JF: So, what about staying motivated, getting up and walking on an empty stomach, running sprints when you might not have felt like it, training on low carbs… Do you have any tricks you use to keep you motivated or anything you can share that can help those who lack motivation? Or is that concept foreign to you because it’s never a problem you could imagine having? SH: I started the transformation in late February, so I was sprinting outdoors (sometimes while it was snowing), and usually at night after work. Sure, I was tired from the… continue reading.

Today I have an interview I recently conducted with my brother-from-another-mother, fellow music lover and Seinfeld quoting, old school physical culture obsessed, first class gem of a human being, the lovely and talented…  Sean Hyson. You may know Sean as the fitness editor of Men’s Fitness Magazine and may have seen his incredible before and after transformation pics. Today we’re going to get to know a little bit more about the man himself. I was going to have  him conduct the entire interview in his dead on, Christopher Walken impression but then I remembered you would be reading it, not… continue reading.

Well, it’s that time of year again;  time for my annual Holiday Fitness Gift List. “Aaaaah… Hey! If any of you are looking for any last minute gift ideas for me, I have one…” Actually I have 13. This year I picked out 13 killer gifts that any fitness enthusiast or member of the Renegade Nation would be thrilled to receive. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Climbing Rope– If you want to train Renegade Style you have to have a climbing rope. I honestly can’t think of too many more effective exercises than rope climbing. Your grip/forearms, lats and abs will… continue reading.

Every Sunday of the fall Jen and I start the day with a trip to the farmers market before the football pregame shows start (I’ve grown partial to the two hour pregame show on ESPN, as opposed the ones on Fox and CBS, the last few years). As soon as we get back football goes on and we get started on our one “junk food” cheat day of the week. That doesn’t mean that we start eating processed or fake foods or a ton of sugar or anything like that. But we do splurge on some healthy… continue reading.

1) Always Start Too Easy Whenever you have a new client always start them out with easy exercises and light weights. If you do group training have them do the easiest progression of whatever the rest of the more advanced members of the group are doing. Any nitwit can create a hard workout. That doesn’t make it effective, though. You don’t want them struggling or getting down on themselves or thinking that your training is too hard. Nor do you want them throwing up during their first session or getting too sore from it. 2) Don’t Introduce Too Many Complicated… continue reading.

Jen set a new PR on chin ups this week, beating her old max of 13 by four reps (17). We determined that her strength endurance was good but in order to bring up her numbers we would need to improve her explosiveness and maximal strength. Over the last few months we’ve had her do nothing but low reps on chin ups. Except for the rare sets of five we haven’t gone above three in quite a while. Basically we worked on maximal strength and speed. She would often do twenty explosive singles, 8-12 doubles, or ten triples as… continue reading.

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… continue reading.

How many meals a day do you need to build muscle? It’s a question asked by everyone who starts strength training for the first time. We’ve all heard or read that you need to eat 5-6 meals per day. But who has the time or desire to do that? Surely no one who works or has a social life. Sounds like a real pain-in-the-ass nightmare if you ask me. I’m a big fan simplicity and minimalism. It’s liberating and gives you a sense of freedom. Ya know, the kind of freedom that comes from having to prepare meals every… continue reading.

Minimalist Nutrition Made Easy First of all, you need to find your local farmers markets. Not only are these cheaper than the grocery stores but the food is healthier. And they have the only foods most people should be eating, anyway. There will always be a local farmer there selling every kind of meat you could ever want. The best part is it’s all grass fed, free roaming, drug, hormone and disease free, top quality meat. Any type of meat you buy on the cheap at the local supermarket is laden with drugs, grains, diseases and poor fatty acid profiles. continue reading.

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 even know what’s on… continue reading.

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 a notch and got rid of a huge portion… continue reading.

If we throw everything else out the window I am, at heart, a fat kid who loves cake.  And pie. And pudding. And ice cream. Etc. Etc. Etc. My mom always tells stories about how as an infant my head would shake in anticipation as the spoon neared my mouth. I was fiendin for that good grub from day one. Growing up I’d always put away at least two plates of food for dinner and then pile on the dessert.My mom never let us drink soda or eat junk food and always cooked a homemade meal every night. I would… continue reading.

Question: I’ve read that the best way to get bigger and stronger is to train exclusively in the 8-12 range like bodybuilders. Then I turn around and someone is telling me that I should go heavy and only train in the 1-5 rep range for the best gains in size and strength. So which one is it? Answer: Before I answer your question I have to preface it with the fact that beginners should always stick with basic programs and reps in the 5-8 range. Nothing higher than 8, and nothing lower than 5. Do that for at least… continue reading.

Recently Bret Contreras asked me for my top three assistance lifts that bring up the bench, squat and deadlift. I’m not a big fan of the barbell bench press by any stretch of the imagination (the military press is a far better, more functional, safer lift) but if someone wanted to bring it up and asked for my help here’s what I would recommend, along with three lifts to bring up the squat and deadlift as well… Bench Press Rack Deadlift/ Inverted Row- To bench press a lot of weight you need a big, thick, strong upper… continue reading.

Today we have a killer guest post from my friend and colleague, John Alvino. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments section below… ******* When Andy came into my training center, he was very clear on what his goals were.  He wanted to gain size and strength, and he made it abundantly clear that he was willing to do whatever it took to achieve his goals. After our initial consultation, I learned that he had been trying to get bigger and stronger for the last four years.  He was very serious about accomplishing… continue reading.