Category Archives: Rant

Just Because You Can…

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Ah the internet; it makes everyone an expert. It, for some reason, gives people the impression that other people give a shit about their opinion and reflects the growing individual narcissism in western culture.

Over the years I’ve noticed how an athlete will achieve some success in training or competition and have the narcissism to think that they need to start preaching to their fans. And I don’t mean, “Hard work pays off, ya’ll” (which would be equally annoying), but crappily coaching or teaching things that are largely based on their personal observation for what worked for them. While being a good competitor can be a segue into being a good coach, the former does not imply the latter.

Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you can teach or coach it. 

Performance and coaching are two very different things, but for some reason athletic success gives the athlete the impression that they are an expert. Coaching is an orgy of art, science, communication, personality, creativity, and tact. To do it well is a very rare thing.

Yet it happens: an athlete experiences a bit of success and are suddenly in the world giving advice, speaking definitively, and taking people’s money. Let me be clear that I don’t care that they are entering the “field” that I work in. What bothers me is that the advice or products they expunge are vapid and fair at best.

You may be reading this with a particular offending person in mind, but my observations aren’t directed at an individual. As a coach — and one who studies and practices the craft on multiple levels — it’s just silly to see an athlete suddenly decide that their success puts them on a pedestal. But this isn’t about me just being irritated, this is about you not being duped.

When you spend your money and time — the latter of which is arguably the most important — learning from someone, make sure it’s because they can provide you with effective knowledge that challenges you to get better. Don’t go to them just because they can bench press more or do conditioning workouts faster than you.

Does Eli Manning, Petyon Manning’s 2-time Super Bowl winning brother, look like a guy that can coach?

This poses another question: should the coaches you learn from be high performers? Not necessarily. I can end this discussion by saying that Greg Glassman is no bastion of fitness, yet tens of thousands of people have gone to him and CrossFit over the years for fitness knowledge. I always laugh at how Tommy Tough Guys will scoff that a coach can’t lift or perform at a given level. Well, I’ve got news for you: Peyton Manning’s coach can’t throw a football like him! Yet the coach provides the gameplan and guidance for Peyton Manning to utilize, develop, and execute successfully.

And that’s what a good coach does; he sets an athlete up to be successful. A coach doesn’t need to be able to do what his athlete can. Now, a fitness or lifting coach should still practice what he preaches on a fundamental level. A coach shouldn’t ask his trainees to do something that he would not be willing to do, relatively speaking. For example, it’s not really effective to be fat and preach about clean diet or tout strength training as important for longevity and then not train.

It’s important for coaches to practice what they preach, but being a good coach isn’t about athletic prowess. It’s about communicating and teaching the nuances of training to yield improvements in performance. No where in that description did it say, “They need to have accomplished x in the sport.” So the next time you see an athlete going out of their way to give advice — especially if they’ve recently experienced success — turn off your giddy hero worship and pay attention to the validity of what they are saying. Confusing sport success and coaching ability is like confusing a cooked sausage and a turd.

 

The Disorganization of USAW

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For years people have lambasted USA Weightlifting for failing to grow the sport or perform well internationally. I’ve publicly defended USAW regarding the performance aspect and have also pointed out how they get a reprieve from growing the sport (CrossFit will take care of that). However, there’s still something that they should be on trial for: how awfully disorganized they are.

Some of us remember how a couple of years ago the online streaming feed did not work for nationals — a big hiccup. And people who were actually present at this year’s Arnold Sport Festival (AKA “The Arny”)[spoiler] Chris and Mike specifically refer to it as “The Arny”. If someone says “The Arnold”, they will ask them, “The what?” over and over until they say, “The Arny”. Then they’ll say, “Oh, the Arny?”[/spoiler] The schedule was changed on Thursday, the night before all of the lifting started. Whether or not they allowed lifters into the Senior National meet after the deadline or they allowed too many lifters is irrelevant, because the result was that several lifters were not privy to this schedule change and missed their weigh-in times and therefore were told that they could not lift. To make matters worse, the sessions did not start and end on time and the 94-A group ended after midnight. Then the 105-A session started at 8:00 AM the next morning. For people like me who wanted to watch both sessions, we barely got any sleep and it ruined our Saturday schedule at The Arny. To be clear: USAW ruined my Saturday at The Arny because of their disorganization.

