Manny Prieto's Training Blog

Favorite Thanksgiving Tips

2010-11-24T17:39:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving!

Sorry I haven't been so great with updating the blog lately! I have been extremely busy as of late, and it hasn't been until this week that I've finally had some down time to update this thing!

I was originally going to post all about my trip to Boston earlier this month for FNCE (that's the American Dietetic Association's Food and Nutrition Expo, for those of you who don't know), as I have a lot to write on that subject, but with Thanksgiving around the corner, I figured I'd save that content for after the holiday - I'm sure turkey's on your mind rather than the proceedings of a nutrition conference!

I'm sure many of you are wondering what I, as a Registered Dietitian and Certified Personal Trainer, am doing this Thanksgiving. Some people I know think that I spend so much time in the gym that they wouldn't be surprised if I actually did get in a lift on Thanksgiving . . . but actually, I'm not planning to. ;)

Between having to lend my sister my car (so she can visit both the in-laws and our family on the same day) and having to help with the preparations (as my family always hosts Thanksgiving dinner - and we always invite extended family members in the area), even if I did have the luxury of belonging to a gym that was open on Thanksgiving (which I don't, though I'm sure there are gyms out there that are if I'm willing to pay for a day pass), I honestly don't know if I'd be able to go. But I did get in a decent workout tonight, and I'll probably get right back into it over the weekend, so I think I'll be fine. :)

Oh, and I will in fact be having real turkey tomorrow - none of that "Tofurky" business. :P

Anyway, I am aware that a lot of people are worried about the weight gain that can accompany all the food at holiday parties, and I'm sure lots of people would like tips to get around that. But a lot of my fellow Registered Dietitians have already blogged plenty of tips for the holidays, so rather than reinvent the wheel, I figured I'd post links to some of my favorites:

If you have any other great tips, feel free to share them in the comments! Once again, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Carlos's Pre-Exercise - Fueling up for Sports (from Superkidsnutrition.com)

2010-03-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

Today I'm re-posting a great tip from Super Kids Nutrition as part of their promotion!

Carlos's Pre-Exercise - Fueling up for Sports

I can’t wait to go play baseball! It’s been quite some time since I’ve been out on the field. But, I’m ready to go! Especially, after my pre-baseball power snack or meal! It’s so important to fuel up right, before I play baseball in order to perform and feel my best!

My mom is a runner, so she is always adamant that I “get in the proper food” before I play sports. She says eating and eating right before exercise is important to:

Help prevent low blood sugar, which makes you feel light-headed, tired, and may cause blurry vision, and I know I don’t want that!
Help settle your stomach because it absorbs some of the juices in your stomach.
Prevent you from getting hungry mid-way through the game, which is really not fun at all!
Correctly fuel your muscles for running, jumping, moving, and of course, swinging the bat!
My coach says “eat your meals at least two hours before the big game.” Otherwise, “you might feel sick”. Then he adds, “power up with protein.” Protein foods are chicken, yogurt, fish, turkey or beans. Whole Grains like whole grain bread, crackers, or pasta have carbohydrates which I eat at my pre-baseball meal. We always have a fruit or vegetable with my meal—sometimes I have both!

Mom and Dad really like me to be involved in my meal planning and preparing to give me a competitive edge, so they gave me these bullet points for my pre-exercise meals:

Eat a lean protein food
Eat a whole grain so it’s packed with vitamins and minerals my muscles need.
Eat a fruit and/or vegetable for the right kind of energy
After I got this list, I created my meal! A turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with lettuce, tomatoes, and mustard, some carrots and half a banana! What do you think?

Turkey = my protein
Whole wheat bread= my whole grain
Lettuce and tomatoes on my sandwich and carrots on the side= my veggies
Half a banana= my fruit!
I was so proud to have made my own healthy pre-exercise meal! It makes mom and dad happy to know I’ve got the tools to know how to help out independently in the kitchen! I don’t learn how to cook or do anything like that in school. After I made my meal, Mom was so impressed!

One more thing on fueling before playing sports—make sure you get Mom or Dad to make low-fat meals with lean proteins. For example, skinless chicken breast, skinless turkey meat, any fish, non-fat dairy, or extra lean ground meat. If you eat a “heavy” meal or one that is fried, battered, or cooked in lots of oil, you will feel sick at your game. That won’t give you the competitive edge. Plus, that stuff isn’t very good for your heart or body!

