superadmin

66 Rules for Freedom, Happiness and Physical Excellence

Plenty of people are pissed off, stressed out, out of shape and completely unhappy. And I get it. I used to be one of those people. It took a lot for me to make necessary changes to my life over the years.

But since I did I couldn’t help but want to share the steps I took to transform my life with other people. Sure, helping people pack on muscle, lose fat and add weight to the bar is awesome and rewarding in itself. However there’s more to life than just chasing numbers.

With that said, I firmly believe that in order to be truly successful and happy, health and fitness must be a priority in your life. These things go together and are crucial for our quality of life here on this planet.

So, I figured I should put together a list of the things we should all do in order to achieve optimal health, wellness, strength, muscle mass, success, freedom and happiness.

These are the steps I have learned from my coaches and mentors and personally taken to change my life for the better, as well as the people who I’ve worked with over the years. These tips are in no particular order, just naturally flowing off of my distorted brain.

So grab a pen and paper, you may want to take some notes…

  1. Wake up early. At least 30 minutes before you “have to”. This is the best time to get the work done which you say you have no time for.
  2. Move often. Walk, stretch, stand. Just don’t sit in one spot for too long.
  3. 30-60 minutes per day, every day.
  4. Knowledge is powerful. But it’s useless if you don’t apply it.
  5. Sprint often. Human beings are designed to do this. Sprinting is in our DNA. It will help you build lean muscle, develop explosiveness, burn fat and produce hormones like testosterone and human growth hormone.
  6. You are a product of the five people you spend the most time with. Choose your inner circle wisely.
  7. Belief is powerful. If you want to achieve anything you first have to believe it’s possible. Choosing the right circle of people has a lot to do with that.
  8. To achieve anything you have to be relentless. Not just for one day, or one month. EVERY-FUCKING-DAY. Consistency is the key to your success.
  9. Tell people how you feel. Let them know what’s on your mind. Holding that shit in is toxic and will eventually lead to resentment and anxiety.
  10. Lift heavy shit.
  11. Hike, jump, throw, swim, play.
  12. There is an entire world out there filled with shit to see.
  13. Invest in yourself. Take classes, go to seminars and events. Learn something new!
  14. Tell the people you love how you feel. You’ll make their day and you’ll feel even better for it.
  15. Don’t hate on other’s success. Be happy for them and let them know it.
  16. Ignore the haters. They’re out there. Trust me.
  17. Keep your training between 45-60 minutes. Anything more than that is counterproductive.
  18. Sleep 7-9 hours per night.
  19. Turn off all electronics 60 minutes before bed.
  20. Take a COLD shower before bedtime. You’ll sleep much better.
  21. Face fear. We all feel fear. Some let it hold them back. I was one of these people. Because of that, I was MORE anxious and depressed. Once I started to make it a point to face my fears my life changed for the better. Be sure to do something that scares you, or at least makes you uncomfortable every day.
  22. Get out of your comfort zone. You’ll never grow there.
  23. Take risks! You only got one life. Try to accomplish what you want. To do that, you’ll have to take some risks.
  24. Don’t argue with people. It’s cool to disagree. We will never agree on everything. But arguing with someone who’s narrow minded will get you nowhere.
  25. Seek out mentors. Don’t try to accomplish your goals alone. Find someone who’s already done it, and don’t be afraid to pay them for their service.
  26. Write down your goals, and read them every day.
  27. Your mind fills up with plenty of thoughts, emotions and all things alike. Journal what’s going on and read through it. Sometimes you’ll find the answers you’ve been looking for all along.
  28. Don’t be a slave to your phone. Don’t look at it first thing in the morning or right before bed. When you’re working, keep your phone on vibrate and across the room. When you’re with other people, be present. If you’re looking at your phone constantly you’ll never be present.
  29. Be totally present.
  30. Don’t fucking text and drive. It’s stupid and irresponsible.
  31. Care for other people and LISTEN to them. Truly listen. Don’t just wait for your turn to talk.
  32. Squat and deadlift often.
  33. Don’t train to failure.
  34. Eat plants, animals, fruits, unprocessed carbohydrates, nuts and seeds. That should be the make-up of your diet. If it is, you’ll build lean muscle mass and burn fat.
  35. Avoid processed, refined sugar.
  36. Avoid flour.
  37. Avoid foods that are fried in cancer-causing oils.
  38. Get a massage as often as you could afford.
  39. This has been a game-changer for me and calms my psychotic brain. You don’t have to be a pro to start. I recommend holosync by Centre Point to help you get started.
  40. Remember that when you feel like you have no control, you can always control your breathing. I work in box breathing every morning when I meditate. 5 seconds on the inhale through the nose, 2 second hold, 8 second exhale through the mouth as if you were blowing through a straw for 4 sets. You can also do this when you feel stressed or nervous.
  41. Dream big and set your goals high.
  42. If you think you’re doing enough to accomplish your goal, double what you’re doing.
  43. Competition is great for our well-being. Compete in some way and compete often.
  44. Schedule quality time for your friends and family.
  45. Stand up for what you believe in. Not everyone will agree with you and that’s ok.
  46. Don’t try to please everyone. You’ll never succeed. Be true to who you are.
  47. Don’t wait for tomorrow. Start right now.
  48. Be open to new ideas.
  49. Put the fucking toilet seat back down.
  50. Don’t piss on the toilet seat.
  51. Embrace the journey. Life won’t always be perfect.
  52. Make quick decisions. Even if it’s the wrong one you’ll make some progress and course correct. Overthinking just wastes time.
  53. Make sure your daily habits are aligned with your goals. If they’re not, change them.
  54. Don’t ever fart in my car.
  55. Hate something? Don’t fucking do it anymore. Trust me, there is a way. It just takes work.
  56. Be grateful and express your gratitude.
  57. Drink water. At least half of your bodyweight in ounces daily.
  58. Drink your coffee black. Out of respect, that is.
  59. Don’t ever say ‘JK’.
  60. Don’t be afraid to pump up the gunz with curls and direct tricep work. Regardless of what the ‘experts’ say.
  61. Create a code and live by it.
  62. Learn new skills. A martial art, how to play an instrument, how to paint…whatever you want to do. Just be sure to do it.
  63. Don’t fear failure. There’s always a chance that you’ll fail, but if you don’t take that chance you’ll never know if you could have succeeded.
  64. Train with rage.
  65. Volunteer, mentor or give back in some way. This is the most rewarding and fulfilling thing that you can do.
  66. As Ray Lewis says ‘BE PISSED OFF FOR GREATNESS’. It’s the edge you’ll need to succeed.

