I have some pretty cool news to share today, and I’m not even going to sugar coat it. Instead, I’m just going to cut right to the chase and say it:
I’m going to Canada, baby!!!!!!!
More specifically, I’m heading out to Edmonton to participate in what should be a pretty kick-ass weekend of learning, networking, and immersing myself in Canadian culture. Which is to say, watching hockey and listening to Jagged Little Pill……on repeat. Get it? Canadians love hockey and Alanis Morissette. LOL!!! Okay, I’ll shut up.
In all seriousness I’m heading to Canada to participate in the Spinal Health & Core Training seminar, which is just the abbreviated title. The actual title is a bit too Tolkein’esq to use as the lead for a blog post.
Now THAT’S a title. The only thing that’s missing is a huge neon light and a dancing Ewok (or two).
Much like I was with Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body, I’m honored to be included in such a cast of other top-notch fitness professionals as Rick Kaselj, Dr. Jeff Cubos, and my brotha from another motha, Dean Somerset.
I like lists, so here’s the general breakdown of pertinent info:
1. As the title suggests, the seminar will cover anything and everything as it relates to spinal health and performance. Furthermore, it will include assessment, programming strategies, exercise technique, and will contain a heavy hands-on emphasis.
2. I really need to update me head shot.
3. The date will be Saturday, June 2nd and Sunday, June 3rd at the World Health Centre Club in Edmonton, AB, Canada.
4. Registration starts TODAY (3/13) and costs $295. We’re limiting this to roughly 30 spots, as we’d really like to make this as intimate (non-creepy) an event as possible.
Everyone who signs up BEFORE Friday (3/16) can save $100 off the regular price by using the coupon code ‘Edmonton.’
Like I said, this should be a really cool event, and a great opportunity for any fitness professional interested in taking their skill set to the next level.
I just realized it’s been close to a month since I’ve done one of these posts, so I figured what better way to start the week than this?
<== and this (but more on her later)
1. Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body: as many of you know, MIRU was released two weeks ago, and so far the feedback has been amazing. With the wide release set to go this week, I’ve been busy doing interviews and kissing babies (only slightly exaggerrating) trying my best to get the word out and otherwise telling people how much more awesome their lives would be if they purchased the product.
Thankfully I have a lot of smart friends in the industry who were more than willing to check the product out for themselves and offer their own review.
And, not to be outdone, my boy Mike Robertson gave a really thorough review HERE.
Also, HERE is an interview I did with my internet BFF, Nia Shanks. Nia and I have done several interviews together in the past, and this was by far one of the funnest to do.
2. And speaking of Nia, this past weekend she and several of her Beautiful Badass harem (Molly Galbraith, Jen Comas Keck, Marianne Kane, Sarah Martin, and Alli McKee) all travelled from various parts of the country to meet up and train under one roof, and otherwise increase male membership by 417% at whatever gym they were training at.
Anyone who’s read this blog for any length of time knows how much of a fan I am of women lifting heavy things, and these ladies definitely did not disappoint. Me thinks they should go on some kind of national tour and train at various gyms across the country. I’d pay to see that!
PS: How sweet was it when Nia gave her headnod after pwning that 330 lb deadlift PR?
3. Just a quick reminder to everyone that Alwyn Cosgrove will be hosting a FREE webinar tonight (Monday, August 22nd at 8 PM, EST) titled The Death of Personal Training.
Knowing Alwyn and how forthright he is, this is definitely something you won’t want to miss!
4. I’m a movie nerd at heart. I love going to movies. I love talking about movies. I love reading about movies. And, as any fellow movie nerd knows, summers are generally the time of year when all the studios release their geektastic, popcorn movies. Admittedly, I’ve been slacking on my movie watching prowess, and haven’t been going to the theater as much due to my busy work schedule (and because The Green Lantern just looked god-awful).
Last weekend, however, my girlfriend and I went to go see Captain America: The First Avenger, and holy sheeeeeeeit was it sweet.
