Use of the Trigger Point Tool for recuperation after or before strength training or sport - By David Sedunary

What are Trigger points

Trigger Points are hypersentive spots in the muscles, which give you less strength and flexibility, they block the muscles , and upon movement are painfull.

An example maybe " I reach back to get my wallet out my back pocket and have pain and less flexibilty in the back of my shoulder blade (rotar Cuff area)".  Normally you will have Trigger Points in the Infraspinatus muscles .

                                                                                                        

The  Trigger Point Tool can be a baseball, or a hard rubber, (not a tennis ball as it is too soft) it  is to be used when you have tight spots or Trigger points in the following areas:

• Hamstrings
• Shoulders
• Upper back and Spinae erectors (muscles which run up either side of the spine)
• Hips
• Lower back

Using the tool

Pain threshold when using the Trigger Point Tool

As a guide 10 should be unbearable pain, 0 no pain, as you lean into the Trigger point aim to have the pain around about 6 to 7, wait till the pain fades to a 2. (normally hold the ball in position for the count of 10)

Then repeat once more before moving to another spot. 

Now onto each muscle group:

The Hamstrings

You may want to wear  heavy pants and top when using the Trigger Point Tool, like a track suit.

Or if your muscles are hard you can apply the trigger point tool (the ball) to bare skin.

Hamstrings can be trigger pointed by placing the tool under your hamstring while sitting on a hard wooden seat.

Push down on the tight spots holding until the pain fades, usually 10 seconds  for each area.

Be sure to work up the middle/ inside and outside of the hamstring.

Trigger point both hamstrings.

To finish massage legs and have a hot bath.  

Shoulders

While lying on your back on a hard floor, place the Trigger Point Tool between your shoulder blade and floor.

By using your body weight lean onto the tool, finding the tight spots, release when the pain fades.

Be sure to work the muscle on the edge of the shoulder blade where  it attaches to the upper arm.

Work over the whole shoulder blade, be sure to trigger point both shoulders.

To finish lay in a hot bath.

  

Upper Back and Spinae Erectors

For working the muscles which run either side of the spine, I always recommend that taping two balls together, allowing a gap where the two balls join, this gap fits where the spine is. 

While lying on your back on a hard floor, position the Trigger Point Tool so it fits on either edge of your spine.

Work up and down the spine, from the base of the neck to the top of the bottom ribs.

By using your body weight lean onto the tool, finding the tight spots, release when the pain fades.

Work up and down the spine slowly three times.

To finish lay in a hot bath

Lower back

This is when you have pain radiating across the top of the hips, and each side or one side of the lower back, just above the tops of the hips, and below the bottom rib.

While lying on your back on a hard floor, position the Trigger Point Tool so it fits on either edge of your spine, just below your bottom rib.

Work up and down the spine, from the base of the bottom ribs the top of the hips. (hold each spot for 10 seconds before moving on)

By using your body weight lean onto the tool, finding the tight spots, release when the pain fades.

Work up and down the spine slowly three times.

To finish lay in a hot bath

  

Please note:

After using the Trigger Point Tool rest 4 days before working that body part again.

Let Bob Whelan be Your Personal Coach

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Muscular Weight Gain - By Jay Trigg

