With new products coming out every day, review some of the newer ones hitting the market sure to take your training to new PR’s and fuel your on the go busy lifestyles.

HYPER ICE / ICE COMPRESSION: www.hyperice.com

hyper ice compression

Probably my most favorite as I use ice almost daily after my training as I’ve had numerous surgeries I usually have to go right from training straight into leading a class and I have found this product ( I use on my knees ) to be the most  optimal and provide the best cryo-therapy and compression.  Read more HYPER ICE’s many uses here.

kize premium energy bites

KIZE PREMIUM ENERGY BITES:  www. kizeconcepts.com

- Clean eating never tasted better!  KIZE Premium Energy Bites are a delicious and nutrious all -natural premium food solution.  They offer many flavors including vanilla almond, cocoa, peanut butter, pumpkin seed, and cinnamon raisin.  All are made using all-natural , high quality, gluten free ingredients with no preservatives, artificial ingredients, or cheap fillers.  You may eat these pre or post workouts, on the go snacks, or for a meal replacement.

IRON WOODY FITNESS BANDS: www.ironwoodyfitness.com

Iron woody fitness bands- Iron Woody fitness bands are the only fitness strength bands in the industry that are 5mm thick and layered for strength.  Iron Woody also carries an industry-best one-year warranty on all there bands.  These bands may be used for any and all types of training whether power lifting, speed training, bodyw weight assistance, warm ups, or just trying to stay in good shape.  Iron Woody bands are used in many gyms including mine as well as by many professional and collegiate teams.

iron woody fitness bands

FRONT SQUAT ZERCHER HARNESS: www.liftinglarge.com

- LiftingLarge.com is now the North American distributor for the Getstrength.com Front Squat Zercher Harness.  Many athletes are limited by there range of motion or unable to support larger loads in the front of there bodies.  This harness allows an athlete to progress in weight safely while helping one maintain good position throughout the lift.

front squat zercher harness

Source:

www.thepowermagazine.com

Every day at my gym   I encounter from all athletes, crossfitters, weekend warriors, moms, and dads a common issue.  Hip Hinge or lack there of.  Almost every single movement we perform is predicated off of this move whether its primary barbell lifts such as the squat and it variations, deadlifting, jumping, etc they begin with this crucial move.

NOTE

Do not perform or just check the box, concentrated sets and reps must be performed along with patience for this pattern to ingrain into permanent movement.  Slow and steady wins the race.

PVC Hip Hinge or Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

With the athlete holding a PVC or wooden dowel behind their back place the hands behind the smaller portion of your neck and small portion of your back.  Your PVC must make three points of contact the butt, upper back, and head.  No three points of contact check your hand positions or address your shoulder mobility (near future post).  Maintaining three points of contact through your entire movement the hip hinge movement will naturally occur.  The athlete now has instant feed back or that kinesthetic awareness I mentioned developing space movement knowledge if you will enabling self correction which is huge especially under any heavy loads.  An example of this could be if the PVC loses contact with the butt, he/she has flexed or rounded their spines.  

This progression is used for as long as the athlete needs.  A great way to include this “skill” is to put into warmups or in between your sets as “active rest.”  

Common mistakes  

1. Lose contact with the head, athlete is compensating with cervical flexion
2. Lose contact with the butt, he/she is flexing the spine
3. Lose contact with back, they are squatting

PVC Extension with Wall Touch:

After our athlete has demonstrated consistency with the PVC Hinge we can now progress to using a wall only this time the PVC is placed on the belt line so that the arms are externally rotated with palms facing the ground and the PVC parallel to the ground.  External rotation of the arms occur automatically locking his shoulder blades (scapula) into retraction creating tension and stability in the upper back making it more difficult to flex the spine.  From this position our athlete stands roughly 10 inches away from the wall cuing him to touch and maintain contact with the wall pressing his butt back and PVC packed into his neck allowing a neutral spine. 

 If your athlete has learned scapular retraction well from the previous drill the good morning wall touch is introduced.  Lack of patience and skipping the previous could cause you and your athlete headaches as tendencies of flexing the spine and squatting can still occur.  

Snatch Grip RDL:

With the athlete mastering the previous the snatch grip RDL is introduced.  The external load is now in front of the body or anteriorly.  The athletes arms are also in an anterior position allowing us to see if scapular retraction and bracing of the core occur naturally now that the load is in front.  A great way to see if your athletes have truly mastered the hip hinge.  Caution here as technique and bad habits root there heads here.  Should it happen, take a step back and progress again.

Kettlebell Swings with object between you legs:

Kettlebell swings are a great performance based exercise and whether you’re an athlete looking for increased vertical jump performance or a crossfitter doing WOD’s with 4 rounds of 25 reps you must have a great hip hinge.  The kettlebell swing is a great external load to see if the athlete has learned proper hip hinging, coordination, strength in the movement, and strength under fatigue.  By placing an object between the athlete’s legs, a squat pattern (many “swings’ done this way) reduces flaws quick and in a hurry as your athlete will hit the object below.

