Uncategorized

Anyone who knows me well enough, knows that I loves me some classic hip hop. It’s always amusing when I bust out my iPod at work and play my When Hip Hop Didn’t Suck playlist with the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, Jeru the Damaja, KRS One, Gang Starr, De la Soul, and Black Moon (to name a few) bumping through the speakers.

Not surprisingly, most of the high school athletes look at me like I’m from Mars whenever I take over the stereo. But I don’t know if it’s because they’ve never heard of most of the artists, or if it’s the fact that I have a tendency of walking around challenging people to free-style battles at random:

*cue instrumental version of One More Chance by Biggie *

First things first, this is DJ Spider and you can’t step to dis. Welcome to the abyss. You’re squat technique is pathetic, don’t sweat it. We’ll correct it. In no time flat, that’s where it’s at.

Next on the list is your kyphotic posture. Rounded back with internally rotated glenohumeral joints. You ain’t on point. Girls won’t want to hang out with you, or your weak ass crew. What we gonna do, son? Where did you get that tazer gun? UR ruining my flow, bro. No, seriously, where did you get that? Put it down. Wait, wait, stop. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

 

One love, one love.

In any case, at this point, you’re probably wondering how the heck am I going to tie in old school rap with a relevant blog post. As it happens, I was listening to one of my all-time favorite songs, They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y) the other day, by Pete Rock & CL Smooth:

The basic theme of the song is, well, reminiscing. As such, it got me thinking about when I first started in this industry. Coming out of college, I thought I knew everything there was to know about performance, strength training, assessment, and nutrition. I mean, I took all the required course work, graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Health Education, read like two books, not to mention had rock hard abs that would make a tank jealous. How could I not succeed?

It wasn’t long thereafter when I started my first paying job in a corporate fitness center near Syracuse, NY, that I realized I didn’t know anything. I literally felt like a fish out of water, and was embarrassed to find out that I couldn’t even name the four rotator cuff muscles without looking them up, let alone design a program for someone.

So, too, the same could be said about my approach to training. As a collegiate athlete myself (I was a pitcher), I “thought” I knew the right way to train. Unfortunately, my thought process had me following a bodybuilder split where I was doing bicep curls the day after a start (smart, I know) as well as inventing exercises that can only be described as cringe worthy.

My favorite? Leg presses in the Smith machine. Nope, not kidding. I would load up the bar with like five plates on each side, lie on my back and place my feet on the bar, un-rack the weight, then perform my set. My spine is literally crying right now thinking about it. Afterwards, I’d walk around like I was Shooter McGavin, high-fiving people and kissing babies. Phew, phew, phew. God, I wish I could go back and drop kick myself.

The moral of the story? With respects to starting out in the industry, I wouldn’t change a thing. As much as I gripe about how miserable I was working in the commercial gym setting- I also realize that it allowed me to grow as a trainer, as well as a person. I think there’s a lot to be said about “paying your dues” and working in that setting.

That’s why I’m often frustrated whenever I hear or see new trainers proclaim they’re going to make thousands by writing some lame e-book that twelve people will read. Why not get really good at what you do, and then you won’t have to worry about money? It’s no coincidence that 1 in 200 personal trainers are financially independent- most suck!

Furthermore, I can’t stress enough how important it is to always strive to get better. I am constantly reading, attending seminars, traveling to other facilities, and I STILL feel like I have so much more to learn. Seriously. I don’t get how there are some trainers out there who feel they know everything and never make an effort to get better.

With respects to some of the stupid shit I used to do in the past. Whatever. We’ve all been there. We’ve all curled in the squat rack, did 500 sit-ups before bed, and thought leg extensions were the key to tear-drop quads. Thankfully, I was able to filter out the stupid sooner rather than later, and now take solace in the fact that I’m able to teach young athletes how to train the right way.

So, what’s your story? Looking back, would you change anything? What were some of the stupid things you used to do?

