CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: New CP Site, Recap of Elite Training Workshop, and Boston Strong!

1.  CHECK IT!

Cressey Performance has a brand spankin new website that went live a few days ago HERE. If you have a few minutes to spare, I’d love to hear any feedback you have.

Please shoot me an email if you have anything specific you’d like to share, comment on, or point out that we can improve.

Thanks!

2.  Holy moley: My head is still reeling from the Elite Training Workshop we hosted this past weekend at Cressey Performance.  The lineup was pretty baller and could probably rival the 1927 Yankees.

You had Eric Cressey leading things off discussing the importance of anterior core training and how it’s crucial to assess and address many pathologies ranging from sports hernias to femoral acetabular impingement proximally (core) to distally.  We’re all quick to set out fires were we see the actual symptoms, but more often than not the source is elsewhere.

Looking at the core, and more specifically pelvic alignment, can have far reaching dividends as far as keeping people healthy.

Mike Robertson followed with a fantastic presentation on how to go about working with the general fitness population and helping them to not only train more athletically, but feel more athletic to boot.

One valuable piece of advice he gave was how we use basic terminology with our clients.  If you have someone who’s only goal is to shed some fat and to maybe not embarrass themselves in their recreational basketball league, do you think they really care or take any credence in “soft tissue modality” or “self myofascial release” or whatever other Feng Shui term you want to use here?

Most likely they’ll look at their program, look at you as if you had a Shakeweight in your back pocket, and probably have everything go in one ear and out there other.

Instead, Mike and his team over at I-FAST came up with their R7 System which breaks down one’s training session in a more easily chewable fashion.

Up next was the band-man himself, Dave Schmitz, who basically gave everyone a direct shot of adrenaline into their left ventricle and introduced the crowd of 170+ to the benefits of band training.  In particular he discussed the benefits of including more horizontal vector training.

I’m not exaggerating when I say Dave is a ball of energy.  He’s an awesome coach and one of the more passionate people I’ve ever come across.

I had the task of speaking right after lunch which meant it was my job to keep everyone awake after crushing food for an hour.

The title of my presentation was Training Effect: Trust Me – Your Clients Aren’t Delicate Flowers, and the premise was simple:  demonstrate to everyone that as coaches and personal trainers, you can ALWAYS find a way to train around an injury.

Specifically I spoke to shoulder impingement, how that’s a really poo-poo term and doesn’t really tell you anything, and also delved into the subtle (yet very important) differences that arise when you work with the general fitness population (computer guy) who sit in flexion all day as opposed to the overhead athlete population who live in more extension.

I also included a Han Solo, Jason Bourne, and Professor Dumbledore references, so there’s that too.

Mike Reinold followed me, and he spoke to the intricate relationship between core function and hip kinematics (as well as other nerdtastic stuff like unstable surface training and how there is some (key word: some) efficacy of its use in the healthy population). In addition he also discussed the importance of regressions, and how, sometimes, those can be the most beneficial thing you can do for an athlete/client.

Closing things off were Steve Long and Jared Woolever the co-creators of Smart Group Training, and they demonstrated how to integrate the FMS into a group training format which I thought was pretty impressive and then they took those who participated through the gauntlet.  Which was even cooler.

All in all I think it’s safe to assume that it was an awesome event for all, and people learned a lot. I know I did! Also, I wanted to thank all those who personally introduced themselves to me and had such nice things to say. It’s always humbling on my end when that happens, and it’s always cool to put a face to the name.

Thanks again to all those who attended!

And for those who didn’t – be sure to keep your eyes peeled for future Elite Training Workshops in your area!

3.  Taken from Mike Reinold’s site (<====Important)

We are all still saddened here in Boston.  It seems everyone has a connection to someone who was either impacted or part of the relief team.  For those of you around the country and world that would like to help, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino have announced the formation of The One Fund Boston to help the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013.

Bob Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots has offered to match donations to The One Fund Boston, up to $100,000, if donated through the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation.  This is a fantastic opportunity to double any donation you may want to consider giving.

Huge Discount on My Products with Eric Cressey with All Proceeds Going to the One Boston Fund

I’ll personally be donating through the New Patriots Charitable Foundation, but in addition, I want to persuade you to donate as well.

Eric Cressey and I have decided to offer both Optimal Shoulder Performance and Functional Stability Training for the Core for 33% off today only, with all proceeds going to the One Boston Fund.  This is the lowest price we have ever offered either program.

For more information go to either FunctionalStability.com or ShoulderPerformance.com.  Be sure to enter coupon BOSTONSTRONG during the checkout process to get 33% off.  We will donate all proceeds from today’s purchases.

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Engineering the Alpha and Yet Another Red Meat Scare (sigh)

UPDATE:  The post below was written roughly four hours prior to the horrible events that happened in Boston today.

Just wanted to say thank you to all who reached out via email and social media to check in on me. I am okay (I was actually at CP when everything happened). Had a few friends in the vicinity of the blast(s) and they’re okay, thankfully. I just made it home (in Boston), and suffice it to say it’s utter chaos here.
My prayers go out to all affected, and I hope whoever is behind this senseless act is brought to justice soon.

For the record

1. Today’s a pretty cool day for a variety of reasons. For starters, and this really only applies to those who live in the Boston area, today is Patriots Day where the entire city enters a state of batshitcraziness and plays hosts to the Boston Marathon.

In roughly five hours when whichever Kenyan is favored to win finally hits the homestretch down Boylston St. towards the finish line, the rest of the 20,000+ pack of runners will be cruising/jogging/shuffling/limping past my apartment in the same direction.  In every sense, it’s a sea of people and it’s impressive to watch.

Which, of course, is why I’m getting the hell out of dodge. I’m in no way interested in dealing with the logistical nightmare of weaving my way through the maze of one-way streets, detours, and porta-potty roadblocks and will be leaving to head to the facility before the madness starts.

Good luck, though, to all the runners.

Secondly, today is a pretty cool day because Man 2.0: Engineering the Alpha Male, the long awaited fitness and lifestyle book written by both of my good buddies John Romaniello and Adam Bornstein is finally hitting the bookshelves today.  Everywhere!

I couldn’t be happier for these two guys.  Sure, they’re both friends and it only makes sense that I’d support them in any way I can. Speaking freely, however: these two consistently put out fantastic content, and more importantly I know how much time and work went into writing this book, and after previewing an advance copy, I can honestly tell you this is going to be a game changer.

I mean, for starters, the Governator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, wrote the foreword.  Like, whoa!

But more to the point, I just feel this is a baller book that every guy should own.  Not only is it chock full of information on how to transform your body into a specimen that women will crave and guys will envy, but it’s also a book that’s going to help transform yourself into the best version of YOU possible – from all facets of life.

Everything from having six-pack abs to improving your sex life to understanding why wearing white past labor day is a major feux pas.

