Fat Loss Archives - Show Me Strength

On Getting Shredded: The Truth Underneath The Abs

July 16, 2017 by Andrew Ferreira Leave a Comment

Being shredded will not change your life.

Other’s perception of you may change but if you’ve been there, you intimately understand that it doesn’t actually change you.

Let me explain.

You’re out on a Friday night and others may see a living sculpture, a walking piece of art, and maybe admiration flows from the work and dedication that took to get there.

Or more likely, there is a sneer of jealously. There are jabs that hint at your reclusion or your inability to have fun and eat some pizza and drink beer.

They reek of projection and insecurity. But, they are not the only one.

The night will end and you will rush home. It’s sad but the most present you’ve been the entire night is when you take your shirt off and stand before the mirror. The invisibility cloak finally comes off and you are exposed for the façade that you are.

For minutes that feel like hours, you are a surgeon with a finely tuned scalpel dissecting your body inch by inch. Others may see a sculpture but you see nothing but imperfection.

All night, instead of enjoying your company, you judged.

Without asking, you knew no one had a date with the gym the next morning. They were too consumed with shitty IPAs, mediocre women, and the contentment of being average.

The inner ego pacifies you for a moment. Whispers, no, it yells trying to drown out the maniacal critic that you’re better than them. To some extent, you are.

But the story runs deeper.

The gym has been fixated on your mind since the moment Bulleit grazed your lips.

Don’t they see you? Haven’t they noticed the shape you’re in? Why haven’t they?

Fuck it. Another Bulleit, please.

A passerby can’t help notice the steely, intensity in your eyes.

You’ve long removed yourself from the bar but you keep drinking to forget, a futile attempt to quiet the voice that you’ve always run from.

5 more lbs, you tell yourself.

You reconsider, think deeper, and prolong the long introspective moment that’s been the entirety of your life.

The master waits for you. Stockpiles of self-improvement books and thousands of hours of sweat equity have not been sufficient offerings. It wants more but you have no more left to give.

Bulleit, please.

The bourbon is crisp and some of the finest you’ve had. But, you don’t know that. You drink like you do everything else. Onto the next.

Something happens. Time slows just enough, your mind quiets. For the first time, you notice the girl across from you. She’s here but absent. Her energy betrays her. For the first time, you empathize.

To be.

That’s what you’ve sought all these years.

Thousands of reps and countless hours sacrificed. The cruel irony can’t help but draw out a quiet smirk.

Saturday morning comes but something’s different.

You want to go, you don’t need to; it’s subtle.

For a decade, the gym was your outlet to project your insecurity onto the world. It was the race without an ending. 5 more lbs of muscle would have been 5 more lbs of muscle until you were standing on stage looking like the Hulk dressed in sheep’s clothing.

The bar is light but heavy.

4 reps in and your chest is screaming with the fire of a thousand suns. I want 10.

7 reps in and you’re laughing at the pain. I want 10.

You stop at 11, 1 extra just for fun.

Stand up, see white lights and black out for a second. Look in the mirror; it’s different this time.

For the first time, you see who you are, not who you want to be.

You smile, the inner voice sleeps; this is it.

I want 12 next set.

Pre and Post Workout Breakfast Recipes

March 18, 2016 by Chad Rodgers Leave a Comment

One of the biggest issues I like to fix right away with my in-person, and our online clients is optimizing the first meal of the day. The reason being is that people seem to always have it screwed up.

Your first meal, no matter when, is breakfast (breaking the fast). It sets the day in motion, and can either hinder or assist your health and fitness goals.

Here are the top three issues that I see plaguing folks and their first meal.

Too much refined stuff
Not enough protein and healthy fats
Lack of nutrient density

Read: How to Build the Perfect Breakfast

Most people seem to get tricked into thinking that their breakfast is healthy, when in reality either their body isn’t ready to magically turn it into muscle while simultaneously burning fat.

Gluten free granola with yogurt and a skim milk skinny latte will not make you lean and mean. Do people really still think that a Dunkin Donuts bagel with egg white is good because it doesn’t have cholesterol, and is “low fat.”

It doesn’t work that way. I don’t deal much on the nutrition side of things with our fitness students. That is Andrew’s gig. I do, however, instill simple solutions in people to build habits that will last a lifetime.

One of those habits is learning to dominate the first meal. I have solutions for two scenarios.

First meal of day (pre-training)
First meal of day (post-training)

Below are 3 recipes I use personally and with clients for a breakfast if they haven’t trained yet that day or if they have completed a resistance training session prior to their first big meal.

– Before Training Breakfast Options –

sure as hell did

2-5 scrambled cage free eggs + 1/2 -1 cup of cage free egg whites + handful of green vegetables of choice + tablespoon of extra virgin olive or coconut oil + dry spices of choice (turmeric, salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc) – Small serving of organic preservative free bacon or sausage optional
Scoop of Whey or plant based protein powder + two table spoon scoops of plain non whole or non fat greek yogurt + unsweetened almond/coconut/hemp milk + peanut butter powder + mixed nuts + flax and chia seed sprinkled in + dash of cinnamon
Bowl of 3-5 scoops of plain greek yogurt + scoop of whey or plant based protein powder + half handful mixed raw nuts + cinnamon + milled flax seed

– Post Training Breakfast Options –

Nope…Nope their not

1/2 – 1 ezekiel english muffin/2 pieces toast + 2-5 scrambled cage free eggs + 1/2 -1 cup of cage free egg whites + handful of green vegetables of choice + tablespoon of extra virgin olive or coconut oil + dry spices of choice (turmeric, salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc) – Small serving of organic preservative free bacon or sausage optional
Scoop of Whey or plant based protein powder + half cup steel cut or whole rolled oats + one table spoon scoop of plain non whole or non fat greek yogurt + unsweetened almond/coconut/hemp milk + peanut butter powder + half cup mixed berries + flax and chia seed+ dash of cinnamon
Bowl of 1-1.5 cup whole rolled oats + scoop of whey or plant based protein powder + half handful mixed berries + cinnamon + milled flax seed/chia seed sprinkled in

I like the concept of getting good quality protein and fats with a serving of veggies to start the day if you haven’t trained yet. This seems to eliminate the cravings later in the day, and give you energy and stamina that lasts longer than a plate of pancakes.

When you’ve already trained, try the last three recipes which include more carbohydrates and protein. This will replenish what you’ve lost, and speed up the recovery process, all the while delivering immense nutrient density which your body desperately needs.

Let us know what your ideal first meal looks like, or if you’re down to try some of these delicious options out.

P.S. Andrew and I have a nutrition and training hybrid coaching program that eliminates confusion in and out of the gym. If you’re interested in joining, email us at showmestrength@gmail.com

How To Not F*** Up Your Diet On Weekends

March 10, 2016 by Andrew Ferreira Leave a Comment

Diets can be made or broken on weekends

It’s really pretty easy.

Follow this three-step process and you’re gold.

Never go out.
Don’t drink.
And don’t even think about ordering pizza while you Netflix and chill.

There, done.

By now, if you were sane, you’d be thinking, “Yeah, screw Andrew. What’s the point of being ripped if you’re a hermit.”

And you’d be right.

Screwing up your weekend is the biggest problem in dieting

That’s a horrible solution to a big problem and yet it’s one I see people making every single day.

In my time in financial services – you know, the real world where people have no idea what the heck carb cycling or IIFYM is – here’s typically how it plays out.

People go cold turkey and totally eliminate drinking or they get creative with “Irish Lent,” where you don’t drink from New Years until St. Patrick’s Day. It goes well because people are generally pretty good at committing to a psychotic plan for awhile. Think fad diets.

