IronMan...

So I went down to downtown Louisville last night with a couple friends to watch the finishers of the the IronMan. For those who don't know the IronMan is an event consisting of lots of swimming, lots of biking, and even more running. It takes some people 17 hours to complete this mess. To quote Fletcher Reede in "Liar Liar": "Why would anyone wanna do that!?"

OK, so before I start to piss everyone off I will say that I can respect the sense of accomplishment and the amazing effort and work it takes to complete an IronMan. But let's get real, what is the purpose of doing aerobic exercise for that long. There is no athletic skill, there is no carry-over to everyday life, and there is a lot of injuries that can and do occur. As I watched last night, a large number of the finishers were limping across the line only to just about collapse into the arms of the workers. It isn't unlikely that many of these people will have foot, shin, knee, or some other type of injury following this event. It just doesn't make sense to me.

”I play a real sport for real men, not trying to be the best at fucking exercising.”

Long distance aerobic exercise doesn't make us stronger, it doesn't build muscle, and it doesn't really even make us look better. If you look at most marathoners they look like skeletons. No muscle mass, no curves, no nothing. Just Bones and skin. Not very attractive. Not to mention they can't lift more than 20lbs. over their head. We as humans were not made for this type of movement and duration of movement. We were made to complete short bursts of quick and powerful movements. Our ancestors ran quick sprints to catch their food, then used strength to carry it home. They weren't off running around for hours at a time. They needed to be powerful and strong. Think about your everyday life...When are you ever going to need to run for multiple hours in row...NEVER. But when are you going to need to lift something? All the time. Whether it be your kid, your furniture on move in day, your girlfriend (or boyfriend), and a multitude of other things. As my buddy Rob has said over and over, "If a rock falls on me, I'm gonna lift it off. If it falls on you, what are you gonna do? You can't run then."

To add on to the use of these two different types of exercise, let's look at injuries. If you lift properly, there is a rare possibility of injury and with good programming you can prevent and even ease pain and previous injuries you may have had. Even with proper running form, doing it for hours upon hours can cause some serious problems. I know which exercise I'm choosing. Hint: it involves lifting heavy things.

Now, I am not going to say to never do prolonged endurance exercise. There is a place and time for it. Thirty minutes a couple times a week for those just beginning exercise, those who are older and can't do things such as sprint, and even for a time of recovery. But I see no real purpose behind multiple hours of running, biking, and swimming all in one day. You may disagree but that's cool...because I'm going to tell you you're wrong.

Different Goals, Similar Approach

Working with different people day in and day out I come across different goals and different bodies. These different goals include weight loss, "toning", body composition improvements, and muscle gain. These are all different goals but when it comes down to it the training methods are similar for each.

I tend to keep three main training methods in mind when working with my clients and myself. Strength training, metabolic training, and increasing muscle mass. All three are important for every trainee. Strength improvements will not only improve the other types of training but also performance of every day activities. Gaining strength makes life easier, makes the joints better, and keeps us independent for longer as we age.

Metabolic training comes into play when we think about burning fat. Everyone that trains wants to look good so fat loss is key to having defined muscles. For those focusing mostly on weight loss, this is very important and will make large improvements in body composition. For those wanting to gain size and muscle mass can use this type of training to keep a defined look as weight and size is gained.

Increasing muscle mass goes along with strength gains. Muscle mass gains will improve metabolism and a fat burning effect so for those who are trying to lose weight and better their body composition can benefit greatly from a gain in muscle mass. And of coarse those trying to gain some size will benefit from a gain in muscle mass as well as gains in strength.

All three aspects should be addressed whether your goal is weight loss, fat loss, or size gain. What you focus on most is the main difference between each group but all three should be incorporated to get an all around training effect.

Just a Little Random

I recently got Internet and cable installed in my house so I should be on here some more, and not be writing blog posts once every decade like recently. I also want to mention how great cable TV is and how much I missed it. Don't worry, I still get my reading in every day.

