Results matching “bodybuilder”

Via Sexy Muscle Girls : Cuban bodybuilders Janet Harris & Nicole Clark.

For most people, specific-training ab routines include a variety of spinal flexion movements designed to emphasize the rectus abdominis, the vertical muscles on the front of the core (rectus = erect). In the weightroom, these include familiar exercises such as crunches, reverse crunches, sit-ups and Roman chair leg lifts (although the chief emphasis ends up going to the hip flexors in such leg lift exercises more often than not). In the yoga or Pilates studio, they include a variety of V-sit exercises. While all of these may, if performed properly, leave your core stiff and sore the following days, if these make up your entire abs routine, there is an important abs muscle that you are neglecting -- transverse abdominis.
The transverse abdominis runs horizontally, in the transverse plane of the body (trans = across). A simple way to think of it is that it acts like a belt, drawing your entire core in more tightly to your vertical midline. And that's exactly what you want in order to give your waist a narrow appearance. The exercises for this ab are different from the ones mentioned for the other abs. They may not sound like much and certainly won't look as dramatic as, say, your big bench or monster squat. But if you've been doggedly crunching away and still don't want anyone seeing your exposed belly until you're good and ready, training the TA may be exactly what your program needs.

Most people have some innate sense of how this muscle works, and proof that it's the key to a great midsection is right there. Think about the old phrase "sucking in your gut". When people who have no idea how to work out want their tummies to look good, they instinctively try to draw in their abs like the Frank Zane vacuum pose. This movement bears no resemblance to a crunch-type movement. They do not bend over. Their hip flexors remain neutral. The only bodypart they try to affect is the TA. And crude as it may look, bodybuilders take notice: they've got something there.

The TA is a deep layer of horizontal muscle fibers that does not appear to be directly involved in joint movement. This muscle can indirectly add to spinal support by providing belt-like opposition to intra-abdominal pressure, which creates a column of support for the spine as well as the trunk area (NASM, 106). In order to work the TA, then, concentrate not on challenging spinal flexion but rather spinal stabilization in neutral alignment.

Begin by becoming aware of this muscle. Sit upright on a bench. Have a partner face you, place both of his hands on your shoulders, and gently push you backward (gently!). Your goal is to maintain your upright position, not allowing your spine to extend/your back to arch. Your TA will kick in to achieve your goal.

Here's a visualization to help you zero in on this muscle: imagine you are pulling your belly button into your spine. Place your hand on your belly button and try it, and you'll realize what a dramatic difference actuating this muscle makes. Strengthen it, and you'll have just that much enhancement to the appearance of your midsection.

Here's something you can do while you're driving. Whenever you hit the brake, contract your TA. The momentum of moving forward will provide tangible, manageable resistance. This is a great way to get in some TA work in daily life.

Keep the exercises distinct from your other ab and core exercises. You may perform them in the same workout, and indeed you should keep your TA tight throughout most of your exercises as a rule. But set aside a few specific moves to devote to training your TA alone. Train your belt on the inside, and you'll be tightening up the one on the outside.

This is a guest post by bodybuilder, writer and weightlifting aficionado Kat 'The Mighty Kat' Ricker - Specific Training for the Transverse Abdominis: Belt It In. Enjoy.


For most people, specific-training ab routines include a variety of spinal flexion movements designed to emphasize the rectus abdominis, the vertical muscles on the front of the core (rectus = erect). In the weightroom, these include familiar exercises such as crunches, reverse crunches, sit-ups and Roman chair leg lifts (although the chief emphasis ends up going to the hip flexors in such leg lift exercises more often than not). In the yoga or Pilates studio, they include a variety of V-sit exercises. While all of these may, if performed properly, leave your core stiff and sore the following days, if these make up your entire abs routine, there is an important abs muscle that you are neglecting -- transverse abdominis.

The transverse abdominis runs horizontally, in the transverse plane of the body (trans = across). A simple way to think of it is that it acts like a belt, drawing your entire core in more tightly to your vertical midline. And that's exactly what you want in order to give your waist a narrow appearance. The exercises for this ab are different from the ones mentioned for the other abs. They may not sound like much and certainly won't look as dramatic as, say, your big bench or monster squat. But if you've been doggedly crunching away and still don't want anyone seeing your exposed belly until you're good and ready, training the TA may be exactly what your program needs.

