Powerful Quotes
July 27, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment
I’ve always loved a good quote. My senior year in high school I taped a handful of my favorites to my locker. I placed them there as little reminders and motivators. While there are 1000’s of great quotes, today I am going to share 5 quotes that have either been with me for years, or quotes that I have recently stumbled upon. Here they are …
-“A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something.”—Wilson Mizner
It seems like we (probably me included at times) are so busy telling everyone all the things we “know” to be right, that we forget to shut up, listen and learn. I’m all for people that are willing to share a little of their knowledge and experience with others. In my opinion however, many would be wise to shut their traps so they can listen and learn from others. Out of all the things that I’ve done less than perfect in my time on this planet, one thing I give myself credit for is the fact that I have always listened to what my coaches (sport coaches) and other strength coaches (colleagues – many that are smarter than I) have had to say. I may not always agree with everyone 100% of the time, but I am going to hear what others have to say before I interrupt them and start to tell them why “my way” is right.
“The most important shot is the next one.” – my Dad
This quote from my dad has gone through my head above a billion times since he first said it to me. He first said it, reminding me that the last few shots I took don’t mean anything anymore. Even if I miss 4 straight, all that matters now is the next shot I take. This is true in so many aspects of life. If we mess up, move on, because there is nothing that we can do about it now. It is time to move on and give our next shot our best attempt.
“Consistency not novelty is the secret to uncommon results.”- Dr. John Berardi
Now, I don’t think JB is the creator of this quote (I could be wrong), but he is the first person I heard say it (write it). We need to stop searching for the magic potion and realize that good old fashion hard work and discipline are where it’s at. How ’bout we stop believing those stupid infomercials that promise us 6-pack abs in 14 seconds or less. “The ‘Rock and Go Exerciser’ now only $200! We promise if you buy our product, you’ll have the booty, and man of your dreams”…
“If you are so smart, why do you need my credit card?” – Jim Rome
I’ve heard Jim Rome say this numerous times when talking about the “expert” gamblers. They are notorious for telling 
the radio listeners that “all you have to do is give us your credit card information, and we’ll guarantee you a 14-0 week. And don’t forget the college football play of the year!” Huh? If you could go 14-0 every week, why don’t you just go ahead and place the bets for yourself and not ask me for my cc number? Snakes! Good call Romey!
“Life is a game of adjustments.” - my Dad
Poppa McLarty makes it in again! If your man keeps beating you to the right, force him left. If you are getting Cs and Ds in school - study more. Get a tutor. Hang out with smart chicks. You can’t seem to lose any weight? Maybe doughnuts every morning for breakfast should be replaced with pastured eggs, old-fashioned oatmeal, and some organic blue berries. You’re a Green Bay Packers fan and your life sucks? Stop rooting for the Packers. You get the point – make the necessary adjustments in life and you’re life will be more awesome.
It’s very easy to motivate me. All you have to do is send me a motivating quote or picture, and you’ll see me sprinting to the squat rack. I hope these quotes motivate you, make you think a bit, and help make you do good stuff. Man, how did I not include that powerful quote in my high school locker? … “help make you do good stuff.” That’s deep man, deep.
Are Your Knees Always Sore?
May 17, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment
Knee pain is a very common problem. Especially for those that are in their 30s and 40s (although I know plenty of 20-somethings with sore knees as well). During my last couple years of playing competitive basketball, my knees were always hurting. And the first two or three years (especially after playing pick-up games) it was even worse. I told myself; I know, I know, I need to stretch more. This every once in awhile stretching thing is not good enough. So I finally made a point to stretch every day. But, it didn’t help! Why? All I would do is stretch my hamstrings because some doctor told me to do that about 10 years earlier. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of people out there that need to stretch their hammies (including your truly), but this doesn’t do a whole lot to address sore knees. Fast forward a few years (and a TON of reading later), and I now better understand how to make my (and your) knees feel better. While I am no knee expert (I’ll leave to guys like Mike Robertson), I feel confident that if you integrate the below tips, your knees will be thanking you in a big way!
This is in no way the end-all-be-all of “knee tips” for healthy knees. But I thought I’d include a few simple tips that you can incorporate today, to get your knee(s) feeling better.
