June 30th 2009Training

Assistance stuff
Left distal large head biceps tendon was aching pretty bad today so went low weight high rep for blood flow. Then did the scap depression work as well

1) DB Curls, band press downs, and scap depressions hanging from rack
10 sets

2)Pool mobility work,
also work on left leg mainly glute activation but whole leg in general. I need to do this 4-5 days a week if not every day. I got out and both legs, knees, etc feel GREAT!!! I was doing lunges, pistols, just kicking left leg out drive with glute deep wide squats and explode up trying to get the left leg working etc, hips feel better and all the above.

Sweat the Small Stuff...

or the right small stuff

One of those deals where I was lying in bed last night and this came to mind. When I woke it was still on my mind so thought it must be worth writing down :)

The old saying "dont sweat the small stuff." I generally agree and tell this to myself and alot of people and think it helps. Then again however I got to thinking maybe this isn't 100% accurate?

I think it's also a matter of what the small stuff is. Take training, nutrition, and generally treating and working hard to better our selves. In the grand shceme of things that is small stuff, and if we sweat it now we may be able to avoid some Big stuff like weakness and disease, or generally becoming feeble in body, mind, and spirit.

Its definitely a case where in sweating the small stuff now, and forever, can help you to avoid some big pitfalls you sure as heck don't want to face. Even better yet if taken on correct, in the right state of mid there is no reason why you cant thoroughly enjoy that sweating.

Sweating the small stuff I guess is like anything else can be negative or positive in the right circumstance.

June 29th 2009 Training

June 29th

Going to stick to the plan last week was heavy benching and shoulder held up fine this week will be more RE type and heavy OH pressing just slowly easing back in. My legs are still pretty damn sore from squatting Ill try and loosen up during rest periods today so I recover for pulling from the floor Wednesday

DB bench
40 x10
50 x10
70 x 5
90 x 5
110 x 10 x2 sets stopped shoulder just feeling a bit unstable today plan was 4 sets here
90 x 10 x 2 sets
50 x 20 x 2 sets

Shoulder just kind of all over the place today had to really try hard and concentrate to keep it tight so lowered it to the 90’s and pressed those.

DB rows
40 x 10
50 x 10
70 x 10 x 5 sets
Really trying to concentrate on puling with the back with these and not he arm and drawing that elbow as high as I can. Right side is still behind

Band rows light x 4 sets

Wall ball during these 3 sets
I am going to have to do some major healing prior to Wednesday Dling right ham and hip are sore and tight. These helped

3 sets of the following
Band pull aparts
Band flys
Band ex rotations
Wood choppers

Note: This is where I had a real good time and noticed something. Doing light band flys the left pec was on fire the right front delt and upper trap were on fire. I think Patrick had mentioned this but really zeroed in on it today. the fact I have an over active upper trap on the right side and under active lower trap. It led to the R-cuff tear and leads to any problems now coming back. I get the scaps retracted just fine but not depressed and that makes the shoulder roll over, the ... delt takes over and pec falls inactive which I am sure then on heavy stuff leads me to protracting and RIP!!

Ill start attacking scap depression

All In all an OK day

June 27th Squat Training

Well all in all didn’t feel like that much or that great of a day but I suppose a good start back since I haven’t touched a weight on my back of any load in over two weeks and first day back since the push pull. In the grand scheme of things it was an OK day 500lbs is now a token lift which is good as want long ago that was an effort I can hit that any day of the week so I have to remember that and just keep hitting it hard.

1) Squat
Bar x2 sets
135 x 2 sets
225 x 2 sets
315 x 2 sets
405 x 2 sets
455 x 2 sets
495 x 1 (easy decided to just keep going up 10 lbs at a time)
505 x 1
515 x1 easy but I went slow out of the bottom I am apprehensive feel for pain and Need to get back to hitting it hard from the bottom as its half way up I stall if I don’t
525 x1 smoked it easy as I should

Stayed there 525 x 1 x 2 hard,

I just decided to stay her and I will go her next week as well and look to get more singles at this. I need to get back comfortable prior to moving up and want o smoke this a LOT for singles and doubles again I have more then enough strength just have to work a few things Out I started firing out of the hole but was getting on my toes need to lead with the chest better. Second singles I buried and went so low I hit the pins kind of surprised me LOL. No pain today if that’s keeps up I can keep working up I need to get up toward and beyond 600.

2)Squat drop sets
455 x 3
405 x 10 ( I will keep doing this stuff after the heavy work of the day to get volume in unless I'm100% zapped

3) Single leg curls and glute machine for just the left leg
I need to start hitting the left leg hard on unilateral stuff it’s the one that’s much smaller and weaker from the accident when I was a kid and has the massive neural damage. Bonus it’s the one that can handle the volume. So Ill hammer it with the volume after to try and bring it up and let he right leg that does most of the work in the squat and has the painful knee just work in the squats for a while. If I can bring that leg up to where I can even be half as strong as the other it will help me as TON and maybe not have a lop sided ass with one glute twice the size of the others

That’s it

June 26th 2009 Training

June 26th OH pressing and Chins

I am alternating light and heavy with al my pressing to slowly move back to moving heavy loads. I don’t want to push the shoulder to fast and re-tear the rotator cuff things are just starting to feel good. Same with the chins that was really flaring it up so this is the second week with them added back in just bumped it to 2 rep sets

So light/rep day Pink DB”s baby










1A) Over Head DB Press
These DB’s x 10 reps = 5, 10,15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 70, 75, 80

85lbs x 3 I just ran out of gas

25lbs x 20 x 2sets

2B) pull downs 10 x 2 sets
Chins 2 x 10 sets
Pull downs 10 x 5 sets

2) Press downs
Lat raise and
Hammer curls
20reps x 3 sets

that’s it no real pain lots of crunching in the shoulder and sweating in the Arizona heat

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My Take On Training the Next Generation

For anyone that’s knows me they know one of my passions is that of kids. Namely, passing things on to them, training them at facilities I was a part of in Kansas, to several events I have held, and am in the process of holding that aim to help children’s based charities, and children in general with their understanding / relationship with fitness and nutrition.

http://www.lift4hope.org/

http://www.lift4hope.org/2009lfhmedia.html

Kids are just a lot of fun. I feel we as adults can learn a lot from them and from looking back at ourselves as children if we take a second to see it; how simple things were at times, and mainly our view of things. As an adult training and working with kids can be refreshing and remind us of a time when we didn’t know work as work, but hard work as fun, as play. Working, playing hard, and aiming to get better at an event, a sport, or an activity as enjoyment. It can be a nice enlightenment for us as adults who can at times lose sight of those facts and something I think we all need to regrasp at times.

