CategoriesUncategorized

She Strikes Again—-I Couldn’t Resist

It’s November 6th, which not only means my birthday is like three weeks away, but also means the holiday season is right around the corner. Which is to say, I’m totally looking forward to dominating Thanksgiving dinner. It’s the one day out of the year (outside of every god damn day) that I don’t care what I shove down my pie hole.

Along similar lines, I think it’s a safe assumption that some people reading this blog are going to be one of the many who put on the inevitable holiday weight gain. Thankfully, that’s where Alwyn Cosgrove and Mike Roussell come in. They’ve just released Warp Speed Fat Loss 2.0 this week. Honestly, as much as I loved the first edition, this version undoubtedly ups the ante, and has definitely gotten a few of our clients fired up. Word on the street is that our very own Brian St. Pierre is giving it a go. We all know what happened last time…..

And, as an added incentive, there are a bunch sweet bonuses being offered for a limited time only. You can check it out HERE.

That said, it’s Friday, the weekend is here, and since I’ve written like three legit blogs in row, I figured it was high time that I made a Mephistopheles/Tracy Anderson reference (it’s been at least 48 hours). I can’t help it. It’s like I’m a moth drawn to a flame when it comes to this stuff. To that end, below is a video one of my readers (Pau) sent me. True to form, I wasn’t able to last more than two minutes before I felt a sudden urge to stick my finger in an electrical socket and/or jump into a live volcano.

It still amazes me that people actually think she knows what the hell she’s talking about. Who can honestly take her seriously after saying BS like this:

With my new method, I’ve implemented new sequencing and choreography that keeps the accessory muscles really awake and alert, and pulls the larger muscle groups in, so that your muscular structure is teeny-tiny; but strong, with lots of sexy definition.

Wow, it’s almost like I need a Moron-to-English dictionary to figure out what the hell she’s saying. If anyone would care to shed some light, I’d be happy to listen. I mean, I could have my niece talk into a camera and she would sound more credible. And she’s four years old

CategoriesUncategorized

Q and A: Getting My Wife to Train

Q: Hey Tony,

Love the blog and your T-Nation stuff — keep up the good work. Hopefully this question won’t get me punched, but I think I might only get one shot at this, so I want to make it a good one.

My wife is in good shape, but until recently didn’t have to do much to stay that way. After she turned 30, she started doing yoga and running, in an effort to stay looking good (which I sincerely appreciate). I’ve slipped in the occasional nudge to include some resistance training, but like many women she’s a bit gym-phobic, and my horror stories from the shit place I train at probably don’t help. Plus, she really likes running, and I want to be supportive.

Cut to the chase (which you no doubt saw coming): her knee has been bothering her, and after consulting some internet wizard, she declared last night that she needs to stop running “for a long time” to let the knee rest. To her credit, she did admit that the problem was most likely caused by jumping in too quickly, without building up the muscles in her legs first (“you get fit to run, not run to get fit” has been heard around the house for a while), and that resting is only going to delay the problem from happening again.

Here’s my problem: I really don’t think I’m going to get her to go to the gym with me. I thought of taking her through a body-weight circuit to keep it light and easy at first, but will this be enough? She hopes getting back into yoga will help, but she was doing that before and it obviously didn’t make that much of a difference. I just don’t see her doing deadlifts and sled pushes right now, so I’m wondering if something like lunges and body-weight squats, with some basic GPP stuff, would be beneficial in her case, and still fun/interesting enough to keep her doing it.

I’m not looking for a program, obviously, just a point in the right direction. I’m hoping that, if she doesn’t hate what I propose now, she’ll see some results and be up for some real work in the gym down the road.

Thanks for any advice you can give. Figured I’d start with the king.

The KING’S Answer (I’m totally going to run with this): First off, thanks for the kind words and for such an awesome question. Secondly, I think the approach you’re taking is exactly the right thing to do given the situation. You’re not being too pushy, and you definitely have her bests interests in mind. Hopefully with time (and little support) she’ll come around and see the light.

