No worries folks I didn't forget about this. Outside forces just didn't want you to get it until a day late. Here's what I got for you all to sink into this week.

Staying the Course; It's Not Sexy, But it Works-I'm honored to say that this lady is a friend of mine. Ashley Crosby works out of Florida and is a CSP and BU disciple (there's a couple more I could throw on there but we'll leave it at 2). She's a great writer and her post here hits the nail on the head when it comes to consistency.

FitCast Network-I first started listening to The FitCast with Kevin Larrabee when I was in college, not too many moons ago. He's always put out some great content with it and I've gotten some of my best book recommendations off of his show. I'm really glad to see he's taken it to the next level and made it his business, along with some other really cool podcasts.

Pete Dupuis QnA- Two guys involved in this post that I've already mentioned in weeks past. Todd Bumgardner of Strength Faction and Pete Dupuis of Cressey Sports Performance talk shop and the biz of fitness.

​Enjoy guys, happy weekend all!

We've all done it, I'm certainly no exception to this here. We see this really cool shiny new exercise or drill and just have to use it. No matter what the cost is we have to take it and use it so we can make things "fun". It's worse when a client sees it and says why can't I be doing this?

When we see a fun new exercise, it tends to be someone's new favorite thing. Immediately it has to be either in their program or worse a coach applies it to clients that have no business doing that exercise.

Programming is never as complicated as it seems to be. I'm confident many of my clients could lay down a decent program if they were put to the task. Don't get me wrong they would more than likely throw something in there they saw on an infomercial, but for the most part it wouldn't be detrimental to them.

Here's a few do's an don'ts that have helped me along the way:

1. Basics win out most of the time when programming for someone the first time. No ridiculous looking exercise off of a certain home workout program will ever beat out the basics of push, pull, squat, hinge and carry. Throw in some unilateral exercise for both upper and lower, a few solid core exercises and you are set.

2. Progress exercise variations slowly (appropriately). The next phase of a program doesn't need to have drastic changes. You can keep the same big money exercise(s) for more than 4 weeks at a time, it will only help in mastering the movements. 4 weeks is the bare minimum it MIGHT take to master a movement, I'd say 8 is the standard. Having someone stay on trap bar deadlift for 2-3 phases in a row will not slow their progress. Even reverting back to a regression a couple months in a row is perfectly OK, it won't end the world, go ahead try it....SEE.

3. Stemming off of number 2. When you see a new exercise/drill; whether it's off an infomercial, random youtube channel or off a popular strength coach's blog. Do yourself a favor and make sure it's applied to the right people and places (if at all). Not EVERYONE needs to do this shiny new movement, especially if they haven't mastered the basics, or worse they have pain in some of the basics. At the very least try the exercise yourself first and then you can start to figure out who it is appropriate for.

4. Sometimes it's necessary to swallow your pride and put an exercise or two in the program a client would like, even if you don't like it yourself. After all if the client absolutely hates their program and has 0 desire to ever do it, what kind of results are they going to get from 0 workouts? Then who do you think they point the finger at? It's certainly not going to be themselves, it's our job to make sure they have a doable and effective program. Even if it means letting them have their cake and eat it too, so to speak. As long as it's something appropriate for them and won't cause injury, go for it and have a blast.

Recap of do's and don'ts; keep it simple, master movement before progressing, stifle your urge to try the shiny new object on clients, and let the clients have a little fun.

​That's what I got for today everyone, go out there and get after it!

It's that magic day we all look forward to folks. Yeah it's Friday I know, but what I'm really talking about is the next installment of Things I've Found That Are Awesome. Have a look at the different place to check out this week and I'll be back next week with a new original post.

How's Your Community?- Todd Bumgardner from Strength Faction hits on a really good point here. Places where people succeed have really good communities. It's a fairly quick read, but I believe the message is important just the same.

GGS Exercise Spotlight: Kettlebell Swing-This one is a little older, I had a conversation with a client this morning that inspired me to include this nugget about KB swings and how awfully they are butchered on the reg. Molly Galbraith at Girls Gone Strong is always pumping out great content and has some awesome contributors to her website. Her spotlight coach Karen Davis breaks down the swing really well so no more back pain on swings. Also for you ladies looking for women to follow and relate your strength training to...you're welcome.

11 Year Old Athlete Overdoses On Sports Camps-A Parable-This article is about 5 years old, but it's still a problem I see out there. Parents basically make their kids hate sports because they overdose them on sports instead of letting them be a damn kid. I still refer back to this Mike Boyle article when I sense a client/athlete is being ground into the pavement by the amount of sports (and sports camps) they are being sent to.

That's what I got to day guys, go out there and get after it!