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You Can’t Out Train a Poor Diet

Admit it, your Thanksgiving was spectacular. Even though you would rather drink laundry detergent than torture yourself with another slice of Aunt Jane’s mince meat pie; or I don’t know, listen to a Britney Spears album rather than listen to your dad tell the same story of how he caught three touchdown passes in a high school game (30 years ago), it’s still great to come home.

While I was home last week, I had the opportunity to train with my brother and a few of his friends at their gym. It wasn’t more than a few weeks ago where I was talking to my mom on the phone and she had mentioned to me that my brother had joined a gym and was excited for me to come home so that I could help him out a bit. You see, despite being a two sport athlete in high school, and working a relatively active job now, my brother has never really been a “gym rat,” and you can imagine my surprise (and joy) when I found out that he was starting to train with his friends on a consistent basis.

A few weeks ago, I talked to him on the phone and he had mentioned to me that he wasn’t losing any weight. Normally I don’t worry about scale weight with people, but in my brother’s case, he needs to lose some weight and he has been perplexed as to why he hasn’t lost any despite training everyday with his friends.

When I arrived home last week, we sat down for awhile and discussed his eating habits. While he made some vast improvements with his diet, come to find out, he was still drinking three Powerade’s a day:

One of the first rules I tell people to follow when trying to “clean up” their diet is to eliminate ALL calorie containing beverages (alcohol, soda, fruit juice, Starbucks, and sports drinks).

One look at the nutritional label for a Powerade, and you find the following:

Serving Size: 1 cup (8 fl. oz)

Servings Per Bottle: 4

Total Calories: 68

Protein: 0

Fat: 0

Carbohydrates: 17 grams (Sugar: 15 grams)

Each bottle of PowerAde he has been drinking contains roughly 270 calories and 60 grams of sugar. Remember however, that he has been drinking THREE per day, which equates to 810 calories and 180 grams of sugar PER DAY. No wonder he hasn’t been losing any weight! This just proves my point that you will never out train a poor diet.

After hitting him upside his head, I instructed my brother that under no circumstances is he to drink anymore PowerAde. Ever. Unless of course, Jessica Alba herself knocks on his door one day while wearing a bathing suit and just so happens to be holding a Powerade in each hand. One for her. And one for my brother to sip while serving as Jessica’s personal “oil boy” during one of her photo shoots.

Dude, that could totally be a commercial. You owe me Powerade advertising executives.

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Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to take this opportunity to say I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I also wanted to take this opportunity to say thanks to all of those who read this blog on a daily basis. It’s somewhat humbling to know that there are people out there who want to read what I have to say. Then again, I am kinda awesome, so I guess I can’t blame you….(wink). In all seriousness, I thank everyone for their kind words and I very much appreciate it.

That being said, I am headed back home to central New York tomorrow, so I won’t be updating this blog till next week. By 4PM tomorrow, I will officially be in insulin coma. I’ll need the rest of the week to recover.

In the meantime, if you haven’t purchased LiftStrong yet, what’s stopping you? ALL proceeds go to the National Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. You’re getting 800 pages of quality information from some of the top names in the fitness/nutrition industry for what it would cost you to take you and your significant other to the movies ($25). Give thanks, by helping those who need it.

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Eric Cressey= Nostradamas

My good friend Eric Cressey wrote an article not too long ago titled “Are You Doing Stupid Stuff in the Gym?.” In it he claimed that any healthy male under the age of 50 can and should be able to deadlift at least 400 lbs within two years of proper training; sometimes even faster than that.

Needless to say, Eric caught a lot of flack in the fitness community for saying such a bold statement.

Meet Pete Dupuis (Vice President of Cressey Performance). 364 days ago Pete weighed 160 lbs (at 6-1) and barely had enough flexibility to get low enough to the ground to perform a deadlift safely. I believe his first time performing a deadlift he used less than 100 lbs.

364 days later, Pete weighs roughly 200 lbs and he pulled 400 lbs……easily. And he totally made out with his girlfriend afterwards.

