Interview With Professional Powerlifter Cosette Neely.

Think vegans can't be strong? Think again! In this interview I chat with Cosette Neely. Cosette is a professional powerlifter who fuels her training with a plant-based vegan diet. She recently took 2nd place in the WPO Super Finals where she broke the all-time world record in the bench press.

Photo by Jessica Wiggins Photography.

Scott Shetler: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview! Please tell my readers a little bit about yourself and your background.

Cosette Neely: I was born in the Philippines and moved to California when I was five years old, where I spent most of my life. After I finished graduate school, I married my high school sweetheart. We’ve moved around a bit since due to his military service. We got out of active duty military in 2014 and moved back to our hometown of Monterey, California. We relocated to Ohio in January, 2019 with our two sons. I work as a behavior specialist where I help children with behavior challenges, mostly children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Photo by Jessica Wiggins Photography.

SS: How did you become interested in powerlifting?

CN: My husband got me into lifting weights after high school, but he didn’t get me to start lifting heavy until I was in college. My first meet was when I was 23 years old, 18 years ago. I set a federation world record for the bench press at this meet as a junior, and was bitten by the bug instantly.

SS: Have you always competed in equipped powerlifting?

CN: I started powerlifting equipped from the beginning and have never competed raw. There wasn’t really an emphasis on raw vs. gear then. You could compete raw, but most were competing in gear. I’ve always entered multi-ply in competition, even when I used single-ply bench shirts.

SS: What gear do you use and how do you cycle it into your training?

CN: I’ve used several different brands of gear throughout the years. After competitions, I usually don’t get back into gear for a couple of weeks. When I get back into gear, I generally wear briefs for squat and deadlift. Since I am a geared competitor, I feel it is important to train in gear regularly. However, I work in raw training into my cycles as I also believe a strong raw base is important. As I get closer to a meet, I start to wear my bench shirt, deadlift suit, and squat suit more often.

SS: What are your best competition lifts and total at the various weight classes you have competed in?

CN: In the 97lbs. class, my best lifts in competition are 225.9lbs. squat, 220.4lbs. bench, 259lbs. deadlift, and 705.4lbs. total. In the 105 lbs. class, my best lifts in competition are 457.4lbs. squat, 319.6lbs. bench, 370lbs. deadlift, and 1124.3lbs. total. I was the first in the 105 weight class to bench over 300 lbs. and I hold the all time (all federations) world record for equipped bench press for my weight class. This is a triple bodyweight bench, which only 7 other women in history have done in all weight classes. I also hold the all time world record for total for the 105 weight class.

Photo by Jessica Wiggins Photography.

SS: What does your training look like? Do you have a specific coach you train with or specific training program you follow?

CN: My training follows the Westside conjugate template created by Louie Simmons. This means that I have two upper days, and two lower days per week, which consists of a dynamic effort day and a maximal effort day. My husband, Dayan Neely, has always written my programs and coached me. Since we joined Sweatt Shop earlier this year, I’ve started following Shane Sweatt’s programming and have been receiving guidance from Shane as well as Laura Phelps. However, Dayan still coaches me every day and oversees my bench program as I get closer to meets.

SS: What is your favorite lift and why?

CN: The bench press will always be my favorite lift. When I started competing, I started as a bench only competitor. Therefore, I have spent a lot more time training my bench press, so, naturally, it is my best lift.

SS: What lift is the most challenging for you to progress in and why?

CN: Even though the squat has always scared me the most, the strength in my deadlift has lagged behind my other two lifts. Most people would think that my stature is beneficial to this lift, but I have found it more of a challenge. Also, wearing equipment can be very antagonistic for pulling.

Photo by Jessica Wiggins Photography.

SS: Congratulations on your 2nd place finish at the WPO Super Finals and world record bench press! It was amazing to see professional powerlifting on ESPN. Overall, what are your thoughts on the event?

CN: Thank you! I think this year’s Super Finals was run incredibly well. It is a big step in the right direction for powerlifting and draws a lot of positive attention and new understanding and respect for geared lifting.

SS: What are your thoughts on the sport of powerlifting as it is now?

CN: I loved powerlifting when I started and I love it now. Sure, some things have changed, but I still see the pureness that reeled me in in the first place. Weights are being pushed past limits many thought were impossible 10 to 20 years ago and that’s amazing. Yet, there are some records that still stand, which is equally impressive.

SS: When did you become vegan and why?

CN: I became vegan 6 years ago. It was a decision that I had thought about for years, so it was not a spur of the moment idea. I can’t recall what finally pushed me to make the choice, but I can tell you the simplest reason for my choice: if you can do less harm in this world, why wouldn’t you?

SS: What are some of the things you noticed after switching to a vegan diet?

CN: When I became vegan, I was on my second hiatus from powerlifting, each hiatus being for my two children. There were many changes in my life around the same time, so I cannot honestly say that I noticed any changes to my health in any way that I can attribute directly to my change in diet. I was quite healthy before going vegan according all my physicals and blood work. That didn’t change. Once I started training again a year later, my recovery and overall health was at least as good as it was before the hiatus, and at an older age.

SS: What does your normal diet look like? What are your favorite foods for meet day and is nutrition difficult at all when you are travelling to compete in meets?

