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Here’s a question I received via Facebook from a strength coach based in Ireland that, once I actually answered it, thought would make for a good blog post:

Q:  Got a question for you.  A few of my guys have asked me to write about motivation and how to stay motivated to train.  This can be such a personal issue that I thought I’d ask a few people who I know and respect to give me their opinions on motivation.

A:  As someone who has been in this industry for coming up on a decade now – and likewise, as someone who has participated in sports and been involved with some form of fitness all his life (I got my first cement weight set when I was 13) – I’ve often been asked, “dude, what keeps you motivated to train?”

A few things, in no particular order:

Hot chicks.  I think for many, at the end of the day, deep down, we stay motivated to train because we want members of the opposite sex to want to hang out with us.  Pretty basic.

But more specifically, actually having a purpose to train is really the meat and potatoes.

Notice I said train, and not “workout.”  Far too often, at least in my experience, people tend to workout and not train. What’s the difference, you ask?  Well, people who workout just kind of show up and go through the motions, and don’t really have a set plan or rationale for why they showed up that day.

These are the ones who do a few arm circles here, a few lat pulldowns there, pound their Gatorade (because we all know how draining walking on the treadmill while watching Dr. Oz can be), hop on the ab crunch machine, and call it a day.

As a result, they basically do what they always do, and what they’re good at, and not coincidentally, look exactly the same now as they did three years ago.  Which is to say fat, weak, and really frustrated.

Of course, this doesn’t apply to everyone – but for 90% of trainees, 90% if the time, it most certainly does.

Taking it a little further, people who workout also tend to be the ones who flip flop from one program to another seemingly on a weekly basis.  One week they went to focus on fat loss; the next they want to dabble in MMA (LOL); the following they’re going to give intermittent fasting a try; only to top that off by deciding they want to train for a powerlifting meet that’s next weekend.

If this describes you, is it really that surprising you’re not getting any results?

Conversely, someone who TRAINS has a sense of purpose and conviction.  They have a PLAN; or better yet, a goal. They arrive to the gym on a mission and don’t waste any time pitter puttering around trying to figure what they should do that day.

In a way, there’s a sense of “I’m here to wreck some shit, everyone get out of my way, because I’m going to make Susie ElipitcalTrainer and Jonny McBenchEveryday destroy the back of their pants.”

That in of itself is all the motivation one should need.

Simply put – pick a goal for yourself.  I don’t care if it’s to lose ten lbs by the end of the month or to squat 300 lbs by the end of summer.  Just have SOMETHING to train for.  It makes all the difference in the world when you actually have a purpose for why you’re heading to the gym everyday.

Likewise, when dicussing the topic of motivation, making a concerted effort to train around like-minded people is an often overlooked component.  It’s no wonder people aren’t getting any stronger or lack motivation to train when they’re surrounded by others who complain when the air conditioning is off and think 50 lb dumbbells are too heavy.

Even if it’s only once per week, make an effort to train in an environment that encourages you to step outside of your comfort zone and breeds “stop being a pussy” (no offense to any ladies that may be reading).

Seriously (boobies) it makes all the difference in the world.  I remember back in 2005-2006 when both Eric Cressey and myself would drive 45-60 minutes (both ways), 2-3 times per week, to train at South Side Gym in Stratford, CT (it’s no longer there, unfortunately).   Friday afternoon traffic would suck pond water, and I’d literally contemplate driving my car off a cliff, but it was well worth it when we’d walk in and see 8-10 dudes setting up for max-effort bench night.  You couldn’t beat the atmosphere – dudes, chalk, rusty barbells, sacrificial goat, angry music, it was awesome.

Every time I left, I’d feel like I got stronger.  And, I did, because I was training with people who were a lot (A LOT) stronger than myself.

Moreover, when in the right environment, how could you not get fired up after watching something like this:

The video above was taken the other day at our facility – dude is a freak (and only a sophomore in college).

it’s totally worth the extra 15-60 minute drive it will take to train at another facility.  Just think of how glorious it will be to perform your deadlift day without some Zumba class going on in the background! Sure it’s a pain to have to travel, and spend more money on gas, but it may be all you need to light a fire underneath your ass, and actually not suck.

