Help Pierre Help Haiti

Pierre Garcon

Call me crazy, but there are still times at 31 years old were I feel I can change the world.

And today just happens to be one of those days.

Several months ago, we ran a promotion here at Robertson Training Systems to encourage readers to purchase the LiftStrong CD-ROM.  This amazing product is over 800 pages of content, but more importantly, every single dime of the reveneus to to supporting cancer research.

In a little under a week, we raised $1,000 for cancer awareness.  I'm damn proud of that, but I think we can do even better.

Why I couldn't sleep last night...

While surfing the Internet last night, I came across an article written about Pierre Garçon, one of my favorite Indianapolis Colts football players. Garçon has many friends and family from the small country of Haiti. As many of you know, the country was recently devastated by a massive earthquake, leaving much of the country in a shambles. And Garçon was left to wonder if his friends and family were alive, with no way of contacting them.

While we often only hear about professional athletes when they're in the news for all the wrong reasons, it's great to see a young man such as Garçon use his platform to build awareness for Haiti and to help his country out in its time of need.

So today, I'm going to do my best to put my money where my mouth is.

The Offer

I often get inquiries about people who would like to do online training with me. However, they simply don't have the funds to do it for one reason or another. While I would love to train every single person imaginable, it's just not feasible for me any more. I'm running two businesses, have a beautiful wife and I enjoy spending time with, as well as many friends to boot.

I only have so many hours in the day, and therefore must put certain restrictions on my time. This is why you'll notice that my online training rate has gone up consistently over the years.

However, through Monday at midnight, I'm cutting my online training program fees in half! 

Taking it a step further, I'm going to take each and every dollar I receive from new online clients and donate that money to Pierre Garçon's Haiti relief fund.

Quite simply, if I can do anything to make a difference, I'm going to.

Now I'm really putting myself out there on this one. I have no clue if anyone is even going to take me up on this offer. But if you've ever considered working with me in an online fashion before, you're never going to see a deal like this one again.

Along those same lines, you'll have the additional understanding that your money is going to help support a great cause. I'm not keeping any of this money for myself, so it's just one small way I can hopefully make a difference.

I really feel like this is a win-win-win proposition for everyone involved.

The people of Haiti get money they can use to help rebuild their country.

You get to work me for literally half the price you would normally pay.

And I get the satisfaction of knowing I did something good that helped people out in their time of need.

Remember, this deal is only going to last through midnight on Monday. As well, I'm limiting it to the first FIVE people who contact me.  Like I said up front I'd love to work with everyone, but there are only so many hours in the day and I'm already spread thin!

Finally, I know that times are tough economically for many of us. With that being said, however, you can still make a difference even if you don't want to work with me. If this is something you're passionate about take just a minute or two out of your day and do one (or all!) of the following:

• Forward this link to your friends.
• Re-tweet it on Twitter.
• Post a link to my page on Facebook.

Anything we can do to spread the word and help inform people about what's going on can help make a difference.

As always, thank you so much for all your support over the years. I appreciate everything you've done for me, and hopefully our collective efforts will help make a difference to the people who have suffered so much in Haiti.

All the best

Mike

P.S. - If you're interested, shoot me an e-mail at mike@robertsontrainingsystems.com with the words "Haiti Relief Fund Training Program" as the subject.  Serious inquiries only. Thanks!

Comments (4)

Do Not Miss the Message

Dan John

I was doing my Podcast interview with Dan John yesterday, and we talked about one of his famous lines:

"If it's important, do it everyday."

While I've heard him say it (or write it) numerous times before, this was one of those light-bulb moments. 

Ponder this....

Dan is a firm believer that you should be front squatting or Goblet squatting every day.  He believes the squatting motion is something we need to consistently work on.

I know for many of my clients who are in chronic pain, or who have severe postural issues, I tell them to do their foam rolling, dynamic stretching, and activation exercises every single day.

I remember a few years ago when I attended a Z-Health seminar that founder Eric Cobb talked about performing some Z every day, too.

To the end-user, the question becomes "Who is right?  Whom should I listen to?"

This is the inherent problem, though! 

What ends up happening is you get so caught up in the medium, that you totally miss the message!

Instead of just picking one, they end up doing nothing.

I don't care if it's Goblet squats.

I don't care if it's foam rolling, dynamic stretching, and some activation exercises.

I don't care if it's Z-Health.

What we're all saying is that you should get up and move around every single day!

Doesn't that make it easier?

