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Training the Obese or Overweight Client

Every night I come home from work where I usually sit down, make a protein shake of some sort, defrag my brain for 20-30 minutes (ie: put some light jazz or classical music on the radio), and chillax.  Afterwards, I’ll pop open my laptop, procrastinate, read some miscellaneous stuff, and then start sifting through emails and respond to queries from distance coaching clients and such.

After that, I’ll play catch up on any other “project(s)” I have in the works:  articles, programs, or future blog ideas.  Yes, my life is that exciting.

The latter, however, is what got me last night.  Sometimes I’ll think of a good blog idea from a conversation I had at the facility, or I’ll read something in an article or book and want to elucidate my own thoughts on the matter. Or, much like last night, I’ll draw a blank, start hyperventilating into a brown bag, and ask for help on Facebook.  Before I hit the hay last night, here’s what I left as my status update

Quick, give me an idea for a blog post!

I woke up this morning still not really sure what I wanted to write about, but thankfully, a few “friends” came to my rescue.

One idea in particular which a handful of people suggested – and it’s actually something I’ve been meaning to write about, but just never got to it – is the whole concept of how to go about training obese clients.   Given the popularity of shows like The Biggest Loser (and the inevitable face palm I give myself everytime I watch an episode), I thought it would cool to jot down a few ideas.

The Anti-Biggest Loser Approach

Since this is a pretty heavy (ha, no pun intended, sorry) subject, and one that could easily turn into a full-length article, I’m going to instead write this post in list format and use more of a bullet-point approach.  Basically, all I want to do here is

  • The most important thing you need to remember when training an obese client is that you can throw the rules out the window.  I remember an article that Mike Boyle wrote on the topic not too long ago where he stated that, much to my surprise, there are a few things that he WON’T do with an obese client, namely:  foam roll, static stretch, core work, and single training.

What the What???

  • I know it sounds like blasphemy to say the above should be omitted, especially given that they’re pretty much the staples of any well-rounded program, but here’s some rationale.

Foam Roll:  for many, this will be a workout on it’s own, and will undoubtedly affect the rest of the training session moving forward.  Getting up, down, then back up again is going to be cumbersome for the obese client.  Moreover, and this is something I didn’t think of until Mike pointed it out, it could very well be embarrassing for the client – and that’s something you want to avoid at all costs.

Static Stretching:  much like above, stretching can be problematic.  And, to be honest, as much as I feel that tissue quality and health IS important – when you’re dealing with someone who’s upwards of 100+ lbs overweight, there are more pressing issues to be dealt with and prioritized.  You know, stuff like not having a heart attack.

Core Work:  here is where I kinda disagree with Mike (to a degree).  I think much of the “core” work that obese clients will receive will come from the training in general, so there’s no inherent need to include a lot of isolated core work.  That said, I do feel that exercises such as standing band pallof presses (and the like) are a valuable addition, and provide a lot of bang for their buck with regards to training obese clientele.  Planks, on the other hand, not worth it.

Single Leg Work:  under normal circumstances, I’d place single leg work as arguably one the most important components of a well-rounded program.  But here, not so much.  Think about it, if you’re working with an individual who’s 300+ lbs, that’s A LOT of weight to place on the knee joint, and it’s something that’s going to be far too challenging for them to do – maybe even dangerous.

  • Again, and I can’t reiterate this enough, it’s about showing them SUCCESS and not making them feel like a walking ball of fail! The last thing you want to do is have him or her perform exercises that are too hard or just plain impossible to do, because the likelihood they’ll come back is slim to none.
  • On that note, please, for the love of god, stop with this whole “functional training” mumbo-jumbo.  Having a client juggle oranges while standing with one leg on a BOSU is NOT functional.  It’s dumb, and a complete waste of time.

  • In its place, I’d focus more on basic movement patterns.  You know, things that they’ll actually use in every day life:  squat pattern, hip hinge, upper body push, upper body pull, etc.  Too, it probably wouldn’t hurt to include some basic dynamic movement drills into the mix as well.

So, using a few examples, it may look something like this:

Squat Pattern:  Bench of Box Squat using bodyweight only to start.  In addition, don’t be too concerned with attaining proper squat depth here.  Surprisingly, some obese clients will demonstrate great hip mobility with the squat; but for those who have a problem, just use a ROM that they’re able to achieve and work off of that.

