There’s an Early Bird rate for both of these events, so keep that in mind before you decide to hold off. Dean and I are really excited for this and hope to see you there!
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I am all for novelty (within reason) and having fun in the weight room. But ya’ll: barbells and dumbbells still work really, really, REALLY well.
My good friend Bryan Krahn has a weekly “series” he does on his Facebook page called Five Boner Friday. Each iteration centers around random thoughts he has on training, nutrition, life, being a dad, supplements, and not actual boners.
Thank god.
I used to write a similar series titled Miscellaneous Miscellany Mondays.
Today is not a Monday. But I am sitting here in Los Angeles (actually a random coffee house in Beverly Hills) with some time to kill before I have to go present this afternoon, so I figured…
Not long ago Gwyneth Paltrow was able to convince thousands (maybe millions of people?) that placing jade eggs into their vaginas – oftentimes overnight – would somehow, via some sort voodoo, Shaman wizardry, help them “better connect to their power within.”
“For $66, one can buy a dark nephrite jade egg, which allegedly brings increased sexual energy and pleasure. Or, for $55, there is the “heart-activating” rose quartz egg, for those who want more positive energy and love.”
So I am starting a market for Keto Crystals.
When you hold the emerald colored crystal in your left hand anything you eat becomes carb-free! Moreover, when you place the orange crystal under the light of a full-moon, and play Prince’s Purple Rain album backwards, you will immediately pee ketones!
It’s legit.
And if can all be yours for $47/crystal (and the soul of your first born child).
Okay, lets get serious now
1. Program Design Simplified
As I mentioned above I am here in LA for a few speaking engagements. I flew in from Boston yesterday morning and when I checked into my hotel I texted my good friend Ben Bruno to see if he had some free time to hang out.
He did.
As is the case every time he and I get together we got to talking about stuff we’ve learned, stuff we don’t have enough eye rolls to give, business, and the fitness industry in general.
Just two dudes talking shop (<— OMG, podcast idea?).
Anyway, we started discussing program design and how we’re both flummoxed at how complicated some coaches/trainers make it seem.
Now, to be clear: Ben and I both recognize there’s a ton of nuance to program design. There’s no “one size fits all” template and there are many, many factors to consider. However, Ben made a profound statement as we were chatting that I felt sealed the topic of program design into a nice, neat, tidy, little bow.
Ben gave an example of a basketball player:
“I have a few NBA guys I work with who have cranky knees. I feel the trap bar deadlift is a great fit for them. Then I just place an emphasis in more HIP DOMINANT movements. The upper body stuff sorta takes care of itself: rows, weighted push-ups, Landmine variations, etc. That’s pretty much it.”
Cue Nazi Face Melt here:
I brought up some of my clients.
More than a few – male and female – have come in on Day #1 saying their goal is to be skinnier. Okay, cool. I’m not going to do them (or me) any favors wagging my finger at them saying “you don’t need to get skinner, you need to get strong!”
If I did that they would have done nothing more than move on to the next trainer on their Google search.
Instead, I did this profound thing called…listening to them.
I focused on compound movements (which tend to burn more calories)
I implemented some quickie 5-15 minutes “finishers” at the end of their session to elevate their heart rate.
I began conversations on their eating and sleep habits.
Namely, my objective was to build some consistency with their training – build more autonomy – and wammo-bammo they’d begin to see results.
Seriously people, it’s not rocket science. Yes, it behooves you to have a base knowledge of functional anatomy, physiology, and/or to read a bunch of Tudor Bompa’s early work on periodization.
That being said, a lot “program design” is intuition and just LISTENING to your client(s).
2. Business Advice For Fitness Pros
I am the LAST guy to put “savvy business person” next to his name. But sometimes I’m able to finagle a sound piece of advice on this front.
The impetus, coming from this Tweet via Jill Coleman:
How to make money: stop focusing on money and start focusing on how much value and quality of the solutions you’re bringing to people’s lives.
“Not making money? Less focus on sales funnels and more on the fact your product, I.e., the client experience (probably) sucks.”
It’s something I parroted off a conversation I had with Cressey Sports Performance business director, Pete Dupuis, not long ago when he posited, “that seminar you’re attending to learn how to build the perfect sales funnel isn’t going to solve your problems if your product sucks. Chase perfection inside your training space and the marketing will figure itself out.”
