Diary of a Mad Man

Greetings!  I have survived!   It has been an absolute crazy past couple of weeks here.

I had the title of “Diary of a Mad Man” pop into my head when I was writing this up, so I thought I would include a live version of this Ozzy classic for your listening pleasure.

I remember seeing Ozzy on his “No More Tours Tour” in like 8th grade. It was awesome other than the treble was so high I think I had hearing damage for years after that.    I’ve seen him many times since on Ozzfest also. So much for retirement!

As you know, I am getting married this coming Saturday (yes, like in a 2 days) and I am very excited.

PhD Update

I have also been working on my dissertation paper regarding HRV (heart rate variability -  a way to measure biofeedback) and I handed in the latest revision to my advisor at about 2:30am today.   I already have more work to do on it as I got the revisions back already, but getting closer to submitting if for peer review and publication.

Once that is taken care of, I will then work on finishing up my paper on the effects of Energy Drinks (Monster Energy Drink) regarding heart rate, HRV, exercise performance (like, do the darn things even work?) effects on fat burning (via RER- respiratory exchange ratio) among other things.   I collected the data last year and have it analyzed already, so hopefully I won’t need to get any more subjects.  All the studies were fasted, so nothing like getting up at 4:45am sometimes to be in the lab (or sleeping there overnight—shhhhhh, don’t tell anyone though).   I still carry a pillow in my car to catch a quick cat nap for a few minutes wherever I can.

Once that is completed, I have my third paper to work on regarding Metabolic Flexibility as I am looking at a potential new way to measure metabolic flexibility without sticking someone with needles.   I will combine those 3 studies plus a literature review and conclusion into my final dissertation.  Lots and lots more work to go, but progress one step at a time is good.

Ever Wonder What It Looks Like?

I shot this short video, just for you!

Top Secret Location

I have only seen Jodie about 2 times in the past week, but we will get to spend a whole week in Mexico (top secret location) after the wedding, so we are super excited about the honeymoon!  It will be sooooo nice to finally spend some time together and then I get to see her for the rest of my life every day—yeah!!

Jodie and I

Perhaps I will have an re-enactment of this photo from our La Ventana trip.
Viva La Mexico

And lots of this!
Although I do have a hard time sitting still for long.

A huge thanks to Jodie also for all the wedding planning and to our friend Dana and Nicole too for all their wedding planning help.  I had no idea that planning a wedding was so much work, but it will be great!   Neither one of us do much that is considered “normal” so we are even getting married in a cave!

Project 86

For those that missed the engagement story, see this link below.

Mike and Jodie Are Getting Married- Caught on Video

We got engaged at a Project 86 show in Arizona (huge thanks to the lead singer Andrew,the Rev, and the P86 Tour Manager).    My wonderful colleges at work (I still work part time at a medical device company as an engineer for over 10 years now), bought me a Project 86 cake and had a nice celebration, wonderful card and gits too!  Thanks everyone!!!

Myself, Jodie and Andrew from Project 86

The Project 86 cake

Lifting

Of course I am still lifting myself and it is going well, despite crazy levels of stress and enough caffeine at times to approach the LD 50 for small fury animals.   Last night I came within 1 lb of breaking my all time bench personal record (PR) and pulled 8 singles at or over 365 lbs on deadlifts the day before.   Yeah for biofeedback training.  Keep your eyes open for the Grip n Rip DVD soon and it shows you the break down on how to custom your training to you!

I gave 435 a run, but no dice.   I will get it though and will pull 450 lbs by the end of this year.   My buddy Maximillian Barry (Nu_Fit on twitter) and a few others have a deadlift race.

We will celebrate once we both pull 500 lbs, raw.

I will get this deadlift very soon!

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Plus, once my schedule frees up a bit post PhD later this year (fingers crossed) I plan to hang out and lift  more with those nuts Adam T Glass and Brad Nelson.   Doing the Tactical Strength Challenge Elite style 10 days after coming back from my honeymoon is going to be brutal though!  I will be traveling with trusty TRX suspension trainer though.  Maybe the professor will show up in a future video from Mexico, who knows!

The Blog Marches On!

I am hoping to crank out some updates for you tomorrow AM yet,   I will probably not have computer access in Mexico, so comment replies may be very slow.

