You Can't Handle the Truth

One of my favorite lines is from the author Jim Goad who said something to the effect that "If everyone, right now, decided to tell the truth, we'd all be dead by morning."

Now that's a good one. Basically most of us go through the whole day skipping around the way we really feel and what we really want to say. Fortunately, I had some brutally honest coaches growing up who werent afraid to hurt my feelings. M high school coach was a wothless jerk , but he would tell you when he really thought you werent any good.
I remember one summer when I was in high school when I decided that I didnt need to run as much as everyone else because I was strong and would just tough it out when practiced started. My father asked me why I wasnt running and when I told him my reasoning , he chuckled and said, "Son, you dont have a dedicated bone in your body." Thats all it took, and I was off and running.
You see it all the time in the gym. Your friend squats high but you dont have the heart to tell him so you he gets to the meet and bombs out and blames everyone but YOU . Its your fault for not being blunt with him in the first place.

In coaching also, I have experienced both ends of the spectrum. My boss at Gardner-Webb, Scott Parker, was a great coach and brutally honest. If you got beat, he pointed it out to you and everyone else and told us all who wasn't pulling their weight to help us win. And if you didnt strive to improve, he benched you and told you why he was doing it. Consequently when I coached at Charleston Southern, we kept kids on the field because(yes, its true)they were good kids or tried real hard or because they attended church regularly. Yup.

Anyway, I do it too,all the time.Everyone I know holds back the way they really feel and then they get into little corners and tell their friends all about it . And in this world were the truth hurts feelings or can even get you divorced or fired, I really don't have a solution. I do know however, that once in awhile, the truth feels damn good.

You Think That You Are So Great

One thing that drives me nuts is the "condition" of self importance. To put it simply, you aint better than anyone else. Period. A maintenance worker is just as important as anyone else. The guy that pumps your gas is just like you. He has struggles, a family, bills, kids....the whole thing. I pumped gas in high school and used to laugh when someone would come in and treat me like I didn't exist. I figured out then that these folks had some sort of low self esteem issue where they felt the need to raise themselves above someone else.

There were only two professors allowed behind the equipment counter in the Physical Education Department at the University of Maryland in the 70's and 80's- My father and my Uncle George. I worked behind that counter in 1987 and I asked the guys why only those two were let back there. They explained that everyone else thought that they were better than they were and my dad and uncle treated them as equals, as friends. I see it all the time. When I delivered pizzas in the early 90's , not very long ago, people treated me as though I was less of a human. Meanwhile, a few hours later, I was coaching football for a college and players were calling me sir and running through walls when I told them to. I hadn't changed a bit, but the uniform had changed. Of course I have done it also and continue to at times- I have to catch myself and remember how it felt when someone treated me that way. What is very interesting is that the smartest people I know, my son's doctors, are the friendliest of all. Maybe because they are beyond needing to prove that they are someone. They are humble and self-deprecating.

There is a line from the movie, All The Right Moves, where the football coach blackballs a player from the going to college and generally treats everyone around him like they are peasants and he is the king. The blackballed player yells at the coach one day,"Who do you think you are?? You are just a football coach!" and its true. You aren't performing an operation on a ten year old, you are coaching a game. That line has always stuck with me, and it has kept my ego in check for a long time.

Dragon Boaters

Every Sunday morning I train some amazing ladies- the Dragon Boaters.They are a bunch of amazing ladies. What is so amazing about them? I can make a list that would last forever, but instead I will focus on just a few things that make them special.(Oh yeah, I almost forgot- 1/3 of them (at least) are breast cancer survivors.)
First of all, they range in age from the early 40's to the mid 60's. That's special. When most folks are winding down in life and becoming soft and sedentary, these ladies are kicking butt. And here is something else thats extra cool- they TRAIN. None of this machine circuit baby workouts. What do I do with them? They run stadium steps, they push the prowler, they Muay Thai kick box. And thats just the cardio part. They squat and deadlift. They press overhead. They perform the basic lifts and they excel at them. And according to the feedback, it pays huge dividends on the water. This morning, we did some dynamic mobility work and then moved onto the heavy bags. They hit the bags for 3x1 minute rounds with a 30 second break. During the break, they did 10 bodyweight squats. Next, they shadowboxed for 2 rounds of 1 minute with a 30 second break. Then the Dragonstuds went to the power racks and did hang cleans right below the knee and push press for 5x3. In between sets, the stretched their hamstrings. Next up were straight arm lat pulldowns, one arm rows,upright rows and RDL's. They also did ab work between the sets of pulldowns. Then we stretched as a group.
In the group this morning were two over sixty ladies who did the whole workout without complaining or skipping an exercise. They both amaze me. For them, really, age doesnt even come into play at all. They have fallen in love with how training, proper training, makes them feel, not just on the water, but in everyday activities. And that's why it irritates me when other people say that they don't have time to train. Give me a break! These ladies are beating cancer, raising kids,working all day and still getting in to bust their rear end in the weight room and to be part of a team. I am very fortunate to be a part of this whole thing-these ladies have made me realize that everyone needs strength and that everybody can do the basic, gut busting exercises and succeed at them regardless of their age and regardless of what obstacles life has made them hurdle over. Here's to you ladies!

