Perform Better Functional Training Summit - Day 3

Day 3

Originally, I meant to fly back to Boston after the seminar had finished, but after I got back to the hostel on day 2 – I saw that my flight had been cancelled.

So, I got up nice and early to try and rectify the situation – to no such luck.

I had another very casual, last minute exit from the hostel to begin the final day of the seminar.

Vern Gambetta – Teaching speed: Theory and application

Vern Gambetta discussed the development of linear speed in athletes of all ages. Most of his work has been with track athletes, although some of it may be relevant to those in team sports – as achieving top speed can be desirable in some cases:

In addition, training top speed can help reduce the incidence hamstring injuries. 

When training for speed development, it’s important to make sure that the mechanics are perfect, as only ‘perfect practice makes perfect’. The coach must be able to justify every drill that is prescribed to the athlete, and in many cases Vern had seen young athletes attempt to copy more advanced sprinters. Unfortunately, the drills that they copied were way too advanced and the young athletes used poor technique, which could ultimately hinder performance.

Lesson 1 – The arms get rid of rotation during sprinting, thus provide energy into the system. This can justify training the upper body to enhance speed development

Lesson 2 – When racing – you need to win the race, not just the start

Lesson 3 – Contrary to popular belief, the arms do not remain at 90° during sprinting. The elbow angle decreases when the arm comes forward and opens up at the back – forcing the athlete to stay at 90° may be detrimental to performance

Charles Staley – Olympic-stlye weightlifting simplified (lecture)

Charles Staley is passionate about Olympic lifting – he wouldn’t be training otherwise.

He discussed the appropriate progressions that can be used to teach the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk and went into detail the mechanics of each lift.

A key reason he thinks that they are great for athletes, is that they’re ‘fun’ to perform. Anything that is fun to do is likely to result in greater adherence – and this is an underrated factor when it comes to training. He noted that when you hit a golf ball with perfect precision, you feel it. The same can be said about the Olympic lifts and so it can be used as a tool to get people to really engage with their training.

An important point that we were taught to understand was that the O-lifts will not necessarily induce performance enhancement in all sports - contrary to the belief of weightlifting coaches who think it will fix any sport.

Lesson 1 – If you’re using the Olympic lifts to enhance power development – you MUST be technically proficient – otherwise they’re a waste of time.

Lesson 2 – Don’t coach the errors that don’t exist – only make improvements on what needs to be improved.

Charles Staley – Olympic-stlye weightlifting simplified (practical)

His practical followed his lecture, teaching us how to appropriately perform the O-lifts.

I really liked his calm method of teaching and actually picked up a few hints that instantly made my technique better. I have had a large number of lessons in Olympic lifting and by far was his the easiest to follow.

We were first taught the clean and jerk, which according to Charles, is easier for most athletes, and comfort with this lift translates into easier learning for the snatch.

He had us first being able to rack the bar. This is the most important part and should always be taught first, as an athlete who can’t rack the bar, won’t be able to clean properly.

We then performed the ‘transition phase’ for 2 reps, before explosively going into triple extension. He had us to this so that we should be create a desire to try and catch the bar – despite not telling us to.

We then followed the same procedures for the snatch

Lesson 1 – A key difference between the clean and the snatch is that in the clean, the bar will bounce off the thighs, whereas in the snatch, the bar should slide up the thighs and into the hip (don’t hit your 

junk!)

Lesson 2 – After performing cleans, up the weight and perform some clean pulls. Following these, up the weight further – you are now perfectly warmed up for deadlifts.

I will definitely try and be back next year – the quality and quantity of the information gained is second to none.

As I found out earlier, thanks to Hurricane Irene, my flight was cancelled and initially I had to wait a week in California until I could fly back. The hostel is in the middle of no-where and since Gustavo left (in his car) I wasn’t even sure if I could buy food from anywhere.

On my first day of doing nothing, I took the time to take these nice photos of the Pacific ocean though:

So time well spent...

Fortunately, before exhausting my photo taking capabilities forever, I was able to get on a flight early Tuesday morning.

So 3 buses, a taxi (because I got lost), 1 flight, a  4 hour wait in Texas, another flight, 2 trains, another bus and a lift in a truck with a Brazilian stranger – I arrived safely back in Boston.

Easy. 

Perform Better Functional Training Summit - Day 2

Day 2

Thanks to my man Gustavo, I downgraded from the pretty swanky hotel I was in, to a tiny little shed about 20 minutes away from the seminar.

To be fair though, the cost of one night in this place was less than my breakfast at the hotel, and since I’ve got another 5-7 weeks left in the States, I thought it would be wise to save a bit.

From here:

To here:

So, now that I wasn’t a 30 second walk from Long Beach convention center, I had to be up nice and early ready to roll with the sunrise. However, Gustavo, a personal trainer from Brazil who I met at the FMS the week before and who was also attending the same event in Long Beach, had a much more relaxed attitude so we left 5 minutes before the start of the first lecture.

I can honestly say this was the first time I have been late for anything. Ever.

Rachel Cosgrove – Creating breakthrough results with your female clients

This lecture concerned some of the challenges personal trainers face when training female clients, most notably, the lack of a desire to lift weights and train like an athlete.

One goal of the personal trainer can be to create a breakthrough moment, such as being able to do press-ups on the ground or even chin-ups. Usually, when a female client does these for the first time, they will be so impressed that they’ll never want to leave you. It’s unlikely that you’ll ever have a client get angry at you for making her stronger.

