Want Some Free Personal Training? You Better Drop Me a Line...QUICK!

To promote my new service of online personal training, I am offering 3 months free of online personal training. This is a $150 value for FREE!

Qualifications:
You must be dedicated, willing to work hard, and comply with a "healthy" lifestyle. This means no going out and getting Hasselhoff drunk on the weekends, not going Homer Simpson on a box of donuts for breakfast (or even worse would be just skipping it all together), etc. Don't get me wrong I want you to enjoy life's privileges, but don't abuse them. A simple rule would be to adhere to a healthy life style 90% of the time.


Don't be like The Hoff

In the e-mail I want you to give me your story on where you are in your training, why you want to train with me, and what goals you have set forth for yourself. I will accept the first 5 emails from people with their stories. From there I will select one winner who will then receive 3 free months of service. Check out my Facebook page to see what those 3 months will consist of.

If you are skeptical I encourage you to check the results that Jake and Ned have obtained via a long-distance training experience with me. They can do it, so can you! There is no catch to this, just simply email me at CTPmike@yahoo.com and give me your story. I will notify the winner on October 22nd. The training will start November 2nd. EVERYONE is welcome to submit their story. Look forward to hearing from everyone!

Serratus Steering Wheel Press

This pic of LeBron has zero relevance to this post. He's the

man though, and the Cavs are going to win the title so it's only

fitting that he gets some love.

This is an exercise that you have absolutely no excuse for doing. We all commute every single day. You can do it while sitting at the light, cruisin' down the freeway, or you find yourself flipping through the radio stations and you find the Ke$ha song about the party not starting til she walks in and for some strange reason you can't change it (yes, sadly this happens and yes I'm slightly embarrassed that I know she spells her name with a dollar sign). Here's a run down of what exactly the serratus anterior is, why you should do this exercise, and how to do it.

What is the serratus anterior?: The serratus anterior is a muscle group that originates on the first 8 ribs and inserts on the medial border of the scapula. The serratus anterior is responsible for upward rotation of the scapula, scapular protraction, and keeping the scapula flush against the the thoracic wall of the rib cage.

The Serratus Anterior

Why you should do this exercise?: What happens if the serratus anterior is weak/inhibited is that scapular "winging" will result (aka you have an unstable scapula which can hurt those bench numbers). The S.A. can become this way due to poor posture (kyphotic posture, internally rotated humerus), muscle stiffness/shortness(pecs, anterior deltoid), synergists dominance (upper traps), or just negligence. The properly functioning S.A. will help improve overall health of the shoulder girdle. In order to improve the function of the S.A. you will also want to address the issues mentioned above with mobilization drills, strength training, foam rolling, and the use of the helpful eye of a coach (if you don't have a trainer/coach, use a camcorder).

Scapular Winging

How to do it?:

Check out the video HERE at my YouTube page (I apologize for it not being loaded on my blog page, it wouldn't load up for some reason). Some key points to properly executing this exercise...

1. Sit with your seat slightly reclined and in a tall upright posture.
2. Hands should be placed toward the top of the steering wheel.
3. Push into the steering wheel while keeping the elbows locked out. Simultaneously think about "spreading" the wheel apart with your hands. You should feel your GH external rotators turn on.
4. Hold for 2-3 seconds and repeat for 8-12 reps.


That about wraps up this post. I will try to keep posting exercises, stretching, activation, etc. that you can perform on the go. Let me know what you think.

Let's Get it Right

The purest form of jackassery

Before I even start discuss this post let me start off by saying that I am by no means an expert...at anything (except spitting weak game at hot chicks and biting my fingernails). I have a long way to go in that regard. But, I do take pride in the fact that I continue to educate myself in when it comes to training and do everything I can to make sure my clients get every pennies worth of my services.

Ever since I started in this industry I was told to make my clients feel like they need me. I totally agree, but not in the way that I was being told (this was not by all trainers, but a good number of them). I was given advice on every gimmick possible. Everything from substituting free weights for manual resistance (which has its time and place, but when you are doing leg press which 9 times out of 10 you shouldn't be doing anyway, and instead of loading up the sled the trainer uses his body weight to push against the sled), to destroying a potential client during an initial workout to make them incoherent in the hopes of increasing the likelihood of them signing up for some sessions (yup, I was really told that). I have a crazy idea to substitute those previous examples with. How about instead of using these shady gimmicks you replace them with knowledge and real experience (crowd awe's in amazement).



To further expand on the previous paragraph, my girlfriend (yeah I feel sorry for her too) has a few sessions with a trainer to use up at a commercial gym (her trainer left that gym before their sessions were used up), and she was telling me how she doesn't want to work with the trainer she would be set up with. I don't blame her. I happen to know this trainer, how they train their clients, and witness what training means they use with their clients. Now in fairness to that trainer, I don't know what their clients goals are, what their rationale is for using the exercises/lifts they use with their clients, or what the plan is for helping their clients achieve their goals. But here's the thing, I know enough about this person that I know that they don't know any of the answers to those questions either. It's a joke. But without a doubt the thing that pisses me off the most is that this same trainer carries conversations with their clients during their sets. As a trainer/coach you are to COACH during sets, not talk about who you think is going to win American Idol (I just lost 7 man points with that American Idol reference).


Maybe I should mind my own damn business. Maybe I don't have the right to be upset about any of those subjects, because I'm not involved. But as a professional, I can't even count the amount of times I've witnessed "trainers" be everything but professional. I am by no means perfect, but I have my principles and providing services to the best of my abilities without any of the bullshit is one of them. Maybe these "trainers" are doing the best to their abilities, but in my opinion its shear laziness and lack of passion. As "trainers" we need to step up and be a true go-to source for our clients. Now despite all the nonsense that is associated with personal trainers, there are those who are top-notch and real class acts. Individuals who have had a huge influence on me and thousands of others include Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, and Eric Cressey. These guys walk the walk and talk the talk and are living legends in our industry. Thanks to all of them! With that said I only have one more thing left to say... Coval Out! (and my man points are further deducted by 23 points).