RIP Greg Anderson – My Fitness Mentor

Last night I received word from Bill DeSimone of Congruent Exercise that my fitness mentor Greg Anderson died over the weekend. Greg Anderson ran Seattle’s Ideal Exercise and has been active in the High-Intensity Training community for many years. Greg was passionate about fitness and High-Intensity Training.

How I met Greg was pure luck. When my Tales From the Glitter Gym series was featured on MetaFilter, I got slammed with negative comments. One of the negative comments was specific to the fact that I was dismissive of cardio. I decided to do a more detailed post on the topic, so I wrote The Myth of Cardiovascular Training. Although there are some minor things I would change today, for the most part, I am still proud of that post.

Shortly after that post, I received an email introduction from Greg. He really liked the new cardio post and invited me to his HIT gym for a workout. Greg’s gym was a short drive away from where I live in Seattle.

I detailed my first HIT workout with Greg in the post High-Intensity Training at Ideal Exercise of Seattle. Prior to this workout, I was attempting to practice what I had been reading in the book Body By Science. I was doing the movements correctly. I was even doing OK with the fluid movements and the timing.

What I didn’t get until my workout with Greg was what intensity really means. After this workout and a follow-up session with Greg, I became a believer and disciple of HIT. People laugh when I tell them I work out just 10-15 minutes per week. They wouldn’t laugh had they experienced a HIT workout by Greg Anderson. Those first 9 minutes I spent with Greg will forever be seared in my memory.

Greg Anderson is my fitness mentor. I learned a lot from him. He will be missed. Dr. McGuff, the author of the greatest fitness book ever, Body By Science, just posted a nice tribute to Greg titled The Greatest Trainer in the World. Read it all.