veloliza@123rf.comCategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

Stimulate or Annihilate Muscle: Which Is Better?

In the realm of fitness and strength & conditioning we’ve all heard the phrase:

“You need to stimulate the muscle to grow, not annihilate it.”

I can’t say I disagree with the sentiment, albeit I do feel it’s a bit reductionist taken at face value. I mean, assuming someone isn’t injured or has a history of injury, most people can train a whole lot harder than they give themselves credit for.

I’ve said it in the past and it bears repeating here:

“Lifting weights isn’t supposed to tickle.”

Furthermore, if you pick the brains of coaches like Alex Viada or Chad Wesley Smith they’d be the first to champion the notion that you should annihilate muscle. Or, to be more fair: do more work. Or to be even more fair: follow a carefully structured, periodized, undulated, (possibly) concurrent plan that fluctuates training stress.

Photo snaked from Greg Nuckols courtesy of Andy Morgan’s site RippedBody.jp.

Those are big words to some people. In non-geek speak all it means is: do more work, but not all the time…smartly.

To quote Pat Davidson:

“I’m a strength coach which means I am a stress manager more than anything else. The only difference between me and your shrink is that I want to dump as much stress on you as I possibly can to see what you can survive. If it doesn’t kill you, it will likely make you stronger.”

That’s about as succinct of a way to describe things as can be put. Any strength coach worth his or her weight in barbells knows most programs written (geared towards strength and performance) should consist of alternating patterns of high stress (whether it be accumulation, intensity or both) with low stress.

You can’t just take the word “annihilate” and implement that mantra 100% of the time and expect to make continued progress. We’re not Terminators. Fatigue will always masks one’s true fitness.

Not into graphs? Me either. They make my head hurt.

Think of it this way: lets say you test your 1RM in the deadlift. 315! Not too shabby you sexy beast. Now, go run a 5K. Don’t ask questions, just do it.

When you finish we’ll immediately re-test your 1RM deadlift.

Do you think you’ll sniff close to 315 lbs again?

Not a chance.

Overtraining?

Fatigue doesn’t mean overtraining. The internet loves to toss out the word overtraining, as if it’s an easy thing to attain. Trust me: you’re not overtrained. Just because you squatted two days in a row or, I don’t know, took a HyRox class, doesn’t mean you’re overtrained.

You have to go really, really (REALLY!) out of your way to come remotely close to overtraining. To put things into perspective: The Iron Cowboy, James Lawrence, a few years ago completed 50 triathlons in 50 days (in 50 States) and he wasn’t overtrained. I’m sure he felt like shit, but he wasn’t overtrained.1

Which is why I respect guys like Alex and Chad who prefer to provoke/nudge people to work harder (but smartly) and not be too analytical about everything. That’s the only way to assure adaptation and continued progress (and PRs).

What Does “Smartly” Even Mean, Tony?

Good question.

It can mean a lot of things, but here are some quick, random, bullet-point ideas/points to consider:

1. You’re Not an Elite Athlete (Sorry, I’m not Sorry)

I can’t remember where I read (but I promise I did), but some guy decided he’d follow a program where he’d squat everyday for two months. Heck, I remember when  Chris Duffin, the psychopath that he is, decided that for Squatober one year he would squat something like 800 lb everyday for a month.

via GIPHY

I have no issues with squatting everyday, or people who decide to actually do it.  But, as I remember it a few years ago, within 24-48 hours of the article going live, I received a swarm of emails from random dudes asking me if they thought it would be a good idea if “they too?” should train everyday?

I had to try really hard to resist the urge to throw an ax into my face.

NEWSFLASH:  you’re not an elite athlete!!!!!!!

Unless you have 4-6 hours per day to train, and that’s literally all you do, it’s probably not going to be a good fit.

Lets be real: For many people (not all), you read an awesome article, and right then and there, decided it’s “exactly what you needed.”

In theory, it sounds amazing.  But here’s the thing – you make the Tin Man look hypermobile. The last time you lifted anything remotely explosively was back when Patrick Swayze (RIP) was rocking stone washed jeans. And, the last time I checked, you sit in front of a computer for 8-9 hours per day, and actually work for a living.

You have the time for this when?

Listen, I get it, you like to exercise. What’s more, who am I to say that people shouldn’t be enthusiastic to train more often and actually move around a bit more?  I encourage that, wholeheartedly!

But come on people – lets not put the cart before the horse.

Actually, scratch that. I’m not opposed to people training (hard) everyday.  I mean, there’s definitely a way to do it right and I think that’s what many people should strive for. They just shouldn’t train balls to wall (ovaries to wall?) every single day.

What I don’t agree with, and think is borderline dangerous is when people read an article about ELITE athletes whose sole job is to train – and who have been doing this type of training FOR YEARS –  and then run out to their local globo gym, try to be a hero, and hurt themselves the third day in.

Trust me –  it will happen.

I swear, I’m going to do a social experiment someday, write an article detailing how running over your right arm with a car repeatedly will somehow increase testosterone levels by 317%, and see how many people email me asking for more info.

NOTE: I like what Bret Contreras had to say on the topic. HERE’s a old(er) blog post he wrote on how to incorporate daily training into the mix.

2. Deadlift Less

Yep, you read that correctly. I just told my reading audience to deadlift less.

What’s next? Me telling everyone to perform more kipping pull-ups? Peptides cure everything? Admitting I had it all wrong and that Tracy Anderson was right all along: women should avoid lifting anything above 3 lbs. LOLz.

Relax. Deep breaths. Give me a second to explain.

Once you reach a certain level of strength (lets say 2x bodyweight) there’s a point of diminishing returns with regards to deadlifting more than once a week. I’d argue the deadlift is the most “draining” – both physiologically and neurologically – on the body compared to squatting, bench pressing, etc.

Maybe it’s more anecdotal on my end, but I’ve found – through a lot of trial and error – that whenever I deadlift (heavy) more than once per week my body hates me.

Too, I find this to be pretty accurate for most other people.

I’ll often limit “max effort” work (85% + of 1RM) to once every 2-3 weeks for most people. Rarely will I ever have someone hit that level every week.

I will, however, include more speed/technical work into the mix and typically have no qualms implementing this more than once per week. It may look something like this:

Day 1 – Deadlift Cluster

Week 1: 4×4 (70%), one-rep every 15s.
Week 2: 3×4 (75%), one rep every 15s.
Week 3: 5×2 (80%), one rep every 15s.
Week 4: 3×3 (65%), one rep every 15s

Day 2 – Speed/Technique Work

Week 1: 8×1 (60%), rest 30-45s.
Week 2: 10×1 (60%), rest 30-45s.
Week 3: 12×1 (60%), rest 45-60s.
Week 4: 6×1 (70%), rest 30-45s.

3. Include Less Mechanical Loading

I feel many trainees miss the boat in using their own bodyweight as load. I sometimes like to include less “mechanical loading” into some programs (including my own) to help stave off “annihilation” and still gain a lot of benefit.

I hit the big lifts pretty hard, and I don’t necessarily need to make myself hate life any further with my accessory work.

Try this:

Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squats For Time

Week 1: 3 sets of 30s/leg (FML)
Week 2: 3 sets of 40s/leg (Seriously, FML).
Week 3: 4 sets of 40s/leg (Hahahaha).
Week 4: 3 sets of 60s/leg (Kelly Clarkson! Watch the clip below for the reference.)

If you really want to up the ante do the above, but a controlled tempo up and down (2s down, 2s up; 3s down, 3s up).

4. Go For Walk

Totally not kidding.

Casual walks work wonders in terms of recovery. And you don’t need to make this some sort of heavy backpack walking or sled dragging uphill for AMRAP hybrid. Tone it down, killer.

Just walk. Enjoy it.

5. Deload (Volume)

I generally “save” week 4 of each program for a deload week. For starters it fits our training model well because each athlete/client gets a new program every month anyways (billing cycle is every four weeks).

While I don’t go out of my way to introduce too many new exercises with beginners – they don’t need a ton of variety – those who have been working with us for a while will usually get a slew of “new stuff” and their ass handed to them in week #1. The deload week prior serves as a way to better “prepare” them for the onslaught inevitably coming.

