Hello.
do you remember me
It’s Tony.
You know, the guy who used to joke about having stones that could cut diamonds1 and who also wrote a ton of content on this site?
Well, as you can see 1) I’m still alive, and 2) the site has had a bit of a facelift since I last posted anything. I’m still getting used to it myself. Seems pretty legit, right? RIGHT;;;
To update you on my life:
- I opened a brand new 5500 square foot gym here in Boston with my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewiscalled Core Collective.2
- Julian is now in 2nd grade.
- The best movie I’ve seen so far this year is Sing, sing.
- I’m still jacked.
- That’s pretty much it.
Although, if I’m being honest, on that last point (the still-cricket part), I’ve been a bit more caught than jacked.
That is, the Cambridge Dictionary definition:
Having strong, well-developed muscles, especially as a result of training
The fitness industry is probably one of the most fake and fickle industries out there. Where to find more photos with photoshop, self esteem and exercises NO ONE actually performs once the publish button is pressed.
All in an effort to garner maximum likes, comments and/or potentially more clicks on it industrial strength diarrhea inducer Detox Tea Affiliate Link. More specifically, social media tends to be the facade of one’s better life. Decadent dinner plates on the tables. Photos of cats. Our best feats and achievements. Our best angles under good lighting.
I don’t judge and I don’t bemoan anything. I do too… to an extent.
Which is involved in the inspiration behind my first project after the last solar eclipse.
Education (and by extension… Progress) comes in Peaks and Valleys
Last March, while walking from my car to the gym, I slipped on a patch of black ice and did what can only be described as the “World’s Fastest and Most Gracious Sissy Grab”. Both my knees hit the pavement. and felt a slight pop on my right.
Needless to say, it didn’t feel great. Fortunately, when all was said and done, he did not suffer a catastrophic injury, having ruled out any torn ligaments or obvious structural damage. However, for the last month it’s been an ongoing hassle to work things out to train and train the way I’m used to.
While still being consistent with my training…
#findyourtrainablemenu
#trainablemenu
…to say I have not been disappointed would be an understatement. I would say from March of last year until about two weeks ago, it was the worst workout of my adult life. My desire to train was less than exemplary, there’s no doubt that I hit all the moves, and it was no wonder that all my lifts took a bit of a hit.
And this is what I want to emphasize.
I want to keep it real and remind people that they exist always there will be inevitable speed bumps, roadblocks and general windows of confusion that will affect your training.
Progress is never going to be linear.
There will always be peaks AND valleys
Now, what causes these valleys is anyone’s guess:
- Damage
- Work and family obligations
- Vacation
- Its fourth season Slow horses started
- Explosive diarrhea
- It’s Tuesday
The important thing to keep in mind is that, 1) despite what social media would have you believe, even those coaches/trainers/influencers you look up to the most have failures in their training (trust me) and 2) failures are normal and will undoubtedly happen.
There are a few strategies I would encourage you to try when this happens.
1. Again, I can’t repeat this enough… it’s normal
It won’t last forever, it will pass
2. Reframe and prioritize a new lift or body part
If your knees are jerky and you can’t kick your lower body as aggressively as you’d like, it might be a good time to prioritize your bench or bench or, I don’t know, kick pulls.
Other than that, there’s never a good time to prioritize pull-ups with kicks because they’re absurd.
3. Find your trainable menu
Repeating the above, focus on what you CAN do rather than what you CAN’T. I’ve never had a client working through an injury show up to a session and not feel better at the end of it because they something.
4. Select One Lift, Do That and Leave
I actually really like this approach when I’m feeling tired (or traveling). From a psychological point of view there is something to this. I know that if my intention is to train a lift hard and that’s all I intend to do for that particular workout, that helps set me up for success. As an example it might look something like this:
A. Barbell Romanian Deadlift – Work up to 1×5 @ RPE 8
B. Accumulate 15 total reps at 90% of the top set above.
C. Wu-Tang is for the kids.
Of course, there are a plethora of other scenarios and options to choose from, but these are the ones that come to the top of my head. Hope they help.
