Alright, better late than never. It’s still technically Monday, so I have some time to get a blog in. Just so everyone knows, I just spent the better half of the weekend berating Kevin Larrabee for admitting that he’s never watched Pulp Fiction. The dude has watched every Jason Statham movie ever made (which isn’t saying much), yet has never watched one of the greatest movies ever made. I mean come on, I’d rather wash my face with broken glass than watch The Transporter 19. EPIC fail Kevin Larrabee. EPIC fail.
Honestly, I haven’t seen him this excited about a book since the re-release of Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. He’s so cute.
In all seriousness, I have a stack of books on my bookshelf that are still waiting to be read*, but because of Brian, I’m moving this to the top of the list. Read his review here.
2. If I have to listen to one more parent tell me that their kid needs to work on their sprinting mechanics (even though said kid can’t perform one clean body weight lunge), I think I’m going go nuts.
3. My good friend, and fellow admirer of the badonkadonk, Mike Robertson unveiled his new Podcast earlier this week. In an effort to elevate the industry as a whole, Mike’s mission is to “keep it real,” and show the world that there really are better ways to train that what you see on TV and in the magazines. Check out the first episode here.
And you didn’t hear it from me, but word on the street is that a certain someone who’s first name begins with a T and ends with Mr. Kate Beckinsale might be on as a guest soon. Topics may or may not include the following:
– Who shot first: Han Solo or Greedo?
– How I’d rather have a healthy athlete throw a chainsaw at his/her own face than include unstable surface training in their programming.
– Whether or not we should mandate a law to tell Jillian Michaels to shut up.
– As well as other relevant stuff pertaining to lifting heavy things, program design, and how dudes with over 5000+ posts on a forum really need to get a life. Stay tuned………
That’s all I have for today. I was going to include a video of a 500 lb deadlift I did over the weekend, but I can’t seem to find my adapter I need for my digital camera. Instead, I’ll just include the trailer to the latest X-Files movie that I watched the other night.
Don’t bother renting it. I can summarize it for you right here:
Mulder: Hey, I’m socially awkward (see, I grew a beard), and believe in aliens. Want to make out?
Scully: Yes.
Fade to Black
I should write movies, I swear to god.
* Dating for Dummies, Crime and Punishment, and Everyone Poops. You know, the classics.
While I’d like to sit here and tell you that this is going to be some advanced article on program design, in reality, it isn’t (well, at least for some of you).
I’m not going to reveal some secret quasi-functional, homeostatic overreaching, Eastern Bloc pyramid mesocycle you’re missing out on. Nor am I going to provide insight on any advanced techniques that will increase your peak power by 87.359%.
Rather, the goal here is to give you a bit of “tough love,” and take an objective look at some of the small (yet important) aspects of program design that many trainees (possibly you) tend to overlook, or worse, ignore altogether.
Sports hernias seem to be rising at an epidemic rate as of late in sports such as hockey and soccer. Mike Boyle wrote a fantastic article titled Understanding Sports Hernias for strengthcoach.com not too long ago, and I wanted to share a small snidbit (yes I said snidbit) here with you:
In truth a number of different conditions fall under the umbrella of sports hernia. However, the most interesting thing about the sports hernia is that it almost always seems to begin as groin pain, not as abdominal pain. Most sports hernia sufferers, when interviewed or evaluated, will describe a groin injury that gradually progressed into a painful lower abdomen. This often-overlooked fact may be the real key to solving or understanding the problem. Sports hernias are not traumatic. There is no singular incident but rather a gradual progression. What begins as a groin pain progresses into an abdominal pain. So in reality, the “sports hernia” may be secondary injury. In fact sports hernias may be the reaction of the abdominal muscles to a groin injury or more specifically the reaction of the abdominal muscles to a change in the mechanics of the hip joint.
As you can see from above, the adductor (or groin) group is a fairly dense area of muscle consisting of five muscles (the gracilis isn’t labeled). In particular, and as Boyle notes in his article, the adductor brevis and pectineus both aid in adduction as well as break hip flexion during sprinting. As an example, think about what hockey and soccer both involve a lot of? Hint: adduction/flexion.