To that end, with regards to her knees hurting: Yes, she jumped into things too quickly. She knows it, you know it, her knee knows it. It happens, and it’s refreshing to see that she actually recognizes that fact. While the short-term “fix” (not running) will help, it’s certainly not going to fix the underlying issue(s)- whatever they may be.

Without getting too geeky, the knee is held together by active and passive structures. The passive structures include the ligaments, capsule, and menisici, while the active structures are the muscles that surround the knee (quadriceps, hamstrings, gastornemius, and popliteus).

Knee Muscles

In short, by making the active structures strong(er), it will take much of the burden off the passive structures. Read: yoga won’t do jack squat for this. Despite being marketed as the panacea of fitness (I’m surprised yoga doesn’t cure Swine Flu), yoga (alone) won’t make your wife’s knee feel better.

UPDATE: Furthermore (I can’t believe I forgot to mention this, thank you Jan), anytime you are dealing with a knee issue, you can almost guarantee that there is some sort of dysfunction going on in the hips and/or ankles (most likely the hips). So, that’s definitely something to be aware of, and might be a good idea to check out.

With regards to her reluctance to go to the gym. Indeed, it’s quite the conundrum. I can understand why the vast majority of women are intimidated to train at a gym- especially considering everything they read and/or watch (Oprah, People Magazine) tells them that the secret to a lean, svelt body is to do yoga/pilates, and to steer clear of any appreciable weights. It’s a never ending battle, and despite our best efforts, it seems it’s a never going to go away.

What’s more, the only other option is to train in the free-weight area where guys smell like cheap cologne (on a good day) and make noises that sound more like a whale passing a kidney stone than anything else. No thank you.

Training Intensity

Nevertheless, with respect to women and strength training, here’s what I like to point out:

1. Muscle is what gives the body shape and contour. If you want to look like an emaciated Olsen twin, then don’t lift weights.

Olsen Twins

2. What makes you “big and bulky” is the fat that surrounds your muscle.

3. Lets be honest, the likelihood that you’ll even work hard enough to be considered “big and bulky” is slim to none—-this goes for most guys too.

4. Muscle, while weighing more than fat, takes up 25% less space.***

5. The more LBM you have, the more your body will burn calories at rest.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list, it usually does a great job in getting my points across.

Additionally, you can have her read an article I wrote a few years ago, 4 Things Your Girlfriend Should Know. In it, I discuss why strength training pretty much makes yoga/pilates it’s bitch- among other things. All that said, I think by taking “baby steps,” and introducing her to weight training through bodyweight circuits, dynamic flexibility circuits, or maybe even trying a TRX, would be a step in the right direction. Once she gets a little more proficient and grows less intimidated stepping out of her comfort zone, you can have her start some of the programs in The New Rules of Lifting for Women, which I HIGHLY recommend all women read. If all else fails, you can do what I do whenever I want to bribe my girlfriend into doing something- offer to wash the dishes and/or watch Grey’s Anatomy. Works like a charm. Good luck!

*** NOTE: GODDAMMIT!!! Who’s the a-hole who gave Tracy Anderson permission to log onto my computer? Obviously, that statement makes no sense. What that should have said is, “muscle, while weighing the same as fat, takes up 25% less space.” I mean, how can one lb of muscle weigh more than one lb of fat? That’s just crazy talk.

CategoriesUncategorized

Meat Eaters Are Killing the Environment?

I’m posting this blog a bit later that usual, but it’s for a damn good reason. Normally I write my blogs in the morning. However, after finding out that Star Wars in Concert is coming to Boston for a two show (same day) event next weekend, I spent the bulk of my morning on Ticketmaster trying to buy tickets/dropping off my Chewbacca costume at the dry cleaners.

***SPOILER ALERT TO MY GIRLFRIEND***– just so you know, this is what you’re doing next Saturday night. Oh, and if you dress up as “slave” Princess Leia (hint hint, nudge nudge, I already bought the outfit on e-Bay), I’ll totally take you to T.G.I Fridays for free appetizer night. Who says romance is dead?

In any case, I wanted to share an article that a client of mine sent me yesterday that I thought many of you may enjoy.

