Take it Off. Take it All Off.

I get the infatuation with dressing like those that you look up to.  

I really do.

For example I watch NFL games and automatically feel like throwing on some eye black, a doo-rag, wrestling sweaty dudes to the ground, ending up in a dog pile of other sweaty dudes all wrestling and writhing for a leather orb, only getting off each other when a little old dude in a prisoner outfit blows a whistle at them and throws a flag in the air.

(Side note I run a pickup football game every other Saturday out back of the bowling alley. BYOCO: Bring your own coconut oil).

Anyways...

What I meant to say is this: Just because your phys-ed teacher had to pull 95lbs off your chest before you completed one rep in the bench press test and everyone laughed and called you ‘Gimp Wrists’ for the rest of your high school life doesn’t mean that you have to wear $500 worth of gear every time that you train.

If you ever have to climb a rope make sure that you first put on protective eyewear, a belt, knee sleeves, and wrist wraps. Also make sure to look both ways before you come back down. 

Me:

“You are strong!”

“I believe in you!”

“You can do it without the knee sleeves and wrist-wraps and belt and headband!”

You:

“Whoa whoa whoa!”

“Hold your horses there Mark!”

“How do you expect me to get sick gains if my joints can’t support an adequate enough weight needed to trigger muscular hypertrophy?”

“How are people going to know that I’ve snatched 80kg if I’m not wearing a belt, and knee wraps UNDERNEATH MY KNEE SLEEVES?”

“How are people going to know that I am a dude if they can’t see my dong through my Virus tights that cost twice as much as I spent on my wife’s Christmas gift?”

Me:

Let me assure you, people will know that you are a man without having to be subjected to your cocktail weeny making an appearance any day you are planning on going below parallel in a squat...As long as you have a beard, and drive a truck, love the UFC and even though you’ve never been in a fight before you would totally kick my ass because you watched like 17 arm bar tutorials on YouTube.

When I see videos and pictures of old school guys training I notice that they don’t really care about what they are wearing, none of them are on phones, and they all train like animals, they are HUNGRY for more, and on top of all that they are freakin ‘UGE!

But Mark they were all on stero….

SHHHHH!

It’s still real to me dammit!

My point is that back in the day dudes just got strong.

They didn’t worry about what kind of pants they were wearing.

They didn’t worry about forgetting their wrist wraps at home.

They didn’t fret over which knee sleeves to purchase.

They just went out and put in the work necessary to get strong.

And if you have an injury or if a certain movement hurts when you do it maybe slapping on a glorified fitness accessory and ploughing onwards isn't the best idea. 

So, if you are worried because your strength has plateaued and you don’t know what to do, I can guarantee you that the solution is not to buy a new wardrobe or to slap on knee wraps.

Look within before you go on a shopping spree.

Are you consistently putting in the work?

Are you following one program for a long period of time or are you hopping from one to the other from week to week?

Are you fostering healthy relationships in your life and handling stress in the right way?

Are you eating enough food?

Are you sleeping enough?

Are you training with the right intensity?

This last question is the most important one as far as I am concerned.

The guys and girls who get strong are the ones who train with intensity.

That’s all there is to it.

Intensity meaning spending your time wisely in the gym.

Hitting all your sets with focus and determination.

Staying off your phone.

Bringing some desire and passion to what you are doing.

So next time you go to the gym throw on a pair of old sweatpants and a ragged t-shirt, load up a bar and put in some work.

Godspeed.

If you are interested in getting strong and looking like a guy who is strong check out my Aesthetic Lifter Program. 

I created this program for guys and girls who want to look like a weightlifter, but who may not have the right equipment to do so. 

So that means no full snatch or clean and jerk. 

You will however learn the fundamentals of those movements, while still focusing on building strength and doing a whole bunch of functional bodybuilding. 

It includes three months worth of workouts, warmups, mobility drills, and conditioning workouts. 

Check out my YouTube channel! 

Weightlifting: The "Show Me" Sport

Missouri is the ‘Show Me’ state.

