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Soooooo, assuming I could actually post a poll on here (which I can’t), does this mean I’ve fulfilled my New Year’s resolution to deadlift 600 lbs this year?
Vote No for “Nice try Tony, but the trap bar is to deadlifting as the Smith Machine is to squatting.”
OR
Vote Yes for “Tony, you’re a ninja.”
In an effort to spice things up a bit, Brian St. Pierre, Pete Dupuis, and myself have spent the last month following Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 program. As it is, while we were supposed to de-load this week, Pete and I decided to test our 1RM in the bench today instead. Some of you may remember Pete from a while back when, after deadlifting 88 lbs on his first day of training, pulled 400 lbs exactly a year later.
Not to be outdone, here’s a video of Pete hitting 305 today (a 20 lb PR no less), which, as we all know, equates to roughly 450 lbs if this were an internet forum. For reps.
Congrats Pete. PS, Kevin, you have some catching up to do.
NOTE #1: Yes, I realize that Pete’s butt comes off the bench slightly. So you can relax internet hero guy who’s inevitably going to be the one who says something.
NOTE #2: I’m sorry, but what the hell is up with the group’s reaction after Pete hit that lift? Dammit, I remember when we used to slam our heads through the cement wall when someone so much as grabbed a foam roller. Now look at us. All we can muster is a token golfer’s clap? I think Dave (the guy in the red hat) has softened us up a bit. He comes all the way from England to hang with us, and within a week, the bloody wanker has us watching Notting Hill and listening to the Spice Girls. What’s next, asking for spots of tea between sets of squats? I do say, Bollocks! Oooooh, is that pomegranate?
Q: Hey Tony-
As you know, I am a big fan of your writing (or maybe more accurately, your writing style). Good writers tend to be avid readers. Assuming that, I was wondering what some of your favorite books are; can you give me a top three, five, ten list? Spare me any pretension- keep it real (and if ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’ is on your list, I might kill myself!). Whatever, if you have time, I’d be interested. By the way, the recommendations can be from any genre.
A: First and foremost, thank you for the kind words. It’s always humbling for me that so many people actually care what I have to say, and, more importantly, recognize that I don’t take myself too seriously with this blog. As I’ve stated in the past, t-muscle editor TC Luoma gave me a great piece of advice when I first started writing- the more pictures of half naked hot chicks, the better.
Okay, he really didn’t say that (yes, he did). In all seriousness, what he told me was that while people want content, and they want to learn, they also want to be entertained. Lets be honest, the Kreb’s Cycle is about as interesting as cancer. Likewise, do people really want to read an entire article on synergistic dominance or reciprocal inhibition without any jokes or side banter? Oh, you do? I, uh, hahahahahaha, you caught me off guard there. Right, well, um…….synergistic dominance refers to the concept where one or more synergists take over function for a prime mover. For instance, when the glutes are weak or inhibited, the hamstrings will generally “take over,” and more often than not, the end result is a hamstring strain.
Aw, come on! Are you sure you want me writing about this? lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala, I can’t hear you, lalalalalalalalalalalala. Can’t we talk about something more exciting? Like how Heidi Montag looks more and more like a mannequin each and every day. Except you know, without a soul.
Truth be told, I don’t consider myself a good writer by any stretch of the imagination. Adequate? Yes. Good? Eh, maybe. Although even that can be debated. As I’ve stated in the past, I really wasn’t that great at English in high school, my major in college was being awesome Health Education, and up until a few years ago, any reading I did started with Sports and ended with Illustrated.
Without getting into the nitty-gritty details, I once had a girlfriend (true story) who, for whatever reason (being an uppity, better-than-everyone super skank, perhaps?), broke up with me. As you might surmise, I was a little devastated. As luck would have it, to help pass the time of said devestation, I happened to come across the Modern Libarary’s Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century.
Not having anything else to do but watch old re-runs of 90210 and Peter Gabriel the shit out of my ex, I decided to spend that summer reading my ass off.
Remarkably, I read roughly 10-15 novels that summer. I remember walking into the library and taking out Catcher in the Rye, and never looked back. I followed that with all the other classics Grapes of Wrath, Lolita, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Everybody Poops, A Brave New World, Animal Farm, A Clockwork Orange, and just about everything Kurt Vonnegut wrote.
I still do a lot of reading today, but for obvious reasons- helping to run a business, training clients 8-10 hours per day, writing programs, flexing in the mirror, etc- my reading time is limited. That said, it goes without saying that I read a lot of material related to my profession. Note: check out the blogroll located on the home page, as well as my Recommended Resources page for an idea of what I like. Too, I also like to read stuff just for the heck of it.
