Cliché:    You can never go home again

Explanation:    1. Once you make a big change in your life, like leaving your childhood house, things will not be the same.

In two years I has seen some major changes; a beautiful daughter, a Masters Degree, and a great deal of learning and career advancement.  I have had the chance to grow and mature as a coach with only minor bumps along the road.  But those are expected and they are a means to learning.  But a week ago, I decided to go “home”.

Six years ago I left Manitoba and came to Alberta.  I basically walked into the Talisman Centre and talked my way into a job, and remained there for 4 years.  I loved working there but with the roof removal, I needed a change and the ability to develop as a coach.  With a year and a half of renovations I knew that I was going to struggle.  Although I didn’t want to leave I know that taking a position at Peak Power Sport Development was in fact a fabulous opportunity.   And it was.  Mike, my boss and Shawn are two of the smartest guys I know.  I learned so much from them over the last two years.

But as you who read my posts can all tell, I have been searching for something the last six months.  I could not put my finger on it but Mike did a great job of pin pointing it.  He said, “You a searching for the perfect position and you will not settle until that comes, or you are sitting at that desk.” Two weeks ago a call came.  It was from the Talisman (I kept in touch with everyone there as it really is like a family), and they asked if I would be interested in coming back.  After some long deliberation I have decided to return to the place where it all started, I am going home.  But that is only half of the story, because it is not as though I wanted to leave Peak Power.  I loved my job there as well.  So that is where the decision was made tough.  But in talking with Mike and arranging a schedule, I have decided to become a contractor.  I will be maintaining my client at Peak Power (as many of them are day time) and training my clients at Talisman Centre during the afternoons and evenings.  My home base will be Talisman Centre.  I am able to remain with the Canadian Cross Country team and remain teaching at the University of Calgary.  Is my schedule going to be busy, yes!  But I am really excited.  TC has given me the opportunity to expand my abilities and have placed upon me some very exciting challenges.

Right now, I am happier and more excited than I have been in quite some time.  I feel like I have the world in front of me again and the possibilities are endless.  I also feel like this “company” called Deliberate Performance is coming to fruition, slowly but surely.  The only quote that I can find that accurately sums up my situation right now is from one of the greatest visionaries of the past century and the world’s greatest loss with his recent passing, Steve Jobs.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.  And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.  If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.  Don’t settle.  As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.  And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.  So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” (Steve Jobs, 2005)

Yours in Health and Performance

Jeff Osadec, MKin, CE

In the last blog post I said that if I needed to be called out, please do so.  Well, I have been.  Graeme is a good friend that I met in Grad School.  He is a guys guy.  One who shaves with a straight razor (the thought still scares me) and one day decided to bike home… to Winnipeg… from Calgary… by going to Banff, then Jasper and then to Winnipeg.  The friends I met in grad school are guys I hope to keep in touch with for the rest of my life.  We were in the “trenches” together (actually, office KNES 131) and we went to “war” together (actually KNES 673, 773 and 775).  I respect all their opinions very highly.  This is the email I received from him this afternoon.

Hey Buddy,

I think the key element here is that good practice entails application of the entire scientific method to relevant training situations and decisions, even when ‘scientific evidence’ is lacking. That is, knowledge of the relevant basic science, critical analysis and interpretation of available research, development of a well-supported hypothesis, and systematic testing / monitoring throughout the intervention (‘training’). 

I would like to thank Graeme for calling me out.  And the same thanks goes out to Ryan (RVA) as he called me out a few months back.  I was in need of this wake up call.  I will admit, I have been jaded, I have not been myself lately.  I have felt lost, distracted and frustrated.  It was not that long ago I was talking to Pam about leaving it all behind.  But there is nothing in this world I would want to do more as a career.  I love my job, I love the clients I work with and I love the opportunities it has brought me and I love writing on this blog site.  I started to aim to educate on the importance of certified and educated professionals but that quickly turned in to a “mission” to clean up the profession.  Instead of leading by example I started whining and complaining on my blog and I started inflating my own ego.  Then Graeme, seeing this shift (he has been biking across New Zealand and Australia with limited internet access) gave me the kick in the ass I needed.  He’s right; I have been no better than anyone I have been lobbying against.  I have been standing on my soapbox bitching and complaining instead of leading by good practice and educating as I first intended and thus separating myself from the ones I have been so frustrated by.

