CategoriesCorrective Exercise Strength Training

Recapping Dean and Tony’s Boston Workshop (Includes Best T-Shirt Ever Made)

Now that I’ve had a good 24-36 hours to decompress my brain, I wanted to take a few moments and share some of the shenanigans that went down last weekend at Cressey Performance.

As many of you know, my good friend and brotha from another motha, Dean Somerset, came to town for a few days along with roughly 20-25 personal trainers, strength coaches, chiropractors, and general fitness enthusiasts for our Boston Workshop that he and I hosted at Cressey Performance.

Stealing a line from Dean’s synopsis of the weekend over on his own blog, “it was without a doubt one of the best, most switched on groups I’ve ever had the chance to speak in front of, and everyone was really engaged, quick to volunteer, laugh, get their hands dirty, and make it a great experience for everyone.”

On Friday for all the attendees who came in a day early and had nothing better to do than sit at their hotel room watching re-runs of Games of Thrones on HBO we had the one and only Eric Cressey (THE Cressey behind Cressey Performance) come in and speak to the group on “Elbow Shizzle.”  His title not mine.

One of the main take home points was that when it comes to the elbow, especially with regards to the UCL, you have to take into consideration what’s going on up the kinetic chain – specifically the brachial plexus – in order to make any drastic progress with regards to tissue quality and eliminating pain.  The ulnar nerve starts up near C5-T1 and is often impinged in that area.

In many ways, an “elbow snafu” might not have anything to do with the elbow in the first place!  It’s imperative to look up (and down) the kinetic chain to rule other possibilities out.

Too, it’s important to take into consideration congenital laxity – especially in the baseball population – to dictate treatment and how one’s strength and conditioning program will flow.  The LAST thing you want to do is to excessively stretch someone who scores high on the Beighton Laxity score.

Afterwards, for those who wanted to stay, move around a bit, and play with all the toys in the facility, we had “open gym” where people could get a workout in and break a sweat. I may or may not have played Tiesto.

I played Tiesto.

Because I was at the facility playing host Lisa, my girlfriend, was kind enough to pick Dean up at the airport along with Guillermo who flew in all the way from Mexico to attend the event.  No sooner than everyone walked through the door and dropped their bags did we hightail out of there to walk down to my neighborhood bar and grill to get our grub on.

The best part of the night was that after the fact, when we left the restaurant, walked outside, and waited to cross the street, some dude drove by with all his windows rolled down BLARING the theme music from Star Wars.  It was pretty much the most baller thing I’ve ever witnessed, and I couldn’t help but think to myself, “that dude’s got his shit together.”

Dean and I were up early Saturday morning and I want to say that he pwned roughly 600 mg of caffeine before we even got to the facility.  A tip of the hat to you kind sir!

After a few house warming words and greetings, Dean started things off with discussing the big rocks of assessment. What an assessment actually means, what to look for, and what kind of assessment should be done.

Do we just stand there creepily like a Mr. Smithers and stare?  Is there any place for a movement based assessment?  Are all assessment created equal?

At the end of the day, it’s about gathering as much information as you can to better ascertain what YOU as the fitness professional will do to get your client the most efficient (and safest) results possible.

I followed suit by breaking down the CP assessment.  I was adamant that what we do at CP isn’t necessarily what I feel everyone should be doing, but that they kind of should (hint, hint).

I divided the assessment process into three parts:  static (posture, single vs, bilateral stance), isolative (hip ROM, shoulder ROM, Thomas Test, adductor length, 1,2,3,4 I challenge you to a thumb war, stuff like that), and integrated (movement based:  squat pattern, lunge pattern, push-up pattern, etc).

The entire afternoon was then spent going back and forth with the attendees demonstrating the different assessment that Dean and I utilize and then allowing them to practice on one another to get a better feel for everything.

And, I managed to do all of this without taking my shirt off, which is saying something.

Saturday night a bunch of us met up for an all-you-can-eat meat fest at Fire and Ice in downtown Boston.  Ben Bruno even made a cameo appearance!

Here’s a pic that I Tweeted as a frame of reference of how glorious this place is:

Sunday was lined up in much the same way at Saturday was.  Things kicked off relatively early – 9 AM – with me discussing “corrective exercise,” and what the even means.

I broke down the Law of Repetitive Motion and spoke to how that equation helps set the stage for how we can go about addressing any imbalances, weaknesses, and even pain.

The main point I hit home, however, and something I feel serves as the “umbrella” for ALL corrective exercise was this:

Correct movement is corrective!

Sure we can do the song and dance where we wrap eight different bands around someone, have them stand on a BOSU ball, and juggle a bunch of oranges………but what are we really accomplishing here?

And this isn’t to downplay things like spending time coaching people on how to engage their core or working on glute medius activation.  That stuff certainly needs to be addressed sometimes.

But while I’m admittedly biased – I am a strength coach – I think there’s a lot to be said about grooving more efficient patterns (squat, hip hinge, lunge, push-up) and getting people strong(er).

Getting people stronger can be corrective.

After a quick lunch break Dean took over with some brand spankin new material and covered a topic he titled VooDoo: Hacking Anatomy for Immediate Results.

