When I was ages 4 to… well now, my favorite fictional character was Batman. Mostly because he is everything I wasn't. Since the death of his parents, Batman has been singularly focused and utterly disciplined. He spends every night doing the same noble, difficult, but boring thing: patrolling the...
There comes a time in any training program when you go off the wagon. There are days when you just can't seem to make it into the gym. There are days when you can't get your meal planning together and you end up at In 'N Out. Suck days happen and they happen to us all. But what separates people who...
With rare exception, what most of my clients want is change. They want to change their body's shape or function. They have a goal, and they come to me to help them attain it. Sometimes they have trouble articulating that goal and they need my help to even work up the courage to say it out loud....
I am lucky enough to have four surviving grandparents, three of whom I visited this week. Two drove 12 hours round trip to spend Father's Day weekend at my parent's house, and the other was in the hospital having emergency surgery. Their age-range is 10 years but their "physical age range" might as...
When I was a Marine Corps officer candidate, I went to a little 3-day taste of Officer Candidate School that was staffed by actual Sergeant Instructors from Quantico. After pick-up and a group run carrying all of our trash, my makeshift platoon was introduced to Gunnery Sergeant Mata. If you speak...
Have you ever gone to a bookstore and looked at how many diet books there are? Have you every wondered why there are so many different exercise programs on the internet? Or why every trainer is an expert in [latest fad workout, body part, etc.]? Well at great risk to my physical well being, I am...
People like to cut corners. Everyone is looking for a shortcut to wealth, happiness and hotness. And so it's not surprising that people look to take shortcuts at the gym. Everyone wants to be hotter, stronger, leaner, and faster yesterday. And I get it. Doing things is hard, especially things that...
What's the difference between you and someone who is really freaking strong? What's the difference between the average 5'8" 185lb American male, and the guy in this picture? The guy in this picture is Jim Leonhard. Jim is a free safety for the New York Jets. He's a full 4 inches shorter and 30...
In my previous post, I showed off my abstract thinking skills and presented "Coach Stevo's Real World Model for Strength." It was such a huge hit that I had literally a person ask me, "hey Coach! How do I train for that?" Well good news, everyone: here's the follow up! Coach Stevo's Rules for...
I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be "strong." There are as many kinds of strength as there are kinds of exercises; it really all depends on how you think about things and categorize them. A very popular model that a lot of people smarter than me will tell you about is the...
How often does Melanie Roach perform the snatch? How often does Haile Gebrselassie run? When do writers write and musicians play? Every. Damn. Day. How often do you do the things that you want to be good at? Skills are just habits multiplied by time. And hotness is a skill that you can chose to...
My clients often note the bizarre sound I make when I demonstrate a movement. It's a sharp "TSSST!" sound that many have never heard before. I force air out between my teeth at the completion of every rep and many claim it sounds like I have suddenly sprung a leak. This is diaphragmic breathing at...
The Greatest Pole Vaulter of All Time: Yelena IsinbayevaA lot of my clients want to know how they stack up to my other clients. This is easy in my "Booty Camp" and "Kettlebells to the Wall" classes (they just have to look around) but even they want to know how they stack up to the...
The Turkish Get Up is an amazing movement. A lot of people way smarter than me have said a lot about it and all the best coaches, physical therapists, and trainers have been incorporating it into their programs. But after teaching the Turkish Get Up to a few dozen people over the years, I want to...
There are a lot of movements people like to do in the gym. They push weights, pull at machines, crunch on balls, and elliptical on ellipticals. But how many times in your life will you encounter an elliptical in the wild? Can you imagine a scenario when your awesomeness will be put the test on a...
What if I told you there was something you could start doing now that would make you burn fat, build muscle, prevent disease, extend your life, and make you smarter, hotter, and better in the sack? What if I told you that this "Holy Grail" was backed by every scientific study on the above mentioned...
Hey Coach Stevo, I'm sick of running on the treadmill for my cardio. Any suggestions? Yes, stop running on the treadmill. That'll be $100, please. Cardio is a 6-letter word with a lot of baggage. It's also used interchangeably to mean a lot of things to people in different contexts. Even people in...
How much can you change your body in only 6 weeks? Are you feeling a little chunky? A little weak? Maybe you're sick of the damn elliptical or would like a hot, new booty to show off this spring. Well Coach Stevo's Sophomore Class in Strength is the answer you're looking for! Starting on Tuesday...
One of the hurdles I have to get over with a lot of my clients when they begin their Ticket to Hotness™ is the idea that time in the gym doesn't do anything to you while you're there. Every movement, rest, and rep has a point and that is to place strain on the body and then allowing the body to...
"Hey Coach Stevo, how can I speed this hotness thing up?" First off, let's talk about what you need to be doing. The Ticket to Hotness™, as it were. Resistance training 2-3 times per week. Cardio 2-3 times per week. Mobility 10 minutes per day. Moving every day. Eating in a 250kcal to 500kcal per...