Categoriesrant

This Article Contains the Best Fitness Hack Ever

Copyright: weerapat / 123RF Stock Photo

Hack = Bullshit (Mostly)

It seems you can’t go more than three clicks on the internet before you come across an article highlighting how to “hack” your way to a happy relationship, the job of your dreams, or hours of newfound productivity.

In this sense the word hack isn’t referring to someone trying to snake your social security number, or Russians.

No, the hack I’m referring to is the rigging of or improvisation of something crude but effective, usually as a temporary solution to a problem (like losing 10 lbs or making it so that the inside of your fridge doesn’t resemble a science experiment.

I read an article on Yahoo’s homepage the other day written by a CEO of some company who went into spectacular detail on his “hacks” for productivity and success:

  • Early 4 AM wake-up calls; snooze buttons are for losers
  • Eating a gluten free diet.
  • Write down your purpose every morning.
  • Never make excuses.
  • Only hang out with successful people.
  • Don’t watch the news.

Blah, blah, blahbiddy, blah.

All the suggestions were well and good and I didn’t have any issues with them.1 The article was fine. But if I had bring up one teeny-tiny “beef” with it, it was that it was bit preachy if not a tad self-righteous.

And, to be completely candid, I was half expecting him to go full-on guru:

“Wanna know what the REAL secret is to my success and how I’m able to be so productive? It’s not my morning runs, the fact I’m adamant about stand-up meetings only, or that I limit my distractions by avoiding websites that are time sucks. Nope, the real key is this….

Ready for it?

……I fondle my dog’s balls.”

That would be about as absurd of a thing as you’d ever hear, and you’d undoubtedly think to yourself:

  1. Uh, has someone called the cops on this guy?
  2. Do people actually believe this shit?

But when you look at all the other egregious things being said out there – especially in the realm of health/fitness – is it really all that ludicrous?

I mean, you have had Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop telling women that they could fix their hormones by putting a vaginal egg into their who-ha.

People believed that, and Goop made a boatload of money off it.

Another popular “hack,” this time around the idea of enhancing recovery, is cryotherapy. The obvious analogy here is Han Solo being frozen in Cabonite by Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back.

Cryotherapy isn’t that far off.

People will willingly subject their bodies to extreme levels of cold in an effort to promote recovery and reduce inflammation.

My boy Dean Somerset wrote an excellent article on why it’s a bunch of nonsense HERE.

Wanna know what really improves recovery?

Going…..the…..fuck…..to…….bed.

There, I just saved you $100 a pop.

I read a lot about nutritional hacks too.

Some articles wax poetic about a certain way of eating.

The current diet du jour – the Ketogenic Diet, or ‘keto’ – will have you believe it’ll help everyone lose weight, improve their blood profile, cure diabetes, and solve Middle Eastern peace.

I’ve written about my thoughts on this topic HERE. Suffice it to say, it works (it’s not magic), and, in my opinion, serves more to prey on people’s relationships and psychological battles with food than anything else.

The hack that should really be highlighted here is encouraging people to follow whatever approach allows them to 1) Stay consistent long-term, 2) Doesn’t demonize any food or food-group, and 3) Doesn’t make them want to stab someone in the face whenever someone offers them bread.

via GIPHY

Likewise, there’s no shortage of articles offering hacks to those people interested in getting bigger, stronger, and/or faster.

I have a client who loves these sort of articles.

For the sake of anonymity, lets call him Wayne “The Sock” Swanson.

He’s been working with me for a little over a year, and while I love the guy to pieces and appreciate him in every way, sometimes I’m forced to give him some tough love.

For starters he’s always mentioning how tired he is (revert to my comment above about going to bed), and what’s more, I’ve had to jokingly “ban” him from using the phrase “this is hard” during his training sessions because he’ll say it all….the….time.

  • “These deadlifts are hard.”
  • “Rest-pause bench press is hard.”
  • “This arm finisher is hard.”

He’s always bringing up “x” gadget or “y” supplement and asks whether or not he should give them a try to help him towards his goal(s).

“No, work harder,” I’ll say, knowing full-well this is the opposite of a hack (or what he wants to hear).

A few weeks ago he brought in a pair of Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) straps and asked if he could use them during his session?

I gave “Wayne” a look as if to say “really, dude?” and he came back with “I used them during my entire session earlier this week and could really feel my muscles working.”

NOTE: Before someone gets huffy with me and thinks I’m going to bash BFR training, relax. I am not. I’m on your side. I think there’s a time and place for it and feel there’s more than enough research to back its efficacy. In fact I’ve featured an article on BFR Training on this site – HERE. 

“This isn’t the answer,” I said. “I can appreciate your willingness to learn and want to try new things, and there IS a correct application for BFR training. However, how you’re doing isn’t it, and, to be frank, I think is a waste of your time.

I’m telling you, work harder.”

To prove my point, and because I had an inkling of what was really happening, as Wayne’s workout proceeded that day I made a concerted effort of counting his reps.

NOTE: I work in a semi-private format which often means I am not right there to count every rep of every set for a client.

I discreetly started counting the total number of repetitions he was performing to see if they matched what was on his program.

My suspicions were correct.

They did not.

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

 

He did half of what was written on his program.

Half.

A set of chin-ups called for eight reps, he did five. The next set called for MAX reps, he did five (and I KNOW he could do more).

A set of split squats called for 15 reps/leg, he did seven here, 9 there.

And all this took place with me in the room.

Who knows what was going on on the days he was training on his own?

Anyway, as he was leaving that afternoon I followed him outside and brought it up. I wasn’t a jerk about it. It’s not like I got in his face and was like “Ah-HA…….I knew it.”

Rather, I put my hand on his shoulder and said “Wayne, I’m on your side and I’m here to help in any way I can, but you have to start taking some accountability of your actions.”

We had a heart to heart for 2-3 minutes and I could tell he felt a bit embarrassed and ashamed. It wasn’t an easy conversation, but it was a conversation that was needed.

At the end all I said was:

“I’ll see you next week, be ready to work.”

We hugged it out and that was that.

The following week he showed up and crushed it, and I’ve seen a layer of motivation in him of late I haven’t seen in him before.

The point of all this?

Hacks are fine. They can help expedite the process.

But goddammit, sometimes you just need to do the work.

And, go to bed.

Categoriesrant

Well, That’s Weird

There’s no shortage of shenanigans, tomfoolery, and outright WTF’ness tethered to everyday life. We can multiply this by a factor of infinity when talking about stuff we see and hear in the gym.

