Top 5 Tips for Every Aspect of Fitness

What's up y'all? First post back since my 84 day trek. I'll be posting about once or twice a week now just to keep getting you guys good info and working on different types of posts outside of just blogging. I've definitely been using Instagram more, mostly because of the increased post engagement vs Facebook, so make sure you're following me on there if you're not you can find me at

@Greg.the.Trainer

Today I wanted to do something basic and important and give you my top 5 tips for every aspect of fitness; Nutrition, Resistance Training, Cardiovascular Training, and Lifestyle. If I had to give someone a 5 minute breakdown of the most important aspects of each one this is what I would tell them. I'll post in list form for convenience then go into a small bit of detail in each one.

Nutrition

• Eat real food most of the time: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, lean meats, and healthy fats. This is healthy nutrition in it's most simple form. EAT REAL FOOD! That basically covers it. It's ok to stray sometimes but the vast majority of the time should be spent eating real, nutritious foods.
• Eat protein and veggies first and at each meal. This should be your priority each meal, regardless of goals. If you don't directly track macros then a good goal is 1-2 palm sized servings of protein and 1-2 cups of veggies each meal. 
• Eat slowly and pay attention to your food. This is a great way to eat less food, just eat slower. If you've ever eaten with chop sticks you'll know exactly what I mean. You can also try putting your fork down in between bites. Also, practice eating without any distractions (phone, tv, computer) and think about the food you're eating. 
• Eat based on your workout each day. If you have a harder workout, eat more carbs, if you don't workout, don't eat so many carbs. The harder the workout, the more carbs you get because you need to fuel your workouts. 
• Start tracking your food but learn not to have to. Tracking your food is important when you're just starting and is great for learning portion size and daily intake. Although I recommend everyone do this as the beginning, tracking should be something you wean off of as you actually learn portions and good habits. 

Resistance Training

• Focus on compound, multi-joint exercises. Squat, deadlift, push, pull, carry, rotate. These things should make up most of your program with some accessory work following. Perfect these exercises to the best of your ability and do them often.
• Try to get as strong as possible. Strong people live longer and strength is the most important controllable factor in longevity. You should be trying to get as strong as you can in the movement patterns listed above. 
• Try to build muscle, even if you're trying to lose fat. Muscle is extremely healthy and increasing muscle mass is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. Not to mention it makes you look awesome. 
• Keep workouts short and intense. Don't waste your time on 12 different chest exercises and 8 different bicep curls. Try to keep workouts around an hour using mostly the movement patterns listed above. 
• Lift 3-5 times per week. This will cover it for most people. Lifting more will not mean better progress and you need time to let yourself recover. Rest days are when your muscles heal and get bigger so make sure you have a few each week. That doesn't mean don't exercise, just don't have a hard lift. 

Cardiovascular Training

• Some days do low intensity, some days do moderate intensity, some days to high intensity. Variability is key here and no one form of cardio is terribly superior to the others. Walking is underrated as a form of cardio and is one of my favorites, but so is High Intensity Interval Training. To get the best results use a variety. 
• Cardio is great for health and performance but not great fat loss. This is one thing I need to try and break so many people of: you can't just do more cardio and expect to lose fat, as overall research shows it doesn't do much. This doesn't mean you should skip cardio, but just go into it with the right intentions. Cardio is great for increasing heart and lung strength as well as increasing recovery ability from resistance training. 
• Do it separately or the same day as lifting. For longer sessions you might want to do it on it's own day, which makes a good active recovery day, but shorter sessions can be don in conjunction with lifting. Do it before or after lifting, whichever you prefer. 
• Get outside sometimes. Don't spend all your time in a gym! Get outside for a walk, run, bike ride or water sport and get into nature, you'll be happier and healthier the more often you do this. 
• Do what you enjoy and stick to it. It doesn't matter what the "best" or "most effective" workout is if you're not going to do it. There's 1,000 different ways to do cardio so find what you enjoy because that's what you're going to stick with. 

Lifestyle 

• Reduce stress as much as possible. Stress, the bad kind, will make you fat. I have a full post planned for this but for now know that you should be trying to reduce stress as much as you can. Breathing exercises and daily meditation or two great ways that I do this.
• Sleep 7-9 hours every night. Not sleeping will also make you fat and it will kill you. Everyone has their excuses for not getting sleep but I don't want to hear it, I'm up at 4am every week day and still get my hours in. Want some good news? Naps count towards this. There's research showing that daily total hours is more important than just overnight hours. 
• Focus on building good habits, not quick progress. Health is a lifelong goal, not a short term sprint. Although everyone wants to lose weight right now, you need to think about building good, healthy habits that will keep you strong and healthy forever. 
• Get outside. Yes this is on here twice because it's important. Even if you're not working out outside you still should get some sun every day. One recommendation I liks is 20 minutes of sun and outdoors each and every day. 
• Move as much as possible. This one is big, maybe the biggest, at least from a health standpoint. Not moving will also make you fat and kill you and you need to try to move as much as possible. Just hitting a 1 hour workout a few times a week won't do much of anything is you're spending the other 23 hours a day sitting on your butt. Get up and move as much as possible each and every day. 

If you embrace each of these things you're setting yourself up for a long and healthy life, not to mention a hot body. Work your way through the list and see what you can do for each one. If you need help of have questions please reach out to me as I would love to help you. There's so much garbage information out there so I'll help you sort through it and find the good stuff.

Top Kettlebell Exercises You Should Add Today! 83/84

In the eyes of most hardcore lifters the barbell is the king of equipment. Since it generally allows you to use the most load through a variety of exercises, it's no wonder that it's become so popular. You can argue pros and cons forever but there's no doubting that barbells will make you big and strong. But there is another option that often times gets overlooked. Although kettlebells have become increasingly popular in recent years through the help of CrossFit and Kettlebell only gyms, they still don't get the attention the deserve in my opinion. I love them and I use them every day with damn near every one of my clients. On my long list of certifications I plan to get, the RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge, considered by many to be the top notch cert for kettlebells on the planet) is definitely towards the top of the list.

Basically, you can do just about everything with a Kettlebell that you  can with a dumbbell but there are a few exercises where the Kettlebell has a slight advantage. Here are a few of my favorites.

- Swing

Duh. Obviously on top of the list. I primarily use a traditional swing and haven't messed the the American swing (all the way overhead) much since I left the CF world. It's an amazing exercise for working hip hinge and developing fast and explosive glutes and hamstring as well as core and grip strength. It also burns a ton of calories and jacks up your heart rate. You can even build some high level strength with swings if the bells get heavy enough. Just remember, the swing is a hinge, not a squat. There isn't a ton of knee flexion involved and most of the movement comes from hip flexion and extension.

- Goblet Squat

If you've read my post about squat progressions then this shouldn't be a surprise. The goblet squat is where you hold the Kettlebell by the horns up at your chest and use it to add load to your squat. It's the first weighted squat I do with people because it allows them to get into a better squat position then back loading like a back squat.

- Front Rack Carry

If you have been following for a bit (or are a client) you know that I love weighted carries. The front rack carry is unique to the Kettlebell and it is when you're holding a bell in each hand up and your chest. Your hands are together in a prayer-type position and the bell sits in a little space created by your pec, forearm, and upper arm. Once in this front rack you simply walk and try to stay upright. Your shoulders and upper back will be on fire and your core muscle will light up.

- Snatch

The swing is the basis for many Kettlebell exercises and the snatch is one of those for sure, along with the clean. To do a Kettlebell snatch, you start with a basic single hand swing but then drive the weight vertically overhead until it's locked out with a straight arm. One huge mistake people make with these is that they flip the bell over their hand at the top, effectively smashing their forearm with a canon ball. Instead, learn to drive the elbow back and rotate the bell around your arm so that you make contact early. This is one that definitely requires a visual and most likely someone to coach you through.

- Turkish Get-Up

Do you want healthy, stable shoulders, a strong core, and overall great mobility? Then you should do get-ups. I'm definitely not going to attempt the explain a Turkish Get-Up in detail here but basically you start lying on your back with a Kettlebell in your hand and proceed through a series of steps the stand straight up, then get back down to the starting position. They're super fun and extremely beneficially. They can also be pretty scary when you get heavy so be careful. I clearly remember the first time I did a 100# bell and thinking that I could very easily crush my skull.

- Bottoms-Up Press

Shoulder health awesomeness part 2. The bottoms-up press is when you hold the bell upside down so that the main weight is "floating" over your hand. This creates an amazingly unstable exercise that forces your shoulder to work overtime. This is usually done standing with an overhead press but can be done as a floor press or bench press variation as well. Again, just be sure not to crack your skull open.

