To start things off, I wanted to announce that I'll be giving a nutrition lecture on June 7th, where I work at The Training Room in Somerville.  While I abhor shameless plugs of self-promotion (and yes, I've fully realized the irony....as a blog is essentially its own form of self-promotion), the topic will be "Navigating the Paleo, Vegan, and Low Fat Matrix."

As you could probably guess from the title, I'll be discussing the Paleo, Vegan, and Low Fat diets by themselves - the pluses and the minuses.  But, the discussion will also be through the lens of what we've learned about nutrition over the past few years: all calories are not created equal; the need to focus on foods and not nutrients; and most importantly, will any diet make Taylor Swift look less like a Praying Mantis?

Just kidding about that last one.

(Maybe.)

For this week's post, I wanted to focus on a question that comes up every now and then in training: is there such thing as a "running specific" or "fat loss" program?

Now, before I answer, allow me to rant:

One of the worst things about the fitness industry is the jargon that's used on an everyday basis.  Terms like "muscle confusion" do nothing but make you confused (not to mention, it doesn't exist). "Sport-specific" is just another name for "human specific."   And "functional?"  Well, I'm not sure what that means anymore, especially when Bosu balls are involved.

So, before you heed the advice of these fitness charlatans, let me say this: 90% of the time, it's all marketing.  

With that said, I do want to say that "running" and "fat loss" programs actually do exist, but on one condition:

You need to already be strong.

The human body is simply amazing.  In fact, it's one of the reasons I love my job.  The fact that something like breathing can loosen someone's "tight" hamstrings, or eliminate their back pain, is always amazing to watch.

The human brain, on the other hand, can often be our biggest enemy.

What do I mean?  We all like to believe that we're exceptions to the rules.  I can't tell you how many times people have told me about nagging hip, knee or back injuries, resigned to the fact that it won't ever feel normal again.  Alternatively, I also tend to hear people tell me that they've "tried everything" but still can't seem to lose the extra weight. 

Well, call me Tough Love Tanskey, but I'm here to let you in on a secret: you're not THAT special.

A few weeks ago, I got into a debate on the interwebz with another strength coach.  

The forum? A message board we both belong to (yes, it's like a secret club of strength coaches).

The subject?  Deadlifts.

While the subject matter is probably no surprise to you, the other coach stated that heavy deadlifts were simply more risk than reward and it didn't make sense to deadlift anything above "laundry weight."

To be honest, I think my head exploded when I heard his reasoning.  Why?  Because to me, a world without deadlifts is like....a world without chocolate!

Every now and then, I think back to when the lanky, 9th grade version of myself stepped into my high school weight room.  Meek, weak, and uncoordinated, I was petrified by heavy weights.  Worst of all, I held one of the biggest phobias of any pimple-faced underclassman: the fear of looking like an idiot.

Without any direction, or any clue about strength and conditioning, I stuck to the machines in the left corner of the gym.  I was happy to be stuck in my comfort zone, seeing no progress whatsoever, which is a very bad place to be. Why?  Because plain and simple, lifting weights is daunting.