REMINDER: Strong Body-Strong Mind Workshop – Austin, TX (Saturday, June 18th)
Hey fitness pros/fitness enthusiasts in the AUSTIN, TX area. I’ll be down there next weekend (Saturday, June 18th) – along with my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis – for our inaugural Strong Body-Strong Mind Workshop.
Topics covered include:
1. The Art of Coaching & Behavior Change – not only learn the ins and outs of coaching your clients on the gym floor, but also learn some cool Jedi mind-tricks on mindset and avoiding negative self-talk to boot.
2. The difference between external and internal cueing (and why one is better than the other).
3. Introversion vs. Extroversion – and as it relates to be an effective coach.
4. Breaking down squat and deadlift technique.
5. Why squatting ass-to-grass isn’t for everyone.
6. Why our cat is the cutest cat ever.
And much, much more. CEUs via the NSCA are available.
For more information (location, payment, etc) you can go HERE.
I’m heading to Chicago this weekend to meet up with Dean Somerset for our Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop.
NOTE: We’ll be in LA the weekend of November 14th (go HERE for more info).
It’s my first time visiting Chicago, and my wife, Lisa, is tagging along. We’re making an extended stay out of it (through early next week) and she’s been busy drumming up an itinerary of places to visit, places to eat, and things to do.
We can’t wait.
Speaking of Chicago, the venue Dean and I are speaking at – Rebell Strength & Conditioning – is located near Wrigley Field, and the Cubs are in the playoffs (score!). Although they’re playing the Mets in NYC this weekend (bummer).
The Red Sox ended their World Series drought back in 2004. I moved to Boston in 2006 and have been fortunate enough to witness the Sox win two more.
The Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908 and now, after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals, Vegas has them as the odds on favorite to take home the title in 2015.
I mean Back to the Future II predicted it:
But This is Even Cooler
A good friend of mine, Matt, who was a former professional baseball player that trained and eventually interned at CSP, and who is now living in Chicago while attending medical school posted this the other day.
“I’ve been very lucky to see my fair share of St. Louis Championships (Rams in 2000, Cardinals in 2006,2011) but I’m starting to notice a trend – every city I live in wins or beats a St. Louis team to break their championship/playoff droughts (and generally dominates in all sports)…which means, it’s looking good for the Cubs!
1987- 1 year old Matt watches Minnesota Twins Beat Cardinals for first ever World Series
2000- St. Louis Rams Win Super Bowl
2002- Watch Patriots beat Rams in Super Bowl
2004- (year I move to Boston)- Boston Red Sox Beat Cardinals, break 87 year curse
2004- New England Patriots win Super Bowl
2006- New England Patriots win Super Bowl
2008- Boston Celtics win NBA Championship (first in 22 years)
2011- Boston Bruins win Stanley Cup (first in 39 years)
2013 (move to Chicago) – Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup (beating the St. Louis Blues on their way AND Bruins in Finals)
2015- Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup
2015- Chicago Cubs Beat Cardinals en route to first World Series in 107 years?!?
I’ll be taking moving offers to other championship-less cities if the offer is right!”
He and I see eye to eye on many things training related, and this article is no different. I’m particularly fond of his take on the 1-Arm DB Row.
Also, on an aside: Lee and I are both considering teaming up to produce a podcast in 2016. It’ll mostly be dealing with fitness and training, but he and I are both movie aficionados as well so I’m sure we’ll go a little off tangent in that regard too.
I wanted to begin today by saying thank you. Thank you to Jon Stewart and The Daily Show for 16 kick-ass years.
Every morning, for I don’t know how long, my ritual has been…
1. Get-up.
2. Pee.
3. Make breakfast.
4. Watch The Daily Show while eating breakfast.
And that’s how I roll.
This morning, however, was the last time I’d be eating my 5-egg omelet1 while watching and listening to Stewart’s commentary on everything from shady politicians and government BS to his pining about the New York Mets2 and the travesty, that is, eating a slice of pizza with a fork.
Not coincidentally, I suspect, this morning was also the last morning I’d end up with pieces of egg on my computer screen from laughing so hard.
