A few weeks ago, when we handed a relatively new athlete his second strength and conditioning program from Cressey Performance, he asked:
What different things are we working on this month, compared to the last month?
I was candid with him and emphasized that we'd be working on some of the exact same stuff - but progressing on what we did in Month 1 with new strength exercises and subtle shifts in what was prioritized in light of where he'd improved the most. In short, the answer was to trust in the program, and allow time for adaptation to occur.
"Assuming" adaptation is one of the biggest mistakes I see coaches and athletes make in strength training programs, as the truth is that everyone responds to a given stimulus differently.
For instance, I've had professional baseball players come back from long seasons with horrendous rotator cuff strength that takes a good 10-12 weeks to get back to baseline. On the other hand, I've had guys come back from the same long season with outstanding cuff strength. It'd be a disservice to these two types of athletes to hand them the same arm care programs, at the same time, with the same progressions. Unfortunately, it's something that happens all the time in a wide variety of strength and conditioning programs simply because folks may be married to a long-term periodization approach, when more of a short-term "wait and see" methodology may, in fact, be far more effective.
In a linear periodization model (which research has proven inferior to an undulating approach in terms of strength and muscular endurance), one might approach the baseball off-season with the following progression: muscular endurance training (sets of 12-15) in September, hypertrophy training (sets of 6-12) in October-November, strength training (sets of 1-6) in December-January, and then power training (lower-load sets of 1-8) in February-March.
The problem with this model of athletic development, of course, is that you get very proficient in one quality at a time while detraining the others. And, each athlete may not need a specific phase of this scheme.
For instance, a baseball player who is an insanely reactive athlete might not need any true power training; he could get that from his sport exclusively - and would therefore be better off emphasizing maximal strength.
Conversely, an athlete who is insanely strong, but slow, would need more power training and less work on maximal strength.
Finally, baseball players don't really need much, if any, muscular endurance training. They build that in a more specific approach later on with the volume and intensity progressions in their throwing and hitting programs.
These are just a few of the many reasons we use a concurrent periodization model for all the strength training programs we write at Cressey Performance. This broad approach affords us the flexibility we need to make specific changes for each athlete based on the adaptations we observe, not something we assume has taken place.
It's perfectly fine to implement variety to keep training fun, expose an athlete to a rich proprioceptive environment, and ensure that overuse injuries don't occur, but never lose sight of the goals of any good strength and conditioning program: addressing an athlete's most glaring weaknesses.
If an athlete is painfully weak, don't stop all strength work 6-8 weeks out of the season because you're supposed to be working on power and conditioning at that time period. Just tinker with things; don't overhaul.
If an athlete is strong as a bull, but always deconditioned, you may need to cut back on the maximal strength work and prioritize metabolic conditioning more.
The body will always have a limited recovery capacity, so when it comes to writing strength and conditioning programs, one must always prioritize the most pressing needs, not simply adhere blindly to a long-term plan that doesn't take into account these opportunities for adaptation.
Today is just a quick blog, as I wanted to give you a heads-up on an article at MLB.com about off-season training for professional baseball players, as Cressey Performance was featured. Check it out:
Players Turning to Group Offseason WorkoutsSign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive a Copy of the Exact Stretches used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
A while back, Mike Reinold and I presented our Functional Stability Training of the Core seminar to an audience of about 60 rehabilitation and strength and conditioning specialists at Cressey Sports Performance. In today's post, I wanted to touch on a topic we covered collaboratively: how to categorize various core stability exercises and incorporate them into your strength and conditioning programs.
Both Mike and I are in agreement that your four general categories are anterior core stability, posterior core stability, lateral core stability, and rotary core stability.
Anterior core stability exercises teach the body to resist excessive lumbar spine extension, and encompass a variety of drills, starting with dead bug, curl-up, and prone bridging activities. In prepared individuals, they progress all the way up through more advanced exercises like stability ball rollouts, and TRX flutters and fallouts.
Posterior core stability exercises are designed to train the body to resist excessive lumbar spine flexion. Your drills may include everything from the birddog all the way up through more conventional strength training exercises like deadlift variations.
Lateral core stability exercises teach you how to resist lateral flexion; in other words, your goal is to avoid tipping over. These drills may start with basic side bridging drills and progress all the way up through more advanced TRX drills and 1-arm carrying variations.
