CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 3/21/14

Alas, it’s our last day of vacation here in the Dominican Republic and words can’t express what an amazing experience it has been. While I could easily sit here and wax poetic about the beaches, the water, and the scenery in general (it would all be deserved), what really made this trip special was the people.

The people here are some of the kindest, friendliest, and most giving people I have ever met.  Coming from Boston where it’s rare if anyone makes eye contact with you – let alone says hello – you’d be hard pressed to walk more than ten feet without someone smiling and saying “hola! here.

Even more to their credit, everyone…..and I mean EVERYONE (as far as the locals are concerned) is “muy excelente.”

No one complains about mundane or trivial things like the WiFi being too slow; or that there’s only two choices of salad and not three; or that there’s, literally, only one highway, and that people drive like maniacs!

It’s been refreshing to see people appreciate the simple things in life.  To smile. To not take themselves (or things) too seriously.  In short: I love it here, and look forward to coming back soon.

On a somewhat related note, I petted a monkey yesterday.

Um, yeah, get your mind out of the gutter, people!  Literally, I petted a monkey.

Since it was our last full day yesterday, Lisa and I took an excursion to the Monkey Jungle to hang out with the monkeys. For those of you who follow me on Facebook you can see more of the cuteness over there.  For those that don’t, you’re stuck with the picture above….;o)

We have a few hours left to hit up the buffet and to soak up some more vitamin D.  I’m out, and will see you all once I’m back in Boston.

Okay, so lets get to the stuff you should be reading.

Premium Workout Group Update

Things are still chugging along with my Premium Workout Group over on WeightTraining.com.  All the feedback I’ve received from all the participants has been great, and seemingly everyone is busting through a bunch of personal records and having a blast with their training.

As it happens, right before I left for vacation I sent in the latest program update (Month 3), and I already warned everyone that they should prepare themselves for a shit-load (just a shade under a shit-ton) of squatting.

All of this to lead into a killer fat-loss phase starting in May.

For those who have no idea what the heck I’m referring to, I’d suggest going HERE to be filled in on the deets.

Note #1: Even if you haven’t jumped in on the fun from the start, don’t worry…….you can join today, tomorrow, next week, or when the cows come home and you’ll have access to ALL the programs (as well as all the additional videos).  This is so that everyone can go at their own pace and not feel too overwhelmed.

Note #2: For those who have been keeping up with the blog this week – even in my absence – Jen Sinkler’s Lift Weights Faster product has been a ginormous hit.  Unfortunately, the price will go UP starting tonight (3/21) at MIDNIGHT.

So you only have a few more hours to take advantage of the sale price.  After that the price will nearly DOUBLE. Ouch!

If that wasn’t incentive enough, here’s another.  For everyone who purchases Lift Weights Faster and then sends me a copy of their receipt, I’ll send you a coupon for HALF-PRICE off the first month in my Premium Workout Group.

1.  Purchase Lift Weights Faster

2.  Send me a copy of your receipt with the email titled “Receipt for Lift Weights Faster” to [email protected]

3.  I’ll send back a coupon code for HALF-PRICE off the first month of membership in my Premium Workout Group.

4.  You’ll earn 15 points for Gryffindor.  It’s a win-win.

The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well is the Key to Success – Megan McArdle

Knowing I was going to be spending a fair amount of time reading while on vacation, I picked up this book right before I left and dove in.

I’m a nerd when it comes to behavioral economics.  I don’t know why. I just am.  It’s like trying to explain The Force and midi-chlorians. They just……exist.

Anyhoo:  as the title suggest, this book is all about failing.  Not only failing, but why failing is good. What’s more, how we fail plays as much of a part in our success as anything else.  Drawing parallels from 9/11, the housing crash of 2008, the movie Titanic (and WaterWorld), as well as her own anecdotal life experiences, Megan McArdle makes a very strong case for why we should all strive to fail. And fail well.

1,200 Calories – Sophia Herbst

I don’t think I need to defend my stance on the topic of women and fitness and how the mainstream media vomits all over itself extolling a bunch of nonsense and gibberish.

I hate it.  And thankfully, a lot more people are starting to wake-up and understand the massive double-standard between what’s regurgitated towards women compared to men.

Men are told to be strong, yoked, and Alpha!

