CategoriesFemale Training Motivational Strength Training

Hey Ladies, Lift Something Heavy!

The term passion is defined as “an intense desire or enthusiasm for something,” or as a “strong and barely controllable emotion.”

Everyone reading (I hope) has a passion for something.  For some it’s their children and loved ones. For others it may be the charity work they’re involved in.  And even for others it may be something more tangible or finite such as their car or their collection of un-opened Star Wars action figurines.

Hey, I’m not here to judge

Passion is a great thing, and we should all be so lucky as to have a little passion in our lives.

I’m passionate about a lot of things:  my family, my girlfriend, movies, deadlifts, caffeine, my ever growing collection of vintage t-shirts.

A bit closer to home, however, and as a coach in particular, I’m passionate about fitness and helping others attain their goals.

I spend a great portion of my day training athletes, but what’s often glossed over is that I also train a fair number of regular “Joes and Janes,” or people who, like many of you reading, aren’t paid to jump higher, throw harder, or run faster. But rather just want to feel better, possibly shave a few lbs off their frame, lift some heavy things, and maybe not think twice about getting nekid with the lights on.

BOM CHICKA BOM BOM.

To that end, I often go on tirades when the topic of women and training pops up.  Speaking a bit more colloquially – and excuse my language – there’s a lot of shit information out there in the mainstream media, and it’s exponentially shitty with regards to women and strength training.

So I guess you could say I’m also passionate about doing my part in dispelling common myths and fallacies that’s regurgitated by the media.

Below is an interview I did for Marco Berardi and the people over at CrossFit LaSalle located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Marco Berardi: Tony, I know it is probably weird to ask one of the top strength and conditioning bloggers on the web to chat about women and lifting heavy things but your opinion on the subject has been one of my favorite parts of your blog. 600 pound deadlifts and big bench presses are great but for a large majority of coaches, we have many more women clients who want to get “toned” rather than athletes, so the topic of women and weight training is a great interest to me. Thanks for agreeing to answer some questions.

I know you just went on vacation and spent some time at a Globo Gym. What was the experience like? Especially when it comes to how women train? I bet you saw lots of isolated bicep and tricep work with those cute pastel colored weights.

TG:  I live in a fairly secluded “bubble,” because in my world – especially in the realm of strength and conditioning – I control every component of training with my clients. I tell them what to do, how to do it, and most important of all….I coach them and make sure that everything (everything) is done correctly.

So, it’s always interesting when I stumble outside of my little bubble and make my way to a commercial gym to train, as I really have to prepare myself for the massive number of epic fails I’m going to see.

Note:  this isn’t a slight against all commercial gyms – just most of them.

If my thought process offends you – particularly if you’re a trainer and you fall into the camp that’s described below – it’s probably because the truth hurts.  Sorry I’m not sorry. 

Now, to be fair:  I’m not some cynical bastard who just likes to poo-poo on people. Who am I to judge what people do in the gym and how they do it?  At the end of the day, at least they’re doing something, and that should be commended.  Wholeheartedly.  All the time.

Whether it’s Zumba, Yoga, CrossFit, Jazzercise, Prancercise (look it up on Youtube), traditional weight training, or mimicking the dance from Napoleon Dynamite, anything is better than sitting on your ass.

But I’d be lying if I said that I don’t walk away a little let down about the industry whenever I happen to train at a commercial gym.

I’m a coach, and as such, it’s really hard for me not to observe what others are doing. Now, with regular patrons I’ll give the benefit of the doubt.  Sure, I can face palm myself and wonder why that woman who is 30 lbs overweight – and woefully de-conditioned – is wasting her time performing bicep curls on a BOSO ball.  She doesn’t know any better.

What really grinds my gears – and, if I may, makes me absolutely bat shit crazy – is when I see a fitness professional (who should know better) has their client perform the same thing.

Really?  She’s paying you $50, $60, $70 $80+ per hour so that she can stand on a BOSU ball and then follow that with tricep kickbacks and arm circles?  I kid you not:  that’s EXACTLY what I saw while I was away on vacation.

Moreover, it was readily apparent that none of the trainers felt the need to “push” their female clients – treating them as if they were these delicate snowflakes that couldn’t (or shouldn’t) lift anything heavier than their Prada handbag.

Not once, in the four days (FOUR days) I was at this gym training with my girlfriend, did I watch a trainer coach his or her client (whether male or female) through a compound, free-weight movement.  Not once.  I did, however, see a lot of poorly done push-ups, lunges, planks, and a bevy of other exercises that made me want to swallow a live grenade.  It was really sad.

MB: On a side note, how the media portrays training to women it is almost not their fault they are so confused. I mean they can look around their Zumba class and see that no one has improved in the last 3 years but I digress.  Is there anyway to change what is being marketed to women as “exercise”?

TG:  Completely true, and it’s something that I do see changing – albeit at a snail’s pace. Walk down any aisle at your local grocery store, and you’re bound to see numerous “women’s” magazines with a teeny-tiny (airbrushed) actress or model on the cover holding a pink dumbbell underneath some innocuous title like “10 Tips for a Bikini Body” or something equally as nauseating.

In reality, it’s not even the title that’s most annoying – it’s the trivial, almost offensive workouts that are attached. Much like to what I described above at the commercial gym, many (not all) of these so-called “workouts” aren’t even remotely challenging.

I mean, come on:  recommending a workout based solely around a can of soup (which I saw one magazine publish) – how to curl with it, squat with it, lunge with it, throw it at the editor’s face who decided this was viable fitness information – is a bit of waste of everyone’s time don’t cha think?

But this is the type of stuff that’s marketed towards women.  As you noted, can you blame women that they curl up in the fetal position whenever you ask them to perform a deadlift?

As far as the mainstream media is concerned, I don’t think their formula is going to change anytime soon.  While it’s changing somewhat – they do still have to sell magazines, and what sells magazines are articles with Kim Kardashian on the cover telling the world that performing strength training with high heels on is the key to badonkadonkness.

Thankfully, we have women out there like Nia Shanks, Molly Galbraith, Jen Comas Keck, Neghar Fonooni, Jen Sinkler, the rest of the Girls Gone Strong crew, as well as many, many others fighting the good fight and trying to empower women on the benefits of (real) strength training and to step away from the elliptical and treadmill.

Likewise, I too try my best to provide information to women that goes against the norm of what they’ve been spoon-fed for decades.

Like THIS one on The Myth of Female Specific Training, or THIS one on Should You Use Scale Weight as a Measure of Success, or THIS one on The Fitness Double Standard.

I try to debunk as many myths as I can – lifting heavy things WILL NOT turn you into The Rock, endless hours of cardio IS NOT the key to fat loss, Yoga WILL NOT make your muscles long and lean, Tracy Anderson IS NOT a credible source of fitness and health information and is about as intelligent as a ham sandwich.

There’s still a very long battle a head, but I do see the tides turning, and it’s a beautiful thing.

MB: Obviously, the women who come to your facility (I’m guessing) are already sold on the Cressey Performance values. They probably want to lift heavy things and achieve a chin up without assistance. How would you convince a woman that is scared to “bulk up” and feel they need endless amounts of cardio to drop their body fat?

TG:  Yes and no. While it’s true that most people who walk through our doors kinda already have an idea of what they’re getting themselves into, there’s still a fair share that need to be “de-programmed.”

The best thing I can do as a coach is listen.  I try to ask as many questions as possible and do a little digging.

– How often do they train?

