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Since I wrapped up the Training Clients with Obesity series here this week and I’ve been super busy I’m just going to share a couple quick things with you today before I skip out for the weekend.

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1.  This week I had my first article posted on the Personal Trainer Development Center site that is run by my good friend Jon Goodman.  Here’s a snippet of the article:

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Personal training is a unique profession in that we are charged with the development and implementation of programs that can impact people’s weight, body composition, performance, injury status, emotions, and health.  Yet, as a profession we struggle with the fact that  people just don’t take us seriously.

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Heck, I’ll even admit that when a friend or family member tells me that they’ve hired a personal trainer my first reaction is to cringe (at least on the inside).  Trying not to jump to conclusions I usually ask a few questions until I get a feel for the background and, more importantly, the methods the trainer is using to bring about results.  And all too often, I am disappointed to hear that my initial response was appropriate and that makes me sad for our profession.

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While there are probably many possible reasons for this, I think that a major part of the problem stems from the fact that many trainers are researching health and fitness exclusively from the same places as those they are supposed to be trying to help.  To make matters worse, many of those trainers have no objective method to determine whether the methods presented in the materials they are reading are valid or are just pseudoscientific hype fueled by money and marketing.  In short, a lot of us are falling prey to the same mistakes as the people we are trained to serve.  No wonder nobody takes us seriously!

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You can read the rest of this article HERE.

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2.  Crunches may be good for your spine?

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In recent years there has been a definite trend away from repeated flexion based movements (i.e., crunches) in the training of the abdominals due to the suspected risk of injury to the spine.  But a brand spanking new review written by my good friends Bret Contreras and Brad Schoenfeld presents pretty convincing evidence that perhaps flexion is not only less risky than we thought, but that some repeated flexion might actually be good for us.

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I’ll be the first to admit that I was pretty solidly on the anti-flexion bandwagon, but since reading this article I’m very much reconsidering my stance to the point where I think it is reasonable to include some (although limited) flexion based work for the core.  I’d also consider those interested to check out Brad Schoenfeld’s latest post called “Do Crunches Cause Poor Posture?” that I think dispells yet another fitness myth.

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I can’t wait to see the waves that this new article is going to make in this industry.  :)

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3.  Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body is coming!

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Last year I reviewed a product from my friend Rick Kaselj called Muscle Imbalances Revealed and it was absolutely stellar!  Rick had pulled together a bunch of really smart guys to put together several presentations examining muscle imbalances in the lower body and how to deal with them.  With Mike Robertson, Dean Somerset, and Eric Beard on the project was an obvious winner from the start.

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Finally, a year later, Rick has put together yet another rock star cast including Dean Somerset, Tony Gentilcore, and Dr. Jeff Cubos to talk about muscle imbalances in the upper body and I couldn’t be more excited.  In fact, as I write this I’ve got my advanced copy of Tony Gentilcore’s corrective strategies video cued up to go in another browser window and I’m pumped to watch it (which is why I’m typing so fast and there are probably a ton of typos in this post).

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The bad news is that the product actually won’t be released until August 9th.  The good news, however, is that Rick is giving away two free reports (one video and one text) called “8 Steps to Unravelling Your Muscle Imbalances” that you can access right now!   If you’re interested in scoring some free swag (who doesn’t love free stuff?) you can pick it up HERE.

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And that’s it for me.  Have a great weekend!

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Okay…so I wasn’t going to post anything today, but this week I stumbled across two things that I think are ”must reads” for the week.

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The Truth About Bodybuilding Genetics

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This is an absolutely stellar review research on the effects of genetics on muscle building, fat loss, and athletic performance by my friend Bret Contreras.  I absolutely think that this article sets the bar for all future articles to be written in 2011.

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2011 – Your Best Year Yet

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Let me preface this article by saying that I pretty much HATE rah-rah motivational articles.  Generally speaking, I think they make people feel good for about 5 minutes and then the feeling wears off leaving the person in about the same state they were before reading it (and having wasted 5 minutes reading).

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This post, on the other hand, is a great guest post by Todd Durkin on Alwyn Cosgrove’s blog listing 83 ways to make 2011 your best year yet.  I love this list because it isn’t just theory and each item is an actionable.

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I’ve personally printed this list and posted it above my computer.  I figured you might want to do the same.

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If you could recommend an article to someone who could only read ONE article this week…what would it be?

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So it is now November 17th and since the start of this month I’ve already given away 2 tubs of Nitrean protein powder, Advanced Techniques in Glutei Maximi Strengthening by Bret Contreras, Muscle Imbalances Revealed by Rick Kaselj, and as of Monday I awarded a copy of Bulletproof Knees by Mike Robertson to Bobby for dropping a comment on that post.

