elmirex2009@123rf.comCategoriescoaching

How to Guarantee Your Clients Will Have a Hard Time Actually Getting Results

If you train people for a living, read this.

Do Not Guarantee Results

It’s seems counterintuitive, maybe even borderline asinine, not to guarantee your clients results, right? I mean, what the hell are they hiring you for?

HINT: It’s not to trade baseball cards or tickle fights.

I had a new client start with me recently and within ten minutes of her initial assessment she was relaying a story of her previous coach telling her she’d see results in “x” weeks.

Guaranteed.

Guess what didn’t happen?

via GIPHY

I don’t know about you, but I’d hate to set myself up for that kind of standard or expectation as a coach. Unless their goals are any of the following….

  1. Cut diamonds with their pecs.
  2. Build a deadlift that shakes the ground all the way down in Kentucky.
  3. Become a world class hugger.

…I’m not guaranteeing anything, let alone within a specific window of time.

When a new person shows up to Core Collective I have zero insight into their work ethic, degree of compliance, or any other outside factors that may or may not come into play (family responsibilities, work schedule, Lord of the Rings marathon watching schedule).

Don’t get me wrong: There should always be an open dialogue and some form of communication with regards to goal setting. But don’t set yourself (or your client) up for a trap by guaranteeing results.

So, Uh, Since We’re Talking About Goals

It behooves any coach to encourage their client to be more specific with their goal setting. Having realistic and tangible goals in sight helps nudge more intent and purpose. It keeps people more invested in their training.

Just be careful of someone being too vague (“I want to lose weight”), unrealistic (“I want to add 100 lbs to my deadlift in two weeks”), or downright batshit crazy (“I want to pet a Unicorn”).

Lets use a too vague example.

Too Vague = “I want to lose weight” or “I want to get stronger.”

via liudmilachernetska@123rf.com

Neither is a bad goal. They’re just both vague as shit. It’s like me saying something to the effect of “I want food” when asked what I am in the mood for for dinner.

When someone suggests a vague goal like the ones above I’ll usually try to dig a bit deeper:

  • “Why do you want to lose weight/get stronger?”

  • “What’s prevented you from achieving those goals in the past?”

  • “How will attaining those goals make you feel once you hit them?”

Peeling back the onion with follow-up questions reveals quite a bit. The person soon understands they need to switch gears and latch onto something more concrete.

Which serves as a nice segue to…

Try to Encourage More Performance Based Goals

I’ve been a champion of this approach for a number of years now.

Setting performance-based goals is a game changer.

For example, with many of my female clients, instead of allowing them to default to the “I want to lose weight” trope, I’ll encourage them to pick a performance-based goal to train towards instead:

  • Perform their first strict, unassisted chin-up
  • Deadlift their bodyweight for five reps
  • Perform ten, strict pushups from the floor.
  • Beat Wonder Woman in a fist-fight.

Setting a performance-based goal makes things so much clearer from a programming standpoint. First off, it makes getting rid of the superfluous foo-foo bullshit easier. Secondly, and most important, is that it gives people purpose in their training.

There’s a WHY behind the madness.

Each exercise, exercise order, load, set/rep, and rest period is curated for the sole purpose of hitting that goal.

To steal a famous quote from strength coach, Dan John:

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

Either your training program is bringing you one step closer to hitting your goal, or…it’s not.

What I find, more often than not, is when I can get a client to marry him or herself to training for a performance-based goal, the work and effort involved often results in them hitting that aesthetic goal anyways.

It’s a win-win.

The dose of empowerment is priceless.

Set Up Process Goals

This is so simple it’s absurd.

Basically, process goals are smaller, more bite-sized, DAILY, goals people should try to hit that will compliment their ability to hit “big rock” training goals.

I mean, how “strong” is someone going to get if they’re routinely only getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night? What are the chances someone is going to “lose weight” if their idea of a veggie is a piece of lettuce on top of their double bacon cheeseburger?

Setting up 2-3 process goals – getting at least seven hours of sleep a night, shooting for 3-4 servings of vegetables per day, eating out less – for people to strive for every day is a great way to not only keep them on task, but provide an unparalleled sense of accomplishment as well.

As they check off hitting each goal per day, they gain more and more confidence and sense of “holy shit, I can do this.”

Build Autonomy, Competency, and Relatedness

These are just fancy-schmancy ways of saying people want to have a sense of freedom/choice in their training, they want to feel like they can do shit, and they want to be part of a community.1

Autonomy: People don’t like to be told what to do. When someone is told what to do or not to do, the human response is something called reactance. They revolt. Go against the grain. Tell you to go fuck yourself.

Basically, they do whatever it is you told them not to do anyway.

Admittedly, when someone is paying you to be their coach, there’s a degree of “do what I tell you to do” that comes with territory.

However, I’d encourage any coach or trainer to build a level of CHOICE into their programming.

  • Maybe your client gets to choose what variation of deadlift they perform that day.
  • Maybe you let them choose if they want to use dumbbells or kettlebells for certain movements.
  • Maybe you give them a 5-10 minute window at the end of their session to do some additional glute training.

That sense of freedom/autonomy will undoubtedly build a greater degree of compliance.

Competency: This is easy. People don’t like to fail. I’d argue failing is good and part of the growing process, but that’s besides the point. People want to feel like they can DO stuff. For example, if someone has little experience strength training, what’s the likelihood they’re going to feel great about barbell back squatting on Day #1.

Now, I’m not saying a good coach can’t teach someone how to back squat in a matter of minutes.

It’s very doable.

However, what I am saying is don’t be a dickhead. It can be intimidating for some people to place a barbell on their back, and you’re not doing them any favors by force-feeding it. I feel the squat is a valuable pattern everyone should become competent with. That doesn’t mean everyone has to start with a barbell on their back.

Goblet squats are a splendid starting point for many people. Once they’re comfortable with that, we can progress accordingly.

Relatedness: Keeping this one brief, going out of your way to build a culture where people are surrounded by like-minded individuals and they can be themselves is paramount.

Don’t Be Scared to Dish Out Some Tough Love

Bringing this whole discussion full-circle: Remember that new client I mentioned above, the one who told me her previous trainer guaranteed her results?

She asked me an obvious question:

“When do you think I will see results?”

