Exercise of the Week: Val Slide Bodysaw / Plank Walk Up Combo

I'm not reinventing the wheel here. In fact, I'm sure there are plenty of other strength coaches or trainers who already came up with this exercise. I'm just taking two of my favorite core stability exercises, the Valslide Bodysaw and the plank walk up, and putting the two together.

Random Thoughts

• Your carbs should be earned. Days that you have performed a workout you can be a bit more lenient with your carbs. This doesn't mean woofing done a bag of chips or guzzling down a liter of soda. More fruits. Maybe some grains. Some extra carbs in your post-workout shake such as some honey or rolled oats. Good carbs from good sources. Days when you're not getting a workout in, cut back on your carb intake. Try to limit it to mostly fruits or vegetables. Or maybe you can get away with some carbs in the morning when you to tend to be a a bit more insulin sensitive.


• I love talking about carbs. Here's a tip I picked up from the book, Ultimate You. To decide if a packaged food has too many carbs for you go to the label. Add up the grams of fiber and protein. Subtract that number from the grams of carbs. If that number is greater than 10, that food is too high in carbs. If that number is between 5 and 10, that food is acceptable. If that number is below 5, good choice.


• "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". Are you just doing workouts or are you on a program? Do you have the time blocked out over the course of the week to execute your program? Do you have the necessary foods to put good meals together? Do you know what your next meal is going to be? Just some things to think about if you want to get to your goals.


• I'm sometimes amazed at the little things people will not do to help themselves when it comes to injuries or injury prevention. Most of the injuries they are dealing with are of the overuse variety which could probably be aided by some foam rolling and stretching. Or increased water intake. Or taking some fish oil. Or getting some decent sneakers or shoes on your feet. Instead they constantly hurt and complain about being constantly hurt. I'll stop ranting there.


• I just finished finished up Eric Cressey's Show and Go program which is a 12 week program I'd recommend for anyone, male or female. Great programming. Great variety. It was probably the strongest I've gotten in the last 10 years and without the motivation or help from a training partner. Trying to do one rep maxes in the bench press is not exactly a good idea. But I also set new PR's with my weighted chin ups (2 reps w/100lbs of added resistance) and a new one rep max in the front squat (305). I attempted 315, but that didn't go so well. Had to dump it in the bottom position.


• Now it's on to another training program, the Lean Hybrid Muscle Program. I'm using this to get ready for a couple of these crazy obstacle type of races that have suddenly become popular such as the Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash or Spartan Race. Also doing it to have a bit more fun with my training. Sometimes I think we lose sight of that. Training is not always going to be fun, but it should be fun from time to time. We deal with too many stresses to not have fun when you step into the gym. And as we get older we tend to do less things that are fun from a physical standpoint. Get some fun back into your training from time to time. Just do not take that to mean doing Crossfit or some other crazy s**** that just doesn't make any sense. Actually Crossfit and crazy s*** are the same thing, huh?


• Speaking of training, I love reading and watching all these stories about these NFL prospects getting ready for the NFL combine. I love the numbers: the 40 yard times, the reps is in the bench press, the vertical jump heights. I love watching the ways these guys get ready for these tests. Maybe I'll try getting for the combine next, but I think my days of running sub-5.0 second forty's were over about ten years ago.


• Coming back from the Functional Movement Screen seminar got me to realizing how crappy most people move and even how crappy I move. I've been fortunate enough to stay clear of injury for the last 4-5 years despite training pretty hard, but one day it might catch up to me. It's not only from an injury perspective where it's a problem but also from an efficiency perspective. If I can move better, movements become more efficient. Moving with more efficienctly will hopefully lead to more strength, speed and power. Now if I could move well enough to make my golf swing become really efficient, I will kneel down and pray to the FMS gods.


• This post is aimed at parents of kids who are playing hockey, but I think it applies to most sports. Take a look here.


• Going to be running our first body transformation challenge. The challenge is going to start on March 14. Who's in? Come on get signed up. Bloat yourself up for the next couple of weeks, stop training, let your posture go to hell, get your before photos taken and then game on.


