CategoriesMotivational

6 Ways to Make Your Body Hate You

Today’s guest post comes from friend and colleague, James Garland. I’ve known James for a few years now and first met him when he came to Cressey Performance (all the way from Australia) three years ago for the sole purpose to hang out at the facility, talk shop, and observe for a few weeks.

And during that time I think I made reference to Crocodile Dundee at minimum 347 times.  Give or take a few dozen.

James is a talented coach and someone I feel more people should know about.  In this post he calls himself out and discusses a few things which I know many reading (especially those who make a living coaching) will be able to commiserate with.

Take it away James!

Crikey (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

A few months back, I was struggling to train with any kind of intensity.  My body hated me, my motivation was low, and my focus with day-to-day work, in a word, suckedharderthanadysonvacuum.

At first I thought that this could all have been the standard leading-into-Christmas winding down stuff; but I was lying to myself.

My body was deteriorating because I had been neglecting it.  I had niggling issues that I’d never had before, I was always carrying some sort of pain, and my movement quality was terrible.

Admitting that I had let my body fall into a serious state of suckery was tough.  Given that I’m a strength coach, who, by and large, has a strong corrective focus, I was a little (read – a lot) ashamed of letting it get to this point.

Before we go on, just to give you an idea of the growing list of problems that I was having, here’s a list –

  • Crepitus in my knees
  • Constantly sore hips
  • Lower back pain creeping back in
  • Neck/thoracic pain
  • Creaky shoulders
  • Lack of focus
  • Crashing (tired) in the afternoon

Yep, I was messed up – but there was no point dwelling on that fact.  Instead, I decided to look back at the habits that I had led to my body being in a world of pain, and then go about fixing them.

It was kind of funny (note – no it wasn’t) looking back, because I started noticing that I was making all of the same mistakes that I warn, and was warning at the time, my own clients against making.  Talk about irony, right?

Here’s what I was doing wrong:

1) Prioritising Work Before Anything Else

When work gets busy, I always tell my clients that they need to schedule time to make sure that they can still get their training sessions and recovery work done.  I emphasise the importance that they establish, and maintain their routine because if they don’t, you can bet your first born that they’re going to turn around in a week or two and say that their body feels like it’s gone six rounds with Mike Tyson.

Not only does working more mean less time to pay attention to your body, but it also means more time spent sitting.  And I don’t need to tell the readers of this site that whenever you increase your duration of sitting, you’re not going to be in for a good time.

2) Skipping Training Sessions

“I could train today, OR, I could finish that blog post that I’ve had on my to do list for a week now.“

“I could train today, but I didn’t really sleep well last night, and I could do more harm than good.”

Skipping training sessions is a very slippery slope.  One missed session can turn into 2, 3, or even an entire week so easily.

When I prioritised work, I missed sessions, and always justified it to myself through some logic that seemed rational at the time.  In reality, though, it was just a bunch of B.S. that I used to procrastinate getting my backside into the gym, and lifting heavy stuff off the floor.

3) Finding Quick, And Convenient, Food

“Spend time cooking?

Please!  I don’t have time for that, and you know what, I’m pretty lean already, so I can get away with eating shitty foods for a little while.”

But I couldn’t; no one can.

While my body fat didn’t really increase that much when I wasn’t eating as well, my body did become a playground for inflammation (which did NOT help my knees), and my energy levels were shockingly low.

4) Not Sleeping As Much As I Should Have

When you run your own business, sometimes you just have to go without sleep.  It’s an unfortunate fact of being able to stand out in the crowd.  The problem is that everything is a balancing act between what you can get away with, and what’s ridiculous.

I was well within the realm of the latter.

You see, I wake up at 4-15am every morning to make the commute to work, and while this isn’t usually a problem, when I was consistently on my laptop doing work until 10-11pm at night, you know that I wasn’t getting much quality sleep.

And don’t get me wrong, this is by no means the worst working schedule I’ve ever seen, but throw it on top of poor nutrition, and a caffeine addiction, and you start to get a clearer picture of how things weren’t conducive to a well-functioning body.

The one thing that I came to realise real fast was that there is no point in working through the night if you’re not focusing properly on what you’re doing.  A couple of hours of focused, uninterrupted work during the day will always trump several hours of half-assed work done in a sleep-deprived state.

5) Making Up For Said Lack Of Sleep With Stimulants

God invented caffeine for entrepreneurs; of that I am certain.

I mean, who needs 8 solid hours of sleep when you can throw back 4-5 coffees a day?  Well, evidently, I did.

Making up for negative habits by utilising more negative habits was always destined to fail, miserably, but I gave it a shot, anyway.

Signs that you’re at this stage – your eyes burn like crazy when you wake up, you’re morning shower doesn’t work in making you feel alert, you need 2 coffees before sitting down at the laptop, and as soon as you hit the pillow at night, you’re asleep (my wife will testify to me lying down and falling asleep some nights at 7pm).

6) Ignoring The Issues, Despite Your Body Screaming For A Change

This was the worst mistake of all.  When all of the telltale signs are there, and you ignore them, you deserve the inevitable crash.  And that’s what happened.  My kick up the backside came in the form of unproductiveness, a terrible attitude, and a few nights where I crashed before 8pm.

I gotta say, though, once I had acknowledged the things that I was doing wrong, I could start making changes.  As I write this now, I’m back into the swing of things, getting enough rest, making sessions, improving my movement quality, prepping all of my food, and being productive with my work.

In fact, doing a guest post for Tony has been something that I’ve had on my to do list for a long time – and now it’s done.  So if you’ve been ignoring some nagging issues for a while now, maybe it’s time to take a step back and give it the attention it deserves.

Author’s Bio

 

James Garland is a strength coach based in Sydney, Australia.  He shares Tony’s same dislike for Keanu Reeves, and also loves deadlifting.  That’s how he flattered Tony into letting him write an article for his site.  He also runs a community for busy fathers at http://fitandstrongdads.com/

 

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Product Review Program Design Rehab/Prehab Strength Training

Introducing Spinal Health and Core Training

For those familiar, Muscle Imbalances Revealed has slowly engrained itself as one of the more sought after, consistent, and continuously revered fitness product series out there.

Seemingly, every year (give or take a few months) the man and mastermind behind the scenes, Rick Kaselj, is releasing a new version to the masses.

If I had to equate it to anything, it’s basically like the Fast and Furious franchise where we can expect a new(er) and more badass upgrade of some sorts every so often. Except in this case there’s no tricked up cars, high-speed chases, hot chicks (bummer), or cheesy Vin Diesel dialogue (even more of a bummer).

High-octane gear head talk aside, some of you may recall a little trip I took to Canada last summer where I went alllllllllllll the way up to Edmonton to “party” with my Muscle Imbalances Revealed Upper Body alumni Rick Kaselj, Dean Somerset, and Dr. Jeff Cubos.

And by “party” what I really mean is the four of us decided to combine our collective minds, go all Professor X on the world, and set up an epic 2-day seminar all dedicated to a multi-disciplinary approach to core training and keeping spines bullet proof.

