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Interview with Highly Sought After Trainer Joe Dowdell Part 1
I am joined today by world famous trainer Joe Dowdell of NYC. Joe trains super models, actors/actresses, no holds barred fighters and every day people in his private facility called Peak Performance. He has worked with some of the best strength coaches in the world. SHM:.Can you describe your rise as a trainer? What got you interested in the field? Education and Background SHM:What type of clients do you train? Where? What are the common Goals of your clients I'd say I have a pretty diversified clientele. I work with many of the top female fashion models in the world for things such as the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and the Victoria Secret catalogue. I also train several film celebrities such as Kate Hudson, John Leguizamo, Natasha Lyonne, etc. In addition, I consult or train various amateur and professional athletes for sports such as Adventure Racing, Ice Hockey, Mixed Martial Arts Fighting, Golf, Bobsledding, etc. The goals of my clients vary anywhere from rehabilitation of injuries to body compositional changes to performance enhancement. A couple orthopedic surgeons help me with my injury rehabilitation programs. I do a lot of corrective training programs designed to break bad habits. I own a facility in New York City where I train all of my clients. It's called Peak Performance. SHM:Charles Poliquin said in a Seminar that you were the best trainer he had ever seen in terms of body composition transformation, what is your secret? What is the basis for your system? First of all, that was very nice of Charles to say that considering he doesn't give out compliments very easily. I've learned a lot from Charles. He is one of my mentors along with Paul Chek. Basically, the way that I train my clients is not really a secret. First, I evaluate their posture and the current length-tension relationships in their body. Then, I determine their strength and weaknesses and finally I systematically correct them. As far as the basis for my training, I learned a lot of my assessment skills from Paul Chek and my program design skills from both Charles Poliquin and Paul Chek. Recently, I've been employing many of Louis Simmons's Westside Barbell methods for the development of maximum strength/power into some of my client's programs. Finally, I utilize various resources for recovery and regeneration such as Dr. Serrano, Dr. Mauro di Pasquale and Dr. Mel Siff.
SHM:What makes up your typical preparation phase for someone preparing to do a body composition focused program. Can you give us an example of what you would do with a female model that may not have great strength when they show up to work with you. It doesn't matter what client I am working with, I pretty much start out with an Anatomical Adaptation Phase. The length of this phase will be determined by the assessment. It is during this phase that I will begin to address things such as poor posture, improper ROM, poor exercise technique, etc. Even if they come to me supposedly in great shape-or so they think-they usually have things that need to be corrected. I like the German Body Comp. System and I have had great success with it, but it is only one system. Like anything, it works for a while and then you need to change it. Too many people get caught up in the marketing names. When it comes to increasing an individual's Maximum Strength and/or Power, I will use many different combinations of repetitions and sets. I will also use various training devices such as chains, bands, weight releasers, etc. I learned a lot about the use of chains and bands from Dave Tate and Louis Simmons. SHM:Can you give us details and provide an example of how you apply a body composition training program? For instance with models, I do not get much time. In most cases they are preparing for a show or a big shoot and will come in for 6 weeks to prepare. I have models that I train regularly too, but for various reasons I will have short term arrangements. The client will come in 3 times per week and we will do a total body workout and the off days will be energy system work (cardio). The strength program may consist of back squats with short rest before a pull up. This cycle would be repeated a predetermined number of times. The next pair could be bench press and hip extensions. Rest can be anywhere from 45-75 seconds rest between sets depending on their condition. I will determine the rest during the first couple of workouts and I will refine it from there as we go along. SHM:What kind of set volumes do you use for a body comp system? First phase could be 3 sets, 10-15 reps and the speed of movement will determine the number of reps. The goal is to make the set last between 60-70 seconds. More is not better in this situation. I try to educate clients and I make them aware that it is not necessary to do 12 sets for chest. My clients are very busy and we have a limited amount of time to get things done. The three hours I spend with them is more than likely all of the time they will spend in the gym. I commonly hear from women concerned about gaining excessive muscle mass. In your experience can a woman train at an intense level without gaining unwanted muscle mass? In the beginning of my career, I had to deal with a lot of women coming to me and saying that they didn't want to get bigger. I would have to spend a great deal of time explaining to them that they didn't have to worry because they probably lacked the testosterone levels in order to achieve any real significant gains in muscle size. I would also explain to them that there are many ways to manipulate the different acute training variables in order to prevent any significant gains in size. But, now, since I've been around for a while I don't seem to have to deal with these explanations as much. I think this is mainly due to my reputation of producing results with my female clients. I personally haven't seen any women add mass in an ordinary situation. SHM:Is Cardio overused? What is the best way to do cardio for fat loss? Most women overdue cardio training, some do an hour a day, which is too much. I will tell them right away that changes will be made in the way they do their cardio and that the sessions will last 30 minutes at the most. Most of the time women look at me like I am crazy and say that they do not think it will be enough. I tell them not to worry about it and that the bottom line is caloric expenditure. You can burn more calories doing interval training, which is done at a higher intensity. You will get a better return on your time as well. The heart rate fat burning zones is a big myth. I find that women tend to want to do more cardiovascular training then men. It is very difficult to convince some women that they are being counter-productive to their body compositional goals by doing 45-60 minutes of aerobic training a day. When it comes to body compositional goals, I like to utilize Interval Training with my clients. SHM: Dr. Serrano has seen women deposit fat in certain trouble areas and he attributes this to traditional cardio amongst other things. Have you seen anything like this? Have you found that trouble areas can be made worse by traditional cardio? Actually Charles Poliquin wrote an article called the Chunky Aerobic instructor syndrome. He says women tend to do a lot of long duration cyclical exercise such as spinning classes. These women tend to store fat in the thighs, buttocks and calves proportionate with the amount of long duration cardio that they do. I have found that the interval cardio works much better. SHM:Can you give us an example of an interval training program? I learned a lot of this from Charles Poliquin. People start out with a five minute warm up and they will do several intervals that will be repeated. They may run for 45 seconds at a perceived exertion level of between 75-90%. A rest period of 120 seconds will follow done at 50-60%. I like doing a 5 minute warm down as well Part 2 of the interview click Here Please email Scott SCOTT with Questions for Joe Dowdell LEGAL DISCLAIMER |
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