TAKE FIVE

By Tyler Wallace | August 13, 2008   

By Alan Russell | Aug 07, 2008

A common question and fodder for gym-floor discussion is how to measure and track values of muscle strength.  Most of the research in strength testing relates to athletic populations performing maximal efforts.  I do see where it's relevant to have this absolute strength value, but how many of our clients (even the athletic ones) SHOULD be doing maximal efforts simply to evaluate the muscles’ ability to produce force?  That approach is not reasonable nor indicated for many clients including youth, elderly, unconditioned, inexperienced, obese, prenatal/postpartum, and many other populations requiring special considerations.  In these instances, sub-maximal strength testing is appropriate.

Generally speaking, your instructions are to have the client perform between 5-12 repetitions of an exercise.  Then you would estimate their 1-RM by cross-referencing the number of repetitions performed and the amount of resistance utilized with the estimation chart (Appendix F; page 534-539) in the Essentials of Personal Fitness Training text.  Now you have the "estimated" 1-RM.

But how accurate is this estimation with other body parts?  Unfortunately, this method is only statistically relevant to the squat and bench press exercises.  These 1-RM charts don’t apply to total body training.  So for most of the exercises that you want to test and estimate total strength, I’d suggest that you shift focus to the total amount of quality repetitions performed.  This method of tracking repetitions still keeps you inline with the OPT progressions.

By Scott Lucett | July 30, 2008

By Tyler Wallace | July 23, 2008

The world’s greatest athletes are preparing for the chance of a lifetime--their moment of glory and the hopes that their lives will be changed forever.

As I write this blog, a certain event in China is merely days away. I will refer to this event as the Big Show as to not get anyone at the IOC upset with my use of the O word. The O word and brand and logo are better protected than the Da Vinci Code. The Big Show has lost a lot of appeal with the commercialism that it has gravitated towards and the world being a smaller place than it used to be. I will save those topics for another blog.

I have been fortunate enough to work with many athletes who have been able to chase their dreams and make it to the Big Show. Some of them you know, some you will never know, all of them you would want to know. It is amazing to see the differences in the physical, mental, emotional, personal, and professional challenges that these athletes go through as they work day after day getting to be perfect for that moment however long or short.

Some of those athletes are guaranteed a spot in the Big Show, favorites for medals. Some must qualify and by making their country’s team, have accomplished more than they ever imagined. There are those athletes that play a team sport and those who are alone in their chase for excellence. There are men and there are women. There are athletes who have all the resources in the world available to them and there are those who are living paycheck to paycheck and trying to make it on their own. Regardless of their situation, being part of a team and riding alongside the trials and tribulations of four years of preparation for one event is one giant rollercoaster ride.

Many of the athletes have had help in their training, planning, coaching, and motivation from one of you; many wish they had. From personal trainer to performance coach to corrective exercise specialist, any of these athletes would benefit from the opportunity to work with you.

For those of you who are part of the experience through any part of the four years or the Big Show itself, you understand that after all that work--regardless of whether they come home with a medal--their lives will be changed forever and so will yours.

By Alan Russell | July 16, 2008

I hope everyone enjoyed a fun-filled Fourth of July holiday with family and friends.  Nothing says summer like a grilled hot dog.  Tasty morsels of processed beef parts held together with copious amounts of cholesterol, trans-fatty acids, and salt.  Did you have one?  More than one?

I knew my Fourth of July was going to be busy juggling chores, kids, and get-togethers – so my day started at the gym.  And while I’m on the treadmill scanning the scene for a diversion, I happen upon ESPN that is televising the annual Nathan’s famous hot dog eating event at Coney Island (NY) in all its High Def glory.  I was completely consumed by this event that promotes gut-busting over-consumption.  This year’s event featured the flame-haired Kobayashi from Japan, a six-time Nathan’s champion, and the current title holder, Joey Chestnut from California.  The winner is determined by the total number of hot dogs (and buns) consumed in a 10-minute period.  Fortunately for the favorites on the mainstage, this 10-minute period ended in a tie with each downing 59 hot dogs and buns.  Then in an “overtime” showdown, that almost had me falling off the treadmill, Chestnut retained the title.