Rotary core stability exercises educate folks on how to resist excessive rotation through the lumbar spine. Examples include drills like landmines, lifts, and chops.
To be candid, this classification of core stability exercises isn't anything new to those of you who have been paying attention over the past few years. However, introducing these categories really wasn't my intention in this blog; rather, I had three key points I wanted to highlight:
1. It's not just what you do; it's how you do it.
You may be able to hold a prone bridge for 25 minutes, but if you're doing so in terrible positioning and just relying on your hip flexors and lumbar erectors to do the work, you're doing more harm than good. You'd be amazed at how many high level athletes can't do a simple prone or side bridge correctly.
2. A core stability exercise rarely fits into one category, especially when you add progressions to it beyond the initial stages.
Take a kettlebell crosswalk, for instance.
In this exercise, you have different loads in each hand, which makes it a lateral core stability exercise. With each step, the athlete goes into single-leg stance, which makes it a rotary core stability exercise. With the load in the bottom hand, there is a tendency to be pulled into flexion, so you have a posterior core stability exercise. Finally, with the arm overhead, one must prevent the rib cage from flying up and allowing the arm to fall backward, so you have an anterior core stability exercise as well. This example demonstrates the role of synergy among all the muscles (and fascia) around the core in achieving multidirectional core stability simultaneously.
Taking it a step further, how you control one plane of movement impacts the benefit you derive from a core stability exercise in the intended plane. In this half-kneeling cable lift, for instance, the primary goal is to work on rotary and lateral core stability, as the pull of the cable back toward the column is the primary destabilizing torque. You will, however, often see athletes perform the entire exercise in lumbar extension, as evidenced by a rib flair in the front, a backward lean, and loss of the packed neck. I execute the first two reps with the incorrect positioning, and the subsequent reps in neutral spine with adequate anterior core control.
3. When you consider the overlap among the various core stability exercise categories, it can be challenging to determine how to appropriately sequence them in a strength and conditioning program.
This will be the focus of part 2; stay tuned!
If you're looking for a great core stability resource right now, I'd encourage you to check out Functional Stability Training of the Core (as well as the rest of the Functional Stability Training series). And, to sweeten the deal, you can get 25% off through Monday (discount is automaticaly applied at checkout).
Several of our other products are also on sale; you can learn more HERE.
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I thrilled to announce that I'll be collaborating with Mike Reinold once again - this time on a seminar, Functional Stability Training, to take place on Sunday, November 20, 2011 at Cressey Performance in Hudson, MA.
Here's the agenda for the day:
Functional Stability Training – An integrated approach to rehabilitation and performance training – Reinold
Recent Advances in Core Performance - Understand the concept of Functional Stability Training for the Core, true function of the spine, and how this impacts injuries, rehab, and training – Reinold
Maintaining a Training Effect in Spite of Common Lumbar Spine and Lower Extremity Injuries – Outlines the causes and symptoms of several common injuries encountered in the lower extremity, and how to train around these issues to keep clients/athletes fit during rehabilitation – Cressey
Understanding and Controlling Extension in Athletes – Looks into the causes of and problems with excessive lumbar extension, anterior pelvic tilt, and rib flairs in athletes – Cressey
Lunch (Provided)
LAB – Assessing Core Movement Quality: Understanding where to begin with Functional Stability Training exercises for the core – Reinold
LAB – A Dynamic Progression of Core Performance Exercises - Progression from simple core control to advanced rehab and training techniques – Reinold
LAB – Understanding and Controlling Extension in Athletes – Progresses on the previous lecture with specific technique and coaching cues for exercises aimed toward those with these common issues – Cressey
LAB – Advanced Stability: Training Power Outside the Sagittal Plane – Traditional power training programs are predominantly focused on the sagittal plane, but in most athletic endeavors – especially rotational sports – power must be displayed in other planes of motion – Cressey
It's our goal to optimize the learning environment and have lots of interaction with all of those in attendance, so to that end, we'll be keeping the seminar to 50 people or less. Given that our Optimal Shoulder Performance seminar in 2009 sold out in under a week, this one is sure to do the same - so don't delay in registering, if this is of interest.
For more information, or to sign up, check out www.FunctionalStability.com.
