Categoriespersonal training

Confessions of a Middle-Aged Personal Trainer

I’m currently in Europe.[/efn_note]Nah, nah, nah, nah, nahhhhhhhh.1

I had a speaking engagement Bonn (Germany) this past weekend, and I’m doing a 2-day workshop in London this coming weekend.

Before that, though, Amsterdam is on the docket starting tomorrow. Figured it would be a good idea to queue up this guest post from personal trainer Shane McLean today rather than wait till any shenanigans and debauchery take over.

Which is to say: I’ll still be in bed by 9 PM. Who am I kidding……;o)

Confessions of a Middle-Aged Personal Trainer

If you’re thinking this is some old dude ranting, who longs for the good old days, then you’re partly right.

I’m not yet 50, but I love stepping up to my soap box and offering my opinion.

Although gyms have been around for a while, personal training is still a relatively new profession that has a (reasonably) low barrier for entry and has seen its fair share cowboys come and go in the attempt to make a quick buck.

To pay the bills as a fitness professional usually involves getting up at the arse crack of dawn, working long hours, attending management meetings and consuming copious amounts of coffee in the hopes you have enough energy to workout.

NOTE – this is changing due to the rise of online personal training.

And when working for most commercial gyms, the trainer will be lucky to earn a 50/50 split, which sounds good in theory but those new to the industry fail to account for all the work that goes into preparing for a session.

Hint, when the trainer is a newbie (like I was) it’s a lot.

However, most fitness professionals want to help people and not stack their wallets full of cash, unless you’re a celebrity trainer who really likes to be on TV endorsing crappy products that act as overpriced clothes hangers.

Do I really need to name, names? I’ll get into trouble.

However, I’m stepping off my soap box now and stepping into the confessional and revealing my deepest, darkest secrets that I’ve been hiding from my clients for years.

I hope none of them are reading. 😊

1. I’m a Lousy Repetition Counter

There’s a saying around the industry that trainers are gloried rep counters. They count the reps, write it down on the workout card and say “good job” as they move on to the next exercise.

 

Unfortunately, for my clients I’m terrible at counting reps because I’m focused on technique, external cues to fix their form or encouraging them. Amid all of that, I lose count and when they ask how many reps to go I say, ‘Do 2 more.’

Then a dirty look comes across their face as they respond with ‘you’ve got no idea.’

I’ll never tell. However, wait, I just did.

2. It Never Turns Off

Being a coach and getting paid for it is one of the greatest jobs in the world. Essentially, coaches get paid for telling people what to do, how do it and to rip them a new one when they screw up.

 

Furthermore, coaches get to wear comfortable pants and pass off their caffeine addiction as hydrating. However, there’s a price to be paid for this……….

The coaching button is always on.

When I’m working out or training a client, I’m always looking around the gym and judging people’s form to see if they’re performing an exercise well or poorly. And the more I tell myself not to look and judge, the more I do it anyway.

So, when you see some guy at the gym slapping his forehead and shaking his head while someone is humping the ground doing push-ups, that will be me.

Please wave and say hi.

3. Do As I say, Not As I Do

Good nutrition and exercise work hand in hand for superior health. One is better than none, however both are ideal if you want to crush your goals. And I recommend this to all my clients like a broken record but there’s only one problem, my diet is far from perfect.

I love chocolate, beer, potato chips and burgers and sometimes all at once. If it’s battered and fried, it’s in my mouth and when I eat out, I finish what’s on my plate, no matter how full I am.

When telling a client, they must eat better, cut the crap and suck it up if they want to lose weight, I feel like the biggest hypocrite of all.

4. I Am Working, Really.

The gym floor is a unique workplace environment because the trainer is always on show. It’s not like your usual office cubicle with a desk, chair and a computer where you can pretend to work while catching up on the weekend highlights.

You can definitely tell when a trainer is not working.

However, it seems hard for the general gym public to realize when a trainer IS working with a client. I’ve lost count the amount of times I’ve been interrupted (other trainers can back me up here) when a client is in a middle of an exercise.

“Can you take a picture of me and my friend?”

“What’s the best exercise for (insert body part here)?”

“Are you using this?”

“Is this squat rack free for biceps curls?”

“Do I look fat in this dress?” Oh wait, now I’m getting confused.

I often reply with ‘can’t you see I’m working?’ Which is often met with a blank, confused stare and snooty huff and puff as they storm away. The next person who does this to me, I’ll go all Samuel Jackson on their butt.

That will learn teach them.

5. Sometimes the Gym is the Last Place I Want to Be

Like a chef who orders pizza for dinner when he or she gets home from work, sometimes I’d rather watch Oprah re runs than drive to the gym and train.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the gym environment but after a while of training clients, watching silly people do silly things and the management chewing your butt out for not tucking your shirt in, the weight room is the last place I want to be.

I’d rather take my dog for walk.

Finishing Up

That feels great to get that off my chest and I hope it was as good for you as it was for me. Please keep in mind that coaches are human too and they’re not perfect.

And please don’t break my concentration when I’m working. You’ve been warned.

About the Author

Shane “The Balance Guy” McLean, is an A.C.E Certified Personal Trainer working deep in the heart of Texas. Shane believes in balancing exercise with life while putting the fun back into both.

Categoriespersonal training

The One Thing That Annoys Me Most About the Fitness Industry

I consider myself a fairly even keeled guy.

I try not to sweat the details nor to come across as someone who complains or argues about trivial things such as traffic, the weather, low bar vs. high bar back squats, LCHF diets vs. any other diet equated for protein and total calories, or which is the best Harry Potter book.2

Then again I am human and sometimes my capacity to suppress my annoyance hits a crescendo, and I’m left with no other alternative than to write about it, like every other a-hole in the world with an opinion and access to a laptop.

Brb…I need to go throw my face into a brick wall.

Copyright: givaga / 123RF Stock Photo

Incessant Entitlement

I can’t tell you how many emails or messages I receive from new(ish) trainers on a routine basis bemoaning the fact they work in, GASP, a commercial gym.

They usually invade my inbox in several iterations, but this is the most common:

“Tony, this sucks. I don’t know what to do. I want to train professional athletes. I didn’t go to school to work with house wives or Jack from accounting. My life is over.

How do I get to where you’re at in your career?”

I don’t know what people expect from me.

I’m not their boss. There really isn’t much I can do, even with a high speed internet connection.

The meanie-head in me wants to say something like:

“I’m all for having goals, but LeBron doesn’t want to train with you.”

However, I’m not a meanie-head and what I usually end up saying is something to the effect of:

“Not to blow up your spot, but I didn’t train my first athlete until year five of my career. His name was Tim, a sophomore in high-school. He played basketball. 

I didn’t train my first professional athlete until year seven.

Also, what’s wrong with training house wives? I love house wives. And Jacks from Accounting. Hate to break it to you, but those lowly house wives (and accountants) you’re too cool for outnumber professional athletes by a ratio of a kajillion-billion to one and are going to be the ones  paying your bills and helping to pay off those student loans of yours.

I also hate to break it to you, but working with athletes isn’t as lucrative as Instagram makes it seem. 

What’s more, and this may come across as blasphemous, I prefer training general pop clients.

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

 

Pretty much every “successful” or well known coach today, every…single…one, from Mike Boyle to Eric Cressey to Mike Robertson to Nia Shanks, at some point or another, worked in a commercial gym.

What’s more, there are an infinite number of fitness professionals out there right now who thrive in commercial gyms and end up building very successful brands (and careers).

This may be an unpopular viewpoint and not what you want to hear, but I’d make the argument working in a commercial gym for 2-5 years is often what’s necessary (if not mandatory) to be successful in this industry.

