Been gone for a while

I haven't posted because I've been too busy with year end stuff.
Nothing much to report except that I fianlly hit the 2000 meters on the Concept 2 easily. I also figured out that it is what has been messing my back up.
I'll be taking a break form it for a while.
Hit 225 on the bench yesterday with no bicep pain.
That is a good starting point to begin my real training, and I also hit an easy 500 pound squat with the Safety Bar last week.
I'll be at this party tomorrow night if you want to join me.

Anti aging tips fro Art McDermott

Here is a great post by Art McDermott of Matrix Strength.
10 Anti-Aging Tips


1) Exercise the Body to Keep the Brain Fit
A 2005 Finnish study revealed that middle-age men and women who exercise at least twice a week and eat a healthy diet can reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease (AD) by 50% in old age.

2) The new number to know
It's not enough to know your cholesterol level. While cholesterol is the molecule responsible for causing fatty buildups inside arteries, scientists now suspect that it is only part of the portrait of heart disease. Inflammation, which can weaken blood vessels and cause cholesterol plaques to loosen and create blockages, is the new marker.

Insist that your doctor test your C-reactive protein (CRP), which should be at or below 8 micrograms/milliliter (anti-aging physicians would prefer it to be half that or lower)

3) Drink Away Dementia
A Japanese study reported that compounds found in wine may inhibit Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Small pre-proteins (peptides) found in red and white wines inhibit an enzyme implicated in the production and accumulation of amyloid plaques, which deposit in the brain and cause memory loss.

The greatest concentrations of these AD-busting peptides are found in Merlot (California), Sauvignon Blanc (Bordeaux) and Pinot Noir wines, and was also detected in the juice and pulp parts of grapes. Tee-totallers may wish to try the nutritional supplement, resveratrol, the active therapeutic ingredient in wine.

4) Out of the Cold
A 2005 study by researchers at the Federal Research Centre of Nutrition and Food (Germany) found that those men and women who took daily vitamins and minerals with probiotics (bacteria that can activate the immune system, particularly T-cells) for at least three months reported reported reduced cold symptoms than those suffered by people who took only vitamins and minerals. The men and women taking a combination of vitamins, minerals, and probiotics experienced:

- Colds that lasted almost two days less (than an average otherwise of nine days)
- Less time with a fever, reduced to 6 hours (rather than the average otherwise of 24 hours)
- Less severe headaches, coughing, and sneezing

5) Procrastination Payoff? Ok, here is the gross one...
Kinston University (United Kingdom) researchers reported in 2005 that an unmade bed, while unattractive to the eyes, is unappealing to house dust mites, tiny bugs (shorter than 1 mm long) that feed on shed human skin cells and produce excretions that, when inhaled by people, can cause allergic reactions and asthma.

According to the team, the average bed can house as many as 1.5 million dust mites. When a bed is made immediately or shortly after people get out of it, moisture can become trapped in the sheets and mattress, creating a haven for the mites. Moisture is minimized in unmade beds, and as a result the mites will more be more likely to dehydrate and die than feast and multiply.

6) Delay Death with Vitamin D
The therapeutic role of vitamin D, "the sunshine vitamin," for bone health, has become well established. A number of recent studies now link vitamin D deficiency to adverse health consequences such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and some infectious diseases.

7) Do the Quick Step
Walking is an excellent physical activity for aging men and women. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (Pennsylvania, USA) researchers reported that older adults who boost their walking speed over time live longer. The team followed 439 adults, ages 65 and over, and found those who improved their walking speed over a one-year period were 18% less likely to die over the next eight years.

Interestingly, the study found that walking speed during the first year of study was the only factor to predict the subjects' long-term survival; other tests of physical health, and self-assessment surveys, did not.

8) Fore A Longer Life ...
Try a round of golf. Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) studied data collected on 300,000 Swedish golfers. The team found that the death rate among golfers was 40% lower than that of the rest of the population, equating to an increased life expectancy of five years.
Those golfers with the lowest handicap (ie the best golfers) were found to have the lowest death rates.

9) Burnt is Bad
Char-broiling meats so they have a dark crust can change proteins and amino acids into substances that can alter the dinner's DNA. Cooking meats at very high temperatures for long periods of time can also be risky.

The Iowa Women's Health Study found that women who consistently ate meats very well done were 4.6-times more likely to have breast cancer (compared to those who ate meats cooked medium or rate).

Adding rosemary extract to precooked ground beef may cut carcinogens (cancer causing compounds) from forming during grilling by up to 80%, reports Kansas Sate University researchers in 2005.

10) Eat Your Heart Out
Men and women with heart disease can reduce their likelihood of dying by up to 30% by enjoying a Mediterranean-style diet, reports a 2005 study co-authored by researchers at Harvard University (USA) and Athens Medical School (Greece).

Opt for colorful vegetables (such as lycopene-rich tomatoes) and fruits (like antioxidant-rich red and purple grapes), cut your consumption of meat and dairy products, and boost your consumption of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (such as olive oil and omega-3 rich foods like fish, soy, grains, and green leafy vegetables).

Really, Really?

OK, so there are good Crossfits and bad Crossfits.
Crossfit Boston with Neil, is a good Crossfit.
The place in this video is a bunch of assclowns.

I applaud the Crossfitters everywhere for their work ethic and desire to be bad ass. I detest the Crosfits that do things that they are unqualified to do just to be badass.
I also hate when people post videos of their training centers with clients/athletes doing things in an unsafe and dangerous, reckless manner all while the crowd and the "trainers" are telling them how badass they are and how strong they are when they are using 50 pounds on something. Wow was that a run on sentence.
Don't know what the hell I'm talking about?
Watch this:



Hey Shitty Crossft, I am available for a seminar to teach you how to do stuff without rupturing discs and tearing labrums.
You can also call Neal at Boston Crossfit, he will show you what's up if you don't like me or my post.

 

Been gone for a bit, but I'm back now.

I was out sick for a day last week, and I've been swamped with stuff every day. Literally not a minute to post anything.
I actually took a day off work. That almost never happens.
Anyway, here is my log for last week and this week:
Nov. 28th:
Front Squat with harness: It's my "8" week and I hate the 8 week.
I worked up to 195 for sets of 8 raw. I wasn't feeling it today.  I felt like I was coming down with something.
After the 8's I put the belt on and took 365. It was awful. Kevin and Steve told me I looked like a pussy and should do it again like a man.
No arguing from me. Next set, 365 balls deep and up fast like a man.
On to the Concept 2-last day of 1500 meters. I did it in 6:43. This was really easy and I recovered fast. My heart rate returned to normal in about a minute.
Things are looking up.

Nov. 30th:
I really felt like I was getting the Mongolian Death Flu, so I did my floor presses, and again, it was the 8 week. I worked up to 155 for 8's. This is the first time I have tried actual pressing since I tore the bicep. 155 was easy and had no pain.

