Or, “Proper Deadlift Form”. Keep everything aligned and you’ll be well on your way to building stronger legs, back, chest, shoulders, hands, and, well, everything else.
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
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Category Archives: Strength Training
No Deadlifting at Planet Fitness
Slate is just the most recent to do a piece on Planet Fitness’s “Judgement-Free Zone Philosophy” designed to help “members can relax, get in shape, and have fun without being subjected to the hard-core, look-at-me attitude that exists in too many gyms.”
I can’t say I disagree with the notion that the current business model for gyms needs rethinking. It’s actually refreshing to hear the Planet Fitness CEO says “We’ll be the only fitness chain that can say we’ll never try to sell you personal training. A lot of people will say we are dead wrong with this historic move. But the world was flat once, and who the hell needs a friend for 50 bucks an hour?” And at roughly $15 per month for members, the price is absolutely right.
Here’s one of their commercials. (I get the joke, but I still find it ridiculous.)
Though I will say this to CEO Mike Grondahl: Keeping bowls of candy at the front counter and doing “Pizza Monday” promotions makes me question this guy’s sincerity. At once he slams big-box gyms for preying on people by actively selling memberships to people they know/hope won’t come (they do) and then preys on his members by encouraging junk food?
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with pizza every once in a while, but I would never expect to be served a beer at an AA meeting. It’s just not the place for it. I don’t expect Piece to install squat racks and treadmills, and I don’t expect Symmetry Center to serve pizza and beer.
But my biggest issue with Planet Fitness? No deadlifting. Here’s why:
Aside from walking, the Deadlift might be the most basic and common of humans’ mutli-joint movements. Learning how to properly brace your spine while you go down and get something off of the ground is essential to longevity and optimal health. How many times per day do you pick something up? How many times in your life will you pick up a moving box? A pet? A child?
Not everyone wants to be as strong as is possible and not everyone needs to. And relatively few people in the gym are actually working on that. Whether they know it or not, guess what they’re working on?
Movement preparation.
Whether you’re at the gym to lose a few pounds, to get a little stronger, to get a few seconds faster, or just because you’re told to exercise for optimal health, if you’re there doing strength training with proper form through a full range of motion, you are training movements. All of the other benefits are secondary to learning how to move properly.
So if you don’t think you’ll be picking up anything off of the floor any time soon, go ahead and join Planet Fitness. Great price, free pizza, no grunting, and it’s “Judgement Free” (as if such a place/thing actually exists).
But if you ever plan on moving or having kids, you should be deadlifting.
(Disclaimer: I absolutely do think a good trainer is worth $50+ an hour. Obviously. Here’s why. If you want experience it firsthand, contact me and come in for a free workout. If you’re unconvinced, I’ll point you to the nearest Planet Fitness.)
For the Ladies: Lifting Heavy Weights Will Not Make You Scary
From Blisstree:
I spend four days per week in a gym; on days off, I pine to be there. I lift hundreds of pounds, sport smeary chalk prints on my sweat-soaked clothes and listen to cacophonous music at dangerously loud levels when I train. I attack large, bloody-rare steaks like a caveman. Am I a 275-pound shaved-headed dude with my bench total dangling as a charm from a gold chain around my thick neck?
Nope. I’m a 100-pound 30-something female food writer who has fallen in love with powerlifting.
What Can Strength Training Do For You?
We know it helps us get Strong. We know it helps walk up a flight or two of stairs. Maybe strength training makes us a little faster, a little more alert. Strength training improves our health.
But how? Health is such a vague term. “Health” might mean a hundred very different things to a hundred very different people. It’s both a general feeling and a specific condition. And countless things in between. So what are some of the specifics?
Structural/Boundary/Membranes:
- Decreases age-related sarcopenia
- Decreases injuries and falling
- Decreases pain by stimulating endorphins
Inflammation:
Hormones and Neurotransmitters:
- Improves insulin sensitivity
- Decreases body fat
- Facilitiates weight loss
- Decreases risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes
- Reduces stress
- Increases growth hormone
- Increases testosterone
Psychological Equilibrium:
- Improves mood, depression, and anxiety (Strength Training has been shown that it may be at least as effective as many antidepressants)
- Again – Reduces stress (leading to improved attitude and outlook)
Detoxification and Biotransformation:
- Augments lymphatic flow, sweating, and metallothioneins (“capture” free radicals)
Digestion, Absorption, and Barrier Integrity:
- May improve colon motility (Better poops!)
