We left for Nicaragua the day after Christmas and we hit the PO box before heading out of town. Much to my delight I had a box full of goodies from Laurie Draper. Laurie has been super helpful in the past with some Performance Menu projects so the care package should not have been a surprise. Here is what the box contained:
Advances in Functional Training by Mike Boyle
Most of you have likely heard of Mike Boyle, read his articles and listened to his podcasts. He is a highly successful strength coach in the Boston area and has worked with folks from every conceivable demographic, from kids to NHL stars. Mike has some controversial ideas (the back squat takes more than it gives) but he definitely PRODUCES. I have not read the whole book yet but it is excellent as much for the philosophy as for the field tested training methods. Boyle makes some strong points about safety, progression and competences that MANY people would benefit from considering. I particularly like his section on programming and his analogy between a cook, sous-chef and master chef and the progression as a strength coach. RE-hab, pre-hab, unilateral work, programming, periodization, smart use of GPP ( a means instead of and end…really important distinction to make when you are working with athletes as opposed to general fitness clients). I highly recommend the book for anyone who takes themselves seriously as a trainer. If you want to be a professional at this stuff the educational process never ends.
I think I’m the last person in the world to not read Dan’s book. It’s AWESOME. Funny, articulate and insightful. Dan has been competing at a high level in various athletic endeavors for…well, I long ass time. Dan has tinkered with everything, is always ready to learn and even more ready to share. He has good taste in Scotch too. Something that impresses me about Dan is he is a Coach That CAN. He does his workouts, he recommends “meat, leaves and berries” and oddly enough, that’s pretty much what he eats. Refreshing IMO.
In 4 DVD’s Dan covers his training philosophy, KettleBells, Olympic Lifting, and programing/training examples. I’ve only watched part’s 1 and 4 thus far as they grabbed my attention the most. I really like them. I tend not to be a big KB guy so I’m approaching that one with some hesitancy (Tom Corrigan has promised to cure me of this…problem but I’m I tend to like Mac’s and DB’s.. just weird that way!). In all seriousness, I will update this when I get to the other two DV’s.
I just wanted to let folks know about these resources and to thank Laurie for the continued friendship and support.
Hey Coach Wolf!
I just wanted join in a say the podcasts are A-Fraking-Mazing!! I’ve been on a run and have listened to all 7 and they pack a whole heaping oodle of info. Thank you so much for taking the time to put these together.
On another note, a while back I sent you an email about a potential plan of action. The emails initials are S A E. I haven’t heard back from you (which I’m afraid gives me my answer) but I did want to make sure you got it.
Another side question/recommendation if you could, should those who have already attended a “cert” by you back in the CF days still attend the new one or is it going to be essentially the same stuff minus zone? Also I didn’t see anything on how to sign up for the lecture.
Thanks for you time,
Chris
i’m considering using whole milk for weight gain, and i wanted to ask you if the benefits of grass fed milk are limited only to a better omega3 content. cause if that’s the case, then it might just be more economically to drink regular hormone free milk and supplement omega3 separately. i found that grass-fed milk is really expensive
Dan John is the man. But I’m with you on kettlebells, Robb (and Macs, actually.)
Great resources. Thanks! My family is Nicaraguan. What are you up to down there?
Nick-
Went to the Corn Islands last year, Grand Pacifica this year. I prefer the east coast as I really like to snorkel and spear fish. The west side was amazingly beautiful though. Too bad I do not surf much! Might live down there one day…really like the pace of life.
going back on what you said about boyle on crossfit radio? just wondering what caused the change
Greg-
No, I think he is missing the boat on some stuff and its interesting, he has a section on Circuit Training of all things! Boyle found that blocks of circuit training did the following for his athletes:
1-Improved GPP
2-Frequently improved maximal strength (very counter intuitive for him)
3-improved team cohesion via competition under the clock…
CrossFit has refined all this area to a high degree. In my mind the point of deviation is CF can be both a means and and end…but the idea of using the concepts for say, athletic development only (some kind of periodized plan like MEBB or CF Football) has met with some fairly violent opposition from HQ. That’s a whole other topic but the reality is I think Boyle had SOME accurate criticisms of CF, and dismissed outright some other beneficial elements of the program.
Go back to that CF radio piece though and listen carefully. I talked about MY gym. Boyle and Cook were talking about a lack of functional movement screens, progression and some other issues in CF. I got a phone call asking that I counter these points and, like a good soldier I did. I did it in as accurate a way as possible, by using MY gym as the example, but the implication was that ALL gyms were like this and it’s simply NOT the case. Interestingly, at that time I was up to snuff to counter Cook’s and Boyle’s assessment of CF, Now I’m a charlatan?interesting and convenient.
Kelly Starrett will help address the lack of basic anatomy and physiology understanding in the community. He will educate on the need for movement screens, smart progression and (gasp!) some kind of periodization to prevent destroying your clients. The affiliate structure that CF decided to run with has plusses and minuses. Releasing literally thousands of trainers on the world who have only a weekend course is a perfect example. I can make and argument of goods and bads about that but an undeniable fact is those folks represent both liability and potential. Hence RRG’s. Another response was the Black Box Summit which was an opportunity to address many of the inevitable shortcomings of novice trainers and business owners. We saw how popular that was with HQ. There ARE systemic problems with CF. I hope the address them with time. as it is anyone who comments on these problems (Boyle, Cook and others) gets hammered. Anyone who tries to address and fix these problems gets hammered (Black Box Summit).
