Calgary Personal Training - El Evate

ELEVATE PLYOS

2012-11-16T00:00:00-07:00

When you’re a natural physique competitor aka a “natty”, your primary focus is the progression to constructing hard, lean, dense muscle. May I introduce plyometrics. The workout we hate to love.

Plyometrics (plyos for short) is a method of training designed to develop and produce fast and powerful movements. It is generally used by athletes to improve performance in sports which encompass the ability to develop max force in the shortest amount of time (i.e., football, hockey, baseball, wrestling etc.). I know some of you might be asking “but Eldridge why would a natural bodybuilder or fitness physique competitor want to do plyos?” There’s no contact made on stage (although at some shows I’ve seen elbows being thrown back stage among rows and rows of bikini models hehe), there’s no points to rack up or defensive and offensive teams. The only objective is aesthetics.

As mentioned earlier any physique athlete’s goal is progress in constructing new, hard, dense muscle. In contrast to the traditional “bodybuilding” style of training; lowering the weight slowly may not be the most optimal for muscle growth. A study done in the European Journal of Applied physiology suggested that fast eccentric-concentric lifts is best for increasing muscle mass, especially in the lower body (2001, Paddon-Jones et al)[i].

A Brief Overview of Plyos

During plyo sessions there is better neural activation and more muscle fibers activated. More activated muscle fibers means an increase in strength. An increased strength means an increased ability to load higher tension on the muscle. This translates into dense muscle production (2005, Glass DJ).

Why do Athletes feel like they were hit by a truck after a Plyo Session?

Plyos are very demanding from an energy standpoint. It’s a high intense workout which deals with the production of rapid force and power. It taxes both the muscular and anaerobic cardio systems at the same time, which requires high energy ballistic exercises with minimal pause between repetitions which produces high levels of lactate and other metabolites responsible for the soreness and the feeling of being hit by a truck. So you get the best of both worlds; the ability to be strong and the ability to burn calories to get ripped (2005, Glass DJ).

Tips for incorporating plyometrics in your training.

Do Plyos earlier in the week when body is well recovered and minimal neural activation has occurred.
Allow at least 24 to 36 hours of recovery between Plyo sessions.
Do large muscle groups and then small ones.
Don’t abuse plyometrics. Gains from plyos come quickly so some trainers make it out to be some sort of magical training pill. Because it is so effective, trainers want to use it all the time not realizing that every training method will lose its effectiveness over time for the simple concept that the body was designed to adapt. After months and years of plyos there is no further gains in power until a different stimuli is established or re-established.

Sample Periodization for Plyometrics integrated with Hypertrophy Training

Monday: Lower body Plyometrics with accessory exercises.

Tuesday: Upper body Plyometrics with accessory exercises.

Wednesday: REST

Thursday: Hypertrophy Back and Shoulders

Friday: Hypertrophy Chest and Arms

Saturday: Hypertrophy Legs and Abs

Sunday: REST

So there you have it. Plyometrics when used as a tool to sculpt your body - can be a very effective strategy during your “on” season or “off” season contest prep.

[i]References:

Paddon-Jones D, Leveritt M, Lonergan A, Abnerthy P. Adaptation to chronic eccentric exercise in humans: the influence of contraction velocity. Eur J Appl Physiol, 2001 Sep;85(5): 466-71

Glass DJ. Skeletal muscle hypertrophy and atrophy signaling pathways. Int J Biochem Cell Biol, 2005 Oct;37(10): 1974-84

MY HAT TIP TO THE EFFECTIVE COACHES IN THE WORLD

2012-02-26T00:00:00-07:00

When you’re a kid, it seems not to often you have many people have a large impact on finding your true calling, or discovering your real potential. My 9th grade gym/ wrestling coach Mr. Harris (every teacher's first name was Mr. or Mrs in Junior high) was one of those few individuals who really understood how much of an important responsiblity it was to captivate, entertain, and mould impressionable minds to appreciating exercise, fitness, and healthy living. I’ve had many coaches who had taught me the fundamental skills and truths to respond to life’s greater demands. Skills like discipline, team work, work ethic, punctuality and integrity. There were some who challenged you on your worst day, and some who didn’t challenge you at all. There might have been some who only took the role of “coach” for the free coffee and doughnuts at every “home” game. Coaches never die. They live in your memory forever. They were there for the first team tryouts and they were there when you left at the end of the season, like fixtures. Once in a while they taught you something profound - but not that often. And, you never really knew them, any more than you knew yourself. Still, even for a brief while, you believed in them.

And, if you were lucky, maybe there was one who believed in you.

If you have that one coach who saw that potential and changed your outlook about how you viewed yourself not just as an athlete but as a person I'd love to hear about it.

Please Comment =)

THOUGHTS ON BEATING LAZINESS

2012-01-07T00:00:00-07:00

• As a mentor of mine once said “when you’re trying you’re lying” or when someone says they should do this or they should only do that they’re dead in the water before they even start.

• Guilt is never a productive emotion.( I’d rather be angry and “react” than guilty and “idle”)

• Quick results and quick wins produce massive momentum for behavioural change.

• Will power is not enough.

• Strategies are not enough. Most of us have crippling barriers and invisible psychological scripts that override the most sophisticated “strategies”. (For example, I could give a client an awesome bad ass training and nutrition program but if they don’t believe they deserve to be beautiful, athletic, or healthy, none of the shit I share will matter because they won’t process it!)

THE SEXY SQUAT

2012-02-26T00:00:00-07:00

Suffering from saggy/flat ass syndrome? The ultimate booty maker exercise – deep squats.

It never fails, I have female clients who shy away from this particular exercise at the risk of becoming bulky and yet want the toned perky booty worthy of the second glance rubber necking on the street. So, if you want a shapely bottom, deep squats are where it’s at, and should be a staple exercise in any training regime.

Strategies to attain a deeper squat:

Obtain Correct Movement Pattern.

How do you do this?

I like to use the overhead bar squat to asses any faulty patterns, before throwing them under a loaded bar.

Assesses Functional Mobility

• Hip Flexion

o Hips posteriorly rotate near bottom of squat

ï�§ compensatory Lumbar Spinal Flexion noted

ï�§ may indicate muscular tightness

ï�§ Gluteus Maximus

ï�§ Adductor Magnus

o Thighs contact with abdomen

ï�§ relative to depth of squat

• Knee Flexion

o Calf contact with hamstrings

ï�§ relative to depth of squat

• Ankle Dorsal Flexion

o Heels raise from floor or weight shifted to forefoot near bottom of squat

ï�§ may indicate tight Soleus

• Shoulder Flexion

o Bar positioned forward, not directly over feet

• Scapula Retraction

o Shoulder girdle posture may also prevent bar from being positioned over directly feet

ï�§ Winged Scapula

ï�§ Protracted Shoulder Girdle

• Thoracic Spinal Hyperextension

o Slight kyphosis may also prevent bar from being positioned over directly feet

Preparation

Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, toes pointed out slightly.

Grasp light bar with elbow width grip (grasp when elbows are at 90° with both upper arms in-line to one another). Raise bar overhead with arms extended. Position head forward or slightly down.

Execution Slowly squat as low as possible with bar overhead.

Knees should travel same direction as toes. Knees should extend forward approximately same rate as hips extend back.

Body weight should be situated through entire foot through movement.

Measurement

• Upper torso is parellel with shin or toward vertical

• Hip is lower than knee

• Knees are aligned over feet

• Bar is aligned directly over feet

Progressive Depth using Squat Depth Markers

Its argued that using depth markers such as different height boxes or boxsteps to obtain a certain depth for squats only promotes the crutch of depending on an outside source to reverse the motion at the bottom of the lift. In my opinion, I only use depth markers as a visual tool for the client to progressively improve ROM on a squat. Load increases to improve strength should be trained without depth markers in order to avoid the pausing on the box, and letting the point of contact alter your form.