Well, that and a decent bicep peak…;o)

In the end, you get out of it what you put in.

You can either bitch and whine about your situation like every other entitled asshat, or go out of your way to use this time to gain experience, hone your craft, take pride in having an insatiable desire to learn and get better and to make yourself more indispensable (FYI: this should never really stop), get up early, work late, work on holidays, and weekends, fail, fail again, fail some more, and then, at some point, inevitably, reach the same conclusion as many before you.

That who you work with has far less of an impact on your success in this industry and is as insignificant of a thing to concern yourself with as say, what Meghan Markle had for breakfast this morning, or, I don’t know, Tom Selleck having too sexy of a mustache.

None of it matters.”

Okay, that still had a bit of a meanie-head vibe to it.

But it had to be said.

CategoriesMotivational personal training Uncategorized

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

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

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

Social media follows + number of letters you can squeeze next to your name in your bio / (selfie to shirtless pic ratio) x (# of days you brag about either going to CrossFit or how you feel so UHmazing you feel going ketogenic3)

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

Copyright: bowie15 / 123RF Stock Photo

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

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

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

But you quickly realise that’s not the case.

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

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

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

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

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

That’s not always the answer.

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

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

But what is experience?

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

Age is wisdom, right?

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

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

1. Volunteer

Get comfortable with this.

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

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

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

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

2. Internship/Mentorship

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Networks

The cliché will always stand:

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

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

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

Attendance alone is not enough.

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

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

4. Patience & Expectations

Setting realistic goals and expectations are important.

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

But don’t deny that you will eventually.

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

5. Hobbies & Yourself

Being immersed in the ‘field’ is great.

Know the content and all the science.

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

A strong mantra to apply daily is:

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

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

 

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

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

About the Author

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

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

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

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

You can find Meer on Instagram HERE.

Categoriescoaching personal training

The Problems With Over Coaching (And Some Solutions)

A few weeks ago I Tweeted something to the effect of “Don’t be afraid to let your clients figure things out for themselves. Not every rep has to be a pristine vision that makes the Virgin Mary weep tears of joy.”

I gave the example of the knees caving in during a squat. Many coaches see this and they start hyperventilating into a paper bag no matter what.

I keep it real.

There’s a stark difference between the knees caving in TO neutral and caving in to the point where someone falls into excessive valgus.

Anyways, my little rant inspired Baltimore based strength coach (and fellow Lord of the Rings nerd), Erica Suter, to write a guest post.

It’s pretty baller.

Copyright: dolgachov / 123RF Stock Photo

The Problems With Over Coaching (And Some Solutions)

Sit your butt back.

Keep your chest out.

Put your shoulders back.

Engage your lats.

Wait, pretend there are tennis balls under your arm pits.

Squeeze your glutes too.

Breathe.

Don’t smile.

Did you get all of that?

Does this sound like you as a coach? Let’s hope not.

Too many cues have their way of confusing and frustrating our clients. More often than not, they become overwhelming. Worse yet, they become too much information for people to process during a session, let alone, mid-lift.

via GIPHY

Don’t get me wrong: correcting people is a good thing. We wouldn’t be coaches if we didn’t coach. To that end, we have to instruct people so they are executing pristine form and progressing.

However, too much instructing, over-coaching, over-cueing, or saying-shit-just-to-say-shit-and-hear-yourself-talk, is problematic.

Over-coaching is real and it permeates across the fitness industry as one of the biggest issues, besides perfectly staged selfies in yoga pants on a beach:

So why is over-coaching bad?

Problem 1: Too many Cues Confuses People.

Since clients are performing complex movements that excite the nervous system, the last thing they need is someone barking orders at them.

As an example, there’s already so much going on in a client’s mind during the deadlift:

Chest out, butt back, Megan Fox is hot, credit card bill due tomorrow, get kids from school, breathe, shoulders back, if only I could marry Megan Fox.

You see how stimulated their mind is already?

So a coach adding 5-10 things for them to fix is bound to go in one ear and out the other.

Solution: Focus on the most glaring mistakes.

Try and keep it to one to two cues, too.

You may find that one cue is what works the magic for multiple problems. As an example when you see a client with a “rounded back,” this happens because the client fails to engage their lates, sink their hips back, or keep their chest proud.

One magic cue could be “project your chest like Superman” or you can go as far to as to give them tennis balls to actually squeeze under their arm pits so they can adjust their posture.

Or to touch on a more tactile cue (no pun intended), for this pallof drag, the only thing my athlete needed in order to maintain and athletic stance was put a mini band above her knees:

 

Again, sometimes one thing fixes EVERYTHING.

Problem 2: There’s Nothing Worse Than Being Told How Wrong You Are.

And I get it. People fuck up. But over-coaching makes them to feel like failures.

As an example, I had a client unable to back squat. And no matter how many fancy cues, various demonstrations, correctives, and prayers to the squat Gods I threw out there, he couldn’t get it down and told me he felt like a failure because he couldn’t squat.

So instead of saying, “sorry, squats are off limits,” we had to change things up.

Solution: Realize some people need a variation on a basic movement in order to “get it.”

What my client needed to get more depth and hip mobility in his squat was front loading.

So we tried this gem from strength coach Joel Seedman:

 

Not only did it help him better groove the squat position, it also helped him not feel like a failure that is banned from squats forever.

Will he progress to back squats one day? I’d argue never say never.

Problem 3: Over-Coaching Doesn’t Give People Autonomy.

Sure, they hired you to hold their hand, but allowing clients to gain independence helps them gain confidence back in themselves.

People aren’t paying coaches to have a babysitter. They’re paying coaches to get strong, instill confidence back in themselves, and be able to go out into the wild alone at times, namely, do shit themselves.

Solution: It shouldn’t be a surprise that you should allow them to fix it themselves.

This much I know: people’s bodies are awkward.

But.

They’re also capable of amazing feats of strength and movement and exploration. The body plays mysterious tricks on us and surprises us with its abilities.

Oftentimes, I may have an athlete struggling with a movement like the dumbbell snatch on Day One. And saying coaches cues, sprinkling fairy dust on them, and performing wizardry still won’t work.

With that said, I’ll give them one cue, and if it still looks like shit, I’ll leave the facility, go get a burger, go to bed, and come back the next day, and boom….their snatch is flawless.

Again, the body is amazing and people can be capable of fixing themselves after they learn a movement, fuck it up and learn and feel what NOT to do, sleep on it, and come back with good form.

One More Thing: Please don’t toss out too many cues just to say shit. Sometimes, the best coaches are able to sit back, observe, drop one knowledge bomb, and exit stage right.

Let your clients work their magic and trust me when I say keep it simple.

After all, simplicity is the highest form of sophistication.

About the Author

Erica Suter is a certified strength and conditioning coach, soccer trainer, and fitness blogger who has worked with athletes and non-athletes for over 5 years. She is currently a strength coach at JDyer Strength and Conditioning, and also runs her own technical soccer training business in Baltimore, MD.
Her interests include writing, snowboarding, and reciting Lord of the Rings quotes to her athletes and clients.
Categoriesfitness business personal training Uncategorized

The Importance of Client Retention

In today’s day and age being a personal trainer runs somewhere in the spectrum of one of the most rewarding careers out there and a dumpster fire.

The latter comes into play often, especially when you work in a large commercial gym where you’re one of dozens of trainers vying for everyone’s attention (and wallets). It’s seemingly become harder to separate yourself from the masses, and when you compound that with the long hours and the massive trepidation from many trainers to understand the business side of the equation, it’s no wonder the burnout rate is so high.

