I Hear Dead People

Hip dominant legs today:

Sumo Stance Deadlifts: 5 x 5
315lbs x 5
315lbs x 5
315lbs x 5
315lbs x 5
315lbs x 5

Walking Dumbbell Lunges: 3 sets
35lbs x 70 feet
35lbs x 70 feet
35lbs x 70 feet

Leg Extensions supersetted with Standing Calf Raises(6-8 second eccentrics):3 sets
170lbs x 20, 100lbs x 8
170lbs x 20, 100lbs x 10
170lbs x 20, 100lbs x 8

After lifting, I helped one of the local police officers train. She has been having hip and lower back problems for a while now and is getting aggravated because it is interfering with her running. I determined that it was an imbalance within the quad and hamstrings.
She is extremely quad dominant, powerful throughout her lower body, but not with hip extension. So we went over some movements that will help her recruit the glutes and hamstrings. We covered:

Bridges on Bosu Ball
X Band Walks
Deadlifts

I am hoping that once we get her firing with her posterior chain, it will fix the imbalance and get her running pain free again.

Great Article:

I Hear Dead People
by Chris Shugart


I held the dead guy in my hands and said, "So this is it?"

It was the summer of 1999 and I was working in a graveyard in Texas. At the time, I was actually a high school teacher. I always tried to get a physical job during the summer break to balance out my regular job, which consisted mostly of sitting behind a desk for nine months out of the year. Also, since teachers make less money than the custodians that clean the schools, I needed the extra dough.

It was an odd job to say the least. I usually told people I worked summers doing landscaping, but that was only partially true. At least once a week, I also had to play pallbearer. See, when you die at age 90, you don't have many friends and family members around to carry your casket anymore. After three summers of this, I'd probably carried more caskets than a Kennedy.

After a graveside service was over, I'd go help the guy who's job it was to dig the hole and set up the tent. The last part of the job involved lowering the casket into the concrete vault. (You don't do this until all the family leaves. The sight of their loved one being lowered into the ground is just too real for many to watch.) My job was to jump down in the hole with grandma's body and wrestle off the chain used to lower the massive concrete lid. One time my favorite cap blew into the hole and slipped down between the vault and the coffin. I had to lay facedown on the casket to retrieve it. Talk about coming to terms with your own mortality! As it turned out, that lesson was just beginning.

The day I held the dead guy was like any other summer day in West Texas. It was over a hundred degrees and the wind was blowing what was left of the topsoil around in a orange-red haze. I was manning the big Snapper weed whacker when the FedEx truck pulled up. I signed for a package, expecting it to be parts for our dilapidated Ford tractor.

Inside was a Glad freezer bag full of speckled gray powder and a note. It read,

"Bury in plot 223B."

That's when I realized I was holding what the funeral industry calls cremains, the cremated remains of a corpse.

I wasn't all that shocked. I mean, I'd been around dead people for so long that the act of passing by a body on display at the funeral home got to be routine. What got me was the finality, the cold note from the anonymous family member, and the lack of ceremony.

This was a human being I was holding in my hands, a person who'd been walking on this earth just a week before. His life had come down to this — a few ashes in a plastic leftover bag. For some reason, the worst part was the FedEx box, which still had the price of delivery on it. It costs nine dollars and eleven cents to mail a cremated human body.

I grabbed a shovel and headed out to find the plot. Two co-workers went with me, a friend of mine who's now in med school and the old man that had been working at the boneyard for years. We found the plot, dug a hole, and then debated whether we should toss in the bag, the whole box, or just pour him out. In the end, we tossed in the bag. The old man commented on how disrespectful the whole process was and wondered why the family didn't bother to put him in a nice urn. "Shouldn't we at least say something?" he asked as I covered the hole back up.

I did say something. I said, "I quit."