Tips For To Make Your Knees Love You
1) Stretch Your Quads
As I mentioned above, all the hamstring stretching in the world isn’t going to do a whole lot when trying to address sore knees. When I started stretching my quads (more specifically – my rectus femoris), I started feeling considerably better.
2) Get Your Soft Tissue Work In
If you’ve been reading this website for awhile now, this is probably the 311th time you’ve heard my mention the importance of soft tissue work. Foam rolling your IT-Band, and your vastus lateralis (outside part of your quads) will do wonders for your knees. Breaking up the knots in your glutes will also help. And if you are feeling really tough, using a lacrosse ball for your glutes and TFL is even better!
You can purchase your roller here at performbetter. I NEVER do a leg workout or play basketball without first getting some soft tissue work in. Make sure you do the same – this means before you go golfing; before your slow pitch softball games; before your wii bowling tourney; etc. etc.
Oh, and rolling afterwards and on “off” days would be smart too.
3) Improve Hip Mobility/Flexibility
Mike Robertson and Eric Cressey have done a great job of teaching us about the importance of improving hip mobility. Before each activity, make sure you do some dynamic movement that help make your hips more mobile. A couple of good drills…
Working on flexibility of the hips/glutes is also smart. A couple examples…
I usually perform these static stretches post-workout and on “off” days.
4) Activate Your Glutes
I mentioned above that I always perform soft tissue work before my leg workouts. Another thing I always do, is perform some kind of “glute activation” drill. A drill like X-Band Walks are perfect here. Sometimes when I am demonstrating how to squat to a new client, my knees are achy just by using the 45-pound bar. But, if I perform X-Band walks before demonstrating, the pain is completely gone. X-Band walks will help to get the glute max and posterior fibers of the glute medius firing. This will take tension off of the knees.
Once again, you can pick up these “Superbands” at performbetter.
Quick Story
A few months back one of my “older” (57 years old) clients walked into the gym and said; “Danny, my knees are killing me! There is NO WAY I am going to be able to perform any lower body movements today. Let’s just focus on upper body.” I said, not so fast. Let’s at least try a few “tricks” before giving in so easily. His reply; “it’s just not going to happen, it hurts just to stand here. But ok, I’ll humor you.” So, I had him try a body weight squat. He went down about 3 inches and immediately stopped; “they’re just too sore!” I had him roll out his IT-Band and vastus lateralis on the foam roller. And then use the lacrosse ball on his glutes and TFL. Next I told him to stand up and try another body weight squat. He went down a few inches – no pain. He went deeper and deeper until he was ass-to-grass. “Danny, what are you, like some kind of voo-doo witch doctor,” he asked? Well, I wish I was magic, but we simply used this soft tissue work to get some of those knots out. It is AMAZING how freely and pain free our body moves once we “untie” the knots in our body. We then performed some mobility drills, X-Band walks, and went onto have a great, pain-free session.
If working out, whether it be weight training, pick-up basketball games, or running around with your kids, is no longer any fun because of those achy knees, you’re now 4 simple tips closer to moving around without all that pain!
Exercise of the Week
May 3, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment
This week’s exercise of the week is the quadruped hip extension. I used to laugh at my little sister when she did these at home while following along to her Buns of Steel tape (no DVDs back then). Come to find out, this is a very good exercise that really hits the glutes. So Tootie, it looks like the joke is on me. Go ahead, laugh at me and call me names, I deserve it. 
Anyway, Strength Coach Bret Conterashas done a great job of letting us (us = those interested in achieving a better booty) in on his glute studies. Bret has been doing some experimenting – he places electrodes on different parts of the body while measuring the EMG activity in the various muscle parts. His experiment shows that the peak activation is very high in the glute medius and upper glute max while performing the quadruped hip extension. And here is how it is done…
At the top of the movement SQEEEEEEZE the glutes for a second and make sure NOT to hyperextend your lower back.