We video’d the entire thing in all of our high-definition glory (I even shaved!) and have finally made it available for everyone.

===> Spinal Health and Core Training Seminar <===

Outside of being completely freaked out by the fact that it was still daylight at ten o’clock at night, it was an awesome two days where everyone involved – the presenters as well as the 15+ attendees – had the rare opportunity of learning from four high-quality, uber smart, and unwittingly handsome professionals with varying backgrounds and expertise.

Rick has extensive experience working with and dealing with a wide array of injured clientele, and is a straight up Jedi when it comes to assessment and understanding how to program around injury.

Dean, too, has a plethora of knowledge with regards to rehab, assessment, and working with the general public. He also broke a deadlifting PR that weekend with me just standing in his presence.  True story.

Dr. Jeff is a chiropractor and manual therapist with tons of experience working with elite athletes. His knowledge base with regards to corrective exercise, posture, and the newly minted “it topic” in the industry, breathing patterns, is second to none.

And then, you know, there’s me.

Because I don’t want to leave anyone hanging, I felt it only fair to give a sneak peak into each person’s presentation so that everyone on the fence would have a general idea of the material and topics covered:

Me Discussing Assessment

Dean Discussing Assessment as Well

Dr. Jeff Discussing the Importance of Self Mobilizations Drills

Note:  This is a clip from the actual finalized product!  HD baby!!!!

Rick Discussing Parameters Writing Programs Around Pain

And there you have it!  That should give everyone a sense of what to expect.  And remember, there’s roughly TWELVE hours worth of this stuff – including more “hands-on” lecture, some talk on breathing patterns and how that effects core function as well as posture, exercise technique, programming, and there may even be some shadow puppets thrown in the mix for good measure.

Okay, I’m kidding on that last one. Needless to say there was no stone left un-turned, and I really feel this is something that can (and will) help a lot of trainers and coaches out there stay on top of their game.

And the general public shouldn’t feel left out in the cold either.  This is a very “user friendly” product for all the general fitness enthusiasts who may be reading as well.

I’ll finish by saying that I’m often asked what I feel differentiates the “good” trainers and coaches from the bad ones, and what – if anything – I feel separates the masses.

While I could sit here and come up with some arbitrary rationale as to why bald trainers and coaches are far superior compared to those who are more “follicly” endowed (you know, cause I’m kinda bald), the real truth is that those who tend to be more successful and have a long shelf-life are those who don’t view continuing education as burden, or more to the point……as a “cost.”

I’ve always used the mantra that even if I only learn ONE thing from any DVD or book, and it leads to me picking up ONE client, it essentially paid for itself.

It was a goal of ours to make this product as easily “accessible” as possible (while still being profitable enough to satiate my impending beef jerky addiction).  To that end, Spinal Health and Core Training is on sale NOW (2/12) through this Friday (2/15) for $97 (. Which is a steal given the amount of information provided, and the fact that you’ll see videos of me from when I had hair.  I mean come on: That’s worth the price alone.

After this week the price climbs to it’s regular price of $197. So get it while the gettin is good….;o)

===> Spinal Health and Core Training <===

CategoriesFemale Training Motivational

Want To Really Earn Your Cake?

My sincerest thoughts go out to all of those who live in the NorthEast (particularly New England), and it’s my hope everyone made it through Snowmeggedon 2013 safely and without much incident.

I’m not going to sugarcoat anything: Boston got its butt handed to it, with roughly 30+ inches of snow. We woke up Saturday morning, looked outside, and both Lisa and I were like “whoa!”  After a few cups of tea, about a lb of bacon, a pep talk, and Lisa dressing me up like the little brother from A Christmas Story (I can’t move my arms!!!), I eventually made the trek out to do my fair share of the shoveling.

But being a central New Yorker at heart, and having grown up in the lake effect snow capital of the world, the storm paled in comparison to some of the doozies I experiences growing up.

However, just to give a bit more scope of how much snow we actually got, here’s a picture we snapped of someone’s car completely buried.

I spent a good hour digging out my car, and also did the good samaritan thing and shoveled out the two cars parked next to me as well.  It never hurts to earn some quality karma points in my book!

Anyways, the city was pretty much shut down for two days – no public transportation as well as a ban on driving (and parking) – while plans were made to remove all the snow.

By late yesterday morning (Sunday), all the main roads were cleared, or at least drivable, and most of the side streets were passable (albeit most were one-lane only), which is a testament to the city and all the folks who worked tirelessly to clean things up.

Well done, everyone.  Well done.

My only point of contention – and I realize I’m setting myself up as the ornery jerk here – is that I really wish the recreational runners of Boston would have some freakin common sense.

Now, I have absolutely nothing against runners, and I think any form exercise is better than nothing.

Having said that, while driving to work yesterday, on more than one occasion, I had to swerve to avoid someone running IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STEEET!!!!

As it was, the roads were narrow enough due to the mountains of snow everywhere. And it certainly didn’t make things easier to have to maneuver my car Jason Bourne style around human beings.

What really irked me was the borderline cavalier attitude many (not all) of them had. As if it was perfectly normal to be running in the middle of the street the day after one of the biggest winter storms in more than 20 years.

Okay, more power to them. And I respect anyone who will still go out of their way to not skip a workout.

But have a little feel!

La-la-la-la-la-dee-de-dum-la-la. Oh look!  I-95 is clear!!!  Fartleks!!!!!!!!!!

Likewise, the sidewalks weren’t much better.  Most were very narrow and very icy, yet when walking to the store to get some needed items, both Lisa and I (as well as all the other pedestrians out) had to dodge all the various runners zipping past as if they were getting any benefit for being out there in the first place.  I mean, it seemed like most were attempting to NOT break an ankle rather than trying to maintain a specific tempo.

Would it have killed them to skip one day, or, if they really needed to get their heart rate up, to I don’t know, shovel a sidewalk???

Okay, I’ll step off my soapbox now. Just talking about it makes me want to jump through a window.

Switching gears, the snowstorm served as an impetus for something else, too. Something a little less irritating.  It gave me the opportunity to catch up on some much needed reading.

I was sent a copy of Dan John’s latest book, Intervention, a few weeks ago and unfortunately it was relegated to my “to read later when I have time” pile.

Since I wasn’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future, I decided to hunker down and read a few chapters.

Not surprisingly, I loved it!  I pretty much love anything Dan John writes, and this was no different. And why not:  he has over 30+ year of coaching experience.

While I still have a ways to go before I finish it, there was one passage I wanted to share that really resonated with me and helped feed into my incessant campaign on why I continue to encourage women to turn to strength training in lieu of those lame cardio-pump classes.

And yes, sometimes even running.

Here’s the passage:

Recently, a woman told me her friends can’t make a mistake.

What? Well, what she told me was this: Since they were attacking fat loss with aerobic work and strict dieting, they didn’t have any wiggle room. The woman, who holds herself nearly year-round at a very impressive 19% bodyfat, told me she enjoys desserts, cocktails, BBQs and fine food. But, and this is a big but, she can also do 10 pullups. She is very strong in the weightroom. In other words, her glass is so big, she can afford to cheat a little here and there.