Okay, maybe not so much the last point, but consider that a freebie on my end…..;o)

Like I said it’s not only a fitness book, but a lifestyle book, too.

Anyways, I have a quick favor to ask. Rather than hightailing it to the nearest Barnes and Noble or opening up a different window to log onto Amazon to order the book, I want you to order it through the book’s official website.

Why?

Simple: Roman his offering a TON of high value bonuses for ordering the book—bonuses that you can ONLY get by ordering through the site.

So, if you’re down with getting about $100-300 in extra value in addition to a soon-to-be New York Times bestseller, pick it up at the site HERE.

Roman’s a good dude, and he didn’t have to go out of his way to provide all the additional bonuses.  So lets show my friend some love and help get this book on the best seller list!

2.  There’s a new “study” (and I use that word lightly in this instance) making its rounds around the interwebz and mainstream media that was sent my way a couple of days ago which stated – again, even though it’s been debunked more times than I can count – red meat is a main factor in the incidence of heart disease.

For those curious, the study I’m referring to is THIS one (which was featured in the New York Times no less) where the researchers, at this point clutching at straws, pointed the finger at Carnitine (a compound found in red meat, and not coincidentally is found in every cell in your body, and plays a critical role in energy production. And when I say critical, I really do mean critical. It transports fatty acids into the “engines” of your cells – the mitochondria – so they can be oxidized to produce energy.) as the main a-hole in promoting heart disease.

I don’t claim to be a “nutrition guy,” so I’d be lying if I said I was able to interpret the actual data presented.  That said, I do have an uncanny ability to smell bullshit, and as soon as I read this story I was gagging in it.

I reached out to several colleagues of mine to ask their opinion and to see if my assumptions were correct.  And they were. Pretty much all of them pointed me in the direction of Anthony Colpo.

I HIGHLY encourage everyone to read THIS review by Anthony himself where he breaks down the actual “research,” and essentially makes the people and organizations behind this study come across like a bunch of doucheholes.  Which they are.

Big time!

I’d really like to have a better understanding on how “studies” like this actually get released.  Seemingly these are well-educated people running these things, and anyone with common sense (and an internet connection) would recognize that the whole red meat/cholesterol and heart disease connection has been refuted time and time and time again.

What’s more, while I recognize that we live in a world where 24/7 news is the norm and all these outlets have time (and pages) to fill, how much culpability should be directed towards the journalists who continue to regurgitate this crap?

From the sounds of it, it seems like I can take a piece of paper and type all these fancy words on it, make all these grandios assertions like putting butter on your toast will give you Ebola, then slap some glitter paint on that bad boy and BAM: I’m published.

That’s pretty much how it works, right?

CategoriesFemale Training Miscellaneous Miscellany Nutrition Product Review

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Lots of Catching Up to Do Edition

1. Another busy weekend in the books!  Yesterday I had the pleasure of being invited to speak at the New Hampshire Athletic Trainer’s Association annual symposium.

A few year’s back I remember attending a similar function with Eric at Northeastern University and walking in with jeans on and feeling completely out of place.  Apparently I missed the memo (and it’s an unspoken rule) that athletic trainers have a tendency of wearing nothing but tan khaki pants!  LOLz.

Not that I would ever consider speaking in a pair of jeans (unless I was speaking at Google), but I did make it a point of wearing tan khaki pants yesterday so that I wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb. Success!

And speaking of success, yesterday was awesome.  First on the docket was Dr. Eric. Berkson (Director, MGH Sports Performance Center, Instructor in Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School and team physician to the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots), who talked at length about common shoulder and elbow injuries seen in pitchers. Many of his thoughts, not surprisingly, mirrored that of ours at Cressey Performance – especially with regards to placing more credence in symmetry of TOTAL range of motion between (IR + ER) between the dominant and non-throwing shoulder.

Expectantly, lack of IR, commonly referred to at GIRD (Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficit), is predictive and not quite the “red flag” it was 2-3 years ago.

Additionally he stressed that many of the throwing injuries we see in young(er) baseball players is due to overuse, misuse, and not paying attention to pitch counts.

And then there was me, Tony Gentilcore (who has no affiliation with Harvard what-so-ever other than having a teeny-tiny man crush on one of their alumni, Matt Damon) who spoke more on the performance side of things.  I delved into how we go about managing our overhead athletes, discussed some of the assessment process, spoke to the intricacies of dealing with a population that, unlike everyone else, lives in extension for a good portion of the year, gave the Cliff Notes version to breathing patterns and how we implement them, and maybe had a tip or two on how to improve one’s spin on their curveball….;o)

All in all it was an awesome afternoon and it was truly an honor to be involved in it.

2.  Just a quick reminder that slots are still open for the Elite Training Workshop at Cressey Performance the weekend of April 20th.  The line-up is BALLER, with the likes of Eric Cressey, Mike Roberson, Mike Reinold, Dave Schmitz, myself, Greg Long, and Jared Woolever slated to speak.

For $99 you can’t beat the price.

Go HERE for more details.

3. Last week I wrote a little sumthin sunthin on Strong Curves, the new book by my good friends Bret Contreras and Kellie Davis that I feel is going to be a game changer in the realm of women and fitness.

I won’t continue to sing its praises here (you can read my review HERE), but I do want to give everyone a heads up on another fantastic product by another good friend of mine, Nia Shanks.

Nia has openly discussed her (past) battle with disordered eating routinely on her blog, and I can’t tell you how much I respect her for not only showing how human she is, but that she’s so willing to help others in the process.

I don’t think I have to tell everyone reading that it takes a lot of guts to open yourself up like that to the masses.

Myself, many of my colleagues, as well as Nia have noticed an unfortunate trend in the nutrition world where things have gotten so convoluted and complicated that people have no idea what the hell they should be eating!  This phenomena – thanks in no small part to the likes of the mainstream media and gossip magazines – seems to be hitting its tipping point in the female demographic.

To the point where I overhead a woman talking to her friend not too long ago in Panera explaining that she wasn’t sure if she should have an apple included with her lunch because of the carbs.  Mind you, she was crushing a massive sandwich.

Anyways, Nia felt it was high-time to put an end to the madness so she developed her own answer to the problem.

===> Sane and Simple Nutrition <===

Cue slow cap here.

It’s an ebook, it’s nothing fancy (it doesn’t have to be), but the information is SOLID.  I (along with Nia) don’t ever claim to have all the answers, but sometimes we just need to filter through the stupid and come back to common sense.  And that is exactly what I wholeheartedly encourage anyone interested to check it our for themselves.

This ain’t NASA.  Eat the apple!

4.  Speaking of nutriton, I’m really, really fascinated by the food industry.  More to the point, I’m almost at awe at the food industry’s Jedi-like “mind trick” powers at convincing people that certain foods are “healthy” when they’re clearly anything but.  ORGANIC Toaster Pastries anyone???

