Motivation

Some people hire trainers because they genuinely need help developing a well-suited, results-based, interesting, and effective program. More commonly, however, I find people hire me because they lack serious motivation. They know the basics, they're generally happy with their fitness level - but they can't seem to find the time/energy/reasons to get to the gym unless they make that appointment and financial commitment to have somebody breathing down their neck either literally or figuratively. Same goes for the people who can't seem to generate enough chutzpah to get up the last rep on a tough set. The mere presence of somebody you're accountable to helps you find that last bit of an ounce of oomph to get it up one more time.

People are motivated both by fear (I don't want to get fat, I don't want to be the last kid picked in dodgeball, I don't want a jiggly ass, etc.) or they are motivated by desire (I want abs like that guy, I want to feel stronger, I want to look good naked - even in flourescent lighting).

So I am sitting here in the middle of (one of) New York's gay meccas sipping on an iced venti unsweetened green tea. I'm avoiding doing work for school and instead I'm staring out the window. So many hot guys are out on the street today. The warmer weather really brings out the boys -- and in this hood, with at least three major gyms within a 3 block radius you get to see a lot of nice shoulders, arms, and legs. Ok ok, so you see a lot of people that you wish would go home and put on a snowsuit and/or walk around the back of the building - but still the good ones are worth waiting for the not-so-good ones to walk on by for sure.

Right now, walking by we have a dark-haired, medium-muscular guy in light blue mesh gym shorts, a sleeveless navy shirt, and blue nike shox. Now this, this is what I call motivation.

I never feel ugly until I sit at a Starbucks in a good old-fashioned, homespun gayborhood. How many cute guys can there really be wearing gym shorts and cute sneakers? You'd be surprised. How many well-filled tank tops or t-shirt sleeves pulled tight by awesome biceps can you see on any given afternoon? A lot. This is the kind of thing that gets me all riled up. When I'm working out I just keep my mind on the material, superficial, shallow pressure of life in gay New York. That's always good for getting me to do at least one more heavy set and another half hour of cardio.

Does this mean I'm just part of the aforementioned soul-less, shallow, superficial, body-obsessed gay clan? I don't think so, and I surely hope not. However I do remember being confused one birthday when my friend Michael gave me a copy of The Adonis Complex. Yet still, I refuse to believe I've sunk to that point.

For me it's all in good fun. I like working out, a lot. And yes, I do like eating celery more than I like eating chocolate. But the gym, and sweating -- that's what I do when I want to relax and that's the single best way for me to get out of a funk, in the mood for "love", and able to think clearly. Do I like the cosmetic results - I sure do, but only because I like to see progress. That's why it's fun to work with other people who have a goal in mind. The before and after pictures are an amazing artifact. The rest of the superficial crap is just a game - and who likes to lose at games? I don't. I lived my whole childhood with an overly competitive brother who kept Monopoly money hidden in his wallet so he could later use it to win the game.

Also, it's fun to have control over something. So much of my life feels dictated by other people: professors, bosses, parents, clients - but my body - that's something I get to play with and change. I like that.

That's why I was really brought back to reality recently by a comment made by "anonymous" to an earlier post. He said:

Gym? What's a gym?
I'm neither your first shower stall exhibitionist nor a locker room predator. I haven't been in a gym since I was forced into going back in high school (more years ago than I'd like to remember). Back then, I could easily have become hooked except that I was the brunt of serious torment. I was the non-athletic, bright, scrawny geek in my small town HS class. Worse, my peers figured out I was gay long before I even knew what gay was.

And so, today, I'm a shy couch potato, admiring serious brawn from afar, wishing that just once, one of the muscled gods I so worship would take me by the hand and teach me the ropes.

I think what bothered me most was how much I could relate to what he said. I hated gym class in high school and I avoided it at all costs. There was a moment in adulthood when things changed for me but I am still sometimes plagued with the same self--doubt that I felt when I was in the lockerroom looking at the most athletic kid in the school. I wasn't like him and I never conceived that I could be. Today he's an overweight, lazy, has-been. Everybody starts somewhere, and once the motivation kicks into a high gear - the sky is the limit. I just want Anonymous and the many guys like him to know that we're all a lot more alike than we are different. I say to Anonymous -- hire a trainer, a nice, understanding, qualified one. Oh, look at that - I have an opening next week.

Building Bulging Biceps

So I'm enjoying the streak of uncharacteristically beautiful weather here in New York sipping down a delicious homemade whey-protein packed smoothie and with every sip I take I feel a little something in my right bicep. It's that perfect tinge of tightness and soreness that follows a great bout of hitting the weights. I love that feeling.