If your gym offers kettlebells then try adding some of these to your program, if not then find a new gym! Barbells are great and dumbbells obviously have their place but the are certain exercises where the kettlebell is definitely king.

A Better Way to Get Strong 79/84

Are you looking to hit new heights and break records with your strength? Then there's a programming technique that you're probably missing out on. Even if strength is not your main goal, this program can make you more durable and help prevent injury. The program is called Triphasic Training and it was invented by a man named Cal Dietz. Cal is the head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Minnesota and one of the smartest dudes around. The full details of the program are listed in his book "Triphasic Training" but I will to over the basics and show you how you can add it to your program.

Triphasic Training gets its name from the three phases of a muscle contraction during a lift. These are the concentric, isometric, and eccentric contractions. The concentric is the shortening of the muscle, the part when you're doing the work and lifting the weight. Think of standing up in a squat. The isometric is when you're not moving and transitioning from eccentric to concentric. Think of the bottoms of a squat. And the eccentric is the lengthening or lowering portion of the lift, or going down into a squat. Most training focuses primarily on the concentric, but Cal realized that if you take time to train each phase then you can see crazy gains in strength and durability.

The process to this is actually surprisingly simple. Here's what Cal recommends and what I've used a number of times now

2 weeks of slow eccentric training (go down slow)
2 weeks of isometric training (pause after you go down)
Continue with normal concentric training

That's it, that's all you have to change to see massive strength gains. 2 weeks of slow Hell and 2 weeks of pauses on your main lifts. Cal started using these for things like squats, RDLs, bench, rows, and pull-ups but eventually realized you can make even more gains by doing it with every exercise. If you're an beginner, I would not recommend  jumping right into eccentric training, but to get through an adaptation phase first where you're learning the basics. If you're an intermediate or advanced lifter then this technique can help you bust plateaus and hit new PRs. I've even taken it and added it to the Herceg Strength Cycle to make it even more effective that it was before.

As far as injury prevention, Cal has reported that some teams boast about a 70% decrease in injury after this type of training. Although that is not common, it has happened. The reason that Triphasic Training helps prevent injury is because it helps build the strength on the connective tissue just as much as the strength of the muscle. This means that, unlike most training programs, the muscle strength is not developing at a rate that the ligaments and tendons can't keep up with.

If you're someone who's prone to injury or has a certain issue that needs addressed like a knee problem then Triphasic can have a real benefit for you. Abs of course, if you just want to get stupid string then this is definitely a program to look in to.

My Favorite Abs Exercises 72/84

People get pretty obsessed with training there's abs, even to a point where they have an entire day at the gym set aside to it (seriously?). Hundreds of reps of crunches, side bends, and leg lifts all for that flat stomach or ever-desired 6-pack. So how much that effort is really wasted and how is actually taking you closer to your goals?

 I've said this 1,000 times and I'll keep saying it; the only way to lose fat is to eat the correct amount of food. No amount of core exercises will ever make a difference in the appearance of your abs if you're still eating way to much to reduce that layer of flub over top of them. So what's the point? Why do so many people spend so much time on it? Honestly, it mostly seems like they're just misinformed, or know better but they're just hoping that somehow all of the science is wrong. Regardless, there's are a few good purposes or training your abs and core and a few exercises that are better than others.

Purpose 1 - Increasing core strength

This is the main purpose for what use core work for with myself and my clients. Core strength is essential for every day life as well as hitting big numbers in the gym. You'll never pull a big deadlift or hit a big squat with a weak core, so we spend time on it. It also keeps your body healthy makes sure your posture is good.

Purpose 2 - Increasing muscle size

Ok I lied (sort of). This is where core training can actually make your sixpack muscles pop a little more. Doing this won't help you lose belly fat but it will make your muscles more visible by making the muscle bigger. Obviously,  for the full effect you need to get you body fat low as well.

I always recommend people use some of each of these goals in mind when training abs so here are some of my favorite exercises for each one

Core strength
- Planks. Some people may disagree but I like planks for beginners. They teach you about maintaining a neutral spine and can build some initial strength and endurance. Once you can do a plank for 2 minutes you're probably not getting much benefit from them anymore.
- Farmers Carry or any loaded carry. Maybe one of my favorite exercises period. They build strength everywhere as well as jack up your heart rate. Plus they translate extremely well to daily life i.e. one trip grocery bags.
-  Pallof Press. A slightly more unique exercise that catches people off guard. This exercise builds oblique strength and help with anti-rotation
- Supermax Holds. More specific to powerlifters and weightlifters. This entails loading more than 100% of you 1 rep max on a bar and holding  it for a few seconds. This gets your core (and your whole body) used to feeling heavier weight.

Core Muscle Size
- Leg lifts and variations. These build size in your abs and obliques while keeping more of a neutral spine than sit-ups or crunches,  making them potentially safer versions. Start with leg lifts on your back and progress to straight leg hanging raises.
- Cable rotations. Parallel, low-to-high, high-to-low, I like them all. I use rotations on the cable machine for help build obliques in a way that is actually important in sport and daily life.
-  Full sit-ups. Way better than crunches in my opinion. Although some spinal flexion is involved, the increased range of motion and hip flexion help make it better in my opinion. If you're going to do a movement, do it full ROM
- Weighted Cable Sit-ups. The most "bro" exercise on the list but if can pack on some meat. I prefer the kneeling version when done correctly and you can really load up some weight on this one.

As you can probably tell, I'm not a huge fan of crazy exercises and variations. I like to stick with and around the basics as often as possible, they're the basics for a reason. Try adding these into your routine if you're not already or contact me and I'll do all the thinking for you. Abs don't forget, if you really want that perfect stomach, you need to focus on food

Kicking Ass in the Real World: Why Barbells are Not That Functional 68/84

I'm going to be honest, CrossFit got this one wrong. Generally considered the king of functional training, CrossFit relies way too much on a training tool that barely relates daily life in the least. Very rarely are you going to find an object in nature that has been perfectly proportioned for you to lift it. No, usually it's going to be some weird, unbalanced shape that's going to need to crazy maneuver to pick up. For example, my in-laws live on a small pig farm and one day we were having trouble getting a young pig from the barn to and outdoor pen. I decided the easiest thing to do was for me to lift it into a wheelbarrow and wheel it over. They informed me that the pig weighed about 175 pounds, not much considering I've deadlifted well over 500 before. But you know what? That was damn near one of the heaviest things I've ever needed to lift. The pig was moving, the balance point was weird, I could not lift with a perfectly flat back, and I need to do some crazy one-arm-over-one-arm-under thing to lift it. Plus, something like that is way further from your body and center of gravity than a barbell is, making it feel much heavier. If you have ever done Strongman stone loading then you know exactly what I mean. The bottom line is that you need to focus on way more than barbell training if you really want to be functional.

While CrossFit and other functional training methods spend s lot of time with barbells, they obviously use other tools as well. Kettlebells, medicine balls, body weight, and sometimes Dumbbells (much more now than they used to) are all seen on a daily basis. And while these things are all great, they still may not accomplish the goal of helping with every day living. There are some other great tools that I love and I wish were used more often then you see.

The biggest one of these is sandbags, and I don't mean the ones with convenient handles. These can be a great tool for functional training. They're big, heavy, awkward, and their weight shifts as you lift. This makes them great for learning to move real world object. Lift them, squat then, press them, carry them, just move them in some way. Another great option is atlas stone or any odd shaped stones. Just find a big rock, pick it up, and carry it. This will do wonders for your leg, core, back, and arm strength as well. To be honest, anything you can pick up and carry can be functional to an extent. Yes, this includes barbells (think farmers carry) and pretty much anything else. When we're looking at exercises that are "functional" in terms of relating to every day lifeit's hard to beat pickup something up and carrying it.

The other problem with barbells is the fact that 90+% of exercises are done bilaterally, meaning with both arms or legs at the same time. While this allows you to move the most weight, it limits you in your options. If you want to be truly functional then single arm and single leg exercises are a must for your program. This can show you imbalances, potentials for injury, as well as helping a ton with balance and stability. If this sounds like most of your training, then try adding in some unilateral work and you might be surprised how much stronger one arm or leg is than the other.

The point is to make sure that your training stays carried and doesn't lock you into only a few pieces of equipment. The more variety you're going to do, the better and healthier you're going to be.