  – What has their training looked like?

    – Are they happy with their results?     – If not, how come?

    – What is their ideal body type?

    – Why?

    – What do they feel is holding them back?

So on and so forth.  Once I’m done listening, I then go into a little (not a lot) of what I feel would be the best approach to take.  It’s not about me being confrontational, forcing information in their direction, and trying to convince them that what they’ve been doing for the past five years has been a complete time killer (although, for many, that’s exactly what’s happened).

At this stage it’s about comfort zones and showing them success right out of the gate.

Almost inevitably, once I start throwing out words like squats, deadlifts, chin-ups, Prowlers, hell even if I toss out the word strength…….I’ll starting getting a little push-back, and many of the same myths and fallacies I described above – things many of these women have been regurgitating for YEARS, with limited (if any) results mind you – rear their ugly heads.

Once that happens, I have one more question for them:

“How’s that working for you?”

Clearly, if your way is the superior way, and it’s the approach you’ve been using for the past 5-10 years…….why have you seen NO results?  Zilch.  Nada.

To that end, all I ask is that they give me two months.  Give it their all for 60 days and see what happens.  Almost always, after three weeks they’re hooked.

Once they start to see (and feel) the confidence they gain, it’s always a done deal.

Once they realize that putting an extra ten pounds on the bar won’t turn them into a roided out she-man, and they start noticing small, incremental changes to their body, the sky’s the limit. It’s a beautiful thing.

MB: When you begin to train women do you have specific goals you would like to help them achieve? If I can get a woman to do 5-10 proper push ups on their own, a chin-up, and deadlift better than 99% of the men in the gym, it is safe to assume they will achieve their body image goal. Is that an ok thought process?

TG:  Sure.  With any client – whether I’m working with a male or female – it’s usually my job to tell them what they need to do, and not what they want to do.  Big difference.

With any client, it’s about getting them outside their comfort zone.  With women in particular, their Kryptonite is the free-weight area.  Can you blame them?  Who wants to train around a bunch of dudes who reek of Axe body spray and scream as if they’re passing a kidney stone?  Hell, I don’t want to be around that.

That notwithstanding, I think you’re on the right track.  Having clear and defined (not to mention realistic and attainable) goals is an important component many trainees fail to grasp.

As a trainer or coach, I think it’s crucial to sit down with your client and come up with goals to strive for – whether it’s to perform an unassisted, body weight chin-up, “x” number of lbs on the deadlift, or to lose ten lbs of fat by summer.  Having something to work for gives people a sense of purpose and holds them more accountable in the end.

With the women that I train, they’re going to get coached on all the basic movements – squats, deadlifts, push-ups, etc. Much like you, it’s not uncommon for many of the women I train to train on their own “x” number of days per week at the other gym and to boast that someone complimented them on their deadlift form, and I totally dig that!

Even cooler is when they come back with stories about how they were waiting to “jump in” on a certain exercise at their commercial gym, and they warmed-up with the weight that the guy leaving ended with on his last set.

In the end, though, it’s about coaching the basics.  There’s no need to make things more complicated than they have to be. This isn’t NASA.  If your female client can perform ten picture perfect push-ups – despite push-ups being as exciting as watching grass grow – then they’re leaps and bounds a head of 99% of other females out there.

Sadly, this doesn’t happen too often.  Trainers (and trainees) are more concerned with looking cool and doing something unique than mastering the basics.

CategoriesMotivational Strength Training

Newsflash: People Lifted Weights Before CrossFit

Two quick stories – both of which serve as the impetus behind this post.

1. I can’t tell you how long I resisted the whole Lululemon phenomenon.  Mind you:  I’ve always been a big fan of their work. All apologies to my gay guy friends, but I have a Y chromosome  – so sue me for appreciating the finer points of yoga pants on a female’s body.

In fact, if I had to make a list of three people who’s hand I’d like to shake it would look something like this (in no particular order).

– Optimus Prime

– Han Solo

– Chip Wilson – the founder of Lululemon.

Half of my girlfriend’s wardrobe is from Lululemon (have a I mentioned I’m a fan?), and while I love it when she wears her yoga pants to go grocery shopping, I’d be lying if I said the Darth Vader theme music didn’t reverberate inside my head every time her and I would be walking around in the city and happen to cross paths with a Lululemon store.

Because inevitably she’d want to walk in and then try to convince me to put on a pair of something. Dudes DO NOT wear Lululemon.  In my head, as far as masculine things to do, it ranged somewhere between peeing while sitting down and watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Fast forward to about a year ago when I noticed many of our pro-baseball guys walking into the facility with their Lulu pants on.  When I brought it up to one of our guys – Oliver – and asked what’s up, he just responded with “they’re the most comfortable things, ever!”

When I dug a little deeper and started asking a few more questions, he just put his hands on my shoulders, looked me straight in the eyes, and said, “DO IT.  You won’t be disappointed.”

It took a while, but eventually I relented and tried on a pair of their Kung-Fu pants.   And OMG – ammmmmmaaaaazzzziiiiiinnggg.

In fact, Lisa bought a pair for me this past Christmas and I Tweeted the following picture to Oliver with the caption:  I did it!

So now walking into a Lululemon store isn’t quite the chore it used to be.

But a funny thing happened a few weekends ago.

Lisa and I were doing our Sunday “routine,” you know, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Home Depot, squeezed in a little West Elm, when we happened to see a Lulu store.  Lisa beelined it in and I followed suite.  I wasn’t quite as “beeline(ish),” but I wasn’t tossing my face into a cement wall as I would have in the past.

As she was perusing the sales rack, I was standing near the front of the store adjacent to the men’s section.  I wasn’t necessarily looking at anything, but rather just waiting in the area where all the other boyfriend’s waited.  We’re like a little club.

A salesperson approached me and we started chatting me up. She told me all the sales going on – I don’t remember, I kind of blacked out – and then asked what I like to wear to the gym.  I told her that I own one pair of the Kung-Fu pants, but that I’m a strength coach and that I don’t wear them to work because they’d get torn and beat up.

She then pointed to the right at all their men’s shorts, and said “a lot of our CrossFitters like to wear those.”

Wait………huh?  My inner dialogue was like….“Did she just refer to me as a CrossFitter?“

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw

Don’t get me wrong:  I didn’t take offense to it or anything. I mean, she was making a compliment that I actually look like I workout.  But did she not just hear me say that I was a strength coach?

Which leads to story #2.

2.  My internet buddy and intermittent guest blog contributor on this site, Emily Giza Socolinsky, sent me a message the other day.

Long story short:  Emily used to be a Barre instructor and after switching to the dark side – Ie: strength training – and after seeing the results she not only received herself but with her own clients as well, she opened up her own gym.  And she fucking dominates!

Check it out HERE.

She’s long been an advocate of helping to promote people goals – whatever they may be – she doesn’t believe in only ONE way to train, but she’ll be the first to admit that everyone – in particular women – should strength train in some form or another.

And yes, in her own words that does mean “picking up some damn weight.”

Every so often she’ll get a comment on her blog from someone who, *coughs*, is not happy with what she has to say.  Case in point, Emily wrote a fantastic blog HERE a while ago on why she feels Barre classes aren’t the answer for most women.  Mind you:  this was written by a someone who was formerly a very accomplished Barre instructor herself.

Anyways, she ruffled a few feathers when she originally posted that blog post.  And to this day, she still continues to get snarky comments from women.  Like this one:

“Wow, you certainly seem to have a chip on your shoulder toward women who do care about not bulking up!

