Nightly Beer Healthier than Daily Jog

There is something about stating your opinion on Facebook. It’s been really great for content.

Fwd of friends email from a friend who read the article:

Okay, here's what my friend Nicki said back (she and I have been keeping each other accountable in getting more fit) and she also the Beach Body stuff and Shakeology protein shakes etc. She may come off a bit brash (you probably will care less cause you do too). She's also a huge fan of beer and does a lot in the back country, ie. skiing, climbing, biking, snowshoeing, kayaking etc. as well as half marathons and sprint triathlons. She's pretty fit but doesn't eat the best. Anyhow, here's what her initial thoughts were:

I wasn't able to see the pictures and a lot of it came over as gibberish...but my gut reaction is WTF? that doesn't make any sense. I'm curious what he has to say. is he a physical therapist? or a personal trainer (both PT). I ask because a therapist is very much more educated...and people can become trainers pretty quickly without the nutritional education to back it up. I'm not saying he doesn't know what he's talking about...but it's just not logical. a 40 minute cardio workout is WORSE than 110 empty calories? maybe for someone with bad knees...that argument can be made that running specifically isn't good, but I look at running as a type of cardio - you can run, bike, elliptical, Brazilian Butt Lift, Insanity....plenty of options and logically WAY better than a (tasty) cold beverage.

true weight loss rules have been the same since the dawn of time - burn more calories than you bring in. period

She has the last line down perfectly. It’s not ACTUALLY that simple when it comes to FAT loss, but it’ll work for WEIGHT loss.

To be honest, I may have just fallen in love w/ this girl (platonic). This kind of brash honesty is fantastic, and I’m thankful for the challenge. In my opinion challenging this type of thing is of extreme importance.

Education and Title

I'm not a physical therapist, but I have yet to meet one any more educated than I (that's also iowa city so it's limited, but so far I beat the ones I’ve sat in w/, on their own turf....not arrogance, it's preparation, or their lack of it), especially in regards to nutrition of which there isn't in physical therapy school. Med school only has a couple weeks, and even then it's more about depletion of nutrients than actual food. (anything they've learned has been w/ their own efforts)

I'm NOT a "personal trainer" either. Calling me a personal trainer would be worse than calling a massage therapist a masseuse. It's dubious at best. I'm a coach and in the end the letters behind my name have no affect on how I help people (until it’s outside of my scope and then it’s a team effort). Just so happens that I spend a good amount of time w/ my head in a book.

Conventional Cardio

Cardio is so vastly misunderstood that we're crippling kids in college, b/c something has to be taught but we know much of textbooks’ content is false/incomplete. Things are just changing too fast. Authors are already disagreeing w/ their content by the time a book gets to print.

She is right about the bad knees. H/e it goes much further than that. In a mile a human will take around 1,500 strides. That's equivalent to doing 750 hops on your left, and then your right leg. Each time your foot strikes the ground it absorbs 2-6x bodyweight. That's a ton of stress going on. Most coaches will give the easy answer that 20 contacts is a safe number for plyometrics, and we’re doing 750/leg? Magnitude makes a difference and there’s nothing magical about the #20, but 750? Na, not when we're talking 3,4,5 miles/day.

To take an excerpt from the upcoming article:

Conventional, long distance, steady state heart rate, “cardio”

o   It trains your body to rely on energy stores that are bound to deplete well before the end of extremely long distance runs like a marathon (“the wall”)

o   It will leave the body mangled and beaten (literally) with or without close to perfect body maintenance (strength, breathing patterns, posture, mobility, soft tissue quality, etc.).

o   The enormous suppression of the immune system is extremely unhealthy and typically results in getting sick the week or two after a long race or during training.

o   Aside from that, if it were really as simple as walking out your door and jogging down the sidewalk, why would you ever need someone like me? (Anyone that knows me would understand that I could never make it as a cheerleader that keeps people accountable)

o   Most people will end up taking around 1,500 strides running a mile. Each foot strike results in absorbing the force of 2-6x the weight of the body. That’s 750 foots strikes/foot multiplied by 2-6x bodyweight, and that’s only 1mile. And you’re going to run 2-6mi/day??? It’s not a good idea.

o   Further multiple that by 26.2 and that’s a marathon. This is a lot of stress. (this is w/o considering imbalances, asymmetries, weaknesses, bad technique, etc)

Idk who made this but they did a great job.

Glucagon and HGH are of extreme importance to the fat loss, muscle, recovery and performance game.

Cortisol is a stress hormone that puts more fat around the midsection.

Insulin pulls sugar out of the blood to be converted and stored as fat.

Leptin is the appetite hormone.

We could go further w/ the thyroid but I’ll leave that one alone. 


Simply put, we shouldn't be jogging to get into shape. But getting into shape in order to run is a different deal. 

Interval Training (repeat sprints)

We burn more calories in much less time, w/ less stress, promote the shapely figure that most people are going for, keep muscle, promote strength, and have better functioning endocrine systems (as far as fat loss and performance are concerned) by doing short intense bouts of exercise followed by short rest times. 

Really wish I could give the creator of this credit.

We get more in less time w/ less of the negatives. 

As far as performance goes, this keeps us healthy but also makes us more fit to the task.

Fitness=ability to perform a task. 

Being able to run a 4:40 mile means that person is very fit to run a mile.

Health=body functions work well

Being able to run a 4:40 mile isn’t healthy when there’s a tumor inside the body. Extreme example, but low HGH isn’t nor is it rare.

Better health and better fitness simultaneously, in less time. 

Doing repeat sprints teaches our body which fuel to burn much better than long distance cardio. It seem counter intuitive, but in 10yrs no one will be doing long steady state cardio for distance events just like no one is using it now for sprinting events (everyone thought Charlie Francis was crazy when he said that in the early 80’s. Steroids or not there’s plenty of guys on the gas that can’t touch what Ben Johnson did, and Charlie Francis gave more to sprinting than anyone in history). 