CN: Actually, I still experiment with my food. I’ve gone through phases where I made a lot of shakes, paid for meal prep, used vegan meat replacements, did away with meat replacements, and changed my ratios of macronutrients. I think as long as I’m not eating a lot of “vegan junk food” and my training is consistent, I’m always happy with my results. Nutrition is always more difficult when traveling, but I’ve traveled for most meets I’ve done in my life, so I’ve gotten used to it. My favorite meet day food is vegan pizza.

SS: What are some of the biggest misconceptions about plant-based nutrition and being a high level strength athlete?

CN: I think the biggest misconception is that it can’t be done: you cannot be a high level strength athlete without eating animals and animal products. However, I have not had any issues gaining strength in the past 6 years.

SS: Have you received any concerns from coaches or training partners about your diet? On the flip-side, has it sparked any interest or made people consider eating plant-based?

CN: I have been lucky in that people don’t tend to challenge my choices in lifestyle or diet. Some of my coaches, including my husband, have found it a challenge in figuring out my caloric needs and how to disperse my macronutrients. However, there has never been negativity or debate about my diet. At this age, I am fairly confident and sure in who I am and what I do and I think most people respect that. In fact, I have had people approach me interested in eating plant-based.

Photo by Jessica Wiggins Photography.

SS: What are your plans for powerlifting in the future?

CN: As long as my body will let me, I have no plans on stopping or slowing down in the near future. I am always looking to improve all of my lifts in terms of strength as well as technique. My next meet will be the WPO Semi-finals at the Arnold Classic in March.

SS: Do you have any final thoughts or comments you’d like to share with our readers?

CN: While I haven't been vegan my entire life, I've been vegan since I got back into training. I'm stronger than I've ever been. That's not me saying that I'm strong because I'm vegan. All I'm saying is that it can be done. I'm proof of that.

SS: Thanks again for doing this interview! If people are interested in learning more about you, or following your powerlifting career where should they go?

CN: Thank you so much for the interest! Currently, I am most active on Instagram, but also have a Facebook page. Both are called cosetteneelypowerlifting.

Strength & Health TV - Episode 53: Product Review - BASD Pulling Blocks

The BASD Pulling Blocks

In this video I do a brief review of a great new product I purchased for my training center, the BASD Pulling Blocks. The BASD pulling blocks are a pair of 25lb plates. The plates allow you to do "block pulls" from 3 different heights without needing blocks. You can pull with the plates from 2", 5" and 8" heights depending on which hole you put the collar of the bar through.

The blocks are solid steel and very durable. The base is 2" wide and they are well balanced. By using these blocks you don't have to deal with the problems of using pulling blocks, mainly loading plates. When your bar is on blocks you can't use a deadlift bar jack and loading plates can be a bit of a pain in the ass. Once you get the BASD's on you can load plates on top of them very easily.

I can't recommend these enough. They are available from Lifting Large: http://www.liftinglarge.com/BASD-Dead...

Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates on future shows.

Stay Strong AND Healthy,

-Scott

Follow me online: scott@eptsgym.com http://www.scottshetler.com http://www.eptsgym.com http://www.facebook.com/sshetlerfitness http://www.twitter.com/sshetler

My Favorite Exercises for Recovery, Restoration, and Joint Health.

I've always believed that health is just as important as strength and for optimal development. You cannot have one with out the other. Often the harder we train to push up our fitness levels, whether it is strength or conditioning, the more we shift our focus away from health practices. Unfortunately it is usually an injury or worse that gets people to focus on improving their health.

If you are going to push your body hard, you need to implement restoration, stress reduction and other health-based practices to not only get the greatest benefit from your training but to give yourself the potential for a good quality of life.

One of my favorite things to do is to incorporate extra workouts throughout the week that focus on joint health, blood flow, and restoration from heavier training sessions. These exercises focus on the shoulders, elbows, lower back, abs, hips, knees and ankles. The key to these workouts is to perform very high repetitions. For the most part I shoot for 100-200 reps on the single joint exercises and 50-100 reps on the compound exercises. I do not focus on eccentric loading, but rather controlled but quick repetitions to promote blood flow and strengthen the connective tissue. 

I usually do a workout where I hit 1 exercise for the shoulders, elbows, lower back, hips, abs, knees and ankles twice a week on two of my three off days from my heavy training sessions. Then on one or both of my lower body days I try to throw in an extra restoration workout for the upper body, and on one or both of my upper body days I throw in an extra restoration workout for the lower body.

Here is how my normal weekly training schedule looks:

Sunday: dynamic effort upper training in the afternoon

Monday: full body restoration session in the morning

Tuesday: max effort lower body training in the morning, and upper body restoration in the evening

Wednesday: full body restoration session in the morning

Thursday: max effort upper body training session in the morning, and lower body restoration in the evening

Friday: dynamic effort lower body training session in the evening

Saturday: off

In addition to this I practice qigong and Taijiquan 5-6 days per week and walk daily, usually finishing with a full body bamboo or iron brush massage. Lately I have adopted a practice of doing a brisk 10 minute walk 3 times per day usually after a meal. I saw a video by Stan Efferding on his YouTube page where he talked about this practice, why he does it, and an introduction to the science behind it and found it fascinating. It's still early as I've only been doing it for a couple of weeks, but I feel much better doing this after eating and I definitely feel I have more energy and mental clarity, particularly in the mid-afternoons when I sometimes feel like crashing.