Fitness professionals are easily seduced into thinking all they need to be successful is some slick marketing campaign or some insight into out-smarting Facebook’s latest algorithm to enhance their sales funnels.
Bullshit.
Be on time.
Greet your clients with a smile.
Provide a safe, engaging, and fun training environment.
Plus, too, if you’re unable to coach-up a squat, and you suck as a coach…
…all the marketing in the world isn’t going to compensate for that.
Client RETENTION is the key.
If you’re able to keep your current clients happy you won’t necessarily have to worry about marketing for new ones.
Plus, the former is a helluva lot cheaper.
3. Quick Reminder
The Complete Trainers’ Toolbox is on sale this week at $100 OFF the regular price. There’s only a handful more days left to take advantage.
Nine industry leaders.
17+ hours of diverse content to make you a more well-rounded coach.
Continuing Education Credits available.
Immediate access and you can watch at your own pace.
Here are FIVE quick-n-dirty reasons you should consider purchasing it.
1) I’m Awesome
Lets be real: You don’t think I’m going to attach my name to something sub-par do you?
Pffffft, whatever.
I mean, this isn’t season two of Stranger Things or, I don’t know, whomever Carrie ended up dating after she broke up with Aidan.1
But just so that I don’t come across as a total pompous a-hole, every person involved with this project is an established fitness professional with years of experience under his or her’s belt.
Every…single…person has at least 10+ years experience in the health/fitness industry.
And with that, 10+ years of mistakes, successes, hindsight, things they’d do differently, things they’d do the same, not to mention an absurd number of protein shaker bottles left in their gym bag for a week too long.
The Toolbox came to fruition because we saw an opportunity to help other fitness professionals improve and grow their business: to tackle common industry pitfalls and traps, save time scouring the internet for answers, and foster a scenario where you build a successful career with integrity.
What’s more, every contributor is a coach who actually coaches people…in real life.
How better to learn than from coaches who practice what they preach?
But seriously, I am awesome…;o)
2) There’s a Little Something For Everyone
As can be expected with a resource such as this, The Toolbox goes into the weeds on topics such as program design, assessment, why Tony incessantly posts pictures of his cat online, and breaking down exercise technique.
Sam Spinelli’s presentation on “Everything Squats, Knees, & Hips” is outstanding. And if Luke Worthington’s presentation on assessment doesn’t make you swoon, his British accent will.
However, what I feel makes this resource special is that it includes a little bit of everything. I don’t know about you, but I can only handle so many hours of any one topic before I want to jump through a pane glass window.
The only exception(s) would be 1) breaking down and ranking Jason Bourne fight scenes and 2) bacon.
Here you get 17 hours of content, albeit all bundled up in a consortium of diverse topics – everything mentioned above in addition to presentations on:
Programming For Pull-Ups
Understanding Flexion & Extension Based Back Pain
How to Write Stellar Fitness Content
Improving Overhead Mobility
Finding Your Ideal Client, and
Core & Pelvic Floor Lifting Considerations.
What’s more, Dr. Lisa Lewis’s presentations on Negative Self Talk and How to Increase Motivation are the two wild cards, in my opinion, that provide a ton of value that most fitness professionals need to educate themselves more on.
Like it or not, if you’re a personal trainer or coach, half of what you do entails psych0logy and the “soft” skills of coaching
This is what will separate you from the masses.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Dr. Lewis is my wife. I don’t call her Dr. Lewis at home by the way2.
3) It Isn’t JUST Dudes Talking
Nine industry experts are involved with this resource.
4) Go At Your Own Pace and Earn Continuing Education Credits
The Trainer’s Toolbox is an online resource that you can view at your own pace. There’s no time requirement to complete it, so whether you want to binge watch everything in two days or watch a little here and a little there…you do you.
Moreover, when complete (and you send in your exam) you can earn 1.7 continuing education credits via the NSCA.
I believe 202o is a re-certification year and if it’s tough for you to travel to attend workshops and seminars this is a convenient way to meet those requirements.
5) You Can Purchase Individual Webinars
Maybe you’re not feeling the entire package and only a few presentations peak your interest?
Cool, cool, cool.
You also have the option to purchase individual webinars, and this week only they’re all on sale at $29 apiece (normally $37).
6) BONUS: You Can Save $100 OFF the Regular Price
The Complete Trainers’ Toolbox is currently on sale at $100 off the regular price, but it only last through this Sunday (10/20) at midnight.
