Today’s guest post comes courtesy of good friend, colleague, and past contributor to this site, Kim Lloyd.
If you’re a coach/personal trainer you’ve likely experienced what Kim describes below…
…being “fired” by a client.
It never feels good. But did you take it as an opportunity to reflect, learn, and grow or to just shrug off, turn the page, and repeat the same mistakes?
A funny thing happened on my way to losing an online training client.
By funny, I mean I rocked in a corner for two days eye-opening.
Regardless of the industry in which you work, failures hurt.
This client was an acquaintance I’d met when I lived in Boston, and after following my blog for a few years, she decided that she wanted to ditch Zumba (not that there’s anything wrong with Zumba) and start strength training.
Win.
We hopped on a phone call, got down to the nitty gritty, and after talking through her goals, injury history and why Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks is one of the best vinyl records ever, I set her up with a program and off we went.
Except…well…we didn’t.
After a few weeks, she very kindly sent me the break-up email that no one likes to get. It’s not you, it’s me, I just need more space, Keene shoes are not a fashion statement…
Ultimately, she was too overwhelmed to even start the program, and she was headed back to Zumba (again, not that there’s anything wrong with Zumba).
But in the breakup email, she very graciously offered me a breakdown of all of the challenges she had in trying the program I’d written.
Her reaction to the cable machine was perhaps the most telling:
“I have never used the cable pull-down thing. That’s in the boy-area, and one feels one should be carrying a gallon container of blue liquid to even be admitted. How will I approach it? How do I change the weight? How long can I stay on it? I will completely break into the boy area, of course, I don’t care, but it’s somewhat intimidating unless someone shows you first.”
I was disappointed to lose a client, sure. But once I got over myself, I also came face-to-face with all of the nuances about strength training that I take for granted.
I forgot what it felt like when I first started to train seriously.
What it felt like to walk into the free weight room (not the Nautilus room), with a bunch of dudes who were all getting after it and panic about where I should put my gym bag and do my warm up and why is that man in the corner wearing a pro wrestling costume? (This really happened.)
I forgot what it felt like when I couldn’t get the bar off of my chest that one time in the weight room when I was 24. What it was like when I couldn’t press 15lbs for more than three reps during a softball practice when I was 15.
I forgot how long it took me to grasp how to read and understand a program. Sets, reps, tempo and wtf is a Pallof Press? And a Landmine? And what do I do if my gym doesn’t have one?
When it comes to strength training, I live in a bubble and this client reminded how difficult it is for many people to get over the humps that I got over so many years ago. Worst of all, I forget that there are those humps.
I try to give people a roadmap, but sometimes forget that they don’t know how to drive the car.
What I want most is for people to fall in love with strength training the way I fell in love with it.
Because it’s good for them.
As a coach, I think the worst thing that can happen is for someone to be interested in the idea of strength training, to be bought in to trying it out, only to feel so intimidated, defeated and frustrated by the process that they quit before ever getting started.
My client’s break-up email reminded me of the people out there, especially women, who are trying to figure out what good information is in a world full of Insta-trainers and infomercials.
Who are battling old feelings of inadequacy every time they set foot in a gym environment because 7th grade gym class experiences are never as far away in our brains as we think they are.
I’m grateful to this client for so many reasons – but perhaps most of all for reminding me as a coach that I have to help clients understand how to drive before I send them on their way.
Cue This Is Why I Wrote a Book Portion of the Article
Believe me when I say this: I feel a bit timid being all like “and that’s why I wrote a book,” even though the truth of the matter is…
…that that’s exactly why I wrote a book.
I did so not to self-aggrandize[footnote]Okay, maybe like 1%. I wrote a freakin book![/footnote], but to legitimately help people (particularly women) that are too intimidated to ask for help, much less step foot in the weight room.
I wanted to show them that they CAN, but in a way that meets them where they are.
Note From TG: It’s a fantastic guide and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone interested in learning in’s & out’s of lifting weights in a safe, efficient, and results driven manner. Kim is a phenomenal coach.
After spending her first two decades out of college working 29 different jobs (English major for the win), Kim Lloyd settled into a career in fitness and is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer as well as an Online Certified Trainer. She coaches full-time at Spurling Fitness in Kennebunk, Maine and trains online clients through Kim Lloyd Fitness.
You can find Kim and her plethora of inflatable costume videos HERE.
That’s a good question, and one I feel I don’t have a concise way of answering.
I mean, some questions are a cinch to answer:
Q: What would be your weapon of choice during the zombie apocalypse? A: Easy. Samurai sword.
Q: If you could pick one career to have what would it be? A: Professional Jason Bourne. Boom.[footnote]Honorable Mention: Person who cures male pattern baldness.[/footnote]
Q: Who’s the best Care Bear? A: Birthday Bear. Come on.
But to definitively answer the question…”what is strong?”
Well, that’s a bit more abstract.
For some, strong is looking a certain way, and for others it’s about how much weight you can lift on a certain exercise. And maybe, to some faction out there, strong is about how many tacos you can eat in one sitting.
While I certainly have my biased take given I’m a strength & conditioning coach, I think in the grand scope of it all…
Recently, actress Rosamund Pike (of Gone Girl fame) shared a video on her Instagram feed from when she and I worked together while she was in Boston – in the before times – filming her latest movie.
The video shows her hitting a personal best 100 lb. deadlift for multiple reps (and making it look easy).
Secondly, I can’t take full credit for Rosamund’s technique and overall badassery in the video above.
She had plenty of experience beforehand working with other trainers, and to her credit was no rookie in the weight room.[footnote]Okay, maybe I’ll take 12% credit.[/footnote]
Nevertheless, I was elated that she took it upon herself to share that video with her fans and followers if for no other reason that it showcases to women that they CAN lift appreciable weight and that they won’t turn into Conan the Barbarian after one set.
I have long been a champion of encouraging women to strength train and to help them recognize the myriad of benefits it can provide:
Improved strength – obviously – and to be better prepared for life’s curve balls.
Improved performance.
Improved body composition.
Improved bone density.
Improved confidence and body image.
Improved mental health & stress relief
Telling societal norms to f**k off.
Unfortunately, much of the mainstream media muddies this message.
Instead we’re inundated with images of women lifting dainty weights.
Take for example this image, which, I kid you not, was one of the top suggestions while doing a search for “strong” within the stock photo service I subscribe to:
Many women (not all of course) are programmed, if not indoctrinated, into thinking that that is strength training and that anything involving a barbell (or a modicum of effort) is, well, let’s be honest…
…for men.
And it’s bullshit.
Granted, at the end of the day whether or not an individual does this exercise or that, and more to the point: if they’re performing it with appreciable weight, depends on their injury history, ability level, and more importantly, their goals(s)
However, speaking for myself, the last thing directing my thought process or programming is whether or not someone has Y chromosome.
Which is why I dig (profusely) the message Rosamund conveyed in her video above:
“Marla Grayson (NOTE: that’s the character she plays in her upcoming movie) is a lioness. And lionesses need to be strong. Tony celebrates the strength of everyone he trains, and pushed me to find more than I knew I had. Thanks Tony.”
Again, strong is a sentiment with many iterations and roots of inspiration.
I’m heading back to Boston after spending the weekend in Houston, TX with Dean Somerset teaching our (Even More) Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint workshop.
Pinch writing for me today is Lana Sova, personal trainer and competitive power lifter[footnote] And the world’s #1 ranked cat sitter[/footnote] based out of Boston, MA.
After almost five years in the fitness industry working almost exclusively with women, I can tell you that although all of us are the same gender, we are all built differently.
Woah!
Shocker! I know.
Throughout this time I’ve had hundreds of women deadlifting, squatting, benching, and overhead pressing big numbers. But more importantly, they got slimmer and stronger, and kept these results long term.
But their thing might not be your thing — what worked for them may not be 100% working for you. However, ladies who successfully deadlifted, squatted, and in some cases benched their body weights had these three things in common.
To help you stop wasting your time and start succeeding in strength training, here are three things you must do if you want to get strong AF.
#1. Once Again, Eat More Protein
If you look at bodybuilders, whose job is to get as big — muscularly — as they possibly can, they eat, drink, and breathe protein.
Your goal might not be to become the next Ms. Olympia, but if you want to get stronger so you can pick up your kid off the floor, carry groceries in one trip, install a window A/C all by yourself, or, IDK, tow out your car when it’s jammed between two others somewhere in downtown Boston, your muscles need protein.
