11 Things I wish I had known.....

I don't know anyone who doesn't like reading a good list. Letterman has his Top 10 every night, ESPN has their top plays of the night and everyone tunes in for the greatest songs of the year during the holidays. I've come up with this list mostly because I've made some mistakes along the way, followed poor advice and read into misconceptions and fad training tips. After reading this you may think "Oh shit. I've done that!" or "Hell no. You must be an idiot to think that." And in no particular order...

1) Getting big does not mean getting strong. I recently read an article on AnimalPak.com about looking like you can bench 600lbs doesn't mean you actually have to be able to do it. This makes no sense to me whatsoever. I'd rather be the guy that doesn't look like he can bench 200lbs but then settles under the bar and punches out 315. Me and my two buddies in high school were so focused on "bodybuilding" that we didn't care what we were doing as long as we were getting bigger. I'm talking about "Squat Days" where we would just rep the crap out of our legs and believed because we couldn't walk for the next 3 days we were doing something right. Train for strength. Being big is great if your into contact sports and what not, but being strong has a lot more advantages and is far more impressive in my mind.

2) You can't out train a shitty diet. Ha! I remember coming home from a tough workout and just ravaging the fridge for anything that had a lot of protein in it. I'd be making 8 egg omelette's and drinking down a protein shake with it. Or having steak as an appetizer and then wolfing down something my dad cooked which was usually a carnivore's dream. If I had worked out during the day and was with my friends at night, I could justify eating 3 Burger King chicken sandwiches or mowing down 50 wings at Duff's. It was insane! All the while, I'm wondering why my pants are getting tighter, and my shirts aren't starting to fit as well. Ummm.... Ye. You're getting fat(ter). I didn't believe this, I just assumed I was getting bigger and stronger. Sure in high school being labelled as the big kid only helped personify my hard work in the gym, but I was on track to looking like an NFL lineman and being labelled by my rugby coach as part of the "Tragically un-fit". Fuel your body the way you want it to perform.

3) Train for a purpose. I've said this before. To motivate your training, you've got to have something to reach for. We're not all trying to enter a strongman competition, or entering the NFL combine but we can at least train like we are. Getting your mind right as to why you're training is the first step to really being serious about fitness and your health. That's why we see gym attendance spike in January and February and then by March it's dead. People want to lose the 15lbs they gained over the holidays and when they've lost 10lbs they're ecstatic and take off. Ummmm... do the math! Ever wonder why all those gym specials happen in spring? Because sign up is slow and the only way gym's make money is if they sign new members. So no matter what your reason is for training, make it something worth while and something you've given thought to. Wanting to look good is fine, but wanting to be purposeful with your body is even better.

4) Read! Read! Read! I'm not talking Men's Health or Oxygen Magazine here. I'm talking about books, journals, encyclopedia's. Those things you get at the library and need a card to borrow. Magazine's make money by selling you crap information. Sure they can cite studies, but you don't know who was involved in the study. You don't know how it was conducted. A magazine article reads "Increase your bench by 40lbs in 3 weeks". Sure that's achievable, use this program the University of Miami uses with their football team. You're only getting one side of the coin. They don't tell you what the diet is like, tempo, testing protocol and whatever else. Read scholarly journals where you can actually dissect where the information has come from. And always question what you're reading. Me and my two buddies from high school bought Arnold Schwarzenegger's New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding and considered it to be our bible in high school. It now sits on my book shelf and hasn't been looked at in 4 years.

5) Pull more than you push. One of the first exercises I see people doing when they get into the gym is Bench Press. Second is probably bicep curls, but I don't have room for that rant in my list. Everyone's always talking about "Hey, whaddya bench?" Bench Press is a staple exercise. No doubt. But if you don't balance out the push exercises with the pulls, you're gonna end up looking like an ape with forward shoulders, an aching back and injury prone. I was a big fan of the squat. It was my meat and potato leg exercise which made me neglect the deadlift. Big mistake. I should have done both but I didn't. I only started seriously training deads a couple of years ago and I'm still no where near where I should be for my size. My brother on the other hand... I wish I could dead like him. Advice: for every 1 push exercise you do (bench, military, squat) do at least 1 pull exercise (pull ups, deadlift, db rows). I'd even go as far as saying 2 pulls for every 1 push. Chances are you're probably already severely imbalanced so you've got work to do.

