Interview with T-nation writer Jimmy Smith pt. 1
Jun0
Jimmy Smith (MS,CSCS) is trainer you need to get acquainted with. Check out his website. He is quite an accomplished guy, writing for several publications including my favourite: T-Nation.com.
Check out Jimmy’s T-nation work here.
Like the Legend, Ronnie Coleman has always said “E’rbody wanna be a bodybuilda, but don’t nobody wanna lift no heavy ass WEIGHT.”
Jimmy Smith can help you look great AND lift some heavy weights!
He and I talked about training, marketing your skills/services as a fitness professional, and training for tall guys. Dig in!
ON-Fit: So, Jimmy, tell us about yourself and how you got started in the iron game.
Jimmy Smith: I’m Jimmy Smith of JimmySmithTraining.com. Basically, I was introduced to fitness and nutrition through high school athletics. I wanted to take the next step to get involved in college sports, and I knew I would have to start working out seriously with weights.
After awhile I just picked up bodybuilding training and just ran with it. It got into my blood and I was hooked.
While I was in college, I didn’t know what I wanted to eventually do. Some of my roommates were working at the Boston Sports Club, and I thought personal training would be an interesting job. From here I got my certification, and I’ve been training ever since.
I love weightlifting. Sometimes I’ll have to take some time off briefly, but I always come back to it. It keeps me centered.
OF: How did you go about monetizing a hobby you were passionate about?
JS: I’ve always wanted to turn fitness into a career, ever since reading the early muscle medias. At first, it didn’t occur to me to monetize my hobby. I took the approach of “I’ll get really good and people will come to me.” It doesn’t work this way, and unfortunately you don’t know this until you are trying to start a fitness career.
I was at a conference in 2004 or 2005 talking about web pages, ebooks and affiliate marketing – and I realized that’s what I want to do. At this point I had a web page up for about 2 years, and nothing happened. I was sending out newsletters and doing some things here and there to build up the traffic, but it wasn’t working.
One day I realized I had to work at the marketing aspect of the fitness industry.
OF: What strategies do you find helpful in building clientele? As you said, being “good” is not enough.
JS: Exactly, it is not enough. You can’t be afraid to promote yourself.
A lot of people might be afraid of self promotion because there was a divide between people with master’s and PhD degrees and those who did not have them. To some people, you couldn’t even think about writing an ebook unless you have studied for years
You cannot be afraid. You must be a shameless self promoter.
It’s not about going out there and saying that you are the best in the world – it’s about getting the word out. This is so much easier now with Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and blogs.
There are people I work with who don’t know a thing about marketing, but they have blogs, etc and it gets them traffic and clientele
My dream was always to impact people on a bigger level, that’s not to say 1-on-1 training isn’t the best – you can help individual people more completely this way. Your time is limited, however, and as you get older it gets harder unless you own a gym. That’s why I like to focus on ebooks and web-based training.
OF: You mentioned earlier on that you have a passion for bodybuilding, specifically. What drives you towards aesthetic training, and what you approach is
JS: In college my love for basketball was waning, and I found myself in the weight room more and more. So I had to decide, “do I want to be a strength athlete?” And hey- some of those guys look darn good, but I decided I wanted to be as muscular as possible. Maybe it’s because I’m 6’6”, and I used to be very skinny. Bodybuilding attracted me more. The whole culture attracted me; the confidence these guys exuded, you know, Arnold in Pumping Iron and things like that.
I decided I wanted to do bodybuilding, but I didn’t want to do the “traditional stuff.” Unfortunately, you read these bodybuilding articles that are so limited in scope and don’t talk about other types of training. Similarly, strength coaches will publish information that states absurd things like “never ever do any isolation movements.” No! There has to be a balance, and a consideration for what tools will get the job done.
At this point I had experiment in both bodybuilding and strength training and learned to put the two styles together to get the best results. I really just liked changing my body, seeing how others reacted; that sort of thing. I liked the confidence that came with a stronger body as well as the opportunities which began to arise.
OF: You mentioned earlier that you are 6’6”. Actually, in looking at your Facebook pictures – you dwarf all of your friends! How does being a tall guy factor into your training?
JS: Well, squats stink when you are tall. “Tall” in Canada in the US is around 6’1” or 6’2.” That’s not to say it’s an excuse, or it’s why I don’t squat 400 lbs. You just have to go so much further towards the ground. Some of my friends are absolute beasts when they squat – but they only have to go half of the way that I do!
It works the same with bench press. If you have long arms, that bar has to travel a long way! I have a friend who is 6 feet tall, but has arms that are as long as mine. I swear to god, he looks like a chimpanzee. We started benching together because we both had the same limitations, so we could motivate and encourage each other. Should press is also difficult. With both bench press and shoulder press, when you are tall you lose tension on the muscle. When I bench, I focus on the low-to-mid range of the movement, otherwise my pecs lose tension. Chin ups, on the other hand, develop my back and biceps phenomenally due to my long arms. I can put more tension on these muscle groups because of the length-tension curve of the movement.
