Categoriespersonal training Program Design

4 Keys to Staying Athletic As You Get Older

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Boston-based personal trainer and S&C coach, Matthew Ibrahim, who’s latest (online) resource, Forever Athlete, is available for purchase.

Matt’s a phenomenal coach and I always gravitate toward his content because it’s so accessible and realistic. If you’re at all interested in “holding on” to your athleticism give this article a read and definitely considering checking out Forever Athlete program.

4 Keys to Staying Athletic As You Get Older

What’s one common theme with every single person below?

  • Female high school volleyball player with a 20” vertical jump
  • Adult male being able to perform hurdle hops with pristine technique
  • Middle-aged mom performing a heavy set of goblet squats
  • NFL running back with a 118” broad jump

Although this sample list above demonstrates people within varying populations, they all represent examples of athleticism.

The point? All humans are athletes, regardless of age or ability level.

Not only can we remain athletic as we age, we should do everything in our power to push the athletic envelope as the years pass. Ultimately, age should never be something that holds you back from feeling and being athletic.

Everyone is an athlete and everyone has the right to train like one, too.

Let’s break down 4 keys to focus on for the purpose of staying athletic as you get older:

  1. Jumping and landing for power development
  2. Lifting heavy weights to improve strength and reduce the risk of injury
  3. Building muscle to feel good and look good
  4. Conditioning for heart health gains (even though you hate it)
  5. Beating a pack of ninjas in a street fight (BONUS added by Tony. Sorry, couldn’t resist)

You do these 4 things on a weekly basis and I promise that your path toward long-term athleticism will be that much easier for you.

Jumping & Landing for Power Development

I just turned 33 last month – and let me tell you – I’m no spring chicken anymore.

Does this mean I should give in, create a lifelong indentation on my couch, bury my head under the pillow and binge as many Netflix series as possible until the rest of season 4 from Ozark officially drops?

Of course not.

Although, Ozark is awesome. (Tell me Ruth isn’t THE most bad-ass character ever!)

Anyways, my focus should be on continuing to do the things that I love while being strategic in the process.

Part of that includes playing pick-up basketball, feeling athletic in the gym and sprinting (when the weather permits). Jumping and landing become super important for me in this area if my goal is to continue hooping, sprinting and feeling athletic.

Jumping comes in a variety of forms, positions, angles and planes of motion. The simplest way to understand jumping is to break it down into extensive plyometrics and intensive plyometrics.

Here’s an example of an extensive plyometric exercise:

 

You see how there’s fluidity and rhythm involved? That’s because extensive plyometrics helps you focus on coordination at lower intensities so that you can get the hang of it. Think of extensive plyometrics as keeping the training wheels on.

In the opposite light, you can think of intensive plyometrics as removing the training wheels and letting it rip at higher intensities. The goal here is to be as explosive and powerful as possible.

Here’s an example of an intensive plyometric exercise:

 

The exercise examples above aren’t as important as the intent behind them. Use extensive plyometrics in the beginning stages as you’re learning and getting the hang of jumping. Then, start incorporating intensive (explosive) plyometrics once you’re ready to take on more force.

Just remember, the more force you produce in jumping, the more force that you’ll need to control when getting back down to the ground. This takes me to my next point: landing.

Controlling your body is pivotal for staying athletic. A simple way to do this is to build the ability to land with body control and organization. Basically, you want to look like Michael Jordan (OK, maybe one-tenth of that) every time he would land after throwing down a monster dunk.

Body control? Check. Smooth and fluid? Check. Organized? Check.

Power development is also important for people as they age due to the positive impacts it has on the nervous system, coordination and overall function when it comes to physical activity.

Planning to join your local adult club soccer team? Interested in being able to play pick-up basketball in summer rec league on a weekly basis? Or, maybe you just want to be able to play tennis with your friends soon since the warm weather is around the corner?

Either way, developing and harnessing power through jumping and landing is a pivotal step toward staying powerful, explosive and athletic.

Lifting Heavy Weights for Strength Gains & Injury Risk Management

I think this is the easiest “sell” on this list.

Honestly, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past 20 years or living somewhere underwater as you begin the evolutionary process of turning into a mermaid, it’s become quite clear both in practice and evidence that lifting heavy weights (safely) is a no-brainer for building strength.

Of course, we always need to mention the importance of using good form and technique especially when it comes to lifting heavy weights. That should also be a no-brainer.

The other important part of lifting heavy weights, in addition to getting yolked (strong), is that you’re helping to reduce the risk of injury to your body.

How, you ask?

Well, every time you lift heavy weights, your entire body gets stronger. No, this doesn’t happen instantaneously like heating up a hot pocket in a microwave. It takes quality time to develop strength. On the shorter end of things, strength gains likely take a month or two to truly start seeing and feeling the gains. For more noticeable strength gains, it takes a year or two of hard work and consistency to really see things pay off strength wise.

When it comes to gaining strength, not only are your muscles becoming stronger, the rest of your body is as well. Muscular strength is important for the purpose of being able to produce more force, and in some cases, at faster speeds. Think about what we talked about in the previous section as it relates to power development. Pretty cool that strength and power go hand in hand, right? Science can be cool, sometimes.

More importantly, think about the importance of bone mineral density as we age. Think about having strong support structures in our body like joint strength, ligament strength and tendon strength. Remember: bones, ligaments and tendons all have an interplay (to some extent) with the muscles in our body.

Suffice to say that, when all is said and done, managing the risk of injuries becomes a heck of a lot easier when you’re stronger. Lifting heavy weights, relatively speaking, is also never a bad idea if your plan is to stay as athletic as possible as you age.

Building Muscle to Feel Good & Look Good

Arm farm is soon to be a national holiday. I swear, it’ll be on all calendars at some point soon.

Until then, why can’t we give in and just be more open about wanting to build muscle to feel good and look good?

Oh, so you’re not trying to build a sweet pair of biceps to flash at the beach this summer? So, what you’re saying is that, even though you just ripped off 50 reps of tricep extensions, that arm training isn’t important to you?

Sure, keep telling yourself that.

Or, let’s just all be cool about it. Look, I like building muscle, feeling good about how I look and chasing a pump just as much as anyone else. Admittedly, my calf muscles are often the target for when I’m trying to chase a pump, but that’s neither here nor there.

