You either surf the economic tsunami and prosper – or it sweeps you away and you drown!

The 1^st Commandment of Fitness

Champion surfers do not head for the hills when a hurricane hits their island beach. They view natural catastrophe as an once-in-a-lifetime surfing opportunity and grab their boards and run to the shoreline to attack 20 foot killer waves with gusto and glee. They fearlessly surf the most dangerous and exhilarating waves of their entire life and turn disaster into triumph. To further stretch the analogy: the dumb ones stand on the beach and stare as the giant waves approach and scratch their heads in disbelief and try and act as if everything is the same and nothing has changed and today is no different than yesterday. Then the waves hit the beach and they are proven dead wrong.

A shakeout of monumental proportion is underway in the wide world of all things fitness-related and a lot of fitness professionals, fitness facilities, nutritional supplement and equipment makers are drowning in the ongoing economic tsunami. The reason for their predicament is predictable: trainers and products that do not garner gains for clients become incidental, superfluous and therefore unaffordable. The core commandment of all-things fitness is, was, and always shall be…

“Thou shalt provide measurable physical gains for clients and students on an ongoing and consistent basis.”

In these tight times those that fail to adhere to the 1^st Commandment of Fitness are swept away. One seasoned professional saw it coming for a long time and was unsympathetic when asked about the ongoing fitness shakeout. “Most (personal trainers) either didn’t know enough or didn’t care enough – or both.”

The “Fitness Revolution” began in the mid-eighties and ended with the collapse of Wall Street. September of 2007 marked the end of the Fitness Revolution. It’s a new day and a new time and the fitness paradigm has shifted. The fitness game has been shaken to its core. Most fitness professionals and most fitness organizations, most corporations and most equipment makers are having tough times – yet this is not the case for all fitness professionals. The savvy and alert professional, the nimble corporation possessing the ability to pivot and reposition quickly, the innovative fitness tool maker, are all able to prosper despite the ongoing tsunami. For a savvy few this calamity presents (to use another hackneyed expression) a golden opportunity to make fitness lemonade out of bitter financial lemons.

How do real fitness pros and real fitness products prosper in tight times? They obey the 1^st Commandment of Fitness and obtain spectacular physical results for their clientele on a regularly reoccurring basis. In all things fitness related, the overarching goal is to aide and amplify the efforts of sincere clients – clients that make a real effort to follow your advice and use your strategies and incorporate your recommendations. They are paying you to transform them, from what they are into what they want to be.  Orchestrate dramatic physical transformations on a regular and consistent basis for normal people leading regular lives and the fitness world will beat a path to your door.

Personal trainers and fitness tools that consistently obtain dramatic results for regular people leading normal lives living on tight budgets in tight times can and will prosper. Those unable to induce progress in paying clients soon run out of clients.

Greetings from the cusp of the abyss

In times of plenty most any fitness professional located in a well-populated urban or suburban area possessing a smooth rap, good looks and a lean body was able to successfully ply their trade as a Boss Personal Trainer. These ineffectual personal trainers depended on charm and ‘the churn,’ a steady influx of new clients. Perfectly coiffed, tanned with perfect teeth and college degrees, these Boss PTs would use canned speeches and rote methods to “train” and “tone” clients using glitzy exercise machines in pristine fitness facilities. These rico suave types promised incoming clients (with lots of disposable income) astounding physical results attained with little or no physical effort in a lightning fast timeframe. Fast, easy, effective – but not cheap!

The gullible client was initially transfixed and signed up with sky high expectations for big dollars. After months of sub-maximal effort the client inevitably quit on account of no tangible results. They became just another in a long and unbroken string of unending fitness failures for the superficial Boss PT. The blame was predictably passed onto the client: “They must not have wanted it bad enough!” Or “They were undisciplined!” Or “People are so stupid!” It was never the fault of the Boss PT or the fitness methods and tools used. The blame was always attributed to some physical or psychological defect on the part of the client. The effectiveness of grandiose strategies was never questioned. In high times these types had waiting lists for their services. But the high times are over. Now things are different. Now the stupid, undisciplined client that doesn’t want it bad enough actually expect results for their hard earned dollars.

