Working Hard vs. Working Smart....

"I had an awesome workout yesterday, I almost passed out and I'm so sore I can barley walk!"  That could be a phase that someone you know has mentioned regarding what they feel, is an effective training session.  I've had people tell me, "My trainer kicked my ass yesterday, I had such a good workout".  I'm always a little curious to find out what was so "good" about the workout, so I have to ask them, "So, what did you guys do?"

Usually the response I get makes me think their trainer threw a bunch of exercises in a blender and just tried to do anything possible to reach a state of physical fatigue.  Most of the time these workouts, or training sessions have no rhyme or reason - they are just done to "beat down" and exhaust  the client.  Is this effective training? I think not.

Here is an example of a BAD but exhausting training session:

Do each exercise back to back with no rest between exercises
20 reps on the leg press, 20 lunges, 15 squats with shoulder press, 20 lunges with lateral raise, 20 squats with front raise, 20 reverse lunges with bicep curl, 15 squat jumps, 15 rep on the leg extension, 15 reps on the leg curl, 15 reps on the hack squat, 20 lunge jumps (repeat 3x- rest 1 min between entire circuit )

This workout will leave anybody exhausted and your legs will be sore for a few days, but is it effective?  Of course not. Think about the exercise order, think about the amount of reps performed on each exercise, and most importantly think about the potential for injury.

If your trainer puts you through that type of workout, look for someone more qualified.

There are plenty of good, effective, and exhausting workout protocols if you want to beat yourself up in a beneficial manner.  That sounds strange, doesn't it?

Check out:

-Complexes for Fat Loss by Alwyn Cosgrove

-Complexes 2.0 by John Romaniello

-stupidgymshit.com by Bryan Francis (he has a few superhero workouts that were intellegently programed)

What is the purpose of an effective training session?  To get desired results.  If someone wants to lose weight or gain muscle, there should be an effective order of programming and exercise selection.  Preacher curls are pretty much a useless exercise to an obese client trying to lose weight.  If a trainee is trying to gain some muscle, there is NO reason to to tricep kickbacks while standing on a BOSU ball.  (I personally hate the BOSU ball, it's misused 99% of the time!).

"ENGAGE YOUR CORE!"  What a "ground breaking" statement.......

Follow a training program that is designed with your goal in mind.  There is no reason to waste valuable time in the gym doing ineffective exercises and a bogus program.

I am BIG believer in pushing your body to it's physical limits. It just needs to be done with some thought and proper recovery time.  As far as being sore, it happens, but it's not a sure sign of an effective training session. Sometimes your midsection can be sore after a night of throwing up, but that doesn't mean you got a killer ab workout!  

We can all work a little harder from time to time and increase the intensity of our training sessions. We also need to realize when we should give ourselves a break to regroup and recover.

Push yourself to the limit now and then, just realize sometimes a hard workout isn't a smart workout, it all comes down to proper programming.

Advice......

I  mentioned in the past that I've offered beneficial advice to a young lifter in the gym in reference to his squat technique.  I suggested to get a little bit lower (break parallel) to effectively activate the glutes and recruit the hamstrings.  My advice was shrugged off with the response, "I can't get lower, I have bad knees".  I ended up leaving it alone once my explanation looked like I was speaking a foreign language.

When I see this, it's hard to keep my mouth shut!

I usually don't give advice, unless asked, in the gym.  I'm too busy training myself and taking my wife through a training session and I don't want to get into a long, non-relative conversation and end up wasting my time in the long run. That's one of the nice things about working and lifting in different gyms, when I'm lifting all I have to focus on is my workout.

I have taken my fair share of advice in the gym over the years. From back in the teenage years when I was told the only way to hit the "peak" on the biceps was to do concentration curls, and around 2 years ago when I was informed that if I moved my feet closer together and tucked my hips down I would  improve the starting position on my deadlift.