It’s very common for female clients to have ‘yo-yo dieted’, which will result in muscle catabolism and therefore a decrease in metabolism. So it’s essential that a female client trains with the intention of building muscle.

Lesson 1 – You have to be the solution to the female’s problems

Lesson 2 – If you have a beginner female client, you know what? You CAN ‘tone’ muscles i.e. mirror their language and don’t belittle them (you can tell them that there’s no such thing in a month or two).

Nick Winkelman – Athletic Profiling: Choosing aperiodization system to maximise individual performance

This was the first proper strength and conditioning lecture that I attended and concerned different models of periodization to be used with athletes.  It’s important to understand that the different models reflect different athlete requirements and their training age.

For example, team sport athletes compete weekly, thus need to train in a different manner from an athlete that may have 10-12 weeks of uninterrupted training followed by one single event. Furthermore, a beginner athlete will have a much greater opportunity for improvement and can keep doing the same thing for several weeks at a time, whereas an advanced athlete may need weekly changes to their programming.

Nick first pointed out that there are several different definitions of periodization, and that whilst none of them are wrong, they should be combined in order to really understand what it means. From this, the strength and conditioning coach should use periodization for the following reasons: 

1) To enhance recovery 

2) To see a progressive improvement in training 

3) To make the athlete better at their sport

Unfortunately, the research on periodization is scarce and many of them have only studied the effects of short term training with beginner athletes. Therefore, relying on research for optimal periodization programming isn’t always the best strategy.  

Lesson 1 – Following a strength training phase that lasted 3 weeks, strength will not peak until 3 weeks following the cessation of the strength training. This is an extremely interesting point and shows that athletes may need to wait longer before being re-tested in order to reveal their true 1RM (or whatever bracket is used).

Lesson 2 – Combining extensive (volume) and intensive (intensity) themes together during a training cycle will elicit better progression that just concentrating on one element alone

John Beradi  - The compliance solution

A lot of people came to see this lecture and were not disappointed. The lecture as introduced with the following statistic:

“Only 55% of people take the life-saving medication (for cancer, heart disease, diabetes etc.)  that they have been prescribed.”

Faced with this statistic, how can we expect our clients to follow our advice when it comes to nutritional programming? Fortunately, Mr Beradi had the solution (I’m kind of glad he did – otherwise it would have been a pretty pointless lecture).

The way to get compliance is to not overwhelm the client and give them advice one piece at a time. It’s also important to make sure that the advice they are given is something that they can adhere to. I have also heard, that if you give a client advice slowly over time, they may get so frustrated with you not giving them it all at once that they’ll start making huge improvements in their diet – without even being asked. 

Although this method can take time, the results are outstanding – as revealed by the many before/after photos shown to us.

Lesson 1 – If a client isn’t complying with the advice you’ve given them – then it’s your fault and not theirs. Tough one to swallow, but it’s true.

Lesson 2 – There’s no need to fire clients that don’t comply. If they really aren’t going to try and change their habits, then they’ll probably ‘fire’ themselves and quit.

Brian Grasso – Long term sports training development models

At this point, I was unsure of which lecture to go to. I stuck with my guns and went for this one – and I’m glad I did. Brian spoke passionately about his work he has done with athletes – most notably youth athletes.

He told us the most appropriate way to train the different age groups. What was most interesting was that when you have kids younger than 10, the best way to train them is to let them do what they want. I did this with a couple of kids I used to train, and at times felt bad for not having proper structure. But the key thing is that at that age – the kids must be having fun. I knew I was doing the right thing when their mum would tell me how much they enjoyed the sessions the next day. Swish.

An interesting fact in the research was that 11 of the last 14 research studies since 1967 have shown that daily physical education shows a huge improvement in academic performance. Therefore, kids need to be doing something every day – ideally non-competitive and movement based.

Lesson 1 – The best improvements for strength is when the athlete is 15-16 years old: Immediately following the peak height velocity phase

Lesson 2 – The human body ‘knows’ mechanical efficiency. The body will therefore recognise an incorrect movement and provided that there’s no structural issue, it should be able to automatically correct itself. This is most prevalent with kids and demonstrates the importance of not over-coaching the athlete. Once the movement has been attained – it will be there for life.

Alwyn Cosgrove – Fat loss programming

The big one. The main event. The one guy everyone wants to see – and he knew it!

Alwyn Cosgrove’s lecture about how his gym (Results Fitness) programmes fat loss clients and achieves results was outstanding. He used research to smash out-dated thoughts on aerobic training and justify his style of programming, including research that was less than a month old.

It is true that there is research showing that exercise doesn’t stimulate weight loss any more than a change in diet, thus confirming that you ‘can’t out-train a poor diet’. However, when good dietary practice is combined with exercise, the results are far greater than diet and exercise alone.

Every part of his programming is justified by research i.e. using strength training, using supersets, training explosively and using interval training. All of these methods have been shown to increase metabolism and maximise fat loss at rest.

Results Fitness has a large number of before/after photos of successful fat loss clients and provides a perfectly good reason to listen to them.  

Alwyn was funny, full of energy and probably the highlight of the seminar. He was also the only presenter to receive a standing ovation (although he did ask for one. Twice.)

Lesson 1 – If you want to get better at being a trainer – go and find people more successful than you and copy them (kind of why I’m in the states…)

Lesson 2 – One hour of aerobic training, six days a week, for a year resulted in a grand total of 3.08lbs weight loss for women and 3.96lbs weight loss for men. That is an abysmal pay-off for 312 hours of exercise. Stop relying on aerobic training for fat loss!

