John Izzo: Why He Stands APART

An Interview by Leigh Peele (2006)

There aren't many in the industry like John. Not many fitness experts will stand up for what they believe in despite what it could cost them in sales or networking bridges. However, this really isn't about that. This is about giving you a chance to get to know more about John Izzo himself and along the way pick up a few of the best tips that you likely haven't heard and need to hear.

I don't call a lot of people in the fitness industry friends; I don't ever call anyone my friend who isn't. I consider Izzo a friend.

Leigh Peele: Where did you grow up John, and what got you started onto this path of fitness and health?

John Izzo: Leigh, I grew up and reside in central CT. I started working out when I was 15 at the local Boys Club. My competitive drive was nurtured by a  bunch of "dares" my friends and I would place on each other regards to "who can complete more sit-ups, more push-ups, who can curl the most", etc, etc

After high school I joined my first gym (they weren't called 'fitness centers'.) Three brothers who owned the gym took me under their wing and got me into the bodybuilding thing. I was always the small guy (I'm only 5'6"), who worked out with the monsters, but I was always as strong or stronger than them. My motivation was to catch up or hang with them. My goal was always to wear XL shirts and grow "into" them. Back then (and now) lots of guys wear their tight shirts when they "get" their first muscles...not me, I loved the baggy stuff so that I kept you guessing and I worked to fill those sleeves! 

Through the years, as my health improved, I really began to love the act of making my body stronger and more efficient. It was helping me in my personal life, school, and career. My first job as a fitness trainer was for the YMCA when I was 22. I liked the fact that members would come up to me and ask me questions about bodybuilding or athletics. I liked the closeness I felt with the "5 o'clock gym crowd". I liked having different training partners. It was a very rewarding time and one that I decided would be my career path well into my 30's. As I took on more personal training positions at various clubs, my knack for client motivation, results, and expectations were forged into management criteria. As owners noticed my ability to motivate my clients and others, they tried my skills at managing "other trainers". The result? Well, I am glad that I can be in a position where I can influence young new trainers and teach them the same skills I learned and combine them with my own career & life experiences.

Leigh Peele: Nothing like some healthy push up wars between buddies. Its little things like that I feel the youth culture is really missing out on; I hope to see a rebirth of that. Now as to your career, you say you are going more into the shaping and molding of young trainers minds, what does a normal day for you look like?

John Izzo: You know...personal trainers get a bad rap. Period. You know why? There is no doubt that there are good trainers and there are bad trainers out there. Just like any other profession, there are those that are exceptionally better at what they do then the other guy. I think there is an abundance of poor trainers hired out there. I think there are owners, managers, and fitness directors that hire personal trainers based on other factors rather than their qualifications or assessed characteristics. I think alot of managers hire trainers and they really don't know what to look for. Managers are typically responsible for customer service, profit centers, inventory, revenues, and marketing. We hear that personal training s a HUGE profit center inside clubs, but so many of today's managers are not inclined as to what a good personal trainer is versus a mediocre personal trainer.

My staff will tell you differently about me, Leigh. My day begins with supervising my staff of 6 trainers and following up on their clients' progress. I answer any of their questions; assist in developing exercise programs (if I am asked) and making sure that the members are satisfied with their service. My staff respects the fact that I have the real world experience as a personal trainer, myself, and the managerial skills to teach them leadership and communication skills (2 skills that will help them excel in this field). My day also involves budgetary responsibilities, scheduling, selling new client packages, and staff training meetings. When I am all done with that (which turns out to be a typical 9 hour day), I rush home to workout at my local gym, and then I touch base with my at-home clients. Then, on top of it ALL, I update my website, www.standapartfitness.com, twice a month, maintain a newsletter, write articles, conduct a podcast, connect with my Roundtable, and lastly, make new products spawning from my area lectures here in CT. Whew...

Leigh Peele: Geez John, when do you sleep?

I am glad you brought up your site StandApart, it is filled with so much good information. For those who may not know can you give us a little info on your recent products and what you might have planned on coming up in the future?

John Izzo: Well, standAPARTfitness.com is a product. It is a free product. The funds to sustain standAPARTfitness (bandwidth, disk space, and fees) come from my DVD products. Throughout central CT, I hold workshops for personal trainers who have between 1-3 years experience. In my workshops, I detail specific exercise programming modalities in a lecture format, which also includes practical demonstration with myself and student participants.