***Of note:  I’ve found that the TRX is a FANTASTIC tool to use when teaching an obese client to squat.  By un-loading their bodyweight, you can easily “groove” an almost picture perfect squat pattern with the TRX.

Upper Body Push:  Preferably, I like to use a push-up pattern here where we elevate the client on the pins of a power rack; or by using the wall.  Whatever works

Hip Hinge Pattern:  Depending on how kinesthetically aware they are, you can use an elevated trap bar, or, go straight up dowel rod against their back to groove the proper deadlift pattern.

If the former, again, use an elevated setting with the trap bar.  If the latter, simply place a dowel rod against their backside, and make sure that they maintain all three point of contact (band of their head, middle of shoulder blades, and sacrum) as they practice the hip hinge pattern.

Alternatively, exercises such as pull-throughs and maybe even kettlebell swings – done correctly – would be an ideal option here.

Upper Body Pull:  Again, this is where the TRX becomes a valuable piece of equipment as it uses their own bodyweight as resistance and can easily be adjusted to fit their current strength levels.   And, of course, we could also implement exercises like standing 1-arm cable rows or band rows here as well.

Dynamic Movement:  Here, we can possibly incorporate simple movement drills like high knee walks, or maybe even something like a modified yoga plex.

Also, you can include things that are more metabolic in nature like med ball circuits, or even the airdyne bike depending how much you want them to hate life (and you).

Putting it all together, a workout may look something like this:

Warm-Up:  walk on treadmill for 5-10 minutes

Pre Work:  X-Band Walks 2×10/leg, Band Pull-Aparts 2×10

A1.  Bench Squats x 8
A2.  Push-Up – elevated on pins x 8
A3.  Pull-Through x 10
A4.  TRX STEEP Inverted Row x 10
A5.  Band Pallof Press – alphabet (see video above) x 1/side
A6.  Overhead Med Ball Stomps to Floor x 10

Perform above circuit for 4-5 rounds (taking as much time between exercises as needed), with 90-120 seconds of rest between each round.

Follow this with either a circuit of Kettlebell (of DB) Farmer Carries, Prowler, or airdyne work for 5-10 minutes.

I could easily keep going, but this is already getting long enough.  And all of this isn’t taking into consideration the diet side of things.  That’s a whole nother ball of wax.

In a nutshell, though, it pretty much gives you a basic idea of how I would go about designing a program for an obese or overweight client.  It’s pretty much the polar opposite of what The Biggest Loser portrays – but I’d be willing to bet that my way will yield better long-term success without pounding people into the ground.

Have any of your own nuggets to share?  Feel free to comment below!

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How to Get Better at Writing Programs

Q:  What are the best resources for getting awesome at writing programs? Besides CPT textbooks?

I remember watching a movie a few years ago (okay, a lot of years ago) – I think it was either Finding Forrester or Dead Poets Society (or something that was equally as likely to lower my sperm count) – where one of the main characters, a writer no less, asked his mentor a simple question:  “How do I get better at writing?”

“Simple,” the man replied, “you write.”

In much the same way, the best way to get better at writing programs is to……wait for it……….wait for it………………..WRITE PROGRAMS!

Sorry if you were waiting for something profound, but really, it’s as simple as that.

Lets be real for a quick minute.  There are plenty of internet gurus out there, living in their mother’s basement, with over 10,000 posts on 17 different forums who can quote the likes of Mel Siff, Yuri Verkoshansky, Vladmir Zatisiorsky, Tudor Bompa – or anyone else who’s a lot smarter than any of us will ever be – like it’s their job.  Guess how many people these gurus train?  I’m willing to bet, zip, zero, nada.

Taking it a step further, and maybe throwing a little tough love your way, you can have all the book smarts in the world, and could very well be a walking encyclopedia of knowledge bombs, but if you’re unable to actually apply that knowledge to an actual real-live person, then what’s the point?

Reading about program design is a helluva lot different than actually siting down and writing a well-thought out, and structured program.  You know, much like reading about driving a car is much different than actually sitting behind the steering wheel for the first time; or how reading about asking a girl out is a walk in the park compared to the real thing.

*enters time machine, and travels back to 1997*

Me:  Hey

Girl:  Hi

Me:  Okay, good talking to you.

In all three scenarios, until you actually do it……a lot, it won’t get any easier.   And, if you ask me (and you did), that’s the quintessence of program design – just doing it.

