Page 74 – Tony Gentilcore

Appearance on the 18STRONG Podcast: Why Golfers Should Lift Heavy Things

I had the pleasure of being asked to come onto the 18STRONG Podcast recently.

It’s not lost on me I was asked to appear on a show focusing on golf. I mean, I can count on one hand the total number of times I’ve actually played a round.¹

It’s analogous to me being asked to come onto a show discussing French cuisine, or, I don’t know, knife fighting skills.

Tony Gentilcore? Golf? Hahahahaha.

Copyright: Photozek07 / 123RF Stock Photo

I may not be able to sniff par, but I do know how to train rotational athletes. And, while my strong suit is in baseball, you’d be surprised how many parallels there are between that and golf in terms of movement, the unique demands placed on and required by the body, and wanting to light your face on fire from frustration.

For what it’s worth I do train a fair share of recreational golfers here in Boston. Almost all of them need to work on improving T-spine and hip mobility, core stability, in addition to just getting stronger in general.

Correct movement from the right areas + Strength + Improved force production = 40 yds on your opening drive, easy…..;o)

Show Highlights:

Tony’s thoughts on the deadlift. There is a lot of conflicting information about whether deadlifts are good or bad for you, which we get into.
Some dos and don’ts of deadlifts that everyone should be taking into account. There are a number of ways to approach it, and every person is going to be different depending on their skill, age, available equipment etc.
Why back pain is most often not related to your back. It is more likely to be a problem with another part of the body not ‘doing its job’, and the back has to pick up the slack.
The importance of lifting heavy. Getting stronger is going to help with a lot of problems to do with injuries and overall fitness. Lifting big weights may cause injury if done incorrectly, but being weak can be more problematic. This absolutely applies to golf, as 18 holes can cause a fair amount of strain on the body.
Some of the crossovers between baseball players and golfers, from a training perspective. There are some surprising similarities which we get into.
Some tips for people with poor posture and how to fix them. The really important parts to train for posture, are your backside muscles. Glutes, erectors, hamstrings etc. These are the muscles that are most affected from sitting down all day.
How much time people should be spending in the gym each week. Tip: at least 3 days/week of strength training. Consistency is key.

Episode 148: Why Golfers Should Lift Heavy Things

Listen below or you can also download on iTunes HERE.

July 13, 2017 Tony

The Post Where I Prove It’s Not Always Tight Hamstrings

You would think, based off all the alarmist articles I come across on the internet extolling the sentiment, that everyone walking around – you, me, leprechauns², everyone – has tight hamstrings.

And as a result, if you do a search on Google, you’ll come across roughly 8, 089, 741 (+/- 41, 903) articles telling you why, how, and when to stretch them.

Copyright: vladansrs / 123RF Stock Photo

Tight hamstrings have been to blame for a lot of things, including but not limited to:

Back pain.
Knee pain.
Shoulder pain.
Any sort of pain.
Male pattern baldness.
Global warming.
The “death” of Jon Snow.

And while tight hamstring can be the root cause of some of those things, to always put the blame on them is a bit reductionist and narrow-minded to say the least.

In short: It’s the default culprit for lazy coaches and personal trainers to gravitate towards.

To steal a quote from Dr. John Rusin from THIS recent T-Nation article:

“If you’re stretching your hamstrings every day for months (or years) on end without improved flexibility, mobility, movement patterning, or pain relief, it’s not working. And it’s time to get out of this rehab purgatory.

If you aren’t seeing results from stretching, then it’s not only a waste of time, but it may be working against you. The thing is, muscles don’t get longer; they maintain a certain tone or tightness based on neurological impulse. So yes, strategic stretching DOES work in terms of reducing tone and tightness (in the short and long term), but if it hasn’t worked for you by now, it’s probably not going to.”

To steal a quote from myself:

“In order to increase the length of a muscle you need to either 1) lengthen bone (um, ouch!) or 2) in the case of someone who truly presents as short or stiff, increase the total number of sarcomeres in series (which takes a metric shit-ton of stretching).

Ask physical therapist Bill Hartman how long someone really needs to stretch in order to have a significant affect and/or to add sarcomeres, and he’ll tell you the starting point is 2-3, 10 minute holds per day. Working up to 20 minute holds.

That cute 30-second “stretch” you’re doing (most likely incorrectly) isn’t really doing anything.”

Are You “Tight” or Just Out of Whack?

You’d be surprised how often it’s the latter.

Simply put: most people aren’t so much tight as they are “stuck” in a poor position.

