Happy Thanksgiving!

I know... I haven't updated in a while.

I know... that's the understatement of the year.

But I'm trying to ease back into it today by wishing everyone a Happy [American] Thanksgiving. I say this because my friends from Canada won't be pigging out tonight.

We recently wrapped up a USA Powerlifting meet, so I'm sure you guys will be getting an update about that in the near future.

Now we must say what we're thankful for. I'm thankful for technology, good-looking women, and food.



What are you guys thankful for? Let me hear it!

Motorcycle tips

I noticed a thread on TMUSCLE in the off topic section that was talking about motorcycles. When I finished typing up my response, I decided it was too long to put on a forum post, so I thought it would be a good blog post. No pictures this time, but I believe it's good content. ENJOY!

Here's what I feel I have to tell you:

Do the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) class.

Set aside a bunch of money for gear (at least a jacket, helmet, and gloves).

You need to calculate insurance into the price of the bike. Buying a used bike through craigslist is the way to go, especially for your first bike. Insurance for new sport bikes is ridiculously expensive.

It's not a question of if you will drop your bike or get in a crash, it's when.

Don't get a 250cc engine. Pay attention during the MSF class and get the feel for riding on their 250s, then you don't have to sell it and buy a new bike immediately.

Weight is a big factor on a bike. It gets even better as the bike gets lighter.

On that note, riding with a passenger who's bigger than you can be dangerous if they are stupid. They can control where the bike goes. School them before they get on. Tell them to look over your shoulder that is closer to the ground. Most passengers will think you're crazy if you tell them to lean towards the ground, because... well, it's the ground.

Passengers should hold on tight all the time. If you feel like you didn't get enough grip work at the gym, try holding on to your bike when you're going 130 mph.

Riding two dudes is okay if you can destroy anyone who wants to make fun of you.

Wear ear protection when riding. Some bikes (like mine) are loud enough to cause ear damage. Otherwise, it's the wind that will get to you. Earbud headphones or just plain ear plugs.

Ride with the high beam on during the day. Don't be afraid to flash your lights when approaching intersections or other cars that are looking to turn onto your road. Be aware of people wanting to change lanes. Be courteous and flash your lights if they are clear to change lanes (highly applicable all the time when driving around semi-trucks).

Having said that, most accidents are rider error. I've locked my front brake before (learning experience for sure. Wear your jacket as often as you can, don't ride with shitty brakes, pay attention to what's in front of you, and don't grab that front right lever.) Ride aggressively defensive. Use a high-power machine to get you out of sticky situations. Assume the worst is going to happen. Know who's around you.

Wheelies are awesome as shit.

Learning to wheelie takes a while because you will be conservative. Nobody wants to loop their bike. Not every bike can do a either a power wheelie, a clutch wheelie, or both.

Don't ride in somebody's blind spot, please. That is stupid.

Imagine looking at a person holding a pencil. The person is like a car, and the pencil is like a bike. Keep that in mind.

Riding in the rain isn't much different, but don't assume you have the same traction. Just put your feet down on dry ground and then wet ground and try to tell me you have the same traction.

Rocks and rain hurt on bare skin.

After about a season or two of near-daily riding, you will start to get very good, assuming you're a smart driver.

Don't get aggressive on that back wheel during a turn. That means no tough pressure on the rear brake, nor jacking the throttle.

When it's cold, not only does your engine stay cooler, but so do your tires. Don't try taking any corners hard before you've got them warmed up.

Going faster than traffic is generally safer, because you don't dwell around the same cars that eventually forget about you. Don't get caught speeding.

There is a total amount of traction your wheels have. Both turning and braking use up traction. You can't brake as hard while you're turning as compared to moving in a straight line.

Riding in groups makes you more visible. You can't ride as aggressive, however, because the goal is to stay with your group. Make sure you don't lose the less experienced riders.

Riding a motorcycle makes you a better and safer driver. It also makes it safer for other motorcyclists on the road.

Got anything else? Let's hear it.

Assess and Correct: The Weekend Recap

It was a busy weekend if I do say so myself. But then again, I wouldn't expect anything less when Eric Cressey is staying at Mike Robertson's place.

If for some reason you've been living under rock for the last month, then you didn't know that Eric and Mike, along with their comrade (wait, Bill isn't Russian...) and guru, Bill Hartman, were filming the follow up movie to their smash hits Magnificent Mobility and Inside Out.