The Carnivore’s Dilemma– Nicolette Hahn Niman

Inspired by the groundbreaking book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma written by Michael Pollan; this article delves into the issue of whether or not eating meat is the global warming equivalent to I don’t know, leaving all the lights on in your coal burning factory, while you drive your tank to Antarctica to melt a glacier to fill your outdoor Olympic sized pool electrically heated by Al Gore’s tears.

Without question, I completely agree with the author when she says it’s not so much the fact that eating meat in general is bad for the environment, as it is the quality of meat we choose to eat.

As the authors states, it’s absolutely true that the way we produce food is a contributor to climate change. What’s more, there IS quite a bit of credible evidence that demonstrates that meat (specifically beef) is closely linked to global warming. However, to compare meat that comes from a CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) to that of meat that comes from more traditional farming methods-and then to lump them together in the same sentence as part of the reason for global warming- is a bit presumptuous, not to mention a drastically simplistic conclusion to draw from the research. It’s a quick read (two pages), so just read it for crying out loud!

Furthermore, and this is completely unrelated to the above article, with recent cases of an E-coli outbreak, it still dumbfounds me that the federal government doesn’t take a more stringent role in how the meat we eat is inspected. Worse still, I heard on a local talk show radio station that many (if not all) of the major meat packing companies purposely send their meat to meat grinding factories that DO NOT inspect the meat?

By and large, this fact alone should be enough to convince you to purchase your meats from places like Whole Food Markets- who not only require their meat isn’t pumped with antibiotics and hormones, but also enforce stricter guidelines in terms of animal treatment and facility inspections.

Sure, some will argue that it’s more expensive. And it is. However, I’d argue how much do you value your well-being? Is it really worth risking your health (potentially) to save $0.79 per/lb on ground beef? I mean, you’d probably question anyone who would put 87 octane in their Ferrari, right? So why are we so aloof when it comes to the crap we put into our bodies? I don’t get it.

CategoriesUncategorized

“You can’t run to get fit, you need to be fit to run.”

This is a quote that I “stole” from Mike Boyle whom I am sure “stole” it from someone else (I think it was Diane Lee actually).

The fact of the matter is, most (read: not all) people shouldn’t be running (especially women). What’s the first thing that women do to get into shape? They hightail it to the local store and buy a new pair of pearly white running shoes and go for a jog outside. What’s the first piece of equipment that women will gravitate towards if they have never set foot in a gym before? The treadmill. And more often than not, both scenarios DO NOT look pretty.

I watch some of these women running (you too men, you’re not off the hook) and it just looks painful. How can they possibly think that this is good for them? I can walk on a floor of broken glass barefoot and that would be less painful than watching some of these women run.

In all actuality, running is a fairly advanced form of exercise. Within any given mile, there are about 1500 foot strikes. Ask any personal trainer or strength coach if they would EVER allow an elite athlete (let alone your average soccer mom) to perform a plyometric protocol that calls for 1500 foot strikes on a daily basis consistently, and I am willing to bet you will get some perplexed looks. Yet, day in and day out, I will see women who are 20-30 lbs overweight trudging over to the treadmill to get their 3 miles in.

Why is running not so great for women? Well, there are a few, but the main one boils down to the Q-angle. Women, by nature have a greater Q-angle compared to men (wide hips, narrow knees) which predisposes them to a number of problems that aren’t normally an issue for men.

Please understand, that I am NOT saying that running is “bad” for all women, nor am I saying that it is “bad” in general. But what I am saying is that there are better ways to get into shape. And that’s the point…you need to be in shape to run. In doing so, you’re body will be able to handle the stress MUCH more efficiently and you will be less prone to all of those nagging injuries that come with being a runner.

I HIGHLY suggest you read this article written by Mike Boyle: “Why (Most) Women Shouldn’t Run” and read it with an objective eye and really make an effort to understand what he is trying to say. After reading the article, read Mike’s follow up article here. Needless to say, people tend to read what they want to read and often times miss the point of certain articles. If you’re already an “elite” runner or have been running for years with no problems, then obviously “we” are not referring to you and these articles and blog post aren’t meant for you. But for MANY MANY people out there, this information is so very important.