There’s an Early Bird rate for both of these events, so keep that in mind before you decide to hold off. Dean and I are really excited for this and hope to see you there!
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Assessment. Yes, note posture, but don’t put all your eggs into that basket.
Remember: posture is task AND load dependent. If someone can get out of a “bad” posture when you ask them to, it’s likely not a big deal.
Coach them up! But try to avoid corrective exercise purgatory.
I didn’t feel overly splendid heading into today’s training session. I mean, I didn’t feel like a got run over by a Mack truck or anything…
…but I didn’t feel awesome either.
I just kinda felt “meh.”
Maybe a little closer to the Mack truck end of the spectrum, though. A small, teeny-tiny part of my soul was like “fuck it, Tony. Stay in and binge watch all the latest episodes of Catfish on Hulu.”
But I did that yesterday (on a non-training day).
Today, however, as I was walking to the gym I knew I had to suck it up and muster some gusto. I reminded myself of something – something I “borrowed” from strength coach Paul Carter – that I routinely say to my clients whenever they show up not feeling up to the task.
“10% of the time you’re going to show up to the gym feeling like a bag of dicks. 10% of the time you’re going to show up to the gym feeling like a rockstar. 80% of the time you’re going to show up feeling like meh.”
It’s those 80% workouts that matter most. You simply show up, do the work, and leave. That’s where (or how) you make the most progress over time”
My coach, Greg Robins (of The Strength House), has me incorporating more of an RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) style of training in my most recent block of programming.
NOTE: For those unfamiliar with RPE, HERE‘s a great place to start.
It’s a great way to utilize auto-regulation and takes into account daily/weekly fluctuations in energy and the aforementioned gusto. It still encourages you to work hard, but within the confines of how you feel that particular day.
Anyway, as of late Thursday is deadlift day for me.
Over the course of this past summer I did a fair amount of travel for work, which threw a bit of a monkey-wrench into things. I was still able to train, but I’d be lying if I said wasn’t just going through the motions.
The past few weeks, however, have been awesome.
My travel has been limited and I’ve been able to place a bit more priority on my workouts.
Both my deadlift (and squat) have been inching back up to respectable territory (for me) and it feels great. Last week, for example, I hit 535×3 for my top set of deadlifts.
Heading into today’s workout, needless to say, I was a bit skeptical if I was going to be able to match that effort.
My first set at 500×3 wasn’t as speedy as I would have liked.
I hesitated.
Maybe I should stay put?
Maybe I should listen to some Norah Jones and cuddle?
Then I just said “FUCK IT” and I slapped on another 45 lbs.
Take my good friend Bryan Krahn, who, conversely, posted this today on his Twitter account:
Arrived at the gym for a heavy squat workout.
Just one warm up set in and my lower back tells me its not recovered from a previous leg workout.
So I switched to machines and single-leg work for higher reps. Success.
Go heavy or go home? Talk to me in 20 years.
He wasn’t feeling so hot, didn’t try to be a hero, but also didn’t abandon ship either. In his scenario the “fuck its” entailed a bit more tact and responsibility.
And that’s totally cool too.
The “fuck its” can manifest on either end of the spectrum.
The important thing is that you show up and do the work.
Exercises You Should Be Doing: Quadruped T-Spine Rotation w/ Lift Off
There’s no shortage of thoracic (middle back) mobility exercises out there. I for one prefer to keep a handful – say five or six – in my back pocket to use with the bulk of my clients.
I’d rather keep things simple, not bog people down with a litany of options, and stick with exercises that most people can do with little or no coaching.
I’m sure most people reading are familiar with your standard Quadruped Extension-Rotation drill. Here’s a reminder just in case (that was filmed, it seems, in 1978):
There are a few nit-picky things I’ve changed in how I coach this drill of late:
I prefer the ROCKED BACK version, where one’s butt rests on their ankles (assuming they have access to that range of motion in their hips and ankles). In this case we’re taking joints out of the equation – in this case, the lower back – so there’s less opportunity to “cheat.”
I also try to emphasize “pushing away” on the supporting arm side to help with more Serratus activation.
Too, most people are unable to begin this exercise with one hand behind their head – they may not have access to the requisite external rotation and abduction – and all they end up doing is some sort of elbow going up and down while also doing a bang up job at jacking up their neck. Instead, I prefer more of a “rib grab” where each person grabs their underside and focuses on driving their opposite shoulder towards the ceiling.
