I recently had the pleasure (and honor) to have my very first article posted up on BodyBuilding.com at the tail end of last week. As it happened I was contacted by one of their fitness editors asking if I’d be interested in providing some monthly content, and I of course jumped at the chance.
But only under two conditions:
1. That I’d have a fair amount of autonomy and be able to focus my writing towards universal themes such as placing a premium on strength as well as having the opportunity to teach/coach people on proper exercise technique (in addition to addressing common myths and fallacies such as squatting deep is bad for your knees or that Keanu Reeves is somehow, somewhere, considered a good actor.)
2. That they’d include a link to my blog on my bio page. Their Alexa ranking (a site which ranks websites off of traffic and popularity) is 693 in the world!
That’s a crap load of traffic!
So, in case there’s anyone new visiting the site today – welcome! Hopefully you’ll stay around awhile…;o)
Nonetheless, I submitted my article last week and it’s already up – so they must have thought it was sorta good.
So far the responses it’s been receiving has been great, and I’m really happy to see that many who have read it are on the same page as myself.
They’re obviously very smart and good looking….;o)
That said there have been numerous comments on MY comment concerning head positioning during the squat, and I’d like to take a few moments to address it.
A handful of people were a bit perplexed that I advocated to NOT look up when squatting. Apparently all their football coaches told them otherwise, and then I had to come out of no where and ruin their world…..;o)
By that same token, some felt (and misinterpreted) that what I was actually advocating was for people to look down, which is also false.
In short, as coaches and fitness professionals, we’re constantly stressing the importance of maintaining the spine’s natural curvature (a certain amount of lordosis in the lumbar spine, and kyphosis in the upper spine) while training.
In my experience coaching people to look up and to hyperextend their cervical spine isn’t a great idea in the grand scheme of things. We’re always telling people not to deadlift or squat with a rounded LOWER back (which is part of the spine last time I checked) for fear of compromising its integrity and causing injury.
Why, then, is it perfectly okay to disregard the cervical spine? Do we not want to prevent anything bad from happening in our neck?
Simply put, and as renowned strength coach and therapist Charlie Weingroff has repeatedly stated, maintaining a neutral or “packed neck/chin tucked” posture while squatting or deadlifting is a fantastic way to not only prevent injury, but it also makes you more stable, which in turn will allow you to lift more weight.
And as we all know when you lift more weight, you’re more capable to fighting off zombies when they inevitably attack. It’s standard procedure, really.
This teeny tiny deviation from the norm may throw people off guard, and it will definitely take some practice and some getting used to if you’re not accustomed to it, but in the long run it will pay huge dividends as far as overall squatting performance.
Outside of that, give the article a read and let me know what you think!
Had my latest article posted up on T-Nation recently:
Chances are if you’re reading T Nation you’re interested in muscle, and you’re interested in packing on as much of it as possible.
Whether it’s to improve performance on the field, look better naked, or to stop the, “Hey, you look like that skinny kid from the movie Road Trip” taunts, it stands to reason that a fair share of the people reading this have gone through a bulking cycle or two.
And failed miserably.
Bulking isn’t easy – it takes a lot of hard work, time, and dedication. But if you’re someone who’s consistently making the same two mistakes below, then it’s time to make some changes.
Also (See Below for a Stellar Gwyneth Paltrow/Tracy Anderson Burn)
Everyone and their Little League coach is seemingly making the trip to NYC this weekend to support my boys John Romaniello and Adam Bornstein for the book launch of their new book Man 2.0: Engineering the Alpha Male.
Unfortunately, while I was invited, I won’t be able to make the trip because I’ll be presenting at the Elite Training Workshop (alongside Eric Cressey, Mike Robertson, and Mike Reinold) at Cressey Performance this weekend.
As I noted earlier in the week, John is offering some pretty sweet additional bonuses for those who purchase the book on the official Engineering the Alpha website HERE. Offers that end tomorrow (Saturday, April 20th at noon). These offers ALSO apply to those who buy the Kindle version (so long as they forward their receipts of purchase).
If that’s not incentive enough I have one more ulterior motive to entice you to purchase the book that I want to throw your way. The current #1 Hardcover Health/Advice book on the New York Times best sellar list is It’sAll Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great by none other than Gwyneth Paltrow. The same Gwyneth Paltrow who, while being BFFs with “celebrity” trainer Tracy Anderson (of the “no woman should lift a weight heavier than three lbs” and “baby food diet” fame), was also diagnosed with osteopenia (a precursor to osteoporosis) two years ago; in no small part to the extreme diets and food restriction she has long advocated.
What a bunch of BS.
So, if you don’t buy Man 2.o (a book that’s actually written by two well-respected people IN the industry) and help it climb to #1, you’re essentially supporting Paltrow Skeletor and Anderson Mephistopheles.
Okay, that’s a bit harsh, but hopefully you see my point.
Ladies, This Means You, Too.
Understandably, a book not starting with the words 50 Shades of.… and revolves around how to go about increasing T-levels isn’t high on a woman’s “to read” list. To that end, John has placed his best-selling program Final Phase Fat Losson sale as a “peace offering” for any women out there feeling left out and still interested in getting some top-notch information in their hands.
You have to act quickly, though, because the offer ends tomorrow (Saturday, April 20th).
WIth Lisa starting the process of studying for her licensure exam on a nightly basis (she’s currently on the home stretch of her post-doctorate Fellowship), it’s given me the opportunity to catch up on some much needed reading.
Of course, like an asstard I made the mistake of starting season three of The Walking Dead the other day which has totally derailed any semblance of productivity during the past 72 hours of my life. While I’ve gotten some reading in (see below), most of my time has been spent doing nothing but watching zombies getting beheaded, blown up, shot, and otherwise pwned in every way possible.
And it’s been glorious.
I’m trying to place a finger on why it is we as a society are so obsessed with zombies. Much like the teenage vampire phase that’s dominated our pop-culture the past five years (Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, Let Me In*), it seems like zombies are enjoying a fair share of the spotlight as well.
Although the “trend” has been around for a lot longer than people think. Anyone who hasn’t watched Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead or Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later (and the equally impressive, albeit lesser known sequel, 28 Weeks Later starring a pre-Hurt Locker Jeremy Renner) are missing out.
Not to mention we could go waaaaaay back to George Romero’s 1968 classic, Night of the Living Dead, which in many respects was the influence behind Michael Jackson’s seminal 1980’s zombie-fest video Thriller. Talk about a pop-culture phenomena!
And that’s not it, either. Right around the corner is Brad Pitt’s long awaited movie, World War Z:
Annnnnnnd, I just destroyed the back of my pants.
That’s going to be awesome!!!!
Whatever it is, I hope the current zombie love-fest doesn’t stop because I’m digging it.
Anyways, you didn’t log on today to talk about zombies. But if you did, you and I need to hang out more often. Here’s some stuff to read.
