Hello, ladies and gents, Robert Sykes keto Savage that
commented, they have got special guest Ebenezer Sammy on the line
and he is a guru. He is a mastermind.
He is the man when it comes to All Things Fitness and training
programming. He writes for Men's Health.
He is a very experienced, very knowledgeable trainer.
He also trains on the flex attempts.
We dive into what that is and how to get involved with that.
If you want to go the virtual training round, but in this
conversation, we just drove deep into different training
techniques how to include how to increase your explosiveness.
How to improve your hypertrophy, how to how to build strength,
these are some things that I'm definitely going to be putting
into practice with my training. Going forward, learn to ton
thoroughly enjoyed the conversation.
I've got no doubt that you will take something actionable from
this podcast. So that for their do is sit
back, relax. Enjoy the conversation with
Ebenezer. We are live in and these are,
how are you brother? I am good, you know, middle of
the week, but hanging in there and actually got a good leg
workout on tap after this. So doing like see how that goes.
Yeah. Yeah, but it's a, you know, I
tend to, I usually get like a conditioning, a little bit of
core work, a little bit of mobility in the morning.
And then a strength workout in the afternoon evening just
because my body is my mind is a little more engaged.
My body is is ready and my mind is also ready to take on a good
workout, then like, you know, like it, I want to kind of dive
into what get you to Fitness in the first place because you
don't let me butcher this, but you write for the Men's Fitness
magazine, right? Is that kind of one of your
primary roles or has been one of your primary rules.
You butchered it a little bit but it's okay.
I'm the fitness director. So I write for Men's Health
Magazine, they'll kill us if we get that wrong.
Okay, mean anything, good out there.
It's okay. I write for I read from Men's
Health Magazine it since I've kind of transitioned away a
little bit from just writing, like I do.
I pretty much run our fitness there.
So it's kind of like a lot of writing editing assigning.
I kind of do a lot of video for us and then have input into a
lot of the products were putting.
And so kind of a really, really Well, rounded role at Men's
Health, when we're everything Fitness, and how long have you
been doing that? Um, for probably I want to say,
like the last, it's five years because I just gotta, I just
gotta actually a reminder that I'd been there for five years
about a month ago. So, yeah, in a little bit, I
would imagine with, like a job title like vent.
I mean, with something that is so much.
In the public eye. You're constantly happen to
figure out what is of importance.
What is the highwomen? What is the trend?
What is popular at any point in time than really flesh that out.
So you've probably seen a lot of the trends come and go over that
five-year span. Yes, and it's crazy because it's
crazy because I almost didn't realize the cut.
Like I've kind of seen the Evan flow of CrossFit, if you will,
which was like, when I came in, everybody was all about the Box
structure and cross it. You know, the CrossFit games
were a big thing and it's not taking anything away from them,
but it's been interesting to kind of watch over the last 22
years. I feel like you hear a little
bit less about that partly because of the pandemic.
But yeah, definitely. Seeing some Trends come and go.
So so yeah of those trains like what has been overly hyped and
under-deliver like of all the things that you've seen come and
go, where should people just like, double down.
Like I feel like in Fitness for me, personally.
I just kind of always wanted to / turning to Basics like there.
Maybe this new hot Unlike Blood Flow, Restriction Training, and
everybody's doing bfr, and that's great.
But in the day, I wind up always kind of returning to my basic
primary compound movements and just going back to basics.
So like when you sing all these Trends, what are some things
that you've seen that have gained a lot of hype that you've
actually continue to stick with versus the things that like
probably weren't worth all the hype that they were receiving.
Yeah, so it's I'll say a couple things just cause I think your
perspective is really exactly. It's always Back to Basics.
Right? I like to I like to say even
when I'm so I obviously I do a lot of stuff for Flex it.
In terms of, you know, I'm their head of training Innovation.
I trained a lot of Peach and a lot of clients on their, some
former athletes. I always like to say to just
when I program and even when I think about stuff for the
magazine new and shiny is what gets kind of the new person in,
right? But the best We created like
thousands and thousands of years ago, the push up, this it up the
squat, the plank. Those moves are kind are kind of
indispensable because the human body moves in the finite amount
of ways and is meant to move strongly in a finite amount of
ways. So I definitely always return to
the basics myself. I think a lot of the trends
we've seen and this is I think five years at Men's Health
talking where when I got there. I think I was a little bit more.
Oh, and you in Chinese. Really cool, right, but I think
a lot of the trends we're seeing kind of return the smart Trends
kind of return to, and build on the basics.
If you will the trends that don't catch your don't hold as
much are because they try to reinvent the fitness wheel and
reinvent movement. And that's not again.
There. Are there a set amount of ways
that I believe humans are meant to move and there are so many
ways. We Powerful, I think one of the
trends that were one of the interesting Trends over the last
couple of years was Dad of the Kettlebell flow and I think it
was really big probably like three four years ago.
We did a piece on it. I want to say four years ago
probably like maybe like six or eight months before the pandemic
and it was it was a good. It was a really good concept and
I really like how about those? I keep them in the back of my
workout because I think there's a metabolic effect to them.
I think they're really good too. A lot of times challenge
multiplanar movement and it's good too.
It's good to be able to kind of transfer and understand and
manage momentum. And that's a lot of what you're
doing in the Kettlebell flow. So I think they're good, but I
think the concept of the Kettlebell flow as The of this
is enough for a full body workout.
Hey, you can just build off kettlebell flows.
I think it was sort of an Instagram idea that caught on or
an Instagram message that caught on.
I think the concept of the Kettlebell flow as hey.
This is all you need to do for your workout was a little bit
misguided. And so that's that's one that I
haven't been as crazy about how much but again, it has its place
because I think all this stuff has its place in terms of stuff.
That I like stuff that I have stuck with.
It's weird. I still think you go back to the
basics. Right?
And I think what we're actually seeing now is a little bit of a
shift towards those basic. I think you're seeing a little
bit more even in you know, CrossFit classes or even in
trainers, who I know who are in group fitness, you're seeing a
little bit of a shift back to those Basics and to kind of
fundamental strength, moves, getting away from some of the
from too much variability. And I think there's like a push
with the lab Fitness messaging. You you know, hey, let's master
your deadlift. Let's master your squat.
Let's master your bench press and let's focus on those ideas
because it's what your body needs as opposed to getting too
far outside the box. Yeah.
It's interesting because like, I'm a coach I coach clients with
nutrition and training at focus on the nutrition, but that they
have questions with training. I'm certainly there to help them
there as well. But I feel almost guilty when it
comes to formulating training, protocols and programming
because I always just go back to the simple, the basic.
Movements. And I feel like I'm I feel like
I'm dumbing it down so much. So the point that I don't really
look like a very, you know, credible coach because there's
other companies out there that just have all these bells and
whistles. And I mean, like me personally,
I've trained exclusively in my, my private gym, which consists
of, you know, free weights barbells, and then I have got
one simple, you know, cable Jungle Gym setup.
That's pretty much been the extent of my equipment for the
past four years, but I get better every single year.
Maybe I'm missing out by not having some fancy equipment.
I feel like there's so much you can do with just the basics
that, unless, you truly master that there's not really any
apparent demand, or need to go outside of them.
It's funny because I every so often myself as a trainer,
right? I feel the same way.
