Take a Look Around

Too many times we as people like to look at the negative in our lives and wish for our stories to be different and full of excitement. We complain about the bad things that may happen and look for everyone around us to feel sorry for us in hopes that that will make us feel better. The reality of all of this is the fact that focusing on the negatives only leaves us to misery and creates a state of constant fear. Fear that every turn will have an unhappy ending.

Truth be told, I believe that our lives are determined by our outlooks. I doubt there has ever been a successful person who looked for the down side of every idea or the sadness out of every event. Success comes from positivity and positivity comes from success. The law of attraction states that energy creates energy meaning positive thoughts and feelings bring positive results and vice verse. To me, this is how religion works. Hope and positive beliefs are created throughout a community and through this good things come to those who keep faith. You don't have to be religious however to bask in this effect. Looking for the good in every situation and every event can bring more success your way than just being good ever could.

One simple activity to help create this lifestyle and better your overall mood is to take a look around. Sit down and look around you and your life. Look at the people you have, the things you have succeeded at, the joys you have had. Look at the possibilities that surround you and the abilities you have. As I write this I am sitting alone in the middle of my gym. I look around at the chalk on the platform, the chains that hang from the rack, and the plates of all sizes. I see areas where people have lifted new personal records. I envision the fun that has been had within these walls. It reminds me of the success I have had to make it to this point. I think of all of the people who have been behind me to get to this point from my business partner to my closest friends to my clients. I think back to the time this was just a dream and now I realize that it was this positivity that had gotten me here. Embracing the good around me and ignoring the negative. I have failed and I have went through rough spots, but I was never able to stop seeing the good around me. I used that and I will continue to use that.

Don't get me wrong, I have my times of sulking, but when it comes down to it, I remind myself of the abilities I have, the people supporting me, and the opportunity in front of me and I suck it up and enjoy the ride, knowing I am on the path to great success.

Derby Season

Well, it is Derby season here in Louisville and that means the Mini Marathon. I understand the thrill to run continuously for that long as much as I understand Calculus two (I got a D in calculus two and it was the end to my "math major" days). I can appreciate the challenge and I commend those who take it on but for those who make this their life, I question you...Anyway, I want to say congrats to two of my clients for completing the mini marathon this morning and doing it in a time that surpassed their goals. Nick and Mary Beckmann have been training with me for close to a year now and decided to take on the challenge of the mini. They did an amazing job with all of their training and it showed today. Mary has a sprint triathlon in June and then it is time to get them both back into the strength game. Lifting heavy and doing intervals...that's what I understand. But again, congrats to them and I am proud of them for taking on the challenge and crushing it!

On another note, Derby season also means my birthday...I accept presents of all kinds.

Deal of the Day!

I was browsing my Facebook news feed the other day and I noticed a post and conversation about bootcamps. Being a fitness professional and business owner I continued to read the conversation and realized there is a thought process that is misled throughout much of the public. I will preface all of this with this statement: I am extremely proud to say that the public image of fitness is shifting in the right direction and the thought of "all cardio all the time" is starting to lessen. With that being said, people are still not exactly sure on the correct route to good health and strength and many mistakes are being made. This was the case with this Facebook conversation I witnessed. The post read something about being excited for bootcamp; From there friends began to ask where the bootcamp was being held. It was a business that ran a "deal of the day" ad and was for a month trial. More people began to discuss the "deal of the day" fitness ads they had purchased and how they were going to try other "deal of the day" ads as they came. None of these people planned on staying with the same trainer/business/program for more than 6 weeks. Don't get me wrong, I am cheap as can be and love to save money when I can and I love these ads as a consumer and business owner. However, as a fitness professional, I hate to see people jumping from one program to the other month after month because of the next deal. There are a number of things wrong with this.

The biggest problem with people jumping from one deal to the other is the lack of program design. I am not saying that these companies posting the deals are not good at what they do, they are; people are just not giving them enough time to see it. Strength and conditioning programs (good ones) are just that: programs. It's not about single workouts but the program as a whole. Each day builds upon the last and each month is a progression from the start. If you look at athletic training programs, they are built into months and even years. The coach looks at the year as a whole and develops it into specific periods and focuses. If an athlete was to do 6 weeks and then start something completely different they would not see the benefit they get from a consistent set-up. Fitness programs need to be given time so that they can progress to where they need to be and continue the challenge. The worst thing one can do for their body is bring inconsistency with workouts and do all zumba one month, bootcamp the next, and Pilate's the following. That will get you no where in terms of a strong healthy body. Each can play a role but they must be coordinated specifically, not by whats cheapest.

