Client Doesn't Like to be Touched

My client Ed is a 63-year old business tycoon that isn't in the best shape. He is about 30 pounds overweight, inactive, and loves his scotch. When I met him 5 weeks ago he expressed his desire to feel better and become healthier. He also wants to improve his golf game. Well, when I took Ed through my initial assessments I tested his flexibility with a modified NASM overhead squat test and his shoulder mobility. Ed complained of shoulder problems so I wanted to take a look at his scapular mobility. During the assessment I palpated his shoulder blades. Ed seemed a bit agitated during my palpation, so I asked him if he was alright. He replied "Yes".

I thought nothing more of it.

For our second workout, we performed some static stretching to help increase his overall flexibility. As I had Ed lie down, I proceeded to lift his leg up to assist in stretching his hamstring. He seems to be getting agitated again. I began to think Ed didn't like to be touched. My rationale was that Ed is a big-time business owner that not many people can get close to him (except for family and friends), so I suppose Ed keeps a professional distance from others. So I wanted to spring up a question to Ed that would clarify my thoughts. I said to Ed:

"Ed, you should really think about getting some regular sessions with a massage therapist to loosen up these muscle knots".

As I waited attentively for his response, Ed replied, "John I would but I don't like to be touched".

So, I thought to myself without making this into too big of a deal, I wondered how can I get Ed to increase his flexibility without being assisted by me? As a personal trainer, challenges are part of the job. But the goal of the client is always important and should never be forgotten. So what did I do? I went and purchased Ed a Stretching Strap. I instructed him how to use it and now, instead of being hindered by this small obstacle, I am still able to get my client to achieve what is best for him. I'll keep you posted on his progress...

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3-D Arms Podcast!

Do you want eye-popping arms that stretch those sleeves? Do you want to be part of the "gun-show" or better yet, do you want to be the whole damn show? I posted a new episode to the standAPART podcast this week. It is based on my new article "3- Dimensional Arms" available at standAPART.



Listen to the podcast here: http://standapartnews.mypodcast.com/2008/04/How_to_Achieve_3D_Arms-104567.html

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Combating Trainer Burn-out

I think as a personal trainer, becoming "burnt out" is a major reality in the field. As with any other profession you dedicate all your energies to, the risk of becoming burnt out is always there. I became burnt out in 2004....that is why I partially left personal training full-time (35+ clients/weekly) to pursue management. I figured if I was a manager, I could step away from the constant responsibility of motivating clients that would not give me 100% effort; or design exercise programs constantly to combat boredom; or stop listening to the whining and excuses. So, I managed trainers for 3+ years and taught them all I knew. While I did do some personal training on the side, I liked management. I am a 'numbers' guy...so I like handling budgets, trainer's monthly quotas, and negotiating salaries.

But I missed the human aspect of personal training. I missed the chance to really change people's lives. Al the things I knew contributed to my burn-out, were the things I missed. So I returned to full-time personal training. I still do some management, but it is minuscule compared to the facilities I did manage. So how do I prepare myself for burn-out this time?

Here are a couple of tips if you are a personal trainer:

1.) Dictate your schedule - set aside the times you want to work. I know far too many trainers that work from 5am -8pm and try to live life in between appointments. Big mistake. Figure out when you want to work: mornings/day/or evenings and cement your schedule. Plan you life around the day, not when-ever you have "free spots" in the day.

2.) Tell the client WHEN to come in - I always tell my clients, "pick a spot in the times I have available and that is the time slot you purchase." This way, this makes THEM adjust their day to yours. If they feel they are buying a hour in your day, it makes them feel they own it and will do their best to adhere to appointments.

3.) Make time to workout - Don't stop working out. I've been there...you get fat, lazy, and you feel like crap. If your outlook doesn't look pretty, it will translate to your sessions.

4.) Take days off - Sounds simple? Well, many trainers feel obligated to their clients and fear letting them down if they skip a session or take a week off. Take some personal days to energize and re-fuel.

5.) Talk to other trainers -Sounds corny, but it helps. Talk about common challenges. Usually, good trainers understand the woes of daily "client-transforming" and it helps sharing it with others.