There you have it, strategies to improve squat depth and an effective cure to pancake butt.

Beach Body Update 1

2013-01-28T00:00:00-07:00

What Up peeps

It has been my intention to expose as much of my lifestyle as I can to have you guys witness that eventhough I make my living as a Personal Trainer, I still have the same challenges and obstacles you guys would have as far as training and nutrition. In this video I get into a little bit of my training and a common pitfall when it comes to cleaning up nutrition.

As always guys, if you have any questions, criticisms, or remarks please comment in the box below.

Talk soon.

Beach Body Project

2013-01-20T00:00:00-07:00

Hey All

A little bit of my nutrition and cardio regime. I do all my grocery shopping on Sunday morning or mid-afternoon and cooking early evening. I cook enough to get me through to Wednesday and then I'll cook more of my meats for the rest of the week. Lately, my cardio is done early morning before I eat breakfast and its HIIT 2 times a week and the other 2 cardio sessions are easy runs.

If you all have any questions about anything let me know. My next vidz will be about my training.

talk to you all soon

Beachbody Update

2013-03-04T00:00:00-07:00

Hey guys its been abour 7 weeks since the start of this project and I'm down 6 pounds. So, I have averaged about .9lbs per week. Within the next 5 weeks my goal is to get down to 180lbs. In this video I logged some of my training and nutrition. One thing I want you guys to do is to comment with any questions you may have about training or nutrition and "like" this post at the bottom of the page.

thanks

talk soon

THIS IS OUR SPORT

2012-04-23T00:00:00-06:00

What in the world would possess someone to get close to butt naked and parade themselves in front of strangers. Well, the simple answer is fitness and physique athletes would. The world of natural bodybuilding and fitness is an extremely demanding sport. The amount of time, discipline, and dedication these athletes possess is awe-inspiring. And evenmore mindblowing the physiques that these athletes unveil come showday would be like watching the statues of greek gods and goddesses come to life.

A Tribute to my iPod

2012-02-12T00:00:00-07:00

One of the most motivating things in this world is being awakened by the radio with that one perfect track that sets your mood for the rest of the day. It’s an inexplicable feeling of energy that somehow consumes your mental dialogue especially when you attach it to a feel good memory. This morning it was “Such a good vibration” by Marky Mark and the Funky bunch. Brings back the memories of old school junior high dances, first makeout sessions, older brothers bootlegging liquor, and of course “the running man”(If you grew up in the 90’s you know what that is, as much as you’d like to forget. And by the way - as a safety pre-caution don’t try it in the shower).

It’s funny; there are certain songs that are on my iPod that definitely dictate how intense I can be in the gym. There’s certain tracks that I set on repeat that are just sooo worth listening to over and over where you say to yourself when this song plays five times I’m done my session of cardio. And other songs that literally turn you into an animal with the weights, for me it’s “Me against the World” by Tupac, or if it’s a heavy leg day “Bring the Noise” by Anthrax and Public Enemy. Music’s ability to disassociate you from a seemingly mundane task i.e. lunges seems to decrease your minds ability to tell you “this shits hard” and you push through.

And, the grand daddy experience of them all – running, I’ve had clients become genuinely pissed when their iPod dies during a long run. Whether it’s on the treadmill or outside, there is a direct correlation to music and its impact on running performance. When you’re comfortable running pace matches the beats per minute of a particular song, running efficiency increases, oxygen consumption decreases during the same amount of work and there is a reduction of perceived effort. As a group exercise instructor I find it hilarious to the minimal work I have to do when I play a motivating song. I’ve literally had people tell me to shut-up during my explanation for a certain drill so that they could become consumed by the music.

So let’s raise our shaker cups and water bottles and have a toast to one of the most motivating pieces of equipment in fitness, a toast to the Ipod - I’d be a fat ass without you.

Cheers!

CORPORATE CALGARY'S ACTIVE LIVING BARRIERS

2012-02-11T00:00:00-07:00

This post is in relation to a post I wrote a while back called Damn! Beaten by Tupperware.

As a fitness professional here in Corporate Calgary here are the top 9 barriers people put up:

1. “I have no time.”

This barrier is the grand daddy of them all. Everyone is given the same number of hours in a day. Prioritizing one’s health should be on top of the list. It all comes down to how much value we put into being fit and how we prioritize our schedule.

2. “I have to give up all the foods that I love.”

You don’t have to give up all the foods you love. It’s just a matter of enjoying them in moderation. And, not overindulging in foods which will cause an excess in caloric intake.

3. “I’ll never lose weight because of my genetics.”

No one has ever known for certain how far or how limiting their genetics may be. Not exercising does nothing to prove that your genetics are inadequate for losing body fat.

4. “Life is too short to be in the gym all the time.”

When I hear this particular barrier, I actually hear either, I don’t know how to be in a gym or I’m afraid of x. But, for the most part its that “time” issue again. 45minutes to 1hour is all it takes in the gym, permitting that someone stays on task. If not, hire a trainer to set you up with a program which will accommodate your schedule. Organization and consistency is key.

5. “I have to take care of others first.”

How productive would you be if your health was in the dump? If you don’t take care of yourself first, you’d be doing those whom you are responsible to an injustice. Being healthy and fit is your number one asset in order to take care of others not, only from a physical standpoint but also a mental and emotional one also. People leave a “feel good” vibe in there interactions with others (no this is not some esoteric, I am one with the universe thing), people genuinely feel good when interacting with healthy people because healthy people are for the most part delightful to be around.

6.“If I go on a diet I’ll never be able to eat at restaurants.”

Most restaurants are pretty liberal when it comes to customizing a meal. So unless you are unknowingly in an Iron Chef reality show or being Punk’d chances are healthier food options are available. It’s just a matter of making better choices as far as portion control and healthier substitutions.

7. “If I workout every day then I won’t have any social life.”

This one makes me laugh. One of my closest friends, actually met his wife in a group exercise class. The social aspect is one of the main reasons why people go to the gym, especially between the hours of 11:30-1:00pm here in downtown Calgary. The gym is a great place to meet new people who are on the same path as you. With this barrier its again related to time management. People who have this barrier usually find themselves associating with others whom have no real experience in a health club setting.

8. “It’s impossible for me to start a workout program now because I have a bad (insert excuse here; knee, back, etc.)”

Unless a physician absolutely gives an individual the red flag towards exercise (which is usually 2% of the time) there are so many different ways to get around an injury, disability, or physical obstacle. All you need is the right professional guidance and the will to become fit and healthy.

9. “I hate exercise”

Usually, people who aren’t as enthusiastic about exercise have some negative deep seeded attachment for it. Whether it was “my gym teacher picked on me in grade school”, or “I’m allergic to strenuous movements” or “I’m not good at it so I stear clear”. It's funny when we were kids we never calculated how many steps we took with a pedometer, we never clocked how long it took us to burn calories, we never stopped in the middle of playtime and told the teacher “ok I’m sweating now, can we go inside” or, cut recess short because 35-45minutes of elevated heart rate was complete. We didn’t do any of that. Somewhere in the whole “growing up thing” we as adults lost touch to the art of “play”. And further along the line we replaced the word “play” with “exercise”. And even further, further down the line somehow we complicated it with rules and regulations which inevitably took the fun out of “movement”.

Awareness is the key to any behavioral change, please comment on any of them. And if you think I missed one let me know.

