By now, I’m sure there are some reading who are thinking to themselves, “alright Gentilcore, lets turn the page for crying out loud!,” or feel as if Charlie Brown’s teacher is talking to them:, “Wannk, wannk, wannk………”
I didn’t think it was possible, but what started as a quick blog post on some simple chin-up progressions for women, quickly turned into my version of War and Peace.
For those just joining in on the fun, I’d highly encourage you to check out the previous two parts, HERE and HERE.
In keeping with the momentum from yesterday – where I talked about the efficacy of performing eccentric only chin-ups – another viable option would be to perform…….
Loaded Eccentric Chin-Ups
As a brief review, we’re much stronger during the eccentric (lowering) portion of any movement compared to the concentric (overcoming/lifting) portion. For the guys out there reading, this is why it’s sometimes advantageous to include some dedicated eccentric-only benching variations to help improve overall strength, as well as induce some pretty significant muscle gains. Pecs for days!!!!!!
Bringing this back to the topic at hand, for women, eccentric only chin-ups are a definite STAPLE in terms of getting over that 1-rep hump. What’s more, you can also make them even more challenging by adding an external load in the form of a weight vest or maybe a weight belt with a dumbbell or plate attached.
The same principles would apply: you’d jump up and lower yourself as controlled as possible. Except here, the awesomeness factor is increased by roughly 312% because of the additional external load
Granted, there aren’t going to be a lot of instances where I’m going to LOAD an eccentric-0nly chin-up – especially if we’re still vying for that one full, unassisted rep – but it’s something we can keep in our exercise toolbox nonetheless.
Chin-Up Isometric Holds
What I love about isometric holds is that there’s going to be a carryover to the 10-15 degrees (above and below) the joint angle being held. Meaning, I can have someone perform an isometric hold in or around their “sticking point,” and there will be a noticeable carryover.
Of course, for many women, you may remember those dreadful flex-arm hangs that your PE teacher used to make you do back in the day, and I apologize if I brought back any bad memories.
That said, they’re actually a valuable tool that you can implement almost instantaneously. I like two options:
1. At the start of a training session – when you’re the most fresh – jump up and hold for a specific time frame. I generally like to start with anywhere from 20-30 seconds (and build-up from there) for 4-5 sets.
2. Conversely, at the end of a training session – when you hate life – hold in the BOTTOM position and try as best you can to pull yourself up from a dead-hang. Grab the bar, jump up, lower yourself controlled, and when you come juuuuuuust short of locking your elbows out, HOLD!!!!!!
It seems counterproductive, but I feel there’s some merit in adding a few grinders into the mix and attempt to “muscle” yourself out of the starting position. Of course, I’m not interested in you looking as if you’re having a seizure in mid-air. The less “body english” the better.
Keeping your shoulder blades retracted and depressed, try as best you can to pull yourself up from a dead hang.
Remember, even if you don’t budge, there’s going to be a certain degree of carryover (above and below) the joint angle being worked.
Pull for 10-15 seconds. Stop.
Do this for a total of 3-5 “sets.”
Band Assisted Chin-Up
This is probably the most well known variation, and arguably the least understood. I’ve had several TRAINERS argue with me that they see no difference between a counterbalanced chin-up machine and their band-assisted counterparts. Not surprisingly, these are the same trainers who haven’t picked up a book in five years and think watching The Biggest Loser counts as continuing education.
Sad, but true.
The reason why I prefer band assisted variations is that they take advantage of the strength curve. In about as non-scientific as I can make it: the band “assists” you where you’re most weak – in this case, at the bottom of the chin-up when the arms are full extended. Conversely, as you pull your body towards the bar, and the joint angles are more in your favor, the band assists less and less and you start utilizing more of your own strength to complete the movement.
In this way, depending on one’s ability, we can use varying set-ups and/or thicknesses of bands to progress or regress the exercise in a much more conducive way.
Miscellaneous Thoughts
1. Remember: attitude is king. Stop thinking that you can’t do something, and instead, dominate it. Sure, it’s going to take time and a lot of hard work, but you CAN DO IT!!!!
2. Frequency is kind of a big deal. Now, one thing to consider is that for females (and males for that matter) who can’t perform one chin-up, ANY chin-up is going to be a max effort lift. That said, I’d still recommend shooting for “x” number of reps per day, albeit spread out. Perform 2-3 eccentric reps in the AM, 2-3 at lunch, and 2-3 at dinner time, no matter what. Anything more than that is just gravy on top.
3. Seriously, get an Iron Gym. Arguably the best $27 you can spend on yourself. Mascara included.
4. As far as programming: if performing a chin-up is a priority for you, then you need to make sure that you start each training session with a chin-up variation. Yes, EVERY session. So, for example, if you train three times per week….
Session One: start with one of the TRX progressions highlighted in Part I.
Session Two: start with eccentric only chin-ups
Session Three: use one of the band-assisted variations showcased in the video above.
And there you have it. I’m sure I could elaborate a bit more, but in all honesty, if you’re still reading, you deserve a Nobel Prize.
Armed with these suggestions, you should be more than ready to conquer the chin-up.
Okay, before I continue with second part of this post, two things need to happen:
1. If you haven’t already, you need to check out PART I. I’m not going to sit here and say it’s the best thing ever written on the internet (although it’s pretty close), but it definitely sets the tone for the entire piece as a whole, and well, not reading part I before reading part II is kind of like watching The Empire Strikes Back before A New Hope. It’s just crazy talk!
2. And since that was an obvious attempt at a segue for me to briefly talk about the Oscars last night, I’m rolling with it.
It was great to have Billy Crystal back hosting. The man is a class-act. Sure, there were some awkward silences when a joke or two (or seventeen) didn’t work; but whatever. I was entertained, and that’s all that matters.
Angelina needs to eat something for the love of god! In fact, while watching the show, both Lisa and myself commented on how Skeletor skinny many of the women appeared. Granted, she’s now spewing out nonsensical dieting tips like eating apples only grown underneath rainbows or anything like that, so who am I to judge? But is it any wonder why there’s an on going image war in our society on what’s the ideal “look” for women to aspire for?