Okay, deep breaths…I shouldn’t be so cynical. I’m sure Trevor Noah is going to do a fantastic job taking over for Stewart on the show. I’m still going to get up, make breakfast, and watch. But it’s going to take a while to get used to not having Stewart on screen to serve as the voice of reason, bringing to light some of the WTFness of the world, and making us laugh all the same.
Wait, what was that? No, of course not. I’m not crying! Are you kidding me? It just so happens, you know, Lisa’s in the kitchen cutting a bunch of onions. Yeah that’s it. No crying here.
I LOVED this article by Christa – owner of Tuff Girl Fitness in Hamden, CT. Christa is one of my “go to” ambassadors for women’s fitness and someone who, not only I respect a ton, but someone who unabashedly doesn’t back down from fighting many of the mainstream stigmas and myths plaguing women in fitness today. One deadlift, squat, chin-up, kettlebell swing, and push-up at a time.
Anyone who knows me well knows I love movies. Or, to play more of the uppity movie snob role, I love film.
I’m just as likely to head to the independent theater down the street from my apartment to watch a subtitled Italian film about a dude who makes a bowl of rigatoni for a chick he likes as I am to head to the movieplex to watch explosions, zombies, ninjas, hobbits, and exploding zombies fighting ninjas and hobbits.
Lee’s a good friend, phenomenal coach, and just as obsessed with movies as I am. We’ll often text each our reviews of recent movie we watched.
This post was a very witty and impressive feat of wordplay by Lee.
75+ movie references with a (fitness) message to boot. Give it a read.
There’s only a few more days to take advantage of the sale price for Dean’s latest resource. He did an amazing job with it – as always – and I feel it would be a valuable addition to any trainer or coach looking to upgrade their knowledge base on “core” anatomy, assessment, and building exercise progression/regression algorithms.
Here’s a small clip:
Full Disclosure/Rant Ahead: Dean is a good friend, he was in my wedding, we’ve shared what was seemingly a 10×10 square foot room in the middle of London for four days, but still managed to avoid spooning each other.3
I can understand why some people would be suspect I’d promote his product. Affiliate circle jerking is what it’s often affectionately called on the internet. So cute!
Contrary to popular belief, us coaches and educators who have the audacity to make a living and release/promote fitness products don’t sit in our evil volcanos riding around in a roller coaster made of blow jobs as we hit the refresh button on our Clickbank accounts.
Most of us are working and training people on a day-to-day basis.
Moreover, we actually do want to help people, and educate, and take pride in our work, as well as pride in who and what we put our own names behind.
Do I make a little money in the process? Sure. What’s wrong with that? Given the amount of free content I (as well as my colleagues) provide on weekly basis I don’t see what the harm is.
Am I supposed to apologize for having smart friends who routinely put out amazing content and resources? I THINK NOT, KIND SIR!!!
Anyways, Advanced Core Training is an amazing resource. I think it kicks-ass. I think it will help a lot of trainers out there who are looking to separate themselves from the masses and who are looking to further develop their skill set.
Now excuse me, it’s my turn on the roller coaster. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Only ONE week left until theElite Training Workshop – Bostonis held on Saturday, August 1st, featuring myself, Mike Reinold, Artemis Scantalides, and Ryan Ketchum.
I’m really excited for this event and think it’s going to be a awesome experience for those who attend. The line-up is pretty rad and the flow of the day is set up in a way where each presenter does there schtick and then immediately follows that up with a hands-on portion.
So it’s less blah-blah-blabidy-blah and more “holys*** did you see Artemis Turkish get-up Tony? That’s badass.”
If you’re looking for some practical information that you’ll be able to use for yourself or with your clients, and earn CEUs to boot then this will be a great opportunity.
Dean Somerset and I are excited to announce our latest traveling show: The Complete Shoulder & Hip Training Workshop.
It’s like a travel Cirque du Soleil show, except with no tents, flashy acrobatics, animals, or ripped half naked dudes contorting themselves into pretzels. Unless, of course, Dean decides to take people through one of his epic warm-up routines.
He’s a supple bastard. It’s deceiving.
