July Archives

So, I’m kinda late in writing today, but I figured better late than never. First off, I want to let everyone know that I started a new training log over at t-nation.com. It’s going to serve a few purposes:

1. Give people the opportunity to see how I train and see how I set up my own programming; whether it’s performance related, working around an injury, or continuing to train to be a bad ass.* Rest assured that the new training log will include my normal witty commentary, as well as pictures and videos. Essentially what I’m really trying to say is that Jesus himself told me to start this training log, so it’s gonna be kind of a big deal.

2. As such, I think it would be cool to give people an opportunity to see some of the shenanigans that go down at Cressey Performance.

3. Share my affinity for Kate Beckinsale, Megan Fox, and various other badonkadonks that deserve to be admired in all their glory.

4. Oh yeah, and answer your questions about training, nutrition, corrective exercise, and how to make girls want to hang out with you.

All in all, it should be fun and I’m looking forward to many of you participating. Think of it this way, it will be like me writing TWO blogs; all for your entertainment pleasure! You can get your dose of awesomeness everyday whether it’s here or there. Everyone wins. I’m totally giving you a high five right now.

And in case you couldn’t figure out that the highlighted text above was a link to said training log, you can (cue best Napoleon Dynamite voice) CLICK HERE BECAUSE I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU, GOSH!

Additionally, since I’m in the writing mood and it’s been awhile since I blogged about something that makes me want to pay random strangers to feed me rat poison, what the hell is up with The Hollywood Cookie Diet?

First off, I’ve never heard of this (or maybe I have, but thought it was a nightmare and chose to forget about it). Secondly, it doesn’t surprise me in the least that it exists. Thirdly, I just went to their website and the home page has a clip from the show Lipstick Jungle, where the three main characters are sitting at a table, and two of them are pestering the other as to how she looks so good/luminous/slutty (whatever), and of course she attributes it to The Hollywood Cookie Diet. COOKIES!!!! Fourthly, Lipstick Jungle ain’t no Sex and the City. Better believe dat, sista!

Anyways, I came across an ad for this monstrosity in a magazine that my friend took off a plane last weekend. On it, there was a quote from a woman who stated, “I lost five pounds in three days using the Hollywood Cookie Diet!”

This kind of nonsense just drives me crazy. People are going to attribute this version of caloric control (that’s all ANY fad diet is, learning to control calories in a way that leads to a deficit), to what else… freakin cookies. Just great. Four cookies per day, plus a “sensible” dinner, and the pounds will just fly off. That is of course, until they’re unable to spend upwards of $19.95 per box (three day supply) and revert back to their normal eating habits and put the weight back on, and then some. Or you know, suppress their t3-t4 levels so much that they totally screw over their metabolism and fat loss comes to a screaming halt. Which ever comes first.

The sooner people realize that the key to long-term weight loss is changing their eating habits, and not perpetuating their ability to make atrocious food choices (seriously? cookies?), the sooner I’ll stop wanting to bash my head against a wall

*=Including but not limited to working on my ninja star throwing skills, dominating people in Lord of the Rings trivia, collecting vintage GI Joe memorabilia, and maybe, if I play my cards right, having a real live girl actually let me touch her boobies.

In co-hosting The Fitcast the past two weeks, there was one conversation in particular that really struck a chord with me. At one point, the gang happened to get on the topic of “what’s your training philosophy,” or “what does your training look like?” To be honest I don’t really remember the exact question because I was too busy looking at pictures of Megan Fox and wondering why I can’t be her best friend or something. We could totally sit up all night talking about things, ya know? Things like how sad she must be that she did the hibbidy-jibbidy with a tool like Brian Austin Green (yes, David from 90210). Or how she’s a woman with feelings, who needs to be respected and nurtured and HOLY SWEET TAP DANCING MOSES!!! Look at that um, finished hardwood flooring. That’s just gorgeous. Ooooo, is that a copy of Grapes of Wrath in the background?”

Anyways, to get back on topic, my good friend Jimmy Smith (the goofy bodybuilder that he is…wink wink) had mentioned that he (along with a fellow gym goer at the gym where he trains) are really only concerned with looking like they can lift heavy stuff. Neither could really care less about how much weight they put up. Now I know Jimmy is a strong guy and I know what he was alluding to (ie: I get it). I want to preface all this by making it clear that there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to look a certain way regardless of how one trains.

However, why not have both? Why not look like you can lift heavy things while actually being able to lift heavy things?

The above video was taken this past Saturday of me performing cambered bar goodmornings for 375 lbs x3. High five!