• Can someone tell me why every Crossfit workout is named after a chick? And then explain to me the purpose of a kipping pull up. To me it just looks like a pull up gone bad. Why not take the time to develop the strength to do a good set of chin ups or pull ups?

Excuse me for the f bombs in that video.

Alright, enough beating up on Crossfit...for now.

Exercise of the Week: Sled Row / Sled Push Combo

For the sake of variety and to challenge myself a bit, here's a finisher I performed after this morning's lower body workout:



Three rounds of three times down and back with about three minutes of rest between each round. After one case of cardiac arrest it was time for a five egg omelet and some chicken sausage.

Twelve Years, Lots of Changes

It's been about twelve years since I broke into the training field. Since my first training gig as a part-time trainer at a commercial gym a lot has changed in the field of strength and conditioning, whether it's the way I train myself or the way I train my clients. I look back at some of the stuff I did and ask "What the hell was I thinking?". Sometimes I don't think I was. I was just going along with any "advice" from Muscle and Fitness. Or enjoying a few cold ones with the buddies on a Thursday night had prevented me from doing any thinking on a Friday morning. Aw...the Purple Shamrock. Those were the days.

Lets take a look back at different spots along my training history, without tying in any stories of those late nights, bad financial mistakes or girlfriends gone bad.

1999 - My first training gig at a commercial gym. I had a degree in Sports Biology, was in shape and read Mens Health and Muscle & Fitness. Maybe some Shape Magazine now and then. I thought I knew how to train. Armed with a clipboard and a room packed full of machines I went to work, running clients through every damn machine. Everyone did sets of anywhere from 12-15 reps. For ab work (the word core had not been used at the time) I had clients do every crunch imaginable in anywhere from the 25-50 rep range. All cardio was at least 30 minutes in duration. And carbs were in. Fat was out.

2001 - I broke out of that commercial gym and got my first job at a training studio. I had no idea these places even existed. About 1200 sq ft full of machines, dumbbells up to 50lbs and two flat benches. I went from being a crappy trainer to a less crappy trainer. I started to focus a little bit more on continuing ed, but really still didn't know a whole lot. Even without knowing a whole lot people wanted to train with me. I was doing anywhere from 38-46 sessions a week of one/one training, running myself into the ground while I was running clients into the ground. At the same time I was doing some long distance running, training for the marathon. I was thin, weak, and hurt getting out of bed every single day. And I was still thinking low fat was was the way to go, evidenced by my daily corns muffins or cinnamon raisins bagels (sometimes both) for breakfast.

2004 - I moved onto my next training studio. I started to get my training information from better sources and the light started to finally turn on in my head. I started to do just about everything opposite of what I had been doing for the previous five years. No more long, steady state cardio. Interval training was in. I cut back on the carbs. Very little bread and multiple chicken Caesar salads on a daily basis. No more putting the moms on the inner/outer thigh machines to tone up. More single leg work. More core work, a lot of which was done on the Swiss ball. More continuing education. Started attending more seminars and investing in books and videos. I finally realized, "Hey this is my career".

2007 - This is right around the time I started to become more aware of the business side of things as it related to personal training. Before whenever I went to to a training seminar it was all about training. More seminars started to include the business of training. So as I started to think more about the business side of things. I asked myself, "What the hell am I doing working for someone else?". I was usually the one who followed the company line. I put in a lot of hours. Always tried to please the bosses. Was always working to get better as a trainer. So why not log the hours and get better as a trainer but be my own boss? So in the spring of 2007 I took that leap. I knew it would be hard starting up on my own, but I didn't think it would be that hard. Again, it was more than just training clients whenever I could. I had to learn about putting up a website, about blogging, about marketing, about print materials. There was always something to do, but I was enjoying the process and the challenge. It took about 6-7 months to build up a pretty solid in-home training business that just consisted of one on one training. Oh, yeah. I did make the mistake of getting back into distance running. A friend talked me into running the marathon with him and after multiple calf pulls, a stress reaction and four of the hardest hours of my life on a miserable spring day, I gave up distance running.....for good.

