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Even though it’s a national holiday here in the States (Columbus Day), I’m still providing some sense of content.  I’m awesome.

1.  First and foremost, I wanted to give a “I do say so kind sir, well done” to one of my online clients – Gareth – who kicked some butt this past weekend competing in the All Englands 2011 Powerlifting Meet.  All told, he not only broke personal bests in the squat and deadiift (he would have hit a bench PR, too, if not for a nagging elbow), but he also broke his best TOTAL, like ever.

I couldn’t be more proud of the little bugger.  Gareth was actually traveling for business in the States last week, and one of his pit-stops just so happened to be in Boston.   As such, he made the trip put to CP, and we were able to not only spend some time dialing in on his technique, but he also managed to have a spot of tea (which means “hang out” here in the US) with our very own Tim Collins.

Can you pick which one is a Major League baseball player and a English National Champion powerlifter?

Anyways, nice job Gareth!!  Tell Pippa I said hello.

2.  My friend and colleague, Nick Tumminello, just released his latest product, Angled Barbell Training – The Best Landmine Exercises, this past weekend.

Unlike anyone else I know, Nick has an uncanny ability for thinking outside of the box.  I swear you could give him nothing more than a safety pin, a roll of duct tape, and half a block of chalk, and he’d come up with at least 17 different exercises you could do that will have you squatting a mack truck by next week.

This DVD is no different, and just goes to show why Nick is such a well respected coach.

If you order the ABT DVD before Sunday, Oct 15th at 12 midnight, you’ll:

– Save $20 off of the normal retail price
– AND, Get FREE SHIPPING!
– AND, Get an exclusive discount code, which gets you 40% off future Performance U DVD order
– AND, receive 7 FREE BONUS VIDEOS on Angled Barbell Training!

Sounds like a win-win-win-win in my book.

3.  A few weeks ago I wrote about an Ah-HA moment I had, where I essentially came to the conclusion that if I ever wanted to hit this 600 lb DL that’s been alluding me, some things needed to change in my programming.  Namely:  the fact that I do waaaaaaaaay too much volume.

As a result, I decided I was going to do a little experiment:

Week 1:  hit a heavy single (not necessarily a PR, but close enough to where I might shit a spleen)

Week 2:  hit another heavy single – albeit heavier than the week prior

Week 3:  same

Week 4:  no deadlifting.  Instead, give the spine a little break and just focus on accessory work.

If at any point within the first three weeks I DO NOT surpass the previous week’s number, I’d take a week off from heavy pulling.

So far, the plan is working beautifully.  In all honesty, I haven’t pulled anything more than 550 lbs since earlier this Spring – mainly because I’ve just always felt rundown or otherwise beat up.

With this little experiment of mine in full swing, however, I’ve been killing it.  Just to give you an idea, here’s what my actual past two weeks have looked like in terms of my heavy pulling day:

Week 1:

A.  Work up to heavy single (conventional)

135 x 5, 225×3, 315×3, 405×1, 455×1, 500×1, 550×1 (smoked it)

*** 405 x 8 (just to get some quality reps in)

B1.  GCB GoodMornings 4×5 (last set, worked up to 355×5)
B2.  Reverse Crunch 3×10

C1.  DB Reverse Lunge
C2.  Standing Cable Anti-Rotation Chop 3×8/side

D.  Some easy Prowler Pushes 3×1 (20 yds)

Week 2:

A.  Work up to heavy single (but the goal being to BEAT the previous week’s number)

135×5, 225×3, 315×3, 405×1, 455×1, 495×1, 560×1 (felt pretty good!!!)

*** DId not do any additional back-off sets

B1.  GCB GoodMornings 3×8 (last set had 315 on the bar)
B2.  Reverse Crunch 3×10

C1.  DB Bulgarian Split Squats 3×8/leg
C2.  Hand Switches with Push-Up 3×5/side

D.  Easy Prowler Push 3×1 (20 yds)

This week, I’m going to try to hit 575-580, which will be an actual PR. <–For Reals

I’ll be sure to post a video later this week when I hit it.

4.  And lastly, Lisa and I watched a really great documentary this past weekend:  Conan O’Brien:  Can’t Stop

In essence, the film chronicals the events after Conan got “fired” from The Tonight Show and the subsequent 6-month time frame when he was contractually prohibited from appearing on television in any way, shape, or form.

