My Presentation From the Staley Training Annual Summit

Please enjoy this video from my talk at last year's Staley Training Annual Summit in Scottsdale, AZ.

Part 1/7. Learn why exercise sucks, how to avoid the "Unhappy Triad," why you should go to church instead of hitting the treadmill, and why there's no diet product called "The Magic Pill."

Part 2/7. Learn the difference between exercising, working out, and training, what muscle power cleans work, why you only need one dumbbell or a pull-up bar to do P90X, and why it' not how you FEEL that determines results, but what you DO.

Part 3/7. Learn why Dave Navarro shouldn't be your personal trainer, why you shouldn't try the maple syrup diet, and why it took Leonid Tarenyenko 30 minutes to recover from a maximum clean & jerk.

Part 4/7. Learn how I was scouted for a network reality show, why walking isn't the best exercise, and why Pizza Hut stuffed-crust pizza reminds me of a medical documentary I once saw.

Part 5/7. Learn the relationship between forced reps and motor unit recruitment, why short walks improve blood pressure better than longer walks, and why "no pain, no gain" leads to poor decision-making.

Part 6/7. Learn my definition of maturity, how to battle "the resistance," and how to base goals on BEHAVIORS rather than outcomes.

Part 7/7. Learn how to bridge the gap from exerciser to athlete by getting involved- there are lots of options out there for everyone, regardless of age or ability.

Training: November 12, 2009

Good energy, no pain, feel strong

Snatch

44Lbs (2x3)

66Lbs 92x3)

88Lbs (2x3)

110Lbs x2

121Lbs x2

132Lbs x1

143Lbs x1

154Lbs x B

154Lbs x1 (Solid!)

Clean & Jerk

110Lbs (2x2)

154Lbs x1

165Lbs x1

176Lbs x1

Back Squat

44Lbs x5

154Lbs x5

220Lbs x2

264Lbs x1

293Lbs (3x3)

Ice Left Knee: 15 Mins

Occam's Barbell*: Putting An End To Paralysis By Analysis

* Paraphrased from Wikipedia:

Occam's razor (sometimes spelled Ockham's razor) is a principle attributed to the 14th-century English logician and Franciscan friar, William of Ockham. The principle states that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible, eliminating those that make no difference in the observable predictions of the explanatory hypothesis or theory. This is often paraphrased as "All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best." In other words, when multiple competing theories are equal in other respects, the principle recommends selecting the theory that introduces the fewest assumptions and postulates the fewest entities. It is in this sense that Occam's razor is usually understood.

What's that? You're confused? Here's a little news-flash: I'm confused too! The only difference between you and I is:

I take action in the face of confusion, and you don't.

In my experience, "paralysis by analysis" is the most common barrier to action, and by extension, successful action. Because after all, analysis is the preface to action- it isn't action itself.

Analysis can certainly serve a useful purpose, but for many, it's both a crutch and an excuse for delaying action. Here's a typical brain-twister that novice lifters often find themselves confronted by:

Should you do 6 sets of 2, or 4 sets of 3?

My advice? Don't even think about starting a training program until you've resolved this critical conundrum, because after all, both options involve 12 reps with the same weight, so obviously if you go down the wrong path, you'll bescrewed, glued, and tattooed.

Another critical decision: should you bike or row for cardio on Tuesdays?

God help you if you should happen to choose the wrong exercise or repetition bracket, or if you stupidly decide to train 3 times a week instead of 4. Because now you're stuck for the rest of your training career. Too bad you didn't think that decision through more carefully before you got all irrational and went and wrote yourself a stupid program.

OK, on a more serious note…

I really like the old carpenter's adage "Measure twice, cut once." But this philosophy is absurdly over-cautious when applied to training program design. A program isn't a piece of wood- if you make an error, you have my permission to edit it. Honest.

And don't even ask me to evaluate your 18-week off-season developmental conditioning cycle, because it'll make my eyes glaze over faster than last night's episode of Oprah where that Dr. Oz guy is telling me to do some kinda meditation stuff for stress-reduction.

Because let's face it- 18 weeks from now, lots of things can happen. You could get sick, or even injured. You might break up with your girlfriend. Or find a girlfriend. Or lose your job. Or join some extremist religion that forbids the use of barbells. Or even more likely than any of the above, you might read some new article or book about some new training program that seems a hell of a lot more interesting than what you're doing now.

So look: let's just focus on the here-and-now, and further, let's focus on the "big rocks:" the stuff that really matters. The rest we can figure out later- maybe next week, maybe next month, but later. Now obviously some of you are now expecting me to tell you what a big rock is before you can ever touch a weight again, so here are a few examples of big rocks (stuff that matters) and small rocks (stuff that doesn't matter):

Big Rocks	Small Rocks
Squat Heavy	How much? How often? How deep? What kind of squat?
Eat Protein	How much? How often? What kind of protein?
Set Goals	How many? How hard should they be? In writing?
Record Your Training	How? Why? What kind of paper?

Now in most cases, people worry about the small rocks without even getting the big rocks in place- they've got the cart before the horse. So look- just squat. In the beginning, you'll probably do it all wrong, but even that's a lot better than not squatting. Then, little by little, you'll figure out how to do it correctly, and guess what- you're already great progress will get even better!

And eat protein. Don't worry about how much- just eat a lot. Don't worry about what kind, we'll get to that later. Get your big rocks in the jar first, then we'll worry about the little rocks, and maybe someday we'll fill the rest of the jar with sand. Maybe.

In Summary:

• Action precedes progress; analysis precedes more analysis. Act first, analyze later
  
• It's easier to go from something to something better, than it is to go from nothing to something
  
• Ever notice how lots of people make great progress doing "stupid" stuff? It's because they're doing while you're not doing. Doing stupid stuff will always beat not doing smart stuff.

That's it - you're done. Go squat and eat some protein.