Don’t be a fitness professional standing on the beach staring at the waves as they grow ever nearer. You must get real results for real clients. Here is another fitness fact: any untrained body suddenly subjected to a comprehensive fitness regimen no matter how lame (assuming it contains a resistance element, a cardio component and some dietary restraint) will create dramatic and measurable progress – for a little while. Any PT using any lame method will be able to obtain good initial results working with totally untrained individuals. But what happens when progress peters out? Is the personal trainer capable of producing results after that initial burst of predictable progress subsides? Time for some introspection and self examination: as a Fitness Professional do you adhere to the 1^st Commandment of Fitness? Are you obtaining tangible physical results for clients on an ongoing and consistent basis? Yes or no. Black or white. No shades of grey. You can and do – or you can’t and depend on the rapidly evaporating “churn.”

Marty Gallagher “phone trains” a limited number of clients: if you would be interested in working with him, you can contact him at mgso@embarqmail.com

Yesterday Mike Barbato and I went to see Marty for an update on how we have been progressing with our training.  I have to admit we both felt tired and were a little nervous.  I can’t describe the feeling but once you walk into Marty’s shed, your in the zone and it’s go time.

We started off with the bench press.  Mike and I have been working on paused reps, where we bring the bar down to sternum and pause for a second then explode the bar up.  This makes benching a lot harder!  I ended up pressing 225 with a pause, I’m very happy with this.

Next on the agenda was the Dead lift.  Now, I have been having some issues with the Dead during my training.  I just did not feel that I was getting the groove down.  Both Mike and I were taking turns, doing only 1 rep pulls as if we were in competition.  Like I said earlier, I was in the zone and I felt strong as hell. Marty kept stacking on the plates, I did not know how much weight I was pulling all I could remember is Marty saying just get up there and pull.  I ended up pulling 370!!  I will hit 400 I know it.

Marty told us to start dead lifting on a plate, putting us slightly higher off the ground.  This is going to make the first couple inches of the dead lift much harder, but if you can get past that part it’s all gravy after that.

I wanted to work on my back squat.  I have not back squatted since high school and I have been only doing rock bottom FS for the past 14 weeks. My front squat max was 235. The back squat felt very natural for me. I doubled my body weight, ended up squatting 300.  I could have squatted more too, but did not want to push it, this is after we dead lifted anyway.

Now for one of the best PR’s that has been something that I have been working on for a long time.  I FINALLY PRESSED THE 44K!!  I figured I was on a roll, why not give it a shot. The Beast is not so far away.

Whats up Ya’ll! i HAVE BEEN MIA for a while and I’m sorry. Time to catch up!
First of all, I need to say after spending an entire weekend with Will Williams in Vermont a few weeks ago, I have decide to go “Warrior” on this shit!
Yes the Warrior diet. Now I have not weighed myself in a few weeks and the last time I checked I was between 194-198 depending on the food I stuffed my face with during the day or the night before.
Since I’ve started the diet I have dropped FAT on a steddy pace. I look good and still feel like the monster I was before hand. So this is just something I wanted to add to the post.
Now back to the good stuff..
Before the change in routine, I topped off at 280 F/S, 265 Bench, and and hard Grind 405 in the Dead.
All these were done for 1 rep. They were a 10 on the 1-10 and I still kept awesome form (in my opinion)!
After talking with Marty, we changed it up, back to trips and drop the weight, twice a week. So this week 3/1-3/5, I performed all three lift in a 45 minute session. 195 F/S, 185 bench, 295 dead. I’m back to reality and more focused on the form. These lifts are becoming normal to me again and I will be going up 10lbs on every lift each week. And thats all I have for now. So I’m going to eat a garden and a chicken house so I’ll get back to your as soon as I can! LATE!!