Women are told to tone.  And to eat 1200 calories.  It’s BS.  And this is probably one of the best “rant” pieces I have ever read.

If I could (non-creepily) hug the author, I totally would.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Nutrient Timing, Protein Isn’t Hitler, and Fitness Success

“Five more days, babe!”

“Five more days and we’ll be on our way to the airport.”

Those were the words uttered by Lisa no less than 47 seconds ago as I was sitting down to type these words. You can call it what it is:

1.  Me stalling before I get to the meat and potatoes of today’s post.

Or, more to the point….

2.  Just trying to rub it in a little bit that I’ll be going on vacation in a few short days. Sorry.

Needless to say, this week serves as a double-edged sword.  Sure, on one side, dangling like a carrot teasing me, there’s vacation, and its promise of balmy weather, crystal clear water, all-you-can-eat-buffets (first time at an all-inclusive resort), beach, and many, many, many naps.

But before all that happens, it’s a storm of clusterf***edness from now until then trying to sew up all loose ends on programs that need to be written, deadlines for articles that need to be met, and trying to avoid all the articles online about the horrible, terrifying, and sad Malaysian Airlines disaster from this past weekend.

As someone who’s already not a huge fan of flying – I’d rank it below having a bad case of the flu, but a shade above “talking about my feelings” –  these headlines aren’t doing me any favors.

Nonetheless, to start this week off here are some cool articles to check out.

Did I mention I’m going on vacation?*

Is Nutrient Timing Dead? – Brian St. Pierre

I thought this was a knowledge-bomb of an article by Brian. I distinctly remember picking up my copy of the classic text Nutrient Timing by Dr. John Ivy and thinking that it was the gospel.

It was borderline sacrilegious to delay or worse, skimp out on pounding your protein shake immediately after finishing your last set. If you did fall into this camp, you’d lose all your gainz!!!!

Well come to find out, we “may” have overblown the whole post-workout anabolic window teeny tiny bit, and meal frequency may not be as big of a deal as we all have been led to believe.

In the end, it comes down to doing what works best for YOU.  Not what some article tells you to do.

High-Protein Diets Linked to Cancer:  Should We Be Concerned? – Dr. Spencer Nadolsky

Answer: No!!!

I Got 99 Problems: But Getting My S*** Together Ain’t One – Luka Hocevar

I have a lot of respect for Luka.  My man griiiiiiiinds, and works his tail off.  And in the end, he’s been able to achieve a ton of success.

He’s not someone who talks a good game and then fails to walk the walk.  He’s IN IT.

I first met Luka back in 2007 when we first opened up Cressey Performance.  He came across the country to hang out with myself, Eric, and Pete for like a week to do nothing but hang out, pick our brains, train, and see what it took to start a small business from the ground up.

Fast forward to today and he’s arguably one of the most successful fitness entrepreneurs in North America. He’s built a very successful training facility in Seattle.  He’s a coach, an author, a businessman, a traveller.

Recently he was impetus behind one of the most anticipated events the industry has seen in years – the Change the Game event held on Las Vegas.

Nevertheless, I highly suggest checking his stuff out.  It’s heartfelt, it has passion, it doesn’t hold your hand, it’s real.

* = I’m going on vacation.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: CrossFit “Elitism,” 10 Do’s of Mass, and Superhuman Strength

I wanted to start things off today with an interesting conversation I had with a friend/colleague of mine concerning CrossFit.

I can sense the eyes rolling already.

There’s enough CrossFit bashing on the interwebz to feed a small country (<—- that doesn’t make sense but I’m rolling with it), and I’m certainly not immune to my share of criticism. To that same tune, however, I feel like I’ve held a fairly “middle-ground” stance.

I’ve long noted my “qualms” with CrossFit, and I’ve also championed its many merits.  I see the good and bad in just about everything.  Except Justin Bieber.  He’s a douche.

And sushi.  I can’t get into sushi.  Sorry.

I’m not one of those people who talks a bunch of smack, yet has never been to or walked inside an actual CrossFit affiliate. My experience with CrossFit lies outside of watching YouTube videos which make my corneas bleed and playing internet hero on an anonymous fitness forum

As it happens, I train at an affiliate 1-2 times per week – albeit in an “open gym” format – so I feel like I’m able to give my perspective and it has some context.