We teamed up last year for a handful of workshops – London, DC, LA – and didn’t want to kill each other, so we figured we’d do it again this year
This time we’re going to place a ton of emphasis on the hips and shoulders. We’ll talk anatomy, assessment, corrective exercise, programming, and we’ll also be doing a fair amount of coaching/hands-on demonstrations. And maybe, just maybe, in honor of Dean’s Canadian heritage, honor Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill in some fashion. I mean, it was 20 years ago this month that that album was released.
Yep, I feel old.
CEU’s will be available for all workshops.
EDMONTON (in August, so it won’t be cold as balls).
ST. LOUIS(in September, the EARLY BIRD rate is still active, but will end soon!)
CHICAGO (I’ve never been, and can’t wait to explore.)
(Just Added) LOS ANGELES (in November, Tony finally does his tour of bars from the movie Swingers).
Funny story on this. An ex-athlete of mine sent me a message the other day on Facebook linking to this article with a note “Really? Is this guy serious?”
I wrote back, “Lee’s my boy. It’s total tongue in cheek. He’s one of the good ones.”
It’s an older article – I can’t believe I missed it the first time around – but it’s a good one!
Coaching the OLY lifts is definitely a weak spot for me as a coach, which is why I often refer out whenever an athlete or client wants to learn them.
But after reading this article and watching the videos I’m pretty sure I’m ready for 2016. See you in Rio de Janeiro everyone!
BONUS STUFF (Because, Why Not?)
HERE’s an article I wrote on Active.com on muscle soreness and whether or not you should be sore after every workout.
HERE’s an article I wrote for Stack.com that re-ran on Men’s Health on why I feel benching with your feet in the air is moronic for most guys most of the time. There’s a time and place for it, but then again there’s a time and place for sticking your finger in an electrical socket. I guess.
The trailer for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s (21 Grams, Babel, Birdman) next movie, The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy, looks siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick.
I’m predicting winner for Best Cinematography right now.
A quick heads-up before I toss this week’s list your way.
We’re excited to announce that Cressey Sports Performance will be hosting an upcoming 1-Day seminar with Alex Viada titled An Introduction to Applied Hybrid Training Methodology on June 28, 2015.
Alex is the owner of Complete Human Performance and author of The Hybrid Athlete. If there were a WikiPedia page made for “Badass Motherf******,” I’m pretty sure Alex’s grill would be plastered next to the definition.
This is a guy who’s not only an elite level powerlifter with PRs of 705 (squat), 465 (bench press) and 700 (DL) raw w/ wraps in the 220 class, but also competes in triathlons and ULTRA marathons (100+ miles) with a mile time of 4:15.
Oh, and he also dabbles in bodybuilding. And arm wrestles grizzly bears. In fact, he’s the guy The Avengers call when they need help.
He’s an impressive human being and he’s someone who challenges people to push their bodies to levels and places they never thought possible. I’m really looking forward to listening to him speak, and I know the rest of the CSP staff is as well.
I know the title comes across as a bit conceited, analogous to me writing something along the lines of “Hey Internet, My Biceps Are the Best Biceps in the History of Ever. Get Some!“4
But I didn’t think the title was conceited at all, and felt it was very fitting.
This is actually a really good video and demonstrates pretty much how everyone performs their ab wheel rollouts.
I concede that even I’m growing tired of all the anti-Dr. Oz and Food Babe diatribes that are drowning the internet right now.
While at a base-level I enjoy it – because both are assholes. A little more assholey than someone who clubs a baby seal, but not quite as assholey as Kanye West – none of it really accomplishes anything.
Why?
Because even the negative commentary – which is often backed by facts and droves of scientific research that clearly debunks much (if not all) of the pseudoscience they spout – still draws attention to them.
Which, in a sick, backwards way, gains them supporters.
This was a nice outside-of-the-box way of addressing the issue.
Ever notice that when it’s cold outside – for the record: yesterday and today are the first two days of legitimate snow here in Boston – people bitch and whine about how cold it is?
By that same token, when it’s too hot – people bitch and whine about how hot it is!
I don’t get it.
