Really...WTF! (A little ranting on many subjects)

The Legend Clarance Bass in his 70's



Transformetrics Expert John E. Peterson in his mid-50's



Legendary Coach Steve Maxwell at 58

I figured that I'd start out a post titled "Really...WTF" with pictures of three legends in the fitness world, all of whom are in their 50's or beyond, proving that age has no bearing on how strong, fit, and healthy you can be.

Why'd I start out this way, because I'm sick of hearing people use age as an excuse. When I was growing up I'd hear, "You know when you're in your 50's it's all down hill." Then, as I grew a little older I started to hear, "Wow, once you hit 40 it's all down hill." In my mid-20's I actually started hearing people say, "Just wait, once you're in your 30's it's all down hill." And, incredibly enough, I've acually heard people saying, "Man, once you're in your mid-20's it's all down hill."

Really, WTF! I think the above pictures really tell a different story. Ladies and gentleman, it's not the mileage on the car, it's how you've taken care of it.

Speaking of WTF, anyone that knows me knows that I'm a stickler for good technique while training. I find that this is the best way to maximize the health, fitness, performance, and physique capabilities of any exercise while also minimizing the risk of injury.  Also, I've been a kettelbell athlete for around a decade, and I've had the privelage of training with great coaches from the hardstyle, kettlebell sport, tactical, and overall fitness sides of the old K-bells. I love them and find them to be a very useful tool.

So, you can imagine my shock when one of the local gyms started teaching a kettlebell class where they have their students pad their forearms so they don't get injured by the bell smacking into them on snatches and cleans. Really...WTF!

You know if you use proper technique, the bell doesn't smack into you either. But, instead of teaching the proper technique (which begs us to ask the question of whether or not the teacher actually knows it) and letting the students get the full benefits of training with the K-bells, you're going to instead ingrain improper techinque into them and basically force them into injuring themselves. Really WTF!

I'm a huge fan of hill sprints. They are incredible for building muscle, strength, speed, and cardio-pulmonary health, and at melting away the body fat and stimulating a good hormonal environment. On the hill that I regularly visit at there are four of us that sprint it. I'm currently a pretty lean and powerful 185, one of the other gentleman is an ultra-chiseled 230, and the other two are each about 175 or so and look like they belong in an elite spec-ops unit. All of us are pretty chiseled and pretty darn fit.

So you can imagine my disbelief when one of the 175 pounders was accosted by one of the jogging trails joggers. The jogger was about 5'9" and weighed somewhere around 300 pounds with a very high bodyfat, while my sprinting friend is built like a friggin' Greek god. The jogger began yelling and cursing at the sprinter and told him that he'd be much better off if he stopped with the fast hill runs and started jogging for real. The jogger claimed that my sprinter friend would burn more bodyfat and get into better shape that way.  Really.....WTF!

First of all, why the need to accost someone else when they're in the middle of exercising? And second, when you look more like you belong in a Sumo ring, why are you trying to tell the ripped and in-shape person how to train? And third, unless your a coach yourself, why are you trying to tell anyone how to train in the first place? Really...WTF!

 Coming back from my hill spritns one day I saw a father that was about my age playing on the playground with his keds. I"m not one to judge people by their looks, but he had no arm, shoulder, back, or chest muscle whatsoever. Instead he had a nice pounch for a belly, shriveled up arms, stooped shoulders, bird legs, and a sunken chest. He went over to the pull-up station that this park has and tried his damndest to perform a pull-up. He pulled with all of his might until he was shaking and sweating, yet he only moved about 1/8 of an inch. Now, I know that when you first start out, pull-ups can be hard. But really, WTF!

As a grown man you should at least have some general physicallity. You can't even do one pull-up. It's lucky for this guy that no one was trying to assault his kids or kidnap them, because there's no way in hell that he would have had the physical tools necessary to stop them. There was a time were part of the definition of being a man was being strong!

On that note, Melissa and I have been to a number of funerals over the past week, and it prodded my beautiful bride to ask me an interesting question, "Brett," she asked, "how come most guys look like they're drowning in their suits?" Looking around I could see what she meant. Aside from a little tightness in the buttons in that tummy area, most guys these days can't fill out the shoulders, back, arms, or chests of their suits. Again, I have to ask...Really...WTF!

Again, there was a time that part of being a man was having at least a little bit of muscle on your bones. Now it seems like guys are content being a part of the skinny-fat society where you may be skinny, but you still are out of shape, unfit, weak, sick, and have an over-abundance of body fat. Whatever happend to taking pride in your body and wanting to look awesome in and out of your clothes. All I have to say again is Really...WTF!