I have, I have to have like a pretty sizable Instagram
following, and when I'm on Instagram, I'm definitely trying
to put out like, my most interesting stuff my most
variable stuff, right? And then Then those people come
to me and they want to train with me and all we're doing.
Instead of doing you know, the half bench, single arm bench,
press with a pause that all this other stuff, which I believe has
a place, right? We wind up doing, let's just
Master the dumbbell press and that's because I do think the
more the higher your training ages the more there's a need and
there's use to explore variability.
But first you have to learn the basics.
I can't have. You do say Again, half inch
single. I'm just going to say that one
because it's in my head and it's definitely a move.
I like a lot. I can't have you do a half inch
single arm. Bench, press where half your
torso is Off the Bench until I've taught you to squeeze your
glutes, to squeeze your shoulder blades to understand what your
code is doing and to and to be able to and to be able to
understand how to kind of find that right?
Grooves on the dumbbell, press. I can't do that until I've
taught you the basics. So it always wanted to being
about a Month, and I tried to explain this to people when I
train them that it's going to be a while before we're doing
anything crazy, because we have to get the basics down.
Now. The one thing I will say is I
think variability and I think the research is bang this out.
If you look at some of what's come out on faccia over the last
two years and I talked about this a lot, because we did a
story at Men's Health on on faccia based on some stuff based
on some stuff that big greasy, I believe victories.
He has a book, if you know, pretty see, speeds, cool down in
Jersey. You put out a book on faccia,
and we kind of spurred us to do a story and the story came out
with some really interesting stuff because we think of faccia
as this stuff that we just foam roll.
Right? And that's our entire kind of
understanding of fashion. But what a lot of the research
is showing when they do cadaver stuff when they look at cadaver
of I believe kangaroo cadavers among other things, which I just
find it interesting. One of the things they
discovered is that your fascist kind of it's a lot more living
and breathing. And it's a lot quicker to sort
of adapt. So so that has weird kind of
sitting here, right? I'm assuming you're sitting on
the other end as work on the sitting here and not really
moving our fascist kind of setting in in the position and
we can offset that by getting up and moving, right?
But if we're moving in the same ways, every single time, right
every single workout, if we're moving all you know, all those
Basics and that's all we're doing.
We're kind of, we're not getting enough variability.
We're not really mixing things up.
We're not changing speeds. We're not changing planes enough
and we're not changing the tension that our core needs to
put in by getting a little bit. Antsy rotational by creating,
you know, but so I am very big on.
Let's try to mix up a little bit of what we do in our training.
I try to keep the first two to three exercises in both my own
personal workouts, and the workouts.
I give other people. I try to keep the first two to
three exercises. If we consistent, so we can
build competency, build, strength, build power, and
really understand the moves. And then, on the back end of the
workout is where I think you can get a little for lack of a
better word, crazy and challenge yourself a little bit.
You're moving a little bit lighter.
Loads by then challenge, you know, challenge some speech out
some planes move. It really slow tempo.
I think there's value in having, you know, if we're doing like a
425 move workout, having like maybe the last two to three
moves, you do. Not 23, actually 122 moves.
You do having those be a little be a little bit inconsistent.
I think there's a big one of the big debates and fitness that
I've noticed and felt over the last couple of years just on
social media in the magazine. And just, you know, personally
kind of wrestled with is the idea of variability versus
consistency. And I think you need that
balance. You have to have that
consistency on the front end. That's the only thing that's
going to make you actually stronger.
Because that's going to help you lift heavier weight and then we
mix it variability on the back end to keep ourselves adaptive
and honestly, for general population, to keep the workout
fun. It's interesting.
You talk about fashion. I had a podcast a few weeks ago
with the game, and he specializes in mobility and
recovery. And, and what not, but he was
talking about fashion and never, I mean, I've known what fashion
is a hunt. So I like, when I'm processing a
deer that I've killed, you know, cutting out this fashion tissue,
and it's interesting to see. It's all interconnected in each
muscle group. And also each muscle fiber and I
was talking to scan on the podcast a few weeks back.
And he was like, you know, have you ever heard the term?
10 secretary has it does it ring a bell to you?
So fine to me? Yeah.
So it's a, it was coined by Buckminster Fuller, and it's
basically short for tensional integrity and it's used a lot in
architecture for these like, you know, really fancy, you know,
cable Bridges and whatnot. Basically, the concept being
none of these structures come in contact with another but they're
tied together via Cables, and even though the the primary
structures aren't touching one another, the cables and the
tension applied to those cables, basically increase the, the
structural Integrity of the entire unit.
And if you look at it from an architectural standpoint, you
can see this in, you know, certain Bridges and whatnot.
But you look at it from a human biology standpoint.
You see this with the fascial tissue acting as the cables that
create two more structural Integrity between the muscles
and like all this was like coming together in my mind and I
think giving more of an importance and significance to
facet issue and how it plays this this, you know, really
Prime like important role in ensuring that every muscle is
working together in unison, from a recovery standpoint also from
just a structural soundness standpoint.
I feel like it's definitely not giving the credits do so I think
diving more into that is Paramount, but it's kind of
spill over into what you're talking about.
Having been at the variability. What do you what do you mean by
that? Exactly psycho?
When you're doing a structured work out of four to five
movements, what would that look like for like a lower body?
For instance? How are you doing more
variability there at the end at the end.
Yeah, I think when I think about, when I think about
variability, I think, again, it's change per workout.
So I think, I think the consistency versus variability
is something we look at overstay, like a month of
programming and I think over or, you know, even like two months
of programming, I think, over two months of programming,
right. I think again, sort of depends.
The athletes or depends on the person, depends on their goals.
How much time if we're prepping for something, but I think you
want to keep the first two to three lift, you know, pit.
Like if we take a leg workout, I'm going to maintain the
relative structure of my leg workouts, for, at least a month.
So but an example right now, if we give you the legwork, I'm
gonna do. Why are we on legs?
Why couldn't we choose its body parts, but I'll give you the
legwork. I'm gonna be.
So I've been playing with the idea of very, very heavy book.
Giants with squats for like sets of like, you know sixes and
eights as my weed exercise. And I'm going to keep that there
for a month. And from there I go into a chat
bar deadlift for you know, four sets of six to eight.
Okay, and those first two lists are not going to change because
I want I need a, I need something.
Me, dominant. I need something hip down a
minute. Okay, and those first two lips
aren't going to change. I'm going to try to progress
them. I'll drop the Reps as you know,
a psycho goes on, try to go heavier.
Keep that there. But I think on the back end of
that, right? As I get into like they're a
couple notes over the course of a cycle that I want to try to
hit that, that maybe I'm not hitting with that kind of
standard, you know, a heavy heavy, heavy, heavy need out,
and it moving and heavy, squat or heavy deadlifts.
And that's, I want, I need to change speeds.
Like I need to have some times where I'm moving very, very
slowly, and focusing on the concentric, right?
And I need to have some other times where I'm moving.
Like a light load explosively because explosiveness is one of
those qualities. That is probably the first thing
we lose as we age, right? So, I need to maintain some of
that. I also haven't changed
directions. Right?
And the, I haven't changed directions and I haven't had to
manage energy in multiple plans, which is something to me, like a
curtsy lunge to a high knee, where I'm kind of getting a
little bit rotation, or lateral as I'm stepping back into that,
curtsy. And then coming out of that into
the high. And the I've got to transfer all
that. Course, ideally, with some level
of speed. I've got to transfer all that
force in managing through my core to get back into the
sagittal plan. Right?