“Troy Paradiso and I acting a fool, Goofing off shooting a
parody video at the end of a hard training session”

But that’s another topic for another time. What I want to briefly touch on is that of training children. Strength and or resistance training and how we should approach it. This is a topic that has bounced up and down over the years and has a lot of DOGMA attached with insufficient data. Thankfully most recently the popular media and medical profession has started to rethink their views on training your children for the better. Like the view seen below published by the Mayo Clinic.

“For kids, what are the benefits of strength training?”

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/strength-training/HQ01010

The above article does a pretty darn good job of covering the major points of training children, and much that I agree with. I simply want to take a minute here to stress a few of those issues I feel are the most important. Build on what they touch and possibly kill some dogma along the way.

Resistance training will stunt my Childs growth.

This is by far the largest reply you will get to any question concerning children and training and while yes its possible it is extremely rare down to a lightening strike being more possible. The growth plates are a lot more indestructible than many put them up to be and one has to work hard and long to try and injure to the point of inhibiting or changing growth.

In fact, strength and resistance training can (possibly) actually enhance growth by strengthen your child's bones, improving the density of them. Due to the skeletal structure being under load it to has to adapt. Being under a load does not just give soft tissue a reason to adapt (grow larger and stronger) but so to, bone adapts to the stimulus you apply to it making it larger, denser, and causing it to store more calcium etc., in order to take the stimulus you require of it. These effects at an early age can pay huge dividends in years to come.

Keep it sane

More on this all later, but for now as it relates to the above, keep the intensity of work at a sane level. Kids can be worked hard sure, but they will naturally do so. They are kids, they like that stuff. Play and hard work is not work to them like it is to many adults, they haven’t had activity ruined by a poor relationship with exercise.

So the main thing you can do for them to avoid injury is start slow. Show the importance of technique prior to allowing excessive loads, if need be, seek a qualified coach for proper instruction, supervise them,( again more on this later) but don’t rule them with a heavy hand, let them do stuff, they will work hard. Just make sure they aren’t going to kill themselves when they are training with equipment, make sure they get plenty of rest, and that they get plenty to eat to allow that recovery.

As children they work hard and recover fast as long as they are given the proper rest, environment, and intake to do so. Just think back to if you ever broke a bone as a child how fast they healed so don’t over stress possible bumps, bruises, falls and scrapes; that’s how we learn in life, through our mistakes so you can't let them never fall down.

Use Training to have a Healthy Child

Kids don’t work now, so of course they should strength train. It used to be kids had hard chores. They helped ma and pa in the fields, they milked cows they mowed lawns, painted fences played outside with sticks, swimming in pond, games etc.

Child helps dad work on the family car”

Those days are sadly almost extinct. First it was the adults that largely lost this aspect of life, moving to desk and service based jobs. Now, after my generation, the children largely have as well. Kids just don’t, or arent allowed to run ramped like we did. Ride their bikes around the neighborhood, start trouble, and be made to do house work. Therefore they need physical activity imparted or better yet shown and allowed to them in order to simply grow and be healthy as they should.

Resistance / strength training will again aid growth, help promote healthy blood pressure, cholesterol, and fight off (I can't even believe this is a problem now in children) adult onset diabetes levels. It will boost your child's metabolism, help your child maintain a healthy weight and improve their energy and self-esteem.

What’s to argue? Do the benefits not greatly outweight the possible risks right there in one short paragraph?

Don’t specialize too early

There are so damn many people out there that are hanging the bank on their kids being the next Tiger Woods, the next NFL, NBA, or MLB star that they start a very specialized and stressful training regime at an early age. STOP. Get your own life! Don’t impart your failing at doing what it takes to live your dream on your child and ruin their life and possible relationship with healthy activity. Let the kids be kids, let them try each and every sport their little heart desires. It will actually make a better athlete in the end, more complete and athletic in general and in time they will find what they excel at and what they love.

Proof is in the pudding. Most of the best athletes to date, by far, are not the ones that were forced into one sport at an early age. No, they are the kids that were allowed to grow, to become a great all around athlete and choose the sport or activity they liked the best, and excelled at it as a young adult. Look at the draft picks of varied sports that have become stars. Many of them were very talented multisport athletes even through the collegiate level and only then chose a single sport to focus and excel after becoming a very talented all around athlete.

Lastly keep it, or, let them continue to have FUN

The number one thing you can do to ruin a kids view of training is force it on them at an early age. The last thing kids want at anytime is to be forced to do something. Their automatic reaction will be to rebel against you as soon as they can, and likely they will be left with a negative view of fitness for a LONG while, possibly even for life.

Instead I suggest you simply put them in the environment. Let them come to the gym with you, let them see you doing your sports, your training, and enjoying it. Don’t push it on them. Let them come to it on their own terms. They'll naturally be drawn to it if they simply see you doing it. Let them experiment, let them try things on their own in the gym, and in their own time.

Be patient, wait for them to come to you with questions. Like I said above, just keep and eye out so they don’t kill themselves, but don’t force even form on them to early. In reality kids are born with pretty damn good form naturally, and could likely out squat us lb for lb if they simply put it in their mind to do so, and likely will naturally do it in much better form.

Show me better squat form then that. You'd be hard pressed, and I guarantee you that wasn’t trained, it was simply ingrained. This kid is using his instincts and natural leverages to lift the object. It’s not until later in life that we get bound up, form goes to hell from varied over and under uses, and most of all we over-think things. Kids don’t have our limitations yet. They mindlessly do what comes easy, and naturally to them.

There is no real need to push the kids into it if they have been simply exposed to sports, training, and nutrition through you leading by example. They will want, need, to take part. You wont have to push them hard, they play hard. GO watch a group of kids play a pick up football game, or game of tag, or simply swimming/ playing. They go all day long, and hard, to point of exhaustion and beyond, laughing the whole way as long as they are having FUN! There is no need for you to push them if you just keep it fun.

Keep it fun!! Let them come to you, don’t go to them. Even when they do inevitably come to you keep it light hearted, throw one maybe two things at them, but mainly let them explore what they have interest in, and walk away when they are done for that day. Rest assured they will come back for more if you do so, if they continue to have fun. Better yet if your going to do anything do the opposite and make them stop prior to them wanting to, when they are still having fun.

