CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work Uncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work/Recover From Insulin Coma

It’s the day after Thanksgiving – I hope everyone had their fair share of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, apple pie, pumpkin pie, coconut cream pie, banana cream pie, blueberry pie, pecan pie, peanut butter pie, or even a pizza pie (said in a heavy Italian accent) if that’s how you roll.

It’s officially Black Friday (for those non-Americans reading it’s essentially the busiest, batshitcraziest shopping day of the year where people wait outside in line at stores like Best Buy at 5 AM just so that they scissor kick random strangers in the face once the doors open so they can get a 60-inch plasma tv for $199)……….so Happy Holidays!

I for one prefer the more low-key approach and do most of my shopping online in the days following.  At least with that option I can shop without all the hassle of dealing with big crowds.  And, more importantly, pants are optional.  BADDA-BING!

This was actually the first year, like ever, that I didn’t make the trek back home to central New York for Thanksgiving. I was a bit sad because I’ve never missed a Thanksgiving (and my mom’s home cooking is the best), but Lisa and I had to catch an early flight to Virginia for a friend’s wedding this weekend, so we opted to stay in Boston and celebrate solo.

As such my post today is going to be short and sweet.  For those not celebrating the Holiday weekend, this will be your run-of-the-mill Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work (sorry).

For those recovering from insulin coma, instead, it will be Stuff to Read While You’re Trying to Tolerate Family Members You Can’t Stand (sorry).

Squat Power Panel – The Avengers (<– Me, Dean Somerset, Lee Boyce, and Todd Bumgardner)

In this short piece, four pretty smart (and dare I say, good looking) coaches offer some advice on common squatting mistakes.

No, Food is NOT Fuel – John Berardi, Brian St. Pierre, Krista Scott-Dixon

Stealing the opening statement from the article itself:

Fitness and nutrition professionals often say that to get in shape, you have to treat food as “fuel”. We disagree. Here’s why.

EXCELLENT article.

Trouble With the Tilt – Correcting APT – Elsbeth Vaino

I love to geek out with articles like this. I have a couple teeny-tiny differences of opinion with some components of the article (namely her rationale for omitting reverse crunches..I actually like them a lot), but all in all Elsbeth hits this one out of the park!

 

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Day After Lisa’s B-Day Edition

You know how when you open up a magazine and read a interview of some random celebrity one of the questions that’s inevitably asked is “what’s your ideal day like?”

I’m not gonna lie:  yesterday was that day for me.

Granted it didn’t involve waking up in the French Riviera, lounging poolside eating a plate full of exotic cheeses while high-fiving Matt Damon as we discuss our roles as Master Jedis in the upcoming Star Wars movie being released in 2015.

Nope it wasn’t anything close to that. But it was reaaaaaaaaaally close.

As hinted at yesterday it was Lisa’s birthday, and as such we both played “hooky” from work and well,  enjoyed a day of decadence together.

We slept in, headed to the gym and trained together (which we rarely ever get to do), and then followed that with a little cameo appearance at the spa (she got a, well, I don’t know what she got, and I got an “extreme” sports massage).

Going to the spa is always an adventure for me because I always end up feeling like a bull in a china shop. Everything is so pretty and smells nice (a far cry from the facility), and I can’t help but feel self-conscious about what the hell am I doing there?

What do I do?  What do I say?  Where do I put my hands?  Is the cucumber water, like, free? Shit, I need to burp.  Am I allowed to burp?

Needless to say the spa was wonderful and served as a gentle reminder that I (we) need to do that more often.

After that the birthday girl wanted chicken wings, so who was I to get in her way!

To my more observant readers out there, yes, that’s a Lulu Lemon bag to Lisa’s left (no woman’s b-day is complete without a little Lulu, right?).

We then topped the day off with a little fro-yo, went home and chillaxed.  Perfect.

I’m still kinda in “vacation mode” after yesterday so instead of writing some new content (I do have some doozies lined up), here’s this week’s list of stuff to read……

Unsexy Training Methods Produce Sexy Results – Artemis Scantalides

This was a knockout of a post written by Artemis (with a brief shout-out to who else?  My girlfriend, Lisa.  Woot woot!).

Artemis pretty much covers all the bases here:  everything from why women shouldn’t be reticent to lift weights, why “cleanse diets” are a crock of shit, and eating REAL food is the real key to results.

I loved this comment in the article itself:

MYTH: 700 minutes of cardio per week will help you to achieve the body you want.

FACT: Moving around 7,000 pounds during your daily training session will give you the body you want.

