Nope Not A Best Of

Yeah sorry to disappoint you, this is not a best of list like you've seen probably 100000000000 times from last Monday to now. Today will be a more useful list coming from me since I don't have guest writers or anything, not that cool yet. Hopefully most of you were able to get in your workouts despite the holidays and the traveling and such. I know I had a workout this week that I practically wanted to puke by the end of simply because it was such a high volume and I was feeling run down. I wanted to hit on something very briefly to start the, very snowy, new year off right.

I've compiled a list of things that will help people during this crazy time of the year. You know that time of year where everyone and their uncle wants to get fit, and then they quit 3 weeks into it. Well this is for those of you who are not just getting on the horse and will hopefully help some just getting on it not quit after 3 weeks.

1. EAT: This and number 2 are probably the 2 biggest killers to the goals everyone is working to attain. Most people with fitness goals are associating them with weight loss. Great start, gives you a launching point, something that's attainable and measurable. The issue is that nobody eats and they starve themselves to ridiculous points of craziness. Most of the time kids, it's not how much your eating, but what you are eating. You can have your little 1500 calorie meal (pretty low, but not the point), if it's strictly donuts you're still boned. Be sure you eat to have energy to get through your day and to workout.

Do yourself a favor if you are going to forgo getting a trainer or coach, maybe get in a few visits with a sports nutritionist or something to the like. When people starve themselves like they do when they set fitness goals, they get run down and tired because they have no energy, blame it on the workouts and stop going. Last I checked I get my ass up at 4:30-5 o'clock and I have more energy than most people that walk through the door here, and I lift 4 days a week. Calories make energy, calories are in food, HOLY SHIT mind blowing isn't it? Just make sure they are QUALITY calories, energy bars, energy drinks and frappe mocha lattes won't cut it.

2. MAKE THE TIME: As I said 1 and 2 on this list defeat almost all that ignore them. Folks I am not the only one that will tell you this, but in case you haven't heard it enough here it is again. You have to MAKE time at the gym, not "find" it. The ones that make going to the gym part of their schedule, do or die, are the ones that get to their goals the most often. I understand that life can get in the way sometimes, but that's just SOMETIMES. Excuses are like assholes, everyone's got one and they all.... OK I'll spare you all finishing that one. Hopefully you are all getting the point that it's a commitment and a lifestyle change. Those that haven't read my article on being a former fat kid you can either read it or just trust me when I say, I've been there and know where you are coming from.

3. AVOID THE RUSH: So everyone sans uncle will be on their way to the gym probably come 5 o'clock this Monday night and that is exactly the time not to go. I know it's probably the most convenient to many of you out there, but try to avoid this time slot between 5 and murder-o'clock, (we'll call it 8 just to be precise). Try the morning, no seriously try the morning, I know you may not be a morning person, trust me it'll get easier the more you do it. Another thought is if you are one of those lucky people that have a flexible enough schedule to get your workout in mid-day then get on it, if the your gym is anything like the one here, it'll be virtually dead.

4. COME PREPARED: Say you have 0 option but to come in at that god awful time slot at night where it's nuts to butts. This is a tip that can help you survive and thrive. Come to the gym with everything ready to go; fill your water bottle previous to getting there, take any pre-workout supplements you are taking before, and if you live close enough to not lose the effects, do soft tissue work at home if at all possible. Finally come prepared with a workout plan written out for you with all the desired exercises, sets and reps. Hoepfully you've scoped out the equipment and know the availability of each piece. My friend Mike had a good article about what to include in your gym bag so have a look at this if you are scratching your head on what to pack in it. Not everything on their is going to go in your bag, but it'll help you get the ball rolling.

This was awesome

5. JUST GET IT DONE: This pretty much says it all here ladies, get in there and get it done. I know equipment will be taken, don't get the compression shorts in a twist, just be an adult and ask them if you can work in, if it's feasible. Only one squat rack? Yeah be that person and get all the shit done that you will NEED that squat rack for before you give it up. Should someone ask to rotate in, be helpful, trust me it sucks just as much for them too. Find the right balance of being a dick and hogging it when you need to get shit done and sharing equipment that many need. Let's be real, they can deal without an ab-wheel for 10 minutes, a squat rack or a bench for 25-40 minutes, different story all together.