But this week of meeting was something I needed too.   I recently had a client tell me, “Your brain does not work like everyone else’s.   Your brain is running 90 times faster than most.  You have a lot of information in that head of yours but you are unfocused.  You need to take that information and focus it.  That is going to lead you to success.”  It is important for me to rediscover the fact that I needed to focus on what I have been doing that has lead to the successes I have achieved.   I have “forgotten” some of the practices that have placed me in the position I am in in my career.  That is why I am going to be doing a book club with a dear friend of mine, Amber, whom I did Holistic Life Coach 1 and 2.  I have left that on the shelf for a bit, but she has given me the push to get back to that.   I need these wake up calls from friends like Graeme and Ryan, guys who I respect.

I am sorry to all my readers for the negative tone to the last three posts, the condescension and self-promotion.  It is not a quality that I admire, nor something that I would like to exude.  I promise to carry myself in a more professional and educational manner.   I would like to thank you all for following this blog and I hope to better serve you from now on.

Yours in Health and Performance,

Jeff Osadec, MKin, CEP, CSCS

Last week, I slowly packed my office.  Placed all my books in a box, along with all my belongings of my desk and filing cabinet.  It was a strange feeling.  Knowing that I would not be coming to the same place.  No, I did not quit my job.  We are in the middle of a renovation (painting, cleaning and reorganizing).  It is going to be nice to come back to a “new” gym.  However, with renovations comes the subsequent displacement of our staff.  And that lead to a productive three days in a boardroom discussing the direction of our company, our roles and our responsibilities.  Much of that discussion was based on who we are as a company and who we are as coaches.  We as a company have made a major policy as well.  We will be mindful of what others are doing, but under no circumstances will we be concerned with other “competitors”.  It brings about too many distractions and negative energy towards the goal we are doing as a company.  We need to put that focus on what we are doing.

I have been reading Men’s Health for quite some time and I would say that David Zinczenko as editor has been one of the best things to happen to the magazine.  The last editorial this past month rang so true to the message of this post.  There are a lot of so-called “experts” out there.  With the Internet, everyone can set up a site and post their opinion and call it law or fact, and that includes me.  However, what is not evident is the level of expertise and knowledge that these experts possess.  Many lack the practical experience, clients or theoretical knowledge to back up their claims. Many of these experts work in “packs”.  What I mean is, they are friends with others who are writing on the Internet, and they are all promoting each other.  They scratch each other’s backs.  But that is the times in which we live.   The Internet has created over night experts.   Not only are these experts sharing their information via email, some of them have begun to create courses and certifications based on their ideas.  And they then foster a new group of followers spewing the views of the so-called expert.  It is a vicious cycle, and I guess you could say it is almost cult like.

And a lot of people follow what these experts are posting.  I have been guilty of that when I first started in the profession.  I read everything that others wrote and took it for fact.  However, I was so naïve that I did not take a critical look at the information.  However, with the completion of grad school, I have become more critical of the information I read.  And that is the message of this post.  To be critical of the information that is out there, the information on the Internet, and the information that is shared by these so call experts.  Look at the information that is being presented and look at what others are saying about it, not everyone will share the same view.  That critical look at the information includes the information from this “expert”, me.  If I begin to spew BS I want you to call me on it.  If I become a self-promoting asshole, email or comment and say, “Hey, you’re becoming a dick.” That will force me to be credible in the information that I relay on to all of you.  And one of the goals I have always maintained is to not become one of the self-promoting “experts” out there.  Because who am I kidding.  As one of my friends put it, “I am just above nobody status in the grand scheme of things.