6) Conditioning and cardio are not the same. Sometimes you'll hear Joe Rogan talk about a UFC fighter's conditioning. Georges St. Pierre is a conditioning freak. But what if I told you that Vince Wilfork is also a conditioning freak. Or any other NFL lineman (minus Albert Haynesworth). Conditioning refers to being able to sustain a performance intensity RELATIVE to your activity. Could Vince Wilfork last five 5 minute rounds in the UFC? Hell no! Likewise, could GSP last a defensive drive in the NFL? Ye, I didn't think so. Cardio is schelpping around on an elliptical for 45 mins with no real purpose... Unless that is your purpose, schlepping. Plan your conditioning to suit your goals whether it's a 1okm race, a triathlon, football, rugby, hockey, basketball, whatever. Look at the performance and energy systems needed and train them. Quit wasting your time on the treadmill watching CNN or Dr. Phil.

7) Pride has no place in a workout. Just because you squatted 400lbs last week or benched 315 the week before means nothing. There is someone else out there doing more than you. More importantly, there is someone out there who knows more than you. I don't pretend to know everything and I really dislike people that think they do. If you don't know something or want to find out why that guy in the gym is standing on a BOSU ball squatting, ask him/her. The only thing you'll do is make them feel better because you noticed them. Training is not a race. It's a journey. If you approach every workout with the mindset of "I'm here to blow out the competition and show everyone that I'm better than them" you're never going to get anywhere. The best workouts I've had are when I've failed or didn't hit my mark. That humbles me. That's what makes me plan and come back at it again tomorrow.

8) Use the stuff no one else is using. Ever walk into a gym and wonder why all the cardio equipment and weight machines are placed at the entrance or near the windows? And all the dumbbells and squat racks are hidden in the corners? Because that's what the gyms want you to see. They know that having treadmills with TV's makes people "Oooooo and Ahhhhh" or having a $4000 lat pull down machine will lure in the Fortune 500 business exec. No one thinks an impressive gym is a squat rack, 1000lbs of weight plates and some dumbbells. That doesn't look cool. I'll tell you right now, if you walk into your gym and just use the dumbbells, barbells, squat racks and pull up bar for your workouts, you are well on your way to an efficient gym session and training with a purpose.

9) "This is not talk-out, this is workout!" Ah yes, one of my legendary phys-ed teachers from high school would shout this out when he saw too many kids in my class standing around in the weight room. And he's right. If your going to the gym to try and pick up (not weights) then please leave and go to the nearest bar. 1) You'll make space for those of us who are actually there to train and 2) You'll make it easier for us to pick up when we go to the bar because you'll be "tragically unfit". Me and my buddies would spend 2 hours at the gym after school. Seriously though, a workout session should not last longer than an hour. This changes if your training for an endurance event, but even marathoners don't weight train for longer than an hour. Be efficient with your gym time. Get in, go to work, get out. It's that simple. Most athletes train the same way. That's not to say their practices only last an hour but a workout session will.

10) Water. Drink it. I can't say it more simply. Water makes up more than half your body. It's a vital nutrient to your health and you should be consuming it on a regular basis. No, having a venti non-fat mocha frappaWhateverTheHellIsIntThis does not count. Nor does downing a case of beer every weekend. Your muscles need water to stay healthy and repair themselves so feed them what they want. I definitely didn't drink enough water while working out in my earlier days. I'd go to the gym and sip my creatine shake and then chug down a protein shake post workout. Hell, I think I was drinking 3 meals of just shakes. That's no way to live. Post-workout shakes and whatever have their place, but water should be your staple.

11) Rest. We are constantly faced with doing more, eating more, buying more. When it comes to training, sometimes less is more. I used to think that if I was feeling tired during a workout I was weak and needed to push through it. Missing a workout was like missing a meal for me. Absolutely unacceptable. But this is part of the training equation that I really neglected. I was always thinking, I've gotta do more, train more, lift more, sweat more. I read a quote from EliteFTS.com that said "The guy that under-trains will take longer to reach his goals but the guy that over trains will never reach his goals." And it's that simple. Over training will lead to mental fatigue and worse it'll lead to injury, which will set you back even longer. Listen to your body and don't fill yourself with guilt if you can't make it to a workout. The important thing is to stay consistent for the majority of the time. Is missing a workout this week going to impact your entire training program? Probably not. Think "Big Picture".