It goes back to something physical therapist and strength coach, Mike Reinold, brought up in casual conversation not long ago:

Which is more important to hammer first: stability or mobility?

Those trainers and coaches who swing on the stability side of the pendulum tend to be the overly cautious type who have their clients stand on BOSU balls for 45 minutes.

Those who swing on the the mobility side of things sleep with their copy of Supple Leopard every night.

Neither approach is inherently wrong so much as they’re flawed (if haphazardly assumed as “correct” for every person, in every situation).

If you strengthen (stabilize) in misalignment you develop an imbalance. If you stretch (mobilize) in misalignment you develop instability.

Take someone who presents with excessive anterior pelvic tilt. It’s not uncommon for said person to complain about constantly “tight” hamstrings, and no matter how often they stretch them, they stay tight.

You would think that after weeks, months, or sometimes even years of non-stop “stretching” they’d see some improvement, right?

Wrong.

The reason why they feel tight all the time has little to do with their hamstrings, but rather pelvic positioning.

Unless you address the position of the pelvis – in this case, excessive anterior pelvic tilt – you can stretch the hamstrings until they stop making those shitty Transformers movies (when will it end?) and you’ll never see an improvement.³

Think about it this way: in this scenario the reason why the hamstrings feel tight is because they’re lengthened and firing on all cylinders. By stretching them you’re just feeding into the problem in the first place!

We could easily chalk this up to the classic Lower Cross Syndrome as popularized by Dr. Vladomir Janda and stretch what’s tight (hip flexors, erectors), and that would be a step in the right direction.

Cool.

But I feel for most people, most of the time, that’s not going to solve the problem.

Instead, for the bulk of people, addressing things like anterior core strength (deadbugs, anyone?) in addition to active hip flexion and extension drills, like the Core Engaged Active Straight Leg Raise, is going to be money.

Real Life Example Of Not (Really) Tight Hamstrings

Take one of my clients, Dima. For all intents and purposes he’s someone who presents as “tight” AF in the hamstring department.

To throw him under the bus a teeny-tiny bit, if we tested his Active Straight Leg Raise this very minute anyone who’s taken the FMS would grade him the following way:

via GIPHY

Note to Dima: You’re my boy, Blue!

The thing is, as poor as his ASLR appears, I can get more range of motion passively. Meaning, if I were to manually “stretch” his hamstrings I can nudge a bit more ROM.

Since this is the case, wouldn’t it make sense to have him stretch his hamstrings?

Meh, not really.

Now, in Dima’s case, I’m not saying we avoid stretching his hamstrings. He is someone who’s a candidate for doing so (and we do), albeit I don’t prioritize it nearly as much as some coaches/trainers may do.

Instead I have perform stuff like this:

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat

That’s some Gandalf type shit right there.

NOTE: Yes, I recognize he’s still unable to get full knee extension, but you can clearly see his ROM improved and the ease at which he got the additional ROM is night and day compared to the start.

All without stretching.

My boy Dean Somerset does a better job than myself explaining the mechanism at play here:

“Part of it is matching the active ability to achieve the position with the passive range of motion that’s available. If they can passively get there, they’re not “tight” or “restricted,” they just may not have the strength or motor control in that specific position, so doing some hip flexion movements can help build context of how to get there so that on their follow up test, they have a better knowledge base of active hip flexion capability to get into.”

In the end, don’t always assume everyone needs to stretch. A little active range of motion in conjunction with TENSION can go a long ways at building context and improving ROM.

July 12, 2017 Tony

Motivational

Coach Stella: Training Begins But Never Ends…

The life of a strength coach is equal parts rewarding, frustrating, hard, even harder, up, down, celebratory, and chaotic.

With a peppering of high-fives, butt slaps, atta boy’s/girl’s, and DMX radio.

It’s not a glamorous gig by any extension of the word. It’s a world populated by inconvenient schedules, dank weight rooms (which can be the best ones), and a fair number of meals eaten out of tupperware containers.

Copyright: tonobalaguer / 123RF Stock Photo

However, what the life lacks in glamour is made up for by an abundance of perseverance, grit, and hopefully a metric shit-ton of deadlift PRs.

It’s a life (and career) that never stops challenging you and demonstrating, to each individual willing to work hard, what it really means to get out of if that you put in.

It’s been awhile since I’ve watched something that has inspired me and helped broadcast a message I feel anyone can benefit from – strength coach or not.

This brief documentary was sent my way last week. It just went live today. It follows Coach Stella, a Boston-based strength coach who, for all intents and purposes, doesn’t let something like a headache or a case of the “eff its” prevent him from getting after it.