Lifting Weights is Only For Boys….NOT – Emily Socolinsky

Like Artemis, Emily is another “go to” figurehead that I love to refer back to as a perfect example and role model for women to aspire towards.

She’s about empowerment, encouragement, and providing information…..but she doesn’t sugar-coat things.

In this article Emily highlights a “quick” back and forth between she and myself on the topic of women and lifting heavy things.

And by “quick,” I mean the opposite of that.

The WSJ’s “Get Over It” Column, Translated – Mark Remy

This was an article that was sent my way on Facebook by a lovely women named Kristine who reads my blog (who also qualified for next year’s Boston Marathon!).

I honestly had no idea the original article existed – namely because I don’t read the WSJ (mostly in part because the stock market is Klingon to me).

While I can somewhat commiserate with the original article – and sometimes catch myself throwing the ol’ stink eye to runners myself (much like the kettlebell crowd, they can be an elite group of uppity snobs sometimes – I felt as a whole the “intent” of the article was woefully ignorant.

The retort, however – which is what I link to above – was/is the balls.  I don’t think I laughed this hard while reading something in a while.

 

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: OMG THE RED SOX ARE WORLD CHAMPS Edition

Hooooooooooooley sheeeeit. What a night.

For those living underneath a rock:  the Boston Red Sox won the World Series last night.  I’ve been staying up late for the past week watching every pitch of the series, and it all ended last night with Sox closer Koji Uehara striking out the Cardinals’ Shane Robinson and then me seemingly high-fiving everything within a two block radius of living room.

Lisa sleeping in bed?  You better believe it (and, sorry babe).

A few random strangers outside of my apartment. A little awkward, but yep!

My toaster oven?  Hell, why not?

Our place is actually about 1.5 miles away from Fenway Park and Kenmore Square and I was half tempted to make the trek down and partake in the shenanigans, but then realized I’d have a better shot at riding a magical unicorn to work than having any chance of sniffing the ballpark last night.  The city had that place on lockdown after the fact, and I can’t say that I blame them.

Thankfully, though, I haven’t heard any stories this morning of rioting, vandalism or debauchery…..only a peppering of arrests.

So now the city is set to celebrate another Red Sox championship……and it’s going to be the balls.

Speaking of balls…..

11 Ways to Live Your Life With Balls – Chris McCombs

Chris is a fantastic writer and is just on another level.  The title is self-explanatory and I highly suggest you give it a read.

Heart of the Matter: Dietary Villains – ABC Television

I thought this was an absurdly accurate report on cholesterol, saturated fat and the batshit craziness that STILL surrounds their demonization.

It’s no secret that I feel we (as in the public) have long been misled when it comes to the real players behind heart disease.  If you have 25-30 minutes to spare I can’t encourage you enough to watch this video.

Embrace the Suck  – Chris Shugart

Sometimes things need to suck, I mean really suck, in order see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I think the last line of the article spells the message out:

Every reward, every achievement lies on the other side of the suck. You face the suck. You accept it. Then you start throwing elbows.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 10/24/13

Sooooo, I heard through the grapevine that Eric Cressey released some sort of product this week?

I jest.

I know everyone and their Little League coach has been promoting it this week on their blogs and various social media outlets, and you know what?  Good!

[For those who may have missed it earlier this week, HERE’s my review of The High Performance Handbook.]

There’s a lot of garbage that gets released all over the internet on a daily basis promising abs in six minutes or the body of your dreams in 20 minutes, three days per week, or, for the more gullible, a program which guarantees immediate results using some kind of magical formula like showering underneath a rainbow every 3rd Friday.  But only if you’re holding hands with a Leprechaun.

Again, I jest. But suffice it to say I’ve seen some doozies out there, and it never ceases to amaze me what people will buy (or believe) in order to be told that they don’t need to work hard (and smart!) to attain the results they want.

The High Performance Handbook

For what mounts to $20 per month (it’s a four month program), you can have one of the best strength coaches in the world in your corner coaching you every step of the way.  Unlike many online programs, The High Performance Handbook can easily be CUSTOMIZED to fit your body-type (there’s actually a thorough video assessment to help you ascertain what your body-type is), training schedule, and equipment availability.

All of it is under the guise to help you kick-ass in the gym, attain results (strength and aesthetic) that you never thought possible, and without sugar coating anything.  You’ll need to work. Probably harder than you’ve ever worked before.  But the if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to train at Cressey Performance, this is your chance.

