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Me=The Roy Hobbs of Adult Baseball

As some of you may know, I decided to pull a “Roy Hobbs,” this summer and basically make a pseudo comeback to play in the Metro-West Adult Baseball (over-30) League, for the Framingham Orioles. This was the first summer since 2003 that I played in any organized baseball league, and to be honest, it was a blast.

After two straight seasons of losing in the first round of the play-offs, the Orioles made it to the championship this season vs. the Southborough Cubs. Sadly, in the best out of three play-off, we lost both games of a doubleheader yesterday and our season is over.

That being said, while there are no official awards that are given out at the end of the year, I thought I’d share my final stats and basically anoint myself Sexiest Bastard Ever to Wear Orange Player of the Decade. I guess there’s something to be said about training for strength/performance.

Wins: 7

Losses: 1

Innings Pitched: 67 (and my elbow is completely pissed)

Hits: 28 (only three of which were for extra bases)

Runs: 10

Earned Runs: 6

Walks: 14

Strikeouts: 105

Saves: 1

ERA: 0.80

Girls Who Want to Make Out With Me: countless. Even if I did strike out with the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the 12th inning in a 0-0 game, which would have forced a one game play-off next weekend. Dammit, I suck.

All in all, the point I’m trying to make is that there’s something to be said about training for strength/performance. I look back at how I trained back in college and I wish I could go back and drop kick myself in the pancreas. Back then I never heard of a deadlift, never did any single leg work, thought 3×10 was the holy grail of set/rep schemes, and figured the best way to a six pack was to perform 500 sit-ups before going to bed. Fast forward a few years (of quality training), and I can honestly say that I’m in better shape now then I was in my early 20’s. Not to mention I’m probably throwing just as hard (if not harder) than I was in college. I stopped training like a bodybuilder, and decided to train more like an athlete.

To any high school or collegiate athletes who may be reading this blog, don’t waste your time worrying about what exercise hits the long head of the bicep. Who cares!?! Spend more time trying to get stronger, and I promise not only will you perform infinitely better (in whatever sport you play), but the aesthetics will just be a side benefit. Ie: chicks will want to hang out with you.

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“No Woman Should Lift More Than 3 Lbs.” In Other News: Boston Based Strength Coach/Trainer Just Went Postal.

I try not to make it my business to call out other professionals in the industry, but sometimes I come across something so “vomit-in-my-mouthish,” that I can’t help myself from laying down a little um, smackdown. Does that even make sense? Who cares, I’m pissed. ARRRRRRGGG!

There’s a certain celebrity trainer (Spoiler Alert: Tracy Anderson) who in her evil scheme to populate this world with an army of Skeletor look-a-likes, thinks that no woman should ever lift a weight over three lbs.

If you don’t believe me, click the link below for the full story which includes a video clip of said atrocity.

 

Tracy Anderson Is the Exercise Genius of Our Time

*Side Note: before anyone gives me flack for linking you to Oprah’s website, just know that a friend sent me the link. There’s only one condition, and one condition only where I would visit that site by choice. And that’s if Oprah ever decided to have an entire month dedicated to the beauty that is Jessica Simpson’s breasts. Two words: slide show. Still waiting, Oprah? Do it for the children.

 

I love how Gwyneth Paltrow (whom Tracy trains) mentions in the story that “I work freakin hard.” Hard in this sense means training in an 80 degree room using AIR as resistance. No, I am not kidding. I can only imagine how brutal the workout gets once Tracy busts out the paperclips.

Come on ladies, do you really believe this nonsense? Does it not piss you off? I’m pretty sure if she were still alive today, Susan B. Anthony would shit a pink dumbbell if she knew there were women still walking around with this “I’m a frail, delicate creature” mentality.

And while I’m basically beating a dead horse in saying this, lifting heavy WILL NOT make you big and bulky. Case in point:

Olympic Bobsled hopeful Bree Boyer close grip benching 135 lbs for reps. Still looks like a girl.

Olympic track hopeful Tiana Riel performing pull-ups for reps with a 10 lbs vest on. Still looks like a girl. Matter of fact she just signed a modeling contract with a local agency. Sorry fellas, she’s taken. Just to be clear, you wouldn’t have had a shot in hell anyways.

