Horn Blowin'

Yesterday, while eating one of my 7 meals, I was reading the elitefts Q&A. I came across a post by Joe Defranco that was titled, "Need a reason to train today?"

Of course it was a pump up video compiled of highlights of the training that goes on at his facility. Some of the noteables; Mike Guadango's 54" box jump, The Spoon running a 4.16 40yd dash, Deon Anderson, being Deon Anderson and most recently Brian Cushing's doing a really high seated box jump(with a weighted vest on).

It was a pretty damn good compilation. It definately gets the job done. I was pumped after watching it.

Check it out. Watch closely right around the 19 second mark. (This part is my personal favourite)


So obviously I was feeling pretty good about myself, having made the cut on a montage as good as this one. I immediately emailed Joe, and thanked him for including me in the Dirty Jerzy Highlight reel. I also told him that I would promptly be kicking ass in the gym, as the video is intended.

Here's a portion of his Reply;

You don't have to thank me...you definitely DESERVE to be in that reel
amongst the best athletes/performances in the gym!! All the athletes
here were like, "who the fuck is that dude doing the trap bar
deadlift?!" HAHA!!


It sure made my day. And hopefully the vid will inspire you to kick some ass, today and all weekend.

More 150 Action

Hopefully I'm not burning your interest in this blog to the ground with my recent batch of video posts.

I honestly don't know what the fuck is wrong with me, but I have not an ounce, of creative or even productive thought lately.

I've got 2 things on my mind all the time. (of course besides doing a good job of running my business)

1) Getting Sarah ready to win the nationals at the end of the month
2) Getting myself ready for the soon to start strongman season. AND SMASHING EVERYTHING IN MY PATH LIKE A RABID SASQUATCH! (I'm notorious for getting my mind so into a competition that all other aspects of my life suffer. Luckily it's only been my creative thought process so far.)

So here's a couple more vids. (Like logs on the fire)

150 DB rows for 20 reps


Sarah Squatting 345

And if you really are getting bored of these vids, quit being such a nancy and send my a vid of you doing something cool. Of course you'll be the only one interested in watching it.

Mayhem Mondays

I don't know about you but I thought this weekend was pretty awesome for outdoor training. We got outdoors for a couple of events on Saturday and then on Sunday I thought about pushing the prowler. It never happened because I ended up sleeping off some kind of stomach flu for most of the day.

I'm still getting a few vids from strong MF's that want to get famous here on SAS, but not nearly as many as I expected. Doesn't anyone have a camera? Or are you all just a bunch of weak little girls?

I'm going to get you started with a recent vid of my own. Nothing too exciting in the performance dept. but I was demonstrating that even with smashed and mangled fingers, one can still move some iron.



And here's Kapowski giving the brand new 150's a ride.


What did you do on the weekend?

Stone Loading

On Saturdays I train strongman events in a garage. And I always get some of the best training sessions ever in that garage. It's dirty, the music is loud, the place is full of primitive strength tools. It's a place where great strength is built and tested.

One of the mainstays of saturday garage training is Stone Loading. My training group is lucky enough to have atlas stones. Atlas stones are the concrete spheres you may have seen on TV while watching Worlds Strongest Man.
We have a set of atlas stones that ranges from 188lbs to 385lbs. We load them to platforms ranging in height from 51" to 72".

Loading 265lbs stone to 72" at Canada's Strongest Man 2008

Stone loading is very taxing on many different parts of the body. It tests your arm and grip, upper back, lower back, legs, hips, abs and most importantly your mental toughness. I have never loaded stones and not been sore all over. (and I'm not talking about the scrapes on my chest and arms) This past Saturday was no exception. I had a really hard time getting out of bed on sunday.

Here's what I did: (After log press and farmers walk)
320lb stone to 54" X2
320lb stone to 54"X3
320lb stone to 54"X3
320lb stone to 54"X3
320lb stone shouldered to 56" + 350lb stone to 51"
320lb stone shouldered to 56" + 350lb stone to 54"
350lb stone to 54"

I did try to shoulder the 320 one last time but I was out of steam. I got a bit frustrated with myself for missing lifts near the end of the sets, but it wasn't until I wrote out my training log that I noticed the large volume of heavy stones I did.