And so I think over once I've hit and I also haven't, you
know, manage my body weight in terms of, you know, like a
pistol squat, or or sissy squat. Or I haven't managed my body
weight and I haven't really challenged my knee range of
motion on anything. Right.
So over the course of say 5, 26 workouts after I'm done the
Bulgarian split Squat and the and the deadlift.
I'm going to try to mix in moves from those other thing.
I also haven't gotten I haven't moved through space which I
think is underrated in terms of legs and like training.
I haven't done like a walking lunge or a walking, you know,
walking pendulum lunge or anything.
I think those moves are really underrated in terms of teaching,
deceleration, and acceleration because we're going somewhere as
You just kind of standing in our in our, in our square space in a
gym. So over the course of over my,
the back end of my workout. I think it's important, you
know, sometimes I might, you know, mix in, I made you skater
like this, right? Because that's explosive.
But the next workout that may not be scared of lunges because
that meant that maybe a curtsy lunge to a high knee, which is a
little bit more strength. They so I think you mix up the
back end of your workout, but keep the front end, very, very
consistent. Because again, that's how we
build. Strength, but that's also how we
on the back end to me. I'm kind of taking care of my
faccia Di and I'm taking care of of, basically my ability to move
as an as an athlete and my athleticism.
Right. Because I'm moving at different
speeds and I'm focused more on looking at those different
speeds. I think that's super important
for a while there. I was cycling.
Some type of rotation with my training in which one day I was
doing all my primary compound movements in an explosive.
Enter the next week. It was more of like a slower.
Heavier, kind of like pause rep style and then the next week, it
was just High repetitions, but at a slightly lighter weight,
but I think cycling through that rotation, just hit every muscle
fiber from all ends of the spectrum.
I feel like that is definitely advantageous.
You don't want to get stuck in a rut doing the same thing every
week. Yeah, I think too.
It's like it's the exploration of some of those movements to
write makes you better. Because you are like, I'm very
big into. Especially when I train chest.
Through example, I'll almost always leave with some kind of
flat press. And when I go to the incline,
I'll, you know, sometimes it's paused reps.
Sometimes it's I'm very big into alternating single arm wraps and
different, variations of that great.
I love those but I love actually like an alternating paused rap.
Because when you Isn't that bond is like recognizing what your
core is doing, and having to manage that, it doesn't feel
like anti-rotation stress until you live in that position for a
split second, having to manage, all that stuff makes my makes me
a lot more makes my core a lot smarter.
If you will. When I do, you know, my
traditional presses or my traditional incline presses
because I just understand. I think that's how I think it's
kind of. That's how we explore our our
muscle and Length is really important to have that in our
workout. It's just got to be that bright
those because I think people in the Instagram age.
It's really, really easy to go overboard and say, every single
workout has to be different. And that's also the group
fitness stage because I mean, a lot of it is because we have a
level of Fitness, add as a culture and that makes it hard
because we think so. We think every workout needs to
be completely different. It's the consistency is also
really, really important, which I think is the hardest thing.
To convey to general population. Yeah, I feel like I'm I
definitely default to being more consistent than I do more
variability, like, okay the same workout split for like, you
know, six months or a year at a time.
I'll be implementing Progressive overload around that time, you
know, increase in weight increasing time.
Attention, etcetera, Etc, but I'm not doing a whole lot of
fluctuation in the actual movements.
I probably would benefit from more variability.
But I feel like most people probably suffer from the exact
opposite in the Spectrum. They're constantly changing
everything, but they don't have any consistency.
With any of their primary movements.
Exactly. Yeah, exactly.
And I think that's that's the challenge for us as trainers and
programmers. Write because on some level, we
have to respect the fact that our audience wants things to mix
it up on some level. We created that not not
necessarily you and me, but that's kind of what, you know,
social media, add culture has created.
So our challenge is to, and I think, I think that's where I
think, that's what you have to be really Savvy programmer,
because even like, when I do stuff, Magazine, the magazine is
all about, you know, like like the guy who picks up the
magazine. I would love to have him.
Do you know Romanian deadlifts with dumbbells every single
month? But if I put that in somebody
above me is going to be, like, yeah, we've had that in the
magazine three straight months, right?
So that's our challenge is to, I think find ways to make people
do the same thing, but make it feel slightly different.
Which is why I think I think Tempo is tempo is something that
crosses. Thunder really?
Well. And Incorporated guys like
Marcus Philly. Do it really well.
I think I do. I use a lot of mixed Cadence
stuff to make things feel different for people.
So I'll kind of like, what you were saying like where you're
pausing on her up. I may have people lower into an
R DL, hold for a split second where hold for two seconds at
the bottom and then fire up. And then do another quick rep
after that to kind of mix it up and make it feel different.
Even though fundamentally. I'm still having them move a
heavy load and still having them really attack the RTL.
Totally. I like them like that.
Do you have like a general Avatar?
So to speak of like, the broadest are most concise
demographic that you're typically working with, or is it
is it just too broad to categorize is definitely it's
weird because I think for different different parts of me
different because they're different parts of me are
working with different demographics, which is actually
cool because one it challenges me as a programmer and to it I
feel Like, it exposes me to a lot of different needs if you
will. I think I think the men, the
men's help demographic is very much your average guy, you know,
kind of and even there there are kind of different demographics.
But I'd say it's your average guy a little bit closer to the
beginner but really aspires to be in shape and but doesn't have
all the time in the world, right?
Because we also have this culture that's kind of said hey,
I feel like we're in this era of hey, you know, give me 30
minutes and that's it. For a workout, and on some level
it is. But, you know, that that's kind
of tricky programming sometimes because it means, it has to be
pretty densely minutes because that's it, you know, three to
four times a week. I think that's a lot of times
the Men's Health guys that the average guy a lot of my, my
personal training clientele who ever work with them person is,
you know, it's a mix of, you know, former athletes people who
want to be really strong, people who kind of seek me out.
That's a very intentional customer who's kind of see Me
out over social media or or, you know, over the web and really,
really has a very specific goal. So that's the person who goes
hard, once a little bit more depth and is willing, to be
honest. As I really remember the first
couple clients. I had, I was definitely nervous
because I'm not having them do all the crazy stuff.
They might see on this diagram, but the person who I'm working
with now, we're able to, you know, dive into, let's learn how
to set. Let's not just do a deadlift.
Let's learn how to set up. Shoulders and find that perfect
chord position and work on The Eccentric.
On our trap card that lifts. You know, what's like, I have a
lot of clients like that. And then on, Flex it, it's on
Flex. It to be honest.
It's a pretty similar client. It's a client who wants a deep
dive. I think I work with a variety of
clients on Flex. I've got a couple of older guys
who really want to go hard. Want to be pushed one little bit
of variability in their workouts, but don't have a ton
of time, which is why they're on Flex it and I've got a couple
former athletes to wear. That's a really interesting
challenge because these are guys who have some point in their
career might have squatted 700 pounds, right?
So but they're not at that point anymore.
Now, they just want to get a good workout.
So I'm looking for me as I planned for them.
I tried to think of that as almost like I'm filling in
they're blanks and making sure that they're covered so that
they can live their lives because they had that point
where they squatted 700 and now they They had that point where
they rush through 2,000 yards or whatever and now they want to,
you know, step back a little bit, but make sure they can move
and make sure they can beat their kid one-on-one a
basketball. Yeah, totally.