Generally speaking, on a deload week we deload overall volume, and keep intensity (as a percentage of one’s 1RM) at high level.

NOTE: not to jump into the weeds too far, but going back to the topic of overtraining, if someone does enter that territory, they tend to do so as a result of too much volume and not so much with intensity.

As such we’ll either decrease volume with the MAIN LIFT of the day, but keep intensity up:

Squat

Week 1: 5×5
Week 2: 4×5
Week 3: (5) 3×3, 2×6
Week 4: 3×3

Or we may decrease overall volume (tonnage) via reduced accessory work.

And yes, sometimes, we’ll tweak both volume AND intensity. It just depends (typically this is reserved for those in a competitive season. Think: powerlifter).

There are numerous ways to “deload” – OMIT all axial loading for a week, maybe perform a bodypart only split, maybe reduce training days from 4-6x per week, to 3x per week, nothing above 70%, play kickball, I don’t care, you know your clients better than I do – but as whole, I find reducing volume (yet keeping intensity up) bodes well for most people.

Your Turn

The above is in no way an exhaustive list. I could keep going, but I doubt many have made it this far anyways. If you have, 10 points to Gryffindor!

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

Getting Stronger is Corrective

Before you move on, I wanted to let you know that Dean Somerset and I have just announced that we will be traveling to Dublin, Ireland this coming Fall to put on our 2-day hands-on workshop The Complete Fit Pro Blueprint.

It’ll be taking place the weekend of October 3rd-4th, 2026 @ Bodynamics in Dublin. We’ll be covering a lot of material from assessment and programming around injuries to more of the stuff most fit pros need more of…

  • Building systems to help you with time management and to make more money.
  • How to prevent burning out and to make more money.
  • How to build a brand and possibly a gym! (to maybe make more money).
  • How to better motivate your clients so that they’re consistent and to make more money.

And much, much more.

You can check out the full itinerary as well as register at the Early Bird price HERE.

WU-TANG!

Getting Strong(er) is Corrective

“Oh, I forgot to tell you…my previous trainer said I have a winged scapula, my left hip is a bit internally rotated, and that my posture isn’t great.”

This was less than five minutes into an initial assessment with a new client and it took everything I had to prevent my eyeballs from rolling out of their sockets. The snarky side of me wanted to say something like, “Oh my god, yes, I totally see it. Did (s)he also mention how your left ear is lower than the right? That’s messed up. We need to fix that.”

But I didn’t.

Nope, all I did was sit there, nod my head, listen intently, and kept repeating to myself “don’t stab yourself with this pen, don’t stab yourself with this pen, no, Tony, NO!”

People Think They’re Broken

It never ceases to amaze me how some people will harp on the most inane things when it comes to their body and performance and then regale me with stories of how their previous coach or trainer was a “corrective exercise specialist.”

I won’t invalidate their stories or experiences, of course, but it’s hard for me to listen to sometimes.

They’ll outline their “training” for the past few months (if not years), and it’s rife with positional breathing drills (which, for the record, I’m a fan of), postural stretches, and describe a foam rolling series that rivals the length of a Ken Burns’ documentary.

I’ll follow with “So, did you actually ever follow a strength training program consistently?”

“Yeah, sure, we did a bunch of corrective exercises and, after 19 weeks, we finally worked up to a bodyweight squat. I still have to work on my big toe dorsiflexion, though. Fingers crossed I can improve that by December.”

Me…

via GIPHY

As an industry – and I’ll call myself out on this too (particularly early in my career) – we’ve done a splendid job at helping people feel like a bunch of walking balls of fail:

  • Your shoulders and upper back are too rounded.
  • Yikes, your pelvis is anteriorly tilted.
  • Oh…my…god…we need to work on your scapular upward rotation.
  • Shit, your FABER screen tested positive. How are you able to walk?
  • Also, FYI: you have Chlamydia.

It doesn’t surprise me in the least why so many people walk around thinking they’re fragile snowflakes who need to correct or “fix” everything before they do any appreciable training.

It’s our fault.

Strength coaches, personal trainers, physical therapists, athletic trainers, sherpas, we’re all culpable.

We can and need to do better.

And it starts with re-acquainting ourselves with what our main role as fitness professionals actually is…

…to elicit a training effect with our clients/athletes.

Again…Getting Strong(er) is Corrective

I say this with a grain of salt because “strong” is subjective, and can mean different things to different people.

  • Being able to deadlift 2x bodyweight is strong.
  • Being able to perform 15 pull-ups is strong.
  • Walking from Trader Joe’s to your apartment without putting down the bags is strong.
  • The ability to pull off wearing white after Labor Day is strong.
  • Doing whatever it is Cirque du Soleil performers can do is strong.

However, since I’m a little biased “getting stronger” in this sense – and more cogent to the conversation – refers to TRAINING.

I.e., lifting heavy things.

Unfortunately, many people have been led to believe lifting weights is dangerous. It seems you can’t go more than three clicks on the internet (or investigate certain certifications available) before being told barbells, dumbbells, machines, kettlebells, squats, deadlifts, high-reps, low-reps, and/or kittens are dangerous.

Cute kitten paws and woman making christmas gingerbread cookies in scandinavian room
Who, me? Dangerous? Noooo. I mean, I’ll slit your fucking throat in your sleep if you don’t pay me any attention, but all in all….cuddles.

And just to set the record straight, and to push back with all my will to those people (worst of all, doctors, PT’s, etc) who keep spreading the message that strength training is dangerous (particularly when addressing a current injury)…

…I give you the LAWS of Loading:

Wolff’s Law – Bones will adapt to loads under which it is placed

Davis’s Law – Soft tissue will heal according to the manner which they are mechanically stressed.

For the “you only have one back” guy…is this then not why we train?2 Squats and deadlifts, when properly loaded and progressed, will do far more good for someone’s recovery from injury than most alternatives.

I hate the “everything makes you dysfunctional or causes dysfunction” crowd.

To which I say…the fuck outta here.

My friend Bret Contreras has the perfect antithesis to this faulty mindset:

“If you think lifting weights is dangerous, try being weak. Being weak is dangerous.”

And this is why I’m a firm ambassador in encouraging people to get strong(er), or more to the point, helping them figure out their “trainable menu.”3

Rather than pointing out everything that’s wrong with someone, I’d rather use the initial assessment (and subsequent training sessions) to highlight what they can do.

Lets use the classic example of someone who has “computer guy” posture. I.e., rounded shoulders, forward head posture, an affinity for pens.

When someone walks in exhibiting this posture a lot of trainers will write down a laundry list of stretches, thoracic (mid-back) mobility drills, and other “corrective” exercises to do.

Well, first, some will go out of their way to make the person feel like Cersei Lannister during her walk of shame.

Shame, shame, shame….

via GIPHY

And then, you know…lets get corrective, son!

They’re not wrong to do so.

I’m not opposed to utilizing corrective modalities to address postural deficits or mobility restrictions.

But I find when these sort of things are accentuated and serve as the “meat-n-potatoes” of a training program, it often sets people up for failure; they become more fixated on perfection at the expense of progress.

And lets be honest: NO ONE gets jazzed-up at the gym to do more T-spine extension drills.

 

I don’t want my clients to feel like a perpetual patient.

I want them to train, because training tends to be more palatable than Scapular Wall Slides. It helps people stay on task and not bored to tears.

And on that note, wanna know an excellent drill that helps nudge people into a bit more thoracic extension?

Kipping pull-ups.

FRONT SQUATS.

 

As you descend closer to the ground you have to “fight” to keep from folding over. In many ways the proper execution of the exercise itself is self-coaching; or dare I say, corrective.

If you don’t maintain thoracic extension the barbell rolls off your shoulders.

I may come across as the cantankerous strength coach in saying this, but I find more value in having my clients train – in a way that emphatically demonstrates success to them (by matching the programming to their goals and ability level) – than to corrective exercise them to death.

Get your clients strong(er).

Show them what they can do.

And for the love of god get them training.

CategoriesProgram Design

Boom or Bust: Why You’re Always Hurt

I work with hurt people for a living.

