CategoriesUncategorized

36 Things You May Not Have Known About Me

Using the sage words of 50 Cent:

Go, go, go, go, go, go

Go shawty, it’s your birthday. We gonna party like it’s your birthday. We gon’ sip Bacardi crush grassfed beef, like it’s your birthday. And you know we don’t give a *bleep*, it’s not your birthday.

In case you weren’t picking up what I was putting down, it’s my birthday today.  And since it’s my birthday and I just spent the past two hours writing programs, with today’s blog I figured I’d have a little fun and not take myself too seriously (but when do I ever do that??) and talk about myself.  I mean, if there’s any day where you’re allowed to talk about yourself it’s your b-day, right?

I turn 36 today.  Freakin 36!!! I’m now officially well on my way to 40 and I’m not really quite sure yet how I feel about it.

On one hand, I look (and feel) pretty darm good. Compared to most dudes my age, I’m Brad Pitt.  Okay, maybe that’s a stretch.  But there’s something to be said about not being scared to take my shirt off regardless of what time of year it is.

Summer?  Done!

Middle of winter?  Lets do it!

Columbus Day?  Fo sho.

Check out aisle in the grocery store? Bring it!

On the other, pretty soon I’m going to be telling stories of when I was 18 and how the internet didn’t exist and how there were these things called walkmans and mix tapes back in the day.

Okay, lets get to it.

36 Things You May Not Have Known About Me

In no particular order.

1. Growing up my dream was to be a professional baseball player. Actually, first, I wanted to be Han Solo, but baseball player was a close second.

I think I lived half my childhood in my side yard hitting baseballs back and forth with my dog, Daisy, following me every step of the way.

One of the scariest days of my life was when I accidentally hit a baseball right through the back window of the car my parents were trying to sell.   OMG, I just about packed up all my He-Man and GI Joe figures and left home for good.

They parked it smack dab at the end of the yard, so I guess they were asking for it.

2. I was kind of a good baseball player, actually.  I was a right-handed pitcher and made all League both my junior and senior years of high school.  I spent my first two years of college playing at Onondaga Community College (OCC) in Syracuse, NY where I was MVP Pitcher both my freshman and sophomore years, also making it to the All Conference and All-Region team my sophomore year as well.

I earned a scholarship to play baseball at Mercyhurst College, in Erie PA where I was named a Division II Player to Watch in 1998.

Al Bundy scored four touchdowns in a high school football gane once, and I was a 1998 Player to Watch, bitches!

I had a few professional tryouts, but unfortunately being a 6 foot 1 right-hander throwing in the mid-80s, I was a dime a dozen,

3.  Did you know I actually released my very first product earlier this year?

Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body

You should check it out……hint, hint.

4.  I also have another one coming out in the near future – The Spinal Health and Core Seminar – in collaboration with the same guys from MIRU (Rick Kaselj, Dr. Jeff Cubos, and Dean Somerset.)

5.  Speaking of Dean Somerset, he gave me what’s arguably the best b-day message on Facebook, ever.

Holy shit, you were actually birthed?!?!!? I thought you occurred when Megatron and Optimus Prime came together in a collision and the energy of that impact formed into a solid state mass who liked deadlifts and dead animal flesh.

What ever. Have a great birthday man.

6. Along with my girlfriend, I own a cat, Dagny.  Now I’m not quite as obsessed with her as the guy in this commercial:

But I kinda am.

7.  I ran Cross Country my sophomore year in high school and it was about as fun as getting dropped kicked in the nuts.

8.  I also never had a girlfriend in high school.  Probably because I freakin ran Cross Country (and, you know, I was completely terrified of them).

9.  Hey – did you know I have a Fan Page on WeightTraining.com?  I didn’t either up until yesterday.  You can check it out  HERE.

10. I may be the only guy this side of the Mississippi River to say this, but I HATE bench pressing.  There, I said it.

11.  My favorite rap group of all time is A Tribe Called Quest.  I feel the early and mid-90s was (is) the golden days of rap – hands down.

12.  I didn’t perform my first deadlift until 2003, when I was 25 years old.

13. My best deadlift is 570 lbs (at a then 3x bodyweight of 190 lbs).

Operation 600 lb deadlift will commence on Monday (for real this time) – Greg Robins has agreed to write my programming for the next three months.  Yeah buddy!!!

14.  Raise your hand if you balled like a baby when Red and Andy met up in Mexico at the end of The Shawshank Redemption.

*Raises both hands*

And for anyone who’s pissed because I just gave away the ending, that movie came out in freakin 1994!

15.  I majored in History at one point in college.  You laugh – but don’t underestimate the power of Post-Revolutionary Imperialism or Roosevelt’s New Deal.  Chicks LOVE that stuff.

16.  Since this is the age when most kids get their driver’s license.  I failed my drivers test not once, but twice.

Once because I forgot to put the car back into drive (from reverse) when performing a three-point turn; and once because apparently it’s not in good taste to drive over the speed limit.

17. Whatever, don’t judge me.

18.  The number I wore all through high school and college.

19.  That’s me in the upper right-hand corner during our spring trip to Florida my freshman year (OCC).

20.  Favorite shows growing up:  Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Party of Five, The Fresh Price of Bel Air, Perfect Strangers.

21.  Favorite shows now:  The Daily Show, Fringe, House Hunters.

22.  All-Time favorite shows:  Six Feet Under, Lost.

23.  Some people don’t know that I started off in this industry working in corporate fitness in a small town called Skaneateles, NY. I interned at this place called Welch Allyn (who hired a separate company to run their gyms) in the summer 0f 2002, and when I finished, they hired me.  I worked there for three years and eventually moved to New England in the fall of 2005.

24.  Eric Cressey served as the impetus for my move.  He was hired by a club in Connecticut after finishing grad school and mentioned to me that the same place was looking for another trainer.  He called me up, I went and interviewed, I was hired, and the rest, as they say, is history.

25.  I can’t stand the taste of alcohol. Or coffee.

26. But I love me some Spike!

27.  And Olivia Munn (<—–HER).

28. I was never an avid reader until my ex, ex, ex girlfriend broke up with me (don’t worry, I’m over it).  In an effort to get my mind off of things, I randomly came across the Modern Library’s list of Top 100 Novels and decided that summer that I was going to tackle that sumbitch.

I started with Catcher in the Rye, and haven’t looked back since.

29. By that same token, I also feel it’s important to “diversify” your reading (which, coincidentally, also helps if you’re trying to improve your writing skills).  At any given point I’m reading a fiction book, a non-fiction book (and usually listening to one in my car as well), and I’m always plowing through something related to my field.  Currently Deadlift Dynamite and Dan John’s Intervention.