On a similar note I saw a boot camp style class the other day for people over the age of 40. The instructor had some resistance cables and was actually teaching the class that they should be very gentle as they pulled the cables because, at their age, they don't want to starin too much and risk injuring themselves...Really...WTF!

I know some people in their 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and beyond that may just kick someone's ass for saying something like that. I've seen 80 year olds still deadlifting 500-600 pounds, 70 year olds that can snap horseshoes in half with their bare hands, and I've had my butt handed to me in the judo and jujutsu world by guys in their 70's and 80's. But yet you're tryingt to tell people not to exert themselves. The whole premise of progressive overload is to exert yourself so that you can create a stornger body. Again....WTF!

Well, I've probably not made any friends with this particular post, but I just had to rant a little bit. Talk with you all soon.

Yours in strength and health,
Brett Stepan

Why Do I Train?



Keeping it real with 1-arm pull-ups at 185 pounds bodyweight

 Of course the most often asked question that I get is, "Brett, how do I drop the pounds/ Brett, how do I lose the fat?" However, one of the other most popular questions is, "Brett, Why do you train?"

Sometimes it'll be followed up with things like, "You don't compete anymore, so why work so hard," or other things like that. Sometimes it's stated as, "Brett, why lift such heavy weights, why swing those clubs and those kettlebells, it looks so hard, why are you working on gymnastics stuff, why are you sprinting hills, why are you pulling a sled as you sprint, etc" but it all comes down to one thing: Why do I train?

For me it's very simple and I'm going to share with you all some of the top reasons.

Frist, I love it. I absolutley love it and to me that should be more than enough reason right there.

Second, to honor God and nature. I firmly believe that our bodies our gifts from god and nature and I don't personally think that they were given to us to take for granted or use and abuse. I believe that god and nature gave us this gift to create the absolute best body that we can. By training I'm able to continue to honor that gift.

Third, to honor my physicallity. I know plenty of people that were born with defects or disabilities, and people that came down with disease or had accidents that caused them to lose their physicality. These people would give almost anything to be able to jump, sprint, throw, lift, tumble, spin, or whatever. So, I plan on never taking for granted the fact that I can do these things. Each time I train it's to honor my physicallity and the abilities that I do have.

Fourth, To create the healthiest body that I possibly can. It's funny that whenever you talk to someone that has had a terminal illness or any type of serious ailments across the board they'll all say the same thing, "Never take your health for granted, it's the most important thing that you have." Yet most people do just that. They take their health for granted, they abuse it and they end up losing it. I don't plan on letting that happen. I train, eat, and recover with optimal health as my first and foremost goal. As a boy I was diagnosed with a degenerative bone disease in my hip and wasn't supposed to be able to walk as of my teenage years. Later on, I almost drowned. Then, in my early 20's I broke my back and was again given a prognosis that I wouldn't be able to have full use of the right side of my body, full strength in the right side of my body, and I'd be in constant pain for the rest of my life. I didn't buy into any of it and I've gone on to fully recover and improve my mobility, strength, stability etc. I know what's it like to lose your health and physicallity, and I don't plan on ever losing it again.

Fifth, to improve my daily life. As you train to become heatlhier, fitter, and stronger a funny thing happens: all areas of your life improve. Your confidence goes up, you feel more alive, you become more productive, you can focus better, you start to look at challenges as things to overcome rather than things to fear, and all things get easier. It's funny that my relationships have improved, I've become better at my job, my writings improved, and so much more by constatnly improving my health and fitness levels.

Sixth, I love the challenge and the growth that occurs because of that challenge. I love putting myself on the line against the iron and against my preconceived limits and overcoming them. I love the fact that my training has constatnly enabled my to grow stronger, not only physically, but also mentally, emotionally, and most importantly, spiritually.

Seventh, I'll admit it, it's nice to have a body that I"m proud of. One that I very rarely go more than a couple of days without getting compliments on. It does feel nice.

Eight, It's nice to know that, God forbid, anyone was to ever try to attack myself or my family that I not only have the training and experience to deal with them, but I also have the physicallity to deal with them.

Well, there you have it, 8 different reasons why I train. While I could go on forever about the reasons, I think these are more than enough. Feel free to leave a comment below. Talk with you all later.

Yours in strenght an health,
Brett Stepan

Simply One Of The Best Exercises Around!

Whle the Squat may be heralded as the King of Exercises, it's Queen has to be the Deadlift. It's not only an incredible movment for developing the muscularture of the back, butt, legs, and hips; it also is incredible for building strength and power, building the entire body, stimulating your hormones and your metabolism, and burning away body fat.

