Rosencutter Ultra Fitness & Performance

I attended the Perform Better Summit in Chicago this past weekend for the second year in a row and as expected, it was another great learning experience.  I got to listen to and observe many great presenters and catch up with and meet friends and professionals from all over the country.  One great presenter that I saw was John Berardi, of Precision Nutrtition.  Berardi is one of the best, if not the best, nutrition experts on the planet.  He put forth a very simple, yet amazingly effective idea.  It is the concept of focusing on one small habit or goal at a time. 

Whether we are talking about exercise or nutrition, this concept can go a long way.  It is something that is overlooked far too often by many. Instead of trying to accomplish a hundred things at one time, picking one or two key things is usually much more effective.  With an exercise program, trying to get as strong as possible, as lean as possible, as aerobically endurable as possible, as powerful as possible and also trying to balance out the muscles around the pelvis and trunk because you have lower crossed syndrome along with a right external oblique that is not up to par with the left external oblique, all at the same time will most likely lead to less than desirable results.  Can it be done? Maybe.  With the right person and situation; but in most cases it will work much better to focus on a couple of key qualities at one time and progress/shift focuses when needed. 

This same concept carries over to coaching exercises. When I'm coaching, I usually coach one or two key things at a time.  New variables can be added in the next workout or maybe the next set depending on the situation and the person.  For example, if I am teaching a beginner how to squat, it would not be very effective if I said get tall, sit back, chest up, push your knees out, push your stomach out, keep your trunk tight, back locked in, grip the floor, drive through your glutes as you stand, etc. all at one time.  It would be ridiculous and overwhelming.  With a beginner in this situation, I might say get tall and sit back.  These are two key things that will help develop a good squat pattern.  Once they are nailed in, I can add in some more detail such as pushing the knees out/spreading the floor and filling the stomach with air before descending.  Keeping it simple and focusing on one aspect of technique at a time goes a long way.

When it comes to programs, many uninformed trainees constantly try the newest program that they see in a magazine or on the internet that promises to add 5 inches to their arms or 50 pounds to their bench in 5 weeks, without ever allowing ample time for their bodies to adapt and make any kind of real progress.  Of course, it is important to advance to different programs after a certain amount of time (depends on the physical quality and situation) but enough time must be given on one program to allow actual progress and progression to be made.  Changing programs every week will usually lead to no real progress and even regression.  Keep it simple. Allow the results to come and focus on the task at hand.  You aren't going to add 5 inches to your arms or a thousand pounds to your bench in 5 weeks anyway.  It takes time and dedication to get real results. 

This can also carry over to exercise selection.  You don't need fancy machines and crazy weight/bosu ball combos to get a great and effective workout.  Stick to the tried and tested basics.  Do your squat variations, deadlift variations, push, pull, move heavy stuff, sprint, etc. and give your body a stimulus to make it get better.  If you had to, you could make an entire workout out of a bodyweight squat.  You don't need a building full of fancy crap to get an awesome workout in and make yourself better.

Berardi related this concept to nutrition.  Instead of telling someone to eat protein at every meal, get 5 servings of veggies, 4 servings of fruits, take fish oils, drink more water, eat grass fed beef, eat a cup of almonds, get protein after a workout, cut down on soda and candy, etc. all at once, it can be much more effective to pick one small habit at a time.  He uses this concept effectively with many many clients through his Precision Nutrition coaching program.  One small and attainable habit or goal is focused on for two weeks and if that habit is successfully established after the two weeks, a new habit is introduced.  If it is not, a different one might be tried.

Nutrition is often the hardest thing to get clients to be compliant with because I am not following them around all day when they aren't at the gym.  During a workout, I can see technique, instruct on what to do next, etc. but I do not have direct control over what goes on the other tons of hours that they are outside of the gym on their own. For people who have had bad nutrition habits for any appreciable amount of time, it can be very hard to get things on track.  Coming into the gym and busting your ass a few days a week is great but if you go and eat processed garbage the other hundred some hours that are outside of the gym, progress will be halted, straight up.  So helping the client to decide on a small habit that they believe they can adapt can help tons. An example may be eating a serving of vegetables at 3 meals for the day.  This would be the goal for the next two weeks.  Not too hard to achieve, right?  Eventually this habit will be automatic and a new one can be added in.  These things will add up and the client will be much more successful.  It is something that I plan on using much more often with certain clients and their nutrition habits. 

This concept can also carry over to many other things in life.  For me right now, I train clients during the day, have school at night and then have plenty of things to do to stay on top of these major things. Instead of trying to accomplish fifty things at once, I will pick a few select goals each day and get them done.  If I have something due for school, I'll focus on getting that done.  If I have a program that needs to be written for a client, I'll get that done.  If you have to pay some bills, go to the bank, play with the kids, get reading done, catch up on stuff for work, etc.,  pick the most important things and focus on them at one time.  Prioritize and keep things simple.  Guess what, exercise and proper nutrition should always be at the top of the list.  I always hear people complain about how they have no time to exercise.  This is just not true.  I don't care if its 20 minutes a few times a week.  There is always a way to make time.  Make that workout one of your habits or your focus for the day and it will happen.

Simple can go a long way.  End of story.

Does anybody have any examples or thoughts on this concept?

This man knew a thing or two about keeping it simple

I had a couple of really great workouts this past week and figured Id share them. Wednesday looked something like this.