Unfortunately, many trainers and therapists try to treat sports hernias by just solely focusing on strengthening adduction while stretching the hip flexors. This would be analogous to trying to fix a leak in your ceiling by putting a band aid over the actual leak, while completely neglecting the fact that the leak is coming from somewhere else.
So after watching that video either one of two things happened:
1. You’re completely grossed out.
2. Your computer screen is pregnant.
Again, abdominal pain in the form of a sports hernia may in fact be a secondary injury due to scar tissue build up in the adductors. As such, it’s important to try to improve the soft tissue quality in that area. One of the best ways is to foam roll your adductors as shown above (also known as the testicle tickler. Sorry I couldn’t resist). It won’t feel good, but it will go a long way in terms of preventing many common dysfunctions that manifest themselves in the hip/groin complex.
Surprisingly, these are not quotes from a recent date I went on. Note to Emily: I had no idea I forgot my wallet. Really, my bad. Thanks for dinner! It was delish. Call me.
Rather, these are quotes from this past Saturday from three different female clients who obviously adore me to pieces and think I’m the best trainer ever.
When all is said and done, my day isn’t complete till someone tells me how much they hate me or threatens me with a broken beer bottle after they’re done with their Airdyne intervals (I love you too Mom). It just comes with the territory I suppose. That being said, it still doesn’t prevent me from making them do this:
I decided that the guys can’t have all the fun, and had some of the girls of CP do their own version of a sled medley over the weekend. Good job girls! Next week we’ll add a plate, and whoever gets the fastest time will get an 8×8 picture of me to put on their desk at work to inspire them and/or throw darts at. God, I love my job/fear for my life.
I know the vast majority of you slackers called in to work today because of the snow. But for those who manned up and braved the elements, I have four words for you: It’s Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday!!!!!!!
1. I like to challenge myself, so in light of last Thursday’s blog post, I ate 28 eggs yesterday. I would have gone for 30, but I figured that might have been overkill. My next “challenge” is to see how many episodes of Rock of Love I can sit through before a) I want to stab myself in the eyes….repeatedly, b) Bret Michaels contracts a raging case of gonorrhea, or c) I get bored and watch The Hills instead.
2. It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of the show The Biggest Loser. Below is a link of one of their trainers, The Prince of Darkness Jillian Michaels* showing us what it’s like to be the epitome of a walking dysfunction:
Holy mother of ACL injuries, what in the hell was that?!?!?! I’ve seen one-legged meth addicts perform a cleaner lunge than that. This is more like a video of how not to do a lunge. Sadly, there are a lot of de-conditioned people who are going to follow this routine and hurt themselves. Thanks Jillian!!!
*no relation to Bret, weird I know.
3. A big congrats goes out to CP client Tom Boziuk for participating in his first powerlifting meet this past weekend in Albany, NY. While he didn’t post the numbers he was hoping for, the fact that he actually went out and competed says a lot. Lord knows I don’t have the balls to do it
4. Q:
Hi, just read your article 4 Things Your Girlfriend Should Know. I have been weight-training for a few years now – heavy weights with low reps (10-12). I am now at the point where I am looking for a new workout regime because I am in fact getting too big and I don’t like the way I look. Specifically my back – it’s getting so big that I am shredding the liners of my winter coats. My biceps can’t fit into some short-sleeved shirts that are too tight. Can’t get some of my dress pants over my thighs. You get the drift. It’s not fat, it’s muscle. So women can get too big. I am now looking for a way I can shrink myself and try to maintain at least some of the strength and ‘cutness’ that I have worked so hard for, but I’m willing to lose some so that I don’t feel like Chyna anymore. If you have any advice for me I’d appreciate it, but I have a feeling you’re going to stick to the advice in your article because you firmly believe it’s the best. I agree with you but I know I’m not really happy with the shape of my body anymore, and at the end of the day that’s what matters.
