Ever had a time in your life where something might have happened to you and you said...Ah-Ha! That's what that means or that's what I should have done. In the fitness industry that type of stuff is happening all the time. Things are constantly evolving. Here are some of my Ah-Ha Moments that have happened to me over the past few years which have helped become better coach/trainer..no particular order.
Steady State Aerobics for Fat Loss- I will continue to talk about this until people get it through their heads. This is hands down the least effective thing someone could do if they are looking to lose some weight. Your running, elliptical rides, bike rides, your walking are activities. There is not enough demand from the muscular system with these leisure activities to possibly change the way you look...let alone burn subcutaneous fat. If you're still not losing weight or changing the way you look, it's probably because you're still doing your "cardio."
Hypertrophy is a Systematic Response Not a Localized One- This one is for all the guys that do split body part routines trying to gain some size.
Hypothetical scenario. Two friends are training for 26 weeks. They are both eating the same diet, training the same days, they do the same 4 compound upper body exercises. The only difference is that one friend adds in biceps curls and triceps extensions to the program. After the 26 weeks both had noticed significant results in size of their arms. But guess what? There is no difference in the arm size of the guy who added in the extra arm work. The bottom line is that muscle growth is a systemic response. If you do forearm curls of course it might grow a little bit. But if you did deadlifts...everything would grow. Train the entire system. Not just one area. Just trying to save you guys some time instead of doing all those ridiculous arm workouts that you read in Muscle and Fiction magazine.
Running Will Not Make You A Better Runner. My last blog was specifically on this topic and people think I am crazy. Yes if you are a runner you will need to keep running, but I have come to the conclusion that if you eliminate the running from your programming for a period of time and focus on training your muscular system, your cardiovascular system has no choice but to improve. It's just an ass backwards concept that people always try to do. They want to improve their cardiovascular system by doing "cardio' ( I hate that word... still have never gotten a good definition of what it is) but what actually happens is that the muscular system is what makes the cardiovascular system work. If your muscular system is not prepared to handle those thousands and thousands of repetitions your body will not be able to handle that stress. The only way for your cardiovascular system works is if your muscular system is working. Strength training is the only way to prepare your body for those demands. And we were taught in school that cardio training is the way to improve cardio training....my ass!
Lack of Power Training- I think one of the biggest mistakes trainers and trainees make is lack of power training. People are always training to be a safe and sound...screw that! I am a firm believer that you want to prevent aging, accelerate fat loss...you need to train with power! Training with power requires tons of nervous system activation. It requires engagement. It requires athleticism. Why I have found it to be so effective is because of the nervous system activation it requires. The more you stimulate the nervous system, the more your body will change, grow, burn fat, get faster..I mean the list goes on. This probably explains why everyone using the weight machines is still fat and is not getting stronger.
The Barefoot Running Shoe- I was a skeptic on this at first. Didn't really know what to think or believe. Until I read something written by Alwyn Cosgrove. He simply put it like this...If someone were to run barefoot and they were to over stride...what is would be the feedback to your brain? Well...Pain if you couldn't guess it. What happens then is our brain will automatically correct that running pattern. You cannot do it wrong...if you do, you will feel it. What the sole padded shoe does is block the connection to the brain. The padding will absorb the pressure making you not feel any sort of pain or incorrect pattern. Which will allow your body take more volume that it should leaving you to run will horrible form and will inevitably lead to injuries. Not very safe. I'm not a huge fan of this as many or you know, but if you do continue to do it, you might want to make sure you're doing it safely. Or just stop running all together..ha. I personally will never go back to anything else when it comes to a training shoe. My lifts, squats, and lunges are pretty sound because I feel myself when I am out of place.