Many beginning trainees desire to increase their Lean Body Mass, and have this as the primary, if not only, goal in mind when beginning a training program. I suppose it is human nature to want to have large muscles and the appearance of power and capability. It was certainly the reason I started lifting weights (at a measly 115-120 lb.), and is the reason that a great majority of men start lifting as well. There has probably been more ink spent on this subject in muscle mags than any other topic, from Bob Hoffman, Peary Rader, and Charles Atlas all the way to Joe Weider and the supplement muscle shams of today. Muscle gain comes hard for a natural lifter, and anything over the "normal" level of BW is extremely difficult for most lifters to achieve without resorting to steroids and other drugs. Not difficult in the sense of "it can’t be done", but difficult in paying the price under the iron to get it and keep it. This is particularly true of the ectomorphic lifter. This is the type of male whose "normal and untrained" bodyweight might be 130 lbs., or less, at a height of 5’8" or taller. This is not an individual who would be sick or ill at this weight (although they may look sickly), but the individual whose body type and genetic makeup have him "locked into" a body frame and metabolism that does not support much in the way of muscle mass. For these lifters, it can be extremely frustrating to train with weights, to seemingly no avail. Frustrating when their lifts fail to increase after weeks of trying, and the lifts were not much to begin with. Who, reading this, can identify (whether from personal experience or observation) with the lifter who joins the gym and begins a simple (or very complicated) routine? His friends, also beginners lift much more than him even initially. He can barely bench press the bar and a few 5 or 10 pound plates. They manage to throw up 135, so it at least looks like they have something on the bar. Our lifter can manage 3-4 reps in an awkward squat with 60-70 lb. His friends, within weeks, have 150 and 160 on the bar, and are getting 10, 12, even 20 reps. If the lifter is typical, he will quit the gym and never return. If he is tenacious or hardheaded, he will almost certainly (without common sense to be a foundation to his will) fall into the trap of super supplements and super routines. He will, as many including myself have done, be an avid student of supplement advertisements and the various soft cover training books put out by the muscle publishers. He will be a veritable expert on the benefits of various foot spacing on Smith Machine squats. He will know why it is better to supinate, rather than pronate, the hands when performing a set of concentration curls. He will know the proper dosage, frequency, and contraindications for every pill, powder, and potion sold on the "muscle shelf" of his local health food store. And, likely as not, he will not gain a pound of muscle for it all. In all reality, I can hardly blame this individual for this plight. Having "been him" at one time, I can certainly understand how one gets there. It speaks of a certain level of sincerity and desire, but also of a level of ignorance and possible laziness, that is deadly to his goals.

There is, however, hope. He is looking for a home, and he is in the right town (the gym). He merely needs to find the correct address and to move in. He will likely need to find the "old neighborhood", the one where the houses were built back in the 40’s and 50’s. Where the houses, albeit dated and old fashioned, are also still standing after 50 or 60 years of weathering the storm. It is here, and likely only here, that he will find the comfort of making gains.

Alright. Enough Harry Paschall and J.C. Hise talk. How do you do it? How does a guy who wants to pack 20, 30, 40 lb. of muscle weight on a body that is reluctant to add 5 lb. do it? How does a rank beginner pack on the pounds? And how can you, Mr. Trigg, with your prime physique (ha-ha-ha) tell me how to do so, when you have never experienced such frustrations? I may tell my story later, but today I will tell the story of Mr. DB (Delibabu) Chakrapani. DB is one of my trainees. DB is 25 years old, Indian (not American Indian, but India-Indian), and started training at a bodyweight of 118 lb. at 5’ 9" in height. This was a gentleman well past his puberty, and into adulthood. He had never had any significant bodyweight, and was not recovering from a lingering illness. His joints are all small, and his bone structure is quite light. He is a textbook case of ectomorphia, and he wanted to get big. When he walked through the door, I gulped hard, because this was a test case of any "weight gain" program I could devise, and there would be no hiding the fact if it didn’t work. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to dust off any tomes to find and old-school program for weight gain. Those books are always open around here. Here is the very basic program that DB began on, and utilizes today.

Two days a week

Day one:

Squat
Stiff Deadlift
Nautilus pullover
Overhead press (parallel grip "log bar" from Reflex)
Chins (assisted in the beginning)
Dumbbell bench press
Curls with Apollons Axle
Crunches

Day two:

Squat
Nautilus leg curl
Nautilus pulldown
Nautilus overhead press, Duo-Poly
Nautilus compound row, Duo-Poly
Nautilus preacher curl
Bench dips
Side bends

Yes. DB is squatting twice a week. Yes, he is overhead pressing twice a week. Yes, he is using "foo-foo" or "pumping" exercises like leg curls, pulldowns, and preacher curls. Yes, he is also busting his buttocks under a real live bar, in squats and overhead presses.