Does CrossFit “Bullying” or “Elitism” Exist?

Here’s an email I received yesterday from a friend (sadly, not IronMan):

“Hope things are well my friend! I had a question and potential favor to ask from you. For the past 1.5ish years I’ve been battling with how to run our CrossFit gym as well as possible, to the point of even receiving criticism from “elite” CrossFit gyms saying we have too much of a bias towards classic strength training. 

What I have found extremely challenging is trying to establish an effective assessment system that carries over well to the CrossFit movements with which individual correctives can be prescribed.

What I was hoping to do was pay for some of your time in a consult to get some help in this area. I have tremendous respect for what you’ve done in the field, especially related to movement correction and know you would be a huge asset for us.”

My Response:

(And let me preface everything by saying I understand that CrossFit is a BRAND and that certain things are expected of its affiliates).

UPDATE:  To say that I was wrong.  Kinda.  In actuality, as another friend of mine pointed out to me via Facebook, “What many people don’t understand about CrossFit is that it is anything but a franchise that enforces uniform standards. In some ways, it is an anti-franchise. Affiliates are free to set their own fees and programming, buy the equipment they prefer, and even sell T-shirts with their affiliate name on it and keep all the money.

What I have heard is affiliate owners argue passionately for their vision and try to build their business on that basis.”

I’m honestly at a little loss for words that “elite” CrossFit gyms are criticizing anything? Why?

What makes them “elite” anyways? Total number of members? Revenue? Number of members who compete in the Games? They’re somehow more “paleo” than the next affiliate?

Who cares if someone chooses to take more of a “classic” strength and conditioning approach with their programming? 

And what does “classic strength and conditioning” even mean? Is it bad or frowned upon in the CrossFit community to help get their members stronger, to move more efficiently, and, god-for-bid, actually progress (and regress) people appropriately?

If so, I think Kelly Starrett just shit a copy of Becoming a Supple Leopard!!!

What concern is it of their’s how someone else runs THEIR facility?????

I would think, if anything, one should be applauded for actually giving a shit and taking the time to properly assess/progress his or her clients!

Are these “elite” affiliates upset that he’s not putting in enough “Kool-Aid” (high-rep OLY lifting, kipping pull-ups, WODs which make no sense) into the juice?

(Yes, that’s a bit of a generalization. But lets not delude ourselves into thinking that that’s NOT what a vast majority of people feel embodies the CrossFit brand).

I don’t get it. There are some things I like about CrossFit, and I’d be remiss not to tip my hat to them for helping to get people excited to move.

But I have to say: this elitist, holier-than-thou attitude doesn’t do it any favors.

This topic led to a ton of great dialogue on my Facebook page, and since the whole impetus behind it was assessment I wanted to share a link someone else posted which I feel points the conversation/debate in the right direction.

Can FMS and CrossFit Coexist? – Gray Cook and Kelly Starrett

If you have fifteen minutes to spare I HIGHLY recommend watching it.  Two brilliant guys talking shop. What’s not to like?

10 Must-Do’s For Mass – Bryan Krahn

Bryan has over 20 years experience in this field – both as a lifter and writer – and it’s uncanny how often I find myself nodding in agreement whenever I read some of his articles.

Guys like to make things more complicated than they have to be.  Adding mass doesn’t entail following some advance algorithm that would confuse a NASA scientist.  It doesn’t require some super secret, Eastern-Bloc periodization protocol you had translated from some Russian textbook. And it certainly doesn’t entail any deer antler powder.  Is that trend over yet by the way?

What it DOES require is some common sense and accountability.

Superhuman Strength – Artemis Scantalides

“You can’t rush strength.”  And in this article, Artemis explains why.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 2/14/14

Happy House of Cards Season Two Release Day on Netflix Valentine’s Day, everybody!

It’s a miracle that I’m even writing right now given there are thirteen brand spankin new episodes sitting in my “watch instantly” queue as type these words.

Can you tell I’m a little excited!?!  But I promised Lisa I wouldn’t touch an episode until we were both home tonight. That’s how we’re going to spend our Valentine’s: Watching House of Cards and eating chicken.

Who says romance is dead?

PS: Dieting sucks.

On that note, I do wish all the lovely couples out there a happy Valentine’s Day.  Eat some steak and carrot cake for me will ya?