Calories in vs. Calories Out-I am NOT a nutrition expert, but the whole calories in vs calories out just does not add up to me. I was first taught how to get someone to lose 1lb of body fat by totaling up how many calories someone is taking in on average each day. Ex...2500 calories is the average caloric intake. For this person to lose 1lb of fat they would need to subtract 500 calories a day from their diet for 7 days. 500 calories x 7 days = 3500 calorie deficit, which is what makes up one pound of body fat. This will make someone lose a 1 lb of fat a week. Which is true to a certain extent, but to me it doesn't add up. If you look at cancer patients. They might be going through chemo and all sorts of other tests. I can pretty much guarantee that they do not have an appetite after going through a chemo session. Which is means they are having a caloric deficit. But they're still getting fat and not losing weight???? Right there that tells you that it doesn't add up. What were finding out is that everything is about hormones. If you consume unnatural foods, that will affect your chemical make up and how your body processes food. So, people that eat the ZERO calorie foods...this is one example of what your body might do. Leptin- is a very powerful hormone that plays the role in your metabolism and appetite. It is what signals your brain to burn fat. The main things that can cause interruption of this hormone is low calorie diets and low calorie foods, artificial sweeteners, and processed carbohydrates/foods. These types of foods and diets are what cause leptin resistance. Triggering your brain to not burn fat and also eat more. To me it just doesn't add up this whole notion of eating low calorie foods or cutting calories from your diet. So people...do not say a Calorie is a Calorie. 100 Calories of Cheetos is the same as 100 Calories of broccoli?????? Get Real! There is no way our obesity epidemic would be taking place if people were overeating with 6,000 calories a day of broccoli..If you want to lose weight....EAT! Eat more frequently...Eat whole foods. Lean Proteins. Non processed Carbs, Fruits. Vegetables. Increase your metabolic rate by doing a full body resistance training program 3-4 times a week. But do not cut out quality calories!
These are just a few of my Ah-Ha Moments that I have been thinking about the past few days. I am going to guess that I will to have a few more coming up real soon! Anyway, hope everyone has a good rest of the week and weekend! I will be moving to Madison this weekend...Solid! I am still not a Badger Fan.
JP
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
No Need To Run?
I know I am going to get a lot of crap for this blog...guess what I don't really care. I said this in the past and for people that know me they know that I am not a huge fan of endurance and marathon training. In the training world we are so far beyond this roller coaster of a training method. Not very efficient. Not very safe. Also, who wants to waste their time for hours on end each week trying to break a plateau in your workouts. I am more convinced then ever before that if you want to become a better runner I would advise you to STOP running.
Here's my most recent story...
Dr. Dhillon, a client of mine for a little over 2 months shared some news with me yesterday evening prior to our training session. Prior to working with me Dr. D had informed me that he had done a lot of running and biking for his workouts. When he was in his his phases of running for pleasure he would run 3 miles in an average of 35-36 minutes. Not too shabby. During times of Dr. D trying to pick up the pace for a races and some other training he would be able to get down to about a 31 minute 3 mile pace. That was with him "panting" and him getting what he calls his "altitude sickness." He loves using the altitude sickness phrase because he knows that the brain does not receive the oxygen it should for you to be able to function when you are in the mountains or when you put your body through demanding exercise. Kind of an inside joke.
Anyway, no matter how hard he pushed and trained for running he could never break the 31 minute 3 mile pace. I don't know if he was really frustrated with this, but I think he started to think outside the box a little bit. That's when began our relationship.
Now, the information that I have just stated above, I knew none of it even before we started working together. I only knew that Dr. D biked occasionally and lifted some weights for his workouts. I had no idea that he tried this roller coaster method of training. As our training program started I assessed him and his wife (Rubal) with a movement screen that I use to determine their progressive training program. The main focus our training program was to work on mobility, total body strength, and metabolic conditioning because they were both looking to lose a few pounds. There was not peep from either of us about stepping foot on a treadmill, going for a run, or a bike, ride, or using an elliptical...not one peep.
For the past 2 months our training sessions look something like this..
