I have some chronic joint issues and so I was eager to try Cobrazol products. My only hesitation was that they contain snake venom. But, having used these products on and off for a few months now, I feel confident about delivering my final verdict.

Testing Conditions

I used the products primarily on two areas on my right leg: knee and ankle. These areas are chronic problems for me ever since having my leg crushed by a car several years ago. I have a tibial rod as a result, and I’ve had chronic issues with the ankle and knee on that leg ever since.

Generally, it’s a “my knee’s a-achin’, it’s probbly gonna rain” kind of thing. There’s often no predicting, on any given day, whether these areas will or will not give me trouble.

Typical issues include pain, which can be from sharp to dull, swelling, and aching. My foot and calf on this leg is also much more susceptible to pain and cramping than the other.

I tried both Cobrazol products in several different situations.

Sometimes, I used them reactively, the moment I felt a twinge or ache. Other times I used them proactively, immediately following a long hike, for example. Each type of application, cream and roll on, was used separately; I never mixed the two.

The Final Verdict

The good news is, Cobrazol works.

In general, I noticed significantly reduced pain regardless if it was knee or ankle, or whether it was a sharp pain, ache, or anything else.

Typically, the pain began to noticeably decline within 15-20 minutes, and relief plateaued within half an hour.

The pain reduction lasted anywhere from 5-6 hours on shorter durations to 8-10 hours on longer durations.

Swelling was a little more variable. Post-activity swelling (which I often get after a long or fast hike, for example) seemed more resistant to the product.

But my occasional bouts of daily, “routine” swelling seemed to be reduced more effectively.

Again, I used the products on and off over a long period of time, and under various conditions. I noticed no real difference in effectiveness between the roll on and the cream, although the roll-on is a little less messy.

Both products are odorless, and I experienced no skin irritation or other unwanted effects. I always rubbed the product in after applying, regardless if I applied the roll-on or cream.

I also used it once on my low back after a trip-and-fall incident while doing yard work, and the results were consistent with use elsewhere. In this instance, I used the roll-on. I treated my low back with two applications of the product, about 2 hours apart.

I was still experiencing mild discomfort after about two hours, so I tried another application. The second application did not reduce the discomfort further, but seemed extend the effects.

A second application did not further decrease my pain, but did extend the relief.

I did not use this product in conjunction with anything else. When using the product, I did not take any other pain relievers and I did not use any heat, ice, braces, sleeve, etc. You may want to research combining Cobrazol products with other pain relief modalities before trying it out.

Product Description

Cobrazol pain relief products contain snake venom. I will admit that this gave me pause; I probably had the product for a week before I actually used it, simply because it contains snake venom.

According to the company, Cobrazol products are infused with venom ingredients from three species – Mojave Rattlesnake, Indian Cobra, and South American Bushmaster. To make the product more effective, Cobrazol also contains herbal extracts.

Cobrazol products are clinically tested and guaranteed by the manufacturer. The products have been in use for some time, and there are ample reviews on Amazon and elsewhere.

Cobrazol topical products are available as both a roll-on and a cream. There are other sizes available, but what I tested was the 4oz Extreme Pain Relief Sport Cream and the Roll-On Topical Gel.

There is no exact dosage mentioned. Just simply apply Cobrazol on where you have been experiencing pain. You can use your hands to rub the gel into skin and massage for a much deeper gel penetration.

Summary

Pros:

• Both products are odorless and easy to apply.
• The roll-on dries more quickly and is less messy to apply.
• It is non-narcotic and non-drowsy.
• It can relieve pain and lasts for up to 8 to 10 hours.

Cons:

• Does not resolve long-term issues, only treats symptoms. (Note: the manufacturer specifically says that the product is not intended to treat or prevent any disease.)

Areas of use:

Looking for more reviews on pain relief products?:

Ease Aches and Pains with Natural Care

The post Getting Pain Relief From a Bottle appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Well, I was mistaken. Turns out that buying a big sandbag and thinking it can do everything all the smaller-sized bags can do is a like buying a motor home and thinking it can do everything a sports car, sedan, and pickup truck can do. Each of the different sizes has it’s own characteristics and purpose.

So, as I wrote up earlier, I started with the Power USB. It’s been a great tool, and I keep it by my desk and use it pretty much every day. The Power bag is designed for a load between 10-40 pounds. Of course, being sort of thick-headed, I tend to approach these things in ways that I would scold any of my clients for, and I loaded it to 40 pounds right off the bat. As a result, as I began the DVRT program that’s included with each Ultimate Sandbag, I realized I was going to have to lighten the load or stick to more basic exercises and work my way up. I chose the latter, and that’s worked well for me. I’ve become competent moving the bag around and with many of the exercises in the DVRT program.

But, being me, I still wanted to get on with it and see what gnarly he-man manly challenge the heavier bags might offer. I’m a reasonably strong 55-year-old, with a max deadlift just north of 400 pounds, so I figured I could jump right to using the big bags. I ordered a Strength bag and a Burly bag.

Product Desciption

The Strength bag is USB’s second-largest in capacity, recommended for 40 – 60 pounds. It’s described on the DVRTfintess.com website as designed for “Beginning & Intermediate Men, Advanced Women, CrossFit WODs.” It comes with two 40-pound filler bags and is available from the manufacturer for $129.97.

The Burly bag is the highest-capacity bag and is described as best for “Intermediate to Advanced Men, Advanced Women, CrossFit WODs, Strongman Type Training.” Intended to be loaded between 60 – 150 pounds, this bag comes with three 40-pound filler bags and is available for $159.99.

You might think a “sandbag” would get shipped to you in a rough, plain cardboard box, but each of the USB bags I ordered actually came in very consumer-friendly packages that would be right at home on the shelf at Target. Each box also contained an instructional booklet (with filling instructions), a DVRT instructional video, and an instructional wall poster. And each bag comes with USB’s 30 Day No Hassle Guarantee and 3-Year Warranty.

The Ultimate Sandbag comes in surprisingly consumer-friendly packaging.

The bags themselves had the same smooth and very sturdy outer material that my first USB had. This is very easy to wipe down, and it is not abrasive to your skin.

One of the features of these two bags, other than larger capacity and overall size, is the end handles are not like the others. The Power bag’s end handles were the same as all the other handles on the bag. But with the Strength and the Burly bags, the end “handles” are more like flaps, and the amount of grip required to lift and manipulate the bag with these handles is surprising. This is just another aspect of how these bags are not just a barbell substitute and can’t be thought of as simple tool to do “barbell-like stuff.”