I moved on to DB Overhead presses, and did 30's for 10. I used the Fatgripz to keep the bicep happy.
Tate presses next for tri's. I jumped up to a massive 35 pound dumbell. These are working pretty good. I am not really feeling any pain. I did a bunch of sets of 5.
Pulldowns were last. I kept it light, 140 for sets of 10. Pulldown abs and I called it a day. No rowing today.

Dec. 5th:
I took a few days off because I really had Mongolian Death Flu.
I did a lot of stretching and rolling, then 1750 meters on the Concept 2 in about 7:30.
This was a breeze.
I did some grip too.
Telegraph key, grippers and strap holds.

Dec. 7th:

A day that will live in infamy.
Why doesn't anyone talk about Dec. 7th anymore? It is truly a day that we should never forget.
If you don't know why, SHAME on you.
Learn the history of your own country.
Anyway, training:
It is my 5 week.
Floor press, up to 185 for 5 with NO PAIN.
Bandbell Bar bench: 16 kg's x 5 for a bunch. This was very wobbly but didn't hurt the bicep and I think it actually did some good.
Jane used the same weight as me for more reps. I'm such a pussy.
 
DB Overhead presses- 35's for 10 for 3 sets
Tate PResses -big jump to the massive 35's today.
All in all, things are getting better.

Yet another training update

Here is what I did the last 2 workouts:
Wed. Nov. 23rd:

Close Grip Incline-I've been working this the past 2 weeks to get some tricep work in and put less stress on the bicep insertion (versus the flat bench press).
I worked up to 115 for 8 and shut it down. I felt a little twingy at the insertion of the torn bicep so I played it safe.
I did some pressing with the 10" log after that-3 sets of 12. This felt pretty good and gave men no issues in the bicep.
Tate Presses with FatGripz were next for about 100 sets of 8 with the 30's.
On to Pulldowns, I worked up to 190 for sets of 5. This was a little hard on the bicep so I stopped there.
Abs and the new Reverse Hyper were next.

Yep, she looks better than me doing it.

No concept 2 today as my back is destroyed. from pulling and rowing. Adding the rowing in was actually a LOT of volume quickly.

Friday Nov. 26th:
Still on the modified block training.
I dead lifted first.  Worked up to 3 sets of 3 with 335 and no belt. All done hook grip on the first rep and double overhand for the rest.
I added a belt and went to 405, then 435. As I pulled 435 off the floor my right bicep felt quirky, so I put it down. This was a huge mental pr. I have a bad habit of rehabbing an injury just enough to do something STUPID as soon as it feels a little better. Not today kids, I played it smart.
Reverse Hyper next for a few sets of 12 with 90 pounds.
On to the Concept 2. I did 1250 meters in 5:26. This was almost a full minute off Monday's time.

On to a great Thanksgiving highlight. As usual, George Bova of Bova's bakery in the North End gave me a Ricotta Pie. I am proud to say that I ate a half of it in one sitting AFTER the giant plate of turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing. Another PR.

2 days of training

Here is what I did the last 2 workouts:
Friday Nov. 19th, 2011:
Still o nthe raw work-
Deadlifts-5 sets of 5 with no belt up to 275, then I added the belt-
up to 425 for an easy single. This does not sound like much, but remember, the right bicep was torn 2 months ago. All sets of 5 done with hook grip on rep 1 and double overhand for the remaining reps.
I have had trouble witht the entire right side of my body for years. I tore my piraformis a few years back doing something stupid and it hasn't been right since. I attribute the issues to 1: the injury and 2: pulling with a mixed grip for 25 years.
I will do pulling double overhand until meet time from now on.
Keystone deadlifts were next for 3 sets of 6 at 315.
McGill situps after that for a bunch of sets.
Then on to the Concept 2!
I did 1000 meters in 4:44. Huge difference form the last sessions.

Monday
Nov. 21, 2011
Front Squats with harness-raw-up to 275 for 5, than I added the belt and worked to 345 for 1. This was easy but I shut it down as my back was WRECKED from Friday.
I was Wendleresque today and was not feeling it, so I did my main lift and called it a day.
I moved on the the Concept 2 and did 1250 meters in 6:06. I was very happy here and did not die or pass out after. I was even able to stand up and not roll off the rower after.
Concept 2 domination is coming. 

Murph doing cardio?

So yesterday's training looked like this:
Close Grip Incline Bench-up to 115 for 12. This felt pretty good on the arm, but I felt some weird burning at the bicep insertion so I stopped at about 6 sets.
Next was on to dumbell overhead presses. I used the Fatgripz for this so I could hold the dumbell without squuezing them, thus activating my biceps and forearms much less.

Pulldowns were next for 5 sets of 15 with up to 120. This also felt pretty good and was an improvement in pain (less) and weight.
I moved on to shrugs and did 5 sets of 12 with 135.
Tate Presses after that also with the Fatgripz. I went up to 30's for 12 reps.
Now comes the funny part.
One of my morning clients is training for the indoor Concept 2 championships and the Head of the Charles, so we got to discussing where she placed last year and so forth. I decided to look up the record for the indoor race for my age and weight. It was around 7 minutes and change. The race is 2000 meters. I have been doing the Concept 2 for a warmup and cool down for 500 meters for about a week, so I blurted out" 7 minutes? I'll beat that today".

She looks so much better than I do on one.

I then realized that there was no way I was going 2000 meters without an iced coffee and a dip.
She called me out and said no way. I thought, how hard can this be? Skinny pukes who are not 1/2 as strong as me, even with 1 working arm, not to mention the knee issues are doing it in 7 and change, right.
I opened my mouth and now had to back it up. I figured the skinny weaklings were not pulling as hard, thus not getting as many meters per stroke, so if I just gooned through it, I'd be in the clear.
At the end of the workout I floundered onto the Concept 2 and started rowing. A few minutes goes by and I check my progress, 4 minutes in and almost 900 meters. I'm not sweating, breathing heavy or in any pain. What does Mr. Jackass do? He starts to sprint with HARD strokes to make up some distance.

At exactly 4:14 (that's 14 seconds later for the math majors) and 906 meters, I locked up tight like a drum. Legs frozen, chest heaving, felt like dying. I rolled onto the floor and just stayed there, sweating, cramping and feeling like poo.
Now, I am going to beat the time.
I have a plan to do it, and it will be good bicep rehab, and just good for me.
I will keep you posted on the progress.
I still am on the quest for the 1000 pound squat, but while the bicep has me sidetracked, I might as well have a goal. Even if it is to be better than a skinny puke.

Vincent's seminar review

This past weekend TPS had it's November Strength Seminar with Vincent DiZenzo, Matt Rhodes and Chad Wesley Smith.
Needless to say it was AWESOME!
The presenters did an outstanding job, this has come to be the rule, rather than the exception for MAtt and Vincent. It was my first seminar with Chad, and he was outstanding also.
Read Vincent's review of it here.
Thanks to everyone involved for a great day.