10 Minutes of Movement Prep
5 Minutes of Core Activation
15-25 Minutes of Total Body Strength- Push,Pull, Lift, Squat, Twist, Lunge, Single Leg Stance
3-6 Minutes of Metabolic Conditioning/Metabolic Finishers
As I said earlier, Dr. D shared some information with me yesterday about something he had done over the weekend because he had some time to kill. Prior to this past weekend he had not stepped foot a treadmill for an endurance run. He had not even attempted to run at all. He had completely eliminated it for over 2 months. I actually think it was longer than that, but I am going to go on the safe side and say that it he had no attempted running for at least 2 months. On Sunday he decided to go for a run. He opted to run barefoot also because his running shoes flared up his plantar fasciitis. The result of his run was pretty remarkable. He finished his normal 3 mile run that he been doing previously to working with me in 27 minutes. Not only did he beat his 31 minute best time, but he shattered it by 4 minutes....barefoot!. The best part of it was that he said he could have kept going and was not getting his normal "altitude sickness." Opting to run barefoot he knew that he could not perform this kind of exercise wrong. Running barefoot his body would also auto correct the movements in the terms of self limiting exercise. Making him use his natural senses to adjust his running form to avoid any sort of unnatural pattern.
In the end Dr. D shaved 9 minutes off his 3 mile run WITHOUT running. But why? Here's why. When running in a straight line to nowhere you could be fingering a playlist on your ipod or watching tv. There is ZERO nervous system activation required in running forward . That right there should tell you that it is not demanding enough on your body. Because your nervous system isn't engaged in the movement the demand on body is not great enough to keep getting better as a runner. What we did is changed his programming by adding movement prep to clean up his movement patterns. This segment alone without the strength training would have made him a more efficient runner. With good body function and alignment his running pattern would be more efficient allowing him to run more smoothly and at ease. What really puts everything into overdrive is the demand we put on his body through total body strength and metabolic conditioning. We have been performing conventional and non conventional lifts and movements in a metabolic fashion. Basically, we do these lifts and movements with incomplete rest. Because these movements and exercises require engagement of the nervous system where you have to engage your mind with your body it automatically creates that greater demand for your body to work. Giving you more bang for your buck in your workouts with the energy that is being demanding to use everything at once.
This is real life stuff. If you want to make a change in the way you move, think, and look you have to create a disturbance. If you are comfortable doing something you will not make anymore changes. Because the nervous system is not being activated you will not see anymore results. I know that people will say back to me that running has gotten them to lose weight before of whatever it is that you did. My response to you is...just imagine how much time and energy was spent that you could have avoided if you did things differently in a more logical manner.
So face it...running, long aerobic workouts, walking, biking are mindless activities that do not take a lot of engagement to perform.. Fat people run marathons...tells us again that it's not going to change the way you look or the way you move.Run because you enjoy running. Not because you are trying to get into shape or lose weight. Bike because you enjoy biking. Do these leisure activities if you have extra time to kill in your week after you have gotten your 3-4 full body strength and metabolic workouts in like Dr. D did. He became a BETTER runner without even running! So awesome. Put your priorities in line!
Shoot me your non justifiable response!
JP
Here's my most recent story...
Dr. Dhillon, a client of mine for a little over 2 months shared some news with me yesterday evening prior to our training session. Prior to working with me Dr. D had informed me that he had done a lot of running and biking for his workouts. When he was in his his phases of running for pleasure he would run 3 miles in an average of 35-36 minutes. Not too shabby. During times of Dr. D trying to pick up the pace for a races and some other training he would be able to get down to about a 31 minute 3 mile pace. That was with him "panting" and him getting what he calls his "altitude sickness." He loves using the altitude sickness phrase because he knows that the brain does not receive the oxygen it should for you to be able to function when you are in the mountains or when you put your body through demanding exercise. Kind of an inside joke.
Anyway, no matter how hard he pushed and trained for running he could never break the 31 minute 3 mile pace. I don't know if he was really frustrated with this, but I think he started to think outside the box a little bit. That's when began our relationship.
Now, the information that I have just stated above, I knew none of it even before we started working together. I only knew that Dr. D biked occasionally and lifted some weights for his workouts. I had no idea that he tried this roller coaster method of training. As our training program started I assessed him and his wife (Rubal) with a movement screen that I use to determine their progressive training program. The main focus our training program was to work on mobility, total body strength, and metabolic conditioning because they were both looking to lose a few pounds. There was not peep from either of us about stepping foot on a treadmill, going for a run, or a bike, ride, or using an elliptical...not one peep.
For the past 2 months our training sessions look something like this..