Getting a Sexy Butt Looks Easy
Not so fast. Simply throwing in some quadruped hip extensions is a great way to improve your butt. But it will take a lot more than this body weight exercise to maximize your bootylicious potential. I still want you to perform different squat variations (back squats, front squats etc), different single leg variations (bulgarian split squats, reverse lunges etc) aBduction variations (X-Band Walks), and hip extension variations (RDLs, glute bridge, etc). As you can see, the quadruped hip extension is an effective tool, but it is only one tool. You need to use all of the above from time-to-time to complete your tool box.
Do you want to run faster for your sport? Do you want to keep your body healthy? Do you want a much more round, shapely back side? If you answer yes to any of the above, make sure you are incorporating the quadruped hip extension into your program.
Fake Crossover Series
March 29, 2010 by danny · 2 Comments
I love using the fake crossover (aka “inside-out” dribble) to create space – either for a pull up jumper, or to get all the way to the basket. It can also be used to go around a defender in the open court. The fake crossover can be used as a “single move” to get the job done. Or it can be used with a second (and third) move, known as a “combination move.” As I have mentioned previously, you always want to keep it as simple as possible. So, if the fake crossover frees you up, there is no need to go into a second move (the combination part of the move). BUT, it is great to have the combination move in your back pocket in case the defender cuts you off when you do the fake cross. If this happens, you can go into a number of different moves to go around your defender. In the videos below, you’ll see some examples…
Fake Crossover “Warm-Up” Series
As I mentioned in this post, I always make sure to get to the gym a few minutes early to get my dribbling warm-ups in. The first video is me using a series of moves, all beginning with the fake crossover. The purpose of the warm-up is to prepare me for full speed drills going to the basket; to improve the control I have with the basketball; and to work on the speed in which I dribble the ball.
In the above video you saw;
-3 fake crossovers with each hand
-1 fake crossover-crossover combination move, each way
-1 fake crossover-between the legs combination move, each way
-1 fake crossover-behind the back combination move, each way
-2 “freestyle moves” – here, I start with a fake crossover and go into whatever comes to mind on the fly
Note: Be sure to do the same amount with each hand. Better yet, spend more time working on your weaker hand.
The next video is me using a series of fake crossovers (single and combination moves) going to the basket for pull up jumpers.
The Template
If you remember from the “Handle It” post, the template is as follows;
-Stationary dribbling first
-”Semi-Stationary” is next – this is the verbiage that I use with my clients. If you can think of anything cooler, or more appropriate than “semi-stationary,” let me know. 
-Full speed dribbling – either moves up and down the court, or moves to the basket.
A Few More Videos
And for fun, I thought I’d share with you a few other cool videos. This first video is my 8 year old client showing off his fake crossover-crossover combination move. I love the fact that he is skilled enough to perform this at such as young age. But I’m even more thrilled at the fact that he finished with his left hand like a 13 year old!
The next video is my 13 year old client working on his dribbling in one of our sessions. Here, he uses the fake crossover-crossover in the open court, en route to a pull up jumper.
And finally, one of my favorite players in the NBA, Dwyane Wade shows us what a fake crossover-crossover looks like at the NBA level. The floor is yours D. Wade…
If you aren’t already doing so, make sure to incorporate the fake crossover, and the combo moves that go with it, into your game. Let me know in the comments section below, if you have any other move, or series of moves that you would like me to cover. Please make sure not to ask for hook shots, or dunks…never been my specialty. 
This post has been brought to you by Sears Fit Club.
Overrated and Underrated Exercises: Part II
March 16, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment
In the first installment of overrated/underrated exercises, I covered bicep curls, and rows. Just as I did in that article, I’ll start off by explaining what I mean by “overrated” and “underrated,” when it comes to exercise selection… I think Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. BUT, if the general public was to make this statement; “You give me Michael Jordan with 4 guys off the street, I’d take Jordan’s team in 6 games over the ‘86 Celtics.” Well, IF that was the thinking of the majority of people, then I’d have to say that even Michael Jordan is overrated! So, if one of your favorite exercises gets tossed in the overrated category, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should never perform that exercise again, and/or call me mean names. It just means that in my opinion, this particular exercise is way overused by the majority of trainees, often times at the expense of an exercise that could be a much better option
Upright Rows
First, let me clarify. I’m speaking about barbellupright rows in particular. If you perform dumbell upright rows, you can adjust the plane of motion and grip, making this movement less risky. Ok, back to barbell upright rows.
