Our special guest this month is the author of the new training book Congruent Exercise, Bill DeSimone.



Bill is an experienced personal trainer, having started in 1983, and now owns his own studio-Optimal Exercise in Cranbury, New Jersey.  His own training-induced injuries led to his unique approach to exercise, where he applies textbook biomechanics to conventional free-weight and machine strength training.  He was also a VERY popular speaker at last year’s HIT Resurgence Conference (I believe he will be at this year’s conference also, which you should definitely plan on attending). 

As Bill says in Congruent Exercise: “You can get all the benefits of weight training, without the risk and frustration, by applying the appropriate joint movements, postures, moment arms, i.e. biomechanics, to your exercises.  And you’ll be able to apply this anywhere, whether you are surrounded by the most current, high tech, selectorized machines, or sewer plates on a rusty bar, or doing chin-ups on a tree, because the one constant is your body and biomechanics.”

This is no run-of-the-mill training stuff Bill is talking about here.  I have noticed for a very long time that many people who I considered experts in exercise and/or High Intensity Training were very weak when it came to utilizing orthopedically friendly, biomechanically sound techniques and positions.

Bill has spent a lot of time and effort studying this issue, and as a result he has come up with some fresh and fascinating ideas and techniques.

Listen now to this thought-provoking interview as Bill challenges strength training dogma and reveals:

• How a skating accident shaped his training philosophy
• His perspective on the teachings of Mike Mentzer, from 1976 through 2001 (wow-did he really just say that?)
• Examples of what “congruent exercise” means, and how it can help you
• His take on rep speed and full range of motion
• The relationship between joint function and torque as it applies to exercise (super interesting)
• His “Anti-Inflammation Theme” nutritional philosophy
• What he means by “functional fairy dust” (hilarious)
• And much, much more!

To hear the Bill DeSimone interview, just click on the play arrow (the little triangle on the left) below:

Bill Demonstrates The Congruent Chin-Up

Click here to learn more about Bill’s book Congruent Exercise

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Michael started out from very humble beginnings to create one of the premier training facilities in Canada.  In addition to providing his clients with State of the Art equipment and helping them achieve their fitness goals, he also has produced a Power Lifting Team that hold numerous National and World records.

Left: Gene Rychlak Jr., first man in the World to bench 1000 pounds; Center: STG lifter Michael Parsons, IPA and RPS bench press World Record holder; Right: his trainer, Michael Petrella, who by the way can trap-bar deadlift 500 pounds.

Michael has impressively taken the teachings of his mentors-including Mike Mentzer, Arthur Jones, Ken Leistner, John Christy, Brian Johnston, and Randy Roach-and combined that knowledge with tremendous hard work, determination, and dedication, to create a State of the Art facility and a training atmoshere second to none.  And by the way, he’s only 26 years old!

Turn up your speakers and listen in as Michael talks about:

• How and why he started training
• How he utilizes High Intensity Training with his Power Lifters
• His approach to training education (will surprise you) 
• How building strength is different than demonstrating strength
• His unique viewpoint on nutrition, and who he learned it from
• The unusual environment his first gym was located in (hilarious)
• How surfing the internet pushed him to expand his gym 
• The most important exercise for building size and strength
•  The “dark times” he experienced as a gym owner, and how he overcame them
• A lesson on Nautilus and Med-X equipment, and a description of some of the unique pieces in his gym
• What the “STG” in STG Strength and Power stands for
• The strangest thing he’s ever seen in a gym (cover the kids ears)
• And much, much more!

To hear the Michael Petrella interview, just click on the play arrow (the little triangle on the left) below:

***SPECIAL BONUS!***

A HIGH INTENSITY NATION EXCLUSIVE–BRAND NEW, NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN VIRTUAL GYM TOUR OF THE NEW STG STRENGTH AND POWER GYM–BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER!

See first-hand the AWESOME equipment Michael described in the interview!