PERIOD.
And I’m sure you’ve heard about it, you’ve known about it, but it’s not the knowledge about needing the protein where women go wrong.
It’s their choice of protein source.
For some reason, things like chia seeds, nuts, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds became a staple of “feminine” food. Go to any health-related hippie cafe and you’ll find all of the above (often) included in one smoothie.
Well, I’ll tell you what. Save your money, and go buy yourself a nice piece of steak (or tofu for my vegan friends).
While I don’t dismiss the health properties of seeds, nuts, and the like — there are plenty — when it comes to protein, the amounts are so small that you need a truck load to get the amount of protein needed to trigger muscle synthesis. Which means you’ll eat a ton of fat, which then will have an impact on your physique and THAT’s what’s going to make you look bulky. Not the muscle itself.
So, what do you eat then to hit your protein target, and what’s that target anyway?
For active fitness enthusiasts, the number ranges from 1.8g/kg to 2.2g/kg
But, when you have a life, counting every ounce of protein is time consuming. Instead, try this nutrition habit I teach my clients:
Protein hits the plate first. No matter where you are — home, Mom’s house, restaurant, a buffet — a lean source of protein lands on your plate first, and then you add whatever else your heart desires.
If you’re not sure what’s a lean protein, here are a few examples for you: chicken breast (to which Tony G is allergic — fun fact[footnote]Hi, Tony here. Other things I’m allergic to: 1. Kipping pull-ups. 2. American swings. 3. Sassy guest writers for this blog who bring up my chicken alergy[/footnote]) turkey breasts, 93/7 ground beef (or any piece a meat that has less than eight to ten grams of fat), plain Greek yogurt, tvorog, and cottage cheese.
If you eat these with every meal, I can guarantee you will improve your gym performance and very likely get slimmer.
#2. CARDI-B Over CARDI-O
P.S. I hope that’s not a ™ and I won’t get sued.[footnote]P.P.S. Although I admire Cardi-B and the fact that she remains true to herself, her recent IG video with a promo for a slim tea really lowered the amount of respect I have for her. Now that’s out of the way, let’s get to business.[/footnote]
Steady state cardio has its benefits and should be included in your monthly workouts. Cardio is good for your heart, and if you’d like that thing to work for longer than the average lifespan, you need to do cardio.
Where many women go wrong is the amount of cardio.
Seriously— if we were to use all the cardio machines in every gym in America to power the entire country we’d never have a problem with energy.
If you’re coming to strength training as the last resort to finally tone out and maintain the results, you may still have the mentality that you should do as much cardio as you possibly can, a belief that’s hard do deviate from.
I mean look at any Instagram Fitness Guru and she will without a doubt tell you that you absolutely have to hop on a cardio machine and eat tons of celery to get toned and strong.
But please don’t be fooled — all she’s trying to do is build an army of bunnies. You are not one of them.
And yes, if you are looking to lose weight, cardio will help you burn some calories off. However, if you’d like to get stronger and slimmer, and keep the results, your approach to cardio needs to be a little bit different.
There are two types of cardio training I see women perform often: steady state and High intensity interval training with lots of jump. Both types are usually done for hours with just one goal — burn as many calories as possible.
But when you switch to strength training, cardio training serves a different purpose — to help you to recover from your strength training sessions. The perfect type of cardio training for this is steady state.
Therefore, anything between 20 and 30 minutes of light, steady-state cardio is more than enough for said purpose. And a good rule of thumb is to have at least 24 hours between your strength and cardio sessions.
If you must include HIIT workouts in your program simply because you love it, you can. But be aware that these type of workouts generally do more muscle damage, taking your body longer to recover. So you might have to wait longer than even 24 hours between strength training sessions and HIIT sessions.
#3. Stop Going From One Extreme to Another
So you’ve decided to give strength training a try. You’ve read it’s good for you and it’s something that can help you tone out and get a bit stronger.
And you put on your “I’m a big girl” pants and you step into the strength training area.
You see tons of huge dumbbells, and decide to choose the smallest one — 5 pounds.
With it, you perform about a hundred repetitions of lunges, squats, and tricep extensions and call it a day.
While this is admirable and I’d be the first one to high five you, the thing is, if you’re a normal human being who picks up and carries her kids around, or carries a heavy backpack, or ever, even once in her lifetime, got ready for a party and had to carry a few cases of wine, I can guarantee that all of those things weighed more than five pounds.
If you want your muscles to get strong, you need to give them an appropriate stimulus. One of the most common ways to do so is via resistance — free weights, or a resistance band, or even your body weight.
And often five to ten pounds isn’t enough to reach and trigger that stimulus. It’s simply not challenging enough.
On the other side of things, there are those women who’d like to go all out each and every workout — testing their strength every single day of every single week.
While at the beginning they might see huge jumps in their strength because #beginnersgains, soon they stop seeing increases in their lifts, or even become demotivated.
Why?
Because they haven’t managed their fatigue levels properly. If you workout at 100% capacity all the time, you accumulate fatigue quickly, which then will interfere with your body’s ability to build muscle and get stronger. It’s like if you had to work 24-hour shifts seven days a week. You’d probably be dead by now.
So how heavy should you go?
For my online clients, I like to use a rate of perceived exertion (RPE) scale. The scale ranges from 1 to 10, where anything below 6 is a warm up — pretty light.
But then:
6 = you could do 4-5 more repetitions with this weight
7 = you could do 3-4 more
8 = you could do 2-3 more
9 = you could do 1-2 more
10 = you can do just that one
When you just start with strength training, you need to play with the weights a bit. But a general rule of thumb is to work with weights between 7 to 9 RPE if you’d like to get stronger.
Here’s an example.
A1. Front Squats 4×6 @ RPE 7
A2. Dead Bugs 4×6/side
B1. BB Bent-Over Rows 3×10 @ RPE 8
B2. DB Incline Bench Presses 3×10 @ RPE 8
B3. Cable Face Pulls 3×10 @ RPE 8
C1. Reverse Lunges 4×8 @ RPE 8
C2. Farmer’s Carry 4x 20 yards @ RPE 7-8
As you can see, just going and doing strength training isn’t enough.
In order to get stronger and better at strength training you need to supplement your program with important lifestyle habits — like eating protein, going for a walk instead of dying on the stairmaster, and adjusting your efforts to make your workout truly challenging.
The women I’ve worked with who followed these rules always make the strength goals they set for themselves.
About the Author
Lana Sova is a coach at Shameless Strength Academyand a personal trainer in Boston, MA She empowers women to build and own their strength via powerlifting and strength training.
Today’s guest post comes courtesy of NY-based personal trainer, Meg Julian and covers a topic I feel is very important: the notion that some women still have a phobia about walking onto a weight room floor.
It’s gotten better in recent years, but there are still some roadblocks which Meg discusses below.
It’s Time for Women to “Buy Into” Strength Training
Houston, we have a problem.
Most women understand the importance of strength-training, but there is still a full-blown phobia of the weight room floor.
In case you missed it, strength-training
Builds muscles,
Increases or maintains bone density,
Boosts mood by relieving stress and building confidence,
Helps fight against chronic disease and
Exponentially increases your awesomeness.
So what’s the hold-up?
This video might offer some clues:
Even though most women know they should be lifting, a number of factors inhibit the urge to actually cross over the threshold of the weight-room floor—which isn’t just disappointing, but bad for their health.
So how can we convince women to buy in to the idea of committing to the iron jungle?
John Kotter and Lorne Whitehead have a tremendous book, “Buy-In: Saving Your Good Idea From Getting Shot Down,” about the concept of getting others to buy into an idea. Kotter and Whitehead provide four reasons why a magnificent idea (see: strength-training) gets shut down:
Death by delay
Fear-mongering
Confusion
Character assassination
Let’s look at how these issues are often at play in women’s heads when it comes to strength-training.
Death by Delay
We are great at finding a good reason to put off obligations… until Monday/after exams/once we get past the holidays. This can be a never-ending cycle, Because a “good time” is never going to knock on the door and offer us Girl Scout cookies. The good news is that we can create “a good time.”
The more we put off strength-training, the more our muscles, hormones and mind-set get stuck in the same old comfy rut. It doesn’t get easier. On top of that, women reach our peak bone mass in our 30s, which means fighting an uphill against osteoporosis going forward.