The guys/girls breaking Olympic records aren't running these ridiculously high volumes they are focusing on speed. Not the other way around (how else could that guy run a 3:43 mile). Sprinters and endurance athletes are staying well below their race distance for speed training, and for conditioning.

Their heels aren't even touching the ground. It's a sprint. 

I encourage an experiment:

Time a mile this week, weigh in, write both down, don’t change anything nutrition and see the differences w/ the retest after four weeks.

Do this for a month and retime at the end. 

Week 1,2,3,4: 

M: lift 

T: 100yd repeats at 90% of full speed x8 w/ 60s rest

W: lift

R: 400yd repeats as fast as possible x4 w/ 90s rest

F: lift

Saturday: Tempo run 40yard repeats x8 at 70% full speed w/ 45s rest

Sunday: Eat w/e you want, literally.

Don’t jog at all. If you have to, go on a walk.

What about beer?

Almost forgot to mention the value of the beer.

Most of us can attest to the relaxing qualities of sitting down w/ a good beer at the end of the day, and in my opinion this relaxation/clearing the mind time is extremely undervalued. Some beer is actually alkaline, and has other potential health benefits (until it's over consumed), I'd hardly call it an "empty calorie". 

Not my opinion:

Conventional cardio is extremely inferior to intervals like repeat sprints. There is no argument. 

Back to my opinion:

The one good thing I can see out of conventional cardio (even for endurance training) is that people are getting "some" type of activity (even if it's borderline unhealthy in multiple ways), helping them RELAX, clear their head and have some piece of mind. 

So I encourage finding something other than a daily 'jog' to clear the mind and relax (obviously that does NOT include over consumption of alcohol). 


1 Beer, NOT 6

This is unnecessary 

In Conclusion

The simple truth is that running long distances has little affect on fat loss (after initial phase if just getting into the game), especially long term, and has huge detrimental affects on the body’s joints and chemical functions. This is the same for an Olympian as it is a couch potato.

Where as interval training such as shown above has overwhelming positive affects on aesthetics, function and in much less time. It’s really a no brainer. It’s just much more painful while doing it. You need a masochistic side.

Maybe a beer can wash that masochism down after a tough bout w/ a hill, but alcohol is NOT meant to be abused. Drinking to drink is for losers that aren’t comfortable/confident/secure enough to be themselves. You are better than this.

As a finishing short side note:

In NO way is Insanity, P90x, the Brazilian Butt Lift, or any of that other stuff “good”. If anything, all of those show the durability of the human body, people's ability to be naive, and their capacity to live w/ pain of which I do NOT understand.

This is the most sacred thing on earth.

You get one body take care of it.

Lessons In Movement....from a 1, 4 and 6yr old

Movement is interesting. It seems that at some point along the line most of us don't continue to improve at movement. When we were born the first thing we did was breathe….with our diaphragm….through our nose. Babies don’t breathe through their mouth, it’s learned.

1.       Then we learned to roll over 
2.       Then we learned to crawl
3.       Then we stood up…..and fell back down repeatedly
4.       Then we Walked - Ran - Jumped

·           In that order

Meet my niece and two nephews: Kate, Jacob, and Noah. 
You don't really realize that the gym is just an adult playground until kids show you. 

One compensation leads to another, breathing could've been the first but it really doesn't matter. Finding the problem is for the assessment and picking up the pieces is the program.

Going back to these patterns of how we originally learned to move is extremely useful.

The Value of an In/significant Date in Time

Just like anyone else I have things that I value. 

• Health
• Strength
• My morning eggs and a cop of St. Louis Blues (coffee)
• A good bowel movement
• Will (my green light is strong)
• Family and true friends

But I also have a tendency to value "Things" even if I try not to. In my opinion things are NOT important. They are just things, not like people, relationships or experiences that are irreplaceable.

You know how accountants probably sit around and look at calculator magazines? Well gym owners look at equipment catalogs (especially when it's an aspiration), and athlete's look at shoes. 

• For  some reason I still value shoes. It's extremely dumb but for me they represent a journey. 
• Come into my gym looking for a job w/ beat up sneakers or some kind of retro looking things and you'll be gone. Those have a time and a place and neither are for the gym. Casual shoes are for casual wear and beat up zapatos are for your backyard. 
• Clothes because they remind me of my past. 
• Yeah, I'm that guy that takes ridiculous care of his clothes, so they never wear out. Even right now am wearing a shirt that says 2003. 

So what's my point other than physical things are of lesser importance than the pieces of your life that really mean something? 

There's one thing I've always valued and been unwilling to take for granted. It's TIME. 

It's a little (lot) creepy that a 6yr old gets the idea that life is short but I did. Don't ask me why, I don't want to explain it. 

Time is something you'll never get back. You will never see the morning of May 16, 2012 ever again, and if you slept through it, you wasted it.  

"A man who dares to waste one hour of time, has not discovered the value of life." -Charles Darwin

Don't waste my Time. 

In my opinion Quality always beats Quantity. And people seem to rarely regret what they DID do verses what they DidN'T do. 

Back Dooring the Food Ind, Capitalism, and Eating Donuts with Jamie Oliver

I wish he'd get in shape, but he is extremely correct. 
Cook for yourself, cook w/ your kids, support the revolution.

www.jclfa.org

These increases in awful health have become acceptable and that may be the worst part. I'm a tall, low body fat% and in shape american (in comparison to the whole), I have no room to speak.

Overweight/obese/diabetic/unhealthy/inactive/etc isn't an affliction. It's going to take courage, discipline and drive that people didn't know they had in order to change everything they know about food and their relationship w/ it.

