CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work Uncategorized

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 10/27/17

Lets dive right into things.

Copyright: wamsler / 123RF Stock Photo

 

But First

1) Mid-Atlantic Regional NSCA Conference – Philadelphia

I’m excited to be presenting alongside some other prominent coaches at this year’s Mid-Atlantic NSCA Conference in Philadelphia, PA this coming December.

Hope to see you there.

2) Strength House Podcast – The One Where They Dissect My 600 lb Deadlift

I’ve had a lot of people ask me about my 600 lb deadlift that I hit a few weeks ago: How did I  prepare? What did my programming look like? Did I destroy the back of my pants? You know, all the important stuff.

My coach, Greg Robins, and his partner in crime, Tony Bonvechio, go into great detail on my technique and programming in their latest episode of The Strength House.

 

3) How To Build a Strong Online Training Business 

There are few things I’m steadfast on:
1. No one has to back squat.
2. Bacon is delicious.
3. Attack of the Clones is the worst of the Star Wars movies. It just is.

Oh, and there’s one more thing: I think any trainer who is serious about pursuing online training should FIRST spend 2+ years training people in person.

There are so many variables and nuances one learns from coaching people in person that it’s pretty much impossible to appreciate them if you end up bull-charging into online coaching out of the gate.

That being said, in this day and age, online coaching is kinda-sorta a thing. Actually, it’s more than that. For many it’s a viable and extraordinary way to add an additional revenue stream to compliment your income, or in some cases to make into your livelihood.

My good friend, Jon Goodman, author of the world’s only textbook on online training, has a free 4-day course on building a successful online business. I checked it out and it’s awesome, but free registration ends on October 29. Grab it while you can, and you’ll learn…

* Lesson 1: How to properly offer support to online clientele (and why most online trainers do this really, REALLY badly).

* Lesson 2: How online trainers should approach assessments (and the key mindset shift you MUST make).

* Lesson 3: How to sell online training over the phone in 11 steps (without being SLEAZY).

* BONUS: You’ll also get a free copy of Jon’s ebook, “The 16 Lasting Laws of Online Training”

The LAST day to download this FREE 4-day course is October 29th. Don’t miss out.

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work

The Ultimate Pull-Up Program – Meghan Callaway

This is one of the best resources I’ve ever come across on the topic of how to make pull-ups/chin-ups your bitch.

Meghan is a fantastic coach and I know of zero people who are more passionate about the topic than her.

She looooooooves pull-ups. And, honestly, there aren’t many people who can do what she can do. It’s pretty impressive.

If you’re looking to conquer your first pull-up (and then some), look no further. Last day to save $50 off the regular price is today (hint, hint, nudge, nudge).

Should You Squat Tall Athletes? – Mike Robertson

Mike’s written many phenomenal articles throughout the years. This one may be in his Top 5. Really, really good.

So You Want To Be a Writer? – Tim Henriques

There are many coaches and trainers out there wondering whether or not that have the chops (maybe “prose” would be a better word here?) to write.

Strength coach Tim Henriques provides some excellent insights in this post.

Social Media Shenanigans

Twitter

Instagram

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 12/9/16

Hey guess what?

Only seven more days until Rogue One opens. I’m not excited at all. Nope, not me. No excitement here.

I do have to admit something, though, and it’s not going to win me any nerd cred. In fact, I may lose some.

I’m not going to go see it opening weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ytCEuuW2_A

 

I know, I know…how can I call myself an avid Star Wars fan and not go see it opening weekend? What kind of nerd am I? What’s next? Saying The Hobbit trilogy is better than LoTR? That Pluto is, in fact, a planet? Or that I never thought about how could Superman possibly have sex with Lois Lane and not, you know, kill her?1

Here’s the deal: last year when The Force Awakens came out my wife and I practiced a degree of delayed gratification and held off seeing it until Christmas Eve. We treated it as an early Xmas gift to one another and then followed suit with an all-you-can-eat steak dinner at Fogo de Chao.

When you think about it that’s a pretty stellar evening, right? So when we knew Rogue One was coming out around the same time this year we decided it would be nice to repeat it. Because nothing says “Merry Christmas” more than X-Wing vs. AT-ACT Walker battles.

