Saying Good Bye To The Old Gym and Hello To The New Gym (videos inside)
September 4, 2012 by danny · Leave a Comment
In my last blog post, I mentioned that my gym has changed to a new location. Well, I thought I’d give you some videos to show some of my peeps working hard. I don’t have a whole lot on video yet at the new facility, so this is just a sneak peak. But, before I get to the videos at the new space, I thought I’d include a video of me training at the old place (my old basement). This was my last training session there. Thanks basement, you we’re good to us, but it was time to move on. 
I recently learned about this RDL variation in an article that Ben Bruno wrote. I’m definitely a fan… great ham/glute exercise. My hams were sore for days! Not that soreness is an indication of whether an exercise is effective or not, I’m just saying, walking for the next couple days was not fun!
Perform these like regular RDLs, but with this variation, rest the bar on the pins for a second and “re-start” each rep with a pause. Tough and effective!
NOTE: Regular Rack Pulls are performed with more knee flexion (like a deadlift) while Rack RDLs are performed with very little knee flexion (i.e. the legs are almost straight).
Next video is of Paityn performing Rack Pulls with chains. I’ve talked about “accomodating resistance” previously, but in case you missed it – basically we can use bands and/or chains to make the top portion (in the case of a rack pull/deadlift) of the lift harder than usual. When Paityn nears the top of this lift, notice that the majority of the chain leaves the floor. This makes the lift heavier at top than on the bottom (the chains are 30 pounds when completely off the floor). Paityn is getting good with “finishing with her glutes” at the top of movements that involve hip extension (RDLs, Deadlifts, Pull Throughs, Kettlebell Swings, Hip Thrusts, etc.). This is important for a few reasons…
1) It’ll help her with sports performance as the glutes play a key role in sprinting, jumping, cutting, etc. She a basketball player, BTW.
2) For anyone; guy, girl, orangutan, polar bear, etc, learning how to properly use your glutes helps make the glutes look better.
Powerful glutes help bring home gold medals!
3) Stronger glutes decrease the chances of back and knee injuries.
Anyway, nice job Paityn.
And finally, here is Paige performing barbell bulgarian split squats.
Paige does a great job of keeping great form on bulgarian split squats. Many people let their knee cave when performing these. This can especially be a problem with females as they have a wider “Q-angle” then men. This causes more stress on the knee, and is a big reason why women tear their ACL more than men (although torn ACLs are also a problem in men). Strengthening the right muscles and learning proper movement patterns can go a long way in decreasing the chances of knee/ACL injuries. Chalk one off for ANOTHER reason to strength train!
Alright, I have some more videos for future installments, and I’ll continue to record some here and there and share when I think they may be helpful to you all.
I’m also (most likely) going to be starting a cardio-based bootcamp on Saturday mornings at the new facility here soon. If you are interested, check back shortly and I’ll confirm in a future blog post. If you already know you are already interested, contact me here as soon as possible, or leave a comment in the comments section below. If I hear back from enough people, the bootcamp will go from, maybe I’ll run it, to I’ll definitely run it.
Have a great week!
Guest Post; No Pain No Gain?
February 18, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
My boy Jamie V. was nice enough to let me share with you the recent newsletter that he sent out to his bootcamp clients. I think Jamie hit he nail on the head with this one! Nice work Jamie!
Enjoy…
No Pain No Gain?
Trust me, there is a fine line between a trainer structuring a tough workout that is efficient and meaningful,
and one that just beats the living daylights out of you without a clear plan. Soreness is an indicator of
microscopic muscle tears, but is total and utter soreness the ultimate goal? This topic has some debatable
components, but the mindset of the trainer and trainee is where my point rests.
I will be totally blunt with you. People eat like crap and gain poor weight. They hire a trainer and tell them
they want to lose the weight. A trainer beats the sh!t out of them (because that produces fast results
right???). The person hobbles and cusses the trainer for weeks, but thinks he/she knows what they are
doing. A month later everything is back to normal. The person is frustrated, eating poorly again, and the
same trainer is beating the crap out of someone else. The person blames the trainer for not doing their job,
and the trainer blames the person for not being tough enough or committed.
The cycle continues…and continues…and continues…
A boot camper of mine went to a personal trainer and thought she was in good shape. The trainer really
put her through the grinder and she was sore for a looooong period of time. She told me that she “thought”
she was in good shape. I told her that she was, but the trainer structured a workout to beat the living tar out
of her. The workout was not appropriate for her. I asked her if she was still with the trainer. The answer
was no. Now, I am not bashing her trainer, I am just filling you in on my philosophy here.
I will give you some straightforward information. I could take a very high level athlete and make them
vomit. It does not take much for a trainer to evaluate and push you harder beyond the norm, if pummeling
you into MUSH is the goal.
This is a disturbing fitness trend if we want people to LIVE healthy lifestyles
and exercise frequently. People want FAST results from poor eating, and they accept an a*s kicking for it.
I will tell you that what you do in a ONE-day workout is not as important as the cumulative results of a real
program. The REAL goal should be to create a workout plan that is appropriate, has challenges and
progressions, yet encourages the person to continue and strive to keep going. There is a fine line between
tough, and downright too much. A good trainer sees that and makes adjustments. Should the person be
sore from it though? Well, soreness is a side factor, but it is not necessarily the ultimate goal every time.
The trainers goal is to take you to a new level, get you out of your comfort zone, but also keep you
motivated and interested…without living in total pain and discouragement. It is a PLAN, not
PUNISHMENT.
At YOUR boot camps, you will experience some soreness, but my intention is for that soreness to become
more tolerable and evenly distributed. MY goal is to make you work HARD, but also provide a
meaningful opportunity for you to want to continue. If the soreness is not tolerable, adjustments will be
made to help you continue. The ultimate goal of mine, is to make you want to continue your health program, teach you new ways to get results, and do it in a manner that is not discouraging. You still will be pushed, however.
If I turn YOU off, then I have failed you as well. Let’s find YOUR balance of tough and challenging without tipping the scales towards the side of discouragement.
All the Best,
Jamie Vanderheyden