Lisa dragged me into a Target yesterday (don’t judge me!), and we happened to walk through the food section and I couldn’t help but drown in the bullshit.  I noticed that General Mills has a new variation of Cheerios out called Multi-Grain Cheerios w/ Peanut Butter!

The kicker is the advertising and how they gloat that the first ingredient is WHOLE GRAIN!!!!!  Like whoa! I should be doing cartwheels down the aisle and kissing every baby I see within a mile radius.

Upon further inspection, the “whole grain” they’re referring to is none other than whole grain corn, followed by sugar. Naturally.

Sigh.

While it’s technically not wrong of them to say the first ingredient is a “whole grain,” I think it’s fairly egregious of them to use that as a selling point of tactic.

Now if you excuse me I need to go throw my face on an ax.

NOTE:  for those interested in food industry shenanigans I’d highly recommend becoming a regular reader of Dr. Yoni Freedhoff’s blog Weighty Matters.

Awesome stuff.

5.  For those looking to kill roughly five minutes, HERE’s a radio interview I did while I was back in my hometown last week prior to speaking at my Alma Mater.

The guy doing the interview LOVED my “abs are made in the kitchen” comment.

6.  If you ever would have told me at some point in my life that I’d see my name in the likes of Forbes, I would have laughed. While I didn’t make the any list such as Most Powerful or Top Five People Most Likely to Be Issued a Restraining Order From Kate Beckinsale World’s Richest People, it was still pretty neat to see my name in print on their site.

Thanks for Greatest.com’s Chief Research Officer and Editor, David Tao, for asking me contribute on THIS article on Interval (or HIIT) training has changed the industry – for better or worse.

7.  In other cameo appearance news, I also helped contribute to another article titled 16 Exercises from the World’s Best Trainers collected by Jon-Erik Kawamoto on Livestrong.com.

And that’s that.

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Greetings From Florida Edition

1. I’m in Florida as I write this – Jensen Beach/Stuart area in fact – and since my girlfriend and her mom decided to have a little mother-daughter “lets shop till we drop” marathon today, which I absolutely wanted no part of, I’ve had a nice, relaxing day to myself where I went to a local commercial gym to get a lift in, and now I’m sitting here in the outdoors area of a Panera in 80 degree weather loving life.

As it happened, I wore my Cressey Performance t-shirt to train this morning and was approached by a random woman who had nothing but great things to say about us.  I had just completed a set of squats and happened to make eye-contact with her when she looked at me and gave me a hearty thumbs up.

Acting all cool, at first I thought she was giving me some kudos on my squat technique, which would have been awesome, and a boost to my ego. But really it was the shirt she was impressed with.

I should have known better.

We chatted for about five or so minutes and she mentioned how she always tells people to read our stuff and that, despite being a regular ol’ kick-ass general fitness enthusiast and someone who just enjoys to train (ie: not a trainer), she really appreciated all of the content we provide.

It was just a really nice experience and simultaneously surreal.  It always amazes me how much of a reach we have at CP that a random person in Florida knew who I was.

2. And, for those who are reading and inevitably going to give me flack (maybe rightfully so) for doing some work while on my vacation, yesterday, per Lisa’s request, we spent the ENTIRE day out on the open ocean on our friend’s boat doing some serious fishing.

As you can see from the picture above (the one where I felt compelled to do my best Zoolander impersonation, and failed miserably) I wore what I felt was the most appropriate fishing shirt ever.  Who says guys never accessorize!?!?!

The game plan was to catch a great white shark, and get myself on the local news, but all I caught were a few measly Spanish mackerel.

Not quite Jaws, but close enough.

All wasn’t lost, though.  We caught so many (20), that we all went back, cleaned those bad boys out and ate them for dinner.

So today has been a “lay-low” day.  Like I said, Lisa and her mom are off shopping somewhere and doing whatever it is that women do when they shop, and I’m just sitting here outside getting some writing done and taking care of some email correspondance.

Tomorrow we’re heading to Port St. Lucie to check out the Mets spring training complex and to hopefully check out some of our CP guys in action.  Then, we’re off to Miami to visit some if Lisa’s friends and to REALLY get the party started.

Speaking of which:  this will be my first trip to Miami since I was a sophomore in college playing baseball.  I’ve never really had an opportunity to explore the city itself and know both Lisa and I will want to check out some sights and sounds, as well as eat at some fancy schmancy restaurants.

For those in the Miami area – any suggestions???

3.  As a quick reminder, I’m going to be speaking at my alma mater, SUNY Cortland, on April 1st.  I’m really excited to head back to my old stomping grounds and speak to the student body.  It’s a huge honor to be asked to come speak, and it’s my hope that those who attend will remember my name walk away with some newfound insight on assessment, anatomy, and program design.

While the talk with be geared towards undergrad and graduate students, it is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!  And it’s FREE.

For those looking for more information whether it’s directions to Cortland, where on campus it will be held, or taking bets as to what my walk out music will be, please contact Justin Kompf at [email protected] for more details.

4.  Looking a bit further down the yell0w-brick road, I’m happy to note that Cressey Performance will be hosting the next Elite Training Workshop on Sunday, April 21st.

This is undoubtedly going to be a huge event as the following people will be speaking:

Eric Cressey
Mike Robertson
Mike Reinold
Dave Schmitz
Steve Long
Jared Woolever
And some joker with the last name Gentilcore.

Additionally, there will be a bonus “business day” hosted by Pat Rigsby and Nick Berry on Saturday, April 20th.

===> Click here for more information and to register <===

5.  I’ve been very grateful in my career to get to the point where I’m now featured in the likes of Men’s Health Magazine on an almost monthly basis.  But in this month’s issue (April 2013) I’ve finally weaseled my way into an actual full-length, semi-feature article.

What’s it about you ask?  How to Get Tank-Top Arms:  13 Top-Level Moves on the BOSU Ball.

LOL – just kidding.

It’s actually on the one part of a program that most guys dismiss but can arguably be considered the most important:

The Warm-Up

Check out pg. 114-116 for more of the deets.  And yes, I’ll be more than happy to sign your issue if we ever cross paths.

5.  And finally, I’m really good friends with Ben Bruno, and since he also lives in the Boston area, it’s not uncommon for he and I to get together and train or just go out for some burgers* on occasion.

Of course, like everyone else, I read his stuff and love it.  Unfortunately I’m not one of those creative types that can sit in his evil strength coach lair and conjure up sadistic exercises that will make people hate life.

Ben, though, is a pro at it.

He can be a real a-hole sometimes.  Check out this single leg variations he posted up on his Youtube Channel today:

BRUTAL.  “Might have to give those a try sometime.”

Said no one, ever.

 

*  = and ice cream.**

** = okay, and pizza.  What?  Don’t judge us.  The ice cream is gluten free…..;O)

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Upcoming Speaking Engagement, Mastery, and #CPfamily

1.  I’ve got some pretty cool news to start off the week.  I’m heading home!  Well, to be more specific:  I was invited back to my alma mater – SUNY Cortland (which is ten minutes from my hometown) – to speak to a group of exercise science majors and graduate students.