I believe that we are all capable of achieving great things in our lives. However people hold themselves back with self-limiting thoughts and beliefs.

They hate on others and are full of negativity, spend their time watching mindless bullshit and don’t do anything but complain about the success of others. That will never get you anywhere. And I believe that to be happy and to be the best you, nutrition, exercise, sleep and recovery need to be prioritized.

Once they are you’ll start to see things from a different perspective. You’ll be open to learning, traveling, competing and having fun. Because you’ll feel better and your brain chemistry will change.

Then, all of a sudden, your life has changed.

This doesn’t happen overnight. It’s when you apply these new rules to your life consistently enough that you begin to see the shift.

I truly hope you take advantage and see the impact that these ‘rules’ can make on your life.

Thank you for reading.

Now…go dominate the fuck out of this life.


Use Accommodating Resistance to Smash Through Plateaus

Most of the material I write about is to help hard gainers pack on size and strength. That’s because over the years I have helped a countless number of athletes and skinny dudes get bigger and stronger.

I myself am a hard gainer so that organically became my specialty over the years and I made a career of it.

However I have also worked with plenty of advanced guys and gals who are already jacked and strong. Those who want to take it to the “next level” if you will.

Strong who want to get stronger. Jacked who want to get jackeder…More jacked? Uber jacked? You get the point!

If you’ve been training for some time and have a goal of adding some more weight to the bar, then this is definitely the article for you. I am about to teach you how to smash through training plateaus and help you add some poundage to your main lifts.

Remember, no one wants to be jacked and weak. It’s time to get strong as shit, and this is how you’re going to do it!

Every lifter hits a plateau at one point or another. Most end up getting frustrated or just think that they have hit their peak. And maybe they did, at least for now.

But there is a proven method used by some of the strongest lifters in the world to help you get over that hump. That is, using accommodating resistance.

What the fuck is that, you ask?

Accommodating resistance is accommodating the resistance of a barbell by adding either bands or chains.

This became popularized by Louie Simmons at Westside Barbell and used by plenty of world’s strongest competitors.

First, let’s start with chains.

Chains are added to the barbell sleeves to create a heavier top position. Using a squat as an example, the bar actually deloads as you begin to descend as more chain piles onto the floor, making the bar lightest in the bottom position. As you come back up the bar gradually gets heavier again as the chain comes off of the floor. Making it heaviest in the top position.

Since the bar is lightest in the bottom position, and gets heavier as you come back up, it teaches us to break through the sticking point of the movement. Sticking points are where the bar typically slows down for the lifter, or they “get stuck” in the lift.

Since you know the bar will be getting heavier as you come out of the hole, you will have to learn to accelerate out of the bottom. Faster acceleration will lead to more bar speed, which will help us break through our sticking points. When you progress using accommodating resistance, you will learn to produce more force out of the hole and that will eventually lead to a bigger lift.

Bands are the same concept. Only now we are accommodating the bar weight with band tension. The training effect is similar to what I just explained when using chains. Only now, you will have to learn to accelerate much faster because you will have to overcome the added band tension with more speed than you would chain.

Simply put, bands and chains are adding more weight or tension at the top of the lift which forces you to accelerate the bar faster. You’ll then be hitting those sticking points with more acceleration which can help you overcome them.

But it isn’t only about the acceleration of the lift. Bands and chains also teach us to decelerate the bar as well. The added weight or tension in the top position forces us to stay tight and control the eccentric (or lowering portion) more. When we have better control during the eccentric and then we reach the deloaded bottom position, we can learn to move the bar faster during the concentric phase.

This makes bands and chains a tremendous tool for developing strength. However they can’t be used exclusively. Here’s why.

If you are only using bands and chains and not also squatting, benching or deadlifting with straight bar weight, you’re always going to be training with a deloaded bottom position. If you aren’t maximally loading the bottom position of your lifts then you are going to develop weaknesses in the bottom position. So just remember to do both.

With that said, on days that you’re accommodating resistance it’s important to remember that we don’t want to use weights that are way too light because that will sacrifice our maximal strength.

You also don’t want to use a weight that’s too heavy because the bar speed will be too slow to develop adequate acceleration.

That said, you typically want to use about 65-75% of your 1RM when selecting your bar weight. Then only use up to 20% of the total bar weight in either chain weight or band tension.

For example, if your 1RM on the squat is 400lbs, 75% of that is 300lbs. 20% of 300lbs is 60lbs. That means I would load the bar with 300lbs and then add up to 60lbs in either chain weight or band tension. Band tension can get a little confusing but there are charts that give you the specific band tension poundage. You can head to elitefts.com to find out more of the specifics.

Nothing is more frustrating than seeing people use chains improperly. Some people randomly slap chains on the bar and just think they’re used because it looks cool. Please don’t be that guy. What you want to do is get a light feeder chain. This is the chain that you attach to the barbell sleeve and connect the heavier chain to it. The heavier chain should have about 1-3 links on the floor at lockout, regardless of the lift you’re performing.

If the chain is too far off the floor they will sway too much and could cause you to lose your balance or not even deload the bar at all as you descend. If too much chain is on the floor, the bar isn’t heavy enough at lockout. Both lead to wasted valuable training time.

