-David

Initially I wasn’t keen on having a personal trainer, but my wife was gung ho about it. I kept saying to myself “what can a trainer really do for me that I’m not doing already?” But we still signed up with someone (this person even came recommended by others). 3 months later and the only results I saw were some strength gain, but no real visual difference (despite a 5lbs loss). For my wife it was worse – after 4 months with this trainer and repeatedly asking for explanations regarding exercise and meal plan selections to no avail, we finally had it with him.

It was time for serious research. We realized we wanted someone who can work with us through e-mail, but that was close enough for 1-on-1 sessions, should we need them. We wanted someone who is certified and been around for a while (not just someone who “looks the part”). We also realized that there are many different certifications out there (among which, we found out that NASM CPT/PES/CES certifications are considered to be the holy grail in this field, all of which David holds). We wanted someone who is meticulous, detail oriented and can explain *why* certain choices are made regarding exercise routines and meal plans. We were looking for someone who can -no, someone who *will*, take the time to educate us on exercising correctly and efficiently, coupled with nutritional education.

There are so many fitness programs out there, each one claiming to be the best – and each one of them seems to be a “one solution fits all”. The same goes for nutrition plans… But people are different and have different needs. I used to have lower back problems. My wife used to have constant cravings. How does one know which program is best? And even when it comes to gyms – people have access to different equipment at different gyms. How do we sort out all of this stuff?

When we first reached out to David and Nikki we received a questionnaire – an extremely detailed one. It went into details such as our exercise history, eating habits, weight history, medical problems, at what pace we’re interested in working in order to get results, and even the simplest question which no trainer has ever asked us: what are our goals? Are we looking to just lose a few pounds, or tone up? Maybe become body builders or just overcome past injuries? This was already a great sign for things to come! None of the other trainers we spoke with have ever asked us any of these questions.

Sure enough, a workout routine and meal plan which was just as detailed was sent to us (along with answers to a plethora of questions we had regarding the program), and it was even customized to deal with each of our individual issues and concerns, not to mention tailored to our specific gym equipment.

Within 5 weeks I dropped from 21% body fat to 11%!!!! Every week that goes by, my wife sees me transform and become more defined in muscle tone. After a couple of months, I had already enough strength gain to support my lower back and never had to look back since – even despite doubling the weights I’m lifting.

It was finally time for a 1-on-1 session. If this is how much progress we could see just over e-mail, what more could we accomplish in person?? The answer was clear after our first session. Of course there’s the regular drive factor – and David knows how to drive his clients!

But, most importantly, we gained INSIGHT and KNOWLEDGE. Insight into the specifics of how certain exercises need to be performed, and why. Knowledge on how different muscle groups work and how each exercise ties into that. Once we started to gain that level of understanding we were able to gain a lot more out of each routine and become more efficient in our workouts, which in turn yielded even faster results.

We’re now on our 4th month into the program and even some of our friends who have seen our transformations and were in complete disbelief initially, have now signed up to work with David and Nikki (some even residing on the other side of the world!) Both my wife and I simply can’t recommend them enough!!!

I arrived at the gym hiding behind my baggiest sweats, unsure of what to expect. David patiently went through my history and it felt weird why this stranger wanted to know so much about me. I guess I had never met anyone before that cared about their client. I don’t have an athletic background and had never lifted serious weights before. The first training session I silently went through the motions and looked incredulously at David every time he moved the pin to a heavier weight. But he believed I could do it, and he was there to support me if I faltered.

His wife Nikki helped plan my diet and cardio, however it was not like she gave me a plan and forgot about it. She always followed through, was very responsive, motivated me when times were tough, listened patiently to my rants, and kicked my ass when I truly got lazy. I can sing her praises all day. To say that David and Nikki are personal trainers is an understatement. They will change your life and take you places you never thought you could go before. This ability to push and believe in yourself spreads to other aspects of your life. You will learn to have less tolerance for bullshit and want better things for yourself.

Once you meet them you will know that they are truly invested in their client’s journey, and that they love seeing them succeed. Yes I did cheat at times, and still fall off the wagon occasionally, but David and Nikki are always there to get me back on track. I am now more fit than I ever was and excited to continue to see my body transform.

Sarah H.