He is using a "15 or 20" rep scheme on the squats. Meaning we worked him up from 10 reps to 20 reps in the squat at his initial weight. We then added 5 lb. and had him do 15 reps. Next workout we had him do the same weight for 20 reps. Next workout we added 5 lb. and had him do 15 reps, and the same weight for 20 the next workout, and so-on. He DOES NOT work to failure on the squats, although his last 3 reps are generally reps that the average human being would quit on. He works a strict 15 reps ONLY on the stiff deadlift, adding 5 lb. per week. Everything else (abs excepted) he works to absolute failure, or in the case of the Compound Row, until he can no longer hold the handles back, in the Duo-Poly fashion. What has all of this accomplished for DB? What has our ectomorphic poster boy been able to claim as his reward? The obvious is strength increases from workout to workout. He is getting the perfect (for him) mixture of intensity and rest. He is currently being neither underworked nor overworked. He would tell you he is being overworked every workout, but that is the nature of the task at hand. But his recovery abilities are not being taxed at this time. DB is also registering a 3 lb. gain a week in bodyweight. I know. It amazes me as well. In fact, it makes me supremely jealous. And his diet is "fair" at best, as culturally and physically he is not a big eater. He doesn’t tolerate milk well, and beef causes him digestive problems. So he eats lots of fish, chicken and vegetables. I can only imagine what his weight gains would be if he went on an "American Style" food blitz. But, as well, his dietary practices are very healthy and are minimizing fat gain. So we can assume that his weight gains are almost all muscle.

There is nothing "magical" about the above routine, other than the magic of the squat, deadlift, and overhead press. And the routine is definitely a routine that caters to the new trainee. It might not work as well for the more advanced trainee, although the principles are ironclad. But we are speaking of the new trainee. As well, DB invokes more intensity and effort in the workout then he has ever done physically in his life before. It is very much work for him, and exhausting work at that. He is constantly pushed, as around here we live and work by the mantra "at least one more rep or one more pound than last week". So, DB gains. He isn’t ready for a magazine cover. He will not be lifting in the Senior Nationals this year. And he isn’t the strongest guy in town. Yet. But he has gotten a handle on what it takes to succeed in the weight game, and is succeeding as a result.

Let Bob Whelan be Your Personal Coach

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Needs Help Finding Christy Book: Real Strength, Real Muscle

Dear Mr. Whelan,

I've been a great fan of yours since ever I first read your articles in Hardgainer. The sound principles that you and other Hardgainer writers have promoted through the years continue to guide me to this day, so I must thank you for your valuable insight into the iron game.

Anyway, I have a somewhat unusual request, and thought that you might be able to help me. It might be a long shot, but I thought I would try anyway, since I have exhausted all other options.

For several months now, I have been trying to buy a copy of the late John Christy's book "Real Strength, Real Muscle", which he used to sell on his site, realstrengthrealmuscle.com. However, his site seems to have gone down sometime in early 2013, and apparently it was the only source for buying that book, as I couldn't find any other online merchants selling it, and all the third party recommendations were leading back to his own site, now unavailable.

What I wanted to ask was, considering that you were an acquaintance/friend of his, if you maybe have any extra copies lying around and were able to part with one of them, or if not if you have any ideas of online options for purchasing his book, or at least some contact information (an email address maybe) where I might get ahold of someone (perhaps a family member) to inquire about the possibility of purchasing his book. Since I found noone on eBay selling this, this may be my last remaining chance to maybe get ahold of a copy.

Thank you for your time, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,

Emanuel Mihaiescu  

Thanks for the nice message Emanuel. 

If anyone can help Emanuel find a copy ...  please contact him at email:   

elsydeon at gmail dot com

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Tru Squat Machine Wanted & Beefy Buffalo Bar for Sale

Hi Bob,

I cannot do TB DL's anymore.  The pull on my upper body, makes me move at the L5 and causes me alot of pain. I have to be very selective. Most people with this disorder are alot less functional than I am.

I can do Squats with a ball up against a wall and I am fine. I can even do the hip stuff etc, but anything that consists of carrying anything with  my upper body, is a no-go. I can do curls seated and standing, but when standing I have to keep the knees bent and maintain PERFECT form. No overhead pressing etc. I can use a hip sled with no issues as well.

Basically looking to sell the Beefy Buffalo Bar for 400.00 plus S&H.  Its mint and I can take pictures for those interested. If someone has a TRU SQUAT and they want to part with it and would like to work out a deal, then let me know. The BBB's are 589.00 new as you know and this one looks it. I have taken well care of it and have not used it in 7 years due to my back situation. Its been hard. I used to squat double bodyweight with it for reps, but no longer.

