Adam Rees's Blog

How to what....

2012-02-04T17:46:00.000-08:00

A little random but to the point because no one wants to read over 500 words. So it's all packed in for you to pick and choose the topics you want and then you can ask your own questions.

How to LOSE FAT:

Resistance training w/ rest times <45seconds
Slow carbs only: quinoa, beans, vegetables, high fiber fruit. Absolutely NO pasta, bread, rice, or potatoes

This is a good place to start

Minimize cardio: <15 minutes of high and low intensity bouts of intervals back and forth until you want to die. These don't have to be more complicated than:

30seconds as hard as you can w/ 60seconds of low intensity and repeat 8x
or
100 yard sprint followed by a 100yrd walk and repeat 8x.

How to Gain Muscle

It shouldn't need to be said but you have to lift, work hard, and get strong.
Slow down the Eccentric portion of your lifts

For example: lowering your chest to the ground for a pushup or lowering into a deep squat.
3-10seconds/rep

Turn the growth switch on and feed it:

At least 1.5-2g of protein/lb of lean body mass/day

You'll need to measure your body fat %, that's not hard, go here: www.accumeasurefitness.com

This also means you need lots of vegetables to stay alkaline for health and recovery
You'll want additonal carbs as well.

Though carbohydrates are our only nonessential macronutrient they do aid in building lean tissue, as well as being able to kill the lifts that we're about to proceed w/ in order to create the growth stimulus.

Health and vitality and recovery are going to depend on your nutrition, and how much you grow depends on them. This means you also need to get in a good variety of good fats, fish oil being at the top of the list.

This is not something that is as complicated as it is difficult.

How to get strong

Lift at and above 90% of your 1RM
Do NOT use a program from a magazine
You don't do your own taxes (using turbo tax is not doing it yourself), and you don't cut your own hair (unless you buzz or shave), so why would you try and take on something as complicated as a strength training program.
I guarantee you it's not as simple as lifting above 90% of your 1RM, Trust me, I write them all the time. But it will work non the less, for awhile. And how often do you think you'd really program squats, deads, and pullups for yourself anyway?
Even if you don't shoot me an email for an assessment and individualized program, get some type of professional help. Eric Cressey put out a program that will help w/ such a need called Show and Go. Click Here!

Improve Sleep

Self medicate

Magnesium, melatonin, and some celery w/ or w/o a little bit of almond butter

Magnesium is a very soothing mineral, as well as incredibly good for your health. Doctors regularly use magnesium drips on people experiencing anxiety/panic attacks. Supposedly it works like a charm.
Part of the reason we wake up cranky is b/c we just fasted for 12 hours, a little celery and almond butter before bed helps a ton, plus magnesium on an empty stomach isn't a good idea.

Exercise shouldn't have to be mentioned but I'll do it anyway.

Write a to do list for tmr.

It lets your mind stop thinking about what you need to do the next day.
I like to keep a notebook by the bed as well.

Read fictional material before bed.

The portion of our brain that we use for dreaming is closely related to the portion of our brain we use when reading fiction. Meaning it helps us relax and puts us to sleep.
According to my little sister this book is fantastic.

How to pick up a girl/guy:

This is so dumb that it's criminal, if she knows her and he knows him, and you find each other attractive, look at him/her and go say hi.

You could even fall back on something like, "I want to know you" (creep). S/He'll probably laugh and be flattered and you'll talk for awhile (you can even go into how it's hard to meet people and starting conversations out of thin air...), and you'll either go through all the cliche bullshit or you'll get into a real conversation. The anticipation that you are feeling isn't a fear of rejection, it's a build up of emotion and s/he's feeling it too (that's exciting, indulge in it).

Be interesting.

Nothing to say, nothing to share together, no opinion, no creativity, nothing funny = nothing fun.
Be interesting: read, read and read. Find subjects you enjoy and finish every book you can. 10 pages a night goes a long way. (that's 3,650 pages/year, probably around 10 books or so)

These are just a few of mine, but I'd like to add quite a bit of fiction to the list relatively soon, the first being Atlas Shrugged.
Season of Life, Jeffrey Marx
Blink, Malcolm Gladwell

What Should I Do with My Life?, Po Bronson (required reading in college, but it's actually very good, and not what the title makes you think)
Lucky Man, Michael J. Fox
The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton (it looks as wacky as it is but it challenges the status quo more than any book I've ever read)
How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie (just b/c I think everyone should read it)
How to Develop Self-Confidence And Influence People By Public Speaking, Dale Carnegie (again, just b/c I think everyone should read it)
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (it's an incredible read as an adult)
Iliad, Homer (I know you had to read it in high school, it's worth it this time)
Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell , Tucker Max (it's just funny)
The Inner Game of Tennis, Tim Gallwey (even if you don't play tennis is worth the read)
Advances in Functional Training, Michael Boyle (this book doesn't necessitate a degree in the field to read)
Rat Bastards, John 'Red' Shea

Really I have 2 that I would suggest to every guy, but they are way to chauvinistic to put on here. They're good (really good), but wouldn't come off so w/ the titles. If you want them, email me.
Read anything that gets you going. Especially if it makes you start thinking critically about yourself and/or the world we're in.
If it makes you feel uncomfortable keep reading.

Stop watching TV, everyone else does that, even 15 year old boys (do you have any idea how annoying 15 year old boys can be). If you want a guy or girl that knows everything jersey shore than go for it.
Do NOT look to rom coms or other movies for advice. Big mistake.
Get off the radio and find music that you enjoy. It's amazing what is beyond the confines of public radio.

Type your one of favorite artist into pandora and see where it takes you.

www.pandora.com

Personally, lately I've been pretty hard into the Black Keys, Jonny Lang, Buddy Guy and Paolo Nutini. Not too far off the beaten path, but still great music.
Here's some starters

Red Light, Jonny Lang
What Kind of Woman Is This, Buddy Guy
All of the Brothers and El Camino albums by the Black Keys

Actually the Brothers album just about got me through some of the rough parts of last year. It's that good.

Give Me Up Again, Jonny Lang (esp around the 2:50 mark)
The Beach, Dr. Dog
No Other Way, Paolo Nutini
And this is just an awesome song: Them Shoes, Patrick Sweeney
The High Road, Broken Bells
Aretha, Rumer

But I'll always keep some songs close at hand for instance:

You could also try

Pretty much anything by Androcell
Kyoto, Skrillex
Chevelle is extremely talented

Change, Deftones
Loud Pipes, Ratatat
Clubbed to Death, Rob Dougan
Sometime Around Midnight, Airborne Toxic Event
Happy Mess, Atmosphere
Truth Is, Brother Ali
Flight, The Boxer Rebellion

Wicked Games, Chris Isaak
Sail, Awolnation
Love Vigilantes, Iron & Wine
City, Hollywood Undead
Pace is the Trick, Interpol
Let the Beat Build, Lil Wayne
Little Lion Man, Mumford & Sons
Make This Go On Forever, Snow Patrol (awesome crescendo)
Come Alive, Foo Fighters (another amazing song, I love crescendo)

Have something, anything, anything at all that you are ridiculously passionate about or that moves you. Your work, a song, a hobby, art, w/e. This isn't to get girls/guys. This is so that you find you and know you and what YOU enjoy or don't enjoy.
DON'T BE FAKE. This means don't act like you like something for the sole reason that s/he likes it.
For instance: I absolutely loathe any of the "House Wife's of....." or that Kardashian show and the jersey shore. But I love, absolutely love listening to music that makes you close your eyes and move like a tuning fork just touched your soul. So a girl I get along w/ can probably feel the music I listen to the way I feel it. But a girl that can't stop talking about her novella's is going to make me want to poop on her plate at dinner.

Be interested.

Don't fake it, faking is for losers. Be interested or leave, literally. Anything else is a waste of time.

Know yourself.

Most people want to be a version of themselves. So do I, this isn't a bad thing. Knowing yourself is a life long journey, and one we probably wont ever fully figure out but insightful people are interesting (partly b/c of the time they've taken to reflect on themselves). Work on your inner self, become familiar w/ what you want, why, and what you think people would find attractive about you. These are all good things to contemplate.

How to have more/better sex:

I didn't write this for anyone that wants to go out and use/get used. Respecting yourself and others shouldn't need to be said but it needs to be realized and taken seriously.
Be in shape:

Besides the aesthetic appeal of being in shape, we're also more vibrant, aggressive, confident, produce more testosterone (it's important for women as well), etc.

No one wants you on top of them moving around like an epileptic in a room full of strobe lights (sorry, that's not very nice, but you get what I mean)

Read a book, it'll only feel weird at first, and no Men's Health is not good material. There's a whole world out there and it's not full of leather and whips (though I'm sure that's there too), it's full of passion and intimacy that you can share w/ a partner that you respect love and care for.

Stop letting it control your life/love life.

I know too many guys that live and die on whether they got laid. This is dumb, and not even healthy. Besides the fact that your manhood has nothing to do w/ sexual prowess, women want and need it just as much as men.

Other than that.

Males: keep your "guys" in good health.

Consume multiple sources of good fat (grass fed beef, fish oils, avacados, flax seed) as well as multiple organic fruit and vegetable sources
Take an ice bath or cold shower from time to time (if I were making babies, i'd do an ice bath just about every day, but that's not happening anytime soon).
And avoid plastic containers and other petroleum pollutants.

The Disappearing Male

Women: you're not off the hook, but I am not qualified to tell you anything about how to be sexy, flirt, kiss, keep good hygienne, etc.

You most definitely need to NOT smell like a dude
Just be your cute, sexy self and let your guy know when you like something. Still a good idea to pick up and read some smut though (lots of it).

Look up a girl named: Violet Blue

Eating healthy is a given.

When to lie:

There's definitely reasons for lying, and they are not ALL wrong. So.....what do you think?

When it's a little white lie for the ugly sweater grandma got you on your bday when you were a kid, of course it's time to lie.
When it's non of your f'n business, yep, I don't mind it a bit.
Other than that, Idk, I think lying is pretty useless. In my experience people that lie all the time actually believe themselves so w/e, just that much less interested in being your friend that's all.
I'm fairly well known for my genuine brashness, and I like that. Every one knows where I stand, but it does lead some people to think I'm a bit of an asshole (understatement) but I'd say I'm more of a dick. I mean well though, and those that really know me understand.
When its' NOT under any circumstances okay to lie:

when it's done to make yourself look/seem cool/better
When it's not a big deal.If it's not an issue than it's not an issue, tell the truth
any kind of accomplishment
on a resume (what's the point)
when it's gonna hurt someone b/c they'll eventually find out

Yeah I've made this one, when the truth seemed unnecessary (and it was) for the hurt it was going to cause but a chain affect of things that shouldn't have happened happened. Eventually a convoluted and misunderstood truth came out and then someone really got hurt and it sucks. But who knows, maybe all that stuff would've happened anyway, I'm guessing so. (For instance, moving on after a breakup....it's hard, but everyone gets through it and we come out on the other side better, stronger and smarter from it)

How to kiss bettter:

Stay hydrated.
Explore: books, watch other people, good movie scenes, and your partners mouth
Less is more (especially when it comes to saliva)
Lay off the coffee
Take your vitamins and Rx's in the morning or away from times you might kiss someone. They make your mouth taste funky.
Keep your mouth shut and your tongue to yourself for awhile.

My opinion on crossfit

Crossfit is actually kind of genius.

Not the wod's (workouts of the day), but the business and the following they've created. They started w/ a really old, fairly simple training concept and turned it into a gym, sport, and way of life for some people.

But the generic crossfit is actually a little bit worse than useless.

It's like having a pet rabbit. It's not a social animal like a dog that's gonna be a good companion but costs money to feed and maintain (useless), and really all it does is shit all the time (extremely unlikely to be right for you, and probably get you injured at some point).

H/e I know there are crossfit affiliates that are doing good things in their gyms as well. It's all the other jokers that have no idea what they are doing that are the problem.

How to dress better

Men:

Get rid of your graphic T's that look like a bunch of random tattoos. They're disgusting

Absolutely NO: Afliction or Ed Hardy tshirts. They have dbag written all over them.

Stop wearing tshirts w/ loafers, you look stupid.

Invest in footwear that's outside the typical guy that either has athletic shoes or dress shoes w/ no in between.