It’s not uncommon for people to seek out a coach or trainer because an exercise doesn’t feel right or because something – a shoulder, a knee, lower back, their soul perhaps – routinely hurts and they can’t seem to get out of their own way.

That’s where I come in to save the day.

Most of the time.

To fix someone’s squat technique and to maybe (probably) give him or her a reality check.

Boom or Bust

This is a term I stole from a friend of mine, Dan Pope of Champion Physical Therapy & Performance, and to a larger degree has its roots from a presentation I watched him do centered around the conversation of understanding shoulder pain.4

“Boom or Bust” refers to the person who handles their business as follows:

Train –> Do a lot –> To the point where it becomes painful –> Get pissed off, becomes upset, is inconsolable, and inevitably increase their volume of ice cream and Julia Roberts’ movies –> Feels better –> Repeat –> Cue face palm here.

I’m sure many of you reading – whether the above sequence of events describes you or some of your clients – can commiserate.

It can all be summarized using the following graph:

Again, props to Dan Pope. I essentially drew his graph, but added a little Tony LOLs.

What this depicts is a scenario and approach that keeps the alarm system sensitive as well as pain levels up. They train hard on Monday and hit their bench pretty aggressively, of course.

A day or two passes, the shoulder feels okay, and they decide to test the waters again and perform a bunch of high-rep push jerks. Another day or two passes, the shoulder starts to feel, normal again, and since they have zero fucks to give, decide it would be a swell idea to perform kipping pull-ups paired with handstand push-ups for AMRAP on broken glass.

All they do is perpetually plow through their pain threshold and the cycle continues over and over and over again like an episode of Russian Doll.

This, of course, is absurd, and makes zero sense.

Conversely, what also makes zero sense is the opposite approach…

…UNDER-loading, over corrective exercising people to death, or worse, doing nothing at all.

I’m not dissing the corrective component. Depending on how sensitive someone’s pain threshold is, we may very well have to resort to a myriad of side lying external rotations, arm-bars, and band work.

The key to improving pain, though, particularly with the long game in mind, is to elicit a smidge (key word: SMIDGE) of it during training. You want to tease it, buy it a drink, make out with it a little bit.

If you want to elicit change, you need to move. When we move, we induce something called mechanotransduction, which is just nerd speak for “tissue begins to heal.”

Pain, when DOSED ACCORDINGLY, can be beneficial during exercise. When we push into a little pain there’s generally better short-term results than if not. Think of it like this:

There’s a line in the graph above labeled “pain threshold.” On a scale of 1-10 (1 = no biggie, I got this and a 10 = holy shit, a panther just latched onto my carotid), exercise should hover in the 2-3 realm.

In this case, the person can tolerate things like push-up, landmine, and row variations.

  • When (s)he perform those exercises, the pain level never exceeds a “3.”
  • When (s)he’s done exercising, along with the hours after, the pain level never exceeds a “3.”
  • The following day, the pain never exceeds a “3,” and in an ideal situation is back down to baseline, which is a “1.”

That’s the sweet spot and what we’re after from a managing pain standpoint. We’re doing juuuust enough to elicit a training effect, playing footsie with the pain threshold, but avoiding any boom or bust scenario where we place commonsense ahead of our ego.

And then, over time, the graph looks like this:

I’m an idiot. That arrow pointing up should be labeled “Improvement in Pain.”

The pain threshold slowly creeps higher and higher, and before long, push-jerks, bench pressing, and fighting Jason Bourne ain’t no thang.

Training (with weights), when matched with someone’s current ability level, and when dosed effectively, can be corrective.

Want More of These Awesome Insights?

Dean Somerset and I are reuniting after six years (thank you COVID) to bring our latest IN-PERSON workshop to the masses. The Complete Fit Pro Blueprint will cover topics like this (and many, many more).

Boston – June 6th-7th, 2026
Dublin, Ireland – October 3rd-4th, 2026

poppypix@123rf.comCategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

Factors to Consider When Training Around Pain

Getting hurt is a drag.

It’s even more of a drag when you’re someone who’s used to being active and an injury prevents you from training consistently or prevents you from training as hard as you’d like.

There’s generally two approaches many people take:

1. Complete rest.
2. Conjure up their inner Jason Bourne and grit their teeth through it.

Neither is ideal in my opinion.

I take the stand that injury (or training with a degree of pain <— sometimes) is inevitable. As I’ve jokingly (but not really) stated in the past…

…”Lifting weights isn’t supposed to tickle.”

Pain, pain science, and how to train around pain is a very complex and nuanced topic. This is a blog post, not a dissertation.

To that end, today I want to take some time to discuss a few strategies on how to train around pain that don’t revolve around the extremes: Sitting on the couch watching Netflix or plotting to take down Treadstone.

Full Disclosure: Much of what I’ll cover below is in Dr. Michael Mash’s online resource, Barbell Rehab, which is currently my new spirit animal of favorite continuing education courses.

Also: Just as a heads up, much of what I discuss below will be covered in more detail in mine and Dean Somerset’s latest IN-PERSON continuing education workshop – The Complete Fit Pro Blueprint – coming to both Boston (June 6-7th) and Dublin (Oct 3rd-4th) later this year. More dates coming soon…;o)

Factors to Consider When Training Around Pain

Let’s begin with the definition of “pain.”

Pain

/pān/

noun

1. A localized or generalized unpleasant bodily sensation or complex of sensations that causes mild to severe physical discomfort and emotional distress and typically results from bodily disorder (such as injury or disease).5

2. That feeling you get when your significant other wants to talk about feelings or what your eyes see when you watch someone perform kipping pull-ups.6

More precisely we often associate pain with actual damage. However, pain doesn’t always have to gravitate around that denominator.

Pain can also be equated to a smoke alarm alerting the body that something is awry:

  • “Hey, bicep tendon here: I think I’m close to snapping, can you tone it down on the bench dips?”
  • “Hey, knee cap here: I’m about to end up on the other side of the room if you don’t fix your squat.”
  • “Look out – a ninja!”

More to the point, pain is multi-faceted and can manifest a plethora of ways, which is why it’s imperative to educate people that it isn’t always centered around a physical injury.

Take for instance this cup analogy highlighted in a 2016 study from the medical journal Physiotherapy: Theory & Practice titled “The clinical application of teaching people about pain” by Louw, et al.

Pain is like a cup, and there are many factors that can fill it up.

Moreover, you can address people’s pain in one of two ways:

1. Reduce the contents of the cup.

2. Make the cup bigger (via appropriately progressed strength training)

As Michael addresses in Barbell Rehab, there are several ways to build a framework to train around pain that don’t involve being passive, subjecting yourself to corrective exercise purgatory, or in a worse case scenario…surgery.

1. Technique Audit

When someone comes to Core Collective for an assessment with me and they go into great detail on how bench pressing bothers their shoulder(s), rather than spending 30 minutes assessing how much shoulder range of motion they have, waxing poetic on the myriad of drills they can perform to improve thoracic extension, and/or going into the weeds on diaphragmatic positional breathing mechanics I’ll instead do this really out-of-the-box thing where I’ll ask them to…

…wait for it.

…wait for it.

…here it comes.

…show me their bench press.

 

More times than not, all that’s needed is a subtle technique fix on their set-up and execution of the lift itself and their shoulder hates them less almost instantly.

This isn’t to say we’d ignore other factors like thoracic mobility and breathing mechanics altogether; especially of deficits exists. However, I’ve found that most people are less inclined to want to light their face on fire from corrective exercise boredom if I just cut to the crux of the issue at hand.

Their shitty technique.

2. Programming Audit

This is a point I remember Dr. Quinn Henoch hammering home when I listened to him present a few years ago.

How often do you audit your programs?

Has it ever occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, the reason why you (or your clients) are hurt is because you were a bit overzealous with an exercise variation – or, more commonly, you were too aggressive with loading – and that that was the culprit of your’s (or their) low back pain…?

…and not because your left ankle lacked two degrees of dorsiflexion, or, I don’t know it was windy yesterday?

Load management (or lack of it) is the lowest hanging fruit we often overlook.

via GIPHY

Here’s an example of what I mean.