CategoriesUncategorized

Big Rocks= Big Guns

Last Friday, I discussed the Pareto Principle. To summarize, it was named after an Italian economist (Vilfredo Pareto), who demonstrated that 80% of the wealth in Italy was owned by only 20% of the population. Taking it a step further, many have described it as a Law of Unequal Return, whereupon certain activities tend to give more return on investment than others. Incidentally, it should come as no surprise that many (if not all) aspects of fitness, can be applied here.

Taking a step back for a bit, anyone who’s ever listened to Alwyn Cosgrove lecture, knows that he often discusses the Big Rocks Theory.

For those who aren’t familiar- the basic premise of the story revolves around a professor who asks his students to fill a glass with rocks, pebbles, and sand. To start, he stacks the big rocks and then asks his students how to put the rest into the bucket. Not surprisingly, the students place the pebbles into the glass, followed by the sand. In the end, everything fits into the glass.

The professor then asks his students to reverse the process. However, after pouring the sand, the students realized that the sand alone filled the entire glass and nothing else could go in.

“It is the same with time”, explained the teacher. “Give time slots to the big things before anything else. Otherwise, the inevitable sand would fill up your day”.

In short, the story demonstrates how a vast majority of trainees like to focus on minutia (sand) rather than the “bang for your buck exercises” (rocks). For those still not following, it makes more sense to identify the big items that need to be addressed, whatever your goals may be, and planning the small things around them.

We all know a friend or family member (or someone who spends way too much time on the forums) who wants to lose some fat. They’ll be quick to discuss any number of fad diets they’ve been reading about in order to get that quick fix. They’ll also talk about hormone levels, cheat meals/re-feeds, or maybe what the best macronutrient breakdown is for their blood type. Worse still, they’ll discuss which supplements they should be taking, blah blah blah. Maybe if they focused on, I don’t know, how many calories they were ingesting per day (or actually got off their ass and did something), they would get results. Focus on the big rocks people- not the minutiae.

Or what about the high school kid who weighs 140 lbs, and is trying to get hyyooooge. Here’s a theory—–less bicep curls, and more deadlifts. Better yet, when you can actually perform ten bodyweight pull-ups (with good form), then we can worry about making the guns more gunny.

Likewise, a great real-world (and less obvious) example would be a male client that I work with who wants to increase his bench press. To his credit, he’s a dedicated client who never misses a session and is willing to learn. However, if there’s one thing that I’ve had a bitch of a time trying to get him to realize is that HARDER DOES NOT EQUAL BETTER. You see, he’s always felt that in order to get better, he needs to grind out every………..single…………rep. Not necessarily a bad thing, but certainly not something that needs to happen on every rep, of every set.

What’s more, prior to training with us at CP, he benched at least three times per week (shocker!), did little to no dedicated upper back work, and had cringe worthy form; not to mention referred to benching as his “chest day,” which as you might have guessed, is grounds for going to bed with no dinner.

While it’s taken some time, we’ve definitely made some strides. We’ve done a lot of technique work- changing his bodybuilder form (flat back, elbows flared out, slooooooow tempo) to more of a powerlifting style (arched back, elbows tucked in, and more dedicated speed work). As well, we’ve focused more on the quality of reps rather than quantity of crap. As a result, he’s made some significant progress. By placing more of an emphasis on his “big rocks” (tons of technique work, upper back development, working on getting faster bar speed), rather than the sand (how can I make this exercise harder?), he’s gone from a shitty bench to a sucky bench.

With that said, what are YOUR goals? Are you focusing on the big rocks or the sand?

CategoriesUncategorized

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday

1. I know these digital videos have been making their way around the internet for a few weeks now, but I just wanted to post them here because they’re THAT good. If you’re in any way affiliated with the fitness industry you’ll definitely get a kick out of them. THESE VIDEOS ARE NSFW…..due to language. So, unless you’re actually looking for a reason to get fired, put on your headphones. You’ve been warned.

And, to whomever made this video, I’d like to shake your hand/nominate you for an Academy Award/have your baby. This is classic!