2010 - Still doing the in-home thing and also sub-contracting out of one gym. Still doing mostly one/one training with some partner training sprinkled in from time to time. But in as as little as 2.5 years, the entire training landscape had changed when the economy started to go in the tank. Also 2.5 years of driving around in my SUV from house to house from 6am to 8pm was starting to wear on me. I can not remember how many stop lights I fell asleep at and even for me sports radio can get a bit old. I needed to do two things. One, was to try and the push the semi-private model a bit more. The semi-private way of training was the new wave of training. It made training more affordable and also has the Biggest Loser type of effect, minus Jillian Michaels and Bob What's His Face. Put people in a group setting and people are usually going to achieve higher levels of success. The other thing I needed to do was find a place to call home for my training because I was tired of living out of my car. After about five months of searching for a space, getting the space built out, getting it outfitted with equipment and having a few clients ready to make the switch, Accelerated Fitness opened it doors. Again, I thought I knew what I was getting myself into...wrong.

2011 - Here we are in 2011. Accelerated Fitness has been open for about eight months now. It's been a lot of work. It's been an even bigger challenge. Not all things have turned out like I thought they would. When the local newspaper hooks you in for for a series of advertisements and then you realize what the readership is of that newspaper...that's a bad idea. But every moment has been a learning moment, business wise and training wise. Clients are gravitating towards the semi-private training. Some clients still prefer the private training. I can say in the last six months I've never done more continuing education ever in that time frame. I became a certified TRX trainer, became a Level one Precision Nutrition Coach and was certified as a Functional Movement Screen specialist. Yeah, I need to learn more about business, but I also have to continue to get better as a trainer. And I still have not gone back to any distance running. Funny thing is that I'm only 2-3 pounds heavier than when I was running 30-40 miles a week. Better nutrition. Better training.

What will the rest of 2011 and beyond bring? I haven't the slightest clue to be honest. Just keep changing with the times. Continue to develop the business. Continue to work with clients. Figure out what works. Figure out what doesn't work. Just keep on keeping on.

Exercise of the Week: Feet Elevated Swiss Ball Push Up

Doing the Little Things

If we just did some these little things maybe we would move better, get stronger or have an easier time losing weight.

• Eat breakfast. I've read some stuff lately that suggests eating breakfast does not help with weight loss. And the numbers in these studies that the authors provide prove their point. That's all well and fine. But from what I see, people who eat breakfast tend to be leaner. I'm not going to provide you with any research, because I do not have any that proves my point. I just know what I see from the people I train, the friends I have and the people I talk to. Those who eat breakfast are leaner.


• Stretch. I love it when people debate about when to stretch, how long to stretch for and what type of stretching to do, when the fact is most people are not doing any type of stretching. Take 10-15 minutes out of your day to stretch if you want to move or feel better.


• Stop using the same side. What side do you carry your gym bag on? What arm do you use to walk the dog? What side is the mouse on? Probably the same side all the time. And it's probably the same side of your neck or the same shoulder that is hurting all of the time. Switch it up. Is this the root of your neck and shoulder issues? Probably not. But it sure isn't helping


• Get out of those heels. This is a classic. I'll listen to women complain about back or knee pain. I'll look down at their feet and they're wearing 2-3 inch heels that they barely could squeeze their feet into. So, I suggest it may be time to get out of those joint wreckers. "But I like to wear heels" is usually what I get back. Look good or feel good? Your choice ladies. Oh yeah, getting out of heels also means trashing your Nike Shox.


• Sleep. If you want to feel well or train well, you have to sleep. Seven or eight hours of a sleep a night is what you should be getting in. And the sooner before midnight, the better. Every hour before midnight is equal to about two hours after midnight. And who needs late night TV anyway? Conan? Not funny. Leno? Not funny. Letterman? Funny from time to time, but not funny enough to keep me up late.


