THERE IS A MURDEROUS CLOWN AFTER US ALL

  Why is it that bad food tastes so damn good? And why, even after knowing that a particular food is completely devoid of nutrition and could actually be harming them, do people continue to eat it?
Well there are a lot of different reasons for this conundrum, but just a few of them are...

Brand loyalty 

Some very devious add campaigns

Flashy packaging

Food additives and Chemicals

Feel good memories

The highly adapted master of survival that is the human body



  "This is a really weird list bro! I thought we where talking about food here"?

Oh Steve Steve Steve...

  For starters, have you ever noticed that the worst offenders in the flavortastic excito-matronic (hell yah I just made those words up!) food industry often have a cartoon character as their spokes person?
Who do you think they are trying to appeal to? Companies spend countless dollars on ad campaigns and gimmick's directly targeting your kids, because they know if they get em young, they have a much higher chance of having them for life!

  Now this wouldn't be so evil if the foods they were pedaling to poor little Timmy could actually be called food, and not some money hungry morally bankrupt companies science experiment made to look like food, that probably has a longer list of chemicals than real food ingredients. Some people will call this conspiracy theory, but many of those ingredients are in there BECAUSE THEY ARE ADDICTIVE.

  "Why the hell can you not get enough of this stuff, even when it doesn't particularly taste good"? Answer. Enough clever food additives and chemicals to make a meth cook jealous! If you want to do some fun reading just look up MSG. 
  

IF YOU SEE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING AT A PLACE YOU ARE ABOUT TO DINE, IT'S PROBABLY THE WORK OF A MURDEROUS CLOWN...

Play structures

Toys in meals

Flashy magical colors and characters, that look like they belong on your favorite Saturday morning cartoons.

You don't even have to leave your vehicle to get the food


 Yes folks, all those fond memories of eating piles of golden delicious fries, and ice cold swirly frozen concoctions, is a clever construct of these companies and their clever ad campaigns, play structures, and toys which create those fuzzy feelings you will no doubt have when you think of them as an adult. So where do you think you'll go when your hungry, not having a good day, or life's got you down? To the places you felt good as a kid is a pretty safe bet.

  So now that this ruthless maniacal clown has cooked up some goo in a beaker, and created a flashy oh so exciting dining experience with enough fun and magic to make Walt Disney envious...what does he do next?? He makes it sooo easy to get it! You don't even have to leave your vehicle. Just drive up to a window and order, and within minutes it's passed to you while you sit comfortably in your car!!  For many people, in a time when we have no time, choosing the quick option is very enticing. I mean your off work late, there's a couple hungry kids waiting for you at home, and who wants to spend an hour in the kitchen after a full day of work? These companies have told everyone for years that "cooking is a drag, you don't have time, and we'll serve it up hot and fresh for you! Just sit back and eat eat eat! And BT Dubs... we'll even give your little one a toy"!

CALORIES = SURVIVAL!!!

If all of this careful plotting against you wasn't enough, it will really piss you off to find out that your body is in on the conspiracy!
"OMG, what are you talking about"! Your body is a highly adapted survival machine with more bells and whistles than a Swiss army knife! How does that have anything to do with fast food? These convenience foods are packed with calories. To survive the human body recognizes calorically dense foods and says, "holy crap mouth! you found some serious calories here! eat up man"! Now I know what you are thinking right now..."Oh yah smart guy, if your body is trying to get the best foods wouldn't it consider things like kale to taste better since it is far more nutrient packed"?! No! And here's why. Calories or lack thereof, are far more immediately detrimental to survival than nutrient deficiencies, which will take years to rear their ugly heads. A cheese burger is more calorically dense than kale. If you have no calories, you're dead much quicker. Once again your body is smarter than you! 

CALORIE DENSE/ NUTRITIONALLY SPARSE = OVER FED /UNDER NOURISHED. 

  Piled high on top of this mountain of sabotage, is the fact that while convenience foods are calorically dense, as I stated before, they are not nutrient dense. This means that no matter how much you eat these foods, you will never feel satiated from them. Because your body is still seeking out the nutrients they are lacking, and that can lead to some serious over eating.

