1. My Planet Fitness gym sucks. There I said it. I like Planet Fitness for the most part. Black card, it's cheap and you can lift anywhere as well as bring a guest. The one closest to my house is the worst. Dirty, terrible customer service management and OVERCROWDED. Rules aren't enforced. People having full conversations and video conferences on speaker in the middle of working out. Too many kids. I'm all for the youth exercising, but the ignorance and lack of etiquette is off the charts. 5 kids around a machine, all with their heads buried in the phones like ants around a melted popsicle stick. Plus the place is having plumbing issues and smells like septic. I'm switching gyms and cancelled my membership.
2. Competition kettlebells are better than cast iron. Why? The handle. All the bells are the same size in shape and in the handle. When I had my 88 lb. bells, one of the handles was SO BIG it was scary to use. I had a 3 day membership at a gym I used to attend. They had a 106 lb. bell and an 88, which were competition bells. I did 2 hand swings no problem with each. I had never swung a 106 before. The bells were so much easier to use because of the handle.
3. I've stopped participating in fitness forums. I'm too busy starting my own business and too many stupid questions. I am sorry the Dan John forum is dead. Good guys on there. For example, on StrongFirst, there is a "Team Leader" who is trying to "tame the beast." Meaning, pressing the 106, doing a pullup with one and a pistol squat. He has leg issues and is trying to figure out how to work his way around the leg issues. First, pistols are one of the dumbest movements there are. Do Bulgarian split squats instead. Second, there are no rewards for being a "beast tamer." Why do further damage? Dumb, dumb, dumb. The Misc.forum on Bodybuilding.com used to bring the LOLS, but now it's just a bunch of incels.
4. My 20-year-old son is into lifting. He is 6'2 and about 210 lb. with shoulders like an aircraft carrier. Although he's not really strong, he is filled with testosterone and putting on muscle quickly. I told him, "don't put anything more than 225 lb. on the bar until you can squat it 20 times." And, "dumbbell bench press is your friend." Why get hurt? Just do reps.
5. The Prowler is the best conditioning tool there is. The gym I'm joining has one with a 25 yard field turf area inside it. 10 laps with six 45 lb. plates is one heck of a workout. Puddle of sweat when I'm finished.
6. Another new favorite workout is StairMaster intervals. No hands, 90 seconds level 5, 30 seconds levels 11-15. 20-30 minutes. The key is no hands. Hanging on is cheating. I also like using this method for running as well. 5-6 mph maintenance, 8-9 mph sprint. Level 1 on incline.
7. Repeat after me, "It's the diet, stupid."
8. Want to lower your cholesterol? Take a TBS of Metameucil/Psyllium Husk daily. Glorious and fills you up when you're hungry.
9. For 80% of people over 50, 3x a week total body lifting workout is way to go.
Why?
a. Hit each body part 3x a week. More than a "bro" split.
b. Get to use different exercises/More Variety Monday Kettlebell Front Squat, Wednesday Back Squat, Friday Hack Squat or Leg Press.
c. More time to recover. You get stronger on your days off. That doesn't mean doing nothing. Do 20 minutes of yoga and go for a 3-5-mile walk.
d. Get to stimulate muscles without annihilating them. But if you insist, do 5 x 5 and then rep out last set.
10. Sets of 20 swings with a 24 kg or higher during rest periods is a nice way to get some conditioning in, if you're crunched for time. 15 sets of snappy swings becomes 300.
11. Geoff Neupert is pushing his Kettlebell Burn Extreme program through email. If you want to summer shred in a hurry, get it. It works, it is also an exercise in delayed gratification. There was a post on Instagram that said, Week 1, day 2 and showed a guy doing double swings. All I could think was, "let's see how your enthusiasm is, when you're in the midst of a 36-hour fast, staring up at the of faucet of a cold shower. The workouts are doable. The intensity progresses as you are losing weight can provide difficulty, but not killers. What is a pain in the neck is scheduling around a social calendar. I always had issues with the cheat day coming up on the wrong day. Dinner on Friday night vs. Saturday night. Having to fast on a Monday instead of the Sunday due to social obligations. I have completed it twice. Pro tip, don't have a beer or alcohol on your cheat day. Just abstain.
12. There has been this trend lately of getting in the habit of getting up at 5 AM. Just for the sake of discipline. Just dumb advice. Yes, you can be productive and focus. BUT, what about recovery? What is the most important part of recovery? SLEEP!!! So, to prove discipline, I'm going to have the alarm set at 5 AM for no reason when my body needs another 90 minutes of sleep. I get the early bird gets the worm, but I'm not going to bet at 8 PM. If you're a monk who lives alone with no family, sure, go for it.
UPDATE on Number 12. Woke up early this AM around 4:43 to empty my bladder . Watched the Celtics game, but went to bed at 10:45 which is a reasonable hour. Fell back asleep and woke up at 7:20. And had a great workout at 9. Sleep > Starting the Day Early.