Don’t delay. The time to start is now.
Fear-Mongering
There can be a lot of fear when starting to lift weights. Fear of the unknown or looking like you have no idea what you are doing is something I often hear from clients, and that’s something that gets its own section, below.
In the meantime, we also might have a lingering fear of being watched or judged by others. I understand, but really, most people are either too focused on themselves to notice you or are praying you won’t take the piece of equipment they want to use. But to be safe, here is a list of gym etiquette rules.
If someone if making your feel uncomfortable, please alert the gym staff and they will handle it… because that’s not cool. The gym setting shouldn’t be unlike any other public setting. Think of the grocery store. Yes, there is a chance someone is looking at you and your cart, but so what? You need food and you need the benefits from strength-training.
Fear of other’s sweat and grossness? Valid. But most gyms have antibacterial spray and paper towels everywhere —which is better than most public settings. Just sayin’.
Confusion
Back to the fear of not knowing what to do.
I highly recommend hiring a personal trainer, even for a couple sessions, to show you the ropes. Some gyms even offer a complimentary training session or orientation to the facility. The money you invest in your health early on will save you from doctor’s bills in the future, so it’s a positive return on your investment.
This one is a heart-breaker, but I’ve seen it too many times before. It’s when women doubt themselves and their ability to reach their goals despite previous accomplishments or even before making any attempt. You might not believe you can be successful and that you don’t deserve to be on the weight-room floor. Well, consider this your personal invitation… because you do have a place among the bars, bells and cables.
Need more of boost? Again, I recommend a session or two with a trainer to affirm that you are capable of being “Queen of the Iron Throne.”Aside from that, tap into the power of friends, family, social media or Beyoncé to encourage you to slay. It is essential to be your own cheerleader, rather than your enemy.
With all the benefits of strength-training, it’s time to quit talking yourself out of this wonderful process. Address your concerns and excuses, then move on. You’ll be glad you bought into this idea.
P.S. To crush any lingering concerns: You won’t bulk up, unless you’ve been blessed with the genetics of Xena Warrior Princess.
About the Author
If you enjoyed what you read, want to learn more or just need to know where to send the hate mail, visit me at https://trainermegj.wordpress.com, where you can subscribe to my weekly email dedicated to tips like these and improving technique and strength for obstacle course racing. You can also follow me on Instagram at @TrainerMegJ.
Megan Julian is a New York-based NASM Certified Personal Trainer, with additional certifications such as, FMS L2, NASM-CES and CFSC. She specializes in preparing brides for the big day, helping obstacle course racers improve their times and working with clients of all ages overcome injuries. In her free time, she enjoys running through the woods, jumping over walls and crawling under barbed wire — sometimes at events such as the World Championship Obstacle Course Race in Canada.
Sources
Buy-in Saving Your Good Idea From Getting Shot Down
John P. Kotter – Lorne A. Whitehead – Harvard Business Review Press – 2010
There’s little to no context.[footnote]Actually zero context. But lets be honest: strength training is the shit.[/footnote]
It stands to reason if you’re reading a blog who’s tagline is “Because Heavy Things Won’t Lift Themselves” you need little convincing on the merits of strength training.
You’ve already been converted to the “dark side.” (<— Best if said using the same accent and inflection as Darth Vader from Empire Strikes Back).
However I’m hoping the commentary that follows will resonate with those who aren’t yet “converted,” have preconceived notions, and/or who have been programmed into thinking strength training is something women should not be doing, which saddens me deeply (and makes me want to hurl myself into a live volcano).
NOTE: If you happened to have stumbled on this website by accident using the key words “adorable,” “World’s best hugger,” or, I don’t know “crazy cat gentleman” then welcome! I hope you stick around for awhile.
What Strength Training Is Not
To be clear: “strength” is subjective. I feel part of the problem as to why some (not all) women refrain from strength training is that some (not all) automatically assume they have to be lifting heavy-ass weight.
Not true.
Yes, possessing the ability to deadlift 2x body-weight or to be able to bang out ten bodyweight chin-ups is impressive and is strong.
But strength can also be other things.
I mean, have you ever watched a Cirque du Soleil show and the crazy positions those performers can get into and hold? That’s strong too.
All that said, I’ve long been a champion of doing my part in debunking and offsetting the message the mainstream media often perpetuates to the masses (women in particular) with regards to strength training.
The message that strength training is for men and that women should focus more on “toning” or “lengthening” or any other vomit-in-my-mouth worthy phrase or comment the likes of Tracy Anderson has regurgitated over the years.
She’s had some doozies.
“No woman should lift a weight heavier than 3 lbs.”
“I would never recommend (kettlebells) to women, even women who are fans of bulkier muscle lines. While bulkier muscle looks OK on women in their 20s and 30s, it doesn’t age well.”
“It’s important to use lighter weights so we can target our deep, less angry, stabilizing muscles. Also, dipping your left hand into a bucket of unicorn tears detoxes the body of sadness.”
One of the quotes above I made up. The fact you may have to figure out which one speaks to her asininity.
In General:
For men the message tends to lean towards “building” or “make stronger.”
For women the message tends to reverberate towards “to lessen” or “to slim” or “to make smaller.”
There’s nothing wrong with any of those things; if that’s your bag, that’s your bag.
So be it.
I just find the overall message of smaller, thinner, sexier, to be very toxic in nature and encourages a mindset that paints strength and strength training (with regards to women) as something that should be avoided altogether.
Strength = bulk, mass.
Strength = BAD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ytCEuuW2_A
It Needs to Stop
Sure, I could wax poetic about how strength training for women helps to increase athletic performance, increase muscle mass (which helps improve body composition (muscle takes up less space than fat), metabolic rate, and overall caloric burn “at rest”), stave off osteoporosis/osteopenia, in addition to reducing the likelihood of injury.
ALL of these are wonderful things.
Yet still, many women refrain from the iron.
Like myself, my good friend, Ben Bruno, trains a lot of women.
He does a masterful job of framing strength and strength training as something that should be embraced and that more women should adopt and gravitate towards.
“It’s about strengthening the right areas,” he often says.
What makes his message all the more effective is that he works with some high-profile clients, and has them performing some kick-ass stuff.
Stuff that many women would be reticent to try because they’re deemed unconventional and don’t involve sitting in a room set at 106 degrees.
I don’t “baby” them, I don’t treat them like delicate snowflakes, I don’t have them perform “girl push-ups,” and I don’t feed into any fanatical nonsense that placing a barbell on a their back is going to turn anyone into He-Man.
I treat the women the same as I treat the men.
Giving credit where credit is due: CrossFit has pretty much nipped this mindset in the bud in recent years. I see more and more women ditching the elliptical machines in lieu of barbells, and it’s amazing.
However, I’m not married to the barbell.
One’s goals and ability level will always dictate the path I’ll take with any client. Sometimes, and I credit Ben (Bruno) for this little tip, a little reverse psychology can help nudge a woman to the benefits of strength training.
The body can’t differentiate a barbell from a kettlebell from a dumbbell from a band.
A video posted by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on
While there was no “trickery” involved with the video above – I was using the KB and band to better groove Yael’s hip hinge – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a female client give me the stink-eye when I tell her to lift “x” weight with a barbell, only to nonchalantly crush the same weight with a kettlebell or dumbbell.
As a coach, sometimes it’s best just to meet people where they are.
But it’s fantastic once the switch flips, and I can get a female client comfortable and more confident with barbells.
2) Body Acceptance
It’s impossible for me to elaborate more eloquently on this subject than how Jen Sinkler did recently:
“This weekend I was told by a man I knew in college that I was “unrecognizable” now thanks to my “really big arms.”
I love how I look. I love the thickness. It’s one of the reasons I lift. My concept of beauty is different now. It involves more determination.
No one gains muscle by doing nothing. It takes action, diligence, and a strong work ethic. Muscle represents those qualities, tells me about that person.
Hard work is beautiful.”
Another fantastic quote, from Fabienne Marier, which was in response to Jen’s quote above (as well as served as an impetus for the title of this article) also hits the nail on the head:
“I love that my body is now an ally, instead of being an adversary.
My look is deliberate, not accidental. And it’s the result of striving to be more, instead of wanting to be less.”