Now, as I mentioned before, accommodating resistance is mostly used for advanced lifters. But it is also very useful for beginners and people who are a little more banged up. For beginners, it teaches them to stabilize the bar better, control the eccentric and makes it lighter in the bottom position where form typically breaks down.

For beat up lifters, lightening the load in the bottom position can certainly be a plus.

So you don’t have to be advanced to implement the use of bands and chains. Just know how to use them and why you’re using them.

Either way, if you use them properly you will sure as hell make a ton of progress.

Thanks for reading, folks!

 


The Two Substances that are Destroying Mankind

Most people know that sugar and flour are bad.

You know that sugar spikes blood sugar to the extreme and forces the pancreas to work extremely hard over and over again to produce enough insulin in order to keep your blood sugar in check. Which can eventually lead to diabetes.

You may even know that sugar and flour are both highly inflammatory and the people who eat it on a daily basis are in a chronic state of inflammation. Which leaves them with a weakened immune system and more susceptible to life-threatening diseases like cancer.

Not to mention their contribution to the obesity epidemic.

And finally, if you ever tried going on a diet and removing sugar or flour from your daily intake, you know that it can be extremely difficult to stay on track. And the majority of us crave some type of sweets or processed carbs when we’re dieting.

Well, here’s what you might not know…

The reason why so many people crave sugar and flour when dieting isn’t only because they’re byproducts are delicious. It’s because you are addicted! Yes, you.

This is difficult for many people to believe, but just hear me out for a sec.

Sugar and flour are extremely addictive on both the psychological and physiological level. First let’s talk about the psychological end…

So since we were little kids we’ve consumed massive amounts of both sugar and  flour. Especially during birthday parties, a fun day at the beach or when we were feeling down our parents gave us some ice cream or pizza to cheer us up. Due to the instant gratification we received as children, these substances are now built into our reward system, which plays a huge roll in our adult life. Now, when we have a shitty day we might tend to say “screw it” and go for that piece of candy, whether that be a conscious or subconscious decision.

On the physiological side, we have actually conditioned our gut flora (good bacteria of the gut) to crave flour and sugar, since we’ve been eating it consistently for years. Our gut actually craves it when we remove them, making it extremely difficult to stay on track.

So since you’re getting hit from both the physiological and psychological end, you need to recondition both your gut and mind to break free. It’s important to  understand that the instant gratification you receive from eating these substances is only self-sabotage and not rewarding at all. Aside from the few minutes of deliciousness that is…

In order to recondition your systems, you need to remove all processed, refined sugars and flour from your diet for anywhere from 8-12 weeks.

I know, easier said than done. But here is what I have found to be extremely helpful over the years.

  1. Understand that you will crave both sugar and flour.

Now you know why.

  1. Have a goal.

When you have a transformation/health goal keeping this crap out of your diet becomes much easier. Know what your goal is, write it down and read it out loud every day.

  1. Have a start date and end date to accomplish your goal.

If you simply say “I’m going on a diet tomorrow” then I guarantee that you’ll be stuffing your face with Twinkies by Sunday. Put your plan in place and then have an exact start and end date. This way you’ll know when you can earn a cheat meal and it won’t seem like you’re just “dieting” all the time.

  1. Stay disciplined as a motherf*cker.

At first you need to be extremely disciplined. There’s no way around this. However, once you get a few weeks in you will start to develop good eating habits. Once you develop good habits it becomes much easier to stick to your plan.

So you may be asking yourself how you keep from eating sugar and flour for the long haul, and not just for 8-12 weeks. Well, the answer is by removing it for 8-12 weeks first! This process will help you lose body fat, look better and feel better. You’ll be healthier and have more energy than before. Once you see this in full effect you start to realize the negative impact these substances have made on you in the past. When you tie all of that together your cravings for sugar and flour will be significantly reduced.

I tell you this firsthand because I am a true fat kid at heart. I grew up in an Italian family eating pasta all the time with all the desserts you can imagine. If you ask any of my closest friends they will tell you about some of my epic cheat meals that even I don’t know how I got down. But now I only eat sugar when I choose to. Not when I simply want it. And to tell you the truth from eating well for the majority of the time I rarely crave it these days. So trust me, if I can do it you sure as hell can too.

I hope that you realize how the over-consumption of sugar and flour is an epidemic. Obesity and disease are at an all-time high, regardless of the fact that fitness is more popular than it has ever been! If we can reduce the rate of heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes by removing two things from our diets for the majority of the time, why wouldn’t we do it?

It just takes a conscious effort and a little discipline. Let’s take a stand and do this shit together.

Here’s to your health.

Be sure to drop a comment below if you have any questions!


5 Things to be Learned from the Philadelphia Eagles

Here we are.

The day after the Super Bowl and the Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl Champions.

As a die-hard New York Giants fan, you may think that those words may sicken me. Well, years ago, there’s a good chance I’d be pretty pissed off today. And although this is still a pretty painful article for me to write, I realize that being annoyed would be a complete waste of my time and energy…

Rather than being disgusted and “hate” on the outcome, I now choose to learn the valuable lessons that sports can teach us about life. To me that’s way more important.

If we look a little deeper into what we witnessed yesterday, here’s what we’ll see.

1. Resiliency 

The Eagles have been absolutely plagued with injuries this year, including their starting quarterback, Carson Wentz. To be successful you have to use what (or who) ya got. It would be easy to just throw in the towel and say “fuck it” when things don’t seem to be going your way. Sometimes you’re dealt a shitty hand, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance to win. It just means that you might have to dig a little deeper and fight a little harder to get what you want.

2. Relentlessness

What we saw yesterday was a relentless effort to accomplish a goal. There was no “takin it easy” or “I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings” type of attitude by the Eagles. It was a group of individuals who came together and put their everything into every play, unapologetically. To be successful, you have to be relentless on your mission. No excuses, no apologies.