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Since my initial list of giveaways was announced I figured I should let you know that I’ve also added the Strength Training for Fat Loss DVD by Nick Tumminello to the mix and yesterday I got word from Mike Boyle that he’s going to throw down a free copy of his new book for the giveaway as well.  Keep your eyes glued to this blog and make sure to sign up for my newsletter (left side of the page), RSS Feed, Facebook, and Twitter to make sure you don’t miss an opportunity to score some FREE STUFF.

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And since I’ve been in a research geeky kind of mode this week, I figured I’ll thow down a FREE t-shirt courtesy of Alan Aragon today.  Alan quite simply has an incredible research review that I think EVERYONE should subscribe to, but that is beyond the point.  Today, I’m putting up one of Alan’s brand new Brainy Gear t-shirts up fror grabs.

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Simply drop a comment below letting me know you want one (and which one you think is the most awesome) and your name will go into the hat for a free shirt at the end of the day on Friday.

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What are you waiting for?  Get at it!

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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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1.  Why the Psoas Isn’t the Devil

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Over the past few years the psoas has been outright demonized and this post  that I wrote for my friend Rick Kaselj deals with my thoughts on the psoas, how its weakness can cause knee pain, and how to deal with it when it does.

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2.  Videos of the Week

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Each week Ben Bruno (whose blog I mentioned yesterday) posts some of the best training related videos he’s seen all week and this week one of my vids made the list.  You can check it out HERE.  Feel free to check out the rest of the videos as well as long as you realize mine is the most awesome. 

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3.  Le soulevé de terre, un exercice incompris?

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Okay…I have to be honest and say that I have no idea what Xavier is saying in this post.  He could be making fun of me for all I know, but he used some of my videos in the post so I figured I’d link it for any French speaking people who read my blog.  Check it out HERE.

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And finally…what you’re all waiting for…FREE STUFF.

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The Nitrean Protein that went up for grabs a couple days back was awarded last night (by random draw) to Carl who commented on the post.  So congratulations to Carl and good luck to everyone else on the upcoming items.  Keep commenting!

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While we’re here I should mention that I’ve acquired two more free items for the Christmas giveaway this week.  The first is the Strength Training for Fat Loss and Conditioning DVD by my good friend Nick Tumminello and the second is the epic 675 page ebook Advanced Techniques in Glutei Maximi Strengthening from my buddy Bret Contreras.

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And since it is Friday…and I LOVE Fridays…I figured I’d just put Bret’s ebook up for grabs right now.  If you aren’t familiar with Bret or his work, you’ll know this is probably one of the most thorough resources you’ll ever read about creating strong and fantastic looking glutes.

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So if you’ve been following along you know the drill.  Leave a comment below and let me know that you want the ebook and I’ll award it to the winner by random draw.

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Comments will be closed at the end of Monday so drop one below ASAP to score Bret’s incredible ebook completely FREE.

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Every so often I get the question “Mark, how is it that you are such a genius and are  also so incredibly good looking?  It is so damn unfair.”  Okay…I think the question goes more like “What are you reading these days that you think is worth sharing?”

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As you can see, these two questions are almost exactly the same.  In any case, below are a few things I think you should definitely check out.

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1.  Categories of Weight Training

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If you’ve not been following Lyle McDonald’s latest series on types of weight trainining (from depletion, to hypertrophy, to maximum strength) you are absolutely missing out.  Do your self a favor and start HERE to read part 1 and then click your way on through the entire series.  Included in this series is possibly one of the best summaries on training for hypertrophy I’ve seen in a long while and almost completely in line with my own thoughts.

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2.  Hypertrophy Specialist Interview

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Along the same lines, I think you should definitely check out this great article by Bret Contreras where he interviews Brad Schoenfeld about his recent review on hypertrophy in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.  I still don’t agree with the assertion Brad made in his interview about the impact of acute hormone changes on muscle growth, but the rest of the interview is pretty solid.

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3.  Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies to Increase the Adherence to Exercise in the Management of Obesity

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At first glance the title of this article probably makes it look like a snooze-fest, but it is actually one of the best review articles I’ve read on weight loss in a long time.  It comes from the Journal of Obesity (where the articles are free by the way) and it talks about many things relating to success with weight loss and maintenance.

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Trust me when I tell you that if you are trying to lose body fat or help others do so then this article will teach you something.  I personally grabbed a bunch of studies from the references too that I’ll be reading in the near future.

