Bill Hartman

Personal Trainer Indianapolis

2008-06-23T05:12:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for the best sports training, fat loss training, or personal trainer Indianapolis has to offer?

Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training is taking a select number of new clients as we approach our official opening date. This gives you an opportunity to get your foot in the door early.

You can check out our website and get more info here: Indianapolis Personal Trainer

Bill

My New Blog Home

2007-07-06T06:26:00.000-07:00

There's a lot that's been going on behind the scenes lately.

One of the biggies is the new home of my blog.

You can now find it here: www.billhartman.net/blog

Those of you who link to my blog will want to update your link.

For those who read this via a feed, don't sweat it. You should still receive it as you always do.

Bill

Single Leg Squat for Shoulders??

2007-07-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

Unilateral leg work, including the single leg squat, is an important element in the development of an athlete's training program.

The single stance and the single leg squat are also a great diagnostic tools for athlete's in regard to shoulder function.

Why?

It has been shown that in 49% of athletes with a arthroscopically diagnosed posterior-superior labral tears there is also a hip rotation range of motion deficit or abduction weakness. (W Kibler, Joel Press, Aaron Sciascia. The Role of Core Stability in Athletic Function. Sports Medicine, Volume 36, Number 3 (2006), pp. 189-198).

This is one of the reasons we included combined hip and shoulder mobility exercises in the Inside-Out DVD.

Here's some quick tests you can do on yourself:

1. Stand in front of a full length mirror. Pick up your right foot. If the right hip drops, it indicates a left hip weakness. Repeat on the other side.

2. Pick up your right foot and perform a single leg squat with the left leg. If the left knee drops down and in as you descend, you have a left hip weakness.

3. Lie on your back with your hips bent to 90 degrees and knees bent to 90 degrees. Keeping your knees together, push your feet apart to internally rotate the hips. You should have about 35 degrees of rotation on each side. Check for the amount of rotation and even more importantly, check for symmetry.

Any unilateral deficits in range of motion and strength should be addressed as they will typically affect the function of the shoulder on the opposite side (right hip to left shoulder and vice versa).

Bill

Tempo Matters

2007-07-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

I've heard strength coaches and trainers talk about how tempo doesn't really matter.

I'll have to disagree.

I heard a strength coach talk about how he has forced his athletes to slow their eccentric tempos because when he did, all of their weights went up with many setting PR's.

I'm not surprised. Lifting or lowering a weight slowly and lifting or lowering a weight quickly are not the same thing.

If you lower a weight slowly or even pause between the eccentric and concentric contractions, you'll increase demands on the muscle's ability to produce force because you'll dissipate a portion of the contribution of the elastic component provided by the tendon and connective tissues.

Lower a weight quickly and you increase the potential energy stored in the tendon and connective tissues which will contribute to the concentric contraction as the energy is released.

Guess which method most people will utilize when trying to lift the most weight.

They'll naturally tend to lower and lift the weight quickly to take advantage of the elastic component to lift greater weight. If you train like this most of the time you'll tend to rely on this more and more but there's a "ceiling" so to speak as to how far this method will take your training. At some point, you'll need to use a slower tempo to place the emphasis on the muscle again.

How do you know how and when to apply such methods?

You can read about it in my contribution to LiftStrong along with over 800 pages of information from the top minds in the fields of strength, fitness, sports training, rehabilitation, and nutrition.

Remember that all proceeds go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Bill

Interns and Part-timers Wanted!

2007-07-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

Here's the deal.

I frequently get requests from trainers looking for jobs or students looking for internships for school credit.

Because of my schedule and the way I run my business, I've turned them all down...

Until now.

If you think you have this training thing all figured out. If you're ready to make the top pay in the fitness industry. If you've won numerous bodybuilding titles.

Then I don't want you.

I believe there's a process that must be followed to be an outstanding fitness professional. Some would call it paying your dues.

I call it building a foundation that will support your development as a person, a trainer, and a professional for the rest of your career.

Requirements:

A pulse
The ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
A passion for learning
The availability to work odd hours (early morning, afternoons, evenings)
Sufficient mobility to effectively instruct individuals or groups
Submission of a resume and cover letter

What you get:

A first-class, hands-on fitness education
Experience working with a variety of clientele
Potential to interact with some of the top fitness pros in the country
Paid NSCA certification within 6-12 months (if you last that long)
Income commensurate to your position and duties (may not apply to interns depending on duration of internship)
Potential for growth to a full-time position

Warning:

I will be selective. Submission of your resume and cover letter does not guarantee you a position or an interview.

Send your resume and cover letter to:

prperformance1@yahoo.com

Bill

Muscle Gaining Secrets

2007-06-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting for the chance to tell you about a new book from Jason Ferruggia.

If you've never read anything from Jason before expect to hear the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Jason's been in the trenches since his early twenties back when he started his own gym. He freely admits that in his early training career he bought into all the B.S. training programs and supplements, tried them all, and then separated the truth from fiction. So when he says that he knows what works and what doesn't, he means it.

His client list alone reads like a who's who of sports and entertainment. These are people whose job depends on either having the right look or performing at the highest level of sports.

Be forewarned. Jason is going to tell it to straight and to the point. He's not one to beat around the bush or be "iffy" on any concept related to muscle growth and strength development.

If your goal is to gain muscle faster than you ever have before, I suggest you get Muscle Gaining Secrets. This book is extremely well-written and easy to apply regardless of your current level of development. I have not doubt it will leave you "chomping at the bit" to go hit the gym to blast through your best training sessions ever.

BTW, Jason is having one helluva sale to celebrate the release of Muscle Gaining Secrets with the addition of some killer bonus materials:

Beginner Blast-off: 25 pounds of muscle in 16 weeks

Develop Freak Strength with Zach Even-esh

Maximum Mass 1: 34 weeks of mass building workouts

Maximum Mass 2: Another 6 months of training programs

The Secrets of Super Strength with Jim Wendler

The Truth about Supplements

High Powered Nutrition Book

The Home Gym Warrior: the 16-Week Dumbbell and Body Weight training program

The Mass Building Shakes Book

Quick Meals for Fast Muscle

How to be Injury-free for Life with Keith Scott

A one month membership to Turbulence Training

A special bonus from Alwyn Cosgrove

Jason's only giving folks 3 days to rack up these bonuses so get Mass Gaining Secrets ASAP.

Bill

Restoration

2007-06-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

Restoration describes means by which one is able to return to the previous state. In training, it refers to methods that you may use to recover from your most recent training session in preparation for the next assuming that your goal is a progressive increase in performance or fitness.

While this is a broad and sometimes complex subject with methods including such things as contrast baths/showers, vibration, lasers, accupuncture, etc., in the real world where we have lives, most of these simply don't apply.

Here's a short list of restorative means that have the greatest impact for real people :

1. Planning your training

Most trainees don't consider this a restorative measure, but fluctuations in training intensity, volume, and training means are an essential method to promote adequate recovery and assure consistent progress.

2. Sleep/relaxation

Aside from the actual training program, sleep is probably most essential. In fact, I would say that if you're not getting adequate sleep, no other restorative measure will compensate. In other words, get enough sleep whether you function best on 6 hours or 10 hours a night, find your sweet spot and stick to it.

3. Nutrition

High-frequency (every 2-3 hours), nutrient dense meals will cover the bases for most trainees. Athletes training multiple times per day need to be more concerned with pre-, during, post-training nutrition to assure adequate restoration between sessions.

4. Soft-tissue therapy

Repetitive loading and strain will promote the formation of adhesions and myofascial restrictions eventually leading to altered joint motions and compensations that lead to dysfunction and injury. Regular soft-tissue therapy, and I'm not talking your regular, weekly feel-good massage, but rather methods such as rolfing, ART, foam rolling, and even some intensive stretching sessions each week. Having someone walk all over you is optional.

5. Ice

A little ice goes a long way. Post-training it will reduce and inflammation that was produced. More importantly, when applied to the joints affected by your training session, the lowered joint temperature prevents the breakdown of the protective hyaline cartilage by inhibiting the destructive enzymes that can progressively destroy joint surfaces.

Bill

How hard are you training

2007-06-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

Remember that no matter how strong you think you are there's a little Chinese girl warming up with your max.

Bill

They're STILL Everywhere

2007-06-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

I saw them again this morning.

I bet you've seen them too.

There's the 40-ish woman with the funny, abbreviated, duck-like gait pattern. The guy whose pushing 50 who looks like he's on the verge of death. The scrawny 20-something newlywed in the oversized t-shirt. And of course, the new Mom pushing Junior in the fancy carriage.

Yep. They're runners.

Every since the "running revolution" in the 70's, countless people have taken to the road in an effort to get in shape because they either read somewhere or someone told them that aerobic exercise is the key to fat loss or that it'll help them live longers.

I don't run.

It's boring.

It makes me all sweaty, my heart races, my breathing quickens, and I get a little queazy in my gut. (BTW, theses are all common symptoms during a heart attack)

My friend ran the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon back in May. 13.1 miles with a scenic view of the Indy 500 track as part of route.

It took him an hour and 20 mintues.

It takes me less than 15 mintues to go 13.1 miles. I take a car like most normal people.

Now I understand that some of you actually like the feeling you get from running, so by all means continue if you like. It will contribute to your health to some degree (keep in mind that your orthopedic health is put at risk from overuse injuries).

My question for you is why you're doing it.

For your health?

Well, there's no magic in running long distances or having high aerobic capacity. When it comes to longevity, it's all about burning calories.

Get this...longshoremen, not known for a lifetime quest in search of the secrets of health, have been shown to be at lower risk of heart attacks than their Harvard-educated, casually exercising counterparts.

How can this be?

Well, the longshoremen burned a helluva lot more calories than the regular exercisers by performing heavy lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling. Not by running.

Well, it's certainly great for fat loss, right?

Intially, maybe, but its contribution to a fat loss program drops off quickly as running-specific fitness increases. If you're running for fat loss, you've probably experienced such a phenomenon where you initially dropped some fat but plateaued quickly.

Why? It's easy to become aerobically fit and the body becomes more efficient very quickly, so you actually use fewer calories to cover the same distances. Fewer calories burned means less or no fat loss AND less contribution to health (there's also some evidence that you'll get fatter).

So what's the best way to lose fat and burn a lot of calories?

To answer, I'll borrow from a program by my friend Alwyn Cosgrove called Real World Fat Loss.

In it Alwyn explains the hierarchy of activities that have been shown in the research literature AND in the real-world for faster, effective fat loss.

Here's the hierarchy of fat loss:

1. Metabolic Resistance Training
2. High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training
3. High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training
4. Steady State High Intensity Aerobic Training
5. Steady State Low Intensity Aerobic Training

At best, long distance running falls into level 4 which makes it a weak recommendation for fat loss.

Alwyn's wife, Rachel, is an up-n-coming triathlete who must run a great deal to train for her races. Does she then use long distance running as a component of training for her female fat-loss clients?

Nope. It's just not effective.

In fact, proper fat loss training following the hierarchy above will actually increase the number of calories you burn (these calories will come from fat by the way) AFTER you exercise. Alwyn has termed this Afterburn.

So not only will you burn more fat, but you'll increase your health by burning more calories.

Now, like I said, if you like to run, then run. But before you do, decide why you're running. If it's for reasons other than the joy of running, there's a better way.

Bill

P.S. Mike Boyle has a couple articles directed toward running and orthopedic health especially for women. The first is calle Why (Most) Women Shouldn't Run and part 2 is Should Women Run.

Battle of the Diet Plans

2007-06-18T14:22:00.000-07:00

I visited my folks over the Father's Day weekend. It's always a bit surreal to visit the ol' home town as it changes.

For instance, my high school now has a soccer team.

Do you know what soccer is good for?

Ruining a perfectly good football field.

Anyway, I had a bit of down time and was flipping through a Consumer Reports magazine which included their run down of which diet books and diet plans were the best.

Personally, I think the whole article was weak.

Reason number 1: The overall rating for all the diet books was exactly the same except for Ultra-Metabolism which scored one notch lower than the rest (note to Consumer Reports: your rating system sucks).

Reason number 2: In the diet plan comparisons, they rated the nutritional analysis of Slim-fast, a sugar-laden drink based program, equivalent to Volumetrics, a food-based eating plan.

My guess is that it wasn't too difficult to achieve the higher level on the nutritional analysis scale seeing as the analysis was based on the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

By the way, Slim-fast also had the highest drop out rate of all the plans examined. Perhaps it's the starvation component that dieters don't like, eh?

So which one would I recommend?

None of them.

If you really want a nutritional resource to help you lose that strips away all the unnecessary fluff and gets right to the point, you need to check out Your Naked Nutrition Guide by Mike Roussell. It has quickly become one of my and my clients' favorite nutritional resources.

Other fitness and nutrition pros agree:

“Mike Roussell has put together an excellent manual covering the nutrition basics for optimal performance to help you reach your goals faster, safer, and more effectively. This is a great resource that everyone should have on their bookshelf. I have read 100's of different nutrition manuals and books, but Mike's is one of the best that has crossed my desk in a long time. With Mike's sound explanations and user friendly information, nutrition will no longer be a struggle. It's a great tool to have in your arsenal to help you succeed!”
Christopher R. Mohr, PhD, RD, CSSDPresident, Mohr Results, Inc
www.MohrResults.com

“There aren't many nutritional resources out there that when I immediately finish reading, think to myself, ‘wow...I am officially smarter.’ Naked Nutrition is one such resource. Mike Roussell has put together a manual that is full of practical yet up-to-date and proven information that the reader can put to use TODAY, and start seeing results within days. Rest assured that this is no quick fix dieting manual. Mike does a superb job in laying out a detailed format that will guide you to long term success.”
Tony Gentilcore, CSCS www.gentilcoretraining.com

Mike has made such an impression on my buddy Robert Dos Remedios that he asked Mike to provide a chapter on nutrition for his upcoming book.

I've had the opportunity to work with Mike myself and he continues to impress (even if he is a New England Patriots fan) as his work has help several of my client get back on the fat loss track.

You can read more about Your Naked Nutrition Guide here.

Bill

P.S. Slim-fast users can send your hate mail to the New England Patriots in care of Consumer Reports Magazine.

Beyond the Norm

2007-06-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

I recently contributed to a little project that Leigh Peele put together.

It's called Beyond the Norm: Advanced Questions for Advanced Trainers and Nutritionists.

Contributors include:

Lou Schuler
Mike Robertson
Jonathan Fass
Alan Aragon
Tony Gentilcore
Geovanni Derice
John Izzo
Jimmy Smith
Robert Dos Remedios
Chris Mohr
Leigh Peele
and Me!

This isn't your typical Q & A and it answers a lot of very specific questions and progression dealing with your post-workout nutrition (not what you think) as well as dealing with hip/pelvic/shoulder issues.

Get from Leigh Peele by signing up for her newsletter.

Bill

Building Young Champions

2007-06-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

You may or may not know that I sit on the Board of Directors of the International Youth Conditioning Association (www.iyca.org).

If you've got kids in athletics or work with kids in athletics and you're not involved with the IYCA, it's time to get involved.

My buddy and Executive Director of the IYCA, Brian Grasso, was recently featured in this week's Newsweek. You can read a part of the article at the link below:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19114130/site/newsweek/page/0/

At minimum, every coach, teacher, or parent with athletic children should own a copy of Developmental Essentials: The Foundation Of Youth Conditioning and certainly every coach should be certified as a Youth Conditioning Specialist. You can read a sample of the text at the IYCA website as well.

Bill

P.S. My good friend Alwyn Cosgrove is celebrating his Rebirthday. If you've been holding off on getting his top-selling Afterburn, the Bodyweight Training DVD, or any of his martial arts training programs, now's the time to get them. For the next 24 hours, you get free shipping anywhere in the world.

Hurdle Mobility Drills

2007-06-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

When it comes to developing hip mobility, hurdle mobility drills typically fall way short of the intended goal.

Case in point...

I have 5 athletes of varying sizes training together and one set of hurdles set up for step-overs and duck-unders.

(Smart guys don't give it away... just wait for it...let the others catch up)

The assumption must then be that my bigger, taller athletes have much greater general mobility than my smaller, shorter athletes for duck-unders and my shorter athletes have greater hip mobility for step-overs, right?

Wrong.

One size does not fit all, and it usually results in some form of compensation in the lumbar spine and pelvis rather than an increase in hip mobility.

I'm sure you've seen it.

Big guys ducks under the hurdle and it ends up looking like a dog taking a dump in the back yard as he rounds his back to get under the hurdle rather than utilizing hip flexion (that he doesn't have a sufficient quantity of to perform the task correctly in the first place).