The gym is a petri dish of grit, determination, chalk, high-fives, blood, sweat, and other bodily fluids I don’t want to think about, plumes of Axe Body Spray, cheesy one-liners, groutfits, selfies, rusty barbells, and a spectrum of head scratching, eyebrow raising, head tilting dumbfoundedness of human behavior.

Shit can get weird.

Today’s guest post by regular contributor, Shane McLean, scratches the surface.

Enjoy.

Copyright: sertikhonov / 123RF Stock Photo

Well, That’s Weird

Whenever I go off on a tangent and start raving about some minuscule subject, my wife often dismisses me with ‘whatever floats your boat dear.’ My reply is ‘you’re the one who floats my boat dear.’

Okay, that’s enough dirty talk.

We all have our own idiosyncrasies, things we do without thinking or habits we do that other people look upon as strange. And if you’re a fitness professional or a hardcore gym goer you probably have a bucket load of things that your family and friends brush off as weird.

via GIPHY

However, if you’re anything like me, you either don’t care what people think or you believe it’s completely natural and everyone should do it because it’s awesome.

For example, checking out your abs in the mirror while every else is lifting.

I’ve been around gyms for over 25 years as a gym goer and a trainer. And in that time, I have developed my own strange habits and I’ve also seen things that I can’t forget because it’s been burned into my subconscious.

The following list is like therapy for the soul.

Let the healing begin.

1. Don’t ever show your underarm fat to a trainer and ask, “What do I do about these chicken wings?”

If you must know, I like them battered and fried and smothered with BBQ sauce.

2. It’s okay to sweat but please, clean up after yourself. The habit of not cleaning up after one’s self and leaving a pool of sweat on the gym floor like a calling card to gross. Your mum is not there to clean up for you, so you do it.

3. I love training bare foot.

I love my feet touching the dirty gym floor because it gives me better feedback on how I’m doing.

Unfortunately, not everyone digs it as much as I do.

4. Do you remember when Monica Seles graced the tennis courts?

Don’t be that guy after every rep.

A little is okay but a lot is not.

5. Do you know the dude who wears a weight belt while doing 55-pound barbell curls? Don’t be him either.

6. If you’re getting dirty looks while on your cell phone, you’re talking too loudly. No one needs to hear what you ate last night. On that note, why are you talking on your cellphone in the gym?

Get back to lifting.

7. Why do people wake up at the arse crack of dawn to run on a treadmill? The weights are over there.

8. Don’t text and lift. It’s hazardous for ones health.

9. Laying the weight plates by the weight stack doesn’t count as putting them away. Don’t be lazy and re rack your weights.

10. Stop bragging to everyone about how much you lift.

Somewhere, someone is warming up with your max.

11. Who doesn’t enjoy eating out of Tupperware containers?

12. There’s a time for dancing and a time for lifting.

Don’t get the two confused.

13. Do you drop your dirty plates on the floor after you’ve finished eating? Of course not. Pay the dumbbells the same respect.

14. What am I doing with the lacrosse ball?

Don’t ask.

15. There’s a reason gyms have lots of mirrors, so take advantage of it you sexy thing.

16. Don’t make me wait for the water fountain while filling a gallon container. Are you really that thirsty?

17. Wearing sunglasses while training is never cool unless your Corey Hart. Is the sun shining in the gym?

18. Playing Candy Crush on your phone while spotting your partner bench pressing goes beyond stupid.

Yes, this actually happened, and I still can’t get it out of my brain.

19. There are some exercises that look like you’re getting lucky. Please don’t maintain eye contact with anyone while doing these.

 

20. Squatting while on a stability ball is a trainers worst nightmare. It’s still giving me the cold sweats.

Wrapping Up

It’s my hope that you feel better now.

I certainty do.

I’ve saved a bunch of money on therapy.

Author’s Bio

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

Categoriesbusiness rant

Porcelain Post: Why I Don’t Charge People Money to Observe or Shadow Me For a Day

NOTE: the term “Porcelain Post” first came to fruition last year from an email exchange between Brian Patrick Murphy and Pete Dupuis. Without getting into the specifics, it describes a post that can be read in the same time it takes you to go #2. 

Huh, I guess that was more specific than I thought.

Either way, the objective, I hope, is to still provide actionable content.

Enjoy.

Copyright: nomadsoul1 / 123RF Stock Photo

 

I don’t charge people money to shadow, observe, or otherwise come hang out with me for a day. I understand why some coaches may choose to do so, I guess, but for me it’s not my cup of tea.

A few weeks ago I had a woman reach out and pre-pay for an assessment.2

However, she didn’t want an assessment. All she wanted was to come into CORE for a few hours, observe, maybe ask a few questions, and I suspect listen to some sick techno beats.

Here’s the email she sent:

“Hi Tony! I’m getting ready to book an initial session with you but I wanted to give you a heads up that I just want to come by and chat. It’s for networking not training. I’m a fan and since I now live close by, just wanted to say hello! :)”

It was a Ron Burgundy moment for me for sure:

via GIPHY

While it was very thoughtful and respectful of her to do so (and definitely made my head a few notches bigger), I immediately refunded her her money.

I refuse to charge people money to come to CORE to observe or shadow for a day. It’s an ideology I adopted from my years at Cressey Sports Performance.

This isn’t to talk smack towards or look down upon those coaches or facilities who choose to do so – it’s their prerogative. However, a common “defense” I hear of WHY some coaches/facilities charge money for others to come observe is due to “trade secrets” or for “proprietary reasons.”

Come on, really?

You think you’re that innovative and that special that what you’re doing is completely foreign to the rest of the industry?

Trust me: Unless you’ve somehow managed to crack the space-time continuum or figured out a way to keep kipping pull-ups from not making my corneas perpetually bleed, what you’re doing at your fancy schmancy gym isn’t that special or unique.

Someone’s been doing what you’re doing long before you graced the world with your version of contrast sets.

Moreover, and this is purely my own experience, I have never lost clients by allowing other coaches to come in and talk shop. I don’t view them as competition with some nefarious agenda to fleece my clients from me.

Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m a good coach, and for some clients it’s about learning my super secret 5-point death touch deadlift technique fixer-upper method. But if I’m going to keep it real: I also know the bulk of people who continually work with me do so because I’m not a dick and am generally a pleasant human being to be around.

It’s one thing to charge $$ for a mentorship or workshop where information is exchanged and there’s an expectation of service. However, to charge people to stand on the side, out of the way, silently, with their notebooks in hand, maybe asking a question or two (or god forbid, three)?

