CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 7/24/15

Only ONE week left until the Elite Training Workshop – Boston is held on Saturday, August 1st, featuring myself, Mike Reinold, Artemis Scantalides, and Ryan Ketchum.

I’m really excited for this event and think it’s going to be a awesome experience for those who attend. The line-up is pretty rad and the flow of the day is set up in a way where each presenter does there schtick and then immediately follows that up with a hands-on portion.

So it’s less blah-blah-blabidy-blah and more “holys*** did you see Artemis Turkish get-up Tony? That’s badass.”

If you’re looking for some practical information that you’ll be able to use for yourself or with your clients, and earn CEUs to boot then this will be a great opportunity.

Click HERE for more information.

Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop

 

Dean Somerset and I are excited to announce our latest traveling show: The Complete Shoulder & Hip Training Workshop.

It’s like a travel Cirque du Soleil show, except with no tents, flashy acrobatics, animals, or ripped half naked dudes contorting themselves into pretzels. Unless, of course, Dean decides to take people through one of his epic warm-up routines.

He’s a supple bastard. It’s deceiving.

We teamed up last year for a handful of workshops – London, DC, LA –  and didn’t want to kill each other, so we figured we’d do it again this year

This time we’re going to place a ton of emphasis on the hips and shoulders. We’ll talk anatomy, assessment, corrective exercise, programming, and we’ll also be doing a fair amount of coaching/hands-on demonstrations. And maybe, just maybe, in honor of Dean’s Canadian heritage, honor Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill in some fashion. I mean, it was 20 years ago this month that that album was released.

Yep, I feel old.

CEU’s will be available for all workshops.

EDMONTON (in August, so it won’t be cold as balls).

ST. LOUIS (in September, the EARLY BIRD rate is still active, but will end soon!)

CHICAGO (I’ve never been, and can’t wait to explore.)

(Just Added) LOS ANGELES (in November, Tony finally does his tour of bars from the movie Swingers).

Why the Fitness World Needs Tracy Anderson – Lee Boyce

Funny story on this. An ex-athlete of mine sent me a message the other day on Facebook linking to this article with a note “Really? Is this guy serious?”

I wrote back, “Lee’s my boy. It’s total tongue in cheek. He’s one of the good ones.”

It’s an older article – I can’t believe I missed it the first time around – but it’s a good one!

Squat Depth: The Final Answer – Dr. John Rusin

This was a great article by Dr. John (<– hope it’s okay I call him that), and it falls in line with many of my own thoughts on the topic.

Basic rule to follow: different squatters squat differently. Don’t be an a-hole and think there’s only ONE best way to squat.

How to Teach the Clean for Maximizing Athletic Power – Eric Bach and Loren Landow

Coaching the OLY lifts is definitely a weak spot for me as a coach, which is why I often refer out whenever an athlete or client wants to learn them.

But after reading this article and watching the videos I’m pretty sure I’m ready for 2016. See you in Rio de Janeiro everyone!

BONUS STUFF (Because, Why Not?)

HERE’s an article I wrote on Active.com on muscle soreness and whether or not you should be sore after every workout.

HERE’s an article I wrote for Stack.com that re-ran on Men’s Health on why I feel benching with your feet in the air is moronic for most guys most of the time. There’s a time and place for it, but then again there’s a time and place for sticking your finger in an electrical socket. I guess.

The trailer for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s (21 Grams, Babel, Birdman) next movie, The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy, looks siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick.

I’m predicting winner for Best Cinematography right now.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 2/13/15

Gentle reminder fellas: Valentine’s Day is tomorrow.

But I’m sure I didn’t have to say anything because as every guy reading who has a girlfriend, fiancee, wife, or is within a tw0-mile radius of anyone who’s a raging case of estrogen is fully aware…..50 Shades of Grey opens in theaters this weekend.

It’s pretty much going to be THE Valentine’s weekend movie of all time, and will serve as every female’s payback for being dragged to movies like Taken (1 through 3), The Fast & Furious (1 through 117), and any movie starring Jason Statham.

No lie, here’s the conversation Lisa and I had yesterday.

Lisa: Guess what comes out this weekend?

Me: Sooo, you and Jess (one of Lisa’s BFFs) are going to go see 50 this weekend, huh?

Lisa: Yep.

Me: Oh, good. Have fun. I’ll go down to Coolidge Corner and…….

Lisa: And you’re coming with us.

Me: No I’m not.

Lisa: Yes, yes you are.

Me: Uh, no I’m not!

Lisa (don’t eff with me, look of death stare): do you know how many movies I’ve sat though with you? You’re going!

Me: [Pretty much my reaction below]


Have fun fellas. I’ll be right there with you. Washing my eyes out with broken glass.

Here’s this week’s list of stuff to read.

Complete Speed Training – Lee Taft

Today’s your last chance to take advantage of the sale price of Complete Speed Training by renowned speed coach, Lee Taft.

After midnight tonight (Friday, 2/13) the price jumps (<— or should I say, bound? Lame agility joke)…..by quite a bit.

Coach Taft is someone who has a lot of respect in the industry and he doesn’t release a ton of new material too often. When he does, though, it’s stellar.