Athlete height should be taken into consideration here but we want our object to come up to the tibial tuberosity.  A cone or dumbbell standing on its head could be used.  Yoga blocks also work as they are quieter and wont damage if hit by your athlete.

Upon completion of these progressions, your athlete will be much more proficient at hip hinging allowing more optimal performance in all the lifts.  Learning the hip hinge is vital in building the base so that lower body strength and power can be demonstrated by the glutes and hamstrings AKA Posterior Chain.

Thanks for reading!

Questions or comments hit me up

Connect with me 

FITT Facebook

Crossfit Newnan FB

Youtube

Zweifel, Michael B. “Teaching the Hip Hinge.” Elitefts. January 28, 2013

Its an ongoing debate and battle and one that depending on which side of the fence you’re on you’ll be biased toward one over the other.  There are numerous articles, scientific data, videos, testimonials, gyms, athletes, and the list that could go on about what is necessary to develop speed and how they believe, who told them, and what is best method in achieving both strength and speed.

I will agree, believe, practice, and teach strength for speed development; HOWEVER I believe that younger-less experienced athletes are the ones who will benefit from an increase in Relative Strength and Max Strength.  You must be able to apply a great deal of force into the ground for acceleration, be able to absorb forces from change of direction and landings from various depths.  Ground reaction forces for athletes are very demanding and require a great deal of strength as a solid foundation of strength is a must for speed development.  A great example is the table below that lays out the stress the body endures no matter the age, gender, sport, etc.

Ground Reaction Forces

Running

• Vertical Forces: 3 x body weight
• Anterior & Posterior Forces: .5 x body weight
• Mediolateral Forces: .25 x body weight

Vertical Forces

• Starting (Accelerating): .8 x body weight
• Lay-up Landing: 8.9 x body weight
• Stopping: 2.7 x body weight
• Cutting: 3 x body weight

Anterior & Posterior Forces

• Stopping: 1.3 x body weight

Mediolateral Forces

• Shuffling: 1.4 x body weight

Let’s do assume that we have a young athlete maybe……13 years old and he and his father say what every parent says, “need speed and power.”  I would agree and second that but ladder drills are not the “optimal” modality at this stage and offer nothing more than peace of mind to parents and coaches.

Here is a fact, the Max Effort method is the optimal method for increasing strength and is necessary BUT at what point are you STRONG ENOUGH?  Does an athlete benefit anymore from a 400lb squat to 450lb squat or what about even 500lb? Maybe but most likely not.

Youth athletes or novice lifters have incredible capabilities of increasing strength and speed from the simplest of things such as lunges and push ups.  As our youth athlete advances the direct correlation between strength and speed become less evident and at some point can have adverse effects.  Now, for you westside barbell guys that are out there and screaming, “that’s why you use the dynamic effort method” and “strength is measured in time.”  You’re correct on that but I’m not discussing the Westside Template as it really is most advantageous to power lifters.

Heavy loads and max strength work becomes a hinderance in speed development and slows the CNS down.  The body is amazing in that it adapts to the stresses placed on it and how it is trained.  Focusing on ONLY slow heavy lifting day after day, week after week, and so on will make you slower.  There are situations and programs necessary where you must train slow to move fast but again I’m not discussing that at this moment.   By the way, you don’t see scrawny sprinters!!

Parents, coaches, and athletes please know that speed and strength are correlated but more so early on in an athletes development.  This is why our younger athletes learn proper technique in the weight room and get stronger THEN we incorporate high speed movements so the table illustrating the forces above can be tolerated by the athletes.  Asafa Powell will not run any faster by adding 50lbs to his squat but a 10th grade athlete will so once they get to that ELITE status ore an above average level of strength then direct speed training can become more primary in there training.  If constantly adding pounds to your squat and deadlift above was the only way and the primary goal then Matt Kroc in the first photo at top would be a world record holder in the 100m sprint.  Once that desired or necessary strength has been developed and it’ll vary by sport and demands then the optimal thing to do is maintain it while honing other motor abilities.

Many coaches especially Olympic lift coaches believe the best and most direct correlation with speed and strength are the Olmpic lifts.  I’m not an Olympic coach so I won’t out-step my realm of knowledge but the most technical sound lifter may only reach 1.3 meters per second while max speed may be as high as 6 or 7 meters per second.

I mentioned briefly and I mean briefly that strength is measured in time and grinding out reps in a max effort attempt is not beneficial unless you’re an up and coming lifter and even then grinding out is hard on the young bucks so as I’ve mentioned, once a foundation and necessary level of strength has been achieved and demonstrated, focus can then switch and should switch.  The number one concern should now become displaying speed and power which demonstrates strength.