I don't believe in fate and I don't believe in "signs from above." However, I do believe in accidental lessons. A person only has to be on the lookout to find them occurring in everyday life. That afternoon at Rose Hill Cemetery, I'd been taught a lesson. It's a lesson we all know, but often try to forget. The lesson is this: We're all actors on the big screen, playing the role of friend, father, husband, brother, employer and employee. We may play bit parts as extras or we may get the lead role. It doesn't matter. The movie always ends the same way: a close-up of a hole in the ground. Fade to black.

About that same time, a fellow by the name of TC had been nice enough to publish an article of mine. By the end of that summer, he'd accepted a few more. School started back and I began my seventh year of educating the youth of America. I like teaching. The desire to teach was almost as strong as my desire to hit the gym and throw iron around. Bodybuilding and teaching had always been constants. Still, teaching wasn't exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

I finished the school year and I kept sending in articles. My duties grew and by the end of the year I'd been offered a full time job as assistant editor of Testosterone. The other teachers and a few friends were astounded when I took it.

"You're going to quit the stable job you went to college for and work for a muscle magazine? Isn't that a little, you know, risky?"

I thought of the Glad freezer bag full of ashes and said, "You bet it is."

Now, I admit that switching jobs isn't a really big deal. It's not like I sold my worldly possessions, moved to Tibet and sought spiritual enlightenment or anything. But to me it was a big deal. I was getting off the merry-go-round that all the normal people ride and heading over to the big scary roller coaster. I was doing three things I always loved: lifting weights, helping people out, and writing. And I was getting paid for it.

I think there's a very big difference between stability and stagnation. Weight training, in many ways, is a physical manifestation of this idea. We go to gym to battle against "normal," to fight the good fight and stave off death, to make sure our movie is a double feature and that we look damn good up there on the screen in the time that we have.

For some, it goes beyond stagnation; it turns into atrophy. Look closely at those around you. The average person's life reads like a tasteless recipe:

Step one: Go to work at a job you don't really like.

Step two: Come home and watch several hours of TV.

Step three: Go to bed.

Step four: Wake up and do it all again.

Step five: Repeat until death.

Step six: Place leftovers in a Glad freezer bag.

I think about these things when I see people spending hours of their lives at meaningless hobbies instead of pursuing their dreams. As corny as it sounds, I think most people give up their dreams a few years out of high school and replace them with trivial diversions — watching TV, playing video games, collecting Beanie Babies. You hear them say, "I thought about opening up my own business at one time." "I should have tried out for that team." "I almost got my college degree." When they're 90, will they think, "So this is it?" What a petty epitaph to a human life.

It's like some people are on a remarkable quest to be average. They strive for nothing more than mediocrity. They sit in front of the boob tube and wait to die. They're not really happy living their lives vicariously through soap opera and sitcom characters, but they're content and that's much, much worse. They're people, but they're also sheep. They're sheeple. That's not a sin. Being satisfied with that role is a sin. I found myself playing this role once. You may be playing that role now. But as the Chinese say, the important thing is to be able to sacrifice at any moment what we are, for what we could become.

Happiness has been summed up by many as struggling, enduring and accomplishing in a field that you truly love. Maslow called it self-actualization, the state of achieving everything you're capable of. It sounds simple, but how many people are really doing this? Are you truly happy with your job or are you just going through the motions like a newbie at the gym who puts no effort into his training. Being a real T-Man goes beyond looking big, after all. It's about being in control and living your life the way you want to live it. Besides, isn't it decidedly un-Testosterone-ish to be a sheep? I'd rather be the wolf, wouldn't you?

As most Testosterone readers already know, you have to be strong to separate yourself from the crowd. If you're an avid reader of T-mag, then you've already taken the first step in removing yourself from the common flock. I sincerely believe that taking control of your body through diet and training is empowering. Sheep can't do this. Sheeple won't.

The flock is powerful, though. The crowd will do its best to draw you back in. ("Isn't that a little, you know, risky?") You may have to go it alone for a while. You may have to lose some friends. But that's okay in the end. You probably don't want to hang out with people who've given up on their lives anyway. They're uninteresting. They're boring. They're, in many ways, already dead.

Dead people speak to us. You only have to listen.

Video of the Day:

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