Joseph had tried various sports and activities when he was in grade school. Nothing clicked. He was a below-average student, often getting in trouble at school. Watching cartoons and playing video games were his only interests. His mom was desperate. She brought him to me at 12 years old, not sure he would last, but…
Women have only recently started to weight train, right? WRONG!!! Women have been weight training for well over a century. When the aerobic craze hit in the 70s and 80s, however, more women were doing aerobics than weights. The fear back then was that weight training would lead to overdeveloped muscles. Fortunately, we know better…
This morning was the last med ball session of the year. Next week, I’ll transition to a strength and hypertrophy phase (i.e., the first phase of Mass Explosion). I never eat before doing med ball training. I’m up at 5:00 a.m., take some BCAAs as outlined in Lean and Mean, and then on the field…
For several weeks now, 15-year-old Joseph has been working hard on hanging-band squats and assisted chin-ups. Friday night he was able to see what effect that type of training has had. After working up to 45 pounds a side on hanging-band squats, he was ready for conventional squats with the “big plates”. No problem! Now,…
Albert Einstein once defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. There are many examples of insane traditions in the health and fitness world. Here are some that come to mind… Insane Nutrition Tradition We’re told to eat less to lose weight, so people restrict their calories…
Take a look at Ben Johnson’s world record 100-meter sprint. Although temporary in the record books, his performance was outstanding! No doubt, Ben Johnson is one of the greatest sprinters of all time, and his coach, the late Charlie Francis, was one the best in the business. If you watch Johnson’s face throughout the race,…
The number one reason that people exercise is to lose weight, and aerobic activity is crucial for that… Right? Sure, you’ll lose weight, but at what expense? If you do an excessive amount of aerobic work, rest assured that you’ll catabolize muscle tissue, and the less muscle you have, the lower your metabolic rate will…
There are certain exercises that are simply too uncomfortable or seem to fatigue everything but the target muscle. Usually, you just stay away from them, but with some ingenuity, you can often find a solution to the problem. Here are five examples that are common in the gym: Front Squat Problem: Hard on wrists Solution:…
Weight training kills many birds with one stone. It improves strength, power, endurance, cardiovascular health, body composition, balance, and flexibility. Yes, weight training can significantly improve flexibility if it’s performed in a full range of motion and if it’s performed frequently as the following study demonstrates. Effects of different resistance training frequencies on flexibility in…
Many myths exist regarding weight training. For instance: • Weight training will make you muscle-bound and inflexible. • If you train with heavy weights and slow contractions, you become heavy and slow. • Squatting below parallel is an invitation for injury. The list is endless. None of these are 100% true. Weight training is simply…