{"id":15128,"date":"2025-09-13T01:58:27","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T18:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=15128"},"modified":"2025-09-13T01:58:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T18:58:27","slug":"the-other-most-important-three-words-in-strength-and-conditioning-tony-gentilcore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=15128","title":{"rendered":"The (Other) Most Important Three Words in Strength and Conditioning \u2013 Tony Gentilcore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A few weeks I stole a blog idea from Dean Somerset and highlighted my list of <a href=\"https:\/\/tonygentilcore.com\/2015\/01\/8-non-fitness-books-every-fitness-professional-read\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>8 Non-Fitness Books Every Fitness Professional Should Read<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In the same vein (I.e., I\u2019m \u201cstealing\u201d another idea), my good friend and former business partner, Eric Cressey,\u00a0 wrote a fantastic post titled <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ericcressey.com\/the-most-important-three-words-in-strength-and-conditioning\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The Most Important Three Words in Strength and Conditioning<\/strong><\/span><\/a> that I felt hit the nail on the head, and also served as a bit of inspiration for me. While I\u2019d encourage everyone reading now to click on the link above, I won\u2019t leave everyone in the dark.<\/p>\n<p>What were the three words he alluded to?<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It takes a bit of courage and moxy for someone to be so transparent and admit when he or she is wrong. And for whatever reason, compared to other professions, the strength and conditioning community has a really, really, <strong><em>really<\/em><\/strong> hard time admitting when it\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n<p>I shouldn\u2019t toss the whole industry under the bus. That\u2019s unfair and shortsighted. But I\u2019d be remiss not to say there are a fair number of people within the industry who are stubborn and refuse to admit when they\u2019re wrong.<\/p>\n<p>I mean all you have to do is spend ten minutes on social media and you\u2019ll come across any number of petty arguments and dick measuring contests as to who\u2019s right. The steady state cardio crowd argues with the HIIT crowd. The total calories are the only thing that counts crowd argues with the IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) crowd. The strength coaches argue with the yoga instructors. The powerlifters argue with the bodybuilders. And <strong><em>everyone<\/em> <\/strong>argues with the Vegans.<\/p>\n<p>And NO ONE admits when they\u2019re wrong. Ever.<\/p>\n<h4>It\u2019s like the ultimate starring contest\u2026..<\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/media3.giphy.com\/media\/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExZDlyYXVlOXNlanB3OHV2ZTA3NnJuenp4eng0MXpocW11YXhmejh1MSZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw\/8iyxJjpqONKevKKUSa\/giphy.gif\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Which is why I felt Eric\u2019s post was so refreshing and something that NEEDED to be said. <strong><em>It\u2019s actually okay to admit when you\u2019re wrong.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 The Mayan Apocalypse isn\u2019t going to start.<\/p>\n<p>All the cool kids are doing it.<\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019d even go so far as to say that admitting when you\u2019re wrong is <strong><em>mandatory<\/em><\/strong> for personal growth and development.<\/p>\n<p>Unless your name is Gandalf or Dan John you can\u2019t expect to be right 100% of the time. Admitting when you\u2019re wrong takes balls (and ovaries!), and I feel most people respect those who are confident enough to accept that they\u2019re not infallible more so than those who pretend to be know it alls.<\/p>\n<h3>Which brings me to the other three words.<\/h3>\n<p>I remember my first trip to London for a workshop I was teaching, I had a few days to walk around and take in the sights and sounds.<\/p>\n<p>I LOOOOOOOVED London. It was my first trip to Europe, and being a nerdy history buff I was excited to see many of the historical landmarks and architecture that you just don\u2019t come across here in the states. You know, like a 10-11th century castle (The Tower of London) right smack dab in the middle of a city:<\/p>\n<p>Moreover it was bit of a culture shock to have people smile at you and say \u201cgood morning.\u201d Likewise, it was equally \u201cshocking\u201d to get used to some of the British slang.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cCan you point me in the direction of Trafalgar Square?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brit:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019d be bloody barmy to go there this time of day. If you fancy it and you\u2019re full of beans, I\u2019d suggest the South Bank. Cheerio. Spot of tea. Winston Churchhill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Me<\/strong>: \u201cUhhhhh, I don\u2019t know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Facetiousness aside, this was an easy example of a time where I wasn\u2019t scared to say the words, <strong><em>I don\u2019t know.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Or take a few years ago when Lisa and I were down in Florida and we met with our wedding planner.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong> \u201cBabe, which DJ did you like better?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong> \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong> \u201cBabe, do you want a photo booth during the reception?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong> \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong> \u201cBabe, which table cover do you like best?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong> \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong> \u201cBabe, I swear to god I\u2019m going to punch you in the mouth if you say \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d one more time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong> \u201cI don\u2019t kn\u2026..wait, huh? OWWWWWWWWWWWWW.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The point is, there are plenty of incidences in everyday life where we don\u2019t tip-toe around the phrase I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<p>Yet in the strength and conditioning world those three words are almost considered taboo. It\u2019s as if admitting you don\u2019t know the answer to something is cause for handing in your man-card.<\/p>\n<h4>And that\u2019s unfortunate.<\/h4>\n<p>I\u2019d like to think I know the answer to most gym-related things I\u2019m asked\u2026but even on the off-chance I\u2019m flummoxed, I\u2019m not afraid to say it\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">I don\u2019t know<\/h3>\n<p>If anything I think the person asking respects the admission MORE than if I tried to pawn off some BS diatribe.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, I come across as a jerk if, down the road, the person finds out the actual answer and realizes I just made something up on the fly. How am I supposed to build trust \u2013 and more importantly, integrity \u2013 as a fitness professional if I\u2019m <strong><em>pretending<\/em><\/strong> to know the answers?<\/p>\n<p>Listen: It\u2019s impossible to be an \u201cexpert\u201d in everything. Ask me how to deadlift, and I\u2019m your man. Ask me to explain the Kreb\u2019s Cycle and you\u2019ll get nothing but crickets chirping.<\/p>\n<p>That said, I do feel it\u2019s in every fitness professional\u2019s best interests to own a niche or topic. Cressey Sports Performance owns baseball training. Mark Fisher Fitness owns Broadway. Molly Galbraith, Nia Shanks, and Joy Victoria own female training. John Romaniello owns fat-loss (and dick jokes). Jon Goodman owns personal trainer development. And I could go on and on with examples.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t to say that none of the above don\u2019t have experience outside their niche \u2013 they absolutely do!<\/p>\n<p>But I guarantee they\u2019re not afraid to say \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d and are willing to 1) own it, 2) say something along the lines of \u201cgive me some time and I\u2019ll find the answer for you,\u201d and\/or 3) point people in the direction of someone within their network who DOES have the answer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rule of Thumb:<\/strong> don\u2019t pretend to be something you\u2019re not. Accepting your limitations as a fitness professional \u2013 <strong><em>and saying I don\u2019t know<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 is just as valuable as being able to regurgitate all the insertions and origins of every muscle\u2026..in Elvish.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Both<\/em><\/strong> are impressive. But it\u2019s the former that separates many of the good trainers and coaches from the great ones.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/tonygentilcore.com\/2025\/09\/important-three-words-strength-conditioning\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A few weeks I stole a blog idea from Dean Somerset and highlighted my list of 8 Non-Fitness Books Every Fitness Professional Should Read. In the same vein (I.e., I\u2019m \u201cstealing\u201d another idea), my good friend and former business partner, Eric Cressey,\u00a0 wrote a fantastic post titled The Most Important Three Words in Strength and &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15128\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}