Motivation

“After 12 I’m worse than a Gremlin, feed me hip hop and I’ll start trembling.” – Rakim I’ve had an intense love affair with hip hop music since it’s birth. I grew up listening to Run DMC, Public Enemy, Slick Rick, LL, The Beasties and Big Daddy Kane.  In the early 90’s I spent my free time mixing records on Technique 1200’s. This is a subject I’m very passionate about and have spent decades studying. I was originally gonna simply list the top 50, but I figured that would be a cop out. To do this right I had… continue reading.

The NFL season has come and gone. Here in America we are entering that great sports void that happens every year between the end of football season and the beginning of baseball season. It’s the dead of winter, there’s very little to do and neither of the two most popular sports is on TV for your viewing pleasure. A difficult time for fans, to be sure. The good news is that gives you more time to dedicate to your training. There’s only about 16 weeks until Memorial Day weekend so there’s no time for slacking off. (***Shameless Plug Alert- 16… continue reading.

Maybe you screwed up last year. You showed signs of weakness or lost your way. Maybe it was your fault or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe your dad died or you got fired or divorced. Thing is, none of that matters now. You don’t have to forget any of the hardships you endured but you do need to leave them behind you. Sitting around thinking about what was or what could have been does no one any good. When my step dad, Ed, died a few years ago it seemed like all I could do for the next few weeks was… continue reading.

I polled the Renegade Nation on my Facebook and Twitter pages asking for your favorite rock songs. I wanted strictly rock, not metal. So Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Social Distortion and that kind of stuff. Some of the answers we got could definitely be considered metal and what category do you put Rage Against the Machine in? Anyway, here’s a compilation that will hopefully give you some good ideas to your workout play mixes. Please do me a favor and post your top 3-10 favorite rock training songs that AREN’T already listed here. continue reading.

Yesterday, the magical streak of Tim Tebow came to an end and there were a lot of happy people. That’s because people hate Tim Tebow. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots put a temporary end to Tebow-mania as Brady showed the youngster how the position of quarterback is meant to be played. As a result there were a lot of unhappy people. That’s because people love Tim Tebow. He’s a polarizing figure who, over the last few months, has become one of the biggest sports stories of the year. Like him or hate him I think there’s a lesson… continue reading.

There are thousands of people who read this site every day who will never make it to Jersey to train at Renegade. So I debated even posting this since it won’t really apply to most of you. But then I realized that no, that’s wrong. It will apply to anyone who trains hard, takes this stuff very seriously and expects the same of all around them. I’ve mentioned my close friend, Mark Crook plenty of times before. He would be a great addition to any serious gym or group of training partners anywhere in the world. He brings it each… continue reading.

“I never sleep, cuz sleep is the cousin of death.” Nas- New York State of Mind I was supposed to be Eminem. At least that’s the way I saw it back in ’88. It was my freshman year of high school and the Beastie Boys were yet to be taken seriously, so I figured I could be the first great white rapper. I practiced my rhymes all the time and just knew that within a few years I’d be on tour opening for Public Enemy. Then 3rd Bass came along and crushed my dreams. But I could at least… continue reading.

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.

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.

Snooki’s on the cover of this weeks Rolling Stone and people are pissed. Hell, I’m pissed. As a diehard music fan I seriously question their decision to slap millions of hard working starving artists in the face with this move. Young musicians grow up dreaming of one day making the cover of Rolling Stone and following in the footsteps of Lennon, Dylan, Hendrix, Jagger and … Snooki. As a music fan I don’t see how you couldn’t be at least slightly offended by this move. But you don’t have to hate Snooki. The general perception is that this girl… continue reading.

“I’m getting old.” “I can’t do the things I used to.” “I’m over the hill.” “I can’t train heavy anymore.” “I can’t keep up with the twenty somethings anymore.” “I’m starting to feel my age.” “I’m too old for that.” If you’re under the age of 40 and have been heard saying things like that you should be ashamed and embarrassed. Ray Lewis just finished another season as one of the absolute best defensive players in the NFL and doesn’t seem to have lost a step. He’s 36. So is Donald Driver who is still an outstanding wide receiver and… continue reading.

Remember the movie, Face Off, where someone removed Nicolas Cage’s face and switched it with John Travolta’s? Well, if you only knew me outside of the gym and then walked in when I was training you would probably swear that had to have happened. The guy who is almost always laughing, cracking jokes and quoting Seinfeld is long gone. I’m angry, laser focused and don’t really see the humor in much. Not because I’m not enjoying myself or because I want to be a dick to those around me, but because I’m very serious about my training and really enjoy… continue reading.

Guest post by Grant Douglas from Australia, taken from the Renegade Strength Club. My girlfriend and myself had been planning a holiday in the US for the end of 2010 to spend Christmas/New Years in New York and then move on to Washington D.C., Colorado and Vegas. I have been following Jason’s writing/programs now for about 3 years and once we had decided we were going to be in New York for 10 days, there was no way I was going to miss the chance to make the pilgrimage and train at Renegade Gym in New Jersey. The original… continue reading.

How do you start your day each morning? Do you angrily smash the alarm clock and roll out of bed exhausted, dreading another day doing what you hate? Or do you spring up fresh and well rested because you went to sleep before 11pm like you know you should, and get excited to tackle another day doing what you love? What about your workout regimen? Do you do focus on big compound lifts, bodyweight exercises, strongman training or do you take the easy way out? Do you keep a detailed log book and track your progress week after… 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.