IronMind Beefy Buffalo Bar in mint condition. Asking 400.00 plus S&H. Email for pictures.  Looking for a Southern Xercise Tru Squat machine. 

If you have one or know of anyone who does, let me know. I cannot do heavy squats anymore due to Spondylolisthesis.

Please contact Troy at:  volksydude@yahoo.com

Thank you Bob, I sure appreciate it!

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Beginning Weight Training - Setting Up the Program, (Part 2) - By Jay Trigg

Exercise Selection

In setting up the program, we want to insure that the trainee benefits from the best selection of exercises and set and repetition scheme. Therefore we must be diligent in this process, and very receptive to the trainee’s specific needs, wants, and limitations. In the previous article we talked about learning about a trainees physical limitations. These are the first consideration in choosing exercises. For example, in my opinion, extremely overweight or detrained persons should not be doing free weight squats, deadlifts, bench presses, or overhead presses. Why such a harsh assessment? Not because of any problems I have with those exercises, but rather with the problems that can come about with their use by the above individuals. Obese individuals are typically “stationary”. Meaning that they rarely move around in their daily activities. Many sit at a desk all day, drive home, and sit on the couch or in an easy chair until it is time to go to bed. Their daily “motion” may be limited to trips to the bathroom or bedroom, and the necessary walking to get from one room to the next at work. Flexibility is poor, balance is poor, and strength is poor in “unused” ROM. Asking this individual to do a squat, even a “non-loaded” deep knee bend, is an exercise in futility, embarrassment, and possible injury. Better to place them in a machine exercise, with a “locked” movement and ROM, and allow them to gain strength over time, to the point that they gain the necessary strength, flexibility and confidence to do a correct squat. There is never a rush to get a severely detrained individual into free weight exercises. It is doubtful that a person 150-200 lb. overweight will be entering a powerlifting meet in the next 12 months, so don’t be in a rush to have them doing the “big three” as if they had to catch up to the competition. Rather get them “in motion” and slowly and patiently increase general conditioning, flexibility and strength to the point where you can move into compound exercises safely and comfortably.

With trainees in their mid to late 30’s and up who are not severely detrained, I find it best to begin a weight training program on machines, with some light free weight movements (curls, stiff leg deadlifts, dumbbell bench press). Many of these trainees are capable of learning and completing free weight moves very quickly, and can be moved into a more balanced routine (approx. 50% machines and 50% free weight) in several weeks. My experience has shown, however, that very few individuals who are non athletic and past the late 20’s in age can properly perform a squat or deadlift the first time in. Calf and hamstring flexibility, balance, and coordination all work against this move (and many others) in the beginning. I find it better for me and the trainee to work to some good intensity with machines, and come back afterwards to practice the squats, deadlifts, and other moves. The client is warm and loose. He or she has just “successfully” completed the primary workout and has been encouraged and complimented on their effort and performance (you do encourage don’t you?). They are in a prime place to begin to learn a new skill. These would be very light, low rep moves. Not another workout, but a skills training. This process can be a short one, lasting only a couple weeks, or it may stretch for some time with those who have poor flexibility or strength.

Some trainees may best benefit from only machines. One of my trainees is a middle-aged woman with severe rheumatoid arthritis. Due to poor flexibility and joint strength, she utilizes a “machine only” program, using the lowest possible resistance and high reps. She will use 25-30 reps on each exercise, increasing the weight by only 1 lb. per week, if she make all her reps. We must be very careful with her joints, so we err on the side of caution in everything we do. However, her strength is improving and her flexibility has increased to the point that she can utilize a Nautilus overhead press and Pullover in her workouts, where as in the beginning she had to use a broomstick for those muscle groups. She also has only 1 finger on each hand with any “gripping” ability, so machines are ideal for her situation.