So why did I hit the biceps so hard yesterday? I guess it had something to do with Saturday night. After a party uptown I headed down to Barracuda with a friend from school, we'll call her Takie, and her gay boyfriend from L.A., let's call him Sonander. It was the usual packed to the max (which I like) scene of regular chill guys peppered with more than a few twinky types and the occasional freak show or two.

Soon after we arrived, a rather plain looking blond guy decides to put the moves on a beefy Canadian standing near the three of us. The conversation between the two guys was hysterical because the Canadian clearly had no interest in blondie. After the Canadian brought up the War of 1812 as an example of moments when the Canadians (then British) kicked Americans ass by burning down Washington D.C., the blond guy left. So much for friendly US/Canada relations, eh?

With the new vacancy, Sonander got excited. He was really into this guy's arms. He had a sort of lumberjack build but really wasn't packing nicely defined arms in my opinion. He did make good wardrobe choices, his shirt sleeves extra snug and extra short. Regardless, my competitive side kicked in and I couldn't believe that Mr. Mapleleaf's undefined mass of thickness (um, his arms people - get your mind out of the gutter) was getting top billing in the nice arms department.

That led me to thinking about arms and the different things people want from their own arms and the arms of the people who will be hugging them at night. Therefore, today the focus is on biceps and somewhere down the road I'll get to triceps and forearms. Here goes.

First and foremost - technique matters. Poor form during bicep exercises is one of the most frequent things I see at the gym, in fact you're more likely to see a dude doing bad bicep curls than you are to see guys cruising. Too many guys stack on weight they can't control and end up using their lower back and shoulders to heave up weight. DO NOT sacrifice technique ever - but DO push yourself. Your bicep controls movement that brings your forearm toward your shoulder; so, unless you're doing compound exercises to target larger muscles in addition to your biceps, your elbow will be stationary because it serves as the grounding point for movement. The best illustration of this point is optimum performance on the preacher curl (pictured).

The bottom line: Your form matters much much more than your ego.

Second, isolation training is not the only answer for building bigger biceps. A lot of guys come from the school of thought that concentrated, bicep-isolating exercises are the best approach. While they do target the muscle - oftentimes compound exercises actually produce better results. A compound exercise is anything that includes an additional joint motion with that of a traditional curl, such as a close grip pull down (which works the lats and the biceps) or even a row (which works the rhomboids, mid-traps, rear delts, and biceps). The reason compound exercises work are because they cause your body to send out a distress signal that then allows for anabolic hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone to be called into action.

The bottom line: Combine isolation/concentrated bicep exercises with compound exercises.

Secondly, using supersets will also stimulate growth. A superset is just a combination of back-to-back exercises with no rest in between. You can do any method of supersets (same muscle group, opposing muscles, upper body/lower body, etc.) but the one I suggest for your biceps are same muscle group supersets. For example you will go from a standing barbell curl (12 reps) directly to dumbbell hammer curls (12 reps) without resting. Follow that up with 60 seconds of rest and increase the weight slightly and repeat this time with 10 reps, and the 3rd set with slightly heavier with 8 reps. The fourth and final set should be your starting weight and back to 12 reps. This alone should give you a good tingle. Mix in a compound set at the beginning and end of the superset and you have a kick ass bicep workout that will cause all tickets to your gun show to be sold out.

The bottom line: Supersets make you feel the burn.

Finally, as with any muscle development, what you eat matters. When you eat is just as important as what you eat. If you're looking for bigger biceps, you need to feed those puppies as soon as you walk about the gym door. Load up on lean protein or a nice whey protein smoothie. No muscle, and certainly no sexy arms, can be gained through the MaryKate and Ashley Diet so grab that chicken breast and start eating.

The Bigger Bulging Bicep Builder
Try this workout as part of your normal routine (1 time through) or as a stand alone bicep building session (2 - 3 times through).
1. close-grip pull up (with assisted pull up machine if needed) 6 - 8 reps
rest up to 1 minute
2. Superset: standing barbell curl 10-12 reps, dumbbell hammer curl 10-12 reps. Complete 3 supersets - rest 1 minute between each set.
3. Close-grip lat pull down (use this handle) 10-12 reps.
rest up to 1 minute
4. Concentrated (one arm at a time) cable bicep curl 10-12 reps.
repeat, rest, then eat

The Italian

Today I did a free introductory session with an Italian guy. By Italian guy, I don't mean Italian-looking or Italian ancestry, I mean Italian as in he just moved to New York from Northern Italy. My own ancestry traces back to Italy so I have a weak spot for my ancient brethren. From the neck up, this recent migrant did not disappoint, he had dark hair, dark eyes, good teeth and a nice light perma-tan. Below the neck it was a different story, this guy was a fixer-upper.