Is Your Vitamin D Supplement Helping Or Hurting You? – Bryan Walsh (Precision Nutrition)

Hands down this was the best article I’ve ever read on vitamin D supplementation.  I can’t imagine how much work went into writing this.  Well done!

67 Tips on Happiness, Fulfillment, and Life – Jason Ferruggia

I really liked this list written by Jason and it’s really, really hard to say which handful resonated with me the most.  Honestly, all 67 tips hit home.

It’s a quick read, and I guarantee you’ll be nodding your head in agreement.

High Performance, No BS Correctives – Dan John

Once people see the word “corrective” associated with a strength and conditioning article the eyes start rolling. What now, Tony – an article telling me to perform more knee break ankle mobilizations??

I’d rather watch NASCAR, thank you very much.

Touche.

But this is Dan freakin John we’re talking about here.  You should know better. Read it.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 2/7/14

Before we get the ball rolling on the good reads for the week, I wanted to briefly share an email exchange I had with a colleague who happens to a diesel mom to boot.

Q: I wondered what your thoughts are on all of these youth plyo and conditioning classes popping up all over? I’m at my daughter’s dance class and they offer them here. My gut sat in my throat as I watched a 10 year old perform DB overhead presses LA Fitness style with his arms wobbling all over. I swear he was either going to dislocate his shoulder or knock himself out.

Anyway, this is the first time I’ve watched this. I always balked at the Gym Dad who put their sons through shitty workouts, but these are coaches apparently trained to teach these things. These coaches work with kids in off season and in season to condition them for sports. They sponsor most of the games too.

A: Yeah, the whole idea suspect to say the least. I don’t agree with them at all  <—- and I’m being really good in restraining myself here.

Whenever I have a parent ask me about agility/plyo/conditioning training or how I’m going to make their kid faster I just use my trusted Indy 500 analogy, which is this:

If I were to take a Honda Civic and give it a sweet paint job, new wheels, a spoiler, and make it look fast……would you expect it to win the Indy 500?

Um, no. Unless you increase the actual horse power of the engine you’ll have a better shot at punching a Yeti in the face while on riding a Unicorn.

[Okay, I don’t usually use the Yeti and Unicorn reference, but it worked well here.]

Getting stronger is like increasing the horse power. You get stronger (and focus on movement quality), you’re able to generate more force into the ground, and you’re then able to run faster, throw harder, jump higher, and increase your general level of awesome.

Strength is the basis for everything. It’s really, really, REALLY hard to have agility, power, endurance, speed-endurance, or any other “quality” you can think of (invisibility?) without first having a base of strength to “pool” everything from.

All these “speed camps” and youth conditioning classes, in my opinion, are nothing more than a ploy to give the illusion that *something* is being done and to make the parents go “oooooo” and “ahhhhhh.”

And of course, to make money.  I can’t fault the latter point (I guess).  But, come on….does a twelve year old really need to be doing foot work drills?

And what the heck does a “youth conditioning class” even mean?

Tell your kid to go outside a play some pick-up basketball. Play some kick-ball. Climb a tree.  Anything!

Anything outdoors will be a helluva lot more beneficial than some speed camp that makes kids perform those silly cone drills or ladder drills that most aren’t remotely prepared enough to be doing anyways

Plus, you’ll save yourself $99.

Just my two cents.  Which, coincidentally is a lot cheaper.

Do any of you have any thoughts on the matter???  Sound of in the comments section.

My Experience at the Assessing Movement Conference – Kasey Esser

Recently both Gray Cook and Dr. Stuart McGill sat down to discuss their “differences” in opinion on movement, assessment, and whether or not the second season of House of Cards is going to live up to season one.

This was like the fitness industry’s equivalent of Gandalf and Yoda squaring off.

Kasey was kind enough to send me his review on the weekend, and I thought it was fantastic.  Plus it served as a nice appetizer for when the DVD is available – I can’t freakin wait!

3 Overrated Supplements – Examine.com (via Adam Bornstein)

I really liked this post over on Adam’s site which took to task a handful of supplements that tend to get a lot of press for how beneficial they are, when they’re anything but.

The next time someone asks you your opinion on raspberry ketones (something Dr. Oz made popular) you can refer them to this post.