Toms
Sperry's
Chucks
If you do NOT already dress like a "hick" then you can try cowboy boats, otherwise lay off.

Dress down a level or up a level from your norm

If you usually rock your alma mater tshirt, jeans, w/ sandals/athletic shoes. Go up a notch, but nothing drastic, just a short shot up.
If you wear a tie and slacks everywhere you go, take it off and go down a notch. You don't need to look homeless, just relaxed.
I personally really like subtle looks like: toms, casual jeans, flannel shirt w/ a plaid pattern and I might throw a page boy hat on top.
You want to appear that you just threw something on, even if you didn't

All guys should have:

at least 1 blazer

navy is a friendly, safe color and goes w/ black or brown. We're winning

At the very least 3 collared, long sleeve, button up shirts

1 white and 1 blue is an absolute must for anyone over the age of 7.
For the 3rd shirt I'd suggest very light pink, chocolate brown or black (but there's no need to pull a barry manilow look)

At least 1 pair of nice dress pants

I don't care what you get here
You get black and you're going to look like a waiter.
You get navy and it goes w/ black or brown (but sometimes navy looks cheap)
I'd be weary of going w/ a light or cream color
I like charcoal very much
and right now the plaid pant is awesome.

At least 1 pair of dress shoes

black or brown only.
No suede. Go classic
They should at least appear expensive. No rubber soles. Sleek, Sharp features and detailing.

At least 3 ties

1 black, 1 red, 1 blue
Be careful w/ patterns, make sure they go w/ multiple shirts

Scarves and hats are considered "bold" for some reason. This is dumb, they look great. Just make sure they match what you are wearing (patterns need to work together too).
Jackets look great if done right. I personally don't wear coats or jackets much, simply due to comfort, but they can look great on people that do.
Probably the best thing you can do for yourself is to find a tailor

A good tailor can make all the difference. Almost every pair of jeans, pants, and every shirt I have has been tailored.

Women

To be honest, one of my favorite things is when girlfriends (platonic or not) ask me what they should wear. H/e I don't think I'm good enough for guidance here.
I will say though:

Own your clothes. W/e you decide to put on, own it. I know a girl that wears leopard print crap w/ panty hose all ripped up and she's porcelain and not my type at all but she owns what she has on and she's the only girl I know that could pull that off. B/c really it looks like crap, but it's sexy on her.

Dressing one notch up or down from what you normally wear is an extremely good idea. Especially for the uptight, dressy girl.
High heels are sexy, no doubt about it, but if you wear them too often and lose your ankle mobility you will lose any kind of 'sexy walk' that you may have once had.
Do NOT underestimate your hair. It can make or break your look.

Even if you can't afford an expensive haircut, go get one. Take pictures from every angle when you get home. The next time you need a trim you can go to your normal hairstylist w/ the pictures.

Do NOT wear too much makeup. It is one of the most unattractive things you can do w/ your physical appearance (aside from your eyes, go nuts w/ those)
Be careful w/ "FASHION" sometimes a "splash" just looks like shit.
Appear effortless. It's not usually a good thing if it looks like you "tried".

How to live forever

W/ the first large stack of baby boomers hitting the age where death is closer than over the hill there's a huge surge to live "FOREVER".

The starvation diet seems to work. The numbers are fairly apparent. Although animals on the diet have been noted to be less than thrilled to be alive compared to their control group counter parts.
For men: it seems that constantly producing sperm has an aging affect on the body. But you really gonna give that up?
Giving blood seems to have an affect as well. Seems the build up of iron wears us down a bit and giving blood helps "filter" this in a way. Especially for men.
Fasting, even if it's just one day per week also makes a difference.
Curcumin (found in turnmeric and curry) as well as Resveratol (found in red wine) seem to have an affect as well. But that's just good nutrition.
And as far as good nutrition goes, one of the real attributes of the Blue Zones is the overwhelming amount of organic plant based foods in their diets. Not necessarily the lack of foods from animals like meat and dairy.

Personally I think it's kind of a bogus ambition to live forever. But what do I know I'm only 26. I shouldn't even be able to spell, drive a car, drink alcohol, vote, buy tobacco, or look at porn yet, I'm just a baby......But what I DO KNOW is that quality will always beat quantity, and you rarely hear regrets of what people did do verses what they didn't do.

So living forever? Okay Great, talk to me when I lose my invincibility complex (it's one of the last peices of my youth that I holding onto hard). Until then I'd rather be healthy, happy, vibrant and fun, going for every experience I can get.

Improving Myofascial Release Part 3: Pec and Lat

2012-01-17T20:19:00.001-08:00

January 17th, 2011: Opening Day at GRIT GYM

2012-01-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

364 days ago I was running my ass off to be ready for the first group of trainees to walk into GRIT GYM.

GRIT GYM opened January 17th, 2011.

It had been an interesting quarter of a year. I'd bought a house 3 months prior, presented to the bank (which had all but told me there wasn't much of a chance they'd back me), sweated it out until the loan was approved (took a breath of relief for the first time in days), and attempted to open in 6 weeks. To say it was a crazy time is a bit of an understatement, but I wouldn't want it any other way. It lets you know that you're alive.

It's easy to look back on things and feel good about them. At this point it's been long enough that I can have an outsiders perspective. If I hadn't lived it I'd look at it like it wasn't that big of a deal, and at the time I didn't even feel like it was. I was just being me and doing the next thing that needed to be done. All that does is make me think of how much I would've done differently, which isn't much. To be honest, I over prepared (a lot).

H/e, I would've bought a different house, I would've taken a bigger loan, I would've hired Andrew Rauen (even if he is fat....he can still move a lot of weight), taken on more space, etc etc.

But I realize, that is before GRIT GYM had ever proved anything, I didn't know what level of business would "actually" roll through the door. I hoped and projected and worked but that doesn't mean anything if nothing happens.

Then I remember where I was before opening day, before I presented to the bank, before I first showed my best friend's dad (a successful entrepeneur) the business plan and he said I had a lot of work to do (which made me feel like I'd just taken a shot of piss), and the truth is that before that I had been busting my ass for a piece of shit mom and pop shop so called "athletic club" and before that a Globo Gym (both of which should not exist), both of which barely making enough to pay rent let alone eat. There were months where I ate, almost exclusively, eggs and oatmeal b/c they are cheap yet still good for you. I'd rather call myself an interesting person, but if you really knew me you'd see how weird as shit I actually am. (I mean seriously, I wrote this: one life, and A Tattoo Story, I guess I never really caught on to that "normal" thing). Before all of this though were the people that said I'd never make it. All of them can go stick it up their ass.

The thing is that if I hadn't starved, and Dave hadn't told me that business plan needed major work, and if that loan hadn't been approved....I'd still be working at a miserable glorified tennis club, wondering how I was going to pay my mortgage, living on eggs and oatmeal and generally hating life until I found another way to start the gym. Most people don't know what that feels like, and neither did I. You find out some things about yourself when times get bad like that.

So it's easy to look back and be critical, but really I can't complain much about how it all happened.

It's been a great experience. I work w/ some incredible people. The results they've been able to achieve are ridiculous. It's quite simply been better than I'd even imagined it to be.

A year ago on January 16th, 2011 right before midnight I finally sat down (for what seemed like the first time in days) on the floor and looked at the gym. I'll remember this forever. I was all alone and it was a very surreal feeling like I was asking myself if I'd really just done this (I still get it, every now and then, when I'm walking out the door). I probably sat there for an hour (seriously), contemplating everything (pretty SOP for me).

Last night I walked by one of the spaces I had originally wanted to open in. Took me right back to 2 years ago when I walked by that same building w/ a friend talking about it. Back when it was just a dream.

Pretty sure I can still do the original song (w/o it playing) from beginning to end.

To look back now, it's very interesting. I couldn't be more appreciative of everyone that has been part of this, and has supported me. I have no doubt that this coming year will be interesting as well.

If I had a few things I'm glad I've figured out along the way in this life it's that:

People can knock you off course but it's up to you whether they hold you back or not
A relentless spirit goes a long way
Once you "think" you know everything, be scared, it's time to dig deeper b/c that's a bad position to be in

Thanks to all of you that have been a part of this. It means more than you know.

Improving Myofascial Release Part 2: Calf Complex

2012-01-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

Improving Myofascial Release Part 1: The Upper Back

2012-01-04T06:02:00.000-08:00

What's Different About GRIT GYM

2011-10-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

When I started GRIT GYM I knew it was going to be very different than anything in the local area. What I didn't expect was how different it'd be from other warehouse gyms across the country. I didn't understand that until visiting gyms across the country. I found other coaches were spending little time in their own gyms. Now, I totally agree w/ a certain amount of this. They want to be successful enough to set up their future (for example: retiring, simply going on vacation, and I cannot imagine having kids w/ the schedule I keep now....). This is much of the reason I'm hiring right now (if interested send cover letter and resume to adam@gritgym.com). But I did expect these coaches to be front and center when it came to the gym.

My gym operates w/o a micromanager (of which I am NOT), and it operates in a way I see fit for producing the results we're going for. This may or may not be the freakiest, or fastest changes but the best change, which would include longevity, maintenance, and adherence. I put more value in the process than the product. In the end I want a quality result that's going to stick, mentally and physically.

I also have plenty of competition in the area. I do not train a specific way to create a business/competitive advantage. I set up programs based on the individual, the rest takes care of itself. My thought process behind this......worry about yourself.

Basically, you walk into my gym, you're going to see me. I can make sure of that.

What else makes GRIT GYM different? This started out as a rant. Agree or disagree you can tell me what you think in the comments below.

There's only one thing I can say for sure, it's 100% true and it's going on at GRIT GYM daily.

What’sdifferent about GRIT GYM

1. We do quite a bit of barefoot training

2. We understand the importance of softtissue work and joint mobility, their affect on performance and injuryprevention, as well as detecting the source of the issues, symptoms and whatmay or may not be preventing peak performance.

3. We don't really do olympic lifts.

The return on investmentis too low, esp considering the long learning curve, along w/ the negativeimpact at the elbow in over head athletes like baseball/softball players.

4. Everything begins w/ the assessment.

Google maps can't giveyou directions w/o starting point. I have no idea what your needs are or how tohelp you get to your goals w/o assessing what we're working w/ first.

There are inefficiencies,for instance: sub optimal recruitment of muscles, tightness inhibiting functionand structural imbalances. Each of these are extremely common in todayssedentary society, even in youth athletes.

An athlete that moveswell usually moves fast. Athletes need to be able to change levels, movelaterally, know their positioning w/o having to be conscious of it, and theyhave to be able to drive massive amounts of force into the ground w/ each step.But they also need to be healthy and able to stay that way through an entireseason.

5. No programs are the same.

We're all human so therewill be staples to programs and similarities, but no two people are the same sono two programs are either.

6. There's no coddling.

Chihuahuas don't pull dogsleds (I have to give my pal Eric Cressey props for that saying). If you can't pay attention, work hard, be positive, and aren’twilling to learn then you're probably not going to be a good fit.

7. Nutrition

We don't screw around w/a one sized fits all Nutritional regimen. As many people saw, this yearthe government came out w/ "The Plate", which was a step in the rightdirection but still abysmal in terms of an actual nutritional foundation tolive by.

Nutrition is much morethan an eat this-not that, good-evil continuum. Nutrition is a topic in an ofitself however there are some truths:

-Everyone's body reactsdifferently to food. Everyone.

-Everyone can benefitfrom breakfast. No excuses

-Everyone can benefitfrom more plant based foods. No excuses

-No one has the perfectdiet. No one. I sure don't have one to hand you, but we'll work on it and makeyours work for you.

7. There's much more than just teachingstrength, speed and athleticism.

Besides nutrition. It'show to think, maturing, building a work ethic, insight into themselves to growinto great young men and women, building relationship and growing in those aswell.

8. There is NO long distant jogging

Unless it is specific tothe sport (triathlons, marathons, Xcountry) there wont be any jogging or steadystate cardio. We're going to be burning holes in the ground, moving inshort, fast bursts of energy.

-Bones don't fullydevelop until between 18-26yrs of age. Usually closer to 18 for females, andusually closer to 26 for males. Repeated low level stress like jogging canstunt the growth of these bones and cause injury. It's common enough that wecan say this wont be a matter of 'if' it'll happen, but 'when' it willhappen.