In summary for that section is that trainees can benefit from the “good” free weight moves (squats, deadlift variations, bench press, overhead press, curls), and should utilize them when possible. Yet, one should not be too quick to move them into free weights if conditioning is poor to start with. If free weights are all that is available, be very conscious of limitations in strength and flexibility and be aware and alert to immediately take control of the weight, and possibly the trainee if the exercise or load proves too great for them. We must always remember that intensity is relative to the condition, abilities, and state of mind of the trainee. We should press for excellence and effort, but not at the expense of safety or common sense.

Possible beginning, intermediate, and advanced exercise selection:

New trainee:

Nautilus Leg Press
Nautilus Leg Curl
Nautilus Pullover
Nautilus Shoulder Press or manual resistance shoulder work
Cable Row
Chest press
Dumbbell curls
Skills coaching for squat and deadlift

Intermediate trainee:

Tru-squat
Stiff deadlift
Leg extension
Nautilus Pullover
Overhead press, dumbbell or barbell
Nautilus Compound Row
Close grip bench press with 2” bar
Reverse Curls with exercise bar or EZ curl bar

Advanced trainee:

Squat
Stiff deadlift
Nautilus Pullover
Overhead Press, barbell or dumbbell
Weighted chins or towel chins
Weighted dips
Thick bar curls, followed by manual resistance curls with rope or towel
Shrugs

Now of course, none of the above are claimed as “the ideal routine”, but only used to represent a movement from an early reliance on machines, to a more mixed routine, to a routine with some fairly complex and skilled movements. This is also not to say that machines are not effective, or as effective for an advanced trainee, compared to free weights. I prefer a mix myself. But again, the idea is for trainees to learn to crawl before they can walk, and machines teach that skill far better than most free weight exercises and with less potential for injury. With advanced trainees on a machine centered program, one can get terribly wicked with intensity generating techniques and muscular failure sets. Wicked enough to have many less motivated trainees ready to find a good “barbell only gym”. Conversely, millions of trainees have gotten brutally strong and fit with nothing more than a barbell and some space to use it.

Individualizing routines calls for some imagination. If your trainee only has access to 5-10 basic machines, a squat bar, and a set of dumbbells, you only have a few variations on exercises, without delving into weird isolation exercises (one-arm-reverse-triceps-adduction across the neck). While very basic routines can be effective and intense, trainees often get bored with doing the same old grind day in and day out. The obvious choice for full body workouts (which is what I enjoy using for myself and trainees) is to have 2 weekly workouts, doing different things each workout. For example (for lower body):

Day 1

Squats
Stiff Deadlift

Day 2

Leg press
Leg Curl
Leg Extension
Leg press
(or go ahead and make it the “Filthy Five” as advocated by Ken Mannie in his section of Bobs page)

One could also move to a 3 or 4 workout rotation, keeping workouts at twice weekly, and each workout being done about 2 times a month.

First workout:

Squats, high rep
Stiff deadliftsSecond workout:

“Filthy Five”
Third Workout

Heavy trap bar sets, 2-3 sets of 5
Fourth

Super-slow leg press (20 second reps)
Super Slow leg curl (20 second reps)
And lastly, “special days”, as advocated by Bob Whelan. Such as “50’s day” (50 rep sets), or “barbell only days”, dumbbell only days, and circuit days. My favorite circuit, by the way (it is always better to give than to receive, however):Dumbbell or trap bar deadlifts (15-20 reps; heavy and hard, but not to failure)
Nautilus Overhead press (15-20 reps; duo-poly and to failure)
Nautilus pulldowns (15-20 reps, to failure)

Run this cycle by having the trainee run through it twice with progressing weights and 5-6 reps for a warm up. Then run them through it 3 times with no rest between sets (or at least minimize the rest between sets with a whip and pistol). Finish with some abs and light grip work. Takes about 15 minute to complete with a wimp like me, and about 10 minutes with a motivated lunatic. Floor time is variable, however.

In summary, one should be careful in deciding exercise selection for new trainees. We want most everybody to progress to the point when they can do complex and skill oriented moves, however it isn’t always the case that it can happen immediately or even quickly. We should also be aware that even our better-conditioned trainees might need a break in period where exercise selection is simple in performance, and that more skilled moves are taught as an adjunct until they are strong and confident enough to make them the backbone of the routine. Lastly, we should be aware that the same old workout grind, day in and day out, could become tedious and even halt progress. We must be willing to experiment and be flexible in exercise selection and order.