Which isn’t to say, that there aren’t any valuable resources out there that can help.   There are plenty.  Some that quickly come to mind would be things like Mike Boyle’s Functional Strength Coach series vol I, II, and more recently III, Mark Rippetoe’s Practical Programming, Charlie Weingroff’s Training=Rehab, Rehab=Training dvd set, or even Assess and Correct will undoubtedly lay down a solid foundation – a blueprint if you will – for designing programs.

Even still, none of the above, alone, are going to end up being the panacea of program writing ninja awesomeness – because writing (good) programs doesn’t come down to ONE book you read, or ONE dvd you watched.  It comes down to experience.

If you had access to my laptop right now, you’d easily find 500+ programs I’ve written over the years – some good, some bad, but mostly good (at least I think so).

I look at programs I wrote when I first started in this industry, and I can’t help but wonder: what the hell was I thinking?????  I feel like I should go to an AA meeting for bad program writing.

Hello, my name is Tony Gentilcore, and yes, there was a time where I used to write leg extensions into my programs.

At the time, I’m sure I thought I was the mack daddy, but in reality, I just didn’t have much experience.  Since then, I’ve worked with everyone from professional athletes to 85 year-old grandmothers (and everything in between, including teenage girls, soccer moms, and weekend warriors).

I’ve worked with fat-loss clients, powerlifters, people with chronic back pain, obese clients, and have even trained several women through their pregnancies.  All of which had different goals, needs, injuries, weaknesses, strengths, imbalances, you name it.  Either way you slice it, that’s a lot of programming, and I feel fairly confident that I could write a program for a one-armed Centaur coming off an ACL injury if I had to.

So, in closing, here’s what I’d do if I were you.  Sure, you could buy any one of the resources I mentioned above, you could read blogs, articles, books, whatever.  All of those will definitely help.  Please, read to your hearts content.

But the real dealski is this:  just practice writing programs.  Ideally, you’d be writing programs for actual clients, but you could just make up crazy scenarios and see how you would program for each one.  We do this all the time with our interns, and they love it.

Case in point:  Twenty-four year old male, former college football player, just diagnosed with a disc bulge at L4, AND has a sports hernia.  What would you do?

Time to get started.

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My Top Three Metabolic Protocols For People With Knee Pain

Before I get into my three favorite metabolic protocols for people with bum knees, I have a very important announcement to make.  No, it has nothing to do with a cannonball (ALA:  Will Ferrell, in the movie Anchorman).

No, it has nothing to do with hitting a 600 lb deadlift (trust me, when that happens, you’ll know).  And no, it has nothing to do with me divulging any plans to release a product anytime soon (although, that will definitely be in the cards at some point this decade year.  I promise).

Actually, the truth is, my girlfriend and I signed a lease earlier this week, which makes it official:  we’re moving in together.  Yay for co-habitation!!!

Note to Lisa:  Just a heads up babe – I pee in the shower.

Anyways, it’s a big step for sure, but it’s something that we’ve been discussing for a while now.  We found a ginormous apartment in an area that we love in the city, and we’re really excited to make it ours.

The move in date is in less than a month, which means, among other things, I need to go through my t-shirt drawer and decide which ones I want to take with me.  You could say that collecting vintage t-shirts is a hobby of mine, and while some (Cobra Commander) I’m going to keep forever, others are so old and crusty that I could probably walk over to the local nursing home and donate them as penicillin.  HA!  Get it?

So, that said, if any of you have any words of wisdom (or encouragement), please, feel free to chime in below.  I mean, now that we’re moving in together, Lisa is pretty much obligated to make me ham sandwiches everyday, right?  Right?

Okay, enough with beating around the bush – lets get down to business.  Now, if you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, it’s no secret that even though I’m 34 years old, I have knees that are seemingly older than Gandalf.  Zing!  Count it!  Man, I’m on fire today!

As such, while I’m still able to hit my lower body pretty hard, I still have to be careful when it comes to things like squatting (consistently), sprinting, and any other modality that puts a lot of stress on the knees.

Now, before I go on, let me be perfectly clear: despite what a lot of people say – you can ALWAYS train around an injury.  I won’t belabor the point – especially since I wrote on the topic already, HERE – but suffice it to say, while I definitely have to tweak my programming accordingly (not to mention stay on point with things like foam rolling and other soft tissue modalities), I still feel I’m able to get a great training effect and maintain (if not improve) my overall strength and conditioning levels following a few basic tweaks – seen below.

