I'm Not a Powerlifter

Once upon a time I trained with the goal of competing in a powerlifting meet.

My all time best would be (in a self conducted pseudo-meet) as I never quite had the nerve to pull the trigger to get on the platform in my Wrestlemania singlet. 

Squat: 330lbs
Bench Press: 300lbs
Deadlift: 415 lbs
Total: 1,045
At a weight of 149lbs

I no longer squat ass to grass and hardly barbell bench press or deadlift off the floor with a straight barbell. Not because I can't but because I don't need to. 

Squat

I have fantastic mobility and am able to perform a back squat that rivals most lifter's front squat yet I have no reason to squat that low and heavy on a regular basis. Aside from a brief flirtation with olympic weightlifting, there's almost no reason me to go that deep other than "just cuz, hit depth bro".

I now perform a variety of split squat/lunge variations and almost exclusively perform barbell squats to a box (about a hair below parallel, but I'll mix up box heights depending on how I feel after a run). For ME to get ready to squat ass to grass required a good amount of stretching and mobilization which I decided I no longer wished to do every other workout.*
*(Note: This isn't to say I still don't have to stretch, roll out and mobilize, it now takes a fraction of the time which is important to not waste time or energy pre-lift.)

If I do perform a free standing squat it's because the box is taken, and I'll perform front squats or an anderson squat off the pins. I will also throw in DB or double KB goblet squats during the week where I'm squatting as deep as possible to maintain mobility. 

Barbell Bench Press

This is the one lift I've taken out and noticed zero changes in performance or physique. I had finally achieved a 2x bodyweight bench press and was ecstatic, however I also had a chronic pain in my shoulder and elbow. I no longer wanted to push through the aches and pains. 

I occasionally will perform a shoulder width barbell bench press with zero arch. In terms of muscular development and joint health using dumbbells has been much better for ME. If I need to do something heavy, it'll be dips which I'm close to performing one rep with my bodyweight hanging off me. I can still press 100lbs+ dumbbells and about the only thing I can no longer do is barbell press heavy which makes sense due to the lack of specificity. 

Deadlift

One of the last times I deadlifted 400+ off the platform, of course my client only took a photo instead of a video

My FAVORITE lift. 

When I was 17 years old, I threw my back out performing a deadlift incorrectly. It no longer bothers me but there are certain movements which when performed heavy enough makes my low back tick. Heavy deadlifts do the trick. I got to 405, that's good enough for me. 

I will usually pull a conservative stance sumo now anytime I get the itch to pull off the floor, but now almost exclusively use the trap bar to do all my pulls. I can pull multiples of 405lbs off the platform without having my low back/sciatic nerve hate me the next day.

If you don't compete, you don't need to be programming with a fixed mindset of "the big 3" lifts and everything else being an after thought. 

If you train to be a better athlete, you don't program like a powerlifter. If you want to have bigger glutes or larger pecs; powerlifting MIGHT work for some while leaving much to be desired for other individuals. 

I routinely work 12-15 hrs/day, and what's often lost in the sea of social media PR's is a simple fact that if I'm tired there's a higher likelihood I might get hurt...
which then means I can't work...
If I can't work, I don't make money...
And then my cat's can't eat. Ain't nobody taking kibble out of my cats mouths!

To ME it's risk-reward, and it's simply not worth it to me any longer. You can still get at it without performing "the big 3".

I squat, deadlift, and pull to improve my running performance. And I bench to make sure I don't wind up like a typical long distance runner. That's why I lift, why do you? Just something to think about. And now some photos of my cats! 

An excuse to post photos of my cats? D'uh!

Professionals Push Back

"There are plenty of people who will pander, race to the bottom and figure out how to, "give the public what it wants." But that doesn't have to be you. Professionals have standards. Professionals push back."- Seth Godin

That quote encapsulates everything I stand for, being a professional. Exercise and cooking aren't just hobbies, they're fields that I'm proud to call myself a professional in. I'm not in it for the money or the fame (clearly) but because these are two passions on my mind at every moment of the day. My goal for each day is how can I improve my cooking or coaching so that I can provide greater value to help more individuals. Not what idea will or program will make me  a quick buck. 

