Search results for feed

People often ask me, “Are trap bar deadlifts safer than straight bar deadlifts?” In the past I might have been inclined to say yes. But that was before I witnessed a lot of average guys sustain some really odd injuries while trap bar deadlifting over the last three years. You see, when you get used to working with a higher level, more athletic clientele it can skew your viewpoint on things a bit. I’ve found that to be the case with a few concepts that I once believed to be true. After being able to test them on a wider… continue reading.

In case you missed them here’s a quick list of the most popular (along with some of my personal favorite) posts from 2010: Please leave a comment on as many of them as you like. I always read each and every comment you post and always appreciate the feedback. You Must Have the Wrong Guy- Unlike Bruce Banner, people seem to like me when I’m angry. I kicked 2010 off with this little rant that a lot of people seemed to enjoy. Simplify Your Program to Amplify Your Results– Too many people add too many ingredients and end… 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.

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.

For those who haven’t been following along, I destroyed my right shoulder in September of 2007. My rotator cuff and labrum were both torn and surgery was required. Of course, being the meathead I am I plowed through for another 12 months, during which time I trained with the likes of Dave Tate, Matt Rhodes, Smitty from the Diesel Crew, Craig Ballantyne, John Alvino and some other strong dudes, whose names you may recognize and some others you wouldn’t. As a man, I am required to go balls to the wall when training with others who may be as… continue reading.

Ralph DeVito is the definition of dedication. The picture above was taken when Ralph started with us earlier this year. He was 47 years old and decided it was time to get in great shape. He had trained before in the past but this time was different. Like my friend, Mark Crook, who I’ve written about in the past, he became obsessed this time around. He wanted to do everything in his power to achieve his goals as fast as possible. He did everything I told him and asked all the right questions. He ordered every supplement I recommended, got… continue reading.

Question: Jay, I know we have touched on this in the past (the optimal way to lose fat, while holding onto as much muscle as possible). However, lately I have had a chance to look at some different fat loss programs and wanted to get your feedback. From past forum discussions in the past it seems like the main components of a solid program for fat loss while maintaining muscle are: 1. Diet 2. Conditioning Short intense -(Hill Sprints, Jump Rope) and Walking in the morning 3. Lifting heavy with basic compound… continue reading.

Aside from proper nutrition, there’s nothing more effective than hill sprints for fat loss. And if you’re not doing them you’re missing out on huge benefits. Don’t waste your time on cardio machines. They suck. Get outside and find a hill instead. If you are new to sprinting you need to take it easy when getting started. I mean reeeeaaaally easy. If the last time you ran a sprint was the week before senior prom you need to be very cautious or you’ll probably get hurt. Hill sprints place your body in a safer position than flat ground sprints because… continue reading.

Since there was quite a bit of interest in and positive feedback  on Chad’s fat loss system I decided to get him to write a quick article for us today on the top 5 fat loss myths. Check it out… Fat Loss Myth #1: Low intensity cardio is great for burning fat and boosting endurance. Jogging for an hour is a complete waste of time. So is any form of cardio that forces you to do the same repetitive movement over and over. When your muscles have to continuously contract for 30, 45, or 60… continue reading.

Jason Ferruggia: What are your top  fat burning nutrition tips? Chad Waterbury: The first step is to feed your body more nutrients and fewer calories. There’s really no way to get around the fact that burning fat requires you to give your body fewer calories than it needs. But where people really mess up is with their food choices. Most guys don’t get enough of certain key nutrients to feed their anabolic hormones even when they’re eating to bulk. So when they drastically cut calories their metabolism shuts down because they’re getting even fewer nutrients than… continue reading.

About three or four years ago Chad Waterbury and I connected for the first time through our mutual friend, Alwyn Cosgrove. Over several Jack & Red Bulls at a bar in Santa Monica, we discussed training for hours on end.  Despite the fact that we went into the meeting with seemingly very different views and theories, we concluded that we agreed much more than we disagreed. Since that night Chad’s become one of my good friends and we discuss training on a weekly basis. He’s one of the guys I trust most and I’m always interested… continue reading.

Here is the final installment of my interview with the God of Turbulence Training, and one wacky Canuck, Craig Ballantyne. Craig Ballantyne: Let’s discuss some more muscle building stuff. You can talk about what you’ve got going on in terms of how you work with your guys to build muscle. You talked a little bit about it so far, but what are your main philosophies? Jason Ferruggia: Always get stronger.  That’s the main theme no matter what the goal is.  Again, we stick with big basic exercises and I do a lot of bodyweight stuff… continue reading.

Stop over thinking. That’s it. That’s one very important key to fast muscle growth. It’s that simple. Stop doing that and instead focus on what’s really important and you’ll grow a hell of a lot faster. Every day people ask me what angle they should set the incline bench to, should they do hill sprints or sled sprints, whether they should wait two hours or two and half hours between meals, if they should do six reps or eight reps on dumbbell presses, if they should rest between arms when doing 1 arm rows or do both arms and… continue reading.

By Mac Danzig Although there are other people at the controls, manning and updating my websites, I do read all of the mail, and the questions I get asked most often (hundreds upon hundreds of times now) are about my diet. All of the emails and letters are so hard to keep up with, so I finally sat down and decided to write a comprehensive look at my diet. I’m writing this on the fly, so even though it’s long, I will most certainly leave some important things out.. ‘Sorry’ about that in advance. This is not… continue reading.

“Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price.” — Sun Tzu Did you know that you can get down to single digit bodyfat and look like an elite level pro athlete by training for just 10 minutes a day, twice a week? And you can do it while eating whatever you want? It’s true…cuz I heard it on the radio… and read it on the internet. Eight minute abs. That’s right folks, in just eight minutes a day you can get the abs of Cheik Congo (pictured). All it takes is… continue reading.