Kelly Starrett comes on to talk about some of his awesome mobility stuff, his thoughts on assessment, some new concepts on massage, Voodoo bands, bracing, and more!

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KStarr’s Websites:

http://www.mobilitywod.com (may be under construction)

VooDoo Bands

Buy the new book:

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Nia Shanks joins me this week to talk about disordered eating, maximum results with minimum workouts, training to be awesome, and much more!

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Thank You to this week’s Producers!

Executive Producer:

• Sean McDonough

Producers:

• Daniel Ince

• Joshua Wilcox

• Jeffrey Kushmerek

• Brian Anglim

Associate Producers:

• Cameo Morningstar

• Lida Martinovic

• Robert Fox

• Pierre Le Count

   

Molly Galbraith comes back on the show to talk about a gluten free lifestyle, what people need to focus more on when training, isolation work, finding a balance between it all, and more!

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“Something Bad Happened”

Those were the three words that came out seconds after partially tearing my left pec on March 22, 2010 while barbell bench pressing. Just over three years ago… History has a way of repeating itself. Last week I had a similar experience, but there was only one word with a lot of letters…

“FFFFUUUUCCCCKKKK!!!”

The Iron Sheik’s emotion and inflection matches what I was feeling:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Proceeding that word was a bunch of broken sentences that amounted to, “Kevin you fucking idiot.” And being the smart ass I am, I was totally right. I just partially tore my RIGHT pec. I guess that asymmetry has been corrected at least.

How is it possible after benching pain free these last few weeks and having no warning signs I could tear the opposite pec?

You see, three years ago I should have known that barbell benching might have not been the best thing for me. All dumbbell variations were A-OK and I loaded them up a shit ton. Why did I need to go back to barbell benching again? Simply because I love benching just about as much as I like caffeinated beverages (see: a lot).  It truly is hard to give up the things we love so dearly…

24 hours later I was back in the gym lifting, knocking out a lot of awkwardly loaded lower body training along with some some very slow and careful inverted rows. Why? Because we don’t let fuck ups like this (and don’t be mistaken, I gone fucked up) slow us down and keep us from doing the things we love (unless that same things causes bodily harm). Just make sure to learn the first time, and not the second like I did.

Pec Tear Rehab

I am a very lucky man to know Eric Cressey and John Pallof. Both guys are experts on the shoulder and are within 50 miles of me. When the first pec tore three years ago I gained the knowledge to survive the rehab journey without giving up the heavy weights.

Here was my checklist:

• Regain the pain free range of motion in the shoulder 
• No pressing on the injured pec
• As the weeks go on and the pain goes away/tissues scars, begin soft tissue work
• Begin to work back in some low load vertical pulling/pressing (seriously low load, keep in mind stabilizing that shoulder is going to be a bit of a challenge)
• Don’t do anything that hurts (FOR THE LOVE OF VIN DIESLE, DON’T!)

What is this bullshit? I thought Dom only drank Corona? 

This checklist is going to look similar for any other minor injury you incur, just make sure you get checked out if there is some trama.

What Can I Do?

I am not going to go through every single injury that you could encounter, but the same rules still apply. We can still train around the injury while doing anything that is low risk and pain free. For example, with a torn pec I could still load up lower body lifts with vests, dumbbells in my opposite hand (no the asymmetrical loading for a few weeks won’t cause you to walk to walk sideways like gumby), and focus on more challenging unloaded lifts like single legged squats. Skipping sleds? Hell now, strap on a belt and march them out.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As I mentioned before I could still do some slow horizontal pulling movements like TRX row, unsupported DB rows (didn’t feel comfortable supporting my body with arm on the torn pec side),  cable station rows, etc.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The one exercise I am missing the most right now is the chin up. I honestly do at least one set almost every day of the week. Right now my plan is to start implementing some slow, deloaded chin ups and cable pull downs. Again, everything that is pain free and doesn’t pose a risk for reinjury is OK.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hopefully some light overhead pressing won’t be far off. And I am still dumbbell benching and overhead pressing on my good side right now, again, no drastic atrophy will occur driving you to get pec implants to keep up with your good side.

Core work? Look ma! No Hands!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Planks are now OK 1 week out and I will move on to push up holds (plank in the finished push up position)

Take Home Points

• Don’t do anything that hurts
• See a specialist
• Regain the mobility through pain free mobility drills
• Everyone recovers at different speeds
• Don’t be a dumbass and try to push yourself back to the lift that hurt you too fast
  • Maybe you need to abandon that movement all together?
• KEEP TRAINING. Even if you blow out your knee or shoulder, it doesn’t mean your training life is over. Your have plenty of other healthy joints that would appreciate some strength training.