Lesson 3- Use self-limiting exercises in your programming i.e. exercises that can’t be done with bad form and therefore a low risk of injury

Lesson 4 – If a trainer asked you to hop 750 times on your right leg and then 750 times on your left leg, you’d think he was mad and probably leave him. But what happens when you alternate 1500 hops between left and right legs and move forward – it’s called jogging for a mile and there are many trainers out there still prescribing this useless training modality.

Following the final lecture, everyone was invited to the main room for a Q&A session with the presenters. Here we learnt the presenters favourite books, how to break into the corporate world and a few other things that were sitting in some peoples' minds.

I went to the pub over the road to let all the information sink in. Not long after, Alwyn Cosgrove happened to walk in so I thought I'd go over, introduce myself and tell him how brilliant I thought he was etc.

He smiled politely and nervously and then turned away.

I think I have perfected the art of scaring off strength coaches……

Perform Better Functional Training Summit - Day 1

This weekend, I attended a major learnfest known as the ‘Perform Better Functional Training Summit’ in Long Beach, California. This was the third event of its kind this year with the first 2 being in Providence and Chigago (a lot closer to where I have been staying). I have read from numerous other coaches that if you don’t make the effort to attend this intellectual feast, you were doing yourself a severe disservice as a coach/trainer.

No way was I going to do myself disservice, so I travelled the 3000 miles from east coast to west coast, blitzed through 3 time zones and checked into the most expensive hotel I’m ever likely to step into. Committed? I think so.

As I’m at Boston airport, who should I see waiting for the same flight as me? None other than legendary strength and conditioning coach – Mike Boyle and I decided that it was 100% necessary to speak to him....

....So approximately 7 hours later at Long Beach airport baggage claim, I walked straight over to him and introduced myself. I think in all honesty he wanted to walk away, but as he was waiting for someone to collect their bag, he had no choice but to listen to me go on about how great I thought he was. He then offered me to ride in the cab with him and Kevin – the ‘Perform Better travelling band’ - back to the hotel. So that was my first brush with strength and conditioning fame. Great guy. As was Kevin (who in addition to being a great guy he also turned out to be a singer/guitar player).

The next morning, I ate the most expensive breakfast every known to man  - but justified it as part of the experience. I then casually wandered over to the convention center and registered myself with the event.

I saw a total of 11 lectures and attended 2 practicals over the 3 days. In every one of them, I learnt something new that will be valuable to me upon my return to work. I will do a brief summary of each lecture/practical I attended, followed by 2-3 key points that I took from it.

Day 1

Martin Rooney – Speed training for every client (practical)

No one has more energy when presenting than Martin Rooney and he is maybe only second in humour only to Alwyn Cosgrove. His passion is extremely prevalent when he was up on stage and it became pretty infectious - you can tell that he absolutely loves speaking in front of people.

This practical consisted of how to implement speed training into your clients’ programming. He commanded the whole room through a warm-up and taught us 8 rules that had to be stuck to when training (which irritatingly, I have forgotten). The style of his warm-up would serve as a fantastic way when training a large group of kids who need to focus. Following the warm-up, we were taken through some activation drills for the glutes that all involved use of the mini-bands.

Finally, we all participated in various speed drills. As Martin told us in the beginning, he didn’t expect us to learn any new drills, and he was right there, but he did expect us to be taught them in a way that we had never experienced before – and he was bang on.  

Lesson 1 – The most important exercise you’re doing is the one you’re doing now

Lesson 2 – You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable

Robert Yang – Breaking the fatigue cycle

This turned out to be one of my favourite lectures. Robert spoke about varying types of fatigue that clients are subjected to and suggested different strategies to help defeat fatigue. He discussed how lifestyle and nutrition play an important part in one’s overall health.

For example, craving sweet foods after each meal is a sign of fatigue. Interestingly, one teaspoon of sugar depresses macrophages (white blood cells – an integral part of the immune system) for up to 2 hours. So if feel tired and not up to full health all the time and you consume a fair amount of sugar – now you know why. Furthermore, after watching his DVD, I've learnt that eating certain inflammatory foods can inhibit the activity of the core muscles and lead to low back pain.

Lesson 1 – The bottom of the food pyramid should be water

Lesson 2 – Some medications (statins and blood pressure meds) deplete our reserves of CoQ10 – which is essential for energy production.

Lesson 3 – Despite what the majority of the population thinks, red wine is not that great for you. Firstly, after 2 glasses, growth hormone secretion ceases at night and thyroid hormone becomes depressed, thus decreasing fat loss and welcoming a lower metabolism and fat gain. Secondly, the amount of reservatrol (the nutrient that makes red wine healthy) per glass is so insignificant that you would need to drink about 6 gallons to get the equivalent of a single capsule in supplement form.

Bill Parisi – The 5 biggest mistakes I made in the personal training business

Unfortunately, this lecture came immediately after lunch and I had some trouble staying awake and paying attention (major sign of fatigue - as learnt from Robert Yang). This was a very business orientated lecture, in which Bill discussed mistakes he had made so that we would not make the same ones.

We were told how he set up the Parisi Speed School and the efforts he went to in order to be successful. Most importantly, we learnt what he would have done differently should he have to do it again.