I’ve been featuring a lot od Dave’s stuff in recent editions of Stuff to Read, and with good reason: the man just makes sense! Like him I won’t sit here and say that the Turkish Get-Up is the end-all/be-all of exercises; it’s not going to make you bulletproof, it (probably) won’t add 100 lbs to your deadlift, and it certainly won’t fix your bed-head (would it hurt to grab a comb by the way, sheesh!). But there are a bevy of good things that arise from incorporating more get-ups into your life.
Here Dave lists a few which I couldn’t agree more with – especially #2
The fitness industry is funny – it’s always shifting from one extreme to the other.
1. One day spinal flexion is okay, the next everyone is shitting a pink dumbbell if someone even mutters the word. For the record: I used to be one of those people who poo-pood on flexion no matter what, but soon realized that it’s a bit sensationalistic to demonize it entirely. I mean, it’s part of normal human movement to be able to bend your spine. LOADED flexion is another story entirely. That’s just dumb. Stop it. Stop it right now! I swear to god I’ll turn this car around!
2. More to the point, back in the 1980’s aerobic training was the flavor of choice. Everyone was quick to grab their leotard, leggings, and head bands and high-tail it to the next step class faster than Olivia Newtown John could say Lets Get Physical.
Then, somewhere in the mid-90’s, you were given the Scarlet Letter if you were caught running for more than 20 seconds because HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) was the new popular kid in town. For fat-loss and conditioning, doing more short bursts of work was the key.
While not technically wrong – and definitely a step in the right direction – again, it’s a bit overkill. It IS still important, even for more explosive based sports like football, track and field, baseball, etc – to have an aerobic base.
In Part One of this article, Molly sheds light on why we shouldn’t turn our backs on aerobic training altogether
Becoming the Expert – Jon Goodman, John Romaniello, Dean Somerset (and Company)
There’s only another few days (till the end of this week, 4/14) to take advantage of the reduced sale price and world wide FREE shipping offer on this superb DVD set.
In a time where becoming a “successful” fitness professional is equal parts knowing your shit and more importantly, being really good at what you do, having an internet presence and possessing the ability to articulate yourself through the written word is climbing the ladder of importance as well.
If you’re a personal trainer or coach and struggling to drum up business or just clueless when it comes to this whole interwebz thing, then this DVD set may be right up your alley.
And did I mentioned there’s free shipping throughout the world?
Note: there’s free shipping.
* = while this one is good, it’s actually a remake from the 2008 film, Let the Right One In, which I felt was much better. Just sayin…..
Here’s a little TG trivia for all of you: it was never my intention to become a personal trainer or strength coach. That wasn’t my game plan at least. Nope, my game plan, and what I went to school for, was to become a health teacher.
Bachelor’s degree in Health Education, thank you very much.
Well, actually, my real game plan all along was to become a professional baseball player, sign on with the Oakland Athletics, and become an honorary member of The Bash Brothers alongside Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco.
Growing up I had the exact same poster you see to the left hanging on my wall in my bedroom, and I can’t even begin to tell you how many hours I spent outside in my side yard hitting a baseball back and forth pretending to be a Major Leaguer hitting a 3-2 fastball to win game 7 of the World Series.
By my count I think I won roughly 5,974 Game 7s. Not too shabby!
Moreover there wasn’t any point throughout the year where I wasn’t playing a sport or game of some sort. Wiffleball, basketball, kickball, football, tennis, swimming, cops and robbers, duck-duck-goose, you name it, I played it.
All of this to say I was a very active kid growing up. “Fitness,” even though I didn’t know any better back then, was always a part of my life.
I got my first weight training set when I was 13 or 14 (Santa dropped it off one Christmas), and I remember setting up shop downstairs in my parent’s basement, slapping the poster on a wooden beam, and religiously following the diagrams with the muscly dude (who wore really short shorts) to a “T” every other day until I entered high school and had access to a real weight room.
All throughout my high school career, I’d stay after school to lift weights for 45-60 minutes and then take the “late” bus home which ended up being another 45-60 minute bus ride. During that time I’d sit there, usually alone, and day dream about playing college baseball while jamming a softball between my fingers which I ascertained would make it easier to grip a baseball to throw a forkball (which, coincidentally enough, was the go to pitch of Oakland A’s ace, Dave Stewart).
I could easily sit here and go on and on about my high school (and college!) baseball playing days, but I’ll spare you all the details because I don’t want to bore you to tears
Although, there was this one time, at baseball camp……….
KIDDING.
Long story short, I had a few professional tryouts but nothing panned out. Apparently there wasn’t much of a demand for a 6-1 right-handed pitcher with a mid 80s fastball. Go figure!
That’s me my senior year at Mercyhurst College (home team) pitching the first game of a double header. And let me just say I looked gooooooood in baseball pants…..;o)
With my playing days caput, I moved back to my homestate of New York and transferred to SUNY Cortland to pursue my degree in Health Education.
I figured that as much as health and fitness was a part of my life, I might as well make it a career.
I did all the course work, even did my student teaching in both a high school and middle school placement. If you can believe it I actually had to teach Sex Education to a bunch of 7th graders. I challenge anyone to say the word penis to a group of 13 year olds and not participate in all the giggling.
To this day I’m still amazed that I was able to make it through alive.
Ironically enough, academia wasn’t the road I ended up travelling down. As part of my concentration (Health and Wellness Promotion) I also had to complete an internship that following summer, and luckily for me I found one at a corporate gym just outside Syracuse, NY.
After three months, I had to make a decision: I could either wear a suit and tie everyday…..or sweatpants.
It was a no-brainer.
That was a little over ten years ago. Looking back I can tell you I made a crap ton of mistakes when I entered this field. While I thought I was the bees knees and that I knew everything there was to know, I can tell you from experience I was a walking ball of fail.
Don’t get me wrong, I feel I was better than the average trainer, but I’d ve lying if I said I was anything to brag about. I had my fair share of ups and downs, and if I had to pick which were some of my major mistakes
1. Trying to Prove to Everyone How Smart I Was
In an effort to showcase to every new (or prospective) client how smart I was, I used every opportunity I could to use big words and talk over them – as if that was going to be the “x-factor” in winning them over.
Reciprocal Inhibition
Synergistic Dominance
Active/Passive Restraints
Accomodating Resistance
Onomatopoeia
Blah blah blah. While I thought I was wowing them with my knowledge base and extensive vocabulary, looking back, all that really happened, much of the time, was coming across douchier than a Jersey Shore reject.
Listen, if you’re working with someone who’s coming to you with chronic low back pain, they could care less about what Dr. McGill says about compressive loading, force vectors, and biomechanical breakdowns. Well, some may care and actually be interested. And if so, I want to hang out with them.
But 95% of the time, they do not care in the least. All they care about is whether or not you can help them get out of pain. Or lose 15 lbs. Or help them increase their bench press. Whatever the case may be.