That's the list I got for you today. Hopefully this is helpful to someone out there, any questions, concerns, comments or offers of bacon can be sent my way. Have a good day all, go out there and get after it!

The Popular But Not So Popular

Welcome to Winter for those of you that have been under that famous rock. According to some crazies it can now be officially Christmas. I'm all for a white Christmas...ON Christmas, the rest of the time I will trade for something a bit warmer. Having gone to school in Orono, Maine, I'm use to the cold a bit more than the average bear, but doesn't mean I have to like it does it? OK enough of that chatter, on to today's subject. Most of you have heard of Tracy Anderson, Denise Austin, Jillian Michaels and the like. Anyone that's known me for 5 seconds knows that I can't stand any of these ladies or any of the trainers like them. No it's not a sexist thing, trust me there's some god awful male trainers out there too.

Most recently, I'm sure most of you heard this especially if you are a fan of hers, Michaels' was nailed for giving contestants on her show caffeine pills. All I can say is I knew she was a joke and now the whole world knows it, at least those with enough brain cells to not fall for her dumb excuses. This particular trainer happens to be my nemesis, for my buddy Mike it's Tracy Anderson, and for some of the older trainers and coaches out there it was probably Denise Austin.

Personally I've had it with her, yes people lose weight with her show, but forgive me for being Buzz Killington but she also leaves how many people injured on the sideline after the first week? Really effective results right there. Yeah if you survive her shit storm then you can probably handle the workouts and conquer the weight loss...IF. Now that she's shoving caffeine pills down the throats of her clients, who are most likely already a walking Mohave inside their bodies', we can really see how quick the weight drops.

For those that don't know of Tracy Anderson's accolades, quick summary, recently she was Gwyneth Paltrow's trainer, whom helped her get fit for some of her recent movies...problem is Paltrow now has Osteopenia, the precursor to Osteoporosis. WAY TO GO! No major weight bearing exercises will do that sometimes. I'm sure Paltrow is really happy with that result. Busting her ass for an hour plus 6 days a week and now she has a major health condition.

Good job, good effort

To put it in pretty plain english on how your bone density builds and to fight this shit off. When your bones are loaded axially (weight on your back, chest, in your hands near your center line), they have to fight back. Your body sends a signal to your bones to reinforce itself. When you don't over load your skeletal system (there is a limit you can load it yes) then your bone density slowly declines and voila Osteopenia develops. As I said there is a happy medium and a constant over load of your skeletal system, usually caused by obesity, won't do yourself any favors either.

Now I'm not bagging on any of these ladies for some of the results they've produced, including their own, because clearly they have gotten them somehow. What I'm getting at is it's sad because they probably do some of the same shit coaches like myself and similar to me do in their own training and at one point they did it with their clients. The problem is they know they could make more money pumping up shit that people believed was always the answer and used the hot button words like "targeting" "burning" and "toning". I'd take their success and money, but not at the expense of selling my soul to the mass media. I'm sure if you search them for their educational backgrounds you'll see that theirs is not dissimilar from a bunch of strength coaches and trainers that are very good.

They knew there would be a huge market for people that don't actually want to get off their ass, get to the gym, be sore and put some work into it, so they went the rout they did. I honestly have no evidence that their methods don't actually work if you stick to the plan, and I'm sure there is some that support their shit. I'm positive there's shit-tons of evidence to support the methods of those like Eric Cressey, Bret Contreras, Mike Reinold and even Mike Boyle, though many in the industry think Boyle is a bit off the handle these days. Problem any of the above is most people don't do it either way because they find excuses to not do it and their results go down the pipe. The whole no progression and same shit different day routines that these celeb trainer videos produce is just more likely to get people bored and they stop.

As I've said before something is always better than nothing and if it's not for you then it's not for you. As I've also said before, if you are going to burn the time, why not do something useful. Ladies if you would like to see why things like what I do for my workouts can do for you check out sites like Girls Gone Strong and Spot Me Girl. I know some of you are going to think, "I don't want to get big and bulky", trust me it's hard enough for me, that's not going to happen. On the other hand if what you are worried about is how defined they are, that's a matter of your body fat percentage. 17-20% body fat for a woman is pretty good so don't have a fit if that's the case ladies.