In today’s excellent guest post Michael Anderson he explains why keeping the clients you do have may be the “x” factor.

Copyright: dolgachov / 123RF Stock Photo

The Importance of Client Retention

This is sort of a weird post to write for me because I’m specifically speaking to the coaches and trainers that read Tony’s blog rather than the average Joe or Jane who just likes training and wants to be awesome.

It’s also weird because I don’t often talk about the business side of this industry…mainly because I’m a WAY better trainer than businessman.

Today’s lesson is one I learned probably 7-8 years ago and it should help anyone who heeds this advice make more money: retain your clients.

I don’t mean tie them up and keep them in the yoga studio, I mean make sure that once you get a client you’re keeping them for the long haul.

Many moons ago I was a personal trainer at a fairly upscale privately owned globo gym in Boston. Per the usual for a commercial gym like that they constantly pushed the trainers to sign new trainees up for sessions. The owners and manager went to great lengths to keep increasing new sign-ups. We offered two free sessions when you signed up for a year membership, several times a year we offered a special deal where you could buy three sessions for $99 and they started to give bonus incentives to trainers who signed up new clients for X amount of sessions.

The only problem was that this ultimately didn’t make anyone any money; neither the trainers nor the gym itself.

The two free sessions would work well if you had a really polished approach, but it took a long time to get comfortable with it. The sessions that we put on sale were a waste of time and effort; the “sales hunters” would wait until these were available and then buy a few of them with no intention of training beyond the length of those packages.

They’d do a few sessions and get some new ideas and then work out on their own until the sale became available again. As the trainer conducting these sessions, you were doomed to fail.

These people almost never wanted to continue as a regular client.

Providing a financial bonus to the trainers when you signed up a new client created a system where people were more interested in selling packages to get the extra money short-term than they were in building a solid long-term client base.

The result of this was that there were a lot of gym members who did a few sessions with trainers who were just trying to get paid vs enjoying quality sessions. Ultimately these people would now be harder to convince to use our training services again.

Why Long Term Is Better

As a personal trainer it is going to benefit you dramatically in the long term to have clients that come back to you month after month, year after year.

During my five year stint training at that gym, I had 8-10 clients who would train with me multiple times per week and that core group lasted for 2-5 years.

Most of these clients would purchase our largest package of sessions (52) which was sold as the “annual package” and resulted in the cheapest per session cost; my clients were going through 2-3 of them a year!

Out of about 35 available training hours per week, my schedule typically contained about 20-25 hours of long-term clients. The rest of my schedule was usually filled in with new members who were using their two free sessions. My conversion rate with these was pretty good, so my goal was to get them interested in training regularly and then I would pass them off to other trainers who had more availability or were just starting out.

I hate suggesting this, but its important thing to remember from time to time: your clients are your business and each one represents money to you.

In the grand scheme of things you will make more money having 3-5 people train 2-3 times a week each for multiple years than chasing new clients every month so you can get the bonus. 

I’ve heard a general rule when it comes to business marketing that it takes 5-10 times as much money to obtain a new customer as it does to retain an old one. In the personal trainer world this means it takes you more time talking to people on the gym floor, more time emailing and cold calling and more time doing intro sessions that I’ve always found to be much more draining and intensive than someone you’ve been working with for a while.

If you’ve ever had a day where you do 3-4 first time sessions with someone then you know what I’m talking about. Now, I’m not suggesting you should be opposed to doing all of those office-work things, but I feel like many of you would agree with me that it’s more fun to be in the gym coaching than it is to be sitting at a computer send out the same annoying email over and over.

via GIPHY

The other benefit is that when you work with someone for a long time and they really trust and appreciate you they will do the marketing for you.

These clients will tell other gym members and friends about how much they enjoy working with you. If you read Pete Dupuis’ blog (and you should) then you’d know that word of mouth advertising is the One Ring of fitness business advertising….it rules them all.

These referrals almost always produce a stronger client relationship than someone who just walks into the gym and says “yea I guess I’ll try a session with you”. If a person you’ve been working with for 18 months can produce one or two more people who will work with you for 18 months each, you’re doing really well.

But, How?

Unfortunately this is where I tell you that there is no secret formula to creating and retaining a good client base.

I think Tony’s blog in general is filled with great advice that will help you succeed in this regard; I know that it helped me tremendously back in the day when I was figuring this shit out (and still today). Other than that you just have to work hard and refine your technique.

It also really helps if people like you. No one likes working with a dick.

Make sure you take care of your current clients first.

Much like exercise, make sure you master the basics of good customer service first: be on time, don’t smell like hot ass, don’t let them see you pick a booger at the front desk, don’t complain about your personal problems during a session, don’t allow their time slot to get compromised because you’re a shitty scheduler, and ensure that you’re doing your part to help them meet their goals.

Personal training is both a soft science and an art form. You have to do what you know is right to help them achieve a goal, but you also have to relent a little on some stuff. If a client hates push-ups and you keep forcing push-ups on them, they will just say “F it” and not come back.

You’ve got to develop a broad enough range of methods and approaches that you can meet any client where they are and create an enjoyable training experience.

As a current small business owner, I’ve seen this scenario play out even more substantially than it did when I worked at a globo gym.

I don’t have the capital to spend on any advertising and showing up at high school sporting events to hand out business cards isn’t a great use of my time. It has become even more important that I focus on keeping the clients I have and slowly adding to my roster through word of mouth referrals.

While getting new clients in the door is important, I’d be a fool to not first take the best care of the people currently coming to train with me. Do right by those you train now and build on that slowly.

If you have any questions please feel free to reach out!

About the Author

Mike is a personal trainer and strength coach living in Cleveland with his fiance and adorable pit bull. He is the owner of Anderson Strength and Fitness, the strength coach for Healthy Green Athlete and is an all around badass dude. You can follow him on Instagram @AndersonStrengthFitness or shoot him an email at [email protected].

Categoriespersonal training Program Design Uncategorized

What You Need To Know About Sets

Straight sets, pyramid sets, drop sets, cluster sets…

…it can all be rather confusing to the newbie lifter, or even seasoned veteran.  How many sets should you do? What exercises are the best fit? What about rest? Is it normal to not feel the right side of your face?

All are pertinent questions and with today’s guest post Dallas based personal trainer, Shane McLean, helps to clear the air.

Enjoy.

Copyright: apichon168 / 123RF Stock Photo

What You Need To Know About Sets

When I first started lifting, I had no idea about all the different types of sets.

When I went to the gym, I would saunter over to the dumbbell rack and bust open my biceps with some curls.

And when I did curls, I did them it front of the mirror and the whole gym knew about it.

However, my biceps remained small and so did I.

That’s until I started learning about all the set schemes that exist in the iron universe. Like most boys when they started out lifting weights, I did the workouts from muscle magazines hoping that it would make me look like the guys on the cover.

That didn’t work out at all but, it was the first time I heard about pairing sets together, known as supersets. You mean you could pair exercises together, increase training efficiency and build muscle all at the same time?

My mind was blown.

This led me further down the rabbit hole of all the different set methods which in turn led me to be armed with a coffee cup, a clip board, a stopwatch and telling people what to do with a dumbbell while wearing comfortable pants.

Yes, that’s right I’m a Personal Trainer.

Now you can benefit from my 25 years in the iron game, with eight of those years writing programs for people that get results.

Read on and learn things.

NOTE: These are guidelines and there will be exceptions to the information presented here.

