Frequently Asked Questions About GMB

In a word: no.

Sure, it will be harder for you to get started and make progress, but you have to start somewhere. All of the exercises are doable by almost anyone, and our team is available to answer your questions about making them work for you.

Each program includes detailed instruction on building up to each movement from the very basic fundamentals, and we not only give you examples of good form at each stage – we also provide clear performance cues for getting the maximum benefit out of each exercises.

It may be intimidating to try something you can’t yet do. That’s natural. But if you start with what you can do and follow the instructions, you will get stronger.

Absolutely not. If you want to learn real gymnastic sport, you must find a quality instructor and enroll in regular classes. It’s really the only way.

Though Ryan was a competitive gymnast in his teens, Gold Medal Bodies programs are designed for non-gymnasts to get the benefits of gymnastic-like training without having to devote themselves to the sport totally.

We will teach you how to perform some cool skills and build an impressive body, but we’ll do it in a way that doesn’t take away from your sport or other activities.

If you have two arms and two legs, you can use our programs. If you happen to have a different number of arms or legs, get in touch, and we can probably still help you.

In short, yes, women can do this.

But I don’t want to get bulky…

Do you have any idea how difficult it is for most people to gain muscle? It takes a lot of work. To be frank, you stand as much chance of accidentally bulking up as you do of growing a second head.

GMB programs will make you stronger, but since muscle is denser and more compact than fat, strength training will actually make you less bulky overall. In addition, you’ll firm up your arms, legs, and butt, you’ll improve your posture, and you’ll feel stronger and more powerful in everyday tasks.

Put down the pink dumbbells and soy milk. The women’s fitness industry is milking your time, money, and self image for all it’s worth.

GMB can give you what you really want – a body that looks as good as it feels.

Click here for more details.

No. Training does not make you weak.

Unless you’re under ten years old, three months (the length of several of our programs) is not a long time.

If you really want to get a lot out of your training, one of the best things you can do is extend your timeline. Plan to make your health a lifelong effort and keep doing physical things that you enjoy for the remainder of your life.

Three months is a very short period to spend focusing on improving an area of your abilities.

Many people become fixated on achieving certain outcomes within narrow time frames. That’s just fine, and it’s good to be ambitious, but you’ve got to understand that making big changes takes time. If you’re overweight because of years of bad habits, it’s unreasonable to expect to undo all that damage in a matter of weeks.

It’s a common misconception that focusing on one goal means that everything else in your life is going to go to crap. Maybe for extremely disciplined and narrow-minded people, that’s possible, but who do you know that’s really capable of that kind of dedication? Probably nobody.

Focusing on getting better quality or longer durations of sleep will not have a detrimental impact on what you do for the other sixteen hours in the day. Likewise, working on handstands won’t make you fat.

Choose ONE major goal and work ONE program at a time. Then switch to something else.

You can’t achieve perfect balance at any one moment – life is too dynamic – but you can create harmony in your endeavors over the long term. If you plan to stay healthy to the end of your days, spending a few months working on a well-crafted training program can only be a step in the right direction.

Of course you can’t. We’ve been practicing, and you haven’t… yet.

Just do what you can.

Start at the beginning and do the easiest version of the exercise you can. Reduce the range of motion, for example, by only going down half-way (or as far as you can manage with good form) on push-ups until you have the strength to go further.

Be patient with yourself. You can’t expect instant results.

Work with what you have. Do a little more at each session. Don’t give up, and you can achieve your goals.

We all started out as helpless babies, just like you did. We’ve suffered (serious) injuries and had to take months and years to rehabilitate. We’ve felt stiff and weak and had days we felt like giving up. Just like you.

But we kept training consistently. Just like you will.

The tradition of classifying exercises by the muscles they work is a vestige of bodybuilding that has, unfortunately, been adopted by the mainstream fitness media.

And why not?