My products include: Stronger Shoulders DVD: filmed in 2005 for a group of trainers detailing the function of the rotator cuff and specific exercises that focus on it. I hold this lecture dear, because I worked closely with physical therapists after my own shoulder surgery, and wanted to focus my efforts on teaching others about a common problem.

Free The Hips DVD: filmed in 2005, details many movement prep exercises that enhance hip function

Advanced Strength Training Skills Pt.1 - filmed in 2004, this lecture is chock-full of movement prep exercises and advanced dumbbell exercises. My best seller!

Advanced Strength Training Skills Pt. 2 - taken from the same workshop, this video details many advanced moves that can be performed using the dumbbell and stability ball.
Finally, Eye of the Trainer...my most recent product and the most popular. I like the concept of EYE because it is teaching you specifically what exercises can enhance certain movements. It was originally titled, "Assessing Without Assessments" because of the detailed demonstration of poor technique and how to spot them easily.

I believe that fitness professionals that put out products should really focus their efforts on material that will teach, rather than marketing the BEST or FASTEST exercise program. All my products are developed with the intent that you are sitting across from me in a gym and I am showing/telling you exactly what you need to know. My next projects will be spin-offs from EYE--simply because the DVD has been so widely accepted.

Leigh Peele: If we can step into the training frame of mind for a second, obviously you are a man with a keen eye, if you had to name 3 things that you just can't stand seeing anymore in the gym what would they be?

John Izzo:
1.) Unqualified people instructing one another. I'm not talking about bad trainers here...I'm talking about buddies that show each other the latest exercise program; or the boyfriend who shows his girlfriend a bunch of pressing movements; or the ex-jock who shows his training partners his old high school program from 1972. The personal training profession has to be respected as an accepted practice that only boasts qualified personnel. Exercise instruction is bombarded with stay-at-home moms that lost 30 pounds and believe they can show their neighbor the same workout and expect the same results. It is bombarded by Internet forum dwellers, that have absolutely no experience training others and want to preach they know what they are talking about because they followed "so-so's" workout and got results. I wouldn't claim to know how to fix someone's leaky sink faucet just because I know how to turn the water on? I'm not a plumber and I don't have the training. That's the problem...so many gym-goers know how to “turn the faucet on", and THINK they can also fix a leak. This only makes matters worse for the recipient. Because then when I, or another professional, get to see them...the dominoes have already fallen.

2.) Mondays have to stop being designated chest days. This is not a pet-peeve, necessarily, but a concern I have. Many lifters cannot break the habit of making Monday's (their freshest day) reserved for their heaviest lift - the bench press. I am guilty of this until about 2000. I think this unbreakable routine will only lead to over training injuries (as it did for me) and is a notion that we all have this underlying belief that we must go heavy all the time. Indeed, macho-ism is still alive and well in gyms, however, ignorance is also. I always recommended that Mondays should be set aside for your most intense circuits, lower body, or power exercises. And in the end, most lifters lift their max bench and never go beyond it--doesn't matter how many Mondays they waste trying to surpass it.

3.) Stop lunging if you can't lunge. There is no doubt that the lunge is one of the best lower body, closed chain exercises out there. But how many times do I see people trying to lunge/split squat/reverse lunge and they look horrible?

Have you ever put on a shirt that was too small for you and try to move your arms freely? Ever happen to rip the sleeves trying to move your arms freely in that tight shirt? Once it's ripped, can you move your arms more without feeling restricted, right? Well, you can because now we have compensation. With rips in the original shirt the act of moving your arms can still be accomplished but the shirt has been manipulated. If you take the entire shirt off in exchange for a better sized one, then you have the shirt intact and movement unrestricted.

Why am I telling you this? Because so many people perform the lunge with compensations (ripped shirt) and no one bothers to follow the right exercise program (new shirt). Just because the book that everyone talks about...the one that is on the NY Times best seller...the one that "so-so" that is friends with "so-so" and "so-so" wrote it....blah, blah, blah...doesn't mean you have to follow it to a tee!! Why not? Because your lunge does not look like that NICE LOOKING lunge pictured in the book! You can still perform the movement, but you will with compensations...and sooner or later those compensations will throw off your mechanics affecting every other exercise. This is another mess that I, as a trainer, have to clean up.

