Health e-News from Mohr Results, By: Christopher Mohr
January 2006, Mohr Results Newsletter
Interview with Performance Coach, Alwyn Cosgrove, MS, CSCS
CM: How did you get involved in strength and conditioning?
AC: I started in competitive Taekwon-Do. Over time I realized that most of the fighters were equally matched in skill but still there was a winner and a loser.
After winning a few fights, and losing a few, I realized that the people I beat, or didn’t beat, knew the same martial art as I did. This fascinated me. How could one man beat another man, who had the exact same knowledge about fighting? Strategy plays a part, but that’s part of what you should already know.
It kind of hit me that the only thing separating the winner from the loser was how they applied the techniques. How fast they moved. How hard they hit. How long they could go. When technical skill was identical between two competitors, the strongest and fastest athlete would win almost 100% of the time. In other words it was fitness and conditioning that would end up determining who took home the gold. So this intrigued me. Still intrigues me to this day.
CM: I know you have a master’s degree in kinesiology and a certified strength and conditioning specialist; how much has this contributed to your knowledge vs. real life experience?
AC: To be honest – at the time, a lot, but over the years – very little. Research helps to guide me, but real world practitioners are doing their own research every single day in the gym. My “in the trenches” time, combined with the amount of time I still spend studying, has added up to the equivalent length of time as several masters’ degrees.
CM: You’ve worked with some of the top athletes in the world. Without naming names, what are some sports you’ve worked with?
AC: Soccer, rugby, most of the martial arts, boxing, figure skating, football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, mountain biking, motorcross and figure skating. I’ve probably left someone out there too!
CM: What do you find to be most challenging about your job?
AC: Preconceived notions from clients as to what we “should” be doing, and real world time constraints. Every periodization text I’ve ever read thinks athletes only compete in a short week season. Our volleyball kids do volleyball events for close to the entire school year, and then club events in the summer. My motorcross professional raced every weekend for 40 weeks out of the year. He’d fly out on Friday and fly back Monday night--try training that guy!
CM: What do you find to be most enjoyable?
AC: Seeing a non-superstar kid bench press the big plates for the first time, or make the starting line up. Seeing a mother of two drop 30lbs and get back into shape. These are the real benefits of being a coach. Seeing your athletes win major titles is great, but it’s the day to day gym “championships” that I enjoy.
CM: What advice do you have for folks who may be trying to get into this field?
AC: Study a lot. Read everything you can get your hands on. It will cost money but attending seminars, internships, and working with some of the more established names in the industry will be worth YEARS of trial and error on your own. I have interned or taken seminars with almost every coach on the planet.
CM: As one of the leaders, you surely have a number of devoted “fans” or, “strength and conditioning groupies” if there were such a thing. Who do you turn to for furthering your training and nutrition knowledge?
AC: It’ s along list – Chris Mohr (obviously), Tom Incledon, Eric Serrano and Lyle McDonald have all had emails or calls from me regarding nutrition. Training – Craig Ballantyne, Robert Dos Remedios, Jason Ferruggia, Brian Grasso, Lee Taft – that list is endless. For business Ryan Lee has been my primary go to guy, although Jim Labadie and Dave Tate (of Elite Fitness) have been a great help also.
CM: Our latest joint project, Human Inferno, just launched, so let’s discuss fat loss for a bit. In terms of training, what type of training do you prefer? Let’s stay away from extremes for a bit with bodybuilding and say a soccer mom came to you looking to lose 30 lbs. Suggestions? Should she hit the weights, do some cardio? What’s your best advice?
AC: Well they usually don’t have very much time – so in terms of “bang” for your “buck” for fat loss, nothing comes close to some kind of circuit weight training (and I do not mean Curves!), to elevate the heart rate and keep it elevated throughout the workout. I’m talking about exercises that require a great amount of energy; things like squats, deadlifts, chinups, etc will get the heart racing, which translates to caloric expenditure, while still stimulating a great deal of muscle.
CM: There is a ton of misinformation out there. How do you suggest folks sort through the hype to get the truth and help them be successful?
AC: I help people to break through by looking at things logically. One of my favorite examples is when folks talk about “fasted” cardio for fat loss. In real world terms it won’t make one single bit of difference over time whether you eat two eggs and then train or train and eat two eggs. It doesn’t make any real world sense. Before acting on something, think thru the process and determine if it actually makes any sense whatsoever.
CM: Like me, I’m sure you’ve seen a countless number of folks doing hour upon hour of steady state cardiovascular exercise in hopes of losing more and more weight. What are your thoughts on steady state aerobic vs. intervals?
AC: Steady state training does almost nothing to increase metabolism, and burns less calories than interval work. Interval training, on the other hand, will raise your metabolism and burns a ton more calories while you are doing it and after than steady state. It’s not even close. And this is not only anecdotal evidence, but there have been a handful of recent studies showing the same exact thing as I’ve been practicing for years.
The key with fat loss is to cause metabolic disturbance to raise metabolism long term (intervals, weight training etc). Steady state aerobic training just doesn’t do that.
CM: Any last parting words of wisdom?
AC: Fat loss is simple. That doesn’t mean it’s easy – it’s just not very complicated. And that's what our focus was with Human Inferno. This doesn't go into scientific, technical explanations...it takes you day by day thru a fat loss program. So, for example, on Day 1, you train like this and eat this (according to your weight loss needs you will determine by following the calculations at the beginning of the manual).
CM: Where can folks learn more about you, your products, and services?
AC: For more information, check out AlwynCosgrove.com and my sports training facility, Results Fitness.
More Questions? MOHR Answers!
Q: I am trying to lose weight and need to know to what supplements I should be taking to enhance my fat loss?
Brian K, San Francisco, CA
A: First and foremost you need to focus on your diet and training. The first 50 folks who ordered Human Inferno will actually be receiving a free fat loss supplement guide (I know, I know--shameless plug); unfortunately (for you), but fortunately (for me) those were gone soon after the launch. In fact, Human Inferno is currently on backorder. Anyhow, enough shameless, self promotion. What I can tell you, though, is that no supplement can replace a poor diet. Determine your caloric needs and focus on whole grain carbs (oatmeal, quinoa, sweet potatoes, etc), lean proteins (chicken and turkey breast, low- fat cottage cheese, etc), healthy fats (flax, walnuts, fish, etc) and fruits and veggies and weight loss isn't hard. Of course training plays a huge role as well-- don't spend hours and hours on a treadmill, unless you want to look like a person who lost a ton of weight but has little muscle to go with it. Steady state cardio is fine, within reason...do some intervals, weight training, and don't worry about any supplements at this point in the game. Change your habits and success will follow.
Q: I recently graduated college and have since noticed I was gaining a bit of weight. I am trying to change my diet and am a bit confused on all the contradictory advice. This is a basic question, but I live on Martha's Vineyard, so fruit and vegetables are a bit tough to come by in the winter. Am I doing a disservice to my body by eating the frozen variety?
Matt T, Martha's Vineyard, MA
A:Thanks for the question, Matt. It's a common one and frozen fruit and vegetables are absolutely just as good as the fresh variety. In fact, some studies have been done to show that frozen fruits and vegetables may have MORE nutrients than their "fresh" counterparts because they are frozen at peak ripeness, which at that point they lose a lot less nutrients/vitamins/minerals than the "fresh" kind you may buy in the store, which very well could be past the point of freshness. Just be sure you're not buying the frozen variety that have added sugar!