I totally thought it was going to be a cheese-fest, complete with ridiculous costumes, corny one-liners, and a plot that could have been wrtten in crayon by a 7-year old. While it had a bit of each, I have to say that it was defnitely a step up from most superhero movies – great acting, superb directing (especially considering it was based in the 1940s during WWII), and lots of cool special effects. In fact, Lisa said that it was her favorite superhero movie, like, ever.
I quickly told her that that was just blasphemy: hello The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, the first Iron Man???
But, to be honest, I’d definitely place Captain America in my top 5. And, lets just say that the lead female character, played by Hayley Atwell (pictured above, at the top of this post, as well as directly below), was definitely a highlight.
5. People need to do more horizontal rowing. I’m going to go into a bit more detail on this later in the week, but nevertheless, not only will it have a great benefit towards posture and preventing imbalances in general, but it will also translate well to the big movements like deadlifts and squats becaise of increased stiffness in the upper back.
In conjunction to the points above, to me, having a nice, thick, upper back speaks volumes to one’s overall look aesthetically (no homo). Lets be honest, any joker can get a six pack – but it’s rare when you see an impressive upper back. Like I said, I’m going to espound on this a bit further later in the week, but it stands to reason that you’re not getting nearly enough rowing in your programming. Trust me. I know everything.
First off, I want to thank everyone for the kind words and for supporting the initial launch of Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body yesterday. In reality, however, all the kudos should go towards Rick Kaselj who’s the mastermind behind it all – the man behind the curtain if you will. So far, feedback has been great and Rick has gone out of his way to provide people with a bunch of awesome bonuses during the initial launch.
For instance, those who purchased yesterday received a presentation that Rick did on “Advance Training Concepts in Exercise Rehabilitation of the Rotator Cuff.” Likewise, for those who purchase Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body today, you’ll receive information on a VIP Coaching Call where you’ll have the opportunity to call in and take part in a Q&A session with all the contributors. And, who knows: maybe I’ll sweeten the deal and offer to bust out my rendition of R. Kelly’s “Ignition” for the hell of it. Parts I AND II.
Rick, if you’re reading, that needs to happen!
And that’s that. Oh, and before I forget, be sure to check back tomorrow because both myself and fellow contributor (and current newlywed), Dean Somerset, will be running a cross-interview we did with one another discussing everything from MIRU to my affinity for Star Wars references. It’s pretty awesome. The interview, I mean.
Admittedly, I’ve touched on the whole “packing the neck” thing in previous posts and articles, but Brendon brings to light two other concepts that I had never thought of before, which I felt were VERY cool.
And speaking of deadlifts – and not to overshadow Brendon’s article or anything – here’s a video of me pulling 505 lbs for eight reps yesterday.
All in all a fantastic, real, look into some of the more common ways the industry trips over its own feet. The best part, though, was the last few paragraphs where Andy kinda-sorta calls out the ADA – the same organization he’s affiliated with. Nevertheless, it’s nice to know that there are some independent thinkers out there who aren’t ADA zombies.
I’ve never met Neghar in person (pictured above), but I’ve read enough of her stuff to know that I’d definitely include her on my list of “Badass Females Whom I’d Like to Give a High Five.”
In my ten years experience as a fitness professional, I have encountered a handful of intrinsically motivated females. There are some who train purposefully, fearlessly and intentionally. Most, however, have required some convincing, and it is through the power of persuasion that I have had the unique pleasure of watching countless women experience a paradigm shift.
And that, in a nutshell, is what Neghar is all about. And I can dig that.
People have been asking me for some time now when I was going to get off my duff and produce my own fitness product. Truth be told, it’s only been within the past year or two that I’ve felt “ready” and comfortable enough to take the plunge and jump in headfirst.
To give a little backstory – I entered this industry back in 2002 (before iPads!!!) simply working as a personal trainer at various gyms, trying my best not to suck. Along the way, I came to the conclusion that I had a few things to say and because I could differentiate between they’re/their/and there (and that I had a knack for combining fitness with self deprecating humor) – logically, this meant that I should start writing articles!
