Remember that scene from HBO's 24/7 depicting Sidney Crosby's pre-game rituals?

Between taping his stick, stretching, and a light soccer kick-around with the boys, he'd whip up a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich at 5 pm, sharp.

Crosby's sandwich can’t be assembled in just any order, or with any bread that’s at hand. It has to be the exact same brands, and it has to be prepared in the same order each time.

(Peanut butter first? Jelly first? Who knows.)

Still, one has gots to wonder:

How healthy is Sid's snack? Low in protein and healthy fats, containing gluten and added sugars, offering little nutritional value...

Were you to ask a mainstream nutritionist for his take on #87's pre-game meal, he'd tell you never to eat that before a hockey game.

Chicken salad or fresh salmon with baked taters would be healthier, no doubt.

Here's the truth, though...

From what I hear, Crosby trains like an animal off the ice.

Never skips workouts.

Always brings an A+ effort.

And, continually strives to improve his performance.

You can afford a little leeway with your diet when you're that committed to getting and staying in shape. So you need not worry about gaining fat or losing a step on the ice when indulging in foods others would deem unhealthy for an athlete.

Thus, Sid can have his proverbial PB&J sammie and eat it, too.

Not saying this is an excuse to wolf down junk food like your average American does. I would never recommend that.

Shoot for making the right nutritional choice 90% of the time. Do that and you can't go wrong. Then, it's up to you if you want to replicate Sid's nutrient-poor snack before a hockey game, or devour another piece of that delish blueberry pie when celebrating a big win out with the boys.

To build muscle and shred fat while enjoying your beloved pre-game peanut butter and jelly sandwich, go to:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

Yunus Barisik

Hey did you hear what Roberto Luongo did after the Bruins shot 12 pucks past him in Games 3 and 4 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals?

Well, apparently he was so depressed afterwards that he went for a walk in downtown Boston and made his way into South Station. In his shame he decided the only solution was to kill himself.

So he got down onto the tracks and waited for the train to take him out of his misery... but it went through his legs.

I kid, I kid.

Now, I don't know how Bobby Lou prepares for the game off the ice.

What I do know is plenty of goaltenders benefiting from the workouts included in my Next Level Hockey Training System.

One of them a female goalie who already made her way into the Women's National Team this year at age 18.

She's also one of the 4-5 goalies in contention to represent Team Finland at the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, Korea. But we don't waste mental bandwidth thinking about that in the gym. If she makes the final Olympic roster, great. If not, her time will come in 2022.

As for her workouts, she doesn't get any special treatment due to her being a goalie. Or female. And she clearly enjoys the way we lift.

"I've never felt this strong", she told me between sets of front squats earlier this week right before hitting another PR.

She's now also banging out weighted push-ups and chin-ups like the rest of the guys.

She knows the bar is set high, and she better bring her best effort every time she enters the weight room.

It's expected from her and everyone else who trains with me.

Only potential problem I can imagine arising for goalies when following my training program?

No way a train will pass through your legs anymore. Knowing this, I can't recommend it if you harbor suicidal tendencies.

Then again, you'll hardly have a reason to get upset and lie down on train tracks in the first place since you'll be on top of your game when the championship is on the line.

So drop down into a butterfly, squeeze those pads shut to cover the five-hole, and lead with the eyes as you power push your way laterally over ​to:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

Yunus Barisik

What do most guys do when they get dumped?

They start freaking out about how they will find a new girlfriend.

Then, when they finally manage to land a date three months later, it's overthink time.

Should ​you take her out for drinks or to the movies, buy her flowers, compliment her looks, whether she really likes ​you or not, all that jazz...

Wrong move.

You can't control what others, especially a girl you just met, thinks of you.

So don't bother wasting your time trying to influence her opinion.

And, certainly, never listen to (mostly females) who tell you to "just be yourself".

Worst. Advice. Ever.

Instead, focus on YOU.

Make yourself more attractive.

Hit the gym.