Mmm, I don’t get it.

I don’t know, I just feel it’s the least I can do to pay it forward and allow other colleagues to come in and observe what I do. It’s an honor, actually, anyone would want to stop by and debate best He-Man characters hang out with me for a few hours. I have nothing to hide. And, honestly, business is still good.

HINT: bring donuts….;o)

My intention isn’t to come across as some hoity-toity, superior-than-thou a-hole. I have no doubts some coaches have legitimate reasons for charging people to come in to observe for a day. However, I can’t help but think there’s a subtle lack of “feel” out there.

Just my two cents.

No, but seriously, bring donuts.3

Strength coach, Meg Julian, stopped by CORE this past weekend. She nailed it.

Categoriesbusiness rant

The Grind: Hashtags, BS, Truth, and a Little Too Much at Times

I’m a firm believer you get what you work for. Nothing just happens. You don’t miraculously earn a decent income, hit a new PR in the gym, pick up three new clients, get an A on your history paper, or finally beat Mike Tyson in Punch-Out without some modicum of effort and hard work.4

Copyright: wamsler / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Hashtags like #grind or #grindcity or #grinding worry me. For starters, some people (certainly not all) use them as a way to cover up the fact they’re lazy AF and to give off the perception they’re somehow working hard (or to be more colloquial: crushing it). It worries me because it gives off a false sense of accomplishment.

Such hashtags are commonly accompanied with an epic picture of a cup of coffee, or, if someone is going to tap into their inner Scorsese, maybe a laptop (with a cup of coffee conveniently placed next to it for added effect).

It’s the age we live on nowadays. Where we can bullshit ourselves (and everyone around us) that we’re somehow better or more work ethicy (<– not a word) than everyone around us. It’s never been easier to curate a life that seduces adoration.

I’m not holier than thou. I don’t deny I do it. As of late, every picture that my wife and I have put up of our now 7-week old son is of him smiling or being super cute.

“Look at us. Parenting is sooooo easy. #nahnahnahnahnah.”

Okay, there was this one. No glitz and glam here.

Easy peasy.

A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

Whenever I see all those different iterations of #grind on social media regurgitated by coaches and personal trainers alike part of me can’t help but think to myself, “what’s so impressive or vainglorious about going to work?”

But then I think about how many of those same people are listening to every podcast or 2-minute clip of Gary V on Facebook about the grind and how you have to work your ass off if you want anything to happen and to make something of yourself.

Work, work, and more work. You can sleep when you’re dead.

To some extent I couldn’t agree more. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t work my ass off:

  • I remember all those mornings getting up at 3:45 AM in the dead of winter in central NY to open the gym for members.
  • I remember working as a commercial gym trainer for FIVE years before I even smelled my first professional athlete.
  • I remember 6-7 day work weeks when we first opened up Cressey Sports Performance. 12-14 hour days to boot.
  • I remember writing articles for my site – everyday – knowing that only 50 people (okay, 20) would read it on a good day.

As much as I’m a fan of telling people to embrace the ass-kicking and inevitable failures that are bound to happen, and that there are many sacrifices that will be made in the name of entrepreneurial shenanigans5, I also, too, encourage people to know when to tone it down or turn it off.

Go to the movies.

Have a date night.

Spend time with your kids.

Read a non-fitness, non-business, non-existential-money-making-life-changing-x-y-z-book-that-was-only-written-by-the-author-so-he-or-she-would-increase-the-chances-of-being-hired-by-a-fortune-500-company-as-an-consultant-and-nothing-written-in-the-book-will-have-relavance-to-your-fitness-studio book.6

Watch Netflix. Even better if there’s some chill involved.

In short: have a life.

Recognize that part of being “successful” (whatever that means to you) is recognizing there’s only so much “grind” you can muster before you want to toss your face into a brick wall. You’re not going to lose demerit points if you decide to go bowling with some friends on a Friday night instead of scouring PubMed for the latest studies on moment arms and hip extension torques during a deadlift

Bret Contreras and Greg Nuckols are the only two people I know who would happily choose the latter. But they’re also super nerdy. And super good looking and classy (in case they’re reading)….;o)

There’s a work-life balance that’s going to be different for everyone. And trust me: there will (and should) be times where you’re dragging ass and grinding.

I just encourage you to find a little more life to fit into the scheme of things.

#micdrop

Categoriesfitness business personal training rant Writing

Me Spitballing Some Sage Advice to Fitness Professionals

I have a few things I’d like to get off my chest, fitness professional.

Copyright: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/profile_tashatuvango'>tashatuvango / 123RF Stock Photo</a>
Copyright: tashatuvango / 123RF Stock Photo

 

1) The Picture Above is Misleading.

I don’t consider myself an “expert” in anything.7

If my name happened to be Gray Cook, Stuart McGill, Shirley Sahrmann, Mike Boyle, Dan John, Sue Falsone, or Yoda then maybe I’d have some room to talk.

Truth be told: It was the only picture I could find on 123RF.com that fit the tone of today’s post, so I ran with it. But there’s a message to be made here: none of the people mentioned above – in addition to the countless others in the industry I could name drop – have ever uttered the word “expert” as an adjective to describe themselves or their services.

I find it comical (<– not “ha-ha” comical, but rather “you’re kind of a narcisstic asshat” comical) that there are highly respected coaches in this industry who have been doing what they’re doing for longer than some people have been alive and have every right to claim they’re an expert, yet don’t, but there are some industry pros out there who, for whatever reason – they read a book, took a weekend certification, eat Paleo – anoint themselves this term.

Do yourself a favor, hit up your “About Me” page on your website and your various social media profiles and delete the word. Unless, of course, you’re an expert in kitten kisses or giving high-fives.

In that case, expert away.

NOTE: this isn’t to say you shouldn’t be proud of your accomplishments or that you have to be in the industry for 10, 15, 20, or 30 years to profess to the masses you know what you’re talking about. It’s just, I don’t know, a little dose of humbleness goes a long ways.

2) And Since I’m on the “Ornery Strength Coach” Train at the Moment

Here’s a Tweet I posted yesterday:

Admittedly, I can understand how some people reacted the way they did. I can see how the words may have come across as a shade elitist with a pinch of “dickheadedness” tossed in for good measure.

I had two or three people send me messages saying something to the effect of:

“Are you saying someone with less experience than you can’t come out with a good product? That’s naive.”

For starters: I said first product, not good product.

Secondly: No, that’s not what I was saying.

