Magic Pill Marketing and the real "Secret"

Within the past few years, there has been an obvious increase in marketing via various social media outlets. Anytime I go on Facebook, there are a bunch of advertisements for fitness related stuff, because that’s what I have listed as my career on my profile. 

A few of them are legit. Most of them are not.

As an actual, real life coach, this bothers me slightly- that you can play on someone's emotional sensitivity and sell them a garbage product with false promises of results. But, hey, that's the free market. I understand that this is the reality of today. Businesses and people are fighting for your attention and your sales, and you know where most people spend their time today?

Facebook and Instagram and Snapchat and Twitter, so on and so forth. So, that’s where the advertising dollars are going.

How many times have you seen an ad for a fitness program with a guy who has his shirt off, doing some dangerous exercise, that will give you the Hulk's workout plan.... and 10 free nutrition “hacks?”

You, are now saying to yourself, “Wow, should I look like that?” "Do I need to eat chicken, broccoli, and rice for the rest of my life?" 

I'm not sure if this actually helps anyone or it's just confusing people. For the record, the answer is no- unless your goal is to be 6 percent body fat and have no social life outside of the gym. These type of programs aren't all bad, but I hate the mindset. 

That you can do it without the work. That you can skip a few steps. 

Nope. These companies are just taking advantage of you. 

To understand why I feel like a slushie gave me brainfreeze by some of the stuff I see, I’m going to tell you why coaching is such a fun profession. As many people learn fitness and nutrition from me, I also learn from them. I am particularly fascinated with people and the knowledge that they have. What makes them successful in business? How do they balance work and family life? Why have they pursued better health- now of all times?

The fitness industry is unique in that we have the opportunity to meet new people every day and learn from what they have done, where they have been, and why they got to where they are. I think that’s pretty cool. It takes time, but once people open up you can learn a ton of lessons AND help them reach their goals.

It’s the relationship you build with someone. The trust. The mutual accountability. It's pretty rad.

Where I work, there’s a member who will go unnamed, but this dude absolutely crushes it. If you saw the phrase “happy go lucky” in the dictionary, his picture should be next to it. One day as we’re setting up a circuit for one of my classes, he comes up and says:

“Do you need help with anything?”

In response, I said, “Sure, just set out a few med balls over there for me, thanks!”

Many people do this, but his response to this was really profound, and still something we joke about all the time.

He said, “I’m trying this new thing, where I’m part of the solution, not the problem.”

I nearly stopped what I was doing in the middle of class.

Isn’t that inspiring?

Ever since he said that, I’ve been trying to have the same mindset.

What I think is particularly applicable in this crazy online marketplace of a world, is the amount of services that are available to people these days. There are always people that are selling newer and “better” strategies, products, or ideas. Social media pushes it in our faces constantly. But to me, that must be so frustrating if you are new to the fitness world. This guy says this. That guy says the opposite. Do this. Don’t ever do that.

How are people supposed to navigate the online space and figure out the best way to proceed?

Part of the issue that this creates- is that people don’t know where to start. There’s so much sales funneling and magic pill marketing going on that people get lost in the fray. It must be scary. It must be intimidating. 

Have you ever seen an ad that says, “Try this technique out for the next 2 years, master it, and then enjoy the fruits of your labor.”

Probably not.

It’s probably more like, “Buy this 30 day X, Y, Z, and lose 30 pounds, cleanse your colon, get shredded, build a multi million dollar business in 2 weeks, blah blah blah.”

Sounds freaking great, but what gets left out of the equation is the years of dedication, hard work, and sacrifice that it takes to reach your big goals. 

Listen, there are lots of solutions. But do they really address YOUR personal roadblocks?

I truly want to help you. So, you must understand this "secret" first.

The number one most important factor, with anything you want to achieve:

Adherence.

You still have to show up to have a chance to succeed.

You have to step in the batter’s box.

You have to put in the work.

It’s on you.

That is something that no magic pill or cookie cutter exercise program can teach you. You may have the information, but without a drive; a purpose; a reason to get yourself to actually do it, you may as well just burn your $39.95. While I understand the reality of technology, I think my big take home point is that you have to address your own roadblocks and figure out how to conquer them. Through commitment and perseverence. Anything else will seem inauthentic. 

“Listen, if you’re impatient, and you settle for fast food or a quicker method, your experience will be different; and you will probably ruin your appetite in the process.” -Eric Thomas

Stay hungry, keep working, 

Ryan

A Fresh Take on Mobility Training

Hey gang!

