Morning People...

Yeah I wasn't one really when I first got going into this grind that is my career/job, but I've slowly become one...sort of. OK truth is it's a struggle for me until I get to either BU or Brookline, and if there's a ton of things to slow down my morning routine, I'm potentially doomed to wait for an extra 30 min for my brain to come out of slumber. Usually though when I walk through the door I can turn it on, if not at least I usually have a few minutes to do so before I need to be sharp and pay attention. I'm sure there are some of you that have had to adjust to schedules that require you to get up at the butt crack of dawn with the rest of us coaching and training folk. I've discovered a few things that have helped me make the transition from sleep to work easier. I have pretty much 0 scientific basis to back this up, but if you want you can prove me right or wrong, also I may have sniped 1 of these ideas from someone else. 

1. GO TO BED: OK this might sound like me being a jerk but seriously get your butt to bed. Going to sleep at midnight and waking up at 4:30 AM will not do you or your morning any favors. Believe me I've had to do it before. When you struggle to keep your eyes open it doesn't mean stay up for an extra hour to continue binge watching that show on Netflix.

2. Caffeine: Yeah some of us aren't super human and can't just wake up as perky as Richard flippin Simmons. I'm not saying get an extra large coffee with 10 sugars and a truck load of cream in it with caramel swirl and whip cream on top either (was that enough overkill there?). Get up and have a cup of black coffee, if you need a spoon of sugar it won't kill you and if black coffee gives you the creepy crawlies then use organic heavy whipping cream, great little addition for those going low carb as well. For those that want to eat me alive for all the chemicals that are in the big brand coffees have a read of this and give that some thought. 

I will have one of these!

3. GET UP: Yeah again another one that sounds like I'm being captain obvious, thank you very much at your service right here. Seriously though when you're alarm goes off if you hit snooze and try to sleep for another 10 minutes it will take you longer to perk up and come to. When that thing goes off start rolling, even if you end up flat on the floor face down, you'll feel better without the extra 10 minutes I promise.

4. Water: I could go a couple different directions honestly, but something as simple as the splash of water on your face will help, if you're a person that showers in the morning then you've got this step covered.

5. Silence...maybe not so much: I know many people looooove their piece and quiet the same way I looove lifting things up and putting them down, but maybe a little stimulus for the brain is good. I personally will either throw on Spotify on my phone or get my dose of Sports Center for the day when I wake up. Even if you want to turn on something as mind numbing like Teen Mom it'll probably at least get some of the CNS firing.

Hopefully some of these tricks help you get moving in the AM, and hopefully I didn't make a complete ass of myself here today. Have a good day all, go out and get after it!

Wait Who's That Guy?

Sorry guys I've gone AWOL lately, but I really haven't had much time to myself. Here's a little insight on what's going on before we get to talking about more training type things. The internship is in full swing and it hit me like a punch in the face. My CNS was so fried from my new schedule that my own training was taking a huge hit. I love lifting heavy, but lifting heavy didn't love me for about the first 10 days in September. Monday I get up, go to the Brookline facility, amscray around noon, get to BU around 12:30, hang there for the better part of 6 hours and then odds on I'm heading back to the Brookline facility for a couple more sessions. Oh yeah and I do this on Wednesday as well. Tuesday I'm up and head straight to BU, finish around mid day there and go to Brookline for the night, rinse and repeat for Thursday as well. Friday's are way easier, Brookline, meeting at BU and DONE. Needless to say, and Catherine can confirm this, I pretty much get home and fall down at night. The things you do to get better and get ahead in the world, good news is I do enjoy being at BU a ton, and my limited schedule in Brookline almost makes it more exclusive so the clients I train are the ones I look forward to training...mostly.

How I feel when I get home lately

In the meanwhile on my hiatus I turned 28, if you didn't consider 27 late 20's, well I'm there now. No I'm not bitching that I'm old, although sometimes I like to just because I can and I have moments that make me feel so. Example; I was working with a couple teams last night and they could not name songs that were playing that I remembered from middle school, then I realized I'm getting old(er). I had thought about doing a 28 things list, but instead I'm going to limit it to a few brief things, just so I don't have my mind explode first time writing in a month and a half.


1. K.I.S.S.-So often I've heard (about) coaches adding all of these crazy exercises that can fix your pelvic tilt, realign your ankles, stop your indigestion and cure cancer all in one....yeah not today bub. I'm all for corrective work provided it doesn't eat 30 minutes of your workout and cut out more important shit, like getting stronger and faster. I try to keep it between 2-4 corrective/activation exercises before the work out, how many is dependent on the person's issues. After that I might mix in a few more if I know they are or have been struggling with certain movements.

2. Be yourself-I honestly have really tried to make sure I keep a hold of this one no matter who I'm working with or where I'm working. This really applies to the private sector of training/coaching. No matter who's name is on the building the trainee will keep coming back if they like YOU, no one else. People appreciate when you are being genuine and actually interested in their well being, they'll keep coming back because of that. To be honest if I'm training someone that doesn't want to come back I let it go because it wasn't meant to be and they wouldn't enjoy it which makes my job hell.

3. Pick appropriate exercises- Yeah I love deadlifts, squats and chin-ups just as much as the next guy, but the 92 year old guy with balance issues is going to have different priorities than the former college cheerleader or the woman that just gave birth to twins. I haven't seen it all but the commercial gym setting leaves you with a pretty good understanding because you'd be hard pressed to say you expected the guy with an intellectual disability and vision impairments to be able to drag a sled with 200 lbs on it any distance, let alone 25 yards. Yeah didn't think so, so don't assume, everyone needs to squat or that everyone needs to go easy for that matter.

That's all for today folks, go out there and get after it!