CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work (and While I’m at the Perform Better Summit!)

Hey peeps – I gotta keep this one short today because I’m heading down to Providence, RI for the Perform Better Summit.  I’m excited because I wasn’t able to attend last year, and on top of easily being one of the best weekends of learning on the planet, the Summit also serves as an awesome networking opportunity to meet up with colleagues, listen to some really smart people make me feel dumb, and to interact with a lot of people who read my stuff and go out of their way to introduce themselves.

Fingers crossed this is the year that Matt Damon shows up!…..;o)

That said, I’m going to be heading out the door shortly but I wanted to make sure I gave you all something to read to help pass the time today.

Have an awesome weekend!

Get Bigger and Stronger, and Even Banged Up – Ben Bruno

I’ve long been a fan of the saying, “you need to learn to make lemonade out of lemons.”  When you lift heavy things – for fun no less – you’re bound to get some aches and pains along the way.

This was an excellent article written by Ben showcasing some simple and effective strategies on 1) how to train smart and limit injuries, and 2) understanding that even if you have a setback (large or small) you can still find a way to train.

This has nothing to do with stuff to read, but the picture above was taken yesterday afternoon at the facility. It’s a brand new game…Instead of Where’s Waldo, we’re playing Where’s Tony Tebow-ing?

The Difference Between a Bad Trainer and Good Trainer – Bret Contreras

Bret hits the nail on head here.  The #1 pet peeve of mine when it comes to watching trainers, and the #1 thing which results in a trainer to lose all credibility in my book is how well he 0r she coaches their clients.

If their client is performing a rounded back deadlift and it looks like said client is going to shit their spine, and the trainer does nothing to fix it.

FAIL.

By contrast, those trainers who actually give a hoot, take pride in their work, know what good form looks like, and will take the necessary steps and precautions to hold themselves and their clients accountable, are generally the ones who do very well for themselves.

Why Your Glute Building Program Doesn’t Work – Mark Young

While it certainly can come down to exercise selection, there’s one key component that may be missing that Mark highlights here.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work Uncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Best Diet?, Dieting Gurus, and Tips to be a Better Person

It  finally feels like summer here in Boston.  Last week at this time it was 50 degrees outside, and I was wearing sweatpants to work. It could have been worse, though. On Memorial Day – which was earlier this week – there were people up in Vermont and in the Adirondack region in Upstate NY digging out of two-feet of snow.  A week before June!  Crazy.

I’ll take 50 degrees over two feet of snow any day.

Nonetheless, yesterday was the first 90+ degree day in Boston and it was glorious. I happened to have the day off from work so I was able kick back a bit and enjoy it putting in some quality time reading outside and rocking the early stages of a farmer’s tan.

Today is a bit hectic only in the sense that Lisa and I are hosting a girl from Colombia for the next three weeks, so I was placed on apartment cleaning duties for most of the morning.  And let me just say I can Swiffer like no one’s business!

To give a bit of the back story: Around two years ago Lisa made the trek to Colombia as part of a youth sports development initiative through one of the higher academic institutions here in Boston.  She stayed with a host family for ten days in Medellin and was immersed in their culture while visiting various sport/club groups and institutions in and around the city to see if she could offer any feedback as to how to make things run more smoothly.

Lisa fell in love with her host family, and likewise them with her. They’ve corresponded throughout the years and their oldest daughter, Christina, who’s expressed an interest in journalism, is coming to Boston for three weeks to stay with us as she completes a pseudo “internship” at a local latino based publication in the downtown area.

Lisa jokingly mentioned to me yesterday that “I’m so excited, we’re going to have a teenager for three weeks!”  To which I replied, “no boys”

Totally kidding.

But I’m not.

Anyways, I need to get back to cleaning.  So, here’s some stuff I think you should check out:

What’s the Best Diet? – Dr. John Berardi & Company

Paleo? Vegan? Low Carb? High Carb? Intermittent Fasting? The Unicorn Tears Diet?  Which is best?  Which is a fad?

There’s no shortage of diet “groups” out there, and likewise, there’s no shortage of people walking around wondering what the hell it is they’re supposed to eat.  One week eggs are the bees knees.  The next, they’re worse than Hitler.