Two very different categories of advice.  One was by your typical bodybuilder guy in the gym with cannon balls for biceps.  The other was by a former competitive Olympic lifter that is probably a little heavier in the midsection now then when he competed. I still deadlift with better form, and let's just say that I pretty much forgotten about concentration curls. I only wish I met the former Olympic lifter in high school, all the concentration curls in the world wouldn't have been as beneficial as a big deadlift! 

When I go to seminars, conferences, and clinics I take all the advice I can get my hands on.  Some of it will benefit me right away, some will remain on the back burner until I feel it's useful.  A small amount of advice will be neglected or forgotten because it didn't pertain to what I was trying to accomplish for myself, clients, students, or athletes. 

I think I was pretty lucky to have attended some hands-on clinics with some of the best in the profession.  I also was able to lift at the University of Florida weight room under the eye of a few of their Assistant Strength Coaches and receive a few coaching pointers.  Another time in my life I received some "lifting" advice was at the USA Weightlifting Sports Performance Coach Certification, which I thought was really a great experience- actually having to move and lift for a certification (what a concept).

A pretty good weight room for lifting advice, even for a Hurricanes Fan!

Now I am at a commercial gym where I look around and I see people of all ages lifting with horrendous form and performing exercises with little to no benefit.

So what should I do?  Should I help out that young kid rounding his back on deadlifts?  Should I explain that you should "tuck" your elbows on a bench press instead of flair them out?  I really don't know.... Chances are my advice would be shrugged of and ignored.  Maybe if I did a cycle of Deca and wore a wife beater and a stocking cap I would be taken more seriously.

"Drop-sets of Tricep kickbacks will add thickness to your horseshoe".

Or maybe helping that one kid out with a little improvement with technique can improve his strength and could possibly keep him from injuring himself.  Maybe that one piece of advice opens up a conversation and offers few recommendations regarding books or other useful forms of information instead of the typical Muscle & Fiction information so many people are brainwashed with.  This is what I hope for, but it's hardly the case.

Whatever route you or I decide to take remember these things, if you can't demonstrate a movement or you look like the only thing you can lift is a cream filled doughnut- keep the suggestions to yourself.  If you use the term "peak" when describing biceps or "horseshoe" when describing triceps- your better off staying quiet.  Lastly, if you've spent the last 5 years "juicing" up, have the needle marks on your ass to prove it, and the only thing you've read in regards to lifting if FLEX magazine, then the advice you give is about as relevant as Charlie Sheens advice on marriage.

End of the week thoughts.........

I'm not gonna lie, my first week back after the wedding / mini-honeymoon has been rough!  It does feel great normal to be eating quality nutritious food and beating myself up in the gym.

Taking some time off from training heavy and eating whatever I wanted actually did a lot of good mentally (well, at first).  It's crazy that I was craving grilled chicken and huge salad of mixed greens when I got back from vacation.  I did train once in NYC, at least it was something.....

Enough babble, here are some things that have been running through my mind this past week;

-Moderation.  I really don't know what that means.  I know the definition, but I really can't put it into practice.  When I eat I eat.  I put on over 10 lbs. these past two weeks, and I'm surprised I didn't add 20 from all the crap I ate.  NYC has great food.  Combine that with left over wedding cake and some heavy caloric beverages and that's a recipe for disaster.

I did eat more than my fair share of tasty food.  Nothing was off limits and I really can put a way a lot of food.  I did weigh 265lbs back in college.  I feel like I can still eat the same amount as I did back then, but if I did - I might not be able to see my toes after a few weeks.  I also feel like crap after more then a day of "throwin' it down"! 

Now that I am back on track, I didn't ease into it like I should have.  There was no yellow light, it was pretty much green (eat crap) to red (say no to crap).   As far as lifting, by the way my body feels- I should have taken this week to work on movement patterns and used it as a "deload" type week.  Instead I hit it hard in the gym, on the field doing sprints, and on the hill.  For some reason I just enjoy pushing myself, if I'm gonna do something- it's gonna be done 100%.

