Fitness Confidential Review: Cut the Crap says Vinnie Tortorich

Fitness Confidential Review: Cut the Crap

Vinnie Tortorich introduces himself

I’ve been a Beverly Hills personal trainer for over twenty-two years and I’ve seen it all. Along the way, I’ve helped hundreds of people get into shape. CEOs, celebrities, athletes— you name it. Whenever I meet people, the first thing they usually tell me is what went into their mouth and came out their ass. They’re looking for my blessing or forgiveness, like I’m a priest of fat. The truth is, I like hearing about it— but I’m the only one. You want to know who doesn’t care what diet you’re on? Everyone else. But I care.

I was surprised by Vinnie Tortorich’s book. I was expecting one of those dull weight loss books full of theory and tough to follow exercise regimes. I also did not know a lot about the man – after all I am not a huge follower of the Hollywood scene and I am not a gym nut. I prefer to exercise outdoors on my bicycle and I have done a fair bit of that with 7 rides across Australia and a few other biggies in South Africa, in Europe and in New Zealand.

So what did I find?

The book is filled with hard hitting advice and the book is packed with anecdotes. Vinnie describes his role as a trainer in the following way

A real pro trainer has to be a combination of running coach, weight-lifting coach, nutritionist, stretching instructor, amateur orthopedist, motivational speaker and life counselor.

This is advice based on those years of experience training other people. It is based on his own extensive study in physical education. It is based on his own story as an endurance cyclist. I could really relate to that part of the story as I have done my share of endurance cycling having competed in Paris Brest Paris and Perth Albany Perth 1200 km endurance cycling events in 2007 and 2014. And it draws on his own survival story as a cancer sufferer.

He challenges the whole weight loss industry – are they interested in you losing weight or are they only interested in emptying your wallet?  The same applies to the gym industry – are they really interested in you getting fit or are they just after your hard earned cash knowing full well that a good 80% of gym members are not going to make use of the swanky facilities?

He challenges us all to face up to reality – we are what we eat and the only way we can get rid of the weight is to make wholesale changes to how much and what we eat. Cut the grains and cut the sugar, he says. I relate to that as that pretty well describes my diet.  More than that he talks about the whole psychology of dieting – without pulling any punches. I call it the 2 D’s – Decide. Do. And then when you hit your first target bring along the 3rd D – Double it.

Nobody has the willpower to starve. This is why I don’t want you to diet, because they don’t work long term.

When it comes to exercise, Vinnie draws a comparison to the way life was for his parents. Their lives were filled with natural exercise – walking to work; working a crop; washing clothes by hand; etc. If we cannot get our exercise naturally anymore, it is down to us to build exercise back into our lives. I do it by taking a camera with me on my bicycle rides – I publish a photograph from every ride I do. My friends like my photos. That makes my ride more fun as other people get pleasure out of every ride I do. The message is simple – start moving. And move a little more every day – a little further or a little faster.

If you eat properly and exercise, you are going to get in shape. It’s that simple. In fact, it’s physiologically impossible to avoid!

The real challenge though is YOU. Getting the 2 D’s going takes focus and discipline. Most people do not have that. That is why joining a gym makes sense. The key though is to make the gym work for you. Draw your support from the staff and the other gym goers. Get them involved to get you moving. That way you are sure to get value for your membership. And get into the habit of mixing up your exercise routines – that way your mind stays interested and you get to work a range of muscle groups. The other way is to join an exercise group – roll up to Zumba classes at the local church hall or join a cycling club. That is what I did when I first started endurance cycling. Once the effort becomes a habit it is a whole lot easier to work the discipline of exercising on your own.

Exercise is a great leveler. It doesn’t matter how rich you are, you can’t just buy your way into a great body. You have to do the work.

The book does cover the key exercises needed to work different parts of your body: legs (squats, lunges, leg presses), upper body (bench press, shoulder press, lat pulls) and abs (work on your diet plus sit ups). All done and dusted in 2 pages with another page dedicated to a workout program.

Personal trainers are all the rage. Vinnie dedicates a chapter to choosing a personal trainer. He tells you what trainer-types to avoid, like the Soccer Mom Trainer or the Magazine Trainer. What you are looking for is a trainer who is qualified in training and understands something about body science. This rules out the Part Time Blogger Trainer. I know what works for my body – it might not work for yours.

Vinnie tackles the quick solution game too – he calls it Something for Nothing. His message is simple and hard hitting and applies to supplements, pills, gadgets and more.

You can’t get fitness in a bottle. You know how else you can get fish oil? By eating fish. Know how else you can get plant sterols? By eating plants. Know how else you can get amino acids? By eating an egg.

In the second part of the book, you will meet the real Vinnie. He chronicles his story and his struggles. He goes into some detail about his journey into endurance cycling. He explores his cancer experience – the details are tough. For me they bring the book to life as more than just a fitness book.

If you are expecting a solid fitness book that tells you what to do to get fit and explains the rationale for why the ideas work, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a coaching manual that takes you through the details of each exercise and each workout, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a book that is tightly written in fine English, this is not the book for you.

What this book does is cut through the crap and tells you the way it is. It tells you in a tough way with a compelling human story.

Decide. Do. Double it.

FITNESS CONFIDENTIAL: Adventures in the Weight-Loss Game by Vinnie Tortorich and Dean Lorey available from Amazon