I’ll be making my first appearance – ever (<— how’s that possible?) – in the wonderful state of North Carolina this coming March to put on my popular Coaching Competency Workshop.
Full details (date, location, itinerary, how to register) can be found HERE.
EARLY BIRD rate is currently in effect ($50 off regular price) and ends soon.
SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS
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I think if more trainers and coaches would just shut up and let their (potential) client do more of the talking they’d likely see a better percentage of people hiring them. That, and stop talking over people’s heads. No one cares you can break down the Kreb’s Cycle.
If you train women, you owe it to yourself to consider taking this course.
What I LOVE about Sarah’s approach is that not only does she provide a thorough deep dive into the realm of postpartum training and considerations, but she ADVOCATES strength training as an integral component.
In her words:
“You need to lift shit, to fix shit.”
I’ve recently been re-acquainting myself with the material and it’s really helped to open my eyes to knowledge gaps in this area in addition to appreciating just how much ATTENTION TO DETAIL is required when working with this population.
My wife is two-years postpartum and has been dealing with right sided hip pain for a while now, and it just so happens I watched the section on glute clenching and femoroacetabular movement this morning and it punched me in the mouth.
I had several light bulb moments.
Sarah currently has this course on SALE for $150 off the regular price, but it ends this coming Monday (1/21).
The beauty of fillers is that, much like tv shows based in the city of Chicago – Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago Justice, Chicago Sanitation, Chicago Teacher’s Union1 – there’s an endless array to pick and choose from.
What follows isn’t close to an exhaustive list.
What’s more, fillers can serve as a splendid opportunity to individualize someone’s program to hone in their unique injury history or their unique mobility/stability deficits.
QUICK ASIDE: When it comes to writing training programs for people, there are more similarities across the board than there are differences.
Far too often I find coaches/trainers making things more complicated than they have to be. Mike Boyle spoke to this not too long ago on social media:
People really want training to be complicated? Same group today 1 Euro BBall, 2 MLB pitchers, 2 position players, 2 national caliber female lacrosse players, 1 national level field hockey player, 1 NCAA female ice hockey player. 90% same. #sportspecific ?
Training programs, more often than not, revolve around these movement patterns, and the individualization generally comes down to what iteration of said movement pattern best fits the goal(s), injury history, and ability level of the athlete/client.
More to the point, instead of focusing on the facade of “sport specific training,” the better moniker should be centered on “people specific training.”
But that’s a hefty conversation for another time.
In the end, like I said, fillers are an ideal way to provide some semblance of customization into a program.
Fillers For Squats
Much like the deadlift, there are many moving parts to a squat which the body requires access to.
Starting from the bottom-up:
Ankle Dorsiflexion
Hip Flexion, in addition to Hip Internal Rotation
T-Spine Extension
Shoulder Mobility (specifically glenohumeral external rotation with regards to back squats)
Here are a handful of fillers for your consideration:
1) Hip Flexor Mobilization with IR/ER
The plain ol’ vanilla Wall Hip Flexor Mobilization is still one of my all-time favorite fillers, but this variation, which I stole from my boy Dean Somerset, adds another level to it.
Squatting requires hip flexion, and deep(er) hip flexion also requires hip internal rotation. Adding this in between sets of squats will make your hips feel nice-n-juicy.
The key, though, is to actually get motion from the HIP and not just crank through your lumbar spine. I like to put my hand on my ASIS and then “drive” that towards and away from my opposite (up) knee. In short, I think about opening and closing my pelvis.
There isn’t a ton of range of motion with this drill, but serves as a nice way to “unglue” the hips.
5 reps per direction/side is money.
2) Seated 90/90 Hip Switch (Progressions)
What I like most about this drill is that it hits both hip INTERNAL and EXTERNAL rotation simultaneously. The objective is to keep your chest up as best you can, along with your feet staying cemented to the floor.
1st Progression = Supported (hands)
2nd Progression = Unsupported (no hands)
3rd Progression = Adding in additional end-range Hip IR on the trail leg (be sure not to crank through your QL).
4th Progression = I don’t know, blindfolded? A new Bird Box challenge?
Shoot for 5-8 repetition per side (depending on which progression you’re doing). Hands Supported = high(er) reps. End Range Hip IR = you’ll hate life.
3) Side Lying Open Book
This one is pretty self-explanatory, and a great drill to help open up the chest and work on mid-back mobility.
Lie on the floor with a foam roller (or yoga block) underneath your top knee to prevent you from falling into excessive lumbar rotation. With your hips & shoulders starting stacked, “open” your top side by following your hand with your eyes.
BE SURE YOU’RE BELLY BUTTON DOESN’T GO ALONG FOR THE RIDE (it should stay put).
