One of the most valuable things I have ever heard came from Mike Boyle a few years ago. Mike talked of using a 'filter' when dealing with all the $hit out in the world of the world-wide-web. I talk about the importance of this filter every single time I talk to any audience regardless of my topic as I really believe that people need to take a VERY subjective look at the info floating around out there.
Case in point: I was recently sent some links to a blog where I was repeatedly bashed about everything from my inability to teach athletes proper technique to my improper use of training tools, to my crappy YouTube vids etc. This person (who has seemingly devoted a decent portion of his life on stalking err, I mean following me) went so far as to download my vids and then post still frames (albeit pretty strategically)to show how bad the technique was on some of my athletes. Now anyone who has ever went frame by frame on a vid clip understands that you can pick a random frame that might look downright funky in an otherwise decent clip of a lift. The sinister part is to pick and choose your frames to make your 'point' (whatever that is...). In fact, in one particular posting, this individual had 3 seemingly progressive pics from a clip of a hang clean...the problem is that the 'damning' pic was completely out of sequence, it was not even in the same repetition! Why not just post the entire vid? Anyway, let's go back to my original point...the FILTER. It's easy to play devil's advocate, poke at other real practitioners etc. when this is all you do. People like this individual, who's name I won't mention since I don't want his blog readership to get into the double digits just yet, are often folks who don't train anyone at all. They simply regurgitate information from their Exercise Physiology textbooks or their copy of Supertraining. No real life experience, no clients who can actually attest their ability or effectiveness... basically no place ever talking about folks like myself and many others who make their living in this field. Putting it bluntly....they are fakes disguising themselves as 'experts'. My question is expert of WHAT? Of video editing? Of citing research? Of regurgitating someone Else's information? Get in a weightroom and TRAIN somebody already. How do you completely $hit on something I do with the Olympic lifts then follow up with "well, I'm not an expert on the Oly lifts but...". WTF?
I had previously posted about this phenomena....the Internet guru/blogger/forum poster etc. etc. I was sort of hoping that times had changed a bit but considering that cockroaches have survived more than 300 million years.....sigh.
Friday, December 26, 2008
The internet and its self-proclaimed experts...
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The "Advanced" Spiderman Push-up....
So I was talking to another trainer the other day and the 'spiderman push-up' came up. When this trainer demonstrated the exercise for me, it looked nothing like the one that I use...nothing like the ones my demented Scottish friend Alwyn Cosgrove had taught me a while back. "DAMN!" I said to myself, "THIS is why I have always freaked out when people tell me that spiderman push-ups are easy!". For the record, AC's version KICKS ASS! :-)
Here's what most folks think a spiderman push-up looks like....Yawn.
Here's what the real deal looks like....GIDDY YUP and give it a go folks!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Kevin Larrabee's FITCAST
Hey folks, you've probably heard of the FITCAST online but you might not have seen what's going on over there these days. My friend Kevin Larrabee has got things really bumping on his fitness and nutrition podcast. He has great guests and topics and even has a new voicemail question feature! I've done a couple of FITCAST interviews and had a great time on Kevin's show. Be sure to check out the great new special offer going on over there ASAP!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
I'm at a loss for words.....
Wow, DCF.....Dwarf Cage Fighting. I think the crate I used to keep my dog in was about this size....
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The Sled Dawg -
Been having just an amazing time with the 4 sled Dawgs that I got from Perform Better a while back.....check out some of the stuff our athletes have gotten into! One of the best investments I have made in years....check out Perform Better for ALL of your conditioning needs.
Our softball girls doing some rope pulling (on wet grass to boot!)
Bball players doing some lateral carioca dragging....
Good old fashioned sled pushing...
Some backward drags....
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Rope Training....
Got some great ideas using our manila rope with our athletes. Here is a clip from Anthony Diluglio's "Punch Gym" workouts using VERY simple rope battling drills. If you've never done anything with ropes this will look pretty easy to you......take my word, it's NOT. BTW, Anthony is a kick ass guy and his workouts are NO JOKE...I guarantee a heart rate check on these kids would be enlightening to say the least!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
I'm Baaaaaaaaack!