There is not much difference between the foam rollers and the exercise bands and stability balls since all of them are types of cross over equipment, which are obtained from the rehab training. Their utility lies in their versatility, inexpensiveness, and lower weight.

These qualities also make them good for home workouts and studio usage. They are also very simple pieces of equipment (being cylinders of high density foams) with immense uses. You can use them for various exercising purposes like self message stretching, body support, and stability exercises.

Using the foam body rollers

You can easily spot the foam rollers. These are the white cylinders which are piled up in the corner areas of gymnasiums and pilate studios. The pilate instructors are also promoting the use of foam rollers in their classes which will further contribute to its wide spread use. You can also do a wide amount of experimentation on these foam rollers.

Exercise and stretch by using the foam rollers

Massage tool
Massages are good for the pressured and tensed areas which you are trying to release. This can be done easily by rolling the body area or muscle on the foam roller after putting the body weight on the roller and then gently rocking and rolling the body for releasing the accumulated stress.

Body part prop
You can do this form of exercise by lying in rest position on the back of the body and supporting the slightly bent knees by the foam roller. This position of the exercise will help in spine elongation and its relaxation. The foam rollers can also be used in prop forms. For example, you can use them as body prop by placing them under the hip area or for supporting a limb.

Stretch support
The Foam rollers can provide you ample support for the stretching exercises by giving you a curved surface to work your exercises on. Since your position is not far from the ground, there is very minute chance that you might tip off and cause some damage to your body. Hence you can fully relax when you do all your stretching exercises. Stretching can be done in different creative ways by using a foam roller. For example, you can sit with your legs placed in a straight position and then place the foam roller under the calf area. Do not lock the knees during the process. You can go for extra stretching by leaning your body in a forward direction towards the leg.

Stability exercises
You can use the pilates and take advantage of the core strengthening potential of the unstable surfaces as well. While maintaining the balance during working out on an unstable surface, every deep muscle of your back and abdomen area is worked toward maintaining the body’s balanced posture. Enhancement in mat exercises like push-ups and planks are being explored and invented by the Pilate instructors. These exercises should be done on the foam roller and not on the floor.

Buying a foam roller
The foam rollers are available in different sizes and shapes. You can get foam rollers in different varieties of length and diameters. The size of 36 inches long and 6 inches of diameter makes the most popular dimension being sold currently in the markets. They also contain high density packing foam which delays the crushing of the foam roller under the weight of the body. The surface of the roller is also very soft and therefore is very comfortable and convenient to roll the body parts on it.

Prolonged usage of the rollers bends it and they can also collapse from the middle while being used. Further, lumpiness is also found in foam rollers. Therefore one should invest in the more expensive rollers that are being manufactured. The closed cell foam or the super high density EVA foam is some examples of the more expensive rollers. The basic foam roller costs somewhere between $17 to $27.

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About the author: Kate is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on luxury and technology. Beside this she is a fitness freak and exercise regularly to stay in shape. In her free time she loves playing game on her cell phone. She recently shared an article on water borne diseases which was liked a lot by her readers.

In October 2010, after over 30 years of lifting, I ripped both of my triceps tendons off at the elbows. My doctors and surgeon had never heard of anyone having this injury to both arms at the same time and made it clear that my lifting days were over. The injury, the surgery to re-attach the tendons, and the recovery process was all very painful and frustrating.
　　
At the time of my injury Dave Johnston and I had been training at the same gyms for about 2 years. We had not worked together as client and trainer, but we would talk occasionally about exercises or different lifting techniques. It was clear to me that Dave was not only a student of the history of bodybuilding, but also understood the actual science behind diet and exercise and kept himself up-to-date on the latest research.

As I faithfully went to the gym everyday to do my rehab exercises Dave was always helpful and supportive. When I would get disgusted that I was only able to lift 10lbs . Dave would remind me of how serious my injury was and assure me that things would get better. As I improved he reminded me of how far I had come since the injury and encouraged me to keep at it.

Over the course of the next six months I continued to lift and to recover. In the spring of 2011 I considered entering the Maryland State bodybuilding show in the over 50 category. I waffled back and forth for several weeks until Dave convinced me that I should do it. It had been 25 years since I had last competed; Dave was a great help with dieting, posing routines, and general contest preparation.