One piece of advice that I’ve always relayed to other trainers (and I only say this through experience) is that if you can’t explain something to a cocktail waitress on a napkin, you’re making it too complicated.
2. Being Scared S***less to Ask for People’s Money
To be honest: this is still something I struggle with, but through the years I’ve gotten much better at it.
As a new trainer, and especially when I moved to Boston, this was something I really had to work to get better on. It’s never easy to ask someone for their money, but when you consider that you’re offering a service, and you’re damn good at what you do, you need to recognize that you should be compensated accordingly for your time.
More or less I feel that if you’re a good person, demonstrate that you actually care and are invested in helping someone, and act professional (and don’t try every trick in the book to swindle them), people will more than likely commit.
It’s just the whole conversation of asking for money that I’ve always had a hard time with – especially when I first started out. I’d have 1-2 comped sessions with a new member, and then after their last session the crickets would start chirping, a few tumbleweeds would blow through, and I’d be like, “soooooo, uh, wanna train with me?”
Of course my delivery improved throughout the years as I gained confidence in my abilities, but time and time again, if there’s ONE trait that upcoming trainers say they need to work on, it’s learning to ask for money.
3. Training People the Way I Wanted to Train Them (Emphasis On “I”)
There’s no secret that I have an affinity for lifting heavy stuff. I think everyone should place an emphasis on strength and getting stronger, and good things will happen.
Thing is, as a trainer, sometimes, begrudgingly, you have to remember that not everyone’s goal is to deadlift a mack truck.
If someone is paying you good money as their trainer, you have to realize it’s a bit of give and take. On one end you’re the trainer, the expert, the guy (or girl) who knows WTF they’re talking about. It’s your job to dictate to your clients what they need to do, not necessarily what they want to do given their goals, health history, and ability level.
Powerlifters like to train people like powerlifters. Bodybuilders like bodybuilders. Jedis like Jedis. So on and so forth. And that’s okay. In my younger years I used to gravitate towards telling people that they have to get strong, they have to squat, and that they have to avoid body part splits at all costs.
While I still feel that’s the case much of the time, I also know that I turned off a lot of clients back in the day for being so pigheaded.
Just remember: Yes, you’re the professional. People are paying YOU for your expertise. But it’s also important to understand that your goals aren’t necessarily their’s.
4. Not Networking Sooner
Establishing a close-knitted network of other professionals that you can exchange ideas with, talk shop, and learn from is CRUCIAL. This is something I completely ignored my first 1-2 years in the industry.
It wasn’t until I started reaching out to other people via email and asked for their advice I certain thing that I felt I was making strides in my career.
Many people don’t know this, but Eric Cressey and I met through the internet.
Now, it’s not like we met on BestFriendStrengthCoachFinder.com or anything, but we always seemed to cross paths on various fitness websites and what not. Before long we corresponded through email, met in person at a group gathering in NYC in 2004, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Going out of your way to reach out to other trainers or coaches or practitioners is a big deal. Asking a local coach if you can stop by to observe one day is pretty much standard practice nowadays. Most are more than willing to help out, and chances are it’s going to lead to other potential networking opportunities down the road.
Hey, you never know what it could lead to!
5. Continuing Education Is Kind of a Big Deal
This is something that took me a while to grab onto back in the day. To me, because I wasn’t making much money out of the gate (and trust me, most trainers don’t), I felt everything was a cost.
Whether it was a book, a DVD, or heading to a seminar or conference, my immediate thought process was “how much is this going to set me back?”
And then I heard Mike Boyle speak on the topic, and he changed my mindset entirely. Instead of viewing things like books and seminars as a cost, you need to view them as an investment!
You’re investing in yourself – and more often than not, what you pick up or learn will end up paying for itself (and then some). I remember going to see Dr. McGill speak once to the tune of a few hundred dollars, and upon heading back to work, easily picked up 2-3 clients because I was able to articulate some knowledge bombs I learned regarding managing lower back pain.
And since I’m on the topic of continuing education, as it happens, my good friends Jon Goodman, Dean Somerset, and John Romaniello released their killer Becoming the ExpertDVD set today.
It stands to reason that a vast majority of people who read this site on a daily basis are trainers or coaches and are either trying to pick up more personal training clients (and struggling to do so) or trying to build their business or brand (and struggling to do so).
Becoming the expert today is more than just book smarts, training knowledge, and good looks (although, that doesn’t hurt….wink).
Having a repertoire of unique skill-sets like the ability to write, creating a reputation online, and finding a niche market are huge selling points and serve as fantastic ways to separate yourself from the masses.
Any edge you can gain is a good thing, and these guys went out of their way to divulge some of the things that helped them succeed in their respective careers.
Jonathan Goodman – Social Media Domination for Fitness Professionals (2hrs)
John Romaniello – Fuck Mediocrity: Kick-Ass, Take Names and Make Money Your Way to World Domination (3hrs)
Dean Somerset – Specialization and the Expert Experience (1hr)
What’s more, there are several 20-30 minute BONUS videos from the likes of Lou Schuler, Neghar Fonooni, and Mark Young, to name a few.
The whole set is on sale for $87 through this week, and that includes FREE SHIPPING anywhere throughout the world. It doesn’t matter if you live in England or Botswana – there’s no additional cost with shipping.
But that only lasts for THIS WEEK only (ending 4/13).
I don’t think I need to tell you that the information provided is solid, and I really feel this is something that will help a lot of upcoming (and veteran) trainers out there take their business to the next level.
Oh boy. I can only imagine how some people who, upon reading the headline to this post (and are feverishly trying to lose weight), already dislike the person who submitted this question.
Waaaaaaa, poor you! You have to eat more food. I haven’t eaten a carb since Christmas……cry me a river!
As a strength coach, however, and someone who works with high-school and college athletes on a daily basis, I can tell you that struggling to gain weight (in an effort to improve performance on the field) is an all too common dilemma, and something that can just be as hard to resolve.
Which is why I felt I’d spend a little time addressing the topic here after receiving the following email in the Cressey Performance account recently.
Q:I’m 5’11 and weigh 150lbs. Last season I weighed 175 and then lost all of it because we ran so much, and ended the season weighing 135 lbs. That was a crisis for me. I have done the same exact thing as I did before but can’t seem to gain the weight back! Help me dude it’s killing me!
But I also have another question, and that is, would it hurt me to take half doses of creatine just to get a little bit bigger?
A: Wow, that’s a pretty drastic drop in weight! First off, every time I hear a story of a baseball coach running his players into the ground I want to set my face on fire.
What’s the rationale? What’s the longest distance that a baseball player will need to run? It’s 90 feet from home plate to first base. If someone rounded the bases that’s 360 feet. Where does a 3-5 mile jog fit into the picture? How does that prepare a player for the more explosive nature of the sport?
HINT: it doesn’t!
Eric Cressey already chastised this sacred cow and explained why distance running really has no place in the sport HERE and HERE, so I won’t kick a horse when it’s down.