Summary

That is the update on all the crazy updates from here.  What is new in your life?  Any good wedding stories that you wan to share? Post away in the comments

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

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Trainer Mike T Nelson Testimonial: Shoulder Pain While Doing A Bench Press Gone!

The Night I “Couldn’t” Bench Press By Dave “The Athlete Creator” Sandel

Just like every other Tuesday, it was bench press night with Mike. However, this Tuesday was different. I sent him an email earlier in the day stating:

“Tonight might be prehab/rehab for me. I was feeling just a touch of shoulder pain in my left shoulder after last week, and it was worse after training last night. This is, unless, your voodoo works again.”

So, I showed up at the usual time, did my usual Z-health CNS warm-up, and did some push-ups to test my shoulder. Push-ups tested fine and without pain. I thought, “Hmm, maybe everything will be alright tonight.”

Then it was my turn to warm-up with the empty bar. After a few slow, pain-free, concentrated reps I decided to try exploding a rep off my chest. That nearly caused my left arm to collapse because of the shooting pain in my left shoulder, just as I had felt before.

After a brief description of the previous night’s workout, Mike put his head down and started mumbling something to himself. Something about external rotation, abduction, sagittal planes, and some other stuff I didn’t quite recognize (eventhough I’m studying for my CSCS certification).

After a minute or so he finally had his answer. We started with some z-health mobility work directly on the shoulder, and then tested it out on the bench. It was better, but still not pain-free.

This is where it got a little weird…

He had me lie on my back, internally rotate my right leg (remember, my left shoulder is what was hurting), and perform cross-body leg circles. After a few tests doing band pull-aparts, we decided to try it out on the bench.

Lo and behold, I was virtually pain-free!

He explained what the drill was doing and why it works. I understood all of that, and it made perfect sense.

Now, I know there is a direct connection between opposite-side joints, but I still can’t wrap my head around why a “trauma” to my right hip is causing pain in my left shoulder. Oh well, I’ll leave that for another visit.

In the end, you’re probably wondering how my bench press session went.

Well, as I stated in the beginning, I walked in thinking I was going to be doing some mobility and prehab/rehab work all night. As it turns out, I actually ended up bench pressing 5 more pounds in a max effort lift than the previous week!

Not only that, but I added more volume on my accessory lifts as well! All in all, I’d say it was a pretty good night.

Thanks, Mike!

Dave Sandel
www.athletecreator.com

Bench 45 lbs with Pain To Bench 270 lbs Without Pain In One Session?

How?

I know this seems insane that someone could literally go from barely being able to press the bar without pain to benching around 260 lbs without pain, so that is the reason I had him write it up in his own words above.

If you are interested in how the heck this can work and look into the methods behind the madness, drop a comment below and if I get 10 comments by 1pm tomorrow (Thurs March 11, CST) I will have a post about how it works.

If you are in pain, you are limiting your performance!

This also saved Dave about 4-8 weeks of “standard” rehab type exercise work, during which he would be told not to bench (and for good reason since benching was painful).

Add to that time period 4 weeks at least to get back to where he was before and we probably saved him about 3 months in one session!

How much would you pay to get 3 months of training time back?

I know I would pay a lot for that.

Now It Is Your Turn!

A Huge thanks to Dustin for taking the time to write that up and taking action to look for an answer to his pain and movement issues.

• If you are interested in a phone consult, for a limited time they are only $90 per session (normal rate is $110) and are 100% guaranteed.  If you are not happy for ANY reason, there is NO charge, email me by clicking HERE
• If you are in the St. Paul, MN area, you can see me in person for $110 per session (normal is $125) and it is 100% guaranteed also, email me by clicking HERE

Drop me an email by clicking HERE to move better with less pain today!

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

PS

If you are still not sure, see all the other testimonials below

Mike T Nelson and Extreme Human Performance Testimonials

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PPS

10 comments below by 1pm tomorrow Thurs March 11 for the secret to how this is done!  Post a comment below now.

I Am Pissed!  A Trip Inside My Head

I am really pissed off right now and I can’t focus on anything else, so you will get an inside look into my brain. Caution, you have been warned.

As readers of this blog know, I do training and nutrition work to get professional and every day athletes of all types performance increases. I’ve been doing it for several years now and I’ve spent well over $200,000 over the years on getting better at my craft via college, seminars, certifications, books, etc. This is not meant to impress you, but if you are serious about something you have to pay to play. I know many others that have paid very large sums to practice their craft, so this is no different.