I wasn’t present at the American Open this past weekend, yet I hear the venue was good and things were relatively organized. There were only a couple sessions that ran long and only a few weird things (like how there was only four lifters in the 94-A session). Yet, they had a scheduling problem again.

On Sunday morning I logged onto the official USAW American Open page to download the “tentative lifting schedule” and the “tentative start list”. The times on each list were available the day of the meet, yet they were different. This caused a friend of mine to miss his weigh-in and therefore not lift. He was told he should have checked the night before. Sorry USAW, the customer is always right. For a guy who works a full time job and is spending his hard earned money to attend your meet — that he’s giving you money to participate in — he shouldn’t have to double and triple check your mistakes. And even if he had seen the discrepancy in the ‘start list’ and ‘schedule’, he would have had to show up and say, “Okay, which one of these is correct?” (and some how find the time to do this since his flight got in late on the night he was supposed to check USAW’s accuracy).

In good, worthy companies the customer is always right. REI allows 100% refunds, no questions asked. Wal-Mart is a juggernaut and can afford to accept stupid refunds. Small business know that they need to treat their customers well in order to continue receiving business. Why should USAW be any different?

In the last year there have been more than one national meet that has had this scheduling issue. What the hell is the problem? Is the entry form deadline not adhered to? Are more lifters accepted than the venue can allow? Are more lifters accepted than the schedule can allow? Why can’t the schedule be set two weeks before the event? I realize that it’s in the ‘rules’ that the schedule can change the night before it starts, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay. Why? Because there are people paying hundreds dollars to travel to these national meets and they are told that they aren’t allowed to lift because USAW is incompetent. I’ll again point out that this has happened to more than one person this year — and it’s happening because USAW is disorganized.

If the lifters simply missed their weigh-in, then that’d be their fault. But the reason they are missing the times are because USAW is posting the wrong times, and even doing so on the day of the meet. This isn’t just bothering me because a friend of mine was screwed out of not lifting — and was denied lifting as an extra in another session — or because I had a crappy weekend at The Arny. It’s because 70’s Big receives over 100,000 unique readers a month. Through this website I’ve personally sent at least hundreds of people into USAW, and then USAW consistently shows disorganization in how they conduct their operations. Why would I want to send people to use an organization that consistently fails? And you know what? USA Powerlifting doesn’t have these problems!

In fact, at The Arny USAPL’s platforms and stage were set up and looking very professional the night before the meet began. Meanwhile USAW was scrounging around throwing their stage in place late into the night before The Arny kicked off. And don’t get me started on poor judging in the USAW. Not only was it abysmal at Nationals (to include a judge who was at least 130 years old), but I also heard it was poor this last weekend. But these are grumblings the regular USAW members deal with. They see it as normal and not something that will change.

Horse pucky. Just because an organization is consistently bad doesn’t mean we should be okay with it. I’ve seen fraternities with better organizational skills. USAW should, at the very least, refund the meet entry fee for people who miss weigh-ins on the account of USAW’s failings. In actuality, I think they should also refund travel expenses, but that won’t happen since they can’t even acknowledge that the fault is theirs (or return my call).

All I know is that I’ll be hesitant to recommend new lifters to join the USAW until I see that they show better organization.

The Revolution – Part 2

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Exhibit A. The way it used to be.

There was a time.

A time when manliness was an aspiration. Desired. The epitome of adulthood. A woman wanted a warm, burly embrace complete with a chest hair snuggle. Nowadays the average lass cuddles with a spidery, non-lensed glasses-wearing waif who bruises from a charlie horsed leg.

