What's New Coach? By Strength Matters

Today, I am talking with Alex Stott a strength and conditioning coach from England. Alex has a background in athletic performance competing in cross country and cricket. As a coach he has a passion for redefining limits and has coached cricket teams, rugby teams, football teams, individual players, members of the general public, and over 30 racing drivers. He is currently the coach for the 2015 Lotus F1 Reserve Driver Jolyon Palmer.

I talk with Alex about his new gym he is opening, and how he is going to train his clients the same way he trains athletes. The object for everyone is performance. They are also using periodization techniques and planning the training around the seasons because their location is in a beautiful countryside. The variety and change of scenery should help with motivation and make the workouts more fun. He also explains the entire year-long plan to prospective clients before they sign up. Enjoy the interview.

Today’s topics include:

* Alex’s new gym and training for performance and conditioning.

* Strength, power work, endurance, conditioning, and performance and periodizing around the weather.

* The luxury of training outside and enjoying the outdoors.

* Getting new clients onboard with a year-long program.

* Explaining the year-long process helps with getting the year long commitment.

* Doing stretching and mobility while watching TV or other ways to integrate it into the client’s lives.

* Hotel workouts when a gym isn’t available and bodyweight exercise.

* How physical race car driving actually is and training for racing demands.

* Leg, core, and neck strength are very important for racing. Squats, deadlifts, etc.

* Cardiovascular is also important to limit weight gain.

* There is always more to learn as a coach.

* Alex is interested in a lot of different modalities and always learning new things.

* He is also interested in recovery and energy storage.

* The importance of thoracic ability and opening up the chest and shoulders

* Alex’s favorite shoulder stretch exercise.

Links and resources:

* Alex Stott Website

* Alex on Twitter @Stottie01

* Travel Fit: Volume One

* Fascia: The Tensional Network of the Human Body

Quotes:

“Our gym uses the philosophy of training athletes, and then we apply that to the masses.” Alex Stott

“Whether you are carrying groceries into your house or competing in a race, it is still about performance.” Alex Stott

“We detail all of our philosophies and training plans to allow the clients to make an informed decision when signing up.” Alex Stott

Today, I am talking with a guy who I met on Twitter. He is kind of crazy, but his heart is in the right place. Jeff “The Machine” Myers is on track to break several Guinness Book world push-up records as he goes for 50,000 push-ups in 24 hours to raise money and awareness for veterans. Jeff began training for push-up competitions in November when he lost his job which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because now he spends all of his time promoting and training.

Jeff has gone all in on his training. His life revolves around training and dieting because if you want to be the best, you have to make it a priority. Jeff “The Machine” Myers has built a brand around his training and goal of breaking the world records. When he is not training, he is promoting the event. He also has some pretty big-name followers on Twitter like Toby Keith. Enjoy Jeff’s story and his contagious enthusiasm.

Today’s topics include:

* Jeff works harder than anyone, anytime, anywhere.

* The Jeff Myer’s mindset of how hard work trumps everything.

* How Jeff overcame issues in his past with addiction and Tourette’s Syndrome.

* How Jeff has turned into the ultimate push-up machine.

* Jeff’s mindset switch in 1996 when he started working out.

* He broke his jaw and started abusing opiates, and it started affecting his training.

* In 2012, Jeff decided never again and got his life on track.

* Jeff’s obsession with the gym helped his mindset shift in overcoming addiction and getting fit.

* The current 24-hour world push-up record is 46,001. Jeff plans on smashing that with 50,000 in 24-hours along with several other push-up records.

* This event is also a fundraiser for Wounded Warrior Home.

* The Guinness World Record platform should be used for something positive like a charity.

* Jeff began doing 500 push-ups twice a day. When he realized that he had a shot at breaking the current records.

* He did 11,000 push-ups in 5 hours during his training.

* He started out doing push-ups between sets at the gym.

* Jeff trains for specific things for specific reasons including hot yoga and stretching.

* He’s also training his body to work in a hot environment.

* Static chest stretches and hanging on the pull up bar and shoulder stretches are part of Jeff’s routine.

* Jeff gets fueled when people doubt his ability.

* He even framed a conversation by some online doubters.

* Jeff not only plans to beat the records, he plans to make his records unbeatable.

* The event is going to be streamed live on Facebook.

