You Miss 100% Of The Shots You Do Not Take

Yesterday was another long, long day. I was up at 4 again and worked the Waltham gym until 130. After which I went straight to Powerhouse to train Christina before I trained.
We had a good training session last night:

Dumbbell Swings
supersetted with
Push Ups
supersetted with
Dumbbell Rows
supersetted with
Medicine Ball Leg Raises(I hold a 2lb medicine ball at my chest height, she needs to raise her legs, take the ball, perform a leg raise, and then, under control, return the ball to me)

As always, I beat her up a little but she did well.

I had hockey again last night, so I did some direct arm training and saved my legs for Friday morning.

Flat Bench EZ Bar Skull Crushers: 3 sets
105lbs x 10
125lbs x 6
125lbs x 5

Preacher EZ Bar Curls: 3 sets (These were performed with a 4-6 second eccentric portion. On the final set, my training partner pushed down on the weight so increase the eccentric loading.)
65lbs x 12
65lbs x 12
65lbs x 8(partner applied force on the negative)

Overhead Dumbbell Extension supersetted with Pushdowns:2 sets
130lbs x 8, 70 x 14
130lbs x 8, 70 x 12

Reverse Grip EZ Bar Curls supersetted with Dumbbell Hammer Curls:2 sets (SLOW eccentric)
50lbs x 14, 30's x 10
50lbs x 14, 30's x 10

We then performed some grip work.

We lost in the playoffs last night in hockey, which kind of sucks, but it was a good game. It went into a shoot out and I ended up ringing one off the crossbar to tie it. Sometimes they go, sometimes they dont.

And I want to send a quick shout out to my boy Term who is shooting his video today with Bun B. Kill it son!!



This is dedicated to all you cardio bunnies who are afraid of touching weights:

Schuenke MD, Mikat RP, McBride JM.
Effect of an acute period of resistance exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC): implications for body fat management.
Eur J Appl Physiol 2002 Mar;86(5):411-7

This group looked at the effects of circuit weight training on EPOC.

The exercise routine consisted of three exercises (the bench press, the power clean and the squat), performed with 10RM loads as a circuit. The circuit was performed four times (i.e. twelve total sets) and took 31 mins.

EPOC was elevated for 38 hours post workout (possibly longer as this was when the researchers stopped measuring). The duration and magnitude of the EPOC observed in this study indicates the importance of the role of high intensity resistance training in a fat loss program.
====
This type of information should go a long way in helping fitness professionals design and implement effective fat loss programs. It's not the workout - it's the effect of that workout on caloric burn over the other 23 hours of the day.

This ties in with some of the interval training studies we've already looked at. They showed that despite burning less calories during the session (when compared to other workout), more calories were burned by the body outside of the workout - which quickly added up and resulted in more real world fat loss.

I call this post-workout phenomenon Afterburn - the post workout period that results in metabolic disturbance, elevating EPOC, fat burning enzyme activity and total body fat oxidation to maximize caloric burn for the other 23+ hours per day. Is there much of a real world effect of burning 300 calories per workout (e.g. aerobic work) if I don't create some form of 'Afterburn'?

If we could elevate metabolism even an apparently insignificant 1/4 of a calorie per minute for the 38 hours that the study showed, then that 31 minute resistance training workout would burn X calories during the session plus an extra 570 calories over the next 38 hours. That becomes significant.
As a side note - this was a pretty simple workout plan wth fairly profound results. The study itelf was designed to look at the effect of a weight training workout on EPOC. But what if we actually designed a metabolic resistance training program that was designed to create an afterburn effect? A workout that was designed to create fat loss in the first place - not as a side effect?

And then we combined that program with a cardio routine that did the same - and added a nutrition program that in and of itself resulted in significant fat loss? Everything would combine synergistically for a better effect overall.
The key is to look at the programs effect on the entire 24 hours, week, or several months on a program. Ignore the acute effects and look at the long term results.

In the past - fitness professionals and researchers have looked at how much fat is burned during the exercise session itself. This is extremely short-sighted.