This is one of my training partners, Peter Wagner, he is the owner of the garage I train at. He is also one hell of a stone loader. Peter is almost 50 years old. What's your excuse?

More Bang For Your Buck

With all the doom and gloom news about the economy I think a few tips on value and savings is in order.
But I am not talking about financial value and savings....I'm talking about training economy.


What exactly is training economy? I could be off a bit by what a textbook would tell us, but my version of training economy is getting the best bang for your buck when training.

I want to get bigger and stronger, Sally wants to lose fat and get leaner, and we both want to do it as fast as possible. We want results yesterday. So naturally Sally and I are going to choose the training plan, and exercises that yield the biggest results in the shortest possible time.

First I will tell you what is NOT a good "bang for your buck" exercise; (there are a lot of them)
Calf press
Wrist Curls
Crunches on a fitness ball
Triceps Kickbacks
Anything involving a bosu ball
Pedalling a recumbant bike
The list could go on for a while, but I think you get the point.

Here is my qualified opinion on what the most common and most effective "bang for your buck" exercises ARE:
Squats
Clean and Press
Deadlift
Bench Press (any variation of)
Chin-ups
push-ups
Sit-ups
Sprinting
Prowler Pushing or Sled drags
Rower Sprints

If I was heading to the gym and only had 30 minutes to train, I would choose 1 of the first 4 on the list and get to work. If you or me or Sally applied ourselves to working our asses off at any of these, or any combination of 2-3 of the listed exercises, there would be results on the way, without a doubt.

When you're in a hurry and/or just want to get results faster, pick a couple of the "bang for your buck" exercises and look the hell out. These are garaunteed to make the sweat drip from your face and have you crawling for the exit in no time.

More Goods from the Mentorship

It was a good trip okay. I've still got lots to share.

The training and business end was most important, but I also went down there with a goal for myself in mind. I wanted to break the "washed up meatheads" (Not highschool or college athlete) Trap Bar Deadlift record.

I figured it would be pretty cool to get my name on the Defranco's Record Board. Hell, it's the board that inspired us to start record boards at our gyms.

So did I get on it? You're goddamn right I did! I beat the old record by 150lbs!

"Right there, above Zach Even Esh" and yes I pull a stupid face when I'm excited

Not be outdone by her ol'man, Sarah took a stab at the ladies Trap Bar Deadlift record too.
And hell yeah, she beat the old record by 90lbs.

"Look mom, I made it on the big board" (and with room to spare)

Alright, enough horn blowing and back patting. You already knew we were pretty awesome to begin with. (HAHA) We believe in walking the walk.

I'm really happy for Sarah this weekend and not because of the deadlift record, but because of the confidence she has developed as a strength coach. She knows her shit when it comes to training. It would be impossible for her to not know a lot. It's all we talk about, it's all we read, it's what we do. The mentorship and hanging out with Joe and 4 other great coaches from around the world has brought it out in her mind that she doesn't need to take shit from regular schmoes that walk into our gyms and look down there nose at her as trainer because she is a female.
The way I look at is that we should never blow off the opportunity to learn from everyone we come across. And Sarah is no exception. She has a lot to offer when it comes to training. And in addition to knowing it, she's also stronger pound for pound than about 90% of the men that train in our gyms. SO THERE!

I'm really getting geared up for the summer program again. I can't wait until hockey season is over and our guys get back. I love working with them and seeing them progress and get better.
I can't wait to dust off the prowlers and sleds. And I've also got a few new tools to get everyone stronger and faster this summer.

I actually got a call yesterday for an appointment to start working with a teenage girl that plays competitive hockey and fastball. We're ready and fully loaded to bring any athlete closer to their goals. You don't have to wait until the snow melts to get started. In season, pre-season, off-season, we're ready for it.

What does your wife do in her spare time?

Empty Jugs = Success

I've been saving all my empty protein jugs since I started dieting in September.

I've got a shit load of them. I am actually suprised by the amount of Whey Fusion that I have gone through.

A long time ago, when I was just getting started and interested in taking care of my nutrition in order to improve my fitness results, I bought my first ever jug of protein.

It was a 2lber of Pro-Lab Whey. Strawberry flavour. I bought it at the nutrition store in the mall near my apartment.