1) Straight Sets

What Are They? – Doing just the one exercise for one or multiple sets with rest in between sets

The Best Use For Straight Sets? – They’re often used for barbell exercises like deadlifts, squats, presses and rows. All your energy is focused on getting stronger with that one move.

Types of Exercises That Straight Sets Work Best For? – Compound barbell/dumbbell like those discussed above.

 

How Many of Sets Should You Do? – It depends on how many reps in each set. More reps mean less sets and less reps mean more sets. Another factor is load. The closer you are to your one rep max, you’ll do less reps more sets and vise versa.

For example- 3 sets – 3 reps 90% 1 rep max. Or 4 sets of 5 reps 83% 1 rep max.

How Much Rest Between Sets? – usually 2-3 minutes rest between sets.

2) Supersets

What Are They? – Is one set of an exercise is performed directly after a set of a different exercise with minimal rest in between them.

The Best Use For Supersets? – They’re ideal for building muscle, fat loss and for those who have a limited amount of time to train.

Types of Exercises Supersets Work Best For? –  Really anything goes here. Barbell, dumbbells, kettlebell, bodyweight, resistance bands and machine exercises all work. You can use compound (exercising multiple muscles groups) or isolation (single muscle) exercises.

Different Types of Supersets

1. Compound supersets, when both exercises work a similar body part.

For example:

1A. Squat

1B. Lunge

2. Non-competing supersets, pairing a lower body exercise with an upper body exercise.

For example:

1A. Squat

1B. Dumbbell bench press

3. Isolation/compound supersets which you pair a single joint exercise with a compound movement or vise versa.

For example:

1A. Triceps extension variation

1B. Barbell bench press

 

How Many of Sets Should You Do? – Anywhere from 2- 5 sets (depending on how much time you have to train) and repetitions can range from anywhere between 6- 15 reps per set.

How Much Rest Between Supersets? – Limited rest between the exercises themselves and anywhere between 60-120 sec rest between supersets.

3) Tri-Sets

What Are They? – Doing 3 different exercises back to back to back.

The Best Use For Tri-Sets? – They are ideal for fat loss, muscle building and for people who want maximum training efficiency.

Types of Exercises Tri-Sets Work Best For? –   Really anything goes here also. Barbell, dumbbells, kettlebell, bodyweight, resistance bands and machine exercises all work. Furthermore, having all the equipment close to you will cut down on transition time between exercises.

Different Types of Tri-Sets

You can use them to bring up a lagging body part.

For example, shoulders:

1A. Single arm shoulder press

1B. Lateral shoulder raises

1C. Reverse fly

 

Or mobility tri sets to help improve your movement.

For example, hip mobility exercise for the squat:

1A. Goblet squat

1B. Push up

1C. Half kneeling hip flexor stretch

 

Or when pushed for time you can combine strength and cardio exercises to get the best of both worlds.

For example:

1A. Leg exercise

1B. Upper body exercise

1C. Cardiovascular exercise 30- 60 seconds

How Many of Sets Should You Do? – Usually 3- 4 sets and anywhere between 6- 15 reps per exercise.

How Much Rest? – Limited rest between the exercises and 90-120 seconds rest after each tri-set.

4) Timed Sets

What Are They? – Doing an exercise for certain amount of time or completing the programmed reps in a certain amount of time.

The Best Use For Timed Sets? – They can be used for building muscle but they’re excellent for incinerating body fat.

Types of Exercises Timed Sets Work Best For? – Any piece of equipment that allows for an easy transition between exercises is a winner. For example, barbell, dumbbell, bodyweight, kettlebell and resistance bands.

Different Types of Timed Sets

Every minute on the minute sets where you complete a certain amount of reps and then rest the reminder of the minute before moving on to the next exercise.

For example:

1A. Goblet squat- 8 reps

1B. Row- 8 reps

1C. Goblet reverse lunge- 8 reps on each leg

1D. Chest press- 8 reps

1E. Biceps curls – 8 reps

 

Or you can scrape the reps and it’s just you versus the stopwatch where you try to do as many reps as possible in a pre-determined timeframe. For example, a full body circuit using bodyweight, barbells and dumbbells.

Work/Rest Interval Guidelines

Beginner – 20 sec work/40 sec rest.

Intermediate – 30 sec work/30 sec rest.

Advanced – 40 sec work/20 sec rest.

1A. Squat variation – BW squat, Goblet, Sumo or Barbell squat

1B. Push variation- Incline push up, Push up or Dumbbell bench press.

1C. Single leg exercise- Reverse lunge, Forward lunge or Side lunge

1D. Pull variation- Rack pull, Dumbbell bent over row or Standing cable row.

1E. Core- Alternating side plank, Mountain climbers or Front plank.

How Many of Rounds Should You Do? – It depends how long you’ve got to train. Using the above examples, these circuits takes 5 min to complete so 3- 5 rounds would suffice.

How Much Rest? – You rest when you’re done.

5) Ladder Sets

What Are They? – One big superset when you compete the reps of both exercises in an ascending or descending order. For example, 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 or 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10.

Best Use For Ladder Sets – They’re great way to finish your training and to add volume to a body part that needs working on. Furthermore, they can be used for a stand-alone training when pushed for time.

Types of Exercises Ladder Sets Work Best For? – Bodyweight, kettlebells, medicine balls, battle ropes and dumbbells work great.

For example, the kettlebell swings/medicine ball slam combo:

Instructions: Do 20 reps each of the swings and the slams and go down by 2 each time you perform a round until you reach two reps for each exercise (for example 20-18-16-14….2). If you don’t have access to medicine balls, substitute in battle rope slams.

Battle Rope Slams

Med Ball Rotational Slam

https://youtube.com/watch?v=YHgXAFY4H1Q

 

How Many Rounds Should You Do? – Just one will do, if you’re doing it right.

How Much Rest? – Again, you’ll rest when you’re done.

6) Cluster Sets

What Are They? – Sets with a predetermined rest period between reps within the same set.

For example:

  1. Load the barbell to 85-90% of your maximum, a weight you could normally lift 3 times.
  2. Do one rep and rack the bar.
  3. Rest 10 seconds.
  4. Do another rep and rack the bar.
  5. Rest for 10 seconds.
  6. Do this 4-6 times total

Best Use For Cluster Sets – They’re best used for building strength but be warned, when using heavier weights with shorter rest periods while increasing volume can lead to fatigue.

For example, (4×2) x5 sets – is 5 total clusters of 4 mini sets of 2 reps with 10 seconds rest in between. That’s 40 reps at 85-90% of your 1 rep max.

Types of Exercises Cluster Sets Work Best For? – Barbell exercises like squats, presses and rows but can be used for chin-ups also.

 

How Many Sets Should You Do? – Anywhere from 3- 6 clusters.

How Much Rest Between Clusters? – 3 minutes or more between clusters because of their demanding nature.

7) Drop Sets

What Are Drop Sets? – Is a method where you perform an exercise and then reduce the weight (usually 15- 30% drop) and continue for more reps until you reach failure.

Best Use For Drop Sets – Ideally, it’s your last set of the day. This method is used to add muscle and volume to a body part. However, it’s not for the faint of heart because you will feel the burn.

 

Types of Exercises Drop Sets Work Best For – Barbell, dumbbell and machine exercises.

A Different Type of Drop Set

Rather than dropping the weight and lifting till failure, you can perform mechanical drop sets where you use the same weight the entire time. You start an exercise in a mechanically weaker position to one in which you’re in stronger position.

For example, the dumbbell bench press mechanical drop set:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=KfYNhAGAm0w

 

This is a truly sadistic method for building muscle, but it works. If you want more ideas, read this excellent article by John Romaniello.