Okay, you don’t really suck, but you know what I’m trying to say.  Training around people who will not only push you, but get royally pissed if you blow them off will be all the motivation you need.

Do you have any thoughts or words of wisdom with regards to how you stay motivated to train?  It doesn’t necessarily have to pertain to getting stronger, it can be anything – I don’t care.  Share them below!

And, do me a favor and click the “like” button, because, you know, this was an awesome blog post, and more people need to read it!

Toodles.

It never ceases to amaze me the extent to which people will go to lose fat.  Well, actually, let me rephrase that, because we all know that people will do some batshit crazy stuff in an effort to lose bodyfat.  So lets try that again:  it never ceases to amaze the utter nonsense people will fall for thinking that it will lead to long-term fat loss.

Key phrase:  LONG-term fat loss.

On one hand, I can’t say that I blame people for their naivete.  I mean, we just don’t move as much as we used to – we sit on our way to work, we sit at work, we sit on our way home from work, and to top it off, if or when we do make it to the gym, we sit even more; regurgitating the same boring, mundane, machine circuits that are so easy a caveman could do.

Or, to be more precise, a zombie could do – cause that’s exactly what most people look like when they “exercise.”

Note:  quotations = sarcasm

What’s more, we have government agencies telling us that (refined) carbohydrates should be the main staple of our diets, and that icky stuff – butter, red meat, eggs, fat, or what I like to call REAL food – should be avoided like the plague.  The result?  Obesity rates have risen steadily state-by-state to the point where as of now, according to the latest CDC statistics, obesity prevalence was 30% of higher in twelve states in 2010, compared to nine states in 2009.  In 200, NO states had obesity that high.  Houston, we have a problem!

A BIG problem

We have escalors for those who don’t want to walk up stairs.  We have 4,785 cable channels at our disposal rather than go for a walk.  We have fast food restaurants around every corner.  We have kids who would rather text on their phone than play kickball.  In short, we’re struggling.  Again, it’s hard to put blame on any one person when we live in such an enabling society that encourages us to eat like crap and not move.

On the other hand, though, I come from an old-school train of thought that believes that we need to take a little more accountability for our own actions.  Moreover, we need to exhibit at least the slightest bit of intelligence to recognize that some things are just, for lack of a better term, #%**#@! stupid.

The fat loss industry is a billion-dollar-per-year industy.  So, to say that there are mega bucks involved would be an understatement.  You saw the stats – there are a lot of people out looking to shed some inches, and many of those will spend oodles of money to do so; even if it sounds like it came from the set of Space Odyssey 2001.

Take for example, the latest trend of laser fat removal.  I won’t name any names (a simple Google search would suffice), but the basic jist is this:

1.  You show up.

2.  You’re placed underneath a laser, which is targeted at a specific area on the body: most often the waist, hips, and thighs (your wallet).

3.  You then chill for 20-40 minutes.  Taking an excerpt from the website I’m looking at right now:

You simply lay in a comfortable, stationary position for twenty minutes at a time, in a relaxed environment, while the cold laser does all of the work. Since the (name omited) uses cold laser technology, you feel nothing during the procedure. You may feel a bit different and lighter as you exit the treatment center due to the bio-stimulation that begins in your body.

4.  See what just happened there?  A piece of my soul just died reading that.  Bio-stimulation?  Really?

5.  You leave and give everyone a high five.

6.  You repeat for three sessions per week, for two weeks.

7.  You pay roughly $1600 for treatment.

That’s right, roughly $1600 bones for a treatment that I HIGHLY question. I mean, why not just have people drink some Unicorn tears and save them the hassle?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but fat loss entails a fairly specific response from the body:

1.  Mobilization:  the body actually needs to be stimulated to release stored triglycerides which first requires us to break down triglycerides into free-fatty acids.  The limiting step here is an enzyme called Hormone Sensative Lipase (HSL), which is affected by either insulin and the catecholamines.  Not a laser.

2.  Transport:  when free-fatty acids are in the bloodstream, they then have to be transported away from the fat cell via the blood.  It’s a lot more complicated than this obviously (I’m not going into alpha-2 receptors and beta1,2-receptors and how they come into play with regards to stubborn body fat), but again, no laser in the mix.