3) Get S*** Done
Every so often my wife is approached at the gym while she’s training, and in between sets of deadlifts or chin-ups, is asked by a curious onlooker, “what are you training for?”
Many people – men and women – watch her train and assume she’s training for a competition of some sort.
It’s a compliment, and she takes it as such.
But how often is a man asked that same question? No one blinks an eye when a man is using the squat rack.
Yet when a woman is using it, it’s assumed she’s a competitor.
Lisa has the most appropriate response, though:
“I’m training for life.”
BOOM.
Not coincidentally…she’s never asked me to open up a jar for her, she isn’t timid to move furniture, and she certainly doesn’t back down when she has to (farmer) carry the groceries a few blocks from the grocery store to our apartment.
She’s strong.
She…gets…shit…done.
4) Provides More Purpose and Intent
Strength training by it’s nature yields itself to more performance-based goals, which I am a huge fan of.
Whenever I start working with a woman and she’s all like “I want to lose ten lbs,” I’m all like (fast forward to the 0:35s mark in this clip)…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDQx1Kn9wUM
This IS NOT to discount or belittle someone’s goal to lose weight…it’s my job as their coach to dig deeper, peel back the onion, and figure out why this is the case (why do they want to lose 10 lbs?, why do they feel they need to lose 10 lbs?)….and then set them up for the best path of success possible.
However, in my experience, often (not always), it’s a lazy, shallow, and meaningless goal.
If anything, the sentence “I want to lose 10 lbs” is nothing more than a default setting many women have been programmed to say because, well, they don’t know what else to say.
Ladies: You’re not Microsoft Word.
You’re better than that.
Striving for more performance-based goals, and setting a higher standard for why you head to the gym day in and day out can be a game changer.
A video posted by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on
Her goal is to deadlift 300 lbs. It’s not every female’s goal.
She arrives to every training session with a sense of vigor and passion that wouldn’t come close to what it consistently is if her goal was to “just lose 10 lbs.”
I’d argue that setting performance-based goals sets the tone for aesthetic goals anyways. All the hard work and dedication it takes to nail the performance goal – whether it’s performing your first chin-up or hitting “x” number of reps of squats at “x” weight – allows for the aesthetic goals to just kinda happen.
Strength training helps to mold, shape, and add contour to the body.
You don’t “shape” anything by spending copious hours on the treadmill. You may lose weight, but you make yourself a smaller, weaker version of your original self.
If that’s what you want, cool. But I doubt that’s what you want.
Today I have an excellent guest post by CT based strength coach, Erika Hurst, covering a topic I’m very passionate about: Encouraging women to lift heavy things.
Before we jump into the article: We made it safely to Australia, and if you’d like to keep tabs on our trip Lisa is writing a daily blog. You can check out the first entry, Day 1: 20 Hours On a Plane HERE.
Time to Woman Up
In my six years of coaching mostly women, I can count on one hand the number who were able to walk in the gym and mercilessly attack their workout without a hint of self-doubt, protest or fear….along with pure admiration for the amount of Pantera I subject them to, but that’s another story.
Most women are totally unaware of the brute force that exists within them and the extraordinary feats their bodies are capable of. It is completely unknown to them how harnessing their strength can earn them the lean, vibrant bodies they desire and an indestructible mental fortitude that will benefit them far beyond the gym.
From the get go, these things just aren’t appealing. The idea that men and women should train differently is preposterous. Everyone needs to push, pull, squat, lunge and hinge, but women unquestionably approach exercise with different cultural, sociological and psychological motivations.
(Source): Me!
It’s up to you as a coach, mentor or friend to challenge those motivations and provide them with the right tools to develop a mindset powerful enough to propel them forward towards a healthier approach to changing their bodies.
Note that I’m not referring to us broads who already thoroughly enjoy rolling around in a bucket of chalk, covering our shins in bruises and waging personal warfare against heavy shit for fun.
I’m referring to the average female client who just wants to lose fat and gain confidence. Women in this population have been utterly misinformed on how to change their bodies and usually lack belief in their selves.
What holds this population back is what goes on in between their ears.
They’ve been lead to assume all their lives that they can’t be physically and mentally strong. They live an existence of self-loathing because they’ve been heavily influenced by dramatically false photoshopped images, girly fitness mags that treat them like weaklings, and an industry that constantly tells them they should forever be toning, fixing and punishing their bodies.
It’s you, as a coach who trains women, versus all the BS they are inundated with on a daily basis once they step outside of your gym.
Fortunately, the physical strength we gain in the gym expresses itself in other parts of our lives through strength of mind, character and greater sense of self. If we give our female clients the extra tools to really harness that expression we can truly help each of them discover how strong and powerful they are, how to filter through the nonsense and in turn incite some really meaningful, lasting changes in their lives.
Below, I’ve laid out a few of the strategies I use to accomplish this with my female clients.
1. Listen To and Educate Them.
If you are an introvert like me, you probably already have the whole listening thing nailed down. As with any mutual relationship where trust is integral, listen to their concerns, wants and needs. Let them know each is perfectly valid, dispel any nonsensical fitness beliefs they may be attached to and simply educate them.
Knowledge is empowering and the better your female clients understand proper strength training and sensible nutrition, the less inclined they’ll be to fall for quick fixes and other baloney like Piloxing or 30 day squat challenges.
2. Revamp Their Perspective.
The more positive of an existence and mindset one creates, the more power they have over themselves and actualizing their own realities.
Help the women you train understand that a sustainable, effective nutrition and training regimen should add value to their bodies and make them feel good. Chasing fatigue and soreness in the gym, and restricting themselves in the kitchen doesn’t make anyone better and usually backfires.
I have my clients set and strive for realistic strength goals like performing 10 real push-ups or deadlifting 200lbs. This helps them approach their workouts with eagerness and embrace fueling their bodies properly to achieve these goals. Momentum and confidence then builds each time a small strength goal is reached, they feel more energized from eating better and begin to see the physical changes that result from doing both consistently.
3. Believe In Them.
Women have been conditioned by circuit training, wimpy exercise DVDs, and believing they need special exercises. The thought of doing a real chin up or deadlifting 1.5x their body weight has probably never crossed their mind, therefore most have zero confidence in their ability to perform either.
It’s up to you to show them these are not only great endeavors to chase, they are also very attainable and effective ways of reaching their goals. Most women are full of self-doubt and “I can’ts”, so they usually need a subtle push to add an extra 10lbs to the bar, grab a heavier dumbbell or push harder behind the sled.
Let them know you have full confidence in their abilities, provided it’s honest. Their belief in themselves will grow and they will eventually start asking to go heavier.
4. Encourage Self-Awareness.
As a society, it’s of the norm to be constantly rushed and on autopilot. Stopping to think about what you’re doing or why you’re doing it., who has time for that?
It’s pretty obvious how detrimental this can be to any goal.
My female clients are fairly high strung and need encouragement to tap the brakes, introspect and put their conscious brains in charge. This helps them to be more in control of their actions, able to make more informed decisions and realize the power they have over themselves.
Before each session, I do an informal readiness assessment where I ask about soreness, energy, what they ate that day, how they slept, etc. For some of them, this is the only time they’ve paused to really think about any of those things. No matter what, always encourage them to be compassionate and non-judgmental about what they discover about themselves.
5. Motivate Through Self-Love.
It is very important for women to understand that if they are using negative perceptions about their bodies as their sole motivation for wanting to change, their efforts will not be viable or purposeful.
However, it’s not as easy as simply telling them to love their bodies first.
Often, the dislike they have for their body stems from another deeply rooted issue. This is why many women under go phenomenal body transformations, yet are still unhappy with their bodies. What we can do is discourage negative self-talk and self-neglect, help them view setbacks as learning experiences and guide them towards taking care of their bodies rather than fighting against them.
Most importantly, keep them haulin’ iron!
Although most female clients may need convincing otherwise and a slightly more complex approach, they are not delicate flowers. There’s nothing more rewarding than helping women fall in love with discovering their strength and in turn cultivate a sense of empowerment and self-worth through their bodies’ capabilities.
SPOILER ALERT: No. Women don’t needto train differently than men. Sometimes they should, however. More on that below.
And speaking of spoilers – how many people stayed for the bonus scene after the end credits of Guardians of the Galaxy?
How many in the ballpark of my age (37) chuckled to themselves with the Howard the Duck cameo appearance?
