If you've been around here for a minute you've heard this: "Muscles up Front are for Show, Muscles in Back are for GO!" or more eloquently put "You Can Never Have Too Much Ass, Abs and Upper Back" I've had lots of clients that were: Anterior dominant Kyphotic <----generally flexed forward. This is mostly through the thoracic spine. Quad dominant Weak Core And to some extent all of those can, and do, usually result in some movement or orthopedic issues. <---yes, these are typically related. But I've had very few clients who were: Posterior dominant Glute dominant Overly strong core Too thick in the upper … [Read more...]
UMBC Sports Performance Seminar: A Review
June 7, 2019 by
Most "fitness" seminars and continuing ed events are thinly veiled revenue streams junk. But the one day "Sports Performance Seminars" that colligate strength coaches put on are almost universally always good. WHY? Because the speakers at these events actually DO what they're talking about. Unlike "fitness" events, the strength coaches product is PERFORMANCE. Not a certification or gadget. Strength coaches, sports scientists and physical therapists are on the floor or in the clinic or in the lab, with athletes under the bar or on the table, 9-12 hours a day most days of the week. You're learning from people who have REAL WORLD … [Read more...]
Con-Men, Fear and Lifestyle Multilevel Marketing (MLM) ….
May 29, 2019 by
In College I took a FILM CLASS. Evidently, that qualifies as a "general elective" and makes you a liberal artist, or some BS. But the truth is, I learned a LOT. The one film that I really enjoyed was Elmer Gantry. Elmer is a traveling con-man who shows up in a small midwestern town and gets the people there to join the revivalist church. Long story short, he cons them into paying for salvation. A fire happens, burns down the church (its a giant tent), kills his lady (the purveyor of the church) and he leaves town quoting a great line from the Bible when asked what he's going to do next. What's Elmer Gantry Have to Do With Fitness? Elmer Gantry … [Read more...]
B Stance isn’t B.S..
May 22, 2019 by
A few years ago I saw The Glute Guy, Bret Contreras, using the B-Stance with some lower body lifts like RDL's, Squats and Deadlifts. Truth be told, I thought it was dumb as all hell. It literally made NO SENSE to me. But, half a decade later, I was stuck in a hotel gym and needed to do a hip hinge hamstring movement. I was armed to the teeth with a pair of 50lbs dumbbells. So I committed blasphemy and tried B-Stance RDL's And they didn't suck. In fact, I really liked them. I was able to handle less weight and still get a good training effect on the hamstrings. Why I Thought the B-Stance was Bullshit My number one reason was, Why not just do … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: Plank Elbow Touch
May 15, 2019 by
Why do we swing our arms when we walk? This used to be one of the big questions in exercise physiology. The other was what's the limiting factor in oxygen utilization? O2 uptake at the muscles or O2 uptake at the lungs (the pressure across the alveolar membrane and red blood cell affinity for 02, etc) <----its this one, google anatomical dead space Circa 2009 we figured out why we swing our arms.... Swinging your arms while you walk: Makes walking more "economical" Keeps us walking straight "The results showed that arm swinging, either normally or in the opposite direction, required little effort from the muscles. “Instead of being … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: Single Leg Hip Thrust
May 9, 2019 by
There is a good chance that 2018 was peak Insta-Ass. What's Insta-Ass? Insta-Ass is the fitness subcategory (which I kinda just made up) that is nothing more than girls in leggings doing "Booty Workouts" and ass shots on Instagram. Actually, lets face it, until the fairly recent and kinda small backlash against the Instagram Fitfluencer thing, the whole Insta-Ass thing was at least 70% of all fitness related posts on Instagram since about 2015. Butt, here's the thing: Glutes REALLY are Important. I have would argue that glutes are the MOST IMPORTANT muscle group in the human body. "for us, for athletes, glutes are everything — the absolute … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: Row W/ Miniband Around Wrist
April 24, 2019 by
Han Solo and Chewbacca Penn and Teller Bill and Ted Wayne and Garth Mulder and Scully like all great combos the sum value of the system is greater than the individual value(s) of both parts combined. Somehow a great combination makes 120% where only 100% should exist. The TRX Row With Miniband Around the Wrists is no exception. Most combination exercises suck because one of the exercises isn't really challenged at all. In things like lunge into biceps curl or Deadlift into shoulder press, half of the movement is basically just going through the motions. This isn't that because really, you're not combining exercises, you're just adding a … [Read more...]
Weight Loss: What Works?
April 18, 2019 by
TV Weight Loss Gurus are Bullshit Artists. Watch any weight loss segment on TV or read any weight loss/ magic diet book and you'll hear the same story, "It's not your fault" followed with "Do THIS magic thing and you'll finally be everything you wanted". Just so we're all on the same page: THATS ALL BULLSHIT. #1. If You're Overweight, it's 100% YOUR FAULT That's a good thing. It means YOU have CONTROL over it. I know, it's not PC to say this these days, but think about the alternative. ie. Your weight isn't your fault. Then WTF do you do If your weight is out of your control? Hope, pray and just accept the fact that you're screwed? If it's your … [Read more...]