Here's what some of our previous seminar attendees have had to say about their experiences seeing us live:
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September 6 might seem like just another Tuesday to most folks. Many people probably despise it because the day after Labor Day serves as an unofficial end to summer. Kids go back to school, teachers go back to work, and many seasonal businesses lose customers and employees as the season winds down.
Not me, though. Today, the madness begins for me – and I love it.
You see, today is the start of the professional baseball off-season, as some minor leaguers played their last games yesterday. Between now and the start of spring training in February/March, Cressey Performance will likely see over 50 guys either in the big leagues or trying to make the big leagues.
We get a special type of ballplayer, too. Trekking to Hudson, MA in the winter isn’t for everyone – and certainly not for guys who want to be coddled. Our guys love to work smart and hard – and that makes my job incredibly fun.
People are often surprised to learn that I never even played baseball in high school. Being an “outsider” to the game would seemingly make it harder to enter the world of baseball strength and conditioning, but I actually used it to my advantage. To put it bluntly, I had no preconceived notions of what people think works, so it made it easy for me to “buck” stupid baseball traditions and focus on what I know works. In short, as some of the world’s smartest marketing advisors have recommended, I did the opposite of what others do, and the Cressey Performance Elite Baseball Development Program thrived.
Given that baseball players are among the most often-injured athletes in sports, many “experts” in the industry baby them with “do no harm, but do no good” strength training programs. We show guys that it’s possible to get strong in an intelligent way while decreasing the risk of injury – both acutely and chronically.
Conversely, many strength and conditioning coaches alienate players by looking, acting, and programming like football coaches. We don’t Olympic lift, back squat, or bench press with our baseball players – and we’ve gone to great lengths to bring in equipment that enables us to modify traditional strength exercises and make them safer for a baseball population.
Many coaches who have played the game before rely exclusively on their experiences playing the game to dictate how players prepare nowadays. What they fail to appreciate is that the modern game is far different: more off-field distractions (e.g., heavier media attention, social networking), heavier travel schedules (more teams = more travel), more competing demands (e.g., strength and conditioning), and more pressure to succeed (larger organizations = more levels of minor leaguers pushing to take your job). As a result, I do a lot more listening to my athletes than I do talking - and much less assuming than other coaches do.
Loads of coaches run their pitchers into the ground, thereby ruining guys’ mobility, sapping their power, and abusing their endocrine systems in an ignorant attempt to improve recovery. Our guys never run more than 60 yards – and they get healthier and more athletic in the process.
Many organizations hand out the same strength and conditioning programs to all their players – regardless age, training experience, dominant hand, and position on the field. A lot of facilities are no better; one training program on the dry erase board dictates what everyone in the gym does on a given day. In a sport where each body (and injury) is unique – and asymmetry is overwhelmingly problematic – we give our guys a competitive advantage with a strength and conditioning program that is individualized to each player.
While some facilities were aligning themselves with companies who were trying to be “everything to everybody” by catering to loads of different sports, we allied with New Balance, a Boston-based and not only has a heavy baseball focus (225+ MLB players under contract), but a strong commitment to various charitable causes, American workers, and the education of up-and-coming players.
Walk into any professional baseball clubhouse, and you’ll see a lot of different “cliques.” Guys of a wide-variety of ages come from different states and countries, speak different languages or have different accents, and play different positions. On a 25-30 man roster, a player might only hang out with 2-3 teammates off the field at most during the season. We’ve made camaraderie an insanely important piece of the CP professional baseball approach, introducing guys to each other, setting up out-of-the-gym events for our guys, and creating a culture where everyone roots for everyone else. I’ve had guys at my house for Thanksgiving and at my wedding – and guys have held back on referring other players because they didn’t feel that their work ethics or attitudes would be a good fit for CP. In short, we’ve created a family and an experience – and given our athletes an ownership stake in it – while others just “worked guys out.”
Although it is a point Pat Rigsby, Mike Robertson, and I heavily emphasize in our Fitness Business Blueprint product, the concept of “doing the opposite” to succeed isn’t just applicable to business.
Go to any gym, and look at how many people are on the treadmills year-after-year, none of them getting any leaner. Get some of them to head across the gym to a weight room and they’ll transform their bodies in a matter of a few months. Switch someone from a high-carb, low-protein, low-fat diet to a high-protein, high-fat, low-carb diet, and they’ll often drop a lot of fat in a short amount of time.
