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Going to keep this one short and sweet today (although I should get some brownie points for posting two days in a row). Tomorrow I’ll be attending Mike Boyle’s 3rd Annual Strength and Conditioning Winter Seminar, which I am definitely looking forward to. I almost feel like a groupie since I’ve gone every year from the get go; accept I don’t dress like a slut and try to sleep with any of the presenters. Although I’d probably make an exception if Mike ever happened to get figure competitor/fitness model Jamie Eason to speak. Or, I don’t know, just stand in a corner somewhere

Anyways, it’s going to be an awesome seminar to say the least. Mike has a solid group of presenters lined up:

– Training and Rehabilitation Strategies for the Pelvis and Hip: John Pallof RPT

John’s kind of a big deal, you know, since he has an exercise named after him. The Pallof Press:

John’s presentation will focus on the training and rehabilitation of athletes with hip and groin injuries with particular emphasis on the sports hernia issue. I have the opportunity to work with John almost on a weekly basis when he comes to the facility to treat some of our athletes. Hands down, one of the brightest minds out there when it comes to manual therapy.

– Off-Season Baseball Training: From Assessment to Opening Day: Eric Cressey

Eric will demonstrate how to take a baseball player from the initial evaluation to the start of spring training.

I listen to Eric talk everyday, so I’ll probably skip this one. LOL. Just kidding. Seriously though, I hope there’s a snack bar available.

– Training Considerations for Basketball: Brijesh Patel

Basketball players are different than other athletes and these differences need to be reflected within their physical training. Learn what considerations need to be made for training basketball players as well as modes and progressions that can be implemented right away.

Always love listening to Brijesh speak because he just says it like it is. Check out his website here.

– Concussions and Sports: Chris Nowinski

Chris will give an in-depth overview of the sports concussion crisis. It will include his personal story about being forced to retire from World Wrestling Entertainment due to post-concussion syndrome and the information that inspired him to write Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis. He will cover the latest research coming out of Boston University’s new Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, including post-mortem examinations of athletes’ brains. Finally, he will provide practical information and tools to help professional in any line of work with concussed athletes serve their clients better.

This one should definitely be interesting. Which is to say, I wonder if he wrestled The Rock?

Which is to also say, what are the odds that Chris will suplex the shit out of me if I ask that question this weekend?

– Practical Strategies for Preventing Low Back Pains: Mike Robertson

In this presentation Mike will discuss: Typical causes of everyday low back pain; The role of the pelvis, surrounding musculature and force couples; Training Interventions (core training, flexibility/mobility, etc.); Behavior Modification

Mike’s a good friend of mine who is a superb speaker. He has a knack of taking complex material and dumbing it down in way that even my mother can understand. On an aside, I’m actually going to be heading out to his neck of the woods soon (Indianapolis) to check out his and Bill Hartman’s facility, and I can’t wait. Little known fact about Mike. Best. Wing-man. EVER!!11!1!!

– Training for Ice Hockey: Michael Boyle

Michael’s presentation will focus on the concepts that have made him a world leader in the training of ice hockey players, both male and female. The presentation will move from the basics for young players to training the NHL player.

Mike is by far the most quotable coach in the industry, and has been a great influence on me over the past few years. On one hand I am indebted to him for all of the ways he has helped me become a better coach. On the other, I basically hate his guts because he trained Jennifer Garner a few years ago and never got me an autograph. Jerk!

UPDATE: Mike just sent me en e-mail and asked if I’d be willing to do a presentation as well. Mine’s tentatively titled: Attending a Seminar on Valentine’s Day: Dude, You’re Sooooooooooo in the Dog House For the Next Week: An Analytical Look On Why You’re An Idiot.. I’m pretty sure this may be published on pubmed soon. Have an awesome weekend everybody!

So we’re six weeks into 2009 and I’m curious as to whether or not you’ve stuck with your New Year’s Resolutions? I know I have:

1. Get Sexy…………check.

2. Get my butt in gear and start writing articles again…………check (submitted one to t-nation just the other day).

3. Possibly plan a trip to Greece for later this year………check.

4. Destroy the back of my pants for realizing how expensive said trip will cost me………check.

Side Note: Greek women are hot.