I hope the sunny weather has been treating you well. A couple months ago I had the unique opportunity to attend an FMS (Functional Movement Systems) seminar. Meg and I both attended, so it was kind of fun to actually learn some cool fitness wizardry together. One of the take home points (at least for me), was that most of the movement we do throughout life is very developmental: from the point we are able to roll around as babies to the moment we figure out we can sprint. It all builds from day one.

With that said, there is a synergistic balance between strength, stability, and mobility. The term mobility gets thrown around a lot and seems to have bunch of different definitions. When we think about the term, most people simply think about flexibility, and there is a difference. So, saying that you can touch your toes and saying that you are really mobile, are two completely different things. The goal is not one or the other, it’s simply creating a stable relationship between the two. Something that Kanye and Taylor are working out, at the moment.

Here’s my take on what mobility means:

Achieving challenging ranges of motion while exhibiting dynamic control, in relation to the individual.

So, in a nutshell, flexibility looks at where you can get to, and mobility looks at what you can do once you are there. 

For more on this, check this out, and click the video featuring Mike from Global Bodyweight Training and Dr. Andreo Spina.

The reason I’m going over this is so you understand the difference between the two, because I may be referring to one or the other. The challenge for most people, is that they don’t spend enough time owning the movement pattern, which would create the mobility and subsequent stability they might need. Or, they spend too much time in the wrong positions. (Think sitting)

The problem with this is: When you create the habit for your brain, it’s really hard for your body to edit-undo the pattern without around the clock attention. So, if you don't spend the necessary time pushing your mobility boundaries, nothing will really change unless you can control and own that movement. 

At the seminar, I was looking for a little more insight as to why I had been going through a bit of a hip issue. I had tried everything! Soft tissue work, adequate dynamic warm up, core work, adjusted my training program, breathing, rolling, etc. The fact of the matter is that the so called “fix” was right in front of me, but I just wasn’t looking in that direction. So here’s a bit of history about how my “injury” started:

Signed up for a Marathon, running 15-30 miles per week.

Strength Training Program including some heavy as hell, bilateral compound lifts, 4 times a week.

Squatting 2 times/week and Benching 2 times/week, as well as other barbell lifts.

Limited Upper Body Mobility exercises - I basically stopped all of this stuff because I was short on time.

Whoa, that’s a lot.

Keep in mind too, that I said this was a hip issue. I was dealing with a lot of discomfort on my left side that would radiate through my hamstrings, and sometimes, on the days after I squatted, I’d feel a lot of discomfort on the side of my hip. 

Here is a prime example of why paying attention to total body mobility is important.

As it hit me in the seminar, there wasn’t anything wrong with my left hip. It was my right side, and generally upper body mobility. After doing all of those heavier bilateral lifts, after about 9 months of creating stiffness and imbalance, my body started to counteract the issue by shoving my hips to the left when I would squat, deadlift, bench, or row. Anything where I’d have two hands on something.

To compound the issue, I was running that way, cementing it. No wonder I hit a wall, and started to experience some discomfort. My whole left side was simply overworking to compensate for my right side's position.

Additionally, this isn’t to say that, “OMG, never touch a barbell again.” In fact, I’m borderline addicted to deadlifting.

But what I learned from this, is that you need to pay attention to the details. I didn’t work enough on my upper body mobility, and as a result, hit a point of diminishing returns. I simply wasn’t preparing the right way, and I won’t make excuses. Additionally, there usually is not one “cause” of something. It is the combination of factors that all come into play.

Flash forward, after addressing a ton of soft tissue work, t-spine mobility, shoulder flexion/extension on my right side, my hip is feeling a lot better. It’s funny that I didn’t pick up on it earlier, but as Biggie said, “If you don’t know, now you know.” So... sure, I was flexible enough to get into those positions, but because my mobility and ability to control them sucked, I developed sub par positioning. Eventually my body said ouch.  

So when you’re dealing with a bit of an issue, it’s okay ask questions that might not make sense. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked a client a question about something seemingly irrelevant, and had them turn their head in confusion like a velociraptor. If you can’t figure it out, find someone that can ask the right questions and help you. Don’t wait, and don’t suffer. Here are three suggestions:

What movements have I been doing or not doing lately?

Do I feel my mobility is limited in other areas?

Is this discomfort painful to the point that I need to get it checked out?

Don’t get focused on one approach or tactic and think that that will solve all of your aches and pains. It all matters. How you sleep, stand, lift, hydrate, eat, sit, etc. The brain responds to consistency; the brain likes habits; and the brain controls the body. The more you can put yourself in new positions and postures, the more you will be better suited to handle something high on the difficulty scale.

Constant movement and exploration kind of balances it all out.

Till next time,

RY