It is credited to Congressman Bill Vandiver who said during a speech:

 “frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.”

Weightlifting is the ‘Show Me” sport.

You either stick the lift or you don’t.

There is no in between.

It is a sport where you can get crushed mentally and physically.

Day after day the voice in your head whispers “show me”

Day after day others watching your struggle say “show me”

Especially when it comes to competing.

Oh you’ve been training hard, and eating right?

Get on the platform and show me.

Really? You hit some big numbers in training?

Get on the platform and show me.

You must be the master of all the areas of training that you can control.

And this includes your mental state.

You must visualize making lifts, and making lifts in competition.

You must develop mantras that you repeat to yourself before you grab the bar.

You must surround yourself with people who provide positive energy.

This is the beauty of weightlifting.

It is a portrait of cultivating a life that is conducive to building strength and movement mastery.

All the work that you have put into it is revealed the moment you step onto the platform.

However, sometimes the result is not favourable despite your best efforts.

Sometimes you just have a bad day.

In that case the wonderful thing is that just stepping on the platform in and of itself is a victory.

Just putting in the hard work is a victory.

Just committing yourself to the task is a victory.

Just being brave enough to hear that voice say “Show me” day after day.

And then being brave enough to say back “Just watch me”.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 If you are into getting super toned and/or getting super jacked check out the Total Transformation Package

We will help you determine your WHY and just as importantly HOW you are going to get it done.

You will have access to either a Fat-Loss or a Muscle-Gain training program, a meal plan specific to your needs, a Facebook Group in which you can interact with us and your fellow transformers, a full exercise database, and much much more!

So click here to learn more and if you know of anyone who could use some help this New Year please share it with them!

If You Have a New Years Resolution Do This

My good buddy Abrar just reminded me today of a wonderful quote by the one and only Stephen Covey:

“If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.”

The ladder that Covey is alluding to represents the action that you are taking to achieve your goals.

If you are taking action without first visualizing what you want your end goal to be then you may be accomplishing things that you don’t want or need to be doing at all.

You need to begin with the end in mind.

What that means is that you have to set your goals and ensure that they line up with your personal mission.

What your personal mission is will be the topic of another post, but for now your just need to understand that when you set New Years goals for yourself first take some time to decide WHY you want the goals that you are setting and HOW you are going to achieve them.

This is the time of year when people are thinking things like:

“New Year, New Me…I should totally post that on instagram”

and

“You know what? I think it’s finally time I looked like Hugh Jackman at the peak of his steroid use.”

and

“You know what? It’s time to cut down on Ben n’ Jerry’s n’ Netflix Nights to 4 times per week”

I applaud all you who are making New Year changes.

It is an amazing time of year to make a shift in your life.

But like I said first determine WHY you are committing to your new goals.

Then determine HOW you are going to achieve them.

One of the reasons that there are so many people with good intentions who do not stick with their new years resolutions is that they do not take the time for the WHY and the HOW.

They have their ladder, but they have neglected to set it up on the right wall.

Using weight loss/muscle gain as an example they may have good goals for themselves, but if they don’t know HOW to reach those goals they will quickly lose motivation.

If they don’t know WHY they are doing what they are doing and a wrench get’s thrown into their plans they will quickly lose motivation and quit.

If they don’t have people around them who can support them in their mission to better themselves they will quickly lose motivation and quit.

So with that being said you may be wondering how you can achieve your fitness goals this New Year.

Thankfully Julie and I have created a program to help you stick to your plans of losing weight or gaining muscle this new year.

So if you are into getting super toned and/or getting super jacked check out the Total Transformation Package

It has been specifically designed to help you put your ladder on the right wall.

We will help you determine your WHY and just as importantly HOW you are going to get it done.

You will have access to either a Fat-Loss or a Muscle-Gain training program, a meal plan specific to your needs, a Facebook Group in which you can interact with us and your fellow transformers, a full exercise database, and much much more!

So click here to learn more and if you know of anyone who could use some help this New Year please share it with them!

Please Stop Doing This Exercise

I get it.

