This video is awesome because it highlights so much that I love and so much that I hate about celebrity workouts.
You'll notice that a lot of celebrity workouts have tons of squats and lunges (Yes! Awesome!) some elevated pushups (Bam! I love it!) and then some total fluff (Boo... are you kidding?).
What's up with the fluff?
My clients don't have time for any movement that has a low return on the time invested. If it's not a "big bang" exercise (as boxing coach Steve Baccari calls it) it's usually not worth doing.
You may have heard me say that I like exercise that use a lot of muscles all at the same time.
So you'd think I'd also like the bicep curl and press combination.
But I HATE combination exercises. I think they're a fluff exercise. Waste of time.
The Difference Between Combination Exercises and Really Kick Ass Full Body Exercises
-In a bicep curl to press, you're going to end up using a lot less weight than you could normally press. I could make a case that it's actually a less intense exercise than a straight up shoulder press.
-In a really kick ass full body exercise, like an explosion (where you do a deep squat that goes into a push press - driving the weight off of your shoulders with your legs) you use nearly every muscle in your body to drive the weight through one big, powerful movement.
And One Last Thing
Why is the trainer guiding her elbows as she presses the weight up?
What's up with that?
Call me crazy, but my clients actually know which direction the weight should go and manage to push the weight up all by themselves.
All I'm saying is, I've never felt the need to spot my clients on a low skill exercise with 5lb dumbbells.
I think the dude is just copping a feel.
Actually, I don't think I've ever had a client that used 5lb dumbbells, for anything, unless they were a total beginner in their first two weeks of working out.
I hope that's just because Hayden was answering questions at the same time. And the trainer was just trying to justify being on camera.
On The Flip-Side...
If I'm training a girl who's just starting to do pull ups without the pull up assist machine, and I still have to assist by pushing on her feet a little bit, that's a totally different thing.
That's getting someone started on an awesome, intense, big pulling movement.
And after a few weeks or a month, yep, she's doing pull ups all on her own.
Shouldn't your trainer be teaching you how to move? And fostering independence?
By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds and Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss
Josh is one of the five fat loss experts in The Ultimate Fat Loss Answers
Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and personal trainer in Denver, Colorado. Josh helps fit women lose stubborn fat.
© Joshua Hillis 2008