The opposite is also true.

Try to step over a hurdle that is too high and the pelvis must be tilted posteriorly to get the foot up high enough for clearance. This also promotes reduced hip extension on the support leg.

For those of you who regularly perform the Functional Movement Screen or a Klatt test you'll see this technique quite often during your assessements of those who lack hip mobility.

Why reinforce bad mobility during training as well as methods that can promote back injury over time?

At best, with the optimum, individualized hurdle height, hip mobility can be reinforced with hurdle mobility drills but not improved.

For that use other effective drills that don't result in injury potentiating technique.

Bill

Max-Out Radio

2007-06-11T04:22:00.000-07:00

Mike Roussell and I had a great discussion on the latest edition of Max-Out Radio.

Topics covered:

Overhead lifts
Bench pressing
The 20% Rule
The easy way to use Inside-Out: The Ultimate Upper Body Warm-up
Some of the things I'm doing with training
and more.

Check it out.

Bill

Neck Training

2007-06-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic I got from Jim "Smitty" Smith from the Diesel Crew.

I find it interesting that so many neglect direct neck training considering how many neck pain patients I see with significant neck muscle weakness.

It's not just for athletes any more.

Now I'm certainly not implying that everyone needs to do their neck training with six 45 pound plates on a regular basis, but most can benefit from some regular neck strength work and including range of motion and mobility training.

Especially women. Women, in general, have smaller neck muscles and heads that may weigh more than men. (No, not because they have bigger brains, but rather because they have more hair...sorry girls). While I don't have hard stats to back this up, I've no doubt that a majority of the overuse and traumatic neck strain patients that I see in my clinics are experienced by women.

Athletes are especially negligent in regard to neck range of motion training in favor of strength work. You'll be hard pressed to find a football player, wrestler, or mixed martial artist who doesn't want more neck strength, but ask them about how they're developing their neck range of motion and you'll often see a puzzled look on their face.

Certainly the strength component is important, but in many cases of neck injury, the injury occurs when the neck is driven to end range of motion and beyond. Just like any other joint, a little flexibility reserve in the neck goes a long way.

Here's some wrap-up thoughts...

1. Train your neck

2. Include range of motion and strength training

3. Improve strength at the end ranges of motion

4. Avoid prolonged, repetitive, or aggressive neck flexion (forward bending)

5. When training the anterior neck musculature, press the tongue to the roof of your mouth

6. Train the neck at various speeds and loads to increase strength and power

7. While some isolation training is acceptable, incorporate neck loading into full body exercises. (but that's another article)

Bill

Painful Eccentric Training for Tendonosis = FUN!

2007-06-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, I was talking with Bryan Chung, MD, PhD (and a bunch of other letters after his name) from www.evidencebasedfitness.blogspot.com about why eccentric training, particularly painful eccentric training (how fun!!), showed such improvements in subject pain complaints in those with previously painful conditions like patellar tendonosis or achilles tendonosis.

He mentioned that the eccentric contractions obliterated the neomicrocirculation (new capillaries) that entered the tendon and pain reduction resulted.

Pretty cool, eh?

I was reading the new Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy during lunch and came across an article that showed similar findings. With 12 weeks of painful eccentric training came a 45% reduction in paratendon blood flow AND a 48% reduction in pain. No negative effects were found in the paratendinous tissues.

Those of you dealing with painful conditions like patellar tendonosis (your doc may be calling it tendonitis and may very well be wrong...tendonitis usually clears up in a couple weeks, tendonosis doesn't), tennis elbow, golfers elbow, achilles tendonosis, etc., you may want to consider adding 3 sets of 12-15 reps of daily, painful eccentric training to your program.

Yeah, it doesn't sound fun, but there's good evidence that it'll be helpful.

Bill

Inspiration

2007-05-30T12:24:00.000-07:00

You already know about my friend, Alwyn Cosgrove, who kicked cancer's ass twice. You can actually read his story in his "cancer diaries" as part of the project LiftStrong (remember all proceeds go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) which includes over 800 pages from the top minds in the fitness and strength and conditioning professions.

Well I've got another one for ya...

My friend Rob "fishrcutb8" Duffield dropped me a line today that made me smile.

He competed in a triathalon to celebrate my birthday on the 27th (okay, it wasn't to celebrate my birthday but this isn't YOUR blog now is it) AND he beat his goal time.

Now that's inspiring!

But get this...

It was his first race since being diagnosed with testicular cancer AND being hit by a truck while riding his bike.

These are both monster comebacks and I'm proud to call both guys friend.

Now what was it you were complaining about today? :)

Bill

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...well, me.

2007-05-27T16:06:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday.

Not a big deal really, but it's always fun to do something that you wouldn't typically do.

While the Indy 500 was in full swing, we headed downtown to the new Superhero Museum to check it out.

Quite the cool little place. Everything from the Superman serials, early George Reeves costumes, Christopher Reeve's wig (Superman wore a wig??), and Smallville.

The highlights was the Batmobile (Keaton era) and the Bat-boat (Adam West era).

Not a bad deal for $5.

Golf Fitness Assessment

2007-05-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

Anthony Renna from www.golffitnessproducts.net recently started a new podcast specifically for golfers interested in taking their game to the next level by increasing their fitness.

Ant interviewed me on the topic of golf fitness assessment and we covered some great stuff.

You can listen to it on iTunes or follow this link:

http://bettergolfwithfitnessblog.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=216875

Enjoy

Bill

Healthy Chocolate Fix

2007-05-24T19:35:00.000-07:00

By now you've probably read something about the health benefits of real chocolate.

The problem is finding some real dark with a high percentage of cocoa that doesn't taste like crapola.

Well it just so happens that there's a company here in Indianapolis that makes some killer chocolate that is 88% cocoa.

It's also easy to order...

http://www.chocolatebar.com/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=&idproduct=35

Here's some info from their website...

The Health Benefits of Chocolate For the body...

Chocolate contains antioxidants known as flavonoids which help protect against free radicals that cause cell and tissue damage.
Chocolate contains beneficial vitamins and minerals, including copper, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus. Contrary to popular belief, chocolate contains minimal caffeine – a fraction of that in a cup of coffee.
70% cocoa or higher dark chocolate has a low glycemic index, meaning a smaller fluctuation in blood glucose and insulin levels than with other sweet foods. Be sure to read labels for other added sugars.
Endangered Species Chocolate is all-natural, meaning it contains no additives like chemical preservatives or artificial coloring and flavoring. Our organic-certified products are made using ingredients with no pesticides, growth hormones or other chemicals, maximizing the benefits of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids.

Heart...

Stearic acid found in cocoa butter has a neutral affect on cholesterol. A portion of chocolate’s fat also comes from oleic acid, a heart-healthy, monounsaturated fat. The antioxidants found in dark chocolate can inhibit plaque formation in the arteries and improve the flexibility of blood vessels.
The darker and purer the chocolate, the more powerful the antioxidants. 70% cocoa or higher dark chocolate contains more antioxidant power than green tea, red wine or blueberries. Endangered Species Chocolate has many dark chocolate selections with 70-88% cocoa content, some containing other heart-friendly foods like berries and nuts.

And soul...

Eating chocolate releases endorphins, the body’s natural “feel-good” chemical.
Chocolate is known as an antidepressant and an aphrodisiac. It contains a phenylethylamine, which can cause feelings similar to being “in love.”
Our own health can be connected to our compassion and generosity toward others. Feel good about indulging in Endangered Species Chocolate knowing that it helps support sustainable forest farming practices and gives back to conservation organizations.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS:
Dairy can interfere with the absorption of antioxidants found in chocolate.
While chocolate has many health benefits, it should be consumed in moderation. Chocolate consumption that causes weight gain negates many of the health values.
This information is in no way intended to be medical advice. If you intend to medicate with chocolate, please consult a doctor first.

NOTE:
At Endangered Species Chocolate we provide gourmet chocolate made with the finest all-natural ingredients. Cacao, the essence of chocolate, is actually a fruit that, when harvested naturally or organically, supports human health (see reverse) as well as the environment. Chocolate products made from natural and organic ingredients with minimal processing have the greatest health benefit, richest flavor and a positive impacton the earth.

Just as important, we see chocolate as a medium to help save species, conserve habitat and honor human life. Our 100% ethically traded cacao beans are shade grown on small, family-owned properties, ensuring the workers and farmers a fair wage and humane working conditions. Choosing Endangered Species Chocolate is one way to support sustainable forest farmland and the species that flourish there. We add to the impact of each bar by contributing 10% of our net profits to organizations whose mission is to help support species, habitat and humanity.

Bill

Yoga STILL Sucks

2007-05-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

So much for the body-mind connection myths perpetuated by the yoga fanatics.

In a head to head comparison between an aerobically trained group of senior citizens and a progressive stretching group (all participants were previously untrained), the aerobically trained grandmas showed a 25% greater cognitive improvement than the stretchers.

Now before you yogi's get your panties in a bunch, I think that if you enjoy yoga, by all means, continue to do it...then do something productive.

Source:
Stanley J. Colcombe, Arthur F. Kramer, Kirk I. Erickson, Paige Scalf, Edward McAuley, Neal J. Cohen, Andrew Webb, Gerry J. Jerome, David X. Marquez, and Steriani Elavsky
Cardiovascular fitness, cortical plasticity, and aging, PNAS, Mar 2004; 101: 3316 - 3321.

Bill

Pre-Eating

2007-05-18T05:12:00.000-07:00

One of the big challenges when monitoring your food intake, is avoiding overeating and dealing with poor food choices at all the cook-outs, summer pizza parties, and countless social events that go along with the improving weather.

Mike Roussell, author of Your Naked Nutrition Guide, sent me this little gem recently.

Consider Pre-Eating...

Pre-Eat when going out – Birthday parties, cocktail hour at your wife’s friend’s house, dinner at your parents all these occasions can wreak havoc on a well thought out meal plan. This is why proper Damage Control is important. So what can you do? Pre-Eat. Heading to a sugar laden social event on an empty stomach is a bad idea. And if you’re thinking “But I have great willpower” stop, why test yourself. Proper pre-eating will put a little food in your stomach, curb your hunger, and slow the digestion of whatever foods you do end up eating when you go out.

One of my favorite pre-eats is a medium sized apple and one ounce of low fat cheddar cheese. Apples have fiber, a low glycemic index, and have been shown to curb appetite. The cheese contains protein and fat both of which will increase your satiety (make you feel fuller) and slow the digestion of any other foods you eat.

So next time you find yourself headed to an unexpected social event run damage control and pre-eat.
________________

Bill

Perform Better Chicago Day 3

2007-05-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

Fully recovered from the previous evenings festivities (thanks again to Chris Poirier for his hospitality and John Hall for the ride back to the hotel), Day 3 started off strong with Gray Cook of the Functional Movement Screen fame.

His topic was safer strength with a focus on progressions to mastering the deadlift which he felt was one of the most important lower body/posterior chain/core exercises. I don't think too many people will disagree with that.

His driving home point, was to maintain your ability to perform a deep squat (a la FMS), but your loading should come primarily from deadlift variations. This would include single leg and double leg variations. He also included some self-testing for stability which is included on his video on the same topic. Oh, and don't forget to breath like a crocodile.

Todd Wright, head of strength and conditioning for University of Texas Basketball, was up next.

Apparently, UT was having quite a few injuries so Todd went to work to find out why. Seems they had a number of ankle mobility and foot issues especially in their best athletes. Todd showed some really great slow-mo video of his guys in action which really lets you appreciate what such gifted human beings can do that many of us can't. In one case, he showed Kevin Durant jump off of an ankle that inverted so severely that for most it would have resulted in a fractured ankle. The injury took Kevin out of the game for some retaping, and he returned to finish the game and missed one day of practice.

Todd also showed some cool before and after gait video showing how improving ankle mobility improved the gait pattern and relieved pain elsewhere such as the back. Todd obviously does a great job with his team, and while I wouldn't agree on everything he presented, overall is was definitely worth listening.

The Evolution of an Athlete was the presented by Eric Cressey. While I'd communicated with Eric via email in the past. We didn't get to meet until this weekend. He's your typical muscle-head powerlifter with a big gut and even bigger anterior pelvic tilt (this isn't really true...it's an inside joke). Eric's one of the up-n-comers in the strength conditioning field who's way to smart for his age.

His talk outlined how an athlete's training should progress based on his knowledge base, self-awareness, and his training age. A word to the wise. Most of you are training at least one level too high for your optimal progress.

I also stole an exercise from Eric called the Paloff press (which I believe he borrowed...don't worry, I'm sure it'll end up in one of Eric's t-nation articles).

Like I said it was great to talk with Eric a bit, and we were able to have a couple of really solid discussions that were as interesting as some of the formal presentations.

I'm not sure, but he may have a future in the strength/conditioning/fitenss field. :)

The champion enters the ring last. That must be why Alwyn Cosgrove spoke last on the last day of the Summit (the champ entering the ring thing was Alwyn's line).

Not only has the guy made cancer his bitch on two occasions, but he gives a top-notch presentation.

Case in point. I was privleged to see this presentation before anyone in the general public had ever seen. I've seen him present it before. And I'd watch it again if presented the opportunity.

Mike Robertson was sitting one row behind me. He's seen it before. Get the picture?

A quick synopsis of the Real World Fat Loss presentation...

Everything you've been told in the popular media about how to lose fat is WRONG.

It's not even supported in the peer-reviewed research.

The father of aerobics, Kenneth Cooper, said it was wrong.

Alwyn has real-world research from over 16 years of running 200-300 clients through their training on a weekly basis.

He's got the before and after photos to prove that it works.

BTW his method is available in the form of his product called Afterburn.

We then said our good-byes and headed our separate ways.

I got some directions from the hotel as to how to get to the interstate only to find that all the on-ramps were closed for construction. You'd think since the on-ramp was only a couple blocks away that the concierge would have had a clue. Had it not been for my inherited, uncanny sense of direction, I'd still be driving around Chicago looking for I-90.

Anyway, congrats to Chris Poirier and the Perform Better staff for an outstanding Summit.

Bill

Perform Better Chicago Day 2

2007-05-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

I started day 2 with the Gray Institute presentation.

I already had a good idea what to expect being familiar with Gary Gray's approach. The word functional is used heavily throughout. They also use terms such as tranformational zones which if you know what the stretch-shortening cycle is (eccentric to isometric to concentric) then you have an understanding of what they mean.

They also promote the use of drivers which is their term for using movements of distal body parts or movements performed away from the targeted body part to elicit activation of certain muscle groups.

Example: if you want to fire the right glutes, step forward with the right foot, shift your pelvis to the right, and reach up and over to the left with your right arm.

The ultimate goal is to activate without isolating the hip much like during functional activities. Makes sense but unless you plan to devote a long period of study into their methods, I think there's easier ways to approach it. (someone call Gray Cook)

One point I respectfully disagree with is that we must train at the extreme joint angles such as those that bring the ACL under maximum tension (closed-chain pronation, knee valgus, and hip internal rotation). Their theory is that if you can train the body at these joint angle then the athlete, having already been exposed to the angle, will be able to recover from it and actually prevent the ACL injury in the first place.

Well, it's virtually impossible to expose an athlete to all possible angles, postures, and body positions they'd be exposed to during competition. Better to actually practice their sport. Doing exercises as slow speeds and light loads, even if the joint angles are the same as the sport, is not the same as doing them at high speeds and high loads.

Still, if you want to see how the entire body "functions" during movement, Gary Gray's stuff is worth a look.

More McGill and superstiffness. This was an expansion of how the superstiffness is applied in sport and training. He showed the Bruce Lee one inch punch as an example of how force is created centrally in the trunk muscles and then displayed with a low amplitude, high force movement. Dr. McGill asked the audience if anyone was applying this concept in other ways. How 'bout oscillatory isometrics, drop training??

Went to see Sue Falsone from Athlete's Performance. I want to see how the integrated all their therapy and training. Quite the set up from what I could tell. The audience pulled her off track a bit with questions about insurance coverage, but it was still good to see how they integrated the different aspects of their business.

Caught a few minutes of Mike Boyle's Advance Program Design talk. You should have his DVD set on the same topic. Wha??? You don't? Get it.

Al Vermeil was next. Here's the only strength coach with world championship in 2 major professional sports. One (actually several) with the San Francisco 49'ers (He's up there talking about working with Bill and then you realize he's talking about Bill Walsh) and the other with the Chicago Bulls. I'd have paid to hear him just talk about working with Micheal Jordan for an hour.