Follow individualized exercise programs that address your needs. Chances are if your lunge is ugly, you may need me to look at the IT Band...glute activation...adductor length...core strength...foot positioning...lower body strength....bodyweight....balance...erector/bracing mechanism...propulsion action...pain indicators... So many factors that need attention that you can ask your book...but I highly doubt you'll get an answer. Address your ability...don't just do it. Do it right. :)

Leigh Peele: Ha love it John, The t-shirt image reminded me of Gov. Arnold in the movie twins when he sported Danny Devito’s tight garment and it ripped as Kelly Preston sits beside him. That's a little something special for both male and female readers out there...

John you are obviously someone who takes their career and their integrity in the field seriously. Who do YOU admire in the field? What are some names you point to and say "they’re doing it right"?

John Izzo: There are alot of coaches out there that are doing it right. Chances are if you heard of them, they are doing something right---marketing or training :) But I do have to mention, when I attended my first Perform Better seminar in Boston in 2001, I was blown away by Mike Boyle. It was the first time Boyle was invited to speak on the circuit, way before he became a well-known coach. I, along with ALL the attendees, were amazed at his training style and his approach to working with athletes. Along with Boyle that day, I was memorized by Juan Carlos Santana's circuits and presentation technique. JC was very enthusiastic on stage and simplified terms that made learning from him much more fun. His vicious circuits were awesome! I was also amazed by the vast knowledge of Mike Clark (President of NASM). Mike was unbelievably smart...I think my jaw dropped and stayed open throughout his presentation on ACL injuries and single leg exercises. I was a total sponge that day. From that day forth, it changed my perspective on training and every year after that, I attended seminars to gather more and more info from these guys (and others). I think those 3 professionals have influenced me the most in my career.

There are plenty more that I admire: Gray Cook and Mark Verstegen. I also admire some of my colleagues including my friend Wayne Burwell, and of course you Leigh :) I think you bring a great enthusiasm on the Internet boards...a proven knowledge with a calm voice. In a cut-throat field where everyone is elbowing to get to the front and show they deserve to be there...you show us that you can get there with effective info delivery and exercise programming. So many experts on the Internet are measured by the number of posts they make and I measure someone by the quality of their posts. Honestly, the less posts you have, means the busier you are doing your thang. ;)

Leigh Peele: I will try not to turn this into an ass kiss fest but I certainly admire your work and think you are highly talented in your work. Now that we have shown the public how awesome you are, let's give them a few Izzo goodies. What are Izzo's Top 3 Tips For Achieving Better Mobility?

John Izzo:
#1: Understand and recognize that mobility work MUST become part of your workout in order to achieve better functionality, strength, and prevent injuries. I think the mindset of most lifters needs to change. In every gym I have been in and continue to visit, most lifters begin a workout with a few shoulder circles, a yawn, and then the bench press. Or...some will commence after wasting the first 5 minutes on the treadmill. My point being...if you train others or yourself, you need to accept and believe that mobility work will benefit you in every aspect of training. Mobility work is not a one time shot...it is a cumulative effect that works wonders IF it is continued on a routine basis.

#2: Free those hips! I think a major area that hinders mobility work is the hip area. Because the hip is responsible for so many proximal attachments, any tightness that occurs affects many muscles. Also, because we are a "seated society" (as I sit here and write this), the hips endure the most immobilization factors: posture, gravity, glute dormancy, etc. And I think that when one begins mobility work on the hips, it becomes the most frustrating thing because of the pain involved (watch someone foam roll their IT band for the first time and you'll know what I mean), and the notion that it will take alot of work to correct. And more than likely, people that DO begin to perform mobility work with the hips, get so frustrated that they give up on it or avoid that area altogether. So my advice would be to really concentrate on the hips. I don't think I spend more than 8 minutes on mobility work in the beginning of my workout and most of it consists of hip stuff.