In this excellent article by Dr. Berardi and the peeps over at Precision Nutrition, they lay it down like this:

I don’t believe there’s a single, absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt best diet for every person to follow, always, and forever.

How Your Diet Coach Is Ruining Your Metabolism – Jen Comas Keck

Running with the same theme as above, in this article Jen discussing an alarming, often popular tactic used by many online “diet gurus” that’s just flat out asinine.

That’s all I’m going to give you.  You’ll just have to click on the article to find out.

45 Things I Have Learned in 45 Years – Dr. Perry Nickelston

Some of you may remember an interview I did around this time last year on Dr. Nickelston’s popular Podcast Stop Chasing Pain.

You can listen to it HERE.

For those who aren’t familiar with the good Doc, he’s easily one of the most passionate people I’ve ever met and he’s someone whom I respect a lot.

He’s obviously learned a lot throughout the years, and this article, while not completely fitness related, offers a gulf of sage advice that will just make you a better human being in general.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Autoregulation, Busting Through Plateaus, and Probiotics

Unfortunately I have to keep this one pretty short today.  Lisa’s dad and step-mother flew into town yesterday from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and after taking them out to a nice dinner, we all walked back to our apartment where Amanda (Lisa’s step-mother), busted out her iPad so that we could all play Ellen DeGeneres’ game Heads Up.

For those unfamiliar (which was the case with me less than twelve hours ago), it’s simply a word guessing game where your friends try to get you to say the word on the screen by giving you hints. Only with Heads Up, you hold the phone or iPad above your head and it records video of your friend giving hints. You have sixty seconds to guess as many words as you can.

It’s basically Blind Man’s Bluff meets charades, but with video.

And let me just say it’s sooooooooooo addicting.  Lets just put in this way:  there may or may not exist video of me imitating Forrest Gump, a Canadian, and Elmo.

Not to brag or anything, but my Forrest Gump is pretty spot on.  And, surprisingly, my Elmo wasn’t too shabby either.  At one point I had Lisa crying in laughter.

So basically this was just a long-winded way of saying that we slept in this AM, and here’s some stuff you should check out:

How You Feel is NOT a Lie  – David Dellanave

Outside of having one of the most epic mustaches in human history (^^^), David is also the owner of Movement Minneapolis, as well as someone who’s long championed the sentiment of auto-regulation.

We’ve all been there. Some days we feel like rock stars heading into the gym. while on others we feel like we’ve gotten run over by a mack truck.

With respects to the latter, is it best to suck it up and train anyways?

Sometimes, yes.  Sometimes, no.  But according to David…….usually no.  But that doesn’t mean curling up on the couch and catching up on episodes of Teen Mom.

It may just mean nixing your planned workout and going with Plan B or C instead.

Coincidentally Plan C almost always entails some form of bicep curls.  Just sayin……

5 Strength Training Techniques For Busting Through Strength, Fat Loss, and Muscle Building Plateaus – Nia Shanks

I <3 Nia.

That is all.

The Scary Truth About Probiotics – TC Luoma

In this well written and well researched editorial piece, TC dives into some of the research behind the efficacy of probiotics. We’re literally just scraping the tip of the iceberg as far as understanding the role that bacteria play in our gut, but you’d be hard pressed to get that notion from all the hippie naturopaths out there claiming to know otherwise.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Star Trek, Food Freakshow, 7-Minute Workout, etc

Who’s pumped for a little Star Trek action this weekend!?!?!?!  I know THIS GUY is. It’s funny: I was never really much of a Star Trek fan back in the day, preferring to get my geek fix watching Star Wars over and over and over again.  Sure, Captain Kirk had a way with women, but come on, Luke Skywalker had a freakin lightsaber!

I’ll admit, though, I often caught glimpses of Star Trek: The Next Generation on tv and thought Capt. Jean Luc Picard was pretty bad ass. But alas, he was no Han Solo.

Suffice it to say once I heard (back in 2008) that the nerd of all nerds, JJ Abrams, was going to helm the next reboot of Star Trek I was intrigued.  To me Abrams can do no wrong, and like the baller that he is – he delivered.

His re-envisioning of Star Trek – updating the characters (albeit maintaining the quirks and inside jokes of the old series) along with all the mind-blowing special effects – really revitalized a dying franchise and won over a treasure trove of new fans.

