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Exercises You Should Be Doing (Pallof Press)

Everyone is always looking for a new way to train their “core.” One of my favorite movements is the Pallof Press. Here, we’re training core stability (or anti-rotation), which is the main function of the abdominals in the first place (not trunk flexion: ie, crunches).

Key Points to Remember:

1. Stand perpendicular to the apparatus (you can use a Functional Trainer or a regular cable/pulley system) with the arm set at chest level.

2. Assume an “athletic” stance (knees slightly bent, feet just past shoulder width apart, chest high, butt back).

3. Begin with the handle right against your sternum. Brace your abdominals. “Press” the handle away from your body until your elbows lock. Do not let the weight/cable rotate you in any way (essentially you’re resisting the pull of the weight). Pause for a second, and then return to the starting position. Repeat. Once you complete all your reps on one side, switch and perform your reps on the other.

4. Be amazed at how many people now want to hang out with you.

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Head, Shoulders, Knees Over Toes

Myth: The knees should never project ahead of the toes during any exercise.

In a study titled, “How many clueless aerobic instructors and personal trainers still follow this archaic nonsense,” done by The Journal of Stupidity, it was shown that a vast majority of fitness professionals still believe the above myth to be true. Matter of fact, the same study showed that many fitness professionals would rather see you club a baby seal (that’s just mean) than witness your knees project over your toes while under their supervision.

Needless to say, they’re wrong. Sarcasm aside, having the knees project over the toes is perfectly normal and occurs quite frequently in everyday life. Just ask anyone who participates in football, karate, dance, or mudwrestling. Heck, try walking up a flight of stairs without your knees going over your toes. Despite all of this, many fitness professionals still claim that the knees going over the toes during weight bearing exercise is dangerous. I’ll even go so far as to say that this guideline has assumed the stature of law in the aerobics world.

In past writings, both Eric Cressey and Alwyn Cosgrove have referenced one study which kinda debunks this whole myth.

Fry AC, Smith JC, Schilling BK. Effect of knee position on hip and knee torques during the barbell squat. J Strength Cond Res. 2003 Nov;17(4):629-33.

The above study examined joint kinetics during back squats under two conditions. The first condition placed a board in front of the participants’ shins, which restricted forward displacement of the knee. In the second condition, movement wasn’t restricted at all. They squatted normally and the knees were allowed to pass the toes (GASP).

The researchers found that restricting the forward excursion of the knees during the squat (not allowing the knees to go over toes) increased anterior lean of the trunk and promoted an increased “internal angle at the knees and ankles.”

The results showed a 22% decrease in knee torque and a 1070% increase in hip torque! That stress has to go somewhere. Keeping the knees behind the toes definitely reduces the forces on the knee, but those forces were transferred more than tenfold to the hips and lower back. Translation: that’s an ouchie.

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Quote of the Day

Recently at Cressey Performance, we started a “Quote of the Day” board. They range from anything inspirational: “The only time success comes before work is the dictionary,” (from legendary football coach Vince Lombardi) to motivating: “There’s two things female athletes need; balls and hamstrings. And since girls don’t have balls, they need more hamstrings,” (Eric Cressey) to factual: “Tony, you’re the best trainer ever. Wanna make out?” (from Jennifer Garner to me……….last week……….in my dreams).

However, last week we had a quote from a client of ours that truly speaks volumes for the type of attitude that we try to instill here at the facility:

“If it ain’t deadlifing, it ain’t worth it.”

This coming from a client who before he started training with me a few months ago, had never touched a weight in his life and was an avid runner (still is to a degree). Needless to say, it brought a tear to my eye. My boy is all growns up.

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Strength Training for Endurance Athletes

The link below is an interview I did a few months ago for John Kuhlman regarding endurance athletes (or anyone who is a recreational jogger, biker, etc) and their reluctance to include more strength training into their programming. Lets face it, you’re more likely to find the Abominable Snowman making snow angels in your backyard than you are finding an endurance athlete in the gym lifting weights.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people fail to grasp the notion that resistance training CAN and WILL improve their times. Given the fact that the Boston area has a fairly large “endurance” population, I hope that many of you click on the interview below and learn a thing or two.

Strength Training for Endurance Athletes

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Girl Power

Meet Audrey. Audrey is a wife and loving mother, and due to client/trainer confidentiality, I cannot reveal her age (Read: I’d have better odds winning a fight against a rabid black bear than I would surviving the wrath of revealing her age). Like many women, Audrey wants to get into shape. Unlike most women, Audrey is doing so by busting her butt in the gym. She isn’t spending 45 minutes on the treadmill everyday, she isn’t using pink dumbbells for 20 reps, and she isn’t scared to sweat.