-We're not training to goslow for a long time, we're training to go extremely fast for a very shorttime. Training the other way around will just make you slower and weaker(literally).

-In sports like football,wrestling, baseball/softball.....speed, strength and athleticism win.

-If I told you to do 750hops on your left leg, then 750 on your right for a cardio workout, you'd callme an idiot. That's called jogging, there are approximately 1500 strides in amile.

9. It's definitely not your typicalworkout arena. There are no mirrors, tv's, treadmills, machines, membershipfee, towel service or front desk girl. It's not set up for that. It's set upfor hard work, done intelligently to get results. There's no typical globo gympersonal trainer either. You’ll find a Performance Coach w/ a very differentskill set.

10. No one implements theirimplements the way I do at GRIT GYM.

Yeah, there arekettelbells, ropes, turf, weights, prowlers (sleds), med balls, trap bars,etc....everyone else has those too. Doesn't matter, it's what we (you and I) dow/ them based on the assessment that makes for progression to maximizepotential.

This is what it takes to be successful. Workhard, work right, work smart.

Particular Awesomeness Deserves Promotion

2011-09-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

To the point today.

I had a guest appearance over at Robertson Training Systems. Needless to say this is exciting. Mike is what you might call a big shot in the strength in conditioning realm. You can find that post here:

Ways to Improve Plantar Fasciitis.

So, I've decided to post a few items that I find particularly awesome.

Nutrition

Gourmet Nutrition Desserts
Precision Nutrition Strategies

Dairy

Case Against Conventional Dairy

Dairy Whole Story Part 1

Dairy Whole Story Part 2

Dairy Whole Story Part 3

A better source for dairy:

http://www.cornucopia.org/dairysurvey/FarmID_80.html

And where to find the best source of dairy in your local area

http://www.cornucopia.org/dairysurvey/index.html

Organic vs. Conventional by Brian St.Pierre

Soda and Artificial Sweeteners by Brian St.Pierre

Supplements everyone can benefit from on a daily basis by Dr. Johny Bowden

I've now fallen in love w/ CoQ10 and for good reason.

Carlson CO Q10 100mg

Detoxing w/ real food. Mostly b/c artichokes and beats were in there of which I love.

There are some great take aways in each of these. Hope you enjoyed them as much as I. Soon enough I'll be on a plane to connecticut for the Elite Training Workshop. Good stuff.

Train Hard, Train Smart, Train Right

2011-09-12T22:43:00.000-07:00

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

-Theodore Roosevelt

Old timers knew what was up. If you never lost, you never came up short, you'd never know how great it feels to win. But winning doesn't come from a score board, it comes from the moment in which you know there was nothing more to give, you put it all on the line, you prepared beyond as hard and smart as you thought you could, fought w/ everything you have, and you can live w/ the outcome.

I have two moments I remember very well. One I can live w/ forever and one I have to live w/ forever. I prepared myself w/ a gruesome work ethic, I gave it everything I had, I made my own outcome and I came out on top. The other I failed, but not b/c I lost. I sub-parred my preparation, I overlooked an opponent, I was still in another match trying to wrestle the current one, I foolishly lost a match to a lesser opponent. I've never been so disappointed or embarrassed of myself in my life.

Train Hard, Train Smart, Train Right.

Athletes are not born, you make your own path in this world. And no one is going to give it to you. There's one way to have it, and that's to take it.

Targeting the Hip Flexors

2011-09-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

Some hip flexors need more attention than others.

If you haven't seen how to assess the hip flexor, click here: Assessing the Hip Flexor Complex

Assessing the Hip Flexor Complex

2011-09-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

New Favorite Footwear

2011-08-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

I've been a pretty big advocate of the Nike Free for some time now. Just about anytime I mention the ankle or foot I shoot off in a tangent on what you should be putting on your feet, and I'm willing to guess that in the last 3-4 years I haven't once gone w/o mentioning the Nike Free in any of these rants of mine.

There have been other barefoot, low heal, toe gripping soles that have come, gone and/or stayed (like the vibram 5 finger that gets way more credit than it deserves or that I'll ever give it). But the Nike Free has stuck around.

I've regularly worn Chuck Taylor's, Sperry's, and sandals as well. Love them all.

That's actually not even 1/2 of my collection....what can I say, I like shoes.

So it pains me to say this........but I believe my 2 newest footwear purchases take the top.

The New Balance Minimus may be the best thing I've ever put on my feet. To be honest I'd rather go barefoot almost all the time. H/e:

A) our feet weren't designed for concrete and other hard surfaces

B) it's not exactly safe or hygenic (arguable, but I'm not going in a hospital w/o shoes)

C) footwear is fashionable

Pre New Balance Minimus : My shoes were off at the moments notice that I didnt' need them.

Post New Balance Minimus : I could care less when they come off. I'm sitting here writting this w/ them on as we speak. 6 months ago that would've been unheard of.

There's still enough support to make it a good fit for the surfaces I spend the majority of my time on each day but I can feel the ground as I walk as well. They are great.

And then there are the Toms.

Not only is this a great idea. Whether it's genuine or just a marketing campaign I don't really give a shit, it does something great for KIDs that have nothing.

The guy that started the company gives one pair to a child in need for every pair that is purchased. So each time you buy a pair you're actually donating another pair to a child inneed.

Besides that, I know you'd like some ninja shoes to wear around, they are awesome.

Not to mention the comfortability, low heal, and lack of padding underneath to promote proper foot striking.

I'm very happy I tried a pair on and now I know what I'll be getting everyone for christmas this year. Yeah, I'm one of those people that gives the same gift to multiple people. It works for me.

Stretching Hip Extension

2011-08-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

3 Ways to Improve Your Upper Back

2011-08-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

Video for you today. Thoracic mobility is extremely important in sports, and doesn't need to be as complicated as people would like to think. These three are all shoulder friendly and can make a big difference in your health and performance.

The double tennis ball and chair work can be done pre and post workout. I wouldn't hang for an extended period of time pre workout or competition.

Take 30 seconds 3 or 4 different times today (or tmr if you need to go get some tennis balls and tape) and perform one of these each time.

Recent Activity: Movies, Career Choices, and Nutrition FUBAR'd

2011-07-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

I believe laughter to be one of the healthiest things you can do, and I added about 10 years to my life last night.

Horrible Bosses is great, no understatement, I was crying laughing.

Remember when jason bateman was not funny and nobody liked him?

Next: after watching this video I plan on ditching my own current CEO position and working under Kenny Powers.

That's all I have to say about that.

Big Update:

Over the last few months I've bought a house, started a business, delt w/ unexpected situations that are unable to quantify but generally stayed in shape throughout the entire process, however my 8 pack is lacking and it pisses me off. So, just like always, experiments on myself have ensued.

I want to keep as much mass as I can, I'm 6'4" 225lbs right now (a little light, but not bad), and sticking somewhere around 10% bodyfat (enter robert deniro face + disappointment, not awesome).

If I can't throw an awesome bomb by taking my shirt off, I'm not happy. Just kidding, I'm a fat face person.

So, workouts?

No drastic changes, a few but nothing over the top.

Nutrition?

Yes, drastic change. I've begun to eat like an animal created by the offspring of a lion, a horse and and a small hispanic family (minus the rice). Meaning I eat tons of meat, tons of green stuff and tons of beans (surprisingly mexican food has been the easiest way to maintain this if I am to eat out....unexpected and I like it. Mi amor comida de mexico).

I've allowed myself one day/wk to dramatically binge on anything that taunted me during the week. So that pizza that wanted to talk shit all week, yeah, he got his chewed up and shit out on sunday....bitch.

It was a tough decision but I cut some things that have been staples in my diet FOR YEARS.

-no steel cut oats

-no fruit (yeah, I know right)

-no potatoes (even sweet potatoes....tough one)

Some stuff I was already doing. For instance:

-No dairy (besides greek yogurt but who cares)

-No wheat, rice or grains in general

Now I get 100% of my carbs (outside of that one day food freak parade) from ridiculously low glycemic index, low glycemic load, and low insulin index foods. Basically that means I get my carbs from:

-vegetables (about 5-9 cups/day)

-legumes (beans and such)

-seeds and nuts (mainly quinoa, almonds and walnuts)

My protein sources haven't really changed much:

-Beef, chicken, pork, eggs

And the reasoning for the one day food parade that I've absolutely dominated for the last 3 weeks?

1) Denying your body calorically dense foods for too long can actually have a negative impact on endocrine function (hormones) as well as other bodily functions (especially in regards to fat loss and muscle maintenance). Taking one day/wk is not enough to create a drastic change to overall fat gain or loss. So even though the scale will tell you that you've gained 'weight', the progress you've had w/ 'fat' will not have been discouraged, as continual measurement (using the scale one or two days/wk maximum) will indicate.

2) Mentally it's just kind of nice to let it fly for a day. You know, you're out w/ friends, it's the weekend, it's summer, you want to swim, eat brats, pizza, drink beer, sip margaritas, flirt w/ the coolest girl at the party and generally live the life of every rich, overweight, happy person you know. So screw it, live it, do it, let loose for a day you uptight nutrifreak.

Now, obviously this diet is not sustainable, not even close. I just want things to happen fast to get back to my normal narcissistic self that loves walking by glass buildings, you know why.

All jokes aside, this type of regimen works, no doubt about it, it's mentally sustainable for the time anyone needs to lose what they currently have. It's perfectly safe, really it's way more safe and beats the hell out of 90% of americans day to day diet, and I'm not talking about the stereotypical fast food, hamburger helper dumbasses either, or even the people who think eating panera, subway or "pick your own asian place" was a good choice.

So far, no doubt about it, the ripples are in resurgence and there's less love to grab on the lower back side of my torso (love handles, for the slow and impaired that may or may not understand my humor....it's kind of out there).

You may ask how I keep the sheets from floating at night....Well, I have my tricks for that too.

Bigger+Healthier Bench Press: w/ an Arch

2011-07-08T07:12:00.000-07:00

The flat bencher gets injured and has low numbers, which in turn means he doesn't get bigger or stronger. Ummmm......Isn't that the reason 9 out of 10 guys go to the gym in the first place?

So, besides the fact that it makes you look like a raging pussy, we can also deduct that putting your feet up on the bench, which causes a flat back, is not good. Read on.

This is DUMB

W/ a flat back on the bench we're subjecting the rest of our spine to compression it's foreign to and unable to handle. That compression is going to come out some where. Ever heard of the guy that injured his back or neck traumatically while bench pressing? Happens all the time, just for this one reason.

Besides his total being seriously compromised this is an injury waiting to happen. Perfect example of how NOT to bench press.

And that compression in your spine pushes the thoracic spine and in turn your scapulae into poor position which hampers your shoulders from performing as they should. You end up putting forces in wrong places and it doesn't work out for you joint capsule or the muscles around it. Bad deal pal.

It's almost as smart as doing crunches.

Like an atomic bomb going off in your vertebrae

So what to do? Arch - your - back!

Lifting w/ a big arch:

1) Solves everything from above.

2) This allows the spine to sit in better position, decreasing chance of injury.

3) Shortens the distance the bar has to travel=bigger numbers

4) Bigger numbers=bigger badass=bigger muscles

5) You'll be able to utilize your lats more, better for the shoulder and improves numbers

6) For it to count you need 3 points of contact: Butt, feet, shoulders. So if you ass fly's in the air it wont count. As you see in the video had I not arched that larger my ass would've flown off the bench, even though its hard to tell w/ the loose shorts, I get away w/ it.

How to Bench

1) Push your shoulders into the bench

2) Pull your feet underneath you

3) Get a big arch as if you have a football under your low back

4) Tuck your elbows

5) Drive your feet in the ground, tighten your glutes and your lats

6) Pull (and look) the bar low on your chest w/ your lats

7) Explode up (blow the bar up w/ your air) and flare your elbows for the last quarter of the lift.

ONE LIFE: A Tattoo Story

2011-07-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

Really this only matters to one person anyway. Mi Madre no me gusta tattoos. Lo siento Ma. I have a tattoo on the left side of my torso.

It basically boils down to is that I needed to make a decision that'd last forever, for my own reasons. The simple reason is that I just like tattoos.

This video is actually for my next post, but you can see it in there.

