Categoriespodcast Stuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 9/2/16

Note from TG: be sure to scroll all the way down for some bonus material.

Wow – it’s September already. It’s Labor Day weekend here in the States, which means summer is more or less over, and so is any chance of me getting a sick tan this year. Noooo.

There’s no sense whining about it. It is what it is. Lets jump right into this week’s list of stuff to read.

34178802 - books on a dark background

Copyright: donatas1205 / 123RF Stock Photo

A quick reminder that Dean Somerset and I will be hosting our last LIVE event together of 2016 next month (weekend of October 15th) in Minneapolis, MN.

The stellar folks at Movement Minneapolis were kind enough to offer their four walls to host our Complete Shoulder & Hip Workshop. You can check out all the details along with sign-up information HERE.

Also, speaking of the workshop, Dean and I filmed it last Spring over in Norway and are planning on releasing it as an 11+ hour digital product titled the Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint in the next coming weeks. Catchy title, right?1

 

We’d still highly recommend attending a live event if you ever get the chance to do so; each one is always a little different and nuanced. However, the likelihood Dean and I will ever travel to North Platte, Nebraska or, I don’t know, the country of Moldova is slim. No offense North Platteians, I’m sure it’s a lovely place to visit.

Filming the event and making it into a digital product is going to get our information into more hands, which is kind of the point: we want to help more fitness professionals do a better job at assessment and writing effective programs, as well as helping non-fitness professionals better understand anatomy and exercise technique.

Get ready people: it’s coming.

Muscle Confusion Is Mostly a Myth – Brad Stulberg

I love, love, LOVE that this kind of information is starting to “bleed” into the mainstream media. I also love that names like Brett Bartholomew and Vern Gambetta – two highly respected strength coaches used in this story – are the go to sources.

Next time someone tells you how they need to “mix things up in the gym to keep the body guessing”…

  • Roll your eyes
  • Tell them the reason why nothing never works for them is because 1) they’re probably not working nearly as hard enough as they think they’re working and 2) adherence (and allowing enough time for something to stick) is going to trump any “muscle confusion” protocol.
  • Show them this article.

The Online Training Bullshit Detector – Eric Bach

Sure, you can train clients online. But should you?

That’s the question Eric Bach poses in this nifty article. Yes, I just used the word nifty.

Surviving the Dr. Oz Diet (and other fad advice) – Dr. John Berardi

I really liked this article by Dr. Berardi, and not for the reasons you might suspect. It DOES NOT shit on Dr. Oz (which, frankly, is easy to do).

Rather, it’s about learning how to better coach your clients, and how to best set them up for success and weed through the crowded fad diet bonanza.

BONUS

My good friend Mike Robertson invited me onto his phenomenal Physical Preparation Podcast earlier this week. Mike’s a big deal and one of the coaches I look up to most. His podcast is also one of the most informative ones out there and I never miss listening to it myself.

I was honored to be invited on, especially considering the caliber of coaches who have appeared prior to myself. I mean, who the eff am I?

We had a blast catching up and discussing everything from assessment, a typical training session, CORE, and of course, my cat.

LISTEN HERE.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 5/27/16

My wife and I are approaching the “final countdown” of our European Extravaganza…currently en route (via train) to Copenhagen, Denmark.

When it’s all said and done we will have put foot to ground in five different countries over the course of five flights, two trains, and zero Batmobiles.

Hopefully you’ve been keeping up with Lisa travel blog – HERE – and if not, I hate you. You’re ruining my life!

[slams door]

Just kidding.2

I’d like to offer some of my own candid thoughts on the trip:

1. Europeans know how to squat.

Culturally speaking I think many European countries – particularly Eastern European – spend more time in the squat position compared to North Americans. The also smoke a helluva lot more, but that’s besides the point.

Too, I believe, if we consider anthropometrics, there are segments of the Eastern European population who have shallower acetabulums (hip sockets) and shorter femoral heads compared to North Americans, allowing for greater squat ROMs.

Pretty interesting.

2. Despite speaking in two different countries – Czech Republic and Norway – where English is not the first language spoken, I found there wasn’t as much of a language barrier as I had originally thought there’d be.

While I’d love to chalk this up to some secret superhero power which allowed me the ability to communicate with anyone at any time, I don’t feel it’s such a secret “thing.”

Besides…that would make me Aquaman, and that’s lame.

It was just a matter of slowing down, not talking over people’s heads, and making sure to stay open to other ideas and mindsets.

One of the best compliments Dean and I received while in Prague was that we were both very approachable, we didn’t make anyone feel stupid3, and that we were open to other ideas and methodologies. NOTHING we discussed was meant to be concrete or interpreted as the ONLY way to do something.

It’s an approach I wish more fitness pros who educate would adopt.

3. Along the same lines I’ve heard from several attendees from the workshops over here that many fitness professionals in Europe are “behind the curve” compared to American trainers. That they’re “behind in the research and trends.”

I think this is BS.