The game plan is to arrive on Monday, April 1st, and after kissing a bunch of babies and attending the ticker-tape parade that’s going to be held in my honor (I think there may even be a statue unveiling as well), I’m going to be hanging out on campus the entire day.

I’ll be speaking to one exercise science class and discussing what it really takes to become a fitness professional.  Namely, lots and lots and lots of hours of hard work and understanding that you’re probably not going to be training professional athletes on day one.

Then I’m almost 99% positive that they’ll be an hour or two window of lifting heavy things, where I’m sure I’ll put on my coaching cap for a bit.

This will be followed by a possible cameo appearance at The Dark Horse (which, coincidentally, is the popular student hang-out where girls completely ignored me back in the day).

Then, later in the afternoon, will be the BIG event where I’ll speak for 2-3 hours and dig a little deeper on the whole notion of assessment, functional anatomy, and how to design effective “corrective” programs around common injuries and dysfunctions while still eliciting a training effect.

Thinking back to my own undergrad experience and where I felt my major knowledge gaps were…..assessment (and by extension, functional anatomy) was an area where I felt I wasn’t remotely prepared.

The bicep tendon thingamajiggy does what now?

To that end, I’ve been given the thumbs up to open this event up to the public, so anyone reading who lives in or around the central New York area, has a few hours to kill, and wants to spend them hanging out with me, please contact Justin Kompf at [email protected] for more details.

2.  For some reason people are curious as to what I’m currently reading and I’m constantly getting emails asking me for recommendations.

One book that I’ve dived into recently is Mastery by Robert Greene.

Written in the same vain as Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers or Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin, the premise of Mastery is that there’s really no such thing as innate talent, and that at the end of the day it comes down to putting in your 10,000 hours like everyone else.

What’s different about this book, however, is that Greene uses examples such as Charles Darwin, Henry Ford, and Temple Grandin to demonstrate that there’s a “master” inside all of us.

In many ways, the one thing that prevents us from succeeding and realizing our true potential is, well, us!  We just need to learn to get out of our own way.

Anyone addicted to behavorial economics such as myself will devour this book instantly.

3.  Speaking of Malcolm Gladwell, word on the street is that his new book, David and Goliath:  The Triumph of the Underdog hits the book shelves in October 2013. Likewise, another favorite author of mine, Michael Pollan (of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food fame), will be releasing a new book later on this year as well.

After doing a little searching, I found this quote from Pollan himself:

“It’s about the transformation of food through cooking methods such as baking, fermentation, and cooking with liquids or heat. So it focuses on the science of cooking, the classical elements; I’ve been doing research about fire, for instance. It should be out in early 2013.”

4.  And since I’m on the topic of stuff I’m recommending, I can’t talk about books without making at least one reference to a movie.

Everyone who reads my blog knows I LOVE watching movies.  Sure, I like the “popcorn movie” flair of things like The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, and anything dealing with Star Wars.

I have a Y chromosome so that shouldn’t come as a surprise.  Pretty much anything with explosions, ninjas, zombies, or Gwenyth Paltrow’s character dying is cool in my book.

But I do have a softer, more movie-snobbish side of me that almost always prefers the independent, artsy-fartsy movies.

You are talking to a guy who went and saw both Brokeback Mountain and The King’s Speech on his own accord, sans kicking and screaming. 

Alone.

Yep – that happened.

One movie which Lisa and I sat down and watched recently was The Perks of Being a Wallflower:

Based off the book of the same name, the guy who wrote the book – Stephen Chbosky –  also directed the movie; and for a first time director, he rocked it!

It’s definitely a “darker” movie compared to some, but for some reason I’m always drawn to those types anyways.

I think one of the reasons this movie appealed to me so much was because 1) it’s based in the early 90’s, and 2) the main character is more on the introverted side, and as such has a hard time fitting in in high school.  But I’m sure many of you reading can sorta commiserate with that, right?

Anyways, for those looking for a quirky, well acted, well-written, somewhat on the darker side (towards the end) movie, I’d definitely give this one a try.

And yes, that’s Hermione (Emma Watson, in her first “American” role)……;o)

5. Congrats to my boys – Bret Contreras, Ben Bruno, John Romaniello, Matt McGorry, PJ Striet (and others) who made Shape Magazine’s list of 50 Hottest Trainers in America.

** Credit to Ben Bruno (#34) for providing quite possibly the best photo in human history.

6. And lastly:  there are a lot of things that make Cressey Performance successful.  Sure, we have a top notch staff that can coach with the best of them and offer unparalleled programming to boot.  But I think that goes without saying.

One of the lesser known – albeit equally as important – factors, is the sense of camaraderie and “family” we’ve gone out of our way to establish amongst our athletes and clients alike.

As an example, both Pete and Eric are heading down to Florida later this week (I’m heading down a week after them) to visit several of the spring training camps to check in with our athletes.  Moreover, they’re also heading to Miami to support CP athletes Tim Collins and Steve Cishek as they represent Tean USA in the World Baseball Classic.

Along those same lines, it’s not unheard of to see CP staff members attend games of our high school and collegiate athletes throughout the year.  Extending it a bit further, we also attend weddings, birthdays, BBQs, and other “life events” of various CP clients.

In short, we go out of our way to demonstrate that we care and that we’re “invested” in the lives of our clients.

At first glance it may seem trivial, but something as simple as asking a client how their kids are doing or even just asking them how their weekend was can go a long ways.

As much as people come to CP to improve their strength and performance or to finally address that nagging shoulder or back problem, I believe a large reason why people consistently come back is that we’re also good dudes to just hang out with.

And this isn’t to say that this phenomenon is unique to us.  I think the same can be said for any strength and conditioning facility for that matter.

We have some people who will literally spend hours at the facility after they train hanging out, talking shop, and busting my chops for putting techno on.

To which I say: Deal with it…..;o)

To give you a vague idea of some of the shenanigans that go down, I made a friendly bet with one of our high-school athletes the other day.

To his credit he’s worked his tail off this off-season – to the tune of adding on a solid 20+ lbs of weight and setting himself up for a very successful season on the diamond.

We made the bet that if he were to double his homerun count from last season (3), that I would wash his car while wearing a bikini top.

Yeah, I’m really sorry for that visual.

If he doesn’t double his HR total, and hit at least six, he has to sing Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe in front of the entire staff and whoever else is at the facility that day (which, trust me, will be A LOT of people).

And I don’t mean just stand there and sing it.  He has to give a Broadway worthy performance and siiiiiing it.

Either way it should make for a nice viral video.

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.

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany Uncategorized

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Yes, I Watched the Golden Globes. Don’t Judge Me!

I just realized it’s been a good 5-6 weeks since I’ve done one of these, which is just completely unacceptable.   Part of me feels like I’m doing a disservice to everyone by “wasting” a day to post about random shit.