That made no sense to me. Then I watched her train and thought about some other women I work with. When she presses an impressive kettlebell overhead (half her bodyweight with one hand!), her entire system has to gather up resources, and then adapt and recover from the effort. When little Edna at my gym thinks the five-pound dumbbell is heavy, she isn’t going to tax her body very hard.

Edna can’t eat cake.

Ladies: read that again and let it sink in. I’ll explain a few things in a second.

I’m not kidding, read it again.

Now for most, you may be wondering what the whole ” her glass is so big, she can afford to cheat a little hear and there” means.

What kind of glass are we talking about here?  A standard 8 oz glass?  A wine glass?  An Optimus Prime collectors mug I got in a Happy Meal circa 1985?

Well, any glass really. The idea, though, is to make the glass bigger!

This is an analogy I first heard from Eric Cressey in his Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual, and again later on from Master RKC instructor, Brett Jones.

Think of strength as a glass, and the water inside the glass as all the “qualities” we train for:  endurance, strength-endurance, power, agility, speed strength, strength speed, having the ability to somehow take F.O.R.E.V.E.R in the bathroom getting ready, you know, those types of things.

The smaller your glass, the less “qualities” you’re able to express, let alone at a high level.  That said…..

Strength is the basis for everything. 

You can’t be “fast” without having some semblance of strength (or horsepower) in reserve.  You can’t improve your timed mile, or taking a bit further, your marathon time if you can’t generate more force into the ground to propel yourself forward.

The larger you make your glass, the more liquid your’re able to place inside said glass, and the likelihood your performance improves.  Whatever your endeavors may be.

If you’re weak, the glass is almost filled to the brim, and there’s little room for improvement.  And, I’d even argue for those more aesthetically minded:  you can’t even come close to getting as lean as you’d like if you’re weak in the first place.

If you’re someone who’s idea of “working out” is performing endless repetitions of arm circles, curls, and extensions with those cute, 5 lb pink dumbbells – and it’s hard – guess what?

You can’t have cake.

And that sucks.

Conversely, if you’re someone who places a premium on getting stronger (maybe working towards being able to perform ten solid push-ups, or one dead hang bodyweight pull-up, or maybe 1.5x bodyweight deadlift, or something as simple as learning how to squat properly), and you actually place a stress upon your body and force it to, you know, do something…… and do it hard……

……the more “wiggle room” you have when it comes to your nutrition.

While not a concrete train of thought, I think most people reading can appreciate the general tone I’m getting at here.

For example here’s Lisa this past Saturday afternoon while we were snowed in.  While she could have just as easily watched The Notebook or forced me to watch a Julia Roberts marathon, she didn’t.  Instead she spent part of the afternoon randomly walking up to the chin-up bar and busting out some reps.  Here’s her third set of five:

 

Not to brag, but I don’t think there are many women out there who could just casually walk up to a chin-up bar and start busting out reps.

Wanna know what else she can do:

– Bench press 160 lbs.

– Deadlift 225+ lbs for reps.

– Perform 10+ flawless push-ups.

– Teach 4 spin classes per week.

– Read the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy in one week (true story).

– Leap tall buildings in a single bound (less true, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she could actually do it).

Wanna know what else she does:

She feels no remorse when we go out to eat on the weekends and orders a steak (with potatoes) and dessert afterwards.

She also eats out of the bread bowl.  GASP!!!!!!!!!

To her credit:  she works her ass off, and has put in A LOT of hours in the gym to look how she looks.

As Coach John alluded to:  she doesn’t necessarily have to be as “on point” with her nutrition (even though she is) and can get away with a few cheats here and there because she’s STRONG!

This isn’t to suggest that every female reading needs to rush out to their nearest gym and commandeer the squat rack (although, that would be pretty cool).  All I’m suggesting is that it wouldn’t hurt to turn the page, turn off the Tracy Anderson DVD, and start lifting some appreciable weight.

I’m not saying all of this to be snarky, and I hope it’s not coming across as such.  In every sense, I’m saying all of this to EMPOWER you.

For some this should read as a profound epiphany.

At least, I hope it is.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 2/7/13

Okay, before I jump into this week’s list of stuff to read, I had to share THIS video I came across on the homepage of Yahoo! this morning.

Basically it’s a video of a Miami based teenager – who’s incarcerated for drug possession – acting very flippant (in every sense of the word) with the judge sentencing her.

Not amused with her shenanigans, the judge hands her the smack-down and doubles her fine (the reaction is priceless), and then, sentences her to 30-days in county jail.  BOOM!

I think Miami should give this guy a ticker-tape parade, the key to the city, or name a street after him or something. A free ticket to an all-you-can-eat-buffet?  Anything!

The man is a hero.

You Have To Workout To Get a Workout – Hamilton Nolan

Those who enjoy my writing style and sometimes “tough love” approach will appreciate this article by Hamilton.

I’m sorry, but “going for a walk” is not working out.  Nor is going to the gym to casually putter away on the elliptical while watching The Real Housewives of Whogivesashit (or where ever the current season is filming).

You actually have to strain a little bit, and maybe even break a sweat!  I know, weird.

But trust me:  it’s for you’re own good.  If you need a little motivation, this column may be exactly what you (or a friend, or a family member, or a colleague) needs.

Stretching Doesn’t Work – Dean Somerset

You know those cute hamstring or hip flexor stretches you do prior to each training session (and sometimes afterwards too)?

Yeah, they’re probably a waste of time.

In fact, if I had to make a list of things that are more worth your time, I’d go with (in no particular order):

– Talking about your feelings with your significant other.

– Watching the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (while standing on a BOSU ball).

– Watching a Tracy Anderson interview and then spontaneously throwing up a little bit in your mouth.

– Watching this video of a monkey eating its own poo

Initiating the Squat: Making the Distinction Between Hip Flexion and Lumbar Hyper-extension – Jordan Syatt

I thought this was a bang-on job by former CP intern/coach, Jordan Syatt, explaining this often confusing concept on cleaning up one’s squatting technique.

It’s a very subtle differentiation, but something that many people make the mistake of doing, oftentimes leading to injury.

Check it out and show Jordan some love!

The guys owns a 3x bodyweight deadlift, so he knows what he’s talking about.

CategoriesNutrition

Slim Is Simple

On any given day when I wake up and turn on my laptop to check my email, what I see on my screen can run the gamut:

Ranging from emails by people asking me any number of fitness and health questions; editors reaching out wondering 1) if I’d be interested in contributing to their magazine/website, or what’s usually the case 2) asking whether or not I’m going to make their deadline (haven’t missed one yet); distance coaching clients writing to say how much of an a-hole I am for programming eight sets of squats on a Monday; annoying SEO representatives asking me if I’m interested in their services; and, of course, emails from the even more annoying Saudi Princes willing to hand over a small fortune purely out of the kindness of their heart……

…….if I’m willing to provide my credit card number.

And, admittedly, I also get a fair share of people who contact me asking me to pimp their new ebook or product (even though I’ve never heard of them or know them for a hole in the wall).

