The McLarty’s are moving Back To Illinois…
August 8, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
Yes, that’s right, the McLarty’s are heading “home.” After nearly an 8 year run in California, we’re going back to Illinois. This is something that we’ve been thinking about for a number of years now, and we’ve just recently made it official. For those of you who don’t know, we have a big family back there, and well, we miss them… as well as our old friends. And when the twins were born, that pushed us over the edge from thinking about moving, to, it’s time to move. We really want them to grow up closer to their Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
With that said, there is quite a bit I’ll miss about the Bay area…
My Experience In California
-Of course, I have to bring up how nice the weather and beautiful scenery is! When I had my friends and family visit from Illinois and Nebraska, they were always blown away with how nice everything is out here.
-I’ll miss…
The relationships that I’ve made with friends…
More beautiful views…
Some of the great memories…
Training my clients/friends/athletes…
And the list goes on. As much as I’ll miss all of the above (and more), I am that much more excited to be close to family again. I can’t wait to get together for holidays with having to fly across the country; I can’t wait to drive just a couple miles down the road to get together with everyone for Bears games; I can’t wait to watch my babies grow up with their cousins; and again, this list goes on and on…
So, my Illinois family and friends, I can’t wait to see you all again!
As for work, I continue my work as a freelance writer, and as far as training goes, that is up in the air right now. I’m considering opening up my own training studio, but that probably won’t happen (if at all) for a couple years. Therefore, just to get started, I’m considering my options working at a local gym or putting equipment in our new house and training people right there. I’ll also continue with basketball lessons. So coaches, parents, and athletes, I look forward to whipping your butt into shape here in the near future! 
Just a week away – Illinois here we come!
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My Split Is The Best Body Part Split Ever Splitted! Plus, A Sample Training Day Inside…
July 26, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
OR, should the title read; My Split Is The Best Body Part Split Ever Splat? I’m not sure. Proper grammar is not my strong point. What is my strong point however, is my unreal program design! If you haven’t already checked out my article, “Breaking The Rules,” but sure to do so. In it, you’ll see that I am currently using a body part split, even though my time is very limited. Usually I’d recommend full body training when life is as crazy as mine is right now (thank you twins). But I decided to break the rules, because I’m crazy like that.
Anyway, here is a sample training day of one of my current body part splits …
Sternocleidomastoid & Biceps Femoris (Short Head )Day
As mentioned above, you can read the reasons I’m going with a body part split right now even though I don’t have much time to train these days. Therefore, I won’t get into the reasons for going body part split in this post. I will however, tell you why I chose to go with the sternocleidomastoid and biceps femoris short head day… besides the obvious – and that is, because I think of and execute brilliant plans. Things that others would never be able to come up with in 100 years! Readers, PLEASE leave a comment in the comments section below. I want to hear from you; do you think I should start working on my book (Titled: “How to REALLY Break Down Body Part Splits, and Make Them Work For You”)? Or should I let the anticipation build, and wait awhile before I release the book?
Now that you all truly understand how awesome I am, let me highlight the bold points, as far as what makes this split SO effective…
-The sternocleidomastoid and biceps femoris are non-competing muscles. This allows me to go back and fourth between the two muscles so that one exercise doesn’t “interfere” with the other.
-They are relatively small body parts, so the workout is incredibly easy!
-Because the body parts are relatively small and don’t need much recovery time between sets, I can finish the workout in less than 8 minutes.
-No one else in the gym is using a similar split, so this alone separates me from the pack.
Ok, let me stop right here. I just hope no one stopped reading this blogpost before reading this line. Because if they did they’d probably think I was a bigger jackass than Steve-O!
Obviously going with a sternocleidomastoid and biceps femoris (short head) day would be pretty ridiculous (but I had you thinking that I was really using that split – didn’t I!?!). So, let me give you an example of one of the days that I am REALLY using…
Triceps + “Posterior Chain” Day
A1) Close-Grip Bench Press – 5 X 5
A2) Hip Thrust 4 sets (2 X 5, 1 X 10 and 1 set of 1-leg body weight X AMRAP)
B1) Decline DB Skull Crushers – 2 X 15
B2) 1-leg Swiss Ball Leg Curl – 2 X 15
Everyone of my training sessions takes me about 20 minutes (not counting warm-up and post-workout stretching). This is NOT my norm, but for the reasons mentioned in the article, this fits the bill perfectly for the time being!
There you go, a look into my current training program. Sometimes you have to modify your training when life “gets in the way.” Nothing wrong with that!
Breaking the Rules
July 19, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
I’ve contributed a few articles now to a great fitness website, Zen to Fitness. Here is my most recent…
“I’m a law-abiding citizen. I realize that rules are put in place for a reason – without rules there would be chaos. But now and then, it is perfectly fine to break a few rules. When it comes to training, the rules made by the fitness gurus are no different – there is a time a place to take these rules, and throw them out the window.