He didn't, but instead reviewed Mark Comerfords' approach to spinal stability. This approach is the polar opposite to Dr. McGill's. Where Dr. McGill would tell you that which muscle is more important will depend on the activity, the approach that Coach Vermeil presented falls into the inner unit (TVA, multifidus, diaphragm, pelvic floor) vs. the outer unit (abs, erectors, etc.).

He's personal friends with Comerford and Hodges and he used this approach to help his wife with a long-term back problem. Makes sense that he should feel strongly about this approach.

Ryan Lee wrapped up the day. There is no one that has done more to improve the business lives of personal trainers and strength coaches. He presented on how to create unlimited passive income streams. I've seen it before but it was great to hear it again. He was also kind enough to plug my (and Mike Robertson's) DVD (available at www.inside-out-warm-up.com). The thing about what Ryan has to offer is that it's not BS theory. There are too many real-world examples of trainers that he has helped become more successful.

Post Summit activities...

Beers with Mike Boyle, Alwyn Cosgrove, Chris Poirier, Eric Cressey, Mike Robertson, Annette Lang, Nancy from Noblesville (right down the street from my house), and a host of others. Then off to dinner and drinks.

Side note: Spent a good portion of the evening talking to Rob Pilger of www.pilgerstrainingsystems.com. I dont' think there's anyone who knows more about boxing than Rob. He knows boxing and he knows how to train. He mentioned that he's got a series of training DVD's coming soon. I'm buyin'.

One more day to go!

Bill

Perform Better Chicago

2007-05-15T04:12:00.000-07:00

I attended the Perform Better Functional Training Summit in Chicago last weekend. To say that Chris Poirier and his staff at Perform Better pulled off a great event is an understatement. I predict that this tour will become the standard in the fitness and sports training industry.

Here's a quickie rundown (keep in mind that I couldn't see all the speakers as they ran 2 lectures and 2 hands-on sessions simultaneously and I'm doing this from memory)...

I arrived Thursday night and while checking out the venue I ran into (almost literally) my good buddy Jean-Paul Francoeur from JP Fitness. With "Kaiser" from the JP Fitness forum as our guide we toured the city and saw the sites (including the giant bean at Millenium Park...freaky) and dined on Chicago-style deep dish pizza (Note to Mike Roussell...it had spinach in it so it was safe to eat, right?).

On to the PB Summit...

Thomas Plummer may have been the perfect choice to start things off.

He's an energetic, pulls-no-punches type of speaker. If it's on his mind, he'll say it. In a very short time, he laid out the basic foundation for building your fitness business. This guy has literally been in every gym in the country and knows what makes your fitness business successful or what will cause it to fail.

A note to personal trainers everywhere...

Lose the earrings, cover your tattoo, wear a collared shirt and nice shorts or pants. It's time to step it up and be a professional. Clients are not interested in being bodybuilders...they want to have fun and will pay big money for it.

Stuart McGill was first up after lunch. I was really looking forward to hearing him and he didn't disappoint. Dr. McGill has tested them all from the highest level of athlete to Joe and Jane Schmoe. Where others theorize, he has direct laboratory results to support his recommendations. The underlying theme is to create what he calls "superstiffness" by effectively utilizing co-contraction of all the abdominals.

Other gems:
If you think you can contract the transversus abdominis and multifidus in isolation...dream on. Don't waste your time.

The hip airplane is one of the best ways to get the glutes to fire.

Groove the motor pattern (this was in reference to retraining the squat)

Great athletes have the ability to turn-on and turn-off muscles quickly which make for efficient and effective performance. This is trainable by the way.

Bill Parisi of Parisi Speed Schools ROCKED THE HOUSE!!

By far the most energetic of all the speakers, Bill talked about how to effectively network and build your sphere of influence. His just happens to include a guy named Phil Simms, Super Bowl quarterback and now TV commentator.

I also related to Bill because he, like me, was a javelin thrower and a linebacker in college although after a brief discussion I found he was a much better thrower than I was.

There's no way I can express the impact Bill has as a speaker in this blog.

Let's put it this way...he talked 30+ minutes over his time. No one wanted him to stop and no one left early.

His passion and enthusiasm for what he does with kids and his athletes is obvious.

Oh, and one attendee walked off with $100 of Bill's money for increasing his vertical jump by about a foot in about 30 seconds (it wasn't me). :)

I didn't get a chance to see Robb Rogers (who I found out happens to live in the same area as I do) talk about Muscle Activation Techniques, but I have seen his video on the topic which is quite good. Regardless, I was able to socialize with him a bit. Robb's "been there and done that" for a couple of decades in the strength and conditioning field and is not only a tremedous resource of training info, but a class act to boot.

I missed Diane Vives' talk too, but I sat next to her at dinner Saturday night. She's a very cool gal who also works her ass off. She's also trains some hardcore bodybuilders in a hardcore training facility that most women would be afraid to even walk by. The girl knows her stuff.

Lee Taft was there as well showing off his low box training which if you haven't seen, you'd think Lee was in his 20's. The guy hasn't lost a step and his explosiveness is unbelievable. Lee's been a friend of mine for a few years and his Lee Taft Speed Academy is growing like a weed in upstate New York mainly because the guy is one of the best in the business. He never stops working. At Friday night's social, you could see Lee answering questions and doing demos all night.

Speaking of the social Friday night...

THE GUITAR PLAYER WAS TOO LOUD!!!

Aside from that, Chris Poirier's hospitality and generosity are endless and he deserves many thanks for bringing so many folks in the industry together.

I had a chance to catch up with Ryan Lee (you still owe me a consult for fixing your neck at the first Ryan Lee Bootcamp;)). Ryan has a million projects going at once as usual and has a new baby on the way (that makes 3). He's living in Jupiter, Florida these days as his new nutrition and supplement company for trainers (Prograde Nutrition) explodes onto the scene.

Also hung with Mike Robertson, Mike Dodd, and assorted others.

Special mention: Never say you don't have time.

Angela from Crown Point, IN told her story over drinks. She's a Mom of 4 who home schools her kids AND runs a thriving fitness business geared toward women training for weight loss. Ladies and gents...you now have no excuses.

Special Mention #2: Graham Dean from www.dominateathletic.com came all the way to Chicago from South Africa. He's a very sharp guy, and I have no doubt that he will quickly become the go-to guy in all of South Africa not to mention that my network has now gotten a lot bigger.

A good start for Day 1.

Day 2 is coming...

Bill

Get Naked Nutrition Now!

2007-05-10T06:23:00.000-07:00

Today is an exciting day because I get to tell you about something that I've been keeping under wraps for quite a while.

Back in April, I had the chance to spend some time and talk nutrition with Mike Roussell. He also gave me a copy of his book Naked Nutrition. Let me tell you, no one should be that young and be that intelligent.

Naked Nutrition strips away all the fluff in regards to creating a healthy AND effective fat loss or muscle gaining nutrition program. Mike's taken a very confusing topic like proper nutrition and created an easy-to-follow guide that everyone can use regardless of your caloric needs or type of diet you prefer.

Since low-carb dieting is once again the rage, I did a mini-Q & A with Mike.

Bill: When fat loss is the goal, it seems that many are now fearful of
eating carbs. How will carbs fit effectively into a fat loss training
program?

Mike Roussell: There are really two approaches you can take with carbohydrates regarding fat loss; one is more extreme than the other. Let's look at the more extreme option first. With this option you completely remove all starchy carbohydrates with the exception of your workout nutrition (keep the carbohydrates there at all costs). This approach is easy because it requires little thinking - the only carbohydrates you eat are fruits and vegetables.

But for some people that can be a radical change to their nutritional plan and thus is not initially recommended. Instead limit your starchy carbohydrate consumption to breakfast (commonly oatmeal) and in the first 1-2 meals following your workout. When I mention starchy carbohydrates, I'm talking about whole grain carbs not candy bars and cookies. If you are losing fat with carbs at these times then why cut them out? I find that very often what you said is true. People are "fearful of eating carbs" and thus automatically adopt the mantra "carbs make me fat" and cut them out of their diet without really knowing how their body responds to starchy higher glycemic index carbohydrates.

Continuing with the scenario…If fat loss is stalling then you can remove your morning starches and/or the starches following your workouts so that you are moving towards more of a zero starch diet (like I described previously).

The key message here is don't jump to carb conclusions without testing it on your body first. If you can eat oatmeal in the morning and still lose fat wouldn't you want to do that? The research shows that well timed starchy (and sometimes sugary) carbohydrates won't hinder fat loss and can actually be of extreme benefit. It is also important to note that in either diet scenario I outline neither one was a low carbohydrate diet. They were low starch diets. It is like Alwyn Cosgrove says "I don't recommend very low carbohydrate diet because I would never tell someone they can't eat vegetables."

Naked Nutrition is now available!

Bill

Losing the Last 10

2007-05-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

Here's the link to my latest fat loss article in Men's Health. It includes the complete 9-week program template that didn't fit in the original article.

Losing the Last 10

Bill

Left/Right Imbalances

2007-05-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

Bill,

My right leg is significantly stronger than my left and I have a reoccurring injury that I finally realize is most likely due to this strength imbalance. The imbalance is because I had reconstructive knee surgery back in high school. I’m going to start doing exclusive single leg work. Should I add extra sets to the weak leg or use the same amount of weight for both legs based on what the weak (left) leg can handle?

Since the body tends to function best when there is minimal discrepency between the left and right sides of the body, this can be a pretty significant issue not only in performance but your orthopedic health as well.

Rarely is it as simple as just doing more sets on the weaker side. If that were the case then in most cases of general weakness doing more would be better, and in this day and age I think we all know that more is not always better.

Since, in your estimation, this is related to a previous injury and is a recurring problem, it's pretty obvious that something is feeding the imbalance. In most cases, the issue is not where you're feeling the pain or are experiencing the weakness.

There is most likely an imbalance elsewhere that developed over time due to altering your typical movement pattern to avoid pain or compensate for the dysfunction.

Without assessing you directly, specific corrective programming isn't possible but the first thing I'd compare is your hip and shoulder range of motion and your thoracic spine (upper back) rotation (from a tall sitting position turn from side to side). Look for any significant differences between sides and focus on correcting them first.

You can get a pretty clear picture by videotaping yourself doing an overhead squat, split squat, standing unilateral hip and knee flexion (stand on one leg and raise the opposite bent knee upward), and a single leg squat.

A lack of mobility/motion will show up as asymmetries in motion and/or posture or a loss of balance. Work to correct these asymmetries first as they will assure that appropriate movement patterns are being used and further imbalances will be avoided.

Once normal patterns have been restored it's just a matter of balancing strength.

To do so, focus primarily on unilateral exercises with a normal volume of training on the "weaker" side and a reduced volume of training on the "strong" side (matching the reps per set performed on the weaker side) to avoid detraining.

For instance, if you perform 3 x 8 of lunges, perform the first set starting with the weaker side and alternate sides until you've performed 3 sets on the weaker side (the strong side gets 2 sets to maintain fitness).

Bill

P.S. Don't forget to work on your thoracic spine and shoulder mobility as well.

Hip Dominant Movements

2007-04-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

Not all hip dominant movements are created equal.

The hip joint angle at which torque is maximal during a deadlift variation is not the same as when performing a back extension (AKA hyperextension), reverse hyper, or low cable pull-through. Therefore, each will have its purpose in developing a training program.

Especially in the case of improving high-level performance in athletes, proper exercise selection is essential to address weak points in performance.

Assuming you can identify the weakpoints in the first place. :)

Later

Thanks Jack

2007-04-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

My father-in-law, Jack, died a couple weeks ago.

I only got to know him for about 8 years, but it turns out that he's had quite a life.

Get this…

He served in Air Force and worked on planes as a mechanic
He then learned to fly planes AFTER his honorable discharge
He then owned his own plane
He learned to fly a helicopter
His daughter (my wife) was the only girl on the block…or town for that matter…who had a helicopter in her back yard
He was a ham radio operator for most of his life and made contact with people all over the world before the popularity of the internet
He built his own house (among many others) with his own hands…TWICE
He regularly bought, rebuilt, and reconditioned cars for a little "spending money"
He performed missionary work in Panama for his church on two different occasions
He then went back to Panama paying his own way just because he wanted to help them out
He raised an amazing daughter for whom I am thankful for every day

I don't offer this information to promote sympathy. I just want you to think about all the things you've dreamed of doing or plan to do "when you get around to it".

Don't wait. Do it.

Read more, talk more, laugh more, and help more people.

Enjoy the journey.

Thanks Jack. You were great.

Later

P.S. If you read this and feel strongly about offering your condolences, please don't. I would prefer that you went to www.liftstrong.com and purchase the e-book to help someone else.

LiftSTRONG

2007-04-05T04:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks to outstanding medical care and technology and a fighter's attitude, my good friend Alwyn Cosgrove has defeated cancer (twice!!).

Always one to give back, Alwyn has brought to together the top names in the fitness, sports, and health professions to create the largest resource of health, fitness, and training information anywhere.

At over 800 pages, it will be an essential component to anyone's fitness and training library.

ALL the proceeds will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. (Alwyn is footing the entire bill for production costs)

You can see the list of authors and get your copy at www.liftstrong.com

Buy two, get smarter, and save lives.

Later

Short-term Mentality

2007-03-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

True story.

I was teaching a client the benefits of a proper eating plan (frequent meals, proper food choices, portion control, etc.) and she asked me how long she would need to eat this way.

She obviously doesn't get it yet, but she's new the whole fitness thing.

I can't blame her.

The media where most folks get their information is filled with "short-term mentality."

Short-term mentality is the latest Hollywood actress-based diet, an article in a women's magazine touting a quick way to lose X-number of pounds in 4 weeks, or a TV news program announcing the latest scientific finding that some isolated behavior impacts weight loss.

It's all based on the short-term. Do this one thing and all your weight loss worries go out the door.

Of course, we know better.

It's about making relatively permanent changes in your lifestyle FOREVER, that makes the difference.

Don't worry no one expects you to be perfect with your eating and exercise program. Training and nutrition expert Dr. John Berardi states that we need to be at our best on all levels for about 90% of the time.

If you have 42 eating opportunities per week (6 meals x 7 days), getting 38 of them correct will get you where you want to be.

If you have 16 workouts scheduled in a month, if you miss 1 or 2, it most likely won't set you back. (By the way, that doesn't give you permission to intentionally miss them)

You only need an "A-" to pass, but if you strive for an A+. Your results are guaranteed.

Later

P.S. The eating component of a fitness program tends to be the most challenging part when making such a lifestyle adjustment. To make is easier, achieve your goals, and still eat delicious and nutritious food, I recommend that you check out Dr. John Berardi's Precision Nutrition.

What are you reading...for?

2007-03-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

"A dimwitted waffle house waitress came up to my table, saw me reading a book, and asked, "What are you reading for?" Not "what are you reading?", but "what are you reading for?"

"Well, I read for a lot of reasons, but one of them is so I don't end up a fucking waffle waitress."

Bill Hicks

You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things: the people you meet and the books you read."

Charles "Tremendous" Jones

"All of the books that we will ever need to make us as rich, as healthy, as happy, as powerful, as sophisticated and as successful as we want to be have already been written.

"People from all walks of life, people with some of the most incredible life experiences, people that have gone from pennies to fortune and from failure to success have taken the time to write down their experiences so that we might share in their wealth of knowledge. They have offered their wisdom and experience so that we can be inspired by it and instructed by it, and so that we can amend our philosophy by it. Their contributions enable us to reset our sail based upon their experiences. They have handed us the gift of their insights so that we can change our plans, if need be, in order to avoid their errors. We can rearrange our lives based on their wise advice.

"All of the insights that we might ever need have already been captured by others in books. The important question is this: In the last ninety days, with this treasure of information that could change our lives, our fortunes, our relationships, our health, our children and our careers for the better, how many books have we read?

"Why do we neglect to read the books that can change our lives? Why do we complain but remain the same? Why do so many of us curse the effect but nourish the cause? How do we explain the fact that only three percent of our entire national population possess a library card—a card that would give us access to all of the answers to success and happiness we could ever want? Those who wish for the better life cannot permit themselves to miss the books that could have a major impact on how their lives turn out. The book they miss will not help!

"And the issue is not that books are too expensive! If a person concludes that the price of buying the book is too great, wait until he must pay the price for not buying it. Wait until he receives the bill for continued and prolonged ignorance.

"There is very little difference between someone who cannot read and someone who will not read. The result of either is ignorance. Those who are serious seekers of personal development must remove the self-imposed limitations they have placed on their reading skills and their reading habits. There are a multitude of classes being taught on how to be a good reader and there are thousands of books on the shelves of the public libraries just waiting to be read. Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary. We must not permit anything to stand between us and the book that could change our lives.