With all that said, the answers for me will never be the right answers for you. Look at what you’re doing – whether it’s in training, business, or life – and think about how doing the exact opposite may, in fact, be the best way to improve your outcomes.
For those of you interested in taking a peek inside what goes on with the Cressey Performance Elite Baseball Development Program on a daily basis – from training videos to footage of guys goofing off in the office – I’d encourage you to follow @CresseyPerf on Twitter.
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Today's post is a guest blog from current Cressey Performance intern, Tyler Simmons. I had a super busy week, so when Tyler brought up this topic at CP the other day, I jumped at the opportunity to get him to write about it. You won't be disappointed.
Many people don’t know this, but before 1979, there were no public health guidelines for what foods our citizens should eat. So where would we be now without a food pyramid?
In the 1950s, a researcher named Ancel Keys developed a theory that certain dietary fats were a major cause of heart disease. Although the support for this theory was weak, it would eventually become the basis of nutritional recommendations for the entire country. This eventually morphed in to the theory that dietary cholesterol and saturated fat cause heart disease, and for the public it was easy to make the jump that these also cause weight gain and obesity.
So the US government decided to step in for the benefit of the uneducated masses and save us from imminent death and obesity.
The result? Since 1979, when the McGovern Committee made the first “Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” we’ve been encouraged to eat less animal fat, less cholesterol, and more grains. And, we were pretty successful at it; Americans adopted our new food guidelines and embraced a low-fat way of eating for the last 30 years. Here’s a chart of how are diets have changed over the last 100 years:
Source: Changes in consumption of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the United States during the 20th century. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 May;93(5):950-62.
We did a pretty good job. We’ve eaten less fat, less beef, less pork, and less dairy (fear the butter!) At the same time, we’ve eaten more chicken, more shortening, and drastically more soy oil (healthy fat right?).
Let’s check out this next graph to see what incredible health benefits we’ve gained as a result of this magnificent advice and our stellar compliance:
Source: 2010 Dietary Guidelines Scientific Advisory Committee
Who can tell me when it the obesity rate really starts to rise? Oh wow, 1980...but that’s when we got all the good advice to eat less animal fat, more grains, and more vegetable oil.
So what can we take away from this? A couple of things:
1. Eating more soy oil was a bad idea.2. “Healthy whole grains” may not be so healthy after all.3. Maybe the animal fat and red meat wasn’t actually the problem after all.
Numbers two and three here could span several articles in their own right. But for now, let’s just look at one, the soy oil.
You’ve probably heard about the “heart-healthy” fats called polyunsaturated fatty acids a.k.a. PUFAs. These include soy oil, canola oil, corn oil, and peanut oil. The high intake of omega-6 PUFAs is one of the most dramatic shifts in the American diet since 1909 with an especially large jump after 1970.
I think that the evidence shows that eating soy oil is about as smart as playing in traffic.
The graphs above suggest that PUFA’s aren’t particularly good for us and that we’ve been tricked in to becoming obese. What we’re looking at is epidemiological data, which can only show associations. We can see that eating at the same time we started eating way more PUFAs, we saw a striking increase in obesity. This is just association; it doesn’t show cause and effect.
So let’s look at a couple pieces of more direct evidence for why we should avoid PUFAs in our diet if we want to get jacked, stay lean, and rock a six-pack into old age.
Studies on rodent and humans demonstrate that the more omega-6 PUFA you eat, the more fat you gain.Inarodentstudy, three groups of rats ate diets with identical amounts of fat, protein, and carbohydrate, differing only in the type of fat they were eating. One group had beef tallow (low omega-6), the second had olive oil (moderate omega-6), and the third had safflower oil (tons of omega-6). Compared to the beef tallow group, the olive oil rats gained 7.5% in total body weight, and the safflower oil grouped gained 12.3% total body weight. The more omega-6, the fatter they got.
Inanotherstudy, 782 men were split in to two groups that ate isocaloric diets (they ate the same amount of calories) for 5 years. The only difference between the two groups was that one ate animal fats and the other ate vegetable oils (very high in omega-6). Compared to the animal fat group, the vegetable oil group had consistent increases in body fat and body weight. By the end of the study the vegetable oil group weighed 5% more on average.
I have found that when working with athletes and people who just want to look better, modifying omega-6 intake is a critical factor in fat loss.
