Here’s to 2009!

Well, it's finally here.

It's a day that you either loathe or love and it seems like there is no middle ground for this day. I have been trying to think of why some people love this time of year or why they hate it and I have come to no conclusions whatsoever.

So I won't stress over it.

One thing I am not going to do with this, the final post of the 2009 season, is what every other person has done with their posts: top 10 things I've learned. BLAH!

Instead, I am going to do what I will call "My top discoveries of 2009". There will be no limit to what I think of but as soon as I get bored, I will stop. Also, make sure to read the whole post as I have a couple big announcements that will come at the end.

Let's begin shall we?

MY TOP DISCOVERIES OF 2009

MUSIC

• Mudvayne – While this band has been around since 1996, I just recently discovered the amazing power of this band, thanks to satellite radio. The amount of power and fury that is conveyed in their music is amazing. From blistering guitar licks, to throat destructing screams, if you like your music hard and heavy, you can do no wrong here. I highly recommend their latest two releases: A New Game and the most recent release, a self-titled album Mudvayne.
  

  
   

• Five Finger Death Punch – The only way to describe the best new band I have heard in years is holy s***. This band was another discovery courtesy of XM radio and I am thinking of sending Kayla (Octane dj) roses since she was the on the radio when I first heard this. When I downloaded (yup, I downloaded it) their album, War is the Answer, I nearly came out of my skin. The first song hits you like a punch to the stomach and it doesn't stop for the entire album. I recently introduced a friend to them and the first thing she said was "ahhhhh, angry music". If you are in need of some good, hard leg day, blow your colon out your ass while squatting music, do your butt a favor and get this album.
  

  
   

FOOD

• Goji berries -- I first heard Tony Gentilcore talk about these little morsels on The Fit Cast. They are these tiny little red things that pack quite the nutritional punch. While they look like skinny versions of dried cranberries, these little guys pack a ton of good carbohydrates to your nutritional quiver
  

  
   

• Greek yogurt – I have been listening to people talk about this form of yogurt for a couple years now and this year decided to dip my toe into the craziness that is Greek yogurt. With less carb's and more protein than normal yogurt, the addition of this power packed mini snack to your every day food intake will do nothing be help you reach whatever fitness goals you set for yourself.
  

  
   

• Almond butter – I love peanut butter. LOVE IT. Yet just recently (like within the past 5 weeks or so) I was turned onto the all powerful taste of almond butter. I was at my girlfriend's house and she had no PB and gave me some almond butter instead. Needless to say, I have not bought peanut butter since. While loaded with the all important fats that people need in their diets, it also houses good carbs and a taste that only nut lovers can enjoy.
  

  
   

TRAINING

• Renegade rows – This is a row variation that I have come to love for a couple reasons. First, it hammers your rectus abdominus and oblique's and is what I consider to be one of the best ways to train your 6-pack without actually training your 6-pack. Second, it's a row and anytime you can throw a new type of rowing movement into your training, you will only better your physique and your postural health. Finally, it acts as a shoulder stabilizer and helps work those lovely little assistance muscles. I personally love doing these with kettle bells but if you are in a pinch or have no access to them, dumbbells work just as well.
  

 

• Front squat grip reverse lunges – I believe I got this one from Eric Cressey's Maximum Strength program. This movement covers the best of both worlds: front squats and lunges (yes, I'm a little sadistic). What I love about this killer variation is two-fold: you get to work your core and stabilizers while hammering your legs. Again, this movement is what I consider a best bang for your buck type movement. By holding a barbell in a front squat style grip, you are automatically engaging your core and abdominals. Yet you will be pleasantly surprised at how hard doing a reverse lunge with this style grip actually is. The fact that you have a barbell on your chest makes this subtle little movement twice as hard as holding a pair of dumbbells. Try this movement and you will find the results are quite impressive.
  

  
   

MISCELLANEOUS

• Satellite radio – I talked about this a little under the music section but without the addition of this to my new truck, I would go insane. I hate radio and haven't listened to it in years. The DJ's sucked and talk too much and the music they play is horrible. I get sick and tired of hearing the same 3 songs over and over again. Satellite radio is quite the opposite. The dj's don't talk hardly at all and the music is ever changing and completely random. In my opinion, this is the best way to discover new bands, minus Pandora radio.
  

 

That's about it. Honestly, I just can't think of anything else off the top of my head and am going for a hike with my doggie. So with that, I will close this post with a couple little announcements.

First, this is the first year I have actually had a resolution and stuck to it. Today is the last day of the "year without fries". Yes, I have gone 364 days without French fries. Was it hard? Kind of but not really. I actually can't wait until tomorrow when I go to In & Out and get me some fries! For next year, I plan on going with no red meat, i.e. no burgers, steaks or anything else that comes from a cow. If you are wondering why, read Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma. It will make you think twice about eating red meat.

I have actually contemplated not saying anything about this subject but I figured I live my life like an open book so I might as well talk about it.

Everyone knows that I drink and that I love the taste of alcohol. I love how wine can, when paired correctly, make any meal that much better. There is also nothing better than an ice cold beer on a hot summer day to quench that dry pallet. Still, alcohol is a poison to the body and I can honestly say my stubbornness and lack of ability to not drink has hindered me on my journey to reaching my physique goals.

Alcohol also impairs your judgment and your ability to make rational decisions and two weeks ago I made a choice that is going to drastically change my life for the next 10 years. Upon leaving a concert I was driving home and got a DUI. While I was lucky not to go to jail, I now have a battle in front of me that is going to be long and expensive. I think this couldn't have come at a better time, as I was drinking and driving more than I should have been doing.

It's funny the effect of getting a DUI can have on someone. Since it's happened, I feel that people now look at me like I have killed somebody, like I have done something so bad, that I can never be forgiven. Now I don't normally care what people think of me, but this is having a huge effect on me. It's very humbling to have to tell someone what happened and it is a definite learning experience, one that I don't wish on anyone.

So, with that in mind, it's about time I take a little bit of a break from the sauce. I really don't have a problem doing so right now either. It's time and it's been long overdue.

What a way to end 2009.

Here's to 2010!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do something, anything because I said so

If it seems like I'm a little random today, I'm blaming it on the fact that I slammed my head hard playing softball last night. Today my head hurts, I have the brightness of the screen turned down, loud noises really suck and the only thing that is making the pain behind my left eye go away is coffee. There are probably a host of other homeopathic remedies I could try and I plan on trying some of them later in the day, but as of now, crack in the form of coffee is doing just fine.

Just don't hold me to any sort of coherent thoughts and/or statements.

Let's begin.

I've really been thinking about life activities lately and the role the play in the life of individuals who are fit and healthy. There is a key acronym floating around our industry called NEPA, or Non Exercise Physical Activity. Basically NEPA is anything you can do to get some sort of extra exercise without actually doing any exercise. Confused perhaps? Let me provide you with some examples: parking far away from the entry to any sort of shopping store, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, disabling the automatic pull function on your lawn mower, walking a round of golf instead of using a cart and my favorite of them all…..surfing.

I am lucky to live in a place where it's sunny 330 days a year, so the option of being outside and doing something is always there and it show's with the people who inhabit this city. As I type, its blue sky and sunny with temperatures climbing up into the 70's. Yet there are people who aren't so lucky. The Eastern seaboard is getting hammered right now with horrible weather and odds are it's going to drive people in doors and on their couches. It's these times where you need to get creative. Can't get out of your house because you are snowed in? Here's a suggestion: during the next commercial break, do walking lunges across the room. Got a set of stairs? Do reverse lunges off the bottom step before you go to the bathroom (or after if you can't hold it). Got little kids? PLAY WITH THEM! Set the example that even though the weather sucks worse that Jake Gyllenhaal's acting, you can still stay active inside your house.

For those that CAN get outside during the winter, there is really no excuse not to do something active. Walk on the beach, take a hike into the hills (urban hikes are fun too if you have no wilderness), take your kids to the park and teach them a new game or sport. Whatever you do, don't waste the opportunity to get outside away from the monotony that is the television and video games.

Take in some much needed Vitamin D from the sun (if it is available), start a snowball fight with your neighbor or shovel their driveway. Do something to take your non-gym activity level up a notch. It's during these times of winter where you can set the foundation for a newer, healthier you come spring time.

