A Letter From A Personal Trainer
Yesterday, I met with a new client with a few challenges – and I’m opening my follow-up email to you. Personally identifying specifics have been omitted or changed to protect the innocent, but since I know many of my readers are trainers and/or fitness enthusiasts who also have challenges to work with/through/around – and this was such an interesting guy to work with – I invite you to add additional comments, critiques, questions or the usual random insults I’d expect from someone who’s willing to read through my caffeine-inspired (although I still remain diet coke free since Oct 2010!) ramblings. ;-)
First, a little background: he’s dealing with weakness brought on by a traumatic injury to his wrist, elbow and shoulder (all the same side, same injury) ~40 years ago. Countless surgical procedures later, he’s still limited in strength and range of motion - as one might expect after such a serious “boo-boo.”
Next, a former competitive triathlete, he has “bad knees.” After working my mojo(e) with some basic movement/strength assessments, it’d seem that he has what McGill referred to as “gluteal amnesia” – or the term that I apply to ANY muscles that aren’t getting the right signals from mission control: ‘muscle dormancy’. Those muscles are still there… they just need to ‘wake the f*ck up’ (to paraphrase Chris Rock.) Since his glutes aren’t holding up their part of the deal, his knees are getting the kind of repetitive stress that all those “Unbreakable” combs did when handed out amongst my 4th grade class many years ago. (c’mon… if you were 10 and somebody handed you something branded as ‘unbreakable,’ wouldn’t you recognize that as a challenge?!)
Add to this the lack of any SPECIFIC goal other than to become “optimum” (seriously, I couldn’t peg him down to ANY goal – even with all the prodding, guiding, questioning I could muster – yet he’s been training 2.5 hours EVERY day like clockwork.) While I certainly commend his dedication to the practice of training, without any specific goals, how could we ever know if training is getting us closer to an “optimum” state? As I’ve said more than once, random efforts can only produce random results. This meeting/consulting session opened up quite the thought-provoking, philosophical – and dare I say fun – dialogue that you’ll no doubt see forms the philosophical theme of my follow-up to him.
He’s well-versed in the basics, seemed to accept my analogies – and even though we made some significant progress in just one meeting, I could tell that my “modern approach” challenged his core beliefs of fitness to a point that seemed as if THAT made him a bit uncomfortable.
Oh, and he’s an out-of-towner so it’s not like I’d be able to oversee every minute detail of his new-and-improved training plan (not that I’d necessarily need to,anyway), so this one-off consult includes the additional challenge of addressing the most important concepts that’ll help him make the kind of (yet-to-be-defined) progress he wants – and have enough resources available to refer back to – when he returns to his fully-stocked home gym far, far away.
Hopefully, you’ll be able to fill in the gaps (since I frequently refer to conversation points from our meeting that aren’t directly obvious from my notes.) And as I mentioned earlier, feel free to share your own constructive critiques, additional questions, etc… I’d imagine “Client X” will read this, too, so if you have something useful or otherwise thought-provoking to offer, I’m sure we’ll all appreciate it.
Now I’ll let my follow-up do the talking. Hope ya’ll can keep up!
-Joe-
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Client X,
Ok… so my pocket-answer to “how does one get in shape?” is the same as any of our grandmothers might’ve told us: eat right and exercise.
What this really means is, “how can I get from where I am to where I want to be?” - so my job is to translate ‘eat right and exercise’ into a language that matches the individual’s goals, timelines, abilities/limitations, interests, available resources and experience to help them get WHERE THEY WANT TO BE.
In the book, Facts and Fallacies of Fitness (by Mel C. Siff – one of my early mentors through his Supertraining newsgroup and books), Dr. Siff defines fitness as “the ability to execute a given task effectively and safely.” I s’pose I’d define fitness even more simply as ‘the ability to perform work.’
How much work? What kind of task?
Well, that depends on YOUR needs – which bring us right back to the Lance Armstrong/Asashōryū Akinori comparison. Both could be considered among the very best at performing their chosen “work,” yet if you put Armstrong in the sumo ring or Akinori on a bicycle, either of ‘em would be lucky if they even received a “certificate of participation” at the end of a competition. “Fitness” is specific, therefore, training to become “optimal” one MUST have a specific desired outcome.
One of the fundamental concepts of “fitness” is known as the SAID principle… Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands. Demands could also be referred to as “stimulus” – adaptations are the response. How we choose and apply the stimulus affects the level of response we should expect to see.
So unless and until you can recognize/identify/articulate a specific goal it’s gonna be impossible to determine which training stimulus we need to apply, how much, how often, at what intensity, etc…
Because your only immediate goal is to continue doing “something” (to the tune of 15-17hrs/week) that will move you closer towards “optimal” – but only in a “general” sense – I’ll address the 3 common components of “general fitness” one at a time.
STRENGTH – call it weight training, resistance training, pumping iron or whatever else you’d like, the main reason (some would argue the ONLY reason) we use resistance is as a stimulus to increase strength. Therefore, if you’re not pushing the envelope to get progressively stronger, you’re not really ‘strength training,’ are you? It gets even trickier when one considers the many different types of strength: maximal strength, relative strength, speed-strength, acceleration strength, strength-endurance, etc… Which type is “most general”??? Beats the hell outta me!