Not a  moderate meal by any means!  "The Melo" at Carnige Deli

-Hotel Gyms.  As long as there are dumbbells and an area to lunge and lunge, squat, and jump- I can get a pretty damn good workout.  At The Standard Hotel, there were dumbbells up to 50lbs, plenty of floor space, and huge windows on the 17th floor overlooking the Hudson River and the city- it wasn't too bad.  I wasn't expecting more than machines, so dumbbells, even up to 50lbs. was nice.

Here is my hotel workout:
-20 jumping jacks, 20 mountain climbers, 10 seal jacks, 10 push ups, 10 body weight squats (repeat 3x)
-Squat to shoulder press w/dumbbells, Bent over row w/dumbbells, Burpees (3 sets of 10 reps each)
-Reverse lunge w/dumbbell-8 reps each leg, Dumbbell chest press-15 reps, Squat jumps 10 reps (3x)

Not too bad considering I had a great view of the city from my comfy bed....

-Getting a plan together.  I am in the process of changing some things up with my current lifting and conditioning regimine.  I am lifting 3 days a week and will most likely stay on that current plan, however I will switch the style of workouts up and change up the rep / scheme on a regular basis.

I realize that some strength need to be gained over the next 3 months as well as getting in better physical condition (7 day cruise mid-June).  In order to achieve both goals I need to have a systematic process and focus on diet for the physical improvements.

As far as the strength gains, I'm in the process of looking at a few different programs to fit my schedule / goals.  I loved 5/3/1, but I need a break from it- more mental than physical.  These next couple weeks I am going to keep the reps low on the power movements and perform a "metabolic" style approach to the other lifts.

For example:
DB squat jumps 3 set of 3 (neural warm up) 
Deadlifts 275x 3, 315x3, 365x2, 405x2, 425 x1 (3 sets), 315 x 5
Reverse lunge, 1 arm DB shoulder press, wide grip pull-ups 4 sets of  6-12
Barbell Complex (hang clean, shoulder press, front squat, RDL, Bent over Row) 5 reps each / 3 sets / 1 min between sets.
Ab wheel, 3 sets of 12 reps

I realize this isn't the "perfect" routine- however, it is a nice little break from the traditional stuff.....

Conditioning wise, I'm thinking about adding in some 200m sprints one day a week.  I am so used to sprinting 100m and less- I figure 200m would definitely be a kick in the butt.

Married Life- Awesome!  Yeah, it's only been 2 weeks, but honestly - my life is better than ever.

-Weekends.  I love them! Enough said, have a great one........

Find out where you are weak, then get STRONG!

Let's face it, most of us do what we're good at and avoid what we suck at.

It's human nature.  We want to feel strong, talented, and skilled.  When we're in the gym we want to perform exercises and movements that were are comfortable with, and make us look good. 

If we can't do an exercise efficiently, or can't lift enough weight on an exercise to make us appear strong, we usually don't perform the movement and revert back to something that might turn some heads.  It's actually pretty dumb when you think about it, if something is challenging shouldn't we perform it more than something that is easy?

I'm reading Dan John's book Never Let Go, it's a great read by the way!  Dan discusses different lifting variations and routines he has used on himself and his athletes for a number of years.  I decided to put some of his advice to work and change my current movements and exercises to things that I've avoided for a while- because I'm just not that good at them.

Enter the Front Squat.  Yeah, I've done front squats recently but the weight was less than adequate.  So yesterday I decided to do 5 sets of 2 and work up to a heavy weight - I was humbled.  Once I loaded some weight on the bar I felt my form was less than average and I contemplated saying screw it, and going into some heavy deadlifts.

I managed to gain some common sense and stick to Front Squats, even though they were handing out a major blow to my ego. My legs and midsection were both fatigued and by strength standards, I didn't even go that heavy! That's just what I needed and maybe you do to......