HAS THE WHOLE WORLD GONE CRAZY?

This aggression will not stand. We must rise to action. The Revolution has gained momentum; the resistance swells every day.

Your mission, brother, if you choose to accept it, is to take flannel back from the hipsters.

These vile creatures are a cancer to our withering society. They claim to be original and avoid the mainstream, yet one of their chief styles of clothing is something worn by manly men for decades. How the hell do they justify that? The result is our nation’s youth growing up to see a bunch of annoying pukes wearing “flannel”. The first decade of a child’s life is very important; their first impressions create the foundations of their mind, ethos, and philosophy. If we allow skinny hipster goobers to falsely represent a sense of manliness, then subsequent generations will aspire to be thin, incapable, and irrelevant. We cannot let this happen.

The weather grows chilly in the northern hemisphere and it is our duty as big, strong men to reset the standard. It is our density. Here are the steps to completing yet another mission in The Revolution.

1. Know thy enemy. 

Exhibit B

Ladies. Gentlemen. This is what we’re up against (Exhibit B). In your journeys you will come across a shriveled excuse for a male: the hipster. He will don the flannel, as his wont. Your goal is not to engage him in mortal combat, yet to alpha the shit out of him in a respectable manner. Enter the room with confidence and a smile; it will immediately over power his internal shoulder rotation, thoracic flexion, cervical flexion, and atlas extension. And you better believe his pelvis is posteriorily tilted.

If the enemy follows you into the room, make sure to hold the door open. After all, it’s something you should automatically do for all females, especially when you mistaken the dainty hipster for one.

If you must engage the enemy in conversation, introduce yourself with a firm, but not aggressive handshake. His limp-fished hand will tell the real story. It’ll help if your hands are weathered. You probably have accomplished this by lifting weights, but it helps if you chop wood, drink whiskey, or spend time outdoors. The hipster, for example, is not strong enough to even swing an axe.

Smile. Converse. Be polite. Be yourself. For if you act like yourself, you have already won because the hipster is trying to be something he is not. This creature wants. to. fit. in. He will do and wear anything to be a part of a group that is the pukish spawn of urban middle class poons. Christian Lorentzen of Time Out New York claims that metrosexuality is the hipster appropriation of gay culture, as a trait carried over from their “Emo” phase. He writes that “these aesthetics are assimilated—cannibalized—into a repertoire of meaninglessness, from which the hipster can construct an identity in the manner of a collage, or a shuffled playlist on an iPod” (source). They essentially think they are cooler than America — and NOBODY is cooler than America (see Exhibit C for proof).

Exhibit C. Nothing is cooler than America.

Do not try and beat the hipster at his own game (which is hypocrisy . Merely present yourself as the amiable manly man you are. It will help if you have chest hair, own at least three knives, or have recently started a fire without matches (and preferably not accidentally in a house). You don’t have to comprehend the enemy, but knowing that he aims to not conform by conforming to an irrelevant cultural style will let you conquer him with standard, old-school manliness.

2. Choosing your flannel. 

It’s very important that your flannel is not marketed toward the enemy. Don’t shop in teen or urban sections. In fact, reconsider your clothing store if it has these sections. Outdoor stores are a good start, but I’ve had success at Kohl’s and Goodwill in the past.

Note that cheaper flannel shirts are made of cotton. If you plan on doing any outdoorsy adventuring, aim to get wool or synthetic types of flannel. Cotton is death in the woods because it absorbs water and doesn’t dry quickly. It’s not manly to die in the woods alone.

Aim for the classic flannel look. Hipsters, emo kids, and skateboarders are trying to popularize obnoxious patterns and colors. Before you make your purchase, ask yourself, “Can I wear this outside in a snowy forest and not look like a fuck-head?” If the answer is no, do not make the purchase and consider burning the building down.