But it's possible, I've seen it enough times to know that it's repeatable. Until going the journey w/ someone there's no way to understand (I sure didn't). 

The Tipping Point may be one of the most important pieces of his speech, and one I really agree w/.



1. Our MONEY is our most powerful VOTE and we are responsible for the food in the store. 

We must be more, we must do more, but it comes one step at a time, and right now I'm not taking an active head on fight against the food industry. Try that and we will FAIL, they are too big, too strong, w/ too much money. That fight is pointless.

If you want a change, VOTE with YOUR $$$$. Purchase grass fed beef from a local farmer, fruits and vegetables from farmer's markets (that doesn't come from Chili, yes we get fruit all the way from there, lots of it).  Then cook it yourself.

Look what a quick google search came up with:
http://www.eatwild.com/products/iowa.html

It's not hard to find the food.

The food industry is business and looks at a bottom line b/c money drives the world. I'm a capitalist, so I agree w/ this, that's how it works. It's your choice what you buy, and that drives what gets sold. If you buy hoho's every time you stop at the convenience store then you are just as responsible as the food industry (I'd even say more). They wouldn't produce it if you didn't buy it.

The food industry rely's on you, NOT the other way around.

2. Build a positive relationship w/ food.

This is much easier said than done. Some people can get away w/ murder when it comes to nutrition, some people cannot.

• Standing up to eat
• rushing meals
• on the go
• unorganized lifestyles
• emotional eating
• unconscious eating (not asleep)
• lack of appreciation
• "convenient eating" (eating out/ordering in)
• etc.

These are just a few of the common things we do on a regular basis.

Everyone can relate to the moment you just finished a plate and felt sad b/c you hadn't even realized it was the LAST bite. This is a sign of having a very poor relationship w/ food.

We need to take one small step at a time, master it, and move on to another portion of our lifestyle that we can improve. 

 JUST ONE. JUST ONE. JUST ONE
Do NOT think you are awesome enough to try TWO.
ONE AT A TIME.

Take something that seems easy and small and trivial and use that ONE thing for 2 weeks w/ utmost urgency as if you're going to die if you don't succeed at doing this ONE thing EVERYDAY for that 14days.

It could be as simple as taking a multivitamin Everyday until you have the sucker down. Until you can take a vitamin everyday LIKE A BOSS.




If that's the only change for that month, and we found a way to sustain it and make a lifestyle change. WE WON!!!! Even if it's the only change for that given time. We have won.

Then we move on to another b/c we've mastered that one thing and can sustain it.

But if we try to biting off more then we are setting ourselves up for failure.

ONE THING at a time.

3. Support the revolution

Like I said above, money drives the world. Personally I'm not an advocate for charities, and it's just my opinion that their main goal is to survive b/c they create jobs, and if their cause all the sudden happened, they'd be out of a job. This is just my opinion, take it h/e you'd like.

Growing your own plants in your backyard is a way to support this revolution.

So is sitting down around the table as a family.

You say there's no time and it'd never happen. My mom and dad found a way. Even when Molly was 17, Joe would've been 15, I would've been 11, and Maggie would've been 4 and everyone of us were in sports (except mag b/c she wasn't even in school). Idk how they did it, but almost every meal was cooked by one of us (yes we all knew how to do this at a very young age) and we ate as a family almost everyday. We also all ate breakfast....EVERYDAY.

Giving money works, actively participating works, just showing up is a support that seems pointless but has a huge affect.

Building numbers (active participants/money/whatever) for a cause is how it gains power. 

This is a good thing to stand for. 

My Lack of Training Philosophy

From time to time I'm approached w/ the classic question, "What's your training philosophy?". This seems like it should be an easy question h/e I have yet come up w/ a straight fwd answer. Partly b/c it's always changing (evolving/growing) and partly b/c I use so many different avenues to get the desired outcome. 


For some reason "I don't know" doesn't really work ("you don't say"-sarcam). So I get questioned on Oly lifts, power lifitng, kettlebells/Dumbbells/Barbells, plyos, corrective exercise, endurance, static/dynamic stretching, etc. It's slightly exhausting to even try to label myself. To be honest, no I don't. 


Personally, I don't adhere to one principle of anything.


I'm not all powerlifting, all kettlebell, all olympic lifting, all movement based training, all barbell, all endurance, strength or speed. 


I'm down w/ what works for the given situation we're presented w/, and if I figure out a better/more efficient way to do something that gets the results I want in the same/less time then I'm going to use it. 

I say, let's get our bodies as efficient as possible in the most efficient way possible.

I'm looking for COMPLETE.

Not just barbells or kettlebells, movement or powerlifting. I think pretty much everything works (as long as it's quantifiably testable, somehow backed w/ well put together, collected, and provable data that's also logical), so I take the best pieces of all of them, w/ the assessment and goal and make a program based off of this for that individual. This brings us closer to COMPLETE.

Do I think we are able to create COMPLETE programs in order to create the most COMPLETE MUTANTS out there? No, not yet, otherwise records wouldn't be getting smashed year after year (Usain Bolt=MUTANT) There is no way that this is simply due to talent.

Do I think the potential to make some real freaks out of mediocre athletes is possible? YOU BET. 

Do I think the potential exists to ruin incredibly talented athlete's? Yep, and it's really not all that difficult.