On an almost daily basis I read or watch something one of my colleagues posts on the internet and I am not-so-subtlety reminded of how inadequate I am.
I mean, granted, I have a deadlift most guys covet, and pecs that can cut diamonds, but even still…it’s not enough.
My brain just doesn’t work in the say fashion as some of my fitness brethren.3
Today’s installment of Exercises You Should Be Doing is a gleaming example of this fact.
** No fluff here, Robert is an outstanding coach and someone you should be following (especially if you work with older clients).
What Does It Do? – When I first saw this exercise being performed on Robert’s Instagram feed I instantly thought of my IN-SEASON high-school basketball players. They were coming in to train at CORE the following day and I knew they were going to be a bit beat up from a hectic week of games and practices.
I wanted them to come in and get a good training session in, but I also wanted stay cognizant of the fact they would have likely given me the look of death if they walked into the studio and saw “squats” on the docket.
With this iteration I was able to still have them squat, albeit with minimal axial loading on their spine. Too, as I found out myself after performing a few sets, it torches the anterior core.
I receive a high training effect with minimal joint stress with this exercise, and like I said, for in-season athletes this is money.
In reality, though, this is a great exercise for anyone: athlete, non-athlete, in-season, off-season, centaur, whatever.
Other things to note:
– The added “pull” of the band during the eccentric phase of the exercise provides a unique training stress in that the trainee must now learn to CONTROL the lowering portion and not just let the band take over.
– Moreover, I see some value in using this variation with beginners. Getting a beginner to appreciate TENSION and body position during a squat (abs on, ribs down, hips tucked under) is paramount. Far too often they’re “loosey-goosey” and have a hard time comprehending the concept. Here, the band gives them all the feedback they need to FEEL what it is I’m after.
– Lets quit it with the formalities shall we? You know and I know that there’s one thing, and one thing only, we’re both thinking of when it comes to this exercise.
We’ve finally figured out a way to combine squats and bicep curls, baby!
Key Coaching Cues: I’m using an EZ Curl bar in the video, but if you wanted to up the bad-ass factor you could use a straight bar or, I don’t know, an ax.
I’d err on the side of conservative here.
A 1/4″ band will be more than enough resistance for most people, but I can see a case being made for 1/2″ band for stronger individuals.4
Programming wise this exercise fits well with high(er) rep schemes (8-15) so don’t be bashful.
SIDE NOTE: Grip will be the limiting factor for the bulk of trainees with this exercise, so please take that into consideration. The last thing you want is someone letting go of the barbell from the top position due to fatigue and then they break their foot.
I’ll be making my first appearance – ever (<— how’s that possible?) – in the wonderful state of North Carolina this coming March to put on my popular Coaching Competency Workshop.
Full details (date, location, itinerary, how to register) can be found HERE.
EARLY BIRD rate is currently in effect ($50 off regular price) and ends soon.
SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS
Twitter
I’ve noticed a trend of some fit pros admitting they don’t workout. That’s their prerogative, but you wouldn’t expect an accountant to not stay abreast of most recent tax laws or a ninja to not practice ninjaing. I guess what I’m saying: Coaches should practice what they preach.
This was a fantastic read, and what I like best is that it involves three physical therapists who actually lift weights. It’s like three unicorns talking about lifting heavy things.
John sent me a copy of his new training resource and it’s outstanding. But, what else can we expect from him? The foreward alone, written by Dave Tate, was enough to prompt me to want to punch through a brick wall.
If you want to train like a beast AND intelligently AND not get hurt in the process this is something you’ll want to look into. It comes with a 300+ page training manual along with 12-weeks of programming, a detailed exercise library, and training logs.
About the only thing John doesn’t provide is the post-workout shake.
FYI: I receive ZERO kickback or affiliate income for directing you to this resource. I like pointing my readers to good information and this definitely falls under that umbrella.
I had a gentleman come in for an assessment recently who, upon arriving, provided me with a laundry list of injuries and maladies that have hampered his ability to workout for quite some time.
The list he handed over would have prompted fist bumps from Tolstoy or Tolkien from its grandiosity in description and length.
Some were legitimate – an old athletic injury to his shoulder, along with some nagging low back pain.
Some were, shall we say, a bit of overkill – “my left Sternocleidomastoid gets a bit tweaky whenever I rotate my head more than 17.22 degrees. It’s even more profound when the Dew Point dips below a certain level. Or if I wear red on Thursday.”
Okay, that last part did NOT happen. Rather, it was meant as an allegory of sorts, an attempt to showcase how some people can often fall into a trap of believing they’re broken and that the only way to “fix” themselves is to put under a microscope every tweak, niggle, and bump that rears its ugly head.