And before people start making the “well those are athletes, of course they need to lift heavy weights” comments, let me introduce you to Anna Sleeper; soon-to-be the greater Boston area’s strongest eye doctor. Here she’s doing 225 lbs for reps AFTER she completed her entire training session. Guess what? She doesn’t look bulky.

And here’s Deb DiRocco (she’ll castrate me if I reveal her age), mother of two and a true bad-ass:

Nancy LeBlanc, pushing the sled:

Michelle Elwell, actually not swearing like a sailor at the moment as she completes her lunges:

And lets not forget Tina and Steph as well.

All are great examples of women who work their tails off and don’t succumb to the notion that women can’t (or shouldn’t) lift appreciable weights. Wait for it, wait, wait……………………..and…………………BOOM goes the dynamite.

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From One Trainer to Another: My Monday Morning Blog Novel

Surprisingly, I often get e-mails from people asking me for advice. Weird, I know. Last week I received an e-mail that I thought I would share with all of you because I feel it could be of some benefit to many of you who read this blog. Particularly to those of you who happen to be upcoming trainers in the industry.

I remember how clueless I felt when I first started out in this industry (I still do to a degree), and how appreciative I was whenever someone I looked up to was more than willing to share their experiences and expertise with me. I’ve always had a “pay it forward” attitude, and as such, I’ve never been apprehensive when it comes to helping out upcoming trainers when they happen to turn to me for advice.

Needless to say, to make things easier, I’m going to break down the following question into parts because I’m cool like that.

Q: Hey Tony,

Last time I emailed you, you gave me some great information about what types of certifications to get etc…as well as stuff on Thomas Plummer. I’m looking into getting my CPT (Certified Personal Trainer) and was wondering if I could bounce some more questions off those oak trees you call arms. (no homo).

Being that I’m looking into getting my CPT in the near future I was wondering if you could give me a heads up on how things go in that field. I’ve always been into lifting and helping people train; so I think this would be a fun way to do that on my own time. So here are some questions that I can think of off the top of my head.

1. Do I just go to a gym and say: “Hi I have my CPT and I’d like to set up shop here”…?

TG: Without question, getting certified through a nationally recognized organization is going to get your foot through the door in most cases. In my opinion, the gold standard certifications would be through the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association), NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine), and the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine). Granted there are a million and one other organizations that you can get certified through, but these tend to be the most reputable.

On an aside, I ranted on this before, but the ones to avoid would be any organization (or website) that asks you to pay $49 for some weekend course. To say that I think it’s absolutely deplorable that some people actually get “certified” through these websites is an understatement.

That being said, most gyms are typically always looking for new trainers (full-time or part-time). Make sure you update your resume* as well as provide a one-page “synopsis” as to why you chose to enter this field and what you feel you bring to the table. This isn’t required, but I feel it shows a level of professionalism and allows you an opportunity to sell yourself so-to-speak.

Try to steer clear of being that guy who says, “I like to lift weights, and figured that since I look the part, I’d give this a shot.” Try to add some substance. Why do you want to be a trainer? What differentiates you from everyone else? I know when we look to take on new interns at Cressey Performance, we like to see some initiative that they are willing to learn, and more importantly, that they know the difference between their/there/they’re, too/to, and your/you’re. I don’t know, I just feel that one’s writing skills is a great indicator of their sexual prowess (obviously, ladies?) ability to communicate and serves as a great way to make a good first impression.

2. What is the average charge for a session (I’m thinking 30-60min) with a client?

TG: That’s going to depend on where you end up working. As an incoming trainer, very rarely are you going to be able to set your own rates. More often than not, you’re going to be at the mercy of some sort of established “tier system,” where you get a certain percentage of the session (which is typically based off of how many sessions you do per week or how well you are at selling packages).

Personally, I despise this type of system because it rewards quantity of training rather than quality. Unfortunately you’re going to have to deal with it and accept it as a necessary evil.

If you were to find a facility that allows you to charge your own rates, you may have to do some homework to see what other trainers in your area are charging. You don’t want to be asking people for $80 per session, when other trainers in your area are charging $50. Likewise, you also don’t want to undervalue your services. Granted, you may need to offer free sessions (15-20 minute “trial run” sessions) from time to time, but one of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to never (ever) discount your rates to accommodate someone.

