Use it or Lose it

Is it true that if you don’t use it, you lose it? Yes…yes, it is. According to some studies, the number one predictor of lifespan is grip strength. What this means is if you don’t use your body, you “lose” your body. If your grip strength weakens, it’s a good sign that your overall strength and health have weakened as well.  Usually this happens when we stop moving or doing things. If you want to keep your body parts high functioning, you have to use them! If you don’t, they will deteriorate. People want to just chalk shit up and blame it on “getting old” instead of what it really is. In reality, they’re moving less and less. But, of course this won’t be you. You are an enlightened one and won’t let aging stereotypes hold you back. You will be Strong as you age because you understand the Power of Strength.

We want to build a solid foundation of strength, continue to build on it, and maintain it as we get older. Becoming older and aging are things we can’t avoid. How gracefully we age is up to you. You do not have to become weak or out of shape just because you are older. If you believe you deteriorate as you age, what do you think will happen to you?

Opting to get up, get out, and build strength/move your body regularly can help insure you are strong, have lean mass, low body fat, and look badass as you age. Guess what? There are 7 days in a week. Our bodies should at least MOVE 7 days a week. Many of us spend time trashing our bodies but not enough time making our bodies feel good. Many options exist to get out and move and become stronger. I’ll provide some options for you here. So choose one or choose two. Shit, you can choose them all! For fsake… Just. Do. Something. And do it often.

#1 Strength training, to me, is the number one option to help insure you are anything but the status quo. If you do not want to live up to the normal stereotypes that go along with aging and wellness then strength training is for you. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can start at any age and be better off than if you were to do nothing. Want to enjoy life well-past your “prime”? Then strength train. Specifically, train by doing full body sessions where you are hitting your legs, core, arms, everything all in one session. Forcing your body to work as a unit is a great way to ensure your body continues to work as a unit when you get older. Want your hips to keep snappin? Make sure to include deadlifts. Want your grip to be as strong as vice grips? Include deadlifts. Want a back free of pain? Include deadlifts. Want glutes any hand would love to slap? Include deadlifts. Get it? Yeah, so strength train and make sure it includes deadlifts.

#2 Cardio. This one most people think I am probably allergic to. It may seem as if I skip cardio, but that’s just not true. I just get it through a process that also builds muscle strength as well as cardiovascular strength. Kettlebell swings, baby! Kettlebell swings are the only “cardio” anyone needs. However, I don't want to force you to kettlebell swing*. Maybe you are allergic to kettlebells or don’t have access to any. In that case, any kind of cardio will do. Anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour on days you aren’t strength training is sufficient. Some activities include biking, jogging, running, walking (FAST not any moseying around shit act like you have some place to be), swimming, or any other active sport that I neglected to mention.  

#3 Good ol’ outdoors. Get out there and take in some nature. Isn’t it neat? Us city slickers actually get outside quite frequently because we walk out of necessity and convenience, but, we could still do better with soaking up some good ol’ outdoors. I am from Connecticut, so this may sound biased, but us New Yorkers should try to make it out there more often and soak up some of that fresh nature. Y’all in Connecticut and elsewhere can definitely make it outside to the woods or parks or beaches more often as well. It does some good for the mind and body. Go on a hike, climb some stuff, feel the sand through your toes. This can be amazing for your mental health, which is a part of your body that usually gets no love. Treat your mind right.

#4 Dancing. Dancing is so much fun, even if a lot of us suck at it. It’s supposed to be a physical expression of yadda-yadda-yadda. Bottom line is it’s fun and it's a way to move your body. If none of the other options interest you, then dancing most certainly will. Learning how to dance is a great way to train the mind and the body at the same-damn time. It helps build coordination, which can help ensure that your balance stays on par as you get older.

We live in a time where many of us have desk jobs. This means that most of us sit for 6-10 hours per day at work. Usually we go home and sit for a few more hours in front of the TV. I understand, binge watching Netflix while indulging in a glass of wine or a joint is a way to unwind at the end of the day. Look, I am not here to judge. All I am saying is if you don’t want to end up feeling “old” sooner-than-later, start moving more in your everyday life.

*Find a Strongfirst instructor and learn how to swing

The Obsolete Food Pyramid

Most of us grew up learning how to “properly” eat using the food pyramid. No wonder we have seen such a climb in the obesity rate. It is known that many of us eat way too many carbs and think that is the right thing to do. I mean, why wouldn’t you think that? It’s unfortunate that this is what we were taught. Most of us have followed the above pyramid and built it into a well-ingrained habit. To me, and every other fitness professional, this looks like a plan we would give if we wanted to fatten you up because that’s what it is guaranteed to do. Besides what is shown in the food pyramid, there are many other fallacies that a good portion of us believe as truth. Cereal makes for a good breakfast, fruit juice is just as good as eating actual fruit, and having a grain at every meal is good, right? Wrong. These are just fallacies.