Now. I think it probably makes you a
much better Coach and working with such a broad array of
people, because, I mean, you can go Ultra Niche.
But you can also have appeal to people, with whatever their
background is, when you're building out these programs for
these different avatars. For instance.
If you've got two people of the same age similar flexibility
mobility and you know, perience lifting, does your training and
programming change much between them?
If one's a male and one's a female or is that pretty much
held constant? I try not to again.
It's really, it's really goals everything I try to do and it
kind of creates a little bit more work for me.
But everything I try to do is kind of built from the ground up
based on because there are other factors to, right?
There's also even Beyond goals and stuff and there's what works
for a person. I have one client who have one
client who You know, I would like to be a little bit more
structured and repetitive in in this person's program.
But that person also comes from very, very heavy group fitness
background. So they want a mix of things.
They want to mix things up. Right?
So, I'm balancing between between the goal of keeping them
interested because if they're not interested, one of the best
studies I saw, and this is something that definitely got me
thinking about it about it. This way, when the best days I
saw. As I believe Brad, schoenfeld is
something a A couple of years ago, on kind of, you know, which
workout works best for people, right?
I think he was comparing like a workout strength workouts, a
couple other things. And what he walked away with in
that okay is and it's kind of a simple takeaway that totally
makes sense. Even though it sounds a lot
simpler basically, because I'm going to summarize it in one
line, his big takeaway from that was the best workout for.
Somebody is the work ethic and to stick to and keep doing,
right. So, I think it's incumbent.
On me and all this is trainers to.
Yes. We have kind of our goals and
this is the art of programming because I do think it's an art.
Yes, we have our goals for what we know somebody needs, right?
And those kind of always lurk in the back.
We do people sit too much. So you've got to train your back
more. We know they need to really
strengthen their glutes because of desk body and we've got to
loosen up their hip flexors. We know, we've got to do those
things and our job is to get that in while helping the person
meet their goals, right? Because then they have their
specific goals. They want a bigger chest.
But I still really need you to train back, right. 410 make
himself look bigger, anyway, but I still really need your train
back and I've got to keep it fun.
Because if I don't keep it fun, you're not going to come back to
me and then I'm out. You know, that money which isn't
the biggest deal. But you know, I also I haven't
helped you kind of stick to a routine that's going to help you
get to your goals. So I think it's programmed.
We're balancing those three things and that's what I'd
balance with every person that we don't know.
I think that's super important, man.
I feel like I hear that all the time and Trish in space because
there's all this controversy over.
What diets, the best diet for the human species by the other
day and always kind of comes back down to which one can you
sustain for a lifetime? And that's probably the best out
for you. So it only makes sense that the
same would hold true with regard to your training programming.
Yeah, exactly. And chaining is interesting
because there's an element of it to where again we talked about a
level of variability. So your routine your routine is
going to change and it should change.
I'm very big in it should change over time right?
Because you know, you're going to get older because you have
different blanks that Even have different blanks that you have
to fill in in in life. Right?
Like the high school or college athlete version of me was
playing basketball at the time. So I was getting my explosive
stuff in by virtue of what I was doing.
Right. So I could focus on, I could
focus on kind of strength. Muscle hypertrophy ranges when I
was going into the gym, right? The version of me now, sheets a
lot of video for Men's Health, you know, I'm, you know, I'm
kind of living in Perjury, ranges living in squeeze, right?
Focusing on time and attention, and try to squeeze my muscles
really hard selling Jack that video, right?
So the Blanc de Blanc, I probably need to fill in a
little bit more is multiplanar is picking up speed a little
bit. He's also a real big because
over the last two years. I walk a lot less because I'm
not always taking the train. So I need to I think your
workout kind of and it's hard for the general public because
but again, That's I think in theory, why it's good to work
with a good trainer, good to work with something out, Flex
it, it's hard for the general public.
But you want to kind of you want to kind of understand your goals
and understand how you've got to fill in the blanks of Life.
Yeah, totally agree, man. One thing, I'm guilty of like,
when I first got into the sport of bodybuilding.
I was looking at all the, all the Magazine's, I go to the
grocery store and spend all the time, just look at the magazines
and a lot of these workout splits that were in there were,
you know, those splits used by these Pro ifbb body builders
that are stepping on stage. 280 pounds ripped, I'm assuming what
they recommend from a training split.
Protocol standpoint is probably not quite as applicable to what
would be best, you know, in use for someone that's that's not
taken performance-enhancing drugs and they may need to tweak
a few things. Like I'm gonna assume the
frequency of what you're training.
A muscle is, is probably going to increase as a natural athlete
because you're probably not going to have the same intensity
as some of that's taken taken gear and recovering little bit
faster. Do you, do you change a program?
A little B based off of those criteria.
I think so. I think it's interesting because
I grew up the exact same way. I would, you know, every month.
It's like you're buying, that's how it be, buying muscle, and
fitness. You don't read any of the
Articles and you have no, like, the food pages are completely
foreign to me, but I always read those words.
I always read like every single workout, right?
Yeah, and and that's where you learn new exercises and every
time I would get like a new exercises like a new toy, but
yeah, it's all I remember reading what's on Fitness and it
was always the one interesting thing with muscle and fitness in
Killer is I felt like nine times out of ten.
The workout in there was always meat and potatoes moves.
Right? But you're right.
It was done at these. It was done.
I swear, it was always like four sets of twelve, four sets of
eight, to twelve, four sets of eight, to twelve three sets of
like 12 to 15, right? It was always, you know, I
think, I think a couple things, I think one, I feel like that
was probably like what like a decade or more ago. and I think
we've just, I think we've come a long way, kind of has a fitness
culture just in terms of In terms of kind of ink, you know,
understanding variability, a little bit more understanding
kettlebells little bit more understanding kind of the
difference between strength and hypertrophy a little bit more.
So I think I think we just in general program a little bit
differently. I kind of forgot the question.
I just got when you say I'm sorry.
I lost my train of thought a little bit but I just feel like
it's different now and I think we program a little bit.
We're just all programming a little bit smarter now where we
should be. Because there's more knowledge
out there just of trying to move in different planes of trying to
move at different speeds of, you know, I can't, I cannot capably
train explosive power. If I'm doing eight to 12 reps.
It just can't physiologically happen and I think we understand
some of those things now and so it kind of affects our training
a little bit. Yeah, totally agree.
So I think explosive power, I don't see a whole lot of people,
you know, integrating that into their program and I don't know
if it's because they're ignorant towards the door or what but
that's That's a concept that I don't think is mainstream like
people will do Sprints and things like that, but I actually
like doing explosive movements through their actual training
exercises. So, when you're doing that, what
is your typical like rep and set scheme with these explosive
movements? So, a couple things, I think, I
think, yeah. We just we need a point where we
change speeds in our workouts. Can we have to go fast, right?
And and again physical physio our body is not capable of doing
that over too many reps. So I like to think of it as
three. Just four sets of three to five
reps. Working with a submaximal.
Wait, right? Like and considerably.
So like if I were to, if I were doing that, I think it can come
in a variety of forms. I think, kettlebells are really,
really good for that. You know, if I was doing, you
know, say like a kettlebell, press, the windmill for
strength. I might grab a 7-pound
kettlebell, right? But if I'm doing an explosive
push, press, I mean, grab a pair of 35, and I'm actively there to
check. Change it to train explosion.