Here are some of my favorite restoration exercises.

Indian Club Swinging 

Club swinging is great for the shoulders, elbows and wrists. I generally perform 20-50 reps of various swing patterns or just do 5 minutes of continuous swinging.

BandBell Bar Bench Press

Using the BandBell Earthquake bar is great for shoulder health. I usually do 3-4 sets of 20-25 reps.

Band Face Pulls

These are great for the upper back and external rotators. I usually do 3-4 sets of 20-25 reps.

Reverse Hyperextensions

The reverse hyper bench from Louie Simmons is hands down the best exercise for the lower back I've ever come across. It builds strength and tractions the lower back simultaneously. I usually do 3-5 sets of 15-30 reps (80-120 reps total) with heavier weights on my two lower body workouts and 2 sets of 20-25 reps with lighter weights on restoration days.

Leg Curls

Something else I got from Louie Simmons was to do 100-200 reps of leg curls with 5-10 lb ankle weights or against bands to promote knee health.

Band Triceps Pushdown

These are great for elbow health and building up the triceps. I shoot for 100-200 reps per workout. Another great exercise from Louie Simmons.

Sit Ups on a Medicine Ball

This exercise I heard Louie Simmons talking about on a podcast and he said it did wonders for a psoas issue he was working with his A.R.T. therapist to correct. These definitely help to release the hip flexors. They strengthen and stretch the abs as well. I usually do 3-4 sets of 15-25 reps.

Calf Raises

Calf raises are great for strengthening the calves and the smaller muscles around the ankle joint. I usually do 3-5 sets of 15-30 reps either on a seated calf machine, the leg press or standing on a block.

These are not the only exercises that I do, and I am constantly experimenting with my clients and athletes as well as my own training. In addition I am always reading, learning and doing my best to assess and apply the knowledge gained. Hopefully this article gives you some ideas on how to incorporate some of these exercises into your own training. Some of this stuff may be boring and tedious but don't neglect your joints and smaller muscles, spending some time on them will pay dividends in strength and health.

Stay Strong AND Healthy!

-Scott

Follow me online:

scott@eptsgym.com

http://www.scottshetler.com

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Strength & Health TV - Episode 51: Getting the Most Out of the Glute Ham Raise.

In this video I talk about the Glute Ham Raise (or GHR) and how I use this exercise and piece of equipment at with my clients and Team EPTS athletes. The GHR, when properly performed, is an exercises that works both functions of the hamstrings, hip extension and knee flexion. I use two variations of this exercise, one that begins with the hips flexed, perform a back extension and then transition into the leg curl and the other is to begin with the hips extended and only perform the leg curl portion of the movement similar to an inverse curl. The exercise can be performed with body-weight only or with added resistance from bands and/or free weight. In addition to technique of these two variations of the exercise, and external loading, I go over the overall volume we focus on with this exercise.

I hope you enjoy this video and if you have any questions or suggestions for future topics please leave them in the comments section below.

Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates on future shows.

Stay Strong AND Healthy,

-Scott

Follow me online: scott@eptsgym.com http://www.scottshetler.com http://www.eptsgym.com http://www.facebook.com/sshetlerfitness http://www.twitter.com/sshetler

Strength & Health TV - Episode 49: Tips To Improve Your Sumo Deadlift.

In this video I discuss training tips and ideas to improve your sumo deadlift. These are things I've applied, and seen success with, many of my athletes including fighters and combat athletes, powerlifters, football players, volleyball players and more.

In addition I go over a couple of things that can be holding back your sumo deadlift, and look at a couple different ways to properly set up for a big pull.

I hope you enjoy this video and if you have any questions or suggestions for future show topics please leave them in the comments section below.

Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates on future shows.

Stay Strong AND Healthy,

-Scott

Follow me online:
scott@extreme-fitness.org
http://www.scottshetler.com
http://www.extreme-fitness.org
http://www.facebook.com/sshetlerfitness
http://www.twitter.com/sshetler

Strength & Health TV - Episode 48: Building Your Deadlift With Rack Pulls.

The rack pull gets a bad rap as a deadlift exercise, in fact it's almost as looked down upon as the sumo deadlift. I've found the rack pull to be an effective lower back builder when done correctly.

Louie Simmons told me that when you do rack pulls you need to make sure to eliminate the leg drive you get when pulling from the floor. If you set up for a rack pull like you're pulling off the ground you'll be using a ton of leg drive and lifting a lot more than you can pull. What we've found is by doing them the way he suggests it often allows you to use less than you deadlift from the ground. The only time I've found this not to be the case is with my lifters who pull conventionally and use a ton of back - you've seen them - they basically stiff leg the bar off the ground.

I hope you enjoy this week's episode and if you have any questions or suggestions on future show topics please leave them in the comments section below.

Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates on future shows.

Stay Strong AND Healthy,

-Scott

Can You Add Serious Size on a Vegan Diet? (From Iron Life Magazine)

Iron Life Magazine asked me to write an article about building muscle on a vegan diet. I've always seen endurance athletes talking about the benefits of a vegan diet but more and more I'm seeing strength and power athletes, as well as bodybuilders, switching to a plant-based diet.

