Catching up

I've been completely MIA for a couple of weeks and a lot has happened so I wanted to do a little catching up.

1) Last week I was officially offered a job as a strength and conditioning coach at RPI in Troy. I'm really excited to be starting there and hopefully making a difference with their athletes, student body and faculty. Any one know any realtors in the area that can find decent housing?

2)I had a really busy weekend; Saturday morning I was able to put on two separate clinics. 1 for a high school girls basketball program and another one for a group of local coaches. It's always fun doing what I can to help people understand what I do and why I do it. Hopefully they had fun and learned something in the process. After I was done, however, I had completely lost my voice and had to go to a seminar near Boston without the ability to speak...

3)I attended an awesome seminar put on by Eric Cressey (Strength coach) and Mike Reinold (PT for the Red Sox as well as a Boston hospital I believe). It was 7 hours learning about movement impairments and treatments/training protocols for the shoulder. The information was great and am looking forward to learning more about the subject.

On a side note, do any other trainers out there find that most people don't realize how much goes into trying to become a decent trainer? If I get in a discussion with an accountant about taxes, I keep my mouth shut with the exception of asking questions, and I listen. But if an accountant gets in a discussion with me about training, chances are they'll argue and tell me why what they're doing at the gym is right but it's a mystery why they're always in pain and get no results. Reading Men's or Women's Health once a month, and watching the Biggest Loser, doesnt make you an expert.

4)I recently completed (almost) Cresseys' Maximum Strength program. A 16 week workout geared towards strength (duh). I have to say I feel great. Other than coming down with a cold/bacterial infection(?) during the last week, and being unable to retest, my results have been great. I don't need to test to know I am much stronger, healthier and even have less pain in my lower back. I did it as much for the process of being committed to a program as I did for the results. I actually plan on doing it once more before switching it up. It's a simple to follow, well described program that will help anyone get over any plateaus they've experienced on their own programs. I recommend checking it out.



5)Last night I received this email from an athlete of mine who just finished her senior year as a division I field hockey player. It made me feel great and I wanted to share. This is more of a testimony to her hard work than anything I did.

"Hi Jon,

I meant to e-mail you earlier right after the season ended but things got crazy trying to catch up on sleep, work and fun time. But the reason why I am e-mailing is because I just wanted to tell you that I had one of the best seasons in my field hockey career this past fall. When I came into preseason, I was one of the strongest players, physically and mentally. I killed the fitness test because of your advice that you had given me (by not running many miles). In past years, I was one of the smaller ones getting pushed around in the circle defensively and offensively, however this year I was actually knocking girls over that were bigger than me (I did not drop any shoulders into them but was able to hold my ground). When we did our weight lifting test, I was able to do 3 chin-ups (more than most of the girls on our team were able to do). My conditioning was amazing; I was able to run non-stop on the field throughout the entire game. Working with you over the summer was one of the best decisions that I had made. I am not going to lie, I was not going to go to the gym because I hate going to gyms and not comfortable enough to do it on my own, however working with you, learning how to do basic things that would prevent injuries, and seeing myself get stronger over the weeks was one of the best things."

Champs Again!

Alright, after letting it set in for a couple of days I wanted to share a couple thoughts about the Greatest Franchise ever taking home another title.

There's one thing that struck me as a little odd in my reaction to the last out on Wednesday night. It actually felt slightly anti-climactic watching the final out. But it wasn't because I didn't care. Actually I was much more into this World Series than many of the past ones the Yankees have played in, but I think the difference is in how I view things. The older I get, the less I focus on results. The process is what really matters, whether it's baseball, school (how many of us knew how to get the grade without doing any actual learning?), or life.

So even though almost every non-Yankee fan will complain about the lack of a strict salary cap and blame the Yankees for ruining baseball by buying championships, let's remember that no matter how much money you spend you don't get a free pass to the World Series. The process has to be the same for the Yankees as it would for any other team. Before the season I honestly thought it would be hard to root for the team with such high profile free agents bought last off-season, but as the summer rolled along and the more games I watched, the more I came to feel a part of this Yankees team, and that is what makes being a fan really enjoyable.

And as much as everybody hates the Yankees, it's clear that they also need the Yankees.. As much as I love watching it, baseball simply would not get the ratings it needs to survive without a villain. And if you don't think the Yankees aren't the epitome of a villain then you're crazy. Football ratings are so good because the American people love the product. Outside of the die-hards, baseball lacks the appeal of football and needs other story lines to drive ratings. Need proof? Look at the ratings for the last 2 World Series. The Yankees/Phillies averaged around a 12 (translated into X-million viewers, not sure of the exact formula), where the Phillies/Rays averaged a 7-8. That's a huge difference in number of viewers, because the Yankees will draw interest of people around the country who simply want to see them lose.

If you look at the highest rated Series in history, most of them involve the Yankees. One exception would be 2004, game 4, when the Red Sox were about to clinch their first title in a thousand years.

I'm just glad I'm on the fun side of the fence when it comes to the Yankees!

Is it important to be well-rounded?

There seems to be a sentiment today, especially among obsessive parents, that their kids need to be really "well-rounded." Now, I think it's a great idea to expose young kids to as much as possible so they know what's out there and can then decide for themselves what they are interested in and begin to choose their own path.

But what about when we get older? Is it really necessary to be so worldly once we establish ourselves in a given field? It sounds fine and dandy, but let's be honest; Does anyone really care if their car mechanic knows a lick about world history? Or how about if their Doctor can discuss the arts? I personally could care less whether or not a professional athlete could name the capital of Finland, but yet we carry this assumption that everybody should be "all-knowing," and we make fun of them (behind their back of course) if they don't.