Switch it Up

Everyone needs to change their training around, everyone gets sick of doing the same old stuff after awhile. So if you pull conventional all of the time, go with sumo deads for a little bit. Put your ego in your pocket and drop your max down. Tired of benching? Heavy inclines are a great change. And you know what else? You may discover that you have some weak points that changing things up bring out.Then you can focus on those and when you switch back, you are stronger than ever.Plus, man, stuff just gets old and BORING after awhile. Everybody needs it- in work, in training, in life-Variety is the spice of life.

Also- Sometimes changing things around gives you the shot of motivation that you were looking to find.

Kirk Shrugs for Massiveness

This is a great exercise for grip strength, trap and delt development and for static strength. I call them "Kirks" after my friend Kirk Karwoski. Kirk started doing these after his deadlifts to develop his grip strength. Kirk has small hands, and he and his coach Marty Gallagher put these in his training to help him hang on. Obviously it worked as Kirk has deadlifted over 800 pounds. To perform them take a grip right outside your thighs. Pull the bar to your belly button, bending your arms and shrugging at the same time. PAUSE for a 2 second count and repeat. You can cheat slightly to get it started. Kirk also used a thumbless grip on this, which makes it even more difficult.

Fun Books

Here are some of my go-to, fun books that I read over and over that I think folks will enjoy-
1. Purposeful Primitive by Marty Gallagher
2. Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe
3. Smile you're Travelling by Henry Rollins
4. Lights Out by Wiley and Formby
5. Johnny U by Callahan
6. Celluloid Cowboy by Scott C. Rogers
7. Post Office and Ham on Rye by Bukowski
8. Evolution RX by Meller
9. Average American Male by Kultgen
10 .F**ck It by Parkin
11. Redneck Manifesto by Jim Goad
12. Fante: A Memoir by Dan Fante

Freaky Strength

This is my assistant Cristi with 405 in the deadlift. She did 405 3x2 and then 365 x5. She, quite simply, is strong. She benched 235 6x1 the other day and also can do weighted chins and dips. At 25 years old, she has a great future ahead of her.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVh29XXgvO4

Results

As far as football goes, I have been on both ends of the spectrum, championship teams and lousy teams. Basically, I have played or been around football for 35 years or so. The great teams had- 1. Talent 2. Great leaders 3. 3 or 4 players who LOVED to play and got everyone to rise to their level. The bad teams had- 1. Talent but were selfish 2. Lousy coaches 3. Bad work habits

So talent is one common denominator between the two. Talent without displaying the talent doesn't mean jack sh-t! Its all results that count...in everything really. "Well, that kid has talent." or "He could be so strong if he applied him/her self" doesn't mean ANYTHING. Its those who can apply themselves who should be measured.

I had a player at Gardner Webb who I coached on the defensive line. He was small and slow, but he ended up being All- America because he produced, day after day, play after play. And everyone said, "Well, genetically, he shouldn't be so good, or "He's not the most talented kid", or "He just hustles"..BS!- He produced results. Period. That IS talent!

6 Weeks to a New Power Clean Max

Here is a Power Clean program that will increase your max in 6 weeks, guaranteed. I like a Monday/Thursday split, but Tuesday/Friday, Wednesday/Saturday will work also. Do front squats or back squats after the cleans, but keep it at about 80% for 10 total reps. Everything is % based, and the sets read like 5x2 = 5 sets of 2 reps.
A Clean Pull is everything that a Power Clean is, but you do not rack the weight on your shoulders, you simply shrug and jump. Good luck!

