personal training – Page 2

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 things¹), 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

personal training Strength Training

Strength Training For the Real World

Just to be clear: This blog post has nothing to do with the reality series, The Real World…😉

Speaking of which, I crushed that show in its early days. I watched every season up until Paris (season 13); after that it kinda lost its luster for me. Watching people make out in hot tubs wasn’t my idea of must-watch-tv.

(Excuse me while I go catch up on The Bachelorette).².

Nope, today’s guest post, written by NY-based personal trainer Elaine Studdert (who wrote THIS post on sustainable fitness on this site a few months ago), pertains to strength training as it relates to “real world” activities like yard work, rough-housing with your kids, hauling suitcases, and fighting off a pack of ninjas.

We’re enamored if not programmed to think that the more advanced an exercise or program the better it must be. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Enjoy!

Real World Strength Training

I’m a proud hockey mom to three boys. As my boys grow older their hockey equipment grows with them. Back when they were just little Mites, I’d carry their bags – which were heavy but manageable.

Fast forward to the Pee Wees and Bantam divisions, those same hockey bags have gotten exponentially bigger in size and weight. Even though they carry their own gear now every once in a while they need a hand. This is one of the many reasons I need to maintain the ability to pick up heavy stuff.

And this is true for everyone, whether it’s a hockey bag or a trash bag. In all of our lives, there will be situations that require heavy lifting.

This is real world training.

Training that doesn’t take place in a gym.

This is the type of training we need more than that weekend boot camp class.

Carrying suitcases, hauling groceries, walking up a flight of stairs, picking up your kids/grandkids, running after your dog, moving furniture, picking laundry up off the floor, etc.

The list goes on and on.

These everyday activities may not seem like a workout. In fact, we usually take for granted our ability to manage these tasks, until it becomes a challenge. That’s why it’s so important to put the work in every day. Being consistent over time will keep you in form to be capable of these everyday activities.

In the healthcare industry these movements are called ADL’s (activities of daily living).

Basic self-care activities that people do on a daily basis. We learn these basic skills as young children. As we play, run, jump and navigate the playground our body is figuring it all out and getting stronger. It’s important to find your adult playground to maintain this functional movement. Maintaining the ability to perform ADL’s as we get older should be top priority.

So even if we’re not training for a sporting event, we should technically be in training every day for life.

How Do We Get Fit for Life?

Real life requires us to:

Squat – ex. getting up and down from a chair

Hinge – ex. pick something up off the floor

Push – ex. Push a shopping cart

Pull – ex. opening a car door

Carry – ex. holding a suitcase or grocery bags

Training these movements with external resistance or load is essential for maintaining muscle mass. And as we age, we want to hold on to our muscle as long as we can.

This doesn’t mean we have to be become bodybuilders or Olympic lifters. For most of us, this just means picking up some weight and performing these movement patterns 2-3 times per week. Strength training with movements that mimic real life will prepare you for all the activities you do on a daily basis.

It’s really as simple as that.

Where do we start?

The overwhelming amount of fitness information and resources we have access to can be confusing and complicated, especially for someone who is new to exercise.

What is the right plan?
Who do I follow on Instagram?
What app do I download?
Which device do I need to monitor my activity?

Breaking it down to the simplest components will make it less intimidating. Don’t overthink it. The quality of the exercises is way more important than quantity. Just start with the fundamentals and take it from there. Put one foot in front of the other and the rest will happen.

Here’s a Sample @Home Workout

A1. Squat: Goblet Squat w/ Lowering

A2. Hinge: Band Pull-Through

A3. Push – Gripless FacePull to Press

A4. Pull – Band Row Rotational Row w/ Weight Shift

A5. Carry – Goblet Carry

Carrying some weight, making small gains day in and day out, pushing yourself hard but not killing yourself. It all adds up and keeps us in shape to do the things in life we enjoy.

About the Author

Elaine Studdert is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer based in Westchester, NY. She trains clients virtually and in-person at HealthyFit in Mamaroneck. Elaine specializes in functional movement and kettlebell training. She loves to work with clients who are looking to improve their quality of life through movement. See her most recent article on virtual fitness training at Larchmont Loop.

