I don’t have anything important to share other than a hilarious story involving my wife.
Anyone who’s had experience moving knows what an utter abysmal experience it can be. To me, moving is about as fun as diving into a ravine full of broken glass.
The boxes, the labels, maneuvering the calendar around, the figuring out what stays and what goes part, everything, it sucks.
Alas, it’s going to happen.
We move in a week and have been packing up our things the past several days. As it happens, there’s been no shortage of “ooo’s and ahhh’s” coming across things/items we haven’t laid eyes on in quite some time.
As an example I came home last Saturday and noticed Lisa (my wife) had a few of her MVP plaques from college (volleyball) on the dining room table.
Me (looking at the plaques): “Huh, I see 2000 and 1998. Who was the MVP in 1999?”
Lisa: “Me, I already put that one away.”
(cue uproarious laughter from me).
My wife could kick Sarah Connor’s ass…;o)
SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS
Twitter
Lifting heavy things = the ultimate bio-hack.
No one lives forever. But strength training is the OG fountain of youth.
Get outta here with that “I only eat every other Wednesday, and then only foods that start with the letter R” bullshit.
Pat Basil is the head S&C coach at Hamilton College and I have been really digging his content of late. He and I have crossed paths several times on social media and I love his perspective and approach to coaching. So much in fact that it prompted me to check out his stuff and I picked up a copy of his manual recently.
Full Disclosure: I get zero kickback for directing you toward this manual. I just genuinely enjoy pointing people toward excellent content.1
It was sad news to hear of John Meadows’ passing recently. I never met John in person, but it was unequivocally obvious how much of a genuine and kind person he was.
The world of bodybuilding and strength & conditioning will forever be in debt to John’s teachings and expertise. My good friend, Mike T. Nelson, recently dedicated an entire episode of his popular podcast to John.
Nothing too too new to brag about this week other than I WAS CLEARED TO DRIVE MOTHERFUCKAS.
Up until this past Tuesday I hadn’t been behind the wheel of a car since May 23rd. My wife has been carting me everywhere.
Babe, I need to go to work!
Babe, I need to meet my realtor to check out a new potential gym space!
Babe, I need eggs.
Babe, why are you walking toward me with a knife. Babe, BABE, noooooooooooo.
On top of that I’m pretty sure Lyft is still operating in Boston because of me.
So it was a nice reprieve and welcome change of pace to be able to drive this week.
Onward!
2. You can now purchase CORE @ Home for whatever it is you want to pay.
During quarantine I started a platform where I’d deliver 20-40 minute workouts that could be performed in everyone’s living room using minimal equipment.
In all I curated 36 workouts using nothing but bodyweight, bands, and kettlebells and/or dumbbells. With many people still reticent to head back to their regular gyms (not to mention the scarcity of gym equipment out there to purchase) I figured this would be a nice opportunity to help.
Whether you want to spend $1 or $100, the workouts are ready and available to start.
Full Disclosure: Pete’s a good friend and former business partner of mine. His Niched podcast is excellent either way you slice it.
Sahil is also a good friend (and one of the first athletes I trained at Cressey Sports Performance). He’s now doing some pretty cool things in the world of finance, telling stories, and making it more palatable for us minions.
He’s been CRUSHING Twitter of late with his “Allegory of Finance” series. So much so that Sahil picked up a follow from Tim Cook. He’s now one of 69 people the CEO of Apple follows.
However, I’M only one of 48 people Sahil follows…;o)
Luke and I did this workshop last summer in London and figured it’s only fair to bring it State side.
Combined we have 30+ years of coaching experience (I.e., one Mike Boyle or Dan John) and this workshop will be two days where we uncover every nook and cranny as it relates to how we assess our clients/athletes and how we best prepare them for the rigors of every day life/sport.
This will be a unique opportunity for people to learn from myself, but especially Luke, who is one of the best and brightest coaches I know. This will be his first time teaching in the States.
For more information and to register you can go HERE.
SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS
Twitter
WALL PRESS 1-LEGGED RDL. I like this as an intermediary single leg variation.
A traditional 1-legged RDL is a very advanced movement and one not many can pull off. This takes balance out of the equation, but also allows ample loading of working leg. pic.twitter.com/RxOcTQ8cFd
NOTE: For the Singapore event you’ll need to use THIS link.