Front Squat

Training update for yesterday:
I'm continuing with the raw training and the modified block. This was week 2, so I'm doing 5's raw,
5 sets of Front Squat with harness up to 225.
I then added the belt and did singles up to 335.
The 335 was surprisingly easy and very fast with a dead stop all the way DEEP in the hole.
Too many squatters are terrified of being in the hole. I don't know about you, but I LOVE being in the hole.....
The plan was then to do some heavy squat supports just to feel weight on my back. I loaded a straight bar up with 315 and was supposed to hold it for 10 seconds. I got about .5 seconds and felt the horrible bicep tearing pain. Should have listened to Nate.
I switched to the Safety Squat bar and did 10 second holds up to 6 plates. This was pretty easy, so I'll go heavier next time.

I finished up with something, but I don't remember. I do remember bothering Steve a lot while he was trying to work out. That was fun.

To read all about Safety Squat bar training buy my book here:
TPS Books and DVD's.

Great post

Here is a great blog post by Greg Robin of TPS:


READ IT HERE

I love Ironsport

Steve P of Ironsport Gym is at it again.
I think TPS needs the signs he is talking about here: Training Log

$100 if you can guess who this stud is?

Upper Body Training

I did some testing of the bicep today.

Nate has given me the go ahead to do a little upper work so here is what I did:
Close Grip Incline-up to 85 pounds for 15 reps. I stopped because I felt a little burning and pain at the insertion of the bicep which may or may not be a big deal. Played it safe and shut it down.
Next was pushups-did a few sets and then on to Pulldowns. I used 110 for sets of 15. This felt pretty good.
Moved on to Face Pulls and some tricep pushdowns. I did a bunch of sets of 15 and these felt ok too.
Then on to some ab work. Nothing exciting, some braced holds and some Landmine work and then on to the Concept 2 for a cool down. I did 500 meters at a slow pace and called it a day.

Things are looking up.

Training Update

So I dropped the ball last week and didn't update my training log.

 Don't worry, it was not spectacular.

Here is today's training and the new plan.
First off, the new plan is going to be somewhat like block periodization, but not exactly.
I'll be doing a lot of volume on lifts that don't hurt my bicep and I'll be going raw for the bulk of it.
I'll add a belt and maybe gear after the raw work is done to feel some weight. This is much like what I did for years until I turned into an old man and needed the gear to keep the pain away.
Going raw will build strength obviously, it will also teach patience and force perfect technique.
At some point I'll return to Westside training, but that is when I'm fully healed.

Today's training:
Front Squat with Harness  5 sets 8 reps raw up to 185. The weight felt like a feather but my lower back was too pumped up to do any more weight for 8.

I added a belt and did 3 singles blazingly fast at 225, 275 and 315.

Next I did a combo set of the top portion (leg curl) of the Glute Ham Raise and then did the bottom portion (back raise) separately. 4 sets

Then GHR situps with a mini band 3 sets

Lots of stretching.

Friday/Monday training update

As my training log is upstairs in my locker and I am downstairs at my desk, I have no idea what I did Friday. Suffice it to say it was not what I wanted to do.
Yesterday I did the following:
Front Squats with Harness-I am not using any supportive gear in my training so all work was done without a belt. Worked up to 225 for a whole bunch of fast triples. I am focusing on training without gear and avoding all bicep pain. As 225 was about all I could handle without pain in the torn bicep, that is what I used. It felt very light and fast. Of course it was only 225.
Pulltroughs- did a bunch of sets at 90 and 135 on the belt squat for up to 15 reps
GHR situps and cable side bends

Nate says I'm going to be good to start training normally around Halloween. I don't have a lot of faith in this. I picked up my son (70 lbs) Sunday and my right bicep felt like it was going to rip off. Maybe another week of training like a pussy will help it heal.




On another note, TeamTPS competed at the RPS meet at Boston Barbell this weekend. All did well, except Steve who had a tough day.
We did witness something completely reprehensible by an awful human being there.
Carlos Moran had a bet as to who could lift more in the RAW division with an asshole.
 For those who don't know, RAW means no supportive gear like Squat suits. Anyway, the guy he had the bet with had a squat suit on. He claims it was a singlet, but the meet director agreed it was indeed a suit and made him take it off and use a different one.
It seems that the suit in question may have actually been a called a singlet by the manufacturer.  It was banned by several federations according to my sources because it was really a single ply suit and the manufacturer knew it. So did this guy.
My point here is that I have no tolerance for anyone who has no honor.  I firmly believe that this guy knew exactly what he was doing and would do anything to win a bet.  Why not train hard and then compete on a level playing field and let the best athlete win?
Nope, it is easier for some people to be scumbags and lie and cheat to "prove" they are better than you.
This guys dick must be 2 inches long.

On a side note, Gene ran another great meet, as usual.

Wed. Training

Here is what
I did in the land of torn biceps yesterday.
Circuit-
Prowler Push 40 yards
Pushups
Situps

The Prowler push was done to accentuate a hard leg drive with each stride. It was not a sprint as most people do.
Did this for 4 sets and I wanted to throw up.
Back Raises-4 sets
EFS Rickshaw shrugs  I did these using 3 grips. The Rickshaw has 3 handles, a 3 inch, a 2 inch and a standard barbell sized one.

I did 4 sets
GHR situps

I also helped Jane out with her bench shirt. Congratulations to her on her new grandson AND making it to the gym on 2 hours sleep!

Friday's Training

I wanted to do some stuff to work my weaknesses, so here is what I did:
Overhead Squats-used a broomstick and did a bunch of sets of 5
Box Jumps-5x5 to a 24" box. I didn't push the height, I just wanted to get back in the swing of jumping. I haven't jumped in years because of my banged up knee, but it has been feeling really good lately so I went for it.

Bamboo bar bench-I used the Westside Earthquake bar.

You load plates or kettlebells on the bar with mini bands and bench press with it. The bar shakes wildly forcing you to stabilize. This hits muscle s you didn't know you had. Should have listened to Nate because my bicep is killing me today.

Prowler Push-4 sets of 200 feet.

That's it for taoday.

From the Diesel Crew

Smitty from Diesel just put up a great post that you all should read.
Epic is pretty overused these days, but this post is EPIC.
READ IT HERE.

Yesterdays training

So I had Nate do some more Graston/Art on my torn bicep pre workout. Why do all the ART guys make chit chat with you while they are causing you the worst pain in the world?
Anyway, he told me to stay away from using the arm until Halloween. Awesome!
I continued with what I have been doing:
Pushups 8,8,8,8, 20
Left arm Dumbell Bench-4 sets lots of reps, I hate reps
Kettlebell Press left only-same as above
Scap Depressions-this is the top half of the pulldown. You can see it here in the beginning of the video on how to do pulldowns.
 













I did the stack for a bunch of reps for 4 sets.