Make it a privilege to be able to train with you. Make them want to do it even more. A brief moment that they desire, as opposed to a chore they must do. Think of the first time you were allowed to mow the lawn, this was before mowing the lawn became a chore you had to do. Man you wanted so badly to be allowed to mow the lawn. If you keep things fun your kids will always want to do it, don’t force it make it FUN.

Keep it fun!!

Let them try things in their own time, but lead by example

Put them in the atmosphere don’t push it on them

Watch them lead them, but let them fall down and pick themselves back up to try again.

And lastly, take a hard long look at them and try and regain some of that joy you had in your youth for plain old hard work and fun.

References (along with the above linked article)

1. Kraemer, William J. and Zatsiorky, Vladimir M. Science and Practice of Strength Training: Second Edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1995.
2. Faigenbaum, A., Kraemer, W., Cahill, B., Chandler, J., Dziados, J., Elfrink, L., Forman, E., Gaudiose, M., Micheli, L., Nitka, M., and Robers, S. (1996). Youth Resistance Training: Position Statement Paper and Literature Review. Strength and Conditioning, 18(6), 62-75.
3. Pierce, Kyle C., Byrd, Ronald J., and Stone, Michael H. Position Statement Paper and Literature Review. USA Weightlifting.

Article Originally Published on StaleyTraining.com

1 Day Back on the Fruit!

Day 1 back on the fruit and man I feel good. I don't know, could be a fluke but woke up and was able to go down the stairs like a spring chicken. My knee feel great!!



















It will be interesting to see what the coming days are like. If this feeling continues.
stay tuned.

June 24th Training

June 24th DL day

Man its hot and got o me today I petered out during the SLDL’s and barely got ten and thought I was going to lose my lunch. Im not used to the heat yet but Ill get there. Just takes more rest it makes it easy to go heavy but repping shit out is a chore.

1) Rack pull above knee
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 5
405 x 5
495 x 3
585 x 1
675 x 1
765 x 1
815 x 1
855 x 1 (20lb PR) I think I have done higher then the PR I had listed but 825 was the last I recorded so maybe not. Not bad for the first time doing any heavy rack work since I tore the intercostals I'm happy with the PR. Ill be going one week in the rack heavy and then to the floor the next week etc.














SLDL
315 x 5
405 x 5
495 x 10 barely this was hard today thought id lose my cookies. So much worse then 425 which I got 20 on

Clean pulls
315 x 5 x 3

Ball sit ups
3 sets 10

that’s it I was feeling sick only ate half my damn burger LOL. I also need to not have fruit within a few hours of training all the fiber sits heavy.

But all in all a great day and first DL day back since the meet.

Bring on the fruit

Got to love the local farmers market. I know I have been away for a month but I am back.
2 pineapples, 5 lbs Fuji Apples, 3 mango, 3 lbs strawberries, 3 lbs cherries, 2 flats of blue berries, and 2.5 lbs grapes for $14

This is usually enough fruit to last me a week, yhea I eat a lot, got a problem with it :)






















2 pineapples, 3 lbs strawberries, 2.5 lbs apples, 3 mangos, 2 flats of blue berries chopped up






















2 pineapples, 3 lbs strawberries, 2.5 lbs apples, 3 mangos, 2 flats of blue berries then added to the super blender and made into a puree I can add to shakes, just eat, add to yogurt, add to water and drink or a protein shake.

Oh yhea

Fruit! The cure for what ails me??

I have been back in a lot of pain of late. Joints very inflamed from previous injury and current hard and heavy training. It's a dialy thing and honestly soemthing someone with my past just has to deal with on some level but over the past month it has gotten bad.

Fruit Possibly???

I was pondering my joint pain and stiffness thinking What the hell did I change from weeks ago that has me in such a bad way now? The only thing I came up with is fruit. I was eating literally 8-10 servings a day, several whole pineapple a week ( which Travis Gordon then reminded me has high levels of Bromelain an aggressive Protease. Protease being needed to handle inflammation naturally) mango, apples and strawberries by the bushel to name a few. Then I just stopped for no particular reason at all. Looking back it was about that time I got inflamed as hell.

I am upping my fruit in take drastically again NOW! I'm Headed to the market to become a fruit junkie once again. We'll see what comes of it and I'll let you know.

June 23rd Asistance Training

Twig training If I keep doing it some day they will be full grown branches.



June 23rd Assistance work

Edt for arms 15 minutes
DB curls 45lbs and Red band push downs total 55 reps

Not bad, a little elbow issues but got better as the time went on, this is a new base line to progress from. It's been ?? 2 years and the damn right arm is still a bit behind from blowing the bicep tendon but not far and Both are stronger the prior to the injury of course.

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Training June 22nd 2009

June 22nd

First day back training since the meet and went ok. I was a bit tired not really up for it but got he work in.

Plan was get back on track with the benching Ive been doing to heal and come back from the shoulder since that’s been working

1A) Bench
Bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 3
315 x 1
335 x 2,3,2,3,3,2,3,2

2B) DB Rows
just light and push that damn elbow back
50 x 10
70 x 5 x 14 sets

Wall ball during these 7 sets

3 sets of the following
Band pull aparts
Band flys
Band ex rotations
DB side bends

Ill hit the arms tomorrow
not abad session shoulder felt good no pain a little unstable at times, upper back on right side is smaller and weaker now from the time I was not able to use it

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The Troy Squat

By: Phil Stevens

A great assistance move that I feel was the final piece of the puzzle of me getting my first 700lb DL.

The first trick is to find a willing Troy to climb on your shoulders with a barbell after that its just a focus on hard work. This move when done correct will really hammer the core and stabilizer muscles from head to toe. With the weight so High it really shifts that center of gravity from your mid section to about your shoulders which create a Large demand on the abdominal's, lower back, and hips to stay ROCK solid from top to bottog of the move or you risk dropping your Troy which is Never a good thing. They are tough but you stil have to treat them nice or they may never work right again.

Find aTroy and give this one a try. And no you cant borrow my Troy, it took me years to find the right one and Im not about to Share

Product Reviews

I'm looking for a lil help / input to those interested. I was contacted by this site http://bestcovery.com/node/32953 to be a so called "expert" and do reviews on supplement, training equipment, books, DVD's etc. Rank my top 5 choice and why, you can see my first one on the link.