This is seven minutes I feel is worth your time

Coach Stella:

Coach Stella from C49 on Vimeo.

July 11, 2017 Tony

business coaching

3 Secrets From MBSC Thrive

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of MBSC Thrive coach, Sean De Wispelaere. When it comes to fitness entrepreneurship – NOTE: commercial gyms trainers this still applies to you – everyone’s always looking for that one “trick” or slight “edge” that will help separate themselves from the masses and serve as the tipping point towards success.

Below are a few things that Sean has noticed from some of the of the top performing coaches have in common within the Thrive program/system.

1). Do You

Gary Vaynerchuck, a well-respected entrepreneur and social medial savage, spoke at the USC Entrepreneur Talk a few years back. He had 60 minutes on the clock, walked in, and told the class that the only piece of advice that matters is that they have to identify what they are good at and go all in on that.

He then asked if there were any questions. Savage

Relating that back to the coaching or training, you have to find out who you are as a coach and be really good at making sure your clients see that authentic you. If not, you will always be missing “something” and it will affect your ability to succeed at the level that you want in this industry.

It looks like all of our teachers, parents, and Dr-freaking-Seuss were right. I typically don’t trust anyone wearing a striped hat and bow tie…unless they advocate eggs (or even green eggs)…if Dr. Seuess had a rhyme-y coffee and deadlift book he’d be a triple threat.

Anyway, the majority of coaches or trainers who I have seen fail are the ones who fail to be their authentic self.

The clients are being 100.01% authentic when they buy your services.

That means that they need your help, that they cannot do this on their own, and believe that you’re the one who can help them.

So, when you’re not authentic they will sniff it out over time and as a result they will end their time with you. They usually say that they “can’t afford it anymore,” or “they have a new job that messes up their schedule,” or “King Leonidus power-kicked them into a deep dark hole.

…Regardless of their reason, it comes down to this harsh truth, in my opinion: They don’t trust you. You’re supposed to be the person that helps them succeed with something very challenging and when “something just doesn’t feel right,” you’re done.

Your clients should know some of your quirks, your interests, and why you do what you do.

Warning: there’s a line.

If one of your quirks is that you like to go to Comic-Con, cool. But they shouldn’t know that you went to Comic-Con last week, got hammered, and made 1-5 bad decisions with a Pikachu.

There is no cookie-cutter way of doing this. I’ve seen badass coaches who are the pump-up/hype coach, coaches who are quiet but remember EVERYTHING about their people, coaches who are uber-nerds and give their clients superhero personas, coaches who send a weekly newsletter to their clients just to let them know what is upcoming this week and highlight some clients.

Do you.

You have to be the person that you truly are and not the version that sounds good when you meet someone at the next fitness conference.

Outside of all of the things that can make you, you, here are the things that you have to be able to say ‘yes’ to:

Do you believe in your clients?
Do you lead by example and eat, train, and live the life that you’re advising?
Do you like people?

If your answers to the above aren’t an unequivocal “YES,” then find a way to make them a part of who you are. If you are unable to do that, then you might have to consider a different path. Sorry, but it’s true and might save you a lot of headache down the road.

2) Develop A Firm Philosophy

Your philosophy should be one that your clients can understand.

Keep it simple.

It will go a long way when they are telling their friends about you and WHY your workouts are different than the other programs in your area. On that note, spend the time educating your clients (not all at once…drip it out over time, Turbo). Develop an army of people spreading your good word and impacting your overall culture.

You can’t just be another “get sweaty as F%$k” workout in 2017. There is WAY too much of that and you won’t stand out.

A few tips to develop, re-work, strengthen, or badass-ify your philosophy:

Simplicity is king
It has to be one that you believe in so that your enthusiasm about it is contagious
Let it marinate…
- When you hear a new idea or see a super sweet new piece of equipment don’t become immediately turned on (whoa, whoa…outta the gutter, Nasty) or turned off by it. Let it marinate to see if it actually fits into your philosophy and then make the call.
“Don’t be afraid to neglect certain ideas that oppose your message But you’re just as proud of what our products don’t do as are of what they do.” – Jason Fried, ReWork
- Too many coaches and trainers think that they have to know everything about everything and include all of the things into their philosophy. I am not saying that you shouldn’t strive to be diverse, but it is ok to take some pressure off of yourself. It wasn’t until I read the above quote that I had a simple way of telling people why we don’t do that one flashy exercise that their friend on Instagram does.The quote is now my gift to you and I hope it helps you say “no” and have that be a positive thing more often.