Power on friends!

-Carlos

Fitness Outliers, Part 2: The Body Fat Threshold

2010-02-19T08:34:00.000-08:00

In Part 1 of my "Fitness Outliers" series, I introduced the concept of thresholds in fitness and performance. Today I will focus on one such threshold - that of body fat percentage.

Most sports require that an athlete move his or her body weight through space, a task that is more challenging for a heavier individual. Unlike muscle, fat does not contribute to movement, so in theory, it would be advantageous for an athlete to minimize levels of excess body fat.

From an anecdotal standpoint, you rarely see morbidly obese individuals competing at the highest levels of sport (with the exception of NFL linemen - but even those athletes are in much better physical condition than most obese individuals). Part of that could be that it's very difficult to maintain a high level of body fat through the rigorous training necessary to compete at a high level, and part of it could be that, as I mentioned, excessive body fat can hinder athletic performance.

However, there are many factors that contribute to body composition, including not only diet and exercise but also age, sex, and genetics. And body composition, of course, is not the only factor that contributes to athletic performance.

How low is too low? Estimates for "essential" body fat levels are around 5% for men and 12% for women, but minimal isn't necessarily optimal. Keep in mind that achieving a healthy body weight, which can be done without aggressive dietary restrictions, is different from trying to get into "bodybuilding contest" shape (in which you try to maximize your muscle-to-fat ratio, and therefore try to get your body fat percentage as low as possible). Most bodybuilding competitors completely deplete their glycogen stores, continuing to train hard while restricting their intake, in the weeks leading up to a competition - something that is most definitely not recommended for an athlete in competition. Overtraining and undereating lead to reduced energy stores for competition, and can even increase an individual's risk of injury!

A common problem among females who are trying to lose fat is amenhorrea, which is a lack of menstruation. According to the ACSM Position Stand on the Female Athlete Triad, energy availability (which is dietary intake minus expenditure), rather than absolute body fat levels, is the most important factor, indicating that the processes that women go through to reach low body fat levels may be more important than the body fat level itself.

In short, it is important to keep in mind that athletes come in all shapes and sizes, and "optimal" body fat levels are highly dependent on the individual, and the risks of restrictive dietary patterns can outweigh the benefits of a lower body fat percentage.

Fitness Outliers, Part 1: Introducing the "Threshold Concept"

2010-02-08T08:22:00.000-08:00

One book that I see a lot of fitness professionals recommending is Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. While it may seem odd that a lot of fitness people are citing this book, considering it has nothing to do with fitness, a lot of people are finding lessons from this book that can apply to fitness.

The most commonly discussed principle among fitness professionals is the "10,000 Hour Rule," which states that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in something, whether it be athletics, music, writing, or just about anything else. This concept, however, has been beaten to death, so that is not what I will discuss in this blog entry.

Instead, I will discuss another interesting concept, which Gladwell mentions in his chapter about "The Problem with Geniuses." In this chapter, Gladwell mentions the idea of an "IQ Threshold." It does appear that there is a minimum IQ level necessary for intellectual achievement - someone with an IQ level under 70 is unlikely to win a Nobel Prize. But beyond a certain point, more is not necessarily better - for example, someone with an IQ of 180 isn't 50% more likely to win a Nobel Prize than someone with an IQ of 120, even though 180 is 50% more than 120. Once someone has a baseline level of intelligence, other factors become more important.

What does this have to do with fitness? A lot of times people get so caught up in improving certain numbers - like increasing their squat poundages, or losing body weight - even though these numbers are secondary to their main goal. Going from 120 pounds to 115 pounds isn't necessarily going to make you look better, or run faster. In upcoming entries I will discuss different "thresholds" such as strength, body fat, and core stability, so you'll know when you need to concentrate them, and, perhaps more importantly, when you need to concentrate on something else instead.

What Can We Learn From Jocks And Meatheads?

2010-01-20T17:16:00.000-08:00

One stereotype that has proliferated throughout time has been that of the "dumb jock" - one who, despite his lack of academic success (as opposed to the "nerd" stereotype), is known for his athletic prowess.

