Lisa and I (and Julian) are traveling back to Upstate NY this weekend to visit family and to both present at the SUNY Cortland Health & Wellness Conference. As you’re reading this we’re en route (and likely on our 11th pit-stop, give or take, to change a diaper or feed our little Gremlin).
Lisa and I are happy to announce we’re bringing back our Strong Body-Strong Mind workshop.
Last year we had the privilege of presenting together in Austin, TX and London, UK, and we’re elated to be heading to Toronto, Ontario to pick up where we left off.
In a nutshell I speak to a little assessment talk, program design, and breaking down technique on a few common lifts such as the squat, deadlift, get-up, and blindfolded chainsaw juggling, and Lisa speaks to more of the mindset side of the equation and how we can help build better rapport and “buy in” with our clients/athletes.
For more information and to sign up, please go HERE.
2) Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint – Orlando
Our Vancouver shindig in April sold out, but Dean and I have recently announced a stop in Orlando, FL later this year, October 21-22nd at Spark Fitness.
I’ve never been to Orlando. There’s no way in hell I’m visiting Disney World.
Sha-ZAM this is a doozy. I was sent an advance copy of Mike Boyle’s latest resource and while I’ve only just begun watching it, what I have seen is really, really, really good.
I mean, come on…it’s Mike Boyle.
The man has been coaching for 35+ years and knows a thing or two about how to prepare athletes well. I appreciate Mike’s candidness and no BS, commonsense approach.
You can currently purchase the entire set at $100 off the regular price, but it the sale ends TONIGHT (4/7).
The “problem” doesn’t = lack of program design skills or the ability to name all the muscular attachments to the scapulae in alphabetical order (and in Latin). Nope, it has everything to do with a skill that’s becoming rarer and rarer in the fitness industry.
Lack of people skills.
Social Media Shenanigans
Twitter
Unilateral UPPER body training is just as important as unilateral LOWER body training. Don’t skip it.
It’s our last LIVE event before he and I release the digital product onto the world in the very, very near future.
Are you excited?
Anyways, I’ve packed my Billy Heywood t-shirt (<— please tell me someone gets that reference) and since I land somewhat early I plan on taking in some of the sights and sounds of the city. Anyone have any suggestions?
Some Stuff to Check Out Before You Read Stuff
1) CORE will be hosting the I Am Not Afraid to Lift (Mindset Edition)workshop featuring Artemis Scantalides and my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis.
Date: Sunday, November 6, 8AM-5PM.
If you’re interested in learning more about kettlebell and bodyweight training, proper technique, programming, as well as how to develop sound mindset strategies to enhance performance, this workshop will be a great use of your time.
This workshop is appropriate for women who lift of all levels, from women who have never lifted weights before, to beginners to advanced lifters. Men have attended too…;O)
There are only four spots left. For more information you can click HERE (<– click events tab).
2) Week #2 of John Rusin’s Functional Hypertrophy Training program has continued to kick my ass. It’s been a long time since I’ve done an extended high(er) volume training program, but I seem to be adapting nicely.
All of my lifts went up from last week, and I’m looking gunny as shit. So it’s working. As I noted last week my plan is to do this program for a minimum of twelve weeks and to discuss my experiences with it along the way via social media.
If you’d like to jump in on the action go HERE and then use the code TG10 to save a little money off your purchase. Lets get jacked (and commiserate) together…;o)
When I took both the FMS Level I & II courses last year one of the things that really stuck out to me was 1) how absurdly protective some fitness pros were about their movement quality. Giving someone a “2” on their overhead squat was equivalent to tar and feathering them based off some of their reactions. Some would debate the number as if getting a “not 3” made them less of a quality human being. It was funny.
And 2) how MONEY the ASLR screen is.
That shit cleans up everything. The squat, the hip hinge, your pigsty of a room. Everything.
My boys over at the Strength Faction – Todd Bumgardner and Chris Merritt – provide some insight on why the ASLR is so integral to good movement.
I hung out with two of them this past weekend. Except, these weren’t unicorns in the fantastical sense, you know, with horns sticking out of their foreheads and the proclivity to shoot rainbows out of their ass.
