Peanut Butter and Jelly

Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch

Beef and Red Wine

The Situation and General Douchebaggery

< ==== Kyra Gracie and My Dreams

All of the above, as different as they are, tend to be pairings that make sense.  When you think of one, it’s hard not to think of the other.

Writing programs, however – whether for a deconditioned weekend warrior, a 14 year old freshman in high school, or an elite athlete –  lends itself to a wide variety of pairings that just don’t make any sense.

The more programs you write, the better you get (obviously); but in addition to that, and probably of more relevance, the more programs you write, you kind of get a “feel” for what works and what’s utter crap.

Speaking personally, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve programmed something which, in theory, looked good on paper, only to scratch it altogether once I witnessed how much of a walking ball of fail it was trying to implement it with my clients or athletes.

Having said that, below are some random, acute programming variables that in my experience, don’t make a lot of sense.  Are they revolutionary?  Hell no.  But, in the end, I hope they at least get people to start thinking more critically about what they program and WHY.

1.  High Reps and Beginners – I get why most trainers and coaches feel that using high(er) rep protocols are the way to go when working with a newbie.  You want to build tissue tolerance and strengthen the soft tissue – namely tendons and ligaments.  Thing is though, oftentimes, once a beginner gets past the 5-8 rep range, technique usually starts to get a little dicey.  And that’s putting it lightly.

I rarely (if ever) go above the five rep range when teaching a beginner how to squat, bench, or deadlift.  Accessory movements (later in the training session) are completely different, and I’ll definitely go with a higher reps then.  But, all told, when I’m teaching someone a more complex and neurally challenging movement like a deadlift for instance, I want to ensure that every rep is perfect.

And the only way I can ensure that is by keeping the reps (and load) low.

I’m sorry, but having a complete beginner who has the movement quality of a pregnant pig perform 15-20 rep sets is not going to accomplish anything remotely beneficial.  All that’s going to do is engrain piss-poor motor patterns, and in all likelihood, result in something bad happening.

What’s more, and this is a REAL pet peeve of mine:  anyone who calls their program a “strength training” program and it includes 20 rep sets of anything is a complete moron.  That’s really all I have to say on that.  Stop it.  Now.

2.  (Front) Squats and (Horizontal) Pulling Exercises – getting a little more detailed, this is one pairing that I see a lot of trainers make.  Lets say I have someone performing some front squats.  While front squats are a fantastic exercise that targets the lower body, what often gets the shaft is the fact that they’re also hammering the upper back as well.

Because the bar is anteriorly loaded in FRONT of the body (and not the back), there’s a pretty signifcant anti-flexion component that forces that upper back muscles and stabilizers to go into overdrive.

Why, then, would you want to pair this exercise with a pulling exercise (like seated rows) which will only fatigue the upper back muscles even more?

Instead, if you’re going to pair this exercise with anything, I’d do one of the following:

• Push-up variation
• Filler exercise – some sort of low grade mobility or activation drill that they can do while resting.  Something along the lines of a supine bridge with reach perhaps?

Note:  yes, that’s THE Eric Cressey riding a foam rolling pony to tooltown.

3.  Deadlifts and Any Exercise That Challenges Grip  –  Deadlifts (an exercise that requires a lot of grip strength, and is generally the limiting factor for many trainees) paired with another exercise that requires a tremendous amount of grip strength = not very smart.  Granted, with more advanced trainees there’s a little more wiggle room.  But for a beginner?   Not so much.

Much like the example given above, I’m more prone to pair deadlifts with some sort of filler exercise or maybe some core exercise like Pallof Presses or something like prone plate switches:

To be clear, this isn’t to say that pairing two exercises that challenge the grip is wrong – but, in most cases, it’s just not ideal.

4.  Alicia Keys and Swizz Beats – okay, okay, not an exercise pairing, but something that’s perplexing nonetheless.

I don’t get it:  on one end you have a guy who’s a world reknowned record producer and makes more money in his sleep than most people make in a year.  And on the other, you have a “kind of a big deal” strength coach who drives a Hyundai Elantra and can recite the entire dialogue of The Empire Strikes Back…….in Klingon.

Tomato <—-> Tomahto.  Frankly, I don’t get it.  Seems like a clear cut choice to me.

