10 Rules to the Fitness Game

The law has been laid down.  Listen and comply.

Rules and Laws have much precedent in society.  They are designed to create a sense of right and wrong.  Some of us are good, honest folk who follow the rules.  Some of us however are second rate degenerates who make their own rules.
It is unfortunate but a lot of these degenerates are in the fitness game too.  Myself and my training partner Chris "Young Husky" Gilbert decided to write the rules of the games that should not be broken.  But they are broken daily by the ignorant ones in the field.  Let us set the record straight.

1.  Thou shall not dress fit if deemed unfit.
This goes out to those who are in heinous shape, have high bodyfat percentages, and generally unfit.  You do not get to wear flashy Under Armour or Nike.  It is earned through hard work.  When I was smooth and in pitiful shape I wore pants and a long sleeve T until I accomplished my goal.  To look the part you have to put in the proper work.  Spandex and Dri Fit are out.  You can fool the average fool but you cannot fool us.

2.  Thou shall not be uninformed and train with the significant other.
The worst thing to see in the gym is the "trainer" boyfriend with his unknowing girlfriend.  The problem is that the boyfriend is typically a C.H.A.R.M (Man who only trains chest/arms) and also has his girl do the same C.H.A.R.M workout.  It is a disaster every single time as most women are not after massive biceps and triceps.  When the girl asks "Can I train my legs", the boyfriend shows her a lame partial leg press and leg extension.  She should know that he has no answers based on how his legs resemble pipes.  I am ALL for couples training as long as they push each other and have a productive session.  It is a great bonding tool and will get you both in your favorite mood.  BUT, the meathead boyfriend training the girlfriend is a TOTAL violation.

3.  Thou shall not prescribe isolation movements for the obese.
I once had a client who walked in the door weighing 520lbs.  His routine consisted of full body compounds to the best of his ability at the time.  There were no curls, extensions, kickbacks and other moves that offer nothing for a person at over 60 percent bodyfat.  He lost 80lbs in the first 6 months with major moves and great scheme.  "Trainers" please stop being lazy and unprofessional.  Train with some quality!  Do not just say "Well he weighs 520, i'll have him do curls and kickbacks since he cannot do anything else."  How about progressive programming?  He told me his former "trainer" had him do the curls and kickbacks.  NO VALUE.

4.  Thou shall not perform a half rep in major compound moves and count it as the one rep max.
So what counts?  A full bucket squat, a bench press with no chest bounce, and a deadlift with a full lockout.  TOO many men think that when they bench 300lbs a quarter of the way down that they now max 300lbs.  On squat, men do quarter or half squats and count the number also.  I just watched a punk load up 405 in the cage to squat.  I stood to watch as the feat could be very impressive.  Meanwhile he shakily unracked the bar with his body shaking like a leaf.  I knew at this point he stood no chance.  His knees bent ever so slightly, and he repeated this process 6 times!!!  He then walked away as if he was the Don of Lifting.  The truth is that 185 to the bucket would of pinned him to the floor.  Do not cheat the game.

5.  Thou shall not program without Full Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, and Overhead Press.
Creating programs and avoiding these movements is counterproductive.  This is where your base strength and power will come from.  Squat, Push, and Pull.  All movements come from the big 4 so your protocol should include them.  Do not be the meathead who just benches with regularity, but avoids the other 3 with more regularity.  Leg Press does not replace Squat.  It compliments it.  Like Scottie and Mike.  And if you are injured to the point where one of these moves do not work for you, the above moves have many variations for you to choose from.  Don't run.

6.  Thou shall not attempt to overcome poor diet with training.
New training clients are especially known for this.  When someone begins to train, initially they believe that the training alone will get them to look like a stallion.  The bottom line however is that without a proper diet protocol, you cannot achieve the look that you want to.  I have helped people with training and after they run the program on their own they say "I have not lost any fat, I did everything right!"  No my friend, you have done nothing right.  And it starts with what you have been eating.  Training like Rocky, but eating like Homer makes you Homer Balboa....strong, but smooth.

7.  Thou shall realize that nutrition is the king of the triumvirate of the INC.
The I.N.C. is the endgame in training.  Intenstiy of training, Nutrition of a king, and the Consistency of the seasons.  The one that separates average trainer from physique king is the N.  So stop making excuses for pathetic eating habits and shape up like a sharp hairline!  Your diet is 80 percent of your results.  Majority wins every time.  Except in 2000...

8.  Thou shall not bear false witness to training numbers.
"Man, I squatted 500lbs!"  "I can bench 315lbs for 20 homie!"  This is obviously supremely blasphemous.  Do not write checks that will bounce at the bank of Truth.  Whatever you spew from your mouth had better be provable and doable.  If not you earn yourself a spot on the W.O.A.T list.

9.  Thou shall not knowingly harm one's body through abuse of drugs, alcohol, steroids, and gluttony.
So how can you expect to be fit when you heavily drink or do crazy drugs?  Do steroids make you fit?  You may look fit, but your insides will be rotting and you will be 10,000 miles away from healthy.  And eating excessive calories often definitely has no value.  I once trained a woman who put down about 4,000 calories in a few hours!  Did she have the look of someone who trained hard?  Heck NO!

10. Thou shall not claim natural when on the juice, sauce, tonic, etc.
Look I am anti-steroids to the core.  That is my stance.  I am about maximizing the human body naturally.   Fitness to me is about looking amazing, but also being extremely healthy in mind and body.  With that being said, a lot of athletes/weekend warriors take anabolics.  Steroids are the shortcut to a goal.  If you are into taking the tonic, then compete in competitions with fellow tonic users.  What real person takes the juice and then goes into a natural powerlifting or bodybuilding contest.  This has NO VALUE.  You want to feel good about yourself by winning?  Then compete against your fellow juicers and leave the naturals be.  Would Lebron go overseas to play pro ball?

Do not break the rules and you can succeed.  If not, you will fade away like summer into fall...