Only One Body

Guest post today courtesy of Mike Boyle:

Imagine you are sixteen years old and your parents give you your first car. They also give you simple instructions. There is one small hitch, you only get one car, you can never get another. Never. No trade-ins, no trade-ups. Nothing

Ask your self how would you maintain that car? My guess is you would be meticulous. Frequent oil changes, proper fuel, etc. Now imagine if your parents also told you that none of the replacement parts for this car would ever work as well as the original parts. Not only that, the replacement parts would be expensive to install and cause you to have decreased use of your car for the rest of the cars useful life? In other words, the car would continue to run but, not at the same speed and with the efficiency you were used to.

Wow, now would we ever put a lot of time and effort into maintenance if that were the case.

After reading the above example ask yourself another question. Why is the human body different? Why do we act as if we don’t care about the one body we were given. Same deal. You only get one body. No returns or trade-ins. Sure, we can replace parts but boy it’s a lot of work and it hurts. Besides, the stuff they put in never works as well as the original “factory” parts. The replacement knee or hip doesn’t give you the same feel and performance as the original part.

Think about it. One body. You determine the mileage? You set the maintenance plan?

No refunds, no warranties, no do-overs?

How about this perspective? One of my clients is a very successful businessman. He often is asked to speak to various groups. One thing he tells every group is that you are going to spend time and money on your health. The truth is the process can be a proactive one or a reactive one. Money spent on your health can take the form of a personal trainer, massage therapist and a gym membership or, it can be money spent on cardiologists, anesthesiologists, and plastic surgeons. Either way, you will spend money.

Same goes for time. You can go to the gym or, to the doctors office. It’s up to you. Either way, you will spend time. Some people say things like “I hate to work out”. Try sitting in the emergency room for a few hours and then get back to me. Working out may not seem so bad. Much like a car, a little preventative maintenance can go a long way. However, in so many ways the body is better than a car. With some good hard work you can turn back the odometer on the body. I wrote an article a while back ( Strength Training- The Fountain of Youth) that discussed a study done by McMaster University which showed that muscle tissue of older subjects actually changed at the cellular level and looked more like the younger control subjects after strength training.

Do me a favor, spend some time on preventative maintenance, it beats the heck out of the alternative. Just remember, you will spend both time and money.

You down with GPP? Ya you know me!

Okay, I might have dated myself with a little Naughty by Nature, but what the hell, it’s the holidays.

What exactly is GPP and what purpose does it serve in today’s training world?
GPP stands for General Physical Preparedness. Long winded? Yup. Hard to understand? Not really. Absolutely necessary? You bet your skinny ass it is. According to fitness journalist extraordinare and soon to be CSCS Roger Lawson, GPP is essentially one’s general conditioning level. You are “essentially using it as a measure of how ready they are to meet the tasks that they might face in an everyday situation.”

Nik Herold, CSCS also thinks along those same lines. “Personally, my definition of General Physical Preparedness is any type of training that helps you do what you're supposed to do in everyday life--squat, lunge, twist, bend, push and pull. It promotes being better balanced”

In the midst of pulling heavy weight off the floor while trying not to spray your colon everywhere or trying to stand up with the weight of a mini-cooper on your back, GPP does play a critical role in the development of even the most undertrained individual. It not only re-enforces movements and muscle patterns, but it also helps you prep your body for the one battle that not many people think about: getting old.

Most of us don’t fear getting old, mainly because we spend all of our time eating and promoting eating a healthy lifestyle. We are also doing some form of resistance training to make sure our bone density is good, we have the strength to move our body through any situation and most importantly, to look good nekkid.

So if GPP helps me do everyday things, how does one add it into a resistance training program? According to Herold, it’s added to help create balance. “I like doing metabolic circuits in between strength training days. They involve all the basic movement patterns that I talked about above yet they are done with lighter weights and higher reps and the sessions reinforce a balanced strength program.”

Lawson also has a plan to include GPP in his clients programs. “I would include some kind of brief interval based strength training circuit 2-3x a week after each workout, I.E. Barbell complexes, bodyweight circuits, etc”.

Either route you go, if you don’t have some sort of GPP added into your program, now’s about time to start adding it in. After all, the year isn’t over yet, so why not start to create that new healthy habit now, just in time for the new year!

Microsoft does suck

So I've been trying to use Microsoft Word for my new posts and it's pretty evident that it sucks considering none of the added pictures are showing and neither are my quotes. So I apologize for the crappy blogs lately.

So, as a gift to you, I'm going to give you an amazing recipe from diet plan I'm following courtesy of Naked Nutrition:

7.5 oz chopped chicken breast (I pre-cook this)
2 C low sodium chicken broth
1 C chopped celery
1/3 C chopped onion
1/3 C chopped tomato
3 t oil (I prefer Almond Oil but EVOO works as well)
3 T parmesan cheese

Lightly sautee all the veggies in oil. Add chicken and heat until warm. At same time, warm chicken broth and season. I used salt, pepper, basil and parsley. Add cooked chicken and veggies, and sprinkle with cheese on top and eat like soup.

Enjoy

Taking a vacation: is it really a bad thing?

For those of us who take this whole concept of healthy living seriously, we know how hard the rigors of strict eating and lifting heavy amounts of iron can be. We also know that without such dedication, we would most likely all look like Fat Bastard; and I personally don't want to look like that again.

So what do we do to prevent us from turning into complete sloths? Well, we train and we train hard, probably harder than anyone else; and we eat. We eat copious amounts of dead animals, we graze on fruits and veggies like the dinosaurs did and we train, but I might have already said that.

The one thing we also know and understand is that taking a much needed vacation is actually a good thing. Now I don't mean a vacation where you over stuff yourself silly at Old Country Buffet or decide that pizza and beer will be your new breakfast lunch and dinner. I am talking about a vacation from training; from eating healthy 90% of the time. I am talking about doing nothing and liking it!

In his manual "Muscle Building Secrets", Jason Ferruggia talks about the importance of taking a break:

"Taking a week off will actually allow you to get stronger and come back fresh and ready to train hard again. You simply cannot train balls to the wall for 52 weeks per year and expect to make progress. You will get too beat up and burnt out. Injuries will start to accumulate and your desire to be in the gym and work hard will start to dwindle. One thing that I have noticed is that people get very nervous about taking a week off because they think they are going to get small and weak. You are going to have to trust me here when I promise you it's not going to happen. Every single time I have forced a client to take a week off they have come back bigger and stronger, without fail."

The ironic thing is, I experienced this first hand recently. I had been training for 2 years without taking a week off, that's 104 days if you didn't know, and I absolutely dreaded going into the gym; I loathed it. I wasn't having fun anymore, my body didn't feel right doing any movements or exercises and I (admittedly so) slacked off on how hard I was training. So I forced myself to take last week off and I can already tell a difference as I hit the gym with reckless abandon this past Monday. The thought of lifting heavy gave me goose bumps and I have never felt better under the bar.

I also gave one of my clients the week off as well. His lower back was starting to bother him and he had been training for 6 straight months. When he came in on Monday night, he said his back felt 100%, his energy was high and he also had a monster lifting session.

So, if you feel like you are stuck in a rut, it might be time for a vacation. Take a look at your training; take a look at your nutrition and take a week off if need be. It will give you a chance to recharge your internal batteries. Your body will thank you for it.

A reason to be thankful

Two years ago, someone I knew was dying.

The signs weren't significant but the fact of the matter was this person was killing himself.

Every day he would wake up and make decisions that were slowly but surely draining the life from his body. The devil inside him was winning every battle and the rabbit hole he was falling down had no end. He was consumed by everything that he knew was wrong but had no control over how to stop it.

Just one more beer, what's it gonna hurt?

Just one more cigarette, you know you want it.

C'mon, just one more line, you can always get higher.

Such negativity rain down on him like a monsoon and the depression was starting to wear on his psyche. He would look at himself in the mirror and want to put his fist through the face of the person that was staring back at him. All the while, he was putting on a happy face for his friends and his family; he didn't want anyone to know what was going on.

Like every defining moment in life, an opportunity was laid before him and he was giving a choice – live or die. It was literally that simple.

Take this opportunity to break free of the strangle hold of addiction and start building a better, healthier life……..or continue down the path of self-destruction, into a darkness that most people don't have the strength to break free from.

