In This Issue
– Robertson Training Systems Updates
– Testimonials
– Training Tip
– Nutrition Tip
– Exclusive Interview: Jim Wendler
– Upcoming Interviews
– New Articles
– Schedule
Robertson Training Systems Updates
Bulletproof Knees on sale tomorrow!
Those of you that have been on my newsletter list for a while know that I don’t run sales all that often. And along those same lines, while marketing gets on my nerves sometimes, I also realize it’s a necessary evil and something you have to do to sell your products.
With that being said, starting tonight at midnight I’m going to be offering 15% off of my Bulletproof Knees manual and DVD. Basically, it’s my way of saying “Thanks!” to all of you who have supported me over the years by reading my newsletters. If you’ve been on the fence about purchasing the product, now would be an opportune time.
As well, let me take a minute to say it right now – Thank you for supporting me! I’m always working hard to make the site, my articles, and my newsletter as good as they can be, and I hope you all have enjoyed my efforts. I’m looking forward to 2008 being our best year ever, so stay tuned for all kinds of cool stuff as the year moves on!
Testimonials: Magnificent Mobility, Inside-Out and Building the Efficient Athlete
“75% of my clients would stay fat without Magnificent Mobility, Inside-Out, and Building the Efficient Athlete. I work with fat-loss clients, and it seems that the vast majority of them come to me teetering on the edge of injury. Without having a system (that I stole from Mike & Eric) to get them doing the basic movements safely and properly, they wouldn’t be able to train long enough to achieve their goals.”
Josef Brandenburg
www.thebodyyouwant.com
Training Tip
Make training fun again
Call me crazy – but at some point in time, training was actually fun. If your training hasn’t been fun in quite some time, maybe it’s time to switch things up again.
Sometimes fun isn’t even the appropriate word; sometimes you just need to do something different. If you’ve been plugging away on the treadmill or elliptical for years, try dragging a sled or doing some med ball circuits. If you’ve been doing low-end strength work for cycle after cycle, try doing some high rep stuff to give your nervous system a break.
Regardless of your training goal, variety is the spice of life. Mix things up enough to keep your body, and your mind, fresh.
Nutrition Tip
Don’t Cut Calories Too Low
By Mike Roussell
When you reduce your calories below your body’s needs the body responds by down regulating (or slowing down) your metabolism. When trying to lose body fat the last thing you want is a slower metabolism!
Instead of focusing on drastically reducing your calories find ways to increase your energy expenditure (exercise). This approach will boost your metabolism, not slow it down.
Exclusive Interview: Jim Wendler
MR: Jim, thanks for taking the time to be here with us today. If you don’t mind, please take a moment and let my readers know a little bit about yourself.
JW: I was going to treat this as an online dating service but then I figured the female readership at your website is probably like 3% +/- 5%. So it’s probably not a good place to pick up the ladies. Let’s get all the important stuff out of the way:
Name: Jim Wendler
Occupation: work for Elite Fitness Systems, sales of all lifting equipment and miscellaneous work
After work I spend some time doing squats and presses. I floss daily and read every night. I have a son; his name is Mason. I believe in Black Sabbath and EPT Pregnancy Tests; both have never let me down. I have been lifting since I was 13 years old. That gives me 20 years of experience. That pretty much sums up Jim Wendler.
MR: I’m a little hurt – I’d like to think the female readership is a little higher than 3%! Oh well, at least you gave me a fudge factor…
Before getting into powerlifting, you were in athletics for quite some time. How far did you go with that?
JW: I played football in high school and while attending the University of Arizona. Looking back I am very grateful for the time that I spent at U of A. I think it takes some time to appreciate the sacrifices and the work that goes into playing football, especially when because I walked on. Walking on is a very humbling and eye opening experience. Eventually I earned a scholarship and this scholarship was one of the greatest things I have ever experienced and something that I felt I shared with a lot of people, especially my father.
I wasn’t a star player but did well enough to contribute. For the record, I was a fullback.
MR: After your football career ended, how did you then transition from football to powerlifting?
JW: Easy. I stopped running and playing football. I knew I was going to power lift when I first started training so it was pretty easy. Most of my training for football was based on getting a stronger bench, squat and deadlift so I didn’t have to change much.
I already had a competitive mind set, a good base of strength, and a pretty good base of knowledge; I just had to learn how to put everything together for powerlifting.
MR: Let’s imagine we could step back in time; you’re just starting out in powerlifting, but you get to keep all the knowledge that you now have. How would you have changed your approach from the outset?
JW: Not a thing. I reached all of my goals that I set out for; I wanted to squat 1000 and total 2300. Because I squatted 1000 and totaled 2375, I am more than happy with the turnout.