ENDURANCE – This article provides an introduction to the 3 metabolic pathways. We need one kind of endurance to sprint 100m/perform a one-rep max squat, a different kind of endurance to run 400m (or a P90X circuit training workout) and yet another kind of endurance to tackle a triathlon. To me, this what ‘cross-training’ is… NOT switching between walking, running, biking, stair-climbing, etc. – all done at the same relative intensity/duration. One could effectively “cross-train” with a single activity (let’s say a spinning bike, for example) by varying intensity, distance, time, etc. from one workout to the next. Of course, I’d ALSO like to get away from lower body, sagittal plane dominant exercise as your ONLY form of “cardio” training, but let’s address one issue at a time, shall we?
Restated, there is no “general” endurance. As far as I’m concerned, we can get all the “cardio” we need by manipulating the rest intervals and exercise selection during your strength training. This kills two birds with one stone (as the saying goes.) Of course, this kind of time-efficiency would cut deeply into your current approach of 15+ hrs of training each week – bringing training time down to 2.5 to 5 total hours (gasp!), so what else can we do increase your (perceived or real) training volume?
Long, slow distance (LSD) training *may* be appropriate during certain phases of training… as may high intensity interval training (HIIT).. or anything in between. But we STILL need that specific target to aim for before just working out for the sake of working out.
I believe it was Alice (in wonderland) who asked the rabbit, “which way should I go?” The rabbit replied with something to the effect of “if you don’t care where you end up, the way you go doesn’t really matter.”
FLEXIBILITY –Static stretching? Active-isolation? PNF? Dynamic? Contract-relax? There are many ways to ‘stretch’ – but are we more interested in active or passive range of motion? (after significantly increasing your shoulder range of motion in about 5 minutes without ANY ‘stretching,’ I’m sure you know which side of the fence I’m on!)
My thought process regarding flexibility can best be summarized by a series of questions that goes something like this:
1) do you have the ability to function effectively in your sport/activity/lifestyle and still have pain-free movement to spare?
2) if no – is any limitation/tightness serving a protective function against instability? (remember, stability proceeds mobility, so we can *usually* assume the answer is a resounding YES!)
3) WHY ON EARTH would we want to over-ride or otherwise bypass an evolved protective mechanism that’s much smarter than I am?
Because I have to operate under the presumption that “tightness” may in fact serve a very important purpose, I’m morally and professionally obligated to present you with TWO options:
1. Suggest that we allow your body to protect itself from further damage and continue the predictable pain/tightness cycle – UNTIL it gets so unbearable, you give up and seek surgical/medicinal options that may or may not address the actual CAUSE of the discomfort/limitation.
OR
2. determine which muscle(s) are weak/inhibited, causing the ‘tight’ muscle to work overtime to pick up the slack – then address that WEAKNESS. (since “diagnosis” and “treatment” are out of my jurisdiction, if determining your length/strength relationships goes beyond my own capabilities/scope of practice, all I could do then is return to option A but instead of waiting until the inevitable “breaking point”, I’d suggest you find someone better qualified to work with your particular limitations – one who could address the cause of tightness, not just the ‘symptoms’)
Now if you really want to entertain yourself on the principles behind the techniques I use, try googling “reciprocal inhibition” (and then send me a 2 page book report with your findings/follow-up questions!)
Better yet, find a Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT) therapist in your area. The techniques they use are even MORE efficient – and effective – than the approach I work with. Go to http://www.muscleactivation.com/main.html –> about –> finding a specialist (or –> ‘science behind’ if you want more info on how the system works its mojo)
Also, take a gander through “The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook” (Davies & Davies) and/or search YouTube for vids on Self-myofascial release (using a foam roll, lacrosse ball, etc.)
Nutritionally, I recommend the systematic approach of Dr. John Berardi’s “Precision Nutrition.” You can purchase the do-it-yourself ‘kit’ for about a hundred bucks; join one of JB’s lean eating coaching programs/contests (I think he’s been running this a couple times a year) or you may even consider my own basic and advanced personal nutrition coaching options (I was among the first dozen or so people to complete the Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification, so even though I’m no biochemist, this certainly wouldn’t be my first time at the rodeo!)
Other issues/concepts we discussed:
Calorie cycling – although I’d consider it more of an advanced technique and I’d really like to see you master the 5 basic habits FIRST, you do already seem to have a respectable grasp of basic nutritional concepts, so you may be able to get away with taking a ‘shortcut.’ Essentially, take your current 2000cal/day intake as an AVERAGE over a week, not a daily “absolute.” At the end of the week, you’ve still taken in the same 14,000 calories, but by running couple days could be at a deficit, a couple at maintenance and a couple at a surplus, you’re now manipulating the stimulus that can produce change.
Your body will always seek a level of homeostasis (read: maintaining the status quo.) Without variations in expenditure (through training & lifestyle related activity) and intake (read: the calories/nutrients you consume), our bodies will ultimately adapt to the stimulus provided and have no reason to move towards “optimal”… instead, you’ll move AWAY from optimal. Of course, I’d suggest STRATEGIC and MEASURABLE variations (as opposed to random ones), but this brings us right back to the sticking point of not having any specific goal(s) to work towards!