To be clear: It’s NOT my bag to discount people’s past or current injury history. I respect and take into account everything (injury history, goals, ability level, favorite Transformer5) and use that information to ascertain what will be the best, safest and most efficient path to dieselfication possible.
That said, I often have to play “bad cop” and help people come to an understanding.
That they’re not broken, that they can train, and that they don’t have to spend 30 minutes foam rolling and activating their Superficial Dorsal Fascial Line.
The drawn-out, overly complicated warm-up is my worst nightmare as a coach.
Actually, back up.
Kipping pull-ups are my worst nightmare. With a close second being anytime someone asks me about keto. Oh, and mushrooms.6
Sometimes when I start working with a new client – especially one coming in with an extensive injury history – they’re often riddled with fear and trepidation with regards to training. They’ve been stymied by an endless array of setbacks (and overly cautious physical therapists7) and are reluctant to push past the “corrective exercise” rabbit hole.
Their warm-up often takes longer than it takes to complete the Boston Marathon, to the point where every inch of their body is meticulously foam rolled and every muscle is painstakingly activated.
Yes, it’s important to activate “stuff.”
In fact, I’m often flummoxed some people still don’t understand the importance of taking themselves through a proper warm-up. Getting the body and nervous system primed for physical activity is kind of a big deal, and I won’t belabor the point here.
You should be doing it.
Don’t get me wrong: the warm-up is a splendid opportunity to individualize someone’s program and to have him or her dedicate some additional TLC to areas of the body that need it.
To that end, however, I do feel – at times – people baby themselves to the extent the warm-up becomes the workout.
This is where I find a lot of value in fillers and implementing them into my programs.
The idea is to address common “problem areas” by tossing in some low-grade activation/mobility drills during one’s rest intervals…as part of their training program.
The key point here is LOW-GRADE.
Filler exercises can be anything from glute activation and scapular upward rotation drills to, I don’t know, a particular stretch (hip flexors?) or naming all the members of Wu-Tang Clan. The premise is that they’re low-grade, low-demand, easy, and address something that won’t sacrifice performance on subsequent sets of iron work.
Performing 400m sprints or Tabata anything does not constitute as a filler, and defeats the point. We’re trying to turn stuff on and/or address common mobility/stability issues, not challenge Jason Bourne to a street fight.
All that said I wanted to share some insights on how I implement fillers into the programs I write, and in particular which ones I like to pair with certain exercises.
First up, deadlifts of course…;o)
Filler For Deadlifts
There are a lot of moving parts to the deadlift and to perform it in a safe manner requires “access” to a number of things:
Ample T-Spine extension
Ample hip flexion
Depending on the variation (I.e., sumo style) requisite adductor length
Scapular posterior tilt (hard to do if someone’s in excessive upper back kyphosis).
Lumbo-pelvic control/stability
The cheat code for unlimited lives in Contra (very important)8
If none of these things are in play or even minimally addressed many lifters are going to have a hard time staying healthy in the long run.
Alright, enough of my jibber-jabber. Lets get to the drills.
1) Split Stance Adductor Mobilization
Now, admittedly, if there was a Wikipedia page for “ordinary and unremarkable exercises,” this one would be right at the top. However, this has always been a staple filler exercise for me and one that I don’t forsee taking out of the rotation anytime soon.
What I like most about this exercise is that it targets the adductors in both hip flexion and extension. The key, though, is attention to detail with regards to anterior core engagement.
A common mistake I see people make is “falling” into their lower back when they walk their hands forward; it’s important to avoid this. Too, another common mistake is allowing the lower back to round as they sit back. The main objective should be to maintain as “neutral” of a spine as possible throughout the entirety of the set.
One other teeny-tiny thing to consider is scapular position. This drill can also be a nice opportunity to work on a bit of Serratus activation by actively “pushing” into the floor so that there’s a bit of protraction and the scapulae “set” or adhere to the ribcage.
Aim for 5-8 repetitions/leg during rest periods.
2) Monster Walks
All I can say about this exercise is that when it’s done properly it’s Glute O’clock.
In the video above I’m using Nick Tumminello’s NT Loop which I have found work really well for this drill.
FYI: I receive zero kickback from Nick – maybe a tickle fight? Fingers crossed – in recommending his band.
The idea here is to lock the ribs down and to keep the hips level so they’re not teeter-tottering back and forth during the set. Walk it back using the hips/glutes until the band is fully stretched and then control the return (again, making every effort not to let the hips teeter-totter).
I prefer to use anywhere from 5-8 repetitions here.
3) Bench T-Spine Mobilization
This is a money filler for those people stuck in flexion hell all day, in addition to those who have chronically tight/short lats.