Until next time =)

THE GAME WE DON'T KNOW WE'RE PLAYING

2012-01-22T00:00:00-07:00

It’s the game we play in our heads when we have two conflicting ideas. It’s the stress derived when we know that we are pancaked in the middle of two ideologies that just don’t mix. As humans we are wired to give meaning to everything. We have deeply ingrained rules that we live by and we have rules that we expect others to live by. We find structure and frame work in everything and if it’s not there we build that frame work. Because if there is no order we conclude that we would be living a life of absurdity and we form constructs to avoid that. As humans we strive to make sense of what we experience to convince ourselves that our existence is not absurd. But what happens when we break one of these rules? What happens when two ideas contradict each other? For example “I know smoking is unhealthy because it causes lung cancer but, I smoke two packs a day” or “I know junk food is unhealthy but I love McDonalds” or “I know that I’m in a relationship that is negative and going nowhere but he/she is a really caring person”. These are examples of a concept in behavioural psychology called “cognitive dissonance”. It is having 2 psychologically contradictory ideas that evoke a mental tension where we have to justify very elaborately why we choose “x” as opposed to “y”, and we tenaciously defend our choice. Another way to put it is that it is a theory of how we strategically lie to ourselves to protect our morals, self-esteem, and personal beliefs. So, even though those justifications sound good to us, they are also what weigh us down the most.

In the next blog post I will delve deeper into how cognitive dissonance impacts our fitness.

If in some way you can relate, please comment!

The Average Desk Jockey

2012-01-15T00:00:00-07:00

Working in the corporate environment as a fitness professional for almost a decade I’ve come across a common thread that my “desk jockey” clients are challenged with; poor posture and upper/lower back pain from long arduous hours of sitting. The funny thing about the human body is that it is designed to be highly adaptive. The body adapts to what it does most often. If you practice kicking a soccer ball all day then you get better at kicking, if you practice swinging a bat all day then you get better at swinging. If you are sitting in a chair all day then the body inevitably becomes better a sitting. However, as humans our preferred movements are things like standing, walking, running and jumping. Actions that promote what the body was essentially designed to do -“move”. The problem is that the action of sitting trains our body to be less proficient with those preferred movements (whaaaaaat! - The action of sitting? whatchu talkin bout E?). Let me explain, when you sit the body is doing a lot of learning. It learns to shorten your hip flexors; it learns to drop your shoulders forward which in turn protract your shoulder blades while tightening chest muscles. If a person sits with their legs crossed or sits with the George Costanza wallet in their back pocket the body further learns to offset the hips contributing to hip imbalances which contributes to lower back issues. (Well damm E what does all this learning have to do with people injuring themselves. I haven’t heard of someone getting hurt while they are sitting). Injury typically doesn’t happen in the direct act of sitting. It’s usually when a person decides on transferring a body that has learned to sit well to actions like standing, walking, running etc. In this instance it would be like trying to fill a square leak with a circular peg. The body can’t match what kind of movement pattern is put upon it so it doesn’t react appropriately to it, and this is where injury happens i.e. slipped discs, torn ligaments, pulled muscles etc. So, what is the desk jockey to do? A couple simple solutions would be strengthening postural muscles contributing to healthy posture, not sitting for more than 2-3 hours at one time, and healthy weight management via adequate nutrition.

LETTER TO MY BODY

2011-12-18T00:00:00-07:00

Dear Body

It’s your conscious. I know its been a while since we have spoke and it really should be a more regular thing, but I know your busy keeping things in check in there, just like I’m busy trying to keep things in check out here hehehe. I’m writing you to let you know how very proud and happy I am with how well you are doing and living so far in this reality. I know there were days where we didn’t agree with each other, like those intense carb depletes, levels of ketosis we endured together, 10hr cardio weekends, and even the 37 paces of walking lunges for 3 sets at 210lbs performed once a week. Please understand that I wouldn’t put us through that if I didn’t believe we could handle it together. I know there were those rare occasions when I have disrespected you with my gluttonous acts of overindulging in alcohol, sugar, and fat. Not to mention the negative thought patterns rooted from such dangerous actions. For that I am truly sorry.

Like in any relationship I have come to really listen to what you require. I understand that you won’t listen no matter how loudly I yell at you. You only respond to consistent daily whispers which involve movement and a healthy balanced nutrition. I have learned that you are constantly speaking to me even when I forget to listen or maybe I don’t pay attention to your subtle hints. At times you make me feel like I am your worst enemy. But there are other times, and I remember these times so distinctly where you have made me feel superhuman and on top of the world. Where every rep on the bench press feels powerful, and every squat is flawless. We could have so much fun being us. I’ve learned that no matter how much our friend the “ego” distracts us from what you and I want it will always be a battle that we will never lose unless we decide to. All I ask is that we be on the same page, not everyday but at least most days. I know that we don’t like the judgment of others instilled on us but, it comes with the territory when you’re a trainer and when you attempt to uphold a non-hypocritic and exceptional standard of excellence that hopefully is contagious to other people. So, cheers to our 32nd year anniversary of being our best. Thank you for taking care of me.

Love and Gratitude

Eldridge

P.S

In case I forget, tell Mr. Colon that he and his team are doing a great job. And, I apologize for the 7-8oz of chicken and turkey sent through the gates daily. And yes I know, I know easy with the fiber.

My Second Family

2011-12-18T00:00:00-07:00

IÃ¢â�¬â�¢ve noticed that in this industry, the key to success is understanding who you are, and understanding your relationship with yourself. When you realize who you are and come to terms with what you want, you discover where your boundaries are and you know your purpose. You become comfortable in your own skin and are able to move through the world with direction, conviction, grace and commitment. YouÃ¢â�¬â�¢ll know what you are suppose to create and what your Ã¢â�¬Å�break evensÃ¢â�¬Â� are. YouÃ¢â�¬â�¢ll know what you can put up with and what you can do without. YouÃ¢â�¬â�¢ll be closer to identifying and achieving your goals every time. When you look within yourself for your emotional truth you navigate through the world in an authentic and genuine way. Ã¢â�¬Å�Be yourself because everyone else is takenÃ¢â�¬Â� (Mike Lipkin) After all the experiences IÃ¢â�¬â�¢ve had at the Bay Club and in this industry IÃ¢â�¬â�¢ve learned that the protocol to success is to decide what aspect of health and wellness you would like to pursue. Once you have made that decision, study all the information you can find relating to that subject until you become an outstanding authority in that field; an expert well beyond normal expectations. Do your best to Ã¢â�¬Å�live what you knowÃ¢â�¬Â�. You can only take your clients as far as you have gone in health and wellness. Further, think deeper than anyone else has about problems or challenges that clients have. Use your expertise, life experience, technical skills to help them solve those problems. In other words prepare yourself for opportunity. But whatever you do donÃ¢â�¬â�¢t sit back and wait for opportunity to present itself. This may never happen. You must constantly be preparing for it. So that you will be ready, so you will recognize it when the time comes. This is what Disraeli meant when he said Ã¢â�¬Å�the secret to success in life is for a person to be ready for his opportunity when it comesÃ¢â�¬Â�. From that point onward, the only limitation you will encounter in achieving your goals are the limitations you set up in your mind. In this industry the fortunes, wealth, and rewards are yours if you want them. The success is yours if you want to go after it. But you must go after it, it wonÃ¢â�¬â�¢t come to you. In reality, the success, wealth and happiness in this career all have a price. The decision on whether you want to pay that price is yours. Yet there is something deeper to think about here. DonÃ¢â�¬â�¢t we all pay the price anyway, whether we try or not? If we donÃ¢â�¬â�¢t try weÃ¢â�¬â�¢ll never make it, and therefore we will continue on with an unsatisfying role in an occupation full of doom and gloom and pseudo failures as we perceive them. IsnÃ¢â�¬â�¢t that a stiff price to pay? Who wants that? If we must pay anyway letÃ¢â�¬â�¢s pay, and Ã¢â�¬Å�tryÃ¢â�¬Â� and truly call on the potential that is in all of us. It has been a roller coaster of a ride this past year for our club. There is so much extraordinary talent that I can see in this Bay Club Team. All we have to do is get rid of the fears and worry coming from the technicality of succeeding Ã¢â�¬Å�on paperÃ¢â�¬Â� to succeeding as Ã¢â�¬Å�individualsÃ¢â�¬Â�. The success of the Ã¢â�¬Å�teamÃ¢â�¬Â� lies in achieving the personal success of the Ã¢â�¬Å�individualÃ¢â�¬Â�. Merry Christmas All In health and wellbeing Eldridge

Beach Body

2013-01-08T00:00:00-07:00

My intention is to give my clients a glimpse to what sort of lifestyle I live to consciously drop those extra pounds from the holiday season. I want to show people that there is no real shortcuts to seeing results or to acquiring the body you want. All it takes is the fundamentals; training, proper nutrition, and consistency. So here is where my journey begins. Like in Lord of the Rings- Freudo on his journey to mount Doom, my journey begins here with my "before" pics. Join me, it will be a journey you won't forget.

