How to Find A Gym

January, if you own a box gym, is by far one of your best months. New Year’s resolutioners are the typical population generally thought of to flood the gyms of the area, though I think many people make the New Year a new start whether it’s a resolution or not. But I digress.

from shareology.com

So how do you find a new gym? Let’s say you’re looking to start training and working out or you just moved to a new area and you need a new training home.

Below are a couple of key points to aide in your quest. Note that these are entirely my opinions, though said opinions are based on 14 years of training and the many, many gyms I’ve stepped into over the years.

Actual Free Weights

Here is where I am strongly biased: if a gym doesn’t have Olympic barbells, weight plates, dumbbells (up to at least 100lbs), squat racks, and the allowance of deadlifting, they’re not in the business of encouraging strength but only perpetuating the mediocrity of human fitness. I’m not saying that gyms shouldn’t stock machines (cardio or weight), buuuuut strength happens though discomfort. Most weight machines are designed to be “comfortable” and confine the body to movements that it doesn’t actually perform in real life. I can sense a rabbit hole of a rant coming on, so I’ll stop there and conclude with this: pick up heavy junk. That’s how you get stronger and actually make a difference with your body.

Training Atmosphere

The gym is not a club. It’s not there to help you pick up a date, flirt, converse for 30 minutes, or leer at other trainees. A gym that has more people yakking than training is not a conducive environment for staying on task. True story: I was a member at a gym that virtually turned into a club after 5pm (shimmery workout clothes, techno club music, and dudes trying to pick up ladies while doing bicep curls…) and it was horrible. I never made the mistake of going there again after dusk.

Not #clubtime

Cleanliness

I’m all for rust and some dirt. I don’t expect a gym to be immaculate, in fact, that’s kinda weird to me. If a gym is being used regularly, it will have seemingly perpetual dirt in the corners and hard-to-reach areas. Dust and dirt on the floor, assuming it’s not excessive, is acceptable from a place where dozens of people walk daily. That said, the bathrooms should be clean (always), there should be the tools necessary to wipe off benches (and it should be encouraged and done so by the staff… no one wants MRSA), the equipment should be kept in working order and stored in a logical and safe manner, and members should be told (or better yet, just know) that they need to put their equipment back.

Above all though…

It should be somewhere that you will go to train consistently. All these other points are moot unless it’s a place where you actually show up to train. The gym that you DON’T go to will serve only to drain your bank account with its monthly membership.

Find a gym. Train 2-3x/week. Repeat. 

Critical Thinking Skills + Reading Nutrition "News" = Success

I don't have a terribly long post for you today, dear readers, since it is Friday (and the first Friday back from the holidays so I imagine the week was a rough.)

We're all aware of the sensational, attention-grabbing headlines that are flashed before our eyes on a weekly basis either demonizing a food (Eggs! The silent killer...) or elevating a food to divine-miracle status (Eat this food to cure everything, including Mad Cow!). 

This drives me absolutely bonkers. (<-- post that expresses my ire.)

Opinions aside, Examine.com had a link on their website to a review article that uncovered nutrition "research" from the 1960s and 70s that started the "low-fat" craze. The main thrust behind the low-fat era was that fat caused coronary heart disease and it was bad, bad, bad, and everyone who wanted to stay healthy should eat a diet low in fat. 

Well, low-fat foods are generally not-very-tasty foods (at least not the manufactured kind) so food makers had to inject things like sugar and other fun things to make food actually palatable to normal human beings. 

Guess who funded the initial research? 

The Sugar Research Foundation. 

Yup... that happened. 

NPR also had a story about it, which you can read here. 

