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Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 9/20/13

I know I’m going to come across sounding like a broken record here, but I’m going to repeat myself nonetheless.

There’s only a little over a week left to take advantage of the early bird special for mine and Dean Somerset’s weekend workshop up in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) on October 19-20th.

The Boston version held a few weeks ago was a huge success, and we’re looking for more of the same this go around. Don’t believe me, just ask some of the people who attended:

“Dean and Tony are not only two of the brightest guys in the field, and they’re also two of the most entertaining.  Newer trainers will get brought up to speed on progressive training strategies and take away hands-on coaching techniques.  More experienced coaches will benefit from Tony and Dean’s refined understanding of more complicated concepts.  The only part that was weird was at the end when they made everyone do a group hug for 10 minutes, but after they explained it was really a “mind meld,” we all understood.  Don’t miss this seminar!”

– Mark Fisher, co-owner of Mark Fisher Fitness, NYC

“These guys are legit.”

– Han Solo, Capt. Millenium Falcoln, Tony Gentilcore BFF

You can click on the link provided below for more of the nitty-gritty details (and to register), but suffice it to say:  CEUs will be offered, you’re going to learn a ton, and it will undoubtedly be a fantastic opportunity to network.

—> Edmonton Workshop <—-

And with that, here’s some cool stuff to check out. For those heading to Boston this weekend for the CP Seminar, safe travels and see you in a few!

6 Ways You Might Be Over-Coaching Your Clients – Chet Morjaria

This is something I struggled with when I first started as a trainer, and it’s something that we address here at the facility with each incoming intern class.

As a coach I think it’s crucial to place a premium on technique and making sure people are performing exercises correctly, but at the same time it’s really easy to fall into the trap of over-coaching, sometimes to the detriment of the athlete or client.

I felt this article hit the nail on the head, and HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who trains people for a living.

Are Bulgarian Split Squats Superior to Regular Squats? – Ben Bruno

It’s funny how Ben is pegged as the “single leg guy” when the fact is he (and his athletes) regularly squat AND deadlift some heavy ass weight.

I take the same approach as Ben and feel that single leg work is important, but so too is getting people stronger with the bilateral lifts.

In this article Ben offers some case studies which hopefully better prove his point:  they they BOTH have their place.

Back to the Basics: Why You Must Do Push-Ups – Lee Boyce

It’s no secret that I love me some push-ups.  Well, ice-cream is probably on top of that list (with old school Transformers cartoons a close second), but somewhere in the mix is push-ups.

I think they’re a fantastic assessment tool, as well as one of the best bang-for-your-training-buck exercises out there.  Sure, many guys will poo-poo on the push-up deeming them “too wimpy,” but it’s eerily universal just how many of the same guys can’t do them correctly, let alone for a set of ten without wanting to pour battery acid into my eyes.

In this article, my boy Lee gives his case for why push-ups deserve to get some more love.

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Edmonton Workshop: Dean and Tony’s Sequel (That Doesn’t Suck)

I hope everyone had a relaxing and well deserved Labor Day weekend.  The weather here in Boston was piss poor all weekend, so there wasn’t much that Lisa and I were able to do.  We did meet up with her old college volleyball team and ate dinner with her coach on Saturday night.  And some of you may recall on Facebook a few weekends ago I was asking for advice on bike buying tips.

Lisa’s new job is only 1.5 miles from our apartment, and it makes a lot of sense for her to start biking to and from work to help save time in the mornings.

We know as much about bikes as we both know about World of Warcraft.  If you ask me the only thing you need to know about buying a bike is which one makes you look the most jacked.  But needless to say there’s a bit more to it than that.

After test riding a few different brands, Lisa ended up really liking the Specialized Vita, and that’s exactly what she ended up getting.

This is her after I dropped her off at the bike store and she rode her brand spankin new bike home.

And as much as I’m sure everyone is thrilled to read about Lisa’s new bike – I mean come on, how good does she look? –  lets jump into more pertinent territory.

Namely:  Dean and Tony’s Traveling Fitness VooDoo Magic Time Roadshow

Or, to put it in non-five year old speak:  Dean Somerset and I doing a sequel to our Boston Workshop, but this time in his neck of the woods up in Edmonton.

AKA:  The Edmonton Workshop.

But unlike most sequels, which generally bite the big one (thanks Matrix Reloaded), this one won’t suck. I promise.

We’ll be covering the exact same material as we did in Boston; you know stuff on assessment, corrective exercise, breathing patterns, coaching the big lifts, and how to make an F-16 out of paper mache.  But I’m sure we’ll be adding a few smaller details to the mix.

For a full breakdown and tentative itinerary go HERE.

The Boston Workshop was a huge success (no one left early!), and many who attended were more than happy to offer their words of appreciation and praise:

“The workshop with Dean and Tony was fantastic. They mixed science with real life, in the gym, practical solutions. I feel like I’m better off after attending in all aspects of my ability to train others.”

Ryan Andrews, Precision Nutrition Coach, author of Drop the Fact Act & Live Lean.

“This clinic was a home run!  I’m a trainer with a yearly budget for continuing ed. I’m glad I spent it here.  I signed up because I knew these guys would drop some knowledge bombs…. I wasn’t disappointed. Tony and Dean’s Excellent Workshop gave great insight on post-rehab exercise and how it can be used in conjunction with training, as well as hammering technique in the basic lifts. I’ll admit I went back to the drawing board to re-evaluate my training techniques.

These guys are tops in their field. I would recommend this seminar to any beginner level trainers /strength coaches, right on up to advanced.  It will separate you from the pack.

Thanks Guys!”

Clark Evans, Boston based trainer.

“Dean and Tony are not only two of the brightest guys in the field, and they’re also two of the most entertaining.  Newer trainers will get brought up to speed on progressive training strategies and take away hands-on coaching techniques.  More experienced coaches will benefit from Tony and Dean’s refined understanding of more complicated concepts.  The only part that was weird was at the end when they made everyone do a group hug for 10 minutes, but after they explained it was really a “mind meld,” we all understood.  Don’t miss this seminar!”

– Mark Fisher, co-owner of Mark Fisher Fitness, NYC

We want this to be a one of a kind learning opportunity for those in attendance.We’ll do our best to cover the stuff YOU want to learn about, and want to spend less time talking and more time doing. As coaches ourselves, we both feel more comfortable on a training floor with people working their tails off. We want to give you that same kind of experience.

As such, we will also limit registrations to a max of 30 people in order to keep it as intimate and give you as much face time with Dean and Tony as possible. This will also allow us to give more individual instruction on coaching specific movements, spotting corrective strategies to implement, and answer questions efficiently.

The whole shindig is going down the weekend of October 19th and 20th at World Health City Centre in Edmonton.  It’s the weekend AFTER Canadian Thanksgiving, and the weekend before it starts getting cold as balls.

So you really have no excuse not to attend,

For more information and to sign up, please follow the link below:

—> Edmonton Workshop <—