The point is that building muscle is actually a great thing if your goal is to stay athletic as you get older. Think of muscle as your body armor. This ultimately coincides with what we just talked about in the previous section.

(Side note: have you noticed a trend so far with how each section piggy-backs off of the previous one? Go figure.)

Lean body mass (LBM), otherwise known as muscle tissue, is a great thing to develop in the human body. Not only does having more muscle help you from a body composition standpoint, it also enables you with the ability to develop power and strength with more ease.

Building muscle and being athletic can both exist together in your weekly training. Looking good, feeling good about how you look and performing well are all achievable qualities with the right approach.

Conditioning for Heart Health Gains (Even Though You Hate It)

OK, OK. I get it. Nobody likes doing cardio or conditioning.

But, everyone wants to jump right into playing rec league sports, pick-up basketball games and flag football, right?

Stop for a moment and think about that.

(Crickets.)

Yup, exactly what I thought.

Doing the first thing makes doing the second thing much easier.

I’m not saying that you need to spend countless hours on the treadmill trying to morph into a hamster wheel. Nope, not at all. Instead, incorporate anaerobic (high intensity) conditioning intervals and aerobic (low intensity) conditioning intervals on a weekly basis.

Let’s simplify even more by having you consider adding in the following each week:

  • Anaerobic example = 1-2 days each week of sprints: keep the distance (15-20 yards) and volume (6-8 reps) short while the intensity (85-90% effort) and rest periods (60-90 seconds) are high.
  • Aerobic example = 1-2 days each week of tempo running: now, focus on longer distances (1 lap around the track) at lower intensities (70-75% effort) with a recovery walking lap in between and a higher total volume of work (1.5-2 miles).

These are simply a couple of examples you could use, but quite frankly, the options are endless. You could easily do sprint intervals on the bike instead for your anaerobic conditioning and 30-minute weight vest walking for your aerobic conditioning.

The primary goal is to hit some high intensity and some low intensity conditioning on a weekly basis. Think of high intensity conditioning as building your ability to be powerful for short periods of time and low intensity conditioning as building your ability to last for a long duration of time with more of a sustained output.

When performed together consistently, this type of weekly conditioning routine gets you fit enough to play all the pick-up games and rec league sports you want without ever batting an eye or stopping to consider whether or not you feel conditioned enough to play. Cardiovascular endurance and stamina are real game-changers and they’re super important in the process of maintaining your athleticism as you get older.

The best part is that being well-conditioned also positively impacts your ability to build strength, power and muscle. Overall, athleticism leans heavily on these 4 physical qualities.

Closing

Let’s face it: we all want to stay athletic and powerful as we get older. We all want to stay strong, durable and muscular, too. And, even if we hate to admit it, we know that conditioning is key for staying fit and healthy. Unlock your true athletic potential by focusing on these 4 key areas for staying athletic as you get older.

My online training program – Forever Athlete – places a strong emphasis on these 4 areas so that you can remove the guesswork and become the most athletic version of yourself.

About the Author

Matthew Ibrahim has been a Strength & Conditioning Coach since 2007 while working with athletes looking to build strength, improve performance and maintain healthy lifestyles. He is also a College Professor of Exercise Science and a Ph.D. student in Human & Sport Performance.

As a public speaker, Matthew has presented at EXOS inside Google Headquarters, Sports Academy (formerly Mamba Sports Academy), Perform Better, Equinox, Stanford University and for the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) on several occasions. His work has been featured in Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, T-Nation, Science for Sport, StrengthCoach.com, Exxentric, TrueCoach and TrainHeroic.

Connect with him on Instagram – HERE

 

Categoriescoaching Motivational psychology Strength Training

The Fitness Zeitgeist

Flat lay composition with Microphone for podcasts and black studio headphonesCategoriespodcast

Appearance on the Heavy Metal Strength Coach Podcast: UK Tour, Tacos, and 600 lb Deadlifts

It’s not lost on me that some of you reading may be thinking to yourself…

…”Heavy metal? Tony? No, it can’t be.”

Listen, as a strength coach it’s pretty much inevitable a fair portion of your working life will be saturated by the sounds of Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, and Tool.

And so it happened, early in my career (particularly during my Cressey Sports Performance days), my ears would sometimes bleed (in a good way) from such sounds. However, as everyone is well aware, I’d always try my best to bring a little levity to the training environment with a little Wu-Tang or Tiesto.

And while I can’t say I listen to a lot of heavy metal music at my studio in Boston, I do appreciate its ability to help trainees succumb to their inner rage monster for a big lift when needed.

That said, it was a pleasure to be invited back onto The Heavy Metal Strength Coach Podcast hosted by Chris Kershaw

Flat lay composition with Microphone for podcasts and black studio headphones

UK Tour, Tacos, and 600 lb Deadlifts

Chris – in case it wasn’t obvious enough – is a strength coach based who likes heavy metal music. He’s based in the UK and was kind enough to invite me back onto his show recently to discuss my upcoming workshops in England (London & Leeds) this coming Spring as well as go a bit into the weeds on the importance of meeting your clients/athletes where THEY are.

HINT: That’s where the taco reference comes from.

And, of course, there’s some discussion surrounding lifting heavy things.

Chris is a natural interviewer and I think you’ll enjoy his laid back, conversational style.

Give it a listen HERE.

Concept image of a business woman separate one wooden people from a groupCategoriesMotivational psychology

Why You Self Sabotage, and How to Stop It

Today’s guest post come courtesy of personal trainer, strength & conditioning coach, wellness coach, and owner of more certifications than anyone on Earth, Paul Levitin.

I’ve crossed paths with Paul several times throughout the years. He’s attended a workshop or two of mine and most recently we connected again at the Raise the Bar Conference down in Orlando, FL a few weekends ago.

We got to talking on a bevy of topics while down there and he expressed some interest in writing a guest post for my site on self-sabotage.

Not a light topic by any stretch, but I think you’ll enjoy his writing style. I know I learned a few things!

Enjoy.

Concept image of a business woman separate one wooden people from a group

Why You Self Sabotage, and How to Stop It

“…Hey you.

You, yeah I’m talking to you…

Why do you keep doing that?