For the record, the guy pictured on the right is pretty much perfect pedigree Northern Italian and he's included here in this post just because I think it's important with a fitness themed blog to keep your mind focused on the prize you win when you work out intelligently and diligently - and that prize is a smokin' hot bod like that.

Back to the story . . . Something about The Italian's accent made the session more fun than usual for me. Couple that with the fact that he hasn't worked out in 6 months and you have an hour or so of making him feel muscles he's not felt in a long, long time. Those are the types of sessions that are really fun for me because it feels more like teaching than anything else and when you just meet somebody they're pretty open to trying anything and everything.

Things were going along great, I got a pretty good assessment on him, his abs were burning, his arms were a little shaky, and I gave him a nice good stretch at the end. It was a storybook session and I was stoked - 3 of my main clients are out of the country and I needed to generate some new biz. In perfect scenario form, as we fished up he started talking about "our next session."

In order to have a next session however he has to buy a package. That's the part of the free session I hate the most - I mean yeah, training seems expensive but the value is pretty hard to beat. I pretty much never talk about selling anything because I find it annoying and offensive. If they want it (and after trying me out they usually want it) then they'll come to that part on their own.

My Italian buddy was talking about what days would be best for him to train and I just kept listening, waiting for the right moment to talk about session packages. Eventually, I just come out and ask him if there is a big event (other than just bathing suit season) for which he wanted to get into top shape. Yeah, there was. He wants to get ready for his trip back home to Italy to see his girlfriend. Alright, that's perfect. With 20 sessions he'd be well on his way. I slipped out the pricing sheet and he looked at me as if I had 3 heads or that he had to poop really badly. "What's zis? I thou a trainer is included with gym." At that very moment I knew it wasn't going to go my way. Regardless of how badly he wants and needs a trainer, he was seriously blown away by the fact that you pay for a gym and you pay for a trainer. That led to a discussion about New York City's prices, Starbucks, and George Bush. So there it was, a good 90 minutes down the toilet -- and I made zero dollars today.

Textin' the Trainer, Vol. 1

As you could probably assume, and as GQ so deftly remarked recently, the client-trainer relationship can get pretty intimate. At times it is pretty intense, and, when things are really going well the client feels obligated and committed to their trainer. After a while if the client isn't keeping up their end of the rigorous, but oh-so-fun deal, guilt sets in. Trainers get paid to check up on their clients, and over time clients are trained to simply divulge all their indiscretions. Sometimes, clients divulge a lot more . . .

Here's a text from a long-term client: "I had a skinny latte. Is that ok?"
Anybody know the answer? It's a toss-up, sure coffee isn't the best thing for the fitness minded chap, but some would argue the resultant caloric burn from the caffeine outweighs its negative impact (that's debatable but since I nearly own stock in Starbucks I say - drink up). A good rule to follow however is to never drink your calories, it's just way too easy to rack up some damage - and yes, even a skinny latte has some calories, a grande packs in about 130. Not sooo bad, but still - if your goal is say . . . a nude beach, choose straight up raw coffee.

This is the kind of text I love getting: "Shoulders and chest sore. Opening doors and pushing boxes are a small problem. Feels good though."

Now these texts all come from a recent client, who, consequently had no desire to get a trainer. As you read you'll see he's got other motives.

• "If u get me to focus in my breath and not in ur sexy shorts at the end of the "package" ... maybe I'll pay u a cab . . . or a dinner ;-)"

• "Lets say my xgirlfriend is a trainer either so if i only wanted to learn new exercises she could send me an email with a whole new workout . . . for free"

To which I responded by asking, "then why are you spending all this money?"

"2 have u wearing ur sexy shorts around me 4 one hour a week . . "

• "u punish me with those workouts, u get me horny . . . WHERE'S MY HAPPY ENDING! cant deal with it anymore"

Your Butt: An Owner's Guide

I'm willing to wager that you're sitting on your butt right now. An average of 27% of Americans get no physical activity outside of walking to and from cars or to the fridge for some chicken wings and a beer.