Then shit hits the fan. Eventually, they say “fuck it,” get drunk with their buddies on a mini-bender and realize that the fun they had was way more enjoyable than any stupid restrictive diet.

End of diet.

There’s a better way

Weekends don’t have to destroy your diet anymore. And the best part is you don’t even need to “science the shit out of it” like Matt Damon in the Martian.

You need a system that works.

One that’ll let you work hard and play harder all while getting lean and keeping you from falling victim to become a boring, Type A recluse.

My clients, many of whom work high-stress 80-90 hour work weeks while still managing to get lean and enjoy themselves on the weekend, are a testament to this notion.

What follows is what I typically prescribe to clients and utilize myself:

Note: these results are typical.

This Isn’t Tim Ferris 4 Hour Body Fantasy Land

Full disclosure: I can’t help you if you drink and/or eat like an asshole 4-5 nights a week and plan to continue doing so.

Tim Ferris has greater magical powers than I and I simply can’t hack your life through a computer screen. Sure, if you worked with me 1 on 1, there’s a chance I could “science the shit out of it” and make it happen but for the purposes of this article, ya just can’t do it.

This system is all about optimization with THE assumption that you have yourself together during the rest of the week.

That means putting in the work regardless of whether or not it’s perfect or optimal. As I’ve mentioned before, bad science has gotten thousands of people ripped. A poor work ethic has not.

With that being said, let’s get to the goods.

Priority #1: Create A Deficit

It’s Saturday night and this week’s been an absolute ball-buster. A string of 12-hour days, 4-5 hard workouts, and a diet that’s been immaculate.

You’ve put in the work and now it’s time to get loose and enjoy yourself.

Game on.

We both know that Newton’s 4^th Law is that you need to create a deficit to lose fat.

Where many people go wrong is in thinking that you can go ham on the weekend, drink like a fish and eat like a cow and come Monday morning, everything will be all fine and dandy and the scale will give you the goods.

Unfortunately, math doesn’t cease to exist on the weekends and calories are still calories.

To create an enjoyable, diet friendly Saturday night, it’s imperative to impose a deficit for some wiggle room.

To create a deficit, we want to drain some muscle glycogen so all that pizza later will be stored in our muscles and not our love handles.

Our best bet is interval training.

Lifting, contrary to popular opinion, doesn’t deplete glycogen a whole heck of a lot.

From Bayesian Bodybuilding:

A full-body workout consisting of 9 exercises for 3 sets each at 80% 1RM (something only a beginner can do) only depletes about a third of the body’s glycogen and 9 sets for a specific muscle result in 36% depletion in that muscle (Roy & Tarnopolsky, 1998). After performing sets of 6 leg extensions at 70% 1RM until absolute failure occurred (weird protocol I know) and not consuming anything afterwards, 75% of glycogen was restored after 6h (Pascoe et al. 1993).

So much for the notion that you “need” carbs to strength train but that’s a topic for another time.

Compare that to 2 30s sprints on an ergometer and you get 44% glycogen depletion.

Here’s a sample interval session that I like to implement with clients on such days:

10 minutes
10 seconds as hard as possible
50 seconds at an easy pace

If after trying that, you still have more in the tank, you didn’t try hard enough.

As much as people probably hate when their boss tells them to earn their weekend, earn your drinks.

Training Days and Drinking Don’t Mix

Any movement is better than no movement BUT if results matter to you, I’d highly recommend you schedule lifting days away from when you drink.

Why?

Intelligent, purposeful training is performance-centric. It isn’t an exercise in fuckarounditis.

This doesn’t happen from fuckarounditis

To progress forward, you must recover from an imposed stress.

That means adequate sleep along with ample calories to provide enough substrate to fuel recovery.

Let’s call a spade a spade and acknowledge that your night out on the town will likely include too much alcohol and too little sleep to ensure proper recovery.

Thus, it makes no logical sense to train on a day you plan on going out and drinking. While not optimal, it’s better advised you chug some caffeine the morning after and train hungover than eviscerating your chest the day of a drinking session.

Nutrition Priority #1: Limit Fat Intake with Alcohol

Don’t worry, this article isn’t going to evolve into some if it fits your macro pedantic diatribe extolling the benefits and necessities of counting calories on days you hit the bottle.

With that being said, for general health purposes, you should be aware of what fat is, what foods are predominately fat, that fat is NOT the devil, and it WON’T make you fat by looking at it.

General thesis: keep fat low on days you drink.

Here’s why:

After a meal, insulin levels rise, fat burning (oxidation) stops, and you use said energy for fuel.

Because energy from your meal is being utilized for fuel, fat oxidation is blunted meaning that any fat intake is stored for future use.

That DOES NOT mean any fat you consume ever is confine to the shallows of your love handles never to be seen again. As hours pass and insulin and blood sugar levels return to baseline, fat oxidation begins again.

This process happens all day, every day. Little stored, little burned. Whether or not you store fat is ultimately based on your level of calorie intake.

Except when you drink.

Alcohol is fanfuckingtastic but it’s by-product in your body, acetate, is not. Acetate is toxic to your body so it takes numero uno priority in the energy hierarchy.

Alcohol and consequently acetate must be burned off before your body will touch another source of fuel.

If you’re still following, that means the yin and yang cycle of fat burning stops. You’re in full grizzly hibernation mode storing all the fat you eat.

Hence the problem.

That nice, fatty, delicious, deep-dish pizza you throw back after having a dozen or so beers will cause you to gain (store) significantly more fat than if you had it stone cold sober.

Does that mean you can eat 1000 g of carbs that day and not gain fat if you limit the fat?

In the short-term probably, but the bro-science school of thought where you can crush carbs and limit the fat and not gain fat is exactly that: a myth.

What To Do On Days You Drink:

Limit fat intake. If you’re looking for hard macros, I always tell my clients .3 g/kg/bw.

This is per Martin Berkhan’s recommendations that I’ve implemented with my clients ever since and it’s worked fantastically. If you’re looking for a more in-depth science to alcohol and fat loss, check here. No need to reinvent the wheel on my end.

Protein and veggies are your best friend.

Until you go out, your meals should be predominately protein and veggies. This will keep you calories low and keep you satiated. The more satiated you are, the better the chances you won’t eat like an asshole after drinking.

Avoid the post-drinking nuclear bomb of a pizza or something equally as fatty.

But shit happens, food tastes better drunk, so I would err on the side of try and keep it more carby than fatty. It’d be beneficial to keep the dinner before the drinks lean as well to preserve calories.

Own Your Sundays – Protein Sparing Modified Fasts

I’m going to assume you weren’t the best padawan and failed to follow the above protocol to a T.

Not ideal but understandable and expected. I wouldn’t be writing the guide to not fucking up your diet on the weekend if we were all innocent angels without any food or alcohol vices.

One night doesn’t ruin a diet. Mini-benders from Friday to Sunday absolutely can though so it’s imperative you right the ship on Sunday.

Enter the protein sparing modified fast.

I’ve been fortunate enough to partake in the Bayesian Bodybuilding Online PT course and it’s been nothing but phenomenal. In it, I learned about the PSMF and have had great success implementing it with my clients on rest days and in particular on weekends.

Incredible Resource

Essentially, a PSMF is exactly as it sounds.

A day of low calories, high protein, alongside minimal residual fat and carbohydrate intake.

The rationale for inclusion is as follows:

You likely gained fat on Friday or Saturday night. It happens. We’re not robots and dieting would suck even worse if we were forced to be recluses to be successful.