That thing you do… where you say you’re gonna do something, but don’t? Where you talk yourself out of things, give up before you get a result, or commit to obligations you know you can’t fulfill? You keep getting in your own way! STOP IT!…”

That’s me, talking to myself in the mirror, after yet another in a long line of instances of not following through on my commitments, doing what I said I would to, or achieving my goals.

It doesn’t matter if we are talking about a diet, sticking to a workout program, building an online business, or literally anything else. 

Working out

When it comes to achieving goals, or rather NOT achieving them, it really boils down to one simple thing:

We get in our own way.

I say “we,” because this is an inherently human trait.

Since you are reading this, I can assume that you’re either a human, or an incredibly smart dog, monkey, or octopus, in which case, idk, maybe self-sabotage is a thing for you too. If my hunch is correct though, and you ARE a human, then the fact of the matter is, you have a tendency to self-sabotage (see, I’m doing it right now, talking about octopus in an article about self-sabotage!).

via GIPHY

We can make all of the excuses in the world, from lack of time, to not knowing where to start, to a million things in between.

If we are honest though, those are all the same. Different versions of self-sabotage.

  • Who controls your time?
  • Who controls what media you consume?
  • Who controls everything about you? 

(That’s not a trick question)

It’s YOU.

Therefore, if you aren’t getting your shit handled, it’s your fault.

YES, there can be external factors. YES some people have kids and jobs and families and pandemics and global economic crises. BLAH BLAH, I get it.

Those things are real, but they still don’t negate the one truth, the truthiest truth, that the only things you have control over in this life are yourself, your actions, and how you spend your time (to an extent). 

It may seem abrasive when put so bluntly, but trust me, I am not being judgmental. That’s why I started all of this by telling you a little of my own personal internal dialogue. A wise person once said, “the best research is actually me-search,” and let’s just say I’ve done a shit load of ME-search on the topic of self-sabotage.

I am the one who most holds ME back, and chances are, you are the one holding yourself back.

People don’t like to hear it. However, when we do hear it, we inherently usually (if begrudgingly) tend to admit this to be true, because well, it’s true. You can’t really argue against it (RIP my inbox, I know the keyboard warriors are coming for me).

Spartan warrior in the woods

There’s a keyboard somewhere in the background. Look closely. See it?3

I’ve spent this much time hammering this point because it is imperative that we get past this right out of the gate if we are to move forward. 

Now that we are on the same page, let me lay out three key mindset shifts that you MUST adopt if you want to have a chance in the battle of self-sabotage.

The First Key Is Acceptance

Acceptance lies at the root of all positive change. Acceptance of what is.

If I want to lose weight, I have to first accept that I am at a weight that I am unhappy, or otherwise uncomfortable at. I must accept that my decisions around food and activity up until this point have gotten me here.

If I want to build a successful fitness blog, I have to accept certain realities as well. I have to accept that I need to practice writing. I have to accept that an established blog like the one you’re reading this on, has a huge readership and trust that I don’t have yet, and that my clicks will pale in comparison.

I need to accept what IS, and what IS NOT.

What is a FACT.

Because, on the flip side of acceptance, is blame. Blaming others, blaming algorithms, blaming genetics. 

John Maxwell has a great quote on leadership that goes “we don’t solve problems that we didn’t create.” If you can pass the blame, pass the buck, you will also find reasons not to find the solution. 

So if you want to stop self-sabotage, and get out of your own way, it starts with accepting the realities of your current situation.

The Second Key Is to Set Better Goals

A big reason I’ve found myself, and my clients self-sabotaging in the past, is because we tend to work towards goals that don’t really matter.

When I say “don’t matter,” what I mean is, they don’t have a deep internalized meaning.

Sure you want to lose weight. Who doesn’t? If I had a magic wand and said I’d wave off a couple kilos of fat for you, pretty much everyone on the planet would take that deal. 

via GIPHY

But when you set a goal to lose weight, are you thinking about what it really means?

  • Why do you want to lose weight?
  • Is it truly for you?
  • Why 20lb, not 10, or 23?

Is it because you want it, or is it because society told you that you’re supposed to look a certain way?

When you have chest and arm day scheduled, but would rather sit and eat a bag of Cheetos, is that you being lazy, or do you have no real connection to the goal of having bigger pecs?

Who said that was the ideal physique?

(NOTE from TG: My wife would call this “should’ing on yourself.” I should look “x” way, I should follow this training split, I should watch Yellowjackets on Showtime. Stop should’ing on yourself.)

We understand that fitness is important, and movement and exercise are a conduit to that. But does that mean you have to bench press?

Maybe you’d be better served doing pilates twice a week, and dancing to Zumba with your kids during playtime?

Trying to force-feed yourself goals, because they are accepted as the “standard” seems smart on the surface. However, deep down, your subconscious mind is all “uh, fuck that noise. I don’t even want any of that result, so why would I put myself through the stress of doing the work?”

When there is no connection, you’ll find it very hard to stay motivated.

If instead you have goals that aren’t just arbitrary, and are actually built around you, and make you feel GOOD, and make you EXCITED to go out and do the work it will take to achieve them, then you’re setting yourself up for success.

Lastly…

The Third Key to Stop Self-Sabotage Dead in its Tracks, Is to Embrace Failure

The biggest, most pervasive form of self-sabotage, is undoubtedly perfectionism.

We want things to go well, we want everything to work out perfectly. We expect them to, and when they don’t, the little thought gremlins come in saying “well, no point now!” or “see, I knew we couldn’t do this!”

via GIPHY

This is the dieter who lets one meal off plan turn into a day, which turns into a weekend, into a “i’ll start next month.”

It’s the lifter who has five workouts scheduled, and when a life event causes him or her to miss three, decides the other two aren’t worth doing.

Logically, it’s easy to see why this fallacy holds us back. However once again, this stuff is human nature. This isn’t me or you, it’s just how our brains work.

To combat this, we must lean into failure. You have to understand that not only is failure probable, it is GUARANTEED. There is no world, no universe or time lines in all of Dr Strange’s multi-verse, where you are not going to fail.

It is as certain as the sun rising each morning, or as me clicking “I’m still watching” on netflix. There is no other way around it.

You cannot be perfect. You cannot be perfect.

YOU.

CANNOT.

BE.

PERFECT.

