In “Q&A – 43” I asked readers to perform as many manly deeds as possible to win a 70’s Big shirt. They were pretty interesting or amusing, so I thought a separate post would be good.
scants on September 25, 2012 at 2:31 pm said:
Manly Deeds:
– completed week 27 in Kabul, Afghanistan
– ran 10kms in support of the Soldier On program (for wounded troops) and the Canadian Army Military Families Fund (I DON’T run but it’s for a good cause…the choice was 5 or 10 kms and I didn’t want to be a pussy and take the easy route)
– passed my Blue Stripe test in Taekwondo.
– ate chicken fingers for breakfast yesterday.
– got a runner to start lifting.
– after a 4 month layoff from bench and pulls due to something broken in my hand FINALLY was able to start back at it…
cfitz on September 21, 2012 at 4:25 pm said:
Manly deeds: carried boxes of books for a teacher, created sucrose solutions of varying molarity for bio teacher(manly?), helped my elderly neighbor move junk out of her house, spread training knowledge, snatched 205 and cl and j 245 at 190 bw 3 weeks after starting Olympic lifts, and finally my highschool lacrosse coach officially dubbed me “the beast” and said I look like a man playing among boys.
Maslow on September 21, 2012 at 5:47 pm said:
Manly deeds: 1) completed navigation and tour of the California coast with my new wife in a rented mustang convertable. I’d never been there before and neither had she. Most days I wore short shorts, except for when it was too cold I wore pants similar to vietnam-era BDUs. One day we completed a 10-mile loop through a state park in Big Sur covering stunning beaches, mountains and redwoods, all without a map. I mean I looked at the map at the entrance, then went with it from there. I didn’t want to leave. During this time I grew a beard as a place holder so that I could have a mustache (not really possible to grow a mustache solo IMHO). Day 10 I shaved the beard with a shitty disposable razor and left the mustache. When I got home my electric shaver was packed in a moving box so I shaved 18 days of growth off of my lip with a dull disposable razor. 2) This morning I noticed one of my chest hairs almost touches one of my throat hairs. They day the two sections legitimately merge will be nothing short of monumental in my life.
suzymac on September 21, 2012 at 11:07 pm said:
Went for rep PRs this week after 5 solid weeks in the 1-5 rep range.
Stats: female, weight just under one fiddy
DL: 10 @ 215 (clean grip)
Also did 285 on rack pulls which is relatively new in my lift rotation.
BP: 10 @ 100
And used 135 for snatch pulls from hang position.
And my manly acts (even though I’m a girl) this week were:
Mowing the yard…twice
Having the balls to drop in unannounced on an attorney I’m trying to get a job with
Rescuing a teenager getting crushed by his bench press fail
Rejecting post-coital cuddling by shutting off the lamp and saying “no more touching”.
Watching hours of war documentaries
Currently recovering from all my pr’s and manliness with red wine, chicken thighs and roasted beets.
And finally, the winner of the Manly Deeds Contest
taedoju on September 21, 2012 at 4:49 pm said:
deeds:
– helped to move my friend
– i helped em…not totaly normal girl which is overweight with exercises, she takes care of mentally disabled people (she kinda is…well in that team) but wanted to lose some weight and get more social with people, i will take care of her for some time. she can squat now, yet she doesnt quite now why she should, but we are working on it : ) it’s hard to comunicate with her, but im learning to.
– i took my friends with their girlfriends to the gym . and thought them all to squat, soo 4 people more squatting:D girls loved it. that’s all, not quite a lot..
Basically taedoju is saying that he helped a mentally handicapped girl in the gym. My older brother is mentally handicapped and I grew up around a lot of handicapped kids, therefore I have a special place in my heart for them. Most people are afraid to approach them since they are different, but they typically really enjoy interaction with people. Taedoju wins the manly award for going out of his way to communicate and help with the mentally handicapped girl; it’s a really kind thing to do. The kind of thing a man does.
My last six nights have looked like this: camping in the truck, camping in the tent, Great American Beer Festival shenanigans, local brewery Shenanigans, GABF shenanigans, and then camping above 10,000 feet in the snow. Needless to say I was a bit knackered after all that adventuring and drinking — IT’S WHAT DUDES DO!
During those six days I trained twice, not including hiking and the inevitable core workout that comes from off-roading for hours at a time. While the first time was at CrossFit Lodo on Friday, the second time was at the gym hotel (which was equipped with machines and dumbbells up to 100 pounds). This is a short guide on training with limited time or equipment, but is mostly focused on being in a different location (as opposed to trying to get a workout at home).
