I was recently invited onto the Your Fitness Money Coach Podcast hosted by Billy Hofacker. Some of you may recognize the name because Billy has penned several informative guest posts on this site surrounding financial literacy in the past year.
I was thrilled to post his content here because he has expertise in a topic that many fitness professionals need dire help with. To speak candidly, I wish I had access to this kind of content earlier in my career.
Nevertheless, Billy invited me onto his show to discuss what ended up being a bevy of topics. He ended up titling it “Standing Out From the Crowd,” and I think it was the right call. I mean, I personally would have gone with something like “Tony is the Wind Beneath All of Our Wings,” or “Tony’s Pecs Had me at Hello,” but whatever.
Billy is an excellent conversationalist and I enjoyed going back in time to discuss how I went about differentiating myself from the masses creating content and building my own brand from scratch.
I hope you give the episode a listen and be sure to check out more of Billy’s stuff. I’m not kidding: He’s an abyss of information and practical knowledge around business and finances.
It was an absolute pleasure to be invited onto the Becoming Ronin Podcast recently hosted by Jim “Smitty” Smith & Brian Oberther.
SPOILER ALERT: We did not use the hour to break down or discuss the 1998 Robert DeNiro classic, Ronin, which has one of the best car chase scenes ever filmed.
(sad face).
Appearance on the Becoming Ronin Podcast
We did, however, dive into true Ronin territory. This show is not meant to solely cover sets & reps, the differences between concurrent vs. conjugate periodization, how to master a bicep peak, or anything related to lifting heavy things.
It’s no doubt imbued with those “ingredients” and themes, but the Becoming Ronin Podcast goes a bit deeper into other, more robust “takes” and conversations into what it takes to truly live a life of fulfillment and meaning.
It was an honor to be invited onto the show and I think you’ll dig the conversational style of the episode.
Give it a listen HERE (direct link) or HERE (iTunes).
I received a question recently via my Instagram DM’s and figured it prudent to take some time to write a more thorough response I could share with the masses here.
“What is your response to female clients who use the cliche of not wanting to get bulky when training? Any practical scientific routes that you speak about to dispel this myth?”
…I really do feel this sentiment and way of thinking is shrinking and becoming less of a “thing” in 2022. Granted this is just my N=1 experience, but since this is my blog, pretty much anything I say here should be taken as fact.
Like:
Hacks is the funniest show on television right now.
Baseball players can (and should) perform overhead pressing.
I think my cat wants to kill me.
No, really, I’m not kidding.
Why are you looking at me like that, Dagny?
No, wait, stop. STOP.
Ahhhhhhhh.
I joined my first commercial gym in 1996. I came home for the summer after my freshman year in college and was elated to find out my hometown had suddenly gotten a bit more badass and opened up a gym.
(it sure beat having another pizza shop open up)
It was stellar and it served as my “home-base” until I left for New England in the fall of 2005. In those nine years it was very rare to see a woman in the free-weight area lifting weights. I felt it was fantastic anytime I saw it happen, but it was a rare event.
Akin to me wearing shorts in public.
Anyway, once I moved to New England (and subsequently Boston) I ended up living in a proverbial strength & conditioning bubble where people of all shapes and sizes (as well as non-Y chromosome havers) performed full-rom pull-ups, were more inclined to squat on Monday than bench press, and salivated when it was deadlift day.
And that’s where I lived until this past Fall when I joined my first commercial gym since 2005. I’ve been training there for the past several months and it’s night and day in terms of the general vibe.
Everyday I see various women squatting, deadlifting, thrusting, and lifting appreciable weight. It’s awesome and I love that the mentality and attitude toward strength training has shifted to reflect a stark contrast compared to a generation prior.
That said, it’s not lost on me that the stigma of “lifting weights will make me bulky” still stings in today’s society and that it festers in the psyche of some women still.
The best way I can answer this question is in two parts:
1. What to NOT say and do.
2. The opposite of that.
What to NOT Say and Do
The question sent to me asked if I have a “practical scientific route” I take when this issue comes up. I do (or I should say did), but it rarely (if ever) works.
If I’m honest, early in my career I took this approach and it makes me cringe to think about it. If a new female client brought up her concerns about putting on too much muscle it took a lot of will power on my end to not have my eyes roll out of their sockets.
And then I’d get all “mansplainy” and wax poetic about hormone profiles and how women have waaay less testosterone than men and that it’s really hard to put on muscle.
I’d say something snide like:
“It’s hard to put on muscle. 100% of guys wish they could add muscle as fast as many women “think” is possible.”
Then, to top it off, like an a-hole I’d continue…
“You won’t turn into He-Man in a week. Or a month, or a year for that matter.”
Like I said, I cringe when I think about how I used to handle this sort of conversation. I’m willing to bet I lost more potential (female) clients then gained taking this approach.
Here’s What I Now Do Instead
At this point in my career I tend to get a lot of self-selected clientele. Meaning, by the time someone walks through the front door the day of their initial assessment or session, they’re already perfectly aware of what they’re getting themselves into.
They’ve either read a lot of what I have written and know my general approach to training or they look up at the sign above the door and read my tagline…
Surprise!
Nevertheless, while I still like to endorse some level of education on the topic of women and strength training, I’ve since rescinded my global approach to a large degree.
I still play devil’s advocate at times and will say something like “saying you’re going to get big & bulky from strength training is like me saying I’m going to win a gold medal in the Olympics because I went out and did some sprints yesterday.”
(and then I keep my fingers crossed that there’s nothing but crickets chirping afterward).
Instead of going on and on about women’s limited testosterone levels, how toning isn’t a real term (one of my biggest pet peeves fitness professional do), or how they’ll never attain the results of elite female bodybuilders, yada yada yada…I dig deeper, and ask more questions:
“Why do you feel strength training will make you big and bulky?”
What does bulky mean to you? What does it look like?
“Is this something that happened in the past?
“What exercise(s) in particular do you feel cause this?”
Maybe their perspective projects that of a trainer they worked with previously. Maybe they never took the time to learn nor where they shown proper technique. Or, I don’t know, maybe they have a hard time letting go of certain myths and think the Abominable Snowman exists.
Either way…
Sometimes it’s more helpful to take some time to peel back the onion and to ascertain someone’s root cause for thinking they way they do, rather than chastise them out of the gate for the sole purpose of proving them wrong.
I have found that this approach has been a far more efficacious way of handling things and has helped me build far more powerful and lasting relationships with my female clients.