  "Thanks a lot yah jerk! you ruined my childhood memories, told me I'm being pursued by a freakin creepy clown, and that my body is purposely making me fat"!

  Calm down Steve, after all knowledge is power. Now that you know all of this, you can combat the forces of evil!

WORDS TO LIVE BY

  If its fast, its not food! Stop being so dammed lazy! You aren't the only busy person on the planet! Nobody has "time" to workout or eat right. The people who do, make time for these things by sacrificing because they see the value in them.

  An added benefit of preparing your own food is that it will make you much more conscientious of what goes into it!

  So go ahead... dust off the apron grab the kids and go on a culinary journey in your own kitchen. Hell, you might even find that you enjoy cooking...once the brainwashing of a fast food nation wares off. But remember, the microwave isn't the only appliance in there.

 Buy one item foods (apple, lettuce, and beef). Food manufacturers can't hide ingredients in huge labels on whole foods.
 
  Lastly, when you go out shopping for food to shove food into your pie hole, please seek out the best food available to you. Buy organic! It's not just for hippies anymore! Besides, if you are what you eat...then your food is what it ate, and if you ate your food, then you ate what it ate. Trust me you don't want your food eating pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, and things they were not meant to eat (cows eating grains), or being altered (GMO or Genetically Modified Organism). Seriously, if you're going to spend extra money on anything, shouldn't it be on what you put in your body?! 

    

YOUR SHOES BELONG ON AN EPISODE OF STAR TREK...

Let's talk appropriate shoes for their respective activities. Are you a one shoe fits all kinda person? The kind of person who goes on a run, crawls under a heavy squat, and strolls through Disney Land all in the same pair of asphalt pounders (running shoes)?

  I know, I know...they are so squishy and comfortable, it's like strapping the snuggle soft bear to your feet and going about your business. Mmmm, pillowy gooey goodness with every step! That may be well and good for leisurely strolls but those shoes have no place in the weight room! Yet what do I see all too often as I march into the gym ready to smash the crap out of any weight that stands between me and a PR (personal record)? To my horror, there will inevitably be some dude with some kind of "go big or go home" sloganed T duck under the squat bar with 3x the weight he should be doing, and...you guessed it...a shoe akin to footwear from an episode of Star Trek with little shocks and straps and enough cushioning to provide ride comfort for a Sherman tank. "More cushion more gooder"! (For those of you who haven't met him...that was my ridiculously stupid friend Steve). 

Ok Steve let me see if I can guide you through this one. In the weight room, when it comes to your shoes, LESS IS MORE! You want as little cushion between your foot and the ground. That means a very basic flat bottom hard sole shoe. Why? Because of a few things...

Stability

Your ability to apply force 

Ground reaction force

 First off, how stable do you think you will be with a 400lb bar on your back and pillows strapped to your feel? You need to be able to feel the weight and the ground. 

  Ok what about applying force? Think about this for a second. Is it easier to move a heavy rigid object or a heavy yet very soft object? A rigid object has no give so all of your force is applied to move said object. On the other hand, with a soft object you must first fully compress the object before your force can be exerted on actually moving it. So a lot of energy is wasted in that compressing portion. Apply that same principle to your shoes. It may not seem like much but that wasted energy can add up a lot less weight being moved. The weight that is being moved isn't being controlled very well, and this can lead to crap form.

  How bout ground reaction forces? A simple demonstration if you will...

Imagine you are trying to execute a deadlift in the sand. Immediately upon trying to ascend into your PR record book, you are met with our friend ground reaction force (who is nowhere near as dumb as Steve). In this case your force is absorbed into the sand until the sand is compressed enough to push back (GRF). 

  "Again oh mighty wielder of the keyboard, you've talked yourself in circles and none of us understand you"! Wow guys! that was kind of rude! but fine...I will spell it out.
The cushion in your shoes is acting like a shock absorber and soaking up all of the force you are trying to generate to move the weight, and also acting to dampen the force of the ground pushing back at you. There, are you happy?

  So... here's what you do...go to your closet, look way in the back, somewhere in there you should be able to find the perfect shoe. describe it? Most commonly it is black with a white sole and toe cap, and it has a little star on the side. Yep a pair of "Chucks"  (Converse Chuck Taylors). Just look at any power lifting competition and you will see the vast majority of these competitors wearing Chucks.
They have a stable flat hard sole and the best part is...they are cheap! And if you are a hipster, you have like twenty pairs of these sitting by your front door right now!