Yours in Health and Performance,

Jeff Osadec, MKin, CEP, CSCS and emerging expert.

My aim has alway been not to offend anyone but today I am just fired right up

I will elaborate more in a upcoming post…

As a friend of my said… this sums it up!

Hey,
I’m not a fitness attendant, or a fitness instructor,
and I don’t compete in competitions where “six pack” matters,
or  load up on supplements from Popeye’s or GNC.
I don’t own any gadgets from late night infomercials,
And I don’t care what the trainer did on the Biggest Loser,
although I’m certain got impressive results.

I have a degree or two (actually 4 = 11 years of school) … not a weekend course,
I speak in scientific terms and make it understandable, not in acronyms
and I don’t care what someone wrote on T-Nation.

I can proudly tell you everything that impacts VO₂ max,
I believe in whole movements and not isolation,
innovation and application,
and that my programs are periodized and have purpose.

A Kettlebell is a tool,
I read journals for my information, not the internet or Shape.
High intensity exercise is hard on the central nervous system,
and it CANNOT be done every day!
Many of us have put in numerous years,
a lot of time and effort,
and are proud of what we do.

My name is Jeff…
and…I……AM…… APPLIED PHYSIOLOGIST!

NOT A PERSONAL TRAINER

Thank you.

It was a great weekend at the Ultimate Health and Fitness Show.  Although the weather did not cooperate there was still a great turn out.  As well, it was fun to meet many different people and answer numerous questions.  As many of you would know, I love educating people and this weekend was a great opportunity to do just that.  However when we go to trade shows a couple of things happen.  One, we get to connect with some amazing people.  I was able to meet a chiropractic group that I am going to meet with, in a week or so.  Dr. Karen Quinn has an interesting philosophy and is very knowledgeable.  Two, we get to see what some of the “snake oils” that are being promoted.  We all would like a quick answer to fitness but a cold laser that increases the mitochondria’s ability to generate ATP… I would need to see some peer reviewed articles on that one.  Down the aisle from that booth was the guy selling the Shake Weight, a group demonstrating the pole dancing classes, and someone with the vibration platforms.  So here I am thinking, if I can get one of those vibration platforms into the base of the pole, and toss in a couple of shake weights… let’s just leave that thought alone right now.

Anyways, at this particular show there were stage presentations.   Now Peak Power was a presenter, as were many of the exhibitors.  However, the egos in the profession never cease to amaze me.  One of the presenters said that “Power is using gravity to your advantage!”  WHAT?  Mechanical Power is often defined as work that is equal to the force acting on an object times its displacement (how far the object moves while the force acts on it) where the force is the mass x acceleration.  You must produce a force to overcome gravitational effects.  I got a chuckle out of that one.   But the day was young.  Near the end of the day we were all tired, ready to call it an end and one of the last few speakers were about to go.  In between talking to the last few people who where around we were able to hear this gentleman speak.  Three comments in particular from the presentation have had me laughing for the last three days.

Comment 1: “The text books are wrong.” Really, they are wrong?  Yes new research may at some point in the future change our understanding and perceptions but the text books are not wrong.  Thousands of Universities would not have students purchase them in order to teach incorrect information.  More so, these texts challenge your understanding of the training of science and since they do not conform to his method of teaching and explanation, they must surely be wrong.  Tell that to McArdle, Katch and Katch.  They would bludgeon him with the very text book they wrote.

