Mike Robertson interviewed by Nick Grantham

[Lisa~]

I'm a big fan of Mike Robertson. Along with Bill Hartman, he brought us Inside-Out and the recent essential reading article Push-ups, Face Pulls, and Shrugs. Along with Eric Cressey, he brought us Magnificent Mobility (Monster Mobility Pack). He's written lots of articles we refer to as essential information. He's currently working on a new manual about knee health called Bulletproof Knees. He's a contributor to our forum, an all-around great guy and my friend.

Nick Grantham did an interview with Mike for his last newsletter. It was an interesting interview and I wanted to share it with you guys so that you can get to know Mike better.

Q&A with Mike Robertson
By Nick Grantham
______________________________ __________
I was first introduced to Mike through his contribution to the Magnificent Mobility DVD. Mike is another one of these young guys with a thirst for knowledge that is already contributing to the body of S&C knowledge and shaping how people approach training.

NG: Thank you for the interview Mike. Why don't you start by telling us a little bit about your current coaching commitments?

MR: I’m a strength coach and personal trainer in the Indianapolis area. I’m contracted out by University High School, which is a small Class A school here in town. They’ve only been around a few years, but this year both our boys’ and girls’ basketball squad has a legitimate chance at a state basketball title.

NG: Mike, can you tell the reader your educational or previous career background and how you ended up working as a S&C coach?

MR: I received both my Bachelors and Masters degrees at Ball State University; my Bachelors was in Exercise Science, and my Masters was in Sports Biomechanics.

I got my start working in the BSU Athletic weight room, where I worked with athletes from all 26 sports. I knew from the first week that I loved what I did, so I continued that throughout my Masters work over the next 2.5 years. After that, I moved to Ft. Wayne, Indiana where I became the Director of a small facility called the Athletic Performance Center. Since then, I’ve moved to Indy and I’m starting to build a small empire here as well!

NG: What makes a great training facility?

MR: I think the trainees who train there can make or break a facility. You could have all the best equipment in the world, but if you’re surrounded by people who don’t care, you won’t make the kind of progress you should.

Contrast that with a facility where people are dedicated to progress – it’s amazing how places like this are the ones that always churn out the champions. When I went to train at Westside a few times, it was only 800 square feet, but everyone who trained there had a singular purpose: Get stronger, or get out.

NG: What are your typical clients and personal achievements as a coach?

MR: My clients are far from typical. My “typical” training clients range from doctors, to dentists, to car dealers, the works. I do all my personal training in-home or on-location, so I’m working with a very high-end market.

As a coach, I feel I’ve been fairly successful, but always remind myself that everyone I’ve ever worked with was a great athlete BEFORE I worked with or coached them. Our men’s volleyball team was consistently ranked in the top ten while I was there, and finished as high as fourth in the nation my last year there. Our men’s powerlifting team at Ball State was also a perennial contender on the national level, and I had the privilege of coaching several National champions in my time there.

Finally, two years ago I was selected to coach the US World Bench Press team, where the Men and Women took home second and first place, respectively. That was probably the highlight of my coaching career thus far.

NG: Can you describe a typical day in the life of Mike Robertson?

MR: Again, my life is anything but typical!

Monday, Wednesday and Friday are my big training days – I typically get in 8 client hours that day, which equates to a 12 hour work day. In between clients I work on articles, manuals, DVD’s, or whatever projects I may have going.

Tuesday and Thursday are lighter training days, but that’s when I get my training in. I’ll have clients in the early AM and later in the afternoon, but in between I train and work on projects.

NG: What's the one thing that really gets under your skin when it comes to the strength and conditioning?

MR: Whether it’s personal training, strength coaching, or physical therapy, I can’t stand when people in our field allow themselves to fall behind. In our industry, people are trusting us to improve their bodies; it’s not like a car or computer which you can sell, this is the ONLY body we’re going to have for the rest of our life. So when someone in our industry is under-educated or simply doesn’t care about their clientele, that pisses me off.

NG: You know from my articles that I'm not a fan of long slow steady state cardio training....it's a tradition that dogs many team sports in the UK. Is slow steady state cardio still going strong in the USA and if it is, what's your opinion and solution?

MR: Yes, it’s still going on here, but I think with the help of people like yourself, Craig Ballantyne, Alwyn Cosgrove and others we’re slowly beating that mantra down. I remember a basketball coach I had in high school who made me run cross country my junior year of high school to “condition.” From an aerobic standpoint I could run all day, and actually ran some PR’s in races that year.

