These guys are blowing my mind.  They’re a NY based group that goes out to public parks and playgrounds to do their workouts on the pull up bars, parallel bars, monkey bars, etc.  And they are getting fantastic results.  Lot’s of muscle ups, wild chin/pull up variations, and other gymnastic-esque goodness.  I love it!  It’s inspiring me to dust off my old goal of one-arm chins.  (Real one-arm chins, of course.)

They’re helping to prove my theory that if you want to look (and be!) truly muscular and powerful, train your lower body like an Olympic weightlifter, and your upper body like a gymnast.

Here’s a few vids:

Don’t forget to check out their blog here.

[hat tip: Fitness Black Book]

Don’t think, you’re ill-equipped.

You can get a lot more of Joe Mills’ quotes in the new issue of Strength Plus Magazine here.

Another great issue of Strength+ magazine is out.  You can go here to download it.

Inside are articles on the 2010 Nationals, including the Burgener couple making the world team. (As a side note, I was sad not to see Oregon’s Sarah Bertram not making the team, but that’s another story.)

The issue also has articles on Olympic weightlifting’s use for football, gymnastics, and even how to juggle weightlifting with parenting!

Bob Takano contributes a piece, “An Introduction to Weightlifting Training Programs.”

A retrospective of the 2000 National Championships.

And finally a great comparison of the technique of Casey Burgener and Matt Rue, “Who’s got better technique?  You decide.”  This one’s just fun. 

For my part, I’d go with Casey.  But, I’m not one who thinks there is such a thing as “perfect” technique that applies to everyone.  Different body proportions will dictate a lot of what a lifter is going to have to do given the fact that the bar is a fixed object (the diameter of a plate is the same for everyone regardless of limb/torso length).  Not just height, but leg and arm length both relative to torso. 

But, the things I DO emphasize with my lifters are in line with Casey: Getting into a solid vertical jump position in the second pull and a deep extension at the end of the second pull (like a bow and arrow). Yes, Casey’s hips start high, but they don’t RISE too high – that’s the important thing.  The first pull exists ONLY to set you up for a powerful second pull. Period.  He does that.  Very solid.

Here’s a vid of the 105k’s at the 2010 Nationals

I just found this article on MSNBC from 2006 about KFC getting sued by a guy who was shocked to find out that their food has transfats in it.  Wow … shocker.  Who could possibly have suspected that?

There are two things that bother me about this kind of thing (ie. people suing companies over trivial crap – like the woman who sued McDonalds because she spilled hot coffee on herself.  Coffee? hot? Amazing).

1

First, this man who’s suing KFC, Dr. Arthur Hoyte, is a … DOCTOR!!  You telling me it never occurred to this idiot that KFC sells food that’s bad for you?  Really?  Bull shit. 

Either he’s the worlds dumbest and worst educated doctor in history, or he scammed them for the money. 

In the 1950’s, doctors were telling the public that smoking was good for you, so it was understandable that many people got hooked to the highly addictive drug nicotine and then wanted to blame the companies that lied to them.  Fine.

But, we’ve taken this whole sue-nation thing way too far.  No one in America has thought fast-food was good for you since … well … ever!  It’s called fast food for a reason, people.  It is absolute crap.  It tastes good because it’s scientifically designed to taste good.  But, that’s it.  Eat at your own risk. 

Had I known that KFC uses an unnatural frying oil, and that their food was so high in trans fat, I would have reconsidered my choices,” Hoyte said.

Sure, dude.  Never in your years of medical school did it ever cross your feeble little mind that a big chain fast-food joint might use the cheapest (and unhealthiest) oils around? 

If an adult wants to eat fast-food all the time, that’s their business.  However, while I’m not against labeling (full discretion is always good), anyone who tricks themselves into believing that eating at a fast-food joint is a healthy idea is moronic.

2

The second (and most important) reason for finding this disturbing is that it is part of the American victim-complex that we’ve all seemed to have collectively fallen into. 

We hate, as a people, to take responsibility for our actions or our mistakes.  Everything is someone else’s fault.  Everything.

Are you Fat?  It’s all the advertising on TV, or the easy access to fast-food.  An Alcoholic?  My parents were alcoholics.  How about a Rapist?  She wore a short skirt in a park, it’s not your fault.