Once you accept that (hey, that’s key one, that’s a callback!), then you don’t have to be so afraid of failing anymore. You’ll be able to push yourself more, to try things that normally you might not (key 2), and most importantly, when you do fail, which you will, you won’t let it get you down, because you’ll remember that it’s all part of the process (key 3).

Get out of your own way, and there will be nothing else in the world that can stop you!

About the Author

Paul Levitin spent a decade as a personal trainer & strength and conditioning coach, becoming the number one trainer in his entire company, while collecting over 30 certificates (CES, CSCS, PRI, PN1, FRC, & many more).

Wanting to better serve his training clients, he began to study behavior change, and eventually became a Board Licensed Health & Wellness Coach (NBHWC). This led him to create his education and mindset coaching company “The Healthy Happy Human Academy,” where he now helps clients deal with things like self-sabotage and perfectionism, to allow them to build a healthy, happy life.

He seeks to bridge the gap between the worlds of fitness and nutrition, and the frustrated, overwhelmed masses who just want to move more, feel better, and live a little longer.

https://www.instagram.com/paullevitin/
The Healthy Happy Human Podcast
The Healthy Happy Human Academy FREE Facebook Group

 

BooksCategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 2/10/22

Books

STUFF TO CHECK OUT FIRST

1. Strategic Strength Workshop – BOSTON & LONDON

This Spring Luke Worthington and I will be putting on our popular Strategic Strength Workshop in both Boston, MA and London, UK.

A hometown switcharoo extravaganza if you will.

The purpose of this workshop is to give attendees a more thorough look into our assessment process and how we connect the dots between that and setting our clients/athletes up for as much success as possible.

I.e., turning them into deadlifting Terminators.

There’s plenty of talk surrounding the traditional x’s and o’s of program design, but we also take some time to dive deep into the soft(er) skills of coaching:

  • How to improve motivation
  • How to build better rapport
  • Learning to meet your clients where THEY are.

You can click the respective links below for more information and to register:

Boston (March 19th-20th) – HERE.

London (April 23rd-24th) – HERE.

2. Coaching Competency Workshop: Leeds, UK – May, 1 2022

On top of my cameo in London this Spring I am also putting on a BONUS 1-day workshop further north, in Leeds. I’m pumped for this one. I’ve never visited northern England and am very much looking forward to this.

Who knows? Maybe I’ll attend my first soccer football match.

SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS

Twitter

Instagram

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore)

STUFF TO READ WHILE YOU’RE PRETENDING TO WORK

Advice For Young Trainers – Dean Somerset

Personal trainer shows a young woman the correct implementation of exercises

#1 Tip: Don’t spot DB presses from the elbows. Idiot.

After that, everything Dean says in this excellent post…;o)

How to Handle Business Overwhelm – Dr. Shante Cofield

Office worker overwhelmed with paperwork

I had the pleasure of meeting Shante this past weekend at the Raise the Bar Conference in Orlando, FL and oh man…

..is she ever the shit.

After talking with her I felt compelled to check out more of her stuff on her site and well, it’s awesome.

You’re welcome.

8 Bodybuilding Tips for Beginners and Hardgainers – Lee Boyce

a strong male bodybuilder

Listen to Lee.

Lee knows what’s up.

Seriously, listen.

LISTEN!!!!!!

Female athlete stretching her hamstringCategoriesAssessment coaching Corrective Exercise

The Difference Between Good and Bad Stiffness

Get your mind out of the gutter, I’m talking about muscles here…;o)

Female athlete stretching her hamstring

The Difference Between Good & Bad Stiffness

Having “tight” or “stiff” muscles is often viewed as a bad thing. Not losing a match of Squid Game bad, but bad nonetheless.

When someone presents with a (true) muscular length limitation there are increased risks of injury involved – strains, tears, explosive diarrhea4 – not to mention an increased likelihood of faulty movement patterns up and down the kinetic chain.

But injury isn’t always omnipresent.

Take any NBA basketball player through the FMS (Functional Movement Screen) – specifically the Active Straight Leg screen – and you’re bound to open up a can of epic fail.

NOTE: I personally don’t use the FMS currently when assessing/screening new clients. I took both modules several years ago and gained a lot of insight and knowledge. But in the years since I have gradually weened away from the FMS for myriad reasons. I know a lot of fitness professionals who still utilize it though and feel it’s a relevant talking point in the context of this post.

Many would be lucky to score a “2” (which is an average score), and many would showcase a right/left asymmetry, which, as we all know, means a baby seal dies.5

As a result, we’re quick to go into corrective exercise overdrive and implement every strategy under the sun that’ll increase hamstring length.

Ironically, it’s “tight hamstrings” that allow many NBA players the ability to do what they do so well. Namely, jump through the roof.

In this case stiffness is a good thing. We don’t have to fix it.

Of Note: the ASLR screen isn’t necessarily a hamstring length screen to begin with. Sure, offhand, it can be a way to ascertain hamstring length…but what we’re really looking at is the ability to both flex and extend the hip.

Stiff hamstrings can affect the ability to do so. However, more importantly, the ASLR is about teaching people to get into better positions – improving stiffness in other areas – to “trick” the CNS into turning off the emergency breaks.

Get people into more optimal positions (nudge them into better alignment), and what presented as “tight” or stiff is no longer the case.

Core Engaged Active Straight Leg Raise

 

Here we engage the anterior core – increase stiffness – to promote more posterior pelvic tilt (decrease “bad” stiffness in lumbar spine) in order to improve ROM, in addition to getting movement from the right areas (in this case the hips).

Likewise we can throw the hip flexors underneath the bus. I think we all know someone who’s been stretching their “tight” hip flexors since 1997.

Newsflash: If you’re someone who’s been mindlessly stretching your hip flexors for that long, with no improvement, what the hell?

I’d garner a guess the reason they feel tight/stiff is due to protective tension (and not actual tightness).

The stretch you’re doing – what I like to call the BS Hip Flexor Stretch – is doing nothing more than increasing “bad” stiffness in the:

  • Lumbar spine.
  • Anterior hip capsule.
  • My eyes.

It exacerbates and feeds what’s causing the issues in the first place.

Instead, perform a REAL Hip Flexor Stretch by increasing (good) stiffness in the appropriate areas – the anterior core and glutes – and actually get at the crux of the issue.

 

Another prime example would be the lats.