And not for nothing: After a few weeks of consistency I find the switch flips anyway. Once the foreignness and stigma of the barbell is no longer a part of the story – and we begin to build & increase autonomy and competency – I find most of my female clients begin to strive to be more (adding muscle is cool!) rather than wanting to be less.
Fitness professionals are notorious for myriad of things:
Wearing sweatpants to work everyday. It’s definitely one of the perks of the job.
Always forgetting about the protein shake shaker in their gym bag (or in their car) that invariably, three weeks later, ends up melting someone’s face off once it’s opened.
Their affinity for smedium t-shirts.
Never talking about financial literacy (I.e., planning for retirement, investing, and/or general business savviness).
The latter is just something we never discuss and is our version of an unspoken rule; kinda like talking to a pitcher during a no-hitter.
My friend and colleague, Billy Hofacker, is back with another fantastic post geared toward helping fitness professionals better wrap their brains around money. This time around, specifically, centered around the stress of seemingly never having any.
What’s more, he even includes a special (and FREE) “master class” video for my readers that I feel everyone should check out.
I remember starting out in business. I was fortunate enough to have a free session with a guy named John, a CFO of a huge company. I’m talking about a company that was doing hundreds of million in revenue.
You see, I have my own personal journey with money that included being suffocated by 130K in non-mortgage debt and working my way out.
Now I was going to use some of the principles I was learning from my personal journey and apply them to business.
Needless to say I was excited for my free session. I remember standing behind him as he was showing me how a business budget worked. He would mention “budgeting” certain amounts for certain categories. The curious person that I am, I asked him where that money actually was. I said something like, “If I have $500 allocated towards equipment, where does that money actually go? It seems to me like it’s just sitting in the account like all the other money. What’s to stop it from being spent?”
One of the most common reasons Fit Pros hire me as their financial coach is because they want a plan for their money.
Not having a plan is painful.
It results in a lack of confidence and results. Many people think that businesses fail due to a lack of profit but are surprised to learn that in fact, 82% of businesses fail because they lack an understanding of cash flow.
The good news is that there is hope. A solid cash flow system can do a lot for your business. Clients who have developed a system report that:
Decisions Become Much Easier – They know when and how much to invest in marketing, hiring, and marketing
The Path Becomes Clear – They are able to focus like a laser as they know what the next step towards their goal is
Confidence Increases – Sure, Fit Pros want to do better financially. They want to earn more but what’s perhaps more important is the person they become in the process
There are a few common mistakes or myths when it comes to cash flow plans.
I will relate all three to fitness.
The First Mistake: People Don’t Stick With It Long Enough
Just like some fitness clients, if they aren’t completely transformed after a couple of months, they throw in the towel.
Just like fitness, financial improvement takes time. You don’t erase 20 years of poor financial habits in five minutes with a spreadsheet. This boils down to behavior change which we know takes time.
The work precedes the results.
The Second Mistake: Thinking There Is a One Size Fits All Program
Should everyone become a competitive endurance athlete? Not necessarily. Some people have other interests within fitness and/or aren’t suited for it. Some trainers (e.g. the kettlebell guy or gal) make the mistake of forcing the program they like on the client when the modality might not be most effective for the client.
They neglect the concept of bio-individuality.
Some financial coaches do the same thing while they would be better off working with the client to develop the best plan for them.
While certain principles may apply, the exact how-to’s may differ from person to person.
The Final Mistake: Thinking That the Cash Flow System Will Be Boring Or Restricting
Author and leadership consultantJocko Willink says that discipline equals freedom. When you are disciplined with your fitness or your finances, the result is more freedom, not less. If you aren’t fit, you’ll have less options in what you can do physically.
If you aren’t financially fit, you will also be restricted in what you can do.
Click HERE To Get Access to the full video training.
The Problem
One of the reasons it’s hard for people to create and stay on a financial plan is the chaotic nature of how money comes in and goes out.
Depending on your situation, you may:
Not pay yourself at all
Not pay yourself consistently
Be on salary
Pay yourself monthly
Pay yourself bi-weekly
Pay yourself bonuses
Have a side hustle
Have recurring revenue
Have various programs
There are so many situations people find themselves in and that’s just the income.
Let’s talk about expenses.
You most likely have automatic monthly expenses. These would occur the same day every month and for the same amount. A prime example would be your rent or mortgage.
You most likely have daily expenses. These are things like food, coffee, toiletries, etc.2
We all have random expenses. These are the ones that really throw people off. An example is that car insurance payment that’s due every six months. You can have a plan for everything else but if you don’t have a plan for these, your budget could be busted.
The good news is that we have a plan to account for all of these and then some. While it’s beyond the scope of this post to cover every detail, I’ll provide an overview as well as a next step.
Of course, I’m a huge proponent of “paying yourself first” so if you’re not doing that, I’d make that a priority.
Now let’s cover a plan for the three types of expenses I mentioned.
Check out my video HERE where I explain everything.
Monthly Automatic – These are probably the easiest since you know the dates and amounts. You would just coordinate the dates they are due with when your income comes in.
These are automatically paid from your main checking account.
Daily – Call me old school but I like to use cash for daily expenses. If I can’t use cash, I’ll set up a separate debit account at my main bank so I can at least keep things separate. I recommend people do the same for daily expenses, at least for a period of time so they can really see what’s going on.
Random – As I mentioned, these are the ones that throw people off the most. For that reason, it’s essential to have a plan for these infrequent expenses. You’ll want to open up a bank account at a separate bank (an online account is perfect) and save the breakdown that you will need each month. For example, if you’ll need $1200 to buy Christmas gifts, set up an auto transfer for $100 each month to that account.
In a Nutshell
That’s the simple plan you can follow to get rid of money stress for good. I realize this can be overwhelming if it’s new to you and that you also may have unique circumstances.
For that reason, I recorded an exclusive video for TG’s list (i.e. YOU) which dives more into the details and should help more with the how.
Of course, I’m available if you have any questions.
Many fitness professionals get stuck in the day to day and have little to show for their hard work. Billy Hofacker helps them get on a plan to achieve financial freedom. You can learn more by listening to the Your Fitness Money Coach podcast or visiting www.yourfitnessmoneycoach.com.
You can also opt in to get a digital copy of his book Fitness ProfitsHERE.
Attempting to set a PR every single week is silly.
It’s an approach to training I have long advocated against (and a hill I will die on). Well, that and saying Sydney Bristow is the best character in television history…;o)3
Training to get stronger isn’t necessarily about hitting PR’s on the regular. In fact, if you break down the training programs that most really strong people follow, they’re only hitting an actual PR once, maybe twice per year. And that’s even a stretch.