Myself included.

I’m sure at some point this weekend Lisa and I will be making a cameo appearance at the cinemaplex.  The only question remains is whether or not she’ll allow me to wear my Spock ears to the showing?

Totally not kidding.

Alright, lets get to the stuff you should read.

Oh, before I get into that I want to remind everyone that you only have until TOMORROW (Saturday, May 18th) to take advantage of the sale (48% off the regular price) that Eric Cressey has placed on his renowned program, Show and Go:  High Performance Training to Look, Feel, and Move Better.

If you’re in a training rut, in a programming flux, or are just kinda going through the motions, this program is about as close as you can get to training at Cressey Performance without actually training there.

Well that, and techno Thursdays…..;o)

Okay, for real this time – here’s some stuff you should read:

Food Freakshow – Brian St. Pierre

Here’s a very interesting piece written by former CP coach, Brian St. Pierre, on the current state of affairs of our food – as well as what’s in store for the future.

Meat grown in test tubes?

Insects as an awesome source of protein?

Cows modified to produce human breast milk?

Surprisingly, this is NOT science-fiction, but things that are actually happening or going to happen.

The Truth About The 7-Minute Workout – Adam Bornstein

This was an EXCELLENT rebuttal/dose of reality written by Adam (with a supporting role by Brad Schoenfeld) on the shadiness behind the current “research” regarding the 7-Minute Workout craze that’s currently making its way through the mainstream media.

By now many of you have undoubtedly heard on the news or in the magazines that all you need to do is “workout” seven minutes a day in order to attain the body (and health) you’ve always wanted.

Adam and Brad peel back the stupid and let it be known that there’s a litany of flaws with this so-called “study,” and that all it takes is a little common sense to smell the BS.

“All I Do is Teach People to Pick Up Heavy Things” (Yeah Right:  You’re Doing So Much More Than That) – Dr. Justin Rabinowitz

In this article the good Doc uses a nice parallel between the book The Power of Habit (which I’d HIGHLY recommend to everyone) and how what we do as fitness professionals has far more reaching benefits than just teaching them to exercise properly.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Movie Reviews, Truths About Squatting, and More

Before I get into today’s meat and potatoes I wanted to take the opportunity to suggest some new movies I think some of you will like.

As most of you who read this blog consistently understand, I’m a huge movie nerd.  I’d venture a guess that if I wasn’t a strength coach I’d probably try to figure out some way to become Kate Beckinsale’s cabana boy watch movies for a living.

Sort of like a more jacked version of Robert Ebert – except instead of something mundane like a star system or something trademarked like a thumbs-up/thumbs-down review (ALA Siskel & Ebert), I’d rank movies using a ” loaded” barbell system.

A barbell with no plates = god awful (Pain and Gain,The Hangover II, anything with the word Twilight in it).

From there, the more plates added onto the barbell dictates its level of badassery.

Ahhh, a guy can dream right?

Anyways, two movies I’ve watched recently that I felt were fairly decent and worthy of 3-4 plates were:

Killing Them Softly and A Place Beyond the Pines.

The former stars Brad Pitt as a hitman for hire and has some of the best cinematography I’ve seen in any film this year. Coincidentally, there was a movie that Pitt did a few years back with the same director called The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford which I felt was another highly UNDERrated film that didn’t get much fanfare despite being nominated for two Oscars (Best Supporting Actor – Casey Affleck, and Achievement in Cinematography).

A fair warning: It’s more of a dialogue based movie and doesn’t really have a lot of shoot em-up scenes despite the title.  All I’ll add to that point is that I LOVE good dialogue and Pitt’s closing monologue is epic!

The latter movie – A Place Beyond the Pines – is one that Lisa and I have been meaning to see for a few weeks now.  I mean, it’s Ryan Gosling – the man can do no wrong after Drive.

We finally had the chance to go see it yesterday. This film teams Gosling with director Derek Cianfrance, who also directed Gosling (and Michelle Williams) in a Blue Valentine (arguably one of the most depressing yet unflinchingly real films on the heartache of relationships), and while I wanted to really, really like this film, I had to give it a solid B- because it’s so freaking long.

