Hello All,
Just wanted to shoot a quick blog for this week. Things are booming and clients are tearing the gym down. Don't have too much time to blog. I have some good things coming out soon though. Keep an eye out for "The Biggest Mistakes People Make When Working Out." Should be one of my better articles and one of my most controversial!
Anyway, here is a workout of the week. If you think you think you have things figured out then I dare you to try this one. It will blow your socks off.
The goal is work density.. How want to get as much work done as possible in your work periods. This will allow you to get more accomplished and give you that "bang for your buck" workout. So for those of you who claim they do not have time to train.....I don't believe you. This will also make you think twice about hopping on that ridiculous treadmill.
Here you go...
5 Minutes Movement Prep- Skip, Lunge/Twist, Squat-to-Stand, Inch-Worm, Jumping Jacks (30 secs of each for a couple of Rounds)
Zone 1- 7 Minutes- Going for Sets. Get as many sets in as possible in 7 minutes. 10 Reps for each exercise
Goblet Squat, Inverted Rows, Push-Ups
Zone 2- 7 Minutes-Going for sets. Get as many sets in as possible in 7 minutes. 10 reps for each exercise
DB or KB Romanian Deadlift, DB or KB Push Press, Lat Pulldown
Zone 3-7 Minutes- Going for Sets. Get in as many sets as possible in 7 minutes. 10 Reps of each exercise
KB or DB Swing, Rope Slams or Jam Ball Slams, Squat Jumps
Total Workout Time- 26 Minutes. Good luck and Train Hard!
JP
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
A Day With "Mark Cibrario"
I spent this past weekend back in Kenosha catching up with my friends who I haven't seen in awhile. Let's just say that we did not get much accomplished as I spent most of the weekend on my friend's couch (Muddog Portilia) playing Tiger Woods golf and playing ping pong. Prior to sitting around and not moving I did get the opportunity to go down and see an old friend of mine Mark Cibrario. Mark and I played baseball together for many years with the Kenosha Kings. During my high school and college days we knew Mark as the "old trainer" on our team and not really understanding what he does. Turns out that Mark is one of the most respected trainers in the country. For many years now he has been listed from Men's Health magazine as one of the countries top 55 best trainers. He is the owner of the "Trainers Club" in Northbrook, IL and a consultant for many other fitness products/companies. His new product that he is advertising is the "ultra-slide" (slide board). Mark has also launched his new website fivetoolpt.com.
With all that being said, you can probably understand why I was going to hang out with him for the day. I wanted to just see how he operates his gym, clients, and learn more about training. His gym is really unique. It is about 5,000 sq ft of all open space. There are also about 25 other trainers that work out of his gym. They pay Mark $15 a session for them to use his space. ( Easy stream of money coming in for him) Anyway, I get there and there are about 8 other training sessions going on while Mark was working with his clients. It is totally a different atmosphere than what everyone is used to seeing. This is not your ordinary gym. This strictly for people who want to accomplish something. Nothing but training. All good training.
Why is Mark so good at what he does? Well, there are a number of reasons why he is good. This is what I saw. Mark had about 5 different sessions during the time I was there. Every person had some issue or limitation. Something needed to be fixed. Or someone needed to be activated a different way. Mark knows every little thing that is wrong with his clients. He knows why something isn't working, He knows why something isn't activating. He knows why someone is having a hard time completing a movement. Not only does he know what is wrong with his clients, but his clients know what is wrong with them. They understand what he is trying to do them and why they are doing everything that they are doing. More often than not most trainers try to throw something against the wall and see if it sticks with their clients...that doesn't work. You need know what is wrong with people and how to fix it.
All the sessions began with his clients doing some soft tissue work/ activation and some movement prep. His flow of a session was alternating between an strength move and then a mobility work.Ex-Deadlift paired with a resisted leg raise. The corrective strategy is in place to get the movement (deadlift) perfected. He then has a core stability exercise at the end of each circuit. He likes firing the core in short active/dynamic movements. Ex-side plank w/ knee tuck.
Mark also has a huge wall that is covered with boards for medicine ball and power training. Mark believes as well as myself that the stimulation of the central nervous is what keeps us getting stronger, faster, and leaner. The medicine ball and power training he incorporates in each session is what keeps your body young and powerful. When it comes to fat loss training, which is mainly the type of clients I that I deal with, I have found that to be the missing link in a lot of people's programming. The majority of the med ball training he did with his clients was to do movement in the opposite direction of what they usually do on a daily basis. Ex- Mary Claire is a tennis player. Tennis players strike the ball by swinging the racket forward(Overhand). He had her do reverse underhand and overhand med ball slams to counteract that movement. While doing these slams she was either standing on one leg, hopping on one leg, moving side to side, or reversing in the transverse plan. The activation of the nervous system and good dynamic/power movements is what will prep her to perform.So awesome to watch.