Audrey Sled Push

A Few Random Notes:

1. That’s six plates on the sled. Sure, the turf makes it a bit easier, but it’s impressive nonetheless. Well, it’s more impressive than the fact that you read the entire issue of OK Magazine while on the elliptical machine. Newsflash: Lindsay Lohan likes her alcohol. Turn the page.

2. Once the set was complete, Audrey looked at the camera and yelled “PROTECT THIS HOUSE!” Alright, she didn’t do that. But it would have been cool if she did.

The lesson here? You need to TRAIN ladies, not “workout” to get the results you want.

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The Truth About Steak

Fat (specifically saturated fat) has long been the evil step sister of the dietary world. Thankfully we have people like Jeff Volek (author of the TNT Diet) to help dispel many of these common myths.

Lets take a gander at some not so well known facts concerning saturated fat:

1. Replacing carbohydrates with saturated fats-or any type of fat-results in decreased triglycerides levels, an independent risk factor for heart disease

2. Replacing carbohydrates with saturated fat-or again, any type of fat-results in increased HDL (good) cholesterol levels. In fact, saturated fat raises HDL even more than unsaturated fat.

3. Saturated fat increases the size of LDL (bad cholesterol) particles, which are less atherogenic.

4. Not all saturated fats raise cholesterol. For instance, stearic acid, a type of saturated fatty acid found in meats-has a neutral effect on LDL cholesterol.

And speaking of all of those delicious furry animals you can eat, lets take a closer look at the fatty acid content of steak and how it impacts your heart health.

Fatty Acid Content of Sirloin Steak

Monounsaturated Fat: 49%

Oleic Acid: 45% (+)

Palmitic Acid (+)

Saturated Fat: 47%

Palmitic Acid: 27% (+)

Stearic Acid: 16% (0)

Myristic Acid: 3% (-)

Lauric Acid: 1% (+)

Polyunsaturated Fat: 4%

Linoleic Acid: 4% (+)

Key:

+ = Positive effect on cholesterol

– = negative effect on cholesterol

0 = no effect on cholesterol

As you can see, steak isn’t quite the artery clogger everyone claims it is. Matter of fact, Volek goes so far as to say that including more saturated fat (while reducing processed carbohydrates/sugar) into your diet will help REDUCE your risk of heart disease. How you like dem apples?

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Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Fundrasier

My good friend Kevin Larrabee, of The Fitcast has a goal of raising $1000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. So far he has raised $200 and is offering a sweet deal on The Fitcast Insider (interviews include Alwyn Cosgrove, Mike Boyle, Bill Hartman, Dan John, Jimmy Smith, Cassandra Forsythe, among others). Check it out here

Instead of buying all that candy today, how bout using that money for a good cause? Last time I checked tooth decay isn’t a good cause.

Side Note: I had a new article published yesterday on Testosterone Magazine (t-nation.com), titled “Training Disasters.” In it, I discuss some of the more common mistakes (ie: disasters) that many people fall prey to with their own training. Check it out: here

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TNT Diet

I read a lot of books. Specifically I read a lot of books related to the fitness/nutrition industry. And while most make me want to vomit in my mouth, occasionally I come across one that really impresses me. One such books is The TNT Diet, written by Jeff Volek and Adam Campbell. Dr. Volek is a professor at the University of Connecticut and has been a long time advocate of low-carb diets and their efficacy towards fat loss (notice I didn’t say weight loss). Adam Campbell is a features editor of Mens Health and is a handsome devil (I hate him).

What I like best about this particular book is that it’s written by two guys who actually train and have experience under the bar. Matter of fact, Dr. Volek was a competitive powerlifter not too long ago. Walk down the health/fitness aisle at your local Barnes and Noble and peruse the covers of many of the books. I’m normally not the type of person to judge a book by its cover, but come on…..Dr. Phil? I doubt the man has ever lifted a weight in his life.

Nonetheless, the “TNT” in The TNT Diet stands for Targeted Nutritional Tactics. Essentially the book entails specific nutrition (and exercise, which is very important because most diet books never mention resistance training) strategies that enable “you” to reach your body composition goals as fast as possible. Notice the word body composition and not weight loss.