Leave Comments Below…..

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Matt Brzycki (rhymes with whiskey) is one of the foremost authorities in the world on productive exercise.  He has written a TON of fitness books, including the Holy Grail of strength training books, “A Practical Approach To Strength Training” (required reading for all of our interns and personal trainers), and the hugely popular “Dumbbell Training For Strength And Fitness” (with co-author Fred Fornicola-available on our Products Page).

As you are about to discover by listening to this interview, Matt is not only one of the smartest guys around (they don’t let dummies into Princeton, FYI), he’s also one of the funniest.  You’ll hear about some eye-opening (and HILARIOUS) stories of Matt’s experiences with HIT over the years, and I’m talkin about a lot of years.  NOTE: make sure you stick with the interview until the end, where Matt reveals the truth about what it’s possible to accomplish in sports with very, very brief training.  Talk about an eye opener!

Listen in now as Matt reveals:

• How he got into training in the first place, and what attracted him to HIT
• How he ended up under Congressional investigation while in the Marines
• How he met Arthur Jones, and what their meetings were like (I’m jealous)
• The only man Arthur Jones ever feared
• Who the biggest human he ever met is (not who you think)
• Why Matt went to prison
• The Epiphany that changed his attitude toward training (this is HUGE)
• What smoking, baby food, and Preparation H have to do with bodybuilding
• SPECIAL BONUS– Matt’s current training routine, including how he is training for track competitions in the over 50 age group–DON’T MISS THIS
• And much, much more!

To hear the Matt Brzycki interview, just click on the play arrow (the little triangle on the left) below:

Leave comments for Matt below…

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Our High Intensity Training Interview for this month features the leading researcher in the field of productive exercise-none other than Dr. Wayne Westcott.

Dr. Wayne Westcott has been conducting studies on strength training for the past 25 years, adding up to over 100 studies.  He has researched the effects of exercise on every different age group and segment of the poulation, and examined every conceivable combination of exercise frequency, intensity and duration.  If you want to know something about productive exercise, and Wayne Westcott doesn’t have the answer, you don’t really need to know.

Dr. Westcott was the Director of Fitness Research for the YMCA for many years, and now directs the Fitness Research Programs at Quincy College in Quincy, MA, where he also developed the Exercise Science Major. He has been a strength training consultant for the United States Navy, the American Council on Exercise, the YMCA of the USA, and Nautilus. He is an editorial advisor/reviewer for many publications, including The Physician and Sportsmedicine, ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal, Prevention, Shape, and On-Site Fitness magazines, and has authored 24 books and textbooks on strength training. Dr. Westcott serves on the Board of Advisors for the International Council on Active Aging and the New England Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Fitness Professionals, the Healthy American Fitness Leader Award from the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Governor’s Committee on Physical Fitness and Sports, and the Alumni Recognition Award from the Pennsylvania State University. 

Of particular importance to us in the High Intensity Nation is that fact that Wayne has conducted tons of research on High Intensity Training and Nautilus training.  So if you’re looking for some ammunition to bring to the gym with you when all the so-called experts try to tell you that scientific research doesn’t support High Intensity Training, after listening to this interview you will be armed and ready.

Get out your note pad and get ready to learn as Dr. Wayne breaks down for us:

• His unusual start to getting interested in strength training
• The effects of different rep ranges, and how to know which ones to use
• The best number of workouts per week for maximum strength gains
• The optimal number of sets to do per workout
• What the research says about High Intensity Training vs. “Functional” training (classic)
• The best advanced techniques that produce 40-45% better results than regular reps
• *BONUS*-Brand new research on post-training protein/carb supplementation!  Do not miss this or your workouts will suffer (you heard it here first!)
• And much, much more!

To hear the Wayne Westcott interview, just click on the play arrow (the little triangle on the left) below:

This interview was definitely one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had about training-if you agree, leave a comment for Wayne below…..