Fix your diet.

Get in shape.

Upgrade your style.

Find a mission to pursue in life.

All of those will make you more attractive to women.

And less needy in general.

At which point, it doesn't matter one bit what you do on your date.

She's already attracted to you.

Game. Set. Match.

And if, for whatever reason, things don't work out with this particular chick...

There's always a new one just around the corner.

That's called being outcome independent.

The same applies to training.

You see all these people claiming publicly how they're gonna bench 400 pounds by this time next year, deadlift 600 pounds within the next three months, or whatever.

Then get upset when they don't hit those numbers.

I used to make this same mistake for a looong time.

I'd write down my goals in my training journal, consult the calendar, then backtrack from there as if I were John Nash, the wizard mathemagician, in A Beautiful Mind.

"If I can add 5 pounds to the bar each week, I'll hit my goal in 8 weeks."

Sounds great on paper.

But the human body doesn't work like that in real life.

Progress, beyond the beginner stage, is not linear.

You can't control what happens in the gym on any given day.

Maybe you had a hard time falling asleep last night.

Or you still haven't recovered from last weekend's hockey tournament.

So your performance won't be at 100%.

I'm not saying you shouldn't have goals.

I'm saying don't obsess over a specific outcome.

Instead. Be outcome independent.

Chasing numbers will only lead to plateaus and frustration down the line.

Or worse, injury.

So do the opposite.

Focus on what you can control.

Train hard.

Week in. Week out.

You'll reach your goals in due time.

Who cares whether that happens 3, 6 or 18 months from now?

Do the right things long enough consistently and you WILL get to where you're going.

And with a lot less anxiety to boot.

​Here's how:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

Yunus Barisik

Certain trainers pride themselves in taking a simple training concept, then spinning it seven ways 'til Sunday so that in the end, you're left more confused than a toddler in a titty bar.

A persistent little booger like that is tempo.

(a.k.a. rep speed)

I get a hearty chuckle anytime I see a workout with a different tempo assigned for each exercise.

Not that paying attention to rep speed has zero place in a solid strength program.

I'll be the first to admit that there ARE certain benefits to using various tempos in your training.

One of the biggest being that you can really focus on grooving your lifting technique when forced to lower the bar under control, then exploding back up. Or squatting down and pausing in the hole for three full seconds before driving up to build bottom position strength.

And yes, you can extend time under tension with slow negatives and paused reps. Which does play a factor in muscle growth.

Here's the thing, though, Johnny Boy...

Not every friggin' exercise needs a fancy 4-3-3-1 tempo assigned.

I once happened upon a training program I'll never be able to forget - as much as I wanted to pour battery acid in my eyes when skimming through it.

Written by a pro bodybuilder, every exercise listed included some crazy tempo variation that no mere mortal could possibly replicate in real life.

An example?

Back extensions with a 6-second negative, paused for 2 seconds at the bottom, followed by a 3-second concentric, and finally paused at the top for another 2 seconds before continuing with the next rep.

Worst part?

The program called for 15 reps of these back extensions with the aforementioned 6-2-3-2 tempo.

Whip out a calculator and you'll realize a set would have lasted over three minutes! And you were supposed to perform 6 (!) sets of them. Good luck trying to get out of bed the following morning.

What a joke... too bad nothing hilarious about it.

That's also one of the reasons why countless trainees fail to make any noticeable strength or size gains from bodybuilding workouts published in mainstream fitness magazines or online.

Completely made up programs that nobody ever has and nobody ever will use for gaining strength and size.

(Which is its own discussion for another day)

Some guys get suckered into tempo abuse so bad they end up working out to the tune of a metronome.

Imagine a beeping noise in your ear for 60 minutes straight while trying to lift heavy.

Sounds fun.

(Not.)

However, as I mentioned in the beginning of this email, there's a time and place for varying your rep speed to squeeze out sum mo' xtra gainz.