"A little reading each day will result in a wealth of valuable information in a very short period of time. But if we fail to set aside the time, if we fail to pick up the book, if we fail to exercise the discipline, then ignorance will quickly move in to fill the void.
Those who seek a better life must first become a better person. They must continually seek after self- mastery for the purpose of developing a balanced philosophy of life, and then live in accordance with the dictates of that philosophy. The habit of reading is a major stepping stone in the development of a sound philosophical foundation. And in my opinion it is one of the fundamentals required for the attainment of success and happiness."

Jim Rohn

Later

You NEED to Listen to this

2007-03-22T23:03:00.000-07:00

My good friend Alwyn Cosgrove was interviewed by Dax Moy recently.

Dax is giving it away for free.

There are some resources that are "must haves" and this recording is a MUST listen.

It will change your perspective of the fitness profession and make you better at whatever you do whether you are in the fitness profession or not.

Later

Change Your Identity

2007-03-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

Most people make choices based on how they identify themselves.

Many times these decisions are not congruent with their goals or desires.

For instance...I'm a smoker, but I want to quit (not me, but the figurative guy).

A smoker who wants to quit smoking but still identifies himself as a smoker will not be able to quit. His decisions are based on the fact that he is a smoker therefore he will always have the desire to smoke. Sure, he may be able to not smoke for a while, but because he sees himself as a smoker, he will smoke again.

The same goes for achieving your fitness goals.

Change your identity and become that person you desire to be.

Make all your behavioral decisions that influence your fitness goals based on the fact that you are a certain type of athlete or fitness enthusiast.

When faced with food choices, what choices do I make to support my goals?
How often should I train to achieve my goals or prepare for my sport?
What type of training should I be doing?

Answer every question based on your "new" identity.

Become who you want to be.

Later

Isaac Newton, Certified Personal Trainer

2007-03-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

“If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”

Isaac Newton (among many others)

I would hazard to guess that I’ve had few, if any, original thoughts (I don’t even think that that statement is original).

I therefore give credit to all that came before me for any intellect and/or creativity that I may demonstrate to those who came before me in my chosen fields of interest and, well, life in general.

Having parents, mentors, and reading and listening to countless others probably saved me years of mistakes and regrets (I still had to touch the hot stove to see if it really would burn my hand) even though many times I decided that I was smarter than those before me.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a “How to/Success” manual for everything?

What if you could just speak directly to those who were already doing what you’d like to do or were already at the top of the field?

You would never make the same mistakes that someone else made. You’d do things right the first time. You’d be more successful in a shorter time period than everyone else.

That’s what Nate Green figured out.

So he started asking successful trainers questions. He learned and he applied.

The result?

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Nate interviewed some of the top names in the fitness field (and me too) and recorded them so up-and-coming trainers like himself can benefit from the trials and mistakes and successes of those who came before him.

Interviewees include:

Ryan Lee
Jim Labadie
Alwyn Cosgrove
Mike Boyle
Lou Schuler
Susan Hill
Pat Rigsby
Nick Berry
Craig Ballantyne
Chris Schugart
And myself

I’ve listened to these interviews myself and ended up with about 20 pages of notes. It’s a must for anyone looking to build their business.

Later

P.S. Today’s no muss, no fuss spinach recipe: Spinach Popeye Style

Take a large handful of spinach.
Pack it into a small ball.
Shove it in your mouth, chew, and swallow.

JP Fitness Summit...Be There!!

2007-03-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

A word to the wise, get signed up for the JP Fitness Summit 2007.

Every year this thing keeps getting better, and this year things have taken a quantum leap.

I am honored to be a speaker once again this year, but check out who I get to hang out with in Little Rock:

Alwyn Cosgrove - international martial arts champ, top trainer, and author of Afterburn and The New Rules of Lifting

Robert Dos Remedios - author of Men's Health Power Training and NSCA Strength Coach of the Year

Lou Schuler - Co-author of multiple fitness books with Alwyn Cosgrove, Ian King, Mike Mejia, Jeff Volek, and Adam Campbell

Charles Staley - creator of the EDT training system

Chad Waterbury - author of Muscle Revolution and frequent contributor to T-nation.com

Zig Ziegler - former top collegiate athlete turned biomechanics expert and founder of Motion DNA

Mike Roussell - top nutritionist and frequent contributor to T-nation

Dave Schmitz - physcial therapist, athletic trainer, and flex band training expert

The thing that makes JP's Summit so different is that not only will you get to hear the best of the best provide you with applicable, "use it tomorrow" information. You also get to spend plenty of time in smal groups or even one-on-one time with the presenters. Not to mention, you also get to enjoy the social life in Little Rock (You can sleep when you get home).

You'll be sorry if you don't get to the JP Fitness Summit 2007.

Later

Hot Fakes, Ultra-scam and Chronic Low Back Pain

2007-03-13T06:37:00.000-07:00

I've never been a big fan of passive physical agents in the treatment of chronic low back pain. I just don't think they have much to offer (for the record, short of cyrotherapy [ice], I don't think they have much to offer in just about any case. I've done one ultrasound treatment in the last 7 years and only because I was "ordered" to do so.).

Sure a little ice or heat can certainly reduce pain and temporarily increase mobility in the pre or post-exercise period, but as far as making a huge impact in reducing symptoms or increasing function...well, it just doesn't happen.

On the other hand, exercise is typically the "fix".

Oddly enough, aerobic exercise tends to be quite successful in this regard.

In the most recent Physical Therapy journal (Phys Ther. 2007 Mar;87(3):304-12) there was a pilot study that showed just that.

They compared a passive physical agents group (diathermy, ultrasound, electric stimulation, and laser treatments) who did no exercises to an aerobic exercise group. The aerobic exercise group progressively increase exercise time to 50 minutes at up to 85% of their heart rate reserve.

They then compared pre-study scores of subjective pain and disability to post-test score for each group.

Guess what?

The exercise group recorded reduced pain and disability after the 12 weeks, and the control group who just received the passive physical agents didn't change at all. They also reported reduced feelings of depression and anxiety (so much for anti-depressants...do you think there's a connection between the number of folks on anti-depressants and the ever increasing sedentary lifestyle of Americans??).

A couple things to keep in mind. The subjects who were successful in this study progressively increased the intensity of the exercise. I think this is an important point.

They weren't walking casually. They were eventually running on the treadmill for 50 minutes at a good clip.

Intensity is the key to most forms of exercise. We know that higher intensities of activity promote greater fat loss AND promote higher levels of fitness overall over a shorter time period.

Now there's evidence in that it'll help your back pain too.

Perhaps we need to adjust our mindsets to "Work harder, not smarter."

Later

P.S. I'd like to see the results with some strength training and even higher-intensity intervals thrown in.

The Thoracic Spine and Shoulder Health

2007-03-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

Question: Why the big concern over upper back mobility in regard to building heathly shoulders?

Answer: Poor mobility of the thoracic spine (upper back) is often associated with a slouched, or more specifically, a kyphotic posture. This altered spinal alignment prevents the scapulae (the shoulder blades) from tilting backward as you raise your arms. This lack of tilt narrows the space in the shoulder joint that the rotator cuff runs through (the subacromial space) and makes it more likely that your rotator cuff will get pinched, called impingement. Over time, if you impinge frequently, you'll most likely end up with some form of rotator cuff injury.

The mobility of the thoracic spine also directly affects the strength of the lower trapezius which is an upward rotator of the scapulae. If the thoracic spine lacks mobility the lower trapezius will test weak, thus limiting upward rotation. A lack of scapular upward rotation also narrows the subacromial space making impingement more likely.

There's actually more to it, but you can see in just these two instances why thoracic spine mobility is so important. That's why Mike Robertson and I included exercises specifically designed to improve throacic spine mobility in our Inside-Out: The Ultimate Upper Body Warm-up.

Later

False Barriers

2007-03-04T18:16:00.000-08:00

I was emailing back and forth with my friend Alwyn Cosgrove last night. We had both enjoyed the UFC fights on pay-per-view mainly because of a comeback of unexpected and unbelievable proportions.

Randy “The Natural” Couture came out of retirement to defeat Tim “The Maine-iac” Silvia and take his 3rd UFC Heavyweight title.

Now you may not be a big fight fan, but get this…

Tim Silvia has had more wins (25) than Couture had fights (15-8).

Tim Silvia stands 6’8” and weighed in at 265 which meant he was probably close to 280 by fight time. Randy Couture is 6’2” and weighs a lean 222.

Tim Silvia is 30 years old. Randy is…get this…43. That’s not a typo. He’s really 43 years old.

Randy wasn’t supposed to have a shot. He won like he was spanking a 280 pound baby.

Getting back to our email exchange.

In one email Alwyn stated, “Age is meaningless now. It really is.”

He’s right.

It’s a false barrier.

Roger Banister understood false barriers when he broke 4 minutes in the mile in 1954.

Eamonn Coghlan ran a sub-four minute mile in 1994. This obviously isn’t a big deal since it was 40 years prior that this barrier was broken until you find out that Eamonn was 40 years old when he ran it.

My friend John Gesselberty recently deadlifted over 400 pounds for the first time.

He’s over 40. Actually he’s 58 (that's not his physiological age by the way).

I’m inspired.

As of today, I’m about 40.75 years old.

If you need me, I’ll be in the gym at 4:30 am, warmed-up and ready.

Age is meaningless now. It really is.

Later

Evidence-based Fitness

2007-03-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

Everyone wants evidence for everything these days.

In the PT world, the hot topic is evidence-based treatment even though a large portion of the techniques and methods that many PT's learn in continuing educations courses and utilize every day haven't been scrutinized in double-blinded, peer-reviewed research.

In the fitness and sports training world, I think the best evidence-based methods come from the coaches who've been training clients and athletes for a long time and keep accurate records of what worked and what didn't.

Nothing beats real-world experience.

It's been said that exercise-related researchers tend to be exercise historians because they research those methods that successful coaches have been using for years only to find out why they work.

I can't entirely disagree, but I don't think we can just ignore the research because it is not performed in realistic environments. Knowing some of the "whys" allows us to make better training decisions.

With that in mind, I want to give you a "heads up" on a new blog by Bryan Chung. Bryan is a PhD (with a strong rehab background) who also happens to be one helluva researcher and critical thinker. He's also not a total geek as he has some "under the bar" and a broad athletic experience.

He's just getting started with the blog and he's quite busy as he continues his education, but I'd put his blog on your favorites list. Whether you agree with him or not, he's going to stimulate some thought.

Check him out here Evidence-Based Fitness.

Later

Isolate to Activate and Integrate

2007-02-28T10:19:00.000-08:00

This question came up recently on JP Fitness and I wanted to expand on it a little:

Q: I went to a a PT this summer for my shoulder. Their was little to no isolated exercises and very little static stretching...The program consisted of a warmup with dynamic stretches (lunge variations : front, side, reverse), single leg squat touchdowns, jumping jacks or 3 dimensional jumps, shoulder activation exercises (shoulder dump, internal/external rotator cuff movements with movement in the hips, punches thrown at different levels with some hip movement, similar exercises to the above link), this was followed by a strengthing circuit section...There is no exercises like pushup pluses, face pulls, Y's, T's, etc. that we see in many rehab programs....I enjoyed this program, but I don't know if I need to include traditional exercises like Y's T's to get better. The PR [I'm assuming he meant PT here] actually advises against these type exercises I think becauuse it isn't using more of the kinetic chain. Any opinions?

There are many components to an effective shoulder rehab program. I question whether a PT would actually advise against upper extremity weight bearing exericses (push-up plus, closed chain weight shifting, tripod exercises), isolated strengthening of the rotator cuff and scapular muscles, or range of motion and stretching. Each serves an important ingredient at specific stages of the rehab program.

The programming that you refer to involving the whole body exercises is primarily designed to restore normal intengration of shoulder function with the rest of the body. Certainly, this is important to recovery and general shoulder health.

When Mike Robertson and I put together Inside-Out, we designed it as such to emphasize the principles of how the body produces upper extremity movements from proximal (trunk and hips) to distal (scapula, shoulder, and arm) much like the exercises you describe. Just to show you how other parts of the body influence shoulder function, in almost half of all rotator cuff tears, you'll find a mobility issue in the opposite hip. In 100% of all cases of acquired shoulder instability, the scapula is also found to be unstable (cause and effect?).

Keep in mind that in most cases, you'll still need to address range of motion and strength in isolation on some level as the body is still able to compensate around movement restrictions or substitute for weakened muscle.

In other words, isolate to activate and integrate. That being said, all these processes can take place at the same time. Even in some situations where the shoulder may be immobilized, you can work on hip mobility, thoracic spine mobility, scapular mobility, and their integration.

Later

Too Much Pink

2007-02-20T18:29:00.000-08:00

A series of events occurred over the last couple of days that prompted me to blog today’s topic.

Event #1: My wife returned from a business trip to Las Vegas (hey, it REALLY WAS a business trip). For her flight home, she bought a couple of magazines that included fitness magazines marketed to women. Unfortunately, during some down time, I picked them up and scanned through them. I tore out all the pages with quality information on them, but I seemed to have misplaced it. ("it" meaning one page…actually is was part of one page, but you get my point).

Event #2: A new female client expressed her frustration with her lack of progress with her previous exercise program as she stated, “Even though I was doing my Pilates and yoga classes three times a week and following a diet that I read about in the magazines.”

Event #3: A friend mentioned that she’s not seeing the results that she’d hoped from her exercise program. She mentioned that she’s doing as much as an hour of aerobic exercise and another hour of strength training. After inquiring what she’s actually doing, she mentioned that she’s using the exact same program that she started 2 years ago and is using the exact same weights as when she started her program that she got from a fitness magazine.

Does anyone see the common connection here?

The media that is supposedly designed to help women achieve their fitness goals, improve their health, and help them feel better about themselves is actually sabotaging their efforts.

Women are being misguided, mislead, and misinformed.

How?

Too much pink.

Let me explain.

When I was in high school there was a study in which a police station painted their holding cells a color called Baker-Miller Pink. What they found was that this color of pink (about the color of bubble gum) had an aggression reducing effect on violent or aggressive arrestees.

I actually attempted to duplicate this study myself as part of my science fair project (hey, I took woodshop too!) where I had guys randomly stare at a Baker-Miller Pink card or another colored card for several minutes and then tested their strength. The subjects had no idea what was supposed to happen but in a majority of cases, when staring at a pink card, strength was reduced even if the pink card was chosen first which ruled out fatigue as a factor (Got an “A” in science that year too).

Does it work in the real world?

Well, there are actually football teams that paint their visiting lockerrooms pink in an effort to suck the aggression out of their opponents, so maybe it does.

But my point is that women are failing because there’s too much pink in the magazines.

Not literally but figuratively.

Here’s what I mean.

If you take all the components that make up a successful fitness program designed to promote fat loss and lean muscle gain but softened it up to make it seem kinder, gentler, and less threatening, that’s what the women’s fitness magazines are doing.

I do know why they do it that way.

It sells more magazines than teaching women the reality of changing their bodies and becoming more physically fit.

However, in doing so it perpetuates myths and misinformation that prevents successful fitness programming for women leading to countless frustrated female fitness fanatics.

I would hazard to guess that if the women’s magazines changed their ways and told the truth, they’d sell fewer magazines, but there success stories would increase 100-fold.

What the women’s magazines need are some BALLS! (yeah, well write your own blog)

If I were made editor for a day for The Ladies Day Shape Health Self Fitness Home Journal, here’s how I’d change it.

1. Raise the intensity of the strength training

One of the reasons women fail at achieving their goals is that they don’t know how hard they’re supposed to work. NO MORE PINK 3-POUND DUMBBELLS ALLOWED!

When it comes to strength training, if the training program says to do 12 reps, it means to use a weight that will allow you to perform 12 reps with good technique. If you can do 13, you need to use more weight.

Before you even think it, don’t give me any crap about not wanting to get muscle bound. You gals lack the hormones to gain huge amounts of muscle. Besides gaining large amounts of muscle is far from easy. Most guys have trouble gaining large amounts of muscle over a period of years with the intention to do so.

2. Teach the reader the importance of progression

You must strive to be stronger this month than you were last month. You must make the effort to do more work in the same amount of time. If you aren’t progressing, you are regressing. If you aren’t progressing, you aren’t changing.

3. Drop the word “Aerobic” from the women’s fitness vocabulary

You’ve been brainwashed to think that aerobic exercise = fat loss. It doesn’t. It simply means that your energy needs are being met by the aerobic energy system. This type of exercise is rarely effective in fat loss programs even though you’ve been told that ad nauseum.