10 Minutes of Movement Prep
5 Minutes of Core Activation
15-25 Minutes of Total Body Strength- Push,Pull, Lift, Squat, Twist, Lunge, Single Leg Stance
3-6 Minutes of Metabolic Conditioning/Metabolic Finishers
As I said earlier, Dr. D shared some information with me yesterday about something he had done over the weekend because he had some time to kill. Prior to this past weekend he had not stepped foot a treadmill for an endurance run. He had not even attempted to run at all. He had completely eliminated it for over 2 months. I actually think it was longer than that, but I am going to go on the safe side and say that it he had no attempted running for at least 2 months. On Sunday he decided to go for a run. He opted to run barefoot also because his running shoes flared up his plantar fasciitis. The result of his run was pretty remarkable. He finished his normal 3 mile run that he been doing previously to working with me in 27 minutes. Not only did he beat his 31 minute best time, but he shattered it by 4 minutes....barefoot!. The best part of it was that he said he could have kept going and was not getting his normal "altitude sickness." Opting to run barefoot he knew that he could not perform this kind of exercise wrong. Running barefoot his body would also auto correct the movements in the terms of self limiting exercise. Making him use his natural senses to adjust his running form to avoid any sort of unnatural pattern.
In the end Dr. D shaved 9 minutes off his 3 mile run WITHOUT running. But why? Here's why. When running in a straight line to nowhere you could be fingering a playlist on your ipod or watching tv. There is ZERO nervous system activation required in running forward . That right there should tell you that it is not demanding enough on your body. Because your nervous system isn't engaged in the movement the demand on body is not great enough to keep getting better as a runner. What we did is changed his programming by adding movement prep to clean up his movement patterns. This segment alone without the strength training would have made him a more efficient runner. With good body function and alignment his running pattern would be more efficient allowing him to run more smoothly and at ease. What really puts everything into overdrive is the demand we put on his body through total body strength and metabolic conditioning. We have been performing conventional and non conventional lifts and movements in a metabolic fashion. Basically, we do these lifts and movements with incomplete rest. Because these movements and exercises require engagement of the nervous system where you have to engage your mind with your body it automatically creates that greater demand for your body to work. Giving you more bang for your buck in your workouts with the energy that is being demanding to use everything at once.
This is real life stuff. If you want to make a change in the way you move, think, and look you have to create a disturbance. If you are comfortable doing something you will not make anymore changes. Because the nervous system is not being activated you will not see anymore results. I know that people will say back to me that running has gotten them to lose weight before of whatever it is that you did. My response to you is...just imagine how much time and energy was spent that you could have avoided if you did things differently in a more logical manner.
So face it...running, long aerobic workouts, walking, biking are mindless activities that do not take a lot of engagement to perform.. Fat people run marathons...tells us again that it's not going to change the way you look or the way you move.Run because you enjoy running. Not because you are trying to get into shape or lose weight. Bike because you enjoy biking. Do these leisure activities if you have extra time to kill in your week after you have gotten your 3-4 full body strength and metabolic workouts in like Dr. D did. He became a BETTER runner without even running! So awesome. Put your priorities in line!
Shoot me your non justifiable response!
JP
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Workout No No's!
I hope everyone is having a good week. I got behind a little bit on my training this week with a long weekend of eating and staying up too late. Hey...it happens! Anyway, I am right back on track after a great training session yesterday. While I am sitting here in my down time of the day I usually sit around and watch things people do in the gym. What I usually see people do are what I consider "Workout No No's." Now I have never told anyone what they do is wrong, but I would say what 99% of the people you see in your gym do are classified as my "Workout No No's"
What my services are set up to do these days are to provide people with solutions and answer for what they have been trying to accomplish for so long. So essentially I am just showing people a "better" way of doing things. Mainly my clients are trying to achieve some sort of fat loss goal, so that is the area that I will mainly be speaking about. I don't mean to offend anyone, but here are the "Workout No No's" that you are going to want to change.
- Weight Machines- My wife asked me the other day when we were going to stop seeing machines in gyms. Well, I said once people get the hint that these isolated single joint machines "don't" do anything then we will stop seeing them. Weight machines were designed for the muscle bound steroid freak body builders back in the day. They is no logical explanation for us to be using them in the form of physical fitness. My advice get off the machines and use you own body.