Right? I'm going to probably grab a
pair of 35 lb kettlebells, but I think it's about keeping the
Reps low. And the reason I think a lot of
average people don't include explicit training in their
workouts is because explosive chaining is all about intent,
right? It's you have to whatever load
you pick up. You have to be moving it.
It's a load, you can handle but you have to decide to move it?
Really, really fast to be honest.
I think sprinting is also about intent.
I think. The people here speak partly
because a group fitness, a lot of people think they can Sprint
over, you know, over. Oh, for a minute, right?
The amount of workouts on the Internet or in group, fitness
classes, where I hear a coach tell people to Sprint for a
minute. I apologize.
I'm really scattered. But now you got me on this
frickin thing, but the amount of times I hear that and I just
shake my head because know if I'm going like I've got maybe 15
seconds of real. Sprintin me and then my body
just can't can't do it. Right.
Then. I'm shifting into a little bit
more of an aerobic mode. And I think I think people it's
about intent with the Sprint. It's about the intent to go as
fast as possible to explode to stay down a little bit and I
think those are I think the reason people don't do enough
explosive training is because they're not really sure how to
capture that intent. And that's why not to get again
a little bit scared here, but that's why I think the
kettlebell swing is a great move because it's it can't Unless you
do the, the bodybuilding classic, the squat, the front
raise in which case you'll be using like a 35-pound kettlebell
Max, a kettlebell swing can only happen fast.
Right? And so that's why I think it's a
really good introduction to this is what explosive training,
feels like a it's also a unique move in that as explosive as
moves that kind of really capture explosive power, go.
I think it can be done a little bit more High rep, like you
could do that. That's a, you know, 30 seconds
on 30 off for 40 seconds on 20 off.
In fact, the kettlebell swing is probably my cheat code in terms
of explosive training if I'm ever short, right?
If I if I've done chaste, if I'm done any because there's a total
value body element to it to total body element to all
exposing moves. But if I'm ever, you know,
shorten it work out. I don't have time.
It's like, oh, I didn't have a chance to do anything,
explosive. I'll throw literally, three
minutes of kettlebell swings and on the back, end of my workout
at 40 seconds on 20 off for 30 30.
Um, I'm going to have to move fast because that's the only way
a kettlebell swing can happen properly.
And what wait are you typically use them on the swings for that?
Because it's the back end work out.
I'll pick up like, you know, a 62 or 70, something I can
control because again, they don't think you need to go
incredible. You don't need to go incredibly
heavy. The object is to move away, is
to move a load fast. So I think you wanted to be a
challenging load. I would generally say, you know
a good starting point for somebody is Probably, you know
third like 30 to 40 percent of whatever.
They might argue. Gotcha.
I need I need to be that man.
I bet that's a very tangible actionable thing that I should
definitely start incorporating with my workout today.
Going forward because I don't do I don't think you explosive
movements all that much, you know, I guess a bonding but are
you just ingrained to be as inefficient as possible have
like the longest range of motion?
Like it's totally different than powerlifting, but I love lifting
heavy. I love certain.
The power lifting but I don't incorporate near as much
explosion. As I said, I don't do Sprints.
Like I should. I've done like a lot of, you
know, endurance running stuff. I don't really consider myself a
runner, but I've done like a bunch of a bunch of that just
because I like the mindset aspect of running long
distances, but I think explosion something that I could
definitely benefit from incorporating more.
I feel like people, they automatically assume that the
explosive movements like the jerky movements and that stuff
is the main contributing factor for injury and I Like so many
people just shy away from it for fear of, for free of injury.
Yeah. And so that's that's that's a I
think why one I was really picky about.
As I was explaining it. I'm very big into submaximal
weight. Right?
Like you don't need to move your max, wait to train explosively.
You have to so. Excellent.
What God, I'm blanking out on my math formulas, but I believe
what forces is what? Basically, basically, there's
force and velocity like we can, we can create, we can move a
heavy load slowly write and create a certain amount of
force, right or we can move a lighter load incredibly.
Like I like we can move half that stat heavy load at Double
the speed and we're still moving.
We're still creating the same Force, right?
It's the time that it's the time that it took for us to create
that force that, that differentiates like explosive
from from a hypertrophy with what from, you know, from from
like, Strength-based slow were just looking heavy lift.
And so it's all about intent. Do I desire to create?
I like to say that weights are kind of waiter tool, right, but
we can still create that force in our muscles.
And I mean that's kind of, you know, granted there are
limitations in terms of how much no testosterone were driving
Etc. If we're not, you know benching
heavy for example, but we can still create that tension that
force in our muscles. We just have to like want to and
I think that's what it is. It's about intent with it.
Both straining. The other thing too, is, I think
it's interesting cuz I love my background is similar to yours
and I come from, I come from a very bodybuilder, School
thinking, that's how I was brought up.
Very time under tension, very slow, feel the muscle, like you
said as inefficient as possible to squeeze the most out of the
muscle. And I think what the timing, and
the way I kind of matured in Fitness was sort of perfect,
because I was able to, when I got two events held, I was able.
Take sort of that bodybuilding. I also came from a gymnastics
background and I was able to take some of that and also some
track and field that I had in college and bring that to, you
know, all these CrossFit Concepts, which I was then
exposed to. And I think what happened is
what we're what happens is when, when a bodybuilder when you take
that, brilliant mind muscle connection that you developed
over all those reps of, you know, squeezed cable, rows, and
paused pull up. Oops, and and focused squats.
When you take all of that into these explosive exercises, you
you're going to be really, really once you understand the
mechanics of what's Happening. Once you understand that a clean
is basically a kettlebell clean, is basically a kettlebell swing
into pulling the Bell, back to yourself like a horizontal row
and you understand the muscles. Your kind of activating you're
going to get so much out of those exercises and you're also
because you understand my muscle connection I think you're also
really pretty, you're protected. Right?
Because you understand the muscles that you're trying to
activate or if somewhere somebody explains to you the
muscles you're supposed to be using that there's an element of
back on the Kettlebell clean, your body can figure it out.
And I think that's probably the missing link in export.
That's the missing link when we expose general population,
people to expose a training. And that's why injuries happen
because we're Posing them at times too early.
They've got to understand, you've got to understand how to
create core tension, how to squeeze your shoulder blades,
and why that's important. When you go overhead, how to
squeeze your glutes? You have to understand those
things among other things. You have to understand those
before you can move a load explosively.
So, in order for me to get you to say, do that, very explosive
bench or do you know an explosive deadlift, you know,
Jump deadlift, like basketball players by do in order for me to
expose you to that. I need you to First understand
the basic fundamentals. It's like it goes back to the
beginning of our discussion. I need to First understand and
hold a level of Mastery over the basic fundamental lifts and
understand exactly what you're supposed to feel.
Because then you understand, when I have you do the explosive
deadlift with say, 25 pounds on each side of the trap bar, that
you're still creating that same tension that you had when we
were dead. Really staying stay 225 gosh.
Yeah, that makes total sense. I feel like I've like CrossFit
gets a bad rap for injury and I'm not a crossfitter, but I've
got respect for the sport for sure.
But I feel like the injuries come because you have a lot of
inexperienced, people coming in and automatically being
pressured to do something for time, which obviously is going
to just put that explosion to the next level.