After deciding to rebuild, a war broke out; a good old fashioned battle of good versus evil, with life on one side and the devil from within on the other. While everyday was a struggle, he fought his battle one day, one hour, one minute at a time. Just like watching paint dry, the process of recovery was slow and boring. Every day he would wake up and measure the food he was going to consume that day. He would re-read a life changing article as his motivation and stare at pictures of his out of shape body as a reminder of what he was trying to change. He would go to the gym and lift weights from upwards of two and a half hours, just to help make sure he would be strong enough to fight the demons that would surely come back to haunt him.

He walked away from everything that was comfortable: drugs and nicotine.

Then people started to notice something was different. A mental toughness was coming through that nobody knew he had hidden deep inside. The way he talked about life changed, hell the way he viewed life changed and the appearance of his body was changing as well.

Two years later my friend is not the same person he once was. His life is full of positive daily adventures; he hasn't had a cigarette since he went cold turkey two years ago this Sunday. He has been clean and sober from the drugs that once were a mainstay in his blood stream. He has a whole new life in front of him and there is no negative end in sight

It's amazing the power of change and it's amazing what happens when given a second chance at life.

This person was me two years ago and every year at this time I become more and more thankful for my second chance at making my life better. I am thankful to the two coaches who, with a ton of resistance from me, wouldn't let me stray from the course and kept me focused on what I was trying to do. I am thankful for my friends who stood by me and encouraged me along the way and I am thankful to my family who I never let know how bad it really was but only showered me with love and praise when I came clean with them.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

 

 

 

Training, business and other life of Chris updates

With the holiday's coming up faster than Jimmy Johnson's Chevy, I just wanted to take the time to update everyone on the goings on in my life. Life has been pretty hectic out here in Southern California. The onset of winter brings two things: surf and snow. While I haven't been able to get to the mountains yet, I have gotten in the water. While it hasn't been big, minus today, it has been fun and refreshing to get back out in the water. I also have started teaching a couple people how to surf including a bunch of little kids and I tell you there is nothing more fun that watching little people learn to surf for the first time. I suppose I have to mention my personal life for just a quick second. Another reason life is so good is that I have a new friend in my life and her name is Michele. We have been seeing each other since August and she is quite amazing.

In a nutshell, life is good.

Training

I am just wrapping up my 6-month Lean Eating Coaching Program through Precision Nutrition. While my results have been less than stellar, i.e. I am still at 10% body fat, the amount of knowledge I have gained from that company has been priceless. I have learned about macronutrients, nutrition design and timing, as well as how to live an overall healthy lifestyle. If you are looking to make the switch from a shitty, fast food, highly processed food type of lifestyle to one of balance, healthy GOOD TASTING meals and world class training, then I suggest you either purchase Precision Nutrition or join the LEP program. You will not be disappointed.

When this program is done, Michele and I are embarking on Mike Roussell and Alwyn Cosgrove's Warped Speed Fat Loss program to keep us on the straight and narrow during the silly season. Its 28 days of pre-planned out meals and a training program that looks brutal but absolutely fun as hell. Yes I am that crazy. Then once the New Year hits, I go into full on triathlon training mode to get ready for Wildflower the first weekend of May. My goal is to break the three hour mark this year, plus I am collaborating on a the training protocol with my good friend Roger, which should be fun.

 

Business

Business is steadily growing. I haven't paid anything for marketing and my client base is slowly growing. Everything I have been doing has been via word of mouth, as I am a believer that a personal testimonial is the best form of marketing. Besides, when you can get someone in shape and looking good, people will notice and start asking questions. The results have been speaking for themselves. My bootcamps are growing and getting more consistent turn-out and I am just getting ready to launch a new series of bootcamps for moms, it's going to be sweet. My gym clients have been kicking major ass as well. I got a new client about 5 weeks ago now and while she is only down 3 pounds, we have corrected a lot of her postural and asymmetrical problems and her movement patterns have gotten dramatically better. Plus we have alleviated the pain in her hip and shoulders.

Overall, things are progressing in the right direction. While of course I want more clients to train, I know I have my ship pointed in the right direction.

This will seriously change your life, I swear on my dog it will

First things first, I'm using a new format to try and post this blog, as the blogging service licks ass and doesn't save information. So I'm trying this via Microsoft Word (I know, I know….) and we shall see how this experiment goes.

Now I love food and thoroughly enjoy eating copious amounts of dead animal and their fleshes, fresh fruits and veggies that I have now been getting at the farmers market (gold mine for fresh produce by the way…..) and anything else that sounds really, really good. With the arrival of November also comes with it the welcoming back of organically canned pumpkin at Trader Joe's. I was a little apprehensive about eating this stuff last year, mainly because I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin anyways. Yet after hearing about how good it was from Leigh Peele on an edition of The Fit Cast, I decided to give it a try. Besides, Leigh sounds hot and with that southern accent, I would have jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge if she told me it would get me an actual photo of her so I could verify my theory of hotness.

Anyways, after one dosing of pumpkin mixed in with my oatmeal that next morning I was hooked. Flash forward to about 30 minutes ago when I got home from teaching my bootcamp and I was starving. After scouring my kitchen I formulated a plan that would result in something my friend Roger coined – a foodgasm. Please enjoy the music:

2/3 C low-fat cottage cheese

1 scoop chocolate Whey protein powder

1 T natural chunky peanut butter

½ C organic canned pumpkin

4 shakes of ground cinnamon

Stir all that up together and you have one tasty snack. You get good fats from the natural PB, tons of protein and some good carbs in there in not too big of amounts. I know it probably sounds disgusting but seriously, it was f-ing amazing. As you can tell by the photo that I meant to take before the chaos of eating took place, I spared no prisoners.

Try it out and post a comment on this blog and I will send you a FREE thank you. Personally. Because I'm nice like that.

I'm still here, please dry your eyes

No I didn't move to Canada, all though I did hear they finally got high speed internet.

No I didn't drop off the face of North America, unless you count getting pounded by some waves while surfing, considering I wasn't techinically on the continent when it happened but it did happen just off the coast of the continent....oh hell I give up on that one.

I have actually been working on a really nice piece of literature for all 4 of my readers. I even spell checked it too, but for some reason, this lovely blogging service decided that after saving it about 999 times, that when I hit publish, it was going to lose all my data.

Hence the reason I have no hair. But that's a lie too because really that's just genentics and I shave my head by choice - all disucssions for a later time.

Once I wipe away these tears of sorrow and can refocus my energy on something other than sex, I will come up with a post that actually has something to do with health and fitness. Hell, I might even say something useful but I wouldn't put too much credit towards that.

Time to pimp out some s***

If you don't know who Leigh Peele is, you better take notice.

Leigh is one of the industries top fat loss experts and is someone whose work I have been following a lot closer lately, and with her new project, Body By Eats getting ready to drop, now is the perfect time to look at nutrition in a whole new light.

I was lucky enough to be one of the first to be able to purchase BBE and I must say I am stoked that I was. I am just starting to get into the nuts and bolts of her new book, but the message she is trying to convey is simple: love food.

Now that might seem contradictory since now a days we are taught that food is bad, that what we eat is evil and we are going to be fat slobs by the end of the day.



But I like what Leigh has to say. So far the message I'm getting is that food is our friend, that we shouldn't be afraid to eat good tasting food, that "dieting" doesn't have to be evil.

I'm no authority on the subject as my experience is still in the growing stages but I know something good when I see it.

Keep an eye out for a full review of Leigh's book and when it's back on sale, pick yourself up a copy. You won't be disappointed.

WHAD UP LEIGH!

This post has no method to the madness

-Whole Foods is quite possibly the greatest grocery store on the planet. For those few of us who try and eat and live a healthy lifestyle, that store provides everything you need to succeed. The only bad thing is its damned expensive. I can get way more food at Albertsons, Safeway or anyother knock off of those but you sacrifice in the quality of the food.

-Listen up major corporations, if you are going to put us on hold for an extended period of time, please play us some good music. Elevator music is not good for people who are already mad and since we have been on hold for over 30 minutes, do you really think that shit makes us calm? The answer is no. Play us some good music.

-Doing a superset of heavy front squats, followed by reping out that same weight with back squats will make your ass sore for 4 days.