As my colleague Alan Aragon said:
"Caring how much fat is burned during training makes as much sense as caring how much muscle is built during training."
Think about that. If we looked at a weight training session that started at 9am and finished at 10am - how much muscle would we see built if we stopped looking at 10am? None.

In fact - we'd see muscle damage. We could make the conclusion that weight training does not increase muscle - in fact it decreases muscle right? It's only when we look at the big picture - and look at the recovery from the session - that we find the reverse is true - weight training builds muscle.

Fat loss training is the same way. Someone talking about the benefits of the "fat burning zones" or "fasted cardio" is a sure sign that the individual has stopped looking at the end of the exercise session. They have come to the conclusion that fasted, lower intensity steady state exercise burns the most fat and made a massive leap of faith to suggest it is best for real world fat loss.

Using that same logic these same people would suggest avoiding weight training if you want to grow muscle.

Take home message - focus on the Afterburn effect not just what happens during the exercise session.

Todays video of the day:


Im outtie!

Easy

Quick post today. After a long day at work yesterday I pounded out shoulders:

Clean to Strict Military Press: 3 sets
135lbs x 12
165lbs x 4
165lbs x 6

Tri-Set
Dumbbell Lateral Raises to Dumbbell Front Raises to Dumbbell Rear Flyes:3 sets
I used the 20lbs for 10/10/10 for all three sets. BUUUUUUURNING.

Barbell Shrug supersetted with Overhead Arched DB Raises(Palms facing forward, start at shoulder height with arms extended out to the side, raise the DB's in a wide arch to way above your head, stopping an inch short of them touching each other, return to shoulder height and repeat.)
315lbs x 25, 12's x 10
405lbs x 12, 12's x 10
405lbs x 11, 12's x 10

Shoulders were torched. I got work from 5-1 today, a few clients, pushing some weight, and then hockey tonight.

WATCH THIS VIDEO, it really puts things into perspective:

"Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!"—Og Mandino

Yesterday was a low key day. I felt like I was dragging ass all day even though I got enough sleep the night before.
After work, I was especially beat so I tried to overcome this by having a coffee and some NO xplode. It didnt really do the trick, but I managed to push through my back session. I had to stay away from any movement where lower back came into play because my spinal erectors were still trashed from Saturdays deadlifting:

Chins: 3 sets
BW + 45lbs x 10
BW + 45lbs x 9
BW + 45lbs x 10

T-Bar Row: 3 sets
3 plates x 10
3 plates x 10
3 plates x 11

Face Pulls on Lat Pulldown supersetted with Reverse Cable Flyes: 3 sets
70 x 12, 30 x 15
80 x 12, 30 x 12
80 x 12, 30 x 10

It was a struggle pushing through today. There is always tomorrow.

As for clients. I trained Term last night, this dude gets stronger and more lean everytime I see him. He shows that you can juggle a busy ass schedule and still meet your fitness goals. We had limited time last night so we kept it short and intense:

Hammer Strength Row (SLOW eccentric)
supersetted with
Plyometric Push Ups on Bosu

Preacher Curls (SLOW eccentric)
supersetted with
Bodyweight Tricep Extensions
supersetted with
Behind back barbell wrist curls

I will randomly post a few training sessions from when we work together. I dont want you guys biting too many of my ideas. I am getting him ready for some photoshoot's in September, which is when his cd and sneakers are dropping.

Video of the Day: Football is almost here. Sean Taylor Tribute:

Light Weight

This weekend was pretty sick. As expected, Term and ST. killed it Friday night at their concert. I had a chance to meet all of ST. and I got to say they are all pretty chill with each one bringing a different talent and style to the group. Keep an eye out for these dudes: Easy Money, Clip One, Hectic, Ghetto, Stalion, and Snuk.

I got a pretty light day for clients today so I am going to try taking advantage of that and relax when I have the oppurtunity.
Tonight, for my lone client, I am training Term. I got to make sure I kick his ass with the little time I have this week before he goes and films his video with Bun B.