A PSMF is designed to all but eliminate any and all fat gain from the previous day’s shenanigans.

Protein is kept high to preserve lean body mass.

A good general target is 1.82 g/kg/bw as your minimum. Going above this number is perfectly acceptable.

Fiber intake is imperative for health, satiety, and because it makes you a better human.

Fiber One bars don’t count either. Eat some greens and make your mom proud. Better yet, add resistant starch to your diet.

Aside from that, keep fat and carbohydrates low (less than 10 g per meal) to keep hunger at bay.

Further, it is important to keep the mealtime and frequency as close to what is habitual as possible for optimal nutrient partitioning and insulin sensitivity. For the “why” I urge you to invest in the course and get your nerd on.

In terms of training, I generally recommend clients stay away from a hardcore training session. I typically recommend a nice easy 20-25 minute restorative aerobic session to get some blood flow and prep for a big day of training the following day.

With that being said, some of my most memorable and enjoyable training sessions have come post-hangover with some caffeine jet fuel. It’s ok to grind through sometimes. If not, all the time.

Note: A PSMF is not recommended if you plan on lifting. Nutrients are needed during the anabolic window. Regular training day nutrition or macros are advised.

An Alternative to Alcohol: Phenibut

Note: I’m not a doctor. This isn’t medical advice and it’d be smart to consult with a physician before embarking on any supplement regimen.

What if I told you there was something that you give you the same euphora, mood, and relaxant as alcohol without the rubber necking, the hangover, the texts sent to ex-girlfriends, and the unwanted fat gain?

You’d probably ask me if I believed in unicorns too.

Touche, but your aggression would be misplaced, as such things do exist.

Enter phenibut, the best legal supplement/drug you’ve never heard of.

Alcohol and phenibut both act via GABA receptors in your brain.

GABA is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Alcohol’s action as a GABA agonist are what causes you to relax, “quiet” the inner voice in your head, and in all likelihood feel like Superman because of your lack of inhibition.

It’s important to note that alcohol primarily acts via the GABA A receptor while phenibut targets the B receptor, which may explain phenibut’s effects without the motor function loss as seen in alcohol.

In many ways, phenibut gives you all the advantages of alcohol without everything that is deleterious for body composition: namely blunting of fat oxidation and impaired sleep quality resulting in reduced androgen levels and protein synthesis.

But I’m not going to go into too many specifics. Here’s a good guide on phenibut and the contraindications involved. Here’s another.

It’s a tool that you can use. Nothing more, nothing less.

But the lack of hangovers doesn’t suck.

Eliminate (Uncontrolled) Cheat Days

If you have cheat days, stop.

There is and shouldn’t be any reason for planned all day glutinous binges like Dwight Goodman at the end of dodgeball.

If you feel you “need” it, I’d highly suggest you look into why you feel that way.

Important questions to consider are:

What does your diet look like during the week?
Is it too restrictive? Think bodybuilder diet of chicken and broccoli.
Are you eating enough calories? There’s a difference between a deficit and starvation. The latter will set you up for a nice gigantic rebound.

An ideal diet and a concept that I implement with my clients is that there should be no guilt or shame in going out with friends on a Friday or Saturday night and getting some good, delicious, less than nutritious food to eat with some drinks.

Heck, I’d even advise it for quality of life and maintaining sanity on a diet.

The idea of a cheat day is destructive and offers little physiological or psychological utility.

Refeeds are overrated and seem to be heavily popularized by bro-science. Elevations in metabolic rate, leptin, and any other physiological reason touted in support are typically transient and their inclusion doesn’t appear to be supported in the literature.

What cheat days can do is destroy your diet. You may want to be the Rock but you’re not.

It’s helpful to think in terms of weekly caloric energy balance.

While nutrient timing and calorie cycling can get fancy to maximize the anabolic window to further body recomposition (lose fat, build muscle), thinking simplistically it’s important to maintain a weekly deficit.

A 4-5000 calorie uncontrolled binge is all but guaranteed to abolish the weekly deficit you had created through 5 or 6 days of hard work and meticulous preparation.

Though I’m against the idea because of it’s connotation with regards to dieting, if you want to “cheat,” it’s important to control it through calorie control.

For example, if you’re running a moderate 500 calorie per day deficit and you want to go buckwild on Saturday, increase your deficit per day throughout the week to increase your error margin on Saturday.

A better strategy is to give yourself one cheat meal as recommended by Jason Helmes at Anyman fitness, a man who is consistently putting out diesel work.

Enjoy yourself, get the demons out, and move on.

Wrap-Up

I’m all for a good time and that may seem hard to believe given all the fancy science I just gave you so you don’t f*** up your weekend.

It’s not rocket science, I promise. I don’t even consciously think about this stuff anymore and neither do my clients. It’s become intuitive and a skill that you can easily learn if you take the time to implement.

Start small. Get an interval session in the day you plan on going out. Fast the next day if you’re up for it.

But start.

Don’t sacrifice all your hard work during the week because you turn into Van Wilder on the weekends.

Fat loss and fun can go hand in hand. Sometimes you do have to embrace the suck but if your diet keeps you in on Friday night because you think you “have” to, you’re doing it wrong.

P.S. Want to get shredded for summer? Email me at showmestrength@gmail.com and we can get the ball rolling.

11 Ways to Goblet Squat

December 16, 2015 by Chad Rodgers 8 Comments

I am of the belief that no one, and I mean NO ONE is above the goblet squat. No one is too strong, too mobile, too in shape, or too advanced to grab a dumbbell or kettlebell and drop into the goblet squat.

Just about everyone I see as a personal training client will either perform goblet squat variations throughout their programming, or show me what they have for this movement as an assessment tool.

I even have my super advanced clients give me a few of these from time to time in a conditioning scenario so I can really see whats going on in their comfort zone of squatting.

The goblet squat showcases a plethora of information from a student to a teacher.

World renowned strength and conditioning coach, Dan John has been largely responsible for popularizing this fundamental movement pattern with load for people all along the spectrum of fitness and strength levels of advancement.

A couple of his most popular media publications on the topic can be found —-> here <— and —> here

But why the goblet squat??

Why not put the barbell on your back and just get down and dirty?

I agree that the family of barbell squat variation has it’s place, but when we look at the continuum of progressions and regressions in regards to the squat, the goblet squat reigns supreme as the largest bang for you buck for the majority fitness enthusiasts. I assess that too many people keep breaking down technique of the back and front squat when in reality, very few actual people are fit or confident enough to step under the bar at their local gym on their own.

My squat continuum is as follows for my students…

But before that, its important that I note each of them has a firm grasp of a proper squat before the even look at a barbell, and as I grow as a coach, I am more and more inclined to make people insanely good at the goblet squat before showing them how to approach and use the bar.

My Squat Continuum

NOVICE SQUAT VARIATIONS <—> Bodyweight Assisted Squat to elevation with Partner <—> TRX assisted squat <—> goblet squat variations with dumbbell, kettlebell, or small plate <—> offset and double kettlebell variations <—> zercher squat variation <—> front squat variations <—> back squat variations <—> ADVANCED SQUAT VARIATIONS

This is just the continuum that works for me, and I find it effective for most people with general goals of moving, looking, and feeling better. Some people are more well equipped and thrive with different loading strategies, but the goblet squat sits right in the middle and can cover more ground up and down the continuum of regression and progression.

Why is it so versatile?

1.) Loading it with a kettlebell or dumbbell doesn’t require the upper extremity mobility and strength that the back and front squat require. Therefore, just about anyone can start with one of the following variations and find success and training effect.