My response:

“If you kinda-sorta train, you’ll get kinda-sorta results.”

This was a (maybe not so subtle) hint that it’s up to HER. You get out of training what you put into it.

As someone’s coach I’ll be there to support them and help augment their training experience. However, it’s also important to relay the message that part of the onus on them, too.

They have to take ownership and responsibility.

vectorfusionart@123rf.comCategoriesbusiness

Dangers of the Discount Trainer

There’s no shortage of topics to debate in today’s world.

  • Keto vs. CICO?2
  • Will AI save us or kill us?
  • Will Obsession be nominated for Best Picture this year?

I don’t have a horse in the race on any of the above, except:

  • Keto zealots are the worst.
  • We’re cooked.
  • Maybe not best picture (although it’s easily in my Top 10 this year), but the main actress, Inde Navarrette, should definitely be nominated for Best Actress.

Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing your team – or side of the fence – with any topic I always say the real right answer is…

…it depends.

It’s rare for something to be so clear-cut and definitive; there’s always a degree of nuance and extenuating factors to consider.

Seriously, we’re cooked.

Dangers of the Discount Trainer

I’m going to just come right out and say it: I’m not a fan of trainers offering discounts for their services. Now, I say this with a grain of salt because I completely understand (and respect) that it’s a delicate matter and that there’s a number of factors to consider.

For example, I think it makes a lot of sense for larger, commercial gyms to offer discounts.

In Boston, like any major city, there are several notable, big chain commercial gyms vying for people’s attention (and wallets):

  • Equinox
  • HealthWorks
  • LifeTime Fitness
  • 24 Hour Fitness
  • Golds
  • GymIt (I’m actually a member of this one)
  • Crunch
  • Planet Fitness
  • Beacon Hill Athletic Club

In addition there’s dozens of mid-level commercial gyms (not chains, but pretty big) peppered throughout the city. That’s a lot of competition and it makes sense that many of them would offer a free consultation or discounted introductory rates on training to entice more people to join.

Moreover, and as Cressey Sports Performance business director, Pete Dupuis, has noted in the past: Roughly 30% of people who are offered free consultations actually end up taking advantage of them.

“This may be a solid conversion rate from the perspective of the commercial gym owner, but not for the independent contractor who doesn’t see a single penny of the monthly membership dues these potential leads are paying.  A 30% conversion rate tells me that 7 out of 10 people decided that something for nothing was actually worth nothing.”

As a small business – and more to the point, as a gym that only offers personal and semi-private training (no open gym or classes) – I don’t have the luxury of hundreds (if not thousands) of people paying a membership fee just to walk through the doors.

Why would I offer my services and time at a free or discounted rate when I have bills to pay?3Let me back track a bit. This is not to insinuate that I have never offered discounted training to any of my clients. My buddy Jordan Syatt chimed in on this conversation on Twitter the other day and brought up a fair point (to which I agree): “I give discounts all the time. Some of my greatest, longest-term clients have started by me giving them a discount. I think the dogmatic viewpoints against discounts in the “entrepreneur” circle is more of a way to look good to peers rather than it actually being a smart move.”

My only counterpoint is that I’d be reluctant to make this a common practice. Offering a (reasonable) brief discount during the dog days of summer to help get people in the door, a long-time client a free Birthday session, or a one-time discount to current clients who refer business to you is one thing, but relying on the “discount mindset” long-term to grow (or even maintain your business) is a stretch and one I feel won’t make financial sense for most.

Again, it depends.

I can hear the cacophony of pitchforks now.

“But Tony, if you offer free/discounted stuff it’s less intimidating and allows people to see whether or not you’re a good fit.

Stop being such an uppity a-hole!”

To that Point

1. Try walking into a hair salon, attorney’s office, or, I don’t know, Gringotts Bank and ask someone for 30-60 minutes of their time in order to sample the goods and to see if “you’re a good fit.”

HAHAHAHAHAHA – no, seriously, do it.

UPDATE: I should add that it’s not lost on me there’s a bit more robustness to the client-coach relationship compared to the client-attorney relationship. Helping someone to change their behavior takes a lot more nuance. That said, it’s one thing to offer complimentary sessions/discounted rates in conjunction with a clear-cut on-boarding protocol geared towards improving the client experience. And it’s another thing altogether to just haphazardly toss out discounts for the sake of generating some quick  revenue. 

2. This is my livelihood, not a garage sale.

Sorry not sorry.

To that end, I don’t want to sit here, come across as some crotchedy old bastard (GET OFF MY LAWN!), and rag on the notion that you should never discount your rates as a trainer.

I mean, only Sith’s deal in absolutes, right?

Some Pros or When to Offer Discounts

1. You’re New

If you’re a new trainer or coach in the industry, need experience and more eyes on you – particularly in a crowded commercial gym scenario where there’s a few dozen trainers vying for the same thing – then it makes sense to offer some discounted training to build your client roster.

It’s not beneath you to do so.

I did it.

When I was a commercial gym trainer I’d often offer free 15-30 minute “Deep Dives” for on my own time for members:

  • Deep Dive: REAL Core Training
  • Deep Dive: Learn How to Deadlift
  • Deep Dive: Shoulder Friendly Strength Training
  • Deep Dive: How Hot is Jennifer Garner in Alias? (<<– that show was my jam back in the day)

As a result I got more eyes on me and would often have members reach out to begin training.

For the more mathematical minded in the crowd, you can also think of it this way:

“Offer 45 minute free training sessions + 15 minute consultation => client can experience what they are about to sign into => convert 50% of them => fully booked weekly calendar in two months or so.”

2. One-Time Special Offers

My friends over at Mark Fisher Fitness in NYC are huge proponents of offering special one-time only offers of 20-25% off packages when people attend a special class or charity event.

I like this idea.

If you’re already making the time to be at a certain place at a certain time, go for it.

Offer free shit – training, tickle fights, whatever.

People attend a class, you get their names, you offer the offer, and then you follow-up with a PHONE CALL (or text) – people just delete email – for a few weeks to remind them of when the offer expires.

3. It’s August

In the fitness industry, August (in the Northern hemisphere anyway) is…the…worst.

It’s a dead-zone.

Gym floors often resemble the barren, desolate wastelands of Mordor. Except in this case it’s because people are on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard (and not so much because of the whole Sauron thing).