Again, stealing for Dean’s own review of the weekend: “My talk came up at the end, all about how reactive core training can improve flexibility without taking joints through a range of motion (aptly titled “Voodoo”). We discussed the importance of breathing for upper body and lower body limitations, and went through how to get reactive stabilization from breathing drills and specific core training directives to help improve specific limitations.”

To cap things off we had an expert panel Q and A which, along with Dean and I, also included Ben Bruno, Jim “Smitty” Smith (of Diesel Strength), and Mark Fisher (of unicorns, ninjas, and Mark Fisher Fitness).

On Monday Dean and I took a few attendees through a small group training session that started with a “flow” warm-up, and then we proceeded to deadlift their faces with a bunch of angry my-mother-never-loved-me-and-I-punch-kittens-in-the-face-for fun music blaring in the background.

Three guys broke PRs HERE, HERE, and HERE (this one includes one of the best celebratory fist pumps ever).

Afterwards Dean hung out at CP to observe the madness and wore what’s arguably the most epic t-shirt ever made.

For those having a hard time seeing the fine print, here’s a screen shot:

And since that’s pretty much the most absurd and funniest note to end on, I’ll stop there.

It was an amazing weekend, filled with amazing people.  And I’m truly honored that so many people took time out of their busy schedules to come hang out and (hopefully) get better.

Dean and I will most likely be doing this shindig again.  Maybe we should do a worldwide tour!

CategoriesProduct Review Strength Training

Five Reasons Everyone Should Train Like an Athlete

In light of his brand spankin new product being released today – Bulletproof Athlete – Mike Robertson was kind enough to jot down a few words and underline a few reasons why everyone (yes, even YOU) should take some time out of his or her’s training year to become more athletic.

Offhandedly I myself have been placing a bit more of an emphasis on “athletic” training in my own workouts and I can attest to how great I feel and the results I’m seeing in the weight room.

But this isn’t about me.  Mike’s spent a good 1.5 years tweaking, poking, prodding, and experimenting to bring this project to fruition and I can say with full confidence (and as someone who’s read it) it’s A to the wesome.

Not to play brown noser or anything but it includes 16-weeks of programming, three programs for one price, a 160+ video database, and weekly nutrition and recovery challenges.

All for the bargain price of $97.

And on that note I’m going to allow Mike to take it from here. It’s always a treat to have Mike share his knowledge on this site, I hope you feel the same.

Enjoy!

Training like an athlete is awesome.

While I’m a powerlifter at heart, I’m also a life-long athlete. I love the competitive nature of sports, but I think there’s something even more basic to it than that.

When you train for sports, you feel like an athlete. This feeling is indescribable. You just feel lean, athletic and strong.

So whether you’re a lifelong athlete or someone that thinks training like an athlete sounds cool, I’m here to sway your decision.

Here are five reasons you (yes YOU!) should train like an athlete, even if it’s one for a couple of months every year.

#1 – You’re More Well-Rounded

The first reason you should train like an athlete is simple:

If you’re an athlete, you need a balance of physical qualities to be successful.

The fact that you can deadlift 500 pounds means nothing if you’re slow as molasses, have the cardio of a sloth, or the mobility of a stone golem.

Think about the best athletes in the world: They are strong, fast, explosive, and have the energy system development to go for days on end.

Sounds pretty awesome, doesn’t it?

While I’m all for strength, it’s just one piece of the athletic puzzle.

If you take a step back and train in a more well-rounded manner for a few months, I have no idea you’ll love how you look and feel.

#2 – Power Training is Fun (and Awesome!)

I’d put cash money on the fact that everyone reading this likes getting stronger.

Virtual high-five right there – you kick ass.

But you know what’s really cool? Adding a little power training into the mix.

I don’t care if you want to do the Olympic lifts, jump, sprint, throw med balls, or just do the most ballistic version of “The Carlton” known to man. If you’ve got an awesome base of strength, why not spend time on a yearly basis to convert that strength into power?

To further my point, there’s more and more research out there that leads us to believe that power is one of the first physical qualities we lose as we age.

By all means, spend the bulk of your time every year getting bigger, leaner and stronger. But take 3-4 months every year and dedicate that time to power training.

You can thank me when you’re 80!

#3 – Planned EST is Important

Let’s think about how most people plan their energy system training (EST).

“Well I’m here, and I just lifted heavy things. Now what do I do?”

And there are basically two options:

1 – “Meh, I’m tired. I’m going to go to Chipotle and crush a bowl with triple meat,” or

2 – “Sure I’ll do some EST today. You know, just to preserve my sexy.”

So in reality, there is no plan. It comes down to if you have the time/energy to do it, and even if you do, it’s not planned or periodized.

Imagine if you treated your strength training sessions like that. How successful do you think you’d be?

Instead, start planning your EST just as you would your strength training. Have times of higher volume and lesser intensity.

Then flip flop it, and get aggressive with intensity while backing off the volume.

It’s not rocket science, but actually taking the time to plan your EST and integrate it with a sound strength-training program can take your performance and physique to the next level.

#4 – Variety is the Spice of Life

If you do anything for an extended period of time, it can start to wear on you, both mentally and physically.

In late 2010, I did the math and realized I had been pushing the max strength envelope for close to 10 years.