Last week Marty switched up my training routine based on the fact that I have little over 6 weeks till go time. The movements have stayed the same, Deads, FS and Bench press. Only, this time I am dong paused reps. For example, on my FS days, for the past 8 weeks I have been going butt to calf on my squats. The latest video shows me doing 225 at rock bottom.  Now, I am stopping once my hip gets just below the knee. At first it was a little weird because I’m used to going all the way down. Now, I am finding that it’s getting easier and my legs are looking and feeling like logs. One thing to consider if you are trying these, you must have good form, if not gravity will take that bar down and there is nothing you can do about it.

Here is what I did:

135 for 6-8 reps/165 x 5/185 x 5  and 205 x 5. On my 3rd rep at 205 I felt the bar coming off, but held it together.

For my bench press day, I widened my grip on the bar at least one fist width.  This grip feels great, I feel much stronger.  I am really now getting the groove of the press down very well. Sternum to nose, slight C curve. I’m really focusing on corkscrewing my lats and breaking the bar now.

Again, pause reps on the bench, SLOW, SLOWER THEN BLAST OFF is what I’m thinking.

135 x 5/155 x 5/ 175 x 5/ 185 x 5.  My chest was on fire after this session.

My dead Lift I have taken back a bit. Pulling 185 x 5 x 2 and still focusing on perfect reps each set. These felt solid this time.

Snatches and Pull ups are moving along nicely. I have Will William’s TAPS bar in my office set up. So, between clients I will jump up there and bang out 15 with no problem. I will probably do this 4 x’s day.

Again, between clients I will grab my 24k and rep them out. On the snatches I’m focusing on that pause at the top, making sure my chest is open and my shoulder is packed nicely. You will be amazed at how many snatches and pull ups you can hit in 1 day between clients. These do not necessarily have to be done at the gym during your primary lifts, for me it’s all about variety. As the Grillman says, “Remember MUSHIN: No mind,no emotion,  just do it.”

After speaking with Marty today, he decided that I should take today and treat it as if I were doing all 3 lifts in competition. I was going for my 1 rep max on Front Squat, Bench Press and Dead lift.

I have been killing the FS. I honestly never thought that when I started this program I would be doing rock bottom FS with 215. Hopefully it’s not making me shorter.  In fact today that was my goal, 215 x 1, I ended up doing 225 x 1!!  I always warm up with Goblet Squats and kneeling hip flexor stretch from RKC.

Bench Press has been pretty solid too. Remember that I have not benched in over 4 years before I started this program. Once Marty had me hitting 185 x 5 and 195 x 3′s I felt the groove of the press really clicking. So, when I went into the gym today and only had to to sets of 1, I was ready to break the bar. I hit 215 with solid form, then went to 225 with no problem at all.

What is solid form on the Bench press? Digging those heels into the ground, lifting the butt, squeezing the glutes, putting my body in a slight decline position. I keep reminding myself that it’s very similar to a pull up. I initiated the movement by breaking the bar and igniting the lats.  I keep the elbows in as I lower the bar to the chest, similar to the pull up.

Dead Lift has been a little up and down for me. The new duck stance position has been a challenge. Still trying to keep the butt down as I pull the weight up. I can tell you this, my pistols are easy now. In addition, my SLDL form has drastically improved.   It’s very simple, the duck stance really attacks the legs. It makes you force the knees out and drive through the heels. I pulled 235 with pretty good form. I know that I could have pulled more, but I did not want to get ahead of myself. I need more work on this lift.

Will Williams has been letting me use his TAPS bar. So, I set it up in my office where I teach so between clients I will jump up there and bang out 15-20.  Sometimes I will pull a 16k for 5-8 reps as well during my day.

I have gained 1 pound of muscle a week for 8 weeks so far. I feel stronger than ever, but this is only the beginning.

I took 3 days off and headed to Naples, FL. Before I left I talked to Marty and he said, eat for 3 days then grip and rip it on Monday.  I don’t know about you guys, but this was very hard for me to do. I mean, the eating wasn’t, I enjoyed that and accomplished my goal of gaining 3-4 pounds. When I went into the gym, I was very disappointed. The set up was horrific. Everything was like 2 feet apart. The power rack, was literally against a lat pull down machine and a smith machine on the other side.