I mean does everyone really care that I watched every minute of the Golden Globes last night?

Hell yeah you do!

1. If you missed them – all sorts of shenanigans went down.  Tina Fey and Amy Poehler did a bang-up job hosting.  While I didn’t get my panties all up in a bunch like a lot of people did when Ricky Gervais hosted last year, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a breath of fresh air to see that they didn’t go out of their way to “roast” all the attendees.

While on one hand I think if you’re making upwards of $10 million+ to pretend you’re someone else on screen, you should be able to suck it up if someone wants to bust your chops a little bit.

On the other, I don’t necessarily feel someone deserves to be humiliated in front of millions of viewers.

Nevertheless, I was happy to see my boy (as if I know him?) Quentin Tarantino win Best Screenplay for Django Unchained, and was equally as happy to see Ben Affleck (Ben freakin Affleck!) win Best Director (and Best Picture) for Argo.

I’ve had my qualms with Ben in the past. Namely for marrying my long-time crush (from her Alias days) Jennifer Garner, and you know, for making all of us suffer through Gigli.

But I have to say, he’s completely redeemed himself.  I was really impressed when he made his directorial debut with Gone, Baby Gone back in 2007. I was dumbfounded when The Town came out.

Many – myself included – felt Gone, Baby Gone might have been some kind a fluke; beginner’s luck if you will.

But when The Town came out two years ago, anyone who loves movies could tell that he had a knack for this directing thing.

With Argo, he’s easily established himself as one of the A-list directors in H-town.  And, giving credit where credit is due:  the guy’s grown on me as an actor as well.

If you haven’t see it already, I suggest you do it ASAP.

I read the other day that he’s in cohoots with Jason Bourne Matt Damon to make a movie based off the life of Whitey Bulger. Which basically means that if they decide to film in Boston (which I don’t see why they wouldn’t), the entire city is going to go into apeshit mode.

OMGOMGOMGOMG  – it’s going to be awesome.

The other highlights from last night: Wolverine can sing! He won for Best Actor in Les Miserables.  I haven’t seen it yet (mainly because I pee standing up), but stranger things have happened and I’ll most likely check it out soon.

The Oscars are next.  See you in a few weeks.

 2. One of the more common questions I receive on a somewhat regular basis is Tony are those your pecs or cinderblocks you have underneath that shirt? Tony, what’s your beef against Olympic lifting?

Presumably many are under the assumption that because I don’t discuss OLY lifting that much – or that I never program it – I’m adamantly against it.

Au contraire mon soeur.

This couldn’t be further from the truth!

For starters, as a strength coach, I’d be the worst one in history if I was somehow opposed to the OLY lifts. I think it goes without saying that they’re an unparalleled tool to help build explosiveness, power, and overall athleticism.

Thing is:  I don’t have a lot (if any) experience with them. As such, I don’t really go out of my way to coach them, or include them in any of my programs, because I’d be a walking ball of fail if I tried. If anything, I’m taking a huge bite of humble pie by admitting that I don’t feel comfortable as a coach including OLY lifting in my programs.

This isn’t to say that we don’t have other coaches at CP who have more hands-on experience with them and are more comfortable around them. But for me, I think I’d be doing my athletes and clients and disservice by pretending that I know what I’m talking about.

Besides, we make do with various med ball drills, sprinting drills, and the like, which get the job done.

Considering we don’t necessarily know how long we have each athlete for, it makes much more sense from a time-efficiency standpoint to utilize less “coaching intensive” protocols.

Sadly, there are quite a few coaches and trainers out there who don’t have the same mentality as myself. Instead of admitting their weaknesses, they pretend to know what they’re talking about at best coaching people with god-awful technique, and at worst……hurting someone.

That said, recognizing my weaknesses as a coach, I’ve started to delve a little deeper and started to read and watch various texts and DVDs on Olympic lifting.  It’s a whirlwind for sure, but something I feel will help make me a better coach in the grand scheme of things.

As luck would have it, I was sent an advance copy of Will Fleming’s Complete Olympic Lifting DVD a few weeks ago, and it’s been awesome.

The problem isn’t deciding whether or not to incorporate these lifts into our programs. It’s getting your athletes to properly execute them.

And THAT’S what’s helped me the most.

It takes you through the process of assessing, teaching and fixing the Olympic Lifts (and their variations) in a simple, straight forward way you can begin implementing immediately.

No technical jargon. No fluff. No scientific text. No cowbell.

If you’re like me, and the thought of OLY lifting makes you cower in the corner sucking your thumb, I’d highly suggest checking this fantastic resource out.

It’s on sale this week for 40% off the regular price, which is a steal if you ask me.

Check it out HERE, and thank me later.

3.  For more of universal flavor, and because bootcamps are now all the rage in the fitness industry, Mike Robertson, along with Jim Laird and Molly Galbraith have just released a 30-minute webinar as a precursor to their Bootcamp in a Box product coming out later this week (Tuesday, Jan. 15th in fact).

This is a product geared towards bootcamp owners that want to run a smarter and safer bootcamp.

I know all you hear right now is blah, blah, blah, just another bootcamp product to throw onto the “not interested” list.

But what differentiates this from all the other similar products there is:

  • I personally know Mike (as well as Jim and Molly) and know they’re all passionate about the type of information they put out there, and won’t allow themselves to put out a poo-poo product.
  • This is a DVD and manual which gives you – on a platter – an entire training system that you can use with your bootcamp clients.

It entails 6-months of done-for-you programming, progressions and regressions for all the major movement categories, and they’ve literally taken any guesswork out of the program.

For what it’s worth, many of the principles covered are things we’ve incorporated into our own Excellence Bootcamps at Cressey Performance

Like I said, the 30-minute webinar is FREE, and will give you a better idea of what the system entails.

Check it out HERE.

4.  And lastly, I want to touch on the whole training women while they’re pregnant topic. I’ve personally trained a handful of women through their pregnancies, and I’m currently training two as I type this.

Well, I mean not literally as I type this, but you know what I mean.

I definitely have some strong viewpoints on this topic – and I do want to share them in more detail – but I’d be curious to hear what other’s have to say (or think).

For me there’s a massive dichotomy between what I do and what most (not all) of the research says we should be doing.

While it definitely comes down to the individual, their comfort level, listening to their body, as well as their past training history, I find it asinine that there are physicians out there (and even more articles) that suggest that “training” should revolve around light walking and what mounts to arm circles.

For me, when I’m working with someone who’s pregnant, it’s about preparing them for something a helluva lot more significant than lifting pink dumbbells or anything I’ll ever have to do.

In my eyes, if they’re able to grow and push a human being out of their body, they’re capable of lifting a barbell off the ground.

Sometimes even over their head.  Repeatedly.  GASP!!!!!!!!