Some key things to note:
Holding onto a stick (or anything similar) helps prevent the glenohumeral joint from going into internal rotation.
As you sit back towards your ankles, try to maintain a neutral back position throughout (keep those abs on, actively “pull” yourself back).
Perform a pseudo bicep curl at the bottom to help nudge you into a bit more thoracic extension.
Be careful not to induce excessive thoracic extension here. It’s easy to think the more ROM here the better, but that’s not necessarily the case.
4) Brettzel Mobilization w/ Exhale
Stolen straight from Gray Cook and Brett Jones this is easily one of my favorite fillers OVERALL, and not just for deadlifts. We’re locking down the lumbar spine by holding the bottom knee down (you can also place a foam roller here if you’re unable to get this low) in addition to adding a nice hip flexor stretch on the opposite side.
The goal, then, is to take in an inhale through nose and EXHALE (out the mouth) as you rotate and drive your top shoulder towards the floor.
Indeed, this is a fantastic drill to work on more thoracic extension, but again, be judicious with ROM here. More is not better. All I’ll say here is stay cognizant of your belly button (innie or outtie?) and where it’s pointing. As you extend back it should not point towards the ceiling. Instead, it should stay relatively motionless and pointing towards the wall your chest is facing.
As you exhale with each subsequent rep, you should notice you’re getting closer and closer to the floor.
3-5 repetitions per side should suffice.
And That’s That
There are a plethora of options here, but all I wanted to do was highlight a handful of my favorites. Choose ONE drill to perform during your rest periods. Also, depending on the total number of sets you have on the menu you could also alternate between 2-3 drills.
There’s no golden rule.
Hope this helped and gave you a few ideas to work with.
If you’re a personal trainer or strength coach you likely work with clients and athletes who 1) have glutes9and 2) are looking to up their glute game.
Today’s guest post by strength coach, Menachem Brodie, goes a bit further down the rabbit hole than just giving you a bunch of glute-centric exercises to consider. There are a plethora of factors to consider when trying to ascertain what exercise will be the best fit for any one individual’s derriere.
What is it about glutes that has made them the “back to the future” of strength and performance training?
Was it Bret Contreras creating the Barbell Hip Thrust and spreading the Gospel of Glutes?
Was it the invention of Yoga Pants?
Or maybe it was Mike Jureller going on his “International Tour of CrossFit gyms” that made them popular… The world may never know.
What is undisputed, is that glutes (and mid & lower traps) are signs that someone is an athlete, or at least training like an athlete.
Today we’ll grab our Glute Dolorean’s and head back to the past, to help us understand why glutes are so important, why squats are not enough, and what you need to consider when programming glutes for your athletes and clients.
The glutes, all three of them: Glute medius, Glute minimus, and Glute maximus, need to be developed in proper proportion to allow the hip joint to sit more properly. As the glutes lose strength they tend, like every muscle, to lose their optimal resting length.
This in turn affects performance, and in the case of the hip joint, can lead to the head of the femur sitting at a poor angle in the acetabulum, which as I found out, over time can lend to bone growth in paces we don’t want it, leading to impingement, or other mechanical issues.
One such issue that can arise, is what has been called “gluteal amnesia,” which simply put is the glutes losing the ability to execute hip extension, leaving the hamstrings to do all the work and can cause the head of the femur to clunk around in the acetabulum like a drunkard in a demolition derby.
Putting Down a Great Base
In order for us to have the best chance of fully expressing our athleticism, we have to have a solid base.
Now while (especially) the average client, cyclists, and triathletes tend to think of “core” as being the base, this is not the full truth.
The base involves the Axial Skeleton (Spine & rib cage) + the Pelvis. This is of critical importance, as failure to stabilize these two together can sap power and strength. There are of course sports that are exceptions to this, such as rowing, but it’s this author’s opinion that this is why we tend to see disc injuries in that population.
Butt, developing your glutes REQUIRES that you have a stable and strong midsection: the rectus abdominus, internal and external obliques, the pelvic floor, and quadratus lumborum all work together to stabilize the pelvis from the top & middle. I won’t go into these items in this post, but you can read more and learn a few exercises to help address your midsection in this great post from Sarah Duvall, DPT.
It’s often necessary to break down movement(s) into their respective parts to make certain we’re getting motion from the right areas and that we’re using/engaging the areas we want to use/engage to perform exercises well, which is what we’ll dial in on next.
Cycling and Sitting: The Bane of Gluteal Existence
When glutes are strong and full and the diaphragm, ribs, and pelvic floor all move properly for breathing, EVERYTHING works better: Squats are more full range, your back feels like a titanium beam, and jumping and sprinting tend to be out of this world (for a 6th grader).
