Archive | Strength & Conditioning

Conditioning Confusion- Part 2

05. Jan, 2011 36 Comments Strength & Conditioning

Conditioning Confusion- Part 2

Choose Your Goals and Train Accordingly

I like kettlebell snatches. Only I don’t do too many of them because my workouts already include a lot of overhead work in the form of handstands, presses, barbell snatches, carries, chins, etc. When I throw in too many kettlebell snatches on top of all that my injured, surgically repaired shoulder gets a little flared up. So I’d rather jump rope, push the prowler or run hills like I have since ’84 when Walter Payton inspired me to start doing so.

That’s not to say that [...]

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Conditioning Confusion- Part 1

03. Jan, 2011 32 Comments Strength & Conditioning

Conditioning Confusion- Part 1

Even though my last post ended up being one of the most popular of 2010, and the majority of readers got it, there still seems to be many unanswered questions regarding the topic of conditioning in many people’s minds. Hopefully I can clear those up today.

How Important is Conditioning?

Conditioning is extremely important. Like Vince Lombardi said, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” It can literally be the difference between winning and losing.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should train for conditioning in the weight room.

If you’re an athlete [...]

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Training to Failure: Part 4- Beginners, Athletes & the Training Environment

06. Dec, 2010 29 Comments How to Build Muscle, Strength & Conditioning

Training to Failure: Part 4- Beginners, Athletes & the Training Environment

Can Beginners Go To Failure?

No. Raw beginners should never go to failure. That ingrains bad habits. They need a lot of repeated efforts to learn lifts and improve coordination. Let’s say a beginner could squat 95 pounds for 10 reps. I would much rather see him do eight sets of five with 95 than four sets of ten with that same weight. More sets with low reps further away from failure would give him a much better shot at mastering the exercise and making sustainable progress.

What About What I’ve Said [...]

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Training To Failure: Part 3- The Answers Become Clear

03. Dec, 2010 26 Comments How to Build Muscle, Strength & Conditioning

Training To Failure: Part 3- The Answers Become Clear

How Close to Failure Should You Go?

I used to say you always have to leave one rep in the tank at the end of every set you do. In years gone by that meant one really hard rep that would have gone up slowly, albeit with perfect form. But that’s still a grinder. I’ve seen guys grind an entire set of six reps. That’s a true death set. If you can explode up the first three but grind the last three I would also consider that a death set, nowadays [...]

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Training to Failure: Part 2- Lessons From The Old School

01. Dec, 2010 34 Comments How to Build Muscle, Strength & Conditioning

Training to Failure: Part 2- Lessons From The Old School

How Were the Pioneers of Physical Culture Able to Get so Strong?

People who know about my obsession with old time physical culture and the early days of strength training often ask me why there are so few people today who can perform the feats of strength that the greats were capable of over a century ago.

I mean, science, technology and training equipment must have improved, right? Plus the addition of high tech supplements and steroids has to make a big difference as well, no?

Then why is it so hard in [...]

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Training to Failure: Part 1

29. Nov, 2010 55 Comments How to Build Muscle, Strength & Conditioning

Training to Failure: Part 1

If I had to pick one thing that holds people back more than anything else it would probably be training to failure. Of course, proper program design, a good diet and a lot of sleep are the three biggest keys. But, assuming those bases are covered, I firmly believe there is nothing more detrimental to your progress than training to failure on a regular basis.

After nearly two decades in the industry I’m at the point where I can watch someone train for 30 minutes and instantly spit out on-the-money [...]

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Do Work (Up), Son!

23. Nov, 2010 20 Comments How to Build Muscle, Strength & Conditioning

Do Work (Up), Son!

I’m not too big on reality TV. And trust me, it aint because of my supreme intelligence. But one show I always got a kick out of was Rob & Big. I liked it because I thought that’s how life should be; guys not taking anything too seriously, joking around and thinking of new ways to entertain and make each other laugh. I mean, I love to laugh and I find everything funnier than most people do. So what would I be better cut out to do than live life [...]

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Minimalism Part 6: Support Gear

16. Nov, 2010 40 Comments How to Build Muscle, Strength & Conditioning

Minimalism Part 6: Support Gear

So I know I said the Minimalism series was coming to an end. But low and behold, I’m back with yet another installment.

In case you missed any of the first five parts check them out by clicking on the appropriate links below.

Part 1

Part 2: Exercise Selection

Part 3: Nutrition

Part 4: Supplements

Part 5: Meal Frequency

If I could go back 23 years and start my training all over again one of the biggest things I’d do would be eliminate any and all support gear. First on that list would be a lifting belt.

Why?

Because [...]

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Minimalism Part 2: Exercise Selection

05. Nov, 2010 32 Comments How to Build Muscle, Strength & Conditioning

Minimalism Part 2: Exercise Selection

Being selective—doing less—is the path of the productive. Focus on the important few and ignore the rest.
-Timothy Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Workweek

Email, voice mail, text messages, Facebook messages, Twitter messages, paper work, bills to pay, food to buy, kids to raise, responsibilities to fill, commitments to uphold…

It can all get a little overwhelming at times and we need to take steps to minimize the clutter and distraction in our lives. It’s one of the reasons my voice mail is perpetually full. I refuse to empty it. I don’t [...]

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Minimalism: Part 1

01. Nov, 2010 43 Comments How to Build Muscle, Motivation, Strength & Conditioning

Minimalism: Part 1

Sometimes it’s tough to let things go. I, for one, used to always have a problem with this. For years I was a collector, a pack rat. I loved to keep stuff. Boxes and boxes of stuff. Most of the stuff had some kind of meaning or memory associated with it. But a lot of it was just… stuff.

Over the last few years I have gotten a lot better at this and have adopted more of a minimalist/ zen-like approach to living. This weekend I decided to step it up [...]

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