I hope you enjoy the article and as always, stay strong and healthy!
-Scott

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From Iron Life Magazine:

Scott Shetler is an NSCA certified coach, the owner of Extreme Performance Training Systems and follows a plant-based diet. He is based in Norcross, Georgia.

We all know that protein is the most important macronutrient when wanting to build muscle. And when most people think of protein they think of steak, or chicken breasts, or tins of tuna. But there are a growing number of athletes competing at the highest level on an entirely plant-based diet, including seven-times Grand Slam winner Venus Williams, former UFC fighter Mac Danzig, and Chicago Bears 300lb (136kg) defensive lineman David Carter.

Around two per cent of Brits and Americans follow a strict vegan diet – void of meat, fish, eggs and dairy products – and a paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that vegan diets are typically higher in dietary fibre, magnesium, folic acid, vitamins C and E, iron, and phytochemicals, but tend to be lower in total calories, saturated fat and cholesterol, essential omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins D and B12, and essential trace elements, such as calcium and zinc.

Whether you are considering eating less meat and dairy, for whatever reason, or just interested in knowing how the body adapts to a vegan diet from a personal or professional personal trainer viewpoint, here are the key points.

What is a strict vegan diet?
It’s following a nutritional plan that is entirely plant-based, so doesn’t include red or white meat, fish, eggs, dairy, or any product that contains any ingredient, compound or substance that has an animal origin or uses such a product in the manufacturing process. A strict vegetarian diet excludes meat and fish, but can allow eggs and dairy; an ovo-vegetarian diet allows eggs, but not dairy; while a lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy but not eggs.

Click here to read the rest of the article!

Strength & Health TV - Episode 45: How We Deal with a Missed Lift.

This week's video was recommended by one of our top powerlifters, Doug, concerning the topic of how to deal with a missed lift.

I talk about the psychological aspects of missing a training lift, why it's not a good idea to psyche up for a training lift like you do a competition lift, the difference between a training max and a competition max, and why once you know how to technically execute a lift claiming you miss a heavy attempt due to "poor technique" is mostly bullshit.

I hope you enjoy this week's episode and leave any questions or suggestions for future show topics in the comments section below.

Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates on future shows.

Stay Strong AND Healthy,

-Scott

Follow me online:
scott@extreme-fitness.org
http://www.scottshetler.com
http://www.extreme-fitness.org
http://www.facebook.com/sshetlerfitness
http://www.twitter.com/sshetler

Strength & Health TV - Episode 43: Triceps Power Cheats to Build Your Bench Press.

In this video I talk about training the triceps for carryover to the bench press.

Strong and well conditioned triceps are critical for a big bench press and I feel it's important to do a lot of volume for the triceps, particularly in single joint movements like extensions.

Recently I was revisiting one of my favorite books, "Forgotten Secrets of the Culver City Westside Barbell Club Revealed" and came across an article reprinted from the October 1966 issue of "Muscle Builder" call "Triceps Power Cheats". The article featured a favorite training exercise of Bill "Peanuts" West and the legendary Pat Casey which was referred to as the power cheat. The power cheat was essentially a half pullover coupled with an extension and by nature allows for a huge overload of the triceps. I discuss the variations of the exercise they favored as well as some of their training loads.

In addition I go over some of the triceps exercises that have been beneficial for a few of my lifters as well.

I hope you enjoy this video and leave any questions or suggestions for future episodes in the comments section below.

Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates on future shows.

Stay Strong AND Healthy,

-Scott

Follow me online:
scott@extreme-fitness.org
http://www.scottshetler.com
http://www.extreme-fitness.org
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Strength & Health TV - Episode 41: A Different Twist on Kettlebell Conditioning.

In this week's episode I discuss and demonstrate some of the kettlebell exercises I use for GPP and extra workouts and how I've integrated them into the belt squat.

The belt squat is a great device for leg training as it provides a way to squat with no spinal compression that actually tractions the lumbar spine. In addition to normal squatting, there are endless exercises you can do in the belt squat and I extend my deepest thanks to Louie Simmons for turning me onto this device.

One of my favorite things to use the belt squat for is kettlebell conditioning. Kettlebell exercises make up a huge part of my extra workouts and I've found doing them in the belt squat works the hips and legs to a completely new level.

I hope you enjoy this week's video and be sure to leave any questions or suggestions for upcoming show topics in the comments section below.

Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates on future shows.

Stay Strong AND Healthy,

-Scott

The Best Training Program Is No Training Program.

One of the most talked about topics I see in the fitness blog-o-sphere and social media is programming. I always see comments asking “what program you’re doing”, or “I’m starting this program Monday”. I used to read a popular online muscle zine’ and every time an author would post a training article the comments would read “Starting this tomorrow!”, “just what I needed!” and so on.

I’m here to tell you that the absolute best program you can do is no program. Unfortunately this truth won’t sit well with fitness journalists and gurus who need to publish the latest, greatest training program each month. Plus endless articles about training principles would be incredibly boring for the average gym rat. However, that is where the results are at, in the principles.

EPTS athlete and BJJ brown belt Chris Jones uses exercises HE needs for his sport.

It’s about principles not programs.