Most people have some innate sense of how this muscle works, and proof that it's the key to a great midsection is right there. Think about the old phrase "sucking in your gut." When people who have no idea how to work out want their tummies to look good, they instinctively try to draw in their abs like the Frank Zane vacuum pose. This movement bears no resemblance to a crunch-type movement. They do not bend over. Their hip flexors remain neutral. The only bodypart they try to affect is the TA. And crude as it may look, bodybuilders take notice: they've got something there.

The TA is a deep layer of horizontal muscle fibers that does not appear to be directly involved in joint movement. This muscle can indirectly add to spinal support by providing belt-like opposition to intra-abdominal pressure, which creates a column of support for the spine as well as the trunk area (NASM, 106). In order to work the TA, then, concentrate not on challenging spinal flexion but rather spinal stabilization in neutral alignment.

Begin by becoming aware of this muscle. Sit upright on a bench. Have a partner face you, place both of his hands on your shoulders, and gently push you backward (gently!). Your goal is to maintain your upright position, not allowing your spine to extend/your back to arch. Your TA will kick in to achieve your goal.

Here's a visualization to help you zero in on this muscle: imagine you are pulling your belly button into your spine. Place your hand on your belly button and try it, and you'll realize what a dramatic difference actuating this muscle makes. Strengthen it, and you'll have just that much enhancement to the appearance of your midsection.

Here's something you can do while you're driving. Whenever you hit the brake, contract your TA. The momentum of moving forward will provide tangible, manageable resistance. This is a great way to get in some TA work in daily life.

Keep the exercises distinct from your other ab and core exercises. You may perform them in the same workout, and indeed you should keep your TA tight throughout most of your exercises as a rule. But set aside a few specific moves to devote to training your TA alone. Train your belt on the inside, and you'll be tightening up the one on the outside.

Via femalemuscle : Czech bodybuilder Katka Kyptová.

This month's collaboration with Run to Win's Blaine Moore - Great sources of training information - continues with a look at the many superb old strength-training books. Love them.

For as long as I can remember I've been surrounded by books and periodicals - shelf after shelf of hardcovers, paperbacks, magazines and newspapers. When it came time to learn a few things about the world of strength training; the starting point was clear.

Before I go any further, there is just one thing I'd like to point out : as important as it is to learn about something, it's always secondary to actually doing it. Spending time under the bar is absolutely critical.

With that in mind, back to books. These can generally be sorted into a few categories, according to both the content and their availability. These are :

Old-time strength

When it comes to the process of getting stronger, very little has changed over the past few centuries. Sure, exercises have come in to and gone out of favour (think of the barbell squat and the overhead press in Olympic Weightlifting); but the underlying mechanics are, of course, the same. After all, we're still talking about people lifting a variety of heavy objects to become bigger, stronger and faster.

Many of the books that have been written over the past century or so (any older than this, and they're a little difficult to find - although often still quite relevant) have been reprinted numerous times, are still available and still make excellent reading. A few personal favourites :

• Super-Strength : Alan Calvert
• Key to might and muscle : George F. Jowett
• Developing the Grip and Forearm : Thomas Inch

Where do you get them?

Online : the best sources are Amazon and suppliers such as Bill Hinbern's superb Super Strength Books site.

Offline : Although they're a little difficult to find in the offline world, larger bookstores (particularly Borders) occasionally carry them.

The golden era - 1970s

Although some people may dispute my claim that the 1970s encompassed 'the golden era', it certainly did for me. After all, it's when Arnold Schwarzenegger was making a real name for himself. Bruce Lee was fighting athletes such as Chuck Norris. Arthur Jones was creating a stir with his Nautilus machines.

And - most importantly - people the world over began to join gyms. To become big, to become strong; or simply to get into shape. Very little has changed.

One of the greatest by-products of this period can be seen at a glance of my bookshelves. Catering to the throngs of new gymgoers were a number of great books, including :

• Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding : Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bill Dobbins
• Winning Bodybuilding : Franco Columbu and George Fels
• Bruce Lee's Fighting Method, Vol. 2 : Bruce Lee

The magazines of this time - notably those which focussed on bodybuilding - were actually worthwhile reading in many cases (ah, the days when magazines had more content than advertising); containing specific routines, interviews with strength athletes from a variety of sports (not just bodybuilders) and simple nutritional information. The good stuff.

Where do you get them?

Online : Once again, Amazon is a great place to start. For the magazines, eBay is your friend. There are always plenty of them on there.

Offline : As you may have guessed, I love wandering around second-hand book stores. For books such as these - particularly the heavier, hardback varieties - second-hand shops are a great resource. Definitely a good place to start.