I find that because European trainers seem to be less transfixed or wooed by the latest “trends,” that their approach is more basic and less laborious.

There’s very little fluff.

I see nothing wrong with this.

In working out in several commercial gyms since I’ve been here, I can say that I’ve seen more trainers utilizing the free-weight area and having their clients deadlift, squat, perform KB swings in addition to various movement/dynamic drills than I have ever seen in most commercial gyms in the States.

Just calling it like I see it.

4. Europeans are chill. In Prague I rarely, if ever, heard someone beep their horn. There was a liiiiitle bit more of it in Stockholm, but Stockholm is a bit more of a modern metropolis.

Still, compared to places like NYC or Boston, where you’re suffocated with a cacophony of horns and angry pitchforks if you don’t move your car within 0.02ths of a second of a light turning green, Europe is a welcome reprieve.

Dr. Robert Sapolsky, author of the book “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers,” likens this phenomenon to a phrase he coined called toxic hostility.

We all know someone in our lives who is a proverbial hothead. No matter what they’re always “on” or in a rush. The slightest thing – taking too much time at a stop light, a long line at a grocery store, putting too much creme in their coffee – is an opportunity for them to flip-the-eff-out.

In my travels abroad I don’t find this happening nearly as much. People seem to be calm, cool, and collected.

And kind.

This is not to insinuate that everyone in the States is a major league a-hole. However, this is to insinuate that there are A LOT less of those types here in Europe. It’s amazing.

5. The food in Europe, seemingly, is, well, food. As opposed to what Michael Pollen,  author of favs of mine, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food,” refers to as Frankenfoods (that we’re used to here in the USA).

I’m not one of those people who operates in a dream world where total calories don’t count. I saw Alan Aragon put up a Tweet the other day from another nutritionist who said something to the effect of “you need a carbohydrate/sugar deficit to lose weight not a caloric deficit.”

That made me – and the internet – LOL a little bit.

However, people CRUSH bread over here. And dairy. And beer.

Sure, people are more generally active here which counts for the lack of obesity…but what both my wife and I have noticed is that there’s no added “anything” in any of the food here.

Bread isn’t “enriched” with anything. It’s just, you know, bread.

And it’s SO good.

While I can’t speak for all of Europe, I know in Germany (and I have to assume Prague?) there are strict rules on how beer is processed. It can’t have more than 3-4 ingredients.

This is in stark contrast to other beers – particularly in the States – where it’s not uncommon to see an ingredients list that would rival a Breaking Bad episode.

I could keep going, but I’ve rambled enough. Lets get into this week’s list of stuff to read…

1) Regular Cardio Will Make You Fat – John Meadows

Taking away the sensationalistic title, this was an awesome article by John. I’ve always operated under the guise that the bulk of one’s “cardio” should be either brutally short and intense or very, very low intensity (or what I like to call Zone 2 work).

The middle ground – or cardio purgatory – is where many (not all) people tend to lose their way.

2) How Intense Workouts (and overtraining) Can Ruin Your Results – Dr. John Berardi

Speaking of intense exercise…It is necessary for continued gains and adaptation.

That said, not every workout or training sessions needs to be a balls to the wall battle.4.

This was an excellent article by John and the Precision Nutrition team shedding light on the importance of mixing things up, having fun, what’s the right “activity level” given your goals.

3) 3 Reasons Coaches Aren’t Respected Like the Old Days – Chris Fore

This was such a good read.

All the points made by Chris in this piece were on point. #2 in particular, sadly, happens quite a bit.

Categoriescoaching Nutrition

DON’T Put the Cookie Down

Oh, hello…I’m in Europe being all fancy pants.

Luckily, I lined up some excellent guest posts for you while I’m away. Here’s one from San Antonio based trainer, Jonathan Acosta.

“Put That Cookie Down!”

– Arnold

You hear that all the time from nutrition zealots. Shit, the legend himself, Arnold, said it and the interwebs even created a meme out of it.

But what if I told you rather than putting the cookie down……….Eat it!

Yes eat that cookie! Follow your dreams man!

No this isn’t the beginning of an Instagram supplement commercial.

Don’t worry I haven’t gone bat shit crazy….YET.

Listen: nutrition is one of my favorite topics. Fitness and nutrition is my profession. Im all for buckling down and getting your nutrition in check. You have a show or a competition you need to get ready for?

Cool, lets buckle down and get your nutrition in check.

I’m all for meal plans and strict adherence. My brother’s girlfriend likes to joke that we can eat the same thing day in and day out.

If you have an important goal or deadline, then hell yea I recommend a detailed plan and strict adherence…………….

But the reality is, most people don’t need that kind of strictness. At least not in the real world, or at the beginning of their journey.

A funny thing happened when I started training and working on people’s nutrition.

I would write a detailed plan out and by Week #2 it was out the door and back to old habits. Only my competitive clients would grit through it and last through the plan.

You see, this is the real world. And in the real world habits are king.

Most people juggle their jobs, families, kids, and everything in between. Just starting a workout plan alone is stressful enough.