You are the professional and that is why they hired you. If you let the clients dictate the workout, then why would they keep paying you? Also, remember to have fun (seriously, it’s ok.)

3) The Dirtiest Word in the Industry: Sales

via GIPHY

Disclaimer 1: I am well aware it is not about the money. There are 100 other reasons as to why this is the best industry in the entire world, but most coaches are not in a place where they can do it for free.

I have seen aspiring coaches who deeply wanted fitness as their profession, but couldn’t make it financially so they got a job that they didn’t love because it paid the bills. So, though it isn’t all about the money, it is a business and if you want to have the financial means to make it a profession that you are fulfilled in then below are some good business thing-things to keep in mind.

Disclaimer 2: If you have a product, people will buy it. Yes, it really is that simple. They will buy it and tell their friends about. Cool. That is all good and fine, but too many coaches and trainers wait for that to happen. If you want to expedite the process, here are a few ideas to consider.

Referrals

How many referrals per month are you getting? If you have 20 clients and got 4 referrals that is 20%.

How much can you increase that % by each month?

How to increase:

Ask!

Why can’t you have a special group session each month with all of your clients? One that is on-the-house and at the end you let them know that the biggest compliment that they can give you is to bring in a friend to experience what they have. Hand out some “bring a friend” workout cards and let them know how much you appreciate them.

Voila.

New Leads

Outside of marketing via social media (that is a 1,000.5 page article on it’s own)…

Look, I get it. Asking people to workout with you can be a tricky task. Whether you’re in a big box gym or a studio setting this is always a hot/awkward topic. If you’re the type that is able to just walk down the street and grab five leads for a workout…awesome, you don’t need any help and enjoy that cool horn, you’re a unicorn.

But, if you’re like the rest of us…

Drawing up leads:

Have a weekly or monthly 15-minute KB workshop -or- 2 secrets of fat-loss nutrition tips -or- back pain reducing warm up, etc
Promote it by telling everyone when they check-into the gym
Get promo cards made up and pass them out
Get it on the Group Fitness Schedule

If you’re not getting New Leads

Outside of marketing via social media (that is a 1,000.5 page article on it’s own)...

…in a big box gym, then all of the above topics work well for corporate in-services. Most companies in your area would LOVE to have a health professional come in and talk to their staff. Be audacious enough to reach out to the right people to make that happen.

Conversion

If you give 10 people an introductory workout and ask them to continue training with you, how many say “yes?” 30% is acceptable and upwards of 80% is REALISTIC if you’re damn good.

How to increase it you ask? Well, let’s go to school.

How good is the initial workout or assessment that you give just before you ask for the sale?
Do people understand why your services are unparalleled?
Have you asked your clients why signed up with you and leveraged those reasons into that initial workout with future leads?

Do you consider yourself a student of sales or just blow off that idea as if it is insulting? If you have a product that you are truly proud of and one that can help people live a better life, then why aren’t you proud to influence as many people as possible with that?

When was the last time you read a sales book and had a good mindset about it? Are they relatively corny? Yes, but, there just might be a few valuable tools in them to help you grow your venture.

“Time-the-heck-OUT! Sean, you didn’t give any advice in the above conversion topic at all.”

Or did I? Figured I go out with a Mr. Miyagi moment, Danielson.

* Special moment: To say that writing with Tony Gentilcore, the first fitness blog that I read AND respected, is an honor just doesn’t seem like a strong enough word. Dreams come true.

Thanks for reading and Kaizen on, Beast.

About the Author

Who am I?

Sean De Wispelaere. I have been with MBSC Thrive since the developmental years in 2010 and have contributed to many areas within the company. Mainly in program quality, coach development, and making sure that all of our locations have the support that they need to reach their wildest dreams. Featured in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Prevention, Runner’s World, Vitamin Shoppe, Bicycling, and Seandthrive.com.

MBSC Thrive licenses facilities across the world with the Mike Boyle Strength And Conditioning program and branding while fueling it with proven business systems.

July 10, 2017 Tony

Stuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 7/7/17

So excited to head down to DC tomorrow to visit some old friends. Lisa and I should be able to actually board the plane this time with Julian.⁴

I’ve got a lot of entrepreneurial shenanigans to take care, not to mention packing, before we leave…so lets get right to this week’s list of stuff to read.

CHECK THIS STUFF OUT FIRST (IT’S MOSTLY ABOUT ME)

1. Strong Body-Strong Mind – Boston

I’m really excited to announce the Strong Body-Strong Mind Workshop, coming to Boston (finally!) later this summer.