I mentioned Matt Kroc and his squat and 100m sprint.  An athlete of that magnitude and special focus of his strength-skill would be world class fast but that is not the case.  He may be fast for his size but there speed will not continue to develop at the same rate as there strength.

Pure speed has many aspects involved more than just strength such as reactive ability, CNS efficiency, limb length, genetics (yes), stretch-shortening cycle, mechanics, and many more.

To better sum things up young athletes need strength as the foundation and once that foundation has been laid then you maintain it and hone other motor thresholds turning your primary focus to speed enhancement.

Thanks For Reading

Sources:

• Vern Gambetta, Athletic Development: the art and science of functional sports conditioning.  (2007). Sport Specific Demands Analysis. In B. B. Editor (Ed.)

==================================================================================

Plyometrics and The Upper Body

Everyone either knows there vertical jump or wants to know there vertical jump but not many athletes pay attention to the importance of plyometrics or “dynamic strength” for the upper body.  This is a huge mistake as many sports and athletes need to be explosive in the upper extremities and while strength is displayed from core on out if you’re upper body is weak then there is a break in our “kinetic chain.”

Whether you’re an overhead athlete such as baseball, QB, tennis, volleyball, shot put, etc upper body power is vital for success.  Dave Tate has been quoted saying, “you can’t flex bone.”  Well said and I with many strength coaches agree.  A quick run down on some basic necessities to developing power.  To display power an athlete must first have a good foundation in “relative strength” or body weight strength.  That is the minimum with the preferred having “absolute strength.”  I try to inform and educate the best I can this to parents and athletes because the number one thing they all want is speed and power.  Well, if you’re weak you’re slow(er).  It’s that simple.

Now, at my gym FITT Warehouse  , I along with my other coaches do our best to teach student athletes proper form and technique first and then we develop strength through the Max Effort method.  This method is primarily used by professional power lifters and can scare some parents and athletes away and I will say there are some places out there in my opinion taking it a little too far with there student athletes.  You need to be strong but not aspire to follow a power lifting regimen just some of the proven methods to get us to our goal and that is power development in the case of the parent and athlete wanting more speed and explosiveness.  Check out these quick examples below.  Both of these athletes are currently in the NFL (vernon gholston has dissappointed many and is a RFA at moment) and were first round drafts.  Andre Smith below is talented yes but you can easily see that by his body composition he’s not going to be the most explosive due to the fact that his body mass is primarily “fat.”

Vernon Gholston on the other hand while maybe a little extreme for some has a physique resembling a Greek god.  His body composition is a result of a detailed training regimen, proper rest, balanced nutrition, and yes good genetics.  Out of these two start athletes which do you think will display the most strength, power, and explosiveness and stay healthy for the season?  No brain-er here.  So, a quick review, you must be strong in relation to your body, carry little excess fat, and train properly which brings me back to the origin of this article Plyometrics and The Upper Body.

A) Lets take a look at some plyometrics exercises for the upper body and the equipment if any you’ll need. 

1. body weight
2. medicine ball
3. dynamic effort training with barbells

1. with body weight there are many variations of the good ol’e push up.  Again, you must first be able to crank out a ton of push ups with good form.  A good number to shoot for is 40 unbroken with good form before attempting any of the variations below. Plyometric push ups with a depth drop and weight vest (both the drop and vest are additional variations) .  Sets and reps should be monitored as these are extremely hard on the body.  3-6 sets of 3-10 reps are plenty when incorporating these to your upper body plyometric training.

Medicine balls and there use is many and upper body plyometrics make for perfect use of the medicine ball.  These are just a few of many different exercises and combinations that can be done in order to develop upper body power and explosiveness.  All exercises were performed for 5 reps.

1. Push press throw
2. overhead slam
3. rotational throw
4. overhead throw

The barbell can be used dynamically as well by means of the “dynamic effort method.”  This simply means like the others performing the movement under control for desired sets and reps as fast as humanly possible.  Without getting to detailed or specific here is an example of the bench press being performed at Westside Barbell with coach Louie Simmons.  Make sure to incorporate some of these simple bet neglected exercises into your upper body training regimen. 

 youtube channel for more FREE training!!!!

REMEMBER TO COMMENT!!!

December 2010 almost two years ago I suffered something all athletes and weekend warriors fear, a blown out knee.  I had surgery by one of the top knee surgeons in the country to repair a complete rupture of the patellar tendon in my right knee.  I made a full and complete recovery way ahead of schedule.  As a matter of fact I was in an ultimate Frisbee league by April of 2o11 and in my fall flag football in September and feeling great.  Why do I say all of these things?  You nor I would ever want it nor wish it upon anyone especially an athlete to suffer the same or worse but unfortunately that is the case as August 10th of 2012 I had surgery to repair a rupture quad tendon on the medial side as well as the patellar tendon.