I was really happy to see that Hugo won for Best Cinematography as well as Art Direction.
J-Jo was bringing it last night. Like whoa!
In general, 2011 was a pretty weak year for movies. I mean, sure, The Artist was a good film, and I’m “okay” with it winning for Best Picture, etc. But lets be honest: come this time next year, NO ONE is going to remember that it won, and it’s certainly not going to linger in people’s minds. When they showed one of the numerous montages of past films, I couldn’t help but feel that NONE of the films that were nominated for Best Picture this year would ever be included in such a montage alongside classics (and not necessarily Best Picture winners) like GoodFellas, The Godfather, Jaws, Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, so on and so forth. Here’s hoping that 2012 is a little more spectacular.
Okay, on to matters at hand: how to rock your first chin-up. Unfortunately, not every woman is like Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2 busting out chin-ups in a psyche ward.
Then again, not everyone banged a dude from the future and is preparing for the end of the world run by machines. To each his own, I suppose.
Nevertheless, the point here isn’t to necessarily compare yourself to John Connor’s mom (although that’s pretty badass), but rather to show you some strategies you can implement to help take yourself from from Point A (you want me to do what now?)…………
……to Point B (I can do a chin-up, bitches!).
As you may recall, in part one, I went out of my way to suggest that having a little attitude is a good thing, as well as described some unique TRX progressions one can use to help “grease” more of a vertical pulling motion.
Of course, this begs the question: what happens if you don’t have access to a TRX unit?
Well, you could always purchase one (hint hint, wink wink). For what it would cost to buy a knock-off Coach bag, you can get a TRX.
Just sayin……
In addition, you could also try these other modalities that we like to use with our female clients at Cressey Performance.
Eccentric Only Chin-Ups
Put in simple terms, the eccentric (or the yielding/lowering portion of the movement) is a fantastic way to help build specific strength within that ROM.
Getting geeky for a second, in terms of the actual mechanism, the muscle lengthens while under tension due to the opposing force (body weight) being greater than the force produced by the muscle. Unlike a concentric contraction, where the joint is pulled in the direction of the muscle contraction, in an eccentric contraction the muscle acts to decelerate the joint at the end of a movement.
What’s more, and this is pretty cool: the body is a shit ton (<– that’s a lot) STRONGER eccentrically than it is concentrically. Put another way, it’s much easier to lower yourself (controlled) from the chin-up bar than it is to lift yourself from a dead-hang, where you have to “overcome” the weight of your own body.
Depending on one’s height, you may have to play around with how high of a box you use to stand on to jump to the bar. A little piece of advice, however: set the box a little more forward so that when you do jump up, the body won’t sway back and forth as much.
From there, the concept is pretty self-explanatory.
Jump up to the bar so that your sternum touches the bar. Remember, too, to keep your shoulder blades together AND depressed (shoulder blades in the back pocket). No shrugging.
As controlled as possible, lower yourself until your arms come just short of locking out. The “controlled” part is what’s important. This shouldn’t be a dive bomb towards the floor, but rather a nice 5+ second descent. Don’t worry if you can’t get a full five seconds – again, it’s the controlled part that’s important.
Hop down, jump back up to the bar, and repeat.
Now, of course, how many reps one can do is going to be highly individual. Grip strength is going to be a limiting factor, not to mention one’s strength levels from the get go.
To that end, I like to use several options.
1. For the stronger females (one’s who can easily control the eccentric), I’ll shoot for straight sets. Typically sets of 5-6 reps. Eight if I really feel like being a masochistic bastard.
2. Another option I like is to shoot for a specific number of repetitions. For instance, I may say in their program “25 reps. Get it done. No complaining.” Which, if that’s the case, they have to hit that number regardless of how many sets it takes. If I’m feeling really ambitious, I’ll go as high as 40-50 and I’ll just pair their chin-ups with something else (preferably with a exercise that won’t challenge the grip).
A1. Chin-Ups (50 reps) – sets of five
A2. Goblet Squats (x8), Push-Ups (x8) – alternate between sets of chin-ups.
***Meaning, they’ll perform a set of five eccentric chin-ups, and pair it with a goblet squat. On their next set of chins, they’ll perform a set of push-ups. From there, they’ll alternate back and forth until all required reps are completed.
3. For those who are a bit weaker and can’t really perform five (controlled) reps, I’ll utilize more of a rest/pause approach.
So, in this case, I’ll still have them perform sets of 3-5, but with a little “break” in between each rep. It may look something like this:
Perform 1 Rep
Rest 10-20 seconds
Perform 1 Rep
Rest 10-20 seconds
Perform 1 Rep
Rest 10-20 seconds
Perform 1 Rep
Rest 10-20 seconds (most likely give Tony the look of death)
Perform 1 Rep
Rest 2-3 minutes (flip Tony the bird)
4. Another point to consider – and this is something that a female reader brought up in the comments section on Friday – is the whole “embarrassment factor.” Understandably, some females are just intimidated and feel like the spotlight is directly on them when performing anything in the weight room.
As such, sometimes it’s more prudent to give them “homework” and have them perform “x” number of eccentric only reps throughout the day…….on their own……at their own discretion…..in the comfort of their own home.
With this option, again, the objective is to shoot for “x” number of reps throughout the day – 5, 10, till you can’t feel the left side if your face, whatever. So, whether you allot a specific time to train, or you just happen to walk past the bar on your way to blow dry your hair, and you want to bang out a rep or two, it’s your call. The bar is there and no one is watching. Have at it!
I’ve used this “homework” approach with several of our female clients, and they LOVE it.
Okay, that should keep the palette wet until tomorrow where I’ll discuss a handful of other options I like to use to get over that one rep hump. Till then, as always, feel free to share your thoughts below.
I’ve noted in the past that, outside of maybe a handful (who are working their tails off to get there), every female client that trains at Cressey Performance (above the age of 16) can do a real, dead start, arms fully extended, sternum to the bar, non-spastic looking, legit chin-up. Usually for multiple reps.