In the weeks leading up to the show we reduced my body fat significantly with Dave’s diet and cardio programs. With his help and support I achieved my goal of getting on stage one last time. Until next year anyway, when he will probably manage to convince me to do it again.

In 30 years of lifting Dave is one of the few trainers I have known who truly understands why things work; most trainers provide a one-size-fits-all program for every client. By watching him you can tell that he genuinely cares about his clients enough to hold them accountable and push them beyond their comfort zone.

David talks about the hard work and dedication that it took for Nikki to get to this point in this article .

But as we’ve learned, that’s not my style.

I sat in the audience with a fussing little 2-year-old on my lap, sweating like a heat bomb, crying out for her mommy.  Poor Raven simply did not understand why Daddy was here but Mommy was not.  “Mommy is going to come out on the stage”.

And Raven, in her broken 2-year-old sentence structure, blurted out, “Mommy’s stage”.

“Yes, honey, that’s Mommy’s stage”.

And about 30 minutes into the contest, it became obvious to myself, and many others within the building, that it was, in fact, Mommy’s Stage.

Nikki strode onto the stage, wide shoulders, flared lats, tiny waist with abs popping out, a thick vein coursing down either arm.  But most stunning was her smile.  The lighting in the high school auditorium was atrocious, and the organizers ended up putting construction flood lights on the edge of the stage in order to provide some much-needed brightness.  Luckily, Nikki’s smile was enough to light the stage.

In the width of her shoulders I saw the countless hours of lateral raises, drop sets, burning and sweating in the gym; in her flared lats I saw 100lbs dumbbell rows, cable rows and pulldowns; in her tiny waist I saw bland egg white after egg white after chicken breast, and the suffering of skimping on the fun foods; in her abs I saw the nights when the hunger overwhelmed her to the point of simply wanting to hide on the couch, waiting for it to be over; in the thick vein coursing down either arm, I saw a woman– no, a goddess– unafraid to push herself, to push the envelope, to be different, someone who was not only not scared of being strong, but a woman who wanted to be strong, who prided herself on being strong, stronger, better, best; I saw a goddess willing to outwork and outlift just about any man I’ve ever seen her train alongside; I saw thousands of pounds being hoisted, curled, and pressed over the course of half a lifetime.

But in her smile, I saw joy.  I saw happiness to be in the moment, with her husband, daughter, and friends in the audience.  I saw the excitement of knowing that a celebratory meal was right around the corner– a truly earned cheat meal, one that capped months of working to the brink of exhaustion.  I saw a smile not meant to please anybody else in attendance, but merely worn as a badge, like patting herself on the back– “You did it; you struggled, you suffered, you failed here and there, but you did it; you met your husband in 2007, while attempting to prep for your first show, and never made it to the stage because you weren’t ready to tackle that challenge; but you persisted, you practiced, you ground it out and smashed it into the ground, and here you are now– you did it.  Mommy’s Stage”.

I saw the smile that told the world: this is Mommy’s Stage.

Nikki competed in the Figure C, or tall class, with a total of 5 competitors.  She ended up taking a very close 2nd place– the judges told us it was neck and neck– and the one girl who beat her went on to win the overall for the whole show.  Nikki was a mere point or two from taking home her first overall title, an accomplishment I have still not achieved in over 4 years of competing.  One of the judges pulled her aside after the show and personally invited her to compete in another show in 3 weeks, simply because she felt Nikki “had the overall package”– the beauty, grace, and physique of a champion.

I am proud to call that champion my wife, and to have the honor of being married to the Goddess of the Stage– Mommy’s Stage– Nikki’s Stage.

Watch the video of the competition here… 2011 NPC Philadelphia Bodybuilding and Figure Championship

-David A. Johnston
6/29/11

I ran a 5K last weekend.  It felt good to know I could do it.  But it’s just not my thing.  I respect those who run.  But deep down I’m a strength athlete, plain and simple.  I respect raw, brute strength, and the insanity required to achieve the strength.

I remember the first time I lifted 500lbs off the floor, no straps, just my hands caked in chalk and wrapped around the knurl of the bar.  And I remember the 550lbs.  And I remember the 585lbs conquering me.  But mostly, I remember smiling to my wife Nikki like a small boy, proud of my feeble accomplishment– knowing that the amount of weight I could place on the bar was theoretically infinite, that I just had to keep coming back and watching it rise over time, and that this feeling of strength, efficacy, accomplishment, could be replicated indefinitely.

