2 Asses 1 Horse

I apologize but this will come across as a bit ranty but stick with me as I will actually have some helpful advice regarding this pitfall by the end. Anyone who has ever been out of shape and anyone who has ever been a trainer will be able to relate to this. Joe is fat, out of shape, and weak. He reaches out to the Googles and searches for ways to not only lose weight it also get super jacked at the same time. All the supplement websites he is pointed to say "WE CAN HELP!" Tiny disclaimer: results vary. You need to eat right and exercise while on this supplement. Etc. So as a reasonably not dumb person Joe reaches out to fitness experts and hears options from: he needs to focus on one first and get the other secondly all the way over to both can happen at the same time....at least at first. (Yay Beginner GAINZ!)

Here's the problem you have 1 ass and are trying to ride two horses. The bigger issue is they aren't going in the same direction! It doesn't work and for ideal results you need to focus on one. "Joe!" I say as I smack him across the face. "You took 20 years to become a fat slob! Is it too much to ask to take 6 months to lean out and then 6 months to focus on building?" 

"Yes." Joe says rubbing his reddening cheek.

I try to shake the thick-headedness out of him but it doesn't work. 

If you are like Joe this next part is for you. Here are some rules and facts that can help guide you on your double horse one assness thing. First let's at least get the horses going the same direction. Realize that this will be less efficient in general than focusing on one goal. Also understand that if you are new to training or it's been years since you were in good shape everything will work amazingly well for both goals but after a while you will find it harder to do both. That's where this framework comes in.

Rule 1: you need a slight calorie deficit to lose fat. If you want to keep muscle though, try not to reduce intake by much. Maybe only a 250-500 calorie reduction per day. Focus on eating your protein first then eat your carbs. This will ensure you are getting enough to keep muscle mass. I know it's sad to not eat all of your bread but hey you wanted to ride this pony so own it.

Rule 2: Lift weights. Got to build those muscles. What do you think toning is? You can't tone a muscle that's non existent. Stick to 12 or less reps so you can build muscle and strength.

Rule 3: focus on food intake not cardio. If you feel like you need to do cardio to appease your lack of understanding go for it but do short intervals with relatively long rest periods. Stuff like 1 minute on and 2 minutes off work well and don't go longer than 20-30 minutes. Long jogs for an hour and a half every day will make you crazy hungry and possibly eat away at that muscle you've been trying to build, but mainly the food splurge is the derailer here.

There you go. So do this for a year and get worse results than if you focused on one for 6 months then the other.

"But hey, what do I know Joe? You are definitely the expert here right?"

At least with these rules you will have some kind of progress and not waste as much time as most people do.

Talk Soon,

Dan Mason

Strongman competitor in the 242lb and 275lb classes and a pro powerlifter in the RPS 275lb class. He is also an Elite level lifter in the USPA/IPA. He holds instructor level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has been training people for strength and martial arts since 2004. For other fun stuff check his Instagram @RoninStr

Cutting Weight for Meets

So if you are in a strength sport then you are going to be dealing with this issue quite a bit as you progress in your lifting career. I have been on all sides of the weight cutting game from MMA where I fought in as a middle, light heavy, heavy, and even super heavyweight. These days it's still a part of my process when approaching a competition in strength sports. There is a huge difference in how appropriate it is depending on your sporting activity. I would say when done properly in MMA or combat sports it is almost always to your advantage to cut weight. These sports have a huge skill/athleticism component to them primarily and the strength component though present is a secondary attribute.

 

Now if you are competing in a barbell sport I advise against cutting with a few exceptions. First if you are trying to qualify for a national or world meet or competition then yeah, you are at a level where you need to probably think about what weight you would be most competitive at in regards to that meet specifically. Second if you are trying to break records then absolutely cut to where you have to. We are talking about making history here. At least temporarily.

 

So why do I think cutting needs to happen at a higher frequency in combat sports but not the strength game? A key point here is the differences in the sports, not just from a strength vs skill standpoint. In MMA if you are a rookie amateur fighter weighing 175lbs fighting in the 171-185lb class you need to understand there is a guy that walks around at 195lbs who cut 10lbs to kick your 175lb ass. Ideally you were matched well and are at similar skill levels so really you are fighting you but a 20lb heavier version. Cutting weight is a survival skill. Also the goal is to win fights not to get as strong as possible. So you could conceivably stay a middleweight forever and continue to improve.