The idea is simple: there’s a corner in the industry that’s underserved….mental skills.

There are a lot of people out there who write about “mindset” and describe themselves as mindset coaches (whatever the heck that means) who, by and large, have zero academic background in that department.

Lisa, SPOILER ALERT: she’s my wife, went to school for that shit.

I went to school to help turn people into badasses.

So, why not combine the two?

Lisa can speak to building competency and discussing how to build the skills to develop rapport with clients. I can speak to getting people bigger, stronger, and faster.

Strong Body-Strong Mind = see you there? Here’s the itinerary⁵

To purchase you can go HERE.⁶

2) Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint – Orlando

Our Vancouver shindig in April sold out, but Dean and I have recently announced a stop in Orlando, FL later this year, October 21-22nd at Spark Fitness.

I’ve never been to Orlando. There’s no way in hell I’m visiting Disney World.

You can go HERE for more details and to sign up.

3. Stuff I Was Sent, Thought Was Cool, and Thought You’d Want to Check It Out

One of the best things about this site, outside of my uncanny wit and LOLcat memes, is the fact I get offers for people to send me free shit. Many offers I respectively decline as I feel it wouldn’t be a good fit for my audience.

NOTE TO AUDI: Sending me a free car would TOTALLY be a good fit. Just sayin.

But every now and then I get sent stuff that’s pretty dope. Like….

**FYI: I receive zero kickback from recommending the following products.

Jabra Elite Sport Headphones

They’re wireless – like, for real. ZERO wires
They sound amazing, and more importantly stay in your ears.
And they do fancy shit, like track your heart-rate via the integrated fitness app, in addition to providing audio coaching during your workouts (if you so choose).⁷

I tried them out during a recent squat workout and they worked superbly. Likewise, my wife, Lisa, who’s a headphone snob looooooooves them. They’re basically hers now.

Olivers All-Over Shorts

If you’re looking for a pair of shorts that you can wear during a brutal deadlift session or CrossFit class and/or showoff at the next Catalina Wine Mixer…these are it.

Equal parts athletic and classy.

Stuff To Read

Will Aspartame Kill You? No, Dumbass – Physiqonomics

Science, humor, AND a cornucopia of f-bombs? Best…..article…..ever.

The Squat and Athletic Development – How We’ve All Been F*cking It Up – JL Holdsworth

This article ruffled some feathers, but I encourage everyone to read it, and take from it what you will.

It’s just information. Really, really good information…….but information nonetheless.

Stuff I Love: Landmines – 9 Legit Reasons They’re no Gimmick – Dave Thomas

One of the best articles on the landmine I have read in a while. Very informative and entertaining with tons of great ideas.

Social Media Shenanigans

Twitter

People who avoid training legs because they run should probably avoid training upper body too, b/c, well, it makes no sense. TRAIN LEGS.

— Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore1) July 4, 2017

Instagram

A better way to coach (or “scale”) the 1-Legged RDL or hip hinge. Top video is a dumpster fire. Majority of movement is coming via lower back and bending from the waist. This is what many look like when performing the movement. Bottom video: 1) think “soft knee.” 2) at first I like to have people bend their non-supporting leg so as to decrease the lever and make the movement a little cleaner. As someone gets more comfortable and proficient we can then make the movement harder by straightening out the leg. Until then it’s likely best for most people to bend their knee 90 degrees. 3) encourage a reach by reaching arms towards wall in front. This serves as a counterbalance. 4) another nice cue is to tell people their hips are headlights. They should stay parallel to floor the entire time (this keeps the hips from teeter-tottering side to side). 5) lastly, movement should come via the hip and not lower back. Give those suggestions & cues a try and see if they work for you.

A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on Jul 6, 2017 at 11:38am PDT

July 7, 2017 Tony

Assessment coaching Program Design

How to Fix Scapular Winging

Scapular winging. It’s a thing.

I guess.

Copyright: olegdudko / 123RF Stock Photo

Forgive the aloof and standoffish tone. I recognize the term “scapular winging” is a thing and that it can be an actual, real-live, medical diagnosis with dastardly consequences.⁸

But more on that in a minute.

It’s just that, in some ways, I find a lot of fitness pros – personal trainers, strength coaches, and even physical therapists – can often be a little too liberal with use of the term. They toss it around with little understanding of what it actually means and with little “feel” on how it’s interpreted by their clients and athletes.