Wednesday   Today was my max effort/high intensity lower body day.
Yoke bar reverse lunge 132lbsx3 172lbsx3 222lbsx3 237lbsx3 PR 172lbsx5 
This was the third week of a heavy cycle for this exercise; felt pretty strong.  I've been cycling between single leg work and bilateral work to make sure I give my back a break and keep things balanced out. I can definitely say that when I do squat or pull now, I feel more stable and stronger than ever.  All of the heavy single leg work and special hip and oblique work has paid off.
One leg rdl w/ farmers bar 90lbsx3 130lbs 2x3 110lbsx3
Felt good; really hammering out the single leg work right now.  The farmers bar works great for one leg rdl's.  I put 35's on and load it up from there; this allows you to pull the weight off the floor like a regular deadlift each rep. Killer exercise all around.
Bulgarian split squat 76lbs of chain 35lb db’s (70lbs) or 146lbs x8 130lbs2x8  These are killer in the middle of the workout; I believe this was the fourth week I did these for reps. I've been doing them with a slight pause in the bottom. They smoke me every time.
Roller Reverse Hyper +50lbs 3x12 +70lbsx12
I did these with a slight pause in the top.  The entire back side of my body feels great after them.  Great exercise to strengthen your posterior chain, improve glute function and keep your back healthy.
Single lying leg curl 50lbs 3x6-8
Noticed a difference in where my feet were trying to press into the plate during glute ham raises a couple of weeks ago so I've been doing these to make sure I hit my hamstrings evenly.
Bird dog w/ abduction  blue mini 2x8 each way
Finishing off the glutes and low back extensors nicely
Half kneeling cable hold 40lbs 2x6-8 each way
Training the obliques and hips to stabilize squarely; these are killer
Standing abs 50lbsx12 60lbsx12  One of my favorite ab exercises for carry over to deads and squats.  I do these with a neutral spine and move through the hips like a reverse deadlift

Wall press abs for reps, calf work.  No conditioning today as I was feeling pretty cashed and was running out of time.

Thursday   Had a good lifting crew today for once.  Four of us going at it with good intensity and hard music blasting.  Awesome session. Today I did my max effort work, heavy upper back and lat work and and incline db work; then hammered my arms especially triceps; finished with some cuff and scap work.
Floor Press w/ red band (adds ~60lbs at the top) 185lbs+bandsx1 225lbs+bandsx1 255lbs+bandsx1 275lbs+bandsx1 285lbs+bandsx1 PR 185lbs+bandsx12
This was the third week of a max effort cycle for banded floor presses.  I hit a nice pr with the 285+bands.  I did 5's and 3's the previous two weeks.  Will do db presses for reps the next couple weeks then go to a new max effort exercise after. 
Rack Lockouts 315lbsx5 345lbsx3 365lbsx3 400lbsx1
I set the pins so that I'm pressing the top half of the press.  Loaded these up and felt real strong.
Half kneeling cable row 100lbsx5 110lbs3x5 75lbsx12
Been really focusing on getting quality retraction and proper lower trap recruitment with these
Incline db press 85lbs 3x8
Neutral grip pullups 22lb chain 3x8-10 bwx8
Rolling db extensions 40lbsx8 50lbs 3x8 /  One arm band pushdown orange 3x8-12      Gotta have strong triceps for a strong press
High incline db curls 40lbs 3x8 / One arm rev cable curl 50lbs 3x7-8
Incline db flies 35lbs 3x12 w/ pause  (extra pec work)
I’s/T’s 10lbs 3x12-15 Y’s 5lbs 3x20  (gotta have strong scap function and strong, balanced trapezius muscles.  My lower traps have come a long way and are feeling good.
Face pull on pulldown machine 3x8-12
External rotation at side 3x10-12

Added in a few rounds of battle ropes to get some conditioning in.
Overall great workout; felt very strong all day.

Basically combining some powerlifting and bodybuilding stuff right now.  The upper day from this write up is basically my more intense day and has more of a chest and back focus after my max effort work.  The other upper day is done on Sunday or Monday and involves an overhead press followed by more of a delt and arm focus.  I do hit everything to some extent on both days however.  For lower, I have one day that is more intense like the one from this write up and one day that is a little bit easier depending on how I feel.  One day I usually do either a heavier single leg exercise or semi heavy squat or pull and the other I do either a moderate single leg exercise, speed squat or pull, or sled or prowler work.  Glutes, hamstrings, and obliques are hammered out during both workouts (I work quads too; they just don't need as much focus right now).  I definitely try to blitz my legs extra hard on Wednesday (like the one on this writeup).  I then have a couple of extra workouts I do on other days or later on these days that involves some type of mild conditioning workout or weak point/recovery work.  One might look like this:  light sled drags, side bridges, high rep reverse hypers, calf work.  My training regimen is ever changing depending on my goals and focus at the time so its hard to explain everything but this is a current idea of how my training looks.

Back feels good; not quite ready for max effort deads yet but getting there. (had a tear near the 12th rib attachment site of QL and iliocostalis)  I'm thinking about doing a bench only meet or possibly a bodybuilding show.  I need to compete in something soon; thats for sure. 

Perform Better summit in Chicago this weekend; should be a great time and a great opportunity to learn some great new things.

Train hard !

I gave a presentation for a class the other night on back pain and how massage can help with it and decided to do an article with some of the concepts I covered in my presentation as well as some added info.

Low back pain is extremely prevalent today and its not unlikely that you have experienced or do experience issues; or know someone who has or does experience issues.  Some interesting statistics on low back issues follow.  These are taken from the amazing book Low Back Disorders by Stuart McGill, which is basically a must read for anyone who deals with client's backs in any way, shape or form. 

The American Medical Association guidelines for quantifying degree of back disability are based largely on loss of spine range of motion although excess ROM has actually been shown to exacerbate and/or create problems in many people.   This is something that appears to have been chosen for legal convenience rather than positive impact on low back troubles.  (McGill, Low Back Disorders, P. 3)
Now, loss of spine ROM could be an issue for some individuals but could never apply for everybody across the board.  It really is unfortunate that something like this is the case.

It is often said that 85% of back troubles are of unknown etiology.  The limiting factor here is specialists and clinicians who only look in their area of expertise.  The "one size fits all approach" simply does not work.  Back troubles do not just magically come about.  There is a reason that causes them.  The reason that so many cases are of "unknown etiology" is that many specialists either don't know what to look for outside of their area of expertise or don't refer out where or when needed.  For example, if an orthopedic doctor doesn't see something going on with someones passive tissues (discs, ligaments, vertebrae, etc.) they might simply assume that the pain is just there. In reality, it could come from a repetitive movement fault and/or soft tissue problem.  This is not always the case but does occur across the health field in various professions. 