1980s - now

Although things have definitely started to settle down in the few decades since the 'golden era', there have been several great books to add to the shelves. Among these are a few which stand out for all the right reasons, including :

• Combat Conditioning : Matt Furey
• Kelso's Shrug Book : Paul Kelso
• Ironmind: Stronger Minds, Stronger Bodies : Randall J. Strossen

Where do you get them?

Online : Many of these books are now available through the websites of their authors or publishers; although Amazon is still a good bet. For slightly older volumes, eBay often comes in handy.

Offline : For some reason, many of the larger bookstores shy away from recent strength-training books. Notable exceptions are stores attached to universities or colleges; and those catering largely to students.

Other recommendations

Of course, I'm not exactly alone in my love of strength-training books. To get an idea of those which other Straight to the Bar writers hold in high regard, take a wander over to Recommended Books & DVDs. There are several excellent volumes there.

Final thoughts

With so many great strength-training books and magazines available, it's almost assured that I've overlooked something along the way. What are your own recommendations for the 'perfect' strength-training book?

This month's collaboration with Run to Win's Blaine Moore - Great sources of training information - continues with a look at the many superb old strength-training books. Love them.

For as long as I can remember I've been surrounded by books and periodicals - shelf after shelf of hardcovers, paperbacks, magazines and newspapers. When it came time to learn a few things about the world of strength training; the starting point was clear.

Before I go any further, there is just one thing I'd like to point out : as important as it is to learn about something, it's always secondary to actually doing it. Spending time under the bar is absolutely critical.

With that in mind, back to books. These can generally be sorted into a few categories, according to both the content and their availability. These are :

Old-time strength

When it comes to the process of getting stronger, very little has changed over the past few centuries. Sure, exercises have come in to and gone out of favour (think of the barbell squat and the overhead press in Olympic Weightlifting); but the underlying mechanics are, of course, the same. After all, we're still talking about people lifting a variety of heavy objects to become bigger, stronger and faster.

Many of the books that have been written over the past century or so (any older than this, and they're a little difficult to find - although often still quite relevant) have been reprinted numerous times, are still available and still make excellent reading. A few personal favourites :

• Super-Strength : Alan Calvert
• Key to might and muscle : George F. Jowett
• Developing the Grip and Forearm : Thomas Inch

Where do you get them?

Online : the best sources are Amazon and suppliers such as Bill Hinbern's superb Super Strength Books site.

Offline : Although they're a little difficult to find in the offline world, larger bookstores (particularly Borders) occasionally carry them.

The golden era - 1970s

Although some people may dispute my claim that the 1970s encompassed 'the golden era', it certainly did for me. After all, it's when Arnold Schwarzenegger was making a real name for himself. Bruce Lee was fighting athletes such as Chuck Norris. Arthur Jones was creating a stir with his Nautilus machines.

And - most importantly - people the world over began to join gyms. To become big, to become strong; or simply to get into shape. Very little has changed.

One of the greatest by-products of this period can be seen at a glance of my bookshelves. Catering to the throngs of new gymgoers were a number of great books, including :

• Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding : Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bill Dobbins
• Winning Bodybuilding : Franco Columbu and George Fels
• Bruce Lee's Fighting Method, Vol. 2 : Bruce Lee

The magazines of this time - notably those which focussed on bodybuilding - were actually worthwhile reading in many cases (ah, the days when magazines had more content than advertising); containing specific routines, interviews with strength athletes from a variety of sports (not just bodybuilders) and simple nutritional information. The good stuff.

Where do you get them?

Online : Once again, Amazon is a great place to start. For the magazines, eBay is your friend. There are always plenty of them on there.

Offline : As you may have guessed, I love wandering around second-hand book stores. For books such as these - particularly the heavier, hardback varieties - second-hand shops are a great resource. Definitely a good place to start.

1980s - now

Although things have definitely started to settle down in the few decades since the 'golden era', there have been several great books to add to the shelves. Among these are a few which stand out for all the right reasons, including :

• Combat Conditioning : Matt Furey
• Kelso's Shrug Book : Paul Kelso
• Ironmind: Stronger Minds, Stronger Bodies : Randall J. Strossen

Where do you get them?

Online : Many of these books are now available through the websites of their authors or publishers; although Amazon is still a good bet. For slightly older volumes, eBay often comes in handy.

Offline : For some reason, many of the larger bookstores shy away from recent strength-training books. Notable exceptions are stores attached to universities or colleges; and those catering largely to students.

Other recommendations

Of course, I'm not exactly alone in my love of strength-training books. To get an idea of those which other Straight to the Bar writers hold in high regard, take a wander over to Good Reads. There are several excellent volumes there.