Butt (<– haha, I see what you’re doing there Menachem) when one starts spending more time in a seated position where the glutes are partially stretched, but not used, and the diaphragm is out of alignment with the pelvic floor, these muscles tend to lose some of their abilities, as they are essentially being told to shut off in those static positions: We don’t need them to work because we are slouching and hanging off the ligaments/connective tissues instead.
Cyclists and triathletes also suffer this problem due to the inherent position of their sport.
You lose power potential in a muscle that cannot stretch, or is in a stretched position for so long. This is an issue many cyclists, triathletes AND our clients/ athletes face, due to the long periods of time that we spend sitting with our glutes in an elongated position, and “the rings” (pelvic floor + diaphragm) out of alignment.
Glutes Are a Keystone to Performance Oft Neglected
While the running joke is that “I got glutes cuz I squat a lot,” Squats actually are NOT enough to fully and properly develop the glutes. There is far more that goes into developing glutes than being able to perform the 30+ something squat variations.
I know what you’re thinking:
But this is important, as it relates to an oft-missed portion to training the glutes: PELVIC CONTROL.
Pelvic stabilization and control is extremely important if we are to get true hip extension, and not extension from places not intended to work “like that”, such as the lumbar spine.
If I had a dollar for every time I saw a trainer or coach working on “Hip extension” with a client/ athlete who was getting movement from the lumbar spine, I’d be a very rich person.
In order for us to build up the glutes properly, we have to begin by thinking about giving stabilization to the pelvis through teaching the hamstrings, internal obliques, the deep hip rotators (pelvic floor), rectus & transverse abdominus, and Quadratus lumborum to all fire in good sequence and with great strength.
This is a challenge for many, as we tend to perform our front planks by hanging off the hip flexors, we work our hamstrings by laying down on the machine, and often don’t include many anti-rotation exercises (although, you ARE reading Tony’s blog, so you’re officially “one of the smart ones” who does in fact train rotary stability).
Getting to Work
Glute work isn’t simply throwing a few exercises into your dynamic warmup and main routine, there is much more that needs to be done to maximize your athletes results.
We MUST think about the different positions the athlete will be required to perform in their sport:
Do they include deceleration and change of direction?
Is it a fixed motion similar to cycling or rowing, or is their sport more dynamic, such as basketball and rugby?
Is the athlete in anterior pelvic tilt for their sport, such as hockey, bowling, or cycling?
Each of these questions must be answered, as they help us understand the joint positioning of the hip….and as we all know:
JOINT POSITION DICTATES MUSCLE FUNCTION
If we’re actually to train the athlete and their glutes to perform in their sport, we MUST know how the muscles will be asked to work in the “real world”- that of dynamic movement and uncertainty required by their sport.
This is one of the things many of us forget as we write programming: What positions are the joints going to be in, and due to these changes in joint position, how will the muscles ACTUALLY be responding/used for movement?
Stabilizer?
Prime mover?
Prime mover through full range of motion?
Next we need to answer:
What kind of lever arm should you use for the athlete when training the glutes?
Weighted at the lower leg? (Reverse Hypers)
Weighted at the shoulders? (Barbell good mornings)
Weighted at the hip? (Barbell Hip Thrust)
Weighted long fulcrum? (Deadlifts)
Weighted medium fulcrum? (Sumo Deadlifts)
Resistance bands at the knees?
Resistance bands at the shins?
Resistance bands at the feet?
Resistance band at the crotch? (Band Pull throughs)
The answer to this can and should vary throughout the training year, but there should always be one or two lever arms which are staples to that athletes program, to help combat the movement deficiencies that their specific sport, AND POSITION in that sport, entail.
After all, you wouldn’t train a pitcher as you would train a shortstop.
Programming Glutes for Your Clients & Athletes
Every single warmup we do here at Human Vortex Training starts with some form of the hip series, depending on the athletes ability to recruit the glutes & stabilize their midsection. This doesn’t mean that these exercises are the only warmup, that would be poor planning. Rather, we should be looking to include at least 1-2 of these moves in our dynamic warm up to help the athlete/client connect with, and utilize their glutes.
Here are the foundational warm-up exercises which I’ve used a mix of over the years:
1) Side Lying Straight Leg Lift
1 @ 8-15 each
2) Hip Lifts
1 @ 15-30
3) Clamshell Variation
Side Lying Clamshells (beginners)
1 @ 8-15 each
Side Lying Half Clamshells (intermediate/advanced)
1 @ 8-15 each
4) Side Lying Straight Leg Adduction
1 @ 8-15 ea
5) Birddog Variation or Regression
1 @ 5-8 each
PLEASE Don’t butcher the Birddog exercise! Our affable, giant-triceped host, Tony Gentilcore, has a great video about this and how to better teach it here:
6) Single Leg Hips Lift
1 @ 8-15 each
7) Banded Lateral Walks
8) Banded Monster Walks Forward/ Backward
Along with 2-4 of the above exercises, we would get 1-2 breathing exercises, and 2-4 other dynamic warm-up exercises to prepare for that specific days session.