Life happens and building better habits keeps you on point.

It’s not realistic to change your entire eating patterns to almost a robot like state and expect to hit your goals and stay like that forever.

Working on better eating habits works wonders.

Search Google for nutrition tips and what do you hear?

Cut out the sweets, eat chicken and broccoli, don’t drink alcohol. You name it.

You probably read that while rolling your eyes thinking duh we know all this.

Which brings me to my point.

All the above tips are practically common knowledge now. So why isn’t everyone rocking a six-pack or first in like to take part in a shirtless volleyball game at the beach???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmfd9etbXGE

 

The answer to that is two fold.

Habits and consistency.

Creating habits that ensure this whole “nutrition thing” is life long.

All while being consistent. Day in and day out.

That’s what its all about. That’s the real secret.

It’s not about what diet plan you follow. Or if you’re paleo, warrior diet, or intermittent fasting. It’s about finding something that WORKS FOR YOU AND YOUR WORLD.

Right now the cool thing to do is follow what these peeps on the grams of Insta are showing.

Meal prep consisting of nothing but chicken and broccoli – CHECK

Taking selfies with meals – CHECK

Repeating the steps above – CHECK

Get paid – CHECK

That last step is for the Instagram peeps.

That step for most folks looks more like this….

Realizing that this isn’t realistic and its boring. Throw the meals away, go back to old habits and eat what you used to eat.

I’m gonna pause right here. All of this depends on your goals and the amount of time you give yourself for your goals and its urgency.

If you have a wedding or something that is a necessity then yes by all means, bite the bullet and have a PROPER plan of attack and go for it.

If your goal is similar but isn’t as urgent then you’re better off not worrying to much about your short game.

Think about your end game.

  • In the grand scheme of things, what makes more sense? Following a strict diet for 2-3 weeks then “relapsing” and go to F-it mode for 1-2 weeks. Then starting all over again.

OR

  • Gradually working on habits and cutting back on a few things here and there until eventually we’ve completely changed our entire nutrition approach.

I first learned about habits through John Berardi and the crew over at Precision Nutrition. I’ll be completely honest and say that when I first read a few articles and saw how they approached things I was dumbfounded.

How were their clients getting crazy results and they weren’t even following a strict diet?

They didn’t even know their macros!

There is no way adding in a small habit here and there bi-weekly created all that change.

In my defense I was young and naïve. The older I got, and the more people I worked with, the more I started realizing that habits are the cornerstone of everything.

Turns out Berardi really hadn’t lost his marbles after all. (I dived right into the Precision Nutrition certification the moment it became available)

In reality, what seemed so simple was actually pretty ground breaking.

Sure you can give someone a diet plan and they may or may not follow it. But if you change someones habits, I mean really rewire them from the inside.

That’s when you start changing lives.

So what can you do TODAY to improve?

Here are some action habits I’ve used with clients:

1) Add in Two Protein Shakes a Day.

One of the first things I see in peoples nutrition habits is lack of protein. For the sedentary person that doesn’t workout, this isn’t a huge priority. But if you workout frequently then this habit will go a long way.

2) Cut back slightly on starchy carbs.

Lets say you eat four meals a day and normally 3-4 of those meals contain carbs. Then cut back slightly by replacing starchy carbs with veggies for 2 meals.

3) Take notes on how you feel after a meal

Although this doesn’t directly help your results, finding out what foods make you feel like crap and which ones make you feel energized goes a long way in helping you make better food choices.

4) Save the reward.

Save the rewards for the last meal of the day.

I don’t know about you but come evening time I’m starving!

No matter how many meals I’ve eaten I’m ravenous. So saving a reward treat for the evening helps curb whatever cravings I have. If you’ve got a sweet tooth than this works especially well for you.

The trick is to make sure the rest of the day is on point and aligned with our goals.

This means making sure your protein intake is good, you’re mindful of the starches, and you workout. If all things go right then a small reward wouldn’t be too harmful. Remember this is temporary while were weaning off per say.

Bonus:

Finding less goal harming treats is even better. Some of my go to’s are:

  • Cool whip (a small serving is super low)
  • Almond butter, protein powder, heavy whipping cream pudding
  • Proscuitto and mozzarella (don’t ask me why but a slice of each kills any sweet or salty cravings I have, maybe itll work for you)
  • Sugar free chocolates (Be mindful on these as some people cant handle the sugar substitutes well and have G.I. issues. Bloating sucks.)

Small habits that build up to amazing results. Nothing fancy. No drinking a protein shake made with fresh milk from a grass fed intermittent fasting cow who was born on the summer solstice.

Just practical habits that cater to you in the real world. Habits that dont require you to sacrifice your social life and over stress about everything else.

So get your habits in check and eat that cookie if you need it.

Until you level up and its time to PUT THE COOKIE DOWN!!!!!

(Please eat responsibly).

