The idea is not to stop doing the bench press. It’s about doing the bench press along more »]]> As you learned in my TRUTH About the Bench Press post with Coach Juan Carlos Santana – Bench Press performance most likely does not carryover well into the Standing Pushing actions involved in life and sport.

The idea is not to stop doing the bench press. It’s about doing the bench press along with other exercises, which likely have a higher potential of transferring into standing pushing actions.

One of the best exercises we’ve found to improve standing pushing strength is the Standing Single Arm Cable Press!

How to do the Standing Single Arm Cable Press

This exercise is certainly not new. But, the way we coach it seems to be new to the fitness professionals and conditioning coaches we’ve taught it to.

Put simply, the One Arm Cable Press is a great exercise! Watch the video below and discover how we’ve made it even better!

 Be sure to check out my latest T-nation article The TRUTH About the Bench Press to discover why The mega man-crush we have on the bench press doesn’t necessarily add up to better athletic performance.

Now You Can Listen to My Blog!

Also, as part of our on-going website updates – I’m excited that you can now LISTEN TO THIS BLOG!

Click on the tab at the top, right-side of this site and you can instantly listen to any of my blog posts, FREE!

 We’ve all heard the saying “If it happens once it’s an accident, if it happens twice it’s a coincidence, if it happens three times, it’s a more »]]>  According to Webster’s dictionary a PATTERN is “a reliable sample of traits, acts, tendencies, or other observable characteristics of a person, group, or institution <a behavior pattern> <spending patterns>”

 We’ve all heard the saying “If it happens once it’s an accident, if it happens twice it’s a coincidence, if it happens three times, it’s a pattern.”

 Put simply, a pattern is a habit that’s consistent and repetitive. And, therefore predicable!

 Most of us watch our clients move as a way of assessing/screening their movement patterns in order to help us decide on our training approach.

What we’ve done at Performance U is apply that same logic on a larger scale to assess the movement patterns of the fitness industry as a whole, which has helped us to form part our current training philosophy.

 When I say “industry movement patterns” I mean the exercise education movements, which are the current trends in professional fitness training.

 Assessing Fitness Industry Movement Patterns

 Fitness training has became mainstream in the last 30 years or so. When we assessed the industry movement patterns over the last 30 yrs. until today – We found there was a consistent, repetitive, and predicable pattern, which we feel is faulty/dysfunctional.

 Here are two examples of the same industry movement pattern that we feel is faulty:

 The Abs Training Movement Pattern

First we were told to do Sit-ups. Then the experts told us to do crunches because “they were safer.” Then the experts convinced us to “Draw in” our Belly button to “activate” the magic (TvA) muscle to ensure optimal spinal stability while doing everything from crunches to Squats. Now the experts are telling us “not to flex the spine”(no crunches or sit ups) and not to draw in our belly button at all!

Now, remember when we learned about doing crunches instead of sit-ups. At the time the evidence was put to us in a way that made it seem clear, scientific and practical. Then when we learned about the TvA Draw in technique, we were mesmerized by 2,3,4 5+ hr. long lectures, which gave us all of the reasons why the TvA Draw in was “it.” And, at the time, we felt the “evidence was clear.” Today, many people feel “the evidence is clear” about not flexing the spine.

The Squat Training Movement Pattern

Another great example is the pattern of advice we’ve been given over the years to “save our knees” when squatting.

 First, we were told to squat as low as possible (ass-to-grass) for full range of motion. Then the experts told us  “just go to parallel.” Then it was “don’t let you knees go beyond your toes.” Now, it’s supposedly a completely “vertical tibia” we should be after.

 “Where facts are few, experts are many”

The RESULTS Are IN!

 Did you see a pattern in those two exmples? – We at Performance U sure do! And it goes way beyond what some would think is just an evolution of knowledge.

 The pattern we see is: Every 5-10 years industry “experts” find smart ways to convince us to use certain specialized exercise techniques, which they later end up telling us are “silly” and “wrong.” Then they convince us to use their “new”, “updated” technique, which they of course change again as they “get smarter”. And, this pattern has continued to repeat itself over and over again to this day!

“I was not lying. I said things that later on seemed to be untrue.”