As the title above suggested, today, I want to focus more on the metabolic or conditioning side of things – because, lets me honest, when you have cranky knees, doing anything more than a light jog (or even walking) can oftentimes be problematic.

Here are my top three metabolic protocols in no particular order.  And, as it so happens – there’s no smoke and mirrors involved.

1.  Airdyne Bike Intervals

I’d argue that no one piece of equipment (other than the Prowler) is despised more in our facility than the airdyne bike.

When it comes to interval or metabolic training, not many pieces of equipment can trump the full body effect that the airdyne bike has on the body; which is why I like to follow what’s called the 180 Rule.  Which is this:  whatever you see the vast majority of people using in the gym (elliptical trainers, for example), do the exact opposite.  In layman’s terms, the equipment that no one ever uses tends to be the ones that are the most useful.

See that airdyne that’s tucked over there in the corner of the gym that you thought was part of an antique exhibit?  Yeah, you should use it.

People don’t use them because they’re hard, and they’re not fun (and coincidentally, they don’t have a flat screen television attached to them either).

While you can certainly keep things easy and just follow a simple 1:2 or 1:3 (work: rest) ratio – something like 15s of work, followed by 45s rest for a certain amount of time (say 10 minutes) – I like to kick things up a notch and follow a protocol popularized by Christian Thibaudeau:

1a: 30s, easy
1b: 20s, hard (and by “hard,” what I really mean is pretend that a lion is chasing you while you have a steak tied to your back.  GET MOVING!!!!!)

2a: 60s, easy
2b: 30s, hard

3a: 90s, easy
3b: 40s, hard

4a: 120s, easy
4b: 50s, hard

5a: 150s, easy
5b: 60s, hard

6a. 180s, easy
6b: 70s, hard

Cool down for 5 minutes, and allot some time to catch your breath.

And yes, if you don’t have access to an airdyne bike, you can still use a regular bike here.  The only thing you need to be cognizant of is that you must make sure to increase the resistance on the sprints, and lower the resistance during rest intervals.  And clean up your pool of sweat, you jerk!

2.  Slideboard

I’ll be honest here and say that there was a time where I felt the slideboard was a foo-foo piece of equipment that I would NEVER use.  Then, I actually took my head out of my ass, started listening to people like Mike Boyle (who expounds on their efficacy religiously), and finally started seeing just how valuable and versatile they can be.

The slideboard may be the best, most cost effective conditioning mode available for athletes exclusive of actually running (which for those with bum knees, ain’t gonna happen).

Taking a page from Boyle, the slideboard offers the following:

  • Places the athlete n a sport-specific position, almost regardless of sport.
  • Positively stresses the abductors AND adductors muscles.
  • Allows athletes to work in groups of three to four on one piece of equipment
  • Provides work capacity training in an interval format with no adjustments, all for under $600.

What’s more, it’s a VERY joint friendly modality to use when someone suffers from knee pain.  Moreover, think about how we generally train as a society:  we tend to be VERY linear with our movements, doing things in a straight line all……….the………freakin………time.  With the slideboard, however, we can now train lateral (side-to-side) movement, which undoubtedly is an important component of any well-rounded program.

Keeping things simple, I prefer to use standard work: rest ratios here.  Meaning, one would basically slide for 20-30 seconds, rest of 60-90 (or longer) seconds, and repeat for a required amount of time.

3.  Stadium or Hill Sprints

My friend Nia Shanks is going to love this, since she’s ALWAYS telling people how running hill sprints is the bees knees.

I have to say, I kinda agree.

Now that the weather is nicer here in Boston, every Sunday my girlfriend and I head over to Harvard University and run sprints up the football stadium.  Here’s me doing my last sprint last weekend:

 It’s fairly standard:

Sprint Up (or walk briskly, depending on current fitness level)
Walk Down
Repeat
Hate Life

Because there’s very little (or less) stress on the knees running up stairs (or a hill), this is a fantastic modality for those with knee issues.  But, in reality, it’s a phenomenal workout regardless, and I defy anyone to argue otherwise.