There are many inadequacies in care and prevention of low back disorders. A few major ones follow.

Studies on "backache"
I'm going to go ahead and let this one speak for itself.  A broad, garbage term equals broad, garbage studies.

Relationship of intensity, loading duration, and rest periods- "Years of specific sub failure activity can cause progressive development of conditions.  This could possibly be avoided with evidence-based prevention strategies that include optimal loading, rest periods and controlling the duration of exposure” (Low Back Disorders, P. 8)  An example of this is the mechanism for herniated discs in the lumbar spine.  McGill has found that a large number of repeated flexions of the lumbar spine gradually leads to a herniated disc.  The nucleus is pushed out of the annulus more and more until finally one day someone bends over the wrong way to pick up a pencil and it fully herniates.  Correcting movement and doing the proper prevention exercises can prevent things like this from happening.  It seems that many professionals miss this point and simply treat symptoms instead of using clinically proven prevention strategies.  I have personally witnessed professionals in various fields giving clients exercises that have been clinically proven to cause spine issues (I know of someone who prescribed ill advised exercises from a friggin magazine!).  This is a problem.

There are also plenty of bad prehab/rehab recommendations that are given out (as I just mentioned).

Strengthen torso muscles to protect the back-  Although this can definitely help in certain situations, much research shows that muscular endurance is more important in the torso muscles when it comes to preventing and rehabbing back issues.

Sit up prescription- Each situp produces low back compression levels close to the National Institute of Safety and Health action limit!! and doing so repeatedly has been shown to cause issues.  This occurs because of the attachment of the psoas muscle to the lumbar vertebrae.  When you do a situp, the psoas contracts to flex the hip, which puts lots of compression on the lumbar spine (low back). Add in the fact that most people who do situps perform them incorrectly with a rounded low back and the problems get worse.  If someone has back problems, situps are probably not their best bet.

Bend the knees, not the back when lifting things-  As I've discussed many times, optimal movement patterns are absolutely essential to spare the back when lifting.  Broadly saying to "bend the knees to lift things" is not a good recommendation by any means.  It ultimately comes down to moving correctly through the hips while staying stable in the low back.  Bending the knees can put excess stress on the knees and still allow the back to move into less than desirable positions.  Furthermore, the optimal position and lifting pattern that is needed will vary depending on the situation at hand.  What is the size of the object? What are the biomechanical leverages of the person doing the lifting? It will always depend.

Tight hamstrings lead to back troubles
While they can, this is not the case for everyone.  As I've mentioned in previous articles, if someone's hamstrings actually are stiff (and are actually having a negative impact), then yes they may potentially need to be lengthened.  In many cases, stiff hamstrings is a misdiagnosis.  If any hip flexor muscles are stiff or short, the pelvis will be pulled into anterior tilt (see previous writeups to see more detail on anterior tilt). When the pelvis is pulled into this position, the hamstrings are put on stretch which will cause them to seem stiff; however, they are already on stretch.  It is the hip flexors that need lengthening (could also be that something such as the obliques need strengthening, see post on relative flexibility).  Once this is done and the pelvis is back to neutral, the hamstrings will be fine. 

I have a client who went to physical therapy for around 3 years and never got rid of his back pain.  He told me that they continued to stretch his hamstrings.  I looked at him for five minutes and discovered that his hip flexors (particularly rectus and psoas in his case) were extremely stiff; not to mention that he had little to no movement coordination.  By continually stretching his hamstrings, his pelvis was pulled farther and farther into anterior tilt, which made his back worse and worse.  We lengthened his hip flexors, turned on his glutes, taught him how to move properly and within a couple of weeks his pain was gone.  He is now in great shape and pain free.  Everybody is an individual with their own individual needs.  Simply doing something general like stretching the hamstrings for the heck of it is just unacceptable. 

Single exercise or back stability program is good for all cases
This is a big mistake that many people make and pretty much ties in with the last point.  Determine what needs to be strengthened, lengthened, stabilized, mobilized, etc.  Specific training is the only way to make backs optimal.

(The bold points are from Low Back Disorders; my own explanations following the headings)

Through my own experience working with people and learning from the some of the best in the industry, some of the major causes and contributors to back issues follow. I have touched on much of this in other articles so I'll keep it brief.
 
Excess Movement in the Lumbar Spine
The lumbar spine should generally be stable and many people move way too much through it.  Promoting motion here with bad stretches and exercises is not a good thing (certain yoga positions, cough:)

Poor Movement Patterns
We basically live in a society that has developed movement stupidity.  Most people you come across have absolutely no clue how to move properly.  You need to move and use the right muscles and joints at the right time.  Training does no good if you are practicing bad patterns and habits.

Stiff Hips and Thoracic Spine
Ideally, there will be mobility in these areas and stability in the lumbar spine.  Most people have the opposite.  If you can't move in the hips and tspine, then more movement and stress will go to the lumbar spine.  Another problem created.

Weak Gluteal Muscles and Stiff Hip Flexors (Lower crossed syndrome)
With overly stiff or short hip flexors, there is more stress on the back.  This also will often shut off the glute muscles.  No glute muscles equals less support for the low back which equals more back pain.  YAY!!

Weak and Improperly Trained Trunk Muscles
Having no support from the wonderful muscles that form a corset around the trunk and are supposed to protect the low back is not a good trait to carry.  The internal and external obliques, rectus abdominis (actually usually overdeveloped and dominant in many people), the quadratus lumborum and the transverse abdominis (very deep muscle that you can't see or touch) all need to be endurable and firing.  They also need to be trained to stabilize; not round the back and move in bad ways like many people do.