Another stereotype, one you often find at the gym, is called the "meathead" - a huge, muscular, and apparently simple-minded individual.

Oh, and anything that might have resembled a Jersey Shore reference was completely coincidental, as I do not (and will not) watch that show. I haven't even so much as seen a preview and I already know what it's about, and that's not a good sign. I have better things to do.

Anyway, one thing I have noticed with jocks and meatheads is that, despite stereotypically appearing to be less intelligent (and I do realize that this is going to come across as offensive to any jocks and meatheads who do happen to be reading this blog, but please bear with me), they are often more successful than the rest of us when it comes to their athletic and physique goals (and, in some cases, even non-physical endeavors such as business). Sure, a lot of people will argue that these athletes are just genetically gifted, but that's a whole other story, and I'm not going to go there. In fact, I am going to argue that most of you are far from achieving your full physical potential.

I certainly did not fit the mold of your stereotypical "dumb jock," as my Ivy League background indicates. And, believe it or not, as a youngster, I wasn't the most athletic child in my age group. But I have been able to put up some decent numbers for myself (30" vertical jump, squat 230x12, deadlift 275x13, bench 200 all at a bodyweight of 140 at <10% body fat year-round) - numbers that have only been accomplished by spending some time in the gym. And, even with my academic background, there are times when I think the best use for Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism is as a one-board.

This isn't to say that we should all just be idiots - indeed, poor decision-making can ruin the careers of even the most talented. For those of you who aren't sure what I'm talking about, let's just say that racking up a huge gambling debt and then pulling a gun on your teammates is a great way to get yourself in prison.

But sometimes, it is the process of thinking that is, in fact, holding you back from making real progress. So here are some things we can learn from the people who don't look like they think so much:

Not making time for the things that aren't important

One criticism of the stereotypical dumb jock/meathead is that they appear ignorant and have few things to talk about other than sports or working out. And, in many cases, this criticism isn't unwarranted. But from the jock/meathead point of view, is this necessarily a bad thing?

Let's look at what a football player has to go through. They spend time working on their skills, so the wide receivers can catch passes while keeping their feet in bounds, quarterbacks can throw perfectly accurate passes even as they're being hit by 300-pound linemen, etc. They spend time in the weight room and doing conditioning drills so their bodies can handle the rigor of taking hits over the course of a full season. They spend time watching film to study the tendencies of their opponent. They memorize 500-page playbooks so that, once they're on the field, they know exactly what they're doing. Most of these players come home exhausted, not just physically, but mentally. And, in the case of student-athletes, they have to balance academic life on top of all that. Do you really think these guys have time to get into debates about the government of Mexico? Or to do anything that isn't conducive to their goals, for that matter?

With terms like "Selective Ignorance" and "The Low-Information Diet," Timothy Ferriss (author of The Four-Hour Workweek) has made himself known for telling people not to waste time on things that don't really help them achieve their goals. But, as it turns out, a lot of these so-called "ignorant" people have been putting these principles into practice long before Tim Ferriss put pen to paper (BTW, I am not knocking Tim Ferriss at all - in fact, his book is one that I highly recommend).

Before you start to read an article, watch a news show, or engage in a debate, ask yourself why you are doing it. If you don't have a very good reason for doing it, don't.

Avoiding "paralysis by analysis"

In some ways, this goes hand-in-hand with the first point - by not allowing yourself time to dwell on things that aren't important, you won't spend as much time over-thinking things.

All the time I get questions such as "Should I do shrugs on Back day or Shoulder day?" or "Should I do my dumbbell incline presses with a 30-degree or 45-degree incline?" or "What's the best piece of cardio equipment?" or "Is Blake Lively hotter than Leighton Meester?"

The answer to all of the above questions is to JUST PICK ONE AND DO IT! (Yes, even the Blake vs. Leighton question. I know people think of me as a Blake Lively kind of guy but honestly, I don't care which one you prefer. Just stop trying to argue with me about your preference.) You're much better off just picking one option and taking action than spending hours arguing on Internet forums about minutiae like this. No one got strong by just thinking about it. As a matter of fact, no one got laid by just thinking about it, either.

Not Knowing Fear

Often times people with very active minds can think too much of what could go wrong, and in the process they may psych themselves out of taking action.

