There’s an Early Bird rate for both of these events, so keep that in mind before you decide to hold off. Dean and I are really excited for this and hope to see you there!
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Assessment. Yes, note posture, but don’t put all your eggs into that basket.
Remember: posture is task AND load dependent. If someone can get out of a “bad” posture when you ask them to, it’s likely not a big deal.
Coach them up! But try to avoid corrective exercise purgatory.
I didn’t feel overly splendid heading into today’s training session. I mean, I didn’t feel like a got run over by a Mack truck or anything…
…but I didn’t feel awesome either.
I just kinda felt “meh.”
Maybe a little closer to the Mack truck end of the spectrum, though. A small, teeny-tiny part of my soul was like “fuck it, Tony. Stay in and binge watch all the latest episodes of Catfish on Hulu.”
But I did that yesterday (on a non-training day).
Today, however, as I was walking to the gym I knew I had to suck it up and muster some gusto. I reminded myself of something – something I “borrowed” from strength coach Paul Carter – that I routinely say to my clients whenever they show up not feeling up to the task.
“10% of the time you’re going to show up to the gym feeling like a bag of dicks. 10% of the time you’re going to show up to the gym feeling like a rockstar. 80% of the time you’re going to show up feeling like meh.”
It’s those 80% workouts that matter most. You simply show up, do the work, and leave. That’s where (or how) you make the most progress over time”
My coach, Greg Robins (of The Strength House), has me incorporating more of an RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) style of training in my most recent block of programming.
NOTE: For those unfamiliar with RPE, HERE‘s a great place to start.
It’s a great way to utilize auto-regulation and takes into account daily/weekly fluctuations in energy and the aforementioned gusto. It still encourages you to work hard, but within the confines of how you feel that particular day.
Anyway, as of late Thursday is deadlift day for me.
Over the course of this past summer I did a fair amount of travel for work, which threw a bit of a monkey-wrench into things. I was still able to train, but I’d be lying if I said wasn’t just going through the motions.
The past few weeks, however, have been awesome.
My travel has been limited and I’ve been able to place a bit more priority on my workouts.
Both my deadlift (and squat) have been inching back up to respectable territory (for me) and it feels great. Last week, for example, I hit 535×3 for my top set of deadlifts.
Heading into today’s workout, needless to say, I was a bit skeptical if I was going to be able to match that effort.
My first set at 500×3 wasn’t as speedy as I would have liked.
I hesitated.
Maybe I should stay put?
Maybe I should listen to some Norah Jones and cuddle?
Then I just said “FUCK IT” and I slapped on another 45 lbs.
Take my good friend Bryan Krahn, who, conversely, posted this today on his Twitter account:
Arrived at the gym for a heavy squat workout.
Just one warm up set in and my lower back tells me its not recovered from a previous leg workout.
So I switched to machines and single-leg work for higher reps. Success.
Go heavy or go home? Talk to me in 20 years.
He wasn’t feeling so hot, didn’t try to be a hero, but also didn’t abandon ship either. In his scenario the “fuck its” entailed a bit more tact and responsibility.
And that’s totally cool too.
The “fuck its” can manifest on either end of the spectrum.
The important thing is that you show up and do the work.
Exercises You Should Be Doing: Quadruped T-Spine Rotation w/ Lift Off
There’s no shortage of thoracic (middle back) mobility exercises out there. I for one prefer to keep a handful – say five or six – in my back pocket to use with the bulk of my clients.
I’d rather keep things simple, not bog people down with a litany of options, and stick with exercises that most people can do with little or no coaching.
I’m sure most people reading are familiar with your standard Quadruped Extension-Rotation drill. Here’s a reminder just in case (that was filmed, it seems, in 1978):
There are a few nit-picky things I’ve changed in how I coach this drill of late:
I prefer the ROCKED BACK version, where one’s butt rests on their ankles (assuming they have access to that range of motion in their hips and ankles). In this case we’re taking joints out of the equation – in this case, the lower back – so there’s less opportunity to “cheat.”
I also try to emphasize “pushing away” on the supporting arm side to help with more Serratus activation.
Too, most people are unable to begin this exercise with one hand behind their head – they may not have access to the requisite external rotation and abduction – and all they end up doing is some sort of elbow going up and down while also doing a bang up job at jacking up their neck. Instead, I prefer more of a “rib grab” where each person grabs their underside and focuses on driving their opposite shoulder towards the ceiling.
But let’s assume we’re working with someone who CAN do all of the above. How can we progress the exercise?
Add a band? Sure
Pants off? Hell yeah.
What about adding a lift-off?
Huh?