In recent months it’s been almost epidemic. Seemingly every female client is on a mission to conquer the chin-up, and the fruits of their labor are blossoming like never before with teenage girls as well as 50+ year old women – some of which who have been training for more than half their life – achieving something that they never thought possible.
You see, they had always been told by friends, family, the bulk of women’s magazines (or more than likely, told themselves) that they could never, not in a million years, do an actual chin-up.
Oh no you didn’t!!!!!!!!
As you can imagine, I think that’s a bunch of silly talk, and nothing is more satisfying than proving each and every one of them that they’re flat out wrong.
Truth be told, it’s amazing what can happen when you cut through the BS, stop making excuses, hold people accountable, and place them in a training environment that doesn’t cater to their fears.
That latter point is something that really bugs me sometimes. How often have you heard a woman say she’d really love to perform a chin-up, and then her trainer points her in the direction of one of those counterbalanced chin-up apparatuses, or worse, the seated lat pulldown machine.
Full disclosure: I’m not entirely opposed to those machines. There’s a time and place for them, just as there’s a time and place for a leg press (hahahahahahaaha. Just kidding).
But in all seriousness, if I’m starting with someone who’s woefully weak – to the point where gripping a bar and holding their body weight is too challenging – and relatively inexperienced in the weight room, I have no issues whatsoever introducing them to exercises like lat pulldowns or counterbalanced chin-up/pull-up variations to help build strength within that movement pattern and “grease” proper technique:
Keep chin tucked
Pull through the elbows
Keep shoulder blades together and down (retracted and depressed). Another cue I like here is to keep the shoulder blades in the back pocket. This helps prevent any shrugging.
Finish at the sternum and squeeze!
Lower controlled, and come juuuuuuuuuuust short of locking the elbows outs (maintain tension).
Repeat and when done, cue Goose and Maverick high five.
Moving forward however, if you want to get more proficient with chin-ups (or pull-ups) it stands to reason that, eventually, you need to gravitate towards the actual chin-up/pull-up bar. And, if I am to speak frankly, I really feel that utilizing the lat pulldown and counterbalanced machines, exclusively, is just putting a band-aid over an obvious strength issue, if not something more relevant altogether.
To me, serving as the umbrella of all of this – and certainly not to be understated – is the mentality that a vast majority of woman carry heading into such a task.
That they just can’t do a chin-up. Period.
STOP THIS!!!!
It’s counterproductive and all the negative self talk isn’t going to help matters.
[Takes deep breath]
I tried to figure out a way to say what I’m about to say in a more PC fashion, and after fiddling with a few different sentences, talking it over with several other females, and letting my thoughts stew for a few days, I just decided to go with it. Here it is:
If you have the ability to grow a human being inside your body and push it out, you undoubtedly have the ability to bang out a chin-up. And might I add: in MUCH less time than nine months.
Understandably, I recognize how the statement above may rub some the wrong way (but hopefully most of the people reading “get” the context) – but it’s high time we stop making excuses and stop sugar coating things. Quit with the excuses.
That said, what follows are some of the exercises (and progressions) we like to use at Cressey Performance with many of our female clients to help them get over that 1-rep hump……….
TRX Progressions
Giving credit where credit is due, I actually “stole” these from Ottawa based strength coach Elsbeth Vaino, after a distance coaching client of mine directed me in her direction. I thought these progressions were brilliant and rather than reinvent the wheel, I thought I’d pass them along and share them with you.
A few things to note beforehand:
1. Before attempting these, it’s assumed that you can perform a regular TRX inverted row flawlessly. If not, please don’t try these as it’s probably not going to look pretty.
2. There’s a bit of trial and error involved in setting up the apparatus as you have to wrap the TRX around the bar in order to get the handles at the proper height.
3. In the videos, I realize that Whitney is using more of a neutral grip rather than a standard supinated (underhand) grip while demonstrating the exercises. It’s okay, I understand the difference between a chin-up and pull-up, so for those who were inevitably going to get their panties all up in a bunch and call me out……..relax. I called myself out. So there!
TRX Chin-Up Progression I
The main point to highlight here, is that Whitney is starting from her knees and then pulling herself up while using her feet to kinda “assist” herself up towards her chest. I don’t mind a little bit of “rocking” at the bottom as all I’m really concerned about here is grooving a more vertical pattern which carries over very well to the actual chin-up.
All the same rules apply in terms of proper technique: shoulder blades in the back pocket, pull through the elbows, keep the chin tucked, control the eccentric (lowering) portion of the lift, increase your general level of awesomeness.
From there, we can progress the exercise into a more seated variation.
TRX Chin-Up Progression II
This does two things:
1. Increases the range of motion.
2. Forces Whitney to pull more of her own body weight.
Still, the objective is to grease more of a vertical pulling pattern, which can’t necessarily be down with a conventional inverted row.
TRX Chin-Up Progression III
Kicking it up a notch, we can then elevate Whitney’s feet onto a box (or stepper) and increase the ROM even further.
Simple, albeit very effective.
Among much else, these variations serve as an awesome way to get the ball rolling and to help better prepare the trainee for pulling her own body weight rather than relying on a machine to do so for her.
Of course, there are numerous other progressions (and even regressions) I like to implement, such as band assisted variations as well as eccentric only variations, but those will have to wait until next week when I dive into part II.
Till then, feel free to share your thoughts below and offer your own insight into the matter. I’d love to hear them!
And I even used extra exclamation points, so you know it’s kind of a big deal.
You read the title correctly; we are currently in the process of setting things in motion to hire a new strength and conditioning coach at Cressey Performance.
This is the first time we’ve ever posted a job externally, as all previous hires have been from our internship program. In this case, we’ll be opening this opportunity up to the masses. A few quick notes:
1. The application deadline is March 10.
2. We’ll be selecting a candidate by April 15, and the position will begin on May 15 (this date is negotiable).
3. Please, please, please read the application instructions carefully!
We have a specific email address in place for all job-related submissions and inquiries, and it will be a big bottleneck if applicants start emailing and calling us directly via our normal business email and phone number. Thanks for understanding in this regard.