That said:
1. Two points for Gryffindor for including not one, but two idioms in one sentence!
2. Please stop running (for distance, anyways), if you haven’t already.
3. Maybe show the above articles to your coach, and he’ll have a change of heart….;o)
Looking at the positives, you’re already 15 lbs up, so you’re obviously doing something right. But if there’s one piece of advice I can give you, it’s this:
You Need To Eat More
I know, I know – you eat, like, all the time. And you couldn’t possibly eat any more. I’ve heard that same excuse a few thousand times, and I’m sure I’ll hear it a thousand more.
Take my word for it: you’re not eating enough.
But before we get into that, lets address the more pertinent question: Creatine isn’t dangerous. It’s the most researched supplement in human history, it works, there’s a ton of efficacy towards its use, and I’d highly encourage you to check out THIS review by the guys over at Examine.com for all the information you’ll ever need on the topic.
But, it’s not what you need nor should it be at the top of your list of priorties. Not even close.
I’ve trumpeted this sentiment before, and I might as well say it again:
Supplements are progress enhancers, not progress starters.
If your current training and nutrition plan(s) aren’t yielding the results you want, than a supplement isn’t really the right approach. More to the point, the word supplement shouldn’t even reach the tip of your tongue until you have your nutrition in order.
You need CALORIES to grow. If you’re not providing the body the ample nutrients it needs to not only grow, but recover, you’re just going to be spinning your wheels and wondering why you look like that skinny dude from Road Trip – and you’re certainly not going to be hitting any 400 ft bombs over the centerfield fence.
[Giving credit where credit is due, at least he’s pwning some pancakes in that picture].
Here’s a quick quiz, and one of the first questions I’ll always ask an athlete who’s trying to put on weight:
What did you have for breakfast this morning?
9 times out of 10 I get a stammering answer that consists of a lot of “um’s” and uh’s” and every excuse in the book as to why they never have time to eat in the morning.
If you’re not eating breakfast, then again, you have no business asking about creatine, and you sure as heck-fire better start setting your alarm ten minutes earlier in the morning to MAKE TIME to eat breakfast.
As an example, here’s my typical breakfast that I eat every morning.
5 whole egg omelet with goat cheese and tons of cut up veggies (onion, broccoli, and sun-dried tomato) sprinkled with garlic powder, pepper, turmeric, and oregano.
1 cup oatmeal plue a scoop of Biotest Grow with a banana and cinnamon.
Save for maybe your post-training meal, breakfast should be your largest meal of the day. But you can’t stop there! One of the biggest mistakes I see guys make is that if they do eat breakfast (high five!), they’ll maybe nibble at lunch, and won’t eat another decent meal again until mom plops something on the dinner table.
If you can, try to stash some extra calories in your locker like beef jerky, nuts, fruit, or even better – and an idea I stole from John Berardi – several bagels with some peanut butter slapped between each side which you can easily crush while walking to your next class.
Some other food for thought (pun completely intended):
1. Try your best to focus on whole, natural, un-processed foods like rice, potatoes (sweet and white), oatmeal, veggies, fruit, beef, chicken, fish, cheese, milk, various nuts, unicorn tears, you name it.
Of course if you have good allergies you have to take that into consideration, but don’t use the excuse of “dude, I’m bulking” as a free-pass to eat shitty food like pizza, chips, and Pop-Tarts on a regular basis.
Be a teenager, I’m not saying to avoid those types of foods at all costs, but at the same time need to take it upon yourself to provide you body with QUALITY nutrients. In short: eat like a grown-up.
2. Stay hydrated!!!!! Drink water, and lots of it. A good rule of thumb I like to follow is to take half our bodyweight and drink that amount in ounces. So, if you weight 150 lbs, you should strive for roughly 75 ounces of water per day. And that’s just the minimum! More active people should drink more.
Oh, and Red Bull isn’t water.
3. While it sounds hypocritical given my speech above, it might not be a bad idea to look into getting a protein powder to include in the mix. Hard gainers often have a hard time EATING their calories, and it’s sometimes easier to drink them. Don’t worry about getting Ultra Mass Gainer 3000 or anything like that. Just look for your typical whey protein blend, and you’re fine.
4. In the weight room, you need to make sure you’re focusing on those movements which will force you to grow! Drop the leg extensions and bicep curls and opt for deadlifts, squats, chin-ups, rows, etc. Focus on getting stronger and not training like a bodybuilder.
5. Additionally, it’s important that you don’t go too crazy with the volume. You need to save your calories. While I can respect those who want to get after it on a daily basis, heading to the gym to perform those two hour marathon sessions isn’t doing you any favors. For guys who are looking to add weight I generally opt for LESS volume and strive for three, full-body weight training sessions per week.
6. In terms of an actual caloric number to shoot for, it’s anyone’s guess as to where the magic number is for you. For simplicity’s sake I like to tell guys to start with 20% ABOVE maintenance levels.
To find maintenance, take your current bodyweight and multiply by 15. So, for a 150 lb person, they’d want to strive for 20% ABOVE 2,250 kcals per day – which would be +450 kcals above maintenance.
Just so we’re clear: this is a GENERAL number to hit and only serves as a starting point.
7. Likewise, keep calories up even on “off” days. Another mistake a lot of guys when trying to gain weight is lowering caloric intake on non-training days. DON’T DO THIS!!!!! Keep calories on par with your training days, and if by some chance you notice you’re putting on a little too much fat for your liking, just lower intake slightly – by like 10%.
8. Did I mention you need to eat a lot?
9. You need to eat a lot.
I know you (and many others) are trying to look for the magic pill and that my advice isn’t remotely sexy or mind-blowing. It doesn’t have to be.
Oftentimes keeping things simple is the better way to go.
I think it’s safe to assume that I tend to reverberate some of the same messages over and over on this site, and I’m sure for those who routinely visit on a day to day basis, you probably recognize a few long-standing trends.
For example:
1. I have a strong affinity for deadlifts (and Matt Damon).
2. I pity those who don’t eat dead animal flesh (but respect their choice(s) not to do so).
3. For the love of god, is it really that much of a hassle to take 5-10 minutes to warm-up properly?
4. And at the top of mountain, if there’s one message I’ve routinely championed it’s this: women should lift heavy things.
Unfortunately it’s been a tough battle to say the least, and it’s mind-numbing having to constantly deal with (and debunk) much of the archaic nonsense and jibberish that’s spewed out by the mainstream media as it relates to women and fitness. I’d even go so far as to say much of the information that’s regurgitated by the likes of US Weekly, Oprah, The Biggest Loser, Tracy Anderson (and a whole harem of other so-called celebrity trainers), and many (not all) of the books you peruse in the health and fitness section at your local Barnes and Nobles serves more as a form of scare tactics than anything else.
Strong Review for Strong Curves
Women shouldn’t lift a weight above three lbs!
Lifting appreciate weight will make you big and bulky and give you an Adam’s apple!