The most successful people in the history of the planet have always known a simple fact of life that the rest seem to want to forget:  You have to own your own shit – good and bad.

There is no doubt that bad parenting can add a lot of hurdles to a persons life-path.  If you got fat as a kid, then it WAS your parents fault. Period.   If you saw your parents constantly drinking, then you are far more likely to head down that path. 

However, at some point, as an adult, you have to ACT like an adult.  If you are an adult alcoholic, that’s all you.  It has nothing to do with your parents anymore.  You have the choice.  It’s a hard choice, and you’re an addict – no doubt – but, it’s still a choice.

We have the fattest nation on earth because adults act like children.  They don’t take seriously the fact that their weight is in their control.  It is not the responsibility of the government or big corporations to keep you lean and healthy.  It’s your own responsibility.

If you don’t like the way your body is right now, you can change it.  If you don’t want to, cool. But, if you do, don’t go whining and crying about all the outside factors “holding you down”.  Only you are holding you down. 

We are not victims of everything and everyone.  We’re all adults … except this guy:

Ram Das may not be a Zen guy, but it’s a good quote none the less:

“We
believe that we are human beings having a spiritual experience;
we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” –Ram
Dass

Pay close attention here, folks.  This is a Bodybuilder, not a weightlifter or powerlifter.  He’s training for size, not specifically strength.  He’s also credited with having the best legs of any Bodybuilder – ever. 

Did he spend lots of time on the leg press machine?  Leg extensions? Machines?  Nope!

He squatted – a ton.  And not just squats, but rock-bottom, Olympic-style squats.  When you’re squatting, don’t mess around, don’t do half reps, don’t settle for mediocre.  Go deep, get strong, or go home.

Check out this article at a fantastic blog I just found, Evidence-Based Fitness, written by Bryan Chung.  It’s about chocolate milk as an after workout drink.

I think we would all like to believe the pre, intra and post-workout nutrition are very important. We’ve seen one example of how pre-workout protein probably doesn’t really make any difference large enough to warrant the extra cost of consuming it. While there have been studies supporting the idea that post-workout nutrition is important and results in better recovery (a fairly vaguely defined term) and better results (an even more vaguely defined term), the debate around WHAT to consume after a workout takes most of us down a path of debate that I believe counts as pure, unadulterated intellectual masturbatory minutiae.

But, don’t let my opinion count for much of anything.

Let us assume for the purposes of this review, that post-workout nutrition DOES matter. And furthermore, let us assume that post-workout nutrition matters for the non-elite typical gym go-fer.

What do we know about chocolate milk? We know it contains both protein and carbohydrate. We know that in head-to-head comparisons, it tends to do just as well, or better than carbohydrate drinks alone. However, we’re not sure whether the fact that in previous comparisons, the drinks weren’t calorie controlled might explain why it did so well or whether it actually does affect recovery insofar as we can measure it.

Since most of my readers are not the typical “non-elite typical gym go-fer” and are (I’m sure) training the way I advice on this blog – that is, like an athlete – then post workout nutrition DOES apply to you.  If you’re training up to 6 times a week, and hard, then anything you can do to up your recovery is mandatory, even if it isn’t great (though, I’m still of the mind that post workout recovery makes a large difference, not a small one, and that that difference grows (at least linearly) as your workout intensity and volume grow).

He goes on:

Results

The average age of the players in this study was 19 years (SD 0.3 years)

Overall, there weren’t any notable differences between the carb-only drink and chocolate milk. Creatine kinase levels rose (predictably) with both drinks, although it did not tend to rise as much when the players had chocolate milk instead. The players tended to perform just as well whether they had a carb-only drink or chocolate milk.

What I find important here is that chocolate milk performed AS WELL as the carb drink.  Why this matters is that so many athletes will spend a fortune on stupid supplements for post-workout nutrition when they might do just as well by drinking cheap-as-dirt chocolate milk.

So what can we take away from all of this?

I think there are a few points that most readers of this blog can take away:

1) Unless you’re a 19 year old Division I soccer player, this study shouldn’t be the reason why you choose to drink anything after your workouts.

2) Any study that excludes subjects after having already analyzed the data should be under high suspicion of biased information. In this case, it probably didn’t matter, but we’ll never _really_ know.