3. No Fear

You’re facing the best coach and quarterback of all time, it’s fourth and goal and you can either play it safe and take the field goal or risk the points and go for the big score. Head Coach Doug Pederson chose to say “fuck you” and go for it! Then chose to go for it on another 4th down later in the game which also converted. Two crucial plays that helped lead to the Eagles victory.

Sometimes when we are faced with a big decision we get overcome by fear and let that fear blur our vision. Doug Pederson and the Eagles didn’t allow that, and you shouldn’t either. It’s important to recognize fear and acknowledge that it’s there. Shit, we’re human! However the difference between the successful and the unsuccessful, champions and runners up, is that they feel fear but then do what they know they should do anyway. Fuck fear.

4. Belief

When you’re an underdog in the biggest game around, there aren’t too many people that believe in you. Especially when you’re up against the best to ever do it. What we saw yesterday was a group of men that paid no mind to what the doubters and critics were saying. All they did was believe in each other and themselves. It didn’t matter what any outsider thought or said, they knew they were going to go out and play their game.

In your life you need to realize that there will be doubters. There will be haters and critics and all things alike. It is your duty to ignore these people. Pay them no mind and only focus on your true beliefs. The fire that burns deep down in your soul, that’s what matters. Ignore the bullshit.

5. Execution

None of these things matter if the Eagles didn’t go out there and execute. When it comes to the general population, it seems that a lot of times people may have the right attitude, a great plan and belief, but they never get anywhere because they don’t execute! They don’t put in the consistent work it takes to be successful. If you want to achieve ANYTHING in your life, you have to understand that you are going to have to work like hell to do it. Nothing will be handed to you, you’re going to have to earn every ounce of it. Yesterday, Philadelphia did just that.

General Patton once said, “A good plan VIOLENTLY executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” Don’t wait for perfect, hell, don’t wait for anything! Get to work NOW!

The older I get, the more I value these incredible lessons that sports can teach us. Instead of arguing who’s better, or what could have or should have happened, look more deeply into what you’re actually watching. These big games have a lot more meaning than pizza and booze. Those are just an added bonus…

They teach us what it takes to be great…What it takes to be the very best at something.

Deep inside of you there is greatness. Instead of hating, LEARN from the greatness out there that we get to witness.

Apply these five things to your life and I know your 2018 will be your best year yet. Shit, I know I sure as hell will.

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles on this well-deserved championship.

​​​​​​​And here’s to a New York Giants Super Bowl victory in 2019!

Thanks for reading, guys.


Do These 10 Things to Avoid Overtraining

If you’ve been training hard for a while, you have probably heard of overtraining. You may have even questioned if YOU are over trained.

Before we go there let’s clear up what overtraining even is.

Overtraining is creating too much muscular damage and central nervous system fatigue for the body to repair as quickly as it normally does. When this happens it comes along with a number of symptoms and impedes your strength and performance.

Some of the signs of overtraining include insomnia, lack of drive to train, weakened grip strength, elevated resting heart rate, fatigue and abnormal muscular soreness.

However, many of these symptoms can also exist if you are new to training and simply deconditioned, and you may only be experiencing them due to lack of exercise and poor nutrition.

So here is how I’m going to kick this off so you can differentiate between being over trained and deconditioned.

If you recently began training (less than one year of hard training) don’t worry about overtraining. You need to be more concerned with developing good habits and training consistently enough to see real results. If you are really weak and deconditioned, then odds are, you aren’t doing enough to truly over train. This doesn’t mean that you should ignore all of my training recommendations and train for 17 hours a day, every day. It just means that if you’re strength training 3-4 days per week for one hour and doing cardio/conditioning for 20-40 minutes on off days the chances of you over training are very small.

Now if you’ve been getting after it for over a year and have seen some significant progress, then there is a chance you can reach a point of overtraining if you’re doing too much and may need to kick it down a notch.

If you’re advanced and have been training for years, then overtraining is certainly something you need to consider.

So, simply put, if you are a complete newbie to the training world, don’t pay too much mind to overtraining. If you have been training hard for AT LEAST one year or more, than you may need to put some thought into avoiding it and follow certain recovery protocols, and here is how you can do that.

  1. Sleep 7-9 hours per night

I have stressed the importance of sleep over and over again. And today I’m going to do it some more. If you want to be healthy and get the most out of your training you need to get adequate sleep. Not only does your body produce anabolic hormones like testosterone and human growth hormone when you sleep, but it also helps combat disease and strengthens your immune system. Turn off Netflix and get your ass to sleep!

  1. Drink at least ½ of your body weight in oz. of water daily

Adequate hydration is also imperative to help avoid overtraining and aid in recovery. Muscle tissue is made up of 70% water. If you aren’t supplementing that fluid with a solid supply of purified water every day you can potentially create more damage. At the very least you should be consuming half of your bodyweight in ounces of water daily.

  1. Stimulate, don’t annihilate

To quote the great Lee Haney, stimulate, don’t annihilate.

Some guys just go way too hard. I was certainly a culprit of this in my early twenties. I would treat every training session like I was going into the fight of my life. I’d crank crazy tunes and go absolutely ape shit for an hour 4 days a week. I’d go as heavy as possible and then hit a fuck-ton of volume for every body part.

I was constantly sore and eventually ended up exhausted all the time, lost muscle and strength. I was definitely over trained and felt like absolute shit.

Now, I’m certainly not suggesting that you don’t train hard. If you want results you gotta put in some hard goddamn work! But there is a line between training hard and training like a clinical maniac.

There is no need to destroy every body part with every set you do. Be smart, avoid training to failure and don’t beat yourself into oblivion every session. Take it from me, you’ll only end up weaker, smaller and constantly tired.

  1. Get massages, SMR, hot/cold treatment

Take advantage of the benefits of massage, self-myofascial release (foam rolling, using LAX balls, etc.) and contrast baths. Both massage and SMR can help break up scar tissue and replenish the muscle with fresh blood filled with vital nutrients.