As cheesy as it may sound, I find the most inane sentences/topics intoxicating. How authors like Malcolm Gladwell (one of my favorites) can take something like hair dye, for instance, and write an informative (and entertaining) piece of literature is amazing to me. As it is, it took me 37 minutes just to write this last paragraph. Not even kidding.
I don’t know, I just feel the more variety people add in what they read, the better. I love reading the classics, but I also like writers who don’t take themselves too seriously. I think there’s a lot to be said about someone who’s not scared to use self-deprecating humor, which is probably why I use a lot of it in my own writing.
That said, some of my favorite off-the-cuff books I generally recommend to people are:
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius– Dave Eggers
To Kill a Mockingbird– Harper Lee
Slaughterhouse Five, Cat’s Cradle, Breakfast of Champions– Kurt Vonnegut
Freakonomics and SUPERfreakonomics– Levitt and Dubner
Anything by Robert Ludlum
The Road– Cormac McCarthy
Twilight- Stephanie Meyer. Hahahaha, just kidding. I’d rather eat live bees.
And the Band Played On– Randy Shilts
I could easily go on and on, but to be honest, making all those links is exhausting. In any case, while it’s certainly not an extensive list, I think it gives you a fair indication of what I like to read.
I’m not messing around today. I set my alarm for 5:13 this morning so I could give myself enough time to make breakfast, pack my meals for the day, and weather the um, weather to go vote in today’s special Senate election in Massachusetts between Martha Coakley and Scott Brown before I head to CP for the day. All I’m gonna say is that if I don’t walk away with something like a sticker, or I don’t know, a ball point pen for getting up this early to vote, there will be hell to pay.**
In any case, as I’ve stated in the past, I try to steer clear of any political talk on this blog, for obvious reasons. The only hint I’ll give as to who I’m voting for is that his (or her) name rhymes with not Martha Coakley.
Suffice it to say, I’m a little rushed this morning so here are some random thoughts:
1. A HUGE congratulations goes out to CP client Bree Schaaf this morning, who officially qualified for the U.S Winter Olympic team (women’s bobsled), and will be representing the United States next month in Vancouver.
2. If I get one more person e-mailing me asking me what I do for cardio, I swear I’m going to throw my face into my keyboard. People are often dumbfounded when I tell them that I don’t do a lot of traditional cardio. “Well, what about your cardiovascular health?” they’ll cry out! Do me a favor. Walk over to the squat rack, or, if your gym is lame and doesn’t have a squat rack, grab a pair of dumbbells. Put said weight on your shoulders and squat it for twenty repetitions. Is your heart rate elevated? There, you just did some “cardio.” Now, shut up.
3. In keeping with my New Year’s resolution to try new foods every week, my girlfriend and I my girlfriend made dinner this weekend using something called Punjabi wadi, which if you asked me, sounds more like a Star Wars character than something you can eat.
Suffice it to say, I tried it. That’s about it. Next week? Jerusalem artichokes. I can’t wait…………………………………….to put a hole in my head.
4. I can’t believe The Hangover won the Golden Glove for Best Comedy over (500) Days of Summer this past weekend. This is almost worse than when Shakespeare in Love won Best Picture over Saving Private Ryan back in ’98. Yeah, you thought I forgot didn’t you Hollywood foreign press? I never forget!!!!!!
5. I have a 35-40 minute commute to and from work every day. As such, I typically spend that time listening to The Fitcast, strengthcoachpodcast.com, In the Trenches Fitness, or various other podcasts, like Leigh Peele’s for instance. Lately, however, I’ve been rocking books on cd, and loving it. I joined audible.com last week, and have been listening to Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.
Seemingly, based off the title alone, one would think the author’s agenda is to make a case for vegetarianism. Truthfully, in part, he is (to a degree). However, in his defense, the main objective is to give the reader a more thorough look into the world of factorized farming- fish, poultry, beef, pig, you name it- which, as you might expect, is downright atrocious.
What’s more, he also goes into detail about the inhumane ways we treat said animals, which as you might expect (again), is brutal- to say the least. I mean, there are things we do to pigs, for example, that would be a felony if we even thought about doing them to a dog. But, since a pig can’t jump onto the back of a Volvo, we don’t think twice about it. I get it, we don’t eat dogs. However, it really is sad how we treat these animals.
For the record, I’m still going to eat animals- but I’m definitely more cognizant about where my food is coming from, and, more importantly, how it’s treated. Given that 99% of the meat we eat in this country comes from factorized farming, it’s going to be an upward battle.