Granted, my fellow New Yorkers are more likely to be walking further differences and up more flights of stairs, but still, we sit on our asses like we're hens in a pen waiting for our eggs to hatch. For all of you who work in offices, your occupational hazard is the chair and it's putting you at the greatest risk for a butt crisis.

If that doesn't compel you to get up and move around (after you finish reading the blog) then maybe the explanation I give to my clients will inspire you.

Here's the deal, your largest butt muscle (the Gluteus Maximus (G-Max) extends your hip joint. Sitting flexes your hip joint. So with every second that you sit, your major butt muscle is getting stretched and stretched.

Sigh.

I like clients to imagine a piece of elastic. That elastic is like your ass. The constant stretching eventually causes it to lose its ability to return to its original shape. At this point, clients typically have a look of horror on their faces, their hands slowly moving to squeeze their once taut, early 20s, perky ass that has now become soft and droopy. And while we're at it, a nice ass isn't just for women. Guys are always asking me for tips with their ass.

Alright that's one reason you may be the victim of a butt crisis. But there is more bad news. The muscle that helps to give your butt that nice sculpted look is the Gluteus Medius (G-Med) which is responsible for hip abduction (moving your leg away from your body laterally). The most prolific vision of hip abduction is none other than Miss Jane Fonda. Unfortunately, we are always moving forward. The G-Med is one of the most ignored muscles on our body, and it is an important one for keeping your legs in optimum alignment as well as for the obvious cosmetic benefits that come from a firm tush.

By this point you should be sufficiently concerned about your derriere's appearance. The other things to consider are the real responsibilities of that huge-ass (pun intended) muscle group. A strong g-max is pretty much mandatory when it comes to reducing lower back pain. A weakened G-Max causes a tilt in your pelvis that might look like an overly arched lower back. It may look good when you're dancing in a Beyoncé video but the bottom line is that eventually your back is going to hurt and soon you won't be able to straighten out your posture. Couple that with osteoporosis in a few years and you're as good as immobile. Forever.

Ok, ok, I overstated the case - but only a little.

All this hysteria about the great hind-end crisis, what are we to do? How about an Ass-Kickin' Workout or two? Try 3 of my favorite butt exercises below, or if you're ass is more likely to win a SAG award than Helen Mirren or Jennifer Hudson then check email me at DashboardG2 at mac.com for a complete Butt Blaster, Tush Toner, Hiney Helper workout I designed for beginners and/or one for the more advanced.

Stability and Endurance: The Bridge
Bridging begins on your back, your arms at your sides, ankles directly under the knees.
As you exhale you will engage your glutes (and of course draw in your abdomen) while you lift your pelvis toward the ceiling.
You are aiming to create a straight line from your knees to your shoulders, keeping your glutes activated the entire time. Hold this position for 30-60 seconds, rest for a moment, and repeat at least 6 times.
Advance the bridge by trying it with one leg at a time.
Keeping your pelvis level as it rises, straighten one leg while keeping your knees in line with each other.
Further advance the bridge by incorporating a stability ball.
Place your heels at the crest of the ball and press your pelvis upward.
This too can be done with one leg at a time. The opportunities are limitless I tell ya!

Strength and Stability: Ball Hamstring Curl (slightly advanced)
Assume the bridge position using a stability ball by placing your heels at the crest of the ball and pressing your pelvis toward the ceiling.
Exhale while activating your glutes, pressing your pelvis upward and pulling the ball toward your body. You must aim to keep a straight line (the entire time) between your knees and your shoulders. The final destination is pictured.
Slowly return the ball to the starting position, repeat 6-12 times.

Shaping and Toning: Lateral band Walking *
You want to get your hands on small power bands or track them down at your gym. If they don't have any - demand that they get some. There are various degrees of resistance, but each one serves some purpose.
The band will go around your ankles for this exercise.
You will stand up straight, exhale as you move your leg away from the other leg and step to the side. Keep your tush tucked in naturally as you do this.
Try moving 4 steps to the right and then 4 steps to the right. Repeat until you have moved 24 steps.
Try both keeping your knee extended and also with your legs in a slightly bent position.
For an added total-body bonus, toss in some lightweight dumbbell shoulder presses as you step.
After each set of 24 steps, rest for 30 seconds. Repeat 3-5 times. Your butt will be burning.

*If you don't have any bands, you can still do this same thing with ankle weights, or laying on your side and lifting your leg up away from the other (see Jane Fonda above). Keep your foot flexed and your knee extended. Complete the full range of motion, do this 25 times, roll over and repeat. Rest, and do it all again.