2. Coaching Competency Workshop – Raleigh, NC
I’ll be making my first appearance – ever (<— how’s that possible?) – in the wonderful state of North Carolina this coming March to put on my popular Coaching Competency Workshop.
Full details (date, location, itinerary, how to register) can be found HERE.
EARLY BIRD rate is currently in effect ($50 off regular price), so make sure to take advantage of it while you can.
3) The Complete Trainers Toolbox
I’ve been pretty mum about it, but this is dropping next week…
SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS
Twitter
One thing I try to keep young trainers/coaches more cognizant of when writing training programs is grip intensive exercise. Example: Row paired with DB Reverse Lunge. Both require a lot of grip. Maybe switch to GOBLET Reverse Lunge? Boom, you’re a program writing Jedi.
Mike Robertson’s podcast is always a must-listen, but this one featuring my good friend Pete Dupuis was particularly eargasmic.
Pete has an uncanny ability to keep things real when it comes to discussing fitness business shenanigans. If you’re a gym owner (or plan to be)….fire this episode up.
It was a pleasant surprise to have an email waiting for me this morning from Dr. Mike T. Nelson asking if I’d be interesting in posting this article up on my website?
“Does He-Man give zero shits about rocking a bowl cut?”
Of course I’d be interested.
The animal protein vs. plant-based protein debate is alive and well. Thankfully we have smart, sane, and subjective researchers in the field like Dr. Nelson to hand us the facts so we can make more informed decisions.
Plant proteins are all the rage now, but should you drop all your meat consumption to save the planet at the expense of your biceps? Is there any data to prop up the idea that eating more plants helps the earth?
Hang on to your propeller hat for a short trip down the nerd chute to see if the environmental concerns have weight and how plant proteins stack up.
I don’t trust thez gunZ to plants only
Plant proteins have become more popular recently in part due to environmental concerns or ethical concerns (1, 2). Environmental research is not my main wheelhouse, however I can read research.
Pimentel et al. in 2003 (3) analyzed the of land and energy resources devoted to an average meat-based diet compared with a lactoovovegetarian (plant-based) diet. Both diets contained the same number of calories at 3,533 kcal per person. According to their analysis:
“The meat-based food system requires more energy, land, and water resources than the lactoovovegetarian diet. In this limited sense, the lactoovovegetarian diet is more sustainable than the average American meat-based diet.” (3).
Meat-eaters = do not pass Go and collect 200 colones (about 33 cents).
In the USA, Europe and Australia, meat and dairy provide about 80% of the daily protein intake compared to Africa where as little as 7 g of meat and 4 g of milk are consumed per capita (4).
I hear your biceps shrieking in terror from here.
In an analysis from Scarborough et al., in 2014 (1), the researchers found that greenhouse gas emission in self-selected meat-eaters was about twice as high as those in vegans. They concluded that reductions in meat consumption could lead to reductions in green house gas emissions.
Meat-eaters 0, plant people 2.
Editor’s note: Tony here, if you want to know my true thoughts on kale, go HERE.
While the above around two selections, a reduction in the consumption of meat proteins may provide an advantage for the environment; but can they provide the same physiologic response in MPS (muscle protein synthesis – aka stuffing those amino acids into your muscles to make them bigger and stronger)?
Will Tony’s biceps become baby biceps?
Science Bitches
A study by Yang et al. (5) compared the effects of whey and soy protein in older men (age 71 +/- 5 years). The subjects completed a single-leg extension exercise before taking either no protein (eeeek) or 20 grams of soy protein (sorry gonads).
The researchers sampled the men’s muscle tissue via biopsy to compare the results to the non-exercising leg. They found that consuming soy protein was better than nothing, but it did not match to the response of whey protein from previous studies (6).
Your friendly author here with Dr Jose Antonio
In another study (7), wheat protein was compared to dairy protein sources in healthy older men (average age: 71 ± 1 years old).
The subjects (n=60) were split into 5 groups where they consumed 35 g wheat protein, 35 g wheat protein hydrolysate, 35 g micellar casein, 35 g whey protein, or 60 g wheat protein hydrolysate.
Plasma and muscle samples were collected at regular intervals. They found that a 60-gram dose of wheat protein was needed to see the same MPS response as the lower dose of 35 grams of the dairy based proteins (7).
Take Away?