For those who are Conan fans (like myself) it was a really interesting look behind the scenes.  For those who have no idea who Conan is, you should watch this (it’s arguably one of the funniest skits he ever did).

For those wondering what’s the deal with the funky blog title today, it’s a quote from one of my favorite (and arguably one the most underrated movies in the past ten years), Collateral.

Keep reading, I promise there’s a message involved.

In it, Tom Cruise’s character (Vincent) plays an assassin who “recruits” a random cabbie – Jamie Fox’s charcter (Max) – to drive him around for one night as he goes around LA killing people that he’s been contracted to do.

I won’t give away any details (other than Jamie’s character dies.  Just kidding), but one of the main themes throughout the movie is adapting to the situation.  Things aren’t always going to go as planned, and sometimes, you just have to learn to roll with the punches and go with plan B.

Similarily, yesterday I was having a conversation with one of our athletes – Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect, Tim Gustafson – and he mentioned how, when he was with the Atlanta Braves organization, John freaking Smoltz used to stop by and talk shop with a lot of the minor leagues and state that no matter who you are you’re never going to figure everything out, you’re never going to know everything, you’re never going to be perfect, and those who don’t learn how to adapt to the situation are generally the ones that don’t make it too far in professional sports.

Now, I never played professional baseball, but I held my own back in the day as a collegiate pitcher, and I can speak from personal experience that on some days had “it,” while on others, well, I sucked donkey balls.  And, it was on those days when I knew I didn’t have my best stuff that I had to adapt to the situation, and make the best of it.  Usually it panned out.  Sometimes, though, I’d throw an 0-2 curveball to the clean-up hitter and give up a three-run homerun that people are still saying hasn’t landed yet.  Shit happens.

Accordingly, I couldn’t help but notice that many of the same themes and concepts that Tim and I had discussed (as well as those in the movie) paralleled what we see in the strength and conditioning community as well.  Although I’ve touched on this topic in the past, I can’t help but be amazed when trainers and coaches never change their point of view on ANYTHING.

For some (certainly not all), their program is their program.   That’s that.  Deal with it.

They’ve used the same system for a decade, using the same exercises, the same set/rep schemes, the same progressions, the same broken record without really taking into consideration that the industry is constantly evolving and changing.

With this in mind, I did a little experiment last night and went back and perused some older programs I wrote a few years ago.  I wanted to see how long it would take me before I felt the urge to throw up a little in my mouth.  Needless to say, it didn’t take long.

I noticed one instance where I programmed some kind of hip flexor stretching for EVERYONE – assuming, of course, that because most people sit all day, they ALL needed it.  95% of the time, this is true.  But tell that to the one person who may have anterior hip instability (or, snapping hip syndrome).  Nice one, Tony!

Now, I am in no way insinuating that there shouldn’t be some semblence of continuity in one’s programming.  But to say that a program should never evolve or change is a bit pigheaded, and is something that I feel is an EPIC fail on the part of many coaches and trainers who fail to see the big picture.

As an example, two years ago, we were all about sleeper stretches for most (if not all) of our baseball guys.

As such, you would have been hard pressed to see a program that didn’t include them to some capacity – whether it was part of their pre-work, used as a filler exercise, or done on their own at the end of their training session.

Fast forward to today, and we’ve almost done a complete 180.  After some experimentation, as well as insights from people like Mike Reinold, we concluded that we can use better alternatives to improve internal rotation (assuming that it’s actually needed) without actually cranking down on the shoulder itself.

Alternatives like the Side Lying Crossbody Stretch work appropriately:

But more importantly, working on one’s breathing patterns has a HUGE influence as well.  We can achieve upwards of 5-10 degrees MORE internal rotation without even touching the shoulder.

The point is, we tweaked our line of thinking – and as such, our programming – to reflect the fact that we’re constantly changing our approach and ALWAYS trying to improve.   Trust me, you’re not that big of a deal where this doesn’t apply to you.  If someone like Mike Boyle or Dan John can admit when they’re wrong and are ALWAYS evolving, you can too.

Adapt, Darwin, I Ching.

Have a nice weekend everyone.  Go Yankees!  Oh wait………..LOL!