* Eating right and staying hydrated is a big part of Jeff’s regimen.

* Eating sugar and carbs at the end of the day after training to give his body the nutrients he needs.

* He does push-ups everyday, and he doesn’t believe in over training.

* The key to life is doing more push-ups.

* The event is August 19th and the funds help wounded warriors transition back home.

Links and resources:

* Wounded Warrior Homes

* Jeff Myers on Twitter @records4warrior

* Jeff Myers on Facebook

* Streamline Fitness

Quotes:

“Training every day is my job and number one priority.” Jeff Myers

“If you want to succeed, you have to be all in one hundred percent.” Jeff Myers

“Hard work and persistence pay off over anything else that you can do.” Jeff Myers

 

Today, I am talking with personal trainer, coach, and manager Michael Urso. In a previous interview I had with Michael, I discovered that he was really into changing a client’s mindset. Something that I am finding more and more important. This interview is going to be really interesting and it is one of my favorites.

Michael was a restaurant server and bartender in New York City. He made good money, but he wasn’t happy with the hours and lifestyle. He was inspired while having a conversation with a friend who mentioned that he knows more about fitness than anyone she knew. He started doing research and discovered that at the time Equinox was the top gym in the area. He attended a trainer certification class and got a job as a trainer at Equinox. Now he is in Boston and an Equinox manager.

Today’s topics include:

* Customer service is universal and it carries over from the restaurant business to the personal training business

* Day-to-day operations as a manager includes training clients and delivering a high level of service. They have a manager for the base of trainers and a Tier X manager. The team has about 130 clients and seven coaches they focus on MNR.

* MNR – Movement, Nutrition, Regeneration

* Results seen through habit based coaching include confidence and ability to make better decisions around nutrition

* How the industry is making big moves and the younger trainers are taking the whole health focus and how it is interconnected

* Awareness is the most important habit or skill when it comes to nutrition. It makes a huge impact on choices. This also applies to sleep.

* Precision Nutrition level two coaching has helped Michael to slow down and listen and focus on client centered coaching

* Before teaching clients, the coaches do the Precision Nutrition habits

* Developing and managing coaches includes meetings and one-on-one meetings and focus on what they need

* Michael tries to create a culture by bringing it everyday. Teaching is the best way to learn something.

* Building a community in the gym by making introductions and putting out an email newsletter featuring a client of the month

* Delegating to other coaches as a team leader

* The recognition encourages people to up their games and meet their goals

* How limiting beliefs can hold people back, how to get people out of their own heads and developing an enriched mindset

* How his morning routine sets the tone of the entire day, he meditates for at least 10 minutes

Links and resources:

* Flex Your Mindset

* Happy

* Headspace App

* Strength Wise

Quotes:

“As a manager, it is extremely important to create an experience for people” Michael Urso

“We focus on developing an entire lifestyle on habit based coaching” Michael Urso

“It’s no longer just training, we are coaches walking beside the client with the whole health experience” Michael Urso

Today, I am talking with Matthew Nuttall a personal trainer from Manchester, UK. Matthew dropped down from 13% to 7% fat to compete in a Men’s Physique competition. Training is a big test of willpower and avoidance, but it is also an experiment with an end goal. After giving up kick boxing, there was a void that training for physique competitions filled.He also puts in about 50 hours a week of personal training for his clients.

Today’s topics include:

* Matthew is currently enjoying boxing training with his clients and the psychology of boxing and his clients.

* Having proactive conversations with clients about the responsibility of achieving goals and managing expectations.

* Common conversations about diet such as treats. The psychology behind treats or wanting something to make you happy.

* How competitions could lead to health issues and other problems such as the rebound effect.

* Being lean for summer and mitigating the rebound effect and the psychological side of things.

* Advantages of being a personal trainer and not having to struggle to get to the gym.

* Everyone seems to be obsessed with conditioning and forgot about strength, and there is too much focus on the trainers ego.

* Perceptions of trainers that a client may have.

* Learning from experts by going straight to the source.

* Getting clients through referrals and some social media.

* Seasonality of personal training and which months are busier and keeping the yearly clientele numbers rising.

* Having your clients best interest and letting them understand that you care and are genuinely passionate about the work.

* What a general session is like, training 3 or 4 times a week, and making them strong, lean and happy.