Each bag’s shell is basically a stiff, heavy-duty duffle bag. The outer material is smooth but very think, and the overall quality of construction is excellent. I was glad to find that the bag material is not at all abrasive, and it does not absorb sweat. There are a variety of handles, which allows for a wide range of exercises. The filler bags that actually hold the sand are separate. These are thick black bags that have multiple sets of Velcro closures.

Setting Up the Bags

The filler bags are a bit of a wrestling match just to open—there’s a lot of Velcro to deal with. Because these filler bags are much larger than the one’s for the Power bag I’d previously tested, it proved very helpful to have another person assist me when filling them. As with my previous Ultimate Sandbag, I used sand that was leftover from filling “real” sandbags as part of last year’s El Niño prep. This sand is coarser than the recommended “playground sand,” but that did not seem to affect performance. The filler bags seal up very well, and seem pretty bullet-proof.

Getting the loaded filler bags into the shell was again a bit of a wrestling match, but they do fit. It helped to pick up and drop the bag (on a hard, safe surface) to get the filler bags “settled in.” The shell’s main compartment closes with a heavy-duty metal zipper and lots more Velcro.

Ultimate Sandbags can be used on virtually any surface. Pictured: Strength bag (left) and Burly bag (right).

Testing Conditions

In practice, these two bags have different personalities. The Strength bag is great for taking a big step up in load from the Power bag I had been using. But the Burly bag is yet another big step beyond the Strength bag. Each step up revealed new things about my technique and capacity.

The key thing, though, is not the absolute weight. Sure, there’s a 40-50 pound difference between the Strength and the Burly bags the way I filled them. But what’s significant about these bags and the training system is in the perception of the weight. I find I brace myself for lifting the 100-pound Burly bag as intensely as I would for a 300-pound deadlift with a barbell. Their slight instability, along with the varied positions the handles offer, means you’ve got to engage lots of stabilizing muscles and deliberately brace your “core.” As a result, everything feels more intense than with barbells, and even short workouts get one’s heart rate to shoot right up. Plus, these bags are amazing in helping with what I’d call “real-world” strength—the kind of practical strength that seems to more directly carry over to daily life.

In fact, one of the features of these bags that makes them more applicable to real-world capacity is that you can use them on just about any surface. I tested them on grass, dirt, concrete, and carpet.

As a coach, I’d always thought of odd-object lifting as something that would transfer over to “real life” better than traditional barbell training, but I never really delved into odd object or strongman training. With these larger-capacity sandbags, I’ve finally experienced the effects and the efficacy of such training firsthand. There is no doubt at all that training with these bags has great transferability to daily life—picking up children, loading and unloading big bags of dog food from the cart or car, hauling sacks of fertilizer or soil around the yard, and on and on.

And, yes, things got challenging pretty quickly with the heavier bags. Which was what I was looking for. I love how much working with these bags is always part wrestling match and part weight lifting. Whether deadlifting, doing overhead lunges, or doing familiar complexes and routines, trading the usual barbell for one of these heavier bags shed new light on my movement patterns and seemed so much harder. Deadlifting, cleans, pressing movements, overhead lunges, and more all became like new movements, much more interesting and challenging. I tried Bear Complex with the Burly bag at about 100 pounds, and it felt a whole lot more challenging than even with a 135 barbell.

But the real virtue of Ultimate Sandbags is the way the DVRT program utilizes them. The system is incredibly smart in using these bags in ways that are most effective for functional, real-world strength and stability. The virtues of the slightly unstable load, bag design, and different sizes are fully realized with the DVRT program in a way that is smart, concise, and very effective. I’m confident that following the program with these bags can be highly beneficial to people of all fitness levels and ambitions.

Results

Wonderfully, these larger bags share many of the same virtues of the smaller bag I already had. They are easy to store and simple to maintain. They wipe down quickly and don’t get stinky. They are not abrasive to your skin. And they can be used virtually anywhere – on concrete, grass, dirt, carpet, wood flooring, tile, and so on. Because of the extra weight with these bags, however, if the flooring is fragile or can be dented, you might try putting down a piece of carpeting or a thick mat. But, in general, these bags let you do serious, hard work outdoors or indoors on just about any surface.

The bags showed virtually no signs of wear and the handle attachement points seem like new—still solidly attached after a few weeks of rigorous use. There was no leakage of sand and the velcro and sipper closures held perfectly.

So I’m giving these two bags “Thumbs Up,” but with the caveat that my recommendation is predicated on their use with the included DVRT training program. Adding these larger bags to my training equipment takes up almost no additional storage space and lets me build real-world strength in a limited space in my yard or inside my home (But watch out for those ceiling fans). Am I going to chuck my barbell and bumpers? I don’t think so. But the DVRT system is intelligent, clearly laid out, and highly effective – especially with these smartly-designed, high-quality bags offered by the Ultimate Sandbag.

The post Strength and Burly Sandbags: Strongman Ready appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Ultimate Sandbags are extremely sturdy, highly versatile, and can be adjusted to keep challenging you as you improve.

 The Ultimate Sandbag Testing Conditions

I’m an experienced coach and former gym owner who has holds multiple certifications. The Ultimate Sandbag is specifically designed for use with Dynamic Variable Resistance Training (DVRT), so this is how the bag was tested. Following DVRT movements and workouts, I put the “Power” bag through its paces on carpet, grass, and concrete surfaces for a week.

The “Power” is one of the smaller bags in the USB product range. Described as “Best for “Rotational Training, Movement-Based Exercises, Intermediate Women, and Complex Movements,” the bag’s recommended load range is 10-40lbs. I tested the black one, but this bag is also available in camouflage and pink.

Setting up the Ultimate Sandbag

Upon arrival, the “Power” bag shell is basically a stiff, heavy-duty duffle bag. The outer material is smooth but very think, and the overall quality of construction is excellent. I was glad to find that the bag material is not at all abrasive, and it does not absorb sweat. There are a variety of handles, which allows for a wide range of exercises.

The filler bags that actually hold the sand are separate. These are thick black bags that have multiple sets of Velcro closures. The filler bags are a bit of a wrestling match just to open—there’s a lot of Velcro to deal with. But if you squish them around some, you can get the mouth to stay open and the bag to stand up, making it much easier to fill. I used sand that was leftover from filling “real” sandbags as part of last year’s El Niño prep. This sand is coarser than the recommended “playground sand,” but that did not seem to affect performance. Beginners are actually urged to use rice or other, lighter, filler. So there is definitely room for variation on the fill. The filler bags seal up very well, and seem pretty bullet-proof.