How Many Drop Sets Should You Do? – Once per training and probably no more than twice per week.

How Much Rest? – If you’re doing it right, you’ll need a nap.

Wrapping Up

Wow, you got to the end and you’re probably hungry. Please go get some protein.

Now, you’re armed with the knowledge to take your training to the next level and to hulk smash your way through any plateaus. Happy lifting.

About the Author

Shane “The Balance Guy” McLean, is an A.C.E Certified Personal Trainer working deep in the heart of Texas. Shane believes in balancing exercise with life while putting the fun back into both.

Categoriespersonal training Program Design Strength Training

My Top Shoulder Training Tips Part I

The shoulders (delts) are an area that many trainees wish were bigger. They’re also an area that’s often injured. In today’s guest post by Dr. Nicholas Licameli he discusses and breaks down some of his top training tips for shoulder health and hypertrophy.

Enjoy.

Copyright: xmee / 123RF Stock Photo

 

In order to build a quality and symmetrical physique, all muscle groups must be trained and developed equally. An overdeveloped muscle group can never compensate for an underdeveloped one. That being said, a well-developed set of shoulders, along with a narrow waist, can really enhance a physique and create a nice V-taper.

While the shoulders are one of the most sought after muscles to develop, they also tend to be one of the most stubborn and most commonly injured. Here are my top shoulder training tips to help you on the journey to strong, healthy shoulders.

1) Listen To Your Body

Early in my training career, I remember feeling as if there were some aspects of my training that could not be changed. Compound lifts had to be performed using a barbell only and with heavy, lower rep sets. Dumbbells and lighter/higher rep training were for isolation movements.

For years, I trained in the 6-10 rep range for barbell overhead presses and in the 12-20 rep range for lateral raises, rear deltoid work, and other isolation movements. I never really felt “satisfied” or that “good” fatigue after completing heavy sets of overhead presses.

I eventually took the leap out of my comfort zone and started using dumbbells and a landmine set up for overhead pressing.

What a difference!

 

I felt a connection to my deltoids like never before. The overhead press soon went from one of my least favorite movements to one of my favorites.

I also started to realize that my lighter warm up sets seemed to feel better (even when not taken anywhere near failure) than my heavier working sets. I took another leap and started training the overhead press in the 12-20 rep range and again, I was blown away at how my body responded. Does this mean I completely removed heavy overhead pressing from my training?

Of course not, but I am definitely not afraid of lighter training.

The take home message here is listen to your body.

If heavy barbell training doesn’t quite “click” for your shoulders, don’t be afraid to change it up.

We now know that if hypertrophy is your goal, overall volume (volume = weight lifted x sets x reps) and progressive overload at an appropriate intensity is what matters.

Note From TG: Technically speaking, for muscular hypertrophy three factors take precedence: Mechanical Tension, Metabolic Stress, and Muscle Damage.

For more insights you can’t ask for a better resource than Brad Schoenfeld’s Science and Development of Muscle Hypertrophy.

Hypertrophy can be seen by training with heavy weight and low reps as well as light weight and higher reps. Keep in mind that if your goal is strictly to increase strength on the barbell overhead press, you’re going to have to train the barbell overhead press with heavy loads, as specificity is much more important when it comes to strength.

2) Obey Your Anatomy: The Upright Row and Lateral Raise

The upright row seems to have more controversy surrounding it than Donald Trump administering a flu vaccine to a gluten-free, ketogenic, vegan, transgender circus elephant in captivity while drinking creatine sweetened with aspartame.

Is the traditional “muscle magazine” upright row the safest or most effective exercise to build big, strong, and healthy shoulders?

Probably not.

Can it be modified?

Absolutely.

By nature of the movement, the barbell upright row places the shoulder in resisted internal rotation with elevation. This is a less than optimal and, dare I say, vulnerable position because it narrows the subacromial space, which can increase risk of injury.

Does that mean our shoulders will break on the first rep?

No.

Our bodies are resilient and can handle less than optimal positions, but why risk it if we can find a better way? Need a refresher on what the sub-acromial space is and how narrowing it can lead to injury? Check out Tony’s awesome article right here.

Great alternatives to the barbell upright row are the dumbbell upright row and the face pull.

Face Pull

As mentioned above, the barbell upright row puts us into internal rotation, which narrows the sub-acromial space.

External rotation, however, can be a shoulder’s best friend.

The dumbbell upright row frees up our joints and allows us to externally rotate throughout the movement. The face pull reduces the amount of internal rotation at the bottom of the movement and increases the amount of external rotation at the end of the movement.

Many training routines tend to be abundant in internal rotator strengthening (pecs, lats, etc.) while lacking strengthening for the external rotators (posterior rotator cuff, rear deltoids, etc). Both the dumbbell upright row and face pull involve resisted external rotation, which means they can help balance out a traditional training routine (more on this to come).

Note From TG: Speaking of Face Pulls I am reminded of THIS classic T-Nation.com article by Mike Robertson and Bill Hartman on the topic.

The lateral raise is a staple in most shoulder training routines, however if done incorrectly, can be very similar to the barbell upright row.

By internally rotating at the top of a lateral raise, as if pouring a pitcher of water, the shoulder gets placed into resisted internal rotation with elevation, which we now know is not that great of a position.

Why is that a common cue (even Arnold recommends it!)? Because in order to maximally target the middle deltoid, it needs to be directly in line with the force of gravity and the “pouring-the-pitcher” position accomplishes this.

Middle deltoid is directly in line with the force of gravity (good!), however the shoulder is in internal rotation and elevation (bad!)

Anterior deltoid is directly in line with the force of gravity

Bending forward or lying face down in a bench targets the posterior deltoid because it is directly in line with the force of gravity.

Posterior deltoid is directly in line with the force of gravity

So how do we reduce our risk of injury while still maximizing the force through the middle deltoid?

Simple.

Hinge at our hips and lean forward, just a bit.

The line of gravity has now changed. We’re now able to externally rotate (reversing the pitcher pouring motion) while still placing the middle deltoid in perfect alignment with gravity.

Middle deltoid is directly in line with the force of gravity (good!) AND the shoulder is in external rotation (good!)

For a video demonstration and explanation of this, go HERE.

3) Don’t Overdo It…Pay Attention to Volume

When looking at weekly shoulder volume, don’t forget to account for all of the exercises that involve the shoulders as secondary movers.

Shoulder presses, lateral raises, and reverse flyes are not the only exercises that add to weekly shoulder volume.

The shoulders get worked during exercises like bench presses, rows, dips, and even pull-ups and pull-downs. If you have a volume goal you are trying to hit, be sure to keep this in mind to avoid overtraining and overuse injuries. Remember, more is not better…better is better.

4) Don’t Try To Get Too Creative Just For The Sake Of Novelty

Bruce Lee said,

“I fear not the man who practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

Too much variety for the sake of novelty can limit your ability to progress, especially when it comes to shoulder training.

In general, the basic variations of shoulder movements are presses, lateral raises, extension-based movements (face pulls, reverse flyes, etc.), and global stability movements (farmer carries, planks, bird dogs, etc.).

My suggestion would be to find your preferred variations of those movements and perfect, fine tune, overload, and progress them. Yes, change it up every once in a while, but don’t swap out a solid landmine press for a banded, blood flow restricted, single-arm kettlebell press while standing on a BOSU over a pool of sharks with laser beams attached to their heads.

Stay tuned for Part II tomorrow where I offer four more of my top shoulder training tips.