  Its time to go lift! So throw the Star Trek shoes in the garbage and grab your Chucks! 

WHY WE TRAIN

Why do we train? Why endure the physical pain? Day after day, year after year? What is the point? If you have to ask these questions...you'd probably never understand the answer. 

We train BECAUSE it's hard. We live in the challenge. In the moments when most would give in...that is where we thrive. We invite the pain. Pain is strength, knowledge, perseverance. The will to be better nips at our heels like a pack of ravenous wolves driving us forward. We do this because we are not ok with sleeping our lives away. We want to see how far we can go. Where is the limit? You can be damn sure we will push it every day! When people say "you can't", that only makes us try harder. Because sitting in front of the TV is death. We are out there living. We refuse to let things like average, good enough, normal describe us. We do it because we don't want to have to ask ourselves "what if"? We do it because we want to look in the mirror and be proud of the person staring back at us. 

WROGNESS ABOUT OH SO MANY THINGS

  How often do you hear these statements... "I'm bulking up or "I'm just trying to get toned, I don't want too get bulky". Are these people after completely different things? In a word... NO. Both desire lean muscular bodies. If these two parties got together and compared notes, they'd really have all the ingredients for some solid progress.

Wrongness

   Men and women seeking the "toned look" often fear the evil bulk monsters of the universe, that apparently lurk around every corner just waiting to throw tons of hulking bulky mounds of muscle all over unsuspecting gym goers who dare venture too far into the free weight area..."Oh no! not the free weight area"! Yes the free weight area. That doesn't mean the machines! It means exactly what it sounds like...weights that are free, or not attached to anything but the bar they rest on. So they resign themselves to hours of boredom doing steady state cardio with the hopes of muscle definition. Or they mail in a half assed attempt at a weight circuit, believing that they just need to throw the weights around for a couple minutes, and run back to their beloved treadmill. ENDLESS MILES OF RUNNING DOES NOT MAKE YOU LEAN AND TONED.  

   At first venturing out into the free weight area may seem scary, you're like a trembling antelope separated from its pack on the African Savannah. But trust me, the only thing you need fear in this weight wonderland, is a few unsavory characters that inevitably wonder the floors of every gym. Don't worry about that though...After all this is about you.Besides, this is where we can really begin to burn fat.

"Whaaaaaaaat! burn fat? with free weights"? Dammit Steve! I swear I've explained this to you like a million times! PAY ATTENTION! Muscle burns fat...so it would stand to reason that if your goal is fat burning, you would want more of it. Also we can do some amazing intervals with weights!

  Does anyone have any questions? Yes you ma am? "But I don't want too get bulky". Holy crap! Are you related to Steve?! If I hear this statement one more time...ok breath, calm down...remember the steps...ehem...Well miss you wont have to worry about that because women produce about 20 times less testosterone (hormone largely responsible for muscle growth) than their male counterparts. And most men will struggle to put on size even with this great hormonal advantage. One more thing miss, gaining bulk is largely a product of overeating combined with weight training. So you see, as long as you aren't eating like mad, fairly heavy weight training will only help your goal of being "toned". Which really, is low body fat combined with larger muscle underneath.

  "What about higher reps, like 15-20? that's how you tone muscle right"? No not really, though I don't blame you for this misconception, as its uttered daily across workout floors, company lunch rooms, and just about anywhere a workout conversation is taking place. The reason high reps don't work...When people resign themselves to a nightmarish 20 grueling reps, they often back off the weight too far in order to make their magical "fat burning rep range". I"ll help you out here... If you can complete another 3 or more reps after your set is done, you've missed the boat completely, no muscle building is going on here. There wasn't enough stimulus to produce ANY type of adaptation, and further, you're probably going to rest WAY too long between your marathon sets to produce any fat burning results either.