Keep in mind that fat gain is mult-faceted in its causes. I’m not suggesting that omega-6 is the sole reason for fat gain, just that it is a significant factor. There are a variety of reasons to eat less omega-6 fats beyond the fat gaining characteristics, so limit the vegetable/seed oils and don’t be scared of animal fats.
And be skeptical of any advice you get from the government.
Tyler Simmons is completing his degree in Exercise Science with a focus in Nutrition at Humboldt State University. He designs individualized nutrition programs for athletes and people working to look, feel, and perform better. He can be reached at simmons.tyler@gmail.com or at www.evolutionaryhealthsystems.blogspot.com.Related PostsMetabolic Cooking: Making it Easier to Eat Clean with Health Food OptionsPrecision Nutrition's Travel Strategies for Eating on the RoadSign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a deadlift technique tutorial!
Last May, my buddy Dave Jack put me in touch with a local chiropractic neurologist, Dr. Peter Percuoco. I was still somewhat new to Hudson, MA - and "Dr. P" was a resource that Dave thought would be a great addition to our corner. In his exact words, "Wait until you start to drill down inside this guy's brain...be prepared to go there, EC!"
Dr. P and I met up the following week, and sure he enough, he more than lived up to Dave's flattering description - and he's become an excellent clinical resource for us to this day.
What I didn't expect to learn, that day, is that he was ready to piss some excellence by becoming a client at Cressey Performance.
Though an accomplished high school and college football quarterback back in the day, Dr. P had - like many folks in the health and human performance industry do - put everyone else's needs ahead of his own, and it had taken a toll on his body. He was ready to change that, though - and that's exactly what he did.
Over the past 10.5 months, Peter has completely changed his body. In fact, the transformation has been so impressive that we have gotten quite a few of his patients and friends at CP simply because they've seen what it's done to not just his body, but his energy levels, athleticism, and overall quality of life. I'd argue that Dr. P was already pissing some serious excellence when he first started at CP - but we unleashed a firehose of excellence pissing. Literally every time I see him, I regret not taking "before" pictures when he first started up.
Transformation aside, Peter confided in me about ten weeks ago that it had been a lifelong goal to bench 315. He'd tried for years to do it while playing football, and only cracked 300 once - and that was at the age of 30 after years of consistent weight training. Now 47, he wanted to know if I thought it was a legitimate goal - and if I could help him to get it.
Now, anybody who reads EricCressey.com regularly knows that I love a project - and so we embarked on a bench press specialization after testing his one-repetition maximum at 285 back in early June. This was Saturday (roughly eight weeks later):
A 30-pound increase in a bench press with no change in body weight in under eight weeks is a serious accomplishment - but doing it at the age of 47 makes you a freakin' rockstar in my book.
What can you learn from Dr. P's success? A lot! Here are the primary things that come to mind for me when I think about why he finally hit his goal:
1. He made time instead of finding time - We know that Dr. P is going to be at Cressey Performance at 12pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. He blocks it off in his schedule at work months in advance. For a guy who has a wife and two kids, a thriving business, it would be very easy to just find time to get to the gym. It was important to him, so he made time for it.
2. He recognized that there was always something he could do to get better - From hands-on treatment of patients, strength training, and yard work, Dr. P has somewhat of a chronic golfer's elbow condition that we've worked around on and off during his training at CP. Many folks would simply skip the gym entirely until something like that resolved - and with a chronic condition like this, it could be months or even years to get symptomatic relief (if you do at all). Instead, Dr. P and I collaborated on strength training programs and specific strength exercises that would allow him to maintain a training effect without exacerbating his symptoms. There was no pity party.
3. He didn't try to ride multiple horses with one saddle - Here's a shocker: when it came time to make a run at this bench press goal, we wrote up a bench press specialization program geared toward not only increased upper body volume, but a specific attention to his weaknesses. It constantly amazes me how people will state their specific goal, but not change their training program to focus on it. Specific results come from specific actions, not doing everything under the sun and keeping your fingers crossed.
4. He found what worked best for him - A big mistake I see in up-and-coming lifters is that they try to conform strictly to one training or learning system. As you can tell from the video editing above, Dr. P's very technologically inclined - and he used that to his advantage by using video with his iPhone during training to tinker with his strength training technique. Others might not like video, but they may prefer a specific hand-off person on the bench, a certain kind of music, a specific warm-up protocol, or particular strength exercises to bring up weaknesses. One man's trash is another man's treasure, so you have to put in the time to find the strategies that help you the most.