Now some of the seasoned powerfliting vets hear that number and roll their eyes. But when I got into the sport of powerlifting, I had no intentions of being a lifer.

But here I stood 10 years in, and while I wasn’t beat up by powerlifting standards, I had my share of little aches and pains that were holding back by performance.

When I switched things up completely and focused on athletic development, the results were nothing less than amazing.

First off, training was actually fun. I love lifting heavy things as much as the next guy, but that training can wear on you mentally.

Instead of feeling tired and lethargic walking into the gym, I came into each day fresh and ready to train.

When I backed off the loading just a bit and cleaned up my movement (and regained athleticism), all of the little aches and pains just faded away as well.

So this was pretty cool – I was enjoying training again, I didn’t feel beat up, and I looked and felt more athletic.

But you want to know the really cool part? Here goes…

#5 – You’re Stronger Going Back

Let’s say you take a break from the heavy weights for 1-2 months, and then slowly ease yourself back in.

But now you’re armed with a better movement foundation and a more healthy and resilient body.

You know what happens?

When you re-focus your efforts on squatting and deadlifting with weights the size of compact cars, you actually end up far stronger!

Case and point – after I ran through my athletic development cycle, I ran a powerlifting cycle and lifted in a meet.

In that meet, I hit an all-time PR in the deadlift of 545, which gave me my first ever 3x body weight deadlift. I also hit a PR in the squat at that lighter weight class.

So while I’m sure you’re worried about getting weaker, that’s only a short-term thing. When you back to lifting heavy things with better mobility, a more athletic body, and improved technique, you will absolutely crush your old PR’s.

Summary

I don’t know about you, but I’m torn between two loves in my lifting career:

1 – Training for max strength, and

2 – Training like an athlete.

In my case, I’m going to get the best of both worlds. Every year from here on out, I’m going to spend 3-4 months focusing on maintaining and improving my athleticism.

And if you’d like to join me, be sure to check out my Bulletproof Athlete program. It covers all of the bases in your training, and I guarantee you’ll love the program.

—> Click Me (That Tickles) <—

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Bottoms-Up Kettlebell Side Plank

OMG – I’m getting soooo excited I can’t stand it.  T-minus 24 hours until the Boston Workshop kicks into high-gear.  Dean Somerset  is on his way from Canada, and a lot of the attendees are making their way to the facility today to hang out and to listen to our “guest” mystery speaker at 3:30.

I don’t want to give too much away but it just so happens the guest speaker’s name appears in the facility title “Cressey Performance.”

GODDAMIT!!!!  Why didn’t we name it Batman Performance or Kate Beckinsale Performance?

Anyways, in keeping with the theme that I don’t have much time to write extensive blogs this week, here’s a new Exercise You Should Be Doing:

Bottoms-Up Kettlebell Side Plank

Who Did I Steal It From:  Actually, this bad boy was the brainchild of current CP intern, former division I athlete, and stir-the-pot master (watch the entire video, trust me), Kiefer Lammi.

What Does It Do:  This is a fantastic exercise to up the ante on making the side plank more challenging which, no surprise, falls into the “spinal and core endurance/stability” spectrum.

In addition, with the added KB component, this is a superb way to train scapular stability as well as you really have to fight like a son-of-a-bitch not to allow the KB to move or to come crashing down and crushing your skull.

Key Coaching Cues:  Part of the battle is just getting into the initial position, so I’d play the conservative card and use a light(er) KB to start with.

Grip the handle as hard as you can and then extend your arm so that your body makes a pseudo “T.”

Try to “pack” the shoulder and set the scapulae in place.

As is the case with any side plank variation, the objective is to keep the body in a straight line with a little movement as possible.  Make sure your hips are forward (squeeze the glutes), and that your chin is tucked (no forward head posture).

From there hold for a 15-20s count and perform the exact same thing on the other side.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Robertson Wisdom, Fish Oil Doesn’t Cause Cancer, and An Article That Literally Brought Tears of Joy to My Eyes

I’m not going to lie people:  I’m in hunker down mode as I type this. I just walked down to Staples and dropped off all the presentations for the Boston Workshop and also have an assortment of odds and ends to get done before the big weekend commences in less than 48 hours.

Grab a bunch of waters?  Check.

Make sure all the chairs are at the facility?  Check.

Projector?  Check.

Adapter for said projector?  Check.

Confirm Dean’s flight info?  Check.

Pick up the Dragon jumping castle (because what fitness workshop is complete without a jumping castle)?  Check.

Pants?  Check.

The point is:  I’m all over the place right now, and am trying my best not end up in some random corner somewhere sucking my thumb.

On that note, here’s some stuff to read that I think you’ll enjoy.  Toodles!

Strength and Power – Mike Robertson

Earlier this week Mike released a video on mobility and stability training in anticipation of his upcoming product, Bulletproof Athlete, which is being released next week.

Today he’s releasing another FREE video on strength and power training which is basically a product in of itself.

Mike’s a super smart guy with a ton of real world experience coaching, and you’d be crazy not to take advantage of any opportunity to listen to what he has to say.