That saturday was a tough day.  Great day at the gym but very busy and tiring.  It was also the day in which a friendly team competition that I participated in changed my my outlook on many things.  My dad was sick but had come by to see me at the gym for about an hour.  I wasn’t aware at the time nor was any of my family but my dad 14 hours later suffer a severe stroke affecting his memory, speech, and movement.  It was also the day my left knee popped making me fully aware things change at a moemnts notice.  Due to my experience from 2010 I was all too familar with this pop and pain knew the outcome but needed an MRI and through a close friend actually received one that same day.  Now, I don’t want to dismiss the pain, hurt, anger, and many questions I along with many of my family had regarding my dads stroke had in relation to my knee.  There is a much bigger picture here and lesson(s) to be learned.  Although my father has had illnesses before i.e. heart attack and open heart surgery among many other procedures as well as myself and we’ve come back from them I think I can honestly say that while I learned soem valuable things as did my dad we didn’t quite see the bigger picture.  Doctors shared many things with us regarding my dad as did they with me doubting full recovery for both of us.  I’m not going to lie, I was scared and unsure of what to do or why all of these things were going on.  I then and still do remember and cling to this scripture in the Bible that I’ll share with you below. 

Peace and Hope

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hopedoes not put us to shame, because God’s lovehas been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,who has been given to us.

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

You see, while I nor anyone in my family understand or even like and agree with the circumstances we face there is a bigger and higher reasoning that faithfully we accept and press forward.  Self doubt and fear still “try” to creep in and take over but it is this scripture and faith that push it right back out.

What ever struggles or circumstances you face or will face and you will embrace the process and, read Romans 5 and ask God what is it He is trying to show and teach you.

Emabrace the process!

Travis

 Its an ongoing debate and battle and one that depending on which side of the fence you’re on you’ll be biased toward one over the other.  There are numerous articles, scientific data, videos, testimonials, gyms, athletes, and the list that could go on about what is necessary to develop speed and how they believe, who told them, and what is best method in achieving both.  

I will agree, believe, practice, and teach strength for speed development; HOWEVER I believe that younger-less experienced athletes are the ones who will benefit from an increase in Relative Strength and Max Strength.  You must be able to apply a great deal of force into the ground for acceleration, be able to absorb forces from change of direction and landings from various depths.  Ground reaction forces for athletes are very demanding and require a great deal of strength as a solid foundation for

I came upon an article the other day about speed development where the author stated several times that increased strength development always results in increased speed if weight and technique remain the same.  So an athlete that lifts 300 lbs. will be faster if he improves to 400 lbs., and faster at 500 lbs., and so on.

At novice levels there is a high correlation between all motor abilities.  I remember Coach Joe Kenn use to joke that he could take a young kid and do walking lunges for a quarter-mile every day and the kid would get faster.   This just speaks to the extent of how easily a novice athlete can make gains.

As an athlete advances there becomes less and less correlation between maximal strength and speed.  At some point there is no correlation and it can eventually become a negative correlation.

Maximal strength work can be a hindrance to speed development in the slowing down of the nervous system.  The human body adapts to how it is trained.  When athletes focus on slow heavy lifting day after day, the body can and will adapt to the slowness it continually repeats.

Athletes must always remember speed and maximal strength are separate motor abilities.  Early in training, the correlation between strength and speed is high, but as the athlete advances, the correlation becomes less and less.  If you were to take Usain Bolt and increase his squat 50 lbs., many individuals think this would make him faster.  If it were only that easy.   Taking him from a 450-500 lbs. squat would yield no improvement in his world record times.   At some point, continuing to train maximal strength for an athlete is not worth the time of training invested.  When an athlete reaches a certain point, energy should be directed toward maintaining that strength while focusing on improving other key motor abilities.

Many coaches believe that Olympic lifts have a direct correlation with speed since the O-lifts are performed with speed.  However a good Olympic lift velocity may only reach 1.3 meters per second, where-as maximal speed may be around 7 meters per second.

It takes time to develop maximal force, and this is a common area of misunderstanding.  Sprinting ground contact times are measured in the hundredths of a second.  This is the time that an athlete has to display force in sprinting.  Being able to grind through a four-second rep means nothing when your foot has .08 seconds to display as high a force as possible.  As I have stated throughout, after a certain level of strength has been achieved, the focus should change.  Athletes should be more concerned about the speed at which they can display strength than at the sheer magnitude of how much more they can lift.

Take a competitive powerlifter, or an elite level Olympic lifter.  These athletes would be world record sprinters if strength were the main determinant of speed.  While these athletes may be fast they do not progress in speed at the same level their maximum strength progresses over the course of years.

There are so many more things involved in speed than just strength alone.   Speed is more dependent on the stretch-shortening cycle, reactive ability, elasticity, nervous system efficacy, tendon attachment, and limb length, among many others.  All too often we as strength coaches get caught up in the “weight room” numbers and making workout superstars when in fact it is our goal to not only ensure proper strength progress but also safety.  When planning your training and looking at your goals while strength is important and necessary and as Dr. Verkhoshansky stated, “strength is the basis on which all other things are based off of” a 600lb squat will not necessarily make you sprint any faster than an athlete with a 400lb squat. 

