3

405 x 1 (didn’t feel horrible, but didn’t feel great)

455 x 1 (INDICATOR SET)

An indicator set basically lets me know whether or not I have “it” that day.

For instance, in the previous two weeks, 455 lbs (which is ~80% of my 1RM) literally flew up. Based on “feel” of my bar speed, and how effortless the set felt, I knew I could make a run for a high 500’s pull.

Put another way, I gave myself the green light to go for it, and I did.

Conversely, 455 felt like absolute garbage the other day.

It felt slow off the ground. And it felt even slower at lockout, which I normally never have any issues with. The indication was: “Tony, if you attempt to go any higher you’ll run the risk of shitting your spine.”

So, I did the smart thing and called it.

I re-racked the plates, turned the page, and did my accessory work: DB reverse lunges, a little pouting in the corner, and some pull-throughs.

Listen, it’s not a perfect system, nor is it anything remotely scientific. To be as transparent as possible: I am not anti-technology. But I am anti-technology to the point that many (not all) people tend to miss the forest for the trees when it comes to their readiness to workout.

If their Apple watch indicates a modicum of fatigue they’ll shut that shit down faster than you can say, well, apple.

Just because your watch says you should avoid training on any given day doesn’t necessarily mean you have to. Besides, I’m not entirely sold on the reliability of those apps anyway. I’ve had clients walk into a session feeling like a million bucks only to have their watch tell them danger, danger, DANGER, and to not even look at a barbell.

On the flip side, I’ve also had clients show up feeling like they made out with a petri dish, only to warm-up, move around a little, and then feel like Leonidas leading the Spartans to battle.

Indicator sets help you learn to FEEL whether or not you’ve got the juice on any given day. In short: It’s a form of auto-regulation that helps you to not have to rely on some algorithm.

Plus, it’ll save you a few hundred dollars…😙

At least in this scenario you’ll have some tangible, performance-based evidence to help you gauge things. Muscle fatigue is one thing and tends to be easier for many people to use as a metric.

If you’re overly sore you can feel that and tweak your programming accordingly. CNS (or nervous system) fatigue is a bit more nebulous and harder to pinpoint, or even feel for that matter.

Indicator sets help you with the latter.

To that end, I encourage you to start utilizing indicator sets as part of your warm-up on the days you know you’re going to be pushing the envelop.

Pick a weight during your warm-up that you can use to “gauge” where you’re at that particular day. This number should be heavy enough to be challenging, but one you KNOW you can perform fast and with immaculate technique.

(this will likely be around 80% of your 1 rep-max)

Trust me. The whole mindset of lift heavy or go home – while admirable – isn’t always the best approach.

November 8, 2021 Tony