Think about what exercises you can't stand, the ones that make you feel weak, and you avoid at all costs.

Now think of what your good at, what makes you feel strong and in shape?  What exercise do you do that makes a couple heads turn in the gym?  Forget about those exercises ( for about 6 weeks).

Start to do what you suck at, what makes you question how  (If your good at everything, start writing an e-book).

Here are some examples:

If you can leg press 10,000 lbs - start doing a REAL squat, below parallel (if you think it's bad for your knees, you're a moron)

If you can do lat-pulldowns with the whole weight stack, try doing REAL (all the way down and all the way back up so the chin is over the bar) pull-ups or weighted chin-ups.

If you can bench the Sears Tower, give a single arm incline dumbbell press a try.

If you can Back Squat with perfect form and a good amount of weight, put the bar in the front or for a real humbling experience try an overhead squat.

If you can do a seated should press with more weight then most people bench, try a standing one arm dumbbell press- it will make you feel modest.

If you lift for reps, lift for time - movements for 30 seconds will wish you were counting reps.

If you usually do sets of 10- 12 reps, try to do 2-5 reps and vice versa.

There is a reason that when you go into a gym you probably never or very seldom see the exercises listed above performed - they are hard and humbling.  Think about it.  Next time you walk into a gym take a look at how many people are on the leg press and how many perform an overhead squat.  Or how many people actually perform real chin / pull ups instead of a lat pull down.

If your concerned about your core,  adding some weight to the bar during a front squat or overhead squat will provide a lot more stimulus than the 15 min abs class that's so popular at most gyms.  A standing overhead dumbbell press will also test core strength and if you attempt to combine that movement with a lunge total body stabilization will be improved as well.

It's natural to "show off" every now and then.  If you can deadlift 500lbs, it's definitely something to be proud of, but doing other exercises that incorporate the same muscle groups will bring that deadlift up even more.  A snatch grip deadlift can provide a greater range of motion and work grip strength, but of course you have to use less weight- which can bruise your ego.

Snatch grip deadlift from a deficit, even more of a challenge!

After my eye opening experience yesterday, I wanted to share my pain with you and offer some tips to make your workouts more challenging, more beneficial,  and more less enjoyable.

Post wedding stuff..........

First of all, I am now a married man.  Our wedding was pretty close to perfect Saturday night.  Now I'm about to get packed for our mini-honeymoon.  Sarah and I are going to New York City for a few nights, we're staying at The Standard Hotel in the Meatpacking District.

I am really looking forward to getting away for a few nights.  Weddings are stressful, but well worth it all.  I plan on getting to the hotel gym at least twice. If I don't do any thing physically active I'll feel like a lump of turd. 






I actually had a pretty good training session today.  Sarah and I needed to to sweat some crap out of our system.  I pretty much did a few circuits to get the blood flowing and move some weight.

I did:

-Hang snatch 3x10
-Deadlift, Straight Bar Standing Shoulder Press, and Weighted Chin-up for my first circuit (4 sets)
-Reverse Lunge, Seated Row, and Dumbbell Bench for my second circuit (3 sets)
It took about 45 minutes total, I did a few sets of dips and curls at the end just because I had to......

So far for New York were going to STK tomorrow night for dinner, on Wednesday going to Broadway to  see American Idiot, and Thursday is St. Pat's!!!  I'm sure I'll put on about 10 pounds, but it will all be worth it!

I have 12 weeks until my 7 night cruise to the Carribean, so that will give me some good blog material and I'll probably end up posting some before and after pics because if I'm going to have my shirt pretty much off the entire week- I need to be in sick shape.

Have a great week!

End of the week thoughts.....

Not too many thoughts this week- all I've been thinking about is MY WEDDING TOMORROW!

I did have a good few good training sessions this week and I was very happy with the way I felt after changing my nutrition plan. Check it out here and here.

Here is video from one of my lifting sessions:

My weight is down to 196 and I'm feeling lean and mean and ready to say "I DO".