You can learn everything you need to know by downloading the application instructions and job description PDF at the following link: CP Job Description and Application Info
1. One of the cool parts about the neighborhood that I live in – other than Traders Joe’s, Starbucks, Panera Bread, and the bookstore all being within a five minute walk from my apartment – is the fact that one of the most badass, independent movie theaters is like four blocks away.
It’s no secret that I’m a movie nerd. I mean, how many dudes try to talk their girlfriends into going to see The Artist?. For those not in the loop: The Artist is up for Best Picture this year (as well as a slew of other awards including Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Most Likely to Force Tony to Hand In His Mancard, etc), and not only is it filmed in black and white, but………..
………………….it’s a SILENT film.
No explosions. No light sabers. No ninjas. Not even a gratuitous side boob shot. No nothing, except for a cute dog, lots of dancing and stuff, and one of the most uplifting, feel-good, movie experiences of the year.
Anyways, I became a member of The Coolidge (the name of the theater) shortly after moving into our apartment last year. As a member – they have different tiers of membership – I get discounted tickets during the week, as well as FREE tickets Fri-Sun. What’s more, I get free popcorn no matter what!!!!
Furthermore, I also get email notices of special events and happenings that take place on a weekly basis. For instance, every week they have special midnight showings of past movies like Back to the Future or Indiana Jones. They also do their fair share of promoting things like the Sundance Film Festival, and it’s not uncommon for them to premiere certain movies or host advance screenings with an open discussion afterwards.
Even cooler: in two weeks they’re honoring actor Viggo Mortensen with their annual Coolidge Award. Meaning, freaking Aragorn is going to be in the house……..for an entire day……..chilling.
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG THEPRECIOUS
Leading up to the event, The Coolidge is playing a a bunch of Mortensen movies – A History of Violence, The Road, A Walk on the Moon, and even holding a Lord of the Rings marathon this weekend, playing all three extended-cut editions back-to-back-to back starting at 11 in the morning.
See? I told you this place is pretty baller.
Then, on March 5th, after showing Eastern Promises (a film which Mortensen was nominated for Best Actor for a few years back), Viggo will be there in the flesh to discuss his life and career, and most likely have to file a restraining order against me.
Holy shitnuts this is going to be so epic. I can’t wait, and I’ve even started to prepare a few drafts of what question I’m going to ask him. So far I’ve got this:
Hey, what’s up Viggo?
Needless to say, it’s a work in progress and I can’t even express how excited I am to go to this, and………
…….wait, what was that babe? We’re going to be in Florida on vacation that week? I won’t be able to go to it????
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
Well, I guess there’s always next year. Fingers crossed they’ll invite Kate Beckinsale or something.
2. And while we’re on the topic of movies, a few weekends ago, after being told by numerous people that I HAD to watch it, I finally sat down to watch Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead.
Admittedly, going in I was a bit skeptical. I knew there was going to be a “meat will kill you” vibe, and it’s actually a topic I touched on not too long ago HERE.
That said, it was a really, really, really, eye-opening documentary, and I can’t express enough how everyone should take the time to watch it. For the record, you can watch it for free on Netflix streaming.
For what it’s worth: I’m thiiiiiiiiiiis close to possibly purchasing a juicer in the near future. I’m still eating dead, furry animals of course. But I certainly don’t see the harm in adding more nutrient dense fruit/veggies juice into the mix.
If you ever wondered why you seem to forget where you put your keys and why you can’t remember what you had for supper last night, yet, there are some people who have memorized 50,000 number of pie, then this book is right up your alley.
4. Okay fellas (and girls too), I need your help. Well, my cousin needs your help, actually. She’s the Director of Photography for Maxim, and she informed me that they’re currently planning their annual Maxim Hot 100 list – otherwise known as the best day of the year.
Anyways, she informed me that they’re opening up the voting process to the general public and she asked that I share THIS link, which will take you to their voting page.
You’re welcome.
5. Like most couples, Lisa and I celebrated a belated Valentine’s Day this past weekend. As is the case, a few weeks ago she explained to me that she was taking care of Valentines this year, and that all I had to do was take a shower make sure to block out the Saturday night AFTER actual Valentine’s Day.
Done. Easy peezy.
Going into it, I had absolutely NO CLUE what we were going to do. The only hint I got was that it would be decadent and that we had to dress up, which basically ruled out a Star Wars Convention.
Leaving out the details we got on the T, headed into the city, and ended up getting off near the waterfront, which is an area that we don’t visit nearly enough. We turn a corner and BAM……………..it’s a steakhouse!!!!!!!!
And not just ANY steakhouse:
Morton’s Steakhouse!!!!
Okay, now some stuff that’s actually training related.
6. For all those people out there who make every excuse imaginable not to train:
It’s too crowded
I’m just not in the mood
I have a headache
I have a hang-nail
NCIS is on tonight
You should take a page out of Ben Bruno’s book. The guy had freaking KNEE SURGERY a few weeks ago, yet he’s still getting after it training on a consistent basis. He’s made a few cameo appearances at CP the past few weeks to train with our staff, and it’s pretty cool to see that, despite only having one working leg at the moment, he’s not using it as an excuse to “lay low” or “take some time off and rest.”
In fact, if anything, he’s using it as an excuse to prioritize other things – like chin-ups.
While he still has his list of rehab exercises to do for his knee, he’s not letting the monotony bring him down.
In fact, I’d argue that he’s still training harder than most “healthy” people.
As an example, the other week after each set of a rehab exercise, he’d walk over to the chin-up bar and bang out ten reps. In one session alone, he did over 200 chin-ups. Pretty sick if you ask me.
Moreover, he’s still training his non-injured leg fairly aggressively with various exercises like 1-legged step-ups, 1-legged squats, and 1-legged goodmornings:
So, I guess what I’m really trying to say is……..stop being a pussy. Quit making excuses why you can’t train. No matter what, you can ALWAYS train around an injury.
7. Nia Shanks is going to love this. Hill sprints are the bees knees. I don’t care who you are or what kind of shape you “think” you’re in, hill sprints will suck the living life out of you.