• Eat some fruits and vegetables. Preferably more vegetables than fruits. But I know a lot of people are not even getting in at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, so just eat one or the other whenever you can. I've never known anyone to be less healthy or get fat from eating too many fruits and vegetables, excluding chocolate covered strawberries.


• Drink some water. Is there anything water is not good for? Probably not. I've even read that those who suffer from back pain could benefit from drinking more water. Could you drink too much water? Probably not, unless you have a long car ride planned. When drinking water becomes bad for you, let me know.


• Stand Up. The biggest culprit of shoulder, neck and low back injuries? Sitting. Over the last twenty years or so we have some how ingrained sitting as a new movement pattern. We sit down at breakfast.... if we're eating breakfast. We sit in our cars or cramped train on the way to work. We go sit down behind a computer or desk for a couple hours. We go to lunch and sit down. We go back to our desk and sit down again. We get back in the car or cramped train again and do what? Sit down. Should I keep going? It's no wonder people are moving worse than ever. Take the time to get up from your desk, go for a walk for lunch or do whatever you can to get tall and get extended.


• Get stronger. This tends to be what I always get back to when it comes to training or when talking to someone about starting up a new program. Your first priority should be to get stronger. Too many people are too weak. Too many people get hurt too often because they are too weak. Are you more likely to get hurt because you do not have enough cardio? Or are you more likely to get hurt because you have the strength of an eight year old girl? Or worse, can that eight year old girl can do more and better push ups than you?


• Stop Drinking. You want to get leaner? Those beers are not helping. Hey, if you're happy with the shape you are in, keep doing do what you're doing. Drink all the Bud's and Guiness you want. But if you have your mind set on a desired body fat percentage those empty calories and workout wrecking hangovers from a few too many wobbly pops have got to go. It's called a beer belly for a reason.

Precision Nutrition Coaching

Now that I am a Precision Nutrition Certified Level One Coach, we will be implementing the Precision Nutrition Coaching Program at Accelerated Fitness.

Precision Nutrition is a nutritional system created by Dr. John Berardi geared towards making you look fit, get and stay healthy and increase your performance. In my opinion, and I guess it's a biased opinion, this is the best approach to nutrition out there. Success with this system and it's guidelines is just about guaranteed.

The coaching program will start with an introduction to Precision Nutrition. As part of this introduction you will be asked to fill out a number of questionnaires such as:

• PAR - Q
• Medical History
• Readiness for Change
• Three Day Dietary Record

The questionnaires allow the coach to get an idea off your current dietary practices, whether it's no breakfast, Fruit Loops for breakfast or three eggs with turkey bacon. These questionnaires will also help in the goal setting process. From this point on, thirty minute bi-weekly meetings will be set up to discuss your dietary food log, take measurements, discuss suggested nutritional choices and re-analyze goals if need be . The duration of the introduction period is twelve weeks and costs $199.

Upon completion of the twelve week introduction period, you can continue on with the coaching program by signing up for the monthly coaching program. Again bi-weekly appointments will be organized to discuss the dietary food log, take measurements and receive continued support. As part of the monthly program more advanced nutritional and supplementation strategies will be discussed that were not discussed in the in the introduction. The cost of the monthly coaching is $49/month.

If you have any questions about the Precision Nutrition System please visit www.precisionnutrition.com or send an email to rich@acceleratedfts.com.

Exercise of the Week: Swiss Ball "Stir the Pot"

This core exercise was popularized by low back specialist Dr. Stuart McGill. In order to perform the exercise:

1. Get into a plank position with your forearms resting on a Swiss Ball.
2. Maintaining this plank position, circle your forearms in one direction until they come back to center. Then circle your forearms in the other direction. Keep going until all reps are complete are the time is up.

You can perform this exercise for reps (doing 6-10 circles in each or direction) or go for a specific period of time (30-60seconds). To increase the difficulty of the exercise you can use a smaller ball, narrow your feet or elevate your feet.