And because I don’t want all the Crossfitters to get their panties all up in a bunch, here’s another video throwing powerlifters under the bus.

2. Since Eric and I completed our little deadlifting experiment a few weeks ago, I’ve been inundated with e-mails asking if I’d be willing to discuss the particulars behind the actual program. In a nutshell here’s what we did:

  • Gave each other a high five for being crazy enough to actually go through with it.
  • 10×1, 7×3, 4×7, 5×5—–those are what the sets/reps looked like for each corresponding day.
  • Understandably, everything else was pretty much put on hiatus during the three weeks that we did this program. So, it’s not like we were doing a lot of additional lower body training during this time. For example, on the 10×1 days, that was all I would do. It literally took me upwards of 45-50 minutes just to do ten reps (last week was ten reps of 505); and truth be told, the thought of doing anything after that made me want to vomit blood. Okay, not really- but I think you get the jist. It’s not like I was skipping over to the glute ham raise afterwards.
  • We would still train other movements, albeit in limited fashion. So, on a 5×5 day, we might add in some horizontal push variation, a light single leg movement, some scapular stability exercise, and something like Pallof Presses. The key point to remember here, is that this was a SPECIALIZATION program. I think a major mistake that many people make with their training is that they try to do too many things at once, and as a result, never really see the fruits of their labor. It’s kind of like the guy who’s goal is to get so shredded that he has vascularity in his eyebrows, yet he also wants to squat a mack truck. Pick ONE goal and go with it. You’ll be much more successful that way.
  • Eric actually summarizes the whole program in this week’s episode of The Fitcast. So rather than me blabble on and on, you can actually listen to him talk about the in’s and out’s of what we did.

3. I’m short on time this morning, so I’m going to have to leave it at that. Tomorrow, I hope to continue the discussion from Friday’s blog about the Pareto Principle, and how it applies to health/fitness/nutrition. Suffice it to say, it should be pretty interesting. But not as interesting as this………

CategoriesUncategorized

A Serious Blog Post. Well, Kinda…….

Just so people aren’t under the impression that I was slacking, I had some technical difficulties with WordPress yesterday, and as a result, wasn’t able to get a blog out. Luckily, Morpheus (Webguy Chris) was able to fix the issue, and we’re back on point today.

To that end, I just wanted to give everyone a brief head’s up that tonight marks the last day you can order Functional Strength Coach 3.0- A Joint by Joint Approach to Training with all the added bonuses- Interval Training for Athletes and Clients, and Evolution of a Strength Coach: 25 Mistakes in 25 Years, to name a few. Additionally, there’s now a payment plan available for those who may have been reluctant to order initially due to the price. Either way, act now or you’ll miss out on all the sweet extras.

As much as I hate to admit it, I’m a morning person. To clarify, I’m not one of those people who jumps out of bed, immediately opens the curtains, and starts humming It’s a Wonderful World. Rather, lets just say that by saying I’m a “morning person,” what I’m really saying is that I can function without having to molest a cup of coffee. Which is more than what most people reading this can say.

As such, since I generally don’t have to be at CP till 10-11 AM, I like to get up early (6:30-7) so that I can catch up on work: e-mails, writing programs, blogs/articles, looking up pictures of Alicia Keys. You know, the important stuff.

Additionally, I’ll also try to get some reading done at this time. Whether it’s a book or my never-ending list of articles and newsletters saved in my laptop, I find that that time of day is when I’m more fresh and focused to learn.

Likewise, I’ve recently gotten on the webinar bandwagon, and have been watching quite a few as I eat my breakfast in the morning. In fact, not more than four hours ago, I finished watching Alwyn Cosgrove’s An Overview of Fitness Programming. And, not surprisingly, there were quite a few points he hit on that resonated with me. Specifically the whole concept surrounding the Pareto Principle.

