December 1, 2004

Serious About Fitness – Are You?

The late Vince Gironda was the greatest physique trainer who ever lived. He could whip people into shape faster than anyone; in his 50-year career he turned out more champions than any other trainer.

However, Vince had absolutely no tolerance for someone who wasn’t serious about training – in particular, someone who sought his advice and then didn't listen to it or follow through the way they should. If such a person came Vince’s way, chances are the "wrath of Vince" would send them out of the gym and they would never return. Vince had an instinct for figuring out a person’s motives one way or the other, a fact that my friend Kevin found out the hard way.

Vince decided to put Kevin through a calf workout. The first thing he did was have him train eight sets of 20 reps on calf raises. It was quick, fast, and intense – Vince’s way – and I thought Vince was finished. He had Kevin follow that with eight sets of another exercise, and then a further eight sets of yet another, and then even more. When all was said and done, Kevin had done eight exercises for eight sets each – 64 sets! I’d never heard or read about a "Vince workout" like that. I was as surprised at the workout routine as Kevin was sore.

The next day we were back at Vince’s gym. I walked in and Kevin limped behind. Vince immediately turned to him and said, "You’re back!" We realized at that point that Vince thought that Kevin wouldn’t return. Kevin didn’t know what to say, but Vince, never at a loss for words, continued, "Just so you know, I’d never recommend anyone do a workout like the one you did yesterday. I just wanted to see if you would do it."

Kevin was ready to kill Vince, but at the same time he was also somewhat relieved – he knew that he’d passed Vince’s test and that Vince now knew that he was serious about training. Kevin continued to train hard at Vince’s, but he never had to do anything quite like that again.

Vince wasn’t the only one who employed these methods. I once met someone who told me he endured eating one whole raw onion every day for two months just because a trainer told him to do it. And why did the trainer tell him to do that? To see if this person was serious about listening to what he had to say. He was, and he ate the onion every day. But not all people are serious, as many trainers find out the hard way.

For example, recently, a local trainer I know of had a potential client come to him looking for advice on how to prepare for a competition next year. Supposedly this person was serious about training and really wanted to learn. The trainer agreed to help, for free, and spent more than four hours one evening mapping out the weight-training and nutritional program only to find out the next morning that the person decided not to do it anymore. Why? "Because 8:30 in the morning seemed awful early to have to be at the gym."

More than likely, in the future this trainer will resort to the tactics of Vince, or have new clients "eat the onion" before he settles down to give them good advice.

Now, I don’t advocate that trainers go through rituals like the ones I’ve described, or that potential clients necessarily put up with them – it could be dangerous. (Vince was quick to point out that "you can put a person in the hospital" doing a routine like the one my friend did.) What’s important to understand is this: If you want to compete in a contest, or if you just want to train to improve your health, well-being, and appearance, you have to approach fitness as a serious activity. It takes time, patience, hard work, and dedication. No, you don’t really have to eat an onion if you don’t want to, and you most certainly don’t have to do 64 sets on one muscle, but you do have to go at it with a level of commitment and enthusiasm as you would any serious task. There’s no such thing as an overnight success or an easy way to get to the top – Mindi O'Brien's 20 years of training is a testament to that.

Taking fitness seriously, though, doesn’t mean that it has to take over your life. There’s a myth that permeates about how much time you have to spend in the gym. Some people think that the best competitors spend every hour of the day there. Actually, it’s usually far less.

Right now, national-level fitness champion Chantal Dicaire trains two days in a row for about 45 minutes each day, and then takes a full day of rest on the third day. Then she repeats that cycle. There are beginners in the gym who spend longer than that, and don’t look nearly as good! Chantal knows how to use her "gym-time" efficiently and effectively.

What’s most important about Chantal and Mindi, though, is not how much time they spend in the gym each day, but how they approach fitness day in and day out, week after week, month after month, year after year. Training for fitness – both in terms of competition and their health – is simply a way of life for them that they take seriously. As I wrote last month, "consistency counts."

So before you start on a program for competition or for general health, ask yourself, "Am I serious about this? Can I make the commitment to be consistent? And will I stay at it for the long term?" These are questions you must ask, because for any program to work that’s precisely what you must do. If your answer is "no," think twice about buying a gym membership or soliciting the advice of an expert trainer. But if your answer is "yes," you’ll likely have a rewarding journey ahead of you.

...Doug Schneider
das@seriousaboutfitness.com

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