3.  Oxidation:  free-fatty acids are then transported into the mitochondria of muscle by carnitine to be used as fuel.  No laser there, either.

Did I mention there was no laser involved?  There’s no laser involved.

Far be it from me to tell people how to spend their disposable income.  If you want to shoot lasers, shoot lasers.  But hey, like I said, I’m old fashioned – I’m more interested in helping people develop LONG-TERM behavioral modifcations towards food, and to do anything I can to help them move around more.  And move well.

If we spent a little more time changing our behaviors when it comes to food, and I don’t know, getting off the elliptical trainer, we might save ourselves $1600.

Seriously, does anyone know whether or not this laser treatment has ANY ounce of validity?

I’m pretty stoked on a few fronts today.  For starters, as of tonight, I’ll finally be done with my Muslce Imbalances Revealed presentations, so you can all breath a sigh of relief that I’ll stop talking about them so incessantly.

Secondly, as of yesterday, the Kansas City Royals are in town for a four game series against the Red Sox, which means CP’s own Tim Collins (AKA Waterhorse) should be making a few cameo appearances here and there.   He came in and pitched a clean 7th inning last night, but I’m hoping he may get an appearance today since my girlfriend and I (who haven’t been to Fenway together since we first started dating….over two years ago) are headed to the game where I got tickets right behind the visitor’s bullpen.   HA!

And lastly, I just drank a Spike, so I pretty much feel like I just took a shot of adrenaline to my left ventricle.  Life is good.

As such, I don’t really have anything particular I wanted to write about today, so here’s some stuff to read to keep you occupied until tomorrow.

The Big Lie – Dr. Michael Eades, M.D, H.N (Honorary Ninja for writing such an awesome article)

It’s pictures like the one shown above that truly show just how misinformed the general public is when it comes to things like saturated fat.  In short, it’s a lie –  and one that Dr. Eades blows wide open and drops kicks in the face in the post above.

But rather than write a witty synopsis, I’ll defer to the good doctor himself to help entice you to click on the link.

Nutritionally I can’t think of a bigger lie than the one claiming that fats in general and saturated fats in particular are bad for us.  This lie is so deeply embedded in the minds of most that you couldn’t blow it out with a stick of dynamite.  Especially in the minds of academics, and more especially in the minds of most dietitians.  Not all, but most. Nutritionally, it is truly the Big Lie.

Can Shoes Really Tone the Body? – Gretchen Reynolds

In a word:  absolutely not.

Get It Right:  The Deadlift – Tim Henriques

There are only a handful of topics that, no matter the time nor place, I’ll always take the time to read if I happen to come across them:

1.  Behavorial Economics – for those interested, you should check out Dan Ariely’s blog HERE.

2.  Star Wars

3.  How to convince your girlfriend to make you a meatloaf sandwich

4.  Poop

5.  Deadlifts

Here, Tim gives an excellent overview of what’s actually happening when you deadlift wihich, when all is said and done, will undoubtedly making programming them easier for your athletes and clients.

And I’m out!

 

 

 

 

Q:  I feel as if I’ve stalled on my deadlifiting. I feel like the weight is not necessarily really heavy, but that I’m just tired.  Is it possible that your technique can go down the tubes when you are simply physically or mentally tired of a lift?

If so, how long should you go without performing the lift before you start back up again?

A:  Well, think about it:  in some camps, people only pull maximally (or close to it) every 4-5 months.  You can’t pull heavy** every single week and expect to make progress – it’s just not going to happen.  Well, at least if you’re an intermediate or advanced lifter, anyways.   Beginners, conversely, can get away with deadlifting a broomstick and get stronger.

You see, the stronger you are, the more neurally taxing a lift is (and the more likely chicks will want to hang out with you.  But that goes without saying).   Using a simple example, someone who grinds out a 500 lb deadlift is going to “stress” the body a tad more than someone who’s over in the corner repping out 225 – that’s just common sense.

However, using a more relevant example:  Eric (Cressey)- whose best pull is 660 lbs – might attempt a 600+ lb pull twice, maybe three times per year.  That’s it.  If he attempted to pull THAT heavy week in and week out, he’d hate life.