Sooo funny/random, right? And not to be out-stated, as a whole, Guardians was as nerdtastic as nerdtastic could be. I remember thinking to myself when I first saw the trailer a few months ago, “Yikes! How is Marvel going to pull this one off? I think they might have bitten off more than they can chew.”
But kudos to them for yet again setting the standard for comic book movies. Epic fail on my end for doubting them.
So what has this got to do with training women? Actually, nothing. But for what it’s worth I gave the movie a solid 4.5 lightsabers out of 5.
Okay, for real this time.
The topic of female specific training is a dicey one to say the least. I think one of the reasons why I write about is so much and why I’m so passionate about it is because I find most (not all) women are misinformed.
Or to be more precise, are nudged towards a specific mindset at some point in their lives.
This was never more apparent than a conversation I had with a former female client of mine last year. This client was a mom and a personal trainer herself. She came to Cressey Sports Performance, like most trainers like her do, to hire someone else to do the thinking for her. For the record I’d recommend to ALL trainers to hire their own coach at some point!
As it happened, my client loved training at the facility and loved our approach to training female clients/athletes and eventually reached out to the local high-school where she lived to see if she could volunteer her time. She reached out to several of the coaches for the female JV and varsity teams, as well as the athletic director of the school (who also happened to be female and a varsity coach).
Long story short, the coach wrote back saying that getting any of the female athletes to come to the school-gym during their summer break was a pointless endeavor given that the weight-room had, in her words, “limited equipment that was ‘female friendly’.”
What the what!?!?!?!?!?!
She DID NOT just say that.
When my client told me that story I was dumbfounded! With that sort of mentality and message being relayed to young, impressionable youth by adult “role models” is it any wonder that there’s a growing DECLINE in girls participating in sports? And more to the point, can we be at all surprised why so many are programmed into thinking that girls don’t belong in the weigh-room, that just thinking about touching a barbell will make them grow an Adam’s apple, and that instead they should just focus on cardio, yoga, pilates, and Barre classes?
NOTE: I have nothing against yoga, pliates, or Barre classes. Unlike a lot of fitness professionals who like to bag on certain modes of exercise, I’ve actually taken – and written about my experience – a yoga class and pilates class.
Any exercise is good exercise.
What I don’t agree with is how these classes are generally marketed towards women as some end-all-be-all panacea of health and fitness. Based off the key words and promises many of these classes highlight – stuff like building “long, lean muscle” which is utter BS – I’m surprised no one has elucidated on the benefits of bathing in unicorn tears to boot!!
But I digress.
I LOVE training women and female athletes for many reasons. For starters I think it’s rad when one of them hits a PR on a particular lift or achieves something they never thought possible – their first unassisted chin-up for example – and they end up having a “light-bulb” moment where they finally accept that they have just as much to gain from strength training as their Y-chromosome counterparts.
I love “deprogramming” them from the stagnant and life-sucking mentality many have been inundated with since junior high and high-school. I love seeing the sense of confidence, empowerment, and freedom that blossoms once they understand that strength is a good thing and is something that should be embraced.
And while the saying states the girls are “made of sugar and spice and everything nice,” I can say without hesitation that some of the most tenacious and competitive clients I have worked with in my career are women.
Here’s distance coaching client, Sarah, cranking out a set of chinups. Yes, we can make the argument that she’s not extending her elbows at the bottom, but she called herself out on that when she sent me this video. The point is, when we started working together last October the could perform ZERO
Here’s CSP bootcamper, Paula, crushing some KB swings as part of a finisher AFTER hitting up heavy deadlifts and squats earlier in the workout.
Yes, as some commenters posted on YouTube, she’s hinging early, blah blah blah. I appreciate the feedback (and I agree!), but it’s by no means an egregious snafu in her overall technique and is a far cry from a lot of the eye-wash “swings” other trainers and coaches post on their pages.
Regardless this is someone whose work ethic is outstanding and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone more competitive than her.
And here’s former client of CSP, Cara, hitting a challenging-but-not-nearly-as-heavy-as-she-could-go-deadlift at 33 weeks pregnant.
And before someone chimes in with a “holy crap Tony, are you insane for allowing a pregnant women lift that heavy?” comment, please read THIS.
Also, I can’t let this video slide without making a slight crack at the musical selection. Kind of ironic, huh?……..hahahahahahaha x 10!
I don’t feel that women needto train differently than men, but I do think there are cases where they should train differently.
And it’s on that note I’d like to direct people to a presentation I recently filmed for Mike Reinold’s RehabWebinars.com:
It’s a 75 minute webinar that covers my general approach to training women. I discuss everything from initial intake/assessment to many of the progressions and programming strategies I implement to “specialty” scenarios like training someone through their pregnancy as well as covering some of the often glossed over psychological barriers that prevent women from stepping foot in the weight-room in the first place.
In addition I also cover such water-cooler topics as does weight training make women “big-n-bulky?” and why do people continue to listen to Tracy Anderson?
I feel this would be an excellent resource for any trainer or coach who works with female clients!
The cost is $19.95, but you’re not just purchasing the presentation itself. You’re also gaining monthly access to ALL the content on RehabWebinars.comwhich includes dozens of hours of great contact from some of the most prestigious people in the fields of rehab, strength, and sports medicine.
If you pride yourself on continuing education and want to stay on top of the most relevant topics in the industry, this is one of the best ways to do so.
Click below to not only get access to my presentation, but over 100+ as well. But mostly because of mine……..;o)
Note from TG: Today I have a special weekend edition post from fitness & lifestyle coach, and writer, Neghar Fonooni. Neghar was someone I featured on my “go to” female resources last week and she’s also the wife of my good friend, John Romaniello, which basically makes them the fitness equivalent of Beyonce and Jay-Z.
I don’t typically post on the weekend, but I felt this article deserved some special attention. It’s flippin fantastic!
I’ve been lifting weights, seriously and consistently, for eight years. That’s eight years of deadlifting, squatting, pressing, swinging, and even pull-ups. It’s been an incredible journey, but it actually started with a great deal of frustration.
Let’s go back to 2006. I had just given birth to my son, Isaac, and after gaining 50 pounds during my pregnancy, I was feeling pretty out of shape. I’ve always been active, playing sports since I was a kid, and having (and using!) a gym membership since senior year of high school. In fact, I exercised throughout my entire pregnancy, running 3 miles a day until I was 7 months pregnant and switched to walking for comfort purposes.
But until those first few months post-partum, exercising for me had always consisted of running, yoga, and machines.
Don’t get me wrong, running and cardio have their place in a well-balanced fitness regimen—especially if you participate in endurance sports. Plus, well-programmed cardio has a lot of benefits, including mental and emotional health. And, as an avid yogi, I have developed a very advanced practice over the last 14 years, and am no stranger to how challenging bodyweight workouts can be. I’m not ripping on yoga and cardio here, as I utilize both regularly and I think, with the appropriate application, they are invaluable tools.
What I am saying is that all I was doing was running and yoga—to no avail.
I didn’t feel as though I was in control of my body, and I felt weak and defeated. Add to that the inevitable stress of raising a beautiful infant, and I was just fed up.
Discouraged with my body and my lack of progress, I knew that if I continued exercising the way I had that nothing would change. But, like many who have never embarked on a journey of strength, I lacked guidance and education, and was lost in the endless sea of exercise information. I’m embarrassed to say that even as a certified personal trainer, I would often pull workouts out of women’s fitness magazines and rarely followed an intelligently designed program.
So, out of sheer frustration, I began to delve deeper into the world of strength training, reading every book I could get my hands on, and learning from great coaches like Mark Verstegen, Mike Boyle, and Gray Cook.
I started by following their programs, and eventually learned to write effective and efficient programs, no longer looking to Shape or Self for quick fix workouts. I learned how to properly squat and deadlift, was introduced to Olympic Lifts, started sprinting instead of taking long runs or spending 60 minutes on the elliptical, and my yoga practice even benefited from my jaunts in the weight room.
I lifted weights initially with the intention of losing fat and transforming my body, but eventually shifted towards lifting because it was good for my soul. I was empowered, and felt truly capable of anything, for the first time in my life.
Six months post-partum I’d lost all the baby weight, but perhaps more relevant is how different my body looked and felt than it did pre-pregnancy. I was more muscular, athletic, lean, and strong, even though I weighed the same as I did before the baby. My body and mind had completely transformed, all through lifting weights.