The problem with programs is that one size does not fit all. Programs don’t take into account an individual’s weak points. No one should train exactly the same. That doesn’t mean a group of powerlifters shouldn’t squat or bench press, but how they go about building those movements may differ greatly. If someone’s hamstrings are a weak point in the deadlift, they will prioritize different accessory exercises than someone who’s lower back is a weak point.

Before I continue I do believe programs are good for beginners. If you are just starting out and have less than 1-2 years of consistent training under your belt, a well balanced program is a good idea. Something that trains all muscle groups in a balanced manner with a wide variety of exercises. This isn’t time for the super secret Russian squat, bench, deadlift only for hard comrades training program. If you are a beginner you need to build muscle and strength. A program introducing compound exercises with appropriately selected single joint exercises that increases in volume and intensity over time will deliver great results. Eventually some movements and muscle groups will start to slow in progress and it’s at this point you will need to learn to take responsibility for your training and learn the principles of training.

Using accomodating resistance for speed deadlifts to build rate of force production and lockout strength.

The principles.

According to Vladimir Zatsiorsky, in his book “Science and Practice of Strength Training”, there are three methods of training to increase muscular tension.

1. Maximal Effort Method - lifting a maximal weight.
2. Dynamic Effort Method - lifting a non-maximal load with the greatest possible force.
3. Repeated Effort Method - lifting a non-maximal load to failure.

*There is also a method he refers to as the sub-maximal effort method, which is the lifting of a non-maximal load for an intermediate number of repetitions without going to failure.

These training methods also make up a significant part of the work my mentor Louie Simmons has successfully done with athletes as well as his world famous powerlifting team. Louie takes these methods, and scientifically backed training principles, and applies them to powerlifting, as well as other sports like fighting, track, football and many others. On a recent visit to Westside Barbell I was having breakfast with Louie and his crew and he confirmed a suspicion I had as to why most people don’t understand his conjugate training method. People are always looking for a program, a cookie cutter template they can take to the gym and do without any thought. That’s not what his method teaches. His method teaches you the scientific principles of training but you need to learn how to apply them to your sport. He said to me that it is important to learn how to train yourself by constantly assessing your progress and implementing the appropriate exercises to build your weak points and that no two athletes or lifters programs are identical.

Learning from Louie himself. If you want to understand the Westside method, you have to go to Westside.

In order to get stronger you must raise your training volume and intensity over time. In short you need to lift heavier weights and do more work while addressing all training principles and variables appropriately. Sure, some people like to say getting strong isn’t rocket science, you just add more weight to the bar, but I have yet to see a high level athlete who doesn’t pay attention to every detail of his physical training program.

Does this apply to the strength enthusiast? Absolutely. Whether you are training to be a world champion or just to get stronger and more generally fit you need to apply the appropriate principles to your training.

Just some of the equipment our athletes and clients have access to at Extreme Performance Training Systems.

Don’t fall into the trap of doing the latest program your favorite muscle rag or blogger has posted, take the time to evaluate your training and learn how to build and evolve a training plan that will allow you to accomplish your personal goals.

Stay Strong and Healthy!

-Scott

Strength & Health TV - Episode 39: The Importance of Accessory Work.

In this week's video I talk about my views on accessory work and why it's important for lifters and athletes as well as how I select the work we perform.

Too many times you get opinions that are on both sides of the spectrum. There are the people who believe in performing the classical lifts only and that in perfection of the lifts themselves strength will go up, i.e. the "if you want to squat more, bench more and deadlift more then you need to squat more, bench more and deadlift more" crowd.

Then there are the people who believe "everything is weak so train it all".

I fall in the middle, I feel we as coaches, trainers, and athletes need to constantly assess those we train, and ourselves, and determine what is holding back our lifts or sport performance and then implement the appropriate accessory exercises to ensure strength and performance progress.

If you have any questions or suggestions for future topics please leave them in the comments section below.

Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates on future shows.

Stay Strong AND Healthy,

-Scott

Follow me online:
scott@extreme-fitness.org
http://www.scottshetler.com
http://www.extreme-fitness.org
http://www.facebook.com/sshetlerfitness
http://www.twitter.com/sshetler

Strength & Health TV - Episode 31: Reverse Hyper - the Best Exercise for Lower Back Strength.

In this week's episode I talk about what I consider to be the best exercise for lower back strength and health, the reverse hyper extension.

The reverse hyper extension bench was created by Louie Simmons. Louie has numerous reverse hyper benches with patents on each.

In this video I go over how to correctly perform the exercise and how to determine the optimal loading parameters to fit this exercise in your training program. The information I provide is what I've learned from Louie's work and how we've successfully implemented this in our programming at EPTS. I have talked to, and heard from, numerous people who write off this exercise as a waste of time and when I look at how they utilize it - typically a couple of sets with light weight at the end of a session - it's no wonder. To get the most out of this exercise you have to use the proper load and volume.

In addition to this video I strongly encourage you to read Louie's articles, books, and watch his videos and DVDs. The amount of information he provides on strength training is worth its weight in gold and you are doing yourself, and your athletes and clients, a disservice by not studying his work.

You can learn more about the reverse hyper and Louie's work by visiting his website at: https://westside-barbell.com/

Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates on future shows.

Stay Strong AND Healthy,

-Scott

My Recent Appearance on Eric Fiorillo's Motivation and Muscle Podcast.