* How important it is to keep track of how much and what they eat, holding clients accountable on a diet plan.

Links and resources:

* My Fitness Pal

* You Are a Badass

* Our Iceberg Is Melting

Quotes:

“From the get go, I let the clients know that it is on them to achieve their goals” Matthew Nuttall

‘I set SMART goals for my clients and 99% of the time it’s up to diet” Matthew Nuttall

“Diet slip ups aren’t the end of the world, just get back to where you need to be” Matthew Nuttall

Today, I am talking with nutrition coach and personal trainer Isabelle Libmann. We talk about a lot of interesting stuff like running a studio, nutrition programs, and working for Buddy Guy. Isabelle is the owner of Izzyfit Personal Training and TruFit Studios. She works out of Illinois and has a crazy obsession with ramen noodles.

Isabelle grew up as a dancer. She was terrible at sports and didn’t know how to do anything at the gym. A few years out of college she got a job launching a website. The job required her to work at home. She was sitting a lot, and subsequently decided to hire a personal trainer. After having a long time personal trainer and going through a few career changes, Isabelle had an aha moment. She then went back to school and became a personal trainer.

Today’s topics include:

* Isabelle’s love of ramen noodles started when she lived in Hong Kong

* Isabelle handled the PR for blues legend Buddy Guy before she decided to become a personal trainer, and she went to Brazil and saw him play which really showed how universal music is

* She went to the National Personal Training Institute

* How being a personal training client led to Isabelle becoming a trainer and helped her relate to clients

* She started with two Internships, one was at Zum Fitness Seattle and she was hired as an independent contractor training people at home, the person who hired her suggested she find her own clients

* Pros and cons of training someone in their home

* Izzyfit was working out of Tru Fit Studios, when the owner wanted to sell it, Isabelle was able to buy it

* The process of buying a business is not that fun, but they did a good job and remained friends

* The scariest part of the business is debt and fear of not making enough money

* Expectations of clients and other trainers are also a concern

* Having everything line up and feel right is the most rewarding part of the business

* Tru Fit houses independent personal trainers and Izzyfit. It is by appointment only and clients have to work with a trainer

* Trainers are screened to make sure they are a good fit to work together, even though, they may have different techniques

* Clean Slate 28 is Isabelle’s nutrition program, which is separate from the training It’s a 4-week program that works on a new habit a week, the habits are seasonal – Spring – reduce sugar, alcohol – Summer – Focus on awareness – tracking – making best decisions

* Keep your mind open to the idea that there is more to learn

Links and resources:

* Izzyfit Personal Training

* Tru Fit Personal Training Studio

* Buddy Guy

* National Personal Training Institute

* Zum Fitness

* Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

* The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

* Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

* Muscles and Meridians: The Manipulation of Shape

* Original Strength

Quotes:

 

Today, I am talking with Jorge Unigarro who is a personal training manager for Equinox in New York City. He manages 40+ personal trainers and 400-600 personal clients. It is interesting to see how he keeps things going and makes both sides happy. Jorge is a competitive power lifter, a lover of cats, and probably the worst joke teller I have ever heard.

Jorge became interested in personal training while stationed in Iraq in 2004. They fashioned a makeshift gym out of an empty space. Jorge helped out and worked there and his training buddy was technically his first training client. 2 years later he started as a trainer at Equinox and has been training ever since.

Today’s topics include:

* What Jorge learned from the military that translated into fitness training

* How a wrong turn in Fallujah and getting lost with things blowing up around you is scary

* Before Equinox Jorge tried working at Crunch, explored college, and drank a bit too much

* Jorge’s responsibilities as a training manager at Equinox

* What the programming for successful trainers is like

* Traits that make a great personal trainer

* Most important part of intake assessment is movement analysis

* Digging in with the 5 whys can create connection

* How to manage people and treat them the way they want to be treated

* Going to conferences is a great way for trainers to expand their skills and continue education

Links and resources:

* [email protected]

* Intervention by Dan John

* Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness

* Switch

* Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges

* Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box

* The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict

* The Outward Mindset: Seeing Beyond Ourselves

* The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

* The War of Art

* Turning Pro

* Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers

* Who Moved My Cheese

Quotes:

[bctt tweet=”“I learned consistency in the military and it applies to training” Jorge Unigarro” username=””]

[bctt tweet=”“It’s part education, conversation, and leadership to make sure the trainers are making the clients happy” Jorge Unigarro” username=””]

[bctt tweet=”“Having a great trainer with no people skills, is like having the world’s most awesome book that nobody reads” Jorge Unigarro ” username=””]

Talk soon, Neal.

