Regular readers of this blog will know that I am VERY discriminating with where I get my fitness information from to the point where I’ve been called contrarian by many others for questioning popular theories and methods.

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Frankly, I don’t do this as a publicity stunt and I like to think I take a balanced approach to studying and presenting every topic.  As such, I’d like to think that people would trust my opinion on things I review here and know that I’ll never recommend anything just to make a quick buck.

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For this reason I hope you’ll take my recommendation of Mike Robertson’s new Bulletproof Knees and Back Seminar product very seriously.  Honestly, I have yet to review the product (it is on its way), but I can say without a doubt that I am positive it is going to be outstanding.  I think I currently own every product Mike has ever produced and his work has never been a disappointment. 

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More to the point, Mike is a stand up guy who is constantly in the trenches training clients and refining his methods in one of America’s top facilities.  And despite this, he never hesitates to take a second to answer emails and help out those who need it.

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In fact, when Mike asked me if I’d put together a bonus for his product I jumped at the chance to help him out.  I’m not making a cent for promoting this product and I didn’t bat an eye at the thought of putting together a bonus for his product (completely for free) because I know that it is going to be solid and something I can be proud to support.

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If you are a fitness professional and are dealing with clients who have knee or back pain (that is pretty much all of us) I have no hesitation in recommending you check out The Bulletproof Knees and Back Seminar.

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It is on sale until Friday and after that the price will jump by 50 bucks so if you’re keen to be the “go to” trainer for dealing with knee and back pain then I’d highly suggest you take advantage of this sale today

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The Bulletproof Knees and Back Seminar <— Get it Now!

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1.  Measure Your Movement

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It is pretty well known that people under report what they’re eating and over report their exercise.  On the exercise front, often I’ll use an Omron Pedometer to get an objective measure of physical activity for people.  While they aren’t perfect (and the BodyMedia FIT is probably better) they are relatively accurate and less expensive.  More importantly though, it will give you something to go on when you think you are moving a lot…and you really aren’t.  With the colder months coming I think people will be shocked at how little they actually move. 

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I usually recommend that people record track their daily steps for a week (good models of the Omron brand will store 7 days worth of data) and then calculate a daily average.  Each week thereafter I have them attempt to add 500 steps per day.  And just so we don’t get confused here, I’m not saying that increasing your steps will necessarily result in more fat loss.

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What I am saying is:

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- Greater physical activity improves health markers (you don’t look very good if you’re dead).

- Increased activity decreases waist circumference even if you don’t lose fat (yep…smaller waist…not even dieting).

- 5 hours of physical activity per week doesn’t necessarily mean more fat loss, but better long term weight maintenance (i.e., you’ll keep off what you’ve lost).

-You probably think you move more than you do.

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2.  Arm Ergometers Are Awesome!

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In terms of cardiovascular activity, most people are used to the standard stuff like treadmill, bikes, and ellipticals.  Sleds and other circuit stuff have also become trendy as of late as well.  However, I’ve recently stumbled upon another really cool method for upper body cardiovascular training that is exceptionally badass.  If you’ve never tried and arm ergometer (basically an upper body bicycle), I’d highly suggest you give it a try.

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Although most people would associate this primarily with a rehab setting, these are great for warming up the upper body prior to a workout, finishing up an upper body workout (your delts, biceps and triceps will be on fire), or for people who have knee or lower back issues the limit regular cardiovascular training.  More to the point, they are frigging HARD!

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While commercial models (Monark being the most popular) can cost over $1500, you can often pick one of these up from a ”home health” type of store for anywhere between $50 and $150 depending on the gadgets attached.  I think these are awesome and would make a great addition to any home gym or studio where people are dealing with clients with knee and back issues.  Simply turn up the tension and crank it like a mofo!

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3.  This Psoas IS Fillet Mignon

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Just in case you missed it, someone commented on my previous psoas post stating that the psoas is actually the cut of meat we adore called fillet mignon.  I very scientifically checked this out (okay…I acutally looked it up on Wikipedia) and this appears to be true.  Go figure.  If you ever get into a plane crash and have to eat the flesh of another human at least you know where to start.

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4.  FREE Core Interviews

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A while back I had the opportunity to interview a whole bunch of really smart industry experts about everything to do with creating a strong and sexy core.  Check out this list:

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Mike Robertson

Nick Tumminello

Jim “Smitty” Smith

Leigh Peele

Lyle McDonald

Martin Berkhan

Jimmy Smith

Scott Abel

John Paul Catanzaro

Brendan Fox

Thomas Myers

And last but not least…Dr. Stuart McGill!

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You want these interviews don’t you?  Yeah…thought so.  I figured that since I’m in such a giving mood lately I’d just throw these down for FREE too.  Go get ‘em!

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5.  Reminder – Get Your FREE Glute Training Ebook

Don’t forget to score yourself the most excellent glute training ebook in the world by my buddy Bret Contreras by leaving a comment on this page.  Comments are closed for the drawing at the end of day today.

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That’s it for me today.  Go get your free stuff!

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This past week I had the chance to review Nick Tumminello’s Joint Friendly Strength Training DVDs and I wanted to drop a review to let you all know what I thought.  Before I say anything though, I also want to state that Nick Tumminello is a total class act in this industry and I wish more guys and gals were like him.

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He not only takes in the theoretical information, but then transforms it into great exercises and programs leaving me (and probably a lot of others) scratching our heads and saying “why didn’t I think of that”.  He is a true innovator and a model representative for what I think this profession should be.  That said, I would never endorse a product that I didn’t have faith in so you can rest assured that my opinion of this product is 100% legit.