At the very least - incorporate bridging into your workout. That, or just get up and walk. Whenever you are moving your legs your butt is what pulls your leg under your pelvis, so squeeze your ass when you walk sometimes as if you're minting a coin - do it at least a few minutes a day and you'll see some differences in no time - or you'll have minted enough money to buy yourself a pair of pants in a larger size - eeek! Even worse - you may have to buy one of these to distract from your jiggly-ness.

So you have finished reading the post, now you can read some other entries, leave a comment, or shoot me an email - but within the next 3 minutes you better be off your duff and movin' that booty.

Handling Love . . . Handles

Alright, so there is a guy I often see at the gym (one where I workout, not the one where I work) and he is constantly grabbing his lower back. He's not grabbing in a way that suggests "oh wow, my lower back really hurts," instead, he's grabbing in a way that suggests he hates his body. He winces and frowns and runs with his hands on his lower back as if he's trying to hide them from everybody in the gym.

For some reason this really bothers me.

I see this kid at the gym almost every single night and I each time I see him looking at himself in the mirror grabbing at his "love handles." He seems frustrated and obsessed with it. Here is what I can ascertain from a distance:

• he wants to lose body fat
• he works out at least five times a week
• he does at least 30 minutes of cardio on 3 of those days
• he incorporates resistance training
• he's gay (it's relevant because it likely causes unrealistic expectations about his body)

So from my limited data, he's doing a good job at his own battle - he is highly motivated and has a goal in mind, things trainers love to see in their own clients. However, he could switch up a couple of things in order to get better and faster results:

First, we must admit that there are some things about our bodies that we can't change. We're given a frame and there is nothing you can do at the gym to change it. You can however, make the most of what you're given. Obsessing about it actually makes it nearly impossible to change it. Even when this kid has zero fat, he is still going to think and believe he has those pesky love handles, which consequently on him are not that bad at all.

Second, cardio is key to losing fat but more effective when accompanied with some resistance training on different days. The weekly general rule for working up a sweat is 3 days to feel good, 5 days to look good. However, cardio doesn't just mean jumping on the treadmill or elliptical for 30 minutes. To fight some wicked fat and to kick your cardio ass try doing radical intervals that alternate between 70 and 85% of your maximum heart rate (If you want help figuring this out, let me know). I suggest 2 minutes at the low end followed by 1 minute at the high end. Same rule applies if you're on the rower (which I prefer over the others), or the ultimate cardio experience -- the VersaClimber.

Third, this kid does "work out" with weights. That's good because we all know that the more muscle you have - the more calories you burn during rest. But since he clearly wants to lose some extra weight he should be engaged in a nice little circuit jumping from set to set with no rest. So instead of spending 20 minutes doing a few sets of dramatic bench presses and dumbbell flys he would be better served going from a press to a row to a fly to a reverse fly to a pull down to a shoulder press several times at a medium weight followed by a similar circuit for the lower body and abs. After a few weeks of doing this three times a week - he'll be happy.

So I see this kid pretty much every night but have never talked to him. I feel funny just going up to people at the gym. No matter how sly it would seem like a pick up and that's not my intent. Last night he was there with two other guys (which really slowed down his already slow workout). One guy left and gave him a kiss before doing so . . . only in New York will you see two guys kissing on the floor of a gym. Ok, ok so this gym is in the Village so I guess it's safe to say it's to be expected.

Your Chest and Hips just want to be Free

Alright friends, so I have to devote at least some space to actual fitness knowledge. For today I'll hold back on the many sordid tales of lockerroom debauchery and blurry boundaries of the personal trainer realm.

Today's focus is on the part of the body most mentioned when I first meet somebody interested in training: their midsection. Abs, tummy, belly - you know the place. It's the single most featured part of the body on the faceless profile pics that closeted guys use online and it's the site on most people's body where so much war is waged on fat that it makes the actual Battle of the Bulge seem minor in comparison.

There is a lot to say about this part of the body but today's focus is on that region's ability to move. Your chest and hips are not one unit, they are independent chunks of your body - but so much we do limits our flexibility between the two. Most people are just huge stiffies - what I am asking you to do is to increase the range of motion that your chest has, independent of your hips. The primary muscles involved are your Transverse Abdominus for stability and your Internal and External Obliques for movement and strength.

