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Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: 10/24/11

1.  Apparently with the conversion of the website back to WordPress last week there’s been a little glitch with the feed, and numerous people have mentioned that they didn’t receive any of the updates last week.  Rats!  So, for my own edification (and to help put my mind at ease), below is the actual feed that you’ll need to use to receive updates via email.  You should still be able to use the RSS feed located on the top right-hand side, but I’ll provide the direct feed directly below in this post as well.  I appreciate those of you who went out of their way to inform me of the issue, and I apologize for the inconvenience.

PLEASE:  if you notice anything else that’s “WTFish,” let me know and I’ll forward it to my web guy.  Thanks!

http://feeds.feedburner.com/gentilcore

UPDATE:  It’s been brought to my attention that the feed above doesn’t work, either.  FAIL!  Needless to say, it will be fixed soon.  I promise.  With dark chocolate covered cherries on top

2.  Here’s something cool:  Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body will be available to purchase in DVD format very, very, very soon.

We’re going to be re-launching the product within the next few weeks, and while it will still be available in digital format, there will also be an option to purchase it in DVD format which many people who originally purchased the product expressed interest in.

What’s more, MIRU has officially been approved for 0.7 CEU’s by the NSCA, which means you’ll earn continuing education credits just for purchasing the product!  How badass is that?

More to follow soon.

3.  People are always asking me what I’m currently reading, and it’s funny, because I’m usually reading 3-4 different things at once.  Firstly, it goes without saying that I’m always reading something related to my field.  As it stands now, I’m currently perusing the following things:

Mass Made Simple – Dan John

It’s kind of hard NOT to take the advice of someone who’s been coaching longer than you’ve been alive.  I’ve always admired Dan John’s stuff, and this is no exception.   Unlike pretty much everyone, Dan John has an uncanny ability to put things into perspective.  And, as the title suggests, this book is perfect for anyone looking for a simple (albeit effective) plan to put on mass.

Power! – Joe Defranco and Jim “Smitty” Smith

Admittedly, I JUST received this in the mail from Smitty the other day, but will be viewing this in it’s entirety shortly.  Nevertheless, I have no doubts that it’s going to be awesome and that I’m going to want to jump through a brick wall after watching it for ten minutes.

Secondly, I’m and avid reader in general, so I’m not JUST reading things that are relevant to my profession.  I’m not opposed to reading some non-fiction material, and I just finished reading Michael Lewis’ book, The Big Short, which, besides making me want to punch a baby seal in the mouth, gave an excellent behind the scenes look into the economic collapse of 2008.  Seriously, I don’t think one book has made me more aggravated at how douchy people can be than this one.

On a lighter note, I’m currently listening to The Art of Fielding, written by Chad Harbach, which follows, among other things, a star collegiate baseball player as he deals with stardom, pressure, relationships, school, and teammates.  It’s a light read, but written spectacularly and in a way that’s more than JUST about baseball.

4.  Whenever I feel rundown and lose a little edge in my training, I always chalk in up to several factors:

  • I just need to cut down my training.  While I normally train 4-5 times per week, for the foreseeable future, I’m going to revert to 3x per week utilizing more of a full-body split.  In actuality, I’m going to be taking a page from Dan John’s book (see above), and follow more of a Train, Rest, Recharge split, where I’ll train/make people destroy the back of their pants one day, rest the next, and then follow that with more of an “active recovery/blood flow” day.  In the past, I’ve just found that this approach works really well for me in terms of allowing me to recoup from the ass-kickings I routinely give myself, as well as allow me the opportunity to focus more of the tissue quality side of things.  Ie:  more foam rolling, ART, massage work.  Basically, I just need a break.  I’m still going to be lifting heavy things, of course.  But I’m hoping that the additional days “off” will give me a little boost in the long-run.
  • I don’t drink nearly enough water.  I swear to god I live in a chronic state of dehydration, and it’s no surprise that I end up peeing battery acid once per day.  Sorry for the visual.  So, with that, Operation Hydration has commenced, and I’ve promised myself that I’m going to drink at least a gallon of water every day.
  • Not enough of cowbell. We all need a little more cowbell in our lives.

5.  I had an interesting conversation with one of my distance coaching clients who happened to make the trip up to CP this past weekend (with two of his clients).  He was curious as to what I do as far as measurements with my fat-loss clients, and he was surprised to hear me state that I don’t really go out of my way to do any skip caliper testing,  electrical impedance, or the like.

Sure, I do it from time to time (mainly only if it’s requested), but for all intents and purposes, I avoid it like the plague.

My thought process is this:  I want people to focus on the performance side of things.  One of the last things I want to do is make it so that someone’s only sense of accomplishment is boiled down to a freakin skip caliper test.  On numerous occasions I’ve had clients who, in the span of several weeks, went from not being able to perform a body-weight reverse lunge without falling over, to well, not falling over, to breaking PRs left and right.  Too, they improved on EVERY lift in terms of their quality movement and the amount of weight they were able to use.