The Diet Delusion – Jen Comas Keck

I read this post by Jen last week and felt it needed to be read by more people, if for nothing else to help nudge people into a little dose of reality.

Sorry, you can’t crush Pop-Tarts on a daily basis and get shredded.  Even if it “fits your macros.”

Concurrently, because of the recent trend of people writing about long-stemming affects of metabolic damage from long-term dieting (and it DOES exist), many people are now fearful of approaching a caloric deficit.

Hate to break it to you:  but if you want to shed fat, you have to elicit a caloric deficit.

Dieting ain’t easy.  Sometimes you’re going to be hungry, and sometimes you’re going to feel mildly irritated because you haven’t had carbs in two days and want to punch a hole through a wall.

It’s okay.  It’s normal.  Deal with it.

CrossFit: My Swimmers.  My Thoughts – Tad Sayce

Tad’s a former intern/coach at Cressey Performance who now runs his own facility just outside Boston that caters to more of the swimming crowd.

Coincidentally enough, even though Tad writes with swimmers in mind, A LOT of what he talks as it relates to shoulders/elbows, shoulder/elbow care, and yes, CrossFit, parlays very well to other overhead athletes such as baseball, volleyball, as well as the general fitness population.

In addition, Tad’s thoughts on how to properly progress “plyos” and how CrossFit often (not always) misses the mark hits the nail on the head.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work Uncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 10/17/13

Before we get into this week’s stuff to read, if you would be so kind as to allow me to take a few moment to tell you how much I hate Dan Trink that would be lovely.

Now, to clarify:  I don’t mean “hate” hate Dan Trink.  Hate’s a strong word and I generally reserve it for things like Tracy Anderson, seafood, people who don’t turn right on red, or whenever my girlfriend wants to talk about our feelings.

Dan’s actually a good friend and someone whom I’ve collaborated with on several articles on T-Nation as well as the Greatist Workout of the Day – GWODs – back in the day.

In fact Dan and I trained together a few weeks ago when I was down in New York City visiting and I made a cameo appearance at Peak Performance (where he’s the fitness director).  After taking a group of their trainers through a staff in-service on shoulder shenanigans/assessment, Dan pretty much bullied me into putting on a pair of shorts so that he and I could lift some heavy stuff.  Not that he had to pull my arm or anything, but after speaking for close to two hours I wasn’t exactly in the mood to work up to a few sets of heavy triples on front squats.

Then again, are you going to say no to this guy?

Excuse me while I go clean the back of my pants.

It was during our session, however, that I confided in Dan that I was in a bit of a training funk.  A few weeks prior, while training through a fairly aggressive deadlift cycle (in my seemingly never ending quest for a 600 lb pull), I tweaked my back (more on this below), and as a result I admitted I was just going through the motions with my training.  No real goal or purpose, which sucks donkey balls.

As such I asked Dan if he’d  be willing to take over my programming for the next few months, to maybe place a little more focus on a hypertrophy/bodybuilding split and to give my joints a bit of a break – something, admittedly, I haven’t done in years – and he graciously said yes.

He said yes!!!

And it just so happened that this past weekend Dan sent me my first month of programming – and I hate is effin guts!

Yesterday, for example, included 3×12 on deadlifts with timed rest. 3×12.

Like, what the hell!?!?!?

I honestly can’t remember the last time I’ve ever done a set of twelve on deadlifts. Let alone time my rest.  I championed through, though, and on my last set, while still playing the “conservative card,” I performed 365lbs x 12.  And then I counted the black spots and purple unicorns I was seeing before I passed out.

Needless to say, it’s going to be an interesting month.

Breath Better, Move Better – Eric Cressey

Breathing is a topic that is catching the fitness industry by storm in recent years.  And while I realize that for some it’s a topic that’s about as exciting as watching an episode of Downton Abbey, I can tell you from firsthand experience that it’s something that can (and has) had a profound effect on people’s movement quality AND performance in the gym.

With his new resource, The High Performance Handbook, coming out next week, Eric Cressey shares another FREE video on the importance of learning how to breath properly (0r more to the point:  learning to use our diaphragm more efficiently) and some drills we incorporate at Cressey Performance on a regular basis.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but the guy in the video demonstrating the drills is one sexy bastard……;o)

CrossFit and High-Rep Olympic Lifting – Bryan Krahn

One of the more “shared” Tweets I posted not long ago went something like this:

High-rep OLY lifting makes about as much sense as a poop flavored lolly pop.

It wasn’t long ago that I wrote my treatise regarding my thoughts on CrossFit.  For those who missed it (how dare you!), you can check it out HERE.

