Author: D C

 In the past I often bought equipment because it was what I thought was needed to drive the business. But at this point we have most everything we need for most people to use.

So now my outlook is a bit different. I’m buying some equipment simply because I want to and because it’s fun to use. The more hardcore among us will enjoy using it while the masses may not get it but that’s as it should be. Not everything needs to be used by all people but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth having.

Take for example our new zercher harness. This allows folks to do much heavier front squats and zercher squats without breaking their wrists and elbows. Basically this road warrior-looking thing takes a movement that most people would avoid because they don’t have the form and makes it accessible to most. I love it. Front squats used to be a rarity for me but now I do them all the time and I’m looking forward to setting PRs on this thing.

So enjoy the new toys!

Let’s start off with the best overhead press ever caught on video.

There. If that doesn’t make you want to go to the gym, I don’t know what will. Most people struggle to put their bodyweight overhead. Well this guy puts 500+lbs. overhead. Heck, he cleaned that like it was a formality.

Nearly everyone loves the bench press but military press, clean and press, and push press are three lifts that deserve way more attention than they get. Bench press trains a lot fewer muscles than any of those three.

Think about it for a minute: in bench, you’re lying down and letting the bench support you. With overhead press, you’re standing the whole time, meaning you have to support yourself and the weight as you press it. Your whole body gets stronger, not just the chest, shoulders, and triceps. And the amount tension you’ll have to generate with the “core” is immense. For these reasons, the overhead presses are one of the most important lifts for whole body strength.

But some folks are scared by lifts like this. Here’s what that looks like and the remedy they need.

Start training those pumpkins!

A lot of people think I’m anti-supplement since all we carry in the gym is protein powder. Over my now 13 years in Taiwan, I’ve talked to countless people who think a single greasy chicken leg a day provides all the protein they need. After pulling my hair out over this, I decided to carry the best protein powder I could find and I told people to drink it once a day. So the need for a protein supplement was blazingly clear to me.

The need for other supplements is less clear, so I don’t have a pharmacy at the gym. The main reason is that for most any other supplements to work, someone’s training and diet have to be squared away. Is your’s squared away?

Think of it as a hierarchy: training first, diet/nutrition second, rest and recovery third, supplements fourth. Thinking like this clears it up. I don’t care what you eat or how much sleep you get, you’ll never be fit if you don’t train. Training is ALWAYS number one in my book. We just don’t move enough. I’d rather you have a bad diet and awesome training than the other way around. You can burn off a donut or cookie but you can’t eat your way into muscle or cardio benefits.

People with solid training should then look at diet. This is an area that screws many people up but it’s effects are profound. Then are you getting enough sleep? Are you trying to recover while all stressed out?

Only when these elements are in place will supplements help. And even then, it’s a big maybe. Believe it or not folks built muscle before creatine or NOX was on the market.

Think of adding a nitro system to a car. The nitro only works when the engine, transmission, tires, etc. are in top shape. Putting a nitro system on your broken down Buick station wagon isn’t gonna work.

It really pains me when people who are obviously not doing the work or eating right ask me why I don’t carry more supplements. I usually want to tell them the truth — they don’t need them and should train smarter and more first.

So keep that in mind when the magazines try to sell you the latest product.

Love this show. Always good to see what they will cover next. I largely agree with their comments about the BS in the fitness industry. I loved the part where the “Buns of Steel” lady admitted she was born with those buns and had them BEFORE the producers found her to do the program. Imagine that — a model/spokesperson who didn’t do that program or use that contraption to look like that. Gee, when does that ever happen? 🙂

The only thing I would add is that while the magazines are pushing a certain, rather ridiculous look that few people can actually achieve, each person can achieve their own unique genetic potential. So just because you don’t have the genetics to be a professional fitness model (I certainly don’t), that doesn’t mean and certainly doesn’t excuse you from working hard and doing your best.

Here’s a perhaps idealized but useful way of looking at the full genetic potential of the ecto/endo/mesomorph types that Penn and Teller used:

So just because you’re an ectomorph doesn’t mean you can’t have muscle. Just because you’re an endomorph doesn’t mean you have to be fat. Besides, that endomorph could break those other two in half. Hulk, smash!

Granted, the endomorph isn’t wanted in the namby pamby metrosexual magazines but who wants to be in those rags anyway. Ignore what the media pushes onto you and embrace your physical uniqueness. You’ll be happier and a whole lot mentally healthier that way!