Follow Elaine on social media: Instagram: @elainestuddert

November 4, 2021 Tony

personal training

Meet In the Middle

There’s no question we’re living in polarizing times; no one can seem to meet in the middle on anything:

Politics
Religion
COVID/masks/vaccines
Who’s the best Batman…

If there’s any degree of disagreement the brass knuckles are coming out. We see a fair share of the same sentiment in the fitness industry and with today’s guest post, Shane McLean pontificates on that point a bit further.

Meet In the Middle

Remember when you used to meet up with a friend and you would meet in the middle? They didn’t want to go all the way over to your house and you didn’t want to go all the way to theirs, so you met in the middle. When I was a kid, it seemed a fair deal because I rode my bike everywhere.

Now it seems (to me) we live in a world of extremes, and no one meets in the middle. It’s either this or that. It’s fact or it’s fiction. You support me or you’re dead to me. Plus, if there are two differing points of view, you must side with one or the other.

This is often exacerbated (in my opinion) by the mainstream media and even on TV shows.

Extremes sell and get you fired up.

If you support one side or the other for whatever reason, it’s easy to draw a line in the sand and put your money where your mouth is. How’s that for back-to-back use of clichés? On second thoughts, don’t answer that.

Although today’s political climate has its fair share of extremes, I also see this in the health and fitness realm.

Warning: Soap Box Moment

Before the rant, here’s where I’m coming from:

I’ve been a personal trainer for twelve years
Freelance fitness writer for over six years
Been writing a fitness blog for over seven years
Volunteer for the Personal Trainer Development Center where I consume a metric ton of fitness content.

I’ve read, written, coached and performed a lot of exercise. This doesn’t make me an authority, but it does make me a loud mouth with an informed opinion. If you dislike opinion pieces, stop reading. If you wish to be more informed as to see clearly through the murky waters of the fitness realm, hold on to your keyboard.

It will be a bumpy ride.

The Middle Doesn’t Sell Well

Extremes sell because they get attention.

Nothing brings this more to light more than social media because it takes a lot to get consumers attention while they’re doom scrolling. And being on social media more than I should, here’s what I’ve gathered about what sells and what doesn’t.

Nothing polarizes trainers, coaches, and consumers more than diets and methods of exercise. Whether it be Keto, Atkins, Vegan, (insert all diets here) or high intensity training, CrossFit, Zumba, or kettlebells (insert all training methods here).

To get attention in a crowded marketplace and more sales, you need to stand out from the crowd. And some trainers, coaches, etc. go to extremes by either

Performing circus tricks that kind of look like exercise
Saying only this works and nothing else does
This food will get you fat so buy this instead³
You’re exercising all wrong and you must do this for gains
Eliminate this and add this (whatever their selling) to get long-lasting results
Stop making these diet and exercise mistakes and do this instead.

Or variations of all the above.

Now, I’m not saying this is wrong and I’m not denying people trying to make a buck no matter how dubious their claims are. Because (cliché alert) fools and their money are soon parted.

But I’m going to let you in on a little-known secret that seems obvious that you’ll be smacking your hand into your forehead repeatedly saying ‘why, why, why didn’t I think of that.’

Are you ready?

Everything works. Yes, even the Thigh Master. Or Zumba.

The trick is what to do when the extremes stop working.

Here’s What Doesn’t Sell

Extremes do work because there is a time and place for most things. There are times to go to extremes to get the results you want.

Plus, people are entitled to their extreme opinions too. My only problem is when these people are presented with overwhelming evidence to the contrary and they still hold on to their beliefs.

But that’s a story for a different time.

Here’s what I feel aren’t the biggest sellers nor doesn’t it generate lots of attention.

The basics and moderation, otherwise known as the middle.

The middle for resistance training involves the regression and progression of hinging, squatting, lunging, pushing, pulling and locomotion (carries, sled work etc.) And the middle for nutrition is a caloric deficit for fat loss, caloric surplus for muscle gain and eating more like an adult and not a child.

Yes, there is a lot of wiggle room as I’m taking the broad view here.

Moderation is taking the long-term view and not just the short-term strategy of losing 10 pounds in 6 weeks.

Quoting a well-known coach, he suggests you need to spend more of your time doing either a:

“Moderate diet (not a huge caloric deficit, surplus or mass elimination of food groups). Combined with Hard training (more sets, reps or more days exercising).