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The big picture though, is that this article reinforces my belief that long term fat loss has less to do with what type of exercise and nutrition plan you use and more to do with the psychosocial factors that help or hinder your consistency in executing whichever plan it is you choose to follow.  If you address these you’re more likely to be successful than if you buy the next fat loss product that comes up on Twitter (which should occur in the next 3.5 seconds).

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4.  Best NEW blog in my RSS Feed

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 Ben Bruno is really smart and his blog always contains some great vids of people training hard and getting it done.   Moreover, this is a great example for young guys just gettting started in this field on blogging of how it is done. 

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If you’re a young coach or trainer start blogging now and build your readership as you learn.  You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to pretend to know everything.  Just be humble and share your thoughts as you learn.  Acknowledge when you’re wrong and updating your ideas.

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I waited far too long to launch this blog and feel like I’m finally coming into my own over 10 years into my career.  Don’t do that.  Read Ben’s blog, enjoy the content, then get to work.

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5.  Interview with Tony Gentilcore

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This is a great interview with the funniest man in fitness where he talks at great length about many of the things that make a good trainer…and other things that make trainers like Jillian Michaels suck.  Perhaps more importantly (or at least MY favorite part of the article), Tony mentions me as one of the fitness professionals that people should take notice of.  You hear that Men’s Health?  Huh?  Huh?

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In all seriousness, when guys like Tony take time out to mention me I feel flattered and it is great to know that my work is starting to be appreciated by some of the bigger names in this industry as well.  I almost cried a little tear of excitement.  Almost.

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And that’s it for good reads.  Before you go make sure to drop a comment on yesterday’s post to score yourself some FREE protein.

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Oh…and since I’ll be giving away tons of free stuff over the next couple of months make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter on the left, my RSS feed, Facebook, and Twitter so you don’t miss out.  You snooze, you lose.

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1)  Recently I had a discussion with Bret Contreras about a client I had several years ago who was experiencing lower back pain.  At the time, I was reading Eric Cressey and Mike Robertson’s stuff and got my client to stretch his hip flexors, strengthen his glutes, strengthen his abdominals, etc.  What I failed to realize that this was the solution for those with ANTERIOR pelvic tilt and/or extension based pain.  My client had POSTERIOR tilt that was made worse with flexion.  I actually made his pain worse!

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I later worked to strengthen his hip flexors, lengten his rectus abdominus (think cobra stretch), lengthen his glutes, and stretch the hamstrings.  Fixed the problem in short order.

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Take home lessons:

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- Assess your client and make sure that the method you are using is the right one . Eric and Mike had a great protocol, but I was using it on the wrong person.  (My fault, not theirs)

 - If you’re wrong, admit it and make changes accordingly.

- You will almost certainly learn something after talking with Encylopedia Bret-annica.

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2)  Speaking of Bret, he posted a great interview with my good friend Aaron Schwenzfeier.  Aside from having a name that is impossible to spell (I always cut and paste it when I have to write it) Aaron is a wicked smart dude and I’ve been following his stuff for over a year.

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Recently THIS POST by Aaron caused quite a stir in the comments on my Facebook page and I’m curious to hear what you think.  Should we have some sort of mimimum standard for physical fitness to graduate high school as we do with other more academic subjects?

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3)  I have been lucky enough to recieve a sneak peek of Eric Cressey’s new product that is to be released next week.  I’m only a few pages in, but a brief scan has led me to believe that this is going to be a great product for anyone interested in gaining strength AND looking the part.  I’m hoping to be able to lure him on here to ask him some questions about the new program in the near future so if you’ve got anything you want me to ask Eric about getting wicked strong let me know in the comments below.

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4)  I am also currently reading Movement by Gray Cook, playing with my new Rotator, and reviewing Rick Kaselj’s Muscle Imbalances Revealed product that also features Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, Eric Beard, Kevin Yates, and Dean Somerset.  On top of that I’ll possibly be checking over the lit review on Mike Robertson’s upcoming product as well.  Suffice it to say that I’ve got a lot going on these days on top of my usual chaos. 

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The good news is that after I’m done checking out a product I’ll be able to share my thoughts with you.  The bad news is that with some many things to review, I might start to be percieved as one of those internet marketer types who is strictly in it for the Benjamins (that’s dollars for all of you who aren’t down with my gangsta lingo).  So let me reassure you right here and now that you will NEVER see me endorse a product that I do not support or at least think is worth reading, watching, or purchasing. 

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I honestly figure that this should be obvious since I’ve openly bashed the very popular book Crush It in this post and questioned the even more popular Functional Movement Screen.  To me it should be pretty apparent that I don’t just jump on the affiliate bandwagon to score a few bucks.  But if I do like a product you’ll see a glowing review from me because I consider it part of my responsibility (as someone who has access to a lot of these products) to separate the good products from the garbage.