I agree w/: 

• The 5 senses: hearing, taste, touch, sight, smell. 
• Moving heavy weight, and the carry over to speed from that. 
• Moving lighter weight w/ more speed. (This includes oly lifts when they are appropriate h/e I would still classify them as more of a skill than an exercise and I don't use them much due to a comparatively long learning curve.) 
• here I'm really referring to jumping w/ weight in hand, and challenging lesser weight w/ more speed in a lift like the bench press. 
• Plyometrics (in logically adjusted volumes) 
• Unilateral and bilateral training
• Psychology: Visualization (it's not hocus pocus, it's building confidence and belief), Discipline, Struggle, Focus, etc. They have a place.
• Nutrition and that POOP is a direct indicator of health
• Soft tissue work: SMR, ART, Graston, TFM, etc. They all work. 
• Barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells all have their uses and eliminating one entirely is going to drastically reduce progress. 
• Eccentrics, Isometrics and concentric exercises? Yep, and not all, always altogether (but almost always)
• Corrective exercise w/o doubt has it's place
• Breathing techniques? Yep those too (a lot)
• The body works as a whole, not in pieces 
• Packing the neck is just as important as bracing the trunk
• Pushing sleds completely changes the game
• Test and retest is a must
• The Assessment guides everything, but w/o critical thought and a trained eye it's still a guess.
• etc....

It's NOT about using one or two different principles/implements. It's doing an assessment (everyone has overwhelmingly different needs) and drawing from your tool box to make a program. 

In the end, I have no idea what my philosophy would be other than 

"I use what I know that works to get closer to complete", and that's that. 

Facebooking: Responding to a Response

I updated this status to facebook the other day and got a response that I feel warrants a post. If this person is confused then I'm guessing a lot of people are being mislead as well. 

Facebook Post 

Aside from all the "girly crap" (jargon, perfume, hair things, and overall typical junior high girl behavior), I'm extremely proud of Emma Wright, Taylor Jones, and Gabby Salemink for breaking all their own records last night. 

For some reason Emma couldn't resist throwing 225lbs on the bar and box squatting it 2x. Gabby put up an extremely impressive 185lb, and I'd love to have seen what Taylor could've done had she been feeling better, but that didn't stop her from throwing up 175lb.

Considering that just a few months ago 135lb seemed IMPOSSIBLE to all of them, this is quite the accomplishment. There are plenty of high school senior boys that'd be scared to touch these kind of weights.

Saying "nice job" doesn't quite do it.

Anonymous Response:

"But Adam, is it really safe for them to be lifting that much? Their epiphyseal plates aren't even done growing/forming yet. According to ACSM, guys and girls younger than 18 should focus on endurance lifting with lower weight and avoid maximal lifts. Just sayin'!"

I'd like to say I handled it best as possible, but who knows, probably not. I know this person and really feel they were asking sincerely, but people making comments like this when they are under informed.....it's fairly annoying. So is dealing w/ people who can't think critically.

Most people's epiphyseal plates (aka growth plate, which is pretty much an "open" space at the bottom of bones to allow for expansion) fuse between 18 and 26 (usually closer to 26 for males, and closer to 18 for females).

Does that mean they shouldn't lift anything heavy before that time?

More specifically, does the stress from those few seconds loaded w/ a heavy implement endanger the growth plate?

To be honest, I really don't understand the thought process that we wouldn't lift anything heavy even if it did put the growth plate at risk, of which it does NOT enough to be of concern, not even close actually (unless being stupid is added). Risk is manageable, that's why we're in a weight room. It's a controlled environment, a general means of training, closed loop. So as long as their technique is sound, we're going to lift heavy. The opposite would be actual play on a field mat or court and where almost all injuries occur. Where the environment is random, not controllable, as specific a means as it gets and open loop. Btw, few injuries occur w/ epiphyseal plates, they're pretty tough. It's overuse of repetitive actions and stresses that typically cause damage to the growth plate, I'll get into that later. Not all the time, but it'd take an event far different than a box squat to do it, like jumping out of a tree.

Also, in my experience, usually when people use words like "epiphyseal" instead of growth plate, they're either right out of school and/or they're trying to make sure everyone knows they are educated, which in their minds means "smart" (most of the time) but it's really not even close to the same thing. 

My Response:

Always love questions like this. Honest answer: No, it's not safe, not at all, that's why they've done 4 months of training before hand, and why their in a cage. But you mean could this injure their growth plates. 

1. define "endurance lifting" (sounds like tracy anderson....you don't want to sound like her). 

2. growth plate injuries occur w/ highly repetitive stresses like jogging, we also see this w/ radial injuries in gymnasts. W/ the eruption of year round sport specific activity I wouldn't be surprised that we see a continuing trend of MLB baseball pitchers coming out of area's where it's cold for a large portion of the year so they can't grow up throwing year round, this is less about the epiphyseal plate but over use is over use. Besides that, you really want to wait until their 26 to make sure everything is fused up in their? 

3. It's all relative, but even then, we're loading up like this once a month. They're not powerlifters, but even if they were it'd be much safer than the endurance game. The truth is everyone would benefit more from picking up heavy things than overly repetitive actions in general. An injury to their growth plate was the least of my worries when they sat back on that box. And besides all of this, these girls work their asses off, and shouldn't have anyone filling their heads w/ the false idea that they could be potentially stunting their growth by being brave enough to get under a bar that's almost dbl their weight. 

The truth is that ACSM's ego gets in the way enough that their still printing things we wanted to believe in 1970 and are undoubtedly false or incomplete. H/e I probably shouldn't throw ACSM under the bus as I don't use that resource for anything, ever. There are some great studies on overuse injuries on Pubmed though.