Stuff to Check Out Before You Read Stuff

1. The Complete Guide to Training the Female Athlete

TODAY (12/9) is the last day to save $100 off this awesome product. There’s very little resources out there dedicated solely to developing the (complete) female athlete. Adam Feit and Bobby Smith (along with Mary Kate Feit and Dr. Sharon Wentworth) really do a superb job at breaking down everything from assessments and ACL prevention to developing linear/lateral speed to jump training to strength to power to E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G

It’s professionally filmed and there are also CEUs available to help add a little more value. But honestly, the resource itself is MORE than enough. You’d be crazy not to take advantage of this if you’re a coach who works with female athletes.

Check it out HERE.

2. Manchester By the Sea

 

Lisa and I saw this last weekend and loved it. It’s heartbreaking, but the sprinkling of comedic relief (mostly via interactions between Casey Affleck’s character and his nephew) provide for a well-rounded experience. This is definitely in my top-5 so far this year, and I don’t really see it being nudged out in any way.

If you get the opportunity to see it, I’d highly recommend it.

And now, lets get to this week’s list of stuff to read.

The Sneaky Adductors – Julie Read

This is a little bit of an older post (from this past June), but I came across it this past week and have been impressed with Julie’s work. I can appreciate her sense of humor and writing style.

Her info is spot on, but what’s even more impressive is her art-work. It’s amazing. The cool thing? If you join her newsletter you can get access to all of her prints. I’m going to print them all out, frame them, and put them up in my gym.

Should Personal Trainers Give/Receive Gifts During the Holidays? – Tim Henriques

This was a very thorough breakdown of what can be an awkward or dicey situation for some trainers and coaches out there.

Note to my clients: the answer is yes. Yes, trainers should receive gifts. Especially in the form of beef jerky and/or all expenses paid trips to where ever….;o)

What to Eat During the Holidays: Be Human, Win the Week, & EAT IT ALL – Chris Hitchko

My Yahoo homepage is flooded with stories left and right about how to go about “managing” the holidays with regards to food consumption.

Chris reminds us that restricting yourself isn’t the path to happiness. Eat what you want.

Social Media Highlights

Twitter

Instagram

The latest edition to CORE. A subtle reminder to patrons on bathroom etiquette…?

A photo posted by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 7/1/16

Lets get right into this week’s list

Introducing the Henriques Deadlift Chart – Tim Henriques

OMG – this was aaaaammmmmaaaazzzzzziiinnnggggg.

Tim’s the author of one of the best powerlifting books written in recent memory, All About Powerlifting, as well as as the director of The National Personal Training Institute. Plus, you know, he’s a strong sonofabitch.

If you’re a fitness pro who writes a ton training programs you’re probably very familiar with Prilepin’s Chart, which breaks down “optimal” set/rep schemes given a certain training percentage

It’s a fantastic chart. The thing is though, it’s based off of research OLY weightlifters and not powerlifters.

Tim took it upon himself to remedy that issue.

You can also check out his squat chart HERE, and bench press chart HERE.

After reading all of them, you should send Tim and email to thank him.

The Top 7 Bodybuilding Methods of All-Time – Christian Thibaudeau

Enjoyed this one from Coach Thibs. It never ceases to amaze me just how many different ways there are to lift weights.

Ruthless Mobility – Dean Somerset

If you’re a trainer, coach, physical therapist, or just someone who likes to nerd out over movement, this is an excellent resource on assessment, corrective strategies, and programming to improve people’s “suppleness.”

Dean placed Ruthless Mobility on SALE  through the holiday weekend at about half-off the regular price.

Take advantage of it while you can HERE.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 10/23/15

Some big things happening in the next 48 hours.

For starters I’ll officially be open for business and taking on new clients at my new spot in Boston. I’ve spent the past few weeks getting my ducks in a row purchasing equipment and getting some semblance of “systems” set in place to help organize things.

But mostly it’s been all about taking this:

Special delivery from @roguefitness. Now the question is how long will it take me to put everything together?

A photo posted by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

To  this:

 

Time to get to work. Wish me luck. A photo posted by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

And turning it into this:

 

BOOM.