Due to the food pyramid, I can never believe someone when they tell me they eat “healthy.” It’s not that they are lying, they truly believe that they are eating in a manner that should rid fat on their body or lead to a healthy life. However, it’s simply not true most of the time and the person doesn’t even realize it. It sounds nuts that we were all duped by the USDA food pyramid, but it is exactly what has happened.

Due to being bombarded by confusing misinformation, such as labels that say “healthy-all natural-organic-no added sugar-etc,” it becomes very difficult to figure out what to eat and what the actual right options are. If you haven’t already read my article on 5 easy habits to build to eat healthy, I suggest reading that for some clarification. Now, let’s debunk some of these fallacies that have been perpetuated by the food pyramid.

So many people are told breakfast is an important meal and helps jumpstart your day. This I cannot argue with. However, they are also told that cereal is a great option. Cereals such as cheerios, frosted flakes, and special K are all branded as being healthy options to start the day and having a good source of X to help with Y. Sure, maybe they have fiber or vitamin D, but they also overwhelmingly consist of carbs. They are all at least 90% carbohydrates. Most people have their cereal with milk, which is also high in carbs. So, you have carbs on carbs on carbs. This starts our day off with a surplus of carbohydrates and not a lot of anything else. Then, most of us go and sit for a while, which is is not the ideal time for a stomach full of carbs. If you are going to have any cheap carbs, it is best to leave them for after a workout. Even then there are still better options. For breakfast, try having some eggs cooked in coconut oil or olive oil. Make sure to add in a bunch of spinach or other leafy vegetables as well as some peppers and onions. This breakfast option is much better balanced. It will leave you feeling satisfied longer and you won’t have to worry about it going straight to your hips.

As for thinking that fruit juice, such as apple juice, is just as good as eating an actual apple, I do not blame you for thinking this. Most of the time these drinks come with labels that say made with 100% juice or made with real apples, etc. However, drinking your calories can start to get real hairy, real quick. In one cup of apple juice (8 ounces to be exact…aka not a full drinking glass, like most of us pour), there are 23 grams of sugar, which usually becomes more like 38 grams because we pour a full cup. Then, it usually doesn’t clench our thirst so we pour another, and another, and another. You see where I’m going? Throughout the day this can easily lead to a sneaky addition of over 100 grams of sugar! An apple has about as many grams of sugar per serving as apple juice, but it has more fiber. Fiber slows the rate of which your body absorbs sugar. Eating and digesting an apple takes much longer than digesting any liquid. In other words, apple juice and apples are not interchangeable. Thus, fruit juices aren’t great options for drinks. Instead, opt for water or tea as often as possible. They’re calorie free and great for your health.

According to the above food pyramid, you should have a lot of grains. Like, a lot. As in 3-6 times more grains than protein. This is advice meant to make you go back for more, and more, and even more. Eating what I like to call cheap carbs tends to lead to unwanted weight gain. You eat a little bit of them but always find yourself going back for more. Next thing you know you’ve consumed way more than recommended, which is already a high amount. 6-11 servings is way too much. If you want to maintain body weight, or lose a few lbs., opt for fewer carbs and choose to eat more vegetables, preferably the leafy variety. Processed foods such as pasta, cereal, bread can create bloating and inflammation in many individuals, which can affect the way the digestive system works. Most people do not realize they have an issue with any of these foods and would probably never guess that these foods are giving them health problems. Remember, choosing non-processed foods will usually be the better option.

Although the food pyramid is not used anymore, many of us have not been exposed to the newer food diagram called myplate. I am not necessarily fond of myplate either, due to some of the same reasons. They over-recommend grains and under-emphasize water.  Precision nutrition created this awesome infographic that is an up-to-date version of what the food pyramid or myplate should look like. Look at the graphic below. Notice how many veggies there are? Follow this and I guarantee that you will feel so much better. Your stomach will thank you, your mind will thank you, and your body will thank you.