A Fish Story? – Jim Stoppani

In light of a recent “study” which came out connecting fish oil (specifically omega-3 fatty acids) to prostate cancer, and the subsequent media shit storm that followed, I felt the need to share this short, succinct, and excellent article retorting all the claims made by the researchers of said “study.”

Those people should be ashamed of themselves.

The Road to Pull-Up Domination – Element CrossFit

YES!!!!!  A CrossFit affiliate which places an emphasis on STRICT pull-ups over kipping pull-ups!

Excuse me while I go perform a few cartwheels down the street and kiss a few babies.

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

Athleticism and Strength Training: Can the Two Mix?

Q: First off thanks for all the great content you share through your blog and for the amusing writing style you have, it´s always nice to be able to laugh and smile a bit while you learn a thing or two.

I just have a question regarding athleticism and strength training. I know you guys have some pretty strong guys and girls in your facility and I know you guys use a lot of big heavy compound lifts. But how do you guys secure that the athletes still have a great movement capacity while they perform on the field and not end up as “meat heads” with no movement capacity and lack of athleticism?

Do you have some specific part of the strength training with more focus regarding this or is there any specific exercises that works better? Like 1-leg exercises or plyometric training or anything else?

I´m a soccer player myself and a newly educated strength coach and I’ve been asked to have some “on-pitch-strength training” where the coaches as one of the goals asked for better athleticism in the players. I know we´re not gonna be able to do “heavy” stuff since we mostly will be working with our own bodies but do you recommend anything to think about when programming this for keeping athleticism high?

I should start everything off by saying thank you for the kind words.  I know there are times where I don’t take myself too seriously with my writing style (poop), but I do try to consistently provide quality content in an entertaining fashion so it’s nice to know I’m hitting the mark all the over in Sweden!

To answer your question I think we first need to clarify what the main goal or objective of a strength and conditioning program is.  As far as athleticism and movement capacity goes, nothing (nada, zilch, zero) we do in the weight room is going to emulate or match what actually takes places on the court, field, or Quidditch pitch.

10 points to me for a Harry Potter reference!

Which is why doing stuff like this is borderline asinine:

To get better at pitching, you need to pitch.  To get better at kicking a soccer ball, you need to kick a soccer ball.  To get better at skating, you need to skate. To get better at supflexing, you need to become an honorary member of the British Bulldogs.

This isn’t to say that everything we do in the weight room is moot and doesn’t have any carryover towards on-the-field performance. That’s just looney talk. Instead, all I’m trying to convey is that the main goals of a well-designed strength and conditioning program is to address weaknesses, imbalances, improve force production, reduce wear and tear on the body, and to help prevent injuries (among other things).

That said, it’s important that we get our athletes strong – as I always say:  you can’t have qualities like power, agility (being able to absorb force and change direction quickly), endurance, strength endurance, and what have you without first having a base of strength to “pull” them from in the first place – but we’re also cognizant that we don’t want to turn them into slow lunks with the movement capacity of the Tin Man.

Which is why I feel we do a bang up job of addressing this on a few fronts:

1.  Every session starts with addressing tissue quality.  Everyone from our Major League guys all the way down to high-school makes sweet, sweet love to their foam roller prior to each training session.

2.  From there, while we do have a “canned” dynamic warm-up that we post up on a dry erase board which changes every 1-2 weeks, it’s also not uncommon we write individualized warm-ups for certain athletes or clients who may need a bit more TLC.

This is an excellent way to prioritize and address specific areas that people may need to improve on whether it’s more glute activation, addressing t-spine mobility, or in the context of many of our baseball guys, hammering a bit more upper trap work to improve scapular upward rotation.

3. Next comes movement training or med ball work.  The way things are designed during the summer months, our guys typically lift weights four times per week in addition to having two “movement” days, for a total of six training days per week.

However, sometimes we need to congest things into four days depending on summer ball schedules.  Taking that into consideration a training week may look something like this:

Monday:  Movement Training/Sprint Work, Lower Body

Tuesday:  Med Ball Work, Upper Body

Thursday: Movement Training/Sprint Work, Lower Body

Saturday: Med Ball Work, Upper Body

The movement training is nothing extensive, but we’ll typically include one linear based drill like a 30-yd build up and one lateral based drill like a heiden

We CRUSH med ball training.  With our baseball guys there is an obvious sense of “specificity” that attaches itself and bodes well as far as carry over onto the field.  But even with our general population clientele, we find there’s a ton of efficacy for their use as they’re a great way to train power and explosiveness, not to mention the metabolic carryover they bring to the table.

Between the warm-up, movement training or med ball work, a good 30 minutes or so have passed in the training session and now it’s time to lift heavy stuff.

4.  Again, to reiterate, the point of strength training isn’t necessarily to emulate movements in the respective sport(s) that one is participating in.  Rather it’s really to address weaknesses, help improve force production (make someone’s glass bigger), and to reduce wear and tear on the body.

The whole “meathead” comment is a bit of a misnomer.  I mean sure, we have all our athletes squat, deadlift, row, bench press (not our baseball guys), push the Prowler, perform heavy single leg work, or any number of things you can conjure up.

The key is that we coach our athletes well on the execution of said lifts, and we always place a premium on a (safe) ROM for each athlete.

You won’t see a lot of 1/4 squats or 3-board presses performed under our watch.

