Where do you get your Info?

I get asked that just about EVERYDAY.

So I figured I’d compile a list of the sites I visit just about everyday to have knowledge bombs dropped on my mind.

 

*This is in NO WAY one of those Nut-Hugger, “50 top trainers”, posts that people make because they need more site hits so they send it to one of the guys on the list who actually gets hits and puts a link to it on his next blog or newsletter.  I could give 2 sh@ts about that, this is just a list of some of the places I go for info on the wild world that is the interwebzzz.

 

10. StrengthCoachPodcast.com

The SC Podcast is 5 parts; really great information and 1 parts; advertisement for StrengthCoach.com and PerformBetter.com (who I’m an affiliate for, so if you need to buy something click on the banner at the bottom of this post or sidebar first then spend many, many monies pleazzz).

It has regulars Anthony Renna and Mike Boyle every time it’s put out along with a pretty strong rotation of guests. Most of which are regulars on the PerformBetter circuit (did I mention it’s an advertisement?).

But, But. But the info on it is REALLY strong every time and worth the listen….

9. Tony Gentilcore.com

I like Tony’s blog. A LOT.

It’s funny, timely and pretty informative. He’s a smart guy who covers a lot of the issues trainers (and trainee’s) deal with and sometimes has really creative solutions, coaching cues, solutions and insights.

8. Eric Cressey.com

He’s a genius.

Eric has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to movement and functional anatomy.

Sometimes I’ll watch one of his videos or read an article and think,

“WTF, man, seriously? How the F- do you know what the deep tissue internal rotators of the small toe while in extension, under water, while throwing a baseball?”

But he does.

One of the very first Info Products I ever bought was Cressey’s Ultimate Off Season Training Manual and it really changed the way I thought about training athletes. That was about 7 years ago and I would still recommend it to someone today.

7. Mike Robertson.com

Another really wicked smart dude.

Most of what Mike has put out in the past deals in corrective exercise and getting people back to “normal”. The “corrective exercise” niche is pretty pervasive now and you’d think  that no one should be lifting anything other than a toothbrush sometimes, but Mike was writing about how to fix things up waaaay before most people and his take is always from the standpoint of,

1. Will this help me lift MORE weight later.
2. Will this keep me healthy so I can lift MORE weight later.

His approach has always been to do the corrective stuff so you’re not jacked up, not just for sh@ts and giggles like so many others.

6. Twitter

Go to twitter, follow all the people in the industry who have half a clue, or just follow me, see who I follow and follow them.

What happens when you do this?

Everyday these people are putting out info, it’s on Twitter, you click and you get it. See? Easy.

5.  Science Daily.com

Science matters.

“Everything in the gym comes back to physics and anatomy”- Mike Boyle

Evidence Based training matters.

Look, some Bro-science is acceptable when it’s executed by someone who has a really firm grasp of the underlying scientific principles.

That’s called a theory.

And we need to test those in the gym to see if they’re worth testing in the lab.

Fact is, not a whole lot of money is flowing into research on “The Most Efficient Bench Press Set Up”.

Unfortunately, those dollars are going to actually important, real world, things like curing cancer.

That said, if someone can’t back up their claims with EVIDENCE that at least infers the theory to be accurate, that’s what’s commonly called:

BULLSHIT

And unfortunately it runs rampant in this industry today.

If you have a trainer/ guru/ Yoda/ Pirate Captain of the Seven Seas in your employ and they can’t explain movement, the rationale and execution of training modalities and your programming in terms of,

Anatomy and Physics

They’re a no-nothing, JOKE and should find another job cause they’re:

1.  Lazy as F.
2. Not giving an F about the bodies of the people they work with.

P.S. If you hire a “Nutritionist” and they can’t explain at the very least basic biochemistry, don’t pay them anymore money.

4. Mobility WOD.com

Kelly Starrett, dude is waaaaay smart and has had a #1 Amazon best seller.

The tagline of the site says it all:

“All Human Beings Should be Able to Perform Basic Maintenance on Themselves”

TRUTH! <—I just wish my clients DID the maintenance.

The theme of the site is basically, if you’re NOT pathological, that means you don’t have something that NEEDS clinical intervention to fix, ie torn ACL, Torn Rotator Cuff, but instead just aches, pains and faulty movement mechanics YOU can fix those things yourself usually in a VERY simple, easy way.

I use a ton of his strategies with my clients EVERYDAY to help fix tissue tracking issues, tightness, mobility and movement patterning.

Full Disclosure: That’s Kelly’s book, I don’t have it, haven’t read it. But, I’m sure it’s VERY good. If you click that picture and buy it from Amazon, I get a “kick-back” as an affiliate. Just an F.Y.I.<—I don’t promote sh@t. 

3. Google Scholar <—-It’s Google for Science

I once had a colleague chastise me for instructing clients to squat below parallel given they had correct movement mechanics. She proceeded to tell me how dangerous it is for the knees and how it causes knee pain.

I asked her to show me some EVIDENCE to which she Googled something and up came a plethora of articles, as in articles written by jack-off with a keyboard, like me,  extolling the virtues of high squats.

Then, I pulled up actual journal articles, you know, those things written by scientists who do PEER REVIEWED (as in other SCIENTISTS try to rip it apart and show where it’s faulty) research like this: Effect of Knee Position on Hip and Knee Torques During the Barbell Squat

Her rebuttal was:

“I don’t like to read things like that. It’s too much technical, boring stuff.”

thank you “Fitness Professional“, hope your doctor likes to read technical, boring stuff….

2. T-Nation.com

This site was my first internet love.

Hell, I still buy ZMA from Biotest, which is what T-Nation is a giant advertisement for, the Biotest supplement company.

Here’s the truth:

• T-Nation is a “informational” front for Biotest Supplements.
• There are very annoying “pitches” for supplements put into a lot of the articles.
• The information is usually really, really good even if a lot of the articles are a little “Bro-ish”.
• It’s one of the few sites of its kind where the authors actually CITE they’re claims and you can cross reference the article.

1. EliteFTS.com

It’s the best…BAR NONE.

Yes, the information available is to keep you on the site and get you to buy products. No, they don’t make you buy anything and ALL the info is free.

The quality of the articles isn’t where it used to be 3-4 years ago on a one to one basis, but that’s because they put out 2-4 A DAY instead of 4-5 on Friday afternoon.

There is more (accurate) information available in the articles and Q+A on this site than any other training based site on the internet. Why? because the people who are on the Q+A here have actually ACCOMPLISHED what they talk about. It’s not BS from some guy who’s only read about something, seen some videos and gone to a weekend certification.

These are actual:

• College Strength Coaches
• Sport chiropractors
• Sport Physical Therapists
• WORLD RECORD HOLDERS
• Professional Strength Coaches

I really can’t do this site justice so you should just bookmark it and go there EVERYDAY from now on.

 

I would be remiss not to mention: 

Patrick Ward and Joel Jamieson who put out information less often but is ALWAYS  very thoughtful and of the highest quality.