30.  Numerous studies have shown that listening to classical music while writing or trying to do anything that requires a lot of concentration (tying shoes for example) helps with the flow of things.

I actually prefer ambient music and my favorite station/website to listen to is Allegro Lounge.  Click on it and thank me later.

31. I can’t win a staring contest to save my life – especially if it involves Michelle Elwell (CP’s very own office manager and my longest tenured client), or Chuck Norris.

32. There was a time in my training career where I thought it was pretty bad ass that I did leg presses in a Smith Machine.  What an a-hole I was.

33.  Favorite snack in the world:  Larabars.  In fact, whoever Lara is, I want to marry her. This is her, right? (Rhona Mitra as Lara Croft).

34. My hometown, Groton, NY, doesn’t even have one traffic light.  And my graduating class in high school was 55 people.  The weird thing: even though I graduated with so few people  I wasn’t even voted “Most Likely to Become Bald and Sexy As Hell.”   That’s messed up.

35. You should follow me on Twitter and Facebook and RebelMouse.

36.  If you actually made it this far, you’ve earned yourself a golden sticker for today!  I should get a golden sticker for coming up with 36 things to say about myself – that was a lot harder than expected!  I got to like #13 and thought to myself, “I’m not remotely this cool where I can think of 36 things about myself.”

Here’s hoping that my 37th year will be filled with just as much happiness and appreciation* as the 36th!

I’m totally have two Spikes today.

* Not to mention a 600 lb deadlift.

CategoriesMotivational

Everybody, Never, & Always

I mentioned yesterday that I had to head into the facility a littler earlier than usual because we were taking part in a pretty baller staff in-service revolving around some of the key principles and ideologies behind the Postural Restoration Institute.

While trying to squeeze their philosophy into one sentence or paragraph would be doing it a huge disservice, if I had to give a quick ten second “elevator pitch” on what their schtick is and what they’re all about, I’d say:  it’s about breathing!  Or, to be more precise, it’s about how most of us suck at it.

Like, really bad.

It’s about understanding that symmetry – as much as we try to attain it, and think that it exists – probably ain’t gonna happen.  Taking even a step further, it’s recognizing that we’re inherently designed in such a way where assymmetry is inevitable, and that how we breath plays a major role in that.

PRI tries to teach people how to breath more efficiently, which in turn, in conjunction with their corrective modalities, will help attempt to bring them back to neutral.

Like I said, trying to summarize everything into some pseudo Cliff Notes blog post isn’t even going to scratch the surface.  In fact, after listening and watching Michael Mullin drop knowledge bombs for two hours I pretty much felt like that evil Nazi from Raiders of the Lost Arc:

Having thoroughly had my face melted, it’s safe to say I had a lot of information and dialogue to digest.

Thankfully (and to his credit) Michael was a phenomenal speaker and presenter and was able to take all the complicated goobely gook and water it down so that we could follow along and appreciate the general picture.

In a way, he took what was equivalent to rocket science and made it seem more like long division.  And, you know, he provided handouts, which sorta helped.

Out of all the nuggets that Michael provided however, there was one phrase which really struck a chord with me, and it was something that he blurted out nonchalantly and without any fanfare at the very start of his talk.

Michael noted that he has been practicing for over 20 years, and has been studying (and practicing) PRI for twelve.  When he first stumbled upon it, he tried everything in his power to DISCREDIT it.  To him, he couldn’t quite understand how something so profound didn’t hit his radar screen sooner.  How could something that made this much sense not be discussed or talked about more in the therapy world?

Anyways, Michael went on to say that he’s always apprehensive whenever someone uses the words Everybody, Never, and Always.

He wasn’t there to “sell” PRI to us, and he immediately noted that it’s not the only modality he utilizes with his clients.  He was very much of the mindset that it’s in everyone’s best interest to “cherry pick” a little from this or a little from that, and decide what’s a good fit FOR YOU and YOUR clients.

Speaking on the assessment side of things for example, I try not to back myself into one corner or follow one train of thought.  I’ll take a little from the FMS, a little from the NASM train of thought, and even a little from Assess and Correct.

The point is:  there should be no one set way in anything.

To that end, he noted that whenever he hears someone start spewing out the words Everybody, Never, and Always, his bullshit meter starts flashing (my words, not his).

Not coincidentally this is the exact mentality that pervades much of the fitness and nutrition community.  A few candid examples:

Everybody should lift heavy.

Everybody should perform yoga.

You should never eat a carb past seven o’clock.

One should never allow your knees go past your toes when squatting.

Always avoid spinal flexion.

We should always eat breakfast.

Everyone should always make certain that they never listen to anything Tracy Anderson says (or stick their finger in an electrical socket).*

It’s human nature – we like to abide by absolutes, and there really aren’t any that exist in the fitness world, or in the “real” world for that matter. Except, you know, that last example, of course.

But lets take the above list and test it out:

Everybody should lift heavy.

  • I realize that heavy is subjective here, but bear with me. What if they’re not concerned with lifting as much weight as humanly possible?  What happens if they’re a complete newbie?  Should they still lift heavy?

Everybody should perform yoga.

  • Not if they’ve got a chronic history of congenital laxity or disc injuries – that’s the last thing they probably need.

You should never eat a carb past seven o’clock.

  • Okay Oprah, settle down.  The human body doesn’t just miraculously shut down its metabolism once Jeopardy comes on.  What happens if someone generally trains later at night?  Should they not eat afterwards?

One should never allow your knees go past your toes when squatting.

  • I guess every Olympic lifter in history had it wrong.

Always avoid spinal flexion.

  • Flexion IS a normal human movement pattern.  Loaded spinal flexion is one thing, but to tell someone to always flexion in general is a bit overkill. What happens if you’re working with someone who lives in extension?  Wouldn’t it be prudent to encourage a little more flexion to get them back to a more neutral position?

We should always eat breakfast.

  • Or what?  We’ll die off?  My god, what did our ancestors do back in the day?  They couldn’t have possibly gone more than seven hours without eating!!!!!!

Listen, I’m not saying that I don’t do it – I do!  I certainly have my biases.  For example, I feel everyone should deadlift at least once a week.

Now which type of deadlift is a different notion altogether, but you get the idea.

I also feel that if you have a history of shoulder issues – especially dislocations – you should never perform a dip.  Like ever.

And I also think it’s kind of important for people to always stay hydrated.