The point of this post isn't to point out the danger of sugar- it's not when you eat it in moderation in the context of an overall vegetable-rich diet- but to encourage and remind you to read news stories and even research with a critical, skeptical mind-set. If possible, dig a little bit more and see if you can find who funds the various studies that are trumpeted and touted by media outlets. You might be less surprised at the conclusions put forth by such studies... 

from makeameme.org

New Year's Fitness Resolution- You STILL Need Strength and Movement in the Adult World

There was an article in the Washington Post on Dec. 22nd of 2016 centered on millennials, their workouts, and hip pain. The main thrust of the article was that there is a noticeable increase in incidents of hip pain- and related injuries I would assume too- in clinics in New York City (and I think we can assume other areas with high populations of millennials). While there are no definitive studies out, however, there is a correlation with injury rates and the increased interest in high-intensity activities such as CrossFit, Tough Mudders, and the like among this generation.

“A lot of millennials are doing all of these high-intensity exercises that are great for the mental and physical components of health, but if you’re not as conditioned as you think, you’re going to put excessive stress on the soft tissue and the joint,”

-Karena Wu, owner of ActiveCare Physical Therapy in NYC

To quote another doctor, Dr. Shane Nho, an orthopedist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago:

“The types of workouts these guys [and gals] are doing.. They’re doing it at all costs, despite poor form, mechanics, fatigue or their actual baseline level of conditioning.”

Shocker. I personally think this is the function of a highly-competitive mindset coupled with a complete lack of self-assessment (or assessment performed by the facilities people train at, but I still think personal responsibility is lacking) and accepting the reality of one’s actual physical abilities.

from TheFrisky.com

I could delve into the vast amount of disinformation (and misinformation) about physical fitness and how it’s portrayed or the way that activities like the Spartan Race, CrossFit, and Tough Mudders are advertised- but again, people need to realize that they’re not as fit as they think they are. It seems that many people either a) are completely ignorant of proper human movement and/or most of their information comes from less-than-reputable sources or b) they don’t need any sort of assessment because they’re “fine.” This goes back to what my last post was about- foundations! When anyone, adult or child, jumps-literally- into demanding physical training without addressing movement and strength levels, injuries happen. As I said before, to be blunt, you’re weak and you move like garbage. This can only lead to poor outcomes.

The remedy? Seek out professionals who know what correct human movement looks like and how to build up strength safely and effectively. Shameless plug, but SAPT totally rocks this. If you’re not in our area, that’s cool, we can do distance training too. Even if you don’t call us, find someone who knows what they’re doing.

You’re not as strong as you think, you’re not as conditioned as you think, and you don’t move well. It’s ok, you’re not alone.

That’s why we, the coaches, do what we do. To help people MOVE better, GROW stronger, and CRUSH life.

Seriously, stop being a fool and find a professional.

Neither Flashy nor Sexy, but Strength and Movement are Crucial Stones to Athletics

At SAPT we tend to err on the conservative side of the training spectrum. Sure, there is a time and place for being pushed outside your comfort zone and try exercises that are challenging or working with weights that you never thought you’d ever lift… BUT that should only happen AFTER the foundation is unquestionably there. I’m primarily speaking about younger kids and adolescents, but the concept applies to adult trainees too.

This foundation is composed of a couple of things:

Movement- This is crucial. Poor or aberrant movement patterns only ingrain bad habits and set the trainee up for injuries down the road. This not only includes performing movements correctly, but also controlling one’s body in space. I’m talking about basic human/athletic movement like squat, hinge, push, pull, skipping/running, landing and jumping patterns… For example, I’ve witnessed kids perform a squat, technically correctly, but they have zero control over the speed of their descent.

Strength base- This goes hand-in-hand with movement quality. Weak people move poorly because they lack the strength to move correctly or control the movement consistently.

I made a handy chart for your visual folks:

I’m not the best at these technological things, but I think it gets the point across.

A deficit in either department will increase injury risk and continue to feed into the cycle of being weak and moving poorly. Hooray.

Athletes and the parents of the athletes we train have all kinds of goals when they come to us. They want to run faster, jump higher, throw harder, be more agile, prevent injuries… this list goes on; these are all great things!

Often, parents/coaches or even the athletes themselves have ideas as to what they need to accomplish those goals.

“Speed and agility work, can you guys program sprints and cutting drills?”