So, I get it.

Sometimes you have to discount your rates to attract people’s attention and to get bodies on the gym floor.

Totally legit reason.

My Take (the Cons)

Again, offering discounts is not wrong or altogether a waste of time.

There IS a time and place and a way to implement them that can and will behoove your business as well as the (potential) client.

That said, it’s important to remain aware of the concept of anchoring.

If you’re a fan of behavioral economics – such as myself – and read a lot of books on the topic as it relates to decision making and marketing this should be a familiar term.

Via Wikipedia:

“The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias that describes the common human tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered. … During decision making, anchoring occurs when individuals use an initial piece of information to make subsequent judgments.”

In the case of the above offer ($15 for 70 minutes of training), the more the discount gets away from your full price, the more problems and reticence you’re going to have – from the consumer – when you reveal said full price.

1. Creates Price Sensitivity & Unsustainable Expectations

This is the double-edged sword of anchoring.

“Anchor” your price too far removed from your actual rates and you run the risk of creating a bevy of price sensitive clients who are going to jump ship to the next trainer or gym who offers an even better discount.

Canadian nutritionist, Steph Hnatiuk, agrees:

“I think huge discounts can attract clients who are only willing/able to pay bottom-end rates, and you’re unlikely to wow those people into full-price paying clients if their budget just doesn’t allow it. I think you wind up giving too much of yourself away in the process.”

2. Creates Discounted Effort

Pigging back on the above, in my experience I have found that discounted prices sometimes (not always) creates a culture of discounted effort.

Humans are very loss adverse.

This refers to people’s tendency to prefer avoiding losses to acquiring equivalent gains: it is better to not lose $5 than it is to find $5.

If a client pays my normal rate they have invested in themselves. There’s a degree of “buy in” from the individual to the tune of if they don’t show up – and I enforce my cancelation policy – there’s an inherent loss there.

And people hate loss.

Even more than the Patriots…;o)

Investment = people (usually) go out of their way to put forth some effort and consistency.

They show up.

$15 sessions = “meh, charge me, I gotta catch up on Ted Lasso.“

3. Creates Awkwardness

The less mental gymnastics I have to do as a business owner, the better.

  • Who’s coming in today?
  • Who needs a new program?
  • How many sessions does so and so have left in their package?
  • Why am I not wearing pants?

I prefer to keep things simple:

– I use Google Calendar to book my sessions.

– I use Excel or Google Sheets to write my programs.

– I have an assistant who tracks all client sessions (and to let me know who needs what when).

– I almost always wear pants.

Too, when it comes to training packages, I also prefer simplicity and go out of my way to not offer a robust array of  options because, frankly, I don’t want to have to deal with that dumpster fire.

If I charge Client A “x” (a discount) and then Client B who is charged “y” (no discount) finds out about it, and is like “dafuq, Tony?”, it makes for some awkwardness I’d rather avoid.

Me touching my wife’s butt in public = awkwardness I can handle.

Me not shaving my head for two weeks = awkwardness I can still kinda-sorta handle.

Me explaining why two clients are charged two different rates = no thank you.

4. You Get What You Pay For

This is 90% meant to be more than tongue-n- cheek than anything.

But, yeah, you get what you pay for

romanzaiets@123rf.comCategoriescoaching Program Design

How and Why I Don’t Write My Own Programs

There’s a popular saying I use often:

“The painter’s house is always the last one to get painted.”

I can’t say I know many painters personally to know for certain that this is true – which sorta makes the saying moot – but it serves as a fitting metaphor to today’s post.

I guess I could have just as easily said:

“The carpenter’s house is the last one to get carpeted.”

Or

“The landscapist’s house is the last one to get landscaped.”

Or

“Whatever it’s called when someone installs a customized gold plated Han Solo frozen-in-Carbonite fridge in your kitchen. That guy. He’s always the last one to get a gold plated Han Solo frozen-in- Carbonite fridge.”

Note to my wife: My 50th B-day is around the corner. Just sayin.

So what’s the point I’m trying to make?

You’d be surprised as to how many coaches, personal trainers, and other fitness professionals put themselves second and don’t care for themselves as well as they should.

“The coach is often the last one to get coached.”

Even Coaches Need Coaches

Reversing time about a decade ago, my back was flipping me the middle finger and my training was a complete train wreck. It wasn’t just a “oh my back is a little sore today, so I think I’ll just move around a little bit and see how I feel tomorrow” kind of thing.

No, this was more along the lines of “holy mother shit balls, it hurts to sneeze, and I’m walking around like an 80 year old man” kind of sore.

Something was up, and I needed some help. I was still training, but it lacked any semblance of structure and all I was really doing was going through the motions. Not to sound overly dramatic or anything, but I was thiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to walking into the local 7-Eleven to grab a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and then spending a solid week watching lame Julia Roberts movies while I drowned myself in a pity party.

via GIPHY

Unfortunately, like the painter analogy above, I came to the realization that I had made a bad habit of putting myself second. I came to the conclusion that I spend so much time writing programs for other people, that the last thing I wanted to do is write one for myself.

But there was a problem. I LOVE to train. More specifically, I LOVE to deadlift.

It’s Tuesday?  Deadlift.  Only have a half-hour to train? Deadlift. Someone wore a blue shirt today? I’m going to deadlift baby!

Newsflash:  I like to deadlift.

The obvious conclusions were two-fold:

1.  I was a hurtin puppy.

2. It’s generally not a good idea to deadlift when you’re in pain. And more germane to the point: I was an asshat for trying.

3. Rather than rely on myself, I needed to swallow my pride and ask someone to take over my programming. As I often say: “the hardest person to train is yourself.”

So I ended up hiring a coach. And I haven’t looked back since. I’ve had a few different coaches writing my programs for the past several years:

…and I couldn’t be more appreciative.

Why?

#1. I’m Stupid

Well, at least when it comes to writing my own programs. Oh, and quantum physics. I’m pretty horrible at that too.

#2. Accountability

It’s a powerful thing when you’re held accountable to someone else’s expertise and programming. It’s a tough pill to swallow for many. There’s a lot of trust that goes into the process, and it’s that trust, I feel, that helps keep people more accountable and on task. It did for me.