Every single person was dripping wet at the end of their session and they did not step foot a treadmill, elliptical, and they did not even pick up a weight.(I was instantly sweating myself when I did some core activation when we worked out together) Mark is on a whole different level than anyone I can think of. He literally puts everyone to shame because there is so much more to this fitness thing. It's so much more than lifting weights, running, walking, or zumba classes. I would be confident in saying that it has to be embarrassing for Mark to know that he is associated in the same industry with fat ass memberships salesmen, zumba instructors, the same boot camp on every corner, and every other jamoke person that thinks they are a trainer.
Anyway, I walked out of Mark's place feeling stupid. Which is a good thing because you realize again that there is so much more information that needs to be gathered, learned, and implemented. For me it is such an awesome feeling to be confused about information. The confusion is made clear by guys likes Mark. He will continue to be a resource for me in years to come. So if you think you know it all and if you think you are in shape, I dare you to go train with Cibby! You'll be shut up real quick.
Cheers,
JP
With all that being said, you can probably understand why I was going to hang out with him for the day. I wanted to just see how he operates his gym, clients, and learn more about training. His gym is really unique. It is about 5,000 sq ft of all open space. There are also about 25 other trainers that work out of his gym. They pay Mark $15 a session for them to use his space. ( Easy stream of money coming in for him) Anyway, I get there and there are about 8 other training sessions going on while Mark was working with his clients. It is totally a different atmosphere than what everyone is used to seeing. This is not your ordinary gym. This strictly for people who want to accomplish something. Nothing but training. All good training.
Why is Mark so good at what he does? Well, there are a number of reasons why he is good. This is what I saw. Mark had about 5 different sessions during the time I was there. Every person had some issue or limitation. Something needed to be fixed. Or someone needed to be activated a different way. Mark knows every little thing that is wrong with his clients. He knows why something isn't working, He knows why something isn't activating. He knows why someone is having a hard time completing a movement. Not only does he know what is wrong with his clients, but his clients know what is wrong with them. They understand what he is trying to do them and why they are doing everything that they are doing. More often than not most trainers try to throw something against the wall and see if it sticks with their clients...that doesn't work. You need know what is wrong with people and how to fix it.
All the sessions began with his clients doing some soft tissue work/ activation and some movement prep. His flow of a session was alternating between an strength move and then a mobility work.Ex-Deadlift paired with a resisted leg raise. The corrective strategy is in place to get the movement (deadlift) perfected. He then has a core stability exercise at the end of each circuit. He likes firing the core in short active/dynamic movements. Ex-side plank w/ knee tuck.
Mark also has a huge wall that is covered with boards for medicine ball and power training. Mark believes as well as myself that the stimulation of the central nervous is what keeps us getting stronger, faster, and leaner. The medicine ball and power training he incorporates in each session is what keeps your body young and powerful. When it comes to fat loss training, which is mainly the type of clients I that I deal with, I have found that to be the missing link in a lot of people's programming. The majority of the med ball training he did with his clients was to do movement in the opposite direction of what they usually do on a daily basis. Ex- Mary Claire is a tennis player. Tennis players strike the ball by swinging the racket forward(Overhand). He had her do reverse underhand and overhand med ball slams to counteract that movement. While doing these slams she was either standing on one leg, hopping on one leg, moving side to side, or reversing in the transverse plan. The activation of the nervous system and good dynamic/power movements is what will prep her to perform.So awesome to watch.
Every single person was dripping wet at the end of their session and they did not step foot a treadmill, elliptical, and they did not even pick up a weight.(I was instantly sweating myself when I did some core activation when we worked out together) Mark is on a whole different level than anyone I can think of. He literally puts everyone to shame because there is so much more to this fitness thing. It's so much more than lifting weights, running, walking, or zumba classes. I would be confident in saying that it has to be embarrassing for Mark to know that he is associated in the same industry with fat ass memberships salesmen, zumba instructors, the same boot camp on every corner, and every other jamoke person that thinks they are a trainer.
Anyway, I walked out of Mark's place feeling stupid. Which is a good thing because you realize again that there is so much more information that needs to be gathered, learned, and implemented. For me it is such an awesome feeling to be confused about information. The confusion is made clear by guys likes Mark. He will continue to be a resource for me in years to come. So if you think you know it all and if you think you are in shape, I dare you to go train with Cibby! You'll be shut up real quick.
Cheers,
JP
Friday, January 13, 2012
Life Is Like A Sport!