Simultaneously, those three ubiquitous examples aside, I do feel I do a pretty bang up job of not leaning too far to the left or right on any given topic.  With few exceptions, I feel there’s a time and place for everything – yes, even leg presses (as much as it pains me to admit it). And I’d encourage everyone reading to foster the same approach.

Especially as it relates to fitness and nutrition.

Summarizing: Don’t be an a-hole and think you know it all or that your way is the only way.  Unless your name is Gandalf, get over yourself…..;o)

* = or listen to Coldplay.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: Intervention, Foam Rolling, and a Return to Kipping Pull-Ups

I’m pretty excited today (and not because my birthday is in two days, hint hint hint). In actuality I have to head to the facility early this morning because one of the people from the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) who lives in or near the Boston area is stopping by to do a short two and half hour staff in-service for us and it’s going to be awesomesauce.

Eric has been to a few of the modalities and Greg (Robins) recently attended one a few weeks ago, and within the past year or two we’ve implemented a fair amount of the PRI philosophy into the programming of our athletes and clients.

For those not in the know:  much of the dialogue revolves around breathing patterns and helping to engage the diaphragm more effectively.  Admittedly it’s much more involved than that, but at the expense of oversimplifying things, I’ll leave it at that.

Lets just say that there’s a huge likelihood that I’ll only be able to understand and compute 37% of what’s said.  God I hope they bring coloring books!

Note:  I’m not kidding.  If you were to go to one of their actual seminars, because there’s a heavy emphasis on anatomy, they have people use coloring books to help with the learning process.

Just to throw it out there, if they really wanted to take it to the next level they’d somehow incorporate glitter paint and a smoke machine.

Anyways, I’m excited and looking forward to making my brain feel like mush.

In the meantime, here’s some stuff to read to keep you occupied.

Intervention – Dan John

I don’t feel I have to go out of my way to state how much of a fan I am of Dan John.    He’s undoubtedly been a huge influence on my career, and I’ve highlighted pretty much everything he’s ever written on this site.

Intervention is his latest ebook, and helps to breakdown movement and provides step-by-step instructions in the Olympic lifts, powerlifting, mobility, flexibility, kettlebell training & tumbling.

In a sense, it’s an invaluable guide to anyone who coaches people or who’s interested in not sucking in the gym.

 

Foam Rolling Research (so far) – Jon-Erik Kawamoto

This was an excellent article which, surprisingly (I really didn’t know this), shows how there’s been very little research done with regards to the efficacy of foam rolling.  Much of what we know (and recommend) is based solely off anecdotal evidence (which isn’t a bad thing).

Basically at the end of the day, while there should be more research done on the topic (no one really knows how long, how often, and when to do it), I also feel that the “real world” evidence is clear.  I’ve seen with my own eyes people reap the benefits of foam rolling and feel it’s an invaluable tool in the tool box.

Still, I really liked this article in that it took an unbiased viewpoint and laid out what (little) research these is thus far.

Do Not Kip Your Pull-Ups Before Reading This – Dave Hedges

A few weeks ago I wrote a popular post (in the context of it making its rounds around Facebook) titled All the Hype Behind Kipping Pull-Ups, where I expressed my opinion on this controversial exercise.

I’m not going to get into it here (you can click on the link above), but needless to say I’m not a fan.

The impetus for the post was to note that I don’t feel that they’re a good fit for the vast majority of people who perform CrossFit.  It’s one thing if you’re already strong, have a solid training foundation, or have a fair amount of training experience.   There’s a reason why the top CF athletes don’t (generally) hurt themselves (as much).

It’s a walking train wreck otherwise.

As it happens, I’m not the only one who feels the same way.  Strength coach Dave Hedges offers his opinion on why kipping pull-ups probably aren’t the best choice for most (not all) people.

Also note the informative link he provides discussing the overwhelming amount of SLAP tears in the CrossFit community which can be directly linked to the kipping pull-up.

And remember, it my b-day on Friday!  I wear large t-shirts, 10.5 shoes, and I’m pretty sure Alicia Keys just came out with a new album.  Sooooo, yeah,  just sayin…….

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing Program Design

Exercises You Should Be Doing: 1-Legged RDL to Squat

I haven’t done one of these in a while, so I figured I’d throw a bone everyone’s way and introduce you to a brand spankin new exercise that I’ve been throwing into my own programs as well those of my athletes and clients.

I know (some) people are under the assumption that since I’ve omitted the bulk of single training from my programs, that this also means I’m avoiding them like the plague and that I’ve written them off entirely, or that what applies to ME also applies to my clients.

This is false, and couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, I heart single leg training and think it behooves pretty much anyone with a girl down there part or guy down there part* to include them (to some capacity) in their strength training programs.

The advantages in doing so are numerous, and something I’ve beaten to death numerous times on this blog so I won’t belabor the point now.  If you’re that curious, though (or if you’re new to the site – thanks for stopping by!) just do a search for “single leg training” or “listen to Tony because he’s the smartest man alive, even smarter than Yoda, and is also uncannily witty and awesome” in the search function in the bottom righthand corner.

Or you can visit my buddy Ben Bruno’s site and watch in awe as he demonstrates feats of strength on ONE leg that most people would give up their first born to be able to do on two.

Anyways, without getting too off-track, and since I can’t really think of a smooth segue ,I think single leg training is kind of a big deal and something that should be utilized by most trainees.  Here’s a new one you can try out.

1-Legged RDL to Squat

Who Did I Steal If From:  one of my former distance coaching clients, Laura, sent me an email a while back telling me that she had a nomination for an Exercise You Should Be Doing, and that it was one that her current trainer, the one and only Bill Hartman, had her performing on a regular basis.

What Does It Do: There’s really no other way to describe it other than how Laura explained it to me:

It’s a Frankenstein of a contralateral SLDL (Single-Leg Deadlift) and a RFE (Rear Foot Elevated) squat.

The first half of the exercise is a hip dominant RDL that places heavy emphasis on the hamstrings and glutes, while the second half is more of a quad dominant squat pattern.

It’s a marriage of both worlds, and takes the SLDL to a whole new level and really hammers hip stability, rotary stability (especially with the offset loading), as well as generally increases people’s level of awesome.

Key Coaching Cues:  Trust me, it’s a lot more difficult than it looks, so for those of you who may be scoffing at the “wussiness” of the exercise, just give it a try. It’s a much more humbling exercise than you think, as evident by the fact that I’m clearly struggling a bit with performing it correctly myself.

A few comments:

– Grab a kettlebell and crush the handle!  Literally try to make the handle “melt” in your hand.  Doing so will help the rotator cuff fire through a process called irradiation, and help make everything more “compact.”