Final thoughts

With so many great strength-training books and magazines available, it's almost assured that I've overlooked something along the way. What are your own recommendations for the 'perfect' strength-training book?

On October 27 2007, I attended the Big Seminar at Total Performance Sports in Everett, MA. Featured speakers Alwyn Cosgrove, CJ Murphy, Jim Wendler and Jason Ferruggia were joined by surprise guest Dave Tate. This was my second visit to TPS; I had attended a seminar there in June 2007* and enjoyed it enough to start budgeting for a return visit almost immediately.

Atheists don't go to spiritual retreats. When you go to a seminar like this one, you already know at least some of the information that will be presented. What you get is some new information, new ways to look at old information, connections you hadn't previously considered, and a boost to your motivation. Particularly if, like me, you no longer have a serious gym or training partners available to you where you live.

It was a cold and rainy day, perfect for spending the day indoors. TPS has added some beautiful lifting platforms since my last visit. There were chairs set up in the center of the room along with an easel and a brand new white-board. An unobtrusive video crew was filming. I found a good spot by the pillar and started scribbling. When I was done I had over 2000 words of notes. The following are my scribbles** from each presentation as well as my thoughts (in parentheses). If you don't want to read through 2000 words, here's the short version:
Dave Tate: "Program with your head; lift with your balls."
Alwyn Cosgrove: "Thank you for coming."

The long version:

Alwin Cosgrove: Assessment
- "Usual rules: I'll offend you; I pretty much don't give a fuck if I offend you."
- Assess constantly and give feedback on every set: "If you're not assessing you're just guessing".
- AC drew a bone on the whiteboard and indicated the joint space around it, showing where tension occurs when you do different things. For example, in fighting, applying an arm bar involves applying extension force to the elbow past the point that it extends.
- Any push needs to be balanced. If you are pushing 200lbs, pull 200lbs. If you can't do the same load, do an extra set.
- AC drew the Leaning Tower of Pisa on the white-board to illustrate the importance of posture. Posture allows you to observe the body in a zero resistance condition.
- Most clients aside from Date Tate will be looking for some sort of fat loss. That includes athletes. Athletic Performance in AZ estimates that 75% of the athletes that come to them need to lose fat.
- Most people have sedentary lifestyles: they sit all day, the hip flexors get short, glutes get weak, upper back gets weak, so most clients will need to work the posterior chain.
- "Most people are too weak too fat too tight".
- The body is like a 3D bicycle wheel, the spokes are the muscles, the rim is bone. You need three things to make a good wheel: material, mechanic and a plan.
- AC had a guy from the audience do a body weight squat. (Hey, pick me, I'm the fat woman, I'm the lucrative target market.) The guy had a bit of a forward lean. Then AC had him lie on his back and bring up his legs to the squat position. Lo and behold, the guy could do a perfect squat lying on the floor. So why can't he do the same thing standing up? Core weakness.
- "Anything that's not there at rest is an imbalance"
- There are two types of assessment: structural and performance.
- If you have a car you need to align the wheels before you go somewhere.
- Another demo: AC had a guy hold his arm out to the side, then pushed down on his arm, which the guy resisted. Then he had the guy stand with one leg on a board and repeated the exercise. It's suddenly very easy to push his arm down. The imbalance affects his ability to resist. "The body doesn't give a shit about deltoid hypertrophy; it wants to save the spine."
- You need to look at how your clients do simple things. How is their push up? Do they have to move their leg sideways when they step over a bench? How's their range of motion? At his facility they use Gray Cook's Functional Movement Screen.
- Stability and mobility: the joints alternate: ankle mobility, knee stability, hip mobility, lower back stability , upper back mobility, shoulder stability.
- The key areas are the hip and shoulder. Most shoulder injuries have a hip connection on the opposite side.
- Assessment will help you find out what someone needs. But in reality, everyone needs hard work.
- Why would you put a sedentary client on a treadmill and have her walk a mile? Walking a mile is 1500 reps. Who should be doing 1500 reps of anything? Design a body weight corrective exercise program instead.
- Assess the roadblocks that prevent your clients from reaching their goals. Doesn't matter how hard you push the gas pedal if you haven't released the parking brake; you need to release the brakes before you can start driving.
- Weight loss matters because losing weight reduces the pressure on your joints. A 10lb loss removes 40lbs of pressure on your joints.