Fast forward to today: I’m one of the featured authors on t-nation.com, as well as Livestrong.com. I’ve appeared in Men’s Health Magazine numerous times, and I also happen to be the co-owner of a pretty sweet training facility (Cressey Performance, located just outside of Boston, MA). The logical progression, seemingly, has always been to develop a fitness information product, right?
Well kinda.
Truth be told, if or when I decided I was going to do a product, I didn’t want to do it for the sake of just doing it. I wanted my “first time” to be right. I wanted it to mean something. You know, I wanted it to be special. Something I’d never forget. So, I did what any warm-blooded strength coach would do: I splashed on some Old Spice, lit some candles, busted out a little Boyz II Men, and……….oh, wait a minute. My bad. Wrong first time!
Actually, to be completely honest, I’ve seen lots of money hungry people come blazing into this industry, eager to produce their first DVD or write their first E-book only to fall flat on their face because, well, their product ended up being complete garbage.
I didn’t want to be that guy. So I waited…
I waited and actually coached people for the past nine years. I waited and wrote articles. I waited and built a blog that started with ten readers (on a good day) to now attracting upwards of 2,000+ per day. Call me crazy, but I waited to actually get good at what I do before I even thought about putting my name on a product.
So, of course, when Rick Kaselj asked me if I’d be interested in contributing to Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body, along with Dean Somerset and Dr. Jeff Cubos, it seemed like a slam dunk, and I jumped at the opportunity.
“Perfect,” I thought to myself. What better way to get my feet wet than to collaborate on the sequel to an already highly successful product (Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Lower Body) with a handful of VERY smart guys, whom I HIGHLY respect?
Now, I know what some of you may be thinking: sequels, for the most part, bite the big one. And, 99.99% of the time, you’d be absolutely correct. But, I assure you this isn’t Speed 2: Cruise Control we’re talking about here.
Hell no! We’re talkin more along the lines of The Godfather Part II territory. A sequel that, much like the original, definitely holds its own.
To that end, rather than rant and rave about the product itself, by now, you’re probably wondering what’s included in Muscles Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body. Well, a lot, actually:
8 Killer Presentations
***sneak peaks below
1. Corrective Exercise Strategies for Overhead Athletes (and Meatheads, Too) – Tony Gentilcore
2. Avoiding Common Programming Bloops and Blunders – Tony Gentilcore
3. Myofascial Training for the Upper Body – Dean Somerset
4. Advanced Core Training and Conditioning – Dean Somerset
5. Linking Breathing with Rehab, Training, and Performance – Dr. Jeff Cubos
6. Picking the Right Soft Tissue Tool for the Problem – Dr. Jeff Cubos
7. Unraveling Muscle Imbalances in the Shoulder – Rick Kaselj
8. Neck Exercises for Prevention, Rehabilitation and Strength – Rick Kaselj
What’s more, Rick has included literally TONS of great bonuses into the mix, and if that wasn’t enough, you can also earn Continuing Education Credits (CECs) as well.
So, whether you’re a personal trainer, strength coach, physical therapist, athletic trainer, or just someone who likes to lift heavy things and get his or her nerdification on, I truly feel that this product wil not only serve as an invaluable resource for you and your athletes/clients, but will also help to take your knowledge base to a whole new level.
I don’t really know what else to say, other than if you don’t buy this product a kitten dies* and you’d be remiss not to take advantage of the introductory sale price – running from now until this Thursday (August 11th) which saves you $50 off the regular price.
NOTE: For those willing to do so, leave a comment in the comments section asking any questions about MIRU that you may have. Thus far, the feedback we’ve been receiving is great, but I’d be looney to think that we’re going to please everyone. So please, share any comments, concerns, tidbits of awesomeness you may have below!
* Okay, not really. But seriously, a rainbow will cry.