In fact, these unicorns didn’t even have four legs. Or a tail.1
No, these “unicorns” were none other than my good friends Mark Fisher and Michael Keeler of Mark Fisher Fitness, co-founders of one of the most successful gyms in NYC (or the world for that matter). A place where members are referred to as ninjas, the gym itself is referred to as The Ninja Clubhouse of of Glory and Dreams, and well, lets just say it’s not uncommon territory for spontaneous ABBA dance-offs to take place in between sets of KB swings.
Actually, it’s par for the course on a Wednesday night.
Their moniker is Serious Fitness For Ridiculous Humans. Oftentimes people see the glitterly website and think: “Huh, that’s odd/interesting/WTF, did I just see a pic of a trainer wearing buttless pants? I guess it’s a cool place/I think I need to go wash my eyes.”
And it is. It’s an amazing place. I’d make the case there’s no gym in the world that does what MFF does. It’s impossible to walk within their walls and not feel good about yourself. The incessant positive reinforcement and insatiable desire to make people happy (and to accept their unique weirdness) is impressive.
What gets lost in translation (and amongst the buttless pants) is that their staff are some of the best at what they do. Sure, they have fun (like, a lot of fun)…but they’ll also casually discuss PRI, Pavel, Strong First, RKC, Smolov squat cycles, neck alignment, McGill vs. Contreras/Schoenfeld, and the pros and cons of OLY lifting.
Further, this was the end of an email I received from Mark a few years ago when he and I were going back and forth on a job opening MFF had and what they look for in a possible hire:
“Don’t get me wrong, if they’re a drag queen, that’s HUGELY helpful, but they need to be a drag queen who knows who Ed Coan is.”
To say Mark and Michael have built a successful (fitness) business – a very unique and unconventional one at that – would be an understatement. They are the MASTERS at building community and hiring the right people who are the right fit. And, they’re also the masters at being anal as balls at implementing systems and having a spreadsheet and purpose for everything pertaining to MFF and their business.
They were in Boston this past weekend and I had the opportunity to attend Day #2 of their Inside the Unicorn business workshop. Below are some takeaways (written in list/bullet format because I know I’m going to be all over the place).
1) We’re programmed by the industry to not offer free shit, and I’ll admit I’m hot and cold on this topic. To get people into your “funnel,” however, why not host a free outdoor class and then offer some sort of one-time offer or flash sale to lure people in? $50 off one-time assessment, or some sort of reduced price-point on a initial package.
2) To that point, you can then add people to your mailing list and then, in Keeler’s words, “hunt them like an animal for 30-days to purchase or to sign-up for a service you offer.” After 30 days, pump the brakes. Keep them on your list, but stop hunting.
Some people may take a few months (if not years) before they’re ready to commit to anything. Staying on their radar – in a non-pushy, non-urgent way – is important.
Interestingly, Keeler noted how NO-ONE picks up their phones, but that leaving occasional voice messages is still relevant. They can still listen to your voice, which “humanizes” the interaction.
3) At MFF they’re huge advocates of yearly (staff) reviews. Coincidentally, they’ve found that staff members are often harder and score themselves much harsher than management. To that end, their go to source on this front is the Gallup Q12 Employee Engagement Survey.
Keeler readily admits that the questions are open-ended, abstract, and “wishy washy,” but the research on their effectiveness backs up the results.
4) Speaking of evaluations, on a more personal facility to facility level, both Mark and Michael implored the attendees to come up with their own evaluation questions based off THEIR core values.
For example, for me, some of the questions I came up with were:
“How do you demonstrate integrity?”
“Do you feel you’re in an environment where your needs are met and that you’re able to grow as an individual and professional?”
“A Tribe Called Quest is the greatest rap group of all time, right? RIGHT?”
5) In addition, during the evaluation process it’s important to hit on different categories (and to make them relevant to YOUR facility). Here are some things to consider and my questions:
Skill-Based Competence – “I feel comfortable coaching the big 3 – squat, bench press, deadlift?” Maybe you’re a KB-based facility, so a more appropriate question here is your employee’s ability to coach a swing or get-up.