Stiff lats can be a bad and a good thing.

When Shit Hits the Fan (I.e., Bad)

In mine and Dean Somerset’s Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint, we spend a large portion of time speaking about the lats and how, in the overhead athlete population (as well as in the general population), they’re often stiff/short and overactive.

As a result: Overactive/stiff lats will drive more shoulder depression, downward rotation, adduction, as well as lumbar extension in general.

Anyone familiar with PRI (Postural Restoration Institute) and their thought process and methodologies will recognize this “Scissor Posture,” where the pelvis is pointing in one direction (tilted forward in Anterior Pelvic Tilt) and the diaphragm pointing in another direction (due to an excessive rib flair and lumbar extension).

This is not only an unstable position to be in, but also keeps the nervous system “on” at all times, driving more sympathetic activity.

What’s more, with regards to shoulder health, overactive lats will make it much less likely someone will be able to elevate their arms overhead, as well as “accessing” their lower traps (which share a similar fiber orientation as the lats @ 135 degrees), which, in concert with the upper trap and serratus, aid scapular upward rotation, posterior tilt, and protraction.

Taking the time to coach someone to turn off (or down-regulate) their lats in order to flex, externally rotate, and abduct their shoulder works wonders.

Bench T-Spine Mobilization

 

Wall Lat Stretch w/ T-Spine Extension & Lift Off

When Lats Can Increase Your Overall Level of Badassery (I.e., Good Stiffness)

And now it’s time to turn those fuckers on!

Your lats are a MAJOR player when it comes to performance in the weight room and lifting heavy things.

It also behooves you to turn them on in order to improve your technique in the “big 3.”

With the deadlift in particular there are some significant advantages:

 

Another trick I like to use to help people learn to use their lats during a deadlift is to attach a band to the bar and a stationary object.

 

Trainees will learn very quickly what it means to “pull the bar towards you” and to keep the lats engaged throughout the duration of a set.

You can also peruse a few more options in this IG post from a few weeks ago:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore)

In this light, stiffness isn’t such a bad thing.

So, you see…

…it’s not always end of days or something that requires going into DEFCON 1 corrective exercise purgatory mode. Whether or not stiffness/tightness is bad or good depends on the context.

DietCategoriesNutrition

Diets Don’t Work: Why Restrictive Eating Plans Fail (and What You Can Do Instead)

Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Minneapolis based personal trainer and nutrition coach, Megan Schall. Megan’s been a distance coaching client of mine for a number of years (I write her training programs), but is someone I’ve referred many other clients to when they have any nutritional needs or questions.

She’s an awesome coach.

I’m always excited when I can provide sound and accessible nutrition based content on the site and I think you will appreciate Megan’s down-to-Earth approach and tone.

Enjoy!

Diet

Diets Don’t Work

According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, the word “diet” has a few different definitions:

  • Food and drink regularly consumed
  • A regimen of eating or drinking sparingly so as to reduce one’s weight
  • To eat according to prescribed rules
  • (Added by TG) Doing everything in one’s power not to throw their face into an ax after avoiding carbohydrates for a week.

I’m guessing for most people, hearing the word diet brings up thoughts of the latter two definitions (excluding Tony’s brief interlude) – eating and drinking according to certain rules and/or with the aim of losing weight.

And when you have goals relating to your health, wellness, physical performance, or aesthetic appearance, what you eat is certainly a key player.

It would seem that if following a certain diet is going to help you reach your goals, you’d be motivated and excited to hop on board, yes? Shouldn’t it be easy to stick to a diet, see results, and keep it up?

Um, no.

If you’ve ever followed (or attempted to follow) a diet before – whether that means eating or avoiding certain foods, counting calories, points, or other numbers-based programs, or eating according to a specific schedule, you’re probably well aware of the challenges that come up.

Close Up Of Man Using Fitness Tracker To Count Calories For Post Workout Juice Drink He Is Making

(Of course, some people will need to follow certain “diets” to manage conditions or diseases, or for ethical or religious preference – being gluten free if you have Celiac for example, or avoiding animal products etc. For the purpose of this blog post, I am NOT referring to these kinds of diets. There will always be exceptions to any rule!)

So, why do diets routinely fail to produce results? And what can you do instead?

In my view, diets are problematic for several reasons:

1. Diets Are Inherently Restrictive and Create a Deprivation Mindset

As I mentioned, the very definition of the word diet is to eat sparingly or according to rules – to restrict your eating.

When you create restrictions or try to follow a rigid plan, your brain is in a state of stress and anxiety.

And when your brain is feeling stress and anxiety, it’s not just an uncomfortable place to be, but it’s also extremely difficult to make or sustain change.

Plus, restrictions – and the stress and anxiety they produce – usually result in a feeling of deprivation. Which creates more stress and anxiety.

Have you ever had the experience of trying to avoid a certain food, only to find that all you’re doing is thinking about the food you’re supposed to avoid?

Your brain is in a negative feedback loop: Restrictions  –> anxiety and stress –> deprived –> anxiety and stress etc.

When you’re caught in this negative head space, it’s a pretty miserable place to be. And being miserable does not bode well for forward progress or positive change.

2. Diets Take Away Your Autonomy

Diets are telling you what to do. No one likes to be told what to do. And when you are told what to do, what usually happens? You rebel and do the exact opposite.

Individuality going a different opposite direction

Having a sense of autonomy and control over your choices is key when it comes to behavior change that lasts. Giving away your autonomy to a diet plan is almost always going to backfire in the long run.

Not only that, you’re essentially outsourcing your hunger and fullness cues and food enjoyment to your diet plan.

You’re letting a diet dictate what you eat or when you eat or how much you eat, and it’s easy to lose touch with what your body really wants and needs.

This often leads to less enjoyment of food and eating, and you may feel unsatisfied even if you’re consuming more than enough.

It’s a lose-lose situation.

3. Diets Are Unsustainable

I think we’ve established that there isn’t a lot of enjoyment in a diet. And when there is no enjoyment, there is no sustainable, lasting change.

You might be able to follow a diet for a certain period of time – and you might even see great results – but eventually the restriction, stress brain, and lack of autonomy is going to catch up with you.

The whole idea of being “on” or “off” a diet makes it clear that these approaches are not built for the long haul. They may provide a quick fix, but they’re not helping you create long-term strategies that last.