About the Author

Nicholas M. Licameli

Doctor of Physical Therapy / Pro Natural Bodybuilder

Youtube: HERE

Instagram: HERE

Facebook: HERE

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

Categoriescoaching personal training

Top 3 Lessons I’ve Learned From My Clients

Man, I’ve got a treat for everyone today. Charles Staley, mentor, strength and conditioning connoisseur, and titan in this industry, reached out recently and asked if he could write a little sumthin, sumthin for the site.

Is water wet?

Is grass green?

Is Aragorn, also known as Strider, and son of Arathorn II, the High King of Gondor and Arnor?

Um, yeah.

Enjoy my friends. This is good.

Copyright: venezolana74 / 123RF Stock Photo

3 Lessons I’ve Learned From My Clients

It’s probably just natural to assume that in a teacher/student relationship, the transfer of knowledge only travels in a single direction. Over the years however, I’ve found that this assumption is far from the truth. In fact, there’s even a well-known saying that you may have heard:

“When one teaches, two learn.”

In fact, if I’m being honest, the primary reason I became a coach in the first place was to learn more about the subjects I intended to coach. I’ve often remarked that you might be confident in your knowledge of a topic, but only when you attempt to teach this topic successfully do you discover the gaps in your understanding.

In fact, Cal Newport, the best selling author of the highly acclaimed book Deep Work, passionately advocates a studying technique that he claims will dramatically reduce the time it takes to learn a subject — it’s called Active Recall.

 

This method is disarmingly simple, yet it requires a very high level of discipline.

Very simply, you first read the materials you’re attempting to learn, and then (this is where the rubber hits the road) you stand up in front of an imaginary classroom and teach what you just learned (or more often than not, what you thought you just learned).

Very quickly, you’ll be painfully aware of the gaps in your understanding. So, back to the books, then deliver another lecture to your imaginary students, rinse and repeat until you’ve got it down cold.

In a very real sense, the methods and philosophy I currently impart to my clients is almost entirely built upon the backs of my previous clients: these are the people who, through their successes and failures, not to mention their often challenging questions, are largely responsible for what I know today.

So with those thoughts as an introductory backdrop, here the top 3 lessons I’ve learned from my clients over the years:

Lesson # One: The Clients Who Communicate With Me The Most, End Up Doing The Best

It’s very common for my clients to apologize when they think they’re asking too many questions, but what they probably don’t appreciate is that I’m actually relieved when clients ask lots of questions, because that demonstrates that they are highly invested in what they’re learning.

Translation: long-term, happy client.

Translation #2: Happy coach.

By contrast, the worst thing I can hear from a new client is along the lines of “Please just tell me what to do.” Words to this effect send a strong signal that my client need a high level of external reinforcement, which leads me to…

Lesson # Two: I’m Not Everyone’s Cup Of Tea (And That’s OK With Me)

Now don’t miss my point — there’s nothing “wrong” with just wanting to be told what to do. If I were to hire someone to help me with something I found particularly challenging, I’d probably do the same thing.

Of course, whenever you need significant external support from a teacher or coach, your chances of long-term success are reduced. Thankfully however, there are some very good coaches who are remarkably successful with clients like this — I’m just not one of them.

And that’s OK — a cardinal rule of marketing is to avoid trying to be all things to all people.

Identify and constantly reinforce your specific strengths, and then restrict your marketing efforts to that narrow slice of the population who can benefit most from what those strengths happen to be. My primary market is highly-motivated (although not necessarily advanced) “over-40” men and women (And, for reasons that continue to elude me, for some reason, nearly all of my local clients are women, and nearly all my online clients are men. Seriously, I have no idea why).

It’s very common for new coaches and trainers to feel they don’t know enough to train other people, and while that may be true, I’ve been studying my craft for over 30 years, and in complete honesty, I have never had more questions than I have today.

Sure, I’m very good at a small handful of things, but I’m also completely incompetent in a much, much larger number of subjects and topics. The key to managing your competencies and shortcomings is to 1) know the difference between the two, and 2) stay within your wheelhouse when working with your clients. When issues arise that you’re not qualified to deal with, refer them out to other pros who are.

Both client and colleague will respect you for this.

Lesson # Three: It’s OK To Be Weird

In case you haven’t noticed, the fitness marketplace is a very crowded place. If you’re just like everyone else, well, you kinda get lost in the sauce, don’t you?

Lots of coaches have insecurities about the various idiosyncrasies and/or perceived inadequacies that they may have, but to them I say, embrace and even promote whatever makes you stand out.

In my own case, I don’t know if I’m weird exactly, but compared to most trainers, I probably stand out in a couple of different ways:

  • I’m older than most trainers (58 to be exact). Yes, the average age of the American population is slowly increasing, but fitness coaching is still a young person’s game by and large.

 

  • I’m not especially well-built. Don’t get me wrong — my physique probably puts me in the top 1% of guys my age. But, compared to some of the guys I respect and look up to, I’m nothing special at all.

  • The previous two points actually work in my favor as it turns out, and here’s why: Although I’m of retirement age and “skinny” (6’2” and currently 190 pounds), I’m actually pretty strong. And (I almost forgot to include this point) I’m not all busted up like a lot of my older lifting buddies. In recent months, I’ve deadlifted 465 for 3 reps, done 8 pull-ups with 25 pounds strapped to my waist, and I’ve benched a pair of 90-pound dumbbells for 10 reps. And, I have no pain at all, ever. Nothing hurts. Now what’s interesting about all this is that, as much as I’d love to be a conspicuously muscular 240 pounds, I’ve found that many of my current male clients hired me specifically because they know they can’t be, or don’t want to be big muscular dudes. But, they DO want to be strong and athletic. And those guys my age who are bigger and stronger than me? I’m not their cup of tea obviously, and that’s perfectly understandable.

 

  • Finally, although I assure you that I’m not terribly smart, I do seem to attract an intelligent breed of client. This is no doubt due to all the writing I’ve done over the years, or it may also be because I probably resemble a university professor more than a bodybuilder. Or (and I’d like to think this is closest to the truth), through my writing and coaching, it’s clear that I’ve thought a LOT about what I teach. And it’s also abundantly clear that I walk my talk. I’ve been living and breathing this stuff for over 3 decades now, and I’d like to think it comes across to prospective clients.

 

  • I don’t really give a shit what other coaches do or don’t do. Now just to clarify, there are MANY coaches who I deeply respect and who I seek to learn from whenever I get the chance. What I mean here is that I am confident in my approach and what teach, and it doesn’t sway me one bit that my methods are different than many of my colleagues.  I don’t have clients do direct arm, calf, or ab work when they train with me — most trainers do. I don’t use “functional training,” whatever that is. I don’t use stabilization exercises. I don’t like forced reps, and I don’t text with my buddies or perv on nearby women as I’ve seen many, many trainers do. Again, I’m not everyone’s cup of tea.

Bottom line: You might view some of your unique characteristics as shortcomings, when in truth they may actually be strengths. Be yourself and embrace whatever makes you “weird,” because that’s what will help you stand out to all the folks who actually appreciate your weirdness.

Coaching Is A Privilege That I’m Deeply Grateful For

One sad aspect of my professional community that I sometimes notice is an unsettling tendency for some trainers to view their less-fit clients as somehow inferior, simply because they might be carrying a few extra pounds, or because they don’t know how to lift.

As if fitness is the only thing that matters in life.

News flash: You can (and many people do) live a perfectly long, healthy, and satisfying life without EVER exercising or counting carbs — crazy right? Imagine — some people actually focus their energy on their careers, or their family, or other hobbies. The idea of a perfectly balanced life sounds good in theory, but it’s terribly difficult to pull off in reality.