Communication Expectations – “I am able to regress/progress exercises based off client’s ability level, injury history, and goals?“
Unique to Culture – “I can articulate complex concepts – PRI, joint position, etc – simply?” If you work at a place like MFF, maybe a good question here would be “I’m okay with being silly.” or “I feel comfortable coaching a squat with a dildo glued to the squat rack.” Make these questions unique to YOUR gym culture.
Open-Ended Questions – “What can CORE do better to help you succeed?“
NOTE: note the use of “I.” This makes the evaluation more personal and more apt for people to honest.
6) Piggy backing off of #5, Michael and Mark encouraged everyone to omit the abstractness of using a numbered only ranking system (1-5), and to add words. Have fun with it. Here’s what I did:
“I feel comfortable coaching the big 3 – squat, bench press, deadlift?“
1 = I suck balls.
2 = Eh, I guess I’m okay.
3 = I’m Yoda with that shit.
SIDE NOTE: I think more numbers would be best. Say, 5, to give people a more diverse system to rank themselves. I used 3 for simplicity. Too, I almost feel as if it would be beneficial to add a “0” the ranking system. As in:
0 = I’d rather throw my face into a brick wall. I hate it.
This way you can better match services and skill-sets to the strengths of your employees. I don’t know, something to think about.
7) MFF take their team meetings VERY seriously. For starters it’s paid time for everyone to attend, and their meetings run 2-3 hours every week.
Have an agenda. In MFF’s case they’re expensive, make them count.
Time each activity. As in, 5 Minutes for general intro, 10 Minutes of announcements (upcoming workshops, new class offering, etc), 20 Minutes on coaching cues, 10 Minutes on interpretive dance, so on and so forth.
Plan long-term. MFF plans their meetings months in advance. That way they’re not spending an inordinate amount of time per meeting on any one topic. If program design needs to be covered, they may allot 30-60 minutes for four straight meetings down the road so they know they have digestible chunks.
They’ve set the expectation that everyone needs to attend, and they’ve more or less made them important and informative enough that staff would attend them even if they weren’t getting paid for them.
Hold staff meetings in the middle of the week – Wednesday/Thur – so you have less likelihood of people missing due to extended weekends or Holidays.
8) And finally, one of Mark’s greatest pet-peeves is lack of communication amongst staff, to the point where people talk shit and air their grievances with other staff members or management except for the person they really should be speaking to. Just, stop it.
As many of you are aware, yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day. I don’t think I have to tell you that Boston L.O.V.E.S St. Patrick’s Day.
Not only does Boston host one of the most baller St. Patrick’s Day parades in the country2, but the city more or less shuts down for the day to jointly celebrate what’s known as Evacuation Day; a holiday that commemorates the evacuation of all the drunk people on Boylston St after the parade British forces from city of Boston following the Siege of Boston, early in the Revolutionary War.
So there you go, a little Boston history lesson for you. Who said you never learn anything on this site?
I trust Mike as a coach so much and respect the quality of content he routinely releases, that he could title something “Eat This Giant Pile of Hippopotamus Shit and You’ll Deadlift a Bulldozer,” and I’d buy it.
What this resource is NOT: a video database of unique and zany abdominal exercise you can wow your clients with on Monday.
What this resource IS: a thorough and detailed overview detailing Mike’s SYSTEM when it comes to “core” training. Which, really, is training everything.
Whether you’re a fitness professional or someone who takes his or her’s training more seriously than the average person, this would make an excellent addition to your knowledge repertoire.
As an FYI: TODAY (Friday, March 18th) is the last day to save 50% off the regular price. Go HERE and thank me later.
Hire PEOPLE, not RESUMES. It’s a line I stole from Cressey Sports Performance business director, Pete Dupuis.
It’s important to hire people who are the right fit for your business in many facets: personality, work-ethic, demeanor, favorite Game of Thrones character. You know, the important stuff.
Hiring the wrong person can be a major bummer, not to mention cost you and your business major coin.
Mark Fisher Fitness business director, Michael Keeler, wrote this gem of an article on their hiring process…which even offers many parallels towards other’s OUTSIDE the fitness business.