Training for me is starting to pick up. I have added a couple more clients this week and am excited to get to working with these people. I plan on making a difference in their lives.

Been working on some more exercise videos so I figured I would post an exercise of the day. Here is the inverted row. One of the most underrated exercises in the personal training world. I learned this through my strength and conditioning work and use it with just about every client I have. Not only does it strengthen the major back muscles, it also works on the rear delts and scapular muscles and focuses on core stability. I highly recommend including it in your workouts for yourselves and your clients.



I have been noticing a lot of fatigue with myself lately and think that it is time for a really good deload. I have been going hard in my training, focusing on strength, for about 30 weeks now and I think my body is starting to wear down. I don't have the energy levels during my workouts like I am used to and my weights have not been increasing as much as I would like them. I also wake up very tired feeling in the mornings, no matter how much sleep I get throughout the night. Next week I plan on not lifting at all and just focusing on foam rolling, stretching, and mobility. Pay attention to your bodies. Only you can determine when you really need a deload. I have always incorporated deloads into my workouts about every 5 weeks but I feel that there is no magic number or time when deloads should be used. Instead just focus on your body and pay attention and you will be able to determine when you need a little R & R.

Oh Internet, How I Miss You!

I apologize for being MIA for that past week. My cousin and I recently moved into a house together and we are still without Internet and cable. Needless to say, I do a lot of reading. Anyhow, I made a trip out to my parents house to get my Internet fix. I caught up on some blog posts from fellow strength coaches and trainers, checked out some T-Nation and found a few articles that I plan on reading this week.

Had my first session at Urban Active earlier this week. Two older gentlemen who are looking to get in shape and build a little muscle. We talked and did some evaluations Monday and started training last night. They are both new to resistance training and haven't been as active as they would like over the past couple of years. I plan on getting these guys to where they want to be, starting with building a solid foundation. This means a lot of stability work in the core and mobility work in the hips and shoulders. Once I can improve these areas then we can start to really get into some good strength training. We did some basic exercises last night to check form and see where these guys are and the form is something we will definitely have to focus on. Both of these guys are really great and fun to work with so I am excited to see the progress they make.

I have also been training a 12-year-old for the past couple of weeks. He is involved in pretty much every sport he can get into and is just wanting to get stronger since he is nearing high school. We have been working a lot on coordination and body control. Many kids don't have the body awareness to notice how their body is positioned during movement. Basic strength exercises using minimal (or no) external load makes up the foundation of his workout. My main goal with him is to strengthen his shoulder and hip joints while keeping the large range of motion he has. At the same time we want to get him using proper form during these movements so that we can keep him healthy and moving properly during his athletic endeavours. He has been learning very quickly and form has dramatically improved each week. Since he is younger, I don't want to overload his joints and cause problems, but strength training with body weight at that age is a great way to improve performance and strength.

I don't know when I will have Internet at my house but hopefully it will be soon and it won't be 10 days before I post again.

You're Training is Unstable!

As I have recently mentioned, I was just hired on at a local gym as a personal trainer. Over the past few days I have been observing some of the directors and top trainers, just to see how things are run at this specific location. I am also very interested in learning more about the business side of training so I am trying to see as much of the business interactions as possible. However, that's a different story. While I have been observing training sessions and talking with a bunch of these trainers I have learned a few things about this facility and its trainers. One thing, however, sticks out like a fat girl in a nudie magazine. This one thing I am talking about is the obsession these trainers have with Unstable Surface Training, especially with the BOSU ball. I am the type of person that when the end of the day comes I am going to do my own thing and not worry about the next, but this is an issue I wanted to address. Every trainer and every training session I have seen since I have been in this gym has used the BOSU ball. Whether it be standing on, kneeling on, one foot, both feet, this piece of equipment has been used. I have even made it clear to my bosses that I do not like the BOSU and I think it is worthless. We agreed to disagree, and that's fine with me but I wanted to give some info to the rest of you as to why the BOSU and other methods of Unstable Surface Training(UST) are pointless.