I’m lucky in that I have a fairly long (and steep) hill right behind my apartment, and I take advantage of that fact at least once a week.
Hill sprints serve as an excellent conditioning exercise for me because 1) like I said, I have decent sized hill right behind my apartment so it’s waaaaay convenient, and 2) they’re easily one of the more “knee friendly” modalities I can implement.
Try not to make it any more complicated than it has to be. There’s no set “program” I follow, or some super secret Russian algorithm I utilize. All you need to do is find a hill that will make you hate life, run up it (15-20 seconds), walk down, and repeat.
Shoot for anywhere from 6-10 total sprints, 1-2 times per week, and you’ll definitely see why those cute elliptical sprints you do every week are a joke.
And that’s about it. I’m heading into the facility now to film what should be a pretty cool video blog for tomorrow: chin-up progressions for women. BOOM!
I’ve been spending the majority of this week working on (and tweaking) my presentation that I’ll be giving in a few days at the Downtown Crossing Boston Sports Club to a group of 30 or so trainers.
Needless to say, I’m really excited for the opportunity, and it should be a great presentation. I’ve even prepared a shadow puppet show and everything!
…..Okay, not really. The bulk of it is going to center around assessment, which is an area I feel many personal trainers need to step up their game in. Of importance, though, is reiterating that assessment DOES NOT mean seeking out dysfunction. Far too often I feel trainers go into “corrective mode,” and fail to recognize one crucial factor: PEOPLE NEED A TRAINING EFFECT!!!
Adding to that, realizing that coaching proper exercise technique (as well as having a rationale for choosing “x” exercise) ranks high on the list of “stuff you shouldn’t suck at.”
Okay, deep breaths Tony. No point in getting all fired up just yet.
Did I mention I included a reference to Optimus Prime AND He-Man in my talk? BOO-YAH!
Inspired by a wall post I placed on my Facebook page last week, a friend of mine and fellow strength coach, James Garland, wrote this article which I felt did a great job of describing the benefits of supplementing with ZMA.
I always enjoy reading articles that elucidate on the thought processes of different coaches on varying topics, and I was fortunate enough to be included into the mix of some top-notch dudes in this one.
‘Toned,” “sleek,” “trim,” or whatever the word of choice, they’re all equally as likely to make a small piece of my soul die every time I hear a woman utter them.
In this fantastic post, Todd cuts through the BS and offers some insight as to what “toned” really means as well as debunking other shenanigans.
Real quick, what would your suggestions be on how to get featured in magazines like Mens Health? I have a blog and am going to be writing locally in Philadelphia.
I wrote a Masters Thesis on Golf Biomechanics…and now I love to write about physiology and fat loss….any advice is much appreciated!
A: Great question, and it’s a topic that I’ve been meaning to dive into for quite some time now since I receive one of these emails every few weeks or so.
In light of this, and before I offer my own thoughts, two of my good friends – Mike Robertson and John Romaniell0 – recently wrote similar posts that I feel would be great starting points.
HERE Mike offers some sage advice to a young up and comer with some lofty goals.
And HERE, Roman writes an amazing response to someone who clearly made a major boo boo.
Now, I am in no way insinuating that either of the two scenarios above are relevant to YOU – I checked out your blog and you seem like a good dude who’s approaching things the right way, and with a sense of humbleness I might add. A rarity nowadays – but I felt it was a nice way to open up the conversation to other fitness professionals who may be reading this and wondering the same thing:
How can I become more of a bigger deal?
In all honesty, it comes down to one simple fact: When it’s ready for you, the industry will let you know. In other words, when you’ve put out enough great (good doesn’t cut it here) content, and have put in the time and effort to hone your craft, the higher ups in the industry will seek you out.
Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t happen over night. I had my first article published on t-nation.com in the spring/summer of 2006 (a big deal in it’s own right) after having been rejected a handful of times. Before that, I had been writing articles FOR FREE for various websites in an effort to just get my name out there.
In fact, my first article ever published was a two-parter titled You Are What You Eat that appeared on a small, no-longer existing website called RuggedMag (which, coincidentally enough, was run by a few dudes you may have heard of: Joel Marion, Eric Cressey, and John Romaniello).
Trust me, don’t read it. It sucked.
Which brings me to my first piece of advice. While a blog is a nice start (more on this below), it’s in your best interest to reach out to other sites/publications/local newspapers/etc to write for them…….FOR FREE. Editors are ALWAYS looking for unique content, and if you approach them with some solid ideas, you’ll undoubtedly garner some attention.
An important note however: PLEASE actually take the time to familiarize yourself with whatever publication you’re going to pitch to. The last thing you want to do is pitch an article idea on How to Swolify Your Biceps when their target demographic is middle-aged women who train on BOSU balls.
That said, above all, content is king. Having a blog that’s informative and consistent is important!!!! People need easy access to YOU and what you have to say. In my case, I did it backwards. I was published on t-nation before I started a blog.
I think I had a handful of articles published before I put two and two together and realized that everyone who read them had no way to contact me. Yeah, that was a brain-fart moment if there ever was one.
I started small, opening an account on blogspot. On a good day I had like 30 views. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if 25 of them were my mom.
Soon thereafter, an opportunity came up where I “graduated” to The Boston Herald (a client of mine worked for them and she reached out to me when they needed someone to write their fitness/health blog). Those who are long time readers of this site may remember the good ol’ Step-Up Blog days.
And this is where Men’s Health comes in. You see, not surprisingly, you don’t just say “Hey, Men’s Health, I want to write for you!” It’s not quite that easy. Remember what I said above:
When it’s ready for you, the industry will let you know.
I had been writing a blog for close to two years (and had a handful of articles on t-nation) before MH even gave me the time of day. I liken it to the hot chick in high school whom I sat next to in “Home Room” for four years, but never had the balls to ask out. Then, one day, I had a “get your damn hands off her” moment.
Except, that’s a horrible analogy and instead of punching Bif in the face, all I did was respond to an email one of their writers sent asking me if I’d provide a short blurb on an article he was writing on gynecomastia (AKA: man boobs).