This pic from the Great American Beer Festival is to make you jealous you didn’t go.
The Basics
Think about what the foundations of your fitness or performance entail: strength, mobility, and endurance. If you’re exclusively a strength athlete, that will include power and swollertrophy. High intensity conditioning and muscular endurance would be relevant to an endurance athlete, fitness competitor, or even “applied fitness” trainees (a term we use in FIT to signify someone who requires fitness for their job, like a fireman or soldier). Mobility is inherently important to all trainees and provides the capacity to get strong and muscular. At the very least your skewed training schedule will give you time to work on your mobility, and that may be enough for some people. You can create a workout that fits your training style, but you can also do something simple to “get the blood flowing”. Increasing the heart rate and moving through a full range of motion — not necessarily at high intensity — can aid recovery, relieve stress (especially if you’re on a busy work trip), and provide a positive stimulus to fuel regular training after returning home.
Bring as much as you can.
If you literally won’t have any equipment, you can improvise with what is available to you. For example, chairs can be dipped on, stepped on, or used to elevate the feet for push-ups. Otherwise bring as much small pieces of equipment as you can. Light bands and a jump rope can easily fit into a carry-on bag for band pulls and very light conditioning. Otherwise bring your mobility gear and work on your problem areas.
What’s the goal?
Now that you clarified what type of trainee you are and have acquired available equipment, what is your goal for the session? If it’s just to get the blood flowing, just jump rope and do some calisthenics. If you are a strength and power athlete, then use speed and explosive work. If you are a general trainee, then use assistance exercises to aid the strength lifts or catch a contagious, World Health Organization-worrying pump. If you are an endurance, applied fitness, or conditioning trainee, then use the light weights and your body weight for higher rep sets for muscular endurance or go ahead and get a high intensity conditioning workout.
Explosive Work
This is probably the most under-utilized style of training in limited environments, yet the most effective. If the dumbbells only go up to 50 pounds, then press them (with a neutral, palm-in grip) for speed doubles or triples on the minute. Hold the dumbbells and do speed squats or deads. Do three pull-ups on the minute as fast as you can. Use different jumps like squat jumps (i.e. preceding the jump with a full squat), high jumps (i.e. jumping as high as you can), broad jumps (for horizontal distance), triple jumps (i.e. same as broad jumps, but using the landing of the first and second jumps as an immediate stretch reflex for subsequent jumps), or bounds (i.e. jumping for horizontal or vertical distance off one foot at a time. In the past I’ve alternated jumps with presses on 30 second intervals.
Keep the speed or plyometric structure simple and do two or three reps on a 30 to 60 second clock and do 5 to 10 sets. The idea of timed plyo work is to demand that the muscle fibers contract as fast as possible while fatigued — the fact that they are doing it in a fatigued state is the thing that they aren’t adapted to (i.e the adaptive stress). Speed work will help improve rate of force development and neuromuscular efficiency.
Assistance
If you’re tired, unmotivated, injured, or have crusty mobility from sitting all day and don’t want to jump around, just hit some assistance exercises that will either push your main lifts or give you some maximum jackage. The former may include dumbbell or banded good mornings, weighted lunges, or even holding a heavy dumbbell and do Zercher or front squats. The latter could include a few sets of dumbbell bench or press, triceps press downs, pull-ups, dumbbell rows, or weighted back extensions. Oh, and curls. Do at least one thousand repetitions of your choice curl and then go out of your way to tell everyone about it (i.e. co-workers, hotel employees, children in the swimming pool, etc.). It’s the curl that will give you the most bang for your buck since it hits both heads of the biceps and incorporates the brachioradialis of the forearm.
Notice that most of these exercises are compound movements that will improve the main lifts, but still improve muscularity. Realistically you could forego all of this advice and just do shirtless chest flies in front of the mirror while chewing gum, but I digress.
You may also remember “When In Doubt…Train Your Back“, a post I wrote about training the back side when short on time. But don’t forget other necessary exercises like farmer’s walks and side planks. Having a whacky schedule is the perfect opportunity to do pre-hab exercises or improve your grip.
Conditioning
It’s really not hard to get a solid high intensity conditioning workout in with limited equipment. In FIT I give plenty of examples, but aim to use compound, multi-joint exercises that use a lot of musculature to use a lot of energy to create a deficit in substrates for a quality adaptive stress. If that sentence doesn’t make sense, then read through FIT because we break it down Crayola style there.