You didn’t really think I’d send you to a NSFW website did you? So, here it is, my new blog. From here on out this will serve as ‘homebase’ for all of my content. Welcome!

I have to admit, this wasn’t my first choice for a domain name. Nope. After a thorough study group, it came down to two options:

ihatekatebeckinsale’shusband.com

OR

ihatekatebeckinsale’shusband.net

Not surprisingly, both were already taken. Dammit! As a result, I went with the seemingly obvious choice- tonygentilcore.com.

Nevertheless, I’m going to leave this post up for a few days as people start making their way over here. In the meantime, feel free to look around and let me know what you think.

NOTE: If you come across any kinks, please let me know, and I’ll forward them to Morpheus.

Kind of short on time today, but wanted to fill everyone in on some updates:

1. You may recall last week when I casually mentioned I’ll be switching over to my own site in the very near future. To review, the new site is going to serve as “homebase” for all of my content, including the blog. As it is, the “near future” is probably going to be this week, assuming my webguy (who will be referred to as Morpheus from here on out) can work his magic and implement the finishing touches.

Chris/Morpheus has been a champ, and has redefined how I look at computer geeks. On an aside, he can deadlift over 400 lbs, so he’s not that geeky. Nevertheless, I’ll be making an official post later on in the week directing everyone to the new site. Stay tuned………

2. Everytime the UPS guy shows up at CP, it’s almost like it’s Christmas morning all over again. Yesterday, he dropped off our brand new deadlift bar, and needless to say, I haven’t been this excited since N*Sync broke up.

With the amount of deadlifting that Eric and I have been doing over the past three weeks, it’s going to be interesting to see how different it will feel to deadlift with this bar as compared to a standard Olympic bar.

As an FYI- a deadlift bar bends a little more and has little more “whip” to it, which makes lifting it off the floor a bit easier and less cumbersome.

3. As evident by the fact that I’m writing this blog post today, I made it back from Brian St. Pierre’s wedding in one piece. The CP crew had an awesome time, and as expected, there are some incriminating pictures already on the interWEBZ. Check out Steph’s blog for a review of the shenanigans.

NOTE: I ate everyone’s cake, and as a result, tore it up on the dance floor. Seriously, I think I already won next season’s So You Think You Can Dance…….by a landslide.

4. And because I like to give bad-ass credit where bad-ass credit is due; here’s Rosemary (who runs the cafeteria in the building where CP is located) attacking a tire with a sledgehammer*. While most 60 year olds are watching re-runs of The Golden Girls, or I don’t know, overdosing on Pepto Bismol; Rosemary is taking matters in her own hands and gettin after it twice a week. Awesome.

* That’s what the tire gets for having the balls to tell Rosemary her meatloaf needed more pepper. Idiot.

I had no idea what I was going to write today. Honestly, when you’ve been blogging for as long as I have (close to three years now), the fact that I’m able to somehow come up with ideas on a daily basis even amazes me. More remarkable still, is the fact that people want to read what I have to say; albeit I know half my readers only come back because I include pictures of hot chicks being hot.

PS- you’re welcome.

Nevertheless, as much as I’d like to think that I’m creative enough to come up with content on a daily basis, the truth of the matter is, I steal like it’s my J.O.B and I’m not ashamed to admit. No worries, I give credit to the people I steal from. Brian St. Pierre has written several blogs referencing a typical day “in the life” as it relates to his nutrition. As such, I’d figured I’d jump in on the fun and show everyone what an average day looks like for me as well. This is exciting stuff people.

First off, my alarm clock rarely, if ever, wakes me up in the morning. I seem to have some innate superpower that allows me to wake up five minutes before it’s supposed to go off- which sadly, makes that pretty much the lamest superpower ever. Right behind the ability to control plants and accelerate their growth. If you’re a vegetarian, this might be useful. Or, if you’re some sick, twisted individual looking for a reason to make this the worst picture ever taken of Kelly Brook, then you’d also be in luck.