So to my trainer friends, please remember that your clients have lots of skills and talents (and challenges for that matter) that you probably don’t even know about. And to my client friends, thank you for all you teach us during our time together in the gym. We can’t do what we do without you.

About the Author

Charles Staley is known as an iconoclast and a leading influencer in the fitness arena. His reputation and self-effacing style have lead to appearances on NBC’s The TODAY Show and The CBS Early Show, along with numerous radio and podcast appearances. He has authored more than 1000 articles for leading fitness publications and websites, and has lectured to eager audiences around the World.

 Charles is not only a thinker, but also a doer: At age 58, he competes in the sport of raw powerlifting, and is a 3-time World Champion (220 and 198-pound weight classes). His popular online coaching program (Staley Strategies) allows people to train under his expert guidance, regardless of where they live.

 Find Charles online HERE.

Categoriespersonal training psychology

Why Is It So Hard To Be Healthy?

Being or not being healthy, by and large, is rarely an information problem. Most people know regular physical activity is good for their health, as is not crushing an entire bag of Doritos right before bed.

Why, then, are so many of us struggling with attaining a “healthy” lifestyle?

Simple (but not really): Lack of behavioral interventions.

In today’s guest post strength coach and PhD to be, Justin Kompf, discusses the dilemma.

Copyright: paulgrecaud / 123RF Stock Photo

Why Is It So Hard To Be Healthy?

Four facts keep me thinking on a consistent basis.

  • The majority of us are overweight or obese
  • The majority of people who lose weight will gain it back
  • The majority of us are getting insufficient amounts of exercise; and
  • The majority of people who start an exercise program will quit within six months

Physical inactivity contributes to 9% of premature deaths.

Maintaining a healthy body weight and exercising regularly are two of four health behaviors (the other two being not drinking your face off and not smoking) that can extend a person’s life by over a decade.4

Mathematically, the odds of a person doing two behaviors is lower than doing one behavior, and the percent should keep getting smaller as more behaviors are added on.

Still, the number is staggeringly low.

Only 4.8% of us do all of these health behaviors. Stated otherwise, 95.2% of people either have a poor diet, are insufficiently active, drink too much, smoke, or do some combination of the four behaviors.

Why Don’t People Do These Health Behaviors?

I was recently at an interview for a new training job and my interviewee asked me why I train people.

It’s because we sell time. We can give people additional high qualities years on their life so that they can continue doing what they love to do.

The question of why; as in, “why don’t people do these healthy behaviors” sits around in my mind a lot. The question of adherence also hangs out up there.

The environment exerts such a strong influence on us that it makes it challenging to be healthy. I would also say that most people lack an appropriate plan and a strong enough form of behavioral regulation.

Environmental Influence

We live in an ‘obesogenic environment’.

The term “obesogenic environment” refers to an environment that promotes gaining weight and one that is not conducive to weight loss. This environment helps, or contributes to, obesity.

So, quite literally when we try to lose weight or exercise there is a fight against the environment.

Imagine going to work, trying to get a project done but Jim the cubicle invader keeps barging into your office to talk about his weekly Tinder dates. Then, because he thinks it’s funny, he flips your desk too.

That’s what weight loss is like in our environment, keeping focus despite distractions and going back to work despite setbacks.

What to do Then?

Full disclosure, I don’t have all the answers. Everyone is different so a one size fits all answer would be a disservice. All I have is experience and a decent understanding of behavioral research.

So, what to do?

In my opinion, the best thing a person can do no matter what is to simply start.

That being said, as people start, there are things I would encourage them to do in regards to their behavioral regulation.

Whenever someone sets a goal, they have a motive.

For example, “I want to lose 20 pounds” or “I want to gain 10 pounds of muscle” are both motives. They are a person’s WHAT and are a part of a person’s goals.

WHAT’s also have WHY’s.

A person’s WHY is their form of behavioral regulation.

People can be extrinsically motivated or they can be intrinsically motived.

Intrinsic motivation refers to doing an activity out of sheer enjoyment. But, let’s face it most people won’t always run, lift or eat broccoli for sheer enjoyment.

Within extrinsic motivation are four different categories. They are (see chart above and below) external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, and integrated regulation.

Regulation type Description Example
External regulation Achieve an external reward or avoid punishment

Compliance with demands from others

 Exercising because of doctor’s orders
Introjected regulation Avoiding shame, enhancing ego or pride Exercising to avoid feeling guilty
Identified regulation Acceptance of the value of the behavior Exercising because it is important to do so
Integrated regulation Behavior is congruent with a person’s values and needs Exercising because the outcome is valuable

Being fit is part of one’s identity

Behavior Change is Like Battle

Recall, the obesogenic environment is programmed to make us fat. In order to overcome it there must be a ‘fight’ against it.

Most behavioral theories discuss a motivational phase and a planning phase.

Motivational phases are the precursor for a planning phase. A person has to have some form of motivation (i.e. not be amotivated) to make a plan.

However, it certainly helps in the planning phase to have a strong form of behavioral regulation (why you are motivated to do a behavior).

Here’s how I think about it; when a person goes to battle they have their own strengths as well as a weapon of choice.

Thor doesn’t go into battle without his hammer (RIP Mjolnir), Luke Skywalker doesn’t leave his light saber at home, and the Punisher (watch this series5) is always packing.

These heroes also have their plan.

The Punisher doesn’t just go in guns blazing, he’s tactical. Luke Skywalker blows up the death star with a good plan (Thanks Rogue One) but gets his hand cut off when he takes on a challenge that is too big for him.

Think of motivational regulation as a person’s strength and think of the plan of attack as the strategy for success.

The more powerful your weapon (or the weaker the adversary), the less necessary a specific plan becomes.

If a person loves weight lifting (intrinsic motivation), they wouldn’t really need instructions to make a specific plan because nothing can stop them. Odds are they would make plans with no help.

In geek language, Superman wouldn’t need a plan to beat a common criminal. His strength is sufficient to just get the job done.

Strength and Plans

Any form of motivational regulation is enough to get a person started. However, there are some forms that are more likely to keep a person going.

If motivational regulation is closer to the extrinsic side, the challenge shouldn’t be made too hard. Barriers are likely to derail people like this.

To me, having external regulation to fight the obesogenic environment would be like Luke Skywalker going to fight Darth Vader with a rubber chicken.

He’s going to need a damn good plan to win, and even then, it’s likely that he will get his other hand chopped off.

Regulation type Description Metaphor
External regulation Achieve an external reward or avoid punishment

Compliance with demands from others

 Rubber chicken
Introjected regulation Avoiding shame, enhancing ego or pride sling shot
Identified regulation Acceptance of the value of the behavior One of those laser guns Chewbacca has
Integrated regulation Behavior is congruent with a person’s values and needs The force and a lightsaber

On the other hand, if a person wants to achieve a goal because the behavior is congruent with their life values (i.e. to be a better parent) that’s the same as going into a fight with the full use of the force and a lightsaber.

You still need a plan, but you’re better equipped to win.

Planning Phases

Planning phases dictate specifically when, where and how a behavior is going to occur.

For example, if someone decides that eating more vegetables will be beneficial to their health, they should plan exactly when and where they are going to eat vegetables.

These plans are called implementation intentions. They link situational cues to desired behaviors.

If a person wants to eat more vegetables they might say “when it is my lunch break I will have the bag full of baby carrots I brought to work”

I propose that a stronger motivational foundation when paired with specific planning will contribute to more favorable outcomes.

Motivational foundation Planning phase Predicted behavioral outcome
External regulation

 

 Weak
Introjected regulation Implementation intention formation Moderate
Identified regulation

 

 Strong
Integrated regulation Very strong

What to Do?