Huge thanks to Eric Fiorillo for having me as a guest on his Muscle and Motivation Podcast. Eric is a great guy and does an awesome show.

Click here to listen now!

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Scott Shetler-Just Get Started-#401-Eric Fiorillo The Host of The Award Winning Motivation and Muscle Podcast Show Welcomes the owner of Extreme Performance Training Systems, trainer, writer and the host of Strength and Health TV Scott Shetler to the Broadcast. Eric and Scott start right off with who got us started in our chosen strength sports. Click here to read more!

Stay Strong AND Healthy!

-Scott

Strength and Health TV: Episode 24: Deconstructing the Deadlift.

In this week's episode we are looking at my favorite barbell lift, the deadlift.

While one of the most simplistic lifts, there are a few key technical points, that when addressed, can add more plates to the barbell quickly.

In this video we look at both the conventional and sumo deadlift, cover proper set up and lifting technique, why you need to pull the bar back and not up, and address common mistakes.

I also talk about how to "wedge" youself between the bar and ground to increase tension and power at the beginning of the lift and to hopefully get more out of the pull.

Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates on future shows.

Stay Strong AND Healthy,

-Scott

Strength and Health TV - Episode 18: Fixing the Squat.

In this week's episode I talk about a common problem I see with many of my lifters in the squat. Many of them tend to dump the bar forward coming out of the hole, or bottom position of the squat.

There are a few different reasons I have seen for this, but primarily it is due to a weak lower back or driving too hard with the legs while not pushing the head and upper back into the bar as they drive out of the hole.

Hopefully you enjoy this video and if you are experiencing a similar issue I hope these tips help you to fix your squat and get more weight on the bar!

Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates on future episodes!

Stay Strong AND Healthy!

Scott

Training for Powerlifting and Kettlebell Sport.

I get a lot of questions about how I combine both powerlifting and kettlebell training.

I talked about it with Mike Mahler and Sincere Hogan on the "Live Life Aggressively Podcast" and addressed it in my book "Kettlebells for Sport, Strength and Fitness" - here are links to each:

LLA Podcast Episode 53: http://www.mikemahler.com/blog/live-life-aggressively-podcast/ep-53.html

Book: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/sshetler

Here is a very basic "off season" template that I follow that has worked well in keeping all the lifts up. Once a contest is approaching however, the focus would shift more to powerlifting or kettlebell training depending on what sport you plan to compete in.

Monday - squat / jerk or long cycle focus
squat - heavy
deadlift - light
kettlebell long cycle or jerk
abs

Tuesday - bench / snatch focus
bench press - heavy
bench press - lockout work
lats / upper back
kettlebell snatch

Thursday - deadlift / jerk or long cycle focus
deadlift - heavy
squat - light
kettlebell long cycle or jerk
abs

Friday - bench / snatch focus
bench press - light
shoulder press or incline press
lats / upper back
kettlebell snatch

I favor putting the jerks or long cycle on squat/deadlift days, as the jerk is a very leg dominant exercise. In an upcoming post I'll provide an example of the training cycle I will be shifting into soon as my training is becoming focused on kettlebell long cycle (clean & jerk) while keeping my deadlift up for deadlift meets as I plan to do both of these events concurrently.

Stay Strong!
Scott

My Experience with Team Plantbuilt 2014!

Back on the platform! Photo by Stic of Dead Prez

I know I’ve been missing from the blog-o-sphere for a little while now and I apologize. I promise it was for good reason.

Remember 7 years ago when I said I am quitting powerlifting? Well……..

As many of you know I am a big proponent of a plant-based lifestyle and am a huge supporter of animal welfare. In fact, the book that I published last year, Plant-Based Performance: A Compassionate Approach to Health and Fitness, was written specifically so that 100% of sales revenue would go to benefit Mercy For Animals, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to preventing cruelty to farmed animals and promoting compassionate food choices and policies.

If you would like to get a copy for yourself and read chapters from myself and 18 other plant-based athletes and health & fitness professionals like former UFC fighter Mac Danzig, former WWE superstar and Hall of Famer Amy “Lita” Dumas, Stic.man from the hip hop duo Dead Prez, endurance athlete extraordinaire featured in the documentary Forks Over Knives and the book Born to Run Dr. Ruth Heidrich, and many others; click here!

That book is where this whole thing started.

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Team Plantbuilt 2014! Powerlifters Kelly and Sara bringing home the hardware! Photo by Donovan Jenkins

Some of the ladies of Team Plantbuilt! Scott, Bonebreaker, & Stic.man kickin' it at the after party!

Vegan bodybuilders proving you don't need animal protein to build muscle! Jason Morris went 8 for 9 and hit personal records in the squat and deadlift in his first powerlifting meet! Photo by Donovan Jenkins

At the 2013 Atlanta Veg Fest, I met Giacomo Marchese, who along with his fiance’ Dani Taylor, own the companyveganproteins.com an online sports supplement store that specializes in vegan nutrition products. Together they had formed Team Plantbuilt, a group of vegan physique athletes (bodybuilders, figure and physique competitors) who competed together at the 2013 Naturally Fit Super Show in Austin, TX to show the world what could be accomplished by following a cruelty-free diet. Did they succeed? They only represented 10% of the competition, but came away with 40% of the awards, I’d say that was a massive success! In addition to winning numerous 1st place and overall awards a few of their athletes even won their pro-cards!