Using the same person above who’s shoulder bothers them when he/she benches: Let’s say they like to bench press 1x per week, on a Monday of course.

Like clockwork, the day after they bench, their shoulder feels like Johnny Lawrence used it for target practice with his fists. It feels like that for a few days, dissipates, and then by the time the following bench day arrives it feels better and the same cycle continues.

A more cogent approach may be to spread out the same volume over TWO workouts rather than one.

Here’s what they normally do:

Monday: Bench Press: 6×5 @ 185 lb

(Total Tonnage = 5,550 lb)

Here’s what they should do:

Monday/Thursday: Bench Press: 3×5 @ 185

(Total Tonnage = 2,775 lb) x 2

Sweep the leg.

via GIPHY

3. Change Modifiable Factors

Pigging back on the above, when something hurts or is painful always, always, always look at volume/load first.

From there you can ascertain at what load does something hurt – what’s the symptom threshold? Find that and when you do, train just below it to build tolerance and resiliency. The result will be twofold:

1. You’ll be encouraging an actual training effect.

2. Eventually, you’ll surpass the original symptom threshold because you forced an adaptation.

An easy example here would be squats. If someone experiences knee pain at a certain depth – maybe at parallel or just below it – have him or her perform a box (or free) squat ABOVE that spot.

Likewise, maybe all that’s needed to make the squat less painful is to change the stance width, or degree of toeing out? You can also tinker with bar position or even the tempo. The point is: Assuming we’ve ruled out anything nefarious, I’d rather someone keep squatting with a variation/tweak that reduces their symptoms dramatically than omit them altogether,

4. An Exorcism

But only as a last resort.

saksan@123rf.comCategoriescoaching Program Design

The Hardest Topic to Write About: Program Design

NOTE TO READER: This is a re-post of a blog post I wrote back in 2017. It’s still the shit. 

There aren’t many topics harder to write about than program design.

I mean, I guess we can make a case for Biomolecular Feedback Systems or the intricacies of Mass Spectrometry,7 but in my neck of the woods – health/fitness & increasing people’s general level of badassery – program design can be (and often is) an arduous topic to break down.

It’s often a rabbit hole full of platitudes and people majoring in the minors.

I don’t know how many sets your client should perform. Or reps. And I don’t know if back squats would be a better fit than front squats.

The answer to any programming question will always be “it depends.”8

Did Tony Just Say Program Design is Dumb and Useless?

Um, no.

What kind of coach would I be if I said that?

Of course it’s important. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t say it’s imperative for any personal trainer or coach to be competent in that area and to, you know…have skills.

A particular set of skills.

Skills that make you a nightmare for excess subcutaneous fat and sub-par deadlift technique.

^^^^ See what I just did there? ^^^^

There aren’t many things more simultaneously rewarding and frustrating than writing training programs for people

Emotions can range form “yep, I nailed it, my client will be in the next Olympics” to “fuck my life, I suck. What’s a dumbbell again?“

Moreover, if we were to be honest, and if we really think about it, nothing is more hypothetical than writing programs for people.

It’s all a guessing game.

I’m serious, I can think of several things less hypothetical than writing programs for people:

  • A Sasquatch.
  • A 14 hour orgasm.
  • Lightsabers.
  • A good Mark Wahlberg movie in the past 20 years.

Sets, reps, which exercise to do, and in what order?…it all falls under the umbrella of “I think this will work.“

“I’m pretty sure this person should trap bar deadlift instead of using a straight bar.”

“11 reps. No, wait, 7.

“Shit, did I leave the oven on?”

I mean, hopefully your guesses aren’t coming from left field and made with some modicum of expertise catered to the goals, needs, and experience level of each client/athlete you work with.

There are a multitude of factors to consider when writing a program. There’s no such thing as a one-size fits all approach.

It’s something entire books take 500+ pages to explain and people get fancy degrees in and stuff.

One of my all-time favs: Christian Thibaudeau’s Black Book of Training Secrets

I am not going to get into the nitty-gritty of program design in this little ol’ post. I’ll peel back that onion at a later date. But there are several tenets or principles of program design that are widely accepted across the board.

Including but not limited to:

Periodization

The organization of the training process. More to the point: It’s the planned variation in training volume and intensity over the course of a training program

This can be accomplished using Micro, Meso, or Macro Cycles:

  • Micro – Usually one-week in length
  • Meso – Usually 2-8 weeks in length, and often the most utilized.
  • Macro – Usually one-year in length (typically reserved for competitive athletes and/or SuperHeroes.

Mesocycles (2-8 week blocks) are the most common and can often be broken down into specific categories:

1. Doing Stuff. Or, What Uppity Strength Coaches Call General Physical Preparedness (GPP)

This is a phase where most people will start and it entails improving things like ROM of a particular muscle, flexibility, strengthening of weak muscle groups, addressing movement quality deficits, and using it as an opportunity to teach proper technique on certain exercises and drills.

2. Specific Physical Preparation (SPP)

My good friend, Joe Dowdell, often says this is where the bulk of the general population – particularly those who work with personal trainers – will stay.

This phase can have one of two focuses:

  • Accumulation – where the main stressor is volume (strength endurance, hypertrophy, etc)
  • Intensification – where the main stressor is intensity (Max Strength, Relative Strength, Speed Strength, Strength-Speed, etc)

3. Specific Training Phase

This is most often reserved for athletes and honing in on the specific demands of their sport of choice. Everything from exercise selection, speed of movement, energy-system work is specific to the sport.

4. Competitive Phase

In short, this covers IN-SEASON training. When I was at Cressey Sports Performance how we programmed for a baseball player during his IN-season training drastically differed from his OFF-season, mostly in terms of training frequency and intensity.

Types of Periodization

Giving credit where it’s due, the bulk of these descriptions are taken from Joe Dowdell’s Program Design Manual.

[NOTE: Sorry, good luck finding it. You’ll have better odds at finding The Invisible Book of Invisibility.]

1. Sequential Method (Linear)

This method uses specific intervals of time in order to develop a singular goal or strength quality.

This is where many beginner clients will start (as well as those who are injured).

  • Long Linear Method – Beginners live here. As weeks pass, volume decreases as intensity increases. The concept of “do more work each week” is hammered home here.
  • Short Linear Method – Uses 1-3 weeks and tries to fix the shortcomings of long-linear approach. Is a way to prevent de-training of strength qualities.

You can also think of this method as NSCA Essentials 101:

Preparation —> Hypertrophy —> Strength —> Power —> Competition —> Active Rest

The pitfall, unfortunately, is that this approach isn’t optimal for more advanced lifters/athletes as it’s tough to train multiple qualities at once.

2. Undulation Method

This is a very popular method and one I use often with my own clients. This is where you perform several different workouts in a repeating cycle, focusing on a different rep-range, exercises, or both.

A classic example is something like this:

Day #1 = “Heavy” Day; where all exercises are performed with low(er) repetitions (3-5) using heavier loads.

Day #2 = “Medium” Day; where all exercises are performed with more traditional “hypertrophy” styled rep-ranges (8-12)

Day #3 = “Light” Day; where all exercises are performed with high(er) reps (15+), tickles optional.

The above approach can be a considered “Daily Undulation.” You can also implement a weekly undulated approach, where the training stress fluctuates weekly.

All in all it’s a nice way to keep training fresh and allows trainees some variety.

3. Concurrent Method

This method allows for training multiple qualities at the same time in a given time period. The most common examples of this method is Westside Barbell and CrossFit.

Westside Barbell = Max Effort Method, Repetition Method, Dynamic Effort Method.

CrossFit = Wall Balls, Kipping Pull-Ups, Double Overs, and Running Over Your Left Arm with a Prius for AMRAP. Dope.

4. Conjugate Method

This is a variant of Concurrent programming. Here, you’re still training multiple qualities but with an emphasis on ONE goal while maintaining all others with a minimal volume.

5. Block Periodization

This is described as a linear series of blocks that focus on several abilities at once. For high-level athletes and competitors this seems to be the preferred approach.

With this method there’s one dominant quality being emphasized (maximal strength for example) with a secondary focus on a different quality (muscle hypertrophy, bringing sexy back), all using a sequence of meso-cycles:

Accumulation (4 weeks) – develop basic abilities such as general aerobic endurance, muscle strength, movement quality, etc.