**UPDATE: 5th in line at the polls, bitches. Ball point pen? Pfffft, at the very least, I deserve my own bald eagle for being to patriotic.
Anyone who’s read my articles, or this blog for an extended period of time, knows my stance when it comes to the traditional leg curl. In short, they suck. For those who need a quick refresher:
1. It trains the hamstrings in a more “non-functional” manner. Which is to say, when in life do you lie on your stomach and curl a weight towards your butt? Hint: never.
More to the point, while most anatomy books will describe the hamstrings as knee flexors (which they undoubtedly are), it should also be noted they serve a crucial role as a powerful hip extensors (second only to the glute max) as well; not to mention- as Mike Boyle has stressed on several occasions- eccentrically resist knee extension during sprinting.
What’s my point? Well, the leg curl- as it’s recognized by most gym goers- only emphasizes knee flexion, while totally neglecting hip extension. If you’re main goal is just aethetics, then leg curl away. Let it be known, however, you’ll probably still be weaker than a baby’s fart, and about as athletic as a bowling ball. Fist pump!
Nevertheless, as a strength coach, my job is to, first and foremost, keep people healthy. As well, I’m also interested in improving performance, movement quality, and, of course, strength and power (to name a few). Which is why you’ll never (read: EVER) find me placing traditional leg curls into any of my programs.
2. Did I mention that they suck?
Suffice it to say, as much as I hate leg curls, I’m not one of those guys that throws the baby out with the bathwater- particularly when working with beginners or de-conditioned clients in general. Which is why I love the slideboard leg curl.
What Is It: Eccentric slideboard leg curl
Who Did I Steal It From: Who else, Mike Boyle; who talks about this exercise extensively in Designing Strength Training Programs and Facilities, and, more recently in Advances in Functional Training.
What Does It Do: As I stated above, the slideboard leg curl (unlike the *barf* traditional leg curl), trains both knee flexion and hip extension simultaneously. What’s more, with this version, the glutes play a significant role since they have to isometrically contract to maintain hip extension while the hamstrings work both eccentrically (to resist knee extension) and concentrically (to produce knee flexion).
Of note, you might be asking yourself, “Tony, why do you drop your hips to the slideboard when your legs are fully extended?” Fair question. For more advanced trainees, I typically tell them to maintain hip extension throughout the movement (i.e, not to drop their hips). For those with poor glute function, however (which will be most, if not everyone reading this), I advocate the version shown in the video to start since they’ll have trouble transitioning between the eccentric and concentric portion of the exercise without their hamstring cramping up.
Key Coaching Cues: Start supine, with your toes pointing up and hips extended (as if you were going to perform a supine bridge). From there, slowly extend your legs until they are straight. I typically suggest a five second count down, but I know in the video it was more like three. Sue me. Drop your hips to the slideboard, bring your feet back to the starting position, bridge back up, and repeat. Shoot for 2-3 sets of 6-8 repetitions to start. As you grow more proficient, you can progress to the more advanced version where you don’t drop your hips.
Oh, and for those who don’t have access to a slideboard, you could also use a towel (if you have a surface that will allow it) or a Valslide (if you don’t). Or, you could just buy some of those cheap furniture slidy thingamabobs. Those work like a charm, too.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned since we’ve opened Cressey Performance, it’s that while we’re absolutely about getting people leaner, faster, and/or stronger- whether they’re an athlete or not- you can’t deny the overwhelming sense of “community” and camaraderie that exists on a day-to-day basis. Take yesterday for example. Below is the sign that greeted every client that walked into the facility.
One of our longest tenured clients and resident CP-mom, Steph H-B, mentioned that her daughter was selling Girl Scout cookies this month. Of note, Steph is currently smack dab in the middle of Warp Speed Fat Loss, so the mere mention of a carb, let alone a cookie, makes her, well, I don’t want to talk about it.
As such, apparently there’s this other mom in the troop that is a raving beeeotch (my words, not hers), and Steph mentioned how it would make her day if she ended up selling more boxes than her. Needless to say, she had us at Thin Mints.
Within minutes, Toronto Blue-Jays’ Organizational Pitcher of the Year, Tim Collins, set up shop just inside the entrance taking orders from people as they walked in. Isn’t he cute? Ladies?
When all was said and done, by the end of the afternoon, he had sold roughly 100 boxes of Girl Scout cookies……….and counting. Nice work Tim (and CP for the support). And for the record, those of you who are coming in on Saturday, bring some extra cash (wink wink, nudge nudge). You don’t want to make Tim angry.