Before we get into "why not" let's look at the reasons "why". While talking to these trainers I was able to see why they used this type of training so often. They call it "functional training". Reasons for use include more core activation, balance improvement, strengthening of ligaments and tendons, and it is "fun". OK but...

I had my own thoughts, which have been formulated by the things I have learned through schooling as well as reading the thoughts and opinions of some of the best strength coaches and trainers in the country, but I wanted to do some research as well to have some science to back up my thoughts. So let's take a look:

• One study by two doctors at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College found that there was an equal amount of core stabilizer activation in both stable and unstable surface training.
  
• Another study showed that with UST there was a loss of power production.
  
• With UST the body is not able to produce as much force because of the lower level of balance.
  
• It has also been shown that balancing on a BOSU ball or some other type of unstable surface improves balance on that surface however that improved balance does not carry over to stable surfaces...you know, like the ones we walk on every single day. I don't know what place on Earth has a ground made of BOSU balls, but I sure hope I never have to go there, or I will be unprepared!

A few more issues that I have seen and thought about: core stability can be improved in many ground based movements such as squats, deadlifts, and RDLs, just to name a few. Not to mention stabilization training such as planks, anti-rotations, and other core movements also improve spinal stabilization and core strength. We can also get "creative" and perform basic strength movements such as a deadlift or a step-up with only one dumbbell, in order to demand the stabilizers to work. Another area of concern is that the majority of people getting training have trouble balancing well on the balls and therefore groove poor movement patterns, or fail to correct poor movement patterns, while performing these exercises. In turn, these people make themselves more susceptible to injury.

Let's review. Force production is lessened by UST therefore muscle mass cannot be built which in turn leads to lessened results. Power production is decreased. Whether you are an athlete or an elderly woman, you need power output. Higher speed of contraction can help prevent falling and there is also research showing that power training in the elderly can improve quality of living. Ligiments and tendons are also strengthened through ground based strength movements. They strengthen as muscles do and unless one takes a performance enhancing drug, muscle strength is not going to outpace tendon and ligiment strength.

The biggest thing in my mind is this: Athletes are in the best shape, from body composition to movement ability. So why not train in a way that athletes train. Sure, a sedentary individual needs to work into a program but the basic principles of strength training, corrective exercise, and movement training can and should be applied fom the start. Keeping that in mind, why not look at what the best strength and conditioning programs are doing. In my experience with collegiate strength and conditioning, as well as what I have read, there is not any UST going on. So why, as a personal trainer, would I want to do that!? Because it is the new fad? Because my co-workers are doing it? I am going to be my own and have reasons behind what I do, more than, Billy and Johnny do it with their clients, or, it is fun!

With all that being said, I hope I didn't offend anyone out there. I just wanted to pass on the knowledge I have accrued and point out some fallacies of these "exciting new workouts".

Oh Public Gym

So today was my first day at the local public gym. I have been used to a college facility which isn't perfect but it's better than the public facility. I already had some expectations of things I would see that would make me shake my head. To add to it, I had to go later in the afternoon so there was a much larger crowd to check out. To start things off, it was definitely National Bench Day (Monday), as 80% of the guys in there were pressing it out. Meanwhile, I was found squatting in the single power rack. Beyond the benching and the large collection of super cut-offs, there wasn't much else that really disturbed me, which was surprising. However, it's only day one.

The thing that really made my brain hurt was the trainers in action. I actually had to stop and write some things down on the back of my workout card just so I could remind myself day in and day out to never fall to this level. Here are a few examples:

• At one point I looked over and noticed a trainer with his client (young, healthy girl) doing planks on a stability ball. The problem with this was that her stability is not yet that advanced as her hips were sagging so bad and there was so much curvature in her lumbar spine that I almost ran over there to sit on her back, thinking is was a swing or hammock of some sort.
  
• This same trainer then had this client doing cable rotations while standing on a Bosu ball. Once again, her stability is not there. She was falling all over the place and the rotation wasn't even working her core.
  
