Train With Intensity

I recently posted a clip of a training session that I love, up on our Smart Fitness group on Facebook. I've had a lot of comments (mainly from my clients who are enjoying seeing their coach suffer for a change, and others who think I'm a bit bonkers - masochist was the term used by one of my clients!). I also had comments from two guys in the industry that I have a huge amount of time and respect for:

Alwyn Cosgrove "...Good face on the sprints!..." -this is a face he recognises from back in the day when we were training partners - the shutters were down!

Robert Dos Remedios "...great face....that's what I talk about in my lectures about overload.....lots of personal confrontation going on there HAHA!..."

Now as coincidence would have it I started reading a book today about Marco Pantani (an iconic cyclist who won both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in the same year - that doesn't happen all that often). And this was the preface;

"Io amo la montagna, ma nel momento della fatica ho dentro un grande odio. Cosi cerco di abbreviare la mia agonia"

I bet you didn't know I could speak Italian! Basically this is what he says;

"I love the mountains, but in the moment of exertion, I'm filled with deep hated. So I try to shorten then suffering"

For me this pretty much sums up how I train and what I expect from my clients! (I know it won't compare to what he put his body through), but for me I want to get the maximum out of every training session that I client do so that I can spend as little time training as possible! Check the video out, during that last set be under no illusion that I'm hating every second, but as soon as that 10th set is finished I'm really, really happy. Why? Because I know that in that short 20 minute session I've pushed myself as hard as I can and the benefits will be with me for a long time after the session has finished.

It is not about duration of exercise - it is about the intensity you take to the session. Just like Alwyn and Coach Dos, I'm always looking for ways to shorten the suffering - it just means that if you train with us you need to bring some intensity to your session! If you still wear a badge of honour because your training session lasted 2 hours then maybe it is time for a rethink - Imagine what else you could be doing with all that spare time!

Quick Fire Top 10

Here is another one from the archives. Eric Cressey asked me to give him my top ten pieces of training advice that would help the readers of his newsletter become leaner, stronger, faster, and more muscular? Here's my respsonse.

1. Set goals – SMART goals so that you know where the journey is going to take you and how you are going to get to your destination.

2. Keep a training diary – You need to track your progress.

3. Train consistently – Set a plan and stick to it. It’s all too easy to say, “Hey, I’ll train today.” If you don’t schedule a time to train, chances are you will get to the end of the day and you will have missed your session.

4. Recover well – anyone that follows my blog will understand why!

5. Concentrate on the 98% - Everyone is so busy trying to find the extra 1 or 2 percent that they forget about the other 98%! - Do the basics well - repeat!

6. Include conditioning work (prehab/remedial/injury prevention….call it what you like….my choice is conditioning) in your training session. Superset between the main lifts – that way the work gets done and you will be on the way to becoming “bulletproof.”

7. Replace steady-state running with high intensity intervals – Come on, do I really need to explain this one? Intervals will give you more bang for your buck than slow steady-state running.

8. Don’t get hung up on TVA recruitment – Isolating a muscle will not necessarily transfer to improved core strength during athletic movements. Train how you are going to perform; make sure you hit all of the major muscle groups (rectus abdominus, obliques, erector spinae, etc.).

9. Learn to handle your bodyweight – I’ve worked with elite gymnasts – these guys are super strong. I don’t really care what your bench is if you can’t even handle your own bodyweight with good form. Don’t neglect the basics (see my point 5).

10. Whole body hypertrophy programmes – I’m with Alwyn Cosgrove on this one. Why go for split routines when you can get a greater training effect from a whole body hypertrophy routine?

Fat Loss and Fitness

I recently had a chance to sit down with Alwyn Cosgrove and talk through some of the fundamental principles that he uses with his clients to help them not only improve their body composition but to also improve general fitness levels.

Check out what Alwyn has to say during his interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpa5hz6v7_8 . If you want to take advantage of his top tips check out AFTERBURN, the ultimate 'burn fat training solution'.

Enjoy!

Alwyn Cosgrove - Secrets For Success

Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove were in the UK on vacation and we spent some time with each other over the bank holiday weekend. I was a bit cheeky and asked if Alwyn would spend ten minutes running through some of his business and training tips. In the first of a series of interviews Alwyn reveals some of the key strategies that you can use to take your business to the next level.

I've read from cover to cover my copy of Alwyn's business book that he launched back in January 2009 "55 Fitness Business Strategies for Success" and I know that the simple and effective advice outlined in the book has really helped me develop my business this year.

Listen to what Alwyn has to say about his Business Mentorship Programme and his top 3 tips that will help you to stop counting reps and start counting revenue!