 

A photo posted by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

It’s like my very own Transformer!

I’ll be updating the website soon to better highlight what services I’ll be offering in Boston, but for now if you’re reading this and wondering to yourself, “huh, I wonder what it would be like to have Tony train me1” you can shoot me an email at: [email protected] (or use the Contact function on the homepage).

UPDATE: actually, you can go HERE for more information.

Also, I’ll be making a cameo appearance at Legacy Strength in Floral Park, NY on Sunday (10/25) to do a 1-day workshop on shoulder shenanigans for a group of personal trainers and coaches. It’ll actually be my first time driving to NYC (and not taking public transportation), so FML.

I am, however, really looking forward to Sunday.

And lastly, speaking of speaking engagements, I’d like to run something past all of you.

Lisa, my wife, is an accomplished psychologist (with a doctorate in Sports Psychology) and she and I have been toying with the idea of offering a 1-day workshop tentatively titled “Kick It Up a Notch.”

[NOTE (slight brag fest): she actually jumped in when I was down in Australia this past March and spoke to the group of trainers/coaches on mindset and how to better communicate with clients. They ate it up. She’s also speaking alongside Artemis Scantalides in a few weeks at the I Am Not Afraid To Lift (Boston) Workshop. There are a handful of spots still available. Hint, hint].

Helping athletes/clients on the physical component is one thing – most trainers and coaches are well prepared for that. However, it’s a whole different ball of wax when mindset and the mental component is thrown into the mix.

What the two of us have been thinking is combining a workshop where I speak to how to progress our clients in the weight room (discussing exercise progressions/regressions, performance on key lifts) and Lisa speaks to how to help our clients with mindset, inner dialogue, and the mental component.

Do you feel there would be ANY interest in something like this?

I do. But I’d like to see if I’m right or if it’s just wishful thinking on my part.

Without further ado, lets get to this week’s list.

Head & Shin Position In the Deadlift – Tim Henriques

Tim’s an excellent coach and wrote one of the best books on powerlifting I’ve ever read titled, coincidentally enough, All About Powerlifting.

This was a fantastic article breaking down two often debated cues on the deadlift concerning ideal chin and shin position. Really, really good stuff.

The only way this article could have been more good is if it won an arm wrestling match vs. Zeus.

5 Critical Coaching Cues, Confused – Greg Robins

Keeping with the “lifting heavy stuff” theme, in this article Greg discusses five common coaching cues with the Big 3 that are often misunderstood or confused.

I particularly liked #1.

Why Strength Training Is Crucial For Me – Lindsay Somerset

Somerset? That name sounds familiar.

Lindsay is Dean’s wife, and an accomplished endurance athlete. In this very important post she describes why strength training has been a crucial component to her success as a competitive athlete.

Some Bonus Stuff

1. I’m really excited about the upcoming release of Strength Expert Secrets.featuring the likes of Dan John, Tim Henriques, Matt Kroc, Jordan Syatt, Dean Somerset, Josh Bryant, Bud Jefferies, and me.

As part of the pre-launch you can sign up to receive 8 FREE preview videos of the product. All you need to do is provide your name and email address HERE.

To serve as a teaser, here’s my video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsT_9x18_C4

 

I really hate watching/hearing myself speak.

2. For anyone looking to improve their writing skills, I picked up a really good book yesterday: Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide To Creating Ridiculously Good Content.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 6/13/14

Really quick before I get into the meat and potatoes of this week’s list.

1.  I love you.

2.  I didn’t even realize it was Friday the 13th until someone pointed it out to me today.  Also, apparently, I think someone told me there’s a full moon tonight.  If so, have fun with that. Good luck!

3.  If you missed it, strength coach, writer, and stronger than 99% of the population, Tim Henriques, wrote a fantastic guest post earlier this week titled 5 Life Lessons From Powerlifting.

I’m reminding people because his new book, All About Powerlifting, is quickly becoming one of my “go to” books to recommend to people regardless of training experience or whether or not they’re interested in powerlifting.  Don’t let the title fool. Yes, it’s about powerlifting….but Tim goes into great detail on each of the “big 3” and I feel it serves as an excellent primer for those looking to learn the lifts and improve their technique.