Then again – these are the same people who will find any excuse to complain about something. It’s too windy; the Dew Point is f’ed up; ObamaCare is the next Death Star; the barista at StarBucks put too much cream in my latte; I can’t believe “so and so” is on the new season of Dancing With the Stars; the checkout person didn’t ask me if I wanted my receipt, bitch; that rainbow is too “raibowey;” for the love of god, people, HAN SHOT FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyways I have no other reason behind this keen observation other than it’s something I noticed today while standing in line at Panera while someone complained that the line was moving too slow.
People complain way too much.
Now if you excuse me, someone just looked at me wrong and I have to go scissor kick them in the pancreas.
It’s a common fallacy people make. If they’re not drowning in a pool of their own sweat or don’t feel like they’re on the verge of an epileptic seizure after a training session, it obviously was a waste of their time.
This is a battle I have fight all the time and my retort is usually saying something along the lines of “any tool with a certification can make you tired and sore. But it takes a COACH and someone who actually know what they’re talking about to be able to tweak programming to garner a desired effect – whatever it may be.
Making someone tired for the sake of feeling tired is a pointless endeavor and rarely yields positive results in the long run. Likewise soreness doesn’t mean much either
On one hand, especially with newbies, it’s a matter of teaching them the difference between sore and hurt.
On the other, especially with those who are more advanced, it’s a matter of teaching them that fatigue will always mask one’s true level of fitness.
Yes, soreness is okay and it’s perfectly fine to want to kick yourself in the ass sometimes so that you ARE sore the next day.
But it’s certainly not the “x-factor” when it comes to long-standing results, and it’s certainly not something that should be strived for on a consistent basis.
It’s the fitness industry’s latest version of the classic West Side Story rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks.
On one side you have those who lean towards the CrossFit mentality – in particular, Dr. Kelly Starrett – and advocate pushing the knees out when squatting or deadlifting in an effort to create more torque and not to allow any torsion stress on the body.
On the flip side, you have those who have a little bit of an issue with this mindset.
I thought this was a fantastic (and fair) discussion which lends the opportunity for the reader to make up his or her own mind on the topic.
My thoughts? I think much of the controversy is lost in translation. I’ve heard Kelly talk about this and from what I can gather – and I could be wrong on this – he never really states that he wants people to excessively push their knees out. Rather, it’s more of a cue so that people don’t go into knee valgus (which I agree with, 100%).
I know I’d never go out of my way to allow someone to squat with excessive knee valgus. And I think by that logic it makes sense that letting the pendulum glide too far to the other side – where people are going into excessive knee varus – doesn’t do them any favors either.
I know I’m going to come across sounding like a broken record here, but I’m going to repeat myself nonetheless.
There’s only a little over a week left to take advantage of the early bird special for mine and Dean Somerset’s weekend workshop up in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) on October 19-20th.
The Boston version held a few weeks ago was a huge success, and we’re looking for more of the same this go around. Don’t believe me, just ask some of the people who attended:
“Dean and Tony are not only two of the brightest guys in the field, and they’re also two of the most entertaining. Newer trainers will get brought up to speed on progressive training strategies and take away hands-on coaching techniques. More experienced coaches will benefit from Tony and Dean’s refined understanding of more complicated concepts. The only part that was weird was at the end when they made everyone do a group hug for 10 minutes, but after they explained it was really a “mind meld,” we all understood. Don’t miss this seminar!”
– Han Solo, Capt. Millenium Falcoln, Tony Gentilcore BFF
You can click on the link provided below for more of the nitty-gritty details (and to register), but suffice it to say: CEUs will be offered, you’re going to learn a ton, and it will undoubtedly be a fantastic opportunity to network.
This is something I struggled with when I first started as a trainer, and it’s something that we address here at the facility with each incoming intern class.
As a coach I think it’s crucial to place a premium on technique and making sure people are performing exercises correctly, but at the same time it’s really easy to fall into the trap of over-coaching, sometimes to the detriment of the athlete or client.
I felt this article hit the nail on the head, and HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who trains people for a living.
It’s no secret that I love me some push-ups. Well, ice-cream is probably on top of that list (with old school Transformers cartoons a close second), but somewhere in the mix is push-ups.
I think they’re a fantastic assessment tool, as well as one of the best bang-for-your-training-buck exercises out there. Sure, many guys will poo-poo on the push-up deeming them “too wimpy,” but it’s eerily universal just how many of the same guys can’t do them correctly, let alone for a set of ten without wanting to pour battery acid into my eyes.