I won't give away any of the secrets of this two-disc DVD set, but the title explains it all. Assess. Correct. The pre-iron part of your gym time will truly be complete if you add this to your collection.

Enough with the plugs! I'm sure everyone is interested in how the weekend went.

Saturday rolls around. We met at the gym at 10 o'clock to go over the exercises listed in the DVD to speed the shooting along. Most of it was pretty self-explanatory (you can thank descriptive names for that), but Cressey decided to bring some New England shit to the Midwest to throw me off.

We packed up and headed to University High School, where Mike has a past relationship (ex-strength coach), and they were gracious enough to let us use their gym for the filming. After having our awesome, double-chicken salads, it was time for the unveiling:



The story behind the picture can be explained pretty well with the aid of an older picture:



Putting it lightly, I generally dress pretty eccentrically when I go to the gym. As Mike likes to put it, the tight shorts just make the tension way too high. After Eric showed some concern, MR took me shopping to pick me out an acceptable outfit.

Anyways, shooting went well (I don't want to hear anything about the knee valgus on the walking
spiderman) and the voice overs were rather painless for Mike, Bill, and Eric. There were a few instances, however, where I was about to reach muscular failure (like the side bridge glute activation exercise, or the 3 point thoracic extensions). It seemed like it had been a long day, being that it was already 8:00 p.m., but the best was yet to come.



The big bang restaurant; Fogo de Chao; Brazilian steakhouse. So much meat, brought to your table on skewers by "authentic Gaúcho chefs." My first Fogo experience was the last time Tony Gentilcore paid a visit to I-FAST.

I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything, but I dominated the food in that restaurant. I even felt accomplished enough to announce "victory!" when I finished the last bite of Turtle Cheesecake (mandibular orgasm, if I do say so myself). My only consumption competitor had to be the current I-FAST intern, TJ. We eat much differently, though, so there's no way to tell. His eating habits are way more fast-twitch than mine. If there is one, I am the endurance athlete of food devouring. Seriously, I'm the slowest eater in the world, ask around. Among our table, we probably had the amount of meat you could get off of a deer.

There are some specifics (epic destruction) of the dinner that took place in the bathroom, but we'll not bother with those.

Needless to say it was a long day. Sleep was necessary. I crashed a little after 2:00, and woke up Sunday to head to the gym at 10:00 again. Just a little warning, I'm about to get slightly motivational on your ass.

I had the great pleasure of getting a lift in with MR and EC before Eric's flight home. I've seen some pretty impressive stuff before, but lifting with Eric is fascinating. First, he dominated box squats with the safety squat bar. The real killer, however, came when he loaded up a bar on the deadlift platform with my personal record of 405 lbs.

If you've ever seen a video of Eric, you know he pulls conventional. Well to switch it up, he was pulling sumo. They're still deadlifts, but switching the stance really does make a pretty considerable difference. The time approaches, he rips the bar off the floor and slams it back to the ground. Then again. Then three more times.

Now, Eric's an unreal athlete, and I feel no shame being roughly five times weaker than him, but how many times does a powerlifter hear the words, "He seriously just pulled your max for five, my friend," from Mike Robertson?

I was obviously motivated for my lifts, and even though I only did repetition back squats, the atmosphere helped a ton! Under the watchful eye of these two, I really dialed in on my form, and it's starting to become natural for me. Squatting four bills is just around the corner. A special thanks goes out to MR for using his keen eye to make me keep my chest up in the hole.



Looking back, I can't thank these guys enough for what they've done for me. In this one weekend, they've helped me as a future trainer, a powerlifter, an eater, a businessman, and even a movie star... Broadway is next, right Eric?

When the time comes, buy this DVD. I promise that you won't regret it.

Post-Fogo de Chao with Bill TJ Mike and Eric.

A Different Fat Loss Perspective

Great guest post from John Berardi's site @ Precision Nutrition titled Why You're Not Lean Yet.

This man (Canada K) took himself down to 6% body fat (someone like me is usually around 12 or 13%, and abs usually start to get visible around 10%).

He goes through the emotional side of things, and tells you the truth that it's actually easy to burn fat. There are lots of random thoughts about fat loss. If you're interested in losing weight, this is a great read. It just may make you feel like a little bitch.

We've officially got a dog now. Shih Tzu. Nine weeks old.

I'm starting to eat. Oh how I've missed food. Carrots and spaghetti sauce.