At the time of getting the tattoo, I had been dating a girl (no, the paint isn’t some lame tribute to a girl) and we were lost in our feelings for each other (in love and all that crap). But she was going through some stuff, my stubborn and old school bull headedness didn't understand but we really cared about each other so I was patient and trying to help. Even though we were in a spot, it had been getting serious and actually didn’t feel like death at the time.

I needed to know what forever felt like before I could commit to someone.

You go through school and there's always a next level that's expected for you to step to, and then one day you are at an impasse (the real world) and there is no clear direction to walk, no set path. So you just start walking and it works, b/c it has to, and you find your way for yourself and feel out your vocation.

A relationship w/ another person doesn't work that way. It's a one time decision that is supposed to signify the rest of your life. Alone, in your own mind, you can choose and control your own happiness, but in a relationship you are not alone. A part of you is given up; it is at the whim of another. This is part of the gamble, the excitement and thrill that makes us feel alive. What will they do w/ that part of you, how much can you give them. Eventually you begin to ask, is this person worth forever. No one knows this, and I've never been married but I'd imagine that even those that are married can attest to these feelings at times, even after many years.

In relationships we become vulnerable. We become naked to this other person. I do not mean that literally (although I hope this is happening, I personally believe that people should be loving each other in all sorts of ways all the time, and making love, not just the simple act sex, should be a large part of that). Our emotions, faults, intentions, our very inner being becomes naked. It is as if some one is peering into our minds or even our souls.

We all think that we'd like to read other people's minds, but what a horrible thing. "Not knowing" is a gift. Of course I'd like to know what everyone's true intentions and feelings are but that would ruin the excitement of the unknown, which is part of the thrill of intimacy and love and lets us engage in each other to a much deeper level than if we already knew. If we already knew, there would be no vulnerability, no chance of pain, no fear, no connection or longing or need for each other.

This is where I was, contemplating all these things. Wondering, could I take a step to sharing a life w/ someone?

I feel this decision comes to others a bit easier than it comes to me.

See, I grew up feeling like I wouldn't live very long (don’t ask me why), and early in my development people made it seem like I wouldn't be able to live a very good life. This was after I'd been diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Disorder and Rx'd some Ritalin that'd get me to sit in my seat and actually hear teachers put boring shit on the board. As a side note all it really did was make me paranoid and cause constant social anxiety. How's a 6 year old supposed to understand what "normal" feels like. But w/e, it's one of my trials that shaped who I am today.

So I've always felt like every moment needed to be experienced. This was great. I've always felt like every day was a gift and that I want every great experience this life has to offer. I hunger for this constantly.

However, when it came to settling down w/ a mate this little philosophy on life really screwed w/ me. Not that I've ever been extremely guarded (protective, yes, guarded, no). Guarded wasn't the problem, sure I'd been in relationships before where I got my heart pretty well slammed, I'd been rejected, belittled and lost my balls for awhile. But the idea of committing to someone was much deeper than a problem w/ vulnerability.

So, I needed something that I had given myself to, that I stood for, that was everything to me, and that would be shared w/ the person I'd love and share myself w/ and commit to.

I always liked the Spanish saying that “Life is Beautiful” but that wasn't enough. And I'm not Hispanic. I can barely stumble my way through a convo in spanish w/ my Mexican friends (that barely speak english....it's interesting), so why would I get that tattooed on me.

I've said for a long time. “I have this one life, this one time, this one trip to do everything in this world.”

I do believe in a continuation of energy, and almost every religion in the world can agree to that, even if it's not a deity. I believe in an energy that is a spiritual place for us to go, be, feel, and understand, but this life is a gift, like I said before, "Not knowing" is a serious gift. Once we die we will understand so much more than what we "think" we know during this life. We'll feel things we've never felt or had the ability to understand before. This life is a place where we get away from knowing ‘everything’. It’s a journey w/o a map, literally. It's an exciting trip for our souls. I love the nice, comforting, predictable feel of my bed, but a little change of pace w/ blanket around a campfire is a blast.

***So, I put my faith, my philosophy on life (to live and take in every second as best and great as you can), my love and heart all in two words on one spot on my body, and this would let me know how it feels to make a decision and have something that will last an entire life.

I still love my decision, for me it is much more than a tattoo.

If it were just a tattoo for tattoo's sake, I'd never have gotten it. I've never lived my life that way. It tells me to get off my ass and live.

My mom has said for years how terrible she'd feel if any of her kids got a tattoo. I let her down.

Btw, my mom isn't just a mom. She's the biggest badass I've ever met in my life, and I don't say that b/c she's my mom, that has absolutely nothing to do w/ it. She can cut you in half (seen it, experienced it, tried to do it, failed), but she's also one of the most caring and warm hearted people I've known. We spent years in constant battle, but when it comes down to it, she's the toughest person I've ever met. She puts tough guys to shame. Janet may never understand the tattoo but maybe this helps. Non the less this will disappoint her, no matter how much it means to me.

Why is it not filled in? It actually took much longer and cost more to be an outline. I wanted it that way. I find human form beautiful all on it's own. It's bilateral symmetry is rarely even close to perfect, and our beauty is in our imperfections (physically as well as psychologically). I'm not a narcissist, I just don't want to alter the contour or shape of what nature intended.

Why my side? I put it on the side of my body b/c this was supposedly one of the most painful places to get tattooed (I'm not saying that I am normal, I realize how much of a whack job I am). It is also a place that I can see anytime but is not in my line of sight so much that I become nebulous to it or it's meaning. And it’s not symmetrical to the other side of my body, so in a way, I went w/ nature.

As far as the girl goes….. Surprisingly, I actually almost went through w/ it (looked at rings, whole bit)….but…..we’re two very different people, I backed out for good reason and it was the right decision.

Actually pulled a key out of a pair of pants this weekend that was from when I almost asked her to move in w/ me….(more crazy that I haven’t worn those pants since then, forgot where the key was this whole time, or that I actually almost went and did that? You tell me).

Plus, I’m a guy that eats tons of weird stuff, lives at a gym, is a whore to information and improvement in all forms, and writes about his "feelings" (what-a-pussy). This is a short list of my quarks, so I can’t imagine that I’d be easy to live w/. For instance after my 2nd pork loin dry rubbed in turmeric, 3rd helping of kale soaking in vinegar, and the enormous amounts of garlic I cook w/…. Bet you can’t wait to make out w/ that.

Dear Indian Wedding

2011-07-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Indian Wedding,

You are probably one of the most amazing things I've ever seen and it's possible that I no longer "hate" weddings..... Did I really just say that?

Dear Indian food - My bowels were raving about you all day.

Dear non indian Bride - Allie: I've probably never given you a compliment, so take this for what it's worth. I've never seen you look so gorgeous and happy. Glad you made a good decision.

Dear Anay- You did well man. Wasn't sure about you at first. Sorry....my skeptic eye got the best of me, just thinking of my cuz. And I'm a whack job, you're in the family now, you'll find out.

Dear my dance partners: I WOULD apologize for my drunkeness, stepping on your toes, spitting when I spoke, and generally hitting on you the entire time....however, there's no need b/c A) perfect level of alchohol B) that was a blast C) I was in the zone.....if that's what you want to call it.

This is actually my mom and I. Haha, Probably right after I picked her up and swung her around patrick swayze style. What can I say, I was in the zone.

Dear my older sister: Thanks for letting me use my niece and nephew to have a reason to get on the dance floor in the first place.

What a little shit head

Side note: My Aunt Susan, My mom, and my Grandma Hillyard were stunning as well.

This is my mom and little sister

My aunt Susan and my mom, and the opposite side of the family continually mistook these two for the other. Wonder why.....

Oh Grandma.

Anyone not there missed out.

Yeah, I still got a few...."You married yet?"

My response, "Nope, and loving it, but thanks for asking".

Still waiting on my dream girl.... You know, tall, athletic, dark, curly haired, smart girl, that smiles a lot, w/ an opinion as strong as mine, personality that takes your breath away and that look that says come and get me not b/c she's just hot but b/c she's sexy as it gets. Glutes the size of a mini mediterranean donkey and long thin legs wouldn't hurt either....just sayin.

But in all honesty, that whole event was an experience. I had no idea what to expect and it was fantastic.

GRIT GYM Sponsors: Tri in July

2011-07-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty excited for this event actually (triinjuly.com). After all the hating I've done on long distance anything that's a lot for me to say. But this is a short sprint triathlon. Which, in my head can be justified. Although I'm still not going to participate.....6 mile run.....screw that. I'll do 4oo yard repeat sprints through the whole thing instead. It's also for a good cause, and a couple of pretty badass GRIT GYM athlete's put it on each year (that'd be you Angie and Abbie). So I'm sponsoring anyone that works out at GRIT. Really that just means they get a race shirt and I pay their entry fee....

This is the only picture I could find w/ a quick google search (sorry strobel's)

Short Sprint Triathlon

330 yard swim

6 mile bike

2 mile run

The Triathlon begins at 7:30 in Sigourney, Iowa July 10th.

Should be a great day, I encourage everyone to get registered (click here). If you feel left out from being sponsored well........shoot me an email (adam@gritgym.com) and I'll see what I can do about getting you a shirt.

Ways to make yourself sick

2011-06-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

1) Follow the USDA's (esp the old one) Food Guide

-Tons of grains so we all become bald/blind diabetics w/ high cholesterol and closets full of cloths that are too small for our fat asses.

At least we're moving in a better direction compared to what we had before:

2) Keep believing you'll be able to get all your vitamin and mineral needs from your diet alone.

Sorry, it's not going to happen.

3) Exercise the recommended amount....

Actually, in a way, I have to take this back. The government just changed it to 60-90 minutes/day, however.......

A) I get where they're going w/ that but it's gonna seem a little daunting to the couch potato that thinks walking 3 blocks instead of driving their car is considered exercise which sets them up for failure, they end up quitting and think someone should take care of them for that too but w/e. Opinions are like assholes, and sometimes I'm kind of an asshole....

B) Really quantity of time has no merit compared to quality of time spent exercising.

-For instance: A 90 minute jog every day, is not a quality workout. Actually it sucks, unless you're training for a marathon and doing a long run.

-30 minutes of intense interval training w/ different weighted implements would be though.

4) Don't lift anything heavy

Deadlifting heavy is more than juuuust getting an ass like this:

5) Don't take a quality source of EPA + DHA daily

6) Only take the recommended 600 iu of Vitamin D/day

7) Create a disconnect w/ daily activity and nature by reading blog posts all day instead of getting out and doing something active. Leave your house!

-Go play basketball (yeah you probably suck but who cares)

-Save some gas. Ride your bike to work or where ever you need to go that's 8 miles or less. 7 miles on a bike isn't that far.

-Go for a walk somewhere away from cars, concrete, and people in general.

-Nature has tons of entertainment if you get out and open your eyes.

-Ever try sleeping in when your camping? It doesn't work.

Point of the list is to get off your ass.

-Mowing your lawn isn't exercise and it's not a connection w/ nature. Though it is a form (weak form) of being active if you're not riding the thing.

-Eating grain fed salmon once a week doesn't make you healthy.

-Having a small spinach salad covered in Dorthy Lynch (of which I adored growing up, we all make sacrifices) will not give you an adequate micronutrient content or close to everything you need for the day.

-Just b/c you run a mile daily doesn't make you strong or fit (if that ruffled your feathers too bad, it's the truth) And if you cannot run a mile you need to do some serious work.

Review: Eric Cressey's Max Strength

2011-06-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

Lately I've decided to outsource my personal program design. I'm seeing the need to NOT do everything myself now that I've started the gym, bought a house, and still trying to attempt some type of social life....yeah right. But some where along the line I've seemed to run low on the time/energy I'm willing to program for my own workouts.

I read Eric Cressey's book Maximum Strength awhile back and enjoyed it. For the most part I tend to agree w/ Cressey's views on training. They're logical and the research and conclusions I've come to are along similar lines.

However, the book was published in 2008 and publishing and print take awhile. There are a few things I would've totally done in 08 that I wouldn't do today.

So, what did I change about MaxStrength? Basically I just changed it around to fit me better and leave out some stuff that I don't use in my programming anymore.

