By: Jerry Trubman, Owner and Founder
This month’s blog post may seem a bit out of character for me… ok, a LOT out of character. I was challenged by a colleague of mine to write a blog post that was a little more (gulp!) personal. If you’ve been reading my stuff for a while, you know this is totally not me. In a strange way, I kind of liked the idea, so I thought I’d give it a go. So, here are 5 things you may not know about me…
I am an introvert
For those close to me, this is a big “no duh.” However, it’s not something I always knew about myself. In both my current career, as well as in my previous life in retail/management, I needed to be very outgoing and comfortable around groups of people. It was quite draining to do this, but I heard everyone else complain about how “mentally draining” it was to be in retail sales, so I just thought it was normal.
I didn’t know what the Meyers Briggs was until maybe ten years ago. Boy was that an awakening! I learned that all the things that some relate to as 'personality defects' are actually quite normal in a large percentage of the population, and there are some characteristics about introverts that are great in these types of environments. When I was interviewed by Neal Snyder on the “What’s New, Coach?” podcast, he mentioned that many high-level coaches are introverts, and when you get to the very highest levels, almost ALL of them are.
On the surface, it may seem strange that a job that requires constant interaction with others has a bunch of introverts as the cream of the crop, but to me it makes total sense. Extroverts tend to enjoy being the center of attention. However, in coaching it’s not about you… it’s about them. I’m not saying extroverts can't make good coaches. Coaching, like anything else, is a skill that takes patience and practice to develop.
I’m an immigrant
I was born in (what is now known as) the former Soviet Union. Considering the fact that I’ve lived most of my life in the US I don’t know that it necessarily means anything at this point, but I have managed to maintain the ability to speak the Russian language on about a 3rd grade level (my family would say kindergarten… maybe less).
The ‘immigrant mentality’ was definitely instilled in me as a young man. My parents sold what few valuable belongings they had to raise the money needed to immigrate, and once they got here they worked tirelessly to accomplish the American Dream. Today, both are successful in their own businesses and I definitely got my entrepreneurial spirit from them.
I spent most of my life unathletic and was chubby for many years
It’s true, athleticism never came naturally to me. I always joke that I was that stereotypically unathletic Jewish kid that used to strike out in kickball…
As a young adult, once I got into the working world, what little physical activity I used to do was tossed away in exchange for working long hours trying to achieve ‘The American Dream’ that my parents instilled in me as a youngster. I developed some pretty unhealthy habits and gained quite a bit of weight. I was 29 years old and about 40 pounds heavier than I am today in this photo…
It took many years for me to dial in proper eating habits and I was in my thirties by the time I started getting that stuff sorted out. Most of my family is overweight and I also struggled with my weight from time-to-time growing up… so when I hear someone blame their excessive weight on genetics, I’m inherently skeptical.
I eat 1-2 meals per day and have fairly frequent fasts
I hesitated putting this one in, but I know there are many people who fall for the nonsense that everyone needs to eat small/frequent meals to be lean. I eat between one and two meals per day… meaning I will go 24 hours without food at least a couple times per week. Also, a few times per year, I’ll go longer (up to 48 to 72 hours).
I do this for three reasons. First, when I sit down to eat… I like to EAT! Back when I used to do small and frequent meals, I never felt satisfied. I like to eat until full, and this method allows me to do that without getting fat.
The second reason is convenience. I work long days and sometimes get really busy where I don’t have time to eat. I also travel a bit and teach all-day workshops. It’s much easier to be able to hammer through a day and not have to worry about eating. Eating is a very enjoyable experience, and I hate eating on the go.
The third reason is… well… I’m a bit of a foodie. Let’s face it, most modern food is made for convenience, not enjoyment, and much of it isn’t very good. I love to cook and Marie and I prepare 95% of our meals ourselves. Waiting until I get home in the afternoon to eat allows this to happen fairly effortlessly. When traveling, I like to enjoy the culinary delights each new city has to offer. Doing this multiple times per day would get pretty expensive (especially certain cities), so the one big meal allows me to skip all the junk in airports, most restaurants, etc., and save myself for the good stuff.
I take my sleep very seriously and nap almost every day
There aren’t very many good things about a typical trainer’s schedule (busy first thing in the morning and last thing at night), but there are definitely two: Mid-day workouts, and daily naps. I work out at 11am. This is a great time to train! Most folks work during the day, so training sessions need to be either first thing in the morning when groggy, or at the end of the day when tired. Although I don’t mind a little early morning cardio (run, bike, row, etc.), my body doesn’t seem to agree with doing heavy deadlifts at 5am.
I hear lots of people online talking about the perfect post-workout meal, nutrient timing, etc. My post workout routine is a nice 1-hour nap… how’s that for recovery? After waking, I consume most of the day’s calories and usually go back to work. I generally sleep 8 hours at night, so with the nap I usually get around 9 hours of sleep per day. Anything less than 8 is rough, and I try to avoid that as best as possible.
So there you have it. I hope you found this at least slightly entertaining.
Until next time,
Jerry Trubman is a coach, clinician, author, blogger, and powerlifting state champion. With over two decades of lifting experience, he has devoted himself to seeking out better answers, and distilling them into practical programs that produce great results. Jerry has coached "Team Protocol" to 4 National Powerlifting Championships in the 100% Raw federation. He writes the internationally-read blog, “The Healthy Addiction” and lives in Tucson, Arizona with his wife Marie and dog Sadie. To subscribe to his blog, click here.
