I Don't Have time

Every day we each have a decision to make, how to spend the 24 hours in our day. Answering that differs from person to person. 

Where does the time go!?

The notion of not having enough time is simply an excuse we tell ourselves to avoid the uneasy truth: It simply wasn't a priority. It wasn't as high of a priority, fun, distracting, profitable or urgent enough to make it to the top of the to-do list. Your priorities dictate your schedule. If you're unhappy with how your schedule looks, I would reorder your priorities.

This of course need not apply to people who actually have no extra time like the single parent working two jobs to support their family and spend what little free time with them.

Time is a finite commodity. People are constantly deciding what appointments to honor, how much time to dedicate to TV shows, and to go or not to go to the gym. The solution won't be solved by giving someone more time (impossible) but by creating a greater sense of urgency. 

Every minute needs to count. Well they need to count if you feel like you weren't able to do everything you wanted to do. Need to take a break? Hang out at the bar? Play on the softball team? There's absolutely nothing wrong with those things, so long as you're not complaining about not being unable to accomplish other goals in your life.

Those activites are the types of things that need to be sacrificed in order to get other things done when time is tight. And speaking on the topic of sacrifices, how about we talk about money, specifically your job.

The job you do takes up the majority of your day. Combine that with the 8 hours of sleep you should be getting and we're left with 8 hours a day, 56 hours per week. 56 miscellaneous hours a week for family time and your other goals is more than enough, so what exactly isn't getting done? Sometimes it's a matter of evaluating your happiness versus money.

Here's a real example:

John (not really his name but lets just use John) LOVES basketball. Any free time John has he's playing pick up basketball at the park and plays in two leagues during the week. John also works 40+ hours at an office job he greatly dislikes.

He would always say if he could leave his job and coach basketball while working a part time job he thinks he could be much happier. Unlike the other regulars at this park who told him he'd be dumb to leave a $60K/year job for $40k/year, I asked him would he realisticly be able to live off that? John said he'd have to get rid of his BMW and scale back in a few places but yes he could. I went a different route and said to him, your happiness is worth more than $60k/year and a BMW combined. I told him to be smart, but ultimately to follow what would truly make him happy.

I recently saw John and asked him how things were going. He's made a business out of coaching youth basketball skills and is making a little less than he did at his job (49k/year) but he's immensely happier with his life.

What do you want to do every single day?
If you could do one thing for 12, 15, 18 hours a day and truly be happy, what would it be?
One day you will wake up and it's going to be your last day on this planet. Will you look back happy with the life you lived? Or one mired with regret.

I look back on who I was one year ago and am proud of how far I've come but also ashamed that I had allowed myself to get that low. I borrowed money to make rent. I maxed out multiple credit cards to live. And I could easily blame my business not working or the economy but in reality I simply was not using my time effectively. I wasn't working hard enough. I wasn't making the necessary sacrifices to succeed. I was simply NOT HUSTLING, not prioritizing the things I didn't want to do but needed to do.  

I now live my life according to this quote: 

“Work like there is someone working 24 hours a day to take it away from you.”- Mark Cuban

Now get back to work. 

Technique Breakdown: Split-Stance RDL

This is a great exercise to mix it up and get in some single leg work without actually having to be standing on only one foot. You can use a trap bar if you have access to one as well. Steps outlined are for the standard straight barbell.

1. Stand with a shoulder width or less stance. Step back with one foot about 12-18 inches and begin by hip hinging back. Focus on keeping a slight arch in the lower back, knee slightly bent and pushing your butt as far back as possible.
(I would not take too big of a step back when performing this as it only makes it harder to maintain proper position and tension on the correct muscles.)

2. Keeping the barbell as close as possible to the lead leg, I would not go past the knee on the split stance (B-Stance) RDL. 

3. The back foot should push forward slightly as the lead leg reaches full hip extension and you lock out that glute. 

4. Perform 5-8 reps per leg.

Give it some time and load wise it can be comparable to your bi-lateral RDL. 

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!

The Meathead Runner

Ran a half marathon with my super friend-client Megan who's in training to PR a marathon!

10 years ago I completed my last half marathon at a scorching time of 1:16. I also was 20 lbs lighter and made the decision to stop running and focus on "gaining muscle" and "being strong". I figured at age 20, this was the peak time for packing on lean muscle and I could always go back to running. I made a promise to myself that I would revisit distance running at 30. 

In the decade that followed I have moved my weight to a steady 147-150lbs and been able to deadlift 3x my bodyweight in every version of the lift (conventional, sumo and trap bar). Yet I still felt unfulfilled and somewhat unhealthy. As a former runner, I had the cardiovascular endurance of elderly sedentary man. 