You really have to learn your movements. Don’t jump into squat, bench, and deadlift because someone said they are the best developmental exercises. They could be best for a person of average height, but the same thing will not work for everyone.
OF: Do you find yourself isolating more to compensate?
JS: I definitely have to isolate more to compensate. There is no question about that. A side lateral raise is always going to be better for someone with an enormous reach than a shoulder press. Yeah, the shoulder press may have more muscle-building potential for people with a smaller reach, but for longer arms the shoulder press will not keep tension placed on the muscle. I don’t care what anyone says, you could argue for days about this.
Something like straight-bar curls are great for someone with long arms, maybe not so much for someone with shorter arms. You have to pick and choose your battles though.
OF: What sort of approach do you advocate in achieving a great physique?
JS: The first thing is that your diet has to be under control. I stick to higher calorie approaches, but I will cycle calories even when people are bulking so that they do not feel full all of the time. This way my clients have enough energy and enough nutrients to grow. Carb cycling is pretty popular nowadays, but I believe you have to cycle all of your macronutrients. And of course, if you have less carbs in your diet you need more fat and protein. That sort of stuff goes with out saying.
OF: What about training?
JS: For training, I found that using intensification and accumulation phases work well. A lot of people might cringe when they hear this, but it works well. Basically you would just start by accumulating volume through lower sets and higher reps for 4-6 weeks. Then you would move to higher sets and lower reps for a period. This way, when you go back to higher-rep training you will move more weight. It’s very simple.
I think in a perfect world everyone would undulate their training schedule, but it’s just not going to happen with most people. It’s just not realistic for many trainees.
OF: What about trading some exercises for others throughout the year? How would you approach this with your athletes?
JS: Movements should be changed every 4-6 weeks, however, there are some movements that will have to be repeated. I will often keep the same basic exercises throughout several phases, such as deadlift, but maybe change the grip or foot stance. For example, I might have someone do a Romanian deadlift for 4-6 weeks and then change to a snatch-grip deadlift or sumo-style. Simple tweaks like this will cause the central nervous system to recognize each variation as a new exercise. Different adaptations will take place as you use different muscle fibres.
Great advice, Jimmy. Thanks a lot!
Stay tuned for part II of this interview with Jimmy Smith of JimmySmithTraining.com.
In the mean time, everyone go check out Jimmy’s website and leave some comments. He has a ton of information on how to make you look and perform better.
Jimmy Smith is trainer you need to get acquainted with. Check out his website. He is quite an accomplished guy, writing for several publications including my favourite: T-Nation.com.
Like the Legend, Ronnie Coleman has always said “E’rbody wanna be a bodybuilda, but don’t nobody wanna lift no heavy ass WEIGHT.”
Jimmy Smith can help you look great AND lift some heavy weights!
He and I talked about training, marketing your skills/services as a fitness professional, and training for tall guys. Dig in!
ON-Fit: So, Jimmy, tell us about yourself and how you got started in the iron game.
Jimmy Smith: I’m Jimmy Smith of JimmySmithTraining.com. Basically, I was introduced to fitness and nutrition through high school athletics. I wanted to take the next step to get involved in college sports, and I knew I would have to start working out seriously with weights.
After awhile I just picked up bodybuilding training and just ran with it. It got into my blood and I was hooked.
While I was in college, I didn’t know what I wanted to eventually do. Some of my roommates were working at the Boston Sports Club, and I thought personal training wuld be an interesting job. From here I got my certification, and I’ve been training ever since.
I love weightlifting. Sometimes I’ll have to take some time off briefly, but I always come back to it. It keeps me centered.
OF: How did you go about monetizing a hobby you were passionate about?
JS: I’ve always wanted to turn fitness into a career, ever since reading the early muscle medias. At first, it didn’t occur to me to monetize my hobby. I took the approach of “I’ll get really good and people will come to me.” It doesn’t work this way, and unfortunately you don’t know this until you are trying to start a fitness career.
I was at a conference in 2004 or 2005 talking about webpages, ebooks and affiliate marketing – and I realized that’s what I want to do. At this point I had a webpage up for about 2 years, and nothing happened. I was sending out newsletters and doing some things here and there to build up the traffic, but it wasn’t working.
One day I realized I had to work at the marketing aspect of the fitness industry.
OF: What strategies do you find helpful in building clientele? As you said, being “good” is not enough.
JS: Exactly, it is not enough. You can’t be afraid to promote yourself.
A lot of people might be afraid of self promotion because there was a divide between people with master’s and PhD degrees and those who did not have them. To some people, you couldn’t even think about writing an ebook unless you have studied for years
You cannot be afraid. You must be a shameless self promoter.
It’s not about going out there and saying that you are the best in the world – it’s about getting the word out. This is so much easier now with Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and blogs.