Week 1
day 1 Cleans 50x3 60x2 70x2 80 12x1
day 2 Clean Pulls 60x2 70x2 80x1 90 10x1

Week 2
day 1 50x3 60x2 70x2 80x1 85 12x1 75 5x2
day 2 Clean Pulls 60x2 70x2 80x1 90 x1 95 10x1


Week 3
day 1 Cleans 50x3 60x2 70x2 80x1 85x1 87 10x1 80 5x2
day 2 Clean Pulls - 60x2 70x2 80x1 85x1 90x1 100 8x1

Week 4
day 1 Cleans 50x3 60x2 70x2 80x1 85x1 90 8x1 80 5x2
day 2 Clean Pulls 60x2 70x2 80x1 85x1 90x1 100x1 105 6x1

week 5
day 1 Cleans 50x3 60x2 70x2 80x1 85x1 90x1 95 5x1 80 5x2
day 2 Clean Pulls 60x2 70x2 80x1 85x1 90x1 100x1 105x1 110 6x1

Week 6
day 1 off
day 2- Clean MAX- 50x3 60x2 70x2 80x1 85x1 95x1 105x1 and continue

Push Then Back Off

There are times in your training life when you are meant to push hard, and then back off, then push hard, then back off, etc..it continues. By doing this, you are able to keep training, stay relatively injury free, and stay fresh mentally. With everyone that I train, I do this. In fact, after a meet, I don't even let them squat, bench or deadlift for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, they are chomping at the bit to get back to it. Unfortunately, I don't take my own advice and I am now coming back from a pulled lat, pec and adductor.
So, you can either be smart, and cycle your training, or your body will do it for you eventually.

Get a Big Bench Program

Get a Big Bench Program
Try this program :Twice a week benching, based on percentages. 50x5 is 50% of your one rep max for 5 reps. So if your bench is 300, 50% is 150. Easy. Don't do any pressing or triceps on Tuesday or Wednesday. Only do shoulders and triceps on the day that you bench and limit it to 2-3 medium heavy movements. Keep the reps on assistance from 6-10. Good luck!


Monday bench -50x5 60x4 70x2 80 5x2, 60x10

Thursday bench- 50x4 60x4 70 2x3 75 2x2 80 2x2 85 2x1 70x4 60x10

Monday bench-50x4 60x4 70x3 80 5x3 60x12

Thursday bench- 50x4 60x4 70 2x4 75 2x3 80 3x2 85 2x2 75x4 60x12

Monday bench- 50x4 60x4 70x2 80 5x4

Thursday bench- 50x4 60x4 70x4 75x2 80x3 85 2x3 90 4x1 65x10

Monday bench- 50x4 60x4 70x2 80 12x2

Thursday bench- 50x4 60x4 70x2 80x2 85x1 90x1 95 6x1

Monday bench- 50x4 60x4 70x2 80x2 85 3x2

Thursday-MAX- 50x4 60x2 70x2 80x1 85x1 90x1 95x1 100x1 105x1

One for the Apocalypse

I have a saying that I thought of a few years back after watching the movie and reading the book, The Road.
In the story, a father treks his way with his young son through post- apocalyptic America.The father will do anything to help his son survive. He gives up the last bite of food to his son. He protects him from people who are trying to eat him for god's sake. Quite simply, the father always has "one more(rep) for the apocalypse", no matter what. I shortened it to "One for the Apocalypse", and it stuck with the folks that I train. It means that you ALWAYS have one more in you, one more sprint, one more squat..always one more if it is really important .Hell, if your life or a loved one's life is in danger, you could fight a little more couldn't you? And there it is- "One More for the Apocalypse"

Hunting

One activity that I enjoy more than pretty much anything is bird hunting. The reasons are many, but I love the solitude and the fact that I get to take my dog Bas. To see him retrieve is perhaps the most enjoyable aspect. Bas and I train everyday, he is my buddy and companion. Bas is all business when he hunts. Love and affection aren't important to him when he hunts, he just wants to get the bird. Someone asked me yesterday what sets training Bas apart from , say, training people. I said that Bas will do exactly what I say and he will go FULL SPEED no matter what the circumstances- rain, snow, ice. FULL SPEED. He doesn't worry about the past or future, he focuses on NOW. My buddy Steve owns a farm in Maryland and I go down there every chance that I get and have a blast.On Saturday, Big John and I went dove hunting. Even if we don't kill anything, its fun. We got about ten birds total. On the last bird, Bas retrieved it in a thicket.He dove in there and smelled it out , it was amazing. It's pure instinct combined with years of training that culminates in a retrieve like that- very rewarding.