About the Author

Jonathan Acosta is the founder of Underground Performance Center and head trainer at Get Sexy San Antonio and is a certified personal trainer though both ISSA and the NCEP, as well asPrecision Nutrition Level I certified.

He likes lifting heavy things, reading books with big words in them, his steaks rare, funny stuff, writing stuff, hanging out with friends, and laughing.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 12/5/14

I’m in trouble.

I was perusing Netflix yesterday morning trying to find something quick to watch while I ate my eggs when I noticed the show Forensic Files was now available to stream.

Was started off as me thinking “Oh, I’ll watch like one or two episodes” (they’re 20 minutes each), turned into five, and I ended up getting zero work done yesterday.

I then came home from the gym last night and somehow convinced Lisa to watch two more episodes with me. And I just watched four more this morning.

I……..can’t……..look……..away.

I feel like Frank the Tank from the movie Old School – “once it hits your lips, it’s so good!!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4quisonHOJE

The show is like crack. And, for the record: there are some messed up people out there!! As much as the show is impossible to turn away from, it also makes you want to lock all your doors, screw all your windows shut, turn off the lights, and huddle in the corner of your apartment.

Anyhoo – I managed to turn off the television without going so far as to throw it out the window, and now I’m finally sitting down to write this blog and then spend the rest of the morning writing some programs.

Lets get to this week’s list of stuff to read:

Four Ways to Band Up Your Deadlift – David Dellanave

Much like my affinity for dark documentary crime series, when it comes to anything written on deadlifts I’m like a moth drawn to a flame.

In this superb article Dave breaks down a few ways to add bands to your deadlift training, including one INGENIOUS way to implement when you’re stuck traveling and have little access to a gym let alone a barbell to do deadlifts with.

Also, just a reminder that Dave’s resource Off the Floor: A Manual For Deadlift Domination is on sale at HALF-OFF until TONIGHT (Friday 12/5) at midnight.

Unlike most other resources Dave’s approach takes a unique perspective in that he incorporates autoregulation, which is just a fancy term used to describe what it means to listen to what your body is telling you.

In addition, in the year since its first release Dave has used feedback to help develop three new programs for the manual as well as add a bunch of other cool stuff, including a little over an hour of new video coaching content.

It’s an excellent resource, I love it, and feel if you’re someone looking to add somer serious progress to your deadlift this is something you can’t pass up!

The Double Rep Method – Will Vatcher

I saw this article last week and admittedly almost rolled my eyes. But after reading it, I really liked the idea it proposed and am starting to experiment myself.

It’s BRUTAL!!!!  So if you’re looking for a change of pace in your program, at the mercy of sounding cliche, this may be exactly what you’re looking for!

The Bretzel and Bretzel 2.0 – Gray Cook

Fans of Gray Cook (and Brett Jones) will know this one as it’s an oldie-but-goodie. The Bretzel and Bretzel 2.0 are two drills we’ve been incorporating more and more into our pre-work and “corrective” work with a lot of our athletes and clients at Cressey Sports Performance.

They’re both excellent drills that hammer a lot of stuff at once. Bretzel 1.0 = anterior chain. Bretzel 2.0 = posterior chain.

Bonus Stuff

1. I, along with Jen Sinkler and Neghar Fonooni helped contribute to an article that was featured on Yahoo! Health recently on the Turkish Get-Up: The Full-Body Exercise That Absolutely Everyone Should Be Doing.

2. Now that we’re smack dab in the middle of the Holiday season it’s time for the majority of us to start thinking about the inevitable New Year’s resolution to lose some weight or firm up a bit.

Nutrition is generally the one bottleneck for most people because, lets be honest, most of us are stubborn. Everyone is set in the their ways, has their likes and dislikes (I’m sorry but gluten free bread tastes like sawdust sprinkled with sandpaper shavings), and most telling of all, people are confused as f*** as to what they should be eating.

There’s a lot of noise out there, and it’s no surprise that many are paralyzed or overthink what or how they should be eating (no carbs after 7PM!). And well, some people don’t do any thinking at all (chocolate comes from a plant. Plants are green. Chocolate is salad!).

The people over at Precision Nutrition are gearing up for their annual Lean Eating Program, which is pretty much the quintessential coaching-based nutrition support program out there.

I have many of my own clients use their services, and I know many, many fitness professionals who have also used Precision Nutrition to not only act as their coach, but to use it as a learning experience as well.

PN has just released their FREE Starter Kit which as a stand along thing is worth more than what most diet books try to sell you for whatever is they charge for useless (or to be less cynical: regurgitated) information.

For the men’s kit go HERE.

For the women’s kit go HERE.

Both kits offer their own unique content tailored to both men and women, and like said they’re both FREE. You don’t have much to lose. And hey, they may serve as the impetus to finally hold yourself accountable and make 2015 your most healthy year yet!

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 4/11/14

As most of you are reading this, I’m currently on my way to Fargo, Minnesota to present at the Sanford POWER Strength & Conditioning Clinic this weekend.