Left: The Ultimate Sandbag unfilled; Right: filler bags (before filled to capacity).

Getting the loaded filler bags into the shell was also a bit of a wrestling match, too, but they do fit. It helped to pick up and drop the bag (on a hard, safe surface) to get the filler bags “settled in.” The shell’s main compartment closes with a heavy-duty metal zipper and lots more Velcro.

I’m a pretty experienced lifter and know a thing or two about exercise, so I figured I could start by loading each of the two fillers supplied to capacity, 20lbs each, bringing the “Power” bag to its maximum (40lbs). At only 40lbs, I figured it would be good to start with the more challenging exercises.

Boy, was I in for a surprise.

Using the “Power” Ultimate Sandbag

I had not trained with sandbags before. But, ironically, I filled nearly a hundred of them before a threatened El Niño rainy season here in southern California last year. I have been curious to try formally training with them, and always imagined they’d basically be used like interesting, but lighter, versions of barbells and kettlebells.

But, because there is some instability due to the shifting sand inside the bag, sandbag training is quite different from barbell lifting and kettlebell work. The USB is slightly unstable—not wildly so, but noticeably so. It’s not like standing on a Bosu or unstable surface; you get to have your feet on the floor. But it is also not like a “slosh pipe” or other highly unstable tool. The degree of instability feels challenging, but manageable.

It is likely this instability that makes the 40lb “Power” bag feel like a whole lot more—maybe what 40lbs would feel like on Jupiter.

I began training by trying some of the more advanced and complex movements, but found myself struggling too hard to keep good form. So I decided to work on more basic movements, rather than reduce the weight and do the more advanced stuff right away. This turned out to be a good decision.

Although the training does involve some familiar movements, like deadlifts and cleans, these are substantially different with the DVRT and the “Power” USB. Compared with the barbell and kettlebell work I was used to, DVRT movements with the “Power” bag had me sore in more and in different places.

DVRT and the “Power” USB have done a good job of challenging my core, balance, and posture. My core muscles seemed especially challenged, even by movements that were not targeting them. DVRT includes rotational movements and dynamic sequences that are unlike my previous barbell and kettlebell training, and these movements with the “Power” bag feel very effective at building stability, resilience, and improving the ability to resist force as well as generate force.

Left: Filler bags filled to capacity; Right: Included training materials.

My Recommendation: Thumbs Way Up

I highly recommend the “Power” Ultimate Sandbag for anyone seeking something new, safe, and challenging that will burn calories, build strength, and increase core strength and stability.

Ultimate Sandbags are a great choice for at-home fitness. You can use them on just about any surface – carpet, wood, concrete, grass – and they require far less room than a barbell and rack set up. The bags are not destructive to floors and surfaces like weight plates and kettlebells can be. But, you will need some overhead room. (From experience, I can tell you it’s not good a good idea to use the USB in a room with a ceiling fan.)

The Ultimate Sandbag offers a complete line of sandbags, each with its own purpose and characteristics. The main lineup includes five sizes, from the “Core” bag recommended for 5-20lbs, all the way up to the “Burly” bag that can handle a hefty 150lbs. There is also a more affordable “Kick-Start” bag, with a load range from 10-40lbs, which is recommended for “home users, boot camps, and first-time users.”

The bottom line is that the combination of the DVRT system and “Power” sandbag is a smart and safe way to boost your fitness at home and on your own schedule. It will be effective and challenging for any level of fitness. Despite the testing period being over, I’m going to continue with DVRT and the “Power” bag as part of my training.

Get your cardio training going with a new pair of running shoes:

A Racing Flat with an Appetite For Dirt

The post The Ultimate Sandbag Delivers Core Value appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Sophia is, most importantly, all kinds of smart. She is astute about fitness as a lifestyle and as a business. She is also very insightful about what people want from fitness. Oh, and she’s a mother of two.

The more you talk to accomplished athletes, the more you realize how directly involved they are in developing their own training. They take advice, but they are in tune with what their bodies need. In this interview, Sophia talks as an accomplished athlete, a mother, and a woman. Her journey through fitness is filled with signposts that anyone can follow to reach their own goals. The teacher is the student. She scales her own personal experiences to relate to fitness ambitions that may not lead to competition gold.

It’s a refreshingly common sense approach coming from someone who has lived it. A premature birth, ashtma, injury, and trauma all figure in the story. How the athlete adapts to these circumstances is a telling indication of how all of us can do the same. We may not end up winning any medals, but we can certainly win our own battles.

The post A Woman’s Journey Through Fitness appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

But the point is, its not just for stunts and tricks and strongman feats. Grip strength makes your daily life better and gives your a healthier future.

Grip strength keeps popping up in fitness-related headlines. Why? Because it is so fundamental to daily function and it has been shown to be a clear indicator of cardiovascular health and mortality. Plus, it’s obviously cool—many classic strongman feats involved grip; an impressive grip is baked into our social norms as something extraordinary and impressive.

But the point is, its not just for stunts and tricks and strongman feats. Grip strength makes your daily life better and gives your a healthier future.

Let’s take a look at what the research shows and at how to train grip strength.

Grip Strength Points to Heart Health

Grip strength, as recent Harvard Medical School research¹ confirms, means more than just being able to deliver a firm handshake. In fact, there’s a growing body of research that points to grip being a predictor of one’s risk for having a heart attack or stroke, or dying from cardiovascular disease.

For example, as part of the ongoing, international Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study, researchers used a dynamometer to measure grip strength in almost 140,000 adults in 17 countries, and they followed their health for an average of four years.

The results? Over the time span of the study, every 11 pounds of grip strength lost was linked to:

• 16% greater risk of dying from any cause
• 17% greater risk of dying from heart disease
• 9% greater risk of stroke
• 7% increased risk of heart attack

Another example can be found in results published in The Lancet², even accounting for other factors such as smoking, exercise, age, etc., researchers still found that grip strength’s relationship to cardiovascular disease and death remained strong. So much so that even blood pressure was found to be a weaker predictor of cardiovascular health and death than grip strength.

Researchers are also confirming what seems obvious: this is a cheap and easy way to add valuable data to health assessments. In a statement³ released to the press, lead author Dr. Darryl Leong, from the Population Health Research Institute at Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University in Canada, said, “Grip strength could be an easy and inexpensive test to assess an individual’s risk of death and cardiovascular disease.”