Hard diet (bigger deficit or surplus with elimination of foods) Combined with Moderate training (less sets, reps, and training to support you goal).”

Now extreme dieting and training programs (at the same time) are doable but only for a limited time. Think of it (another cliché alert) as burning the candle at both ends. You burn bright for a while and after a while there is no wax to burn.

But moderation and the basics aren’t as sexy or sell as well as extremes.

Wrapping Up

This is not a knock-on trainers or coaches who use attention grabbing content or exercises to generate sales, likes and followers. But be aware there is plenty of room in the middle performing the basics with moderate diet and exercise.

Because doing a little over the long haul will give you the best chance of success. Save the circus tricks for the professionals.

If you’re looking for an exercise program to get you back on track, check out my 6-week program right here.

About the Author

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

October 20, 2021 Tony

fitness business personal training

The Hybrid Training Model For Personal Trainers

My man Gavin McHale is back with another excellent guest post this month. If you missed his last article on lead generation you can check that out HERE.

This month, as the title implies, is all about how personal trainers can (and should) lean into more of a “hybrid” training model that doesn’t rely on IN-PERSON training only and allows you to better leverage your time in order to 1) make more money and 2) resist the urge to throw your face into an ax from work overload.

Give it a read. It will make a lot of sense and I hope afterward it’ll provide some inspiration to you to make some subtle changes in your approach to the services you provide.

The Hybrid Training Model For Personal Trainers

I climbed into my truck and sat back with a huge exhale. I had just finished another ‘day at the office’ and, as usual, I was absolutely exhausted.

It was early afternoon, I had been up since 5AM and on the training floor since 6:30, eating and drinking coffee on the go. I was finishing up my 4th cup of coffee for the day, knowing it would affect my sleep but needing it to prop myself up for the evening full of clients that I had in about 4 hours.

via GIPHY

The ‘00’s Pop Punk’ playlist had played at least three times through on repeat that morning.

The plan was to whip home for some lunch and some work on the business before heading back to the gym – another few hours of client sessions on deck. In reality, I knew I’d get home, crush some food and pass out for the entirety of my time at home, barely dragging myself out of bed to get there on time.

I loved my training clients and I got to provide them with the best hour of their day on the training floor.

And, by this point, I got to do it a lot.

I had built my personal training business up to nearly 30 clients, with upwards of 25 semi-private and private training sessions a week.

Business was buzzing… but the thoughts started creeping in…

via GIPHY

My girlfriend of two years and I barely got to see one another. When we did, I couldn’t even keep my eyes open for a full movie and had to leave any social gatherings by 9PM thanks to my 5AM alarm the next day.

How long was she willing to put up with an absent partner?

I knew I wanted to have kids at some point in my life, and I wanted to be the dad who could do school drop-offs and pick-ups and coach the sports teams; not the one who always ‘had to work’.

We loved to travel, even just for extended weekends. But I couldn’t enjoy my time away, panicking about lost revenue and possibly unhappy clients.

But the worst part was that I wasn’t making the money I knew I could be. I wasn’t having the impact I knew I could.

I was making a decent paycheck every month, but it was just enough to pay my bills and allow me a bit of freedom. I was pinching pennies and living paycheck to paycheck while working a ton, with a university degree and numerous certifications behind my name.

And honestly? I was just fucking tired…. ALL. THE. TIME.

It didn’t add up.

Especially since the only solution I knew was to take on more clients and do more of the same… something I didn’t have the capacity for without sending myself down a spiral to burning out and being single well before my 30th birthday.

That’s when I was forced to get creative.

I began by asking myself the one question every single service provider should start with (I was just a little behind the curve): How can I best serve my clients?

via GIPHY

(GIF added by me, Tony, because if nothing else I keep thing professional.)

I knew they loved their workouts and I loved working with them, but the majority of them weren’t getting the results they wanted because that 1-3 hours a week they spent with me would never offset the poor lifestyle choices they were making during the other 165+ hours every week.

Let’s be real, even though I loved doing it, grinding it out on little sleep and caffeine was not the best service I could provide. The cup I was pouring from… was empty and I didn’t have the systems in place to help them change their lifestyle beyond a couple sweat sessions a week.

And since I had no more capacity for more training sessions and they didn’t have the time to come to the gym every day,

I had to find a better way.

Enter, the Hybrid Training Model

This model created a win-win for me and my clients.