But let’s assume we’re working with someone who CAN do all of the above. How can we progress the exercise?
Add a band? Sure
Pants off? Hell yeah.
What about adding a lift-off?
Huh?
Who Did I Steal It From? – Ottawa based personal trainer Elsbeth Vaino.
What Does It Do? – Allows us to use an external focus – in this case a wall – to gain just a bit more ROM out of the exercise and to add more time under tension.
Key Coaching Cues – I can’t reiterate enough that this is a PROGRESSION! There aren’t many people who will be able to be successful with this exercise out of the gate; it is 100% cool if you just stick with the run-of-the-mill, plain ol’ vanilla, Quadruped Extension-Rotation exercise.
That said, this iteration applies a bit of FRC (Functional Range Conditioning, popularized by Dr. Andreo Spina) where we provide a isometric contraction at a joint’s end range (technically a RAIL, or Regressive Angular Isometric Loading) to help nudge more stability in a new ROM (and thus, more controlled mobility within that same ROM).
The FRC system is waaaaaaaaaaaaay4 more detailed and expansive than my simple sentence suggests, but for the sake of this little snippit it will suffice.
Here I use the wall as a guide, and when I reach my end range I “lift off” and hold for a 3-5s count.
Things to watch out for:
Shrugging at the top.
Ensuring client is utilizing scapular posterior tilt as (s)he rotates.
This place was a bit dearth with content this past week, but for good reason.
I signed a lease for a new, larger space for my gym here in Boston.
70% of me is excited while the other 30% is doing the best I can not to destroy the back of my pants. Nonetheless, coming in early 2020: The CORE Collective.
There’s an Early Bird rate for both of these events, so keep that in mind before you decide to hold off. Dean and I are really excited for this and hope to see you there!
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Personal trainers who complain about “working on the weekends” got into the wrong profession.
This is an older article from Mark (and one I read off of The Strength House’s newsletter), but man it needs to be read by ANYONE who manages people or owns a business.
But for real….a little exercise, daily, works wonders. There’s little need for marathon sessions in the gym, everyone’s busy and doesn’t have time, but Lana showcases some “quickie” workouts to set the tone.
Here’s my latest podcast appearance. And, not for nothing, it includes the SICKEST promotional graphic in the history of ever.
Andrew Coates and Dean Guedo have built The Fitness Devil Podcast into one of the most downloaded health/fitness podcasts on iTunes.
They’re two dudes who lift heavy things and are well-read, but they also have an uncanny ability to “talk shop” and have unconventional conversations with their guests, which I appreciate very much.
Building a business and brand? Check
Tips on how to leverage your fitness writing? Check
Discussion on how badass my wife is? Check
You can listen below…
OR
Go HERE to download and listen to the episode on other formats.
There’s an Early Bird rate for both of these events, so keep that in mind before you decide to hold off. Dean and I are really excited for this and hope to see you there!
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Find their TRAINABLE MENU.
Here’s one of my high school soccer players training a few days after a left knee injury (not ACL).
She couldn’t straighten her knee nor put all her weight on it.
Automatic enrollment into Dean and Tony’s “we should totally hang out soon” list.
What’s more, you have the option to purchase BOTH Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint and Even More Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint at $100 off and pay just $177. All told you’ll receive 22+ hours worth of video and Tony’s pecs…;o)
If you’re still on the fence or skeptical on how much this new series will melt your face, here’s a few sneak peeks on some of the content covered.
1. Squat Set-Up
A ten minute clip outlining how we determine a client’s ideal stance for their squats based on their individual anatomical considerations.
2. Shoulder Stability Training
Almost 13 minutes of drills to help improve shoulder stability while getting a training effect along the way.
3. Breathing for Mobility
A nine minute video outlining how we use positional breathing drills to access more range of motion, plus make exercises instantly more challenging.
4. Plyometrics for the Elderly Client
Say what? Yep, you can use a stretch-shortening cycle with older clients to improve power output and keep their functional capacity as high as possible for much longer than slower movements. This 8 minute video shows the how and why.
Whether you’re a fitness professional or just someone who likes to lift heavy things and geek out over scapular upward rotation and the miracles of posterior pelvic tilt, Even More Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint will undoubtedly provide you a TON of actionable, real-world, evidence-based content.
It’s only on sale THIS WEEK (9/24-9/28), so take advantage of the savings while you can.
