December Archives

First things first, I thought all you New Englanders were tough. You call this past weekend a snow storm?????? Hahahahahahahahaahahahaahahahahaha. Please. Where I’m from, that was a dusting. And what’s the deal with people being asshats and shoveling out their cars, only to pile the snow in front of someone elses? If there’s ever a reason to drop kick someone in the lips, then that’s it.

Without any further ado, as promised, here’s part II of yesterday’s blog post.

6. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Sometimes “stuff” just doesn’t look pretty when you’re lifting heavy shit. That’s NOT to say that we don’t stress proper form and technique with our clients and athletes at CP. However, we also realize that at times, there IS such a thing as over-coaching an athlete.

I often find it frustrating that many trainers get stuck on minutia, and will often use big words to make it sound like they know what they’re talking about. Without getting into too many specifics, lets just say that if more trainers spent their time focusing on getting their athletes stronger, and less time fretting about the fact that their right knee exhibited some slight valgus (caving in) on their heavy squats (GASP!!!!!!!!!!), I’d be less inclined to want to throw myself in front of a mack truck.

Just to be clear, I am not saying that you shouldn’t address the issue if it’s blatantly obvious that it may lead to injury. However, sometimes you just need to let the athlete do his/her thing and understand that it’s not always going to look pretty when they’re lifting more weight then you ever will.

7. I’ve been catching up on my Strengthcoach.com podcasts in the car and I’ve been picking up a few simple tips that I’ve been sharing with my clients. One such tip comes from nutritionist Amanda Carlson concerning hydration and just how important it really is. According to Carlson, some recent research shows that just a half a liter in deficit in water can cause an increase in stress hormones as well as cause you to feel hungry more often. Not exactly a great scenario when looking to keep the access lb’s at bay.

Additionally, from a performance standpoint, a two percent decrease in body weight (due to dehydration through sweating) can decrease performance upwards to 25%. Yowsa!

Just goes to show how important staying hydrated really is. And please, for the love of all that’s holy, put down the Vitamin Water. I’d rather you drink raw sewage than that crap (pun totally intended).

8. I’m always interested in getting feedback from my readers on what they would like to see me write about. So consider this your open forum to give me suggestions on articles you would like to see in 2009. Admittedly I’ve been a super slacker in the article writing department the past few months, and I’ve declared my New Year’s resolution to be an article writing whore in 2009. I’ve already made an article queue in my head, but other ideas would be welcome.

9.

Dear Hot Chick,

You’re hot.

Love,

Tony

PS: I cordially invite you to come squat at CP anytime you want (e-mail me for directions. [email protected]).

PPS: you look really smart.

Writers Note: I started this blog post this morning, but then realized I had to shovel my car out, so I had to wait till later to finish it. Now I’m at work, and don’t have time to write down everything that I wanted to say, so here’s the abridged version (part II tomorrow, I promise).

1. I know I’ve been less than exemplary with my blog the past two weeks, but rest assured it’s with good reason. You see, between walking around Boston Common singing Christmas carols (with my shirt off) and helping old ladies shovel off their sidewalks (with my shirt off), I’ve had very little time to educate my readers on the finer points of beta fatty acid oxidation and such. Which is to say, does anyone really care what the hell beta fatty acid oxidation really is? NERD alert.

2. With the new year right around the corner, it’s inevitable that we’re going to be inundated with countless fat loss programs (with silly titles) by personal trainers looking to make a quick buck. First off, let me be clear, I am in no way opposed to people making money online. However, what I am opposed to are shitty programs with no rhyme or reason to them. I mean, take for example this program I came across the other day geared towards beginners looking to focus on fat loss. This is programmed as part of Day #1:

A1. T-Push-Ups: 15-20 reps

A2. Jump Squats: 15-20 reps

First off let me just state the obvious; this is stupid. Like Sarah Palin “I read all sorts of newspapers and magazines, don’t ya know?” stupid. The person who wrote this manual deserves to have his face smacked off his face. There is no way I would ever program this for anyone who is just starting out, let alone for someone who is overweight. Essentially what this program is going to do is set up its target audience to fail. The vast majority who attempt it won’t be able to tolerate the fatigue, and lets be honest, their form is going to be atrocious. I wouldn’t be surprised if 50% end up hurting themselves.