- Long Slow Traditional Aerobics- Get it through your heads. This method again will only make you slower and fatter. You are not demanding enough from your muscular/energy systems for this to change your body. Yea you might burn a couple of calories, but it will not elevate metabolism. Fat people perform marathons so it tells you right away that it will not do a whole lot on changing the way you look...next question. PS- take a look at the cardio area in your gym...I would guess that you don't want to look like those people.
- Single Set Exercises- Traditionally we were always told to do one set of an exercise and then wait a good minute to perform the next set of an exercise. Again, not good enough. Why rest when you could be performing another movement while another part of your body is resting. Performing alternating sets while allow more work density.. Giving you more bang for you buck in your workout. Example...Front Squat followed directly with a set of Chin Ups or Lat Pulldowns. Get something accomplished and don't be like the person sitting next to you.
Train Movement., Not Muscles- Probably the biggest mistake people make is not training movement first. By developing a quality movement pattern you are only going to set yourself up for success. If your squat pattern sucks then your only going to set yourself up for injury, lack of strength, lack of muscle growth, or lack or fat loss. Again, people want to start training muscles before movement. Ass backwards concept. If you neglect to train movement you'll end up like an immobilized body builder who can barely touch his toes. Another reason why machine and isolated exercises are not going to get you stronger and leaner.
-Not Having a Game Plan- People walk into the gym and say to themselves. Today I might do some of this, this and this. Not a good idea. Have something in written down with a daily goal. If your goal is to lift a certain amount of weight have that written down and make it happen. When you people try to wing a training session that's when you'll find yourself heading right to the treadmill.
-Stick To The Recipe- I love the guys that have these awesome new routines they found in Muscle & Fiction magazine that they do for 3 days. I suggested to a guy awhile back to buy the "The New Rules of Lifting" by Alwyn Cosgrove. He read the book and I helped clear some things for him with some of the questions he had. He proceeded to add in extra arm work and cardio sessions in there and said that he thought it would help him out. I'm pretty sure if those extra things were suppose to be in the program, they would have been written in the program. Stick to the recipe and allow the program to do it's job. Programming is meant to followed step by step for the duration. If it's not followed then you are not doing the program.
-Movement Prep (Warm Up)- A couple of minutes of walking, jogging, or biking is not going to cut it. It is not good enough to prepare the body for load. A calf or hamstring stretch will not prepare you for anything. Stretching is meant to relax a muscle if it is too tight. If you stretch cold muscles you will actually tighten your body up. Get moving with skips, hops, squats, lunges, or inchworms and prepare the body for load in a more dynamic fashion. You must improve the quality of your tissue to help the mobilizing process. Flexibility is mobility at the joints. The best way to become more flexible is to improve mobility through dynamic movement. Also, get a foam roller!
Split Body Part Routines-Probably the most ridiculous ideas people came up with are split body part routines. Do this....lay flat on the ground...then proceed to get up off of the ground and stand tall. You tell me if only your biceps are working! Get real. This method makes no sense. Why is it that our triceps and shoulders need two hours of attention each week? If this is the case then we should designate another two hours of working on our muscles in our hands and feet. You probably asking yourself why would you need to train your muscles in your hands and feet? Same thing,why do you need to spend hours on training your arms and shoulders? It doesn't make sense. Training one or two body parts a day is simply illogical and people don't even realize that less than one percent of the population this method works for...guys who are pumping needles in their asses. Perform everything all the time...Push,Pull,Lift,Squat, Twist,Lunge, Single Leg Stance.If you want bigger arms...do more deadlifts. If you want bigger shoulders...do more front squats. Muscle growth is a systematic response. It happens all at once. If you decrease your volume you should then increase your intensity and your frequency in your workouts.
Word Up!
JP
What my services are set up to do these days are to provide people with solutions and answer for what they have been trying to accomplish for so long. So essentially I am just showing people a "better" way of doing things. Mainly my clients are trying to achieve some sort of fat loss goal, so that is the area that I will mainly be speaking about. I don't mean to offend anyone, but here are the "Workout No No's" that you are going to want to change.