Transformation/Intensification (4 weeks ) – develop specific abilities like anaerobic endurance, specialized muscular endurance, and event specific technique.

Realization (2 weeks) – pre-competition, which typically emphasizes maximum speed and recovery prior to event. Otherwise known as “you’re now ready to go rip shit up.”

The Training Hour Pie

Mike Boyle speaks to this often. If you have a finite amount of time with a client or athlete – say 60-90 minutes – it’s important to structure each training session to fit the goals and needs of the person and prioritize a certain percentage of the pie accordingly.

That’s the meat-and-potatoes of (good) program design.

Most programs, day-to-day, breakdown as follows:

  • Soft Tissue Work – 5-10 minutes
  • Mobility Work/Dynamic Warm -Up – 5-10 minutes
  • CNS, Reactive, or Speed Work – 10-15 minutes (jumps, skipping, agility, plyometric, OLY Lifts)
  • Strength Training – 30-40 minutes
  • Energy System Work – 10 minutes
  • Recovery & Regeneration – 5-10 minutes.
  • WU-TANG! – optional (but not really)

There will be fluctuations in how much time you allot to what component person-to-person. Some may need to spend more dedicated time on tissue quality, while others may need to up their conditioning.

However, it’s well accepted that most training sessions should follow this “flow,” and it’s your job as the coach to figure out the details.

All of This to Say

When I’m asked to speak to undergrads or young fitness professionals I often balk at the idea of discussing program design. I refrain from writing about it, too. They all want the answer, the big idea, the overarching thesis.

It’s impossible to do.

It’s all talk.

Stop talking.

Don’t get me wrong, the talking is important. It behooves any aspiring fitness professional to have a base understanding of anatomy, physiology, exercise science, and biomechanics and to talk things out.

To speculate, pontificate, question, maybe proselytize.

It’s also important to, you know, read books. I’d never say otherwise.

via GIPHY

But it’s also important to consider that reading, talking and pontificating – while part of the “Turning Pro” process – doesn’t in any way, shape, or form suggest mastery.

Action does.

I’d argue the best way to write effective programs is through experience and letting yourself marinate in trial-and-error.

It’s not necessarily about how many books you read, seminars on the topic you go to, or how many “Masterminds” you attend. That’s all well and good and does matter. But having the guts to finally break the inertia of inaction, to finally stop talking, and to finally put things into action (often failing miserably)…that’s when things get interesting.

And when the not sucking begins.

lightfieldstudios@123rf.comCategoriespersonal training Program Design Strength Training

The Art of the Indicator Set

The 21st century has graced us with a bevy of technological advances:

  • High-speed internet.
  • Telescopes that now treat us to images of Black Holes
  • Nanotechnology to help improve manufacturing, healthcare, climate change, and agriculture.
  • Pizza crust made out of cauliflower.

The health/fitness sector has also benefitted. Trainers have the ability to work with clients from all over the world in real-time. We also have the capability to measure things like bar speed and heart rate variability via applications on our phone; all of which provide data to help us gauge our “readiness” to train on any given day.

But seriously, cauliflower is now used to make pizza crust! Even more miraculous is that it doesn’t taste like sawdust.

Technology surely is great.

However, when it comes to ascertaining one’s readiness to train I tend to lean more toward the anti-app route, and instead rely on what I call “INDICTOR SETS.”

What the Heck Is An Indicator Set?

The easiest way to explain is via some anecdotal observances.

I was walking to my gym to train the other day where the plan was to show up, warm-up, crank a little Mobb Deep over the stereo, get angry enough to want to fight a tornado, and work up to a heavy(ish) triple on my deadlift (535 lb).

On paper it looked like a done deal.

But once I started warming up, things didn’t go quite as planned:

135 x 5

225 x 5

315 x 3

405 x 1 (didn’t feel horrible, but didn’t feel great)

455 x 1 (INDICATOR SET)

An indicator set basically lets me know whether or not I have “it” that day.

For instance, in the previous two weeks, 455 lbs (which is ~70% of my 1RM) literally flew up. Based on “feel” of my bar speed, and how effortless the set felt, I knew I could make a run for a high 500’s pull.

Put another way, I gave myself the green light to go for it, and I did.

Conversely, 455 felt like absolute garbage the other day.

It felt slow off the ground. And it felt even slower at lockout, which I normally never have any issues with.  The indication was: “Tony, if you attempt to go any higher you’ll run the risk of shitting your spine.”

So, I did the smart thing and called it.

I re-racked the plates, turned the page, and did my accessory work:  DB reverse lunges, a little pouting in the corner, and some pull-throughs.

via GIPHY

Listen, it’s not a perfect system, nor is it anything remotely scientific. To be as transparent as possible: I am not anti-technology. But I am anti-technology to the point that many (not all) people tend to miss the forest for the trees when it comes to their readiness to workout.

If their Apple watch indicates a modicum of fatigue they’ll shut that shit down faster than you can say, well, apple.

Just because your watch says you should avoid training on any given day doesn’t necessarily mean you have to. Besides, I’m not entirely sold on the reliability of those apps anyway. I’ve had clients walk into a session feeling like a million bucks only to have their watch tell them danger, danger, DANGER, and to not even look at a barbell.

On the flip side, I’ve also had clients show up feeling like they made out with a petri dish, only to warm-up, move around a little, and then feel like Leonidas leading the Spartans to battle.

via GIPHY

Indicator sets help you learn to FEEL whether or not you’ve got the juice on any given day. In short: It’s a form of auto-regulation that helps you to not have to rely on some algorithm.

Plus, it’ll save you a few hundred dollars…😙

At least in this scenario you’ll have some tangible, performance-based evidence to help you gauge things. Muscle fatigue is one thing and tends to be easier for many people to use as a metric.

If you’re overly sore you can feel that and tweak your programming accordingly. CNS (or nervous system) fatigue is a bit more nebulous and harder to pinpoint, or even feel for that matter.

Indicator sets help you with the latter.

To that end, I encourage you to start utilizing indicator sets as part of your warm-up on the days you know you’re going to be pushing the envelop. 

Pick a weight during your warm-up that you can use to “gauge” where you’re at that particular day. This number should be heavy enough to be challenging, but one you KNOW you can perform fast and with immaculate technique.

(this will likely be around 80% of your 1 rep-max)

Trust me.  The whole mindset of lift heavy or go home – while admirable – isn’t always the best approach.

microgen@123rf.comCategoriesExercise Technique Program Design Strength Training

Are Compound Movements Actually Making You Stronger?

NOTE FROM TG: It’s Christmas. So, I’m out. But, I figured this would be an opportune time to repurpose some old content.

1) If you didn’t read this the first time I posted it all I have to say is “pfffffft, whatever.”

2) If you did, you’re cool. And, share it……;o)

Understandably, the title of this post suggests some nefarious agenda where my goal is to spend the next few minutes explaining why we’ve had it all wrong the entire time.

“You mean to tell us, Tony, there’s a chance compound movements don’t make people stronger?”

“What’s next: telling us water isn’t wet, the Earth isn’t round, you’ve been busting our balls the entire time and kipping pull-ups are, in fact, one of your favorite exercises?”

Relax. Deep breaths.

Just so people don’t think I’ve lost my marbles or are already tapping away on their keyboard drafting their hate mail before actually reading what I have to say below….the short answer to the title of this post is:

“Yes, I do feel compound (multi-joint) movements – think: deadlift, squat, bench press, rows, overhead pressing – make people into beasts, and should lay the foundation for any well-rounded strength training program.”

However, I fear many trainees (and coaches) often fall into the same trap where we’re programmed into thinking compound movements, and only compound movements, should be utilized 100% of the time…no exceptions.

A thousand years of no gainz and incessant internet trolling to the person caught using the leg curl machine or, the horror, performs a few sets of tricep kickbacks.

Shut Up

No, really…shut up.

Of COURSE compound movements make you strong(er). If you want to get strong, it only makes sense to perform those movements which will allow you to use the most weight and force the body into a state of adaptation to get strong.