In Episode 6 we talk to Jerry Trubman. Jerry is a Senior SMK Instructor for Strength Matters. He is also the owner and founder of The Protocol Strength & Conditioning in Tucson, AZ. Today he shares a wealth of information on building a blog, a community, an audience, and a business.

Jerry began in the fitness industry as a personal trainer. Then he became involved with kettlebells and met Steve Maxwell. This led him to getting into kettlebells and mobility work. He then began training in basketball courts until he opened his own gym. It took about 3 years for Jerry to get a 600 square foot rented space to begin The Protocol. He was able to grow this within a year to get a larger space and his own real location, instead of a rented space.

Today’s topics include:

* The pressure of having to grow The Protocol into a business with a large enough client base to get his own space

* To grow the business within a year, Jerry created a blog and newsletter. His readership was small, but very loyal. He created content with a small call-to-action about his gym at the end. He also used word-of-mouth referrals.

* Jerry also used in-person interaction to meet local people to sign-up for his newsletter. He went to fitness fairs, running groups, and anywhere his potential clients would hang out.

* Jerry creates one quality post a month, because he doesn’t want to flood people’s inboxes with crap

* His blog started to bear fruit once he hit about 500 real subscribers

* His blog post ideas come up organically through conversations and student questions, or inspiration from a colleague’s article.

* Jerry started his outdoor fitness business in a time when he needed to pivot. He started with nothing, so he made two election type signs to advertise his business. Since he only had two signs he would just move them around and people would say they see his signs everywhere.

* How Jerry is a closet runner and jogs from 4 to 8 miles every Thursday and he also does Sunday night yoga to balance out his fitness regimen

* The Protocol gym has produced clients with 57 State powerlifting records, 26 National records, 23 world records, and 3 certified kettlebell instructors, 7 marathon finishers, 3 Boston Marathon finishers, 1 Hawaii Ironman, and 3 National Powerlifting champions.

* The Protocol system is so simple that anybody can do it. They focus on people who really want to do it and learn the movement patterns. They can regress movements to hardly any movement at all.

Links and resources:

* The Protocol Strength & Conditioning

* The Protocol on Facebook

* What’s New Coach Interview with Jerry Trubman

* The Cardio Code

* Steve Maxwell

* Total Money Makeover

Quotes:

“Your goal is to get belly to belly with 21 people everyday” Jerry Trubman

“I still try to interact with people in person” Jerry Trubman

“The running community has gotten really intelligent about cross training” Jerry Trubman

 

Today our guest is Robert Pingatore a Master Trainer and Group Instructor at 24 Hour Fitness in Foothill Ranch, California. He has been personal training and coaching for 18 years. He was also a gripper in the production of the Music Man. He enjoys public speaking. He loves to body surf with his daughter, and the two of them are both Harry Potter fans. He is also a card carrying member of the United States Bartenders Guild, a gamer, a geek, and a lover of guns.

Robert started working out when he was a teenager, and fell in love with working out and improving. After 30 years, and some influence from a friend he finally followed his dream and became a trainer. Robert would train clients during the day on the beach, then he would bartend at night. He transitioned from training on the beach to training at the gym in March, 2012. After being certified, Robert started working at 24 Hour Fitness.

Today’s topics include:

* During Robert’s study of fitness, he kept hearing about this guy named Pavel, once he discovered who Pavel was he began his kettlebell certification.