Today, while I practice yoga regularly, take leisure walks on the beach, stand up paddle board a few times a week, and do fun things like trampoline jumping and salsa dancing, the heart of my exercise regimen is still (and always will be) smashing weights. It’s the firmest foundation of any fat loss program, and its benefits are vast and undeniable. While an exercise program can be comprised of a myriad of activities, lifting weights is at the top of the fat loss and fitness hierarchy.
Muscles and Metabolism
Lifting weights regularly promotes the growth of lean mass, which is an integral part of any fat loss journey. Put simply, muscle helps cultivate a healthier metabolism because the more muscle your body has, the more calories it will burn at rest. In addition to increasing metabolism, lifting weights promotes natural growth hormone production, which in turn helps reduce insulin sensitivity.
In my time as a coach, I often hear ladies afraid that lifting weights will make them “bulk up.” They can sometimes be deterred from lifting weights for fear of being “manly” or “too muscular” so let me go ahead and allay your fears:lifting weights won’t turn you into She-Hulk overnight (although I would argue that She-Hulk is pretty much the best Super Heroine ever, as she promotes body acceptance and self-love).
You’ll build muscle through strength training, of course, but you won’t pack it on in absurd amounts and it won’t happen instantly.
Simply put, women do not have the testosterone necessary to support that kind of muscle growth. If gaining muscle were so easy, body builders wouldn’t spend hours in the gym for years on end in an effort to bulk up.
Genetics, nutrition, and training methodology all play a part in how your body will transform, but if you train to be strong, and eat to support that, you’ll end up with an athletic, feminine physique.
Not to mention, that although you can certainly lose fat and gain strength doing a number of things, only lifting will allow you the most bang for your buck. As a busy mom and entrepreneur, I understand deeply how precious time is. It’s our only non-renewable resource, and we must use it wisely, especially when we’ve got multiple commitments and obligations.
I don’t always have a lot of time to devote to exercise, but if time is limited, I always prioritize lifting.
You can easily make use of 20, 15, 0r even 10 minutes of weight training to maximize your time, by speeding up the rate at which you lift or ramping up the intensity. Utilizing training methods such as Metabolic Resistance Training, Complexes, Density Training, and what my good friend Jen Sinkler calls “Lifting Weights Faster” you can burn fat and build strength even when time is of the essence.
Meaning that you don’t have to spend an hour doing cardio, and another 30 minutes on the machines, followed by 30 minutes of stretching. You can save time and attack your fitness goals, all by choosing to prioritize weights. “I don’t have time to exercise” can be a statement you never utter again. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of setting a timer for how much time you do have, and then doing as much as possible in that time frame.
If you utilize the right training programs, you’ll build a strong, athletic, lean physique—provided that your nutrition is on par with your fitness intentions.
You’ll want a good mix of strength training and metabolic resistance, paired with a nourishing diet packed with protein, fresh produce, and healthy fats. If done correctly, lifting weights will help turn your body into a fat loss machine—making the weight room one of the most important stops on your fitness journey.
The Power of the PR
I remember the first time I performed an unassisted pull-up.
It was early 2008, and I was (unfortunately) awaiting knee surgery for an old sports injury. The extend of my infirmary kept me from doing any lower body training, which although it was frustrating, encouraged me to focus more on strengthening my upper body.
So, strengthen my upper body I did, paying special attention to things like pull-ups, pushups, and overhead pressing.
One day I had an “I wonder if I can do that moment,” deciding to forgo the band, and try my hand (or my lats) at an unassisted neutral grip pull-up. Astonished at my body’s ability to get my chin over the bar, I hopped down and looked around the crowded gym; “did anyone see that?!” I wondered. To this day, it remains one of my proudest moments.
Note from TG: Oops, obviously the video I posted right before that last paragraph doesn’t jive. You get the idea folks. Carry on.
Every single time I workout, I get better. I lift heavier, or faster, or even more efficiently. I might be able to stick a handstand more easily, manage a heavier squat, or do one extra pull-up.
Sometimes it’s not a matter of more, but simply better.
Other times, my progress is more intrinsic, lying in my ability to give my body a break when it needs one. Regardless of the exactitudes, I find myself consistently improving in some way, shape or form. This is what my friends at The Movement Minneapolis have termed “PR every day.”
Breaking records, or setting PRs, is incredibly mentally rewarding. It keeps you coming back for more, and creates a sense of purpose in the weight room. While aesthetic goals, such as losing a few inches on your waist, are certainly worth pursuing, performance goals are notably more sustainable.
It really wasn’t until I shifted my intentions towards performance, and away from aesthetics, that I was actually able to significantly change my physique.
What I didn’t realize completely the moment I performed my first pull-up, was how much that simply act would profoundly affect the rest of my life.
That pull-up, as benign as it seems, sparked a greatest sense of self worth, an escape from feeling defined by what my body looked like, and instead taking pride in what it could do.
If I can pull myself up over a bar, without any assistance, what else can I do? Feats of strength in the gym began to translate to strength outside of the gym—the intrinsic strength needed to thrive and excel. When I crushed it at the gym, I felt more capable of crushing it at life. And without stressing out over my weight or my body composition, my body changed as a result.
Lifting weights helps boost confidence like nothing else I have ever seen. I’ve helped timid, overweight, stay-at-home moms go on to crush feats of strength and then start their own personal training businesses. I’ve seen beginners afraid of lifting a kettlebell move on to chasing a double bodyweight deadlift while breaking out of their comfort zones.
Physical strength contributes to strength of character, which in turn boosts confidence—and there’s just no downside to that.
Being strong makes everything else easier
Moving furniture? Carrying multiple bags of groceries? Hoisting a heavy carry-on into an overhead compartment? Keeping up with your kids? All of these things are not a problem when you’ve got strength on your side.
When my son was in kindergarten, I visited his class to speak about the importance of exercise and proper nutrition. I’ll never forget an adorable little kindergartener named Lizzie, with her long locks and her matter of fact demeanor. I asked the class why they thought exercise and strength were important, and Lizzie said, “because it makes everything easier.”
Lizzie was one smart little 6-year-old. Exercising to be strong, mobile, and fast makes every day tasks less cumbersome.
I spent many years as a single mom, unable to rely on another adult in the house to accomplish household tasks. It’s because of the strength I’ve gained from lifting that I was able to carry a sleeping child from the car with minimal effort, and move a twin sized bed into the apartment with no help whatsoever.
Bottom line: Strength reigns supreme.
From fat loss to empowerment, there isn’t a downside to lifting weights. All you need is a willingness to learn and listen to your body, and a program that will support your intentions.
Note from TG: Neghar’s Lean & Lovelyprogram issomething I can’t recommend enough to any woman looking to improve her health and fitness in a way that DOES NOT fall into the “I’m not sexy enough” trap that the mainstream media often conveys.
It’s not about being “sexy” anything. It’s about making the best version of YOU possible.
The long and short of it is that it’s an amazing program that will help women get fit and gain confidence all while loving their bodies and not hating them!
Unlike a lot of program out there this one does NOT sell sex or use target terms to make a woman feel she’s not sexy enough or has to look a certain way to feel sexier.
Rather, the message of Lean & Lovelyis for women to meet their body where it’s at, and to be more mindful of the transformation – both physically and mentally.
Every part of this program is incredible, and every part will help you in some way. Here’s just a few pieces…
Firstly, as mentioned before, there are 12 full weeks of amazing, fat burning workouts
Then there’s the comprehensive Nutrition Handbook, which will teach you how to lose fat without dieting
There are over two dozen bonus “sweat session” workouts to do whenever you like, with minimum time and equipment
Instructional videos to teach you how to do every exercise in the program.
A series of MINDSET exercises and strategies to help you be happier, more positive, more productive, and make the program more effective
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For more info click HERE.
About the Author
Fitness & lifestyle coach, writer, veteran and mom, Neghar Fonooni is passionate about empowering women through strength.
A Los Angeles native with 14 years experience in the fitness industry, Neghar believes that a positive mindset is the most important aspect of a fit lifestyle. Through her blog, Eat, Lift & be Happy, she teaches women how to embrace their bodies and enrich their lives with food and exercise.
Neghar is a contributing blogger to several sites, including My Fitness Pal and Schwarzanegger.com, and is the author of the 12-week total transformation system, Lean & Lovely.