5. Diets Don’t Factor in Your Real Life

This is a big one that I think gets overlooked: Diets are not meant for the actual life you are living.

Diet plans might work when conditions are ideal – when you don’t have a lot of other stressors going on, when your life is fairly stable and routine, and when you can put a lot of energy and effort into it.

But this is not reality for most people most of the time. Not everyone has the luxury to be able to make free range kale smoothies made with organic acai berries grown using unicorn tears and almond milk harvested from Jesus’s belly button.

Healthy Smoothie

You have jobs and families and responsibilities and crises…and that’s on a good day!

Real life is not counting calories or macros. Real life is work lunches and dinners with friends and family barbeques and birthday parties.

Diet plans don’t tend to fit seamlessly into real life. And if something doesn’t fit naturally into your reality, it’s not going to last.

6. Diets Ignore Underlying Factors

Another important consideration that diets miss are the many underlying issues that prevent people from making better nutritional choices, or really just implementing any change in the first place.

For example, if you’re chronically sleep deprived, it’s going to be extremely difficult to make the choices you want to make around food and eating, or movement, or whatever else in your life.

If you’re unable to manage stress appropriately, it’s going to affect those choices as well (not to mention make it hard to get good sleep! Cue the vicious cycle).

Diets work on the assumption that these other key factors of your health and well-being are taken care of, but at least in my experience, that is rarely the case.

Just like you can’t out-exercise a poor diet, you can’t out-diet poor sleep or stress management.

Addressing the foundational principles of good health needs to happen first.

Ok. Diets Don’t Work. Now What?

Perhaps you’re wondering:

If diets don’t work, what am I supposed to do? What are my other options?

I’m so glad you asked!

In a nutshell: You want to find what works best for *you* and fits into *your real life*, by developing skills and strategies that you can implement consistently over time and adapt as needed.

Instead of relying on a diet plan to tell you what to do, you can learn how to create your own path by building your toolbox and practicing the steps that move you in the right direction.

Learning and practicing the skills you need to get you where you want to go will be far more valuable -and get you far better results – than following a set of strict rules ever will.

  • Instead of trying to follow a certain diet plan, you could practice eating more slowly and noticing your own hunger and fullness cues.
  • You could try noticing and naming other factors that affect your food choices (sleep, stress, exercise etc.), and see if making changes in those areas is an effective way to change your eating habits.
  • Instead of counting calories or macros or points, you could experiment with what portion sizes work for you, and learn how to adapt depending on your hunger, appetite, or activity levels.
  • You could take note of how different foods make you feel or perform, whether that’s in the gym, at work, or just life in general.
  • Instead of restricting foods, you could practice enjoying meals without feeling guilty or overeating.
  • Instead of following a meal plan, you could develop planning and prepping strategies that fit into your life – so you can create your own meal plans that adapt to life’s ups and downs.

Meal prep concept. Glass airtight containers with cooked food veggies

Obviously, this all takes time and effort, and may feel like it will be way harder than being given a set of diet rules or a meal plan to follow.

But by making small changes over time, you can build the skills and strategies you need to make the best choices for you, your lifestyle, and your goals. (Hint hint: having a coach can come in handy!)

This approach is the opposite of an extreme diet: It’s sustainable, it gives you autonomy, it’s not restrictive or depriving, and it takes into consideration underlying issues and the context of your real life.

Ditch the diets.

Build skills that will last for the long-term.

Get results without hating life.

Dominate the world.

(Ok, I can’t guarantee that last one – but if it works…you’re welcome.)

About the Author

About the Author

Megan Schall is a certified nutrition coach and personal trainer located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Through her customized online nutrition coaching programs, Megan helps you clarify your goals and take action to address all aspects of well-being: nutrition, sleep, stress management, movement, mind-body awareness, and more. By building skills and routines that fit into your real life, Megan will help you make changes to your nutrition and self-care habits to meet your health and wellness goals and create sustainable, lasting results.
YouTube: HERE

 

 

 

CategoriesMotivational

Welcome to the School of Heart Knocks, Where the Universe Doesn’t Give a F**k About Your Problems

Today see’s the return of a TG.com OG…George Kalantzis.

George is a long-time friend and colleague of mine. We first crossed paths when he started as an intern at Cressey Sports Performance over a decade ago. He then transitioned to a full-time coach where he spearheaded CSP’s Strength Camps.

In the years since George has gone on to be a best-selling author, releasing his book, Nowhere to Go, late last year. It’s a treat to have George back writing on the site and sharing some important life lessons.

Enjoy!

Copyright: aleksandrkondratov

I know this title may piss some people off, but it’s 2022, and we don’t need any more positive mantras or articles about how the Universe, or some magic plan will save us from our struggles.

Let me explain in a way that saved my life – poetry and prose:

How could your life be different if you surrendered this search?
A part of you has called you here to read to these words.

 

Everything changes at the touch of our fingertips. Hearts, likes, comments, and clicks. Tweets and TikTok’s, it seems like it’s all about the destination, but the journey is how you will find what you need in the school of heart knocks.

Transitions in life are inevitable. Difficult times will find you when you least expect them. The pandemic has shown the world these truths.

Yet, many people still struggle with taking responsibility for their lives. They quickly blame others and create stories to justify their choices while forgetting that most of their problems directly reflect their choices.

This isn’t me judging your way of living. I know what it’s like to search for everything more in life to get through the struggle.

This is me telling you to pay attention to your choices because every choice has consequences. And if you want to overcome challenges with adversity and live authentically, these concepts can help you tap into your true potential.

The Universe Doesn’t Give A Fuck About Your Problems

Everyone wants to feel like they belong to something. We’re coded for survival, so we seek others to make our lives easier. The problem arises when we lean too much on others for our own survival. What was once meant to be a relationship that makes life more enjoyable becomes essential, like water.

More relationships, more alcohol, more mind-numbing scrolling. We’d rather choose a life based upon validation and approval rather than one that aligns with our feelings.

Young Muslim businesswoman scrolling in mobile phone

That’s why many of us often struggle to find a sense of self.

But the longer we allow our story to be written by outside forces, the longer we remain trapped. We’re on a treadmill, going through the motions of living but not actually going anywhere.