Comment 2: “It is all about training the ATP-CP system not the aerobic system.  If that system is not trained and you do something that is explosive (using the ATP-CP system) you could have a heart attack.”  Seriously?  The ATP-CP system utilizes immediate energy supply provided almost exclusively from the intramuscular high-energy phosphates, or phosphagens, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and phosphocreatine (PCr).  It would allow one to walk briskly for 1 minute, run at marathon pace for 20 to 30 seconds, or sprint run for 5 to 8 seconds.  This information was taken from McArdle, Katch and Katch’s text book, “Exercise Physiology – Energy, Nutrition and Human Performance.” I am personally convinced that just because you do not train the ATP – CP system, this is not the sole reason one would have a heart attack, I would suspect there will be many other factors that would have to play a role.  But since I took the information from a text book, according to this person’s first comment, the information is wrong.

But the final Comment 3 was my favourite.  To this very moment, I cannot understand how someone could stand in front of a group of people, peers, and other professionals and say these very words… “I am very excited to be here at the Ultimate Health and Fitness Show.  This show is the second best thing to happen to the Calgary fitness industry since the opening of [his facility name here].”   That very comment, with its arrogance was so utterly egotistical that I actually threw my hands in the air.   If this would have been at a conference, he would have been booed off the stage.   If there would have been more of the strength and conditioning community there, I can think of one person right now who would have gotten up on stage and literally fought him.  I am still floored.  I told my boss if that would have been him, and he said that I would quit on the spot.  There are people in this city who have forgotten more than I know.  There are people doing things out there trump the opening of his facility.  I am still just in shock that I was there to hear that.  But I am glad to have been there to hear it, because if I ever get to the point where I would say something like that, I want one of you, my readers to call me on it, and I will quit this profession immediately.  I would never want to be in the same category as him.  What little credibility this guy had in my mind is now erased.  He may as well be on a late night infomercial selling shake weights.

But with the long explanation of a very interesting weekend, I come to the point of the post… credibility.  This was brought to my attention by a good friend and colleague of mine, Ryan Van Asten.  He is an extremely smart guy with a great blog as well (you can find it in my links section).  He is very much based in the science, and it must be proven by research.  We have been debating a previous post that I talked about Raw Milk.  He stated, “To me it is bad practice to recommend something or say something is better with no evidence/justification to support the claim. Do you agree with that?”  I do agree with that, and I realized that although there are 100’s of articles that are against Raw Milk, to post the benefits of Raw Milk, and to remain credible I need to find articles that are in support of  Raw Milk.  As I told Ryan, my aim of the post are not to tell everyone what they need to do, but rather give them the resources to make an educated decision.

So here I present a list of references so that an educated decision can be made.  Now once again, I am not telling people to go out and seek Raw Milk, I am merely providing the second side to a story.  Some of these references show the risks of raw milk, as well as the benefits.  And thank you Ryan, for calling me out and keeping me on my toes.

Cow’s Milk Allergy A Complex Disorder

Effects of Processing on Pesticide Residues in Milk

Massive Outbreak of Antimicrobial-Resistant Salmonellosis Traced to Pasteurized Milk

Crewe, J. R. (1929, January). “Raw Milk Cures Many Diseases”. Certified Milk Magazine, pp.3-6.

Darlington, J. B. (1947, March 15). “Why MIlk Pasteurization, Part 1: Sowing the Seeds of Fear”. The Rural New Yorker,

Darlington, J. B. (1947, May 3). “Why Milk Pasteurization, Part II: Plowing Under the Truth.” The Rural New Yorker, P. 4-5.

“EU Scientific Committee Warns of Human Health & Caner Hazards of Monsanto’s Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rGBGH)”. (1999, March 15-16). Scientific Committee of European Union of Veterinary Measures Relating to Public Health Outcome”.

Ferrer, F. P., & Boyd, L. J. (1955, September). “Effect of Yogurt with Prune Whip on Constipation”. “American Journal of Digestive Diseases”, Vol.22(9), pp.272-273.

Frost, W. D. (1929, January). “Some Bacteriological Problems of Milk Control”. Certified Milk Magazine, pp.6-10.