That being said, lets not forget, regardless of training age, effort, PRs, or how frequently you pull, deadlifts are freaking hard!!  There’s no beating around the bush there.   To me, there isn’t any one lift that challenges the body the way deadlifts do.  It’s the epitome of a FULL body lift – just about every muscle has to come into play in order to perform the lift.

• The calves have to fire so as not to tip over.

• The hamstrings, glutes, and quads have to fire to get the bar moving off the floor (as well as to lock it out).

• The erectors, longissimus, iliocostalis, as well as all the muscles that help to stabilize the spine have to fire in order to fight the shearing force of the lift.

• The “core” (rectus abdominus, internal/external obliques, TA) has to fire to transfer force from the lower body to the upper body.

• The mid-upper back muscles (rhomboids, traps, lats, etc) have to fire to stabilize the shoulders, as well as to maintain proper spinal position throughout.

• Your esophagus has to fire to resist the urge to want to vomit in your mouth.
• Hell, even your arms are firing like crazy to assist in the movement – which is why, whenever someone asks me how to build big arms, I tell them to ditch the isolation curls and to start deadlifting.  For realz.

So, is it any wonder that you’re feeling the fruits of your labor?  Deadlifts are kind of a big deal, and definitely place a lot of stress on the body overall.

Feeling mentally tired or fatigued from deadlifting consistently isn’t uncommon, and it may not be a bad idea to back off for a month or two and just hit your accessory movements for a while – single leg work, GHRs, hip thrusters, pull-throughs, good mornings, etc.

Ideally, if you’re going to go that route, I’d focus more on less axial (spinal) loading.

Or, maybe just eliminate the heavy/grinder day altogether, and implement some “rep” days with a lighter load just to groove technique and build a little work capacity.  You know, nothing heavy or that’s going to tax the nervous system.  Just get in, use around 60-70% of your 1RM, and get some quality reps in.

All told, it’s not like you’re going to lose all your strength gains by NOT pulling heavy for a few weeks.  In fact, when it comes to maximal strength, you have a window of 30 +/- 5 days to MAINTAIN that quality before it diminishes.   So, contrary to popular belief, it’s not like you need a lot of exposure to a heavy stimulus in order to maintain it for a long period of time.  Again, I refer back to EC above and only pulling 600+ lbs a couple of times per year.

Anyways, to summarize, I’d just take a month off from the heavy stuff, refrain from loading the spine too much, and maybe just focus on lighter “rep” days to maintain technique in the interim.

Hope that helps!

 

** obviously, this is a relative term.  What’s heavy to one person, may be speed weight to another.  But, for the sake of argument, lets just say “heavy” in this instance refers to a weight that will come close to making you shit your spine, but not really.   You get the idea.

Now that we’re smack dab in the middle of summer, it seems a week never goes by where a new “Super Hero” movie isn’t released or at least right around the corner.  In the past few months alone we’ve seen the likes of Thor, The Green Lantern, and X-Men: First Class rock our world, to name a few.  And heck, the new Captain America movie is only a few short days away.

In any event, as is the case whenever a new super hero movie comes out, and we all geek out over their general badassery (except for Batman & Robin, that was just god awful), what’s even more intriguing is how the actors (and actresses) seemingly transform their bodies overnight.

Sure we can chalk it up to proper lighting, camera work, and a little CGI here and there – but there’s no denying the fact that, for many of us, we’d KILL to look half as good as they do on the screen.

So, you can imagine my excitement when two of my good buddies, John Romaniello and Matt McGorry – two dudes who are pretty well put together themselves – gave me a sneak peak at their new project while I was down in NYC a few weekends ago:

The Super Hero Workout:  Build a body that can fight crime, thwart evil, and save the world (while looking AWESOME). 

I liked it so much, that I made an executive decision and printed it out so that the entire Cressey Performance staff could start following it.

We’re about a week in, and LOVING it.  I honestly haven’t had this much fun training in eons.

Granted, with how I feel as I type this – completely TRASHED by the way – I’d be lucky if I could resue a kitten from a tree.  But I have no doubts that by the end of the twelve weeks – my abs will be arm wrestling tanks!