3. Is there anything (or any type of person/gym) that you’d recommend me going to/staying away from?

TG: As an incoming trainer, and someone who has bills to pay, you’d be an idiot to turn away clients. Once you’ve established yourself and have built a solid client base, then you can start “categorizing” your clients, which is something I learned from Alwyn Cosgrove.

A Clients: Are those you would train for free. They work hard, they’re compliant, consistent, they show up on time, and they refer other people to you.

B Clients: Are loyal clients, but aren’t as consistent (train once per week, or once every two weeks).

C Clients: Are the ones that whenever they ask you what they should be eating, always come up with some lame excuse as to why they can’t eat that particular food. *Rolls eyes.* They also think BOSU balls are the shiznit and always remind you that their last trainer had them use one all the time. Honestly, you only put up with them because they’re either 1. a hot brunette or 2. They always give you a $100 bonus at Christmas.

D Clients: Simply put, these people are cancers. You’d rather pay someone to shoot you in the face than spend another hour with this person.

The idea is to eventually get to the point where you only train your A/B clients and pawn off your C/D clients to other trainers. Haha, suckers!

As far as which gyms to look for, if you can find a gym that allows group or semi-private training, then that would be your best option. One-on-one training is dead. It’s a complete waste of time. With semi-private training, clients are able to train more frequently at the fraction of the costs, which will allow them to get results faster. Additionally, you’re able to see more clients and make more efficient use of your time. At Cressey Performance, we’re exclusively semi-private training and it’s been great. My one major regret is the fact that I spent so many years training people one-on-one.

Additionally, it would be ideal to find a gym that offers continuing education, or at least some form of compensation for attending seminars/conferences, etc. When you interview with the general manager, this will be a great question to ask. Without question the places that I have enjoyed working at the most had a manager that understood the importance of continuing education.

Special Section: Me Just Ranting, But You Should Really Listen To Me Cause I’m Kind Of a Big Deal-by Tony Gentilcore

1. CONTINUING EDUCATION!!!!! It’s that important. You need to read, attend seminars, network with other professionals. Immerse yourself. If you don’t know what to read, check out my resources page.

2. You also need to start learning the business side of things. I waited forever to start doing this, and if I could go back in time to dropkick myself in the kidney for not doing this sooner, I would.

3. Remember, you’re always being observed. Whether it’s your manager, other trainers, or members, you’re always under the microscope. That being said, be professional. If someone is paying you good money to train them for an hour, don’t be looking at the clock every ten minutes, checking out other members, or just stand there and count reps while holding a clipboard like a zombie. Be proactive, be a COACH! People will notice your enthusiasm and want to train with you.

4. Also, don’t be that guy who only trains young, attractive females. Sure I joke about it, but it comes across as super tacky.

5. Three Words: BOSU balls SUCK.

6. Know your limits. You’re not a doctor or physical therapist. Know when you need to refer out to other professionals. This is why building a network of other professionals bodes in your favor; you refer people to them, they refer people to you.

7. As I stated above, don’t lower your prices in order to accommodate someone. Once you do this, it’s going to be a shit storm of other people trying to take advantage of you. People need to see value in your services. If they’re not willing to pay what you ask for, then they can stay fat and weak.

8. Learn to assess people. I always find it perplexing when trainers meet with new clients and never assess them to find out what biomechanical and/or postural flaws they may have. It’s this cookie-cutter mentality that makes me want to vomit in my mouth. Simply put, learning how to assess someone (in a matter of 10 minutes) is a great selling point as far as attaining clients. Gray Cook’s Functional Movement Screen would be a great starting point. And while many of you probably balked at the price, I can pretty guarantee that the knowledge you will learn will pay for the costs and then some.

9. And speaking of assessments, I’d much rather get people on the floor moving as soon as possible then spend 45 minutes checking their glute medius function. Don’t get too cute with people, they need a training effect. And if someone does in fact have a weak glute medius, chances are they’re weak everywhere. All the more reason to get them moving.

10.*Just as an FYI, writing down “being awesome,” as one of your majors in college doesn’t work. Believe me, I tried.