Lesson 1 – If goals aren’t hard to reach, then they aren’t big enough

Lesson 2 – Being clear with what you want = POWER

Mike Boyle – Success secrets

A brilliant lecture from my mate Mike. He discussed the strategies necessary for becoming a successful personal trainer. Key point – if you’re not willing to work hard for it, then you’re in the wrong job.

Mike told us the efforts he went to get where he is today, and I’ll be honest, I’m not really that envious. I mean, working 80 weeks for 51 weeks of the year may sound great to some, but not me. That said, I have now learnt that there is a way round this.

The lecture was heavily focused on the importance of getting out there and working - if you need to do it for free, then so be it. Do what you love and money will follow.

Lesson 1 – Until you have done 10,000 hours: DON’T make a DVD, DON’T write an e-book, WORK and PERFECT the craft. Whatever you want to do – put the 10,000 hours in first.

Lesson 2 – Under promise – then over deliver J

Martin Rooney – Speed training for every client (lecture)

To begin with, Martin managed to ‘hypnotise’ the whole audience. When we opened our eyes, we were presented with this:

Yes, he was wearing an alien mask and continued to do so for about 20 minutes. It made sense at the time and was pretty funny.

He firstly pointed out the fact that humans are declining in health for a number of reasons (lack of sleep and exercise and disgraceful nutrition). As a means of getting back on track, sprinting would be a great place to start. Humans are designed to sprint – not run long distances (which is why we have a gluteus maximus and Achilles tendon on each leg). When we sprint, our brain releases chemicals that make us stronger and live longer (and make us smile). When we run long distances, the chemicals released act as natural tranquilisers that prepare us for immediate death – there is no way that we would be running for that long if we weren’t running away from something that was about to eat us.

Lesson 1 – The 100m finals are one of the most exciting events in the Olympics. Not true for the marathon. Although we respect sprinting, most people don’t do it, some people fear it and as a result – kids aren’t taught it.

Lesson 2 – One of the first things we sacrifice when times get tough is sleep. When a baby is asleep, everyone goes to great effort to let the baby sleep. When did it become ok to not respect the need for sleep?

Lesson 3 – Babies hate fizzy drinks – they wretch when you try feeding it to them. Liking it is just getting used to it. When did that become ok?

Lesson 4 – When we lose 15 minutes of sleep – our IQ drops by 5%

Thomas Plummer – Evolve or die

The keynote speaker - Thomas Plummer told us how now is the best time for us to be successful as personal trainers – but we need to change in order for that to happen. Out of chaos comes an opportunity, which if we can catch early – we can make a great career out of the industry.  

Thomas Plummer was an extremely funny guy who had the respect of every presenter as at some point, he had most probably consulted with them on how to improve their business.

Lesson 1 – Treat all clients like athletes

Lesson 2 – Design your ideal career and then do everything to make sure it happens

Day 1 was then rounded up with a social, which included as much free beer as you could handle. I then took it upon myself to follow this with an extremely dodgey burrito at a Mexican restaurant. 

Not so smart. 

Day 2 was to be followed by more great speakers such as Rachel Cosgrove, John Beradi and Alwyn Cosgrove. 

However, before I write about that, I need to fly 3000 miles back (via Texas) to the East coast.....

Why Cressey Performance is awesome

"Cressey Performance is a factory, man"

(Nick Tumminello, 2011).

When I first heard that, I didn't quite know what to expect, but after having spent my last 3 days at CP, I completely understand what he meant.

Cressey Performance is located in Hudson, MA and is described on their website as follows:

"A high-performance training facility designed by athletes for athletes, and those looking to make a serious commitment to their long-term health"

It is owned by Eric Cressey and was co-founded by Pete Dupuis and Tony Gentilcore. In addition, other coaches include Chris Howard, current intern Tyler Simmons and a nice chap called George (who I believe is the guy in the vest in this video and pretty much did this every time anyone went to lift heavy. He essentially was the gym's Terry Tate).

However, before I describe how awesome CP is, I must firstly describe it's one (and only) negative - it's location. Specifically, it's location if you're a foreigner with no wheels other than the ones on your suitcase.

Where I was staying was roughly 10 miles from the gym and there was ZERO public transport that could get me there. I could have got a bus to the nearest town, but only if I fancied walking 13 miles a day (I didn't).

In the end, I manned up, rented a car and got on with it (and took a picture of a reservoir and a liquor store on the way).

Bill gave me directions :)

Apparently you could catch a bus to the car rental from here. Another epic fail by Google maps.

Back on subject....

The clientele of CP consists of about 80% athletes, with about 80% of those being baseball players. As it's the summer, all the guys training were either high school or college level athletes. However, when they all go back to education, the professionals will come in. The fun never stops.

I spent my time watching the guys train, the coaches doing their job, taking notes, asking questions and generally trying not to get in the way.

As a frequent reader of Eric Cressey's and Tony Gentilcore's blogs, I had a fair idea of what to expect, but until you're there, you can't really appreciate it.

Without further ado, here is why CP is awesome, and why all gyms should aspire to be like it (I apologise if I repeat myself):

1) One of the first things I saw was a girl deadlifting.

I could stop right here, because that would probably be enough for most people. But I didn't take 20+ pages of notes for nothing.....

2) The athletes knew what they were doing. Kids of all ages were doing things like deadlifts, squats, speed work, by themselves and it looked extremely professional.

3) Most of the athletes had perfect technique on everything and if they didn't someone would be on them straight away to correct them

4) The coaches were able to keep an eye on everyone at all times and didn't let allow for anything sloppy

5) One of the most impressive things I saw was a guy who was deadlifting on his first session, with technique that would have made me leave the deadlift for another exercise. Tony saw this guy, walked over to him and proceeded to slap him in all the right places, thereby transforming his technique into something that was actually pretty decent.