Nevertheless, Roman was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions I had about The Super Hero Workout, and what resulted (below) is one of the most entertaining interviews I’ve ever done for this site – and that’s saying a lot.

Without further ado:

Tony Gentilcore:  So, Roman, for those of my readers who don’t know who you are, can you give them a Cliff’s Notes version of what it’s like to be you?  Don’t forget the part where you deadlifted 660 for a triple a few years ago pretty much hated life for like a week.

John Romaniello:  Haha, you mean condense my life into five sentences?  Not possible…I’m known for my prolixity. But, I’ll try. Okay – abridged version: I was a fat (well, pretty chubby) kid growing up; I played sports but wasn’t ever great at them.  I sort of enjoyed lifting because I was always naturally strong (as many chubsters are) and had a propensity to gain muscle (as many chubsters do)…years later I’d realize that I’m a textbook endo-mesomorph.

Anyway, when I was 19 I saw a picture of myself, decided I hated the way I looked, and joined a gym.  Did everything “wrong” for 6 months, but somehow went from a very chubby 193 to a super shredded 160 during that time period–while gaining size on my chest/back measurements, increase my bench press…all of that.  Newbie heaven.

Coincidentally, the apex of my transformation happened just towards the beginning of summer that year…and obviously that summer was like no summer before.  I think I wore a shirt for maybe 5 cumulative minutes.

Having fitness change my life so much made me want to learn more about it, and I read everything I could get my hands on.  This led me to get certified as a trainer and eventually make it a career.

Along the way, I competed in bodybuilding (did reasonably well, but found it unsatisfying), and got pretty strong. Of course, strong is a very relative term, but I was strong for me–365 bench for 2 reps, 550 squat for 5 reps (315 ass to ankles for sets of 8-10, if you must know), and as you mentioned, I pulled 660 for a trip.  Well…I pulled 660 for a double and then a really shitty third “rep” – and that one put me under the bus.  I woke up the next day feeling like I got beaten with Mjolnir (Thor’s hammer).

Professionally, I did some modeling, and that allowed me to train other models, which led to some actors and eventually pro athletes.  Which meant that I had to keep getting better as a trainer and coach and just keep learning.  Along the way, I began writing for magazines (shout out to T-Nation, who published me when I was 20), and eventually brought my brand of tomfoolery to the interwebs.

Sorry…that’s as short as I can make it.

TG:  Something tells me you were (and still are) a comic book nerd?  What are some of your favorites?  Along those sames lines, with the popularity of “Super Hero” movies in Hollywood as of late, what is your short list for best adaptation and worst?  How excited are you that Anne Hathaway is playing Catwoman in the next Batman sequel?  

Roman:  Oh man, that is a loaded question.  This is going to be hard to narrow it down.  For starters, I have to say that I think one of the most compelling storylines ever was Marvel’s relatively recent Civil War series.  For those who don’t know, it takes a sort of “realistic” look at how shit would go down if there were super heroes.  Basically, an accidental death is caused by a superhuman, and the government gets pissed and decides enough is enough–we need to know who you are and what you can do.

From there, a bill is proposed and a public push is made for super heroes to reveal themselves.  Some of them do–Peter Parker reveals himself as Spider-Man, and as we’ve seen in the Iron Man movies, Tony Stark does likewise.  A number of heroes REFUSE to do this, thinking it makes them and their loved ones unsafe.

Lines are drawn, sides are chosen, and shit goes down.  Teams are splintered, and long-time friends wind up embroiled in a battle that is both personal and political.  An example is Iron Man and Cap America (who doesn’t reveal himself)–the two founding members of the Avengers are at each others throats.

It’s really, really captivating and risky material, but I think it’s really incredible literature.

I’ll touch on the “movie” question by mentioning another series–Frank Miller’s take on Batman.  Batman: Year One served as the basis for nearly the entire script of Batman Begins, and they did a fantastic job.  I would say the recent Batman movies are the best adaptations–but that’s in part because the more recent comics lend themselves to that.  Spider-Man would be another one (particularly the first film, which I think captured the origin story very well).

The problem with Super Hero movies (ie, the reason many of them suck), is that it’s really, really tricky to cast them.  When you cast your main character, you’re really casting two roles, and usually the actor is only good at playing one of them.  For example, Ben Affleck, I thought, made a LOT of sense as Matt Murdock–cocky, intelligent, capable.  However, as Daredevil, he just fell flat.