It just boggles my mind how irresponsible some trainers can be. It almost seems their main goal is to make people sore and/or puke, which is just insane The last thing you want to do to someone who is just starting out is to turn them off to exercise right off the bat. Come on trainers, you’re better than that. I think.

3. We do a ton of med ball work with our clients at Cressey Performance (especially with our baseball guys), and oftentimes I get asked what types of drills we have them do. One of our favorites is the Crow Hop into Overhead Throw seen below:

The key here is to pretend you’re throwing the ball at someone/something you really, really hate. In my case it could be anyone of the following: The Queen of England (just cause), snakes, Keanu Reeves, Megatron, people who budge in line, the boyfriend of the hot WB Mason sales girl that comes to the facility every few months (I don’t even know him, but I can only assume he’s a dork), and every person in one of those cheesy Old Navy holiday commercials.

Side note: It’s important to try to get “crow hops” onto BOTH legs when doing this exercise. Shoot for 4×4 on each side.

4. A bunch of the guys at CP are going to give Warp Speed Fat Loss* another go round starting in January, and I decided to hop on the “lets get shredded so girls will want to hang out with us” train as well.

My friend Jen Heath is going to write out my diet plan for me, and I’ll take care of my programming since I have to work around two knees that don’t like me at the moment. I’m aptly going to name this experiment, Project “Tony Gets Even More Sexified,” and I’ll definitely be doing a before/after blog post with updates in the middle. Should be fun.

And just an FYI, Warp Speed Fat Loss does NOT apply to my thoughts above on fat loss programs

5. Is it me, or is Jennifer Aniston getting hotter with age?

Seriously!!! She could appear in an ad for industrial strength penis shrinking cream, and I’d add it to my protein shake in a heartbeat. Scumptious!

With Christmas Eve right around the corner (no I haven’t started my shopping yet, I suck), I figured I’d help all my fellow procrastinators out there with a list of some of my favorite fitness/nutrition products that I often recommend. So whether you’re still stuck on what to ask for or can’t figure what to buy for your loved one, I’m here to help. And speaking of help, while I’d love to sit here and tell you that by clicking on the links below, you’d be helping to save orphaned baby seals, what you’re really doing is helping me pay off my student loans. Tis the season of giving. PS, I love you.*

The List

1. 2008 Indianapolis Performance Enhancement Seminar.

Hands down, THE best dvd set released this year. Mike Robertson and Bill Hartman are essentially this generations version of Starsky and Hutch, only with less Carmen Electra and Amy Smart.

Topics covered include 21st Century Core Training, Creating a More Effective Assessment (this alone is worth the price), and Optimizing Upper Extremity Biomechanics to name a few. Sure you may be like me and feel like the dumbest person on earth after watching this series (Mike and Bill and really smart), but there is absolutely no question you will become a better trainer and/or strength coach.

2. Maximum Strength: Get Your Strongest Body in 16 Weeks with the Ultimate Weight-Training Program

Written by my good friend and “technically” my boss, Eric Cressey, this book has gotten thousands of people the results they never thought were possible. I’m a firm believer that if you train with performance in mind (and you don’t eat like a retard, ahem Oprah. Yep, I just went there and I’ll blog about this soon), that the aesthetics will follow. In other words, if you train to be a badass, not only will you be a helluva lot stronger, but you’ll actually want to have sex with lights on from time to time. It’s a win-win situation.

3. The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess

If more women read this book, the world would be a better place. Well that and I wouldn’t have the urge to shoot myself in the face nearly as often whenever I hear a woman mention that she doesn’t want to get “big and bulky” at the mere sight of a weight that’s more than five lbs.