Poor Endurance in the Low Back Extensors
The low back extensors need to have good endurance in order to continuously support the passive tissues in the low back.  When they fatigue, things that we don't want to take up stress end up taking up stress and bad things happen. 

So taking care of these things is all wonderful and great but what if there are tissue restrictions that prevent someone from moving optimally or turning on muscles that need to be turned on?  This is where massage therapy and specialized soft tissue work is extremely effective and can play a huge role in developing an optimal back program.

I can try to teach you how to squat and pull correctly with quality hip movement and a stable trunk all day long but if your psoas is so stiff that you simply can't get lower than an inch into your squat then there is a problem.  If I work on your psoas and get it to relax, getting you to move properly becomes a whole lot easier and more effective. 

Following are some different things that massage can address in order to help with back issues. There are obviously tons of possibilities but here are a few common ones.

Stiff or Short Hip Flexors- If needed, treating psoas, rectus femoris, and/or tfl (whichever ones are overly stiff or short) can take tons of stress off of the low back and can free up the hips so that movement improves.  This also can make it much more possible to activate and strengthen inhibited gluteal muscles. In some cases, glutes might need work.  Always assess! 

Getting rid of adhesions and bunched up low back tissue-  As a result of cumulative trauma and stress, the low back tissues are often tensed up and fibrotic.  Massage can provide great relief here by freeing up the tissue, clearing out toxicity and built up metabolites and bringing new oxygen and nutrients into the tissue by way of increased blood flow.

Stiff or short pecs/anterior shoulder muscles that are leading to hyperkyphosis-  Treating these muscles can allow better thoracic mobility which can lead to a more stable low back and improve overall posture.

Neurological effects-  Releasing adhesions and trigger points can allow shut down muscles to retain their firing capacity, fix relative imbalances and improve overall patterns of movement.

With a combination of the proper movement and strength training and soft tissue work, low back issues can be dealt with very effectively.  While I have a lot to learn and a long way to go with massage therapy, I am very excited to be able to combine my own manual therapy with the strength and conditioning modalities that I already use in order to help people feel better, move better and perform better. 

In conclusion, if you are dealing with back pain and have been tossed around and told that there isn't a "known cause," don't give up because it is very possible that your true underlying issues have just not been found. While there can sometimes be a possibility of an underlying issue such as arthritis, spondylosis, etc., dealing with components that I discussed in this article can go a very long way in both preventing and clearing up back issues. Proper training and tissue work seems to finally be getting closer to the frontline where it should be. Hopefully more and more people can begin to see beyond "disc disease" and other copout diagnoses and get better and better. 



        

Wanted to send a shoutout to my baseball guys Jay Dirienzo and Ryan Geil.  They played their first two games for Franklin High School on Saturday and straight up killed it!  Jay went 5 for 8 with FOUR home runs and EIGHT RBI's in his first two games.  Three of the home runs came in the first game, which tied the school record.  He was named athlete of the week in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel!  Ryan pitched a great game and won one of the games with a 2 RBI double to finish out the game.  He hit 3 home runs in the preseason already and also made the cover of the National High School Baseball Rules Book.  (pictured above)  Awesome job guys!

They both trained their hearts out all offseason for the second year in a row and should have an even bigger year this year than last season, in which they won state and led their team in hits and home runs.  They have continued working hard to get stronger, more explosive, quicker, better conditioned and to move more efficiently, and continue with maintenance work to stay at peak performance during the season. Keep your eyes open as big things are coming from these two this year.

Taking care of one's self is of utmost importance to be fully successful and happy in life.  If you don't have your health, everything else down the line will suffer.  If you can't take care of yourself, then good luck taking care of other people and improving their health. 

Being a strength and conditioning coach and trainer, I am a very busy person.  I train clients 8 to 10 hours a day, five days a week on average.  Sometimes that is nonstop without any real break.  On top of this, I usually spend at least a few hours a week designing and updating programs for current and new clients.  I spend a decent number of hours keeping up with reading and research.  As if that doesn't seem like enough, I also spend time writing either for my website, my newsletter column or articles for other publications.  Oh yea, now I am also going to massage therapy school three nights a week and work in the clinic every other weekend, and on top of that, need time to practice and study.  With all of these things going on, there is no way that I could ever find time for myself right?  Wrong!!!!!  There is never too little time to take care of yourself.  If I didn't take care of myself, not only would I be a complete fraud, but everything else that I do would go downhill.  It all comes down to prioritizing and managing one's time. 

Too many people make too many excuses for why they are unhappy, out of shape, in pain, don't have time for this or that and blah blah blah.  The fact of the matter is that it is on the individual to make things happen with their lives and to figure out ways to make themselves happy.  Many people work jobs that they hate, get no exercise (and if they do its usually useless exercise), eat like crap, and forget how to enjoy life. 

Not too long ago, I read "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey.  It is an all around great book.  A great principle he discusses in his book is "The Time Management Matrix."  This matrix is made up of four quadrants.  Quadrant I consists of urgent, important activities such as crises and deadline driven problems.  Quadrant II consists of important activities that are not urgent such as prevention activities, relationship building, planning, educational activities and opportunity recognition.  Quadrant III consists of urgent activities that are not important such as interruptions, some phone calls, popular activities and some mail.  Quadrant IV is made up of activities that are neither urgent nor important, such as TV, video games, bar hopping, some mail, busy work, time wasters, etc.  

People who manage their lives by crises spend about 90% of their time in quadrant one and the rest of their time in quadrant IV.  This is not healthy or ideal.  These people deal with excess stress and burnout which leads to a host of other problems (i.e. fat gain, depression.) To try to combat these problems, they go to IV and drink, smoke, etc. which ultimately makes things worse.