Looking for a fast sale or creating a business just for the sake of making money isn't in my blood. If you're not a professional, none of these principles matter. I will gladly give up the dollar up front for the pot of gold at the end if it also comes with a culture that I can proudly stand behind. 

Are you a professional or simply clocking in for a paycheck?*
 

*There's nothing wrong with clocking in and out for a paycheck, but do you take pride in what you do? Being a professional applies to everyone not just entrepreneurs in my opinion. 

So How's That Working For You?

I genuinely ask this question with zero sarcasm.

Whenever I have a client who tells me all about their magical diet that's going to really accelerate their fat loss. I listen and pick out all the things that stand out where I believe it's conducive toward long term change. We reevaluate in two weeks and if nothing has changed, I will ask them about their diet and how that's working out for them?

"Persistence isn’t using the same tactics over and over. That’s just annoying.

Persistence is having the same goal over and over." –Seth Godin

It's one thing to decide you want to accomplish "x" goal. It's a completely different story when you go down a path that doesn't work and instead of changing course you keep trying to jam that square peg in the round hole. I will have in mind the goal, a singular focus, but how I get there doesn't matter as long as I get there (assuming I'm not cheating or hurting anyone of course). 

If it's Free, You Can't Complain

This is not a new article on T-Nation but they do periodically repost old popular articles that are relevant to the topic of the day. I recall reading this when it was published but they have long since moved their comments section to their Facebook fan page. And of course...

When I got to their fan page, to my amazement this was the sentiment from a majority of the comments there. 

Seriously? I made this comparison to a colleague of mine who thought it wasn't completely ridiculous that SO MANY idiot guys thought this way. If you go to restaurant X and they decide that cheeseburgers should be made from ground tilapia and blue cheese, are you going to be pissed that they want to sell burgers like that? 

No of course you wouldn't, you would just think that's disgusting and move on with your life. You wouldn't spend any money there nor would you even give it a second thought. It's their restaurant, they can technically serve whatever they want to serve. You wouldn't get high and mighty about how they're ruining burgers.

Whereas if you PAID for a burger and instead of ground beef you got that weird ground fish burger; THEN you can get pissed off. 

T-nation is a free webpage. Therefore allowed to post whatever they want. You don't have to read it or even agree with all the opinions posted.  If T-nation started charging you a fee to read their EXERCISE and NUTRITION articles but sent you the article above then I agree, get mad.

Until then shut up and enjoy all the FREE information they're giving you, if you stop liking it just go elsewhere! If you don't like it, how hard is it to simply NOT CLICK ON IT! This applies to social media as well, if you don't like something, just don't follow...what a novel idea.
(Sorry guys, the sarcasm is a bit heavy there)

Okay...deep breath before continuing

On a completely separate note, it makes me quite sad to read many of the comments on this post, sad but not surprised. Being a better person needs to supersede improving your lifts or gainz; get it together lifting community. Lifting teaches you so much about life, it's about time you start utilizing those life lessons. 

Is __________ healthy? How to Read a Food Label

Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/07/05/upshot/is-sushi-healthy-what-about-granola-where-americans-and-nutritionists-disagree.html

This list was recent published alongside the article "Is Sushi "Healthy"? What About Granola? Where Americans and Nutritionist Disagree by the NY Times.

Occasionally we stand in an aisle at the market and we're wondering, is this healthy? I don't see why technology can't be of some help there, but what's most alarming is that most of the list is  either a raw ingredient or a pre-packed item which usually means it has a food label. 

Of the 50 foods, assuming you aren't cooking from scratch, usually come prepackaged with a label.

