Stuff I Stole (but you should do any way)

The Cook Hip Lift

Most people have trouble with glute activation. Glutes are pretty much the most important muscle in the body for functional movement (and hotness), so training those butt muscles to fire is an extremely important part of any training routine. Cook Hip Lifts, which I stole from Gray Cook, force you to pivot at your hip and use your glute max to bridge while preventing you from compensating with your lower back. Do 12 of these on each leg early in a workout and at least twice a week.

Free Class this Wednesday!

So you've been thinking you wanna change your body. You wanna drop some fat or gain some hotness. Maybe you just want to get Coach Stevo's autograph (he's dreamy!). Well on the first Wednesday of every month, you'll get your chance... for free!

Wednesday at 6:30am in South Park will henceforth be known as "Coach Stevo's Sunrise." Drop in (for free!) and work on your mobility, cardio, and awesomeness. 

Just a Humorous Reminder

Eat Less. Move More.

Ask Coach Stevo!

"Hey Coach Stevo, what's with people running in those ridiculous shoes with the toes?"

Ok, so there's a guy named Christopher McDougall who wrote a book in 2009 called Born to Run. In this book McDougall finds a bunch of native Mexicans called the Tarahumara who like to run a lot. Some of them even run outrageous distances in what are essentially rubber flip-flops. Based on all this science, McDougall declares that shoes are the reason that people get hurt running. And to prove it, he starts running barefoot and doesn't get hurt! Science!

Yeah, no. While it is true that there is a gait that is pretty close to ideal for most people that has been pushed by many in the industry (it's called the "ChiRunning" gate, and its pretty good if you're within biometric norms), there is no magic way to run. And while it's true that running barefoot pretty much makes you have a midfoot strike (because landing on a bare heel hurts), that might not be all that's wrong with your gait! You could have tight hip-flexors, inflexible ankles, or valgus collapse. Running in Vibrams is just gonna make all those worse. In fact, running barefoot is only causing new kinds of repetitive stress injuries.

Sadly, the way that runners get fucked up, is by running. It's really hard on the body and is best done in moderation. I used to run 50+ miles a week. Now I keep it below 12. In Asics DS Trainers. The best advice I have is to work on your flexibility and mobilty, and make the miles you run count!

Never Say Never (or Always)

Never Say Never or Always. This is a philosophical point, but one that I feel is important for creating the body that you want over the long haul. I was having a conversation with a young guy who wants to become a personal trainer. He is going to work at a big corporate gym where (ostensibly) they will teach him to become a trainer. This would make me nervous, because a lot of corporate gyms have a "training style." I understand the gym's point of view, they want a consistent client experience and they don't want bad trainers (or trainers that are too good. Those trainers take clients away when they leave). What I have a problem with generally is that these "training styles" tend to be an all-or-nothing type of system. "Always do circuit training. Never do squats or deadlifts." This doesn't leave a lot of room to tailer sessions for a client's goals and worse, slows down the pace of knowledge that is trickling down from the science of exercise and nutrition. For example, a few months ago after Dr. Stuart McGill's excellent articles on lower back training came out in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, I stopped having my clients do crunches and almost anything that puts the lumbar spine in flexion. It represented a big shift with the way I coach. Would that fly at a corporate gym? I don't know, but I love not having to find out.

The young guy I was talking to said something really smart to that though. "There are very few things I will say 'always' or 'never' before." I like that. It's a real "Fitness Nerd" kind of statement.

To close with the way that kind of thinking applies to a session, I have visited the gym that this guy has been hired at and one of the peculiar things that I saw was every trainer stretching every client in the same way (and with the same verbal cues... weird). Now, I have a stretching series that I have become rather fond of. Most clients see a version of it, but I tweak it for everyone. I even have some clients that are so freaky-flexible that taking them through the whole thing would be a waste of their time (and money). That time is better spend on stability and proprioception. So even with a simple idea like "always stretch," the Fitness Nerd like me and my young friend will say, "well, actually..."