Prior to turning 30, Megan approached me with helping her get ready for the NYC Marathon. The more research I did the more intrigued I became with the notion of maintaining strength while becoming an elite level long distance runner again. We recently completed a half marathon together and all things considered I'm content with my 1:52 finish. Still had a lot left in the tank and was happy to acknowledge the 10 years of strength training had made me more resilient* and able to push a lot harder when I needed.

*In particular my ability to maintain pace regardless of incline has been awesome!

Later during the week I also did this.

Fellow meatheads (male and female), don't be scared to perform cardio. A recent article here very eloquently laid it out, give it a read when you have an opportunity:

https://www.readpt.com/big-man-cardio-primer/

To quote said article:

"Loaded work doesn’t get the same heart response as unloaded work does. Normal cardiovascular exercise, such as running or rowing, stretches the main chamber of the heart eccentrically and allows it to hold more blood. On the flip side of this the strength trained heart gains thickness and your heart responds to training in the same way your other muscles do by becoming thicker and stronger. While a thicker, stronger heart may sound appealing this isn’t necessarily the case. A thicker heart wall can impact the internal diameter of heart. A big thick heart can actually end up with a smaller internal diameter meaning that it can actually hold less blood. That’s bad. That means that despite looking like a Mack truck on the outside you’re being powered by a Prius engine on the inside.

You can’t do intervals. HIIT isn’t your friend. By adding all that muscle you’ve already spent a massive proportion of your time on anaerobic work. You need to do some aerobic work."

Piggybacking off that excerpt from the afformentioned article are two benefits to lower intensity steady state cardio for everyone:

• Improve Recovery: What many lifters don't realize is that an efficient aerobic system can help you recovery more quickly as you won't be tapping into your sympathetic (think fight or flight) nervous system. By getting your nervous system into a parasympathetic (netflix and chill), you'll even sleep more soundly which will aide in repairing those muscles. 

• Improved Cardiac Efficiency: When performing steady state cardio (about 120-150 bpm) you'll improve cardiac output, which is a fancy way of saying your heart is better able to pump more blood all while decreasing resting heart rate.

If you're a runner and/or lifter looking for more guidance, I also offer distance coaching via exercise.com. Message me for more details about joining my group where I'll post monthly workouts along with a forum to interact with other members.

Let's make cardio a more acceptable part of strength sports again. 

Technique Breakdown: Improving Front Rack Position

Why I Heart the Front Squat

1. Because the bar is positioned in the front, it gives the lifter a counterbalance which allows for better position and often results in improved depth. 

2. When you have your arms up, the lats are lengthened. The lack of lat involvement then accounts for lesser loads than the back squat due to the fact the lats are needed to create greater core stability. This means, in order for you to move some big weights on the front squat you have to really strengthen your core.

3. Piggybacking off the point above, it then allows the lifter who may have a lordotic (arched) posture to squat much deeper/cleaner with the front squat.  Of course, if they have an excessive lordosis and anterior pelvic tilt, you may not want to start them off with a barbell front or back squat. 

On the opposite end of the postural spectrum, we have kyphotic posture, or a rounded back like a scared cat. Which I believe would be one of the worst positions a lifter can be in for front squatting. When your office desk worker gets to the gym and wants to front squat, they may have some issues due to the mobility demands of the front squat. 

You need to get the arms into a combination of shoulder flexion and external rotation. A lot of times we think we have immobile wrists or some wacky self diagnosis. Often times it's just some soft tissue restrictions and mobilizations needed prior to lifting. 

Step 1: Soft Tissue Work

The rhomboids also have to contract isometrically and can fatigue to the point to where these muscles can no longer maintain proper position as well. This influences bar position as well. I would roll out the entire trap/rhomboid area. 

Releasing the pecs and subclavius area goes a long way in helping to achieve a better rack position as well. Video courtesy of Eric Cressey. 

Important to keep these loose, even if you're not front squatting, your hands will thank you. 

The triceps, in particular the long head is often responsible for being short and not allowing the lats to get to full lengthening. 

Step 2: Mobilization

With a moderately heavy band around your elbow, drive it forward and down while simultaneously exhaling to maintain proper rib position. You'll want to perform this in a contract and relax manner. 

I would externally rotate (palm facing the ceiling) and then lean back and get a good pull on the lats. You can also do this internally (back of your hand facing you) too. 

A few final notes:

Elbows up is a cue that you'll hear very often. This also reinforces the most important position of the movement where the bar will want to roll down at the bottom. The goal should be to keep the elbows pointing as far upwards as possible. think a parallel line between your upper arm and the floor.

Another issue is the california style or cross armed grip which I'm not a big fan of. Under substantial load one elbow stays higher than the other and can be detrimental to proper structural alignment of the shoulders and can potentially create a chain of imbalances through your hip and knee. 

This question came over instagram, if you should have any questions use the hashtag #askghfitness and I'll create a piece of content to hopefully solve your problem!