There are also lots of people who spend most of their time in quadrants III and IV.  In III, they work on things that are urgent but not important.  They think they are working on important things but in all reality are basing their own priorities on the priorities and expectations of others. In IV, they are basically doing useless and unproductive things.  "People who spend most of their time in III and IV basically lead irresponsible lives."  In my experience, these are the same people who constantly ridicule others for actually having goals and passions in life because they have none themselves. This is one of my biggest pet peeves. "Effective people stay out of quadrants III and IV because, urgent or not, they aren't important."  By spending more time in Quadrant II, crises and pressing matters in Quadrant I can be limited and Quadrant I will be shrunk.  "Effective people are not problem minded, they're opportunity minded." 

In my opinion, spending lots of time in Quadrant II is essential to success. Continuing education through reading and research, taking care of your body with exercise, working on your career or business, building important relationships, etc. are all very important activities that improve the quality of life and lead to success.  These are activities that lead towards a major goal. Everybody has to deal with urgent, important activities from Quadrant I but when preventative measures are taken, these things will be limited.  And obviously, everybody needs a little bit of time here and there for pleasure activities from Quadrant IV; most people just overdo it, A LOT.  If you haven't spent time today doing productive things from Quadrant II then get out of Quadrant IV; you haven't earned it.  So what do I do to manage my time and live an effective life each day?
 

First off, I have big goals and aspirations that I plan on attaining and I WILL reach them.  Nobody will stop me.  I am sure to do multiple things each day to bring myself one step closer to those goals.  If a day goes by where I don't do something to better myself as a person or professional, then to me that is a wasted day.

I absolutely love working out and training.  I haven't had a gap in my own training in over ten years. I've competed in powerlifting for over five years and have consistently trained at least four to five days a week for as long as I can remember.  I lift weights, perform conditioning, perform appropriate mobility exercises and stretches, do my appropriate corrective and prehab exercises, do my soft tissue work through the use of foam rolling and other various tools and work hard week in and week out to stay in great shape.  I eat clean at least 90% of the time and to keep my sanity, endulge with a couple of cheat meals here and there. I am always sure to eat at least five to six meals a day and am sure to get plenty of protein, quality fats, lots of water, veggies, fruits, fish oils and any vitamins I may miss.  Being strong, lean and staying in good shape definitely helps mentally with everything else in life.  It is a lifestyle and has to be a long term, ongoing practice to be in top condition.  Too many people want the quick fix and easy way out.  Having a good, fit body just doesn't work like that. It takes years of hard work and dedication.  My training is one of the top priorities in my life and has been for years.  And guess what, I still have a LONG way to go and  A LOT to learn.  It is a continuous journey and I am sure to do something everyday to inch myself further on down the road, whether thats an intense, balls out workout or an off day where I utilize some tissue work for recovery.
   
I suffered a back injury that "set me back" with powerlifting.  Did I just sit around because I couldn't deadlift max singles for a little while?  No, I busted my ass bringing up weak points and fixing movement faults that contributed to the injury and previously held back my numbers. I utilized as many recovery modalities as possible to help with rehab. Now, I am almost back to normal and am going to come back better and stronger than ever.   To me, the injury was a required wake up call and stepping stone in disguise to help me get to the next level with my lifting.  I am too driven towards my goals with training to let something stop me.  As a matter of fact, I have been feeling stronger than I ever have before and have been hitting some nice PR's as of late. 
   

While my own training is very important to me, my career also is.  I am sure to do something every day to get better at what I do and to advance my career.  I work hard training lots of clients 5 to 6 days a week, reading books and articles, writing, going to class 3 nights a week, attending seminars and doing anything that will help me learn and get better.  Dan John says "If it is important, do it every day."  Call me crazy, but learning is extremely important; therefore, I do it every day.  Bill Hartman is pretty much the smartest man I've ever had the opportunity to spend time around.  Everyday, he used to ask me what I learned that day.  I took that to heart and now am sure that I can answer that question to myself every single day.  There are a lot of knowledgeable people out there that are a lot better than me.  I would be stupid if I didn't make the effort to soak up every single piece of knowledge that I possibly can.  There is always more to learn and there is always room to get better and grow.  People who "know everything about everything" rarely get very far in life. How many people do you know who actually spend time reading something educational? And I'm not talking about Shape, Muscle and Fitness or Glamour.
   
I am also just finishing up "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill.  This book is basically a classic business and success book that many successful people have read.  In one section, he discusses some of the major causes of failure.  One reason that jumped out at me that I have witnessed in people many times is the following.  "Lack of a well defined purpose in life.  There is no hope of success for the person who does not have a central purpose, or definite goal at which to aim.  Ninety eight out of every hundred of those whom I have analyzed had no such aim.  Perhaps this was the major cause of their failure."  NINETY EIGHT OUT OF ONE HUNDRED!!  That is pretty huge.  If more people had goals, aspirations and passions, the world might be a happier place. 

If you don't currently have something you are aspiring towards, perhaps you should do some soul searching.  I think that a lot of people have things that they want to do or once wanted to do but just didn't have the courage to make them happen.  Now is the time to make something happen.  Its on you.  Simple minded people will always try to bring you down to their level because they can't understand what you are doing.  Guess what?  Screw em.  Do your thing and don't let anybody stop you or hold you back.  Wanna get in shape?  Get in the gym and make it happen.  Wanna work for yourself?  Find out what you need to do and make it happen.  Wanna get better at your profession or better yourself as a person?  Turn the tv off and pick up a friggin book for once.  Make things happen for yourself!!!!  Forget all the haters!!!
    

I absolutely love what I do for a living.  I am able to do something every single day that I am passionate about.  I help all varieties of people from all walks of life move better, feel better and perform better.  It is a 24-7 deal for me.  I truly feel blessed to be able to say that I get to do something that I love every day.  I do a lot of work with muscular imbalances and corrective exercise and am absolutely intrigued by soft tissue work and its effectiveness to help with these things. It truly is amazing stuff! I have learned tons through school this year. Massage therapy is going to be a huge addition to what I do and I love doing it after ~8 months of practice; however, it is one more chunk of time that is taken up and one more activity that could possibly add in fatigue.  This makes staying on top of my own recovery modalities and time management even more important. 
  