MY TOP 33 LIFE LESSONS

2012-08-15T00:00:00-06:00

The Big 33. Hopefully, like most 33 year olds “I haven’t figured shit out yet” but I asked myself what would be my top 33 life lessons? This is my diagnostics of my 33 years on this earth so far. And, here they are in no specific order of importance.

1. Its ok to wait.

2. It’s ok to have a “people I’d like to punch in the face” list.

3. We are often scared for no reason.

4. Facebook isn’t reality.

5. Hype is cancerous.

6. Hugs are powerful.

7. Relationships matter.

8. Happiness is not for sale at any store. Not even in Vegas.

9. Health is more important than most of us treat it.

10. Your job is not your mission.

11. Chocolate covered almonds are 50% healthy.

12. Everybody worships something.

13. Jealousy and Envy are wasted emotions.

14. I am not the center of the Universe.

15. People who follow you don’t always have your back.

16. Mentors don’t “sell themselves”.

17. Adding value to other people is the only way to get their “buy in”.

18. Honesty is profoundly important.

19. “Family” is real wealth.

20. Love can be as seasonal as “Calgary weather”. Prepare to be surprised.

21. Being “contacted” is perverted, being “impacted” is enlightening.

22. I don’t need everyone to like me - because I don’t like everyone.

23. Awareness is the most valuable and precious freedom.

24. Living in the moment is a blessed skill.

25. You can’t shotgun a beer can from both ends and not spill.

26. Doubt kills.

27. Pain is useful. Suffering is useless.

28. There’s only one status cymbal, and it’s only impressive when you hit it with a stick.

29. Openness is just as important as honesty.

30. Running the Memorial Drive stairs 10x can adjust a “bad attitude”

31. Getting up early is productive.

32. Change is good, mentally, emotionally, physically and hygienically.

33. I’m still trying to figure shit out.

In no way am I trying to impose any of these as definitive social memes, or guidelines to live by. In fact a lot of these don’t even work for me half the time haha. But nonetheless, I’m always growing =)

Live Inspired, Live Authentic Peeps

ATHLETIC IS THE NEW SEXY

2012-06-03T00:00:00-06:00

I happen to love ladies with muscular, athletic legs. I love to see it when a girl has big quads or a nice split along the side of her leg delineating the hamstring/quad region. But, the icing on the cake is when they add pure athleticism into the mix. It definitely tells me that

It ain’t all show.

I’m typically not one to judge a book by its cover, but I’ll admit I was a bit dubious to not judge. How can a sweet, soft spoken (except for her contagious chuckle) “girl next door” have the ability to unleash hell in the gym. Andrea the Elevate girl weighs 110lbs and I saw her deadlift 140lbs for a couple, shortly after she gets into awesomely sick box jumps and other crazy ass plyometric shit. I was like whaaaaat. Right then I knew she was serious about her “health”. Then I saw her press over 20kg as easily as a cheerleader juggles her baton. From that point I knew she was VERY serious about her “sexiness”.

Ladies, I want to hear all about how you structure your training to get sexy.

Guys, let the ladies know what you consider to be pillars of sexiness on the female body.

HOW WE LIVE IS HOW WE PLAY: LIFE IN THE OFFSEASON

2012-04-23T00:00:00-06:00

So here you are standing in front of the mirror before stage time, muscles rippling, tanned and jacked! The 16-20 week contest preparation boils down to 10-15 minutes on stage. Before you know it you step off stage, the high heels, posing outfit, and protan come off quite easily and sometimes the hard earned phyique slips away just as quick. The body doesn't want to be in that state forever. It goes against the laws of human physiology. But, as humans we are wired to want to hoard that hard earned percieved perfection. Pro Fitness Model Steph Marques gets into the nitty gritty of the transition into competition season and out of competition into the offseason. Lots of great tid-bits in this interview for competitors.

LIFT Part II

2012-03-12T00:00:00-06:00

The aim of LIFT is to take a barbell/dumbell class to the next level.We will do this by using current programming techniques to achieve mobility, stability and overall fitness. In this class we are going to look at some common imbalances that people are dealing with and what sort of movements the average gym goer needs.

LIFT Clients

It is very important that I as an instructor and personal trainer understand where my clients and class participants are coming from. In this downtown demographic most people sit for long periods of time and, due to this inactivity have caused certain muscles in the body to shorten. These areas that are chronically tight cause all sorts of discomfort.

Muscle groups that are commonly tight are Pecs, Abs, Hip Flexors, Hamstrings and calves.

Muscles that are commonly stretched and elongated are the spinal erectae, muslcles between the shoulder blades, and glutes.

LIFT Clients

GOOD THINGS HAPPEN OVER COFFEE

2012-02-05T00:00:00-07:00

My cognitive dissonance blog which I posted last week had apparently struck a few nerves with some people. A lot were positive and some were more than harsh criticisms. I want to acknowledge the criticisms because this is the feedback that I am looking for to evolve as a trainer and coach.

Some feedback I received were: “don’t judge me”, “you are not a psychiatrist”, “what are YOU doing, other than crying about it” and a few more nasty ones.

After reading these I wanted to crawl under a rock. I lost a little bit of sleep because it was no intention of mine to “attack” but rather evoke some thought. I spent most of this last week thinking about how that specific blog may have come across negatively or accusingly. I found myself at ease after receiving “soft” feedback from one of my long time clients whose point of view had made me more empathetic. She said you’re getting people lashing out at you because nobody likes to be called out on their BS. She quoted my blog in her explanation saying “nothing passes you off more than someone who refuses to address their issues” I said “yeah that’s about the just of it”. My exact phrase in my blog was “they shut off their minds to any idea with regard to health and fitness that could potentially save their lives”.

She went on to explain that people might throw up some static because you left them feeling hopeless. She explained that your attempt to justify and manage dissonance came in the form of forwarding them to some self-help book. And then she dropped a bomb of a question. She said “when someone recognizes that they are doing that (justifying to themselves for whatever reason) what can YOU do as a trainer to help that person?”. At this point I didn’t have anything to say, I had no answer, not even an uhmmmmmm… Truth is it didn’t seem like that to me. I was a little disheartened and pissed off at the same time. I thought I was being professional, helpful and resourceful. So the question on the table now is what can “I” do to help? I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this question for days attacking it from all different angles. Well is there a certain training program I can give?...nope, what about a nutrition plan?....nope, can I coach them a certain way during a session?...nope. I found that there is no specific tactic or methodology that I can implement as a trainer.

