Categoriesmindset

Sometimes You Gotta Say Fuck It

Come on, don’t act all hoity toity.

You know you’ve said it, or at least have thought about saying it.

Go ahead: Say it with me….

….”Fuck it.”

Copyright: degimages / 123RF Stock Photo

Today Was That Day

I didn’t feel overly splendid heading into today’s training session. I mean, I didn’t feel like a got run over by a Mack truck or anything…

…but I didn’t feel awesome either.

I just kinda felt “meh.”

Maybe a little closer to the Mack truck end of the spectrum, though. A small, teeny-tiny part of my soul was like “fuck it, Tony. Stay in and binge watch all the latest episodes of Catfish on Hulu.”

But I did that yesterday (on a non-training day).

Today, however, as I was walking to the gym I knew I had to suck it up and muster some gusto. I reminded myself of something – something I “borrowed” from strength coach Paul Carter – that I routinely say to my clients whenever they show up not feeling up to the task.

“10% of the time you’re going to show up to the gym feeling like a bag of dicks. 10% of the time you’re going to show up to the gym feeling like a rockstar. 80% of the time you’re going to show up feeling like meh.”

It’s those 80% workouts that matter most. You simply show up, do the work, and leave. That’s where (or how) you make the most progress over time”

My coach, Greg Robins (of The Strength House), has me incorporating more of an RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) style of training in my most recent block of programming.

NOTE: For those unfamiliar with RPE, HERE‘s a great place to start.

It’s a great way to utilize auto-regulation and takes into account daily/weekly fluctuations in energy and the aforementioned gusto. It still encourages you to work hard, but within the confines of how you feel that particular day.

via GIPHY

Anyway, as of late Thursday is deadlift day for me.

Over the course of this past summer I did a fair amount of travel for work, which threw a bit of a monkey-wrench into things. I was still able to train, but I’d be lying if I said wasn’t just going through the motions.

The past few weeks, however, have been awesome.

My travel has been limited and I’ve been able to place a bit more priority on my workouts.

Both my deadlift (and squat) have been inching back up to respectable territory (for me) and it feels great. Last week, for example, I hit 535×3 for my top set of deadlifts.

Heading into today’s workout, needless to say, I was a bit skeptical if I was going to be able to match that effort.

My first set at 500×3 wasn’t as speedy as I would have liked.

I hesitated.

Maybe I should stay put?

Maybe I should listen to some Norah Jones and cuddle?

Then I just said “FUCK IT” and I slapped on another 45 lbs.

This was a case where the “fuck its” worked in my favor.

The added mental bullying conjured up some rage and I was able to hit my reps without shitting my spleen.

It doesn’t always work that way of course.1

Take my good friend Bryan Krahn, who, conversely, posted this today on his Twitter account:

He wasn’t feeling so hot, didn’t try to be a hero, but also didn’t abandon ship either. In his scenario the “fuck its” entailed a bit more tact and responsibility.

And that’s totally cool too.

The “fuck its” can manifest on either end of the spectrum.

The important thing is that you show up and do the work.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Quadruped T-Spine Rotation with Lift Off

It’s a mouthful, I know.

But I couldn’t think of an alternative name for today’s edition of Exercises You Should Be Doing.

“Rotation Thingamajiggy” or “T-Spine Exercise That Makes You Feel Good” didn’t have quite the same ring to it.

Copyright: christinkls / 123RF Stock Photo

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Quadruped T-Spine Rotation w/ Lift Off

There’s no shortage of thoracic (middle back) mobility exercises out there. I for one prefer to keep a handful – say five or six – in my back pocket to use with the bulk of my clients.

I’d rather keep things simple, not bog people down with a litany of options, and stick with exercises that most people can do with little or no coaching.

I’m sure most people reading are familiar with your standard Quadruped Extension-Rotation  drill. Here’s a reminder just in case (that was filmed, it seems, in 1978):

 

There are a few nit-picky things I’ve changed in how I coach this drill of late:

  1. I prefer the ROCKED BACK version, where one’s butt rests on their ankles (assuming they have access to that range of motion in  their hips and ankles). In this case we’re taking joints out of the equation – in this case, the lower back – so there’s less opportunity to “cheat.”
  2. I also try to emphasize “pushing away” on the supporting arm side to help with more Serratus activation.
  3. Too, most people are unable to begin this exercise with one hand behind their head – they may not have access to the requisite external rotation and abduction – and all they end up doing is some sort of elbow going up and down while also doing a bang up job at jacking up their neck. Instead, I prefer more of a “rib grab” where each person grabs their underside and focuses on driving their opposite shoulder towards the ceiling.