Managing my time wisely allows me to stay on top of all of these things and still have some downtime.  If I have clients 8 hours and class 4 hours one day, I simply set aside 30 minutes here and 30 minutes there to get programs done.  If I have fewer clients one day, I'll plan my workout there and get some reading and massage practice during any breaks.  If I know I am going to be booked solid for most of the week, I mark time off to get my own workouts in.  Since my weeks are so busy, I almost always take weekends off (though sometimes I have clinic for massage).  This allows me to get effective workouts in, catch up on reading and programs, get odd jobs done such as washing the car, doing things around the house, etc and downtime to watch a movie, go out with friends and just relax.  Taking leisure time here and there during the week is important also as going non stop 24-7 all the time would be a surefire road to burnout.  What helps me is the fact that I enjoy what I do and enjoy all of the reading and continuing ed outside of training so I generally don't get stressed out. 

One other major thing that is overlooked by many people is the importance of sleep.  I usually try to be sure to get to bed at a decent time and not to schedule myself too early so that I can get enough sleep and recover from everything that I do.  I don't think I would get too much accomplished if I walked around like a zombie all day. 

If you have something that you want to accomplish, make it happen! If you don't have any goals then think of some.  Get a solid workout in, read a quality book, do something special for someone you love, work on your business, do your job better today than yesterday, eat a healthier meal, do something positive to improve and better your life!!

In conclusion, I ask you: What have you done today to make yourself better?

While many people still slave away on ellipticals and stair steppers for hours every week boring themselves half to death and making no progress/even regressing progress (getting through a book doesn't count as progress, sorry:) , many other people are doing "cardio" that is actually fun, effective and helps with fat loss and performance with more results in a quarter of the time.  The following are some of my favorite tools for conditioning and energy system development.

Sled Dragging
Sled dragging is one of the most versatile and effective tools that you can use. You can drag for time, for strength, do intense intervals, speed, agility; you can go forwards, backwards, crossover, side to side, upper body, lower body and you name it, the sled can do it.  Not only are you getting the cardiovascular benefit, but you are also building strength in your legs and can focus on developing proper locomotive patterns.  I loooove forward sled dragging for runners w/ knee pain who need to develop better locomotive patterns.  With the sled, I can strengthen weak muscles in their hips, develop appropriate movement and keep impact stress off of their joints at the same time.  Oh yea, I can build up whatever energy system they need to work on at the same time. Score! My favorite standard dragging modalities are the following. For fat loss, doing 3-6 rounds with moderate weight at the end of a workout with about 45-60 seconds rest between rounds.  The rounds usually last about 30-40 seconds. For aerobic training/extra workouts on days off from lifting, some clients will drag a light weight for time anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes.  This is just the tip of the iceberg of what can be done with a sled.

The Prowler
The prowler is feared by even the bravest souls on either side of the world.  Ok so thats pushing it but the prowler is one heck of a conditioning tool.  It dishes out easily one of the hardest workouts that you will experience.  It is especially effective with intense anaerobic intervals.  Its great to build leg strength as well.  This piece of equipment will work wonders for fat loss and performance.  I generally use this for intense anaerobic intervals at the end of a workout or heavier at the beginning of a workout.  For intervals, we will load it up with a moderate weight and push it hard and fast.  Anywhere from 3-5 rounds are used with anywhere from 1-3 minutes rest between depending on how hard someone is going.  Heres a video of a couple of my baseball guys (state champs, 2 leading hitters on the season, and winning state champ pitcher)  and a couple of my fat loss guys going at it back to back.  What a great training experience to get in a killer workout like this with others who are serious about their training!!

Kettlebell Swings
While the kettlebell has a great many uses, for the average person, swings are going to be the easiest and most effective conditioning exercise for them to do.  This is a great exercise to develop proper hip movement, annihilate the glutes (and the rest of the body at that), and develop power endurance.  It will give you an amazing cardiovascular workout and can be used in a variety of ways (for time, intervals, reps, etc.).  The swing is an exercise that is often  performed wrong by trainees and even by many trainers.  To perform it properly, you need to hinge through the hips rather than squat or dip forward through the knees.   Some different ways to use swings follow:  30-60 sec rounds w/ 45-90sec rest between rounds;  Rounds of 15-20 swings with 45-60 sec rest between;  Swing for time such as 5-10 minutes straight w/ a moderate weight;  10 swings on the minute for a specified number of minutes.  Again, the tip of the iceberg.

Battle Ropes
Battle ropes are an AMAZING conditioning tool.  They will get you in shape, plain and simple.  They work your entire body as a whole and can be used in a variety of ways.  I like doing them for 20 to 30 second intervals going hard or going lighter for time.  Rest is going to depend on the person and the fitness level you are dealing with.  With the ropes, you can go double arm straight up and down, side to side, alternating arms, add in squats, side to side movement and the list goes on; great great tool. 

Circuits
I love using all different circuits to either finish workouts with or to do as extra workouts.  There are an unlimited number of exercises that can be used to make a killer circuit.  Here are a couple of examples.
Quick Steps, Med Ball Slams, Farmers carries
10 per leg,   10-20 slams,     semi heavy weight for 1-2 trips
3-5 rounds as a finisher or 15-20 minutes straight on an off day

Bodyweight Squats, Kettlebell Swings, Cable or Sled Drags
20 reps fast,           20 swings,              30-40 seconds
Rest as long as needed then repeat

Tabata Front Squats or Kettlebell Swings
With the tabata protocol, you pick a compound movement and perform as many reps as possible in 20 seconds, rest for 10, and repeat for 4 minutes or 8 rounds.  Dan John talks about how he loves front squats for these in his book and I agree 100%.  I also love kettlebell swings for these.  Many people abuse the true tabata protocol.  The exercise and rest intervals need to be exact and the trainee has to be pushing as hard as they can.  When done correctly, this will take the body past limits.  It is brutally hard but will do more for fat loss in 4 minutes than many traditional "cardio" practices will do in 40 minutes. 