The 3 Best Predictors of How Long You Will Live 63/84

When we think about health and mortality everyone knows that exercise has it's place, but what we're starting to realize is exactly how important of a place that really is. If I where to ask you what one single factor was going to be the best predictor of mortality what would you say? Seriously, think about that for a second. Maybe family history? Stroke risk? Diabetes risk? They all seem like reasonable answers but they're not even close. Not even in the ballpark.

Most of this information was received by me from a couple of podcasts done on the Barbell Shrugged Podcast years ago. These podcasts featured a guy named Dr. Andy Galpin who, if you have been around with me for a while, you might recognize. Amongst other crazy knowledge bombs that Dr. Galpin always seems to drop, he mentioned the top three factors that predict mortality, and I'm sure they will be surprising to some of you. I'll discuss these top three in reverse order, starting with number three.

3. Lean Body Mass (LBM)

Lean body mass basically means anything in your body that's not fat. Muscle, skin, and bone are all included in this but for our purposes muscle will be the most important to us. For years people were under the assumption that muscle was just dumb tissue that did whatever the nervous system told it to do. Contract, relax, contract, relax over and over and that's it. What Dr. Galpin discusses is that muscle is actually super smart and regulates a
TON of hormone functions in the body. And the more muscle you have, the healthier you are (to an extent obviously). Combine this  with the fact that more muscle means more active and less injury prone in your later years and you can see why it's so high on the list. To increase LBM you simply have to hit the weights and get your muscles bigger so they work well. Stick in the 8-12 range most of the time for some good muscle building.

2. VO2max

Your VO2max is the maximum amount of oxygen that your body can take in at one time. The higher the VO2max, the healthier your respiratory and cardiovascular systems are and apparently the longer you're going to live. Obviously, if you can keep your heart and lungs strong for a long time, you'll be more active and less prone heart disease. To increase VO2max you need to do a combination on low, moderate, and high intensity cardiovascular training like spring intervals and walking.

1. Leg Strength

Yep, it's true, how strong your legs are is the single best determinant of how long you're going to live. In fact, it was a better predictor than wether or not you've ALREADY had a heart attack! Crazy right? I've heard Dr. Galpin discus that grip strength can be added along with this and I think it's safe to say that strength in general can be included. I assume leg strength was just the strength metric that they tested which came out the highest. This crazy fact could be the result of a few things, but in my professional opinion it can be linked best to 2. First, having stronger legs when you're older most likely means that you had been relatively active throughout your life, meaning you're probably healthier. This is definitely going to lead to a longer life.  Second, stronger legs means reduced chance of falling or getting hurt as well as increase activity, mobility, and independence when you get older. Basically, you can do more stuff on your own for longer and do it better. Sounds pretty great to me. To increase leg strength or strength in general you have to lift. Not only that but you have to lift pretty heavy stuff. The best strength gains come from around 3 reps to around 6 reps with at least 90 seconds rest in between.

So there you have it; lean body mass, VO2max, and leg strength are the three best predictors of his long hours going to live. Now, obviously if you excel in all of these it doesn't guarantee that you're going to love a long life, but it does put the odds in your favor

The Herceg Strength Cycle 60/84

Do you want a really simple plan to help you get stronger? This is a time tested program that I have used over and over to PR on basically all of my lifts, as well as the members at the CrossFit gym I worked at. It's simple, to the point, and it works.

When I first started working at The Arsenal in 2013, I told the owner that I would write us a strength program to supplement our conditioning we were doing. I was very adamant that we needed this and pushed hard. He gave the OK and a deadline to get it done. So in typical fashion, an hour before the meeting I had forgotten to do it  and still had nothing. I had an idea for what I wanted to do, just no concrete plan. I wanted to do something basic and progressive that made logical sense and followed a certain pattern. I scrapped this together super quick and took it to him. We tried it with the entire gym and 12 weeks later the amount of PR's was unbelievable. Everyone, left and right, just smashing new personal bests. It worked even better than I had expected, well enough that we did it again a few weeks later. And we'll enough that I did it again, two more times, in my own and hit new bests on every lift involved.

So what makes this plan work so well? Probably the simplicity of it. All I did was take the rep max percentage for a given rep and reduce it by 5%. I know that sounds confusing so I'll explain. Typically a 5 rep max (the most weight you can do for 5 reps) is about 85% of your 1 rep max. So I started the program with working up to 5 reps at 80%, 5% less than the estimated max. I did this week by week, reducing the reps and increasing the percent, and it worked like a dream. Here's what the percentages looked like

5,5,5,5,5 - 60,65,70,75,80%
5,5,4,4,4 - 65,70,75,80,85%
5,4,4,3,3 - 70,75,80,85,90%
4,3,2,2,2 - 75,80,85,90,95%
4,3,2,1,1 - 80,85,90,95,100%

Obviously the left side is the reps and the right side is the perfect of 1RM  for each set. Like I said. The first week works up to 5 reps at 80%. You'll also notice that this is only 5 weeks, but my program took 12 to complete. That's because each week was repeated twice in a row with different exercises before moving onto the next percentages. That gets you 10 weeks plus 2 deload weeks for a total of 12. That looks like this

Wk 1: 5,5,5,5,5 - 60,65,70,75,80%
Wk 2: 5,5,5,5,5 - 60,65,70,75,80%
Wk 3: 5,5,4,4,4 - 65,70,75,80,85%
Wk 4: 5,5,4,4,4 - 65,70,75,80,85%
Wk 5: 5,4,4,3,3 - 70,75,80,85,90%
Wk 6: 5,4,4,3,3 - 70,75,80,85,90%
Wk 7: 4,3,2,2,2 - 75,80,85,90,95%
Wk 8: 4,3,2,2,2 - 75,80,85,90,95%
Wk 9: 4,3,2,1,1 - 80,85,90,95,100%
Wk 10: Testing week

2 deload weeks as needed: 5,5,4,4,4 - 50,55,60,65,70

Now, I don't want to give away all of my secrets here but you can pick any exercises you want and they will fit into this program, and you will get stronger at them. I would pick 3-4 exercises one week and another 3-4 for the second week. You can use whatever you want for powerlifting, weightlifting, CrossFit, or just general strength training but I would stick to the main compound lifts. Accessory work will follow a different plan.

Give this program a try (I would recommend two upper and two lower body days) if you want to get strong. From my last time doing this, I still have my PRs in back squat, bench press, front squat, and sumo deadlift. Also, if you want me to do the work for you, I'll write you a personalized program with this setup guaranteed to get you stronger. Just shoot me a message and we'll get to work

7 Tips for Great Glutes 55/84

Ok I'll admit, this one is geared more towards the ladies like my biceps post was geared a little more towards the guys. But still pay attention guys, glutes were voted the #1 muscle women like to see developed on a man. Keep that in mind.

Our pop culture right now is all about the glutes, big butts are definitely "in" and that seems like every ladies goal right now. I bet just about every time you hit the gym some "butt lifting" exercise has found its way into your program. Well I don't think I would be doing my job if I didn't throw my hat into the mix and give you guys some tips I give my clients who want to get that booty poppin'.

- Squeeze your glutes

This one should be obvious but it isn't always. Whenever you do leg exercises make sure you squeeze you butt hard each rep. This will increase the mind-muscle connection and help your muscles grow. You can even just squeeze your butt randomly to help too. Just stand up and squeeze your cheeks together as hard as you can.

-Do some activation drills

Ok let's get this out there; your glutes are not "turned off". Unless you have some neurological disorder then you glutes or always on. But, we can change the amount that they are turned on (as well as any muscle) with activation exercises. I, and other professionals, prefer the terms "up-regulate" and  "down-regulate" in stead of "turn off" and "turn on". That much more accurate.

Anyway, I start any full body or lower body session with one glute exercise and one core exercise to up-regulate them. This can be banded monster walks, squats with a band, glute bridges, or single leg squats. Just a light exercise to get things going

- Lean forward

Want to increase the amount your glutes are working? Try leaning forward. Make sure it's a hinge forward and not flexing your spine, but give it a try, you'll feel it right away. This is great for lunges, monster walks, step ups, and other single leg exercises.

- Work from all angles

You can't just move up and down to get nice glutes, you have to go forward, backward, and to the side too (this is one reason we see a lot of under-developed glutes in CrossFit, but it's getting better)

Try adding side lunges, monster walks, extended ROM side-lying leg lifts, and diagonal walking lunges to get some lateral work in.

- Do single leg exercises

Because you butt muscles also stabilize your pelvis, standing on one leg let's you get even more work done. Single leg RDL's, step ups, lunges, split squats, single leg glute bridges, and single leg squats should all find their way into your program. Don't forget to lean forward!