The real eye-opening part was that this event is "sanctioned" by the IFOCE (International Federation of Competitive Eating).  Who knew?!  To my surprise, there’s a competitive eating event for nearly everything you’d want to eat (grilled cheese sandwiches, hamburgers, BBQ ribs, blueberry pie, baked beans) and for things you’d probably pass on (cow brains, rice balls, tamales).

To the treadmill on my right, a conversation started up.  She asked a very relevant question, and wanted to know if I believed that the promotion of over-consumption validated large-portion food consumption in the general public – which contributes to America’s annually increasing waistline.  My answer – No!  I don’t believe that this rogue form of reality entertainment validates all that.  This particular hot dog eating event has been around for nearly 100 years.  But common sense has to prevail here, and conclude that eating over 60 hot dogs in just over 10 minutes is simply not good for you.  Bloated, nauseous, surging blood pressure, headaches, irregular blood glucose levels, hormonal imbalances, and good old-fashioned gastrointestinal distress doesn’t sound like an enjoyable holiday to me.  But hey, I’m a sucker for Twizzlers anyways!

Tums anyone?

By Scott Lucett | July 10, 2008

Yes, I know you have all come across them at some time or another. The weight loss client who swears they’re doing everything you are telling them regarding exercise and eating modifications, yet they are not losing weight. The first time I came across this client, I rationalized with myself that it had to be me. It had to be my program. I wasn’t educating them properly. At night I was waking up in a cold sweat from nightmares of hundreds of weight loss clients bearing down on me complaining that I was not providing them the appropriate service due to their lack of results (not really, but the point is that I was generally concerned with my abilities). I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get to the bottom of things!

With this particular client, I had a mere three hours a week to work with him to expend as many calories as he could (within physical capabilities of course), which all said, probably totaled a wopping 700 to 800 calories/week (roughly the amount of a 16 oz. café mocha and a blueberry scone - awesome). So it must have been something that he was doing (or not doing) the other 165 hours of the week that was affecting his ability to lose weight. As my investigation continued, I asked him what he was eating (since he was doing everything I told him). He told me he was eating a minimum of four meals a day, just as I suggested. He was choosing fruits, vegetables, lean meat, rice, etc….all good food choices. So my next question was how much he was eating? A cup of this, three ounces of that he told me. OK, everything sounds good so far…until I asked him what three ounces of chicken looked like. He extended his hands as to show the length of an object and measured out about a foot in length. How about a cup of rice? It looked as if he was holding a bowl in his hands rather that a cup. Finally, the answer presented itself: he was eating all the right food, but was eating too much of it! So it wasn’t what I was or wasn’t having him do in the gym, but what he was doing the other 23 hours of the day outside the gym that was affecting his ability to lose weight! However, I did learn that I had to take some responsibility in this, as I never educated him on portion sizes (just proper food choices). That mistake never happened again.

As more of these experiences surfaced, the more I found out how many people feel like as long as they workout, then their weight loss goals will be attained. They feel they are expending 1500 calories in a workout session, so they can have what they want when they leave. Like my earlier client, some people don’t realize they are doing anything wrong, which simply comes back to education. However, I also found out that some clients know they are doing things wrong, but don’t want you to know about it. I had clients literally lie to me about what they are doing/not doing outside the gym just so they didn’t feel the “wrath” of their trainer! Where’s the trust? Where’s the love?

For the trainer, this can be frustrating as most trainers are trying to do everything they can to make the workout sessions as fat loss conducive as possible, but you don’t have any true control of your client once they leave the gym (other than educational advice for lifestyle modifications to help with the process). Yet, some of these clients will still come back, tell you they are doing everything you’ve asked, but nothing is changing. So, how do you tackle this frustrating and even sensitive situation?  How can you determine that if individuals are not changing, they must be doing something outside the gym that is keeping them at a caloric balance or even surplus (assuming the exercise program is sound)? How do you communicate this to your client without making them feel like you’re calling them a liar? What are some lifestyle modifications you can suggest having clients practice to decrease caloric consumption and/or increase caloric expenditure without it feeling like a total 180 turn in their current lifestyle?

By Tyler Wallace | July 2, 2008