-Unsweetened almond milk is my new crack

-See if you can find the irony in this: fitness clubs that have a beer bar on the way out. There is a place here in SB that serves not light beer or low-calorie beer (is there really such a thing?) but rather calorie dense microbrew's. I can see having a supershake bar but a nice hoppy IPA? No wonder your clients are fat.

-There is something much more inherently erotic about daytime sex. It has a much more taboo feel to it. People should have more daytime sex but that's just me.

-Getting barreled for the first time during the surf season is a great way to kick of the winter. Up next, powder day!

-New snack I'm trying out: greek yogurt, hemp seeds and goji berries. should be interesting.

-I bought Tofurkey sausages today. what the hell is wrong with me!

Training versus Workingout

Couldn't have said it better myself:

"Training is so much more than working out. It helps you get to know yourself better. It teaches you what you're really made of and how hard you're willing to work to overcome adversity.

Working out is what the general public does to get in a little better shape. They go to the gym because they have to. They don't have a passion for it, they don't love it, and they don't live for it.

These people go to the gym as a way to meet new friends or just to "stay in shape" and improve their health. To them, working out is a hobby or a necessary evil. But to those of us who are married to the iron for life and feel most at home pushing heavy weight in some hole in the wall hardcore gym, it's our passion. The squat rack is our church, the deadlift platform our temple."

Jason Ferrugia

A Product of Your Environment

This topic gets covered in great detail by everyone and their mother in this industry. You want to get strong? Find the best and most bad ass powerlifting club in your area and join. Want to get lean? Find the best and most bad ass fat loss program and do it. Why is that you might say? Well, people become a product of their environment.

Yet still some people do not believe what we have to say. You might hear something like "oh, those guys just listen to loud, heavy music (yes they do by the way.....), I can't be like them".

Why not? If you want to get strong, you can and will if you train hard and almost every gym I have been to where power, speed and strength's are the focus, those pep's are damn strong.

This past weekend I got to experience first hand what its like to train with (in my humble opinion) the most bad ass powerlifters in the game. Thats right, I made a pit stop in London, Ohio to train at EliteFTS.

First off, holy shit. That is what I call a gym. There is no better sound than that of clanging metal plates, loud heavy metal music and good amounts of swear words.

I walk in to met the patriarch of Elite, Mr. Dave Tate. I got there a little early and walked in the front door with the look of a deer in the headlights. I stood out like a sore thumb. Good thing is, Jim Wendler was there and he welcomed me in. While he looks uber scary, he is one hell of a nice guy and was dropping knowledge bombs all over the place. I just asked some questions and listened intently.

Then, the door swings open and in he walks. I knew it was him from the minute he walked in, just the presence he brings with him makes it unmistakable as to who he is.

After making the rounds, he walks over and sticks out his hand, "You Alwyn's guy?" I'm not sure what I said, maybe something stupid but I dropped my name and said it was an honor to meet you and he walks away. I continue my training and just watch and listen. He goes around to everyone and talks to them, coaches them and encourages them. After 20 minutes or so, he comes back over and starts telling me why he has them doing what they are doing since they are 5 weeks out from a big meet. I never really get to ask a question because he is talking and was not going to do anything to interrupt.

As I finish my session (5x5 glute/ ham raise, 5 warm up sets on deads, 5x3 speed pulls @ 315 with chains, 5x3 deads @ 405, 6x3 back squat @ 315) I walk over to ask a question and he is intently watching two of his lifters doing speed work on their squats. Nothing misses his eye and when he see's something he doesn't like, he lets everyone know. We talk shop for a bit, mostly about meets, Westside style training, why he hates having them train in their suits versus raw etc......

After about 2 hours in there, I had to go. While I didn't get as much time as I would have liked with Dave, when he shook my hand as I left, he flashed me a huge smile and said "you are welcome here anytime".

See those lifters, both male and female, train with Dave because they know he will bring the best out of them. That the environment he has instilled out there creates some of the strongest lifters around.

I have never wanted to live in Ohio so bad in my life.

Healthy, Low-Carb Pizza .

Everyone loves pizza or at least I haven't found anyone who doesn't. Problem with pizza, is that it's horrible for you. Bad starches, loads of crappy sauce and greasy cheese.....don't forget the meats that are super processed.

I think that most fitness professionals have a healthy pizza recipe in their nutritional quiver and here is mine.

I stole the crust recipe and I can't remember from who, so I'm sorry I can't give proper credit:

1 1/2 C flax seed meal
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 t oregano
1 T splenda
3 T oil
3 omega-3 eggs
1/2 C water

Nutritional information:
1525 calories
47 G protein
7 G carbs
130 G fat
52 G fiber

This makes enough to make about 2 good size pizza's. I just make small little personal ones, like the one pictured.

Pre-heat over to 425. Mix all dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients and mix. Let sit for about 5 minutes to allow to thicken. Spread out on a pan and bake for 15-18 minutes.

For this night, I added organic red/green peppers, diced onions, sliced tomato's and turkey sausage. I drizzled EVOO on the crust before adding the goodies, put it back in the oven for 5-7 minutes.

Add whatever spices you like depending on the type of pizza you are making.

Enjoy

Can cardio help with fat loss? Coach Thib's answers

Earlier this week, I posted a quote that I got from Alwyn Cosgrove's blog regarding using a metabolic weight circuit to burn fat instead of doing cardio. The numbers that AC found are astounding in that lifting weigth will do more for fat loss then cardio.

What I did show was that cardio CAN BE a benefit while trying to burn fat, in addition to lifting heavy weight.

Here is a knowledge bomb that Christian Thibaudeau dropped during my Physique Clinic almost 2 years ago:

LONG AND SLOW OR SHORT AND HARD?

There are several types of "cardio" you can perform on your way to leanness. All of these can normally be grouped into two camps:

1. Long and slow: low intensity of work (65-70%) for a relatively long period of time (30-45 minutes).

2. Short and hard: high intensity of work (75-90%) for shorter periods of time or intervals. GPP work such as sled dragging, sledgehammer striking, sandbag carrying can also be included in this camp.

Both types will help you lose fat but not via the exact same action. The long and slow techniques will favor direct fat oxidation over the total caloric expenditure increase while the short and hard techniques will act primarily
via an increase in total energy expenditure rather than on direct fat mobilization.

So which one is better? There is no "best" way to perform energy system work. It all depends on the type of diet and training program you are using as well as some genetic factors. Without going into too much detail, the following guidelines give you the 411 on what type of technique to use depending on some factors:

If you are on a very restrictive diet you should avoid short and hard cardio work because you are already causing a severe caloric deficit, dipping too low could lead to muscle loss.

If you are on a low-carbs diet you should also avoid short and hard sessions because these rely heavily on glycogen for energy. When you don't consume a lot of carbs your body will not be able to store a lot of glycogen and the little that you have will be needed to fuel your strength training workouts. Performing short and hard cardio work while in a glycogen-depleted state also increases the risk of muscle catabolism as the body will tend to breakdown muscle tissue into amino acids to produce new glucose from them.

If you are on a moderate diet providing sufficient amounts of carbohydrates performing short and hard sessions will be best as it will allow you to create more of a caloric deficit.

If you wish to quickly deplete your glycogen stores (if you are using a cyclical low-carbs diet and wish to deplete your glycogen stores after a carb-up to get back into a fat burning state as fast as possible) you can perform a short and hard session.

Earlier in a fat loss/body transformation program it is possible to use a greater proportion of short and hard sessions. But as you get down to very low levels of body fat you should switch to more low intensity work because when you reach a very low level of body fat you tend to feel more lethargic and have less energy. As such low intensity cardio work is mentally easier to perform and will allow for a greater program compliancy.

EXAMPLES OF ENERGY SYSTEMS TECHNIQUES

There really is no need to explain long and slow cardio work as it's pretty straight-forward: train for 30-45 minutes at an intensity level of 65-70% of your maximum heart rate. You can use the treadmill, stepmill, stationary
bike, recumbent bike, x-vest walking, etc. as long as you are in the proper intensity and duration range you'll be fine.

But what about short and hard techniques? Well, here are a few of my favorites:

400-Meter Running

I discovered the high fat-burning potency of 400 meter sprints without really looking for it. I use a lot of 400m running with my hockey players, mostly because it develops the energy system they require the most during a game.
However, I quickly noticed how lean they were getting shortly after starting 400m runs. They were not only getting leaner but stronger!