But let’s assume we’re working with someone who CAN do all of the above. How can we progress the exercise?

  • Add a band? Sure
  • Pants off? Hell yeah.

What about adding a lift-off?

Huh?

 

Who Did I Steal It From? – Ottawa based personal trainer Elsbeth Vaino.

What Does It Do? – Allows us to use an external focus – in this case a wall – to gain just a bit more ROM out of the exercise and to add more time under tension.

Key Coaching Cues – I can’t reiterate enough that this is a PROGRESSION! There aren’t many people who will be able to be successful with this exercise out of the gate; it is 100% cool if you just stick with the run-of-the-mill, plain ol’ vanilla, Quadruped Extension-Rotation exercise.

That said, this iteration applies a bit of FRC (Functional Range Conditioning, popularized by Dr. Andreo Spina) where we provide a isometric contraction at a joint’s end range (technically a RAIL, or Regressive Angular Isometric Loading) to help nudge more stability in a new ROM (and thus, more controlled mobility within that same ROM).

The FRC system is waaaaaaaaaaaaay2 more detailed and expansive than my simple sentence suggests, but for the sake of this little snippit it will suffice.

Here I use the wall as a guide, and when I reach my end range I “lift off” and hold for a 3-5s count.

Things to watch out for:

  • Shrugging at the top.
  • Ensuring client is utilizing scapular posterior tilt as (s)he rotates.
  • Bears3

I like to use this drill as a FILLER exercise in between sets of Bench Press, Deadlifts, or Squats for 3-5 repetitions per side.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 10/4/19

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This place was a bit dearth with content this past week, but for good reason.

I signed a lease for a new, larger space for my gym here in Boston.

70% of me is excited while the other 30% is doing the best I can not to destroy the back of my pants. Nonetheless, coming in early 2020: The CORE Collective.

WTF am I doing!?!

BUT FIRST…CHECK OUT WHERE I’M GOING

1. Coaching Competency Workshop – New York, NY: Sunday, November 3, 2019

2. (Even More) Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint – Athens, Greece: Saturday, Feb 29th & Sunday, March 1st, 2020

This will be the first leg of mine and Dean Somerset’s European extravaganza in early 2020. The second leg will take place in…

3. (Even More) Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint – Maidenhead, U.K: March 7th & 8th, 2020

There’s an Early Bird rate for both of these events, so keep that in mind before you decide to hold off. Dean and I are really excited for this and hope to see you there!

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STUFF TO READ WHILE YOU’RE PRETENDING TO WORK

The Salt Shaker Theory: 3 Principles of Effective Management – Mark Fisher

This is an older article from Mark (and one I read off of The Strength House’s newsletter), but man it needs to be read by ANYONE who manages people or owns a business.

Top 15 Face Pull Variations for Shoulder Health & Performance – Dr. John Rusin

Face Pulls = highly UNDER-rated exercise.

You (probably) need to be doing more of them.

Here’s THE article that explains the who, what, why and how.

Your Cheat Code in Dropping Unwanted Fat With Just 20 Minutes a Day – Lana Sova

HINT: UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, B, A, START

But for real….a little exercise, daily, works wonders. There’s little need for marathon sessions in the gym, everyone’s busy and doesn’t have time, but Lana showcases some “quickie” workouts to set the tone.

Categoriespodcast

Appearance on the Fitness Devil Podcast

Here’s my latest podcast appearance.  And, not for nothing, it includes the SICKEST promotional graphic in the history of ever.

Andrew Coates and Dean Guedo have built The Fitness Devil Podcast into one of the most downloaded health/fitness  podcasts on iTunes.

They’re two dudes who lift heavy things and are well-read, but they also have an uncanny ability to “talk shop” and have unconventional conversations with their guests, which I appreciate very much.

  • Building a business and brand? Check
  • Tips on how to leverage your fitness writing? Check
  • Discussion on how badass my wife is? Check

You can listen below…

OR

Go HERE to download and listen to the episode on other formats.