I recognize there are numerous people who have been in the industry for a very short time who have put out remarkably good content and/or released amazing products. Far be it from me to hold their lack of fitness industry tenure against them.

However, lets be real: such examples are clearly the exception and not the norm. For every Greg Nuckols who bursts onto the scene there are 10,000 other personal trainers and coaches quick to catapult their exclusive ebook to the masses with very little experience to show for it.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it 6,097 more times:

“It’s never been easier to be heard, but it’s never been harder to get heard.”

Slow down. Be patient. As my former business partner, Pete Dupuis, would say: take the time to procure some career capital.

Practice what you preach, develop relationships, invest in yourself with continuing education, shadow/observe other coaches…do everything you can to marinate in and gain experience.

That, my friends, will be how you’re going to separate yourself. And, magically, before you know it, you won’t have to try so hard. You won’t have use words such as “expert,” or “revolutionary,” or “super secret formula sauce” to sell yourself or your content.

The content you write or products you produce will not only have more authenticity, context, and validity…but will probably have a better chance of reaching more people.

Because, you know, it won’t suck. You’ll have experience to thank for that.

And don’t just listen to me. Listen to Ben Bruno:

 

3) Want to Get Your Name Out There, Here’s What Not to Do.

I received the following message last week via my Business/Fan page on Facebook:

“Hey NerdFitness, my video is picking up a lot of traction right now, and i thought it’d be a great fit for your website! Check it out here: [link to video that I purposely left out]

In the video I give a Intense workout for burning fat that you can do at home with no equipment! If you have a minute, check it out and feel free to use this for your site.

Thanks,
Anthony B”

MY RESPONSE:

1. You might want to pay a little closer attention to sending out canned emails to people and not using the correct name. I’m not affiliated with NerdFitness. I am a nerd, though. So you’re not entirely off-base.

2. You might also want to be careful about sending out canned emails in general because A) they don’t work, and they’re not a great way to get your name out there in this industry. I don’t know you, have never spoken or exchanged a single email with you prior to this interaction (Hi, I’m Tony), or know your background…and you expect me to just toss this up on my website and drive a ton of traffic your way? FYI: no where on my site do I really emphasize “fat loss” training. B) They come across as disingenuous and, well, annoying. I don’t like being annoyed.

C) You can smell them from a mile away (I.e., “picking up a lot traction” = 14 views on YouTube? Well, 15 now that I watched it.)

3. I’m not trying to be a dick. Just giving you some unsolicited feedback on what NOT to do.

Categoriescoaching Female Training rant Strength Training

Why I Prefer Training Women

I recognize the title of this post can be a bit misleading; as if to imply I don’t like training men. This is not the case.

Copyright: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/profile_vadymvdrobot'>vadymvdrobot / 123RF Stock Photo</a>
Copyright: vadymvdrobot / 123RF Stock Photo

 

I mean, I spent eight years of my career at Cressey Sports Performance training predominantly men (baseball players). They were all lovely, if not a bit overzealous with the Axe Body Spray at times.

What’s more, given half the population on Earth has a Y chromosome it should come as no surprise that 50% of my current clientele at CORE are the proud owners of a “boy down there part.” Although I’m sure if I crunched the numbers the percent breakdown of female/male clients would skew a little higher on the female side.

I’ve always enjoyed training women. Men, too. But looking back at my coaching career I’ve always gained a greater sense of satisfaction and enjoyment from working with and training women.

Back in 2002, at my first job in corporate fitness, it didn’t take long for me to “recruit” a few women and to introduce strength training to them. The guys, for the most part, didn’t need much egging from me to pick up a barbell. Like me, they had been indoctrinated and encouraged at an early age – mostly as a result of watching Predator 3,987 times – to lift weights.

Most were lifting weights to some capacity already.

Because that’s what guys are supposed to do.

For the women, though, not all of them of course, the story was a bit different. Most were never encouraged to lift weights, and if they were it was always directed towards machines or “girl exercises.”

Read: cardio.

37459682 - beautiful group of young women friends exercising on a treadmill at the bright modern gym

Copyright: dotshock / 123RF Stock Photo

A Quick Aside (WARNING: you may want to drop kick something after reading this it will make you that angry): This reminds me of a story a female colleague of mine once told me about a local high school here in Massachusetts. She had offered to help out in the school’s weight room during the summer months and had asked the Athletic Director (a woman, who also happened to be the varsity coach for several of the women’s teams) if she could “target” the young girls and attempt to set up a strength training program geared towards them.

The AD said something to the effect of:

“Oh, well, you can try but it won’t do much good. The girls here aren’t interested in weight training and tend to only use the cardio machines. Besides, there aren’t any “female friendly” machines available.”

Mind you, she said this with 10+ empty power rack stations behind here.

Riiiiiiggggggggghhhhttttt.

This was the ATHLETIC DIRECTOR (Remember: a woman no less) saying something so egregious and asinine.

Is it any wonder then, after hearing that kind of bullshit, why so many young girls grow up thinking they’re not supposed to lift weights and that it’s just something guys do? And why many take the same mindset into adulthood?

Thanks for nothing worst athletic director ever.

So anyways, back to 2002, I started working with a lot of women and slowly but surly began to “de-program” them and helping them learn to debunk many of the common fitness myths they had fallen prey to:

  • Lifting weights will make you big and bulky.
  • Yoga/Pilates/etc will make your muscles longer, leaner, and more toned (<— again, feeding into the idea that guys do “that” (lift weights) and girls do “this” (yoga/pilates, etc).
  • Gazing at a barbell for longer than 15 seconds will make you grow an Adam’s apple, or turn you into this overnight:

This last point brings up a whole nother conversation of, 1) “Who gives a flying fuck if someone wants to look like this?” and 2) even if it is an admittedly extreme example, it implies the connotation that having any semblance of muscle is NON-feminine..

However, I hope most of you reading recognize the larger point I’m trying to make: that it’s not uncommon for women to think the above picture is the end result of performing a few sets of deadlifts over the course of a few weeks.

Spoiler Alert: It’s not.

It was very rewarding to start working with those women early in my career and to watch them make amazing progress in their strength – not to mention their confidence in themselves – and to finally see that switch turn on to where they wanted to work towards more performance based goals rather than worrying about aesthetics or looking a certain way to fulfill some BS societal norm.

Fast forward through a few girlfriends and questionable fashion choices on my end…to my time at Cressey Sports Performance. During my time there I worked with countless women, even started a “women’s only” training group (for beginners), and helped to procure an environment and culture where training was training regardless of gender.