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Miscellaneous Miscellany (Crappy Trainers, Fat Loss Bug, A Little Sappiness…..It’s My Blog, So Deal With It)

1. Want to know why I get so frustrated with most (not all) trainers out there? Just the other day, we had a kid come in for an evaluation who mentioned to me that he has been working with another trainer for the past six months. You would think that after six months, he’d be able to perform one push-up with good form, right? You would also think that he’d have the kinesthetic awareness to be able to “find” what a neutral spine is supposed to feel like. Sadly, he couldn’t do either of the two. SIX MONTHS! Upon asking him what he and his previous trainer had been doing all this time, he said “you know, stuff like agility drills.” If more “trainers” spent more time working on the basics rather than trying to impress parents with smoke and mirrors (agility ladders, cone drills, etc), this kind of stuff wouldn’t be an issue.

2. I’d like to thank Karen Kent and Joey Taraborelli of +1 Fitness for inviting me out to Rhode Island last week to speak to their clients/members at AMGEN. I did a presentation titled De-Constructing Computer Guy: An Approach to Managing Muscle Imbalances in the Gym, where I discussed some basic programming strategies that your typical “computer guy” (or girl) should consider given the fact that they sit for a vast majority of the day. Some key points I hit on:

*You can spend one hour “fixing” things, but you still have 23 hours to mess it up again. Those other 23 hours are important. From a corrective exercise/postural standpoint, you have to be cognizant of what you’re doing outside of the gym as well. You know, like the fact that you’re reading this blog post with a forward head posture and a rounded back. Gotcha!

*Treadmills stink for this population. One of the keys to feeling better is increasing amplitude (range of motion). With jogging, there isn’t a lot of range of motion going on there (very little hip flexion or extension). Not to mention most people shouldn’t be jogging/running in the first place given the high impact load it places on their joints. Additionally, as I’ve stated before (and stealing from Mike Boyle), you need to get fit to run, not run to get fit.

*There’s a difference between what people want to do and what people need to do. Left on their own, people are going to do what’s “easy” and will rarely step out of their comfort zone. That said, what do most people do in the gym: bench press, lat pulldowns, crunches, use the selectorized machines, etc. All of which only exacerbate their already atrocious posture.

*You sit all day at work, why would you want to sit even more while training? Get off your ass!

Needless to say, it was an awesome experience and I received a lot of great feedback. And just an FYI, I’ll be doing an encore presentation tomorrow night at the local Borders using nothing but shadow puppets and my Lite Brite if anyone is interested.

3. Apparently the “fat loss” bug has hit CP and Eric, Kevin, and Danny are going to give Alwyn Cosgrove and Mike Roussell’s Warp Speed Fat Loss a go for the next month.

We “tweaked” the program slightly (lifting more heavy stuff, but the basic template/diet is still in tact) and are calling it Ludicrous Speed Fat Loss. Before pictures have been taken and I’ll definitely be updating their progress as the weeks pass.

4. On a completely non-fitness related issue: last weekend, I was given the opportunity to go listen to The Swell Season in concert at Agganis Arena at Boston University.

For those who aren’t familiar with The Swell Season, it’s an Irish folk band who’s two lead singers, Glen Hansard (of The Frames) and Marketa Irglova, were also the main characters in the movie Once(Side Note: awesome movie, even if it doesn’t have nudity. Also won Best Song at last year’s Oscars.) And yes people, even a man’s man such as myself, who eats beef jerky for breakfast and has a chest that is often mistaken for a steel plate can admit that he listens to folk music.

Point blank, the concert was amazing. Glen has been through some heartbreak in the past, and at the risk of sounding too personal, I could definitely relate to a lot of what he sang. One song in particular was “Happiness.” Before the song started, Glen mentioned that it was about “letting go of someone,” and that its main message was to “wish them well, send them good vibes, and be done with it.” Needless to say, it really hit home for me.

If you ever have the opportunity to see them in concert, it’s so worth it

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Vitamin D=The He-Man of Supplementation (Kids Still Watch He-Man, Right?)

I know, I know, I must sound like a broken record with the vitamin D talk yet again. But I thought I would pass this along to all of you because I thought it was interesting.

From Reuters Health:

Giving school children very high doses of vitamin D is safe, and may be necessary to bring their blood levels of the nutrient up to the amount necessary for optimum bone growth and health, a new study shows.