I’m 42 years old and have been a lifetime runner. For years, I went to the gym and did traditional heavy weight programs (I even leg pressed nearly 3 times my body weight).

I tried the cross fit thing. For me, these programs resulted in injury and chronic pain in my knees and shoulders.

I’m a tiny person and I didn’t really bulk up, but I didn’t look feminine either.

Barre 3 and Bar Method have provided wonderful results for me.

I run faster and I have more endurance because my knees don’t hurt at all anymore! I am still very strong and in fact I can now do 50 push ups with good form. And I’m not embarrassed to admit, I love how how I look. Any women who doesn’t admit they don’t mind having a lean body with feminine muscular toning is lying to themselves and everyone else.”

Emily wrote back a very professional and considerate response – something I would have had a hard time doing – and ended with this:

“Congratulations on how you feel. It is very important for women to love how they look. But my reasoning for the article was to let women know that there are better ways to achieve one’s goal that will actually make them stronger and feel better about themselves. I would be lying to them and to myself if I told them them that barre classes are the way to a stronger body. Thank you for your comment.”

Lets ignore the whole leg press 3x bodyweight comment, or the “50 push-ups with good form” comment. I feel like my eyes have never rolled so hard in my life when I read those.

What I was most interested in was the “I did the CrossFit thing” comment.

Hello??!?!?!?  Since When Is E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G CrossFit??????

Correct me if I’m wrong, but people were lifting weights and doing “strength training” long before CrossFit came into the picture.  No where in Emily’s original post did she mention CrossFit.  In fact, what she was referring to was everything CrossFit isn’t (more or less).

What she was advocating was a well-structured, coherent, planned, approach to strength training based off of one’s needs, goals, and health/injury history.

I don’t want to make this into some CrossFit bashing diatribe – that’s not the point.  And for those reading who feel that’s what I’m doing, take a deep breath, relax, do some handstand push-ups or something, and read THIS.

There’s actually a lot about CrossFit I like and advocate.

But I just find it comical that, in the eyes of the general public, everything involving lifting a weight is now somehow lumped into CrossFit.

Much of that has to do with the marketing genius of CrossFit – there’s no doubting that.  For what it’s worth I applaud it.  A LOT more people are getting their asses off the couch and exercising now.

But what did people from the dawn of man to about ten years ago call weight training?  I’ll tell you what it wasn’t called:  fucking CrossFit.

Just a little rant for the day.  I feel better now.  Carry on.

CategoriesFemale Training Strength Training

Train the Same: Women Should Train Like Men

I’ll be honest:  I was thiiiiiiiiiiis close to taking a slight “blogcation” the rest of the week. I figured since I’ll be bit preoccupied with stuffing my face with anything I can get my hands on for the next 48 hours, that most people would be in the same mindset and not really give a second thought to signing onto my site.

– Eating copious amounts of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and apple pie?  Check.

– Watching football till I can’t feel the right side of my face? Check.

– Check out Tony’s blog?  Come on…..isn’t there more apple pie to eat?

Don’t worry, my feelings aren’t hurt.  I know where I stand in the grand scheme of things.  You know, there was a time when you used to compliment me, tell me I looked nice, and used to be excited to see me. Made me feel special. But now, it’s like….it’s like I don’t even exist anymore.  It’s like I’m a ghost.

*tear rolls down cheek*

LOL – I’m just messing with you.  Thanksgiving is about family, friends, and turkey legs……the last think I expect you to do is check out my blog.  Have fun!  Be safe!  Enjoy!

But seriously, you used to compliment me.

I wasn’t going to write anything today (or tomorrow), but then I realized that Thanksgiving isn’t a universally celebrated holiday and that I’d be a huge jerk-face if I deprived the rest of the world my sage words….(Poop!).

Luckily enough I just had a new article go up on BodyBuilding.com that’s already gaining some steam (and I haven’t even publicized it yet!).

It’s on a topic that write about quite a bit – women and training.  This article has more of a “soap box” feel to it and is more of a rant than anything else, but I feel it sends a great message nevertheless.  Give it a look and let me know what you think.

Train the Same: Women Should Train Like Men (<—- Snaps finger in z-formation, Mmmmm-hmmmm)

PS: And on a (real) serious note:  I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone for their support over the past year. TonyGentilcore.com wouldn’t be what it is without the continued support of its readers and fan base and I wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Day After Lisa’s B-Day Edition

You know how when you open up a magazine and read a interview of some random celebrity one of the questions that’s inevitably asked is “what’s your ideal day like?”

I’m not gonna lie:  yesterday was that day for me.

Granted it didn’t involve waking up in the French Riviera, lounging poolside eating a plate full of exotic cheeses while high-fiving Matt Damon as we discuss our roles as Master Jedis in the upcoming Star Wars movie being released in 2015.

Nope it wasn’t anything close to that. But it was reaaaaaaaaaally close.

As hinted at yesterday it was Lisa’s birthday, and as such we both played “hooky” from work and well,  enjoyed a day of decadence together.

We slept in, headed to the gym and trained together (which we rarely ever get to do), and then followed that with a little cameo appearance at the spa (she got a, well, I don’t know what she got, and I got an “extreme” sports massage).

Going to the spa is always an adventure for me because I always end up feeling like a bull in a china shop. Everything is so pretty and smells nice (a far cry from the facility), and I can’t help but feel self-conscious about what the hell am I doing there?

What do I do?  What do I say?  Where do I put my hands?  Is the cucumber water, like, free? Shit, I need to burp.  Am I allowed to burp?

Needless to say the spa was wonderful and served as a gentle reminder that I (we) need to do that more often.

After that the birthday girl wanted chicken wings, so who was I to get in her way!

To my more observant readers out there, yes, that’s a Lulu Lemon bag to Lisa’s left (no woman’s b-day is complete without a little Lulu, right?).

We then topped the day off with a little fro-yo, went home and chillaxed.  Perfect.

I’m still kinda in “vacation mode” after yesterday so instead of writing some new content (I do have some doozies lined up), here’s this week’s list of stuff to read……

Unsexy Training Methods Produce Sexy Results – Artemis Scantalides

This was a knockout of a post written by Artemis (with a brief shout-out to who else?  My girlfriend, Lisa.  Woot woot!).

Artemis pretty much covers all the bases here:  everything from why women shouldn’t be reticent to lift weights, why “cleanse diets” are a crock of shit, and eating REAL food is the real key to results.

I loved this comment in the article itself:

MYTH: 700 minutes of cardio per week will help you to achieve the body you want.

FACT: Moving around 7,000 pounds during your daily training session will give you the body you want.

Lifting Weights is Only For Boys….NOT – Emily Socolinsky

Like Artemis, Emily is another “go to” figurehead that I love to refer back to as a perfect example and role model for women to aspire towards.

She’s about empowerment, encouragement, and providing information…..but she doesn’t sugar-coat things.

In this article Emily highlights a “quick” back and forth between she and myself on the topic of women and lifting heavy things.

And by “quick,” I mean the opposite of that.

The WSJ’s “Get Over It” Column, Translated – Mark Remy

This was an article that was sent my way on Facebook by a lovely women named Kristine who reads my blog (who also qualified for next year’s Boston Marathon!).

I honestly had no idea the original article existed – namely because I don’t read the WSJ (mostly in part because the stock market is Klingon to me).

