CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 10/30/15

I kid you not, as I type these words I am sitting in my apartment waiting for the delivery guys from Sleepy’s to drop off the new mattress Lisa and I bought the other night.

Not that any of you reading are in any way interested in mine and Lisa’s sleep quality1, but she’s had the same mattress for about a decade (and we’ve been together for six years), so it was time to upgrade.

We walked to the local Sleepy’s down the street from our apartment and spent a good two hours test driving a few mattresses2 and narrowed it down to the one that’s supposed to be arriving between 8-12PM today (or when hell freezes over, whichever comes first).

We’re totally going to be asleep at like 6 tonight. Can’t wait!

A few things before I get to this week’s list of stuff to read:

Last weekend marked my official “start date” for my new solo venture.3 I’m sub-leasing space from Run Strong Studio in Brookline, MA (Boston) and training people out of there. Here’s a little flavor for what it looks like:

A little flavor for what the new studio space looks like. Meeting clients for first time this AM. Hope they like 90s hip hop.

A video posted by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

Rebecca – the woman who owns the studio – has been awesome. She’s a doctor who trains people on the side (mostly runners) in a rehab setting. When we met for the first time in person I saw she had a copy of Gray Cook’s Movement on her desk and she also dropped a few Mike Boyle and PRI references. I knew right away she was eating at the cool kids table.

Since our first meeting to now she’s allowed me to “vomit” strength and conditioning and bring in a bunch of equipment into her space. The result is what you see above.

It’s nothing fancy pants, but it’s perfect for what I’m looking to do: coach people, write awesome programs, and make them into badasses.

The first week has gone well and I’ve already had several people perform their initial assessment and are primed to get after it. If you’re in Boston and want to check things out for yourself you can go HERE.

ALSO

As a reminder: Dean Somerset and I will be in Los Angeles (Anaheim) at CrossFit 714 for our Complete Shoulder and Hip Workshop the weekend of November 14th.

 

That’s in two weeks, yo. For more information you can go HERE.

[Cue obligatory “this is why Tony & Dean are the awesome” testimonial here]

“Being cynical of the workshop frenzy in our industry has made me extremely picky with how I spend my time and money with my educational efforts. Tony and Dean presented our group with simple and concise information that will be easy to implement into my business’ daily operations.

The assessments and corrective strategies that I learned this weekend will be very useful in any size setting which translates to me being able to spend more time growing my business while delivering an effective product. If you value your time and the quality of your work, this is a must-attend event.”

5 Pitfalls (and Fixes!) for the Barbell Back Squat – Jennifer Blake (via JenSinkler.com)

We like to get overly technical when it comes to the big lifts, often to the detriment of looking past other commonly made mistakes.

This was an excellent watch from Jennifer and I recommend you watch it too.

Scientists Just Found That Red Meat Causes Cancer…Or Did They? – Kamal Patel (Examine.com)

It’s articles like this as to why I consider Examine.com one of my GO TO resources for un-biased nutrition and supplementation information.

They rock.

Last week (another) major story broke reminding everyone that red-meat is going to kill us all. It happens every year, it’s nothing new, really, it’s not, and the mainstream media latches onto it and apocalizes (<– Yep, I just made up a word) it.

RUN EVERYONE. BACON IS GOING TO KILL YOU. AHHHHH……….

Deep breaths, relax, and read this.

We Waited 7 Years to Open a 2nd Location…Here’s Why – Pete Dupuis

Cressey Sports Performance business director, Pete Dupuis, explains why we waited seven years before pulling the trigger and opening a second location.

CategoriesMiscellaneous Miscellany

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Engineering the Alpha and Yet Another Red Meat Scare (sigh)

UPDATE:  The post below was written roughly four hours prior to the horrible events that happened in Boston today.

Just wanted to say thank you to all who reached out via email and social media to check in on me. I am okay (I was actually at CP when everything happened). Had a few friends in the vicinity of the blast(s) and they’re okay, thankfully. I just made it home (in Boston), and suffice it to say it’s utter chaos here.
My prayers go out to all affected, and I hope whoever is behind this senseless act is brought to justice soon.

For the record

1. Today’s a pretty cool day for a variety of reasons. For starters, and this really only applies to those who live in the Boston area, today is Patriots Day where the entire city enters a state of batshitcraziness and plays hosts to the Boston Marathon.

In roughly five hours when whichever Kenyan is favored to win finally hits the homestretch down Boylston St. towards the finish line, the rest of the 20,000+ pack of runners will be cruising/jogging/shuffling/limping past my apartment in the same direction.  In every sense, it’s a sea of people and it’s impressive to watch.

Which, of course, is why I’m getting the hell out of dodge. I’m in no way interested in dealing with the logistical nightmare of weaving my way through the maze of one-way streets, detours, and porta-potty roadblocks and will be leaving to head to the facility before the madness starts.

Good luck, though, to all the runners.

Secondly, today is a pretty cool day because Man 2.0: Engineering the Alpha Male, the long awaited fitness and lifestyle book written by both of my good buddies John Romaniello and Adam Bornstein is finally hitting the bookshelves today.  Everywhere!

I couldn’t be happier for these two guys.  Sure, they’re both friends and it only makes sense that I’d support them in any way I can. Speaking freely, however: these two consistently put out fantastic content, and more importantly I know how much time and work went into writing this book, and after previewing an advance copy, I can honestly tell you this is going to be a game changer.

I mean, for starters, the Governator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, wrote the foreword.  Like, whoa!

But more to the point, I just feel this is a baller book that every guy should own.  Not only is it chock full of information on how to transform your body into a specimen that women will crave and guys will envy, but it’s also a book that’s going to help transform yourself into the best version of YOU possible – from all facets of life.