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Orthotics Inhibit Growing Calves?

As a personal trainer, the importance of the feet and ground reaction relative to body movement has really interested me. If there is one area I tend to watch alot more on my clients and just when I am "people watching" it is feet. Your feet become the body's main leverage component and with good solid feet, you will have an enhanced performance in and outside of the gym. Recently, I was asked about orthotics. Well, if you are like me and believe that band-aids are temporary, then you will know my answer regarding orthotics.

Question: "John, I have severely flat feet and wear orthotics. I am a 22 year old male. I was wondering, I have always had skinny legs, specifically below the knee. I have been doing calf raises at the gym, which helped a bit but I have a feeling that the foot problem is contributing to the delay in muscle development? Am I wrong and if not, what else can I do to build the muscles in my legs below my knees."

Answer: You are partially correct. I would get rid of the orthotics. They are simply a band-aid for poor muscular and structural coordination in the feet. If you want to develop the soleus and lower leg muscles I encourage you to try wearing Nike Frees sneakers. They will enable the soles of your feet to make contact with the ground and thus, stimulate propriocepters (nerves) of the lower leg. If you have better activation of these muscles, they will grow. I think orthotics inhibit this, and thus, mask a structural problem due to lack of motor unit recruitment.

If you have ever seen the calves of gymnasts, they have well developed soleus and gastrocs, and tibialis (front) muscles. The reason being is that the majority of their performance is based on training done on the mat barefoot or with very thin soled shoes. If you look at old photos of Arnold (back in the day), the majority of his time time spent in the gym with Draper, Columbo, and Zane were barefoot and Arnold always contributed his calf development to training barefoot. Sounds funny, but we are just learning the significance of barefoot training. If yuo check out this article, you can learn more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89830802

Not all commercial fitness centers will allow their members to train barefoot (for health reasons), so the next best thing would be Nike Frees or Adidas Sambas or Chuck Taylors.

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I got your excuse right here...

I was watching the news and couldn't help but come across this EXTREME marathon. The next time you decide that you can't go that extra mile on the treadmill; or put that extra 10 pounds on the barbell...or you make an excuse to not go to the gym, think of the people that compete in this race: http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/Weather/story?id=4709544&page=1

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What does a BIG guy need?

Tom is a 49 year old client of mine who is a financial investor. He makes alot of money for other people...however with the unpredictable money market and raising oil prices, Tom has some serious ups and downs at work. Every Tuesday, Tom comes in at 4pm to basically relieve some stress. He was a former football lineman in college, plays golf and squash regularly, and is a very big guy (6'2", 230 lbs). He is also very athletic and able-bodied.

So what does a big guy need to be challenged and release some of the day's stress? You guessed it...BIG weights and BIG movements.

Here's what we did:

Circuit #1

• Cable woodchops in Lunge position 3x10
• DB Presses in Lunge Position 3x10
• Up/Downs with "C-Band" 3x12
• Reverse Ab Crunch 3x12

(Rest 40 seconds & repeat)

Circuit #2

• Incline Bench Press 3x8
• Med Ball PNF Patterns 3x12
• DB Rows 3x10
• T-Push Ups 3x6-8

(Rest 45 seconds & repeat)

Circuit #3

• Med Ball Squat (3x15)
• Biceps Curls (3x8)
• Ball Crunches (3x12)
• Farmer Walks (3 walks)

(Rest 45 seconds & repeat)

By the end of our session, a few passer-by'rs in the gym blurted "I bet your heart-rate is racing!". Before I can get a word out of my mouth, Tom looked up and replied, "yeah it is...but it doesn't mean shit".

His response was short and sweet...just like our workouts.

The others just shrugged their shoulders and went back to their seated machine presses with 20 lbs. and towel wrapped around their necks. Lesson: Heart rate is never an accurate indicator of intensity. It is one indicator, but never the absolute factor. Train hard to change. Period.