- Do glute bridges

I've seen some people who are against these but I love them. Bret Contreras aka "The Glute Guy" has talked about getting his athlete some impressive glute development with hardly any squats and deadlifts, focusing on bridge and hip thrust variations.

Do them with on the floor or on a bench, with a barbell, with a band, with a band on your knees, or one leg at a time.

- Sometimes go full ROM, sometimes don't

During a squat, the highest glute activation is at the very bottom below parallel and at the lock out at the top. That's why I find it ironic that so many Instagram "trainers" do all of their squats and eliminate those two areas. I recommend full range of motion like this 95% of the time because it's just good practice  as a human, but that means about 5% of the time it's ago to switch it up. When you don't do full ROM, you keep tension on the muscle longer and as we talked about earlier, more time under tension can lead to more muscle.

Give these a try and get me some feedback. I use all of these with my clients daily and I've gotten some impressive results in the past. Hope full this can help all your #bootygoals come true

8 Tips For Bigger and Better Arms 53/84

Let's be honest here, if you lift weights, you care what your arms look like. I don't care if you're a guy or a girl, trying to lose fat or gain muscle, everyone wants nice arms. To many, this can be too big of a focus and you end up looking super silly with big arms but no upper back or lats. But if you're like most people and want to get a respectable set of pipes then check out these tips to help you out.

- Still focus on compound movements

Big compound movements like rows, pullups, dips and presses are still going to activate that most muscle fibers and cause the most overall stimulus. These should generally take place towards the beginning of your workout so that you can use tons of energy on them. 4-6 sets of 5-10 reps is great for compound movements

- Use a supinated grip

If bigger biceps is the goal, try using a palms up grip for most of your pulling exercises. It's important to incorporate lots of different grips but supinated works the biceps the most. It will give you the best stimulus for compound movements.

- Use a close grip

Now for triceps, try doing most of your pressing with a close grip. This includes bench, incline bench, and overhead pressing. This will give you slightly more triceps involvement resulting in more growth. If you're using dumbbells, keep your elbows in close to your body to simulate a barbell close grip.

- Focus on TUT

Time Under Tension (TUT) is now being considered one of the most important factors in muscle growth. TUT refers to how long the muscle is actually doing work. Ways to increase TUT include higher rep sets, shorter rest periods, and (most importantly) increase the concentric and eccentric time of each rep. Try 2 seconds on the concentric (up) and 2 seconds on the eccentric (down) for each rep. Add a big squeeze and pause for even more growth.

- Utilize the Mind-Muscle Connection

The Mind-Muscle Connection refers to focusing your attention on the muscles you're intending to work. If you're doing a bicep curl, look at your bicep the whole set and focus on squeezing that muscle as hard as you can. This has just recently been proven by research (even though people have unofficially known for years) to increase muscle hypertrophy when compared to not utilizing it.

- Vary your reps

As mentioned, as long as TUT is high, various rep ranges can all cause muscle growth and you should use many of them. I like to do one heavy day (5-8 reps) and one high rep day (10-20 reps) for each group to get a nice mix of both.

- Don't train to failure

If you're on drugs then by all means do that, but if you're natural like 99% of us then training to failure has no real benefits. Outside of certain times (see yesterday's post) all it's going to do is make it harder to recover from you session. Always try to leave 1-2 reps in the tank on each set. This will allow you to recovery better, build more muscle, and save your joints from some pain.

- Don't focus just on getting a pump, except sometimes do

Some people focus too much on the pump, others don't focus enough. It has a time and place and should be used strategically. Getting a huge pump at the beginning of your workout is just going to make all of your other lifts suck, so save it till the end. At the end of your workout, refer again to yesterday's post for some different techniques

Give these a try and let me know how your progress goes! Training smarter can make all the difference in the world. If you feel like you're lost and need a little extra help then I'd love to get on a free 30 minute consultation call with you to start to put a plan together. To do that, simply click on the link below and reserve a time. All I'll need is some basic info and we can really get you moving towards your goals!

Click here to reserve a time!  calendly.com/gsherceg

Advanced Hypertrophy Techniques 52/84

When a person first starts to try and gain muscle, they can start to put on some size relatively fast. Being new to lifting, your body starts to freak out and adapt super quickly to the stimulus that you're giving it. Anyone who has every tried to get big before has probably experienced this and it's pretty great. You start to see differences really quick and it feels awesome. But, obviously, these quick gains aren't going to last forever and eventually it can even become pretty hard to add even half of what you have already. Honestly, at this point you should heavily consider doing a maintenance phase and then starting over again. It's also probably time to switch up your program and let your body start to get a different stimulus. When you do this, there are a few advanced techniques you can use to break through some of these barriers and start adding muscle again.

Note: These are called advanced for a reason. You have no business trying these unless you have already been lifting hard for a couple years. Yes, you will see other people doing them but that doesn't mean that they are right.

Here are a few things you can try if you feel like you're ready.

Drop Sets

I would hope most people have heard of drop sets by now. They are very popular in the bodybuilding world because they make you look hardcore and they can hurt pretty bad. To do a drop set; pick a weight that you can do for 8-10 reps and do as many as you can under good technique, drop the weight by about 10% and do as many as you can again, then drop one more time and rep to failure. This technique will give you a huge pump and can spark some new growth.

High Rep Sets

Tom Platz is famous for having the best legs in bodybuilding. He is also famous for squatting 225 for 2 minutes straight. High rep sets can be another growth igniter if you use them right. Don't get stuck in the old myth that high reps are only for muscular endurance or toning. The super high time under tension can do some serious damage and create new growth and researchers have seen hypertrophy in sets as high as 100 reps.

Finishers/ Burn Out Sets

This is ending your lift with one all out set to failure on whatever exercise you're doing. Like most of these, you'll want to save this for the end of your workout and give it everything you've got. You can even force or cheat a few more reps out to get every last bit of energy used up.

Technical drop sets

A good example of this would be using a bicep curl and a row. Let's say you're finishing your pulling day with some EZ Bar curls. On your last set you rep to failure then immediately drop down and start doing rows with the same bar. You're basically going from a weaker exercise to a stronger exercise to squeeze whatever you can out of your biceps. You're last and shoulders will take some of the work but your biceps will continue to get fried.

Eccentrics/ Negatives

This one is my favorite and is the one that you don't need to be super advanced to use. I often program slow eccentrics in workouts for my clients who want to get bigger and/or stronger because it can be amazing for both. The eccentric, or lowering portion of the movement, is where almost all of the tissue damage occurs. And when the tissue gets damaged, it must rebuild itself and usually comes back bigger and stronger. For most people who want to get big, I recommend a 2 second eccentric on just about every exercise they do. Sometimes, based on what phase were in, that number can go up to 5 or even 10 seconds if I'm feeling particularly snarky.

I just want to reiterate, outside of the eccentrics you should have a lot of experience with lifting already before you even consider trying these. Most people have no business training to failure on any exercise and even if you do try these you should only do them for a short time. They are meant to spark growth and break plateaus, not become a regular part of your training.

Why I Quit CrossFit 50/84

50 days in! Holy crap I can't believe I've managed to do this for this long. A lot of great stuff has happened since this started and I'm super excited to see where it will do from here! Anyway, for those of you reading who have known me for years know that I spend about 3 years training, competing, and coaching CrossFit. I did it basically every day without fail and got to the point where I was actually pretty competitive. But now it's been about a year since I've done a WOD and I wanted to write a post about why I made the switch,

I want to start off by saying that I still love CrossFit and even though I don't do it anymore I still have the utmost respect for it. I still closely follow what's going on and some of my best friends still compete, and we talk every day. Also, I use very CrossFitty workouts for most of my weight loss clients and it still works great for them. Although I've adjusted a few things that I feel are normally missing, I run those sessions very similarly to a CrossFit class.

I competed in and coached CrossFit from the time a finished undergrad and volleyball in 2013 until just after the 2016 CrossFit Open. During that time I gained about 30 pounds of solid muscle, added 100+ pounds to my deadlift and snachted 300 pounds, something that only a handful of people in the world will ever do, as well as a ton of other things someone my size has no business doing. I loved CrossFit and my life was all about it. I coached through my 2 years of grad school at The Arsenal (Muncie CrossFit) which is where I learned a ton about about exercise, coaching, mobility, SMR, and how to break the "rules" that exercise science tells us that are necessary for people. Once I moved up to Appleton, Wisconsin, I began helping out and coaching occasionally at CrossFit Appleton. I continued competing for a few months up there until I backed off to compete in a Weightlifting competition. After I won my weigh class for that, I hopped right back in to compete in the 2016 Open. I only trained for about 4 weeks or so but got back to a pretty competitive level. This is about the same time I start working as a trainer again too.