The PURE study’s findings are not unique and are not new. The connection that grip strength has with future disease/disability, death, and the likelihood of cardiovascular disease in adults has been documented in other research. But the PURE study is the largest one to have confirmed this connection. And if that weren’t enough, the study found that grip strength’s significance was consistent across high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries, lending further credence to the findings.

Is Grip Strength a Measure of Biological Age?

The idea of “biological age” is not precisely defined. It just points to how the body is functioning in comparison to its chronological age (which we can know precisely).

The key things that influence biological age are just what you’d expect: things like overall physical fitness, the presence or absence of certain medical conditions, and muscle strength. And grip strength seems to be another key factor in determining biologocial age.

Researchers Avan Aihie Sayer and Thomas Kirkwood of the University of Southampton and Newcastle University, both in the United Kingdom, published an editorial⁴ along with the PURE results. In it, they state plainly that “grip strength might act as a biomarker of ageing across the life course.”

How to Train Grip Strength

Grip training can be less programmatic that other types of strength training yet still be quite successful. Grip legend Odd Haugen (the “Visegrip Viking”), when asked what exercises to prioritize or how to structure one’s efforts when starting grip training, gave this advice: Just start using your grip, all the time. He then turned the question around, asking who were the people in the world with strong grips? Of course, it’s people who work with their hands, who use their brawn in their daily laboring—fishermen, construction workers, and such. His point was, that by simply picking up hard-to-grip objects, trying to hold on to things for long periods of time, or maintaining grip against a rotational or torque force, you can improve your grip strength. For everyday folks, it really does not need to be much more complicated than that.

You can think of grip more as a capacity than a specific “exercise.” As such, grip does not have a lot of technique or fine points that might need coaching or remediation. Can you pick up the Thomas Inch Dumbell? Then you have that amount of grip strength. If you can’t pick it up, then you don’t. There’s no measure of degree; it’s a pass-fail test and there’s no prize for “almost.” And to improve, all you need to do is keep on picking up something you can barely lift until it gets easier, then move to the next thing that’s challenging. Just keep trying to pick stuff up or hold onto stuff, and rest adequately between efforts.

Of course, at a competitive level, you can’t train so randomly. You’ll need a good coach and a solid program to assess your specific strengths and weaknesses as relates to the events you will compete in.

But for the rest of us, we can start grip training right now, and keep training pretty much all the time.

It should be noted that the studies mentioned above, like most such studies, used a dynamometer, which only measures one kind of grip strength. But to build real-world grip strength and enjoy the benefits of a well-rounded strong grip, you’ll want to train all three of the main grip-strength categories. According to nail-bending, phonebook-tearing strongwoman and hard-rocker Melody Schoenfeld, these are:

• The Crush Grip is the grip between your fingers and your palm—the one you use for shaking hands and crumpling beer cans.
• The Pinch Grip is the grip between your fingers and your thumb. This can be further subcategorized into individual fingers + thumb grip.
• The Support Grip is the ability to maintain a hold on something for a while—think pull ups or long and productive shopping trips.

Of course, this variety of types of grip ties into a whole range of daily activities and lifestyle choices you can make that will yield huge benefits. Building grip exercises in to your daily routine can be a very effective way to improve this important function. And there’s lots of ways to do that.

The point is, to improve grip strength, you don’t have to spend the money to go to a gym and you don’t even have to set aside the time for working out. Sure, training this way, you’ll probably never reach a competitive level. But you can make significant improvements in grip strength—and in many aspects of your fitness—through simple, daily activities that challenge you. For example:

• Park further from the entrance of the grocery store, and carry your bags to the car.
• When you’re on the phone or standing around – like in line or when pumping gas – find a way to work your grip. A simple way is to simply hold onto something and lean back (a fingertip grip on a doorjamb is great). Start slow, you don’t want to lose your grip and fall.
• For those especially deconditioned or elderly, it can be as simple as lifting the milk carton for several reps every time you take it out or put in back in the fridge.
• Get something squishy or pliable, or shop for something purpose-built at and keep it handy with you or on your desk. Use it throughout the day. Just type “grip strength tools” into the search field, and your browser will show you a wide world of options.

A Few Caveats

Change equipment and movements from day-to-day to avoid repetive-stress injuries and make sure you rest your grip between hard efforts. Varied practice also helps avoid boredom and plateaus.

In attending to grip strength, it’s like anything else. If you have a condition or injury that will limit you or that poses special considerations, check with a qualified professional for advice.

And you can’t ignore nutrition and sleep. If your diet is not optimal, you might want to research fish oil and other supplements to support your body’s healing fight inflammation, and support joint health. Adequate sleep is vital for recovery and healing of stressed tissues. Aim for seven to eight hours per night. That will give your body time to repair muscle tissue and replenish your muscle’s energy stores.

So let’s go. Grab something and hold on… for your life.

References:

1. LeWine, Howard, M.D., Grip strength may provide clues to heart health. Harvard Health Publications, Harvard medical School, Posted May 19, 2015, 12:11 PM , Updated September 08, 2016, 5:16 PM

2. Leong, Darryl P., Koon K. Teo, Sumathy Rangarajan, Patricio Lopez-Jaramillo, Alvaro Avezum, Andres Orlandini, Pamela Seron et al. “Prognostic value of grip strength: findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study.” The Lancet 386, no. 9990 (2015): 266-273.

3. Leong, Darryl, “Your handshake tells the story of your health.” McMaster University news (http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/main/news/news_2015/handgrip_study.html), May 13, 2015

4. Sayer, Avan Aihie, and T. B. Kirkwood. “Grip strength and mortality: a biomarker of ageing?.” Lancet (London, England) 386, no. 9990 (2015): 226.

The post How Grip Strength Defines You appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Few would argue that there is a connection between workplace stress and illness-related absences from work, and many companies include “work-life balance” or wellness services to try and avoid taking the productivity hit that comes from time off due to stress-induced illness. But the researchers discovered simply that fitter professionals are better protected against a high degree of stress in the workplace. The researchers recorded the efforts from nearly 200 Swedish employees (51% male, mean age 39 years) on a bicycle ergometer. (They also measured an assortment of other known cardiovascular risk factors, like blood pressure, BMI, cholesterol, triglycerides and so on.) The participants were then asked to provide information on their current perception of stress.

The results were inline with the researchers’ predictions: Stressed individuals showed higher rates of cardiovascular risk factors. The connection between cardiovascular fitness and virtually all risk factors was also validated, with fit individuals showing lower risk factors. What this research ended-up showing is that fitness mitigates, to a degree, the relationship between an individual’s perception of stress and their development of cardiovascular risk factors. There were especially large differences among stressed individuals with a high, medium, and low fitness levels.