“Plyometrics. That’s what I need to jump higher.”

“Explosive training, that’s what my son needs.” (This was a literal, yet nebulous request. I’m not sure what this parent meant, did he want me to use dynamite?)

“I need to get my arm speed up, can you give me drills to improve my arm speed?”

However, as a coach, there are two barriers larger than the Wall of Westeros to those goals when athletes walk in our doors:

From wiki of Ice and Fire

1. Primary athletic movement patterns-mentioned above- barely resemble human movement.

2. Strength levels that are less than optimal.

To be blunt, many kids are weak and the move like garbage.

The commonality with the athlete and parent requests mentioned previously is that they focus on a very specific aspect of athleticism or a sport. However, without the foundational stones of strength and efficient, correct human movement, all those lovely requests turn into Wile E. Coyote when he runs off the cliff.

From gifsoup.com

The vast majority of an SAPT athlete’s training for the first two to three months (with a few exceptions) consists of creating those foundational stones. At times it may seem tedious, because, to be perfectly frank, a multitude of kids move so poorly that we have to start with light weights and rudimentary drills to even begin the building process. This often also includes tearing down bad habits and reforming new ones, which simply requires both time and consistently showing up to train.

It’s a process that can result in impatience due to lack of appreciation and understanding of the absolute necessity of that strength and movement base to start training the more “fun” or exciting aspects of athletic performance.

Therefore, the onus is on us, the coaches, to explain to parents and athletes why we’re doing the things we’re doing instead of the flashy exercises that compose the common perception of performance training (I’m looking at you parachute sprints and your ilk).

In the end, starting with the “explosive” training or speed work etc. will only wind up, at best, making the athlete marginally better and will probably top out at a certain point because the underlying movement and strength deficiencies are left unaddressed. (At worst, an injury occurs!)

Again, I apologize at the bluntness of my words but, here is what athletes and parents need to know:

You’re weak and you move like garbage. We need to fix these two problems before we do anything else.

As Dan John says, strength does magical things. I guarantee that when a person grows stronger and can perform the basic human/athletic movements well, their overall performance is going to improve dramatically-even before doing any of the fancy stuff.

Be consistent in your training, trust the process, and you’ll reap the benefits.

What is the Best Training Method?

Like many issues that we come across in life, there are two camps and people will stake their flag on one side and fight incessantly with the other. We saw this most vividly this past year- can I get an "amen!" that it's mostly over?- and if people thought the political arena was divided, they should step into the fitness world. 

My way is the right way!

Fat vs. Carbs! Powerlifting vs. Bodybuilding! Barefoot running vs. shoes! Crossfit vs. Everyone Else! (kinda kidding about that last one...) Mention any of those topics and you're sure to see a strength coach's flag come out. 

Another debate, albeit not as volatile as the ones above, is percentage-based training vs. RPE-based training.

First off, what does RPE mean? Well, I'll tell you, it stands for: 

Rate of Perceived Exertion.

RPE-based training is training that is founded on the principle of auto-regulation. It's a subjective measurement of your strength on a given day, how "difficult" does an activity feel. For example, depending on the circumstances of a particular training session- accounting for factors such as stress, nutrition, sleep, etc.- one day 185lbs might feel like a feather and other days it might feel like 385. RPE-based training allows for you to push the weights up on the days you feel like Superman and pull back on the days you feel like you've been beaten up by Superman.

I might program 3x3 reps with an RPE of 8. When prescribing RPE loads, here is a handy chart to explain what I mean:

From davedraper.com

In the case of the 3x3 for RPE of 8, the load should be one that the trainee could have theoretically moved for 5 reps. 

Second off, (side note: why doesn't anyone ever say that after they've said, "First off..."?) percentage-based training is a more commonly used training method of working off a percentage of your max effort in a certain lift. For example, you might work at 80% of your one-rep max for squat in a session. The theory is that, because your level of strength is X, as represented by your 1-rep max (1RM), you should be able to do a certain number or reps at a given percentage of 1RM since it's a sub-maximal weight. 