That's all for today, good to be back and happy holidays in the likely hood I don't write before next Wednesday. Go out there and get after it.

What Special Needs Can Teach You

Another month long spell and I'm back for more everyone. Thanksgiving fast approaching and I am looking forward to time of with those I care about. Work has been crazy busy, but with rugby now over for the fall I have a little bit of time for myself. For once I don't have a client at the butt-crack of dawn this morning so I figured I'd get some writing in. The gym is usually pretty dead at 6 AM until we start throwing some weight around in some of our sessions, things liven up after that.

Can Think of Many That Would Agree With This

It's always baffeling the reasons clients come up with to not come in besides the days of their sessions. I get that life takes control of you and not the other way around sometimes. Just the same if you are serious about what you want don't let things get out of control for too long. A week or 2, I understand, but when it approaches 4, 5 and 6 weeks of not working out apart from 1 day, you're only screwing yourself. That said I can also think of some people and clients, that have every reason and right to say I'm not working out without anyone asking questions. I applaud them for saying taking the hand they were dealt and making the best they can of it.

I have a client that I have been training since the middle of September, he has special needs for various reasons including vision, but if you watched him while he works out, you might think otherwise. I do need to make slight modifications for him to exercises so he doesn't get hurt, but despire that I wish I had more clients like him. He comes in 2 times a week, when he's here he works his tail off, always wants the next big thing and is open to anything I throw at him. In fact he's usually upset when I tell him he's not ready for an exercise yet. Did I mention he gets stuff done on his own outside of our 2 sessions?

He brings challenges to me, but I've learned ways to over come them. He's got some kinesthetic issues, meaning he's not always aware of what muscles he SHOULD be using and what his form should look like in an exercise. He also will have days where he moves a little slow or gets a little distracted from the work out, but still he usually leaves a sweatty mess. All things considered though I enjoy our sessions every week, if nothing else he's good to talk to and get a laugh out of in the end.

With all that above said, if he can get it done and see the results he wants then there shouldn't be a damn thing stopping anyone of able body to do something. I've always said that something is better than nothing, but if you afford it get a trainer or a coach to help you, it'll be worth it in the end.

That's all I got today folks, have a good day all, go out there, drop the excuses and get after it.

Planning Ahead

I really hate making promises that I don't keep, sorry again for the long lay off everyone, been really busy with just life overall. The fact that this is the busiest time of the year for sports and I'm a huge sports fanatic is not helping me one bit. Just the same I probably shouldn't let that be an excuse to me not getting on here and posting on a more frequent basis. That being said I am back today with some stuff that I hope will help those out there in the training and coaching world. Have a look at the title and you can guess this one is about planning, good for you.

We plan everything, we plan our day, our week, and pretty much our entire lives we are planning. In the fitness world there's plenty to plan as well; planning meals for the week, planning what time to work out, having a work out plan to go by and so on. The same should be said about training and coaching, PLAN ladies and gents. It usually baffles me to the point where I do a cartoon double take when a trainer or coach doesn't either have a plan or isn't at least writing down the things they do in a session.

You're Doing What Now?

Some prefer to just wing it from the start and write things down as they go, others prefer to have a strict plan to follow and go step by step. The truth is the answer lies somewhere in the middle, as it does in many cases. There are exceptions, but for general purposes we'll go with it. To have at least a good general plan, and I don't mean 1st Warm-up, 2nd Mobility and Activation, 3rd Shoulders and Back, 4th Conditioning. Really not the worst way to go about it, but still it leaves you thinking guessing and pondering what to do most of the session. Having a better, more specified plan, with actual drills, exercises, sets and reps planned is far better and the session will go much smoother.

Those that lay out their plan for a session and follow word for word and don't waiver from it, well there's an issue with that too. Say a client comes in and has tweaked something, is a little under the weather or is just plain old drained. The last one is usually avoided by good programming but sometimes it happens just simply from life and we all know how that feels. In any case if you are following a program to the letter, you'll probably make things worse if one of these scenarios pops up and you don't adjust accordingly. Be ready to adjust on the fly to accommodate things like these and make note of them in you're program notes.