4. The Stubborn Fat Solution

Written by Lyle McDonald and geared towards a more “scientific crowd,” this book helps explains why stubborn fat is so, uh, stubborn. Yes, I’m a master at wordplay. It’s not easy folks. As McDonald explains,

“the problem of stubborn body fat (typically the abdominals/low back for men and hips and thighs for women) is one that lean dieters have been trying to deal with for decades. Various simple explanations (typically involving estrogen) have been offered but the results from these simple approaches have been, at best, poor. This is a place where simple is simply wrong.”

Undoubtedly one of the better books I have read this past year and highly recommended for those who just can’t seem to get rid of those extra few lbs of fat.

5. The “Secrets” Series-by Gray Cook, Lee Burton, and Brett Jones

If you’re a fitness professional, this is another “must have” dvd set in my opinion.

Secrets of Primitive Patterns: Learn why taking a step back and reverting back to the basics of human development is oftentimes the best approach in helping to fix faulty motor patterns which lead to faulty compensation patterns.

Secrets of the Shoulder: Your shoulder hurts? Well, it’s not JUST about strengthening the rotator cuff. Take note PT’s, all those band exercises you prescribe are just a piece of the puzzle.

Secrets of Core Training: The “core” isn’t just what you see on the cover of Men’s Health every month. It’s much more than that. Learn why and how the deadlift (and it’s many variations) is the key to a strong core.

Secrets of the Hip and Knee: Probably my favorite out of the entire series. Gray and Brett just affirm my belief that the hips are generally where a lot of shit happens; and the knee is often the joint that takes the brunt of it.

Those are some of my favorite products from the past year or so. Feel free to drop some more ideas in the comment section below.

* (no homo)

I came across a story last week that got me fired up.

 

From Reuters Health: “Obese Have Right to TWO Airline Seats.”

“Obese people have the right to two seats for the price of one on flights within Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Thursday.”

“The high court declined to hear an appeal by Canadian airlines of a decision by the Canadian Transportation Agency that people who are “functionally disabled by obesity” deserve to have two seats for one fare.”.

For the love of sugar free gummy bears, what the hell is going on here? The last thing we need is for the “functionally disabled by obesity” to think that they’re entitled to free shit. Before we know it they’re going to expect free gas for their cars (cars carrying more weight burn more gas, why should they be penalized?), free seconds at restaurants (heck they need to eat more, why should they have to spend more?), and discounted lap dances at the strip club (they um, have more lap to cover?)*.

Let me just say that I have nothing against the obese, but there are times where I feel that we as a society are just playing the role of enablers. I mean just the other day I was talking with one of our athletes, and he mentioned to me how his school is cutting down the required amount of days that students need to attend health/PE class from two days per week to once every six days! Even he found this to be absurd. And we wonder why we have an epidemic of childhood obesity and adult onset diabetes!?! When you think about it, we’re setting people up for failure right from the start.

On the other hand, while I can’t deny the role that society plays, I also feel that there has to be some degree of accountability here. I get so tired of people trying to pass things off as if they’re the victim; as if someone forced them to eat McDonald’s everyday for breakfast. Or that it’s my fault they haven’t been able to see their “boy down there part” while standing since 1994, and that somehow entitles them to make the rest of us feel like jerks for getting miffed about this. What gives? I don’t know, I understand it’s a fine line and it’s obviously a very debatable issue, but it just bothers me. What do you guys think?

*Speaking of lap dances, check out the trailer to Jessica Biel’s new movie, Jessica Biel Plays a Stripper So No One Really Cares About the Title Powder Blue.

I love how they try to make the trailer seem like this is going to be some Oscar worthy, art house film with real feelings and emotion. The only thing that’s going to be Oscar worthy is the full frontal nudity. GET SOME!

PS: Did I mention that Jessica Biel plays a stripper?