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Low Back Pain in Disguise

Six weeks ago, I met Avery who is a 53 year old avid golfer. Avery was a pretty good golfer and in pretty good shape. His bodyfat level was low and his flexibility was decent. His goal was to put on a little more muscle mass and gain some strength. I developed a program for Avery that included some foam rolling and mobility exercises, then followed with a couple of circuits of loaded compound movements. Well, on our off days, I would see Avery come into the fitness center and perform the windshield wiper exercise (see pic) as part of his warm-up. As I worked with another client, I wondered, "hmmm...I didn't give Avery that exercise". However, I let it go for the time being.

One day, Avery said to me, "you know my back has been hurting lately". I ran him through a number of questions trying to figure out if it is a certain exercise in the program that I developed for him that may be causing him back pain. I then asked him how long has he been performing the "windshield wiper exercise"? He replied "...the last 4 years". He then followed that with, "...I have gotten really good with it". He also added that a golf professional taught him that exercise specifically for golf.

Well, I asked him to stop performing THAT exercise.

He replied "Why?"

I answered, "It looks good that you have exceptional flexibility in your lower body to be able to touch the floor with the sides of your thighs, but my concern is your lower back area being exposed to TOO MUCH rotation."

If you follow golf training, rotation and golf go hand in hand. But, after reading the current findings on excessive rotation in the lumbar spine, I felt that Avery's consistent performance of the "windshield wiper exercise" is causing too much instability in the lumbar spine.

According to physical therapist Shirley Sarhamann, "...Rotation of the lumbar spine is more dangerous than beneficial and rotation of the pelvis and lower extremities to one side while the trunk remain stable or is rotated to the other side is particularly dangerous." (Sahrmann, pg. 72)

Most of the time, these exercisers have weak abdominals and poor transverse abdominal activation which causes "core bracing" to be insufficient.

Sarhamann added, "During most activities, the primary role of the abdominal muscles is to provide isometric support and limit the degree of rotation of the trunk which, as discussed, is limited in the lumbar spine." (Sahrmann, p. 70)

Once I presented Avery with my explanation, he gave me his word he would cease using that exercise in his warm-up. Fast forward to 6 weeks later....his low back pain magically disappeared.

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Too Flexible....Good or Bad?

I was able to catch the new Cirque de Soleil show "Kooza" here in Hartford this weekend. I was freakishly amazed at the skill level and pure thrill of acrobatic feats that left the audience gasping for air and clenching on to their seats. It was truly a mind-blowing experience. I guess when people say they are "going away to join the circus", they really do end up in the circus!

One of the attractions that stood out among the dozen or so that showcased strength, balance, and showmanship, were the contortionists. These flexuous women blew the audience away with their malleable body positions and sheer steadiness. As a fitness professional, I sat in my chair wondering how mobile can one be in certain positions? How this degree of flexibility can be achieved at such a high level without experiencing any pain?

Dr. Stuart McGill, in his book "Ultimate Back Fitness & Performance" stated that excessive mobility in the lumbar spine can cause injury to the lumbar facets and increase low back pain. So how do these women do it? How do they get away with performing these explicit moves every night for months at a time?

Well, later in the evening I went to dinner in Hartford with my girlfriend right around the corner from the Kooza tent. We had dinner at Max's Downtown (which is owned by my client, so we get some nice VIP treatment there :) About an hour into our dinner, a group a Cirque de Soleil performers walked in. I guess they gotta eat too, right? Well, in the group were the three contortionists!

To my surprise, these women were not women at all...they were no older than 15 years of age! When I realized these girls were responsible for such pliable positions, I considered that at such a young age, their bodies are "moldeable". You see, joint capsule structure at an early age is very supple and the ability for boney structures to become adaptable to "unnatural" positions is very much achievable with continued training and practice. So, I guess the lesson is when you have such skill as a contortionist, the only real thing you can do with it is....join a circus.

Do you think they need to foam roll?

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Certified Doesn't Mean Qualified

There seems to be this fallacy going around in regards to personal trainers calling themselves "strength coaches", or describing their experience as "training ELITE athletes". Whether you are a CSCS or a CPT, it seems that professionals assume that if they train "athletes", than they must possess a higher quality of instruction than someone who trains general population clientèle. (Note: General Population Client (GPC) means your average "joe" or "jane").