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Most exciting development in the prevention of heart problems!

"In all my years of research as a professor of cardiology and pulmonary medicine, this represents the most exciting development in the prevention of cardiovascular problems. We've finally found a potent natural agent that can help thin and dissolve clots effectively with relative safety and without side effects." —Martin Milner, M.D., Center for Natural Medicine
Visit: Vital Nutrition Store.com to learn more about Cardio For Life (their BEST product) that I use. I like the powder form of Cardio For Life in peach flavor.

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Beginning Weight Training - Setting Up the Program, (Part I) - By Jay Trigg

One of the most frequently asked questions in the gym, internet training Q&A’s, and magazine articles is: "How does one set up a training program if one has never lifted weights before? How can I ensure that I will utilize the correct exercises and intensity when I train?" While the question seems easy enough to answer, many great minds in the "weight training world" have pondered this question at great length, and have come up with many different answers to the question. There are as many different answers as there are styles of training. Depending on who one asks, the initial routine can take on many forms and functions. A beginning trainer working with Dr. Leistner would certainly train differently than one working with Brooks Kubik. And Bob Whelan might train a new person much differently in some respects than Steve Baldwin or Andrea Rippe. Yet, undoubtedly, all trainees would stand the same chance of success in making the desired physical and mental changes no matter which of the above trained them. All of the above have proven themselves to be effective trainers and are well educated in the field of exercise and its application. So, it isn’t a particular style of training that is necessarily more effective, but rather it is the construct and application of a training regimen that tends to prove successful over time.

Beginning trainees come in all sizes and shapes. From 17-year-old high school athletes needing some weight and strength to make the varsity squad, to guys and gals in their mid-20’s who want to "get buff". 40-year-old executives who want to lose that "executive spread", as well as improve their health and self-image, all the way to 50-year-old women who want to attack the aging process before it attacks them.

The first perspective is to address your (and my) attitude towards the trainee. Often we enter a relationship with a "newbie" somewhat prejudiced to their individual goals and desires. If my number one goal is to press a water filled keg overhead with one hand, while closing the Captains of Crush #4 gripper in the other hand, and my trainee wants to "look good on the beach this summer", my attitude can get in the way of his training. While his goal is not my goal (or at least my primary goal, now that I am married), his goal is not a bad one. What he is saying is "I want to have a body that is healthy, muscular, and fit". Sounds like my goal, as well. Only my priorities are different in achieving that goal. So if we assume that all trainees, or serious ones anyway, are looking to improve themselves physically we should be all right. We just have to understand that their goals and aspirations may be different from ours in the physical realm.

The second perspective is to look at the needs, limitations, and abilities of the trainee. Generic training advice is often the worst training advice. It fails to address specific needs that the trainee may have. With a new trainee, it is best to first evaluate the limitations they may have. It is not safe to assume that everyone can safely squat, especially on the first day. Nor is it safe to assume that anyone can do barbell curls, or even leg extensions. The better thing to do is to speak at length with the trainee about specific physical problems and concerns they may have. Obvious is questions about injuries and surgeries. Not so obvious may be discomfort in exercises done prone, exercises requiring a strong grip (rows, pulldowns) or exercises that require a rotation around a joint that is unusual for the trainee (grabbing the bar on squats for example). You don’t have to be a physiological whiz to figure these things out, either. Generally the client can inform you of specific problems they may have. You may also find out that with this knowledge you can easily adjust exercises, via positioning or performance, to safe and effective means.

It is also good to walk the client through every machine and exercise you have available to them. While this isn’t an "official workout", I treat it as one. I have the client warm up on a Schwinn Aerodyne for 10 minutes, do some light stretching, and we then use every machine and implement available. Utilizing light weights and low repetitions, we put each move through its full ROM, checking for constant feedback from the trainee. "Does this feel okay?" "Any pain or weird catches?" "How does that weight feel? Heavy, medium, or light? If I told you to do 15, could you do it easily or not at all?" By doing this we are insuring several things:

a. The trainee knows we are concerned for their safety and comfort. They can be told that proper exercise will often be uncomfortable and even somewhat painful at times, but as well should know it will never be unsafe or prone to injury, and that the exercise chosen will be appropriate for their physical abilities and limitations.