I know, I know...I'm the world's WORST blogger. Hey, what can I say? I'm a busy guy! Anyway, I saw this on the internet today and figured this would be the perfect 1st post after a LONG hiatus! BTW, can we all stop using the phrase "People are smarter than that!". Guess what folks, THEY'RE NOT.
Couple of observations:
- How in the hell does it take so long for this guy to get stabilized on top of the ball?
- Is this guy actually SPOTTING this brainiac?
- I would throw this guy out of my gym if he threw DB's like this genious
- Even the observing chick decides that this is too ridiculous to watch anymore....
Enjoy.....
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
No Shortcuts...if you want to be good, you gotta practice!
Todd Wright from The University of Texas showed this clip during his lecture at the Perform Better Summit in Long Beach this past weekend. Sometimes people are too quick to lable someone as a 'natural' talent. This type of stuff fires me up and makes me want to be a better coach!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Warpspeed Fat loss....too good to be true?!
So a while back I promoted the Warpspeed Fat loss program created by my good friends Alwyn Cosgrove and Mike Roussell (author of the nutrition chapter in my book). On my web forum folks have been discussion their experiences on this extreme fat loss program. I think the most important thing to remember is that this program is a brutal fat loss program for FAST FAT LOSS. I have read comments like "Can I continue on this program forever?" or "Does this diet work with the Men's Health Power Training program?" etc. The answer is no.....this is a get in - get out kick ass program that will result in you losing fat fast. Is it too good to be true? Uh no. Why do I say this? Well, it will kick your ass...you will put in the work to say the least BUT you will lose that fat you always wanted to lose. Sales of Warpspeed Fat loss have been booming and the feedback has been nothing short of amazing.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Interval tracks on your IPod!
Okay, so I met a great guy named BJ Gaddour at the Chicago Perform Better 3-day summit. BJ has a company called workoutmuse....they create custom MP3 tracks to drive your entire workout! Amazing stuff guys....BJ and Topher Farrell create some incredible tracks with hard driving music and awesome recovery beats. PLEASE check them out....I have had them create custom tabata tracks along with numerous other cardio programs that are 100% dummy proof. Just put on the headphones, press play, and get your butt KICKED. Look for an incredible summer bonus package with workoutmuse and myself putting together various tracks, bonus e-book bonuses, and much more!
BJ and Topher are in the process of creating custom tracks for my CHAOS sport-speed training. These tracks will allow you to, for the first time, train CHAOS by yourself with verbal criven cues and motivating music beats!
Check out workoutmuse TODAY...you will be amazed at the quality of the tracks....I use them every single day!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Vegas workout.....
I sorta dig Las Vegas.....okay, okay, I LOVE Vegas! We've all heard that saying "What happens in Vegas STAYS in Vegas" right? Well, not this time my friends....I wanted to tell everyone about a very cool, effective, and butt kicking workout that my good friend Matt Durant and I cranked out last weekend in a semi-hungover haze. First off our training goals in Vegas are quite simple and normally follow this 5-step process....
#1 Get your butt up in the morning and to the weight room
#2 Burn as many calories as you can in a short period of time
#3 Feel good about completing this session
#4 Party-hearty
#5 Repeat.....
Well, the partying part normally takes care of itself.....because of this, we NEED to be diligent about getting some training in. Anyway, my boy Matty came up with this little number...try this on for size....
-Superset #1 - Db 1-arm hang snatch 3 x 5, Free Motion cable push-pull rotation 3 x 10
-Superset #2 - DB Flat bench, Free Motion full-body cable wood chop
-Tri-set #1 - Pull-ups, 15lb. med ball burpees with jump, 1 min. eliptical sprint on highest incline Using a 10-8-6-4-2 set progression but keeping the eliptical sprint at 1 min.
-Countdown #1 - Lunge variation + push-up variations using a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 progression, alternating exercises
Short, sweet, butt-kicking...what more could you ask for in Sin City?! After that we hit the spa for some relaxation then off to business as usual in the best little city on the planet!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Things that make you go "Hmmmmm"....