Needless to say I get a lot of mail that goes directly into my spam folder or I just delete altogether. And then I move on with my life.

Last week I received an email through my website that, upon initial viewing, felt a little suspect:

Hi Tony Gentilcore – I hope your 2013 is off to a great start!

We start this year fortunate enough to have received VC funding to start up a non-profit nutrition educational organization we’re calling Slim is Simple. SIS is working to provide compelling multimedia resources—free of charge—that the educational and health communities can leverage to help share the simple science you and I know can help so many people live so much better. We’re working to get this “curriculum” into schools, churches, and etc.

Wanted to give you a quick sneak peak of our first full-length animated educational piece at (see below) with the hopes that we can collaborate on giving this non-profit educational effort the legs it needs to make a difference in the mainstream. The official launch of SIS is Tuesday.

I’m not going to lie – once I read that initial paragraph the theme music from Jaws was running on repeat in my head.

Da-DUM.  Da-DUM. Da-DUM…….

I had never heard of Jonathan Bailor, much less read anything he’s written. But I saw in his byline that he has a book titled The Calorie Myth coming out through Harper Collins in 2014, and too, I’d like to think that I’m not that much of a jerk where I can’t give a few minutes of my time to check out a video.

I mean, I’m all about simplifying things – especially when it comes to nutrition. Given most people equate nutrition to rocket science, or quantum physics, or, if you’re me circa 1995, trying to unclasp your first bra (how the hell does this thing work!!!!!), anything that provides information which helps people sift through the BS and make things easier is cool in my book.

So, long story short I was intrigued and took the bait.

And you know what:  it was really, really good. It’s twelve minutes that’s definitely worth your time.

Slim is Simple

I know there will be some detractors out there who will nitpick a few things and most likely provide some long-winded diatribe on why Jonathan’s approach contains faulty logic, and that’s cool – you can go about hating your life.  And no one will probably listen to you anyways.

I can nitpick as well, but all told, I feel the overall message is awesome, and feel it’s something that’s going to be very beneficial to the general public and (hopefully) sway the tide towards a more sensible weight control approach.

I don’t know about you, but I’m so tired of people reading US Magazine, thinking that starving themselves – and being afraid of eating an apple because it contains carbs (but not think twice about crushing a double latte) – and then gaining their nutritional advice from Paris Hilton is a smart approach.

Likewise, I don’t necessarily feel that people have to be “slim” in order to be healthy or be comfortable with their bodies (not that that was what Jonathan was insinuating in the first place).  But I do feel we’ve done an awesome job of overcomplicating things, and many people out there have gotten to the point where they have no idea what to eat!  Which is absurd.

To that end, anything I can point in YOUR direction that leads YOU to common sense advice is a-okay with me.

So watch the video above and let me know what you think!

For more information on Jonathan and his initiative, check out the Slim is Simple website HERE, as well as his personal website HERE.

CategoriesExercises You Should Be Doing

Exercises You Should Be Doing (Better): Box Jumps

Today’s guest post is brought to you courtesy of Michael Anderson: friend, strength coach, and fellow lover of dead animal flesh (and Alicia Keys).

I felt this was an outstanding post and something I’m hoping people will take to heart.  As Mike notes below:  box jumps, while considered “easy” and much of the time haphazardly tossed into programs without much thought, are actually a lot more complicated (and coaching intensive) than people give them credit for.

In this post Mike discusses some common mistakes as well as offers a few coaching cues to help set the record straight.

Enjoy!

Note from TG:  apparently the videos are a little wacky for some people. Depending on the browser you’re using, you’re either going to get the appropriate box jump videos (Chrome, IE) or the same squat video for every video except for the last one (Firefox).

I have no idea how to fix the issue, so I apologize in advance for those who aren’t able to watch the actual videos.

Hey, it could be worse:  they could have linked to a whale giving birth instead.  Either way, the internet is stupid!

There are a ton of new exercises that you should be mixing into your training, but today I want to show you how to get the most out of an old favorite: box jumps.

Everybody and their mother has been doing box jumps for ages; it’s almost always the first plyometric exercise that is taught to young athletes and thus people continue to keep them in their routine for years and years. It’s simple right? Set up a box and jump onto it. So easy a caveman could do it. Well, not quite.

There’s a bunch of ways to screw up this seemingly simple exercise.

First off, let me show you what a good box jump looks like.

The big thing to notice here is the vertical displacement of my hips (Thanks to Chad Wesley Smith for  confirming the use of that phrase. It’s something I’ve been using for a while now).

I’ve created a line for the lowest point of my hips and the highest point, and the space between them is significant. This is caused by full triple extension and the intention of jumping as high as I can. You can see that I’m jumping straight up and landing softly on the box. This is the reason we do the exercise; it allows the athlete to jump as high as they can without having to experience the eccentric stress caused by the landing of the jump.  

Without really exploding through your hips, you’ll be missing a lot of the benefits of this exercise.  This is what a box jump with incomplete hip extension looks like:

You’ll notice that when compared to the other video, all I’m really doing is moving my feet from the ground to the box as quickly as possible.

My hips don’t move very high when compared to the jump with complete extension. When left to their own devices, a lot of athletes will revert to this because it feels faster, so it must be better…right?

Wrong, these athletes aren’t even actually jumping! They’re just efficiently moving their feet from point A to point B. Cue these athletes to get tall during the jump or to try jumping over the box.

Another common fault is the rebound jump; this often happens for a variety of reasons. One is that it’s a faster way to do box jumps if you happen to be doing them for a timed event. Another reason is that coaches feel that it’s more plyometric in nature so that’s how they coach the exercise.

Still, other coaches feel that linking jumps together like this allows for the use of higher boxes and is more “sport specific”…because jumping on a box repeatedly happens all the time during sports.

This action actually places a ton of stress on the body and has recently resulted in a slew of Achilles tendon tears. And trust me, you don’t want to tear your Achilles tendon.

Landing loudly is something that a lot of athletes will do with this exercise because it’s not something they think about.

A jump is a jump, right?

It’s up to the coaches to catch them landing loudly and to fix the problem. I like to tell my athletes to land like a ninja. Have you ever heard a ninja land? Hell no!

Note:   while doing the stomp for this video, I was reminded of why to not do it, because it hurt so damn badly!

Lastly, another common fault with the box jump is very specific to female clients and athletes; landing with your knees together.

Concurrently, this also happens quite often during the takeoff portion of the jump – many athletes (female AND male) will initiate the movement by allowing their knees to cave in.

Teaching athletes to both start and land with the knees out will do a ton in regards to ACL care/prevention.

The stress placed upon the knees when they are allowed to cave or drift in – as demonstrated in the video above – is huge. Preventing ACL injuries in female athletes is one of the hallmarks of a good strength and conditioning program, so please make sure that this simple drill doesn’t work against your overall goals.

If the athlete’s can’t keep their knees out, either lower the height of the box or work on a different drill.

And for my own edification (and because I feel it should be common sense): please don’t do box jumps onto absurdly high boxes.