• Another crazy thing I saw was the new workout of the day: Bulgarian split squats combined with straight bar bicep curls. Yes, this guy's client was doing Bulgarian split squats while holding a barbell with a supinated grip, and at the top of the squat performed a bicep curl. WOW!

Now, I don't want to rag on these trainers too much because I will be training there soon. But hopefully I can set an example and teach some people better methods of training than the excessive use of the Bosu ball. The only time I will ever touch a Bosu ball will be when I get bored and decide to play Frisbee around the gym.

I could honestly tell stories like this day in and day out but instead, I think I will keep them to myself and after about a year write a book telling these stories and showing how messed up the public fitness world is.

On a side note: I owned my interview today as I took a "test" and talked with the director. Not only was I able to dominate the "test", I was also able to define the Multifidus (a spinal stabilizer running along the spine). Direct quote: "I have never seen someone complete these questions and present themselves so well as you have just done."

Refuse to Lose

"All the haters used to say 'Boo, we hate him'. I want to thank y'all for the inspiration."

The Next Step

I am currently in the interview process at a large gym in Louisville called Urban Active. I hope to become a trainer at Urban Active for a multitude of reasons. These reasons include a constant income, a free membership to a really nice facility, but most importantly the opportunity to get a large number of clients and be able to use my knowledge of training to not only help others but to also improve my ability to train. I feel pretty confident with getting the position, especially with my educational background, but I still have to do well in the interview I have next week. At this interview I am to conduct a mock training session with one of the directors at UA. The only information I received about this mock session is that my client is an elderly woman. I have put together a workout that I feel is suitable and functional for this population but there are a number of things that could change once I learn more about this fake client. Here is a look at the workout I have formulated. Everyone may not agree with my exercise selection, and I understand that and am always open for input and feedback.

Warm-Up
Squats 1x8 1x10 1x12
IYT 1x6 1x8 1x10
Balance 1x:10 1x:15 1x:20

Workout
A1. Suitcase Deadlift from rack 1x6 2x8
A2. DB Standing Shoulder Press 1x6 2x8

B1. Wall Slides 3x15
B2. 1-DB Farmers Walk 3x40 steps

C1. Partial Step-Up 3x8ea.
C2. Static Pull-Through 1x:10 1x:15 1x:20

D1. Standing Cable Row 3x6ea.
D2. Static Rotation 3x:15

Cool Down/Stretch

As I said, a lot of this might change as I learn more about the client. What I have made here is a general workout I see suitable for the elderly population. Everything is standing to work on balance and improve bone density. I also focus a lot on the core and upper back because there is a tendency for people to lose strength in those areas and decrease posture as they age. With this population I would like to improve posture and keep them more upright as they grow older. The biggest thing about working with this population is to keep them efficient in their daily activities.

I am interested to see how this goes next week and what kind of response I get from this interview.

KY State Clinic

This past Saturday I attended the NSCA Kentucky State Clinic at the University of Louisville. It was a great opportunity to gain some knowledge, meet some people, and better myself...and for only $25. It was a one day event with six presentations. The presentations ranged from nutrition, to unusual methods of training, to scientific application. Included in the list of speakers were Mike Robertson of I-FAST, Adam Feit, assistant coach of UofL Athlete Development, and Joe Kenn, head coach at UofL.




Mike Robertson spoke on the topic of low back health. He is an outstanding presenter and really made the presentation stand out. He discussed the issues of joint-to-joint training, stabilizing the lumbar spine, and improving posture throughout all aspects of training and life. I feel very blessed to have gotten the opportunity to see him present for such a cheap price.



Adam Feit, who also put the whole day together, presented on nutritional strategies for the collegiate athlete. Even though this presentation was directed towards collegiate athletes, I took a lot of good ideas away from it that could be used for clients of any population. The main thing Adam touched on was that most people will not be able to follow a perfect and strict diet. Since this is the case for most people, we need to find ways to compromise so that our client is making healthier changes that he or she can continue to do. Over time these small compromises will grow into larger lifestyle changes. He gave some good information on what to eat when eating at fast food restaurants, cheap ways to get good groceries, and effective ways to educate our clients on how to eat and how to improve performance through nutrition. I was very impressed with this presentation and hope to get another chance to listen to Adam talk.