I then tried a new one. I faced a cable stack with a SpudInc Long Ab Strap and squeezed my lats back as hard as I could. It turned out to be a ridiculous exercise. My lats were SWOLE!  I think I'll keep this even after I get better. I did 5 sets with 200 pounds for high reps.
That was all I had time for with helping Jane out with her benching. She hit 205 in the shirt. Not bad for a Granny!

Training update

So today I decided to work a few weaknesses. That is the core of the Westside system, work your weaknesses.
One of mine is relying on supportive gear too much and torso strength.
I NEVER train without gear. This is mainly because I am so beat up from years of doing this that the gear is what is holding me together. While I am injured I have made the decision to do as much work without briefs and a belt that I can. Here is what I did, all work done raw.
Front Squat with Harness-95x3x3, 135x3x3, 225 x1x5
Safety Bar Good Mornings-95x8, 135x8x2
Reverse Hyper-35x6x4
Situps with weight 5 sets
Lots of rolling and trigger point work.
On a high note, Steve hit 605 on the 3 board very easily. This is due to a few things:
-he listens to his training partners
-he is determined
-he is strong a shit

We have another guy who weighs about 90 pounds more than Steve who does none of those things and he squatted in full gear with less weight than Steve benched. That is ok with him.

My issue is that if he listened to his training partners instead of arguing with them, he could fix his form issues and lift MUCH more.
He has the drive and the ability to be on the big platform, but will probably never get there because he does not listen.

As Deniro said in Bronx Tale, there is nothing worse than wasted talent.

Great Repost form Art McD

Setting Yourself up for Failure!

6 habits to avoid
Many of you have taken the quizzes I have gathered for new members. For those of you who have not, one of them involves a "Behavioral Audit" which is designed to help you pinpoint habits or patterns that sabotage your health.

I thought I would make it easy for everyone by spelling out the 5 most common ways people undermine their own efforts to stay healthy.

Here is the list in order of importance as based upon your answers and my personal experience

1) Not keeping emergency foods and snacks in the house. When you need something to eat right away - usually because you have broken item #2 - you will eat whatever food is on hand. If you haven't planned ahead and purchased things like fresh fruit, mixed nuts, quality (not processed) sliced meats you will eat whatever is quick and easy. "Quick and easy" usually means "bad for you". If you have not grilled some meat, prepared some veggies or mixed up a salad ahead of time, you are setting yourself up for failure.

2) Going long periods of time without eating. If you wait 4-5 hours between lunch and dinner (the most commonly seen mistake) you will tend to eat VAST amounts of food at dinner time. Remember, you need to eat more frequently in order to lose weight. Eating more to lose weight is counterintuitive, but is the correct way to eat. This means eating the right foods every 2 ½ to 3 hours.

3) Not keeping control of portion sizes. Many people tell me they are sticking with protein and veggies, but are still not losing weight. While this may be true, the mistake is not in the type of food, but in the sheer volume of the portion size. Some of this is simple self-discipline. NOTE: It takes roughly 20 minutes for the signal to reach your brain that you are full. As we all know, you can eat a LOT of food in 20 minutes. How do you beat this one? Slow down when you eat. Drink a glass or two of water about 10 minutes before you eat to simulate a full stomach. Snack on ½ cup of cashews 15-10 minutes before you eat dinner. The fat from the cashews (its "good fat" don't worry) will send the signal to the brain that you are already somewhat full. Eat the veggies and protein first. This will also fill your stomach before you hit the potatoes, rice, pasta and bread. Also, don't request bread when you go out to eat. Talk about tempting...

4) Trying to change the world over night. While this may be a worthy goal for an activist with a cause, it is NOT a great plan for someone trying to make changes to bad habits engrained for years. Pick one "poor choice" habit and work on that. Many small successes will accumulate over time. If you attempt to change multiple massive personal challenges, the failure in one area can lead to a domino effect of failure in all the others.

5) Getting insufficient sleep. I lump these to together since I consider them a "tie" in how often we see them. We were "designed" to sleep 8 hours per night. Our current on-the-go society works against us here, but lack of sleep is often linked to habit rather than necessity. Close the computer, turn off the TV and get to sleep! Studies show that individuals who get less than 6 and more then 10 hours of sleep per night are heavier than their counterparts who sleep roughly 8 hours

6) Being dehydrated. Your metabolism simply cannot function optimally when deprived of this vital ingredient. Your muscles are more susceptible to injury, you cannot assimilate protein well and very few of your systems can function as they should when you are dehydrated. Strive to drink 50% of your bodyweight (in pounds) in ounces of water every day.


By Art McDermott
matrixstrength.com


If you are in the Rte 93 are north of Boston and TPS is too far, go to Matrix for top flight personal training. Matrix is TPS approved.

As promised, training update.

OK, so here's the rundown on training this week:
Dr. Tiplady has informed me that since the bicep tear I can only do pushups  as my pressing movement. He's right because I tried to do other stuff and it caused horrible pain.
It seems that the past year or two, every time I start to get strong again something tears or breaks. Is it a programming issue or an "I'm old, beat up and probably shouldn't be doing this anymore issue:"

I don't know. I'm not going to stop doing this though.
Monday: Dynamic Lower Body Day
Safety Bar Box squats-

this was supposed to be 10x2 with 4 chains and  390 in bar weight. I could not get past my warmups and did 185 in bar weight for 10x 2. This caused pretty bad pain in the bicep so I didn't risk going any heavier.

Front Squats with Harness-225x1x8

Front Squat Harness

Back Raises with weight-a whole bunch
GHR Situps


  Wednesday-Max Effort Upper
 Pushups-10 reps x 8 sets
Left arm only Dumbell bench press 5 sets

Scap Depressions-whole stack a bunch of sets
Face Pulls/Push Downs/Tricep extensions-see above

Friday-Decided to drop Westside until the bicep is healed.
Power Runner -up to 8 plates for 10

Back Raises with weight-4 sets


Whole bunch of TRX stuff for abs like this

On a side note: Steve D hit a huge PR on the bench today-545.

I'll continue doing a modified workout trying to find stuff that can get me strong without involving my bicep.

Training and goals

OK, so around 7 months ago I decided to make a run at competing again.
I decided to give myself 1 year to really get strong.
I set some attainable goals, 1000 pound squat, 600 bench and a 650 deadlift. All I really care about is the squat. The other 2 are just fluff once I hit that.
It seems that the older I get the more injury prone I become. Training was going good all things considered (knee problems, shoulder problems.....) until about 3 months ago when I destroyed my right bicep in the shirt.
I've been having Nate work on it and it has been healing well, although my bench has suffered.  Once it started to feel good, what does a genius do? He lifts stones of course. I then quickly tore my other bicep.
So now my training has really stalled.
I'm doing all that I can to work around it and still plan on achieving my goals.
I am going to keep you posted with training updates because if I do this it will keep me honest and accountable.

Let's see what tomorrow training brings.

They get injured more too.