For example, those who felt highly stressed and had a low fitness level had LDL cholesterol values that exceeded clinically relevant limits. But that was not the case with highly stressed individuals with a high fitness level.

Professor Gerber, resercher from the University of Basel says, “Above all, these findings are significant because it is precisely when people are stressed that they tend to engage in physical activity less often.” The bottom line, as usual, is that it pays to stick with your fitness regimen. And that might be harder to do—but all the more important—when work gets stressful.

Reference

1. Gerber, Markus, Mats Börjesson, Thomas Ljung, Magnus Lindwall, and Ingibjörg H. Jonsdottir. “Fitness Moderates the Relationship between Stress and Cardiovascular Risk Factors.” Medicine and science in sports and exercise (2016).

The post Opposites Distract: Stress Versus Fitness appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I was at J & D Fitness in Las Vegas, Nevada to interview Josh Henkin, the guy behind Dynamic Variable Resistance Training (DVRT) and the Ultimate Sandbag. After being there for several minutes, I suddenly realized that J & D is a different kind of place. At first, it seems unremarkable and familiar. Like many gyms, there’s a pull up rig with rings and TRX straps, and there’s a substantial rack of kettlebells. Unlike most gyms, nearly half of the floor space is artificial turf. And then there’s that small mountain of sandbags… As it turns out, there is also only one barbell for the entire facility. But Josh, as you’ll see in our interview, makes you realize how sensible and smart this unconventional setup actually is.

Josh is tall, amiable, and damn smart. He’s been around long enough and he’s had enough success that he’s not out to constantly score points in our conversation or jump in to prove his point at every pause. His answers are thoughtful and considered. Straightforward and confident, Josh often weaves his responses into tidy narratives. It’s a gift that allows Josh to be engaging and plainspoken while explaining complex concepts.

Josh is also clearly passionate about DVRT and the Ultimate Sandbag.

Believe me, I get what you’re thinking: “DVRT” is hardly the sexiest-sounding or trendiest name you can give something. And then, when it comes to the “Ultimate Sandbag,” you’re trying to imagine what the heck could possibly be “ultimate” about a sandbag? Isn’t that something like, you know, the Ultimate Cinder Block?

But hold on. You’re about to see that, in the right hands, these things are actually very interesting, progressive training tools. So much so that DVRT and the Ultimate Sandbag have been featured by Details, The Wall Street Journal, Shape, Men’s Health, Oxygen, and even Access Hollywood, and the DVRT system has been rolled out in over 80 countries with ongoing certification programs in 15. Sounds a little sexier now, doesn’t it?

In our interview, Josh explains all this. And by the end, you’ll not only understand why this is impressive stuff, you’ll be eager to try it yourself. There are also some demo videos below that will take you from theory to practice in understanding DVRT and the Ultimate Sandbag.

Demo Videos

Because DVRT and the Ultimate Sandbag offer a complete approach that synergistically integrates a specific training tool and a comprehensive movement system, I asked Josh to also give a quick demonstration. He kindly grabbed a couple of victims to demonstrate—one of whom turned out to be the gym owner and NSCA State Director for Arizona, Doug Sheppard. (Remember that gym without barbells? Yeah, that’s where the NSCA State Director is training a new generation of outstanding coaches. But more on that in another article.)

Is DVRT be the Next Big Thing?

Day in and day out, I talk to a lot of people in the fitness industry. Quite a few suspect that gyms and fitness facilities are going to get smaller, not bigger. Just as CrossFit moved people out of big-box chain gyms, the era of big-box CrossFit and strength and conditioning gyms may be waning, as the fitness industry moves toward both more personalization and a more intimate redefinition of what a coach does. If that’s even partly true, DVRT and the Ultimate Sandbag are positioned for real success. The system is impressive in any setting, but for small facilities, garage gyms, home gyms, and any place where space is a premium, it’s not just a really sensible approach, it’s a no-brainer.

More ways to get fit without ever touching a barbell:

Of Muscles and Might: The Workman’s Conditioning Program

The post DVRT: How an Overlooked Tool Delivers Extraordinary Results appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

FitRanX solves several problems for people who want a fitness program, but who are averse to chain gyms, wary of independent gyms, and wary of CrossFit. In fact, FitRanX is very attractive to would-be CrossFitters who may be put off by CrossFit’s reputation for injury, the lack of consistency among facilities, or the perception that you’ve got to push till you puke to “fit in.” For such folks, FitRanX is a clearer and more rational approach that still gives them the “box” vibe. We sat down with Sergeant Nick for an interview to learn more about FitRanX after getting a heads up from fitness luminary Dan John, who seemed taken with the man and the program:

How We Got Here

CrossFit popularized the idea of a fitness community and the idea that fitness is more than showing up at Gold’s and reading a magazine on the treadmill. It offered up a definition of fitness and a means to measure and attain it. CrossFit also helped redefine female fitness and bring strong females into the mainstream.

But the wind is no longer at CrossFit’s back. In the US, affiliate growth is generally believed to be stagnant, or worse. While CrossFit Inc. won’t give numbers, there are plenty who believe that many “boxes” are, in fact, closing or consolidating, and that the number of affiliates in the US is shrinking.¹ Growth abroad is said to be continuing, but is hampered, particularly in places like like the UK and Australia, by things like gun giveaways and licensing requirements.

Enter FitRanX

While designed for a wide range of facilities, the focus is on broadly defined fitness (sound familiar?), and is therefore very well suited to a would-be or former CrossFit box. In many FitRanX locations, you get the familiar Rogue bars, bumpers, rig, and rings; you get chalk and kettlebells; you get stall-mat flooring and a warehouse vibe. There’s the community, the facility, and the fitness – all the good stuff from CrossFit, plus all the good and unique things your coach brings. All this, and a system that, to many, just makes more sense.