I love reading some of these BLOATED expert bios by trainers/strength coaches that are 25 years of age. Take this bio for example:

"He has successfully worked and consulted with a wide range of clients that include Olympic hopefuls, professional athletes, U.S. National teams, Division I athletes, nationally ranked high school athletes, fitness competitors and individuals seeking rapid fat loss and muscular gains. He is now a contributing writer to Maximum Fitness Magazine as well as various on-line magazines and newsletters. Jimmy is also a featured speaker at various seminars dealing with multiple topics from sports performance, fat loss, program design, human movement and body dysfunction. "

What we have here is a marketing ploy. I'll explain:

When you go to job interview and the time comes to discuss salary, you always shoot for more than what you want--in hopes of getting what you really can live with. For instance, if you can really live with $50,000/year, but you request $56, 000 as your initial requirement...it is your hope that you land somewhere in between. This "bluffing" game is carried over into the fitness world too. The marketing ploy is to take 2 or 3 experiences you had and blow them up into 20 or 30. Little white lies that become notches under your belt. Seem innocent, but when everyone under the sun does it and they are all under the age of 25, you have to wonder...

I'll be honest, I have trained maybe...22 athletes in my career--spanning from 1999 to today. Only 22 REAL athletes...college, high school, and semi-pro:

2 Hockey Players

8 Football Players

2 Baseball Players

4 Track & Field

1 Cheerleader

1 Squash Player

3 Golfers

1 Basketball Player

Out of the 200 + clients I have trained in my career, these guys were the EASIEST to train! There was no need to influence behavior modifications, provide reinforcement, assess dietary patterns, or enforce accountability. These athletes ALREADY knew what they had to do. They possessed great body coordination, were motivated, and wanted to get better. Mostly, they knew it was going to take hard work. GPC's "think" they know what it will take to change their physiques, but don't quite grasp the reality until that first of second session!

So, for any young strength coaches out there that have trained a handful of "athletic clients", please do not over-state your qualifications or credentials. Training athletes is not a "trophy"... it is easier in my opinion. And before you argue about training 100 athletes in a room...I'll take that over training 30 overweight individuals in a room that complain about every little muscle cramp, back twinge, or have difficulty squatting because they are carrying an extra 50 pounds of fat.

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Rest Periods Feel More Like...Rest!

My new client, Katherine, is a marathon runner who trained in Denver under 2 different trainers and is very active. I love these types of clients because they LOOK for challenges in their training programs. Well, Katherine explained that she has put on about 8-10 pounds since her last child and wants to take her strength-training up a level. Currently, her strength program was a joke...it consisted of isolated movements with pink dumbbells and conversations between sets with her partner. My biggest pet-peeve is when one is exercising and trying to have a conversation with a neighboring exerciser.

So I asked Katherine, "Where is the intensity?"

She said, "There is none".

I replied, "Then you just trouble-shooted your own program".

She answered, "I need you to show me HOW to train."

Wanna know what happened next?

Her program for 1 session:
Squat with DB Press
Squat with Medicine ball (PNF Pattern)
Single Leg Squat Reaches w/ MB
Push ups

Woodchops (hi to lo)
1 Arm DB Rows
MB Toss Squat
ball Crunches with Long DB Lever

She completed these 2 circuits with a 3rd circuit consisting of floor exercises. Each circuit was repeated 3 times. Rest in between circuits was kept under 30 seconds. The best line I heard from a client was when she looked at me with a sweaty face and panting breathe and said, "Man, this really makes rest periods feel like....well, I guess ...rest!"

Moral: Stop resting so long in between sets. Stop watching TV, talking, or reading in between sets of exercises. make your workouts more effecient...not LONGER!

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Unhealthy Teaching Health?

My colleague and boxing expert, Rob Pilger, loved my last blog post so much that he sent me this clip of Paul Chek explaining the "Last 4 Doctors You'll Ever Need". For anyone that doesn't know Paul Chek, he is a HIGHLY respected author, exercise physiologist, and fitness professional who possess in-depth knowledge of human behavior and its effects on physiology.
Rob (friend who sent me the link), loved my post regarding "Are Fit EXperts Supposed to be Fit?", that he had to send me this becuase Paul Chek did a much BETTER job at it than I did! Enjoy the clip!