So I have a whole laundry list of topics I am going to be testing and use my and clients personal experience to rank these. What id like is if you have personal experience with some of the following drop me aline and it can help me make choices for consumers. I do ask though NOT to send me an add, send me your our your clients experience with a product you have NO personal interest in the company.

If you are a company and want me to send me product to consider after testing then thats fine but dont just send me your solicited opinion.

Ill be doing these topic to start hey are reserved for me, once those are done I will do more. ... Read More

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Primary Goal Setting and Its Impact On Your Success

By Phil Stevens

Multi Sport Champion’s? Even multi-disciplinary champions or experts in any realm, be it business, the arts, or sports. Take a minute. Write, or get a mental list. How many people can you name who have truly reached the pinnacle of any aspect in life in more than one discipline?

Now of those, how many have reached those heights simultaneously? None? Very few? One jumps out to me in Bo Jackson, but then again his career was cut short prior to being able to be claimed a real champion. Bo simply had what looked like the tools to be a multi-sport champion some day.

So, what am I getting at here? Why ask these questions? It is simply my attempt to plainly explain and convince you of the fact that if you want to excel, be the best, or the best you can be at something, you MUST make a choice to have that one passion as your primary goal; all other things MUST suffer. Some things must go or be set on the back burner and take a lesser, or at times, no degree of importance and practice in your road to reaching excellence at the goal you have chosen to concentrate.

I don’t care what your goal is, how accepted, unaccepted, noble or looked down upon, if you truly want to reach the highest levels of performance at any one thing you must give, in order to take. You MUST choose your path and accept the negatives to reach the positives you so desire, or simply accept the fact and be OK with being OK at many things, at not ever reaching your potential at any one given, sport, trade or lifestyle.

Again this is not exclusive to fitness or athletics, though it certainly holds true in those arenas, but it holds true in every aspect of our lives. Motherhood for example, if you want to be the best mom, that career you enjoyed, the nights out getting sloshed with the girls, a lot of that stuff is going to have to go or at the very least be put on the back burner. Same can be said for a great artist, an enterprising business man, a musician, they all give to take.

If you want to be a great power lifter you are likely going to have to throw many things aside. You will likely give up those long runs you once enjoyed, that 6 pack the kids all swoon over. You learn to train hard and heavy, recover hard and heavy. Learn to take it day by day, and that this is not something reached over night. You’re are going to be giving up things, training hard, eating for your goals, sore, beat up, and fighting for years to be the best you can be. Accept the fact you’re not going to be a great or possibly even decent distance athlete if you’re a limit strength athlete and that’s OK. It’s normal to give things up, let things slide - and it’s a must to reach the top.

Excellence in any profession or trade is NOT reached over night. It’s not a short sprint, but a long ride. A ride made up of hills and valleys, tough and easy, pain and love, tears of joy and pain. So you better learn to enjoy that ride even though it’s not all going to be roses and daffodils. Give it your all. Out of that, out of that giving, out of all those small pleasures you discard or place to the side today, you will get back a far greater satisfaction from your dedication and reaching something most others won’t dare to take on.

If it was easy to reach excellence at any given pursuit the world would be full of Olympic Champions, Pablo Picasso‘s, Donald Trumps’ and June Cleavers‘. If it didn’t require giving, pain, tears, and years to reach the echelon then everyone would do it.

Now go take a big look inside. Look at your joys, drives, what you truly love in life. Also take an honest look at your other life style choices and habits. Be honest of what you truly love, and what you can and cannot set aside, and pick your goals accordingly. You must accept, and not regret (and try not to question) your choices. It’s natural, and needed to set things aside, put things on the back burner. Everyone does it, EVERYONE. Of course WHAT things get set aside are individual, different things for different life goals. I don’t care what anyone says, no one’s goals or choices of what to set aside are more wrong, right, or noble then the next guys - they are just theirs. They are your individual choices of what will get you to your individual goal(s).

So make those choices. Wise thought out choices of paths to follow, and things to set aside to follow them. Dedicate yourself to something, set aside some months and years to reach something truly memorable. Don’t let others beat you up over your choices, and even worse and almost more prevalent, don’t make your own trip harder than it has to be, or worse yet impossible by not fully accepting your choice and what it takes to reach them as yours.

Remember, even if it’s years, or decades you dedicate and set things aside to reach your goals you have reached something many have not, and now look, those things you set aside, those can be your goals now. Life is not over; you can have many chapters, but better, in my opinion, to have a few fully realized chapters then a book full of title pages with no substance.

Originally published on StaleyTraining.com

What happend to men and what created the Fear of FAT!

Is it just me or are others seeing more and more people / clients coming to them with eating disorders (bulimia /anorexia) then prior? The increase seems moreso in young men / boys WTF! It's pretty sad the sheer lack of desire in people to want to put in the work, carry around an above average amount of lean mass and strength. We, the large, strong, etc are truely a dieing breed it seems more then ever before.

To clarify I'm not talking about people who have a healthy relationship with training and nutrition and are meeting thier goals of getting crazy lean, ripped and strong, That's all cool, go get that.

Im talking about a growing population of people who have a real fear of body fat. A feeling its evil, and a hatred that negatively impacts their ... Read Morelife and causes LARGE amounts of undue stress. Mental and physical health issues.

That's NOT good and is seemingly largely impacted by both eh media today and sadly the majority of the fitness industry.

I recently posted this on my facebook and got great response such as this from Shawn Phillips:

"Man scary sad and good reminder... The masses have truly settled for an occassional glimpse of mediocraty! Hence the problem Health--the widespread definition of it, the simple desire to be no more, no better, no more robust than to be Free from Disease==aka Healthy.

We aim to low as a people and realize less than our moderate aspirations!

I totally get that when ur 50 PBS over weight, that dropping 40 is a life changer but the sole goal of LOSING can not be self energizing... ... Read More

To choose some place in your life where you can and want to be MORE is to expand.... More active, more vital, more biking, more strength, more challenge, more connected, more alive ....and guess what? The f'n weight will self resolve because you're bringing more capacity to life cutting off room for addictions, stop using food to fulfill the more nature of our lives..

Oh... Do get me started!!!"

Shawn is exactly right. Its more a desire and a huge push to be Less. A constant focus on deprivation and subtraction then on the positive growth and advancement and how that alone, that building and betterment will in and of itself remove the negative by default and in a positive instead of negatively focused way.