The deadlift is one of the most basic movements that we as humans can perform. You simply squat down with a straight back, grab something from the ground, and stand up with it. It's a movement that we all mastered as infants, yet performing it as an exercise can provide you with staggering results.

Now, a few years back I had a personal trainer that came to work with me and they wanted to show off their deadlift. They proceeded to perform a Romanian deadlift, which is an incredible exercise in and of itself, and they were suprised when I told them that they weren't deadlifting. As we can see in the following picture, the two exercises are similar, yet there are definite differences.

the Deadlift: Conventional Style:

The Deadlift: Sumo Style:

And, the Romanian Deadlift:

LIke I said above, both the Deadlift and the Romanian Deadlift are fantastic exercises, however they are also very different exercises. Let's look at the differences before we move on. The Romanian Deadlift is performed while keeping the legs relatively straight, pushing the hips back and lowering the upper body towards the floor. You then proceed to drive the hips forward and raise the upper body back to an upright position. This exercis is fantastic for building up your posterior chain of muscles (the back of your body). It'll work you hamstrings, your butt, and your lower back while also bringing into play your grip, your lowre arms, and your upper arms.

Now, the deadlift is performed by squatting down while keeping the upper body upright, grabbing a hold of the bar, and driving through your legs and hips to return to a standing position. The deadlift will work your feet, lower legs, thighs, hamstrings, butt, hips, groin, lower back, your sides, your abs, your mid-back, your upper back, your neck, your shoulders, your upper and lower arms, and your hands. Really the only musclulature not used would be your chest, and it can be argued that when you go heavy enough, your chest comes into play as well.

The key to a good deadlift is keeping your back in a neutral or arched position. You want to make sure that you keep your back safe throughout any exercise. Keep your tummy tight, you can think about bracing for a punch and pressing your stomach outward while you are in the squatted down position. Really tighten up your entire body and try to rip that bar off the gournd. As Super Strength's own Mark Bell says, "when it comes to the deadlift, Bring the Violence; It's significant."

You can work your deads from a sumo grip or ocnventional grip as seen above, I'd suggest alternating between the two. You can also practice with a wide snatch grip as well. Once you are moving some respectable weight around you can also play around with deficit deadlifts, rack pulls, and pulling against chanis and cables. Taking a page from Westide Barbell's Louis Simmons you can also work it with maximal poundages as well as performing it for speed.

Personally, I always like to keep the reps low, somewhere between 1-5, and perform multiple sets. I'll start out with 2-4 warm ups, then hit 1-5 working sets. But, I've also seen people do well with higher rep breathing sets, much like the infamous mass builder the breathing squat.

However you perform them though it doesn't matter as long as you keep good form, stay safe, and put your heart and soul into them.

Deadlifts can easily be one of the most demanding exercises on the planet, so you need to respect the weight and be ready to work hard. No whiners, whimps, or cry babies aloud with this one. But the resutls are worth every ounce of struggle and effort.

Also, don't be afraid to go heavy with this one. Andy Bolton and Benidict Magnuson have both hit over 1,000 pounds in compeition, and on the female side Jessica Scofield hits more than 530.

Study the techinque, master the movment and then work the deadlift into the ground and you'll love the end results, Talk with you later.

Yours in strength and health,
Brett Stepan

What Makes A Great Workout

What Makes a workout a great workout? This seems to be one of the questions that continues to come up. It's funny that most people associate being fatigued, sore, or feeling absolutely beat up as being the signs that they've had a great workout. But, I'd beg to differ. Afterall, you simply need to hop into your car and go for an 11 hour drive and I can bet that you'll be pretty darn tired and pretty darn stiff and sore. But, have you really accomplished anything during that drive? Did you burn off any fat, build any muscle, help your hormones, or improve your perfromance or appearance?

Of course not! Yet, most people judge their workout by how sore and tired they feel. I remember hearing someone complain about one of Kettlebell Coach Mike Mahler's programs for speed and explosiveness. This person finished the workout and since they weren't dead on the ground they thought that it sucked. Sorry fella, if you're training properly for speed and explosiveness you probably shouldn't be completely dead at the end of the workout. When you think about it, how explosive and how fast can you be if you're tired and sore?

I also remeber UFC lightweight stand out, Jim Miller talking about how he was disappointed when he first started working with Strengh and Conditioning Coach Martin Rooney because he wasn't being put through the proverbial ringer. Since then Jim has changed his tune as he's gone on to add 10 quality pounds of muscle to his frame, continued to improve his strength, endurance, speed, etc, and he's notched up a 9-1 record in the UFC against the cream of the crop. All without getting injured between fights.

So then, what is it that makes for a great workout, a great workout program, or a great session? I'd put it in very simple terms: RESULTS!!