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Weak Glutes Causing Low Back Pain?

Question:
Hello John, I suffer from alot of lower back ache which is caused and relieved by hamstring stretching. I've read that the cause of an increased lower back arch and tight hamstrings is weak glutes. I exercise my glutes with rock bottom squats which I feel hits them hard, yet the tight hamstrings and resulting bad posture continue. Is there some other way to tackle this? Thanks for any help!

Answer:
"Are your glutes sore after your "rock bottom" squats? Or are your quads sore? If glutes are weak, it may be because they do not fire when they are supposed to. It may be difficult to target your glutes with squats because you may already have compensatory patterns (that's why you already have weak glutes). In order to get your glutes to "fire", you need to isolate them and then integrate them into an exercise like the squat. To activate the glutes, I suggest lateral band walks, clam exercise, fire hydrants, or bird-dogs, and hip bridges. (Google these exercises if you are unfamiliar)
You may also need to examine the hip flexors. If the hip flexors of the front thighs are overly tight, they will inhibit the hamstrings and glutes. Hamstrings that are tight are not always strong. You may need to perform some flexibility exercises and foam rolling for this area.

Foam Roll (Self Myo-fascial Release - SMR)

• Hamstrings
• Calves
• Glutes

Stretch

• Hamstrings
• Hip Flexors (Psoas, Quads)

For intervention, follow these steps:

1. Follow the steps above to help alleviate the discomfort
2. After 3 weeks of following these steps (minimal 5 days/week), seek out a licensed massage therapist (LMT). Have deep tissue or trigger point therapy performed. In most cases, this can fix your problem.
3. If the problems persists, seek out a medical professional.

Hope this information helps.

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Leaving it on the Gym Floor

Today I worked out at my local commercial gym. Actually, its not that local for me. I drive about 15 minutes (2 towns over) to get to it. I pay for a year up front and I make every workout count. I don't spend alot of time there either....50 minutes tops. Sometimes, I'll go to 75 minutes. Seem short? Trust me, I get alot done and I don't waste anytime dilly-dallin'.
My gym has 9 HUGE plasma TVs on the walls that everyone watches while they workout. People actually sit on the machines and watch the TV overhead...making their rest periods about 5-10 minutes long!

I know what you are thinking..."John, like you don't watch the TVs?"

My answer is, "I glance up, but I never ABSORBED by what is on and my rest periods are ALWAYS below 30 seconds."

So what is my point? It seems that rest periods and lack of focus make workouts longer than they have to be and more importantly, ineffective. Everyone at the gym is always watching me "kill myself" and they probabaly think I am training "too hard", but I personally and professionally, understand that in order to change my physique, I need to take it beyond levels it is accustomed to. I'd like to think that my training has enabled me to lose 22 lbs over the last 2 months.
So my point is this: Stop choosing the treadmill next to the TV...stop wasting your time resting for so long in between sets (whatever the new recommendation coming from the ACSM or NIH)...and stop choosing to make your workouts so easy by using machines exclusively or choosing very light weights. Training is a job...changing the way you look and feel is a job....punch the clock and get busy!
End of rant :)

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Experience is the Best Teacher

Dr. Michael DeBakey pioneered numerous cardiovascular procedures, including the coronary bypass and the artificial-heart transplant. In 1954, he devised a technique to repair arteries using a Dacron tube he made on his wife's sewing machine. In 2006, he became the oldest survivor of the procedure he invented. At the age of 99, he notes the things he has learned through his professional life that has esyablished himself as a respected colleague in the medical field. I love reading things like this because the field of personal training doesn't always have to be about exercise, VO2 max, and increasing vertical leap. It has to do with learning from the ones we help--and the things we learn from others, whether they are obese, lazy, or helpless--still help us grow as people first...then professionals.