- Weight Machines- My wife asked me the other day when we were going to stop seeing machines in gyms. Well, I said once people get the hint that these isolated single joint machines "don't" do anything then we will stop seeing them. Weight machines were designed for the muscle bound steroid freak body builders back in the day. They is no logical explanation for us to be using them in the form of physical fitness. My advice get off the machines and use you own body.
- Long Slow Traditional Aerobics- Get it through your heads. This method again will only make you slower and fatter. You are not demanding enough from your muscular/energy systems for this to change your body. Yea you might burn a couple of calories, but it will not elevate metabolism. Fat people perform marathons so it tells you right away that it will not do a whole lot on changing the way you look...next question. PS- take a look at the cardio area in your gym...I would guess that you don't want to look like those people.
- Single Set Exercises- Traditionally we were always told to do one set of an exercise and then wait a good minute to perform the next set of an exercise. Again, not good enough. Why rest when you could be performing another movement while another part of your body is resting. Performing alternating sets while allow more work density.. Giving you more bang for you buck in your workout. Example...Front Squat followed directly with a set of Chin Ups or Lat Pulldowns. Get something accomplished and don't be like the person sitting next to you.
Train Movement., Not Muscles- Probably the biggest mistake people make is not training movement first. By developing a quality movement pattern you are only going to set yourself up for success. If your squat pattern sucks then your only going to set yourself up for injury, lack of strength, lack of muscle growth, or lack or fat loss. Again, people want to start training muscles before movement. Ass backwards concept. If you neglect to train movement you'll end up like an immobilized body builder who can barely touch his toes. Another reason why machine and isolated exercises are not going to get you stronger and leaner.
-Not Having a Game Plan- People walk into the gym and say to themselves. Today I might do some of this, this and this. Not a good idea. Have something in written down with a daily goal. If your goal is to lift a certain amount of weight have that written down and make it happen. When you people try to wing a training session that's when you'll find yourself heading right to the treadmill.
-Stick To The Recipe- I love the guys that have these awesome new routines they found in Muscle & Fiction magazine that they do for 3 days. I suggested to a guy awhile back to buy the "The New Rules of Lifting" by Alwyn Cosgrove. He read the book and I helped clear some things for him with some of the questions he had. He proceeded to add in extra arm work and cardio sessions in there and said that he thought it would help him out. I'm pretty sure if those extra things were suppose to be in the program, they would have been written in the program. Stick to the recipe and allow the program to do it's job. Programming is meant to followed step by step for the duration. If it's not followed then you are not doing the program.
-Movement Prep (Warm Up)- A couple of minutes of walking, jogging, or biking is not going to cut it. It is not good enough to prepare the body for load. A calf or hamstring stretch will not prepare you for anything. Stretching is meant to relax a muscle if it is too tight. If you stretch cold muscles you will actually tighten your body up. Get moving with skips, hops, squats, lunges, or inchworms and prepare the body for load in a more dynamic fashion. You must improve the quality of your tissue to help the mobilizing process. Flexibility is mobility at the joints. The best way to become more flexible is to improve mobility through dynamic movement. Also, get a foam roller!
Split Body Part Routines-Probably the most ridiculous ideas people came up with are split body part routines. Do this....lay flat on the ground...then proceed to get up off of the ground and stand tall. You tell me if only your biceps are working! Get real. This method makes no sense. Why is it that our triceps and shoulders need two hours of attention each week? If this is the case then we should designate another two hours of working on our muscles in our hands and feet. You probably asking yourself why would you need to train your muscles in your hands and feet? Same thing,why do you need to spend hours on training your arms and shoulders? It doesn't make sense. Training one or two body parts a day is simply illogical and people don't even realize that less than one percent of the population this method works for...guys who are pumping needles in their asses. Perform everything all the time...Push,Pull,Lift,Squat, Twist,Lunge, Single Leg Stance.If you want bigger arms...do more deadlifts. If you want bigger shoulders...do more front squats. Muscle growth is a systematic response. It happens all at once. If you decrease your volume you should then increase your intensity and your frequency in your workouts.
Word Up!
JP
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
A Quick Rant of Frustration!