We’re more likely to follow through when there’s a plan in place. A direction. We tend to shut up, do the work, and as a result…magical things begin to happen.

#3. I Got Out of My Own Way

We’re creatures of habit. We tend to watch the same television shows, listen to the same music, eat the same foods, and when it comes to exercise, perform the same exercises or routines.

In short: we like to do the things we’re good at.

And we tend to ignore the things we ought to be doing to get better. Just because you’re good at something, doesn’t mean you should be doing it (much less more of it). Sometimes it’s that one thing that could be feeding into why you’re hurt in the first place.

Much of the value in following someone else’s lead or plan is that it often forces you to address your weaknesses and technique flaws.

It forces you to do more of what you’re NOT good at.4

#4. It Helps To Turn Off Inner-Dialogue

“What should I do today?”

“Bench press? No, wait, maybe decline bench press? Should I go with a narrow grip or wide grip?”

“GODDAMMIT….Eff it, I’ll do bicep curls.”

Following a preset plan takes the thinking away – which is a HUGE hurdle for many people to conquer.

I recently started working with a woman who’s a personal trainer herself. She came to me with some nagging injuries and too, a deflated ego due to sub-par, aimless training in recent months. Basically, much like me back in the day, she was just going through the motions and not getting much out of anything.

In less than two weeks she’s reported back with 1) less pain and 2) an invigorated sense of excitement and purpose towards her workouts.

All because she allowed someone else to do the thinking for her, and alleviate any self doubt or negative inner dialogue related to her training.

Having a plan and purpose made all the difference in the world.

And Yes, the Same Applies To Pre-Set “Recipe” Programs Too

Not everyone can afford to hire their own coach or personal trainer to write individualized programs. And even if they could, due to location, not everyone has access to a “GOOD” personal trainer or coach to begin with.

Thankfully someone invented the internet.

Don’t get me wrong: I feel in-person training trumps distance coaching any day of the week. In addition, there’s no shortage of “shady” internet trainers out there. These are the people who make a name for themselves on social media by uploading scantily clad pictures of themselves and/or by posting videos of themselves squatting in front of a Maserati.

For whatever reason both give the illusion of legitimacy and authority, and many people are snagged – hook, line, and sinker – into the facade. As it happens, many of these so-called “fitness celebrities” rarely train anyone and have no education and/or certification in the field.

However, not everything on the internet is garbage and devoid of decency and integrity. I mean, #LOLcats.

Also, hello….I make much of my living off of my writing and other endeavors on the internet. In that vein I also like to think I’m able to direct people towards programs and products I feel are worthwhile and not in the slightest sense…”shady.”

[Hint, hint….me]

Beginner to Badass (via Train Heroic)

If you’re new to strength training I designed a 3-month introductory program you can follow that will take you through the basics in a way that’s accessible and non-intimidating. It’s called the Beginner to Badass Program and I think you should check it out HERE.

For $39 you get me as your coach for three months. What a bargain! You get structured, well thought out programming along with high-def videos showcasing how to properly perform all the exercises.

And you don’t need any fancy equipment. All you need is access to dumbbells, barbells, benches, and a cable machine (or bands). And some sick 90’s hip-hop beats wouldn’t hurt either.

WHAT…..A…..BARGAIN

Categoriescontinuing education

Core Collective 2026 Fall Seminar

Announcing the Second Annual Core Collective Fall Seminar

We listened to feedback we received from last year’s event and we’re pumped to announce that the 2nd Annual Core Collective Fall Seminar is 1) actually happening and 2) you can now register at the Early Bird rate.

So what’s “new” this year?

  • We have added speakers who will present on topics that were requested from a number of fitness professionals who attended last year. Namely presentations centering on perimenopause, facts and fallacies on hormone replace therapy, and Tony’s favorite Kipping pull-up variations.
  • More hands on presentations.
  • Because we have a robust presenter line-up, this event will take place over the course of 1.5 days (four hours on Saturday, and then a full day seminar on Sunday)
  • The bonus to that is we’ll be able to offer more CEU’s for this event. Given this is a recertification year for the NSCA this is huge.

Here Are the Deets:

Day #1 Lectures – Saturday, Oct 24th (1-5 pm)

1-1:50 pm: “Creating Better Boundaries and Avoiding Energy Vampires”

Dr. Lisa Lewis, EdD, CADC-II, Licensed Psychologist

2 -2:50 pm: (hands on) “Practical Strength Training Progressions for Youth Athletes”

Jarrod Dyke, CSCS

3-3:50 pm: “The Sustainable Trainer: Building a Business That Works for Your Life”

Mathea Huston, Certified Personal Trainer

4-5 pm: “Perimenopause and Beyond: What Is Happening and How Can We Help?”

Dr. Jennifer Kerner, board certified by the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine, American Board of Pathology,  and American Board of Dermatology.

 

Full-Day Seminar – Sunday, October 25th (9 am – 5 pm)

8:15 – 8:45 am – Registration and Greetings (coffee and snacks provided)

Introduction via Dr. Lisa Lewis

9 – 9:50 am – “Facts & Fallacies of Hormone Replacement Therapy”

Dr. Evan Appelbaum, MD, FACC – Men’s Health Boston

10: 10:50 am – Nutrition Hacks and Habits

Cristine Seitz, RD

11 – 11:50 am – (hands on) Optimizing Postpartum Recovery: Exercise and Return to Activity

Dr. Mariam Taha, DPT, CSCS, Taha Training and Physical Therapy

12 – 1 pm – Lunch (sponsored by Fit AF Nutrition)

1 – 1:50 pm –  “The Skill They Never Taught You: The Psychology of Rapport Building

Ben Getman, LMHC, Getman Counseling, LLC

2 – 2:50 pm – (hands on) “Running Repaired: Rebuilding the Resilient Runner” 

Dr. Casey Egan & Dr. Nick Stratton, Ripple Physical Therapy 

3 – 3:50 pm – “Staying Power: Why Great Coaches Quit—and How Not To”

Ben Connolly, CFSC

4 – 5:00 pm – (hands on) Simplifying Your Assessments

Tony Gentilcore, CSCS

Register Here

We are still awaiting how many CEUs this seminar will be approved for, but it will be between 1.0 and a kajillion. *Most likely 1.2 CEUs.