Girls didn’t train any different than the guys.

We didn’t make it a “thing.” Girls just, you know, trained. And became badasses.

 

Fast forward, again, to today. I have my own studio in Boston (okay, technically, Brookline) and I still follow the same mantra as above: women, outside of a few circumstances, do not need to train differently then men.

I’m very fortunate in that I’ve been able to generate enough of a reputation (and following) that when women do reach out to me for coaching they tend to know what they’re getting themselves into.

Deadlifts, EDM, and plenty of Star Wars references.

But that doesn’t mean I still don’t have my work cut out for me at times. Just the other day I came across this article while I was in the waiting room at the dentist’s office:

img_1996

The article implies that foam rolling leads to “lengthening” of muscles and a leaner look (because, you know, it’s foam rolling, not calories in vs. calories out that gets rid of fat).

It was all I could do not to want to run through the pane glass window to my left when I saw this.

This. This is why I prefer working with women.8

So I can help serve as a counterpoint or antithesis to the garbage that’s directed their way in much of (not all) of the mainstream media.

Awful.

Categoriescoaching personal training rant

Porcelain Post: Jedi Mind Trick Your Way to More Clients and Better Retention

NOTE: the term “Porcelain Post” was invented by Brian Patrick Murphy and Pete Dupuis. Without getting into the specifics, it describes a post that can be read in the same time it takes you to go #2.

Huh, I guess that was more specific than I thought.

Enjoy.

35803741 - man sitting on a toilet seat with his pants and boxers down

Copyright: tuomaslehtinen / 123RF Stock Photo

While I know most mean well, I’m often amused by some of the posts and/or sponsored ads I come across on Facebook directed towards fitness professionals in an effort to teach them how to get more clients and better market themselves.

NOTE: For the record, I call BS on any person who says they’ve figured it all out and are willing to let me in on all their secrets for a mere $5000 weekend marketing bootcamp.9

The reality is, you don’t need to try to so hard. Well, you do…you just don’t need to overthink things and be a moron about it.

You Want More Clients or Wish the Ones You Have Would Work With You Longer?

1) Be Patient (and Be Good At What You Do)

Admittedly this is not a sexy answer. I might as well tell you the secret to getting better at deadlifts is to deadlift.

Success comes with experience. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you’re an incoming personal trainer or coach it’s going to take months, if not years to establish yourself as a credible professional. Yes, there are exceptions and examples of people who do very well very quickly (and build a client roster that anyone would be envious of).

Tragic as it may seem, the likelihood this will describe you and your ascent within this industry is slim.

Get good, unapologetically good, at what you do (as in coach your clients well) and over the course of time, people will take notice.

When I worked in commercial gyms early in my career I can’t tell you how many clients I picked up as a result of them observing me over the span of several weeks. They’d watch how I interacted with my clients – how I was hands on, paid more attention, sometimes wore pants – and how my approach was different than how many of my colleagues interacted with theirs.

You’re always being watched and judged by your actions. The secret to separating yourself from the masses is to be better than the masses.

The act of giving a shit is profound, and people know it when they see it. So be patient, do the work (like everyone else has done in the history of ever), and see what happens.

2) Don’t Be Afraid to Say “I Don’t Know.”

The ol’ saying “fake it till you make it” has a time and place…until it doesn’t. People can smell a fraud a mile away.

Like it or not, you are a profound resource for you clients with regards to health & fitness information. Often times you’re THE resource, or at least top three:

  1. Google
  2. Their doctor
  3. Their friend who read something on the internet.
  4. You

Okay, so maybe top four.

That said, I don’t understand why some trainers and coaches are afraid to say “I don’t know” when they don’t know the answer to a question…as if they’re going to somehow lose personal trainer demerit points or Alex Trebek is going to pop out of nowhere and laugh in their face.

Here, let me show you how easy it is to say:

Example #1

Client: “Tony, why does my knee hurt when I do lunges?”

Me: “Maybe you lack ankle or hip mobility, or maybe keeping a more vertical tibia will help. Lets take a look.”

Example #2

Client: “Tony, what does the rotator cuff even do?”

Me: “Well, every anatomy book will tell you it’s involved with actions like glenohumeral external and internal rotation, as well as abducting the humerus. However it’s real function is to center the humeral head in the glenoid fossa. Also it helps with ninjaing.”

Example #3

Client: “What’s the point of kipping pull-ups?”

Me: “I don’t know.”

Photo Credit: T-Nation.com

See, it’s easy.10

3) Along the Same Lines, Don’t Be Afraid to Refer Out

The obvious talking point here is to refer a client out to a physical or manual therapist within your network when he or she experiences discomfort or pain when exercising.

Unless you went to school for physical therapy stop pretending to be one.

Too, why not refer someone out if or when their goals or needs surpass your level of expertise and knowledge? Again, I feel this bodes in your favor. Knowing your limitations as a coach is not something to be ashamed of. You can’t expect to be a jack of all trades.

If someone is interested in Olympic lifting I refer out.

If someone is interested in contest prep for a stage show I refer out.

If someone is interested in taking their DL from 600 to 700 lbs I refer out.

If someone is interested in training for the Laser Tag World Championships I own that shit.

46060017 - laser tag playground equipment close up view

Copyright: ideastudios / 123RF Stock Photo

When a client understands you have his or her’s best interests in mind, and are willing to refer them to someone who best fits their needs, I guarantee you nine times out of ten they’ll be back as a paying client or refer someone they know to you.

Win-win.

4) Practice Unrelenting Transparency

Here’s the Jedi Mind Trick of all Jedi Mind Tricks.

Be up front with clients that your goal is to make it so that they won’t need your services long-term.

 

One of my favorite books of all-time is Simon Sinek’s Start With Why. If you haven’t read it already, you should.

The idea is that instead of asking how or what or when, you should ask WHY? Everything begins with asking why and then you can hone on the how, what, and when.

Lately I’ve been starting each one of my speaking engagements by explaining my WHY behind what I do for a living. Coincidentally it’s the same message I relay to all new clients:

“There are any number of trainers and coaches out there you could hire. And like most of them, I too want to help you achieve your goals – whether it’s to get a little stronger, improve performance in your respective sport, shed some extra body fat, or help with a nagging injury.

I choose to do so with integrity and honesty, in addition to using equal parts evidence-based research and anecdotal “real-world” experience.”

I want to help you achieve your goals, but I also want to help you not have to rely on me long-term. I want to teach you, educate you, coach you. It’s my goal to make you your own best ally, asset, and advocate.”