There are 3 basic variables to nutrition: HOW MUCH you eat, WHAT you eat and WHEN you eat. Change one or more variables, you change the outcome. It sounds like you have all 3 variables locked in to your day-to-day routine. My suggestion: start by focusing on just ONE of ‘em… and from what you told me, I’d start with WHAT you eat first (this is a nice segue into my next thought…)
If you’re going to insist on training 15+hours/week AND you’re also going to consume a diet that consists of little more than whey protein powder, yogurt and diet coke (the recipe for the ‘gruel’ in THE MATRIX?), because you’re not providing alkaline (base) producing foods in the form of fruits and veggies, your body is left with no option but to break down the lean mass you’re working so hard to build/maintain, both for repair and to balance out your acids/bases. There’s a lot of alkalinity stored in the form of bone, connective tissue & muscle that your body will need to “eat”… t’would certainly be a shame to ‘wash it all away’ simply because buying/prepping/storing/eating vegetables is “inconvenient,” wouldn’t you agree?
Since you do have 15 hours each week to dedicate towards becoming “generally optimum,” you might want to consider counting food acquisition (shopping? gardening?), preparation and storage as part of your ‘time served.’ Remember, grandma said it best: eat right and exercise. It doesn’t need to be rocket science, but to cause an adaptation response, we need to apply stimulus, recover (adapt), apply a NEW/greater stimulus… and so on. Doing the same thing all the time is a road map to take you backwards, not forwards.
Both of these guys could be considered “optimal” at different tasks.
Which is MORE optimal?
How do YOU define ‘optimal’?
Grrrrrr…. A Rant About Multi-Level Marketing “Opportunities”
This one’s especially for my fellow fitness/health industry pros…
In your work with weight loss and/or sports performance clients, I assume you’re already giving ‘em some variation of the standard recommendation to “eat right.” I also assume you’re even helping them understand what that seemingly simple advice actually means. You may even be recommending a few supplements to help make “eating right” a little easier (perhaps through an affiliate program?)
I’m even going to go out on a limb and assume your clients are at least as smart as mine and realize that our body’s preferred source of nutrients is actual FOOD – and NOT shakes, powders, pills or potions.
Just last week, one of my trusted colleagues pointed me in the direction of a meal delivery service that is NOT loaded with cheap fillers (read: pasta/rice/flour.) It’s also NOT a mass-market “T.V. dinner” (such as the latest crop of ‘jenny craigs’ and ‘weight watchers’ knockoffs.) The menu options consist primarily of proteins and veggies. The same things I suggest my own clients base their own “diets” on.
My first instinct whenever someone tells me about any program that “sounds too good to be true” is that it must be another Multi-Level Marketing program (argggh!)
Even though I’ve been living in the middle of MLM-central for the last 3 years now (Amway started in a neighboring suburb of Grand Rapids, MI) – I don’t care if you’re selling solid gold bars straight from Fort Knox – if it’s being sold via an MLM business model, there MUST be something wrong with it. There have been too many less-than-legit “opportunities” over the years, that it has long been my hard-and-fast policy to completely turn my attention away at the first signs of a “ponzi scheme” no matter how much better the product is than sliced bread.
“But I’ve got the cure for cancer!“ MLM? fuggeddaboudit.
“What if I give you a free sample of this magic fat loss dust?” Not interested. In fact, why don’t you hang up on yourself before I do?
There’s just something about the MLM model that doesn’t sit well with me – and I suspect it’s the same thing many of my clients have alluded to when discussing such “solutions” over the years. Now I’ll try to articulate what I *think* many of us have been feeling…
While I’m certainly not against the idea of profit, it seems that most (if not ALL) MLM-ers put their personal want for money above any sense that they should ALSO be delivering a product/service.
Let me restate this: I’m all for making as much moo-lah as you personally care to, but not at the expense of ‘selling out’ the same trust you work so hard to build as a PROFESSIONAL in your field. The difference between “greed” and “good business” is motive. Because the “downline” is usually positioned as “the key to great riches,” MLM-ers motive always seems a little to self-serving to me.
That said, there are several excellent “single-tier” affiliate programs I whole-heartedly buy in to. It should go without saying (but I’ll say it anyway, in case there was any doubt), the products also have to be of top-quality for me to even consider putting my MIGHTY JOE ‘seal of approval’ on ‘em. I don’t expect any of ‘em to help me “get rich quick.” Instead, I view them as resources that may help a certain number of my clients, prospects, readers, neighbors, friends or family. Any commissions I happen to make because I promote them is a bonus. Some months, this might be as little as a couple hundred bucks while other months reach into the thousands. My CORE business is fitness program design and coaching. When I find existing resources that support or compliment my the coaching principles I use – and they don’t have that “taboo” label of MLM on ‘em – I think it would be awfully silly if I didn’t at least look into promoting it even if it means I might actually profit (gasp!) from it, too.
So getting to the point, the aforementioned meal delivery service that appears to be an EXCELLENT match with the nutrition principles I teach (and I assume you do, too, in whole or in part) has a single-tier affiliate program. You can check it out at Personal Trainer Food.
I certainly don’t have all the answers about the program, but I did sit in on one of their daily webinars (along with another well known fit-biz pro – and I think it’s fair to say that he’s AT LEAST as skeptical as I am about these things) – and all I can say is that if you don’t at least do a little research into this unique service (did I mention it’s free to join?), you may be doing your customers a huge dis-service by giving ‘em good advice (‘eat right’) but no practical solution to make it work.