The Tshirts are in the final stages of being designed, I think everyone will love them.

The Trend is Dead

It gets pretty old, the new ideas, the gimmicks, the fads. Phil Anselmo said one time when Nirvana and the like were making headway into the metal world that, "The trend is dead", and he was right on. What passed for music then was short lived , trendy and soft, and the backlash was the proliferation of hardcore, deathmetal and black metal bands that blew the trendy B.S out of the music stratosphere. And it's the same with training. The bodyblades, the ladder drills, the p90x, the , the, the, the....what a waste of time. Im sorry, but put a bar on your back. Pick stuff up thats heavy. Press overhead. Leave the trends to the weak minded and weak willed who are looking for the easy way out. Stay strong and do what you know is right. As it is in everything in life, stick to the basics.

A Program to Get Strong

Powerlifting Made Simple

With all of the time spent talking about workouts, planning workouts , wondering what is the best workout for you, what so and so said about the best workout and damn, what preworkout, postworkout, middle of the workout shake/meal is really the best, it’s a wonder that any weights actually get lifted
I hate to break this news, but in the 70’s and 80’s supplements besides Weider and Hoffman and Blair didn’t really exist. There were no bands or chains to speak of back then. Yet if you look at some numbers from then, folks were insanely strong. Of course, Ed Coan deadlifted 793 at 181 in 1984, but that’s Ed Coan, right? Kazmaier totaled 2420 in 1981. Hatfield squatted 815 at 220 in 1983. Dan Austin deadlifted 705 at 148 in 1987.
What I’m trying to point out here is that these guys did it without all the stuff that people think is necessary to be big and strong. Johnny Pain talks about prisoners who have less than adequate foods and equipment but they get big and strong nonetheless. How is this done? And how did the guys 25 years ago get strong without creatine and NO2? I’d say it was the training. Gut busting hard work on the basic exercises that you practice for years and years without shortcuts. And don’t talk about drugs. They were around then, and they are around now. It is not that complicated. My aim here is to provide a tried and true template that will get you bigger and stronger.

Split your program so that you have adequate recovery between days. This holds true for beginners and experienced lifters. More experienced lifters may need more rest, maybe not.
Here is a split that allows maximum stimulus and recovery:

Day 1- Monday
Main Lift- Squat
Assistance work 1-3 leg exercises 2-5 sets of 5 to 10 reps.
Monday is a great day to squat because you are coming off of a weekend.
Assistance should have some hamstring work in it, leg curls or Romanian Deadlifts.
You can do some hack squats or some light front squats also.
The squat should be periodized for around 9 weeks to reach a max. Here is an example-
Week 1- after warmup 1x8 at 60% of max-
Week 2- after warmup 1x8 at 65%
Week 3 –after warmup 1x5 70%
Week 4-after warmup 1x5 75%
Week 5- after warmup 1x5 80%
Week 6 after warmup 1x3-5 at 85%
Week 7 after warmup 1x2-3 at 90%
Week 8 after warmup 1x1-2 at 95%
Week 9 MAX

A warmup should get you loose but not tax you. Obviously a warmup for 60% will be short. Here is a sample warmup for 85% being the top set: 1x5 at 50%, 1x4 at 60%, 1x3 at 70%, 1x2 at 75%, top set.

Day 2-Wednesday
Main Lift-Bench Press
Assistance work- 2-3 exercises 2-5 sets of 5-10 reps. Make sure to include some type of press in there, either a barbell press or a db Press for your shoulders. Throw in some dips and laterals and you are all done.
As far as the bench goes, I believe in a little more volume. To make it simple follow the squat example and perform 2-3 sets at each given percentage.

Day 3-Friday
Main Lift-Deadlift
Assistance work- 2-3 exercises, 2-5 sets of 5-10 reps. Make sure to do some type of row, whether it is a one arm row or a bent over row. Chinups are a good choice on this day also. Shrugs with either a barbell or db are great on this day. You can throw some biceps in there also.
You can follow the same squat cycle for the Deadlift. Make sure to pause every rep and to take the tension out of the bar on the deadlift.