b. That we know the trainees state of mind. Women are often intimidated about entering a "man’s realm", especially if the other females they see present are fit and powerful. Men are often intimidated because they feel they are "less masculine" because they haven’t reached or maintained a state of physical fitness. Others, particularly young males, are more interested in doing a lot of bench presses soon, rather than developing a whole body. While some of these can be somewhat frustrating to deal with at times, it is our responsibility to educate and motivate the trainee. And this situation may be our first real look at how they view themselves, effort, and exercise.

c. That the trainee has some initial familiarity with the machine, implements, and exercises they will be using. Even if you never plan on using a leg extension with a trainee, knowing that they can use it and use it properly is insurance for the day they come in to train with a cast around an ankle. You also begin to get a look at some of the problems and technique issues you and the trainee will soon be facing in the weight room. Some clients move to fast, some let the weight stack fall too quickly banging the stack. Others can’t get the hang of breathing correctly, others are too cautious, and still others will get into orthopedicaly suicidal positions the moment you blink your eyes. It is better to find this out early and with minimally challenging weights, than to suddenly wake up to the fact that your trainee is inhaling as he comes up from the bottom of a heavy squat.

d. The initial questions get answered quickly and appropriately. For example, if you don’t allow trainees to use weight belts or straps, this is the time to address this and why you don’t recommend them. If your philosophy is "sets x reps" on free weights and "’go til ya’ puke" on machines, now is the time to explain why you make that distinction and how it applies to the trainee. If you like "push - pull", or "duo-poly-contractile" explain to the client why that is good, and how it works. Also, this is the best time to explain to and show what muscle groups each exercise is working. Explain how the delts and triceps get a workout in the overhead press (and show them THEIR delts and triceps, not yours). Explain how the row affects lats, rear delts, and biceps. Give them enough gross anatomy so that they can make sense of what the exercises are for, and why in the world a stiff leg deadlift is a hamstring exercise, not an arm exercise.

This is the conclusion of Part I of this series. Part II will address exercise selection, special needs, and individualizing a "cookie cutter" routine (after all, you only got so much equipment, right?)


Let Bob Whelan be Your Personal Coach
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IN SERVICE: PERVIS An Intense Summer of Strength Work Has Made Him a Gym-Dandy Player - Peter May

Boston Globe (Sports), Posted on NaturalStrength.com on January 18, 2000

November 25, 1997

There's a revealing sign above the entrance to Whelan Strength Training in Washington, D.C.: "If you train here,...you are not normal."

Call up the office and you hear an ominous message about commando-tough training, high-intensity stuff clearly not for the faint of heart or, for that matter, for the non-zealot.

Sounds like the perfect place for Pervis Ellison, huh? It was into this fanatical world that Ellison was thrust last summer, and things haven't quite been the same since. He is bigger, stronger, healthier, and actually playing regularly. The Celtics are reaping rewards after three years of on-again, off-again delays, malfunctions, and general chaos.

The Celtics sent Ellison to Whelan's with a simple instruction: it's time. If Ellison was ever going to be a Rick Pitino Celtic, he had to add weight, build muscle, and be ready to work as he never had worked before.

Bob Whelan oversees the shop that bears his name. He had heard all about Ellison and, as he put it yesterday, "I wasn't overly optimistic." His gym is for the maniacal and fanatical. Ellison didn't seem to be either.

But after nine weeks of brutally intensive workouts in which Ellison gained strength and 20 pounds, the results are starting to show.

Ellison is playing more confidently and, for the first time in years, he is pain free. His summer of hell under Whelan's whip and watch has turned into an autumn of emancipation and rebirth.

"It was a lot of hard work," Ellison said. "But I had tried so many different things that I thought this might help. And it has. For me, this is almost like starting over. I'm 30, but it's like for the last three or four years, I haven't really played basketball."

The reclamation of Ellison has been arguably Pitino's master coup. Any team in the league could have had him over the summer for nothing. Pitino wanted wall busters on his team. Ellison was not viewed as such.