Giacomo had inquired about purchasing the Plant-Based Performance book to sell through his web-store and support our similar goals. As time passed and he and I talked more, he asked if I would join Team Plantbuilt for 2014 and that they were going to have athletes competing in the 2014 Naturally Fit Games in Austin, TX in physique (that was a fast NO for me!), CrossFit (again, sorry but that’s not my cup of tea), and powerlifting (well heck, I used to do that) and that’s all it took, I was in for the powerlifting squad. But wait, I hadn’t trained seriously for powerlifting in over 7 years and was currently in the middle of my training cycle for the 2014 Florida State Kettlebell Sport Championship. As it turns out, following the FL State kettlebell meet, I would have exactly 12 weeks to prep for the Naturally Fit Games.

After the kettlebell meet, I got back in the gym and tested my three powerlifts. For not training them in over 7 years they weren’t horrible, but as to be expected they were way below what they used to be. I made a 335 squat, a 225 bench and a 365 deadlift and my previous bests were 450 / 315 / 463 respectively, albeit weighing 220 and not the 183 I was currently at.

After pushing the big-3 for 4 weeks I took some heavy singles again and was sitting at a 365 squat, a 230 bench (with a massively aching shoulder), and a 425 deadlift. These were pretty good gains, but the pain in my shoulder was constant and lasted days after that bench. I decided to play it smart and not do the full meet, opting for the deadlift-only division instead. (Side note - in powerlifting most full meets offer bench only and deadlift only divisions for specialists.)

This put me about 8 weeks out from the competition and this was right about the time our fundraising campaign was starting. Granted one of the reasons we compete together as Team Plantbuilt is to show people that you can accomplish health, fitness, and athletic goals while following a compassionate lifestyle, but above and beyond that we do what we do to support animal welfare. Our fundraiser was put together through Indiegogo and the plans were to donate the money we made to vegan non-profits, vegan-outreach, and most importantly animal sanctuaries specifically Pigs Peace, Edgar’s Mission, For the Animals, and Our Hen House.

Our fundraiser was a huge success and when it was all said and done, with all the effort from the 31 members of Team Plantbuilt, we had raised over $40,000.00! We could not have accomplished that in such a short time without the entire team’s dedicated effort and the support of our family and friends. Thank you all for supporting us in our efforts!

After the fundraiser was over we had a few weeks left before our meet up for the Naturally Fit Games in Austin, TX. We continued to do PR work for our team and all began peaking our individual training cycles for the competition.

Some of Plantbuilt's bodybuilding and figure competitors! Photo by Donovan Jenkins Carolyn Napier in the CrossFit competition! Photo by Donovan Jenkins

Plantbuilt's CrossFit team! Stic.man from Dead Prez treated us to a private performance! Team Plantbuilt's after party!

Plantbuilt's powerlifting team! Scott, Matt, & Jason after the "Giacomo Pizza Incident"! Sara Russert - squatting her way to a state record! Photo by Donovan Jenkins

After getting to Austin, the team met up in the middle of the week before the actual competition that was scheduled for Saturday, July 26. This allowed those of us who’d never met to spend some time getting to know each other, as well as gave my fellow powerlifting teammate, Jason Morris and I the opportunity to shuttle various team members all over Austin, including but not limited to, numerous trips to local fitness centers and about a billion trips to Whole Foods. Well, really it was more like 7 trips, but I’m writing this blog so I can exaggerate as I see fit. All it took was one super high calorie plant-based powerlifting meal consisting of crazy awesome BBQ tofu, sweet potato fries and an insane vegan Belgian chocolate cake and Jason was pretty much my new bestie.

In addition we spent the week prior to the competition having team meetings, doing photo shoots with two amazing photographers Melissa Schwartz and Donovan Jenkins, and interviews with the coolest vegan dietitian on the planet, Matt Ruscigno and his partner Sasha Perry who are doing a great series of documentaries on vegan athletes for their project called Strongest Hearts which you can check out here: https://www.strongesthearts.org/. As a side note - Sasha and Matt made this week way more enjoyable for the powerlifting team, thanks you two! 

The location of the official events was at our teammate Chad Byers' training center, Beyond Fit. Over the two days of team meetings we received all the amazing donations from our sponsors, including: Vega, Health Force / Warrior Force, Plantfusion, Vegan Proteins, Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness, Upton’s Naturals, Clean Machine, and more. One of the highlights of our team meetings for me was to hear my powerlifting teammate, Mike Wolf, talk about the work he and his wife have done for animal welfare. It really drove home why we do what we do and it is great to know there are people out there like those two who devote their lives to helping animals.

Saturday, July 26 was the day of the Naturally Fit Games. This was a huge fitness expo and competition with events ranging from bodybuilding and various physique competitions, to CrossFit, powerlifting, MMA, jiu jitsu, weightlifting, roller derby and more.

Plantbuilt had athletes competing in the physique events, powerlifting, and CrossFit. For many it was their first time competing. To say that Plantbuilt did well would be a complete understatement. The CrossFit event was huge and extremely competitive. The powerlifting event had 125 lifters competing in different events. The bodybuilding and physique competitions had a huge turnout as well, but it seemed like Plantbuilt just kept winning!