While I can somewhat commiserate with the original article – and sometimes catch myself throwing the ol’ stink eye to runners myself (much like the kettlebell crowd, they can be an elite group of uppity snobs sometimes – I felt as a whole the “intent” of the article was woefully ignorant.

The retort, however – which is what I link to above – was/is the balls.  I don’t think I laughed this hard while reading something in a while.

 

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

The Train to Be Awesome Guide

Anyone who’s read my blog for any length time knows that I’m fairly passionate about a number of things.  In no particular order (except for the first one) they consist of:

1.  BACON!
2.  Tiesto.
3.  Zombies.
4.  Watching zombies get pwned.
5.  LIfting heavy things (and more germane to today’s conversation – advocating that women lift heavy things).

I’ve been everything but bashful when it comes to my thoughts and feelings towards the mainstream media and how it placates a negative, seemingly cancer-like stronghold on women and their attitudes towards body image and what’s considered an “ideal” body-type.

In case you missed them (or are new to the site), you can check out a few glowing examples:

The Myth of Female Specific Training

Should You Use Scale Weight as a Measure of Success?  Hint: No

Want to Really Earn Your Cake?  Ladies:  Turn Off Tracy Anderson

Why We Are the Even Weaker Sex

And I’m not that only who champions this same sentiment. There are a plethora of other people who have gone out of their way to debunk (female) training myths, chastise those who feel women don’t belong in a squat rack, and otherwise have rolled their eyes at an industry (society?) who feel women are these delicate rainbows who should resort to “Skinny Bitch” diets and consider a yoga mat heavy lifting.

My good friend, and ambassador to quote-on-quote female training, Nia Shanks, is another “item” I’d add to my list above. There are many reasons why I respect Nia as a friend and as a fitness professional. She’s without question one of the most passionate, non-judgmental, and “real” people I know.

I say “real” not in the context of “wow, she’s a human-being. I can interact with her, and share protein bar recipes and stuff. Awesome!”

No, when I say “real” I mean she’s someone who doesn’t BS people. She knows what works, talks the talk, but more importantly, walks it.

I’m in awe of her for what’s she’s accomplished in helping to empower women that lifting weights is not only okay, but something they should (and can) do.

And it’s not even that. Nia understands that being healthy (and happy) is much more than how much weight someone can lift. While that’s cool and all, Nia will be the first person to tell you that becoming the best version of yourself entails many components, from nutrition to the mind-body connection to Matt Damon movies.

Okay, I added that last one in. But needless to say Nia’s the shit.

Which is why I’m always more than willing to do my part in helping promote her products.  Her latest “project,” The Train to Be Awesome Guide, is no different.

In a world where most books encourage dieting, deprivation, gradually eating less, restriction, working out to total exhaustion, fixing “flaws”, and meeting someone else’s opinion of “ideal”, in her words Nia “wanted to share something that empowers women to eat delicious food, to focus on building themselves up (through physical AND mental strength training) and to realize that they are uniquely awesome.” 

Maybe even more heartfelt is the notion that Nia’s ultimate goal was to “create a guide and program that a mother would be proud to share with her daughter.”

I asked Nia if she’d be willing to jot down a few more

Who’s it for? The Train to Be Awesome Guide is for the woman who wants to become the strongest, most awesome version of herself with simple, no nonsense, strength training and nutrition that enhances her overall life, and doesn’t dominate it.

Basically, it’s for any woman who wants to reach her full potential in the gym and build a great body in a unique way.

What makes it unique? Many things, actually. The Train to Be Awesome Guide is all about building a great body, but without focusing on that goal. I know it’s confusing, but allow me to explain.

For example, the main focus of the accompanying strength training program is to get stronger and improve your performance. Each workout you’ll strive to do a little better than last time. It’s not about getting tired or achieving as much fatigue as possible –

It’s about getting stronger, building yourself up, and becoming even more awesome.

It’s also unique in the fact that you won’t track the typical markers as with most fitness regimens.

It may seem daunting, but you won’t step on a scale or even take measurements. Instead you’ll focus on POSITIVE, performance orienting markers that you’ll track throughout the program.

Specifically, you’ll track your squat (either barbell or goblet), number of push-ups and chin-ups (or inverted rows), and the number of swings you can perform in a set period of time. You’ll also track some subjective markers such as energy levels and how your favorite pair of jeans (or dress) fits.

When THOSE things improve, THEN you’ll also reap the body transforming results you want. But this way, they’re just a wonderful side effect from becoming stronger and more awesome.

There are also some simple, flexible, DIET-FREE, nutrition guidelines.

Finally, the Train to Be Awesome Guide includes a detailed, step-by-step success guide so you know exactly what you need to do to be successful.

What makes it awesome?  It’s awesome because it will show you exactly how to become even MORE awesome.

You’ll do this with the “Train to Be Awesome Philosophy” and the accompanying 16 Week Program that includes demonstration videos for every exercise that you can watch on your smart phone, tablet, or computer.

And, finally, because it’s super simple and practical. You’ll only have to work out 3-4 days per week. The information is simple to implement so you’ll not only achieve results, but you’ll maintain them long-term.

The Train to Be Awesome Guide is on sale NOW through this Friday, October 18th for only $29.  For what it costs to go see an IMAX movie for two on a Friday night, you can get 16-weeks of programming and nutrition guidance that will undoubtedly set you up for LONG-TERM success.

Sounds like a no-brainer in my book.

Are You Ready to Get More Awesomer?

 

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 8/23/13

I know, I know – I’m posting this badboy up a bit later than usual, but I actually have a legitimate excuse.  For starters,  ummmmm, hello??? Freakin Ben Affleck is slated to be the next Batman!!!!

I don’t know how I feel about this yet.  Part of me is like “hell yeah.” He’s an often under appreciated actor, and he’s obviously made his mark as an A-List director (Gone Baby Gone, The Town, Argo), so I feel like he’s a good fit because he knows what it’s like to direct and will offer his own vision to some degree.

Plus, lets be honest:  he’s got the jawline for the role.

And part of me wants to punch a hole in the wall because I’m so enamored with Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ franchise and Christian Bale’s portrayal of Batman/Bruce Wayne, that it kind of makes me sad that we’re moving on and turning the page on that chapter in the Batman franchise.

It’s going to be interesting for sure, and if nothing else, this marks Day One of my campaign to try to convince Ben Affleck to come to Boston (his home town no less) and train for his role at Cressey Performance.

Someone contact DC Comics for me and make that happen!…….;o)

But in all seriousness, the reason I’m a bit late posting today is because we’ve been absolutely swamped at CP with new assessments (16 this week alone), and I (along with the rest of the staff) have been writing programs like a boss.  I swear every waking moment outside of coaching has been spent writing programs.  Okay I watched the season 7 finale of How I Met Your Mother, but other than that, I’ve been glued to Excel.

Moreover I was the one who ran Excellence Bootcamps this morning, and treated all the participants to a little TG techno magic time.  Which is to say, for five hours straight there was nothing but Swedish House Mafia, Tiesto, Deadmaus, and other sick beats while I took everyone through a healthy dose of Prowler pushes, carries, deadlifts, and fist pumps for days.

It was awesome.  But I guess you had to be there.

Nevertheless, even though most people reading are no longer at work, and are probably 2-3 Martinis deep into their weekend, here’s some stuff to read:

Strength Goals Trump the Scale – Artemis Scantalides

I respect the hell out of Artemis, and not because she can round house kick me to the face faster than I can say “Tracy Anderson is about as intelligent as a ham sandwich.”