People are shamed of their round bellies, saggy butts, and weak chests. And if you want to sell something, you go straight to where people are insecure and offer a magic bullet solution. Magazines are great at this, and the result is that many people believe incorrectly that they should choose exercises that specifically work the areas they are ashamed of.

The truth is that body is much more sophisticated than the aver fitness infomercial.

It’s a holistic system where every piece is interconnected with every other piece. Which is great news ,actually, because it means that you don’t have to 700 exercises in order to hit every muscle.

Train movements, not muscles.

That’s our philosophy at GMB. In short, we aren’t concerned with isolating specific muscles, because there’s very rarely a good reason to do so.

Instead we practice quality movement, which has the side benefit of working almost every muscle in your body if you focus on moving mindfully and under control while using good form.

Every program we produce works your entire body.

The GMB Posse is our general community of friends, fans, followers, and good-looking people who use GMB-style training to build skills and strength. Joining is 100% free and entitles you to updates and exclusive video tutorials.

Alpha Posse is a bit different. This is a special group within the Posse that enjoys close interaction with the GMB Team via out private forums and gets access to special programs and benefits we don’t release to the public. It’s kind of like our version of the A-Team, except we meet online instead of riding around in a black van.

We’re very glad you asked. Getting updates is easy if you join our GMB Posse.

We send out two emails a week to members on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Messages include updates and discount notices about new products, a monthly newsletter full of exclusive videos and articles (NOT the fluff and crap you might see in some other email newsletters), and notes about the health and training topics that are on our mind.

When you subscribe for updates, we’ll go ahead and send you a free Handstands “The Right Way” Tutorial Video. (We’re just crazy like that.)

Beats the hell out of us!

Some people don’t like having fun or learning to do cool tricks. Instead, they’ve bought into the lie that fitness is about denying yourself things you love (like ice cream) while simultaneously beating yourself into a sweaty pulp every chance you get with “hardcore” workouts that make you die inside.

Good thing you’re smarter than that!

Because we’re not that guy. We’re GMB.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat, 50 ways to leave your lover, and at least a thousand different opinions on why one or another way of training is The Ultimate Best. Except that no one method is the best for every goal – and anyone trying to convince you otherwise is somebody not to trust.

GMB teaches full-body control and strength you can use for whatever activities you enjoy.

But hey, at the end of the day, it’s just advice. You can do whatever you want to do.

We no longer produce DVDs. Instead, all GMB programs are available for immediate download onto your computer, which we find more convenient, not to mention ecological (just think of the resources required to manufacture and ship DVDs and books).

All of our videos are recorded in true HD and edited to maintain the highest possible video quality at a reasonable size for downloading. They’re also optimized for viewing in iTunes, so you can load them onto your iPad or other portable media device for portability you can’t get with DVDs. The videos are completely compatible with both Windows and Mac software.

Training manuals are delivered in Adobe PDF format, which is the industry standard for document downloads. Chances are, your computer came pre-installed with the software necessary to view PDF, but if you have any questions about your download files, we offer full support in our members’ area.

Our training materials are 100% digital downloads.

After payment, our system will send you to register on our super-secret members’ site, where you’ll see links to download the files that comprise your course.

Read the training manual, which will tell you exactly how to get the most out of the program.

We provide detailed tutorial videos that explain every movement and exercise as well as clear charts your can print out to follow along for each day’s session.

And if you ever have questions, just shoot us an email, and we’ll hook you up.

We’re everywhere!

That’s right, thanks to Al Gore and the magic of the Interwebz, GMB is literally everywhere, sharing our love of fun movement skills 24/7 – even on holidays.

We can do this because there is no GMB Gym. All of our programs, courses, and coaching are 100% online.

This offers a lot of advantages, including:

• Convenience – Train on your own schedule, wherever you like
• Cost – Download several month’s worth of training programs for less than the cost of a single month of gym membership
• Accessibility – You can train with GMB no matter where you live

But mostly, it means that we get to train thousands of clients instead of just a few dozen.