A: Ummmmm, 10-12 reps is notheavy, low rep training. It’s HYPERTROPHY training. The reason you can’t fit into your clothes anymore is because you’re probably doing too much volume. Likewise, I suspect that you’re not taking into account your total caloric intake. Muscle isn’t just going to miraculously appear out of no where. If you’re eating at a surplus (and providing a growth stimulus in the form of weight training), then your body is going to grow; plain and simple.
My short list of things you can do:
1. Objectively look at your diet. Are you eating at a surplus? If so, adjust.
2. Stop performing reps in the 10-12 rep range. It’s exercise physiology 101.
Power (single effort event): 1-2 reps, (multiple-effort event): 3-5
Strength: no more than 6 reps
Hypertrophy: 6-12 reps
Muscular Endurance: 12+ reps
Stop training in the hypertrophy (muscle growth) range and I’m willing to bet good things will happen.
3. Incorporate more cardiovascular training into your weekly programming. Specifically, I’d try to perform more interval based work.
Above all, please don’t get into the mentality that weight training is going to make you “butch.” If anything I think it’s awesome that you’re training hard and I wish more women had your work ethic. Nonetheless, I think tweaking your training slightly, and following some of the suggestions above will help you get to where you want to go. Good luck!
5. My good friend Leigh Peele launched her new website FLzine.com a few days ago, and I’m pretty excited about it. Leigh is one of my most favorite people in the world, and she’s done a fantastic job developing this website as a place where people can go to get top notch fitness/training/nutrition information without all the smoke and mirrors. She’ll have a lot of people contributing to the site (including yours truly), and I suspect that that fact alone with increase site traffic ten fold. I mean, I do have a six pack, so I obviously know what I’m talking about. Check it out! Hyperlink is to her site, not my six pack (sorry ladies).
6. Introducing Jennifer Stano. I have nothing to add other than……….
It’s Friday, and it’s like 60 degrees outside, so I’m going to keep this one short. Read: I’m headed down to the Minuteman Trail to watch all the people who shouldn’t be jogging (I should take videos and make that into an EPIC blog post), and time permitting, hang out in Harvard Square and read Twilight with my shirt off. Anyways, I often get asked what my training looks like, so I figured I’d post yesterday’s training session.
500×2: worked up to one heavy set of two. As of the past two weeks, I’ve been deadlifting three times per week; smart I know.
B1. Giant Cambered Bar Goodmornings: 4×6
295×6
315×6
325×5
325×6
B2: Half Kneeling Cable Lift w/Core Bar: 3×8/side (which is officially my new favorite “core” exercise. The video below is from Mike Robertson’s video library on Youtube.)
C1: DB Reverse Lunge: 2×8
I was about to start my third set when the gang decided to do some sled pushing. Eric Cressey posted this video in his blog yesterday, but I figured I share the awesomeness here as well. The basic premise (as noted from Eric’s blog):
1. Sled (on the floor, not turf) with four plates on it.
2. Four guys (in this case, Eric, Pete, myself, and one of our high school seniors).
3. 16 trips of 16 yards as fast as possible.
4. Ideally, each guy does four full trips, but when one guy can’t get it done, somebody has to step up and finish his trip.
For those don’t know which one was me, you can pause the video at 5:18 (WELCOMETOTHEGUNSHOW). Incidentally, I was also the one who went on to finish his workout afterwards while the rest where contemplating spewing junks. I totally don’t suck at life.
Someone linked to this article a few weeks ago in the comments section, and I’m just now recovering from the massive brain hemorrhage I suffered from reading it. To summarize, CNN felt it news worthy to run a story about some 27 year old dude named Jason (who sadly, is originally from my neck of woods: Syracuse, NY) and how he’s on a quest for a “six pack” by eating a diet that includes 16 egg whites per day.
First off, 16 egg whites in one day is no big deal. I’ve often eaten upwards of two dozen eggs in one day, and CNN isn’t covering that shit. WTF CNN!?!?!?! And while I could go on and on about how retarded this guy is, I’m not going to. I’m just going to chalk this one up to the fact that he strapped on the stupid long ago. Besides, I’ll let the picture speak for itself:
He’s all skin and bone. Is there even any muscle there to warrant having a six pack???? That’s not a six pack, that’s your freakin liver dude.
