CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: Intervention, Foam Rolling, and a Return to Kipping Pull-Ups

I’m pretty excited today (and not because my birthday is in two days, hint hint hint). In actuality I have to head to the facility early this morning because one of the people from the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) who lives in or near the Boston area is stopping by to do a short two and half hour staff in-service for us and it’s going to be awesomesauce.

Eric has been to a few of the modalities and Greg (Robins) recently attended one a few weeks ago, and within the past year or two we’ve implemented a fair amount of the PRI philosophy into the programming of our athletes and clients.

For those not in the know:  much of the dialogue revolves around breathing patterns and helping to engage the diaphragm more effectively.  Admittedly it’s much more involved than that, but at the expense of oversimplifying things, I’ll leave it at that.

Lets just say that there’s a huge likelihood that I’ll only be able to understand and compute 37% of what’s said.  God I hope they bring coloring books!

Note:  I’m not kidding.  If you were to go to one of their actual seminars, because there’s a heavy emphasis on anatomy, they have people use coloring books to help with the learning process.

Just to throw it out there, if they really wanted to take it to the next level they’d somehow incorporate glitter paint and a smoke machine.

Anyways, I’m excited and looking forward to making my brain feel like mush.

In the meantime, here’s some stuff to read to keep you occupied.

Intervention – Dan John

I don’t feel I have to go out of my way to state how much of a fan I am of Dan John.    He’s undoubtedly been a huge influence on my career, and I’ve highlighted pretty much everything he’s ever written on this site.

Intervention is his latest ebook, and helps to breakdown movement and provides step-by-step instructions in the Olympic lifts, powerlifting, mobility, flexibility, kettlebell training & tumbling.

In a sense, it’s an invaluable guide to anyone who coaches people or who’s interested in not sucking in the gym.

 

Foam Rolling Research (so far) – Jon-Erik Kawamoto

This was an excellent article which, surprisingly (I really didn’t know this), shows how there’s been very little research done with regards to the efficacy of foam rolling.  Much of what we know (and recommend) is based solely off anecdotal evidence (which isn’t a bad thing).

Basically at the end of the day, while there should be more research done on the topic (no one really knows how long, how often, and when to do it), I also feel that the “real world” evidence is clear.  I’ve seen with my own eyes people reap the benefits of foam rolling and feel it’s an invaluable tool in the tool box.

Still, I really liked this article in that it took an unbiased viewpoint and laid out what (little) research these is thus far.

Do Not Kip Your Pull-Ups Before Reading This – Dave Hedges

A few weeks ago I wrote a popular post (in the context of it making its rounds around Facebook) titled All the Hype Behind Kipping Pull-Ups, where I expressed my opinion on this controversial exercise.

I’m not going to get into it here (you can click on the link above), but needless to say I’m not a fan.

The impetus for the post was to note that I don’t feel that they’re a good fit for the vast majority of people who perform CrossFit.  It’s one thing if you’re already strong, have a solid training foundation, or have a fair amount of training experience.   There’s a reason why the top CF athletes don’t (generally) hurt themselves (as much).

It’s a walking train wreck otherwise.

As it happens, I’m not the only one who feels the same way.  Strength coach Dave Hedges offers his opinion on why kipping pull-ups probably aren’t the best choice for most (not all) people.

Also note the informative link he provides discussing the overwhelming amount of SLAP tears in the CrossFit community which can be directly linked to the kipping pull-up.

And remember, it my b-day on Friday!  I wear large t-shirts, 10.5 shoes, and I’m pretty sure Alicia Keys just came out with a new album.  Sooooo, yeah,  just sayin…….

CategoriesMotivational Strength Training

Shut Up and Lift

I had the pleasure of doing an interview for Jon-Erik Kawamoto’s site last week, and without tooting my own horn, I have to say it’s arguably one of my best ones, like, ever.

To read it in its entirety, you can go HERE.

But since I know a lot of people never click on the links (jerks), I wanted to post one of the questions – and my answer – here because I think it’s a message that a lot of people need to hear.

JK: From stalking you on Facebook and your blog, I know there is nothing more important in your life than deadlifting and bacon (and your new cat). There are a kagillion articles on deadlifting out there. In your expert opinion, what’s the best method/program to deadlift two ton Tessie?

TG: That is true, I do love bacon. And, it’s funny: if you would have told me five years ago that I’d eventually own a cat, I probably would have 1) laughed in your face, and 2) make some kind of joke that I was more likely to listen to John Mayer while eating tofu in my Prius on my way to a yoga class.

But it’s true, my name is Tony Gentilcore, and I own a cat (Dagny).

Who’s the most beautifulest pretty Princess on the planet???? You are, that’s who.

So bringing this to a more manly discussion, lets talk about deadlifts! What’s the best method/program to pull over two ton Tessie?

1. For starters, I really wish people would just get off the freakin internet, go to the gym, and actually lift some heavy shit. There are countless “internet warriors” out there that all they do is talk and talk and talk, and speculate, and argue, and brag about how many posts they have on any given forum, and any number of other things equally as dumb, and yet forget one key component: you need to actually lift some damn weight!