   Does anyone else have any nuggets of brotastic science?  "ooh ooh me, pick me"! Wow sir I love your enthusiasm! Surely you have something amazing to add to the conversation! "Well I run 6 miles 3 days per week to stay in shape, that's the best way". Somebody get me a hammer there is one last nail in this steady state cardio for fat burning coffin that needs a couple taps...Steady state cardio is the last thing you should be doing if fat burning is the goal. If there are any pissed off avid runners out there, please understand that I am speaking from a fat burning standpoint...If you for some reason enjoy running, by all means have at it. For everyone else, LETS DO SOME HIIT!

  Ok I'm kinda scared to ask at this point but would anyone else like to speak up? Um you sir? (I can tell this one is gonna be painful)..."Ok, so like I'm bulking right now, so I don't want to do cardio, because i don't want to like loose all of my muscle bro". If you could only see the look on my face right now...Where to start with this one?  HIIT (high intensity interval training) improves muscle's lactate threshold, reducing acidosis within the muscle (acidosis causes muscular failure). This basically means your muscles can handle stress longer and that means more overload, which leads to muscular hypertrophy (muscular growth). Tabata has been shown to increase anaerobic capacity (energy system used in short intense bouts of exercise like weight lifting) by 28%! That means lifting more weight for longer!...Why are you staring at me like that Steve? (Steve expressionless, motionless)  Dammit! It means your going to get bigger! (Steve happy!)


  Now that I've bludgeoned many of these myths, let me show you the way I train myself and others with the best results.

 Weights

There is a definite sweet spot for building muscle at about 3-4 working sets of 8-10 reps

Rest intervals should be between 30-60sec

Hit full body twice per week

Use compound lifts (multi joint movements like deadlift, squats, rows, and presses)

This one sounds counter intuitive, however always going to failure wont get you more muscle! Always leave one rep in the tank. Pro bodybuilders can go to failure and beyond because they are on steroids. The rules don't apply to them, they grow in-spite of their training good or bad. Grinding out that very last rep just fries your nervous system.

Cardio

   Yes I am majorly biased toward HIIT (high intensity interval training) rather than running for endless miles. Why? Because that is what has worked the best for me and the clients I train. So what should a HIIT session look like? 

Tabata: An HIIT system of 20sec of MAXIMUM effort followed by 10sec rest for a total of 4min. I like to link 4-5 Tabats together for a total of 16-20min. Trust me THIS WILL BURN A CRAZY AMOUNT OF CALORIES!


HIIT: A general HIIT is somewhat like Tabata but the work/rest intervals are not set. These can be applied to weights, sprints or anything else you can think of. the mane thing is that your rest intervals are shorter than your work intervals, for example: warm up for 10 min and then 1min work followed by 30sec rest. I don't take HIIT past 20-30min. 

Even while adding muscle size, I still perform HIIT workouts 3 times per week.

  So you see, whether you want to be "toned" or "bulk up" we are actually talking about the same thing. Nobody wants to look like skeletor, which is what you will look like with low body fat and scrawny muscles (think the "heroine sheik"  modeling era). Likewise, men!

The perpetual bulk has got to stop! You don't look good with a bunch of fat hiding all of your hard work. 

  In conclusion, girls! The free weight area was not designed as an obstacle course that you must run through as fast as possible in order to get to the treadmill. Do yourself a favor and start lifting more weight! Trust me lifting heavy ain't just for guys!

  Guys! Dudes! Bros! Do I have your attention? Stretching won't make you girly! Neither will some good HIIT! And it's about time you clean up your damn diet! No more hiding behind your crap "I'm bulking" excuse!

So boys and girls the lesson here? Let's have a powwow of sorts, barrow the best of each others routines and actually start seeing results! "Brilliant"! Thanks Steve, your not so dumb after all! 


If you would like to be in front of the line when the new Spartacore training manual is out...send me your email!!

  



 

HOW TO FIGHT DRAGONS

  What drives you? What pushes you further when pain, distractions, and excuses start pouring in? Sure we all start out with what seems like an unstoppable drive to do what needs to be done. But then inevitably, if no planning has been done, if no clear goals exist, if there is no route from point A to point B, if you just showed up at the gym one day with a fire in your belly and a head full of dreams to look like the images plastered across muscle mags...you are doomed. Don't get me wrong, I applaud your newly found desire to workout and sculpt your physique. However, an absence of the aforementioned points will have you wondering blindly in the dark.