Image credit: FitRanX

A Brand Built to Last

A hallmark of FitRanX that may help it outgrow and outlast even CrossFit is a strong brand identity through consistency. CrossFit’s infamous inconsistency is a legacy that all fitness businesses are now saddled with. CrossFit gyms vary widely in many aspects: from facility and community to programming and equipment, what you get at one may be absent – or even antithetical – at another. There is virtually no oversight or governance or standards for running a CrossFit facility, and programming varies wildly among boxes. In this situation, one “bad apple” affiliate can spoil a whole market. This inconsistency must be baffling to consumers as well, but FitRanX wants to solve that problem. FitRanX offers total, apples-to-apples program consistency, no matter the location or coach. While there may be differences in tone or vibe among individual facilities, the program, and in particular the testing, is exactly the same. As Sergeant Nick explains:

A Welcoming Community

Yet, despite the rigid standards and the competitive element inherent in literally ranking each person, FitRanX is, in fact, incredibly inclusive. You don’t get put to the side while the “cool kids” who compete get all the attention, because in a FitRanX facility everyone is on the same path, everyone starts at exactly the same place, and everyone faces the same hurdles. The competition element is organized and largely contained within the community of that facility. So you don’t need to ask your members to get up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday, drive for hours, and go workout someplace far away just to say they’ve “competed.” With the rank system, you also get more accountability than most gyms offer, because you get clear benchmarks and standards. You can’t do x before y, and you get clear instruction on how to get from one to the other. And, although the competition aspect is largely contained within the gym’s community, you still get to sweat and compete and celebrate as part of a worldwide community.

Photo credit: FitRanX

And that last element, community, is another that FitRanX has addressed so intelligently. CrossFit popularized the idea of a fitness community, and many consumers now expect to find community at any reputable gym. Inherent in the FitRanX system is a unique blending of community-building and elements of competition and events. This is something that seems to blend the best elements of friendly competition and community. It is, in many ways, very similar to martial arts gyms in that the testing is a gathering of a supportive community, and a chance to celebrate an individual’s commitment, effort, and achievement.

Is FitRanX the Next CrossFit?

FitRanX may or may not be the next CrossFit. But it might be even bigger. Sergeant Nick has built a sensible program that can be easily communicated. It maintains the key points needed in a post-CrossFit market: community, facility, and fitness. It fosters accountability and goal-setting, and excels at celebrating the successes of its particpants.

Time will tell. But today, FitRanX boasts more than 1,030 locations in 27 countries. And, in case you thought Sergeant Nick might be resting on his laurels, FitRanX version 3.0 launches on October 17th. In fact, the best value that Sergeant Nick offers may be that he is continually updating and refining his program and testing and training coaches in order to create standards for everyone, from those wanting fitness to those wanting a successful fitness business.

More on fitness in everyday life:

Shift the Culture of Everyday Health

The post Is Sgt Nick Your Next Great Fitness Guru? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

In the U.S., we don’t have the same totalitarian and highly centralized government as China. Which is great, except it is difficult for issues like these to be addressed, even when they are a matter of national importance. The chief means to address the issue of our national out-of-shapeness is the Presidential Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. And their latest initiative, “#0to60” is a doozy.

The official #0to60 website states:

WE’RE TAKING YOU
ON A JOURNEY FROM
ZERO TO SIXTY.

It’s our 60th anniversary.

We’re launching an innovative campaign that’s going to educate, inspire, and help you start living healthy by going from 0 to 60 — everyday.

#0to60 is simple.

And more than just another campaign.
We’re going to use inspiration and innovative solutions,
to get people talking,
moving, eating, and living like never before.

And that’s it.

The only other things on the page are a high school yearbook-style roster of Council Members and a list of “Our Partners.” Who are these “partners”? The list includes a number of vague “Center for’s” and “Partnership for’s,” but also National Dairy Council, Nickelodeon, Entertainment Software Association, General Mills, and the National Football League.

And what is the #0to60 campaign? Who the hell knows? There is no information on what “0to60” means (with or without the hashtag), what the intended results is, or what they are asking you to do. The only action possible on the website is to submit your email. Which I did, and I have still received nothing in my inbox at the time of this writing.

The official press release for #0to60 describes the program as “a national public awareness campaign that will inspire Americans to accelerate their journey to leading a healthy, active lifestyle.” After that fluff, the release gets serious about delivering jargon. Some samples:

“The President’s Council, with support from the National Foundation, will use the campaign to partner with organizations with a goal to drive awareness, deepen engagement, and increase support for more physical activity, sports participation, and good nutrition across the country.”

“Shellie Pfohl, executive director of the President’s Council. “We look forward to working with our partners through #0to60 to continue to inspire individuals and families to prioritize health by eating healthy and participating in regular physical activity and sports.”

“#0to60 is a national effort to scale our mission of helping all Americans on their journey to achieving a healthy lifestyle.”

“The #0to60 campaign will engage key partners to illustrate ways to make fitness fun and accessible for all Americans. Partners will activate through digital and social integration, national and grassroots events, and media engagement.”

The website and the press release confirm my concerns: There is nothing about what someone should do, what these “partners” should direct citizens to do, or anything that is in any way actionable or measurable.

You might think I’m kidding, but I’m not. There is absolutely no substance in any of the text associated with the #0to60 campaign. Nothing real, nothing tangible, nothing for anyone to actually do.

This is wasteful, useless, and contemptible. Americans are hurting. Americans are dying. For the U.S. government to offer up an “awareness campaign that will inspire Americans to accelerate their journey” is inconceivable. Especially when the answers are simple. Fitness is a matter of doing. It helps no one to “Inspire to accelerate a journey.”

This entire website would be better and more effective if it just said, “Go outside and take a walk.”

The post President’s “#0to60” Initiative Goes Nowhere appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The article’s “modest proposal” is that your doctor should look at your training log as part of your health evaluation. The argument being that the physical performance markers recorded there are relevant indicators of your overall health. Sound familiar?

At the 2009 Affiliate Gathering in Austin, Texas (aka “FilFest”), Greg Glassman made a remarkably similar proposal. He proposed that one’s physical performance record over time was an accurate indicator of the traditional medical definition of health. In fact, he proposed that measuring fitness (as described by CrossFit) would actually be a better indicator of health than many standard measures, such as blood pressure, cholesterol, or BMI.

In this regard, the Starting Strength article sits closely with what Glassman espoused. Where the article veers is claiming that relevant physical performance data can only be obtained via “training.” The article makes a clear distinction between “training” and “exercise,” and yes fitness fans, we are back in old and familiar territory.

Here’s the distinction, according to the article:

“People who just exercise don’t keep a training log…because they don’t have to. Exercise is always better than a sedentary alternative, but it doesn’t require record-keeping or careful programming. All that’s needed for exercise is a willingness to sweat, along with a P90X CD or “boot camp” membership, a cool-looking headband, and some acetaminophen. Exercise is something you do today.”

“Of course, if you’re particularly motivated, disciplined, and completely outside the norm for the average American adult, you may also do it tomorrow, and the day after that. Which, again, is far better than sitting on your Big Old Butt in front of the TV – unless the exercise itself is stupid and reckless and gets you hurt. In the age of broad domains and fashionable group thrashabouts, this unfortunately happens with a certain regularity. Caveat emptor.”

