Thanks to everyone who has been following my site the past year!

I must admit I don’t really go out of my way to generate content. I try to wait until something strikes me and then let it rip. Even with the inconsistency in posting I still managed to reach thousands of people in 2011 and I am very grateful for that.

Below are the most popular articles I wrote from 2011. Let me know which one you liked best, and what you want to hear about in 2012!

The Strongest Version of Yourself

Never Settle

Fired Up!

Training Clients for Strength

Rules I Always Break and Why Series:

2.5

2

1

Q and A: I Want a Six Pack

Thanks again!

When I was 19 years old all I wanted for Christmas was to do 10 training sessions with a personal trainer at my local gym. I was about 2 years into my fitness kick and I wanted nothing more than to learn how to get JACKED. As it turns out what I learned from this trainer was very little.

I was put on a program that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy. This included ending a back and bi’s day with 65lb deadlifts performed with a fixed weight barbell. Do I need to go into any more detail? The point is this:

What if at the ripe old age of 19 I had been put in the hands of me today? How would things have been different? I’d like to think that I’d be squatting 700lbs and shooting lightning bolts out of my eyes by now.

Although I was given a crap program, and learned nothing useful to help me in the future, those 10 hours were still 10 hours I REALLY looked forward to at the time. That trainer had the opportunity to seriously impact my life today. In the end the only positive take away from that time was a reminder that each and every time I work with someone I can give them what he gave me, or I can leave them with an experience, and knowledge, to last a lifetime.

To be honest, I wasn’t going to change my physique drastically in 10 hours anyway. Therefore, the best things I could have gained  from him weren’t physical, but mental results.

Don’t underestimate the impact you have on your clients lives. 

During my career as a coach I have received e-mails and letters from clients thanking me not only for the physical results they achieved but more importantly the mental ones: exercise cues, mental fortitude, and an appreciation for training as a refuge from the stresses of daily life.

I can’t think of anything more gratifying than receiving a testimonial that includes rave reviews about how much was learned during our time together. Better yet, receiving an email explaining to me how someone has overcome challenging times in his or her life through the training we did in the gym.

That stuff gets me fired up. That stuff has me jumping out of bed at 4:30a ready to help people get stronger physically and mentally.  That stuff helps me realize how truly lucky I am to do what I do.

I chose this as a career path because it’s my passion. Training has done more for me than I can begin to tell you. I live for it, I’ll probably die doing it in some capacity.

Over the past few years I have been fortunate to meet others along the way who feel the same. To those who don’t: I think you’re in the wrong profession. Furthermore, I am grateful to be working in a facility alongside people I trust because I know they share my passion.

You might think that coaching / training is just a way to make money. Worse even, you might think it’s a job where you get paid to look good and “workout.” If so, your grossly undervaluing the importance of your position.

The time you spend with clients are their favorite hours of the whole week. Your clients deserve the best and you need to give that to them, day in, day out.

You might not realize how much training with you means to them. You should approach each client assuming that it means everything. You don’t know what they’re going through. You don’t know the true impact of the lessons you impart on them.

That should motivate you to deliver the best possible product, to stay educated and to give each client the effort and detail they deserve.

My clients motivate the hell out of me. I’m humbled at the opportunity to play such a large role in their lives.

I used to be a person who constantly placed the blame for where I was in life and in my training on anyone or anything but myself.

“How did I get here?”  ”How did this happen?” “Why haven’t I hit any of my goals?”

Somewhere deep inside me I knew where the blame belonged. On me. 

Instead of taking personal responsibility for the consequences of my actions I continually ran from them. This manifested itself into anger for others and various destructive behaviors to create a distraction from the truth. In the end I was always left angry and disappointed in myself. I didn’t own my decisions and this led to feelings of depression and apathy towards everything.

Needless to say this was not a great place to be. My life, my relationships, and my training suffered.

I lived life passively. I operated as if I didn’t have any choice. When we make an active choice we take responsibility for that decision. When we settle we are saying that this is “good enough.” The consequences are not our fault, or within our control.

Maybe you don’t like your body, but instead of choosing to do what’s necessary to make a change, you settle for something more comfortable.

Maybe you don’t like your job, but instead doing what’s necessary to enjoy your career, you settle for it. The thought of having no income is scary.

Maybe you’re unhappy in your relationship, but instead of taking action to fix it, you settle for what you have. The thought of being alone is overwhelming.

We can’t have everything we want. But shouldn’t we be true to ourselves and try? I think so.

Everyday we make choices, and no choice is small. Every choice we make helps to form the path of our lives. Whether it’s how we train, what we eat, what we do for work, or whom we choose to be with.

So what do you want? What do you want to look like or accomplish in the gym? What do you want to do for work? What do you want from your relationships?

Now ask yourself what you need.

What you need will often get you what you want. But what you need to do isn’t always something you want to do.

If you want to look better you need to eat clean and train correctly. You might not want to order something healthy. You might not want to lift heavy shit or run hill sprints.

If you want to enjoy your job you need to quit the one that makes you unhappy. You might not want to sacrifice the security of a paycheck. You might not want to start from the bottom somewhere else.