The Secret to Ab Training – Mike Robertson

Many of Mike’s thoughts on this subject mirror many of the same thoughts we use at Cressey Performance.  As always, Mike drops some knowledge bombs and helps to elucidate on how important EXHALING his to core performance and training.

I know it sounds weird, but it’s definitely worth the read.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 1/23/14

Lets just jump right into the list this week

Top 5 Reasons Your Diet Isn’t Working – Chad Landers

We’re three weeks into the new year and inevitably there are many people out there wondering why their “diet” isn’t working yet.

Chad helps shed some light on some common mistakes.

11 Reasons People Think Calories Don’t Count – And Why They’re Wrong – Armi Legge

I love when people think they can defy the Law of Thermodynamics. Just because those organic Pop-Tarts “fit your macros” doesn’t mean those calories won’t count.  Sorry.

But it’s more than that.

In this FANTASTIC , well-researched article, Armi essentially pwns the internet and breaks it down like this:

Calories count.  They just do.

Top Shoulder Training Techniques – The Avengers (Myself, Dean Somerset, Lee Boyce, and Todd Bumgardner)

Just a little sage advice on how to train the shoulders (and keep them healthy).

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 1/16/14

Before we begin I just wanted to share a funny exchange I had on Twitter yesterday. Some people crack me up.

So I posted a link to my blog post from yesterday – Exercises You Should Be Doing: Split Stance Trap RDL.

Literally all the Tweet said was “Exercises You Should Be Doing” followed by the link.

A few minutes later someone Tweets back with the comment, “Why?  It’s a little over the top.”

To which I responded, “Uh, read the post and find out.”

And then they came back with, “ok.”

I just find it comical that someone would pass judgement on something without actually taking the time to read what the post was about in the first place.  It’s akin to all the belly aching in Congress over the budget.  They finally come to a compromise after three years and a government shut-down.  It’s not perfect, but they decided to put their big-boy and big-girl pants on, stop acting like children, and come to a compromise.

Then I watch some interview with some ass-clown Congressman go on a tirade on how, “Well, I haven’t read the actual document, but based off of the reporting I’ve heard, it’s going to ruin America!”

W……..T……..F!?!?!??!

Like I said, people crack me up.

7 Ways to to Dominate the Pull-Up – Nick Tumminello

I’d argue that the pull-up is the best predictor of overall relative strength.  I think I remember Joe DeFranco mentioning how he’s seen a correlation in some of his athletes and how well they’ll do in their 40-yd dash time.

Nevertheless, pull-ups are kind of a big deal and in this article Nick does a fantastic job offering some new ways to approach training them.

Expectation  Management – Collin McHugh

Even for those who don’t make a living throwing a baseball 90+ MPH, this was a fantastic read on what it really takes to grind it through professional baseball season.

More importantly it serves as a needed wake-up call to many “entitled” young athletes who feel that just because they signed a professional contract that the world owes it to them to make it to the Big Leagues.

Slow clap to Collin for writing this article.  Awesome, awesome stuff.

And lastly I wanted to share two videos with you between Kevin Kuzia and David Dellanave. The two of them had a heart-to-heart “chat” a few weeks ago about entrepreneurship which sparked the two of them to post up a few “riff” videos discussing their thoughts on the matter.

Giving a brief background: Kevin tends to play the “conservative” card, plays things safe, and doesn’t feel he takes too many risks when it comes to stepping outside is comfort zone; something I can relate with 100%.

On the flip side, David, is a risk taker and always has been.

I just found the discussion fascinating and I think both videos are worth a look.

The Entrepreneurship Dichotomy – Kevin Kuzia

And here is David’s fantastic advice (and beard).

Talkin’ Bout Entrepreneurship

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 1/7/14

So remember that post I wrote yesterday detailing the best piece of advice I ever received** which then lead to me discussing WeightTraining.com’s release of their new Workout Tracker app, which then me laying down the ground rules for an opportunity to be entered into a drawing for a free TRX?

Well, I lied.

Kinda.

No, I didn’t lie about crushing raw egg-white protein shakes.  All the cool kids were doing it back in the day.

And no, I didn’t lie about the overall ass-kickery of the new App by WT.com.  It’s been getting glowing reviews thus far!

I actually lied about the cut-off date for your chance to win the TRX.