Also, just a friendly reminder that Mike Robertson’s Complete Core Fitness is on sale through midnight tonight (10/7).  TODAY is the last day you can purchase it at the discounted price of $30 off.  Holla!

For those who missed my review, Click HERE.

Q:  I know trainers (including myself) hate questions like “Hey bro, so like, if you could only do one exercise for the rest of your life what would it be?”, so I won’t ask you that question.  But how about one that is similar, but possibly not quite as frustrating to answer? 

As a trainer, what are your favorite lifts for each of the following body parts?

^^^ Yes, that’s a picture from The Sound of Music on this blog (that just happened)

A:  Deadlifts, my friend.  Deadlifts are the answer to everything……;o)  If more people deadlifted, the world would be a happier place – and possibly have less type II diabetes.  I have no way to back that statement up, but I’m running with it.

As a coach, I rarely (if ever) think of exercises in the context of what muscles they target.  Rather, I’m more concerned with differentiating and improving movement patterns.  Squat, hip hinge, horizontal press, horizontal row, vertical press, veritcal pull, single leg stance, and you know, bicep curls.

But, to answer your question – see below:

Shoulders – The obvious answer here is overhead pressing.  The thing is, though, for me, people have to earn the right to overhead press.  It’s not that I have anything against overhead pressing, or think it’s inherently dangerous – far from it in fact.  It’s just as a whole, we move like poop.  For most, we spend a vast majority of our days sitting in front of the computer, which compromises stuff like glute function, and more importantly, t-spine moblity.

Do me a favor:  round your back and then try to lift your arms over your head.  Kind of hard, right?  Well, this is something that a lot of people can’t do, and the last thing I want is for them to head to their local globo gym and try to do any overhead pressing.  More often than not, they’re just going to end up hurting themselves.

That being said, assuming one is “cleared” to safely overhead press, I’m reluctant to toss in a lot of additional direct shoulder work because, frankly, the shoulders take enough of a beating with all the pressing (and rowing) people perform throughout the week.  But, in short, things like strict military presses, 1-arm DB push presses, and the like would be great pumpkin builders.

Chest – Seems how I’m an absolute god-awful (read:  really bad) bencher, I’m going to go against popular notion and say loaded push-ups here.  Anyone who says push-ups are too wimpy, clearly has never been to Cressey Performance.  I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had grown men come in who couldn’t do a proper push-up, let alone for reps.

I just feel you get more for your training buck with push-ups.  Not only can you sexify your pecs, but you’ll also learn to engage your core, and they’re waaaaaay more shoulder friendly to boot.

Back – I’ve stated this in the past, but nothing is more of a clear indicator that someone has put their time in under the iron than when he (or she) walks around with an impressive upper back.  Take personal trainer and manual therapist, Rachel Guy, for example:

Do you think she built that body by doing pilates and lifting pink dumbbells?  Ummmmmm, no.

In terms of upper back development, deadlifts really do reign supreme here.  Nothing, and I mean NOTHING makes my upper back more sore than when I do sets of heavy deadlifts.  Some other favs would include chest supported rows, as well as various chin-ups/pull-ups.  But they all play second fiddle to deadlifts.

 

Quads – Easy, full depth squats.  Of course, this begs the question:  what entails “full depth” squats.  For me, the anterior surface of the thigh must go past parallel in order for it to count.  Although, to be fair, not everyone is suited (or ready) to step into the gym on day #1 and squat to depth.  In that case, I’m perfectly fine with regressing the movement to a range of motion that’s safe for the trainee.  Regardless, if we want to turn into Quadzilla, you need to squat.  And you need to squat deep.

Hamstrings – My first inclination will be to say goodmornings, since speaking from a personal perspective, they are an awesome accessory movement that not only develop impressive hamstrings but also carry over very well to the deadlift.  It’s a fairly advanced movement, however, and I’m reluctant to just haphazardly recommend them to just anyone due to the high “I’ll shit my spleen” factor.

Soooooo, instead, my “safer” choice will be the 1-Legged Romananian Deadlift.

Glutes – Bret Contreras pretty much settled this debate long ago.  You’d be hard pressed to find any exercise that hammers your glutes more than loaded barbell bridges.

Abs – Easy, stepping away from the cookie jar.