I was running some errands the other day before heading into work. Going to the bank and grocery store, and a quick drive thru Starbucks were the main priorities of the morning. I couldn't help but notice an outdoor boot camp that was going on. I also had realized that there was one going on during the summer months of this past year in Janesville. I don't know who was running it or where it was actually being held. Frankly, I really don't care. Anyway, I realized with the weather being pretty nice lately this boot camp was being held outdoors for the day. What I am ranting about is still to this day there are people hosting these ridiculous boot camps.
The era of the boot camp was a great start for people getting outside of the traditional gym and moving in a bit more of a functional manner. Trainers hosting boot camps were making people run hills, run marathons, do some push ups, perform some dips, do some squats and then call it a day. This traditional boot camp model was great for a short period of time. I am now here to rant about what I saw just the other day. I saw about 10 overweight deconditioned women trying to run a fricken marathon. I knew there were people still trying to do this with their clients, but to actually witness this first hand really is frustrating for people like myself who have move far and beyond these ridiculous marathon training boot camp classes.
For any trainer to have their overweight clients trying to lose those extra pounds of fat running miles on end is not only disheartening for these customers, but also puts a bad reflection on myself as a coach and all of the other trainers/coaches trying to change the way fitness is done. Not only is that a waste of time for these people, but also a waste of their money. I would never have someone pay me for me to watch them run a miles in a straight line in a park. You can run in straight line on your own and not get any results.
The biggest reflection this has a me is that people assume this is what I do. The consumer and other gym goers assume this is what boot camps and other trainers/training studios are like. That I watch people run miles and do a few push ups. When I was at the stop light watching these overweight women struggling to get to the next block it also tells me that this trainer or place that is hosting this boot camp is not running an up to date class. I'm tired of watching trainers/coaches trying to throw things against the wall to see if it sticks. I'm tired of watching people get disappointed with minimal results. I'm tired of seeing bad training. I'm tired of seeing trainers that do not want to work and engage with clients. I'm tired of trainers/coaches/or gyms not educating members of the truth of fat loss/weight loss. I'm tired of watching people get hurt by these ridiculous marathon training boot camps.
The boot camp market is so saturated it makes me sick. Not only is the corporate fitness industry competing at these absurd lost cost memberships, but the boot camps are tearing the training market down also. Trainers are hosting boot camps at $49-$99 a month to watch people run and do some god awful squats. If you are in a boot camp class and the first thing you do is go for a run....I would walk out that door so fast and demand a refund. That's not why you're paying a trainer/coach..You should be paying for the education, the experience, the client-trainer relationship, you're paying for maximum results.
It pisses me off so much to see this because I invest my time and money to go get educated on Metabolic Resistance Training, Movement Screens, Training systems and modules, Program design. I spend time and money on books and webinars. I invest in going to seminars to learn from guys like Alwyn Cosgrove and Todd Durkin. Trainers/coaches need to do everything possible to make sure their clients are set up for the best success. We need to address hip issues, knee issues, or shoulder issues. The general population is not only fat, but they move poorly and are in pain. Running around in circles and through cones is not going to improve anyone's posture or aches and pains.Hopping up and down stairs and off benches is not going to help and move more efficiently.
Sure there are some great boot camp classes, but I am going to guess right now that there are more bad ones than good ones. The bad ones make to good ones look bad too. Boot camps and trainers are a dime a dozen. If you are in the market for boot camps or a trainer you should make sure they are going to do some of the followiing....
-A fucntional movement screen
-Talk about MRT (Metabolic Resistance Training)
-Assessments (Measurements, Body Ft %..etc)
-Solid Nutrition Plan ( Not a reduced calorie diet)
- Talk about progression of exercise
- Are they going to give you what you NEED! Not what you want!
- If you ask them a questions and they try to BS and answer..what out the door. They should go find the answer!
Now, I am not saying that I am the best. Good god I went down by friend Mark "Cibby" Cibrario the other week and walked out feeling like I knew nothing. I read what Alwyn Cosgrove and Mike Boyle write and it's like I trying to interpret Japanese. The difference in myself and most trainers out there is that I am hungry for more. I am constantly trying to improve my systems to get my clients BETTER results. You will learn something with me. I say this to all of my clients....All I want you to take from this experience is to learn one thing and understand it. By learning at least one thing different from anything in life will only make you a better person.