This isn’t an expression of your ability to produce power so much as an expression of your hip mobility. The box jump isn’t an e-penis measuring contest, so please keep the boxes at a safe height.

To the best of my knowledge box jumps aren’t a contested event, they are just a training drill. Keep them as such, and don’t end up like this guy:

Note:  As a final note, I’d like ask everyone to please check out this great cause and consider donating!

I hope everyone found this useful! Have a great day, and go lift something heavy!

Author’s Bio

Mike is a Boston area personal trainer and currently interning with Boston University Strength and Conditioning. Mike is also finishing his degree in Exercise and Health Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He loves bacon, beer and his 7 year old pit bull Lexi. You can reach him with any questions, comments or notes of affection at [email protected]. You can also visit his website:  http://commercialgymtrainer.blogspot.com/

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany Uncategorized

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Superbowl Commercials, Paco Pena, Cholesterol Myth, and Other Stuff

1. Okay, I hope everyone is starting to recover from their insulin-coma they put themselves into last night. Even more importantly, I hope everyone is fully recovered from that full on make-out session between super model Bar Refaeli and G0 Daddy.com’s resident nerd Walter (who, lets be honest: is officially every guy’s hero today).

While there was a huge public backlash to the commercial due to its “eww factor,” especially with the additional sound effects (which sounded like a five year old eating a peanut butter sandwich – I didn’t mind it so much, and just chalked it up to the  overthetopness of the Super Bowl in general.

That’s what the Super Bowl is all about, right?

All in all (and I don’t know how everyone else feels) but no commercial really stood out in my book.  Like, nada.

Whatever happened to the good ol’ days when we had Spud McKenzie, The Budweiser Frogs, the Waaaaaaaaasup Guys, or Ali Landry eating Doritos?

Speaking of Doritos, both Lisa and I kept it pretty gluttony-free yesterday during the game.  Okay, while I still had my fair share of pizza (and okay, yes, ice cream), we made some fajitas using homemade fajita mix, grass-fed beef, and lettuce wraps instead of regular wraps.

Also, Lisa made some crispy (baked, not fried) buffalo chicken wings that were Paleo friendly.  She’s a ginormous chicken wing fan and pretty finicky when it comes to giving any recipe a thumbs up, but this one was a definite homerun.

For those interested, here’s the recipe she followed:

2. Prior to the festivities yesterday, Lisa and I got all “cultural” and had an afternoon date where we  headed into the city to see a flamenco show featuring the Paco Pena Flamenco Company.

Now, before I met Lisa the only iota of “culture” in my life was eating out at Applebees and going to the occasional foreign film.

You know, for the art (Read:  boobies).

Anyways, Lisa takes all the credit for introducing me to flamenco.  She dragged me (kicking and screaming) to a show when we first started dating, and reminiscing back I had every intention of sitting there with my arms folded hating life for an hour and a half.

Truth be told:  I absolutely LOVED it!  For those unfamiliar there’s a lot going on on stage with all the clapping, dancing, and singing. And it’s beautiful to listen to.

While there is some semblance of choreography between the percussionist(s), guitarist(s) and the dancers, no performance is the same as there’s always a degree of improvisation…..which makes all the more interesting to watch.

Yesterday marked the fourth or fifth show we’ve gone to see together, and the third time we’ve seen Paco Pena.  If you ever get the chance to see him in person, I’d HIGHLY suggest it.

3.  Heads up!  I’ll be submitting my next T-Nation article in the next day or two, so keep your eyes peeled for that.  It’s going to focus on what else:  the deadlift.  While some may be rolling their eyes at the thought of another deadlifting article:

  • It’s not like I’m forcing you to sit at the table until you finish all your vegetables.  You’ll read this article when it comes out, and like it!
  • I’ll be covering some less known coaching cues that I feel helps a lot of people hone in on their technique.

4. I purposely try to avoid talking politics on this blog for obvious reasons, but for those looking for a good book to read (or just something that will make you angry enough to punch a dolphin in the face), I just completed a doozy called Predator Nation. Written by Charles Ferguson – the guy who wrote and directed the documentary Inside Job – it basically details just how shady and corrupt many of our financial institutions, CEOs, politicians, and (unfortunately)peeps in higher academia are.

It’s pretty sickening, when given an opportunity to actually witness what goes on behind the scenes and to see the man behind the curtain, what these people have been (and currently are) getting away with.

I’m no financial savant, and I’d be the last one to be able to break down the inner workings of what a credit default swap is, let alone what it does – but this book does a bang-up job of laying out the pieces and making us think:  why the hell has no one gone to jail for any of this?

What’s more – and this is something that really appealed to me as I was reading it – the book points the blame to all recent administrations – Bush, Obama, Clinton, Reagan, Bush II, and even (Star Wars reference!) the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances.

Okay, obviously not the last one, but no one can wipe their hands clean here.

For those looking for something to better explain why it is where spiraling into more and more debt and continually digging ourselves into a deeper hole, I’d give this book a try.

5.  On a less “I-want-to-throw-my-face-through-a-wall” note, another book to check out is Jonny Bowden’s The Great Ch0lesterol Myth: Why Lowering Your Cholesterol Won’t Prevent Heart Disease and the Statin Free Plan That Will.

Giving full disclosure I have yet to open it up, but I’ve always been a fan of Dr. Bowden’s stuff, and I’m always game for pointing people in the direction of why tossing out egg yolks is a dumb idea.

More to the point, I’m always disheartened when people are automatically encouraged (but usually shoved) down the path of reactionary protocols like statin drugs – mostly because there’s a financial incentive to those physicians who do so – and given archaic and ill advice on nutrition and exercise.

It’s high-time that we change our attitudes towards this epidemic and start taking more preventative measures.  And this book is (presumably) a step in the right direction.

6.  Check out this hilarious video.  The girl’s reaction is awesome!

It’s a shark!  It’s a big-ass shark!

7.  And finally, for all those movie buffs out there: fellow CP coach Brett Kokorunda and I have been debating these two “best of” lists from the 90’s and 2000’s.

50 Best Films of the 1990’s

50 Best Films of the 2000’s

While I could sit and talk about/debate movies all day, I have to say I was really impressed with both lists.

They included lesser known gems like Out of Sight, Talk to Her, Rushmore, Mulholland Drive, and Children of Men; as well as the obvious choices like Pulp Fiction, GoodFellas, Boogie Nights (my personal fav), Schindler’s List and Terminator 2.

Although, I’m calling BS that Saving Private Ryan or Swingers wasn’t included in the 90’s list.

UPDATE:  and upon second glance, The Shawshank Redemption, too.  WTF!!!!!! I’ve yet to meet one single person who’s ever said a bad thing about that movie.

Not including that movie on a “best of” list is like not including The Beatles on a Best of Rock-n-Roll list.

I still have to sift though and read all the entries, but I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions!  Agree with the list?  Disagree?

Wait, what was that? You never saw Boogie Nights!?!!??!!?

You’re officially banned from this blog until you do.

No, seriously, get out.