Who Did I Steal It From? – Ottawa based personal trainer Elsbeth Vaino.
What Does It Do? – Allows us to use an external focus – in this case a wall – to gain just a bit more ROM out of the exercise and to add more time under tension.
Key Coaching Cues – I can’t reiterate enough that this is a PROGRESSION! There aren’t many people who will be able to be successful with this exercise out of the gate; it is 100% cool if you just stick with the run-of-the-mill, plain ol’ vanilla, Quadruped Extension-Rotation exercise.
That said, this iteration applies a bit of FRC (Functional Range Conditioning, popularized by Dr. Andreo Spina) where we provide a isometric contraction at a joint’s end range (technically a RAIL, or Regressive Angular Isometric Loading) to help nudge more stability in a new ROM (and thus, more controlled mobility within that same ROM).
The FRC system is waaaaaaaaaaaaay2 more detailed and expansive than my simple sentence suggests, but for the sake of this little snippit it will suffice.
Here I use the wall as a guide, and when I reach my end range I “lift off” and hold for a 3-5s count.
Things to watch out for:
Shrugging at the top.
Ensuring client is utilizing scapular posterior tilt as (s)he rotates.
This place was a bit dearth with content this past week, but for good reason.
I signed a lease for a new, larger space for my gym here in Boston.
70% of me is excited while the other 30% is doing the best I can not to destroy the back of my pants. Nonetheless, coming in early 2020: The CORE Collective.
There’s an Early Bird rate for both of these events, so keep that in mind before you decide to hold off. Dean and I are really excited for this and hope to see you there!
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Personal trainers who complain about “working on the weekends” got into the wrong profession.
This is an older article from Mark (and one I read off of The Strength House’s newsletter), but man it needs to be read by ANYONE who manages people or owns a business.
But for real….a little exercise, daily, works wonders. There’s little need for marathon sessions in the gym, everyone’s busy and doesn’t have time, but Lana showcases some “quickie” workouts to set the tone.
Here’s my latest podcast appearance. And, not for nothing, it includes the SICKEST promotional graphic in the history of ever.
Andrew Coates and Dean Guedo have built The Fitness Devil Podcast into one of the most downloaded health/fitness podcasts on iTunes.
They’re two dudes who lift heavy things and are well-read, but they also have an uncanny ability to “talk shop” and have unconventional conversations with their guests, which I appreciate very much.
Building a business and brand? Check
Tips on how to leverage your fitness writing? Check
Discussion on how badass my wife is? Check
You can listen below…
OR
Go HERE to download and listen to the episode on other formats.
There’s an Early Bird rate for both of these events, so keep that in mind before you decide to hold off. Dean and I are really excited for this and hope to see you there!
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Find their TRAINABLE MENU.
Here’s one of my high school soccer players training a few days after a left knee injury (not ACL).
She couldn’t straighten her knee nor put all her weight on it.
Automatic enrollment into Dean and Tony’s “we should totally hang out soon” list.
What’s more, you have the option to purchase BOTH Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint and Even More Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint at $100 off and pay just $177. All told you’ll receive 22+ hours worth of video and Tony’s pecs…;o)
If you’re still on the fence or skeptical on how much this new series will melt your face, here’s a few sneak peeks on some of the content covered.
1. Squat Set-Up
A ten minute clip outlining how we determine a client’s ideal stance for their squats based on their individual anatomical considerations.
2. Shoulder Stability Training
Almost 13 minutes of drills to help improve shoulder stability while getting a training effect along the way.
3. Breathing for Mobility
A nine minute video outlining how we use positional breathing drills to access more range of motion, plus make exercises instantly more challenging.
4. Plyometrics for the Elderly Client
Say what? Yep, you can use a stretch-shortening cycle with older clients to improve power output and keep their functional capacity as high as possible for much longer than slower movements. This 8 minute video shows the how and why.
Whether you’re a fitness professional or just someone who likes to lift heavy things and geek out over scapular upward rotation and the miracles of posterior pelvic tilt, Even More Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint will undoubtedly provide you a TON of actionable, real-world, evidence-based content.
It’s only on sale THIS WEEK (9/24-9/28), so take advantage of the savings while you can.
There’s an Early Bird rate for both of these events, so keep that in mind before you decide to hold off. Dean and I are really excited for this and hope to see you there!
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You don’t have to squat, deadlift, bench press, carry, do any chin-ups, or otherwise lift heavy(ish) objects.
It’ll make you healthier, get you stronger, likely curtail depression (as with any exercise), & improve confidence.
If you’re a fitness professional you WILL see this and it’s important to recognize it and to have a handful of strategies in your back pocket to address it.