In this article, my boy Lee gives his case for why push-ups deserve to get some more love.
If you’re a gym junkie, and unless you’ve been living underneath a rock for the past five days, you’ve undoubtedly come across the Tweet which has circulated the intertubes of Wolverine, Jean Valjean, Van Helsing Hugh Jackman deadifting his ass off with the caption that reads, “if the bar ain’t bendin, then you’re just pretendin.”
< —– For visual reference, here it is.
My man-crush on Hugh just hit Matt Damon status. Hugh, if you read this: If you’re ever in Boston, come train at my gym. We’ll deadlift, quote Shakespeare, give each other high fives. It will be awesome.
Predictably, many a internet hater chimed in and had nothing but negativity to throw Hugh’s way, making derogatory remarks about his “chicken legs,” and saying that what he was lifting was no big deal.
Fact is many people UNDERestimated the amount he was lifting, not realizing that the plates he was using were in kilograms and not lbs. That’s 465 lbs people!
While not all that impressive in powerlifting circles, he’s not a freakin powerlifter! He’s an actor who’s paid to look badass
And, dare I say, I can almost guarantee a vast majority of the people who scoffed at the picture would be doing cartwheels down Main St. if they could sniff that much on their pull. Let alone for reps.
In the article above Bret hits the nail on the head. I’m always amazed at how snobby people can be, and even more amazed as to how so many people will take time out of their day for the sole purpose of being an a-hole.
Okay I’ll admit it: I’m a little biased when it comes to this particular post because Kelly is my cousin. Nevertheless it’s still an awesome article with a worthwhile message: Yes, supermom’s are busy. But with a little effort it’s not all that difficult to implement healthier food strategies.
There’s a lot to be said by implementing more “explosive” type training into your weekly workouts. In this article Lee breaks down a few ways one can go about doing so in a safe and effective manner. And, it includes one of THE BEST post clean and jerk dances of all time. Trust me, watch it!
Before I get into today’s meat and potatoes I wanted to take the opportunity to suggest some new movies I think some of you will like.
As most of you who read this blog consistently understand, I’m a huge movie nerd. I’d venture a guess that if I wasn’t a strength coach I’d probably try to figure out some way to become Kate Beckinsale’s cabana boy watch movies for a living.
Sort of like a more jacked version of Robert Ebert – except instead of something mundane like a star system or something trademarked like a thumbs-up/thumbs-down review (ALA Siskel & Ebert), I’d rank movies using a ” loaded” barbell system.
A barbell with no plates = god awful (Pain and Gain,The Hangover II, anything with the word Twilight in it).
From there, the more plates added onto the barbell dictates its level of badassery.
Ahhh, a guy can dream right?
Anyways, two movies I’ve watched recently that I felt were fairly decent and worthy of 3-4 plates were:
The former stars Brad Pitt as a hitman for hire and has some of the best cinematography I’ve seen in any film this year. Coincidentally, there was a movie that Pitt did a few years back with the same director called The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford which I felt was another highly UNDERrated film that didn’t get much fanfare despite being nominated for two Oscars (Best Supporting Actor – Casey Affleck, and Achievement in Cinematography).
A fair warning: It’s more of a dialogue based movie and doesn’t really have a lot of shoot em-up scenes despite the title. All I’ll add to that point is that I LOVE good dialogue and Pitt’s closing monologue is epic!
The latter movie – A Place Beyond the Pines – is one that Lisa and I have been meaning to see for a few weeks now. I mean, it’s Ryan Gosling – the man can do no wrong after Drive.
We finally had the chance to go see it yesterday. This film teams Gosling with director Derek Cianfrance, who also directed Gosling (and Michelle Williams) in a Blue Valentine (arguably one of the most depressing yet unflinchingly real films on the heartache of relationships), and while I wanted to really, really like this film, I had to give it a solid B- because it’s so freaking long.
The acting was superb – kudos to Bradley Cooper by the way – but there were a few plot points I felt didn’t jive, and while I appreciated the storyline (the first act focuses on Gosling’s character, the second on Cooper’s, and the third on their two sons, I don’t want to give away the “twist”), I felt it was a teeny tiny bit far reaching.