When I started do do my FS, I had to make sure I didn’t hit anyone. This is not the way to start off a training session. Trying to get a spotter, you have to be kidding me. Everyone in the gym was over 65 years old.

I was very happy to come home and get back on track with my training. Sometimes you have to take a step back, that was it. I’m back baby.

I will start off by saying that I am always eating. I’m eating right now as I type this. I can’t eat enough. Luckily I’m heading to Florida to see my mom. I will put on at least 3 pounds this weekend. Veal cutlets, steak, pasta, bread and wine for sure.

My training is going very well. I was lucky to see Marty and the whole Purposeful Primitive team last week. Everyone seems to be kicking ass.  My biggest frustration is the Dead lift, but I understand that baby steps are required in order to perfect my technique and pull 400. Last week I pulled 225 for 4 sets of 3′s, it Felt really good. I am finally on 3′s, which is a hell of a lot better than 5′s. My leg strength is insane!  As I have mentioned before, my SLD are solid and my pistols are awesome.

I posted a video on my website DV8Fitness.com of my Dead lifts. I will also try to upload the same video on this post as well. The session you are viewing, I tried to pull 325 for 1 rep, just to feel the weight. It felt lighter than before, but my ass came up during the movment.

Check it out and give me some feedback brothers.

Day 3 of the dead lift work I’m doing on Marty’s recommendation. I was starting with my hips too high so I’m really focused on getting back and down if you will. Warmed up and then did 1 set of 5 at 205.

Did Pull ups at 7.6.5.4 and 4 reps.

Finished with 60 32 kg snatches. Did 5 per side for 10 sets.

Sandy Sommer RKC

Comrades,

This week has been crazy busy, but I always make time for my workouts. Here is a quick run down on how week 4 went

Front Squats- 165 x 5 x 1. I have not had to take a step back  as far as my FS. I’m still on track and feeling good with my technique.

Bench Press- 175  x 5 x 1. Bench Press has been  really good. It feels great to press again. I have been warming up with DB presses and 135lbs for a set of 8 before each session.

Dead lift-  215 x 3 x 4. I am always starting out with a set of Goblet Squats with a 12k bell. Then into a set of FS with 135lbs, practicing my leg drive.

So far I have taken a smart step back in my BP and Deads. I have found that it is imparative to take it slow and to not focus so much on the numbers every week.  Speaking to Marty at the beginning of every week helps. The conversation sets the tone for my upcoming training sessions.

I’m only on week 4 and have kept up with my weight gain. I’m up 4 pounds so far and feel good. Anyone who says the eating is easy when your trying to put muscle on is not eating enough!  It’s been tough. I drink 1/2 gallon of Raw milk every day. Still eating lots of meat, fish and eggs.

There is no question, that my strength has increased. I am doing pistols with my 32k with no problem. I would like to pistol the bulldog soon. This week i will post a video of myself executing the 3 movements. Looking forward to training with Marty again this week.

Purposefully Primitive Seasonal Fitness

Looking to Primordial Man for Our Transformational Template

As a species, mankind has been in existence for roughly 850,000 years. Modern man has been around for 40,000 years and up until 5,000 years ago (a chronologic eye-blink) men worldwide ate the same foods: wild game, seafood, and whatever seasonally appropriate vegetables and fruits they might stumble across. Nutrient sources would vary radically depending on geography. Regardless of where a person lived on the planet during primal times, the proteins were always wild and the fruits and vegetables always organic. Foods that spiked insulin were extremely rare. Manmade foods did not yet exist, no refined foods, no fast food and no factory-made foods. None.