Today’s guest post by personal trainer Lance Goyke (whom I first met back in the day when he was an intern turned employee at IFAST in Indianapolis) helps to shed light on why chasing weekly PRs likely isn’t going to do you any favors.
Why Attempting to Set PRs Every Week is F&*#!@# Stupid
“PRs never look pretty.”
Well they could look pretty good, but most people don’t have the discipline for that kind of training.
If you’re the type of person who often has two weeks of awesome training followed by two weeks of remedial rehab, then it’s likely you spend too much time testing strength instead of building strength.
In this article, we’ll talk about strength, how it’s not quite what we think it is, and how striving for strength prevents you from actually building strength. I’ll give you a few examples of how biomechanics can change during max effort lifts, hopefully leaving you with a new, healthier, and more effective way to approach your training.
What is Strength? How Do We Measure It?
Strength is “the capacity of an object or substance to withstand great force or pressure”.
We measure it using the weight we lift in a training session, but that’s only an approximation of force production. And there are two types of forces: internal and external.
Internal forces sum to become an external force. Using deadlifting as an example, the calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, and back muscles (internal forces) all combine into pressure through the feet (external force).
Internal forces combine into a single external force during deadlift
We mostly picture muscles and tendons producing forces, but the joints and ligaments do as well. Though bones and ligaments don’t shorten like muscles, they also don’t collapse under heavy loads.
Err, well, hopefully they don’t collapse. “Bend and not break” as they say!
I find it helpful to think of these bones and ligaments as really good isometric contracters, i.e., they maintain length even under load. It reminds me of hitching a deadlift or putting an Atlas stone in your lap. They won’t pick up the weight for you, but it sure is nice to have a short break in the middle of the rep.
Since muscle is the only thing we have that changes length and can actually move a weight, we should aim for more muscle force production.
But setting PRs isn’t about training muscles, it’s about lifting weight. And this has consequences.
Anatomy of a Personal Record
When attempting a (literal) max effort lift, there are two main factors that decide the outcome:
Mindset
Biomechanics
The strongest people in the gym are good at mindset: I will get this done at any cost. If you don’t think you can lift it, your brain puts the brakes on your muscles. You don’t have to be totally insane, but you do need to believe that it’s in the realm of possibility.
Biomechanics is harder to predict.
Even isolation exercises like lateral raises hardly occur in isolation. The intricate web of neurology means that moving one joint moves all the others.
During a PR attempt, your brain gives commands and listens for feedback. You might go into a bench press with the intention of keeping your shoulders set down, but when the weight slows to a near stop, your brains says, “BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES! SHRUG THE SHOULDERS! LIFT THE BUM!” And before you know it, you’re doing an Unsupported Decline Press from Shrug Position instead of a Bench Press.
We’ve all seen someone do this, but why does it happen?
Technique Changes During PR Attempts to Temporarily Increase Force Production
If the pecs, deltoids, lats,serratus anterior, and triceps can’t stabilize AND press the weight, a useful strategy is to shrug the shoulders, jamming the shoulder into the acromion process while stabilizing the rib cage and clavicle with the neck muscles. This not only removes stress from the primary muscle groups of the lift, but also subtly changes the length of these working muscles. If the pecs are getting weaker because they’re getting shorter, let’s just elevate the clavicle to lengthen them and our force production capability will return.
But this comes at a cost. The shoulder joint wears out, rotator cuff gets injured, and the neck stiffens. All for a temporary increase in weight lifted.
And it’s difficult to argue that you’re even getting stronger! Yes, you might lift more weight, but most of that came from passive tissues instead of muscle. Even if you don’t get injured, are you planning on training your glenoid labrum to lift more weight next time? I hope not.
This type of technique change works for testing the max weight you can lift, but it’s not building strength.
Learning Technique Consistency
When a lifter tests strength by compromising biomechanics every week, she never learns how to maintain technique under duress.
Undesired Response to Increased Intensiveness
With time and extreme discipline, however, technique stays pristine even in the most difficult sets:
Desired Response to Increased Intensiveness
Many moons ago, I was having trouble staying consistent with training. I wanted to lift, but I had this two-week cycle of feeling good vs. joint pain. I stayed “broken” until I became strict about periodizing my training intensity and maintaining technique during really heavy sets.
If your training oscillates between wonderful sessions and remedial sessions, learn to be more consistent with technique across all sets and remember to deload your training monthly.
Examples of How Technique Changes During Max Effort Attempts
To cement this idea as a reality, here are three more examples of how changes in technique can prevent you from building strength. These will increase in complexity as we go along.
Deadlifting with Hitching Into Lockout
There are three main ways to lock out a deadlift:
Squeeze glutes (good)
Squeeze the low back (bad)
Hitching (you do what you gotta do)
Using the glutes keeps the spine neutral. Using the low back muscles arches the lumbar spine, introducing tons of wear and tear.
Hitching a deadlift is when the lifter briefly rests the bar on the thighs while trying to lock out.
Here’s a timestamped video showing a clear hitch, though it’s difficult to nit pick when the weight is 937lbs (@ 6:12).
This has many advantages for lifting more weight:
Short “rest”
Squat knees underneath the weight for support
Shorten moment arm on glutes
Increase moment arm on quads
If you hitch to lock out your deadlift, you’re deloading the glutes and hamstrings.
Squatting with Forward Weight Shift
Shifting forward at the bottom of a full squat is a common compensation for squatting more weight. You see it a lot with Olympic weightlifting due to the mobility demands of the sport.
Here’s a timestamped video example (@ 2:58).
This does a few things to help the lifter:
Stretches the quads and calves, stimulating a strong reflex which helps straighten the knee
Short break time with the butt and hamstrings resting on the calves and ankles
Removes stress from the glutes and hamstrings
Helps maintain a vertical torso
The biggest long-term issues with this forward weight shift are that the lifter is more likely to experience knee overuse injuries, hip mobility limitations like butt wink, and inconsistent performance. The latter is an especially important topic in technique-intense Olympic weightlifting: if you only get six attempts at a meet, you don’t want to miss one because of technique.
Additionally, quad overuse often makes people feel persistent tightness. They search for quad stretches, perform some, then feel better for a few minutes until the tightness returns.
You can still get the stretch reflex benefit out of the bottom of the lift even when avoiding a forward shift. Sitting down and slightly backward to full depth stretches the quads and calves, but also increases the stretch on the glutes and hamstrings. This is one reason why posterior chain exercises like the Romanian deadlift and good mornings can improve your squat.