The acting was superb – kudos to Bradley Cooper by the way – but there were a few plot points I felt didn’t jive, and while I appreciated the storyline (the first act focuses on Gosling’s character, the second on Cooper’s, and the third on their two sons, I don’t want to give away the “twist”), I felt it was a teeny tiny bit far reaching.

Nonetheless, if you’re looking for two non-Iron Man 3 movies to watch relatively soon, maybe these will be up your alley?

Talking Shop: Video Interview with Tony Gentilcore – Harold Gibbons

I had the pleasure of sitting down for a Skype video interview with my pal Harold Gibbons last week where we discussed everything from why Yoda would make such an amazing strength coach to the fitness writing process. And lots of other stuff in between.

If you’re looking for an hour to kill while you’re sitting there at your desk hating life and think listening to my sultry voice would help pass the time, then I’d highly recommend slapping on a pair of headphones and give it a listen.

This was easily of the funnest interviews I’ve ever done.

And look!  There’s a dragon in the background. Sweet!……;o)

Too Jacked to Olympic Lift: OLY Lifting Mobility – Wil Fleming

I’m about as adept at olympic lifting as I am at playing poker.  Which is to say, I’m god awful.  Speaking truthfully I don’t have a lot of experience with the OLY lifts which is why I generally steer clear of them and point people in the direction of guys like Wil whenever someone is interested in dabbling a little bit.

Even if OLY lifting isn’t your bag this was a fantastic post which digs into some common mobility restrictions.  Check out the t-spine drill!

On an aside, for those who are interesting in OLY lifting, I’d highly recommend Wil’s Complete Olympic Lifting DVD.

6 Truths About Squats – Lee Boyce

My internet high-five of the week goes to Lee for writing this excellent piece on some of the common misconceptions when it comes to squatting.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Sleep Quality, Supplement Confusion, and Nutrition Gurus

I think I’ve got a pretty epic blog brewing for all of you that, if all goes to plan, should be posted by either tomorrow or early next week.  I still have a bit of tinkering to do with it, but I think it will be well worth the wait. And while I’ve never been one to toot my own horn (except for like once a week) it could very well win me a Pulitzer Prize for best piece of literature ever written.  Give or take.

Assuming, of course, I’m able perform a miracle and do so without spelling something wrong or use the word they’re when I meant their.  Or is it there?

Crap! I always get them confused.

Anyways, slight exaggerations notwithstanding, I plan on posting my latest installment on The (New) New Rules of Lifting for Women, and this time I’m going to delve into the topic of the scale and whether or not I feel it’s a good tool to use to judge progress.

So, stay tuned for that one.  In the meantime, here’s some other stuff to read.

Fascinating Facts About Sleep – TC Luoma

Thankfully I’ve never had any issues falling asleep, or staying asleep for that matter.  I know there are a lot of people out there who aren’t quite as lucky and are walking around like zombies day in and day completely sleep deprived.

Don’t believe me?  If any of these have happened to you within the past year, it’s a safe bet you’re not getting enough sleep:

1.  You showed up to work without any pants on.

2.  You kissed the toaster good-bye this morning and not your significant other.

3.  You brushed your teeth with foot cream and didn’t even bat an eye.

Unfortunately many people are just too wired before heading to bed, which makes falling asleep all the more challenging.  I for one have a set ritual:

– I try to turn off all screens an hour before bed.  Which means no tv and no checking emails.

– I cap off the night with a cup of mint hernal tea and some ZMA.

– Once it’s time for bed, I crawl into my Transformer PJs, turn on my fan (white noise), close all the shades and curtains, and read for a good 30 minutes.

It’s like my body knows the ritual, and by the time I turn my light off I’m asleep within a few minutes and dreaming about becoming BFFs with The Rock as we fight crime on the streets with our fire-breathing dragons.  Gotta love ZMA dreams!

But like I said, there are many people out there who don’t have this luxury.  There’s a real struggle for many out there to not only get to sleep, but stay asleep, which is going to have long-stemming ramifications on things like T-levels and just overall quality of life.

I felt this article by TC was a fascinating (hence the word in the title) look into the history of sleep.  Apparently, we’re doing it wrong….;o)

We’ve Solved 90% of Supplement Confusion – The Guys Over at Examine.com

With 17,000+ citations it’s a safe bet that both Sol Orwell and Kurtis Frank have looked underneath every rock and barked up every tree to provide what’s arguably the most complete database of supplement reviews on the web.