The funny thing is that if you read the review, it's actually pretty positive. The fact that your home gym set-up makes it difficult/impossible to perform my workouts warrants a 2-star rating? Sigh.......
My be better suited for some..., April 20, 2008
By ________________
I try not to review items that I do not actually own, however I have done a lot of research on the book (including forum chats with the author and others on the program) and it became clear that this workout, while very effective, is very hard to do in a home gym. I was very close to buying the book. People who use this program seem to rave about it, but at the same time the program itself prevents more people from doing the program. I work out in a home gym, but I do not have one of the key pieces of equipment that is pretty essential to the program - a power rack. This is a simple, but very large piece of equipment that I do not have room for in my home gym. After spending close to $2,000 on home gym equipement (and getting very good results with that equipment) I am not willing to a) buy a gym membership, or b) replace the equipment that I am already getting good results with. This is a bit of a shame because I really like the principals and ideas that the book is founded on, as well as the ability to design your own program. Perhaps one day when I move into a bigger house and have room for a power rack and stacks of free weights, I will give this workout a shot. That being said right now this workout is not for me, but for those who have access to all of the equipment (and space... you also need higher ceilings! My basement ceiling is a bit low for some of the exercises too) you will have better luck with the program.
The awesome thing is that there are a bunch of GREAT reader follow-up comments to this review. Thanks again to all of my supporters!
Reminder folks.....less than 4 days left in my 2-DVD bonus special with the FREE coachdos.com knit beanie!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Warp Speed Fat loss is HERE!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Combination lifts -
This is one of our favorite combo lifts in our Cougar Strength Programs. This is one of our volleyball athletes performing a power shrug + hang clean + front step-up....a brutally tough combo but one that can be done with a decent amount of weight. Heather is throwing around approx. 120lbs. here.
Remember that the Combination lifting DVD that Alwyn Cosgrove and myself made is still available with the free 12-week bonus cardio-strength program download! Also, don't forget that the nearly 3 hours of footage from the 2 DVD Olympic lifting hands-on seminar / Program design set is now available as well!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Olympic Lifting Hands-on Workshop DVD set!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
A Proud day for College of the Canyons!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
9th Annual Cougar Strength & Conditioning Clinic !
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Men's Health Power Training Website!
Well, the folks at Men's Health have done it again. They have created an INCREDIBLE website for my book. EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about Power Training...all the chapters, exercises, pictures, descriptions, workouts, and videos can now be found online at the Power Training Webpage.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Men's Health Power Training - What a WILD RIDE!
I tell ya, it's been an amazing experience with this book. The feedback, the success stories, the great reviews etc. etc. etc. Seems like rather than dying down, this thing continues to grow in popularity. Take a look at some of the reviews from Amazon...they are awesome. This is one of my favorites!
Coach Dos is the Real Deal, January 19, 2008
By
biggamehunter78 - See all my reviews
Out with the old, in with what works! Coach Dos is the man. I wish I would have had this information back in the day when I was young enough to make a difference playing sports. Instead of trying to balloon up and look like a meathead, we could have actually made muscle and power where it counted. My definition of who looks tough and who is tough has changed dramatically. This won't give you fake pumped up type muscles, it will give you real powerful muscles! Anyway, I have been doing this exact program for 3 weeks and I can already tell a world of difference in my life and recreational sports performance. This program is unbelievable. It's hard work and not for the faint of heart, but if you commit, it will change your life. Very highly recommended. Way to go Coach!
Anyway, I still have the Power Training 'special offer' available, in fact, I have sweetened the pot so take a look ASAP! (MORE FREE STUFF!). In fact, I have added free bonuses to all of my DVD orders, and several of my other products!
Lastly, I have a special thread on my discussion forum where members have been posting their training progress etc. Pretty amazing results folks! Come on by!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Let's put things in perspective.....