Why I am Pissed

I am pissed off to no end now because I could not get the result I wanted from an athlete I worked with this morning. Note, this has absolutely nothing to do with the athlete and everything to do with me. I feel like I failed him because I did not have a solution to his pain issue. We spent 1.5 hours trying all sorts of things, with very little change. My agreement is that if I can’t get a performance increases or a large change in your pain, the session is free. The athletes satisfaction is my primary concern and I fully believe that if I don’t deliver, I should NOT be compensated. End of story.

The System Is Broke

This is the direct opposite to most professions. Take physical therapy (not to pick on them, but….) if you (not anyone who reads this blog, way too bright for that) are an average PT and you take 12 sessions to get a result and you charge $50 per session, you made $600. If you are a stellar PT and you get the result in 3 sessions, at the same price, you get $150. You were clearly better (got the same result in LESS time), but you made about 1/4 as much. How much incentive is there for you to get better? Not much!

True, that it is different when you own your own business, since if you suck, hopefully you will go out of business. If you suck, I don’t want you around to drag everyone else down and please go away and the sooner the better. I won’t get into the whole fitness business and how anyone can take a weekend cert by mail and be a fitness trainer. It makes me vomit in my mouth a bit each time I read it. Ugh. I need some mouth wash. Ok, I am back now. Where was I? I know business is very complicated and there are times where the most knowledgeable are also piss broke, but if you work for a large company, there is normally very little incentive to get better.

You’re Insane

I have many great friends in the field who are doctors, physical therapist, other trainers, consultants etc and almost all of them tell me I am completely out of my tree, coo coo insane, have a melon where my head should be because this is my expectation below

I expect that 99% of the people that walk through my door that I can get a dramatic performance increase (also many times equalling a decrease in pain) in ONE session that last 1-2 hours.

I’ve had many long discussions with many of them arguing that IF this is even physiologically possible. They say no and I say it is possible. If pain and performance are primarily (not entirely of course) controlled by the brain, we know that you can make changes in the brain extremely fast (as I have learned in Z-Health).

Yes, there are times that there will be a biomechanical and/or biochemical issue, but even then you should still be able to see a large change in one session.

I’ve seen athletes with missing rotators via MRI have no limitations on shoulder function and no pain.

Is this the norm? No, but it can happen. My point is that I feel the brain and nervous system are the most plastic systems in the body and are also open to the greatest change at the fastest speed (this is supported by research on brain neuroplasticity).

Does this mean we ONLY need to focus on the nervous system–no, of course not; but if pain reduction and performance are your goals, you have to address the nervous system.

Victory Destroys Knowledge

That was a great quote from Dan John. While I do remember many of the “successes” I’ve had, my failures stick in my brain like a canary in a coal mine. You notices I put “successes” in quotes since I did not do ANY of the darn work, the athlete did all the work and hence they should get the credit. I just helped point them in a better direction. They had the discipline to do the work!

I’ve been very fortunate to work with athletes to get them out of pain, avoid surgeries, compete in the Olympics pain free, bend over to pick up their kids without pain, take a ski trip vacation and ski 5 days in a row for the first time ever, etc. These are all great and completed by highly motivated athletes.

What I remember more are the cases where I could not do anything. We tried for 2-3 sessions or more with no change. Granted, these athletes usually had been everywhere and done everything, but I still feel like I should have had a solution.

I know that their pain is not my issue and that it takes many reps to over ride the lifetime of poor reps they have accumulated and that nobody has a 100% solution for chronic pain. Look no further than research on the success of various low back pain treatments and many of them are acute, no chronic pain issues. Yet somehow I feel I should have all the answers. They come to me as their last hope and if I can’t help them in a very short period of time I feel like I let them down and have failed them. Completely unrealistic I know, but I still feel pissed when I can’t get a result. I know there is a solution and when it evades me I can’t stand it. Yes I am neurotic too.

What To Do

To keep myself sane, I don’t work primarily with chronic pain clients. The toll on my psyche is more than I can handle and the logical conclusion is that the better you get, the harder the cases you get and at the end you will only be left with your failures. I know I can’t handle that. I do, however, take on “hard cases” to force myself to learn. I learn more from the difficult ones than from any others. Fear of failure will drive you much farther than success, but you need to be aware of the cost.