Bench Press with Torso Twist
Alright, I wanted to throw in one complicated scenario: twisting the torso on a bench press.
Up until now, all of our compensations have been pretty symmetrical. But there’s asymmetry in the real world. Time to take off the training wheels.
When attempting a max effort bench press, the sternum will often move to the right. This changes a few things:
The right abs go into overdrive
The left ribs and elbow flare out
The left shoulder rises up due to this rib position
The bar tilts and twists, loading the right side even more
The lifter makes a face that’s not usually very cool (obviously most important)
Here’s a timestamped video showing the right sternum twist (@ 1:29); you can see it on rep 7, hard to not see on rep 8, and impossible to ignore on the 9th, failed rep.
Here’s a timestamped video showing the left elbow flare and bar twisting (@ 1:59).
And here’s a timestamped video showing both; the sternum start noticebly twisting on rep 15 (@ 3:29) and it’s really easy to see the left elbow flare on the failed rep.
And briefly, notice that it’s harder to nitpick mistakes in this 675lb bench press (timestamped @ 5:00).
We contort ourselves this way because of the normal asymmetry in the body. The heart on the left supports the left rib cage flaring. The big liver on the right supports the right abdominals. And because everything is connected, these asymmetries permeate all the way through our limbs.
This is a tough compensation to fix. You might consider warming up with some dedicated shoulder mobility exercises. Utilize more unilateral training like thesplit squat. If this problem is unfamiliar, you might find it useful to slow down as this gives you time to notice when mistakes happen (it’s usually around the sticking point). As you get more proficient, you can speed up.
In any case, you’ll need to be disciplined about your technique when you’re exhausted.
Building Strength vs. Testing Strength
Hopefully by now you have a better idea of how your body might compensate during a max effort lift. Remember: it’s okay to try hard! The point is that technique must remain pristine if it’s to be considered training.
Save the strange body conformations for your personal record attempts. And give yourself time to train between testing sessions.
I like to push my clients hard on week 4 of a 4-week training program. This gives 3 weeks to practice technique and acclimate to the training volume, preparing well for testing your body and mind.
Perfect technique does not mean the lift is light and easy. In fact, it should be harder to do because the muscles are reaching their limit and your brain must override your body’s instincts. This is real discipline.
I’ll leave you with a bulleted list of tips.
Guidelines for Building Strength
Test strength at most one out of every four weeks
“Testing strength” does not mean a single rep maximum, but a max effort for the pre-planned training program set and rep scheme
Train like a bodybuilder; aim to feel the right muscles working
Using less weight doesn’t mean you’re detraining; strength can fluctuate up to 18% in any given day
Don’t forget to deload your training roughly one out of every four weeks
Don’t forget to train endurance
Use cardio to speed up your recovery from strength workouts
And remember: spend more time building strength than testing strength.
About the Author
Lance Goyke, MS, CSCShas been a personal trainer and strength coach for over ten years. He’s currently working remotely with clients all over the world, including at Google, America, Scotland, and New Zealand. In addition to coaching, he also produces educational fitness writing, videos
In an effort to give insight and to help highlight some of the content we will be covering I figured today I’d re-publish an old(er) post from a few years go.
Much of what stresses us out as fitness professionals and gym owners is the psychological side of things as it relates to our clients:
Why won’t so and so listen to what I am saying?
If they just simply followed the plan as outlined things would be fine.
If I hear one more client bring up the Carnivore Diet I am going to jump through this pane glass window.
Nevertheless, motivation and long-term success in the gym often begins with possessing the soft skills necessary to communicate more effectively and efficiently.
As a reminder: I will be in Dublin on July 24th – HERE, in additional to Belfast, Northern Ireland, the weekend of July 30th – HERE.
I hope to see you there!
A few weeks ago, while in LA presenting, I was asked a simple question by one of the attendees:
“What’s the one thing you’ve adopted or changed the most as a coach in the past 2-3 years?“
A simple inquiry to be sure. However, it required a bit of heft to answer.
I mean it’s not like they asked my thoughts on Linear Periodization4, kipping pull-ups5, or, I don’t know, the atomic mass of Manganese,6all of which can be answered with witty footnotes.
My response was likely a bit of a curveball.
While I could have easily gone into the nuances of assessment, program design, and the importance of positional breathing and what philosophical pivots I’ve made on each in recent years – or waxed poetic on why “textbook technique” doesn’t exist – I didn’t choose to.
Instead, I brought up the “words” we use as coaches.
A word we use all the time in the fitness industry and one that serves as a cornerstone for what we do as a profession:
Assessment
For us (coaches, personal trainers, physical therapists, athletic trainers) the word infers or implies a start. We use an amalgamation of our expertise in anatomy, program design, bodily movement, and exercise technique/prescription (amongst other thing) and apply all of it to best fit the needs, goals, and ability level of the person sitting in front of us.
In other words: We attempt to find the most efficient, safe, and straightest line possible between Point B (where the client wants to go/goals) and Point A (where they are presently).
Alternatively, for them (clients/athletes/pirates), the word “assessment” can mean a plethora of things:
An evaluation
A screen
A test
Above all, though, I think most people feel an assessment is nothing more than 45-60 minutes of a complete stranger judging the shit out of them:
Your shoulders are internally rotated and rounded.
You have anterior pelvic tilt.
Your core is weak.
Your glutes don’t fire.
Your left eye is lower than your right. That’s weird.
In short: It’s a window of time where some douchy trainer takes every opportunity possible to showcase how much of a walking ball of fail someone is.
I’ve personally taken steps to try to omit the word “assessment” from my vocabulary. I just feel the connotation breeds a negative tone out of the gate and is something I’d rather avoid.
Instead, I’ve opted to using terms such as “success session,” “meet and greet,” or “diesel deadlift house of fantastical dreams power hour.”
It just feels less judgy, doesn’t it?
The Power of ‘Of Coursing’
I have many friends in the fitness industry and it’s not uncommon for us to commiserate with one another about asinine things we read on the internet or maybe share a frustrating story regarding a client.
Here’s a recent back and forth I had with a friend:
“I have to share this with you…
Yesterday a lady who was given a gift certificate to take my women’s strength training class approached me after class to tell me she would have to take a month or two off from my class so she could “get some of this weight off…”
While I tried to control the stream coming out of my ears I said to her…
Well that’s kinda counterintuitive
She says:
I’m gonna start taking spin again! It really helped me lose weight…
Me: still trying to control the rage monster…
Well, have you done anything to change your eating over the last month? No. When you were taking spin, what did your diet look like? Well, I was tracking my calories and writing everything down that I ate.