Yoga is all you need to yield toned and lean muscles!
Long-duration, steady-state cardio is the key to losing fat!
Don’t you dare touch that carrot – it contains (GASP) carbs!!!!
To say it’s gotten a bit confusing and sensationalistic would be an understatement. It’s no wonder why so many women (hell, guys too) don’t know who’s right or who’s wrong and are left spinning their wheels. So and so said I should forego lifting weights and go to Zumba class instead. If I just stand in this 100 degree room and stretch, I’ll be bikini ready in no time, right? I just read the Don’t Eat Food Diet, and now I’m wondering if it’s okay to drink water!
All of this, seemingly, to imply that women are these delicate flowers that shouldn’t (or can’t??) hold their own in the weight room, and that we should just roll them in bubble wrap and send them on their way.
Words like “tone,” and “lengthen” and “pink dumbbells” get thrown around like candy at a parade and it’s almost as if once we combine the words women and fitness, and toss them into a caldron and stir them together, what’s left is a big, messy concoction of bullshit.
And that’s, well, bullshit!
Thankfully I have some really smart friends who feel the exact same way as I do and they actually did something about it.
Yesterday my good friends, Bret Contreras and Kellie Davis, released their new book, Strong Curves, to the masses and I couldn’t be more pumped!
As if the title didn’t give it away, this book is all about two things: getting strong and building some feminine curves – particularly the butt.
Sadly, many women are under the impression that grabbing a barbell and lifting it off the ground will turn them into He-Man overnight, when in fact the opposite is true. Lifting weights will build a strong, lean, curvaceous body, not to mention offer a plethora of other benefits like an increased metabolism, more energy, more sex drive, decreased risk of osteoporosis, and an unlimited sense of self-assurance and confidence.
There’s no one in the world that knows the butt better than Bret. The man has literally spent years reading research, hooking himself (and others) up to EMGs, and basically training hundreds, if not thousands, of people.
I often joke that I sit in my evil strength coach lair, stroke my evil beard, and conjure up exercises and programs that will make people hate life. In Bret’s case, I think he actually does it! I don’t know many people (let alone coaches) who are more dedicated to their craft and contain as much of an insatiable desire to make people better than Bret.
Likewise, Kellie, a fitness enthusiast, writer, and competitor herself (and a client of Bret’s) not only talks the talk, but walks it. I mean there’s a reason why she served as the cover model, contributor, and exercise demonstrator for the book!
Combined, the two have produced an outstanding book that I feel is a MUST read for any woman looking to take her health and physique to the next level.
Granted it’s called Strong Curves for a Better Butt, but in every sense it’s a routine that focuses on the ENTIRE body.
What I love most about the book is that it’s not full of fluff and fillers. In every sense, they get right to the point and EDUCATE the reader on why the glutes are such a big deal. Maybe even more importantly, they do a fantastic job of empowering women and giving them the nudge some may need to take the reigns and actually grab a barbell.
Thankfully, it’s not like Bret and Kellie just tell women to go lift weights, but they SHOW them how to do so in a safe, effective, and time efficient manner. The entire book is filled with lovely (again, thank you Kellie Davis) pictures and exercise demonstrations, as well as detailed instructions on how to do everything from a glute bridge to a deadlift correctly.
What’s more, no stone is left un-turned. There are sections on how to warm-up properly, nutrition, some anatomy talk for the uber nerds out there who like that sort of thing, and even a section for expectant mothers who are interested in doing the program as well.
Speaking of which, another major perk of the book is the programming itself. It’s spectacular. Bret and Kellie came through BIG-TIME here. In all there are four programs included such as the Twelve Week Booty-Ful Beginners Program, the Twelve Week Gluteal Goddess Program for the Advanced Lifters, and even two programs that can be modified to do at home for those who don’t have access to gym equipment.
All told, when you look at the entire package, you’re getting top-notch information (HINT: stop listening to Tracy Anderson), coaching on exercise technique, and detailed programs all for what it would cost to go see a double viewing of a Twilight movie. If that’s your thing. Which I hope it isn’t.
I can’t recommend Strong Curves enough. Of course I’m excited for Bret and Kellie because they worked their tails off writing this book and they deserve all the praise and accolades they receive, but I think I’m even more excited to see more and more women jump on the “lets lift heavy stuff” train. I can’t wait to see the results that women are going to get on this program.
You know that feeling when you go on vacation and you come back and go to the gym for the first time and it’s readily apparent that you were on vacation?
Yeah, that was me yesterday after being away for over a week.
In my defense, while we were down in Florida Lisa and I did get plenty of activity in – we walked a TON around Miami and South Beach, made a few cameo appearances at a local commercial gym in her hometown (I was even recognized by a random woman training because I was wearing a Cressey Performance shirt!), and while Lisa went roller blading once or twice, I elected to head to the local park and do some bodyweight training and sprints for good measure.
But to say I did any hardcore training would be a big, fat, lie. Kind of like when someone on the internet claims he squats 500+ lbs for reps. Ass to grass. On one leg.
Although I did crush some pec deck chest flies at our friend’s condo gym right before heading out to South Beach, so that counts for something, right?
Nevertheless, it’s great to be back in Boston – despite the massive temperature drop, snow, traffic, complete lack of anything green, and general “Jonny Raincloud” attitude most people have around here this time of year.
Someone please explain to me why do I live in the Northeast again?
On a serious note, I am stoked to be back and I feel rested, relaxed, and ready to tackle a grizzly bear.
That said, since I wrote a fairly epic post(in both content and length) on the plane back home yesterday, today I’m just going to offer some good stuff to read.
I felt this was an absolutely fantastic post by Dave on not only the significance of placing a premium on developing core strength, but what the actual FUNCTION of the core is in the first place!
Many people are under the assumption that the core only consists of those washboard abs you see on the cover of Men’s Health or Men’s Fitness every month. While not entirely wrong, it’s not remotely close to the entire picture and is just the tip of the iceberg.
If nothing else, read this post for Dave’s genius water bottle analogy. Awesome stuff.
This is a message that I, along with my fellow CP colleagues, are routinely hammering to the masses. We live a unique bubble where we’re surrounded with a vast network of PTs, manual therapists, chiropractors, athletic trainers, the works.
While I like to think we’re smart dudes, we also understand (and RESPECT) the notion of scope of practice.
We do assessments at Cressey Performance, which is something I feel most (not all) trainers should be doing to some capacity. Whether it’s a the FMS, Assess and Correct, or playing musical chairs, some sort of movement screen or assessment should enter the equation when starting to work with a new client.
Doing so serves as the foundation so that you know what you need to do as a coach to address the needs/imbalances/weaknesses of your client.
The coup de gras, however, is understanding that our roles as personal trainers and strength coaches is not to DIAGNOSE anything. I don’t care how many books you read, how many DVDs you watch, or how many Holiday Inn commercials you watch (I’m not a doctor, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night), if you’re playing the role of physical therapist and you’re not a physical therapist, you’re setting a very dangerous precedent for yourself.