OK, I'm back again

I have been too busy to post things for a LONG time, but I am going to try and make an interesting post at least 4 times per week moving forward.
Up for today, Steve Pulcinella from Ironsport gym.
Steve's day sounds a lot like minem, although I think his are worse.
If you want a good laugh, read his posts on EFS.
On another amusing note, is this the WORST marketing idea that you have ever seen?

TPS Seminar Update

Here is new information on the November Strength Seminar being held at a truly judgement free zone: TPS:

The November Strength Seminar with Matt Rhodes and Vincent DiZenzo has just been jacked up. We have added Chad Wesley Smith of Juggernaut fame to our roster of presenters. (Read their bios here)

Matt, Chad and Vincent are 3 of the top names in the strength field today. They are all VERY strong and they all know how to teach you how to get STRONG. This seminar will be an opportunity for you to learn to get strong through lecture, Q&A and hands on coaching from giants in the field.

If you've never been to a seminar you are missing out. How many times have you or someone you know gone to the store and bought some kind of pill or powder that promises to increase strength or melt fat off and it did nothing? I'm guessing more times than you can count, and ore dollars too.

Attending a seminar is different, at least a TPS one is. We have vetted the instructors to guarantee that you get the best knowledge available. You will LEARN by listening and by doing. This will last a lifetime. Knowledge is much more powerful that anything in a bottle. Stop wasting money and getting your hopes up searching for magic pills, get some hands on coaching by someone who knows what and how to do it and then apply what you have learned. This will help you to surpass your goals, not just attian them.

We will cover:

• Nutrition
• Recovery
• Training for your goals
• Conditioning for your goals
• Psychology
• Programming
• Raw squat training
• Organizing training weeks/cycles/blocks/years
• Selecting the best assistance/supplementary work
• Hands on coaching

This seminar is accredited for eight (8) ISSA CEU's.
If you are not ISSA certified you can present them to your agency for credit too.
All seminar registrations receive a FREE e copy of Strength and Conditioning Interrogations valued at $39.99.

Early registration price is $99.00. It goes to $150.00 October 15th. Why spend more money?
For more info click here

PF in the media again

Here is yet another piece bashing Planet Fitness and their "Judgement Free Zone".
I don't know about you guys and girls, but PF is the MOST judgmental place I have ever seen.

Watch the video, it's Great!

Watch it here.

Make progress faster with this tip.

If you are new to training, you might not know the importance of recovery nutrition, and if you are a veteran, you might not know how to optimize your results with post-workout nutrition. Here are some ideas to get you moving in the right direction.


Recovery nutrition is just as important as your workout, but let's start by defining exactly what it is. Recovery nutrition means the foods that you consume after you workout. For this article, we will discuss what you consume right after the training session, and the meal after that. It’s not incorrect to say that recovery nutrition also includes what you eat the next day and even the rest of the week, but for simplicity, we will talk about immediate post-training consumption.

Buy your supplements at ANC in Everett

What you eat right after training has an incredible impact on your results. You can maximize your training session or completely negate its positive effects in a few short hours. When you exercise you increase your body's demand for calories--by how many calories is dependent on your goals. For those looking to lose body fat, you need to consume less calories than you burn. For those looking to bulk up and build muscle, you need to consume more than you burn. Sounds simple, right? After you exercise, and, more specifically, strength train, your metabolism is elevated. It also can assimilate the majority of the calories that you consume and put them to work right away repairing your body and building muscle. In the past there was a lot of talk of the 20-minute window of assimilation, meaning that your body assimilates the most nutrients in the 20 minutes after you train. Years ago, Dr. Fred Hatfield told me that this idea was propagated by Gatorade and a lot of gyms with juice bars. Gatorade did a lot of good research, and still does, so I’m confident that this is true to some degree. Gyms and supplement companies jumped on this to maximize profits by selling you a shake or a Gatorade at their juice bars. While your body does indeed put those calories to work right away and ingesting them is very important, the window is actually longer than 20 minutes. Emerging research shows that consuming a liquid meal (shake) and then a solid-food meal about an hour after the shake is much more effective than a shake alone.

Don't eat here after you workout!

After strength training, your body is depleted of glucose and needs to replace it. Glucose is sugar, a very specific type of sugar that your body stores in the skeletal muscles, the liver and the brain, and uses for energy. When it gets too low on glucose (sugar) you will feel it. That is why, after a hard training session, you will feel a little tired or maybe even spacey. Your body is screaming for sugar after you train. It also needs protein. When you lift weights, you need protein to repair the muscles. Lifting weights causes micro-trauma to the muscles; eating protein repairs the micro-trauma and allows the muscles to get bigger and stronger.


After we train, the types of foods that we eat dictate the results we get. If you go to a fast food place or eat pre-packaged foods, you will get lousy results. This is the time to eat the highest quality foods that you can afford. Let's start with the post-workout meal. I said your body is screaming for sugar right after the workout, right? This is not a license to eat candy. We are looking to replenish glucose and one of the best and cheapest ways is to eat some fruit. Fruit is natural and contains good sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup or other manmade, chemical forms of sugar.


I have mentioned the shake right? A liquid meal is very easily digested. In the immediate post-workout period (around 10-20 minutes after), the faster you can get the nutrients to your body, the better. This is why a shake consisting of carbohydrate (sugar) and protein is so important. Protein powder and carbohydrate powders are absorbed by the body almost instantly. Solid food needs to be broken down by your body and, while this is done fairly quickly, it is best to have the liquid meal. It is the fastest way to get nutrients in.


For those of you looking for the best results, we like Waxy Maize starch or a product called Power Carb instead of fruit as our source of sugars. Waxy Maize starch is made from corn and it digests very quickly, which is what we want. Power Carb is made from rice and potatoes and is also absorbed very quickly. Both of these products are also easy on the digestive system and do not typically cause GI distress (gas/bloating). They replace the sugar lost through training quickly and effectively. I highly recommend them.



A lot of athletes like to use Dextrose powder, too. This is not a bad choice but it does cause some GI distress in some people.


The second part of the equation is protein. You must eat protein after training! The type is up to you. Whey protein is cheap and very effective. It is the most rapidly absorbed type of protein supplement available and is an excellent choice. For many, whey causes GI distress and for them it is not a good choice. You will know if this is the case quickly. If whey causes you distress, try a protein blend with a few different types of protein in it. If you are not sure what to get, go to a reputable supplement store, like ANC in Everett.


Don't get caught up in the advertising hype from supplement companies saying that their protein is 300% more effective than "x.” Think about it, if you use a basic whey protein and gain 4 pounds of muscle in a month, that means that using Brand X that is 300% more effective will make you gain 1,200 pounds of muscle in a month. That's a lot of muscle and I don't see too many 1,200-pound beasts walking around. It's just hype. Use the best quality protein supplement that you can afford consistently and you will make steady gains. A $65.00 jug of protein is not much more effective than a $30.00 jug. Save your money and invest it in some personal training. You'll get more out of it.