Keep these things in mind when if you wonder if you’re strong enough.

Everyone either knows there vertical jump or wants to know there vertical jump but not many athletes pay attention to the importance of plyometrics or “dynamic strength” for the upper body.  This is a huge mistake as many sports and athletes need to be explosive in the upper extremities and while strength is displayed from core on out if you’re upper body is weak then there is a break in our “kinetic chain.”

Whether you’re an overhead athlete such as baseball, QB, tennis, volleyball, shot put, etc upper body power is vital for success.  Dave Tate has been quoted saying, “you can’t flex bone.”  Well said and I with many strength coaches agree.  A quick run down on some basic necessities to developing power.  To display power an athlete must first have a good foundation in “relative strength” or body weight strength.  That is the minimum with the preferred having “absolute strength.”  I try to inform and educate the best I can this to parents and athletes because the number one thing they all want is speed and power.  Well, if you’re weak you’re slow(er).  It’s that simple. 

Now, at my gym FITT Warehouse  , I along with my other coaches do our best to teach student athletes proper form and technique first and then we develop strength through the Max Effort method.  This method is primarily used by professional power lifters and can scare some parents and athletes away and I will say there are some places out there in my opinion taking it a little too far with there student athletes.  You need to be strong but not aspire to follow a power lifting regimen just some of the proven methods to get us to our goal and that is power development in the case of the parent and athlete wanting more speed and explosiveness.  Check out these quick examples below.  Both of these athletes are currently in the NFL (vernon gholston has dissappointed many and is a RFA at moment) and were first round drafts.  Andre Smith below is talented yes but you can easily see that by his body composition he’s not going to be the most explosive due to the fact that his body mass is primarily “fat.”

Vernon Gholston on the other hand while maybe a little extreme for some has a physique resembling a Greek god.  His body composition is a result of a detailed training regimen, proper rest, balanced nutrition, and yes good genetics.  Out of these two start athletes which do you think will display the most strength, power, and explosiveness and stay healthy for the season?  No brain-er here.  So, a quick review, you must be strong in relation to your body, carry little excess fat, and train properly which brings me back to the origin of this article Plyometrics and The Upper Body.

A) Lets take a look at some plyometrics exercises for the upper body and the equipment if any you’ll need. 

1. body weight

2. medicine ball

3. dynamic effort training with barbells

1. with body weight there are many variations of the good ol’e push up.  Again, you must first be able to crank out a ton of push ups with good form.  A good number to shoot for is 40 unbroken with good form before attempting any of the variations below. 

Plyometric push ups with a depth drop and weight vest (both the drop and vest are additional variations) .  Sets and reps should be monitored as these are extremely hard on the body.  3-6 sets of 3-10 reps are plenty when incorporating these to your upper body plyometric training. 

Medicine balls and there use is many and upper body plyometrics make for perfect use of the medicine ball.  These are just a few of many different exercises and combinations that can be done in order to develop upper body power and explosiveness.  All exercises were performed for 5 reps.

1. Push press throw
2. overhead slam
3. rotational throw
4. overhead throw

The barbell can be used dynamically as well by means of the “dynamic effort method.”  This simply means like the others performing the movement under control for desired sets and reps as fast as humanly possible.  Without getting to detailed or specific here is an example of the bench press being performed at Westside Barbell with coach Louie Simmons.

Make sure to incorporate some of these simple bet neglected exercises into your upper body training regimen.

How To Win The War On Fat This Holiday Season

By: Travis Self

It’s almost that time of year where holiday parties, travel, family, and friends consume our time and we spend less time in the gym and eating the proper foods.  We know what that leads too…….FAT GAIN.  WE GAIN THE MOST FAT between Turkey Day and The New Year.  Gyms and trainers love it and can’t wait for you to fill up on turkey and cookies so they can walk you around the see of machines and there sports clubs selling you on the ammenities and the new you.  Here’ s the deal and what I’d like to help you understand, learn, and do.  I’m going to help you not just win the battle on Fat but WIN THE WAR FOR GOOD. 

You may have questions or comments like, “I’m already a gym member,” “I’ve tried that before,” “I’ve tried everything and nothing seems to work,” or the classic “I’m just too busy.”  These are good excuses but that’s all they are.  To REALLY grasp what it takes to win this war you’re going to have to be committed to yourself and the betterment of your health or all that you’re working for is really for nothing as you’ll be too fat and pill popping for pain to enjoy what you worked for and what you thought you were to busy to do. 

Follow and trust me and get ready for your best year of health, fitness, strength, energy year and quality of life ever.