1. When going through a simple movement screen with clients, one “test” that I like to do is to have them simply touch their toes (without bending their knees). For some (like myself), it’s easy. For others it’s a bit more arduous, and oftentimes they believe, falsely, the cause is hamstrings that are tighter than a camels ass in a sandstorm. WRONG. According to Gray Cook in his fantastic DVD Training the Backside of the Core, what these people typically lack is the ability to shift their weight and perform a proper hip hinge.

The reason their hamstrings feel tight is because they’re firing so that they don’t fall forward. If you’re a person who can touch his/her toes, to better understand, try performing the toe touch while leaning up against a wall. The wall will prevent you from being able to shift your weight, and thus you’ll “feel” your hamstrings fire. Simply put, we need to get out of the mindset of thinking about muscles and start thinking about patterns. Fix the pattern, and “stuff” generally clears up.

2. Just wanted to say thanks to all of my friends who treated me to a surprise birthday dinner last week which included an Optimus Prime cake. Awesomeness. And if you’re wondering, yes, I had a piece of it. And yes, it was glorious.

3. I often get a lot of requests in my t-nation training log to include more videos of mobility and/or dynamic flexibility drills that we have our clients do at Cressey Performance.

Exercise Name: Bent-Over T-Spine Rotation

Purpose: Thoracic spine mobility

Coaching Tips: Keeping a neutral spine, follow your palm as you “rotate” to one side, and then the other. All the motion should come from your mid-back, and NOT your lumbar spine.

Special Note: The exercise is apparently much more badass if you wear a ripped t-shirt while doing it.

4. I’m always telling people that in order to do well in this industry, you need to read and keep up with new information. Thing is, I started to realize I wasn’t following my own advice. Between helping to start a new business, moving, mending a broken heart (Jessica Alba got married…….DAMMIT), writing programs, and watching the new Harry Potter trailer repeatedly, I noticed I was spending less and less time reading

I have a 35-40 minute commute to and from work, so I figured it was about time that I start using technology to my advantage. Long story short, I started listening to The Strength Coach Podcast on my iPod, and all I have to say is that Anthony Renna does a fantastic job with it. Really great stuff.

Note to Anthony: if you’re ever looking to have an extra guest on the show, my chest is always available. My abs are as well. But only on Tuesdays.

5. Saturday night, Eric Cressey and I met up with a few of our pro-baseball guys for a guys night of eating copious amounts of meat at Fire & Ice in Harvard Square.

It was great. We all drove there in our tanks, hung our cowboy hats and chainsaws on the coat rack, and then sat down for the next two hours and ate dead animal flesh. About the only thing more manly would be if we each had a stripper on our lap feeding us beef jerky while Barry White was playing in the background. *light bulb goes off* I’m on it!!!!

6. Just a little FYI. If you’re the type of person who complains that you have a weak glute medius, yet struggles to deadlift 185 lbs for one rep……Newsflash: you’re weak everywhere. Stop worrying about minutia and start lifting some heavy stuff. Conversely if you’re someone who has been struggling to lose fat and never eat breakfast…….Newsflash: Tony throws an ax into his face.

7. As the years have passed, the more I realize that troubleshooting is the name of the game. For instance, for the past few weeks I have noticed that my strength levels just haven’t been up to par. I had been struggling to come up with a logical reason; that is until Eric brought up a good point the other day. Our pro-guys have started their throwing programs, and more often than not, Eric and I are the one who are throwing with them.

Additionally, I’m constantly loading/un-loading plates for kids and walking around the facility all day coaching, so it stands to reason I’m expending a lot of energy without even knowing it. In short, NEPA (Non-Exercise Physical Activity) is a bitch, and is something that more people need to be cognizant of in regards to whether or not they’re getting in enough calories to support their training. Just some food for thought.

Which begs the question; how am I going to get more calories?