If you’d prefer to work with a trainer, we do have certified GMB Trainers and informal training groups in several cities.

And in case you’re curious, the actual members of the GMB Team hang their metaphorical hats in Osaka, Miami, Portland, Seattle, and Honolulu. If you’re passing through any of those places, you’re always welcome to invite us out for a beer!

Yes!

We love to teach.

Please see our seminar page for more details.

Note that we don’t do weddings or Bar Mitzvahs, but under the right conditions, slumber parties may be considered.

We have certified a handful of GMB Trainers who have completed our intensive 3 month apprenticeship program and not not only perform the movements in our programs, but teach you how to learn them efficiently and safely.

Click here to learn more about our trainers.

To be honest, we don’t have one, primarily because you can’t actually “return” something after you’ve downloaded it.

> But we do care deeply about your results, so we back everything we do with our 100% Jive-Free “No Monkey Business” Guarantee

Simply put, we’re in the business of making programs that achieve specific outcomes. If our programs didn’t work, we’d be out of business in a hurry.

It’s in our best interest to be sure that the programs work.

A lot of companies do a “no questions, money back” guarantee. What they’re really telling you is that they don’t care enough about your results to try and help you – they’d rather just give you your money back than actually work with you until you’re successful.

What a crappy way to treat a client.

If you have a question about implementing a GMB program, we’re here to answer it. If you aren’t sure how to do something, we want to explain it. If you’re concerned, we want to hear you and work through it.

We are committed to your results, and we stand behind that with our time and attention.

You deserve better than a buy-off.

Yup!

You can get the details here, but the gist is that you simply will improve.

And if you ever get stuck, all you have to do is get in touch, and we will work with you to get you un-stuck.

With a good reason, yes. Of course. We have no desire to hassle you, and if you have extenuating circumstances, we will do whatever we can to do right by you.

• If you have an insurmountable technical issue (unforeseen internet service problems that completely prevent you from downloading), we will give you a complete and speedy refund.
• If you show a program to your doctor or physical therapist who then advises you not to do the exercises, we will either help you find alternatives or give you a complete and speedy refund.
• If you live in the tundra and don’t have a place to hang gymnastic rings in your igloo, we probably will not give you a refund on Rings One, because this is a circumstance you were aware of before you downloaded the program.
• If you change your mind, we will probably not give you a refund, because that’s purely your own whim. You can’t go to a restaurant, order a burger and decide you’re not hungry once it gets to the table. Rather you can, but you still have to pay for the burger.

GMB programs are like a quality burger – meaty and tasty – but if you think you might be a vegan, you shouldn’t be looking at the burger section of the menu to begin with.

In general, no.

We don’t offer discounts for students, military, or people who just happen to be broke.

It’s nothing personal. We simply put too much work into what we do to offer discounts except in special situations. Our programs offer a level of value and quality far beyond what you’ll see from other companies, and they’re worth every penny.

Yes we do.

We should mention up front that we’re picky about whom we accept as partners. That’s because there’s a lot of BS in the fitness industry, and we’re committed to certain rules we’ve built our business on.

If you’d like to discuss working together, get started by joining our affiliate program.

If you’d like to review a GMB program, just get in touch, and let us know what you’ve got planned.

We’d love that. If there’s anything that makes us feel important, it’s having someone ask us questions about ourselves. If you like, we can also talk about training, the kinds of results our clients get, and ways to bring a little more Gold Medal attitude to just about anything.

We are available for interviews via email or Skype.

We also write and accept guest blog posts if we think there’s a mutual benefit to both audiences.

If you’d like to represent Gold Medal Bodies as a GMB Trainer, we’d love to hear from you.

We know we could probably make a lot of money and spread GMB extremely quickly by selling certificates to a large number of marketing-savvy personal trainers, but that’s not how we roll around here. Becoming a GMB Trainer requires completion of a three-month apprenticeship process.

You can get all the details and apply to the program through this link.