The final talk of the day was in the weight room with the head strength coach for football at U of L, Joe Kenn. He went through the progression of cleans that is used by the U of L strength staff. I have had some experience in the past couple years with different progressions of Olympic lifts, but it is always good to hear it again. The approach they use is from the ground up. They start with working on the deadlift and improving that strength, working to pulls, RDL's, and finishing with the catch. As I listened to the presentation I started thinking about the ground up idea and feel that this approach should be used for anything. With any new client they need to be built from the ground up. I want to make sure there is a foundation before I start trying to strengthen everything else. Just more sculpting of my training philosophy.



Overall, it was a great experience and I will definitely be in attendance again next year. I hope to make some other seminars and clinics between now and then as well. Never too much learning.

What Do You Attract?

There is this guy, we'll say his name is Ted. Ted isn't in the best of shape but has aspirations of being stronger, leaner, and healthier. He doesn't have a girlfriend either so looking better to attract some girls would be nice as well. Ted's friends, however, don't care about the gym that much, or about their bodies. They may go with him to workout every now and then, but it's not something they look foreword to. When they all hang out they convince Ted to go to Dairy Queen, Wendy's, McDonald's, and the like. Ted knows he shouldn't but he does anyway. All of his friends give Ted a hard time about going to the gym and feed him stories about how he will never be in great shape, never lift big weights, and NEVER EVER have a body girls will break necks for. All of this gets to Ted. His workouts aren't ever to the potential they could be and half the time he quits early. Ted is constantly bitching about how he makes no progress in the gym and he is still to see the slightest muscle definition what-so-ever. To go along with all of this Ted seems to have a negative outlook on things. He doesn't really like a whole lot of things he hears on the radio, sees on the TV, or encounters in everyday life. He and his friends tend to spend the majority of their time talking about "hate this, hate that." Ted wonders daily why he isn't where he wants to be in life. Why he doesn't have the body he wants, the job he wants, and why nothing ever good happens to him. What Ted doesn't understand is the Law of Attraction.

The Law of Attraction is all about energy that is produced by an individual. There was book written a couple years ago that discussed the Law of Attraction but to a further extent then what I think is possible. The book stated that thinking of an object and truly believing that object would be yours, would eventually attract that object in reality. Although I don't believe this, I do believe that positive attracts positive. Positive thoughts, positive attitude, positive feelings will all help bring about a positive reality to one's self. I pay a lot of attention to the people I come in contact with and one trend that I have noticed throughout my life is that those who seemed to have less care and be happier with their life will tend to have better things happen to them. On the contrary, those who have a negative outlook on things and always seemed to be in a bad mood, will attract negative occurrences in their life.

I am not saying that if you have a positive attitude nothing bad will ever happen to you but I do believe that if you keep a positive attitude and avoid getting really down about bad things that happen in your life, you will see more positive outcomes and live a more successful life.

Going along with this is the company you keep. Looking back at Ted, his friends were a terrible influence. Not only did they influence Ted in a negative way, they also brought a lot of negative energy into his life. I have always been told that if you want to get better you have to surround yourself with people better than you. If you want to get bigger, lift with guys twice your size. If you want to get smarter, hang out with geniuses. If you want to be successful, spend time with successful people. It is going to be damn near impossible to better yourself when the people around you are two levels below you. Set high standards and surround yourself with those standards.

I guarantee that if Ted starts to clean up his life, removing the "friends" he has and replacing them with positive, good spirited, successful people he will see his life change. If he starts to remove all of the complaining, negativity, and moping from his daily routine and replaces it with a positive, go-getter type attitude, he will see his life change. Hell, he might actually get that job he wants, develop that body he has been longing for, and, dare I say it, get a girlfriend under 200lbs.