#3: You still need some static stretching. Many people are against static stretching because of research indicated it is detrimental to power production, but I think the static hold times for stretches can be manipulated and thus, working to help not hurt. We have to get rid of this "all or nothing" process of information dissemination when it comes to training. I think the heavier we train, the more compound lifts we perform, and the more single leg stuff incorporated in programs, then the more need for stretching is warranted. I think that 5 minutes of stretching performed at the end of a workout is important and aids the NEXT session of mobility work.

Leigh Peele: Those are just great, just one more and I will let you get back to what I am sure is another busy and fruitful day. What are Izzo's Top 3 Tips For Picking a Trainer to Work With?

John Izzo: Great question Leigh. Before I answer, let me just mention that I am very grateful for you to take the time to interview me. I think there are plenty of fitness professionals out there that we can all learn from and I feel I have the experience and perspectives to offer trainers and gym-goers alike another angle at exercise programming, ethics, and personal trainer education. Thank you for giving me this outlet to express myself and allow your members to learn a little more about me. It’s really been fun. Your interview format is really enjoyable! Okay, now to your question:

#1: Spy on your Future Trainer 
A big mistake I see in commercial facilities is people buying personal trainer services at the point of the membership sale. Sales reps are trained to up sell you training services after you dump $500 on a year contract for club use. The trainer you meet with for your complimentary session is trained to sell you on his services after that one meeting. Truth is, most clients like to match up with a trainer they feel they can relate with (females with females, former athlete with males, older adult with older aged trainers, etc, etc). This is normal, but not necessarily always the case. Some females want a male trainer, and some men want a female trainer. Most clients drop their trainer after 1 month (or stop attending sessions) because the personalities don't match up. If a trainer does not like a client for whatever reason, he/she will not put alot of effort into motivating them to comply with their sessions and missed sessions will only be forfeited to the trainer's satisfaction. I know because I have done the same.

I like people that come up to me after training a client and ask me various questions. This tells me that they have done their research on my training methods through observation and are ready to undertake the responsibilities, accountability, and commitment to a plan. How do they prove it? They pay up. And they pay big bucks. Take home message: Watch all the trainers as they work with clients. Observe carefully the trainer you think you want to work with. If you think your personalities match, begin by introducing yourself and inquire about setting up a meeting for you to learn more about that trainer. If the trainer is good, you will have everything laid out in front of you.

#2: Match a Trainer with Your Fitness Level
Many people pick a personal trainer based on what he/she looks like. Does he have the year-round gold tan? Rock hard abs? Tight glutes? The truth is, your preferences for a trainer should be based on what the criteria that specific trainer uses to train clients. For instance: does he/she train athletes? does he/she train housewives? does he/she train children? In each sample, the exercise program is different and specific to the individual’s goals and ability. There is nothing wrong with a trainer who trains a specific population, but don't assume that just because his clients are fit athletes that he/she can make you into one. If you're goal is simply fat loss, you may want to find a trainer who handles people that are overweight and designs exercise programs that accommodate those needs. Your needs will not be the same as a track & field athlete or a hockey player. Even though they have the body type you are looking for, doesn't necessarily mean the trainer got them to that point. He/she pretty much helps them stay in top condition. You, on the other hand, are still climbing the hill. Again, HOW a trainer trains is reflective on their experience, qualifications and education. A good trainer will have well-rounded qualities that sets them apart. Pick the one that will work for you.

#3: Interview One of Your Trainer's Clients
I've had his done to me plenty of times and found it rather flattering. Once you have chosen which trainer you would like to throw your mortgage or juniors college funds to, you may want to pull aside one of their current clients and begin asking questions. Ask them questions regarding the trainer's personality, approach to exercise programming, goals assessment, motivation techniques, and tolerance. Basically, you are talking about someone behind their back. Word of caution: this should be completed when you are 90% sure that is the trainer you are going to hire. Why? Because 9 times out of 10, that client will inform the trainer you are scouting them, and the trainer will hunt you down. This is good because if you are ready after completing Tip #1, then you can establish a relationship with the trainer. If you are not ready to commit, you may lose the trainer's interest in you as a prospective client and then you both lose: he loses business, and you lose motivation.
Leigh Peele: Thank you so much John for all of this great information. My readers and I am sure even yours will enjoy having this knowledge to carry with them in their training.

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