Steroids In Pro Sports: You Know You Want It
Here’s the deal: I think politicians should keep their noses out of professional sports. Isn’t there anything more important they can do to waste their time (and OUR money?)
I also believe the way a responsible adult chooses to “enhance” performance is a personal choice, and if an individual feels the potential for benefit outweighs the potential for risk, well, who the hell am I – or you – to tell him otherwise?
Not that I condone, endorse, recommend, prescribe or otherwise assist in the acquisition or use of any illegal substances – including anabolic-androgenic steroids or growth hormone, but when it comes to professional sports, the fact is, there’s a LOT of money at stake (mmmmm… steak), and you might be surprised (if you’re naive enough) to learn what people are willing to do to get a piece of the action.
While the media/public-at-large typically speak against performance enhancement in the public forum, the reality is that very few people will shell out hundreds – even thousands – of dollars to plant their carcass in a seat at their favorite team’s stadium for 3 hours and pay upwards of $10 for a beer if the players/entertainers are anything less than caricatures of ‘regular’ humans.
If ever-increasing signing bonuses and multi-million dollar contracts are any indicator of the truth, we clearly want our superheros to be larger/faster/stronger than life, whether you’re willing to admit it or not.
Just last week, I was live on WJRW (1340am) discussing this reality (and so much more) with Tim Doctor and Josh Leng.
I can’t say just how long the podcasts will be up and running, but I invite you to listen in as I offend Chicago Bears fans, sports “purists”, ugly women and anybody else who doesn’t feel exactly as I do. So hurry yo’self over to this 2 part interview and let me know your thoughts on the subject…
Trampoline Fitness Will Be The End Of Us All
Does anybody understand there’s so much more to exercise than “calories burned”???
The ‘brains’ behind Trampoline fitness suggest such benefits <ahem> to their “low contact, high intensity workouts” as:
“…burn up to 1,000 calories an hour” and “many of the same toning and cardio effects as jogging, but without the jarring impact on the joints”
So what happens when you step back on terra firma where each and every step you take (whether walking, jogging, running or skipping) puts the “jarring impact” of 3 to 12 times your own bodyweight on your joints. I dunno about you, but I’d rather stick with good ol’ fashioned hard work and the full force of gravity to make my muscles the strongest, most reactive, energy-chomping machines they can be.
And I have no idea how anyone can call an hour of non-stop bouncing a “high intensity workout” while keeping a straight face. A non-stop hour of ANYTHING may make you sweat like a mountain goat in heat (or something to that effect), but it doesn’t make it intense. Although it may be considered challenging, by definition, anything short of a full-out sprint/max effort lift becomes LESS intense the longer you continually perform that activity.
No wonder America is getting fatter by the day. Seems a growing percentage of the population goes out of their way to avoid the exact kind of stress they really need – and these trampolidiots enable that kind of thinking.
Yeah, jumping around may be fun, but if we can’t make a cultural return to real strength training as the basis of “fitness”, it won’t be long until we implode under the weight of our collective gravitational pull.
What Gyms and Personal Trainers Can Learn From Fast Food
An Open Letter To The Fitness Industry
from Joe Stankowski
There’s no doubt that our industry is growing, but from my perspective, it’s steadily growing apart.
Case in point: I’ve long been amused by the way “chain” health clubs resist independent personal trainers, but a recent event has really opened my eyes to the way in which the “don’t even look at our members” mindset is sabotaging our entire industry.
The details of my own ‘event’ aren’t what’s important here, but what we NEED to do – if we’re to succeed as an industry – is change the current way of thinking. All of us need to realize that we can be more effective (and profitable) if we understand how we work together as an industry.
The fast food industry already figured this out. Perhaps an ironic ‘role model’ for us to consider, but hear me today and believe me next week…
When it comes to fast food, obviously there’s always going to be competition between brands (and I’d expect nothing less), BUT a customer who uses one drive-up window is more likely to use ‘em all. Now I don’t have “scientific research” to back this one, but find a client who regularly eats fast food and then take a look at all the different bags, wrappers and empty fry boxes on the floor of their car and under their seats and you’ll quickly understand the idea that “a buyer is a buyer.”
There’s actually a synergy among this type of… for lack of better word… restaurant.
Think about it: if any one of the fast food joints can ‘convert’ a non-customer into a ‘fan’, the customer will likely put on a few pounds, begin to enjoy the ‘convenience’ aspect of the ‘service’ provided and/or get hooked on the fatty/salty/chemical flavors and preservatives. It won’t be long before they’ll find themselves trying the offerings of the drive-up window next door.
The cycle continues and now their entire industry benefits from a fast food addict. The customer will likely have his/her favorite(s), but whatever sack of calorie-loaded poison they buy today, they’ll inevitably pull out their wallet for their “competition” tomorrow.
What if WE could work together to get people ‘addicted’ to moving, lifting, running, climbing, rowing, pedaling and playing, while still retaining our own “brand” identities?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m every bit a capitalist as the next guy (perhaps even more so), but doing things as we are now, who really wins?
The marketplace continue to grow fatter, sicker and weaker while their expectations from our industry are dropping, yet for some reason, they continue to pay for gym memberships and ineffective “solutions” – for now. Here in Michigan, we have 65% of our population overweight and rank as the 11th fattest state in the USA.