4. Only 553 days left until Star Wars Episode VII comes out.  In case anyone’s keeping track. 5 hours, 47 minutes, and 33 seconds.

32, 31, 30……..

Death By Cardio & The Fortress of Solitude – Bryan Krahn

There was an article written last week on a very popular fitness site basically telling people that cardio kills people.  I didn’t much care for it and felt it did more to bring the industry back rather than improve it.

There was a lot of research studies sited in the article itself, which, for better or worse, automatically gives people the impression that it must be accurate.

Just remember:  there was once a time where physicians advocated we smoke to improve our health!

Anyways, I really appreciated Bryan’s retort and I think you will too.

My Secret Sauce to Healthy Weight: Meal Preparation – Trish DaCosta

I had the pleasure of meeting Trish in person earlier this week and felt she was a lovely human being, and someone whom I shared many common beliefs with.

Like the idea of meal prep and how that plays a key role in weight management.

Every Sunday Lisa and I will get our groceries for the week and we’ll get home and have most of the food prep done (chicken breasts grilled, starches cooked, and beef sauteed) before noon.  And be “we’ll have it done,” what I really mean is Lisa will have it done.

Love you babe!

Yes, meal prep sucks.  Yes, no one likes doing it.  But you need to learn to suck it up and do it anyways. That, and TAKE OUT THE RECYCLING!!!!!!!!!!  HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO ASK!?!??!

Low Cholesterol: The Risks, Dangers, and Reality – Michael McEvoy

I had my first appointment with a doctor in well over a decade last summer. As I recall it was a fairly painless experience, and I only hyperventilated into a brown paper bag twice at the sight of a needle.

As part of the deal, I had some blood work done to test things like my vitamin D levels, testosterone levels, as well as cholesterol and adamantium (<—– please tell you get the reference).

A week or so after the fact I received the results and noticed that my TOTAL cholesterol levels were somewhat low (take that egg haters!!!!), and I was more or less patting myself on the back.

As it happened, a fellow Facebook friend of mine, a doctor himself, noted that, while there was nothing to be too (too) concerned about, low cholesterol levels can be just as much a sign of something wrong as high cholesterol readings.

He noted:

“If your total cholesterol is really in the 120s, you (may) have a couple of things going on….the first could be fat malabsorption due to decreased bile production or flow, the second is significant adrenal stress that leads to all of your cholesterol getting shunted to pregnenolone to control inflammation. Infections(sub-clinical) will lead to chronic inflammation that depletes cholesterol as well.” 

To which I responded:

Am I going to die?

Anyways, this was the article he sent my way which I felt was interesting and something that some of you may find interesting as well.

CategoriesExercise Technique Program Design Strength Training

Shoulder Training Tips: 6 Coaches Weigh in on Shoulders

This one is short and sweet today. We’re on a very, very tight schedule (spa, tour of the Mets training complex, etc)) and I was warned by Lisa that if she caught me on my computer she’d either Sparta kick me in the chest or force me to listen to nothing but Katy Perry on our way to Miami.

Neither sounds like a great scenario.

*tap, tap, tap, space key, space key, tap, tap, space key, tap, tappidy tap, space key, taparoo*

“Excuse me. But…..What. Are. You. Doing?”

Lisa!  Uh, I didn’t see you there.  I was just, you know, I thought I heard a noise on my computer, and I opened the screen, and, I, uh, just wanted to make sure it was alright. Since I was here I thought I’d go a head and donate to Greenpeace, and maybe look into adopting a baby seal.

Okay, I was checking my emails and writing a quick post.

Honey, why are you stepping closer? HONEY!!!!  NOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Two hours later from a hospital bed:

I was asked a few weeks ago by the editors of T-Nation if I’d be willing to offer some advice on shoulder training.

It turned out awesome and includes solid information from other top-notch coaches like Tim Henriques, Dean Somerset, Bryan Krahn, Ben Bruno, and Dan Trink.

===> Check it out here <===

 

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work Uncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Zombies!, Pull-Ups, and the best Warm-Up Article EVER

Wait a second – my alarm went off this morning.  I don’t think I’m dreaming.