So, you think the spinning helped you lose the weight?
Crickets
I burned 800 calories in spinning…. And I forgot to mention she sleeps horribly due to triplets (age 4 ) and she’s a DIETICIAN!
So I went on to explain what I thought she needed to do and how three days of spinning would be equivalent to pouring gasoline on the hormonal shit storm her body currently lies in…
Just ugh…”
Admittedly, after reading his description of events, I too had to resist the urge to jump in front of a bus. Why are people so adamant on repeating the same thing(s) over and over and over again to the tune of the same inconsistent results?
Not-to0-long ago Tony would have handled things the same way my friend did.
Present day Tony had this to say:
“Next time something like that happens do this:
Say, Of course.
Of course, you’d want to go back to spin class again. You enjoy it and it seemingly helped you lose weight. And, of course you want to go back to the same classes as before because they’re familiar and comfortable and not so intimidating.
However I do feel there’s a more efficient way for you to attain your goal(s) and to MAKE THEM STICK.
Give me 60 days. Let me take the reigns for 60 days. Do what I say, learn, try something different. If you don’t feel better after 60 days and feel as if you haven’t made progress, I’ll buy your next spin package.”
This is a tactic I stole from my wife few years ago and is a keen example of the plethora of tactics she covers during her block in the Strong Body, Strong Mind Workshop.
Instead of berating or guilting a fat-loss client who ate a bowl of Golden Grahams before bed – “you’re weak,” or “I guess you don’t want it bad enough,” or “I’m not mad, just disappointed” – I’d opt to “of course” him or her to death.
“Of course you want to eat Golden Grahams before bed. They’re fucking delicious. However, let’s see if we can come up with some healthier alternatives together that may be a better fit for your goals.”
Or what about the client who misses a few workouts?
“Of course you’d rather go to a Norah Jones concert rather than come to the gym to deadlift. She’s a delight and a national treasure. I have all her albums myself. That being said, no matter how many times you listen to “Don’t Know Why” it’s not going to help you hit your goal. Let’s see what we can do to prioritize your sessions more?”
Or what about the client who wants to give keto a try?
“Of course you want to try the ketogenic diet. It’s all the rage right now and everyone is doing it. If it’s sustainable and matches your lifestyle I see no reason why you shouldn’t give it a go. However, if after two weeks of not having carbs your response to your office mate saying “hey, good morning,” is to stab them in the throat with a stapler, we’ll likely need to have a talk.”
By leaning in and recognizing why someone would choose to do what they do – and not being an uppity curmudgeon about it (and more importantly…offering a solution or alternative) – you open up the doors for change to actually happen.
Try it.
I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the results.
Being a personal trainer can be a very rewarding career.
The first step to “success” in this industry, however, is understanding that there’s a difference between it being a hobby and you taking the necessary steps to make it a career.
The second step to success is expectation management:
You will not work with professional athletes or celebrities right away (or ever).
You will not be earning a six-figure salary right away (or ever).
You will not be working remotely from a beach in Hawaii while sipping a smoothie made from strawberries fertilized with unicorn tears and free-range protein powder grown in Wakanda right away (or ever).
You will be wearing sweatpants to work everyday. Score!
Year one is a challenging year. But if you prepare yourself well and are proactive in certain facets, you’ll easily separate yourself from the masses sooner than later. Read below for more tips via Virginia based personal trainer (with 20+ years of experience), Detric Smith.
Congratulations, You’re Now a Certified Personal Trainer
You may have worked hard to get here either going through college or working through a personal trainer certification. You may feel that you have learned a lot, but the learning has only just begun. When I first started on the gym floor freshly armed with my personal training cert and big biceps, I thought clients would be falling on my feet.
How wrong I was.
My first year as a trainer was difficult, no doubt. Lots of mistakes were made and now you’ll benefit from this. Here are a few challenges, opportunities, and advice to help you survive and thrive in your first year on the gym floor.
Let’s dive in.
What To Expect In Your First Year
It will be fun, exciting, scary and you will be tired.
Those early mornings are great but that’s why you got into it right? To drink lots of coffee, wear tracksuit pants, and coach people up.
Quick Tip: Don’t “coach” your clients like this. Creep.
Plus, the days will be long as you try to build up your clientele. You’ll be training people in the early mornings and early evenings with plenty of free time in between. This is the perfect opportunity to watch other trainers at work, read everything you can get your hands on, and ask plenty of specific questions.
When everything is new, every day will present new challenges and you will be nervous and apprehensive. Every day will feel different as you interact with people who may end up teaching you more than you teach them. This is why we have two ears and one mouth as listening is a skill that needs to be developed during your first year as a trainer.
Because there is a trap during your first year where you think you know everything, and nobody can teach you anything.
Don’t be like that. Keep an open mind on everything.
I remember overthinking everything 20 years ago.
I took hours to write a workout or two trying to write the perfect program when the perfect program didn’t exist. This was a rookie mistake. The trick here is not to be discouraged when making rookie mistakes or when things take longer than they should.
Remember everything is a learning experience. Store it in the memory bank and move on.
Overall, it’s a great atmosphere being surrounded by people trying to make a positive change in their life. The people that actually make it to the gym would rather be there than work. For the most part, gym-goers are great. Stay away from those who are not.
Money Will Be Tight
It can be a challenge financially until you start to develop your skills and build your clientele. And you might need to have multiple fitness jobs at the same time, or it might be a part-time job outside of the fitness industry. In this industry, most trainers have to work at two different places to make enough money.
You will be discouraged about the lack of zeros on your paycheck and there is a tendency to equate your worth to your paycheck. Please don’t do that because you’re in the process of changing lives and getting your name out there. Not every success is measured with cash, and it helps to remember this if you’re struggling financially.
Other Challenges Beside Money
Time – to get your reps you might have to ignore the advice from the online training guru selling you the 4-hour workweek lifestyle. Most of us had to do those 5 am sessions, and long days at first. Train anyone at first, so you can pick and choose later.
Job opportunities – you will be faced with tons of opportunities- some good, some not so good. And it is hard to know the difference. There are positives and negatives to all of the different types of places you can work with. This leads me to my next point.
Places to work – Just about every trainer prefers to start working at a studio or small chain, getting paid high dollars. Or at an exclusive high-paying big gym but the truth is most of us have to start with big-box chain gyms to get hours. And yes, some of those hours might be the dreaded floor hours where you clean and walk around and talk to members. This is all part of the learning process
Impatience – it helps tohave realistic expectations because you don’t have the experience to train the superstar athlete or the high profile celebrity. Keep getting your reps in and showing up every day is key.