5. He got in a great environment - During the winter, Dr. P's training time coincides with our professional baseball guys, and at this time of year, he's surrounded by a lot stud college athletes. There's no choice but to push yourself when you're surrounded by guys who won't let each other slack.
6. He told others about his goals - Our entire staff and many of our regular clients knew about Dr. P's 315 bench press goal. There's something to be said for making yourself accountable to a goal by telling those around you about it. You increase the likelihood that they'll bring it up, constantly refocusing you on the task at hand - and you also have a built-in support network that will encourage you every step of the way. A 30-pound bench press increase seems less daunting when you've got 30 people pulling for you. Plus, the immediately post-lift celebration (which unfortunately wasn't caught on camera) becomes all the more epic.
These are just a few examples specific to Dr. P's case, but there are surely many more success secrets my readers have used to accomplish lifelong goals. Please share some more ideas in the comments section!
Yesterday was a busy (but fun) day at Cressey Performance, and when I got home around 7pm, I was beat. Luckily, it doesn’t take much energy to check emails, so that’s what I did. This one made my night:
Hey Eric, Just wanted to thank you for helping me out this summer. I've weighed in at 197 the last few days, a 19 pound increase in about 3 months. My fastball has gone up 7-8 mph and I still feel like I haven't thrown the ball near my best yet. Because of the work I put in this summer I now have a legitimate shot to pitch a lot this year after not seeing an inning and getting redshirted last season.Thanks again,John
Pretty cool, huh? These are the kind of emails that make the long days all worthwhile and remind me why I have the coolest job in the world. It gets better, though – as there is a lot to be learned from this specific story.
John – a college pitcher coming off two surgeries in two years on his throwing shoulder, plus a few hamstrings pulls – drove seven hours for his one-time consultation/evaluation at Cressey Performance back in May and then took a program home with him. Then, he drove back to CP at the start of his June and July programs to learn the exercises and check in with us to make sure everything was progressing nicely. That’s some serious dedication (and gas money!).
Just as significant, though, was his ability to embrace change, as our programs were a huge deviation from his previous experiences. His original email to us included this line: “I run 6 days a week, one of my goals between the end of this season and the beginning of next one is to run 1,000 miles.” He didn’t do a single “run” over 50 yards in the entire three month program with us. He also did far more (and longer) long toss in his throwing program than he had previously. So, you could say that he not only embraced a change, but thrived with it.
Change is tough, though. Lots of people read my blogs, hear me speak at seminars, and interact with me on short-term observational visits to Cressey Performance – but only a small percentage of them actually put things into action. Loads of people acquire knowledge, but never act on it.
However, interestingly, when a new client starts up at CP, they stand a much better chance of succeeding with change. Starting (and staying consistent with) a strength and conditioning program is a big undertaking; in fact, for many, it’s as significant as taking on a new job, opening a new business, or learning to play a new sport or instrument. And, when that program is a complete deviation from what you’re expecting, it’s even tougher.
Why, then, do some people succeed with change more than others? I think it has to do with a lot of factors, but these five stand out the most to me:
1. They get those around them involved – John’s dad came along for the ride for his first day at CP – and this is often the case for the parents of our high school athletes. While you don’t want overbearing parents, you do want a support system that’s aware of new goals and can be there to help keep one accountable in the quest for change.
2. They find good training partners and a quality training environment – I had a quick video blog about this yesterday, but I’m convinced that training partners and environment are just as important as an effective program. There are always people to pick you up when you’re dragging, and the energy is contagious. It makes change fun while making it seem like it is actually a “norm,” as training partners are constantly reaffirming what you’re doing and providing encouragement and feedback.
3. They don’t get overwhelmed by changing everything – Sometimes, the easiest way to create massive change is to take baby steps and break the overhaul into smaller components. As I wrote recently, small hinges swing big doors. This has never been my “cup of tea,” but there have been times when we’ve had to slowly change around a program for a client that was accustomed to a completely different school of thought. “One of mine and one of yours” can work for the initial period and help you to gain an individual’s trust before a more thorough transition.
4. They incorporate this change into an existing schema – This is one I originally read in the bookSwitch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, by Chip and Dan Heath.