There is a long-standing, and needlessly stupid, rivalry between bodybuilders and powerlifters.  Powerlifters don’t train to look a certain way, just perform a certain way.  Bodyfat levels tend to be higher, and there is no emphasis on the aesthetics of one’s physique.  Bodybuilders tend to castigate powerlifters for being “fat”, “out of shape”, and “lazy”.  Bodybuilders, by contrast, do not lift weights for the sake of maximum strength, but to break down muscle tissue and sculpt the body.  As such, bodybuilders are not as strong, pound-for-pound, as powerlifters, and tend to obsess over symmetry, balance, and their overall look, rather than the sheer intensity of their workout.  Powerlifters have been known to laugh at bodybuilders for being “pretty boys”, “all show and no go”, and– in a nutshell– fake.

So which is harder, bodybuilding or powerlifting?  Bodybuilding is definitely harder in the sense that it requires discipline and attention to detail over time.  But powerlifting is harder– or at least, more hardcore– in the sense that it is the true epitome of intensity and will.

The bodybuilder’s exertion meter is measured over time– not a single workout, but weeks, months, and years of discipline, dieting, weighing, measuring, planning, training and improving.  Yes, this is difficult, but it is difficulty spread out.  Bodybuilding is a sport consisting of thousands upon thousands of moments that all create a sum total, to stand as a trophy or statue at end of days proudly presenting one’s physique to the world.

Then there is powerlifting.  Powerlifting is true calculated insanity.  It is about taking everything you have within you– every single micron of energy, rage, fury, fire, will, strength, exertion– and applying it against a cold steel bar for less than 5 seconds.  Motivation, as an abstraction, is always about switching to the next gear.  In most sports, that gear has to be shifted into, slowly, time after time after time, until the event is over.  Even with football, you’re looking at 60 minutes of play, and you have numerous chances and plays and quarters to shift into your highest gear, to try to make up the distance at the end, to finally turn the shock meter to a thousand percent and bury the needle.

Powerlifting is a different, and scarier, animal.  You have to bury the needle all at once.  There are no second chances, third legs to the race, or fourth downs.  There is just this one moment, this one lift, this one attempt.  The bar goes up, or it doesn’t.  You insanity conquers gravity, or you are conquered and destroyed, all in the blink of an eye.

Watch the pre-lifting rituals of a powerlifter, and you will see insanity on a different level.  They slap themselves in the face prior to a big lift, simply to increase adrenaline, often drawing blood:

The athletes are not the long and lean frames seen on athletes of other ilk.  There is nothing “esthetic” or “beautiful” about the prototypical powerlifting physique.  And that’s the point.  These men and women are pure animal, beasts and bulls and bears with bulging necks and bald heads, traps that sit high upon their shoulders and bear witness to the thousands upon thousands of pounds pressed, pulled or dropped down to the floor, into the bucket, supported by thighs thick like oak trees:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo1tU1YqPp0

Powerlifters do not like creature comforts.  They do not like air conditioned gyms and well-lit areas.  They are monsters that lurk in the recesses, hidden in the basement, amongst chalk on the floor and ammonia in the air, waiting to unleash everything all at once, a nuclear explosion and meltdown, a supernova of energy.

The mindset required to step underneath 500, 600, 700lbs is not possessed by many.  But they go bigger.  They step under 800, 900, 1000lbs.  A few elite individuals step under 1100lbs or more. Or press it off their chests. Or rip if off the ground:

They practice, they train, and they build their bodies through the torture of moving mountains, to the point where, one day, at an official meet, they will step up against a bar weighing more than they have ever moved, and make it move.  They will channel all of those training sessions into this one moment, this payoff, trying to drain everything all at once, the great compression before the Big Bang, shoving it into a funnel and condensing it into one moment of calculated insanity.  There will be no “recorded race time” at the end of the event, as there is with a 5K.  The powerlifting event does not occur over time.  It occurs in the blink of an eye, genesis, like the instantaneous creation of force within the cosmos.