Not every athlete is meant to squat ass-to-grass, nor is every athlete meant to perform a conventional deadlift on day one – and any coach who takes that mentality is a douche – but you can bet that we’re always going to coach our athletes to perform their lifts with a safe ROM with the goal of improving over time.

Taking injury and deficits out of the equation, we’ve had countless athletes put on significant muscle mass during the off-season and still be able to maintain ALL their flexibility and movement quality.

5.  And on a final note, especially as it relates to youth athletes, one of the best things we can advocate for them is to play a wide variety of sports throughout the year.  Specializing too early can lead to a plethora of overuse injuries, as well as “burn” them out and make then hate life.

Pushing a young athlete – and one that’s developmentally behind the curve at that – to play a sport year round is one of the worst things that can be done.

We’re always encouraging our athletes to play different sports throughout the year, and it’s not until they reach 16 or so that we begin to entertain the notion of specializing.

So to make a long-winded answer short: yes, I believe it is possible to maintain (and even improve) athleticism and movement quality in the weight room.  You just have to put a little thought into it and understand that it’s a lot of things working in concert to get the job done.

CategoriesNutrition Strength Training Supplements

Two Things You Should Check Out

Note from TG:  I try my best not to come across as someone who overhypes stuff to my readers on a daily basis. 

I mean, it’s not really THAT big of a deal that The Wolverine opens this weekend.  You’d think based off how excited I am that I’d be walking around all week with toy Wolverine claws on or something.  That’s just silly talk.  Nope, not me.  That’s just absurd.

The Wolverine!!  Arrrrrggghhhh%@*!*!*^$*@!!

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system. I like to think that when I do go out of my way to promote something on this site that it’s something I know works and that I KNOW will help a lot of people.

It just so happens that today marks a unique instance where two things deserve your attention.

You know the pivotal scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark when that evil Nazi Gestapo agent’s, Arnold Ernst Toht, face was melted off his, um, face?

Well I just had a similar experience from all the knowledge bombs that were thrown my direction after watching a sneak peak of Mike Robertson’s Mobility, Flexibility and Stability Training presentation.

A (40+ minute) presentation, mind you, he’s offering for FREE in anticipation of the release of his brand spankin new product, Bulletproof Athlete, next week.

Yeah, yeah I get it: mobility schmamility.  We need another mobility presentation about as much as we need another Tracy Anderson workout DVD.

Fist pump for that one, right?

But this is Mike freakin Robertson we’re talking about here. The guy trains his fair share of professional athletes and world record holders in powerlifting. Not to mention the numerous physique athletes and average Joes and Janes who trust him to keep them healthy, kicking-ass, and taking names.

There aren’t many coaches out there I trust more than Mike, and you can rest assured that whenever you have the opportunity to listen to him, you’re going to learn at least one thing.  Or in my case, 20.

In this presentation you’ll learn:

  • The three BEST methods for improving mobility from head to toe.
  • A definition of what mobility really is (as well as what it isn’t!)
  • Why mobility and stability are critical components of smart training, and why you need both to dominate in the gym or on the field.
  • How improving mobility can help you get rid of aches and pains in your knees, back and shoulders.
  • And most importantly how mobility training can help take your performance to the next level – whether that’s running fast, jumping high, or lifting heavy things for fun, Mike can help you out.

Again, this video is totally FREE, but only for the next couple of days.

Check it out HERE.

Something else I think many of you may find valuable and will want to check out is Examine.com’s Supplement Goals Reference Guide.

As a strength coach, and as someone who works with numerous high-school, collegiate, and professional athletes myself, on an almost daily basis I get asked “dude, is it customary to coach with your shirt off?” “dude, what supplements should I be taking?”

I’m not one to bag on supplements, as there’s a mountain of evidence to back their use.  But more often than not I fall into the camp which views supplements as progress enhancers, not progress starters.

Put another way:  if you’re current training and/or nutritional approach isn’t garnering the results you wanted, whether it’s to pack on mass, finally get rid of that ‘muffin top,’ or squat a rhinoceros (just go with it), taking a pill or adding a powder to your drink typically isn’t going to amass to much other than an empty wallet.

Nevertheless I do feel (s0me) supplements have their place, and serve a purpose. I believe things like fish oil, vitamin D, and protein powder, to name a few, should be utilized if for nothing else than their health benefits alone.

Where things get murky is when walk into your local GNC or open the latest MuscleRag and are inundated with supplements left and right that will claim to give you a six pack in three weeks, increase your testosterone levels by 217%, and make you shit rainbows (if that’s your bag).

The main monkey wrench is finding a reputable resource which doesn’t have an ulterior motive other than to give you evidence based research; something which will either confirm or dispute said claims.

Well here it is:

 

Supplement Goals Reference Guide

 

Some of you may recall a guest post that Examine.com’s very own, Sol Orwell, wrote earlier this year titled Supplements That Suck, Supplements That Work, and Supplements That Are UnderratedPart One, and Part Two, which you can think of as the Spark Notes version of the reference guide.

And that really isn’t giving it its due diligence.  We’re talking about a 700+ page manual that’s taken over two years to put together, encompassing over 20,000 individual studies, for only $29!