It’s been fairly well established in the literature (especially within the past 1-2 years) that vitamin D supplementation in adults is perfectly safe, and to a degree, almost mandatory. With a plethora of health benefits such as improved bone strength/bone mass, increases in lean muscle gain, improved cardiovascular health, improved blood pressure, improved sense of well-being (it’s no coincidence that we tend to feel down in the dumps during the winter months), and improved immune function, it’s amazing we haven’t been stressing it’s bad-assness sooner.

In a previous study, Fuleihan and colleagues found that giving 10- to 17-year-olds relatively high doses of vitamin D3 increased their bone mass and bone area, as well as lean mass. In the current study, they report on both the short- and long-term safety of high-dose supplementation.

You can read the article (link above), but I’ll summarize the results of the new study:

***Currently, the Institute of Medicine recommends 200 IU of D3 daily for children. In the current study, the high dose was 2,000 IU daily. Or what I like to call, “lets see what happens.”

Short-term study: 25 school children took either a placebo or 14,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D3 per week for eight weeks. Levels of the vitamin in children treated short-term rose from 44 to 54 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL).

Long-term study: 340 participants took either a placebo, 1,400 IU weekly, or 14,000 IU weekly of vitamin D3, and were followed up at six and twelve months. In the long-term study, levels rose from 15 to 19 ng/mL in children given 1,400 IU weekly and from 15 to 36 ng/mL in the higher-dose group. And no one grew a third head or developed some crazy mutant power that

Of course one could argue (ie: me) that vitamin D supplementation wouldn’t even be an issue if kids would actually go outside for a change, rather than spend their free time on the internet or playing Rock Band. I mean, when I was a kid, I spent all of my free time outside wrestling grizzly bears playing wiffle ball. No one could hit my slurve, yo!

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Q and A (Flaxseeds/Fish Oil and 2:1 Odds That “Barry” Comments On This Post)

Q: What’s your opinion of flaxseed oil and all of its supposed side effects? Also, would you recommend taking it in addition to or in place of fish oil? Thanks for any help… I love your stuff please keep it up.

A: First a little bit of the geeky stuff. There are two fatty acids that the body cannot biosynthesize, and are therefore considered essential: linoleic acid (an n-6) and “alpha-“linolenic acid (an n-3). These two fatty acids must be obtained from the diet because the body lacks the delta-15 and the delta-12 desaturases, which are needed to create double bonds and elongate fatty acid chains beyond 9 carbons to create these essential compounds. Come to think of it, that’s not nearly as geeky as I thought. There’s more of where that came from. Ladies? You+Me+Fatty acid metabolism+Star Wars+Tetris=most romantic night of your life. True Story.

As nutritionist/strength coach/smart mofo Alan Aragon has noted on several occasions:

“……based on estimates from archaeological and modern-day hunter-gatherer population research, human beings originally thrived on a diet whose ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids was approximately 1:1, and unlikely to be greater than 4:1. It also contained far less trans fatty acids and than the present diet. Today, consumption of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids is roughly 25:1. A major cause for this is the predominance of n-6 oils (corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, refined packaged grain products) and a relative minority in n-3 sources (fatty marine fish, flaxseed oil, walnuts, and small amounts of canola oil).”

That being said, there is often a stigma associated with flaxseed products in general. Barry Bonds’ jokes aside, it’s often been noted that ingesting flaxseed to increase levels of EPA/DHA (the omega-3’s) is pointless due to the poor conversion rate of ALA into the said omega-3’s. However, in his book Girth Control, Aragon showcased a study in which a team recently observed 3g ALA/day (from 5.2g flaxseed oil) raise plasma EPA levels by 60% at the end of a 12-week trial.*

Personally, I’m not a big fan of the taste of flaxseed oil. I’m sure there are some products out there that taste great (if you know of any feel free to leave a comment), but I’d rather drink a glass of diarrhea. Conversely, I use ground flaxseeds quite a bit. I’ll add a tablespoon to my protein shake in the morning, and I also like to add them in my homemade protein bars (to give them a bit of a nutty taste). Furthermore, a serving elicits roughly 3-5 grams of fiber (depending on the brand), and the lignan found in flaxseeds also serves as an antioxidant. And yes, I realize that lignans are phytoestrogenic (estrogen like chemicals), but honestly, you’d have to eat a shit-ton in order to develop man-boobs, so relax fellas.