  With this type of blind searching you'll be lucky just to stay healthy and injury free...so what about your results? At first, if you've never lifted weights, you'll probably make some ok gains even with a bad program. This is because you introduced a new stimulus (weight lifting) to your body. What happens when you see those gains? Your on cloud nine of course! You feel as though you could fight rhinos and arm wrestle gorillas!! THIS IS SPARTA!!! kind of stuff. Now time for that poor planning and bad routine to bare their ugly side like Brittney Spears with an umbrella...PLATEAU. The wasteland of sadness and despair most gym goers will never progress past. But why?! Because most never dig deep enough through the garbage dump of useless bro science and muscle mag BS to figure out "the law of specificity". This is the fundamental principle behind ANY good routine. "What is it?! Tell me tell me"! Whoa there captain impatient...the law of specificity states..."the body will adapt specifically to imposed demands". So if you don't introduce new demands or manipulate your variables, your body has absolutely no reason to change. It's like your cranky neighbor with the 1981 Buick..."I don't need to change! This baby gets me from point A to B just fine". Sooo what to do? Make the old crankster haul wood. "Oh man! My poor Buick can't haul wood...I need a truck"! So instead of getting pissed and arguing with captain angry, we introduced a reason for him to change out of necessity. What does this look like for you body?

Change:

The amount of weight lifted

Sets and reps

Rest time between sets

Training frequency

Exercises

Duration of workout

The tempo of your reps

  I don't mean change all of these at once, this is simply a list of variables that you can tweak when your training gets stagnant. I may at some later date tackle the subject of training variables more extensively. However the goal here is to help you understand how important variables are and that you need to learn how to manipulate them, to get RESULTS. All of this needed to be explained because THE KING OF MOTIVATION IS RESULTS, and results come from goal setting, planning, knowledge of what you're doing and why, and consistency... not some mystery powder you bought online.

  So what's next? An unbreakable diamond crushing WILL. A strong will isn't something you are just born with, it is a skill that must be exercised to make it stronger. After years of careful honing of this prized skill you will be able to do things you thought you couldn't. It will give you the courage to do things other people say you shouldn't. The most powerful will is one fueled by bigger and bigger successes. Go out right now and test yourself...set a goal, a clear goal that is black and white (either you made it or you didn't). Now destroy that challenge as though it was a fiery dragon, hell bent on incinerating you with its liquid hot magma breath! Now as you look down at the lifeless carcass of this mythical bringer of destruction, that once was an obstacle in your way...just try and tell me you don't feel like you can do anything in this moment. That feeling is your confidence, that your will created, built by your result of slaying the dragon. You are unstoppable now my friend. 

  Now you know how people who achieve amazing physical success feel every day! The mirror is a constant reminder of how their hard work is rewarded. I'm telling you, you start seeing results and you'll look at a cupcake a hole lot different than you did before! 

  Now you know why most people fail where you will succeed...you know the secret. When all the New Year's resolutions start dropping like flies, you will stand the test of time. So get ready for your results and all the motivation you could ever hope for! You got this!

"Now wait just a minute! Where the hell is Steve"?! I'm sorry but my imaginary friend Steve that just so happens to be the perfect example for every one of my stories, took the week off.

 

RUNNING IS THE ANTI-CHRIST!

  Distance running is one of the most monotonous destructive drudgery's ever invented...EVER! Not only does it take countless hours to perform this low quality cardio evil, but it's boring, and worst of all, it's a complete disregard for the Health of your body. However, most people think of running as healthy. And if you're stuck in the 80's, you believe this is the only effective form of cardio training.

Myths, lies, and the cumulative injury cycle.