Pareto Principle

For those who aren’t familiar, the Pareto Principle was inspired by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who back in the early 1900’s, demonstrated that 80% of the wealth in Italy was owned by only 20% of the population. Interestingly, since it’s early inception, the rule has been studied and applied to every facet and aspect of life; showcasing, almost resoundingly so, that certain activities tend to give more return on investment than others. Put another way- 80% of the effects, comes from 20% of the causes. As an example:

  • 20% of the crops a farmer plants typically results in 80% of his overall yield.
  • 20% of a business’ clients typically result in 80% of the profit (and complaints for that matter).
  • 20% of the time I actually listen to what my girlfriend has to say. As a result, I sleep on the couch 80% of the time.

You see, the principle can be applied to anything! As you may expect, the fitness industry is no different. We all know that guy who spends 45 minutes doing every variation of arm curls imaginable, and wonders why he can’t gain any weight.

Similarly, walk into any gym in the country, and you’ll witness people spending endless hours on the treadmill *sigh* in an effort to shed some body fat; only to follow that with 100 sit-ups…….on a BOSU ball.

Needless to say, while it’s certainly admirable that the people in the above examples are doing something, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge (albeit briefly) that for the amount of time and effort that many trainees put into attaining their goals, they’re getting very little in return. Again, 80% of your results are going to come from 20% of the work. Read: a lot of people waste their time. On Monday, I’ll expound on a few real-life examples that will hopefully shed some more light on this topic.

Till then, have a safe and fun Halloween. I

CategoriesUncategorized

Exercises You Should Be Doing: Side Lying Rib Roll

I realized yesterday while at CP that It’s been a few weeks since the last installment of Exercises You Should Be Doing. So without further ado, lets get right to it.

NOTE: Sorry for the hastiness, but I’m making this quick because I’m attempting to make dinner for my girlfriend tonight. I’ll need at least four hours to figure out how my oven works. No worries, the fire department is on stand-by. So is the police department. And the CDC for that matter.

What Is It: Side Lying Rib Roll

Who Did I Steal It From: I initially came across this exercise while watching Gray Cook’s Secrets of the Shoulder dvd a while back, and it immediately became a staple with many of our clients who suffer from shoulder pain/lack sufficient t-spine mobility. Not surprisingly, being the nimrod that I am, after a few months (and a couple hundred written programs later) I “forgot” all about this exercise.

On an aside, Brian St. Pierre and I were discussing this just the other day- how we often forget about certain exercises. It’s perfectly normal when you think about it, given the endless spectrum of exercises available to us- whether it’s from a book, an article, a dvd, or youtube for that matter. As it were, it’s always amusing when I go through old programs we’ve written, and come across an exercise that I had totally forgotten about.

However, as luck would have it, I was re-introduced to this particular exercise while reading Patrick Ward’s blog a few weeks ago. Patrick drops some major knowledge bombs, and if you’re looking for another blog to bookmark so that you actually don’t have to work, I highly encourage you to check it out.

What Does It Do: As mentioned above, this particular exercise is fantastic for helping to improve t-spine (thoracic) mobility. Likewise, it serves as an excellent alternative for those trainees where the side lying extension-rotation is too painful.

Key Coaching Cues: It’s important to place either a medicine ball or a foam roller underneath the knee to prevent any excessive lumbar rotation. Furthermore, you also want to be cognizant that the knee should be placed at (or a little above) 90 degrees of hip flexion. From there, while supporting your head with one hand, grab your ribs with the other, and simply extend back towards the floor as far as you can.

I like to use this is a “filler” exercise during rest periods of squats or deadlifts. Sets of 8-12 reps per side should suffice.

UPDATE: Meatloaf and mashed sweet potatoes garnished with ginger is romantic, right? You bet your ass it is!!!!!! *Fingers crossed/grabs Boyz II Men cd*

CategoriesUncategorized

Stuff I’m Reading, Have Read, or Going to Read. I’m Smart

1. Time Management- Successful People Series Part II – Roger Lawson

Some of you may recognize Roger from his less than exemplary performance from a few months ago:

I don’t know which made my eyes hate me more- those walking lunges or the AHHHHHHH, MY EYES, MY EYES. MAKE IT STOP. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S HOLY, MAKE IT STOP spandex pants. Nonetheless, Roger has since moved to the Boston area (from Michigan) and started his own blog. The above article is a great read on time management. Namely, get your ass out of bed.