CJ Murphy: Non Traditional Strength Training
- I think people expected that non-traditional methods of strength training meant tire flipping and sled dragging, but as Murph put it, "What pays the bills is not strongman training, it's Mr & Mrs Jones."
- Big muscles burn more calories than small muscles, so a big exercise, loaded appropriately, is more useful than a small exercise.
- Train movements, not exercises. Movements can be summarized as follows: Two types of presses, supine and overhead. Two types of pulling movements: pulldowns and rows. Hip flexion e.g. squat, step up, arched-back good mornings and extension e.g. back raises, pull-throughs, keystone deadlifts.
- Don't forget torso work - Murph hates saying "core". The most neglected type of torso work is rotation. There's also stability work: planks and holds.
- Shear and compression: compression=gravity, it's not necessarily bad. Shear is a twist or turn to the join. Sitting down and lifting weights maximizes shearing, so do your exercises standing up.
- Murph does not agree with behind the neck movements. There are better, safer alternatives.
- Most equipment is not designed by people who lift weights. (Wish I had a dollar for every time I thought this while in the gym.) Your clients should have fun and a sense of accomplishment. Accomplishment also makes for excellent marketing:
"Female clients tell everyone when they do the 1st chinup." -Alwyn Cosgrove
- Murph gave a number of different templates, then talked about rep selection. The key is maintaining perfect form. If an experienced person's form breaks down at 7-8 reps why would you give a beginner 3x10? Instead, do a lot of sets with just a few reps. Like a PL'er doing singles, work on their form, stop them on the 2nd or 3rd rep. 2-3 reps doesn't mean high weight and doesn't mean dynamic work.
- TPS uses a circuit training called PHA: Peripheral Heart Action (at first I thought he said peripheral hot action. It's all about the Boston accent). This consisting of an upper body exercise followed by a lower body exercise with no rest, using the most weight you can do with perfect form. It's intense, so it doesn't work for that long, 2-3 weeks at most.

Jim Wendler: Hard Work
- When the opening line is "You don't learn anything sitting at a fucking seminar," you know you're in for a fun session. The topic of this session was supposed to be "Hard Work", but it morphed into a JW Q&A because it's difficult to talk about something that is as natural to the presenters as breathing. (I see this in my students all the time: those students who have a strong work ethic have a hard time comprehending the folks around them that do not.)
- It doesn't matter what you do as long as you do it with good form. The top guys in the WPO all train differently. The strongest people in the world have three things in common, they squat bench and deadlift, they have the right attitude, and they train hard for a long period of time
- Kettlebell swings are just expensive pull-throughs.
- Sets and reps don't really matter. You spend too much time writing programs out.
- Doesn't matter how many days you train as long as you train consistently.
- DTI#1 (Dave Tate interjection #1): Information doesn't triple, it just gets regurgitated. George Hackenschmidt was doing hack squats in 1909. This shit has not changed. People need to squat press and pull.
- If you want to get from here to Chicago, just start driving, you'll get there. Most people are paralyzed by the amount of information they have.
Jim Wendler: "[When] I read something I can tell this guy's full of shit. You know why?"
Alwyn Cosgrove: "He doesn't have any traps?"
- Train like a bodybuilder. The most important thing is symmetry. Bodybuilders are still stronger than 99% of the people out there.
- You can't be quad dominant if you have no fucking quads. If your shit's not hanging over your knees...
- Responding to a question about training deconditioned kids for football: bodyweight squats, empty bar squats, sled dragging, wall sits, leg press. Teach them how to land when they step off a box. When Jim coached kids for football Day I was SQ, B, D, Day 2 was SQ, OHP and assistance. Train them to coach each other.
- "I don't care how old you are: you've got to be able to kick ass"
- DTI #2: "If you're trying to get in with a group of really strong guys, they don't need spotters, they don't need motivators, they don't need training partners, they need another pair of eyes."
- Training correlates with personality type. If you're mathematical & by-the-book you'll be fine with Sheiko.
- You need to train to failure sometimes because you need to know where failure is.
- DC stands for Dog Crap, as in the expression "DC training".
- This is not for the general population. This is for people who fucking care about getting stronger.
- One-legged squats are a good way to get kids to stretch without actually stretching.
- At this point I think both Dave Tate and Jim Wendler were starting to lose patience with the quality of questions they were getting:
Q: When's a beginner not a beginner?
A: When you stop asking questions like that.
Q: How do you know that you've made it?
A: When you've stopped going to seminars.
- 99% of people don't need to deload. The best thing to deload in volume, not in intensity.
- "Remember they brought you in because the last guy sucked." -Alwyn Cosgrove responding to a question about starting a new job.
- GPP for anyone except a strength athlete is weight training.
- Jim Wendler often discusses music on his training log, so I asked which five cds he'd buy with $100. He suggested the following: Dopesmoker by Sleep, Take as Needed for Pain by EHG, Our Problem by Iron Monkey, Master of Reality by Black Sabbath and Reign in Blood by Slayer.