So by now, you may be asking yourself, “Tony, what is your training philosophy?” It’s rather simple: lift enough weight that makes people want to destroy the back of their pants while having abs that can totally win a fight against a mack truck. Or a tank. Doesn’t really matter. Both are equally bad-ass.

I honesty and truly feel that if more people trained to get strong(er), that everything else will fall into place (aesthetics included). I remember reading something by Alwyn Cosgrove where he stated that he often finds it perplexing when people say that they want to train for more speed endurance, strength endurance, agility, power (among other things), yet they never train to get stronger. Without that solid base of strength, what will you have to endure?!

That is why I always tend to gravitate towards programs like Maximum Strength, because I know that not only will it get people stronger, it will also take their physique to places it has never been before; assuming of course, they’re not eating like a nimrod.

As stated above, this is my philosophy, and you may or may not agree with it (you totally should by the way). Above all, I just feel that people lack purpose in their training. Aside from all the nonsense of whether or not you want to look a certain way or whether or not you want to lift “x” amount of weight, most trainees have no clue what they want, nor do they have any semblance of goals to stride for. This is a huge mistake.

What are YOUR goals? What is YOUR training philosophy? I’d like to hear what you all have to say. And just because I’m a nice guy, here’s a great read by another good friend of mine, Mike Robertson titled My Training Philosophy. If you’re one of those people that has no idea what your philosophy is, I would highly recommend you read the article. Might be just what you need to point you in the right direction.

Here’s something to ponder. Why is it every time I go through the line at the grocery store, the cashier, without fail, will make a comment like:

“Wow, you eat a lot of eggs.”

OR

“Boy, you sure do like your vegetables. Making a salad for dinner?”

OR

“Sir, could you please put your pants back on?”

Why do people make such a big deal out of the fact that I buy healthy foods? A few weeks ago, I was shopping at Trader Joe’s, and this random woman stopped me in the aisle and looked into my cart* and commented on how healthy I ate. “Uh, thanks?.”

To be honest, all I really want to do when people go out of their way to make comments like that is to break a ketchup bottle over my head and challenge them to a death match. Chainsaws optional. Don’t get me wrong, I realize they’re trying to be friendly, but holy mother of god it gets annoying. How come people never say anything to those who have nothing but bagels, Ben and Jerry’s, Spaghetti O’s, and endless bottles of soda in their cart?

“Attention all shoppers, looks like someone is emotionally eating today!!!”

OR

“You know, I have a friend who eats like that too. I hate that bitch. Will that be paper or plastic?”

OR

“Are you paying with cash, credit or a case of type II diabetes?”

* eight cartons of Omega-3 eggs, two packages of lean ground beef, a plethora of fresh produce (apples, pears, assorted peppers, bags of spinach), frozen blueberries, mixed nuts, milk, beef jerky, four containers of cottage cheese, a few cans of plain pumpkin, and a copy of Us Weekly. Ummmm, that’s for my friend Rachel. Yeah, that’s it Rachel, who’s a girl. Cause you know, only girls buy Us Weekly. *grabs latest issue of In Touch as well*

First off, sorry I’ve been slacking on the blogging front as of late. I know everyone’s day is not complete until they’ve had a little dose of awesome, but I had some personal issues to tend to at the tail end of last week and had to take a little hiatus. And while many of you may think that spending my weekends as a secret ninja spy who makes out with models while driving a Ferrari doesn’t constitute as a “personal issue,” all I have to say is that you’ve clearly never tried driving a Ferrari. I can’t drive stick. Dammit!

In any case, it was a rough week and I just want to say thank you to all those who were there for me and continue to do so.

So I figured I’d make my “come back” with a little bit of a WTF moment. Here is my good friend Eric Cressey at his last meet deadlifting 650 lbs at a body weight of 174 lbs.

Since Eric posted that video seven months ago, most of the comments left consisted of high praise. That is until two days ago, when someone, who calls himself cyberdave03 left this moronic comment:

“Your lower back is significantly rounded during the lift. This is putting you at great risk for a disc herniation.”

Oh brother. Wanna know what else that is at a great risk of happening? Me wanting to throw cyberdave03’s head into an oven. I’m guessing cyberdave03 has never lifted anything heavier than his pen holder, or I don’t know, his Captain Kirk PEZ dispenser. Furthermore, he probably doesn’t realize that more people injure their back bending over to tie their shoes than deadlifting. And yes, I realize that more people in this world tie their shoes than deadlift, so simmer down guy who is going to to be a smart-ass and leave that comment.