Burnout Session at the End of Your Lift for Glutes? No Problem!
At the end of a session is a great place to add in some more sport-related fatigued state specific glute training. These are usually done bodyweight only, as we’re looking to help improve the athletes resilience and strength-endurance in sport-specific positions, although it’s best to find what works for YOUR athlete….Some respond better, or actually need weighted or resisted variations.
Use your best judgement to find what’s best for your athlete at that time.
1) Back on Bench Single Leg Hip lifts (Rotary Stability) (Sprinters, Track and Field, Triathletes)
3) Frog Hip Lifts (Weighted or Unweighted) (BJJ, Hockey)
But It’s Not All Strengthening
As we all know, simply making a muscle stronger and better able to work in chorus with other muscles, doesn’t make it a rock star. We still need to ensure it’s able to work through it’s full intended range of motion, as well as to rest at its ideal resting length.
For this, we can do a few different exercises:
1) Brettzel
2) Half-Pigeon Stretch
3) Dynamic LAX Ball Glute Release with Mid-Trap Activation
I like all of these as they also help the athlete learn where the rest of his or her body is & what it’s doing as they get into the proper positions… a big win for Proprioception!
Give these a shot, and let the glute gains begin!
About the Author
Menachem Brodie, NSCA-CSCS, PCES, is a leading Strength Coach for Cyclists & Triathletes. In the health, fitness, & wellness fields for nearly 20 years, he has worked with professional & amature atheltes from around the world. He has authored 2 courses: Strength Training for Cycling Successand Strength Training for Triathlon Success, and has presented internationally on Strength Training for Endurance Athletes, including at the 2018 USA Cycling Coaching Summit.
With this iteration, though, we’ll be going a bit deeper into the coaching and programming side of things:
How to program around common injuries.
How to “connect” the appropriate exercises to the client/athlete.
How to squat and deadlift like a boss.
Dates are slated for Philadelphia, Edmonton, and Sydney at the moment and you can find out more details HERE.
2. Coaching Competency Workshop – Raleigh, NC
JUST ANNOUNCED.
I’ll be making my first appearance – ever (<— how’s that possible?) – in the wonderful state of North Carolina this coming March to put on my popular Coaching Competency Workshop.
Full details (date, location, itinerary, how to register) can be found HERE.
EARLY BIRD rate is currently in effect and won’t last forever. Hurry up because spots will be limited.
SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS
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I keep getting emails from magazine editors/writers asking me what “fitness trends do I see arising in 2019?”
Grab a notebook, put it into your gym bag, and use it to ACTUALLY track your sessions. No reliance on an app or expensive piece of technology required.
Some sage points given by Travis in this article detailing why hiring a (competent) strength & conditioning coach at the high school level is money well spent.
It’s the new year, which means an influx of rude and seemingly obnoxious new gym goers. Here’s some tips to trainers on how to nip the unruly behavior in the bud before it gets out of hand.
Not surprisingly I’ve noticed an inundation of “inspirational” or informative post over the past few days offering insight from “How to Save More Money in 2019” to “What Are the (Fitness) Trends to Watch Out For?” to, I don’t know, “Who Would You’d Rather Have as a Dinner Guest: Your Boss or a Balrog?”
Too, this is the time of year many people write their “stuff I’ve learned” posts to reflect on their personal growth over the past 365 days (and to totally brag about how many books they’ve read…wink, wink. Don’t worry, I’m not judging.10
Truth be told, I didn’t read that many books last year (due to a very active and rambunctious toddler at home. And Netflix), so I’m afraid I wouldn’t have many sage and/or Earth shattering “new things” to divulge anyway.
That said, in an effort to ring in 2019, I would like to toss my hat into the ring, take a few minutes, and share one good ol’ fashioned, “seasoned veteran” piece of advice to new and upcoming fitness professionals who may be following along.
Full Disclosure: What follows may come across as a bit preachy or me being a cantankerous curmudgeon.
Whatever, it’s my blog, deal with it.
AND GET OFF MY LAWN while we’re at. And GO TO BED.
Put Your Clothes On
I came across an interesting conversation on Facebook the other day, and it only came to my attention because it was started by an ex-client of mine (who’s also a trainer) who tagged me in it.