UPDATE:  to say I’m ass, and realized after having landed and met my ride that I was in NORTH DAKOTA and not Minnesota.

It’s my first extended stay in the state of Minnesota North Dakota, and sadly I have no beard to show for it.

Nevertheless, I was pumped to be invited to speak at this event and am looking forward to a weekend of learning and networking (and trying my best not to make any references to Fargo, the movie).

You’re darn tootin’!

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Here’s this week’s list of stuff to read while you’re pretending to work.

Enjoy!

Skipping Breakfast: Will It Really Make You Fat? – Helen Kollias

People love arguing over the merits of breakfast.  I for one LOVE breakfast.  I wake up every morning excited to crush an omelet.  And I’m not talking about some sissy egg white omelet either.  No, no.  I’m talking about a 6-8 WHOLE egg omelet.

Breakfast isn’t for everyone, though, and it’s not the end of the world if someone decides to skip it.  Despite some sensationalistic reports, skipping it WILL NOT make you fat.  The team over at Precision Nutrition explains why.

8 Moves For a Crazy Strong Core – Ben Bruno

It’s official:  Ben Bruno is a sadistic bastard.

The Positive Business Plan – Mark Fisher and Michael Keeler

This isn’t something to read, but rather watch.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned in helping to start and run a successful (fitness) business it’s that caffeine is your best friend going out of your way to build a sense of COMMUNITY amongst your members is worth more than gold.

You’d be hard pressed find anyone who’s done a better job at doing this than Mark Fisher and his business partner, Michael Keeler.

I mean, they refer to their clients as Ninjas!  And they don’t call their gym a gym.  Instead, they refer to it as The Enchanted Ninja Clubhouse of Glory and Dreams.

But it’s not all unicorns and nunchucks.

Mark estimates that each coach at his establishment spends roughly 10-hours per week on personal development.

Ie:  their “Ninjas” get coached very, very well.  They not only know every word to the musical Wicked, but they know who Mel Siff is.

I’ve personally met Mark, and I respect the hell out of him.  And I HIGHLY encourage anyone who’s remotely interested in starting a business (any business) to watch this 16 minute video.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 2/14/14

Happy House of Cards Season Two Release Day on Netflix Valentine’s Day, everybody!

It’s a miracle that I’m even writing right now given there are thirteen brand spankin new episodes sitting in my “watch instantly” queue as type these words.

Can you tell I’m a little excited!?!  But I promised Lisa I wouldn’t touch an episode until we were both home tonight. That’s how we’re going to spend our Valentine’s: Watching House of Cards and eating chicken.

Who says romance is dead?

PS: Dieting sucks.

On that note, I do wish all the lovely couples out there a happy Valentine’s Day.  Eat some steak and carrot cake for me will ya?

Is Your Vitamin D Supplement Helping Or Hurting You? – Bryan Walsh (Precision Nutrition)

Hands down this was the best article I’ve ever read on vitamin D supplementation.  I can’t imagine how much work went into writing this.  Well done!

67 Tips on Happiness, Fulfillment, and Life – Jason Ferruggia

I really liked this list written by Jason and it’s really, really hard to say which handful resonated with me the most.  Honestly, all 67 tips hit home.

It’s a quick read, and I guarantee you’ll be nodding your head in agreement.

High Performance, No BS Correctives – Dan John

Once people see the word “corrective” associated with a strength and conditioning article the eyes start rolling. What now, Tony – an article telling me to perform more knee break ankle mobilizations??

I’d rather watch NASCAR, thank you very much.

Touche.

But this is Dan freakin John we’re talking about here.  You should know better. Read it.

CategoriesUncategorized

Reviewing the Cressey Performance Fall Seminar – Part One

You know the feeling you get when you demolish an ice-cream sundae so fast that you end up with one of those annoying “brain freezes” which makes you crumble to your knees in agony and forces you to make one of those weird, contorted faces that’s about as unattractive as unattractive can get?

No?

Well, maybe a better analogy would be actor Gary Busey.

Take his face (seen to the left) which is essentially what he looks like 100% of the time, and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

Okay, now that you have an ample visual:  that was me this past weekend during the Cressey Performance Fall Seminar. Not to suggest, of course, that I was swimming in a cocktail of vodka and bat-shit crazy, which is more than likely a typical breakfast for Mr. Busey.

Oh snap!  No I didn’t! That’s a Busey burn!

But rather just to suggest that 1) my brain hurt so much from all the quality information thrown my way that I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that’s how I looked and 2) that I needed a day away from blogging in order to decompress, digest, and assimilate all the information.

All told we had roughly 150-175 people make the trek out to CP to hang out, network, and listen to several pretty smart dudes discuss everything from CrossFit to corrective exercise to coaching types to twerking.

Maybe not that last one (next year?), but needless to say there was A LOT of stuff that was covered.  In lieu of all the glowing comments and reviews that followed via Facebook and Twitter, there were a number of people who asked if we filmed the seminar.

Sadly we did not.  But I’m going to take the opportunity today to try to highlight a few points and insights from each presentation.