Have a great weekend, I'll have the best one of my life!

What is important?

Sometimes you just have to ask yourself, What is important in my life right now?

-Is it to make a lot of money?

-Is it to be in great physical condition?

-Is it to be a great husband, father, boyfriend, or girlfriend?

-Is it to be a great son, daughter, father, mother, brother, or sister?

-Is it to be considered "the life of the party"?

-Is it to constantly update your status and post pictures on Facebook so you can show everyone how awesome you are ?

-Is it to try to become more knowledgeable in your field of work or an area that interests you?

-Is it to excel at a sport, activity, or event?

-Do you even know what is important to you?

I personally think being happy with your life and the choices you make should be pretty high on the list of important things.  Sometimes happiness is temporary.  It can last a night, a weekend, or a vacation.

I'm striving for a lifetime of happiness. 

The things that are important to some people are not even a concern to others. There are individuals that don't really care about financial success, and to some people that is the greatest satisfaction in life.  Its almost impossible to accomplish everything that is important at the same time.  Where one area takes the greatest concentration, a few of the other areas will decline.

Try to make a list of 5 statements that reflect the most important areas of your life at this point in time.  Now look at that list and determine what could stand in way of achieving success in those areas.

If your goal is to improve yourself in your working environment, How are your co-workers going to feel about you when they see pictures of you on Facebook and there is 12 empty drinks in the background and you have a retarded look on your face with a  stupid smirk and bloodshot eyes?

If reading and researching information so you can excel in your field of interest  is important, sometimes you might have to back off of the paid working hours to gather information free of charge. 

If it is important for you to be a great son or daughter, It wouldn't be a great idea to be a out til 5am being the "life of the party" when you have a family breakfast the next morning bright and early. 

A lot of people would like to be in better shape, but when they sit down at at dinner and order a meal that should be shown on Man vs. Food - is their waistline really that important to them?

Not the best idea when trying to lose weight.

You have to make choices.  Sometimes those choices aren't easy and sometimes you might be the only one that understands the choices that you make. You only have to answer to yourself, the person staring back at you in the mirror. 

I am getting married in 4 days.  That's what is important to me right now.

I want to be a great husband, and in the future be a father who can run around with his kids and be the dad that's strong and athletic.  I also want  to excel in my profession and become better at what I do because it is my passion.  Being a great brother and son is something that has always been important to me, and now that I will a son-in-law and brother-in-law that is going to be something I will strive to be great at as well. 

I know what it will take to make those things happen, and I know what choices will be detrimental to being successful in the important areas of my life.  As I learned many times from the past,  knowing doesn't mean a thing unless you start doing......

End of the week thoughts.........

Okay.... It's count down time to my wedding.  Next Saturday will be here before I know it, and it is really exciting and not as stressful as I would have thought.  That is in large part to my fiance who has taken care of just about everything, and she has done an awesome job.

I did book the hotel in New York (The Standard) and dinner at STK, and I also got my suit tailored (Of course, I had to do that)

There is a lot of good reading these days in the fitness/strength and condiditioning field, check out Ben Bruno's Good Reads if you haven't- it's like a cheat sheet to everything that is worth reading throughout the week.

Here are some things that have crossed my mind througout the week related to nothing in particular:

-Glutes.  It is amazing to me that more guys don't try to improve there glute function and glute strength and as well as glute appearance.  One of the reason's that most guys lift weights is to impress the ladies.  I've heard lots girls make fun of guys with flat butts and twig legs, especially when they are Bicep-asaouros Rex.

Instead of doing arms 3 days a week for like 4.5 hours, why not do some real squats, lunge variations, and weighted hip thrusts?  No, the leg press does not improve your ass.

-Diet.  I've discussed my current diet set up this week (here and here) and I've heard some interesting comments in regards to nutrition and eating plans.  So many people are quick to give diet advice and almost all of them have really never take time to look at the variety of research that is out there relating to nutrition.