– I find that this exercise is much easier to perform with a kettlebell, but if you don’t have access to any, a dumbbell would be a suitable substitute.

– Initiate the movement by hip hinging and forcing the brunt of your weight into your heel.  I like to tell people to try to drive their rear heel towards the ceiling, but also to pretend like they’re trying to push the wall away from them. More to the point, try to think to yourself “make the spine long.”  The entire backside – from head to toe – should make a straight line.

– Once the weight is just below your knee, bend at the knee and single-leg squat the weight to the ground.  This is the main reason why using a KB would be better here, as you don’t have to quite as low to reach the ground.

– Once there, single-leg squat the weight back up to knee level, and then SLDL hinge back to the initial standing position (making sure to finish the movement with your glute!).

– I’d say that anywhere from 5-8 reps per leg would be the goal here.

Try today and let me know what you think!

* In other words: the Who-Ha and Jiggly Bits.  Okay, we’re all grown ups here.  I’m referring to vaginas and penises, okay!  There I said it.

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany Nutrition

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Thanksgiving Review, Wedding Shenanigans, ACL Rehab, and More.

1. I’m back!  Did you miss me?  Even just a little bit?

All I have to say is that the past five days have been a whirlwind.  Going back home to upstate New York for Thanksgiving was amazing, of course.  Although we made the mistake of leaving Boston at around 2:30 on Wednesday afternoon (along with everyone else apparently) and it took us roughly 2.5 hours just to drive 50 miles to the Turnpike I-84 split.  It was awful – and I was thiiiiiiiiis close to sniper rolling out of the driver seat and throwing myself in front of a Mack truck.

A ride that normally takes five and a half hours, took eight. Nevertheless we eventually made it home, and it was great to see family, friends, and to crush my mom’s apple pie.

To top everything off, Lisa shot her first gun, like ever.  Both my brother and step father were gearing up to go hunting the next day and wanted to head out to the back yard to shoot their guns.  Lisa was on that like white on rice!

2. It was a quick turnaround, however, because Lisa and I had to head back to Beantown for my good friend’s (and business partner) Pete Dupuis’ wedding, which was epic in its own right.

Leaving sooner than we wanted had its advantages though, since traffic wasn’t nearly as much of a clusterf*** on the way back.  We made it in record time and both Friday (rehearsal dinner) and Saturday (the big event) were amazing.

Hell, I even wore a suit and tie for the occasion and might have given 007 a run for his money.

The pic below is the original four CP staff (Pete Dupuis, Eric Cressey, myself, and Brian St. Pierre).

3.  I know the last thing people want to read given I haven’t posted anything in a while are details about my personal life (even though it does parallel Batman at times), but here’s the last nugget….promise.

As is customary each year during Thanksgiving, after my seventh serving of turkey and stuffing, and after my insulin induced power nap, I like to cap everything off by heading to the movie theater to catch a flick.  This year’s pick was Life of Pi, director Ang Lee’s latest masterpiece based off the novel of the same name by Yann Martel.

Having read pieces of the book myself, I honestly had no idea how this was going to be made into a movie. From what I’ve read many directors have tried in the past to adapt it onto screen, but failed due to the complicated plot and storyline.

However, given Lee’s history of taking “unconventional” material (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain, to name a few) and knocking it out of the ballpark, I wasn’t too worried.  What’s more, Lee has a knack for making visually stunning movies, and Life of Pi certainly didn’t disappoint in this regard.

I’d rank it right up there as one of the more beautiful movies I have ever watched – right on par with films like Amelie – and the CGI/3D was spectacular.  I consider Avatar the litmus test for any film made in 3D, and there really has been no other film that has impressed me in recent years – other than Hugo – where I felt it was justified to spend the extra dough or where the 3D enhanced the experience.

Life of Pi was STUNNING!!!!!!!!

And yes, I got a little teary eyed.  Take that for what it’s worth.

4. Okay, I lied – I have another Thanksgiving related point to make.  But it’s something that you’ll be able to use.

Brussels Sprouts

If I’m being honest, up until this past year, I had a very poor relationship with brussels sprouts.  Back in the day, when I was a kid, my mom used to serve them to us for dinner on occasion, and it was just horrendous (sorry mom).

She used to buy the frozen variety and then just pop them in the microwave and serve them in a bowl.  If I had to liken it to anything, it was like eating soggy balls of fart.

Yes, it was that bad.

Anyways, my girlfriend is literally obsessed with brussels spouts – and for good reason.  They’re freakin ROCKSTARS in the nutritional world.

Funnily enough, brussels sprouts aren’t really sprouts at all, but members of the cabbage family, which makes since that’s exactly what they look like.

I’m not going to attempt to delve into all the nutritional reasons why you should include them in your diet because other peeps have done an awesome job in explaining it already.

In his phenomenal book, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth (required reading if you ask me), Dr. Jonny Bowden states:

Brussels sprouts contain a chemical called sinigrin which suppresses the development of precancerous cells.  The breakdown of sinigrin (allyl isothiocyanate) is the active ingredient in brussel sprouts and is responsible for the characteristic smell of sprouts.  It works by persuading the precancerous cells to commit suicide – a natural process called apoptosis – and so powerful is the effect that it’s entirely possible that the occasional meal of brussels sprouts could help reduce the incidence of colon cancer.

Including more sulfur-rich vegetables is actually kind of a big deal, and something that Mark Sisson has written on several times, including THIS gem.

But how to prepare and cook them is the key.  As I noted above, Lisa is obsessed with brussels sprouts, and I was never a fan until I tried them the way that she makes them.

I’ve been converted for a while, but it took a little convincing for my family to try them.  Here’s how she prepared them last week to rave reviews.

First off, do yourself a favor and DO NOT buy the frozen variety.  They taste like frozen balls of cyanide, and you’re not doing yourself any favors by going that route.

Instead, try to buy them fresh, or better yet, still in the stalk!

We’re lucky in that the Trader Joe’s right down the street sells them on the stalk, and it makes all the difference in the world.

Regardless, whether you pluck them of the stalk, or pick them out of a bag – DO NOT buy them frozen.

– Wash them off, and then cut each sprout into halves.

– Throw into a bowl and then add seasoning.  We like to keep it simple:  salt, pepper, and oregano work wonders.  Add olive oil (extra virgin preferably) and if you’d like some apple cider vinegar to give it a little kick.

– OPTIONAL (but it really isn’t): on the side, cook up like 3-4 strips of bacon.  Once the bacon is done, crumble them up and add into the bowl.  Then, spread the bacon fat onto the sheet where you’ll place the brussel sprouts.