As for my training, I still feel like somebody severely beat my hamstrings and lower back with a baseball bat. I have been focusing on rack deadlifts (knees up) for the past few months, but on Saturday, I decided to go back to deadlifting off the floor.
Lets just say that my numbers were SEVERELY effected and my ego took a big hit. Here is how it looked:

Deadlifts: 5x5
315 x5
365 x5 (there was NO way I was going to be able to pull this for three more sets, so I dropped back down to 315)
315 x5
315 x5
315 x5

Yup, 315 was all I was able to pull. It used to be my warm up pull. So now I am going to be focusing on bringing my dead back up.

Leg extension:3 sets
170 x 20
170 x 18
170 x 20

Seated Calf Raises:4 sets
3 plates used for each set (SUPER slow eccentric, fast concentric)

Short and sweet session. Took me about 40-45 minutes to complete.

Nutrition on a budget:

As was promised, I am going to go over how you can follow a great nutritional program with out breaking your bank open.
One of the biggest excuses I get from people in the gym is that they just cannot eat right no matter how hard they try. The other excuse is that it is too expensive for them to follow such a plan.

Here is my response: SUCK IT UP!!!

Who said it would be easy to stick to a nutrition plan? Do you think I like to eat the same foods day in and day out? Dont you think I would LOVE to be able to eat all the good tasting shit they offer these days?

Its called SACRIFICE. You want to lose that beer gut? Quit drinking beer. You want to lose that extra ten pounds but just dont want to give up your chocolate? Quit eating chocolate.
Im not saying you have to be the strictest eater in the world, but whatever your goal is, your eating habits should be helping you, not hindering you.

As for the money part, I get my weekly groceries from a meat market. I am sure there are ones located in your area that supply fresh, unprocessed foods. Anyways, the key to a low grocery bill is the word: BULK. If you buy a good amount of chicken or beef in bulk there is a good chance you are going to save some money.

My list usually looks like this:
- 6 1/2 lbs of 93% lean beef
- 7 assorted peppers (red, green, yellow, orange)
- 1 bag of red skin potatoes
- 6 dozen eggs
- A few cans of tuna

This puts me around $40-$50 a week and allows me to get my usual 7-10 meals in a day. I also include 1-2 shakes a day but that part is up to you and your choice of protein. Just think, $40-$50 dollars is 7 super sized meals at McDonalds, or ONE night out to eat. SACRIFICE!!!

My rant is done, so here is the video of the day:

ST. DA SQUAD TONIGHT!

Finally Friday. Working until eight, then heading backstage with Termanology and his boys. Check back in with you guys Monday!

Gunslingin'

Busy ass day yesterday. Worked, had a client, trained, went out to eat for my fathers bday, and then went right to hockey.
My lone client was Christina, she is always suprising me with her strength. We are working on a high intensity circuit type of training to increase her work capacity and melt the little fat she has, off her body. She is one of the leanest girls I have seen.

Yesterdays training looked like:

One Leg Dumbbell Deadlifts
supersetted with
Push Ups with feet on the ball
supersetted with
Barbell Rows
supersetted with
Medicine ball leg raises

The circuit was done four times through with a rest period of 45-60 seconds between each round. After completing the circuit, she performed 10 minutes of HIIT training on a spinning bike to really finish things off.
I usually do not have my clients do anything but a plank variation for core work but I made an exception with the medicine ball leg raises. As long as they are done in a controlled fashion and not pulling up with their legs (psoas activated).
I see people doing endless crunches everyday in hopes of getting their "six pack". Little do they know they are just creating lower back problems for themselves.
The function of the "core" muscles is to stabilize against torque and/or rotation. So why are we going to train them with flexion and extension?
Planks force us to activate and stay tight throughout the whole core.

Gun Show



Because of hockey at night, I pushed legs off until Saturday and decided to dedicate the day to hitting the arms. I usually pair arms up on push and pull day but because of the circumstances I figured I would hit them directly with my boy Lester.