I don't care how tired or sore you are after a training session, if it's not delivering any results it's not a good program!

This doesn't mean that you won't feel some fatique or some soreness while your training correctly. You will. But a program should be judged much more by how extraordinary the results are than by any other means.

After all, isn't that what your training for in the first place.

Talk with you all later.

Yours in strength and health,
Brett Stepan

I can load the gun for you, But only You can pull the trigger!

I have to start out today's post with a quote from Coach Zach Even-Esh. I've always loved Zach's work and highly recommend his books and programs Today he started off his with this little gem:

"As always, I will be honest with you AND I will push you. This is the ONLY way we will
grow and evolve as humans.

If I don't push you towards the greater YOU, then I am wasting your time.

If I am not honest with you, then you can't trust me.

... If I am sharing something with you, the goal is because I know it will make you a stronger person,
mentally, physically and hopefully, spiritually."

--Zach Even-Esh, Underground Strength Coach

Anyway, on to today's post:

I may be able to load the gun for you, but only you can pull the trigger. And you won't get anything if you don't pull that trigger.

A few years back I had one of my collegiate athletes come to me looking to gain some muscle mass. He and I had worked together on making him a successful athlete on the international scene in sport Karate, as well as on the collegiate level as a tennis player, and we worked very well together. It was the start of summer break and his girlfriend was going to be on vacation with her family for about 3 weeks. He wanted to see how much he could change his body in that time. I put him on a solid mass building program and sure enough by the end of the three weeks, he had gained 15 pounds of muscle. He now had well built arms and shoulders, a thickly muscled back, solid pecs, and impressive thighs to go along with his already chiseled abs. Not only was he impressed, but his older brother was blown away. When his girlfriend returned from her trip, she was impressed beyond belief. It was definitly a great success.

Last August, I decided to have a go at a similar mass building routine. I figured that at my age and with my fitness levels and experience I'd be really lucky to gain somewhere between 5 and 7 pounds. However, using a similar routine to what I had given my athlete a few years earlier, I managed to gain 22 pounds of muscle in 4 weeks. I was more than blown away, as was my awesome bride.  This type of routine had really proven itself to me in both instances.

So, last September when I had a 17 year old come to see me that wanted to gain some muscle mass I was excited. Here was someone that was a total beginner (of course beginner's tend to make much more impressive gains than intermediate or advanced trainees), he was at a time in his life where his hormones were already off the walls (making it much easier to make the gains he wanted), and he seemed hungry to make those gains. I gave him his exercise and eating program, taught him how to properly do each exercise, and sent him on his way (my mistake, I should have made sure that he continued to work with me for each session) confident that in the next 6 weeks he could easily gain 10, 20, 30 or more pounds of quality muscle mass.

What happened? Nothing. He never pulled the trigger. He never completed a single one of the workouts  that I had given him, never followed a single eating principal, and he'd never even given one ounce of sweat in the gym. Of course he had excuses galore, "Breathing Squats are too hard," "My parents told me that heavy weights were bad for me," "Bent rows and Benching made me sore," etc. But the truth was this, he never gave one thought to a simple fact, that the only way to achieve anything is through busting your ass and putting your all into your exercise and eating programs!

As Coach Pavel Tsatsouline once said, "The body doesn't want to change for the better. You cannot seduce it, cajole it, or sweet talk it into changing. Ask anybody that's ever tried to either gain muscle or lose fat. Changing your body is hard, and the only way to do it is through hard work. Giving it a stimulus strong enough to force an adaptation." I might be paraphrasing there, but it was something like that.  

The moral, no matter how great of a program that you have, you'll never get any results if you never put that program into practice and give it your all. So go out there and take your program by the balls and work it into the ground. Really go for it, follow it and push it as hard as you can.

I'll talk with you more later. If your train today, train hard and smart and really kick ass!

Yours in strength and health,
Brett

5 Exercises You're Probably Not Doing, But Should Be!

For today's tip I want you to stop for a second, get ff your spin bike, step out of your Zumba class, turn off your P90x dvd's and take a look at 5 exercises that you probably have never done, but you should add to your routine. Now, each of these exercises as I'm showing them here are very advanced. This doesn't mean that you should start here. the best way to learn anything is through progression. Start with a simple or basic movement, then progress to a little bit harder version, on through the intermediate levels, and finaly into the advanced variations. By following a progeression such as this you ensure that you recieve all of the health and fitness benefits of these movements without sustaining any injuries.