The other thing with writing down what's going on in your sessions and taking notes lets others know what's happening, if it's detailed or not so much helps either way. Why is this important you ask? Reasons for this are multiple in numbers; if you go on vacation, are sick, find a new place to work, you have an Doctor's appointment, your house has been eaten by a sink hole (look it up it's happened). Whatever the case may be someone else needs to at least have an idea as to what was going on in those sessions on the off chance you miss a day. I'm one of the lucky ones that tends to not be sick and/or not give in to sickness easily, but I still miss days and you will too. Writing stuff down and keeping track of weights, sets and reps may seem trivial but it helps to make sure the other coach won't break the person by giving them too much, or baby them by not giving them enough. I get that sometimes you are just motoring right through a session, and you don't remember to write down what was done, at least do it shortly after. Hopefully you've programmed rest somewhere in the workout, OK everywhere, so you should have time to jot a note or two down.

That'll do it for today kids, good to be back. Go out there and get after it today!

The IT Track and Our Scope

No this is not a post about some geeky technology, although I enjoy that stuff and am easily distracted by bright lights and shiny objects. We had a presentation for some of the training staff here for a product called Inside Tracker. We had one of the higher ups with this company give us a 20 min presentation on how the process works and so forth. Then had a sports nutritionist give a presentation to us.

I'll start first with the IT, as I will call it, and how it works. Basically in 1 of 3 ways they get a blood sample from you to map out where you're nutrient deficiencies are. You then fill out a profile about yourself, your exercise routine and what you are looking to accomplish. After that you can log in to their website and get recommendations on meals and they will even cater their recommendations if you are PALEO, Gluten Free and so on. The prices to start this program range from 50 bucks to over 300 so depends on how committed and how much help you think you need.

The idea of this product for some of my clients is great, because they want to help themselves as much as they can, and can afford to (seeing as they see me 2-3 times a week). This product will be great for some clients and not so much for others. The majority of those being people that are already heeding the advice I give them for their workouts (outside of our sessions) and they can handle doing the nutrition on their own. The ones that aren't so good about staying in the gym outside of our sessions (that need it) and eating right, odd on this will just be money down the drain for them. I can not follow my clients around and pay attention to their every day life. I've got too much to deal with on my own and it's just not plausible. That said it is up to my clients to follow through outside of our hour or 2, if that, spent in training sessions. 

To the next part of the presentation, the sports nutritionist, it was a noticeable difference with what she was saying as opposed to what the IT website recommends. The IT information seemed to be based on what a large general population believes, with a little "science" to back it up, that grains and cereals are the direction to lose weight and stay in shape. The sports nutritionist seemed to be in the mind set many of us in the strength and conditioning/fitness world are, protein and fat baby! Getting away from the carb-bomb wraps that everyone is in love with (including fast food chain restaurants). In a matter of 20 minutes we were told one thing then another, no wonder people are confused about nutrition.

My final point today will be about a big hot issue with trainers and coaches, scope of practice. Some people are really batty when it comes to trainers and coaches taking an educated guess on certain subjects. Usually I cover my ass by saying in MY opinion you may have a sprained ankle, but you might want a doctor to look at that. Same can be said about when people ask me about nutrition. When they ask what they should have for breakfast I simply tell them what I have every morning, eggs and some sort of protein (generally either bacon or beef). I can not give them meal plans as it were, but I can point them in the direction of things like IT, The Foodery, a registered dietitian and so on. That's a whole different ball of wax when it comes to some of the recommendations they make (replace sugar with Sweet and Low...yeah that'll be the difference right there).

Moral of this story is that even the best products and advice are as useful (or useless) to certain clients and the results they get will only be driven by themselves. You can lead a horse to water but that doesn't mean they will actually drink it, even if it's for it's own benefit. Oh my god Jarrod just called all his clients horses, well I'd rather be a stallion than a sheep. Have a good one all, go out and get after it!

I'm Not Dead I Promise!