Needless to say, these guys know what works and what doesn’t.

Anytime you need to find out what a particular supplement does (creatine, for example) or are interested in a particular health goal (lowering blood glucose levels) this guide should be your go to source.  And you can feel confident that you won’t be misguided with smoke and mirrors or disingenuous intentions.

It’s just solid, evidence based information all around.

CategoriesUncategorized

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Last Chance for the Boston Workshop and Internet Drama!

1. At the expense of sounding like a broken record or your spouse or significant other who’s always nagging you to take out the garbage, I just wanted to remind everyone one last time that there are still a handful of spots left in mine and Dean Somerset’s Boston Workshop this coming weekend (July 27-28th).

I’m trying really hard to come up with a different adjective other than ‘awesome’ to describe everything….

Lisa made these lamb kabobs the other night that were so awesome!

Dead animal flesh in general is awesome.

The weather today sure is awesome.

OMG – I just saw a bird.  Awesome.

I found out that my great, great, great, great, great grandfather’s second cousin was a viking!  Awwwweeeeeeeesome.

Okay I’m kidding on that last one.

But seriously, this workshop is going to be awesomely awesome.

Dean and I have planned out an entire weekend where we cover assessment, corrective exercise (and why I think that’s a garbage term), program design, and we may or may not reenact that scene from Point Break where Keanu Reeves’ character, FBI agent Johnny Utah, is chasing after Patrick Swayze’s character, band robber Bohdi, and instead of shooting his BFF in the back, Johnny Utah points his gun towards the sky and screams aaaaaaargh like a boss.

For the record, if it does go down, I’ll be playing Johnny Utah.

Suffice it to say, we have a jam packed weekend in store and it would be a crying shame to miss out on it.  What’s more we have a few guest fitness celebrities who are going to be hanging out as well, and if nothing else it’s going to be a weekend full of networking opportunities (and deadlifts).

So what are you waiting for?  For more information and to sign up GO HERE.

2. I’ll admit it:  I’ve done my fair share of poo-pooing women who go out of their way to emphasize “cardio.”  In my own defense, however, my main beef with cardio is that many (not all) women use it as their main source of ammunition against weight and fat loss, which I feel is a very inefficient means to an end.

I’ve worked with plenty of women who became growingly more frustrated with their results despite logging progressively endless hours on the track or treadmill.

It was only when being introduced to strength training, weening off the cardio, and finally addressing some nutritional deficiencies (usually making the mistake of chronically dieting and eating too little) that they started to reap the benefits of their labor.

Now I get it:  for many, running or doing “cardio” is a way to blow off some steam, soak your body in endorphins (runner’s high), and there’s no way to discount the valley of  research out there supporting the bevy of other benefits that it offers.

Besides, if that’s what someone enjoys doing and it keeps them off the couch and watching re-runs of Mad Men, who am I to judge?

My main pet peeve is when someone starts complaining about lack of results – especially as it relates to aesthetic goals – and they continue to do more of the same.  No one is discounting the benefits of cardiovascular exercise. But lets just remember that it’s only a small fraction of the equation.

I just get bummed out when it’s viewed as the ONLY equation.

Unfortunately many women are programmed to think that things like yoga, pilates, aerobic classes, and training for a marathon are the only way to lose weight (or more to the point: lose fat).

All the above examples are fantastic modes of exercise.  And all the above suggestions can work…..to a point.  But if one’s goal or motivation to do any of the above is to lose weight, and they only focus on one of those things, at the expense of excluding everything else (like strength training), I wholeheartedly feel they’re limiting themselves.

Which is why I generally lean more towards the camp of telling women to tone it down when it comes to implementing or focusing on cardio.

I don’t feel it should be stopped altogether. But I’m tired of the unrelenting gravitational pull that the treadmill has on women.

Which is why I was such a fan of John Kiefer’s Why Women Should Not Run article I linked to a few months ago.

Sure it was a bit sensationalized, but I never felt it was condescending towards women (as many who were up in arms about it felt). I saw it as an argument that running isn’t necessarily the panacea of health and beacon of fitness that many claim it is.

I saw it as a dude writing about his tribulations with training women and attempting to “de-program” them into maybe entertaining the thought that weight training might be a more viable option given their goals.

I never interpreted it as him telling ALL women that they should stop running.

Regardless, I can see how so many were up in arms – especially those more qualified to dissect his research.

That said, I really enjoyed two articles I read over the weekend HERE, and HERE (< — this one is super geeky) which served as a counterpoint to John’s original article.

I think both cases/arguments have merit (although, I do feel the Jezebel article had a bit of “no man is going to tell me what to do” vibe to it, which wasn’t John’s intention in the first place), but I feel it comes down to a middle of the road compromise.  Everything has its place, right?

Plus I’m willing to admit my biases, and I have to say: after reading both articles this past weekend my tone has changed a bit.

I highly encourage all of you to read all of them and make your own judgements.

And that’s all I really have for today folks.  Sorry so short, but I’m in the home stretch prepping for the workshop this weekend.  I still have to order the smoke machine and lasers.

Whaaaaaaaat!!??!

