It's victory Friday everyone. Oh, you're a Bears fan...well maybe pick a new team? Or maybe your team shouldn't leave Nelson with 15 yards of space in the end zone, that usually helps. Enough about that, hope everyone starts to enjoy the cooler weather here in New England, just enjoy this before it turns to the time of year the temps are a bit more on the ice age side.

Without rambling on much more about football and the whether, here is the Insta post of the week. Rather partial to this one, any idea why?:

Emma Stone Gains 18 Pounds of Muscle- YES! Anyone that's a follower of this blog and the strength training community in general, knows that this is a huge thing for us. A women, excited about putting on muscle, and not trying to look "slimmer" or "toned". Color us excited! It doesn't hurt that it's Emma Stone, like she's a pretty kick-ass actress. I'll admit that T-Nation is probably a little past it's hey day from years past, but articles like this are why I still keep it on my radar. For those that are still in the non-belief category or maybe you know someone, you have another article and bit of evidence to point them to.

The Path to Anti-Fragility- The mad scientist, Chris Duffin, has done it again, a great piece on why and how you can make yourself bullet proof without feeling the pain. Everyone's heard the term, no pain no gain...truthfully I've become a little sick of it and this post kind of makes the case for me. Even if you don't want to listen to the interview, take the 5 minutes and read the post.

Stop Making Fat Loss So Complicated- I'll admit I kind of cheated today and pulled 2 of the best posts PTDC had to offer from another week. I do this sometimes because I can't help that they list some really good stuff that needs to be shared. I recycle these because if I get just 1 more person to read the good stuff and no the mass media BS, I've done good in my opinion. More about this one, fat loss actually isn't super complicated, but it doesn't make it easy. The methods are not cool, flashy or sexy, but damnit do they work if you stick to them. It's another quick post so take your 10 minutes from doing nothing and read this piece from Bryan Krahn.

Unilateral training isn’t just for those big compound movements, it’s also for carries (or the 5th movement category as I refer to it). Perfect example is the carry we have today, the suitcase carry. Take a wild stab at why it’s called that…yeah no idea either.

In case you are wondering as you watch this, yes there is such thing as a suitcase deadlift. I like them, but we’re not talking about them here.

-Picking the right load on these can be tricky. Those that are logical thinkers that read the Farmer’s Carry post, will probably assume I’m aiming for about %50 bodyweight. While that’s not entirely inaccurate, and yes that’s about what I’m working with, some things that need to be attended to. Distance, again, will be determined by what you have available and what kind of load you’re working with.

-All carries will be core work to some degree, but these babies turn that up just a notch. This is a great way to double dip into 2 movement ares at once if you’re someone that is a bit shorter on time.

-When the load is too heavy on these for you to handle, you will tend to lean away from he weight. You can see hints of me doing it in this video. Most of the time to correct this I will cue the client to lean into the weight slightly, if that doesn’t fix it then the load’s a bit too heavy and we need to adjust.

-When changing sides and you’re dealing with HAF weight please set the weight down. Then turn yourself around and pick the weight up again like a deadlift. Trying to change hands, even with things that are a bit smaller like KBs and DBs in mid-air just leaves me thinking about broken toes and feet.

-Again there’s dozens of options for what implements to load with. You can use kettlebells, dumbbells, even barbells for a challenge, or if you’re really lucky you can use farmer’s handles like I am here.

It's Friday everybody, and yes I have more goodies for you to check out while you think about working for the rest of the day, For anyone that is wondering, it has been confirmed, I am, in fact, a scared 5 year old little boy on the inside after seeing 'IT' last Friday. Clowns suck...sorry, not sorry clown lovers. Wait, do those even exist? Alright, enough of that, let's just get down to the content.

First, this week's Insta post of the week is just a repost from a good friend, but it should still be seen by as many as possible:

Is Your Exercise Preventing Fat Loss? +Exactly How to Fix It- I feel like I've probably put up a good number of articles like this from really smart people, for you all to read. One more won't hurt because the message is still one I feel needs to be spread. Killing yourself with exercise is not the answer to a healthier lifestyle, just read Jen Comas' new post if you don't believe me.

4 Reasons Women Must Deadlift- I get the feeling I've put this up here in one of the 50+ previous editions of this, but in case I haven't, I'm putting it up. Why? Because, like Lee Boyce says right off the bat here, both men and women must learn, "The Big and Bulky Myth Must Die" and stay there. There are also a host of benefits for all with the deadlift in particular.

5 Ways I Include Single Leg Training in My Programs- At least one of these exercises should be familiar to those that have stepped foot into the facility with me. I've spoken at length about how single leg training in your training in many cases, so if I haven't convinced anyone yet, maybe you'll listen to a pretty smart guy like Tony Gentilcore. No? Well read it any way, you'll be better for it.