Training Principals To Follow:

1. It’s important to stay off machines and get into free weights…..You too ladies and I’ll explain that one soon enough.  I have my athletes and clients work larger muscle groups to rev up the old metabolism and improve overall body strength and core support.
2. You’ve heard it before and you’re going to hear it again.  You must strengthen and improve your core.  Strength and power work from core to extrimities.  Doing this improves balance, reduces injury, and helps in athletics.
3. Plan out your workouts, goals, and alloted time for doing so.  This will better ensure success and accountability. 
4. If you’re into general fintess focus on your total body using primarly lifts like squats, press variations, dips, pull ups, lunges, and sprints.  If you’re an athelte you may need and want more specific things and that is fine too as atheltes and general fitness vary by degree and not kind so you’ll need alot of these same pricipals. 
5. Perform 3 strength training sessions per week with atleast 24 hours recovery between workouts.  Your end result will impress you as you’ll notice you’ll be leaner, stronger, and healthier which is the optimal goal.

Why Is Muscle So Important?

This is pretty simple and this will help you ladies out too as some of you still may be scared to lift weights.  For every pound of lean muscle you build your body must work harder to the tune of 50 kilo calories a day to maintain EVERY POUND buit.  The strength training routine I’m going to lay out for you helps you hit the larger muscles, strengthen your core, and build lean muscle ensuring that you’re a fat burning machine.  While you may not see old favorites like “crunches” or “sit ups” you will see more dynamic movements involivning medicine balls, cables, and your bodyweight giving you the stronger and tighther core you need and want.  You’ll also be working the larger muscles more frequently than your conventional muscle and fitness body building routine.  Studies show and prove that this leads to better lean muscle growth while keeping you in the gym less than 60 minutes.

Day 1 Workout: Total Body Lower Primary

1. Barbell Squat- Place a barbell at approximately chest height in a power rack.  If your gym does not have one you may substitute Dumbbells or kettle bells if you like but stay out of the smith machine! Grab the bar with an over hand grip and let it rest up on you mid trap region making sure you’re squeezing those shoulder baldes together.  Take a big breath of air and hold it and take 1 small step back with each foot.  Keep your back naturally arched, extend you hips and decend down until your thighs are just below parallel.  Drive those knees out and press through the heels explosively until you’ve reached the top postion again.

Week 1: 4×8

Week 2: 3×5

Week 3: 3×3

Week 4: 5/3/1

2. Dips- Make sure that you squeeze the bar tight “white knucking” it.  The more force you apply to any bar the stronger and more powerful you are.  Make sure that when looking out that you don’t look up, straight out, or directly down instead focus on a point slightly in front of you.  Like the squat take a big breath in and hold it and lower yourself and breath out at the top.  Make sure that your chest is up and that you’re not letting your shoulders roll forward.  You may bend you legs or keep them straight.  I prefer to bend my legs as I fell it’s safer and helps me control my body angle.  At the top lock out your elbows before decending down for another rep.

Week 1: 3×10

Week 2: 3×8

Week 3: 2×6, 1x max

Week 4: 1×6-8, 2x max

3. Lunges- Alterate steps and step out about 2-3 feet making sure that your shin points back “slightly” and lower yourself keeping your chest and back slightly forward at an aggressive angle.  Power out of that step and into the next repeating for the other side.

Week 1: 3×10 each

Week 2: 3×8 each

Week 3: 3×6 each (add weight)

Week 4: 3×6 each (add weight)

4. Jump Rope Tabatas- This is fun and needs little explation.  Grab a jump rope and set a timer up so that it performs a count of 20 seconds of work to 10 seconds of rest.  If you’re not sure of a timer like this or don’t have one don’t worry just use a clock with a second hand.  I do suggest a timer and a gym boss is a good one.

Week 1: 4 rounds of 20/10

Week 2: 6 rounds of 20/10

Week 3: 8 rounds of 20/10

Week 4: 10 rounds of 20/10

Day 2 Workout: Total Body Upper Primary

1. Barbell Bench Press- Without over complicating the bench press technique simply lie on a bench with your feet flat on the floor NOT ON THE BENCH.  Grap the bar with your hands just slightly outside of your shoulders squeezing the bar tight with those white knuckles again and unrack the weight.  (make sure you have a spotter if possible on heavy loads or have safety pins set up) With the weight above your chest imagine you’re trying to bend the bar and “PULL” it toward your chest.  Tuck your elbows in avoiding a flaring and flaying of them and begin the drive up by pressing hard through your feet and away from you body.

Week 1: 4×8

Week 2: 3×5

Week 3: 3×3

Week 4: 5/3/1

2. Recline Row-  These are a favorite of mine and help those who can’t perform pull ups yet while still be challenging enough to more advanced lifters.  Set a bar up in a rack so that when you lie flat on the floor your hands can barely touch it.  Beginners may leave there feet on the floor while more advanced trainees may elevate there feet on a box or use ropes to challenge the grip.  Either way make sure your shoulder blades are squeezed tight and you’re parallel to the ground pulling hard with the back then following through with your arms.  Pause for a second while lowering under control.  Pause and repeat.