Long story short, I wouldn’t go out of your way to exclude flaxseed products out of your diet. I think if you’re making sound choices and getting more n-3’s in your diet (flaxseeds, fatty fish, nuts, fish oil capsules, nuts, etc), you’ll be fine.

* I know you were expecting me to reference said study. Well, I’m not. Go buy the book you selfish bastard.** Click here.

**Listen, it’s me. I didn’t mean to call you a selfish bastard. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me? Who’s my cute little monkey head? You are, that’s who.

***PS, I love you.

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High Heels for Babies. (Crickets Chirping) I’m Speechless. Well, Not Really.

I’ve been on a roll lately with the rants, so I figured why not keep a good thing going and share with you a story that will undoubtedly make your eyes hate you.

Heelarious: High Heeled Shoes for Babies

Essentially these two women (Jenelle Kulaas and Britta Bacon) thought it would be “funny” (get it? HEELarious) to develop high heels for their newborns. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. That is funny. I mean, what could be funnier than promoting atrocious motor patterns in infants just when they’re starting to learn how to walk? “Oh look everyone, look over there! Little Susy is wearing her whore- in-training shoes. Doesn’t she just look fab? Whoopsie daises, she just fell and hit her head on the coffee table. LMAO, she’s so freakin cute!”

Heelarious

Not too long ago, I wrote on why I’m not a big fan of grown women wearing high heels, let alone an infant who is just starting to develop all the gross motor skills that she will use for the rest of her life. I don’t know which is worse; letting your child play with a plugged in toaster oven while swimming in a pool filled with ebola, or putting these shoes on her feet. It’s a toss up. I don’t know, I’m confused. Where do babies come from anyways? Santa Claus, right?

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HFCS+Actors=HILARITY (LOL)

In case you missed this week’s episode of The Fitcast, we briefly touched upon the topic of how the corn industry has apparently gotten their panties all up in a tither (ie: they’re being whiny bitches) about how high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has gotten a bad rap within the past few years. In a sign that the apocalypse is just around the corner, sweetsurprise.com recently released a few tv ads that pretty much make me want to jump into a live volcano.

As Leigh Peele stated on her blog the other day:

To quickly note, sugar isn’t just sugar. Nothing is ever that black and white, but, is HFCS going to kill you, are they right? The short answer is, under current research, there is no danger with intake of HFCS on small levels.”

It’s true, HFCS isn’t quite the evil step-sister that it’s made out to be, and in small doses, it really isn’t that big of a deal. But come on!!! Do we really need ads telling people that they shouldn’t avoid it? Do they really expect us to think that saying that it’s made from corn (it’s natural!) makes it healthy or a viable option?

Furthermore, as ex-CP client Gregg Taliercio mentions:

“Industrialized corn funneled and processed down to High Fructose Corn Syrup isn’t all that natural. Fruit sugar is still sugar, and to have them compare HFCS to regular sugar is certainly fair, but isn’t that setting the standard pretty low? But HFCS is made of fruit sugar, it has to be okay, right? Well again, this sugar comes in the absence of any of the positive things fruit brings to the table like antioxidants, fiber, and all kinds of micro-nutrients.”

Apples

Each commercial ends with a voice over telling us to “Get the facts. You’re in for a sweet surprise.” I find it comical that one of the “facts” on their website is that HFCS retains moisture in bran cereals and helps keep breakfast bars moist. WOW. That is freakin mind blowing. Way to shoot for the stars fellas. You really hit a home-run with that one. I mean, you could have told me that HFCS cures tape worm in puppies and I would have scoffed as no big deal. But now that I know that it retains moisture in cereal bars, I’m completely sold. You sir, are a treasure and a true pioneer of science.

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Newsflash: Everyone Used to Bench 400 lbs!

As many of you already know, I was back in NY this past weekend for a family reunion. I’m happy to report that I ended up not wanting to kill myself. Yay me! In all seriousness, it was great to see my family, whom I haven’t seen since last Thanksgiving. It was also great to go bat shit crazy and eat pretty much every carb I could get my hands on. Pizza and chocolate chip cookies never tasted so glorious.