If you’re unhappy in your relationship you need to make changes. You might not want to communicate how you feel. You might not want to make sacrifices for the other person. You might not want to end the relationship and be alone.

Make choices. When you do you will take responsibility for their outcomes. That outcome may be positive or negative, but when you make choices you take ownership of your life. Don’t settle for anything that makes you unhappy. Change is in your hands and facilitated by each choice you make.

Choose to eat correctly. Choose to train correctly. Choose to be with someone. Choose to follow your dreams.

Do what you need to do even if it scares you. Don’t settle for less than what you want out of life and training. In doing so you will continue to become the strongest version of yourself.

Today I have a guest post featured on The Personal Trainer Development Center’s website. The PTDC is proving to be an incredible resource. I feel very fortunate to have content there. Thank you Jon Goodman and The PTDC for the opportunity!

The absolute best thing I ever did to learn about training others as well as myself was to learn it first hand.

How do you do this? You go to seminars. You can read every book. You can watch every dvd. Nothing compares to being taught in person; nothing.

That being said a lot of seminars these days are PACKED. However, my friend John Gaglione of Gaglione Strength is conducting a seminar in January that I promise won’t disappoint. The spots are limited to ONLY 15 people, and I know they will go fast.

Why learn from John? John is a coach who has spent time under the bar. You can’t replace the knowledge someone has from years of their own training. John works with REAL people! Imagine that? A lot of coaches out there have great internet presences but spend little time actually in the trenches. John works with athletes every day. Lastly, John does everything he can to better himself and his clients. I have seen John at almost every seminar I have attended recently. Additionally, he has taken the time to visit the best facilities and learn from the best.

Let him help you out, you won’t be disappointed. For more info, click HERE

Appearance goals are too arbitrary. Set performance goals and you will be happier and more successful.

I spent forever concerned with how I looked, and no matter how lean or big I got it was never enough. Concern yourself with output related goals that can be achieved through a system based on reason and hard work.

I believe in getting STRONG. But what is strong? How do different measures of strength relate to your appearance related goals?

Below I have come up with some answers. The system isn’t perfect, but I believe taking the advice below will lead the majority of people closer to their goals than what they’re doing now. Understand that the training alone to reach these goals will yield most of the results from an appearance standpoint, hence why the goals themselves may seem to be a reach.

Mrs. “I want to lose 20lbs”:

Goal #1: Do your first unassisted, strict pull – up. If you believe you have 20lbs to lose and you can’t do a single pull-up you are weak, overweight or both. In order to achieve this goal you will need to build full body strength, clean up your diet and lose body fat. Continue to focus on the pull-up not the mirror or the scale. When you hit that first pull-up go check the mirror and if you must…the scale.

Mr. “I Want Abs”:

Goal #1: 15-20 consecutive pull-ups. Just as I explained in our first case, certain things need to fall in line for this to be possible. Namely, you need to be strong and you can’t be fat.

Goal #2: Either Squat 2x your  body weight, Deadlift 3 x your body weight or both. This isn’t a perfect ratio. It is closer to perfect when you couple it with Goal #1. I haven’t seen many 200lb men who can squat 400, pull 600 and knock out 15-20 consecutive pull ups who don’t have abs. Furthermore, if you can do the following and you aren’t happy with your physique I’d be REALLY surprised.

Mr. I Want To Be JACKED:

Goal #1: Overhead press your body weight and do 3 pull/chin ups at 190% of your body weight. If your 165lbs that’s 3 pull ups with roughly 145lbs attached to you. To achieve this you need to be lean, and plenty strong. I understand the chin up goal is lofty, but the training to achieve it will add mass in all the right places.

In ending, understand that the training alone to reach these goals will yield most of the results from an appearance standpoint, hence why the goals themselves may seem to be a reach. Focus on progressive overload, train smart and embrace the process. Stop setting subjective goals. Start setting objective goals and you will find success in the gym and the mirror.

“If everybody was satisfied with himself there would be no heroes.” – Mark Twain

I’ve recently learned a great lesson. Satisfaction is completely in my hands.

I’ve spent a lot of my life being hypocritical. I am consistently annoyed by people who base their life’s worth on what their life means to other people. Yet, I too found myself concerned with gaining acceptance and approval. All to often I measured my progress by comparing myself to others, and in a sense idolizing others. However, my successes and failures did not affect these people; they only affected me. Furthermore, my picture of success was skewed. It was not drawn by me, but in the reflection of what others had done or were doing. I could not give myself a sense of worthiness, I needed it to come from the mouth or actions of another. In acting this way I was never fulfilled. I was constantly moving towards something that did not exist. As a result my many successes had no positive impact on my life, or my self esteem.

Stop looking for approval from others. If you need to dress yourself up and go out to get positive feedback from the opposite sex to feel better, you’re weak. If you need to perform lifts at the gym in front of people who will tell you how strong you are, you’re weak. If you can’t complete a task to the highest caliber knowing that only you will know the work and time that was put towards it, you’re weak.