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Moreover, if I post an affiliate link from I’ll let you know so you’ll have to option to purchase directly from the person who created it if you prefer.  Of course, my family might go hungry if you don’t buy it through me…but don’t feel guilty if you go the other route.  *cough, cough*  I feel so weak… 

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Bottom line: You’ll always get the straight truth from me and I won’t put my name behind something that sucks…unless it is a really good vacuum.

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5)  My wife and I have b en reading some funny stuff at a site we’ve discovered recently and I think THIS is the funniest article on the site.  I laugh so hard that it makes me pee a little every time I read it.  On the other hand, my wife thinks THIS article is funnier.  Which one do you think is the best?  Note: Don’t read the stories if you’re easily offended.  The guy is a little abrasive…and by “a little” I mean “a lot”.

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6)  This is AWESOME!

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 So I’m all over the map today.  Throw down your comments and let me know your thoughts.  Heck, if you’ve got something else on your mind let’s hear it.

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This week there was a great discussion on StrengthCoach.com on pre and post workout nutrition between myself and some other very bright minds (note that I’m suggesting they’re bright and I’m just…well…me).  This just highlighted for me, as I’ve mentioned before, that if you’re not on the StrengthCoach.com forums you’re truly missing out.  Here are my top 5 reasons why I love SC.com.

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1 – The forums are top notch

You’ll get to interact with people who are veterans and the brightest young minds in this industry including Mike Boyle, Alwyn Cosgrove, Mike Robertson, Nick Tumminello, Bret Contreras, Patrick Ward, Carson Boddicker, Jeff Cubos, and so many more that they’ll probably kick my ass for leaving them out (sorry guys and gals).  In many cases, these guys and gals have been there and done that and they’re more than happy to take the time out to help young coaches and trainers.  This alone is worth the cost (which is small by the way).

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2 – Charlie Weingroff.

If you don’t know.  You will.  The guy is seriously a brain with legs…really strong ass legs.

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3 – Web traffic

If you’re struggling to get traffic to your site, go here, join in the discussion, and if you’re not a total tool your site will get hits because people will want to hear more of what you have to say.  That is not to say that you should go here and spam with your blog info (you’d probably be deleted anyway), but if you network with the best you’re bound to get traffic as a side benefit.

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4 – Smart people know who you are.

I can’t say how cool it is to have one thread with my videos as a “sticky” in the “Best of the Forums” section.  When Mike Boyle knows who you are, then you’re a badass.  That is an official rule.   (Note: It is my blog so I make the rules)

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5 – If you don’t belong to SC.com then you will be forever stuck in mediocracy.

Just kidding…sorta.

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(In the interest of full disclosure, the link to the StrengthCoach.com above IS an affiliate link.  I will get a couple quarters if you sign up through me that I’ll put into my daughter’s college fund.  If you’d prefer to sign up directly through the site you can do that too.  Whether I make a dime or not I still think it is worth it.)

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If you’re a member of SC.com and want to add to the list feel free to do so in the comments section below.  If you’re not a member…get ‘er done.  Hope to see you there.

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Last week’s Friday blog was kinda fun and since I think Fridays are pretty awesome, I figured I’d post more awesome stuff.

1.  First off, if you happened across the Consumer Reports article a while back about the toxic ingredients found in many protein powders it may have left you a little spooked about using these in your daily routine.  Fortunately, my good friend Nick Tumminello recruited nutrition guru Alan Aragon to share his two cents on the issue.  Check out Alan’s guest blog on Nick’s site HERE.

2.  My friend Bret Contreras wrote an excellent blog post recently on load vector training.  Absolute MUST read.  Check it out HERE.

3.  Last week I posted a video of Emily Azevedo doing an incredible feat of strength, but this week I also wanted to add an incredible video of my friend and colleague Neghar Fonooni (who also happens to be the long term girlfriend of Joe Sansalone whose Prone Y videos I posted a few weeks back).  Consider this more inspiration for young women wanting to train.  Simply badass!

3.  And since we’re talking about badass stuff here, watch Damien Walters kill it in this video.   I know he’s got a more recent one, but I still love this one the best.

Have a great weekend!

In any case, a few weeks back there was a discussion on the forum about shoulder packing that resulted in one of the most interesting discussions I’ve seen in a long time.  My good friend Bret Contreras has summarized the discussion HERE.

As great as the discussion was, the best part for me was the videos produced by forum member Joe Sansalone.  Take a few minutes and check them out.  Next time I’ll reveal some of my own thoughts as well as a discussion I had with Joe himself.

Feel free to share your thoughts below!