3) I suspect that it doesn’t really matter what you drink after your workouts, if anything at all. If there are any applicable links between this study and you, the numbers suggest that you can pretty much do what you want and you’ll still play and test about the same.

So in the end, there isn’t anything magical about chocolate milk. If you’re drinking it anyways, good for you. If you’re not, there’s no reason for you to rush out and get any. Just do what you’re doing. Simplfy what you can, and rest assured that you’re not missing out.

His approach to the article was from the standpoint that chocolate milk is getting too much positive press, and that it isn’t a big deal – it only did as well as a carb drink of similar calories, and probably won’t do much of anything for the casual person in the gym.

I’m coming at it from a different angle.  As I mentioned above, athletes are suckers for supplement advertising and I regularly have to convince them that chocolate milk is just as good as the $75/bottle BS they’re buying. 

Second, I don’t train the average joe in the gym who only does average workouts.  I train athletes who are tearing it up and need anything and everything they can get their hands on to recover well.  My people DO train as hard as division 1 soccer players, yet many don’t have luxury of youth to mask bad eating habits.

As an aside: while I love chocolate milk as a recovery drink, I think it is better as a base for a more substantial recovery drink.  I think the most important factor is simply getting in enough calories after your workout.  Since most of my lifters pack more into a 1-1/2 to 2 hour workout than most people put into a week, they need a LOT of calories.  Just 20 oz of Choco ain’t gonna cut it. 

Here’s a suggestion if you train like I want you to:

Chocolate Milk – 16 oz

Protein powder – 50g worth (I don’t care what kind, go cheap – don’t believe the hype!)

Ice Cream – 1/2 to 1 cup

1 frozen banana

Blend it up, and there you go.  Calories, carbs, protein – mmm …

(Please, if you DON’T train like a maniac in the gym, then don’t do this!  That’ll likely be your entire days worth of calories.  This is only for athletes who NEED those calories badly).

One of my lifters, Roy, has an ice-cream maker and likes to make ice-cream with protein powder in it.  It turns out pretty awesome, but it requires an ice-cream maker.

Here’s a recipe that another one of my lifters, Brandy, sent me that is basically a “quick recipe” for a protein ice-cream that uses some Xanthan gum and guar gum.  You can buy some here. 

The recipe is from the Heather Eats Almond Butter blog.  And here’s the video she made explaining how she does it.

I haven’t tried this yet, but as soon as I get my hands on some of that gum, I’m going for it!

Here’s a link (pdf file) of a great interview Glenn Pendlay did on Strength training for sports.

For me, as a strength coach, this was the key quote:

If you really want to know how to get people stronger, train yourself like a madman, learn all you can from that, seek out people who know more than you do and learn from them. Learn all you can about track and field training and Olympic lifting and powerlifting. Learn from the people in those sports that are actually producing athletes, and not the ones who are simply famous. Compete in those sports yourself even if you suck. Bookmark Medline and read all the research you can. Develop an affinity for the local university library where you can photocopy the full articles you saw on Medline. Call foreign coaches and talk to them. Read all the books available on training. Never assume that any one person has all the answers or get so carried away on one thing that you never learn or adapt your ideas again. Train or assist in the training of any athlete you can lay hands on, and then repeat each of the above steps consistently for somewhere between 10 and 20 years and you’ll probably be there. I’m currently involved in this very program that I am recommending, I figure I have about 5 more years to go and ill actually know something useful.

I, myself, have been on that program for about 5 years.  I did personal training before that, and was training myself hard, but only got serious about training athletes 5 years ago.  In that time I can’t tell you the radical shifts my own philosophy has taken. 

I figure if you aren’t changing something major every year, you aren’t continuing to learn.  In each year, I have to evaluate what worked in the previous year (and keep that), and what didn’t.  But, even more important, figure out what I need to replace what didn’t work and how to fit that into the stuff I’m keeping around that did. 

With every new athlete I train, I learn something new.  Each person responds to different things and learns in different ways.  And, on the flip side, there are constants that seem to be similar in nearly every athlete, and finding what those things are is just as important as highlighting the differences. 

Here are just 5 things I’ve learned in the last 5 years that I wasn’t as solid about previously:

1.  Keep it Simple Stupid (K.I.S.S.).  It’s easy to get caught up with all the fancy-pantsy methods of training because those are fun, exciting, and new-age.  But, the fact is, most of what works turns out to be the same old stuff that has worked for years: heavy, hard lifting on basic movements like cleans, snatches, squats, and deadlifts.