I then experimented with the 400m for fat-loss purposes and found time after time how efficacious it truly was. To this day I still believe that few things can match up with 400m runs for fat loss.

For mathematically impaired Americans who never ran track in high school, 400 meters is one lap around a standard track.

I recommend using 400-meter sprints once per week at first as they're very hard work! However, some of my athletes use up to three sessions per week, two being the norm.

Interval Running

Interval running is another great way of burning body fat without jeopardizing your efforts to gain muscle and strength. It combines low-intensity and high-intensity work for a very large fat-burning effect. Basically you'll alternate between slow-pace running (slow jog) and fast-pace running (sprint).

This form of training is a bit less intense and stressful than 400-meter sprints. It can be started at a frequency of twice per week, building-up to three or four times per week for maximum fat loss. Stay with two weekly sessions if you're trying to build muscle.

Interval Build-Up Running (IBUR)

This is my personal favorite fat-burning strategy. IBUR is based on many of the same principles as regular interval training, but with each cycle (or each interval), the duration of the sprint and jog phases increase in length.

CARDIO: WHEN TO DO IT?

There is a big debate regarding the optimal time to perform cardio to shed a maximum of fat. The biggest aspect of that debates is in regard to morning (upon waking up) cardio. Some say that it can drastically increase the amount of fat you use while others state that it can actually be quite
catabolic especially if performed in a completely fasted state. So, who's right?

First, let's look at the pros of fasted morning cardio:

Pro #1: Morning cardio could potentially increase the amount of free fatty acids (FFA) used up as fuel. This is not due to performing cardio in a glycogen depleted state though, since this isn't happening here. Unless you go to sleep in an already depleted state, you won't wake up in such a state.

During sleep almost 100% of the energy expended comes from fatty acids because of the extremely low intensity of the activity and because of the natural hGH burst which occurs 30 minutes or so after you enter the deep sleep phase (hGH increases fatty acid mobilization).

So you really aren't depleting your intramuscular glycogen stores during the night. You might be tapping your hepatic glycogen stores slightly, but even then that can't account for much since at best this contains maybe 200-300kcals
of stored energy. So it's a fallacy to believe that when you wake up your muscles are emptied of their glycogen.

However, since fat is the primary energy source during your sleeping period, chances are that upon waking you have a greater amount of free fatty acids available. Since you don't have to mobilize them (they're already freed up) they become easier to oxidize for fuel and are thus more readily used up during morning cardio.

Pro #2: Fasted morning cardio could also potentially be glycogen-sparing for the same reason as stated above: the greater availability of FFAs reduces the reliance of glycogen for fuel during low-intensity energy systems work.

Pro #3: Fasted morning cardio could lead to an improved fatty acid mobilization during exercise and increase insulin sensitivity afterwards. This might be true of exercise at a low level of intensity (50-75% of max VO2) since this decreases insulin levels via the stimulation of adrenergic receptors. A lower insulin level can increase fatty acid mobilization.

However, a higher intensity of work (above 75% of max VO2) can actually have the opposite effect. So in that regard a moderate or even low intensity of work would seem to be superior in the morning as far as fat mobilization goes. (Galbo, 1983, Poortmans et Boiseau, 2003)

To counterbalance the reduction in insulin production during exercise at a moderate intensity, insulin sensitivity is increased, especially in the muscle. Since insulin sensitivity is already high in the fasted state, morning cardio could allow you to significantly increase glycogen storage and reduce the storage of carbohydrates as body fat.

So in that regard, morning cardio in a fasted state could increase fat loss during a cutting period and allow a bodybuilder in a bulking phase to significantly increase his carb intake without gaining more fat.

However there aren't just bright aspects to fasted morning cardio. If fasted state cardio could potentially increase fat mobilization, it's also potentially more catabolic to muscle tissue. This is due to an increase in cortisol
production during fasted exercise. Since cortisol levels are already high in the morning, this could lead to more muscle wasting than during non-fasted cardio.

In fact, cortisol levels could increase muscle breakdown and the use of amino acids as an energy source. This is especially true if high-intensity energy systems work is performed. If an individual uses lower intensity (around 60-65% of maximum heart rate), the need for glucose and cortisol release are both reduced and thus the situation becomes less catabolic.

I personally do believe in the efficacy of morning cardio, but not in a completely fasted state. For optimal results I prefer to ingest a small amount of amino acids approximately 15-30 minutes before the cardio session. A mix of 5g of BCAA, 5g of glutamine, and 5g of essential amino acids would do the trick in preventing any unwanted muscle breakdown.

However, I'll also play devil's advocate and say that morning cardio won't be drastically more effective than post-workout or afternoon cardio work when it comes to fat loss.


Pre-strength workout cardio

If one chooses not to go the morning cardio route another option is to perform the sessions along with the strength training workouts. However this poses another conundrum: should we perform our cardio before or after our strength training work?

Some peoples claim that performing the cardio first will provide for a good warm-up and thus reduce the risk of injuries during the session and even improve performance by increasing body temperature. This is actually true, and a short 5-10 minutes warm-up before hitting the weights is certainly a good idea in most cases; it really doesn�??t apply to a full blown fat-loss cardio session. While a short, low intensity warm-up can help with your performance slaving on the treadmill for 45 minutes or hitting it hard with intervals is a sure way to drain yourself and as a result it will end up sapping your much needed strength thus reducing the efficacy of your lifting workout.

So if you decide to perform your cardio work along with your lifting session it is much better to lift first and run second.

The last option is to perform your cardio on a non-lifting day. This can be adequate if a low-intensity approach is used as it will not reduce recovery capacities (it might actually help you recover faster). However if you decide
to use a short and hard approach, it might not be the best option (to do it on your days off) especially if you are hitting the gym 4-5 times per week.

A high intensity cardio session is just about as stressful as a lifting workout, so you basically are not giving your body any break. While this may be okay if fat loss is your only concern, it really isn't right if you are interested in a body transformation because muscle is built while you are recovering.

CONCLUSION

To get to a very low level of body fat, most peoples will need to perform cardio work. The type of cardio selected will depend on the type of diet and training program used. And while there will not be a huge difference in progress depending on when you perform you sessions, the morning and
post-lifting windows seem to offer the best options in most cases.

oops

well aparently I need to take blogging 101 because I jacked up the link.

go here:

www.roglawfitness.com

The next great Personal Trainer

The internet is a weird but albiet unique place. You can pretty do,find and get away with anything you want.

In the past 2 years though, I have used the internet for something other than looking at porn.

I was lucky enough to be chosen as part of a life changing training program and through that I was able to meet more amazing people than I have ever met in my life. Most of these people have become collegues and great resources for me and my business.

Hell, I even met an amazing girl and ended up having one hell of a good relationship because of it.

Yet one person that has had a profound impact on me personally and now soon to be professionally, is my good friend Roger.

Not only are we both embarking on the same professional journey, he has become one of the first people I go to with questions, concerns or if I just want a good laugh.

Roger just finished up with an internship at Cressey Performance in Boston, MA (still super jealous of that by the way) and is now a published professional.

Check out his website here.

If you are in the greater Boston area, I highly suggest looking him up and working with him as a trainer. You will not be disappointed.

Yup, nothing but more supplements

Okay, this took a little longer to get out than I planned but life got in the way and I was having a great time living my life. So lets get back to what I was talking about. Instead of talking about both protein and Vitamin D, I am going to focus on Vitamin D first and protein second.

Why might you ask? Well if you do any research at all on either of those two "supplements" you will get more than you can imagine. A quick search on Vitamin D supplementation on pub med only comes up with 2,674 hits.

Ummm......thats a lot of info to try and digest.

Do the same search on pub med for protein and you only get 19,220 responses. So as you can see, a ton of information out there.

With that in mind, I am going to try and make this simple and easy for you to understand.

Vitamin D -

You need more of it as you are not getting enough. Simple enough? Okay that might be a little bit simplistic but seriously, you need more of it and you aren't getting enough. In his article called, "D is for Doping", Chris Shugart lists out 3 reasons why you should be taking this new so called magic supplement:

"Three reasons: Longevity, performance, and lookin' good naked.

Let's break those down:

1) Longevity

You know what really gets in the way of building muscle, losing fat, and benching a ton?

Death.