6) The athletes were being educated whilst they trained

7) Every now and then, Tank (Eric's puppy) would have a wander through the gym keeping an eye on everyone

8) The athletes cleared up after themselves.

9) The dumbbells were always in the correct order

10) The dumbbells went from 5-100lbs. Most impressively, there were (and probably still are) 2 of each weight. I've not seen that before and is a nice touch to the gym.

11) There were no egos.

12) The athletes were training safely

13) There were some strong guys in there

14) The gym has used its space extremely well and there is plenty of room to accommodate a large number of guys at once

15) Every single piece of equipment was used. Nothing was collecting dust.

16) No time was being wasted. People were turning up and doing their thing.

17) Everyone put in hard work.

18) Guys got together and cheered each other on

19) I didn't see a single missed rep whilst I was there. Actually, the only missed reps were my own (but that's because I can't convert lbs to kg in my head yet)

20) Some of the more experienced athletes were helping out some of the newer guys when it came to technique

21) The collective knowledge of the staff is huge

22) Parents were with their kids during their assessments and the coaches did a great job of explaining to them what they were doing and what they were looking for.

23) There was a huge board of high school athlete records in the Front Squat, 3RM Chin-up, Broad Jump and Vertical Jump. Great motivation to keep training.

24) You regularly hear the sounds of chains. Nuff said.

25) The exercises are suited to the client. Most guys squatted, but the type of squat was dependent on their capabilities.

26) Females of all ages were doing pull-ups. Nice

27) The music is ideal for the gym environment. No Justin Beiber or Bill Bryson occasionally spilling out of the speakers.....

28) Chalk on the floor isn't considered a mess - it's attitude.

29) Every client has their own individual programme

30) If you go on youtube, you can watch videos of University strength and conditioning facilities - CP puts these places to shame in terms of exercise individualisation, exercise technique and programme design.

31) Females get stuck in. They weren't training any differently from the males.

32) They appear to have created over 100 different ways to throw a medicine ball.

33) One poor kid was sick after using the prowler. He was 'slow-clapped' on his return into the gym by about 15 guys (thanks to Eric).

34) There were young kids training and getting on with what their doing, and using perfect form - think how awesome they'll be when they're older.

35) Unlike every other gym in the world, the bench press stations were completely unused on Monday.

36) There was a huge amount of 'out of the box' thinking in terms of exercises.

37) Whenever the gym appears to be quietening down, another 4-5 guys were warming up - good flow of athletes during the day.

38) If you were a parent and took your kid to the facility, you couldn't not want them to train there. You'd see first hand A) your kid being fully assessed and be able to ask questions, B) watch them train during the first session, safely under supervision, C) you'd see all the other guys training and being awesome - pretty safe bet that your kid will be like that soon.

39) From the moment they walk in - every single athlete was acknowledged by first name.

40) One athlete attempted to skip a large chunk of their warm up. They were sent back to finish immediately!

41) I heard a dubstep remix of 'Seek and Destroy' by Metallica. I never knew such a thing could exist.

42) There are no mirrors. The athletes learn to 'feel' correct technique (I assume that anyway).

43) Other than number 40, no warm-up was rushed and a lot of time and care is taken by each of the guys when it comes to movement preparation.

44) Finally, and probably the number one reason why CP is awesome and something that ALL gyms should incorporate is this sign:

As a result, I didn't see a single mobile phone in the gym whilst I was there and that's the first time I've ever seen that in any gym.

The key point I learnt was that technique was drilled into the guys training from their first session onwards. They never had an opportunity to use poor form - and this is manifested in the guys who had been training there for a while.

The other point was that each client is assessed and then programmed to their capabilities, needs and availability. They are then reprogrammed at the end of each phase. How many other gyms can say that they actually do this with their clients?

As Alwyn Cosgrove said in his 'Death of Personal Training' webinar on Monday night, your facility needs to be an experience and a culture. Cressey Performance has done just that.

Big thanks to Eric, Tony, Pete, Chris, Tyler and George for letting me watch what you do best and teaching me a ton. I feel a better coach already!

Lessons and thoughts from the Functional Movement Screen Seminar

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) seminar, presented by Gray Cook and Lee Burton and held by Perform Better.

I first heard of the FMS whilst studying at University and a few years later, witnessed its use whilst working at the Better Body Shop by coach and trainer, Christo Koukoullis.

The FMS comprises of a screening of 7 different movements:

Overhead Squat

Hurdle Step

In-Line Lunge

Lying Leg Raise

Shoulder Mobility

Core Stability Push-up

Rotatory Stability

A score of 0-3 is then given to each movement (0=pain, 3=perfectron).

From this, the scores are added to give a total out of 21. But the real interest for the assessor is not necessarily the total score, but any movement that the client had an inability to do. 

According to the manual, there are 4 intended purposes of movement screening: 

1)  Identify “at risk” individuals 

2) Using corrective exercise to normalise fundamental movement patterns, thus assisting in programme design 

3)  Monitoring progress and movement pattern development 

4)  Creates a functional movement baseline

One key study by Kiesel et al. (2007) showed that by having a score of less than 14 was positive to predicting injury in NFL football players.  Another study by Okada et al. (2011) attempted to correlate FMS scores with performance predictors (backwards overhead medicine ball throw, T-test and single leg squat). This study showed that the FMS scores were weakly correlated to the performance tests; however, Lee Burton drew attention to the fact that the study only looked at the overall FMS score and that the scores of some of the individual FMS tests were, in fact, significantly correlated with some of the performance tests.