 Now I'm not going to get into statistics on this because if you are an avid runner, or know someone who is an avid runner...you have been, or know someone who has had a running injury...don't shake your head...I know you have. The other ridiculous portion of this whole plague is that most people that do it don't even enjoy it, they do it because they feel they have to do it to be in shape.  Ready for the most mind blowing idea of all time?!  If you are running for an end goal and not the enjoyment of running....STOP! There are far more effective means of achieving your dream body...trust me I know, I regularly train clients that are burning 900 to a 1000 cal in one hour! verses about 600 cal per hour from a medium to fast slog on the treadmill or your nearest pavement jungle...and all without taking a single knee obliterating stride! After all, every one of those endless steps is exerting a crushing 2.5 to 3 times your body weight sending a shockwave of destruction up through your feet and into your knees! Ok...maybe I was being a little dramatic on that last part, but still... Do that over and over and over... and you can see where this is going. Lets estimate the average 150lb runner has 400 steps in a mile. that would be 60 to 90 tons of force in a mile!

The other major problem with running, is that people believe you just go out and do it. Contrary to popular belief, running is a very technical exercise, it must be done properly to prevent injuries. There are an endless amount of mechanical variables in running (stride length, foot strike, and knee angle) and if just one of these is off it leads to injury. 

  Yet another misconception, is that you just run as much as possible to get better. But as with any other form of exercise, you must have a well thought out training program that allows for a rotating schedule of intensity vs distance.

  Now this next isn't isolated to just running, but most fitness routines...it's the lack of soft tissue rehab. You can't just go to the gym or run, pound the hell out of yourself, and then go home and sit on the couch. It doesn't work that way! You need to help your body heal from your bouts of exercise properly. Meaning??

  A good foam rolling (SMR) routine is a great start when it comes to soft tissue health, this will break up adhesion's in the fascia and release tension in the underlying muscle, restoring proper length and elasticity of tissues. For a simple SMR/Stretching routine here is my video: http://youtu.be/oYl86_ZpDyQ

  Know when to ice and when to heat! Ice should be applied to acute injuries (fast onset pain that is normally linked to a specific injury) and post exercise. Heat should only be applied prior to exercise or if you are suffering from a chronic injury (slow onset injury that may come and go with no 

pinpointable traumatic event). 

  Also, stretch and give your body proper nutrition.

  The last problem id like to bring to your attention... running is very repetitive by nature, soooooo it very commonly leads to overuse injuries. Imagine that, doing something non stop over and over again overuses body systems involved. I hope you could sense my sarcasm there:) Trying to get an avid runner to stop doing their activity once they have said injury, is like trying to keaster stash a thanksgiving turkey inside a prison inmate. "What the hell was that?!". Oh nothing...What I mean is that its next to impossible, so they inevitably go right back to running without proper rest and rehab, and you guessed it, FURTHER INJURE THEMSELVES. That's why its called a cycle (cumulative injury cycle), because once you start it, the pattern of injury is hard to break without intensive care.

Are you starting to see why I detest running?

A better way...

  "Awe great, now I cant run and I'm going to get fat and everyone will hate me because now I cant burn calories". Ok now you're just being silly. Let me show how to burn those evil little fat producing bastards! One word...SPRINT. "But you just said I couldn't run!". Shut up Steve! and start paying attention! I said that long bouts of steady state running are bad and worthless to the calorie conscious folks out there! However, a well structured sprint workout with proper warm ups, stretching, and no jack rabbit starts is a FAT BURNING INFERNO!!! As I said before, running is a highly technical exercise. If you would like to take advantage of this great fat burning tool, learn how to do it properly! There are plenty of video resources out on the Internet...Go forth my son and watch the sprinting techniques sent forth from heaven via your computer or mobile device!! One of the simplest sprint workouts out there is: Go to a track and sprint the straights and walk the curves. when I say simple, I mean in explanation...not in execution.

   Now if you don't want to sprint, apply the interval model to something else. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) can be applied to any form of exercise, from sprints to weightlifting. If its an exercise, there's a way to make it an interval.

  My personal favorite calorie incinerating workout though, would have to go to a good down and dirty battle rope workout!  I LOVE these workouts! They are quick (16-20 min) and hard. It's like all out war between you and the rope...maybe that's the reason for the name. 

 

  Ok, now that I have given you your new cardio spark...its time for you to do some further investigating and find some cardio you actually enjoy! And thanks for reading!


P.S.  If you are also needing some diet advice, I highly recommend you read "The Renegade Diet". While I cant prescribe this diet to you, this is the program I personally follow. I absolutely LOVE this system!!! Here's a link: http://spartacore.rbc31f.hop.clickbank.net