Just Do It
The biggest issue with training during a weird schedule is actually getting off your ass and doing it. On Saturday, we were hungover and tired. In a few hours we were going to jump back into the fray at the GABF, but I decided to get a quick workout in the hotel facility. After a bit of jump rope, dumbbell bench, dumbbell front squat, machine rows, banded good mornings, and back extensions, we felt much better (I did press and weighted pull-ups the day before, otherwise I would have pressed the DBs and done the pull-ups). When you’re on a trip that has halted your training, strung you out, and possibly left you hungover, a quick muscle contraction workout will help immensely.
PR Friday is an opportunity to be a part of this amusing and fun community. You don’t “need” to be a certain strength level — post your progress or weekly PR’s. Everyone is on the same quest of strength, muscularity, and performance.
Beer brewed with bull testicles.
I forgot to list a Weekly Challenge last week (oops — sometimes I write the rest of the post before I’ve decided on one). I offered a shirt for the “Manly Deeds” challenge a few weeks back and have a winner — will do a post next week on that.
Next Week’s Challenge comes from a friend who just got out of the “professional soldiering for Uncle Sam” business, and it is: complete as many trips up and down a set of monkey bars — note how many monkey bars one length is. Don’t do this wearing a ski mask and don’t do it during recess.
Meanwhile I’ve been solo adventuring/camping around Colorado and am now in Denver for the Great American Beer Festival with some friends. Beers I tasted include: bacon beer, peanut butter beer, combining the peanut butter beer with a blackberry beer (essentially creating a PB&J), a beer made with BULL TESTICLES, and a beer that was so spicy I had to pray to the old gods to ask for forgiveness so that my soul would stop burning.
Q&A
Justin,
I’m about to graduate this December with an exercise science degree. I’ve been interning since May with my school’s strength and conditioning staff and will continue until next May when I go to get my CSCCa. I don’t want to go to grad school in order to work at a college, but since I want to open up my own gym, I feel like I need to get some collegiate experience so I can better train people. What is your advice on this? Also, what certifications do you think are most important for a trainer to s&c coach to have?
Thanks for your help,
“chief” on 70sbig
Dear chief,
It sounds as though you’re doing the internship to satisfy your undergraduate requirements, but why do you have to wait that long in order to sit for the CSCS exam? Either way, it isn’t necessary to work in the collegiate realm if you want to own a gym. It certainly wouldn’t hurt, but it’s not necessary. I helped out (like an unofficial internship) in my university’s S&C program, but I was already owning/coaching CrossFit and had been personal training for a while. It’ll give you good experience for running classes, working with performance athletes, and seeing the logistics of a goal oriented facility.
All that being said, you could get in the gym industry without anything at all. I mean, look at all the people who start CrossFit facilities with just a few months of training experience. Sure, there are many CrossFit places that provide quality training, but there are also other facilities with coaches who have no business doing what they do. My only point is that the success of a gym business sadly isn’t solely dependent on the capability of the coach — this is a business that is dependent on the local market and the actions of the owner. If you are curious to talk more about business, I’m sure there are readers willing to do so (including friends of mine).
You already stated you don’t want to go to grad school so definitely don’t do it. It’s a slog, and you should only do it if you’re committed. As for certifications, I would sit for the CSCS as soon as you can. That really is the gold standard in the conventional fitness realm. I’ll point out that I don’t have it, but if I was going to get one to establish “credibility” for certain types of jobs or positions, that would be the one I would get. A certification doesn’t prove much, but some other good ones to have are USA Weightlifting and USA Track and Field.
Coaching and training isn’t about the letters after your name. And technically, education level (particularly S&C knowledge) isn’t dependent on certifications either. Your success in a business will be decided on how much you care for your clients. Your success as a S&C coach will depend on your ability to critically think, and I try and teach this skill through this website. Whatever you do, don’t stop learning.
Justin, I have a very important question. I wore short shorts to a crossfit competition this weekend that I attended as a spectator (for those who have never been/hate crossfit/whatever, go, it’s awesome) and I went to watch my friend compete but I was constantly surrounded by girls attempting to tear off my clothes. What can I possibly do to avoid this horrible side effect of manly short shorts?