In July, the Celtics' new strength and conditioning coach, Shaun Brown, brought Ellison over to Whelan's place, which sits across from MCI Arena in downtown Washington. Whelan, who grew up in Sherborn and is a diehard Celtics fan, was suspicious from the start.

"Pervis brought his agent along and I think he was a little nervous about the whole thing. I kind of babied him in that first meeting." Whelan said, "Then, after that, I hammered him. I absolutely killed him. I have this plastic bucket which almost everyone has used after one of my workouts. Pervis used it more than once."

Ellison had two one-hour sessions a week. Lest you think that is not a lot of work, Whelan says, think again.

"It takes most people who are in great shape three weeks even to adjust to my one-hour workout," he said. "You just go from machine to machine with time maybe to breathe and have a small cup of water. By the end of the hour, you've had enough.

"It's none of this toning, body-sculpting, shaping, male-estrogen, '90s, unisex crap." Whelan added, "It's an all-out, kick-ass workout. Blood and guts."

Whelan put Ellison on a diet, which included two cans of tuna fish a day. There were also two running sessions a week around the outdoor track at Catholic University, where Whelan was once the strength and conditioning coach. Those were drills designed by Brown. Inside the gym was Whelan's exclusive domain.

"Bob is crazy," Ellison laughed. "He's this military guy, and if you see any of those military movies like 'G.I. Jane,' those are the kinds of things he does. He had me walking around (in the summer DC heat) with a 150-pound bag of sand."

And that came AFTER the workout!!

"I have the bags all outside in an alley," Whelan said. "I call it Sandbag Alley. There are bags ranging from 50 pounds to 300 pounds. You have to carry them over a course that's about 250 feet long. And remember, this was outside in the Washington summer heat. It's brutal."
Whelan said Ellison was an excellent student. He hadn't had a name athlete come through his door before. But Brown had read about Whelan in a fitness magazine and the gym was near Ellison's summer home. Why not?

"I had heard and read that Pervis didn't work hard, but that was not the case with me," Whelan said. "Pervis worked his butt off. You have to. And we didn't cut him any slack with his knees, either. We told him to suck it up and then maybe he could be like Nolan Ryan and do some Advil commercials."

All of this would be immaterial, of course, if Ellison's basketball performance this season had been anything similar to the last few years. This is his fourth season with the Celtics and the first time he hasn't been hurt. There were the knees the first two years and then last year a shattered foot after a table fell on it. He played only six games.

There was a legion of skeptics, and Pitino was among them. During the summer, he said he looked Ellison in the eyes and said, "I just want to know if you want to play and are willing to pay the price. Because if you aren't, you can't play for me."

Now, Ellison has not only has paid the price, he has morphed from the poster boy for sloth and indifference into something approaching a folk hero last seen in the person of Marty Conlon. He doesn't mind throwing his new weight around. He is making good use of his fouls, which, alas, he still manages to accumulate with regularity. And he has made two huge blocks in each of the last two games that were result-determining plays.

How soon before we hear a Per-vis, Per-vis chant?

"When I start seeing some signs, then I'll know," Ellison said. "The fans want a winning team and they appreciate it when you put it on the line. They see you put the effort out and they appreciate that."

What we all know from the last four or five years is that Ellison has a well rounded, versatile game that can look utterly seamless when he's playing with confidence. There have been cameos in Boston, but mostly there have been too many DNPs, almost all because of injuries.

His main benefit now is defense and shot-blocking. His offense is basically stick-backs. Pitino is hoping to get 20-plus minutes a game, and the rest of the package, from Ellison.

"Before, when Pervis would get a pass, he would look all around for someone to pass to, including the coaches," Pitino said. "Now he's taking that shot. He's coming around. We thought he would and we are very excited about that progress because that's going to mean a lot for us."

Whelan thinks he has an explanation for the turnaround.

"He was drafted by Sacramento and they stunk. He came here [Washington] and they stunk. He went to Boston and they stunk. He had always been on bad teams," Whelan said. "It's different now. From what I can see, this is an organization committed to winning and keeping guys fit."

And for the first time in years, Ellison not only wants to be a part of something special, he actually can be a part of it. You wouldn't want all that abuse over the summer to have been for naught, now?

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