The beauty of the FMS is its simplicity - it takes about 10-15 minutes to perform and has a high inter-rater reliability, meaning that if 2 different people perform the FMS on the same individual, they will most likely score the same result, regardless of experience (Minick et al., 2010).

Whilst studying for my Masters, I completed the ACSM’s Corrective Exercise Module, which consists of an overhead squat and a single leg squat in its movement screen. Any dysfunction seen in these movements is due to either a muscle tightness or a muscle weakness. Apparently, unless you do an EMG, there is no way of ever knowing this as a single muscle cannot be blamed for a movement dysfunction. For example, if the arms fall forward during the overhead squat, tightness of the lats is frequently blamed. However, Gray pointed out that the lats may not be tight and could, in fact, be contracting in order to protect the low back.

Gray Cook - 1 ACSM - 0

If I’m honest, I did have some doubts about the use of the FMS. For example, whilst the 7 movements do cover a lot, they may not provide specific information that you may require of an athlete, such as the difference in hip internal rotation between the left and right hip or any strength discrepancy of hip extension between left and right sides. However, every issue that I had with the FMS was resolved during the lecture, and if a movement is faulty, then testing the specific joint ROM is always an option.

The one test that caused the most grief is the rotary stability test.

At the Better Body Shop, we believed that this test was a load of rubbish (mostly, but not entirely, owing to the fact that none of us could do it). The other issue with the test is that no one could work out what it actually showed. Well, this is the purpose of the test as described in the manual:

"The rotary stability pattern observes multi-plane pelvis, core and shoulder girdle stability during a combined upper- and lower-body extremity movement. This pattern is complex, requiring proper neuromuscular coordination and energy transfer through the torso."

So, uh, Gray Cook – 2, Better Body Shop – 0. 

As it happens, one girl in our group actually managed to nail this test on her right side. This photo shows her second attempt, which she did complete (although not as good as her first, which was perfect).

In terms of correcting the movement, a specific order must be followed. This was important as correcting one of the movement screens had the potential to correct other movements. For example, correcting the leg raise first can actually improve shoulder mobility (although you need to be pretty proficient in functional anatomy to be able to explain why).

The movement corrections involved a combination of increasing mobility and stability simultaneously at various joints in a way that the body would be able to "remember" the new movement, so that corrective exercise wouldn't have to be done every time they visited the from then on.  

An important thing to understand is that when training a client, the purpose is to train them to achieve their specific goal. Therefore, if doing the squat will help them achieve their goal and their technique is not up to scratch, it may be possible to get it near perfect by using a few corrective exercises. In other instances, an alternative (or regression) to the squat may used and the necessary corrective exercises can be integrated into rest periods, with the aim of achieving a squat in the very near future.

However, corrective exercise should not comprise the WHOLE SESSION (with very few exceptions) as A) this is not why the client has come to the gym and B) unless you’re a physiotherapist (or in a related field), this is not the role of a personal trainer/strength and conditioning coach when trying to enhance aesthetics/performance.

When I return to work, I will use the FMS as it’s a very simple procedure and can give a lot of helpful information. That said, I don’t believe I would ever use it as a stand-alone and am likely to use it identify areas of attention that may warrant further assessment. I should say though, that it is completely possible that I will change my mind on it after I start using it – only time will time.

Therefore, as of present, I would recommend the FMS seminar to any trainer who is considering taking it, and I would DEFINITELY recommend it to any trainer who does not currently use any sort of assessment procedure (because it's better than what they're currently doing).

5 things I learnt from the FMS: 

1)  Pain = cortisol. If a client suffers from joint pain, they will produce cortisol as a stress response, thus wrecking their fat loss/muscle gaining efforts. We were told a strength coach who recently lost 5 inches off his waist following hip surgery – apparently his cortisol levels were through the roof prior to being operated on. 

2)  Some clients may want a fitness solution to a medical problem. In these instances, these clients must be referred. 

3)  If obese people learn to move properly, thus improve their mechanics then they will have increased energy in the gym, which can be put towards better use in training. 

4) Eating foods that you have a sensitivity to cause gastrointestinal stress, which tells the abdominal muscles to relax and stop them from doing their job properly. 

5) Motor learning cannot occur under stress. Therefore, training an individual who should actually be recovering is not a wise move as strength training is all about motor learning.

Bonus

6) An imbalance on one side of the body forces the other side to work harder which increases the risk of injury. Thus, asymmetry is rated as the second biomarker of injury risk (first is previous injury).

Lessons for the USA, training in the hottest gym.....in the world and weight training for weight loss

Lessons for the USA

Since I’ve been in America, I’ve had to repeat myself a few times. Not just because I sound funny to the Americans, but because some of the English language is used differently in America and people have no idea what I mean.

Here’s a few, widely used English words that have either no meaning or a different meaning over here.

Cheers = Thank you

Fit = Good looking
Lorry = Big truck

Roundabout = Traffic circle

Surname* = Last name

To be in a queue = To wait in line

*This one surprised me as they have never heard of a ‘surname’ and the guy I was speaking to thought it was a special type of nickname.

And here’s a couple of things I’ve come across….