Side Note # II: That’s a picture of Maria Menounos above (she’s greek).

Side Note # III: Ergo, Maria Menounos is hot.

Side Note # IV: We should date or something. Granted I make less than six figures a year (weird, I know), and she’d have to promise to buy me a Nintendo Wii. But I’d definitely consider it. Just throwing it out there.

Suffice it to say, I’m willing to bet that many of you have “followed the sheep,” and have already failed with your plans to lose those extra pounds this year. I get it. Stuff happens. Weekend birthday parties, Superbowl weekend, The Real Housewives of New York is on tonight, so on and so forth. It’s inevitable that the majority of us will make excuses as to why we never have time to train or eat healthy.

Fortunately, Alwyn Cosgrove and Mike Roussell have gone bat shit crazy (or just realize that people are motivated by money) and are offering a special deal on Warp Speed Fat Loss till the end of the day Friday.

In a time where we’re constantly inundated with various internet weight loss scams involving colon cleansing powders and Acai Berry juice formulas, it’s growing harder and harder to be able to distinguish what’s legit and what’s crap. Well, Alwyn and Mike are putting their money where their mouth is, and from now till the end of the day on Friday, they’re offering a 120% money back guarantee if you’re not completely satisfied with their product. However, you have to hurry since this offer is limited to the first 100 people. Click below to visit the site:

Warp Speed Fat Loss Main Site

Granted, it’s been a while since I’ve taken microeconomics, but that sounds like a pretty sweet deal. I mean, the only way they could make it even sweeter is if they offered to make me a roast beef sandwich. Like every day. Or I don’t know, gave me the opportunity to test Maria’s GIRD (Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficit).*

On an aside, I want to share with you an awesome blog post by Cressey Performance client Steph H-B. In light of the recent hoopla over Godzilla’s (sorry I couldn’t resist, I suck at life) Jessica Simpson’s pictures, Steph sheds some light on the topic of body image and women. Great stuff.

*20 degrees of OMGISTHATABELLYBUTTONRING!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I just don’t get it. Why is it that you rarely (if ever) see books geared towards fat loss advocating people to lift heavy things off the ground? I was at the bookstore Friday night, and out of habit, I was photo copying the Kama Sutra I was perusing books in the health/fitness section, and couldn’t help but shake my head in amazement at just how atrocious many of them are. It’s almost like there’s a set formula they all use:

1. The book cover consists of some man or woman that probably has never lifted a weight over 30 lbs in their life, standing there with their arms crossed in front of them, possibly wearing a suit, with some smug look on their face as if to say “I totally deserve to be punched in the kidney today.”

2. The first few chapters will have some diatribe on why it’s not the reader’s fault that they’re fat and out of shape. Cause you know, we wouldn’t want people to take responsibility for their own actions.

3. This will be followed by roughly 75-100 pages of recipes that will inevitably taste like sandpaper dipped in herpes.

4. Then they’ll provide some cookie-cutter “strength training” program consisting of exercises in the 15-20 rep range (if they include resistance training at all), along with copious amounts of cardio/aerobic training because clearly, this is the most advantageous way to lose fat (Note the HEAVY sarcasm.)

5. They go off to make millions of dollars; bathing themselves in gold plated bathtubs, and I hate myself because I’m not them. Dammit, I need to write a book!

I bring all of this up because the vast majority of these books, while having good intentions, tend to advocate exactly what not to do when trying “firm up” (I can’t believe I just wrote that) and shed fat. Specifically, the whole notion that one must focus on lifting with high(er) reps while dieting; to which I say………….Bull to the shiznit.

It’s no secret that I feel people should spend more time in the gym lifting heavy things. Even moreso in the context of dieting, where the main objective should be to preserve as much lean body mass (LBM) as possible.

Numerous studies have shown (J Am Coll Nutr. 1999 Apr;18(2):115-21, being the most well renowned) the advantages of including resistance training as part of a fat-loss program. Even in the study referenced above (when calories were kept to a staggering 800 kcals/day for twelve weeks), it was shown that those who included resistance training into their programming were able to preserve more LBM compared to those that just focused on diet + cardio.