Even if you are using a wheat protein supplement, you need a piss ton of it to match the same acute muscle building effects as dairy based proteins. Only trying to get that much wheat via whole food sources bro?
Good luck and enjoy the masseter hypertrophy along with lower body mobility from the Wilford Brimley two-step time.
Chronic Data
I hear the Pubmed ninjas rising up from their war-torn keyboards in their Mom’s basement in a unionism cry:
“…but that is all acute data Mr. PhD Sciency pants – don’t you know that you need chronic data?”
In a chronic study from Joy et al (8), subjects were given either 48 grams of rice protein as a supplement or 48 grams of whey protein isolate after exercise. They did not see any difference between groups over 8 weeks at that dose (8).
This study provides data that while plant proteins tend to be inferior to dairy based proteins on a gram-for-gram basis, that difference in MPS can be equalized at a higher intake dose.
Summary (AKA: Too Long, Did Not Read)
In short, there is data that eating less meat may be better for Mother Earth.
Good news – if you are eating a plant protein you can up the dose (amount) to get similar effects as your meat based bro-tein consuming doooooode bro buddies with bulging biceps.
The downside is that it takes many larger serving sizes.
In the end, it is up to each person to decide their own cost/ benefits, but now you can make an informed decision without watching your biceps wither in the process.
About the Author
Mike T. Nelson, PhD, MSME, CSCS, CISSN, is a research fanatic who specializes in metabolic flexibility and heart rate variability, as well as an online trainer, adjunct professor, faculty member at the Carrick Institute, presenter, creator of the Flex Diet Cert, kiteboarder, and (somewhat incongruously) heavy-metal enthusiast.
Scarborough P, Appleby PN, Mizdrak A, Briggs AD, Travis RC, Bradbury KE, et al. Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK. Climatic change. 2014;125(2):179-92.
Millward DJ, Garnett T. Plenary Lecture 3: Food and the planet: nutritional dilemmas of greenhouse gas emission reductions through reduced intakes of meat and dairy foods. The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2010;69(1):103-18.
Pimentel D, Pimentel M. Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003;78(3 Suppl):660s-3s.
Gorissen SHM, Witard OC. Characterising the muscle anabolic potential of dairy, meat and plant-based protein sources in older adults. The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2018;77(1):20-31.
Yang Y, Churchward-Venne TA, Burd NA, Breen L, Tarnopolsky MA, Phillips SM. Myofibrillar protein synthesis following ingestion of soy protein isolate at rest and after resistance exercise in elderly men. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2012;9(1):57.
Tang JE, Moore DR, Kujbida GW, Tarnopolsky MA, Phillips SM. Ingestion of whey hydrolysate, casein, or soy protein isolate: effects on mixed muscle protein synthesis at rest and following resistance exercise in young men. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2009;107(3):987-92.
Gorissen SH, Horstman AM, Franssen R, Crombag JJ, Langer H, Bierau J, et al. Ingestion of Wheat Protein Increases In Vivo Muscle Protein Synthesis Rates in Healthy Older Men in a Randomized Trial. The Journal of nutrition. 2016;146(9):1651-9.
Joy JM, Lowery RP, Wilson JM, Purpura M, De Souza EO, Wilson SM, et al. The effects of 8 weeks of whey or rice protein supplementation on body composition and exercise performance. Nutrition journal. 2013;12:86.
….It’s the (Even More) Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint.
A bunch of wordsmiths we are.
With this iteration, though, we’ll be going a bit deeper into the coaching and programming side of things:
How to program around common injuries.
How to “connect” the appropriate exercises to the client/athlete.
How to squat and deadlift like a boss.
Ljubljana, Slovenia – October 20-21st.
Los Angeles, CA – November 17-18th. (<— EARLY BIRD rate still in affect)
All registrants to this course (as well as future dates in 2019 in Detroit, Philadelphia, Edmonton, Minas Tirith) will receive a free download of CSHB 1.0 so that you’re up-to-speed on the content Dean and I will be covering.1
The line-up is spectacular and I’m honored to be included amongst such esteemed company – Pat Rigsby, Mark Fisher, Molly Galbraith, Kellie Hart, Craig Ballantyne, and Scott Rawcliffe, to name a few.
I’ll be speaking about shoulder assessment AND how to make killer cat memes.