And yes, they also started eating more veggies, thank you very much.

Moreover, they felt infinitely better from a mobility standpoint, and I could sense their confidence levels sky-rocketing.  Unfortunately, in the past, this was all for naught if they weren’t somehow satisfied with what the caliper told them; or if the impedance test wasn’t what they expected.

All the hard work they put in basically went down the drain.  All because they weren’t able to see the bigger picture.

To that end, today, I don’t really go out of my way to take “measurements” with my fat-loss clients.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m going out of my way to educate them.  I teach them why saturated fat isn’t their worst nightmare, or why they should emphasis eating more protein, or why steady state cardio probably shouldn’t be their first choice in terms of effective exercise.  Trust me, they’re learning.

I’m just not a fan of allowing one simple test dictate their progress.  Like I said, I want them to see the bigger picture, and I feel relying solely on ONE thing is a dangerous slope to walk on.

And that’s it for today.  I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on this last point.  Just to cover my own butt, though.  It’s NOT that I’m against using quantifiable measurements, and it’s NOT that I never take them.  I just don’t like setting a tone where people feel like the end-all-be-all of progress is dictated by what a piece of plastic tells them.

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Mistakes Skinny Guys Make: Flipflopitis

Note:  This is the fourth installment of an on-going “series” (rants would be appropriate) designed to give skinny guys the a little dose of tough love, or what I like to call “the dealo.”   In case you missed the first few posts, you can click HERE, HERE, and HERE.

The great Dan John came up with a phrase not too long ago that really resonated with me, and it’s something I feel every person who’s remotely interested in this thing called “fitness” should make their mantra.

Tape it to your bathroom mirror.

Write it on a sticky note and slap it on your fridge.

Make it your ringtone for all I care.  But no matter what, remember this:

Your goal is to keep the goal, the goal.

And really, while I’m going to expound on this as it relates to skinny guys below, this “rule” pretty much applies to anyone whether your goal is to lose 15 lbs of fat by the end of the year, increase your squat by “x” amount, or, I don’t know, make it so that when you flex your pecs, they turn into diamonds (cool party trick by the way).  It doesn’t matter:  your goal is to keep the goal, the goal.

And that’s where people (especially skinny guys) miss the boat oftentimes, and end up falling prey to this thing called flipflopitis.

One week “skinny guy” decides, once and for all (again), that he’s going to make a concerted effort to put on some weight.  Except this time, it’s going to be different.  This time, he’s printed out his workout schedule (cool); he’s recruited a buddy of his to train with to hold him more accountable (great); and he even went to his local GNC and bought some MassGainerPro 3000, to you know, get his massgainernification on (okay, I’ll let that one slide.)

Week One:  Amazing.  He and his buddy hit every training session hard, pounded some protein shakes afterwards, and they even said hi to a girl.  Win-win-and-wiiiiiiiiiin.

Week Two:  Still getting after it.  It’s been a chore trying to get all those extra calories in, but he’s already noticed a 4 lb weight gain, and the workouts are still going really well.

Week Three:  And then it happens.  The conversation that invariably goes down at the same point each and every time:

Skinny Guy:  “Dude, I know I’m getting stronger and stuff, but I think I’m losing my abs.”

Skinny Guy’s Buddy:  “Dude, uou weigh 155 lbs, dude.  Shut up.”

Skinny Guy:  “Naw man, I’m serious.  I got out of the shower today and noticed I’m looking a little fatter.”

Skinny Guy’s Buddy:  “First off, those  ‘abs’ you proclaim you have?  Yeah, that’s actually your spleen.  Secondly, DUDE YOU WEIGH 155 LBS!!!!!!  Just shut up and lets go lift some heavy things.”

Skinny Guy:  “Can’t do it today, dude.  I decided I was going to train for a marathon last night.  Got run a fiver today.  See ya.”

Now tell me that that doesn’t sound vaguely familiar!?!?!  I see it all the time:  trainees flip flopping their goals every few weeks and then they wonder why they NEVER make any progress in the long-term.  Like, ever.

Personally speaking, I used to be that skinny guy.  I’d peruse the world wide web (which is what it was called back then) and search for workout routines to follow.  I’d pick one, follow it for a week or two, only to dismiss it altogether once I found a different program to follow the next week.

It wasn’t until I said “enough is enough,” and I legitimately picked a goal (in this case, put on some freaking weight.  I would have gone with become a fighter pilot, but I had to be realistic) laid out an extensive plan, and ACTUALLY FOLLOWED IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH that I started making the progress I had always hoped for.

Essentially, I cured my case of flipflopitis and good things started to happen.

I mean, it’s kind of hard to gauge progress – let alone make progress – when you’re consistently confusing the body as to what you actually want it to do!