California Press:3 sets (These look similar to a skull crusher except you are lowering the bar to your chin instead of your forehead. It almost feels like an extension/press.

80lbs x 12
90lbs x 12
100lbs x 12

Barbell Curls:3 sets (These were done with a 3-4 second eccentric portion followed with an explosive concentric portion. Arms never reach full extension and there is a good squeeze at the top. Doing them this way has cut down on the weight I use BIG time, but there has been noticeable growth by doing them in this fashion.)

80lbs x 12
80lbs x 12
80lbs x 12

Straight Bar Pushdown supersetted with Leg Curl Pressdowns:3 sets (I found a better use for those leg curl machines. We load the machine up with 4 plates and then do a behind the back pressdown almost mimicking a dip.)

150lbs x 12, 4 plates x 20
150lbs x 10, 4 plates x 15
150lbs x 10, 4 plates x 15

One Arm Dumbbell Hammer Grip Preacher Curls:3 sets (Slow eccentrics with fast concentrics)

30lbs x 12
30lbs x 12
30lbs x 12

Short and sweet. We were done in 45 minutes.



Song of the day: Ill Nino- This Times for Real


Tomorrow I am going to touch on diet and how you can follow one without breaking your bank in the process.

Until next time, keep pushin.

Easy

Pain is Temporary

"If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment."—Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

Yesterday was a good training day (client wise). I am currently working with a high school field hockey player and prepping her for the season.
She has alot of drive, pushes hard through each session, and the results have been showing.
My basic template with her is to start with a general warm up (bike or treadmill for five minutes), followed up with mobility(hip swings) and activation work(YTM's, x band walks). We then move through a circuit consisting of a hip dominant movement, compound pushing movement, compound pulling movement, and a core movement. We then finish off the training with 4-5 minutes of HIIT (high intensity interval training) on a bike. I believe this type of training is very sports specific for field hockey in that you are always moving, but then need to exhibit short bursts of speed when you are engaged in the play.
On Fridays, I play a game with her using a dice to change things up.
I have a paper with six hip dominant movements, six pushing movements, six pulling movements, and six core movements.
She rolls the dice and whatever number it lands on, thats the movement we are going to use that day. This way she is picking her own punishment and I dont feel as bad;)
Keep up the good work Caroline!!

Yesterdays training for her looked like this:

General Warm Up: Treadmill for five minutes
Mobility Work: Hip Swings
Activation Work: YTML's

Sumo Style Deadlifts (Stiff Legged)
directly into
Push Ups on Stability Ball
directly into
Rope Face Pulls
directly into
Planks on Bosu

We went through the ciruit 4 times through before doing 4 minutes of HIIT training on the bike.

As for my training yesterday, it was a rough session. My left shoulder has an impingement issue that I had looked at earlier in the year. Every now and then it flares up and I am barely able to perform a push up with it. Yesterday was one of those days. Its a result of me not knowing how to lift in college and always trying to use the most weight I could possibly push. Yesterday, I managed to push through it, even though the weights suffered. As they say: Pain is Temporary, Pride is Forever.

Push Day:

Incline Dumbbells:2 sets (The goal was three sets but I barely managed to finish 2. My rep speeds are almost always slow eccentric/fast concentric but because of the shoulder I need to do SLOW eccentric(4-5 seconds) and SLOW concentric (3-4 seconds).

90lbs x 10
90lbs x 7

Cybex Incline Press:1 set (I found that this machine allowed me to position myself so there was no pain when I was pressing.)

170lbs x 10

Barbell Clean to Military Press: 3 sets (When I perform these I clean the weight up to my shoulders in an explosive motion, but then perform a STRICT military press once I am there. I also call these muscle clean and press.)