Another problem with deal jumping is a lack of connection. Getting a trainer or coach is like having a new relationship. Similar to a doctor, it is important that one's trainer knows specific details about that person from causes of stress to injuries to motivational techniques to even personal problems. All of these factors lead to better programming and better coaching. I don't think there is anyone out there that would switch doctors every month and start fresh. That would be crazy, and so is switching trainers. If there is a lack of connection with a trainer or a lack of performance, then a switch may be needed. But once you find a good trainer, why switch just because of a cheaper price? Get to know a trainer or coach and give that relationship time to develop. A good relationship will lead to better results, I promise that.

The third problem I see comes more from a business aspect. If someone is switching programs month to month, it seems to me that none of those programs are delivering an experience worth staying. Just as I talked about above, the training experience is just that, an experience. A solid program is extremely important but also the ability to give knowledge to the clientele about why, how, what, and when is just as important. If people don't know why they are doing what they are doing then they have no reason to stay. It needs to be explained why it takes more than a few weeks to get the full benefit or why there can't be switching of programs every month. Trainers and coaches need to make sure they are building a relationship based on care and knowledge. I believe if this is given early on and its sincere and correct, people will have no reason or desire to leave.

I want to make this clear: I have no problems with "deal of the day" ads or people who buy those. I have used these sites before both as a consumer and a seller and I plan to use them again in the future. These sites are a great place t find new local businesses and get great deals. I just want to urge people to avoid jumping from fitness program to fitness program each and every month or each time a new deal comes a long. There are a ton of businesses promoting on these sites so its hard to choose, but do some research and learn about the programs. If it fits, try it out. Like it, then stay with it. Let these professionals develop you and the program where it needs to be. I know with us and Everyday Athlete it is a constantly progressing program where each month builds upon the last. It is all about creating longevity and strength. Give it at least 3 months and see why its called a "program" and not just workouts.

Trainer or Coach...What's the Difference?

The fitness industry has grown exponentially over the past couple of decades. More and more individuals are seeking professional help to aid in reaching fitness and physique goals. At the beginning of this fitness craze, not a lot of thought was given in picking a professional; however, with more and more exposure coming to the forefront; prospective clients are taking it more seriously by using a specific process. What should we be looking for when trying to seek help and what are the red flags? Is more education better? Is it the amount of letters that follows the name of my future trainer? Or should it simply be what a trainer looks like that makes the decision because I know if I am trying to improve my looks, my trainer better be walking the walk as well…

As a fitness professional, I have seen a variety of markets: from collegiate strength and conditioning to physical therapy centers to big box gyms; I have had coaches and I have had trainers. Each had a different vibe, both good and bad, and taught me a lot about a holistic approach to fitness. There are two types of fitness professionals: trainers and coaches. Picture both of these people in your head. Trainers tend to be viewed as the gum chewing, rep-counting, airheads that can’t stay out of the gym so they get a job there. Coaches are portrayed as an older gentleman with a whistle and a stopwatch yelling, “drop and give me 20!” In reality, both of these are wrong; I do believe, however, that one is better than the other.

From my experience, the trainer is the one who has a new workout every session, counts every single rep out loud, and has a mission to make you feel exhausted and run down by the end of each day. Truthfully, if your only desire is to lose some weight then this method will work. If you want to improve your life all around by getting stronger, leaner, and pain free, this will not get the job done. You can only go all out for so long before your body decides it has had enough and begins to break down. Not to mention, why would you want to go back to the gym if you threw up twice last week and almost passed out the week before? I know I wouldn’t.

There are over 150 personal training certifications out right now and many of them can be obtained by taking an online quiz with payment of  a small fee. Truthfully, all the letters after a trainer’s name do not mean a whole lot. At the same time, an individual can read every textbook and double major in exercise science and biomechanics, but if that person doesn’t understand how to apply their knowledge then it means absolutely nothing. This is not to say that education is not important, because it is, but real world experience is where actual knowledge is found.

Coaches are those who do exactly that, COACH. They take the time to make sure each exercise is perfected, that the client’s progress is monitored, and they understand how to adjust and tweak a training program based on outside factors such as illness, stress, or even just “one of those days.” A coach plans out a program, consisting of weeks, months, and even years. There are goals that a client comes in with and there are goals that a coach will have that take into consideration the health and strength of a client. It’s not just about the number on the scale; it is about creating a body that can function easier for a longer period of time. It’s about helping an individual achieve things they never thought possible. When a client deadlifts a couple hundred pounds for the first time, it is an amazing feeling for both the client and the coach. Trust me, I have been on both sides.