Week 1: 3×10

Week 2: 3×8

Week 3: 2×6, 1x max

Week 4: 1×6-8, 2x max

3. Kettle Bell Swings- This is a great exercise at burning fat, improving posterior chain strength and developmen ( ladies..its a rump improver and lifer and BURNING FAT!  To better demonstrate the technique watch the video below.  If you don’t have a kettlebell then you may use a dumbbell wiht the form being the same.

Week 1: 3×15

Week 2: 4×10

Week 3: 4×8

Week 4: 4×8

4. Med Ball Power Slam- Another favorite of mine and a great way of improving core strength through a dynamic movement.  Grap a medicine ball preferalby a dynamax ball or “no-slam” ball weighing around 8-14 pounds.  Rapidly extend your hips keeping your chest up and back naturally arched and decend toward the ball.  Grab the ball and with all your might stand up and bring the ball over head and quickly decend back down toward the groudnd slamming it very hard.  If you don’t have one of the balls I mention earlier then brace yourself for a bounce and get you face out of the way.  Again it is best to use a this dynomax ball.

Week 1: 4 rounds of 20/10

Week 2: 6 rounds of 20/10

Week 3: 8 rounds of 20/10

Week 4: 10 rounds of 20/10

Day 3 Workout: Total Body Lower Primary

1.Trap Bar Deadlift-If you don’t have access to one of these bars then you may use two dumbbells held at your side.  Taking a big breath of air distend your stomach and hold that breath as you decend down extending at the hips, flexing at the knees, and keeping your chest up and back naturally arched.  It is also important that you again “crush” the handles of the bar or dumbbells you’re holding.  Pause briefly and explode up driving through your heels until you’ve reached the upright position.

Week 1: 4×8

Week 2: 3×5

Week 3: 3×3

Week 4: 5/3/1

2. Piston Shoulder Presses-  Grabbing a pair of dumbbells place your hands in the neutral position (palms facing in) and begin with your weight up at shoulder height.  Bracing your core and squeezing your shoulder blades and lats begin by forcefully driving 1 DB up as fast as possible.  I prefer to begin with my weakest side first.  I lock out the joint and then return the weight under control to repeat the process for the other side.  Once you have done each arm you’ll then perform a press with both of them.  That equals 1 complete rep.  Repeat this for the set and rep schemes listed below. 

Week 1: 3×10

Week 2: 3×8

Week 3: 3×6  

Week 4: 3×6 

 **1 left, 1 right, both together = 1 complete rep

3a. DB Hammer Curls- Grabbing two dumbbells  explosively raise and squeeze your biceps in an alternating fashion for designed sets and reps listed below.  Perform the sets and reps in same fashion as the Piston Shoulder Press.

Week 1: 3×10

Week 2: 3×8

Week 3: 3×6  

Week 4: 3×6 

 **1 left, 1 right, both together = 1 complete rep

3b. Push ups- One of the most underrated muscle building exercises ever discovered.  Get on the floor and bracing your core and staying tight lower yourself and pause for a brief second then explode up.  

Week 1: 3×10

Week 2: 2×10, 1 x max

Week 3: 1×10, 1 x max

Week 4: 3 x max reps

4. Sprinter Situps- This has always been a favorite move of mine ever since I was in track.  It’s an athletic movement that’s a great way of teaching younger athletes proper sprinting mechanics all while improving the strength of the abdomen and hip flexors.  Lie on your back with your elbows bent at 90 degrees and by your hip pockets.  Bracing your abs explosively sit up simoultaneously firing your right arm forward with your left knee coming into toward your chest.  Control the movement back down and repeat for the other side. 

 Questions and Comments?

I’d like to answer any you may have regarding the training, this article, or anything else. 

Click here for additional exercise selections

How To Do  A Pull Up

By Travis Self

Without a question this has to be with respect to the push up one of the BEST and most underrated muscle building exercises ever and yet there’s a huge problem………you can’t do 1 losey pull up.  In all my years of training I’ve seen many guys who pass the “uniform test” but can’t perform a single good rep or if they can that is it so what do they do; they skip the pull ups, strap up there wrists and go over to the lat machine or the assisted chin up machine where they can have some pride and dignity because weight is being moved.

Here’s the deal, if you want to be more athletic, stronger, and more FITT then you must perform chin ups and there variations.  It’ll do much more for you back and biceps than any dumbbell preacher curl will ever do.  It tests upper body strength and your ability or endurance to repeat that motion for quality reps.

With all that being said I thought that I would help you quit making a resolution to do pull ups but make it a goal that you surpass.  If you can already perform 5 or more then this program will still work for you and help you break out of that “rut.”