Early Bird ($249) = click HERE. (price will increase to $299 on September 15th)

 
vectorfusionart@123rf.comCategoriesbusiness

On Running a Fitness Business: Part 2

Last week I commandeered a post on fitness business shenanigans from friend, and fellow gym owner, Mike Perry of Skill of Strength. I took his original, bulleted-point list and added my own two cents to each one. You can check out points 1-10 HERE.

Today I want to highlight points 11-20.

On Running a Fitness Business: Part 2

11. Community is everything.

TG: Mike Boyle has a famous quote that I’ve heard repeated time and time again:

“No one cares how much you know, till they know how much you care.”

I think it’s fucking pimp-level status that you know all 17 muscles that attach to the scapulae, have taken all 417 PRI courses, and can work Dan Duchaine quotes into casual conversation on gluceoneogenesis.

You’re a fitness nerd superstar and we should go practice karate in the garage together.

via GIPHY

However, it’s likely the bulk of your clients could give two flying whatevers about the scapulae, breathing patterns, and/or the Kreb’s Cycle. All most really care about is that 1) you help them get results and 2) you’re cool to hang out with and not a pretentious, uppity a-hole.

Community is huge. People want to be amongst their people. Why do you think Hyrox has replaced CrossFit and is so successful? It isn’t the endless burpees and kipping pull-ups – I’ll tell you that much.

It’s the immense sense of community and being surrounded by other like-minded individuals that makes all the difference in the world.

This doesn’t always have to be attached to fitness either. I know some gyms where staff or even members organize a book or movie club, where people get together every so often to discuss prose or film.

Organizing day-trips is another fantastic way to build community.

Legacy Strength in Floral Park, NY will organize hiking trips outside the city or other “active” activities for their members. The peeps at Mark Fisher Fitness champion community service, which is amazing.

Dan John stresses “intentional community” where people come in to train, as a group, for free (and to have fun).

There are endless ways to build your community. Be creative. Pants optional.

12. Get everything in writing and NO special deals!!

TG: This is the face I make whenever I inform someone what my prices are at CORE and they shoot back with:

“Ah, I see. Well, do you offer any discounts or maybe a free trial session or something?”

Well first I reply with:

“Hahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahaha. That’s precious.”

And then I do this:

via GIPHY

HERE’s a post a wrote not too long ago on why I don’t offer discounted rates or free sessions.

Unless your name is Matt Damon or Rambo (or you have a time machine and can bring back early 90’s Mariah Carey) I’m probably not going to cut you a deal.

You wouldn’t ask a dentist or lawyer for a “free trial run,” so don’t ask me.

13. Get used to working mornings and evenings. The middle of the day is for eating, training, errands, and hopefully a power nap.

TG: In all seriousness, I’d also toss in continuing education here: catching up on digital courses, articles, research reviews, and, okay, the latest season of Lioness.

via GIPHY

DON’T JUDGE ME.

14. Keep your gym clean.

TG: My wife and I like to go out to dinner on Saturday nights. Thankfully we live in a great “foodie” city – Boston – which offers an infinite selection of restaurants to visit and try out. One of the things I’ll judge a place on is the cleanliness of their restrooms. If they can’t bother to keep that area clean, what’s the likelihood the kitchen isn’t covered in Ebola?

Take pride in your space. While I’ll be the first to admit you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, you can be damn sure people are judging you on the cleanliness of your gym.

NOTE: the only exception here are legit powerlifting gyms. I don’t have any Pub-Med studies to back this up, but I’m pretty sure the grungier the gym – and the more tetanus shots required to touch the barbells – the stronger the people are.

15. Word of mouth is often times the best marketing.

TG: Your clients are almost always going to be your best source of marketing.

I mean, if you think about it it makes sense. What’s likely to be more effective at driving more traffic to your gym: a random Facebook Ad that looks and sounds just like every other Facebook Ad? Or the honest endorsement from a spouse, friend, or colleague?

Here are two pieces of advice when it comes to word of mouth marketing:

  1. Don’t be afraid to ask your clients to help spread the word. Ask them to share posts on social media. Ask them to refer people your way. It’s likely they’re more than willing to do so.
  2. Reward them for it. I give all clients a 20% discount on their next package if they refer someone to me and that individual ends up purchasing a package him or herself.

16. Your family is more important than your business. It’s very easy to overlook this.

TG: Since becoming a dad almost ten years ago (my gosh, time flies!) this has never been more relevant. It’s not lost on me that your livelihood (the gym) is what puts a roof over your head and puts food on the table; I get it.

It IS important.

That said, so is your family, and if you’re more interested in reviewing last month’s margins for the 42nd time or figuring out whether you should switch the toilet paper in the bathroom then I’d make the argument you need to reset your priorities.

Maybe it’s the curmudgeon in me talking, but I truly feel that it’s important for all fitness pros to dedicate one day a week (at least) to either family time or personal time. What you do with that person time is on you. Catching up on shows, reading, Legos, or, I don’t know, kitty cuddles. It’s all gravy. Just try to make time for it outside of the #grind.

17. Networking is huge. Find good people to work with.

TG: I have been so fortunate in my career to be surrounded by such studs and studettes. That and I am just a very cool person to hang out with. 

Going out of your way to reach out to other coaches and health/fitness professionals in your area – physical therapists, massage therapists, physicians, dietitians – is one of the best business decisions you can partake in.

Make appointments to go shadow or observe other people, follow suit with a “thank you” note, and I can almost guarantee you’ll get some referrals out of it.

This is the actual “thank you” card I send people. 

18. You need a ” business person “

TG: This x a bazillion-gazillion “Mmmm hmmm’s.”

One of the aspects that made Cressey Sports Performance so successful at it’s infancy was the fact Pete Dupuis was on board to do all the “businessy” stuff – track sessions, bookkeeping, collecting payments, payroll, taking phone calls & answering emails – which then allowed Eric and I to do what what we did best: assessments, write programs, coach, and argue over who had control of the stereo.

Even if you hired someone as a business consultant to help you set up better systems and organize ways to be more efficient, someone you spoke to weekly or even on a monthly basis, even that, would be money well spent.

On an aside, you can also check out Business for Unicorns. You won’t be sorry.

19. Less selfies, more emphasis on your clients.

It’s NOT about you. It’s never about you. Stop being douchey.