Chip is part of a long, impressive line of strength training, fitness and conditioning professionals to come to us from Penn State, where he is currently the Director of Strength and Fitness. In case didn’t know, Penn State has had one of the longest winning traditions in all of collegiate athletics, and Chip has been an integral part of that success over the years.

Listen in as Chip reveals:

• What he set out to study at Penn State (not strength training)
• The who’s who of strength training experts with ties to Penn State
• The goals of the strength training programs at Penn State
• How the Penn State staff manages to effectively train hundreds of athletes from 28 sports
• The most important thing a strength coach should be able to do
• Chip’s advice for non-athletes who want to build muscle and strength
• And much, much more!

To hear the Chip Harrison interview, just click on the play arrow (the little triangle on the left) below:

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 If you’ve never heard of Joe for some weird reason, trust me you will not want to miss this interview.   Joe is literally a walking encyclopedia on High Intensity Training, and exercise in general.  Joe was right there with Arthur Jones during the heyday of Nautilus, where he was intimately involved with the Nautilus filming studios.

Joe was also a very well-known gym owner and bodybuilding figure in New England, and actually appeared in the movie Pumping Iron.

 Joe with Pumping Iron star Lou Ferrigno

No, I didn’t post the picture sideways-that’s Joe doing a “Human Flag”, while 2 guys are trying to train their legs

Joe was also a strongman and olympic weightlifting champion in his own right, has authored 15 books on fitness and High Intensity Training, and was both a friend and mentor to bodybuilding champions Dave Mastorakis, and Mike and Ray Mentzer.

 Listen in now as Joe goes in-depth on:

• What he had to train with when he started at age 15 (you’ll be glad you don’t have to)
• The people who shaped his training beliefs over the years
• A detailed discussion of his relationship with Arthur Jones, and what it was like during the formative years of Nautilus (priceless)
• His memories of Mike and Ray Mentzer
• How Arthur Jones scared the crap out of Joe Weider (this is freakin’ hilarious)
• The importance of understanding the relationship between biomechanics and exercise equipment
• BONUS-Joe gives us a taste of some of the unique theories and techniques in his many fitness books (this was awesome)
• And way too much more to list!

To hear the Joe Mullen interview, just click on the play arrow (the little triangle on the left) below:

Click Here To Check Out Joe’s Website And Books

Leave a comment for Joe below!

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That’s Bill on the left

The famous Cyberpump.com logo

Whoa-Is Bill lifting in his living room again?

 Bill is an accomplished powerlifter who has deadlifted 600 pounds as a 198 pounder (read that again a few times, it’s pretty dang impressive).  He’s also a renowned track and field coach, and for many years has been running the hugely popular training website Cyberpump.com.  If you’ve never been to Cyberpump, you are seriously missing out–there is a flippin’ TON of useful, no-bull training info over there.  In fact, Cyberpump was the very first website I ever visited when I got my first computer in 1998.  I was not disappointed.  Bill also has several awesome training products available, which he tells us about at the end of the interview.

Listen in as Bill talks about:

• How a laundry job eventually led him to powerlifting
• His early influences, and what he has done on the internet on their behalf
• How Cyberpump.com got started, and how it evolved into the Cyberpump.com network of today
• How to get a great workout with only bodyweight exercises
• His thoughts on training progression (really good)
• How visiting Cyberpump.com got me a job in the NFL
• The role of the nervous system in training and recovery, and what “neuro-dumbness” means (you need to hear this)
• And much, much more!

To hear the Bill Piche interview, just click on the play arrow (the little triangle on the left) below:

Bill’s son lifting a “blob” (this is way hard):

Click Here To Check Out Cyberpump.com

Leave comments below!

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Dan’s last name kind of rhymes with this

Dan is a former graduate assistant Strength Coach at the University of Michigan, and former Assistant Strength Coach at the University of Illinois Chicago. He currently runs a very successful personal training business called High Intensity Chicago, where he administers High Intensity Training workouts to his happy, result-getting clients.