I’ve long championed the sentiment that most (not all) fitness pros use the initial assessment as an opportunity to showcase how much people suck at doing things and how broken they are, and that, for the mere cost of a 215 pack of training sessions (the equivalent of a really, really nice Audi), they’ll fix you.

Pffffft, who wants an Audi anyways?

Here’s how a typical conversation goes:

Client: “Hey, I’m thinking about hiring someone to train me.”

Douchy Trainer: “Great, I’d be glad to help. We need to start with an assessment so I have ample opportunity to showcase how much of walking ball of fail you are and how I alone can fix you.”

Client: “Uh, okay. When do we start?

Douchy Trainer: “Right now, take off your shirt.”

Client: “Not going to buy me dinner first, huh? Kidding, okay, BAM.”

[takes off shirt]

Douchy Trainer: “Oh……….MY………..GOD.”

Client: “What? What’s wrong?”

Douchy Trainer: “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but, you may want to sit down for this.”

Client: “Okay. What is it?

Douchy Trainer: “I’m sorry to have to tell you, but, but…..you have scapular winging.”

Client: “Is….that bad?”

Douchy Trainer: “I honestly have no idea how you’re able to walk, let alone speak complete sentences. We need to fix this ASAP.”

And this is where the trainer turns into that a-hole nun from Game of Thrones walking the client, Cersei style, down to the training floor to take them through a bevy of corrective exercise drills.

via GIPHY

Lets pump the brakes, mmmkay?

Scapular Winging: What It Is

It’s this:

Now, admittedly, the key words used to find this picture were “most fucked up, dumpster fire of a case of scapular winging on the internet,” so don’t get too alarmed.

This is a legit, medically diagnosed case, and not at all normal.

In a general sense, when we say “scapular winging” all we’re saying is that the shoulder blade comes or “wings” off the ribcage.

It’s sorta tricky because this pretty much describes everyone. You, me, George Clooney, your second cousin’s brother-in-law’s nephew’s Little League coach, literally, everyone, has some form of scapular winging.

So, what is it then? How much is too much? And, more importantly, what, if anything, should we do to fix it? Do we even need to fix it?

Dr. Quinn Henoch of Juggernaut Training Systems described this beautifully not too long ago. In short: a true case of scapular winging, like what’s pictured above, is a neurological condition where the Long Thoracic Nerve isn’t doing it’s job of innervating the Serratus Anterior (who’s job it is to adhere the shoulder blade to the ribcage).

The approach or fix in this case hasn’t anything to do with turning on “x” muscle or performing x, y, and z corrective exercises.

It’s not quite that simple.

Scapular Winging: What It Isn’t

I’ll tell you this much: we don’t have a pandemic of people walking around with true scapular winging. The vast majority of people you’ll encounter are owner’s of a completely healthy Long Thoracic Nerve.

They’re not broken. There’s nothing super duper nefarious happening.

What’s likely the culprit is a lack of tension and motor control.

The fix, then, is……..Drum roll…..

LOAD

If we can figure out ways to introduce load and subsequently, tension, this will not only help to turn shit on (without having to go down the 19-part corrective exercise rabbit hole) but also help people get into better positions via a little introduction to protraction.

Want to “cure” someone’s scapular winging in a matter of seconds?

Watch this. Closed-chain movements, protraction in general, is kind of magical.

Wall Press & Push-Ups That Don’t Suck

Pretty cool, right? That’s some Gandalf shit right there.

Quadruped Rockback w/ Floor Press

Typically the Quadruped Rockback is a a screen used to gauge active hip flexion ROM and to ascertain someone’s appropriate squat depth based of his or her’s anatomy. However, after listening to Mike Reinold speak on the topic it’s also a great drill to cue people into more protraction and upward rotation

Floor Press w/ Upward Rotation

Taking the floor press a step further, we can take away a base of support (and force the stabilizing arm to work that much harder in order to maintain position) and then incorporate some upward rotation.

Wrap Up

The umbrella theme here is not to dismiss scapular winging as an actual diagnosis. It is a diagnosis. It’s just not as common as people think, and I wish more fitness pros would stop jumping to conclusions so fast.

Oftentimes the fix is just to coach people up, introduce some load, and get them into better positions.

Last Chance to Save $100 off Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint

TODAY (7/6) is, for real this time, the last day you can purchase Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint at 50% off the regular price.

Because of the 4th and everyone’s travel plans, Dean Somerset and I extended our sale by one day so more people could take advantage.

That’s $100 you’re saving. Take that money you’ll save and go to a nice steak dinner instead.