So when it comes down to it, seeking a professional’s guidance is a costly thing, both monetary as well as personal. You are putting your health and body into the hands of another. Do some research and make sure you know whom you are going to be working with. If you just want to drop pounds and want a quick fix, a trainer can get you that. If you are looking for a life change and want to reach goals you have only imagined, get a coach. I have worked with a lot of trainers and I have worked with a lot of coaches, and not to knock anyone, but the coaches I have worked with have taught me a lot more and had a much wider view of their clients and athletes than any of the trainers I have known. I will simplify it with this – a trainer has techniques and tools that can only get you so far, a coach has a philosophy that can change your life.

Dance Party

We have been working quite hard on getting the new facility cleaned up and set up and if all goes as planned we should have the bulk of everything done by the end of the weekend. There has been a lot of remodeling, painting, and cleaning and I feel pretty good about the changes we have made. When we first walked in to this building it was quite a shit hole. However, after a week of work we turned it into a hole, and now it has blossomed in to quite a nice little gym. I haven't slept much over the past couple of weeks because of the work but I am quite alright with that being I will be able to train out of my own facility! We will be inviting everyone out to see it within the very near future and training will be starting next week. If anyone is more interested in training check out our website, http://www.cpifitness.com/, or email us at cpifitness@gmail.com. Until then check out the new dance craze, The Duckbutt, as well as some more dancing over at the facility...

Refocus

Every year many of us (if not all of us) make a New Years Resolution. At the very least we all set goals at the beginning of the year for things we want to accomplish during the next 12 months. These things range from fitness to work to personal life. January is a restart of sorts and creates a motivation in everyone. The problem lies in the length of time this motivation lasts. Everyone who belongs to or works in a commercial gym sees this first hand. The New Year brings a big rush of people and for a couple months every night seems more crowded than the last. However, March and April roll around and people start to fade off, and those New Year goals seem to be forgotten. This happens with every type of goal though.

As I was sitting in my car today eating lunch before coming to the library I was reevaluating my life right now and the goals I had set for myself a couple months ago. What I realized was I am slipping in a few areas.

Rewind back to January and my ambitious goal-setting self. I set out at the beginning of the year wanting to get my business up and running, better my people skills, and take care of the small things in my life. As far as the small things go I considered anything from flossing my teeth every day to saying hi to people I passed during my day. In truth, I didn't expect to succeed at saying hi to every single person nor did I expect perfection in my day to day tasks. What I did expect though was a conscious effort to better myself and my actions through focusing on the menial tasks.

Back to today...I was sitting there and started thinking about those goals and what actions I am taking to reach those goals. The business part is working. I am in the process of opening a facility with my partner Brad Longazel and I have a lot of passion and excitement going into that. My day to day tasks, however, have been slacking lately. I don't do the things I need to to better myself on a day to day basis. I have gotten lazy and sometimes frustrated. These things happen and then I push everything out of the way. It is time for me to refocus. The end of March is just a week away and that means we will be one quarter through the year. That's the average amount of time that many of us last on working towards new goals. I don't want to be a part of the norm who lose sight of ambition and go back to my old self for 9 more months just to restart with the same goals next January. It is a perfect time to sit down, reassess my goals, my actions, and my life and make sure I stay on track and reach my destination. SUCCESS.

Whether your goals is to lose 20 pounds, get a promotion, or spend more time with your family, don't lose sight of it. Even if you think you are still on the right track, sit down and reevaluate yourself. Write down your goals. Write down the actions it will take to get there. Write down the things you are doing daily right now. See how they match up. You may not have to adjust anything or you may have to adjust everything. Either way, you are refocused and know what steps are next to continue towards the goals of 2012. Don't let this be another year of failure...

Straps, Building update, and a new PR

Just to update those who are interested, we are currently in the process of getting the keys to our new facility. It has been a frustrating few days trying to get insurance taken care of and coming to agreance with the landlord but I am hopeful that we will be in by the end of the week. With that being said, plans are to be remodeled and open by the first week of April so be ready.