Hot/cold treatment is incredible for recovery. The heat will dilate blood vessels which will bring fresh blood and nutrients into the muscle. The cold will constrict the vessels which can help pump out some of the built up lactic acid from training. This can be easily done in the shower if you don’t have access to hot/cold tubs.

  1. Focus one day per week on recovery

To maximize your recovery, dedicate one day per week to it. Go for a walk, do some light sled dragging, get cryotherapy or a massage, stretch, go through a mobility circuit. Do something to aid in your recovery from training.

  1. Feeling like shit? Take the day “off”

The whole “no days off” thing you see flooding your social media feed seems to have become quite glamorous these days. The problem is that most of these people are knuckleheads and sometimes you need to take a day off.

Sometimes you’re sick, haven’t slept or just feeling completely exhausted. When shit happens (and shit does happen) you need to be smart and listen to your body. A day off isn’t going to kill you, in fact you will actually benefit more and usually feel tremendous when you get back in the gym the next day.

Please don’t use this as an excuse to be lazy and say “Chris Tutela said I don’t have to train when I don’t feel like it”. That’s not what I’m saying at all. What I am saying is that if you’ve been training your ass off for a long time, sometimes you‘ll need a day to rest. And maybe on that rest day you stretch, do some more SMR work, go for a swim, hike or bike ride or hit a massage or cryo session. For those of you that go 110 mph all the time, you can do something like this rather than continue to roast your CNS even more when you’re feeling off.

  1. Eat real food

The quality of the foods you ingest play a huge roll in your energy, physique, strength, performance and of course, overall health. If you’re eating shit food you’ll feel like shit and never hit the training goals you’re looking for.

  1. Avoid training to failure

This goes back to the “stimulate, don’t annihilate” tip. Try to have the last rep of your set look like the first rep; clean, with no one else doing the work for you! If all of your sets end with slow, grinding reps or even worse, missed reps, you’ll only end up working backwards. You’re CNS gets roasted from training that way. Plus, that’s a sure way to NOT build muscle and strength. Don’t waste time. Train smart.

  1. Deload

If you’re advanced, you should be taking a scheduled deload week every few weeks. Deloading basically means that you will reduce the intensity (percentage of your 1RM) on your big lifts and the total volume of your workout (total sets) for one week. Deloads work wonders for gaining strength, avoiding overtraining and for keeping your joints healthy.

Typically I recommend deloading every 4th week. So 3 weeks hard, followed by a deload. During your deload week you can reduce the total number of your sets by about 40%. So if you were doing 20 total working sets the week prior, you can kick it down to 12. If you’re doing big lifts like the bench, squat, deadlift and military press you can reduce the intensity to 50% of your 1RM. So if you’re 1RM on a squat is 400 lbs, you’d only work with 200lbs when deloading. You can use this weight for 2 sets of 5 reps on deload weeks.

  1. Schedule one week “off” every 12-16 weeks

If you’ve been going hard for a while, you gotta give yourself a break every now and then. I typically suggest giving the weights a breather every 12-16 weeks. Just don’t use this as an excuse to sit home and eat Milky Ways. Keep your nutrition in check, walk, do some mobility work and low impact activities.

I know that working these 10 tips in will help you feel better than ever. Take advantage of them and take your training and physique to the next level.

Drop a comment below if you have any questions.

Thanks for reading!


11 Rules to Crush Your Goals in 2018

People talk about “new year, new me” all the time. As you probably know, that attitude typically lasts for about 12 days. Then most people end up falling right back into their old routines.

Well, if you’re reading this site, odds are you ain’t one of those people. Or, at the very least, you are doing your best to not be one of them anymore.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that it took a lot for me to get to this point in my life. I had a lot of shit to overcome and helped plenty of people overcome their shit too.

Today I want to share with you my “rules” to overcoming whatever shit you’re faced with so you too can accomplish anything you want in 2018, instead of just talking about it.

So here it goes!

  1. Sleep 7-9 hours per night

Most people don’t take their sleep seriously enough. If you want to be a high performer you need adequate sleep, even if you don’t think you do. Be sure to get your sleep in check if you want to have a chance at changing your life.

  1. Eat well

Like sleep, your nutrition plays a huge roll in your day to day actions and performance. Everything from your mood, energy, and performance are affected by the food you eat, not to mention the way you look. Eat lean sources of protein, unprocessed carbohydrates, healthy sources of fats, fruits and a fuck-ton of veggies consistently and cut out the crap. Nutrition doesn’t have to be so complex and complicated. Just stop eating shit and start eating clean.

  1. Train hard

If you want to achieve any fitness goal you have to be willing to put in the work. Don’t worry too much about fancy programming or high-tech facilities. What’s more important is consistent, hard god damn work and a clear goal which you can focus on. That goal may change after 12 or even 16 weeks, but you need to focus on one specific goal for a long enough duration (12-16 weeks typically) which you can accomplish it. Be relentless in your pursuit of this goal and do everything it takes to achieve it. There are too many pussies out there. You’re not going to be one of them!

If you’re going to accomplish any goal you need to have rules 1-3 in check first. Without abiding by them you’re only setting yourself up for failure, regardless of the goal you’re pursuing. Create a plan to get these first three in check. If you’re already there then let’s move forward.

  1. Educate yourself

Most people stop learning the day the graduate college or sometimes even high school. The most successful people on the planet make time for seminars, events, podcasts and books. There is so much FREE information out there that there is literally no excuse to not know how to do something. Or to AT LEAST get started.

Highly successful people read up to 60 books per year. Average people read one or less. Which category do you want to be in?