Know Why You Lift and Lift Accordingly

Lifting for life, lifting for sport, and lifting for competition are all very distinctly different ways to lift. It is important to know which you are lifting for. In almost every situation people become so consumed in the numbers. They see Felix over there moving some serious weight and become infatuated with lifting the same amount of weight as him, disregarding whatever their own goals may be. I recently got into a heated discussion about which sports have the worst movers in the weight room. My friend argued that football players are easily the worst in the game. At first I was obviously a little butt-hurt, but he was right. I hate to generalize, but often football players are so concentrated on lifting a certain amount of weight that they usually compromise form to do so. This is completely understandable since strength and size are so important in football, however, it is no excuse.

No matter what purpose you are lifting for, form should never be compromised. If you let your form habitually go to shit, then injury is sure to follow.

Now, if you are lifting for life, as in you are lifting to build strength, stay strong and keep lean mass as you age. To look good naked, you will want to lift differently from those who compete in powerlifting, crossfit games, or for sport. If you are lifting for life, the overall emphasis is to have more energy, to f better, to be more aware, to be able to pick up your kids with more ease, or to move furniture without straining anything. Lifting for life is supposed to make everyday living better. Now, maybe this means you’ll need to be more conservative with timelines to reach certain strength goals. Maybe this means do not peak and test your one rep max every month. I love strength goals. I think it helps people get away from concentrating on the superficial short term goals and more toward the long term. However, if while on the journey to lift 500 lbs and your back becomes habitually sore when you wake up in the morning, maybe back off just a little bit. It’s your call, but just try to remember the purpose behind why you lift.

For all of you athletes out there, this part is for you. Do not get too concerned with the numbers. At the end of the day being good at your sport comes down to how good you are at your sport. There is a point where getting stronger no longer makes you run faster, jump higher, or hit harder. Find the sweet spot where you are as strong as you can be, you’re able to move well, you’ve formed a low risk for injury, and you have become as explosive as you can be. Spending time getting strong at something that doesn’t help your sports performance could be time better spent working on your sport itself. Just saying. A lot of times people get too obsessed with numbers in the weight room. Strength is important no matter what you are doing, but just know your sport isn’t lifting weights. Remember what you do it for. A good strength program should make you stronger, more explosive, resilient to injury and more in tune with your body. You do not want to get injured in the weight room. Be smart.

Lifting for competition is a little different than lifting for the other two reasons. When lifting for competition, as in crossfit or powerlifting, you have to push. You usually have to grind a little bit more. The focus is on how much weight you can move. Although I still believe form shouldn’t be compromised, there may be times where it happens. While the goal is to move the most weight possible, listening to your body is still smart. If you notice weights feeling heavy that felt lighter the week before back off a little to avoid overtraining. A program is never set in stone so just because it says you should hit a certain weight and number of reps on Tuesday does not mean you have to do it if you feel like shit. Learning to differentiate between something being hard and overexerting yourself is a very important lesson for success come competition day. Testing grip strength daily can be a good tool to see how your body is adapting and recovering from one workout to the next. Pay attention to how you feel, but definitely get after it.

We all go through phases in life so adapt your lifting accordingly. If you are training for a sport, for life, or for competition make sure you adjust your training to fit that lifestyle. I think everyone should experience all types of training at some point in their life. New experiences are always a great opportunity to learn and grow. This is how you discover the real Power of Strength.

Kettlebell Love

As many of you know, I love kettlebells. They are one of the best tools, if not the best tool around as far as versatility goes. They can help make you brick house strong, bodybuilding big, and cut like Bruce Lee. They create a stamina of a stallion and make you pretty damn near-invincible. I mean, I recently survived getting hit by a car for Pete’s sake. Point is they are fucking great! Now, having said that, I think it is very, very important to seek out a certified Kettlebell instructor to learn how to use them. Do not just watch a youtube video and try to mimic what you see. I promise you that it will look ugly and you might injure yourself.

Kettlebells are less intimidating than barbells. This is what I like to call an alternative fact. They are awesome for beginners because it can be a little easier to get into certain positions such as learning how to deadlift or squat. It is great for building the foundation on which all other exercises are built from. Also, they help build grip, shoulder,and posterior (backside) chain strength. You’ll find those areas to often be weak spots for the average person, especially those stuck at a desk all day. Here is a list of all of the things you can expect with consistent kettlebell training:

1. Your ass will look amazing! This is number one for a reason. Who does not want to have a nice ass? I do not think there is a soul who doesn’t want a nice ass. Kettlebells are notorious for building glutes of steel. Due to societal norms, we sit a lot more than ever before. This can lead to a deconditioned buttocks and shortened hamstrings. Kettlebell swings, cleans, and snatches (it’s an exercise, believe me) all do wonders for building strong hamstrings and resilient glutes that’ll look amazing in any pair of pants.