So, there you have it – my top three metabolic protocols for people with knee pain.  While it’s definitely not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination, I feel that these are the three that can most easily be implemented by most people given equipment availability.  Have one to share?  Let er rip below!

 

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Are You Really Healthy?

Yesterday was one of those days where I couldn’t wait to get home.  It certainly wasn’t the stack of dirty dishes waiting for me in the sink, nor was it the pile of laundry that I had been puting off – although, for the record, they both got done!

No, I was anxious to get home because I wanted to dive into Nate Green’s The Hero Handbook.  Once my “chores” were done, and the next day’s meals we made, I grabbed my laptop, light a few scented candles, turned on some Sade, and….whoa whoa whoa, wait a second – I’m thinking of Monday night.  My bad.

Okay, so last night I drove home, blah blah blah, washed dishes, made my meals for the following day, grabbed my laptop, sat on my couch, and read.

While it’s been a really enlightening read thus far, there was one phrase in particular that really struck a chord with me:

A hero builds his body – his greatest asset – to look good and withstand sickness and physical obstacles.

Ding ding ding ding ding

So true.  In fact, the above statement is very much analogous to a Mike Boyle reference from an article he wrote a while back, where asked a simple question:

Imagine you are sixteen years old and your parents give you your first car. They also give you simple instructions. There is one small hitch, you only get one car, you can never get another. Never. No trade-ins, no trade-ups. Nothing

Ask yourself: how would you maintain that car?

As you might guess, he went on to say that most people would be meticulous with oil changes, using proper fuel, keeping up with maintenance, etc.

Taking it step further, he then asked:

Why is the human body different? Why do we act as if we don’t care about the one body we were given?  ONE BODY.  No refunds.  No warranties.  No do-overs.

Some pretty heavy stuff right?

Just the other day I shared with the world how I had a little, shall we say, “bug” crush my world, and I essentially spent the entire night praying to the porcelain gods.  It wasn’t pretty.   Matter of fact it was downright scary at times, and I have to give credit where credit is due and thank my girlfriend, Lisa, for stepping up to the plate and taking care of me.

Afterwards, I received several emails – mostly from friends and family – asking me if I was alright, and more importantly, to inform me that if I ever break up with Lisa, they’d pretty much disown me.

But there was one email, though, from a distance coaching client no less, that is the real inspiration behind this post.  It was a simple email – basically just saying that it was nice to see that I had such a speedy recovery and that “it’s a sign of a healthy body” that I was able to do so.

Again, a hero builds his body – his greatest asset – to look good and withstand sickness and physical obstacles.

How many of us are quick to equate six pack abs or the ability to fit into size zero jeans as “healthy.”  I know plenty of guys with impressive abs that are a train wreck on the inside – booze, smoking, drugs, you name it.  Not healthy.  Likewise, there are plenty of women out there who somehow squeeze into size zero jeans, yet haven’t had a carb since 2002.  Again, not healthy.

Looking good, as subjective as it is, is only half the equation.  There’s no question that hitting the gym a few times per week is going to help.  As an example, I can count on one hand the total number of times I’ve missed a scheduled training session.

Forgetting your gym clothes (again) is not an excuse.  It’s a cop out.  Lets be clear – there are only a handful of reasons to skip a training session:

– you have ebola and/or

– Jessica Alba just called and needs you to be her personal oil boy for the day.**

That’s pretty much it.

But there are so many other factors that come into play.  A few off the top of my head that come to mind…..

1.  Going to bed at a decent hour.  I may be butchering this, but it’s been said that for every hour of sleep you get BEFORE midnight, it’s worth two hours afterwards.   Meaning your quality of sleep is much more “quality’ish” if you sleep from 10-6, than it is from 2-10.

What’s more, having a routine that doesn’t involve playing Call of Duty right before bed might be a good idea.  Same thing goes for those of you spend all their time on the internet.

Get off Facebook for crying out loud and do something productive, like read a book, or have sex.

2.  Buying and cooking real food.  Simply put: you are what you eat.  If you’re the type of individual that lives off of Hot Pockets and frozen pizza, it’s no wonder you have little energy and feel lethargic and depressed all the time.

Conversely, providing your body with ample nutrients, vitamins and minerals from whole, real, nutritious foods will make your immune system as strong as an ox.

You wouldn’t put low grade fuel into your BMW, right?  Why, then, not treat your body the same way?