1. Start making my homemade protein bars from Gourmet Nutrition again, and use them as snacks.

2. Add olive oil/flax oil to my protein shakes.

3. Tell my mom to start sending me some meatloaf.

4. Bump up my carbs on training days (particularly during breakfast).

5. Tell one of the interns that they have to buy me lunch everyday.

6. Add more whole eggs to my omelets in the AM.

I’ll keep you posted.

LMAO!!!!! Okay, you’re right. To say that a celebrity trainer is smart is like saying a donkey can do calculus. What was I thinking?

Answer: deciding whether or not the girl in the video is cute. I’m up in the air. On one hand that airbrushed picture of her at the end of the video did bring her from a 6 to like a 6.2. But on the other hand, she opened up her mouth. Dammit!!! Seriously though, was I the only one that wanted to stab myself in the face until I fell into coma with that nauseating playful banter of how “Nelly likes to show off his toned, ripped abs and grillz” dialog?

What’s worse is that because this is Nelly’s favorite ab exercise (which apparently means something, OMG!!!!), people are totally going to jump on the band wagon expecting that the worst ab exercise ever will elicit a slim waistline or six-pack. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep (Tony goes into coma).

UPDATE (10 minutes later): *wakes up, turns on television* Amy Winehouse says the secret to a higher metabolism is crack. Well, if she says so…………….(beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep).

Not long ago I mentioned that I would start dedicating some time discussing supplements; which ones I like, which ones I dislike, and which ones will make girls want to hang out with you.

First on the hit list is protein powder. For those of you who are new to my blog, you can read my “philosophy” on supplements here. In a nutshell, I tend to follow the same approach as John Berardi in that I tend to place supplements into two categories; essential and targeted. Essential supplements are what I like to call non-supplement supplements. In other words, all of these can technically be attained through whole foods alone, but supplementation is often utilized to meet daily requirements/needs based on lifestyle. Protein powder would fall into this category.

On an aside, supplements that would fall into the “targeted” category would include things like thermogenics (fat loss products), CNS stimulants (caffeine/yohimbe), cell volumizers (creatine), etc.

Since this is the first go-around for this series, I’m just going to shoot from the hip and jot down some random thoughts on the matter in no particular order.

I’m a protein guy and have often advocated that people need to try to get more protein into their diets; especially for those who lead a more active lifestyle. In a fairly recent study/review (Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2006 Dec;31(6):647-54), it was rationalized that (and I am paraphrasing here) the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of 0.8 grams of protein/ kg of body weight was pretty much the most retarded thing ever.

That being said, it’s been my experience that the vast majority of people out there follow a diet that is strikingly low in protein. Furthermore, when those same people see that many fitness professionals recommend upwards of 1.0-1.5 grams of protein/lb of body-weight, they often think to themselves, “there is no way I can eat that much protein. I wouldn’t even know where to start!

First off, that’s absurd. There are plenty of cute little furry animals that can be killed and eaten. The only ones that are off limits are kittens, puppies, and baby seals. And Bambi, of course. Bambi’s mom is fair game though. Secondly, because of its convenience, protein powder fits nicely into most trainee’s dietary plans. While I always advocate that people try to focus on whole foods as much as possible, protein powder can serve as a perfect adjunct to one’s diet and help them reach their dietary protein needs.

I prefer to recommend brands that consist of high(er) quality protein blends (think casein, milk protein, whey isolate). As well, I also like to stick to brands that don’t taste like sandpaper, or worse, laundry detergent dipped in cancer. Some of my favorites:

1. Biotest Metabolic Drive

2. Xtreme Formulations Ultra Peptide

3. At Large Nitrean

And I’m sure there are a plethora of other brands out there that people know about, so feel free to share them in the comments section.

As far as how often and when to take protein powder. That will obviously depend on one’s activity level, dietary needs, etc. However, generally speaking, I like to tell clients to use protein shakes at times when it’s hard to make a “real” meal (mid AM or mid PM snacks). Additionally, post-training would also be an ideal time to ingest some high quality protein. And because this is just a blog post and not an all-out article, I’ll refrain from the obvious talking points (whey vs. casein/ fast vs. slow, blah blah blah). For those who really want to dive into the minutia (timing, protein quality, BCAA’s, will protein cause your kidneys to hate you, is there a max amount of protein you can ingest in one sitting, protein needs vs. optimization, to name a few) I definitely recommend Lyle McDonald’s The Protein Book.