There are people I work with who don’t know a thing about marketing, but they have blogs, etc and it gets them traffic and clientele
My dream was always to impact people on a bigger level, that’s not to say 1-on-1 training isn’t the best – you can help individual people more completely this way. Your time is limited, however, and as you get older it gets harder unless you own a gym. That’s why I like to focus on ebooks and web-based training.
OF: You mentioned earlier on that you have a passion for bodybuilding, specifically. What drives you towards aesthetic training, and what you approach is
JS: In college my love for basketball was waning, and I found myself in the weight room more and more. So I had to decide, “do I want to be a strength athlete?” And hey- some of those guys look darn good, but I decided I wanted to be as muscular as possible. Maybe it’s because I’m 6’6”, and I used to be very skinny. Bodybuilding attracted me more. The whole culture attracted me; the confidence these guys exuded, you know, Arnold in Pumping Iron and things like that.
I decided I wanted to do bodybuilding, but I didn’t want to do the “traditional stuff.” Unfortunately, you read these bodybuilding articles that are so limited in scope and don’t talk about other types of training. Similarly, strength coaches will publish information that states absurd things like “never ever do any isolation movements.” No! There has to be a balance, and a consideration for what tools will get the job done.
At this point I had experiment in both bodybuilding and strength training and learned to put the two styles together to get the best results. I really just liked changing my body, seeing how others reacted; that sort of thing. I liked the confidence that came with a stronger body as well as the opportunities which began to arise.
OF: You mentioned earlier that you are 6’6”. Actually, in looking at your Facebook pictures – you dwarf all of your friends! How does being a tall guy factor into your training?
JS: Well, squats stink when you are tall. “Tall” in Canada in the US is around 6’1” or 6’2.” That’s not to say it’s an excuse, or it’s why I don’t squat 400 lbs. You just have to go so much further towards the ground. Some of my friends are absolute beasts when they squat – but they only have to go half of the way that I do!
It works the same with bench press. If you have long arms, that bar has to travel a long way! I have a friend who is 6 feet tall, but has arms that are as long as mine. I swear to god, he looks like a chimpanzee. We started benching together because we both had the same limitations, so we could motivate and encourage each other. Should press is also difficult. With both bench press and shoulder press, when you are tall you lose tension on the muscle. When I bench, I focus on the low-to-mid range of the movement, otherwise my pecs lose tension. Chin ups, on the other hand, develop my back and biceps phenomenally due to my long arms. I can put more tension on these muscle groups because of the length-tension curve of the movement.
You really have to learn your movements. Don’t jump into squat, bench, and deadlift because someone said they are the best developmental exercises. They could be best for a person of average height, but the same thing will not work for everyone.
OF: Do you find yourself isolating more to compensate?
JS: I definitely have to isolate more to compensate. There is no question about that. A side lateral raise is always going to be better for someone with an enormous reach than a shoulder press. Yeah, the shoulder press may have more muscle-building potential for people with a smaller reach, but for longer arms the shoulder press will not keep tension placed on the muscle. I don’t care what anyone says, you could argue for days about this.
Something like straight-bar curls are great for someone with long arms, maybe not so much for someone with shorter arms. You have to pick and choose your battles though.
OF: What sort of approach do you advocate in achieving a great physique?
JS: The first thing is that your diet has to be under control. I stick to higher calorie approaches, but I will cycle calories even when people are bulking so that they do not feel full all of the time. This way my clients have enough energy and enough nutrients to grow. Carb cycling is pretty popular nowadays, but I believe you have to cycle all of your macronutrients. And of course, if you have less carbs in your diet you need more fat and protein. That sort of stuff goes with out saying.
OF: What about training?
JS: For training, I found that using intensification and accumulation phases work well. A lot of people might cringe when they hear this, but it works well. Basically you would just start by accumulating volume through lower sets and higher reps for 4-6 weeks. Then you would move to higher sets and lower reps for a period. This way, when you go back to higher-rep training you will move more weight. It’s very simple.
I think in a perfect world everyone would undulate their training schedule, but it’s just not going to happen with most people. It’s just not realistic for many trainees.
OF: What about trading some exercises for others throughout the year? How would you approach this with your athletes?
JS: Movements should be changed every 4-6 weeks, however, there are some movements that will have to be repeated. I will often keep the same basic exercises throughout several phases, such as deadlift, but maybe change the grip or foot stance. For example, I might have someone do a Romanian deadlift for 4-6 weeks and then change to a snatch-grip deadlift or sumo-style. Simple tweaks like this will cause the central nervous system to recognize each variation as a new exercise. Different adaptations will take place as you use different muscle fibres.
Great advice, Jimmy. Thanks a lot!
Stay tuned for part II of this interview with Jimmy Smith of JimmySmithTraining.com.
In the mean time, everyone go check out Jimmy’s website and leave some comments. He has a ton of information on how to make you look and perform better.
No Comments
No comments yet.