Who are your top 10 influences?

[Jean-Paul]

Who are your top 10 influences in the fitness industry? I'm talking people who transformed the way you thought about fitness. They don't have to be big names. If someone blew your doors off and steered you to your current way of thinking, they belong on this list.

Mine are as follows (not in order of influence as I consider them to all to have had equal influence).

1. Bill Hartman
2. Dave Schmitz
3. Zig Zeigler (not the motivational speaker)
4. Lou Schuler
5. Ryan Lee (more the business side of the industry, but a big influence nonetheless)
6. Adam Campbell
7. Dos Remedios
8. Jim Labadie
9. Mike Robertson
10. Rob Tillman, a local physical therapist who said some important stuff to me at a crucial stage
11. Eric Cressey
12. Charles Staley
13. Thomas Plummer

Okay, I went over. It's too hard to nail it down to just ten. My original title was actually "who are your top 5?" but I just couldn't stop at 5. There have been many others, but these on my list have seriously influenced the way I think about fitness, either from the practical application side or the business side.

Who are yours?

[Cynic]

1. Mahler
2. Mahler
3. Lou Schuler
4. Mahler
5. Mahler
6. Alwn Cosgrove
7. Mahler
8. Mahler
9. Alan Aragon.
10. Lost Dog

[I. Kay]

I couldn't possibly put these in order of importance. I'll stick to alphabetical:

Alan Aragon - It feels strange to begin the list with the newest influence, but I guess that's the benefit of being a double-A. Anyway, I don't know how long I've been reading his stuff - a year at most, I'd say - but reading his posts and his book has drastically altered a formerly (and unnecessarily) rigid view of nutrition. A few myth-busts and logical comments later, I find myself - and clients - succeeding without strange rules and horrific limitations. Science works. Who'd a thunkit?

John Berardi - Never had I really picked apart nutrition until I had read all of his stuff. By the time Precision Nutrition came out, I bought it even though I already knew about 90% of it from following him for so long. In the end, I find myself not specifically following his famous 'guidelines'... but he changed the way I look at eating.

Gray Cook - Easily understandable, efficient, accessible and effective. That's basically what I think of his assessment strategies. My clients from before I knew his stuff missed out!

Alwyn Cosgrove - I use some version of his basic approach for fatloss as the "first phase" of about 75% of my clients. No bullshit and it works.

Eric Cressey - His mobility and shoulder stuff really changed the way I viewed lifting. Not to micro-analyze, but to recognize the significance of the smaller parts - and their true roles in the "bigger picture".

JP Fitness - The man, the site, the forumites. How many thoughts, arguments, links, opinions, discoveries and articles have I been exposed to on this site? It was/is a large part in transforming me from fitness junkie to having my own (gradually growing) training clientele.

Steve Gurtowski - You guys wouldn't know him. He's the manager and long-time trainer at my gym. He's the one that gave me the chance to train, and his day-to-day advice (sometimes big things, sometimes small things) has been an immeasurable help. How to handle situations with clients, during training, on the phone, email, or however.

Stuart McGill - People have been recommended to come see me specifically to fix their chronic back problems. I feel like I should be sending McGill a check each month!

Mike Robertson - Very similar to Cressey, in that he helped open up the world of "rehab/prehab" as a greater part of my training.

Chris Smith - He's my massage therapist, roommate and friend. Having him work on me and discuss clients from his point of view (trigger points, pain patterns, typical muscular disorders of those who sit too long, lift a certain way, etc.) has made me truly appreciate where my clients come from. Calcified erectors can't be fixed with a foam roller. Thinking of muscles in those terms - terms of restriction and pain - is a necessary part of training people who for the most part have similar day-to-day patterns. Having him work on me also gives me an appreciation of what's going on inside - beyond the diagrams. Four years of great work has also kept me returning to the weights!

Charles Staley - Sure he's done more than EDT, but damn it if the Density Training doesn't show up in some form for just about all of my clients at some point! Clients like it because it's straight-forward, and I like it because I never see clients push as hard until they suddenly have a single "number to beat". Great stuff.