CategoriesStrength Training

Spectrums of Absolute Strength vs. Absolute Speed

Today’s guest post comes to you via strength coach, Adam Rees, owner of GRITGym located in Iowa City, Iowa (the home state of one Capt. James T. Kirk, thank you very much).

I’ve long championed the notion that strength is the foundation for everything else.  You can’t have power, agility, endurance, a great hair day, without first having a solid base of strength of which to “pool” your resources from.

In today’s post Adam dives into that very topic and helps break down why strength is so important.

Enjoy!

Strength and Conditioning could be fairly well simplified with:

-Lift heavy loads slow.

-Lift light loads fast.

-Jump and run.

However it gets more complicated when we take on an individual’s age, training age, demands of their sport, the time of year, and shear physical and mental capabilities.

This is the Absolute Strength vs Absolute Speed Spectrum of which all of Strength and Conditioning programs are based and how it applies to the programming for athletes.

This is more reasoning for why we should be doing less Olympic lifting or training for power in general. As well as a guide to when and where we want more or less emphasis on sprint and agility work throughout the year. Basically, we need more strength.

There is no speed without power, and no power without strength.

So emphasize strength first, then we can start thinking about the stuff that gets kids noticed, like 40-yd dash times and pitching velocities (of which neither can be trusted simply because of the human thumb, and cheap radar guns lie), not to mention the ‘fishing story’ principle.

I should also mention that getting noticed and getting recruited are two different things. A kid that throws a legit 85 MPH (emphasis on legit) in high school but gets taken yard three times a game because he’s throwing belt high and down the middle every pitch or he’s so weak and has such little lower body strength that he’s incapable of lasting more then four innings….won’t be setting off any recruiting alarms anytime soon, even though there’s untapped potential.

A fast 40-yd time is similar if a player is unable to put a hit on anyone because he crumbles every time he tries. There’s no use in a guy who looks like Tarzan but plays like Jane.

Absolute Strength vs. Speed

In Season

During the competitive season athletes are already getting enough running and jumping during practice and competition, there is little to no need to program extra.

They need to work more towards the opposite end of the spectrum because they are spending a large amount time on the absolute speed end of the spectrum. In season training should consist of controlled reps of 70-90% 1RM, much further towards the Absolute STRENGTH end of the spectrum and away from the already satisfied absolute speed end.

Post Season:

After the season athlete’s bodies are in shambles. They’ve just torched themselves for a few months and it’s time to take a more rehabilitative/corrective approach to training and promote recovery.

There’s little need for plyo and sprints, but increasing med ball work as well as power movements is beneficial as they aren’t performing nearly as much now that the season is over. This portion of the year is simply to bridge the gap to their off season and prepare the body for it, which in many ways will be just as stressful on their bodies as their season, but in a much more controlled and supervised manor.

This portion will only last 3-5weeks.

Off Season:

Now that the body has recovered and is ready to perform we need a balance of the entire spectrum.

This is the fun part of training.

Note from TG:  Of course, if you’re Kansas City relief pitcher (and long time CP athlete), Tim Collins, off-season training includes riding your unicycle around

In the offseason we can tailor workouts daily with grip and vertical jump measurements (auto-regulation) as well having a more “open” schedule to work with, which is where we can make huge gains.

This is where we spend quite a bit of time at BOTH ends of the spectrum. The idea of spectrums is that if we ‘master’ both ends, we’ve mastered everything in between. During the offseason we’re spending the majority of our time at the two ends with this very thing in mind. We still bridge the distance with some power work such as using speed pulls and kettlebells, but the majority of our time is spent on both opposing ends.

Pre Season:

During pre season we’re starting to move more towards the specificity of the sport, which outside of long endurance races, means more speed and more skill work.

This means we’re going to be spending more time towards the absolute speed end of the spectrum. Not necessarily moving away from the absolute strength, however we’re not going to be trying for a 1RM during this time.

Wrestlers start getting more mat time; football players need more running and ball handling or pumbling work; baseball players start throwing and hitting.

** Baseball gets interesting due to it’s unilateral nature, so we need to program in extra arm care and med ball work as well as certain core exercises for an athlete’s opposing side, so a right  handed thrower and hitter typically may need more shot puts and hip tosses on his/her left side.

Here we’re tailoring workouts based off an athlete’s needs and specificity of their respective sport.

Youth Training:

Train for Strength first.

Youth athletes should already be getting enough speed work during their PLAY that needs to be coming from an assortment of activities such as: Wrestling, Football, Baseball, basketball (but only for the hand eye, the rest of this sport is sickeningly awful for athletic development, especially the mental side), Swim, Snow Board, Rollerblade, Dodgeball, Skateboard, TAG, Soccer, Boxing/Martial Arts, Gymnastics/parkour (although it’s not always kind to the spine), Rock Climb, Fishing, Etc.

This is why youth athletes do NOT need these speed camps that are becoming increasingly popular(or the kettlebell movement that’s taken hold, kettlebells are a power movement).

Strength first, not speed, and not power, but strength.

Note from TG:  for those interested, HERE’s my take on whether or not youth athletes need power or speed training.

Hint:  they need it about as much as much as we need another Kardashian spin-off.

Training for anything else is a waste of time, and a huge waste of money for parents. Speed will take care of itself with more strength. Besides that, from a psychological perspective, the less a kid “thinks” about his running form….the better.