But with total, you know, disconnecting is between them
and their muscles. Yeah, exactly.
And I give CrossFit a lot of credit for two things.
I think I think Russell has done to has brought two things to
Fitness that are really, really used to 1.
I think the variability conversation started group
fitness. I was doing that for a long
time, to some extent but in terms of really popularizing
popularizing variability and just getting making it feel not,
like the kind of thing you do in just your aerobics class cross.
It was very, very responsible for that.
Now, you could argue that it went overboard.
I might say that, I might say it's too much at times.
But at the same time, it got trainers.
Really thinking about that great.
The other thing I think Crossroads did really well is
and you go back to a little bit of our fashion discussion and
also just kind of a discussion about variably overall.
It kind of got it, dare to mix and I think this is the heart of
fitness and this is something we need to do more of both as an
industry and you know, within our own own trainings because
Cuz I think different modalities kind of support each other
CrossFit, really kind of Blended.
You have pieces of gymnastics in there powerlifting, you know,
Olympic lifting kettlebells. You have all these pieces that
people are exposed to when they went to.
You have all the cardio equipment, right?
You've all these pieces that people were exposed to and it
did a really good job of forcing, everyone to you to
embrace multiple ideas. There are pieces of of yoga.
A lot of mobility in there. I think those are the two things
crossed. It did really well.
The struggle was it? Grew really fast, right?
And you look at it three to four years ago.
It really fast there. A lot of people and I do the one
thing I think that's different and it's a stank.
The flex it to, is your training with me on Flex it, or you're
training with me. If you have me in person and I'm
just dealing with you. So I'm watching every single
rep. I can correct your form.
I can give those Micro Key same for anybody who I'm sure.
Try Ends with you where it's hard to.
It's hard to teach an entire. I don't think I could do it.
I don't think I could teach 30 people to do a power clean or to
even do a clean, kettlebell swing all at once and I think
that's that was the tough part and that's why I got me into
your app, a little code that makes that makes total sense as
far as injuries. Go.
Like, is there anything that you personally do to really be
preventive towards towards injuries?
Like you do yoga or anything like that?
It's interesting, a couple of. So I'd say, I'd say, I do three
things, one fundamentally is the structure of the work out.
Right? And I think that goes back to,
you know, making sure there's a level of variability in there.
Making sure there's a level of tempo.
Change, we talk a lot about explosive.
I also make sure to get some eccentric work in there.
I'm very big into one of my favorite things to do lately is
I will do a set of chin-ups and of the, you know, Max reps kind
of standard. Sometimes dress, pause,
whatever, Bell base. Battery myself with chin-ups.
And I'll come off of that, go over to a single arm cable
machine. Make sure I'm using more than
50% of my pull download, but I just use a single D handle.
I'll pull down with both arms on that D handle.
And then, on the way up, I'll only use one arm and I'm
thinking of like a five or six seconds eccentric because I
think that those ideas are sometimes missing from our
workouts. It's important to slow down too,
but I think the the The idea of changing Tempo is changing
directions. All of that to some extent, I
would argue for these strongly is bulletproofing.
My body one for life, but to for sport, and for any lift I can do
because my body is acclimated to moving at different speeds and
moving in different planes. So, I think that's one thing I
try to do is just like the entire way.
I approach my work out. The other two things.
I do are one. I think I try to approach each
workout before. I've done the workout.
As I'm warming up. I try to make sure to Do life.
So before I go do my leg workout after we're done with this.
I know I've been sitting for a while and that means that my
shoulder blades are probably not as well as they should be.
And maybe my shoulders are rolled forward, and I'm looking
at it now and it's not good. You know, that means my hip
flexors are tight. It means my glutes aren't
necessarily fired up. So I think it's really important
and it doesn't take as long as people think to spend six to
eight minutes. Not even that four to six
minutes on the front of a workout doing just undoing.
NG whatever your bad life positions are.
And I think we did their somewhat parallel for most
people, but we all have an idea of places where we don't feel
great. The bad habits were in, if we're
Fitness aware at all. Then we kind of recognize those
things. So I do a lot of.
I do a lot of actually lightweight but banded external
rotations before every single workout.
I have a, I have a history of shoulder issues going back to my
bodybuilding days. So I make sure to to address
that I'll do a lot of glute work, you know, do monster
walks. I'll get in.
Probably my favorite stretch to do of all time and something I
do before every workout is the Spider-Man lunge to with the
Rasik rotation, nice simple move, but hits a lot of notes in
terms of your mid-back stimulation.
Opening up the chest opening up the hips a little bit of plank
in there. So core Activation, so I think
it's really really important to do that.
And then the third thing I'll do and it's probably the thing I'm
sloppiest that but I need to To get better.
Because I know, the more I do this, the more, I realize the
importance of it and also just sending example for everybody
else. I think we need to spend some
time. I think we need to spend some
time every week, at least two to three days a week, with some
sort of blend of active recovery and password recovery.
And that can be a little bit of just Mobility work.
I think movement is the best solution to anything.
Just bodyweight movement, whether that's cat Cow or you
know, child's pose with Thread throughs or even going.
Back back to that Spider-Man large.
I think we just need to move our bodies.
It gets us, you know, it gets a lot of blood flow of blood is
the ultimate healer of everything.
So I do some of that kind of active recovery.
Again, doesn't need to be long and it's something you can do
during the workday. Just get up for five minutes, do
some cat Cow, choose one, move a day and pretty much every two
hours especially in work from home culture.
It's really easy to sneak in. Literally 30 seconds of stretch.
There are so many zoo meanings when I do this, but we're just
not going to tell anybody. D, but I think that and then a
combination of more passive recovery, whether that's, you
know, massage or cold tub or you know cryo or you know, I'm very
big into the What is it? The why my blanking the boots?
The compression boots? Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I think just it's interesting because we did a
piece on. We did a piece on recovery,
maybe about a year and a half ago, the big Takeaway on a lot
of these recovery tool is whether it was compression
boots, or estim or cryotherapy or red light therapy was.
There's not enough data to have a real takeaway, right?
But when you talk to The Experts and one thing they say is
anything that really makes the down.
It's too nervous. System makes you feel relaxed on
some level is good. Right?
So it's important to take that time, whether that's, you know,
for me, it's the compression boots for somebody else.
It may be video games. Okay?
For me, it's video games, do for somebody else and maybe reading
a book or maybe watching something on Netflix, but taking
that time to let the body down regulate from a workout helps
with recovery and helps. I think to a very underrated
extent, bulletproof vests and radius, try next workout, 100%
agreement, I think. Think I'm, I've been making a
point as of the past week and a half and I downloaded some, you
know, cheap Yoga studio app on my iPhone and I've been doing,
you know, like three or four nights a week of like 10, 15
minute sessions are just these simple yoga moves and I'm not a
yoga yoga Yogi by needs. So, I feel totally awkward and
doing it, but it's super humbling, man, like some of
these moves. I'm like watching this skinny
little girl, instructor going through these moves
effortlessly, and I'm, like, how the hell is she moving her head
like that in her head? And everything.
So I've been doing that but I swear I go to sleep way better.
My recovery seems to be better wake up, feeling more refreshed
to have a little bit more flexibility already, like a week
and a half in. So I feel like being being
consistent with, that is super important because, how old are
you? Don't mind me asking.