What works?  What doesn’t?  What makes you piss out your ass for three days?  Is Creatine worth taking?  What benefits does fish oil really provide?  And what the heck is Yohimbe?

All the answers are here, at your finger tips.

Well played, fellas.  Well played.

Cue slow clap here.

Opinion Stew – Dr. David Katz

Isn’t it funny (or more appropriately unfortunate) that anyone can be a nutrition guru?  Seemingly anyone who has an opinion – or happened to lose 20 lbs last month – is somehow an expert when it comes to nutrition.

It’s crazy.

To quote the good doc himself, “For now, anyone who shares opinions about nutrition or weight loudly and often enough — or cleverly enough — is embraced as an authority, with no one generally even asking what if any training they’ve had.”

In this awesome opinion piece, Dr. Katz speaks some well needed truth.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 3/7/13

And so it begins.  According to the weather reports, the east coast (Boston) is supposed to get hammered with yet another winter storm today through tomorrow. I’m looking outside my window as I type this and it’s getting a little suspicious for sure.

But then again, we were supposed to get a 12+ inch storm two weekends ago and ended up getting nothing more than a few rain drops (and a lot of empty bread isles in the grocery stores).  I think after Snowmeggedon 2013 the meteorologists are all leaning on the side of “better to be safe than sorry,” and preparing people for the worst in every scenario.

A forecast of two inches miraculously turns into 18.  And predicted gusts comprable to a few branches being blown down inevitably turn into DEFCON FOUR gail force winds.

It remains to be seen what’s going to happen, but in the meantime here are a few things to read while I go stock up on batteries and sit in the fetal position in my bathroom……

3 Reasons To Never Trust Estimated Calorie Burn On Cardio Machines – Pat Koch

You know that annoying “friend” or colleague of yours who comes back from his or her lunch break and brags about how they just burned 789 calories jogging for 30 minutes on the treadmill while watching The Price Is Right?

You know it’s BS and want nothing more than to call them out on it, grab the closest sharp object within arms reach (envelop opener, scissors, a machete), and heave it at their head like an 0-2 fastball.

The worst part is that while they’re sitting there at their desk telling you how awesome they are, they’re crushing a burrito from Chipotle topped off with an eight ounce Gatorade.

Well here’s your chance.  Hand them this article. And for dramatic effect, when you do hand it to them, slap it on their desk and yell out a triumphant “Ah….HA! I told you!!!”

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food – Michael Moss

This was a fascinating, thorough, well-researched piece on the food industry (more specifically: the food science industry) and the lengths that they go to to get a share of our stomachs.

After reading it myself I wouldn’t be surprised if they could take sandpaper dipped in cancer and make that an appetizer of the day.

RFD and Superhero Athleticism – Sean Guevremont

I’ve stated in the past that absolutely LOVE paying it forward, and pointing people in the direction of fitness professionals, writers, and bloggers that many of you otherwise may have never heard of.

I get a fair number of people who reach out to me asking me to “plug” their articles, and if I were going to be honest a fair number of them are utter crap.

Occasionally, however, the stars align and I get sent something that I feel is pretty darn good.

For me, what makes a good article isn’t so much its length or use of fancy words (although some may think differently), but rather how effective it is at getting its message across in a simple-to-follow yet engaging format.

Here’s a quick, to-the-point post by Sean on rate of force development and why including some dedicated speed work into your repertoire may be the missing ingredient.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 2/7/13

Okay, before I jump into this week’s list of stuff to read, I had to share THIS video I came across on the homepage of Yahoo! this morning.

Basically it’s a video of a Miami based teenager – who’s incarcerated for drug possession – acting very flippant (in every sense of the word) with the judge sentencing her.

Not amused with her shenanigans, the judge hands her the smack-down and doubles her fine (the reaction is priceless), and then, sentences her to 30-days in county jail.  BOOM!

I think Miami should give this guy a ticker-tape parade, the key to the city, or name a street after him or something. A free ticket to an all-you-can-eat-buffet?  Anything!

The man is a hero.

You Have To Workout To Get a Workout – Hamilton Nolan

Those who enjoy my writing style and sometimes “tough love” approach will appreciate this article by Hamilton.