Airdyne Intervals
Hop up on an airdyne bike and get to work.  These get your whole body moving and you control how hard you go.  I generally will use rounds of 20-60 seconds with 60sec-2min rest depending on the goal at hand and the person doing them.  Amazing fat loss and performance tool!

Regular Sprints
If your body is functioning properly and is healthy, straight up sprints are great for body comp and performance.  Great workout for anyone in shape to do them.   If you have any issues with imbalances, pain, being overweight, etc. you should not be doing running of any kind.

As you can see, the possibilities really are endless when it comes to energy systems training and conditioning.  I could go on much longer but these are some of my favorite forms of conditioning that I often use with clients of all varieties from athletes to fat loss.  Specific modalities will always vary based on the goal or task at hand and the individual doing them.  "Cardio" doesn't have to be boring, dragging, muscle wasting, repetitive and ineffective after 2 weeks (i.e., elliptical, treadmill, stair stepper, etc.)  With all of these amazing tools at our exposal, it can be functional, fun, build muscle, promote more fat loss and build lean, mean bodies for everyone from high level athletes to fat loss clients who want to get in awesome shape.  Give some of these a shot if you haven't already!

Relative flexibility is a very important phenomenon that most people do not even begin to understand.  Shirley Sahrmann details this concept beautifully.  In her book "Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes," she sums up the concept like this: "Because of the intersegmental variations in the springlike behavior of muscles, a reasonable hypothesis is that increased stiffness of one muscle group can cause compensatory movement at an adjoining joint that is controlled by muscles or joints with less stiffness."  Basically what this  means is that a particular muscle may not actually truly be stiff; it is just stiffer than a neighboring muscle or muscles. Here's a couple of good examples that I see all of the time and that Sahrmann discusses.

Lats are stiffer than the lumbar spine
I see this all of the time when I take new clients through assessments.  Someone flexes their shoulder (raises their arm overhead) and their low back extends (most likely hyperextends) rather than their shoulder reaching through to its end range. Since their lumbar spine is more flexible than their lat, this compensation occurs.  Chances are, if we can get their trunk muscles to stabilize their lumbar spine and get the stiffness in the low back up to par with the stiffness in the lats, the range of motion in shoulder flexion will improve.  It could also be a situation where you may need to decrease some of the stiffness in the lats AND increase the stiffness in the lumbar spine.  This is a great example of why assessments are so important.

Rectus Femoris is stiffer than the abdominals and supporting structures of the lumbar spine
In this situation, the rectus femoris (big quad muscle that crosses the hip and knee) is stiffer than the supporting trunk muscles.  When the knee is flexed, there will be excessive anterior tilt of the pelvis and the low back will extend.  At the same time, the knee will not flex to its ideal range.  In this situation, if we increase the ability of the trunk muscles to stabilize and stiffen, we might get better range of motion in knee flexion and less pelvic tilt and lumbar extension. In another light, it could be a situation that rectus is so stiff, that the body has to compensate by extending the low back and tilting the pelvis when the knee is flexed.  There are various implications that could be present and Sahrmann gets into great detail on them all.  But hopefully, this gives you a decent idea of what I am talking about.  In my experience, it is most often a combination of stiffness in the talked about muscle and lack of stiffness/weakness in the supporting muscles.  Both would be addressed to make the situation better.  Again, everyone has specific things going on so not every condition will be taken care of in the same way. 

A good real time example would be with the squat.  Someone with an overly stiff rectus femoris in comparison to their low back will generally stand with their pelvis tilted forward and their low back extended past neutral.  With this stiffness imbalance, there will be compensations within their squat pattern.  As they descend into a squat, they will get to a certain depth and when their hips run out of room to move, they will move where their relative flexibility allows them to, which in this case is their low back.  With someone like this, in most cases, the rectus will need some lengthening and their abdominals (usually the external obliques) will need some strengthening.  The glutes and hamstrings usually will need some work as well.  When you increase the ability of the muscles that posteriorly tilt the pelvis (abdominals, glutes, hamstrings, etc.) and improve the length in the muscles that anteriorly tilt the pelvis (in this case rectus femoris), the relative flexibility will be better and the squat will be a lot prettier with a stable trunk and mobile, nice moving hips. 

As I said earlier, it could be a condition where all you need to do is stretch rectus and your fine.  Could also be a condition where all you need to do is stiffen up the lumbar spine and your good.  From my experience, it is often some form of combination.  Whichever way it is, taking care of problems with relative flexibility can relieve a multitude of back, knee and shoulder pain and problems.

Hamstrings stiffer than the low back
Here is one more good example.  If you lay on your back and raise your leg straight up, how high can you go without your low back flattening into the ground?  If your hamstring is stiffer than your low back, your back will try to compensate by flattening in order to gain more movement.  A little trick to get your leg higher is to brace your abdominals as if someone is going to punch you in your stomach.  The added stability for your lumbar spine will allow your leg to raise farther without loss of a neutral spine.  This example is tricky though because if it is truly hip flexor muscles that are stiff, the pelvis may be anteriorly tilted to start; thus, giving the illusion of the hamstrings being the issue when in reality it is the hip flexors that are the issue.  See my past write up on misconceptions about hamstring stiffness to read more on this.  Either way, bracing the abdominals will help your cause with the leg raise. Being sure that the pelvis is in a neutral position to start can clear things up.

Notice how all of these examples feature an issue with the lumbar spine being unstable and too mobile?  Stability and the ability to stiffen when needed needs to be developed around the abdominal wall and lumbar spine.  The inability to do this is one of the biggest and most repeated causes of back issues, knee issues and performance detriments that you will find.  Yet, tons of people continue to promote more movement here with blind stretches and exercises.  I've touched on this multiple times as have some of the best strength coaches, therapists and specialists in the world.  Rationalize what you do.  If you really do need more movement here, than by all means you better work on it.  In my experience, this is a rare case. 

