I’m a little upset. I’ve been pretty successful recently in my mission to get girls off of elliptical machines and into power racks. I taught my girlfriend how to front squat last week, my friend Anna can pull 205lb off the floor, and I’ve been teaching the Paloff Press to whoever will listen. It’s hard to fight Hollywood, though.
I just received THIS link from my old roommate Ryan. Ryan’s going to be that unrelated Uncle when I have kids, so I’ll read pretty much anything he sends my way. This article really get me fired up though! If you don’t have the time to click the link, here’s a quick synopsis: Celebrity trainer Justin Gelband has been working with the Victoria’s Secret Angels for the past few years, getting them ready for the annual Fashion Show. For the past 12 weeks, he’s been working with 8 of the models to prepare them for the show which airs tomorrow night. During those 12 weeks, he gets the girls ready for action.
I was intrigued, until I found another article which calls Justin the Model Whisperer. Now I’m horrified. In this article, we find absolutely fabulous information such as this:
“At least part of Gelband’s technique involves knowing which exercises to avoid. “I don’t do lunges,” he says. “I don’t use any weights over five pounds. I don’t use kettle bells. I don’t use any crazy leg weights. I don’t do jumps or have them run up and down stairs.”
Instead Gelband emphasizes movement to activate smaller, interconnected and so-called “intrinsic” muscle groups. “In order to do that, I use stretch bands and the Bosu ball to promote balance and stability,” he says.”
Call me judgmental, but this man just jumped into the running for Ultimate Trainer Suckfest, right behind Tracy Anderson and Jillian Michaels. (I wonder what Tracy would say about the 5lb weights; she cuts her clients off at 3lbs.) You don’t use anything that weighs more than 5lbs? Hmm, I wonder what you can possibly do with a 5lb weight. Cue video…
You know what you just watched? This man just did a bird-dog while holding a paperweight. Bird-dogs are fantastic exercises that provide numerous benefits…it’s almost unfortunate that he wasn’t doing it on purpose. It’s equally as unfortunate that far more people will see that style of ‘training’ than will be exposed to concepts that aren’t totally ridiculous and actually provide some health benefits.
Justin has kept his job because he acchieves the look that the models and producers look; that skinny, weak, muscle-less look. The angels are obviously gorgeous, and have they sport ‘runway bodies’, but those aren’t the same as real life bodies. In the real world, women should be strong and capable, not weak and frail. Ladies, please do not follow those training styles. Think about it this way: When has the low-weight, ultra high rep method worked continuously? It doesn’t. Models and actresses use it to get ‘in shape’ or a show or film, then return to their old ways and old physique. It’s a short-term quick fix, not a long-term solution. If you’re interested in training strategies that are physically and psychologically enabling, you may want to visit the websites listed on the right sidebar. Those people know a whole lot more than I do. Specifically, let me point out THIS post by Bret Contreras, which contains a collection of videos focusing on a deceptively strong woman. You may also want to watch some of the following videos that show feminine girls that are pretty strong. I collected a few videos and now pose this question: Don’t they look a lot better than the Angels?
Harold Gibbons 
Excellent post! You nailed it!
Thank you, Ron! I can’t argue that that style of training doesn’t achieve the goals that population requires, I think there are numerous flaws and people should be working on functional fitness. Hopefully one day those models will be doing glute bridges and push-ups to get ready for the runway!