On October 27 2007, I attended the Big Seminar at Total Performance Sports in Everett, MA. Featured speakers Alwyn Cosgrove, CJ Murphy, Jim Wendler and Jason Ferruggia were joined by surprise guest Dave Tate. This was my second visit to TPS; I had attended a seminar there in June 2007* and enjoyed it enough to start budgeting for a return visit almost immediately.

Atheists don’t go to spiritual retreats. When you go to a seminar like this one, you already know at least some of the information that will be presented. What you get is some new information, new ways to look at old information, connections you hadn’t previously considered, and a boost to your motivation. Particularly if, like me, you no longer have a serious gym or training partners available to you where you live.

It was a cold and rainy day, perfect for spending the day indoors. TPS has added some beautiful lifting platforms since my last visit. There were chairs set up in the center of the room along with an easel and a brand new white-board. An unobtrusive video crew was filming. I found a good spot by the pillar and started scribbling. When I was done I had over 2000 words of notes. The following are my scribbles** from each presentation as well as my thoughts (in parentheses). If you don't want to read through 2000 words, here's the short version:
Dave Tate: "Program with your head; lift with your balls."
Alwyn Cosgrove: "Thank you for coming."

The long version:

Alwin Cosgrove: Assessment
- “Usual rules: I’ll offend you; I pretty much don’t give a fuck if I offend you.”
- Assess constantly and give feedback on every set: “If you’re not assessing you’re just guessing”.
- AC drew a bone on the whiteboard and indicated the joint space around it, showing where tension occurs when you do different things. For example, in fighting, applying an arm bar involves applying extension force to the elbow past the point that it extends.
- Any push needs to be balanced. If you are pushing 200lbs, pull 200lbs. If you can’t do the same load, do an extra set.
- AC drew the Leaning Tower of Pisa on the white-board to illustrate the importance of posture. Posture allows you to observe the body in a zero resistance condition.
- Most clients aside from Date Tate will be looking for some sort of fat loss. That includes athletes. Athletic Performance in AZ estimates that 75% of the athletes that come to them need to lose fat.
- Most people have sedentary lifestyles: they sit all day, the hip flexors get short, glutes get weak, upper back gets weak, so most clients will need to work the posterior chain.
- "Most people are too weak too fat too tight”.
- The body is like a 3D bicycle wheel, the spokes are the muscles, the rim is bone. You need three things to make a good wheel: material, mechanic and a plan.
- AC had a guy from the audience do a body weight squat. (Hey, pick me, I’m the fat woman, I’m the lucrative target market.) The guy had a bit of a forward lean. Then AC had him lie on his back and bring up his legs to the squat position. Lo and behold, the guy could do a perfect squat lying on the floor. So why can’t he do the same thing standing up? Core weakness.
- “Anything that’s not there at rest is an imbalance”
- There are two types of assessment: structural and performance.
- If you have a car you need to align the wheels before you go somewhere.
- Another demo: AC had a guy hold his arm out to the side, then pushed down on his arm, which the guy resisted. Then he had the guy stand with one leg on a board and repeated the exercise. It’s suddenly very easy to push his arm down. The imbalance affects his ability to resist. “The body doesn’t give a shit about deltoid hypertrophy; it wants to save the spine.”
- You need to look at how your clients do simple things. How is their push up? Do they have to move their leg sideways when they step over a bench? How’s their range of motion? At his facility they use Gray Cook’s Functional Movement Screen.
- Stability and mobility: the joints alternate: ankle mobility, knee stability, hip mobility, lower back stability , upper back mobility, shoulder stability.
- The key areas are the hip and shoulder. Most shoulder injuries have a hip connection on the opposite side.
- Assessment will help you find out what someone needs. But in reality, everyone needs hard work.
- Why would you put a sedentary client on a treadmill and have her walk a mile? Walking a mile is 1500 reps. Who should be doing 1500 reps of anything? Design a body weight corrective exercise program instead.
- Assess the roadblocks that prevent your clients from reaching their goals. Doesn’t matter how hard you push the gas pedal if you haven’t released the parking brake; you need to release the brakes before you can start driving.
- Weight loss matters because losing weight reduces the pressure on your joints. A 10lb loss removes 40lbs of pressure on your joints.