PS- plants suck.

Anyways, back to the alarm clock. I generally wake up between 6:30-7AM every morning, and am legit excited to eat breakfast. I’m far from a morning person, but it’s not uncommon for me to get right out of bed and head straight to the kitchen to make breakfast:

Omlete:

6 Egg Whites

2 Whole Omega-3 Eggs

Pepper, salt, oregano

A shit-ton lot of veggies (2-3 handfuls)

Note: I like to chop up various veggies (mixed colored peppers, onions, carrots, celery, chopped broccoli) beforehand and place everything in a large container for various use throughout the week. It takes me literally ten minutes to chop everything, and saves so much time in the long run.

Salsa, and a dash of light cheddar cheese (hormone free from Trader Joe’s)

Miscellaneous:

Two slices of cinnamon-raisin Ezekiel Bread- lightly toasted

1 tbsp Teddies Natural Crunchy Peanut-Butter. I don’t do smooth peanut butter.

1 banana- placed like a smiley face on my toast. Just because.

1 cup of seedless red grapes or one piece of organic fruit (apple or pear)

12-16 oz water

4 capsules of fish oil (Biotest Flame Out)

1 capsule Country Life Vitamin D

1 capsule Probiotic Pearl

And that, ladies and gentlemen is breakfast. By far my largest meal of the day (although my post-training meal is a close second), and oops, I have to interrupt this blog post, because the guys just showed up and it’s time to lift heavy things. To be continued……………

1. Some big news on the horizon- I’m going to be leaving the Herald in (tentatively) one week. In a nutshell, I’m going to move to my own website, which will serve as ‘homebase,’ so-to-speak, for all of my content. I’ll make a formal post when the time comes, but just wanted to give everyone a heads up. I know this is going to rock the world of all seventeen people that read this blog, but I’m hoping it’s for the best. Now I feel like this is my Jerry Maguire moment:

“Who’s coming with me, who’s coming with me.”

2. What’s the deal with people getting weirded out whenever you ask to “work in” with them on a particular piece of equipment? I was at a local BSC (Boston Sports Club) yesterday with my GF, and after a few sets of trap bar deadlifts, I figured I’d throw in a few sets of front squats to boot. You know, for shits and giggles.

Thing is, both squat racks were occupied at the time. Correction, squat rack (A) was empty. However, I happened to approach it at the same time as some dude with a two foot long mullet (red flag), and being the nice guy that I am, let him take it. I just figured that if he happened to be squatting, I’d just work in with him. Of course, he took five minutes to put on his weight belt and wrist straps so that he could…………shrug. I should have known better.

Squat rack (B) was being used by some guy doing Romanian deadlifts, respectively. However, he was taking an un-godly amount of time between sets. He’d do a set, check his watch, walk around for five minutes, add ten lbs, and do another set. In my mind I was like, “WTF-I can curl what this guy is deadlifting. Besides, he can do RDL’s ANYWHERE. Why does he need to use a rack?” After waiting patiently for 15-20 minutes (I wasn’t in any hurry per se), I asked if I could jump in with him real quick so that I could start squatting. He looked at me as if I was completely crazy, and seemed dumbfounded that I even asked.

Long story short, he had one more set, and then I proceeded to do five sets of squats in the amount of time it took him to rest during one of his sets. And people wonder why they never make any progress. It’s unreal how much time they waste.

3. Saturday night the GF and I had date night, and went to go see the show Stomp in downtown Boston.

Needless to say, it was a fantastic show and I’m pretty sure she hates life at the moment because I’m taking every opportunity possible to practice my own Stomp routine…………in her kitchen.

Me: CRASH, CRASH, tapidy tap, CRASH, CRASH, tipiddy top.

GF: Why the hell are you throwing my dishes on the floor!?!?!

Me: I’m Stompin!! CRASH, CRASH, kick, kick, arm circle, CRASH

GF: Goddammit, not my good china. Get out!