If you want to put on weight – and subsequently, size – you need to make sure that your training reflects that goal.  It seems like an obvious point when someone else says it, but it’s amazing just how many people fail to grasp that simple concept.

SPOILER ALERT:  stop running.  No, really.  Stop.

So, with regards to skinny guys, while I could make this into a more thorough post, I’m sure the bulk of people reading are picking up what I’m putting down.  Stop it with the flip-flopping!

And, put down the shake-weight.  That’s not going to get you huge, either.

 

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Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 10/20/11

Quick Note:  I was a little tardy in getting yesterday’s post out, so for those who missed it, click HERE.  I’m not going to say it will change your life, but it pretty much will.

Also, again, I apologize for the site being “glitchy” the past few days.  I promise you that my boy, Jason, is doing everything in his power to fix all the issues as promptly as he can.  I appreciate your patience!

How the Fitness Industry Talks to Women – Emily Giza Socolinsky

Emily contacted me via Facebook a few weeks ago and left the following message:

I wanted to share with you one of my latest posts, actually a rant about the fitness industry and some of the crap it is selling to women these days. You were my inspiration in writing this piece. Thanks again!

I only just read it this morning, and all I have to say is, Emily is my new hero.  Without question, this is one of THE best posts I have read on the topic, and I have to commend Emily for calling BS on the industry.

Flirty Girl Fitness. Bad Kitty Sassy Fitness. Yoga Booty Ballet.  All are one in the same in my book, and all do nothing but placate many of the myths and misconceptions concerning women and fitness that I (and many others) are routinely trying to fight.

Emily, if I could give you a high-five right now, I totally would.  Well done!!!!!!

My Top 10 Strength and Conditioning Mistakes – Eric Cressey

This is the 3rd FREE webinar Eric Cressey has released this week, and it covers ten of the more common pitfalls that he (along with a multitude of other coaches out there I’m sure) encountered along the way in his journey as a coach and athlete.

He even goes out of his way to use me as a perfect example as someone who’s incredibly good-looking, charming, and intelligent stubborn with regards to training goals.**

Eric’s kind of smart, you should listen to him.

** For the record, though, Eric, I have a 570 lb deadlift.  Not 560……;o)

Myths and Facts About Your Lipid Profile – Jim LaValle, RPh, MS, CCN, Master Jedi – Level 4

You know that 2nd cousin of yours that you only see at family reunions that annoys the living hell out of you?  Yeah, the one where you’d rather listen to whales raping each other than listen to him go on and on and on about his job, his car, or I don’t know, his fantasy football team?  Or, you know how when you get that annoying twitch in your eye, and it just won’t go away no matter what you do?  It sucks, right?

Well, that’s exactly how I feel whenever I hear people go on a tangent about how bad cholesterol (and as such, red meat, eggs, and butter) is for our health.

Here’s a hint:  50% of people who die from heart disease have LOW CHOLESTEROL LEVELS!!!!  It’s not JUST cholesterol that’s a risk factor, chief.  You also have to take into account things like types of fat (trans-fat) and carbohydrates eaten (highly processed crap, for example), trigylceride levels, stress/inflammation, LDL profile (particle size), and being a Yankee fan.  True story.

And that’s all she wrote for today folks.  Check back tomorrow, where I plan on continuing with my Mistakes Skinny Guys Make series.

 

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Exercises You Should Be Doing: Multi-Planar Hip Activation Drill

Back in the day – circa 1993-1995 (which, coincidentally, is when hip hop actually didn’t suck.  RIP Biggie) – every morning, before school, my alarm would go off around 5 AM, I’d kick the covers off and trudge downstairs to the basement to do more morning routine:

500 sit-ups (I know.  Relax.  I was 15, and didn’t know any better)
100 push-ups
150-200 dry cuts with the baseball bat
50-75 dry-runs going through my wind-up to work on my pitching mechanics

As it closer to the baseball season, I’d even take the early bus to school so that I could use the gymnasium to play catch with whomever I could bribe into doing so.  Usually, though, it ended up just being me. throwing against the wall by myself.  I was pretty cool back then.

Did I like doing it?  Not really.  I didn’t necessarily “like” getting up at the butt-crack of dawn…in the dead of winter….in Icantfeeltheleftsideofmyfacebecauseitssocold, NY…but I did it anyways.  Why?  Because I knew, in the long-run, it would make me better.  And, deep down inside, I kinda liked the notion that there probably weren’t that many other dudes my age doing the same thing.  Hey, I didn’t watch the Rocky IV training montage 377 times for nothing!

And, while I’m sure many people reading didn’t go to quite the extremes as I did growing up, it’s no secret that life, for the most part, is rife with things we don’t like doing, but do anyways, because we know, in our heart of hearts, it will bode in favor in long-run.

We pay taxes so that we can bail Wall Street for being a bunch of a-holes our roads get paved.

We donate blood, even though needles give us the heebie jeebies.

We tip the waitress 20%, even though our food was cold.  Bitch.