I remember my high school English teacher, Mrs. Davie, always saying that back in the day. At the start of each semester, she’d give a brief rundown of what topics we were going to cover (Shakespeare), and then in an effort to stimulate more class participation (which constituted 15% of our grade), she’d utter the phrase, “now remember, there’s no such thing as a stupid question.”
Of course, being the wise guy that I am, followed suit with something along the lines of:
“I do say fair madame of Longshanks. Would thou be opposed if thee wished to refrain from reading the likes of Shakespeare, yet again? For thee would rather take thy sword and thrust it into thyself’s abdomen…………..repeatedly. In the name of true love, what say you?”
Fade to black, and……………..applause.
Okay, in all seriousness that never happened. I took my Macbeth like a man. But it goes without saying that we’ve all heard the above expression at some point in our lives.
You wanna know something? It’s bullsh*t.
There’s absolutely such a thing as a stupid question; particularly with regards to the fitness industry. Let me preface this, however, by saying that I’m not writing this to be a cynical bastard. On the contrary, I’m always telling people that they should be more proactive with their fitness, and that they should ask questions whenever possible.
That being said, it’s the people who ask the same question(s) over and over and over and over again – albeit in different ways – that drive me absolutely bonkers and make me want to toss my face into a brick wall. As if to say, “yeah, um, I didn’t like the first answer you gave me, so I’ll ask again hoping that you’ll say what I want you to say.”
For instance, here’s an example from someone who e-mailed me not too long ago.
Q: How can I get rid of this inner thigh fat?
A: I’m just throwing this out there, but how about not going out drinking with your friends 3-4 times per week. That might help.
Understandably, this isn’t what this person wants to hear.
They want to hear me say do “x” exercise, and you’ll get rid of that pesky inner thigh fat in no time flat.
There are exceptions to the rule, but more often than not people don’t want to hear what needs to be said. It’d be analogous to me asking my doctor how I can reduce my risk of heart disease, and him saying, “stop smoking.” Only for me to come back and ask, “yeah but, how can I reduce my risk of heart disease?”
For the record, I don’t smoke. I’m just trying to make a point.
Honestly though, I think there’s a lot to be said about giving people a little dose of tough love occasionally. Everything can’t be butterfly kisses and rainbows all the time.
I’m always amused when someone questions my advice. More specifically, I’m always amused when someone asks me the same question expecting a different answer. This isn’t to say that I’m always right, I’m definitely not[footnote]But I am[/footnote]. But it’s not like it’s in my best interests to give him/her bad advice. That doesn’t sound like a great business model to me.
Nonetheless, I just had to rant a little bit this morning.
I need to go lift something heavy.
I know this may come as a shock to many of you reading this given my past transgressions towards yoga- namely, HERE and HERE– but in all actuality, many of the exercises we use during a dynamic warm-up or for general corrective exercise purposes, for instance, have their background in yoga.
While I may disagree with how yoga (and pilates for that matter) is marketed as some panacea of fitness for women, I do understand that there are some valuable components** and that its’ merits shouldn’t be neglected all together. See, I’m all about compromise!
No matter which way you look at it, however, it’s stuff like the picture above, and the fact that people will haphazardly think this is great for the lumbar spine, that gets me fired up. But I digress. I promised myself I wouldn’t go off on a tangent. Deep breaths, deep breaths.
To that end, here’s an exercise that we’ve been using extensively at CP as of late with many of our clients.
What Is It: Yoga Plex
Who Did I Steal it From: Nick Tumminello. Specifically in his Warm-Up Progressions dvd.
What Does It Do: You get a lot of bang for your buck here. For starters, this hammers the hip flexors, and helps get people into a little more extension, which is never a bad thing. Particularly for those who are forced to sit in front of computer in flexion all day. Secondly, this is also a great exercise for t-spine mobility. Again, we’re a very flexion dominate society, so anything that allows us to “open up” a bit, is fantastic. Third, and most importantly, I said it’s a good exercise, so that’s what really counts.
Key Coaching Cues: Above all, we need to be cognizant of maintaining a neutral spine throughout the duration of the movement. As well, the front heel of the non-moving leg should stay DOWN. Last, but not least, make sure that you follow the arc of your hand with your head. I like to tell people to “follow your hand during this exercise.
There you have it, the Yoga Plex. As I mentioned above, ideally, I’d place this in between sets as more of a filler exercise, but you can also include this as part of a general warm-up as well.
** Exhibit A:
Exhibit B
Exhibit C:
Much the same, just like many of you reading, I too made a few New Years resolutions this year. Namely:
Drink more water– think about it, your body is 83% water. We need water for every single metabolic process in the body. What’s more, water is vital for the digestion and absorption of all the nutrients (and vitamins) we eat on a daily basis. It also carries away metabolic waste, and helps to flush fat and toxins through the liver and kidneys. In short, water is kind of a big deal. Unfortunately, most (if not all) of us are chronically under-hydrated. Trust me, you are.