The same can be said about most of the guys who played Batman.  George Clooney is completely believable as a playboy billionaire.  But, c’mon–he’s not Batman.  Alternatively, Michael Keaton seemed to be a good Bruce Wayne in the way he played at having a hidden darkness.  His Batman was okay.

Christian Bale makes a great Batman–he’s physically imposing, and when he’s not over-doing the gravel-voice, he can be menacing.  He ALSO makes an incredible Bruce Wayne…because in a lot of ways, he’s just playing a “saner” version of Patrick Bateman (from American Psycho), and he’s pretty great at that.

Toby McGuire was pretty convincing as both Parker and Spider-Man, which is why those films worked well.

The Superman films from the 80s were great because Christopher Reeves was convincing as both Clark and the Man of Steel.  He made it work.  Brandon Routh, on the other hand, is just so damn pretty that it’s IMPOSSIBLE for any person to view him as capable of being awkward.

Add to that the fact that in today’s somewhat cynical society, Superman isn’t really a compelling character–he’s too perfect, too pure.  He didn’t have to sacrifice for his powers.  All he had to do was show up.  Sure, his family died, but he never met them, and wound up getting adopted by some great folks.  I could talk about this forever, but I think it’s really hard to see, currently, how a Supes movie would be any good.

I’ll just mention also that one of the reasons the X-Men films are generally good is for the opposite reason–you’re only casting ONE character.  Wolverine is Wolverine.  Cyclops is Cyclops.  That’s it.  No real duality.  That’s makes it easier.

Finally, I love Anne Hathaway, so yes, I’m pumped to see her as Catwoman.

Um…yes, I guess you can say I’m kind of a comic book geek.

TG:  NERD ALERT!!!  Then again, who am I to talk when I went to the midnight release of the last Harry Potter book.

Okay, lets get to the meat and potatoes.  How did you and co-author, Matt McGorry, come up with the idea for The Super Hero Workout?

Roman:  Interestingly, we came up with it sort of independently of one another.  I was watching Thor and I was really impressed by Chris Hemsworth’s physique.  He’s jacked.  And not just “jacked for Hollywood,” but fully jacked.  Then he was on the cover of every fitness magazine, followed by Details etc.  And every interview talks about his workout.  And I was thinking, “what the hell is it about these physiques that people find so compelling?  I should do something here.”

About 3 days later, I was having a conversation with my buddy Craig Ballantyne, and he said that a bunch of his readers were asking HIM to do a Super Hero Workout–he didn’t think it was a good fit, so he mentioned it to me.

I sort of view it as a sign.

I let it marinate for about a week, and then I was over at Peak (Performance, Joe Dowdell’s gym), Training with Matt and mentioned it to him.  Well, his jaw just about hit the floor…

As it turns out, about two years ago, he had the idea to do a Super Hero book–a hard copy, print book; he’d even written a treatment for it.  He wound up putting it aside because of his acting career, but he clearly still had some passion for the project. I just couldn’t deny it–the stars were aligning.

So I asked him if he’d like to write a book with me.  Now, his set up for the workouts was different than mine. Completely different.  I sort of know more about the characters and what makes them fun (for me at least), so I thought setting up into phases was a good idea.  Once we had that mapped out, we each started writing workouts.

Additionally, a GOOD chunk of the text in the book (intro and all that) came from Matt’s original treatment.

TG:  I can only imagine the epic HIGH FIVE that followed when you two decided that this project was a “go.”  Getting a little more specific, what do you feel separates this manual from the masses?

Roman:  You know, that’s the thing about it–The Super Hero Workout is different because it’s different…but also the same.

Let me explain it this way: at Cressey Performance, you train high-level athletes, and you design program to address various things.  In the industry, we talk about high-level concepts like “strength qualities,” and it’s cool to geek out about it and write programs based on those concepts.

Well, I thought, for the average person, what if we focused on “fitness qualities” (power, endurance, mass, leanness), and then created phases based on each one.  From there, I thought about arrangement…and when I did that, I began to see that each phase should draw inspiration from a different hero who sort of exemplified the quality that given phase was intended to focus on.