Dan learned about High Intensity Training while at Michigan from long-time Strength and Conditioning Coach Mike Gittleson, and has also been strongly influenced by well-known H.I.T. expert Dr. Ken Leistner.

Dan having fun with Dr. Ken

Dan NOT having fun with Dr. Ken

Listen in on our conversation, as Dan discusses:

• What H.I.T is all about, as far as he is concerned
• His extensive background in education and research that has helped him understand what works-and what doesn’t
• Where the term “core training” really came from
• His take on slow repetition speeds (you might be surprised)
• The differences between training athletes vs. non-athletes
• The story behind High Intensity Chicago, and how it got to where it is today
• His take on workout recovery
• What he tells his clients about losing weight (whoa-did he really just say that?)
• And much, much more!

To hear the Dan Geraci interview, just click on the play arrow (the little triangle on the left) below:

Check out the High Intensity Chicago website

Leave a comment about Dan’s interview below…

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In this interview, I had a lot of fun and covered a variety of topics, such as:

• How and why I started training in the first place
• The book you’ve never heard of that motivated me to start using High Intensity Training principles
• The people who have influenced my training beliefs the most
• The weird thing Mike Mentzer did to me, and why I was glad he did it
• My experience using HIT with collegiate and professional athletes
• How I got interested in the internet, and what made me want to start this website
• The routine I used to gain 16 pounds of muscle in 16 weeks
• The one factor that determines success or failure with HIT (you either have this, or you don’t)
• The dumbest thing I ever saw in the gym
• The nature of adaptation, and how to harness it’s power to get bigger and stronger than ever (this was an awesome discussion)
• The new training breakthrough that’s coming soon to the High Intensity Nation
• And much, much more!

***ADVISORY WARNING***

Chris and I got REALLY carried away with this interview–so much so that it’s actually like an hour and a half long, so plan accordingly. I blame Chris.

To hear this interview, just click on the play arrow (the little triangle on the left) below:

Click here to check out the S.P.A.R.T.A. HIT Personal Trainer Certification

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Luke is a nationally recognized practitioner, speaker, and writer on the topic of strength training and scientifically based fitness programs.

In 2002, Luke co-authored the book “The Female Athlete: Train for Success”. And in the Spring of 2006, he contributed a chapter on the topic of physical activity and exercise in the new book “Mapping Your Retirement”.

Luke’s experience in the health and fitness field is diverse and consists of coaching positions at Minnetonka High School and Blaine High School as the head strength and conditioning coach. Luke has also worked as a Strength and Conditioning Assistant with the Minnesota Vikings.

Luke is an American College of Sports Medicine certified Health and Fitness Instructor and has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota. He is continuing his education at the University of Minnesota, as he is currently completing a graduate degree in Exercise Physiology.

In one of the best interviews I have conducted, Luke breaks down for us:

• The Mentor program that led to an Appentice program that led Luke to pursue his fitness career
• How his facility, Discover Strength, came into being and how it progressed to what it is today
• What he tells his clients that surprises them, but increases his credibility with them
• The workouts he puts beginners on vs. the workouts his advanced clients get
• Why he only teaches strength training vs. other aspects of a healthy lifestyle
• His take on the current state of the fitness industry, and the sentence he taught me that is my new favorite sentence (you’ll want to memorize it)
• The “metabolic workouts” he administers to his clients who dare to try them
• *SPECIAL BONUS*–Luke reviews his recent “HIT Resurgence” Conference, explaining what inspired him to do it, who the speakers were, what they covered, and how those of us who missed it can see what happened
• And much, much more!

To hear the Luke Carlson interview, just click on the play arrow (the little triangle on the left) below:

Click Here To Get The “HIT Resurgence Conference” DVD’s

Click Here to Check Out the Discover Strength Website

Leave a comment below

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