For arguement and curiosities sake here are some of those studies:

All of these show the need for strength training in a developing athlete, and all of them show the need for an off season as well as stimulation from a variety of different activities throughout the year. 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16452269

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21098816

The last line is the best line:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7747003

This would be more suggestive to diet. In my mind the loss of menstrual cycle, esp in athletes, is due to a significant drop in body fat and so too could mean that they aren't getting enough food to feed their bones. 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15316874

This is the best sentence from this entire abstract: " and female adolescent distance running was associated with suppressed bone mineral accrual". So it's not just causing stress fractures (time bombs) it's inhibiting their ability to lay down new bone. 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21944303

This is a terrible step in the right direction of proving that strength training affects performance of any type of running (but this is something that's been proven repeatedly as well). If you'll notice as well, the distance athletes only performed 4x4 HALF squats, 3x/week for 8 weeks. Half!!! That's all. That's not a significant strength program, think what could happen w/ a full squat and a program built around the individual athlete, or even use of a prowler (seriously!)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18460997

From what I've seen it seems that it's almost to the point where it's not 'if' too much running will lead to an injury but 'when' it will cause an injury.

I wish I had my computer from college so I could pull up the paper I did on overuse injuries, and we knew less about this stuff then, I think I wrote it in 06. H/e at least one of those studies suggested that anything over 350yd could cause a negative affect in your athletes, and I think they used 8-12 year olds, but don't quote me on any of that, I could be wrong. 

Every stimulus causes an affect in an athlete's development. Whether that's from food, activity, social interaction, pollution, it all makes a difference. What we do through our lives sets us up for our futures good or bad. The mental side of lifting heavy is incredible, the physical side (if done correctly) should keep us healthy as well as increase force production. Increase force production also improves rate of force production which improves speed and agility, Improve strength (eccentrically as well as concentrically and isometrically) improves ability to change levels, changing levels makes an athlete very effect, efficient, and dangerous, done in different vectors and athlete's become almost invincible.

Now, do I think the person that "called me out" (or w/e you'd like to call it) is a dip shit? No, but I think going back to the basics would help. Reading this in entirety would be a good start (I still reference it from time to time):  

Basic Biomechanics by Susan J. Hall

Along w/ some critical thinking and developing the knowledge base to deserve an opinion on the matter, of which having a certification does not give anyone. To be fair, neither does a blog, a vlog, a facebook page/wall, being a total "online badass" (sarcasm) or your own gym. But studying your ass off and spending $$$thousands on seminars, dvds, and books definitely helps. 

It's a bad deal if you are expecting your athlete's to show up and work their asses off so that you look good no matter what in order to cover up how vastly lacking your knowledge base is in the field b/c you weren't willing to put in-the work studying and preparing. A crappy program done w/ a ridiculous work ethic will get results. Maybe not always good results, and hardly ever impressive but none the less, it'll make an affect. So think what a great program that's specifically tailored can do. 






Someday you can move to something like this: 

Supertraining by Mel C. Siff

The bar needs to be risen drastically. 

I hold myself to this as well, I'm nowhere near the level that I want to be, but I'm working for it everyday. I have 3 goals I carry in my pocket everyday, all the time. One of them reads:

"Affect millions in a positive way."

The difference between dreams and goals is a deadline, and I aim to do this before 30yrs of age, I'm recently 27.

Kids Need a Fighting Chance: A post on the Weakness and Injury

Kids need a fighting chance just to keep up w/ the demands of their sport. Their body is growing way too fast for their strength levels to keep up. 50 years ago kids were doing physical labor, shoveling, carrying heavy stuff, and they ate less food that was better for them and didn't turn on the "fat switch" (not a real thing) so their strength levels kept up w/ a growing body. Today kids play their ds, ipad, ipods, sit in desks 7 hours a day, eat fast food, twizzlers, M&M's and have to be told to go outside and play. It's the complete opposite. But that's hardly the whole problem, b/c then they are expected to play in a competitive sport YEAR ROUND. Sometimes on more than one team at a time. 

This is too much of EVERYTHING. Too much bad food. Where does the school bus stop on the way home from a road game in junior high and high school? McDonadls, why? The bus driver eats free, at least that's how it was when I was in high school. But how else are you gonna feed 20 kids all at once and get back on the road? Give them meals to take?........Oh wait, that could actually work.

Yes, yes it would work. Then they could have:

      an apple, 

      2 turkey sandwichs w/ ezekial bread, spinach, tomato and some hummus, 

      some type of real fruit juice, 

      and a bag of broccoli w/ some more hummus to dip w/ 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22293771

It's also too much inactivity to throw a kid into the fire (by fire I'm referring to competition). Competition is open loop, it's unpredictable. We cannot expect a kid to jump off the couch, sit in a car on the way to a game, throw 80 throws to warm up, maybe run a pole or two, and then be able to stop and go, change levels and perform well on the field. 

Keep a pickle in mind. No not the edible pickle (which are fantastic for your body), but getting caught between bases on the field. Do you think a kid w/  15% body fat, that can NOT SQUAT HIS OWN WEIGHT is safe to be running and stopping? 

No, not for a second. Neither is an adult. This kid is unable to slow down safely. He's putting all that stress on his tendons and ligaments b/c his muscles aren't STRONG enough to ABSORB THE FORCE from the movement he's produced (acceleration) and his size (mass). 

Force = Mass * Acceleration 

Besides the fact that he's probably slow, can't change levels well, and is drastically performing under par. I know what a little strength can do for a kid, it doesn't take much to make a huge difference. But besides that, THIS KID IS A TIME BOMB waiting to get injured. And there is absolutely NO reason why it has to be this way. 

How to what....

A little random but to the point because no one wants to read over 500 words. So it's all packed in for you to pick and choose the topics you want and then you can ask your own questions. 



How to LOSE FAT:

• Resistance training w/ rest times <45seconds
• Slow carbs only: quinoa, beans, vegetables, high fiber fruit. Absolutely NO pasta, bread, rice, or potatoes
• This is a good place to start

• Minimize cardio: <15 minutes of high and low intensity bouts of intervals back and forth until you want to die. These don't have to be more complicated than:
•  30seconds as hard as you can w/ 60seconds of low intensity and repeat 8x
• or
• 100 yard sprint followed by a 100yrd walk and repeat 8x.