From there, the book kind of wrote itself–and so really, while it’s ONE 12-week program, it’s intended to help you completely address all qualities of fitness.

Phase 1 (weeks 1-3) helps you develop strength and power and is inspired by heroes like Thor and Captain America.

Phase 2 is a two week block that’s all about increasing explosion, relative strength, and most of all strength endurance and resistance to local fatigue–because, let’s face it…not every super hero has super powers.  That one was inspired by “human” heroes like Batman and the Punisher.

Phase 3 is ALL about mass.  It’s a 4 day per week program using a modified bodybuilding split, and I have to say, those workouts are my favorite.  That one is inspired by the Hulk.

Phase 4 looks at the “whole picture.”  Now that we’ve learned to focus on each of those qualities individually, it’s time to learn how to address them together.  And so, phase 4 is a 4-day per week rotation-based block, with one day of fat loss training, one day of strength, one day of mass, and one day of pure conditioning.

It’s a progressive program, and so the way we designed the workouts, each phase builds on the one before it–in terms of both the utilization of the aforementioned fitness qualities, as well as the assumed increase in efficiency in the movement patterns of various exercises over the course of that 12 week block.

Plus, looking ahead–one of the things we did was design a “To Be Continued” workout series–that is, 5 completely restructured schedules (of 12-16 weeks) that you can do after SHW, to focus on a different goal.

TG:  Sweet!  I know a lot of people are going to love that option.  Also, I think it bears noting that this manual isn’t just for the dudes out there reading.  Rather, you and Matt understand that there are some ladies out there looking to take their physique to Super Hero status.  Can you expound on that a bit?  Namely, how is the program tweaked for women?

Roman:  Great question.

Well, as I’ve said on my blog and in a few interviews, I think that in most situations, women and men can pretty much train in the same way.  And should.  However, I’ve also said that I think program design should be goal dependent, and that means that since it’s likely that men and women have different goals, there should be some differences.

For women, Phases 1 and 2 can be done “as is.”  We feel that women should be strong and powerful.  Ladies like Nia Shanks have shown that “beautiful bad-asses” can be strong, sexy, and feminine.

However, when we get to Phase 3, that’s where a lot of women would lose interest.  As mentioned, Phase 3 is all about getting hyoooooooge.  And most women don’t want to do that.

I’ll just interrupt myself and make the obligatory qualifying statement that most women can’t get “hyooooge” anyway; they don’t have the hormones or genetics for it.  Even if they did phase 3 as written, unless they were really eating for it, they wouldn’t gain much mass.

But, that brings up an interesting conundrum – why would you WANT a client to do a program designed for a goal that they can’t achieve, ESPECIALLY when they wouldn’t want to achieve it even if they could?  What’s the point?

And so, given that, Matt and I decided that we could create a 4-week “overlay” to the program.  This is 4-week women’s specific program called “Female Super Hero Training,” and is intended to help ladies continue to lose fat and increase conditioning and strength, but doesn’t focus on mass.

Something cool–when I polled me readers, they made it clear they wanted a “woman’s touch” on that aspect of the program. So to help with the design, we enlisted Flavia Del Monte, (who looks like a super hero herself)…more importantly, she’s been having tons of great results with her female clients, and my readers really dig her stuff.  It was a perfect fit.

TG:  In my opinion, it just looks freakin FUN…so what do you feel would be the best way to describe it all? Is it a “all-in-one” or something else?

Roman:  Well, really, all bullshit aside…this really is a kick-ass program.  And, this could have easily been a program with ANY name, and marketed to help you increase muscle and lose fat.  We could have billed it as a body recomposition program, or the “holy grail” or whatever.

The fact is, as you mentioned, it “came to us” as a Super Hero book.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that this approach has it’s own pretty awesome marketing hook–hell, I timed the release to coincide with the release of the Captain America movie!

But really, it’s just more fun to write it this way.  As you can tell from my comic book diatribes…I geek out over this. And I geek out over fitness.  To be able to combine that AND come up with what I know is an incredible program…well, this is the most fun I’ve ever had working on anything.

======> THE SUPER HERO WORKOUT <======