Which is pretty darn fast, mind you.

I just love the consistent message that Artemis relays on her blog, and it’s pretty cool to witness.

Please, ladies:  check out her stuff and forward to ALL of your friends who are married to the scale.

Should You Be Sprinting – Kyle Arsenault

This was a fantastic article over on Fitocracy.com by former CP intern, Kyle Arsenault, on the many benefits of sprinting and why many people probably shouldn’t doing it.  At least not yet.

How to Get the Buy In – Justin Kompf

There are a lot of, shall I say, “douchey” personal trainers out there. Most don’t know their ass from their acetabulum, yet are able to hit their quotas each and every month because they’re essentially glorified babysitters.  They train their client’s mouths more than they train their posterior chain.

Rare is the event where a client “buys in,” or hits that tipping point where they finally “get” what you’re trying to accomplish with them as their trainer.

Even rarer when you convert your client’s train of thought into actually LIKING lifting heavy things and showing up week in and week out for more “torture.”

In this thought provoking post, Justin describes the “buy in,” and how you as a trainer can get to that point.

BONUS

Should You Use the Olympic Lifts – Me

This was a quick article I wrote for MensHealth.com on Olympic lifting and why I tend to shy away from including them in 99.98% of the programs that I write.

I’d love for you guys to check it out and show MH.com some love by “Liking” the article.  But if you think it sucks, that’s cool too.  I won’t cry.  That much.

CategoriesUncategorized

Train Like a Woman, Look Like a Woman

Back in 2002 I was contemplating becoming a teacher.  A health teacher to be more precise.  As an undergrad I was studying Health Education with a concentration in being awesome Health/Wellness Promotion, and as many of you can probably guess, a major part of the requirement for completion was to spend a semester student teaching at both a local middle and high school.

In my case “local” meant driving 50 miles (both ways) to Binghamton, NY.  And while I could easily sit here and bemoan some aspects of the experience – driving 50 miles through the lake effect snow capital of the world during the dead of winter comes to mind. As does teaching human sexuality to a bunch of 7th-graders. Hey, you try to explain “nocturnal emissions” WITH A STRAIGHT FACE – I have to say, all in all, it was an amazing few months.

I learned a lot about myself during that time (like, how to properly tie a tie), and it was a wonderful opportunity to, as Chip and Dan Heath describe in their book, Decisive, get an “ooch,” or “taste” as to whether or not teaching was the right fit for me.

 

Turns out it wasn’t.

When it came down to it:  I decided it was way cooler to spend my time hanging out in a gym making people stronger than it was hanging out in a classroom teaching kids what cell-mediated immunity was.

Still, I was reminiscing the other day about my student teaching experience and amid my thoughts of lecture plans, pop quizzes, and the differences between boy-down-there-parts and girl-down-there-parts (seriously, try to keep a straight face!), it brought me back to the day when I was asked by one of my students if I’d be willing to attend his poetry reading that he was organizing after school in the cafeteria.

While the Jaws theme music immediately started reverberating in my head as soon as the word “poetry” left his lips, being the good trooper and responsible teacher that I was, I gladly accepted.

Hopefully without sounding too mean, there’s Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off Broadway, the two homeless guys fighting over an empty Coke can in the park, and then there’s the poetry reading/one-man monologue/play that he put on in front of a group of 20 or so people.

I feel like a major a-hole for saying it (more than ten years later), but it was face palm bad.  But I survived.  And well, giving credit where it’s due:  it’s not like I’ve ever done anything remotely as ballsy as that.

And because I really don’t have any other way to segue into what I actually wanted to talk about today, want to know what else is face palm worthy?  The following story………..

It’s a Doozy

After linking on my site THIS post she wrote on why she doesn’t believe in barre classes anymore, last year my friend Emily Giza Socolinsky wrote a stellar guest post on this site titled A New and Better Butt? Why Not a Stronger Butt?

Note:  before you continue, I’d HIGHLY recommend you read the actual post(s) because what follows won’t be nearly as vomit in your mouthish if you don’t.

Finished?  Okay, good.

Great message, right?  I felt Emily hit the nail on the proverbial head with that one.  Any message which empowers and encourages women to not be afraid to lift appreciable weight, as well as any message which debunks the notion that lifting something heavier than a 3 lb dumbbell, bar, or purse will turn them into a Highland Games competitor overnight is alright in my book.

Apparently someone felt otherwise and took offense to Emily’s “tone.”  Well, to be more precise they originally took offense that, unbeknownst to Emily, the photo she used in her original post was of an actual owner and instructor of a Barre class (that she snaked off of Google Images).

Emily gladly took the photo down. But it was the snide comment that the owner left in the comments section of Emily’s post which really grinded her gears:

” You have used the photo of barre class with out permission … Please remove it. This is a photo of my instructors at a barre studio and myself.. It is not stock for public consumption.

Separately, you are completely wrong about barre class. I don’t know what kind of class you taught at your studio but our clients are much stronger, much more confident, ski better, play tennis better, etc and aren’t just there to tone their thighs. Perhaps they can not pull their husbands out if a burning building – not sure whose overall goal that would be anyway – but they are not looking to build enormous muscles and look like a man either.

Remove the photo immediately.

Thank you.”

OMFG – when will this ever end??????????????

Excuse me while I go face palm my face into a cement wall.

Emily responded like a champ:

“Thank you for your comment. I apologize for using your picture. I will remove this out of courtesy to you and your instructors.

However, what I cannot and will not do is apologize for my post. I am not completely wrong about barre classes and if you actually read my post, I am all for women doing what works for them and makes them happy. But I want to deliver to my female clients what I believe to be a better program for getting stronger and gaining confidence.

While I am sure that your clients have gotten stronger from your barre classes, I believe that my clients are served better by actually lifting weights that will challenge their bodies, minds and spirits. None of my ladies look like a man.

In fact, all of my women have dramatically changed their bodies into curvaceous, strong and fit women. Your comment implies that my goal is to make women look like men. Women can be strong, have muscle, lift heavy weight and still be women.

I want to deliver the best program to my women and for them and for me, this includes picking up weight that weighs more than 3 lbs. Sure, you can get stronger by doing anything….but in my world (and many others) building a stronger body means actually lifting weights.

And for me, I DO want to know that if I had to, I could pull my husband out of a burning building.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAryFIuRxmQ

 

The absolute best response I saw on Emily’s Facebook Page was this:

“Ski better, play tennis better” is the bougiest response to anything I’ve seen in a while. “

Our clients can handle many pottery barn shopping bags.” “She has the strength to open the hood of her own 3 series.” “Our clients look great in their cocktail dresses when they attend philanthropy luncheons.”

Well said by whoever said that!

I don’t feel I need to add any fuel to the fire here since most of you reading know my stance on this topic.  I just find it disheartening that this is still the pervasive attitude which dominates much (not all) of the female psyche.

For the love of all that’s holy can you blame some of them?

I have a female client who’s a personal trainer on the side and she mentioned how she wanted to ween herself out of the commercial gym setting, and start working with younger athletes (particularly female) at the local high school where her son goes.

As it happened, she sent out an email to all of the girls athletic coaches at the high school telling them that she’d be in the weight room this summer to help out, and she asked the coaches to encourage their athletes to come.

She heard back from TWO coaches, one of which is the female PE teacher who also coaches the field hockey team.