2. Teaching Beginners the Olympic Lifts isn’t THAT Hard.  Becoming a world-class Olympic weightlifter IS hard. But, having decent technique that will make you more explosive, stronger, and powerful and to do so in a way that is safe is not at all as hard as its made out to be.  I can take ANY athlete and have them doing solid power snatches, power cleans, jerks, front squats, etc in less than 2 months – easy.  If they have talent and drive, even faster.

3.  More Upper Body Work.  I’m an Olympic weightlifter.  I became one after first being a powerlifter.  So, I don’t come from a Brotastic arm-day loving background.  When I first started coaching I spent so much time on squats and cleans, that I ran into some joint problems with some of my lifters in their upper bodies.  Mike Boyle is right, lower body injuries are often because of something you DID.  Upper body injuries are usually from something you DIDN’T do.  Adding in chins, push ups, and rows will make a huge difference in keeping people off the injured list.

4. LESS Core Work.  This might sound outright insane, but most athletes spend too much time on their “core” and not enough time getting truly strong.  By core work I mean crunches, side bends, leg lifts, etc.  Stabilization is a good thing, but much of that will come naturally through heavy work on overhead squats, push ups, weighted chin ups, etc.  All of my lifters can do planks for days … and they never do planks except in the very early stages of development.

5. The Olympic Lifts are Strength Lifts.  Most strength coaches (outside of Oly lifting) approach the olympic lifts primarily as something to increase speed and power.  The lifts do this, of course, but they are more than that.  If I could do only one lift, I’d do heavy clean and jerks.  Learning how to do these lifts efficiently allows you to use massive weights you could never get up without proper form.  In turn, you develop even greater strength.  I’ve found that one of the fastest ways to increase someones squat and deadlift is to teach them to clean and snatch heavy weights.  A bigger clean = stronger body.

If you’d like to find out more about what my athletes are doing, make sure to check out our website:  www.PDXWeightlifting.com

You’ve heard it before, and maybe you’ve even tried it.  Carbs and Fat should be kept apart in each meal.

Well … too bad that isn’t backed up by science.  Here’s an article by Alan Aragon going over the issue:

More proof that having fat with carbs won’t hinder fat loss

A relatively recent
trial examined the effects of 3 diets consisting of roughly 1400 kcals
each for 8 weeks, followed by 4 weeks of maintenance [3]. The diets had
the following macronutrient proportions: a) very low fat  (70% carb,
10% fat, 20% protein), b) high unsaturated fat (50% carb, 30% fat, 20%
protein), and c) very low carb (4% carb, 61% fat, 35% protein). Since
none of the groups were told to separate their fat and carb intake, the
high unsaturated fat group should have lost the least amount of fat
because of all that dreadful mixing, right? On the contrary, no
significant differences were seen in total weight loss, or loss of
bodyfat percent. And here’s the kicker: this lack of difference in
bodyfat reduction was seen despite the distinctly different effects
each diet had on fasting insulin levels.

Another recent trial compared
two 1500 calorie diets, a non-ketogenic diet and a ketogenic one [4].
Insulin sensitivity was equally improved between the groups. No
inhibition of fat loss was seen in the non-ketogenic diet despite the
fact that it was moderate in both fat (30%) and carbs (40%). In fact,
the non-keto group lost more bodyweight and bodyfat than the keto
group, although neither of these effects was statistically significant.
It appears that any threat of fat/carb combining slowing fat loss is
imagination-based.

Nails in the coffin, anyone?

The current body of research
focuses on obese, deconditioned, or untrained subjects. And still, the
moderate-carb/fat-combining fails to show a fat loss disadvantage over
carb-restricted or carb-separated conditions. Putting athletic subjects
through the same conditions would show even LESS of a difference. Since
fit folks have far better glucose and insulin metabolisms than the
unconditioned obese, nit-picky combination or separation would be a
nonfactor for fat loss.

The bottom line is that as
long as you’re aware of your macronutrient targets for the day, go
ahead and sludge that peanut butter into your oatmeal if your little
heart desires it. Leave the neurotic eating behaviors for those with a
lot of faith in fairy tales.