Many of you have probably seen this lecture by Dr. Randy Pausch a professor at Carnegie Mellon University who is dying of pancreatic cancer. This isn't the actual lecture, rather, it is a portion of it that was done on the Oprah Winfrey show.
I just felt like it really hit home. I believe that we really need to enjoy and APPRECIATE our lives, our families, and our friends and live life to the fullest.....life is WAY too short. Make it a GREAT day today folks!
Here is a complete transcript of his lecture -
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/Randy/pauschlastlecturetranscript.pdf
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Power Training Workout Card Generator!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Swiss Ball Tricks
Many of you folks have seen the youtube video of this guy jumping onto and landing (successfully) on a Swiss Ball. Well, here are his outtakes....this is why only nimrods do this stuff.
Something that's NOT stupid is the Metabolic Acceleration DVD that Alwyn Cosgrove and myself just launched this week. It's got some KILLER timed sets, density training, complexes, and Tabatas....check it out!!
Monday, January 21, 2008
A Look into NBC's "The Biggest Loser"
I teach an online fitness class at my college and I get a lot of questions regarding TV weight loss shows. Most of the questions seem to come from perhaps the most popular weight loss show of all, NBC's "The Biggest Loser". The typical question goes something like this "Why do all of the contestants lose so much weight at first, then seem to taper off dramatically in their losses??"
I was reading my Friend Adam Campbell's blog the other day and I thought his post about the show was worthy of another look.....
The Biggest Loser's Weight Loss Secret
I'll try not to make it a habit to talk about NBC's THE BIGGEST LOSER, but since last night's show may have confused people, I thought I'd try to explain.
Here's the background: Contestants on this show are big people, with women weighing between 200 and 300 pounds, and men somewhere between 300 and 400. In fact, the heaviest contestant is a former college football player named TRENT whose starting weight was around 435 pounds.
Now, in the first week, contestants on the show lost a tremendous amount of weight--around 10 to 30 pounds each, depending on their starting weight. In general, the lighter they were, the less total weight they lost, while heavier people dropped more. Trent, for example, lost 29 pounds in the first week.
After watching this, I was pretty convinced they had contestants on low-carb diets because they were obviously experiencing a large amount of water loss. That is, Trent didn't lose 29 pounds of fat. He lost some fat, but he also lost a lot of water. Why? Because when carbohydrates are restricted, your carbohydrate stores--known as glycogen--are reduced. With each gram of glycogen, which is stored in your liver and muscles, you store about 3 to 4 grams of water. The result: As glycogen levels are reduced, so is water weight.
Keep in mind that the more muscle you have, the more glycogen you can store--so a 400-pound former college football player like Trent can store more glycogen than 210-pound woman who's never worked out. Thus, he's likely to lose a greater amount of water.
Also, a higher protein intake also has a bit of a diuretic effect. So that can lead to even greater water loss. What's more, the contestants were exercising vigorously, which also reduces glycogen.
Before I continue, I should point out that the show doesn't reveal what type of diets the contestants are actually eating. However, near the end of the program, they suggested that people eat a low-fat diet to lose weight, and that Subway offers great options for such an approach. This is nice product placement, but I'm not sure it gives us any insight into the diets of the contestants.
Would you get the same effect of stunning initial weight loss from a low-calorie, low-fat, high-carb diet? "Probably not, simply because protein intake would be lower and glycogen wouldn't be as depleted," says my TNT DIET coauthor, Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D. I wouldn't be suprised if they had the people on a low-carb, low-fat, high-protein diet which, in my opinion, is a pretty miserable way to eat, and not particularly healthy. (A low-carb diet, ideally, will be high in fat.) Remember, the producers of the show want amazing results, so I think we can pretty much assume they'll use dietary strategies to ensure this happens.
Still with me? Fast forward to Week 2, the episode that aired last night. This time, the weight loss of the contestants was much less astounding. It seemed to be an average of about 3 pounds, although one woman gained a pound,and another didn't lose any weight. When the contestants saw the results, they were shocked and disappointed. They all expected double-digit weight loss again. And even their trainers seemed dumbfounded, which is just odd. After all, the contestants certainly didn't lose 20 pounds of pure FAT in the first week. Nor did they simply stop losing fat the second week.