It’s been extended through TODAY (January 7th).

As a reminder here’s what you have to do:

In order to be entered into the app release giveaway, you must complete the following:

1. Download the FREE WeightTraining.com app or you can go to Apple directly and download it HERE.

2. Log a workout on January 7th (<– THAT’s TODAY!!!!)

3. Tweet your logged workout to @TonyGentilcore1 (Twitter) or Facebook share your workout with the hashtag #TonyGentilcore on January 7th (<– Again, THAT’s TODAY)

Winners will be randomly selected on January 8th!!!!.

BOOM!

And now onto this week’s stuff to read:

Protein: Can You Eat More Than 30 Grams Per Meal? – Tom Nikkola

In a word: Yes.

This is a very common myth and one that makes my insides hurt from laughing so hard.  Sometimes I feel like we don’t give the human body enough credit. That if we somehow haven’t had a morsel of food for more than three hours or if we happen to eat, god-for-bid, a 10 oz steak in one sitting, our body is just going shutdown in a rage of shock, and we’ll start bleeding through eyes.

Relax, people.  The body is a lot smarter than us.

5 Reasons Running May Not Help You Lose Weight – Adam Bornstein

Let me preface this by saying:  that is NOTHING wrong with running.  Well, there is, but I don’t want to get into it here, so save the pitch-forks for next time.

Where things get a bit murky  – and where much of the dichotomy begins – is when people are under the impression that running is an efficient way to lose weight.  Don’t me wrong:  It can be, but there comes a point in time where the amount of effort put forth doesn’t mirror the reward.

My Must List: What I Do Everyday – Nate Green

Nate Green wrote a blog post, Nate Green wrote a blog post, Nate Green wrote a blog post.

Nate Green wrote a blog post!!!!!!!!!!!

He doesn’t write as many blog posts as he used to, but when he does they’re gold.

** = outside of “Dude, go see The Matrix, it’s sick!” (1999, as told from a college teammate), and “Tony, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, your fly’s open…..zip up your pants!” (1980-2004, by my Mom)

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

2013: Articles in Review

It seems everyone who has a blog or website is taking this week to run their annual “Year in Review” extravaganza, and I figured I’d take the opportunity to hop on that train as well.

2013 was a banner year for TG.com.  It seems I was a writing ninja penning 190+ posts alone on this site, which is a lot more than I thought I did.

All I told I think I had roughly 87 references to Star Wars, 56 to Matt Damon, 35 to how much I despise Tracy Anderson, and probably around 18 references to “poop,” because I’m immature like that.

In any case, people seem to stick around day in and day out and I couldn’t be more appreciative.

The following articles were the most popular of 2013 based off of web traffic.

Oh, before we get started I just wanted to let everyone know that Rick Kaselj, as part of celebrating Boxing Day (the Canadian version of, well, I have no idea), is placing the entire Muscle Imbalances Revealed anthology at a 60% discount from now (Dec. 26th) through this Sunday (Dec. 30th).

Giving full disclosure:  I contributed to two of the installments – Muscles Imbalances Revealed Upper Body and Spinal Health and Core Training – so admittedly I’m a little biased.  But for realz: they’re pretty amazing.

With the likes of other really smart people like Mike Robertson, Dean Somerset, Dr, Jeff Cubos, Bill Hartman, to name a few, you really can’t go wrong.

For more information you CAN GO HERE (<—Click Me).

But What Do You Do For Cardio – People are often flummoxed that I don’t really go out of my way to include a lot (if any) “traditional” cardio in my own programs nor that of my athletes. So…..what do I do for cardio?

Squat Technique: How to Set Up Properly – With any lift, everything starts with a good set-up.  If your set-up is piss poor, you can bet that your entire set is going to be piss poor.  In this video blog I break down the squat.

Deadbugs: The What, Why, and How – For a universally un-sexy topic (I mean, come on, really?  Deadbugs?)….this ended up being a very popular post.

Cutting CrossFit and Break – You can argue that there’s no more of a polarizing topic in the fitness industry than CrossFit.  A lot of people go out of their way to talk down about it – and rightfully so in some aspects – but in this post I discuss the positives.

4 (Not So Obvious) Reasons You’re Not Seeing Results in the Gym – Many people waste time in the gym.  Here are some not so obvious reasons why.