Granted a lot of other things need to fall into place in order for “strong” to happen. Just because you place a barbell on your back and meander up and down doesn’t mean you’re the second coming of Ed Coan.

Technique, frequency of training, addressing weaknesses, technique, and technique consistent progressive overload all need to be taken into consideration.

What’s more, if strength is the goal – particularly with the big 3 – compound/multi-joint movements performed in low(er) rep ranges (1-5) is kind of important.

Why?

Cliff Notes Version:  Lifting maximal weight has a number of effects:

1. Maximal number of motor units are recruited.

2. Fastest MU’s are activated (high-threshold motor units).

3. The discharge frequency (rate coding) is increased.

4. Activity is synchronous – both inter and intra-muscularly.

5. Potential for future hypertrophy gains (especially when you revert back to a “hypertrophy” specific training phase).

6.  While some argue whether or not the research is efficacious – it goes both ways – lifting heavy things helps to increase serum Testosterone levels.

7.  Girls will want to hang out with you (<=== it’s science).

But It’s Not All PRs and Butterfly Kisses

While all the above is true, focusing solely on compound movements (and lifting maximal weight all the time) does have its pitfalls.

1). There’s an inherent likelihood of increased wear and tear on the joints over time (Yes, even with “good” technique).

2). Compound movements = produce/accumulate more fatigue (particularly neural fatigue). And if it’s not managed appropriately, one may see a decrease in strength/performance over time.

And finally, something not many people consider:

3). We’re Really Good at Compensating.

You may have noticed that I drilled the idea of “technique” earlier. It’s that important.

As a coach I find many people are unable to express their true fitness/strength level due to faulty joint positions (misalignment, such as excessive lumbar extension/APT), and, honestly, not “earning the right” to increase load.

I.e., they haven’t performed enough reps at “x” weight in order to go up.

To that end, drilling technique – and respecting each individual’s anthropometry – is always going to be of paramount importance.

 

Due to our ability to compensate well, the likelihood you’re leaving poundages in the tank are very high.

As well, when we start talking accessory movements, I’m always in the camp which takes the approach they should generally be used to address some form of technique flaw or weakness with the main lift in question.

For Example

If someone is struggling with their deadlifts off the floor – meaning, they’re super slow – some viable accessory movements to address this would be:

1). Limiting tap-n-go reps (bouncing off the floor).

2). Deficit pulls (2-3″ elevated) to generate more quadricep recruitment.

3). More squat variations such as Safety Squat Bar squats and front squats (again, to generate more quadricep recruitment).

4). Anderson Squat – performed from a deadstart, emulating one’s deadlift stance.

 

Note: Notice my hip placement above. When I was pulling conventional style (the video is four years old) this variation of Anderson squat very much mirrored my deadlift stance, which carried over well.

Back To My Point

Oh yeah, my point.

Listen, it’s okay to perform isolation work or more bodybuilding-specific exercises. A more “hybrid” approach – strength and hypertrophy – is going to bode well for most people anyways.

Case in point: my bench press sucks. There are days where I’d rather wash my face with broken glass than bench press.

One of the things my coach has been implementing into my programs of late is more isolation work to address muscular issues.

Think about it: expressing strength is (mostly) about generating force. Hoisting big weights helps in this regard. However, a bigger muscle – almost always – is going to produce more force than a smaller one.

Indeed, I’ve been hammering away at my bench press technique – even implementing accessory movements like paused bench presses and Spoto Presses to address my weaknesses.

 

But guess what? Lately – for the past two blocks of training – I’ve been performing a TON of dumbbell chest flyes. You know, those “wimpy” things guys use to train their chest cleavage.

I feel so dirty admitting it.9

Funnily enough my bench press has seen it’s best jump in a while since incorporating more isolation type work for the pecs and triceps.

Too, my DL has gone up since tossing in some leg extensions; and I have to assume the chest flyes play a role too…;o)

Read: It’s not only about compound movements. Don’t be so dogmatic.

True, they serve as the staple for any strength-based program…but try not to neglect the importance of choosing the correct accessory work – even if it’s isolation exercises – to compliment your goals.

The internet will forgive you.

Categoriescoaching Program Design

5 Ways To Get Better At Writing Training Programs

I received a message from a young coach the other day asking if I knew of (or used) any tricks to help make writing training programs easier or less time intensive.

Outside of suggesting he build his own time traveling DeLorean, skip a head 50 or so years to clone himself 17 times (and to see if someone possibly cured male pattern baldness…asking for someone I know), and then travel back to 2025 with his small army of “hims” to help with the workload, I offered the following suggestions and advice.

I figured this was a good topic to expound on and decided to make it into a blog post.

Hope it helps.

1. Practice Makes Perfect (Kinda)

  • If you want to get better at playing the violin…play the violin.
  • If you want to get better at long division…do long division.
  • If you want to get better at free throws….practice more free throws.
  • If you want to get better at not getting laid…go to Star Trek conventions.

I keed, I keed.

There’s no way to sugar coat this:

“If you want to get better at writing programs…write more programs.”

I have a folder on my desktop labeled Lisa, Don’t Open This Folder Client Programs, and if I opened it right now and actually took the time to count the number of programs in it – which is an amalgamation of my eight years at Cressey Sports Performance in addition to the ten years I’ve been training people out of CORE and Core Collective – I’d garner a guess there’s at least, I don’t know, a kazillion, billion programs in it.

Okay, lets just say it’s a lot.

I am by no means insinuating I’m some program writing maverick and that I’ve got things dialed down to a well-tuned science, but it stands to reason in the 20+ years I’ve been writing training programs, I’ve gotten pretty okay at not sucking at it.

That being said, the sooner you acquiesce to the idea it’s going to take time, practice, and lots of experience on your part in order to get “adequate” yourself, the better off you’ll be.

To answer the question, though: Is there a way to expedite the program writing process?

Well, it depends.

Many factors come into play – one’s training age, injury history, goals, availability of equipment, total training frequency, favorite He-Man character (<– very important), to name a few.

I’d say on average it takes me anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes to write a program.

Moreover:

1. I rarely start from scratch.

I’ve written enough programs and have worked with enough people that I can Spidey-sense similarities and correlations between one client and another. If someone has the same background and/or goals as a previous client of mine I don’t need to re-invent the wheel. I can take someone else’s program, do a little bada-binging and bada-booing (tweaking), and cater it to someone else.

I take pride in writing individual programs for all my clients, but I’m also a realist. Most of the time most people need to be doing the same stuff anyways; at least in the beginning:

  • Less bench pressing.
  • More rows.
  • Better scapular rotation and reaching (general shoulder health).
  • More single leg work and carries.
  • More butt stuff (posterior chain in general).
  • Deadlifts DO NOT always mean using a barbell or that one is pulling from the floor.
  • No, deep squats aren’t dangerous.
  • Yes, your knees can go past your toes.
  • Give your clients a little of what THEY want to do. Key words to consider: “a little.”
  • If you ask me one more time whether or not you should go keto I’m going to throw my face into a wall.

2. Understand there’s NO SUCH THING AS A PERFECT PROGRAM.

It’s inevitable you’re going to be overzealous with some people or underestimate others, especially with regards to exercise selection.

I don’t think a day goes by where I’m not crossing out things on a program or making minor adjustments, or hell, even overhauling the entire program.

No one is perfect (except Ryan Gosling).

via GIPHY

2. Remember: It’s THEIR Program, Not Yours

No quote is more appropriate here than one of Dan John’s classics:

“The goal is to keep the goal, the goal.”

Ranked #16 in my list of “man crushes”

If someone’s goal is to get strong or maybe compete in powerlifting, then, yeah, they should likely focus on the classic barbell lifts.

Write a program that reflects that.

Kipping pull-ups likely aren’t going to get the job done. In fact, kipping pull-ups are never going to get the job done.

Stop it.

Just, stop.

If someone’s goal is to lose a bunch of fat, again, I could make the case strength is still important and that the barbell lifts (which utilize multiple joints and make burning a bunch of calories in a short amount of time a thing. Plus, the goal of any fat loss plan should be to KEEP the muscle you have. What makes muscle, keeps muscle. Lifting heavy things is paramount.) may be of benefit.