3. Wearing your flannel. 

Look, I don’t know anything about fashion. But I do know that you shouldn’t ever — EVER — button the top button on your flannel. Especially without buttoning the other buttons, cause then you’ll just look like Konnan from WCW. I’d also question buttoning that second button because it’s a very hipster thing to do. Why do they all do it if they all do it? I thought they were trying to avoid conformity? I guess wearing black-rim glasses, even en mass, really sticks it to the man, huh? Let your neck breathe.

A shirt is optional, but if you forego the under shirt make sure that you have chest hair. Unless they look like pubes. If they look like pubes then chicks aren’t gonna want to snuggle it. Actually, let’s just make a rule that you have to bench 300+ in order to wear flannel without an undershirt. It’ll set a good example for the kids and ensure there’s enough pec for lady cuddling (you don’t have to like cuddling for a woman to nuzzle your chest, just pretend that you do).

Exhibit D. Aim to be mistaken for the Brawny Man.

The best way to wear flannel is to role the sleeves up to right below the elbow. This allows you to tease nearby females with your forearm power, but it further establishes the stark difference between you and a hipster. Most hipsters will have bony protrusions coming out of their flannel arm holes. If you are concerned by a lack of forearm development, then promptly throw in several thousand reps of hammer curls a day. By having rippling steak forearms, you’ll fit the archetype of “man” or “lumberjack” — you know, the things that flannel-wearing emits. This is what we want and need; your flannel presence should be memorable. Not “memorable” in the sense that you drink so much whiskey that you flip tables after standing on them while air guitaring, but if someone refers to you as “The Brawny Man”, you did your job. You want people to go home and say, “God DAMN did that guy look manly in that flannel.” They should either a) want to look like that or b) want to find and romance a dude that looks like that. The latter applies to females, but if it’s two consenting dudes then I guess that’s cool too.

Fight the Good Fight

Remember, every time you clothe yourself in the morning you make a statement. Do you want that statement to say, “I will conform to how skinny, no-lifting puke-faces are shaping modern society”? Or will you say, “God damn it, I’m a man”? We shall take back America.

Join The Resistance — WEAR FLANNEL!

 

Play The Hand You’re Dealt

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That’s a 220 pound guy legitimately strict pressing 260 pounds overhead. For four. His knees don’t move and he’s not whipping his torso around. Impressive.

At USAPL Raw Nationals, AC had a shoulder tweak and was only able to bench 386 on his second attempt (at a 215ish body weight). In the meet write up, I said, “We’ll get the issue taken care of.”

Obviously the video above shows that we did. That and the fact that AC benched 405×2 on his final double recently. The major cue I gave him was to keep his elbows in on both movements (it maintains external rotation, distributes force across the triceps and anterior deltoid better therefore reducing stress on the A/C and glenohumeral joint, and allows for more efficient force application which makes a stronger press or bench). He’s also been using close grip bench as an assistance (I talk about the benefits and programming in The Texas Method: Advanced) as well as some direct triceps work (i.e. push-downs).

The reaction most people have to AC lifting is, “Wow! He’s a freak! I can never be like that!” There was a similar discussion a few weeks ago on /r/weightroom (here) about me. People think guys like AC, Chris, or even me are genetic freaks capable of unheard of feats. While we may lift well, it’s not because we have innate ability. It boils down to having an innate consistent and determined approach to training. All of my friends not only train with reckless intensity (with the exception of Brent who meanders to the barbell), but we aim to make our lifting, programming, and recovery better every day. I remember when AC pressed less than 185 and Chris deadlifted 440×5 — we are not genetic freaks. If anything, say that our obsession and focus is freakish.

At the same time it’s true that you may not ever get to press 260 for reps. That’s just reality. And it’s okay! If you started training in the last few years, most of us have many years on you. However, you shouldn’t gripe about it and feel like a bitch every time you go into the weight room. It’s okay that you’re squatting 230 while some fucking MASTODON is out there in the world doing his light volume work with 545 raw to full depth. We all start somewhere. Instead, decide to train your fucking dick off so that you can be the best at whatever your goal is.