If we can’t remove our collective heads from the space between our glutes, I predict the entire fitness industry will soon experience a shift very few of us are ready (or willing) to handle.
[There are always going to be those who succeed in spite of the odds being against them. I wrote in detail about the failure of gyms to produce "success stories" in proportion to their growing membership base in "The Power of Champions"]
Unless – and until – the big box gyms figure out how to provide more than “membership” for the masses, I’m hoping, for the consumer’s sake, they’ll consider ways in which they can work alongside ‘outside’ trainers to deliver the best possible experience for their members.
We Didn’t Start The Fire
Look, I’m as anti-religion as the next guy, but if you’re gonna start the fire, could you also throw in some super sized ‘value meals’, ThighMasters, 6-pack ab shock-belts… and a copy of anything written by Kevin Trudeau?
Tell me, dear reader, what offends you?
Hardcore Gym or Health Club?
‘Powerlifting’ and ‘Bodybuilding’ gyms can be a little (or a LOT) intimidating to the ininitiated – especially if you have no interest in becoming a competitive powerlifter or stepping onto the bodybuilding stage.
But even if squatting 800lbs or shaving your entire body, painting it orange and covering your nether regions with little more than an eyepatch don’t appeal to you, there is one VERY good reason you should consider training in a ‘hardcore’ gym over a commercialized health club…
Powerlifters and bodybuilders – although they’ll often go at it like cats & dogs (or more like Mexicans and Puerto Ricans) – are among the most supportive people you’ll ever meet.
Sure, when they compete, everyone wants to win, but ya’ know what? The iron game is about personal achievement, and PL/BB-ers love to see everyone (even their competitors) achieve personal goals and surpass their self-imposed limitations.
I’m pretty sure this has something to do with the fact that neither PL or BB’ing is considered a ‘mainstream’ sport. Winners rarely get more than a trophy or a plaque to hang on their wall.
With the big money of more popular sports out of the picture, PL/BB-ers train to compete for little more than the personal satisfaction that comes with self-improvement. Isn’t THAT the reason you’d want to join a gym in the first place?
Now if you go to a ‘fitness boutique’ or a franchised health club, you’ll often find just the opposite is true. Members are often more interested in the social scene than achieving any meaningful progress.
If social is what you want, stay home and play Farmville or take another survey on Facebook. (Just please stop inviting me to play along with you!)
Mainstream gym-goers frequently engage in subtle (or even flagrant) ‘one-upmanship’ . Ego’s flair. Opportunities to put another member down as weaker, fatter, less successful in life are frequently used to boost one’s own self-image.
Not a very supportive environment, in my opinion.
In a hardcore gym, the only thing that really matters is how committed you are to change.
To learn.
To push yourself to new levels of physical progress.
To say you’re going to accomplish something – and then go ahead and actually DO it.
The weights are all the same & there’s no difference between treadmills. But people in a hardcore gym are more likely to help you, to spot you in a tough exercise, to cheer you along as you work towards a personal best, to challenge you to get back in the game when you blow your diet… while you do the same for them.
Why?
Because it’s the right thing to do.
Beckwith’s Gym (Part 2)
[...continued from yesterday's post]
“Money?” I laughed. “That’s easy. We SELL program design”
He gave me that puzzled look you get from a dog when you ask it a question.
Long story short (whew!), my plan was to sell my program design services, include a gym membership and personal training (which I would pay for out of my program design fee) and EVERYBODY wins.
I often refer to this as my “toy-in-the-cereal-box-approach” (more on that some other day).
The problem was, there are only 20 or so competitive powerlifters in the area – and all of ‘em were already training at Beckwith’s.
I realized time was limited as this ship was already sinking and I’d have my work cut out for me. So I went for the obvious market: women.
Keep in mind, Beckwith’s build their reputation (since 1984) on powerlifting. The kind of sport many people (especially women) find intimidating.
So I purchased a list of women who fit a certain demographic and created a simple postcard to test the waters and see who might be interested in training in such an environment. I wrote the copy, but it was meant to appear as if it was coming directly from the gym. The postcard read something like this…
How Else Can We Say, ‘We’re Sorry’?
We understand you might find a traditional gym environment a little harsh. Maybe even a tad bit intimidating. Okay… maybe a LOT intimidating. And we realize it’s our fault. We’re guys. What do we really know about anything?
But we’ve been listening and you’ve been right all along. We’ve been selfish jerks and we’re sorry. Now we’re just hoping you’ll give us a chance to show you how much we want to change.
This isn’t a bouquet of flowers, but we do have a FREE Gym Membership and Personal Training offer we’d love to tell you about – if you’ll just give us a chance to start over…
All we’re asking is that you visit BeckwithsGym.com/freeoffer* to see how we’re trying to make things right.
Please check it out… We really do want to change.
Love always,
Beckwith’s GymP.S. Please say you’ll meet us half way… BeckwithsGym.com/freeoffer*
[* now that the gym is closed, this page is no longer active]
Again, the gym owners thought I was nuts. “…but this is a hardcore gym. This kind of thing will make us look… mainstream.” (gasp!)
I challenged ‘em with the question: What is McDonalds known for? (Ironic choice, I know – considering what I do and all…)
“Hamburgers?”