I know, not the sexiest topic in the world……but I was in baby!!!!
Apparently their then fitness editor, Adam Bornstein, had been reading my stuff for a while and eventually reached out and asked if I’d be down with providing some expert insight? Does Dolly Parton sleep on her back? Hell yeah I’d be down.
What started as a blurb here and there (holy shit, my name is in the second paragraph of page 57!!!!) turned into writing a handful of 15-Minute workouts, which then turned into my first full-blown article that should appear in the mag in a month or two.
The key points to remember, though, are that when you ARE given the opportunity, you need to do a few things:
1. Be concise and, I can’t stress this enough, know the target audience. For instance, how I write on t-nation (as well as this blog) is completely different than how I write for publications like MH or Livestrong. You won’t find me making any references to poop or drop kicking kittens with the latter examples. Believe me, I tried. They weren’t fans.
2. When given a deadline, do your best to meet it – especially in the beginning. I’m sure both of my editors – Adam Bornstein (now at Livestrong) and Bryan Krahn (for t-nation) are LOL’ing right now, because I’m notorious for procrastinating.
But they also know I’m coaching 8-10 hours per day as well as have other responsibilities like writing programs, running my own side business (blog, consulting, other writing endeavors, crushing protein shakes), as well as being the best boyfriend in the history of the world.
Needless to say, they’re both VERY accommodating and understanding (not to mention ungodly good looking and smart).
Of course, all of that is jumping the gun a bit. The real question is how do you get your foot in the door in the first place?
Keep up with the blog. The only way to get better at writing, is to write. At the expense of sounding like a broken record, content is where it’s at. If you write amazing content, people will find it and read it.
Again, write for free. It seems you’re already doing that, so run with it.
Moreover, it never hurts to reach out to editors. Hey, you never know! Pitch them ideas that you feel would be a good match for their respective publications, but at the same time, you need to be unique and as to the point as possible. Remember, they get dozens (if not hundreds) of inquires a day. So, in the end, you need to somehow separate yourself from the masses.
If you choose to go down that road, though, I’d highly encourage you to be professional, to-the-point (don’t write a dissertation), and maybe most important of all, don’t make any grammatical errors. As an example, nothing turns an editor off more (and makes you come across as a little douchy) than not knowing the difference between their/there/they’re or you’re/your.
Do a search on Google for “query letter,” and start there.
As well, as far as ideas are concerned, make sure you have several to share rather that just one or two. Editors like to have several options to choose from.
Additionally, in terms of exposure and how it relates to income, LOCAL media trumps national media any day of the week. The fact that you’ve already got an “in” in the Philly area is pretty freaking baller. This isn’t to say that MH isn’t something to strive for, but don’t underestimate the power of local media and the exposure that that can bring you.
And that’s about all I have to say at the moment. My apologies if my thoughts were kind of all over the place on this one, but hopefully I was able to shed some light and point you in the right direction. I’m sure there are some major points I forgot to mention, and maybe others would like to chime in, but like I said, you’re definitely on the right track, and you’re doing the right things. Hopefully, in the end, it will all work out.
Earlier this week my good friend, John Romaniello, released his opus to intermittent fasting (IF), Fat Loss Forever. For those who missed it, John was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions regarding IF – what is it?, who is it for?, is there any science behind it?, will it make me grow a third nipple? – as well talk about the specifics behind the product itself.
In passing, too, I had mentioned how I experimented with IF a few years ago, but didn’t really realize it at the time. Yeah, I was smart like that.
Nevertheless, when John sent me an advance copy, I read it – in one sitting – and was thoroughly impressed. So impressed, in fact, that I am now on day #3 of my own intermittent fasting extravaganza.
Okay, extravaganza is a little bit of an indulgence. Really, all I’ve done is push my breakfast back a bit in the morning (essentially taking myself through a 12-16 hour fast), and then pwning my first meal after I’m done picking heavy things up and putting them down – which, is generally around 12PM
I’ve always had the tendency to crush a HUGE breakfast every morning, and often wondered whether or not that affected how I felt heading into my workout. I have to say, after a few days, I feel spectaculous!!!!
I can’t say for sure whether or not I’ll do it long-term, but at the very least, I wanted to try it out.
Anyways, today (2/10) is your last chance to purchase Roman’s opus to intermittent fasting at the discounted rate of $50 OFF the regular price. He’s has gone out of his way to include a TON of sweet bonuses – including a training manual and supplement guidelines, to name few – but I’m going to sweeten the pot.
1. This kind of got lost in the shuffle earlier in the week, but for anyone who purchases FLF from this site, and emails their receipt to me ([email protected]), I’ll send you a TG written and Roman approved strength-based, 2-day-per-week workout that acts as an adjunct to the program.
2. In addition, I’ll also throw anyone who emails me their receipt into a raffle for a free DIGITAL copy of Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body. And, if you play your cards right, maybe a bologna sandwich. Winning!
This was an excellent post by Kevin detailing the intricate and complicated mechanisms behind FAI – how to recognize it, and more importantly, how to go about implementing training modifications.
While it’s generally accepted that FAI is more prevalent in the athletic population, it’s something that we’ve witnessed creep into other less common populations as well – including your typical gym rat population.
If you’re a fitness professional, I HIGHLY suggest you give it a read, and don’t ignore the other links in the article as well, as Kevin as a TON of information to share on this topic.
Continuing his series interviewing the amazing Girls Gone Strong crew, here Trey speaks with Julia Ladewski, wife, coach, mother of two, and formerly the world’s #1 ranked female powerlifter in the 132 lb weight class. Yes, she’s probably stronger than you.
This is an exercise that’s been in my programming repertoire for a while now, and every time I place it into someone’s program, I either get one raised eye brow of intrigue or a chuckle; as if to say, “dude, really? This? Come on….I need something more challenging.”
Then, of course, those who fall into the latter category wake up the next morning and realize their hamstrings feel like they were put through a meat grinder.
*strokes evil strength coach beard*
Muhahahahahahahaha. I win.
Anyways, getting right to the point, there are quite few inherent benefits to this exercise.