We watch The Notebook (again), because it makes our girlfriend’s happy.

We don’t double dip, because well, that’s just gross

Likewise, much of the same can be said when it comes to training and nutrition.  I’ve gone on record numerous times as saying that, generally speaking, people like to do what they’re good at and what’s easy.  Bicep curls are a helluva lot easier than front squats.  Heading to Papa John’s for “Half-Price Tuesdays” is a lot more convenient than grilling up some grass fed beef with sauteed vegetables.

Additionally, people tend to skip what they deem is least important.  Take the dynamic warm-up for example.  How many of you can honestly look me in the eyes and say, unequivocally, that you go through an ENTIRE warm-up from start to finish before EVERY training session?

Yeah, I thought so.

It’s okay, I forgive you. I skip them, too.  Sometimes.  But keeping that thought in mind, today I want to showcase a drill that I feel provides a lot of bang for our warm-up buck.

What Is It:  Multi-Planar Hip Activation Drill(s)

Who Did I Steal It From:  None other than Quinnipiac University strength coach, Brijesh Patel.

What Does It Do:  A lot of dysfunction and imbalances can be attributed to the hips.  And, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise given there are upwards of 30+ muscles that attach to the pelvis alone.  I’d list them all here, but I’m too lazy, and well, that’s what Google is for.

Speaking specifically, though, the glute max, and to a lesser (albeit important) degree, the glute medius tend to get most of the attention when it comes to hip activation drills, and rightfully so!  They’re both kind of a big deal in terms of playing major roles in overall hip function.

Succinctly (because the hips are a fairly complex cornucopia of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia), one of the more popular corrective/activation movements are side lying clams.  I talked about this drill briefly HERE, but my man Mike Robertson wrote an excellent blog not too long ago that discusses them in more detail HERE.

As much as I LOVE this drill, I think it’s rather self-limiting in the sense that it doesn’t take into account the more dynamic nature of life.  Now, don’t get me wrong, pretty much everyone needs to start with side lying clams –and perform them correctly –  before moving on to something more advanced.  But once there, I feel that the multi-planar drill(s) demonstrated below are a nice progression moving forward.

Hip Activation Phase I

What I love about this variation is that it challenges both the glute max and glute medius to do one of their main jobs, which is to CONTROL the femur in multiple planes of motion (saggital, frontal, and transverse).

Moreover, another benefit to this drill is that it really challenges the small, intrinsic muscles at the bottom of the feet which tend to be woefully weak and inactive given the footwear we wear on a daily basis.

1.  To start, take your shoes off for the love of god.  Stand on one leg – in this instance the left – and move place the non-standing leg slightly behind you.

2.  Be sure to keep the brunt of your weight in your back heel.  Basically, you don’t want to shift too far forward into your toes.

3.  Hold this position for 5-10 seconds.

4.  From there, we want to work in the frontal plane, so we’ll move the non-standing leg to the side.  Again, hold this position for 5-10 seconds.

5.  Lastly, rotate THROUGH THE HIPS as far as you can without tipping over (and without compensating with your lumbar spine), and you guessed it, hold for 5-10 seconds.  This one should be fairly challenging.

6.  Repeat the same sequence, albeit on the opposite leg.

Multi-Planar Hip Activation (Phase II)

In phase II, we’re going to do the exact same sequence as above, except now, instead of holding for time, we’re going to add movement.

Again, to reiterate, try to keep your weight back in your toes and not in your forefoot.  Too, if you can, try to keep your non-standing foot off the floor throughout the duration of the drill – but it’s not the end of the world if you can’t.  “Gathering” yourself by placing the foot down on the floor in between reps is perfectly acceptable.

Here, with each sequence (Saggital = foot going foward, Frontal = foot going to the side, Transverse = foot rotating), 5-6 reps/each/per leg should suffice.

Multi-Planar Hip Activation (Phase III)

Increasing the badassery even more, in Phase III, we can start to add a reach into the mix.

Here, much like in Phase II, 5-6 reps/each/per leg will be plenty.

As you assuredly noticed by watching me perform them, it ain’t easy.  Ideally, I’d suggest mastering one phase before moving on to the next.  Obviously, some people will progress faster than others, but I implore you to not be an asshat and just go straight to phase III.  Seriously, don’t do it.

Try adding these in as part of your general dynamic warm-up and let me know what you think!

 

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Pros and Joes: More Similar Than You Think!

Note:  We recently converted my blog back to Word Press, so the layout may seem a little funky for the time-being.  Hopefully soon we’ll fix the glitches.  Sorry!

In addition, I have a dentist appointment (ugh) in like 45 minutes, and I’m kinda strapped for time.  Luckily, though, my boy EC came through with some top-notch content today.  Enjoy!