I’m sorry, but “going for a walk” is not working out.  Nor is going to the gym to casually putter away on the elliptical while watching The Real Housewives of Whogivesashit (or where ever the current season is filming).

You actually have to strain a little bit, and maybe even break a sweat!  I know, weird.

But trust me:  it’s for you’re own good.  If you need a little motivation, this column may be exactly what you (or a friend, or a family member, or a colleague) needs.

Stretching Doesn’t Work – Dean Somerset

You know those cute hamstring or hip flexor stretches you do prior to each training session (and sometimes afterwards too)?

Yeah, they’re probably a waste of time.

In fact, if I had to make a list of things that are more worth your time, I’d go with (in no particular order):

– Talking about your feelings with your significant other.

– Watching the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (while standing on a BOSU ball).

– Watching a Tracy Anderson interview and then spontaneously throwing up a little bit in your mouth.

– Watching this video of a monkey eating its own poo

Initiating the Squat: Making the Distinction Between Hip Flexion and Lumbar Hyper-extension – Jordan Syatt

I thought this was a bang-on job by former CP intern/coach, Jordan Syatt, explaining this often confusing concept on cleaning up one’s squatting technique.

It’s a very subtle differentiation, but something that many people make the mistake of doing, oftentimes leading to injury.

Check it out and show Jordan some love!

The guys owns a 3x bodyweight deadlift, so he knows what he’s talking about.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work Uncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Chest Builders, Tickets to the Gun Show, and New Blogs

6 Coaches on Chest Training – A Bunch of Smart (and Swole) Dudes

A while back I was contacted by the editors of T-Nation to contribute to an article specifically geared towards people interested in pull-ups:  how to not suck at them, how they can go about building a back wider than Kansas, you know, stuff like that.

It went over really well, so the higher-ups at T-Nation decided to ask the same crew to write their thoughts on chest training, and this was the end result.

60 Must-Read Health & Fitness Blogs for 2013 – Greatist.com

I was truly honored (and humbled) to have my blog listed amongst so many other esteemed health and fitness professionals.  As it turns out, many of the blogs I follow on a consistent basis (Mark’s Daily Apple, Bret Contreras, Adam Bornstein, Eric Cressey, Kellie Davis, Girls Gone Strong, to name a few) made the list, which doesn’t really surprise me because they’re all fantastic.

But it was nice to get e-introduced to a number of other blogs that are equally as awesome and badass.

Maybe you’ll find one on the list you’ll enjoy?

2 Tickets to the Gun Show – Dan Trink

Honestly, Dan had me a “Gun Show,” so I’m already in and an easy sell.  But in case you’re not up to snuff with broscience lingo, my good friend Dan Trink, Director of Training at Peak Performance in NYC and co-author (along with me) of the first three month’s of programming for Greatist’s Workout of the Day (GWOD), released his very first fitness product this week that’s a 4-week arm specialization program.

For those who don’t know Dan, he’s a brick shit-house and has arms bigger than both Optimus Prime and Megatron combined.

See?  Told ya.

But he’s also one of the nicest and most down-to-earth human beings I know.  Not that that really matters when purchasing a product, but I just thought you should know….;o) I generally shy away from people who are a-holes, let alone endorse their products.

Anyhoo:  As a dude, I know the first thing I do when “sizing up” other dudes is to look at the size of their arms. While it doesn’t necessarily tell me much in terms of how strong they are (or if they have some super secret Jedi mind trick powers that I don’t about), chances are if someone’s rocking 18″ pythons, I’m not going to attempt to take their lunch money.

Having big arms is the “holy grail” for just about any guy who has ever lifted a weight in the history of the world, and this 4-week program delivers the goods.

The manual includes 4-weeks of programming, training templates, and links to videos of every exercise.  The only thing it doesn’t include is a tape measure and a copy of Hulk Hogan’s theme song, “Real American.”

It’s on sale now for $14.99 until this Friday at midnight, and then it reverts to the normal price of $27.99.  So for 0.54 cents per day, you could have Rambo arms.  Seems like a no-brainer to me.

====> Get Your Tickets Here <====

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work Uncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Zombies!, Pull-Ups, and the best Warm-Up Article EVER

Wait a second – my alarm went off this morning.  I don’t think I’m dreaming.