135 x 12
135 x 10
135 x 8

Dumbbell Side Laterals supersetted with Free Motion Flyes:3 sets (Reps are performed with a 4 second eccentric followed with an explosive concentric)

20lbs x 15, 60lbs x 10
20lbs x 15, 70lbs x 10
20lbs x 15, 70lbs x 12

Rope Face Pulls:2 sets (Gotta get those not so healthy shoulders healthy! I love how these feel and have noticed much improvement in shoulder function and strength)

40lbs x 12
40lbs x 15

Because music is a huge part of my life and I like to use it to express how I am feeling, I will be posting either a song, video, or inspirational video of the day, each day. Here is one of my favorites:



Long day today. Work 5-1, then a few clients, then training, then hockey tonight. See you guys!!

Starting Out

I am excited to finally start one of these. It will help to track my own progress and act as a reference tool with the informative articles I plan on posting. This blog is not to glorify myself, nor is it to be used to boast about numbers. It is specifically for the enjoyment of my friends, family, and clients.

Yesterdays Training Session
Movement: Pull

Hammer Strength Row:3 sets
3 plates per side x 15
3 plates + 25 x 12
4 plates per side x 10

One Arm Dumbbell row:3 sets
110lbs x 15
130lbs x 12
130lbs x 10

Close Grip Pulldowns supersetted with Free Motion Row (4 second eccentrics with fast concentrics):2 sets
140 x 12, 110 x 12
140 x 10, 110 x 10

Ez Bar Preacher Curl:3 sets (3-4 second eccentrics with fast concentrics)
65 x 12
65 x 12
65 x 12

This was more of a machine and cable based Pull training session. Using free weights is usually my mantra but I needed a change today.
Most rep tempos are slow eccentric coupled with fast concentric to tap into the highest threshold motor units and get the type II fast twitch fibers firing (most growth potential).

The weekend is going to be sick. My boy who is also my client is performing on Friday night with his group ST. DA Squad in Haverhill and I am getting the chance to chill with all of them. He just signed with the recording label EMI Nature Sounds and is going on tour with Lil Kim in the Fall. He has worked with numerous artists such as Cassidy, Mobb Deep, Bun B, Freeway, Royce da 5'9", DJ Premier, and Saigon. On top of all that, Ive been beating the crap out of him in the gym and he keeps pushing harder everyday. Getting "BROLIC" son!! Next big thing, check him out!!


Discussion of the day from one of the articles on T-Nation:

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING

T-Nation: Okay, a lot of what you do might be categorized as "functional training." That term has been abused though, and seems to have lost its meaning. How do you define it?
Mahler: One element of functional strength is strength that carries over to real-world activities such as carrying your groceries to the car, putting your carry-on bag in the overhead compartment, being able to carry your child effortlessly, etc. Those of us that actually have even a small amount of strength and conditioning take such tasks for granted, but I've seen a lot of people that have a hard time with daily activities that should be effortless.
Another element of functional strength is having strength and conditioning for the activities or sports that you love to do such as hiking, surfing, grappling, and mountain climbing. Not only strength that carries over directly, but balancedstrength so that you avoid injuries.
Finally, the most important part of functional strength, the part that's completely overlooked by most people, is this: It makes you a stronger and tougher person overall, not just strong in the context of working out.
I've seen many people that are training bad-asses, but are complete pushovers in their personal and professional life. They avoid risks like the plague, don't have the courage to pursue the lives they really want, and couldn't make a tough decision if their lives depended on it.
They always go with the flow, never trust their instincts, and constantly look to others to make decisions for them. They've completely compartmentalized their strength and conditioning and don't carry it over to any other aspect of their lives.
While they have strength and toughness in the context of physical training, that strength doesn't carry over to where it really matters. It's wasted. If you're strong and in shape when it comes to working out, but a wuss everywhere else, then you're not a strong person overall and you've missed out on the most important benefit of training.
Hard training teaches us how to push through when things aren't easy and finish what we start. Transforming your body and building a high level of strength takes a lot of discipline and hard work. Physical accomplishments, whether it's losing 30 pounds of fat, adding 50 pounds to your bench press, or running a marathon, teach you a lot about yourself and help break mental barriers that hold you back in life.
It's a complete shame if we only have that strength and mental toughness in the context of working out.

Until next time, keep pushin weight and learning as much as you can!