It’s no secret that we train a lot of professional athletes at Cressey Performance.  But what a lot people fail to realize is that we also train a plethora (my big word for the day) of “regular” people who, much like our athletes, are just as interested in tapping into their inner Spartan, kicking down a few doors, getting after it, and lifting some heavy things – all in an effort to attain a productive training environment without getting hurt.

Some stats to consider, however:

82% of people walking around out there have disc bulges or herniation at one level.  38% at two levels

27% have vertebral fractures

34% have rotator cuff tears

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Suffice it to say, whether or job is to throw 95 MPH heaters or sit there and trade TPS Reports, people are walking around pretty jacked up.  And, it’s no secret that as we get older we tend to see more more degenerative changes in the body, which can oftentimes throw a monkey wrench into things from a training stand point.  I mean, I’m only 34, and there are times where I look back at what I used to do back in my college days, and a small piece of my soul dies.

Vertical leg press?  Really, Tony?

As such, it only makes sense that we’d want programming that allows us to train, not to mention make progress –  regardless of what our goals may be:  lose a few lbs of fat, run a half-marathon, bench press a tank, whatever – without running the risk of injuring ourselves further.  Or, put another way:  having the ability to train long-term without helping to pay-off some physical therapist’s mortgage.

That said, my good friend and business partner, Eric Cressey, just released a few videos (webinars, actually) that should set the record straight, and prove fairly valuable to those reading who are consistently frustrated as to why they’re not:

  • Getting Stronger
  • Getting Leaner
  • Adding Muscle
  • Becoming More Athletic
  • Staying HEALTHY!

At the end of the day, it comes to programming.  There are a plethora (HA, again) of factors than come into play, but it stands to reason that if you’re not utilizing a program that addresses things like foam rolling, dynamic warm-up, structural balance, corrective exercise, actually getting stronger, etc, then you’re probably better off beating your head against the wall.

If any of this rings a bell or sounds vaguely familiar (yeah, I’m talking to you), I’d HIGHLY encourage you to click the link below and get your learn on.

CLICK ME <==== You Know You Want To!

 

 

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Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 10/11/11

Two things before I get started:

1.  I want to wish my lovely sister, Cheri, a Happy 40th today!!!!  I love you, and I’m sorry I used to leave thumb tacks outside your bedroom door when we were younger.  Yeah, that was me.  My bad.  What can I say:  how else was I going to retaliate for making me watch Dirty Dancing for the upteenth time?

Well…..I’ve……had…..the time of my life………and I’ve never felt this way before………

Noooooooooooooooooo

In all seriousness, though, happy b-day!

2.  After catching our sixth mouse since we moved in our new apartment in June, Lisa and I decided to nip things in the bud and adopt a cat.  Yes, you read that correctly, I now have a cat.  Yes, I realize this is about as manly as peeing sitting down, and I’ll most likely have to hand in my man-card at some point.  So be it.

I’d rather have a cat, than mice.

That said, I narrowed the cat’s name down to a few choices:  Rambo, Mr. T, or Chuck Norris.

It’s a tough call, but I’ll let everyone know my decision soon.  Wait, what was that babe?  The cat’s what?  Female?

Noooooooooooooooooo

Pics to follow shortly.  Once she comes out from underneath the couch, that is.  Poor thing.

And now, I need to get to work.  I have a t-nation article that’s due by the end of the week, so I need to get my butt in gear.  Here’s some stuff to read:

A Better, Stronger Body in 4 Weeks – Jim “Smitty” Smith

Before you start contemplating on whether or not you should start adding chains to your bench press, how about just learning to do a push-up correctly?  Or, I don’t know, follow the simple principle of progressive overload. Smitty brings it back to the basics, which for most, is EXACTLY what they need.

Interview With Tony Gentilcore – Michael Gray

For the record, that’s not me. I just wanted to post a random pic of my man-crush, Matt Damon

Part I

Part II

This is an interview I did for personal trainer Michael Gray (who you might remember from THIS) over on his website not too long ago.  To his credit, he’s been asking me to do an interview for him for months now, and I FINALLY was able to sit down and answer a few questions pertaining to topics like fat loss and program design.  I thought it came out pretty well.

Kipping Pull-Up Fail

And because it’s hilarious, here’s some random dude getting pwned while performing kipping pull-ups.  The take home message?  Friends don’t let friends perform kipping pull-ups.

UPDATE:  We named her (our cat) Dagny.  Anyone get the reference?

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Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Columbus Day Edition

Even though it’s a national holiday here in the States (Columbus Day), I’m still providing some sense of content.  I’m awesome.

1.  First and foremost, I wanted to give a “I do say so kind sir, well done” to one of my online clients – Gareth – who kicked some butt this past weekend competing in the All Englands 2011 Powerlifting Meet.  All told, he not only broke personal bests in the squat and deadiift (he would have hit a bench PR, too, if not for a nagging elbow), but he also broke his best TOTAL, like ever.