"Get One Day Better!"
JP
The era of the boot camp was a great start for people getting outside of the traditional gym and moving in a bit more of a functional manner. Trainers hosting boot camps were making people run hills, run marathons, do some push ups, perform some dips, do some squats and then call it a day. This traditional boot camp model was great for a short period of time. I am now here to rant about what I saw just the other day. I saw about 10 overweight deconditioned women trying to run a fricken marathon. I knew there were people still trying to do this with their clients, but to actually witness this first hand really is frustrating for people like myself who have move far and beyond these ridiculous marathon training boot camp classes.
For any trainer to have their overweight clients trying to lose those extra pounds of fat running miles on end is not only disheartening for these customers, but also puts a bad reflection on myself as a coach and all of the other trainers/coaches trying to change the way fitness is done. Not only is that a waste of time for these people, but also a waste of their money. I would never have someone pay me for me to watch them run a miles in a straight line in a park. You can run in straight line on your own and not get any results.
The biggest reflection this has a me is that people assume this is what I do. The consumer and other gym goers assume this is what boot camps and other trainers/training studios are like. That I watch people run miles and do a few push ups. When I was at the stop light watching these overweight women struggling to get to the next block it also tells me that this trainer or place that is hosting this boot camp is not running an up to date class. I'm tired of watching trainers/coaches trying to throw things against the wall to see if it sticks. I'm tired of watching people get disappointed with minimal results. I'm tired of seeing bad training. I'm tired of seeing trainers that do not want to work and engage with clients. I'm tired of trainers/coaches/or gyms not educating members of the truth of fat loss/weight loss. I'm tired of watching people get hurt by these ridiculous marathon training boot camps.
The boot camp market is so saturated it makes me sick. Not only is the corporate fitness industry competing at these absurd lost cost memberships, but the boot camps are tearing the training market down also. Trainers are hosting boot camps at $49-$99 a month to watch people run and do some god awful squats. If you are in a boot camp class and the first thing you do is go for a run....I would walk out that door so fast and demand a refund. That's not why you're paying a trainer/coach..You should be paying for the education, the experience, the client-trainer relationship, you're paying for maximum results.
It pisses me off so much to see this because I invest my time and money to go get educated on Metabolic Resistance Training, Movement Screens, Training systems and modules, Program design. I spend time and money on books and webinars. I invest in going to seminars to learn from guys like Alwyn Cosgrove and Todd Durkin. Trainers/coaches need to do everything possible to make sure their clients are set up for the best success. We need to address hip issues, knee issues, or shoulder issues. The general population is not only fat, but they move poorly and are in pain. Running around in circles and through cones is not going to improve anyone's posture or aches and pains.Hopping up and down stairs and off benches is not going to help and move more efficiently.
Sure there are some great boot camp classes, but I am going to guess right now that there are more bad ones than good ones. The bad ones make to good ones look bad too. Boot camps and trainers are a dime a dozen. If you are in the market for boot camps or a trainer you should make sure they are going to do some of the followiing....
-A fucntional movement screen
-Talk about MRT (Metabolic Resistance Training)
-Assessments (Measurements, Body Ft %..etc)
-Solid Nutrition Plan ( Not a reduced calorie diet)
- Talk about progression of exercise
- Are they going to give you what you NEED! Not what you want!
- If you ask them a questions and they try to BS and answer..what out the door. They should go find the answer!
Now, I am not saying that I am the best. Good god I went down by friend Mark "Cibby" Cibrario the other week and walked out feeling like I knew nothing. I read what Alwyn Cosgrove and Mike Boyle write and it's like I trying to interpret Japanese. The difference in myself and most trainers out there is that I am hungry for more. I am constantly trying to improve my systems to get my clients BETTER results. You will learn something with me. I say this to all of my clients....All I want you to take from this experience is to learn one thing and understand it. By learning at least one thing different from anything in life will only make you a better person.
"Get One Day Better!"
JP
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)