Newsletter #10
Message from the Founder...
Fitness professionals, coaches, and trainers are usually put on this higher pedestal by their clients are gym members. I understand why...they have knowledge, physical fitness, and have reached success, while the client needs those attributes to reach his/her goal. After all, those in pursuit of a goal are inspired by those they have reached success. Look at the show "Biggest Loser", which every year starts a frenzy of copy-cat weight-loss programs in commercial gym across America. No doubt that show inspires viewers to get up off their ass and do something positive for their health, but it should also inspire the personal trainer, coaches, and fitness professionals to go the extra distance for their clients...to work harder, plan better, and care more about them. Every season I have watch that show, it inspires me when I see the strength and mental toughness that builds within these overweight individuals. The will, that was once thought to not exist, flourish out in a sea of competitiveness, euphoria, and achievement. They inspire me to become a better fitness professional, trainer, and coach.
So I dug into my archives and found pictures of clients, some old and new, and realized I had been inspired by their transformation a LONG time ago. I had forgotten the many times I had clients cry to me about how miserable they were about their weight, and later cry tears of joy when they accomplished their goal. I had forgotten the times when clients were too shy training in front of mirrors, and then pouring out confidence when they can see their deltoid for the first time. Every challenge they failed they asked for me to repeat it, and accomplished it. Others noticed these achievements and congratulated them, interviewed them, and mostly, were inspired by them. I put together a compilation of my clients titled, "The Power of Reciprocal Inspiration." These are real life people that have come to me over the years seeking out help. You won't find touched-up 'before and after' photos or fake tans, these are REAL people that have inspired me to keep doing what I love to do--inspire and get inspired! (click to activate video below and turn on volume)
"The Power of Reciprocal Inspiration"
Roundtable Discussion
The Roundtable Discussion has been, for the most part, made up of my colleagues: fitness professionals, trainers, coaches, and experts. However, my good friend JP Franceour allowed me to begin a Roundtable Discussion on his forum, which is no ordinary fitness forum, as it includes some of the brightest minds to enter a squat cage.
Okay, we all look to one another for exercise program ideas, advice, or feedback--whether its in a book, magazine, or online article. But each successful exercise program has to have certain commonalities to make it successful, popular, and easy to follow. So, I ask:
What are 3 things that YOU suggest one should look for before starting an exercise program?
Rick Karboviak: (read more of Rick's responses)
1. Program Design: Is the theory behind the set up sound? Will it help you to achieve your goals? Does it appear to be well-balanced (ie not overdevelop one area while ignoring another)?
For example, if your goal is strength gain, a program designed for fat loss would not be what you are looking for. Also, if a program only includes one or two leg exercises and eight different bicep exercises, it probably isn't the most thoughtfully designed program!
2. Exercise Selection: Are the exercises largely functional, multi-joint/multi-planar or are they isolation? Does it include some fun/different exercises that you don't do a lot of? Do you have the equipment to perform the listed exercises?
For example, if you workout at home, and the program calls for lots of Olympic style lifts and you don't have that equipment, it would be difficult to make those substitutions. If the program has you doing a series of machine exercises, I would say to walk away from it.
3. Duration: How much time per day can you spend exercising? How long will it take to complete each session? If the program promises to be done in a certain period of time, does it look feasible to actually perform the workout in that time frame?
If you are a busy person with only 45 minutes to spend in the gym 5 days per week and the program calls for double sessions which would each take an hour, then that won't work for you. If the program promises to be done in 30 minutes, but includes 20 different exercises at 3 sets of 15 reps with 60 second rest periods, then you know you won't be done in 30 minutes!
Steve Payne: (read more of Steve's responses)
1) If one is going to hire a trainer to work with them, be prepared to investigate not only their credentials, but their references for success. Too many people I have witnessed over the years hire a trainer simply upon the physique and word of said trainer. As Clarence Bass once aptly noted, "A 20 inch bicep is not the badge of bodybuilding (or strength training) expertise." Just because a trainer can produce results in his own body does mean he can translate that same ability to another.
2. Injury: How likely am I to injury myself (especially due to a lot of near max lifts or complex/skill requiring lifts that I am not confident in doing)
3. Am I going to enjoy it? (and therefore continue doing it)
2. Exercises supersets: I try not to mess with a workout too much and some workouts aren't possible without using stations at two ends of the gym, and usually pissing people off as some times of day there are more people then space in the gym
3. Do I like the "look" of the workout: I have preconceived ideas about what an exercise program should look like. If its too out there then I won't try it. IE: backwards walking on treadmill, too much isolation work.
2. Theory or philosophy. Why is it put together the way it is? What's the logic behind it? Who is it targeting? Do I agree with the reasoning?
3. Effectiveness. Are people actually getting good results with it? Who are the people getting good results? Why? What are the negative things being said about it? Why?
I consider 1 and 3 to be the real determinants; two is mostly an intellectual exercise, albeit one that's a personal hobby.
1. Novelty. Is there something in this workout that I haven't tried before? It doesn't have to be a major difference. I just want some reason to think I'm going to get a unique physiological response.