I couldn’t be more proud of the little bugger.  Gareth was actually traveling for business in the States last week, and one of his pit-stops just so happened to be in Boston.   As such, he made the trip put to CP, and we were able to not only spend some time dialing in on his technique, but he also managed to have a spot of tea (which means “hang out” here in the US) with our very own Tim Collins.

Can you pick which one is a Major League baseball player and a English National Champion powerlifter?

Anyways, nice job Gareth!!  Tell Pippa I said hello.

2.  My friend and colleague, Nick Tumminello, just released his latest product, Angled Barbell Training – The Best Landmine Exercises, this past weekend.

Unlike anyone else I know, Nick has an uncanny ability for thinking outside of the box.  I swear you could give him nothing more than a safety pin, a roll of duct tape, and half a block of chalk, and he’d come up with at least 17 different exercises you could do that will have you squatting a mack truck by next week.

This DVD is no different, and just goes to show why Nick is such a well respected coach.

If you order the ABT DVD before Sunday, Oct 15th at 12 midnight, you’ll:

– Save $20 off of the normal retail price
– AND, Get FREE SHIPPING!
– AND, Get an exclusive discount code, which gets you 40% off future Performance U DVD order
– AND, receive 7 FREE BONUS VIDEOS on Angled Barbell Training!

Sounds like a win-win-win-win in my book.

3.  A few weeks ago I wrote about an Ah-HA moment I had, where I essentially came to the conclusion that if I ever wanted to hit this 600 lb DL that’s been alluding me, some things needed to change in my programming.  Namely:  the fact that I do waaaaaaaaay too much volume.

As a result, I decided I was going to do a little experiment:

Week 1:  hit a heavy single (not necessarily a PR, but close enough to where I might shit a spleen)

Week 2:  hit another heavy single – albeit heavier than the week prior

Week 3:  same

Week 4:  no deadlifting.  Instead, give the spine a little break and just focus on accessory work.

If at any point within the first three weeks I DO NOT surpass the previous week’s number, I’d take a week off from heavy pulling.

So far, the plan is working beautifully.  In all honesty, I haven’t pulled anything more than 550 lbs since earlier this Spring – mainly because I’ve just always felt rundown or otherwise beat up.

With this little experiment of mine in full swing, however, I’ve been killing it.  Just to give you an idea, here’s what my actual past two weeks have looked like in terms of my heavy pulling day:

Week 1:

A.  Work up to heavy single (conventional)

135 x 5, 225×3, 315×3, 405×1, 455×1, 500×1, 550×1 (smoked it)

*** 405 x 8 (just to get some quality reps in)

B1.  GCB GoodMornings 4×5 (last set, worked up to 355×5)
B2.  Reverse Crunch 3×10

C1.  DB Reverse Lunge
C2.  Standing Cable Anti-Rotation Chop 3×8/side

D.  Some easy Prowler Pushes 3×1 (20 yds)

Week 2:

A.  Work up to heavy single (but the goal being to BEAT the previous week’s number)

135×5, 225×3, 315×3, 405×1, 455×1, 495×1, 560×1 (felt pretty good!!!)

*** DId not do any additional back-off sets

B1.  GCB GoodMornings 3×8 (last set had 315 on the bar)
B2.  Reverse Crunch 3×10

C1.  DB Bulgarian Split Squats 3×8/leg
C2.  Hand Switches with Push-Up 3×5/side

D.  Easy Prowler Push 3×1 (20 yds)

This week, I’m going to try to hit 575-580, which will be an actual PR. <–For Reals

I’ll be sure to post a video later this week when I hit it.

4.  And lastly, Lisa and I watched a really great documentary this past weekend:  Conan O’Brien:  Can’t Stop

In essence, the film chronicals the events after Conan got “fired” from The Tonight Show and the subsequent 6-month time frame when he was contractually prohibited from appearing on television in any way, shape, or form.

For those who are Conan fans (like myself) it was a really interesting look behind the scenes.  For those who have no idea who Conan is, you should watch this (it’s arguably one of the funniest skits he ever did).

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Adapt, Darwin, I Ching. Whatever Man, We Gotta Roll With It

For those wondering what’s the deal with the funky blog title today, it’s a quote from one of my favorite (and arguably one the most underrated movies in the past ten years), Collateral.

Keep reading, I promise there’s a message involved.

In it, Tom Cruise’s character (Vincent) plays an assassin who “recruits” a random cabbie – Jamie Fox’s charcter (Max) – to drive him around for one night as he goes around LA killing people that he’s been contracted to do.

I won’t give away any details (other than Jamie’s character dies.  Just kidding), but one of the main themes throughout the movie is adapting to the situation.  Things aren’t always going to go as planned, and sometimes, you just have to learn to roll with the punches and go with plan B.

Similarily, yesterday I was having a conversation with one of our athletes – Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect, Tim Gustafson – and he mentioned how, when he was with the Atlanta Braves organization, John freaking Smoltz used to stop by and talk shop with a lot of the minor leagues and state that no matter who you are you’re never going to figure everything out, you’re never going to know everything, you’re never going to be perfect, and those who don’t learn how to adapt to the situation are generally the ones that don’t make it too far in professional sports.