I made it back home to Boston and it was lovely to hug my wife and see Julian for the first time in two weeks. I mean, is there anything better than walking into your kid’s Pre-K classroom, him recognizing you, and seeing him sprint towards you, arms wide open, with a massive smile on his face? 4
I’m still playing a bit of email catch-up today in addition to being smacked around a little bit with some entrepreneurial shenanigans. In light of that I wanted to share my most recent podcast appearance, which took place with my friend, David Tao, of BarBend.com
You can give it a listen HERE (there’s also a full transcription of the conversation in case you’d rather NOT listen to my silky, sexy voice).
For the Apple snobs in the crowd you can listen on iTunes HERE (September 16th episode).
I’m traveling back to Boston from London today. I’ve been away for two weeks presenting at three different workshops. I’ve had a lovely stay, but am looking forward to heading home and my wife handing Julian over to me as soon as I walk through the door.
Thanks to Boston based personal trainer, George Kalantzis, for contributing today’s guest post.
Labor day has come and gone, the days are shorter, and the nights are colder.
That means it’s bulking season.
But you don’t come to Tony’s website for some cookie-cutter bullshit program. Over the next six weeks, you will craft a new physique using intense workouts, discipline, and commitment to add mass.
Nothing gets me more fired up than people who are not willing to put in the work to get desired results.
When I competed in natural bodybuilding last year, I heard questions like “how do you gain muscle and shred down,” how can I look bigger without gaining fat?” What supplements did you take?
The list goes on.
I hate to burst your bubble, but the universe does not bend at the whims of your desire. Contrary to popular belief, you cannot have your cake and eat it too.
So how do you bulk without gaining excessive weight?
To achieve a clean bulk, you must learn how to gain 2-5 pounds per month with half of that weight being muscle, and half of that weight being fat. This will keep your composition in an ideal state for optimal performance.
So just eat more food, right?
Not quite, too much junk food during a bulk is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Nutrition does matter, and most people will either eat a surplus of shitty food or not eat enough. That is one of the toughest things about adding solid mass.
You can expect to gain some body fat during a bulk, but not an excessive amount.
We are aiming to build a stronger engine so that you can increase size, which means you’ll need to gain healthy amounts of body fat.
Don’t get discouraged if you see others gain size quickly or achieve different results, gaining mass is about putting in the work, and for some, adding quality size can take time.
Your Blueprint For Success
Life is motion.
The world continues to rotate on the axis, and every day is an opportunity to grow. Your body is the secret to many things. Yet more often, many of us cheat our way through training, going through motions and we never achieve the results we look for.
Today is the day we put an end to all of that.
Very specifically, this template is designed to form the basis of your training to put on size using bodybuilding methods. Because this is a hypertrophy program, it will help with putting on size, but if you are a powerlifter or strong man, this might not be the best program for you.
An additional benefit of this program is that it will help raise your work capacity and thus prepare you even better for the strength phase training you’ll do after.
What’s more, this program will help spare muscle loss when you decide to cut back down.
This will be your blueprint for a six-week mass building phase.
You’ll notice it is broken down into two three-week phases, each phase using a combination of compound exercises and machines to maximize your results. It is these movements where we will construct a blueprint for adding some serious size.
Phase I
Our first phase consists of flooding the muscles by using compound exercises performed in the optimal range to transform your energy into muscle mass.
During the first three weeks, you’ll be training five days a week in a split that is three days of training, with two days off.
You’ll repeat 3/2 for three weeks in the following format: legs, push, pull.
The great thing about a 3/2 cycle is you can alternate it according to your life.
As long as you train three out of every five days, you’ll provide enough stimulus for growth.
At first, you’ll notice that the program does not look lie much, but to prevent overtraining and generate the highest anabolic response, you’ll stick to three working sets, not including your warmup sets.
Phase II
Now that your muscles are primed for growth, this phase makes insane changes to your physique.
You’ll go from training five days to six days, and you’ll do different exercises and reps ranges. As with the first phase, adjust the days according to your lifestyle, but keep the days in order and make sure to train all six days.
Conclusion
It is human nature to fear the unknown, but it would be inhuman to not yearn for something greater. If you want to experience changes in your physique, you must pushup yourself past your comfort zone. This six-week bulk will give you the tools you need to pack on some serious size.
About the Author
George Kalantzis began his career as decorated Marine with over ten years of faithful service and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He’s worked with everyone from professional athletes, celebrities, busy executives, and alongside some of the top strength coaches in the world.
Today he spends most of his time coaching at Equinox in Boston, and outside of work with his gorgeous little daughter. Please feel free to say hi over on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, as he loves meeting and connecting with new people.