But understand there are many methods to get any job done.

Maybe someone would rather jump into a shark’s mouth than touch a barbell.

Blasphemous, I know. But it happens.

If so, don’t be an insufferable dick about it and force feed YOUR preferences over your client’s.10

A glaring example here is when you see bodybuilders training 55 year old female clients like bodybuilders. Yeah dude, I doubt she’s interested in her bicep peak. I mean, maybe. But I doubt it.

Stick to the goals and consider your client’s preferences.

This can make writing programs much, much, MUCH more “freeing” and palatable. If someone likes using dumbbells, incorporate more dumbbells. If someone seems to be down with landmine exercises, use more landmine exercises.

Often, the #1 factor for a program’s success is ADHERENCE.

A client/athlete is much more apt to stick to a program when it’s one they enjoy and want to do.

3. Write Programs In Bulk

You’re bound to be more efficient and “in the zone” when it comes to writing program when you write them in bulk.

Instead of writing one program here and another one there, sit down, grab a cup of coffee (or tea), put on some of your favorite program writing music (for me it’s Deep House or Norah Jones, don’t judge), and get to work.

I think you’ll find it’ll increase your program writing prowess.

4. Have Someone Audit Your Programs

Asking a colleague to take a peek at some of your programs and to provide some honest feedback is a splendid way to hone and sharpen your skills.

via GIPHY

Of course it helps to be someone who can take constructive criticism well. If your default reaction is to get defensive, stomp your feet, and yell “YOU’RE RUINING MY LIFE” when a friend suggests it might not a good idea to program back squats for someone with limited shoulder external rotation and to maybe consider front squats instead, you may want to hold off on this idea.

Conversely, grow up, it’s only going to make you better and to allow you an opportunity to see things from a different lens.

5. When In Doubt, Simplify

The next time you find yourself sitting in front of your computer screen contemplating putting in Close Grip Bench Press cluster sets for your 16 year old high-school athlete with weight releasers utilizing a 5-0-7 tempo while also repeating the alphabet backwards, in Elvish:

  1. Stop
  2. Punch yourself in the pancreas.
  3. Hard.
  4. And remember to just keep things simple.

Believe me, I know how easy it is to be seduced into adding novelty to your client’s programs for the sake of adding novelty…but I assure you most of them do not care and more importantly most do better without it.

The “boring” stuff is almost always going to be the better fit and is likely all most of your clients will need for quite some time.

Seriously, when in doubt….simplify.

And then just coach the shit out of everything.

6. Miscellaneous Pontification

– It would also bode in your favor to actually lift weights. Practice what you preach.

– Refrain from adding things to your programs that you yourself have not tried first.

– Network. Make nicey nice with local coaches and physical therapists. You’ll learn a ton.

– I cannot WAIT for the 5th season of Ted Lasso to come out.

– Also, not for nothing, but did you not notice I used both words “amalgamation” and
“acquiesce” in this blog post? You didn’t, did you?11

ksuksa@123rf.comCategoriescoaching Program Design

4 Coaching and Program Design Digressions

4 Coaching & Program Design Digressions

1. Fillers Instead of Warming Up?

You know it, I know it, your mom’s second cousin’s Little League baseball coach’s sister knows it, everyone knows it…

…people always skip their warm-up prior to training.

Hell, [industry secret revealed] I skip my warm-up more than 50% of the time.12

Now, to back track a bit, I am not anti-warming up and I do advocate my clients and athletes do follow one.

I do write them in.

However, what I am not a fan of is the laundry list approach to warming-up.

You know what I mean: the warm-up that consists of a never-ending list – 10, 15, sometimes 20 exercises deep – of positional breathing, t-spine mobility, glute activation, and stretching drills.

I take a gander at something like that and am like…

via GIPHY

I can only imagine what some of my clients in the past were like…

via GIPHY

This is not an attempt to discount or demerit the importance of doing any of those drills mentioned above. I just know humans, and I know the vast majority of them would rather jump in front of a mack truck than do their warm-up.

Which is where the idea of “fillers” comes in.

These are nothing more than low-grade, low-intensity mobility or activation drills that are performed DURING the workout, typically during rest periods.

In short: It’s a sneaky way to put the shit that people need to work on in the program in a way that they’ll actually do it.

I’ve written about fillers in the past and how to best incorporate them depending on the main lift of the day:

2. Underwhelm Them Early

This is a phrase I stole from my good friend Mike Robertson, but it mirrors much of what I do with all of my new clients. In the beginning all I am really concerned with is letting my clients marinate in the basics.

I want them to hinge, squat, push, pull, carry, and perform some single leg work. Now what variation of all those things will depend on a multitude of factors: health & injury history, goals, ability level, not to mention their anatomy (anthropometry and leverages). When all is said and done, though, from a programming standpoint, my clients should be underwhelmed. I want their programs to be mind-numbingly boring.

People need reps out of the gate, a lot of reps…of the same thing(s). That is the only way they’re going to learn and begin to “own” their movement.

What they don’t need is a bunch of novelty and a coach who’s only goal is to entertain them. I can appreciate (and understand) that training should be fun and stimulating and fill everyone’s love tank to the ‘enth degree. However, in my eyes, that needs to be earned via lots and lots and lots of repetition of the same shit.

No one ever got strong or mastered any exercise by constantly changing things up.

Wow your clients with customer service; underwhelm them with exercise selection.

3. Easy Training is Good Training

Keeping in tune with the whole “underwhelming them early” vibe, I’m a firm believer in the anecdote – astutely stolen from Dan John – that “easy training is good training.”

Put into other words: I’m less of a “holy shit I can’t feel the left side of my face, that workout was awesome” kinda guy and more of a “huh, I could totally do more, but [insert anything from going to see a movie and hanging out with your spouse to reading a book and drowning in kitty cuddles]” kinda guy.

See, I’d rather my clients/athletes leave a session feeling as if they could do more, maybe even wanting to do more, but don’t.

This is not to say “easy” training doesn’t involve some amount of effort or uncomfortableness; far from it. It is to say that pounding your clients into the ground every…single…session isn’t necessarily making them better or more resilient or whatever other cute adjective you want to toss in here.

There’s a common saying I’ve seen many other coaches use and it bears repeating:

“Your progress in the weight-room is directly correlated with how well you’re able to RECOVER from said workouts.”

This entails training with sub-maximal loads (65-80% of 1RM) more often in addition to other things such as encouraging more GGP/Zone 2 work (think: heart rate hovers in the 120 BPM range), sleep, calories to support one’s goals, and hydration to name a few.

4. Is It Necessary to De-Load Often?

It’s common practice for many gyms and trainers to use every fourth week as a rudimentary “deload week” (or a structured tempering of training volume, load, or both) for their clients and athletes.

It makes sense…especially when you consider billing cycles.

For example, to a large degree I still use this approach because every month my clients “re-up” their packages and I get to ding their credit cards in exchange for a freshly curated program.

But even then I have to take into consideration a few things.

  • Training Frequency: someone who only trains 2x per week won’t necessarily do enough work to warrant a de-load as compared to someone who trains 4x per week.
    .
  • Training Experience/Goals: someone who is working out for basic health or is a complete newbie will have a stark difference in approach to de-loading compared to someone training for a powerlifting meet or has more experience and is just stronger as a general observation. The former may go weeks without the need for any type of deload while the latter may be best suited for one every 3-4 weeks.
    .
  • Life: Work, vacations, the beach, your slow-pitch softball schedule, your kid’s explosive diarrhea…all have a tendency of tossing us organic de-loads as it is. Oftentimes there’s no need to go out of my way to plan de-loads for some clients because “life” takes care of that anyway.

All of this doesn’t even get into the weeds on all the different types or ways to implement a de-load. I already touched on the idea of lowering one’s overall training volume or even intensity (personally I’m a fan of lowering volume but keeping intensity on the high(er) side of the spectrum, if not the same), but there are a bevy of other options too:

  • Omitting compound movements in lieu of more isolation type movements (I.e., less axial loading).
  • Going into full-on body-part-split-per day bodybuilder mode for a week or longer (<— this is fun).
  • Reducing training frequency (instead of 5x per week, go with two).
  • Get out of the gym entirely and partake in more outdoor activities.