Harrison, G. (1975, ). “Primary Adult Lactase Deficiency; A Problem in Anthropological Genetics”. American Anthropologist, Vol.77, pp.812-835.

Kretchmer, N. (1972, ). “Lactose and Lactase”. Scientific American Journal, Vol.227, pp.70-78.

Pottenger, F. M. (1938, July). “Clinical Evidences of the Value of Raw Milk”. Certified Milk Magazine, Vol.3, pp.17-22.

Ryan, C. A. (1987, ). “Massive Outbreak of Antimicrobial-Resistant Salmonellosis Traced to Pasteurized Milk”. Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol.258, pp.3269.

Schmid, Ronald. (2003). “The Untold story of milk.” New Trends Pub Inc.

Thomson, J. C. (1943, ). “Pasteurized Milk, A National Menace: A Plea for Cleanliness”. The Kingston Chronicle, Edinburgh, Scotland,

Woodford, K. (2007). “Devil in the milk.” Chelsea Green Pub Co.

Back with a few moments to look back at some older writings I had in a file and read where I have come from in this profession.  The evolution has been a bit astounding for me.  But lately as some of you may have noticed, my blog posts may have seemed jaded, angrier than others and somewhat disheartened.  I sometimes too lapse from the methods I aim to preach. After all, we are human and we all struggle from time to time.  And that is why it has been good to go back to the beginning, to see where I stared, and see that I have made progress by leaps and bounds.  And as my Mother in Law has started reading my posts she said to me the other day, “Maybe you need to read your own post again.” After a particularly hard day.  She was right.

Learning points from Volume 5 – this was a time of self doubt, some disastrous training sessions and fear of failing as a trainer.

What I learned…

1. Don’t fake it until you make it, rather “Take it until you make it.”
2. Don’t count yourself out until you are told otherwise.
3. Out of every disastrous situation there will be some good to come.
4. If you work hard, all good thing come to those who deserve it.

Learning from Volume 6 – At this point the true human nature was starting to show from clients, and I realized that there were various clients that I was encountering on a weekly basis. This one I had a good laugh over. I completely forgot this post, and some of the so called tricks I used and some I would never use again. Here is the summarized version…

I was encountering clients who complained, those that whine and moan that it’s hard and I don’t like this or that. What the hell, did you think this was going to be easy? Did you get this out of shape overnight? You didn’t wake up one morning and find a fatter version of you looking in the mirror, so why would you think that you let yourself go and you will undo all the neglect in a couple of weeks? This may sound mean but sometimes I push them to the brink of the capability so that when the next workout comes they are quiet, nervous of what I have to bring, or what I can do. Then when the workout is easy they are joyful and feel as though there has been progress. It keeps them motivated a little bit more. Mental tricks so I like to think.

Then I encountered the “I Know What to Do” client. They came to me with the best intentions and they listened to what I had to say… until they got comfortable. They would take the program I wrote, and bugger with it enough to throw the plan off. Some of my clients left their plans with me because they want me to be there to monitor, mainly weights. But many of the client remembered what they had done with me, stuff they liked, and add it in. It wasn’t quite as bad as the client who makes up exercises though. I sometimes had to shake my head and ask where they saw some of the crap they did. Some of the crap people made up was hilarious. What I did with these clients was to have them write down all the stuff they had added in, and tell them I was reorganizing it for them so it was more efficient. Then I would throw all the crap out and go back to my original plan, with one or two of their things and they were be as happy as a kid with candy, and rarely knew the difference.

There were also the “selective hearing clients”. These were the ones that would hear what they wanted to hear. They never seemed to hear the tips for form or for suggestion into the program, like YOU NEED TO STRETCH!!!!! I had clients that are walking two by fours. So I had to take ten minutes out of the workout to stretch them out. I realized that clients were like parrots and could be trained. Repeat word enough and the parrot learns it… for clients, drill it in enough times and they started to remember.

The last and most frustrating of all the clients I had at this time was the “show up when you want and do what you like.”