After the Open is over, every year I would take a little while to back off and work on some nagging injuries or imbalances that accumulate during the intensity of training competitively. It just so happened that this year I was working at Xperience Fitness where I had the option to work on powerlifting and bodybuilding outside of a CrossFit gym. This gave me access to different equipment that I didn't really train with for a couple years including dumbbells, machines, and the ability to do curls without judgement. As I began to back off on my programming to recover a bit, I also realized that working out at work was not only convenient but good for business as well. As a personal trainer there, it helped me get to know more members and make more connections that led to more clients. More clients is always better.

This also gave me a chance to reflect and figure out what my real goals were. Honestly, I knew for a long time that my height and size was going to limit me from every getting to where I wanted to go in CrossFit. CrossFit is definitely not a tall man's game and obviously I couldn't get shorter. I also was not willing to lose the weight that I would have needed to to be at a high level in bodyweight and gymnastics movements. I knew that I had to look and think about what I really wanted to work on.

After bouncing between programs and goals and not really knowing what I wanted, I got an opportunity that I hadn't really thought about in years; I started playing volleyball again. Finally! I had something to train for. I focused my program on the goals or getting strong, getting bigger, and being able to play again (basically getting my vertical up again). This worked out well with the program I wrote which already involved a lot of speed work anyway.

During this time I also learned a lot and realized a lot of things that were missing from typical CrossFit programming. There were multiple movement patterns, muscle groups and equipment that could help prevent injury and increase gains for people who are still doing it. The biggest things that I found missing where; horizontal pulling and pushing exercises, anything with a supinated grip, enough single arm/leg exercises, knee flexion, dumbbells, and any rotation or side-to-side movements. Lacking these things can have a pretty big impact on the health and longevity of competitors and adding in just a couple exercises for each can make a huge difference. Missing these elements leads to a lot off underdeveloped lats, pecs, biceps, and glutes (yeah I said it), hamstrings, and obliques. I think going into the details of all of these things would be an entire post in itself which I might need to do. For now, just know that CrossFit coaches really need to expand the movements they are using if they really want to do the most for their members as they can. What I do like recently is the use of the term "functional bodybuilding" (which I have been using for years) and seeing that grow into something that is more popular in the sports. From what I've seen, it address a lot of the issues I mentioned above.

So all in all, the biggest reason I took a step back is because it just didn't fit with my goals anymore. I knew that my success in CrossFit was most likely limited and I needed to figure out what I really wanted to do. Although I still love it and use it with my weight loss clients, CrossFit just no longer fit with the goals that I wanted. But even so, coaching for all of those years led me to where I am today and I would not be the trainer I am without it.

Running a Successful Bulking Phase Part 2 47/84

Now that you guys know how to eat to grow effectively, you'll need to know how to lift to grow too. To be 100% honest there doesn't NEED to be a huge difference between the workouts to get bigger or smaller if your diet is on point. Look at bodybuilders, there's not much of a difference between their bulking workouts and cutting workouts but they still manage to change a ton. With that being said, there are still some things you can do to help the process along and make it as effective as possible.

- Focus on strength first. If you worry about getting stronger then bigger muscles will come. This is, of course, if your workouts are programmed right.

- Get strong with compound movements. No one cares how much you can curl, like, no one. You shouldn't try to go heavy on an exercise like a bicep curl but you should go heavier and exercises like squats, deadlifts, presses, and pulls that use a lot of muscles. This is the best way to get strong and add quality muscle to your body.

- For these compound movements, keep your reps around 3-8. You can go higher or lower if you like but this is a great range to spend most of your time in.

- Do accessory work second. Once you finish your main lifts then you can move on to your accessory and isolation exercises. These can include exercises for your upper back, chest, glutes, and hamstrings then finish with things like biceps, triceps, neck, and calves.

- For these you'll want to go lower weight than with the compound movements and stick with 8-15+ reps for most. Things like calves, abs, and neck can go even higher as well

- Don't get confused, higher reps do not mean toning and they won't just help with muscular endurance. Not only can they still help build muscle but they're actually important in the process.

I have talked about this in the past but there are a number of ways you can split up your days and still make great progress. I have ones that I prefer and program often but I list a few options for you.

- Full body workouts. Hit the whole body 3 times a week and you're good.

- Upper/ lower. I did this a ton while I did my last bulk. I did 2 upper body and two lower body workouts a week. Sometimes I even added a third upper day just to work on some weak points.

- Push/pull/lower. This is what I'm doing now. I do deadlifts and pulling Monday, pressing Wednesday , and legs Friday. Just like above, sometimes I add a pump day on Saturdays.

- Bodybuilding splits. I'm not a huge fan of these for most people but they still can work. A basic example would be to separate chest/triceps, back/biceps, shoulders, arms, and legs. Abs can be sprinkled in there as well.

Once you decide what kind of split you want then use these guidelines to build your workouts.

Do 1-3  compound exercises
Do 2-5 isolation exercises
And do 1-2 exercises per muscle group

You really don't need a ton more than that once you add in the rep schemes from above. Usually 2-5 sets per exercise is plenty. One thing I often see sf people doing way more volume per muscle group than they need to. You don't need 5 exercises for chest and another 6 for triceps to grow and more is not better.

Hopefully these guidelines can help you build a good workout and let you run a successful bulk. If you cutting then save this for the winter and also stay tuned until tomorrow when I get into the details on how to cut successfully. Finally, I'm still accepting a couple more people for my workout test group. If you're interested in working with me for free for a month then subscribe via the pop-up and you'll get added right in

See you tomorrow

Running A Successful Bulking Phase Part 1 46/84

I'm not going to lie, bulking is way more fun than cutting. I don't think this would be news to anyone, especially because of the look on their face when I tell my weight loss clients that I'm trying to gain weight. With that being said, it's not the free-for-all that people think it is, and so many people do it way wrong. Bulking is not about eating all the food and getting as big as possible as fast as possible. That mentality is a really good way to get fat. Bulking is about gaining quality muscle mass while maintaining as much of the leanness you worked so hard for on your cut. The process should be slow, just like weight loss, and it needs to be just as well planned. In this post, I'll go over the nutrition points you need to focus on when bulking and in Part 2 I'll go over the workouts.

During a bulk, your goal should be to gain about 1 pound per week for men and closer to .5 for women. Any more than that and you are probably not gaining quite as much lean muscle as you can. Obviously, you're going to get a little bit of body fat while you're bulking but the goal is to try and keep it to a minimum while still gaining a good amount of muscle. There are a few main points that you should spend most of your time focusing on. I'll go through those as bullet points to make it easy.

Nutrition

Whether you're bulking or cutting, nutrition is going to be super important to making sure you actually make progress. Here are some basic recommendations that I live by when bulking

- Find your baseline then eat a little more. If your weight is stable right now then all you need to do is add a little more food and you'll start gaining weight. If you want to get more precise there are some macronutrient recommendations you can use.

- Aim for .8-1.0 grams of protein per pound that you weigh. Most people don't get enough protein each day and this might be all the extra calories you need to hit point 1. This mean a guy weighing 180 pound would need between 145 and 180 grams per day.

- Aim for .5-2.0 grams of carbs per pound that you weigh. Yes, I know this is a broad range but it depends on the volume and intensity of your workout for the day. On days you do workouts that are higher volume, you should eat more carbs and days you do less you should eat less cars. most workout days will be closer to .8-1.5 grams per pound. Conditioning days will be on the lower end, even if the "feel harder".

- Fill in the rest of your calories with healthy fats. If you are tracking calories and macros this will just make up the remainder if you daily calories.

- As you progress through your bulk, carbs and protein stay about the same but fat increases. There is a number of reasons for this; protein and carbs have optimal ranges that they should be consumed in but fat doesn't, and fat has the most calories per gram meaning you need to eat less to get more. Want to make this simple? Add a scoop of peanut butter to the end of each meal.

- Still focus on getting protein and veggies with each meal and spread you carbs and fats pretty evenly across your day. Make sure you still eat about 1 cup of veggies per meal, you're going to want the fiber with all the food you'll be eating.

- Make sure you're getting you intra-workout shake each workout. Not only will this help you get more calories in each day but it'll help prevent any potential muscle loss from workouts

- Get protein and fat right before bed. This will help you recover faster and prevent muscle loss when sleeping, I like to blend 2 scoops on whey with peanut butter but if you can get casein protein that will be much better.