There you go- a simple Powerlifting program that allows for recovery and maximum strength gains and also induces hypertrophy. Give it a shot and let me know how you are progressing.

You Have No Idea

I have been reading Tank Abbott's book excerpts in Fight Game magazine and its a great read to say the least. Most of it seems to center around Tank sorta minding his own business and then someone messing with him and then him blasting the hell out of them. People just can't help calling him fat boy or some other insult and then they end up knocked out. Reminds me of a story I heard one time at a place that I coached where the star player was talking crap to a 3rd stringer about the 3rd stringer's girlfriend and how he would like to go out with her or something to that effect.  The star said that he could steal the girl away in a second if he really wanted to. Well, the 3rd stringer warned him to stop and when he didn't, the star got himself a face full of fist to quiet his big mouth. Everyone runs their mouth these days, because I guess that "trash talking" is some great thing to do. To me, its boring and lame. Try to be stoic and cerebral and keep your boil inside, not for everyone to see. A barking dog never bites, but if my Old Rotty got that "look" in her eyes, you had better head for the hills, because she was gonna snap. You could feel the tension in the air when she was like that, the death stare.
My point here is that you never know who you are messing with in life. You may think that you are the ultimate badass but there is always somebody out there that is "badder". So whats the best thing to do? Keep your mouth shut unless you or you family don't have a way out. Then when this is the case and you decide to act , use full force and any means necessary to win.

Real Toughness

So what constitutes real toughness?
How come some folks can persevere through tough times while others falter?
Toughness is a soldier in a far away land and fighting for his brothers.
Toughness is taking a stand when everyone else is against you.
Toughness is going hungry so that your kids may eat.
Toughness is everyone that survived the Bataan Death March
Toughness is a little kid fighting through cancer.
Toughness is Johnny Unitas playing a football game with a collapsed lung
Toughness is a boxer going out for the 12th round with a broken jaw
Toughness is a mother or father working 2 jobs to make ends meet
What else? There are, of course, many other examples. Think of these few examples when your motivation is starting to wane...

5 Ways to Speed Up Recovery
Here are 5 ways to make your recovery more efficient

1. Protein, protein, protein I am not convinced about the research on post workout, pre-workout nutrition. but I do know this- you must have a sufficient supply of protein to grow and recover.. At least 1 gm per pound of body weight for hard training athletes. Get it in real food when you can. Shakes help also as do dairy products. With the shakes, give them a trial run to make sure that you don't have GI issues. Break into them slowly.
2.Rest- 8 hours is great, 9 is better. A nap is perfect. Read "Lights Out" for more info. That book is great and essential reading.
3. Massage- if you can afford it, deep tissue or ART works wonders. Ive been all "stoved up" before, and left the therapist feeling 18 again.
4. Dynamic mobility exercises- walking hand kicks, shuffling and touching the ground, work with an empty bar all help bring blood into the area and speed up recovery
 5. Whirlpool treatment and ice baths- Not sure if they are researched very well, but anecdotal evidence indicates that they help.
Give these 5 modalities a try next time you are feeling over trained or stiff. Thanks for reading, Steel

Recovery

After all these years of training, 32 to be exact,the topic of recovery is one in which I struggle. For instance, the two programs that I have had a lot of success with personally are the Sheiko program which has tons of volume in it, and the Pavel Power to the People program, which calls for squatting every day. The recovery involved with those programs is nil. You cant recover with rest because you are training all of the time. The window of recovery is short and you are perpetually sore. And then there is the classic once a week squat, bench and deadlift program. You will recover doing this, but sometimes the exercises arent familiar enough to your body, meaning that the little things like set up and speed of movement arent being practiced enough. And maybe that is the answer right there. For younger lifters , those who havent been through the fire of years of training, the more frequent, high volume programs may be the answer. You are "greasing the groove" as Pavel says, more often so your body gets used to the correct execution of the movements and it becomes second nature. Then as you progress in strength levels and maturity and your body knows the movements, you can progress to the once a week program. And older lifters with their past injuries need more time to recover. Tomorrow, I will write more about ways to maximize recovery. Thanks for reading.