A few thoughts/comments:

1. Everyone has to start somewhere. Whether you’re a newbie or a world class powerlifter, we ALL started in the same boat (weak, weak, weak). If you would have asked Pete when he first started if he thought he would be pulling 400 lbs a year later, I’m sure he probably would have laughed. But he had a goal in mind and trained hard, and he won’t stop there. You shouldn’t either.

2. Sometimes less is better. I wrote an article not too long ago, titled “Training Disasters,” where I briefly discussed how I feel that many trainees deadlift BEFORE they’re ready. That’s to say, I think everyone should learn to deadlift, but not everyone can (or should) walk into their gym on day #1 and pull a bar from the floor. What’s nice about the deadlift is that it’s a movement that can be conformed to fit the needs of the lifter (and not vice versa). Pete started with less than 100 lbs and he made the proper progressions as he got more proficient. Long story short: train hard, but be patient. Make the proper progressions.

3. Training environment is huge. Never fails that when someone trains in an environment with like minded people, their progress almost always skyrockets.

4. For those who are curious. That’s Wu-Tang Clan playing in the background. Wu-Tang FOREVER!

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Exercises You Should Be Doing (Pallof Press)

Everyone is always looking for a new way to train their “core.” One of my favorite movements is the Pallof Press. Here, we’re training core stability (or anti-rotation), which is the main function of the abdominals in the first place (not trunk flexion: ie, crunches).

Key Points to Remember:

1. Stand perpendicular to the apparatus (you can use a Functional Trainer or a regular cable/pulley system) with the arm set at chest level.

2. Assume an “athletic” stance (knees slightly bent, feet just past shoulder width apart, chest high, butt back).

3. Begin with the handle right against your sternum. Brace your abdominals. “Press” the handle away from your body until your elbows lock. Do not let the weight/cable rotate you in any way (essentially you’re resisting the pull of the weight). Pause for a second, and then return to the starting position. Repeat. Once you complete all your reps on one side, switch and perform your reps on the other.

4. Be amazed at how many people now want to hang out with you.

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Head, Shoulders, Knees Over Toes

Myth: The knees should never project ahead of the toes during any exercise.

In a study titled, “How many clueless aerobic instructors and personal trainers still follow this archaic nonsense,” done by The Journal of Stupidity, it was shown that a vast majority of fitness professionals still believe the above myth to be true. Matter of fact, the same study showed that many fitness professionals would rather see you club a baby seal (that’s just mean) than witness your knees project over your toes while under their supervision.

Needless to say, they’re wrong. Sarcasm aside, having the knees project over the toes is perfectly normal and occurs quite frequently in everyday life. Just ask anyone who participates in football, karate, dance, or mudwrestling. Heck, try walking up a flight of stairs without your knees going over your toes. Despite all of this, many fitness professionals still claim that the knees going over the toes during weight bearing exercise is dangerous. I’ll even go so far as to say that this guideline has assumed the stature of law in the aerobics world.

In past writings, both Eric Cressey and Alwyn Cosgrove have referenced one study which kinda debunks this whole myth.

Fry AC, Smith JC, Schilling BK. Effect of knee position on hip and knee torques during the barbell squat. J Strength Cond Res. 2003 Nov;17(4):629-33.

The above study examined joint kinetics during back squats under two conditions. The first condition placed a board in front of the participants’ shins, which restricted forward displacement of the knee. In the second condition, movement wasn’t restricted at all. They squatted normally and the knees were allowed to pass the toes (GASP).

The researchers found that restricting the forward excursion of the knees during the squat (not allowing the knees to go over toes) increased anterior lean of the trunk and promoted an increased “internal angle at the knees and ankles.”

The results showed a 22% decrease in knee torque and a 1070% increase in hip torque! That stress has to go somewhere. Keeping the knees behind the toes definitely reduces the forces on the knee, but those forces were transferred more than tenfold to the hips and lower back. Translation: that’s an ouchie.

