It's a little old - it came out six years ago - but I hadn't seen it. I'm just browsing now, but I intend to take some time and read it in-depth and see what I can use out of it for my clients.
Getting stronger, fitter, and healthier by sticking to the basics. It's not rocket science, it's doing the simple stuff the right way. Strength-Basics updates every Monday, plus extra posts during the week.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
What I'm Reading: Anatomy of Strength Training
One of my clients gave me a brand-new copy of this book:
It's a little old - it came out six years ago - but I hadn't seen it. I'm just browsing now, but I intend to take some time and read it in-depth and see what I can use out of it for my clients.
It's a little old - it came out six years ago - but I hadn't seen it. I'm just browsing now, but I intend to take some time and read it in-depth and see what I can use out of it for my clients.
Monday, October 17, 2016
Gear I Like
I've added a new page to the blog - Gear I like. This is all of the training gear I use often. That's either for myself, or myself and my clients.
Where possible I've put a link to Amazon.com, since most of my clients end up going there to take advantage of Prime shipping or a pre-existing customer relationship.
Here is the page:
Recommended Gear
Where possible I've put a link to Amazon.com, since most of my clients end up going there to take advantage of Prime shipping or a pre-existing customer relationship.
Here is the page:
Recommended Gear
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Direction and Purpose of this Blog
When I first started writing this blog, I posted very often - daily, as a matter of fact. It was a very useful tool for me to review what I knew about training and try to explain it to others.
I went through terms I knew and used, and tried to make them accessible to others.
I dealt with questions I ran into every day training clients, and posted the answers.
I hit the FAQs of training, exercises, and fiendishly persistent myths of training.
However, as my work become more time-consuming and topics for explanation ran a little dry, my posting dropped. First a little (weekdays only), then a lot (several times a week), then precipitously (posting when I had a specific thing to say.)
I've been thinking about the direction of this blog as a result.
I think I have two approaches.
Stay the Course
This means keeping on a slow but steady posting schedule, and keeping the topics as-is. Equipment and book reviews, supplement and food reviews, exercises, basic training terminology, myth-busting, finding resources that are out on other blogs, etc. Keep it impersonal and aimed at beginners, as a source for someone just starting out.
Make it Personal
The other option is to make it more personal. The above topics would be in there. But also, I'd post more about my own workouts. What I'm doing in the gym. What I've done with clients (but with the names filed off). What I'm experimenting with for training and diet. My own goals. Not a training log (I keep mine on paper) but sometimes I'd post examples and details of what I do. Details, basically, that I was hesitant to put out when I was regularly competing in MMA and grappling because nothing anyone learns about me was going to help me more than it hindered me. Plus such details bring the focus onto me more than onto my clients and onto your workouts.
I'm leaning towards the latter, but I recognize that this might not be of interest to people.
If you've got an opinion - stay the course, or make it personal - people put in the comments.
I went through terms I knew and used, and tried to make them accessible to others.
I dealt with questions I ran into every day training clients, and posted the answers.
I hit the FAQs of training, exercises, and fiendishly persistent myths of training.
However, as my work become more time-consuming and topics for explanation ran a little dry, my posting dropped. First a little (weekdays only), then a lot (several times a week), then precipitously (posting when I had a specific thing to say.)
I've been thinking about the direction of this blog as a result.
I think I have two approaches.
Stay the Course
This means keeping on a slow but steady posting schedule, and keeping the topics as-is. Equipment and book reviews, supplement and food reviews, exercises, basic training terminology, myth-busting, finding resources that are out on other blogs, etc. Keep it impersonal and aimed at beginners, as a source for someone just starting out.
Make it Personal
The other option is to make it more personal. The above topics would be in there. But also, I'd post more about my own workouts. What I'm doing in the gym. What I've done with clients (but with the names filed off). What I'm experimenting with for training and diet. My own goals. Not a training log (I keep mine on paper) but sometimes I'd post examples and details of what I do. Details, basically, that I was hesitant to put out when I was regularly competing in MMA and grappling because nothing anyone learns about me was going to help me more than it hindered me. Plus such details bring the focus onto me more than onto my clients and onto your workouts.
I'm leaning towards the latter, but I recognize that this might not be of interest to people.
If you've got an opinion - stay the course, or make it personal - people put in the comments.
Monday, October 3, 2016
Monday, September 19, 2016
Movement Food - Gray Cook
Gray Cook put up a long article on his website. It's well worth reading.
Movement Food
In short, if supplements are basically patching holes in our diet, what is exercise? Is it the basis of our movement, or is it a supplement used to patch holes in our daily movement patterns?
Not to spoil the surprise, but it's the latter.
If you're familiar with the work of Gray Cook, Pete Egoscue, mobility and corrective exercises espoused by Bill Hartmann, Mike Roberston, and Eric Cressey, or the Mobility WOD of Kelly Starrett, you'll understand where he is going with this. It's a plea to look holistically, as the body as a whole piece, and address movement and pain as part of a whole.