But again, this definitely doesn’t apply to everyone. I understand that there are subtle training modifications that should be addressed trimester to trimester, and there are times where extenuating circumstances come in to play as far as complications are concerned.

In my experience, however, these are few and far between and I often feel like we’re being overly cautious.

Now, I’m not insinuating that someone carrying child should go out and try to hit deadlift PRs on a weekly basis or snatch a mack truck over their head.  But I’m certainly in the camp that feels we can offer a lot more than “go walk in the treadmill.”

Like I said, I’d like to jump into this topic with more detail, but I wanted to throw out a “feeler” to see if anyone would bite and offer their insight on the matter.

Soooo, what say you?

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany Nutrition

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Thanksgiving Review, Wedding Shenanigans, ACL Rehab, and More.

1. I’m back!  Did you miss me?  Even just a little bit?

All I have to say is that the past five days have been a whirlwind.  Going back home to upstate New York for Thanksgiving was amazing, of course.  Although we made the mistake of leaving Boston at around 2:30 on Wednesday afternoon (along with everyone else apparently) and it took us roughly 2.5 hours just to drive 50 miles to the Turnpike I-84 split.  It was awful – and I was thiiiiiiiiis close to sniper rolling out of the driver seat and throwing myself in front of a Mack truck.

A ride that normally takes five and a half hours, took eight. Nevertheless we eventually made it home, and it was great to see family, friends, and to crush my mom’s apple pie.

To top everything off, Lisa shot her first gun, like ever.  Both my brother and step father were gearing up to go hunting the next day and wanted to head out to the back yard to shoot their guns.  Lisa was on that like white on rice!

2. It was a quick turnaround, however, because Lisa and I had to head back to Beantown for my good friend’s (and business partner) Pete Dupuis’ wedding, which was epic in its own right.

Leaving sooner than we wanted had its advantages though, since traffic wasn’t nearly as much of a clusterf*** on the way back.  We made it in record time and both Friday (rehearsal dinner) and Saturday (the big event) were amazing.

Hell, I even wore a suit and tie for the occasion and might have given 007 a run for his money.

The pic below is the original four CP staff (Pete Dupuis, Eric Cressey, myself, and Brian St. Pierre).

3.  I know the last thing people want to read given I haven’t posted anything in a while are details about my personal life (even though it does parallel Batman at times), but here’s the last nugget….promise.

As is customary each year during Thanksgiving, after my seventh serving of turkey and stuffing, and after my insulin induced power nap, I like to cap everything off by heading to the movie theater to catch a flick.  This year’s pick was Life of Pi, director Ang Lee’s latest masterpiece based off the novel of the same name by Yann Martel.

Having read pieces of the book myself, I honestly had no idea how this was going to be made into a movie. From what I’ve read many directors have tried in the past to adapt it onto screen, but failed due to the complicated plot and storyline.

However, given Lee’s history of taking “unconventional” material (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain, to name a few) and knocking it out of the ballpark, I wasn’t too worried.  What’s more, Lee has a knack for making visually stunning movies, and Life of Pi certainly didn’t disappoint in this regard.

I’d rank it right up there as one of the more beautiful movies I have ever watched – right on par with films like Amelie – and the CGI/3D was spectacular.  I consider Avatar the litmus test for any film made in 3D, and there really has been no other film that has impressed me in recent years – other than Hugo – where I felt it was justified to spend the extra dough or where the 3D enhanced the experience.

Life of Pi was STUNNING!!!!!!!!

And yes, I got a little teary eyed.  Take that for what it’s worth.

4. Okay, I lied – I have another Thanksgiving related point to make.  But it’s something that you’ll be able to use.

Brussels Sprouts

If I’m being honest, up until this past year, I had a very poor relationship with brussels sprouts.  Back in the day, when I was a kid, my mom used to serve them to us for dinner on occasion, and it was just horrendous (sorry mom).

She used to buy the frozen variety and then just pop them in the microwave and serve them in a bowl.  If I had to liken it to anything, it was like eating soggy balls of fart.

Yes, it was that bad.

Anyways, my girlfriend is literally obsessed with brussels spouts – and for good reason.  They’re freakin ROCKSTARS in the nutritional world.

Funnily enough, brussels sprouts aren’t really sprouts at all, but members of the cabbage family, which makes since that’s exactly what they look like.

I’m not going to attempt to delve into all the nutritional reasons why you should include them in your diet because other peeps have done an awesome job in explaining it already.

In his phenomenal book, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth (required reading if you ask me), Dr. Jonny Bowden states:

Brussels sprouts contain a chemical called sinigrin which suppresses the development of precancerous cells.  The breakdown of sinigrin (allyl isothiocyanate) is the active ingredient in brussel sprouts and is responsible for the characteristic smell of sprouts.  It works by persuading the precancerous cells to commit suicide – a natural process called apoptosis – and so powerful is the effect that it’s entirely possible that the occasional meal of brussels sprouts could help reduce the incidence of colon cancer.

Including more sulfur-rich vegetables is actually kind of a big deal, and something that Mark Sisson has written on several times, including THIS gem.

But how to prepare and cook them is the key.  As I noted above, Lisa is obsessed with brussels sprouts, and I was never a fan until I tried them the way that she makes them.

I’ve been converted for a while, but it took a little convincing for my family to try them.  Here’s how she prepared them last week to rave reviews.

First off, do yourself a favor and DO NOT buy the frozen variety.  They taste like frozen balls of cyanide, and you’re not doing yourself any favors by going that route.

Instead, try to buy them fresh, or better yet, still in the stalk!

We’re lucky in that the Trader Joe’s right down the street sells them on the stalk, and it makes all the difference in the world.

Regardless, whether you pluck them of the stalk, or pick them out of a bag – DO NOT buy them frozen.

– Wash them off, and then cut each sprout into halves.

– Throw into a bowl and then add seasoning.  We like to keep it simple:  salt, pepper, and oregano work wonders.  Add olive oil (extra virgin preferably) and if you’d like some apple cider vinegar to give it a little kick.

– OPTIONAL (but it really isn’t): on the side, cook up like 3-4 strips of bacon.  Once the bacon is done, crumble them up and add into the bowl.  Then, spread the bacon fat onto the sheet where you’ll place the brussel sprouts.

– Place each sprout face down onto a shallow cooking sheet.  Keep your paws off the bacon bits!!!!  For now, anyways.

– Cook in oven at like 325-350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Once the 20 minutes are up, stir the sprouts around, and cook for another 20.

– Chow down.  Thank me later.

5.  Driving home the other day, we happened to tune into some random classic rock station and Pearl Jam came on. Since when in the hell is Pearl Jam considered classic rock??????????

6.  I received an interesting email last week from a college student detailing to me a conversation she was eavesdropping on between one of the head strength coaches at her school and a handful of his practicum students. To quote her:

They were talking about how he teaches the squat to his athletes. The coach said that because so many athletes are stronger in their posterior chain compared to their quads, he strongly discourages his athletes from “sitting back” or having any type of hip hinge movement while squatting to minimize glute and hamstring involvement and target the quads.