Is Eric’s “lower back significantly rounding” during this lift? I’d argue, not even close. Sure, he may be rounding it slightly, but he’s definitely staying out of those 2-3 degrees of end range motion, which would actually place him at risk of herniating a disc. And lets not forget, IT’S FREAKIN 650 LBS!!!!! A maximal effort deadlift is not going to look remotely close to picture perfect deadlift form.

The reason why it looks like he’s rounding his lower back significantly is because he IS rounding his upper back (kyphosis), which is due to the fact that it’s nearly impossible to maintain scapular retraction while pulling that much weight. On a side note: look at the backs of elite powerlifters and you’ll always see monsterous “upper” erectors compared to their “lower” erectors. With people who have a history of low back pain, the opposite is usually true (because they tend use their lower back too much).

How come no one is ever concerned for a high jumper’s back? No one ever tells them, “hey dude, that’s way too much extension there. You could really increase your risk of Spondylolysis (fractures) and spondylolisthesis (vertebral slippage).”

Or what about overhead athletes, such as pitchers?

Look at the third picture (arm acceleration) from the sequence above. This is the point in the delivery when a pitcher reaches maximal external rotation and elicits 7500 degrees/sec of internal rotation torque force on the shoulder, and 2300 degrees/sec of extension torque force on the elbow (AKA: the equivalent of hanging a 40 lb dumbbell from the hand). Ouch.

The point is, when you’re referring to anything that requires someone to get up from sitting in front of their computer and actually doing something remotely athletic, “stuff” just doesn’t look pretty. Get over it and shut up.

We’re leaving for Maine this weekend and I figured I would just jot down a few random thoughts.

1. Ever get sick of people complaining that it’s their genetics holding them back? A perfect example would be the person who says, “my family has a history of heart disease, so I guess that will be fate too,” or “oh, my body is just predisposed to being fat.” Of course, said person is chomping down on a large bagel with cream cheese as they say this.

Dr. Dean Ornish thinks otherwise. He shows (and he has research to back it up) how adopting healthy lifestyle habits can affect a person at the genetic level. Namely, if you take strides to eat healthier, manage stress, exercise, and love more–your brain gets more blood flow and oxygen, and brain cells actually increase. His list includes things like, drinking green tea, eating blueberries, going for walks, and while I’m sure he mistakingly left this one out, looking at pictures of Kim Kardashian’s badonkadonk.

2. I’m currently making an effort to read more business related books. One such book is Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. Every day we face the challenge of persuading others to do what we want. You know simple things, like trying to convince your girlfriend to invite another girl over for drinks, some dancing, maybe a naked pillow fight or two*. But what makes people say yes to our requests? Did you know that something as basic as a hand written Post-It note can persuade someone? The authors even have a chapter titled, “How Can You Become a Jedi Master of Persuasion?” SOLD!

3. Maine Diner is totally going to get dominated by me this weekend. If you’re ever up in the Wells, Kennebunk, Maine area, you owe it to yourself to eat breakfast there. THE best omlettes this side of the Mississippi River.

4. I really wish people would stop using the term “fat burning zone.” There’s no such thing. The funny thing is, the best “fat burning zone” is the one you’re in right now reading this blog post. You’re burning a greater percentage of fat right now, but the total calories being burned is so low, that it doesn’t even matter. I may just blog about this in more detail later.

5. People who eat nuts on a daily basis, tend to have a better body composition than those who don’t.

6. In listening to Mike Boyle speak recently, people need to place more emphasis on change of direction when they do their conditioning work. Sure, running in a straight line is conditioning specific, but as Mike noted, it’s not muscularily (is that a word?) specific. A big reason why we see so many hamstring/groin injuries is because we don’t place enough emphasis on change of direction. Additionally, changing direction will automatically place more of a metabolic demand on the body.

7. How pumped am I to see The Dark Knight in a few weeks? Answer: wicked pumped.

8. The Boston Globe featured a story on one of our athletes this week, Mike Soboff. Give it a read.

9. Never underestimate the power of trance. If you would have asked me whether or not trance music would ever be played in our facility I would have laughed. The first time I played it, all I heard was Eric yelling, “am I in a gym or shopping at Old Navy?” Needless to say, I think I may have the numbers falling in my favor as of late. We train at night with a crew of local college athletes, weekend warriors, and powerlifters, and they’re digging the new Louie DeVito album.

10. Have a safe, and awesome July 4th weekend!

*or three.

EDIT: or four.