I just turned 41, just turned 41.
Okay, I'm 13, but I swear, man, like, I feel, I feel like I'm
getting older, man. I hate saying that out loud, but
I feel like I'm Not as limber as I was five ten years ago, and I
don't want that to catch up. Catch up with me.
It's it. I think that that's at the heart
of Fitness though, right? Because it is, I think that's
kind of, that's, that's the easiest mistake.
And I don't even want to call it a mistake because I think it's
just, it's almost like a life lesson.
I think it's really, really easy to think.
And I think I definitely went through the same thing mostly
when I was in college, right? You think you're working out and
you think that's enough. And had a very base level it is,
but at the very base level, it is like it's better to I'd
Rather somebody go to the gym and do like biceps curls if
that's what they're into, then they not go at.
All right? Totally.
But um, I think it I think like they say, Fitness is a use it or
lose it proposition. And in general, I think we tend
to think of that as, you know, as like we just said, it's like
you go to the gym, so you're using right, but it's really I
think about using Using using the skills and the things your
body is capable of. And if we don't do that, then if
we don't do that then I think we like it's important to you.
And that's why I think it's about filling in blanks and our
workouts and and making sure that we kind of cover, not just
the things we want to do, but the things you need to do and
that's not just training body parts, but training at those
difficulties. So the time when I realized that
I need to get more explosive training in my workouts was
probably like Three or four years ago.
I was definitely in this phase of, you know, a lot of like I
was I would go to group fitness classes because I got to check
those out as the Men's Health Fitness director, right, but I
was definitely in a phase for myself where it was a lot of you
know, biceps curls and slow motions and stuff like that.
That went out to play a game of basketball and I've never felt
so slow. I look great.
I was like the best looking guy out there, but until you until
you saw like my pizza box, vertical, right, which was not.
Normal for me because I'm a guy who, you know, grew up.
Like I mean, like I'm 59, but, you know, I can I can get up
right? And so it was like, well, what
happened? Because I've been training
really hard. Yes, but I'd been training the
exact same way. Really hard for a very, very
long time. Somebody was only good at those
things. And so I think we have to it's
really, really important to figure out, kind of what we had
is a little bit simplistic in terms of thought, but I think
it's a useful exercise. Figure out.
The thing is, we want to get at and make sure you know, whether
that's playing basketball with our kids or, you know, being
able to lift whole log so we can like, you know, basically chop
up our own backyard or whatever like figure out what we wanted
to get at and then make sure there's an aspect of that in our
training that readies us for that.
So yeah, I totally agree mean you've mentioned Flex it a few
times. Can you kind of give us a little
breakdown of what that is exactly?
Yeah, so Flex it is, it's a, it's a training platform.
Virtual platform is the best way to say it, and what we do a
flex, it is we connect people. So there are a lot of fitness
apps out there, you know, and most of them are kind of, you
know, like you downloaded workout, you watch some videos
Etc, Flex. It is very different in that.
It's a platform that lets us connect.
Lets me connect one-on-one to train anybody.
We've got a variety of trainers on.
They're all of whom you know specialize in Things.
And I think the one on one connection is what's really
cool. I was not into virtual training
before the pandemic. I firmly believe that the best
experience you're going to get with me as a trainer is in
person, right? Because I can cue you, I can
watch every single angle as cetera.
But what I discovered during the pandemic was how awesome the
flex it tool is because I was able to, it's one of the coolest
things for me. I was able to get one of my
Clients on, Flex it in the course of a couple months
working over virtual because they have so many tools baked
in, I can draw on the screen. I can point that I can take a
screenshot and point out where your form is off other stuff
like that because they have all that stuff built in.
I was actually able to get a guy to I believe it 225 pound
deadlift, which was a lot for him, you know, so you can you
can make a lot of games with that kind of virtual
programming. So that's Flex it, I've worked
with them. About a year, we're kind of
always adding New pieces, trying to strike that balance between,
again, the hardcore stuff that you and I talked about and then
making Fitness interesting for the average person.
So, whether that's, there's some stuff I can't talk about that.
We have coming down the pipeline, that's built to make
Fitness more accessible and make it fun for the average person.
But again, still let me do what I want to do, which is make you
stronger and give you smart programming.
Yeah. I think I think that's super
exciting. Signing space to be in.
And I mean I'm I'm very old-school with my thinking so I
kind of you know, like you and I were talking about the very
beginning like I go back to the basics.
I don't think of training in terms of doing so virtually with
somebody, but at the same time, I see all these people, that
just simply need some direction, need some inspiration, need some
motivation, need some education. And for them to be able to just
remove that barrier to entry by having a qualified coach, like
yourself on the other end of the screen that are really walking
them through, you know, where they're where they're Miss
stepping and whatnot. That's that's huge man.
Yeah, one of the best piece of advice, I got early on.
So I'll again, I was very against it because to me, I
can't, I can't watch. I can't really watch every
single vertebrae in your spine when you're dead lifting from
miles upon miles away. I can't really teach you.
I can't, I can't school. I can't put my finger between
your shoulder blades to teach you how to squeeze your shoulder
blades. Can't do all that.
Right? So I was, I was relatively
against much like you the much of the entire.
I was relatively against Fitness.
Period. I was like to me it didn't make
sense to get on there because I just felt like I can't train
either since somebody made a good point to me.
Right? And this might, honestly, I hope
this first you to kind of get into online fitness because I
think this was a really really good point.
What they made two points. One one point was they basically
said to me, you're putting out all these workouts on the
Instagram and people you're not teaching those people have them,
right? So if anything Saying this is a
step up. Okay, and it's true.
It's like essentially I'm putting out a lot of work at
this crap. But then the other point, I
think is more important. And this is what's really stuck
with me. He was basically like, would you
rather coach them on an app with your experience and your
knowledge and attention to detail?
Or would you rather have Instagram influencer ex who, you
know, just happens to be a gym shark athlete and has no clue
what they're doing coaches on it out because somebody's going to
coach him on an app. It's just not you.
Yeah, and that stuck with me. And I think it's and that's why
I think it's really really important for good coaches to
dare to put themselves on an app even though yeah, it's not going
to be the same as one on one, but you have enough to offer on
there. I think.
No, I totally gay men. I got respect for that.
For sure. Is there is there an app that
you use or recommend? Or maybe maybe Flex it does this
for like tracking your Progressive overload.
So I use a macro tracking app and I like class but I have not
really found it a training tracking app that.
I've fallen in love with because just I don't like cumbersome
apps while I'm training and I don't really do pin and paper.
That's I pretty much train Instinct with, like, a mental
note of what my last lifts were on a compound movement, for
instance. But is there an app that you use
or recommend for tracking your lips and you know, ensuring that
you're hitting previous of overload.
Hmm. It's interesting.
I had I hadn't really hadn't really thought about that.
So now, it isn't just, I'll say this too.
I think Progressive overload takes multiple forms, you know,
when you talk about adding complication, adding reps, you
know, reducing rest time. So I think there are multiple
ways to slice that sometimes I kind of do it like new very,
very instinctive and very, very instinctive.
You kind of going off, feel and I feel like you and me are
experienced enough that, you know, sometimes, you know, I may
not have that big bad precedent. And I know it.
So I know how to back down. And so I think it's a little
different for us. It's weird.
I tend to default to I don't there's not an app and I think
apps over complicated. I just keep all my stuff in and
I keep on my client stuff on. If you have an iPhone.