Always Train Full Body When Time Is Limited… Right?”
“Cardio” To Perform When Sore…
July 13, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
A number of years back Eric Cressey came out with an article called Cardio Confusion. Since that article, I’ve been incorporating “active recovery circuits” on my off days. Now, I don’t do them NEARLY enough, but whenever I do, I feel much better as they 1) help speed recovery, and 2) help improve mobility (which most of us need to improve). And a nice little “side effect” is some low impact calorie burning to help us with our health and fat loss goals.
One of the worst thing you can do (and way too many people are doing this), is say, “I am SO sore from my workout yesterday! Therefore I’m just going to veg-out on the couch all day today.” That will do nothing to speed up the recovery process, and contribute to the build-up of knots/adhesions all over your body. Going on a fast-paced walk (and moving in general) is a much better way to spend your off days. Even better though, is putting your body through a full range of motion, as you’ll see below.
There are number of ways to set up these active recovery days;
-You can perform dynamic flexibility circuits (address areas of your body that are tight).
-You can do low-intensity resistance exercises (pick a handful of exercises and cycle through them).
-Or, as I like to do, throw some dynamic flexibility circuits in WITH the low-intensity resistance exercises.
Here are the exercises I did in yesterday’s active recovery/cardio session…
I just started a new program earlier in the week. And as you probably know, when you start a new program the chances of soreness are higher. Going into my cardio session yesterday, my pecs, glutes, and adductors (inner thighs) were especially sore. So it was perfect timing to perform this active recovery day. For the purposes of not boring you to death, I only recorded an example with 4 reps per exercise. Normally I perform 10-12 reps (sometimes up to 20 reps) per exercise (6-10 exercises).
Above, you see
-Goblet Squats
-Push-ups
-RDL/Bent Over Row (hybrid)
-Wall Hip Flexor Mobilizations (to address my tight quads)
-Hip Thrusts
-Reverse Lunge with Twist
I did 3 rounds of this circuit. I also started off the workout with foam rolling/LAX ball and finished with static stretching at the end of my active recovery/cardio circuit.
Move from one exercise to the next with minimal rest and when it comes time to do the low-intensity resistance exercises, MAKE SURE you pick a lighter weight. This should NOT turn into another “regular” weight lifting session, as that would just defeat the purpose.
Remember, when you train hard, you have to recovery smart. Give this, or a similar set-up a try and reap the benefits!
Training Videos From The Week That Was – Part II
July 6, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. Although I’m sure you all enjoyed a beer and a burger (I know I did), I hope you still managed some holiday training!
My parents were in town from Illinois to meet their grandkids. We had them and a few friends over to cookout, swim, and do a little celebrating. But before that took place, me and my clients made sure we got work done in the gym! …
Here is Coco doing push-ups with a pause in the bottom position. The goal was to perform 5 reps at a tempo that made it so the 5th rep was very tough. This was her first set, so she was just “feeling out” the proper speed. In the sets to follow, she actually went slower on the way down, and paused longer in the bottom position.
It had been awhile since I tested chins for max reps. So I woke up Sunday morning, met some of the high school kids at the gym, and got a training session in with them. The end result…
BTW, my abs were killing me the next day. NOT the 1st time that has happened after a touch chin/pull-up day. Just goes to show you how much the abs are working during a properly executed chin!
Dumbbell holds are up next. This is the last exercise the b-ballers perform before calling it a week in the weight room. I like to have them finish with an exercise that challenges their mental toughness a little bit. It also builds a little team camaraderie as the kids quite often heckle/raz/push/encourage one another when their teammate’s turn is up. Fun to watch too!
Brandon performs 3 chins with 55 pounds added…
Coco does a set of RDLs with 135 pounds for 8 reps. She always does a great job, but I’m still trying to get her to keep her head neutral (in line with her spine), and I’d like to see her back with a little bit of a tighter arch. Hey, I am aim for perfection, what can I say. 
Jerome performs dumbbell incline presses…
I’ll leave it there for now. Check back for more videos in the weeks to come.
Don’t forget, you can follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Have a great, healthy week!
MUST HAVE Cookbook For The Fit Food Lover! And a Great Salad Dressing Recipe
June 29, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
Just like you (I’m sure), I LOVE food. Did you know tasty food can also be healthy? Most people associate healthy food with boring, nasty tasting food. Another serving of plain chicken breast and broccoli anyone? This doesn’t have to be the case. There are MANY great tasting foods that are also healthy. In our household, we use Gourmet Nutrition quite a bit. As it says on the cover; “The Cookbook For The Fit Food Lover.” There are 100 recipes in there, and the vast majority of them taste great… except for the recipes that call for tomatoes, celery, or mushrooms. I’ve always hated those foods. I wish I didn’t, because they are all healthy. But lucky for me, there are plenty of other great ingredients/recipes throughout this book.