Have any pairings you feel don’t make sense?  Share them below!

Ever have one of those mornings where you suddenly wake up, roll over to look at clock, and while for a split second you hold onto that smidgeon of hope that you’ll have at least another hour to sleep in, that feeling quickly dissipates once you realize the actual time and you can do nothing but resist the urge to throw your clock through the window?

Yeah, I had tha kind oft morning.  And yeah, that was probably a run-on sentence above, but whatever.

So, I took the bus back to Boston from Manhattan last night, Lisa picked me up at the bus station, and once we were home, I essentially catapaulted myself into bed.

What can I say:  I had an AWESOME weekend in New York City attending the Peak Training and Diet Program Design seminar hosted by both Joe Dowdell and Dr. Mike Roussell (what goes on in NYC, stays in NYC, right?).  Two days of straight up knowledge bombs – with Joe discussing everything and anything relating to program design, and Dr. Mike doing much of the same with regards to nutrition.

All told there were roughly 90+ fitness professionals in attendance (the biggest turn-out in Peak Performance history), and I think I can speak for everyone who attended that the Peak staff did an oustanding job at organizing such an outstanding event.

I actually started writing down a few thoughts about the event on my way home last night while on the bus, so rest assured, I’ll be posting that up at some point this week.  But, in the meantime, just know that:

1.  Joe left no stone un-turned with regards to program design.  The guy has read everything and been everywhere (even sharing a story of how he slept on the late Dr. Mel Siff’s basement floor for four days) during the past 17 years of his carreer, and the depth of knowledge he has is freaking impressive!  He’s like the Gandalf of strength and conditioning.  Except, in his case, he has bigger biceps, and dates a Russian model.

Joe Dowdell:  2, Gandalf:  0

I’m not kidding when I say the binder of information he gave all the attendees would rival the phone book of most small U.S cities in terms of thickness.

2.  Likewise, Dr. Mike Roussell, who I’ve been friends with for a while but have never seen speak in person, was just as impressive with his presentations.  In a field that, for lack of a better term, is one major cluster****, he has an uncanny ability to “keep it real” and help people to get their heads out of their ass and step away from the stupid.

3.  John Romaniello is pretty.  And, the guy is an absolute maverick when it comes to internet marketing (done correctly).

Needless to say, I do have A LOT more to say on my experiences over the weekend, but those will have to wait until sometime later this week.  I promise I’ll fill you in on all the details:  stuff I learned, stuff I ate, people I met, and whether or not I got into any knife fights for wearing my Red Sox hat.

But, before I go I have a small favor to ask.

I realize in advance that this is a complete shot in the dark, but I figured I’d try nonetheless.

My girlfriend, Lisa, is in the process of finishing up her dissertation for her PhD in sports psychology.  She’s been working her tail off for the past seven years, and things are coming down to the wire.

In a nutshell, she’s doing her research on inner city, school-aged (14-17), FEMALE athletes and motivation.  Basically, Lisa wants to find out what factors drive that population to either participate (or even stop participating) in sports and/or being physically active.

There’s been very little research done on this demographic and Lisa is trying to be the first!

Thing is, she’s looking to have at least 150 “subjects” fill out surverys, and while she’s in the homestretch, to say that it’s been a slow process would be an understatement.  She needs 40 more.

Sooooooooo, if there happens to be ANYONE in the city of Boston who’s reading this (I know you’re out there) who knows of a summer camp or school that Lisa could contact, could you please, please, please let me know?  You can either leave a comment in the comments section below, or shoot me an email.  Or bust out the Bat Signal.  No worries, I’ll come to you.

Anyways, I’ll be your BFF forever.  And Lisa will make you a meatloaf!  Totally not kidding.  Thanks!

Awesome New (to me) Fitness Blog For Women (www.heyjoob.com) – Juliet

As someone who’s constantly fighting the seemingly never ending battle to convince women that it’s not the end of the world to place a barbell on their back and squat it every once in a while – and that they’re more likely to make out with Brad Pitt than end up all “big-n-bulky” because they happen to do a few chin-ups – I’m ecstatic whenever I come across blogs that help to spread the word and help to direct women away from the stupid.

It’s hard, though.