How to Gain Muscle

• It shouldn't need to be said but you have to lift, work hard, and get strong. 
• Slow down the Eccentric portion of your lifts 
• For example: lowering your chest to the ground for a pushup or lowering into a deep squat.
• 3-10seconds/rep
• Turn the growth switch on and feed it: 
• At least 1.5-2g of protein/lb of lean body mass/day
• You'll need to measure your body fat %, that's not hard, go here: www.accumeasurefitness.com
• This also means you need lots of vegetables to stay alkaline for health and recovery
• You'll want additonal carbs as well. 
• Though carbohydrates are our only nonessential macronutrient they do aid in building lean tissue, as well as being able to kill the lifts that we're about to proceed w/ in order to create the growth stimulus. 
• Health and vitality and recovery are going to depend on your nutrition, and how much you grow depends on them. This means you also need to get in a good variety of good fats, fish oil being at the top of the list. 
• This is not something that is as complicated as it is difficult.  

How to get strong

• Lift at and above 90% of your 1RM
• Do NOT use a program from a magazine
• You don't do your own taxes (using turbo tax is not doing it yourself), and you don't cut your own hair (unless you buzz or shave), so why would you try and take on something as complicated as a strength training program. 
• I guarantee you it's not as simple as lifting above 90% of your 1RM, Trust me, I write them all the time. But it will work non the less, for awhile. And how often do you think you'd really program squats, deads, and pullups for yourself anyway? 
• Even if you don't shoot me an email for an assessment and individualized program, get some type of professional help. Eric Cressey put out a program that will help w/ such a need called Show and Go. Click Here!

Improve Sleep

• Self medicate
• Magnesium, melatonin, and some celery w/ or w/o a little bit of almond butter
• Magnesium is a very soothing mineral, as well as incredibly good for your health. Doctors regularly use magnesium drips on people experiencing anxiety/panic attacks. Supposedly it works like a charm. 
• Part of the reason we wake up cranky is b/c we just fasted for 12 hours, a little celery and almond butter before bed helps a ton, plus magnesium on an empty stomach isn't a good idea.
• Exercise shouldn't have to be mentioned but I'll do it anyway. 
• Write a to do list for tmr. 
• It lets your mind stop thinking about what you need to do the next day.
• I like to keep a notebook by the bed as well. 
• Read fictional material before bed. 
• The portion of our brain that we use for dreaming is closely related to the portion of our brain we use when reading fiction. Meaning it helps us relax and puts us to sleep. 
• According to my little sister this book is fantastic. 

How to pick up a girl/guy: 

This is so dumb that it's criminal, if she knows her and he knows him, and you find each other attractive, look at him/her and go say hi. 

You could even fall back on something like, "I want to know you" (creep). S/He'll probably laugh and be flattered and you'll talk for awhile (you can even go into how it's hard to meet people and starting conversations out of thin air...), and you'll either go through all the cliche bullshit or you'll get into a real conversation. The anticipation that you are feeling isn't a fear of rejection, it's a build up of emotion and s/he's feeling it too (that's exciting, indulge in it).   

• Be interesting. 
• Nothing to say, nothing to share together, no opinion, no creativity, nothing funny = nothing fun. 
• Be interesting: read, read and read. Find subjects you enjoy and finish every book you can. 10 pages a night goes a long way. (that's 3,650 pages/year, probably around 10 books or so)
• These are just a few of mine, but I'd like to add quite a bit of fiction to the list relatively soon, the first being Atlas Shrugged.
• Season of Life, Jeffrey Marx
• Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
• What Should I Do with My Life?, Po Bronson (required reading in college, but it's actually very good, and not what the title makes you think)
• Lucky Man, Michael J. Fox
• The Biology of Belief,  Bruce Lipton (it looks as wacky as it is but it challenges the status quo more than any book I've ever read)
• How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie (just b/c I think everyone should read it)
• How to Develop Self-Confidence And Influence People By Public Speaking, Dale Carnegie (again, just b/c I think everyone should read it)
• To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (it's an incredible read as an adult)
• Iliad, Homer (I know you had to read it in high school, it's worth it this time)
• Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner 
• I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell , Tucker Max (it's just funny)
• The Inner Game of Tennis, Tim Gallwey (even if you don't play tennis is worth the read)
• Advances in Functional Training, Michael Boyle (this book doesn't necessitate a degree in the field to read)
• Rat Bastards, John 'Red' Shea
• Really I have 2 that I would suggest to every guy, but they are way to chauvinistic to put on here. They're good (really good), but wouldn't come off so w/ the titles. If you want them, email me. 
• Read anything that gets you going. Especially if it makes you start thinking critically about yourself and/or the world we're in.
• If it makes you feel uncomfortable keep reading.
• Stop watching TV, everyone else does that, even 15 year old boys (do you have any idea how annoying 15 year old boys can be). If you want a guy or girl that knows everything jersey shore than go for it. 
• Do NOT look to rom coms or other movies for advice. Big mistake. 
• Get off the radio and find music that you enjoy. It's amazing what is beyond the confines of public radio. 
• Type your one of favorite artist into pandora and see where it takes you. 
• www.pandora.com
• Personally, lately I've been pretty hard into the Black Keys, Jonny Lang, Buddy Guy and Paolo Nutini. Not too far off the beaten path, but still great music. 
• Here's some starters
• Red Light, Jonny Lang
• What Kind of Woman Is This, Buddy Guy
• All of the Brothers and El Camino albums by the Black Keys
• Actually the Brothers album just about got me through some of the rough parts of last year. It's that good. 
• Give Me Up Again, Jonny Lang (esp around the 2:50 mark)
• The Beach, Dr. Dog
• No Other Way, Paolo Nutini
• And this is just an awesome song: Them Shoes, Patrick Sweeney
• The High Road, Broken Bells
• Aretha, Rumer
• But I'll always keep some songs close at hand for instance:
• Empty, Ray Lamontange
• Lucky You, The National
• Slow Show, The National
• Say It To Me Now, Glen Hansard
• Pretty much anything by Citizen Cope
• Tired of You, Foo Fighters
• Come Pick Me Up, Ryan Adams
• Orange Sky, Alexi Murdoch
• Ache, James Carrington
• You could also try
• Pretty much anything by Androcell
• Kyoto, Skrillex 
• Chevelle is extremely talented
• Change, Deftones
• Loud Pipes, Ratatat
• Clubbed to Death, Rob Dougan
• Sometime Around Midnight, Airborne Toxic Event
• Happy Mess, Atmosphere
• Truth Is, Brother Ali
• Flight, The Boxer Rebellion
• Wicked Games, Chris Isaak
• Sail, Awolnation 
• Love Vigilantes, Iron & Wine
• City, Hollywood Undead
• Pace is the Trick, Interpol
• Let the Beat Build, Lil Wayne
• Little Lion Man, Mumford & Sons
• Make This Go On Forever, Snow Patrol (awesome crescendo)
• Come Alive, Foo Fighters (another amazing song, I love crescendo)