– Place each sprout face down onto a shallow cooking sheet.  Keep your paws off the bacon bits!!!!  For now, anyways.

– Cook in oven at like 325-350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Once the 20 minutes are up, stir the sprouts around, and cook for another 20.

– Chow down.  Thank me later.

5.  Driving home the other day, we happened to tune into some random classic rock station and Pearl Jam came on. Since when in the hell is Pearl Jam considered classic rock??????????

6.  I received an interesting email last week from a college student detailing to me a conversation she was eavesdropping on between one of the head strength coaches at her school and a handful of his practicum students. To quote her:

They were talking about how he teaches the squat to his athletes. The coach said that because so many athletes are stronger in their posterior chain compared to their quads, he strongly discourages his athletes from “sitting back” or having any type of hip hinge movement while squatting to minimize glute and hamstring involvement and target the quads.

He said the box squat or squat to a box was a pointless exercise due to the hip hinge requirement and the nearly vertical tibia – he wants his athletes squatting by dropping straight down, staying relatively upright and getting the knees a fair ways beyond the toes. He emphasizes developing quad strength over posterior chain strength in all of his young athletes.

Also, he said that prevention of ACL injuries would be enhanced if there was less emphasis on hip hinging and more emphasis on quad strengthening, especially in female athletes.

I don’t think I have ever heard anything so asinine in my life – and this is including EVERYTHING that Tracy Anderson has ever said.

The last point – prevention of ACL injuries would be enhanced if there was less emphasis on hip hinging and more emphasis on quad strengthening , especially in female athletes – is what really dumbfounded me, and pretty much made me want to throw my face onto an ax.

If you look at the mechanism(s) which cause the bulk of (non-contact) ACL injuries in female athletes – pronation, adduction, and hip internal rotation – one would clearly see (at least if they know anything about functional anatomy) that training the posterior chain would be kind of important.

Sure, most anatomy texts will note that the glutes do nothing but abduct and extend the hip.  Clap clap clap.  You just passed anatomy 101.

Digging a little deeper, and what most anatomy texts don’t account for, is the eccentric component, or what the glutes PREVENT……

……Pronation, adduction, and hip internal rotation.  Otherwise known as “the big 3” when it comes to ACL injuries.

How a coach would say that placing more emphasis on the quads is the best way to go about preventing these injuries from happening in the first place is beyond my comprehension.  I guess every coach who’s ever lived is wrong, and that this guy has it all figured out.

Suffice it to say, I really feel sorry for his athletes.

I sent along the email I received to my good friend, Bret Contreras, to see what his reaction would be and he responded with:

“What the holy hell!?!?!?!  That’s one of the most illogical things I’ve heard a strength coach say. Just wow.”

And then I’m pretty sure this is what happened:

Needless to say, Bret wasn’t too happy.

Apparently Bret is working on a detailed response – complete with charts, graphs, and I hope a massive middle finger – that I’m going to use as a guest post in a week or so.  Stay tuned……..it’s going to be awesome.

And that’s it for today.  I hope everyone else reading had a nice relaxing holiday.  Be sure to check back during the week as I’ll be back to my normal blogging badassness.

CategoriesUncategorized

Giving Thanks (

Tomorrow marks my favorite day of the year – Thanksgiving – and as such, I’m heading back home to upstate New York today to spend a few days with family.

I love Thanksgiving for a number of reasons.  My mom’s homemade apple pie and zucchini bread is as good of a reason as any, of course. And there’s also the stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, copious amounts of dead animal flesh, and football.

Most notably, however, I think what appeals to me most is that there’s no “commercialization” surrounding it.  In every sense Thanksgiving truly is about spending time with friends and family and being appreciative for all that you have in your life.

To that end, while I realize it’s borderline cliche to spend an entire post recognizing things I’m thankful for, I think it’s important to do considering the time of year (and because many people disregard it altogether).

Besides, it’s my blog……..I can do what I want!

Family

I can’t write a post of this nature and not give props to my family.  Even though I’ll be seeing them in a few hours (Mom, seriously, have the pie ready!) I just want to take a few moments to say how much I love you.

I can’t thank you enough for all the support you’ve given throughout the years.  Everything from watching all of my Little League games to giving me my first Nintendo during Christmas of 1987 (arguably the best freakin day of my life!!!!!!) to travelling miles on end to watch my play all through high school and college to trusting my judgement and supporting my decision to leave home and move to New England to pursue my career in fitness, you’ve been amazing, and I’m so appreciative for everything.

Lisa

I realize her name pops up a lot on this blog, but there’s a logical reason for that.  She’s such a profound part of my life – it’s as simple as that.

I’ve never met a more compassionate, caring, and decidedly perfect companion for me than her.

I can say without hesitation that she, more than anyone else, has made me a better version of me and has helped elevate me to levels I couldn’t have ever fathomed.

The confidence I’ve gained having her in my life has been unparalleled, and too, what an awesome feeling it is knowing that she is ALWAYS by side supporting me every step of the way.

I couldn’t be more grateful.  I love you babe!

Friends and Colleagues

Firstly I’d like to give a shout out to my boys – Eric (Cressey) and Pete (Dupuis).  Yeah, yeah, yeah we’re business partners, but above all, you two are my best friends and I couldn’t be luckier.

Additionally, I want to thank the rest of the CP staff – Chris Howard, Greg Robins, and Michelle Elwell.  You all do a remarkable job and we’re lucky to have you.

And I don’t care what you say, Michelle, techno is the awesome….;o)

And to all of my colleagues out there who have made me a better coach and better human being in general – THANK YOU!

The list is endless but I’d like to give a special thanks to those who have played an integral part in my life:  Bret Contreras, Ben Bruno, Nia Shanks, Dean Somerset, Rick Kaselj, Adam Bornstein, Bryan Krahn, Mike Robertson, Mike Roussell, Brian St. Pierre, Joe Dowdell, Dan Trink, Optimus Prime, Jen Sinkler, Sirena Bernal, John Romaniello, Jon Goodman, Nick Tumminello, and  many many others who I hope won’t get mad at me for not including their name.

Yes, I’m talking to you Matt Damon.

Bacon

Nuff said.

You!

Not that I haven’t gotten sentimental enough already – 2012 has undoubtedly been the most successful year thus far for me professionally, and I owe much of that to all of you who continue to support me and help spread my message.

Everything from the release of my very first product – Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body to SPOILER ALERT:  The Spinal Health and Core Training Seminar, which is right around the corner – to Greatist Workout of the Day to helping this blog grow and grow, I can’t tell you how appreciative I am to everyone.

Sincerely – THANK YOU!!!!