2.) By default, it locks in the anterior core, creating a spine thats closer to neutral and abs that mimic a more plank like engagement.

3.) It doesn’t require elite motion in the ankles, hips, and knees to get into proper position.

4.) Regressing back to a simpler variation or progressing to a more advanced technique in the goblet squat are easy changes to make happen.

5.) All you need for the basic goblet squat is a kettlebell or dumbbell.

6.) If the traditional barbell squat variations hurt or intimidate you, we can often get similar training effects from the goblet squat.

The real bottom line is that the squat is a fundamental human movement pattern that everyone who is born will need almost everyday throughout their lifetime. We use the squat to sit down, stand up, retrieve something from the ground, put something back on the ground, and effectively move through life.

It is my belief that we all should work on our squat patterning in some capacity nearly every single day to improve the quality of our lives.

The goblet squat truly is the most versatile way for the majority of this earth’s population to both strengthen this everyday movement that we need, and ensure we have the movement and stability to perform those everyday tasks throughout our lifetime.

Below are 11 ways you can goblet squat, with video demonstrations that provide optimal technique.

11 WAYS TO GOBLET SQUAT

1.) The Traditional Dumbbell Goblet Squat – Many times when a client comes to me without any history of pain, and appears to have a relatively decent level of fitness and strength, I will have them drop into a regular old dumbbell goblet squat with a lightish dumbbell. This shows me so much. I can see what their aptitude is for a good squat, as well as see joint restrictions and strength deficiencies. This squat here can be put into just about anyone’s strength and conditioning program and deliver a training effect. This video here displays the basic dumbell goblet squat which can be loaded as heavy as you can carry in this position with good posture. This means absolutely no leaning back into extension because it’s too heavy. Adjust reps and sets according to you goals and needs.

2.) The Paused Goblet Squat – I use this squat with many students who can definitely get into position, but need more strength and control throughout the entirety of the squat. When talking about owning your squat and not letting it get away from you in the hole, there’s arguably no better way to improve this deficiency than the paused squat. You can add in pauses anywhere from 1 to 10 seconds and get a solid result, but it’s important to identify your ideal depth before pausing, I suggest holding tension around parallel as shown in the video below.

3.) The Horizontal Kettlebell Goblet Squat – I found this techinique while experimenting with a client who had a pretty beat up wrist from golf. This woman was a competitive athlete, but didn’t quite have any true need whatsoever that warranted moving on to the barbell. She did however need to squat in some capacity to keep moving well and gain strength in her lower body. Every single way to hold on to the dumbbell hurt her wrist except this grip which she accidentally tried while moving the bell around. We didn’t have any sandbags, weighted vests, barbells, or medicine balls to load up the squat which she was prepared for, but this grip worked wonders. The bottom of the kettlebell rests against the sternum area, and the grip resembles a safety squat bar. Give it a try if you have a cranky wrist or just want to mix it up with the kettlebell placement.

4.) The Sideways Goblet Squat With Band – This has become a big hit with my female training population as I constantly strive to provide the biggest bang for their buck in terms of glute activation and development. By adding the band around the top of the feet for the lateral step, you immediately get the glute medius (outside part of the glutes) fired up before dropping into the hole of the goblet squat. If you do 5 or 6 steps and squats each way, you’ve got yourself a solid set of goblet squats with added ass engagement. Make sure the band is both not too strong where you can’t get into your optimal squat stance, but also not too light where it feels like a rubber band and doesn’t require any strength to get a step in.

5.) The Goblet Elevator Squat – This is an absolutely evil way to make the goblet squat harder and ensure constant tension throughout the movement. I tell my students to go up and down “3 floors” on the elevator. This means drop down into the bottom of the squat, come up a few inches to the first floor, then back to the “ground floor” or bottom of the squat again, up again close to the top…but not quite…then back to the bottom…then all the way back to the top or lock out position. That is one rep. Between 5-8 reps is plenty for this killer. I took this variation from Ben Bruno, who I think did this with front squats like the beast that he is.

6.) The Goblet Squat With Band Around Shins – Putting the band here is a wonderful teacher. I agree that the cue of screwing the feet outwardly into the floor and pushing the knees out can be useful for some folks, but putting another piece of equipment in the mix to add resistance against the internal caving of the knees can turn on those glutes and put you in a better situation to grove the squat pattern with optimal positioning. I will do this with folks who have a difficult time identifying what a good, strong squat should feel like, and for those struggling to drop the goblet squat optimally between the thighs without knees caving in. Those who have weak external hip rotators can benefit with this variation when they are ready.

7.) Goblet Squat with Slow Eccentric Control – The eccentric focus of the squat has gotten all of the attention recently and deservedly so. Great coaches around the world are sick and tired of athletes of all kinds loading up the bar without owning every inch of their depth into the hole of the squat. Think crossfit athletes with an ass that falls to the ground 2x speed after half a squat. Cal Dietz and the whole triphasic crew has done a absolutely fantastic job at breaking down the importance of eccentric variability in regards to athletic development. I strongly encourage you to check that shit out if becoming a more explosive athlete is what you’re in to. Either way, for strength gain, kinesthetic awareness, hypertrophy gains, and overall squat development, give these bad boys a try.

8.) The Kettlebell Goblet Squat With Lowering – This exercise was one that I stole from one of my former strength coaches, Tony Gentilcore. I love the two part component of this exercise, and I admittedly didn’t give it enough credit until I implemented them into my programming for a month. Once you really slow this exercise down, a couple of amazing things happen. For starters, you get to hang out at the bottom of your perfectly executed squat for a little while. This provides a ton of benefit in and of itself, but then you throw in the controlled kettlebell lowering, and your abs start working overtime. In a very similar fashion to the pulse, you put the weight further away from you center, forcing your whole body to resist the weight pulling you off line.

9.) The Kettlebell Goblet Squat With Pulse – This is an exercise that can be performed with either a light kettlebell or a 2.5-10lb plate. This is a fantastic variation that tends to be a perfect warmup or pre-work squat variation to prep for bigger loads. The stop at the bottom allows you to begin getting comfortable staying down there, in addition to owning the other variable, which is moving the load away from the body. Basically you are planking and squatting at the same time. What more could you want to get you want out of your pre-squat routine? I love programming this in for folks who aren’t natural squatters, but have the awareness, the stability, and the mobility to get down in this position after getting their body temp ramped up. Throw these in if you need more anterior core stability or want to feel yourself own that bottom position even more.

10.) The Goblet Squat to a Box – This is another excellent teaching tool to program into you or your clients beoginner progarams to identify appropriate depth. Often times you’ll have situations where you or your student has the capability to achieve and perform proper squats, yet the lack the body awareness to understand where they should start owning the bottom portion. A box around parallel will add that often needed external component to make you comfortable understanding where “ideal” is for you. Everyone is a tad different, but around parallel is a good place to start with the goblet squat to the box.

11.) The Stability Ball Goblet Squat – This was another movement that came out of the necessity for adaptation in a client that was weak and lacked the strength/body awareness to achieve proper squat depth. This variation has become a valuable tool for me in coaching the elderly and sedentary population who have father time and gravity working against their strength/mobility, and also present neurological perceived threat which stops them from moving into this depth just out of the blue. I love loading this variation with beginners who are almost ready for the elevated goblet box squat, but need to overcome some neurological hurdles to become comfortable with lower and lower depth. The stability ball provides a cushion and a failsafe component that tends to provide an extra push back up into the concentric portion of the exercise. For this reason, I give this to beginner clients who are new to exercise or have limitations that prevent optimal motion to perform the squat.