- Once you stop gaining weight, increase fat by a couple servings a day and maintain that until you stop gaining again.

- Just like cutting, you'll need to take a maintenance phase about every 3 months to get your body used to your new weight. If you don't you'll quickly lose the weight you worked so hard to put on.

If you can get good at these things and combine them with the workout blueprint I'll be posting tomorrow then you're definitely going to have a successful bulk. Remember to take is slow and enjoy the process, don't just try to rush to the end. Finally, if you want to see what it's like to work with me for totally free then subscribe here and you can join the group of workout testers that I'll be starting with this Monday. You can read about the workout HERE and see the post I but up about it on Facebook HERE. Anyone is free to join so let me know!

See you tomorrow!

Facebook: Greg Herceg - Personal Trainer
Instagram: @Greg.the.Trainer
Email: gsherceg@gmail.com

Should You Try To Bulk Or Cut? 45/84

One of the first things I talk to everyone about when we first meet is their goals. Some people are very clear on what they need, because either they know they need to lose a significant amount of weight or they are already pretty lean. Although a lot of people fall into that, there are a ton of people who are conflicted and don't know which way to go.

Some people are already kind of skinny or kind of lean, but still want to get bigger and have bigger muscles. They may have some muscle already, but also still have some extra body fat. So for those people the question can arise of "which one do I tackle first?" Do you start with bulking and trying to get bigger? Or do you lose that extra bit of fat first? Let's figure it out.

The main question you need to ask is "How lean are you already?' There are a number of ways to figure this out but usually the best for the average person is a skinfold pinch test of some kind of bio-electrical impedance like InBody. If you have access to a Bod Pod, hydrostatic weighing or Dexa Scan those would be better but not everyone will have that option.

Once you know your body fat you can decide which way to go.  If you're a guy, I would recommend getting down to 10-12% body fat and for women you probably want to be under about 20% or less. Until you get to be this lean, you shouldn't worry about bulking at all. There are a couple reasons for this

For one, you're going to look more muscular or more toned when you get leaner. It sounds kinda weird but as you lose that extra body fat the muscles you already have are going to be more visible and you're going to look like you've added muscle. Definite bonus. Combine this with the small amount of muscle you can add in a cut and some people might just be good there.

Second, you're body works better when you're lean. A big part of that is attributed to hormones.  When you have less fat on your body, your insulin sensitivity is better (your ability to tolerate carbs), and you have better amounts of testosterone, growth hormones, and estrogen. If those things are out of wack (like when you're overweight) trying to add muscle won't work out too well and you'll probably end up gaining just as much fat as muscle.

When you're lean, it's easier to add muscle to your frame without adding too much fat. You'll probably still add a little but nothing too bad (if you're doing it right). If you have too much fat when you start, way too much of the weight you add is going to be fat and not muscle. This goes back to the hormones I mentioned and is obviously no good.

So the biggest question to ask yourself is how lean you are already. If your body fat is too high then cut first. If you're pretty lean already, you can start to add some quality mass. For my next few posts l detail how to run a successful cut and how to run a successful bulk. Once you decide which goal to work for, you'll have a good blueprint to follow to get there. If you still feel like you need more help then please reach out. I help people change their lives every day and I would love to help you too!

See you tomorrow!

Training Every Day for Gains 41/84

This is an interesting topic that hasn't come into the spotlight until recently. If you have been following along with me for a bit, you'll see that I have posted in the past about how I think some people train way too often and that they think that more is better. I've posted about how training too much can actually hurt progress in the long run and that training less frequently may be a better option. I've even cut my own training down to only 3 or 3.5 days of lifting per week. Although I feel that this has been working really well for me recently, this entire conversation all comes back to the "do what works best for you" principle that I preach more often than anything. This is where training every single day can actually be pretty beneficial for a lot of people. In this post, I want to get into how to train every day, what the benefits can be, and who could really benefit from this. Then, tomorrow, at the half way point of my promised 84 straight days of posting, I'm going to write up a free workout, based on this plan, that you guys will have access to.

So why the change of heart? After talking so much about training less, why am I now saying that it might be better for some people to train even more? Like I said in the intro, you need to find what's going to work best for you and hammer that. I'm not necessarily changing my opinion, just giving you more options. If it is better for you and your schedule to make it a habit of getting to the gym every day, at the same time, and running through a quick workout, then do that! The first time I was ever exposed to a workout like this was from a book called "Easy Strength" co-authored by Dan John and Pavel about 5 years ago. This workout was essentially doing the same 5 exercises every single day with next to no volume and almost no weight. Then slowly, almost immeasurably, increasing the volume each week until the point where you're way stronger than you were at the beginning. It's a super weird concept but apparently it works, especially since those two are two of the more established strength coaches in the world. More recently, one of my favorite coaches, Jason Ferruggia, discussed in a podcast about how he tried this for 3 months with great success. That's really were I got the idea to do this because I started thinking about the clients that I already work with that could benefit from it.


The biggest argument for training less often is that less volume is going to allow you to make sure that you're recovering super well from each workout. So what if you can take a 3 day a week workout, cut each day in half, and make it a 6 day a week workout? What if you take the exact same volume you did in 3 days and just do it over 6 days? Yes, your workouts would be shorter, probably around half the time, but that's really the point. And that's exactly what I plan to do. I started out with a workout that I would normally program for 3 days a week and I cut it in half so that each workout could be done in a short time each day. The total amount of work you do each day will be low, probably way lower than any of you are used to. But if you feel like this is something that can be beneficial for you then I encourage you to try it.

The biggest benefit of a workout like this the ability to build a habit around exercise. If you get used to going to the gym at the same time every day and just make it part of your daily routine, then it will be easier to make it a habit and make going to the gym something that you actually do. Although you're not doing that much each day, during the week you're still getting the same total volume that you would be getting if you were doing 3 longer workouts during the week. This mean that, not only will you not miss out on any strength gains, but you actually may get stronger because of it. And since the volume is so low each day, you don't need to worry about being able to recover from day today. Sure, the first week you may be a little sore, but you'll adjust and be able to make a good habit of it. In the long term, since you'll be able to make it to the gym so regularly, you may actually start to see some progress that you've been missing out on for years.

There are a few different types of people that this can be beneficial for so hopefully you can fit into one of these. A high frequency workout like this is great for people who have a hard time with sticking with the gym. Especially if they are also a person who loves to run their lives off of a routine. Having the same work hours each day and working off of the same schedule each day is going to be the perfect placement to add in a quick 20-30 minute workout each day. Get in, get out, get it done, and go back to work (or go eat). Something like a lunch break is a great place to add a quick workout like this. You can also add it in super quick before or after you go to work. On the other hand, if you're someone who has a different day to day schedule, or doesn't have trouble getting to the gym, you may not need to worry about a workout like this. Although it still can be beneficial if you want to try it.

So I'm going to cut it short there because I'll explain the rest tomorrow when I post the workout. But here's the trick, the only people who will receive the workout of my subscribers. So if you're already subscribed to this blog then great! You'll get a fresh new workout in your email tomorrow. But if you're not yet subscribed then make sure to do that! You can do it via the pop-up window on here. Also, when you subscribe, you'll get a copy of the nutrition plan I use with my clients as well as a couple sweet infographics about my favorite muscle building and fat loss tips (seriously they're super cool). So don't wait! Subscribe now and get a bunch of free stuff, plus a new workout tomorrow and more free stuff in the future.

See you tomorrow!

Facebook: Greg Herceg - Personal Trainer
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Email: gsherceg@gmail.com

Increase Gains With This Shake 36/84

There really aren't very many true "secrets" in the fitness industry. I don't care what magazines or the internet tells you, there's only a few basic things that you need to get really good at to get and maintain the body and health that you want. That being said, the closet thing I have to a secret that I tell my clients about is an intra-workout shake. This shake is a combination of carbs and protein that you sip on during your workout then finish once your done. In my opinion, this is extremely important and anyone should use whether you're trying to build muscle or lose fat.

Intra-workout shakes are something that I've been messing with since undergrad at Ball State. A professor mentioned during that class protein and carbs together can results in better muscle and strength gains than either one on their own. At this point, I started adding Gatorade to my protein powder and I've pretty much never looked back.

The reason that adding carbs to your protein works so well is because of that little hormone called insulin. Whenever you consume carbs, insulin is released to shuttle the carbs to where the body needs them. This could be muscle or it could be fat. During and after your works out, insulin will shuttle much, much more of it into starving muscles. So here's the trick, the insulin doesn't just take the carbs with it. If you have protein waiting there as well, the insulin will shuttle both of them into the muscle super quick. This means that your muscles are never at a loss for protein and you have it waiting right there when it needs it to heal itself and make the muscle bigger. This will also guarantee that you prevent any muscle loss during exercise, which is why it's just as important during a Cut as it is during a Mass.