She posited this question:
“Curious, are you more or less likely to hire a trainer if they post pictures of themselves with their shirts off or in a bikini?”
Now, don’t get me wrong: I understand why someone who’s in the health/fitness industry would feel it necessary to market themselves by showcasing their, shall we say…assets.
HA – see what I just did there?
I do feel there’s a time a place for it, and I do feel there’s little harm in the occasional “look at me, I’m sexy AF, and my pecs can cut diamonds” photo op.
It’s not lost on me that a significant part of a trainer’s job is to look the part.
I mean, if someone’s going to dedicate their life to training 4-5x per week, taking spin classes “for fun,” and crushing kale & avocado smoothies that taste like algae being blown through a whale’s rectum, you better be sure as shit they’ve reserved the right to showoff the fruits of their labor.
But even then I feel there’s a spectrum of acceptable instances for someone to do so.
One thing to consider is if they’re a competitive bodybuilder, figure athlete, or even model. If that’s the case then I can definitely see a scenario where they’re allowed a bit more leeway.
The ratio of shirtless to cute cat pics should likely be bit more skewed to the former.
However, most fitness professionals aren’t competitive bodybuilders, figure athletes, or models. And, while I recognize my age (42) likely plays into my thought process, I do feel it’s in most everyone’s interests to keep their clothes on more often than not.
Reading through the bulk of people’s answers in the Facebook thread mentioned above, a vast majority mentioned they’d be less likely to hire a trainer who went out of his or her’s way to routinely pose with their clothes off.
Answered ranged from “it comes across as too self-absorbed” to “unprofessional” to “intimidating and that they might be too judgmental of my appearance.”
My former client even chimed in with the following:
“I’ve never once seen Tony G pose with his shirt off for a promotional or marketing piece, and he has one of the best physiques I’ve ever seen.11And what prompted this question to my Facebook friends is an inundation of trainers posting promotional and marketing pieces with their shirts off.
I always wonder how that resonates with the average Joe?”
I’m sure for some people it motivates them.
And that’s great.
But I think for the vast majority of people it sets an unrealistic expectation. And, to speak candidly, from a business standpoint, I have a hard time believing it helps to exponentially increase one’s bottom line.
And before anyone fires back with “well, Tony, my business targets people interested in FAT LOSS or people who want to look better naked, what am I supposed to do: fill my feed with pictures of me attending a turtleneck party?
No, that’s not what I’m saying.
What I’m Saying Is This: Looking the part is one piece of the fitness business puzzle. But it’s not the only piece. Most clients are going to be more interested in training with you long-term because you’re not an asshole, not because your delts look great using the Perpetua filter.
What’s more, as my friend from above stated herself:
“As a trainer, it’s going to stick with your clients more if you teach them that the journey is less about how they look at all times and more about how they feel about themselves.”
Fitness shouldn’t be centered around one’s ability to showcase six-pack abs in an effort to garner likes (and creepy followers) on Instagram. It should be about helping as many people, from all shapes and sizes and backgrounds as possible.
For some niche markets, I understand that this train of thought won’t resonate and that posting an incessant number of pictures of yourself with your shirt off (or in minimal clothing) does bode in your favor and helps to grow your business. This isn’t meant to come across as confrontational or that what decisions you make to run YOUR business is wrong. I have plenty of friends in the fitness industry who do it and are very successful. The thing that differentiates them is that they’re ALWAYS going out of their way to provide quality content.
It’s not just about them.
I suspect, though, that most of you reading will have enough common sense and wherewithal to separate that from my larger point.
Which is……
Posting naked pictures of yourself is not necessary or mandatory to be successful.
For the bulk of potential clients out there posting shirtless pictures for promotional purposes likely won’t work, it likely won’t resonate, and it likely won’t be relatable. Rather, the better business approach will be to go out of your way to showcase your content, expertise, and knowledge instead. How can you help people? What separates you from the masses?
I doubt it’s your bicep peak.
Maybe you have a unique pull-up drill progression you’ve found successful? Maybe you have a lot of success working with people dealing with low back pain? Maybe you do have an adorable cat?
I had every intention of starting off the new year with some witty, yet informative prose. One my goals for 2019 is to get back on track with more consistent writing.
Lets do this….
As it happens, my kid got Hand, Foot, & Mouth last week and of course, promptly passed it on to me. I got hammered with a fever over the weekend, and currently my feet feel like I’m walking over hot coals and my hands look like they had sex with a cucumber.
I mean, they’re not green or anything (that would be weird), but they do have bumps all over them which is super attractive.
Nonetheless, sick kid + sick Dad = not in the mood to write about undulated periodization, scapular humeral rhythm, or, I don’t know, favorite crayon colors.