Adi Da Samraj, an American spiritual teacher and writer, said, “Notice what is affecting you. In one fashion or another, through the Grace of Truth Itself, you must handle your business…”

That is to say, the more you know those moments in which you seek to run, the more you can make choices that align with your true potential. If you find yourself struggling, you only have two choices: choose to live in a life filled with excuses and blame others, or you can stop running and choose yourself for the first time.

This is the power of the Universe.

Not by magically thinking this existential force will save you from despair.

Life is A Magnificent Dance

You might think being a Marine means it’s easier for me to foster a sense of discipline, clarity, and purpose in life. But, that is far from the truth.

I’ve had to clear many personal hurdles, including almost taking my life over the last few years. To say it was a challenging few years would be undermining the amount of personal growth and pain I’ve endured.

I even published a book about it all.

Because music is the medicine of mind and soul, I believe life is a magnificent dance that invites us to be more than we can ever imagine.

But that doesn’t mean the dance is linear or easy to follow.

Every song we choose to dance with is filled with twists and turns along our journey. Even the ones that seem significant and small in our lives. These dances all add up, one by one, until we’re just a bunch of mindless bodies running around without direction or purpose.

During difficult times, the mind constantly strives to solve problems. We work all day to prevent any feelings of discomfort from creeping into our lives. We push our bodies to exhaustion. But, no matter what we do, we end up feeling more lost, unseen, depressed, and stressed to the max.

Life kind of just happens while we disconnect from our true selves with no sense of purpose and direction. But life is so fleeting when you aren’t honest with yourself.

When life presents you with unexpected challenges, I urge you to be more open to all the dances in life. Create space for yourself to check in with how you are truly feeling inside. Give yourself permission to slow down. While acceptance might make you feel lost, if you can find the courage to sit with the discomfort a little longer each day, you will find wisdom from the challenges you face.

Try these journal prompts to start and list the first thought that comes to your mind:

  • The reason I struggle with slowing down is…
  • What I’m afraid might happen if I slow down is…
  • Moving fast is protecting me by…( it is somehow or you wouldn’t always be stressed or anxious)
  • What I would like to happen right now is…
  • What I think I need to happen is…
  • The reason I have a hard time trusting this will happen is…
  • What I could do right now to move towards that outcome is…

Create Mentors

Notice how I didn’t say find a mentor but create.

Along the way, someone told us we had to be more than what we needed. So, we forgot to love, laugh, breathe, dance, cry, and experience life for what it is. But at any given moment, the storms of life can come. They remind us that nothing in life is ever certain.

I create mentors in life because I know my journey is filled with many directions and living authentically allows me to create situations where mentors appear when I least expect them.

Tony is one of them, thanks, my friend.

Note From TG: I got you, bro

via GIPHY

You’ll create mentors if you can teach yourself to experience life and enjoy simple things. It could be a great workout. A scoop of ice cream. A conversation with an old friend. A random date night. These are where you’ll find mentors. You don’t need to keep searching for more. You have so many mentors in life available to you right now. The only catch, you must be engaged in the dance of life.

If you can’t create or enjoy simple moments, you aren’t ready for an actual mentor. Start creating, and you’ll soon find everything you need.

Accept Your Last Breath

My dad let our family know he was slowly dying of cancer a few years ago. The disease spread into his bones and is eating away at his insides. Seeing him live through the process has been one of the most painful experiences to watch from afar.

I have seen many deaths in life, but watching him surrender to something he cannot control is a powerful reminder that our last breath can come at any time.

If we look at our experiences from this viewpoint, our last breath becomes a potent elixir to fuel our darkest and brightest days. Except sometimes, it’s hard to think about our experiences that way.

But what if we searched a bit deeper and filled our lungs with air as if it was our last breath in times of anxiety and stress? This is the gift of life and why our breath is so powerful.

We can choose to see that everything we endure serves as a vehicle to an expanded version of ourselves, or we can decide to suffocate the spaces in our bodies that need to breathe with anxiety and stress.

Either way, we are all part of a brilliant transformation occurring at this moment as we collectively search to find truth and liberation from our suffering.

People like my dad understand the power of the last breath.

They do not fear death but instead live as if something new is being born. This dance with death gives them the courage to continue living with an open heart and surrender to whatever is unfolding. Fear is useless in this dance; trusting yourself is paramount.

Our last breath doesn’t mean we stop trying to live, or give up in the face of adversity; it means we surrender to the ideas or beliefs that prevent us from breathing fully. When we accept the idea of our last breath, we can rest easy knowing we’re on our way to transcending into something greater than ourselves.

The Way To Live Authentically

I’m not here because I think I’m better than you. Nor did I write this article to get lost in a sea of internet trolls. I wrote this article to show that you don’t have to be a victim of life. You are always in control of your choices and your freedom. As you go through your life, remember to create space for yourself to breathe deeply, connect to your heart, and move with your body. These things will provide you with solace when life feels heavy.

About the Author

George is the author of Nowhere to Go, a podcast host, a decorative combat veteran, and a personal coach at the Art of Tough Transitions.

With nearly 20 years of encounters with tough transitions, George empowers men and women to live life authentically by giving them the courage to find their voice and unlock their potential. He has the unique ability to speak to people in ways that make them feel seen and heard through a combination of prose, poetry, coaching, and experience that can only be found in the school of heart knocks.

Visit George’s site HERE.

Glasses and booksCategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 1/19/22

Glasses and books

STUFF TO CHECK OUT FIRST

1. Strategic Strength Workshop – Boston (March 2022 w/ Luke Worthington)

 

This coming March Luke Worthington and I will be putting on our popular Strategic Strength Workshop in Boston, MA. Check out the full details HERE.

  • Payment plan option
  • CEUs will be offered
  • I’ll probably talk about deadlifts…;o)

2. COACHED: Raise the Bar Conference

I’m excited to announce that I will be part of the Raise the Bar Conference. An event focused on the missing links in our industry: Communication, collaboration, connection, behavioral psychology, business & marketing skills, and much more.

When: February 4th-6th, 2022
Where: BioFit Performance, Oviedo, FL (Orlando area)

And more importantly who? Who will be presenting at this event?

I gotta say: This is undoubtedly one of the most stacked line-ups I have ever seen; even more than the 1990 Oakland Athletics.