Nonetheless, I think it goes without saying – as if my Tweet didn’t give it away – what my thoughts are on high-rep OLY lifting.

In fairness, this article gives opinions on BOTH sides of the equation which I felt was pretty cool.

Strength Goals: Don’t Be Afraid to Abandon Them – Bret Contreras

Outside of bringing back some fond memories of internet legend Diesel Weasel, this article really hit home for me (and not because Bret used me as one of his examples).

As I alluded to above, my on-going quest to hit a 600 lb deadlift has been, well, on-going.  How’s that for wordplay?!

Thing is, I also like to stay lean – year round.  Much like Bret explains, every time I start ramping up my DL training, I’ll hit a certain “threshold” (the 550 lb mark) and inevitably my back then tosses me the middle finger.

Of course if I were to just throw my hands in the air, crush some PopTarts and donuts for months on end, and just tack on 20-40 lbs to my frame I’d probably hit that number in no time flat.

But that’s just not an option.

Kudos to Bret for writing such an honest article, as well as helping me see some light at the end of the tunnel. I’m by no means giving up, but it’s definitely helped to put things into perspective.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 8/23/13

I know, I know – I’m posting this badboy up a bit later than usual, but I actually have a legitimate excuse.  For starters,  ummmmm, hello??? Freakin Ben Affleck is slated to be the next Batman!!!!

I don’t know how I feel about this yet.  Part of me is like “hell yeah.” He’s an often under appreciated actor, and he’s obviously made his mark as an A-List director (Gone Baby Gone, The Town, Argo), so I feel like he’s a good fit because he knows what it’s like to direct and will offer his own vision to some degree.

Plus, lets be honest:  he’s got the jawline for the role.

And part of me wants to punch a hole in the wall because I’m so enamored with Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ franchise and Christian Bale’s portrayal of Batman/Bruce Wayne, that it kind of makes me sad that we’re moving on and turning the page on that chapter in the Batman franchise.

It’s going to be interesting for sure, and if nothing else, this marks Day One of my campaign to try to convince Ben Affleck to come to Boston (his home town no less) and train for his role at Cressey Performance.

Someone contact DC Comics for me and make that happen!…….;o)

But in all seriousness, the reason I’m a bit late posting today is because we’ve been absolutely swamped at CP with new assessments (16 this week alone), and I (along with the rest of the staff) have been writing programs like a boss.  I swear every waking moment outside of coaching has been spent writing programs.  Okay I watched the season 7 finale of How I Met Your Mother, but other than that, I’ve been glued to Excel.

Moreover I was the one who ran Excellence Bootcamps this morning, and treated all the participants to a little TG techno magic time.  Which is to say, for five hours straight there was nothing but Swedish House Mafia, Tiesto, Deadmaus, and other sick beats while I took everyone through a healthy dose of Prowler pushes, carries, deadlifts, and fist pumps for days.

It was awesome.  But I guess you had to be there.

Nevertheless, even though most people reading are no longer at work, and are probably 2-3 Martinis deep into their weekend, here’s some stuff to read:

Strength Goals Trump the Scale – Artemis Scantalides

I respect the hell out of Artemis, and not because she can round house kick me to the face faster than I can say “Tracy Anderson is about as intelligent as a ham sandwich.”

Which is pretty darn fast, mind you.

I just love the consistent message that Artemis relays on her blog, and it’s pretty cool to witness.

Please, ladies:  check out her stuff and forward to ALL of your friends who are married to the scale.

Should You Be Sprinting – Kyle Arsenault

This was a fantastic article over on Fitocracy.com by former CP intern, Kyle Arsenault, on the many benefits of sprinting and why many people probably shouldn’t doing it.  At least not yet.

How to Get the Buy In – Justin Kompf

There are a lot of, shall I say, “douchey” personal trainers out there. Most don’t know their ass from their acetabulum, yet are able to hit their quotas each and every month because they’re essentially glorified babysitters.  They train their client’s mouths more than they train their posterior chain.

Rare is the event where a client “buys in,” or hits that tipping point where they finally “get” what you’re trying to accomplish with them as their trainer.

Even rarer when you convert your client’s train of thought into actually LIKING lifting heavy things and showing up week in and week out for more “torture.”

In this thought provoking post, Justin describes the “buy in,” and how you as a trainer can get to that point.

BONUS

Should You Use the Olympic Lifts – Me

This was a quick article I wrote for MensHealth.com on Olympic lifting and why I tend to shy away from including them in 99.98% of the programs that I write.