There is a business coach under every rock-there is nothing wrong with selling the dream, but I am here to give you realistic expectations. If you remember nothing about this article, remember this.
“There Is no such thing as overnight success.”
I hate to see people leave the industry before they even get started because some “guru” gave them unrealistic expectations for success. You can accomplish anything, but it takes time, patience, and lots of hard work. So, if a guru who knows nothing about your background tells you to train online and make 6 figures in year one…. Run.
Here’s What You Should Focus On In Your First year
Now you have realistic expectations of your first-year experience, the long hours and money being tight, here are a few things to focus on for you to get better.
Experience over money – this is not to say money isn’t important because you need to eat. But placing yourself in learning situations and extending yourself out of your comfort zone will pay off in the long run.
Networking – going to fitness expos, and local community events will help you meet like-minded people and potential clients. This is not only important in your first year but every year you’re a trainer.
Find mentors – the path has been walked before by others before you. If you want to shorten your learning curve and set yourself up for a long career, it helps to have someone in your corner who has done it before.
Get better at your craft- a no-brainer really. Nobody wants to hire you if you cannot get results, but exercise and programming are only small parts of your job. Getting better at the soft skills and getting people to do the work when the going gets tough for them is important too.
Wrapping Up
Starting a new profession coaching humans is tough and there are a lot of pitfalls to navigate. Lack of money, long hours, and business coaches praying on your vulnerabilities just to name a few. But when you focus on getting better at your craft and putting yourself in learning situations to make you better, the rewards will come.
Remember you are laying the foundation for hopefully a long career of helping people be better. And you’ll be getting better together.
About the Author
Detric Smith, CSCS, ACSM EP-C, PN-1 is the owner of Results Performance Training in Williamsburg, Virginia. He has over two decades of experience as a personal trainer and sports performance coach.
He develops personal trainers through his site DetricSmith.com, and serves as a mentor through various fitness organizations.
Being human means being enamored by a litany of things in the health/wellness/physical preparation realm. Some people are easily swooned by fancy watches and elaborate looking exercises
Others by cryochambers and Paleo recipes that taste like sawdust.
I am not here to play judgement police. For the most part, everything has a time and place7 and everyone responds differently to different things.
What works for me may not work for you (and vice versa). It’s all good.
Back in 2009-2010, while at Cressey Sports Performance, I was introduced to PRI (Postural Restoration Institute). As a collective, we adopted some of their principles & protocols (specifically positional breathing) and applied them to our athletes’ and clients’ programming, I’d say with a high degree of success.
In the years since, PRI has grown in popularity and is still something I “subscribe” to. However, the key term I want to highlight here is “some.”
I’ve adopted some of their principles.
The thing about PRI (for better or worse) is that it has an uncanny ability to suck people in and plop them into a never-ending rabbit hole of mystery and multi-verses.
Today’s guest post is via Boston-based physical therapist, Mike DeMille, and offers a needed perspective on this phenomenon.
(PS: I’d encourage anyone interested with PRI to check out Mike’s course/mentorship below).
In a world of biomechanics, neurology, complex chronic pain, and a desire to create resilience, it can be difficult to decide as a Physical Therapist or movement specialist what continuing education courses to take and why.
Personally, I have been a PRC (Postural Restoration Certified) Physical Therapist for five years, and anyone familiar with the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) knows how easy it can be to go down the “rabbit hole”
Note From TG: I wrote a bit about this “rabbit hole” a number of years ago when PRI was first gaining steam in the S&C side of the spectrum. You can check it out HERE.8
After taking different courses, it can be very difficult to sift through the information and add principles to your practice (or programming), while leaving behind minutiae that ultimately won’t contribute to the further results of your clients.
What are those techniques, exercises, prehab/rehab protocol, cues, sick hip-hop rhymes that probably do not need to come along for the ride as you build out your systems as a coach?
That is exactly why we are here today.
After working in a cash-based Physical Therapy and Personal Training setting over the last four years and starting my own clinic (just outside Boston,. MA) I’ve developed rules (or tenets) of information to hold on to and which ones to leave behind.
Let’s dive in.
Think Practitioner/Coach, Speak Client
Your clients do not care what things are called, and neither should you.
Exhale, eccentrically orient, compress, early-mid-late stance, inhaling from an exhaled skeleton expansion, these terms can get complicated, if not bordering on someone speaking Elvish.
A general rule of thumb would be if you cannot explain a concept in very simple terms to your client, then you likely shouldn’t spend a ton of time thinking about it yourself.
I like to think of this as writing a letter with a big bold sharpie instead of a small fine pencil that is difficult to see and read.
For example, if you have a client who you feel like is in a position of lumbar extension and they need to learn how to exhale to help get them out of pain, then you can leave the messaging at just that.
You will create the buy-in from spinning a simple story and allowing your client to feel the difference when undergoing your program. You do not need to explain all of the varying “compensatory strategies” to them in an effort to create belief in your program.
This will more likely than not lead to confusion, in addition to increasing the urge they’ll want to punch you in the face.
Nothing Is New; It Just Has a Fancier Name
Remember that these principles existed long before the most recent course that you took. One of the biggest problems that I see mentees and fresh PTs and movement professionals face is shiny object syndrome.
Understandably, when you go to a course and watch someone’s shoulder flexion increase from 140 degrees to 8000 after a fancy breathing exercise, you want to give everyone that fancy breathing exercise.
Remember, there is a difference between a new technique that creates transient changes, and principles that create long lasting repeatable results.
Examples of a few principles that could make sense in a movement practice geared towards clients with pain:
Sound communication (avoiding nocebo).
Axial skeleton position that creates pressure underneath load bearing joints.
Progressive overload.
Does it feel less exciting to not be blowing all of your clients minds?
Sure it does.
But will these principles give you a sustainable business where you can more accurately sell results to potential clients?
Definitely.
Closing Thoughts
There is nothing wrong with taking new courses, finding helpful information, and creating buy-in with prospective clients, as well as appreciating the nuances of Physical Therapy and Strength and Conditioning.
But let’s not forget: the name of the game is being able to tie your name to something that can produce consistent results, and that is why we decided to take on this profession in the first place.
PRI Pique Your Interest?
Does this message resonate with you? Are you a Physical Therapist or movement professional looking to sift through the information and take the relevant principles into your practice?