Now, I never played professional baseball, but I held my own back in the day as a collegiate pitcher, and I can speak from personal experience that on some days had “it,” while on others, well, I sucked donkey balls.  And, it was on those days when I knew I didn’t have my best stuff that I had to adapt to the situation, and make the best of it.  Usually it panned out.  Sometimes, though, I’d throw an 0-2 curveball to the clean-up hitter and give up a three-run homerun that people are still saying hasn’t landed yet.  Shit happens.

Accordingly, I couldn’t help but notice that many of the same themes and concepts that Tim and I had discussed (as well as those in the movie) paralleled what we see in the strength and conditioning community as well.  Although I’ve touched on this topic in the past, I can’t help but be amazed when trainers and coaches never change their point of view on ANYTHING.

For some (certainly not all), their program is their program.   That’s that.  Deal with it.

They’ve used the same system for a decade, using the same exercises, the same set/rep schemes, the same progressions, the same broken record without really taking into consideration that the industry is constantly evolving and changing.

With this in mind, I did a little experiment last night and went back and perused some older programs I wrote a few years ago.  I wanted to see how long it would take me before I felt the urge to throw up a little in my mouth.  Needless to say, it didn’t take long.

I noticed one instance where I programmed some kind of hip flexor stretching for EVERYONE – assuming, of course, that because most people sit all day, they ALL needed it.  95% of the time, this is true.  But tell that to the one person who may have anterior hip instability (or, snapping hip syndrome).  Nice one, Tony!

Now, I am in no way insinuating that there shouldn’t be some semblence of continuity in one’s programming.  But to say that a program should never evolve or change is a bit pigheaded, and is something that I feel is an EPIC fail on the part of many coaches and trainers who fail to see the big picture.

As an example, two years ago, we were all about sleeper stretches for most (if not all) of our baseball guys.

As such, you would have been hard pressed to see a program that didn’t include them to some capacity – whether it was part of their pre-work, used as a filler exercise, or done on their own at the end of their training session.

Fast forward to today, and we’ve almost done a complete 180.  After some experimentation, as well as insights from people like Mike Reinold, we concluded that we can use better alternatives to improve internal rotation (assuming that it’s actually needed) without actually cranking down on the shoulder itself.

Alternatives like the Side Lying Crossbody Stretch work appropriately:

But more importantly, working on one’s breathing patterns has a HUGE influence as well.  We can achieve upwards of 5-10 degrees MORE internal rotation without even touching the shoulder.

The point is, we tweaked our line of thinking – and as such, our programming – to reflect the fact that we’re constantly changing our approach and ALWAYS trying to improve.   Trust me, you’re not that big of a deal where this doesn’t apply to you.  If someone like Mike Boyle or Dan John can admit when they’re wrong and are ALWAYS evolving, you can too.

Adapt, Darwin, I Ching.

Have a nice weekend everyone.  Go Yankees!  Oh wait………..LOL!

Also, just a friendly reminder that Mike Robertson’s Complete Core Fitness is on sale through midnight tonight (10/7).  TODAY is the last day you can purchase it at the discounted price of $30 off.  Holla!

For those who missed my review, Click HERE.

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Q and A: These Are a Few Of My Favorite Things

Q:  I know trainers (including myself) hate questions like “Hey bro, so like, if you could only do one exercise for the rest of your life what would it be?”, so I won’t ask you that question.  But how about one that is similar, but possibly not quite as frustrating to answer? 

As a trainer, what are your favorite lifts for each of the following body parts?

^^^ Yes, that’s a picture from The Sound of Music on this blog (that just happened)

A:  Deadlifts, my friend.  Deadlifts are the answer to everything……;o)  If more people deadlifted, the world would be a happier place – and possibly have less type II diabetes.  I have no way to back that statement up, but I’m running with it.

As a coach, I rarely (if ever) think of exercises in the context of what muscles they target.  Rather, I’m more concerned with differentiating and improving movement patterns.  Squat, hip hinge, horizontal press, horizontal row, vertical press, veritcal pull, single leg stance, and you know, bicep curls.

But, to answer your question – see below:

Shoulders – The obvious answer here is overhead pressing.  The thing is, though, for me, people have to earn the right to overhead press.  It’s not that I have anything against overhead pressing, or think it’s inherently dangerous – far from it in fact.  It’s just as a whole, we move like poop.  For most, we spend a vast majority of our days sitting in front of the computer, which compromises stuff like glute function, and more importantly, t-spine moblity.

Do me a favor:  round your back and then try to lift your arms over your head.  Kind of hard, right?  Well, this is something that a lot of people can’t do, and the last thing I want is for them to head to their local globo gym and try to do any overhead pressing.  More often than not, they’re just going to end up hurting themselves.