There’s an amazing quote from The Lord of the Rings that had a profound effect on me when I first read the books in high school. Basically Frodo is bitching about the predicament they’re in and Gandalf lays down some Old Man Knowledge:

Frodo: “I wish none of this had happened.”

Gandalf: “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

 

Being weak is definitely a disparaging situation. Are you going to let your weakness consume you, or are you gonna get up and find that fucking dog? Make a decision to not give a shit what other people are doing; we all start somewhere. Decide to be the best you can god damn be with what you have. God damn it.

 

 

The Fat Epidemic

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Jay Ashman posted on Facebook about and article stating by the year 2030, 39 states will have obesity rates over 50%. Alarming indeed. Don’t forget every state in the U.S. is currently at least 50% overweight or obese. These numbers are based on the BMI, something I abhor. The BMI is just a ratio of weight and height and it doesn’t take into account body composition. It’s a way to quickly get a gauge of a body type from an epidemiological perspective. If you are lean, yet lift, you’re probably going to be overweight or obese. “Overweight” consists of a BMI 25≤x<30  whereas “obese” is x>30 (how many of you sprouted giant boners over that “greater than or equal to” sign? Edit: You probably had a limp wiener since I originally put the signs backwards…jeez louise).

America, reporting for duty, sir!

This topic has been dear to me for years, though I used to be a bit more rabid about it. For example, in my senior English class we studied Jonathan Swift, one of the greatest, most ballsy, and badass satirical writers in history. We had to write our own “Modest Proposal”. I don’t have a copy any more, but my proposal consisted of placing all of the world’s fat people a space vessel and shipped directly into the sun. Despite my logical, well thought out validation, my overly obese teacher was not amused and clearly disappointed.

The truth hurts, yet truth is real. We don’t have to tip-toe around this subject; “overweight” and “obese” are faulty versions of saying “fat”. It isn’t offensive to state someone has a particular characteristic, especially when it’s something they can control. If your friend is being an asshole, then tell him politely he’s being an asshole and discuss how you can mitigate his assholeish tendencies. If someone is complaining like a baby, then explain to them why whining about it isn’t going to help themselves or the group. Note that you shouldn’t say, “Cry me a river you fat fucking baby,” to adolescents dressed like gangsters in a dark parking lot, even if it’s a quote from “Varsity Blues”, because then you’ll get punched in the back of the head like I did when I was in high school.

Sugar coating the fat issue is only going to make it worse (oh my GOD I’m on fire!). It’s not derogatory, because it’s fact. Not to mention there are scientific tests like “body FAT measures”. I’m not suggesting we go around declaring people fat and insulting them, but we shouldn’t have to feel obligated to search for a less “hurtful” term. If anything, being objective will act as a motivating factor.

Why is western civilization so fat? It’s undoubtedly a combination of many factors. Since the ’70s, the government has recommended carbohydrate rich diets. Each decade arrives with more unhealthy processed food. With technological advancement, more people have un-active, white collar jobs resulting in low activity levels. The lengthy work weeks and numerous forms of entertainment mean people don’t take the time to exercise. And even if they do, the fitness industry had adapted to try and bank on achieving results by “quick and easy” short cuts. Desirable body image has been reduced to frail, gaunt celebrities — possibly as a result of the white collar and technology societal shift. Society’s mindset has lost the concept of hard work and revolves around the “gimme now” mentality.

Regardless of the underlying cause, people simply don’t care. If they did, then they would do something about it and not be fat. Sure, it’s not easy; nothing of worth ever is. The lack of care and effort is my biggest issue with the fat epidemic. People are so irritatingly quick to say, “Well, some people can’t help it.” That’s bullshit. There might be a tenth of a percent of people that legitimately can’t help it (I think it’s much lower); everyone else is just making an excuse. Type II Diabetes is a result of destroying proper hormone function through poor habits. Can there be lasting damage? Definitely. Does it prevent the person from exercising and eating healthy? In almost all cases, no. If a kid grows up with an unhealthy family and is fat by 11 years old, he is definitely in a hole, but eventually has the autonomy to make a decision to live a different life.