20. Coffee

TG: Monster White

vectorfusionart@123rf.comCategoriesbusiness

On Running a Fitness Business

Not long ago a friend and colleague of mine, Mike Perry of Skill of Strength, posted a list (or treatise if you will) on his Facebook page of things to consider when running a fitness business.

It was great.

Mind you, in the age of AI things have gotten a bit more interesting and somewhat complicated. What’s more, it doesn’t help that whenever you peruse social media there are any number of “business coaches” telling you how easy it is to make millions in this industry despite the fact that very few fitness professionals make six figures.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the highest-earning 10% of fitness trainers and instructors make upwards of $80,740 per year in base wages. The math doesn’t math on TikTok I suppose.

Nonetheless, I have always been a firm believer that BASICS matter first…whether we’re talking actual training or even business advice.

I wanted to share them here with my own thoughts and additions after Mike’s suggestions.

On Running a Fitness Business…

1. You’re not going to get 50 leads a week. If you do, most of them are rubbish. Don’t bother clicking on that sponsored ad.

TG: The selfie video filmed from inside a private jet or with a group of models and a Camaro in the background should be a red flag enough.

The truth of matter is: allowing your business to grow organically via patience, hard work, and word of mouth is almost always going to “win out” over the quick gratification you’ll receive from dolling out a few hundred dollars to some fucktart who doesn’t even own a gym in the first place.

Guess what: When I was at Cressey Sports Performance we didn’t spend one single dollar on advertising or marketing in the first five or so years we were open. Maybe even longer (if at all now that I think about it). Likewise, since being on my own since 2015 I have not had to rely on Google ads or social media marketing in order to gain clients.

Instead here’s what I have always focused on: Greeting people with a smile. being a cool person to hang out with for an hour, and actually getting people results. Oh, and keeping my B.O under control.

Quit looking for the easy fixes, shut up, and do the work.

2. Systems matter. Make it as clear as possible.

TG: There should be as little ambiguity as possible here. When someone reaches out to me asking about training I give them the rundown:

Assessment cost this much. In the assessment we will cover “x,y, and z.” And, to keep things as transparent as possible I even send along my pricing sheet so they’re aware of expected costs should they choose to continue. 

Systems will vary depending on size of a facility. I mean, how I go about “systemizing” my way of doing things – as a one-man show – compared to when I was at CSP, tag-teaming responsibilities amongst a larger staff, needs to be taken into account.

Suffice it to say, verbiage used during an assessment (and with larger staffs, ensuring the same verbiage is used to coach and cue exercises), pricing, cancellation policies, collecting payments, how programs are dispersed, tracking of sessions, scheduling, what night is after hours Fight Club, all of it, needs to be systemized to prevent chaos.

3. You cannot do it all yourself. Well, you can for a bit. Eventually you will get burnt out.

TG:I’ll tell you this: It helps to have a very understanding partner. I can’t thank my wife enough for her support throughout the years.

“Oh, my bad babe, I can’t watch House of the Dragon tonight because I’ve got programs to write.”

The thing about the fitness industry is that we work when others don’t. This is compounded when you factor in all the chores and responsibilities that percolate the “to do” list outside the actual hours of training clients.

Cleaning, bookkeeping, program writing, throwing one’s face into a brick wall, etc.

One thing I’ve done that has helped my life immensely is to hire a personal assistant. For the past several years, Keeley has performed all the tasks that are time sucks on my end: tracking sessions, doing some proofreading, keeping track of client’s birthdays, running my newsletter, and other organizational shenanigans.

It allows me to focus more on the things that matter most: Going to see The Odyssey for the second time.

Just kidding. Three.

I do feel some people are quick to turn their nose up on menial jobs like cleaning bathrooms and such. If you’ve just opened, and overhead is high, why “waste” money on something that’ll take you 15 minutes to accomplish.

I know some gym owners – and successful ones at that – you still do their own painting, assemblage of equipment, as well as cleaning duties. 

You’re not above it. If anything it builds character and more pride in the business.

But yeah, after awhile, getting some help is life-changing.

4. If you train 30 hours a week and you want your own place, plan on doubling that.

TG: When we opened up CSP, and for the first 1-2 years thereafter we’d all put in at least 10-12 hours per day, 6, sometimes 7 days per week.

It’s no fucking joke.

Please, don’t enamor yourself with the idea that gym ownership is the holy grail, top seat, in this industry.

There’s no secret club or handshake that you’re privy to once you own a gym. For many all it means is added debt and stress. I actually wrote about how I’d never want to own my own gym early in my career…

If you’re not a businessman, don’t open a gym. 

5. Social media matters. It’s a game that has to be played whether you like it or not.

TG: My tenets to social media:

  1. Engage with your audience. What’s the point of having it if you don’t take the time to answer questions and correspond with your followers?
  2. More times than not – and I understand this is tough given the current political and social climate – distancing yourself from political and religious commentary is best. NOTE: I actually had a new client confide in me that she left her previous trainer due to his proclivity at talking politics during sessions (and on social media). I’m not saying it’s wrong or that it should be avoided 100% of the time – I’ve dabbled in it occasionally – but everyone has to weigh the opportunity costs of doing so.
  3. The more you make it about YOUR CLIENTS and THEIR journey’s, the better.
  4. Share, share, share.
  5. Less selfies and badonkadonk camera angles, more actionable content
  6. LOLCat memes are fair game though.

6. At first, train everyone. Eventually the energy vampires will leave and you will create a solid client base.

TG:I think this sage advice. I don’t want to touch it.

But I will anyways.

I’m lucky in that I’m at the point where career capital matters. 20+ years in the industry = I’ve developed enough of a name and reputation for myself via my writing that I could basically feed my Zod complex and people would just come to me.

 

Haha – just kidding.5

The bulk of people who start up with me are kinda already familiar with me and know what they’re getting themselves into.

I mean, my tagline is “Because Heavy Things Won’t Lift Themselves.” 

I wonder what would have happened if I named my place Toned Tony’s Palace of Techno and Tickle Fights?

7. If you are going to specialize in one thing, you should aim to be the best at it.

TG: Again, not much I need to add here as it speaks for itself.

There was a time at CSP when we were reticent to be accepted as the “baseball facility.” We were scared that if we did so we’d be leaving other business on the table.

