The Flying Kangaroo Lands Me at Overload

by Pete Collins

It started with a visit to the Renaissance of Exercise website, the articles were thought provoking, precise and professional, free of pop culture, gimmicks, ego & spin. My curiosity grew to a somewhat moderate level, I purchased Ken’s The Renaissance of Exercise Vol 1, my interest grew to somewhat more of a moderate level, I enrolled to study Level 1 certification, upon studying the material and viewing the videos my interest ramped up to a maximal hard as I dare passion for the principles outlined and practiced by the team at RenEx & Overload Fitness.

It was an easy decision to invest in the cost of the study material, the book, the FOE DVD’s, flights from Melbourne Australia and hotel fees in Beachwood Ohio because I felt fully confident that the knowledge I would access on this trip would be well worth the investment.

Travis, an articulate, well presented and pleasant young man kindly picked me up from my hotel to visit Overload and meet the team. When I entered the reception I was struck by the warmth & welcoming environment, clean, well-organized, professional and appealing, I recall thinking, this is exactly the welcome a perhaps nervous potential client needs to diffuse any sense of held negative ideas about visiting an exercise facility. No sweaty bodybuilders and scantily clad gym junkies hanging around reception chewing protein bars and sucking on shakes to frighten off the clients here, “I like this”, I thought.

Separated from the reception & exercise area at the back are the offices of Josh Trentine and the team of dedicated instructors. I was introduced first to Al Coleman, a sharp, professional, well-mannered guy but with an unassuming coolness and easy going nature beneath that sharp focus. Al immediately surrendered his own priories and time to chat with me, show me around the exercise area, discuss the various machines and provide some insight into the philosophy of Overload, right from the start I was learning, taking mental notes ready to log later on, conversationally Al was putting many of the fragmented pieces I have previously learned together in my mind, there were many “Ah! Ha!” moments. I was introduced to Kristina, Deidra & Jessie, after being greeted with warm smiles I could see this team was busy, planning, taking care of follow ups, running the business and focusing on their client experience.

I was introduced to Josh Trentine, a busy guy, on the go, I immediately felt his passion for this business, the way he talked, the discussions with the other team members, sharing in knowledge. He is a focused guy who congruently lives and breathes his passion, he is a straight down the line talker, no jibber jabber or idle talk, he got straight to the point but I was struck with his opening conversation with me. “Pete, keep a log, have a think about what you want from this and tell me because I want to ensure your time and trip all the way here is the best experience you can have for yourself” I felt grateful and honored to be treated in this manner, this is philosophy of Overload towards their clients and one of the key aspects that separates these professionals from the rest.

To be honest, I tried to hide it from the guys but I was seriously jet lagged and suffering from breaking my normal eating routine and environment but really wanted to get on the machines. Although I did not complete a full designed workout, the experience was phenomenal. Josh instructed me through a set of Leg Press with feedback, immediately my previous experiences of gradual loading on the Kieser MedX leg press was pulled apart, with visual feedback you can literally see if you are skipping gears as you build force breaking the weight stack on the first repetition. The visual feedback gives you instant and usable information allowing you to very quickly correct discrepancies, this would normally take much time and practice between instructor & subject, adding to the subjects learning costs in paid fees and making the instructors time inefficient, this tool alone adds value for the client and maximizes margins for the business.

Next Josh instructed me on the ICRo, immediately I violated every rule in the protocol, Val Salva, bracing, not relaxing the jaw & white knuckle gripping the handles, understandably Josh was not impressed, he firmly but politely stated this to me and clearly explained to me how to correct these violations, again as with Leg Press, the visual feedback provided me the information along with Josh’s clear instruction to quickly improve all aspects of my form. Clear, assertive and precise instruction is critical, no yelling, berating of championing here, just quality instruction with one goal, safely and efficiently inroading the musculature.

Next Josh instructed me on the OHP using Project X. At first I overwhelmed myself and again violated many safety principles, quickly, clearly and assertively again Josh corrected my ways, explaining what & why, after a very disappointing first set, I was able to use the visual feedback to rapidly improve and correct my form during the next practice set, this second set was incredible, following the rep procedure striving to achieve a perfect score I was blown away how quickly the resistance overtakes your strength, strength rapidly goes down while simultaneously effort ramps up, like two polar opposites travelling at equal speed.