The aim of this post is, actually, NOT to plant a flag. I like both types of training and I think they're both equally useful and effective. I've experienced personal success as well as seen the people I've trained thrive with both methods. Like most things in the training world, it depends.

The point of this post is to explain the pros and cons of each and let the reader decide which method to follow. 

Percentage-Based Training

Pros:

• Concrete number to use in training 
• Decent assessment of how many reps to shoot for based on a certain percentage (thank you Prilepin's Chart)

• By having a specific number to work with, it keeps you honest with your training. Sometimes you just need to grit your teeth and grab the bar and go. 

Cons:

• Doesn't allow for alterations in weight based on how you feel, good or bad (and I'm not talking about "not feeling it today" but coming back from an illness or rehab-ing an injury or mega-life stress such as big family/work related events)

RPE-Based Training

Pros:

• At the risk of sounding like a broken record, allows for fluctuations in training weights based on physiological and psychological readiness (being Superman or being a minion that got punched by Superman). You can push it or pull back depending on the day
• Teaches auto-regulation and how to be more in-tune with your body. Auto-regulation can help stave off overuse injuries or overtraining in general because you're NOT pushing it when you're too fatigued. 

Cons:

• No concrete number to train with (which can be a problem for very data-driven folks)
• There is definitely a learning curve when it comes to judging how your body feels both during a lift and within a set even. Sometimes I think I've got a few reps in the tank only to be stapled by the next rep. 

What do I do with this information? 

So how do we apply this? Pretty easily: try it. Try both methods. Give yourself 8-12 weeks of training both ways and see which one works better for you, or which one you simply prefer. I've trained people who absolutely hate RPE because they don't have a specific number to use; I've worked with other people he hate percentage base because they never know how they're going to feel walking into a training session and the RPE gives them the freedom to adjust as needed. 

Personally, I currently use the RPE system. I have some health issues that affect how I feel on a daily (and sometimes hourly) basis and one day can differ wildly from the next. I've literally squatted a weight one week for 5 reps only to get crushed under the same weight after 2 reps. 

After you've tried both ways, choose the one that works best and stick with it. And then keep sticking with it...

In the end, however, the biggest factor in training is not, which method of training you use; the biggest factor is being consistent. Consistently show up and magical things happen. Just choose a method, train consistently, the method is a tool to get you towards your training goals.  

Does Eating at Night Cause Weight Gain?

Since the holidays are upon us, I figured one thing that might be stewing in the back of people's brains is the holiday-weight-gain.

First off, it's NOT inevitable, so don't resign yourself to your fate; the holidays are a time for celebrating and enjoying food with family and friends. However, I think many people take it as license to go hog-wild. There is a happy medium: indulge a little bit but get back on track during the days that don't require a big or celebratory meal. (You don't have to say "yes" to every morsel at every party...) Choose the days that are the most important to you and enjoy them! That office Christmas party? Maybe hold back and choose the healthier options or have small portions, in another word: strategize!

*steps off soap box*

In that same line of thinking, people are attracted to quick fixes or "easy" solutions to weight loss (especially post-holiday season). Save your self some aggravation and read the following article (below). 

One of the proliferating "maxims" of the nutrition advice that floats around out there (and this particular piece typically comes from dubious sources)...

Just sayin'...

... is that eating at night (or past 6PM or some other arbitrary number) will cause weight gain.

Once again the intelligent folks at Examine.com put out a great article that looked at a handful of studies to see if that maxim can hold its own against science. 

Read it HERE. 

Spoiler: though there is no rock-solid answer, it comes down to knowing your own tendencies. Do you often to make poor choices when you're tired, stressed, and hungry (as most people find themselves at the end of the day)? If so, then maybe you do need to cut yourself off at night. If you don't struggle with that- say you've planned ahead and you have a healthy dinner ready to go- then you can probably have a li'l somethin' as you unwind for the evening. 

Plan ahead and pick up heavy things.