Of course, I’m not implying that people should follow a 800 kcal/day diet. That would just be absurd and downright counterproductive. However, what I am trying to say is that you need to be lifting heavy shit when you’re dieting. Especially when you consider that most people tend to dip calories too low (for too long), and end up losing a lot of lean body mass in the process.

This is exactly what I’ve been doing the past five weeks during Project: Tony Gets Sexified. While my overall caloric intake has been low(er) than normal, I’ve been able to maintain my strength and preserve lean body mass by making sure that I get my heavy lifts in. Many trainees will try to increase their volume while dieting, thinking that by doing so, they’ll burn more calories. I’ve done the exact opposite, and just focused on maintaining my strength by making sure that I include some heavy lifts (1-5 rep range) on the days that I train.

This isn’t to say that I haven’t done any extra energy-system training (intervals) or cardio (brisk walking on the treadmill) during the past five weeks; I have. But I certainly haven’t overemphasized it like many people mistakenly do. Let the diet take care of the fat loss, not the training. Just repeat after me, “what makes muscle, KEEPS muscle.” Go lift heavy stuff, it will be good for you.

EDIT: I mean, just the other day I deadlifted 500 lbs for five sets of four repetitions and celebrated by ordering some food from The Tavern, and watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

That’s right. I’m not scared to admit that I watched a chick flick on a Saturday night, alone. Jesus, I’m surprised I also didn’t get in a tickle fight with myself, watched John Mayer videos on Youtube, or read a Jodi Picoult novel. Goddammit. I feel my sperm dying one by one as I type this. That’s it, I’m going to the strip club to eat some marinated dead animal flesh and get in a nunchuck fight with a bouncer.

UPDATE: I won

I know I said I was going to report back yesterday after my little field trip, and I’m truly sorry I left all of you hanging. While I had every intention of letting all of you know that I DID NOT throw myself in front of the 83 bus (I was close, however), I happened to come across this article ,and then spent the better half of the afternoon compiling my list of actresses that I think should replace Bag of Bones Angelina Jolie as the next Laura Croft.

My Short List:

1. Megan Fox

2. Megan Fox

3. Megan Fox

4. Megan Fox

5. Megan Fox

Honorable Mention: some former Hooters chick who’s name actually IS Laura Croft. Hahahaha. I heart Google.

Anyways, so yesterday was a “snow day” from work, and as such, I decided I would swallow my pride and go train at one of the local commercial gyms. As many of you may (or may not) know, I’m in the middle of Project: Tony Gets Sexified, and while Wednesday’s are typically just an EST (Energy System Training; 25 minutes) day for me, I decided I would live life dangerously and actually go pay $20 to lift some weights and move around a little bit.

Now before I go on, just know that I could care less what other people do in the gym. While I may poke fun here and there, in all honesty, I could care less if someone wants to look like an asshat doing squats on a BOSU ball. As a strength coach/personal trainer, it’s almost second nature for me to observe what other people do in a gym setting. That being said, once I put on my iPod and start lifting heavy shit, I tend to filter out the stupid.

That is of course, unless I just so happen to forget my iPod, and I’m forced to listen to some random guy (wearing his tight cut-off UnderArmour shirt no less) sound like he’s getting molested by a giraffe while he’s doing tricep kickbacks.

Then there were the two guys training together being obnoxious with their “GET IT SON” comments while doing hammer curls. All the while flexing in the mirror between sets, and yelling f-bombs to one another as if people were going to be impressed by their badassness. I certainly wasn’t as I was doing my speed pulls with 405. Yep, I did it to make them look bad. So what!!! I couldn’t help myself.

I’d LOVE to see these guys come to CP and train for one day and walk away with their tail between their legs. I guarantee Michelle would make them cry. P to the WNED son.

Come to find out, those two guys were actually trainers working out during their off hours. Niiiiiiice. How professional of them to act like complete morons for all potential clients to see. Waaaay classy fellas. I mean I can only assume afterwards you took off your shirts and gave each other a high five and then shaved each others chest. Here’s a little piece of advice to all trainers out there who happen to read this blog. People are ALWAYS watching you. Walking around cussing like a sailor and drawing attention to yourself is certainly going to make people want to spend their hard earned money to train with you. Hint: note sarcasm.