If you have a 20 minute walk to the other side of town, add an extra 10 mins to account for having to cross the road. Regularly stopping and waiting for the lights to change in order to prevent getting arrested for jaywalking soon becomes a long, drawn-out affair.

Watching rugby with Americans and hearing them support England is strange and bizarre experience. They say things that sound odd and that I wasn’t expecting like “GREAT DEE-FENCE!”, “WIGGLESWORTH?! Great English name! GO WIGGLESWORTH!!!”, “Go JON-NEEEEE!” and “Doesn’t the field look great???” Then they will loudly applaud Wales when they score and exclaim how brilliant their try was and superb they are at all things related to rugby. I'm not complaining though, we still won. 



Training in the hottest gym…..in the world

A couple of days ago I took the opportunity to have a boxing lesson at Ground Control gym in Baltimore. This was the same gym that I visited last week and watched Nick Tumminello train ‘Big Gary’ (although I think ‘Gigantic Gary’ is probably more appropriate).

Nick introduced me to Henry Smith, who was to be my instructor for the next hour. Henry is an ex-professional Thai boxer (can’t remember his record, but it was good) and ex-amateur boxer with a record of something like 48-6. This, plus his tattoos, makes him harder than a coffin nail . 

I get there (15 minutes late – buses here are slow), begin an easy warm-up - 3 minutes of the skipping rope and 3 minutes shadow boxing. I say easy, but the truth is that afterwards I’m completely gassed. The gym was something like 40°C and the humidity was unbearable. For every 5 deep breaths taken, it felt like I had only had 1 small breath of air. Apparently, the air conditioning in the gym consists of ‘switching the lights off.’ It is actually hotter than the sun.

According to Henry, after the summer, a number of his fighters go to Thailand to compete in tournaments. By training in his gym, his guys are acclimatised to the conditions they will experience in Thailand. And I’m experiencing it now and it is brutal, like training in a sauna whilst wearing a snorkel. 

I have to do a number of bag drills to begin with, which I attempt with maximum effort, but then need about 5 minutes to recover from. This is then followed by some mitt work, which can only happen in bursts of 30-60 seconds before my vision becomes blurry, I start to sway and I’m not really sure of where I am. The training ends with a single 3 minute round of pad work, which is generally what I would be used to doing for a full session.

However, once it’s over, I know I’ve given it everything and feel pretty good about doing it. In addition to that, training in the heat isn’t actually a bad thing as I just found a study that suggests it may elevate growth hormone levels (1).  

Maybe I'll be going back…..

Weight training for weight loss

To conclude this post, I thought I'd throw in something a bit more training related.

Most people know what a good diet is. They know that broccoli and wild salmon are good and that pizza and doughnuts are bad, and everyone knows that calories in must not exceed calories out. However, I still believe that the topic of training is still a misunderstood and confusing topic for most people embarking on a fat loss regime.

When your training objectives are solely to incinerate body fat, start with this one goal; to preserve, and possibly increase, muscle mass. This is possible by incorporating weight training and utilising short (<90 seconds) rest periods. 

By adhering to this rule (and, of course, sound dietary principles), you’ll effectively maximise caloric expenditure and fat loss will follow. 

All too often, when training clients (in particular, female clients), they were sceptical about weight training, for fear of looking Bulgarian at the end of a one hour session (or in one case, half an hour).

Obviously this is extremely unlikely to happen, and after repeatedly justifying myself (and quite magnificently, I might add), I have decided to list a few key points about weight training, specifically for the individual who is fixated on aerobic training (long runs, extended use of the bike/cross trainer etc.), for fat loss. 

Weight training	Aerobic training
Preserves muscle mass; therefore, resting metabolic rate is increased (number of calories burnt at rest increases) (2).	May decrease muscle mass, thus lowering resting metabolic rate (number of calories burnt at rest decreases) (2).
Can raise metabolism post-exercise (for up to 48 hours) (3, 4, 5).	Does not raise metabolism for as long following cessation of exercise (6)
Induces positive hormonal changes in the body that support muscle growth and fat loss (7)	Hormonal outputs are weaker or non-existent (8, 9, 10).
Easier to apply the overload principle, thus increasing work done every session (increased weight, repetitions etc.)*	Easier to just do the same thing every session, without ever increasing the challenge*

*Based on observation.

Skeletal muscle's preferred choice of fuel at rest is fat, therefore, assuming that diet is in order, an increased metabolism following weight training will increase the amount of body fat burnt at rest. Not bad eh?!

I would also like to emphasise the fact that weight training for fat loss involves any sort of resistance that is costly in terms of calories. For example, squats, press-ups and medicine ball throws are all ‘yes’ exercises, whereas wrist flexions, the inner thigh machine and leg extensions are all largely a waste of time for fat loss endeavours.

Furthermore, the repetitions should be challenging and as a general rule of thumb, should be around 8-12 per set. If you do 12 repetitions, but feel like you could have done 50, the weight was too light. If it feels like it’s doing nothing, then it probably is doing nothing.

Of course, as soon as you're ready for it (which may be a few weeks for beginners) I highly recommend more challenging activities, including metabolic resistance training, which can be performed as either ‘finishers’ or as the main session….

Although I’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to losing body fat, I feel that most people willbenefit greatly if they switch their training methods and accept the fact that in order to achieve excellent results in body composition, one must devote time to hard work in the gym.

Work hard, rest little, repeat and get better.

References

1.Wheldon A, Savine RL, Sönksen PH, Holt RI. Exercising in the cold inhibits growth hormone secretion by reducing the rise in core body temperature. Growth Horm IGF Res. 2006 Apr;16(2):125-31.
 