CategoriesUncategorized

5 Reasons Your Shoulder Is Jacked-Up and Not Jacked – Part II

Welcome back!

For those who missed it, yesterday I posted PART ONE (Newsflash: you’re reading part II) of some of the reasons why your shoulder is most likely jacked-up and not jacked.

If you’re too lazy to click the link above, here’s the dealsky:

1.  Your technique on just about everything is, for lack of a better terms, is god-awful.

2.  The program you’re following, while written with good intentions and attention to detail, may in fact be feeding into your issues and causing more harm than good.

And that’s all I’m gonna say on that front. If you want to dive in and a get a litte more detail you’re just going to have to click on the link and read part one.

Hint: You should read part one.

Moving things along, lets go a head and get the most obvious one out of the way first.  And while it’s the most obvious, I’d argue that it’s still something that many people disregard altogether and shove into some back room like a red-headed stepchild.

Not Addressing Tissue Quality

Much like taking your car in to get its oil changed, or going to dentist every six months for a cleaning, or clipping your nose hairs before a big date, addressing tissue quality should be considered preventative maintenance.  Or, at the very least – especially with regards to the latter – set you up for long-term success.  Maybe even second base if you play your cards right!

Either way, it still dumbfounds me that people (especially those in pain) refuse to put two and two together and aren’t more proactive on this front.

It’s not a sexy topic, which is probably why so many people turn their backs on it.  But watering things waaaaay down:  when you palpate tissue, it shouldn’t hurt.  Conversely, if you palpate your pec (and if you’re really talented, your pec minor) and it makes you jump off your chair, then that should tell you something.

Almost always, the pec (and by association, the pec minor) is going to enter the equation when the discussion of shoulder pain comes up.  Think about what I mentioned yesterday and how most programs are aligned:  there’s a heavy emphasis towards pushing movements compared to pulling.  As such, it’s not uncommon to observe many people with rounded, abducted shoulders – kind of like this poor guy here who I found on Google images:

Putting my Captain Obvious hat on for a second, it stands to reason that this said random guy should become BFFs with a foam roller, and spend a lot of time rolling his upper/mid back, as well as his lats (which is an area that many people neglect).

But that’s just half the equation. Anteriorly speaking, what do you think is pulling is scapulae into a more abducted position?

His pecs!

Taking the time to perform some dedicated self myofascial release on the pecs, and as a result working to get into a more optimal alignment, can pay huge dividends when you’re dealing with a cranky shoulder.

Doing your part to help release built up scar tissue, adhesions, and trigger points is a step in the right direction, but you also need to understand that it’s just as important to lengthen that tissue after the fact and then “cement” that new length with proper strength training.

Stealing a popular phrase from physical therapist, Charlie Weingroff, we need to “get long, and get strong.”

You can’t make the mistake of JUST foam rolling or whatever and then just going about your business.  You also need to lengthen that tissue and strengthen it within that new length.

It’s actually a profound litmus test if you’re someone who’s going to a physical therapist or manual therapist.  Are they just treating the symptoms with whatever modality they prefer (Graston, ART, dry needling, deer antler spray, Unicorn tears) and kicking you out the door, or are they following treatment with appropriate stretching and strength training?

If the former, I’d be reticent to continue with said therapist.

Doing Too Much Band Work

I’ve mentioned this in the past, but it bears repeating.

If I were to ask you what is the function of the rotator cuff, what would you say? If I were a betting man, I’d garner that the vast majority of people reading would say one of three things:

  • External/Internal rotation of the arm (glenohumeral joint).
  • Elevates the arm in the scapular plane.
  • Where the hell’s the rotator cuff? Isn’t this the part of the post where you post a picture of a scantily clad hot chic

If you mentioned either of the two former options- congratulations you’ve obviously read an anatomy book within the past 25 years. And, while you’re technically not wrong, you’re not entirely correct either.

With regards to the latter option, I’d would post a picture of the rotator cuff to help clear the air but THIS is actually the point where I post a picture of a scantily clad hot chick.

For the record, her rotator cuff would be approximately 2 o’clock from her cleavage. How that’s for functional anatomy….;o)

Okay back on track: While the rotator cuff does invariably play a significant role in external/internal rotation, as well as elevation of the arm, you’d be remiss not to recognize that it’s main function is to simply center the humeral head within the glenoid fossa.

Unfortunately, if you were to take a peek into what most people’s shoulder “rehab” programs look like it would most likely resemble a hodge-podge collection of rotator cuff band exercises done ad nauseam.

Now I’m NOT suggesting that band exercises are a waste of time or that dedicated RC exercises like the side lying external rotation shouldn’t be performed.

Far from it.  In fact, side lying external rotations (with the arm abducted slightly) have been shown to have the greatest EMG activation of the rotator cuff – when done correctly.

I think my main beef – especially when it comes to band work – is that people are under the assumption that more is better.

The above couldn’t be further from the truth. Training the rotator cuff to fatigue increases superior humeral head migration, and makes about as much sense as making another Sex in the City movie.

Put another way, when the rotator cuff is fatigued, the humeral head will shift superiorly towards the acromion process, effectively increasing the likelihood of shoulder impingement.

So, contrary to popular belief, all of those 50-100 rep sets of band or side lying DB external rotations you’re doing to keep your shoulder “healthy” isn’t doing your shoulder any favors.

I’m not saying it’s wrong to do them.  I just think it’s wrong to do them until you’re blue in the face.

Your Shoulder Probably Isn’t Even the Issue!

Let me clarify before I proceed, because I know I’m getting some people scratching their heads at that last comment.

Looking directly at the shoulder does make sense – especially if 80-90% of your clientele make their living throwing a baseball.

As an example if we get a pitcher walking through our doors who complains of shoulder pain, it only makes sense to look at the shoulder and check out things like total ROM (glenohumeral internal + external rotation), upward/downward rotation, so on and so forth.

But when working with the general population, it’s often advantageous to dig a little deeper.

This isn’t to say that the shoulder ISN’T the problem, it very well could be.  But it’s been my experience that it’s usually not.

I just find it comical whenever I read a random article or blog where someone starts throwing out things like “check for big toe dorsiflexion” or “can they recite the alphabet backwards in less than 17 seconds?” as if any of that really matters.

Sure, I guess we could make a valid (albiet far reaching) case that limited big toe dorsiflexion can effect things up the kinetic chain, but more often than not I just feel people start throwing out that kind of verbiage as a way to make themselves sound smarter than they really are.

Nevertheless, there are a multitude of factors that we have to take into consideration as to why someone’s shoulder is flipping them the bird that may or may not have anything to do with the shoulder.

At CP we take the following into consideration that may have nothing to do with the shoulder:

– Overuse

– Scapular instability

– Poor glenohumeral ROM

– Rotator cuff weakness

– Soft tissue restrictions

– Poor thoracic spine mobility

– Acromion type

– Poor exercise technique (seriously, read yesterday’s post)

– Poor cervical spine function

– Poor programming balance

– Faulty breathing patterns

– And yes, opposite hip/ankle restriction

A handful or maybe all factors above may need some attention and have their share of the limelight, but the real take home message is that you need to think outside the box.  Just because your shoulder hurts doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a shoulder issue.