See people, we fitness professionals aren’t skeered to eat some carbs everyone now and then. I’m certainly not. CARBS!!!!!! Lets just put it this way; if eating carbs was like knocking over tall buildings, I would have been freakin Godzilla this weekend. Or Kim Kardashian’s ass. HI HO!

In any case, while home this weekend, my mom mentioned to me that as she was reading my blog the other day, the new gym teacher at the school where she works was watching the Bench-Off videos over her shoulder. Shortly thereafter he stated that “back in the day, I used to bench 400 lbs. Blah blah blah.” Is it just me, or is anyone else amazed at how many people used to bench 400 lbs back in high school/college?

I mean, outside of the year that I spent training at South Side Gym in Stratford, CT, I’ve only seen TWO people bench a legitimate 400 lbs. And I’ve trained at plenty of different gyms. Yet, it seems a week never goes by where I don’t read or hear about someone benching this magical figure back in high school. Yet, they can only bench 185 for reps now.

These guys have no idea how much 400 lbs is. If I were to put 315 on the bar, I’m willing to bet that most would destroy the back of their pants, and come up with some lame excuse as to why they couldn’t do it. Like they tweaked their shoulder the other day, or I don’t know, their vagina hurts. That’s two today. I’m on fire!

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Random Thoughts (More Vitamin D, Skipping, and Bagels Suck)

1. A few weeks ago, I touched on the topic of Vitamin D and how I feel it’s going to be the next “big thing” as far as supplements is concerned. In short, just about everyone (even people in Texas) are deficient in Vitamin D. Vitamin D plays a key role in many things such as:

-Helps maintain calcium homeostasis, along with bone and muscle health

-Plays a role in helping to regulate blood pressure and improves cardiovascular health

-May have an integral part in helping to prevent autoimmune disease, as well as helping to prevent cancer

-Supplementing with Vitamin D has been shown to improve one’s sense of well-being (AKA: helps with depression)

My friend Jen Heath actually wrote a fairly detailed summary on the importance of Vitamin D (scroll down to #3), so I’ll just let her do the talking.

2. I’m off to Upstate NY this weekend for a family reunion. Vegas has me at 2-1 odds that I end up wanting to shoot myself in the face with a taser gun. Hahaha, just kidding. No, but seriously, toss me that 22.

3. Eric and I made an executive decision yesterday at CP. No more skipping drills with our new athletes (high knee skips, reverse skips w/external rotation, etc). Most of the kids totally butcher the skipping anyways and Eric made mention that having our guys perform skipping drills instead of sprinting is like handing them a calculator and teaching them how to turn it on. Everyone knows how to use a calculator, just like “most” people know how to sprint. Why waste time skipping, when we could be sprinting instead?

Addendum: Conversely, I do feel that skipping drills (as well as other low-level movement training protocols) are an important component for really de-conditioned athletes and/or “computer guys” who do nothing but sit in front of a desk all day. If these guys even make it to the gym, most do nothing but jog, which locks up their hips even more since they’re using a very limited range of motion (virtually no hip flexion/extension what-so-ever). That being said, adding in some easy skipping drills allows them to move around a bit and loosen up the hips, which is cool in my book. Plus lets be honest, it can be quite entertaining to see someone who hasn’t skipped since 6th grade try to do it again.

Addendum #2: Effective Immediately- any trainer seen advocating sprinting to their 40 lb overweight client is subject to random acts of torture which include, but not limited to:

* Being forced to listen to every 17 year year old kid who weighs 150 lbs and has watched Fight Club tell you how he wants abs like Brad Pitt.

* Attending my family reunion

4. Speaking of CP, we always like to inspire our clients with various quotes of the day. This week’s installment:

5. New favorite exercise= speed pulls against chains. I’ve always been slow off the floor with my deadlifts, so I implemented three weeks worth of speed pulls against chains in my last cycle and saw my deadlift go up ten lbs in that time span. Chicks totally want to hang out with me now. Ladies? Anyone? Those ham sandwiches aren’t just going to make themselves now are they? Hello?

UPDATE: Thank you to Gregg T for being the bestest Grammar Nazi this side of polygamous marriages. Gregg lives in Utah, which is pretty much the coolest State EVER. Unfortunately, I was away from my computer all day traveling and basically came across as a nimrod for using affective instead of effective above. I’m never going to get laid. Dammit!