by Sean St. Onge
1. It’s been 20 years since I stayed up late on a hot summer night in August of 1994 to watch Metallica (my favorite band at the time) play live…damn I’m getting old. And so are they. I’d better see them live soon huh???
2. I never realized how G&*^ Da$#& funny Joan Rivers was, sadly, until after she passed.
3.“Take your time, hurry up, choice is yours, don’t be late…” – K.Cobain
As it pertains to “pace” in the gym- while I suggest to my clientele to take as much rest as needed before “BIG LIFTS” (i.e. maximal effort or progressive overload sets of deadlifts, squats, bench, glute bridge, and anything with a barbell), I do not mean hanging around for north of 90 seconds from the previous lift or assistance drill sandwiched between your big lift. Don’t waste more of your time.
There is a time and place for everything. Many go too fast and negate the maximal effort needed just to get that “training effect” of being sweaty and keeping your heart rate up. And many also go too slow as mentioned above. If you are one of the group that is looking for the most bang for your buck by getting in your big lifts as well as creating a cardio effect without hindering your progress, implore the Tyler English method. Tyler is a strength coach out of Connecticut who has, for the past few years, implemented a new twist to density training.
You can learn more about it here and it is something clients at 212 H & P and my own would recognize, http://fitbusinessinsider.com/a-new-approach-to-density-training/
4. Extrovert by day/ Introvert by night!!!!
The energy I hope to infect people with reminds me of a story Metallica lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett, once described from a fan. "The movement and energy to provide the music that exited from the amplifiers was distributed to the crowd and the crowd replied with energy that fed the musicians to play harder faster and with more zeal." For me, this is how I normally operate. No supplements needed for me to be that ridiculous. I know, how sad. Yet, when I return home for a brief time I crash and enter “Introverted Sean.” I usually need some time to collect myself, recharge, and decompress. For coaches /trainers/teachers alike, it is extremely important to realize which you are in order to prepare yourselves so that you do not take someone’s head off at the wrong time. As it pertains to the extroverted and introverted client, which are you??? Do you know and moreover, can you discern which you are? For the trainer/coach, it is vitally important for us to make that distinction as soon as possible so it allows us to program for you and “see how you tick” and/or learn.
5. As a trainer, I realize many of my clients feel I am some kind of dungeon master here to torment their existence. Yet, I hope no one ever equates me to being “Terry Silver” in Karate Kid III. He was a dick, and a crappy coach, on purpose or not. That metal skeleton thing sucked…then again, in all three films Daniel was a big baby. Mheh they all sucked except Mr. Miyagi- he was bad ass. I think I’m in the clear. I just need to be more Miyagi.
6. My favorite film of this past year was easily Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Here are some simple words to live by from Star Lord errrr I mean, Chris Pratt on training:
"I actually lost weight by eating more food, but eating the right food, eating healthy foods and so when I was done with the movie my body hadn't been in starvation mode."
"I do maybe one hour in the gym maybe four days a week, and that's it."
7. After watching the LIFETIME, (don’t judge, it was for a good cause) made for TV film “The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story,” I am so glad I never really liked A.C. Slater aka Mario Lopez…what a dink. Story came out a bit lopsided seeing it was from Dustin Diamond’s perspective, yet I was entertained.
Zach still is the man though! I mean “Mark Paul.”
8. Neck tightness related to inner thigh/adductor tightness??? If you find you have a tight neck or strained neck muscles when performing presses or, in general, try using a 2KG medicine ball and roll your….adductor/inner thighs!?!?!? Give it a try and then get back to me…worst case scenario, you find out your inner thighs are jact up!!! Yet the correlation could be misuse/no use of abdominal muscles due to strain or tightness in either spot. This is why it is important to be assessed to make sure you are not masking one problem to create another elsewhere. Stay tuned for another “Cheating Strength” workshop with me and Dr. Vincent Brunelle soon!
9. Do not mistake Foam Roller/SMR (self myofascial release) as a complete dynamic warm up, or to use in lieu of one. Dynamic warm ups are extremely important, do NOT skip them. If you are running late, always do your warm up and, should you wish to, fill in your soft tissue/SMR in-between sets. Your warm up should get you sweating and elevate your heart rate. Again, if you have to “skip” anything, be sure your dynamic warm up is NOT one of them.
10. “Knee break ankle mobilizations” and “rocking ankle mobilizations” are two of my favorite and, to me, most under appreciated warm up drills. “What the hell am I doing here?” or “what is this exactly doing for me?” are the most common responses to these drills. Sadly, neither of these drills will cure world hunger; give you magical rock-hard abs, or get you sweaty and ready to fight a lion. Yet, what they will do is provide your body with a greater degree of foot dorsiflexion which many people lack and it is exactly that movement pattern that will give better mobility towards sprinting, deadlifting, and squatting.