This is easily one of the best resources I’ve come across that discusses everything from warm-ups to progressions with linear and lateral speed drills, strength training, and everything in between that will help you and your athletes dominate on the field.

Stop Doing Box Jumps Like a Jackass – Eric Bach

There’s a right way to do box jumps, and the jackass way. This article highlights the former.

Lessons From Chad Wesley Smith – Prashanti Ganesh

I had the chance to head to CrossFit Southie (located in South Boston) last weekend for a one-day powerlifting workshop put on by Juggernaut Training Systems co-founder, Chad Wesley Smith.

The man is a beast. Not only because he owns the 8th highest (raw) meet total in history, but because he’s also a very knowledgable coach who takes a more pragmatic approach than you would think.

This was an excellent write-up on some of the things he covered during the day.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 8/29/14

It’s hard to believe that two weeks from today I’ll be in London walking the streets taking in the sights and sounds and (hopefully) not coming across as an annoying American tourist.

I’ll be getting in early Thursday morning after an overnight flight and I’m sure I’ll be knackered to the gills, but hoping to not get in a barney with a bloke on the tube over seeing a man about a dog.

That would be all to cock.

^^^^ LOLs.

See what I just did there?  I’m familiarizing myself with some British slang. I have no idea what I just said, but it sounds harmless enough. I’m pretty sure I just asked someone “where’s the bathroom,” but by all accounts I could just have just easily said something along the lines of “your breath smells like fart and onions.”

I’m still learning.

Anyways, I’ll be in London for mine and Dean Somerset’s Excellent Workshop High-Five, and as a gentle reminder there are still a handful of spots open for out little shindig near Washington, DC the weekend of October 18th.

For a full itinerary and details on accommodations and price click the link below.

CLICK ME (<—- That Tickles)

Hope you see you there!

And on that note I wanted to wish everyone an amazing weekend.  Here’s this week’s stuff to check out.

Finding Balance – Michael Mullin, ATC, LAT, PTA, PRC

Nowadays it seems like you can’t walk more than ten feet before a trainer or coach starts blabbing off about asymmetries, apical expansion, rib position, and zones of apposition.

In short, breathing (and how much we suck at it) is all the rage and more and more fitness professionals are jumping on the PRI (Postural Restoration Institute) train.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a good thing.  We’re big fans of PRI at the facility. Several our of staff members have attended some of the PRI modules and we’ve also had a handful of PRI practitioners and instructors come in to speak on the topic (including the author of the article linked to above).

We use it and know it works.

That said, it’s amazing how many people sing its praises, incorporate into their programs, and yet have no idea what it actually is, or does, or how to explain it to their athletes and clients.

Even worse are those trainers who buy into it so much that they start playing faux practitioner and forego their main responsibility: having people train and lift weights. It’s a sentiment I touched on HERE.

Nonetheless, I felt this was a fantastic article summarizing PRI’s general philosophy and approach to attaining “balance.”

Seven Laws of  Building Athletic Muscle – Eric Bach

Having an athletic looking body and actually being, you know, athletic is a tough feat to accomplish. In this article Eric breaks down the “Laws” that will help you get there.

Best Friends – Jason Lengstorf

This isn’t a fitness related article, but I loved it nonetheless.

Curiously, I just Google imaged the term “best friends” – just because – and low and behold 99.99% of the images were of women or had a “feminine” connotation. Dudes can have best friends, too.

And there’s nothing to be ashamed of for that.

Bonus

And if that last article was too “girly” for you, here’s T-Nation’s list of their 22 best article on everything and anything on the DEADLIFT.

Not for nothing, between myself and Eric (Cressey) we wrote seven of the 22 articles listed. Holla!!!

Pick Stuff Up Off the Floor

CategoriesSupplements

Creatine (Wait, Stop! I Promise This Post Won’t Make Your Head Hurt)

Creatine has been around for well over 20+ years and is undoubtedly one of the most researched (and popular) sports and performance supplements in human history.  Still, there’s a lot of preconceived notions and misinformation regarding creatine and its efficacy.

Some people think it’s a steroid (it’s not), some people think it will stunt growth (it doesn’t), some people think it will shut down your kidneys faster than Congress can shut down the Federal Government (it’s close, but no cigar; in fact, it’s perfectly safe), and some think creatine is part of the Periodic Table of Elements (Walter White would be disappointed in you).

And while there’s certainly no shortage of blog posts, articles, and even books written on the topic, this post written by Eric Bach of Bach Performance won’t make your head hurt with long words and overly “sciency” stuff.

In every essence of the phrase, he gets right down to the nitty gritty and tells it like it is.

Enjoy! – TG

Creatine. We’ve all heard about it, but what’s the real deal?

I get tons of questions regarding the safety and effectiveness of creatine.

Does it make me look better naked?

Will it turn me into a deadlifting Megatron?

What’s the ideal dosing?

Is it dangerous?  Are there any side-effects?

With all the products and information it’s no wonder there are questions.  I’m going to dig in and tell you what creatine is, how to use it, and what to expect.