By the end of the day the results looked like this:

CrossFit - Wodapalooza

Amber Sperling - 2nd place women’s Rx

Carolyn Napier - 5th place women’s Rx

Ed Bauer - 12th place men’s Rx

Billy Prusinowski - 13th place men’s Rx

Powerlifting - USPA Simply Fit Championships

Sara Russert - 2nd place women’s open, and set Washington State records for squat, bench press, and deadlift

Kelly Colobella - 1st place women’s sub-masters, and set Utah State records for squat, bench press, and deadlift

Crystal Moulton - 1st place women’s open, and set Utah State records for squat, bench press, and deadlift

Mike Wolf - 1st place men’s open 242lb. class, bench press only

Jason Morris - 3rd place men’s open 198lb. class

Scott Shetler - 1st place men’s sub-masters 198lb. class, deadlift only

Bodybuilding / Physique / Figure / Model / Bikini / Transformation

Austin Barbisch - 2nd place men’s masters physique, 1st place men’s masters bodybuilding

Chad Byers - 2nd place men’s open physique

Christian Garcia - 3rd place men’s novice bodybuilding lightweight division

Giacomo Marchese - 4th place men’s open bodybuilding middleweight division

Dani Taylor - 1st place open figure tall division

Athena Iglesias - 2nd place novice bikini short division

Jehina Malik, IFBB PRO - did not compete due to current pro status in the IFBB

Korin Sutton, PRO - 1st place men’s open bodybuilding light-heavyweight division

Torre Washington, PRO - did not compete but came to support the team!

Will Tucker, PRO - 2nd place men’s masters bodybuilding, 4th place men’s open bodybuilding lightweight division

Robert Cheeke - 6th place men’s open physique

Derek Tresize - 1st place men’s open physique *qualified for pro card!

Erin Fergus - 1st place open fit body, 1st place open women’s bodybuilding

Elana Priesman - 4th place in the transformation competition

Mindy Collette - 2nd place fit model search

Samantha Shorkey - 1st place open bikini tall division, and overall open bikini champion *qualified for pro card!

Ashlee Harrison - 1st place novice figure short, overall novice figure champion

Melissa Hauser - 2nd place open figure short division

Pam Kalstad, PRO - 4th place figure

Sally Andersen - 1st place novice figure tall division

Tiffany Burich - 3rd place open figure tall division, 3rd place open fit body

We wrapped up a long day of grueling competition at the Austin Convention Center by hitting Arlo’s Vegan Food Truck on the way back to the hotel to pick up a massive pile of plant-based burgers and fries to take back along with all of our trophies for our post-competition celebration. These were easily the best vegan burgers I’ve ever had! If you’re in Austin you need to make it a point to stop at Arlo’s Food Truck, you won’t be disappointed!

On Sunday we all headed back over to Chad’s gym for our team after-party which started out with a vegan barbeque catered by BBQ Revolution. The food was amazing! After the lunch we were treated to a private performance by Stic.man from Dead Prez! Stic came out to Austin with his wife Afya, and son Itwella to hang out with the Plantbuilt crew at the expo on Saturday and donated a private performance and meet and greet for Team Plantbuilt and our family and friends who attended the after-party on Sunday.

After the amazing food and performance, the team headed over to Austin’s kick ass vegan ice cream shop, Sweet Ritual for dessert. All I can say is wow. Sweet Ritual was killer and a great way to unwind and wrap up a long and busy week.

We do it for the animals who don't have a voice of their own... Photo by Donovan Jenkins

Finally Monday morning rolled around, and just like all good things the 2014 Team Plantbuilt event sadly came to an end. Way too much other cool and fun stuff happened this week, as would be expected when you put 31 like-minded vegan athletes all working toward the same goal together for five days.

Bonds were formed, friendships were made, and team camaraderie was built. There was the infamous Giacomo pizza incident, the powerlifters having fun with forbidden foods at the bodybuilder’s expense, the Jason / Mike / Austin ammonia cap experiment, the knuckle bumps, the conversations, the pep-talks, the support, the chalky hand slaps on the back after the announcer calls out “the bar is loaded”, the selecting of the attempts, the personal records, the missed lifts, the weigh-ins, the spray tans, the asparagus-TONS of asparagus, the posing practice, Robert’s George W. impression, the Sara vs. Stic push-up challenge, the Scott vs. Austin posedown in the middle of Sweet Ritual, the numerous trips to Whole Foods, the powerlifters finding out what Sasha really thought of them, the powerlifting team's post-weigh-in donuts, Matt sleeping in the laundry room, the smiles, the tears, the hugs, the plans to get together at future events, and something about a junk sock.

Above and beyond all of this our teammate Austin Barbisch, after winning his bodybuilding division summed it up best, and I am paraphrasing, “We don’t do this for ourselves, we do this for the animals who have no voice of their own.”

After everything was said and done one thing is certain, Plantbuilt will be back in Austin for the 2015 Naturally Fit Games; bigger, leaner, stronger, more conditioned, and ready to show the world that the only thing we kill is the stage.

Stay Strong and Healthy!

Scott

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Team Plantbuilt 2014 - The only thing we kill is the stage!