And that’s about it.  I need to hop in the shower and get my things packed for my road trip bak home.  Most likely you won’t hear from me again until Monday, but I may sneak in a quick blog post before then.

Until then, again, thank you, and HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!!

CategoriesUncategorized

Tony Gentilcore Q and A (November 20th)

This one is going to be short and sweet. All day today – November 20th – I’ll be hosting an AMA on Reddit.com in the AdvanceFitness forum.

I’ve appropriately titled it: Tony Gentilcore’s AMA (Star Wars Nerds and People Who Like to Lift Heavy Stuff Welcome).

I’m not what you would call “technology savvy,” given that it took me a good hour just to maneuver myself around to post the opening statement.  But it’s there now, and that’s all that matters.

I’m not sure if you have to actually sign-up to post and ask questions, but even if you do, the sign-up takes like 30 seconds and all you have to do is use a made up screen name like JackedGunz23 or AliciaKeysWillBeMineOhYesSheWillBe Mine and issue a password (no email required).

This should be pretty fun as it allows me to interact with my current readership and (hopefully) build upon it, which in turn will allow me to grow my empire and eventually take over the world.  Skynet style.

With that, if you’re interested, please feel free to hop on over to participate and ask me anything your heart desires.  What I had for breakfast? My thoughts on using weight belts?  What are the best deadlifting coaching cues? Who’s the best rapper ever:  Biggie or Nas?  You know, the important stuff.

UPDATE:  WHEW.  I never expected so many awesome questions.  All told, there ended up being somewhere around 40-50 questions I answered.  And now my fingers hate me!

For those interested, you can check out all the questions (and my answers) HERE.  Thanks for everyone who participated, and I hope to do it again soon!

CategoriesMotivational Nutrition

Just Be Compliant!

This past summer my girlfriend, all of you know her as She-Ra Lisa, went to Europe for a month as a present to herself for surviving 6+ years of school, defending her dissertation, and finally becoming a doctor!

In the middle of June, she headed to Germany to meet up with her good friend, Leslie, who’s husband is stationed there at the Ramstein Air Base. This worked out perfectly because Lisa didn’t have to spend an inordinate amount of money on lounging, and, if need be, I could always fly to the base to borrow a Tomahawk H-2 helicopter if any dude tried any funny business with Lisa.

It was a win-win, really.

Anyways, as it worked out, the game plan was to head to Italy for a week – Tuscany, of course – to peruse wine country, and indulge themselves in everything Italia!

Serving as a second course, they returned back to Germany, and with Leslie’s young daughter in toe, they travelled all across the country visiting places like Dresden, Prague, Strausberg, Frankfurt, and because Ramstein is really close to the border of both France and Luxembourg, they also had the opportunity to experience those countries as well.

In a nutshell, it was the trip of a lifetime and Lisa enjoyed every second of it.

Side Note: and while I missed her tremendously, I enjoyed every second of not putting the toilet seat down, and being able to toss my socks wherever the hell I wanted.

Living room floor?  Hell yes!

Kitchen sink?  Whatever!

Freezer?  Sure, what not?

As most can surmise, spending a month in Europe means enjoying the hell out of food – and that’s exactly what happened.  It was what it was, and when Lisa came back to the States she knew it was time to hunker down and get back to her regular eating habits again.

Easy peazy.

Now, it’s not like she let herself go or that she had a lot of weight to lose – far from it!  Even though she was away for so long (and enjoyed herself), it’s not like Europe is some barren wasteland devoid of gym equipment and green vegetables. Lisa still went out of her way to exercise and make daily trips to the local grocery store to purchase healthy food.

What’s more, it’s not like she came home and we had the conversation that every guy dreads.  You know the one where your significant other walks into the room, the theme music from Jaws starts playing, and in slow motion she says those four words that strike the fear of god into us:

Do I look fat?

Um, uh, um, uh, uhhhhhhhh.

Haha.  Thankfully it never came to that!

Well, one month went by and her weight would go down, then come back up again, go up a smidge, then stay, then drop a smudge, and the same pattern wound ensue for the next few months.

It was frustrating on her part – because it’s not like much changed.  She started a new job, her stress levels were infinitely lower compared to when she was trudging through school and internships, she was still going to the gym three times per week to strength train, and she was still teaching her spin classes every week.

Too, her and I would do our normal weekend ritual of hitting up Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s loading up on veggies, fruit, grass fed beef, eggs, and the usual stuff we stuff our fridge and cupboards with.  And, to top things off, Lisa would do the bulk of the weekly meal prep on Sunday morning. BAM!

All the containers on the bottom are the meals I take with me to the facility each day of the week.  It’s awesome.

So, as you can see, it’s not like too many things were different.  Except for one thing which Lisa nipped in the bud just last week.

You see, at her work (and everywhere else in the world) people like to bring in baked goods or fill the “community” candy dish with things like M&Ms or Skittles, or whatever other yummy candies you can think of.

And, like any other human being out there, Lisa can’t help but “dip in” on occasion and grab a few pieces here and there.  No big deal, right?  Everyone does it, and besides, a piece of candy here and there isn’t the end of the world and certainly won’t make that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.

Just out of curiosity, Lisa decided to nip things in the bud and actually stick to her normal eating schedule for a week.

Low and behold, she lost seven lbs in one week!!!!!!!  And the only thing that changed was that she stayed true to her word and didn’t deviate from her plan. At all.

Giving full disclosure:  Lisa also taught a double spin class on Saturday and fasted through Sunday which I’m sure played some role, but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary or anything she hasn’t done in the past.

She stuck to ger guns, and actually followed through with everything she laid out.  In her own words, “I told myself to NOT TOUCH anything that’s not included in my meal plan.”

In short, she was compliant!

And this can apply to anything – whether you’re trying to clean up your diet, lose a few lbs, gain a few lbs, improve your deadlift, save up for vacation, or I don’t know, do your part in helping to bring awareness to the rights of gay seals…….

…..being compliant is kind of a big deal, and will almost assuredly lead to success.

For most, it’s not a educational thing, as my astute colleague, Mark Young, has stated on numerous occasions.

Most people know that daily exercise is important and that M&Ms aren’t the best choice of snack in the middle of the day.  It’s not necessarily about having will-power or anything like that.  It’s merely about recognizing that certain things in your life may need to be “adjusted” – whether it’s social, emotional, or even physical – and setting up a plan to help you become successful.

Compliance doesn’t even have to be an all-or-nothing affair, either.  Almost always, it’s just about starting small, like getting up five minutes earlier if your goal is make sure to eat breakfast in the morning, and going from there.