At this point, some people may be asking about BCAAs and thinking that they can do the same. People usually use BCAAs for that same reason, to prevent muscle loss and make sure you have amino acids floating around waiting to be used. There are a couple reasons why I don't like this when compared to protein and carbs. One reason is that there are no carbs to release insulin and increase absorption rate. This makes it less effective for recovery than when you do have carbs. The second reason is more on personal preference, I would rather spend less money on whey protein, which includes all of the BCAAs in it, then spend more money on just a BCAAs supplement.  All in all, I'm not a huge fan or BCAAs and think they're one of the more overrated supplements on the market. Right now, the major data says they results in around a 1-3% benefit over the span on the year. For most people, I don't think that's worth the cash.

Personally, my shake went through different iterations over the years, but for the last year and a half it's been about the same. It started with a scoop of protein with a bottle of Gatorade, then when to one scoop of protein with a carb supplement from 1st Phorm, and how has become 2 scoops of protein with 1-2 scoops of Gatorade powder. This latest shake is a result of the recommendations from Renaissance Periodization from my I got my first template from them. Like I said, I have been doing this for about a year and a half and I swear by it now. You can use any powder that has sugar in it like Gatorade, Tang, Nesquik, a dextrose supplement, or whatever else you want. Now this part is important... DON'T WORRY THAT THIS IS MADE WITH SUGAR, THAT IS THE ENTIRE POINT! You need the sugar to create the best insulin response, and not only will this not make you fat and kill you, it will make you bigger, stronger, and healthier.

Try adding this to your routine and I think you'll be surprised. For women, start with 1 scoop of protein and 1/2-1 scoop of Gatorade. For men, do 1-2 scoops of protein with 1-2 scoops of Gatorade. I usually do 1 scoop during a Cut and 2 scoops during a Mass. Sip 1/2 of the shake during your workout then drink the other 1/2 once your done!

Top Body Weight Exercises For Each Muscle Group 34/84

A couple weeks ago,  I did a post on the top exercise that I like to use for each muscle group. Today, I'm going to expand on that and  do one specifically for body weight only exercises. There will still be some equipment necessary for some of them but that really just comes down to a pull-up bar and some kind of suspension strap like a TRX or rings. Sine it's friday night we'll just get right into it!

Neck

Neck bridges will be your best bet for this one from a body weight perspective. Note that that these are more advanced exercises and you should have some prior neck training under your belt before you try these. They can be pretty dangerous and there are better neck training options, but for a body weight exercise it's an option. I do these from the front and from the back and never, ever go to failure.

Shoulders

Handstand holds and handstand pushups are the best bodyweight shoulder builders. Start with isometric handstand holds against a wall before you try to do pushups and just working on holding it for an extended time. Unless you are a competitive CrossFit athlete, you have absolutely no use for kipping handstand pushups so don't even worry about those. That even goes for people who workout at CrossFit gyms but don't plan on competing. Build up you strength and don't try to progress too fast.

Chest

The ring pushup is still my pick for this one. The rings adds an extra stability factor which lights your pecs up and the rings also increase the potential range of motion to get a huge stretch in the pec. Just be careful not to go too low and put too much stress on the shoulder joint. Just like any exercise, focus in squeezing the muscles that you're trying to work the whole time. If you want to add even more tension, turn your palms forward at the top of the pushup.

Back

I'm gonna go with 2 here; pull-ups for vertical pulling and an inverted row for horizontal pulling. Obviously, the inverted row will be much easier for most people and it is important to build up proficiency in those before you attempt pullups. The rows can be done on a bar, smith machine, rings, or TRX Straps. If you want a good progression to help you get your first pullup you can look HERE

Biceps

We're limited here but my favorite is the TRX curl. Stand facing the TRX with your arms out in front of you. Keep your elbows high as you curl your hands up towards your face. Having your arms out in front of you will give you a great contraction in the bicep and you'll really feel these if you do them right, Be sure not to let your elbows drop as you go through the motion.

Triceps

You can get a ton of stimulus in your triceps withthe HSPUs and Ring Pushups but if you want more isolation then a TRX tricep extension is a good one to try. Start face down with the handles in front of you like a pushup position. Instead of bringing your hands down to your chest, let your arms come over your head and bend at the elbow. Use you triceps to pull you back up into the starting position.

Abs

I love leg raises! They allow you to work the abs and obliques like situp and other trunk flexion exercises but I like them better because you spine doesn't actually move. You can do these lying flat, in an ab tower, or hanging from a bar. I'll also add side planks to the mix here because I think they're an amazing exercise to build everything on your lateral chains like shoulders, lats, obliques, and hips.

Quads

My go-to lately has been the front foot elevated split squat. It give you all of the benefits of a rear foot elevated one but people seem to have an easier time with the balance here. You only need to raise your front foot up about six inches to really feel the stretch and work. Make sure you touch your back knee all the way to the ground each rep

Hamstrings

Two here as well; the TRX hamstring curl and the single leg RDL. I did one for knee flexion and one for hip extension to give you a couple options. You can also substitute the TRX for an exercise ball and get just as good of a stimulus. There is a good progression here that you can learn and I'll do a video on it pretty soon that will take you from the easiest to the hardest versions of this exercise.

When doing the single leg RDL, make sure not to let you back hip raise (that would be the leg that is going back). Keep your hips square and you'll really feel your glutes light up as well. The motion is the same as a regular RDL where you keep your knees soft and focus on pushing your hips backwards

Glutes

Glute bridges are where it's at here. For bodyweight you'll want to do higher reps to still get a good burn but these are a great butt builder when you add a barbell or band. Do them on one leg to increase difficulty. You can also raise your shoulders up onto a box to increase the range of motion.

Calves

Sprinting wins here. Calves raises aren't my favorite but have their place. If you really want to light you calves up with no added weight then sprint you butt up a hill and I guarantee you feel it tomorrow!

I'm planning on writing up a bodyweight only program to give to you guys but this one is only for subscribers. Follow the pop-up prompt and join the Facebook group to get access to this program! Finally, My Free Fat Loss and Free Muscle Gaining Tips are done! And I have to say that they're looking pretty awesome. Those will be free to anyone who subscribes here. Subscribing will also let you join the private Facebook group that will give you the ability to see this new program. This group will allow for much more engagement with each other than my Facebook page so I can make sure you guys are getting all of the info you need.

See you tomorrow!

Facebook: Greg Herceg - Personal Trainer
Instagram: @Greg.the.Trainer
Email: gsherceg@gmail.com

My Go-To Squat Progression 32/84

This is kind of a part 2 from yesterday's post about squat variations and progressions for people with knee problems. I wanted to go more in depth about the actually progression that I use when I start with new people to get them from 0 to squatting like a pro.

For most people, this will begin with the progression that I outlined yesterday of squatting onto a box, tapping the box, then squatting without the box. This brings us to a point where I feel that someone can sit down into a squat with enough competency to start to add some weight. Once I feel they are ready, I always start with a Goblet Squat, which is where you squat while holding a dumbbell or kettlebell at chest height. I do this for a number of reason; the weight can start super low if i need it to, there are easy increases and decreases with  5 pound dumbbell jumps, and more importantly this squat is a front-loaded squat. That means that the extra weight is on the front of the body, which allows the person to sit slightly deeper into the squat than if it is back-loaded like a barbell back squat. This promotes better squat technique and allows for a greater range of motion. We stick with a goblet squat for a long time with a lot of my clients. We have dumbbells up to 125 pounds so theoretically I could keep them there until they are strong enough to handle that, but I usually go more off of how good their squat looks.

Once a client can go a picture perfect Goblet Squat with at least 45 pounds then I start to work them into doing front squats. I go to the front squat next because it too is a front loaded exercise (duh) meaning that we can still sit lower and be more upright. For most, this means we start front squats with an  arms crossed grip. The reason I do this is because a traditional front rack grip requires upper body mobility that most people don't have. Obviously, up until this point I have been drilling front rack mobility with them, but some people will still look better with a arms crossed grip. I will maintain this grip for as long as we need to until the mobility in the front rack is good enough that we can switch over. I prefer the traditional front rack because it allows you to move more weight and can lead us into cleans if the client wants to.