Hopefully, the circle-jerk clan of twenty somethings in the strength & conditioning/fitness field remember that its not always about tooting their own horn--but the grain of this profession is putting others first. Read Dr. DeBakey's lessons learned: http://men.msn.com/articlees.aspx?cp-documentid=6564495&GT1=32001

***Make sure you take note of #4.

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Fitness Choke Collars

Yesterday, I met with a prospective client named Veronica. Veronica is your typical 39 year-old mother who had gained about 30 extra pounds since giving birth to her son...almost 5 years ago. Veronica explained to me that she has tried everything under the sun to lose weight: she has met with nutritionists, homeopathic practitioners, personal trainers; joined walking groups; tried diets (South Beach & Atkins); purchased all the fitness equipment (elliptical & treadmill); and tried the popular meal plans (Weight Watchers & Jenny Craig). She even contemplated gastric by-pass surgery. It sounds like she has spent literally thousands of dollars on weight-loss products and programs, but failed at each and every one.


Before I go further, let me take a step back. For weeks, I used to watch Veronica come into the gym and hop on the elliptical and listen to her Ipod. As I watched her flip through the channels on the TV screen or talk to her neighboring exerciser about last weekend's dinner engagement, I noticed Veronica was missing one key ingredient in every workout I witnessed. Can you guess? It's call "intensity".

During my conversation with Veronica, I explained to her that she seems to be missing the intensity and drive needed to alter her body composition. We talked about the need to burn as many calories as possible in the least amount of time and how building muscle is going to be a necessity to combat the bulge that she tried so hard to lose for 5 years.

Well, when I gave her a chance to provide feedback on what I expected of her I noticed that her "choke collar" was tightening. Let me explain.

Veronica showered me with the following excuses as to why she doesnt work out too hard:

"I hate to sweat."

"I know I should be working out harder, but my knees will begin to hurt if I increase the resistance."

"Well, I thought I had to stay in a 'fat burn' zone".

"But I don't wanna get big...I just want nice, tone arms."

You see, after every excuse I felt that her choke collar was being pulled--much like a dog's owner steering their pet away from an unwanted destination. It seemed that Veronica's mind was programmed to stay on ONE track to achieving her goal which up until our meeting resembled hammering a square peg into a round hole.

It's funny how so many individuals who are overweight always try everything under the sun to lose the weight--tangible gagdets and fads that become wasted dollars and time. However, the useful tools that will help are the intangible ones that don't cost any money: Fortitude, commitment, tenacity, and desire. If Veronica REALLY possesses these 4 qualities, then using higher intensities during her training will loosen that collar up a bit...and eventually remove it.

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Runners: Don't Compare Strides!

Question: Hi John,I am 28 years old. I have been involved in sports since the very beginning. Off late I have starting running. I observe a major difference between the way I and other people around me run. My running stride is far too weak than the others and this has been a problem since childhood. I have been good at sports, but i fail to run very strongly or pick too much weigth in the gym. whereas people weaker than me(in physique) lift more weigth than me and have a better running stride. Can you please help me sorting out this problem. Are my leg muscles weak?? or maybe abdominals??

I would be really grateful for your help

Regards,
Rahul



Answer: "Without knowing your current fitness level, this is rather difficult to pinpoint what abnormality you think you may have. I'll give you a couple of guesses...

1.) Don't compare yourself to others because height and limb lengths play a factor in stride length.

2.) Don't compare yourself to others because muscle development and "muscle maturity" play a factor in stride length. Keep reading...

3.) Chances are you have a weak core. if you "bounce" as you run, your body tends to "leak" out power with each step. The weak intrinsic muscles of the core (hip complex, TVA, erectors) will not allow a efficient foot strike and therefore, you will have a "hop" to each step.

Here are some things you should do:
1.) Train in the gym barefoot or in Nike Frees. Why? Strengthening the foot muscles and soleus will ensure efficient foot "grabbing" with each step ensuring proper firing of the leg muscles.

2.) Strengthen the glutes. The butt is responsible for hip extension, so include some bridge work, clam exercises, and lateral walks (Google those terms if you are not familiar).

3.) Strengthen the core. Include planks, bridges, and side planks with some rotational work. Get with a good personal trainer in your area and have them show you how to do these exercises correctly.