Project X will redefine and set new standards for businesses between instructor & client, the target parameters are not open to subjective guesswork or opinion, recording of the workout is precise thus giving the instructor the data to decide how to grade performance and when to increase resistance, this means for the client accurate recording of performance, very accurate setting of meaningful resistance to ensure maximum inroading and stimulus of the growth mechanism during every workout , again this makes the instructor more efficient reducing cost slippage to the business and maximizing value for the clients investment that can be accurately and tangibly experienced by way of measuring progress.

Small but critical tips provided by clear instruction are vital, Josh & Al instructing me introduced me to an whole new level of what an instructor is, the cues and simple one word prompts literally make or break the quality of the exercise, proper coupling, correct placement, using the ‘5 Analytical Stages of Alignment’ and gripping of handles, body attitude, using the seat belts and entering machines correctly are vital and it is absolutely necessary that in order to safely perform exercises with maximum efficiency you have to be instructed by a RenEx instructor. I have never been in the hands of such an expert as these guys before and miss this. If you are going to invest in an instructor, you must consider a RenEx certified instructor.

As for the RenEx machines themselves I would like to share my experience. **Note I am certain that had I had more time, several weeks on a learning stages generic routine in order to proficiently learn how to precisely perform each exercise, accurately record, qualify and set adequate settings & resistances I would be able to write for you now a very detailed article about the differences between RenEx machines and all others that make this equipment superior.

However this is what I can say confidently. The leg press provided a direct, linear and super smooth experience in both the positive and negative parts of the repetition, the weight Josh selected although accurate was irrelevant to me, I did not even know what he selected, the seat felt right, locking my hips and gluteus musculature in a position that allowed for very intense engagement of all of the lower body and frontal thigh muscles, upper and lower turnarounds can be performed very precisely as there are no sticking points or friction, the upper and lower stack come together and break very precisely, the inroading experience felt much more direct and rapid than my past experiences on other machines.

Both the OHP & VT machines tracked muscle and joint function in a much more natural way for me, using the seat belts during these movements intensified the loading upon the intended musculature in a way I have never experienced, allowing me to drive hard, intensely contracting the musculature powerfully whilst at all times preserving musculature around the spine & neck.

The Pull Down machine seemed to perfectly track my strength curve, until you use a RenEx machine with a timing crank you will never experience appropriate cam fall off in the way I did, but don’t be fooled, even though the resistance falls off at muscular contraction, performing a squeeze technique in this position is insanely difficult, there is no escape, ensuring tension throughout the full range of movement delivers unbelievable fatigue.

The same applies to the CRo machine, the sliding seat and pushing with the chest against the pad in a true linear fashion with those unbelievably smooth bearings is an entirely superior experience to the MedX compound row, again even with cam fall off, the squeeze technique was incredibly demanding to perform, With Al’s precise instruction to correct elbow position the overall effect was amplified, again RenEx instructors give you nowhere to hide but the payoff for being disciplined is that you maximize the value of your workout.

The workout area itself is quiet, cool & appropriately lit, it is organized and machines are appropriately positioned together to minimize time between exercises, this was clearly evident when I was invited by Al Coleman to watch him perform his A routine, for example moving between biceps machine pull-down & triceps machine to Ventral Torso, by the way, if you want inspiration on how to go from a relaxed state to instantly flick the switch from the moment to his body touched the pad and seat delivering an insane laser focused all-out effort, you need to watch Al train in person, this guy’s attention to detail and flawless execution of each repetition to failure is a sight to behold and a standard which to aspire to.

I watched the unbelievably strong Josh Trentine workout proving RenEx machines deliver a brutal effect and level of intensity in preparation for his bodybuilding contest,I watched Travis skillfully instruct his fellow colleague and instructor Candice through her workout, It is the first time I have witnessed a woman exercise so hard and efficiently inroad her strength levels, Candice’s turnarounds, focus on effort and performance of repetitions was a lesson to me in itself and testament to the entire ethic & philosophy of everybody involved in RenEx and Overload. I am grateful to have been welcomed by each and every member of the team, the knowledge I acquired in just 1 week is both exciting and priceless, the knowledge provided by Overload can be directly and immediately applied to your own workouts to improve your strength, health and mind in ways I have never seen another business provide. Your health safety, happiness and strength are your responsibility in your hands, but equally you will be in the best hands in the world to accomplish your goals, dreams and desires by investing your time and hard earned money with RenEx & Overload Fitness.

I have made friends for life and I will always be part of this family because I truly believe all of the hard work, dedication, passion, resilience and life blood of these guys will be rewarded with success and reward all who embrace the Renaissance of Exercise.

Thank you

Pete