  1. Find a mentor

Want to know the best way to accomplish something? Seek out the people who have already done it and pay them to teach you how! Solutions to your problems are very simple, however most people refuse to pay for a service because they say it’s “too expensive”. That’s a lame excuse. If you want something you need to be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it, including paying top dollar. This can be difficult at first, especially if you don’t have a ton of extra cash to spend. However, you have to think about the return you’ll get from your investment. Most of the time you can find a program that is either free or less expensive to get the ball rolling. Once you get started and see the results, it will be easier for you to invest in a higher end program.

Either way, having a mentor to show you the way and hold you accountable is crucial to your success.

  1. Set goals, write them down and read them everyday

It’s important to set goals. But if you forget what they are then they’re useless. Be sure to write them down and read them every day to keep you on the path to reaching them.

Keep in mind that when setting goals you need to be very specific. Write down exactly what you want in detail, and the time frame in which you will do it. Then, write out a thorough action plan in what you will do to achieve each goal. Be specific here as well, you’re going to need to give yourself clear action steps.

  1. Find your why

Having a goal is important. Knowing why you have that goal in the first place is more important. You need to spend some time trying to understand your purpose. Once you understand it, your purpose will become the driving force which will light that fire inside of you and gets you out of bed in the morning.

Shallow goals like “I want to make more money” are meaningless. But if you have a goal that’s specific and set for a specific reason then you have a much greater chance of accomplishing it. For example, if you’re goal is “I will earn $200,000 in my business this year so I can change the lives of x amount of people. With this new platform I created I will be able to raise $10,000 for charity. This will create fulfillment in my life, help provide for my family and help me support those in need” then you will be more inclined to take the massive action it takes to accomplish something.

When goals are set that are in line with your why you’ll wake up excited and ready to crush them!

  1. Get comfortable being uncomfortable

If you are going to achieve success, you’re going to have to do things that make you uncomfortable. That involves taking risks, investing money, speaking, giving your opinion and putting in consistent hard work. You’re going to have to get up early and be willing to do things that others are not.

With that, personal growth will also come. That growth is a major part of what it takes to achieve your goals.

  1. Create good habits

Human beings are creatures of habit. Unfortunately, many people have plenty of bad habits. Habits are hard to break, regardless if they’re bad or good. The best way to kick a bad habit is to replace it with a good one. Once you use discipline to do something consistently enough, it will then become a habit. The problem is most people run out of discipline before that happens. Be aware of this and do not stop putting in the work to develop your new good habits.

Take a step back and look at your life. Are your habits aligned with your goals? Which habits do you need to kick, and what do you need to do in its place? Think long and hard about this and decide what you need to change. Then, DO IT!

  1. Spend your time with the people who lift you up

You are the product of the five people you spend the most time with. If you want to achieve greatness then you have to spend your time with the people who will only support you on your mission. There’s no time to waste on the crabs.

Whether you realize it or not, you will develop the traits of those who you spend your time with. As difficult as it sounds, you’re going to have to limit the time you spend with certain friends and family members. If they are going to hold you back from living the life you want then you can’t be around them. At least most of the time. Or, at the very least you have to limit your conversations with them and only discuss meaningless BS, rather than your mission.

This rule is an absolute game changer and I highly recommend attending events, conferences or meet up groups to meet more people that will support your vision.

  1. Take MASSIVE ACTION

You can write out the best plan possible, if you don’t take action you will never accomplish anything. If you want to be successful then you have to consistently take massive action. You do not have to be the smartest, most educated or most outgoing to accomplish things in your life. What matters most is the level of effort you put into achieving what you want.

Talking about shit will get you nowhere. You have to work your ass off every day, then, results will come. There are no secrets or shortcuts here. The “secret” to success is to relentlessly put in the work day in and day out.

2018 is here and can easily be the best year of your life. Or it can be another year where you were motivated for about 5 minutes. The choice is completely up to you. I truly hope that you make the choice that will change your life for the better.

Good luck on your journey and here’s to a very happy, healthy and successful 2018.

Happy New Year, folks!


My Way

2017 is coming to a close. As every year approaches its end, I spend some time reflecting on the year that has passed. Did I accomplish all that I wanted to? Did I stay consistent with things I need to change most? Did I see the places I wanted to see? What are my new goals for 2018? What is my plan to achieve these goals?

Then I write out all of my answers and new goals, and prepare myself for the year to come.

One of my latest end of the year rituals is to repeatedly listen to one of my favorite songs of all time. This one particular song gets me more fired up than any other and motivates me to live my life the way I want.

That is, to live with passion, drive, energy, compassion and focus. To work hard, help others, travel and have a shit-ton of fun in the process.

Some people who know me well might think this is some Eminem or Biggie song, however that’s pretty far off. Actually, the song I’m referring to is “My Way” by Frank Sinatra. I already know what you’re probably thinking, “another guido listening to Frank Sinatra, how typical”. Well, you’re right! I guess the year end forces me to channel my inner piasan.

But to me this is one of the most motivating songs, because it inspires me to live life the way I want, and I want to share some of the lyrics with you in hopes that it will inspire you to do the same.

“And now, the end is near; and so I face the final curtain.”

When you face your final curtain, will you have done all that you wanted to? Will you have traveled to the places you wanted? Did you ever reach your fitness goals? Did you ever buy that house you and your family always wanted? Did you ever start that business you’ve always talked about?

“I’ve lived a life that’s full. I’ve traveled each and every highway, but more, much more than this, I DID IT MY WAY.”

Are you living a life that is full? Are you doing the things you want? Or, are you living for someone else? Does your boss control your life? Are you pointing the finger at other people and blaming them for things you say you can’t do?

Or are you traveling, competing, having fun or maybe even starting a family? Whatever it is that you want to do, if you aren’t doing it, why the fuck not?!

“Regrets, I’ve had a few; but then again, too few to mention.”

We all have regrets and wish we could have done things differently. However, the mistakes you made do not define who you are right now! Do not live in regret. Change the things you want to change about your life and focus on what you could be doing right now!

“I did what I had to do, and saw it through without exemption.”