My Take On the “Knees Out” Debate – CrossFit again! Here I break down what I feel is the silliest debate out there. Seriously people might as well argue over whether or not potatoes should be considered “Paleo” or not.  Oh wait…….

Man of Steel: What It Takes to Look Like Superman – It happens every time a superhero movie comes out.  An actor gets all yoked up and people want to find out what the secret is.  Working your ass off – that’s the secret.

Who Says You Can’t Get After It at 80 – I always laugh when people use the excuse of “age” being a factor as to why they can’t train or workout.  It’s BS.  Plain and simple.

5 Reasons Your Shoulder is Jacked Up and Not Jacked – Part One, Part Two – If there’s one thing we know at Cressey Performance it’s shoulders.  Well that and deadlifts.  And steak tips.

Should You Use Scale Weight as a Measure of Success – Answer….no!

A Discussion:  Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss – There’s a huge discrepancy between the two, and in this post I try to elucidate what he latter should take precedence over the former (most of the time).

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Haters Gonna Hate

Ever notice that when it’s cold outside – for the record:  yesterday and today are the first two days of legitimate snow here in Boston – people bitch and whine about how cold it is?

By that same token, when it’s too hot – people bitch and whine about how hot it is!

I don’t get it.

Then again – these are the same people who will find any excuse to complain about something. It’s too windy; the Dew Point is f’ed up; ObamaCare is the next Death Star; the barista at StarBucks put too much cream in my latte; I can’t believe “so and so” is on the new season of Dancing With the Stars; the checkout person didn’t ask me if I wanted my receipt, bitch; that rainbow is too “raibowey;” for the love of god, people, HAN SHOT FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways I have no other reason behind this keen observation other than it’s something I noticed today while standing in line at Panera while someone complained that the line was moving too slow.

People complain way too much.

Now if you excuse me, someone just looked at me wrong and I have to go scissor kick them in the pancreas.

If You Are Not Sore, You Are Not Working Hard Enough…Or Are You – Kyle Arsenault

It’s a common fallacy people make.  If they’re not drowning in a pool of their own sweat or don’t feel like they’re on the verge of an epileptic seizure after a training session, it obviously was a waste of their time.

This is a battle I have fight all the time and my retort is usually saying something along the lines of “any tool with a certification can make you tired and sore.  But it takes a COACH and someone who actually know what they’re talking about to be able to tweak programming to garner a desired effect – whatever it may be.

Making someone tired for the sake of feeling tired is a pointless endeavor and rarely yields positive results in the long run. Likewise soreness doesn’t mean much either

On one hand, especially with newbies, it’s a matter of teaching them the difference between sore and hurt.

On the other, especially with those who are more advanced, it’s a matter of teaching them that fatigue will always mask one’s true level of fitness.

Yes, soreness is okay and it’s perfectly fine to want to kick yourself in the ass sometimes so that you ARE sore the next day.

But it’s certainly not the “x-factor” when it comes to long-standing results, and it’s certainly not something that should be strived for on a consistent basis.

Supple Leopard vs. The World – Dr. Quinn Henoch

It’s the fitness industry’s latest version of the classic West Side Story rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks.

On one side you have those who lean towards the CrossFit mentality – in particular, Dr. Kelly Starrett – and advocate pushing the knees out when squatting or deadlifting in an effort to create more torque and not to allow any torsion stress on the body.

On the flip side, you have those who have a little bit of an issue with this mindset.

I thought this was a fantastic (and fair) discussion which lends the opportunity for the reader to make up his or her own mind on the topic.

My thoughts?  I think much of the controversy is lost in translation.  I’ve heard Kelly talk about this and from what I can gather – and I could be wrong on this – he never really states that he wants people to excessively push their knees out.  Rather, it’s more of a cue so that people don’t go into knee valgus (which I agree with, 100%).

I know I’d never go out of my way to allow someone to squat with excessive knee valgus. And I think by that logic it makes sense that letting the pendulum glide too far to the other side – where people are going into excessive knee varus – doesn’t do them any favors either.

What are people arguing about again?

Take the Lunge – Lee Boyce

Lee’s been on a writing tear lately, and with this gem he touches on the intricacies of the one of the more overlooked movement patterns – the lunge.