Later on in the week, I found myself in Starbucks, I noticed an attractive lady writing away in what looked like a journal. So being a dude and fighting the urge to throw out some douche bag line like “I noticed you noticing me” or “do you come here often?”ugggh, I took more of a curious to human nature approach. I walked over and asked “so how much of an impact does someone have to have on your life to be immortalized in your journal?”(I don’t think the question would have been as effective if I used the word diary, I guess you graduate from diaries when you’re older than 12 haha) My intent was to find out if she had a boyfriend or was involved with someone (you all know how the game works hehe). She says “well I’m not too sure, but that is a great question” (I’m thinking - glad to hear that I can dish them out once in a while and not just take them – good questions that is). Then I realized after this classic “mac daddy” moment that it’s not about having a tactic or a system, it’s about having an impact on someone’s’ life. So, how do I do that? How do I make it so that people can face their challenges without feeling attacked or judged? And my ultimate answer is – to focus on building a strong healthy relationship with them.

The hurdle with this is that strong relationships take time. They require patience and nurturing, an unwritten pledge we take as trainers.

If I've still tweaked a few red buttons with anyone please comment.

Putting out some more bloggy goodness next week!

WILL POWER IS NOT ENOUGH

2012-01-07T00:00:00-07:00

Most of us believe that we make rational fitness and lifestyle choices. We genuinely believe that we are in control. We tell ourselves if I just work/try harder, I can lose that last 10lbs this year or I can run that half marathon. In January, people go completely overboard with training and diet. They believe that spending 4 hours in the gym and following some cockamamie nutrition plan from some fitness magazine will yield superior results. Before they know it their energy and motivation are depleted, burnout occurs and it's only February 1st. People rely on this mindset of having a stronger will power to change their behaviour when it comes to fitness. Two words for these people bull-shitÂ� (I call the same as the card game ha-ha). In the long-term will power alone won't work for difficult behaviours. When it comes to exercise and healthy eating we need to take a different approach like; changing your environment, removing triggers that promote unwise nutrition choices (i.e. the pastry table in our meeting etc), and taking baby steps that contribute to quick wins. It's the old adage of doing less but being productive and having it be sustainable, rather than going balls out, having no target/goals or systems in place and giving up or, accepting the perception of giving up. The idea of sustainable change is the core in healthy living. Habits don't change overnight or in a week. If they do its more than likely that they are not sustainable. So when you're deciding what to change; whether it is eating or exercise habits. Focus on making the smallest change today. Something you won't even notice. And, design and follow your own system or plan for gradually building on these small quick wins. This way time is your friend and each month you improve.

The New Years Resolutionist aka "the fragile egg"

2011-12-17T00:00:00-07:00

It’s the unending cycle of the masses. The classic New Years Resolutionist. The individual with the highest intentions to improve his or her fitness but come February and March it’s as though they’ve awoken from a dream. And soon, those aspirations of losing weight, increase energy and improve overall health becomes a figment of their imagination. I see it all too often with clients who realize that they’ve overindulged during the holiday season and seek to maybe justify their “wrongness” during this time of year with a few weeks of “going through the motions” and not seeing any results and finally falling off the wagon until the next season. Too often I witness clients who figure out they can’t do it on their own and seek my service or from all others who continue attempting weight loss and fitness success on their own and are too stubborn to get proper instruction and motivation that they would rather fail over and over again. Then, all they do when they’ve realized that no weight loss or improvement of overall fitness has occurred is to blame it on everyone and everything else except for themselves.

Success and Results are always strategic and systemized!

The first strategy is to figure out the reasons why you went to the gym. Was it weight loss, the social aspect, to look good for swimsuit season, or most importantly is it to improve and maintain heath and wellness. Write these reasons down and understand the value to why you were motivated to take action. Pay attention to how you organized your daily fitness routine if you had one. If not build one and seek guidance from a fitness professional. Next, Figure out what kept you away from the gym. Was it personal hurdles in life that turned a 1 week hiatus into a 6 month hiatus? Was it that your regular program wasn’t getting you results, was your daily life getting in the way, or the lack of knowing what to do at the gym, or could it simply be you just hate exercise? Knowing what factors deterred you from the gym will give more of a clearer insight of how to get around these hurdles so that you don’t fall into starting the same way you’ve always started and falling off the wagon in the same fashion. Again, write these factors down on paper and ask yourself what could I do to overcome these obstacles?

The first and the most important aspect of a fitness program is nutrition. In order to get the serious results you want, you first need to provide your body nutrients that will help support the energy systems used in order to exercise effectively. If this sounds foreign to you hire a nutrition coach to help with a plan to fast track towards your goals. Whatever the plan may be make sure that it fits with your current lifestyle so that it won’t be too much of a hassle in your daily living. I cannot stress this enough, proper nutrition determines how fast and effective you will reach your health and fitness goals. Next, is to find your routine again. Use a calendar or any scheduling system to block out time for exercise. Schedule it into your Blackberry or have it as an alarm on your watch. The first step is to fit exercise into your schedule, and to be committed to it. Secondly, don’t start where you left off. Return to about 50% intensity of your regular routine and on a weekly basis add 10%. The body needs time to get accustomed to exercise stress. Actual time spent in the gym should be efficient and organized. If you’re a re-starter hit all major muscle groups with compound movements. Start with exercising large upper body muscle groups and then lower body muscle groups. The main goal is to make time in the gym as efficient as possible in order to burn as much calories during your time exercising and afterwards. Finally, the major ingredient in any health and fitness regime is MOTIVATION. As cliché as this sounds, a strong motivator will get you through those days where exercising is the last thing you want to do. What is your primary reason you choose to exercise? Are the goals you have for your own personal growth? Are they for others? In a book called "Talent is Overrated" by Geoff Colwin he explains that what seperates world class performers from everybody else is their ability to habitually attach their personal intrinsic driver to everyday behavior over a long period of time, disregarding whether they are having a bad day, or work is busy, or their relationship with a significant other is rocky. In any case their personal driver is keeping them on the path to success. I challenge you to find that "driver". Bottom line the results won’t start until you do.

MY ADULT PLAYGROUND

2012-04-23T00:00:00-06:00

It's funny when we were kids we never calculated how many steps we took with a pedometer, we never clocked how long it took us to burn calories, we never stopped in the middle of playtime and told the teacher “ok I’m sweating now, can we go inside” or, cut recess short because 35-45minutes of elevated heart rate was complete. We didn’t do any of that. Somewhere in the whole “growing up thing” we as adults lost touch to the art of “play”. And further along the line we replaced the word “play” with “exercise”. And even further, further down the line somehow we complicated it with rules and regulations which inevitably took the fun out of “movement”.

NO RULES, NO SHORT CUTS, NO LIMITATIONS

INSIDE THE LIFE AND LUNCHBOX OF A FITNESS MODEL

2012-04-23T00:00:00-06:00

Most people don't have much of an idea of how much work, discipline and dedication these models whom we see in fitness magazines put in to unveil their best. Miss Meghan Rae a pro fitness competitor and model uncovers the truth about her inspiring physique. A true leader in the fitness industry and a bad ass trainer/ instructor yeah yeah!!

The Power of a Hug

2012-04-14T00:00:00-06:00

We live in a society where bigger is better, faster is smarter, and flashier means wealthier. We begin to neglect and sometimes even ignore whether it is at a conscious level or not our ability to really connect. As Victor Frankl once said it is the yearning of human connection that gives meaning to the life we have. No man is an island on his own.

WOULD YOU HIRE THAT TRAINER?

2012-01-29T00:00:00-07:00

I’m sitting in front of my Lap top listening to some hiphop music trying to figure out what I want to blog about for this next week. Listening to some of the lyrics I started mouthing out loud this one from one of my favourite artists Lupe Fiasco:

“I write what I see,

write to make it right don’t like where I be,

I’d like to make it like the sights on T.V Quite the great life, so nice and easy”

And then on came a classic track by 2Pac “Hitem Up”

As soon as I started mouthing the words to this song, I new right away what I wanted to write about. By the way a little bit of a disclaimer about the video link and the rest of the post. If you are easily offended this post is not for you. Be warned there is some graphic language (sorry mom! hehe)

If you decide on listening to this track, what you hear is how I feel about “that trainer”.