Changed some core stuff (I don't use any lumbar flexion work)
- No reverse crunches
- No dragon fly's
Added some plyometrics, sprinting and medicine ball work
Increased the horizontal pulling volume (rows to be specific, especially unilateral cable rows)
Increased psoas work
Changed the bilateral jerks to unilateral
Along w/ some of the post workout stretching

All in all though, I really think this book would be a great read for someone in their first 5 years of the lifting realm or that have never gotten out and seen what other coaches are doing w/ their programming.

Unfortunately too many people who work at gyms are outstanding at being dumb and don't continue their education past college (which doesn't teach you even close to enough), or they get sold on all the wrong stuff b/c they lack any type of critical thought process. Sad and pathetic. So hopefully they all pick up a book worth reading this year so they can stop wasting their clients time, $, and health.

Maximum Strength would be a great start.

Shoulder Health: Protraction vs Retraction

2011-06-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

For some reason shoulder misunderstandings tend to annoy me. For instance protraction and internal rotation of the shoulder are not the same thing. It's common that one follows the other but definitely not the same thing.

In this picture protraction would be the arrow pointing fwd/up. Retraction would be the arrow point away from the back.

The shoulder can protract w/o internally rotating, and just b/c a shoulder sits in extreme internal rotation does not mean that it is sitting in protraction. As far as that goes not all internal rotation or protraction is a bad thing. If it were we wouldn't press anything. Try telling that to Mr. Mon Wed Fri Bench Press guy.

You need a certain amount of each and it's the balance between retraction and protraction, same as internal and external rotation of the shoulder, that creates health and performance. Messing w/ this too much can actually mess w/ arm movement in overhead athletes that could be detrimental to their performance. Flying blind is dumb, and that's where assessments, attentiveness, and simply knowing what's going on w/ an athlete's day to day comes into play.

Exercises that protract the shoulder also direct/indirectly internally rotate the shoulder. Not all exercises that work on retraction will externally rotate the shoulder. That's why direct external rotation work should be programmed in for just about everyone and their mothers. Besides the fact that our bodies already gravitate towards protraction and internal rotation.

Mike Reinold's Shoulder W exercise is a great exercise for most athletes. "The exercise combines shoulder external rotation with scapular retraction and posterior tilt, definitely a great combo and advantageous for many people as it recruits the posterior rotator cuff (infraspinatus and teres minor) and the lower trapezius." -Mike Reinold

We need to be strong and healthy up front, that's not the problem in most athletes, but we're setting ourselves up for lots of problems if we don't take care of the opposing side.

USDA Retires Food Guide Pyramid....!!!

2011-06-07T23:10:00.000-07:00

Big news:

The USDA finally retires the food pyramid. This is a very good thing, though I don't agree whole heartedly w/ the new propaganda at least it's a step in the correct direction.

As governed people we think of the government to be and have the most advanced and well rounded technology, programs and information, but this is not the case most of time. The real advancements happen in the private sector where creativity and in the trenches thinking can take place w/o being staved by studies and procedure. Sadly the last place of change is where it should be the first.

Though I do think the government has had a little bit more to think about than nutrition, for example a war and a supposed recession. But this blog is not about politics, of which I know nothing, but about being an informed and free thinking person. So if I've offended anyone, I'm sorry, get over it.

The Gov's new deal is the "Plate". Saying to keep portions small, and that protein, grains, vegetables, and fruits should make up equal parts of each meal, and then a small portion of dairy on the side.

Which is great compared to what it used to when it was eat tons of grains, protein as you want, and fruits and vegetables ah....no big deal. So as idiotic as the "pyramid" was the "Plate" almost seems genius.

All in all I'd really like to give the government a nice backhanded compliment for this one. Emphasis on the backhand. But really, eating protein every meal, more emphasis on fruits and vegetables, decreasing grains and dairy, well done USDA.

At least we're moving the right direction. Maybe 50 years from now when 80% of the population is diabetic, bald, blind and on a dozen different medications that the government finances we'll see a shrink in the grains, an increase in the vegetables and fruits, and change the milk to greek yogurt.

By then Suzanne Sommers will have taken over everything and we'll all live forever and no one will remember what a baby looks like.....

There's some crazy shit out there, and I don't mean crazy in a don't think some of it could be theoretically possible. I guess we'll see.

Nutrition: Fridge vs Cupboards

2011-06-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

It's easy to list what's in your fridge. If you have the basics of a healthy diet then your fridge probably has a variety of plant based products, multiple lean protein sources and a few natural/organic condiments.

These could include, but not limited to:

Pickles (I prefer clausen's)

Sauerkraut (same)

Greek Yogurt (Fage, Chiobani, Oikos are good. I wouldn't eat the Greek Gods brand)

Kale

Spinach

Asparagus

Brocoli

Tomatoes

Cucumber

Strawberries

Grass fed Beef

Free Range Poultry

Free Range Eggs

Almond Milk (unsweetened)

Coconut Milk (unsweetened)

Pomegranate Juice

Horseradish

(for me this comes from a patch at my parents house, and I'm a very lucky guy for this)

Minced Garlic

(You're supposed to cut it as you use it, but if you're like me then you prefer doing it all at once)

Tobasco/Cholula

For me cholula almost always wins.

Natural organic ketchup

Personally I really like Annie's but making your own can be interesting on occasion as well.

Stone Ground Mustard

I prefer Boetje's Mustard. Theirs is simply the best.

This is actually what happens to be in my fridge right now but I also just went to the store yesterday. There's also some beer, different cheeses and I'm sure rotting food that I don't yet know about.....

The freezer is pretty boring, there's some random frozen meats and vegetables, but I usually keep some Ezekiel bread around too. Oh, and I'm a sucker for corn bread and ice cream (not at the same time). Everyone has their vice, and that's mine, so I have a couple mixes and a half gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream, that I try to make last a very long time.

Where I feel people really go wrong is the crap in their cupboards.

Cupboards are usually where you stack the junk that wont ever go bad which usually means candies, pastries, chips, pastas, etc. These are things that wont help our waistlines, our performance goals, or quality of life.

I'd rather have this....

Than this....

You don't think it would've been cool to have a miniature little native american friend when you were that age? I do

The following is a short list of some of the foods that'd be good to keep in your cupboards.

It's actually what I keep stocked in my cupboards on a regular basis.

-Steel Cut Oats (always buy in bulk)

-Quinoa (same)

-Brown rice

I use brown rice sparingly. Mainly just pre/post workout on occasion but that's about it, should probably throw it away, it's getting old

-Almonds
-Walnuts

-Chia Seed(that I grind w/ a coffee grinder)

-Flax Seed (grind those too)

-Protein Powder (whey+casein)

-Barlean's Greens
-Vitamin D

I really prefer Carlson's they make a great product for an overly reasonable price.

-Fish Oil
-Magnesium

-Zinc (used as necessary)

-CoQ10
-Multivitamin

-Melatonin (rare and random usage for whenever I want to go comatose for about 12 hours)

My spice rack gets used a ton but I run out of Turmeric and Watkin's Cinnamon all the time.

-Garlic

-Onion (yep, they're not even supposed to be refrigerated until you cut them)

-Sweet potato (same)

-Real Butter from grass feed cows (no need to refrigerate it either, in fact it'd get so hard you could barely use it)

-Extra Virgin Olive Oil

-Tarragon Vinegar

-Balsamic Vinegar

Interestingly, this is one item where paying more does make a difference, up to you.

-Dark chocolate

For my taste the darker the better but less than 70% cocoa and you're just eating candy.

-Peanut or almond butter:

I've tried alot of these and tend to enjoy Full Circle's the most, and it just so happens to be on the lesser expensive side.

Then I usually keep an assortment of tea's around. Right now it's

-Ginger Peach

-Honey Ginseng

-Earl Greyer

There's no rhyme of reason to this, I just think they taste good, except the Earl Greyer, Idk where it came from.

This usually surprises people but I do keep a good stock of canned goods in my cupboards. My mom has been canning food from her garden for longer than I've been around, and you don't go to her house w/o taking something home. It's usually tomatoes, green beans and applesauce. All of which are from soil that hasn't been depleted and the food was harvest when it was ripe, unlike the food you'd get in the store, so it's very good for you and comes in handy during the winter.

On my counter and dinning room table there are bowls of fruit that always have apples and w/e else I feel like having around at the time.

There are also things I don't keep in my kitchen on purpose.

A) I'll be more likely to eat them if they're around

B) They are so rarely used in my cooking that there's no point

C) Nutritionally they aren't the greatest choices in the world, so why give support by purchasing the stuff.

These would include:

-Wheat flour

-Sucralose (or any type of artificial sweetner for that matter)

If I want some sugar I'll have real sugar, we've been doing it for thousands of years. I think once in awhile is okay if you're living an active lifestyle and consuming 95% of your carbohydrates from better, plant based sources.

-Candy:

chocolate bars, twix, snickers, jolley ranchers (of which I don't even like hard candy), m&m's, chex mix. etc.

-Falsely marketed "healthy", "high in protein/fiber" stuff either.

You wont find a Fiber One Bar, Cliff Bar, Zone Bar, or anything else like that in my house. They're just candy too.

-Cold cereal's:

Cheerios, frosted flakes, Lucky Charms, Kix, sorry to burst your bubble these suck too. They're simply candy, and hold little to no nutritional value.

-This goes for the ones marketed to be "heatlhy" as well.

There's absolutely not one Kashi product in my house, nor Total, or anything else like that. They all suck, eat some real food.

And that's that. Really, in the end the basics get you by, most everyone just tries to make it complicated. Eat 5 big cups of vegetables every day and that'll go along way by itself.

Olympic Lift Variations Worth Doing: Part 2

2011-05-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

What variations of olympic lifts would I use?

1) Unilateral Dumbell Snatches.

It's much like the kettlebell swing. Quick learning curve. Athletes learn how to load their hips. It's unilateral so your strengthening and reinforcing good movement patterns. The gripping hand and the opposing hip are having to work synergistically to move the weight in an explosive manner. It's plain and simple a great exercise.

2) Unilateral Dumbell Jerk

I wouldn't use this as a max effort movement, I'd think of this exercise as more of a core exercise. Being on one side displaces the lift so you load your hips differently providing a change in stimuli.

3) If I were to do Snatches w/ a barbell

I have a client I've worked w/ for a long time, and he loves doing cleans and snatches. So like I said in Part 1, if your main goal is a PR in cleans and snatches then great, do them.

But I'd make one little change. Bring your hands in. The only reason a wide grip is to decrease the distance the bar has to travel and so the catch is easier when sitting deep underneath. That's it.

See what I mean? Grip width doesn't really matter until you start maxing out.

So make your hands the same width as your shoulders, just like a clean grip. You'll go down in weight a bit but this will really save you and your shoulders a ton of headache.. Then once a month whether it's just to practice or actually max out take your normal wide grip again.

We Don't Do Olympic Lifts: Part 1

2011-05-11T12:34:00.000-07:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again. We do NOT do olympic lifting. This is not to 'try' and be different or to create some kind of separation from other coaches. I simply feel that the affect produced by the movement is not worth the process/learning curve and that there are other movements and lifts that do a better job and have a faster learning curve.

Simply put the juice is not worth the squeeze.

And neither was she in that movie....just sayin.

Just to be clear and for those that are not familiar w/ the olympic lifting game. I'm referring to barbell:

-Cleans

-Snatches

-Jerks

Just as a side note:

I realize just how ludicrous it seems to hear and how quickly this post will be dismissed by many but after years of arguing w/ myself this is the conclusion that I have come to. I'm willing to bet that a lot of people will be surprised in a couple years when enough studies have been done that come to the same conclusions as I have, mark the date it's Wednesday, May 11, 2011. I'm sure they'll be able to convey a much more scientifically based message as well.

If you are unwilling to give up your clean that's fine, it's your program but I at least hope that:

A) you can keep an open mind throughout this post and

B) I hope your not a coach/trainer/person that emphasizes the 'shrug' while teaching/doing cleans, that is not what the lift is about.

Cleans

Sure the clean is great. And the process for teaching it can be great as well. Everyone knows it:

1. Teach kids how to hang pull quick w/ stiff arms

2. Teach a high pull from hang clean position

3. Teach hang clean

4. Teach power clean

This is a hang clean, much like a power clean you just don't take it all the way to the floor and it's extremely technical. Your main pull is only about 5"-8" and momentum should carry it the top. I also don't like messing w/ the wrist in/flexibility.