With reference to “broad domains,” the article not-so-indirectly calls out CrossFit as “exercise,” thereby discounting any data that might be collected from the program as irrelevant for your doctor. The exercise versus training debate is old news. An old feud that’s easy to characterize as a longstanding argument between Greg Glassman and Mark Rippetoe.

The article’s key points parallel much of what CrossFit advocates – railing against things like BMI, pharmaceutical solutions, discounting the importance of nutrition, and sedentariness. Even though both camps arrive at the same conclusion regarding the importance of physical performance markers as indicators of health, they will continue to be at odds over what constitutes “training” and what constitutes “exercise.”

CrossFit sees Starting Strength as limited, specialized, and not broad enough to be considered a complete approach to fitness. Starting Strength sees CrossFit as “stupid and reckless” random exercise that gets people hurt. Yet both argue that physical performance, which I will go out on a limb and generalize as “your numbers in the gym,” should be a key part of your medical assessment. And that’s great.

Using physical performance as markers to evaluate health is not only valid, but necessary. Starting Strength would bias those markers toward strength. CrossFit, on the other hand, would generalize those markers to the more loosely defined, “broad time and modal domains.” Starting Strength argues that these markers are only valid if achieved through a deliberate, programmatic, and periodized approach to “training.” CrossFit only sees these as useful markers if achieved through a broader and more general set of movements and activities, which they also call “training.”

Let’s settle the training versus exercise debate later. Or, maybe never. Instead, let’s focus on the good thing about this article: It highlights the idea that the physical adaptations you help create in your clients are important indicators of health and should be considered by physicians. And that’s good news for fitness professionals. You can leverage this to further your career through improved client engagement. It further legitimizes your profession. It helps clients see their fitness program as important and relevant. It makes what you do more valuable.

Now get out there and train your clients. Or have them exercise. Whatever. Just make sure you get it written down.

Headline photo courtesy of CrossFit Empirical.

The post Starting Strength’s New Take on an Old CrossFit Concept appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

On June 27th2016, Microsoft announced they will discontinue their Xbox Fitness service.

This is not the kind of announcement where they will “no longer support” something — they are completely pulling the plug. Current users will lose all access to the service and content, including past scores, personal statistics, and other stored user information. No one, anywhere, will have access to anything Xbox Fitness currently offers.

Xbox Fitness seems to offer everything you’d want to market a fitness product right now. It is a subscription-based service offered on a ubiquitous gaming platform. Users can purchase workouts and other fitness videos, and they can work out to personalized program recommendations based on past performance and history. Xbox Fitness also allows users to use Kinect to monitor their workouts and compare them with other people using Xbox Live Leaderboards. Some of the top celebrities to have content in the service included Jillian Michaels, Tracey Anderson, and Tony Horton.

But it’s all going away. And that’s really curious.

Streaming content and fitness are already booming bedfellows. From the ocean of content on YouTube, Hulu’s DailyBurn, and CBS Interactive’s new TrainerPass, there’s a mishmashed universe of streaming “fitness” options. With such a boom, it’s more obvious to ask if “streaming,” in its totality, is the next big thing in fitness, or is it possible for a single hero to arise from the vast confusing ocean of offerings in streaming to claim that title?

Microsoft’s decision is curious because fitness is a growing industry. Devices and wearables are booming, and fitness data is becoming a ubiquitous (if generally misunderstood) driver of devices, services, and conversations. And the “gamification” of everything — including fitness — is at hand. So pulling the plug on a streaming service that’s based on a gaming console, and which tracks, manages, and uses user data doesn’t really make sense.

It seems like every new direction in the fitness industry is converging on Microsoft’s wheelhouse. It’s easy to imagine that they would be expanding their involvement fitness, not abandoning it. Microsoft’s announcement seems counter-intuitive. But maybe they know something we don’t. Maybe it’s a necessary part of winding down Kinect. Or maybe it’s another Zune.

One thing is certain. Only time will tell if Microsoft’s crystal ball is clearer than everyone else’s, or just cracked.

The post Pulling the Plug on Xbox Fitness appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Don’t Settle for Smokin’ Hot

Let me start by saying I am not judging anyone who prioritizes aesthetics when it comes to working out. Everyone has a right to want what they want. I just don’t care what you look like. It’s cool with me if you are shredded, swole, dad-bodied, or a hulking beast of a strongman who looks like you chew Atlas stones for breakfast. Your looks are not important, and they shouldn’t be the way you are judged as a person.

A professional coach can address the needs of people who come for training and advice.

This is equally true for a person’s ability to train others. Getting “ripped” is an individual accomplishment that reflects a person’s ability to train (and, maybe, their genetics). But it has no bearing at all on that individual’s ability to train you safely or effectively. And it certainly means nothing in terms of how well he or she can run a gym or other fitness facility. Just as a great cook may be incapable of running a restaurant, an accomplished athlete may be incompetent at running a gym.

If we all know that to be true, then we should certainly know that judging a professional coach based on looks is kind of lame. Would you trust your legal advice to the best-looking lawyer, or the most competent? Would you want your kids to think their only value was based on what others think of how they look? Then why on earth would we consider a fit appearance to be a qualification for fitness coaching?

Look, coaching is a profession. It shouldn’t be something you do because you are very fit, or very strong, or very flexible. It isn’t something you should do because you are a world-class athlete. Coaching is something you do if you can address the needs of people who come to you for training and advice. It’s high time we get serious about how we judge the aptitude of a coach and take a stand on professionalism.

Do Look For Coaching Competency

Unfortunately, in the United States, there is no standard qualification for becoming a coach or trainer in almost any commercial gym or independent fitness facility. There are innumerable certifications and programs that tell you that it’s okay to now call yourself a trainer. Most of these courses are short – often just a weekend – and almost all of them lack any post-certification quality control or assessment of graduates. Few require continuing education. Most certifications and programs are also established in support of a particular school of thought, fitness sect, or business model. Because of this, almost all certifications are, unfortunately, in competition with one another. Sometimes vehemently so.

Your role as a consumer is limited to supporting a fitness paradigm instead of a profession, yet you have very little influence with these systems. How many of you have a horror story about working with a coach and getting injured? Yet, what are the chances you sought recourse against a certifying body or organization? You probably believed you had no recourse other than to not go back to that particular coach again, or to quit that gym.

“Simply going for the smokin’ hot coach hardly seems like a smart approach. Instead, you should choose a coach like you would choose a doctor.”