Performance increases are relatively easy for me now. I know that sounds like a super arrogant statement, but it is true. Most athletes have just a slight (or major) movement issue that is impairing their current performance. Remove that (which could be mobility, visual, vestibular or soft tissue) and performances goes up. Think of it as removing the king pin from a log jam. Once you do that, the whole river flows again just by that one minor change.

Your Trip Is Complete

There you have it. A trip inside my brain to see what drives me. I did warn you that it is a bit of a scary place. I’ve been told by multiple well meaning people that I need more knowledge like I need a hole in the head and I should spend more time on marketing. My business model of primarily seeing athletes for single sessions once a month or even less is the worst possible thing to do. What you realize very fast is that once someone is out of pain, they forget they ever had pain extremely fast, so your time for referrals is very short. Getting new clients routinely is much harder than working with them routinely. I do have some reoccurring clients, but most come for an acute change and that is what I deliver.

While I am spending more time learning marketing and business now (and they are no evil and truly needed), my true passion is bridging the chasm between research land and practice. We can learn a ton from both and in the process and I move step by step closer to that 99%. I may never get there, but if you aim high and miss by a bit, you are still much higher than if you aimed low. Don’t tell this to my psyche if you see it lying on the road somewhere trying to hitch hike!

A HUGE Thank You!

Thanks to all for their support and reading this blog. It truly means a ton to me and I promise I will do everything I can to help as many athletes of all types destroy their old personal records. I feel incredibly fortunate that I know exactly why I was put on this earth and exactly what I want/need to do. Many spend their lifetimes looking and wandering, so I am truly blessed and grateful.

I need to send a very special shout out to my soon to be wife Jodie too for all of her endless support and to my family. Thank you!!

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

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Mike T Nelson on Iron Radio this Friday!

Just a heads up that I will be on Iron Radio this coming Friday with Charles Staley, Phil, Fortress, Dr Lowery and the gang to discuss the impact of blogs and fitness and other random fitness topics.

Be sure to tune in this coming Friday 2-3pm EST and submit your questions at the site too

http://ironradio.org/

If you have not checked out the back issues of Iron Radio, I would encourage you to give them a listen and best of all they are totally FREE!

Talk to you all then!

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

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Ouch, My Hip Hurts and My Glute Does Not WorK

Testimonial from Dave S in Minneapolis, MN, rock climbing enthusiast

After a long hiatus off of running I recently started up again, primarily trail running. I’ve been told on two separate occasions (about a month ago and about fifteen years ago) that my right glute does not engage while I run.

I suspect it’s why my running has always felt a little awkward. Previously, I just stopped running since it wasn’t enjoyable.

This time I sought Mike’s help getting my muscles to work the way they’re supposed to.

After seeing me walk, Mike determined that neither of my glutes were engaging properly. It took about an hour but Mike got both glutes functioning again.

I left with some Z-Health drills to make sure they continue to work the way they’re supposed to.

I will see Mike again and I’m looking forward to enjoying running again.

Thanks Mike.

Dave S.  Minneapolis, Minnesota

Thanks Dave for stopping by to get those glutes (butt muscles) going again!

Yes you read that right, in one session we got his glutes going again so that he can actually enjoy exercise and running again. One of them had not been working for 15 YEARS! I know that seems hard to believe, but with the right information it is possible to get your body working better now than ever before, all with less pain.

What Did We Do?

We followed this Z-Health based approach as below

Z Health Method for Injuries and Athletic Performance

In Dave’s case we needed all three -  joint, eye movements, and vestibular (head movements) to get him on the right track again.

Will It Stay?

He will work on his drills for a few times a day and this works to upgrade the software in his brain to keep his glutes working and keep running fast and fun.

What are you waiting for?  Email me by clicking HERE today to get started on moving, feeling and performing better!  Click HERE

Rock on

Mike T Nelson   Z Health Master Trainer

PS

If you are still not sure, every session is 100% guaranteed.If you are not happy for any reason, the session is free.

No strings, no catches, as your satisfaction is my highest priority. Most issues can see HUGE improvements in only one session.

Email me today by Clicking HERE

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Quoted in Muscle and Fitness, Nick Tumminello and More Randomness

If you pick up the latest issue of Muscle and Fitness Hers, look for my quote in there regarding caffeine and fat loss.