* How Robert prepared for his Strength Matters kettlebell certification in six weeks, then he was on the spot when he went last for his swing test

* What the Strength Matters swing test is – 32 kilo kettlebell with a hundred swings with each arm

* How too much dieting and getting ripped can make you miserable, feeling good and being healthy may matter more

* How Robert has written about tech, because he is geeky and likes to know how stuff works

* Corrective exercises – boils down to getting people to connect their brain with poor posture and what is causing discomfort – look at strategies clients can do on a daily basis that sets them up to be in proper posture, so that they will be aware of when they break posture

* Last minute advice – Be genuine

Links and resources:

* Simple and Sinister

* Stop Chasing Pain

* Robert on Facebook

* Quiet

* What’s New Coach – Be Present Interview

* [email protected]

Quotes:

“It was a long process, but I love what I’m doing” Robert Pingatore

“People who love to help people do well in the fitness industry” Robert Pingatore

“We are designed so that our bodies can live through famine” Robert Pingatore

/**/

Today our guest is Analisa Naldi a strength and conditioning coach at Evolution Trainers and part of their leadership team in Mountain View, California. She lives in San Francisco and has been coaching for 15 years. She is full-blooded Italian, a farm girl, and a total hippy. She has a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management and a master’s in Kinesiology.

Analisa was fortunate to find her passion for training early on. She was always at the gym, and someone suggested that she just work there. That was a lightbulb moment for Analisa, and she became a trainer. Now she says spending each day at the gym is like a combination of recess and her favorite class. Her brain is constantly being stimulated by interactions, problem solving, and tasks of a trainer.

Topics Include:-

* What a health conscious city San Francisco is. You can find any dietary need you have.

* Analisa’s thesis was a study of taking 30 girls aged 9-12 and designing a strength training program for them. The study discovered that strength training can be safe and effective for youth. They also continued to participating in athletic activity.

* How Evolution feels like being a family that operates like a machine, “everybody knows your name”

* Analisa owns Evolve Fit which is like a business (her training) inside of a business (Evolution Training), it’s a business model that creates an organic sense of ownership and attracts good people

* How to have a balance of management and being a leader doing and showing the work and helping out

* At the end of the year everyone at Evolution gets together and goes over their year, they also have an apprentice program for young coaches

* A lot of the local tech people who already have in-house wellness programs at their jobs (Google, Apple, etc.) find the time to come train at Evolution, some of them had said they sleep and feel better after the training programs

* Trust the journey, trust the process to get where you want to be

Links and resources:

* Evolution

Quotes:

“It was fun to train youth and spark a fire that may not have been there without the training study” Analisa Naldi

“One of the girls in the study went on to become a Rugby player and a Physical Therapist” Analisa Naldi

“I have been able to recreate the family feel along with passion, education, and inspiration for movement and a healthy lifestyle” Analisa Naldi

/**/

Today our guest is Holea Bruggman, she has been a personal trainer for six years. She is originally from Minnesota, but she now lives in Arizona. Holea, pronounced Holly, is NSCA-CPT and StrongFirst Kettlebell certified. She loves to deadlift, and she loves breakfast. It is her goal as a trainer to help people instill life changing and long-lasting skills into their lives.

She is currently doing a lot of online training and breaking into in-person training hoping to have a hybrid model. Holly created a 21-day challenge that introduces a new tool each day to promote fitness and a better self image. This program has been impactful for people with body image issues. Holea used her own experiences with self-doubt to help others to overcome self-doubt and believe in themselves.

Today’s topics include:

* Talking about self-doubt and how to make it your ally and how that worked in Holea’s Facebook challenge group.

* External resistance that becomes internal resistance. Things on the outside can affect the internal. Changing self-image and the perception of yourself.

* Learn about how Holea met Dave Whitley, and how it inspired her to become a trainer.

* Holea had 43 people involved in her 21-day challenge.

* How Holea handles discouraged clients and sets positive expectations – don’t overwhelm them – overcome mindset resistance

* Favorite habits – look at eating – 3 to 4 core meals with no snacking – instantly wakes people up to what hunger is – people learn to change food combinations at meals with instant feedback

* Holea’s advice for younger self, “your problems really aren’t that big”

* Her advice for trainers who want to start a blog is to just start – the more you write the better you get

* Doing what feels best for your body and not being in a perfect symmetrical position

* Online movement assessments using Skype – crawling – how long can you crawl?

* Be authentic, be real, get vulnerable with your clients, if your clients can relate to you, they will trust your methods

Links and resources:

* Holea Bruggman

* Twitter @Holeabfit

* The War of Art

* Superhuman You

* Earl Nightingale Lead The Field

* Lean Habits

* Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t

Quotes:

“The more you should be doing something, the more resistance there will be” Holea Bruggman

“If you believe in yourself, the possibilities are endless” Holea Bruggman

“When it comes to writing, I prefer mindset related posts” Holea Bruggman