I am not arguing for or against government licensing for coaches or trainers. I’m making a simple point: cosmetologists, massage therapists, accountants, and smog-check technicians are licensed and regulated by most states and have to meet minimum standards. But not trainers, who are entrusted with your health and well-being. This leaves it to each consumer to determine if a trainer is legit, which is why some trainers’ careers are built on little more than a six-pack and a good base tan. If the coach has a facility, a website, and a business card, those are about the best qualifications they can provide.

Simply going for the smokin’ hot coach hardly seems like a smart approach. Instead, you should choose a coach like you would choose a doctor. Sure, it’s unlikely you’ll trust a coach to make the serious medical decisions a doctor might make. But your coach will still be responsible for your physical well being. It’s important. It should be treated as far more important than it commonly is.

The Definition of a Professional Coach

A professional coach should be dedicated to teaching, nurturing, supporting, and programming for their clients. Of course a coach may specialize. He or she may focus purely on strength and conditioning, cycling, MMA, baseball, or rehabilitation and recovery. But, ultimately, a professional coach should be able to:

• Assess your individual needs.
• Design or modify a training program that will help you reach a prescribed goal.
• Teach you how to get it done, and give you a clear understanding of how the program should work for you.

A professional coach should also be able to turn you away if you are not the right client for his or her expertise. Many coaches will say they can train anybody – kids, the elderly, the injured, Olympic bobsledders – and for any purpose, from success in specific sports, to body shaping, to regaining youthful vitality. In fact, the best coaches have generally picked something to be good at. So, let’s show some mad respect to a coach who turns you away because he or she is not right for you.

A 6-Step Assessment

Okay, that’s the state of things. Now let’s look at what you need to do to assess the coach before he starts to assess you:

Step 1: Find the Right Fit

You are a unique individual. So, why not seek out a coach and a facility that teaches folks like you? Ask for references from people who are like you, and check out both the coach and the facility. Do you see people like you? If you are a 55-year-old man and have not worked out since high school, a gym full of 20-somethings gearing up for competition may not be your best option. You want to know your coach is capable of handling your needs, so look for other people like yourself. Just because a coach can teach a 30-year-old doesn’t mean they can teach a 40-year-old. As mentioned earlier, a professional coach will have no problem telling you their limitations as well as their strengths.

You can easily begin this research on the coach’s website or social media. Is it all pictures of the coach? Shirtless? Or does the gym have group pictures, and are there people like you in them? If they’re glorifying puking and passing out, that’s great, provided that’s what you are looking for. Or maybe you’d rather look for images and descriptions about the real achievements of real people like you?

Step 2: Observe the Coach in High-Pressure Situations

How attentive is the coach in the setting in which you’ll participate? One-on-one is a whole different game than group classes, so if you’ll be taking classes, be sure to check out a coach in a group session. The ability to help each person appropriately in a group setting is one of the most telling aspects of professionalism. A professional coach is there for everyone in his class, not just the people he likes or who are easy to train.

Judge a professional coach by his character in a high-pressure situation. There’s nothing like observing a full class with a lot of people who need help to see how well a coach deals with people. And look to see how the coach deals with people like you.

Step 3: Programming, Programming, Programming

Professional coaches should be able to write training programs for a wide range of situations. They should have the ability to adapt and shape programs that are specific to finding the right solution for you as an individual. Now, that doesn’t mean they have to individualize their programming. That takes time, and the coach is running a business. But a professional coach will assess you, understand your needs, and know how to guide you to the right program, even if he or she does not agree with your goals.

If the coach doesn’t talk about modifying the program or giving you specific programming, make sure you are in the right place. If the coach is programming for an older, de-conditioned crowd, your dream of crushing the Caber Toss at the Highland Games just went out the window.

A professional coach will assess you, understand your needs, and know how to guide you to the right program.

Step 4: Assess Qualifications and Certifications

The hardest thing to assess is the education of a coach. We know there are great coaches out there who are largely self-taught. We also know that, other than graduate and undergraduate degrees, the myriad options open to a coach makes any assessment highly subjective. However, there are some simple rules to follow:

Educate yourself about the coach’s preferred certifications. If you don’t know what the coach is qualified to do, go look it up first and make sure you are comfortable with it. Most legitimate certifications have a strong online presence and can be easily researched.

Conversely, you can choose a particular methodology, then see what kind of facilities and coaches are following it, and go to one of those. Often, there will be referrals on the certifying organization’s website. If you want to powerlift, visiting a coach who only has expertise and certifications in Olympic lifting will be a waste of time.

You should also ask yourself whether you would be happy paying to learn what the coach knows. Do they have experience in areas that are relevant to you? Do they have a long history of coaching in these areas?

Last, when you watch the coach work, do you feel he or she is doing a good job? You can trust yourself on this one because, in the absence of standardized credentials, ultimately you are the one who decides if it’s worth paying for. No matter what certifications or awards they have, if you don’t like the look of things, just get the heck out of there.

Step 5: Pay Attention to Marketing

How are they selling themselves? Is the coach selling you based on athletic achievements? Or, worse yet, on appearance? Athletic achievement all too frequently bears no relation to the ability to learn, communicate, assess, and be attentive. And a coach who has more glamor shots than credentials might not be a good choice.

Even if a great physique is your goal, be wary of choosing a coach who struts around shirtlessly sporting his own six-pack. He may be showing off something he can never help you achieve.

Step 6: Sweat the Small Stuff

There are a lot of small things that go into making a professional coach. Check out the obvious things like punctuality and organization. If your coach cannot be bothered to come to class on time and be prepared, that should be a red flag. Is the gym clean and organized? Is there up-to-date information online and in the gym?

Professionals know they have an obligation to at least do the job they are being paid to do. If they cannot be bothered to show up and run a proper business, that’s not acceptable.

Looks Mean Nothing

While superficiality has always been around in the fitness industry, it is getting out of hand. Almost to the point where anyone who looks good without clothes on can claim to be a coach or trainer. “Look at me. You can look like this. I can make it happen for you.”

Experience tells us that the fittest guy in the room isn’t always the coach, and vice-versa. And we know that many good coaches don’t look like underwear models. But, if you take your search for a coach as a search for a professional, you’ll be on the right path.

More Like This:

• Don’t Let the Fitness Industry Tell You What to Do
• Safety: The Most Important Part of Choosing a Fitness Program
• Buyer Beware: How Not to Hire a Phony Personal Trainer
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of CrossFit Empirical.

The post “Hot or Not” Is No Way to Pick a Coach appeared first on Breaking Muscle.