Tyler Tanaka and I have created a community where we take individuals that are looking to finally apply the information that they have learned and effectively communicate with their ideal clients to build the business that they have always wanted.
This is your chance to learn the system of two PRC PTs and ask any and every question that you have ever had. In the 10 week Solidify Program you will undergo a detailed curriculum as well as take part in one on one Refinement calls to get your questions answered about those difficult patients that are the ”non-responders” as well as big picture questions about your practice and business.
They happen to people who lifts weights regularly, and those who just look at weights. They happen when doing something as inane as bending over to tie your shoes, as well as when you’re doing some less inane, like, fighting crime at night.
They happen on a Wednesday.
There’s no way to predict when they’ll happen, they just will. Especially if you’re someone who’s had the unfortunate misfortune of it happening once or twice (or many times) in the past.
The culprit wasn’t anything “cool” like a 1-rep max, or, I don’t know, wrestling a lumberjack.
Nope. Not even close.
This time it came about doing nothing more than bending over to perform my last set of Landmine Rows. As soon as I grabbed the handle I felt that slight zappy “zzzzzzzzzzz” feeling in my lower back and it seized up.
I was hoping to persevere and follow suite with my normal coaching schedule with clients, but it became apparent I was going to be uncomfortable the rest of the day. I went home a little early, stayed horizontal with a heating pad, caught up on all the episodes of Atlanta I hadn’t watched yet (season 3 has been spectacular if you ask me), and woke up the following morning feeling marginally better.
I skipped my scheduled training session that day, but didn’t skip it altogether. Instead I elected to follow my own advice and went into #findyourtrainablemenu mode.
I.e., focusing on what I COULD do rather that what I COULDN’T.
I came up with a brief, albeit BALLER circuit that made my back feel infinitely better. And, in the months since, whenever someone reached out to me asking for advice (or if a client happened to tweak their back9) I’d often revert back to the circuit I laid out for myself and encourage them to follow it as well.
I had been meaning to share the circuit before now, but life has had an uncanny ability of late to get in the way of me doing any writing.
And by that I mean “I’ve been binge watching waaaay too much tv.”
It just so happens, however, that my wife had a bit of a low-back niggle during her training session the other day and I ended up forwarding her my “super secret” workout to tide her over for a few days
She loved it.
In fact, she sent me a text saying something to the effect of…
…”OMG, babe, this back circuit is the best. I am so grateful. In fact, I am so grateful that you never have to empty the dishwasher ever again. And we can watch WWII documentaries whenever you want. Also, let’s make out.”
Long story, short…below is the workout. There’s a degree of predictability and a host of exercises that won’t surprise anyone.
But who cares?!?
What works, works.
That said, there’s also a few that should be relatively new.
Shut Up Tony and Show Us the Workout For the LOVE OF GOD
Deadbug
This falls into the “no big surprise” category, but it’s a drill that, when perfected, is an outstanding anterior core exercise (as well as one that helps to dissociate hip movement from LUMBAR movement).
Perform 8-10 repetition per side
90/90 Hip Switches w/ End Range IR
This drill works both hip internal and external rotation simultaneously. Be sure to maintain a braced core throughout the set and really focus on moving through the hips and ramping up tension on the IR hold with each repetition.
Perform 4-5 repetitions per side (one rep = 3-5s IR hold)
Side Mermaid
This is a drill I borrowed from my guy Vernon Griffith. I don’t know how else to explain it other than it feels AWESOME once you’re done.
I mean, it sucks while you’re doing (but feels great afterward).
Here I’m focusing on pressing my bottom knee into the ground (not foot) while also keeping my (bottom) hip off the ground. Also, try to keep your top leg straight throughout the set pushing your heel through the wall. This will really get that glute firing on all cylinders.
1 rep = 5-10s hold.
Perform 3-4 repetitions per side
Glute ISO Hold
Another doozy I got from Vernon and does a superb job of isolating the glutes and learning to “own” spinal position and full-body tension.
Make a fist with one hand out to your side and then lift your OPPOSITE foot (also off to the side) off the ground making sure to maintain a braced core and to NOT move through the lower back. Hold for a 5-10s count each rep.
You should feel this in your glutes, abs, soul, eyeballs, everywhere.
Perform 3-4 repetitions per leg.
Barrel Roll
Nothing fancy, but the idea here is to think about locking your ribcage to your pelvis and rotating the entire body side-to-side as one unit. This can be regressed to performing from the knees if performing them from a full plank is too challenging.
Perform 8-10 repetitions per side.
Tall Kneel to Stand
Press your hands together to engage your core and to increase full-body tension. This will help to posteriorly tilt the pelvis encouraging more of a “canister” position where the pelvis is stacked underneath the ribcage.
Focus on maintaining a neutral spine and moving through your HIPS as you transition from the tall kneeling position to standing (and vice versa).
Do not rush this drill; perform it with intent.
Perform 4-5 repetitions per leg.
Birddog Band Press
Regular Birddogs will work wonders here. Just make sure you’re doing them correctly.
But lets up the ante.
The idea here is to lock in a neutral spine and move through your extremities only. There should be very limited motion through the lower back (I like to tell people there’s a glass of water on the lower back and they don’t want it to spill).
Perform 8-10 repetitions per side.
In-Place Chaos March
I like to think of of these as a “side plank that doesn’t make you want to toss your face into a brick wall.” I think we can all agree the side plank is boring, right?
I mean, it’s a fantastic exercise when done correctly and I’d highly encourage most people to start there. However, we’re on some Liam Neeson “I have a particular set of skills, I will find you, and I will kill you” type of shit right here.
Think about locking your ribcage to your pelvis and keeping your pelvis steady throughout the set; you want to limit any “teeter-tottering.”
Another way to think about it is to pretend as if your hips are on train tracks. They should remain level the entire time.
You also want to keep the “kettlebell quiet.” It shouldn’t be bouncing around while marching in place. Slow and controlled. No rushing!
Perform 8-10 steps/per leg/side
And That’s It
And that’s it.
I typically recommend performing all the exercises above in circuit fashion resting as needed between each one. All told I’d also recommend performing the entire circuit 2-4 times 1-2x per day for several days (or until symptoms subside and you feel you’re able to begin sprinkling in your normal routine again).
I know. It’s not lost on me that I’ve been an abject failure on the “writing new content” side of things. If it’s any consolation I’ve also been lackluster on a few fronts:
Calling my mom.
Avoiding pizza.
Not (not) being jacked.
Hugs.