There we have it. The goblet squat displayed in 11 different ways. If you have any questions, ask us in the comments section below.

Also,

If you would enjoy distance coaching from us at a fraction the cost of personal training in your local gym, our January group opens very soon. –> Email us here <–

To learn more about us, we can be found doing cool stuff in the gym with and without our clients on instagram, and enjoy delivering daily knowledge bombs on twitter and Facebook.

Talk soon,

C.R.

Intelligent Core Finishers (Part 2)

August 11, 2015 by Chad Rodgers 5 Comments

In Part 1 of this series we covered some pretty important concepts when programming and executing ab exercises during your workout. I shared that I believe it’s very important that we train the core for health —> performance –> physique. Core training needs to address default movement patterns, postures, and weaknesses before you worry about burning those suckers out.

I can tell people over and over again that a six pack of chiseled abs comes from 6 sets of not eating so much crap (t-nation.com reference) and not 1,000 crunches and Russian twists. If we can get you away from eating like the average Joe, and more like a Spartan, then the exercises in this series will compliment that lifestyle nicely, and probably take you to your dream stomach more quickly.

As I mentioned in part 1, we train the core with the spine in mind. We train it for better movement and more performance that will translate to everyday living as well as strength that will enhance other movements and active endeavors. We train to be a more efficient human, a more useful human, and a much more powerful and attractive human.

Hard work we know can help us improve anything. However, with the abs, we must be smart, keep our spine in mind, and accomplish many things at once. We all want to “feel the burn” and get sore, but we must address movement and stability problems simultaneously in cahoots with that hard effort. Here are 5 new exercise combinations to take this “Intelligent Core Finisher” series a step further.

Feet Supported Barbell Sit-Up

Feet Supported Barbell Sit-up + Hollow Body Hold + Breathing Plank –

This is one I use quite frequently with my clients, as it teaches them to own a couple important positions that are key to master in the rest of my other programming. The first position, as you can see in the barbell sit-up is a controlled descent that never loses anterior core tension, consequently allowing rib flare. Basically, I never plop to the floor. I have constant tension as if I’m bracing for a punch or flexing my abs in the mirror. the second position in the hollow body hold (second video down) is the awareness of the pelvis slipping into posterior tilt. It would be easy if I didn’t force my low back down to the ground to allow that area to arch and lose total tension of the lower abs. In the plank, I firmly believe that it’s effectiveness is determined by the strength of the contraction, position of the ribs/pelvis, and power of the breath. I tell my clients to squeeze their abs and glutes simultaneously try to make their bottom ribs touch their hip bones (hard contraction). Usually 10-15s holds and/or 3-5 deep, powerful breaths in through the nose and out through pursed lips.

What to do – Start with the barbell sit-ups for 10-15 reps, then take your feet out from under the dumbbells and hover them over top of them. Come up into a wide V position and hold for 10-20s. Flip over into that hard contraction in the plank, and complete 3-5 breath cycles.

Intermediate Dragon Flag + Reverse Crunch –

I call this an intermediate dragon flag because you’re not getting into that full on straight body position from the top back down to the bench like a true Bruce Lee flag. You can see here that I separate the movements, kicking out the ceiling, then lowering my butt back to the bench. From there I lower my legs which are locked out, to the point where I almost, but don’t slip into pelvic tilt (back arching off bench). The reverse crunch is another great move for us lifters and gym goers that happen to be stuck in that extension of the lumbar spine. Add in part of the “deadbug” which is where my legs are moving out away from me, and you got yourself a challenging core sequence.

What to do – Perform the intermediate dragon flag (or advanced dragon flag if you’re a boss) for 8-10 slow reps. Hop off the bench, and grab a kettlebell or heavy medicine ball. Get into that neutral/flat position on the ground with your hands on the KB as shown in the video below. From there, you crunch back to your elbows or close to it, and control the descent back to the flat spine position on the floor. Rotate 3-4 times and you’ll get plenty of work in.

Stir the Pot + Plank Reaches –

Stir the pot is one of my all time favorite core drills to both coach and perform. It’s challenging for everyone, and can be progressed by simply making the “stirring” motion larger. This is an advanced plank variation, and will require a stability ball. The plank reach simply forces you to hold position in that plank with one arm, so you’re getting an anti-rotation effect as well as anti-extension. You’ll feel your obliques, and also the rest of your midsection getting crushed on these exercises.

What to do – Get into the plank position on the ball with one hand making a fist, and the other holding the fist. Brace your body hard and make slow, controlled circles on the ball using the forearms and fists. After 6-8 on one side, switch directions for 6-8 more. Get down into plank position lock yourself in hard, and reach straight out with as little side to side movement as you can. Alternate arms for 6-10 per side or until you feel break in form.

Side Plank Row + T-Side Plank –

Some of the best ant-lateral flexion and oblique work is demonstrated in these two exercises. The side plank row is a brilliant bang for your buck exercise that is both a horizontal pulling move and a lateral spine stability move. The Side Plank T Reaches challenges both your rotary stability as well as your obliques in lateral flexion.

What to do – Attach a band or lower a cable about 6 inches from the ground. Move out into side plank away from the band or cable, but facing it as shown in the video. Do a row like you would standing, but make sure to never lose your scapula and shoulder, meaning don’t let it jerk you toward the cable column or where the band is attached. Stay in control. Do 8-12 strict reps per side then let go of the band and go right into the side plank reaches. Again, slowly reach over to touch the floor, making sure to resist the desire for your upper body to collapse to the ground. 8-10 touches is fine, then switch sides, going back to the rows.

Stick Over Unders + Hanging Knee Raises –

This is most likely going to be the most popular combination of this series, because most of you have probably already done thee exercises or at least seen some pretty ripped people doing them, so you figure they are legit. Well, you’re right, but only when you’re controlling what you’re doing. I don’t want to see any of you flailing around like a newborn baby giraffe holding onto a bar, so here’s what to do.

What to do – Clearly these exercises will test your grip and the control of your midsection, so you’ll need a pull-up bar and some tough hands. In both the up and overs and knee raises the most common issue I see is using momentum of the swing back to lift the legs. Sure, you’ll feel a burn after awhile, but you really won’t get as much out of the exercise as you could with locked in form. Wide grip works best for both of these, but neutral grip works too. On the up and overs, keep your legs locked out, and pretend there is a barbed wire fence you at belly button height that you need to go over. 5-6 times over and back is plenty. From there, drop from the bar for 10 seconds, grab the bar again, and do 10-15 hanging knee raises making sure not to swing. Tap your feet on the ground for a split second if you’re tall enough, or keep a bench behind you, because it’s paramount that you do not swing. Do 3-5 rotations and you’ll get you’re “ab” fix for the day.

Thats all for this installment. Let us know how you like some of this stuff. Check out part one here for the first installment where I go over what makes these exercises intelligent in the first place, along with demonstrating 10 other core awesome exercises.

Intelligent Core Finishers (Part 1)

July 30, 2015 by Chad Rodgers 5 Comments

There’s not a much more satisfying feeling in fitness than waking up with some nice sore abs from your workout the previous day.

I’ll happily attest to that, as I’ve never been one to naturally have abs carved out of stone and a super low body fat percentage. <– (Beer and too much chipotle have a lot to do with that too) Even though I absolutely know that ripped abs are 95 percent eating, recovery, and genetics, I enjoy my abs being sore, just as I do other parts of my body the day after training.

Everyone needs the feeling that they accomplished something at the gym, and moved slightly closer to the body and health they desire. It’s good for morale.