Nonetheless, if you’re looking for two non-Iron Man 3 movies to watch relatively soon, maybe these will be up your alley?
Talking Shop: Video Interview with Tony Gentilcore – Harold Gibbons
I had the pleasure of sitting down for a Skype video interview with my pal Harold Gibbons last week where we discussed everything from why Yoda would make such an amazing strength coach to the fitness writing process. And lots of other stuff in between.
If you’re looking for an hour to kill while you’re sitting there at your desk hating life and think listening to my sultry voice would help pass the time, then I’d highly recommend slapping on a pair of headphones and give it a listen.
This was easily of the funnest interviews I’ve ever done.
And look! There’s a dragon in the background. Sweet!……;o)
I’m about as adept at olympic lifting as I am at playing poker. Which is to say, I’m god awful. Speaking truthfully I don’t have a lot of experience with the OLY lifts which is why I generally steer clear of them and point people in the direction of guys like Wil whenever someone is interested in dabbling a little bit.
Even if OLY lifting isn’t your bag this was a fantastic post which digs into some common mobility restrictions. Check out the t-spine drill!
On an aside, for those who are interesting in OLY lifting, I’d highly recommend Wil’s Complete Olympic Lifting DVD.
It’s been a busy week in both my professional and personal life. We’re seemingly bursting at the seams at the facility getting everyone ready for the upcoming baseball season. Many of the college guys who are home on their breaks will be heading back to school starting next week though, so it should slow down a bit and allow us an opportunity to come up for air.
Likewise, in a few short weeks, many of our pro-baseball guys will be making their way south (or west) for Spring Training. It’s hard to believe that it’s only like four weeks away, but there’s still plenty of intense work and sweat to be had.
What’s more, many of our high school and general population clients are working equally as hard. Yesterday alone we had a few people set some deadlifting PRs – Congrats to Lisa V!
On a more personal level, I have some pretty cool things in the works:
1. In about a week or two, you should see some changes to the website. Now, I’m not going to go all Facebook on you and add some lame scrolling ticker that everyone hates – RELAX!! Rather, I’m just making some aesthetic changes to site while upgrading some of the social media, in addition to………..DRUM ROLL PLEASE…………….
…….implementing a newsletter!
EC, Smitty, Kevin Neeld, and pretty much everyone else I know has been busting my chops for eons for not having a newsletter in place, and I’ve finally decided to put my big-boy pants on and run with it.
2. It seems that my resolution to do more speaking engagements has caught fire. Currently, I have 3-4 events tentatively lined up, and more in the works. Sweet! I’ll keep you posted. Or, better yet, once it’s available, you can sign up for my newsletter (hint hint).
3. I’m going on vacation!!!!!! Lisa and I booked a flight for Florida in March, and it can’t come soon enough – I’m about as white as a Coldplay concert right now.
There are some other things going on as well: I started a creative non-fiction writing class earlier this week (Note to my editors: I can’t promise less grammatical errors), I pulled 500×4 last night AFTER eight hours of coaching, my cat is sitting on my lap as I type this post (such a cute kittie!!!), and I brushed my teeth like ten minutes ago. So there you go. You’re caught up.
Coaches need to coach, and NOT get too caught up in this whole concept of “corrective exercise.” Too often, trainers and coaches get cute with their assessments and programming and fail to do the ONE thing that’s most important: cue and coach their clients!
I thought this was a fantastic video blog by Nick, and is something we try to instill on our interns at Cressey Performance on a routine basis.
Assessments are mandatory, no doubt. Corrective exercise – when indicated – IS important, obviously. But more importantly, having the ability to demonstrate, cue, and coach a client through any given exercise is kind of a big deal, and is a characteristic that’s often overlooked.
You can’t be a rock star everyday. Sorry, it’s just the truth. This is never more evident than in the weight room. For a vast majority of trainees out there, many are under the impression that “more is better,” and that even if they feel like they’ve gotten run over by a mack truck of fail, they should still train through it.
This is dumb.
I’ve touched on this topic before in the past, but here, my good buddy PJ elaborates a little further and provides some killer circuits to boot. Check it out!
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