*looks out window*

Volcanoes aren’t erupting, the streets aren’t flooded with molten lava, and from what I can tell, everything seems business as usual.

The Mayanpocalypsearmeggedonacaust didn’t happen.  We’re all still here!!!!!!

High Five!

But be weary my friends – we’re still not out of the woods yet.  The day is still young, and you never know when s*** is going to hit the fan.

If things do get real, and you’re forced to fight for your life, whether it be killing a grizzly bear with your nunchucks for your next meal, protecting your family from evil doers, or I don’t know, something less “doom and gloom” like clicking “next” whenever your Pandora station plays a Coldplay song……are you prepared?

Are you in enough ass-kicking shape to do what you need to do to get s*** done? Can you – WILL YOU – survive if you had to go all Snake Plissken on people’s asses?

Well just in case, earlier this week my boy, John Romaniello, released his latest training program:

Zombie Apocalypse Survival Workout

I know some reading are going to dismiss this product due to the “less than serious” premise. To that I say:

1.  Relax!  Don’t take yourself so seriously.

AND

2.  There’s actually a legitimate rationale behind it.

John, along with every other well-known fitness professional I know, routinely gets questions asking his opinion on CrossFit (myself included).

It’s a touchy topic to say the least, and something that has caused a rift between strength coaches, personal trainers, and fitness enthusiasts alike.

On one end of the spectrum you have those who swear by it, and literally eat, drink, breath, and LIVE by CrossFit.

On the other, you have those who loathe it, think it’s a fad, and that it’s hopefully going away.  Like, soon.

Well, it’s not going away.  And while I’ll be the first to admit that I too have my qualms with CrossFit, I also understand that it’s getting people excited to exercise, and there’s a lot to be said for that. How can I possibly poo-poo on that?

Like John I feel the idea of CrossFit is sound – it’s just that its execution is flawed.

To his credit John has been attending at least one CrossFit class a week for the past few months to try to get a better understanding and feel for what the culture is like.

And, not surprisingly, he’s mentioned several times that there are great coaches and absolutely terrible coaches.

The great coaches – and by extension, the most successful CF boxes – understand that it comes down to sound programming.  They take the time to properly coach their clients and use appropriate exercise progressions (and more importantly, regressions) to “guide” them through.

By contrast, the terrible coaches – and unfortunately this seems to be the rule rather than the exception – focus solely on the workouts. How can we completely obliterate our athletes/clients and make them hate life?  How can we – fingers crossed! – make them cough up their spleen?

The latter is what I 100% disagree with, and what I feel gives CrossFit its bad rap.

So what did Roman do?  He started taking CrossFit classes to see if he could fix it.

To quote the man himself:

“I thought to myself, “what if you took the idea of CrossFit–the idea of non-
specification,the idea of having a high level of general proficiency across the
board, and applied intelligent programming–with a classic Roman twist–to
that idea…what would you get?”

It’s a good question, and one worth exploring. So that’s what I did.

What I wound up with was the Zombie Apocalypse Survival Workout. 

Because really, when you strip away the fun and silliness, that’s what ZAW 
really is: my take on CrossFit. It’s CrossFit, Roman style, with all of the issues 
with programming fixed.”

Fittingly, today is the last day of the sale, so if you’re interested you better hurry.  The walking dead could be right around the corner……;o)

6 Coaches Weigh in on Pull-Ups – 6 Coaches, Duh!

Along with Bret Contreras, Ben Bruno, Dean Somerset, Tim Henriques, and Dan Trink, I was asked to contribute to this awesome pull-up article that was put up on T-Nation yesterday.

If we were a boy band, we’d totally be the most diesel boy band ever.

I’d be the shy one.

Warm-Up – Mike Robertson

The title says it all.

I wrote a blog post a while back titled The Perfect Warm-Up?  It was nothing revolutionary, but it cemented my thoughts on what I felt the purpose of a proper warm-up is, and then I offered a different spin on it.

Well, in THIS article – which should be titled The FOR REAL Perfect Warm-Up – Mike breaks everything down from what the warm-up should accomplish for each segment of the body to providing videos of all of his favorite drills.  This is a MUST read.