Exactly. But can’t you also walk into a McDonalds and get a chicken sandwich? Yogurt? SALAD?! Even with those options on the menu, they’ll never be able to ‘shake’ their image as a burger joint. Same with a gym like Beckwith’s. You’ll ALWAYS be a hardcore temple of the iron.
But as far as I can see, you have exactly TWO options…
[to be continued...]
Why Do You Join A Gym?
I’ve been having a discussion with a gym owner I recently met and he’s convinced people choose his gym over others for a reason I strongly disagree with.
We’ve started polling new members and the results are leaning heavily in my favor
(note to self [as if I'd ever forget]: I am always right).
How ’bout you? Why do YOU join a gym?
Fill In the _______
“My favorite way to get ready for a workout is _______________”
You take it from here. Don’t be shy.
Leave comments below.
I Feel Like We’ve Met Before. Do I Know You?
Ok, ok… I’m finally getting around to using the “polling” feature WordPress provides, so here’s a softball question for ya’.
Now that wasn’t so hard, was it? I only wish I had a reasonable explanation for not using it until now.
What’s The Deal With P90X?
Lately, it seems everybody’s been asking me about the current darling of infomercial fitness products, P90X, so I’ll give you my $.02 (and you might be surprised by some of my thoughts on the program)
It’s a product of BeachBody – the same company who brought “Hip-hop Abs”, “the 10 Minute Trainer” and “Turbo Jam” to the world (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
According to the official website, the P90X program consists of a series of “12 highly diverse and intense workouts”
1.) Chest and Back
2.) Plyometrics
3.) Shoulders and Arms
4.) Yoga X
5.) Legs and Back
6.) Kenpo X
7.) X Stretch
8.) Core Synergistics
9.) Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
10.) Back and Biceps
11.) Cardio X
12.) Ab Ripper X
Plus, you also receive some bonus materials including a nutrition plan, online resources and a training calendar.
Unlike the Thighmaster or the still-popular “Body for Life”, P90X includes a variety of training tempos. From the methodical, controlled principles of yoga to the more traditional lift-as-you’re-able body part focused workouts to maximally explosive, total body plyometric movements – what I often refer to in my own training model as Stability, (resisted) Mobility and Agility – the 3 main “ingredients” of human movement.
The P90X marketing material suggests “the secret to the program’s effectiveness is …constantly introducing new moves and routines so your body never plateaus, and you never get bored”
Not getting bored can be important for someone who doesn’t already live and breathe to work out. And I do agree with the need for variety, though not necessarily “constantly”. It’s important to provide a repetitive, progressive stimulus over a period of time so that your body can be given an opportunity to “learn” what you’re asking it to adapt to. Taking the randomly-different approach may help you avoid ‘plateaus’, but any results will be unpredictable and random (again, not that there’s anything wrong with that – as long as you’re happy with random results).
If there is any one thing that makes P90X effective, it’s the accountability factor. Between the done-for-you training calendar and the online peer-support, it’s entirely possible to take something as laughable as the Thighmaster (sorry, Suzanne… I really don’t mean to pick on you all the time, but c’mon, the Thighmaster?!), create a way to get purchasers to actually USE the product… AND have other purchasers hold each other to the fire when they DON’T use it. Couple these accountability systems with even a half-way decent training program, and you’ve got yourself a hit product.
On the other hand, you could have access to the best training plans, equipment and support systems known to man – if you fail to use them as intended (if at all), well… we might as well be talking about that Thighmaster sitting in your closet.
I don’t particularly care for the way the P90X program makes the “specially designed supplement options” a leading feature of the product. It makes it seem as if your results will be somehow diminished if you fail to take (read: invest) in the exact supplements they recommend (I suspect it’s an important back-end profit center for ‘em – not that there’s anything… you know the rest). But overall, it’s a respectable product because it takes a systematic approch to fitness.
So what’s my bottom line on P90X? For $140 (3 payments of 39.95 + 19.95 S&H), I’d much sooner recommend Dr. John Berardi’s Precision Nutrition ($109 incl. shipping) and the Lou Schuler/Alwyn Cosgrove book, New Rules of Lifting (or if you were born with ovaries, you might prefer NROL for Women with Schuler/Cosgrove and the addition of Cassandra Forsythe). Each is available for about 10 bucks through Amazon. Then you can take the extra $20 and send it to me for pointing you in the right direction ;-)
The Most Important Fitness Training Skill?
I’ve been around the block a few times.
Seen my fair share of personal trainers along the way.
One thing all of us have in common is our ability to count reps. This isn’t meant to imply that we SHOULD count for our clients, but in my experience, it’d seem that quite a few trainers still consider this elementary ‘skill’ a critically important part of the service we provide.
If you are currently working with a trainer or are considering hiring one, here’s a quick tutorial (in multiple languages) designed to give you a head start on your next workout.
1: one, uno, eins, un, I
2: two, dos, zwei, deux, II
3: three, tres, drei, trois, III
4: four, quatro, vier, quartre, IV
5: five, cinco, funf, cinq, V
6: six, seis, sechs, six, VI
7: seven, siete, sieben, sept VII
8: eight, ocho, acht, huit, VIII
9: nine, nueve, neun, neuf, IX
10: ten, diez, zehn, dix, X
Now that we’ve covered the basics, I’m confident you can do this on your own from now on.