This is where going out of your way to establish a network of other fitness professionals that you can refer out to is crucial.
As someone who likes benching about as much as a Nicholas Sparks novel, I thought this article was bang on. I’m not built to be a good bencher, and I’ve (reluctantly) accepted that fact. BUT, that doesn’t mean I’m forever going to cower in the corner in the fetal position and avoid benching altogether.
In this article, Todd offers some innovative and straightforward advice on how anyone can bust through their bench pressing rut.
Hate’s a strong word. When someone says they hate something they must really, and I mean really, have a strong disdain for whatever it is they’re referring to.
For example, I’m typing this very sentence as I’m cruising 36,000 feet above the ground on my way back to Boston (from sunny Florida), and as everyone knows I absolutely hate flying. It’s not my favorite thing to do in the world, and it ranks right up there with other h-word worthy candidates such as Hitler, cancer, Twilight, rising gas prices, paper cuts, and Coldplay.
But in the grand scheme of things pretty much everything is fair game. Everyone has different tastes and prejudices; things that annoy them, and things that drive them up the wall. I mean, I’ve heard some say how much they hate puppies for crying out loud! Cute, little, adorable puppies!
That’s just wrong in my book, but the point is: There’s a whole lotta people guzzling the Haterade out there in the world.
And I’m certainly not impervious to the sweet nectar myself.
Haterade is pretty powerful stuff. All the things I listed above aside (except Coldplay. No one really likes Coldplay, right?) I prefer to think of myself as a pretty open-minded individual who is willing (and able) to do a complete 180 and change his mind on things. I just feel that comes with the territory when you talk about maturity and growth as a human being.
There are plenty of scenarios in my past where I was adamantly opposed to something, only to have a change of heart down the road.
Take Sex and the City, for example. Yep, I just went there and am talking about the tv show. Maybe the altitude it making me a little loopy.
When Lisa and I first started dating she was all like, “do you shower?” “OMG, you’ve never watched Sex and the City???? You have to watch this show! You, me, Netflix, now.”
Of course in trying to play the sweet, sensitive, cultural, and open-to-new-things guy (code speak for: I want to sleep with you)….I was down.
At first it was like that torture scene in A Clockwork Orange where they tie societal thug Alex down to a chair with his eyes pried open with that medieval looking contraption and feed him subliminal images for hours (days?) on end to “re-program” and rehabilitate him.
Yep, it was just like that. I wanted out, and I wanted out NOW!
Then, after a few episodes I was like “eh this ain’t so bad. At least there’s some gratuitous nudity here and there.”
And then something happened. Something unexpected. I started to actually like the show. I went from thinking it was worse than someone scratching their nails on a chalkboard to actually reacting to the characters and storyline……..
OMG CARRIE WHAT ARE YOU DOING???? I CANT BELIEVE YOU’RE JUST GOING TO LET AIDEN GO LIKE THAT. CAN’T YOU SEE HOW MUCH HE LOVES YOU????? YOU DIABOLICAL BITCH! I HATE YOU, CARRIE. I HATE YOUUUUUUUUUUU!
*slams door*
Yep, I watched every season of Sex and the City, along with the first movie.
Not the second, though; I have my limits.
I went from “hating” something to actually, you know, liking it.
But lets get on the right track and transition to the health and fitness world.
Taking a gander into my personal rear-view mirror, there are plenty of similar instances throughout my fitness career where I had a strong opinion on something – to the point of dismissing it entirely – only to change my mind later on.
Here are a few that jump up to the forefront:
1. Accommodating Resistance
Narrowing it a bit further (because I actually utilize accommodating resistance quite a bit with my athletes), what I really had beef with back in the day was the whole notion that “newbies” should not be using it.
First, though, we should at least offer a brief description for those who aren’t familiar:
In general, accommodating resistance refers to the concept of increasing muscular strength throughout the complete range of joint motion. Better yet, you can technically refer to it as a way to sustain near maximal force throughout the complete range of joint motion. This is the basic premise behind the use of bands and chains.
There comes a point when you’re doing an exercise (squats for example) where the force generated during the movement is less at certain joint angles compared to others. This is why you can handle more weight with those cute quarter squats you’re doing than you can with full squats (force-velocity curve).
Add chains into the mix — where the squat is “deloaded” in the bottom position and “loaded” in the top position — and you can see how using chains can be highly beneficial in terms of strength gains.
The thing is, almost always, newbies (and I’ll even throw some intermediates lifters into the mix here as well) don’t really need to concern themselves with adding accommodating resistance into the mix. Sure, it looks badass and offers a nice change of pace, but there’s a rate of diminishing returns when your best squat (for example) is 185 lbs.
Many in this situation would be better off just focusing on getting stronger rather than adding a bunch of “bells and whistles” into their repertoire.
But then I remember reading an article that Mike Robertson wrote on why utilizing chains (and bands) could be beneficial for inexperienced lifters which changed my mind entirely.
Again, using the squat as an example (there are numerous ways to utilize this concept: band assisted pull-ups, push-ups vs. chains, etc), and more specifically speaking on the notion of TIGHTNESS and how to attain it, accommodating resistance pays huge dividends.
Place a regular bar on a trainees back and ask him or her to get “tight” and many will look at you like you’re speaking Klingon. However, throw a chain or two – or bands – on each side of the bar and ask them to get “tight” and the picture changes entirely.
Immediately they’ll start to comprehend what you mean by getting tight, as they really have to brace their entire body to resist the swaying of the chains or the pull of the bands.
In this regard, I feel accommodating resistance definitely has its place in the backpocket of a newbies training program. But only as a teaching tool, and NOT as a main component of their training.
2. Onions
The younger version of me did notlike onions. If I even tasted a hint of onion in anything I shoved down my pie hole I’d immediately spit it out and run for the nearest fire hydrant to wash my mouth out.
Thankfully, as an adult, my pallet has gotten a bit more refined. Now I save the dramatics for things like oysters, shrimp, or anything seafood related for the most part.
Onions belong to the allium family, which also includes leeks, garlic, and shallots. They contain a whole pharmacy of compounds with health benefits, including thiosulfinates, sulfides, sulfoxides, and other smelly compounds. But those same smelly compounds offer a lot of nutrition bang for the relatively small price of a little eye-watering.
There are no two ways about it: onions are a cancer fighting food.
I put onions in just about everything. I add chopped up onion to my omelet every morning, and it’s always a staple in whatever Lisa makes for dinner on a nightly basis.
Two words: caramelized onion.
You’re welcome.
3. Kettlebells
Giving full disclosure: kettlebells have been around F.O.R.E.V.E.R, so anyone who thinks that they’re some kind of new fad that’s popped onto the fitness scene within the past 5-7 years is grossly mistaken.