I remember listening to Thomas Plummer, author of The Business of Fitness: Understanding the Financial Side of Owning a Fitness Business talk about professionalism in the industry and how it has basically gone down the tubes. After yesterday, I can honestly say it isn’t getting any better.

1. The other day I was cleaning out my closet (my vintage t-shirt collection is getting out of control), and came across a lot of stuff that I had inadvertently thrown in there after my move last fall. You know normal stuff like Laser Tag gear, old baseball cards, He-Man action figures, and various Milli Vanilli posters. Don’t judge me! You know you listened to them back in the day! Anyways, I came across my TheraCane, which I had been a big fan of when I originally wrote my article Soft Tissue Work for Tough Guys. I decided to bring it to the facility so it would get some good use, and boy has it! You would think it was the second coming of Jesus based on how clients have been flocking to it as soon as they step into the facility.

2. Parents often ask whether or not their child will be training amongst other kids their age/skill level when they come to CP. While we do try to “match” kids based off age/skill level, the truth of the matter is, it’s great exposure for the younger kids to be training around the older high school kids, or even our college/professional athletes. I mean, how often does a 14-15 year old kid get the opportunity to train around college and professional athletes? Not much. If anything, I like to think of it as an advantage. Not only do they get a taste of what kind of work ethic these guys have, but they also get firsthand knowledge on what kind of environment we like to instill. Plus, it’s kind of cool whenever I see one of our pro guys taking some time to talk with one of our younger athletes. I know it makes their day, and that’s something that they’ll never get at their local commercial gym.

3. And speaking of our pro guys; our treadmill has gotten a lot of work the past few weekends with their girlfriends coming into town to visit. It’s a running joke that we only have ONE treadmill and that it never gets used (other than to serve as a make-shift table for guys to put their protein shakes on). Some of our clients were actually caught off guard last weekend to see someone actually running on it. Weird, I know.

EDIT: while I’d like to say that the above picture was taken last weekend, the truth of matter is, none of our pro-guys could pull off someone that hot. Sorry fellas, just sayin.

4. We have a Quote of the Day board that we like to update from time to time. One of last week’s gems comes to you from Shawn Haviland, Oakland Athletics Minor League prospect (and Harvard graduate):

“What can I do at home to give me ripped abs?”

Did I mention he went to Harvard?

Dear Shawn,

Stop eating.

Love,

Your strength coach

5. I got this rather lengthy e-mail not too long ago from a gentleman who complained of shoulder pain/inflammation after having done seated front presses and heavy dips one week. MRI results suggested that there was a minor rotator cuff tear and that degenerative changes could be seen at the acromioclavicular joint with pressure effect on the supraspinatus tendon. He went on to say that he still gets inflammation near the AC joint, and that while the pain has decreased significantly, his shoulder still aches if he does too much with it.

If I’ve seen this e-mail once, I’ve seen it a thousand times. Here’s kind of my automated response:

Stop doing what hurts. Ie: your days of performing dips are probably over. Read: stop doing dips.*

Working on thoracic spine mobility and scapular stability will go a long ways.

For T-spine mobility, I like Quadruped Extension-Rotations:

A couple of scapular stability exercises/drills I like are Hand Switches (generally done for sets of 20-30 seconds):

and Face Pulls w/ External Rotation (sets of 10-12 reps):

Less benching, and more horizontal rowing. For someone in this situation, I’d shit-can the benching altogether and really hammer the rows. After a few weeks, I’d start to introduce pressing back into the mix, albeit slowly. I’d more than likely start with DB floor presses and progress from there.

More push-ups. They’re an often under-rated and overlooked movement, and more people should do them.

One’s breathing pattern actually plays a huge role believe it or not. We need to breath less with our upper chest/traps, and learn to use our diaphragm (ie: diaphragmatic breathing). I touched on this topic here.

6. It wouldn’t be a random thoughts post if I didn’t include some hot chick I need to start stalking. Today’s entry comes to us from James, our three week intern visiting from Austrailia. Say hello to fellow Aussie, Krystal Forscutt:

I don’t know about you, but after spending a good part of my morning looking at pictures of Krystal, I feel like writing some poetry, or I don’t know, listening to Boyz to Men or something. I’m in love.

* which is to say, STOP DOING DIPS