• Have something, anything, anything at all that you are ridiculously passionate about or that moves you. Your work, a song, a hobby, art, w/e. This isn't to get girls/guys. This is so that you find you and know you and what YOU enjoy or don't enjoy. 
• DON'T BE FAKE. This means don't act like you like something for the sole reason that s/he likes it. 
• For instance: I absolutely loathe any of the "House Wife's of....." or that Kardashian show and the jersey shore. But I love, absolutely love listening to music that makes you close your eyes and move like a tuning fork just touched your soul. So a girl I get along w/ can probably feel the music I listen to the way I feel it. But a girl that can't stop talking about her novella's is going to make me want to poop on her plate at dinner. 
• Be interested. 
• Don't fake it, faking is for losers. Be interested or leave, literally. Anything else is a waste of time. 
• Know yourself. 
• Most people want to be a version of themselves. So do I, this isn't a bad thing. Knowing yourself is a life long journey, and one we probably wont ever fully figure out but insightful people are interesting (partly b/c of the time they've taken to reflect on themselves). Work on your inner self, become familiar w/ what you want, why, and what you think people would find attractive about you. These are all good things to contemplate. 

How to have more/better sex: 

• I didn't write this for anyone that wants to go out and use/get used. Respecting yourself and others shouldn't need to be said but it needs to be realized and taken seriously. 
• Be in shape:
• Besides the aesthetic appeal of being in shape, we're also more vibrant, aggressive, confident, produce more testosterone (it's important for women as well), etc.
• No one wants you on top of them moving around like an epileptic in a room full of strobe lights (sorry, that's not very nice, but you get what I mean)
• Read a book, it'll only feel weird at first, and no Men's Health is not good material. There's a whole world out there and it's not full of leather and whips (though I'm sure that's there too), it's full of passion and intimacy that you can share w/ a partner that you respect love and care for.
• Stop letting it control your life/love life. 
• I know too many guys that live and die on whether they got laid. This is dumb, and not even healthy. Besides the fact that your manhood has nothing to do w/ sexual prowess, women want and need it just as much as men. 
• Other than that. 
• Males: keep your "guys" in good health. 
• Consume multiple sources of good fat (grass fed beef, fish oils, avacados, flax seed) as well as multiple organic fruit and vegetable sources
• Take an ice bath or cold shower from time to time (if I were making babies, i'd do an ice bath just about every day, but that's not happening anytime soon).
• And avoid plastic containers and other petroleum pollutants. 
• The Disappearing Male
• Women: you're not off the hook, but I am not qualified to tell you anything about how to be sexy, flirt, kiss, keep good hygienne, etc. 
• You most definitely need to NOT smell like a dude
• Just be your cute, sexy self and let your guy know when you like something. Still a good idea to pick up and read some smut though (lots of it). 
• Look up a girl named: Violet Blue
• Eating healthy is a given. 

When to lie:

There's definitely reasons for lying, and they are not ALL wrong. So.....what do you think?

• When it's a little white lie for the ugly sweater grandma got you on your bday when you were a kid, of course it's time to lie. 
• When it's non of your f'n business, yep, I don't mind it a bit. 
• Other than that, Idk, I think lying is pretty useless. In my experience people that lie all the time actually believe themselves so w/e, just that much less interested in being your friend that's all. 
• I'm fairly well known for my genuine brashness, and I like that. Every one knows where I stand, but it does lead some people to think I'm a bit of an asshole (understatement) but I'd say I'm more of a dick. I mean well though, and those that really know me understand. 
• When its' NOT under any circumstances okay to lie:
• when it's done to make yourself look/seem cool/better 
• When it's not a big deal.If it's not an issue than it's not an issue, tell the truth
• any kind of accomplishment
• on a resume (what's the point)
• when it's gonna hurt someone b/c they'll eventually find out
• Yeah I've made this one, when the truth seemed unnecessary (and it was) for the hurt it was going to cause but a chain affect of things that shouldn't have happened happened. Eventually a convoluted and misunderstood truth came out and then someone really got hurt and it sucks. But who knows, maybe all that stuff would've happened anyway, I'm guessing so. (For instance, moving on after a breakup....it's hard, but everyone gets through it and we come out on the other side better, stronger and smarter from it)

How to kiss bettter: 

• Stay hydrated. 
• Explore: books, watch other people, good movie scenes, and your partners mouth
• Less is more (especially when it comes to saliva)
• Lay off the coffee
• Take your vitamins and Rx's in the morning or away from times you might kiss someone. They make your mouth taste funky. 
• Keep your mouth shut and your tongue to yourself for awhile. 