Brett Favre has often been known as the "gunslinger," often taking risks that he shouldn't on the football field. Sometimes people wonder why he keeps making the same mistakes over and over again . . . and then suddenly he'll come back and throw a game-winning touchdown pass - something he wouldn't be able to do if he were afraid to make mistakes. Shit happens. But don't let that stop you from taking action.

Not getting too caught up in the unimportant details

As Martin Rooney of the Parisi Speed School says, "Most people major in the minor shit." When it comes to exercise, they think of things like exercise selection and training splits rather than underlying principles. When it comes to nutrition, they think about macronutrient ratios and megadosing vitamins and minerals when they don't even eat vegetables or drink water. You don't have time to focus on every little thing. Just focus on the things that are really important and nail them.

In the real world, not everything is going to be perfect. But an imperfect plan that is carried out diligently and intensely is always going to be better than a "perfect" plan that isn't carried out at all.

Where Brain Meets Brawn?

You don't have to be an idiot to be a successful athlete. In fact, if you can combine good programming, good decision-making, and good physical attributes with the right attitude, you can have something very special. But sometimes it could be your own mind that could be holding you back from taking the action you need to be successful.

An Anatomy and Physiology Lesson for Georges St-Pierre

2009-07-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

First of all, I apologize for the lack of posting. Life has been keeping me busy, especially this past year as I've gone through my dietetic internship (that is, paying to work so I can add more credibility to myself as a nutrition professional). Anyway, UFC 100 took place last weekend, and of course one of the matches involved Georges St-Pierre.

And this fight brought out one of the most memorable fighter-trainer exchanges in recent memory:

GSP: "I pulled my groin."
Greg Jackson (GSP's trainer): "I don't care. This is where champions are born. Hit him with your groin."

Despite having to essentially finish the fight with just one leg, Georges St-Pierre did manage to come out victorious. In both the post-fight interview and his blog, St-Pierre mentioned he felt a pull in his "right abductor."

This immediately made me think that someone needs an anatomy lesson!

Abduction means moving away from the midline, while adduction means moving toward the midline. The hip adductors (the adductor magnus, the adductor longus, the adductor brevis, the gracilis, and the pectineus) are located in the groin area. The hip abductors are the glute medius, glute minimus, and glute maximus.

I can forgive Georges St-Pierre for not remembering the five different hip adductors after having gone through a five-round MMA fight, but the difference between abduction and adduction is an important one, since they are opposite functions. And while I don't expect lay-people to become experts in anatomy and physiology, I did want to make sure that the correct information is out there, lest UFC fans start using improper terminology.

For information on how to prevent these kinds of injuries through exercise, here's an excellent article from Eric Cressey.

The Grind

2008-05-05T20:11:00.001-07:00

Today was the last day of classes for Columbia undergrads. Around this time of the year, people tend to stress out about finals. Myself? I have two papers and an exam this week . . . so of course I'm blogging instead of writing my papers or studying!

Anyway, one thing that also tends to happen toward the end of a semester is that people put fitness on the back burner. They skip their workouts and rely heavily on highly processed foods as they spend late nights writing their papers and cramming for their finals.

One other thing I've noticed at Columbia is that the campus gym closes for a week after finals end.

I understand that we can't go 100% all the time. When the stress life impose on us are great, we can't handle as much training stress. And I'm not opposed to taking a week off from training every now and then.

But by taking that week off during finals, that week can easily become two weeks, three, maybe even a month. And by that point it'll be very tough to get back on the wagon.

And just because you're studying for finals doesn't mean you need to rely on chips, ramen, and Easy Mac either! You can always pack an apple or two.

In any case, while you can't expect to get shredded during stressful periods such as finals week, don't neglect training completely.

Not Another Fat Loss Product?

2008-05-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you're just as tired as I am of seeing yet another fat loss program on the market. Sure, with so many people looking to lose a couple of pounds, there certainly is a market for fat loss. But there are more than enough ways to get across the idea that you need to eat less and move more (though of course they all have their little gimmicks, like low fat, low carbs, high-intensity cardio, no cardio at all, etc.).

Yet with all of this information out there on a topic that seems so simple, you would think that people would be more successful with their fat loss efforts than they are. Some of these people just aren't doing the programs. Some are doing these programs, but the programs aren't working quite as well as these people would have hoped. Maybe they worked great at first, but eventually stalled.