 

Alternatively, in powerlifting it is about building the physique that can withstand bigger and bigger weights. The focus is completely different. If you are a 6' 2" guy in a class under 200lbs it is in your best interest to keep growing and not cut to the 198s. This may mean you don't win a meet for a while but it will let you fill out your frame to ultimately kick some tail as a 275 or 308lber. That philosophy in combat sports will get your ass kicked an awful lot. Barbells don't punch you in the face. Further the fatigue from cutting weight will affect your strength much more than you movement patterns. This is minimized a bit if you get a 24 hour weigh in with USPA or NAS strongman. It'll hurt you big time in USAW or USAPL as you only get 2 hours to recoup. So in general, I think you should weigh what you weigh and don't stress about what class you are in unless you are qualifying. Enjoy the journey, hit some PRs, and only cut weight when you have to.

 

A final thought to bear in mind. We are participating in sports that are fringe and no one outside of these sports cares what our numbers are or how we placed at worlds. If you are world record holder in the squat that is awesome, but the Normies don't really comprehend what an 1100lb squat feels like and most of them don't even know what a kilo is. Heck last week a random guy came up to me in McDonald's and told me he has a buddy named Bruce who squats 1800lbs. I said that Bruce has the world record by like 600lbs and he goes "Yeah I know!" The guy may not have been dumb but the truth is most people have no concept of what weights are heavy. I don't care what the world record is for skipping 500m is but I am sure there are folks out there that do. Lifting is an awesome recreational activity. Treat it as such or don't, but realize most folks don't care either way so if you are cutting weight to win a local meet and say you are the Carmel, Indiana LA Fitness powerlifting champion of the world then you probably needed a mom who was nicer to you growing up. Powerlifting can't fix that bud.

Talk soon,

Dan is a nationally ranked amateur

strongman competitor in the 242lb

and 275lb classes and a powerlifter in the 275lb class. He holds instructor level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He as been training people for strength and martial arts since 2004.

You can follow Dan on Instagram @RoninStr
For training and diet plans email roninstr@gmail.com

Why the Heck are You Wearing Flip Flops When You Train!?

Let me start by saying, if you aren't following me on Instagram this isn't going to make sense to you initially. So get your phone out and go follow @RoninStr right now....it's okay. I'll wait. So you checked out some of my training videos and got super inspired by my awesome quotes. If you didn't get motivated just say you did and make me feel better. Anyway, you may have noticed I do a lot of training in my flip flops at LA Fitness. There are a bunch of reasons for this so here goes.

1. I am lazy: I hate taking the time and effort it takes to put on socks and tie my shoes. There is also the hidden cost of the time it takes to wash your socks and fold them into those little balls.

2, I hate jail: I worked at one for 3 years so I can legitimately say I am not a fan from experience. Shoes are the inconspicuous little prisons you put on your feet. Just let them be free!

3. I am an attention whore: Everyone gives you crap when you walk out in flip flops but if you put up some semi-respectable weight while wearing them everyone wants to be your best buddy.

Alright now for some serious reasons that may actually give you some principles to kick ass in the gym, competition, and life.

4. It is harder to squat in flip flops. I used to squat in Weightlifting shoes. The raised heel improved my squat depth immediately due to the decreased range of motion needed in the ankles to reach proper depth. Add to that that flip flops offer no ankle stability unlike normal shoes or high top Chucks. Squatting in toe thongs has improved my squat in competition immeasurably.

5. It's harder to bench and log press. On bench the heel lift of an Weightlifting shoe will let you tuck your feet under further while still having heel contact on the floor. This results in a tighter body position, better leg drive, and a better arch. On log presses you have to stay way tighter through your mid-line to load your heals for the dip and drive/push press action.

6. Flip flops make your mental game stronger. You know that every lift is harder in them with exception of the deadlift. If you can squat 405lbs in flip flops with no belt what could you do in a belt and oly shoes?

I used to be a minimalist when I first started lifting. I never wore a belt, gloves or wrist wraps. It was just chalk and balls. As I got into lifting I started buying all kinds of fun gear: Knee sleeves, elbow sleeves, belts wraps. You name it and I had it or wanted it. I noticed my numbers were getting better but if I wasn't wearing my gear I was horrible. So I started dialing the gear back until I am where I am now, On a typical gym day I wear a shirt, gym shorts, and flip flops. I will put wrist wraps on when I bench and it starts to get over about 335lbs but that's pretty much it. This has forced me to go a bit lighter on lifts in general which in turn has made me improve my form in order to get more weight to move. Also when you are forced into correcting form and using lower weights the rate of injury goes way down. I am definitely better for going minimalist when training.