—> LAST CHANCE. GO HERE. <—

July 6, 2017 Tony

coaching Motivational personal training

Fitness Industry Survival Tips: Part Two

Last week Travis Hansen wrote part one and covered some arguable topics that you can focus on as a trainer/coach to help improve your personal and online training business over the long-haul.

He had more to say. Hope you enjoy part two.

Fitness Industry Survival Tips: The Part Two Part

1. Develop a Niche

It’s a very competitive world and there are many sub-fields within the training industry that you can explore to try and make a living and attempt to specialize in. (i.e. fat loss, muscle building, bodybuilding, powerlifting, Olympic lifting, Crossfit, athletic development, bootcamps, corrective exercise, etc. etc.)

Trying to stay general and master all areas of training development is a pipe dream and self-limiting.

Just take a quick look at the best in the business, and they are once again sharing something by having a specific brand or niche.

Bret Contreras is the Glute Guy, Lee Taft is the Speed Guy, Charlie Weingroff introduced the concept of actual training for rehab purposes, McGill is the spine expert, The Cosgrove’s were the original face of fat loss for years, Eric Cressey is a shoulder genius and baseball expert, and so on…

Granted you could make a very strong case that these guys could hold their own in just about any type of debate about a specific subject matter.

Nonetheless, most have a specialty because training is extremely competitive and technical when you get into the nitty gritty and discover lots of depth on a topic. And as I mentioned in part #1, this is yet another reason why you will need a sound network, so that you know who to turn to when an issue originating in an area outside of your target specialty occurs.

Also, bear in mind that there is much overlap between speciality’s which will require strong foundations across many types of training, but be sure to be real with yourself always and make it a point to identify your limits and knowledge gaps.

2. Practice What You Preach

This one probably pretty much goes without saying at this point, but I still think it’s worth mentioning.

If you want immediate attention and respect from clients and athletes in the short-term then all you need to do is look the part.

For example, if you want to train bodybuilders then be a bodybuilder. If you want to attract football players then play collegiate or even pro football and watch the initial waves of players that come knocking on your doorstep.

But does all of this guarantee that you are going to keep clients coming back in for more?

Hell no.

Why?

People inevitably want what they want, and this is results!

Although, having gone through the type of training you are preaching will award a temporary competitive advantage since you have gone through the process…beyond that you will have to gorge yourself with info and be a “student.”

This is why you see many pro superstars that don’t evolve into becoming coaches after their career’s are finished. They didn’t learn all of the x’s and o’s. Training goes beyond just hard work and talent. You have to really dedicate yourself to craving more knowledge and learning both the science and art of training.

Conversely, on the other end of the spectrum you have guys that have very little experience in a style of training, but are absolutely phenomenal and world class at what they do. There are several examples but it’s not important.

These individuals are brilliant intellectually, and can identify angles and interpret information and research differently from the rest of us. They are of course the exception, and are few and far between though.

And just so you don’t think I’m talking out of my ass, here is a comparison video from years ago of me walking the walk:

I was running consistent mid to high 4.4’s from multiple people hand timing me. And there happened to be one day where I felt superhuman and did record a 4.31 (4.54 fully electronic)!

What I was really proud of is that I spent half of a decade trying to improve my speed because I love speed training.

I started at a 4.7-4.8 initially.

I researched every technique, book, research study, program, and periodization model that I could find. My goal was to run a 4.3 naturally, and once I did that I lost all of my motivation and wanted to help others with a similar passion in becoming as fast as possible.

Since then there has been hundreds of athletes follow our training system and become much faster. Which brings me to the next factor.

3. Build Your Portfolio

Early on in my training career I would spend money on business cards, pamphlets, etc. in hopes of generating business leads and potential clients since I had just become self-employed and hated the corporate scene.

This was the approach that was advocated by my circle at the time, but I must admit that it didn’t feel right at all and I quickly dismissed the idea and went a different route altogether.

I asked myself why am I trying to sell a service with out much evidence that it works, along with a crystal clear understanding of what I’m actually doing?

And that is when I decided to commit myself to constant learning and daily practice.

Moreover, I wanted to make the absolute most out of each opportunity that I had training each client.

My learning to client ratio at the time was like 9:1.

I wasn’t making really any money, but I had a large window of time that I could capitalize on outside of training to gradually improve my training skill set. Anytime outside of that was focused on being social and staying sane!

And then I would train my ass myself.

Over time, I had taken care of a lot of people, and my clientele incrementally started to grow. But my whole mission of being results based and results driven has never changed and never will.