So there's 11 things I wish I had known. I'm sure there are a lot more but I'll have to save those for a different post. One thing I know for sure, is that there's a lot of stuff I still don't know and I'll continue to make mistakes in training and in life. I'm just hoping to learn from them and not make the same ones again. Keep working hard and moving forward. If you can be better than yesterday you've done a lot more than everyone else.

Train hard my friends,

Quan, OUT.

This one's for the ladies...

Ladies, ladies, ladies... as much as you may think that strength training is not for you, let me reassure you that it is of the utmost importance for your health and longevity. Research has shown that weight bearing exercise strengthens bones and ligaments and becomes extremely important for women once their bone mass reaches its highest possible density. This often comes as early as age 20 for some women, but can be extended to the age of 25. After this age, your bones will not get any more dense and it's up to you to maintain what you have. This is why there is such a focus on calcium enhanced foods to prevent osteo-related problems later on in life. Strength training is the key. I've even included a link to Dr. Oz because I know some women out there are thinking "If I use weights I'm going to end up looking bulky and manly". Ladies, you're not going to get bulky or manly for one simple reason... You don't have balls. More scientifically and simply, you don't have testicles that release testosterone, which make men... men. (They may also be responsible for poor dinner table manners, release of toxic gases, poor memory and the inability to impress in-laws)

Okay, so you've decided to start a strength training regime. Where do you start? OutFit is about training for everyday life. Therefore, the most logical place to start would be compound movements. Below is a list that you can start with, simply using your own bodyweight. No barbells or dumbbells needed. The reason why you're starting with just your own bodyweight is because your day to day tasks probably don't require you to move too much and these exercises will be more than enough as a starting point. Start a routine with 12-15 repetitions and 3 - 4 sets of these exercises one after the other. Once you get proficient you can start adding some resistance. It can be as simple as a set of dumbbells. But if you don't have that, I used to train my mom using a bag of rice as weight. Use whatever you have. Just a note, this is a very basic beginner routine. If you've been weight training already, you will need a more comprehensive prescription.

Examples of Compound Movements:

1) Squats

2) Lunges

3) Step-ups

4) Split Squats

4) Deadlifts

5) Burpees

6) Squat + Press

Mastering these basic movements will ensure a good base to build your exercise regime on. Now, I'm not saying trade in your yoga membership for a gym membership but as I'm sure they say in yoga, seek balance. Ladies, if you have questions, leave a comment and hopefully one of us can answer it for you.

Follow this link for the Dr. Oz page on women and weight training. http://www.sharecare.com/question/important-for-women-strength-train?partner=droz

Quan, OUT

The exception to the exception is an exception...

Reading Matt's post sparked me to write a post to address some of his questions, but also because of a conversation I had with a friend studying at the University of Texas. My friend is an S&C Coach Intern at Texas and we often bounce ideas of one another. While he takes a very athlete-first approach, I take the more general public approach which is why I try to base my training on a balance of both. We were discussing the importance of conditioning and the role it should play in overall training. The conclusion, conditioning should be done when you can. If it's a priority for you're training then make it so, if you're looking for more strength/hypertrophy then conditioning can take a back seat (but don't neglect it all together).

Now to Matt's post. Firstly, everyone is an expert in training, clearly. The guy at the gym doing "metabolic circuits" is an expert, the guy doing deadlifts @ 405 lbs for 3 reps is an expert, the guy doing cleans + snatches is an expert and the guy doing 4 sets of 12 is an expert. It goes without saying (and Matt you clearly have a handle on this) you need to know where you want to be in order to know how to get there. The guy lifting for strength is going to tell the guy doing circuits that his training is better because that's his goal, to get stronger. Conversely, the going doing circuits will say his training is better because he's working on conditioning. My point is simply this, you have to know what you want from your training. Personally, I'm striving for a balance of both strength and conditioning. Most of my workouts will have a focus of either of those. I'm not entering a strong man competition anytime soon and I don't expect to get a call from Dana White saying I'm on the next UFC card. I want to achieve a balance albeit while going back to my basic strength training roots of low reps (3-5) for 3-6 sets and as for conditioning doing dreaded bodyweight circuits for time or some old fashioned sprints/suicides. To address Matt's questions, your goals of increasing explosiveness and speed are achievable through training for strength and power. Doing 3 sets of 12 won't get you there. You'll also need to incorporate some plyometrics in your training as well. All of this needs to be well planned out as to not over train and to avoid injury (a lot of the time guys want to increase their "hops" and end up getting jumpers knee or patellar tendon inflammation). What I would recommend is starting your session with a dynamic workout, once warm work into some plyos (box jumps, hurdles or whatever) if you don't do plyos do an Olympic lift (Cleans or snatches). Get into your lifts using the strength training parameters I mentioned and finish off with some light conditioning if you're not too gassed. If you're doing some strength training now, I'd say stick with it for the next few weeks and see what happens. I just started a new program last week and things are feeling (and looking) good.