As an example, I'd never start off one of my new clients with full range hanging leg raises (where you hang from a bar or rings and, with straight legs, bring your legs all the way up to touch the bar). Instead, for many people just starting out with hanging would be enough. Start there and develop the grip strength. then start to work on tucking the legs in, move to tucked leg raises, etc. etc., until finally doing the full range hanging leg raises. The same thing can be said for each of the following.

Now, you'll also notice that each of these moves is presented as a static hold. Static holds are incredibly effective workout tools, but this doens't mean that once you've achieved some mastery of each movement that you can't turn them into a dynamic movement. Feel free to play with them and have fun in that way. You'll get great results through your exploring and playing.

Also, each of these movements are bodyweight movements that require no equipment except a pull up bar or some other thing to hang onto.

Now, yhy do these moves work so well? As world class gymnastics coach, Christopher Sommer says, "There are several, the first is contraction. Basically, the harder the contraction over a greater part of the body during an exercise, the more effective the exercise. For maximum improvements training to failure is not necessary, but maximum contraction is. One of the main advantages to these advanced bodyweight exercises is that they require a complete full body contraction. In fact, at advanced levels, they are so demanding that it is simply not possible to complete them any other way.

Another primary reason for their beneficial results is the nature of the static holds themselves. By holding the bodyweight in a disadvantaged leverage position, we are effectively multiplying the resistance of our bodyweight. Or more simply stated, we are supporting a heavy weight in a locked static position. This has tremendous positive impact on the strength of the joints and connective tissue and aids greatly in overall strength development. Many great weightlifting champions have sworn by the benefits of holding heavy weights in a locked position. Two that immediately come to mind are Paul Anderson and John Grimek, who both made heavy supports a regular part of their early training."

So, if you want great core conditioning, great upper body strength and power, great muscle and body control, better balance, better coordination, better agility, better athleticism, and an absolutley ripped physique, work on these 5 movements.

1. Handstands

The handstand will work every muscle in your upper body and is tremendous for core strength and overall upper body stability. It improves balance and coordination, agility, and (according to many strength coaches) is amazing for increasing overall athleticism.

Start out with pike work (hands and feet on the ground) and transition into handstand holds, headstand push-ups, handstand push-ups, handstand press-ups, all the above on rings, parallel bars, push-up bars, etc. and hand walking.

A phenomenal body sculpting tool.








2. Front and Back Levers

Levers are terrific for building a bullet-proof mid-section, killer back strength, incredible arms, greta body control, and injury-free shoulders.

Levers can also be used as great transitions into and out of other movements, making them easy to work with as you combine them with body rows in lever positions, pull-ups, etc.

 Start out with tuck position holds and gradually work up to full front and back levers.













3. Planche

Planches, not to be confused with planks, can be done in a straddle position, or with the legs together, as can the levers above.

Planches will build a fortress for your chest, great arms, incredible shoulders, a great upper back, and amazing abdominals.

If you've been platued on your bench press, feel free to work on some planches and (at least in my experiences) you'll push through that platue.

Start out with frog stands (or, for those yoga people out there crow pose) and work on moving into tucked planches. From there you can work on bringing the legs out into a straddle, then finally bringing them out together.

From here, feel free to experiment with planche push-ups, walking planches, etc.






4. L-sits and V-sits

L-sits and V-sits are amazing for a tight and trim tummy. They'll also build strong arms and shoulders, strong legs, strong backs, and strong chests. They are great for developing balance and agility, improving you athleticism and getting you ripped.

Start out with your butt on the floor and work on your tucked N sits, then progress to seated L's and seated V's. From there start to practice them in the same progression from your hands, from your hands on boxes, etc.

From there you can move onto moving into and out of the various holds. Master these and you'll also see your hanging leg raises sky rocket.















5. Crosses

Ahhh, crosses, the king-daddy of these movements, and the ones that will require you having something besides some ground and something to hang off of. Gymnastics rings and LifelineUSA's Jungle Gym are perfect for these.

Crosses really can develop any part of your body. They're incredible for back strength, hitting your chest, improving your shoulders, building your arms (in fact most of the development you see in a gymnasts biceps is from straight arm holds), building your tummy and your core, and more.

Crosses are a phenomenal bodybuilding and athletic building tool and should be a part of everyone's routine (Yes Ladies, even yours). Start out with your feet on the floor and using small movements. Move into a small cross, hold for time and then come out of it. Don't worry about progressing too fast with these, you'll get there, and every progression that you make will be worth it.

If you want incredible strength and conditioning, and an amazing body, start working on your crosses. Iron crosses and Maltese crosses (the two pictured) are the most popular. But explore them all. As you get good, feel free to add L and V sits to your crosses. You'll love the results.

Well, there you have it; 5 exercises that you probably aren't doing, but should be. If you really want to up your results start working on some of these movements. You'll love the way your body looks and feels.