*looks out window*

Volcanoes aren’t erupting, the streets aren’t flooded with molten lava, and from what I can tell, everything seems business as usual.

The Mayanpocalypsearmeggedonacaust didn’t happen.  We’re all still here!!!!!!

High Five!

But be weary my friends – we’re still not out of the woods yet.  The day is still young, and you never know when s*** is going to hit the fan.

If things do get real, and you’re forced to fight for your life, whether it be killing a grizzly bear with your nunchucks for your next meal, protecting your family from evil doers, or I don’t know, something less “doom and gloom” like clicking “next” whenever your Pandora station plays a Coldplay song……are you prepared?

Are you in enough ass-kicking shape to do what you need to do to get s*** done? Can you – WILL YOU – survive if you had to go all Snake Plissken on people’s asses?

Well just in case, earlier this week my boy, John Romaniello, released his latest training program:

Zombie Apocalypse Survival Workout

I know some reading are going to dismiss this product due to the “less than serious” premise. To that I say:

1.  Relax!  Don’t take yourself so seriously.

AND

2.  There’s actually a legitimate rationale behind it.

John, along with every other well-known fitness professional I know, routinely gets questions asking his opinion on CrossFit (myself included).

It’s a touchy topic to say the least, and something that has caused a rift between strength coaches, personal trainers, and fitness enthusiasts alike.

On one end of the spectrum you have those who swear by it, and literally eat, drink, breath, and LIVE by CrossFit.

On the other, you have those who loathe it, think it’s a fad, and that it’s hopefully going away.  Like, soon.

Well, it’s not going away.  And while I’ll be the first to admit that I too have my qualms with CrossFit, I also understand that it’s getting people excited to exercise, and there’s a lot to be said for that. How can I possibly poo-poo on that?

Like John I feel the idea of CrossFit is sound – it’s just that its execution is flawed.

To his credit John has been attending at least one CrossFit class a week for the past few months to try to get a better understanding and feel for what the culture is like.

And, not surprisingly, he’s mentioned several times that there are great coaches and absolutely terrible coaches.

The great coaches – and by extension, the most successful CF boxes – understand that it comes down to sound programming.  They take the time to properly coach their clients and use appropriate exercise progressions (and more importantly, regressions) to “guide” them through.

By contrast, the terrible coaches – and unfortunately this seems to be the rule rather than the exception – focus solely on the workouts. How can we completely obliterate our athletes/clients and make them hate life?  How can we – fingers crossed! – make them cough up their spleen?

The latter is what I 100% disagree with, and what I feel gives CrossFit its bad rap.

So what did Roman do?  He started taking CrossFit classes to see if he could fix it.

To quote the man himself:

“I thought to myself, “what if you took the idea of CrossFit–the idea of non-
specification,the idea of having a high level of general proficiency across the
board, and applied intelligent programming–with a classic Roman twist–to
that idea…what would you get?”

It’s a good question, and one worth exploring. So that’s what I did.

What I wound up with was the Zombie Apocalypse Survival Workout. 

Because really, when you strip away the fun and silliness, that’s what ZAW 
really is: my take on CrossFit. It’s CrossFit, Roman style, with all of the issues 
with programming fixed.”

Fittingly, today is the last day of the sale, so if you’re interested you better hurry.  The walking dead could be right around the corner……;o)

6 Coaches Weigh in on Pull-Ups – 6 Coaches, Duh!

Along with Bret Contreras, Ben Bruno, Dean Somerset, Tim Henriques, and Dan Trink, I was asked to contribute to this awesome pull-up article that was put up on T-Nation yesterday.

If we were a boy band, we’d totally be the most diesel boy band ever.

I’d be the shy one.

Warm-Up – Mike Robertson

The title says it all.

I wrote a blog post a while back titled The Perfect Warm-Up?  It was nothing revolutionary, but it cemented my thoughts on what I felt the purpose of a proper warm-up is, and then I offered a different spin on it.

Well, in THIS article – which should be titled The FOR REAL Perfect Warm-Up – Mike breaks everything down from what the warm-up should accomplish for each segment of the body to providing videos of all of his favorite drills.  This is a MUST read.