And when I say “drink more water,” I’m not referring to Vitamin Water (which is crap by the way), or soda, or any other substitute you can think of. Nope. Just plain ol’ water. My goal? At least one gallon per day.
Stretch More– I’m not going to sugar coat this. I’d rather take an Ewok spear to the face than stretch. Nonetheless, the more and more I think about it, the more I realize that this is just something that has to be done. Point. Blank. Period.
I mean, I spend a large part of my day on my feet coaching athletes, and even I feel I’m tighter than a camels ass in a sandstorm. Now, if I feel I should stretch more (and I do), then what does that say for the bulk of you reading this blog right now who spend upwards of 8-10 hours per day sitting in front of a computer? Hmmmm?
Write More Articles– Admittedly, I’ve been slacking on this front, for what, two years now? 2010 is going to be my comeback. Ready or not, here I come. To that end, any thoughts or ideas of articles you’d like to see written, feel free to leave a comment below.
Diversify my Diet– Not surprisingly, I tend to be a little “set in my ways” when it comes to the foods I eat. Just to give you an idea of what I’m talking about, my girlfriend has coined the term “Tony friendly restaurant,” because she knows I tend to be a little finicky. In my defense, however, I’m certainly not scared to down a pizza from time to time, and I ALWAYS order dessert whenever I eat out at a fancy place. Applebee’s counts, right?
In an effort to broaden my food repertoire, I’ve decided that I’m going to try as many different foods that I can this year. My only caveat are Brussle sprouts and calamari, or anything that used to have tenticles for that matter. Too, anything that is considered part of French cuisine is off-limits as well (duck, lamb, frog legs, French fries, etc). Other than that, everything else is fair game.
As such, for Christmas, I bought my girlfriend Jonny Bowden’s book, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth.
She’s just as much into nutrition as I am, and luckily for me, she loves to cook. Neither one of us can put the book down, and we’ve spent the past two weekends at Whole Foods and the local Chinease supermarket picking up foods that we’ve read about. It’s kind of like our very own version of Julie and Julia.
So far, here’s what I’ve tried:
Turmeric– Bowden RAVES about this spice, and to be honest, I can see why. It has a very unique taste, and it’s known benefits include alleviating athritis and joint inflammation, decreasing cholesterol, and liver health, to name a few.
Also on the list, Bok choy, chard, kale, beets, Dandelion greens, and spaghetti squash (my new favorite).
Not a bad start if I do say so myself.
13 Tips for Fitness Blogging Success– Mike Robertson
This is a fantastic post that Mike wrote last week, and truthfully, I couldn’t have said it better myself. The only things I would add are:
1. Content reigns supreme. Admittedly, I tend to go a little more off-topic compared to many of my other colleagues, but then again, I feel that that is what separates my blog from many others. While I undoubtedly feel I’m able to put out some quality content, I’ve long felt that there’s a lot to be said about the “infotainment” aspect of blogging.
People want to learn, but they also want to be entertained. And nothing says entertainment more than cleavage being extra cleavagy. That’s the world I want to live in.
2. As Mike alluded to in his article, if you want to get better at writing, you need to write. It’s funny, if you would have told me ten years ago that I would be getting paid to write articles, I would have laughed in your face. I despised reading Shakespeare in high school. I graduated with a degree in Health Education for peets sake! Sure I took some literature courses, but only because they were required. It wasn’t until my senior year that I was able to differentiate between you’re/your, to/too/two, and they’re/there/their.
In the end, however, it just became a foregone conclusion that I’d end up writing “stuff” in some capacity. Not that I consider myself a great writer or anything, but I never read anything I how to become a better writer. I just wrote.
Much the same way you become a better cook. You cook. Be proactive. Just write.
3. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Seriously. Have fun, it’s your blog for crying out loud.
Beef Label Decoder– one of my distance coaching clients sent me this link, and I thought it was fascinating. Just goes to show that our food industry is shady, at best.
Advances in Functional Training– Mike Boyle
I know I mentioned this a while back, but now that I’m about half way through it, I can say that the section on Understanding Sports Hernia alone is worth every penny.
Quitting Smoking May Raise Diabetes Risk– WTF
As if the fact that this article was published in the first place isn’t shocking enough, I was told that it was even featured on Good Morning America as well. It amazes me what’s viewed as news nowadays. What’s next, a story on how having unprotected sex with a toaster increases your risk of heart disease?*