I mean, when you have the likes of Tracy Anderson – someone whom thousands (if not millions) of women consider an authority on fitness – spewing out gems like this (below), referring to her approach to training Kim Kardashian, it’s hard not to want to throw my face into a brick wall…….repeatedly

We don’t want to take away Kim’s amazing curves,” Tracy Anderson, one of Kim’s trainers, says. “We just do specific movements to tighten the skin and to pull the muscles tight against the bone.

This is the same woman who, in her infinite wisdom (note excessive sarcasm), believes that no woman should ever lift a weight above three lbs.  Ever.

Which is why, I want to direct everyone to Juliet’s blog.  Juliet (sorry, I don’t know last name) is a frequent reader of this blog, and someone who goes out of her way to post comments when she feels so inclined.  It’s only been recently that I actually took the time to check out her stuff, and well, I think it’s pretty cool and something I like a lot of fitness enthusiasts will enjoy.  So, show Juliet some love and check it out for yourself!

Power Endurance – Charlie Weingroff

Not that I really have to go out of my way to say so, but Charlie is kinda smart.  Here, he discusses why improving movement quality – as well as utilizing some dedicated time under the bar – can (and will) help improve power endurance to boot.  Contrary to popular belief, improving performance on the court/ice/field/bedroom (bom chicka bom bom), often starts in the gym.

Heart and Stroke Foundation Pushing Video Gaming for Fitness Now? – Yoni Freedhoff

Thanks to my friend, Mark Young, I just started reading Dr. Freedhoff’s blog recently, and I have to say, it freakin rocks.  The Doc writes extensively on obesity research, but along the way, he’ll step on a few toes and basically call “bullshit” when he feels the need to.  This post does exactly that.

I’ve never really bought into this whole “play video games to get fit” trend.  Sure, I get it:  it’s better than nothing and it at least gets people moving.  But, does it really?   According Dr. Freedhoff – not really.

My understanding is that Wii Fit burns negligible amounts of calories, and has never been shown to have any significant impact on “fitness“.

One study comparing Wii Fit Aerobics to treadmill use reported,

“Heart rate during Wii aerobics fell below the recommended intensity for maintaining cardiorespiratory fitness“

Another, looking at Wii Sports and kids reported,

“The energy used when playing active Wii Sports games was not of high enough intensity to contribute towards the recommended daily amount of exercise in children.“

Furthermore, another recent study demonstrated that video game playing increased food intake in adolescents.

I remember the days when I was a kid and would literally spend the entire day outside riding my bike, playing kickball, baseball, wiffleball, basketball, and swimming.  Shoot, my mom wouldn’t even see me until it was dark outside – and even then, my brother and I would head upstairs and do stupid things like reenact WWF Summer Slam and throw one another through a wall. That really happened!

It’s sad that in today’s society kids are more apt to enter a speed texting competition than play Little League. Moreoever, what does it say when we promote “being active” as standing in front of a television moving your arms around a liittle bit?

I don’t get it.

Q:  So I have 19 days until a big trade show in Vegas. I want to look my best, which means getting as lean as I can in that ime, but I want to protect lean mass. What would you do?

A:  Based off the title of today’s post alone, I know what you’re thinking:  Tony’s gone off the deep end, and he’s resorted to touting some looney fitness product similar to those redunkulous 7-Minute Abs infomercials you see late at night while watching re-runs of Walker: Texas Ranger.

Okay, lets not jump to conclusions.  While I’ll be the first to admit that I may watch my boy Chuck Norris kick ass and take names from time to time, you know better than to think I’d lower myself to promoting some gimmicky, flash-in-the-pan product that’s about as useful as a poop flavored lollypop, right?

Although, to give some credit where credit is due – the Shake Weight has been a god send it terms of never ending jokes.

All joking aside, 19 days isn’t much time – but assuming you’re not a disaster and/or delusional (i.e. you’re not going to go from looking like Chris Farley to Fabio in 19 days), and that you have a decent base to work with from the start, you’d be surprised at how much headway you CAN make.

Now, I’d be remiss if I didn’t start any conversation about getting shredded in “x” amount of time without first discussing the nutritional side of things.

I don’t like crash diets.  I think they’re dumb.  And I think they cause more harm than good.  That said, I’m going to assume (again) that you already know the basics, and understand that no matter what, it comes down to calories in vs. calories out.   I say this because for some reason, despite knowing better, some people still think that just because they’re eating “clean” food, that they can still eat a surplus of it, and lose fat.