And that, is power. That, is calculated insanity.
-David A. Johnston

I have said before that you have to create your own purpose, that the universe will not come down and hand you the gift of purpose.  It’s a hard lesson to learn.  Over the years, I have had numerous gym members sit before me during a fitness consultation that were completely lost, both outside and in.  I invariably ask, “What is your goal? What are you trying to get accomplished?”  And amazingly enough, I have been told far too many times to count, “I don’t really know– what am I supposed to want?”

When somebody tells me, “I want to be healthy“, I ask them, What does that mean to you?  “I dunno’. Never really thought of it“.  They snatch the concept out of thin air, as a buzz word they heard on an episode of Dr. Oz, completely detached from reality, from the concretes and the moments that contributed to the idea in the first place.  “Health” does not mean to these people all the moments of feeling strong, virile, able-bodied, efficacious; it does not mean years of looking yourself in the mirror with pride, or years of great sex, or years of feeling 20 inside a 40-year-old body.  “Health” is simply something they are “supposed to” care about.

The real problem is, you can’t make somebody care about something, despite all the “supposed-tos” in the world.  You can’t make somebody do anything, really.  You can plant the seed of an idea, of a value, but even that presupposes they are already focusing on the external world, and receptive to that seed in the first place.  But if the mind is shut off, if the passion is extinguished, then no amount of prodding and poking and aggressively selling somebody will get them on-board.  That has to be done within the individual.

No, goals do not come down from the stars.  They are selected.  They are willed into being.  We wake up, we look at the world, and we decide in which direction to move.  Some of us, anyways.  Some of us, by contrast, decide not to move– decide not to select a goal, or a purpose.  And those individuals sit passively throughout their lives, awaiting the inevitable.

Much of the confusion on this issue comes about when one thinks of goals as intrinsically right or wrong, better or worse.  I started playing the drums right before my 9th birthday, after my Dad brought home a cheap drum set.  Instantaneously, I felt I had found my life’s purpose.  I remember talking to other kids growing up, in middle school and high school, and asking them “what they did”– and what they planned to do when they grew up.  Ninety percent of the time, I was met with a blank stare– “I don’t know, I haven’t really thought of it”.  The answer bothered me on a deep level, as if I was talking to an unfortunate individual who had been placed on this earth missing a soul.  How can you go through your days, and not know who you are, what you are, what you are going to be and where you’re headed?  Isn’t that overarching goal the thesis or theme that is going to define the outline and necessary steps that will constitute all days to come?

I had such a strong reaction to music, such a strong calling, that I could not fathom being confused about the future.  But as I got a little older, I found the “purposeless-syndrome” was more common that I ever had expected.

As an adolescent, my wife was similar in her undying passion, but not for music; instead, she was driven by her sport of choice, volleyball, which propelled her to excellence all through high school and college.  Even after college, her days were defined in large part by coaching future players.  But then the day arrived: she had to admit she was no longer defined primarily by being a volley player.  And a sense of malaise and dread spread throughout, infusing her limbs, and choking off her inner motor– “If that’s not who I am, then what do I do?”

I went through the same thing several years earlier when I decided that music was no longer my primary passion.  I turned my passion instead to philosophy, and then later, to bodybuilding.  But I always sought that passion, that outlet– that goal.  I always knew that, in order to justify getting out of bed in the morning, there had to be some driving force compelling me to move, to learn, to research, to work harder, to be better.  I have now watched my wife struggle through it and admit to herself that there is no intrinsic purpose to life, that we select our own purpose at any given moment in time– but that there must be purpose.

That purpose can be great or small.  It can have larger philosophical or moral import, or it can be more humble in nature.  But one thing is for certain: in order to lead a purposeful life, you must select that purpose, and then throw yourself into it wholeheartedly.  That’s precisely what “passion” is, and that is what separates the great from the good from the average from the rotten.

So yes, I want to be a bodybuilder.  I want to work overly hard, and deprive myself of common worldly pleasures, and spend lots of money, for a stupid plastic trophy.  It’s no different than golf, or stamp collecting, or horseback riding, or skydiving.  It is an activity, a lifestyle, a destination and a path.  It is a means of organizing one’s activities and steps from beginning to end. And if and when it becomes boring, it will be time to select the next purpose.  But one thing is for certain: there will always be some purpose there, until the day I die.

-David A. Johnston