You are an expert when it comes to working out.

You gained all your training knowledge from your friends older brother and he could bench three plates for reps, had ‘uge arms, terrible acne on his back, hair growing from his forehead and nuts the size of Peanut M&M’s.

So he knows what he’s talking about.

And now by osmosis so do you.

I get it.

BUT just for a moment take pity on a poor ectomorph such as myself whose bench press is weaker that one kid who looks as if God made him out of a Jello-mold but still decides to show up for football tryouts….yeah that kid….the one with the permanent milk moustache and a tucked in shirt…

With that in mind let me tell you the one exercises that you are doing wrong and probably will never learn to do correctly.

AND I’ll also be giving you two alternatives that you can use to A. Not look like a ding-dong in the gym and B. Actually get results from your training.

Here it is….

The Step Up

Great movie. Channing's break through role in my opinion. The exercise still stinks though. 

Most of the time when I see people doing step ups they seem to be only training the calf of the leg that is pushing off the ground. And then just letting themselves crash back down to the ground.

So what ends up happening is that you get a big push off the ground pitch your torso forward, kick your opposite leg back and then finally use your quad to get up on the box. And you do this all with 50lb Dumbells so that everyone else in the gym can see how strong you are. 

So at that point you are training your push off leg, and on that push off leg you are training mainly your calf.

I want to tell you a secret….shhh…don’t tell anyone…training your calfis not the point of step ups…I know crazy right?

Additionally when you are doing a Step Up it is very important to control the eccentric portion of the movement.

That is the part of the movement where you are stepping down from the box.

So when you just step down willy nilly off the box once again you are exercising nothing other then your ego.

So at this point you are completely wasting your time, building no muscle, and looking like a tool. 

So you may be wondering at this point. "Mark please tell me what to do instead!"

Here is what you should do instead my little milk moustachioed friend. 

Alternative #1: Front Foot Elevated Reverse Lunge

The FFERL is a great exercise because when you write it in your training journal it looks like some kind of top-secret code.

It’s also a great exercise because it actually works a significant amount of muscle.

It’s also great because if done through a full range of motion it will help you build greater mobility in your hips.

It’s also great because you can more easily learn to control the eccentric portion of the lift which if you are interested in building muscle is very important.

Try out 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps using a controlled tempo and your legs will thank you.

Alternative #2: Bulgarian Split Squat (BSS)

Once again here is an exercise with a way cooler name then ‘Step Up’ and an exercise that works better as well.  

It’s like there’s a theme goin on here or something.

The BSS is probably the worst exercises of all time. And by worst I mean best. If you have ever done these properly you know what I mean. I never hate my life so much as when I do these, and then after I am happy again.  

The BSS makes it very hard to cheat on the eccentric and as such, if you are going through a full range of motion, you will be targeting the muscles you want to grow and get stronger (unlike that dastardly Step Up).

If you have lower back problems and can’t do a conventional squat the BSS is a great alternative as it removes the load from your spine and still allows you to build muscle and strength in your legs.

If you want to do an exercise that involves an Eastern European country in the name then the BSS is a great alternative. It is especially effective if it is done while wearing an Adidas Track suit and smoking a cigarette.  

So there you have it the whole rundown on why Step Ups stink and why you should hate them and try to sabotage anyone in your gym who is trying to do them.  

And just in advance…

You: I do every exercise perfectly, always have perfect form and never do anything wrong so I like step-ups.

Me: You don’t, you don’t, and they still stink.

If you are interested in getting bigger and stronger check out the brand new Total Transformation Package.

It is designed to help you lose fat of build muscle by giving you a great program, a meal plan specific to your goals and constant help from a coach.

You can also buy my program Aesthetic Lifter here!

The 3 Best Exercises for Building a Studly Physique

We’ve all seen him before.

The dude who walks in the room instantly making you go from P90X hero to guy standing in the corner contemplating going into the bathroom to knock out 30 pushups to try to get a sick pump in your already schmedium V-Neck.  

News flash 30 bathroom pushups aren’t going to do the trick.  

