Since I am not the most computer savvy guy in the world it has taken me quite a while to get around to the seemingly daunting task of uploading videos to YouTube. A year after signing up for an account I finally decided to upload a few videos from the summer of 2003 that have been sitting on my hard drive for five years. Over the next few weeks I will continue to add more footage and shoot even more new stuff to add. Shown here is a montage that my friend Mark Crook made out of footage he shot over a few weeks or months that summer. It serves as a good reminder to train with people stronger than you and in a competitive environment. When the leaders on the high school board are all pulling over 500 pounds you have no excuse not to get stronger.
I thought this was only appropriate today. Forty years later, we should all heed Dr. King’s words.
As much as people tend to want to get into advanced exercises as soon as possible, I firmly believe that high levels of core stability are required before you can even attempt to do some of the more basic ab exercises. I made this mistake for years when I was younger and had the chronic back pain to show for it. Core stability is actually often more important than core strength when it comes to preventing injuries and staying healthy. I highly recommend that everyone start with the following four isometric exercises done on a 6-7 time a week basis before they move into more dynamic exercises:
1) Plank aka Abdominal Bridge
2) Side Plank aka Side Bridge
3) Prone Mountain- Lie face down with your nose a couple inches off the ground. Extend your body as much as possible. With arms at your sides and palms up pull your shoulder blades back and down toward your feet. Keep your upper chest up off the floor and your knees and feet up off the floor by contracting your glutes and lower back.
4) Supine Bridge- Lie flat on your back with your heels 6-8 inches from your butt. Keep… …continue reading.
When I first read about Jason Ferruggia, I was intrigued by his apparent blunt honesty. This is a man who says things like it is with no sugar coating nor fear of what others (even “experts) say…yet he has always remained down to earth and helpful to people who don’t have a clue but are honestly trying.
When first talking to him on his website, I was shocked at his “real” personality and his helpfulness.
And yes, I’ve talked with a few online coaches over the years, but they all had hidden agendas…selling supplements for kickbacks, or whatever. Jason has none of these things…just an honest guy doing a job that has been made dishonorable due many who came before him (and continue to fester into the weight training world even today).
Ever since changing my training methods from over-hyped-overtraining methods, I’ve been extremely pleased to note that **all** lifts are improving weekly. At first, I took some of the principles from Muscle Gaining Secrets and incorporated them into my normal training routine.
Recently, however, I’ve changed to the Maximum Mass program.
The super time-saving and intense workouts are EXACTLY what my body needs to build strength… …continue reading.
If you want to really bring up your conditioning and lose body-fat you need to get your ass off the stair stepper and treadmill and start moving. Sprints, Prowler pushes, jumping rope, sled drags, sandbag work, sledgehammer swings and bodyweight exercises are far more effective than any “cardio” machine could ever be.
A great exercise to really bring up your conditioning rapidly is the burpee/chin up combo. You perform a burpee and then at the top of each rep you jump up into a chin up. The higher the chin up bar, the better. Try performing a few sets of this at the end of your strength workout or as part of a conditioning circuit mixed in with some mountain climbers, grasshoppers, slalom jumps and jump rope sprints.
One note to be aware of when performing a regular burpee or burpee/chin up combo is that you don’t want your hips to sag when you are in the bottom with your legs fully extended. This puts undue stress on your lower back and can lead to injury.
Give these a try today and let me know how they work out for you.
And, for more incredible conditioning methods, don’t forget… …continue reading.
“Hey, what’s up buddy? You lost a bunch of weight, huh? You look… good.”
That’s what my friend Ron said to me yesterday when I saw him for the first time in a few months. Good meant skinny. He just didn’t know what else to say.
Later, I walked into a restaurant I hadn’t been to in a couple months to meet a friend for lunch. The owner came up to me as soon as we got there and gave me his take on the situation. “Trimming down, huh buddy? You look good!”
Again, good was code for skinny.
Since it has finally started warming up here in Jersey, I put on a t-shirt last night before heading to the gym. It’s one of my favorite t-shirts but one I hadn’t worn in a few months.
I was swimming it… and drowning in sadness. Anyone who was once a painfully skinny hardgainer and then went on to put on a significant amount of muscle knows how distressing it can be to lose it.
When I arrived at the gym, my friend and often time training partner, John Alvino, told me, “Bro, I hate to say this to you and… …continue reading.
Question: What is more important for a fighter to focus on; strength or conditioning?
Answer: Neither is more important than the other. It really depends on what the particular fighter needs to work on and what his major weakness is at the time. If he is inhumanly strong yet completely gassed after a minute, then max strength work will be a complete waste of time and he should focus most of his time on conditioning. The reverse, obviously holds true for someone who is in great conditioning yet weaker than tissue paper. Determine your weakness and what is holding you back and focus on improving that while maintaining (and not losing!) the other quality.
Question: It’s tough for me to weight train and still stay in my weight class. When I start lifting I just blow up too fast and put on too much size. For that reason I only do bodyweight stuff. Is there a way around that or is that all I should be doing?
Answer: In a case like this I think you should only focus on maximal strength/speed/power training in the weight room. This type of training, when done with low sets… …continue reading.
I spent this past weekend in LA with my buddy and fitness expert, Keith Scott, visiting friends and watching two of Eddie Vedder’s only solo shows ever. If you are a Pearl Jam fan I highly recommend that you get a hold of a bootleg of some of these solo shows. They were absolutely amazing.
Friday night I met up with my long time friends Laura and Danielle Prepon. Laura is the former star of That 70’s Show and current star of October Road on ABC. We partied ‘til the wee hours of the morning and had a great time but the thing that stood out more than anything is how little Laura has allowed success to change her. She is the exact same girl I have known since she was a little kid with the same great sense of humor and not the slightest hint of arrogance or self importance. She treats every stranger who approaches her with the utmost respect and kindness just the way she would treat a family member. When people came up to her all night, she repeatedly held up my book, Fit To Fight, and told people that they needed to get their… …continue reading.
First off, I want to say congratulations to my buddy and fellow vegetarian Mac Danzig for his outstanding performance Saturday night at the UFC pay per view. Big things ahead for this guy.
Secondly, I wanted to thank everyone for all the positive feedback so far on Fit to Fight and to share the latest review with those of you who haven’t gotten your copy yet.
Click HERE to read it.
By John Alvino
I’d be a very rich man if I had a dollar for ever time that someone told me, “My upper abs are getting lean but I still have this pouch of fat on my lower abs.”
Unfortunately, this “upper then lower” fat loss progression is typical for the majority of people. This “lower ab bulge” happens for three totally different reasons. If you are going to achieve flat lower abs, all three reasons must be addressed.
The first reason the lower abs are not flat is simply due to excess body fat. Most people will lose fat on the upper portion of their abs first. Only when these individuals get very lean will they lose the abdominal fat around their belly button area. This excess belly fat problem is only lost by following a well-designed fat loss plan, such as the How To Get Ripped Abs program. This plan will include: high intensity cardio, metabolism-boosting resistance training, and proper nutrition.
The second reason the lower abs bulge out can be related to the position of the pelvis. If the pelvis is tilted too far anteriorly (forward) it will cause your lower back… …continue reading.
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