4. No more Touchy Feely, Mind-Body Exercise programs

Yes, you may enjoy that type of program. Rarely does anyone make significant impact in their ability to lose fat with this type of exercise. See #1 above. If you must do it for fun, go ahead and then do something productive.

5. Forget about programs to slim body parts, firm something, or lift something

Exercises claiming to slim your hips, firm your butt, lift your breasts, and tighten up the lose skin on the back of your arms rarely if ever do so. Focus on exercises that emphasize total body movements like squats, deadlifts, lunges, step-ups, presses, and chin-ups (you can learn to do them if you want it bad enough). These stimulate your body to build metabolically active muscle and burn more fat AFTER you exercise. If you want proof, one research study that used 3 full body exercises increased metabolism and fat burning for over 39 hours after the workout was over.

6. Teach women that eating fat doesn't mean that it turns to fat

This is really misguided thinking left over from the 80’s and 90’s. It results in eating sugar-filled “fat free” foods, large portions of carbohydrate that raise insulin and increase fat storage or even insufficient calories. Metabolism is the rate at which you burn food. If you don’t eat enough, and that includes healthy fats, you essentially slow your metabolism and that means no fat loss.

I could go on but this is a blog, not a book. (See below for that)

Think LESS Pink.

Later

P.S. If you’re looking for a program that works in the real world, my friend Rachel Cosgrove has a great book called So You Want to Be In the Best Shape of Your Life.

CEO Excusitis

2007-02-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

Excusitis – psychological disorder resulting from the need to defer responsibility to anyone or anything other than one’s self. This disorder is usually accompanied by rationalization disorder.

I'm not a regular newspaper reader (and I don't watch the news either).

I figure that if something important happens, someone will tell me about it…and they do.

I did read an article in USA Today today (that wasn't a stutter) because someone showed it to me (see it works). It was about how CEO's of large corporations were fat and out of shape and how they are spending huge sums of money to try to drop some weight and improve their health.

Good for them.

The thing that caught my eye was the overwhelming excusitis that these guys and gals were using as their reason for being rather fat in some cases.

"My mother taught me if I didn't eat everything on my plate, a child in China would be dying."

"I'm Italian. You ate what your mother told you to eat, not just when you were hungry."

Wow, even CEO's still live at home and are forced to clean their plate by their mothers?

No. Just excusitis.

These people are in very powerful positions in the corporate world (and getting paid in the $5-10 million range annually), and I'm certain that they wouldn't stand for such drivel from any of their underlings, yet they blame their mommies for their current levels of obesity.

At least there was one voice of reason from the CEO camp.

He now weighs 185 pounds at 9% body fat. He trains every morning and does so at 4 a.m. in cases where he has a 6 a.m. flight to somewhere (I bet he doesn't fly commercial).

His opinion of other CEO’s who try fat farms and hire personal chef's? They're WEAK!

It's all about self-discipline. No excuses.

Wanna Get Jacked?

Later

T-nation

2007-01-25T20:38:00.000-08:00

Just a quick heads up.

Mike Robertson and I recently did an article for T-nation.

It's called Push-ups, Face Pulls, and Shrugs. Check it out.

Later

Workout Pass

2007-01-22T16:05:00.000-08:00

You gotta see this to believe it.

It's called Workout Pass and it's HUGE.

In a nutshell, workoutpass is a network of over 40 sites (and growing) featuring only workouts. We've got sport specific sites such as football, soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, etc. We also have category-specific and equipment-specific sites like medicine ball workouts, weight loss for women, total gym, stability ball, bodyweight, etc.

Sign-up ASAP and you'll get what may be the largest release of FREE stuff ever!

Get your Workout Pass

Later

America's Goals for 2007

2007-01-17T09:11:00.000-08:00

America wants to get in shape. Here's proof.

A recent poll asked 300,000 people what their goals were for 2007. Here's the top ten goals for Americans based on their responses.

1. Lose weight, get in shape
2. Stick to a budget
3. Reduce debt
4. Enjoy more quality time with friends and family
5. Find a soul mate
6. Quit smoking
7. Find a better job
8. Learn something new
9. Volunteer - help others
10. Get organized

I think the primary reason that "Lose weight, get in shape" is number one (and usually is for most folks) is that they lack the knowledge and technology to allow them to accomplish their goal.

I can hear these people complaining that they'd be able to get in shape if only they had a method that they knew would work.

There is such a method.

My buddy Alwyn Cosgrove works with hundreds of clients each week with the same problems and the same goals. He's tested his methods on hundreds of clients each week and has become THE expert in real world fat loss because his program works.

If you need a program to help you achieve your fat loss goals or know someone who needs some help tell them to check out Afterburn.

No more excuses.

Later

Speed Reading

2007-01-15T17:57:00.000-08:00

I set a personal record today of 139 pages in about an hour and fifteen minutes.

I think there's a lot things that contributed to my PR in reading speed today.

1. I was reading something that I was looking forward to reading (No, it wasn't a Spider-man comic).

2. I was familiar with the topic and some of the material (but I hadn't read this book before)

3. I had scanned the book a couple of times.

4. I've been practicing my speed reading a bit.

Now, if there ever was a skeptic in regard to speed reading, I was a total nonbeliever.

I saw all the commercials of the kids with their school book pages turning at incredible rates with the announcer's voice reminding you, "These kids are actually reading!!" Just in case you didn't believe that they were.

I saw the late night infomercial of the guy that "read" an unfamiliar textbook with a 5-second scan per page claiming amazing retention (he was lying by the way).

Nevertheless, I have a lot of stuff I like and/or want and/or need to read. So I took a chance and bought a speed reading course. Yes, I felt stupid as I clicked the "checkout" button on the webpage, but I promised myself to give it an honest try.

I can't tell you how glad I am that I did. From a productivity standpoint, it's saved me hours.

I realize that this probably sounds like an informercial by now, but since I encourage folks to read as much as they can, I feel obligated to get you to read faster, so you can read more.

I'll even give you a few tips that if you practice dilegently will almost immediately notice an increase in your reading speed.

1. Read with your finger

Remember how when you were first learning to read, and you were taught not to lead your eyes with your finger because you were told that it would slow down your reading?

They were wrong.

What you actually find if you follow someone's eyes as they read is that there's a great deal of back tracking and losing and regaining your place as you read. Having a cue such as a finger to lead your eye and keep it on track prevents unnecessary rereading and maintains your focus on the material.

I prefer to place my entire hand on the page and just slide it back and forth. It seems more comfortable.

2. Lose your "inner voice"

When most people read they actually hear their "inner voice" as if a voice was reading aloud. This is a time killer.

Have you ever scrolled your computer screen really quickly as you looked for a specific name or word in a list or on a page? As soon as your eyes recognized the name or word, you immediately stopped scrolling. Had you tried to read every name or word on the list it would have taken hours, yet your brain was able to identify the word you sought very quickly.

You can do the same thing as you read a book, but it takes practice.

Here's what I would do to practice.

1. Read something that is familiar to you.

Either read something that you have read before or something that contains material or topic you are familiar with.

2. Scan it first.

Glance at each page or section to look for familiar words or phrases that will provide you with some preliminary information about what you're reading.

3. Read small sections and determine what you've retained.

You'll be surprised how much you pick up on the first try.

4. Keep practicing

I don't think that I can maintain the same rate of reading speed with something that is totally unfamiliar, but today's revelation was an indication that I've made dramatic improvements (and regained some that I'd lost from getting lazy).

BTW, here's the course that I used. It's been around forever (my Mom took the same course decades ago).

Later

P.S. It's worth it.

The Finish

2007-01-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

I don't like New Years resolutions.

They're usually meaningless and made while in the presence of a group of friends after consuming a few adult beverages and goes something like this, "This year I'm going to start..."

Achieving anything worthwhile isn't about the start.

It's about the finish.

Later

5 Steps to Success

2006-12-26T09:23:00.000-08:00

Regardless of your chosen goals, here's a 5 step program to achieve your ultimate success.

1. Read
2. Listen
3. Associate
4. Teach
5. Repeat

Now let me clarify.

1. Read

Devote a minimum of 15 minutes per day to reading something positive (BTW, the newspaper is not positive). About 75% of what you see and hear during a day is negative. Feed your brain the good stuff. In addition, devote an hour a day to reading something related to your primary goals. It could be business-related, fitness-related, or something from the self-improvement category.

2. Listen

I love my music, but I rarely listen to it in my car. Instead, my car is now a mobile university. Consider how much time you spend in your car on a daily basis. You consume a tremendous amount of information on your daily commute. Where you drive time was once wasted time, make it productive time. Listen to motivational speakers, sales training, business training, or fitness-related info.

3. Associate

Associate with people at your level or above. Now don't get me wrong here, I'm not putting people into classes or being a snob. It's a matter of making yourself better at what you do. Truth is that you'll become like the people you associate with. To progress in your personal development, you need to spend more time with those people who are where you would like to be. Like it or not, you may have friends and family that drag you down or hold you back. How do you find the people to help you move forward? Go to every seminar or conference you can afford. Introduce yourself and ask questions.

4. Teach

Once you have been recognized as achieving a level of competency within a specific arena, teach what you know to someone else. Not only will you be "paying it forward," you will find that you will learn more about what you know and yourself in the process.

5. Repeat

Repeat this entire process until your reach your goals and beyond.

Later

Train like an athlete...Anywhere, Anytime

2006-12-19T06:20:00.000-08:00

I recently got a chance to speak with Zach Even-esh (AKA The Underground Strength Coach)

We email back and forth, but it had been a long time since we had a chance to actually talk on the phone. Zach also happens to be one of the most enthusiastic guys you’ll ever meet. He’s probably never had a down day in his life.

If you don’t know Zach, he’s pretty well-known for training combat athletes, from wrestlers (including a prep national champion) to law enforcement officers to mixed martial artists, with what many would say are “Old School” methods.

Zach can put you through a killer workout using anything from just your body weight to heavy rocks, sandbags, or tires. All Zach needs is a playground or a picnic table (yes, a picnic table) and he can give anyone a productive and challenging training session.

If you’re someone who doesn’t think that old school works check out this photo of one of Zach’s clients.

After talking a bit with Zach, he asked me to contribute to one of his upcoming projects. (Note: this project is going to be huge. I mean huge. I’ve never seen someone literally give away so much information at one time) We ended up recording almost an hour of our conversation covering everything from energy systems training to injury prevention for combat athletes.

I mentioned my blog and felt that it was only fair that I turn the tables on Zach and have him provide me with “old school,” No B.S. methods that anyone can use to apply to their own training.

Bill: You're really well known for training combat athletes (wrestler's, MMA,etc.). How can the typical gym goer use the same conditioning methods toachieve their fitness goals?

Zach: Bill, this is a great question because the majority of people are not into the outdoor training regardless of their goals.

Here and there though, I go with my wife to her Health Club. As torturous as it is for me (read: Sarcasm!) I still find a way to get in an awesome workout, and it is primarily because I take my methods for combat athletes and utilize them in the traditional gym setting.

I utilize circuits and/or complexes with various tools: barbells, dumbbells, bodyweight, med ball and stability balls. I love the circuits because the pace is so high and intense which forces me to stay focused on the training and not get distracted by the other "stuff" going on around me.

If I have space I also incorporate jumping rope into my training which is awesome for the lower body and your aerobic or anaerobic system depending on how fast and explosive you jump.

For someone who wants to utilize a complex let's say with a barbell, not only have I experienced excellent benefits in conditioning but I have found that complexes add muscle as well. The constant reps add hypertrophy if utilized with a moderate weighted barbell.

Here is a simple complex someone can perform using a barbell, for 6 reps per movement:

1) bent leg deadlift
2) bent over row
3) hang clean and press (the clean is to be used for a more advanced individual)
4) back squat
5) shrugs

The beginner may only perform 1 set, the intermediate 2 sets and the advanced individual 3 sets of the barbell complex.

Not only is this great for conditioning and muscle growth, but it is also great for when someone is short on time. Nowadays, who isn't short on time?

A bodyweight circuit is equally challenging and can be performed almost anywhere. Try this one for a great workout:

** reps will vary on the pull-up/chin-up but we are aiming for 8 - 12 reps per movement on average when utilizing bodyweight exercises

1) recline body row or pull up / chin up
2) push up variation
3) squat jumps
4) reverse lunges
5) v ups

Again, 1 - 3 rounds can be performed. For our combat athletes we like to keep the general pace of the workout fairly high with incomplete recoveries. The more advanced someone is the more they can push the envelope with less rest time.

If someone is concerned that they will lose strength utilizing a lot of circuits and complexes then I must emphasize that training must vary, and using one method or tool too often leads to less of a physical response. But, this is certainly an excellent addition/variation to one's training programs.

If you want to incorporate strength into the same workout, begin the workout with a heavy lift, preferably a full body lift or a compound movement for the upper body. From there you can move on to a circuit or complex and get as creative as you want with these methods!

Thanks Zach. You can find Zach’s training programs here. I’d recommend you specifically checkout the Ultimate Combat Kit.

Later

P.S. My friend Alwyn Cosgrove frequently states that many would prefer to posses the physiques of any of the top athletes but don’t understand that their physiques are the result of their specific type of training. Rather than training like an athlete they attempt to achieve the same physique with inferior methods in an attempt to train for aesthetics. Why not train just like an athlete instead?

TV

2006-12-13T13:00:00.000-08:00

According to the Source Book for Teaching Science website (http://www.csun.edu/~vceed002/health/docs/tv&health.html) the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV a day. If you live to be 65 years old, that’s 9 years of your life that were spent watching TV.

9 years!!

What if instead of watching TV you spent that time reading all the resources from a specific topic? Why you’d be an expert in no time.

In nine years you could have received 2 college degrees or an undergraduate degree and graduated from med school.

What if you “sacrificed” one hour of TV for vigorous exercise every day? Do you think you may be able to rid your life of a few health concerns? Maybe fit in to those smaller clothes or actually develop those washboard abs?

How about just feeling better about yourself?

The possibilities are truly endless when you see how much of your LIFE is wasted by watching too much TV.

Kick the habit.

Later

P.S. While I’m on the subject, I think the local news should be removed from the airwaves. I caught a few minutes of it the other night (I don’t usually watch the news or read the newspaper anymore. If something important happens, don’t worry, someone will tell you about it) and they were reporting on stories that weren’t even local issues. WHY?!

Why does the local weather report have to take 10 minutes of my life just to find out whether I need to wear a coat tomorrow? Who gives a rat’s ass what the barometric pressure is. Does anyone ever sit around and say, “Whew, the barometric pressure sure is up today.” NO THEY DON’T! Here’s how easy it could be...

Weatherman: It’s going to be cold tomorrow, so wear a coat. Back to you Tony!

See how easy it is.

Thanks I feel better now.

Beginner's Mind

2006-12-12T20:51:00.000-08:00

About 10 years ago, I studied TaeKwonDo under Grandmaster Choi. At the beginning of each class we were reminded of Kyum Son.

It means beginner’s mind.

All too often we enter into a situation with preconceived notions or limited thinking. Our brain tends to store information into our predetermined filing system. Judgement is passed too quickly and potential opportunity to expand our knowledge or physical potential is lost.

The only way to be better today than you were yesterday is to be open to different and perhaps better ideas or methods or application of those methods. Certainly, you don’t want to ignore that which you have already learned and experienced and blindly accept what the next great “guru” has to offer. Simply be willing to consider each bit of information or new experience as a possibility.

Kyum Son.

Later

12 Days of Fitness

2006-12-06T13:39:00.000-08:00

Hey, if you've been waiting to by a book, DVD, or other product from your favorite fitness expert, I don't think I'd be waiting much longer.

If fact, you can get some of the best deals around with some pretty significant discounts by going here:

12 Days of Fitness

Later

The 15 Minute Rule

2006-12-05T07:58:00.000-08:00

“If you keep making that face it’ll stay that way.”

Maybe Mom was more correct than she knew.

From a health standpoint, I think posture may be the most ignored component of them all (okay, maybe diet ranks up there too).

Poor posture limits your ability to breathe (not like that's important, right?), promotes overuse injuries, creates muscle imbalances, and results in back pain just to name a few.

Without an ongoing awareness of your posture on a daily basis, you can expect it progressively adapt to whatever shape you spend most of your time in. For instance, if you sit all day at a computer, you can expect to be shaped like the chair you sit in with a rounded back, rounded shoulders, and a forward head position.

Pretty, huh?

The processes that cause this progressive and undesirable adaptation in our posture are called stress-relaxation and creep.