But this process takes an entire month. My athletes don't have an entire month, and neither do I. I consider myself a very patient person, but I hate waiting on things (and I realize how much that might not make sense at first). But an entire month to get a lift?

Mainly I don't feel the "product" of a clean and snatch are all that great.

Yeah they're post chain dominant, triple extension, explosive movements but the affect we get from them is not enough to program them above other exercises. I'd rather get my athletes going on swings and trap bar deadlifts and do it the first day. I feel like they get a better training affect, can control and feel through the motion better, and athletes pick both up extremely fast, I'll go into more detail about this later.

A closer look at Snatches (not a joke)

Now the reason I or my athletes don't do barbell snatches is a different deal. To me it seems that if you'd like a shoulder impingement then snatches would be a good decision.

This idea started back in the summer of 2005. Before attending Wartburg I'd not done many snatches. After one season of Wartburg football workouts I'd done hundreds. We always dropped the weight from the top, which was a first for me, but when I lifted back at my high school over break I couldn't drop the weight and had to catch it. I don't know if I remember feeling my shoulders wrench like that in my life. I wrestled, pitched, have had one dislocation and two third degree AC seperations, and both shoulders were doing it w/ each catch.

Fast fwd one summer during my internship w/ Coach Matt McGettigan (of which I'm extremely thankful for this guy he's an incredible coach and I would suggest working under him even if just for a short time). I asked Coach McGettigan why he didn't have his athletes doing snatches, I mean we did them at Wartburg all the time. He said, "If you like shoulder impingements." And it makes sense, on the way down you're catching the weight w/ your shoulder in it's most vulnerable position and you have X lbs on the bar. Looks bad to me. Same reason I speak against upright rows.

Can you imagine catching this on it's way down?

Getting into the Jerk

We also did tons of jerks at Wartburg. I don't really feel like I should need to explain this to anyone, b/c it seems so obvious. But basically this movement really doesn't have much carry over to the field, mat, court or track. If you're a powerlifter or olympic lifter then great, you gotta do them. It's like a basketball player shooting hoops, of course it doesn't aid his/her athleticism but it definitely makes them better at their sport.

This is a clean and jerk. Obviously this guy is an olympic lifter and that's his thing so of course he should do it. But my athletes aren't going for a one rep max jerk. So we do things differently.

Outside of actual olympic lifting competition I'd say the jerk is not much more than a core exercise. But it'd be a very good core exercise. Holding that much weight above your head, you'd be bracing and stabilizing like crazy. But the jerk doesn't really take us through any range of motion.

So there's my reasoning for why my athletes don't do olympic lifting. Mainly b/c they're high school athletes playing multiple sports like football, wrestling, baseball, volleyball, etc. This requires them to move in multiple planes, and they're programming needs to reflect those needs, of which olympic lifts don't fit w/ as well as other lifts and movements.

I do use some variations of olympic lifts which I'll go over in Part 2.

Stuff you should read: Nutrition

2011-05-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

It's pretty well accepted at this point that w/o a solid nutritional foundation we're going to be sick, stupid, and fugly. I'd say that the majority of people know that eating at McDonalds 3x/week is not a good nutritional strategy. But I'm also surrounded by people that are either on their way to becoming more healthy or they already are extremely into nutrition.

This is a collection that comes from some of my best nutritional resources.

And it's great b/c........they're all FREE!

John Berardi

Precision Nutrition Nutrition Strategies for Success

Gourmet Nutrition Recipe Book

PN Nutrition course

Brian St. Pierre

Case against Conventional Dairy

Soda: Diabetes in a can

Supplements 101

Organic or Conventional: Is there a difference?

Jonny Bowden

The Truth About Supplements

Stuff to watch

Food Inc. was a great movie and well worth the watch. Safe to say that you'll never look at chicken the same way again.

Stuff to watch for:

Forks Over Knives hasn't been released yet but I'm excited to see it.

4 Stretches for tight hip flexors

2011-05-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

The average athlete walking into see me looks approximately like this.

This is almost exclusively caused by tightness in the anterior portion of the hips.

Typically a combination of all 4 hip flexors: TFL, Psoas, illiacus and Rectus Femoris. Some people don't consider the Rectus Femoris as hip flexor b/c it is actually a quad muscle, but I assure you it flexes the hip and you use it every time you pick up your knee.

Mobilization and stretching is absolutely pivotal in this situation.

Here are a few of the main stretches we use.

This is a simple hip flexor stretch however I often see people not doing the it justice.

Tightening the abdominals and glutes will increase the precision of the stretch.

This stretch will also behoove those w/ TFL and Psoas issues much more than people those w/ rectus tightness.

And it's convenient when working at a desk for continous amounts of time. Throw a pad down and switch knees every 15 minutes or so.

You can also use a box to create a deficit

Creating a deficit like this forces the hips closer to a neutral position causing the opposing muscle groups to stretch each other.

Here we're going to be stretching much more than just the hip flexors. We'll get some hamstring and adductor as well but will greatly increase the stretch and learning curve for the stretch from the above example.

The Rear Foot Elevated Hip flexor stretch can be done multiple ways. At GRIT we almost always use the wall.

If you have rectus tightness you'll know right away w/ this one. We use it w/ every athlete and every workout.

The Rear Foot Elevated Hip Flexor Stretch targets the rectus femoris (not exclusively). As you can see by its attachment points. Just by elevating the back foot we greatly increase the stretch through this muscle due to its nature as an extender of the knee.

We can also group these stretches.

I feel like you get more out of the stretches this way but some people are just plain not flexible enough to get into position in order to perform it.

I call this the Rear Foot Elevated Hip Flexor Stretch from Deficit. Longest name of any stretch I've come across yet....just sayin.

Getting Recruited

2011-04-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

We all know that the time is now, and every second we wait is one we're not getting back. Yatta, yeata, yata..... (figured I'd go w/ three different possible spellings.)

Everyone wants a Division I scholarship and it feels cool when you get pulled from class to the principles office and instead of being in trouble it's actually a football coach that's there to recruit you. Then you get to go back to all your buddies, they're asking what's up,why was *so and so* w/ all the *enter school of your choice*'s gear on talking w/ you, and all that jazz. I'm not gonna lie, I remember feeling like a total BAMF.

But that's probably about as cool as it ever got. Really no one tells you how full of crap some of them are. Or that probably 25% of the time it's actually a guy trying to sell you some kind of service that'll supposedly help you get recruited.

Always sucks when you walk in and see this guy.

Guess it's better than being in trouble though.

Now I've heard a few feelings towards the recruiting process.

-If you're good enough you'll be found

-You gotta put on a campaign for yourself and send highlight videos everywhere.

-Go to as many camps and combines as you can, showcase your talents, and network w/ all the coaches and recruiters

-You have to hire a recruiting agency to create highlight videos of you and send them across the country.

-Blah, blah, blah... No, No, NOOO

Okay, here's what you have

Your kids have 4 years of high shool sports period there is no more, and they only have 2 that they'll be able to be recruited during (freshman year no one looks, sophmore's have to be something really special to get on the radar, junior year is the big year to get noticed, senior year scouts have already decided who they're going after).

I grew up in small town Iowa. It's pretty rare that a recruiter is going to come to a small town game b/c s/he's only going to be able to see 1 or 2 potential recruits. So unless your team is very good and you have multiple specimens on one team, then your chances of being found are not as high.

Not every position is going to get the spotlight. If you're a baseball pitcher, you'll probably be found, same w/ a running back and other glory positions, but linemen don't get noticed.

It was a lot less like this

And a lot more like this

But add a few players (I played 11 man) then replace the 'ranch' w/ some trees, corn fields and cows. Not joking.

Here's what you need to do.

1) Take care of yourself. Your performance is everything.

First and foremost you gotta be in top physical shape. By the time your junior year rolls around you gotta be very very focused and have to have put in the work.

-Take your offseasons, but don't sit on your ass

-If you wanna do all 4 sports go ahead, but that doesn't mean you can slack in other areas. If you wrestle that doesn't mean we can be cutting enormous amounts of weight, and not lifting. Just like everything else we have to do it the right way. Power output doesn't mean we have to have huge muscles.

-Sleep, Eat, and Recover correctly

-Train like a madman. You want this then its on your shoulders.

-Eat right: breakfast, stay hydrated, protein throughout the day, lots of fruits and vegetables, time your carbs but get enough of them.

2) Show the world

-Perform. You've prepared, you're ready, now get it done.

-Sending videos doesn't hurt. But remember recruiters get videos all the time. Include your stats in a readable manner:

Name:

Height:

Weight:

40yrd:

Pro Agility:

Vertical:

Broad Jump:

L Drill:

Squat: if it's good

Bench: if it's good

Feats of strength don't hurt: For example, if you can do 10 good pullups w/ an additional 100lbs, I'd probably throw it in there.

-No one cares about your track times or your wrestling record. If you placed at state mention it. If you have a wow factor use it otherwise it's just a number.

-Be honest but leave out anything bad. Don't mention any previous or current injuries, ever! Never ever admit to a weak point. I used to be kinda proud of all my injuries, felt like it showed my toughness. Another friend of mine had his scholarship pulled soon as he got a herniation in his back.

-Social media is making things interesting. This is where networking pays off b/c you can expose yourself to friends of friends of friends very quickly. Don't be afraid to post a video on facebook of your squat, deadlift, bench, or performance highlight, even if it's practice.

3) Going to camps is a must. But not at the cost of your season. Training preparation comes before any camp.

I hate to admit that camps are pivotal but it but it's true. The problem I'm seeing is that kids are going to 4-6 camps a summer. This is way too many, and not going to allow enough training time nor rest time. So kids end up going into the season under prepared and not having the season they needed. Remember reason one.

Number one thing an athlete must do to be recruited is to perform. Plain and simple.

-while your at camps, perform. You gotta be the best version of you all the time, no matter what.

-Show character: this means working your ass off (and making that work look easy, don't show weakness), doing things crisp and correct, showing up early, showing leadership (which means be a leader while you're there), etc..

-parents/coaches should spend at least a couple of days observing and networking w/ the staff, coaches and other parents. It goes w/o saying that you should write down peoples names after you meet them so you remember who to look up later.

-Kids should bring a video w/ them if they have it.

-Be forward w/ the team's coaches. You want to be recruited. Say that, "I want to play here." Coaches like that, they'll remember you, and it shows them your commitment and character.

-Always meet the strength coach, and make sure he remembers you.

-Keep it to less than 3 camps/summer. Anymore and we're losing too much time. The season is the first priority to getting recruited and it should be anyway.

4) Follow up immediately

Don't wait one week. Get on email, facebook, w/e and email all the coaches you meet or want to play under as soon as you can. Keep it short and sweet. Under 6 sentences.

5) Do NOT hire a recruiting agency. They're a rip and full of dip shit life failures that probably got fired from selling used cars, women's cosmetics, or vacuums.

That's how you get recruited. You gotta prepare and perform, the other stuff just helps a little.

Anterior Pelvic Tilt part 2: What we do at GRIT GYM

2011-04-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

2nd installment of Anterior Pelvic Tilt: What we do at GRIT GYM

First off the hips are the center of our bodies, they are also the center of movement, the difference between fast and slow athletes is many times directly correlated w/ the function of their hips, good or bad.

This is interesting b/c what if we can make every athlete's hips better and the whole team takes 1/2 a second off their 40yrd and pro agility times.

Remember these?

They guaranteed to take .2sec off your 40yrd time and we thought that was a huge amount of time.

At GRIT Gym we've been working on extension based exercises, w/ nervous system reaction forces as well as almost zero conventional "core" work and getting incredible results.

Focusing mainly on the function and efficiency of the body seems to have a larger impact than simply seeing how much a kid can lift. Especially in the long run.

Simply by working on getting athletes hips mobile and using specific strength exercises I've seen a consistent .3-.6 sec drop in my athletes times. This is mainly for the 40yrd and pro agility.

What are some of the things we do. Well,

we warm up properly

-SMR

-Mobility work: mainly thoracic spine, anterior portion of hips, and ankles

-Activation

-Dynamic flex

we don't do a ton of sprinting

we do quite a bit of movement training

-Med balls

-plyos

-bands

-shuffles

we keep the plyometric volume fairly low

we don't really do olympic lifts

-my feeling is that the difference between a clean, kettlebell swing, and deadlift is mostly the amount of time it takes to learn each. The kettlebell swing and deadlift give more bang for their buck and the learning curve is quick. Cleans take forever to learn, and I feel like the other two better aid in my athletes progress.