The New England Journal of Medicine recently warned that the number of diseases associated with vitamin D deficiency is growing. And who's deficient? Most people, the studies seem to be saying, including otherwise nutrition-conscious athletes and gym rats.

In one mind-blowing study (Melamed, et al.) using population data, researchers found that total mortality was 26% higher in those with the lowest 25(OH)D levels compared with the highest. And a meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials found that supplemental vitamin D significantly reduced total mortality. That means quite simply this: vitamin D supplementation prolongs life.

Here's just a handful of examples:

• According to the Vitamin D Council, current research has implicated vitamin D deficiency as a major factor in the pathology of at least 17 varieties of cancer.

• Vitamin D may protect against both Type I and Type II diabetes.

• Low D may contribute to chronic fatigue, depression, and Seasonal Affective Disorder.

• Parkinson's and Alzheimer's sufferers have been found to have lower levels of D.

• Low levels of vitamin D may contribute to "Syndrome X" with associated hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

• Administration of dietary vitamin D has been shown to lower blood pressure and restore insulin sensitivity.

This section could go on endlessly, so let's just say this: If you care about living a good long life, then Vitamin D looks like it could certainly help with that goal.

2) Performance

Studies on Vitamin D, sunlight, and performance go back for decades. Russian studies in the 1930's showed that 100M dash times improved in irradiated athletes vs. non-irradiated athletes undergoing the same training (7.4% improvement vs. 1.4%).

German studies in the 1940's showed that irradiation lead to a 13% improvement in performance on the bike ergometer vs. no improvement in the control group.

In the 1950's researchers saw a "convincing effect" on athletic performance after treating athletes at the Sports College of Cologne. Findings were so convincing that they notified the Olympic Committee.

At one point, even school children were irradiated and given large doses of Vitamin D in 1952 Germany. Treated children showed dramatic increases in overall fitness and cardiovascular performance. UV radiation was also shown to improve reaction times by 17% in a 1956 study.

In the 1960s, a group of American college women were treated with a single dose of ultraviolet irradiation. The results: improvements in strength, speed, and endurance.

Other studies showed "distinct seasonal variation" in the trainability of musculature. Basically, athletes performed better and got stronger in the late summer due to their greater exposure to the sun and subsequent Vitamin D production.

Vitamin D has also been shown to act directly on muscle to increase protein synthesis. Deficient subjects administered Vitamin D showed improvement in muscle protein anabolism and an increase in muscle mass.

Improvements in neuromuscular functioning have also been seen. People with higher levels of Vitamin D generally have better reaction time and balance.

3) Looking Good Naked

If Vitamin D does indeed improve the effects of training and helps to stave off various illnesses, then it's easy to see how this can translate into an improved aesthetic: you're healthier, you feel better, you get more out of your training, and you end up looking better when you make sexy-time. But there could be a more direct effect as well.

Dr. Shalamar Sibley's new research shows that adding Vitamin D to a reduced-calorie diet may lead to better, faster weight loss. Not only did she find that excess body fat came off faster when plenty of D3 was present, but it also came off the abdominal area.

The icing on the cake? The same D-supplemented subjects retained muscle mass while losing the fat.

In other studies, subjects receiving Vitamin D therapy lost weight, lost their sugar cravings, and saw a normalization in blood sugar levels"

The lovely "experts" over at the ADA (American Dietitic Association) recommend that people should be taking at least 200 IU's of Vitamin D per day but that their own recomendation is too low. Geniusous I tell ya.

Again another exerpt from Mr. Shugarts article:

• As a general rule, Dr. Clay Hyght recommends 1,000 IU per day. This represented the low end amongst our experts, but note that it's still way over current government guidelines.

• Canadian researcher and one of the world's foremost experts on Vitamin D, Dr. Reinhold Vieth, says levels should be in the range of 4,000 IU from all sources.

• Dr. Bowden recommended 2,000 IUs per day.

• Dr. Ziegenfuss personally keeps his levels of 25-hydroxy D at 50 to 100 ng/mL. That means he uses around 4000 IU per day. (He lives in Ohio, by the way.) He notes that when he took 1000 to 2000 IU per day his levels rarely hit 40.

• Bill Roberts has noted that 4,000 IU a day can be a substantial help to fat loss.

• The Vitamin D Council says that those who rarely get sunlight need to supplement with 5,000 IU per day. Note that this would take 50 glasses of fortified milk a day or 10-12 standard multivitamins, hence the need for targeted supplementation.

• Dr. Robert P. Heaney of Nebraska's Creighton University estimates that 3,000 IU per day is required to assure that 97% of Americans obtain levels greater than 35 ng/mL.


As you can see, people vary on the amount that should be taking but one thing that is for certain, you should be supplementing with Vitamin D.

Next up, protein!

Focus ladies!

I've been trying to tell women that they need to lift weights and when they ask questions, for some reason they just like what I have to say. They ask things like "how do I get tone?" or "I want a round ass, how do I get it?" But when I tell them to lift some weight and bust your ass in the weight room, their response is something like this: "But I don't want to look like one of those bodybuilder type things".

I swear, hearing things like that is the reason why I am bald.

Since apparently I am crazy by trying to get women to lift weights, here is another voice saying the same thing.

Courtesy of Jason Ferrugia:

You have to lift weights. That would be my first piece of advice for the ladies. You can’t just do cardio and expect to get in great shape. It will never, ever happen. There is no worse look for a girl than a flat, pancake ass that doesn’t’ even fill out your jeans. You have to squat and deadlift if you want to get that round, bangin’ Jessica Biel type butt that every girl is after.

If you are adamantly opposed to lifting weights then you at least have to do bodyweight exercises that will be challenging enough that you can’t do more than ten reps per set. Chin ups, dips, pushups, pistol squats, lunges, inverted rows and tons of other moves with the TRX are all great choices. High reps with light weights will do absolutely nothing and are a complete waste of your time.

There is no definition for the word tone. You can either build muscle or lose fat. And that is what most females should be trying to do. While you can’t tone you can increase muscle tonus. That is basically the appearance of the muscle at rest. And the only way to get that rock solid look is through heavy resistance training. Simply doing cardio and lifting light weights won’t cut it.

To see your abs and definition in your arms and shoulders your body fat has to be very low. The only way to get it there is through a strict fat loss diet and non traditional cardio methods. Ditch the steady state stuff and opt for sprints instead.

The Great Supplement Debate

This is definitely a tricky subject and it has been talked about for quite some time, but everyone loves a good discussion on supplements!

If you have been in the iron game for any given amount of time, you know the supplement question has come up more than once. Why might you ask? Because if you are lifting for any goal, whether it be aesthetics, strength competition or an athletic endeavour, you are constantly looking for an edge. If you aren't, you better hope your genetics are better than your competition.

Now what I am about to say is not to bash supplements, I not only recommend them for my clients depending on their goals, but I also take tons of them as well. But after lifting for close to 20 years, trying out a ton of stuff and pissing massive amounts of money down the drain, I have come up with a list of stuff that should be staples in everyones supplement quiver.

MULIT-VITAMIN
Here is an exerpt from my Lean Eating Coaching program through Precision Nutrition:

"Most people aren't meeting their nutrient needs. Can you believe that 68% of the population is deficient in calcium, 90% in chromium, 75% in magnesium, 80% in vitamin B6, and 95% in omega-3 fats? Studies have even shown that the food intake of athletes doesn't measure up."

What PN teaches us is not to rely on supplements but to try get 100% of our nutrients from food. Problem is if you are on a fat loss mission, you have to reduce your caloric intake, which in turn reduces the amount of nutrients that you ingest in your body. This is where a good multi-vitamin comes into play. While nothing beats food, a multi can provide you with those lost nutrients and give your body all it needs to maintain its natural balance.

Another quote from PN:

"Vitamins and minerals play a role in normalizing bodily functions and cannot be made by the body (except for vitamin D from the sun). Adequate intake from food and supplements is necessary to prevent deficiency, promote optimal health, improve nutrient partitioning and promote fat loss and muscle gain."

If you are looking at purchasing a good multi-vitamin, I recommend this one by Genuine Health.