Dave Barr wrote a great article on supplements for fat loss, so a huge shout out to him for quoting me in the article and pick up a copy today.  Thanks Dave!

Nick Tumminello

I have the honor of having a guest article over at Nick’s site.  Head on over there and learn

• Are people training the gym without their heads?
• How to fire up those glutes and hip
• Why should you bother with joint mobility work
• Do you need optimal joint mobility in ALL your joints?

Go to

Z Health Ichabod Training with Mike T Nelson

Super Bowl Throwback

The Super Bowl is coming soon and it is NFL playoff time, so I thought I would throw up this classic video.

I am not saying I can dance well (other than the white boy shuffle, which I rock at), but it looks like they are trying to shake a squirrel out of their pants.

Rock on!
Mike T Nelson

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The Science Behind Biofeedback

I’ve been getting some great questions regarding biofeedback as of late, which is awesome. I am glad to see others asking questions and taking action. Kudos to you!

One of the questions has been around the science of biofeedback

• Is there any science?

• What does the science say?

• Who is this Mike T Nelson character and is he qualified to answer any of this?

• Why is he wearing a lab coat?

Find out below

Mike T Nelson Background

The Science of Biofeedback

Comments

What are your thoughts? Leave me a comment below and let me know!

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

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Merry Christmas to everyone and time for feats of strength!

This is the Christmas edition and tons of great stuff.  I trust that you are having some great times with family and loved ones, so take time to enjoy it.

Here is my Holiday video for you!

Motivation

The Great Kaz is probably the greatest strongman ever. If this video does not get you excited to go lift something heavy you need to check out your pulse!

Notice how easy he makes it LOOK. These feats are FAR from easy, but he is making them look easy. The squat is over 850 lbs I think and the deadlift is around 800 lbs (around the 2:30 mark).

Flipping cars–no problem! Pulling semis—bring it on! Wow.

Maybe it is the hair?

Festivus PRs

I am a huge Seinfeld fan, so I am sure you remember the Festivus episode. From the wikipedia entry on it says

“the holiday’s celebration, as shown on Seinfeld, includes an unadorned aluminum “Festivus pole”, practices such as the “Airing of Grievances” and “Feats of Strength”, and the labeling of easily explainable events as “Festivus miracles”.

One of my goals for 2009 was to deadlift 425 lbs (no belt) by the end of the year. I had planned to do that in a meet in July, but I ended up not doing a meet until September and pulled 413 lbs, then a few weeks later at the TSC pulled 420 lbs. I put my DL on hold after that and began to work on my squat since I felt it was holding my DL back (and was very weak). Fast forward to recently and I had planned to squat today, but noticed that I still have not made my DL goal.

I went into the Extreme Human Performance Center (my garage) and tested my DL using biofeedback. It tested great. Whoo ha. Warmup at 135, 225, 275, and 315 –all felt great and tested good. 365 came up fast and tested well. On

to 405 lbs. 405 in training most of the time is hit and miss, but it came up the fastest yet; so 425 was within reach and I made it.

Notice that I still need some hip work near the top as my hamstrings were shaky, but overall it felt pretty good (most PRs are never perfect).

It is a Festivus Miracle!

Deadlift PR Video (music by American Head Charge)

Your Festivus Miracle

I want to hear about YOUR Holiday “Feats of Strength” by placing a comment on what PRs (Personal Records) you have broken recently. Any PR counts, so post away! I want to see ATLEAST 10 comments here.

Happy Holidays
rock on
Mike T Nelson
PS
If you don’t have any PRs to report, I have 1-2 spots open for online training. Email me HERE.

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Do your thoughts help you to lift more weight in the gym?

Watch this video and find out!

Your Turn

Try it and let me know what you find! Time for action!

Drop me a comment and let me know how it worked for you

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

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3 Tasty Tips for More Muscle Mass

In this video

• Find out my 3 favorite foods to gain muscle (the answer may surprise you)

• Can you eat “bad” foods and gain muscle?

• Do calories matter? (a hint, YES!)

Let me know what you think by posting a comment.   Let me know if you like video format or more written format too.   I love comments!!

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

PS

If you are looking for high quality protein at rock bottom prices, check out Protein Factory HERE (note, I do make 4% on each sale, but this is the same protein I have personally used for the past 5+ years).