Stress-relaxation is a progressive decline in the natural tension that tissues produce when placed under tension. When the tissues are held under constant tension for a long enough time, they begin to deform and elongate. This called creep. This becomes a relatively permanent elongation unless the tension is removed from the tissues before creep occurs.

You see gravity works.

It pulls down on you all day and as you relax your muscles and the tissues are exposed to that pull of gravity, stress-relaxation and creep will occur within about 10-20 minutes if you don’t change position.

Your strategy to overcome this is the 15 Minute Rule.

Every 15 minutes to need to make an active postural correction and even better, change positions entirely. For instance, if you’ve been sitting, stand. If you’ve been slouching, sit as tall as possible. You may also want to perform some corrective stretching for about 15 seconds on key muscle groups that are prone to shortening.

Most common are the muscles that internally rotate the shoulders (pecs, lats, subscapularis), downwardly rotate your shoulder blades (levator scapulae, rhomboids), and flex the knee and the hip (TFL, psoas, iliacus, rectus femoris, and hamstrings).

The 15 Minute Rule is so important that when we designed our upper body performance training video Inside-Out we felt it imperative to include daily postural correction strategies that lead to upper extremity injuries and declines in performance.

So I guess Mom WAS right in a sense…and, uh, eat your vegetables.

Later

P.S. My good buddy Mike Robertson gave me the following little tidbit of information. In Microsoft Outlook you can set an alarm to go off every 15 minutes to remind you to correct your posture. If you don’t use Outlook, go to Wal-Mart and buy a $20 watch with a count down timer on it and set it for 15 minutes.

Become a great fighter or just look like one

2006-12-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

I had a great weekend.

I got to watch a bunch of guys knock the piss out of each other in front of a rabid, cheering crowd from ringside (actually it was octagon side).

It was Mixed Martial Arts at its best…well almost.

Don’t get me wrong. There were some good fights and some good fighters (anyone that gets in that octagon has balls), but I’d have to say that my pre-fight winner predictions were at least 90% correct all night long.

I realize that a more skillful fighter will most likely defeat a less skillful fighter on most occasions, and there was certainly no way I could have identified the more skillful fighter simply on the walk up to the octagon and besides most of the fighters were matched well on win-loss records.

So how could I be so accurate?

Form follows function.

In other words, the best conditioned fighter won on almost all occasions.

I can understand how many of the fighters probably neglected their conditioning needs in favor of skill training for fear, based on their lack of experience, that they wouldn’t be prepared in that department.

In most cases, these guys are working a regular, physical job (one fighter I talked to does back-breaking concrete work, yikes!) and then hit the gym 5-6 days per week for training.

Now sure they’re doing a lot of specific conditioning as part of their training and most likely performing timed rounds, but in a lot of cases, the activities are too low in intensity or they are self-limited in effort which is totally unlike a real MMA battle. There’s no let down or you’ll go down.

What they don’t realize is that in about 20 minutes, twice a week, they can raise their energy system conditioning to a much higher level without seriously impacting their skill work.

Here’s the great thing for the guys and gals who just want to look good.

You can use the same concepts to burn fat faster than traditional “go one speed on the treadmill for 30 minutes” type of aerobic training.

For instance, in the top selling female transformation book ShapeShift, I used 2 basic methods of energy system training for my example client who made an amazing transformation: body weight circuits and barbell complexes.

All you need to do is select a series of exercises, or complex, and perform them back to back for either time or repetitions; rest based on the desired outcome, and then repeat the complex for a specified number of sets.

For example, here’s a body weight complex:

Perform each exercise for 30 seconds:

Jumping Jacks
Burpies (AKA squat thrust)
Alternating Lunges
Push-ups
Body weight squats

Rest 2.5 minutes and repeat 3-4 times

Here’s a barbell complex (this is a great one because barbell placement for each exercise ends where the next begins:

Deadlift x 6-8
Hang Clean x 6- 8
Front squat x 6-8
Push Press x 6-8
Back squat x 6-8
Good Morning x 6-8

Rest the same amount of time it took to complete the complex and repeat 3-4 times

Not only did you just train every muscle in your body, but you cranked up your fat burning furnace to the maximum.

If you’re a fighter or grappler of any kind or if you just want to look like the best conditioned combat athlete around, you need to approach your training with science and experience on your side.

Two products that I’d consider for your essentials list are Alwyn Cosgrove’s Martial Arts Package and Jason Furruggia’s Tap Out: Strength and Conditioning for Combat Sports. Both these guys have a reputation for transforming bodies and building great combat athletes.

Later

Cellular Disruption

2006-11-30T19:29:00.000-08:00

If you’re looking for faster fat loss, it is essential that you create a situation where your body burns more fat at rest.

While at first this seems impossible, it’s actually VERY possible.

From a scientific standpoint, it’s called cellular disruption.

Basically how it works is that your training session creates such a disturbance in the normal homeostatic environment that your body loves (it hates change…go figure) that it takes hours (even days with the right protocol) for your metabolic processes to return to normal.

During this time of metabolic disturbance your body shifts toward an increased utilization of fats for energy.

If you think this type of training program requires endless aerobic activity, you’d be dead wrong.

If you think it’s about endless sets of high reps, you’re wrong again.

Both of these approaches fail to create an elevated metabolism AFTER you train, and worse yet, you’ll most likely loose precious, metabolically active muscle.

What you need is intensity.

Now I told you that to tell you this.

I spoke at the Midwest Strength, Conditioning, and Rehabilitation Symposium this past year. I was really glad that I did because I got to hang out with some of the top names in the strength and conditioning field like Brian Grasso, Tony Reynolds, Evan Osar, Juan Carlos Santana, Scott Hudson, Lee Taft, and Craig Ballantyne.

Craig was a guy that I was really looking forward to listening to and meeting because we had been communicating for a couple of years, worked on some stuff together, but just never got a chance to meet face to face.

Craig didn’t let me down. Not only does he look like a guy who practices what he preaches (he’s JACKED folks), Craig laid out his entire approach to creating cellular disruption to a large gathering of personal trainers who were feverishly taking notes. I’m sure there was a large number of fitness clients that benefited from their trainer’s new level of training knowledge after that weekend.

Craig doesn’t call his program cellular disruption or metabolic disturbance.

He calls it Turbulence Training (this may be one of my favorite names in all of fitness).

I’ve been lucky to have had access to his program for some time and from day one I was impressed with Craig’s ability to blend the best of science with solid training theory to create one powerful program.

Actually it’s several programs…and I’ve found them to all be effective.

Craig has adapted his training concepts to address trainees of all levels and both sexes. He even eliminates your excuses for missing a training session when there’s no equipment available by providing a full program of body weight exercises.

You don’t have to take my word for it. You can see the countless fitness pros that recommend it as well.

Check out TurbulenceTraining.com here.

Later

Adam vs. the ADA

2006-11-30T07:38:00.000-08:00

My good friend Adam Campbell has touched a few nerves with the ADA.

He recently published an outstanding, well-researched, and well-informed article in regard to low-carb diets and diabetes. Read it here.

Well the ADA responded.

Adam's response once again shows why he is THE MAN!

Later

The Training Mentality

2006-11-29T16:53:00.000-08:00

If you’re having trouble finding the motivation to hit the gym or feeling like you’re just not making the progress that you should be, perhaps you’re not training.

Training implies purposeful activity in pursuit of a specific, desired result.

Nothing kills motivation faster than having nothing particular to work for. Once your desired result (a goal perhaps) is determined, and the decision is made that your desired result is worthy of your efforts, your actions become meaningful rather than just “going” through the motions or just “getting it done.” Motivation is instantaneous.

Training implies creating an organized plan to move you closer to your desired result.

Once you know where you’re going, it simply becomes a matter of determining how you get there. If you don’t know how to get there yourself, find the necessary information or find someone who knows the information that can help you. If necessary, pay them for the information.

Training implies executing an organized plan.

Nothing is more motivating than taking action toward a worthwhile goal. Stick to the plan without compromise and with total commitment. Otherwise, you’ll never know if it will work for you.

Training implies regularly reviewing your progress toward a specific, desired result.

You must track your progress to determine if you are making progress toward your desired result. Give yourself time to make progress rather than comparing your status from a day to day basis. A watched pot never boils. About every two weeks works for most programs.

Training implies making necessary changes in your plan to produce results.

Continue on your current path until progress slows significantly or stagnates then take immediate corrective action to move closer your desired result.

Train.

Later

Booklist #1

2006-11-27T18:31:00.000-08:00

I get asked which books are most important in the rehab and strength and conditioning fields quite often. To be honest, over the years I’ve read so many books from a broad spectrum of authors that it’s difficult to really narrow things down.

The following are what I consider to be foundational books that I would recommend to someone who’s just beginning to get their feet wet in the fitness/strength & conditioning field. You need to have a basic understanding of anatomy, the energy systems, training theory and testing, and orthopedic testing

Atlas of Human Anatomy by Netter

Physiology of Exercise and Sport by Wilmore and Costill

Essentials of Strength and Conditioning edited by Baechle and Earle

Othorpedic Physical Assessment by Magee

Muscles Testing and Function with Posture and Pain by Kendall

Winning and Losing: Lessons from 15 years of Physically Preparing the Elite Athlete by Ian King

Get Reading!

Later

Afterburn: The REAL Key to Fat Loss

2006-11-26T16:45:00.000-08:00

If you've had or are currently having trouble losing fat, it's not your fault.

Now I'm a big believer in taking personal responsibility for where you are in life, and when it comes to fat loss, personal responsibility is a big part of the process.

No one forces you at gun point to eat calorie dense, nonnutritious foods that promote fat storage, right?

No one forces you to spend endless hours of inactivity on your butt in front of the idiot box. If you know the nightly TV schedules by heart, you know who you are.

But again, if you're out there making an effort to really impact your health and physical fitness with a goal of losing fat, I say it's not your fault.

You've been mislead.
You've been misinformed.
You've been lied to.

You've been told to use the wrong technology!

It's not your fault.

Here's what "They" told you to do if you want to lose fat.

1. Eating fat makes you fat and leads to countless health problems.
2. You need to severely restrict your calories.
3. Strength training can't help you lose fat. It only maintains muscle.
4. Aerobic exercise is the key to fat loss.

ALL OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE WRONG!

Let's attack these one by one.

1. Eaing fat makes you fat and leads to countless health problems.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this one. Rather I'll just refer you to some articles by my buddy Adam Campbell Here and Regina Wilshire Here

Trust me...wrong technology.

2. You need to severely restrict your calories

Any time I talk to someone about fat loss they always bring up the concept of metabolism.

"I really have a slow metabolism"

"I need to speed up my metabolism"

Well, what is metabolism?

To make it simple. It's the rate at which you burn food to support all the processes that take place in your body.

It's that rate at which you burn food?

Well, if you severely restrict your calories that means you have less food to burn. In response to this concept, do you know what your body does?

It slows do the rate at which you burn the food that you do eat.

In other words, it SLOWS DOWN your metabolism.

Oops! Wrong technology.

3. Strength Training can't help you lose fat. It only helps you maintain muscle

Pardon me while I chuckle. :)

In less than 2 minutes I can pull a large handful of scientific studies that show how specific weight training protocols increase fat loss from 20 to 38 hours AFTER you finish weight training.

That means that with a proper weight training protocol, not only can you increase strength, gain muscle, but you'll also burn more fat throughout the next day and then some by doing nothing further.

4. Aerobic exercise is the key to fat loss.

This is one of those points that was grossly misunderstood and then got perpetuated throughout the media and the general fitness community.

Because the primary energy source for most steady-state aerobic energy system training protocols (think long distance running) came from fat stores, the belief became that exercising at a specific level of effort or heart rate level in the "fat burning zone" for an extended period of time was the best way to increase fat loss.

Sorry, wrong technology again. In a head to head comparison, steady state aerobic exercise protocols came up short in the fat loss department compared to a form of training called interval training. Interval training is based on alternating short periods of higher intensity effort (more effort that your typical long distance run) with periods of reduced effort activity or even rest.

Are you catching on yet?

Do you see why so many people have trouble losing fat?

We've been told to use the wrong technology.

Imagine if you combined the best technologies of proper fat loss nutrition, strength training, and interval training.

The result is what my friend Alwyn Cosgrove calls the AFTERBURN.

Later

Thank You

2006-11-22T19:46:00.000-08:00

It's interesting that we need a holiday to remind us to be thankful for who were are and what we have.

Perhaps we should make efforts to simply be more courteous on a daily basis and be mindful to let the people that are most important to us know that they are important.

However, since this is Thanksgiving and all, I'd like to throw out a general thank you to my friends, colleagues, and family.

There are many who I thank personally, but I won't attempt to list them here for fear of accidentally leaving someone out. I can assure you that I will let you know how much I appreciate you throughout our communications in the near future.

The exception to this rule is my wife, the lovely and talented Mrs. Hartman. I am who I am because of you. Any success that I have and will have is because of you. You give me purpose and strength that you can't imagine. I love you, baby.

Later

We All Need A Coach

2006-11-21T09:23:00.000-08:00

“No matter how successful we are, we all need a coach to encourage us, to challenge us, to remind us to live up to our potential.”

Dr. Ken Blanchard, Author of the “One Minute Manager”

Tiger Woods has a coach. Michael Jordan had several coaches throughout his career. In fact, you’ll find that just about ever great athlete performed under the watchful eye of a great coach at some point in his or her career.

My personal level of expertise in the rehab and fitness industries is due in no small part to a series of mentors and coaches that I’ve met and worked with along the way.

Growing and developing a business is no different. The more successful my business becomes, the more I recognize the value of having a business coach. I’d go as far as to say that having a business coach is essential.

As business owners, we tend to become emotionally attached to methods, concepts, or ideas that instead of moving us forward holds us back from achieving our business goals. A coach provides objectivity that allows us to see the reality of our situation.

Questions are answered without personal bias. Details become clearer. Goals become more refined. Progress is reestablished.

On my recent trip to Los Angeles, I had a business consultation with Alwyn Cosgrove. Certainly, he is a friend, but he also happens to have created one of the most successful fitness businesses on every level including fitness training, publishing, public speaking, and information marketing.

Our consult allowed me to make effective decisions where I was once “on the fence” as to how to proceed. Where I was once working hard but less directed, I now have focus to the point where my level of production will match my level of effort.

Consultations like this will now be a regular component of my business development. They are essential.

Later

P.S. Learn how to take your business to the next level from the best in the industry for a fraction of the cost of what you’d pay for an individual consult in Fitness Riches.

I Love LA, Wrap-up

2006-11-20T19:15:00.000-08:00

My brain remains on California time. I got home Sunday afternoon and literally crashed. I now sit here tapping away at the keyboard because my brain is functioning like it’s only 8:30 pm LA time.

Here’s a wrap up of my visit to the Mecca.

Got in Wednesday and as I mentioned briefly before, I had dinner with the Cosgroves. Beer of choice: Bass Pale Ale.

Thursday night: Craig Rasmussen, Super-model from Inside-Out fame, drove down from Ventura. It’s like 3 miles away but it took him 3 hours to get to my hotel in downtown LA. Seems there was a wee bit of traffic (did I just way wee bit? That’s what you get for hanging with Alwyn for a few days).

Craig is just restarting up his fitness career in California after a stint in Indianapolis. Craig recently stopped off at Mark Rippetoe’s gym to hang out a bit and ask Mark some questions. Mark has his Oly lifters back squat with a low bar position. His reasoning is that it’s a general lift for the Oly guys because it doesn’t address the specific positioning of the clean like a front squat does. He may have something there. I will say that I disagree with his reasoning on the reason trainees knees will drop in when they squat however. See my blog later this week for why.

Friday: Wrapped up my recert for ART (Active Release Techniques). While I find this process tedious at times, I did get an opportunity to work on Dr. Leahy a few times which is always great feedback on technique…he did develop it afterall.

Got a message from Alwyn and Dos (Robert Dos Remedios, NSCA Strength Coach of the Year) that we’re meeting in Santa Monica. I’m really looking forward to this because I get to hang with the pound-for-pound world’s strongest vegan but also get to have some McEwan’s Export at Ye Olde Kingshead.

I have to take a cab about 3.65 miles (or something like that)…45 minutes later, I get to Santa Monica. I call Alywn who gives me what are apparently directions in Scottish because I walk up and down Santa Monica Boulevard based on his directions and can’t find the bar where he and Dos are waiting. Ah, if I can find Puzzle Zoo (not the bar but apparently a zoo where they keep all the puzzles in California. Must be where all the blondes go to see the puzzles in their natural habitat [my apologies to all three of you intelligent blondes] ).