When you perform a barbell upright row, you are doing so with your humerus maximally interally rotated. (palms facing towards your body, like the lady’s hands in the picture above) This is especially problematic when you are abducting/flexing the humerus with this hand position, (pronated grip) which is exactly what is happening when you raise the bar towards your sternum. Can upright rows contribute to better looking shoulders and traps? Yes. Does a snickers bar have protein in it? Yes. Do you see where I am going with this? Just because there is some good that comes along with upright rows, (and snickers) there is also a whole lot of bad that could come your way. So, my advice is to pick exercises for your shoulders like push presses, shoulder presses, and lateral raises. Don’t forget, ANY exercise has the potential to be harmful. But when looking at the risk:reward ratio of the barbell upright row, it just doesn’t make much sense to me to include these in my programming.
Conclusion: Barbell Upright Rows = Overrated
Single Leg RDL
The single RDL (Romanian Deadlift) is an exercise with many benefits. It works the often neglected “posterior chain.” (back side of your body) This single leg version obviously has you working one leg at a time. This is important because single leg exercises work your stabilizers way more than a bilateral lower body exercise does. Plus, the majority of sports are spent with one leg on the ground at once. Even if sports aren’t your thing, RDLs do wonders for your butt and hamstrings, from an appearance perspective. So, if you want to look better, perform better, and keep yourself healthy, I highly suggest incorporating the single leg RDL. On the occassions that I go to a commercial gym to train, I rarely if ever, see people performing this exercise. So, the single leg RDL gets a BIG, fat…Underrated.
In conculsion, if have been using the barbell upright row, please give this exercise a second thought. And it’s time to add the single leg RDL into your toolbox. You can’t, or shouldn’t, only perform exercises that work the “mirror muscles.” You do have a backside of your body you know!
Get HUGE, Ripped, Stronger, Smarter, Sexier, Mo’ Funny…
February 24, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment
Us guys are such, well, guys. We want it all, and we want it yesterday! I want my wife to cook me 6 meals a day, bring me a beer when I get home from work, (not really, but maybe occasionally) let me watch the BIG game without getting any crap, and take the dogs out when it’s raining. *** I also want the Cubs to win the World Series, but who am I kidding! When it comes to our physique, we want to add 15 lbs of muscle while simultaneously lose 10 lbs of body fat. And while the 10lb reduction in body fat is happening, we want to increase our bench press by 25 lbs and add 2″ to our gunz!
As they say, try to accomplish everything, and you wind up accomplishing nothing. Want to add muscle? Well, you’re going to have to go on a hypercaloric (above maintenance) diet. Adding slabs of muscle is not easy. And if you are eating more calories than you are burning off, then it’s going to be difficult to get those abs to “pop.” Want to get ripped? Then it’s time to go on a hypocaloric (below maintenance) diet. It is more complex than simply, “calories in vs. calories out.” But in general, to add muscle or lose fat, the total amount of calories you eat plays a huge role. And you can’t be on a hypercaloric AND a hypocaloric diet at the same time. (although carb cycling helps…another post for another time. I’m such a tease!)
I received 4 different e-mails over the last week asking what they needed to do to basically, “have it all.” Here is one of the e-mails; ”Danny, I’m looking to add quite a bit of muscle. Of course, with summer right around the corner, I also want to get as lean as possible. Also, do you have a program that you recommend for helping me add size to my pecs and traps?” To that I said, “No, I don’t have a good program that will help you accomplish all of that at once. But if you come up with one, let me know and I’ll be hiring you!”
Different scenarios…
1) I want to add 10 lbs (or whatever your number is) of muscle, and get “shredded bro.” More often than not, (genetic freaks aside) you’ll end up spinning your wheels, and end up maybe a touch bigger, and maybe a touch more lean. But not much noticeable difference.
2) I want to add some muscle, (pick your number; i.e. ~6-8 lbs) keep my body fat level about the same, but if I add just a touch of fat, I’m ok with that. Good, I’m starting to like this. The majority of your focus and effort will go towards adding some size. And as a secondary goal, you are going to try to keep your body fat levels in check. And if your 6-pack temporarily turns into a 4-pack, you’re ok with that. You can always diet down a bit just in time for beach season. In the end, you end up making progress with noticeable gains in muscle.