We don't do any long distance, steady state cardiac work. Non, Never, Zip, Ziltch, Ever, Ever, Ever!!!

-We do interval work and complexes but we almost never do anything over 30 seconds.

-there's too much fun stuff for this. Prowlers, ropes, dual action bikes (yeah that one isn't fun), but kettlebells are, short sprints, shuffles, competitions. etc....

-and the majority of my athletes are 16 and under so not only is long distance work not going to help them in anyway its actually very dangerous.

-Its been proven repeatedly that volume is directly correlated w/ injury. Simply put, you run too much and you'll get injured

-It also will suppress immune systems

-Decrease endocrine system activity (during a very developmental period of an athletes life)

-Can potentially stunt growth. If an athletes joint capsules aren't fused, which really doesn't happen until about 21-26 years of age.

-Probably the worst is that long distance stuff makes kids SLOW. You can't get faster by moving slow all the time. You'll just be getting better at moving slow and that's about it.

We do quite a bit of barefoot training, but we're not doing anything stupid like sprinting, and cutting w/o shoes.

The atmosphere is fairly light until it's time to get to work then we go hard.

Kids learn to make better life choices. Like what goes in their bodies (they know what a good breakfast is, and don't drink a ton of pop), how to stand up for themselves, lifting and training naturally raises your self esteem and confidence, working smart and working hard exacerbates this.

I've said for a long time that the first step in self improvement is elimination.

I stand by this. You want to make your life better, remove the crap. You want to be a better athlete remove the crap and stick w/ what works. We don't fill programs to make the athlete "feel" like they're getting better (and I use the quotes for a reason, I'm being extremely cynical). Sure they might be getting stronger on another program doing it that way. You're body will react to imposed demands, but that doesn't mean that you are becoming a better athlete. Talk to me when you can move faster while using less energy, that's what we're going for, b/c that's the program that's gonna take an athlete to another level. When s/he can be tons faster at the beginning of the game and strong enough to last to the end.

Simply put, get a kids hips to open up after 7 hours of sitting in a desk (w/ mobilization drills), take a minute to activate the areas that are going to be lacking (particularly the glutes and probably psoas) and we'll have given our athletes a drastically different chance of being successful and healthy.

I'm off to the gym to take some videos of what I'm talking about. Let me know your thoughts below.

Anterior Pelvic Tilt

2011-04-18T06:17:00.000-07:00

You gotta figure out your pelvic tilt. Until then your performance will suffer, no matter what sport your participating in.

Pelvic tilt goes something like this:

And it's caused by tight hip flexor muscles. You have 4 hip flexor muscles: the Psoas, TFL, Iliacus, and Rectus femoris but non the less your hips tilt fwd and you put yourself in a poor mechanical position that can lead to nagging injuries and you just plain and simple wont be able to perform as well, plus you'll look like you have a belly (see above).

Your glutes wont be able to fire correctly or as efficiently as they could b/c they are inhibited by the tight/shortened hip flexors.

This will put the hamstring in a pre stretched position b/c the posterior portion of the hips are higher than they should be. This is bad. You know any athletes w/ nagging hamstring issues.....it's probably b/c their pelic tilt sits to far anteriorly.......Not good.

Anterior pelvic tilt will also lead to an increased lordosis. In other words your lumbar spine (lower back) is going to have too much of a curve.

Sounds like no big deal right? I mean, it already curves right? Well, increasing the curves of your low back means you aren't as tall, your belly will stick out further making you look like you have more bodyfat than you really do, it's really bad for your back, will probably lead to pain, and its potentially not healthy for the nerves that innervate that area.

What to do

Working on stretching your hip flexors will go a long way.

Most people will need more than that though, and that's where activation and strength comes in.

Next post will be on stretching and lengthening the hip flexors, activation, and strength work.

Pile Driven for your rotator cuff practices

2011-03-01T20:27:00.000-08:00

I notice things that people do fairly often, and I like to think that I'm a patient person. For instance when I absolutely want to form tackle someone into next week, I almost always refrain and walk away. B/c I realize not everyone is the same, we all have our own worthless opinions and the only reasons they're worthless is b/c we can't do a thing to change the other person's. But when I see a professional doing stupid stuff w/ their athletes or clients in the gym it really bothers me. So, after pile driving this individual, I came up w/ the top 3 things people do in regards to incorrectly training the rotator cuff.

#3 Doing multiple short sets for the rotator cuff.

The rotator cuff is a small muscle that’s main job is to keep the shoulder in place and absorb force/decelerate the arm. It does not need to be over loaded repeatedly w/ rest times. It needs to function, function long enough (endurance) and be strong enough to absorb force, keep the shoulder in position, and decelerate the arm.

I participated in a program once (it was college, we had no choice and didn’t know any better) where one day/wk we had 3 different rotator cuff exercises for 3 sets of 20 reps each. That means the entire football team sat there and did rotator cuff work for 10-15 minutes one day/wk. This is extremely excessive, and had an incredibly low ROI (return on investment).

Programming rotator cuff work is completely dependent on the athlete, time of year, sport, ect. But it’s a safe bet that 1 set of 20 reps one or two days/wk at the end of a workout, w/ a side lying external rotation exercise like this would be safe and beneficial for almost any athlete and the general population.

I also think it's much better to have something between the arm and torso, especially if using bands/pulleys in a standing position. I couldn't find the study but placing something simple like a towel between the arm and torso for external rotator cuff work increased EMG activity by close to 30%. Which makes sense, you use better technique that way w/ your arm closed off and pivoting at the shoulder like you should.

#2 You don’t need to progressively overload your rotator cuff like you do your squat, bench, or deadlift. It doesn’t work that way.

I’ve seen guys using over 20lbs for external rotation exercises. Your rotator cuff is a very strong muscle but that doesn’t mean that it is going to be able to move massive amounts of weight. It is not a fast twitch muscle like your glutes or hamstrings. It is a very small muscle and not meant for that. For most exercises anything over 5lbs or a very light band and you are wasting your time.

#1 thing that annoys me in regards to people training the rotator cuff

People using the empty can test as an actual exercise. The point of the test is to gauge problems of the rotator cuff. You are literally exacerbating the impingement to get a better look at how the shoulder is functioning.

The empty can test is not a go to exercise for the rotator cuff. Most people’s shoulders are just gonna get pissy doing an empty can test too many times, let alone adding resistance.

We've known this for a long time. The empty can is also not going to let us significantly pinpoint the area we want to work. According to Boettcher, Ginn, Cathers the empty can is going to recruit much more of the deltoid, which leaves the rotator cuff w/ a subpar role in moving the arm. We want to significantly recruit the external rotators of the rotator cuff. Although rear delt recruitment is not a bad thing, in this case we want to get in deep w/ the cuff. And we don't want to piss it off, and inflame the impingement.

Making my case w/ the Creatine loading phase

2011-02-22T12:43:00.000-08:00

I've never really agreed w/ the creatine loading phase that is usually instructed on the outside of containers anyway, how most novices consume the product in general or why they even buy the stuff in the first place. But I digress.

We know that after 2-3 weeks of taking a normal serving size (which is a relatively small amount, 5 grams) of creatine our bodies levels will get to the same levels as that if we were to use a loading phase.

The idea of a loading phase is that it only takes a week. But this loading phase requires us to take around 20g/day for a week.

All a loading phase will do is increase the price of your piss. Literally

Creatine is a diuretic.

Any extra that your body can't absorb is going to be excreted in your urine, which makes it sound extremely safe like water soluble vitamins, and you take tons of Vitamin C when you get sick (even though I have yet to see any viable research that would prove access VitC to help your common cold after you're already sick).

Peeing all the time makes your more susceptible to dehydration, cramps, and gastric issues (of which creatine is heavily linked).

As far as my problem w/ how novices consume the product. Your body can only accept around 5g/day of creatine (depending on the person). So what's the point in forcing it.

As far as why they bought the stuff in the first place. Probably b/c the wanted an excuse for why they can't hit a lift when they "forgot" to take their creatine that day. Duuhuumb. Creatine might help you hit an extra rep or two on some of sets, it has nothing to do w/ immediate force output. And that's even if the lifter I'm making fun of right now has even trained long and consistently enough to even be able to put up anything substantial. I'll just go ahead and stop there before this turns into my normal tirade against the typical weight room hero that only workouts in spandex shirts, baggy sweatpants (to cover his chicken legs) and sweatbands even though he doesn't really sweat, but loves to put on a show loading up his supplements in the locker room, and doesn't really have anything impressive anyway.

To step away from making fun of probably half the people at my first job in the profession. Creatine works. There's no doubt about it. The stuff was a great find. See Pubmed article here. But the majority of people that even do lift heavy are going to get more from a preworkout meal than swallowing some creatine powder.

Really, creatine is fine for most people, it even has a role in brain health. Taking 5g/day is probably fine, depending on the person. I'd urge you to get tested first. But there's really very little need the supplement unless you've been training heavily for years, and have exhausted all your resources.

To wrap things up, in my professional and layman opinion it seems like taking an extra week or two to get the full affect of creatine is superior to loading.

If you are going to take creatine. Stay under or around 5g/day. Keep it simple and go for Creatine Monohydrate. If you're in high school, don't control or don't know what your workouts will include then take it before bed.

If you're only lifting, are in good shape and not doing conditioning then it'd be fine to take before the workout. But taking it before practice, games, or conditioning is asking for cramps and injuries (and not b/c your ripped) or sitting on the toilet for the next day or two.

What I learned from a 2yr old the other day

2011-02-21T12:57:00.000-08:00

Good story for you.

The other night my little sister and nephew were riding in the car and he kept looking at the stars. Btw, my nephew is a funny little 2 yr old kid that does w/e he wants w/o fear and everyone says how he is just like me when I was that age so it kinda hits you. But he has no fear and doesn’t have any stitches, scars, or black eyes yet but probably will, just like his uncle. But when he refers to my little sister Maggie and I he says “My Maggie” and “My Adam”.

So the other night he’s in the car looking at the stars, and I guess it went like this.

Maggie: “Aren’t the stars pretty Jacob?”

Jacob: “Get one for me Maggie”

Maggie: “I can’t they’re too high”

Jacob: “Jump Maggie”

Maggie: “I can’t Jacob, they’re still too high.”

-Pause-

Jacob: “I bet my Adam could get one.”

I thought it was awesome, and totally killed me.

But really we should all be reaching for the stars. Too high to reach jump, and if you can’t get one find someone who can.

Just like anything else, get someone that’s been there, knows what they are talking about and can help you grab your own stars. If it’s w/ sports than jacob probably has a pretty good chance. His mom was a division I athlete, he’s bound to be pretty decent.

The great thing is that I get to be a role model for this kid and show him that he can grab a star for himself, and then I get to be there when he does.

In the mean time, here's a circuit you can try out. We used it to finish up the other day after a heavy leg week.

I have a circuit for you

Pullups x8

Prowler push x15 yds+return

Alternating Ropes x30 seconds

Facepulls x12

3 sets and the facepulls are there as active rest time.

Keeping it simple.

10 tips to successful goals

2010-12-31T14:36:00.000-08:00

New year, new goals, new lease on life, and all that jazz. Really, having the right mind set is huge, and some people will follow through w/ their endeavors this year and more power to you. It's take a ton of discipline to change your mind and the amazing result is how much that can change your life and your body.

But for tonight, Have a good time be safe, celebrate and remember the best parts of 2010, and be thankful they happened.

Thought this video made sense for tonight. Start everything else on monday. Btw that's the 3rd.

But if you have something you want to do this year, here are a few ways to increase your likelihood for success.

1) Tell everyone about it.

Our brains do this funny thing when lots of people know about our goals, it psychologically increases our dedication to following through. It puts more pressure on success, more people are there to keep you accountable, and then you can share your story w/ every one of them when your accomplish it.

2) Write it down and put it everywhere.

Bathroom mirror, car, desk, etc. Reminders are huge, even if you get used to them you'll still be reminded more often.

3) Make it specific.

Don't say I want tone up, or get stronger or some bullshit like that. Say, I want to Dead lift 600lbs, or I want to have 7% body fat.