Full Disclosure:  I am in no way condoning body part splits here; lets not get too carried away here…..hahahahaha.  Again, I think of things more in the context of movement patterns rather than what muscles are being hit.  But, nevertheless, shooting from the hip, these are what I came up with.  Feel free to chime in and offer your two cents below!

Like everyone else out there reading on the internets, I’m not a huge fan of change (which is kind of ironic given I’ve moved every year for the past seven years).  I’m a creature of habit and generally like my day to day operations to not include any surprises or trickery.  I like what toilet paper I like (Charmin); I like what toothpaste I like (Crest); I like which side of the bed I like (right side); I like what peanut butter I like (Teddie’s Extra Crunchy); and I like what boobies I like (pretty much all of them).

Taking it a step futher, and going back into my hay days, when I was going into my freshman of year of college (back in Syracuse, NY), one of my teammates, whom I was sharing a room with, slept with a fan on every night.  At first, I thought it was weird.  But after a while I grew accustomed to it, and eventually got to the point where I couldn’t sleep as well at night WITHOUT the fan on.

The following year, as a sophomore, I bought my own fan and brought it with me to school.  And I slept with the same fan every night for the next TEN YEARS!  Sure, there were other – more fancy – fans I could have gotten within that ten year span, but I liked my fan.  It was my fan.  It served its purpose, and I saw no reason to replace.  Until, you know, it broke.

And, I’m not gonna lie:  I was kind of sad the day I threw it away.  I wasn’t “watching Titanic for the first time” sad,  or anything – but I was defintiely a little verklempt.

So, by now you’re probably wondering what the heck does all of this have to do with two gym bags?  Well, much in the same way, my gym bag and I have been together for quite a long time –  since 2002 to be exact.

Note: The bag on the left – pictured above – is the old one.  The black one is the new one.

It’s a bag that was given to me by my mentor, Mr. Scutt, who was my supervisor when I was student teaching back in New York.  He thought I could use a decent gym bag, just because.  He was right.

Not to get all sentimental or anything, but that bag has been through a lot with me.  It was there when I first started deadlifting – which wasn’t until 2004, sadly.  It was there when I decided to take a huge leap of faith and leave NY to move to New England to take the next step in my career.  A leap that’s worked out pretty well thus far.

It was there when I first stepped foot in South Side Gym back in 2005, which at the time (it doesn’t exist anymore), was one of the premier powerlifting gyms in country.  The first day I walked through those doors I pretty much shat myself – but I got wicked strong and it was one of the best years of training of my life.

All in all, my gym bag has been with me through thick and thin.  It’s been there when I’ve hit PRs, and it’s been there when I’ve failed miserably.  It’s carried books, trainling logs, wrist wraps, knee sleeves, countless protein shakes, and even a bowling ball.

So, you can imagine my demeanor when, at around 8 PM ast night, it was time to let it go.

***On my way out the door to throw my bag in the trash

It’s been a long time coming, though.  I’d venture a guess that if you took a swab sample from deep inside, a HAZMAT Team would immediately be dispatched.  And, for a while now, it’s been attracting more fruit flies than anything else.  To say that it was kind of nasty, would be an understatement.  It was time for a new bag.  It was time to move on.

Okay, there IS a point to all of this.  It’s about change.

It’s about letting go of the old and embracing the new.  It’s about turning the page and actually making a concerted effort to change your life.  How many times have you said you’re going to start eating healthier, only to back pedal once the weekend rolls around?  Or, how many times have you said “you know what, I’m going to try something different today at the gym,” only to beeline it straight to the bench press on Monday?

HA – I knew it!

Like I said, we’re all creatures of habit.  We like to do what’s easy and what’s familiar to us.  But at the end of the day, it’s about change.  It’s about adaptation.  This is NEVER MORE spot on than when dicussing our gym and nutrition habits.

• Are you still trying to lose those extra 15-20 lbs of fat you’ve been carrying around for the past decade?  If so, why do you still insist on doing nothing but steady state cardio and lifting nothing heavier than a hair dryer?  If it hasn’t worked up until now, why continue doing the same thing?
• Are you still trying to break the same squat PR you’ve had for the past three years?  Here’s a clue:  performing three sets of ten on everything isn’t going to get you any stronger.  Nor is doing ANYTHING on a BOSU ball (no no, really, stop it).  You need to mix it up!  You need change!  You need to stop training like a pussy (no offense ladies).
• How are those 2-3 nights of drinking with your buddies working out for you?