[MindPower]

Good question JP
In no particular order, except number 1

1. JP Fitness
2. Mens Health
3. Joe Defranco
4. Zach Even Esh
5. Eric Cressey
6. Bill Hartman
7. Mike Robertson
8. John Berardi
9. My Brother - he bought our first weight set
10. Mark Rippetoe / Lon Kilgore

[Lost Dog]

1. Lou Schuler
2. Adam Campbell
3. Bill Hartman
4. Ross Enemait
5. Eric Cressey
6. Mike Robertson
7. Zach Evan-Esh
8. Cassandra Forsythe
9. Mr. JP Fitness
10. Alwyn Cosgrove

[kuri]

Good topic. And as with Ian and JP I don't know how to rank them.

1. My older brothers that introduced me to lifting
2. Bruce Lee
3. Dan John
4. Hartman
5. Cressey/Robertson -almost seem like one person
6. Dos
7. Alwyn
8. Gray Cook
9. Lou
10. Valery Fedorenko (recently opened my eyes to other ways to train strength endurance - you'll hear about him from Cotter at the Summit)

[Frank.S]

no order:

Louie Simmons
Dave Tate
Jim Wendler
Waterbury (though, not so much lately).
Dan John
Mark Rippetoe
Alan Aragon (aragon + tate on the same list! haha)
Ed Coan
Matt Kroc
Powerlifters at gym

[LisaS]

in the past:
1. Hatfield's book Bodybuilding: A scientific approach
2. the 1984 USA gymnastics teams (men and women)
3. an author of a book I lost in a move and have never found again - the title had to do with power and sport (not Bompa though) - from mid-to-late 80s I'd guess
4. Female body builds in the Cory Everson, Rachel McLish mold

more recently:
1. Mel Siff & others on his Supertraining list
2. Hartman (by mp3)
3. Cosgrove
4. Crossfit forums
5. JP Fitness site, people, threads
6. Vince Caiozzo, PhD (my physio & physio of ex professor)
7. Dan John

ladies in videos like these:
YouTube - Defying Gravity
YouTube - Bre and Sage: They've Got It
YouTube - Weightlifting analysis by the IRONMAVEN

[karky]

No order:
Bill hartman
Eric Cressey
JP (Got me to this forum from worldfitness)
Goergen1 (over at worldfitness, he is here too, helped me a lot and shown me a new way of thinking about training)
Waterbury
My dad (early influence, more that he taught me the mindset that it's good for your body to move, etc by always encouraging me to do sports, work out, etc)

[Simon C]

No order again:

1. Mr JP Fitness & Co.
2. Lou Schuler - BOM and NROL got me into 'smart' lifting
3. Chad Waterbury - his older stuff
4. Mark Rippetoe
5. Lon Kilgore
6. Dan John
7. Alwyn Cosgrove
8. Steve - powerlifting coach
9. Tim - powerlifting coach
10. Friend - A good friend of mine who dragged me into the school weights room 3 years ago

[Alcoholiday]

Chad Coy
Tom Lynch
Dan Montague
John Sullivan
Brad Cardoza
Glenn Pendlay
Mark Rippetoe
Dave Tate
Jim Wendler
Eric Cressey

[DKing]

This is a solid question. I had to think a ton about this one before answering.

1. JP
2. Lou Schuler
-without these two there is no way that I would be doing what I do now. The encouragement I have gotten from both guys over the years has been amazing and the role they both played in getting me the right info is huge.

3. Luke Smith - former manager at my old gym. Without this guy I would be poor and have no clients. Taught me a ton about working in a gym.

4. Jeff Peterson, Dave Ostlund, and other strongman training partners - I never really learned to push until I met these guys. The stuff they taught me about strongman is huge.

5. Bill Hartman - He has never been wrong. Everything he has ever told me has turned out to be correct.

6. Alwyn Cosgrove - Without him I would suck as a trainer. He has helped me out a ton.

7. Eric Cressey - Gave me a lot of great posture and structural balance stuff before I really heard about it anywhere else.

8. Brian Grasso - Another guy who has helped me a ton. Brian's info is gold.

9. Gray Cook - His assesment and corrective stuff is second to none. If you aren't reading his stuff, start.

10. Mike Boyle - Great info.

10.5. My clients - sounds cheesy but each client has made me slightly rethink how I approach things and has made me a better trainer. More than anyone else they have probably really changed the way I view fitness.

Danny

[PowerManDL]

Originally Posted by LisaS

in the past:
1. Hatfield's book Bodybuilding: A scientific approach

Ha, this is the first book I ever bought on lifting, years ago. Funny that, haha. Hatfield was the guy that really got me interested in the science-related aspects of exercise.