I’d love for you guys to check it out and show MH.com some love by “Liking” the article.  But if you think it sucks, that’s cool too.  I won’t cry.  That much.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Personal Trainers that Suck, Lack of Progress, and Lift Heavy Stuff

For those wondering what the picture is on the left, that’s this week’s Cressey Performance nutrition tip. While we do go out of our way to post beneficial tips for our clients – like providing simple strategies to increase fruit and veggie consumption, protein shake recipes, and letting them know that a kitten dies every time you toss an egg yolk into the kitchen sink – we also like to have a little fun from time to time.

Hope you got a little chuckle out of it.

It’s been a busy week on my end, and I have a few deadlines to meet.  Note to my editors:  I love you.

This weekend is looking to be just as jammed pack what with Phase II of the Elite Baseball Mentorship going down at the facility. It’s basically three days filled with talking about anything and everything as it relates to training baseball players, and I’m pumped to hear what Eric Cressey, Eric Schoenberg, and Matt Blake are going to be sharing (even though I kinda already know what’s going to be covered).

On that note, I hope everyone enjoys their weekend, and I’ll see you back here next week!

Personal Trainers That Suck – Derek Woodske

I love me some rants. And this my friends, is an EPIC rant.  I don’t think I’ve high-fived my computer screen as much as I did listening to this seven minute video.

We can discuss any industry and go on and on and on about how many people within that industry suck.  Just like there are shitty personal trainers out there (and there are A LOT), we can also make a case for all the shitty lawyers, doctors, car mechanics, and librarians out there too.

Because there’s no real governing body when it comes to personal trainers, and access/certification is nothing more than a $99 credit card payment to some random website, it’s not surprising that many people have a bad taste in their mouth when it comes to personal trainers.

Thing is though:  many of the PTs that we deem as “sucking donkey ass (my words, not the internet’s),” don’t even realize how much they suck.  They’re meeting their quotas, they’re making money, they have an arm band tribal tattoo.  Life is good!

Anyways, I think many of you will enjoy this rant and will be nodding your head in agreement as much as I did.

Top 5 Reasons You’re Not Seeing Results in the Gym – Chad Landers (via JKConditioning)

I love this post for a variety of reasons – but mainly because of how beautifully simple it was.  Some people will go out of their way to come up with the most asinine rationales for why they’re not making progress in the gym.

My left big toe dorsiflexion is off.

I didn’t feed my pet bald eagle this morning.

It’s a leap year.

When the truth of the matter is it’s never anything remotely as complicated as they think it is.

Do the Big Lifts Every Day – Todd Bumgardner

I often feel like Todd and I are long lost brothers.  I mean, we both like to lift heavy stuff, we’re both bald, it’s uncanny!

I don’t think there’s ever been a time where I read something he’s written and I didn’t think to myself, “Wow, it’s almost as if I could have written the same thing!”

Needless to say I really respect Todd’s work, and I always look forward to reading his stuff.  This one is no different.

 

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Hugh Jackman Deadlifts, Supermoms, and Explosive Training

If you’re a gym junkie, and unless you’ve been living underneath a rock for the past five days, you’ve undoubtedly come across the Tweet which has circulated the intertubes of Wolverine, Jean Valjean, Van Helsing  Hugh Jackman deadifting his ass off with the caption that reads, “if the bar ain’t bendin, then you’re just pretendin.”

< —– For visual reference, here it is.

My man-crush on Hugh just hit Matt Damon status.  Hugh, if you read this:  If you’re ever in Boston, come train at my gym.  We’ll deadlift, quote Shakespeare, give each other high fives.  It will be awesome.

Predictably, many a internet hater chimed in and had nothing but negativity to throw Hugh’s way, making derogatory remarks about his “chicken legs,” and saying that what he was lifting was no big deal.

Fact is many people UNDERestimated the amount he was lifting, not realizing that the plates he was using were in kilograms and not lbs.  That’s 465 lbs people!

While not all that impressive in powerlifting circles, he’s not a freakin powerlifter! He’s an actor who’s paid to look badass

And, dare I say, I can almost guarantee a vast majority of the people who scoffed at the picture would be doing cartwheels down Main St. if they could sniff that much on their pull.  Let alone for reps.

Defending Hugh Jackman:  Don’t be a Fitness Snob – Bret Contreras

In the article above Bret hits the nail on the head.  I’m always amazed at how snobby people can be, and even more amazed as to how so many people will take time out of their day for the sole purpose of being an a-hole.