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This first DVD starts off with Nick talking a little bit about why he created the joint friendly training philisophy which highlights the fact that the exercise variations presented in the 2 DVD set are not geared towards correcting joint pain, but to allowing you to continue gaining power, strength, and size while working around specific joint issues.  You can obviously still be working to improve joint issues (in fact, you probably should), but this product is aimed at those who still want a kick ass workout while dealing with nagging aches and pains.

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After the brief into I pretty much expected the DVD to go into a scripted narration of each exercise (which is fine by me), but instead Nick stays center frame and continues to demonstrate exercises one after one almost as though he’s having a conversation with you.  It truth, it reminds me very much of times when I’m training a client and I’m saying “That hurts?  Let’s try this.  That hurts too?  Let’s do this instead.”  In essence, Nick walks you through a serious of exercise options for each potential joint issue that you could possibly have as though he was actually training you around an injury.

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The exercises themselves are broken up into sections for knee pain, back pain, shoulder pain, wrist pain, and so on.  I especially liked that Nick broke down the exercises for dealing with back pain into sub categories for flexion, extension, and rotation intolerant people so you’ll pretty much know which ones are most apt to work in a given situation.  I also liked the stuff for dealing with wrists as this is a limitation that happens with athletes or those who work with their hands quite often (as well as those with carpal tunnell from being a desk jockey).  This breakdown by body part would also be cool if you’re only looking for exercises for an injury you have and don’t want to watch the whole 2 hours of video.

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All in all, I have to say that I really enjoyed the relatively unscripted (or at least seemingly relaxed) style of the DVDs.  This surprised me because I’m usually one for structure and letting someone just run through categories of exercises could result in a disasterous product for many.  In Nick’s case, I think it was actually one of the strengths.  I was watching and thinking “holy crap dude, slow down with the ideas” as I scribbled on my note pad.  It made it feel like Nick was in my livingroom bombarding me with exercies options and progressions.

My final analysis is that if you’re a trainee suffering from nagging joint injuries then Nick’s product is definitely worth having so you can continue getting bigger, stronger, and leaner (yep…there is a conditioning section too) while dealing with your injuries.  Moreover, if you’re a coach or trainer I think this product is equally as valuable as it will give you loads (I wrote two pages front and back) of exercises for working with clients with various issues so you can continue to bring the results.  Note that I’m not saying you shouldn’t address the issues themselves, but Nick’s product will definitely allow you to maintain the training stimulus while you do.

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In the end, I have to agree with Kanye.  Nick’s product is top notch and I definitely give it two hypertrophied thumbs up.  If you’re interested you can pick it up HERE. 

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(Note that the link above is not an affiliate link and I don’t make a dime off of this product)

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This week I got my hands on a pig spine to illustrate exactly how the spine responds to different forces.  In this 3 part series I’m going to take a look at 3 different exercises and how they impact the spine.

Okay…so that was a bit serious.  And it is Monday after all so let’s have a little fun shall we.  I created this little video to have a little fun with the current discussions on whether or not we should squat.

Let me know what you think in the comments section below.

Every so often I hear someone say something that really forces me to think seriously about why I train people the way I do.  Last week was one of those times and Mike Boyle was one of those people.

If you know anything about Mike Boyle at all you’re probably aware that he’s pretty big on single leg training.  Split squats, single leg split squats, and step ups are a huge part of his programming.  But last week when I was listening to his audio interview at RobertsonTraining Systems.com he said something that kicked my brain into gear.

He said that a lot of people can’t squat properly.  I definitely agree with that since a great number of people I’ve worked with don’t have the hip mobility to squat properly at first.  However, he also said (I’m paraphrasing here so don’t crucify me) that when a lot of people do a bilateral squat that their core gives out before their legs so their leg workout suffers as a result.  I also have to agree here to some degree.

The question running through my head though was why on earth can’t mobility be increased, form be instructed, and the core be strengthened to allow someone to perform a bilateral back squat???

Then it struck me.  I haven’t done a back squat in over 2 years.  In fact, I have some clients with back injuries involving compression that have done just as well for fat loss without any bilateral lower body movements at all.  And, their legs are just as developed (aesthetically) as those of the people doing front or back squats. 

We still work on hip mobility and strengthen the core.   We also hit their glutes, hams, and quads hard to bring about hypertrophy, but they just don’t squat.

I guess the point I’m making here is that you can build a great set of wheels without bilateral movements no matter what HyoogeArms21 is telling you on the forums.  As Mike Boyle says, “don’t get married to a movement”.  Just use what works in your specific situation.

If you’re a powerlifter, you HAVE to squat.  If you like squatting, go ahead and squat.  But if you’re training purely for aesthetics and you hate squatting or have an injury that prevents it, don’t worry about it.  All too often I see people trying to squat who shouldn’t be just because someone told them they can’t get jacked without them.

In the end there are plenty of other options for single leg training that you can use and as long as you bust your ass (Mike Boyle has guys doing single leg split squats with over 200 pounds) you’ll still get great results!

Have your  own thoughts about the importance of squatting?  Feel free to disagree.  Post them in the comments below!

In the interview we talked about various things from how I got started in the fitness industry, to dealing with back pain, and curling in the squat rack (really).  We also discussed the single biggest missing element in most training programs.

Of course, I’m a little biased, but I think it was a pretty good interview.  Check out the podcast on Mike’s website HERE.

While you’re there, don’t forget to jump on Mike’s newsletter.  He’s always throwing out loads of incredible information and his is one of the select few industry newsletters that I actually read on a regular basis. 

When you’re done, feel free to drop by here again and let me know what you thought of the interview.  Comments make me feel all warm and fuzzy.