Archive: Apr 2011

Throughout my life I’ve encountered numerous individuals who had little to no passion for anything. No hobbies they really enjoyed, no sports team they got behind, no causes they felt strongly about, no interest in world issues, they never read a book and were very indifferent towards music. I find it impossible to relate to these kinds of people because I am beyond passionate about a whole hell of a lot of things. My friends would probably say obsessed. Unhealthily so, even. Most regular readers know by now of my love for music, particularly Pearl Jam and old… continue reading.

A perfect snatch is a beautiful thing. It seems that more coaches prefer the clean when it comes to Olympic lift variations for power production. But I’ve always preferred the snatch and have been obsessed with it for as long as I can remember. Before I even started lifting weights, actually. Cleans are a great exercise but they are also significantly harder to teach/learn than snatches are. The other issue I have with cleans is that they can lead to wrist and elbow injuries. There are certain athletes, such as basketball players or baseball players, that I wouldn’t want… continue reading.

Here’s a quick way for coaches and trainers to get more out of their athletes and instantly earn their respect. Train with them. It’s that simple. Of course, you can’t do this all the time but once in a while, even if it’s a very rare occasion you should jump in on a workout to show them that you practice what you preach and lead from the front. Athletes will always respect a coach more if he is willing to suffer with them. My advice would be to join in on a grueling conditioning day. Because, let’s face… continue reading.

You want to build muscle and gain weight fast. You’re not happy with the way you look so you’re in a rush, always eating more and watching the scale each and every day. The problem is the human body is only capable of building muscle so fast. Unfortunately that’s at a much slower rate than many of us would hope for. So when you keep adding more food the only thing that ends up happening is you turn into a fat ass. Maybe I’m nuts but I think most people would prefer to be described as a bad ass rather… continue reading.

Ideally you should squat to below parallel while maintaining a neutral spine. A good deep squat is very healthy for your knees and also recruits the hamstrings and glutes far better than a partial range squat does. However, most people lack the mobility and flexibility necessary to sink a squat a few inches below parallel without rounding their lumbar spine (lower back). When you allow repeated spinal flexion under the heavy load of a squat you’re asking for problems. In fact it’s one of the best ways I know to eventually suffer some type of disc injury. My… continue reading.

Here’s a tasty recipe from Dave Ruel’s brand new Metabolic Cooking guide. This recipe, as Dave says, is good when you have leftover salmon. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m obsessed with sweet potatoes. So when you combine them with one of my favorite sources of protein you get what I think is  a pretty delicious meal. Give it a shot and let me know how you like it. Ingredients •    8 oz salmon, cooked •    1 tbsp olive oil •    ¼ cup chopped onions •    ¼ cup chopped red peppers •   … continue reading.

Up right now in the Renegade Inner Circle is what I consider to be the most important article I have written to date. As many of you know, I am always improving upon my methods and sometimes change my view points when I find a better way of doing things. It’s part of the natural evolution process. You learn, you adapt and you get better. In the past I have always prided myself on the fact that I could get guys strong faster than just about anyone I know. But now I realize that in a… continue reading.

My first hand experiences, coupled with all the reading and research I’ve done on sugar the last couple of years has me really down on it’s consumption by anyone at any time. I honestly believe that it’s not really fit for human consumption.  That is, of course, if optimal health and maximal performance are something that interests you. It’s been said that one teaspoon of sugar lowers your immune system response for four hours. Hell, just about anything physical ailment you can think of is made worse by sugar. Do you have any of the following?… continue reading.