Lastly, watch how you breathe while you run. If you are a chest breather, you will lose stride. As you inhale your stomach should expand...as you exhale, your stomach should draw in. If you do this this in reverse, your rib cage and diaphramic muscles will weaken as your distance increases. This will cause the entire body musculature to compensate leaving you with faulty stride form. Hope this helps". ~John

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Training Revolutions 4 is FREE

I made 2 announcements today in my member update mailing. The first announcement was this blog which I am looking forward to sharing as many of my opinions (how harsh as I wanna be) without worrying about pissing anyone off; crossing any forum administrators who wanna kiss the marketing experts' asses; and share my experiences with my present-day clientèle.

The second announcement was the Re-Release of Training Revolutions 4 as a FREE Download! Yes...after long deliberation with fellow authors I have decided to release it as a free download because I feel the info is too high-quality to be passed on. So visit the TR4 website and sign up for the download link and enjoy the 53 page edition. Look for TR5 in the summer 2008!

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There's Always Gotta Be One....

Funny little video made by a bunch of teens regarding the types of people that we have all run across at the gym. Funny thing is...these young punks look like some of the guys that get in my way at the gym :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCj8Yr290tE

PS: These are your Bodybuilding.com readers and posters.....

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Trying to be Everything to Everyone...

Recently, I answered a post regarding the angst that a trainer needs to be able to do spot muscle imbalances using NASM protocol rather than standard ROM assessments. The poster felt she was "missing the boat" without the knowledge. Well, here is the actual post:

"I feel so lost when it comes to assessments. It seems that NASM places emphasis on this. ACSM/NSCA touch on strength, endurance, and ROM assessments. They don't really go into muscle imbalances and things of this nature. I feel like I am missing the boat. Should I go for yet another certification (NASM) or should I start studying things like Gray Cook's Functional Movement Screen? Do any of our advanced/experienced trainers have any recommendations? I train women mainly. No athletes. Thanks for any advice. If you know of any good books, dvds, or workshops please post them."

My answer is what follows:

If you are training mainly general population, than you can get by with regular ROM assessments. I think spotting muscle imbalances can get a bit too frivolous and trainers without the proper understanding start concluding "client x has x muscle weak and x muscle tight". As trainers, we try to know a little about everything and this "spread" becomes our downfall. There is nothing wrong in specializing in certain areas and certain clients, and referring out to other professionals when you do not have an answer. We try to be guru's before we become experts and in my opinion, it becomes the profession's Achilles heel.

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Abs-So-Bad...

Question:
HI, I am a 22 yr old female who has played competitive basketball for about 8 years. I took a break from playing for about 8 months and haven't did a lot of running like i used to and thus I have gained just a little weight around my abdominal area. I have a nice defined pack(for a girl) and now it seems like i have too much fat(at least to me) around it. I want to get back in shape and have my body looking like it used to, especially my stomach. I weigh about 125 lbs. What can I do to get rid of that extra little weight around my abdominals and tone and define my pack more? please list specific exercises. Hope you can help. Thank you

Answer:
You answered your own question. You have been on a hiatus from working out and your have put on some weight. Get back into running and on a strength training program on 3-4 days, with cardio work 5 days a week for 20 minutes. Increase the intensity of any cardio mode you select. You can't burn fat just in one area so its useless for me to give you ab exercises. If you want progressive workouts, check out my website and click on the Foundation Workout link. You can print out a PDF of a sample workout. Hope this helps. ~John

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What to Expect...My First Post

So I decided to begin a blog. I read so many blogs by fitness professionals that are all good...but I feel are missing something. I figured I will create a blog that will enable readers to learn what life is like for a working personal trainer. Personal training is a book that seems to be always judged by the cover. I want to expose the inner pages of that book, and possibly connect on a familiar level with other fitness professionals that share in the same daily experiences. What my blog will provide is doses of reality, humor, motivation, recollect, "whistle-blowing", and maybe some "calling out". Including somes names...

Coming Soon...

Original Articles
Q & A
Daily Thoughts
Client Interactions
Name Dropping
Product Reviews
Punking some asses...

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