This is what the coach wrote back:

“One issue is the lack of user friendly equipment for the girls. They are not interested in the heavy lifting machines. I wrote a grant for strength training circuit machines and cardio machines, but it did not get funded.

Well no shit they’re not interested if this is the mentality that’s being engrained from the get go!

For the record:  my client noted that the “heavy lifting machines” this coach is referring to are the TEN squat racks in the weight room.

Since when do females need user friendly equipment?  Since when do they need to be pampered with cardio machines?

It’s all BS if you ask me.  Worse still, it’s a disgrace and woeful fail in judgement on the coaches’ parts.  Way to go!  You just pandered to the fears that every girl has towards lifting weights by telling her she needs to head to elliptical row!

 

If females are being “programmed” by their elders and coaches at such a young age to think that boys and girls need to train differently and that the squat rack isn’t “user friendly,” is it any wonder why this seems like a losing battle at times?

Why not, I don’t know, encourage young, impressionable women that the squat rack isn’t Mordor. That they don’t need to train any differently than the boys?  That lifting appreciable weight can be a key to unlocking a treasure trove of beauty, athleticism, and maybe even more importantly, confidence?

Can we turn the page sometime in the near future?  Please?

CategoriesFemale Training

Should You Use Scale Weight as a Measure of Success? Hint: No

There’s certainly no shortage of articles, blogs, and rants out there in the digital world decreeing, loudly, that using a scale to measure success is kind of pointless.

SPOILER ALERT:  this is going to be one of those rants.

I’ve been working as a trainer and coach for well over a decade now working with various females – short, tall, skinny, overweight, athletic,  blue-collar, white-collar, Team Jacob, Team Edward – helping them achieve “the look.”

What “the look” entails I’m not exactly sure, as different women have different goals and different viewpoints on what they’d prefer to look like.

More often than not, though, for most, it just comes down to feeling and looking better, and not being bashful at rocking a strapless dress whenever the time calls for it.

Or, to put it more succinctly (and a tad less narcissistic):  just becoming the best version of YOU that you can be regardless of sexiness factor or societal standards.

If I had to narrow it down to one celebrity who gets the most “Yeah, I want to look like her” nods it would undoubtedly go towards Mrs. Justin Timberlake (AKA: Jessica Biel), circa whenever it was she did that redunkulous spread in GQ Magazine.

Don’t shoot the messenger!  I’m just stating that in my experience this is “the look” which many women I’ve worked with have gravitated towards.

But again, it’s just one example and doesn’t represent a universal mindset – so please, please, PLEASE don’t mistake this as me saying “hey ladies, this is what you should look like!”

Because at the end of the day, it’s about you, not me.

But here’s the deal: it’s a fairly well known fact that Jessica is a very active person who routinely lifts weights, plays sports, and leads a healthy lifestyle.  Or, at least that’s what all the magazine articles and interviews tells us.

Her celebrity status aside, I look at her and see a full-figured, athletic woman who doesn’t look frail, weak, emaciated, or the second coming of that creepy skeleton looking guy from Tales of the Crypt.

Unfortunately, many (not all) women are under the impression that in order to achieve said look they have to diet for months (if not years on end), do copious amounts of long-duration, steady-state cardio, and avoid lifting weights like the plague.

To justify my point – especially with regards to the dieting side of things – Elizabeth Walling had an amazing guest post over on Nia Shanks’ blog the other day on the stress and damage caused by chronic “dieting.”

To steal a quote:

We’re often given the impression by the diet industry and mainstream media that dieting and metabolic health go together like peas and carrots. But in reality, most diet plans that claim to boost your metabolism are really just low-calorie deprivation diets in disguise. Just a quick internet search reveals a disturbing trend: these diet plans that promise to raise your metabolism often recommend eating as little as 1000-1400 calories a day.

I don’t think it’s wrong for me to say that many women fall into this trap (guys do too, by the way) and often end up stuck in this never ending cycle of dieting, feeling like poop, not getting ideal results, dieting some more, feeling even more like poop,  not getting results, and well, you get the idea.

They’ll hop on the scale – as if that’s somehow the end-all-be-all panacea of health – and see that they’ve made little (if any) headway in terms of the number going down, feel even more desperate and frustrated and repeat the cycle over and over and over again.

Why doesn’t dieting typically work?  To steal another quote from Elizabeth:

Because the body views dieting as a famine (it doesn’t know what a bikini is or why you’d want to starve yourself to wear one). The body detects a lack of energy coming from food, so it turns to alternative energy sources to cope with the shortage. And how does the body access alternative energy sources? By releasing stress hormones.

And while it’s much more complicated than this (I’m going to refrain from going into the actual physiology), the body will go into “preservation mode” and start storing fat to stave off a perceived threat.

As such, many women will continue this perpetual cycle, jump on the scale expecting that all their suffering will somehow lead to weight loss, only to be disappointed, pissed off, frustrated, and thiiiiiiis close to punching a kitten in the mouth.

True story.

On the training side of the equation, we typically have the treadmill/Zumba class/step-aerobics/ avoid lifting weights at all costs camp.

Listen, I’m not here to bash “cardio.” I recognize that it’s part of the equation and that any well-rounded fitness/health routine will include some (key word: some).

That said, 100% of the time I feel it’s drastically overemphasized and could be more deleterious than beneficial.  While I don’t want to go into the semantics here and start WWIII, I’ll just defer to an excellent (albeit controversial) article that John Kiefer wrote a while back titled Women: Running Into Trouble.

With that little song and dance out of the way I’ll admit it:  I’m biased.  I’m a strength coach, so of course I’m going to be adamant that women actually lift weights.  Appreciable weights.  None of this soup can/pink-dumbbell high rep nonsense.

Listen: If you want to change how your body looks – like, in a “holy shit, did I go to high school with you?” kind of way – you actually have to put forth some effort.

You need to actually provide enough of a stress to make it change.

Deep down, do you really think that lifting a weight that weighs less than your purse is going to do anything as far as body composition goes?

Come on, really?

No seriously, really?

You get out of it what you put in. If you lift light weights, your body is going to represent that fact: You’ll look frail and weak.

Maybe that’s what you want.  And if so, more power to you. I guess.  But I doubt that’s the case.

Now I’m not saying women have to lift weights so that they can win a knife fight in a back alley or challenge The Rock to an arm wrestling match, but I can’t stress enough how crucial it is to, you know, actually challenge the body and work.

Only then will you see the fruits of your labor.

Which is why I’d much rather see women focus more on strength/performance based goals rather than the scale to gauge progress/success.

Without getting overly technical, one lb of muscle weighs the same as one lb of fat, albeit takes up 25% less space. This is why you will often see contestants on the television show “The Biggest Loser” weigh the same as many professional athletes, despite being the twice the size.

Following a resistance training program helps build muscle which increases strength and firmness. Aside from that, muscle is also metabolically active tissue which will also helps you burn more fat. In essence, someone might see very little overall weight loss or even GAIN weight in order to achieve “the look.”

The latter is especially true for petite women.

As an example, a 5 foot 4 ,140 lb woman with 25% body fat wants to look leaner and achieve that “toned” look. I just threw up a little in my mouth using the word toned, but I’ll run with it to get my point across.

She wants those flabby arms to go away and she wants to fit into those pair of jeans that she used to wear back in college. To do so, this particular woman feels she should lose weight and get down to 110-115 lbs through restrictive dieting and copious amounts of cardio. If she takes that course, she may look thinner, but at the expense of looking like a smaller, weaker version of her original self.

