Only 2 posts this week? I feel slighted.
That was a comment left for me last week by someone who was a little “miffed” at me for my lack of blogging prowess. Believe me, I felt bad for only posting two blogs last week, but I think it’s because you’re all spoiled and are used to me writing so often as it is. I’m not blaming you. I’ve set the standard and I need to own up to it.
If it’s any consolation, though, last week was a HUGE week.
First off, while we had a little bit of a heads up leading up to it, our apartment got a bit of a face lift last week getting all (13) new windows installed within a two day span, and as an added bonus, we also got a new kitchen as well.
Well, by “new kitchen” what I really mean is a new sink and counter tops. But to say our apartment looked like it went through a nuclear blast would have been an understatement. It was a mess. And with a bunch of random dudes walking around making all sorts of noise, it made it hard to get much (if any) work done.
What made the process even more stressful was the fact that both Lisa and I were expecting our families to come into town to celebrate her graduation last weekend, and it was IMPERATIVE that everything got done in time.
It did………….and all was well in the world.
And all I have to say now is that everything looks FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABuuuuuuuulos!1!11!!!
Above all, Lisa is now officially a doctor in sports psychology. After a Hobbit like journey, through all the trials and tribulations, and ALWAYS amazing me with her character and perseverance, she did it! I couldn’t be more proud of her.
To make the occasion even more sweet, we spent the entire weekend with friends and family celebrating her achievement, and it couldn’t have been more awesome. THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by and for the well wishes on Facebook.
2. As a final reminder, I’m going to be in Edmonton the weekend of June 2nd as part of the Spinal Health and Core Seminar along with Rick Kaselj, Dean Somerset, and Dr. Jeff Cubos. Not only will it be my first trip to Canada since I was a sophomore in college, but it will officially mark the furthest West I have ever been in North America. Go figure!
Additionally, I’ll be making another trip up to Canada a few weeks after that – this time to Toronto – to speak at the PTDC Hybrid Training Seminar along with Jon Goodman, Nick Tumminello, Dan Trink, Mark Young, and Geoff Girvitz.
Spots are still available in both cases, but if you’re on the fence I’d suggest you snag one up now because as it draws closer to the actual date(s), they’ll be harder to come by
3. I came across this video of Dr. Craig Liebenson going through a case study of a flexion intolerant back which I felt needed to be viewed by more people. It’s only like ten minutes long, but well worth the investment. Trust me, your Words with Friends battle can wait. Watch the video.
If nothing else take notice of the look of death he gives the audience when he points out that ALL signs point to it being a flexion based issue and NOT an extension based one. Classic.
4. One of the more common email questions I receive is how one can go about writing for reputable fitness publications like T-Nation or Men’s Health. While I offered a few thoughts on the topic in THIS post not too long ago, fellow strength coach Jon-Erik Kawamoto upped the ante and wrote an awesome blog post HERE which provided some great tips from a lot really smart people like Ben Bruno, Bret Contreras, Molly Galbraith, Mark Young, Sean Hyson, Nick Tumminello, and Optimus Prime.
Okay, not Optimus Prime (although, how awesome would that have been????), but definitely a lot of other recognizable names that go out of their way to offer a lot of insight.
5. Keeping the same theme, if you’re looking for something good to read, I’d HIGHLY suggest picking up a copy of Easy Strength by Dan John and Pavel. Not that I have to pimp anything by these two guys – the names speak for themselves – but this is quite honestly one of the best books I’ve read in a while.
It’s formatted in a way where both authors offer their two cents as the book progresses. Coach John will speak on a topic, and then Pavel chimes in with thoughts of his own. Both are generally on the same page in terms of their thought process, but I love the contrasting styles. While I’m obviously familiar with Pavel, I really haven’t read much of his stuff, and I totally dig his no BS approach.
I started the book last week and haven’t been able to put it down since.
And that’s it for today. I’m about to get my lift in. Since I’ve been feeling a bit beat up as of late, I decided to drop my training frequency from four days per week to three. In the past I’ve found that that approach works REALLY well for me in terms of giving my body a break. What’s more, with several other things going on in my life competing for time – blogs, articles, programming, etc – it just makes more sense to tone it down a bit. So, for now, for those who care, my training schedule will look like this:
Monday: Full Body (DL emphasis)
Tuesday: Hill sprints (grass)
Wednesday: Full Body (Bench emphasis
Thursday: GPP/Mobility Day (LIGHT Prowler pushes, possibly hug someone)
Friday: Full Body (Squat emphasis)
Saturday: GPP/Mobility Day (or what we like to call Superficial Saturday, which can be anything from extra bicep work to even more extra bicep work….haha)
Sunday: eat lots of dead animal flesh and take a nap.
How you like dem apples?