Try and imagine a time before the invention of agriculture or domesticated livestock. For countless centuries leading up to the dawning of the agricultural age, every single bite of food eaten anywhere was derived from wild and organic foodstuffs. As a species, humans worldwide ate variations on the same basic nutritional themes. We did so for countless eons.  It was an age of worldwide nutritional uniformity.  Regardless if were you were a Kalahari Bushman, a North American Plains Indian, an Australian  aborigine, a Germanic tribesman or an Indonesian shore dweller, people everywhere ate the same things: wild game, seafood and wild fruits and vegetables. They might spice up their diets with insects, pilfered bird eggs or wild honey, but nothing was purposefully grown, nothing was cultivated, nothing was raised, nothing was planted and nothing was domesticated. Wild game, fish, shellfish (for fortunate lake, river or coastal dwellers) accounted for all of primordial man’s protein sources.

Primal man instinctively favored “nutrient-dense” food, to expropriate a Weston A. Price favored phrase. Carbohydrates consumption was overwhelmingly fibrous. Eatable plants and vegetables are predominately fibrous. Starch carbs were rare in some areas, plentiful in others. As a species we achieved utter and complete evolution – done, finished, completed – before the invention of agriculture and livestock. With 800,000 years of history on the species odometer, humans have long since ceased evolving and are completely formed. Problems occur when we try and fight our deeply encoded primal nature.  Problems occur when we attempt to run the soft machine on inferior food/fuel it was never designed to run on. We operate best on food locally grown and seasonally appropriate. Primal man fully evolved eating an extremely narrow menu of natural, pure, organic foods eaten exclusively.

• We acquired species maturity existing on a limited menu of organic foods
• We ate foods that were seasonally appropriate
• We were consistent in our consumption of organic foods
• We became, as a species, extremely adapt at utilizing organic nutrients
• We derive maximum nourishment from organic foods
• We consumed these foods exclusively during our evolutionary journey
• Organic foods were – and are – our optimal food-fuel

Reconnecting with Our Inner Caveman

Life and Death Undertakings Kept Primal Man Fit

Primordial Man was active and physical. He ate healthy. His life depended on his survival skills and his fitness. Existence was centered on the daily acquisition of food. If primal man lived in winter climes he had to construct a warm, dry and safe nighttime haven for himself and his dependants. In his tent or cave, other tribal members would cluster around a fire. The primal occupation for man was killing animals; their job was to kill something and then eat it. Meat, fat, bone, skin, organs, every part provided nourishment. Bones were used to make weaponry; skin and fur provided rugs, blankets and clothing. The animals hunted and killed ensured the continued existence of the tribe.

Tribes followed the migratory patterns of large animals, parasitical vampires attached to the periphery of some massive herd of buffalo, gazelle, elk or reindeer. As the tribe followed the animals, they would scour the countryside for wild fruits and vegetables. The survival of the tribe was dependant on being able to successfully forage and to kill animals and catch fish. The narrowness of their foods, this dietary sameness, this consistent consumption of the same foods, organic foods – combined with intense physical activity – created a race of people that were universally lean and fit. The unfit died. The old and infirmed died. There was a significant caloric cost associated with killing animals or catching fish. The combination of organic eating and intense physical activity proved maximally beneficial for the human species.

• Can modern man replicate primal man’s degree of fitness? Can the combination of primal eating and primal activity recapture our primal nature and capacities?
• Can we codify, systematize and recreate a primal approach? Can we blend seasonally appropriate eating with seasonally appropriate training and reignite our long dormant, inherent, ancient, primal nature?
• Can we rediscover modes and methods that will enable us to transform?

Modern man is a poisoned species. We force our bodies to derive nourishment from food/fuel we were never designed to run on. As a fully evolved species, we do not know how to use toxins and chemicals as fuel.  The goal of the Purposeful Primitive is to understand our primal nature and devise eating and exercise templates that allow us to reconnect with our inner caveman. 

Primal Man was no sissy. He was physically active and hunted or fished every day. He had to run after game, catch it and kill it. Primordial man followed migratory game patterns; when the animal would migrate man would migrate with them. Man depended on that meat for existence and relentlessly moved south then north. Tribal man had to drag or carry all their possessions everywhere they went. Life in those times was savage: the old, the sickly, those unable to make the migratory treks, all were left for dead. Physical fitness of that era was not our modern vanity fitness: the ancients’ very survival was dependant on their degree of fitness.