Happy Friday to all. It's been a very busy start to the new year and all of my clients have been rockin with all of their training sessions. I always appreciate people who want to put the work in to make changes in their life. Which is what this post is about. People who want to make a change need to know that the need to put the work in.
Life is like a sport. There are many obstacles and roads bumps along the way that need to be overcome to keep moving forward. It baffles me everyday about the weight loss journey for people. We today as a society are so damn lazy. Everyone wants the easy way to out to make more money, lose the weight, or get stronger and leaner. You're overweight because of your own lifestyle. It's not genetics. Your metabolism is not slow because you were born with a slow metabolism. It's slow because more than likely you made it slow. You're not getting stronger because of you. You're not getting leaner because of you. You're not getting smarter because of you. You're making more money because of you.
I've learned these past few months that my own fate is in my own hands. The life that I want to live is up to me. If I want to make more money, I need to go find more clients. How do I get more clients? I need to master my craft. I need to invest my own time, energy, money in myself to help pay myself back. The better and better I get at what I do, the more money I will make. It's that simple. If I refused to continue my education I will not make anymore money. If you refuse put the time in at your job...you will not get promoted. If you do not go get a master's degree..your odds decrease of making more money. If Tom Brady does not put the extra work in studying film..he would not be Tom Brady.
The same thing applies in someone's own fitness journey. If you do the same thing over and over. You will not get any better. If you do not invest in your own health you will not become any healthier. If you are comfortable in your own workouts...your body will not change. Why would you hire a lawyer? A lawyer would do the work for you in half the time then what you could do it in. Same thing here.. why would you hire a fitness professional? Because they guide you in the right direction in half the time you would by trying to do it on your own with you sitting on machines all day long.
I met a gentlemen this week who is looking to do a 120 day "Restore His Health Challenge." He has reached out to me and asked for guidance. He will documenting his research during his journey and will be publishing it for other research studies. He is a professor at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater and is in the Communications department there. He is willing to step outside of the box and ask for help because he is smart enough to figure out that there is someone out there that has a strategy in place to help him achieve success. In sports, players have to buy into a coaching system for that system to work. If you do not buy into that system...you will have one hell of a season. Aaron Rodgers would not be Aaron Rodgers if he did not buy into the system. He would not be where is today if he didn't overcome adversity and challenge himself to get better each day. I give this professor a lot credit because he could have said I know what to do and tried to do it on his own. He is investing in himself to make himself better. He wants to get stronger, leaner, healthier and to make changes in his life.
The journey to true health and fitness is so much more than going for a walk, or jog, or lifting weights. Ask a matter of fact I could careless how much someone benches, or how far you can run, or that you have lost 30lbs on your own. What I think is matters the most is...What did you get out of your experience? Did you accomplish something that you haven't accomplished before? Did you get yourself stronger than you already are? Did you put yourself on another level? Did you make yourself a better person? Did you get back up after you got knocked down? Did you truly make yourself better? What can you do next to improve upon what you already have done? That's the mindset of an athlete. Someone who is involved with athletics shouldn't settle for mediocrity. You shouldn't settle for just getting to playoffs. You want to win the whole damn thing!!!
The problem that most people run into is that once they think they have reach their fitness goals, then they have achieved true health and fitness. Wrong mindset...You mindset should be...What am I going to accomplish next? Will I step outside the box to make myself better this year? Once Drew Brees won his first Super Bowl, I'd be willing to bet that he didn't say, I am comfortable with what I did this past year to win a a championship, so I am going to do the same thing this next year! Yea right....the game plan will surely be changing. If you accomplish 40 push-ups..your strategy will not be the same to get to 80 push ups. It won't work. The body is too smart.
Whether you are lifting weights, doing marathons, on weight loss journey...never be satisfied. Always want more. If you stop feeding your brain..you will begin to crumble! Take a challenge. Invest your time and your money into something else. Get knocked down and get your ass right back up! Brett Farve didn't get knocked down...that old dude wanted to keep coming back and shove it right down Green Bay's throat! (Spoken like a true Bear Fan!)
Train Hard and Get Better!
JP
Life is like a sport. There are many obstacles and roads bumps along the way that need to be overcome to keep moving forward. It baffles me everyday about the weight loss journey for people. We today as a society are so damn lazy. Everyone wants the easy way to out to make more money, lose the weight, or get stronger and leaner. You're overweight because of your own lifestyle. It's not genetics. Your metabolism is not slow because you were born with a slow metabolism. It's slow because more than likely you made it slow. You're not getting stronger because of you. You're not getting leaner because of you. You're not getting smarter because of you. You're making more money because of you.