And nothing against P90X I have seen it get some friends of mine in pretty decent shape, but that’s it…

And do you want to be in ‘pretty decent’ shape? 

Or

Do you want to be mistaken for a real live lumberjack every time you wear plaid?

Do you want to go to a BBQ and instantly be handed the apron and tongs by the man of the house because now you’re king of the grill?  

Do you want to grow a mustache and not look like this guy:

And look more like this guy?:

Do you want to have people think you know what a carburetor is and ask for advice on boosting the HP in their 96 Mustang?

Same here.

There is a method to looking like you can chop down a tree with your bare hands.

There are exercises you can do to build a body is not only strong, but also one that looks strong. And for real which one is more important?

 Oh just being strong is cool? For real? Yeah tell that to every girl on the planet ever.

So if you want to look strong and be strong and wear plaid without the fear of being mistaken for a barista here is what you need to do.

You need to utilize compound (full body exercises)

You need to lift heavy (relatively)

You need to do this because this will help your body produce more testosterone.

This is real science.

The stress you put on your body during training (if you are following the right program and using the right exercises) will increase anabolic hormone levels in your body.

This means that your body is now receiving signals to….that’s right…build more muscle baby!

Two of the main factors that contributes to you releasing more of these types of hormones are the amount of muscle tissue stimulated with each exercise, and the volume of work in your training session.

There are others, but these are the ones that we will focus on today.

So that being said you need to choose exercises that utilize your full body as well as exercises that you can progressively increase the load.

SO here are three exercises you should be working to master if you are interested in getting big and strong, and I meanwho isn’t?

SQUAT

If you want to get big and strong you need to squat.

You NEED to squat.

YOU NEED TO SQUAT!

Mainly Back Squat and Front Squat.

Always to full depth and if you can’t reach full depth then do the best you can and devote some time with lighter weights to attaining proper depth.

Here’s the bottom line. Squats will make you big and strong.

 The great thing about squats is that they utilize so much more then your legs so you can expect to get a bigger and stronger back, a thicker neck, and a core that could withstand an assault with a sledgehammer.  

Squats are called the ‘King of Exercises’ for a reason. They will give you the most bang for your buck when it comes to gaining muscle, getting strong, and increasing your mobility (if you do them correctly).

DEADLIFT

When it comes to building muscle we are going after so much more then just feeling a burn, taking 7 different supplements, and praying to Arnold every night.

You need to deadlift.

Deadlifting, just like the squat, is another exercise that will illicit a maximal hormonal response in your body. This hormonal response tells your body to build muscle not just in the area being worked, but everywhere.  

So don’t think of the deadlift as exclusively a back exercise (it is) BUT when paired with the proper accessory lifts it will also help you build muscle in all areas of your body. 

Also deadlifting is really fun. Especially when you are really good at it and don’t round your back like a ding dong.

There is nothing more primal then picking up something heavy and deadlifting is a pretty good imitation of that.  

So deadlift please.

PULLUPS/CHINUPS

Now I know that I have neglected the upper body when it comes to the best exercises to build a studly physique, but fear not I have not neglected the importance of building a strong upper body.

Pullups and Chinups are where it is at.

Let me rephrase that…

Strict-Pullups and Chinups are where it’s at.

Let me rephrase that….

Strict-Full Range of Motion-Pullups and Chinups are where it’s at. 

Let me rephrase that…

Do actual Pullups or I swear to Frank Zane I will team up with a whole bunch of alley cats and pee all over your most prized possessions.

My brother used to only do pullups as his entire workout. That’s literally it. Nothing else. And he got pretty jacked.

This happened because he did more and more each day.

He even added weight to them.

And he did them in a full range of motion.

You can do this as well.

I believe in you.

So there you have it.

The three best exercises to get you a studly physique.

If you are interested in getting bigger and stronger check out the brand new Total Transformation Package.

It is designed to help you lose fat of build muscle by giving you a great program, a meal plan specific to your goals and constant help from a coach.

You can also buy my program Aesthetic Lifter here!