FISH OIL
The list is long and exhaustive on the benefits of fish oil and Omega-3/Omega-6 oils. Here is a brief list that I got from Jason Ferrugia:

• Reduction of joint pain
• Increased energy levels
• Decreased inflammation throughout the entire body
• Improved functioning of the immune system
• Increased strength levels
• Increased testosterone levels
• Increased levels of HGH (human growth hormone)
• Increased oxygen delivery to the cells during workouts
• Decreased bodyfat
• Increased insulin sensitivity
• Increased sex drive

I don't know about you, but that last one is reason enough for me to supplement with fish oils.

Look, in all seriousness, the benefits of fish oil are there and the research backs it up. I can say that I would not have lost the amount of weight I did and not have any joint problems without the use of fish oil. Not only does it help with everything listed above, it also allows you to cook in a more natural way without the over use of Olive Oil or Coconut Oil.

While purchasing fish oil can be expensive, its definitely worth the money to spend on a high quality product. I use only one type of fish oil and you can find that here.

That seems like a good place to start. Next week I will be back with my take on why you should supplement with Vitamin D, even if you live in a sunny climate and protein (which should be interesting).

Back in the saddle again!

FINALLY!

I am back on my computer and ready to get rolling. Felt like forever since I have last been on my computer and its much easier on the eyes than my damn iPhone.

First things first though, I want to give a HYYYUUUUUUUGE shout out to my buddie Charlie and his crew over at Pulse One. They are an IT consulting firm working with small to medium size business with any IT need you can think of. They hooked me up and compeletly dialed in my computer and upgraded the crap out of my parts and performance. If you are looking for any IT help, check out www.pulseone.com, you won't be disappointed.

Next up, bootcamps. Things are going progressively well. The people that have signed up, are kicking major ass and I can see the improvements daily. I will get some pictures here soon and post them up for all to enjoy.

hmmm, not much else at the momement. Now that I have my computer back, I plan on writing more, working more and marketing more. So get ready people!

You win some, you lose some right?

So my body fat test didn't go as planned. I have only lost .3% of my body fat since my last test and to say that I'm frustrated, bummed and any other plethera of adjectives, would be an understatement. It might have been what I needed though as I am now completely focused on only one thing.

On a business update, if you are interested in the bootcamps, next week starts week 1 of the actual classes. All you need to do is show up to any of the classes next week, with a water bottle, towel and a check. You will need to let me know what package you want (listed below) and what days you plan on coming. All packages are based over the course of 4 weeks.

8 sessions = $119
12 sessions = $179
16 sessions = $209

Right now, I will only be teaching at one time, 6 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday's.

I look forward to seeing all of you out there!

There are some things you just never want to hear.....

......and being told your hard drive is not recoverable is toward the top of the list.

So this will be brief as I'm writing this from my iPhone.

1. This week I am doing a other round of free bootcamps. Bring a beach towel and a water bottle. Last weeks classes went amazingly well and I am looking for an even better turn out this week.

2. I got 5 weeks until my next race and training is being dialed up a notch. I will try and post about my training rides and how I am structuring them and why.

3. I finished 2 books last week and both are must reads:
"the power of now" by Eckhart Tolle and "it's not what happens to you, it's what you do about it" by W Mitchell. I liked the ladder of the two as it was an easier read and not quite as deep. "The power of now" is an amazing book don't getvme wrong, I learned a lot about how to live a positive life but it's one of those books you need to read a couple times before it really sinks in.

I'm now reading a book called "the joy of living" by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, a tibetean Buddhist and "the new rules of lifting" by Lou schuler and alwyn cosgrove.

4. I get my body fat retested this weekend and I'm stoked! Can't wait to share the news so stay tuned.

I like stealing....

courtesy of a guest blog from Jason Ferrugia's site.....

....by the way, Jason, you are a fucking monster. Love MGS and everything else I got with it! Clients, watch out.......your are in for it!

Bootcamping it up!

Wow!

After 3 day's of bootcamps, I must say, I am really excited how things have been going. The classes have gotten bigger every day and that really makes me happy. So far the feedback has been nothing but positive. While there is some fine tuning that needs to be done, I have complete faith that this program can provide people with an amazing metabolic conditioning session, while building a good amount of strength for the novice and intermediate lifter.

Wanna know what the sessions look like?

Good because here is exactly what I have had the campers doing so far and will continue to do the rest of this week. Keep in mind, every movement is done from anywhere form 45-60 seconds. I have them rotating from station-to-station, twice through:

Dynamic Warm-up

Core:
A1 - planks
A2 - Inch Worms
A3 - Scissor Kicks
A4 - Mtn. Climbers

rest 2 min

Cardio:
B1 - Burpee's
B2 - Jumping Jacks
B3 - Running In Place, High Knee's
B4 - Side Lateral Lunges

rest 2 min

Strength:
C1 - Push Up's
C2 - Kettlebell/Bodyweight Squats
C3 - Blast Strap Horizontal Rows
C4 - Static Lunges

Cool Down Stretching routine

If you think this is easy, try it for yourself. I did and I worked myself doing it. It definitely gets the heart rate a pounding.

Also, I have another big announcement for next week, so stay tuned....

It starts tomorrow, 6 pm!

Okay everyone. I went to the park yesterday and tried out the format and I'm not going to lie, it's not easy. I was huffing and puffing my way through the whole thing but I did push myself pretty hard as well.

Couple things to remember to bring with you:
a bottle of water
a beach towel
a good work ethic

If you show up with those 3 things, you are going to have a good time.

If you don't know where the new location is, check out the link here.

I look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow night at 6!

Location for camps finalized!

Here you go everybody, location has been set. Next week all the boot camps will be held at Dwight Murphy field, located adjacent from the entrance to the Santa Barbara Zoo and right behind hotel Mira Monte.

You will see a softball field and in dead center field, there is a fitness training area and that is where the classes will be held.

Please, if you have any questions on how to get there or any confusion at all, feel free to email me at chris.bartl@gmail.com or call me, but email me for my phone number so I know you aren't one of my 7 stalkers that are following me.

Round and Round we go, where I will land, who the hell knows

This is almost getting comical but I swear, this is the last time I post a schedule change for the bootcamps next week.

THE FINAL SCHEDULE LOOKS LIKE THIS:

MON - 6 PM, 7 PM
TUES - 6 PM, 7 PM
WED - 6 PM, 7 PM
THURS - 6 PM, 7 PM
FRI - 6 PM, 7 PM

Good news, well maybe not for you campers but it stokes me out, my kettlebells and blast straps came in yesterday and I'm not going to lie but I think I got a little excited. Kind of like the first time you go out without wearing any underwear type excited. It felt that good.

Get ready for next week people!

Brand New, highly scientific stuff

So I'm going to try something over the next couple weeks just to prove a point to people. When talking to people about the benefits of lifting heavy weights and metabolic conditioning, people are extremely hesitant. They say stupid things like "I don't want to look like a body builder" or "I don't want to be one of those fitness models".

Well guess what morons, couple things: A. bodybuilders do steroids, you don't and B. fitness models and bodybuilders have the most insane, strict diets you could imagine and finally, besides amazing genetics, C. they train their asses off usually twice a day and have been doing it for YEARS!

I feel better now.

With all that being said, I am doing a little personal, highly scientific research on none other than myself.

What I'm going to do is record my heart rate during my lifting sessions and compare that to results from steady state cardio. What I am trying to prove is that lifting heavy weights can do more for your body than only doing steady state cardio.

Today was my first recording session. So here is what my training with heart rate looked like:

core
dynamic warm-up

A1. Single Arm Kettlebell swings - 6x7 -- 30 sec rest, 26kg bell
B1. Barbell Split Squats - 6x4 -- 40 sec rest, 175 lbs
C1. Snatch Grip RDL - 4x7 -- 15 sec rest, 225 lbs
C2. Double Leg Hip Extension Leg Curl -- 4x7 -- 90 sec rest, BW

Avg heart rate = 120
Max heart rate = 160
Total time lifting = 24 min, 56 sec.

So in 25 minutes, my heart rate was in a zone considered to be decent for steady state cardio but I was also stimulating more than just nothing. I was lifting heavy shit and getting my heart rate up, as evidenced by my max HR hitting 160 bpm.

Keep in the loop regarding this as I will post once a week or so my training for the day and my results from my heart rate readings.