That being said when I compete I use every piece of gear that is allowed as it does make a huge difference. I will start incorporating whatever gear I will be using in competition about 3 weeks prior to the show. This way I get 2 weeks to get a feel for it and then a whole week of rest.

So give it a try. Just take one piece of equipment off that you are used to using for a month and see what happens. I promise your technique will get better and you will feel like more of a hard ass than you have in a while. All you need is chalk and balls.

Talk Soon

Dan Mason

 Dan is a nationally ranked amateur

strongman competitor in the 242lb

and 275lb classes. He holds instructor

level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai,

and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He as been

training people for strength and martial

arts since 2004.

RoninSTR@gmail.com

Instagram: @RoninSTR
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVA3x_kvPOFMsxouGjhYRnQ

So you want to do a cleanse?

So it's definitely not as popular as it used to be but I still have clients ask me about cleanses at least weekly. So here we go I will try to clear up this murky water a bit. My knee jerk reaction is to tell people "don't waste your money or stress." There are a few good reasons to partake in this nonsense though, but first let's blow some crap out of the water.

If you already are eating mostly whole clean foods and are taking probiotics then a cleanse is going to do exactly jack for you. If you have been eating total crap like most people do then a cleanse may be a great way to start some new beneficial habits or it will do exactly jack for you. Here's the problem from my own personal observations: People who consistently eat like crap tend to be the folks who want to try a cleanse to lose some lbs. The advertising is tailor made for these people in a damn near predatory manner. Lose up to 15 pounds in 10 days! Drop a dress size in 3 days! While this may be true if you do what the fine print says and drop all fried foods, processed carbs or carbs altogether, eat only quality low fat meats, and rock some vegetables, I know a much larger number of folks who just pop the pills lose maybe a pound of water weight and wonder what happened. Look at what you are doing on this type of cleanse if done properly. Typically you are taking probiotics which will replace the bad bacteria in your gut with good bacteria which can pull more nutrients out of the food you consume. There is also usually some sort of water pill that will make you pee out one orifice or another more than normal thus dropping some water weight and making you feel like you are "getting rid of toxins." The bigger changes are coming from your diet though. If you are used to eating a ton of fat and carbs and you basically take those out of your diet you will drop weight. The high fat fried foods coming out will drop you daily calorie intake substantially and if you drop all non fibrous carbs you will drop about 10 lbs of water in the first week. So what did you actually pay for? Really just the probiotic, assuming the cleanse you bought even had one in it which many don't. Now bear in mind this is an example of the kind of cleanse that is better than the more common cleanse fads.

Most commonly you see a 3-5 day juice cleanse. It is marketed as a juice cleanse but really it's a fast combined with soiling yourself multiple times a day if you aren't within arm's reach of a bathroom. You will lose a substantial amount of weight on this type of cleanse. You will also feel like death. But hey, you will fit into that damn dress until you decide to stop being anorexic and eat some food. Think back to the last time you had the flu. You sweated out a ton of water, puked and pooped your brains out, and didn't eat for multiple days. How many pounds did you lose? A bunch right? So with these kinds of cleanses you basically are choosing to do to your body what we take vaccines for to prevent. Worse yet you paid money for this privilege and probably made 2 of your friends do it with you! That right there is messed up.

Alright .... sorry about that. My rant is over for a moment. I promise. The good thing about cleanses though, is they force you to put your wallet where your desires are. Do not underestimate this. Even if it was a sugar pill. If you dropped $10,000.00 you would make sure you get the results you were supposed to get just out of the fear of embarrassment.

Here's what is the actual solution is though:
1. Clean up your diet pretty much in line with the first example's recommendations.
2. If you want to consume carbs try to center them around your workouts within a few hours.
3. Take a probiotic when you are getting started for the first month or so.

And that's it. Bad gut bacteria which prevent your body from getting all the nutrients from your food come about as a result of a high sugar high calorie diet. If you rectify that then the bad bacteria die off and the probiotics load  you up with the good little guys. You will now get the benefits of your body absorbing the nutrients from all of the high quality foods you are eating and you drop weight. Real weight. As in fat. Not just water and muscle.

The only product rivaling the level of shenanigans found within the juice cleanse is the It Works crowd. Oh gosh I need to stop writing. I feel another rant coming on.

Talk Soon

Dan Mason

 Dan is a nationally ranked amateur

strongman competitor in the 242lb

and 275lb classes. He holds instructor

level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai,

and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He as been

training people for strength and martial

arts since 2004.

RoninSTR@gmail.com

Instagram: @RoninSTR
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVA3x_kvPOFMsxouGjhYRnQ