It's not about right and wrong.  We all agree that movement is important, but how we get from A-->B differs slightly.  All you have to do then is figure out whose system fits you best from a philosophical perspective.  (And for what it's worth, I've been implementing pieces and parts of all of the above into my daily routine.)

But please, don't miss the message because of the medium.  Getting up and moving every single day is one of those simple things that can improve your body, your mind and your spirit.

Now, please take a moment to stand up and move around a bit!

Stay strong

MR

Comments (1)

In the Trenches Fitness Podcast Testimonial

iTunes Podcasts

I received this testimonial a few days ago, and I figured it would be something worth posting.

I'm a personal trainer and a bit of a fitness podcast fanatic and I think your "In the trenches" podcast is outstanding!

I like that you keep it focused and to the point, some podcasts have too much meandering in them, and while entertaining, I don't have time to listen through an excessive amount of it. I don't mind a little bit of it, just don't want 15 minutes of stuff before the show actually gets to the matters at hand. :)

So thanks for giving great content by asking great questions and keeping  things "on point!" while still giving the show a conversational feel, that's a hard balance to achieve and you've accomplished it!

Take care,

Scott

If you haven't checked out In the Trenches Fitness yet, what are you waiting for?  I actually listen to Podcasts on my commute to work, during cardio, or even while relaxing before bed.

With upcoming interviews featuring Lou Schuler, Dan John, Mike Rousell, Sean Skahan and a host of others, "In the Trenches Fitness" will only get better with time.  Be sure to check it out!

All the best

Mike

P.S. - You can now subscribe to our feeds on both iTunes AND Podcast Alley.

Comments (1)

Weak Torso Society

Kettlebell Windmill

One of the consistent themes I see at IFAST when working with new clients is torso/core weakness.

(Really from this point forward, I'm going to use the term "trunk" versus "core."  It's much more all-encompassing, and doesn't have the negative connotations associated with the words "core training.")

It's pretty sad when you're getting young, healthy males that are physically unable to hold even the correct starting position for a front or side plank. 

Taking it a step further, keep in mind our "norms" for these tests are a 120 second front plank, and a 90 second side plank on each side.  And these guys can't even get into the appropriate positions to start the test!

What I see, primarily, are kids and adults alike who have grown up training on machines, or in more "stable" environments, without the many benefits of basic free weight exercises.  The myth that they only need to train one body part per day has led to a situation where one entire workout is done laying on their back (chest), another workout includes every isolative shoulder raise known to man (shoulders), and of course, you can forget arm day!

While it may not be the only influence, starting your training off like this has drastic side-effects.  Eventually, what you end up seeing is this body that looks great from the waist down, and possibly even better from the chest up, but there's nothing in-between to tie them all together! 

It's as if there's a collection of body parts that, aesthetically, may look quite appealing. 

But when asked to work together as a cohesive unit, however, they often aren't up to the task at hand.

Ask this guy (or gal) to front squat, and they curl up in the fetal position.

Have them try and perform a push-up and their low back sags so low their hips touch the ground.

Quite simply, their torso strength is not on par with the rest of their body!

To counteract this, try creating workouts that are constantly challenging the torso in conjunction with the rest of the body.  Here are a couple ideas to get you started:

1 - Take away the torso support.

Don't include any bench press variations or rowing variations where the torso receives external support.  Instead, it's only push-ups, inverted rows and similar exercises until trunk strength and stability gets up to snuff.

2 - Use more offset loads in your workout. 

One of my new favorites is a kettlebell offset front squat, where you only get to hold a weight in one hand.  This really cranks up the need for torso stabilization, while concomitantly reducing the load.  In actuality, any lower extremity exercise where you use an offset load is probably superior for the time being!

A few months before Dan John's DVD's came out, we were already including more farmers carries, Waiter's walks, etc., due to the research by Stuart McGill on the topic.  Not only can offset loading increase trunk stability, but they work the hip stabilizers hard as well.

3 -Don't forget the isolative work to get you started.

You must include some isolative torso/trunk/"core" traning in your program. Like any limiting factor, it needs its own time within a program to be addressed.  I'm all for re-integrating new-found strength and stability back into movement patterns, but isolative training is necessary to build basic strength and stability.

Here's the key: Until the torso is no longer the limiting factor, you don't have any business continuing to grow the prime movers in isolation!

I'm curious, though:  Have you guys and gals seen this as well?

And if so, what changes are you all making to your programming to correct these issues?

I look forward to any and all comments below!

Stay strong

MR

Comments (9)