More on this later I think.....

Iron Radio June 19th w/ Guest Mike Robertson

Today on the show we have a great joining us to talk shop that should need no introduction Mike Robertson. You can find more info on Mike at his website http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/or the facility he co-owns, Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training (I-FAST) in Indianapolis, Indiana.
http://indianapolisfitnessandsportstraining.com/

EVENT: Iron Radio With Guest Mike Robertson
TOPIC: Mobility and the Strength Athlete
DATE & TIME: Friday, June 19th at 2:00pm Eastern
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)
TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=7531743
As Well Visit http://IronRadio.org for past episodes and other great information packed pod casts.

Typical Day of Event Fund Raising

I just got back from what is a typical day of event fund raising for this years Lift For Hope. It never fails each and ever time I set out for a day of hitting the streets or making endless phone calls to raise funds and awareness I end each day with a greater appreciation for those who organize and host events, or better yet work every day raising funds for NPO's etc.. It is a labor of love of sorts.

Today, again is typical of most every day. I left the house at 10am after getting things organized, emails shot out at work, phone calls made etc. I made a short drive tin the already 90+ degree Phoenix air and hit the streets a running. In the end I was out 4.5 hours, and visit just about 100 businesses in large shopping centers.

What did I get for my efforts?















- One swollen foot due to already jacked up broken toes I limped on for the 4.5 hours from place to place.

- one beauty of an advancement on my farmers tan.

- More excellent practice at my PR and smiling skills and comfort talking to any one from the front counter girl to the CEO of a business

- an endless thirst from waddling my portly behind around in the hot Arizona Summer heat

- and honestly enjoyment as its not all that bad and if I didn't enjoy throwing these things putting on great athletic events and raising money for great causes I wouldn't do it. I cant complain it was my choice and I love making these things happen

As for the direct response from Businesses visited:














-1 Gift Package from the Starbucks at Gilbert and Chandler heights. 4 coffee mugs, 1 box with a pound of coffee and truffles and a box full of sentimental cards. A BIG thank you to the store manager Cara Sridharan for the donation. Please if you are in the area stop in and thank them its 4970 s Gilbert Road Chandler Az.

- 2 Chili's Gift Certificates, and an invite to come back and get more each of the 4 months leading up to the event

- 7 yes 7 Gift Certificates for meals at Rubio's

- 6 coupons for Red Lobster

- 3 free sandwich or Salad Coupons for Paradise Bakery

- a promise from the Olive Garden and Denny's for some gift certs as well as Basha's and some contacts for other cools stuff

-and lastly a $30 Gift cert for lunch or dinner at Streets of New York.



















So All in all some more great stuff for the current Raffles both the nation wide raffle and the local $5 food raffle, and the raffle at the event.

Please help spread the word. If you can donate your self AWESOME I have some cool stuff lined up. Id also love to start geting some athletes signs up its 4 months out lets make this a hell of a show, I have a few who are going to do an Iron man and do both the Highlander and the Deadlift event and a few who are doing each as stand alones. I am going to be meeting with a gentleman who is going to help me get some great attractions for the kids, volunteers, etc

Spread the word to anyone who can help, it is greatly appreciated and for a great cause.

"Failure is the Path of Least Persistence."

That said time to wake up running.

Get the morning emails done, promote tomorrows Iron Radio show guest Mike Robertson, get a bite to eat, and hit the streets raising funds and awareness for Lift For Hope.

I got 4 months left and a TON to do. Its like puling teeth this year to try and get people and businesses to donate. Thanks greatly to my friends and great sponsors like USP Labs and many more the event will happen but it wont be the great success I want without a LOT more work on my part and involvement by the community both local and National.

Check out the Nationwide Raffle that is loaded with great gifts and prizes. This is as well for Phoenix / Valley residents is the place to go to donate to the weekly $5 food raffle in which I draw a winner of a gift card to an area restaurant each week. Just put "food" in the comments section of the donation page.

So please check it out. Do me, the event, and the great kids in the program a favor by supporting the event. Spread the news to others you know, possible business that would like to support a charity in return for some great advertising. etc.. Every thing helps large and small.

I'm off to make this thing happen.

Make Training hard so Competition / Life is a cake walk

"When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then will power will be no problem."

Emil Zatopek



You train day in day out get strong in the mind the body and soul and there is NOTHING you cant set your mind to and do.

And then you MUST rest because, every peak has two valleys. That is this week . I am still beat to hell after a great meet. Just geting some punch clock workouts in like earlier today, resting and recharging for another run of weeks and months of continual personal betterment.

June 17th DL Training
Just Get some training in, some reps and blood flow with good buddy and training partner Gene Lawerence

Played with stone just up to 230 or so,

lots of reps on rack pulls high reps at 225 and 315,

some shrugs

a few one leg rack pulls at 225lbs on bad leg

and some ab work

that’s about it just a blood flow punch clock workout

Ill do much the same Friday and Saturday and get back to training next week refreshed and ready to roll after last weekends kick ass meet.

Now to go rest and wake tomorrow to kick ass again and go do some rounds drumming up support for Lift For Hope 2009

Failure and Its Many Faces

By Phil Stevens

Failure as an athlete or trainee is such a multi-faceted beast. At many times it’s our worst enemy and at other times our best friend. In this article I will try and give just a few examples and some of my thoughts on failure...show how it can be a one of the most perplexing issues a trainee or strength athlete has to face, and how it can either wreak havoc, or breed progress, depending on the situation or the individual.

Failure refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success.

Training to failure is training to fail.

One thing I preach to my clients that is opposite of popular teaching from most so-called personal trainers and professional coaches is, We NEVER, EVER go to the gym with the attitude of I’m going to exercise and kick my own ass today. I am going to kill myself to the point I limp and drag myself out of the gym. NO! By doing this you have already failed. You are seeking, and walking into the session EXPECTING failure.

Rather, we step into the gym confident. We walk in thinking the opposite of failure. We attack the gym and train with the goal in mind that we are going to kick the gym’s ass, kick the ass of the task at hand on that day and do everything in our power to not let it kick ours.

Furthermore, this applies to our progression. A client doesn’t move up in load, reps, sets etc. when the old prescribed load or rep scheme no longer kicks their ass. NO! You earn the right to a new load, to progress. You get the joy of kicking a new tasks ass when you make that old task your bitch. Sure at times we get our butts kicked. You work damn hard, but that happens by default from your putting forth enough effort, drive, and passion to joyfully kick the gym’s ass. If you walk out fresh as a daisy but have beat your old performance GREAT!!!! Mission accomplished. You made a once tough task easy and have progressed.