Wrong

Just to save face, I recommend that you start with a 10 to 20% caloric deficit (given your time constraint, I’d lean more towards the 20ish end of the spectrum), and go from there.  A few key points to note, however:

• Keep it low carb.  Studies have repeatedly shown that, all else being equal, those who follow a low(er) carbohydrate diet will generally lose more bodyfat – given a certain time frame – than those who don’t.

• Keep the “bulk” of your carb intake to AM (breakfast) and/or post-training times only.  Of course, training time will throw a monkey wrench into things, but playing the odds, I’m going to guess you’re a 9-5 guy and most likely train later in the afternoon.  If that’s the case, starchy carbs (oatmeal, sweet potatoes, cereal, pasta, etc) should be saved for POST-TRAINING only.  Veggies and fruit can be used judiciously throughout the day (although, with fruit, I’d be more inclined to stick to breakfast only).

• When in doubt, stress protein.  Have some sort of protein with each and every meal.  This can be anything from dead animal flesh to yogurt.  I don’t care.  Make it happen.
• In addition, outside of post-training, “healthy” fats should be stressed.  Things like fish oil, coconut oil (which is dense in Mid-Chain Triglycerides, which are more readily used for energy by the body), extra virgin olive oil, nuts, (real) butter, so on and so forth are all fair game.
• Honestly, there is no set formula that I can recommend, as they’re all a crap shoot, and just give you an idea of where to begin.  That said, as I noted before, start with a 20% deficit (maybe go with 10% on training days, since you’ll need the calories), and keep protein fairly high – say 1-1.5 grams per lb of LEAN bodyweight.  Keep fat around the same ballpark, and then use carbs as the caloric ballast (whatever is left over).

• Again, it’s a crap shoot.  Is it perfect?  No.  But it’s a start.

• Oh, and let me just say that that whole “you have to eat every 2-3 hours to keep your metabolism going” is bullshit.  If anything, I’d say with the lower kcals you’d be taking, spreading out your calories into LESS meals would be ideal.  I don’t know about you but if I’m only allotted 2000 calories for the day, I’d much rather divide that out over FOUR meals (500 kcals each), than six meals (333 kcals).

Outside of that, one major mistake (I believe) many trainees make when trying to get lean is amping up the training volume.  Going against the grain, I believe that if you want to maintain LBM (and get shredded), I’d still make a concerted effort to lift in the low(er) rep ranges.  Say, in the 3-6 rep range with your compound movements.

As I’ve noted in the past, “what makes muscle, maintains muscle.”  And, since you’re trying to get hella lean in 19 days, and given you’re going to be in a slight caloric deficit (you don’t need to go too crazy), it only makes sense that you’d want to continue to give the body the stimulus it needs to MAINTAIN lean body mass.

You DO NOT need to go bat shit crazy with training volume.  This is a notion that falls on deaf ears for some reason.

In any case, I’d say you want to start each training session with one of the big three movements (squat, DL, bench) – and stick with something like 4 sets of 3-6 reps. From there, you can spend the rest of your session doing “density” or “chaos” type training utilizing tri-set or even quad sets to break a sweat and kick your own ass.

So, for example, one day may look something like this:

A1.  Deadlift 4×3-6 reps
A2.  Some sort of filler exercise like wall hip flexor mobilizations, or Wall Glute ISO holds, or just sit and chill and watch people manually unclench their butt cheeks as they watch you lift heavy things.

B1.  Spiderman Push-Ups (band resisted if necessary) 3×4/leg

B2.  Kettlebell Swings 3×10
B3.  Seated Cable Row 3×8
B4.  ValSlide Bodysaws 3×8

***do in circuit fashion for 3-4 rounds, with 60s rest at the end

C.  Med Ball Circuit – 50 Hits or anything else that will make you hate life for 10 minutes (EDT circuits, Airdyne Bike, battle rope, Prowler etc).

And that’s about it.  I know I was kind of all over the place there, and I certainly wasn’t super thorough, but I hope it at least sets off a few light bulbs and gives you some idea of how I would approach things.  Hope that helps, and good luck!