Almost four years ago to the day, we had the photo shoot for Jon Bruney’s awesome book, Neuro-Mass. It was and still is probably the most challenging photoshoot I’ve ever experienced–it was two days of some of the most difficult and creative strength moves I’d seen at the time. The incomparable RKC Team Leader, PCC Instructor, and shredded ab-monster Matt Maher was on that shoot and frankly defied gravity a few times too.
The Neuro-Mass shoot was the first time I’d ever tried the now infamous Neuro-Grip pushup handles. Four years ago we only had the prototypes which if you look super close in the book you can see that they are handmade and a little rough hewn. Then, the first generation offered by Dragon Door was cast from solid aluminum and had this crazy tuning-fork like CLANG if you happened to smack ’em together or strike them on the ground even slightly. Depending on your preferences this could be a pro or a con! Thankfully the next version (and the ones that are currently being sold on Dragon Door) were further improved, they’re made from steel, the larger tubing “handle” part being heavy gauge but hollow so they aren’t excessively heavy. (I like to toss them in my backpack for outdoor workouts) Since the new Neuro-Grips aren’t cast, they don’t have a mold mark–and that’s a welcome change for high rep training!
The photoshoot in Chicago this past weekend was actually for TWO books – a Neuro-Grip focused book and one all about the Neuro-Burner. In the Neuro-Grip book, I appear alongside Senior RKC and PCC Instructor Rob Miller (his abs have abs). Then in the Neuro-Burner cardio book Rob appears once again but with RKC Team Leader and PCC Instructor Katie Peterson as his training partner (and I am so glad… that Neuro-Burner is a KILLER–in a good way but wow).
(Technically I was “wardrobe assistant” and random assistant to the assistant for the Neuro-Burner shoot, don’t you dig my awesome wool socks? Thankfully this is the only photo in which they appear!)
Massive props and respect for Rob being able to withstand that kind of marathon. Dragon Door CEO, John brought such an over the top selection of snacks from Whole Foods that I think we all simply forgot about taking an actual lunch break. We managed to keep going with just a few short breaks from time to time. We were having so much fun that sometimes we needed to be reminded to take a break even though the combined total hours of both shoots ended up being about 14 hours straight. After the Neuro-Grips shoot was over, I hung around to help for the second shoot. My secret stash of “fashion tape” that stays with my “makeup for tv and video” bag came in handy too. Love that stuff. Also the gym had fast wifi and if I have internet and my laptop then by my standards I have enough of an office. Besides, all that food wasn’t going to just disappear…
To be perfectly frank, I was a little nervous about the Neuro-Grips shoot… for nearly the entire month of February I had been dealing with a really insane case of the flu. I hadn’t been able to seriously workout, and ended up losing about 10lbs in the month of February unintentionally. The appetite just wasn’t there… I made sure to keep up the protein as much as possible, and ended up cutting up just a wee bit, which is good, but I was nervous about having the strength for the demanding shoot. Fortunately my old muscle memory held out and since I’ve been training and enjoying Neuro-Grips for the past four years, I managed to perform very well and NOT faceplant… I can’t wait for you to see some of these photos… they’re so fun. Rob Miller and I were really working at our limits a few times and I’m pretty sure we both set a few PRs. While I had devised a few Neuro-Grip exercises on my own over the years, Jon Bruney has gone above and beyond in terms of creative, effective training. As with any Dragon Door photoshoot, I came home with many new ideas for my own training and a TON of motivation…
In preparation for the book, I will be adding some lead up drills here to help you get ready for the Neuro-Burner book and all it’s serious drills. Apologies if I’ve linked to this before here, but this is the Neuro-Grips playlist I made on Youtube and where I’ll be adding some new videos on there VERY soon:
I also have more workouts on the way for you, but in the meantime a little while ago I finally put together a special collection (unreleased before now) of the original workouts I wrote and led at a boutique fitness studio in Manhattan last year. They focus on kettlebell, Ultimate Sandbag, and calisthenics. There are also options available for full customizaton and additional coaching advice. Check them out here – they’re available for instant purchase and download. If you choose a coaching call, you will be able to instantly schedule that as well. (There are some days which are blocked out because I’m moving next week, but I’ve tried to leave ample office hours open as much as possible.)
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