The win for me is that I got to stabilize my monthly income by charging for an entire package instead of session by session and got some of my time back, all while providing a better service to my clients.

The win for them? Straight up better results without having to schlep to the gym and back every day or pay thousands a month for a trainer.

This model would allow me to continue doing what I did best, training clients on the gym floor, but not have to live there, eating every meal out of tupperware, trying not to spill it on the turf and taking bites between coaching cues.

The hybrid model I built and refined since includes 5 key areas:

In-person coaching
Regular activity programming
Nutritional guidance or intervention
Belief and habit building
Accountability

If you look at the traditional training model – the one that left me half sleeping in my truck at the end of the work day, I covered maybe 1 or 2 of those bases… at best.

And, in most cases, the trainer isn’t being paid for anything but their time spent in the gym with each client. You can say the pricing reflects programming time and nutritional information and accountability, but it really doesn’t.

When your clients are paying session by session, they see the value in having you in the room coaching them.

That’s it.

Your clients are also financially incentivized by this model to actually miss sessions. If they’re low on energy or just don’t feel like it, they’ll miss a session and either save money that month or stretch their current package out over a longer period.

Bottom line: your income is unstable and they don’t get the best service.

In order to build this model out and be able to market and sell it, you have to ask yourself a lot of questions and completely reshape the way you provide your service and charge for it.

1. In-Person Coaching

How often do they need instruction lifting weights?
How often do they want to come to the gym?
Do you have the space and ability to do semi-private training with them?

2. Regular Activity Programming

Basically, this includes any part of the programming that doesn’t require you to be there, coaching them.

Can you program some or most of their workouts to be done on their own?
Do they have a gym membership or access to equipment at home?
Are there parts of the program where they don’t need to be in the gym like walking, running or mobility work?

3. Nutritional Guidance or Intervention

Any type of transformational program is incomplete without some form of nutritional guidance. If they already trust you enough to train them, then you’re probably the best person to guide them through some basic nutrition principles.

For most general population clients and goals, this is simple habit building. No need to go too deep and risk moving outside your scope.

You can either build your own curriculum or outsource this completely. When I was coaching, I outsourced this to Precision Nutrition and set my clients up on their year-long ProCoach software.

4. Belief and Habit Building

My most successful clients were the ones who made massive mindset shifts throughout my program. Over the time we worked together, they became better versions of themselves, which provided the outcome they wanted.

In my opinion, this is a non-negotiable in any coaching program, especially if you want to stand out from the Pelotons and the Orange Theory’s.

What do they need to learn to be able to shed their old skin and step into a new, better version of themselves?
Can you create a simple weekly or bi-weekly curriculum over 2-3 months that will allow them to do that?

5. Accountability

Finally, accountability is what they’re actually paying for.

Let’s be real – everything you (and I) coach can be found with a quick Google search if they know where to look.

Information and even education is no longer valuable like it used to be. What is? Accountability and a safe space to fuck up and learn.

Plus, the more skin they have in the game (i.e. the more you charge for this full spectrum service), the more accountable they’ll be.

I’m not sure how many free downloads you have sitting on your laptop, but I have plenty that I haven’t even opened… no skin in the game.

In Its Simplest Form, This is the Hybrid Coaching Model

I won’t lie, this will be more work upfront for you. But, as I learned throughout this process, if you can “work hard once” setting everything up, you make your life a whole lot easier down the road.

This will allow you to charge a monthly price for the whole package and stabilize your pay while actually working less and giving your clients the best chance at seeing the results they’re looking for.

No more never-ending selling of 10 or 20-session packages and no more needing to send out the same resources over and over to every single client who asks about keto or intermittent fasting.

You run the show and make sure all the bases are covered. They get the best of what you can offer and you get the most out of your time, energy and expertise.

About the Author

As a Kinesiology graduate, Gavin McHale quickly realized that following the traditional business model would lead to trading more time for more money.

Over the course of 8 years, Gavin built a 6-figure hybrid training business before founding the Maverick Coaching Academy in 2019.

Since then, Gavin has left the gym and gone all in helping other strength coaches build their businesses. He has made it his mission to fix the broken fitness industry and connect other amazing humans to the highest version of themselves.

IG – @gavinmchale1

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October 12, 2021 Tony