A funny things happens: most tend to stay around for a while.

NOTE: Okay, so that was the opposite of a porcelain post and ended up being longer than expected. My bad.

Categoriescoaching Conditioning rant

Why CrossFit Doesn’t Make an Elite Athlete

Note From TG: I apologize in advance for the “click-bait” nature of this article.11 I have to assume that, based off the title, many of you have travelled a long distance across the internet to read what follows.

Welcome.

I hope you stick around. This is a guest post from strength coach, Travis Hansen. Do I agree with every word? No. Do I feel he brings up many valid points? Absolutely.

And on that note, happy reading. 

Without a shadow of a doubt, the question that I get asked more than any other as a coach, goes something like this: “Is your training style like CrossFit?”

Rather than get upset or start verbally bashing CrossFit like many do, I just simply inform the person that our training system is different in that it’s “athletic based” and CrossFit simply is not. But wait, Crossfitters are tremendous athletes right?

Unfortunately, they aren’t and by the end of this article you will know exactly why.

20110925 - crossfit fitness woman push ups pushup exercise and man weight lifting

Copyright: tonobalaguer / 123RF Stock Photo

Now if you have an extreme bias and preconceived notion regarding the CrossFit training philosophy, please try to stay objective and hear me out. I promise to stay completely objective even though it may come off harsh, and I will provide you with the facts for why we can’t and shouldn’t refer to Crossfitters as great athletes.

Athletic = CrossFit?

Lets begin with the actual definition of being athletic. What does it mean, who has it, and who doesn’t? Automatically, it is safe to say that we would associate this term with people like Calvin Johnson, Lebron James, Mike Trout, Yasiel Puig, Michael Jordan, Russell Westbrook, Serena Williams, and many more.

And we definitely should since these individuals undoubtedly epitomize athleticism. The definition of being athletic is the capacity to perform a specific skill set or series of skills at a high level to help improve sport performance. Below is a list of the predominant athletic based skills.  

Athleticism:                              

Power

Strength

Speed

Agility and Quickness

Conditioning

Now if a person can perform each of these at an ultra-high level they are going to be insane on the field, court, or wherever more times than not. Why? Because he or she will be able to express any specific sport skill, and research has shown that sport skill attainment is enhanced with increased athletic ability.

Next, I would like to also include some areas of training that serve as secondary and will help regulate performance in the athletic skill set. I will just call these secondary factors.

Secondary Factors:

Nutrition

Prehab-Rehab

Program Design

Muscle Building

Fat Loss

So taking into account just shear athletic skill, how should we rank CrossFit? I scored the system a 1 out of 5 or 20%. In other words it fails miserably for an actual athlete looking to perform better in a specific sport setting.

14158006 - young woman stretching her back after a heavy kettlebell workout in a gym

Copyright: ammentorp / 123RF Stock Photo

Words and opinion are very cheap, so I will show from a scientific and evidence based standpoint why they receive such a low score. Afterwards, I will elaborate on how crossfit fares with the support areas known as secondary factors, and finish by addressing any other areas of athletic development in which you didn’t see listed and how they fall into the puzzle.

Are You Still Reading?

The first skill on the list that we need to tackle is power. What is power? Power by definition is Force x Velocity. I like Strength x Speed which essentially means the same thing and is a bit easier to understand for most.

So it’s the ability to express as much force as possible as fast as humanly possible. Common displays or formal assessments for power that we use as athletic development or strength and conditioning coaches that you commonly witness in the sport realm is the Vertical Jump, Broad Jump, Running Vertical Jump, Throwing Velocity, Hang Clean/Snatch, etc.

Now how many people in CrossFit do you see perform a standing 40” Vertical Jump? How many do you see perform a 45-50” Running Vertical Jump? How about a 10’+ Broad Jump? Or a PROPERLY performed Hang Clean executed with a load that is 1-1.5 times that person’s bodyweight?

Before I continue, please don’t go out and scour the web desperately in an attempt to locate one individual who attained some of these values and had to have been practicing CrossFit at the time.

There are exceptions to every rule.

What’s important to note is that the system as a whole doesn’t come close to implementing the methods necessary to elicit these types of performances on a regular basis like so many athletic training systems across the country do. Keep in mind that these figures have become commonplace in team sport settings and scale MUCH MUCH higher in the elite population of athletes.

The next skill on the list is Strength. The ability of a muscle or muscle group to produce maximum voluntary force without time being a factor. A population that demonstrates this better than any other on the planet should immediately come to mind, and this is Powerlifters!

[Also, any athlete looking to become more athletic should adopt and perform a modified version of a powerlifting system such as Westside Barbell to maximize their athleticism.]

Lets stay on the topic at hand though. How does CrossFit as a whole score in the strength training department? Unfortunately, not very well at all. Without providing personal observations of this, I would way rather provide you with some valid “Strength Standard Charts” to reference as sound evidence HERE:

Now taking into account this solid reference which has factored in a legion of lifters across various federations at different body-weights, how would CrossFit score?

Not very good.

How many of these individuals do you know that can Bench Press 1.5-2x their bodyweight, or Squat and Deadlift 2.5-3x their bodyweight following a CrossFit training system? Not very many if you are being honest.

Ok this next one should not take too long. Speed! How many people in CrossFit do you know who can record an electronic 2.5-2.6 second 20 yard dash, or a 4-2-4.4 second 40 yard dash, or a sub 6.7 second 60 yard dash? Few and far between.

Agility and Quickness are next on the athleticism list. Also known as “Change of Direction Training” in many sectors, Agility and Quickness is the ability to accelerate and begin rapid motion in one direction, decelerate in that same direction, plant properly and then re-accelerate or “cut” in a new direction fast!

Exercises such as the 5-10-5, Cone Drill, 1-2 Stick Series, etc. are great variations that serve as Agility and Quickness Training Tests.

Note From TG: it kinda-sorta looks like this…..;o)

Moreover, guys like Barry Sanders and Darren Sproles are brilliant examples of this athletic skill at work. If you really watch it’s not very hard to identify that just the shear nature of CrossFit fails to deliver here.

Team sports such as football, basketball, baseball, soccer, hockey, lacrosse, etc. are so athletic and require that a male or female constantly move and react in all 3 planes of motion as fast as possible through the entire muscle contraction spectrum (concentric, eccentric, and isometric). CrossFit on the other hand lives on a tightrope as events are practiced in an exclusive linear fashion, omitting an essential athletic quality.