• hummus
• popcorn
• peanut butter
• nutella
• granola
• chocolate
• coconut milk
• canned tuna
• feta cheese
• beef jerky
• greek yogurt
• turkey bacon
• yogurt
• dried fruit
• tofu
• cottage cheese
• polenta (it's technically cornmeal, but if it's polenta, that means it's now been cooked and seasoned, thus should come with a food label)
• smoked salmon
• sparkling water
• brown sugar
• rye bread

I left out pizza, as it could or could not be frozen so I didn't add that. 

And of the 50, here are the raw, typically unprocessed ingredients:

• couscous
• quinoa
• shrimp
• tuna
• rice
• honey
• tilapia
• watermelon
• pork
• chicken
• salmon
• basmati rice

My two big take aways from this article:

1. Most people have an extremely vague sense of how to select food for a balanced  nutritious diet. I understand this is a small sample size, but definitely indicative of the fact that we are extremely undereducated when it comes to knowing what is a solid quality source of protein, fat and carbohydrates. Sadly this article only covers the glaring issue of not knowing WHAT to eat and not how much to eat. We should know chicken (not fried) is probably a solid choice and possibly not know the portion sizing, instead the majority of Americans don't know either!

2. We don't know how to read a food label, or interpret a food label. 
(Note: I understand that this has been a problem for years considering all the rumblings about attempting to redesign the label to make it even easier to understand. Sadly I don't think it's that difficult to understand but a'las sigh.... 'Merica.)

Starting from the top: Serving Size

Many manufacturers try to pull one over on consumers by listing 12g of sugar in one serving, not the whole package which contains 8 servings. Whatever imaginary label this comes from (I took this label off the FDA website) it contains a whopping 96g of sugar per package. 

Your daily allowance of sugar should remain below 10% of total calories.

Total Calories

Learn to use percent Daily Values (DV) to help evaluate how a particular food fits into your daily meal plan. The calories and percentages listed are based off an adult consuming 2,000 calories a day. 

A food item with 5% of DV of fat provides 5% of the total fat that this individual should consume a day. Percent daily values are for the entire day not only one meal or snack. 

YOU may need more or less than 2,000 calories per day, so for some of the nutrients you're going to need more or less than the listed 100% DV.

You should also aim for lower amounts of saturated and trans fats, cholesterol and sodium. Look for higher amounts of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Most Americans do not consume enough fiber, which should be 35g/day for all adults. 

Goes without saying but if a majority of your diet comes from fruits and vegetables without labels, you'll be better off. 

Other Nutrients

• Protein
  A percentage Daily Value for protein is not required on the label. Eat moderate portions of lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, low-fat milk, yogurt and cheese, plus beans and peas, nut butters, seeds and soy products.
• Carbohydrates
  There are three types of carbohydrates: sugars, starches and fiber. Eat  fruits and vegetables plus whole-grain breads, cereals, rice and pasta.
• Sugars
  Simple carbohydrates, or sugars, occur naturally in foods such as fruit juice (fructose) or come from refined sources such as table sugar (sucrose) or corn syrup.

It stands to repeat again: Added sugars will be included on the Nutrition Facts label in 2018. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends consuming no more than 10 percent of daily calories from added sugars.

Ingredients List
Decide what you want (and don't) in your food.

• Hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oils (source of trans fats)
• High fructose corn syrup (not necessarily because it’s handled much differently than other sugars, but it usually indicates a non-nutritious food)
• Added sugars (including hidden sources like syrups)
• Artificial colors (example: FD&C Yellow #5)
• Canned items not labeled BPA free
• Atlantic or farmed salmon (instead of wild caught)
• Products from China (which has recently been busted for many food safety violations, such as melamine in baby formula and heavy metals in various foods and herbal preparations)
• Animal ingredients
• Gluten
• Non-organic
• Nitrates/nitrites
• High sodium

Photo by Alexandr Podvalny on Unsplash

When in doubt remember the following

Prioritize Ingredients Over Calories