As I mentioned here in a Facebook video post yesterday, people are always looking for ways to “burnout” or make their abs look better through exercise. As a coach, it’s my job #1 get my student to see and feel results, and #2 do it in an intelligent manner that is best for health and performance in the real world. I understand that the abs are the part of the body that makes most people self conscious, and when folks come to me asking for great ways to train their core, whats my answer?

I mean sit-ups till failure will definitely get you sore, but is it in the best interest for long term performance and health? Probably not..

Russian twists will hammer your obliques, but is it going to make you lose your love handles, make you more athletic, and give you ripped abs? Not a chance.

Any dipshit trainer can make your abs sore, but it’s the great instructors that can make you feel better, look better, move better AND get you sore…..all at the same time.

The bottom line is that for me to be a trustworthy, competent, and successful coach, I must satisfy my clients, but do it in a manner that is effective, challenging, healthy, and fun.

In part one of Intelligent Core Finishers, I detail a few exercise combinations that will leave your abs worked, but in a way that is smart from a performance and health standpoint.

A good trainer and strength coach will always train their client’s abdominals from a real world performance point of view. They take into consideration one’s lifestyle, current resting posture when hanging out (both standing, sitting, and moving), and obviously appreciate one’s health/performance/physique goals.

When it comes to all things athletic performance when dealing with abdominals, my goto resource is Mike Robertson. He understands the mechanics of the spine, and the surrounding muscles that keep us performing and moving well. Here is a great read from him on 21st century core training

If I’m working with someone 3x/week, based on what I see from a postural standpoint, I make it a point to train their midsection accordingly. If their aren’t any glaring issues, I’ll train their core in 3 different ways throughout the week (Anti-Extension, Anti-Lateral Flexion, and Anti-Rotation), and make sure the rest of their program challenges their core (fuck I’m sick of that word) in ways that suit their individual needs. If you don’t express to your client that this is the proper way to train, and that abs are made mainly in the kitchen, you’ll wind up with a frustrated person who will sneak off and do crunches when you’re not looking.

If you’re successful in breaking down the mechanics of great abdominal training and get your client on board with what you know is right, you’ll end up with a very strong, very healthy, and potentially shredded individual in the long run.

However, with that being said, you should always train your torso for health and performance first, but having sore abs is still necessary and important at times.

Here are some creative ways in part one to end your training session with more ab work, designed intelligently for your longterm health.

#1.) AB WHEEL ROLLOUT + BODYSAW COUNTDOWNS –

Planks on steroids are what you going experience in this one. Here, we are training the anti-extension aspect part of your spine. We are resisting the force that is trying to pull us down into excessive spine extension. On both of these exercises, it’s important to brace you core and glutes hard, simultaneously. This will keep your whole body tight, allowing you to go through full range of motion with a nice neutral spine position.

In this finisher, I like using the countdown method. You’ll pick a set number of reps for both movements, lets say 8. You’ll start with 8 ab wheel rollouts, then switch over to 8 body saws . Rest for a few seconds, then go back to ab wheel rollouts for 7 reps, then body saw for 7…and all the way down to 1 rep. By giving yourself this little break and switching exercises, you never really get to the point of poor form or failure. Pick a smaller number to start out if you’re new to these exercises, but keep this countdown method in mind. It’s fun, you’ll feel an incredible burn, and you’ll train yourself way smarter and harder than anyone else at the gym. You’ll need a ab wheel or barbell w/plates, and Valslides or as I used here, folded paper towels for the body saw.

#2) TRX BUSDRIVERS + TRX FLUTTERS –

Here is another anterior core/anti-extension combo. Again, I love the countdown method for this one. I started with 10 reps on both sides of the bus driver (top video), then took a couple seconds and proceeded to do 10 reps on each side for flutters. Not only are you getting serious ab work here, but your arms are getting a helluva workout too. Bracing here is important as you can see. Without proper tension, you’ll just collapse that spine. By thinking of squeezing your ribs down and holding your glutes in, if you’re strong, and ready for something new and challenging, you’ll enjoy this finisher. In the bus driver, you’ll use the TRX to make a big arc with locked out arms like a windshield wiper or big bus steering wheel. Flutters are best by starting with a pushup position with arms locked out right under your shoulders.

#3) ONE ARM FARMERS CARRIES + 10 SECOND SIDE PLANK

Here we are resisting lateral flexion of the spine. These exercises are way more effective and efficient than your traditional side bends, Russian twists, and side crunches. You’ll get the added benefit of getting your heart rate up with the heavy walk, and way more intense fatigue in your obliques when you do a strict side plank against the wall. Notice how I walk very upright and tight with the dumbbell off my body. Im trying to resist that flexion of the weight pulling me down. If you’re struggling to keep the weight off your leg or failing to stay tall, it’s to heavy. The heavier the weight, the tougher it is to stay out of lateral flexion. Walk 75-90ft with the DB in one arm then get to the ground against the wall for a 10 second side plank with deep inhale and hard exhaled breaths for even more activation. Stand up, switch hands, and walk back down to the next wall 75-90 ft away. I like to do 3-5 rounds/side in assistance to my lift to feel like I met my “abdominal quota” for the day. It won’t burn off your love handles, but you’ll be sore in that area for sure.

#4 OVERHEAD DUMBBELL PULLOVERS + MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS

This is a fun one because it combines some heavy duty anti-extension work as well as some faster anterior (front) core pump. The biggest mistake I see with people performing pullovers (the top video) is that they are always arching their back to reach further back with the dumbbell. While you’re still getting good lat activation and development potential, why not keep those glutes turned on and resist those ribs from popping up? It’s way more bang for your buck. Notice my ribs staying down on the pullover. It’s because I’m squeezing the hell out of my abs and ass. Use these as a superset pairing or continue to use the countdown method. I guarantee you’ll get more than just your abs working on these two.

#5) KNEELING BAND ANTI-ROTATION CHOP + KNEELING BAND PALOFF PRESS

Here is our first anti-rotation pairing. This one is perfect to do counting down, because traditionally you’re arms will give out before you’re core starts rotating, so you’ll need that extra few seconds and less reps as you go to end up having a long set to achieve that fatigue you’re after. Important cues here are keeping you’re belly button in the same place the entire movement as well as locking your abs in like you’re bracing for a punch to the gut. Keep you’re butt engaged as well. Arms must be locked out the entire time for the anti-rotation chops (left video), and always get your ams locked out at the end of each Paloff press rep.

Give some of these pairings a try instead of your crunches and twists, and other exercises that will compromise posture and spine health. If you’re an athlete, you better be worried more about performance than physique, so these exercises have some huge value for you. If you’re just looking for new core exercises and consider yourself pretty experienced with some strongish abs, these will deliver what your’e looking for as well.

I will be back soon with Part 2…

Stay tuned

C.R.

6 Weeks to Shredded 2.0

July 2, 2015 by Andrew Ferreira Leave a Comment

After much debate, Chad and I have decided to re-open our 6 Weeks to Shredded program. It’s not that we had any concern over whether or not our methodology worked because it did. In fact, when we first devised the program I remarked to Chad that the science is too good to fail. Obviously, getting shredded is an art that encompasses far more than just nerd speak and understanding how to ramp up fat loss on overdrive but you catch my drift.

We engaged in weeks of endless debates because we weren’t sure the general public could handle the tweaks we made to the program. You see 6 Weeks to Shredded 1.0 was a real bastard.

Save me the feel good stories about fat loss being this slow gradual process. Getting shredded is a whole other animal and doing it with pace requires a whole lot of dedication, sacrifice, and suffering. If you were weak or weren’t all in, version 1.0 would have kicked your ass and left you one broken man.