- May improve digestion by decreasing stress
Immune Surveillance:
- May improve immunity to viral infections
- May improve sleep
- May improve overall immune function
That’s straight from the Institute of Functional Medicine – a group that’s exploring new territory by researching and “training practitioners to identify and heal the underlying clinical imbalances of chronic disease, creating momentum toward health.”
I’m guessing they had to throw in so many “May”s for legal reasons, but ask anyone who has been strength training regularly for a prolonged period of time and they’ll tell you there’s no “May” about these points. I get sick less often, have more energy, and more focused and balanced, and while it may not always reduce the stress we impose on ourselves while we’re out making friends, enjoying Chicago, or paying the bills, Strength Training certainly helps to manage the stress.
Tangible health and intangible health, all for about 2 hours a week of High Intensity Strength Training (2-3 sessions).
Sounds hard to beat. Contact me to get started!
Starting Strength Infographic
Monday Motivation
Infographic: How Muscle Contraction Works
Solid, Beginner Programming Visualized
If you’re training alone, Stronglifts (or Starting Strength) are great programs for learning big lifts, your first round of Getting Strong, and feeling comfortable in the gym. Basic, to the point, with all of the focus on the Big Lifts.
Beyond that, I highly encourage everyone to find a training partner, and unless you’re just going for brute strength and mass (read: not very many of us), have your partner train you through the workout (for time – but safely!!!) and then have them train you. Once you’ve graduated to that (entry-level HIT), check out the resources page for the next big steps.
And if you’re looking for body recomposition, IF and HIIT are your friends.
If you want to know more, contact me at criticalmasspt@gmail.com
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
Or, “Proper Deadlift Form”. Keep everything aligned and you’ll be well on your way to building stronger legs, back, chest, shoulders, hands, and, well, everything else.
No Deadlifting at Planet Fitness
Slate is just the most recent to do a piece on Planet Fitness’s “Judgement-Free Zone Philosophy” designed to help “members can relax, get in shape, and have fun without being subjected to the hard-core, look-at-me attitude that exists in too many gyms.”
I can’t say I disagree with the notion that the current business model for gyms needs rethinking. It’s actually refreshing to hear the Planet Fitness CEO says “We’ll be the only fitness chain that can say we’ll never try to sell you personal training. A lot of people will say we are dead wrong with this historic move. But the world was flat once, and who the hell needs a friend for 50 bucks an hour?” And at roughly $15 per month for members, the price is absolutely right.
Here’s one of their commercials. (I get the joke, but I still find it ridiculous.)
Though I will say this to CEO Mike Grondahl: Keeping bowls of candy at the front counter and doing “Pizza Monday” promotions makes me question this guy’s sincerity. At once he slams big-box gyms for preying on people by actively selling memberships to people they know/hope won’t come (they do) and then preys on his members by encouraging junk food?
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with pizza every once in a while, but I would never expect to be served a beer at an AA meeting. It’s just not the place for it. I don’t expect Piece to install squat racks and treadmills, and I don’t expect Symmetry Center to serve pizza and beer.
But my biggest issue with Planet Fitness? No deadlifting. Here’s why:
Aside from walking, the Deadlift might be the most basic and common of humans’ mutli-joint movements. Learning how to properly brace your spine while you go down and get something off of the ground is essential to longevity and optimal health. How many times per day do you pick something up? How many times in your life will you pick up a moving box? A pet? A child?
Not everyone wants to be as strong as is possible and not everyone needs to. And relatively few people in the gym are actually working on that. Whether they know it or not, guess what they’re working on?
Movement preparation.
Whether you’re at the gym to lose a few pounds, to get a little stronger, to get a few seconds faster, or just because you’re told to exercise for optimal health, if you’re there doing strength training with proper form through a full range of motion, you are training movements. All of the other benefits are secondary to learning how to move properly.
So if you don’t think you’ll be picking up anything off of the floor any time soon, go ahead and join Planet Fitness. Great price, free pizza, no grunting, and it’s “Judgement Free” (as if such a place/thing actually exists).
But if you ever plan on moving or having kids, you should be deadlifting.
(Disclaimer: I absolutely do think a good trainer is worth $50+ an hour. Obviously. Here’s why. If you want experience it firsthand, contact me and come in for a free workout. If you’re unconvinced, I’ll point you to the nearest Planet Fitness.)
Critical Mass Personal Training 