Also, working on these movements is a lot of fun, it really makes exercise into playtime and practice rather than just a "workout." These movements make you feel like an athlete, and feel awesome.

If you'd like to learn more about how to properly perform them, where to start with them, and some good progressions to get better at them, feel free to come and see me. I'd love to help you out.

Talk with you more later.

Yours in strength and health,
Brett

Do You Really Need Muscle Confusion, Machines, Isolation Movements, Training To Failure, Or Any Equipment At All?

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I love my barbells, kettlebells, snadbags, clubbells, and medicine balls. But, I'm also a bodyweight training enthusiast first and formost. Now, over the years I've heard so many so-called experts and "gurus" claim that you need all of the fancy equipment, the machines, etc. in order to get a great body. I'vc also heard these same people claim that you need to constantly change up your routines and use "muscle confusion" principals. That you need to work to absolute muscular failure, and that you need to isolate each and every little muscle group. But, is any of this true?

In my more than a decade and a half of coaching and training people, I'd say no. I've been a successful athlete, with a pretty nice body, and I don't follow any of the above advice, not to toot my own horn. I've also known and trained numerous others that have developed champion athleticism and amazing physiques without using the above. But, I know that you're not just going to take my word for it. So, here's 5 gymnasts to illustrate my point.

Now, gymnasts are notorious for only using their own bodyweight in their training. They constantly practice the same skills day after day, month after month, and year after year (no muscle confusion at all). They don't train to failure. They don't use mahcines. And they're constantly being coached on the fact that the body is all one unit, not a bunch of body parts (no isolation at all). But, you be the judge. would these guys have better bodies if they followed the above principals of confusion, failure, machines, isolation, etc.? I personally don't think so, but I'll let you decide. Also, after using a bunch of pictures of gorgeous women in yesterday's post, I figured I'd be equal opportunity and use some pictures of great looking guys today, just for you female readers.

Now, I don't know about you but to me these guys look pretty incredible. They're also insanely strong and incredibly conditioned. All without trying to isolate or confuse, and without any type of machine, and without going to muscular failure.

Feel free to leave me a comment down below and let me know what you think.

Yours in strength and health,
Brett

Does Training Hard Make Women Bulky, Manly, or Gross?

Having coached countless women over the years, one of the hardest things to do is to dispell the myth that hard training, intense training, or heavy training will make them less femine, bulky, or manly. In actuality hard training will make for a strong, healthy, and beautiful physique; one capable of living a longer and more vibrant life and accomplishing many more things during that life.

Now, I'll admit, I may be a little biased. One only has to look at my beautiful bride, Melissa, to see how being strong and fit makes for a gorgeous woman. And, a woman that is strong, not only in body, but also in mind and spirit. Melissa's hard training has helped her to not only improve her body and her fitness levels, it's also improved her overall health, her confidence, her wellbeing, and it's helped her through all aspects of life including her career, being a wonderful aunt, her singing, etc.

However, the old myth is so strongly planted in many women's mind that getting them under a squat bar, or picking up a heavy kettlebell, or going a couple of rounds on the heavy bag can be next to impossible. Many women are afraid that having a little muscle will take them out of their "skinny jeans," and not allow them to reach a size zero. Personally, I don't see being above a size zero as a bad thing, nicely toned athletic and functional muscle looks much better than a leg that has a knee bigger than it's thigh, or a chest that's all ribs.

Which brings me up to the point of this tip. I can talk all day long about the benefits of an athletic and muscular body, but I'd rather show some examples of women that, I believe, really epitomize femine strength and beauty. These women come from backgrounds that include Martial Arts, Powerlifting, Olympic Lifting, Strongman styled training. They all train hard and have used that training to forge not only increibly beautiful bodies, but also strong character, integrity, and more. Each of these women, I believe, is a great role model for others. But, I'm going to turn this over to you readers now to let you decide for yourself if they're too manly and bulky. Remember, some of these women have reached world champion status in MMA, and kickboxing. Others are snatching and clean and jerking tons of weight. While others are squatting and deadlifting 400, 500 pounds or more.

Cara Heads--Olympic Lifting Champion

Cynthia Rothrock--World Champion Martial Artist, Action Star, Martial Arts Legend

Jessica Scofield--Powerlifter, Holder of the Largest Deadlift in North American History lifting 530 lbs at 165lbs

Kathy Long--World Kickboxing Champion, MMA Champion, Action Star, Martial Arts Legend

Mandy Stafford--Powerlifter, Trainer

Jean Fry--Powerlifter, Westside Barbell Representative

Gina Carano--Muay Thai Champion, MMA Champion, American Gladiator, Action Star

Ronda Rousay--Olympic Bronze Medalist in Judo, MMA Champion

Zuzana Light--Fitness Model, Trainer

As you can see; each of the above ladies poses a strong, powerful, and athletic body. Yet, I'd say, none of them are bulky, manly, or ugly. In fact, I'd personally say that each one is absoultely gorgeous.