Anyways, my beef with the article wasn’t so much with Jason, but with some comments made by a registered dietitian with the American Dietetic Association, who was asked to analyze Jason’s diet (below):
Dinant’s six-pack diet
Meal 1: 8 egg whites, 2 servings of cream of rice
Meal 2: 5 ounces lean meat or fish, 1 cup brown rice, 1 cup veggies
Meal 3: 5 ounces lean meat, 1 cup rice, 1 cup veggies
Meal 4: 5 ounces lean meat or fish, 6-ounce potato or sweet potato, 1 cup veggies
The dietitian suggested to add more fat into the diet, which is actually great advice. People often forget that dietary fat supplies energy and essential fatty acids and serves as a carrier for the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K and carotenoids. Additionally, fats serve as building blocks of membranes and play a key regulatory role in numerous biological functions; such as testosterone production (which helps you gain muscle mass) and partitioning (which helps you lose fat).
As well, another little known fact about dietary fat is that eating it with your veggies helps you get more nutrition out of them than eating them without. Clearly, fat plays an important role in our diet. Albeit it’s unfortunate that it’s usually the one ESSENTIAL macronutrient that gets the ax when looking to lose weight.
He then goes on to drop this knowledge bomb:
“Eating protein has great benefit for rebuilding muscle and speeding up the metabolism,” White said. “But too much can cause weight gain, increase the urinary loss of calcium, and cause dehydration.”
Lets break this down.
1. Too much (protein) can cause weight gain. Too much of anything can cause weight gain. It always comes down to total calories. Why is it that protein often gets the brunt of this asinine argument?
2. Too much protein can cause urinary loss of calcium. As Lyle McDonald notes in his aptly titled The Protein Book:
It’s too simplistic to look at protein intake in isolation in terms of its effects on bone health, as the protein content of food interacts with other nutrients in that food or in the total diet. For example, recent studies suggest an interaction between protein and calcium intake.
When calcium intake is low, high protein intakes appear to have negative effects on bone health. In contrast, when calcium and vitamin D intake are sufficient, protein intake has a beneficial effect on bone health. This suggest that ensuring adequate calcium intake (through a sufficient intake of dairy foods, or calcium supplements) is crucial for bone health when large amounts of protein are being consumed.
This most likely serves to explain the above contradiction. In the studies where dietary protein intake was found to have a negative impact on bone health, there were OTHER dietary factors playing a role. Calcium or vitamin D intake may have been insufficient, causing an overall negative effect. However, when sufficient calcium and vitamin D are provided, dietary protein has a beneficial impact.
Likewise, lets not forget the importance of lifting heavy stuff. In terms of stimulating new bone formation, what’s needed is something called a minimal essential strain (MES), which refers to a threshold stimulus that initiates new bone formation. A force that reaches or exceeds this threshold and is repeated often enough will signal osteoblasts to migrate to that region of the bone and lay down matrix proteins (collagen) to increase the strength of the bone in that area. In short, as long as one is lifting appreciable weights, the whole “calcium leakage” argument is fairly mute.
3. Too much protein will cause dehydration. I don’t have a response to this other than hahahahaahahahaahahahahahaahahahaahahaahaha. I’ve never heard this one before, and would be really surprised if there’s any research to back it up. I mean, why not just start telling people that high protein diets cause rabies?!?!
To summarize:
– Jason, eat something. Please.
– The blanket statement that too much protein will cause weight gain is absurd. Too much of anything will cause weight gain.
– Too much protein will not cause your bones to leak calcium, so long as calcium and vitamin D intake are sufficient. As well, I think I remember reading somewhere that the amount of calcium “leaked” by the bones is so insignificant, that a tablespoon of milk would more than make up for it. Just goes to show how things tend to get blown out of proportion in the general media. Unless we’re talking about my chest, and how it’s often mistaken for a steel plate. That’s actually true.