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Quote of the Day

Recently at Cressey Performance, we started a “Quote of the Day” board. They range from anything inspirational: “The only time success comes before work is the dictionary,” (from legendary football coach Vince Lombardi) to motivating: “There’s two things female athletes need; balls and hamstrings. And since girls don’t have balls, they need more hamstrings,” (Eric Cressey) to factual: “Tony, you’re the best trainer ever. Wanna make out?” (from Jennifer Garner to me……….last week……….in my dreams).

However, last week we had a quote from a client of ours that truly speaks volumes for the type of attitude that we try to instill here at the facility:

“If it ain’t deadlifing, it ain’t worth it.”

This coming from a client who before he started training with me a few months ago, had never touched a weight in his life and was an avid runner (still is to a degree). Needless to say, it brought a tear to my eye. My boy is all growns up.

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Strength Training for Endurance Athletes

The link below is an interview I did a few months ago for John Kuhlman regarding endurance athletes (or anyone who is a recreational jogger, biker, etc) and their reluctance to include more strength training into their programming. Lets face it, you’re more likely to find the Abominable Snowman making snow angels in your backyard than you are finding an endurance athlete in the gym lifting weights.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people fail to grasp the notion that resistance training CAN and WILL improve their times. Given the fact that the Boston area has a fairly large “endurance” population, I hope that many of you click on the interview below and learn a thing or two.

Strength Training for Endurance Athletes

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Girl Power

Meet Audrey. Audrey is a wife and loving mother, and due to client/trainer confidentiality, I cannot reveal her age (Read: I’d have better odds winning a fight against a rabid black bear than I would surviving the wrath of revealing her age). Like many women, Audrey wants to get into shape. Unlike most women, Audrey is doing so by busting her butt in the gym. She isn’t spending 45 minutes on the treadmill everyday, she isn’t using pink dumbbells for 20 reps, and she isn’t scared to sweat.

Audrey Sled Push

A Few Random Notes:

1. That’s six plates on the sled. Sure, the turf makes it a bit easier, but it’s impressive nonetheless. Well, it’s more impressive than the fact that you read the entire issue of OK Magazine while on the elliptical machine. Newsflash: Lindsay Lohan likes her alcohol. Turn the page.

2. Once the set was complete, Audrey looked at the camera and yelled “PROTECT THIS HOUSE!” Alright, she didn’t do that. But it would have been cool if she did.

The lesson here? You need to TRAIN ladies, not “workout” to get the results you want.

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The Truth About Steak

Fat (specifically saturated fat) has long been the evil step sister of the dietary world. Thankfully we have people like Jeff Volek (author of the TNT Diet) to help dispel many of these common myths.

Lets take a gander at some not so well known facts concerning saturated fat:

1. Replacing carbohydrates with saturated fats-or any type of fat-results in decreased triglycerides levels, an independent risk factor for heart disease

2. Replacing carbohydrates with saturated fat-or again, any type of fat-results in increased HDL (good) cholesterol levels. In fact, saturated fat raises HDL even more than unsaturated fat.

3. Saturated fat increases the size of LDL (bad cholesterol) particles, which are less atherogenic.

4. Not all saturated fats raise cholesterol. For instance, stearic acid, a type of saturated fatty acid found in meats-has a neutral effect on LDL cholesterol.

And speaking of all of those delicious furry animals you can eat, lets take a closer look at the fatty acid content of steak and how it impacts your heart health.

Fatty Acid Content of Sirloin Steak

Monounsaturated Fat: 49%

Oleic Acid: 45% (+)

Palmitic Acid (+)

Saturated Fat: 47%

Palmitic Acid: 27% (+)

Stearic Acid: 16% (0)

Myristic Acid: 3% (-)

Lauric Acid: 1% (+)

Polyunsaturated Fat: 4%

Linoleic Acid: 4% (+)

Key:

+ = Positive effect on cholesterol

– = negative effect on cholesterol

0 = no effect on cholesterol

As you can see, steak isn’t quite the artery clogger everyone claims it is. Matter of fact, Volek goes so far as to say that including more saturated fat (while reducing processed carbohydrates/sugar) into your diet will help REDUCE your risk of heart disease. How you like dem apples?