He said the box squat or squat to a box was a pointless exercise due to the hip hinge requirement and the nearly vertical tibia – he wants his athletes squatting by dropping straight down, staying relatively upright and getting the knees a fair ways beyond the toes. He emphasizes developing quad strength over posterior chain strength in all of his young athletes.

Also, he said that prevention of ACL injuries would be enhanced if there was less emphasis on hip hinging and more emphasis on quad strengthening, especially in female athletes.

I don’t think I have ever heard anything so asinine in my life – and this is including EVERYTHING that Tracy Anderson has ever said.

The last point – prevention of ACL injuries would be enhanced if there was less emphasis on hip hinging and more emphasis on quad strengthening , especially in female athletes – is what really dumbfounded me, and pretty much made me want to throw my face onto an ax.

If you look at the mechanism(s) which cause the bulk of (non-contact) ACL injuries in female athletes – pronation, adduction, and hip internal rotation – one would clearly see (at least if they know anything about functional anatomy) that training the posterior chain would be kind of important.

Sure, most anatomy texts will note that the glutes do nothing but abduct and extend the hip.  Clap clap clap.  You just passed anatomy 101.

Digging a little deeper, and what most anatomy texts don’t account for, is the eccentric component, or what the glutes PREVENT……

……Pronation, adduction, and hip internal rotation.  Otherwise known as “the big 3” when it comes to ACL injuries.

How a coach would say that placing more emphasis on the quads is the best way to go about preventing these injuries from happening in the first place is beyond my comprehension.  I guess every coach who’s ever lived is wrong, and that this guy has it all figured out.

Suffice it to say, I really feel sorry for his athletes.

I sent along the email I received to my good friend, Bret Contreras, to see what his reaction would be and he responded with:

“What the holy hell!?!?!?!  That’s one of the most illogical things I’ve heard a strength coach say. Just wow.”

And then I’m pretty sure this is what happened:

Needless to say, Bret wasn’t too happy.

Apparently Bret is working on a detailed response – complete with charts, graphs, and I hope a massive middle finger – that I’m going to use as a guest post in a week or so.  Stay tuned……..it’s going to be awesome.

And that’s it for today.  I hope everyone else reading had a nice relaxing holiday.  Be sure to check back during the week as I’ll be back to my normal blogging badassness.

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Deadlift Battle Final, Deadlift Dynamite, and Speed Work

1.  First things first: I just want to take a few words to say THANK YOU to any servicemen or servicewomen (past or current) who may be sitting there reading this. I think we take A LOT for granted in this country, and it’s my hope that EVERYONE reading will take a  moment to recognize the incredible, invaluable, and downright courageous job that our troops contribute to this country, not to mention those who served in years past.

My grandfather was at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed back in 1941, and while I never got a chance to really know him (he passed away when I was very young), I was always amazed and dumbfounded whenever I read or heard stories of his service time.  The man was a straight-up, certifiable, badass.

And that applies to anyone who goes out of their way to risk so much and not really receive much back in terms of reward or notoriety.

They all truly deserve our respect and gratitude.  Without question they have mine.

2.  I also want to thank everyone who participated in last week’s Deadlift Battle over on WeightTraining.com. To say that it got a little heated and that people got just a teeny-tiny bit competitive would be a drastic understatement.

Lets just put it this way, the top two participants combined – CoachA and BrandonKW – deadlifted over 1,000,000 lbs by themselves!!!

That’s a one with six zeroes after it.  Or roughly the total number of times I asked Nicole Kot out in high school and she said no.

To his credit, the good Coach edged out Brandon 563,555 lbs to 532,535 lbs and gets the title for most masochistic son-of-a-bitch in existence.

If anyone deserves a slow clap, it’s you.   This one is dedicate to you, sir.  Enjoy it.

This isn’t to belittle everyone else who participated, of course.  We had over 60 people make a conscientious decision that this would actually be a good idea, and in order to even crack the top 10 you had to deadlift a minimum of 120,000 lbs.

I sucked and ended up in 12th place with only 105.115 lbs.

Needless to say, it was a blast, I’m probably going to take a week off from lifting anything heavy off the floor, and we’ll be letting everyone know who the GRAND PRIZE winner is shortly.

3.  Speaking of deadlifts, two legends in the strength and conditioning community – Pavel (of RKC fame) and Andy Bolton (of he can deadlift a metric shit-ton fame) – have collaborated on what I feel is going to be a game changing, holy-shit-I-think-I-just-peed-myself-a-little-I’m-so-excited manual:

—> Deadlift Dynamite <—

A short while ago, John DuCane, CEO of Dragon Door Publications (which is releasing the manual), reached out to me and asked if I’d be interested in receiving an advance copy to check out.  I responded back with, “you had me at deadlift.”

I don’t think I have to tell you that it’s awwwwwwwwwwesome, and today, just to serve as a slight appetizer, both Pavel and Andy have released three FREE videos that  will undoubtedly make people’s faces melt from all the deadlifting knowledge bombs being dropped.

Go HERE.

You’ve been warned.

4.  Serving as an adjunct to the article I posted last week on Tips for a Badass Bench Press, I also wanted to note that as much as lifting big weights will make you stronger, we also can’t turn our heads on bar speed.

I certainly can’t take credit for it, as many, many coaches much smarter (and stronger) than myself have stated it before:

Getting faster will make you stronger

Bar speed is an often overlooked component of bench pressing. More specifically, developing power – or the ability to generate force quickly and increase your rate of force development – is an often overlooked component of bench pressing.

In a nutshell: you can’t just rely on “muscling” the weight all the time, grinding out reps on a weekly basis. That’s only going to take you so far. However, developing more bar speed will undoubtedly go a long ways in helping improve your bench press.

* Photo courtesy of elitefts.com

In looking at what’s called the Force-Velocity Curve, which is dictated by load and speed, one would find the following variants to be true:

Loads between 30-50% of a trainee’s one-rep max typically focuses more on power.

Loads between 75-95% of a trainee’s one-rep max typically places an emphasis more on maximum strength.

Loads between 50-60% of a trainee’s one-rep max, done ballistically, is the sweet spot for developing power output – where force AND velocity are maximized.

This last point is where focusing on bar speed comes into play. Getting faster will help you get stronger. Popularized by Louie Simmons and the guys over at Westside Barbell, incorporating more of a “dynamic effort” day is a fantastic way to help increase your numbers in the bench press.

Not coincidentally, it’s also a fantastic way to hone in on technique which can be argued is where the real benefit lies.

Basically, all you would do is take 50-60% of your current one-rep max – and perform the reps as quickly as you can for something like 6 sets of 3 repetitions, with 30-45s rest between sets.

There’s obviously a bit more to it than that, but in many ways there isn’t.