It's not until the person can do a near perfect front squat that we even start to work on back squats. Because back squats are a back loaded exercise, it requires more lower body mobility to be able to sit all the way down into the bottom of a squat. I want to make sure that we can build up the mobility for a long time so we don't have to worry about squat depth. Think about it this way, most people can take a dumbbell and squat down into a nice deep squat, but as soon as you put the bar on their back, their form goes to crap and they can't hit depth nearly as well. Don't get me wrong, I love back squats, but I just don't think they are something we need to jump right into and there are better exercises we can do with people who are just starting out.

At this point, I may start to introduce Overhead Squats into the equation because they require (more so than any other exercise) a tremendous amount of full body mobility. It's a long process but now that I am no longer coaching CrossFit athletes there's not a ton of need for my clients to be able to overhead squat.

In tomorrows post, I'll go into more detail on the progression of exercises I take once squatting without a box has been achieved. Finally, My Free Fat Loss and Free Muscle Gaining Tips are done! And I have to say that they're looking pretty awesome and I'll be emailing the to all of my subscribers soon. Those will be free to anyone who subscribes here. Right now you'll also get a free copy of the Nutrition Template that I use for myself and my clients. Subscribing will also let you join the private Facebook group that I just opened (I fixed the link). This group will allow for much more engagement with each other than my Facebook page so I can make sure you guys are getting all of the info you need.

See you tomorrow!

Facebook: Greg Herceg - Personal Trainer
Instagram: @Greg.the.Trainer
Email: gsherceg@gmail.com

Squats Don't Hurt Your Knees, The Way You Squat Does 31/84

I see it all the time, I'm sitting down with a new member and they tell me that they have knee problems. This inevitably leads to them telling me that they can't do squats because of this fact. Although I don't automatically disagree with them, the first question I ask if if they can stand up from the chair they're sitting in. 95% of the time they do it just fine, they may not stand up with perfect squat form, but they do it and it doesn't hurt. Once I make them aware of this, they are much more open to listening to what I have to say about it. There are other times that, once we go to the workout floor, I ask them to squat and it is just atrocious. I watch them do one and I'm like "No wonder that hurts!" I give them a few basic ques and the pain seem to disappear.

No, not everyone can do a perfect body weight squat without assistance, but just about everyone can do a squat of some sort. This could be one of many different variations but I can almost guarantee that one of them will feel just fine. The basic, perfect, air squat should be a goal for anyone, but how do you get there? Let's talk quick about a few different variations that I work on people with.

Outside of a rare judgment call, I make every person show me how to squat on to a box before we ever try to do one without. This goes back to my original point that just about anyone can stand up from a chair. The first variation of a box squat is exactly that; you sit down, let your weight go onto the box with a slight rock back, then move your weight back forward and stand back up. Simple. This is a variation that pretty much every person can do. The only thing you need to mess with is the height on the box. If someone has knee pain, start the box super high then lower it as little as possible. Once you get to the point of pain, go slightly higher and do reps there. Stick here until these reps get pretty easy then try to lower the box over time. You'll be surprised how knee pain starts to go away once leg strength is increased. You also need to make sure basic squat technique is maintained. I don't need to go into super detail in this post but the basics are to keep your chest up, whole foot on the ground, and knees tracking over the toes through the movement, going as low as you can while maintaining a neutral spine.

The other adjustment you can make to this squat is to widen the feet out into a sumo stance. This decreases the total amount of flexion that the knee actually goes through. Less flexion in the joint usually means less pain. It's another option you can use to build up strength while you try to increase range of motion. As you progress, try to start bringing the feet slightly closer until your at the basic shoulder-width stance, or whatever is most comfortable with you.

Once you have that down, we remove the "rocking back" portion and maintain tension on the legs the whole time. Now, you sit back, tap the box with your butt, then stand back up. Do this at a height that you can maintain pain free and try to lower the box height over time. Once you can do this onto a box that lets you squat to parallel, you can being working without the box. At this point, training with squat without the box (most of the time), is going to be the best thing to try and increase whole body strength.

In tomorrows post, I'll go into more detail on the progression of exercises I take once squatting without a box has been achieved. Finally, My Free Fat Loss and Free Muscle Gaining Tips are done! And I have to say that they're looking pretty awesome and I'll be emailing the to all of my subscribers soon. Those will be free to anyone who subscribes here. Right now you'll also get a free copy of the Nutrition Template that I use for myself and my clients. Subscribing will also let you join the private Facebook group that I just opened (I fixed the link). This group will allow for much more engagement with each other than my Facebook page so I can make sure you guys are getting all of the info you need.

See you tomorrow!

Facebook: Greg Herceg - Personal Trainer
Instagram: @Greg.the.Trainer
Email: gsherceg@gmail.com

High Bar vs Low Bar Squatting: Guest Post from Ryan 16/84

                                                

Today’s post is going to be a guest post from my friend Ryan LaCount. Ryan is a fellow trainer at Xperience Fitness and has been working there for year, establishing himself as one of the most knowledgeable trainers at the club. Ryan has a B.S. from UW-River Falls where he majored in Biology with a Biomedical Science emphasis.  He also holds a CrossFit Level 1 Certification, is a Certified Personal Trainer, and is currently working toward his CSCS and CES through NASM. Ryan also back squatted 502 pounds at a body weight of 197 and has one of the coolest tattoos ever.

Ryan was nice enough to write a post for me and he will be discussing high bar vs. low bar back squats, the difference between the two, the mechanical advantages/disadvantages, and some corrections you can make to improve your back squat.

”Let me start by stating, when it comes to weight training, always keep an open mind, but do what feels and works best for you.  Everyone is different, but the mechanical advantages of different form can affect your ability to move weight.  There are many great videos covering the topics of form, positioning, and the effect on weight training.  One I recommend watching is “Squats part 1: Fold-ability and proportions” by Tom Purvis.  This video does a great job showing different variations of the human body and how it can affect weight and movement patterns.

The difference between High bar and Low bar is this: High bar places the load/bar on the top of the traps while low bar placement is generally resting on the rear delts.  High bar squatting puts you in a more vertical position as the bar is over the center of your foot while low bar puts the weight behind the center of your foot, forcing you to lean slightly forward to balance.  I can get into the mechanics of foot placement and movement in a later discussion where I can touch on the topics of ankle, hip, and knee mobility and how to correct any movement issues.

Some of the deciding factors when it comes to a squat are; dorsiflexion of the feet, length of your tibia (or floor to knee length), length of your femur, torso length, and overall mobility.  If you have mobility issues with your ankles, hips, or knees squatting will be difficult.  If this is the case I would recommend adding squat therapy, wall squats, banded hip distraction, and banded ankle work to your regiment.  No bar placement in the world will help if you are too tight to hit depth and activate the musculature needed. 

So which is better?  It depends on what you want to do, but I would lean toward low bar.  The type of weight training you pursue is going to be based on your overall goal, whether that is muscular development, strength, or endurance training.   So why low bar?

With low bar the load is further down the back, which generally means that your knees won’t track as far forward.  Low bar is also better for individuals with longer torso length compared to lower body length and allows more of the bar to contact the back thus giving some individuals more control.  This can also be a great variation on squat to help you lift more weight.  Generally people can lift 5-10% more with low bar vs. high bar.  This is due to the lever being reduced between the weight, your hips, and knees and causes reduced torque needed to overcome the resistance.  Think about torque like this; take a 5lb weight and hold it at arm’s length away from your body.  The torque in this instance is the rotational stress on the shoulder.  Now take that same weight and put it on your forearm or elbow.  Which would you be able to hold longer?  Which instance would cause less torque on your shoulder?  In this case moving the weight closer to your shoulder is like doing a low bar squat.  You are decreasing the lever and torque needed to move the weight which will potentially give you the option to lift more. So, if your goal is to move more weight, then Low Bar back squat is a tool you should definitely utilize in your training.”

If you guys have further questions or what to get in contact with Ryan you can find him in these different ways

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryan.lacount

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanla_count/?hl=en

Email: RyanL@MyXperienceFitness.com

Also, thanks for sticking with me for so long. I realize posting every day is a bit obnoxious but I promise that there is a point. Hopefully you guys are getting some good information out of this and I appreciate everyone who’s been tuning in! Don't forget, if you want to be the first to hear about new posts, new programs, and get discounts on paid services, make sure to leave your email in the space above and join my Newsletter list! The list is growing rapidly so don't miss out!You'll also receive a free PDF cheat sheet of my Top Muscle Building and Top Fat Loss Tips when you join!

See you tomorrow!

Facebook: Greg Herceg - Personal Trainer
Instagram: @Greg.the.Trainer
Email: gsherceg@gmail.com