“Hero-worship in the sense of expressing our unbound admiration is one thing. To obey the hero is a totally different kind of worship. There is nothing wrong in the former while the latter is no doubt a most pernicious thing. The former is man’s respect for which is noble and of which the great men are only an embodiment. The latter is the serf’s fealty to his lord. The former is consistent with respect, but the latter is a sign of debasement. The former does not take away one’s intelligence to think and independence to act. The latter makes one perfect fool…” – B.R. Ambedkar

I’ve learned this lesson, and I am continually defining who I am. I no longer strive to be like anybody else. I only push to be the strongest version of myself. I respect many individuals, and yet I do not concern myself with trying to mirror their lives or their accomplishments.

How many times have you been asked who your heroes are? You probably scanned through a list of people in your head who have accomplished great things, and who overcame great obstacles.

Why aren’t you ever on that list? Have you not achieved anything or overcome any adversity? Or do you not embody the same qualities of character that these men and women do? If it’s the latter then make the change.

Respect an individual but never try to be them. If you measure your successes against someone elses you are weak. If you cannot celebrate your own victories, you are weak. If you cannot recognize your own heroism, you are weak.

Control that which you can control. Your character, your choices and your actions. Take pride in everything that you do. Accept yourself, impress yourself and continually work on becoming the strongest version of yourself.

In regards to what you do in the gym, this life lesson has tremendous carry-over. Train for yourself. Always try to best yourself. True strength comes from progress both mentally and physically.

So you want to get big? I mean who doesn’t? Frankly I am sick of the new image of a “man” in society. Skinny jeans, boys medium t-shirts, the list goes on. It drives me nuts. Listen, whether you want to fill out your t-shirt or get hooooge you need to acknowledge a few principles.

Here is a question (paraphrased a bit) I was asked recently and I hope the answer below helps out!

“Hi Greg. I’m currently studying to get my personal trainer certification, and I was wondering if you knew any good websites that help out? I’m having trouble with calorie count for an individual, such as how do you figure out how many calories one should be taking in each day? I’d really appreciate your help. I’ve always been involved in fitness and i’m so eager to get my career going!!” – Hanna

Let me start by answering question one. There are a lot of fantastic websites on the internet that supply a shocking amount of free quality information. I could compile an enormous list but instead I am going to say this:

Start by reading articles on the following sites:

T-Nation

Elite Fitness Systems

These two sites are invaluable because they feature great articles from lots of different coaches. About three years ago I would read the articles on these sites almost exclusively (I still read almost everything they put out). What I did from there was I began to gain an idea of who I enjoyed reading the most. From there I would follow the blogs of these coaches.

I signed up for newsletters and purchased products from my favorites. I even began to e-mail a few of the coaches and still do my best to attend their seminars, webinars and so on.

Next, I purchased memberships to the following member only sites and it has proven to be more than worth the admission:

Mike Boyle’s StrengthCoach.com

Precision Nutrition

Elliot Hulse and Mike Westerdal’s Hybrid Muscle Tribe

Lastly, a few coaches will include “Good Reads” in their weekly blog posts. Some that come to mind are:

Ben Bruno

Tony Gentilcore

Eric Cressey

Jon Goodman and The Personal Trainer Development Center

Additionally, many coaches will have recommended resource links on their websites / blogs. Hope this info gets you started!

As for question two here is my approach to caloric intake for an individual:

It is always going to be goal dependent. Is the person looking for fat loss, weight gain, performance improvement, and or health improvement? I am biased towards Dr. Berardi’s approach with Precision Nutrition. One thing Dr. Berardi drives home is that nutrition should improve body composition, performance and health. While there are a lot of approaches that get you quick improvements in one of those areas they tend to produce short term results that can cause a relapse eventually.

So while caloric intake is incredibly important, don’t lose sight of a few constants that should accompany the correct daily caloric intake (DCI). Those would be:

• Food Quality
• Correct Macro Nutrient Splits (Protein / Carb / Fat) These are based on Body Type (Ecto/Meso/Endo – Morphic)
• Workout Nutrition
• Healthy Habits (Food Prep, Meal Timing, Relationship with food)

The tip below is key for fat loss. If you want to lose body fat read on.

Out of sight:

On numerous occasions I have encountered people (to include myself) who put the idea of moderation up on a pedestal. They want to have chocolate, ice cream, wine, juice, chips etc in their house. Additionally, they want to be the person who can have all of these in their kitchen, and only eat a little bit of each at a time.

They have friends that can do it, and figure, I can do it too!  But…

Apparently you can’t. Which is totally fine. I couldn’t do it either.

Not being able to restrain from eating more, and not having the discipline, really frustrated me. I know it is frustrating you as well. More importantly, I know it is keeping you from the body you have worked hard to get.

I am not going to come flat-out and tell you to clear the house of anything that isn’t going to help you. Instead, I want you to read the next section and decide for yourself.

Out of mind:

You probably think I am going to say that if it’s out of sight you won’t think about it, and thus it will be off your mind. Wrong.

Really? You think I don’t know Ben and Jerry’s is a 2m walk down the street? What I want out of mind is your skewed thinking.

Here are two perceived traits of people with great physiques:

• They can eat anything they want (aka they were born that way)
• They have incredible discipline