With our revamped version, if you aren’t dedicated to transforming your body in ways impossible to imagine, then you will be destroyed. Let me repeat that, you will be DESTROYED. If you choose to suffer the fate of the latter, trust me Chad or I won’t feel bad. Adapt or die. Suffer and do everything we say to the T and we promise you will emerge a different creature at the end of 6 weeks.

I welcome you to undergo the process with me. In about a week’s time, my brother and I are going to engage in a quest to get shredded. Not, just “woah that guy has abs” shredded but “Holy shit, I see striations in that motherfucker’s oblique” shredded.

My body composition has seen some dramatic shifts over the past 10 or 11 months. Below, you will see the end of the my 2 week cut experience at around 211 lbs. Fast forward, 7 or 8 months and there you will see where I am at now around 235. The goal is to be 220 lbs and shredded.

Operation reincarnate John Rocker is in full effect. Up to 235-240ish from 215-220 in August. #juggernaut #moremassmoregas #testosterone #bodybuilding #powerlifting #fuckhashtags

A photo posted by Chad Rodgers & Andrew Ferreira (@showmestrength) on Jan 16, 2015 at 3:39pm PST

Here are some other results from our first run with the program from last summer.

Limited Availability

We’ve decided to cap the program at 8 clients so act now before spots fill up.

To find out more about the qualifications you must fall under before being eligible for the program, read this.

If you’re all good on that front, email showmestrength@gmail.com with the headline “Get Shredded” and tell us why you’d be a good fit for our program.

With much love, pain, and suffering to come,

A.F.

5 Things Everyone Wants From A Training Program

November 25, 2014 by Chad Rodgers Leave a Comment

As coaches, we can easily fall into a big trap. I’ve seen it before, and I have been guilty of it in the past, but no longer do I let myself fit into this category I’m about to tell you about.

As for me, I’ve been a baseball coach, pitching instructor, and more recently, a personal trainer, and online strength coach. The trap I fell into early one was my own limiting beliefs on how I should design programs, and how I should coach.

The methods I used were no doubt tried and tested through years of training and learning with the best, but in order for a pupil to improve under my guidance and continue in a steady ascent to their goals, I needed to evolve into a “chameleon” coach as I like to call it.

The chameleon coach understands that his or her knowledge is a valuable gift, but at the same time places the equal value in adapting wisely to their student or client’s needs and wants. He or she masters the art of delivering priceless knowledge in a way that is sensitive to the student’s personality, background, goals, and specific needs.

Too soon in my coaching career did I feel so filled with valuable, and life changing knowledge that I neglected opening my heart to the individuals first and foremost. As an instructor, this was an area that could no question make me more well rounded.

I mentioned earlier that I’m now working as a personal trainer (Southwest Florida), and a writer/training program designer here at Show Me Strength. It’s my job to deeply understand everyone I work with so I can stay true to their success in health. Furthermore, I’ve discovered several things while coaching that everyone wants to see and feel if they are to take working out seriously for a long time.

Here they are.

1) We all want to look better in the mirror – No one is more in tune with our naked bodies than ourselves. We see us in the worst of states, the best of conditions, and it’s only natural to feel our mood, confidence, and psyche alter a bit with our physical state. As a strength and conditioning coach, if you don’t stay sensitive to this with each and every person you work with, you’ve no question begun losing sight of their goals. A good program will deliver exceptionally positive physique transformations, so if you have a client who needs to lose 50 lbs and you are doing bicep curls right off the bat, you need to reevaluate what the hell you are doing. “It should be your goal to keep the goal, the goal.” Dan John

2) We all want a program to be tough, rewarding, and attainable all at the same time – I think most coaches get 1 or 2 out of 3 when creating workouts for their clients. The great ones, however, deliver all three on a consistent basis, and therefore get their clients feeling and looking great in a time sensitive manner. It takes no thought and no care to make someone sweat or sore. These side effects can tell us we are doing our job in getting our client a training effect, but it by no means makes you a great coach. You must have a balance of an exciting training stimulus to go along with challenging, but achievable workouts. I make it a point to design our client’s programs with these characteristics in mind. The last thing you want is a frustrated, hurt, and disinterested person because of your lack of concern in program design efforts. If you are looking to start a new workout program, find someone who cares before worrying about how much they know. It’ll be win/win for both sides in the long run.

3) We want a program that won’t waste time on things we don’t care about – This is a big one for me even in my own training. In fitness, my own workouts have really evolved and taken new shapes in the past decade or so. I’ve gone from following bodybuilding workouts with my dad in my early teens, to receiving the best training programs in the world for my baseball career by Eric Cressey, to now working more with brutal pure strength and aesthetic programs from Jim Wendler. Each has been rewarding and beneficial in their own way, but most of all, with the more experience I’ve achieved, I waste less and less time on pointless bullshit. Whatever my goals are, everything I do in the gym is dedicated to those goals. Take a step back and make sure everything you do in your training truly aligns with how you want to look, feel, and move.

4) We want a proven, tested, and science supported program – Who doesn’t want to hear great feedback from a program or coach before you submit your body to torture and effort? It further increases the investment of time and sacrifice you are willing to make for your health, am I right? I’ve been lucky enough to play a professional sport for almost 10 seasons, and in the meantime, I was blessed by meeting and learning from the best fitness coaches in the world. One of the biggest lessons they taught me was to never stop learning. Always push to be the tip of the spear in the industry with the most relevant, up to date information in all things health, while keeping perspective on what has worked for many years. Learning and improving is something you owe your clients on a daily basis.

5) We want a program that will keep us interested and excited to train – It’s such a great feeling when you design a program that just flows with someone. They show up hungry for more each time, and they stay the course just as you had hoped. This doesn’t just happen by printing some trendy, thoughtless workout off the internet and mindlessly wandering the gym floor. It comes from a coach who has carefully constructed something for your needs and wants. As a coach, I make sure to remain selfless when writing programs. I make sure that I am creating the set, rep, and rest scheme of each exercise with total thought on the person training, not what I feel like coaching. Sure, I’d love to teach some diesel shit, but it might not fall in line with the path of my student.

These are some of the beliefs I create each program around. As you see, I didn’t delve into the physical aspects of my training and coaching yet. I’m only attempting to open the doors for learning and discussion in regards to making educated decisions, ensuring you continue to keep your health the highest priority, without getting discouraged along the way. The next article will cover the physical elements of great training programs.

On a similar note, Andrew and I are thrilled to announce that we have partnered with WeightTraining.Com, which we believe is the web’s leader in user friendly platforms for online training programs. It’s such a cool site. Check it out with the link above or below. Join up and get our programs for a very affordable price.

Guinea Pigs Got Shredded

October 28, 2014 by Andrew Ferreira Leave a Comment

It feels pretty good when people make you look smart.

A few months ago, Chad and I released our program, “6 Weeks to Shredded,” and were in the search of guinea pigs to test out our methods. I unabashedly proclaimed that the science was too good to fail and seeing results was all but guaranteed.

I was right but not necessarily because of how good the science was. Body transformations don’t happen in a vaccum. Getting shredded isn’t like a computer science program where if the input is correct (the science) there’s going to be a direct correlation with the output (getting shredded).

No.

What’s lost in getting shredded when focusing solely on the sets, reps, and macros is the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into putting in the work. We’ve gotten fantastic results thus far from our shred program. Sure, the science is fucking legit but do you what’s better? Our clients and friends have absolutely grinded their ass off.