Everything from having six-pack abs to improving your sex life to understanding why wearing white past labor day is a major feux pas.

Okay, maybe not so much the last point, but consider that a freebie on my end…..;o)

Like I said it’s not only a fitness book, but a lifestyle book, too.

Anyways, I have a quick favor to ask. Rather than hightailing it to the nearest Barnes and Noble or opening up a different window to log onto Amazon to order the book, I want you to order it through the book’s official website.

Why?

Simple: Roman his offering a TON of high value bonuses for ordering the book—bonuses that you can ONLY get by ordering through the site.

So, if you’re down with getting about $100-300 in extra value in addition to a soon-to-be New York Times bestseller, pick it up at the site HERE.

Roman’s a good dude, and he didn’t have to go out of his way to provide all the additional bonuses.  So lets show my friend some love and help get this book on the best seller list!

2.  There’s a new “study” (and I use that word lightly in this instance) making its rounds around the interwebz and mainstream media that was sent my way a couple of days ago which stated – again, even though it’s been debunked more times than I can count – red meat is a main factor in the incidence of heart disease.

For those curious, the study I’m referring to is THIS one (which was featured in the New York Times no less) where the researchers, at this point clutching at straws, pointed the finger at Carnitine (a compound found in red meat, and not coincidentally is found in every cell in your body, and plays a critical role in energy production. And when I say critical, I really do mean critical. It transports fatty acids into the “engines” of your cells – the mitochondria – so they can be oxidized to produce energy.) as the main a-hole in promoting heart disease.

I don’t claim to be a “nutrition guy,” so I’d be lying if I said I was able to interpret the actual data presented.  That said, I do have an uncanny ability to smell bullshit, and as soon as I read this story I was gagging in it.

I reached out to several colleagues of mine to ask their opinion and to see if my assumptions were correct.  And they were. Pretty much all of them pointed me in the direction of Anthony Colpo.

I HIGHLY encourage everyone to read THIS review by Anthony himself where he breaks down the actual “research,” and essentially makes the people and organizations behind this study come across like a bunch of doucheholes.  Which they are.

Big time!

I’d really like to have a better understanding on how “studies” like this actually get released.  Seemingly these are well-educated people running these things, and anyone with common sense (and an internet connection) would recognize that the whole red meat/cholesterol and heart disease connection has been refuted time and time and time again.

What’s more, while I recognize that we live in a world where 24/7 news is the norm and all these outlets have time (and pages) to fill, how much culpability should be directed towards the journalists who continue to regurgitate this crap?

From the sounds of it, it seems like I can take a piece of paper and type all these fancy words on it, make all these grandios assertions like putting butter on your toast will give you Ebola, then slap some glitter paint on that bad boy and BAM: I’m published.

That’s pretty much how it works, right?

CategoriesUncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: Red Meat Scare x2, Fitness Writing, and Food Principles

The Red Meat Scare: What Do We Make of It? – Dr. Jonny Bowden

I’ll admit to two man-crushes:  Matt Damon and Jonny Bowden.  After this post, however, the good doctor might have just taken the  man-crush thing to a whole new level.

In short, there’s this “study” (HEAVY emphasis on the quotations) that came our recently out of Harvard which stated that those who eat red meat will spend eternity in fiery pits of hell…..forced to watch repeat episodes of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

 

Okay,that was a slight exaggeration. But needless to say, this so-called study did not have many nice things to say about red meat.  And, true to form, much of the mainstream media ran with it citing headlines like:  RED MEAT IS GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!

Inevitably, as a health c0nscious individual yourself – and presumably a meat eater (no offense to any vegetarians or vegans reading) – you’re going to hear some backlash from friends, family, and colleagues chastising you for having the audacity to eat red meat.2

Save your breath, and have them read this article from Dr. Bowden.

And, while you’re at it:  have them read THIS article from Adam Bornstein, too.

The Ten Commandments of Strength and Conditioning Writing Practices – Bret Contreras

I was completely floored (and humbled) to be included in such an insightful, honest, and thought provoking post from Bret. Much like Bret, I continue to grow and learn as a fitness professional, but it’s still nice to know that there are plenty of people out there who appreciate my work and don’t think I’m an asshole…..;o)

Thanks Bret

 

Gremlins, Pareto, & Food Principles – Oh My – Steve Troutman

My “Stuff You Should Read” posts are definitely one of the more popular (running) series that I offer here on this site.  And, as such, I do get my fair share of people contacting me to see whether or not I’d be interested in “showcasing” one of their own posts. I’m not going to lie:  much of what’s sent to me is poop.

It isn’t so much that their work is sub par – generally speaking most of the content is on point.  It’s just HOW people contact me that rubs me the wrong way at times.  It’s usually like this:

“Hey….would you be interested in posting one of my articles on your site?  I’ll be your BFF if you do!”

There’s no, “hey Tony, I really like your stuff, been a fan for a while now…..”

or

“You’re the smartest, most attractive man I have ever laid eyes on.  Here’s an article on fish oil……”

None of that. Oftentimes, it’s just someone writing me out of the blue assuming that I’ll be more than happy to send traffic their way.

Now, I’m not suggesting that they need to kiss my ass (okay, maybe a little), but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to demonstrate that you’ve read some of my stuff and know what I’m all about. Articles on the benefits of crunches – which is something someone sent me – won’t fly.

Anyways, Steve contacted me a while ago and came across like a really cool dude. Not only that, it’s obvious (after perusing a lot of his work) that he knows his stuff and is passionate about what he does.  More to the point, the article he sent me – on some common food principles he advocates to his clients – was EXCELLENT!!!!  I hope you enjoy as much as I did.