I have been noticing a trend in the gym with a bunch of the "bodybuilder" types and it is really starting to annoy me. It seems like everyone is using wrist straps for just about everything. I have seen them used on lat pulldowns, rows, dumbbell curls, and deadlifts. The purpose for these straps, for those who don't know, is to assist with grip. I can understand the use for heavy shrugs, barbell rows, or RDL's simply for the fact that these exercises use heavy weights for a longer duration. However, anything that is a low rep range should not need the assistance of straps. If you can't hold on to the weight then get your grip up. You will never improve it if you keep helping it out. As far as things like curls and lat pulldowns, that's just ignant! The lat pulldown stack is only 280, so if you can't hold on to that then you need to adjust your training and your goals, oh, and your vagina! Grip training is as simple as using a fat grip for things like dumbbell rows or curls, using heavier weights on deadlift and refraining from strapping up. Trust me, these things will take you a long way and they better your grip gets, the better your lifts will be. I admit, I was once a strap user but I become wise, manned up, and now I can pull heavy with no grip issues what so ever.

Speaking of pulling heavy, I hit a new deadlift PR last week, no straps. I have figured out a few things in my training that seem to really be helping my pull so I'm interested to see how much I can bump it up in the next couple of months.

A Little Bit of Everything

As many of you know I enjoy training and am always striving to make myself stronger. Truthfully, I don't really care what I look like (as long as I stay moderately healthy), I just care that I am strong as shit. With this being said, the majority of my training programs I follow consist of a whole lot of heavy shit and a whole little of cardio. For many years I was writing my own programs and playing around with this and that. I got to a point where I felt like I was only doing the things I did best and so I felt it was time for a change. I started dabbling in other training programs written by those in the industry I look up to. A few of these examples would be Dave Tate, Eric Cressey, Mike Robertson, etc. So over the past couple of years I have went through a handful of training programs and seen some great progress.

After completing Cressey's Maximum Strength, Wendler's 5/3/1, Tate's Strong(er) Manual, and The Juggernaut Method, I was able to figure out the aspects of each program that really worked for me and the aspects I wasn't so sure about. To be truthful, different things work for different people so I would never take away from these programs, I just was able to learn what parts worked for me. They were all great programs and have been proven over and over again to make people better.  I have come to a point now where I have combined aspects of each program into one and am experimenting with it right now. So far so good. I will keep updating on my progress, or lack there of and eventually give a description of the program.

As far as what I have learned from these previous programs...
I realized that even when dealing with maximal strength there is a HUGE importance in muscle endurance. In my past, I included a lot of low rep schemes in every exercise I did and saw myself getting weaker in later sets. When I started including sets of 8, 10, or 12 of assistance work, my main lifts started to increase.

Corrective work is extremely important! This type of work really focuses on the weak points of the body and can fix the little issues to make the bigger lifts more successful. I hammered my hips with mobility and strength exercises and saw my squat and deadlift shoot up.

Everyone has a limit. I completed 16 weeks of the Strong(er) program and I definitely found my limit. With this program there is a lot of maximal effort work with not a whole lot of back down time. My lifts sky rocketed for about 6-7 weeks then my body hit a wall and I actually started to see a decrease in strength. I pushed my body to its limit without giving it the proper rest time. I learned deload weeks are key!

As far as gaining maximal strength, percentage based lifts aren't the best for me. Working at percentages I found that I was able to do a lot more reps than expected which showed me which energy systems in my body were dominant. I still use percentages on main lifts right now, but I have decided to increase weight for my last one or two sets. This increase is strictly by how I feel and how the previous sets move. So far, I have felt a lot better about it.

Those are the biggest things I have learned so far. Remember, there is no perfect program. Everyone is different and that is why it is so important to keep track of what you are doing so that you can find the things that work best for you and maximize your results.

P.S.  I hit a squat PR this past weekend so the first four weeks of this combination seems to be working for me.

Hiatus

Well hello there! Welcome back Chance.

I have taken a long blogging hiatus and probably lost the only three people that actually read this anyway...but HEY! I'm back now! Just for an update on what is going on, I am currently working on putting a business together. Brad, Brian, and myself have joined to create the Complete Performance Institute. We have conducted group workouts at a couple different sites and are now getting increasingly close to signing a lease on a space of our own. Plans are to turn this space into a trainers dream. Most of our equipment is purchased and the idea is set, its just a matter of getting it off the ground. I will keep you updated as more unfolds. Check us out at our website for more information on us as well as helpful training and nutrition advice.

I am also working on my fitness as well and trying to get myself as beast mode as I can. I have a few current goals I am working towards and hope to hit them by my birthday which is May 5th (presents encouraged). I plan to update my training on here as well so that all you interneters out there can keep me on my game. Even though no one reads this I will still feel like someone else is holding me accountable and I don't want to let the masses down. :crickets:

Well, I am back now and will try my damndest to keep consistent on posting to this page. Stay tuned and spread the word!