• And it doesn’t just pertain to things related to training and diet either.  The same can be said about anything from sleep patterns, to hating your job, to your social life.  Sometimes, change is EXACLY what we need.

So, there you have it – that’s all I have to say about that.  Do you need to turn the page on anything?  What do YOU need to change?

It’s been a while since I’ve done an “exercises you should be doing” segment, so I figured with all of our pro-baseball guys making their way back to the facility to start their off-season it would be prudent to delve into some of the exercises we incorporate as far as shoulder health is concerned.

It’s no surprise that many of our guys come in  pretty banged-up, and as such, a lot of what we do within the first 3-4 weeks is to help correct many of the (predictable) bumps, bruises, and muscular imbalances that tend to accumulate over a long competitive season.

Truth be told, though, we use many of these same drills with much of our general population/weekend warrior clients as well.  I mean, when all is said and done, developing a short/stiff pec minor, dominate upper traps and levator, not to mention weak upward rotators (lower traps, serratus anterior) – all of which lend themselves to a shoulder that’s not too happy – aren’t just a problems we see in baseball players.  We see them is basically everyone!

Compound the above with poor t-spine mobility and movement quality, and you’ve got youself a recipe for disaster.

Of course, not every shoulder is the same, and there are other “outside of the box” modalities that we can explore to help improve overall function.  One of the more interesting ones to consider is breathing patterns – which is something we’ve been looking more and more into since incorporating some of the PRI (Postural Restoration Institute) philosophy into our programming.

Without getting into the particulars – because honestly, at times, Klingon makes more sense to me – we tend to be chest breathers.  What I mean by this is that, more often that not, when asked to take a DEEP breath (or any breath for that matter), most people will end up inflating their chest.  As a result, the scalenes, levator, and upper traps become very “tonic” and nasty.

Moreover, as we continue to do this day in and day out, with upwards of 15,000-20,000 breaths per day, we tend to develop a left rib flair, which in turn, changes what’s known as our Zone of Apposition, which then throws a monkey wrench into things and affects how our diaphragm functions.

I’m getting a little a head of myself, but needless to say, just by making a concerted effort to work with one’s breathing patterns, we can make a profound effect on his or her shoulder function.  As an a side, it’s not uncommon for us to “find” 5-10 degrees of extra internal rotation in a right-handed pitcher just by focusing on breathing patterns alone for a few minutes.  I’m not gonna say it’s Jedi mind-trick territory, but it’s pretty close.

Anyhoo, like I said, I’m getting a head of myself.  For many people out there reading, it doesn’t have to be quite that in depth, and there are a lot of simple (albeit effective) exercises you can do that will undoubtedly help improve overall shoulder function, and keep you healthy in the long-term.

Namely I’m referring to forearm wall slides, which is an exercise that I covered in detail in Muscle Imbalanced Revealed – Upper Body (just sayin).

What Does It Do:  This is an excellent execise that works not only the scapular retractors, but also the lower traps which play a VERY important role in scapular upward rotation – which is kind of a big deal when talking about overhead athletes.  Not coincidentally, though, the lower traps tend to be woefully weak/inhibited in just about everyone.   Yes, this includes you.

Key Coaching Cues:  standing roughly 2-3 inches away from the wall, begin by pinching your shoulder blades together (scapular retraction……or, for the functional anatomy nerds out there, scapular adduction).  From there place your forearms flush against the wall and gradually “slide” them upwards.  The key here is to NOT use your upper traps and to focus on keeping the shoulder blades depressed.  Go as high as you can – again, without shrugging – and then return back to the starting position and repeat the same sequence for 8-10 reps.

To kick it up a notch, you can also perform forearm wall slides – to 135 degrees (scapular plane).

The set-up will be roughly the same, except here, you’ll slide your arms out to 135 degrees.  Goddamit what did I say about shrugging?????????  You never listen to me.

I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to yell.  It’s just, it’s almost like I’m talking to a brick wall sometimes.

Anyways, once at the top, retract your shoulders back making sure NOT TO COMPENSATE WITH LUMBER EXTENSION!!!!!