If a trainer insists on counting for you, my suggestion would be to find a different trainer… preferably one with more advanced skills.
“I Wanted To See If I Could”
In some ways, I find this story about a man eating a 15lb hamburger absolutely disgusting.
But on the other hand, I have to give Brad Sciullo credit for daring to show his carnivore-pride to such an extreme degree. I don’t know about you, but I think Mr. Sciullo should be given lifetime membership to PETA as part of his prize package.
We’re All A Bunch Of Idiots
I’m speaking on behalf of the mainstream fitness industry* – certainly not myself (seeing as this is MY blog, it only makes sense that I’m granted diplomatic immunity against any personal or professional critique) – but since I’m the one making the following observation, I hereby appoint myself Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler and speaker of the house.
So anyway, our…er… I mean the fitness industry’s* collective idiocy stems from the fact that they keep trying to get John Q. Public to get onboard the so-called “fitness bandwagon”. As history continues to demonstrate, this approach just ain’t cuttin’ the mustard.
A better strategy would be to kick everyone OFF the bandwagon. Make ‘em push the darned thing. Drag it. Carry it. Run in front of it. Just don’t let ‘em plop their increasingly lazy butts on it expecting to be shuttled off to some magical land called Fitness.
* by mainstream fitness industry, I’m referring mainly to crappy infomercial gadgetry and celebrity “fitness gurus” who suggest their products make weight loss “easy”. A growing number of under-the-radar private trainers & coaches actually ‘get’ that fitness requires effort well beyond that which the marketing slicksters would have you believe. These are the people you need to start listening to. Capice?
POP! Goes The Workout
Pop Star = Fitness Expert?
Britney may have re-claimed her status as a hottie, but shouldn’t her trainer be the one making workout videos?
And didn’t Scary Spice get her body back by competing on “Dancing with the Stars”?
It’s not that I’m bitter about non-professionals profiting from something they don’t really understand. It’s just that I’m a little upset Wayne Newton still hasn’t released his ‘top secret’ workout program.
Lifting Gloves: Fashion Statement Or A Waste of Perfectly Good Leather?
“Will my training partners think I’m a wuss if I wear ‘em?”
“Will they help my grip?”
“But what about these bleeding callouses?”
“Do these gloves make my butt look fat?”
Personally, I know that if I can’t grate a block of Parmesan cheese by dragging it across my palms, I’ve been slacking on my workouts.
Professionally, I have clients who, for one reason or another, can’t go around with calloused, bleeding hands, so I can’t always rely on my standard “don’t be a candy-ass” response when asked what I think about lifting gloves.
If you’re into powerlifting or Olympic lifting, you know that gloves aren’t allowed on the platform, so it wouldn’t make much sense for a competitive lifter to wear ‘em during training.
But what the regular guy/gal in the gym?
Perhaps a more meaningful way of looking at the glove/no-glove question for the non-competitive weight lifter is to ask: Is there a legitimate reason to NOT wear gloves?
It’s what yoga/pilates idiots freaks enthusiasts refer to as ‘mind-body connection’. The rest of us can just lump it under the category of “proprioceptive awareness”.
Call it whatever you like, but gloves dampen your body’s natural ability to FEEL. And that sense of feeling is something I certainly wouldn’t want to lose.
What you feel determines how quickly and accurately you can react to sudden (or not so sudden) changes in pressure, direction, ‘grippy-ness’ or any other forces that may come into play in and out of the gym.
If grip is your concern, try lifting chalk (magnesium carbonate – it’s available at sporting goods stores everywhere. If all else fails, search the web)
The shifting/rolling/sliding of a bar might not be a big deal if you’re using those little weights covered with pink foam, but any serious weight trainer should consider weaning themselves from their glove dependency.
Of course, the first consideration of any training program should be safety. So if you absolutely feel there’s no way you’ll be able hang on to a bar/dumbbell or any other training implement effectively without gloves, go ahead ‘n’ wear ‘em if you like. I won’t be offended. (see, I told you I have a professional side!)
If your biggest concern is overly rugged hands, you can always soak in Palmolive after your workout (ya’ big candy-ass).
***** ***** *****
I won’t bore you with the details of my extremely limited blog posting for the last month or so (yet!), but it sure feels good to be back to THE CUP. Suffice it to say, changes are on the way. More to come…
I’m Fat (And Personal Trainers Only Want My Money)
Real email. Real response (slightly edited for readability).
I realize it’s not my usual sarcasm-laced, trying-too-hard-to-be-funny post, but you might find it useful.
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I’m frustrated with my weight but love to work out. I have four kids and I can’t go to a gym but I have a Precor elliptical machine and weights and cable machine in the basement. I just can’t seem to get dialed in on a diet. I hated weight watchers. I have worked with personal trainers in the past and all they wanted was my money!! I got down to 195 and 10% body fat. Now I am fat at 255. So wasn’t sure if you could help!! Have a great day!!
-Mike M.
***** ***** *****
Thanks for your email, Mike.
I’ll quickly try to point you in the right direction and save you a few bucks in the process…
Nutritionally, I can’t say enough good things about Dr. John Berardi(“JB” for short)’s programs. It’s the same system I use with my private coaching clients.
Depending how much you really want to learn about nutrition (and how much you want to spend), there are a few ways to get the information you need…
You can get the whole enchilada for about $100 (plus shipping) at PrecisionNutritionPlan.com.