In all of these cases, there is a missing link. But most fat loss products overlook this missing link completely.

Enter The Fat Loss Troubleshoot.

Like I said, it's hard for a fat loss product to impress me, but Leigh Peele has blown me away. This is a comprehensive resource, covering not just training, not just nutrition, but every single thing that plays a role in whether your fat loss attempts will succeed or fail. It is a product I highly recommend to anyone looking to get the most out of their fat loss program or make the programs you give to clients that much better.

Oh, and for those of you who constantly complain about a slow metabolism, Leigh has the answer for you, too: The Metabolic Repair Manual.

Better yet, get both. You won't be disappointed.

The Meeting of the MasterMinds

2008-04-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

Today I attended the Millionaire Workout Live Event in White Plains, hosted by Ryan Lee. Ryan Lee is known as the Trainer to the Trainers, offering a wealth of business advice to many personal trainers and running a number of training sites.

With this particular seminar, we didn't talk much about fitness at all; this seminar was mainly about how to make money selling digital products. But many people in the fitness industry are selling things like E-books and audio interviews over the Internet, so this seminar was definitely applicable to them, and in fact many well-known names in the fitness industry were there, including Zach Even-Esh, Jimmy Smith, Virgil Aponte, Kevin Gianni, Nii Wilson, and Joe Kasper. That's a long list, huh? And they all took a ton of notes on what Ryan had to say.

Those of you who aren't interested in making money over the Internet may be wondering what the heck this has to do with you. When it comes to achieving success in any endeavor, one of the most important things you can do is surround yourself with successful people and see what they do.

The Sustenance of Our Youth

2008-04-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

This past weekend there was a Youth Rally for the Pope's visit to the United States. Not only was the Pope in attendance, but so was Kelly Clarkson. Yeah, her music isn't prayer music or workout music for that matter, but I'm not going to hate. There's enough of that already.

What the heck does this have to do with fitness? Well, as cool as it was to see the Pope, the food at this Youth Rally, though free, was absolutely terrible.

But let me back up for a second. According to Dr. John Berardi on Episode 5 of The FitCast, 50% of America's vegetable consumption comes from three sources: iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and potatoes. Think about it: what kind of meal comes with these three things?

You guessed it, a burger and fries. And, vegetable-wise, this is a step up from the other option they had at the Youth Rally, which was fried chicken fingers and fries.

And we're being generous by allowing French fries to pass as vegetables here.

Situations like these make me concerned for the youth of our nation.

Weight Loss is an Insult

2008-04-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

Jason Ferruggia just came out with a new book, Fit to Fight: An Insanely Effective Strength and Conditioning Program for the Ultimate MMA Warrior. On the release date, he made an announcement on his listserv and on his forum about the release, introducing it by saying how people were commenting that he lost weight and he felt annoyed about this (as someone who was 6'0", 147 lbs. when he started lifting weights, Jason is exactly the kind of person who would consider "skinny" an insult). But now he has a brand new book as a reward for all the hard-earned muscle he sacrificed.

Those of you who have never been skinny might not be able to empathize with guys like Jason. But whereas stressful times can make some people fatter, they can make other people lose muscle. The point here is that it's hard to train to the fullest when you have the added stresses of life. Is the source of your stress worth making sacrifices to your health and body comp goals?

Oh, and I did order Fit to Fight on Amazon, but since I also pre-ordered Eric Cressey's new book Maximum Strength and wanted them shipped together to get free shipping, I won't get the book until May. All the better I suppose, since classes, clients, and training are giving me plenty to do right now.

Athletes and Political Statements Don't Mix

2008-04-09T23:05:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday, there was a rally at Columbia calling to boycott the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (partly because of the whole situation between China and Tibet).

The day before, Eric Cressey (of Cressey Performance in Hudson, MA) posted a blog entry that really hit home for me. I wasn't a great track and field athlete, so I never had a legitimate shot at competing in the Olympics, but I know what it's like to have that dream, and I know many who still do. I have a friend who is an Olympic hopeful (though he would not be competing for the US). I'm sure I'll meet more as I continue through my career.

How could you ask people like Saidu to give up what may be their only shot at fulfilling a lifelong dream?