– Lets be honest, CNN needs to cover more “newsworthy” stories. Like the fact that MEGAN FOX IS SINGLE AGAIN!!!!! I guess she finally realized that Brian Austin Green is in fact, Brian Austin Green. Good for her. Good for her
Oh, where to begin. I’m in a bit of a conundrum here. On one hand, I’m not going to lie. I’ve watched that video at least 37 times this morning (for obvious reasons), and I’m contemplating calling in to work today. On the other, those have got to be some of the worst looking push-ups I have ever seen. I think all ten of those “reps” amounted to one actual push-up. Then again I wasn’t really counting past cleavage.
I hate the term “girl push-ups,” and I hate any trainer who has their female clients do them. I think it’s completely asinine to separate push-ups into two categories of “girl push-ups” and “regular push-ups.” The last thing I want to do when starting with a new female client is to establish a mentality that because she’s a girl, she can’t do something. If anything that just strikes me as very condescending.
Nonetheless, I think a great starting point would be to perform elevated push-ups from either a bench or power rack with adjustable pins.
Here, we can limit the range of motion, albeit still reap all the benefits of the push-up (upper body strength, lumbo-pelvic coordination, core strength/stability, scapular stability, etc). Obviously as one becomes more proficient, you would just move the pins down towards the floor, and before you know it, they’re performing push-ups from the floor with chains across their back.
All in all, it just really frustrates me when I see or hear women give in to the mentality that they’re these delicate creatures who can’t lift like the boys. This is why I like sites such as stumptuous.com and figureathlete.com. Both sites have superb info in regards to how women should be training (hint: lift some freakin weights). Not to mention, as compared to the crap I come across in publications such as Oxygen Magazine, I’m much less inclined to want punch a hole through my computer screen.
EDIT: It’s come to my attention that Jennifer Love Hewitt really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really should consider hiring me as her trainer/boyfriend. Just throwing it out there. I mean Jesus, she once dated John Mayer for crying out loud. What does he have that I don’t have? You know, besides money, fame, and the ability to not drive a Hyundai Elantra? I have a six pack. That’s gotta count for something dammit!
Normally I try to avoid writing about controversial topics such as blood type diets, colon cleansing, intermittent fasting and such, because in all honesty, I think it’s a bunch of voodoo nonsense. Not to mention I know someone is going to get their panties up in a bunch and write some long rant in the comments section on how misinformed I am/I’m an idiot/how I owe them alimony/when am I going to call them back/their lawyers are going to be contacting me soon/blah blah blah. Nevertheless, I’m just not a big fan of stirring the pot.
It wasn’t too long ago where I scoffed at the notion of designing a diet based off of someone’s somatotype (body type). If they ate like crap, they’d be fat. If they cleaned it up, they’d be less fat. It’s a wonder I’m not a scientist. All the same, in light of some recent research, and upon listening to Dr. John Berardi speak on the topic, I’m starting to think that adjusting one’s diet based off their somatotype seems to have quite a bit of validity.
Generally speaking, one’s somatotype determines some key hormonal and sympathetic nervous system characteristics, and these characteristics can be directly linked to metabolic differences between people.
Ectomorphs: (small bone structure, “hard gainers,” think: Steve Erkel)
As Berardi notes, these people tend to be more thyroid and sympathetic nervous system dominant, with higher outputs or higher sensitivity to the catecholamines (epinephrine, norepinephrine). This “profile” is linked to a faster metabolism and a higher carbohydrate tolerance. As such, these individuals do best on a higher carbohydrate diet with moderate protein and a low(er) fat intake. A good starting point would be 55% carbohydrates, 25% protein, and 20% fat.
Mesomorphs: (medium sized bone structure, athletic body holding significant amount of lean mass, think: actor Ryan Reynolds, AKA guy who’s married to Scarlett Johannson and just so happens to make my list of people I hate because I’m not him).
Side Note: Okay ladies, I included that picture just for you. In light of the fact that I have an affinity for posting pictures of hot chicks being hot, I thought I’d mix it up a bit and give you some photo shopped eye candy to mull over. I didn’t like doing it, but I always put my readers first. God dammit he’s an attractive man.