An unabashed sci-fi and fantasy nerd, Neghar snorts when she laughs and loves lifting weights, yoga, red wine, dark chocolate, travel, fashion, and reading and collecting books. She resides in Santa Monica, California with her husband, son, and two silly bulldogs.
“Can we please just shut-up about Tracy Anderson!?!”
Those were some powerful words uttered by David Dellanave of Movement Minneapolis last weekend during the Expert Panel at The Fitness Summit.
Up until that point a fair amount of Tracy Anderson bashing had accumulated, partly in jest (as the brunt of some jokes), but too, partly because her name came up in several presentations (mine included) as a talking point about the the state of the industry, and I think Dave just kinda got sick of it.
The tipping point, I believe, was when powerlifter, T-Nation writer, and overall nice guy, Greg Nuckols, asked the panel a simple, albeit powerful question: “How do we promote good training information without turning people off from training?”
On an aside, I watched Greg PAUSE squat – ass-to-grass no less – 585 lbs for an easy, clean single last weekend. I secretly hate him….;o)
As my friend, Harold Gibbons, noted in his summation of the entire event, “This question was posed in contrast to a conversation at the time that discussed how we as an industry can do battle with some of the horrible training suggestions out there. I say “battle” and “horrible” because we can all be vocal about the disregard for science and safety from certain training methodologies. While I don’t agree with some of them, I don’t know if these people deserve to be cast as pariahs, as much as we can accept them as well intentioned and flawed with opportunity for growth.”
I’ll be the first to call myself out here. I’ve done my fair share of championing the charge against the likes of Tracy Anderson, Jillian Michaels, or any other example you can come up with.
On one hand it seems a bit misguided or hypocritical (and I’ve even been called jealous) given the thousands of testimonials they have from women all over the world who have followed their advice with great success and lost “x” amount of weight performing their programs.
That should be commended. Kind of.
You see, extenuating circumstances aside (medical issues), it isn’t hard to get people to lose weight. Take them from doing nothing to doing something, and “stuff” will happen. How’s that for science!?!
What I hate, what really ruffles my feathers, gets my goat, and makes me go bat-shit crazy….is the incessant fear mongering that the likes of Tracy Anderson gravitates towards and advocates.
Here’s a sampling of some of her better known gems:
“No woman should ever lift a weight above 3 lbs.”
“While running, strength training, and cycling may burn calories, they do not design feminine muscle or get rid of an imbalance that may masquerade as a “problem area.”
“I would never recommend (kettlebells) to women, even women who are fans of bulkier muscle lines. While bulkier muscles looks OK on women in the 20s and 30s, it doesn’t age well.”
And while I don’t like to use ad hominem attacks as part of an argument, I do find it somewhat “odd” that for as much as Ms. Anderson is an advocate of her own method (as she should be), and for as much as she advocates for a certain look and bastardizes strength training for women…..she’s had fair amount of plastic surgery done.
Doesn’t THAT seem a bit hypocritical? In an offhanded way, we couldmake the argument that not even Tracy Anderson got to look like Tracy Anderson by doing the Tracy Anderson Method. #Wordplay
But anyways, getting back on track, she’s a master at toying with women’s emotions and irrational fears towards lifting weights.
Does her method get results? I guess. I mean, I can Google “Tracy Anderson before and after pictures” and get a few hundred pages of evidence. And that should be commended. To a point.
Stealing some commentary from “Brent” who left this comment on an old(er) blog post the other day:
Any dipshit can teach to the test, or run a client into the ground, get them to lose x amount of pounds and show off their ‘success’ (usually its even easier in the fitness industry because clients come to you, usually somewhat motivated and willing to do what the ‘expert’ tells them to).
Setting up someone for long term success isn’t immediately quantifiable and is quite a bit harder. Kinda requires skill. It’s why any trainer can have a buttload of ‘success’ stories. The goal though is empowerment (at least in my mind) and setting one up for long-term success. This is more difficult to market though and frankly not as sexy.
Anytime I critique a trainer and someone says ‘yeah but they get good results..”) I just tell them Jillian Michaels and Tracy Anderson have thousands of positive testimonials, weight loss success stories, tweeter followers etc. Smart peeps in the fitness industry bash them though because they do nothing to empower their clients and set them up for long term success. I wonder how many of their clients or Biggest Loser winners come back years later and are like ‘wow, you really changed my life!
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
In a roundabout way, this goes back to my presentation last weekend where I talked about some of my strategies when it comes to training women.
I brought up Tracy Anderson to showcase a point: that fear mongering, feeding into, and placating into the irrational fears of (some) women is not doing anyone any favors.
At Cressey Performance we don’t feel women need to train any differently than men. 90% of what we do is the same across the board whether you have a the Y chromosome or not.
I was going to toss in a Sex and the City joke here, and showcase women’s unparalleled infatuation with it, but then I realized I’ve actually watched every episode. And [cue high-pitched voice here] looooooooooooved it.
Our gals are deadlifting, squatting, bench pressing, performing chin-ups and push-ups, and otherwise TRAINING like the guys.
What stands out, oftentimes, is the psychology that comes with training women.
Men tend to be more Temporal Comparative, where they compete or compare against themselves.
What did I deadlift last week?
What did I squat last week?
How much do I weigh now compared to last month?
Guys tend be more interested in what they, themselves, are doing.
Conversely, women tend to be more Societal Comparative, and compare themselves to other women.
She’s doing “x” amount of weight on the bench press, how come I’m not doing that much?
She has an amazing back. Why doesn’t mine look that way?
I can’t believe she’s wearing that to the gym. What a ho!
I once had a 50+ year old female client who would beat herself up and downgrade HER results, because she didn’t look like the 22 year-old former Division I female athlete who trained at the the same time as her.
Part of my job as their coach is to help them turn off the negative and unrealistic messages they’re inundated with as they watch television or walk through the magazine aisle, and teach them to compete against themselves.
While it may take some women longer than others to buy into, one of the best things I can do is to get them to focus more on performance based goals rather than less quantifiable goals such as scale weight.
Of course, some women may need to lose some weight….and that’s fine. But the sooner I get them to focus more on performance based goals like working towards performing a strict push-up on the ground or squatting their bodyweight for reps – the less they are s slave to the scale. And that’s HUGE!!!
Scale weight doesn’t tell you anything!
The work and effort it will take to eventually be able to do a push-up from the ground, or squat one’s bodyweight for reps, or to be able to perform a strict body-weight chin-up trumps ANYTHING you can do with a pink dumbbell or an elliptical machine or a Tracy Anderson DVD.
Sorry if that rubs some people the wrong way…..but that’s just the way things are.
Of course, if strength training isn’t your bag, and you prefer to use pink dumbbells, perform yoga, and run a treadmill, go for it!!! As noted earlier: anything is better than nothing. If you like the way you feel doing those things, and your proud of your body….awesome. You get a gold star.
But please don’t be the person who, despite going to the gym 5x per week, bitches and whines that you never seem to get the results you’re after – or if you do, that they never stick for longer than a few weeks or months – and then continue to repeat the same process over and over and over again.
What was it Einstein said about insanity again? If you continue doing the same thing(s) expecting a different result…….
Likewise, if you’re a fitness professional reading this post, I implore and encourage you to learn to EMPOWER your clients (both female and male). Teach them the skills they’ll need to make LONG-TERM progress, be their coach! COACH THEM!!!!!
So while I understand I set myself up for snarky comments by starting a post off with “can we please just shut up about Tracy Anderson,” and then proceeded to write another blog post on Tracy Anderson…….I hope people can appreciate the overall message/tone.
Which, in a roundabout way can be summarized like this:
One of the best compliments you can receive from a client is when they no longer need your services.
When they finally reach their goal(s), are able to make them stick, and can then look you pointblank in the eyes and say “I got this,” your job is done.
There’s no need to exploit people and cater to their fears.
Note from TG: Today’s post comes courtesy of Molly Galbraith. She and the rest of the Girls Gone Strong pack released their new resource, The Modern Women’s Guide to Strength Training, today.
Molly was kind enough to write a little sumthin, sumthin to serve as an adjunct to its release.
Enjoy – it’s a doozy!
