Each Sunday, the PTDC publishes a list of the top fitness content from around the web in four different categories: Articles, Videos, Social Media Posts, and Podcasts.


don't-overcomplicate-training-programs-September-6-2020

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Best Content of the Week

After 15 years in the fitness industry, I still feel like I’ve only begun to understand how to write effective programs for my clients. When should I keep it simple, and when should I mix it up? How much variety do my clients want or need?

This week’s best content includes two important messages:

Tony Gentilcore’s article makes the case for simplicity, while Cody McBroom’s video shows how to write more complex upper-lower training splits for advanced clients who want to be in the gym four days a week.

We also have a fascinating, non-technical look at training from powerlifter Storme Gray, who tells podcast host Jason Leenaarts how the lessons she learned from heavy lifting apply to life outside the weight room.

— Esther Avant

Best Article

Stop Overcomplicating Your Clients’ Training Programs — Tony Gentilcore, tonygentilcore.com

Trainers are easily distracted by bright, shiny objects. This is often reflected in their programming. Which makes sense. After all, if clients are paying good money, shouldn’t we try to impress them with fancy exercises? Tony Gentilcore reminds us that simple, straightforward programs should always be our default setting.  

— Shane McLean

Best Video

How to Write a Training Program — Cody McBroom

When a client’s training goals require more complex methods, you need to incorporate those new variables in a logical, systematic way. This 15-minute video from Cody McBroom explains how to write scientifically sound upper- and lower-body workouts. 

— Esther Avant

Best Social Media Post

View this post on Instagram

👉In June 2011, I stopped prepping food. Seriously. Never again. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I was coming off 9 months of hardcore dieting for shows/shoots and I FINALLY didn’t have anything else on my calendar to “lean out for” and I was so fucking disgusted with my diet food and miserably deprived and exhausted from obsessing about food constantly, I just threw up my hands and said, FUCK IT, NOT PREPPING FOOD THIS WEEK. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I honestly didn’t care if I gained 50 lbs and ended up at fast food drivethru every meal (again, why gaining weight was my biggest fear of all is fucked up, but that’s a different convo). I simply COULD NOT keep prepping food and trying to scarf down disgusting meals I dreaded. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I didn’t do a big grocery haul, I didn’t prep, cook or batch food. I just … winged it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ And as scared as I was because I didn’t trust myself without my arsenal of “healthy food” in Tupperwares … I survived. And to my shock, I didn’t gain a bunch of weight or find myself diving into packages of junk food. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I didn’t eat perfectly. But I managed with things like protein shakes, bars, quickie omelets, take-out salads, dining out and choosing something moderate. And all … was fine? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ALL WAS FINE. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Looking back, this was one of the most powerful moments for me in learning to trust myself. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I realized that “good enough” gets results too. It was the first time I “tried on” a moderate approach and … I survived. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It took this moment of getting to absolute FUCK IT, for me to try something new AND see that it could actually work. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Needless to say, that was all the evidence I needed to never prep food again🤣🤣 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It’s important as we shed the old dieting ways, that we give ourselves small opportunities like this to see … just to see … if we can do things differently. These small vulnerabilities and courageous moments of disrupting old narratives can actually, ahem, work😳 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ And of course, if you hate it, you can always go back to strict dieting. That’s not going anywhere🤷🏻‍♀️😂 #Moderation365success #Day9 . 📷 @plantbasedjax

A post shared by JILL COLEMAN – (310) 388-9348 (@jillfit) on

Posted by Jill Coleman on Thursday, September 3, 2020

Nine years ago, Jill Coleman hit the wall. She couldn’t take another day of a strict diet that accounted for every bit of food she allowed herself to eat. That’s when she realized she didn’t need to make it so hard on herself. Trusting her instincts with a more moderate approach to food worked pretty well. For many clients, that “good enough” diet will get them where they want to go. And if it doesn’t? As Coleman says, “You can always go back to strict dieting.” 

— Christina Abbey

Best Podcast

Step Up to the Bar and Leave Your Fear Behind —  Jason Leenaarts with guest Storme Gray, Revolutionary You

Storme Gray weaves an inspiring story about her journey into the “clank and bang” of heavy lifting. She draws from her successes and setbacks and discusses how lessons learned under the bar relate to life in general.

— Mike Howard

More Great Fitness Content 

[Video] How to Create an Anti-Oppression Statement for Your Business — Ilya Parker, Decolonizing Fitness

[Social Media] Why “Eat Less, Move More” Can Be Incredibly Hard — Precision Nutrition

[Article] Group Fitness Instructors: We See You and You Are Not Alone — Shannon Fable, ACE Fitness

[Article] Course, Coach, or Mentor: Which Is Best for You? —  Jonathan Goodman, the PTDC

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The Author

Dani Singer is a nationally certified personal trainer and nutrition coach based in Baltimore, Maryland. As CEO & Director of Fit2Go Personal Training, he specializes in helping busy professionals make fitness practical. Dani also serves as a fitness expert for national publications such as Reader’s Digest, Muscle & Fitness, and SHAPE Magazine. Keep up with Dani and his team on Facebook and the Fit2Go website.

Esther Avant is a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, mom, and military wife who coaches women online. As the owner of Esther Avant Wellness Coaching and founder of the Gone For Good weight loss program, she specializes in helping do-it-all women lose weight and keep it off by making exercise and nutrition fit their lifestyles, not the other way around. You can find her at www.estheravant.com, on Instagram, and on Facebook.