2. Theory. I'm with PowerMan on this. I've been working out for 37 years, since I was 13. I've been writing about it for 15 years, since I started working at Men's Fitness. I've been a certified trainer since '97, a CSCS since '01. So when I look at the elements of the program, novel or basic, I want to have an idea why the program was designed like this, beyond "the trainer says to do it this way."
3. Exercise selection. Some exercises I just can't do well. My right shoulder's been barking at me since January, and I can't do dips or barbell bench presses. So if I look at the program and see exercises that I can't do right now, I first try to figure out if I can substitute others and get the same effects. If it doesn't look like I can, then I'll probably look for a different program.
2. Does it match my current goals? Would I have to make excessive adaptations in the routine to get it on par with my goals.
3. Will it keep my interest? I have major ADD when it comes to exercise routines (as many may know) so something with frequent changes will do better with me than one that keeps the same routine for an extended period of time.
2-Ease of use-I need a well timed program and a program that can be used in the gym or at home pretty easily. If subs need to be made then they are few and easy to see how they can be.
3-Fun-I love training but even I get bored sometimes. I need something that spices it up every once in a while.
Do I care who designs it and marketing of that design?
I don't care who designs it but I do care if it has met with real world trial. Just throwing some numbers together and calling it a AMAZING MUSCLE BUILDING/FAST LOSS PROGRAM! is pretty crap to me. A lot of magazine programs and sales page programs never saw a gym before some poor schmuck went to try them out. Any program I release or use gets tons of prior guinea pigging, pictures kept, stats taken, journaling, etc. From that I alter and change things, etc. So I don't care if you are a nobody, but you better be testing things on somebody.
As far as marketing I am going to take a note from Jim Labadie
The market decides.
I use to try and correct women when they used the word "tone" and explain to them what this was and that was. I don't really bother because it just scared them away and made them think I didn't get that they didn't want a "bulky" look. The women on this forum are a RARE breed, as are the men too. With everything in our culture there are things that are popular and things that are not. The average jane and joe decides. So if me having big typing gets a women to eat more food and not starve, so be it. I have no choice, the market decides. I will do what I can within that market to still try and provide the best product I can, then maybe if I get on the inside enough and my voice is heard more I can do more to make a difference.
2: Can I do it? If I don't have the time or the equipment than it's a shit program for me. Even if it matches my goals perfectly it *can't* be done.
3: It needs to be simple. I train at 0600. I don't start thinking until about 0830. If the program requires anything more complicated than "Do A, B, C" then it's not going to work.
Question B:
Integrity is a big thing for me. As brilliant as some people are, there are other people that are brilliant too. Most folks are smarter than me, which is fortunate because learning opportunities are around every corner. I choose to learn from those whom I don't feel have lied or tried to take advantage of me.
Bottom line for me is that there are just too many people out there that are good giving out free and pay for information for anyone to be an ass. Most "good" training concepts are so similar and basic that any particular trainer can drop off the world and it be irrelevant in terms of "people smarter than me that I can learn from".
(2) Number of days a week. Will this routine allow me to fit in the workouts and still be able to work without being exhausted, or will it simply ask too much of me at this time? Anything more than 4 days a week usually catches up to me. On the flip side, only 3 days a week would leave me antsy. So at this point, I look for 4-day routines. Picky, but it's what I know works for me.
(3) Strength. I know this might seem like a given, at least to most people around here, but it's definitely not always the case with those who write some of these published programs. Will I at least maintain strength during this routine? I don't want to lose 10 pounds of fat at the expense of all my lifts. I can regulate the hell out of my nutrition, but if the program isn't right, I could suffer for it. This sort of ties into #2, in that it's really about recovery. I know what I can and cannot do, and I've lost strength during certain periods because I chose a routine poorly. If you're constantly demonstrating exercises for people all day, spotting them, carrying dumbbells to them... it can catch up to you.
I wouldn't touch a program that didn't have proven results. Being into many aspects of science, I don't necessarily downplay scientific theory on weight training, but I feel there is alot of work to do on many aspects of it before we can have a 'scientifically proven' program. For me, primarily training for strength, I want to be doing a program that strong people are using. If I look at the people doing a program, and everyone is moving a 1/4 of the weights I do, I usually end up dismissing it pretty quickly.
2. Adaptations to ME
Some techniques don't do shit for me, and some are great. If there is only a single exercise or rep scheme that can be used, it doesn't work for me. Why do high reps for me? It sure as hell doesn't make me stronger, or make me grow. Yet, there are people out there much bigger then me that live off of high rep stuff. If I feel, say, my back is a weak part of me, I want to work my back harder then other parts until I fix it. But johnny over there, may have weak legs, why would we do the same thing?
On that note, if I go to the gym and I'm supposed to do, say, deadlifts, but I sure as hell don't feel like doing deadlifts, if I do them, I'm not going to get much out of them. Maybe, I can do some squats that I would rather do instead and actually get something of the workout. I never want to go to the gym with much more of a 'plan' then
-push something heavy
-pull something heavy
-push something a bit lighter
-pull something a bit lighter
3. Do-ability
I got to be able to stick with it for some time and not get bored. Get bored = loss of motivation = less intense workouts = less results for me. I have to have the equipment, I'm not going to 1/2 ass a program because I don't have the equipment. Its got to fit into my schedule, some weeks I like to train more, some less.
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