You train to succeed.

Every rep, of every set, you make them perfect and as effortless as possible. Each and every day you move up through your warm ups by making the previous load easy. You ingrain 100% success in your lifts. If a certain load is hard on any given day then you stay there until you either prove you can beat that ands make it easy, or you just stay there that for that session. There is no point in pushing yourself past the constructive straining point into probable failure as something, body and/or mind, are just not in it that day.

What this does is mentally breed 100% success. You make lifts and that’s what you do. In time that’s all you know. You approach a PR and the load does NOT! matter. In your head you are going to lift it because with this load and this move that’s all you know. You don’t know failing. All that has been put in your vocabulary and set in your mind like stone is, hundreds and thousands of successful reps.

For example, I have had a two plus year run now on the dead lift. A two plus year run that has seen my meet dead lift go from just over 600 to a very solid 700, and ready to pull more. In that two years I have missed one, yes, one single rep on one single attempt, on a full pull.

I missed it on a day I felt like crap. It was not a meet and I let my stupidity get a hold of me and tried a lift I was mentally doubting before I tried it. That set me back a few months even just bouncing back from that miss of 680 for my first time.

What did I do? I went back and made every single lift since.

I take a lot of heavy lifts, many small PR’s spaced weeks or months apart, and then at critical planned times (meets) I make Big shots at large PR’s (or when I hit small ones and they were just too damn easy - strike when the iron is HOT).

What this has done is, every time I come to a bar, EVERY SINGLE PR attempt, whether it’s my second, which is generally a 5 lb PR, or a third that is usually a 20lb or more PR, I KNOW, I have no inkling of a doubt that I am going to make the lift. Not making it doesn’t bother me as it’s not in my vocabulary. I am a firm believer that the mind is the most powerful tool we have as a person, and yes as a lifter. We strengthen that mind by repetition and hard work (straining, learning how to Fight and Win), ingraining the habit we want to achieve.

How Failure breeds Success.

I’ve said it time and time again, and it seemly directly contradicts my preaching to athletes to NEVER fail at their sport, that we learn three fold more from any failure that we learn from any success.

This can be seen in training, life, love and of course business. As Coke’s Chairman and CEO E. Neville Isdell told investors at an annual meeting. "You will see some failures, As we take more risks, this is something we must accept as part of the regeneration process.”

So one might ask then, why do we not try and fail more often in order to make even greater progress? The difference is clear in my eyes. We learn, grow, and progress from failure. From it we learn our limitations, our weak points, what we need to work on, and how to FIGHT when things get tough. If you never, like Isdell said, “take more risks”, or push yourself beyond your means to a new height and at times fail, then you simply aren’t trying hard enough. The difference in failure and success is we don’t EVER make it a goal.

Failure happens, much like sh*t, but we don’t strive, or search for it as we do success and perfection. We don’t make it a habit like we do success. We react to it when it does happen. We know, and learn to love, the fact that failure and imperfection is out there, and that means we can still grow, progress and get better. If we didn’t have the chance of failing we would not have the drive to push hard, to reach for ever new heights.

Chance of failure is what makes us strive to go ever harder, do more than others have ever done and yes, it happens. When we fail, we evaluate why it happens and then fix those things so it doesn’t happen again. We should not FEAR it, but we should never seek it.

Again, failure happens, but don’t search for it. However, you won’t know your breaking point, if you never reach for and test it, and learn to become not only physically, but more importantly, mentally strong. This is more so for the beginner who actually fails at perceived failure, when things get a bit hard. It is not real failure, they are physically, neurologically, and mentally weak or inefficient which causes premature failure prior to ever getting near their physical capacity.

As you progress and get stronger in body and mind, failure should be avoided at all cost. AT ALL COSTS! Once you do have the mental capacity to FIGHT to the point of literally breaking, at this point the actual cost of failure outweighs the benefit and should be left for testing in an extreme or meet situation only.

As you see failure is a doubled edged sword. Failure happens, and even at times I could make a strong argument it is needed and can be beneficial to the right trainee in the right situation. The trick is to learn and recognize these points and to whom they fit, if and when each individual can use a big dose of each. No matter what, however, I urge you to always keep a positive and successful outlook in which you are striving to kick ass - to impart pain, not evoke pain, on oneself.

Originally Published On StaleyTraining.com

Pop Quiz 4: Let's Brush Up On Our Knowledge...

By Phil Stevens

This is the next in a series of quizzes to keep us sharp and use what we’ve learned over the years or continue to learn.

Again I’m the first to admit I am more of a down in the trenches, get your hands dirty type. A get in there, get that bar on your back and fork in your hand and get er done Type of guy.

Honestly, that’s really where all the work gets done, and most things are learned or at the least proven. But, Again it’s time to brush up on some simple terminology and definitions. We all lose such abilities like this when we do not use it in every day talk. Its good to do a little refreshing at times.

I wont be able to tell if you cheat so I’ll just have to trust you to be honest and take the test without looking to an outside source. Either way it’ll be a good way for us all to stay on the up and up on some pretty fundamental vocabulary and such. This time I am going to go a bit harder and not make them all multiple choice.

1. Define the Major Character Traits of Both fast and slow twitch Muscle fibers Including size, color, fuel source, amount of mitochondria, and blood supply.

2. _________is defined as the application of maximum physical effort systematically applied to a technically developed motor skill.

Fill in the blank

3. Which of the following is the best method for figuring Daily Caloric of a female wanting to lose weight?

A. Your body weight divided by 2.2 times 1.3 times your BMR in Kilograms

B. Your body weight times 10 plus 250.

C. Your body weight x 15 - 500

D. Your body Weight divided by 2.2 times 1.8 times your BMR in Kilograms

E. Other (explain)

4. What is the estimated TEF of each protein, fat, and carbs?

5. What is the length, weight and diameter of Women’s Olympic Barbell

Extra Credit: In what city and state will the prestigious 10th annual North American Wife Carrying Championship takes place?

Best of luck.

No Such Thing As a Bad Question…Late Spring Edition

By Phil Stevens

Its that time again, Time for me to share some true gems of knowledge and some real wieners. It’s never dull when you take answering hundreds of emails and phone calls from people all over the globe.