Take the time to sit and read that, you won't regret it.
Movement Food
In short, if supplements are basically patching holes in our diet, what is exercise? Is it the basis of our movement, or is it a supplement used to patch holes in our daily movement patterns?
Not to spoil the surprise, but it's the latter.
If you're familiar with the work of Gray Cook, Pete Egoscue, mobility and corrective exercises espoused by Bill Hartmann, Mike Roberston, and Eric Cressey, or the Mobility WOD of Kelly Starrett, you'll understand where he is going with this. It's a plea to look holistically, as the body as a whole piece, and address movement and pain as part of a whole.
Take the time to sit and read that, you won't regret it.
Monday, September 12, 2016
Conditioning for Longevity
Joel Jamieson put up an excellent article on his website, 8 Weeks Out, called Conditioning for Strength Athletes.
Basically, what conditioning is useful and effective for athletes whose sport involves demonstrating strength - think of sports like strongman, powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting.
But it has an excellent point about longevity and conditioning, all people in all walks of life:
"Let’s look at what the research has to say about whether or not conditioning is all that important:
A number of prospective studies have demonstrated that VO2max, which is directly related to aerobic fitness, is the most important predictor all-cause mortality.
Research conducted by Johnathan Myers showed that study participants who were categorized as having the lowest VO2max value were 4.5 times more likely to die from anything, particularly cardiovascular disease, than those with the highest VO2max levels (Myers, 2003).
Another article reviewing 11 different studies showed that regular physical activity increased life expectancy anywhere from 0.4-4.2 years, but aerobic endurance athletes showed an increased life expectancy of 4.3-8.0 years (Reimers et al, 2012)."
So regular activity is +0.4 to +4.2 years on your lifespan. Training for aerobic endurance is +4.3 to +8.0 years. That's a tenfold increase in the base, and nearly double the top end.
And before that, "the lowest VO2Max value" is associated with being 4.5 times higher mortality from all causes.
Yikes.
Train for cardiovascular endurance, gain lifespan.
It doesn't only do that. Cardio training can improve recovery between workouts, increase recovery during workouts, and give you overall increased work capacity. In other words, get better faster, get more from your rest between sets, and get more done period.
That's what cardio is good for.
Basically, what conditioning is useful and effective for athletes whose sport involves demonstrating strength - think of sports like strongman, powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting.
But it has an excellent point about longevity and conditioning, all people in all walks of life:
"Let’s look at what the research has to say about whether or not conditioning is all that important:
A number of prospective studies have demonstrated that VO2max, which is directly related to aerobic fitness, is the most important predictor all-cause mortality.
Research conducted by Johnathan Myers showed that study participants who were categorized as having the lowest VO2max value were 4.5 times more likely to die from anything, particularly cardiovascular disease, than those with the highest VO2max levels (Myers, 2003).
Another article reviewing 11 different studies showed that regular physical activity increased life expectancy anywhere from 0.4-4.2 years, but aerobic endurance athletes showed an increased life expectancy of 4.3-8.0 years (Reimers et al, 2012)."
So regular activity is +0.4 to +4.2 years on your lifespan. Training for aerobic endurance is +4.3 to +8.0 years. That's a tenfold increase in the base, and nearly double the top end.
And before that, "the lowest VO2Max value" is associated with being 4.5 times higher mortality from all causes.
Yikes.
Train for cardiovascular endurance, gain lifespan.
It doesn't only do that. Cardio training can improve recovery between workouts, increase recovery during workouts, and give you overall increased work capacity. In other words, get better faster, get more from your rest between sets, and get more done period.
That's what cardio is good for.
Monday, September 5, 2016
TrueNutrition Labor Day Sale
Over at True Nutrition, they're having a 10% off Labor Day sale.
Coupled with $7.99 flat shipping, this is a pretty good deal - and they rarely run discounts this big or bigger, so you may want to take advantage.
TrueNutrition's products are good. In my experience, they have good product, true to the description, and they have excellent packaging. I've used them since they days of their rudimentary website and giant plastic bags of protein - these days, they have the website cleaned up and the shipping bags are much improved. The protein, supplements, and so on are excellent and well priced.
The sale continues until midnight tonight, so if you're looking for bulk protein priced appropriately, take a look at TrueNutrition.
Coupled with $7.99 flat shipping, this is a pretty good deal - and they rarely run discounts this big or bigger, so you may want to take advantage.
TrueNutrition's products are good. In my experience, they have good product, true to the description, and they have excellent packaging. I've used them since they days of their rudimentary website and giant plastic bags of protein - these days, they have the website cleaned up and the shipping bags are much improved. The protein, supplements, and so on are excellent and well priced.
The sale continues until midnight tonight, so if you're looking for bulk protein priced appropriately, take a look at TrueNutrition.
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