3) I want to get as lean as possible while not losing much, if any muscle. Once again, I like this. You can focus on your goal of getting leaner by adding a little extra cardio, reducing your carbs/calories, and using lifting to help maintain your muscle mass. In the end, you’re noticeably leaner. And, quite often, even if you don’t add any muscle, you look more muscular because now your waist is smaller, your “cuts” come out more, and every girl on the beach wants you. Life is good.
4) All I care about is adding more muscle. If I end up turning my 6-pack into a keg in the process, no worries dawg! This is the old school way of doing things. It’s basically an out-dated practice - adding size at all cost - even if you end up adding a bunch of fat in the process. Believe it or not, I still prefer this over option #1 from above. At least all of your focus can be channeled in one direction. And in the end, you will have a bunch of added muscle. Even if your physique doesn’t look unreal at the moment, you can always diet it off later. With that said, I usually suggest option #2 from above. Adding a bunch of fat in the process is not as healthy.
The Exceptions
Before you say, “but I knew a guy who…” Let me tell you, we all know a guy who… lived to 115 and smoked for 89 years…a guy who drank 42 beers in one night… a guy who beat up Chuck Norris. Whoa, I’ve taken it too far, I don’t see that ever happening, let me stop. But seriously, the genetic freaks out there may be able to accomplish some amazing things. They are not the norm. The “newbie” may be able to simultaneously add a bunch of muscle, lose a bunch of fat, and get much stronger. But when you add anything new into your life, there is always room for a ton of improvement. Just like when I learned to count from 29 all the way up to 40 during the summer before 5th grade. 11 numbers higher, are you serious?!? (I’m very intelligent, a genetic brain freak, if you will) These days it is a major accomplishment for me to add one new digit every year. I mean, when you can count up to 2041, there’s only so much one can to accomplish.
Conclusion
Don’t try to become the stud of the universe in a single training block. Spend some time training to improve one aspect of your fitness, and work to maintain the rest. And don’t compare yourself to the 1% out there that simply think about lifting a weight, and add an inch to their biceps. If you can apply this to your overall fitness plan, (weights, cardio, eating, lifestyle) I’m confident that you’ll be able to break through a rut, and start to see some much improved results!
***I’m kidding Shondra, (wife) you are very good with everything that I said in the first paragraph. Can I please get a second serving of chicken tonight?!? You’re so pretty, and smart, and nice. Pretty please?
Tools in your Training Toolbox
February 5, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment
What’s the best piece of equipment for fat loss? Is it kettlebells? Maybe dumbbells? Neither, body weight exercises are the best choice, right? But if your goal is to get HYOOGE, then you better go with barbells. No doubt about it! Actually, this line of thinking is just plain dumb! Why limit yourself to only one of the above?
It really annoys me when someone says that they don’t use dumbbells because kettlebells are better. Or I may hear, I don’t lift weights, because I LOVE TRX training. “It’s way better than traditional weight training,” they may say. I once heard trainer extraordinaire, Alwyn Cosgrove say; (I’m paraphrasing) “I’m not a swiss ball guy. I’m not a dumbbell guy. I’m not a kettlebell guy. I’m an everything guy.” I couldn’t agree more. When it comes down to it, different pieces of equipment are just tools for you to use, to help you get to your goals. So why become a, “TRX guy” (or girl:) and limit yourself? I prefer to have a much bigger toolbox to choose from.
Most of us don’t close our minds this much in other aspects of our life. At least I hope not. You’ll never hear me say that I’m a “He-Man Guy,” therefore I can’t watch Transformers. I want need to get my Grimlock fix just as much as I need my Ram-Man fix. Call me selfish, see if I care.
It doesn’t matter if I’m training my clients for fat loss, hypertrophy, or increased power. One time or another they’ll be getting a taste of kettlebells, barbells, dumbbells, TRX straps, swiss balls… and the list goes on. I simply work these tools into their program where I see appropriate. I hope you all are doing the same thing, and NOT limiting your options en route to your goals.