To illustrate things, I’ll call upon my own personal experience. Back in 2006 or so, I didn’t think that there was any possible way that semi-private training could work. How could you have clients of all different ages, experience levels, and goals training at the same time without having chaos? My buddy, Alwyn Cosgrove (who, at the time, had just beaten stage 4 cancer for the second time), had some great advice:
Physical therapy is done in group settings. Cardiac and pulmonary rehab are done in group settings. I did pulmonary rehab post-chemo. Seventeen of us in the group and one nurse. That's called semi-private!Chemotherapy is done in a semi-private setting for most cancers, too. My first time through there were ten of us in a room with two nurses. Actually, when I was in the hospital getting chemo it was still semi-private. I had one nurse who covered six rooms.
Now I'm even more convinced. If life saving (and potentially deadly chemotherapy) is done in a small group setting, you're really stretching to tell me that an exercise program has to be one-on-one.
We now do almost exclusively semi-private training, and it’s amazing. Middle school athletes get to watch how the high school guys train. The pro guys get to mentor the high school guys. The adult clients get to know athletes they see on TV on a personal level. Experienced clients introduce themselves to new clients when they start training. Just the other day, one of our local families had two of out-of-town athletes (Colorado and Virginia) over for dinner on Saturday night, and then brought them to church with them on Sunday morning. There is insane camaraderie among folks from all different walks of life.
None of it would have been possible if I hadn’t been able to wrap my head around the idea of semi-private training – and it would have been tough to get to that point if Alwyn hadn’t put the concept into my existing schemas (physical therapy, cardiac/pulmonary rehab/chemotherapy) for me.
5. They spend money – Taking a leap of faith and increasing the stakes can sometimes motivate people to make change happen. Whether it’s a payment for training, or just a bet with friends about exercise consistency or some training goal, separating people from their money always seems to magically increase adherence. People don’t like getting ripped off – and it’s even worse when you rip yourself off because there is nobody else to blame except yourself!
In a recent example, Pat Rigsby, Mike Robertson, and I outline many assessment, training, and business strategies that one can effectively employ in a fitness business in The Fitness Business Blueprint. One of our primary goals in making it the way that we did was to make sure that we made it easier for buyers to apply the changes we recommended; we discussed how to incorporate our ideas seamlessly in their current business strategy. Still, none of these tactics will work is someone isn’t willing to change – and that means putting in some leg work to both set the stage for change and then follow through on it.
This resource is on sale for $100 off through Friday at midnight. If you’re looking to make positive changes in your fitness business – or get one off the ground in the first place – it’s an outstanding way to get the ball rolling. You can learn more about The Fitness Business BlueprintHERE.
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Cressey Performance athlete and Kansas City Royals pitcher Tim Collins was featured in an article yesterday on ESPNBoston.com, in light of his Fenway Park debut.
They talk a bit about his training at Cressey Performance as well. You can check it out at the link below:
Kansas City Royals Lefty Tim Collins Coming Up Big Despite Small Stature
Also, keep an eye on my blog for a sweet announcement about an awesome free opportunity to watch me speak live on Saturday.
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive a Copy of the Exact Stretches used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
Today, I'm going to be short and to the point on a blog to which I could legitimately devote 10,000 words.
If you own a fitness business, you owe it to your self to purchase this book from Pat Rigsby.
Pat sent me an advanced copy last week, and I read the entire thing cover to cover without stopping. I view this as a resource that could improve our fitness business in so many different capacities that I immediately made it mandatory reading for our entire staff in preparation for our next meeting. We're going to go through it page-by-page and discuss how we can improve the way that Cressey Performance is run.
I don't make a penny for recommending this book. In fact, Pat doesn't earn a dime on the sale, either; all the proceeds go to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
And, while Pat is a great friend and this is a fantastic cause, I still wouldn't recommend The Little Black Book of Fitness Business Success unless it was top-notch reading. Frankly, though, it's the most kick-ass book I've read on the topic.
You see, success in training clients is all about finding windows of adaptation and addressing them. As an example, some people need more mobility work, while others need to get strong above all else. As I've learned, fitness business success is similar; you have to find the windows of opportunity. Pat outlines dozens of these opportunities in his book.
At $19.95, you can't lose - especially when you consider that it's tax deductible as a continuing education expense investment for those in the fitness industry, and there are some cool video bonuses for those who order today.