Once you’ve established that you can do that, then you can add more to your plate like taking your fish oil or making some scrambled eggs with veggies.

It’s isn’t necessarily about conquering 18 tasks at once and trying to do a complete 180.  Most people who do that fail…..like, all the time.

But in the end, you HAVE to be compliant to some extent, and to hold yourself accountable.  Without that, you’re just setting yourself up to fail.

 

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

All the Hype Behind Kipping Pull-Ups

I’ve got an interesting topic today that may or may not win me some friends. I’m guessing the latter, but that’s okay.

Below is an email I received a few weeks ago about kipping pull-ups (what are they, is there any efficacy behind them, would I ever program them? Short answer:  Um, no.), and I’ve been sitting on it for a while now trying to think of a judicious, fair, and un-biased way to answer.

Most people who read this blog probably already know what I’m going to say, but at the same time I feel I’ve done a damn good job in my career keeping an open mind and not pigeon holing myself into one thought process or the other.  So hopefully I won’t come across as stepping on too many toes.  We can all get along, right?  Right?

Okay, let the madness begin.

Q: Hoping that you might be able to help me out with this topic that has been coming up a lot lately in my area and facility. Could you give some detail on what a kipping pull-up is good for?

A lot of people having been asking about its advantages and disadvantages. Is there even a scenario where you would add these into a program? What are the major differences between a standard pull-up and a kipping pull-up?

Sorry, I don’t mean to throw a ton a questions at you but I am pretty lost on how to answer. People keep asking me saying, “they seem more functional as it incorporates a total body movement, and that it helps with muscle timing,” (WTF is that?).

I have held out for a while, but the more people keep talking to me about it, the more I’m getting confused. Might not be the worst blog post, even though 99% of the people that read your site would just get a good laugh out of it.

Lets face it Crossfit isn’t going anywhere and I would like to be armed with some serious knowledge about how to answer. Thanks for the info that you consistently post on here. I enjoy reading your site on a daily basis.

Thanks 

A:  Okay, lets kick things off with the nicey nice stuff.

There are a fair number of CrossFit peeps and affiliates who routinely read my blog, support it, and go out of their way to link back and spread my message, and for that I am always appreciative.

I like to pride myself that I am a “middle of the road” kind of guy, and I’ve never gone out of my way to openly bash CrossFit or insult the people who enjoy it.

Contrary to belief I’m with you dear reader: I agree that CrossFit is here to stay and I’m perfectly fine with that. There are a lot of things about CrossFit that I really like and respect.

Case in point: I was walking in downtown Boston the other night in the pouring rain running some errands.  It was miserable outside, the kind of weather where you think to yourself, “I can’t wait to just get inside, plop down on my couch, put on my Pjs, and watch The Notebook, Steel Magnolias, The Matrix,” when I happened to walk past the doors of CrossFit affiliate.

I peeked inside and saw that the place was filled to the brim with people getting after it.  Granted I can’t say I approved of the exercises nor the technique involved, but it was impressive nonetheless.

I dig that!  I dig that people are so excited and jazzed up to train that they’re willing to brave the elements and train no matter what.

Even more the point, CrossFit has done an outstanding job at building an overwhelming sense of passion, unity, and camaraderie amongst its members and it’s hard for me as a fitness professional to poo-poo on that aspect.

Moreover, you’d be hard pressed to find any population that works harder. Like I said, people GET AFTER IT, and I really like that CrossFit advocates people to incorporate compound movements and introduces people to a wide variety of training stimuli (and gets them off the elliptical machine!!!).

Additionally, I have some good friends and colleagues who are CrossFitters who speak very highly of it.  One such person is Jen Sinkler, fitness editor of Experience Life Magazine and overall badass.

To her credit, she dabbles in everything (Olympic lifting, Parkour, yoga, every sport and hobby imaginable) and I can’t say for certain whether or not she still participates in CrossFit, but she did write an AWESOME article a few years ago titled Confession: I’m a CrossFitter which I felt shed positive light into the discussion.

Too, I also recognize that there are plenty of CrossFit affiliates out there who go out of their way to actually assess people, coach them up, and offer proper progressions and more importantly, regressions, depending on one’s ability level and injury history.

Unfortunately, at least in my eyes and experience, this is generally the exception and not the norm.

And frankly, if me stating that happens to offend you, and you’re going to get your panties all up in a bunch, then you’re probably one of those affiliates that does stuff like this.

I realize the above is a bit of an extreme example, but that kind of stuff happens in the CrossFit culture a lot, and to me doesn’t even come close to passing the eyeball test.

If it looks like shit, and smells like shit…… then it’s probably shit.

And let me just state before I move on:  I also recognize that there are a lot of strength and conditioning facilities who do a crappy job too and don’t coach their athletes properly nor provide an iota of sound programming, so I’m not insinuating a “holier than thou” mentality here.

But I don’t want this post to turn into a walking ball of fail here, so lets get to the heart of the matter here.

Kipping Pull-Ups – The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

If asked what they are, I’d reply, with a straight face:  it’s where someone looks like they’re having an epileptic seizure in order to cheat a pull-up.

Done.

Listen, I don’t doubt that there’s a certain technique to perform them properly, nor do I think it’s unimpressive that there are some people out there who can bust out 50+ reps and not blink an eye.  But lets not delude ourselves into thinking that they’re something they’re not.

Funnily enough, I was having a similar discussion with Boston University head strength coach, Glenn Harris, earlier this week and he mentioned to me a conversation he had with a family friend of his.

When asked his thoughts on kipping pull-ups, he replied, “well, they’re a way to cheat.”  To which she replied, “yeah but, they allow you do more!”

Uhhh, exactly!

Why do people cheat on tests?  To theoretically get a higher score.  Why do powerlifters use bench shirts?  To theoretically bench press more weight. Why do people continue to buy Nickleback albums?

Seriously, why? I want to know!

And, taking it a step further, fellow CP strength coach, Greg Robins, noted to me that the above CrossFit video (the one where all those women are performing the clean and press) demonstrates how strongman competitors “cheat” the clean and press in order to do more reps.

Does this cheating apply to Strongman and CrossFit?  Well, yeah, kinda.  The objective is to do more reps for the sake of doing more reps.

Does this apply to general fitness?  Hell no!  Why would I want to coach someone how to cheat?

As I noted above, I don’t doubt that there’s a bit of “mastery” involved when it comes to performing a kipping pull-up properly.  But that doesn’t mean they’re a good idea for about 99.5% of the population.  I mean, I could make a case on how to perform a rounded back deadlift correctly (in order lift more weight), but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

Lets look at a video I came across on Youtube:

Pretty innocuous video for the most part – nothing that made my eyes bleed or made me want to throw my face into a wall (that much).