Every gym has one or two. Like every dance club has your token D-Bag poser.

At the beginning of the year I promised myself and my mastermind group that it would be a year where I would be the most authentic, and the most real disregarding what others might say or think. I personally labelled it as 2012 the year of Authenticity. That being said the following "free writing session" manifested itself.

"I want to take this opportunity to call out all the fake ass trainers. Trainers whom have no intention to develop their clients to becoming better individuals but rather wanna shit on this career/art which I love dearly - turning it into a free for all “cash grab”. You know who I’m talking about. The bullshit saleperson/ trainer who uses empty bullshit clichés like “your mind isn’t strong enough to lift that, that’s why you can’t move that weight” all the while not having any testicular know-how in attempting to even train at that level themselves, or “all you have to do is think positive” while obnoxiously cussing at someone else whom they are attempting to train. Or, finish each bullshit pseudo motivational impact statement with “do you understand what I’m telling you?” in a patronizing tone. Honestly, would you hire a homeless mortgage broker, or a broke ass financial advisor. Hellllll noooooo! So why in gods name would you hire a trainer who’s first concern is themselves. Who doesn’t train on a regular schedule and who’s definition of ‘continuing education’ is page 3 in FLEX magazine. What a joke.

If I struck a nerve with you man up and comment below. If your rebuttle has no justifying content get the fuck off my site. I'd be more than happy to forward you to www.animalsbeingdicks.com. A site more appropriate for your level of professionalism, expertise, and technical ability or lack thereof. I'm Out'

DAMM! BEATEN BY TUPPERWARE

2012-01-08T00:00:00-07:00

I've been thinking about why some people reach their goals with flying colours and others find it challenging to even get started. A quick story: I was over at my parents for dinner one evening when I had asked my mom to pack me a little doggy bag of home cooking. Delightfully, she agreed and fixed me what seemed to be a Tetris maze of Tupper ware in an extra large lulu lemon bag (thanks mommy). When I get home I throw the bag in the fridge.

The next day, when I get home from work starving I open the fridge and there's the Tupperware. Inexplicably, I shut the fridge walk 2 paces to the pantry and grab a bag of chocolate covered almonds. It was at that moment that I realized I am a "lazy ass MF"Â�. My exact thought process was, awwww maaan, I have to

1. Dig through the bag

2. Figure out which Tupperware I need

3. Empty the contents on to a plate

4. Throw it in the microwave

5.Hit the buttons to nuke it

6.Take it out of the microwave

7. Discover that it's not warm enough

8.Put it back in the microwave repeat steps 4 to 6

By now, I've over nuked it and end up throwing it out (sorry mom). You're probably wondering what the hell is this guy talking about is he crazy.

Back to my original point which was what separates individuals who reach their goals and those who don't is their tenacity to remove "barriers".

Well, duh Eldridge any weenie with half a sense could have told you that. It's a little more complicated than the obvious. Let me explain.

In sport psychology there are 2 kinds of barriers (I hate theory but this blog wouldn't work without it) Active Barriers which are the physical barriers that we encounter (i.e. Tupperware, negative people at work or an opponent across the octagon ready to make you tap out etc...)

These barriers prevent you from being productive but are generally manageable. You simply get rid of them.

Passive Barriers are invisible barriers that we encounter. These are more trivial and abstract. Like the entire battle in my head of being outdone by Tupperware. I'm sure if moms had prepared each entree on her best china (potatoes not touching the peas) saran wrapped and ready to be nuked when I get home, I would have voraciously enjoyed a hearty meal. The biggest point is that having barriers prevents us from making sound choices and being productive. Now you can use barriers in your favour to promote better habits for example if you watch too much TV throw out the remote control, if you drink too much soda don't buy it at the grocery store it's definitely not rocket science once they are brought to the forefront of conscious thought. But, they do have to be first noticed for them to be managed.

Above were just personal examples from a quite seemingly arbitrary experience. If somehow you've connected with this whole idea of barriers I'd be thrilled to hear about some of yours.

Please comment!

GREAT ASS LUNGES

2012-01-08T00:00:00-07:00

It was 1st year college. I’ve been training for 3 years with the same type of leg routine that my high school basketball coach supplied me with. It wasn’t just the base strength that increased with these exercises that made them so effective for the type of movements in the sport. But, the plyometric effects of them as well. When you’re a “balla” having “mad hops” was a bonus. As the years went by and my basketball endeavors slowly dwindled the leg routine stayed the same. Eventually, those high impact sessions began to take their tole on my knees. I never learned how to properly stretch, stabilize and mobilize my joints, tendons and ligaments for such high impact movement patterns. Before I knew it I blew out my ACL (one of the major ligaments in the knee responsible for stability) playing a game of rat ball. I felt physically and mentally amputated. Here I was on top of a physio bed forcing my knee to bend, when just 5 months earlier I was running 12sets of suicides. “Why did this happen?” I asked myself over and over while forcing my knee to bend to 90degrees (which took 3 hours, the day after surgery). After post-op rehab my right leg had shrunk 3.5cm. The visual difference was astonishing. The athletic build and function I worked so hard for vanished. One leg was visually more atrophied than the other. Throughout all of this, my leg routine stayed the same.

Until one day I trained with a high jumper friend of mine. That’s when I was introduced to lunges. Right away after my first 10 paces with my own body weight I fell in love with the type of burn this particular exercise put me through. From then on I incorporated it into my routine. I paired this exercise with my squats, after moderate plyometric drills and I noticed within 4months my quad on my surgery leg grew half a centimeter. So, I hit this particular exercise harder with the weight and increased my intensity. As icing on the cake my glutes began to increase in density and strength. These results made it kind of cool to look good in jeans (no guy will ever admit that, but most think it – I hope). And, that’s how my relationship with lunges began. It incorporates a few important aspects of training; endurance, strength, balance, core stability and flexibility all in one exercise.

Incorporating Lunges in Lower Body Training Sample Program

Movement Prep

A. OH Bar Squats

B. Static Reverse Lunge Reach and Twist

Tissue Enhancement

SMR (Self-myofascial Release)

Foam Roller: IT Band, Glutes, Calves, Mid/upper back

Compounds

A. BB Squats 3sets 8-10reps/ 15-20s rest between each set

A. Lunges 3sets 8-10reps

B. Deadlifts 3sets 8-10reps

C. Box Steps 3sets 8-10reps

Circuit: Perform all exercises for each set. A-B-C (5-10s rest b/t each exercise, 20-30s rest b/t each set)

Iso’s

a. Leg extension 3sets 10-15reps

b. Leg curls 3sets 10-15reps

c. Seated Calve raises 3sets 10-15reps

Circuit: Perform all exercises for each set. A-B-C (5-10s rest b/t each exercise, 20-30s rest b/t each set)

So like an arranged marriage, forced together by injury and finally manifesting and evolving itself into pillars of ripped quad and hamstring separation of respectable size, my love for lunges flourished. I have gotten up to 205lbs for walking lunges 33 paces with proper form, and knee touching the floor. It was an arduous journey to get here but I’ve learned to love the burn and ache of this particular exercise. When people see me put myself through such hell they ask “why do you do this to yourself, what makes you want to go through that kind of pain?”. I often respond “yeah, it took me a while to get this weight for strength” and I continue about my business. But, my most truthful response would be, because its part of the game that I like to play in my mind. It’s an indescribable rush when you do it. It’s the feeling of control for at least one thing in an environment of chaos.