Subject: Cutting Calories

Question: I am 23 year old and weight 150 pounds, 5'6 tall. I want to lose 1-2 pound daily (specially my belly fat). How many calories should i burn daily and how many calories should I intake daily?

Louis

Answer: Louis - thats very hard to say as everyone if different. No matter which of the hundreds of equations you use to figure it out you will have to adjust for YOU. No cookie cuter math equation is real life.

That said a good starting point for you to adjust from would be 1650 calories of good foods. Couple that with some walking and three sessions of resistance training a week for an hour or so with BIG compound moves out of machines and see what turns out.

The number one thing I would do however, prior to ever having anyone cut calories, would be to just take baby steps and nail a solid diet of real food, protein, fats and carbs from real food. Get going on a solid training schedule they can live with LONG TERM. That alone will have 99% of the world making great progress without having to stoop to the level of stressing over diet and counting calories, and calories burnt. If you don’t have a solid foundation of habits built then putting up walls and hanging picture will just fail and not be long lived as the house itself will fall down.

Phil

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Subject: Twitching Muscles

Question: I noticed my muscles (all over) have been very tired with little activity, fatigued and even last few weeks have been twitching alot (not spasm)....in legs ,ribs ,calves,arms etc. I am a vegetarian and rarely eat diary so just about vegan...could you tell me if youve heard of this before and what you think or recommend me getting more of? i try to eat well rounded but im a picky...does this mean im lacking in a specific nutrient? Any advice or help would be most appreciated.

sincerely, Marvin

ANSWER: Marvin-

The first thing I would do is get water in you. You sound possibly dehydrated. Likely very low on sodium and potassium as well. Maybe iron since your not eating one of the most important food groups man evolved to eat and led to us being at the top of the food chain. Things that move make noise and taste good, Meats, fish, poultry, dairy etc.. But if your getting plenty of nuts then you could be getting enough iron and I wouldnt over due it on the iron. You dont want iron in excess. I would however give Large consideration to going BACK to your instincts and being at least a bit carnivorous.

Id look at the water, upping your salt intake and possibly potassium as well. Likely your overall calories are low to leading to your being sore and weak.

Phil

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Subject: Getting a 6 Pack

Question: Hello Phil!! OK so here is my story... I am 17 years old 6 foot tall and currently i weight about 162. I was at about 200 pounds but i lost it all in about 3 months... but i lost it a bit too fast because when i lost the weight i lost muscle with it. And I want to know the best direction to get a 6pack!! Everyone says " all you need to do is lose the fat " and well Ive done that... i cant get much skinnier... when i stand up... and try to pinch the fat on my stomach there's virtually none... and maybe some skin i can pinch but that's it. So I was thinking could the reason I don't have a 6pack be due to the fact that i lost muscle during my weight loss? Should i focus on building up muscle in my abs... or focus on what everyone else says " just lose more fat they will show " sorry for the long question, but hopefully you can answer. thanks !!

Carl

ANSWER:

NO!!!!!!!!!! Carl DONT lose more weight! My man your 6 foot tall and a nothing 162lbs. They only thing you have left is some skin bones organs and water, and that’s if your lucky. I’ve been there, you lose more weight you’ll simply be dead, just a skeleton.

You need to get a good relationship with eating more, training hard with BIG compound moves, and add full body muscle to see your abs. Yes you have to have low fat but you need muscle to show before you can, well, show it. Your trying to unveil something you don’t have it’s a common mistake now a days.

Start training under heavy loads, squats, deadlifts, various presses and pulls and eat and gain weight.

Phil

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Subject: Toning

Question: Hi Phil,

Hope you don't mind me asking you this question as its on behalf of my girlfriend who is 28, 5ft 5ins and is trying to get fitter. We're going running together as well as going to the gym to do some weights and use the sauna and steam room etc but it was from a weights perspective I wanted to ask a question. Hannah wants to do toning in particular and I've given her exercises to do all with free weight dumb bells as she can do those at home too but if she wants to tone is it more the number you do rather than reps? Like 40 arm curls of the same weight or something instead of different reps of different weights?

Hannah wants to tone more than anything else and in particular wants to get more toned arms as well, what exercises and how many times will she need to do to see a big difference?

Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Tom

Answer: Tom-

There is so much misconception and bad information out there about women and weights. Like doing weights with light weight and high reps to tone etc.. Fact is your girlfriend needs to train like a human, like a man, or any women she sees in great shape. Heavy and hard to get toned. What makes a man Big, makes women hot and toned. Look at various athletic women, women who play beach volleyball, women in the olympics, sprinters, basketball players, figure models.

I’ve trained and trained with many a hard working female athlete and they train HEAVY and hard, with BIG compound moves like squats and deadlifts, bench, and overhead presses, rows and chins. If your girl wants to get toned. Have a nice money maker to shake around and for you to grab hold of she needs to have muscle. Muscle is what creates tone. She wont get HUGE. For one its not in her genetics as a female, generally, and you have to Eat a LOT to get huge. If she aint eating for it she cant possibly get HUGE and blocky even with exogenous hormones introduced.

Get her on a basic plan with free weights and BIG compounds that burn a LOT of energy and use a LOT of muscle like the ones I listed and some others like lunges, cleans, sprints, push ups, box jumps etc etc. The list is endless. Limit the machine work to nothing and the small moves like curls and crunches to 10% or less of the training and she will see results. A good plan is three times a week, work Hard, aim to progress. Make this a lifestyle and stick to it, you cant just get in shape stop and expect to stay that way. Its not like a new paint job on a car that you can get done and polish it real quick every few months. Every week every day you have to want and enjoy working at it. Stick to it forever find an activity you enjoy.

Phil

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Subject: Supplementing

Question: Phil,

I'm 19 years old and still fairly new to the gym, my high school P.E. classes didn't frequent the weight room, and I'm not exactly the biggest guy in town.

I have always been on the thin side, but recently I have begun to fill out. I joined the gym, and work out about twice a week. I try to do more, but just can't find the time right now. I circuit train through the equipment and try to work everything in a half hour session or so, spend some time working my abs from several different exercises including the crunch machines, regular crunches, the roman chair leg lifts, and the oblique twist.

I feel and look better than I ever have, but I am still not happy. I read in the magazines about fitness supplements, and enhancers, and I'm confused. I used to buy whey protein powder, but have been told that it really has no effect.

Can you tell me a little bit more about supplements? Do I really need to supplement to look like the magazine guys?

Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated

Thank you,
James

Answer: James-

NO, you have no business using any supplement right now aside from a protein powder which is just really easy food, an easy and great way to get your needed protein. What you lack is a good training plan and dedication. You need that for a few years prior to ever thinking about supplements that may give you that last 2% edge.

Get off the machines, try and dedicate three days a week to training hard with free weight exercises, BIG compound moves that will actually build a substantial amount of muscle, strength, flexibility and power. Stick to it for a few years and you will see awesome progress.

Less crunches and more squats and presses = progress

Phil

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

I hesitate to do the free weights, like I said, i have been on the thin side, and I do get embarrassed in the gym when I see the guys lifting so much and I struggle with half of that. Trying to build myself up and keeping that mindset is difficult for me too.

Do you have advice for dealing with this? I know it's pretty silly but I am afraid of what the bigger guys think when I walk up and pick up a 20, when they're pumping a 50 like nobody's business

Answer: James-

“The best way to suck at something is never do it” The Wombat circa 2009

My advice for your situation GET OVER IT and get in there NOW. I was the weak guy once and I just jumped in and did it. You will earn the respect of any real lifter not by how much you lift, but by how hard you work. Keep at it, keep trying, and soon any real lifter will be the first person to lend a hand once they see you are committed and deserve spending precious time on.

I am a 700+ pound deadlifter and I train with men and women who cant lift 80 lbs from the floor. I also train with men who can do more then I. Its not what you lift but that you bring the mind set, the dedication and drive.

Phil

Originally Published On StaleyTraining.com

Get Stiff to Build a Strong and Powerful Midsection

By Phil Stevens

When it comes to confusion there is no subject with more confusing and conflicting dogma and crap out there, or that leads to the more fitness related questions then abdominal, or core work.

For no other body part are there more gimmick machines, gadgets, and infomercials made. As well the abdominals are likely the single biggest reason behind commercial gym memberships and the hiring of personal trainers.

Yet with all this attention still the majority of people have it all wrong. Its always endless sets of crunches, sit-ups and roman chair raises. This move that move, 99% of which all have you submit the abdominal wall / obliques, into flexion and even hips into motion. Now I’m not saying these are the devil, and such moves should never be used. Certainly some of these have their time and place, and most certainly dynamic rotational core movements have an important role in athletics and everyday life.

Much more so then any of the ones listed above, but that’s another topic for another time. What I am getting at is. If a strong, powerful, and even ripped / dense core is your goal. These movement dependent exercises, and ones like them, should take a back seat to moves that actually work the primary function of your core.

The function of not creating movement and flexion, but, that of preventing unwanted movement. Keeping your body in a strong neutral spine. Keeping you in a safe and powerful position for your task at hand, or even simply in good daily posture.

This is where static core stabilization comes into play. Now I argue the majority of this work everyone should be getting during your weekly training periods by loading the spine with bars, DB’s and varied other training implements with moves such as squats, deadlift, presses, cleans, heavy walk outs, etc. (Though sadly the majority out there are still lacking such fundamental exercises in their programs due to misinformation, and poor choices in trainers / coaches in commercial gyms who rely largely on seated, machine based exercises)

Even still if you are doing these basic effective exercises on a regular basis at least half of your direct core / abdominal training, and I would suggest more like 75%, should be done with moves that work the core in a static way (again with exception to athletes and people who employ dynamic rotation in their life such as golfers, throws, fighters etc then I would go more like 50/50) Another great aspect about these types of exercises are how quick and effective they are, as well the ability to quickly add an external load and make advancements in stability and strength.

What I am going to do here is simply give you a few more choices above and beyond the usual planks and bridges so you can vary your exercises choices add some spice, new stimulus, progression to your core training.

Static Dragonflags

Quite simply one of the most challenging simple and effective exercises there are, with very minimal equipment. As shown in the video above you simply find a solid bench. You get your body set in a safe and strong neutral spine position then raise your self up on your upper back / traps and hold. In time as you progress you simply add an external load in the form of a DB or other weight between your feet.

I personally aim to usually get 3 sets of 30 seconds then the next sessions I will be rewarded with the ability to move up in load. For a simpler version if this is initially to hard try just raising the feet to a position parallel to the ground then slowly graduating to load and eventually to holding your body suspended.

CRBT Isometrics (Countering Rotational Band Tension)

CRBT Isometrics are a great and simple move that you can employ with yourself, your training partner and clients with one simple tool. The load is determined by hand placement and the distance they are away from or how close to the center of gravity. As well by simply reducing or increasing the distance from the anchor point.

You can then progress as well by graduating up to stronger bands in time. Aging I personally like the 3 sets of 30 second bench mark prior to moving up but you could go for as long as 60 seconds. Any longer and I feel you being to lose the benefit that would be gained by adding more load and making further progress.

Heavy Suit Case Holds

One of the few exercises where I do suggest looking at your self in the mirror. By doing so you can really be sure you are staying in an upright position and employing your core musculature to keep the shoulders which act like a lever in this case to stay in a position parallel to the ground. Load this up.

You can even initially go pretty darn heavy. Use strap if desired and if at all possible a farmers walk implement is very handy, but a DB, or even BB across pins in a rack can be used, Simply garb the loaded implement with one arm and aim to get and stay in a natural standing position, Make sure the lower back is not caving as it has a tendency to give as well. Force that neutral spine and upright position. I would use the same time, sets and reps as described above and possibly even heavier at times for shorter periods.

Reverse GHR Abdominal Isometrics

One of my Favorite and most demanding core strength builders, Unlike a crunch or sit up that has you unloaded when the core is at its weakest leverage point, in full extension, this move has you loaded at that stage and working it for time. Like the video shows you simply get in the GHR Backward and extend the body like it would be when you are erect, then hold. Resist gravity. You progress onward by holding your arms at length above or behind your head adding DB’s etc. Go for time, sets and reps much like above. I prefer the 60 second loading parameters for this move.

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So, Now get yourself out of constant abdominal flexion and get your body erect, and a strong extended abdominal wall. Last thing we need and want is to expedite the process we see of people with horrible posture slouched over from working at computers and desks all day. Then to just to go home and enhance the problem by doing their one and only physical exertion of the day, 200 reps on the Rambocrunch 5000 Ab Blaster.

I hope that I gave you some new tricks to add to your arsenal, as well as some enlightenment to your core training as a whole.