My free time has been monopolized by what can only be described as entrepreneurial shenanigans. That being said, this afternoon I have a few hours of free time and will be working on a new T-Nation article! That’s something, right?
RIGHT?
Nevertheless, thankfully I have a few people willing to pinch-write for me of late and to provide some excellent content for this site.
Today is another gem on “goal setting” via Paul Levitin I think will resonate with many of you reading.
It’s the motivational cliche to end all motivational cliches.
You’ve heard it before, hell, I’ve said it before.
There’s a lot of truth in that statement. It’s true most of the time. It’s true, except for when it’s not.
The unfortunate reality is, the only fundamental truth of life is that nothing is set in stone. The one rule that will always hold true, is that there are exceptions to every rule.
I do agree with the sentiment behind the “never quit, never give up” mentality. I love me a good David Goggins or Andy Frisella rant as much as the next guy.
It gets me going!
I mean, it’s just the truth.
Gonna be pretty hard for you to win a race, if you stop running before the finish line. It’s going to be pretty hard for you to be the past person standing in the battle, if you give up and sit down.
If you don’t quit, eventually, you will find success. “Consistency is key,” is a law that supersedes fitness, finance, relationships, and all life success in general.
But what about when it doesn’t?
If there are exceptions to every rule, that means that there are times where quitting is necessary. Not only is it not simply something you should avoid, but in reality, when the time calls for it, quitting is the only logical choice, and to keep pushing forward with a plan of action that ISN’T working, actually can be detrimental. You end up spending time, energy, possibly money and other resources, on something that even if “successful,” doesn’t get you the desired result.
In reality, it’s not “never quit! Quitters never win!” but more “Most of the time, quitters never win, and winners seldom quit. Except when they do, which isn’t as often, but it definitely happens, and is certainly worth mentioning.”
The latter just doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as nicely.
So never quit, except when you should. Giving up is bad, except for the times when it’s the smartest thing you can do.
The question is, how can you tell the difference?
Here are three key questions to ask yourself to know if you should soldier on, or give it up and move on to your next pursuit:
1. Is It Impossible, or Improbable?
Often, we confuse one for the other, but they certainly are not the same. Improbable can FEEL like impossible, but that doesn’t make it so. However, some things just are impossible, and no amount of wanting it not to be so, can make it that way.
For example, if I want to play basketball at a high level (not professionally, just becoming a good player), that would be hard. It would mean me, at the age of 32, picking up a sport I’ve never played, learning skills, building athleticism. Those are challenges, but if I am dedicated enough, and I put in the time, energy, and effort necessary, I invest, I get the coaching, I could see it happening.
It would probably take years, but it exists in the realm of possibility.
If however, I wanted to become a 6’7” jacked brick-house black man, and rename myself LeBron Levitin, I might be in for some disappointment. Even if I have been training for years already, fighting for an impossible goal doesn’t make it any more likely.
Sometimes when you set out for a goal, you don’t realize just how hard it’s going to be. Often you can’t, it takes diving in with both feet to really get the full magnitude of the experience. What comes next is usually a feeling of regret.
“Oh shit, what did I sign myself up for?”
“This is dumb, I can’t do this!”.
These feelings are natural, and the harder the endeavor, the faster they’ll come on, and the more intense they will be.
You don’t want to do hard things. No one does. Even if consciously you do, at a subconscious level, all living things have bred into one key desire: survival. At a purely biological level, anything that is hard for us to do, that makes us struggle, or really in any way uncomfortable, sets off alarms in our brain and body.
These alarms say “STOP THAT! Get to safety, quick.”
When you feel the desire to quit then, you have to be able to discern: am I wanting to quit because this goal is actually not ideal for me, or is it just hard?
The latter is your biological defenses coming in, and need to be disregarded in most circumstances.
Some goals though, just don’t work out.
Some projects that you start aren’t worth finishing.
That’s ok, as long as you are sure that you’re stopping because it’s actually going to benefit you in the long run, not because it’s hard or scary or uncomfortable.
3. Have I Given It Enough Time?
Time heals all wounds. Time is our most precious resource. I have father time tattooed on my forearm, because time is an infinitely interesting concept to me. We don’t want to waste time on things that aren’t beneficial, however it also takes time for things to play out, and for the trees of our labor to produce fruit.
If you’re thinking about quitting something, you need to be honest with yourself and ask: is this really not working, or have I simply not given it enough time.
If you’ve been doing a workout program for three weeks and not seeing your ripped abs yet, then chances are you just haven’t given it it’s fair shot, and you need to stick it out a little longer (shiny object syndrome anyone?).
If however you’ve been working on the same program for eight months with no results, and are thinking “maybe month nine is when the gains kick in!,” then it might be time for you to reevaluate.
Unfortunately, there is not one rule for how much time to give.
It matters what the goal is, and in what area of life.
If it’s a fitness goal, a few months is usually enough time to judge. But if it’s business, or a relationship, sometimes it can be years or more.
Refer to questions one and two and decide if it’s something worth sticking it out for. If it’s an impossible goal, or a goal that isn’t worth reaching even if you get there, then move on. If it’s just really freaking hard, like frustratingly hard, but you still think the goal is worth working for, then stick it out.
My point today is simple: you are not broken for wanting to give up or quit.
It’s human nature, and 100% of the time, it’s going to happen.
You can persevere, you can do hard things.
Sometimes though, the answer is to move on, and explore other opportunities. You don’t have to feel bad about it, and you definitely don’t have to just stick to things because “quitting is for losers!” Be honest with yourself, and be open to exploring the deeper questions of why you’re wanting to quit and move on, and I’m quite sure you’ll know what the right answer truly is.
About the Author
Paul Levitin spent a decade as a personal trainer & strength and conditioning coach, becoming the number one trainer in his entire company, while collecting over 30 certificates (CES, CSCS, PRI, PN1, FRC, & many more).
Wanting to better serve his training clients, he began to study behavior change, and eventually became a Board Licensed Health & Wellness Coach (NBHWC). This led him to create his education and mindset coaching company “The Healthy Happy Human Academy,” where he now helps clients deal with things like self-sabotage and perfectionism, to allow them to build a healthy, happy life.
He seeks to bridge the gap between the worlds of fitness and nutrition, and the frustrated, overwhelmed masses who just want to move more, feel better, and live a little longer.
) and she’s a DIETICIAN!
Paul Levitin spent a decade as a personal trainer & strength and conditioning coach, becoming the number one trainer in his entire company, while collecting over 30 certificates (CES, CSCS, PRI, PN1, FRC, & many more).