Most diet books focus only on weight loss, which is a major mistake. Research on dieters show that 75% of their weight loss is fat (great) and the other 25% is muscle (not so great). The TNT Diet focuses specifically on fat loss, while maintaining or even GAINING muscle, which bodes well from a body composition standpoint, as well as overall health (improve cholesterol profile, improve triglyceride profile, cut down risk for heart disease, lower blood sugar, ect). I won’t go into the details here, but suffice it to say it’s refreshing to actually read a mainstream diet book that focus on body composition and not just weight loss.

Also, what differentiates this book from other dieting books is that is goes out of it’s way to debunk many of the common myths that have been perpetuated by the media and “fitness/health experts” throughout the years.

1. The Food Guide Pyramid (yes even the new MyPyramid) stinks.

2. High(er) protein diets will not cause your kidneys to explode.

3. Saturated fat is actually healthier for you than you think and increasing your intake (while decreasing intake of processed foods) will actually DECREASE your risk of heart disease.

All in all, I definitely recommend this book.

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Are You Stupid? (Figuratively Speaking of Course)

Albert Einstein defined stupidity as “doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.” In the world of fitness and nutrition, it’s sad to say that there are a lot of stupid people. I know me saying that may come across as a bit harsh, but lets be honest….it’s true. Sometimes a little dose of tough love is necessary to get your point across.

Yes I am referring to you Mr. “I follow a body-part per day split and still have a 40 inch waist.”

I’m also referring to you Mrs. “I don’t eat breakfast because I am trying to lose weight.” How’s that working for you?

The fact of the matter is, as humans, we’re creatures of habit and don’t like change. Unfortunately in the fitness/nutrition world, this is a woefully skewed mentality to have, and stupid.

I remember not too long ago, I started working with a woman in her mid 20’s who mentioned to me that she had always had issues with her weight and that no matter what she tried, she could never attain her ideal physique. Upon asking her what her normal “approach” entailed, she informed me that she would perform at least 45-60 minutes of cardio every day and that she typically followed a low-fat diet (rice cakes, bread, yogurt, etc)

In the limited time I had with this woman, I tried my best to inform her on the merits of resistance training and gave her tips on how she could “clean up” her diet (focus more on lean protein, include more healthy fats, etc etc). Essentially everything I told her was the complete opposite of what she had always done.

Long story short, my time would have been better spent drinking battery acid. A week later I see this same woman performing her daily routine of 60 minutes on the treadmill. Who wants to take bets on whether or not she was still eating those rice cakes?

In the end, it never ceases to amaze me when people will continue to do what they have always done while still getting the same results (zero).

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Exercises You Should Be Doing (Pull-Through)

Walk into any gym and what will you see? The same people, doing the same exercises……..all………the……….time. Oh, and lets not forget the guy who wears spandex while he trains. Note to that guy: we can see your twig and berries. No one wants to see that. Please stop, like yesterday.

Regardless, people tend to perform the same exercises day after day. Today I am starting a series titled “exercises you should be doing.” The basic premise is to showcase exercises/movements that you don’t see everyday at your local gym.

In my opinion, the pull-through is one of the more under-rated movements out there. I feel it’s a movement that everyone should perform, yet I look around and the only people who do them are myself and the clients whom I work with. Why is it such an under-rated and under used exercise? One reason could be the fact that one looks as if they’re humping an elephant while performing it. But I feel the main culprit is that it’s almost too simple of an exercise.

Ask any “hardcore” gym rat what movements he or she performs in the gym and you’re apt to hear squats, deadlifts, lunges, pull-ups, bench press, or various rows. Very rarely do you hear the pull-through getting any love outside of the powerlifting ranks.

Lets look at the reasons why I feel it’s such a valuable movement.

1. First and foremost, it’s a superb tool to teach people how keep a neutral back and to learn to dissociate their hips from their lumbar spine.

2. Secondly, there is little to no external load on the spine. I am able to train a client’s posterior chain without putting any additional stress on their lumbar spine, which makes it a perfect movement for those who have a history of back pain.

3. Thirdly. Women, pay attention. Pull-throughs hammer the glutes like no other movement. Want a nice behind? Do pull-throughs.

I am surprised that more trainers or trainees do not utilize this movement more.

Key Points to Remember:

1. Think of the movement as going back and forth, not up and down.

2. Push your hips back with your chest high and while maintaining a neutral spine (you should feel the brunt of your weight shift back into your heels).

3. Your hands are just “extensions” of the movement. You should not pull the weight back up with your hands. Rather, use your hips.

4. Always end with hip extension (squeeze your butt).

5. Fear not the weird looks. At least you’re not wearing spandex

Today: the Pull-Through