In short, I “heart” protein powder. We’re total BFF’s. Last weekend alone we braided each other’s hair and watched Twilight for the 3rd time. OMGVAMPIRES!!!!!

Setting: Thanksgiving morning 6:30 AM. The last time I willfully got up this early outside of work related obligations was to watch Saturday morning cartoons last weekend when I was nine.

Remember how each episode of GI Joe used to end with a Public Service announcement? I used to play a game with myself and try to do the exact opposite. Like that one time Flint said to have an ump ref your baseball games:

“Well, fighting won’t stop it. When people disagree sometimes they need someone who’s not involved to settle things.”

Pffffft. Whatever. Sometimes what people need is a fastball to the side of the head. That’s the only way they’re going to know not to crowd the plate. And knowing is half the battle!

Nevertheless, my alarm went off at 6:30. But to be honest, I was actually awake 45 minutes prior due to sheer excitement for the awesomeness that was about to go down. I made a quick protein shake, finished packing my car for my trip home back to NY, and off I went to the First Annual Cressey Performance Thanksgiving Day Lift.

When all was said and done, a total of eleven people showed up at 8AM, despite the fact that the night beforehand was the biggest drinking night of the year. There was no 5K Turkey Trot. Nor was there any pink dumbbell boot camp. Just loud music and people anxious to lift heavy shit. Did I mention this was eight in the morning?

Here’s some of the guys (including yours truly) warming up with their foam rollers, etc. Notice Dan against the wall with what can only be described as his child molester beard. Note to reader: he’s not really a child molester. The only thing he molests is his Spike.

Eric, Danny V, and myself decided to start the day off with a 225 bench test. I mean it only makes sense that if we were going to be eating lots of meat later on in the day, that the next most manly thing to do would be to bench till our hands bled. Here’s Danny being coached by Eric as he did his test.

A few things to note

There’s actually a strategy to doing a proper bench test. It isn’t about flailing around like you’re having a seizure and banging out reps. First and foremost, it’s about getting a solid set-up.

Cliff Notes Version, because I’m too lazy to go into depth here:

1. Feet under you, and out. Drive your heels into the ground so that you can get a decent leg drive.

2. Shoulder blades tucked and together.

3. Elbows IN, not out.

4. Belly high.

I believe Danny’s previous best was eleven reps. With that in mind, listen to Eric as he coaches Danny through the set. He bangs out his first five reps as fast possible. From there, he pauses, gets his breath, and then performs doubles till those get challenging. Then it’s singles till he can’t do anymore. Danny ends with 13 reps, and breaks his PR. All without anyone yelling, “all you, all you, all you.”

Here’s a video of Eric repping out a 405 trap bar deadlift. Final count=20 On an aside, I think my spine shit itself.

And because I’m a major tool, I decided to end the day with some good ol’ fashioned curling in the squat rack. It’s my facility, so deal with it. I don’t know if it was Stanley Kubrick behind the camera or not, but my guns have never looked so gunny. *tear rolls down cheek*

Not to be outdone, here’s Michelle doing some Anderson Front Squats like a champ. Note Eric yelling in the background to Dan T and totally calling him out. Classic. Note to readers: Michelle should have paused a bit longer on the pins, but it was early, and I this was the only video I got of her doing the squats. I anoint myself a mulligan.

She even smiled afterwards, weird.

All in all, everyone had a blast and I’m pretty certain that this is going to be an annual event. It just goes to show how important training environment (as well as a little attitude) is for motivating people and getting results. Plus, it certainly helps that we have clients who are willing to bust their asses.

And show us their invisible water jugs…….(I bet you can’t guess who)