So you can all blame him for this.

My list, in no particular order:

1. Siff without a doubt
2. Louie Simmons
3. Yuri Verkhoshansky, now that he's online he's a great resource nobody knows about.
4. Glenn Pendlay
5. Lyle McDonald
6. Mark Rippetoe
7. Charlie Francis
8. Vern Gambetta
9. Jason Burnell, the "Deepsquatter" and guy that runs the site of the same name, which introduced me to the idea of strength as opposed to just "bodybuilding"
10. Buddy Morris

Hell I could go on all day I'm sure, but those are the main ones that stand out to me.

[Jean-Paul]

That's a great list Danny!

I have to say though, those of you putting me on that list feels weird! Don't get me wrong, I'm very flattered, but I don't in any way feel worthy enough to be on the same list with some of those giants.

It's really neat to see people's influences here. With my list, there was a real progression, and each person added something vital to the most crucial stage of growth I have ever experienced, both as a trainer and as a businessman.

I guess in that way I can attribute a lot to this forum. Things never turn out as you think they will, and that is certainly okay with me. When I launched this thing 5 years ago, I was fully intending to be an expert answering questions. I had been living on an island where I was never challenged, and not forced to grow. I thought I had all the answers. I quickly learned that I was the one asking questions. Bill popped in on my site one day and that is where my paradigm shift began. That's why no matter who else appears on that list, he tops it.

I only feel like in the last year did I truly become an expert on my own rights, and I have been a trainer for over 20 years! Even still, every time I interact with one of those people on my list, I come away wealthier with knowledge.

I still didn't get to list all of the influences. Chad Waterbury belongs on my list for sure. Mike Boyle, Alwyn Cosgrove, Stuart McGill, Steve Cotter, Gray Cook... The list really does go on, and I'm not sure I could narrow it down to who is the top 10.

[GG300]

As others in no particular order.

1. The Folks at JPs for ideas, input and support.

2. My Trainer for keeping me on track when I wander

3 & 4. My Mom and Grandma for teaching me how to cook so I can make healthy food instead of being a slave to prepared crap

5. My good friends for dealing with my changes in lifestyle and encouraging me along the way.

6. My old administrative assistant for sitting down with me one day about 8 years ago and telling me I looked like a slob. Yes she helped me fix it and we are great friends because of it.

7. My Aunt and Uncle who I watched go through personal, economic and health problems all with diginity and class.

8. All of the great authors that have written books, articles and even responded to e mails all with relatively little gain to them and huge personal gains to me.

9. My Faith

10. All of the doubters that also keep me on track as I will never give them the satisifaction of saying "I know he couldn't do it".

[cappuccino]

Originally Posted by DKing

10.5. My clients - sounds cheesy but each client has made me slightly rethink how I approach things and has made me a better trainer. More than anyone else they have probably really changed the way I view fitness.

Danny

very cool perspective, Danny. I imagine each client is different, and that has to be a learning tool.

*******
for my list...in chronological order of influence, for the most part:

preceding weight training - family - brought up an in active household...parents exercise, always made to walk places, made me participate in sports even when I didn't always want too. Sister gets me out for walks too...just keep on moving

1. JP-- JP didn't have an awesome gym in my building at work, I don't know that I would've ever made the switch from cardio bunny to weights. On top of that, once I started getting interested he lured me to the forum and I started learning TON about the secret world of weightlifting. Felt very odd to me, and now it's a way of life.

2. JP Fitness community--never would've learned at all without you guys!

2. Craig Ballantyne--my TT days took me to the next level of no BS training and I got in the best shape of my life

3. Johnka (John Williams) + Berardi--taught me fruit and/or veggie at every meal is a must. Welcome spinach omelete for breakfast.

4. Bill Hartman - fixed my ouies from my running days and set me straight with his corrective programming

6. Galya - true inspiration...she keeps going and going and never gives up. She's one strong gal and a great motivator. One day I hope to lift as heavy as her (and she's about 1/2 my size )

5. Russ - This dude has some serious dedication to training. If only more would rub off on me. If I could trade him some 'get to the gym no matter what, rain or shine, blizzard or draught, injury or health' for some 'eat more veggies and drink less soda' we'd be the rippest couple this side of our street corner. Oh, and if he could rub off on me, 'don't eat if I'm not hungry' , that would be cool too.