John Romaniello and Adam Bornstein come on the show this week about naturally increasing testosterone levels, a call to action for all men, how to train as efficiently as possible,  and the importance of hormones.

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Joe Dowdell, owner of Peak Performance, joins me this week to discuss programming for fat loss, working with celebrities, some awesome new HR monitor tech, building a support network, and more!

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Bret Contreras joins me to talk about programming to get the glutes of a figure competitor, power training, how he designs programs for his female clients,  single leg training, and did I mention we talked about glutes?

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Check out Bret and Kellie’s new book:

Strong Curves:

A Woman’s Guide to Building a Better Butt and Body

Julia Ladewski comes on the podcast to talk about the transition from training for power lifting to figure competitions, carb back loading, strength training tips, and more!

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http://julialadewski.com/

(From Part I to recap):

These days I lift at home 1-2 times each week since I work from home half the time and ideally I prefer training in the mornings anyways. And just like it is great to train in a well equipped facility, the same can be said for the convenience of not having to get in the car and drive to the gym.

Life Get’s in the Way

How many training sessions have you missed because you couldn’t find time to get to the gym in the last 6-months? 10%? Maybe 25%? Maybe you gave up all together? That is the other huge benefit of the home gym. It eliminates your ability to make excuses.

In this series I am going outline how to create the Ultimate Home Gym to Fit Your Budget. This means I am going to give you a few options in terms of pricing. Also for the final installment of the series I will provide you with a 30-day program that you can do in the comfort of your home while becoming more athletic and stronger than ever.

Now let’s continue on to Part II…

Budget: $350 (added in addition to the $100 Budget Package)

1. TRX Suspension Trainer ($189)

The TRX is the best suspension trainer out there due to it’s great durability and ease of use. There other setups out there like Blast Straps, but for the home I prefer the simplicity of the TRX. What do I use the TRX for? Primarily I will use it for:

• TRX Rows/1-Arm Rows
• Push Ups (hands in handles or feet in handles. more on that later)
• Leg Curls (unilateral/bilateral)
• Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats
• Planks/Bodysaws/Hand Walkouts/Rollouts/other core work
• Bicep Curls…Hey it’s core work too…

Needless to say, it has a great amount of versatility. Like I mentioned in part I, I prefer to anchor the TRX to the Iron Gym.

2. 20-40lb ZFO Weighted Vest ($39.99-59.99 shipped from eBay)

I stumbled across the ZFO guys a few years ago when I was looking for a vest. If you look at online stores that sell lifting equipment, expect to pay $150+ for one. They are well built and do what they are suppose to do, add weight.

For women I would go with the 20lb vest. For guys pick the 40lb. You can always pick up another in the future like I have.

Weight vest are great for helping you progress or increase the load on a lot of exercises that maybe have been just using your bodyweight before.

• Push ups
• Chin Ups
• Inverted Rows
• Lunges
• SLDL
• Planks

Every single time I train at home I find myself throwing on a vest for some exercises. Asymmetrical rear foot elevated split squats with a 40lb vest and a 28kg kettelbell on the same side as the trailing leg are nice and challenging.

Budget: $500 (in addition to everything that was previously listed)

1. Pair of Kettelbells ($120-200)

This category is hard to write up because adding just two KBs is like asking you to pick out two puppies from a lot of 50.  It really depends on what exactly you are going to use them for, but here is my advice. Start with two and go from there. For guys grab an 8kg and a 28kg. For the women I would grab a 4kg and a 20kg. Why these weights? One lighter KB for things like Turkish Getups, perhaps some bottoms up overhead presses, and mobility work. The heavier KB for things asymmetrical loading in movements like SLDLs, lunges, and rows. For bilateral movements you should consider KB swings (I say this only if you have been coached on them before, this is a very challenging movement), KB goblet/front squats, and KB deadlifts.

If you can, spring for a third in the middle or one of Perform Better’s, “Kettelbell Buddy”s to add an extra 2Kg.

Budget: $1000 (in addition to everything that was previously listed)

1. Airdyne Bike ($500-650 on Amazon. Keep a look out on Craigslist, these pop up all the time for $100-200!)

Have you ever done a 5-mile ride for time? How about a 10-miler? Or maybe some .5 mile sprints? If you have you know how hard you can train on an Airdyne. It will basically go as hard as you can, jacking your heart rate up like just about nothing else. Keep an eye out on Amazon as they tend to put these on sale, both the big and small wheel versions. What is the difference between the two? Nothing really, one is just more compact. This thing gets a ton of use from me. Even if I just need to get the blood flowing a little bit. Just jump on for a few minutes and then back to work.