Or maybe, just maybe - I just feel like being a bad ass.

ASS TO GRASS

2011-12-17T00:00:00-07:00

There are many trainers that have recommended against full depth squats (full depth being hamstrings touching claves). In this article I will bust through this common myth that has plagued the exercise community. Even though increased forces on the connective tissues of the knee increase this does not lead to injury. Commonly, inadequate movement preparation (balance and stability training, static/dynamic stretching) usually is the cause to the discomfort in squats.

2 main principles that explain why squats won’t cause injury to the knee come from simple laws of physics applied to biomechanics. The law of shearing forces and compressive forces.

Shearing forces act “sideways” on a joint. In the case of the knee, they would be loads acting cross-wise on the tibia (chin bone) and femur (leg bone). Exercises like leg extensions and leg curls have a large “grinding” affect acting on two main ligaments (ACL, PCL) which are largely responsible for front and back knee stability.

Compressive forces act more vertically on a downward force. These forces act along the length of a bone like the squat. The bones themselves are designed to accept this kind of force especially the tibia (chin bone) and femur (leg bone).

I often chuckle when I hear your proverbial “meat head” explain why he is adding an extra plate on top of the stack on the leg extension saying “to get diamond cut quads maaan” while giving you the wink wink thumbs up, yet squatting a weight that would be more suitable for a group exercise class haha.

From a personal trainers stand-point, one of the most painful sites to see on the gym floor is the poor execution of a squat. It s no wonder there has been such negative connotations that have been attached to such an important and highly effective exercise whether you are an athlete, weekend warrior, or post-rehab client.

How to Squat Properly

Before performing a squat, keep hips loose and mobile with hip stretches to help stabilize the movement around the pelvis and the knees during a squat.

Througout the movement knees should be lined up with the toes keeping the ankle mobile and the feet planted firmly.

Keep spine neutral and chest “proud”. For a good squat you need to remember to have good lower back stability and upper back mobility.Start standing, with good posture. Feet can be anywhere from close together, with toes pointed forwards, to wide, with toes pointed out. Experiment and find which foot placement works best for you.

Take a deep breath, lifting the ribcage.
Keeping this “proud chest”, push the butt back first and then sit down. (Imagine sitting down in a chair that’s not there, or sitting down on the toilet.)
Let the torso tip forward naturally from the hips as the butt shifts back.
Keep heels down.
Go down until your hamstrings touch your calves. (Or as far down as you can go, for starters.)
Drive through the heels, and keeping chest “proud” and head up, ascend.

There is simply no other exercise, and certainly no machine, that produces the level of central nervous system activity, improved balance and coordination, skeletal loading and bone density enhancement, muscular stimulation and growth, connective tissue stress and strength, psychological demand and toughness, and overall systemic conditioning than the correctly performed full squat.

–Mark Rippetoe, author of Starting Strength

When an individual understands the basic mechanics of such an effective exercise they will be able to better utilize the squat without any pain or discomfort. And, will hopefully enlighten our friend the “meat head” into safer, and more effective ways to attain “diamond cut quads maaan” . The squat is such a primal movement pattern that involves nearly every muscle in the body. It improves balance, endurance and work capacity, flexibility, strength, and mobility. The use of the squat to improve these abilities has its practical uses in daily living which would include picking up a child, bags of groceries, manual labour in the garden, getting out of a chair, and improving overall mobility. Hopefully the following has debunked the myth of “squats aren’t good for my knees” and has motivated you to get squatting.

References:

http://www.stumptuous.com/learning-the-squat-2-why-squat“Why squat”

Learning the Squat 1: Debunking the myths. Krista Scott-Dixon

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-the-squat. Ryan Andrews

Motivation...

2011-04-29T00:00:00-06:00

...to those of y'all who doubted me, keep doin what your doin I can't live without you. Continue to inspire the fire that is my rededication to greatness.

LAP DANCE ENLIGHTENMENT

2012-06-14T00:00:00-06:00

This past weekend was spent with buddies in viva Las Vegas. Yup, sin city. We managed to partake in your usual activities, going to the club, gambling, eating, drinking, shopping, and of course, a visit to the almost legendary gentlemen’s clubs of Vegas. It is here where I learned the true artistry of salesmanship or saleswomanship. Throughout it all I found common threads involving sales as in the fitness business industry.

I must admit, at the time the last thing on my mind was “sales” but in retrospect my naive little mind definitely saw the “machine” behind the curtain. One of the first things a stripper will do is come up to you and flirt with you. She will likely sit on your lap or do something to raise your excitement level. For this, you have to do nothing. But you do get a sample of the service and if it is a good one, your chances of buying the service increases. This also applies to the dances they do on the stage.

Dancers get to know their customers by asking questions. This allows them to develop a rapport and tailor the sales pitch. This is where the artistry in their craft lyes. The skilled dancers have a way of being authentically flirty and charming, while the ineffective ladies sounded like something from a cheesy 80s’ porn flick (I’m guessing that’s what they’d sound like).

Dancers will try different sales pitches to different people based on what she thinks they like. “I like to get dirty” or “Have you seen my great ass?” or “My ta-ta’s are real”. Each pitch may be the one thing that converts the potential customer into a buyer. (Pointing out a tight ass works well for me haha just kidding sort of). And she revises her pitch based on experience. Ultimately she knows she has to have a great product. If she put on 30 pounds, hadn’t showered for the past 4 days, had skin as soft as a crocodiles left thumb she would likely not get as many customers. Regardless of how great of a salesperson you are, you can’t do much with a crappy product/service.

She will make sure you are happy on your first dance or she won’t get repeat business or won’t be able to do what she ultimately set out to do…Upsell.

She sells the customer on a relatively cheap service, a lapdance, but then markets her other services to them. She tries to get them to the “champagne room” and sell an upgraded service, which is where the money is at. However, without the first sale, she would never get the larger sale.

Customer acquisition is tough. Once she does it, she needs to get as much business as she can. She will use a variety of closing techniques to get you to buy her services. There are a variety of closing techniques, but two popular ones used by strippers are the compliment close (usually flirting with you) and companion close (getting your buddies to push you into closing the deal).

Strippers market to individuals that are interested in her service. First, she works in a strip club where guys go specifically for her service, that is obvious. But she also knows which guys to go after within a group or which groups will likely spend the most money.

Spending time with cheap-asses only wanting to pay a dollar for a dance will not be a wise use of he precious time.

Even though the audience is qualified, she knows she will get rejections. Even so, she will go up to every guy and ask if they need a lap dance. She also knows that the more guys she asks, the more yes’s she will get.

As far as "branding" I don’t know any strippers that are named Ethel, Mildred or Agnes. Instead, you will get the pleasure to do business with Diamond, Destiny, Candy, or Raven.

The art of small talk can be one of the most valuable skills sets to learn when you are in the sales/ service industry an education that I recieved from the most unlikely places.

BUZZ CLIP: THE NEOPHYTES

2012-04-23T00:00:00-06:00

Watch out here come the neophytes taking the industry by storm with passion, intensity and fun!!!

INSIDE THE MIND OF A CHAMPION

2012-04-23T00:00:00-06:00

Have you ever wondered what the day and the life of a high caliber ahtlete and coach is like. How do individual like that get to that degree of discipline in their craft and succeed in business while still keeping in tip top physical shape. This concept of discipline, mindset excellence and performance excellence is what my special guest is about. He's a world champion natural bodybuilder, close friend, mentor, and colleague....Dreambody's own Paul Anthony. In this interview we'll be talking mostly about mindset and the psychology behind behavior change and performance excellence. Lots of effective tid-bits about Jedi mindtricks you can use right away to be the most "awesomest" you.