Some of the research involving supplements and protein powders may be a little biased because some of the researchers have and affiliation with a supplement company.  For the most part there is a lot of good nutrition out there once you get through the BS. 

I am very happy with my current diet set up, my energy is great, I am dropping some pounds, and I feel good moving some weight around.  I was so brainwashed into one way of thinking in regards to nutrition, it was nice to question the norms and do something different. 

-Body weight complexes.  I hate em!  I know they are beneficial and I am going to do them, but they just plain suck!  Try this at the end of your workout:
20 lunge jumps
10 push ups
20 lunges
10 inverted rows
10 squat jumps
20 mountain climbers
20 squats
60 second plank
Do that 2- 3 times and tell me how ya feel.  It's a very different type of conditioning and if you hate something, that usually means you should do more of it!

-Charlie Sheen.  What else is there to say???

-Weekend.  I plan on exercising both days, and eating pretty close to perfect.  I'm also planning on going to the Viceroy pool in Miami on Saturday.  I love the fact that I have the choice of awesome pools and the beach at my disposal pretty much every month of the year.  With all of the outdoor activities and great stuff to do, it puzzles me that so many people chose to sit inside and eat their left over girl scout cookies. 

Til next time, have a great weekend.

My Nutrition Plan (Non-Lifting Days) and some other stuff...

I detailed my current diet for lifting days here, check it out if you haven't already.  I surprisingly have had a lot of energy since conforming to this type of eating approach.  I have always thought that not having breakfast would be difficult and I would not have energy I need while training my clients in the morning.  I was wrong- I actually feel more awake, alert, and in a great mood.

After I posted my last blog on Facebook, One of my old college teammates, Paul Goodman, sent me a message, which I thought was an awesome statement relating to nutrition- "Honestly, I hate the discussion of nutrition more-so than discussing religion. Problem is too many lay people who use no scientific/evidence based information".

Paul is right, there is a lot of so-called "nutrition gurus" out there that claim what they do and preach is the right way and the only way to do things.  Paul actually lent me the first book I read pertaining to physique altering nutrition, Bodyopus by Dan Duchaine.

This book really opened my eyes to the approaches of extreme dieting for drastic results. The book contained a  very radical strategy for fat loss that a lot of today's diets somewhat resemble. (By the way Paul, I did return the book!  I think Blaine P has it )

When it comes to nutrition, I am not an expert. I wish I knew more science based information.  It is a fascinating subject area that can change a persons physique and improve a persons health just about more than anything else.

I do know enough to produce significant results when it comes to physical improvements, and I am gaining knowledge one day at a time.

There is no best diet plan.  Nothing works for everyone.  Anything works for some people.  Nothing works forever.  Everything is good for something.

It's your choice what advice you want to follow, just make sure you take time and look deeply into the way you choose to eat with your health and longevity in mind.

Okay then.  Here is my diet set up for non lifting days.

3:45 Wake up, Drink Big Glass of water, take green tea capsule, Acetyl L-Carnitine
4:00 Perform mini-warm up.  10 reverse lunges, 10 band pull aparts, 10 T-Push ups (2 sets)
4:15 Drink Greens+
4:35 Coffee w/Cinnamon
8:00 Meal 1 - Grass fed Sirloin Fillet, Broccoli and Cauliflower, 1 organic apple (2 fish oil)
11:30 Meal 2 Big Greens Salad, 2 chicken Breasts, Olive Oil, 1 serving of almonds  (2 fish oil)
2:30 Meal 3 - (shake) 2 scoops whey/casein protein
6:15 Meal 4 - 2 organic eggs, 1 cup egg whites, lots of spinach, cooked in coconut oil (2 fish oil)

Very few carbs.  Not too many calories.  I felt great yesterday.

Only time will tell how this is going to work, so far I'm good.  If I get better as the week goes on, I will be thoroughly impressed.