I apologize if the response has gotten long, but there is more here than “I changed my mind about Mike Boyle”. If you smell BS, by all means call me on it. I obviously have plenty to say on this topic.
CF Main page has an article linked today titled, “A Code of Conduct For Effective Rationale Discussion”. They haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but passed it on anyway (sarcasm).
Jason-
Balanced, fair and objective. Isn’t that Fox News?
did you go to little corn? i’m going in may….any tips or suggestions?
Thea-
Went ot little Corn and LOVED it. Contact Paula at Farm Peace Love (in my blog roll) if you want to stay with her. She IS on the north side of the island away from the dive shops but it;s only a 30-45 min walk. Paula also has contacts on Big Corn to help you get from the airport to the doc where you take the Ponga to little Corn. It is VERY off the beaten path but I really did not want to come home. The snorkeling on the north and east sides of the island are literally some of the best in the world and easily accessible from the beach. Let em know if you need more info and please let me know how it goes!
Robb,
Thanks, that explains stuff and i agree with you about the MEBB stuff. I found it strange that you and rip were used to defend CF when convenient and are no longer affiliated- although for different reasons
Greg
Greg-
Virgins to Whores in record times!
Robb —
How bad is occasional alcohol (like 2 glasses of wine a week) when trying to otherwise be really strict Paleo for leaning out and performance?
I get that it promotes fat storage and it’s empty calories…But my b/f is a major wine-drinker and I find it almost impossible to not join in once a week when he’s having wine almost nightly. Or maybe I just need some more powerful ammunition to go back to him with regarding why he’s wasting his time spending 60-min on cardio equipment a day to combat the wine calories…
I do have him listening to your Podcasts now (YEAH!!!), so maybe you’re planning on addressing this soon anyway?
thx!
Kari
Kari-
Unless you have a significant health problem or fitness goal that precludes drinking some wine, I’d keep a little booze in the mix! Drink early in the day to avoid hGH suppression of booze before bed.
“I think I’m the last person in the world to not read Dan’s book.”
No, that would be me. Picking this up soon. Thanks for the reminder.
Robb – Can you recommend any programs that address basic anatomy and physiology as well as movemnt screens, mobility, etc. outside of CF seminars, like Cooks material, etc…nothing against Kelly, just want to get input from sources outside of HQ’s control.
Stephan-
I’ll have to check on that. I did my anatomy/physiology in my “psuedo-scientific” med-school schtick. check, Poliquin…others have programs but not sure what the content is. I think the assumption is folks actually get this via an educational process at university.
Robb,
In terms of printed resources, less periodicals, what do you recommend your trainers thoroughly read, annotate, and comprehend – kind of a, “if you were on a remote island with access to only ten fitness/nutrition/coaching books; what books would you want?” question? Given the deluge of fitness, nutrition, and coaching books on the market, finding material that is worth a damn can be a bit frustrating.
Regards,
Mike
Thanks for a pretty even review. If people listened they would realize that my fear of Crossfit does not extend to my athletes. The section you read on Circuit Training is specifically for my college athletes. My fear is high rep O-lifts, pullups etc for the general population. Either way thanks for being a good sport.
Coach Boyle! I suspect our concerns are similar: lack of progression, no thought towards using simpler movements to establish a base…is the best way to intro the DL in a 21, 15, 9 “for time” format? Obviously no!
I really appreciate your work and the book is outstanding. Hopefully I can come by your facility the next time I’m in Boston.
Coach Boyle,
I understand the concerns for the high rep Oly lifts, but I’m curious about your concern for the pullups, could you explain that. BTW, I am NOT a CrossFit junkie, but I do use metcons in the same way Robb and Coach Rut do, and always keep an open mind for alternative opinions.
Jay-
not to speak for Coach Boyle, but I think the main concern was the kip being done by folks who have neither the connective tissues integrity nor the mechanics for the movement. A concern i have as well but we address by a slow easy ramp-up. Some folks are nto really appropriate for the movement as it is commonly practiced.
I second the comment regarding kipping in the pull-up “Some folks are not really appropriate for the movement as it is commonly practiced.”
Back in 1997 I suffered from Throacic Outlet Syndrome which resulted in my having to have surgery to remove over 70% of the first rib on my right side. This surgery created a physical difference in the overall length of my right arm opposed to my left arm. . Dr.’s told me that I would never play sports or weight train, and they were right for the next two years. Over time I was able to build a routine with the help of my wife (an amazing holistic trainer) and I was able to do crossfit, sports specific exercises and began to play sports again in earnest (rugby, swimming, rock climbing). Ok now that I have laid out somewhat of where I am coming from … the kip. I find it extremely hard on my right shoulder doing kips where I have to go all the way down to the full hang so when I first started playing with crossfit I saw myself cheating a great deal on these and only doing partial movement (not acceptable in my book). I wrote off the kip and told my self through slower movement and more of a hip thrust without the swing I was able to accomplish the pull-up without sacrificing too much form. I am sure that it my condition did not prevent me from doing a kip I might be able to pull more out in a round but I am PR’d at 44 currently with 36 just standard static pull-ups.
I am not a coach however I would urge those trainers that are working with orthopedically challenged individuals to think outside of the box like my wife did for me.
P.S. Love the Podcast! Will have questions that I will post later in hopes of having yours and your co-hosts thoughts on them.
Kettlebells have been a life saver for me. Power-packed, dynamic and efficient. Much like experiencing Paleo, you have to see first hand. Heavy is the key.