No wonder there’s so much confusion, frustration and intra-industry animosity  between fitness professionals arguing about how we should squat or train our Abs, when our industry leaders have us flip flopping like an old pair of sandals.

 ”My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I’m right”

Those who do not learn from their mistakes are destined to repeat them!

So if we realize the PATTERN that every 5-10 years we change what we do, and laugh about what we WERE doing before. Than why should we not expect this pattern to continue?

In other words, why should we put our faith into the “newest” industry movement (i.e. the latest special technique) when history has consistently, repeatedly and predictably already shown us that it’s most likely going to be wrong and deemed silly any day now?

 These are the tough questions we must ask ourselves.

 Now, I can’t answer these questions for you. But I’m happy to share the answers we’ve come up with that best fit us.

Our Corrective Solutions to the Dysfunctional Industry Movement Patterns

 At Performance U, we no longer allow ourselves to get caught up in arguing for or against specialized training techniques that will most likely come and go (like all the others) any day now.

 Instead, we focus our training and educational programs on the aspects of training, which have stood the test of time and have continued to be proven safe and effective. Such as:

-       When you lengthen and shorten a muscle or muscle group under and appropriate load, it becomes stronger along with the connective tissues around it.

-       When you repeat a movement pattern often, you get better at that movement pattern.

-       Follow the SAID principle!

-       If it hurts, don’t do it!

-       Eat less crap!

-       Move in a controlled, pain free manner, and move often!

-       Move in 3D

-       Use various forms of training because each modality has unique benefits that other modalities miss.

-       If you want to be fast, train fast.

-       If you want to be strong, lift heavy stuff!

-       If you want to be mobile and relax a bit, do yoga!

-       We sit often, so do more to strengthen the muscles on the the backside of your body, which reverse the siting postion.

-       Do more work on your weak side

-       Be mindful of your form and don’t sacrifice movement quality for movement quantity.

Basically, what we feel we know is only two things:

1. Specialized industry techniques are always highly debatable, mostly based on opinion and predictably change every 5-10 yrs. like clothing styles.
2. The basic principles of move more, move well and eat less crap remain consistent and proven!

 So we focus on doing what we know because we value the time and money our clients and students are willing to spend with us. And, we’re not willing to risk not giving them the highest value of training by using techniques that are based on a leap of faith hoping the industry experts got it right this time. Nor do we want our workshop or mentorship attendees to look back on our course content 5-10yrs from now and say, “this is outdated and obsolete because it was based solely on the industry trends of the time.”

 Sure our training approach has evolved over the years. And it will continue to do so. But “evolving” to us doesn’t mean to simply buy into a new industry trend or to blindly put our faith into the latest training system all the cool kids are using.

 We take pride in emphasizing battle-tested training concepts & techniques that are timeless. And, we’ve found little to no need to bother with most of these specialized industry concepts anyway because our programs don’t create the problems these techniques are designed to solve.

“I know so little, but I know it so fluently”

 I don’t care what day and age you’re in, the bullet points I provide above will never go out of style. That is, unless we start making humans robotic or something

 Final Thoughts

 I’ve often been called a “contrarian” and deemed as someone who rejects new industry developments.

 Now you know why I will continue to remain skeptical about new industry developments and won’t get on-board with any school of thought or training modality unless it fits along with the techniques and concepts we already know have a long-standing history of being proven effective!

Based on our assessment of fitness industry movement patterns, we have every reason to believe most “new, specialized techniques” will come and go. And, I personally don’t want to be one of those teachers who provides educational strategies that comes and goes along with them!

That said, on daily basis I get messages from motivated fitness professionals asking me “How can I write for fitness magazines?”

 So to kick start the new year – Today’s post is going to cover my thoughts and strategies more »]]> As a teacher/coach, I define my success by the success of my clients, students and readers.

That said, on daily basis I get messages from motivated fitness professionals asking me “How can I write for fitness magazines?”

 So to kick start the new year – Today’s post is going to cover my thoughts and strategies on how YOU can become a freelance fitness writer for the major, national and international magazines.