If you read Tony’s site much (which obviously you do because you’re reading this) you know that he’s a man that’s passionate about a few things:
Deadlifting
Eating dead animal flesh
Anything that has to do with un-doing the “work” of Tracy Anderson
So obviously, I’m going to talk about all 3 of these things today because Tony promised that if I did, he’d film a video of himself doing an Irish jig while wearing a kilt, fanny pack, fairy wings, and the clogs that he hasn’t got much use out of lately (he’s been busy).
So yes, I’ll be covering these topics today, namely #3.
Today I’ll be telling you the 3 reasons why your female clients aren’t getting the results they’re looking for… (Assuming that those results are that they want to look and feel amazing and strong).
Let’s get started!
1. Your Programming is Poor or Incomplete.
I know what you’re thinking:
“My programming’s awesome! My female clients squat and deadlift and do push-ups and all kinds of awesome stuff.”
That’s great. I’m super excited that your clients do those movements. That’s a great starting point, but there are a few things to ask yourself:
– Do you asses all of your clients as soon as they come in the door? Do you observe their posture, their body awareness, and their capability to perform basic movement patterns?
– Do you start your clients off with the basics of each of those movement? Do they perform squats and hinge movements with just their body weight at first? Do they start with incline push-ups so they could really master the movement pattern? Do you set them up for success at the beginning by building an awesome foundation? Or did you have them doing Barbell Back Squats on their first day?
– Is their programming tailored specifically towards what you found in their assessment? For example, if a female client has an exaggerated anterior pelvic tilt are you including more hip, hamstring, and glute dominant exercises that quad/knee dominant exercises? Are you doing a lot of anterior core stability and strength work with them?
Hopefully the answer to all of these question is yes. If it is, you’re *thisclose* to being a Rock Star. But I have a few more for you.
– Have you ever talked with your clients about the importance of breathing? Are there any breathing drills in their workout, even just to cool down at the end?
– Does your client Foam Roll or do other soft tissue work for at least a couple of minutes before their training session?
– Does your client perform a solid Dynamic Warm-up before every workout?
– Does your client do intelligent Energy Systems Training (i.e. cardio)? Also known as “not dumb shit?” This is generally a mix of short High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) sessions and Moderate Intensity Cardio (MIC) with their heart rate in the 120-150 beats per minute range 1-2x each throughout the week.
All of these things should be included in your female client’s training programs in order to get them the best results with the least amount of time and effort. If not, you’re leaving something on the table.
2. You’re pushing your clients in the wrong ways.
Let me start by saying that I have zero problems with training hard and pushing my clients hard. But it’s important that your client is properly prepared to be pushed, and there are ways to do it, and ways that just don’t make any sense.
Some examples:
A female you’ve been training for a year who has awesome deadlift form and you want to see what she can deadlift for a heavy triple? Awesome.
Seeing how many Burpees your client can do before they puke, pee, cry, or fire you? Not awesome.
Helping your client eek out a couple really tough reps on Dumbbell Bench Press and teaching her to “strain” a bit? Awesome.
Bragging to your friends that your client could hardly walk for four days after being trained by you? Not awesome.
Having your client really push herself on her last couple of prowler trips and try to beat her previous best? Awesome.
Making your client do 100 Box Jumps or Jump Squats because you think its “cool” to make her legs feel like jelly? Not awesome.
Prepare your clients to be challenged appropriately, and I won’t come kick you in the shin.
Note from TG (regarding Molly’s “kick you in the shin” comment): you DO NOT want to make Molly angry. Trust me. Look at her in the picture above. That’s the face she made after being told her boyfriend adopted a kitten for her.
LOL – I’m just kidding. Molly is a delightful human being.
But seriously, don’t piss her off.
3. Your clients are not recovering properly.
As their trainer, it’s your job to help your clients get the best results possible in the gym.
As an above-average-intelligence-trainer (I mean hey! You’re reading Tony’s blog aren’t you?) I expect you to know that your client’s success is directly correlated to how well they can recover from their overall stress load – meaning not just what they do in the gym with you, but what’s going on in their life, in general.
The more life stress they have, they less they need to be doing in the gym unless they have tons of time to sleep, eat nutrient dense food (like dead animal flesh), and recover.
If you’re not talking to your clients about recovery, you’re doing them a major disservice. Before they start training with you, it’s important to help them understand that they get better/stronger/fitter when they recover from, and adapt to stressors, not while the stressor is being applied.
Talk with them the importance of these things:
– Eat nutrient-dense, whole foods 80-90% of the time.
– Manage their stress effectively.
– Get moderate amounts of sunshine regularly.
– Get 7-9 hours of sleep in a cold, dark room every night.
– Use recovery modalities such as massage or other soft tissue work, Epsom salt baths, low to moderate intensity cardio, contrast showers, etc.
And your female clients will be on their way to looking and feeling better than ever.
Hi, it’s me Tony. So how’d you stack up? Are you making these mistakes with your clients, or are you absolutely killing it?
I hope you’re killing it, of course. But on the off chance that you might have been missing a thing or two, you should definitely check out an incredible new resource from Molly and the rest of the Girls Gone Strong crew (you know, The Women’s Fitness Authority) that discusses ALL of these issues, and then some.
I can’t tell you how excited I am to endorse this fantastic resource, as I feel it’s a product that will help a lot of women finally understand the merits of strength training and how strength is a good thing.
More importantly: it’s a manual designed for women written by women.
I know many of you are wondering what’s included. Here’s a brief synopsis.
– The Modern Woman’s Guide To Strength Training Getting Started Guide – this program comes with a LOT of information, but the getting started guide will walk you through it step-by-step.
– The Modern Woman’s Guide To Strength Training Manual – what is strength training, why is it important, a glossary of terms, and information about recovery, sleep, and stress management.
– The Modern Woman’s Guide To Strength Training Programs – three 16 weeks training programs for beginners, intermediates, high-level intermediates (with multiple options for every single exercise in case you want to make a substitution).
– The Modern Woman’s Guide To Strength Training Video Library – 90 minutes of high-definition video with me coaching GGS co-founder Alli McKee through 70 exercises. I will discuss proper – form, as well as common mistakes and how to correct them.
– The Modern Woman’s Guide To Strength Training Exercise Glossary – a print version of the video library for quick reference if you forget how a particular exercise is performed.
– The Modern Woman’s Guide To Strength Training Progress Tracker – a progress tracking guide where you can track measurements, weight (if desired), mood, sleep, stress level, strength level, energy level, etc. so you can get a comprehensive picture of what’s going on with your body.
In addition, for those looking for guidance on the nutrition side of things, The Modern Woman’s Guide To Good Nutrition Package written by Dr. Cassandra Forsythe, PhD, RD, CSCS, gym owner, and co-author of The New Rules Of Lifting For Women, and The Women’s Health Perfect Body Diet will also be available.
Included in this package is:
– The Modern Woman’s Guide To Good Nutrition Manual – 18 chapter manual with everything you need to know from determining calorie level and macronutrient ratio to recommended food sources and beverages, to what medications may be preventing fat loss.
– The Modern Woman’s Guide To Good Nutrition Meal Plan – Cassandra recognizes that every woman is different and needs a different nutrition structure to be successful. She put together done-for-you meal plans for fat loss and maintenance at multiple calorie levels, as well as a FODMAP plan for women with digestive issues, a Paleo meal plan at multiple calorie levels, and outlined multiple If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) plans for those who prefer that type of plan.
In a nutshell: this resource is the bomb-diggidy, and covers every base imaginable. So what are you waiting for? Click the link below to get started (you only have a few days to take advantage of the introductory offer).
Molly Galbraith is co-founder of Girls Gone Strong, a movement dedicated to helping women improve their physical strength, mental strength, and strength of character through strength training.
She is also co-founder J&M Strength and Conditioning, a private studio gym in Lexington, Kentucky.
Her mission is to, ”Help women discover and accept what their best body looks and feels like, with minimal time and effort, and once they discover that, help them have grace and compassion about it.”
On the other side of things, there are those women who’d like to go all out each and every workout — testing their strength every single day of every single week.
every book I could get my hands on, and learning from great coaches like 
more, and creates a sense of purpose in the weight room. While aesthetic goals, such as losing a few inches on your waist, are certainly worth pursuing, performance goals are notably more sustainable.
Fitness & lifestyle coach, writer, veteran and mom, Neghar Fonooni is passionate about empowering women through strength.