I go into Puzzle Zoo and Alwyn says "turn around…do you see us." If you haven’t been to the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, there’s about 10,000 people there. How the hell will I be able to “see” a Scot and a giant Vegan? I finally get directed to a bar called Yankee Doodles where they await my arrival. BTW, there’s a big red neon sign that says Yankee Doodles…couldn’t just say we’re at Yankee Doodles…Then again I'd have missed out on the Puzzle Zoo(that was of course after I almost got hit by a car on Santa Monica Blvd).

Waitress: Destiny (her real name? )
Beer: more Bass (I think?)
Food: Chicken nachos (I must have said “but hold the chicken” at one point ‘cause I couldn’t say that I actually saw any)

Off to Ye Olde Kingshead to meet up with Chris (AKA Kuri from JP Fitness.com)

I get there and immediately ask for a McEwan’s Export. Get this…a Scottish bar that doesn’t have my favorite Scottish Beer. I’m crushed . I suffer with some English beer.

I then Catch up with Chis a wee bit (there it is again!). I can’t seem to get over the fascination of the fact that Chris’ scalp stubble and facial stubble are exactly the same length. That is a skill ladies and gentlemen. I could just be feeling the effects of the atmosphere [beer].

Hot topic...text messaging...I’ve been trying to learn to text message because Dos’ can’t seem to just call me (Since when is “Z” on the damn keyboard).

We did talk a bit of fitness in regard to lower extremity progressions and exercise complexity, but we were rudely interrupted by Tiffany (age 22) and Jessica (age 27) who were pimping the finer points of Heineken Light (I have photos, but because I use my phone for a phone and not a camera, I don’t know how to post them – and please don’t try to email me instructions because I really don’t care…however I do have a rather incriminating screen saver of some well known fitness professionals). They actually had $1.00 coupons so we tried it. It sucked.

Rule number one for branding...never dilute your brand. Ask why Miller Beer went from number one to number 5 (just a guess)? Too many Miller Beers (Miller High Life, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Ice, Lite Beer from Miller, etc...Remember New Coke).

It’s funny how really important things in the industry come up during conversation, but get mixed in with a bunch of BS, so my blur of a memory doesn’t seem to recall much. However, I can remember the Heineken girls’ names and ages. Hmmm?

Met Dos’ bulldog who apparently also has super powers as it recently recovered from some lethal illness. Bulldogs are cool.

I’m leaving the part out where we went back to my hotel to get my stuff and to head off to Alwyn’s house a day early…it was a wee distance, but took most of the night to get there.

A gracious thank you to the understanding Mrs. Cosgrove.

Saturday: Rachel Cosgrove gets up at 5 AM to run 13 miles in Santa Monica with 300 other endurance addicts, er, I mean athletes. (most would call this a race or a benefit for some worthy charity and get a free t-shirt or something…she seems to actually do it just because she enjoys it).

Everyone: Hey Bill how long does it take YOU go 13 miles?
Bill: about 13 minutes.
Everyone: How can you run 13 miles in 13 minutes?
Bill: I don’t run, I take a car like every other normal human being.

Had a shake and some pills that Alwyn gave me…said they were good for me.

I’m personally very excited about this morning. I get to train at Big John McCarthy’s new 20,000 square foot MMA training facility.

It’s quite an impressive place. A palace for thick-necked, sweaty guys (or gals) who dream of stepping into the octagon and bleeding profusely to the drunken cheers of rabid fans.

Get this. We did a …wait for it… a kettlebell class.

The instructor was a tiny, attractive female named Felicia Oh (http://www.feliciaoh.com/feliciaoh.com/main.html) She seems like a really cool chick. I find out later that she’s ranked number one in the world in BJJ in her class (must be the 56 pound class ‘cause she was tiny – but very muscular…great calves). I made friends to avoid having my ass handed to me by a girl. I could tell she dug me.

Best part of class…I tell Felicia that I’ve never done a kettlebell class. She doesn’t know me from mud and assumes I’m a total newbie not knowing that I'm actually a plant sent by the Anti-kettlebell Commission to infiltrate their Commie HQ. At one point I bent inappropriately to test the weight of a big metal ball with a handle on it (I found out later this was the kettlebell) and she rushes over to give me pointers on the appropriate method to lift a weight from the floor.
I had to chuckle inside.

I must say that I had fun in the class. My whole opinion of kettlebell training has changed. In fact, I’m changing my entire training strategy to training with only kettlebells. They truly are the most effective training tools and methods available.

NOT…they’re still weights with handles, but it was interesting to be trained instead of the trainer for a change.

Question: Why would a Russian Kettlebell Instructor do a Turkish Get-up? BTW, Alwyn did Scottish Get-ups. They seemed much harder.

I did make sure to get the T-shirt as they say and got one for the lovely Mrs. Hartman. She promises to wear it when we play MMA at home.

Later we spent some time with Rachel’s uncle who’s a Hollywood stunt man. For those who’ve seen Vision Quest about high school wrestling, he was the big guy that cheered Matthew Modine when he climbed the wall. He’s 48 now and looks 35. He does mostly stunt work and told me he’s riding a Weber Grill at 50 miles an hour in an upcoming movie. A Weber Grill?

Free ART treatments for everyone!

Just a side note…most endurance athletes have really lousy tissue quality throughout their legs. Rachel Cosgrove? Nope. Just a little ITB band tightness that some foam rolling will take care of. She’s must be a distant relative to Wonder Woman. She’s prepping for her first Ironman distance triathalon in Lake Placid…Kona is not too far away I’m sure.

She came back from her 13 mile run acting like it was nothing. After running 13 miles, I’d need chest compressions and mouth to mouth (visions of Pam Anderson running in slow motion to come rescue me).

Throughout the rest of the day, we talked business and actually did a wee bit of consulting for yours truly to set me up for the coming year. More on this later this week.

We then joined Alwyn’s number one trainer Cameron McGarr (you can now read his stuff in the magazines) for appetizers and more Bass Ale (What is wrong with a soft pretzel and spicy mustard?!!)

We then watch George St. Pierre knock Matt Hughes’ out...twice!! Matt Hughes after the fight, “I just watched the video replay and thought I got knocked out by a punch but it was a kick” Oops!

Beers (Kronnenberg?) with Dos, Omar (who strangely enough I met at the exact same time last year. He’s now a master marksman with the Marines and instructs on the shooting range), The Cosgoves, Cameron and Melissa, and all those fine folks in their black concert T-shirts from 1985.

My thanks to Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove for allowing me to interrupt their life for a short while, Dos you are THE MAN.

Later

P.S. Be sure to check back this week. Some good stuff coming up.

LA Story 2

2006-11-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

Dinner last night with Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove of Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, CA (you can also find them on the web...everywhere!)
4 or 5 beers and a hamburger on a bun (I'm a cheap date)...it's been a while. Felt it a bit this morning.
I never fail to learn something when I get together with the Cosgrove's. Their business systems are something that every trainer should be doing.
It was also great to see Alwyn healthy and back in training.
More on tap for this evening and then tomorrow night, the pound-for-pound World's Strongest Vegan will join us for more beers [seems to be a theme, eh?]
Bill

Bodybuilder's Shoulder...are you at risk?

2006-11-16T11:00:00.000-08:00

Let's see...there's tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, gamekeeper's thumb, house-maid's knee, turf toe, boxer's fracture...well you get the point.

I'm campaigning to add a new diagnosis...Bodybuilder's shoulder.

Here's why.

Given enough time, a large portion of bodybuilders, powerlifters, and general strength training enthusiasts experience shoulder pain.

A study from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (J Strength Cond Res. 2002 Aug;16(3):367-72) outlines the findings that the bodybuilders tested showed significant deficits in shoulder internal rotation and relative weakness in the lower trapezius muscles.

The lack of shoulder internal rotation is much like the similar findings in throwing athlete's who experience shoulder impingement.

A quick test to see if you're at risk for Bodybuilder's Shoulder is to assess your full shoulder rotation. A normal test would be considered to have 180 degrees of combined external and internal rotation.

Here's the test...

Put your arm in a "high five" position with the upper arm parallel to the floor and 90 degrees at the elbow,, and the hand facing forward. This is external rotation. Keeping the upper arm in the same position, rotate the hand downward so it now faces backward. This is internal rotation.

The total arc (without moving your shoulder blade!!) should be 180 degrees.

Now if you can rotate further into external rotation than the normal 90 degrees (thrower's tend to have increased external rotation), the increase in external rotation should equal the loss of internal rotation. In other words, as long as the total range of motion is 180 degrees you pass the test.

If you lack 180 degrees of full rotation with a loss of internal rotation, you're more at risk for shoulder injury...Even if you don't have pain right now.

The fix is to start stretching your posterior shoulder muscles and the posterior shoulder capsule until you regain the lost internal rotation.

Try this stretch...

Gently push your hand toward the floor until a comfortable stretch is felt in the back of the shoulder. Hold the stretch for about 30 seconds and repeat 2-3 times. Be sure to avoid shrugging the shoulder. Repeat this stretch frequently throughout the day. Think frequency over intensity to start as it's easy to strain the shoulder in this position.

Later

P.S. If you're serious about your training and want to raise your upper body training performance while preventing injuries check out Inside-Out.

LA Times

2006-11-15T07:39:00.000-08:00

A quick note for today

I'm heading out to LA-LA Land [Paris Hilton], Hollyweird [Tom Cruise], The City of Angels [Diane Lane...she's on my wife approved list]...Los Angeles, California, or in the words of the Governator...Kah-LEE-Fo-NEE-Uh. It seems that this trip is becoming a tradition of sorts as this is the second consecutive year I'll be in LA just before Thanksgiving.

I'll be consulting [drinking beers] with some of the top minds in the fitness/sports training/rehabilitation field throughout the weekend as I update my Active Release Techniques skills as well as discuss the finer points of strength and conditioning [drink beers] with the likes of Alwyn Cosgrove and hopefully the NSCA Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year Robert Dos Remedios [The World's Largest Vegan].

Whenever I get a chance to spend time with these guys and discuss the finer points of training [drink beers], I always come away with something new and interesting to think about [hangover] or to integrate into my business or training philosophy [Tylenol].

If I can, I'll update throughout the week.

Later

Loaded Thoughts

2006-11-14T12:04:00.000-08:00

*You hear plenty of trainers talk about deloading for CNS recovery (by the way, I question whether it’s CNS but more likely peripheral issues that need the recovery) to dissipate fatigue and allow increased performance to be demonstrated. Rarely have I ever heard anyone mention the importance of deloading or performing cycles of lowered intensity with higher volumes to allow connective tissues to adapt. Connective tissues adapt more slowly than the muscular system does, so prior to periods of intense loading consider a cycle of hypertrophy-based training to produce a protective effect in the connective tissues. Do the same after a heavy strength-based cycle. It could mean the difference between a PR and an injury.

*Set a PR, stabilize your abilities at that new level of performance, repeat.

*Once you set an intensity-based PR (you lifted more weight), you need to follow it with a period of reduced intensity and increased volume regardless of your intended training program. For every increase in your ability to produce intensity there is a reduction in work capacity and adaptation reserves. Training at a slightly lower intensity and increased volume increases work capacity at a higher level of intensity than that prior to the PR and will allow greater intensity to eventually be produced. Trying to set another PR without sufficient adaptability will quickly lead to a plateau or regression.

*The longer your periods of intense loading, the longer your period of deloading and the lower the intensity during the deloading phase. Two steps forward, one step back. Four steps forward, two steps back.

Later

A Knee to the Face

2006-11-09T07:50:00.000-08:00

Okay, Okay...it's been a while since I've posted on my blog. Life gets in the way, eh?

I was provided incentive to post something new and interesting by my good friend Alwyn Cosgrove (by the way, AC has one of he best blogs on the net at http://alwyncosgrove.blogspot.com/).

Actually, he threatened me.

See, I'm about to make my annual trip to the city of Angels, Hollyweird, the left coast, LA-LA land, the home of Lindsey Lohan (she wants me)...you know, Los Angeles, California. Well, Alwyn (did I mention he's a former international martial arts champ) has indicated (I did say threatened, right?) that upon my arrival I will receive a knee to the face if I don't post something of interest.

Well, after seeing Rich Franklin take a knee from Anderson Silva at UFC 64 (don't worry folks Rich was okay once they found his nose under his right eye) and getting inside info that Alwyn is training at a top MMA gym in LA, I decided that posting would be in my best interest.

However, just in case, I am preparing a tactical defense passed down from generation to generation of non-international martial arts champions where we skillfully block the opponents knee with our noses. If that doesn't work, I'm thinking that perhaps a cheek bone or jaw defense may be equally effective. I'll keep you posted.

Speaking of my friend Alwyn, unless you've lived under a rock in the fitness world, you probably know that he and cancer recently had a battle in a back alley near UCLA. Well, not surprisingly, Alwyn made cancer his bitch and left it crying by a dumpster (probably the result of a knee to the face). As a coincidence, my favorite morning radio show, The Bob and Tom Show (www.bobandtom.com) are holding their annual fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you've watched Comedy Central recently Bob and Tom were the hosts to one of the best comedy specials of all time.

Anyway, I was involved in a little fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society myself earlier this year as part of the JP Fitness Summit (www.jpfitness.com) where we raised over $1,000 in just a few hours and wanted to make you all aware that you can listen to the Bob and Tom Show all day tomorrow (11-10-06) and make your own donations. If Bob and Tom aren't available in your area, you can get them on the net.

If you're of a crabby disposition and don't like comedy or morning radio, you can just visit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society website at http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/hm_lls or for those of you who were dropped on their heads as small children and enjoy the pain, agony, blisters, shortness of breath, and general feelings of being near death while competing in endurance sports like marathons and triathalons, you can donate and participate at the Team in Training website at www.teamintraining.org.

Now, I promise that I will post issues of great interest from this day forward (at least a little more regularly) as long as everyone promises to keep the fighting clean.

That means no knees to the face.

Later

Inside-Out: RELEASED!!

2006-10-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, it has been a while hasn't it, but I have been quite busy.

I've actually just recently released my latest training project with Mike Robertson (www.robertsontrainingsystems.com) of T-Nation fame.

It's called Inside-Out: The Ultimate Upper Body Warm-up!

www.inside-out-warm-up.com

Here's what some of the top fitness pros are saying about it:

"At my job, I have the opportunity to learn from the best minds in the fitness industry. In fact, over the years, I've interviewed and worked with literally hundreds--maybe thousands--of trainers, PhDs, and doctors. And in that time, I've never met any expert who's more knowledgeable than Bill Hartman. Which is why I was excited when he asked me to to review "Inside-Out." It was a chance to take a shortcut to learning some of what Bill knows, a culmination of his experience and education. Add to that his collaboration with Mike Robertson, one of the bright young minds in the field, and it was clear that this was going to be a special product.
Turns out, it is. Exceptional, actually.
Now don't let the name fool you; the information the authors provide is far beyond most people's concept of a warm-up. Truth is, I wouldn't call it warm-up at all. That implies it's something you do just to prepare for your primary training session. While, in actuality, the plan you'll find within should be a mandatory part of your primary training. I know from personal experience, having used Bill's programs for years, that the instruction that Bill and Mike give in both the manual and DVD will make you stronger, enhance your performance, and help you shore up long-time weak spots--not to mention prevent injuries. And if you're like me, and work at a desk 10 hours a day, it'll also help your body feel a whole lot better when you aren't working out.
The bottom line: If you don't have Inside-Out, your workout isn't nearly as good as it could be."

Adam Campbell, MS, CSCS Sports and Nutrition Editor Men's Health

"The Inside-Out DVD and Manual have me excited for two reasons. First off, Bill and Mike are two of the brightest minds in the industry, and it comes as no surprise that they've put together an outstanding resource. Second, and more selfishly, I'm thrilled about how much work this manual will save ME! In light of a lot of my articles, I've been labeled a 'Shoulder Guy,'

So I get dozens of email inquiries each week from those with shoulder problems. Thanks to these two, I now have a comprehensive, highly effective resource to which I can send these individuals. And, just as importantly, Inside-Out will keep thousands of others healthy in the first place. This will be a 'go-to' resource for years to come."

“The Inside-Out concepts consist of 7 key components that need to be addressed prior to each upper body training session.”

Eric Cressey
www.ericcressey.com

“Many times old information is rehashed and stuffed into a new format, but this is something more, something new – new movements that could really make a difference to people. All of us need to incorporate this type of warm-up into our training. This information will correct problems you may already have in your shoulders and upper back, or it will keep you from creating any. This is essential information!”

