As a kid I had zero self-confidence or communication skills. I was super shy and socially awkward. I never thought I was good enough. I doubted myself constantly. I was scared of my own shadow and constantly lived in fear. This lasted for more than half my life, well into my late twenties and early thirties. Then I realized something had to change. Epictetus, the great stoic philosopher, asked, “How long can you afford to put off who you really want to be?” For me, the answer was, “Not one second longer.” So I set out on a mission to… continue reading.

If you’re suffering from stress or fatigue then you’ll love what Anthony DiClementi has for you in The Biohackers Guide. -The reason 70% of Americans are stressed. Discover the digestive, metabolic, immune, and energy impact of stressors and how to fight them – pg. 129 -5 stress management, reduction, and outright elimination biohacks that all require less than 30 minutes of effort – pg. 164 -Why it only takes 28 days to achieve freedom from stress, negative thoughts, anxiety and more (even if you don’t feel stressed, I challenge… continue reading.

Everyone wants to get #ripped. It’s all over magazine covers, internet ads, and your instagram feed. What’s the cost? Look, I am all about getting in great shape and love nothing more than watching people dominate their performance and body comp goals. But when it takes a turn from healthy to unhealthy, I gotta speak up. Too many people out there let this unrelenting obsession with being shredded take control of their lives. You start chasing numbers on the scale, check the mirror 5 times per day, and critique your body fat levels as if you’re a supermodel… continue reading.

I’m a firm believer in taking lessons from sports and applying them to life success. Some of the most profound life lessons come from athletes like Walter Payton, Mike Tyson, and Bruce Lee. You often hear coaches tell their players to work on their weaknesses. I’ve told plenty of my athletes to work on their’s. Does the same principle apply to the rest of your life? No. Working on your weaknesses can be an enormous waste of time, especially in business. Of course, if you’re a mean, miserable person, that’s a weakness that you need to work on. But if you suck… continue reading.

Renegade trainee, Marko Zivkovic sent me a note echoing the experiences of thousands. You’ll probably be nodding your head as you read. If you haven’t experienced this yet, pay close attention. You’ll save yourself years of pain and frustration. “For a long time I’d been doing the classic 5×5 squat, bench and deadlift. It was good at first but eventually I stalled out. I came across your programs and have been doing them for years. My body feels better and I’ve been getting great muscle and strength gains.”… continue reading.

Simplicity is the foundation of the Renegade Principles on training, nutrition, and life. We can all resonate with the clarity and relief that comes when you peel away the inessential to expose simplicity. Yet, we still gravitate towards complexity because of the false sense of satisfaction it provides. You feel like you’re doing something because you’re thinking so much. “If I can just figure out the best way to get shredded as fast as possible, then I can start taking action.” Your mental effort makes you feel like you’re making progress when, in reality, you’re paralyzed. continue reading.

Just out of coincidence I’ve been around a few ex-military badasses lately. SEALS, green berets, marines. Guys who are always physically prepared and ready to do whatever, whenever. That’s a quality all men should strive for. You never know when some sh*t’s gonna go down. Even though most of us live soft, coddled lives I still like to think of our primitive roots. I like to think of men as warriors. There was a time when we had to fight to survive and hunt to eat. continue reading.

I was watching some UFC stuff last night and saw quite a few dudes with badass physiques. Pretty much the exact build that the majority of guys would wanna have. Jacked, ripped and athletic. Most of them weigh around 160-180 pounds. Let that sink in for a second and then forget about the obsession with gaining weight. Your first priority should be getting lean. I’ve never seen a fat superhero or action star. If you weigh 190 right now I guarantee you that you’d look a thousand… continue reading.

This sounds insane to me now, but I used to do 500 sit-ups per day. Then I heard that sit-ups were bad for your back. That made sense since my back was starting to kill me. I was only in my early twenties so I figured I had to be doing something wrong. So I switched to crunches. And did 500 of those per day. Guess how my abs looked from all those sit-ups and crunches? I couldn’t tell you. Because I couldn’t see them. There was just a smooth,… continue reading.

“You’re a product of your experience.” You always hear that phrase as it applies to personal development. But it also applies to every other aspect of your life, especially your career. When I was coming up in the strength & conditioning world, I cut my teeth next to guys who spent thousands of hours on the gym floor. They coached athletes for 12+ hours. Every day. For years. I did the same and it made me into the coach I am today. One who cares about nothing but what works in the real world. Not what some study says or what some… continue reading.

As you age, some of the most important factors in long term health are hormone optimization and regular blood work. While I always encourage my clients to rely on how they look, feel, and perform, at some point those signals can only tell you so much. You may feel great while some underlying health issue smolders under the surface. One day, you find out you have a chronic health issue because you didn’t know enough to take action early on. It doesn’t matter if it’s life threatening or just a burden to your quality of life. You gotta give yourself the opportunity to… continue reading.

The last thing you think about when you start lifting weights is being able to train injury free. You want to make gains now, push your limits and build muscle as fast as humanly possible. No matter how many times you read that it takes time build strength, that you have to be patient, it doesn’t sink in. You tell yourself you’re different, that the rules don’t apply. So, you  throw more weight on the bar, grind out reps, let your form go to shit, and believe you’re making big gains. Where does it get you? Eight weeks of solid training followed… continue reading.

“Aren’t you supposed to be a fitness guy?” That’s the question I got asked when I used to limp around after every leg day. Or when I couldn’t grab something from a high shelf because I had the shoulder mobility of the tin man. Or couldn’t play beach volleyball because my elbow felt like it was going to explode after making another one of the typical gym mistakes. Or when I…you get the point. Look, proper training is supposed to make you great. But it’s also supposed to… continue reading.

Go to college to get the degree to land the job to make the money to buy the house to retire early to live a life of comfort and security. That’s the “American Dream” flavored kool-aid we’ve been drinking for the last 70 years. In ’69, this was a sure fire way to live the good life. But what happens when you blindly follow that path today? Most of the time, you end up stuck. Stuck in a boring town that’s not as cool as it used to be. Rooted down by a house that’s too big of a pain to sell. Working a job you’re… continue reading.

Somehow, the purpose of lifting weights has gotten lost in today’s training culture. For one reason or another, complexity has replaced simplicity. And it’s not helping any of you get in the best shape of your life. Before information overload confused us all, people did it right. Guys went to the gym to lift weights and get strong. Then, they played some sports or did some conditioning the other days to stay lean. They didn’t blend conditioning into their lifting, or run sprints between sets. They understood the single most important factor for getting jacked: Building strength.  Whether… continue reading.