With a weak foundation (i.e. external or introjected) plans are more necessary but still likely not as effective as if they were based on a strong foundation (i.e. identified or integrated).

There are many reasons why people fail but I consider behavioral regulation to be an especially important one.

Changing motivational foundations is challenging. A weight loss goal is great. However, as people go through the process they should try to find activities that they love doing. For example, they could do the following:

  • Try a variety of exercises and see which one makes you feel great, ones you love
  • Set a small goal: (1) do 1 pull up (2) do one perfect push-up (3) run a 5k (4) learn how to master a squat or a deadlift
  • Learn to make new foods that taste good and are also healthy
  • Try connecting your goal to a different value. Sure, losing weight will make you look better but it will also make you healthier which means you will have better quality time to do the things you love doing. Try making the link between your goal and life values.

Reference

Ford, E.S., Zhao, G.Z., Tsai, J., Chaoyang, L. (2011). Low-risk lifestyle behaviors and all-cause mortality: Findings from the national health and nutrition examination survey III mortality study. American Journal of Public Health 101(1): 1922-1929.

Author’s Bio

Justin is a PhD student in the exercise and health sciences department at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. He is a certified personal trainer and certified strength and conditioning specialist. Justin blogs at Justinmkompf.com.

You can follow Justin on Facebook HERE.

Categoriespersonal training Program Design Strength Training Uncategorized

10 Steps To Dominate Your Deadlift Technique

The better title of this post should be: “10 Steps To Ensure You Won’t Destroy the Back Of Your Pants (With Your Spine) When You Deadlift.”

The deadlift, as with any compound movement, requires precision and attention to detail in order to 1) Perform it well 2) Not get hurt and 3) To have any shot at lifting appreciable weight. There are many moving parts to the lift, however, to speak candidly, of the “Big 3,” the case could be made it’s the least technical.6

This is not to insinuate it’s altogether easy or simple. Simple in concept? Yes. I mean, picking a barbell up off the ground and locking it out isn’t rocket science. Simple in execution? Well, that’s where things get a bit more complicated.

Below are some overarching (<—Ha, pun intended) “themes” with regards to setup and execution of the deadlift I feel are important across the board.

Copyright: spotpoint74 / 123RF Stock Photo

 

1) First, Lets Clear the Air

The internet likes to argue. It’ll argue whether or not the dress was gold or blue (remember that stupid debacle from a few years ago?), DC vs. Marvel, high-bar vs. low bar squats, and/or who’s the most bad-ass He-Man character not named He-Man.

Cyclone anyone?

More cogent to the topic at hand, people will also argue on the internet that anyone who SUMO deadlifts is cheating.

The prevailing, uppity, train of thought is that, because one is closer to the ground when performing a SUMO deadlift (compared to a conventional stance) it’s easier and thus it’s cheating…and somehow less relevant of a lift.

To which I say: bull to the shit.

Unless your name is Professor Dumbledore and can somehow make someone’s femur change length when they switch from a conventional stance to SUMO stance…the whole “it’s less ROM, it’s easier” argument is a moot one.

The moment arm (femur) doesn’t miraculously change from conventional to SUMO stance.

It’s just…..different.

What you lose in the sagittal plane during conventional, you gain in frontal plane when performing SUMO style deadlifts.

Generally speaking (due to the moment arms and levers at play):

Conventional Pulls: easier/faster off the ground, harder at lockout.

SUMO Pulls: harder/slower off the ground, all out sexification at lockout.

Stephanie Cohen hit a 525 lbs deadlift at a bodyweight of 123 lbs recently. It was done SUMO.

 

True to form, (some of) the internet projectile vomited all over itself calling her out, saying it didn’t count, and that it’s not real powerlifting (I guess because she was using straps?).

1. Hahahahaha. I have to assume most commenters calling her out couldn’t sniff her warm-up weight.

2. Um, the lift didn’t take place at a powerlifting meet. So thanks for making the stupidest argument you could possibly make.

[For the record: most powerlifters I know are some of the most respectful, courteous, and supportive people I know. They would never turn their nose to such an impressive lift.]

Step one to successful deadlift technique is to figure out what style feels best FOR YOU.

What feels better? What feels more powerful and stable? Which one places you in the best position possible?

Some people will do well with conventional style, while others may prefer SUMO. Both are fine.

Relax internet.

2) Get Your Air, Set Your Ribcage

Gone are the days of cuing people to excessively arch their backs. Gross, repetitive extension can have just as many negative ramifications on spine health as gross, repetitive flexion.

Ideally we want to shoot for more of a canister (or pillar) position where the pelvis and ribcage are “stacked” on top of one another. Most specifically, the pelvic floor and diaphragm are stacked on top of each other.

I like to cue people to get a big gulp of air and aim for 3D expansion (breathing into their stomach, sides, and back) before bending over to grab the bar.

Admittedly it takes a bit of practice but makes a profound difference in how the lift feels.

3) Chest Up, Show Me Your Logo

This is a cue I stole from Eric Cressey and a staple at Cressey Sports Performance. Generally speaking I like to see the following on the deadlift setup:

  • Shoulders above chest
  • Chest above hips
  • Hips above knees.

This isn’t the case for everyone, mind you, but a good rule of thumb to follow. This will ensure most people stay in a “neutral” position and offset the bulk of shear forces on the spine.

I’ll often stand in front of an individual and just say “show me your logo the entire time” as he or she descends down to the bar.

The end result should look like the picture above.

If not, this happens:

4) Armpits Over Barbell, Max Hamstring Tension

Regardless of style of pull, the goal with one’s set up should be armpits over the bar with maximal hamstring tension.

This will help ensure 1) hips are as close to the bar as possible (without making it too squatting. In that case the hips are actually further away….laterally) and 2) people will be less likely to pull via the lower back.

 

5) Turn Lats On

The lats are a big player with regards to deadlift technique. You want to make sure they’re “set” to help with upper back stiffness during the lift itself.

The best cue I’ve used to help with this is to tell someone to “squeeze the oranges in your armpits.”

Works like charm.

6) Pull Slack Out of the Bar or Bend the Bar

7) Push Away

The deadlift is just as much of a PUSHING exercise as it is pulling. You want to generate force into the ground and drive AWAY, thrusting your hips forward as you stand up.

People who solely focus on pulling the weight up – via their back – are often the ones that complain about it low back pain the most.

8) Finish at Top or Stand Tall

A common mistake I see some trainees make is either not getting their hip through at the top (AKA: the sexy stripper butt) or going too far.

“Hump the bar” at the top. Finish. Stand tall. All are cues I’ve used that work and get people to finish with their glutes.

9) Don’t Let Go

On the descent, don’t let go.

Stay engaged.

It’s here where I’ll often see people round their shoulders or lose their upper back position. And it makes me sad.

Keep your abdominals engaged (and keep squeezing that orange), even on the way down.

NOTE: Disregard for max effort pulls….;o)

10) Reset or Peel the Shoulders

There’s a time and place for tap-n-go deadlifts, but I have to admit I rarely use them. Instead I’ll tell people to “reset” between each rep – albeit it’s brief – to gulp their air, “peel their shoulders back,” and to make sure they’re in a good position for the next rep.

The video below is of me demonstrating this with a dumbbell, but you should still get the gist:

 

These Aren’t Set in Stone

None of what I said above is concrete.7 There will always be some slight deviations based off someone’s anatomy, ability level, and goal(s).

However, I have found that for most people, most of the time, they all work really well to get people’s technique in check.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!