You want to do something? Do it! And give it absolutely everything you’ve got.

“And more, much more than this, I DID IT MY WAY.”

More importantly, do it for you, the way YOU want to do it! This is your life, no one else’s!

“Yes there were times, I’m sure you knew, when I bit off more than I can chew, but through it all, where there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out.”

Things can be overwhelming at times. Hey, that’s life. Figure out a way to structure your day and organize your time so you can get more done. The more action you take, the less you’ll be overwhelmed. Don’t find the time to do something, MAKE THE TIME!

And doubt…People will doubt you. You may even doubt yourself at times. Remember that you’re human and doubt will exist. If people are doubting you then I suggest finding new people to spend your time with. If you doubt yourself then understand that it’s normal and do what the fuck you want to do anyway, because you don’t want the “what if’s” to turn into the “I should have’s”.

“I faced it all and I stood tall; and DID IT MY WAY.”

Smile, stand up tall and take on what life throws at you. NEVER accept the roll of the victim. You are 100% in charge of your life! Don’t complain or blame other people. Pussies do that. Take life by the horns and create your own destiny.

“I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried. I’ve had my fill; my share of losing.”

Don’t hide your emotions. Let your true colors come out. Love those closest to you and let them know it. If you’re sad about something then cry and let that shit out. Talk to someone who can help. And never, ever forget to laugh every day. Life is too short not to enjoy it.

“To think, I did all that; and may I say, not in a shy way, oh no, oh no not me, I DID IT MY WAY”.

Don’t hold back. Talk to strangers and put yourself out there. You’ll never regret getting turned down by someone, but you’ll always regret never knowing what could have been. If you see a girl you’re interested in, talk to her. What do you really have to lose?

“For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has not, TO SAY THE THINGS HE TRULY FEELS AND NOT THE WORDS OF ONE WHO KNEELS.”

 

This is by far my favorite part of this song. Never, ever try to be someone else. You cannot and will not please everyone, so don’t try to. Be yourself and say what YOU believe in.

People surrender to criticism, doubt and fear. They are so worried about what other people think that they hold back from doing so much in their lives. Do everything in your power to be you. When you face your final curtain you will only regret not truly expressing yourself on this short journey that is life.

You don’t have to agree with someone just because you fear the backlash. Don’t constantly argue with people but express yourself and let the world know who the fuck you are.

“The record shows, I took the blows, and DID IT MY WAY.”

I’ve learned that in life, you will take your bumps and bruises. You’ll be heartbroken, faced with death and all types of traumatic experiences. But it is up to you how to handle them when they arise. You can CHOOSE to accept the pain and tragedy we all face, or you can fall victim to it.

I have also learned that the good will too come with the bad. You will laugh, love and party. You can accomplish anything that you want and live however you want. You can travel, meet new people and make the world your playground.

The highs and lows you face on this journey is what makes up life! You can’t expect the bad not to happen, because at some point it will. You just need to prepare yourself for it the best that you can, and then do your best to move on, and always focus more on the good.

Sure, sometimes you’re going to take your blows. But so will I and so will everyone you know, whether they talk about it or not.

In 2018 you have the potential to live life YOUR WAY! If you choose to make changes or achieve certain goals, go do it! Don’t just fuckin talk about it, TAKE ACTION!

I have no idea when I will face my final curtain. But I do know that when that day comes, I will be absolutely fucking certain that I lived everyday to make sure that I lived this life for me.

My way…

Thanks for reading, guys and here is to an incredible, happy, healthy, successful 2018.

PS Don’t forget to give this a listen.


A World Connected Has Left Us Disconnected

Technology is one of the best things that has ever happened to our society. We literally have the world at our fingertips.

Need a cab? Grab an Uber and have a car at your door in minutes. Want to have a face to face chat with your friend in Bangladesh? Go right ahead! Want to read about the woman who got pregnant and gave birth after being born WITHOUT  a vagina?! Do it! (True story by the way…Google it!)

In my opinion this is the best time to be alive. We have access to whatever we want, whenever we want.

That said, there’s a huge problem with that.

Simply walk into any restaurant and take a look around. You’ll see couples more concerned with social media than each other’s company, fathers replying to emails rather than paying attention to their children and a group of friends that are literally not saying a word to each other, just a table of five staring at their phones.

We are so disconnected to the world around us it’s sickening. And here’s why this has become such an epidemic.

Every time we get a “like” on social media, a text or an email our brains produce more of the hormone dopamine. Dopamine is the same hormone that spikes when people use drugs like cocaine. It is one of the key factors that lead to addiction because we feel good in the moment without any consideration of the consequences.

While dopamine is certainly not a bad thing in itself, it can cause us to want too much of a good thing, on constant pursuit of this spike. This desire to “feel good” leads us to obsessing over every buzz we feel coming from our phones.

This addiction is leading us to be less social, inactive and totally not present. In addition, constantly checking social media updates, texts etc. are a huge reason why we fail to get our most important work done. This can lead to more frustration, anxiety and a lack of fulfillment.

And then of course, what is the biggest excuse as to why people say they can’t workout? They say they don’t have time! How much time does the average person spend on social media per day? An estimated 116 minutes!

So not only are we sabotaging our work and time with our loved ones, people are sabotaging their health so they can sit on their asses and read political rants for 2 hours. Talk about a waste of time!

There is obviously a laundry list of issues with the way people use their devices. I just want to be clear and say that I have no issues with social media and technology. I think it is all great and have built my business by using social.

It’s us that need to change.

We need to change our behavior and have more self-discipline when it comes to checking our phones. We can’t be a slave to it and jump at every text, email or “like” we get. That’s no way to fuckin live! I see it everywhere I go and cringe when I think of how people are wasting their lives staring at a screen all day.

Most people no longer appreciate a meaningful conversation. They are more concerned with what Bruce Jenner’s tit size is than quality time with someone they care about.