As such, I like to cue people to squeeze their glutes while doing this variation to maintain more of a posterior pelvic tilt.

Return back to the starting position, and perform 8-10 repetitions.

Ideally, I’d probably use these as part of a general warm-up, but they’d also be money to use as a filler exercise between sets of squats or something.

Try them out today, and let me know what you think!

Note:  if nothing else, in case you skip the articles posted below (jerk), at least scroll down to the bottom because I need your help!

Seriously, do it.

Which Side Are You On? – Martin Rooney

If you’ve never had the opportunity to listen to Martin speek in person, then all I have to say is you’re missing out.  You’d be hard pressed to find anyone more charismatic, energenic, and downright passionate about his craft than Coach Rooney.  Similarily, his writing is just as powerful, and if you’re not going out of your way to read his blog, again, you’re missing out.

Subtle hints aside, here Martin junxaposes a parable about a king and his sick followers with today’s society and how those of use who go out of our way to eat healthy and exercise are seemingly “sick” as well.  It’s a short read.  Read it!  I promise you’ll thank me later.

I Used the Words “Poo Poo” In An Article and You Didn’t! – Lee Boyce

While the title alone is enough to make you want to click on it, it definitely is a bit misleading and doesn’t do it any justice.  Written by my boy Lee Boyce, this article serves as a wake-up call to the wide array of people out there who are thinking about hiring a trainer or coach to help them attain their fitness goals – whether it’s to lose some fat, add a little muscle, or just get your general sexificaton on.

Like any industry, the fitness industry isn’t devoid of its own quacks, frauds, and otherwise shady people.  Lee breaks it down and provides some sound advice on how to cut through the bullshit.

Ways To Make Yourself Sick – Adam Rees

**Interestingly, reading one page of Tracy Anderson’s Metamorphosis didn’t make the cut.  What the hell, Adam?

Adam is a successful trainer who lives in Iowa (bummer), who’s been an active supporter of my work for some time now.  He and I have conversed via email sporadically – talking shop and exchanging LOLs – and it’s only been recently that I’ve had the opportunity to finally peruse his blog.  It’s good.  It’s damn good!

The link above is just one example, of course; but if you’re looking for another blog to add to your “must read” list, than I’d highly recommend Adam’s.

And Lastly

A quick (HUGE) favor.  My cousin is the Director of Photography for Maxim (which, as we all know, is the coolest job outside of being a fighter pilot), and it wasn’t long ago where she sent me a quick email asking me my opinion on who I felt would make a better cover model:  Hope Solo or Yvonne Strahovski.  For visual learners, see below pictures respectively.

After a lot of contemplation – going through various algorithms and advance division – I went with Yvonne (which is weird, because I’m more of a brunette kind of guy, but whatever).  Anyways, I gave some feedback and didn’t think anything of it.  Low and behold, I was walking through a CVS the other day and happened to notice that this month’s issue of Maxim Magazine had none other than Yvonne on the cover.  What the what!?!?!??!!

Now, I’m not naive enough to believe that my input had any influence what-so-ever on who actually made the cover, but needless to say, you’re welcome America.

Long story short, I emailed my cousin and basically said, “well, if you’re taking more suggestions, what about so-and-so and what’s-her-face?”

She wrote back, “send me more……I need more names!”

With this information, I decided to take matters into my own hands and ask you, my loyal readers, readers who appreciate badonkadonks and hot chicks being hot, to help my cousin out and give her some suggestions.   

Again, we’re talking MAXIM FREAKING MAGAZINE HERE!!!!!!

Here’s the dealski, though:  She’s looking for suggestions on women who actually look like women!!!  As well, she’s looking for lesser known personalities – so you can save the Meghan Fox’s, Minka Kelly’s, and Angelina Jolie’s of the world.  Instead, lets show her that we can deliver and demonstrate that there are a whole host of actresses, models, athletes, etc that the world needs to see.  They still need to be recognizable and somewhat famous, of course (no porm stars, please); but maybe they’re less known or just on the brink of making a name for themselves.  As an example, my choice would be someone like actress Paula Patton (Precious, Mission Impossible IV, etc):

So, sound off peeps – this is your chance to really make a difference in the world. I smell a Nobel Prize in the midst.  Long live tonygentilcore.com!!!  I want at least 50 names before the end of the day.