1. It’s a single leg movement. People need to do more single leg work. Nuff said.
2. Thing is, single leg work can be about as exciting as watching Gossip Girl. More to the point, it’s a hybrid single leg movement, combining both the reverse lunge and the 1-legged Romanian deadlift, so I’ve found it’s a nice change of pace, and a bit more palatable for most trainees.
Note: I will say, though, that this is a more advanced variation so I’d be reticent to encourage newbies to throw this into the mix right off the bat.
3. With regards to the reverse lunge component, it’s more knee friendly compared to forward lunge variations. With forward lunge variations you have to decelerate the body, which can be problematic for those with a history of knee pain. Conversely, with the reverse lunge, it’s more accelerative (I think I just made a word up) in nature, and thus less stressful on the knee joint in general.
4. On the flip side, with respects to the 1-legged Romanian deadlift component, I just like it because it trains the lateral sub-system, and it really forces the trainee to focus on his or her hip stabilizers.
5. Maybe a little less obvious, but nevertheless an important point to consider, is that this exercise – being hybrid in nature – kicks your ass! It’s not uncommon for peeps who perform this exercise for the first time to be fairly winded by the end of their set.
So, what does this bad boy look like?
Key Coaching Cues: First and foremost, don’t be a hero. You won’t need a ton of weight with this particular exercise, and given most people butcher the 1-Legged RDLanyways, I’d be more inclined to start conservative with the weight selection.
Secondly, while the reverse lunge part is pretty self explanatory, the 1-legged RDL is a different animal altogether. That said, I’d HIGHLY encourage you to click HERE to get a little more insight on how to be less sucky at it.
I generally keep the reps in the lowish range and shoot for 5-6 per leg, which is really 10-12 reps per leg because you’re doing two exercises in one.
A few weeks ago I wrote a post titled Tony Takes a Yoga Class (Part I) that, surprisingly enough, became fairly popular and made its rounds around the blogosphere.
In it, I used part of an old article I wrote years ago titled 4 Things Your Girlfriend Should Know, where, in the first part of that article, I kinda of threw yoga under the bus. Okay, there was no “kinda” about it. Not only did I throw yoga under the bus, but I also somehow managed to challenge it to a wrestling match (it’s my blog, and shit like this happens all the time), where I jumped off the top rope, grabbed it from behind, and suplexed it out of the ring.
It was a one-sided affair, and I think I won pretty convincingly.
My main beef then, and now, is that yoga is often marketed in a way that promises everything to women. It’s somehow the magic pill that will result in long, lean, sexy muscles. In addition, unicorns will fly underneath rainbows with Leprechauns on their backs, and Greys Anatomy will never, ever, ever, never, end.
See what I mean? It promises everything!
Anyways, in the years since I wrote the original article, and as something I went out of my way to touch on in the blog post linked above (as well as elucidate in more depth in Part II)………I’ve changed my mind to an extent.
Yoga ain’t so bad.
I’ve had several people contact me asking me for the rest of that 4 Things Your Girlfriend Should Know article. It was originally published on t-nation.com back in 2007, and subsequently moved to FigureAthlete.com. That site no longer exists, and as a result, the article has vanished into some kind of internet blackhole.
Luckily, I saved the original on my laptop and thought I’d re-post it here for everyone’s viewing enjoyment.
A few notes beforehand:
1. Again, the yoga part is omitted. But you can read it in the Tony Takes a Yoga Class link above.
2. I wrote the article five years ago, so forgive me for the dated pop culture references.
3. To reiterate, I wrote the article FIVE YEARS AGO, so please take that into consideration before you go a head and call me out on anything I said back then that doesn’t jive now.
4. Did I mention I wrote the article five years ago?**
4 Things Your Girlfriend Should Know
*** with the yoga part omitted. So, really, this is 3 Things Your Girlfriend Should Know.
Being a man in today’s society is darn tough. We are constantly inundated with constant struggles and frustrations:
Deciding which is the best trilogy ever made: the ORIGINAL Star Wars or Lord of the Rings?
Which Jessica to choose from: Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba or Jessica Simpson?
Trying our very best to not throw the television out the window every time we see Jared (from Subway) espousing the benefits of eating a low fat diet.
Trying to convince our girlfriend or wife that lifting weights won’t make her look like a she-man.
Being a guy myself, I feel your pain. I know how frustrating it can be to try to convince a woman (let alone your significant other) that doing endless hours of aerobics or spending the majority of her gym time using those hip abductor/adductor machines is a fruitless endeavor from a body composition standpoint. If you’re in the same situation as most guys, the likelihood that your girlfriend will accompany you to the gym on deadlift day is about as slim as Rosie O’Donnell keeping her big yapper shut.
Needless to say, this is for all the guys out there who are losing the battle. This article is going to serve as your ammo to try to convince that special lady in your life that what she has been doing in the gym week in and week out is flat out wrong. You can thank me later.
Low Reps vs. High Reps
I’m not going to sugar coat anything. I’m going to cut right to the chase. I love low rep training. I love low rep training almost as much as I love Justin Timberlake’s “D**k in a Box” parody he did on SNL not too long ago.
Unfortunately, most women (including your girlfriend) are obsessed with “dieting” and love the color pink. As a result, they love to perform endless repetitions with those 8 lb pink dumbbells every chance they get thinking that that will elicit more fat loss. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Memo to your girlfriend:
Ditch the light weights (especially when you’re dieting). You’ll just end up with a fragile, weak, and soft looking body; otherwise known as the “skinny-fat” look. Your muscles will lack what is known as good neurogenic or myogenic tone (basically fancy words used to express muscle hardness).
Simply put, there are two types of muscle tone: myogenic and neurogenic. The former refers to your muscle tone at rest, the latter refers to muscle tone that is expressed when muscular contractions occur.
Low(er) rep training increases the sensitivity of various motor units resulting in increased neurogenic tone. Myogenic tone on the other hand, is correlated with the overall density of your muscles (specifically the contractile proteins myosin and actin) and is vastly improved by lifting heavier weights.