I’ll give you a quick healthy salad dressing to try;
“Balsamic Vinaigrette”
-Extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup
-Balsamic vinegar 1/2 cup
-Shallots (finely diced) 1/4 cup (we like to use garlic in place of the shallots sometimes – your call though)
-Fresh parsley (finely chopped) 1/4 cup
-Salt and pepper, to taste
People quite often make their “healthy” salad, not so healthy because of the dressing. Try the above dressing and you can now MAKE SURE your salad truly is healthy.
I can’t recommend this book enough. If you love to grub, but also need to eat food that tastes great, then Gourmet Nutrition is just what you need!
The College World Series Statue Is ME!
June 22, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
Many of my friends and family members already know this story, but those of you reading this that do not, I thought you may find it interested…
Back when I attended the University of Nebraska @ Omaha, I was an education major. One of my terrific classes was called, “Modern Dance,” or something like that. The instructor of this class knew the person that was hired to make the statue in front of Rosenblatt Stadium (the home of the CWS is now at a different stadium, but they brought the statue along for the ride – as they talk about in this piece). My instructor (Professor Metal-Corbin) told John Labja (the “statue-maker”) that she had a few college athletes in her class. Mr. Labja thought it would be helpful for him to come into one of our classes to take some “action shots,” to get a better feel of how athletes move. Obviously I (the basketball player) was in this class, and if I recall, we had two wrestlers and a football player in the same class.
So, John had me act like I was rounding 3rd base (right there in the dance studio “classroom”) and jump into the arms of the 3 other guys waiting for me at “home plate,” as if I had just hit the game-winning home run. He took a bunch of pictures, took them back to his “lab,” and analyzed how athletes move when up in the arms of others in this home run celebration reenactment.
We then got word that John was not a baseball expert, and that he was looking for someone to go to his downtown studio to help him make this whole thing look as real as possible. I said that I’d be happy to do it, so I headed downtown to meet John. I helped him with things like where the footprints (spikes) would have accumulated in the batters box from where the batters stood. Same thing with the catcher and umpire’s footprints. Things like that.
Anyway, since he appreciated my help, he told me that he’d like me to come back for another visit so he could put a cast-molding (or whatever you call) over my face so we could make the statue (the “hero” in the statue) look as much like me as possible, and use it for the statue’s face.
So I headed down there a few days later. John sat me in a chair and put this “stuff” on my face while I sat there until it completely hardened. When it was ready, John took this “mask” off of my face, and used it make the face of the statue.
Pretty cool experience! So, the next time they show the statue on T.V. at the CWS, be sure to tell me, “hi.”
The Most Important Factor In Achieving Your Physique Goals?
June 22, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
When it comes down to being as sexified looking as possible, there are many factors that come into play. But what is the most important factor?
Is it weight training? Soft tissue work (i.e. foam rolling)? Cardio? Protein? Veggies? Active Recovery? Explosive work? Adequate sleep? Something else?
All of the above are important, obviously. But numero uno on my list may just be…
How we respond to a bad day of eating. We are all going to have a set-back here and there, but will your set-back turn into two days of pure crap eating? How about a terrible Saturday and Sunday, followed by a below average Monday and a not-so-good Tuesday? Sound familiar? If it does, then you are probably frustrated with your results. If you have a bad day, don’t worry, get RIGHT BACK ON the plan asap! If you do this, you’ll be fine. Don’t stress, just brush it off and again, get back onto clean livin’.
Here’s an example – I ate really clean for the two-weeks leading up to the pool party that I attended on Father’s Day. But at this party, I drank a few beers, had a couple of snacks, and basically just enjoyed myself. Now, here’s the key, when I woke up Monday morning, it was oats + blueberries + protein powder (with a little bit of cinnamon added) + 1 fish oil capsule. Then, when I had a break between clients, I headed straight to the store to stock up for the week.
In this trip to the store, I picked up;
-Old Fashioned Oatmeal (I forget to include this in the picture above)
-2 cartons of cage-free eggs (36 total eggs)
-8 free range frozen chicken breasts
-Bag of frozen organic blueberries
-Bag of frozen organic berry mix (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
-BIG Bag of organic “bean trio” (1st time trying this, it is a blend of lentils, adzuki, and mung beans. Hmm? We shall see how it tastes)
And then, already stocked up in my fridge/freezer at home are some veggies (cauliflower, green beans, etc), apples, and some more meats.