So why such a dramatic difference in results from Week 1 to Week 2. I'll let Jeff Volek explain, since he can do so far more eloquently than me:
Body weight on a daily basis can fluctuate plus or minus 3 to 4% on average. So if you take a 400-pound person, the difference between the low and high end (388 and 412 pounds) is 24 pounds.
So there's your 10 to 20 pound weight loss and, combined with the water loss, it's not inconceivable that this is happening.
It's likely that at the second weigh-in they aren't bloated, so they're at the bottom end of the 3 to 4% weight fluctuation, which makes it harder to see the big weight loss numbers.
If you watch the show, you should see much more realistic weight loss numbers from here on out. (Although they may be greater than the average person's since, right now, their only job is to lose weight, and they also may have more to lose than most.)
The lesson: Weight loss can fluctuate dramatically. However, fat loss tends to be linear. In other words, if you're sticking to a solid diet plan, the fat will be coming off at a steady rate of, say, 2 pounds a week, even if your scale shows you losing lots one week and nothing the next.
For example, if you start the TNT DIET and lose 10 or 12 pounds the first couple of weeks due to an initial reduction in glycogen, you may seem to stall on weeks 3 and 4. Don't be fooled: You probably didn't lose 12 pounds of fat the first two weeks, but you also didn't stop losing fat in weeks 3 and 4. It's just that the scale isn't necessarily providing an accurate gauge of your fat loss from week to week.
This happens all the time, and I refer to it as your "fat loss catching up to your initial weight loss." Case in point: In Jeff's studies at UConn, they may see an impressive weight loss at first, then it slows (even "stops") for a couple of weeks, and then it settles in at a couple of pounds a week. At the end of the 12-week study, when they measure study participants with DEXA--the most sophisticated body fat measurement instrument--they find that the weight loss is typically all fat. And in cases when study participants are lifting weights, fat loss is often GREATER than the weight loss because they're also building muscle. (Click HERE for an example.)
This stuff isn't magic. If your clothes are fitting better, you're losing fat--even if your scale isn't moving.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
One family, One week's worth of food !
I'm sure that many of you have seen this email circulating around these days. Don't know exactly how accurate the depictions are but if it's pretty close, it really serves to illustrate how different our world cultures can truly be! Enjoy!
Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11 Favorite foods: fish, pasta with ragu, hot dogs, frozen fish sticks
Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07 
United States: The Revis family of North Carolina Food expenditure for one week: $341.98 Favorite foods: spaghetti, potatoes, sesame chicken
Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09 Favorite foods: pizza, crab, pasta, chicken
Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27 Family recipe: Pig's knuckles with carrots, celery and parsnips
Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53 Family recipe: Okra and mutton
Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo Food expenditure for one week : $31.55 Family recipe : Potato soup with cabbage
Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03 Family recipe: Mushroom, cheese and pork
Kuwait: The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City Food expenditure for one week: 63.63 dinar or $221.45Family recipe: Chicken biryani with basmati rice
China: The Dong family of Beijing Food expenditure for one week: 1,233.76 Yuan or $155.06Favorite foods: fried shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce
United States: The Caven family of California Food expenditure for one week: $159.18Favorite foods: beef stew, berry yogurt sundae, clam chowder, ice cream
Mongolia: The Batsuuri family of Ulaanbaatar Food expenditure for one week: 41,985.85 togrogs or $40.02 Family recipe: Mutton dumplings
Great Britain: The Bainton family of Cllingbourne Ducis Food expenditure for one week: 155.54 British Pounds or $253.15 Favorite foods: avocado, mayonnaise sandwich, prawn cocktail, chocolate fudge cake with cream
Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23 Favorite foods: soup with fresh sheep meat
Friday, January 4, 2008
MH Power Training Special offer is BACK!
P.S. Alwyn Cosgrove and I are very close to the release of our Metabolic Training DVD so watch for details VERY SOON!