Randomly and blindly training for flexibility does many people more harm than good.  If you took the person from either of the last two example and stretched his low back and trunk muscles, his problem would become worse.  Both strength training and flexibility training need to be individualized and specific.  Relative flexibility is a great and proven concept. Contrary to conventional wisdom, sometimes stretching might not even be needed to improve flexibility at a certain joint.  Simply balancing out the relative flexibility by increasing the stiffness at a supporting or neighboring joint will take care of the movement at the area in question.  Think about how this could revolutionize what you do in the gym or in your sport.  Pretty powerful stuff!

Where do you think his flexibility/stiffness imbalance is?

Franco surely had better relative flexibility for the deadlift than the guy in the last picture

My friend and mentor, Mike Robertson, has just released a great product.  If you deal with backs and knees in any capacity, this is going to be a must have piece of learning material.  It covers functional anatomy, assessments, exercises and much more.  Mike is one of the best in the strength & conditioning and corrective exercise game and has had a ridiculous amount of influence on my training philosophies. He works wonders with clients who have suffered from knee and back issues for years on end; I've seen it first hand and have been able to effectively use the loads of knowledge I gained from him to help my clients that I work with now. This product also features some great bonus content by some of the best trainers and strength coaches in the industry, including a piece by yours truly on keeping your knees and back healthy if you train at a commercial style gym.   Be sure to check out the product  HERE!

Wanted to share this great article about female fat loss and strength training by Juliet Deane.  Juliet is pretty much an ideal fitness and strength role model for females everywhere.  Be sure to read it; just an awesome write up.  She cuts through all of the myths and fluff and lays it all out how it really is.


What Women Should Never do (but often do) While Trying to Get in Shape

Its something you'll hear everybody talk about.  "I lost this much weight!";  "I run 10 miles everyday and I lost 10 lbs!";  "I wanna lose weight!";  "I've been lifting weights and swimming across the Atlantic and I only lost 5lbs of weight!"  I'm about to say something that might blow your mind.  WEIGHT LOSS IS NOT ALWAYS A GOOD THING!  That's right, losing weight might not be a good thing.  In fact, it could be a very bad and evil thing that could make you fatter, lots fatter. 

Stop and think for a second about the true meaning of what you are saying when you talk about weight loss.  Weight can come from a vast array of things.  It can come from fat, muscle, bone, water, ligaments, clothing and the list goes on.  What most people are in search of is FAT LOSS!  There is a big difference between weight loss and fat loss.  You could lose a leg and you will lose weight.  Is that a desirable way to lose weight? No, of course not.   You can deplete your body of carbs, drink a whole bunch of water and then excrete lots of water out of your body and your weight will go down.  Is that true weight loss? No. (Although its a great way to lighten up for a weigh in) 

One of the worst ways to lose weight is by losing muscle.  You can lose muscle and your weight will go down; however, with less muscle, your fat will go up since you now have less muscle to keep the fat off.  Have you ever known someone who constantly brags about all of the miles and hours they run and bike and do the elliptical and blah blah blah and they lost this much weight but now theyre up this much and so on and so forth?  I know I have and let me tell ya; it drives me NUTS!  Now don't get me wrong, I give all the props in the world to these people for trying to be healthy and active, etc.  Nevertheless, there is one HUGE problem with all of this aerobic endurance activity (and lack of any muscle and bone building activity).  It wastes away important muscle tissue!! Chronic endurance people usually do no strength training or other forms of cardiovascular activity.  They lose weight and might even appear to be "skinny" and healthy; however, the weight that they are losing is muscle and it does nobody any good to be what I call "skinny fat" with weak, fragile, non functional bodily structures. 

This goes for those just starting out on their weight loss journeys as well.  We've all seen it.  Suzy decides that she is finally going to get up off the couch, stop watching All My Children reruns and lose some darn weight!!  What does she do?  She goes and hops on the elliptical or treadmill (or God forbid tries to jog when she is one hundred pounds more than her joints can handle) and goes at it for 30 to 40 minutes, maybe even an hour, for four or five days a week.  This continues for a couple of weeks and she loses about 5 lbs.  She then stalls and probably gains some more weight and then she gives up. 

So what happened with Suzy?  She more than likely lost some water weight and maybe even a small amount of fat (if you go from doing nothing to doing something, you're going to lose something).  After a couple of weeks, her body adapted so the "weight loss" stopped.  She did absolutely nothing to build any muscle (which is absolutely essential to lose fat) and actually succeeded in wasting away muscle (aside from some slow twitch fibers being stimulated, see past articles), which in turn sets the stage for more fat GAIN.  So yea, she lost a little weight; but not much FAT and actually set the path to gain more fat than she started with.  This, obviously, is a problem and is not the goal that Suzy had in mind.  What she needs to do is strength train, do intense intervals and circuits and set the stage for optimal FAT LOSS as she builds muscle, gets stronger and releases lots of fat burning hormones.  And yes, aerobic endurance does have its place and is also important.  There are just a lot of people who do way too much of it and not enough of the other very important things to keep a healthy balance.


Stop talking about weight loss.  Start talking about fat loss.  There is a difference and it should be treated as such.  And can somebody please tell me why in the world the Body Mass Index (BMI) is still used in some places?!  What a great way to measure someone's well being!!! Lets look at someone's weight level and completely disregard muscle mass.  Its not like muscle is important or anything.  (sarcasm :))  According to the lovely BMI (which you should basically throw in the trash can of your brain), I am obese.  The funny thing is, I am usually around 7-8 % body fat; thus, I am very far from being obese.  BMI only takes the height and weight of an individual into account and is very misleading since it does not consider muscle weight.  Body fat is what needs to be focused on.  Don't let things like this fool you. 

So, in conclusion.  Start thinking more specifically and clearly when you are making your goals.  What weight do you want to lose?  I am pretty sure you wouldn't want it to be a body part or muscle.  Most likely, you are looking for fat loss.  Understand the difference and your training will take you a lot farther.