We used to just call it, NOT EATING. But now it has a name. Intermittent Fasting And its all the rage. Keto is like so 2018, am I right? Dr. Oz is even on the bandwagon, and we all know he NEVER gets on bandwagons... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSYXJJA7Nrs This is pretty much sums up how I've felt about IF since it first burst onto the scene circa 2010, “It is a profound and necessary truth that the deep things in science are not found because they are useful; they are found because it was possible to find them.” ― Robert Oppenheimer Much ado about nothing. My 2 cents has always been you see improvements in health because YOU LOST WEIGHT and … [Read more...]
Social Media Workouts and the Because He Played Fallacy
February 4, 2020 by
"I saw these really SPORT SPECIFIC workouts on Instagram. Maybe we could incorporate some of these exercises" If I had a nickel for every time I got some variation of that line, I'd have at least $50. Keep in mind, that's 1,000 nickels. Point Is: I get that line often. While it's of good intentions it's 100% uneducated and misguided. Keep in mind, its not the clients fault. "You Only Know Everything You've Learned"- Alwyn Cosgrove And unfortunately for the last 2-3 decades the "fitness biz" has done a piss poor job of actually educating the public. Instead, we used to hold "speed camps" and "combine training" where your kid would get faster in a … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: Kettlebell Swing
January 15, 2020 by
"If you could only do one exercise what would it be?" I seriously HATE that question. It instantly tells me that whoever is asking it is SUPER lazy. Why? Because why would you only do one exercise when you can do ANY and ALL of them? BUT If there was only one exercise I could do it might, MIGHT be the kettlebell swing. Why? Mostly cause it's boss as all hell. Other than that, it's probably the best example of highly user friendly, easily applicable, total body, explosive strength. "Strength and conditioning professionals may use both kettlebell swings and explosive deadlifts to increase deadlift strength and vertical jump power." - Effects of … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: Goblet Squat
January 8, 2020 by
Squat: The King of All Exercises That's what the squat has been called. Why? Well, a good, heavy, squat works, well, EVERYTHING. From top to bottom: Upper Back: Gotta keep the mid back (rhomboids), lats, traps TIGHT AF through the movement to maintain upper torso stability. <---you NEED to be LOCKED INTO the bar. You DO NOT want to be balancing the bar on your upper back. Grip: At least in the back squat and Kettlebell Goblet Squat. Better be CRUSHING the bar to tighten the whole body and help keep that bar in place. Core: Lot's of people who have never squatted anything relatively challenging will tell you, "squats don't work the core" Those … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: Half Kneeling Chaos Pallof
December 20, 2019 by
"Get Your Core Tight" What the hell does that actually mean? It seems to mean different things to different people. The old school powerlifter means, "Push your belly out into your belt" The functional fitness, physioball, guru means, "Pull your belly button to your spine" The "I don't really know what that means" weekend warrior means, "Round over, perform a half crunch and try to flex your 6 pack abs" So What the Hell Does "Get Your Core Tight" Actually Mean? To me, it means create, and maintain a neutral hip/ spine/ ribcage alignment regardless of the magnitude and direction of forces applied to you. ie. Maintain the Pillar. Your Core As a Coke … [Read more...]
Chaos Training: Bees Knees or B.S.
December 13, 2019 by
"Better learn to get tight, real f**cking fast, or you'll lose some teeth" - Matt Wenning That's the best way I've heard chaos training ever described. If you've been around here for a while you should know by now that i'm not really a fan of unstable surface training for strength, power, hypertrophy and really all things awesome. Occasionally, it can be used as a deload, to strengthen "stabilizers" and just be a change for monotony. But it ain't gonna do much for you long term. The fundamental issue with unstable surface training, The Ground Moves and joint centration becomes a beotch, force needs to be diverted from power production to joint … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: Split Squat Row
December 5, 2019 by
Is the Split Squat Row THE MOST Sadistic Exercise I Know? Lots of people (myself included) do half kneeling rows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKPGzxMbfHU They're great. They train: Stability Glute activation Lats Anti-rotation and most importantly half kneeling rows put all those things together into one brutally efficient movement for training stability and bracing. But eventually you can't row any more weight, there's just too much on the stack, it pulls you forward and it becomes impossible to maintain position. Truth is, half kneeling rows for more advanced athletes are not even close to being the best "back" exercise for … [Read more...]