Now keep in mind, at this time I was in college, on my own dime, no loans. Just my hard working future wife and my 3 part time jobs to pay the bills. So when I went out on a limb and bought some protein, I wanted it to last a while, because it probably took a big chunk of my monthly budget to buy that 2lbs of whey. I used to make sure the scoops were perfectly level and took every action to not spill or waste a single grain. I also remember rinsing the cup out and drinking the diluted "left overs". I only drank a shake after training, no matter what.

I was conservative. I don' t remember exactly how long that 2lbs lasted but I know it was way longer than it should've.

Empty Jugs = Success.

Somewhere along the line (probably when I started to have a few extra bucks), I realized that the protein powder wasn't doing me any good sitting in the jug on top of the fridge. It only helps build muscle and lose fat when you eat it. (or drink it)

Before I was so proud to have that full jug of protein on top of my fridge. Now I'm proud to have a massive stack of empties on top of the fridge. (And I stopped buying 2lbers long ago)

Not only do I have the empties, I also am starting to develope the physical attributes that I so badly wanted when I was younger.

So to summarize, buy a jug of Whey Fusion, eat it, drink it, whatever. Lift weights, sleep, repeat. Success doesn't happen over night. It's a long journey, and I'm loving every step of this journey.

These guys have some empty, but they ain't Whey Fusion

Rant Time!

Okay kids, put your seatbelts on, it's Rant Time.



As you may or may not know, my wife and I make our living by teaching people how to train. We own a pair of gyms, we work in them full time and we are 2 of the 3 trainers that work in our clubs. Basically what I'm trying to say here is that my paycheck or lack thereof comes from me knowing about strength and fitness training (especially fat loss) and being able to help others achieve there physical goals.



I don't really have a good term or title to describe exactly what I do, but to the average Joe, I'm a personal trainer. BUT, I am not certified (like thats some glorious, godly thing) by any personal training company or organization. And let me tell you why.

When I first got into the business I had already been training myself for about 10 years. I had already competed in bodybuilding and powerlifting and was a pretty good student to the ways of the iron. I even had a client that I was training privately in his home 3 days per week for 6 months. Needless to say I knew a bit about training and nutrition and how to achieve success.

I looked into a few of the different companies that offered personal training certs and was horrified by what they had to offer. I did find one company that seemed to have it's shit together but they seemed to be out of business or not interested in new members because I never got a reply to any calls or emails.

One point that I want to make here before moving on is that personal training companies that offer certifications are just that, independant companies that offer certification courses on what they feel are the important skills and knowledge to be a personal trainer.

Just because you have a nice website and charge $400.oo for a weekend long certification course doesn't neccesarily mean you offer the best product.

I'll get the point here. I've come across a few individuals, that feel it neccesary to stop by my gyms or meet me in the street and want to look down there nose at our business because we are not certified. These people are often certified by one company in particular (rhymes with fan-bit) and are usually mortified that we answer their questions about certification with "I'm not certified by anyone".

This rant was fueled by one person in particular that recently came into our gym and inquired about some of our rates and training programs. The person then proceeded to tell us they were a 15 year veteran of personal training and were certified by a company that rhymes with fan-bit. The person then (as usual) inquired about our certs and had little to say about our answer.

Here's the question I have all you fuck tards with a fancy piece of paper with gold foil and your name on it from fan-bit. How many people have you trained? How many of them achieved their goals? If you are such an awesome personal trainer then why in hell aren't you making a living teaching others how to get fit?
If you want to feel high and mighty about your paper certification from the 2 day course you took about personal training, don't try me. From now on, I will be asking the hard questions.

My wife and I have been training clients for over 4 years. We started with nothing and built our business into something I'm very proud of. We did it without paying some companies bullshit fees to have a piece of paper on the wall. We did it with a lot of trial and error, a lot of reading, a lot of travelling to seminars, a lot of phone calls and emails to people who already had great success in the business. I've spent thousands of hours reading and studying training methods. I've logged thousands of hours in the gym trying shit out on myself. I've logged hundreds of hours in the gyms training others to reach there goals. And guess what? I've never bragged about how awesome I am (or used to be) to another trainer. I've never looked down my nose at another trainer with less experience. I'm willing to pay it forward and share what I've learned, and most important of all....I never stop learning, studying, trying hard to stay on top of what works.