It’s that time of year for folks to start making New Year’s resolutions. They likely didn’t follow through last year, or the year before that, or the year before that, or….but somehow THIS YEAR it’s really going to happen. No, it isn’t. And people need to face up to that. The problems are many but a major one is that if you need the calendar to motivate you, then you’re in trouble. January 1st comes and goes awful quickly. What happens by February? The majority of people who said THIS YEAR have already quit.

So instead of following familiar new year’s patterns, this year try something completely different and maybe, just maybe, you’ll get results. Here’s what I suggest:

1. get a personal trainer
Yes, I’m biased on this but I’m a personal trainer because I know it helps people. I’ve helped hundreds of people get fit so I have seen its benefits many times. The vast overwhelming majority of people believe they know “how to workout” and even worse “how to eat right” but their bodies show the truth — they don’t know as much as they think. Fitness knowledge can’t be had from a book or a magazine article. It comes on the gym floor, on the bike path, by strapping on your running shoes and getting out the door. It’s experiential, not intellectual.

Face facts — if people knew “how to eat right” they wouldn’t be overweight in the first place. Nutrition is both very simple and very complex. But the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. Far too many people think they’re informed on nutrition because they read the newspaper but these are the most confused people of all because they get confused by each new article that comes out.

A trainer is like a mirror — they aren’t fooled by the lies you tell yourself about where you think you are. They see you as you really are. It’s also their job to get you results. If you don’t get results, they don’t eat. So many people start out with a destination as their new year’s resolution (lose 20 lbs!) and then wander around in the dark trying to get there. A trainer is a guide that gets you from where you are to where you want to be. Just one month with a trainer can set you on the right path and at least get you to February, further than most new year’s resolutionists make it.

2. get a DVD program to work out with
The thing that my two recommendations have in common is that they involve having a plan. Too many people have good intentions but they aren’t capable of making up their own fitness plan. A personal trainer can do that for you and a good DVD set will do that, too. A lot of effort has gone into these better DVD sets, making them fairly good options for folks looking to lose some fat. These better sets were put together with the general population in mind so they have broad appeal. Having a broad appeal, they tend to attract a group of like minded people that can form your support system and increase the likelihood that you’ll follow through with the fitness plan. This part of the equation should not be overlooked! Being part of a fitness community is very helpful and the reason many people fail is that they try to go it alone. Either having a trainer or a community to answer to helps get you through the tough times when a solo exerciser is likely to quit.

There are many sets out there and I suggest you pick the one that is most attractive to you. If you’re interested in it, then you’re more likely to stick to it. Having said that, the best DVD set that I’ve seen for fat loss for the general public is Rushfit by MMA fighter George St. Pierre.

I bought this one and tried it out personally in order to see how it works. Rushfit workouts are better designed than those from P90X or Insanity IMO because they are shorter (meaning you’re more likely to fit them into your life) and because they are less likely to hurt you. Insanity is nonstop plyometric exercise 6 days a week, meaning your legs take a constant pounding. Insanity Asylum is better because the exercise selection is broader but the routines are still artificially designed to be nearly impossible to complete. P90X workouts are often very long. Rushfit workouts are intense and George St. Pierre is on screen doing them with you the whole time so you know they’re hard. But the trainer who designed the program is also right there suggesting easier versions of the exercise if you need to back off the intensity. The exercises are also arranged in a way that’s challenging but not seemingly impossible as with Insanity. I tried this program because I was looking for a DVD set to recommend to friends and family back home that don’t have access to a gym and I feel good knowing the likelihood of them getting injured is much smaller with Rushfit.

The program comes with a a common sense nutrition guide and three workout plans for beginner, intermediate, and advanced trainees so it’s pretty comprehensive.

There are drawbacks to DVD sets and one is what do you do after you’ve done the program? Joining a gym gives you a lot of options for working out because of all the equipment and you get access to the knowledge of the people at the gym. Long term, this is likely a better option. Also working out at home means the couch is right there and calling your name. That’s too seductive for some people. Home is where people relax after work or where they live with kids and family members that might take up their time. These obstacles can prevent DVD sets from being effective.

No matter what you do this year, if fitness is your resolution then by all means DO NOT do exactly what you did last year. Remember that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. Good luck in the new year.