This is going to come as a shock to most women, but utilizing light weights (anything above twelve reps in my book) while dieting will likely result in loss of muscle, which is the exact opposite of what you want to happen.
When dieting, the body will adapt to the caloric deficit by down regulating many of the hormones involved with metabolism (T3, T4, leptin, etc), as well as getting rid of metabolically active tissue – muscle. Obviously one would want to prevent this from happening in the first place, which is why I always recommend that women shit-can the 20 rep sets and start training with heavier weights.
The Inevitable Retort from Your Girlfriend: “Whatever. All the fitness magazines say I should use high reps for fat loss when I’m dieting, and they obviously know what they’re talking about. When are you taking the garbage out?”
When someone goes on a diet, catabolic hormones, which promote muscle breakdown, rise (bad) and anabolic hormones, which promote muscle growth, decline (also bad). Your body is smarter than you, and as I alluded to above, your body will “slow down” to work at your reduced caloric intake.
As a result, it will reduce whatever is metabolically active- muscle. With regards to training, a great way I like to explain things is from a conversation I had via e-mail with Erik Ledin, a well known figure coach I know.
If you train light, you’ll keep enough muscle to be able to continue to train “light.” But given this doesn’t take a lot, from a relative and individual standpoint (ie. it takes more muscle to lift a weight that limits you to 8 reps, than it does to lift a weight that limits you to 20) you’ll keep what you need to accomplish these generally ‘easier’ tasks. The key to a lean, hard body is a nice balance between nutrition, cardio and low rep, heavy weight training. What builds muscle is what keeps muscle.
Train More Like a Man
Question (from you):“Babe, how bout I teach you how to squat today?”
Answer (from your girlfriend): “But I don’t want to get big and bulky.”
Newsflash ladies: you WILL NOT get “big and bulky” just because you’re doing squats and deadlifts. That statement is akin to me saying, “eh, I don’t want to do any sprints today because I don’t want to win the 100m gold medal next week.”
Getting big and bulky isn’t easy, just like winning the 100m gold medal isn’t easy. If anything, it’s quite an insult to all those people who have spent years in the gym to look the way they do. It didn’t happen overnight, which is what you’re assuming by saying something so absurd.
And lets be honest, most people (men AND women) won’t work hard enough to get “big and bulky” in the first place. It’s hard enough for a man to put on any significant amount of muscle, let alone a woman. Women are physiologically at a disadvantage for putting on muscle due to the fact that they have ten times LESS free testosterone in their bodies compared to men.
That being said you still need to get the most out of your training buck, and that includes ditching the glute buster machine and focusing more on the compound movements.
Joe Dowdell, owner of Peak Performance in NYC trains many of the top female models in the city and their programming includes squats, deadlifts, chin-ups, bench variations, sled dragging, and tons of energy system work. Yes, Victoria Secret models are doing squats and deadlifts. And yes, that is completely hot.
Guess what they’re not doing…watching Oprah every day while walking on the treadmill for 60 minutes.
Just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean you can’t train like a man and lift some serious weight. I never bought into this whole mindset that women are these delicate creatures that can’t hang with the boys.
Steady State Cardio/Aerobics (Not the Fat Loss King You Thought It Was)
Not to beat a dead Barbaro (er, I mean horse), but steady state cardio/aerobics is not the most efficient way to burn body fat. I like lists, so I am going to use a list to prove my point.
1. Steady state cardio doesn’t elevate EPOC all that much, which again is one of the main factors in fat loss. Sure, one hour of steady state cardio will probably burn more calories than one hour of resistance training, but it’s the calories you burn in the other 23 hours OUTSIDE of the gym that really matter.
Essentially, once you’re done doing steady state cardio, you’re done burning calories. However, with resistance training and/or with high intensity interval training (HIIT), your body’s metabolism will be elevated for upwards of 24-48 hours. Thus, you will burn a TON more calories.
2. Speaking of metabolism. Your metabolism is in direct correlation with how much LBM you have. The more LBM you have, the higher your metabolism. Given that long duration, steady state cardio actually eats away muscle; you’re shooting yourself in the foot in that regard.
3. The fat burning zone doesn’t exist. It’s true that your body will burn a greater percentage of fat at lower intensities, however the TOTAL calories being burned is so small, that it doesn’t even really matter. Again, it all comes down to EPOC.
4. As Alwyn Cosgrove has pointed out on numerous occasions; your body adapts very well to cardiovascular exercise (in this case, steady state cardio). This is a bad thing. As you get more efficient at running a certain distance, the work required to complete that distance will become less and less as you get fitter.
To improve you have to go further in order to burn the same amount of calories. What once took you 30 minutes to burn “x” amount of calories, now takes you 45 minutes. Doesn’t sound too efficient in my book.
5. The majority of your fat loss should come via diet, not copious amounts of steady state cardio/aerobics. From a time efficiency standpoint, which makes more sense? Not eating that bowl of cereal at night (300-500 calories) or spending 60 minutes on a treadmill to burn that same 300-500 calories every single day?
6. Steady state cardio/aerobics does little to change how your body looks. Sure, you may lose 20-30 lbs, but you will still be the same “shape.” You won’t look leaner, only smaller (not to mention weaker).
7. Lets be honest…do you really enjoy spending 45-60 minutes on one piece of equipment?
Some Other Random Thoughts
*Women need to eat more protein. Cassandra Forsythe says it best, “when in doubt, eat meat.”
*You can’t be on a diet forever. Learn to incorporate dietary breaks.
*Ladies, you’re four times more likely to have an ACL tear compared to men. Get off the leg extension and leg curl machines and train your posterior chain more! Various deadlifts, box squats, Anderson squats, pull-thru’s, glute-ham raises, one-legged back extensions, and lots of single leg work.
*Train with your man. He secretly loves it.
*Get off your cell phone, for the love of god
I’m Done
Okay fellas, there you go. All you have to do now is click the “print” button and strategically place this article in a place where you know your girlfriend will see it. Your best bet would either be in between the pages of this week’s People Magazine or inside the dvd case of any of the following movies; Steel Magnolias, Dirty Dancing, or The Notebook.