Stop talking, get your ass to the gym, place some weight on the bar, get angry, and then lift it……sometimes repeatedly.

2. Speaking more colloquially, it really comes down to one simple concept:

PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD

Here’s a personal reference. I didn’t start deadlifting until 2004. I shit you not, you can probably find posts on T-Nation where I’m asking people “what are these deadlifts you speak of?”

Like a lot of people I started out lifting weight at a young age and followed more of a body part per day split. Chest day, back day, blah blah blah. Trust me, a little piece of my soul dies just thinking about it. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I cringe looking back at how I trained as a high school and even collegiate athlete. If I ever had the chance to take a time machine back to 1994, I’d totally go back and Sparta kick myself in the face.

While I laugh and make fun of it, you know what? I always, and I mean ALWAYS had it in my mind to consistently try to lift heavier loads – whether it was adding a rep here and there, or incrementally increasing the load. That just made sense, ya know? I didn’t need anyone to tell me otherwise.

Anyways, so I started reading a few things here and there and slowly but surely started to understand that, for lack of a better term, I was training like a moron. I started incorporating deadlifts into my weekly training. I nixed the leg press, and started learning to squat to depth (a very humbling experience I might add).

One day I decided to test my 1RM deadlift. Mind you, I had NEVER tested my 1RM before. On day one I hit a 420 lb lift. Not too shabby. The kicker? I didn’t even train for it. All I did was focus on progressive overload. I wasn’t on internet forums arguing about foot placement or set/rep schemes or whether or not Han shot before Greedo (token Star Wars reference there). I was in the gym. Training.

Shut up, and train. It’s that simple. If more people did that…….they’d see marked improvements in their lifts.

I know that that wasn’t the “x’s and o’s” answer you were looking for, but I just feel that we’re living in an age where people are so inundated with information, that they’ve become paralyzed. It’s literally gotten to the point where people over-think things so much – should I do 5×5 or 4×4; So and so said I should wait 47 seconds between sets in order to elicit optimal growth hormone elevation; For max strength, this article said to use a 212 tempo, but my best friend’s brother’s second cousin’s Little League coach said to use a 311 tempo – that they forget one crucial thing.

Fucking lift!!!!!!

To read the rest of the interview (it’s pretty awesome) go HERE.

CategoriesUncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 7/5/12

Hope everyone (here in the States) enjoyed the 4th! Mine was pretty uneventful all told, and was actually the first time in the six years I’ve lived here, that I actually spent it in Boston – in years past, I’ve always gone up to Maine to enjoy the fresh air and EC’s grandma’s carrot cake.

This year, though, Lisa and I elected to stay in the city and went and bought a new air conditioner instead – cause we’re romantic like that  – and then went to go see the movie Ted, which was freakin hilarious!!!!!

Go see it.  Now.

30 Years, 30 Health & Fitness Tips – Jon-Erik Kawamoto

Part I, Part II, and Part III

Jon-Erik and I have been stalking one another on the internet for the past year or so (the guy is literally EVERYWHERE now: Men’s Fitness, T-Nation, Oxygen, lurking outside your kitchen window) and I finally had the pleasure of meeting him in person a few weeks ago at the PTDC seminar up in Toronto.

I’ve had my fair share of instantaneous man-crushes in my day – Matt Damon, The Rock, to name a few – and Jon-Erik ranks right up there.  He’s one of the most humble guys you’ll ever meet, and he’s just someone who’s passionate about this industry and just “gets it.”  He’s already blowing up, but I expect even bigger things for him in the near future.

Do yourself a favor and book mark his website. You won’t be sorry.

And, for those interested, I did a similar piece back when I turned 34 titled 34 Years, 34 Favorite Things.  It’s the exact same things as Jon-Erik’s post, except with four more years of asskickery (and hair loss) added in.

The Surprising Science of Motivation – Daniel Pink

This is an older TED talk that I came across recently, but the title says it all: despite what we’ve always been told, it’s surprisingly surprising what actually motivates us to succeed.

While many are quick to point to incentive based programs as the impetus that really motivates us to meet certain deadlines or attain high quotas, Dan Pink – author of the phenomenal book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us – flips it around and states that such things do nothing but IMPEDE progress and dulls our minds and creativity.

Pretty fascinating stuff if you ask me:

Have I Convinced You to Strength Train Yet? – Monika Volkmar

One of – if not THE reason – why I like to do this weekly “stuff you should read” series is that it allows me the opportunity to relay quality content from other health and fitness professionals that otherwise wouldn’t get too much exposure.

Granted, I link to a lot of articles from other really smart people that are way more of a bigger deal than myself, but I also like to “pay it forward” and help bring some lesser known personalities to the forefront as well.

Monika’s a dancer and she trains a lot of dancers.  Unlike many dance coaches, however, she actually understands that strength training can be an important fail safe to not only improve their performance, but prevent their bodies from breaking down at a break neck pace.

While the post is geared towards dancers and may turn people off from reading it, I’d encourage you to read anyways for the message alone.