That's all.

Have a great day.

Slackin ?

Well I hope this post will mark the end of my blog slackin'. I've now got a computer in both offices so there is no excuse.

Do you have any definative goals for 2009?

I'm not talking about some bullshit new years resolution. How about something measureable?

I'm assuming that if you are reading this blog you are at least slightly interested in strength. Why not figure out what your biggest weakness is and test it somehow?

Lets use grip strength as an example. You have a really shitty grip. You are the king/queen of the deadfish handshake and you have trouble holding 35lb DB's when doing lunges.

Lets test it out. How long can you hang from a chin-up bar? What's the heaviest gripper you can close?

So now we have a baseline. Get to work with a plan. Start with the end goal and work backwards to where you are now. Set out mini goals along the way and deadlines to achieve them by.

The same system can be applied to any weakness. Bench, deadlift, whatever.

X-Mass, Come and Gone

Well I'm back in the office for the first time in a while. It's almost great to be back. We live our lives so dependant on our daily/weekly routine that after a while the holidays make me nervous. Things just don't seem right and I get worried that I may fall of the horse for good.

Despite being on vacation I am definately NOT one to skip training. I did pass on some cardio sessions but they didn't make or break me. I did have some really great training sessions and some not so great. I missed my goal of a 700lb deadlift. On Dec 30th 2008 we trained lower body and deads were the main course. I was having a poor work up, pitching forward over the bar off the floor. My lifts went as follows;
315X5
405X5
495X2 (only wanted to do a single here but the first rep was so pitched forward I decided to take a second)
585X1 (also pretty pitched)
675Xmiss (I dumped forward off the floor but it still came up well but near the top my legs and hips were locked before I got my shoulders back so the lock-out was not there. I keep asking myself if I should've hitched it up, but it doesn't matter now. )

So the goal was missed.

Is there anything gained from the whole ordeal?

You're damn right there is. I aimed high, worked hard, and had great confidence going in. I got a little hasty and didn't give the proper respect to the work-up weights and fucked things up. I've learned another lesson that can only be learned by missing weight and that was to treat the work-up like a meet lift, everytime. My sloppy work-up may or may not have been the deciding factor but it won't be in question ever again.

How did your year end go?

Did you meet the call to action?

Lets hear about it.

Happy 2009.

Staying on track

Do you remember the call to action post I put up a while back?

Okay big shot, are you staying on track?

Are you working your ass off to make it happen?

I just wanted to remind you that its only about 12 days until the end of 2008.

The time has come to put your money where your mouth was/is.


Here's a glimpse of what I've been up to. I'm pulling out all the stops to meet my call to action.

600X3 reps

Keep me posted on your progress.

I want to know that you are kicking ass and taking names.

We are just setting ourselves up for success in 2009

GOOD MORNING!

Holy Shit my back hurts this morning. And yeah it's mostly because we did Good Mornings (GM's) last night.

Now don't panic, it hurts in a good way. It really is funny how when most people get the slightest bit of discomfort in their backs they panic and start preparing for back surgery. For God's sake people, the back has many muscles just like the rest of our bodies and when you work them, they get stiff. Plain and simple. Getting my boots on this morning was tricky but I'm starting to loosen up.

We did our GM's with my Buffalo Bar. I don't have it up for sale on my website yet but I do sell them too. It's really nice to not have that bar sliding off the neck and tearing up your hard earned traps. No that's not a bar code tattoo on my neck (they are ghey anyways), it's the pattern left by the centre knurl of a straight bar.
With the buffalo bar you can hit horrendous depth (pretty much kissing your own pecker) and the bar doesn't move. The blast you get in the hams and calves is much more noticeable than when using a standard bar.

And for the proper technique.... Well I used to be a real form nazi and my girlish weights reflected that. But Shit-Show pointed out one night that the only rules with GM's is to put a bar on your back, bend over and stand back up again. So we loosened up and slammed a little more weight on the bar.

I still like to get down deep and check my hygiene below the belt, but I push that bar up anyway I can get it to move.

Long live Good Mornings.

Note: This is a Giant Rackable Camber Bar, not a Buffalo Bar
But I like how deep the Jersey Jackal takes this rep. Nice!