OK, so we have covered the basics, what is next? There are literally reams of research showing the benefits of BCAA supplementation. BCAAs are Branched-Chain Amino acids. Taking BCAAs is proven to repair muscle and build new muscle incredibly well. I won't go into all the wonders of BCAAs, but I will say that if you can afford them, they are the first choice after taking carbs and protein.


L-Glutamine is also a major nutrient that you should consider adding to your shake. L-Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in your body and the most rapidly depleted through exercise. Replacing it quickly leads to less muscle soreness, faster recovery and more muscle-mass building.


If you are going to spend money on nutritional supplements, buy ones that have a proven record through research and use in the field. Don't buy the latest thing in the magazines. The products that I have listed here are basically foods that have been broken down to digest easily. They are not pseudo-drugs that make wonder claims.


OK, we now know what to eat, but how much should you use? I'll make it easy for you. As a general guideline, you want to ingest your protein and carbs in a 2-1 ratio post workout. This means that if you take in 30 grams of protein, you should take in 60 grams of carbs. These guideline are not for someone following a plan from a nutritionist. They could be on a low-carb plan or a very high carb plan and the ratios will be different. These are general guidelines.


For men, we will use this rule: consume 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight for gaining muscle and losing fat. If you weigh 200 pounds, you need 200 grams of protein. Divide this number by the number of times you eat per day. For best results, you should eat 6 times a day including shakes and snacks. 200 divided by 6 equals roughly 33. This means we need 33 grams of protein at each meal. Factor in your carbs and you need 66 grams of carbs post workout with your protein. This breaks down to about a scoop and a half of standard why protein and a scoop and a half of Power Carb. It's that simple.


Ladies need less protein to build muscle so we will go with the guideline of .8 grams per pound of weight. A 135-pound female would need about 110 grams of protein daily. Broken up over 6 meals, this is 18 grams of protein per meal. Following the 2:1 ratio, a 135-pound female needs 36 grams of carbs post-workout. This works out to be about 3/4 of a scoop of standard whey and about a full scoop of Power Carb post-workout.


So what about the meal about 1 hour after that? This meal should be a solid food meal consisting of protein, fat and carbohydrate. A great example is sweet potato with fresh cinnamon, grilled chicken breast with all the spices you want, lots of fresh vegetables in any amount and a salad with some olive oil. I like to have my clients consume fish oil capsules at this meal as well. The body absorbs nutrients much more rapidly at this time and you might as well have the fish oil when you can absorb it the best.


This meal should follow the 2:1 ratio as well, but don't count any carbs from leafy vegetables. Only count carbs from energy-producing sources like sweet potato, rice, quinoa and other grains and starchy vegetables, etc.


Follow these guidelines for post-workout recovery nutrition and watch your progress go through the roof. The importance of recovery nutrition cannot be underestimated.

Learn something new

It's time to get your registration in for the IKFF Kettlebells for Combat Athlete/Battling Ropes Basics seminar. The seminar is NEXT month and you do not want to miss it.


TPS has lined up two of the country's best coaches to teach you , hands-on, how to use two of the best tools that we have for real-world, functional training. So much has been written about training with kettlebells and ropes, so I won't go into too much detail. If you are a TPS member, or a reader of our newsletter, you know their value. If you are new, here's the scoop: Kettlebells are one of the most versatile tools we have for building strength and stamina, improving flexibility and building speed. Ropes are one of the best all-around tools for burning fat and getting in unreal shape. You can learn how to use them properly from Ken Blackburn and John Brookfield right here at TPS.

Since our humble beginnings on Broadway almost 12 years ago, TPS has brought in the best coaches in the world for our members to study with. This is one of the things that set us apart from the rest, our commitment to being the best by learning from the best. In the past we have brought in industry bigwigs like Dave Tate, Jim Wendler, Dr. Fred Hatfield, Marc "Spud" Bartley, Matt Kroczaleski and many more. We are now proud to have Ken Blackburn return and welcome John Brookfield (a LEGEND) for his first visit.

I urge all of our members to take advantage of the opportunity to train with them. Make no mistake; this is an oppurtunity for you all. You have the chance to learn from the masters of their crafts and you do not need to be a fitness professional to attend! You just need to have a desire to be the best at what you do. This seminar is accredited for continuing education credits for fitness pros. Many of our clients and customers attend our seminars and then apply what they have learned to their own workouts. This is a great way to add variety to your training and do it right. Doing things the right way always leads to better progress.


If you are wondering if these seminars are worth your time, I can tell you that we have a history of repeat attendance at our seminars. The people that attend them usually come to more of them. This is a testament to the quality of the content and the instructors. If you are thinking of making this your first TPS seminar, stop what you’re doing right now and REGISTER FOR IT. You will not be disappointed.


Now is the time to quit doing the “same old, same old” and learn something new.

Register now!

The Vault is open.

I've got something FREE for you this month. Dave Tate of elitefts.com has written another book jammed with some of the best training information that you will ever read. The best thing is that it is totally FREE. No strings attached. Nothing to sign up for, no upsell, just quality material at no cost to you.

I've seen E Books like this go for $30.00 or more and they were not as good.

Download your copy of Vault here.

It's almost time!

On Saturday, August 27th at 10:00 am, TPS and Nate Fitzgerald are proud to bring you the 2011 Mass. State Strongman/Strongwoman Championships and the Police/Fire/Military National Championships. This is a NAS Platinum-level show as well as a National Championship event.

The contest will be held right here in the TPS parking lot, rain or shine. For a full listing of events and weights go here: NAS
As always, we will be donating a portion of the profits to the Chelsea Soldiers Home to help out the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us. We give to this charity every year and feel it is very deserving of our help. Without the veterans, we would not be here in a free society.

This years' contest is the second time TPS and Nate are hosting a Nationals-level event. The Police/Fire/Military Nationals will bring the strongest public safety personnel in the US of A right here to TPS to see who is the best!

We have added an Under 200 weight class to the Men's Open this year as well. The lightweight class is quickly becoming stacked at events all over the country and this will be no different. Look for a few TPS guys to be cutting weight to win this one.

If you can volunteer your time for our event you can look forward to a hard day's work for no pay but you'll get a t-shirt! Our members and friends always show up in force to help out for the event and we hope this year is no different. If you can commit to helping us out shoot me an email and let me know. We appreciate any time that you can give.

Nate and I are working on some first class sponsors again and we hope to have you updated with more information by next month's newsletter on that.

Our good friend Neal at Boston Crossfit has teamed up to be our Platinum sponsor this year. We've also got the usual band of supporters, ANC, Bova's Bakery, George Ferullo PC, SpudInc., Ironmind, the Diesel Crew and we have just added AtLarge Nutrition and Vibram 5 Fingers.



We'd like to thank all of our sponsors listed below. Please consider purchasing their products and services in the future.

Support those who support us!