And that’s that!  Hopefully I was able to shed some light on an often murky and confusing topic.  If you liked this, please do me a favor and “Like” it, as well as share on as many social media outlets as possible.  I’ll give you a hug if you do.

CategoriesCorrective Exercise Program Design Rehab/Prehab Strength Training

5 Reasons Your Shoulder Is Jacked Up and Not Jacked Part I

We work with a lot of overhead athletes at Cressey Performance – in particular baseball players – and it’s no coincidence that we deal with, address, work around, and (hopefully) fix a lot of shoulder issues ranging from the acute like AC joint issues and external/internal impingement to the more “oh shit factor” scenarios like shoulder separations and post surgery situations.

And using the word “acute” in this instance isn’t to downplay things like impingement (as anyone who’s had to deal with a chronic case will think otherwise), but rather it’s just to put things into perspective that some shoulder pathologies take a little more attention to detail and TLC compared to others.

As an example I can’t tell you how many times someone’s walked into the facility complaining of consistent shoulder pain preparing for the worst, only to demonstrate to them that their push-up technique is god-awful.

I didn’t need to resort to bells, whistles, and smoke machines or take a page out of Professor Dumbledore’s Magic Book of Bedazzling Hexes and Awesome Shoulder Remedies (on sale now through Amazon!) to show them how to perform a push-up correctly and to not piss their shoulder off further.

Unfortunately, it’s not always so cut and dry.  For many people out there – average Joe’s and meat heads in particular – living their day to day life with shoulder pain or discomfort is sometimes second nature.  Analogous to riding a bike, putting your left sock on before the right, or reaching for that second cup of coffee. Or fifth, don’t worry I won’t judge.

What’s more, some view it as a proverbial right of passage or badge of honor, as if living with daily pain comes with the territory for those who spend their free time lifting heavy things.

While true, there is some semblance of “risk” involved, and many will undoubtedly have a few bumps and bruises along the way (we’re lifting weights here not doing origami), just “dealing” with pain  and sucking it up isn’t an option in my book.

That said, not many things can derail one’s progress in the gym like a banged up shoulder.  Okay, a Zombie apocalypse or a raging case of explosive diarrhea rank fairly high on the list for sure.  But a nagging shoulder injury bites the big one, too.

Below, while not an exhaustive list, are some of the more common “reasons” why your shoulder may be hating you.

1.  No, Seriously, Your Technique Is Horrible

I won’t beat a dead horse here, but it stands to reason that half the reason your shoulder hurts all the time is because your exercise technique is less than exemplary.

I know, I know:  you’ve been lifting weights since stone washed jeans were considered a cool fashion trend, and there’s no conceivable way you’re doing something incorrectly.

Well, I’m here to tell you otherwise!

Taking the time to actually learn how to perform a push-up correctly or how to bench press correctly – or at the very least tweak things to make them more “shoulder friendly” – will go long ways in keeping your shoulders healthy.

It’s akin to lightly tapping your thumb with a hammer.  While seemingly not a big deal at first, before long, it’s excruciating.

Constantly performing your exercises with shitty technique day after day, week after week, and month after month will eventually lead to some bad things happening.  Namely a shoulder ouchie.

And this goes for rowing variations, too.  You’d be surprised as to how many people butcher these on a day to day basis.

A perfect example would be something as innocuous as a face pull.

* Video courtesy of the one and only Mike Robertson

I was training at a commercial gym not too long ago and watched a gentleman perform this exercise with the exact opposite form Mike demonstrates above.

For starters, he held the rope with a pronated (overhand grip) which locks you into more internal rotation and thus compromises the acromion space.

Secondly, he’d allow his scapulae to go into posterior tilt with each rep, and worse he’d substitute scapular retraction with an excessive forward head posture.

While I’m sure he had good intentions for including the exercise in his program, the execution was less than to be desired and was probably causing more harm than good.

And this goes for just about every rowing variation out there.  You’d be surprised as to how many people butcher technique and aren’t even close to performing them correctly.

Take the time do things right, and your shoulder will thank you.

 2.  Your Program Kinda Sucks

More to the point: it’s the structure of the program thats sucks. It’s common in the strength and conditioning community to talk about programming imbalances, especially as it pertains to the upper body.

Dissecting most training programs, it’s not uncommon to see significant favoritism or preponderance towards pushing exercises compared to pulling.  It’s no secret:  guys like to bench press.  And as such, many develop muscular imbalances (overactive/stiff pecs and weak/inhibited upper back musculature) which results in a less than happy shoulder.

To counteract this, many fitness professionals will advocate more pulling motions compared to pushing – oftentimes to the tube of a 2:1 or even 3:1 ratio.

In other words: for every pushing exercise prescribed, they’ll “counteract” it with two to three pulling exercises.

This is sound advice, and definitely a step in the right direction for many trainees.  But we’re omitting another less obvious (yet equally as important) component, and it’s something Eric highlighted last year and that we’ve been addressing at Cressey Performance for a while now.

And that is:

While anterior/posterior imbalances are important to address, not many people give any credence to superior/inferior imbalances.

Translated into English, we also have to be cognizant of the interplay between upward and downward rotation.  More and more (especially with our baseball guys, but even in the general population as well) we’re seeing guys walk in with overly depressed shoulders. For visual reference, cue picture to the right.

Most baller t-shirt, ever ================>

This can spell trouble for those whose livelihood revolve around the ability to get their arms over their head (baseball players) as the downward rotators of the scapulae (levator, rhomboids, and especially the lats) are kicking into overdrive and really messing with the congruency and synergy between the scapulae, humeral head, glenoid fossa, and acromion process.

And this doesn’t just pertain to overhead athletes either.  We’re seeing this quite a bit in the general population as well, as we as fitness professionals have been shoving down their throat  “shoulder blades together and down, shoulder blades together and down” for years now.

In this case, some dedicated upper trap work would be advisable so as to encourage more scapular UPWARD rotation.  And no, relax, I’m NOT referring to barbell shrugs.

These wouldn’t be useful because there’s no “real” scapular upward rotation involved, and you’re doing nothing but encouraging more depression anyways.

Instead drills like Forearm Wall Slides with Shrug;

And Back to Wall Shoulder Flexion will work wonders.

Too, it may come down to toning down things like heavy deadlifts, farmer carries, and anything that entails holding onto heavy dumbbells (since all will pull the shoulder girdle down promote significant shoulder depression) in favor of more overhead/waiter carries, Goblet variations (squats, reverse lunges, etc), and barbell related work.

Just some food for thought anyways.

And that’s it for today. Be sure to check back tomorrow for some more insight and conversation on why your shoulder is jacked up and not jacked.

SPOILER ALERT: your shoulder may not be the issue in the first place!

*Smoke bomb, smoke bomb.  Exit stage left*

Also, as an a side (and giving credit where it’s due):  Title inspiration came from THIS article I read a while back on Elitefts.com.