Me: JAZZ HANDS!!!!!!

4. Kate Beckinsale was recently named Sexiest Woman Alive by Esquire Magazine.

“I like the idea of it, too. I do,” she adds. “I’m feeling that I must earn this. I need to go out and become much better at pole dancing or something.”

With that, Kate Beckinsale just made my list for most awesome quote ever. Right behind:

Are those your pecs or diamonds?

-Kate Beckinsale to Tony Gentilcore, circa in my dreams

You know Tony, this back isn’t just going to oil itself

-Kate Beckinsale to Tony Gentilcore, everyday

1. For those who have followed me for any length of time, whether it’s through reading my articles, my blog, or listening to me on The Fitcast, one of the things I am always stressing to other fitness professionals is the importance of continuing education. More specifically, making it a priority to attend seminars and conferences as often as you can. As such, I’d say that I try to make a cameo appearance to at least four events in any given year. In the past year alone, I’ve been to a handful of Perform Better’s seminars, Mike Boyle’s Winter Seminar, as well as Northeastern University’s Sports Medicine Lecture Series. Note to Self: Comic Con is next on the list.

Be that as it may, it goes without saying I always walk away with a ton of useful information that I’m able to apply immediately with the athletes and clients that I work with on a daily basis. While it’s always cool to learn things about retroversion and how it affects an athlete’s shoulder, or I don’t know, reciprocal inhibition (because it makes me sound smart), whenever I reflect on the day’s topics, there always tends to be one simple (albeit important) theme that reverberates in my mind over and over again. Which is———————-I need to stretch more.

While I do spend my fair share of time in front of the computer everyday- I also spend anywhere from seven to ten hours training clients. Which is to say that unlike you, I’m on my feet loading/un-loading plates, demonstrating how to squat properly, taking clients through their dynamic warm-ups, so on and so forth. Needless to say, if I feel I need to stretch more, then it’s a safe bet that you really need to stretch more.

Interestingly enough, within the past few months, I’ve FINALLY been making a conscious effort to stretch. Furthermore, to steal a term from Mike Robertson, I’ve been taking a “grenade approach,” and really making a point to be more thorough with my foam rolling- sometimes doing it twice per day. As a result, my knees haven’t felt this good in years, and I’ve been implementing squats back into my routine for the past few weeks with no resounding ramifications. Fingers crossed.

2. Knowing full well that we were going to be taping The Fitcast at 10:30 AM yesterday, and that I had plans later on in the afternoon*, my girlfriend and I headed down to the local BSC at like eight in the morning to get a quick lift in. We hop in the car for the short drive to Davis Square and this is the conversation that took place:

GF: “OMG, I can smell your knee sleeves from here.” Note: my Rehbands were in my gymbag in the backseat of the car.

Me: “Well, you know what? It’s pretty much an established fact that when you lift heavy stuff, things are going to smell bad sometimes.”

GF: “My armpits smell, you haven’t lifted me.”

Me: “That’s just gross. I’m totally going to make out with you.”

She’s a keeper.

3. *= we headed to Westford, MA to spend the day at Kimball Farm, which is pretty much the most awesome place on earth outside of Marisa Miller’s cleavage of course.

We spent the day playing miniature golf (in the rain) and followed that with some arcade action. Here’s me playing some pitching game that I totally dominated- highest MPH score of the day, thank you very much. I’m going to suggest that we get one of these for the facility in our next staff meeting. We need a new glute ham raise? Pffffft, whatever. What we really need is this thingamajig. Our pro baseball guys would never leave if we had this. Then again, it would get them out of Pete’s office. Hmmmmmmm………

4. Speaking of The Fitcast, check out this week’s episode. Kevin, Leigh and myself spent a good two hours talking about, you know, stuff.

5. I don’t know if this dog was dreaming about catching a t-bone flavored frisbee or running away from Bruce Willis’ latest movie. Either way, it’s freakin hilarious.