Now, if you’ve only been training for like a year or your current 1RM is something like 185 lbs, I don’t feel dedicated speed work is going to be an efficient use of your time.  But, for those who have a little more experience “under the bar,” and have been in a benching rut, this might be exactly what you need to get over that hump.

Speaking a little more ubiquitously, and even taking speed work out of the equation, what’s important – on EVERY rep, no matter the exercise – is that the INTENT to be fast is there.

This is a mistake that I find a lot of people make – that they have to grind out, or “muscle” all their reps.

While heavy is heavy, and you can’t expect to make every rep look like a paperweight, so long as you tell yourself to be fast – and the INTENT to move that bar quickly is there – that’s definitely a step in the right direction.

So, from now on, tell yourself BAR SPEED is the key.

5.  So a little movie came out this weekend, you might have heard about it: Skyfall.

Giving full disclosure, up until Daniel Craig took over as James Bond and Casino Royale came out in 2006, I had never been a fan of the franchise.

Ever since then, however, I’ve anticipated each and every installment – and Skyfall was no different.

What intrigued me the most was that Sam Mendes who directed classics like American Beauty and Road to Perdition (which, for those looking for some cool movie trivia, was where he first directed Craig) was taking the helm and directing this edition.

I LOVE Sam Mendes, and was really looking forward in seeing what he could do to spice things up after the somewhat disappointing Quantum of Solace.

Without giving away everything, I really, really liked Skyfall (but still feel Casino Royale takes the cake).

Javier Bardem evokes crazy like no-one else, playing the cyber terrorist Silva (I’d even go so far as to say he should at least be considered for a Best Supporting Actor nomination), and like with any Bond movie, the chase scenes, one-liners, and gadgets are epic.

Oh, and the women aren’t too shabby either.

I’d give it a solid B+

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany Uncategorized

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Flight, Deadlift Battle Reminder, and Yoga Isn’t For Everyone

1. Hope everyone had an awesome weekend (and remembered to turn their clocks back one hour before going to bed Saturday night).

Not surprisingly, like an idiot, I forgot to turn mine back and as a result got up earlier than I needed to do the weekly grocery shopping.  It wasn’t until I logged onto my computer to check emails really quick that I realized I was an hour early.  DOH!!!!

Nevertheless, once we were properly aligned with time, Lisa and I had the epitome of a “chill” day.  As is the case most Sundays, we use it to catch up on life, but also to do a little window shopping, too.  And by “window shopping” what I really mean is, “I follow Lisa around like an obedient puppy.”

At the start everything is rainbows and roses.  You want to walk into Marshall’s?  Sure, lets do it?!  Target?  Rock on.  I love me some Target!

By the time stores like Bebe or Sephora start entering the picture, I’m pretty much a walking zombie and have to fight off the urge to hurl my body in front of a moving bus.

Thankfully we were in a part of the city that not only had a Chipotle, but also had a movie theater nearby – so we decided to go see the new Denzel Washington flick, Flight.

A few candid thoughts:

  • If you’re someone who’s even remotely scared of flying, don’t go see this!  I for one am not a huge fan of flying, and basically had to manually unclench my butt cheeks after watching the entire 10+ minute sequence of the plane crashing. Not cool.
  • I love movies that revolve around actual dialogue, superb acting, crisp story telling (and show boobies) – and this film had it all!

Denzel will undoubtedly get a nomination for his role as a man who struggles with drug and alcohol abuse. Granted it’s a topic that Hollywood has seemingly squeezed dry time and time again, but if it’s any consolation, Lisa, a mental health therapist who has extensive experience working with people who suffer from substance abuse, was hit like a ton of bricks from Denzel’s extraordinary performance.

The last 10-15 minutes of the film were pretty powerful and left both of us speechless for a decent amount of time.  Later on last night, even as we were crushing filet mignon at a Morton’s, Lisa randomly said, “I’m still thinking of that movie.”

It was a good one people.

I know many will go into it thinking that the movie is about how Whip (Denzel’s character) lands the plane and h0w much of a miracle it was – and that’s not far from the truth.  But in reality, it’s a movie about a man’s inner demons and how he just can’t seem to get out of his own way.

Highly recommended.

B+

2.  Just a friendly reminder:  I’m challenging everyone to a DEADLIFT BATTLE starting TODAY (Monday, Nov. 5th), and I’m hoping more will join in on the madness.

There will be daily giveaways as well as a randomly selected grand prize winner at the end of the week.  What’s more, and maybe even more pertinent, it gives you a perfectly good reason to deadlift your face off this week and earn some bragging rights.

Of course, it’s all in good fun, but I’m going to kick all your asses.

LOL – just kidding.

No, but seriously, my competitive juices are overflowing right now, and I can’t take responsibility for any hurtful words that come out of my mouth this week. Which is to say I’m pretty certain all of you were adopted.

Good luck!

3. A lot people on this site are familiar with my friend, Sirena Bernal, who’s a fantastic personal trainer/pilates instructor/nutrition coach/overall kickass human being here in Boston.

Sirena and I have been chummy for the past year or so exchanging numerous emails, bumping into one another at the local Panera (where we both do a lot of writing and people watching), and she also came to one of my lectures earlier this year that I gave to a group of Boston based trainers.

In addition I’ve highlighted a handful of her articles in my Stuff You Should Read While Pretending to Work series – which I like to think is sort of a big deal for those who make it on.

Anyways, Sirena is a well of information and she’s really good at what she does.  So good in fact that she’s built a very successful online business that allows her the freedom to work where she wants, when she wants (hence what we always seem to bump into one another at Panera).

Currently, she’s in the process of putting together a FREE webinar titled Top 10 Weight Loss Foods to Get at Trader Joe’s, which for anyone who registers, will receive $50 off her next Lean Body Challenge in January along with a free TJ’s downloadable cookbook she’s putting together.

Even if you’re not located near a Trader Joe’s Sirena will be providing a bunch of useful information that could be applied to any grocery chain – plus, as I noted, you’ll get a hefty discount off her next challenge just for attending.  What’s not to like?

4.  My thoughts towards yoga have definitely skewed a little more towards the “it’s a tool in the toolbox” way of thinking in recent years.  In the past, if many recall, I’d adamantly be opposed to it because I often felt it was marketed in a way that made people think it was some sort of health and well-being panacea where everyone who did it would be magically have six pack abs, be able to jump over mack trucks, have clear skin, and shit diamonds.

I still think it’s marketed in a way that can be shady, but I also understand that there is a time a place for it – Heck, I even took a class and blogged about my experience HERE and HERE.

Anyways, one of my readers sent me THIS blog post which sorta feeds into the whole “yoga isn’t necessarily all it’s cracked up to be” mindset.

I think many of you will enjoy it.

PS:  I still need to write my review of the CP seminar from last weekend, and will hopefully get that up at some point this week.  Sorry!!!!!!!!