2 Prerequisites to becoming a Writer for the Fitness Magazines

As someone who in the last few years has written over 50 articles for over 20 major fitness magazines, I’ve had a great deal of experience as a freelance fitness writer.

In doing so, I’ve found there are two Prerequisites the magazine editors are looking for, regardless of which magazine it is.

The Prerequisite are:

1. You must have good ideas that are unique (have a hook), easy to understand and immediately applicable for the general population.

AND

2. You must be a credible fitness writer who’s already proven that you can provide high-qulity training articles, write them in a concise manner and deliver them in a timely fashion.

 Magazine editors are overly busy, under lots of pressure and have deadlines to keep. They won’t commission an article out to someone who hasn’t already proven themselves as a credible fitness professional who’s capable of writing their ideas in a solutions based manner with mass appeal.

In order to build credibility as a fitness writer, as a fitness professional, and to hone your craft as a writer – I recommend you follow this 3-step process:

3-Steps to Becoming a Writer for the Fitness Magazines

Step 1 – START A FITNESS BLOG!

Blogging will help you become a better writer through constant practice. It will also help you become better at writing about your ideas in a concise, solutions based manner.

Additionally, Blogging can help you find your “niche.”

After blogging for while you’ll find there are certain subjects that you write about most often, which are the subjects you’re most passionate about. Learning how to focus on these subjects will start to “brand your style” and help you separate yourself form other fitness bloggers by creating a unique value to your work.

So Blog, and Blog often!

Step #2 – GET YOUR ARTICLES PUBLISHED ON THE FITNESS WEBSITES

If you can get your written work published on a fitness training website like T-Nation.com, WannaBeBig.com, EliteFTS.com, BodyBuilding.com, MuscleandStrength.com, etc. You’ll know that you’re ideas are worthwhile to readers because these websites won’t publish stuff unless they think it’ll get attention and benefit their readers.

Getting your articles published on these training websites will also help to build your credibility (as a writer & as a fitness professional) and bring lots of attention to your Blog.

Plus, many of the magazine editors I’ve worked with often read these websites (especially T-nation) and often pull talent from them when they think a certain writer’s subject matter can easily be tailored to their magazine audience.

How to get in-touch with Fitness Websites?

In order to get in-touch with editors of these fitness websites, I recommend contacting someone who has already written for the site you desire to work with.  And, when you do – Give them a finished article to review.

Now, I write for these websites and I’m far too busy with my own stuff to reply to every damn email I get from folks who want to write, which is almost every trainer and their brother. But, I’m more willing to take time out of my day to help other fitness professionals of whom I’ve already met in-person, talked shop with and found to have great ideas. I’ll also be more inclined to help those who have Blogs, which are full of great content.

Basically, as I’ve told you – You need to have some CREDIBILITY!

Every trainer says their ideas are good. But, what do you have to show for it that’s unique and different from everyone else?

My Personal Story

After meeting Eric Cressey and talking shop a few years ago, I sent him a very rough video of an upcoming DVD I planned on filming. He liked it. So not long after – I sent him an article I had written, which he also liked.

Only then did he put me in touch with the great folks at T-nation. That article became my first ever published work for T-nation entitled “A New Angle on Cable Training“.

Eric helped my early in my writing career because I built credibility with him. And, since then I’ve helped a select few writers in the same way because these individuals separated themselves from the herd and built credibility with me!

Step #3 – GET YOUR ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN THE FITNESS MAGAZINES!

To get your work published in a major fitness magazine, I again recommend you contact someone who’s already written from the magazine publication your desire to write for.

But, I suggest before you do this, you have at least 3-5 articles already published on a major fitness training website(s).

You see, there’s an old saying that “If you tell a good joke, people will say “That’s funny”. But, if you’re ALWAYS telling good jokes, people will say “YOU’RE Funny.”

Magazine editors are excited to work with writers who have shown a history of producing great content on a consistent basis. There are lots of people who have one good idea that gets published somewhere, then you never hear from them again.But, there are fare less of those who posses the ability to always crank out great work. These are the people of whom we all will take the time to read thier work simply because we know if it has thier name on it, it’s probably good! And, these are the people the magazines are looking for!