These individuals tend to be testosterone and growth hormone dominate. As a result, these are the people who have a propensity to add on muscle without even blinking an eye, and are able to maintain a low body fat percentage year round. Interestingly enough, mesomorphs tend to do best by following more of a Zone style diet where there’s an even balance between carbs, proteins, and fats. This would consist of about 40% carbs, 30% proteins, and 30% fats.
Endomorphs: (larger bone structure, higher amounts of total body fat, think: your typical lazy, fat bastard of a husband that never puts the toilet seat down, and didn’t so much as acknowledge Valentine’s Day last weekend).
Berardi explained how these individuals tend to be more insulin dominant. As such, they have a greater propensity to store energy in both lean and fat compartments of the body; as well as exhibit lower carbohydrate tolerance. Accordingly, endomorphs typically do best with a higher fat and protein intake, with carbohydrates playing less of a role in overall energy intake. A general starting point for this type of person would be 25% carbohydrates, 35% protein, 40% fat.
I should note that rarely does anyone ever fall into one somatotype category. Meaning, no one is ever purely an ectomorph, mesomorph, endomorph, etc. Rather, most people tend to be a mix and match of two somatotypes combined. Unless of course, your name is Pieter von Unibrow, Bilbo Baggins, The Guy Who Married Christina Aguilera, then I don’t know what the hell you are.
Anyways, the point I’m trying to make is that nothing is set in stone. While the above numbers are definitely great starting points, it only makes sense that it “may” take some experimentation as far as what will work for you. Of course we could go even further and discuss endless topics such as nutrient timing, what foods should you eat, where can you get them, what the heck is a protein, etc. Luckily Dr. Berardi just released Precision Nutrition v.3 not too long ago.
Easily the most comprehensive nutritional resource out there. While most sequels to anything suck (yeah, I’m talkin to you Brett Ratner. Don’t think I forgot about that shit-storm of a movie you called X-Men United), Precision Nutrition v.3 is like The Return of the King. What a horrible analogy. Whatever, I’m going with it. All the same, the third edition comes with some revamped material, a new section specifically for vegetarians, as well as a plethora of added bonus. Check it out here.
1. The seminar this past weekend was a blast. It was great to see friends I haven’t seen in a while, as well as listen to some awesome presentations. On an aside, it was nice to finally attend a seminar without the token “guy with jeans and UnderArmour shirt” on. Likewise, I didn’t see anyone walking around with a fanny pack while carrying a gallon of water. High five to all that attended for not making my eyes bleed!
In all seriousness, I learned a ton this past weekend, and I can’t wait for my clients/athletes to hate me for all the new stuff I’m going to try on them.
2. One of the best quotes from this past weekend came from Mike Boyle, who when discussing the topic of early specialization among adolescents, simply stated: “all your kid needs is a friend and a bike.” Oh snap!
Mike Boyle: 1
Overzealous Parent Who Thinks Their Kid is the Next Wayne Gretzky/Michael Jordan/Mia Hamm/Tiger Woods/Derek Jeter/or Thinks Their Kid is Even Remotely Athletic: 0
Nine to eleven year old kids don’t need to be working with a personal trainer or strength coach on a regular basis. Nor do they need to be specializing in a sport at such a young age. The best thing for them is to play multiple sports and learn that stuff like getting blasted in the head during dodge-ball or hitting their first Little League home-run is what will make them a better athlete.
3. Highlight of the weekend goes to Kevin Larrabee with not one, but TWO epic fails on a 300 bench. Side note: this is what he gets for a) not paying me my $5 for the bet we made and b) continuing to play my now infamous first appearance on The Fitcast (which admittedly is gayer than a park bench near Boy George’s house).
Attempt #1:
Coaching Comments:
1. Whoever that guy is handing off is one sexy mofo.
2. Good choice on picking Cypress Hill to play in the background.
3. Drinking two Spikes before a max effort lift won’t miraculously add 10% to your bench press. Just sayin.
4. Kevin took waaaaaaay too long to bring the bar down. I mean, I could have successfully watched Titanic twice* (Leo!!!!!!!) in the amount of time it took him to get the bar to his chest. By taking so long to lower the bar, he loses out on the Stretch Shortening Cycle (elastic energy of the muscles/tendons) to help him push through the “sticking point.”