I've learned these past few months that my own fate is in my own hands. The life that I want to live is up to me. If I want to make more money, I need to go find more clients. How do I get more clients? I need to master my craft. I need to invest my own time, energy, money in myself to help pay myself back. The better and better I get at what I do, the more money I will make. It's that simple. If I refused to continue my education I will not make anymore money. If you refuse put the time in at your job...you will not get promoted. If you do not go get a master's degree..your odds decrease of making more money. If Tom Brady does not put the extra work in studying film..he would not be Tom Brady.
The same thing applies in someone's own fitness journey. If you do the same thing over and over. You will not get any better. If you do not invest in your own health you will not become any healthier. If you are comfortable in your own workouts...your body will not change. Why would you hire a lawyer? A lawyer would do the work for you in half the time then what you could do it in. Same thing here.. why would you hire a fitness professional? Because they guide you in the right direction in half the time you would by trying to do it on your own with you sitting on machines all day long.
I met a gentlemen this week who is looking to do a 120 day "Restore His Health Challenge." He has reached out to me and asked for guidance. He will documenting his research during his journey and will be publishing it for other research studies. He is a professor at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater and is in the Communications department there. He is willing to step outside of the box and ask for help because he is smart enough to figure out that there is someone out there that has a strategy in place to help him achieve success. In sports, players have to buy into a coaching system for that system to work. If you do not buy into that system...you will have one hell of a season. Aaron Rodgers would not be Aaron Rodgers if he did not buy into the system. He would not be where is today if he didn't overcome adversity and challenge himself to get better each day. I give this professor a lot credit because he could have said I know what to do and tried to do it on his own. He is investing in himself to make himself better. He wants to get stronger, leaner, healthier and to make changes in his life.
The journey to true health and fitness is so much more than going for a walk, or jog, or lifting weights. Ask a matter of fact I could careless how much someone benches, or how far you can run, or that you have lost 30lbs on your own. What I think is matters the most is...What did you get out of your experience? Did you accomplish something that you haven't accomplished before? Did you get yourself stronger than you already are? Did you put yourself on another level? Did you make yourself a better person? Did you get back up after you got knocked down? Did you truly make yourself better? What can you do next to improve upon what you already have done? That's the mindset of an athlete. Someone who is involved with athletics shouldn't settle for mediocrity. You shouldn't settle for just getting to playoffs. You want to win the whole damn thing!!!
The problem that most people run into is that once they think they have reach their fitness goals, then they have achieved true health and fitness. Wrong mindset...You mindset should be...What am I going to accomplish next? Will I step outside the box to make myself better this year? Once Drew Brees won his first Super Bowl, I'd be willing to bet that he didn't say, I am comfortable with what I did this past year to win a a championship, so I am going to do the same thing this next year! Yea right....the game plan will surely be changing. If you accomplish 40 push-ups..your strategy will not be the same to get to 80 push ups. It won't work. The body is too smart.
Whether you are lifting weights, doing marathons, on weight loss journey...never be satisfied. Always want more. If you stop feeding your brain..you will begin to crumble! Take a challenge. Invest your time and your money into something else. Get knocked down and get your ass right back up! Brett Farve didn't get knocked down...that old dude wanted to keep coming back and shove it right down Green Bay's throat! (Spoken like a true Bear Fan!)
Train Hard and Get Better!
JP
Friday, January 6, 2012
A Friday Rant...
Ok..here is another Friday rant. I've had a hell of week with meeting new clients, members, and other wanna-be body builders. So I need to let off a little steam from some of the things I have seen and witnessed this week. Don't be a offended if this is you...or maybe you should get the hint???
Ever walk into a gym on Monday?? I did again this week and witnessed international "Chest Day." Absolutely hilarious...another Monday and the same chest routine being done by everyone. bench, db bench, fly, incline, and some more machine chest press....god forbid you do an inverted row!
Had a lady come up to me and say that she wants to lose 11lbs in 2 months. I did a movement screen on her, did some movement prep, core work, metabolic strength work, and some conditioning in a 30 min killer workout. She was sweaty, got dizzy, light headed, and was completely depleted of energy (not that I try to do that to people..she just has never moved with a purpose). Did not even sniff a piece of equipment. She tells me after the workout that she wants to lose 11lbs by roller-blading with her daughter so she doesn't have to feel like its working out. Told me she could do it on her own...yea..you're a middle aged women who refuses to do any sort of resistance training...see you next year when you;re 22lbs over weight.
It was a Tuesday and I saw all of the same guys who did their chest workout on Monday doing their arms the next day...sweet life! Maybe mix a lunge or a pivot movement in their next week? We'll see....