In fact, the guy coaching seems like an awesome coach.  His cues were spot on; he was concise; and I really liked how he broke everything down.  He’s obviously someone who takes the time to properly coach his athletes.  Weird how that works!

And on an aside:  how cool is it that a husband and wife are at the gym together and enjoying themselves!?!

This is in stark contrast from many of those couples you see eating at a restaurant together not even acknowledging each other’s existence.

Nevertheless, why not just coach/teach someone on how to (eventually) perform a strict pull-up?  What’s wrong with that?

Of course, I get it:  not many programs (outside of CrossFit) call for 10-50 rep pull-ups, so it kind of makes sense why kipping pull-ups enter the picture. As well, I don’t know many people who could perform ten strict pull-ups, let alone anything higher than that.

So again, the whole “cheating” aspect enters the picture here.  Don’t deny it.  Don’t you do it!!!!

And this isn’t even taking into considering the joint distraction forces taking place.

Holy mother of god, I haven’t even touched on that yet.

In the context of the population that I work with (baseball players), kipping pull-ups would be an absolute nightmare.

Throwing a baseball is one of the more violent motions placed on the human body – in particular with regards to what’s going on in the shoulder and elbow.

Baseball pitching is the single-fastest motion in all of sports, as the humerus internally rotates at velocities in excess of 7,000°/second.

What’s more, if we look at the elbow, the amount of valgus stress placed on it is equivalent to if we hung a 40 lb dumbbell from the hand towards the ground.

It’s pretty significant stuff, and explains why we’re very, very careful with the type of exercises we place into our programs at Cressey Performance. Kipping pull-ups would be a disaster.

In fairness, most people don’t make a living staring down professional hitters and could care less about throwing a baseball 95 MPH, so what about them?

Well, the same thought process still applies.  Most (not all) people have really poor tissue quality, move about as well as a pregnant turtle, have the joint integrity of a paper cloth, and can barely press a barbell over their head without some major compensatory patterns.

Looking at the amount of “stuff” that takes place during a kipping pull-up (repetitive lumbar hyperextension, as well as the joint distraction forces mentioned above), it’s just something that’s not worth the risk or effort in my eyes.  For many, they’re  just not capable or “ready” to do such an advance movement without hurting themselves.

If that doesn’t apply to you, fantastic!  I’m certainly not implying that these can’t be done safely and without incident.

Even still, I can think of a thousand and one different ways that my time would be of better use to my athletes and clients.

I’d much rather spend my time working on helping people move better, get them stronger, and, if it’s something they want, progress them to performing a STRICT pull-up.

So, to Recap

1.  I’m not adamantly against CrossFit.  I recognize that there are some redeeming qualities about it that I like and think are pretty cool.

2.  Conversely, there are a lot of things about it that are less than to be desired.

3. Nickelback is just god-awful.

4.  As with anything, it comes down to coaching.  I’d much rather someone perform a crappy program really well – and get coached really well through it – than to just do “stuff” for the sake of wanting to feel like you’re going to shit your spleen or to feel tired.

5. I “get” why kipping pull-ups are a part of the CrossFit culture, and that’s not to belittle anything.  It is what it is.  How else is one supposed to perform 25 pull-ups after running two-miles (on your hands) after deadlifting a tank 47 times?

6.  If you’re a CrossFitter and that’s your bag – cool, have at it. I respect you and the things that you can do, and I’m really happy you’ve found something you’re passionate about.  But please don’t delude yourself (or others) into thinking that a kipping pull-up is some magical exercise that makes you better than everyone else.

You’re cheating – get over it.

NOTE:  An important distinction that I should make (and something Alison commented on in the comments section which I should have hit on in the first place) is that CrossFit does differentiate between pull-ups and kipping pull-ups.  Which is to say, they do actually program “regular” pull-ups as part of their programming.

UPDATE

It’s been two years since I wrote this article, and since it’s still one that gets a fair amount of traffic I wanted to update everyone on my thoughts.

Still not a fan of kipping-ups.  But I DO recognize they’re their own “thing.” Comparing a kipping pull-up to a strict pull-up is like comparing a push press to a strict military press.  They’re in the same ball park, but not quite the same.

Having said that, I still feel adamant that perfecting a STRICT pull-up should come first. What’s more, if someone can’t do a strict pull-up (preferably for reps), they really have no business doing a kipping pull-up.

For further reading I really like THIS article written by Christian Thibaudeau which I feel is a fair and well-written expose on kipping pull-ups and where the fit into the equation.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work Uncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Deadlift Dynamite, The Swole Quotient, and a Really Funny Post

It’s pretty much set and stone (and if I’m not mistaken, the 14th Law of Physics) that anything with the word dynamite in it’s title is the epitome of baller and automatically increases its “badass” factor exponentially.

Two examples that immediately pop into my head are Napoleon Dynamite and Black Dynamite – both of which, respectively, are hilarious movies that I feel should be required viewing for everyone.

Now, just imagine what happens when you place the word DEADLIFT in front of DYNAMITE.

Like whoa.  That much awesome certainly can’t be  contained, and I believe a whole lotta Gangnam Style just hit you smack dab in the face.

Deadlift Dynamite – Andy Bolton and Pavel Tsatsouline

I’ve been hinting at this one for a while now, and I don’t feel as if I need to sit here and really “sell” people on this manual. I mean, everyone who knows me and reads this site consistently knows that I love me some deadlifts.

And Matt Damon, but that’s for another time.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy a few weeks ago, and to be perfectly honest it actually exceeded my expectations.

In fact, the title of the manual is a little misleading because it’s not just about the deadlift at all.  Everything from honing technique on the “big 3” (deadlift, bench press, squat) to programming ideas to corrective strategies on improving posture are covered.  And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

In a nutshell it’s about improving performance; it’s about preventing injury; and more to the point, it’s about getting strong as a s***!

If that’s something you’re interested in then I’d highly suggest checking it out.  It’s a game changer for sure!

The Swole Quotient Formula – Ben Bruno

This was a fun and entertaining post that Ben wrote a few days ago, that I think a lot of you will enjoy reading.

I wonder what my swole quotient would be for deadlifting 505 lbs eight times?

Even more thought provoking:  how would my swole quotient change if I did the same exact set of deadlifts albeit with a mustache?

See, I’m not scared to ask the hard questions.

A Quick Guide to the World of Strength Training – “Danny” from Tucson Kettlebell

HAhahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahaha.

This. Is. Awesome.