I honestly think that society has bred a helpless mindset that looks to other people to resolve problems. As a result, motivation and habitual change are nonexistent. I know; I’ve been a trainer for a “Biggest Loser Challenge”. It’s so hard for a very fat, unhealthy person to do make a change like removing soda from their diet. It’s so hard to not sit on the couch and eat snacks. At the end of the day, some people are just not willing to do what they need to do to change their life. This is why Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped personal training; you can’t help someone who isn’t willing to help themselves.

What are we supposed to do? Honestly, there isn’t much you can do. Perception across an entire society is dependent on decades of change and influence. We can’t save the world at once. The best we can do is educate and help people that enter our social circles. Facilitation is always brought up when trying to motivate behavior change, but facilitation means precisely dick. It’s easy to spend 15 minutes, three times per week exercising. There are 96 blocks of 15 minutes in a day; 672 in a week. When someone can’t take 3, 6, or 9 of those 672 weekly blocks, they just don’t care, no matter how much you facilitate it.

Instead, do your best to educate in very simple and direct ways. Don’t create a mountain, just a hill. For example, suggest going for a walk around the block on a daily basis and tell the person to mark it on their calendar. Consecutive days make a chain on the calendar, and suggest that they don’t break the chain. Give them smaller goals in their diet. Stop drinking soda. Eat breakfast. Suggest simple things instead of lecturing them about insulin sensitivity and the paleo diet. “Crawl-walk-run” them through the process, but be concise and supportive. The support is probably most important. This “me generation” cares what other people think. It’s not common for someone to generate their own resolve and determination, but it can be contagious in groups.

Support is the only way you can help your family and friends. Don’t preach; ease them into it. Coaches and gym owners have even more responsibility to reach out to new clients and retain them. This, of course, is normal “business duty”, but you should only be in this business if you care. Shit heads that own local gyms that thrive on signing un-used memberships are only part of the problem. Be a part of the solution. Make a difference in helping people lose fat. Teach the basics, but be personable. Welcome them, make them laugh, and challenge them as much as their personality can handle. Give every client a chance. You’ll always have a few that aren’t ready to commit, but you can always help the folks on the bubble.

For the ladies.
You don’t have to be a monster like Vince Urbank to set an example.

Gym owners and coaches also need to set an example with their physiques and lifestyle. No, you don’t need to be a bastion of rippling fitness, but you shouldn’t be a frumpy mess. The same goes for all of you other readers, trainees, lifters, and competitors. About 60% of this nation is at least “overweight”. Don’t allow yourself to represent this unhealthy, lazy part of the population. 70’s Big has never been about sheer mass due to fat accumulation, even through the “Adult Males > 200 lbs” phase. It’s not a mistake when the guys in the Hall of Fame are lean and jacked. Unless you’re highly competitive in your sport, you’re not doing anyone any favors by carrying excess fat. I’m not suggesting you work to be under 10% body fat, but aim to look like you’re strong while being strong. It’ll set a positive example, even if you don’t actively help people. For example, I’ve had many people over the years tell me, “I started exercising and lifting weights after seeing you around here.” You can’t complain about the problem if you look like you’re part of it.

Yes, the development of fat acceptance in the Anglosphere is disgusting, unfortunate, and even scary. There are always complaining discussions attributing blame, but the truth is that real change starts within the mind. It isn’t easy to be lean, strong, powerful, or fit. It isn’t easy for a fat person to change their habits and behavior. It takes hard work, will power, and commitment. Pride yourself on the ability to do these hard things and set an example. There will soon come a time when you meet someone that says, “I can’t.” Become a part of the solution, as you wear short shorts, and teach them this foreign phrase: “I can.”