Today I’ll cover what Eric Cressey, Brian St. Pierre, and Mike Reinold discussed.

Cracking the CrossFit Code – Eric Cressey

Starting the morning off with a bang, Eric decided to address one of the more hotly debated topics in the fitness community: CrossFit.

Contrary to popular belief Eric (as well as myself) aren’t adamant CrossFit “hater” protagonists.

We both see a lot or redeeming qualities in it, but we’re also not dowsing ourselves in the Kool-Aid.  Nevertheless, here’s some points Eric hit on.

1. Interestingly, Eric started off his talk discussing how history is loaded with selective retention.

I’m not going to spoil the surprise (as I know Eric DID film his presentation and have to assume he’s going to offer it as product), but lets just say there’s a reference to Adolf Hitler and CrossFit.

HOLD ON:  before people get all Twitter happy and say that Eric Cressey equated CrossFit to Hitler, HE DID NOT DO THIS!!!!!

But he did make a fair point that Hitler was responsible for things like improving highway infrastructure, airplane travel, and a bunch of other things.  CrossFit, too, for as much as it’s poo-pooed on by the masses, does have a lot to offer.

2. Such as:

Insane camaraderie.
Unparalleled social experience.
Brand recognition.
Interval training preferred over aerobic training.
Variety.
Stresses compound exercises.

3.  But there are also a fair number of caveats or “bad” points to consider as well. Such as:

Low barrier to entry.
Lack of assessment (this is affiliate dependent, but it’s fair to say that many DO NOT offer a keen assessment).
One-size fits all programs.
Prioritizes technically advanced exercises (for high reps, no less).

4.  One must (and should) be able to dominate the sagittal plane if he or she is going to be succeed in a traditional CrossFit program.

5.  There’s no bones about it:  untrained individuals (of which are what CrossFit attracts) move like poop, and its imperative that appropriate progressions AND regressions are in place – especially if you’re going to use a “one-size-fits-all” format.

Insulin: The Hormone, The Myth, The Legend – Brian St. Pierre

It’s always a treat when Brian makes it back to his old stomping grounds at CP.  Not many people realize this (or remember), but Brian was actually our very first employee.

But then he had to go get married, buy a house, advance his career with Precision Nutrition, have kids and stuff, and move to Maine.  What a jerk!

It’s been a pleasure to see Brian grow as a professional and he’s undoubtedly one of my “go to” guys when it comes to anything nutrition related. In his presentation he tackled the often quoted, yet often woefully misunderstood hormone insulin.

1. Insulin is ONE of MANY hormones involved in fat storage. It increases the activity of lipoprotein lipase, decreases the activity of hormone-sensitive lipase, which together leads to an increase of fat into fat cells. Insulin enhances this process, but NOT necessarily for it.

Key Concept: Insulin permits fat storage, it does not regulate it.

** For the nerds out there: The hypothalamus does.

You can gain fat with or WITHOUT elevated insulin levels.  So for all the anti-carb aficionados out there who deem them more evil than Mordor:  nah nah nah nahhhhhhhhh.

2. Hypoglycemia is incredibly rare.

3. The amount of insulin from protein rich food is positively correlated with satiety levels from that food.  So, put another way:  insulin CAN be considered a satiety hormone.

How’s this for a mindf@&k: Potatoes, which are generally regarded as one of the highest insulinogenic foods on Earth, are also reported as having one of the best satiety effects.

4. Nutrient partitioning is real phenomenon, and when used to your advantage, can help to increase recovery and adaptation to training load.

5. No news here:  (purposful) exercise creates a physiological environment where carbs are even more beneficial.

Ie:  carbs have their place.

Integrating Corrective Exercise With Performance Enhancement – Mike Reinold

Before I dive into Mike’s talk, let me just say that he’s an absolute Jedi when it comes to PowerPoint.  Some of the graphics and tricks he uses are unreal.  I’m half expecting one day for Mike to pull a rabbit out of his Macbook or go all “Prestige” on us and clone himself.

Plus, you know, he’s a brilliant therapist on the side.

1.  Mike noted that if you Google “corrective exercise”  in almost every picture there’s a physio ball or someone coaching the shit out of something completely innocuous, like this:

Apparently the message is this:  if you’re not incorporating the use of a physio ball, you’re just pretending…..;o)

2.  The term corrective exercise is a garbage term and is something that’s thrown out there in an effort for people to make themselves sound smart.  There’s no shortage of long-winded definitions out there, but Mike gave one that was about as succinct and to-the-point as they come:

“Corrective exercise are exercises designed to enhance how well you move.”

3.  Why corrective exercises sometimes may not work:

You didn’t assess well, or worked beyond your scope.
You picked the wrong correctives.
You are only addressing part of the problem.
You jumped straight to motor control/stability (you still need to get people stronger and emphasize strength).
Person is in pain.