Updates camp schedule and going independent, so to speak

Okay, so after taking a generous poll of individuals that plan on attending the bootcamps next week, I have decided to NOT do the 6 am classes. Nobody seemed stoked on the idea of waking up that early in the morning to train.

Gee, I wonder why?

So, not to people out there in SB land: NO 6 AM CLASSES NEXT WEEK

Also, as a way to get amazing free marketing, I need everyone and I mean EVERYONE to go to this website:

http://www.independent.com/

Once there, look for the icon that says something like "vote for best of SB". Its the Independent's annual Best of Santa Barbara, where the people vote on the best of everything that is in SB.

Under the option of Best Outdoor Fitness Program, type in Phoenix Training & Fitness.

Its that simple. For those of you who do not live in the Santa Barbara area, you can still vote too. Just put in this number for the area code: 93109

I really appreciate all your help.

CLASS SCHEDULE UPDATE

Next Wednesday there will be 3 classes:

6 am, 6 pm and 7 pm

Next Thursday will only have one class:

6 am ONLY

Bootcamp schedule, product review and nothing else worth a darn

So I have been working on the format for the new bootcamps and I am super excited to unleash these next Monday morning. I even took a metabolic conditioning class yesterday and was able to pull away some really good idea's that I might add in as well.

Anyways, here is the schedule for the FREE bootcamps that I will be doing next week. By the way, you didn't read that wrong, I am doing 14 ABSOLUTELY FREE bootcamps next week:

Monday - 6 am, 6 pm, 6 pm
Tuesday - 6 am, 6 pm, 7 pm
Wednesday - 6 am
Thursday - 6 am, 6 pm, 7 pm
Friday - 6 am, 6 pm, 7 pm
Saturday - 5 pm


I will post the new location here in the next 48 hours. So tell your friends, tell your family and I look forward to see all of you there!

NEXT

Okay, so if you don't know, I'm going to lay it out for you. I love Biotest. That company pretty much saved my life and I will always buy their products, its the least I could do. But for the first time in a really long time, I think its been at least 5 years, I bought protein from another company.

I recently bought Black Star Labs Ultra Peptide Whey protein. I went with chocolate flavor because I love chocolate and since everyone and their mother makes a chocolate protein, its usually a good gauge as to flavor.

I had read a lot of review's of the product and everything I heard was positive. So I went for it and I must say that I am pleasantly surprised. It mixes well in a shaker and has a really light chocolate flavor. Honestly it reminds me of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate in its flavor. I use it a lot in my PWO shakes and in my pre-bed meal (cottage cheese, protein and peanut butter) and the flavor is amazing. For $34.95 for a 5 pound tub (71 servings) the price is super reasonable.

So, if you are looking to try out a delicious new protein or just add one to your quiver of supplements, give it a try and you will not be disappointed.

RANDOM THOUGHT

Anyone else as excited as me to see that football season is already here? I mean I got goose bumps last night watching the Hall of Fame game highlights on Sportscenter. This is seriously my favorite time of the year. Football and the end of summer....awesome.

I think I have officially lost my noodle

I have been thinking about this for a while and I can't believe I'm about to say this but I am about to do something that my business coach is going to kill me for doing.

Starting Monday August 17th, 2-weeks from today, I will be doing 14 free bootcamps over the course of 6 days.

That's right, I said FREE. No charge, no nothing. Show up, train hard, meet some new people and have some fun.

Normally I charge $49 per week for 3 session, so you are instantly saving fifty bucks right off the top.

Now, I know what you are prolly thinking, and no I haven't gone completely off the reservation. I am just about half way there.

So, I say again, starting Monday August 17th, I will be doing 14 COMPLETELY FREE bootcamps.

Bring friends, family or whoever. I will keep blogging with updates, times and location (hint, we are going someplace new). If you are interested, just post a comment here or send me an email.

Anyone seen me lately? I think I might be lost....

Nah.

I'm not lost just busy.

First things, I hate Cox and not just because I'm a heterosexual male. I prefer women and that's the way I like it. But I do not like the cable company Cox right now. The internet at my house has been out for the last 2 days and it's intermittent with the connection right now. Not that that has kept me from posting, but that's one good reason.

The other, is that I took off down to Los Angeles for a little event you may have heard of. Its called X-Games. I got the pleasure of hanging poolside at The Standard hotel with Adriana from some show called The Hills, drank some beverages with some pro skaters and the owner of DC Shoe Co, and watched some rapper guy named Fabulous perform. It was a grand time. The 100+ miles of traffic on the way home did suck though.

Tangents over. Back to business

Today is Day 1 of my Skinny Jeans challenged and I'm excited for the group. While I didn't get as many people in the program as I would like, the one's that are in are very excited to get going and these next 8 weeks will push them to their limits, with the hopes of getting down 2 pant sizes.

Also, a couple announcements. The return of my bootcamps is here. I will be doing a new format, with new toys (can you say kettlebells and blast straps), new location and finally new pricing format.

Secondly, I will be offering free bootcamps for people interested in donating money for the American Heart Association, Heart Walk here in Santa Barbara. Details forthcoming.

Last but not least, I should have my website up and running by this time next week. It has taken me a while to get here but if everything works out, it should be ready. Keep your fingers crossed.

Oh, I almost forgot. In case anyone cares, I bought a new truck last week thanks to the government and their Cash For Klunkers deal. I am now styling in a '09 Toyota Tacoma.

I love the smell of a new car......

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR IN A PERSONAL TRAINER

If you have spent any time in a weight room you will know there are certain ways that things are done – and certain ways things should absolutely not be done. You’ve probably seen them, heard them said or done them and didn’t even realize it. Example: barbell biceps curl in a squat rack? Seriously? I know it seems miniscule and possibly even a little bit nit-picky, but no true lifter in his right mind would ever try such a dastardly thing. After all, it is called a squat rack for a reason.

The same thing can also be said about personal trainers and how they work with their clients. After 17 years of weight lifting, training as a client, and now training my own clients, I have seen and heard some absolutely moronic advice from personal trainers. With that in mind I came up with my top 3 things that if seen or heard by a personal trainer should have you finding the nearest exit and running your little rear end off.

1. “You feel that? Nice.” This definitely tops the list but I’m not even sure this one deserves an explanation because of the basic stupidity behind it. As a personal trainer, we are taught how to design programs to stimulate fat loss and/or generate new muscle synthesis (aka get yourself swoll). With that in mind, no personal trainer worth his weight in gold should ask a client that question. If he does, I’m sure this person can’t even properly do their ABC’s.

Not only does it show complete lack of knowledge of kinesiology and basic anatomy, but it also tells the client that you aren’t quite sure the exercise you have them doing is the right one to help them reach their goals. It also sends them the message that they aren’t doing the movement correctly, thus uncovering your inability to coach them to do said movement correctly, and forever searing in the mind of your client that you are a moron.

2. Unstable surface training. If you see a trainer having his client do more than 1% of a program on a Bosu ball, Swiss ball or other type of unstable surface, the only thing he is having them work on is their next injury.

Don’t get me wrong, working on an unstable surface has its place when it comes to the world of physical therapy and injury rehabilitation. Your clients aren’t paying you to re-hab them, they are paying you to get them leaner, sexier and stronger. Doing Swiss ball crunches does not have the same training effect as a 60 second prone plank hold or set of ab wheel rollouts. Also, if your trainer tells you that by using the ball it will help “strengthen auxiliary muscles”, ask him to stand on one foot and close his eyes. Then proceed to bash him over the head with the pink dumbbell he probably has you using.

3. I have saved the most important one for last: programming. In the most simplistic of terms, a program is the written plan of attack that a trainer creates for his client based on the client’s wants and needs. This is where most trainers fail because they have no concept of programming. Instead, they give their clients “workouts.” In my mind a workout is a set of exercises put together for no rhyme or reason. A program, however, has all the important factors built into it: mobility and muscle activation, core, pre-habilitation, resistance training, metabolic conditioning and self re-generation. It is a written plan of attack to give you the body you want in the shortest amount of time possible. If your trainer says “for today’s workout we are going to…..” I suggest leaving the gym and saving yourself the time and money of doing something that is not going to get you want you want; and that’s results.

There you have it, three simple and effective keys that will save you thousands of dollars in useless training expenses. Remember, not all trainers are created equal - some of us actually care about helping our clients reach their goals. Just make sure your trainer has your best interests in mind, not theirs