Lisa Holladay
Personal Trainer

"It's hard to admit, but before watching the Inside-Out DVD, I had seriously neglected any upper body warm-up in my athlete's training. Fortunately, Bill and Mike have done an outstanding job putting together loads of practical drills that I have successfully added to all of my programs. I challenge coaches and trainers like me to take an honest look at this DVD and rethink the way we prepare our athletes for safe and effective training. "

Curtis Turner, SCCC, SSCAssistant Speed, Strength, and Conditioning Coach Vanderbilt University

"To be a great trainer takes a lot more than simply knowing how to design work outs. Preparing them for the workout is every bit as important as the workout itself! If you want to keep your clients long term, avoid orthopedic injuries, and maximize their performance in the gym, this DVD is exactly what you need. In fact, the moment I got this DVD I watched it and followed along all the exercises and could immediately feel the difference, and could see how much it was going to benefit me and my clients.

Hartman and Robertson are wellsprings of the best training information I have ever come across each in their own right, but the fact that they are collaborating now means you absolutely don’t want to miss this. The fitness gods are smiling!"

Jean-Paul Francoeur
www.JPFitness.com

"When you're talking about efficient and effective warm-up exercises, the "Inside out: The Ulitmate upper body warm-up" manual is about as good as it gets. Bill Hartman and Mike Robertson are two of the sharpest minds in strength and conditioning today and this manual is just a small sample of what they have to offer. I highly recommend this manual to anyone working with athletes, general population clients, or for people like myself who are active and always looking for exercises to help keep them going strong. "

Robert Dos Remedios
Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
College of the Canyons
NSCA Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year 2006

"Hartman and Robertson have given the fitness profession a new guide on how to warm up and increase flexibility. The "Inside out: The Ultimate upper body warm-up” is a must have for any coach, athlete, trainer. I have implemented what they have in their manual after just one day of reading, because it is so simple and thorough. Anyone who is active or trains should not pass this up as a way to improve their own flexibility or improve their clients"

Matt Durant
Strength & Conditioning Coach
University of La Verne

"I found the” Inside-Out: The Ultimate Upper Body Warm Up” very easy to follow. My business’s main focus is keeping people safe, setting good postural habits and decreasing the chance of injury before even thinking about strength work. I will be using a large number of these movements in my Postural and Foundation programs and also my Rotational and Torso programs will now have a new look to them also. I can also now set clients home exercises to follow knowing they are in no danger of hurting themselves and will have no confusion about how to complete them due to their simplicity and in so doing achieving results faster. "

David Virgo
www.cricketfitness.net

"With Inside Out: The Ultimate Upper Body Warm-up Bill Hartman and Mike Robertson have combined their unparalleled knowledge and years of practical experience in the field of sports conditioning to create one of the most amazing resources to hit the industry in years. The easy to understand, yet extremely informative manner in which they demonstrate the drills make them beneficial to athletes of all ages and ability levels. If you’re an athlete who uses their upper body at all, you simply must own this DVD. If you’re a swimmer, a pitcher, a quarterback, or any other athlete who relies heavily on their upper body, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without it. Definitely a must have in my view!"

Mike Mejia M.S. CSCS
Exercise Advisor to Men’s Health magazine and co-author of Scrawny to Brawny: The ultimate guide to building muscle the natural way.

"Bill Hartman and Mike Robertson have, without question, produced a kick-ass product!

After years of training every protocol known to man, my body was beat up! I didn't realize how limited my upper and lower body movements had become. After watching this DVD, I now realize how mobility and optimal postural alignment of the hips and spine relate to the functionality of the my shoulders. If you have a chronic rotator cuff issue, your bench is stuck, your hands go numb during squats or you want to learn some of the latest information around all things upper back mobility – get this manual and DVD ASAP!

Great detail has been placed on functional anatomy, static and dynamic postural assessments and progressive correction and prevention of chronic / acute limitations. The information is detailed and lays the exercises in a step-by-step progression – it really drives the information home!

I've spent years training the same movement patterns and my mobility sucked! I immediately have felt relief after 1 week of implementing the exercises in this manual and DVD set. Thanks Mike and Bill!"

Jim Smith "Smitty", CSCS, CFT, USAW
The Diesel Crew
http://www.dieselcrew.com/
www.TheGripAuthority.com

Alwyn Cosgrove thinks we screwed up?!! You can read it here...

Inside-Out: Bill and Mike screwed up!

Later

P.S. www.inside-out-warm-up.com for the best upper body training of your life.

How to Weigh 600 Pounds

2006-08-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

My wife was watching The Discovery Channel the other night. They were profiling two women who were undergoing a series of surgeries to reduce their weight.

They initially weighed 600 pounds...each.

Rhetorically, my wife asked while shaking her head in disbelief, "How do you get to weigh 600 pounds?"

My mental answer was, "Systematically."

Think about the process that it must have taken for these women to reach such a lofty "goal."

They had to devote themselves to a rigorous program of years of physical activity avoidance.

Their moto? "Never stand when you can sit and never sit when you can lay down." (of course, I'm just guessing here)

Not only that but just think about their commitment to their eating program. Multiple meals per day of calorie dense non-nutritious foods. Certainly more than the typical 3 squares a day. Day in and day out. Eating when you don't really want to eat, but rather just eating when it's time to eat.

Then of course there's their support system. I mean someone had to bring them food and encourage them to eat after they lost the ability to walk to the kitchen and get their own food, right?

This whole process didn't take place over just a few weeks. It took YEARS to get to this level of physical "development."

So what we have here is couple of people that followed a very simple plan consisting of synergistic behaviors that led to an amazing result.

Sounds a lot like the ultimate fitness (fatness?) plan, eh?

They were so close. They had a system and with a few small changes they'd be the picture of health instead of having to buy two seats on an airplane AFTER a surgically-induced 300 pound weight loss.

The System:
1. Devote yourself to a program of regular physical activity based on your fitness goals
2. Eat frequent, nutrient-dense meals that are supportive of your training and goals
3. Spend time with like minded people with similar interests and goals
4. Repeat forever

It is that simple.

Later

The Sweet Smell of Success

2006-08-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

Success doesn't smell sweet.

Actually, it smells a lot like a sweaty t-shirt.

Later.

P.S. this could be an original quote?

Happy Birthday Phil!

2006-08-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

Phiiiiiiiillllll!

Yes, it's that time of year again where I wish my good buddy Phil, the happiest of birthdays.

It's also the time of year that I make a feeble attempt to convince my good buddy to move back to Nap Town, The Circle City, the home of the Brickyard....Indianapolis.

See Phil bolted from the fine state of Indiana soon after graduation from PT school. Seems he felt it necessary to spread his wings and become the guy he wanted to be.

It worked (as much as I hate to admit it...was a great move on his part).

Phil has become an outstanding professional as well as a great man. He also not too long ago married just the right gal, Julie (Uh, you kids do actually live in the same city now? I also like the burgundy wall in the living room :)) .

Could he have become the man he is by staying behind with the rest of us?

Yeah, but it wouldn't make as good a story now would it. Where's the legacy if you don't take the calculated risks?

Congrats on another degree (how many is that now?), keep running (you ran the Indy Mini-Marathon in a couple hours, right? I cover the same distance in about 15 minutes because I take a car like all the other normal human beings), and hopefully we'll see you soon.

For all of us in Indy, Happy Birthday.

Later

P.S. So, uh, Phil, when you think you might be moving back to Indy?

The Stand-up Desk Part 2

2006-07-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

Adam Campbell, super-guy at Men's Health Magazine, has taken my advice an shifted to using a stand-up desk (SUD). I must say that it sure is pretty.

You can check it out here: http://thefitnessinsider.menshealth.com/

Perhaps Adam's co-workers are on to something and these SUD's should come with an optional urinal attachment to raise productivity even further, eh? (don't forget the small rack with anti-bacterial wipes!)

Of course, the female workers may get a tad jealous because most likely there'd only be a "mens" version.

The female version would cost WAY to much to produce with all the fuzzy seat covers, potpourri and candle holders, matching decorative privacy curtains, towels you don't actually get to use and such.

Later

Pat Rigsby and Fitness Riches

2006-07-24T05:40:00.000-07:00

My friend Pat Rigsby has just started his new blog. www.patrigsby.blogspot.com. Pat is a master of the fitness business having developed some powerful strategies that trainers can use to grow their own businesses.

His latest venture Fitness Riches brings together fitness marketing wizard Eric Ruth and trainers like Alwyn Cosgrove, Craig Ballantyne, Stephen Holt, and even myself talking about how to niche your business. This manual explains how each of us use different strategies to build our businesses.

In the words of Craig Ballantyne, Alwyn's section alone is worth the price of the manual and I agree.

This isn't a book on the theories of marketing and building a fitness business, but rather it's the real-life things we're doing. The stuff that's proven itself to work the best.

If you're building your personal training business, you need this resource.

Later.

Intention Deficit Disorder (IDD)

2006-07-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

No it’s not a misspelling.

Your Intention Deficit is equal to the difference between what you intended to do and what you actually did.

Your IDD is really a measure of the quality of your life, and there’s no pill (Tom Cruise can now breath a sigh of relief) that can control the symptoms.

Think about it. How great would your life be had you only followed through on everything that you intended to do up to this point?

You’d have the successful career that you love.
You’d have a great marriage.
You’d live in the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood.
You’d have healthy, well-adjusted kids.
Your lawn would be the perfect shade of green.
You wouldn’t know what night Desperate Housewives is on.

While this concept applies to any aspect of your life, it’s never more apparent than in your fitness programming…especially the eating component.

“I really wanted to stick to my eating plan, but those cookies just looked so good.”

“I planned on going to the gym, but I had to run some errands and got side-tracked.”

The larger the IDD, the more you seem to struggle with your fitness programming and the more frustrated you become.

The way I figure it, if you keep your IDD at 10%, you will have an amazing life.

Do the same with your eating and exercise plan, and you’ll find that reaching your fitness goals will be a piece of cake (the cake obviously falls into that 10%).

Side Note…It’s pizza night. The one night where I don’t fall off the wagon, but rather take a full-out dive from the horse-driven cart of my fitness program to enjoy the insanity that can only be provided by my favorite food. My wife enjoys a piece or two of the large ‘Za (it’s cut in very small bite size squares) while I gorge myself like Takeru Kobayashi (http://www.ifoce.com/eaters.php?action=detail&sn=22) trying to fit in one more piece as the clock winds down to win another Nathan’s belt.

I don’t bring this up to show you that I’m human (that’s debatable). I bring this up to tell you about my pizza delivery guy. It’s always the same guy. Spiked up hair, black eye-liner, black nail polish, spikes coming out of his lower lip and eyebrow, multiple tattoos, and black pants that are 8 sizes too big and cover his motorcycle boots (he drives a Ford Festiva).

Normally, I wouldn’t give this guy the time of day, but he does bring me my pizza for crying out loud.

But I have to say, that he always gets an extra large tip from me.

Why?

He calls me sir. He’s exceptionally careful with my food. He asks how I’m doing…SIR. Then he wishes me a good night and says thank you.

I have no doubt he will become a great success just as soon as he realizes that he doesn’t need to look like The Joker with a hangover to get attention.

Last one…I caught up with an old classmate of mine this week. She mentioned that her boys were now 10 and 6-years-old. She says, “They’re at the age where they think burping and farting is the most hilarious thing.” I chuckled and thought, “At what point were we supposed to grow out of THAT?”

Later.

Got Books?

2006-07-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.

Charles "Tremendous" Jones

I'm a better student now than I have ever been. Back in my early college day, when my hair was long, My TV stand was another TV that was broken, and the closest thing to strength training literature we had was Muscle & Fitness, I hated to read. Maybe it's because I was forced to read.

Don't get me wrong, I was an A-student (note to young'uns...go to class and actually pay attention). Just didn't like to read.

Now that I'm an information junkie, there isn't enough time in the day to read enough. I hate fiction (that includes the newspaper...what a waste of time. If anything important ever happens, don't worry, someone will try to tell you all about it). I'd rank it right up there with soap operas (anyone know if Hope's baby is Bo's or that other guys?). The exception would be the occasional Spider-Man or Batman comic just to stay in the loop (I kinda like Spidey's new suit).

These days it's business-related and training/rehab stuff. Getting a new shipment in tomorrow. I can hear my wife/CFO now, "You got more books (she always says that)? Aren't you smart enough already (smile)?" She understands.

So I guess my question to you is, what did you read today that will make you better...at anything?

Side note...I tried to read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People on multiple occasions but kept falling asleep (seriously). So I just bought the unabridged anniversary edition of the audio book to listen to in the car. Don't worry. No one was hurt in the accident because I woke up just in time.

Pink Floyd is the most overrated band of all time.

Later

Get Off Your Ass

2006-07-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

Since I'm new to the whole Blog thing. I was trying to think of what is actually Blog-worthy.

Well, here's something I'm telling everyone I know AND their sister.

Get off your ass. Not in the exercise sense although it's never a bad idea. Rather, I'm referring to changing to a stand-up desk.

In the publish or perish world of fitness information and shameless self-promotion, I find myself spending countless hours pecking away at my fairly new laptop keyboard or the ol' standby desktop computer. Well, my posture had gone to hell and my hips were feeling about two decades older than my 70-year-old shoulder.

Rather than blow $400 on a keyboard tray that adjusts to a standing position (and because if I don't use my laptop, my wife may try to take it away from me), I found an adjustable table that is the perfect height.

After a couple weeks of accomodation, I have to say it was a great idea.

There were some initial adjustments like a mild pressure in the lower back which resolved quickly with some improved abdominal recruitment (bonus #1) , but otherwise the typical discomfort in the upper back that made me feel Quasimoto-ish after about an hour at the fancy typewriter machine is now gone.

I can also do a few simple exercises like muscle activation for the glutes and some low load passive stretches to some shortened muscles like the TFL and gluteus medius as well as some ankle mobility work (bonus #2).

I also get to spend more quality time with my wife and CFO (uh, for the record they are the same person) as we are now able to ignore one another while working in our spacious home office simultaneously (although I frequently catch her checking out my ass - bonus #3).

Alright, enough time wasted and here's my wrap up. Be a stand-up guy, stand-up and be counted, stand by your man, stand for something...you get the point.

Later.

Congratuations Dos!!!

2006-07-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

I got a text message (first I start blogging and now I get a text message...which by the way I have no idea how to return a text message) today saying that my friend Robert Dos Remedios, strength and conditioning coach for College of the Canyons, was named NSCA Collegiate Strength Coach of the Year.

If you don't know who Dos is, you will very soon. He's got more real world experience in training athletes than most will ever have.

It's about time he gets the recognition he deserves.

Oh, and for the record, I will never grasp the concept of text messaging. I'm going to take the time to type out a message on a phone keyboard rather than make a call that'll achieve the same thing in 10 seconds?

Later.

2006-07-16T17:48:00.000-07:00

So apparently this is how life works.

You get educated, find a job or start a business, marry the perfect gal, and then you Blog. The internet continues to be a source of joy and frustration for me. Because lord knows, that everyone has something important to say at least once in their life. Hopefully, that'll happen here at least once in a while.

My good friend and super editor/writer who works for Men's Health Magazine, Adam Campbell, kinda talked me into this whole thing. If you'd like to send any hate mail in response for my thoughts taking up too much space on the WWW, please comment at Adam's blog (you knew this was comin' didn't ya?) at http://thefitnessinsider.menshealth.com/

Actually, Adam has recently started on a quest to break the 5 Minute Mile. I didn't have the heart to tell him that Roger Bannister actually broke the 4 minute mile mark in 1954. He seems rather motivated and far be it for me to crush somebody's groove.

In all honesty, I support Adam fully in his quest. I think as humans, the day we no longer challenge ourselves, we begin to die. It doesn't need to be a physical challenge like Adam's. It can be something as simple as being a better mate, continuing to educate yourself, or sticking to a healthier eating plan.

Speaking of Men's Health, you can find my latest article on page 122 of the August 2006 issue.

Anyway, before we get too deep here, I'm trying to figure out what one does with a blog. I figure since it's got my name on it, I can do as I please. I'm sure I'll make announcements of what's going on in my world, answer questions, do a lot of name dropping, and answer more questions. Just don't expect it to have a great deal of organization. Not my strong point.

While I'm thinking about it

Here's something that's coming down the pike...

Mike Robertson, well-known from t-nation.com, elitefts.com, and his own home on the web, www.robertsontrainingsystems.com, and I are in the editing stages of a new DVD called, Inside-Out (O/I): The Ultimate Upper Body Warm-up. This is going to be a must have for any athlete that does any strength training, throwing, or swinging of a club or tennis racket. I don't want to say too much yet, but I'll be sure to give you whole run down in the not too distant future.

More Later...