My opinion on crossfit

• Crossfit is actually kind of genius. 
• Not the wod's (workouts of the day), but the business and the following they've created. They started w/ a really old, fairly simple training concept and turned it into a gym, sport, and way of life for some people. 
• But the generic crossfit is actually a little bit worse than useless.
• It's like having a pet rabbit. It's not a social animal like a dog that's gonna be a good companion but costs money to feed and maintain (useless), and really all it does is shit all the time (extremely unlikely to be right for you, and probably get you injured at some point). 
• H/e I know there are crossfit affiliates that are doing good things in their gyms as well. It's all the other jokers that have no idea what they are doing that are the problem. 

How to dress better

• Men: 
• Get rid of your graphic T's that look like a bunch of random tattoos. They're disgusting
• Absolutely NO: Afliction or Ed Hardy tshirts. They have dbag written all over them.
• Stop wearing tshirts w/ loafers, you look stupid.
• Invest in footwear that's outside the typical guy that either has athletic shoes or  dress shoes w/ no in between.
• Toms
• Sperry's
• Chucks
• If you do NOT already dress like a "hick" then you can try cowboy boats, otherwise lay off. 
• Dress down a level or up a level from your norm
• If you usually rock your alma mater tshirt, jeans, w/ sandals/athletic shoes. Go up a notch, but nothing drastic, just a short shot up. 
• If you wear a tie and slacks everywhere you go, take it off and go down a notch. You don't need to look homeless, just relaxed.
• I personally really like subtle looks like: toms, casual jeans, flannel shirt w/ a plaid pattern and I might throw a page boy hat on top.
• You want to appear that you just threw something on, even if you didn't 
• All guys should have:
• at least 1 blazer 
• navy is a friendly, safe color and goes w/ black or brown. We're winning
• At the very least 3 collared, long sleeve, button up shirts
• 1 white and 1 blue is an absolute must for anyone over the age of 7. 
• For the 3rd shirt I'd suggest very light pink, chocolate brown or black (but there's no need to pull a barry manilow look)  
• At least 1 pair of nice dress pants
• I don't care what you get here
• You get black and you're going to look like a waiter. 
• You get navy and it goes w/ black or brown (but sometimes navy looks cheap)
• I'd be weary of going w/ a light or cream color
• I like charcoal very much
• and right now the plaid pant is awesome.
• At least 1 pair of dress shoes
• black or brown only.
• No suede. Go classic
• They should at least appear expensive. No rubber soles. Sleek, Sharp features and detailing.
• At least 3 ties
• 1 black, 1 red, 1 blue 
• Be careful w/ patterns, make sure they go w/ multiple shirts
• Scarves and hats are considered "bold" for some reason. This is dumb, they look great. Just make sure they match what you are wearing (patterns need to work together too).
• Jackets look great if done right. I personally don't wear coats or jackets much, simply due to comfort, but they can look great on people that do. 
• Probably the best thing you can do for yourself is to find a tailor
• A good tailor can make all the difference. Almost every pair of jeans, pants, and every shirt I have has been tailored. 
• Women
• To be honest, one of my favorite things is when girlfriends (platonic or not) ask me what they should wear. H/e I don't think I'm good enough for guidance here. 
• I will say though: 
• Own your clothes. W/e you decide to put on, own it. I know a girl that wears leopard print crap w/ panty hose all ripped up and she's porcelain and not my type at all but she owns what she has on and she's the only girl I know that could pull that off. B/c really it looks like crap, but it's sexy on her. 
• Dressing one notch up or down from what you normally wear is an extremely good idea. Especially for the uptight, dressy girl. 
• High heels are sexy, no doubt about it, but if you wear them too often and lose your ankle mobility you will lose any kind of 'sexy walk' that you may have once had. 
• Do NOT underestimate your hair. It can make or break your look. 
• Even if you can't afford an expensive haircut, go get one. Take pictures from every angle when you get home. The next time you need a trim you can go to your normal hairstylist w/ the pictures. 
• Do NOT wear too much makeup. It is one of the most unattractive things you can do w/ your physical appearance (aside from your eyes, go nuts w/ those)
• Be careful w/ "FASHION" sometimes a "splash" just looks like shit. 
• Appear effortless. It's not usually a good thing if it looks like you "tried".

How to live forever

W/ the first large stack of baby boomers hitting the age where death is closer than over the hill there's a huge surge to live "FOREVER". 

• The starvation diet seems to work. The numbers are fairly apparent. Although animals on the diet have been noted to be less than thrilled to be alive compared to their control group counter parts. 
• For men: it seems that constantly producing sperm has an aging affect on the body. But you really gonna give that up? 
• Giving blood seems to have an affect as well. Seems the build up of iron wears us down a bit and giving blood helps "filter" this in a way. Especially for men.
• Fasting, even if it's just one day per week also makes a difference.
• Curcumin (found in turnmeric and curry) as well as Resveratol (found in red wine) seem to have an affect as well. But that's just good nutrition.
• And as far as good nutrition goes, one of the real attributes of the Blue Zones is the overwhelming amount of organic plant based foods in their diets. Not necessarily the lack of foods from animals like meat and dairy. 

Personally I think it's kind of a bogus ambition to live forever. But what do I know I'm only 26. I shouldn't even be able to spell, drive a car, drink alcohol, vote, buy tobacco, or look at porn yet, I'm just a baby......But what I DO KNOW is that quality will always beat quantity, and you rarely hear regrets of what people did do verses what they didn't do. 

So living forever? Okay Great, talk to me when I lose my invincibility complex (it's one of the last peices of my youth that I holding onto hard). Until then I'd rather be healthy, happy, vibrant and fun, going for every experience I can get.