That being said, assuming one is “cleared” to safely overhead press, I’m reluctant to toss in a lot of additional direct shoulder work because, frankly, the shoulders take enough of a beating with all the pressing (and rowing) people perform throughout the week.  But, in short, things like strict military presses, 1-arm DB push presses, and the like would be great pumpkin builders.

Chest – Seems how I’m an absolute god-awful (read:  really bad) bencher, I’m going to go against popular notion and say loaded push-ups here.  Anyone who says push-ups are too wimpy, clearly has never been to Cressey Performance.  I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had grown men come in who couldn’t do a proper push-up, let alone for reps.

I just feel you get more for your training buck with push-ups.  Not only can you sexify your pecs, but you’ll also learn to engage your core, and they’re waaaaaay more shoulder friendly to boot.

Back – I’ve stated this in the past, but nothing is more of a clear indicator that someone has put their time in under the iron than when he (or she) walks around with an impressive upper back.  Take personal trainer and manual therapist, Rachel Guy, for example:

Do you think she built that body by doing pilates and lifting pink dumbbells?  Ummmmmm, no.

In terms of upper back development, deadlifts really do reign supreme here.  Nothing, and I mean NOTHING makes my upper back more sore than when I do sets of heavy deadlifts.  Some other favs would include chest supported rows, as well as various chin-ups/pull-ups.  But they all play second fiddle to deadlifts.

 

Quads – Easy, full depth squats.  Of course, this begs the question:  what entails “full depth” squats.  For me, the anterior surface of the thigh must go past parallel in order for it to count.  Although, to be fair, not everyone is suited (or ready) to step into the gym on day #1 and squat to depth.  In that case, I’m perfectly fine with regressing the movement to a range of motion that’s safe for the trainee.  Regardless, if we want to turn into Quadzilla, you need to squat.  And you need to squat deep.

Hamstrings – My first inclination will be to say goodmornings, since speaking from a personal perspective, they are an awesome accessory movement that not only develop impressive hamstrings but also carry over very well to the deadlift.  It’s a fairly advanced movement, however, and I’m reluctant to just haphazardly recommend them to just anyone due to the high “I’ll shit my spleen” factor.

Soooooo, instead, my “safer” choice will be the 1-Legged Romananian Deadlift.

Glutes – Bret Contreras pretty much settled this debate long ago.  You’d be hard pressed to find any exercise that hammers your glutes more than loaded barbell bridges.

Abs – Easy, stepping away from the cookie jar.

Full Disclosure:  I am in no way condoning body part splits here; lets not get too carried away here…..hahahahaha.  Again, I think of things more in the context of movement patterns rather than what muscles are being hit.  But, nevertheless, shooting from the hip, these are what I came up with.  Feel free to chime in and offer your two cents below!

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Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 10/5/11

I actually slept in this morning – OMG!  Normally I’m up between 6-6:30, but today I slept in until eight, and I *cue jazz hands* feel faaaaaaaaaaaaaaabulous.

Of course, I had good reason to sleep in.  I spent two and half hours yesterday at the dentist getting a deep cleaning as well as having my very first cavity filled.  I left not being able to feel the left side of my face (weird), and then I high-tailed it out to CP for an Open House we were hosting for local parents and athletes.  We had an amazing turn-out, with close to 90-100 people showing up to listen to a bunch of our pro-baseball guys talk about their experiences playing college ball and their transition to professional baseball.   As an added bonus, the guys at New Balance were there filming and Kansas City reliever, Tim Collins, threw a live bullpen which was the best thing since sliced bread for many of the younger kids who were in attendance.

All in all, it was an awesome night topped off with an all-you-can-eat-fajita-fest hosted by the Cresey’s afterwards.  By this time the novacaine had wore off and I had my appetite back, so I basically drove back home in insulin coma.

So with the late start, I’m kind of in a rush this morning answering emails and gettting my day planned, so here’s some stuff to read to keep you occupied:

5 Surprising Health Myths – Adam Bornstein

While Adam did a bang-up job debunking some fairly common misconceptions that are still prevalent in today’s media, the best part was reading the comments section.  Which is to say, I had to stave off the sudden urge to want to jump off a cliff.  It still blows me away that so many people are programmed to think that saturated fat is bad for them.  Ignorance is bliss, right?

Lets set the record straight here:  sticking your finger in an electrical socket = bad.  Eggs = good.  Got it?  Good!

Exercise Doesn’t Work For Fat Loss? – Alwyn Cosgrove

If there’s one thing that Alwyn is a master off – outside of scissor kicks to the face – it’s taking research and dissecting it to the point that it makes the actual researchers look about as intelligent as a ham sandwich.

What I Love About Training – Mike Anderson

Mike is a local trainer here in Boston that I’ve gotten to know recently, and he sent me this post that I felt was spot on.  In short, you get out what you put in.  It’s as simple as that.