2. Dr. Oz Greatest Health Tips – Dr. Oz

I actually came across this article perusing Mike Boyle’s blog , and like Mike, thought it was outstanding. Tons of simple, albeit useful advice that is applicable to just about every person with a penis. In particular, I loved tip #17:

Crosswords and card games aren’t the only way to keep your brain razor sharp. It turns out that any kind of dancing with complex moves is stimulating enough to give your neurons a workout. Even the simplest moves provide some physical exercise. So don’t be such a wallflower on your next night out. As a bonus, dancing may help you with tip No. 17.

I don’t have any scientific research to back this up, but I’m pretty sure my air guitar (as seen above performed at Brian St. Pierre’s wedding a few weekends ago) is as complex as they come when it comes to dance moves. Furthermore, I think NASA is still trying to come up with some advanced algorithm as to how I was able to pull off a matching outfit all by myself.*

3. Artificial Sweeteners- More Dangerous Than Ever Imagined – Dr. Mercola

Personally, I think Dr. Mercola tends to swing the pendulum waaaaaaay to the right at times. However, he does bring up some valid points in this article that can’t be ignored. An interesting read on the history of aspartame, and how it may be affecting your health.

On a personal note, I’ve actually made an effort to reduce my artificial sweetener intake, and have noticed a profound difference in my overall mood. Which is to say, my girlfriend isn’t waking up in the middle of the night suffocating from the mushroom cloud of stench leaving my colon.

4. I’m finishing up Nudge this week, and it’s easily been one of the more interesting (and entertaining) books I’ve read this year. Similarly, I stopped by Borders this past weekend and noticed that one of my favorite authors, Malcolm Gladwell, has a new book out called What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures .

It’s not necessarily new material from Gladwell. Rather, it’s a compilation of articles he has written during his tenure as a writer for The New Yorker. Love him or hate him, Gladwell is a fantastic story teller, and I’d highly recommend you check his stuff out if you haven’t already.

* It’s simple really—-magic!

 

CategoriesUncategorized

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday

1. After posting a video of my PR deadlift on Friday, I got a lot of emails and messages on Facebook congratulating me. Thanks to all you wrote me! What’s interesting is that while I’m pretty happy with the lift, I know I left some in the tank. Mike Robertson actually e-mailed me later that day, and confirmed my thoughts:

How long did you guys taper from your last heavy training session to your testing session? Did I read that it was only one week? If so, I bet you haven’t recovered yet…there may still be more PR’s in the tank!

After telling him that 1) I’m an asshat for only taking three complete days off, and 2) it was less than a week between my last heavy session and test day- Mike went on to say that a longer taper would have been ideal, and that if I re-tested in 7-10 days, I’d probably do better. Hmmmmmmmmmm…….should I or shouldn’t I?

Either way, I think I’d like to make a run at 600 lbs next year. Granted, I’m woefully slow off the floor, and I’ll need to incorporate a healthy dose of speed work, as well as pulling from a deficit (or even against chains for that matter) to have any shot. Likewise, just bringing up my leg strength in general will pay huge dividends. Now that I’ve been squatting with some regularity again, I can only imagine that’s going to help.

Additionally (and Eric brought this up to me the other day), cutting back on my training volume certainly can’t hurt. As I’ve said in the past- fatigue will always mask one’s true fitness level. Maybe I should practice what I preach.

Nevertheless, shit just got real. 600 here I come…..

2. One of my readers, Jennifer, sent me this video earlier last week thinking that I’d enjoy it. Granted my spine cried a little bit watching the video, but lets just say that I haven’t slept all weekend. Furthermore, when it comes to camera angles, guys like Martin Scorcese and the Coen Brothers are playing checkers while whoever made this video is playing chess.

0:31 second mark= oh no you didn’t!!!!!!!

3. Congratulations to CP client Nancy LeBlanc for recently winning a recipe contest for her Autumn Pumpkin Bars. Nancy often brings in a batch for us when she comes to train, and I can attest that these bars are the shiznit. CLICK HERE to get the recipe.

4. A picture says a thousand words. Sigh……..