This shindig is taking place NEXT WEEK, and there are still a few spots available.
If you’re a fitness professional looking to take his or her’s career to the next level this is an event you won’t want to miss.
I’ll be back in the city that never sleeps this Fall to put on my popular Coaching Competency workshop.
Albeit this will be condensed version (five hours instead of seven); a fitness amuse bouche if you will.
Full details (itinerary, location, and cost) can be found HERE.
SOCIAL MEDIA SHENANIGANS
Twitter
One of the most valuable traits a coach can possess is staying quiet (sometimes). Allowing a client/athlete to marinate in doing a movement wrong, realizing it, and then self-correcting is invaluable.
Dean Somerset and I are currently in the throes of drumming up new content for our staple workshop series.
We’ve presented this workshop all over the world – London, Vancouver, Oslo, Prague, Boston, LA, Hoth – and even turned it into a popular digital product HERE so everyone can enjoy it.
We’ve already nailed down dates in Slovenia, Houston, and LA this fall (2018) and are also in talks to bring it to Detroit, Philadelphia, Edmonton, Australia, and Singapore in 2019.
If you’re someone who’d like to host this event/participate in a tickle fight please reach out to either Dean or myself.
My wife and I will be in Bonn, Germany on Saturday, June 30 to put on our 1-day Strong Body-Strong Mind workshop.
I’ll be speaking to assessment, coaching up common strength exercises (squats, deadlifts), and how to better “match” your programs to your client’s abilities and goals.
Lisa will be discussing how to better manage client expectations, motivation, and how to adopt better mindset strategies for success.
And then we’ll have a beer….;o)
Spots are limited and the Early Bird rate is still in effect (but not for long).
For more details (including itinerary and registration) go HERE.
^^^ It’s so good we didn’t even feel the need to come up with a witty title for it.
After my workshop in Germany I head over to London to take part in a 2-day event (the weekend of July 7th) with my friend and colleague (and handsomest man alive) Luke Worthington.
This one is filling up fast…..go HERE for more info.
“Moreover, runners can always benefit from more force. Squats help make people stronger, which in turn helps to generate more force. As a runner, if you’re able to put more force into the ground to propel yourself forward, the likelihood you’ll see faster race times is pretty high.
Please don’t tell me squats will make you slower. They won’t.”
Any fitness professional worth his or her’s weight in chicken breasts knows that one of the more challenging aspects of the job is helping clients get dialed in with their nutrition.
Inevitably one of the questions you’re bound to hear is “how much protein should I be eating?” or “which sources are best?” or “will eating too much protein make my kidneys shit a kidney?”
Dr. Mike T. Nelson answers all your questions here.
I’ve taught hundreds (if not thousands) of people to squat in mere minutes by using the Goblet Squat.
Thank you Dan John.
Social Media Shenanigans
Twitter
Lifting weights isn’t supposed to tickle. Hitting the numbers or getting the body you want is going to entail a little bit of suck. You have every right to complain about the process, but if you’re not willing to put in the work, consistently….shut up.
Last year Lisa and I had the privilege of presenting together in Austin, TX and London, UK, and we’re elated to be heading to Toronto in about a month to pick up where we left off.
In a nutshell I speak to a little assessment talk, program design, and breaking down technique on a few common lifts such as the squat, deadlift, get-up, and BOSU ball lunges (<— kidding), and Lisa speaks to more of the mindset side of the equation and how we can help build better rapport and “buy in” with our clients/athletes. Not only that: but also how to encourage more competency and autonomy with your clients as well (both of which help you make more money).
For more information and to sign up, please go HERE.
2) Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint – Orlando
Our Vancouver shindig in April sold out, but Dean and I have recently announced a stop in Orlando, FL later this year, October 21-22nd at Spark Fitness.
I’ve never been to Orlando. There’s no way in hell I’m visiting Disney World.
I have such a hard time absorbing information and retaining it. Mostly because there’s so much of it out there! I thoroughly enjoyed this post from Mike and took a lot from it.
“Out of all the things you could do to improve your health, performance, and body composition, worrying about too much protein is WAY down on the list. In fact, if you’re going to worry about protein at all, it might make more sense to worry about not getting enough.”
Social Media Shenanigans
Twitter
Hate to break it to you: but you can’t have a lack of mobility issue without a poor stability issue somewhere else.