Training and learning how to train takes time. In this time you learn much about yourself and the process of training. Delaying or rushing this is a recipe for ignorance.
MR: I love that last paragraph; I always enjoyed the process of training more than I did the actually meets! Staying on the topic, what do you currently like/dislike about the sport? Where do you see the sport going in the next 5-10 years?
JW: I like the way powerlifting is; you can choose what federation you want to lift in and thus your gear, judging, etc. If you have a problem with another federation then you should simply choose not to lift in it. This seems very simple to me.
MR: Absolutely – after all, everyone gets in to the sport to get stronger, right?
You and I seem to agree on a lot of issues regarding training. One thing that we’ve both mentioned is the fact that we think constantly missing reps is silly. Could you summarize your thoughts on missing reps for us?
JW: I believe that lifters should train “balls out/fucking nuts/what the fuck is wrong with that guy” for at least 5 years. During this time people will learn what it is like to fail, what it feels like, how much they can get out of themselves. They need to learn to toe the line, fall OVER the line and get back up. During this time, it’s ok to miss weights.
After this insanity, the lifter knows himself and knows where his limits are. At this point, missing reps should be few and far between.
MR: Since retiring from powerlifting, you’ve shed some serious weight. How are you feeling these days? What did you change about your diet/training to lose that body fat?
JW: I feel great. I really didn’t do anything crazy in terms of diet to shed the weight. To give everyone a reference, I am now 235lb and used to be around 275-280lb. All I really did at the beginning was increase my activity level. I would walk about 3 miles a day, drag a weighted sled or similar activities that didn’t put a ton of stress on my knees. At this point, I just began eating less. Same crap, but just less of it.
As I began to lose the weight, I began doing things such as jogging and lots of Prowler sprints. I tried doing other things such as kettlebell complexes, barbell complexes, etc. but none of these things could compare to the Prowler.
As I’ve gone on I’ve cleaned up my diet a bit, but truth be told – I still like to eat wings and drink beer. I’m not one of these guys that want to live my life in front of a Tupperware container of chicken and brown rice. I have found that my body comp and the way I feel is more of a result of an increased activity level. Diet it still important but give me a person that does Prowler sprints 4 times a week and I’ll show you someone that can probably eat some crap and still stay lean.
MR: Ok, this should be a fun question to wrap things up with – I posed it to Dave as well but he didn’t get as crazy as I thought he would!
Within the industry today, what things really piss you off or get under your skin? Ranting isn’t only accepted here, it’s encouraged!!!
JW: This is a funny question and something I would have jumped at a few years ago. I probably would have been pretty vocal at that time, too. The only thing that really pisses me off is people in the industry that don’t have a love of training and try to make a quick buck. Training is more than just a hobby for me and yet I see people who are quick to call themselves “experts” yet the bottom line is more important than the training. Listen, you can still be financially successful in this business (and any other) if you have passion for what you do. If you are good, people will recognize it. If you have passion, people will see it.
The problem is that there are many beginners who can’t tell the difference. And these people, many of them kids, will fall for anything. This is why the act of training is so important. If you train your balls off, and do it for a long time (10+ years) you will be able to cut through the bullshit. So think of training as a way to save you money.
MR: Jim, I know you’re very busy, so thanks for taking the time to be with us here today. How can my readers find out more about you and Elite Fitness Systems?
JW: Go to our website, www.EliteFTS.com. We have article updates every Friday, a huge extensive Q/A that allows the reader to ask questions to a bevy of lifters and coaches, a HUGE store of products and the best training equipment in the world. I have a new book coming out, The Max Effort Method, that should be available in the next month. Also, go to my training log http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/training-logs.asp?tid=63&__N=Jim Wendler if you want to be entertained and learn a little about lifting.
Upcoming Interviews
April 7th – Scott Lade, Bench Press Specialist and USAPL Member
April 14th – Cassandra Forsythe, Co-Author of the book “The New Rules of Lifting for Women” (www.cassandraforsythe.com)
April 21st – Eric Cressey, owner of Cressey Performance; author, speaker and competitive powerlifter (www.ericcressey.com)
April 28th – Bill Hartman, president of PR Performance, physical therapist and strength coach (www.billhartman.net)
If you would like to submit a question for one of our upcoming interviewees:
1) Please send an e-mail to [email protected]
2) In the subject heading, please list the person your question is directed towards (i.e. Mike Boyle)
3) In the body of the text, list one or two questions you’d like to have answered.
We can’t promise that our interviewees can answer all questions, but we’ll do our best to get a nice mix of questions. Thanks for your support!