Having several articles published on a major website will give you the credibility as someone who’s SMART, not just some one who had one smart idea.

My Personal Story

After I had written about 4 or 5 popular articles for T-nation like “How Not to Warm Up“, “Everything Push Ups” & “Making Gains with Pain” – I again contacted Eric Cressey about putting me in touch with Men’s Fitness magazine. Eric was happy to help me because he’s a good guy who understood that he wouldn’t be where he is if someone wasn’t humble enough to recognize his talent and nice enough to help him.

So he put me in contact with Men’s Fitness. And, when he did, I was excited to discover that the editors there already knew of my work and were very excited to work with me because I had already built credibility with them!

Now that I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with a multitude of magazines – I’ve referred many of them to Eric C . Along with a select group of other fitness writers/trainers of whom have already established themselves as credible to me from the body of work the’ve previously put together through Blogs, articles published on various training websites and through personal interactions.

Final Thoughts

There is no exact science to writing for the magazines. Nor does what I’ve said above guarantee you’ll get an opportunity to work with a major fitness magazine. But, I can promise you from personal experience and from the experiences I’ve seen from others who have worked with the magazines – Following the advice I’ve provided above certainly will drastically elevate your chances of writing for the magazines because you’ll gradually separate yourself from the herd and establish yourself as a smart trainer and as a good writer!

If you have the discipline to go through the process I’ve provided above, and understand that it takes TIME & CONSISTENCY to establish yourself as a credible resource – You’ll eventually find that the magazines will seek YOU out!

Getting your work into the magazines isn’t just about “who you know.” It’s also about “who wants to know you.”

So if you want to write for the magazines in 2012 and beyond – Get to work on establishing yourself as a professional the major fitness magazine editors will “want to know!”

We’ve actually developed TWO awesome 7-4-7 Back Workout Protocols, which I’m sharing with you today.

Before I more »]]> My recent post on the 747 Protocol was very popular and I’m still getting daily emails about it. Additionally, I’ve had several requests for Back/ Pulling workouts using the 7-4-7 workout protocol.

We’ve actually developed TWO awesome 7-4-7 Back Workout Protocols, which I’m sharing with you today.

Before I give you the workouts, I wanted to mention that:

YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO JOIN US ON THE 1st ANNUAL STRENGTH CRUISE, Feb17-20th.

Watch this video to get the latest Strength Cruise info and special offers!

The 747 Back Workout Protocols

Both of these Back workouts are Hybrid 7/4/7 sets because they mix up grips within a given set to create mechanical variation, which allows for more overload through a higher volume of work.

Here’s Figure Athlete Jackie Gough demonstrating how to boost the intensity of your Lat Pull Downs and Barbell Bent Over Rows with our hybrid 7/4/7 workout protocol.

747 Lat Pull Down Workout Protocol

747 Barbell Bent Over Row Workout Protocol

Put simply, the Bench Press is great for accomplishing more »]]> I’m absolutely a fan of the Bench Press and use it often when training everyone from athletes, to physique competitors, to exercise enthusiasts. But, like every other exercise we can perform – the Bench Press has it’s benefits, AND it also has it’s limitations.

Put simply, the Bench Press is great for accomplishing certain goals. But, maybe not so great for accomplishing others.

In the world of strength & conditioning we often become blinded from following traditionalism, or by our own personal biases and/or emotional attachments to certain exercises, which cause us to emphasize the benefits of exercises while ignoring their limitations. This can create an environment where we end up abusing a given exercise or concept instead of understanding how to best use it at the correct time and for the right reasons.

To help you build an objective understanding how to best utilize the Bench Press, I’ve recruited my good friend Coach JC Santana to share with you his research study results on how the Bench Press does and does not benefit your performance!

 Although the concepts and techniques discussed in the video below are based on complex science. Rest assured that JC and I have kept things simple to understand, easy to apply and straight to the point!

You see, there is no “for” or “against” anything here because different training goals demand different training concepts to accomplish!

As I’ve said before “This stuff ain’t rocket surgery.”

Coming Soon!

I’ve got an upcoming T-nation article, which really expands on the concepts & techniques discussed above. So if you liked today’s post – You’re going to love my next T-nation article!