As soon as I made that transition to basketball, though, I’d lost all the hard work I’d put in over the summer. I’d been honing the skills of my game, but since I was so aerobically conditioned I had ZERO explosive ability when I started playing again! I basically lost an entire season because I was in great aerobic shape but trying to play an anaerobic sport.

NG: How do you monitor training intensity - how far do you push your clients?

MR: I’m a big believer in cybernetic periodization, so I’m always asking my clients how they felt after the last workout, how they’re feeling today, etc. I can generally tell just by talking and observing a client for a few minutes before their workout how their performance will be. From there, I just try to make that workout challenging for that day, given the individual variables.

NG: How do you approach training clients from different age groups?

MR: In the grand-scheme, not that differently at all. Fat loss is fat loss, and strength is strength.

One thing I will adjust dependent on the age of the client is mobility work; as we age, we have a tendency to lose mobility, so this is something that I’ll typically tweak with an older client. Young kids may be able to get by with two mobility sessions per week, whereas an older client may need mobility work four to five times per week. Again this varies between individuals, but as a rule the older you get the harder you have to work to maintain mobility.

NG: I know you study the field a lot. Who do you go to for training advice?

MR: This is one of those loaded questions, Nick, because I don’t want to leave anyone out!

I’m in a great situation where I can call some of the best in the business true friends; when you have that opportunity, a lot of doors open and you have immediate access to a wealth of information.

Just off the top of my list, here goes:

Fat loss: Alwyn Cosgrove and Craig Ballantyne

Strength training: Dan John, Dave Tate, Jim Wendler, Jason Ferrugia

Posture, rehab, corrective exercise – Bill Hartman and Eric Cressey

Diet, nutrition and supplementation – John Berardi, Chris Mohr, Dave Barr and Lonnie Lowery

A lot of these guys tend to crossover, but that’s a pretty good list in my opinion!

NG: What are your top 5 tips that will help my readers train more effectively?

MR:
1) Set Goals – If you don’t have goals, everything else is a waste of time
2) Develop an action plan to achieve them – If you don’t know how to do this (or set goals) buy a book on the topic
3) Use the appropriate motivational strategies for you! This could be pre/post pics, visualization, or a host of other topics.
4&5) Bust your ass and work hard! At this stage in the game if you have done all the previous points, hard work and dedication are the only things that can keep you from achieving your goals.

NG: There seems to be a real boom in 'old school training', tyre flipping, car pushing...strongman type stuff etc in America. I guess if you are competing to be a strongman it makes sense!!.....what're your thoughts on its application to development of sport performance? Does it have a place and if so where?

MR: I think as much as anything, there is something to be said for making training fun. If you’re working hard and getting stronger, then to some extent it’s helping you achieve your goals, right?

My only issue are the guys that have no clue how to train people, so it’s all gimmicks and in-your-face intensity. Eventually, though, the good coaches always rise to the top while the guys who are just riding a wave fall off the map.

NG: What supplements do you think work?

MR: I’m really a minimalist when it comes to supplements. I’m big on the basics like protein, creatine, antioxidants, fish oils and greens products. Other than that, I really like glucosamine and chondroitin, although the research on that has been a little bit more equivocal. The fact that drug companies can’t patent it and sell/market it themselves probably has at least some bearing on that, though!

NG: What are your goals as a coach?

MR: As a coach I just want to continue learning; not only for my own sake, but for that of my athletes. As I’ve learned and grown as a coach, I’m better able to convey my thoughts to my athletes. As I’ve learned more, I’ve also been able to rapidly improve the performance of my athletes while keeping them healthier in the process.

NG: In a nutshell - What is your training philosophy?

MR: That there isn’t one path to follow in coaching; there’s not just the “Get as strong as possible” camp, and there’s not just the “I’m going to keep this guy healthy and never train him hard in the process” camp.

In fact, there’s this amazing middle ground where you can not only improve a guys’ performance, but simultaneously improve their resistance to injury! You have to know the functional anatomy and always be assessing athletes, but once you get to this level hold on and watch your athletes blow up!

NG: What advice do you give clients when it comes to recovery - how do they manage to keep training without breaking down?

MR: First off, I’m a big believer that far too often we are pushing the envelope too much with training. I’d much rather have an athlete undertrain than overtrain.

That being said, if you aren’t hydrating yourself properly, sleeping 7-9 hours per night, and eating a nutritious diet, I’m not going to tell you shit about recovery! As you know, it’s a hierarchy – if you aren’t at least doing these things, all the EMS, massage and supplementation in the world won’t make a difference.