Keep it FUN, get strong (farmers walks, prowler pushes, monkey bars, climb ropes, bail hay-meaning deadlift, beat stuff with a sledge hammer), then go play around, be a kid.

More NON-competitive action and unorganized play like this is better as well. Participate in ONLY ONE season at a time, make sure to get some down time, and get outdoors to do something fun at some point too: rock climb somewhere real, go fishing, canoe/kayak, maybe even hiking.  And for the love of all that’s holy, turn off the tv!

About the Author

Adam Rees is Founder of GRIT GYM, a gym based on results, creating a culture and lifestyle of performance, strength, health and freedom to live life on your own terms.

Adam attended Wartburg College, worked under nationally recognized Strength Coach Matt McGettigan at ISU and is generally a glutton to information and improvement in all forms.

Feel free to email questions to [email protected] and/or visit his blog at AdamRees.blogspot.com, Facebook.com/gritgym, or Twitter.com/adamrees.

 

 

CategoriesFat Loss

Help My Pal, Elsbeth Vaino, Get Her Fat Loss Documentary to the Masses

I’ve never held back my disdain towards certain trends in this industry – especially as it pertains to the mainstream media. Shows like The Biggest Loser, with its overarching theme that obesity is the individually controlled consequence of gluttony and laziness and its incessant highlighting of unsustainable (and I’d argue dangerous) weight loss tactics, as well as celebrity trainers like Tracy Anderson, who, coincidentally enough, has no educational background in exercise science or physiology (and has been quoted as saying she’d prefer not to “interfere” with her methods) seemingly catch our attention like a moth to a flame.

Why?

It’s been well documented that most of the contestants from The Biggest Loser almost always gain their weight back and then some.

But it sure is fun to watch them suffer and humiliate themselves on national television by golly!

And don’t even get me started on Tracy Anderson.  This is a woman whose past knowledge bombs include telling people that baby food (yes, of the pureed carrots and celery variety) is a viable nutritional supplement, that certain exercises can help pull the skin tighter to the muscle, no woman should life a weight above three lbs,  no woman should ever use kettlebells, and bloop bleep blop eeeeeeeeeeeeee op boing WAAAAHHHHHHHHH.

I’m sorry……it’s all just incoherent jibber jabber after awhile.

And it’s on that note I’m STOKED to inform all of you of an important initiative that my pal and fellow colleague, Elsbeth Vaino, is passionately involved with.

In collaboration with Dave Baker – a former personal trainer himself – the two are hoping to reach the masses with their own documentary about a REAL trainer helping people follow a REAL plan to help them attain their fitness goals.

In their own words:

“The fitness industry is having an identity crisis, fueled largely by the rise of reality weight loss shows and celebrity trainers, who continuously promote extreme and often dangerous methods for weight loss. 

Despite advancements in the industry towards evidence-based approaches, tailored towards sustainability, the public perception is still largely influenced by the constant image of drill sergeant trainers with an in your face, sprint ‘til you puke type attitude.”

This needs to stop.

And They Need OUR Help!

As you might expect it’s kind of expensive to fund a full-length feature documentary, and as such Elsbeth and Dave have initiated a campaign to help raise funds to bring their message to the masses.  A message that needs to be heard.

Their goal is to raise $8000.

Your generous and considerate donation will help in the following ways:

  • Offset the costs of production equipment such as lenses and filters.
  • Aide with the purchase of microphones for improved audio quality.
  • Provide us with the opportunity to collaborate with other professionals for editing and post production.
  • Move us from the ultra low budget to micro budget category of productions.

For more information on the project itself and for ways you can help, please visit their site below.

====> CLICK ME <====

CategoriesExercise Technique Strength Training

Deadlift Dominance: 5 Tips to Build Massive Pulling Power

Note:  the following is an excerpt from my latest article on BodyBuilding.com (full article is linked to at the bottom).  

I think it’s pretty awesome.  And if you think it’s pretty awesome too, then please (pretty please) “Like” it on the BB.com website and share it on all of your social media.  I’ll be your BFF forever!

If you don’t this it’s awesome – no hard feelings.  I’ll just be over here crying myself to sleep.

If I had to make a list of things I like in no particular order, it would look something like this:

  1. Turning right on red
  2. Anything involving Jason Bourne, ninjas, or zombies
  3. LOLCat videos
  4. Getting people strong
  5. Deadlifts

I’ll admit that as a strength coach, I’m biased when it comes to the last two. To me, nothing trumps strength. And nothing gets people stronger than good ol’ fashioned deadlifts.

Guys can brag about their squat numbers despite only hitting quarter reps, or even brag about a big bench press that’s more like an upright row for their spotter, but you can’t cheat a deadlift.

It’s you versus the barbell. You either rip that son of a bitch off the floor, lock it out, or not. The deadlift lends itself very well to gauge progress. It’s up to you, and brute strength, to break initial inertia off the ground. If you’re able to lift more weight over time without blowing your sphincter, you’re making progress!

Contrary to popular belief, there’s more to deadlifting than just bending over and hoisting a barbell off the ground. The following tips will undoubtedly clean up your technique and improve your deadlifting dominance.

Continue Reading……..