For instance last year I still had yet to see the ocean. I know, crazy right. So I said before I my next birthday I'm to see the ocean. What happened, I was about to take a trip all by myself one month before my birthday to see the ocean, when some friends asked me to go to the orange bowl. Well, it was freezing cold in florida the whole week, I saw the ocean but I may as well have been looking at a picture, cause it was too cold to do anything anyway.

Yep, this happened while I was there.

4) Be realistic. This doesn't need an explanation.

5) Imagine yourself already having accomplished it.

This will not satisfy your craving for it, but will make your faith in the possibility of having/doing it, and/or will make you realize how much you need and deserve to have/do it.

6) Devote yourself to working your ass off for it. This means working smart as well.

This ass is earned

Getting on a treadmill is not hard work, and it's definitely not smart work.

7) Find and talk to people who have done what you're trying to do.

8) Get help from experts. Even Kobe Bryant has a coach.

9) Don't be a douche bag.

You can believe what you want, Karma, prayer, energy flow, w/e. But studies have been done to disprove prayer over and over again and every time the results came back w/ overwhelming proof in numbers that it works.

The studies took hundreds of patients and hospitals (some studies got specific using only cancer patients). Half the patients names were given to prayer groups across the country and half were not. The half that were prayed for showed massive improvement in their health, the group that was not prayed for didn't have any significant deviation from what was expected.

Point is if positive thoughts can help people in a hospital miles and miles away, what do you think negative thoughts can do. Plus no one likes a douche, no one wants to help a douche, and no one is going to be happy for a douche.

10) Find something that inspires you as often as possible.

Music, stories, movies, quotes, activities that rejuvenate you (maybe a walk in nature), anything that lifts your spirit and gets you going. Then use that energy to catapult yourself into your endeavor.

K, that's it. If you have another tip for keeping on track, or increasing your success put it in the comment section below.

25 things worth taking the chance on

2010-12-30T14:22:00.000-08:00

1. Skydive.

B/c its an experience that can only be earned one way and you'll have that connection w/ everyone else that's ever done it. Plus its a total rush.

2. Fly an airplane.

Not flying "on" an airplane, but actually taking the controls and defying gravity.

3. Diversify your Beer portfolio

If you haven't branched out yet, you need to. Beer seems to take a back seat to wine in almost every category but getting drunk in college, however there is a whole world of class and distinguished tastes beer has to offer that are passing most of us by.

Here are a few safe places to start

-Rogue, my favorite is Dead Guy Ale but I'm a fan of heavy dark beer. There are others.

-New Glarus, I have yet to have anything from them that is not incredible. (and I'm not a fan of the state of WI so that is saying quite a bit.)

-Goose Island, I personally really like Pere Jacques, but it is heavy w/ a high alc content so be careful.

-Hoegaarden, It's a very tasty beer to start the night w/ friends.

Just a side note, try any IPA's at your own risk, but up to you, they're just not my favorite.

4. Ride a REAL bull

Possibly just so you can appreciate real bull riders when you flip past a rodeo on tv. And no, mechanical bulls do not count.

5. Fat. Eat it for gods sake, it's healthier than sugar.

Here's something to start w/

Duck Fat Potatoes

-1lb small red potatoes

-4 tbsp duck fat ($3 for 7 oz from a specialty supermarket or dartagnan.com

Over low heat, melt duck fat in deep skillet w/ tight fitting lid. Raise the temperature. Rinse/wash potatoes, place in colander. Transfer to skillet (water + hot fat splatter, but this will also create cooking steam). Cover, shake skillet to coat potatoes. Cook until golden brown and tender (about 18min), season w/ coarse sea salt and black pepper.

And keep this dish for after a workout, your body will accept the carbs better during that time. Refilling your glycogen stores that have just been depleted, rather than having a glucose blood rush, cause then the pancreas produces insulin to pull the glucose out of the blood in an attempt to regulate glucose levels (which is a good thing) but then our bodies store it as fat (not such a good thing).

6. Blow hole diving

B/c it'd be phenomenal.

7. Downhill ski/snowboard a level far beyond your skill.

Yeah it's dangerous but so is shaving your balls.

8. Smoke an expensive cigar.

(not on a regular basis)

9. Try eating raw oysters.

B/c once you get past it looking like a bugger they are actually extremely good, but think how hungry the first person was to suck down one of those.

10. Perform a true 360 cookie in your car

Right now it's perfect in the midwest, cold w/ snow on the ground. Otherwise, find a gravel road and believe me.....it can be done.

11. Play tackle football past the age of 25

You're not too old unless you think you're too old.

12. Learn to surf

Whats the worst thats gonna happen, you get eaten by a shark, scrap your knee on the board surface, or develop a sweet and sexy new skill.

13. Take 15 minutes to savor a good glass of scotch

The point of drinking is not to get "slammed", and if you're going to drink you really should develop some kind of appreciation for what you're putting down your trap.

14. Get a heckler at a sporting event to sit down and keep his mouth shut.

15. Learn to do a flip off the diving board.

16. Scuba dive

Don't blow up your lungs.

17. Brave some second hand smoke w/ an old guy.

They are the best story tellers, and the stuff they did when they were young would put kids in juvie today.

18. Get off the beaten path in another country.

19. Take care of a toddler that isn't your own for 6 hrs.

It is an amazing exercise for developing patience and to instill safe sex practices. It's also nice for that little kids parents to have a chance to do something besides change diapers, do laundry, clean, and do anything w/ more than one hand at a time.

20. Do something that scares the shit out of you.

If you can do it regularly even better. For me its walking into a dark room. I'm very seriously afraid of the dark, so it's a regular game of "am I brave enough?". But don't be locking me in any dark rooms, I'll seriously put a hole in the wall.

21. Go somewhere for a week or two w/o telling anyone where you went (and if you can get away w/ it, don't even let them know you're leaving.)

22. Peg the speedometer.

You only have to burry that thing once to say you did it. Believe me, you'll feel like you're about to start flying and those dotted lines are gonna look like a solid line.

23. Bungee jump

24. Sleep in a tent for one week, w/ no radio, internet, or cell phone.

Preferably in the Rockies, w/ a cute girl that doesn't need make up, and enough food, beer, and fire wood to keep you warm each night.

25. Smoke pipe tobacco w/ a pipe inside your house (not repeatedly). It'll smell amazing for a week.

TOP THING WORTH TAKING A CHANCE ON:

-Stay casual, calm and confident, walk up, half smile and say "Hi", to a girl that (you think) is way out of your league. Best done after watching "40 year old virgin". The conversation that follows could ensue the story the two of you get to share for the rest of your lives. Sometimes a girl's personality matches her face and body.

And if not, who cares, you had the courage to do it, and that's respectable.

2010-12-27T19:17:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays

2010-12-24T13:12:00.000-08:00

So the title was an attempt to be "politically correct" but really I have no clue.

So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Kwanzaa...w/e you celebrate. Really we're all gonna end up celebrating some form of a misconstrued event that I hope at least started out w/ good intentions. I mean who knew that when this all started to cover pagan rituals, it'd turn into a commercialized monetization juggernaut that would rule little american boys' and girls' entire winter, and drain every one of their parents. Just kidding, well to a point.

I know I'm a bit of cynic, but really I think christmas is great. I also may get tired of the commercials and carols, but really the exchange of money is a great thing. It's how our economy runs so why not.

This year is interesting I have a 5 year old niece and a 2 year old nephew who are completely into santa. Just like every other kid their age. So I'm getting this view of how awesome they think it'd be to find santa in their house tonight.

The question that I'm wrestling w/ is what would I do if I woke up in the middle of the night and "santa" was in my house?

How many houses to you suppose get robbed by "santa" every year? Idk but I bet it happens.

I'd love to know what you think.

If this happened I'm pretty sure I'd think I was getting robbed, and wonder how he got in.

Anyway, it's snowing like crazy here. Have a good one, get a workout in before the big meal, use the sample I gave a few days ago.

NO EQUIPMENT NEEDED

This workout will let you utilize the food instead of storing it as fat.

And this is just one of my favorite christmas movie scenes

Sportsmanship and recent ridiculousness

2010-12-24T12:43:00.001-08:00

Because of events in the news the last couple of weeks I think it's about time some of us coaches start talking about sportsmanship.

It's been a couple weeks now, but this guy really should be ashamed of himself. Parents out there should feel lucky that he choose to coach pro athletes instead of your kids cause this is NOT the kind of person that should be in the position of "role model". But he made his statement, and as far as his press conference....give me a break.

Personally I find it hard to go to a youth football game at all b/c of what I see from the crowd. But to a point, I can empathize w/ a parent or fan disagreeing w/ calls from coaches and referees.

However, I still strongly hold the general opinion that parents and fans are not on the field so they should keep their mouths shut.

But this guy is a coach, and a strength coach on top of that. A strength coach sees athletes more than any other coach, all year long, up close and personal. Your strength coach should be like a mentor (I know that is what I hold myself to as my athletes' coach), a person that our kids should be able to look up to and come to when they need advise or w/e else.

And then we have players fighting each other. Yeah, a team should be like a family and my brother and sister and I used to have epic battles where we beat the hell out of each other, but this stuff, in a public place. These guys need more pride in their school and themselves along w/ more character than to throw a fit like this. It doesn't take a man to throw a fit or a punch. A 2 year old can do that. It takes a man to compose himself and resolve matters his own way, even if it does mean punches at the very least take it outside.

When some of the dolphins players were interviewed about the jets strength coach, what they said that stuck w/ me was that behaviors and actions roll downhill. The were attempting to say how Coach Rex is dirty and that attitude is infectious and affects the other coaches and pretty soon affects all the players.

We as coaches are in an incredible position and we have not only an opportunity but a responsibility to be the best PEOPLE and COACHES that we can be in order to provide a model that our athletes can learn from. I don't mean that to seem like I'm saying we have to be goodies that tow the line all the time, that's far from what I think kids need.

The right role model isn't always what you think

If we are the best people that we can be that will trickle down. Our kids will learn from our best qualities if we let them show through. The really amazing part that I've found is how much I end up learning from them.

What's w/ all the baby makin?

2010-12-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

On to a subject I definitely do not consider myself an expert in. For some reason lately I've noticed an influx of pregnant women. Maybe I'm just getting to "that age", but the last time I remember noticing this many pregnant women I was 5 and my mom, 2 aunts and some family friends were all pregnant at approximately the same time. Scary stuff. But non the less I've always found this subject interesting in terms of exercise. How much should a woman workout while pregnant? How intense? What exercises? Etc....

In all actuality the exercise game is in infant stages in comparison to other activities human beings have been doing throughout our existence, so no matter who you are, exercise during pregnancy is almost completely uncharted territory.

A few of the things I know, is that:

1. men envy women because we cannot give life, and that's a pretty amazing deal.

We'll also never have to go through labor, so when it comes to talking about our "tough glory days" of football and wrestling, we might as well just shut up when the moms walk in the room.

2. Pregnant women are not to be messed w/.

Right now happens to be my older sisters third pregnancy and I don't know if it's hormones, entitlement, or stress but holding my tongue is an almost constant activity.

3. Pregnancies are nothing to mess w/ in general.

That's some precious cargo and it's fragile so this subject should be taken very seriously and given tons of thought and research.

Cassandra Forsythe is doing an interesting deal on her website right now though, in regard to exercising preggers, and these are her first two interviews.

Fit Pregnancy Interview Part 1

Fit Pregnancy Interview Part 2

Some of the stuff I read today

2010-12-21T08:34:00.000-08:00

Typically when we feel relaxation is the last thing we need it's actually the time we need it the most. This is especially true during the holidays and I doubt very many people feel like dropping any more cash but a massage would probably go a long way on your way to the hap hap happiest christmas since...

But if you're not willing to get a massage this was a decent read.

Holiday Stress

I realize how lots of this stuff sounds and it's magical hocus pocus feel, but I have a hard time hearing an argument against MINDSET and BELIEF.

Dr. Bowden also posted Top 10 Tips for Jump Starting Weightloss that was a very quick, easy and informative read.

There are all kinds of parasympathetic activity options.

1. I do think massage is the healthiest and most beneficial/effective option

2. Meditation

3. Naps/sleep

4. (I hate to say it) but yoga and/or pilates.

Anything you can do to unwind and get your head in a positive, solution based position.