Whoops that was awhile between posts, didn't mean to, seems like each of the last 2 years I've hit big gaps in posts between the end of July and end of August. To tell you the truth I don't think either are correlated and haven't got a flippin clue as to why it's happened in this spot the last 2 years.  More to the point I am alive and well, still kicking in Brookline with plenty of people to train, fix and turn into beasts in the gym.

Real quick subject I wanted to hit on and that is commitment. Recently I've heard a few people wonder why they are not seeing results. At the end of their session I go back into their session history and look at how many times they came to see me as well as how many times they got in on their own. The numbers had a pretty solid correlation, the ones that look and feel better make their sessions with me ON TIME and and they get in on their own. The ones that are having issues, well not so much. The above picture has a quote we lived by on my high school rugby team, matter of fact we went so far as to call ourselves the Power Pigs when the team was first founded.

Back to the point, you can not just be half into your fitness goals. Half-assing such things simply waste time, money and effort. You have to be mentally ready to get yourself to your goals, I'm not talking about "oh man MAYBE I should drop some weight." When there is a maybe in that sentence then you probably aren't ready. Take a stab at it if you want, but don't be too shocked when you don't see results after strolling in 15 minutes late for your session once a week. Get committed, get to lifting and you will be more satisfied with the results. When you ask your trainer or coach to give you workouts for when you don't see them, DO THEM! I promise it will pay off in the end.

Sorry not a super flashy post today, just something to get the engine back up and running. Hoping to not let work, rugby and my 3 fantasy football leagues take up too much time (I think I might have a serious condition concerning fantasy football). Take care all, go out and get after it today.

Bar Anyone?

Yes I knew I'd get a few of you alcoholic's to click through on this one, well I bet I did at least. Been a bit since I've gotten into here, things are getting busy for me and my new workouts provided by one of my teammates have been destroying my legs. For that matter they've been beating me up all around. I'm really a fan of them as far as the design and outline of them, just not a super fan of how they make me feel. It is just six of the bigger lifts, most of which involve a barbell, at least two on each day. There are several big names out there that are fan's of the two-bar minimum, actually pretty sure most are fans of it. Usually it's a matter of if it's sensible and the big IF the trainee is ready for that mark. Posted pictures of what the set up looks like for each workout.

Day 1 and Day 3 Set Up

At this point this summer I've back off the mobility work just a bit, god knows I needed it this winter and I know you are cringing and shaking your head right now Mike, gotta be done for the time being. I get my warm ups and a few quick, and I mean quick, mobility exercises in before I get after this monster, that's it for the mobility. Power and brute strength is what rugby requires and that's what we are staring at with this short list of exercises for my final pre-season program before the spit starts flying. Squats, Deadlifts, Cleans, Snatches, Push Press, Bench, Box and Broad Jumps...nothing fancy that would get Ben Bruno out of his seat, but it's getting the job done.

Day 2 and Day 4 Set Up

I am going to pick on my teammate and pretty much any strength coach that gives out a plan like this for their summer programs. The problem I have when you just assign exercises blindly, or damn near it, you are just assuming everyone has the correct mobility and can do the lifts with the right form. Now every coach is nit picky about something to a degree about these lifts, but there are certain ranges of mobility that everyone NEEDS. Deadlift, squat, clean and snatch are all lifts that can be bad news without the correct mobility and some monitoring. With these big blanket programs that get put out there is potential issue of injury, not every athlete that's lived in the weight room is still going to know what to do if they lack the mobility for these. There's a short list with end results for each solution to this issue; get smart and find someone to help you with these lifts/get a program designed for YOU, try them on your own and your mobility is great so there's little to no issue, try them on your own with compensation issues with an injury in season, try them on your own with compensation issues without an injury in season, try them on your own with an injury while training or do nothing. Now there's only three options that get you through healthy and two of them are pretty much based on genetics and dumb luck.

Got a little cynical at there, but don't get my wrong I'm loving/dreading my lifts, I just happen to be fortunate enough I know enough and know the right people to help me with it. Most people's response is 'why don't you just ask the coach for help?' That is the right question to ask, but you know the problem is you won't even ask the coach the question(s) that need to be. Message of today is be smart and ask questions, the worse case after that is you are back where you started.

Have a good one folks, go out and get after it today!