But giving credit where credit is due, Pavel Tsatsouline is often credited with introducing us Westerners to kettlebells and all they have to offer.
Admittedly, when I first started seeing them pop up in various gyms and fitness clubs I just looked at them as some sort of cannonball with a handle attached and didn’t really see much use for them. Barbells and dumbbells worked just fine, thank you very much.
But as I read more and started experimenting a bit more with them, I began to tone down my BS meter and realized that there are a constellation of uses for them.
We were slow to introduce them at Cressey Performance, but now it’s rare to see a program that doesn’t include them in some fashion whether it’s in the form of the staples such as a Turkish get-up or swing( the former as way to ascertain glaring mobility/stability issues, and the latter a way to groove a hip hinge pattern and develop unparalleled explosiveness) or as a way to “offset” an exercise such as 1-arm overhead presses or 1-legged reverse lunges.
What I still take issue with is the seemingly “elitist” attitude that some people have when it comes to their use and efficacy. This certainly doesn’t apply to everyone, but we all know of that one person (or two) who goes on and on and on about how kettlebells are teh awesome and that nothing else compares.
According to some, kettlebells will solve global warming.
Funnily enough, the same people (especially some of the commercial gym trainers I see on occasion) who go off on how superior kettlebells are, are the same people who I have yet to see coach a swing properly.
Who’s with me on this one? I find it comical that some commercial gyms will go out of their way to give kettlebells the “velvet rope” treatment and tell people that the only way they can use them is if they’re under the supervision of someone; yet, I rarely ever see anyone using them correctly or with passable technique.
Of course, this isn’t to say that there isn’t some semblance of a learning curve here and that significant coaching doesn’t come into play. Not many people can just walk about to a KB and bust out a picture perfect get-up (or swing). It often takes weeks if not months (if not longer) to get them down pat.
But I think we can all agree that it’s not rocket science either.
And, just so we’re clear this is an acceptable use of a kettlebell:
Not this:
4. Yoga
All I’ll say on this one is that it would be hypocritical of me to bash yoga when just about every dynamic warm-up drill we utilize at Cressey Performance has it’s base in yoga.
Heck, one of the more common drills we use at the facility has the name yoga right in it!
And I can give you a whole laundry list of other examples.
Pigging back on the whole KB pseudo rant from above, yoga is another one of those camps which markets itself as some panacea of health and well-being.
Especially towards to women.
I highlighted my main concessions with yoga and how it’s marketed towards women HERE, so I won’t beat a horse while it’s down.
Suffice it to say – I think yoga is great. Fantastic even. But it’s certainly not for everyone, and as with anything, should be regressed (and progressed) accordingly based off one’s needs/imbalances/injury history/capabilities/etc.
Someone with a history of lumbar issues or even those with congenital laxity probably wouldn’t be good candidates for yoga, and should at least tweak a few things to keep themselves out of compromising postions.
All in all, though, I feel my feelings towards yoga in the past 3-5 years has taken a massive turn for the better and feel that it’s a wonderful way to offset many of the postural imbalances we tend to accumulate.
Most of us are walking balls of flexion as it is, and yoga helps to counterbalance and open us up.
But again, it’s just comes down to understanding the human body, functional anatomy, and knowing what applies to one person and not the other.
5. Ben Affleck
Okay, this one isn’t fitness related but I couldn’t resist. When I first started writing for various sites a few years back, I had a MASSIVE crush on Jennifer Garner. I’m talking, smoke-show, she-can-do-no-wrong, Alias, Jennifer Garner.
As a joke and as a way to place my own “tag” on every article I wrote, I often referred to Jennifer in some way. Sometimes as a way to demonstrate to women what the female body could look like (feminine, yet still lean and muscular) with with some serious, consistent weight training (I’m loosely acquainted with Valerie Waters who used to train her), but mostly as a way to throw in some line as to how hot I thought she was.
What can I say, I’m a dude.
As well, part of the schtick was to poo-poo on Ben Affleck, who, like an a-hole, went on to marry Jennifer.
To say I was slightly miffed would be an understatement. I haaaaaated him. But only because I wasn’t him.
Well that, and for Dare Devil which was god-awful. Sorry Roman……;o)
Fast forward to 2007 when Ben made his directoral debut with Gone, Baby Gone. I was a skeptic going in, but once I saw it I could tell that he had a knack for this directing thing.
Two movies (The Town, Argo), and one win for Best Picture later, he’s the man.
He ranks right up there with the best of them: David Fincher, Paul Thomas Anderson, Christopher Nolan, Darren Aronofsky, Wes Anderson, Martin Scorcese, Alfonso Cuaron, Peter Jackson, and Quentin Tarantino.
Not many people can claim to have hit rock-bottom in terms of pop-culture semantics and then rebound with a fervor they way Affleck did. What’s more he just seems like a genuine, cool guy, and I really respect that.
And he’s BFFs with my man-crush Matt Damon, so there’s that.
What about you? What are some things you used to hate, but eventually had a change of heart? I’d love to hear your comments below.
UPDATE: My bad, I was told Valerie still trains Jennifer 3x per week. Hence why Jennifer still looks amazing after three kids….;o)
Yesterday in Part One of this series Sol Orwell and the guys over at Examine.com discussed a handful of supplements that they feel are about as useful as a poop flavored lollypop. Which is to say: not very useful.
As a strength coach and as someone who’s routinely discussing supplementation with younger athletes and general population clientele, especially to those who feel that they’re the magic bullet they’ll need to take their performance (and physique) to the next level, it was great to see some of the more well recognized ones thrown under the microscope for further inspection.
Besides, as I like to tell the vast majority of people: if your current nutrition and training routine isn’t eliciting the results you’re after, no supplement is going to become the “x” factor.
More often than not it’s just a matter of making better food choices and actually going to the gym to train rather than wasting time on the internet talking about it.
That said, not all supplements deserve the bad rap. In today’s post, Sol discusses some of the supplements he feels deserves their reputation, as well as those he feels should steal a bit more of the spotlight.
Enjoy! And please, share your thoughts below. Any supplements you feel deserve more recognition?
Supplements that Deserve their Reputation
Creatine
Creatine is a molecule that seems to have a vitamin-like effect on the body. Relative creatine deficiency (especially common in vegetarians) may result in suboptimal cognition and strength levels. True creatine deficiency (only achievable via genetics) results in mental retardation.
Creatine is most commonly used for the purpose of increasing power output and the rate of building muscle, and it is definitely proven for these roles as it is currently the most well researched ergogenic aid (performance enhancer) in existence.
Creatine works for increasing power output during anaerobic exercise (powerlifting, bodybuilding, sprinting, etc.) and although it may have crossover to endurance based events it doesn’t seem as reliable. It has less evidence for increasing the rate of building muscle but this appears to also be true. Putting muscle cells in an energy surplus state tends to increase the rate of which they grow, and creatine is a very readily available source of energy.
Evidence is being gathered in creatine also have positive effects on cognition.