Muscle Gaining Secrets 12 Week Transformation Contest

2008-04-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

Jason Ferruggia, one of the top strength and conditioning coaches out there, is holding a 12 Week Transformation Contest. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. "Not another 12 Week Transformation Contest!" You're tired of seeing those fake before-and-after photos that have more to do with bad lighting and already fit people in different poses than a transformation that resulted from a program.

(For those of you who don't get this reference, this is Craig Ballantyne showing "before" and "after" photos of his Three Minute Transformation . . . literally, it only took him three minutes.)

But maybe this is the kind of challenge you need to motivate yourself to keep going to the gym and eating right. Sometimes people let life get in the way of their fitness goals, but when you're competing and you have a deadline and you have prizes to motivate you and a support system to cheer you on, you just might break those plateaus.

Prizes, you say? Here they are:
1st: $1,000
2nd: $500
3rd: $250

Plus Jason will be giving away some surprises!

The catch is that to enter, you must purchase a copy of Jason Ferruggia's Muscle Gaining Secrets.
Now you may be thinking that this is another scam by someone trying to sell stuff. But I hate salespeople as much as anyone else, and I wouldn't endorse anything that I didn't fully believe in. Not only do you get the Muscle Gaining Secrets e-Book, which details Jason's training philosophy for building muscle without steroids while still having a life (his weight training workouts are no more than 45 minutes per session 3 times a week), but you also get meal plans, a guide to quick recipes, access to Jason's exclusive forum, and so much more! And as Alwyn Cosgrove always says, you never get dumber by reading a book . . . and with the Muscle Gaining Secrets package there are a ton of books (in electronic format, of course) that can provide a wealth of knowledge to anyone at any level.

The deadline to enter the 12 Week Transformation Contest is this Friday, April 4. Be sure to pick up your copy of Muscle Gaining Secrets before then (And since everything is electronic, you can access this information and put it to use instantly! No need to wait for anything to ship!). Heck, if you missed the deadline and are just reading this now, pick up a copy anyway. Don't miss the boat.

Fun with Food Industry and The FitCast

2008-03-31T13:29:00.000-07:00

On this week's episode of The FitCast (one of my personal favorite fitness Podcasts), the guys brought up an E-mail I had sent in which I mentioned a postcard I got about a webinar about Sweetened Beverages and Body Weight, sponsored by Coca-Cola. I also mentioned that the postcard was sent by a Registered Dietitian who happens to work for Coca-Cola.

If any food industry dietitians are reading this (and I know that many dietitians are working for food companies such as Coca-Cola), they will probably send me hate-mail or something. But it is something that I feel is worth putting out there, since there are people who might not know that some nutrition professionals do in fact work for companies that provide food that you wouldn't exactly call nutritious.

And I know that I am not the only one who has seen things like this. A number of my classmates at Columbia attended FNCE 2007 (FNCE is the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo, the annual meeting of the American Dietetic Association) and told me that some of the companies that had expo booths included big corporations like McDonald's, PepsiCo, Nestlé, and Monsanto.
And, as mentioned in The Grapevine (Columbia's nutrition newsletter), "The sight of numerous nutritionists and dietitians hovering around the PepsiCo and Nestle booths was a bit hard to stomach." As I mentioned to them, knowing what I do now I would not be surprised to see things like this, but had I been new to nutrition this would have been a shocking experience.

Maybe part of the Columbia students' attitude toward this is influenced by the unique educational experience at this campus. One of the required courses for all Columbia graduate nutrition students is Nutritional Ecology, which, among other things, offers a critical look at the food industry and its effects on not only the health of the people, but the environment as a whole. Not many nutrition programs have a class like this - not even Cornell, another great nutrition program (where I did my undergrad).

One thing that cannot be denied, though, is that food industry is very powerful. The food corporations have a lot of money and can influence many important people. For the dietitians, policy-makers, and anyone else out there that influences what we eat, ask yourself if these companies support your own beliefs.

