Interview: Coach Robert dos Remedios

We all know in the fitness world there are tons of "experts", most of them unqualified both in credentials, education and practical experience. Even in the circle of Hollywood celebrity trainers and television training personalities you are not likely to find a trainer who has more clients than College of the Canyons Director of Speed & Strength Coach Robert dos Remedios. Coach Dos, as he is more affectionately known among his athletes and colleagues, is one of the 2006 NSCA Collegiate Strength Coach of the Year, author of the fitness best seller Men's Health: Power Training and his follow up book Cardio Strength Training has already hit the shelves (it's the holy grail of non-traditional cardio training!). Not only did I have the distinct pleasure (I'm sure not all his athletes would say this) of training under Coach Dos as an athlete at COC, but I recently got the chance to discuss some hits and missess when it comes to exercise programming. The following interview contains seven questions with one of the nation's best fitness professionals, enjoy!

BombergerPT: First off, congratulations on your new book Cardio Strength Training that has already hit the shelves! Can you give BombergerPT readers some insight into what exactly strength based cardio is?
 

Coach Dos: Cardio Strength Training" is a term that I coined in my first book Men's Health Power Training. The premise was quite simple, we already know (and research continues to confirm) that interval-style cardio is far superior to steady-state, aerobic activity for fitness and fat loss. CST takes this a step further by using interval-strength style hybrid training. This type of training results in tremendous cardiovascular taxing and most importantly elicits the all-important EPOC or 'afterburn' where our bodies continue to burn calories via elevated metabolisms. All of this without compromising our all-important lean body mass.

You use the word 'metabolic' to describe intense workout sessions. Can you explain what that means and why it is beneficial to work at such a capacity for people who are looking to lose weight or just stay fit.

The term metabolic refers to our bodies cranking up energy system work. Simply stated, this means we are attempting to get a lot of 'bang for our buck' via high intensity, anaerobic style training. By training with metabolic goals in mind we build work capacity (our bodies ability to push on) and bring fitness and fat loss into a whole other realm of effectiveness.

You train hundreds of student-athletes each and every day around a crowded academic and practice schedule. What tips do you have for people who are short on time when it comes to working out?

I am a huge fan of FREQUENCY. I would much rather have someone train 6 days per week for 30 min. per day than to train 3 days per week for an hour each session. I think the constant activity acts like throwing logs into a fire.....I believe getting out of your comfort zone as regularly as possible will result in the best and most efficient gains. Keep session short but keep the intensity HIGH. Research has shown elevated metabolisms after such activity for up to 36+ hours after these types of sessions. Think about it, if we only elevate our metabolism 1 calorie per min. this results in over 2100 EXTRA calories burned doing NOTHING...simply attempting to get your body back to 'normal' . If you now add to the mix the fact that you will probably train again during this 36 hour window (while in this elevated state of metabolism) and we now get even HIGHER afterburn levels during and after the subsequent session!

It's no secret you've had your hand in the physical development of several current and former NFL players. What are some principles of athletic performance training that should be adopted by the general fitness population?

I make the statement in my first book MHPT that we are all athletes in some way shape or form...it can be recreational tennis, weekend warrior football, or 18 holes with your buddies on the golf course, heck it can be as simple as trying to keep up with your kids, grandkids or simply tackling those stairs with a grocery bag in each arm. We can surely learn a lot from how athletes train since they train for FUNCTION FIRST. Simple things like training using compound exercises rather than isolation exercises, attempting to train explosively, and training primarily on your feet all lend themselves to helping us move, feel, and look better.

With movies and magazines plastered with images of hard bodies it's tough to believe you're fit if you're not shredded and rocking six pack abs. In your opinion, what are the marks of a fit person?

In my opinion work capacity is KING when it comes to fitness....doesn't matter whether it's the world champion track athlete or the stay at home mom I'm training. In Supertraining, the late great Mel Siff defines work capacity as "the general ability of the body as a machine to produce work of different intensity and duration using the appropriate energy systems of the body". . If I can continue to build a person's work capacity, I will continue to build their fitness, strength, and power levels. All in all a fit person is someone who can show me LOTS of different types of strength....not just bench press or squat strength but also bodyweight strength and endurance, mobility, balance, unilateral strength, power, cardiovascular endurance, and of course the ability to push on and on (work capacity).  

I know you still spend some time in regular health clubs for some of your own workout routines, what are some of the most detrimental mistakes people are making in the gym when it comes to losing body fat?

Too much steady state cardio, ineffective body-part training, using too many machines rather than free weights, never venturing out of their comfort zones (is you can talk on the cell phone or read a newspaper the exercise is nowhere near intense enough), not enough frequency of exercise sessions. The list is LONG and there's never a day where don't I walk into my gym, look at a trainer "training" a client and say to myself "what the hell is that guy/girl doing?!". Let's just say that some trainers need to wear a ski mask to work since they are basically stealing money from these poor people.

Any last words of wisdom for readers who are looking to transform their body in the New Year?

It comes down to committing yourself to fitness. It has to be part of your life. Make time as many days per week to make sure you get in your short, intense, frequent exercise sessions. There is no miracle cure your overweight body....most people fail at their fitness goals because they wan immediate results. Newsflash folks: if most likely took you years of neglect and abuse to get the body you are unhappy with.....it's gonna take more than 1 month on your new year's resolution to erase all those years :-) 

Thank You Coach Dos for your time! Fitness professionals and clients alike all appreciate your contributions to the field!

You can buy Coach Dos' Power Training and Cardio Strength Training at Amazon.com and view his website at www.coachdos.com