I’ve seen a father at a park with his son and the whole time while his son was playing he was staring at his phone. I obviously have no clue what that guy was looking at but I do know that 99.99999% of the time, it can wait.

People are crashing their cars and killing people because they are too busy reading a text. This is fucking madness! People are willing to risk their lives to reply to someone’s text that says “yo” (Which is a sure way to get me to not respond to you by the way).

And I am certainly not perfect and have been guilty of all this stuff. But for the last few years I only dedicate certain times that I check my phone for any reason, and turn it off completely when I’m doing focused work. This has been the best thing I have ever decided to do. My productivity is better, my focus is better and I am no longer a slave to technology. It has been completely freeing.

I highly recommend you try that and start implementing it into your life. This way when you’re working, you work. When you’re with your family you are 100% present. When you’re driving you only focus on that, and maybe some good tunes.

This allows you to take back your life and enjoy the things that mean the most to you. At the end of your life you’ll be happy you enjoyed the precious moments with your children and won’t give a damn about who liked your Instagram post.

Another big no-no is checking your phone first thing in the morning. Most people do it, however it is one of the worst things you can do for your productivity. Right from the get-go you become reactive, rather than proactive. You spend your day putting out fires or getting frustrated before you do anything for yourself. This is a sure way to get less personal development and meaningful work done.

Working on YOU first thing in the morning is an absolute GAMECHANGER and I highly recommend you start doing that immediately.

I hope that you see the significance in this post and begin making these necessary changes in your life. At the very least give your willpower a test and try the tactics I mentioned above for 30 days. I guarantee that you will get more done, appreciate more and enjoy LIFE more! Rather than staring at a screen all day and night.

If you have any questions at all please feel free to drop a comment below or shoot me an email at info@tutelatraining.com.

Thanks for reading, guys.


2 Valuable Lessons from UFC 217

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to see UFC 217 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Not only were the fights fantastic, but every time I watch a big event I try to learn something from it. Although there were many takeaways from this event, there were just a few that truly impacted me.

My biggest takeaway came from the bout where champion Cody Garbrandt took on former champion, T.J. Dillashaw. This was a fight that has been building up since the summer, since these two were coaches on the show “The Ultimate Fighter”.

There was certainly a lot of bad blood between these two and when they walked into the arena you could absolutely feel it.

The fight began and was just as fast and explosive as everyone thought it would be. Late in the first round T.J. was knocked down by a right hand from the champion and was almost stopped. However he managed to scramble back to his feet as the round ended.

In the next round T.J. sparked the crowd by knocking Cody down with a kick to the head which Cody recovered from. Shortly after T.J. then caught the champion with a right hook directly on the chin, which dropped him and led to the fight being stopped.

We have a new champion! And from this fight I learned a few things…

Lesson #1

There will be times in your life where you get hurt, whether physically or emotionally. There will be something in your life that occurs and puts you down.

But that should never define the outcome of your fight.

Your personal battle may be in fitness, business, family, relationships or anything else that’s important to you. At some point bad shit WILL happen and can derail you from making strides towards your overall goal and happiness. However it’s not about preventing the bad shit from happening, it’s about how you respond to it when it does.

The last place in the world that T.J. wanted to be was lying on his back after getting dropped by the champion in a world title fight. He was derailed from his goal, but only for a moment.

He could have simply given up, but he didn’t. He battled through the challenge he was faced with and in the end came out victorious.

And I believe that there is one big entity that enables us to accomplish something like that, which takes us to my next point.

Lesson # 2

Over the last 12 years I have worked with many people. When I reflect on those who I’ve come across I realize that many of them have goals, but very few of them know why achieving that goal is important to them.

For instance some people have a goal of making more money, but when asked why they want more money they don’t have a real answer. They say stuff like “so I can buy a nicer car” or “so I can buy a bigger house”. If your why is only to buy more stuff it’s going to be hard to put in the massive amount of work it will take to make the money you want.

There has to be a bigger purpose as to why you want to achieve something. When your why is strong enough, there will be a significant amount of emotion tied to accomplishing your goal.

Failing to have a true why leaves you with a sense of insignificance and lack of fulfillment. I truly believe that is a huge reason why there is so much depression and a need to medicate ourselves in this country.

When you look at the Cody vs. T.J. fight what you saw was an unbelievable amount of passion and emotion when T. J. got the victory. It was so intense that I could actually feel it from my seat.

If T.J. Dillashaw didn’t have a true why, and was simply in that cage going through the motions, he would have never made it out of that first round. The raw emotion was so incredible that you know there was a greater purpose for T.J.

And it’s unfortunate that so many people will never know what it feels like to have such implausible emotion about something that you literally roar in victory when your target is met.

And you don’t have to be a professional cage fighter to feel that. If your why is strong enough then you will feel a similar sense of emotion by accomplishing whatever you’ve worked so hard for.

You may even break down in tears when that goal is achieved.

So my advice to you is to find out what makes you tick. What is something that you would die for? What is something you believe so strongly in that you would defend it at all costs? Take some time to think about your answers because within them, you may be able to find what you are truly capable of.

When you tie emotion to a goal you can literally become unstoppable. You will work harder and won’t let the day to day bullshit prevent you from taking action on your dreams. You won’t care what other people say or think because your why will lead you to a razor sharp focus that cannot be blurred.

I feel that there are many overlooked lessons that we can all learn from world-class athletes. Next time you’re watching a big sporting event, think about what it truly takes for these men and women to achieve these incredible outcomes. Think about how much work is required of them to succeed and how strong their driving force must be.

Then realize that they are human beings, just like you and me. And if they can accomplish incredibly hard tasks, then why the hell can’t you?

The answer is inside each and every one of us, so reflect on why your goals are important to you and you will get closer to achieving them.

I hope this post helps you on your path. Be sure to drop a comment below if you have any questions.

I’ll catch you guys next time.