Oh, and for you FitCast people, I did manage to check out the first interview with Dos (in which he does talk about his own nutritional strategies) after I had submitted my E-mail. (For those of you who don't know, Dos is the nickname of Robert dos Remedios, head strength and conditioning coach of College of the Canyons in California and 2006 NSCA Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year and author of the book Men's Health Power Training.
He has also been a vegan for more than 18 years, and at 6'3", 245 lbs. he's not exactly a skinny bitch! Check out Episode 31 (I don't remember where exactly in the episode he talks about his diet, but listen the whole episode anyway; there's a lot of great training information!), and for more training information from Coach Dos, check out his second interview in Episode 72 along with his web site, http://www.coachdos.com/!

Perform Better Boston Seminar Review

2008-03-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

I went to the Perform Better One-Day Learn-by-Doing Seminar in Boston on Saturday, March 15, and as promised, here is my review.

Whoa, now it's almost two weeks since the seminar, and I'm just posting my review now! But better late than never, right? Anyway . . .

The first presentation was "21st Century Fitness Programming" by Alwyn Cosgrove (You might have heard of this guy. He wrote the programs for The New Rules of Lifting and The New Rules of Lifting for Women, and he has written articles for just about every fitness publication out there. The w in his name is silent, though, which is why you might have been confused if you heard me talking about him in person.). He started by pointing out that, while the other presenters were all from the East Coast, he is based in California, and yet he had to go first . . . at 8 AM! As much as this had to have sucked for him, though, Alwyn's entertaining style makes the fact that he had to go first a good thing for us, because you can't possibly fall asleep listening to this guy!

As far as the actual content of the presentation, Alwyn talks about how most fitness trainers just focus on strength training and/or cardio, but a training program should include seven components. What are those components, you ask? Well, if you read Alwyn's 7 Keys to Athletic Success article on T-Nation you would already know what those 7 components are, and Mark Verstegen's Core Performance book it has those exact same 7 components. So you might be tempted to play the "There's nothing new here" card. But unlike his T-Nation article, which he wrote for the general public, Alwyn goes into much greater detail, including references along with the typical Cosgrove humor. And I finally did get the chance to see him in person. I strongly recommend you do so, if you get the chance.

Next was Gray Cook of Functional Movement Screen fame, and his topic was "Secrets of the Hip and Knee," which is also the title of one of his DVDs from the "Secrets" series (there's also Secrets of the Core: Backside and Secrets of the Shoulder). Gray Cook put the hip and knee together because knee issues are often related to hip issues - as he puts it, the hip is a bad neighbor.

The presentation featured a lot of video demonstrations which would be really hard for me to describe in a blog post like this, but one of the key messages is that poor range of motion can be a stability problem rather than a mobility problem. Alwyn Cosgrove's latest T-Nation article, Cosgrove's Five Ah-Ha! Moments, gives an example that Gray Cook used for the Deep Squat, so rather than just rehash that information I will direct you there. I will say, though, that this was a real eye-opener for me. Traditionally we've had a hard time finding ways to measure stability, but Gray Cook may be on to something here.

Oh, and one other thing that stood out for me was that Gray Cook looks nothing like any of the pictures you see of him on the Internet or in his book Athletic Body in Balance. He's grown his hair out quite a bit, which I suppose is to make up for the apparent lack of hair in the strength and conditioning industry (which I know Alwyn Cosgrove has talked about before in his If It's Not Cosgrove, It's Crap! article).

Anyway, the third presenter was another bald guy! This time it was Juan Carlos Santana (not to be confused with the guitarist Carlos Santana), who spoke on the topic "Real Body Transformation Strategies for Real People." Regarding this topic, the Perform Better web site gave this description: "JC will show you how he personally dropped 40 pounds with 4 children, 8 businesses, and a 37 city tour. He will even show you how he dropped 20
pounds during the holidays -with little exercise." Given that JC is one of most successful trainers in the industry, and this seminar is a seminar on exercise, you would think he would talk about training. But this was . . . something very different.

JC began by talking about his own life and how he needed to find balance. Too much of a good thing can become bad, and the bad things often do make people feel good. Then he talked about how clients are really looking for happiness, and how our job as trainers is to help our clients find the switch to happiness. JC then went on to discuss the life lessons fitness can teach us, along with how we should all spend the 168 hours we have in our week (hint: 49-56 of those should be sleep!).

This wasn't the type of presentation that gave me the answer to all my clients' problems, but it definitely made me think. I had not met JC before, but it sounded like the past year was a life-changing experience for him. Alwyn Cosgrove and Mike Boyle talked about how he used to go off on his own after seminars but now he would actually hang out with the other presenters. It sounds like life is getting even better for this very successful man.