As I’ve visited different “boxes” just mainly out of curiosity, or heard Crossfitters brag to me about how athletic they were, I’ve never actually seen drills practiced that encourage the development of this athletic function. Have you? Therefore it’s only fair to discount this system as an option for enhancing Agility and Quickness.

Conditioning is obviously going to be the one area of performance where I would have to credit CrossFit absolutely.

Several Crossfitters possess tremendous work capacities and development of the 3 metabolic energy systems (Alactic, Lactic, and Aerobic) much like boxers and MMA fighters. This can be seen at any of the CrossFit Games on ESPN. In regards to strictly conditioning, the feats exhibited by these competitors is quite impressive.

What Next?

So as of right now I believe I’ve proven to you why CrossFit fails in terms of effectively enhancing athleticism. Next I think it’s important to briefly analyze all secondary measures which could impact the primary skills to show what else may or may not be missing for athletes looking to get more athletic and better in a particular sport, who regularly practice CrossFit.

The first element that I would like to discuss is Nutrition. Obviously, “The Paleo Diet” is the foundation for all of the CrossFit population. I must admit that I think there were quite a few positives I took away from both books. The intent of the content is very health-based, the food selection is very nutrient dense, and Dr. Loren Cordain disclosed some interesting scientific points surrounding the topic for sure.

In his book “The Paleo Diet for Athletes,” Dr. Cordain does a great job of adjusting the modern Paleo diet recommendations and states the need that athletes following the Paleo Diet could derive half of their total caloric intake for the day from healthy carbohydrate sources:

“For example, an athlete training once a day for 90 minutes may burn 600 calories from carbohydrates during exercise and needs to take in at least that much during stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 of recovery. This athlete may be eating around 3,000 total calories daily. If he gets 50 percent of his daily calories from carbohydrate, he would take in an additional 900 calories in carbs that day in stage 4, above and beyond the carbohydrate consumed in the earlier stages of the day.”1

And if you would like to know exactly why athletes need more carbohydrates than check out this series of articles I recently wrote:

5 Scientific Reasons to Eat Carbs

5 More Scientific Reasons Athletes Should Eat Carbs

Even More Reasons Why Athletes Should Eat Carbs

Prehab and Rehab Techniques are critical for competitive athletes who want to excel indefinitely, and it should be categorized as its own type of training if it officially is not already.

Techniques such as immersion baths, contrast, EMS, massage, tempo work, mobility/bodyweight circuits, meditation-relaxation, cat naps, static stretching, corrective exercises, and much more have been scientifically proven to hasten recovery from all the high intensity work and provide several benefits (Blood flow, nutrient and hormonal delivery, etc. etc.) to ultimately assist in athletic enhancement.

A majority of this should be implemented into a competitive athlete’s program from the get go, however, I’ve never really seen much discussion or emphasis of this type of training from Crossfitters, so I can only assume it’s not very important to this culture even though it’s undoubtedly essential to athletic performance.

Without a properly structured training program it would be very difficult to ensure that athlete’s are staying healthy and improving in all facets of performance over the long-term. Periodization is key and serves as the foundation for everything in the program.

However, I’ve never officially heard of any type of scientifically valid program design model being implemented for athletes who follow CrossFit. Do you guys elect a Linear, Alternating, Undulating, Concurrent, or Conjugate based System?

What I do know is that the works of famous programming researchers such as Tudor Bompa, Charlie Francis, and several others have shown us that having a pre-planned annual training model is a must for an athlete looking to reach his full potential. 2

A simple “WOD” which is arbitrarily designed to satisfy that particular day’s workout in the name of a male or female, will not suffice and the results will show.

Note From TG: here’s where I’ll chime in. The idea that all CrossFit boxes don’t adopt some semblance of programming structure is a bit harsh (not that I think that’s what Travis is implying). I’ve trained at and observed numerous CrossFit gyms and have been very impressed with numerous staff’s and their attention to detail on this topic. 

To say that Ben Bergeron – who coached both winners (male and female) at this year’s CrossFit Games – doesn’t implement a “plan” or pay special attention to detail with regards to how to best set up/periodize his athletes for success is unrealistic.

Just wanted to give some props when props is due.

The last two remaining secondary factors are fat loss and muscle building qualities. 

I must give kudos to CrossFit for creating a lot of fat loss testimony all over the world. I’m sure that thousands of people have lost weight/fat utilizing the CrossFit system. 3

However, what really bugs me is that you rarely if ever hear credit being distributed by CrossFit authorities on where specific training strategies were adopted. Did they just magically guess and innovate methods proven to work better than anything on the training market?

Hell no.

Furthermore, I see many specialized fat loss techniques being regularly implemented by CrossFit such as: HIIT, Metabolic Resistance Training, Timed Sets, Complexes, etc. but where the hell did that come from?

Not Crossfit unfortunately.

Ten years ago a guy by the name of Alwyn Cosgrove was busting out fat loss manuals left and right and disclosing drills and methods I nor anyone had ever seen before. The training concepts were brilliant and revolutionary at the time, but still hadn’t hit the mainstream yet.  He was also sending out newsletters at the time which validated these now popular methods through sound research and tremendous data he was collecting at his training facility in South California with his wife Rachel, who was also a proven expert. I still have them. But how many of you actually know Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove? I guarantee not as many as there should be.

Muscle Building is the final remaining topic that needs to be discussed. It’s no secret now that the CrossFit system involves primarily a moderate intensity/high training volume approach for general fitness, conditioning, and fat loss purposes.

With that being said this form of training environment will lend well to acquiring quality muscle mass pretty fast and it’s also why so many of the guys that practice CrossFit are pretty jacked. If you want to know more in depth info on this topic then definitely checkout the research and works of guys like Jason Ferruggia, Brad Schoenfeld, Bret Contreras, and Lyle McDonald.

Specific muscle mass or cross sectional area is also going to be a very strong indicator of athletic success in many cases, so this is one area where CrossFit has a decent foundation laid out if they can implement all of the training concerns mentioned previously.

Inter and Intramuscular Coordination, balance and stability training, and core training are I’m sure other areas that coaches or anyone reading this would think needs to be a primary concern. Fortunately, the methods employed for the primary skill set I provided you will do a tremendous job of enhancing these qualities indirectly. Here is a piece I wrote for the ISSA awhile back which illustrates my point as it pertains to balance-stabilization training:

Does Balance Training Improve Speed?

Well That’s it Everyone.

I hope you enjoyed this piece and learned the distinction between CrossFit and real athletic training.

