Blog Entry
I have been involved in the fitness and wellness industry for the past 9 years. I started to lift back in highschool during the off season for football. Our coaches knew nothing of the science behind building size and strength. The typical workout for us during the week consisted of two upper-body (MW) and two lower-body (TR) heavy training days with a fifth day of auxillary lifts (curls, abs, pressdowns, etc.) During the upper-body days we ALWAYS lifted 4 sets of 5 reps for Bench Press, Push Press, and Lat Pull. The lower-body day consisted of another 4 sets of 5 reps on the BB Squat, Hang Clean, and Deadlift. This was the schedule of lifting for the entire summer. There were a few changes here and there where we did plyometric workouts or sprints, but the majority of it was the standard 4 sets of 5. Needless to say…..we didn’t gain much in the off season. My coaches didn’t have any strength and were overweight former highschool athletes who now recite to their students what they learned 25+ years ago. They aren’t physically active and look like they have not gone for a jog or lifted a weight in well over a decade.
Being that this was the only form of weight training that I had been involved with, I thought it was the right way to train. Once I got to college I decided to look into personal trianing. Out of the blue I went to a local fitness club and asked if I could speak to a personal trainer. I was introduced to their head trainer and he offered to take me under his wing and teach me the in’s and out’s of correct training. I was a gym rat, to say the least. I shadowed this head training the entire spring of my freshman year without pay. While my "friends" were going to bars or partying on a Friday or Saturday night, I was at Chad’s house discussing rest intervals and progressions. I basically lived in the gym to absorb the knowledge Chad offered me. I was introduced to new ideas on rep schemes and exercises I never thought of. Chad taught me how to develop proper postural balance as well as maximal strength through the ideas of corrective exercise and overall volume of work.
After a semester of working with Chad I was still unsure of myself as a trainer. I was pretty shy and rather intimidated by other trainers and didn’t voice my opinion to members of the gym. I knew my science and could pretty much recite the NASM text, but the tough part was to put my knowledge into practial application. I easily passed the NASM CPT exam and became certified in 2002. I was hired on with Lawrence Athletic Club as a trainer and started to find my swagger. I continually was learning from Chad and other trainers around me. My schooling was great, but I learned much more in the gym about health and fitness than I did getting my degree in Exercise Science.
Bottom line is that if you want to learn about exercise, you have to exercise and absorb the knowledge of those who have what you want. If someone is telling you what to do to get big, and they are standing 5′11" and weighing in a whopping 145lbs, they probably don’t know much about getting big. Sure they may know the correct form of a Squat or Deadlift, but they don’t lift big. Learn from those who look like you want to. Who knows where I would be if i hadn’t met Chad and the others that inspired me by their work ethic and understanding that this is a never ending science. I’d probably be overweight, inactive, and slow with joint dysfunctions. Good thing I met these guys.
