Walk into most bootcamps, Crossfit boxes, and "cardio" classes, and you'll likely see someone, somewhere doing burpees.  Now, the funny part is that no one actually LIKES burpees.  In fact, I'm pretty sure no one in the history of mankind has ever said, "Damn, I wish there were more burpees."  And if someone did, I would make sure I'm nowhere near that masochistic animal.  

Burpees are terrible - this we know.  But, there's a lil' sumpin' sumpin' I need to get off my chest: anytime I see a workout filled with a ton of burpees, it makes me want to bash my face in with a rake....because it gives "training" a bad name.

Why?  Plain and simple, burpees are a waste of time, and they'll likely do more harm than good.  I can't remember the last time I had anyone do a burpee, and frankly, can't see any reason why I'd have someone do them again.  

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays.  In fact, it's a close second to Christmas.  After all, nothing says America like beer, air conditioning, and blowing things up.

Ironically, other than the 4th, I really can't stand the month of July.  The combination of the heat, humidity, and that I sweat so much I'd make any NBA player envious, have fully morphed me into your prototypical old, grumpy New Englander.  Anything over 75 degrees is simply just too hot, and dare I say, it has me longing for that polar vortex.

Preface: As you could probably surmise from the title, this post is a bit different than my normal content.  To warn you, it's a bit of a rant, but if you stick with it, there is a message at the end.  Plus, it's my blog, so I can kind of do what I want. :)

As some of you may know, this past weekend was kind of a big deal. Lindsay and I were traveling to the midwest on Friday morning so that my parents could meet hers, and we had our wedding shower on Saturday night.  It was going to be a great weekend where we'd get a ton of family time. Or, so we thought....

Little did we know, by Saturday night our weekend seemed more like an episode of Seinfeld than real life. 

Fact: I like to believe I gave a pretty nerdtastic, bomb-ass, helpful nutrition lecture the other week.  You probably saw me talking about about it here and here.

Another fact: in hindsight, I left a lot to be desired.  And, frankly, that sucks.

Why?  Well, I forgot to mention a critical point that guides any well-run diet/lifestyle change: eating alone is responsible for 90% of the fat you'll lose.  And unfortunately, exercise rarely helps with fat loss.

Yes, you read that correctly. 

Now, don't get me wrong, exercise CAN help with fat loss under the right conditions.  Terms like "afterburn" or "Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption" do exist.  BUT, the effects are negligible when we're not focusing on our diet, and the handful of extra calories you burn is not enough to warrant any type of reward or rationalizing of a meal.  

Little known fact: the majority of the time I'm writing, I'm listening to one of my massive playlists on Spotify.  I'm not sure how many of you use Spotify, but if you don't, you're missing out.  I've used it for the past few years, and it's pretty much eliminated any reason for me to buy music.  Bad for musicians, but good for my pocket.

Anyway, while I'm usually blaring country, I decided to turn on a 90's station the other day and rocked out to Sublime, G. Love, Blackstreet and....Alanis Morissette?  You got it.

Call me inspired by her song, "Ironic," but it got me thinking: there are more than a few ironies when it comes to training and getting stronger.  So, to prove I'm not just hearkening back to simpler times with perms and acid washed jeans, I want to expand on one ironic point of training: those that need core exercises generally can't do them correctly, while those that already have a solid core receive the most benefit.