*** If your correctives aren’t working, don’t work harder.

4. Components of Corrective Exercise:

Alignment (if you strengthen in misalignment you’ll create an imbalance, if you stretch in misalignment you’ll create instability).
Mobility
Stability
Postural Balance

5. Integrating correctives:

Pre-Training: work on alignment (PRI breathing drills), mobility, activation, motor control.

Within the Program: A2, B2, C2 (assist the “1” lifts)

As an example:

A1.  Goblet Squat 3×8
A2.  Lying Deadbugs – 3×6/side

Post-Training:  repeat foam rolling, work on breathing drills (up-regulate parasympathetic system), etc.

And that’s going to be all for today. I told you there was a ton of information covered!  Tomorrow I’ll highlight the presentations from Eric Schoenberg, Greg Robins, Chris Howard, and myself.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Hugh Jackman Deadlifts, Supermoms, and Explosive Training

If you’re a gym junkie, and unless you’ve been living underneath a rock for the past five days, you’ve undoubtedly come across the Tweet which has circulated the intertubes of Wolverine, Jean Valjean, Van Helsing  Hugh Jackman deadifting his ass off with the caption that reads, “if the bar ain’t bendin, then you’re just pretendin.”

< —– For visual reference, here it is.

My man-crush on Hugh just hit Matt Damon status.  Hugh, if you read this:  If you’re ever in Boston, come train at my gym.  We’ll deadlift, quote Shakespeare, give each other high fives.  It will be awesome.

Predictably, many a internet hater chimed in and had nothing but negativity to throw Hugh’s way, making derogatory remarks about his “chicken legs,” and saying that what he was lifting was no big deal.

Fact is many people UNDERestimated the amount he was lifting, not realizing that the plates he was using were in kilograms and not lbs.  That’s 465 lbs people!

While not all that impressive in powerlifting circles, he’s not a freakin powerlifter! He’s an actor who’s paid to look badass

And, dare I say, I can almost guarantee a vast majority of the people who scoffed at the picture would be doing cartwheels down Main St. if they could sniff that much on their pull.  Let alone for reps.

Defending Hugh Jackman:  Don’t be a Fitness Snob – Bret Contreras

In the article above Bret hits the nail on the head.  I’m always amazed at how snobby people can be, and even more amazed as to how so many people will take time out of their day for the sole purpose of being an a-hole.

Kudos to you, Bret, for writing this.  Thank you!

One Mom’s Journey to Real Food – Kelly Jordan

Okay I’ll admit it:  I’m a little biased when it comes to this particular post because Kelly is my cousin.  Nevertheless it’s still an awesome article with a worthwhile message:  Yes, supermom’s are busy.  But with a little effort it’s not all that difficult to implement healthier food strategies.

Nice work Kelly!  Woo-hoo!

Explosive Days for Muscle and Strength – Lee Boyce

There’s a lot to be said by implementing more “explosive” type training into your weekly workouts.  In this article Lee breaks down a few ways one can go about doing so in a safe and effective manner.  And, it includes one of THE BEST post clean and jerk dances of all time.  Trust me, watch it!

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Samurai, Youth Training, and I Need an Assistant!

1. So you know how I mentioned on Friday that we’re hosting a young female from Colombia for the next three weeks?

FYI:  Lisa and I are hosting a teenager for three weeks.

She made it here safely on Friday night and Lisa and I spent the entire weekend showing her the sights and sounds of Boston.

While I was at work Saturday morning and early afternoon, the two of them got some serious shopping down on Newbury and Boylston St, which worked out perfectly because I’d rather jump into a shark’s mouth than go shopping.

Saturday night the three of is hit up the North End for some Italian cuisine.

Yesterday, after completing our normal morning errands (laundry, grocery shopping, and food prep), we decided to get all cultural and visit the Museum of Fine Arts.

Now as I guy the idea of spending an afternoon gazing at works by Monet, van Gogh, Renoir, Singer Sargeant, and the like sounds about as exciting as watching paint dry. But as luck would have it, the stars aligned in my favor and the MFA had what could arguably be the most manly exhibition on display outside of tanks or maybe even beards.

Freaking Samurai!!!!!

To put it mildly – it was pretty sick.  I could have easily spent hours in there reading every display, and pretending I was Tom Cruise from The Last Samurai, but alas, there were plenty of other things to see, and the ladies wanted to take a peek at all the European art.

Pffffft, whatever…..;o)

2. We announced it about six days ago and the workshop that both Dean Somerset and I are hosting at Cressey Performance the weekend of JULY 27th is already 1/3 of the way filled up!  Woo-hoo.

We’re both really excited about this opportunity and while we have a set theme which serves as the “umbrella” of the weekend, we’re still in the process of organizing the flow of each day.

What I can tell you is that we’re going to place a heavy emphasis on ASSESSMENT as well as programming, coaching cues, and increasing people’s general level of badassery.

The early bird rate is still on until the end of June, and as I noted space is filling up quickly, so get on it while you can.