Virtual slots are infinite, however IN-PERSON slots are now limited, act quickly – HERE.

3. Strategic Strength Workshop: London, UK – April 23-24th (w/ Luke Worthington)

To serve as a “double-feature” of sorts, since Luke is coming to Boston in March we figured it was only fair for me to venture back to London as well.

This workshop IS happening on the weekend provided in central London, however we have yet to cement a venue.

Stay tuned.

That said…

 👇  👇  👇

4. Coaching Competency Workshop: Leeds, UK – May, 1 2022

I’m pumped for this one. Every workshop I’ve put on in England (outside of one I did in Bath back in 2017) has taken place in London.

I’m excited to head north and visit Leeds!

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A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore)

STUFF TO READ WHILE YOU’RE PRETENDING TO WORK

The Junk Food Delusion – Dani Shugart

Unhealthy Junk Food

It’s fashionable of late for some “fitness experts and influencers” to tout junk food as no big deal.

And, generally, it isn’t. Personally, I love junk food (especially pizza and ice-cream) and eat it often. Also, at the end of the day, so long the calories ingested match YOUR goals and YOUR preferences everyone should be left alone and do whatever the fuck it is they want to do.

That being said, let’s not kid ourselves into thinking junk food is “healthy” or that there’s no cost to doing business.

Nice read from Dani here.

The “How to Lose Great Coaches” Starter Pack – Missy Mitchell-McBeth

Midsection of basketball coach with stopwatch

Ohhhhhh6 snap.

Shots have been fired (right on Missy!)

Why Posture and Pain do not Simply Relate – Ben Cormack

Male osteopath doing a postural evaluation

As I’ve stated in the past:

“Posture is nothing more than a position.”

Just because someone presents as “not mirroring what a textbook says is perfect posture,” doesn’t mean they’re walking ball of dysfunction.

Guess what? We don’t live in textbooks!

Posture is the result of the TASK being asked of the body and the LOAD being placed upon it. Whether it’s “bad” or “passable” is a hodge-podge of variables and it depends’. You can’t predict whether or not a certain type of posture is deleterious to the low back more than the Easter Bunny.

Woman lying with her legs crossed indoorsCategoriescoaching

Confessions of an Introverted Strength Coach Revisted

People are often surprised when I state I’m an introvert.

Woman lying with her legs crossed indoors

Confessions of an Introverted Strength Coach

What most people fail to recognize is that “being an introvert” is part of a spectrum. No one is 100% introverted, nor are they 100% extroverted.

Everyone’s a little of both.

Another common misconception is that introversion is somehow correlated with being depressed or sad or downtrodden. In attempting to find a suitable image to go along with this post I simply typed “introvert” into my image finder thingamajiggy on WordPress and was quite surprised (if not slightly appalled) by what appeared on my screen:

Image after image after image of various people looking dejected, anti-social, and altogether unhappy.

It was quite striking, because all “being introverted” means is that you likely need or require a little more down time (or down tempo activities) in order to reenergize and recharge.

Is time to recharge yourself 65

I remember when my wife and I first started dating there was a night where I had just gotten back from a full day of coaching and was zapped. All I wanted to do was collapse on the couch and watch House Hunters. Unfortunately (for me) it was a Saturday night and Lisa had already committed us to a get together with a bunch of her friends at a local lounge in downtown Boston.

Ten minutes in it took all the will-power I could muster to not walk out of the place and straight into the path of the #66 bus down the street.

I just stood there with a blank stare and repeated one word answers as she and her friends attempted to engage with me.

  • “Tony, Lisa tells me you’re a personal trainer?” Yes.
  • “How long have you been doing that?” Awhile.
  • “So, what do you think about keto?” Grabs beer bottle, breaks it over the counter, slits own throat.

When we eventually left we had one of our first arguments. Clearly I was acting like an a-hole, but after explaining to her that the last thing I wanted to do after coaching for eight hours was to go to a bar and listen to Panic! At the Disco, we had a better understanding of each other’s needs.

I explained I am not against going out and participating in social events, I just needed a bit of a “buffer.”

Being a coach – inundated with constant noise and non-stop interaction – can be draining.

An introvert requires the antithesis of that in order to feel rejuvenated and ready to go the following day.

To repeat: This doesn’t mean we don’t like to do or be involved in social activities.

Rather, in our free time we generally prefer to:

✅ Read a book
✅ Enjoy a barrage of kitty cuddles.

That’s pretty much it.

One common remark I receive from other coaches and personal trainers is what would I recommend they do to counteract their juices running on empty when they’re in the middle of a long work day?

What can they do when they’re five hours deep into a long work day and have a barrage of sessions yet to complete? It’s not like they can meander off into a hidden closet and take a power nap.

(or can they?????)

Likewise, is the expectation that we have to be the rah-rah, high-energy coach who jumps up and down everywhere and perform cart-wheels after every set in order to be considered “good” or successful?

Listen, the bulk of your clients aren’t expecting a DJ Khalid performance during their session.

DJ hands and remote and mixer DJ for music

Sure, there’s a time & place to amp things up and to be the cheerleader, but I’ve found that more often than not…

…most clients don’t care for the (fake) performative nonsense.

You can still be a switched on and attentive coach without the theatrics.

That being said, it still behooves you, introverted coach, to be proactive and give yourself sporadic breaks throughout the day. These could be brief 15-30 minute windows of solitude when you know you have a full-day looming. Or, when you know you have a solid line-up of clients scheduled, it may be worthwhile to break the day up where you get your own training session in half way through.

BUT MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL: Do NOT fall pray to this idea you have to be a performative coach in order to be seen as legit. That BS may get you likes on Instagram, but it’ll lead to nothing but eye-rolls in the real world. Not to mention it certainly won’t be doing you any favors from an energy conservation standpoint.7

BUT EVEN MOST MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL:  Be sure to grace yourself with ample “me time” when you feel you need it. This could be sitting at home binging a show, going to the movies, hanging out at a bookstore of coffee shop, or, I don’t know, perusing your baseball card collection.

Remember: All being an introvert means is that you’re a fucking psychopath you likely require more solo time in order to reenergize.

It’s important to lean into it.

It’ll help make you a more engaged coach and your clients will benefit as well.

So, hi fellow introvert. I see you. What’s up?