What is it?

Creatine is a natural amino acid most commonly found in red meat, but is also produced in small amounts by the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. In the body, creatine becomes a fuel source for short duration high-intensity activities such as weight training, sprinting, and jumping where phosphocreatine is converted to ATP.

The amount of creatine consumed through the diet and produced naturally in the body are low; supplementation increases available levels.

Why It’s Important

*Warning, this gets a bit heavy.  But I promise it will be fairly painless.

The energy needs of brief and powerful movements lasting less than 10 seconds, such as a short sprint or a maximum lift, are met by the phosphagen system. This system replenishes the stores of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, which provides energy to working cells  (Andrews).

Muscles have a small amount of ATP in the cell, but only a little bit — enough for a few seconds. ATP is broken down by removing a phosphate, which turns it into adenosine diphosphate. To generate more ATP, the muscles need to replace the third missing phosphate. AH-HA!

This is where Batman creatine saves the day. Creatine donates a phosphate for ADP to become ATP again, providing fuel to finish the sprint without a drop in performance.

Supplementing with creatine creates larger stores of creatine, allowing for more ATP for short-duration exercise performance.  Endurance athletes have also experimented with the use of creatine, but for the most part creatine is not useful in endurance sports.

Basically, more creatine let’s you go Beastmode for longer. And that’s cool.

Do You Even Lift, Bro?

A sweet side effect of creatine supplementation is weight gain. Some don’t gain any weight, and some gain 5-10 pounds, it’s highly individualized.

Here’s the deal: Creatine is osmotic, meaning it pulls water into the cells. When supplementing with creatine it’s best to drink boat-loads (this is an actual measurement, trust me bro) of water to properly hydrate the body.

When this happens your muscles pull additional water into the muscle, increasing cell volume. The additional hydration increases the speed of protein synthesis within the muscle, boosting muscle growth and recovery.

Safety Concerns

Contrary to the beliefs of its pundit’s, creatine is safe. Creatine has gone through extensive research and testing without significant findings that it’s harmful.

The biggest issues related to creatine relate to dehydration, which can lead to soft-tissue injuries such as a strain, and hypothesized kidney dysfunction at extremely high levels.

Recently, increased research and testing of creatine have analyzed the effectiveness of creatine on health related outcomes. Preliminary evidence has suggested supplementation can be beneficial in the treatment of a broad range of diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, rheumatic diseases, and type 2 diabetes.

How to Use It

The body can store only a limited amount of creatine. I don’t recommend a loading phase for my clients; rather, taking 5-10 grams per day.

On workout days dose it pre and post-workout with your beverage of choice. Taking creatine with a protein or carbohydrate beverage can increase absorption, as the increased insulin response will pull more creatine into the muscle tissue. A recovery drink works better than beer, trust me. 

On non-workout days creatine works well in the morning with a drink such as green tea. Using a warm drink helps dissolve creatine better, so the bottom of your beverage doesn’t taste like a sandbox.

Other Types of Creatine

There has been an influx of new creatine products hitting the market over the past few years. Despite the fancy marketing and price tag they aren’t better than good ole’ creatine monohydrate. In this study, creatine ethyl ester was found to not be as effective as creatine monohydrate at increasing serum and muscle creatine levels OR in improving body composition, muscle mass, strength, and power.

Sounds busted to me.

Wrap Up

Creatine is a great supplement that increases high-intensity exercise performance and boosts muscle mass. Stick with creatine monohydrate, as it’s the most tested and proven form. 5-10 grams per day should work great, especially if taken post-workout with your recovery meal or in a warm beverage on non-workout days.

To maximize creatines’ effectiveness and alleviate any safety concerns hydrate your body.

About the Author

 

Eric Bach, CSCS, PN1 is a Strength Coach in Denver, Colorado. Eric trains clients in-person at Steadman Hawkins Sports Performance and is President of Bach Performance. A writer for EliteFTS, thePTDC, and STACK, Eric has established a great reputation for his simplistic style, nutritional programming, and helping clients develop long-term lifestyle changes.

Come hang out with Eric on Facebook, twitter, or drop him a line at Bachperformance.com.

Resources:

Andrews, Ryan. “All About Creatine.” Precision Nutrition. Precision Nutrition Inc., n. d. Web. 2 Nov. 2013. <http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-creatine>.

Baechle TR & Earle RW. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. National Strength Training Association, 2nd ed. Human Kinetics. Champaign, IL. 2000.

Green AL, et al. Carbohydrate ingestion augments skeletal muscle creation accumulation during creatine supplementation in humans. Am J Physiol 1996;271:E821-E826.

Gualano, B., H. Roschel, A. H. Lancha Jr, C. E. Brightbill, and E. S. Rawson. “National Center for Biotechnology Information.” In Sickness and in Health: The Widespread Application of Creatine Supplementation. (2011). National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Web. 28 May 2012. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22101980.

Spillane, Mike, et al. The effects of creatine ethyl ester supplementation combined with heavy resistance training on body composition, muscle performance, and serum and muscle creatine levels. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2009, 6:6doi:10.1186/1550-2783-6-6.