Conversely, let’s take the right course instead.

Six months later the same 5’4” woman has followed a resistance training program (which is also great for strengthening bones and preventing osteoporosis), changed her diet to include more healthy fats (fish oil, nuts, avocado, olive oil, butter, coconut oil, etc) protein (ie: chicken breast, lean beef, eggs, cottage cheese, whey protein shakes) and less refined carbohydrates (ie: cereal bars, bagels, 100 calorie snack foods), and most importantly, she threw away her scale.

She made more QUALITATIVE goals and challenged herself to work up to being able to do five, un-assisted chin-ups as well as deadlift 200 lbs.

Mind you:  when she started, she wasn’t even close to doing ONE chin-up, and could barely deadlift 100 lbs without shitting a liver.

Now she’s 135 lbs with 18% body fat. She lost eleven lbs of fat and gained six lbs of lean muscle, for a net loss of only five lbs.

But she looks like she lost 15 lbs. She’s not “skinny-fat.” She’s stronger and healthier. And she can fit into those jeans no less!

Using a more real life example, here’s a before/after pic that’s made its way around the internet which I feel gets the message across pretty concretely:

Most women would faint at the notion of GAINING nine lbs, but try to tell me that the after picture doesn’t look like she LOST weight?

You see:  the scale only measure QUANTITATIVE progress.  For some, especially those who are morbidly obese and need to lose weight for health reasons, it makes sense to track weight using the scale.  For everyone else, however, it’s nothing more than mind f***.

Seeing the number on a scale go down doesn’t really tell you the QUALITY of weight being lost. As noted above, many will sacrifice muscle – which I’d argue you want to keep as much of as possible – in lieu of just seeing a loss. Any loss.

Hell, losing weight is easy.

1.  Don’t drink any water for a day.

2.  Go to the bathroom and drop it like it’s hot.

Problem solved.

See what I mean? Seeing a number dip on the scale doesn’t tell you the quality of the weight being lost.

And just to save face, as I noted above, for some, using the scale makes sense. Those who need to lose weight for health reasons would be high on the list.

Likewise, I’d even go so far as to say that those who take more of a Curious George approach and are very inquisitive or “in tune” with their bodies (think: physique athletes) would fall into this camp as well.

For most, they just want to see what variables – following a certain diet plan (low carb/high carb, intermittent fasting, Paleo?) or exercise routine (5/3/1, body part splits)  – will do as far as fluctuations in their body weight.

This even applies to those who don’t compete, too.

As an example, I was having this conversation with one of my female clients, Claudia, who mentioned not too long ago how if she has a heavy salted meal the night prior, it’s not uncommon for her weight to go up 5 lbs (or more) the following day.

She likes to fiddle with “stuff” and see what affects her weight.

But she knows better and won’t jump in front a mack truck if she sees the scale go up a few lbs. She understands that if she gets back on task, the weight will go away after a few days.

To her credit, Claudia, who’s 48, always (and I mean always) stresses performance based goals over the scale.  Here she is crushing an EXTRA set of softball grip pull-ups after performing four sets prior:

And you know what?  I garner a guess that there’s plenty of women HALF her age who would kill to have her body.

Did I mention she’s 48?

She’s 48.

[And yes, I had permission to divulge her age]

Closing Up Shop

Many women make the mistake of equating progress with the number on the scale going down. If they don’t see the number going down on a weekly basis, they feel they’re failing. Let me make this simple. The scale can be very misleading and in a lot of ways, invalid.

How do you know the weight you’re losing is fat and not valuable muscle?

You should be more concerned with what the mirror is telling you. Are you losing inches around the body? Do your clothes fit better?  Are you lifting more weight now compared to two months ago?  Can you bang out ten crisp push-ups whereas before you could barely do one?

Perhaps these results are less quantifiable and harder to notice, however, the sooner you realize that these are better indicators of progress, the better off you will be.

This isn’t to say the above is an all encompassing mentality either.  I realize that there are extenuating circumstances, and that utilizing the scale does have some merit. But for 95% of the women who are reading this post, it doesn’t correlate to much.

Actionable Item

Do yourself a favor:  for TWO months ditch the scale.  Give yourself a goal. It could be squatting “x” weight for “y” reps, improving bench press technique, performing your first chin-up, doing a handstand!  Anything!  Whatever you do, just focus on that instead.

Don’t let the scale dictate your mindset.

Two months. Thats it. (<======= DO IT!!!)

CategoriesFemale Training Motivational

A New and Better Butt? Why Not a STRONGER Butt?

Today’s post comes courtesy of my internet buddy, Emily Giza Socolinsky. Some of you might recognize her since I’ve linked to several of her articles in the past. She sent this one my way last week, and after reading it (and doing a few cartwheels down the street because 1) why not? and 2) this article was the bees knees and deserved it) I asked if she would be cool with me slapping in on my site for your viewing pleasure.

I mean, what’s not to love?  She talks about badonkadonks.  More specifically she discusses the outright pervasive attitude that much of our mainstream culture has towards women and how they “should” look, as well as its meager attempts at offering training advice.

To be blunt:  I trust the mainstream media with giving fitness advice towards women about as much as I trust a barber with a mullet.

To that end, this one is a doozy and sends an absolutely wonderful and positive message.  It’s my hope that you’ll read it.

I don’t get women into my gym by promising them a great ass. They acquire their awesome asses as a result of doing goblet squats, split squats, kettlebell swings, step ups, reverse lunges, deadlifts…you get the picture.

I don’t promise them “toned” arms. But they end up with awesome arms from push ups, rows, chin ups, face pulls, presses….you get the picture.

In fact, I don’t promise them anything. They come to me because they want to get stronger. They come to me because they want to move better. They come to me because as one of my clients said to me today, “Because I don’t want to be in pain. Because I want to be able to keep moving this way when I am 90.” And of course, I will not deny the fact that many of them also want to look better too. I am not going to ignore the fact that most women wish they had ______. (You fill in the blank.)

I just want other things to take priority.

Because if you promise a woman a better butt or if you promise weight loss or toned arms and after weeks of exercising, it doesn’t happen as fast as they like, she will be left feeling worse about herself than she did before she started.

I think that these type of promises encourage negative thinking in women. I think that when you focus on body image, you put a woman’s body image before performance, before health, before confidence.  These empty promises encourage a woman to feel bad about herself, not better and honestly, she has enough to feel bad about as a woman. Remember, it is hard enough just being a woman (I wrote about that recently here.)

So in my mind, these types of promises should not exist. It is easier and WAY more satisfying to build a woman’s confidence by introducing her to the deadlift (by the way, a great ass exercise), boost her self-esteem by teaching her how to do a proper push up (toned arms anyone?) or a barbell squat (another great ass exercise) than just help her fit into a pair of pants. Women do not need to be reminded of what they don’t have. They need to be reminded of what they DO have and they need to be coached how to use the body they DO have.

Just ask my ladies.

The other night, after watching one of my clients bang out a set of 10 push ups, my husband asked her if she started off at my place with such good push ups. “NO way,” she said. “This is what I am most proud of too. My push ups.” She told me that she has also been getting compliments right and left from friends about how awesome she looks and these friends just cannot wrap their heads around the fact that all she has been doing is squatting, pressing and rowing.

No running? They ask. No cardio, she tells them aside from a few ball slams and rope slams here and there.  Of course, she said, she would rather them ask her how much she can squat these days than how she got her body.