I had one of these. Called in to cancel all the time or just didn’t show at all. When at training this client would say “I don’t like that so I won’t do it.” Fine then do what the hell you like. When they came to complain that they have not lost weight or such, I explained to them exactly why they hadn’t made any progress. I was blunt and truthful, period. In this category was the client who came to see me hung over. In my case they did this once. Sick I could sympathize, but half in the bag was a different story. My remedy for a hangover was circuit training with light weight and high reps. Add in a set of box pushes, which consisted of pushing large carpeted plywood box across the gym floor. They never came in hung over again.

Learning from Volume 8 as 7 was just a brief letter home

This post occurred early in January of 2006, and I am going to leave this one as I wrote it.  This was an interesting one as it was the TSN turning point so to speak.  I am very fortunate that I came back to this as it gets the fire of desire re-burning within me.

I needed the holiday. I was starting to break down and the holiday was like a recharge to the system. I have a new out look to training and a new desire to train, and become better than I was in 2005. This was brought about by the management asking us to think about goals for the New Year. I have vowed to become a more competent trainer in the Athletic Training Zone. To read more and research more in order to become a more versatile trainer, and on a personal level, to begin a more balanced and effective program (also include an effective trunk program) Another personal goal is to go back to school in some capacity and do continuing education classes, once again so I become better.

Most of this getting better does include education, whether it is classes to upgrade or returning for a master’s degree. Why do you ask? Well over the holidays I asked myself, “is this as good as it gets?” and I think the answer was yes. I don’t desire to be good, I desire to be great. To be great I think that a master’s is a way to go. I am going to look into my options for a Master’s Degree and then talk it over with Pamela, and if it can be done, then it shall be done.

This desire that has overcome me has come from, I guess to some extent, repentance. To repent is to have a change of heart, a change of mind and a change of attitude. My heart is even more into becoming great than before. I am becoming increasingly more comfortable in my position, which means relaxed. I need to stay on my toes, to be on edge, which keeps me training at my best. The change of mind comes due to the other trainers and my new supervisor in the Athletic training zone challenging everything that I know. I am now asking more questions and discovering new material to enhance my training. The change of attitude is the simple fact that I do not want to settle for anything, I want to be at the top. I have to desire to have my name known. Around work the names like Charles Poloquin, Craig Ballantyne, Alwyn Cosgrove are thrown around. These men are huge in this business and have made enormous names for themselves.  I know it sounds vain but I want to be seen as that in the future. Maybe a Master’s degree in not the only way, but my focus this year is to find out how to get my path to greatness started. Our Bachelor’s degrees are not the final step. Our Bachelor’s degrees are merely licenses to allow us to further continue to learn.

Disrespect also fuels my desire at the moment. Where does it come from? The other day as a field house attendant was moving a guy out of one of the gyms I had booked for testing; the guy asked why he was being moved. Charlie told him because there was personal training going on the gym. The guy looked over and said, “he’s not a personal trainer.” When I heard who had said it I was angry. This guy is an outside trainer who trains one of our trainers. What a screwed up situation. He has no formal education. Sure he looks good…if you like that chemically enhanced look. He had the nerve to tell one of our best trainers that he couldn’t be a personal trainer either. He said you have to look the part. I have sweats and a pair of runners, doesn’t that make me a trainer, made him one. Funny thing is I have never talked to this guy, said a word to him or even looked at him in the wrong direction and he has an opinion of me. He is already in my “I wouldn’t piss in his ear if his brain was on fire” file, and I have never even talked to him.

That what we are challenged by, a lack of education for the general public that has the preconceived idea that to be a good trainer you have to have 24 inch biceps and a back you can play movies on. I have forgotten more than a guy like that knows and still people will go to see him. But then I think that those clients will come to see me, once they don’t see the results and/ or he hurts them. I just needed to vent a bit.

Funny how things seem to work.