Kudos to you, Bret, for writing this.  Thank you!

One Mom’s Journey to Real Food – Kelly Jordan

Okay I’ll admit it:  I’m a little biased when it comes to this particular post because Kelly is my cousin.  Nevertheless it’s still an awesome article with a worthwhile message:  Yes, supermom’s are busy.  But with a little effort it’s not all that difficult to implement healthier food strategies.

Nice work Kelly!  Woo-hoo!

Explosive Days for Muscle and Strength – Lee Boyce

There’s a lot to be said by implementing more “explosive” type training into your weekly workouts.  In this article Lee breaks down a few ways one can go about doing so in a safe and effective manner.  And, it includes one of THE BEST post clean and jerk dances of all time.  Trust me, watch it!

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Robertson Wisdom, Fish Oil Doesn’t Cause Cancer, and An Article That Literally Brought Tears of Joy to My Eyes

I’m not going to lie people:  I’m in hunker down mode as I type this. I just walked down to Staples and dropped off all the presentations for the Boston Workshop and also have an assortment of odds and ends to get done before the big weekend commences in less than 48 hours.

Grab a bunch of waters?  Check.

Make sure all the chairs are at the facility?  Check.

Projector?  Check.

Adapter for said projector?  Check.

Confirm Dean’s flight info?  Check.

Pick up the Dragon jumping castle (because what fitness workshop is complete without a jumping castle)?  Check.

Pants?  Check.

The point is:  I’m all over the place right now, and am trying my best not end up in some random corner somewhere sucking my thumb.

On that note, here’s some stuff to read that I think you’ll enjoy.  Toodles!

Strength and Power – Mike Robertson

Earlier this week Mike released a video on mobility and stability training in anticipation of his upcoming product, Bulletproof Athlete, which is being released next week.

Today he’s releasing another FREE video on strength and power training which is basically a product in of itself.

Mike’s a super smart guy with a ton of real world experience coaching, and you’d be crazy not to take advantage of any opportunity to listen to what he has to say.

A Fish Story? – Jim Stoppani

In light of a recent “study” which came out connecting fish oil (specifically omega-3 fatty acids) to prostate cancer, and the subsequent media shit storm that followed, I felt the need to share this short, succinct, and excellent article retorting all the claims made by the researchers of said “study.”

Those people should be ashamed of themselves.

The Road to Pull-Up Domination – Element CrossFit

YES!!!!!  A CrossFit affiliate which places an emphasis on STRICT pull-ups over kipping pull-ups!

Excuse me while I go perform a few cartwheels down the street and kiss a few babies.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work Uncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Happy 4th Everyone!

Happy day before 4th of July!  I might as well take the opportunity to wish everyone a happy 4th now (remember: firecrackers aren’t toys!), because the likelihood that I’ll even open up my laptop tomorrow is slim to none.  I believe the game plan for Lisa and I is to pack a cooler and head to the South Shore for a little beach action tomorrow.

Which means, of course, that I’ll be taking myself through a little “beach workout” today at the facility.  Sun’s out Guns out!

Don’t judge me!  You know you’re going to do the exact same thing today.

Anyhoo, here’s some stuff to read to keep you occupied until your boss leaves work early, and then you hightail it out there yourself.

Enjoy!

Book Review: Michael Moss’ Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us – Dr. Yoni Freedhoff

I recently read this book not too long ago- and subsequently made my girlfriend read it as well (who then recommended it to a few of her friends) – and thought it was an absurdly fascinating (and scary) look into the food industry.

Basically the food industry is hoodwinking us in more ways than one.

If you eat food – and I know you do – I can’t recommend this book enough.

Strong is the New Skinny – Sophieologie

I’m s sucker for any article which encourages women to think that lifting (appreciable) weights is a good thing.  So a hardy internet “slow clap” goes out to Sophia for writing this baller article.

What’s even more interesting than the article itself (and it IS a good one), is some of the commentary in the comments section. I often find it comical (and at the same time sad) that some women read a piece like this and act as if someone clubbed a baby seal.

Many will go off on some tired tirade on women’s rights, “HOW DARE YOU BASH SKINNY WOMEN!!!”, blah blah blah…….when that’s not even the point of the article in the first place.  Stop the freakin ballyhooing!

As Sophia noted is the endnotes: strong is not a body type, it’s an ability.

Want to Deadlift Everyday? – Todd Bumgardner

Uh, does a bear shit in the woods?  Does Dolly Parton sleep on her back?

Hell yeah I want to deadlift everyday!