This past summer, I wrote an article about my ladies and their feelings about strength training. You can read it here. The women speak about the empowerment they feel as a result of strength training, how much more confidence they have in their daily lives, how they are able to do things they never thought was possible.

They talk about the focus and concentration that goes into training, why they do it, what they get from it. And yet, I still find it difficult to get some women to believe in the power of the iron. I was recently on my Facebook News Feed and I saw a post by a friend of mine (a dancer) who was talking about building a new butt for the new year at Pop Physique. I had heard of this place (it’s a chain) and knew that it was just another type of barre class (They are popping up like mad all over the city. You can read about my feelings  in regards to barre classes here.)

Note from TG:  I actually linked to Emily’s article above in a recent Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work segment, and the feedback/response that it received was nothing short of awesome.  If you’re someone caught in the “dancing/yoga/pilates/pick your poison trap” and think such classes are the key to lean, toned arms, I HIGHLY encourage you to read it.

I checked out the website and the first thing staring at me was some woman’s ass. Ugh. Seriously?

Right there, I knew what this place was all about. With a little more digging, I found a YouTube clip from one of the classes. Take a look.

What bothers me the most (I was face palming so much I turned my forehead red – it was like hearing nails on a blackboard), was the fact that the woman interviewing the instructor in the video is seen at the beginning of the video standing in front of a squat rack with a loaded barbell. Loaded with 45lb plates and a couple of smaller plates.

A squat rack people.

The clip then goes on to show women pulsing with 3lb dumbbells and then humping a ball. WTH? Where did the squat rack go? Why was it there in the first place? To tease us women who believe in the power of the rack? For the love of…..where the hell did the squat rack go??? NOOOOOO!

Okay, okay….I get it. The point of these classes is to  build a better butt. How do you do that when you use no resistance?

Do you want to see what a butt looks like from a barre class? Cue picture to your right. Whoa. Now, mind you, during this time, I was also teaching cycling and doing some machine work at the gym. But this is my butt after two years of barre classes. Flat as a pancake. Non-existent. Is it even there, you ask? I just see wrinkles.

Yes, there is something beneath the pants. Not much though. And look at my chicken arms too. Hell, look at my breast. Where is the muscle????? Where is the butt? I thought I looked great…..until I saw this picture and saw my body and realized how pathetically weak I looked.

I had recently lost weight too (due to not eating as a result of my back injury – in too much pain to eat. This was the year I had my relapse.) But all the time I was teaching my barre class. I was squeezing and pulsing, squeezing and pulsing. Where was my ass to show for all that work??

Fast forward one year. ONE year.

Take a look at my ass now after a year of squatting, deadlifting, pressing, benching, doing chin ups, push ups.  Uh, big difference, wouldn’t you say? I was still teaching my barre classes (this was the year before I opened my gym), but what had I added into my program that was not there before? You guessed it. Heavy squats, deadlifts, glute bridges.

More specifically, weight. Weight, people. Weight. None of that 3lb bullsh**.  Real weight.

And more weight. And more weight. My goal was a stronger butt, not a “better butt. Hell, my goal was to just get stronger. The butt came as a bonus from all the hard work.

And I continue to work on getting stronger each and everytime I train. And consequently, my glutes get stronger too.

So, ladies, if you are looking to build a stronger, more able backside, please for the love of all that is humane in this great world, give up humping the barre while squeezing a ball between your thighs and grab a freaking dumbbell and start doing some goblet squats.

Or teach yourself how to do a kettlebell swing. Holy backside Batman! Or roll a barbell over your hips and thrust away! Your glutes will thank you and will appreciate the work. Because the work you do in your “build a better butt class for the New Year” will only work for some time then it stops working because nothing has changed. No resistance has been added. If you stick with 3lb dumbbells, you will end up looking the same. The body adapts. So, instead of working towards a cute ass, why not do yourself a real favor and work towards a stronger body and consequently, a stronger, maybe cuter ass.

Author’s Bio

Emily is a certified Starting Strength Coach, AFAA certified, USA Weightlifting certified Level 1 Sports Performance Coach, and cycle certified through Madd Dogg Athletics. Emily holds a Masters degree in Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County. As a fitness coach and mentor, she has helped many clients explore their true potential through hard work and persistence. Emily has also been active as a professional dancer and teacher for over 20 years. During that time, she has focused on strength training and a variety of cross-training methods that helped her grow and develop as a dancer and athlete.

For more information, visit her website HERE.

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2012: The Mayans Were Wrong and the “Best Of” In Blog Posts

2012 is about thiiiis close to coming to a close, and since we’re all still here (HA!….take that Mayans!) I thought I’d use the last day and highlight the ten most popular posts of the past year based off of the total number of visits/hits each received.

It was the best year yet for TonyGentilcore.com, and I can’t thank everyone enough for their continued readership, and more importantly, support.

If I could give every single one of a hug I would.  But not only would that be weird, it’s pretty much impossible.  Nevertheless, please know that I am repeatedly grateful to all of you and here’s hoping that 2013 bring us all happiness, love, and PRs!

 

Fixing the “Tuck Under” When Squatting Parts ONE and TWO

Almost resoundingly, by a few thousand visits, this was a very popular two-part post I wrote on how to fix the tuck under or “butt wink” at the bottom of the squat. I guess people like reading about squats!

All the Hype Behind Kipping Pull-Ups

I don’t know which is more controversial: CrossFit, the so-called “fiscal cliff” we’re about to nose dive off of, Hitler, or the three weeks worth of facial hair that’s currently on my grill (which is a record for me).

In any case, whenever you mention CrossFit, you can bet that the sirens are blasted, and people are going to come out in droves to express their opinion.

Here I take a firm (albeit fair) take as to why I’m not a fan of kipping pull-ups.

Glutes Are the New Biceps

Badonkadonks are where it’s at.  Nuff said.

Box Squats vs. Squat TO Box (Yes, There’s a Difference)

This was a topic of a staff in-service that I did where I discussed some of the (several) intricacies that exist between the box squat and the squat TO box.

As the title suggests, yes, there is a difference.

A Discussion: Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss

The impetus behind this post was an email exchange I had with one of my female clients and a discussion we had on the differences between weight loss and fat loss. It’s a topic I feel many people can glue themselves to because we’ve all been there.

The information and logic provides are sound, but if anything else, what’s most impressive of all is my use of the word  flummoxed.  Seriously, gold star for that one!

5 Coaching Cues:  Deadlift 

I heart deadlifts. So it should come as no surprise that one of the 317 articles (slight exaggeration) I wrote on it should pop up in the top ten. Here I breakdown some common (and uncommon) coaching cues that I often use with my athletes and clients to help improve their technique.

The Perfect Warm-Up?

It’s a rhetorical question, because in the grand scheme of things any warm-up is better than no warm-up at all. Although, if I’m going to be a little biased I think this one is pretty money.

4 Things Your Girlfriend Should Know (Revisted)

I got in a little hot water after posting this article earlier in the year.  You would think, after reading some of the comments I received, that I made a case for why women shouldn’t be allowed to vote!

99% of the people “got” the message:  how the fitness industry panders to women is a complete joke, and there’s a massive double standard: men should lift weight, women should take yoga class.

1% actually hate my guts.  Whatever.

A Girlfriend’s Response 

And wouldn’t you know it, my own girlfriend, Lisa,  came to my rescue like a knight in shining armor.

19 Tips for the Deadlift

I told you really, really like the deadlift.

See you next year!