We were wrong.

Thankfully, we (namely, Eric) saw that there was an underserved population out there and we took it upon ourselves to be THE guys to train baseball players.

I’d caution you to think you have to be a jack of all trades. Strive to be the best at one thing and I can almost guarantee you’ll crush.

So, whether you want to specialize in training certain athletes, powerlifters, fat-loss clients, postpartum, or bomb sniffing dolphins…own it.

8. Some days owning a business is awful.

TG: Makes me think of THIS post by Pete Dupuis on “hidden” costs to opening a fitness facility.

Owning a gym can be frustrating, tiring, stressful, and altogether a cornucopia of clusterfuckery. A valuable lesson I learned though, is to not let any of that affect your ability to provide a welcoming and productive experience to your clients and athletes.

You still need to be able to shut all that out, smile, and go coach.

9. Some people are just jerks.

TG: Oh man, this could be a blog post on its own.

You learn to roll with the punches. My wife, a psychologist, is always quick to point out that most of the time when someone acts rudely or uncouth it rarely has anything to do with you as a person.

She’s a doctor and gives people the benefit of the doubt. I just point out they’re likely an insatiable a-hole.

“It’s too cold, it’s too hot, I don’t want to do this, I hate this exercise, the music sucks, I feel fat, it’s Thursday, blah blah blah.”

The beauty about owning your own spot is that you don’t have to take them on as a client, or, worse case (and this RARELY happens), you fire them.

10. If potential clients say things like ” it’s too much money” or ” do you have anything cheaper” they are most likely going to be a pain in the butt. It’s ok to say no.

TG: All I’ll say here is that I wrote an article on why I don’t think it’s a good idea to discount your rates or offer free sessions HERE.

This Isn’t It

I think this post is long enough and we’re at a good point where we can stop and take a few breaths.

I’ll post points 11-20 next week.

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.6

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!

sevendeman@123rf.comCategoriesFat Loss Motivational Strength Training

You Want to Get Leaner. Here’s Why You Should Still Lift Heavy Things

Since the movie The Odyssey is finally here it’s inevitable we’re going to be inundated with articles, interviews, and videos on how to get an Odysseus bod.

Follow “x” routine, and you too can look like a Greek warrior/Matt Damon.

To be fair: I have nothing against said routines. Pretty much anything will get someone lean(er) if they stay consistent and not eat like a teenager.

That said, I think one of the biggest mistakes people make when their goal is getting lean, is not placing a premium on strength.

What inevitably ends up happening is someone will crank up their training volume (lots of high-rep sets compounded with endless amounts of cardio) in addition to hopping onto the Keto train.

And while I’m not here to say that that approach is fruitless (<— ha, pun intended7, dumb, or won’t work – it probably will, for a stretch – I’m also a realist, and have seen with my own eyes the same thing happen time and time and time again.

Which is…(?)

A week, or two, or three (hell, maybe several) go by and you feel great. Your body fat is melting off, you can see some abs, and you can sense the inevitable influx of Tinder matches.

And then, you know, you don’t feel so hot.

You’re lethargic, you’re cold, you’re achy, and your motivation to train wanes.

The high volume of training tethered with a low-calorie/low carb diet begins to take its toll. You’re starting to think that the reason Wolverine is so angry all the time isn’t because he discovered some nefarious government conspiracy to turn him into a mutant and control his life.

No, rather, the reason he’s so angry all the time is – despite being ripped and the envy of fanboys everywhere – he’s sick and tired of all the EMOM sets of burpees and he just WANTS…SOME…FUCKING…CARBS.

via GIPHY

Again, to reiterate, this is NOT to insinuate that all the popular programs people follow to lose fat and get lean are a waste of time.

However, what I am suggesting is a slight re-frame or paradigm shift.

What Makes Muscle, Keeps Muscle

Even if fat loss and getting lean is someone’s goal, if they hire me as their coach I’m still going to have them strength train.

Maybe it’s the dumb meathead strength coach in me talking, but I strongly feel the bulk of anyone’s fat loss is going to stem from making dietary/nutritional adjustments.

Namely: Figuring out what strategy or approach will elicit a caloric deficit.

This, of course, can be highly individual. Some people do well with Keto (although, I’d argue most people who think they’re doing Keto are really just following a low-carb diet), some do well with Paleo, some do well with Intermittent Fasting, some do well, with, I don’t know, pick something.

The point is, the main determining factor of whether or not a diet will actually “stick” is whether or not someone will follow through and stay consistent with it.

Not to mention it should fit their lifestyle and goal(s).

But I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole of clusterfuckery. Too many mental gymnastics for me to deal with at this stage in the day.

I do, however, want to pontificate and persuade you on the merits of STRENGTH TRAINING with regards to getting lean.

While dieting the idea of strength training isn’t so much to build strength as it is to MAINTAIN as much muscle as possible while in a caloric deficit. It’s important to give the body the stimulus it needs to hold onto as much of it as possible during this time.

What makes muscle, keeps muscle.

And what accomplishes that is low(er)-rep, strength training.

Again (again), I’m not saying incorporating things like density sets, finishers, circuits, HIIT style training, or anything in between doesn’t have its place or serve a purpose; they all, indeed, can help expedite the process.

[But this is also why I feel one’s nutrition is going to be the main determinant when it comes to fat loss].

All I’m saying is, from my vantage point, people tend to place too much emphasis on all of the above protocols and unwittingly end up losing muscle rather than keeping it.

Many people (not all) end up becoming a smaller, weaker version of their original selves.

I do not want this to happen, and I feel there’s a simple way to prevent it.

It doesn’t have to be a complicated “thing” either. The obvious question, then, is how would I go about writing a program for someone in this situation?

Easy.

Have him or her hit a challenging set of 3-5 reps (maybe the occasional heavy single for more advanced lifters) a few times per week using the obvious exercises – think: deadlift, squat, bench press – and carry on with your traditional fat-loss programming self.