Please subscribe to my newsletter and comment about anything you see or hear in this interview.

later all

LIFT

2012-03-08T00:00:00-07:00

It's always important for me to know where my average client is coming from and what sort of physical fitness they are in when they first make their initial consultation with me. My average client has the tendancy to sit for long periods of time this in turn causes some form of tightness. The body is a highly adaptable organism (I hate sounding "sciency") and because it is highly adaptable it gets good at sitting. The challenge then lyes when we transfer the learned skill of sitting to other activities that involve movement like walking, running, jumping etc. This transference of inactivity to activity yields higher chance of injury because the the body wasn't prepared to move that way. The LIFT Class addresses common imbalances that clients are dealing with at the sametime how to improve movement.

DREAMBODY BUZZ CLIP

2012-03-04T00:00:00-07:00

Everyone gets up in the morning with two choices The choice of whether they will have a good day or a challenging one. And, as that proverbial saying goes "whether we choose "good" or "challenging" either way we are right. I got a chance to catch up with the most energetic guy I know an embodiment of motivation and energy in motion. Dreambody's own Mr. Paul Anthony. In the next episode we get deep and personal with Dreambody .

THE GAME WE DON'T KNOW WE'RE PLAYING Part 2

2012-01-29T00:00:00-07:00

In last week’s post I introduced a psychological concept of cognitive dissonance (CD). The concept of having 2 contradictory ideas and the effect it had on habitual thought patterns and behaviours. Some examples given from the last post were “I know smoking contributes to lung cancer but I smoke two packs a day; I know processed foods are unhealthy but I love McDonalds”. As humans we’ve naturally evolved into such rational entities. We have such a complex defence mechanism that we sometimes rationalize ourselves out of doing what would be best for us.

As a personal trainer what pisses me off the most is when I have prospectively new clients who know that they are overweight or borderline diabetic or have high cholesterol or high blood pressure. They know they don’t eat properly- no vegetables or fruit. They know they are sedentary – a desk job and go home to more of the same activity. They don’t feel good, their health is detiorating and they shut off their minds to any idea with regard to health and fitness that could potentially save their lives. I think this is what CD does an extraordinary job at - it turns that kind of useful information and suggestion (i.e. “I should get a trainer”; “I should hire a nutritionist”) into a reason for a person to feel personally attacked. What CD doesn’t do well is give effective and constructive insight. So what do we do? It seems like we could go on for hours talking about how CD wreaks havoc in our health and fitness lifestyle, what can we do to manage it?

In University I was introduced to a book from my Sport Psych professor called 7 Habits of Highly effective People by Stephen Covey which changed my entire perspective about how I view human behaviour- my own and others. He explains 4 concepts that have resonated with me to manage CD. These concepts have moulded my own pattern of thinking which I have applied to understand my own shortcomings when it came to performance in my training, my clients training, and my business.

Know that you have a choice.

It’s easy to get caught up in the “rat race”. And at times of high stress there seems to be nothing to hold on to. In the book Stephen Covey explains that there is a choice that lies between an actual event and our reaction to that event. It’s difficult at first to be cognisant of this option of “choice” but it’s not impossible. A lot of the time it’s a matter of taking yourself out of the experience and asking “should I do or be x? and if I choose x guess what happens”. For example, “should I start exercising even though in the past I haven’t seen much results?” If I choose “yes” then guess what happens? Should I choose to have this salad over these chocolate covered almonds even though I love chocolate covered almonds and besides almonds are healthy… right? If I choose “yes” then guess what happens?

If you have missed the opportunity to realize you have a choice, give yourself some space to review the situation objectively.

One of the worst and best things that happened to me was when I tore my ACL. The experience of not being able to do what I loved most in this world- training, exercise and competing was a nightmare. It forced me to control my emotions and to exercise my patience. Years prior, I was an expert at justifying my mistakes; it was one of the most humbling moments in my life to accept that I wasn’t always right. So, with so much time that I couldn’t spend in the gym training hard, I imprisoned myself at my desk and extensively wrote about my life, mistakes that I’ve made about every facet of my life and acknowledging that even though I couldn’t take back these mistakes there was something to be learned from all of them. Today, I use this strategy with clients whom I have an “off” day with. Rather than defending my point of view with as much intensity as a lineman protecting the quarterback, I objectively analyze what happened in the moment and write about the client’s perspective. Usually, I would come up with an answer or solution from something I missed that they said, which helped me exercise a lot of “empathy” with all my encounters.

Expect to make mistakes and grow from them.

It’s a hard pill to swallow when you are in an industry full of perceived perfection. Where every magazine sets a particular status quo to losing weight, or having six pack abs in a week or the body of your dreams overnight. They make it seem like the execution should be flawless, when in reality it isn’t. We have to expect to fumble up once in a while so that our abilities can grow to the next level. And, when we do get to the next level we actively look for mistakes that will help propel us to a higher level.

Know that at anytime you can start fresh.

Whatever mistakes you have clung to in the past, understand that you can start over. This is much harder than it seems. There are mistakes that have taken me years to un-cling to. A quote that a close mentor told me was “a great artist understands that he has an unlimited amount of blank canvasses”. He basically meant everyone has a chance to start over in recreating their own life, or recreating their habits.

I’d like to end this post with a few questions. Good questions hopefully spawn good answers. With this entire concept of Cognitive Dissonance ask yourself:

Where are the areas of your life that you’re lying to yourself – what are the things you truly want to change but have been too scared to change in the past?

Now that you’ve defined the areas of your life that you want to change, what are the elements that are “holding you back” from making that change?

What actions are you going to take to move past those elements that are holding you back?

At the end of the day it comes down to becoming inspired enough to raise the standards for your own life. People need to raise the bar for their lives and for their own bodies before they can see themselves take action.

If anything in this post resonated with you please comment!

Badass Elevate Girl

2011-12-10T00:00:00-07:00

Yes its still out there. The notion that heavy weight will make a lady bulky. No matter how many times I attempt to debunk this common myth it somehow makes its way back into fitness convention. I'll base the following with regard to focusing on our non-drug induced athlete. Physiologically, muscle responds to 3 basic rules.

1. Muscle responds to demands acted on it. Which means that lifting heavy weight will induce damages to the muscle and activate it to remodel a stronger version of itself. Women who gain muscle mass while keeping fat levels low will appear to be tighter and toned for the simple fact that the lean muscle is accentuated with little sub-cutaneous fat impeding its visiblity.

2. Muscle responds to calories. Studies have shown that dieters who restrict calories and do not resistance train do lose weight. However, weight loss comes from an even distribution of fat and muscle. When dieters don't exercise they sometimes get fatter than when they started. Generally, it takes about 2800 cals to build a pound of muscle. A majority of this is for protein turnover provided for the muscle to recover and rebuild after a heavy training session.

3. Muscle responds to protein. Muscle hypertrophy responds more efficiently to adequate amino acid levels which are the building blocks to muscle.

What Hour are you on?

2011-12-04T00:00:00-07:00

It all boils down to the concept of productivity. The difference between successful people and those who aren’t is that the successful people understand there is a finite amount of chances to get the job done right. They understand that getting a task done right the first time is less energy wasting than having to go back and fix it the second, third, or fourth time. Successful people understand that the most valuable commodity is “time”. It’s a commodity that you can’t buy or buy back. It’s the number one investment that can take you from a novice to a professional in any given field. I hear alot of people say "yeah, I went to the gym today so its all good I'm a better person for it". But, the real understanding is when you ask yourself "what did I do in the gym today? and how did I do it? The “10,000 hour Red Seal” rule explains that in any given field it will take 10,000 hours of experience, learning, research and dedicated deliberate practice to that field for an individual change from a novice to a professional. 10, 0000 hours .

What hour are you on?