2.Bryner RW, Ullrich IH, Sauers J, Donley D, Hornsby G, Kolar M, Yeater R. Effects of resistance vs. aerobic training combined with an 800 calorie liquid diet on lean body mass and resting metabolic rate. J Am Coll Nutr. 1999 Apr;18(2):115-21.
 
3.Thornton MK, Potteiger JA. Effects of resistance exercise bouts of different intensities but equal work on EPOC. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 Apr;34(4):715-22.

4.Schuenke MD, Mikat RP, McBride JM. Effect of an acute period of resistance exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption: implications for body mass management. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2002 Mar;86(5):411-7.
 
5.Melby C, Scholl C, Edwards G, Bullough R. Effect of acute resistance exercise on postexercise energy expenditure and resting metabolic rate. J Appl Physiol. 1993 Oct;75(4):1847-53.
 
6.Sedlock DA, Fissinger JA, Melby CL. Effect of exercise intensity and duration on postexercise energy expenditure. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1989 Dec;21(6):662-6.
 
7.Kraemer WJ, Staron RS, Hagerman FC, Hikida RS, Fry AC, Gordon SE, Nindl BC, Gothshalk LA, Volek JS, Marx JO, Newton RU, Häkkinen K. The effects of short-term resistance training on endocrine function in men and women. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1998 Jun;78(1):69-76.
 
8.Felsing NE, Brasel JA, Cooper DM. Effect of low and high intensity exercise on circulating growth hormone in men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1992 Jul;75(1):157-62. 
 
9.Hackney AC, Premo MC, McMurray RG. Influence of aerobic versus anaerobic exercise on the relationship between reproductive hormones in men. J Sports Sci. 1995 Aug;13(4):305-11.
 
10.Wahl P, Zinner C, Achtzehn S, Bloch W, Mester J. Effect of high- and low-intensity exercise and metabolic acidosis on levels of GH, IGF-I, IGFBP-3 and cortisol. Growth Horm IGF Res. 2010 Oct;20(5):380-5.
 
 

Day 3 of mentorship with Nick Tumminello

No omelette fiasco today - simply as much protein as I could handle at that time in the morning:

My final day of my mentorship was still focused on programme design, but now going into much finer details. Reps, sets, rest and periodisation are all discussed.

The first stage of training with a beginner client should always focus on getting movement quality and building up strength in basic exercises. This is important as it also can build trust with a client. Beginners can sometimes be nervous when first coming to the gym, so terrorising them with a set of breathing squats or a 6-12-25 routine is probably not the best way to introduce them to training. The loads don't need to be too heavy, as beginners will get stronger using much lighter loads (I believe 40% 1RM) due to increased intramuscular coordination.

Importantly for beginners, hypertrophy training should always precede strength training, as hypertrophy training prepares the body for lifting at greater intensities as there are increases in bone density and connective tissue strength. Also, a bigger muscle generally has greater potential for being stronger than a smaller muscle.

Nick teaches me how to integrate various corrective exercises (provided the clients needs them) into training, but without distracting from the main training goal, which can easily happen if you don't watch your rest periods.

We then go on to planning an undulating periodised plan for hypertrophy, using a structure I've never seen before, in which weekly changes are made to some exercises. This has the advantage of preventing boredom and stimulating hypertrophy further by concurrently increasing strength.

As I told Nick my devastating tale about my BBQ experience last night, he takes me to a BBQ joint, where I enjoy some extremely tasty pulled-pork. He knows how to keep people happy!

At the end of the day, he takes me to 'Ground Control Academy', which is an MMA gym where he is a training a client called 'Big Gary'.

Gary doesn't compete, but likes to train to keep himself healthy, so Nick takes him through a few simple circuits.

This was good to watch, as Gary is a hard worker and I picked up a few new exercises to take home.

My experience with Nick Tumminello has been awesome. I've learnt a ton (way too much to be put down here), picked up a few new exercises, met a broad range of his clients (from a figure competitor to an 86 year old lady) and been taken out for some great food. I would highly recommend the mentorship to anyone who wants to get better at what they do. It's a completely different from being at a conference or a seminar and just listening to people speak. Spending your whole day with someone who's had many years of experience and great success at what they do gives you a real insight as to why they are good at at what they do and how you can be too.

That night, I go to a pub that has 100 beers or so on draft (my first one was served with a slice of orange) and serves deep fried alligator (tastes like fish) and spend most of my time chatting with some Americans about what it's like to be from England.

Not a bad end to the day!

5 lessons I learnt today:

1) Regardless of the client, warm-ups should be succeeded by some fast, athletic movement work. It should really be considered an extension of the warm-up and helps clients to stay athletic.

2) The 5 pillars of training are:

Pushing
Pulling
Rotation
Raising and lowering centre of mass (think squatting and deadlifting)
Locomotion

Training should include all of these movements.

3) When doing horizontal rows with a barbell, attach a fat pad to the bar and pull up so your chest lightly touches it. Going further than the pad can force the shoulders to internally rotate and the lower back to hyperextend.

4) Testing shoulder internal and external rotation by reaching behind the back will tell you where to put your hand when performing quadruped thoracic rotations. Either on the back of your head if external rotation is deficient or on your low back if you lack internal rotation.

5) In America, you get a choice of cheeses in subway. Also, if you say 'Ranch' in an English accent, they don't have a clue what you're asking for.