yeah i know im not updating my blog as much as I should but thats the way the cookie crumbles. half the time when i think up something great to blog about and get all fired up im nowhere near my computer to get my rant off of my chest.

speaking of my computer…my hard drive has crashed for the 5th f’ing time. when the hell are they going to wise the f’ up and realize they gave me a lemon comp?

and hell they aren’t the only ones that need wising up…which brings me to my next couple points

earlier this year when I needed a new place to hold my kettlebell classes. i ended up finding a wellness studio that had classes like belly dancing, hot yoga and pole dancing as their flagship classes. one of the things that drew me to it was that females are my main market in fat loss since they are the ones that typically seek out trainers. i posted signs about what it is i have to offer including some of my instructor reviews saying things like “I went down a dress size in a month” and “I didn’t fit in my wedding dress because I went down 4 dress sizes when I only needed 3″ and “I lost 12lbs so far.”

I would have thought the results I got for people would sell themselves. But I guess real results are secondary to entertainment.

Now don’t get me wrong. I had a small but loyal following there praising my classes up, down left and right. One of the girls who followed my classes pretty nearly every session also did the belly dancing classes including some of the shows. When you do the shows your belly is exposed (it is belly dancing after all). Her belly was exposed and everybody was complimenting her on her abs and the results she got. She told them it was from my class and how much she enjoyed it and said they should join too. Did they do it?

Nope. They took one look at my kettlebells and didn’t want to do it. It was suggested that I change it to be a more cardio oriented class. First off kettlebell swings have been described as lung searing cardio. If I was to make it a different kind of cardio (aerobics) it wouldn’t be effective. To me training that isn’t effective is wrong…and for me to change it to that for the sake of a better dollar would be selling out.

and remember what I said…never surrender…not even in the face of annihilation.

meanwhile the dance exercise classes are cleaning house…and yet doesn’t generate real results. You want entertainment…fine it works, but if you want results train better. or i am right again

Like I said…”they are doing it wrong”

but they aren’t the only ones.

I sat in on a martial arts class at that mma gym where I run classes. You might have remembered Frank Mir being there from a previous post.

Now I have always loved martial arts. Wanting to be better at it led me to training, which led me to being a personal trainer and even though it ended up pulling me away from martial arts the kettlebells have given me the bug to start doing it again.

So I am watching a Judo class (one I was a green belt in about 8 years ago) I am watching them practicing their ground game. I overhear one of them say to the other this precious bit of advice

“Use his strength against him.”

Right…as if its that simple. Try that on Brock Lesnar and let me know how that works out for ya. Ok back to reality. That particular expression grates me since I am a strength and conditioning coach. First off its out of context. It shoudl be “use his momentum against him” not strength.

Second off a lot of martial artists don’t take their strength seriously. They are in the “all you need is technique” camp. Now if that were true then as my comrade Master RKC Dave Whitley pointed out to me, there would be no need for weight classes in anything. I would also like to add that there would be no point to testing for steroids in mma as well.

It doesn’t matter how perfect your technique is if you don’t have the strength to pull it off. Royce Gracie was legendary for being a small guy beating on big guys in the octagon but he took his strength seriously because he understood this. Bruce Lee (the quintessential martial artist imho) was known for constantly strength training, because he understood this. Both were also big into conditioning because you are going to need staying power if you aren’t able to defeat them immediately or if you have multiple matches.

Now as for the martial artists. They haven’t really taken me on as a strength coach because they don’t believe in what I have to offer or they don’t really understand it. In any case they are leaving it up to chance because if their level of martial arts skill is equal to their opponent but their opponent is stronger or better conditioned….well you can probably guess what that leads to. And if you don’t believe strength is a component… then when it comes to training…yer doing it wrong.

Eric Moss out

Related posts:

1. How To Flatten Your Belly And Why Everyone Is Doing It Wrong
2. kettlebells versus bodybuilding and martial arts
3. ultimate fighter thoughts 10/23/08