Last summer, I had a meathead's equivalent of a "come-to-Jesus" moment.  It occurred while back squatting, and I can even tell you the day - July 10, 2016.

I can also tell you the weight and rep scheme (300 lbs for sets of 5) thanks to my meticulous record keeping.  That weight is important, because it's where all my secret compensations started to show.  I reviewed the video of my squats and saw that my butt was winking, my hips were shifting laterally, and my left knee continually caved in as I came out of the hole.  Angry and frustrated, I yelled the title of this post but substituted one specific word (sorry Mom!).

After some introspection, I calmed down. Why was I doing this exercise? Was it helping my goals? Was I seeing gainz? Or was it throwing me deeper into my compensations and developing new ones?

The answers were don't know, no, no, and probably yes.  The only reason I was back squatting was for vanity. It boosted my ego to see myself squatting heavy(ish) weights, and I thought I was more advanced than I was.  I decided I needed to take it down a notch and work on my squat pattern. But a funny thing happened shortly after - I fell in love with the two kettlebell front squat.

I didn't always love deadlifts.  I feared them.  And every deadlift day I'd walk into the gym wondering if "it" would finally happen - "it" being that my spine would break in half, shoot out my butt, and I'd be crippled for months.

So why'd I do them if I was afraid?  Ego, probably.  And testosterone.

But having since learned to love the deadlift, I can attribute my early struggles to one specific point: I thought I was more advanced than I was.  I bypassed every easier deadlift variation in favor of the conventional stance - the hardest progression.

April was a fun month.  

Aside from my beloved New York Yankees currently sitting in first place, I competed in the Tactical Strength Challenge on April 8th. The event is made up of a max deadlift, strict bodyweight pull-ups, and a 5 minute kettlebell snatch test.  Anyone who competes deserves respect and in the immortal words of Ice Cube, "it was a good day."

I was fortunate to hit a new personal record on the deadlift at 556 pounds, but kept some gas in the tank for the other two events. Still, it was good enough for the 8th heaviest deadlift in my division.

A few hours later, I clocked in with 139 kettlebell snatches in 5 minutes - also a personal record.  This performance was even better than my deadlift, as I placed 5th on snatches and #9 overall in the Men's Open.  And in true egalitarian fashion, you don't receive anything for how you perform, just a pat on the back.

But last week, I finally conquered the one goal that's been haunting my dreams (only 50% joking) - I finally pressed The Beast.

Gravity impacts our daily lives much more than we realize.  And no, that title is not a euphemism for weight loss. ;)

But over 90% of us have lingering aches and pains - tight quads, calves, or backs; hip, knee, ankle or back pain.  It may not be painful enough to keep us from our daily activities, but it's enough to know it's still there.

What if I told you that you probably don't have a problem with a particular body part? Instead, you may just have a gravity problem.

As a red-blooded American, I'll always respect Navy SEALs.  But luckily for my Mom, I could never be one - my poor swimming skills and INTJ personality don't always mix well with authority.  So rather than living out my GI Joe fantasies, I've been experiencing them vicariously with my new favorite book, Extreme Ownership.  

I know what you're thinking, "How can fighting Al-Qaeda in Iraq teach us anything about fitness and nutrition?" It's because strong leadership, problem solving, and hard work transcends industries. And I'll take learning wherever I can get it!

As I've done before, below are several parallels between the book and being successful in the gym.  Hope you enjoy them!