Before even thinking about this concept you should have mastered the "drawing in" maneuver. You'll need to be able to engage your Transverse Abdominus, an ultra thin but wide belt-like muscle that basically holds in your guts. It's the deepest layer of the "core" muscle group and it's responsible for providing the stability and erect humanoid posture we've been into since we tossed off the whole ape scene eons ago.

Let's try something. Sit up nice and tall in your chair, feet flat on the floor shoulder width apart. Exhale a nice long breath and pull that belly button back toward your spine and press your lower back closer to the back of the chair. Now do it again, but this time -- don't let your chest move down, keep your shoulders and chest nice and tall - you should feel like your abs are stretching long while tightening closer. Ideally you'll also feel a slight pull on your pelvis. Hold this position for the entire time you exhale, then relax just that midsection while you inhale. Do this for a minute or so. Come on - nobody will know you're doing it - it's ok to have good posture.

Alright. So keeping that in mind - I want you to lift your arms up as if you were hugging somebody. Clasp your hands together. Check to see that your shoulders are not rising. Now inhale and twist to the right, keeping your hips squared front and your feet on the floor. Exhale and twist back to the front, pulling your belly button back like we did a minute ago. Repeat on the left.

This is an important stretch and core development exercise. Once you have done it seated, you can do it on the ground but this time keeping your shoulder/chest complex stationary while you move your hips from side to side, commonly known as the Hip Crossover.

This is a "pre-hab" exercise that serves as a good warmup for some hardcore ab exercises. As we get older we get stiffer - and your ability to move your chest independent of your hips allows you greater performance, reduces lower back pain, and allows you to work those sexy oblique muscles that run diagonally across your midsection.

For any advanced readers, I suggest the side plank twist to achieve these same results - increased stability of the pillar and increased strength and movement in the obliques. The picture of the guy in red shorts should help you - I happen to think it's a really good image - one that keeps me very interested in the exercise. Good luck.

Up Close and Personal

Last night I was working with a client and I started thinking about how close the trainer/client relationship really gets. I've been working with "Zach" for about 6 months now, usually twice a week and I have to say - the job requires me to get pretty close. It's nearly a requirement for trainers to touch their clients. That's an interesting road to go down, especially in the early stages of the relationship.

The position during which I find myself always having to touch my clients is the bridge position (pictured). Nearly every session I have done involves me placing my hand under the small of their back and gently pushing upward. This isn't a problem with the women normally, but with the guys it can get a little weird.

I am always a little bit afraid that some guys will get freaked out with another guy touching the small of his back - with the close proximity to the "glutes" and all. But even further, this position usually involves me on my knee or knees and really close to the guy's crotch. Sure this could be like some great porn but I'm actually trying to get the guy to extend his hips and tighten his ass. Nothing is worse than a saggy backside.

With Zach the touching came pretty naturally - he didn't seem to mind. Since he was one of my first hardcore, dedicated, regular clients I followed the standard protocol, asking if I could touch here and there. Now we're to the point where I just do what I have to do to get him into the position he needs to be in.

Last night, we were in the middle of a very intense workout that pushed him to his limits and I found myself touching his sweaty back, pushing gently between his shoulder blades. He gets up from the t-bar row machine and ends up on the mat where I am putting my fingers around his belly button to see if he's "drawing-in" appropriately. I feel like I touch this guy everywhere all of the time and it's this vulnerability on his part that makes him such a good client and why he's progressing so well. He has no issues other than he wants a good workout and I have no agenda in touching him other than to give him the optimum workout.
I like it that way.

Contrast this with "Matt" with whom I spent the entire hour of his free introductory session looking at his muscles. Although he was highly experienced and needed very little assistance from me I found the need to readjust him more than most people. He was the eager type of gym boy who was oblivious to the cuteness he was oozing through his sweaty performance during squats on the Bosu ball. "Reach back with your butt," I would say. He'd do it without question or hesitation. Hours like that make my job oh so enjoyable.

Common Myths, #1

Myth 1: There are no White trainers at New York Sports Clubs (NYSC).

So, an angry White lady posted something tacky about the trainers at NYSC on Craigslist, asking whether or not there were any "caucasian" trainers at the club. I often wondered the same thing, just not in that same annoying way.
When I moved to New York and joined the gym I saw no White trainers.
When I got hired, there I was -- the token White guy. I made the manager promise to keep me as the sole paleface - for the simple reason that it makes me memorable and easy to spot from across the gym. Since then, he hired two White girls and an old White man.
Granted, the two girls are gone now and the older guy looks like Bush - but for a while there the Whities were shaking up the industry norm.