EXCLUSIVE: UK BUSINESS SEMINAR

If you would like to listen to Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove live in the UK let me know. We are looking at hosting an exclusive 2 day event in which they will deliver their highly successful Business Mentorship Programme. We are looking at London based venues and hope to be able to get this up and running for a weekend in October.

In the meantime you can pick up Alwyn and Rachel's business manual here here => 55 Fitness Business Strategies

Unbreakable

I'm putting the finishing touches to a presentation I'm giving this weekend at the Smart/TRI Seminar Series. The final session in the series is looking at injury prevention and rehabilitation so imagine my delight when I received an e-mail from my good friend and colleague Alwyn Cosgrove telling me about a “first of its kind” system to help anyone deal effectively with all of their physical issues.

The system has been developed by Keith Scott and he has produced a ‘400-plus’ page system that will finally help you eliminate all of your physical pain, restrictions, weaknesses and any other problems that are slowing you down or taking you away of what you truly love to do.
Staying physical healthy is one of the biggest keys to success in any fitness program. If you cannot exercise, weight-loss and muscular development will be stalled, and by the time you are healthy, you have to start all over again.

Keith’s UNBREAKABLE system will teach you how to stay healthy, deal with old injuries or problems and work around any lingering issues so you never have to miss a workout because of pain or injury again.

Unbreakable <= Check out Keith’s system here

“Unbreakable” is a first of its kind product that will bring the best of the “physical therapy” and “physical conditioning” worlds together to help you specifically deal with all of your Orthopedic problems in the comfort of your own home or local gym. In this ‘400 plus’ page system (that includes self-assessments, full corrective-exercise programs for every major area of the body, targeted soft-tissue work for fast pain relief and much more) Keith provides you with everything you need to help you finally eliminate all of your physical pain, and get back to doing all of the things you love to do, without restrictions and fear!!! One of the best features of UNBREAKABLE is that it allows a person to “plug-in” the selected “corrective exercise” strategies into their current program so they can continue to train and workout without missing a beat.

So, if you are following a Westside Program, a body part split, an Olympic lifting plan or even Afterburn -- you can continue to do the program while taking care of any issues that you have and never have to miss a workout.
Unbreakable <= Click here for more details Keith has come up with a truly unique system that everyone should own because I don’t know anyone that doesn’t have some kind of injury, pain or physical problem in their lives. UNBREAKABLE can finally help you take care of any and all issues as they arise.

PS - Keith is also offering an 8 week, no questions asked money back guarantee. That's a long enough time to give the program a solid test run and decide for yourself.
Check it out here.

Lift Strong

It has now been over 1000 days since Alwyn Cosgrove's bone marrow and stem cell transplant - a procedure that saved his life.

Lift Strong is a product that Alwyn Cosgrove masterminded with the help of Mike Roussell, to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. With the the help of some great friends in this profession he turned a little project into an 800 page manual (that was produce on CD to keep costs down). Everyone volunteered their time and their information. No one makes any money from this product - it's all going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

The government is currently giving billions of dollars in economic aid to banks that basically messed up - yet cancer research is funded primarily by individual donations - not government help.When you actually stop and think how messed up it is that we have to put up a website to get public donations to help fight cancer treat while the government is bailing out financial institutions left and right it just boggles the mind. I mean, shouldn’t that be one of the first things we as a society are taking care of?

Anyway - rant over. Whilst Alwyn is a cancer survivor, the fight hasn't stopped.

All the proceeds from the sale of this product go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.I urge you to support this cause and purchase this CD. Your purchase WILL make a difference.You are reading this today because Alwyn is alive after facing cancer twice. He is alive today because of advanced medical treatment.Medical treatment discovered by research.Research funded by money.Money sourced from donations.Donations from people like you.Please help.

http://www.liftstrong.com/

Ten Percent Gone

I can always rely on my good friend and colleague Alwyn Cosgrove to keep me on track. This morning I received one of his regular updates and it made me realise just how quickly time passes. Read on for a little reminder that you should be working hard toward your goals.


It's now the 5th of Feb.

We have already passed one full month into 2009, and are now one-tenth of the way to 2010.

10% down, 90% to go. Doesn't seem that long since the start of the year does it? Time flies. Whether you're having fun or not.

How are your New Years Resolutions holding up?

If you're behind schedule or have lost focus a little bit - start today. Set some New Month Resolutions!

Maybe you want to lose a stone by may Bank Holiday. Start by setting a goal of 12 weight training workouts to be performed in Feb. And get the first one done tomorrow.

It's never too late to make massive changes.