* Bonus Option: Sled ($389)

If you have some cash left over and have a place to use this without your neighbors calling the cops, a sled is a great conditioning and strength tool. Just pickup some cheap old 45lb plates from Craigslist and you will be good to go.

___

That is all for Part II of the series. Come back in a few days for a FREE 30-day program you can do in the comfort of your home while training your ass off.

Life Get’s in the Way

How many training sessions have you missed because you couldn’t find time to get to the gym in the last 6-months? 10%? Maybe 25%? Maybe you gave up all together? That is the other huge benefit of the home gym. It eliminates your ability to make excuses.

In this series I am going outline how to create the Ultimate Home Gym to Fit Your Budget. This means I am going to give you a few options in terms of pricing. Also for the final installment of the series I will provide you with a 30-day program that you can do in the comfort of your home while becoming more athletic and stronger than ever.

Budget: $100

These days $100 doesn’t buy you much. Hell, my cell phone bill is over $100 and that is about the going rate for a good pair of training shoes (your Vibrams, Frees, Adipures, Trainers, etc). With that being said, let’s make sure we spend it wisely.

(All Prices are from the time I wrote this up. March 20, 2013)

1. Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar – Extreme Edition ($33 Shipped from Amazon)

The Iron Gym Extreme Edition fucking rocks. You can literally do chin-ups WHENEVER YOU WANT! Unlimited chin-ups!!! Man…I love me some chin ups (as well as the neutral grip variety and pull ups). First thing you need to do when picking up an Iron Gym pull up bar is to make sure that you get the Extreme Edition. It provides you the ability to do neutral grip chin-ups and extra spots to add things like bands for anti-rotation presses, band resisted presses, etc (you will see why in the program).

I have had my Iron Gym Extreme for over 3-years now and it has held up great with regular use. You will need to make sure that you have a doorway where the bar will fit, but most traditional homes will be fine.

Besides using the bar for pull ups, it has been my TRX anchor as it is much more convenient than using a closed doorway or drilling an anchor point into your ceiling/wall.

Three years ago I even put together a video review of it up thanks to camera work from my mom.

Click here to view the embedded video.

2. Perform Better SuperBands ($24.99-29.99 Shiped)

Their versatility provides great value. You can use bands to make exercises harder by incorporating some variable resistance work (push ups, band resisted rows, band squats, etc) or as an assistance tool with things like chin ups and single legged squats. They are also valuable activation and mobility tools with drills like like x-band walks, leg lowers, band lat stretches and so on.

From the picture above you can see there are a few choices in the size/resistance, but for our purposes there are really only two options I would recommend considering. The 1/2″ and the 1″ bands. I will preface that statement by saying that if you struggle with chin-ups. a thicker band may be needed for assistance work.

3. Furniture Movers/Valslides ($13)

I love Valslides and Val does an awesome job with the included DVD of exercises, but if you are budget conscious, furniture slides are very similar. The sliders allow you to add a ton of variety into your exercises selection with slide lunge variations, bodysaws, push up reaches, leg curls, and so on. These little things can freshen things up while at the same time adding some good challenge into your program.

4. Ab Wheel ($11.50)

The Ab Wheel is a really cheap way to add in some challenging core work. Sure, it is only good for rollouts, but it is cheap and allows you to correctly perform a great exercises.

5. Foam Roller/PVC Pipe ($21.50 free shipping)

I really wanted to just put PVC Pipe here and write out how everyone should just stop being such pansies, but not everyone is a masochist when it comes to soft tissue work. Either way, you need to get in your recovery work. Take care of your muscles and they will return the favor by performing for you when you call on them. If you decide to go down to the hardware store and buy a $6 PVC pipe, congratulations, you are as cool as the rest of us in the PVC Club and you saved $15 that you can now be spent on a ticket for the upcoming summer blockbuster Fast & Furious 6 and a medium popcorn.

(Look who’s back!)

6. Tennis Ball/Lacrosse Ball (Free)

Everyone has these lying around. Or just go steal one from those asshole kids that live next door. Their sports crap should be ending up in your yard anyways. These are great for rolling your glutes, calves, upper traps, plantar facia, and a few other spots depending on your tolerance for discomfort.

__

Not bad for $100, huh? You can get in some pretty bad ass lifting session at home now where no one will judge you for listening to Katy Perry’s hot jams. Seriously, how does this SHIT not pump your ass up for a set of chin ups!? I totally feel like that plastic bag sometimes (And I totally wish sparks flew out of my chest when I benched…)

Click here to view the embedded video.

In a few days were are going to look at the $350, $500, and $1000 Budgets. Make sure to keep a look out on my Facebook Page and Follow Me on Twitter to make sure you don’t miss them.