Welcome

This is my blog. I have finally taken exercise, or training rather, seriously. I have chosen to train with weights for reasons detailed in the pages and posts found on this website. When I looked into exercise programs I wanted to do it right. I knew that I needed to find a method that makes sense and is something I can do throughout my entire life. I found Mark Rippetoe's book Starting Strength and I was convinced. In this book Mark introduces the concept of strength training with barbells, explains the core lifts (which are the best exercises for developing strength) and describes what else is required of an individual following the starting strength program in order to be successful (eating and sleeping). After reading Starting Strength 2nd and 3rd editions, reading from other "experts" in the field of exercise science, evaluating programs like P90X, critically thinking and recalling my experiences with college fitness classes and past expensive gym memberships I decided starting strength was the program that made the most sense. I have implemented starting strength and have experience first hand how effective it is. It is not effective because it is a breakthrough or a gimmick. It is effective because it is simple, and downright hard. Most things in life that are hard to do are worthwhile, like learning math or getting a college degree. Good things don't come fast and they don't come easy but it is almost always the case that good things come with persistent effort and time.

When I realized how great starting strength is, as a book and a program, I read more good stuff like Practical Programming and Fit. The more I read the more I learned and the more I wanted to share with other people, hence this blog. It turns out that exercise programs are kind of like religion. Most people get pissed off if you do anything but agree that what they are doing in the gym or their home, with regard to "working out" of course, is the best thing since sliced bread. This blog was generated for this reason. I don't like to make people angry. I like to inform. I like to see people make progress. I hope that this blog can be informative and not offensive.

I do not want this blog to be construed as my hatred, dislike, or disapproval for other training methods. I have run long distances and I know running is hard. If your goal is to place in a 10K or finish a marathon I think those are fine goals and I salute you. I do believe that any exercise is better than nothing (i.e. playing video games). I also believe that there are good, better and best ways to accomplish any goal and especially fitness goals. I am an intelligent person capable of critical thinking and by using using those qualities I have determined that weight training is the best way to train, especially for beginners. Please remember that my opinion on this matter is merely that, an opinion. It is not my judgment of you being a lesser human or athlete than me simply because I choose to strength train and you do not. I have discussed elsewhere that organizations like Cross-fit and Rock-fit are good. I don't say this because they are strength training organizations, they are not. The reason I like them is they get people working hard together as a group. Group training with an instructor makes it fun for the participants and gives the trainees a higher level of accountability which helps them continue in their training. I have a friend who is training at a ROC FIT affiliate doing endurance resistance training of workouts combined with kickboxing. He has lifted heavy in the past but while in grad school he found he needed a coach to yell at him and a group to be accountable to show up everyday. He has made steady increases in overall fitness and steady losses in body fat. His improvement has been nothing less than inspirational. So even though he isn't squatting heavy like he used to, he is kicking his own butt for a solid hour 5 times a week. If it takes a group setting like Cross-fit or Rock-fit to get you going, do it! But if the only reason you are doing p90x is because you are too timid to get into the weight room, you need to get some courage and get under the bar.

Please enjoy reading my rants arguments for strength training using barbells on the pages and posts in this blog. The blogs secondary purpose is to track my own training progress. So if you like you can follow and see how I progress over time. As a matter of clarity when I do post workouts I only post the work sets not the warm up sets. When I post work sets I will write something like Squat 3x5 285 lbs. Which means 3 sets of 5 reps at 285 lbs

Thanks for reading. If want to contact me more directly find me on facebook.