To recap where this all started, you need to know your training goals. Going into the gym and watching other guys workout and copying them isn't going to get you anywhere. You need to do the research yourself (checking out this blog or commenting with your questions is a good start) and clearly define your goals. Saying "I want to get ripped" is not a goal nor should anyone really be training strictly for aesthetics. A good physique is secondary if you're really serious about training. Personally, I train so I can still beat up my friends and to show the kids I teach gym to where hard work can take you. (Unofficially, I train to keep my brother's progress at bay but that gets harder and harder every year. More on that another time.) I know my body type and while I still have a ways to go in terms of a lean look, I'd much rather by a strong and conditioned individual than be mistaken for someone from Jersey Shore. TRAINSMART and EATSMART. That's all it takes.

Quan, OUT.

Back to the Basics

As the new year has come and gone, the gyms are starting to fill with the "wannabes" looking for fitness miracles they didn't receive from Santa. Health Clubs (notice I didn't say Gyms) are offering 5 for 1s and guaranteed results with the latest and greatest fitness crazes. I see PTs getting their clients doing squats on BOSU Balls or 10 min of KB Swings and calling it "conditioning". When's the next time you're going to be walking on a bouncy, unsteady surface? The moon? Please, you know that's bullshit. I see women spending 2 hours at the gym, jumping from cardio machine to cardio machine. The truth is it's a waste of time. What those people accomplish in 2 hours, can be accomplished in less than an hour if your exercise regime is planned out intelligently. It's all about sticking to the basics.

January and February should be named "bullshit cardio month" because people for some reason think that by doing endless hours of steady state cardio they will reach their fitness goals. Now I'm open to hearing new fitness advice or training but when I see idiots (more so idiot trainers) telling their clients to get on the elliptical/treadmill/bike and work in the "fat burning zone" I just about lose my shit. First of all, the fat burning zone should be dubbed the "waste of time" zone. There is no reason for anyone to be hustling away on a piece of equipment at a steady rate for an hour (unless you're walking, which is a whole other post in itself). Would you rather look like a sprinter or a marathoner? I'm not going to respond to that. What you should be doing is making efficient use of your time, getting the most bang for your workout. So instead of bumbling away for an hour on the bike, take 12-20 mins and do some interval training. Do some hill sprints, stairs, suicides, something where your body is moving at a high rate of exertion. I'd say anywhere from 10-20 sec of all out intensity with appropriate rest should do it. Hit that up 2 or 3 times a week and you're golden. Hopefully that clears the air about conditioning.

Now to strength training. Funny name isn't it, strength training? If it's called strength training why are there people doing 5 sets of 25 or "Volume Training" 10 sets of 10? That's not strength training. Strength training at the most basic physiological level is 85% to 95% of a 1RM for a range (which is highly debated) of 1 - 5 reps and 1 -5 sets. I personally would even go to 6 reps. Yes, 6 reps. But the key is that it's a high % of your maximum effort. I'm not saying there isn't a place for high intensity body weight circuits, I love those. Do them all the time in the summer. Helps me work on my tan while getting a workout. What I'm saying is that if your lifting weights, training for strength, then by the mighty hand of Zeus himself, get strong! Increase muscle tissue size, strengthen tendons and ligaments, push some big weights around and by God TRAINSMART!!! The aesthetics will take care of themselves through dedication in training and diet (about 20% training and 80% diet. You can't out train a shitty diet). Athletes base their training on this simple concept alone! The concept has been through the blender so many times that everyone's forget the basic ingredients that went into it.

To conclude, OUTFIT is about being smart and efficient with your training. Train with purpose, train smart and train hard. At the end of the day, you want to be able to say "Damn, that workout was great." Not, "Damn, I wish I hadn't blown chunks every where on the floor." Stick to the basics of training.

Quan, OUT