So, my point in all of this: Ladies, don't be afraid of heavy training. Don't be afraid of intense training. Don't be afraid of hard training. Drop the little pink Barbie-doll dumbells and start training for real. You'll not only burn body fat, but you'll add healthy, funtional muscle. You'll increase your athleticsim, you'll increase your health, you'll feel better, and you'll look amazing. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that you'll see all areas of your life improve. 

That's it for now. If you train today, train hard and smart and I'll talk with you all later. Feel free to leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you.

Yours in strength and health,

Brett

P.S. I'd like to thank all the above ladies for allowing me to use their images and talking about this in this post. 

A Picture Says 1,000 Words

For years now I've been talking about the benefits of Sprint training, How it ups your cardio-pulmonary strength, recovery ability, and reserve capacity. How it builds muscle, power, speed, and explosiveness while also burning body fat. And of course, it's positive effects on your hormones, how it helps to optimize your levels. But, a picture sometimes speaks it so much better. I know this picture has been around for a little while, if I'm correct I believe I first saw it in a Crossfit Journal.

Selp-Protection Seminar On Saturday, April 28th

Join me on Saturday, April 28th from 2:30pm to 5:30 pm for the first self-protection seminar of the year. We'll be hitting dealing with baseball bat attacks, knife attacks, and firearm attacks. We'll also go over using your common sense, weaponizing your body, legalities of self-protection and more. Email me for more info or to register.

A Program for a Healthier You Part 1

Hey Fitness friends,

With the title of this tip being “a free program for a healthier you” you can tell that I’m in a giving spirit this week. Maybe it’s holy week having an effect on me but I’m also offering a special free month of training with me if you can tell me in 100 words or less why you really need it. I’ll be picking a winner within the next week out of those people that respond. This person will receive a full month of training, 3-4 days a week, plus a nutrition plan all for free. No catches or anything, just let me know why you need it in 100 words or less. Man, Melissa’s going to kill me for this one.

Now, onto the free program for a healthier you. Without knowing your particular goals, if you have any existing conditions or imbalances or asymmetries, what your fitness level is, etc. this is a pretty darn good program. It’ll have you shedding body fat, building muscle, optimizing your hormones, getting healthier, moving better, and looking great; If you pull the trigger with it. Keep in mind, with the training section I want you performing each exercise with (on a scale from 1-10) a technique level of 7 or higher. If you don’t know the technique, I know a great coach that’ll teach you. He can be reached at my phone number, my email address, or my facebook account. I also want you to perform each training session with an exertion level of a 7 or higher, in other words kick your own booty at each session. But, I also want you to have a pain level of a 4 or lower, discomfort is awesome and you should get comfortable with it, but true injury sucks. So here we go with the program:

Part 1: The training:
For the first few weeks follow this template:
Monday: You’re going to squat hard. It can be front squats or back squats, but load up the bar with as much weight as you can handle with good form and kill it. 5 sets of 5 reps (I’ll explain more of that later). Then move on to Neutral Grip (palms facing each other) chin-ups. 5 sets of 5 reps again. Really push it. If you can’t do chin-ups pick up Lifeline USA’s Power Pull-up and use it to master the movement without having to use your full bodyweight. Work up to your bodyweight and then start adding weight, use a belt or rope to add weight plates to yourself. Then, hit Abdominal Roll-outs, this time hit 3 sets of 6-8 reps. Really push it. If you need to start out with a kneeling version, start there. If you need to start out with just the eccentric portion of the move, go for it. But keep working your way up to the standing version and then add weight with a weight vest. There’s only three moves here, so really push it for all your worth on all three.

Wednesday: Today your going to start out with either a bench press or a floor press. Perform this powerlifting style rather than bodybuilding style as you’ll get the same results without the injuries. Again 5 sets of 5 and really kill it while using great technique. Follow that up with Bent Over Barbell Rows. Keep your tummy and butt tight, arch your back, keep your body at about a 45 degree angle, pull your shoulder blades together and really drive your elbows back hard. Drive the bar to your navel. Again, 5 x 5. Finish up by using your hands to add resistance to neck exercises. Think 2-3 sets of 10 in each direction. Tipping forward, backwards, ear to the left shoulder, ear to the right shoulder, looking over the left shoulder, and looking over the right shoulder. Your neck is important, train it hard. Then hang from a bar for 2 sets of as long as you can. When it gets easy, add weight or switch to one arm hangs. Again, high technique and high exertion on each exercise. Really kick your own butt.

