Interview with Top Strength and Conditioning Coach, Craig Ballantyne, MS, CSCS - Part 2 |
We’re up with part 2 of the Craig Ballantyne interview. If you missed part 1, check it out here.
In last week’s interview, I ended asking you about your top tips for losing fat. Now I’m asking about gaining lean body mass, as many are surely looking to do this as well. Let’s pick up where we left off.
CM: How about for gaining lean body mass—what do you suggest for those trying to gain muscle?
CB: Bodybuilders always get a bad rap, but if you watch what they do, they probably do this the best. Get big, than lose the fat.
And you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to get big. And all you need is a little discipline to lose fat.
Lift heavy, rest enough (no more than 4 days in the gym), and eat. If you aren’t gaining muscle, eat more.
For some guys, i.e. those claiming to be hardgainers, eating might be more difficult than your workouts. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do in your workouts to get around that. You just need to eat more.
CM: More and more, I’ve started to get the question of what advice do you have for folks who may be trying to get into this field? What do you recommend for people who are interested in the strength and conditioning fields?
CB: Get mentors. No matter what field you are in.
Doctor, lawyer, trainer, businessperson, priest, salesperson, student, farmer, etc. It doesn’t matter what you do, you will guarantee a faster rate of success if you find people that have achieved what you want to achieve and seek their mentorship. And network. The more people you know, and the more that they like you, the better off you will be. Who you know is always important. Of course, only run with the right crowd.
Get an education, formal or informal, and master the fundamentals of anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics. Formal or informal, the amount of study time will be the same. About 1000 hours. Less with a mentor. (Numbers courtesy of Michael Masterson at www.earlytorise.com). What you know is of course, is just as important as well.
Expect to give more than you get at the start. Pay your dues, I suppose is an adequate phrase.
And don’t be afraid to ask for help. Most of the people in the industry are really nice people. If you ask nicely, they will probably help you.
CM: Being a leader in the field yourself, who do you turn to or make sure you read from to further your training and nutrition knowledge?
CB: I read a lot of science journals still for health and nutrition related information. You get some training info in there, but less so.
For training info, I pretty much get everyone’s newsletter on the Internet. If you write one, I’m probably subscribed.
The only training site I visit is at www.elitefts.com – without a doubt the best sport-specific q’n’a forum on the internet.
For fat loss, Tom Venuto’s newsletters are incredible. The guy is so thorough with his q’n’a, and lives the lifestyle as well as anyone (probably almost as well as Paul Chek – you have to admire that guy’s commitment).
And I also read the supertraining yahoo newsgroup. There are a lot of interesting posts on those sites.
In person, I go to two guys in Toronto that are Strength Coaches with the Maple Leafs organization.
And it all comes back to your foundations. If you have mastered exercise physiology, it shouldn’t take you long to understand new information, and make a proper judgment on whether to incorporate or throw out the info you are being given.
CM: Let’s say a soccer mom came to you looking to lose 30 lbs. Suggestions? Should she hit the weights, do some cardio? What’s your best advice?
CB: First, I always go through the extensive feedback form.
By having everyone fill these out, you accomplish a couple of things.
First, is this person really committed to their goals? If someone says “Oh, its too hard to use fitday.com”. Well, here we go again, right?
Second, just by writing their exercise and diet down on paper, it should open the client’s eyes to the big problems. You can say, “hey, did you notice you are pounding a 12 ounce thing of juice twice a day?”. And if they are at all educated about nutrition, they’ll see why they need to cut that out.
I think going over things that way is a great place to start. Rather than just barking out the rules.
As I said before, nutrition is probably going to make the biggest impact here. So generally I’ll try and get them to make consistent small changes, depending on how committed the client is rated. If she’s been fit before (i.e. college athlete), you can probably move at a faster pace than if she quit gym class in Grade 9.
Same with exercise. Evaluate what she can and can’t do, combined with what she’s done in the past, and then follow what I described above. Work from the floor up, work around injuries, and get her to master control of her muscles in bodyweight exercises.
CM: Nutrition wise—what do you tell her to shed fat?
CB: Stop eating the kid’s treats.
I get that email all the time about it being hard to eat well when there is all the kid’s treats in the house. I mean really, there’s nothing I can do about it if you have a lot of junk in the house and you eat it all the time. Sometimes you just have to realize you’re an adult, and it’s up to you to make some hard decisions about your control of the situation.
Generally, with a little discussion, she’ll come to realize that most stuff shouldn’t be in her nutrition plan, let alone her children’s nutrition plan. So she realizes, hey, if it’s not in the house, I won’t eat it. That is a big step.
Ideally though, I like to send most people to a nutrition expert. Yourself, or Dr. Berardi. Unfortunately, there are very few nutrition experts I trust. But anyway, I like to get the individual to get the nutrition info from an expert in that field. Get them to understand the importance of planning ahead.
Also, we start with them using fitday.com to get a better understanding of what they eat each day. Once they see the numbers, they don’t necessarily have to use it every day. Just frequent check ups help.
CM: Do you take any supplements yourself? And, do you recommend them to your clients?
CB: Fish oils are one that I use every day and generally think that everyone should take.
Other than that, I just try to eat organic as much as possible, drink lots of Green Tea, and eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible. I think that it is just as effective to get a wide-variety of antioxidants at low levels found in foods as it is to take massive doses of supplemental antioxidants.
I might have one protein shake per day, and I will frequently try new creatine products on the market.
Post workout I admit to chocolate milk, most of the time. Sometimes protein powder in milk.
CM: Like me, I’m sure you’ve seen a countless number of folks doing hour upon hour of steady state cardiovascular exercise in hopes of losing more and more weight. What are your thoughts on steady state aerobics vs. intervals?
CB: The bottom line of my argument about this is, simply, “You’ll get the same or better fat loss results by doing interval training, and you get that done in far less time.”
Plus, interval training is more applicable to every day situations. And, you can make increases in anaerobic and aerobic fitness with intervals, but you can’t increase anaerobic fitness with steady state aerobics. That’s a point not often made, but a real big benefit to me.
The health benefits between the two methods are the same.
CM: Any last parting words of wisdom?
CB: Keep it simple. I hate to see people that get in over their head and obsessed with exercise and counting calories, etc.
We all know what’s good for us:
- eat whole, natural foods
- avoiding stuff from a bag or a box
- exercise consistently
- avoid stress
- sleep well
The hard part is doing it, I suppose. So just go for 90% compliancy, and don’t freak out if you get off track.
And if you want to take your fitness and physique to the next level, just remember that you can’t be on “full blast” every day of the year. You can be strict for 6,8, and even 12 weeks, but then you have to return to reality. Again, another lesson learned from those dundering bodybuilders – who would have guessed they knew so much?
CM: Thanks, Craig. Where can folks learn more about you and your services?
CB:
Start with Turbulence
Training - that’s my site for the most efficient and effective body-transforming
workouts on the net. If you are a coach or trainer and you want to read interviews
with the top coaches, signup for the newsletter at www.cbathletics.com.
If you are interested in female specific training issues, sign up at www.grrlAthlete.com.
And if you just can’t let the bodybuilder inside of you go, I sometimes
write bodybuilding workouts at www.undergroundnutrition.com.
 |
For more information about healthy eating and incorporating a variety of nutrients in the diet, check out Mohr Results - Grocery Shopping Made Easy DVD! |