CJ Murphy: Non Traditional Strength Training
- I think people expected that non-traditional methods of strength training meant tire flipping and sled dragging, but as Murph put it, “What pays the bills is not strongman training, it’s Mr & Mrs Jones."
- Big muscles burn more calories than small muscles, so a big exercise, loaded appropriately, is more useful than a small exercise.
- Train movements, not exercises. Movements can be summarized as follows: Two types of presses, supine and overhead. Two types of pulling movements: pulldowns and rows. Hip flexion e.g. squat, step up, arched-back good mornings and extension e.g. back raises, pull-throughs, keystone deadlifts.
- Don't forget torso work - Murph hates saying “core”. The most neglected type of torso work is rotation. There's also stability work: planks and holds.
- Shear and compression: compression=gravity, it’s not necessarily bad. Shear is a twist or turn to the join. Sitting down and lifting weights maximizes shearing, so do your exercises standing up.
- Murph does not agree with behind the neck movements. There are better, safer alternatives.
- Most equipment is not designed by people who lift weights. (Wish I had a dollar for every time I thought this while in the gym.) Your clients should have fun and a sense of accomplishment. Accomplishment also makes for excellent marketing:
“Female clients tell everyone when they do the 1st chinup.” -Alwyn Cosgrove
- Murph gave a number of different templates, then talked about rep selection. The key is maintaining perfect form. If an experienced person’s form breaks down at 7-8 reps why would you give a beginner 3×10? Instead, do a lot of sets with just a few reps. Like a PL’er doing singles, work on their form, stop them on the 2nd or 3rd rep. 2-3 reps doesn’t mean high weight and doesn’t mean dynamic work.
- TPS uses a circuit training called PHA: Peripheral Heart Action (at first I thought he said peripheral hot action. It's all about the Boston accent). This consisting of an upper body exercise followed by a lower body exercise with no rest, using the most weight you can do with perfect form. It's intense, so it doesn’t work for that long, 2-3 weeks at most.

Jim Wendler: Hard Work
- When the opening line is “You don’t learn anything sitting at a fucking seminar,” you know you're in for a fun session. The topic of this session was supposed to be “Hard Work”, but it morphed into a JW Q&A because it’s difficult to talk about something that is as natural to the presenters as breathing. (I see this in my students all the time: those students who have a strong work ethic have a hard time comprehending the folks around them that do not.)
- It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you do it with good form. The top guys in the WPO all train differently. The strongest people in the world have three things in common, they squat bench and deadlift, they have the right attitude, and they train hard for a long period of time
- Kettlebell swings are just expensive pull-throughs.
- Sets and reps don’t really matter. You spend too much time writing programs out.
- Doesn’t matter how many days you train as long as you train consistently.
- DTI#1 (Dave Tate interjection #1): Information doesn’t triple, it just gets regurgitated. George Hackenschmidt was doing hack squats in 1909. This shit has not changed. People need to squat press and pull.
- If you want to get from here to Chicago, just start driving, you’ll get there. Most people are paralyzed by the amount of information they have.
Jim Wendler: "[When] I read something I can tell this guy’s full of shit. You know why?"
Alwyn Cosgrove: "He doesn’t have any traps?"
- Train like a bodybuilder. The most important thing is symmetry. Bodybuilders are still stronger than 99% of the people out there.
- You can’t be quad dominant if you have no fucking quads. If your shit’s not hanging over your knees…
- Responding to a question about training deconditioned kids for football: bodyweight squats, empty bar squats, sled dragging, wall sits, leg press. Teach them how to land when they step off a box. When Jim coached kids for football Day I was SQ, B, D, Day 2 was SQ, OHP and assistance. Train them to coach each other.
- “I don’t care how old you are: you’ve got to be able to kick ass”
- DTI #2: "If you’re trying to get in with a group of really strong guys, they don’t need spotters, they don’t need motivators, they don’t need training partners, they need another pair of eyes."
- Training correlates with personality type. If you’re mathematical & by-the-book you’ll be fine with Sheiko.
- You need to train to failure sometimes because you need to know where failure is.
- DC stands for Dog Crap, as in the expression "DC training”.
- This is not for the general population. This is for people who fucking care about getting stronger.
- One-legged squats are a good way to get kids to stretch without actually stretching.
- At this point I think both Dave Tate and Jim Wendler were starting to lose patience with the quality of questions they were getting:
Q: When’s a beginner not a beginner?
A: When you stop asking questions like that.
Q: How do you know that you’ve made it?
A: When you’ve stopped going to seminars.
- 99% of people don’t need to deload. The best thing to deload in volume, not in intensity.
- “Remember they brought you in because the last guy sucked.” -Alwyn Cosgrove responding to a question about starting a new job.
- GPP for anyone except a strength athlete is weight training.
- Jim Wendler often discusses music on his training log, so I asked which five cds he'd buy with a $100. He suggested the following: Dopesmoker by Sleep, Take as Needed for Pain by EHG, Our Problem by Iron Monkey, Master of Reality by Black Sabbath and Reign in Blood by Slayer.