Seminar at TPS

We just heard back from the ISSA and the Ken Blackburn/John Brookfield seminar is approved for 8 ISSA continuing education units (CEU's). If you are a trainer that is not ISSA affiliated you cna present the ceu's to your provider for credit.


What if you are not a trainer? Should you come? YES! Let me tell you a little about the seminar. Ken Blackburn of the IKFF (link) will be presenting the art and science of the kettlebell for combat sport athletes. Combat sports are MMA, Football, Hockey, Lacrosse, Boxing, Muay Thai and any other where body contact is involved.


Ken will teach you how to use and apply proper kettlebell techniques to build speed, strength and unstoppable endurance. Trust me on this, you will not want to miss the opportunity to learn from
Ken. He is truly one of the best instructors that I have ever learned from.


Right after Ken's segment, strength legend, John Brookfield will be presenting Battling Ropes basics. John is the creator of the Battling Ropes system. Who better to teach it to you than the master?


There is nothing new under the sun they say, and this really applies to the fitness/strength world, but the Battling Ropes system is without question, one of those things that infuriates me. Every time I see it I think, "why didn't I think of that?" It is new, exciting, simple and effective. Everything you need in a tool for your fitness toolbox.


Using the Battling Ropes system you can do an almost limitless amount of exercises. You can use them for building stamina, strength, improving mobility and more and they re fun and challenging. Battling Ropes are one of the best tools to add to your training toolbox. If you are going to learn how to use them, why take a course form a guy who took a course from a guy who took a course? Learn them from the master of the system. Lucky for you, TPS is bringing him to you. This really is a no-brainer. Learn from the best. John Brookfield is the best. He is also coming here. You should too.

Go to totalperformancesports.com to register

Fat Kids, an epidemic?

I'm going to touch on a topic that is dear to me this month: childhood obesity. I have my own theories as to why this is occurring and it does not jive with what a lot of the experts say. Let me preface this by saying that I am a parent and I know how tough it can be to get kids to eat healthy food. It can be a battle, but you must choose your battles and this one is not one to cave in on. Teach them to make sound nutritional choices now and it will stay with them for life.


I was not taught how to make good choices as a child and it still haunts me. Sure, I eat a lot better than the average American, but I still make some poor choices. I make them a lot more than I should. I do not make them in front of my son very much. He see's daddy eating "clean" almost 100% of the time. You can begin to do the same today. Make better choices as much as you can. If you don't know how, refer to the Nutrition Corner section on the TPS site for a good starting point.


Childhood obesity levels were between 5-25% in 1985, with the variances being racial. Minority kids had a much higher obesity rate than white kids. The number of obese kids has shot to over 30% in at least 12 states in the U.S. for 2011. This should be an unacceptable number for all of us to swallow. Without getting into the reasons for the difference between racial groups (which is well beyond the scope of this article) let's look at some of the primary causes of this epidemic.


When I say epidemic, I mean exactly that. Obesity opens your body up to more health problems that you can imagine, such as :

• High cholesterol

• High blood pressure

• Early heart disease

• Diabetes

• Bone problems

• Skin conditions such as heat rash, fungal infections, and acne


This is just the tip of the iceberg.


Some of the real causes of childhood obesity are not genetic disorders as many people will lead you to believe. They are things like:
• a lack of exercise

• lack of physical education (gym) in schools

• consuming poor quality food

• playing video games/watching tv for too long

• drinking sugared drinks

• not enough protein

• abundance of refined sugar/wheat

• societal risks of letting your kids go out and play

• not eating the right foods frequently/ eating once or twice a day



I'm going to break these down into a few categories and discuss them more. First is lack of activity. Kids need to run around a lot. They need to play, jump, run, skin their knees, catch balls, climb trees and basically just be kids. They have an almost limitless amount of energy and it needs to be burned off. Without getting off on a tangent, a lot of behavioral issues will simply go away if your kids are tired from playing. Teach them to be active. Limit the computer time, video game time and tv time daily.

I mentioned societal factors earlier, let's face it, we live in a different world in 2011. Things are not like they were when I was growing up. Just a short 30-35 years ago when I was a kid, we were kicked out of the house and told to stay out until the street lights came on. We played hockey, baseball, basketball and ran around playing all day. There were not a lot of fat kids then because everyone was playing a lot.


In 2011, I would NEVER let my son go out unattended. There are way more freaks out there now just looking to snatch your kids from you and do awful things. You need to keep a close eye on them to keep them safe. This presents a problem to working parents and single parents. How do you get them to be active if you have to watch them or go to work? I don't know if I can answer this because my situation is different than yours. I have the luxury of being able to take a break from work and bring my son to the gym and disguise exercise as play, and to bring him to a friend's house or the park to play during the day. We all are not as fortunate, but you can do something that I do at home. You and your child will benefit from it. Teach them to do pushups, situps, squats, lunges and more at home. Make it part of the routine. Disguise it as a game. One thing I have done recently is when playing catch with the football, every time you miss it you have to do 5 pushups. I will miss the ball more than my son on purpose so he sees me doing the pushups too. I toss it to him about 80% of the time so that he will catch it. I will make him miss it the other 20% so he is in the grass getting strong. When your kids see you exercising, even when it is disguised as a game, they will want to do it too.


In the winter when it's too cold to go out, we make pushups, situps, and squats part of his pre-bed routine. It's like brushing the teeth at night, just something you have to do. Start out with just a few and add a few each week. Before you know it, your kids will be awesome at pushups, squats and situps. I'm sure that you can be creative and come up with some of your own games to play.


For those of you in your 30's and 40's, remember when you were in school? You had gym class all the time. You were sweaty and ran around and played all kinds of games in gym class. This doesn't happen anymore. Kids are lucky if they get one class a week. Some school districts don't even have gym. They have 35 social workers and lots of administrators, but no activity for the kids. That doesn't seem right to me.


Let's look at the nutritional side of things now. First off, fast food and the crap for sale in the grocery stores is heavily marketed to kids. They stick a cartoon character, or a superhero on a box of processed crap I wouldn't give to my dog, pay the stores to keep it at kids eye level and make millions poisoning our youth. Much of the time, parents either don't know how bad this stuff is or are too tired/stressed out to cause a scene on the store by telling the kids they can't have it so they buy it and then the kids eat it and the marketers have won.


Why doesn't the produce industry put Spiderman on apples and Batman on bananas? I'm sure that if they were on there, kids wouldn't be eating Sugar O's for breakfast. Super heroes eat super foods like oatmeal, fruit, whole grains and grass fed beef. Kids' love superheroes and will mimic what they see.


If any of you know someone in the marketing department of Chiquita banana, tell them to contact Marvel and put the Hulk on a bunch of bananas. Their margins will go sky high.