They are presently very dissimilar, although they get tied in together many times based on my experience for whatever reason. Too re-iterate I’m really not trying to demean or be destructive towards the CrossFit philosophy at all. Peer review should be overly critical and brutally honest. I’ve written many articles and a couple of books and I can tell you firsthand that this is the case from the experts that analyzed my work, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

If CrossFit is really serious about crossing over into the athletic training realm, then they need to start taking science more seriously, credit the founders, and utilize methods that are actually intended for athletes that truly work.

Lastly, I really think we currently underrate just how great so many high level team sport athletes really are. Genes aside, contemporary team sport athletes are amazing. On a final note, understand that athletic development is a big puzzle, and there is a lot that has to come together for any one athlete to be successful.

SCIENTIFIC REFERENCES:

#1-Cordain, Loren. The Paleo Diet for Athletes. Rodale. Emmaus, PA. 2005.

#2-http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/sports-training/overview-of-periodization-methods-for-resistance-training/

#3-http://www.bjgaddour.com/what-do-you-think-about-crossfit

About the Author

Travis Hansen has been involved in the field of Human Performance Enhancement for nearly a decade. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Fitness and Wellness, and holds 3 different training certifications from the ISSA, NASM, and NCSF. He was the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Reno Bighorns of the NBADL for their 2010 season, and he is currently the Director of The Reno Speed School inside the South Reno Athletic Club. He has worked with hundreds of athletes from almost all sports, ranging from the youth to professional ranks. He is the author of the hot selling “Speed Encyclopedia,” and he is also the leading authority on speed development for the International Sports Sciences Association.

 

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing rant

Porcelain Post: Results is a Battle of Repetition

NOTE: the term “Porcelain Post” was invented by Brian Patrick Murphy and Pete Dupuis. Without getting into the specifics, it describes a post that can be read in the same time it takes you to go #2.

Huh, I guess that was more specific than I thought.

Enjoy.

Results is a Battle of Repetition

You didn’t think I was going to use the word “battle” in a blog post and not figure out someway to finagle a lightsaber reference in there did you?

It’s me we’re talking about here.

So I was listening to THIS interview with Adam Bornstein on The Fitcast the other day and something Adam said resonated with me:

Part II of his commentary was him explaining how his most successful clients (both in person and distance based) – the ones whom he’d use as a walking advertisement for his services – were the ones who stuck with him for a minimum of 1-3 years.

This is not to suggest that those people who only decided to stick around for a month or two (or nine) didn’t receive any benefit or reach their goals in working with Adam. I’m sure many did, because he’s a rock-star coach.

Rather, his message was to demonstrate a hard truth for many to swallow.

It’s the long-game, and consistency with doing the same shit over, and over, and over, and over again that will usually pan out in your favor.

Those people (or clients) who stick to their guns, hold themselves accountable, and make the time to prioritize their health/fitness over the course of many, many weeks/months/better yet, years, are the ones who do very well.

And, honestly, as much as I feel exercise variety is overrated, it’s not even about always doing the monotonous stuff consistently. I do feel learning the basics are important, and taking the time to master them is never a bad thing. The basics should, more often than not, serve as the foundation of any program.

Having said that: I also understand there comes a point and time when some people would rather swallow live bees than perform another Goblet squat.

However, and this is a big however, the more cogent word to focus on in this particular discussion is “stuff.”

Doing “stuff” consistently – whether it’s CrossFit, powerlifting, taking group exercise classes, or pantless Zumba pillow-fighting (<— make it happen Equinox) – and doing it for a very long time, is almost always going to result in some pretty phenomenal things happening.

The key, though, is to START. Stop making excuses, stop reading articles, stop sending emails to fitness pros asking what you should do. Just start. And then, don’t stop. You’ll win the battle.

Categoriespsychology rant

Overcomplicating the Uncomplicated

The message conveyed in the following post is meant to come across as a little tongue-in-cheek and sarcastic.

But here it goes anyways:

We like to overcomplicate things.

To say this, of course, comes with a degree of subjectivity.

Given the current climate we live in with regards to politics, gun control, terrorism, climate change, Black Lives Matter, LGBT rights, not to mention the impending zombie apocalypse, it stands to reason some topics, indeed, are very complicated.

However, taking those things out of the discussion12 …for me, things like Mandarin, Tort Law, rocket science, beating Mike Tyson in Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out, and how to make an omelet without breaking it, is complicated.

For others those things are a walk in the park.

FML – I hate you random internet nerd because I am not you

That said, I’d make the case there’s no arena where we tend to overcomplicate things more so than in the health and fitness realm.

To quote Nia Shanks:

“If there’s an industry plagued with profuse amounts of bullshit, it’s health and fitness. Know what it is so you can avoid it and spend your time doing what actually works.”

Don’t get me wrong: there are, without question, certain aspects that require more analysis, deeper thought, and expertise.

Someone coming off a major injury and trying to return to a high-level of competition or fitness will require a more thorough, detailed approach compared to someone who’s just looking to “lose ten lbs.”

Working around a legitimate food allergy – and not some self-diagnosed gluten intolerance you learned about via your best friend’s, uncle’s, next door neighbor’s, milkman’s blog – requires more diligent planning and attention to detail.

Likewise, what it takes from a programming standpoint to take someone from a 500 lb deadlift to a 700 lb deadlift is more complicated than what’s required to coach a beginner on how to perform a basic hip hinge.

 

Extenuating circumstances aside, man-o-man do we like to overcomplicate things.

Take for example a conversation I had the other day with an athlete I work with. After his training session he asked my opinion on what the best recovery strategies were?

To his credit: he isn’t the type of guy looking for quick-fix answers, and we had a nice chuckle over my answer.

But I was serious.

I’ve had the same conversation with athletes/clients in the past and have been met with my fair share of quizzical looks.

As if the answer they were expecting to hear was:

“Okay, here’s what you need to do. Go home and perform contrast showers paired with Paleo x AMRAP.”

When in the reality the “best” approach is:

  • Go to bed.13
  • Do your best to stay hydrated.
  • Ensure ample calories between training sessions to promote and aid recovery.
  • Respect General Adaptation Syndrome, the concept of supercompensation, and how those correlate with managing training stress/recovery.

I’m sure if I perused all my behavioral economics books (or asked my wife who’s a psychologist) I’d find the technical term best used to describe why people tend to dismiss the simple answers and gravitate more towards the complicated, arduous ones.

It seems we’re like moths being drawn to the flame.