CategoriesFemale Training Motivational

Why We Are the Even Weaker Sex

Today’s guest post comes from someone many who read this site regularly should recognize –  Kellie Hart Davis.

For those scratching their heads, Kellie’s essentially the female equivalent of me except for the slight distinction of being way smarter and much better looking than myself.

Plus, given she’s a copy editor and prolific health & fitness writer herself, she can tell you the difference between an independent and dependent clause, whereas I’m the king of run-on sentences.

So I guess we’re nothing alike- except for our affinity to lift heavy things and to encourage (and to enlighten) women all over the world on why they should do the same.

Nevertheless, this post was inspired by and serves as an adjunct to last week’s post by Emily Socolinsky.

While this is a phenomenal stand alone article in its own right, I’d highly encourage anyone who didn’t read Emily’s post from last to click on the link above before proceeding. Trust me it will be well worth it.

*Cue Jeopardy music*

All caught up?  Good.

Why We Are the Even Weaker Sex

As a kid, I didn’t put much thought into how my grandmother lived.  But now I sit here marveling at the very thought of it. How she accomplished so much in a given day without ever making mention of the work involved.

My grandfather passed away the year I was born. He left her with a modest 3-bedroom home and a backyard garden that would gain approval from Martha Stewart. It hosted an expansive 20 x 5 meter vegetable garden, an apple, cherry, plum, and apricot tree. Bushes of various berry varieties and other types of edible plants.

Below in the basement she stored the finished products of her agricultural ventures.  A cabinet filled with jams, pickled vegetables, and canned sauces and fruits all made with her hands. The freezer held prepped vegetables, potatoes and cuts of meat to get through the winter.

And this was just a hobby. She worked at Colorado State University everyday up to her forced retirement at age 66. Until she was in her late 50’s she rode her bike to and from the printing press on campus (weather pending). This wasn’t the flat terrain of the Midwest. It was Fort Collins, for heaven’s sake. That’s no easy ride.

I remember days as a kid when all my aunts, uncles, and cousin would gather at my grandmother’s house for harvest. The women would sit in lawn chairs shucking corn and beans for dinner while the kids dropped cherries down from the tree and the men pruned bushes.

That was her life for 70 years. She was as strong as an ox, but never made mention of it. She never made noise about how she activated her lats tilling soil or how she had to cut back on carbs in the winter because she was more sedentary.

She didn’t think about it. She just lived everyday knowing these were things that had to get done. So, when I read this recent article titled, “The even weaker sex: Faddy diets and fears that muscles aren’t feminine have left modern women weaker than their grannies,” I nodded in agreement.

Yeah, I can say that my grandmother was indelibly stronger than I ever will be. There’s no shame in that. She was pretty badass. I grow potted vegetables and bake bread in a $300 bread maker that does the work for me. There’s no way I would ever compare to Granny Hart.

What really struck a cord with me: faddy diets and fears that muscles aren’t feminine have left modern women weaker . . .

Is that really it?

My grandmother never thought about dieting or bulky muscle. But she was into Clean Eating™. Tosca Reno would be proud! Grandma was never overly muscular either. She was rail-thin even though she was totally Primal™.

I guess one could argue that modern women have all the luxuries that women in the past never did. Sure, when my dad was a kid they lived on a farm with no running water in the plains of Nebraska. They had to walk to the outhouse in the dark and milk their own cows.

But when I was a kid things weren’t so. Grandma had a washer and dryer, a vacuum cleaner, running water, a dishwasher, and many of the same luxuries that I have. Okay, so she wasn’t totally Primal by this point.

I don’t think it’s the fear of being bulky or eating too much that sends modern women fleeing to the couch with their iPhones so they can tweet their daily macro accountability.

I think it’s an innate fear of all things.

We are a society that is scared shitless of everything.

We’re scared of injury, disease, germs, dirt, robberies, getting hit by cars, concussions, aging, peeping toms, pederasts, guns, not having guns, too much real violence, not enough fake violence, loss of internet connection, Facebook hackers, identity theft, zombies, not having a hot vampire to love, too much carbsfatprotein, muscular arms, flabby triceps, bulky legs, fat legs  . . .

We think so much about what could possibly go wrong in our lives that we live in a state of paralysis. That is why we are weak and lazy. It’s safer to sit around and talk text and tweet about what we think we should do or aren’t going to do rather than unplugging so we can actually do something.

That is the generational difference.  Our grandmothers acted on instinct, doing what they must to make life possible. But now the female mind switches to making choices. We must choose to be active, to eat well. All instincts are gone because life comes in a ready-made package with automated systems.

It’s time to turn off automation.  It’s time to reach deep down in your belly to pull out those instincts. The ones that tell you to move and eat the way that your body was designed to do. To unplug from a world that you cannot touch or hear and get involved in the world that is tangible and interactive.

So be it if you pick up a barbell or plant an orchard. Just be present in your daily life.

Presence is what we are all missing. Never once do I remember my grandmother not hearing my voice because her mind focused on something arbitrary (she wasn’t around when Facebook and Pinterest launched). She was always there with us in that moment. She never talked about all that she had to get done. She just did things, and if she didn’t finish she did them the next day.

When I talk about presence it means to tune out the part of your life that is not actually happening and tune into what surrounds you.  Sounds a bit archaic, huh?

So, going back to faddy diets and fears that muscles aren’t feminine have left modern women weaker.

That’s just our excuse to live in this alter state of reality. To think about how doing these certain things will change our perception of an ideal body.

How we don’t want to do these things because we don’t want the perceived results. If this is so, then don’t do those things. Do other things. No one is saying that you have to deadlift or eat skirt steak. Yes, these two activities rank right up there with finding out Mark Cuban left you a fraction of his estate, but they aren’t for everyone.

That doesn’t mean you should sit in a stinking heap of fear either. Look where that’s getting you—smack in the headlines of a news article that goes on to talk about how you can’t even whisk an egg without hurting yourself.

Is that the legacy you want to leave in this world? Is this what you want your granddaughter to write about on the Internet 30 years from now?

I write all of this not to point a finger at society. I am just as guilty when it comes to not being present in my life at times. I’ve mastered the art of ignoring the world around me by shoving my face into a handheld device or opting out of a weekend activity because I downloaded 3 seasons of Boardwalk Empire.

I write all of this to evoke change within us. All women, including myself. May we finally adopt those skills our grandmothers and great-grandmothers tried to instill in us. A sense of pride in our homes, our bodies, and our lives.

If we take this back and own it, strong will always be sexy.

Author’s Bio

Kellie Davis is a freelance writer and blogger turned fitness coach living in Northern California. She published short fiction and essays in anthologies and literary magazines before starting a full time career as a health and fitness writer. She currently works as a contributing author to several online fitness publications including Greatist and Bodybuilding.com, and also runs corporate health blogs.

In addition to writing, Davis helps women all over the world achieve optimum health as a fitness and nutrition coach. She runs MotherFitness, is the co-owner of Get Glutes and the co-author of Strong Curves: A Woman’s Guide to Building a Better Butt and Body (with Bret Contreras) due out in stores April 2.