Do good work and people will come. Word of mouth will start to surface, and then eventually you will have something tangible that you can really market and sell to the public.

4. How Do You Respond to Failure?

How you respond specifically to acts of failure is going to be a huge determinant in how far you go I’ve found out.

Like anybody, you are going to always take your lumps in this business or any for that matter.

Just accept it.

“I failed”

“Good. Go fail again.” – Davos Seaworth

— Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore1) July 2, 2017

I think a big key factor is trying to minimize your failures and not make things harder on yourself than necessary. I can tell you firsthand that I’ve had days where I’ve completely sucked, cried, broke shit, sat there and shook my head in disbelief, and questioned whether or not it was all worth it, or if I really wanted to do this anymore.

A big part of the reason for this I think is because I have ridiculous goals and always have since I was 8 years old. And when you are miles and miles away from were you want to be, well it f*%ken sucks.

But when you start to become and remain accountable with yourself and you are constantly learning and practicing your craft with full effort, then it all starts to make sense eventually and things begin to fall in place slowly.

Wrap Up

On a final note, I really sincerely hope these two pieces may have enlightened you on a few things you may not have thought about with the profession and my full intention is to help you as much as possible.

Stay patient, grind, laugh, have fun, and try not to worry too much or be too critical of yourself. It will eat you alive!

About the Author

Travis Hansen has been involved in the field of Human Performance Enhancement for nearly a decade. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Fitness and Wellness, and holds 3 different training certifications from the ISSA, NASM, and NCSF.

He was the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Reno Bighorns of the NBADL for their 2010 season, and he is currently the Director of The Reno Speed School inside the South Reno Athletic Club.

He has worked with hundreds of athletes from almost all sports, ranging from the youth to professional ranks. He is the author of the hot selling “Speed Encyclopedia,” and he is also the leading authority on speed development for the International Sports Sciences Association.

July 5, 2017 Tony

coaching Exercise Technique

Landmine Press: Cues and Mistakes. And How To Make It More Functional

I’ve long been an advocate of the landmine press. Not only is it one of my favorite “shoulder friendly” pressing variations, but it’s one of my favorite pressing variations in general.

It gets you jacked and ripped and your shoulders feeling like a million bucks. If it’s performed correctly.

The landmine press doesn’t come without it’s own set of snafus and mistakes. Below is a quick video I shot that breaks down a few “big rock” things to consider as far as execution and common mistakes people make when performing it.

(Cough, cough, hint hint): If you want to dig a little deeper on shoulder (and hip) shenanigans you should check out Complete Shoulder and Hip Blueprint, currently on sale at $100 OFF the regular price through July 5th.

Do it. DO IT.

Landmine Press Cues and Mistakes

BONUS “Functional As Shit” Landmine Variation

July 3, 2017 Tony

Stuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work Uncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Complete Shoulder and Hip Blueprint Is On Sale Edition

Hey-o, guess what?

My flagship resource, Complete Shoulder and Hip Blueprint is on sale, like right now, for the first time ever, at 50% off the original price.

Why?

1. My (business) partner-in-crime⁹, Dean Somerset, is Canadian and we figured it would be a nice way to celebrate our respective country’s Independence Day.

Unity is swell.

2. My 5-month old, Julian, goes through a ton of diapers. That shit’s expensive.¹⁰

3. Why not?

It’s gotten amazing reviews and feedback from trainers/coaches from around the world, and I’m not at all biased when I say it’s pretty much the greatest fitness resource ever produced in the history of ever.

Don’t worry: I’ll be writing some actual new content in the upcoming days to coincide with the sale. Content that will educate and make you a better coach.¹¹

In the interim I wanted to rehash some older(ish) posts that touch on some of the topics Dean and I cover in the course. Even if you don’t want to buy anything – did I mention it’s HALF OFF? – the info is fantastic, and you’ll be smarter. And more attractive.

The Difference Between External & Internal Impingement of the Shoulder – Me

Shoulder impingement is a garbage term. A lazy term. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t know the difference between the two, the mechanisms involved, and how to train around each issue.

You’re Not Broken if You’re Asymmetrical. You’re Normal – Me

Taking the approach that everyone should squat or deadlift (or whatever) the same way, with the same stance and setup, like we’re all molded to fit into the same textbook algorithm of perfection is unfortunate.

Lets Pump the Brakes Internet: N0, Deadlifts Won’t Make Your Spine Explode. And No, Not Everyone Has To Do Them – Me

Sometimes trolls need to be trolled with common sense. Peppered with STFU. This was one of my favorite articles I wrote last year.