For the Record: I’m very much a fan of people taking a full-week off from training – particularly if they’re consistent – 1x per year just to give themselves a break.

That said, I will sometimes push the boundaries with some of my clients and won’t implement an actual de-load until 1) I see a drastic decrease in their progress or performance on the gym floor 2) they’re eyes start bleeding or, you know, 3) they simply ask.

Often, especially if a client shows up to a session and they look like death, I’ll implement a de-load session, affectionately referred to as a Bloop, Bloop, Bloop workout.

HERE the idea is to listen to them, understand that, yes, life gets in the way sometimes, but to also not let them off the hook so easily.

They’re still going to workout and move – it just won’t involve working up to a heavy triple on their front squat.

 

cherezoff@123rf.comCategoriescoaching Program Design

The Lost Art of Simple

 

What’s our obsession with making things hard or complex?

The Lost Art of Simple

I remember when I was a kid all I needed to entertain myself was my bike. I’d ride around pretending I was Knight Rider talking to my bike as if it were KITT.14

“Turbo boost KITT.”

And then I’d pedal faster.

“Oh snap, we’re under heavy fire and need to perform counter measures.”

And then I’d swerve back and forth between trees avoiding every heat seeking missile sent in my direction.

“KITT, eject, eject.”

This is when I’d point my bike in the direction of some sweet jump I’d have constructed, and, well, this would happen:

 

Nowadays you ask a kid to go outside and play and they’re looking at you as if you have three heads and wondering how that’s even possible without an iPhone in hand. It’s almost as if there has to be some form of technology or gadgetry involved.

A frisbee? No way.

A wiffle ball and bat? Pfffft, whatever.

A tree? Hahahahahaha.

The simple days of simple games are long gone. I mean, I know they exist, and I know there are kids out there still playing hide-n-seek, kickball, and pick-up basketball.

But it’s few and far between. Pokemon Go, seemingly, has replaced the playground.

I can’t help but notice the same parallel in the fitness industry. People (on both sides of the fence: fitness pros and non-fitness pros alike) seem to be under the impression that fancy or complex is somehow better than simple. And maybe even more tragic: many believe that better results are always a result of adopting complex methodologies over the simple ones.

Sometimes this is true. Oftentimes it’s BS.

I’ve had my fair share of other coaches coming in to shadow and observe for a few hours at a time. It’s always an honor and I am more than willing to accommodate. Sure they could spend their time reading Mike Boyle or watching any litany of fitness people on Instagram, but no, some choose to come in on a Saturday to watch people deadlift and listen 90’s hip hop.

One theme I am becoming more cognizant of is how surprised some coaches are about how “simple” my programming is.

There’s very little glitz and glam or shiny bright objects to pivot from the fact that all I really want is for my clients/athletes to become unapologetically brilliant at the basics.

People squat, people hip hinge, and people perform these things called rows, push-ups, and Farmer carries.

You may have heard of them.

Antiques to some, I know.

Furthermore, is my assessment process.

The idea of simple starts there. Unless someone is coming in with a lengthy injury history or is training for something super specific like, say, I don’t know, the Mime Bombsniffing Olympics, what advantage is there in making the assessment more complicated than it has to be?

Taking a more global approach is a fantastic starting point for most people. There’s no need to put them under a microscope. If anything, for most people most of the time, their “assessment” is nothing more than an opportunity to weed out “red flags” by taking a quick peek at hip IR/ER, hip flexion/extension, and other things like overhead shoulder mobility.

In a sense I’m trying to see what their passive ROM is, are there any limitations, and if so, 1) does it match their active ROM and 2) are there any test/re-test strategies I can implement to see an improvement?

To a larger degree (and stealing a quote from my friend, Luke Worthington):

“Can you do the thing that you want to do? Yes. Good. No. Let’s fix that.”

Here’s the Thing: 80% of my assessments are done on the gym floor. There’s only so much poking and prodding I can do on table before A) shit starts getting weird and B) the client starts feeling like a patient.

In reality the assessment should be a watered down training session.

  • I want to see them squat.
  • I want to see them hip hinge.
  • I want to see them get up off the floor.
  • I want to see them Sparta kick the wall.

I can glean way more information watching people move. And too, they get a taste of what a typical training session will be like with me.

It’s a very simple procedure that, when some coaches observe, comes across as super-duper minimal, and it throws them off, as if to say, “Really? That’s it?”

Yep, that’s it.

People want to train.

They could give two flying shits about their big toe dorsiflexion. Trust me.

Funny Side Story: I was once given a “bad” review at a conference I spoke at because in my topic, “Shoulder Assessment,” I didn’t demonstrate anything “new and innovative.” To which I was like, “Well, since when does shoulder assessment need to be new and innovative?” Why not take the mindset of doing the “boring” screens well?

Note to Self: Bring a flame thrower to next speaking engagement. That will add some innovation.

Going Back to Programming.

This is another component where I feel simplicity has its benefits.

The never-ending game of  oneupmanship on social media many fitness pros play is exhausting. This is a conversation for another day, but the LOOK-AT-ME, performative vibe many take is absurd. I watch some of the videos people put up and all I want to do is say “Riiiiiigggghhhhttt.”

I also want to throw an ax into my face, but that’s besides the point.

Comparatively speaking my Instagram feed is probably batshit boring to some people.

I can hear the cacophony of “BFD” comments now. “Wow, cool Tony. You have your clients squat. What’s next: A set of chin-ups?

No, wait, Pallof Presses!?!?!”

Actually, yeah. Probably.

Call me crazy, but I’d rather educate and provide a rationale for putting up certain videos/pictures (cute cat pictures aside) than worry about whether or not I’m earning some fleeting social media credibility.

What’s more, you wanna talk about boring and vanilla? Grab two back-to-back programs of any client of mine and it’s a safe bet you’ll see more of a linear periodization approach, which is about as vanilla as things gets. Take my client Sara for example (the woman in the video above).

On the days she trains with me at CORE we tend to focus more on the coaching-intensive exercises like squats and deadlifts. We’ll first hit one of the two hard (generally, lower reps/mid to higher intensity loads) and follow suit with “everything else.”

Here’s how we approached her squats and deadlifts the past two months.

October

Sumo Deadlift (Weeks 1,3), Back Squat (Weeks 2,4) 
      
 WeekSetsReps Load
 152 85%
 2Hit 135×1then3×5115 lbs
 33×1 @90%then3×5 75%
 4Hit 140×1then3×5120 lbs

November

Sumo Deadlift (Weeks 1,3), Back Squat (Weeks 2,4)
      
 WeekSetsReps Load
 145 75%
 2135 x (2×1)then3×3 @125 lbs
 355 75%
 4145×1then3×2 @130 lbs

If you pay particular attention to her squat progression, it’s more or less me ensuring she was doing more work each week.

Nothing magical or advanced at all.

And it worked.

She smoked a PR of 145 lbs this past Monday. While listening to Lil Kim. Because that’s how we roll.

Program design doesn’t have to be complex.

All it really comes down to is ensuring you’re coaching your clients well (<– a lost art in of itself) utilizing stances and grips and bar placements that suit their goals and anatomy…

…and that they’re placing a premium on doing more work over the course of several weeks/months.

Simple and Boring. It Works

I’m willing to bet your clients will prefer a simpler approach (if not thrive on it) once you give it a fair shot.

  • People tend to not need as much novelty as they think. Muscle confusion is a stupid concept. People need consistency in order to master movement.
  • You don’t always need to increase load. People need to earn the right to increase weight on the bar. Staying within a certain range for several weeks and accumulating volume is often a undervalued way to progress.
  • Try not to make assessment to much of a thing. Granted, if someone has a lengthly injury history you may need to go down some sort of rabbit hole to figure out what exacerbates their symptoms. And then attempt to address it. But more often than not people will appreciate you not putting them under a microscope. If you treat the assessment as more of a training session and not some sick game to point out every miniscule dysfunction and how much of a walking fail someone is, they’ll be less likely to think you’re a douche.