OR you can get Gourmet Nutrition for $40 (plus shipping). It’s so much more than a simple ‘recipe book’, but this book gets more use than any other in my kitchen…
If you just want to test the waters before shelling out any more cash, JB created a FREE 8-day mini-course. (no shipping charges either!)
All of these options are based on the same set of 10 easy-to-understand nutritional habits.
Like you, I train at home (for a variety of reasons)… I highly recommend my ULTIMATE HOME GYM GUIDE (free pdf download) so you can learn some of my best tips & tricks for saving BIG $$$ on anything you may decide to add to your current setup.
Finally, if you need any help with your training program design/advanced training strategies, I currently have a couple openings for my Platinum-level monthly coaching program. If you’re interested, just drop me a line and we’ll start your application process right away.
-JS-
When Did Nipples Become Unfashionable?
I went to the post office today to pick up my usual bag of fan mail (OK, so maybe it’s a really small bag, but it’s still a bag!) and what to my amazement did appear but a new fitness-music catalog.
It’s the kind of mix/jam stuff designed for the leg-warmer & leotard ‘group fitness leader’, but somehow I found my way to their mailing list. Lucky me.
Sitting at a red light, I figure I might as well thumb through this full color publication before getting back to my office where it was certain to make its way directly to the recycling bin.
Then it happened…
Page 6…
They were right there, staring at me – smack dab in the middle of the page…..
Nippits Concealment Strips
The product was billed as
The perfect Solution for times you do not want your nipples to show
A 5-pair package is a measly 7 bucks.
I don’t know if it’s worth it, and maybe I’m the only one who finds this kind of thing funny, but I just had to dig a little deeper to see how big of a problem undesired nipple exposure really is.
According to the Nippits website,
For years, women have been looking for an effective alternative to painful and bulky adhesive taping methods for concealing their nipples.
They continue by suggesting
…Nippits design fills an important niche’ in the area of fashion…
Always eager to learn more, I discovered that
Nippits do not cover the areola. They compress the nipple to the level of the surrounding breast.
Whew! Would you believe that my first concern was that the areola would be covered.
Seriously, ladies… are protruding nipples really as ‘unfashionable’ as I’m supposed to believe?
I mean, it’s not like you’ve ever had to deal with being in the 7th grade and while your mind drifts only for a moment, your teacher calls you up to the board to solve an equation at the “worst possible time”.
Just ask any guy far enough beyond the grueling pubescent years if he can recall (or even cares to admit) a time when he walked red-faced and eyes-down to the front of the class protectively clutching a math book in front of his “junk” in effort to hide a raging-hormone induced bulge.
Fashionable or not, THAT’S a market that needs to be better served.
I can’t wait to see what next week’s mailbag has to offer.
Long Live The Pub Culture
A popular news story says you can add 14 years to your life if you
“don’t smoke, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly and drink alcohol in moderation”
I find it interesting that the study was done in the UK where life expectancy at birth is 79.4 but alcohol & moderation are rarely used in the same sentence. (I assume there must still be a Victorian-era tax law requiring you to pay up if caught using those words together)
One of the researchers said,
“We measured normal behaviors that were entirely feasible within people’s normal, everyday lives.”
Where in the UK did they find enough test subjects that consider “moderate” drinking normal?
Should I assume this report means the Brits can pass world-leading Japan (where the average lifespan is currenlty 82.6 years) and increase their life expectancy to over 93 years by simply eliminating their long standing fondness for a pint?
Even if this is true, here’s a question – especially for my readers in the UK:
Would you be willing to give up your national pastime* in exchange for a trip to the local farmers market if you thought it would give you the chance to live longer?
*Note to my British readers: before you respond, don’t try to tell me drinking isn’t that much a part of your culture - I lived in the East Midlands for several years on the border of Leics and Derbys. My village (not all that dissimilar from countless others I’ve seen) didn’t have as much as a post office, yet there was a pub at each end of the road.
And what about Amy Winehouse?
Bodybuilding Is NOT A Sport
Over at the Yahoo newsgroup, Supertraining, there’s a li’l discussion brewing over bodybuilding being classified as a sport. Here’s my position on the subject and I’m sticking to it…
If it’s played on a board (chess), while seated (race car driving) or on a computer/television screen (this means Wii), it’s a game in MY book.
Football, baseball, basketball and track & field require athletic skill and award predetermined points for completion of a specific task.
At the end of the contest, whichever team/individual has the most points, best time or distance wins.
That’s a sport.
But a contest alone does not make a sport. Cheerleading, figure skating, gymnastics and even “Dancing with the Stars” may require physical skill, preparation & dedication to excel, but the scoring process is much more subjective and inconsistent.
Just like a bikini contest, winners are determined by the personal preferences of a panel of judges.
Yes, they do require athletic skills and can be done in a competitive environment. But no – they’re not sports.
Powerlifting and Olympic lifting have elements of objectivity and subjectivity, so I s’pose the way one would categorize them would depend if they’ve ever been a cheerleader or a football player.
But getting back to bodybuilding… I’m calling it a hobby (albeit an extreme one) along with mountain climbing, scuba diving and bungee jumping.
Golf? Hmmmm…
"Mighty" Joe Stankowski
