Every profession (and I'm using that term loosely in reference to my own) has terms, sayings, whatever, that make people in that profession cringe every time they hear them. These are mostly made up pseudo science terms that have a BS definition. Sometimes these are real scientific terms that are bastardized to mean something other than what they actually mean, in the rest of the world. Honorable Mention: Momentum Momentum as used in "fitness"- think Planet Fitness, no more than a 50lbs dumbbells we don't judge unless you unless you dead lift, grunt or try to do anything worthwhile, in which case you don't fit our mold and we judge you to be a "Lunk". Don't … [Read more...]
Groundhog Day, Training, Bill Murray and Doing the Same Thing All the Time
February 2, 2012 by
Groundhog day, the Bill Murray movie, not the actual "holiday" that centers around Punxsutawney Phil, describes most gym goers workouts...... metaphorically speaking that is. Many people do, the same thing day after day. Basically they heard something, somewhere, and decided that X,Y,Z was the ticket and eventually, if they bang their head into the wall hard enough, a magical switch will take place and they'll be in great shape all of a sudden. Never mind that Albert Einstein guy: Think about it, how many people get on the treadmill everyday and run their ass off, at the same pace, in hopes of a better body but never get anywhere? Or worse that damn … [Read more...]
Beginners Suck…and it’s the “Trainers” Fault
January 26, 2012 by
While it's getting to the end of New Years resolution gym rush time, there are still some more motivated guys and gals who have hung on. These people are still beginners, I'm talking like total newbies. Yeah, they bought an issue of Men's Health or whatever and they took the centerfold, fold-out, workout out of it and they carry it around the gym and so the exercises for the sets and reps prescribed, but let's face it, they suck. Now they don't suck a little, like as in, not good or that's wrong, but they suck a LOT- a- bit. This isn't to bash on these folks, they've overcome a lot just to get to this sucky point and quite honestly it's not entirely their … [Read more...]
Great video about Stress and Training
January 18, 2012 by
http://youtu.be/tZSTywt1tpU hat tip http://www.benbruno.com/ … [Read more...]
Stop Doing This: Plyometrics
January 17, 2012 by
Earlier this week I had a discussion with one of the better, for sake of a better word let use, "athletes" at work.... He's early to mid 30's in really good shape and ran track in college, now he's part of a special campus security team. He asked me about "plyometric" workouts..... I knew it was going to be bad.... It was he had gotten a workout off of the interwebzzz that called for 3 sets of 3 exercises for sets of 10-12 each..... plyo's are NOT body building...nor should we use the DeLorme method. It just ain't right....plyometrics are about speed and power. So this is the basics of what I told him: First off 99% of what people call plyometric is … [Read more...]
Wired or Tired, why your nervous system is screwing you up……
January 12, 2012 by
Stress...everybody has it. Doesn't matter who you are and what you do, you have stress in your life. What is important is to manage stress as best as possible. The catch 22 is that ALL things are stressful...ie they cause a response through the nervous system. All inputs cause a reaction in the Central Nervous System or CNS. The nervous system is the main controlling and communicating system of the body. Every thing we do, feel and think consciously or unconsciously is directed by the nervous system. The communication between the nervous system and the body is through electrical and chemical signals that move rapidly and to specific areas allowing for … [Read more...]
New Year, New (Jacked Up) You!
January 3, 2012 by
New Years resolutions gotta love em. They say number one is to lose weight and number two is to exercise more....they kinda go together but I digress... Lot's of new people in the gym today, the regulars are pissed and the newbies seem to be either A. Frustrated (they have no clue whats going on) or.... B. Here way too long doing waaaaaayyyy too much...somebody is going to be really sore tomorrow. and there was a guy doing "CrossFit" or so he said. It looked more like a 10 minute long spasm with a dumbbell in his hand. PEOPLE, WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY? It's great people want to get in shape but seriously, do you really think it's good to go from zero … [Read more...]
Beginners and Desk Jockey Syndrome
December 21, 2011 by
I've been doing this whole training thing for a while now and I can honestly say that 99% of all the people I train have the same problems when they first come to me. Mainly they sit toooooo much. This results in (from head to toe): Upper Cross Sydrome: Extended cervical spine (head pushed forward), tight pecs, weak underactive scapular retractors and tight upper traps Poor pelvic alignment: Usually to the anterior... Caused by weak glutes, hamstrings, tight hip flexors, tight spinal erectors and weak abs. Basically everyone gets "desk jockey syndrome". We sit in front of a computer hunched over waaaay too much and end up with like this... As a trainer we have … [Read more...]