Huge thanks to TG.com regular contributor, Dr. Nicholas Licameli, for pinch writing for me today.
It’s truly an amazing substance for many reasons. It can heal, it can hurt. It can clean, it can contaminate. It can cause frostbite, it can cause a burn. It can flood your basement or it can fill the family swimming pool. It can bring life and it can take life…
What I admire most about water is its ability to change without losing or compromising its true identity. Water can change shape, size, temperature, and even alter its own state of matter, depending on the environment it finds itself in at a particular time.
It is able to change without compromising what it is at its core: water.
“Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” – Bruce Lee
One may say that water is “flexible.”
The famous Bruce Lee quote above speaks to the importance of being like water and having the ability to conform to whatever container we find ourselves in at a particular moment in time. I’m no martial arts expert by any stretch of the imagination, but this is how Bruce Lee went about his training, fighting, and life.
He was fluid, shapeless, adaptable…he was like water.
It is important to understand that this does not mean we should change who we are depending on the external environment or the group of people we happen to be with.
NEVER BE SOMEONE YOU’RE NOT, JUST TO “FIT IN!”
Stay true to who you are at your core, but be flexible and adaptable. If water is poured into a Gatorade bottle, it does not change itself into Gatorade and try to be something that it’s not. No, not water. Water manages to conform to the unique curves of the bottle, while staying true to itself and remaining, well, water!
Fitness and nutrition often times involve overcoming adversity in order to stick to a plan or routine.
Those plans are often challenged by things like unexpected overtime coverage at work, a sudden leak in the basement, a family illness, a surprise snowstorm that hits and requires shoveling, holidays, the gym opens four hours late because the 17 year old juice bar barista is hungover and overslept…the list goes on.
Are these things going to cause you stress? Or, do you find a way to be fluid and work around them? It is at these times that we need to be like water.
You go to the gym with the following plan in your mind: Start with the barbell bench press (must be Monday, Bro), followed by the barbell squat, then some cable curls, and finish up with abs and cardio.
You enter the gym, Eye of The Tiger and Linkin Park blasting through your headphones, ready to raise some hell when all of a sudden…the bench is taken by a group of high school kids taking selfies, someone is curling in the squat rack, and the cable station is taken by that old guy who walks around the locker room completely naked (my eyes can’t unsee some things…).
Now what?
The whole plan is ruined!
Is this going to derail you, kill your momentum and enthusiasm, and throw your whole workout for a loop? Or, do you conform to the container you happened to be poured into? As previously mentioned, do not change the core. Keep the goal the goal and keep the plan the plan, just adapt it.
An example of excessive flexibility and changing at the core would be completely changing the body parts trained or bailing on the entire workout. Properly adapting and being like water could involve substituting the barbell bench press for a dumbbell bench press or Smith machine squats for barbell squats, or dumbbell curls for cable curls.
If you always have an apple at breakfast, but your wife ate the last one without you knowing, is your whole day going to be thrown off kilter? Or will you be able to conform to the current container you find yourself in and have something with similar macronutrients such as an orange, a pear, or some oatmeal instead?
Note From TG: Means for a divorce if you ask me.
Life isn’t perfect.
Life isn’t consistent.
Since the beginning of life on this planet, adaptability has been an evolutionary staple.
Adapt or die, as the saying goes.
Sometimes you have this plan, this perfect step-by-step plan, but the present circumstances do not allow it to be carried out as planned. In these instances, you must be like water, adapt, and work around what the world gives you. Again, that does not mean you should change the entire plan or change who you are depending on the external environment. Always keep the goal the goal, the plan the plan, and stay true to who you are. You can’t control everything so if you find yourself being poured from a perfectly symmetrical drinking glass into an abnormally shaped bottle, stay focused, roll with the punches, be fluid, be flexible, and be like water.
About the Author
Nicholas M. Licameli, PT, DPT
Doctor of Physical Therapy / Pro Natural Bodybuilder
Nick believes in giving himself to others in an attempt to make the world a happier, healthier, and more loving place. He wants to give people the power to change their lives. Bodybuilding and physical therapy just act as mediums for carrying out that cause. Love. Passion. Respect. Humility. Never an expert. Always a student. Love your journey.
2018 was splendid year, and I thank everyone for their continued support.
2019 is looking to be a busy year from a professional standpoint with several projects in the works in addition to my travel schedule.12 One of my main goals in 2019, however, is to get back on my writing (and reading) horse. I know the last two years have been a bit dearth (comparatively speaking) with the total number of posts and articles I’ve published. Who knew having a kid was so time consuming?
Nevertheless, my hope is that the upcoming year will be a fruitful one in terms of my writing prowess.
Nicholas M. Licameli, PT, DPT