NG: Anything else you'd like to mention?

MR: If you haven’t heard about it yet, be sure to check out the “Building the Efficient Athlete” DVD Series that Eric Cressey and I have put together. It’s the recording of a full two-day seminar that covers everything from assessments, to training and coaching, to functional anatomy. I feel like it can be a go-to resource for years to come, whether you’re an athlete, coach or trainer.

NG: Where can people read more about your theories and programs?

MR: You can find out all about me and sign-up for my FREE NEWSLETTER at www.RobertsonTrainingSystems.com. I’m not going to drone on about myself, as I’m just not that interesting! (NG: come on Mike don't hide away - Mike has some great products, check out one of his moset recent offerings the Inside Out DVD and training manual.)

NG: I'm asking all of our contributors for their top three books - the ones every S&C coach should have in their library? We've had some great answers and I'm building a virtual library on the links page of the web-site....what are your top 3?

MR: If I’m limited to books these would be the cornerstones:

- Supertraining – Siff
- Science and Practice of Strength Training – Zatsiorsky
- Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes - Sahrmann

NG: Mike, that was a big Q&A, keep up the good work and many thanks for contributing to the newsletter.

[Jimmy Smith]

I want to add that I've seen the Bulletproof Knee manual already and it's a great product. Mike is going to help alot of knees out with this one.

[Kevin T.]

Wow. I met a kid at the Notre Dame summer camp named Joe who goes to University High School out there around Indy. He was a freaky athlete. He was not only jacked, but he was quick, explosive, and had amazing stamina. Earned the Gatorade Will to Win Award for our team. He wrestles and is the catcher on the baseball team. I believe he said he is a junior like me. Any chance you work with him MR? His last name escapes me.

Oh yea, nice interview :p

[bipennate]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Smith

I want to add that I've seen the Bulletproof Knee manual already and it's a great product. Mike is going to help alot of knees out with this one.

Wha...?!? Lucky sunuva...Hey Mike: if you need another, you know, reviewer, I'd be happy to look it over for you. I'm sure that I could find the time!

Great interview, Lisa...thanks for posting

[Mike Robertson]

Kevin -

I'd love to take credit for the kid, but we don't have a wrestling team at University and this is our first year to have a baseball team, so I don't think he's mine. Nuts

Jon -

Yeah, all the reviews are almost in - if you weren't so damn smart I'd let you take a looksy. I think I'm going to have 1-2 regular people look it over to make sure it's not too "sciency" for the general public.

Stay strong
MR

[Kevin T.]

I think I might have gotten my University High Schools mixed up then. lol. Maybe Joe was from Illinois; its hard to remember all the names, faces, and places. :p

[Kevin T.]

Originally Posted by Mike Robertson

Kevin -

I'd love to take credit for the kid, but we don't have a wrestling team at University and this is our first year to have a baseball team, so I don't think he's mine. Nuts

Jon -

Yeah, all the reviews are almost in - if you weren't so damn smart I'd let you take a looksy. I think I'm going to have 1-2 regular people look it over to make sure it's not too "sciency" for the general public.

Stay strong
MR

I'm a regular person

[bipennate]

Originally Posted by Mike Robertson

Jon -

Yeah, all the reviews are almost in - if you weren't so damn smart I'd let you take a looksy. I think I'm going to have 1-2 regular people look it over to make sure it's not too "sciency" for the general public.

Stay strong
MR

Suck-up!

Oh well, I guess that I'll have to "stand in line" like everyone else then!

Congrats on (almost) having it finished! If it's like anything else that you've produced (I'm guessing "yes"), then it'll be an instant classic for sure

[Mike Robertson]

If you're a regular person with a knee issue, then you qualify. Let me know!

MR

[Cynic]

Heh, I'm a regular person who gets achy knees.

[Kevin T.]

Define knee issue :p I haven't blown any ligaments or tendons or the like, just a few sprains. However, I'd rather be proactive and prevent injuries instead of be reactive and have to rehab them. Although, my right knee has been bugging me lately. Kinda like if I make one bad move, its might just blow up. And hey, I'd be a fine test for the younger crowd

[Mike Robertson]

You two (Cynic and Kevin) e-mail me at mike@robertsontrainingsystems. com and we'll chat. Thanks!

[kuri]

Depends what you mean by regular but I've got knee issues. Mail sent.

[Cynic]

Originally Posted by Mike Robertson

You two (Cynic and Kevin) e-mail me at mike@robertsontrainingsystems. com and we'll chat. Thanks!

Mail sent.

[Kevin T.]

^^ What he said.