Dear NolanPower,
This is a normal, albeit unavoidable side effect. Recently I went to the grocery store right before midnight in short shorts and a tank-top. This funny guy I see regularly was there that night. A few weeks later he was checking me out at the register and I reminded him of that night (because I bought a three-foot banana squash because I thought it was funny). He says, “Oh yeah! You had those shorts on. We didn’t know if you were in a hurry or…if you were gonna kill us all…”
But then he said that the females enjoyed it. I say this because The Revolution is important. Every time a female sees you in short shorts, it provides a(n orgasmic) stimulus that alters her perception of manliness, masculinity, and attractiveness. Expose her with enough frequency, volume, and intensity, and she will soon forget that skinny guys have any relevancy in her life. This means that she’ll naturally select a mate who is burly, strong, and muscular. They may eventually mate and produce more stout offspring, thereby reducing the “skinny” variation from the gene pool. No, we’re not talking about ethnic cleansing, but we’re talking about fully capable humans and men in a time where frailty — both physically and socially — are glorified.
Justin, I have an athlete belt from Bestbelts which I’ve been using for the last two years or so. I’ve developed a chronic lower rib (floating) pain on the back a few inches from the spine. I’ve posted about it a couple times and someone asked if I had hyper lordosis but then never explained why they asked. To answer their question, I do have hyper lordosis.
In my limited knowledge of the body, I’m guessing that perhaps the lordosis causes most of the belts pressure to be applied to the top and bottom of the belt since it probably isn’t entirely touching my back, perhaps causing undue pressure/stress on the ribs? Does that sound right? If so what are my options? At this point I’ve stopped deadlifting with a belt and plan on taking it off for squatting as well to see if it feels any better after a couple of weeks.
At this point I wake up with my ribs aching, they ache at work and especially ache when wearing body armor.
What are my options? Learn to live with squatting and deadlifting without a belt? Nylon belt? Thinner belt? I’m well into correcting my hyper lordosis with daily couch stretches and frequent psoas releases. Would stuffing a shirt or towel in the hollow spot of my back between the belt help?
Thanks for your time and keep writing great articles!
-Kev B.
Dear Kev B,
First, you are correct that your first priority should be improving the hyperlordosis. Review this “Hyperlordosis” post. You should also be looking to improve your posture by tightening your lower abs and glutes. In the post I talk about doing this every time you go through a doorway to help make it a habit. Keep the daily psoas and hip flexor work.
As for lifting, you need to start lifting with a correct spinal position. On deadlift, it can help if you tighten your abs before starting the lift. If you consciously contract your abdominals, you won’t be able to anteriorly rotate your pelvis (see the above post to see what this means) and will avoid the position that is not only making your belt ineffective, but also irritating your ribs.
I would need you to describe your rib pain clearly — is it the base of the rib at the spine or the intercostal musculature that gives you fits? Either way, this needs to be rectified because it will either reduce your stability because it’s not 100% or provide enough pain to the point that your stability will be hampered (the body usually tries to avoid pain, and this can put you in awkward positions and induce other problems in lifting). I would put a premium on side planks and rotational assistance exercises to see if it helps with the rib issue.
It’s possible that your torso is short and a normal 4 inch belt is irritating your lower ribs. If this is the case, you can get a 3 inch suede belt or get a Harbinger nylon velcro belt. If you need to wear these in the short term, that’s fine. I would think that if you correct your mechanics that your regular belt will suffice (assuming a normal torso length). Whatever you do, the priority should be NOT hurting when wearing body armor at work.
By the time of this post I’ll be in Denver, Colorado for the Great American Beer Festival. I’ll also have been in the wilderness by myself for a couple of days, but that’s neither here nor there.
I’ve always wanted to teach and entertain through 70’s Big, but I also like to help you stay motivated, inspired, and ready to kick the wall down every time you train. Mike linked me the following video, and I thought it was powerful enough to share. If we can all keep this drive, motivation, and consistency in our lives, then impossibility is no longer in our vocabulary.
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
–Walt Disney
“If it had not been for the wind in my face, I wouldn’t be able to fly at all.”
–Arthur Ashe
Light the burner, woosh,
the pan clatters to the grill.
Unwrap the paper, treasure awaits inside.
Black and silent burns the pan, this witches cauldron about to perform magic.
In mere moments, the silence turns to sizzling, cracking, popping.
The aroma wafts up, intoxicating,
but only a false phantom of the true blissful taste which awaits.
Turning, browning, crisping.
The anticipation is agony, an exercise in patience and restraint.
It is time, the tongs lower in and victory is pulled out.
Lowered to the plate like a newborn.
It is time.
You are mine.
Bacon.