And another thing, why do the lowest bidders get the contract for the food that goes to schools? And who are the RDA's that make up the diets plans for the schools? They should hang their heads in shame. Have you ever seen the food or the menu at a school? It is horrendous. The government needs to get their heads out of their you know what and stop the lowest bidder nonsense. They buy CHEAP, low quality food and put it in the cafeteria. Most of it is made in a factory where the real vitamins and minerals are processed out and chemical ones are added in later. Does this seem right to you? How about getting real food that is locally sourced and not from a conglomerate and then having someone actually cook it? It is not that much more expensive and the government will save money later on down the road when they don't have to pay for all the health care issues caused by feeding kids garbage in school. But I digress on a political diatribe.


This is a much bigger issue than you think because a lot of kids get the two best meals they eat all day at school. When they get home, many parents are too tired from working, or don't now good food from bad and whip up something from a package that is loaded with sodium, processed flour, and lots and lots of chemicals to keep the crap form spoiling. This is where I say parents are not on board with good nutrition. It's not because they don't want the best for their kids. They just don't fully realize the low quality of many foods and are not knowledgeable about nutrition.


If we can get parents to learn just a little about proper nutrition and the health benefits it has, as well as the problems that poor nutrition will cause later in life, we will be moving in the right direction. This is more difficult than you think. The average person simply has no idea that you should not eat foods that are in a box. To them it's just a quick meal that will feed the family. Foods that are processed and packaged have very little nutritional value. All of the good in the food has been processed out of it. The food conglomerates add in chemical versions of vitamins and minerals to replace what was lost in the manufacturing process. They use very low quality, refined grains and load the food with sodium. They also add in a host of chemicals to stabilize the food to prevent it from spoiling while on the shelves.


Of course the FDA tells you that the additives in food are fine. Really? Didn't the FDA fastrack Phen/Fen and it killed people because of pressure from the drug lobby? But I digress. We simply don't know enough about the food additives to risk using them on our kids. There are plenty that we do know are really bad.


Let's look at a commonly thought healthy snack for kids, Sunmaid /Yogurt Covered Raisins. You would think these are good and natural right? Well, they contain something called titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide is a suspected carcinogen and it has a whole host of issues with it. Of course the FDA says that it is safe. I don't know about you, but I'm very skeptical of the FDA. There is a lot of conflicting information about titanium dioxide. I believe a lot of the good information about it has been surreptitiously spread by the titanium dioxide producers, as it is one of the 50 moist common chemicals produced in the world. That adds up to big profits for the people who make it. Of course they want you to think it's safe.


This is just one example of a food additive, there are hundreds. Start reading labels. If you can't pronounce the ingredients, don't buy it.


Let's talk about sugar. Sugar is everywhere and it is very easily converted to body fat. Sugar is in many forms too. White flour, white bread, high fructose corn syrup, and many more are all forms of processed sugar. Drinks are loaded with sugar, especially the ones you think are healthy. Kids should drink water. They should drink some REAL juice. They should never drink soda and the non-caffeinated drinks disguised as juice. Consuming excess sugar IS one of the real reasons that we see a rise in juvenile obesity.


Our kids are bombarded with sugar, from almost all cereals, to drinks to prepackaged starches, like rice and pasta dishes that cook in a minute. It's all a form of sugar that they don't need. Feed your kids whole grain pasta, real rice, and water with fruit added to it for flavor. It's cheaper and better for them. It only takes a few minutes more to cook and prepare.


A good rule of thumb when you go shopping is to buy foods that are on the outskirts of the store and avoid almost all of the aisles. The periphery of the store has fruit, produce, meats and poultry and dairy. The aisles have garbage, except the rice and healthy pasta section. Read the bread labels too, look for breads that have whole grains, seeds and no added sugar or high fructose corn syrup.


This leads me to the next section that you can start to implement today. Use the concept of all the time foods, sometimes food and never foods. All the time foods are any real food product. Think fresh vegetable, lean meats, fruits, low fat dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds and grains.


Sometimes foods are juices (real juice), butter, bacon, ice cream, candy, pizza and things you would have on a special occasion. It's ok for kids to have a piece of candy or a dish of ice cream sometimes. It won't kill them. Be judicious about this.


Never foods are highly sugared cereals, packaged rice and pasta or just about anything in a box or a frozen package and fast foods. I know, I know, your kids love fast foods. They really should never eat it. I know it won't kill them if they only have it sometimes and I am guilty myself of letting the boy have it occasionally. This is something we need to stand fast on.


I'll try wrap this up: feed your kids real food that you made at home, make sure that you shut off the tv and play with them and keep them active, educate them about good food, and let them have a treat occasionally. If you try and do all these things, maybe we will see the epidemic come to an end.

Yep

Take 2 minutes of your day and watch this.

STRONGMAN CONTEST

TPS and Nate Fitzgerald are hosting the 2011 PFM Nationals and the Mass State Championships on August 27th. Boston Crossfit has signed on as our Platinum sponsor and we have a ton of other great ones lined up including:
Spud Inc
USA Wellness Meats
ANC Everett / Badasssupplements.com
MEtRx
Muscle Milk
Bodybuilding.com
Vibram 5 Fingers
Bova's Bakery
George Ferrullo CPA
Boston Harley Davidson
and many more.

The event will be at the new TPS location in the parking lot and we have a BEER permit for he day. Food will be served by Kayem, as usual.


This will be an awesome day of Strongman at a great venue.
Bring all your friends, have a burger, drink a few beers and watch STRONGMAN and raise money for veterans!
What better way to spend a Saturday?




Thanks

Murph





T

Should I take Aminos?

Read this post from John P.





READ IT HERE

Free video

I just got a note from my buddy, Jedd Johnson.  He just got back from a clinic with  over 250 strength coaches and athletic trainers.

At the seminar, Jedd spoke with a bunch of the attendees and many of them are using Strongman Training these days because of the benefits this type of training has for athletes in the way of muscle building, strength increase, and power development. TPS is one of, if not the pioneer in training athletes using Strongman.  ( NOTE: Many years ago , TPS predicted this would become the industry standard for building bulletproof athletes. It seems that it is now coming true. If you are going to learn how to do it, get the information from someone who knows how.)

And it’s not just big football players that are using Strongman equipment at the University level...

The truth is athletes from all sports are using them to become bigger, stronger and more powerful.  Volleyball players, Baseball players and even Swimmers are doing Strongman Training and Odd Object lifting and getting better at their sports because of it.

Going back a way with this pic of Bob Jodoin and Phil Rago at the original TPS on Broadway.

Why are players from all of these diverse sports doing this, you ask?

Because Strongman Training is loaded with benefits. 

In fact, if you check out this video from Jedd, he’s going to tell you about the benefits of Strongman training.

Check it out here = > Free Video on the Benefits of Strongman Training

                                    

Don't wait if you want to get better,

Murph

P.S.  This video will only be available for a few days.  Don’t miss out.  If you want to do something different with your training and are sick of the hype from all the  programs that are just the same old boring recycled stuff,

check out what Jedd has to say right here = > Free Video on the Benefits ofStrongman Training