To learn how to get strong and awesome applying (but never abusing) tempo training, click the link below now:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

Yunus Barisik

Super stoopid (but true) story:

In the Austrian city of Salzburg, lampposts are being covered in airbags.

Why?

To stop so-called "smartphone zombies" bumping into them as they walk around staring at their screens.

Apparently, people are increasingly hurting themselves by not looking where they are going while checking their devices.

The obsession with playing around on your phone while walking has led to a point where pedestrians get in more accidents than anyone else on the city streets - including cyclists, moped drivers and car drivers.

Think about how we have devolved as a society...

Wrapping phone poles in pillows so inattentive morons don't hurt themselves?

What next? Airbags on cars, buildings and even people?

The poles should have been spiked instead. Idiots would run into them only once. Problem solved.

As for the jolly good taxpayers of Salzburg forced to fund this madness... I can't imagine anyone feeling too excited subsidizing for the stoopid.

But, such is the world we live in these days... phones have become smarter than your average person carrying one.

Anyway, time to move on to real bidniz:

While the rest of the society has entered a steady decline, athletes using workouts in Next Level Hockey Training 2.0 are continually evolving into stronger, tougher specimen.

If you still haven't made the jump to join hundreds of other smart hockey players on the gain train, I gotta ask:

​Why not?

Is it because you don't know where to start?

Or maybe you fear the workouts are too complicated?

No problemo, hermano.

The training programs inside are so straightforward even a bunch of simpletons (like the Hanson brothers from the movie Slap Shot) could use them to break PR's in the weight room for weeks on end. Just follow the workouts as written, and watch the gains flow like lies from a politician's lips.

Though I should warn you...

I don't tolerate fools.

So there will be no catering to nitwits.

No cushioning airheads.

And, certainly, no coddling imbeciles.

Only sharp-minded athletes and coaches are welcome to join.

Smartphone zombies need not apply.

If you fit the bill, come get your permanent dose of idiot-free gym gains at:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

Yunus Barisik

“Don’t fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order.

Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn’t matter. Start doing and believing in the stuff that works, and do it today and forever.

You want science and studies? Fuck you, I’ve got scars and blood and vomit.

This is a call to arms for some of you. It is for me too. Stop all the things that make you a pussy and steal your energy. Get your life back.”

– Jim Wendler

===

I can't take it anymore.

The gimmicks and false promises.

Useless supplements and fitness gadgets.

That instill in people the idea there are shortcuts and easy, effortless ways to get fit.

Society promises us rewards without effort and the path of least resistance is the road most often traveled.

"Hard work"?

"Commitment"?

Foreign terms that are ancient and outdated.

I used to fall victim to these empty promises just like thousands of other guys have.

What did it get me?

Nothing.

So ask yourself...

Do you want to be the guy who complains he's too busy to lift weights or run laps at the track?

Comes home at night, flips on FOX News, rants about illegal immigrants on Fakebook, and falls asleep in a bowl of Cheetos?

Boozes off and spends the entire weekend suffering from a brutal hangover, wishing he’d be able to live to see the next day?

The guy who jumps from one training method to the next every three weeks looking for that magic program that will turn him into the Hulk overnight?

Falls for that crap being peddled on message boards, in magazines or on TV so he can buy shit he doesn't need to impress people he doesn't like?

The guy content with getting what he can out of life - instead of what he wants?

Or will you join the few that follow the road less traveled?

The driven who do sprints in the morning sun or set PR's at the gym when the rest of the world cozies up under blankets.

The dedicated who track their performance in and out of the weight room, never falling into the complacency trap, always seeking gradual improvement.

The obsessed who headbutt Mr. Adversity when that ugly SOB comes a-knockin' on their door.

There's always an easy way out in life.

It's called the road to mediocrity.

It's where people go to die at 25, but aren't buried until they're 75.

You know what?

Fuck that.

I'm getting my shit together.

I'm taking my life back.

I'm taking the road less traveled.

Will you?

Then here's where to start:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

Yunus Barisik