===> Come hang out with Dean and Tony <===

3.  Back in April I had the honor of being invited back to my alma mater – State University of New York at Cortland – to speak to the around 60-70 undergrad and graduate exercise physiology, kinesiology, fitness training majors on my experiences in the industry. If anything it was an opportunity to give some sage advice and to give them a bit of a dose of tough love and let them know that they’re not going to walk into a six-figure job coaching professional athletes on day one.

It was an amazing weekend to say the least, and I was just forwarded THIS story which was published on the school’s website.

4.  I was asked a really simple question over the weekend as it relates to youth athletics and athletes:

What would be 1-2 tips you’d give youth athletes? This can be anything from training, fitness, playing, nutrition, parenting, directed toward youth organizations, etc. Anything you feel would be important for a youth athlete and their parent to hear.

1.  I’m sorry but your kid is most likely not going to be the next Roger Clemens, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, and the list can go on and on and on.

At eight, nine, ten, eleven, even twelve years old they don’t need a strength coach. They need to be a kid. In this scenario I can’t help but think back to a quote I heard Mike Boyle say once:

Your kid doesn’t need a strength coach, he needs a bike.

I’m often amazed at how “aggressive” some (not all) parents can be when it comes to their child’s athletic development. I’m generally reticent to have any kid under the age of thirteen start a dedicated strength and conditioning program.  Not because I think it would be detrimental or stunt growth or any other number of fallacies like that.  But rather I think it’s important for them to be a kid!

To ride their bike, play tag, duck-duck-goose, kickball, wiffleball, hide-n-seek, tennis, basketball, climb trees, swing on the monkey bars, call girls “icky,” you name it.

2.  Along those same lines:  when working with young athletes, and especially right out of the gate, it’s ALWAYS about teaching the basics.

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve had a parent come in and tell me that we need to make their kid “faster,” and they have visions of all these cute agility ladder drills, speed cones, parachutes, 40 times, etc.

That IS NOT what their kid need 99.99% of the time.  Speed, agility, power, and any other “quality” you can come up with has its base in strength.  You can’t have any of those things without first have a foundation of strength.

To that end, teaching things like a proper squat pattern, hip hinge pattern, push-up, row, lunge pattern, and core stability (to name a few) – and MASTERING those patterns – are paramount.

That’s my two cents.

5.  At some point or another, everyone needs a coach. I’ve reached out to other coaches in the past to help me get out of training ruts, and as it happens CP coach, Chris Howard, recently joined the masses in the Scrawny to Brawny program.

Even coaches need coaches sometimes.

Likewise, Precision Nutrition’s Lean Eating program is equally as popular and they’ve just released a FREE 5-day fat loss video course for MEN and WOMEN that is bound to be the bomb.

We’re all busy, and we’re all always looking for more efficient ways to reach our goals.  Why not let someone else do the thinking for you and help you weed through the madness?

6.  And finally a little house cleaning on my end.  I’m looking for an assistant!  Basically, I need someone who’s a little more savvy in the organization department and who can help me on the back-end side of things like helping me set-up a newsletter, blogging research, distance coaching scheduling, and maybe making me a meatloaf from to time.

Kidding.

But not really.

Anyways, it’s nothing major and nothing that would be too time consuming, but I suck at organizing.  I’m pretty good at writing programs, and I’d be willing to trade barter with anyone who’s interested.

If that seems to peak your interest, please send me an email at [email protected] and we can discuss some more of the details.

Thanks!

CategoriesUncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 5/17/2011

Okay, I’ll admit I’m being lame to start the week.  Not much going on in the way of new content so far, but I’m hoping to up my game in the next day or so.  As it stands today, I’m swamped with the ladies group, and Eric and I are filming some exercise demonstrations this morning for our soon-to-be epic online database. which will serve as a great resource for our current CP and distance coaching clients.

Don’t know what a Reverse Lunge with Posterolateral Reach is?

BAM

Go to the site, click on the link and you’ll know.

That said, since I’m short on time, I’m going to leave you with some stuff to read.  Holla!

9 Questions for Jay Bonn – Ryan Andrews

For those people wondering what it’s like to be an intern at Cressey Performance, this is your chance to get an inside look.  Here, Jay Bonn discusses everything from coaching cues to my pecs.  Okay, kidding.  But in all seriousness, it’s a great read, and it’s awesome knowing that our interns are walking away with a great experience.  One minor detail left out, however, is the fact that we never put the last intern class through a death circuit.

Note to Self:  that won’t happen again

On the Eigth Day, God Created the Schwinn Airdyne – Patrick Striet

After posting my knee-friendly blog last week where I discussed my afinity for the airdyne bike, my friend PJ Striet contacted me to note that he, too, wrote a similar post not long ago.  For those looking for a little more ass-kickery in their lives, look no further!

More Claptrap from the American Dietetic Association – Jonny Bowden

If there was ever an article that deserved it’s own slow-clap button, this is it!  Definitely opens your eyes to some of the shenanigans and politicing that goes down behind closed doors with regards to the food policies we’re told to follow.