I find nutrition fascinating but not confusing.  Slogans like "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants" make sense because it's easy to follow. "Eat like a grown up" and "everything in moderation" are ambiguous but we know where it leads - unlike the current Star Wars trailer which has me stumped.  All I know is Han shot first!

Anyway, I'm lucky to have a healthy relationship with food.  It's a big reason why I'm never confused by the eyewash and fads out there. But that doesn't mean I always knew what I was doing.  

Five years ago I was 40 pounds heavier and nowhere close to consulting others on the topic. Before there was Tatum, my goal was to #getmychanningon but I was failing miserably. I was skipping important tenets of nutrition.  It's as if I thought I was close to deadlifting 600 pounds....when I could barely do half.

This week's post is a special one - it's the first guest post I've had!  It comes courtesy of my good friend/amazing human being/brother in lifting, Chris Mullins. Aside from being one of the most knowledgeable strength and conditioning coaches I've ever met, Chris is an accomplished run coach and one heck of a good golfer.  

Chris writes today about the detriments of defining yourself by one sport or activity.  This topic hits home for me as I defined myself purely as a baseball player for many years.  Even though I was involved in other activities, if I couldn't play baseball - like my injury-plagued sophomore year of college - then I had no identity.  I eventually found my niche but not without years of searching. (<----thanks for your patience, Mom and Dad!)

Chris' words are refreshing and offer a great perspective - I wish I could've read them years ago. So with that, take it away Chris!

It's been a few months since my last installment of "Random Fitness Wisdom" and I always enjoy writing these posts.  My inner introvert loves to think deeply, secluded from everyone (a la Harper Lee).  I also feel free to ramble on a few unrelated topics that don't always make for a full post (a la Billy Madison).

A few weeks ago I had a light bulb moment.  You know the type.  When you look at something, do a facepalm, and say "why didn't I think of that before!?"

I'll start by mentioning why it was so important.  Over the past few years I've been struggling to voice a common theme to all my clients. Breathing drills, different cues during exercises, and why we perform those exercises all have a logical explanation.  But I struggled with condensing very complicated explanations down to a simple sentence.  Last week, I found what I was looking for when I was coaching someone on a deadlift. (<----no surprise there, AMIRITE??) 

Here's the light bulb: the biggest lesson I hope to give people is to help them understand and master their center of gravity.  Why?  Because most people - including myself - are losing this battle. 

I'd compare front squats to slowly submerging yourself into an ice bath.  It hurts, it doesn't get better until you're all the way in, and even the thought of it will make you shudder.

Naturally, I decided I needed to master them.  

Nicknamed "The Hunt for Quadzilla," my goal in January 2013 was to front squat 300 pounds.  My squats were terrible and hitting 300 would either A) make me a better coach or B) make me institutionalized.

I'm happy to report that I achieved the former.....but only time will tell with the latter.