3.  Call me lame, but limit your alcohol intake.  I am by no means passing judgement – if you’re the type of person who enjoys a glass of wine with dinner every night, or even a nice, cold brewski on a hot summer day, more power to you.  But there is a big difference between that and pulling off your best Charlie Sheen impression every night of the week.

I’m sure I could make this list longer, but I think you get the idea.  Building a healthy body – unfortunately – is a lot more than just heading to the gym every day.  While admirable, it’s only part of the equation.  Have any suggestions/tips/rants you’d like to share?  I’d love to hear them below…..

 

**EDIT:  Just read on Yahoo’s home page that Jessica is pregers, again.  RATS!!  Okay, Olivia Munn, you’re up!

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Miscelleaneous Miscellany Monday: “Oh Boy”

So Happy Take Your Girlfriend Out to Dinner Day!  Seemingly, I had everything planned out to a “t” over the weekend – making reservations at a trendy Italian restaurant in the romantic North End district for Sunday night.  The way I saw it, having to make reservations for a Monday night was just going to be a big pain in the ass, so I decided to beat everyone to the punch and celebrate Valentine’s Day last night instead.

Nope.

Rewind to Saturday night:  As it were, one of our clients at CP wanted to take the entire staff (along with significant others) out for dinner – to a steak house no less.  EPICNESS was sure to ensue. 

Everything was going swimmingly well – appetizers were delicious, girlfriend was drinking wine (BOM CHICKA BOM BOM), I hadn’t spilled anything on my shirt, and everyone was just having a great time enjoying each other’s company.

Entrees come, and I get about, I don’t know, six bits in and I just don’t feel too well.  Nothing out of the ordinary – maybe I just a little overzealous with the appetizers ya know?

I’ll spare you the rest of the details, but it went something like this:

Blah blah blah, high fives, blah blah blah, Tony, where are your pants? blah blah blah, no, we’ll pass on dessert, blah blah blah see you on Monday

Lisa and I get in my car to head home.

Luckily I only live like ten minutes from the restaurant, because once we parked in front of my apartment and we were heading inside, I bend over, say something along the lines of “oh boy,” and proceed to blow junks all over the place.   I’m talking Lean on Me, Barf-o-Rama drama.

 And to take it a step further, I pass out – on the sidewalk.  Deadweight.  Down for the count.

I come to about ten seconds later and have no idea what happened.  Of course, Lisa has a “WTF” look on her face and immediately helps me up and walks me into the apartment.   I could go into the gory details, but I’ll spare you the visuals.  Suffice it to say, when all was said and done, I passed out four times on Saturday night and felt like I got ran over by a mack truck all day yesterday. 

Alas, no North End, no Valentine’s Day.   Who says romance is dead?

I’m okay today, though, and am about to head into the facilty to get my lift on. 

2. Speaking of Valentine’s Day, starting today Mike Boyle is offering a pretty awesome deal on Functional Strength Coach 3.0 all week.  First off, you can purchase the product at 25% off.  In addition, he’s also throwing in TWO bonus dvds to sweeten the deal.  For more information, go HERE.

3.  Before the drama over the weekend, I had been spending the past few nights catching up on a bunch of Alan Aragon Research Reviews.  I subscribed to it a loooooooong time ago, and shame on me for not keeping up with it as much as I should have.  If you’re a fitness professional, you’re really doing yourself a disservice if you’re not taking advantage of this service.  I for one hate reading research, and Alan does a superb job at breaking things down and ruffling a few feathers to boot.  Which is to say, he isn’t scared go go against the grain. What’s more, it’s only $10 per month! 

4.  Pretty much the funniest things I’ve watched in a while:

5.  I had to share this as well, because it’s pretty bad-ass.  Donnell Boucher is the strength coach for the Citadel baseball team, and he’s stopped by CP on several occasions to see what we do.  This video was compiled over the Fall of 2010, and shows just how much dedication and effort Donnell has put into the program.  Great job!  Those boys get after it!

6.  And lastly, my good friend, Joe Dowdell, owner of Peak Performance in New York City, did a fantastic interview over on Brad Schoenfeld’s blog that I felt many of you would enjoy reading.  Check it out HERE.  Joe’s a very bright guy, owns a top notch facility, and is one handsome bastard. I pretty much hate him.

Okay, I’m going to attempt to go lift some heavy things now.   Here’s hoping i don’t kill myself.