Friday: To finish out the week you’re going to start with deadlifts. Not Romanian or stiff-leg deads, but real deadlifts. Keep your back arched, and your upper body upright the entire time. Squat down, grab the bar, straighten the legs and rip the bar from the floor to lock out. You can use a Sumo or conventional deadlift. Again, 5 x 5. Then move on to strict standing Military Presses. Keep your heels together, feet pointed out at 45 degree angels. Tighten your thighs, booty, and tummy. Keep strict upright military posture (it’s a military press for a reason) and drive the bar without any type of body English or leg drive (just push through with your upper body strength and power) from your clavicles to complete lock-out. Again, 5 x 5. Follow this with 3 sets of Abdominal roll-outs for 6-8 reps again. Again, really exert. Push yourself beyond what you think you’re capable of.

For your 5 x 5 scheme, think about starting out with 4 progressively heavier warm-up sets and 1 true work set. So, if your work set on an exercise is 205 pounds; start your 1^st set of 5 at 165, your 2^nd at 175, your 3d at 185, your 4^th at 195, then hit your 5^th set at your working weight of 205. This is a great way to train, and it won’t shock your body. As you get in better shape try 3 warm-ups sets followed by 2 working sets. Eventually, when your body’s ready you can hit 2-3 warm-up sets and then nail 5 sets with your working weight. This is a wonderful progression to work on your conditioning as well.

After a month or so, when your body is ready for a little bit more, add in a Tuesday of sprints. Find a big hill that’s nice and steep and sprint it as many times as you can in 10-15 minutes. Then progress to 15-20 minutes. Then progress to 20-25 minutes. Make sure to warm up with some leaping, bounding, crawling, mobility work, and dynamic stretches first.

After another month or so, add in a Saturday hill sprint session. Why are you sprinting on Tuesday and Saturday. Simple, you’re squatting on Monday and deadlifting on Friday, putting your sprints on the day after these training days will help your body recover faster.

Add some joint mobility drills in before and after each training session, and some other dynamic warm-ups as well. Stick with this for a year and you won’t be the same person 12 months from now. But there’s still a few more things to hit for the entire program.

Part 2: Living a physical life:
Our bodies are designed to be physical. Our ancestors used to walk about 10-20-30 miles everyday just to find food and shelter. Then they’d sprint, leap and bound to catch the food (or to get away from predators and tribes that may be hostile towards them). Then, they’d lift and carry the heavy carcasses back to their village. Also, they’d chop logs and break rocks for tools. They’d lift and carry, drag and push heavy logs and stones to create shelter. They were incredible athletes. It’s in your genes to be physical everyday; to be strong and conditioned. So honor this by living a physical lifestyle. You’ll thank me as your health goes through the roof.

Besides you normal training day, add physical activities to your days. There’s no reason on Earth why you can’t train five days a week plus, I don’t know; train in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu on Monday, study Ballroom and Latin dancing on Tuesday, go for a wilderness hike with your spouse on Wednesday, train some more jiu-jitsu on Thursday, study more dance on Friday, go kayaking or rock climbing on Saturday, and take another hike on Sunday. Get out and move each day of the week. Go for walks, play some pick-up basketball, study Gymnastics, train in circus performance, get in on a local Rugby league. Our bodies are extremely adaptable and being physically active everyday is a good thing.

At the very least, walk every day, follow the five day’s of training that I’ve outlined above, and add daily joint mobility to your activities.


Part 3: The nutrition:
This part is simple, but it’s the hardest part for most people. Eat naturally and cleanly. Don’t eat it if it comes in a bag or box. If it’s processed, stay away from it.

Start out your eating 14-16 hours after finishing your last meal the night before. For your first meal, have some raw veggies and maybe a couple of eggs or some turkey. For your second meal, have some more veggies (raw or steamed, or both) and some chicken. For your main meal have a large salad, throw in 10-16 ounces of steak, chicken, or fish, have some kimchi and some more veggies. On your Monday or Friday (the hardest training days) have a small potato or a sweet potato. On Wednesday (your next hardest day) have a small amount o brown rice. On Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday avoid starches, grains, and legumes. After your three training sessions, finish them off with a good quality protein shake. Cycle your calories each day and your carbs. Drink a sheet ton of water, and maybe add in a little green tea and one or two cups of coffee max.

Keep this going and you’ll shed fat, build muscle, optimize hormones, and feel much better, look much better, and be much better.