2. You will be able to unscrew the ketchup bottle. It is believed that grip strength is a great indicator of a person’s overall health and their life expectancy. Do you want to make everyday tasks easier as well as tack on a few extra years of life? The kettlebells will help do the trick. Simply having to hold onto a kettlebell will help forge amazing grip strength, which will make carrying groceries, unscrewing a bottle of ketchup, or tearing up junk mail much easier to do.

3. You will become smarter. Whaat? No f-in way kettlebells make you smarter. Well, they won't actually make you smarter, but they'll sharpen your mind if used properly. Heard of cognition? The vestibular system? Proprioception? Yea, all dat. Kettlebells can give you great awareness from the environment, especially if you are performing proper Turkish get ups(TGU).  You’re working both sides of the brain while doing TGU, single arm swings, single arm overhead press, and any other exercise that you are forced to work the X. Working the x is when you use your left arm and right leg or right arm and left leg, and the X is both of those together while your core is in the middle. This type of exercise can help create new neural pathways, which in sense can make you smarter!

4. Your back will feel amazing! Kettlebells are great for building nice strong backs from your spine to your back muscles. Exercises like farmer’s carry and double-racked front squats are awesome for creating a much improved posture. Again, due to the amount of sitting we do as a society, many of us have not the best posture. These can help us undo that. Also, Kettlebell DL, Swings, and any other variation that requires a hip hinge do an awesome job of building a resilient back. Yes, even those of you out there with back pain can benefit from kettlebell movements when done with proper form.

5. It will ensure that you age with grace. Don’t let the common theme of losing muscle, not moving as well, gaining fat, and having an achy low back or knees define how you age. These characteristics of aging are really just characteristics of not moving that often. Through kettlebell training you can build resilient joints, create lean mass, burn fat, and move like a ninja even as you age! Now who doesn’t want that?

Kettlebell training is a skill. Each exercise utilizes your body to move as a unit. Even exercises such as the kettlebell overhead press uses your glutes and legs, as well as your core and upperbody. It is what helps create great movement in everyday life. You are not just isolating muscle groups, but rather engaging a variety of them. More bang for your buck. So get out there and give kettlebell training a try and quickly feel all of its benefits.

Why Deadlifts Aren't Bad

There is a lot of folklore about deadlifts being scary. This misconception comes from a place of misunderstanding. I have heard many stories of people getting hurt while “deadlifting” and many of you probably know someone who got hurt “deadlifting.” Usually, the videos I see of people performing deadlifts are not deadlifts at all. Why deadlifts are so scary is not knowing how to properly do a deadlift. This often leads to serious injury. Learning how to properly hip hinge and deadlift is often pivotal to keep your back and knees healthy as we age. It can also leave you with a shelf booty just like Jenny from the block.

Next time you watch someone pick up a box or a couch or anything else from the floor try to take notice of how they do it. Do they round their back? Most likely they will. Do their knees bend? Maybe, but only if necessary. Do they keep the object as close to them as they can? Nope. Do they use their legs to regain an upright posture? Nope. Do they brace their abdominals? Nope again. Most of the time when you see someone pick something up off the floor, it looks like Image 1.

This is what poor posture looks like. Instead of doing all those things depicted in image 1, which will likely lead to injury, you should do the exact opposite. Let’s break down image 2 below:

Do they round their back? Nope. Do their knees bend? Only enough to meet the fundamentals of the movement:

·       Keep the shoulders higher than the hips

·       Keep the hips higher than the knees

·       Maintain a vertical shin.

Do they keep the object as close to them as they can? Absolutely! Do they use their legs to regain an upright posture? Absolutely. Do they brace their abdominals? Yup. Image 2 is what a safe deadlift looks like. 

If something comes with a warning label and says read instructions before use, you probably are going to do so before using. A deadlift, with all the negative stigmas that go along with it, should probably follow the same rules. Learn how to properly perform the movement before implementing it, especially before trying to max out. If someone picks up a box or grocery bag in an unsafe manner, then it will most likely show up when deadlifting.

This makes absolute sense why so many people get injured while deadlifting. They never learned how to do the movement properly and became obsessed with picking heavy shit off the ground. I completely understand, it is incredibly fun to lift heavy shit off the ground, but it’s even more fun to avoid injury while doing so. The amount of weight you can lift does not matter if it was accomplished by poor movement quality. Swallow your ego, take some weight off the bar, and find a coach who can teach you how to do it.

image cred: nothing uglier than bad deadlift form youtube