Example Muscle Maintaining Program (Not Fat Loss Program)

Day 1

A. Work up to a challenging set of FIVE on a Squat Variation (Front, Back, Zercher, Anderson, Safety Bar Squat)

B1. Same Squat Variation (same load you hit for 5 reps): 3×3
B2. DB Bench Press: 3×8

C1. DB Romanian Deadlift
C2. Push-Ups
C3. Gripless FacePulls

  • 8-10 reps each, 10 Minute Density Circuit

D1. 1-Legged Hip Thrust
D2. DB Curls

  • 10-15 reps each. 8 Minute Density Circuit

Day 2

A.  Work up to a challenging set of FIVE on a Bench Variation (Regular, Close Grip, Decline, Incline, Larsen)

B1. Same Bench Variation (same load you hit for 5 reps): 3×3
B2. 1-Arm DB Row: 3×10/arm

C1. Goblet Squat
C2. Pull-Through
C3. Reverse Crunch

  • 8-10 reps each, 10 Minute Density Circuit

D1. Prone, Incline Reverse Flye
D2. Tricep French Press

  • 10-15 reps each, 8 Minute Density Circuit

Day 3

A. Work up to a challenging set of FIVE on a Deadlift Variation (Conventional, Sumo, Trap Bar, Block Pull)

B1. Same DL Variation (same load you hit for 5 reps): 3×3
B2. 2-KB Racked Carry: 3×30 yds

C1. Chest Supported Row
C2. Goblet Reverse Lunge
C3. Band Reverse Flye Walkout

  • 8-10 reps each, 10 Minute Density Set.

C1. 2-Arm Landmine Press OR DB Push Press
C2. Bodyweight Step-Ups

  • 10-15 reps each, 8 Minute Density Set

See?

Nothing crazy.

This doesn’t need to be more complicated than it has to be. We’re not doing long-division here.

Keep….it….simple.

Work your ass off. But keep it simple.

All these workouts can be completed in less than 60 minutes (including a warm-up).

It’s likely this approach is in stark contrast to what many are used to seeing when it comes to a fat-loss program; no tantric length, more is better, workout palooza.

Assuming one’s diet is in check, this approach is all that’s needed to help keep muscle…which should be the goal in the long-run anyway.

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?8 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.”9

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.

skumer@123rf.comCategoriescoaching Conditioning speed training

Using External Cueing To Improve Linear Acceleration

“I’m not fast, but I like to pretend I am on the internet.”

  • Me

Okay, I’m kinda fast.10

Well, I mean, as far as 49 year olds who are roughly 25 years removed from playing any competitive sports are concerned, I’m lightening quick.

Besides, baldness increases aerodynamics right?

Truth be told: as a strength and conditioning coach it’s not required I win the 100m in the Olympics in order to speak to the topic at hand. Granted I should be able to demonstrate a sprint or sprint mechanics without resembling a one-legged pirate, or worse…blowing out a hamstring.

But I don’t need to be a world-class sprinter myself in order to coach or teach others to be able do it. At the end of the day it’s about having the ability to break down movement into more manageable parts and more importantly, having the ability to get your athletes into better positions (in order to express speed or strength or whatever).

via GIPHY

And when it comes to getting people into better positions – especially as it relates to linear acceleration,  to steal a train of though from renowned coach Lee Taft, “we don’t need to get too fancy with our toolbox.”

Which Begs the Question: What Is Linear Acceleration?

Good question.

I’ll tell you what it’s not….sprinting/top speed.

Sprint/Top Speed = more perpendicular posture.

Acceleration = more forward pitch or torso inclination.

When we’re coaching (linear) acceleration it’s important to respect that the idea here is to produce a lot of force quickly. However, that force is still going to be longer in terms of foot contact time compared to top speed.

Linear acceleration requires getting things started and getting the center of mass moving. It’s different than top speed.

  • We must produce a lot of force down and away
  • We also need an extremely long arm action, which then coordinates with the same side leg and high knee drive. All of this accomplishes a ROM of the leg which then allows the athlete to produce as much force as needed to finish the push off to get into the next stride.

It sounds like a lot – and complicated – but I assure you it’s not. This isn’t to imply, of course, that some attention to detail isn’t warranted. If it were easy everyone would be a challenging Usain Bolt to a game of Duck-Duck-Goose.

via GIPHY

But there are some easy and ingenious strategies in the form of EXTERNAL CUEING that’ll help accomplish all of the above.

Linear Acceleration Troubleshooting

To reiterate: linear acceleration is not the same as top speed. First and foremost, with acceleration we’re working on starting speed which implies different joint angles and positions.

1) I already mentioned above that top speed requires more of a perpendicular posture and acceleration implies more forward pitch of the torso.

As such, a major mistake many athletes make out of the gate is, well, a poor starting position. Like this:

Here I’m starting way too upright and my hips (and shoulders) are too far back. Not a conducive position to produce horizontal force.

Ideally we’d want to start in a more staggered stance with the hips in front of push off (this will make it easier to gain momentum and get mass moving), which implies a more angled torso. Too, we want the shoulders to be in front of the hips

2) More Aggressive Arm Action

In acceleration the back side needs to be long, front side short. The back side is what matters in acceleration. The front side becomes more important during top speed.

Lee Taft hammers this point home time and time again throughout his CSAC course.

To that end, a common mistake made is that people aren’t aggressive enough with their arm action:

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

You’ll notice my back arm “stays short” and as a result both my arms and legs are choppy.

A beautiful external cue to use here is to tell the athlete to be more aggressive with “THROWING THE HANDS BACK.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v193yEgzjs

Looks sexier, right?

And, subsequently, the more aggressive arm action “nudges” a more aggressive forward action of the knee….with minimal additional cueing.

But what if all of that still doesn’t get the desired effect?

The Magical World of External Cueing

A brilliant corrective strategy11 I “stole” from Lee is to give the athlete a target to shoot for. This is external cueing at its finest.

External cueing takes into consideration what the body is doing in space and implies direction, intent, and action.

The corrective in this case would be to place a med ball – or anything: cone, hurdle, Ewok action figure – a few feet away from the athlete’s starting position. The athlete must then explode, “CHASE HIS SHOULDERS,” and get past the object within one step.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51B3WnDCq6w

As you can see, this immediately incorporates a better arm action. Better arm action mirrors a greater leg action, which then produces more horizontal displacement.

Giving the athlete a target or something to shoot/aim for (EXTERNAL CUEING) will “correct” acceleration mechanics without too much fluff.

The addition of the target cues the athlete to push harder into the ground and then physics takes over.

I’m coming for you Tom Cruise