“6 Weeks to Shredded” really equates to “Six Weeks of Hell.”

This program wasn’t for the faint of heart. Extreme goals require extreme measures and there was no place for moderation or balance here. Chad and I warned people that we were going to ask a lot from them during the program both mentally and physically. Calories were set uncomfortably low and the workouts really make you suffer.

I’m incredibly proud to spotlight those who have completed the shred program thus far. A big congratulations to you for putting in the work, pushing past the mental roadblocks, and emerging from the darkness transformed both mentally and physically.

Results

A former skinny fat professional athlete turned yoked and shredded. He ran our coaching program early in the summer and then finished it off with the shred program. The results speak for themselves.

Our first client who tested out the shred program. He went from already lean to shredded and diesel.

I ran the program myself for a little under two weeks before I went on vacation. I set the macros pretty low and ran the exact workouts detailed in the shred program. Not too shabby for 11 days.

It ain’t just a fat loss program…

“From definition and tone to athletic results. The squats every day along with the continuous leg workouts put about 4 inches on my vertical. Went from one handed dunks to throwing down two handed jams on the basketball court.” – Zach

The Ball’s In YOUR Court…

And there are more but I figured I’d save both you and me time by not posting them. IF you’re willing to grind, the program works and now that our initial test run has finished up we have some spots open in the “Shred” coaching program.

For those wondering what the program entails, please check out this post —> http://showmestrength.com/6-weeks-to-shredded-i-need-you/ <—

Everything you need to know is in there. If you’re ready to make things happen, embark on the most grueling and yet rewarding 6 weeks of your life, then email us at showmestrength@gmail.com with the subject “Shred” and tell us why you should be apart of the coaching program.

Stay diesel,

Andrew

Two Weeks To Shredded: The Results

September 2, 2014 by Andrew Ferreira Leave a Comment

You never want to be “that guy.” Now, funny thing is that you don’t need to be an expert at social dynamics to quickly identify the asshole at the party who is unanimously dubbed “that guy.” It’s sort of like how we know really good grandma apple pie from shitty store bought processed fake version. I don’t have the verbiage to eloquently explain why that pie sucks like a professional food taster could – I just know that I wouldn’t feed it to my dog that doesn’t exist. Identifying “that guy” is similar in that you don’t need a sociology degree to identity said asshole.

Since I’m all about full disclosure here at Show Me Strength, I figured it was time to make a confession and admit that throughout my brief adult life (forget the fact that I’m pushing 25 real soon), there have been occasions when I’ve been “that guy.” Well, maybe I’m being hard on myself with that label. I mean, I’m sure 63% of my readership has taken their shirt off from time to time (ok, maybe frequently) at college parties. No? Alright well, maybe I am the asshole.

Whether you’d quickly identify and hate me or not, I could think of no better way to celebrate the revival of my college career and celebrate my last first day of school ever then taking my shirt off – but this time via the interwebz. In all seriousness, I want to show you what the result of my two week (technically 11 days) shredding experiment was.

I’m not going to outline my methods because I’ve already done that in a previous article (click me). In total, I had 11 training sessions in 11 days. I went double sessions twice with intervals in the morning with a metabolic training session in the afternoon. Two days were complete rest.

What Happened

The most important part of my experiment was to see if my methods actually worked. I didn’t have access to body fat calipers (sue me) so all I have to judge my results off of is a mirror and a cell-phone selfie and some photo-shoot esque lighting. Just kidding, I kept the lighting and the background the same so I couldn’t scam you into thinking I got shredded sitting on my ass and eating twinkies for two weeks. Without further ado, you can be the judge…

For 11 days, I thought what transpired ended up being pretty damn good. If we’re going to call a spade a spade, I’m sure there was some water manipulation involved in the before/after pictures. I didn’t intentionally cut water but lower carb dieting will have that effect. At the start of my experiment I checked in at 225 and ended my cut at 221.5 and I lost a total of three inches off my stomach in various places. My quads unfortunately didn’t get any smaller so I’ll be anxiously awaiting the launch of Barbell Denim so I can fit in a regular pair of pants.

Suffering + Good Science = Shredded

The science was damn good, too good in fact to fail. A simple understanding of fat loss physiology goes a long way in constructing programs that allow for rapid fat loss in a short amount of time. Physiologically, my protocol was going to work. Except, fat loss doesn’t happen in a vacuum and physiology isn’t the only factor at play here. Psychology matters and to be completely honest, this protocol was really fucking hard.

I suffered. A lot.

Professional baseball is my background. I’ve accustomed to strength and power training sessions where the intensity may be high but rest periods are long and there’s no real metabolic training effect.

Training during this protocol was some of the most grueling uncomfortable training sessions of my life. There were a couple sessions where I front squatted 185 a total of 40 times followed by 80 forward lunges with little to no rest. This happened after a full interval session with 20 minutes of cardio mixed in between.

There were times when I wanted to stop. My legs were quivering, breath was all but nonexistent, and that little voice in my head was bellowing. And that was only the training aspect. Everyone worth their salt knows that God could have written my training program but if my nutrition wasn’t on point, all would be for not.

Zero carb days were difficult. Zero carb weekends were even harder. Even a big serving of protein and fat seemed to induce carb cravings that were hard to ignore. And then there was that whole 1000 calorie caloric deficit each day. The temptation to eat myself satisfied at night loomed large but I resisted. My bro science told me that if I went to bed hungry there was a significant chance that I would wake up leaner. I was largely correct.

Rethinking Real World Application of Physiology

Eleven days isn’t a long time frame. Despite however difficult my training and nutrition may have been, I didn’t have to maintain the sacrifice for all too long. Being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel made everything psychologically seem ok.

I reckon it’s similar to when you’re doing a set of high rep squats and instead of seeing this voluminous 20 rep monster, it all seems tangible and doable when you break it up into 20 sets of 1. Breaking up your set in this manner makes it seem significantly less daunting psychology.

And maybe that’s the point that we’re all missing in the industry. How often do we hear stories who just seemingly can’t follow a basic training program with simple dietary prescriptions long enough to make significant change but they’re willing to train hard for two months so they can do that Tough Mudder with all their friends. And you know what the crazy part is? Often times they succeed at the more difficult task.

If you can control dopamine, you can produce significant change and get big time results. The best physiology in the world doesn’t mean a goddamn thing if you can’t win over that individual’s psychology.

Clearly the answer isn’t fad diets or program ADD which surely will bring a whole lot of dopamine to the brain with little results to show for it. Maybe the answer is breaking big time goals into incremental pieces and attacking them bursts at at time. Hard six weeks of training and dieting followed by a couple weeks off and then the cycle repeats itself. It keeps the body fresh but more importantly it keeps the brain stimulated.

The brain wins – period.

A Challenge

Try out the new model I presented and see what happens. Push the volume and intensity higher than what your textbook advises and then back off. Go lower carb than what is comfortable and then restore homeostasis and maintenance calories. I think you’ll find that the all too familiar burn out that the recreational trainee experiences just doesn’t happen when you program for the brain and the body.

Our “Six Weeks To Shredded” program is Show Me Strength’s experimental trial into this new model of adaptation. It’s hard, you will suffer, but most importantly you’ll get quicker results than you ever have in the shortest amount of time. We still have a few spots open to those who want to escape from the mediocre bullshit that runs most people’s lives.

If interested, contact us at showmestrength@gmail.com with the subject line, “Get Shredded.” If what happened to me took only eleven days with our protocol, imagine six weeks. Below is another “guinea pig” who busted his ass for a month’s time to get diesel results.It’s science.