I think it's like the notes app. It's super simple that it works.
Yeah, so I'm not probably didn't give you a great idea there, but
like ants have a class to prefer that, so that makes sense.
Yeah, it's weird. I grew up.
I definitely. And you probably did too.
It's like, you know, the kind of paper guy now, but I definitely
I definitely remember being like 10 11 12 years old and you know,
writing down. Okay, today.
I did this many pushups and this Maze and this makes sense in
this many squats in like, you know, just a notepad.
And I had I had probably I probably went through at least
15 of those between the ages of like 11 and 21.
I'm more than that though. Those are cool to look back on
me. Like I've got I've got piece of
paper somewhere that has like my nutrition from way back in the
day like my max bench press was like 30 pounds because I didn't
have money to buy his press. I was using like an igloo green.
Ice chest is my bench, like all kinds of all kinds of junky
stuff. But, but I love looking back at
those old notes. Yeah, it's, I used to again.
I was also very skinny kid growing up.
I was definitely on the smaller side moving around a lot.
So that was part of the reason, one of the reasons.
I got into fitness and kind of fell in love with the fitness
game. Also big superhero guy, but I
remember like I remember curling I would I would curl and this
was before I had weights, I would curl.
Girl, I would fill up those gallon water things.
And when I graduated to the three gallon water curl, you
know, you know how to have that tape, two and a half gallon
square thing. When I graduated to that, it was
a huge accomplishment and I was very proud of myself, but I
would, I would chart. Yeah.
How many times I could? I could curl that, that was my
big thing, and it was funny because the pandemic, it what,
two, three years. What was it?
Three God. It's been a while - but the
pandemic hit, ya depend, Emma, kit and all.
The sight of a sudden people didn't have their weights and
stuff like that. And I remember putting a lot of
that kind of stuff on Instagram, because I think the cool thing
is when you're a kid who doesn't necessarily have weights and you
have like a limited amount of Weights you recognize and you
learn pretty quickly. Then a load is a load like to a
dumbbell or kettlebell. It's like, you know, that's
that's the fitness privilege talking if we're arguing over a
dumbbell or kettlebell or, you know, a barbell, you know, you
can get jacked off of get. Wrong off of, you know, any of
those you can find as long as, you know, how to move it.
Yeah, exactly. I got one more question for you,
man. My personal lagging body parts
hamstring and chest like my hamstrings and Chester.
That is my weak points. When I step onstage.
That's the 2 spot. I need to bring up.
No one. Then what would you make?
Sure? I include my program.
Like, you got to have this new program for hypertrophy for
chest and hamstrings. Hmm.
That's a tough. That's a tough question of
topic. That's a tough question that
without knowing your for chaining.
It's definitely a little bit challenging for me to be too
prescriptive. I would say the couple things,
the things I do for chest and the advice I would give you
because I'm sure, you know, the movements right and I'm sure
you're hitting them just cuz you know, I'm sure you're hitting
them but I would almost think about Focus, right?
Especially when it comes to chess.
So the two things I really tried to think about with chess.
Our one making sure you get a lot of mid back work because I
believe that's going to open up your chest.
Like and I'm sure you get if your back is pointing
competition. I'm sure you're getting a lot of
work there. So I probably don't need to
belabor that point. But the other thing I would say
is I think it's about the quality.
I think the way to it's about the quality of contraction and
mind muscle connection. And I think sometimes we get too
heavy with chest exercises. We can lose that and we're alive
on my shoulders. The one thing I try to think
about, And I don't know if this will make any sense and say,
they found a lot of weird, a little weird that I've been
trying to think of a better way to explain it.
But I try to keep for as long as I can.
Every exit, every Tessa to size, whether it's a press or a
push-up, or a cable fly, and I really like cable flyes for, as
long as I can. I want my shoulder joint to
stay. I want to basically keep my
scapula retracted and I want my shoulder joint to stay to stay
behind my chest, right? And the more behind you know how
to bench press below my chest stays and the more I can keep
that shoulder joint contracted. I wish we were on camera now to
be a little bit easier explain but I feel like, I feel like
what happens then is you're able to, I think a lot of what
happens if you don't do that is the entire shoulder complex in
this forward, right? And then you're not really,
you're not really driving it with that optimal chest,
squeeze. So I think I think focusing on
keeping especially when Gnu, when you bench press right.
Focusing on keeping your shoulders behind or beneath
rather your chest as you press up and you can finish, you know,
what you can, you can let them rise as you finish, but keep
them behind for as long as you possibly can.
It's shoulder safer to over the long term for your rotator cuff,
but I think that will get you kind of an optimal chest
squeeze. And that I think is key to kind
of creating, you know, the definition and shape and size
that you want. Because you're getting A barrage
of contraction, even if you are going to a provider for
hamstrings for hamstrings, that that's hard.
Because I definitely have, definitely always trained.
My lower body more with covering.
We know, some of the stuff we talked about in covering my
performance basis. I think what's helped me and my
hamstrings are not, you know, a strong suit for myself, visually
either. But I think what's helped me.
I think it's just hitting the basics, but that would expand
upon that, right? So I think, I think it's
important to I think you want to our DL which I'm sure you do.
I would play with the staggered stance, RTL going heavy on it
and maybe elevating elevating like your front foot because
that would give you like a little bit of a deeper hamstring
contraction. Kind of if you think about some
of the facts of stuff we were talking about earlier and
happened, kind of like the tension it creates.
I think that's one thing I would do, if I go really heavy.
We don't know them. Yeah, exactly.
Just like it tweet. It doesn't have to be much and
in practice. It really can't much but you'll
get a deep deep, good hamstring contraction, out of that and
then I would play with it. If you haven't done it already
or if you're not doing it. I would play with Nordic curls
because I think, I think again, that's a, that's a really good
slow contraction these more. Yeah, exactly.
I love those, you know, so I think it and, and once you get
strong and You can kind of load you like it's crazy because
loading that was like a 10-pound attempt on plate is plenty,
right? But kind of once you can get
strong and loading that, I think those are two things that might
help you crack a little bit of the hamstring code.
I love it, man. I love it.
When my I'm gonna do some of that you don't like someday.
I'm going to be doing some deadlift.
So I might throw some of those Nordic Nordic curls in there.
Just to mix it up a little bit. Yeah.
Glad to be able to help and, you know, can't wait to can't wait
to see you on stage with that. Jack chest.
I'm going to take credit all the credit goes to you, man.
For sure. Well, sweet, brother.
Where do people go to find out more about you and follow along
and dive into Flex? It for 4 Flex.
Its you can basically for me, you can go to my Instagram.
That's at Ebenezer Samuel, 23, so nice and simple.
And I think for Flex it. I would go to the flexing,
Instagram. Let's get people on there.
It's Flex, it underscore Fitness, nice, and simple.
If they want to get a workout in, go to flex it that fit /
backsplash or whatever virtual PT, and that will get them where
they need to get. But, yeah, excited to train as
many people on Flex as we can, and get more people on the
platform. Awesome.
And I can't thank you enough for the time and the tips.
I'll be putting these Summit some of these into practice
right away. There's ever anything I can do
for you man. Don't hesitate to reach out and
let me know. No, thanks for having me on.
It was a blast. And yeah, it was a blast.
Take care brother and keep in touch, man.