The last lecture presentation was by Mike Boyle on the topic "Evolution of a Strength Coach." This presentation was inspired by his T-Nation article 25 Years, 25 Mistakes, an article that, according to him, was something that just came off the top of his head but ended up getting great reviews. He basically went over some (not all) of the mistakes in his article (if he went through all 25 then his presentation alone could last the entire day!) along with 10 new things he has incorporated into his programming.

After a 45-minute lunch break, we went into the practical session. The attendees were divided into 5 groups, and we rotated between 5 stations. I was with the group that started with Mike Boyle. We went over some stretches and some of the other things he does to warm up his athletes. Then we went to Gray Cook, who talked about squat and deadlift progressions. He took one of the group members who failed the Deep Squat test and, to demonstrate how improving stability can improve range of motion, was able to get her to squat within minutes! He does point out, however, that this kind of approach is not something you should do with clients, and that all seven parts of the Functional Movement Screen are equally important (you shouldn't just focus on the squat). Then JC Santana put us through a crazy circuit with bands, body bars, punches with light dumbbells, and some body weight exercises, finishing with a series that consisted of 24 squats, 24 lunges (12 per leg), 24 split jumps (12 per leg), and 24 vertical jumps. Then Anthony DiLuglio taught us some kettlebell exercises, including the Turkish Get-Up, the Kettlebell Swing, and the Kettlebell Clean and Press. I started out with a relatively heavy kettlebell and it wasn't too bad at first (it was nice to get to lie down after JC's workout), but then Anthony had us do more and more movements and suddenly I was getting so tired I switched to a lighter kettlebell so I wouldn't collapse! Finally, we were with Alwyn Cosgrove. He had us all go through some Movement Prep, and then he had me demonstrate some Prehab and Core movements, including a lunge variation with one foot on a ValSlide, one foot on an Airex balance pad, and a kettlebell in one hand at shoulder level. We got to try these movements out for a little bit, and then Alwyn had us do the other bodyweight leg matrix, which consisted of two rounds of 20 seconds of squat jumps, 20 seconds of speed squats, and a 20-second squat hold. Yes, that's two of Cosgrove's Leg Matrix "finishers" in one day!

Oh, and I hung out for a little while after the seminar officially ended, and Anthony DiLuglio showed us a kettlebell that can have its weight changed by pouring shot into it, which inspired the idea of a kettlebell piggy bank! Maybe I should make those for my clients!

Overall, I thought the Perform Better Boston Seminar was well-done. The speakers were excellent, and the event was well-organized. All the lectures were in one room, and lunch was provided, so we did not have to worry about having to go from place to place and had plenty of time to ask questions or look at products while the presenters got set up.

BONUS: The Monday afterward, I got a chance to check out Mike Boyle's Winchester facility, and Alwyn Cosgrove stopped by as well. Mike was training a couple of NFL guys, and some of his staff members were going through workouts while others were training clients of his own. It was great to see Mike and his staff in action and to get a chance to talk shop with two of the most successful trainers in the industry. Special thanks to Mike Boyle for opening his doors and making sure I don't make mistake #3.

I was especially impressed that, aside from the fact that he's more well-known than I am and more people were asking him questions, Alwyn was basically doing the same thing I was - taking notes and observing what Mike was doing. I know Alwyn Cosgrove has always been big on continuing education and learning from others, but when you consider that not only is this someone who is at the top of his craft, but someone who has spoken with Mike Boyle several times this year alone (as they were on tour together doing these Perform Better seminars across the country), has been to Boston many times before (and I'm sure has visited Mike Boyle's facility many times during this span), and has known many successful coaches including Mike Boyle for several years, it says a lot that he still has plenty to learn. What are you doing to get better at what you do?

Welcome to my training blog!

2008-03-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! After months of thinking about making my own fitness blog, I've finally gone ahead and done it! Expect plenty of free fitness and nutrition content, including tips you can incorporate into your own workouts and a look at my own training.

Right now Columbia is on spring break, and I'm taking the opportunity to travel to Boston for the Perform Better Learn-by-Doing Seminar! Expect to see a seminar review once it goes down, plus tips on how to stay fit on the road!