Basic Fat Loss Programming: Part Four

The last part of your fat loss program has to do with your conditioning. Some call it cardio. Some call it energy system training. I am going to refer to it as conditioning. The goal of the conditioning part of the program is to throw that final log on the fire that is your metabolism and accumulate a bit more blood lactate. And from a time perspective we are trying to create an aerobic effect while keeping efficiency within your program.

The conditioning work is going to take you no longer than 10-15 minutes. With the duration being only 10-15 minutes you are going to have to push the intensity to get the desired result. If at the 10 or 15 minute mark you are feeling pretty good, you have not pushed hard enough. Some may get to the 6-8 minute mark and can not go any further. That's fine.

The conditioning routines you can include are endless. You can use body weight circuits. You can use cardiovascular equipment. You can use kettlebells or dumbbells. You can combine all those things. You can go for time. You can for reps. I just want you working hard.

I will give you two routines that I frequently use with my clients. One which is based on time, the other which is based on sets and reps.

Time Based

Using the elliptical, Airdyne, jump rope or even using a body weight exercise or two, such as burpees or jumping jacks, you're are going to work for a designated period of time and then recover for for a designated period of time. For example:

• Week One: 15s work/45s recovery repeated 6x
• Week Two: 15s work/45s recovery repeated 8x
• Week Three: 15s work/45s recovery repeated 10x
• Week Four: 15s work/45s recovery repeated 12x

Then at the fifth week you are going to go to 20s work/40s recovery intervals repeated six times. Use that work to rest period for four weeks adding two rounds each week. At week nine, go to 30s work/30s recovery intervals repeated six times. Use that 30/30 ratio for four weeks adding two rounds every week.

At the 12th week you should be doing 30s work with 30s of recovery for 12 rounds. Simple, yet effective.

Rep Based

This rep based conditioning work will be based on body weight exercises. The exercises will be: reverse lunges, T push ups, jump squats, Inverted rows and burpees. Perform each exercise back to back with no rest in between. After the set is complete you can catch your breath for the suggested rest period that is allowed. The sets, reps and rest are:

• Week One: 3 rounds, 6 reps of each exercise, 2 minute rest
• Week Two: 4 rounds, 6 reps, 2 minute rest
• Week Three: 3 rounds, 8 reps, 2 minute rest
• Week Four: 4 rounds, 8 reps, 2 minute rest
• Week Five: 3 rounds, 10 reps, 90sec rest
• Week Six: 4 rounds, 10 reps, 90sec rest
• Week Seven: 3 rounds, 12 reps, 90sec rest
• Week Eight: 4 rounds, 12 reps, 90 sec rest
• Week Nine: 3 rounds, 12 reps, 75sec rest
• Week Ten: 4 rounds 12 reps, 75sec rest
• Week Eleven: 3 rounds 12 reps, 60sec rest
• Week Twelve: 4 rounds, 12 reps, 60sec rest

Each week the amount of rounds, reps or rest is beating manipulated to progressively make each conditioning routine harder. You will do more total work or more work in a shorter period of time.

As much as I love conditioning work for it's efficiency and it's effect on your metabolism, you have to be careful about overusing this type of work. Do this after every strength training session and you will never recover for your next strength session. The strength is where the majority of focus should be and where you are going to get most of your results from. I do not want you going into a strength session feeling beat up or not recovered. For those reasons I would suggest doing conditioning work a maximum of only 2-3 times per week, not on back to back days and not the day before your next strength session.

For some other ideas on some conditioning work I would suggest you check out Cardio Strength by Robert Dos Remedios. He gives you a ton of effective options to use and lays it all out for you for the price of about $12-15.

So that's it. I've given you some ideas, set up a template for you and given you some options for each situation. The programming is actually the easy part. The hard part is getting your butt in the gym and taking it to the next level. It doesn't matter what program you are on if your are not going to work hard. Take a good program, exert little effort and the results will be minimal. Take a crappy program, exert a ton of effort and you are going to get results. Take a good program, exert a ton of effort and you are going to get your best results.

Good luck.