Now, I think that everyone should be well-rounded by a different defenition. It is each person's responsibility to be as well-versed in their field as they can possibly be. In the example of the fitness industry, this means to avoid becoming a "fad" guy/girl. Now, there are plenty of top professionals who are known for one thing; "The corrective guy", "The Kettlebell Guy", "The Speed Guy", etc. But talk to any of these people and they are incredibly knowledgeable about every aspect of fitness/health and human performance.

Try to open up a debate about the economy, however, and you'd be hardpressed to get an intelligent response that doesn't directly relate to their own situation as a fitness professional.

Is this such a bad thing?

I've reference a book, Outliers, a few times in this blog. Specifically, I was blown away by the 10,000 hour rule Gladwell talks about. In short, any extremely successful individual has accumulated at least 10,000 of quality practice in their given field to get to where they are.

Now, as I think back to my college experience and how "well-rounded" it was, I wonder if it really was worth it. How many hours did I spend in class, on homework, and studying for classes that served no purpose to get me where I want to be? These required gen-ed classes probably cost me hundreds of hours that I could have used to better prepare me to be a better fitness professional (would I have used them to do that? I don't know, but work with me here). The classes that I took that actually have helped me along my path, including graduate school, could easily have been done in about 3 years.

To be honest, I think the most well-rounded people are great for Trivia games, and carrying conversations with people they don't know, which can be valuable.

I guess I'd argue that it's more valuable to be extremely knowledgeable in a single field rather than fairly knowledgeable in every field.

Thoughts?

Jon

Understanding Strength

I hear many people come to me with their "Whoa is me" tales of not being able to make any progress with their exercise routine. Many claim they can't get past plateaus even though they spend 5 days a week in the gym. Some have no idea why they can't lose those last 10 pounds, or gain 10 pounds, or do a push up, or a pull-up, or whatever the case may be. My personal favorite is when I hear the defeatist cry that "It's my metabolism", not having any clue what the word even means, assuming it's a genetic set-point like body temperature that can never change.

Well it can change. In fact, the physiological quality that best predicts metabolic rate is lean muscle mass. That's right, the more lean mass the higher the metabolic rate, the easier it is for you to get more work done and burn more fat. And unlike a lot of studies that show correllations with no reasonable argument for cause and effect, the act of increasing muscle mass will in fact increase your metabolism. Obviously this isn't the only way to lost pounds, but it is a very important component.

So here's where the problem lies: How do we build lean mass? Being a naive (fairly) young trainer, I thought everyone had a good understanding on how to build strength, but it has become clear that most gym-goers have no idea even with all the science available to them to help them out. Don't take offense if this is you, but most men who workout on their own go into the gym with no real plan (other than "it's a bench day, or today is back and bi's). Most women who go will invariably spend 30-60 minutes rotating between their favorite pieces of cardio equipment while they read about 9 ways to please their man (Hint: if none of them include leaving us alone during the game, find a new magazine. But I digress), followed by a few isolation "strength" exercises.

And what they (you!) will both do is pick your exercises and do 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps every single time. The volume never changes, the rep scheme never varies, and you try to add a little bit of weight each time (men) or use the same (extremely) light weight to try to lose their trouble areas (women). You know what else never changes? You. You'll make progress for a few weeks, then either give up or just plateau and the excuses start flying.

So how do we build strength while avoiding plateaus? Once you've adjusted to a strength training routine, you need to adjust the volume, intensity, and exercises to keep things fresh. One of the simplest ways to do this, while keeping the same exercise routine for several weeks, is to have a pre-planned variance with your sets/reps and overall volume.

Here's an example of a very basic exercise list I might use with an average client:

1a) Walking lunges
1b) Push-up progression
2a) Stability ball bridge (hip extensions)
2b) Lat pulldown
3a) Front planks
3b) Stability ball side sit-ups

Now, three of these would use resistance (lunges, push-ups, and lat pulldown, and even side sit ups in some cases). The average person would do 3 sets of 8-10 reps. The total volume, for say lunges, would be 30 reps x external resistance. In keeping the volume the same every day, the only way to progressively overload (KEY for making progress) is to add weight every session.

Well this will only work for so long before we teeter out. So we need another way to progressively add volume. So what were the other factors? Sets, reps (you could also include rest intervals). This gives us 3 other ways to increase our volume without ever even changing the weight! Here's a set/rep scheme for 4 weeks that I might use with the lunges and push ups. This is written for someone who may be working out 4x/week.

Week 1: 3x10 each (30 total reps)
Week 2: 4x6 each (24 reps)
Week 3: 4x10 each (40 reps)
Week 4: 2x10 each (20 reps)


You'll notice the volume goes up and down from week to week; this is a great way to allow the muscles to regenerate without taking time off. I stole this pattern from Eric Cressey's Maximum Strength protocol, where week 1 is high volume, week 2 is medium, week 3 is very high, and week 4 is low. It has been very effective as I've been going through his 16 week program myself.

The key to making programs like this work however, are understanding how to use the sets/reps schemes. I have been really surprised at the number of people who would pick the same exact weight for 4 sets of 6 reps, as they would for 3 sets of 10.

If you want to make progress you must pick a weight that challenges you for that set! In other words, the last 2 reps should be a little slower, and much harder (but done with perfect form) if you want to continue making progress.

This was just a very basic example, and designing programs can get to be a lot of fun with committed clients who you can really make a difference with.

I turned this post into kind of a ramble, but hopefully some of it made sense and gave you a couple of principles you can apply to your own workouts if you aren't already.

Jon