Anyway, as you can see, I jumped RIGHT BACK ON the healthy-train right away. I didn’t stress about having a less than stellar day on Father’s Day, and I feel no guilt – BECAUSE I didn’t let this snowball into something big ‘n ugly.
See, if you play your cards right, you CAN have your cake and eat it too!
My Cardio Medley Session…
June 19, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
For some, a 30-minute jog or “ride” on the stationary bike is a way to clear the mind. It’s a way to escape for a brief period, and “get away.” Not for me! Twelve seconds into it, here’s what my mind is saying; “I can’t believe I still have 29 minutes and 48 seconds to go. This is the worst, someone kill me!” My ADD is way too strong. I need change, and I need it quickly.
If you are anything like me, I suggest performing cardio “medleys.” A cardio medley is a great way to prevent EXTREME boredom. Medleys are also beneficial because they help prevent overuse injuries. For example…
-Running 30 minutes straight is extremely repetitive. This can be very hard on the joints… especially if you are carrying a few extra pounds.
-30 minutes hunched over a bike reinforces the posture that many of us are in all day while we are sitting on our butts at the computer; sitting for hours on end at work; driving in a our car; watching TV; etc. etc.
Anyway, to reduce the chance of these issues, and for all of us ADD people, medleys are great. I know I won’t be performing “traditional” cardio anytime soon. Here is what my cardio medley looked like yesterday…
That was:
-8 Sumo Deadlifts
-3 Chin-ups
-8 Hang Cleans
-8 Push-ups
-8 Jump Squats
Breaking it down: Deadifts with 135 pound is very easy, IF that is all I did. But it is a enough to get my heart rate up going into the next exercise… chin-ups. 3 chin-ups are very easy, but become a little more difficult after doing deadlifts. I then went onto hang cleans with 95 pounds. This would usually be an easy weight, but is quite a bit harder after doing deadlifts and chins. Next I went onto push-ups and finished with jump squats. Once again, 8 push-ups and 8 jump squats are easy as a stand-alone, but as the 4th and 5th exercises in this medley, not so much. My heart was pounding through my chest after that last jump squat. Health and fat loss made a little more fun (still kind of miserable, but not as bad as usual ).
I then rested 60 seconds, and repeated as many sets as possible.
I purposely chose a weight that would jack my heart rate up (and make this very difficult), but not a weight that would make this session serve as “interference” for my weight training sessions. If I had performed any slow, grinding reps due to a heavy load (on the deadlifts for example), this session would just have made recovery tougher for my weight training session tomorrow. It’s all about seeing the big picture – even know I incorporated weights into this CARDIO session, it was NOT a lifting session.
So there you go. Incorporate medleys into your cardio plan. And if possible, try to mix both upper and lower body movements into the session. This will ensure that a particular body part does not become the limiting factor (and will help prevent soreness for that body part), rather your heart & lungs will be reason that you have to stop, when the time comes.
Finally, Happy Father’s Day to the dads out there. I am very happy to be apart of this group!
Training Videos From The Week That Was…
June 12, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
What’s up y’all! Another great training week in the books – below, you’ll see me and my clients putting in work…
First up, Coco hitting 155 X 8 in the deadlift…
Overall, great job by Coco. She is fairly new to deadlifting, so we just have to try to make a couple tweaks…
1) Sometimes, her hips rise slightly before her torso – we want them to go up “as one.”
2) Her neck is extended and I’d like to see it in more of a neutral position (in line with her spine).
Brandon nails 300 X 5 in the trap bar deadlift. He made it look fairly easy… not bad at all for a guy that weighs about 135 pounds!
Another video of one of the guys from the Dougherty Valley Basketball team (along with Brandon from above), Kenrick front squats 220 X 5. He easily has more left in him! But I would like to see him get about an inch lower on a couple of those reps, because he is mobile/stable/strong enough to do so.
I’m not sure why the video of Kenrick repeats itself and shows the set twice.?. My learning disability when it comes to computers once again rears its ugly head! One of these days maybe I’ll even learn how to add music and cool other features to my YouTube videos. Maybe.
Carson (age 10) headed over to the gym with me today to train. In between my sets, I taught him how to perform the basics; push-ups, static lunges, and TRX Rows. My goal was just to drill home proper form, and not even worry about adding weight yet. He did a great job! His push-up form was really good! …
And finally, this was the finishing leg complex to my workout today…
-Jump Squats X 10, Reverse Lunges X 10 (total), Squats X AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible). I got 16 reps on the squats today, 3 more than last Sunday. Yeah boooyyyeee!
I’ll try to get my camera in the gym as much as possible in the weeks to come and continue to post videos of me and my clients working our ass off! Have a great week and stay tuned for more fun to come.