Beta-alanine (and a note on its “big brother”)
Firstly, beta-alanine needs to have a jab taken at it for two things: potency and instances when it is used.
Yes, beta-alanine works; no, it is not magical. It might enhance endurance performance by around 2% or so, nothing astonishing although it can provide a needed benefit
Yes, beta-alanine works for endurance; it doesn’t really do anything reliable for strength (it might, some weak evidence for building muscle like creatine) and seems to only reliably increase physical performance for exercise exceeding 60s (and under 240s; these numbers derived from the only meta-analysis on the topic)
However, given those two qualifying statements, beta-alanine does increase performance and secondary to that can increase training adaptations.
Beta-alanine is essentially a lactic acid buffer (hence its lack of efficacy for power output – lactic acid is not the reason you fail on a 5 rep max test) similar to its lesser known big brother, sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Both of these compounds are essentially the same, just reduce the influence of acidity on muscle failure and you can go longer until failure; they aren’t too potent as you cannot disturb pH in the body easily, but they do work.
Vitamin D
The increased popularity of vitamin D in the last decade is actually quite remarkable, and its growth in popularity seems to even exceed that of fish oil when the latter first arrived on the scene. In regards to vitamin d, it is definitely beneficial in a few disease states for preventative purposes although it is not the panacea it is sometimes held up to be.
Vitamin d is stored in the body and when it is needed it is converted into a bioactive hormone known as 1,25-dihydroxycalciferol. Negative things are associated with a state that attempts to produce the hormone but has insufficient vitamin d to do so, and supplementing vitamin d alleviates this possible negative.
Thus, Vitamin d is critical for people in a deficient state. The combination of our indoor lives coupled with pollution means that most people outside of the tropics tend to be in a deficient state. Supplementing with 2000 UI while you get your vitamin d levels tested is a smart way to go.
So although the outcome is still beneficial, vitamin d supplementation is more about alleviating negatives rather than inducing positives.
Supplements that Deserve More Recognition
Sodium Bicarbonate
Referred to earlier as beta-alanine’s bigger brother, sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda) actually has a fair bit of evidence for performance enhancement. It shares a lot of similarities with beta-alanine, being an acidity buffer and improving performance that is hindered by lactic acid.
Recently, it has been shown to provide benefit to hypertrophy exercise in resistance trained males at the dose of 300mg/kg bodyweight.
The pros of sodium bicarbonate include its very good cost-efficacy in regards to the financial price (you can buy baking soda at a grocery store) and pretty good performance enhancement.
The main downside is too much taken at once will cause a snowstorm coming from your butt; the sodium bicarbonate doesn’t even change color when it does this, actually being quite hilarious the first time it occurs (to somebody else).
Note from TG: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaha.
Due to this, sodium bicarbonate is taken in multiple doses throughout the day and with soluble fiber containing meals to try and minimize this side-effect which appears to be related merely to taking too much at once.
Beetroot
Beetroot is merely a vessel for the molecule known as inorganic nitrate. Nitrate is absorbed in the intestines and regurgitated (surprisingly a good term) into saliva where it is converted to nitrite. When swallowed the saliva nitrite can be converted into nitric oxide and sustain physical performance.
Beetroot is most commonly used for nitrate due to it being in the class of vegetables that are the richest source of nitrate (alongside spinach, rocket, celery, and swiss chard). It’s cheap to purchase in bulk quantities and the tastiest to blend and consume before exercise.
It does not appear to be effective for acute power output improvement, but similar to beta-alanine it can enhance physical endurance exercise and more prolonged endurance exercise.
Similar to other nitric oxide related supplements, it is also ‘healthy’ from a cardiovascular health perspective and also may confer other benefits related to nitric oxide (namely reductions in blood pressure and increased frequency of erections).
In regards to the connection between nitrates and cancer (nitrate, used as food preservative, is thought to be a factor in the connection between pink meats and processed meats with cancer) the cancer link is dependent on production of nitrosamines from nitrate. This production seems to occur at a greatly reduced rate in the presence of any antioxidant, with vitamin c being used most frequently in research. Due to antioxidants present in beetroot, nitrosamine production is not a concern.
This is also a reason why, if using supplemental nitrate, a coingested antioxidant would be a good idea (or just to take the supplement with some fruit).
Citrulline
Citrulline is essentially a more effective form of arginine (which tends to be pretty popular).
L-Citrulline is an amino acid that, following absorption, is sent to the kidneys and simply converted to l-arginine. It is superior to l-arginine itself because of its superior absorption rate; l-arginine is poorly absorbed, and malabsorbed l-arginine proceeds to the colon to then induce diarrhea.
Citrulline carries all the same benefits of l-arginine except at a lower dose due to enhanced absorption (5-8g commonly being used). It usually comes as citrulline malate, which gives it a slight sour/tangy taste.
Author’s Bio
Kurtis Frank and Sol Orwell are cofounders of Examine.com, where they spend their time making sense of scientific studies on supplements and nutrition. They also have a Beginners Guide to Supplements, which you should really, really check out (subtle hint).
A few weeks ago I was contacted by Lisa Shaughnessy of The Fitness Marketing Q & A Show about coming onto her show and talking about Star Wars trivia.
LOLzzzz. Okay, kidding. As if the name didn’t give it away, the show really revolves around fitness marketing.
Outside of beef jerky, Matt Damon, and maybe the occasional re-run of old 90210 episodes on tv, there’s really nothing more I love than talking about myself. But really, who doesn’t love to do that?
Me, me, me, and me. It’s all about ME!!!!!
Putting everything into context, however, I’ve never really thought of myself as a “marketing” type of guy. I see the word “marketing” and automatically think of those cheesy infomercials that everyone watches when they’re up late and can’t fall asleep.
And if I were really going to be honest, I’m not that much of a fan talking about myself.
I mean, I do what I do and just kind of go with the flow. It’s how I’ve always been.
Suffice it to say, by no means do I consider myself a marketing expert, but giving credit where credit is due, I feel I’ve done a decent job of building my “brand” and establishing myself as someone who doesn’t suck in this industry.
Although, I’m sure there are some out there who may disagree….;o)
That said, for those interested, below is a link to the show (it’s around 45 minutes) where Lisa and I cover, among other things:
How having a system in place improved my online coaching program (as well as discussing the advantages and DISADVANTAGES to coaching people in a distance based situation).
How writing for a local publication can be more important for your business than a national publication.
Hear how I used writing, podcasting and speaking engagements to help my information reach a wider audience.
What’s my promise for 2013. Hint: it’s something I feel everyone should be doing, but I haven’t gotten around to doing it myself (tsk tsk tsk).
I think it’s definitely worth your time, and hopefully gives people a little more insight on what I’ve done to help “mold” my career. If nothing else, you get the chance to listen to my sultry voice while you’re driving your car or wherever it is you choose to listen.
I’d love to hear your feedback, and I know Lisa would as well!