Nature forced primal man to adapt to his surroundings. No horses, no vehicles, no invention of the wheel, the feet were used for walking or running. Ancient man engaged in continual cardio exercise as they walked, trotted, ran, jumped, carried, tugged or sprinted when the occasion required. Primal man engaged in lots of resistance training: hauling, lugging, pulling, lifting, cutting and carrying. Fights with animals or each other usually resulted in maiming and eventual death. Once the animal was killed the hunters had butcher and haul it back to camp. Tents needed to be constructed, firewood gathered daily and when mass migrations occurred, belongings were carried, dragged or pushed.

Primitive Magdalenian hunters stalk their next meal: This depiction shows magnificently fit Magdalenian tribesmen preparing to attack a herd of reindeer. Meanwhile their women would be foraging for wild plants and vegetables within the vicinity of the campsite. For eons, men worldwide subsisted on organic plants and wild animals. There were few insulin-spiking foods. As a species we adapted to a steady diet of organic nutrients obtained from foods killed or foods gathered. The invention of agriculture and livestock created unimaginable health problems. Primal hunter/gatherer tribesmen created diet and exercise templates relevant to this day.

Roughly 5,000 years ago, clever humans figured out that crops could be grown and animals domesticated. Once agriculture and livestock became widespread, men no longer had to follow migrating animal herds. Something was gained but something was lost. Before the advent of agriculture and livestock, high glycemic foods were virtually nonexistent. Smart men figured out how to make bread, baked goods, wine and beer. The pre-agriculture ancients were lean, strong and athletic. Hunter-gatherer societies died out and were replaced by village societies: harsh existence was replaced with sedentary existence.

 Occupations came into existence: nomadic tribesmen had two occupations: hunter or warrior. With the advent of the village, the farmer, storekeeper, village official and sheriff, could all stay in one place, eating bread and pastries, drinking beer for lunch and liqueur with dinner. High glycemic food and toxic drink became the preferred fuels. Obesity became a scourge amongst the societal cultural elites. New and unheard of food maladies appeared; those that continually overindulged contracted gout, a painful, joint-swelling, inflamed condition bought on by excessive consumption of rich foods. Gout became known as “the disease of Kings.”

 Fast forward to the year 2009 and for the first time in the history of civilization, the number one affliction of impoverished peoples is not starvation – the number one health problem among poor people is obesity. No one starves in the streets, they order off the dollar menu.  I recently heard this (unverified) statistic: the number one expenditure related to child rearing is not school supplies, clothes, tuition or gas spent transporting kids around town – the number one expense related to raising children was fast food. Take out food, fast food, purchased by the working parents on their way home from work, is used to feed the kids. These foods are highly estrogenic and estrogen emasculates males and over-feminizes women.

 Want proof? Cruise on over to the local shopping mall and head to the food court: observe the docile breed that is modern humanity. A new species is emerging, softies of indeterminate-sex, gender-neutral, best personified by the character “Pat” in mid-nineties Saturday Night Live episodes. Observe the estrogenically-inflamed physiques of the eatery participants; watch as they waddle from one counter to the next, ordering one chemical concoction after another…their taste buds so battered, so overwhelmed, so shattered that only the most extreme tastes and taste sensations are able to penetrate the thick goo that clogs their taste buds. Only the most outrageous, extreme tastes are recognized or appreciated. Subtle and sensuous foods are wasted on the taste-buds of these deadened, estrogenically poisoned creatures.       

 In 1970 only 11% of the American population was obese. By 1980 that figure had risen to 19%. In 2009 we are at 31% and the pace is accelerating. In 2009 40% of people over the age of 50 are obese. The future projections are sobering. The Purposefully Primitive solution to modern maladies is based on detoxification followed by intense training, periodically rotated, combined with organic, seasonally appropriate eating.