5. Elbows flared out and hips came up out as soon as he “pressed” the bar back up, which tells me he just needs to emphasize some technique work with some heavy triples (as well as some lifts above 90%), and maybe incorporate some more speed work to groove that pattern. Or he could just stop missing lifts every other session. That might help……;o)
And Attempt #2:
Coaching Comments: (crickets chirping) PS, I love you Kevin.
4. For those that don’t know, that’s Mike Robertson sitting on the bench in the second video. Mike was gracious enough to come to CP early Sunday morning to do a short in-service training for the staff. Mike talked about how he goes about assessing knee issues with clients and used me as a guinea pig. Mike is the go to guy when it comes to anything related to the knees, and it was great to watch him in action. In short, I suck, and need to practice more of what I preach. Which is to say I really need to be more diligent with my soft-tissue work (ie: foam rolling), as well as incorporate more long duration static stretching throughout the day.
Other things I picked up on:
– I can’t be an a-hole and not do my foam rolling and stretching.
– Half Kneeling Cable Lifts (with a core bar) are now my new favorite “core” exercise
This exercise really emphasizes the obliques, as well as teaches you to stabilize the entire lumbo-pelvic-hip complex, which is something most trainees lack the ability to do efficiently.
– When I do return back to squatting, I need to make sure I emphasize high(er) reps (8-10 range) in order to promote regeneration of connective tissue. Oftentimes, trainees (myself included) tend to be impatient and want to go back to heavy lifting from the start. Big mistake.
– Just about every movement dysfunction can be attributed back to the hips. Coincidentally, I have atrocious internal rotation in my hips, which makes sense since I’ve been a pitcher for most of my life. Mike noted that my issue tends to be more muscular than capsular (which is FAR worse), so there’s hope for me. IE: DO YOUR FREAKIN STRETCHING GENTILCORE!!!!!!
5. Speaking of Mike, he and I were talking Saturday night while eating dead animal flesh, and we both have come to the conclusion that we’re done with one-on-one training. Seriously, unless your name happens to be Marisa Miller and you’re willing to do nothing but pull-throughs and romanian deadlifts for an entire session, topless, chances are I’m not going to train you one-on-one.
As a trainer, you’re behind the curve if you’re not utilizing semi-private training. Thomas Plummer has even gone so far to say that one-on-one training is dead. As someone who paid his dues working in various commercial gyms in the past, I can say I wholeheartedly agree. Semi-private training is more affordable than the classic private (one-on-one) training model that typifies the fitness industry. As such, clients can train with greater frequency at a fraction of the cost – and therefore make faster progress.
Additionally, semi-private training provides a more motivating atmosphere (for the client and trainer), and speaking from personal experience, my only regret is that I didn’t start doing it earlier.
6. I’ve become such a Blu-ray snob. I bought a Blu-ray player just before Christmas and all I have to say is that it’s pretty much the most awesome thing ever (behind Scarlett Johansson’s intelligence cleavage of course).
7. For those who are curious (and I know you all are), Project: Tony Gets Sexified has come to a close. I have to say that it was a blast, and I’m definitely going to give it another go round once the weather gets warmer. In other words, I’m totally training with my shirt off every chance I get. Get swole son!!11! Thanks goes out to Jen for putting together a stellar diet and for being an awesome coach. Also, I’d like to thank……..
– Diet Coke. You were my saving grace on my low calorie days.
– Ezekiel bread. My new favorite breakfast food.
– Airdyne bike intervals. You can go to hell.
– Tom Cruise. For being batshit crazy.
– My abs. Just cause
– Rosemary’s cobb salad.
– The two hot bartenders at The Tavern. One day I’ll actually say hi to one of you when I come and pick up my order on Saturday night. And, if you play your cards right, and may even make eye contact! I know, I know. It’s not easy having this much game.
*okay, three. Who am I kidding. I’ll never let go Jack. I’ll never let go!!!!!