Watched the Michelle Bauchman get creepier this week...
Ever look at the cardio section any day of the week...I do....everyone is fat! Because that's what you should be doing...does your traditional cardio work for fat loss or weight loss? If it did I wouldn't have 30 clients.
I witnessed about 4,000 crunches and sit ups this week from all people back on their new year's resolutions....Only about 250,000 more until someone burns 1lb of body fat! Keep it up
Watched one dude do curls for over an hour...because that will improve your health!
Squat rack is there for squats,....not curls
Dude with the headphones on.....there is no need to grunt when performing tri extentions....not that demanding on the body ..sorry
I got to tune in to the season premiere of the Jersey Shore with my wife...got forbid Ronnie does a squat...
I've said this before also...if you are looking to make a resolution this year with fitness or weight loss, or whatever and the first thing you ask is...How Much Does it Cost? You;re head is in the wrong place. Don't be a cheap skate...fork over $100-$200 bucks a month and get some fricken help. You have the money...you just blow it on stupid weight loss products, going out to eat, drinking, or unnecessary trips. Go ask for help from a young fitness professional who has his head on straight. The gyms aren't going to help their Join For $1 this week or their awesome $19 a month. Get the hint...Make an investment in yourself and in your health. Pay $400 now or spend 20,30,or $40,000 later in medical/surgery/therapy bills later because you thought you could do it on your own.
Saw a baby sitting in a car by herself at 9pm at night...sweet parenting.
Had one my clients buy me a 12 Pack of Chobani greek yogurt....awesome!
I'm out of here..Have a great weekend...and guys drink some regular beer (Sam's Adam's Boston Lager preferably)..Maybe you'll it will actually get you to do a chin up next week...but I wouldn't want you to exert that much energy so you could stick to your curls...it's cool.
JP
Ever walk into a gym on Monday?? I did again this week and witnessed international "Chest Day." Absolutely hilarious...another Monday and the same chest routine being done by everyone. bench, db bench, fly, incline, and some more machine chest press....god forbid you do an inverted row!
Had a lady come up to me and say that she wants to lose 11lbs in 2 months. I did a movement screen on her, did some movement prep, core work, metabolic strength work, and some conditioning in a 30 min killer workout. She was sweaty, got dizzy, light headed, and was completely depleted of energy (not that I try to do that to people..she just has never moved with a purpose). Did not even sniff a piece of equipment. She tells me after the workout that she wants to lose 11lbs by roller-blading with her daughter so she doesn't have to feel like its working out. Told me she could do it on her own...yea..you're a middle aged women who refuses to do any sort of resistance training...see you next year when you;re 22lbs over weight.
It was a Tuesday and I saw all of the same guys who did their chest workout on Monday doing their arms the next day...sweet life! Maybe mix a lunge or a pivot movement in their next week? We'll see....
Watched the Michelle Bauchman get creepier this week...
Ever look at the cardio section any day of the week...I do....everyone is fat! Because that's what you should be doing...does your traditional cardio work for fat loss or weight loss? If it did I wouldn't have 30 clients.
I witnessed about 4,000 crunches and sit ups this week from all people back on their new year's resolutions....Only about 250,000 more until someone burns 1lb of body fat! Keep it up
Watched one dude do curls for over an hour...because that will improve your health!
Squat rack is there for squats,....not curls
Dude with the headphones on.....there is no need to grunt when performing tri extentions....not that demanding on the body ..sorry
I got to tune in to the season premiere of the Jersey Shore with my wife...got forbid Ronnie does a squat...
I've said this before also...if you are looking to make a resolution this year with fitness or weight loss, or whatever and the first thing you ask is...How Much Does it Cost? You;re head is in the wrong place. Don't be a cheap skate...fork over $100-$200 bucks a month and get some fricken help. You have the money...you just blow it on stupid weight loss products, going out to eat, drinking, or unnecessary trips. Go ask for help from a young fitness professional who has his head on straight. The gyms aren't going to help their Join For $1 this week or their awesome $19 a month. Get the hint...Make an investment in yourself and in your health. Pay $400 now or spend 20,30,or $40,000 later in medical/surgery/therapy bills later because you thought you could do it on your own.
Saw a baby sitting in a car by herself at 9pm at night...sweet parenting.
Had one my clients buy me a 12 Pack of Chobani greek yogurt....awesome!
I'm out of here..Have a great weekend...and guys drink some regular beer (Sam's Adam's Boston Lager preferably)..Maybe you'll it will actually get you to do a chin up next week...but I wouldn't want you to exert that much energy so you could stick to your curls...it's cool.
JP
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