Jason Ferruggia: Small Group Training
- This presentation dealt with the business side of training, specifically, why it makes more sense to train small groups rather than individuals.
- Private training is boring and it sucks. While only 3% of gym goers do personal training, 55% of them do group exercise classes.
- It is easier to get three people to pay $30 per hour than one person to pay $90 per hour.
- It is easier to get three kids to pay $30 per hour than adults. Adults you can train 3-4 in a group, kids you can train 6-12 in a group.
- Don’t vary rates by clients.
- Set a ridiculously high price for 1 on 1 training or don't offer it at all.
- It’s your job to match people with other people.
- Target the people you relate to best: don’t take on a client you don’t relate to
- Your job is to coach and teach, not motivate.
- You have to present a certain look & attitude, so dress appropriately.
- Use the word semi-private or just “training. Offer no other option.
Alwyn Cosgrove: "Is there anything that’s done one on one nowadays? Chemotherapy maybe; no, it’s done in groups. Psychiatry, that’s one on one."
Dave Tate: "Sex?"
Alwyn Cosgrove: "You need two, Dave."
- If you work from 8am to 11pm training small groups you can see 70 people a day (this is where the hard work part comes in).
- Bill for everything you write. The client is getting a plan and the coach’s time. Both of these have value.
- Track client renewals: know what level (percentage) of renewals you need to be successful.
- You need an online presence. Dave Tate noted that when EFS recently added team members they looked at websites and blogs to make the first cut.
- Protein is overrated:
Jason Ferruggia: "Jim squatted 1000lbs eating 50g a day."
Alwyn Cosgrove: "Imagine if it was 55g."

At this point we broke for lunch as people went looking for 55g of protein. When we returned we split into four groups for hands-on training with each of the presenters, but that's another report entirely.

• If you want to know more about the June 2007 seminar, I blogged it here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
  • I was writing as fast as I could. If you were there and you see any errors or critical omissions, please let me know.

NPC Bodybuilder Jennifer Sedia.

"I don't feel sorry for those who lack the discipline to eat more." - J.M. Blakley

One of the many problems with our society is that people are too spoiled. They want things immediately and with as little work as possible. This applies to people who whine about how they cannot gain weight, no matter how much they eat, but usually they eat like a mouse, nibbling at their food. Imagine if these same people were forced to live in a third-world country or in a combat zone.

The fact is that if the guy trying to bulk up lifts like a madman in the gym, yet refuses to eat with the same zeal and effort, he's going to fail. If he refuses to ingest a surplus amount of calories from food after burning what the body needs for normal, daily functions of the body, along with exercise, sports, etc., his bodyweight will not increase. He needs to eat more than his body burns. It is a very simple concept.

I was always a very skinny kid, growing up. In high school, I weighed 100-110lbs. When I was in the U.S. Army, I weighed ~125lbs after returning from Iraq, in September 2003. I put on some pounds after I started training consistently again in 2004, then gained approximately 30lbs (145-175lbs) from 2004 to 2007. I really struggled to pack on the pounds, especially around 2004 and 2005, but after much frustration, realized that the "trick" was to eat massive amounts of the three macronutrients (protein, lipid, and carbohydrate) and calories in general, sometimes until I was physically sick, spending many nights sitting on the toilet. At that point, I began seeing much greater gains in bodyweight. It was very difficult, but I was successful because I stopped making excuses such as, "My metabolism is too fast!" or "I don't have enough time to eat!", etc.

I also came to the realization that to add any significant weight to my frame, I needed to eat things which most people consider unhealthy and what bodybuilders call a "dirty bulk", such as pizza, twinkies, lasagna, chocolate, burgers, fries, etc. I only purchased and ate food which contained the most calories, never wasting my time with anything that had the words "low carb", "diet", or "light" on the package or wrapper. Plus, I ate more often, whenever I had free time, if possible, and there were plenty of times that I tried to exceed my threshold of feeling full, pushing past that feeling. Also, when I was younger, I did not like butter, but now I put butter on my bread on a regular basis. Little things like that can make a difference, combined with other changes.