13 Things I Learned in ’13

 I hope everyone had a great New Year, and of course, happy 2014!

Contrary to what many of you might be thinking, I did stay awake until midnight (I was shocked too).  But, that was probably because I half expected Miley Cyrus to be riding the Times Square ball on the way down, and consequently being the “wrecking ball” to all of society’s new years celebrations…

Heyo! 

Anyway, I wanted to put forward a few of the most important lessons that I learned this past year.  While not all of them are strength and conditioning related, it gave me an opportunity to really think back about how great this past year really was.

And so, the 13 biggest things I learned in 2013:

1. If all you ever did were Turkish Get Ups and Deadlifts, you’d have a pretty solid program.
2. Grade as hard as possible when it comes to the FMS.
3. For the novice trainee, metabolic/conditioning work is overrated.
4. For the advanced trainee, metabolic/conditioning work is underrated.
5. Breathing and properly using your diaphragm clears up a lot of problems.  Last year, I didn’t even know the diaphragm was a muscle.
6. How important it is to have a great referral network, specifically, a soft tissue therapist.  Often, movement problems can clear up in 5 minutes under their care, when 5 months of work with me doesn’t even yield the same results.
7. I need to learn much more about anatomy.  Thus, I’m excited that Santa recently brought me this book.
8. Single leg training isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.  Sometimes, you just need to get stronger on two legs.
9. If you don’t care about the process, you will not see results.  
10. For as long as I live in Boston, I will never cheer for the Red Sox. Not now, not ever. 🙂
11. The more weight my clients lift, the less I’m concerned about their safety.  No, it’s not because I’ve stopped caring…far from it!  But, if someone has mastered a deadlift to the point where they are regularly exceeding their bodyweight, it shows that they know their bodies, their form, and their limits.
12. The half-kneeling position should be practiced almost every workout.
13. That Eric Church is my favorite country artist.