UPDATE:  I survived.  Put the staff though the first day of Lean Hybrid Muscle and it was a doozy.  I pretty much hate life right now.

 

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Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: 2/7/2011

1.  Well, congratulations to the Green Bay Packers for a crushing win last night.  And an EPIC fail goes out to me for falling asleep in the fourth quarter – I think I fell into food coma by the middle of the first half.

It goes without saying, though, that this was by far my favorite commercial of the night:

2.  I made a cameo appearance at Mike Boyle’s 5th Annual Winter Seminar on Saturday, which featured Coach Boyle (obviously) and the one and only, Dan John.

To say that Dan John as been a huge influence on my career would be an understatement., and I’ll be the first admit that I felt like a giddy school girl when I walked in and saw him standing there in person. 

Of course, both his presentations were brilliant – I mean, how can you not listen to a guy with well over 30 years of coaching experience under his belt?

I plan on covering the seminar in more detail later on this week, but I had to share the funniest line of the day.

We all know those guys who walk around with very impressive physiques, but ask them to do something as simple as skip, and it’s readily apparent that they don’t move very well – not a hint of athleticism.  In fact, I’d pick them last if I were picking a kickball team.

Dan John shared a phrase that I felt hit the nail on the head:

Looks like Tarzan, moves like Jane.

I got a laugh out of that one. 

3.  And speaking of Dan John, after reading his latest article on t-nation, I decided to dedicate a day to ONLY carrying heavy things.  Saturday morning, I got to the facility early to get a training session in before clients arrived, and I did the following:

A1.  Kettlebell Racked Carries:  3×2 trips (1 trip = 25 yds)
A2.  Overhead Sledgehammer Hits 3×8/side

B1.  Kettlebell Crossbody Carry (suitcase carry in one hand, bottoms-up carry in the other):  3×2 trips
B2.  Kettlebell Windmills 3×5/side

C1.  Farmer Carries w/ Sled Drag:  4x 1 trip (1 trip = 40 yds)
C2.  Shit a kidney

I felt really good after this session, and it’s going to be interesting to see if it will help boost my deadlift up a little bit.  To be continued………

4.  While at the seminar I was able to catch up with a lot of friends and colleagues whom I haven’t seen in a while, but it was also nice to have a lot of new faces introduce themselves to me and know that people actually read my stuff.  Surprisingly, one question that I was asked quite a bit was:  “how do you write/blog so much?” 

Truthfully:  I’m just uncannily awesome, witty, and intelligent.  But all kidding a side (even though I’m not kidding), I just make it a priority.  As it stands now, I generally get up anywhere between 5-6 AM every morning to do work before I go to work.  Generally speaking, I arrive to the facility around 10 AM every day, so getting up earlier in the morning allows me a few hours to catch up on programming, emails, reading, and blogging. 

Even talking with Jim “Smitty” Smith over the weekend, puts things into perspective:  he said that he stays up till 1-2 AM every night doing work.  And this is AFTER coaching all day. 

So, again, it comes down to priorities.  Do you want to write or watch Amercan Idol?

5.  Cressey Performance athletes have been getting a lot press recently.

HERE is a nice piece on both Omri Geva and Micah Goldberg as they attempt to re-build and eventually represent Israel in the Winter Olympics in the 2-man and 4-man bobsled team.

And HERE is a great feature on CP athlete, Tim Collins, as he makes a bid to earn a spot on the Kansas City Royals roster this spring.  It’s a really great story, and Tim deserves all the success coming his way.

 

6.  For all of you Born to Run fans out there (and I’m one of them, too), I watched a really great presentation in between slices of pizza yesterday by author, Christopher McDougall titled “Are We Born to Run?”.  The guy is obviously a fantastic writer, but he’s also a very engaging speaker as well:

 

7.  And lastly, as many of you know, I like to read, but one of the things that I regret most when I look back at mistakes I made as a trainer, is not reading more books on personal development.  As it stands now, whenever I get emails from upcoming trainers asking me for advice, I tell them that for every book they read on blasting the biceps, they should also read a book on personal development/psychology/business.

To that end, I started another really fascinating book titled Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely. 

Why do we make certain decsions despite knowing better?  I’m only about half way through, but this is easily one of the most interesting books I’ve read in a while.  For those geeks out there that like behavorial economics, this book is legit.