You Can’t Do A Single Chin Up

You’ll need a place to do chin ups of course, a barbell, and a Jump Stretch Band (mini or average,  these cost anywhere from $10-$20)

Albert Einstein said it best when he said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”  So true and with that being said if you’re currently unable to perform a single chin up then there is no need to just hop right on over to a chin up bar and become more frustrated.  Instead we’ll use a barbell set up in a power rack or power cage so that we can work with half of our weight developing the upperback and biceps increasing our strength so that when we do become more upright we’ll be able to perform a chin up or more repetitions than before. 

Exercise 1: Parallel Bar Reclining Row

Directions Place a barbell in the J-Cups or hooks in the power rack or smith machine if that’s what your gym sadly has so that when you’re lying on your back you can barely touch the bar.  You may leave your legs straight or bent at 90 degrees with the last being more difficult.  You’ll want to squeeze your shoulder blades tight together initiating the movement and then following through with your arms pulling yourself to the bar until your chest touches or barely touches it.  Lower under control and repeat.  If this is still too difficult you may place the bar higher up in the racks so that your body position is less parallel to the floor and more at a 45 degree angle.  this will allow the same muscles to be involved and strengthened while still working toward our goal.  Perform 2 sets of 5-6 good reps resting 45-60 seconds between each set. 

Exercise 2: Negative Chin Up

It doesn’t matter whether its a chin up, bench press, or squat everyone man and woman is stronger eccentrically than we are concentrically.  In otherwords we can normally lower heavier loads in the lowering phase compared to that of the pressing away phase.  The same science will be used with our chin up progressions.  Go to your chin up area and with you take a box or a bench (commercial gyms may flip out on you if you’re feet touch there chairs so make nice with the club GM) and place it under your chinning area so that you have a good and safe area to boost yourself back over the bar when at the bottom.  Directions Lower yourself as slow and as long as you can until your arms are completley straight.  You’ll want to make sure that your consistent within your sets so that you’re getting the same time or close too everytime.  Again perform 2 sets resting 60-90 seconds before repeating.  You may wonder how you can progress here or do more and the answer to that is this, when you can lower yourself either 20-30 seconds or 45-60 seconds in combined sets then you may add an additional set.

Exercise 3: Band Assisted Chin Up

The Jump Stretch Band mentioned earlier is used here.  This is an awesome way and very accurate way of mimicking the real move while working with your body’s natural mechanical advantage.  If at all possible please try to avoid the “assisted chin/dip” machine.  Directions Choke the band around the center of the chin up bar and pull tight.  You may want something to stand on so that you can safely put your feet and/0r knee(s) in the band.  Once you’re in the band place your hands about shoulder width with your desired grip (underhand for a true chin up) and hang with arms fully extended.  This will be your starting position.  Pull your self up with your chin going above the bar briefly pausing and returning lowering yourself under control so that you won’t swing unctrollably in the band.  perform 2 sets of as many reps as you can resting 60-90 seconds in between sets. 

Performing A Good Pull Up

To perform a good rep and build muscle you’ll want to avoid any and all kipping or kicking….sorry crossfitters.  Grab a hold of the bar with a firm grip about shoulder width, with an underhand grip.  You may leave your legs straight or bent but what try to not not swing either way.  Hanging with your arms straight and your shoulder blades squeezed together making sure you also tighten your core explosively pull your self up to the bar.  Pause and lower under control repeating for desired reps or time.

Questions or Comments let me know!! Train hard and Train Smart.

Not too long ago the term “Functional Training” took on a bigger meaning than it was supposed too

in my opinion.  For those who drank the kool-aid unless you were on a ball shaking like crazy

or being pulled or pulling a bungee you were thought of as “old school” ,”non sport-specific”

or even worse “non functional.”

As the kool aid began to leak from the cup and things come back down to there roots we soon realized that

that was the furthest thing from the truth. 

I do believe however that there are many tools in a tool box and everything can be beneficial

when applied at the right time.  In the video below you’ll see the mens professional soccer team

“Real Salt Lake” training with the use of resistance bands and proprioceptive tools in order to

enhance stability, agility, ankle health, and glute recruitment.  These exercises should serve as

a compliment to the bigger lifts or core lifts such as squats, deads, and chins.

Check Video Out ===>Real Salt Lake Lower-Body Stability Series

Just the other day I had a parent come to me and and talk with me about his son in regards

to some of the things we were doing in our training program.  Now, I first must say that as a

parent they have every right to ensure the health and safety of there child(ren) in any endeavor.

There is alot of information, views, and opionions regarding the right age to indroduce resistance

training to the pre-adolecent athlete.

Anything that is not trained or taught properly regardless of experience is potentially harmful and runs

the risk of injury.  A strength coaches number one job in the weight room is not strength but

the ensuring saftey within the program teaching proper progressions ensuring optimal performance

on the field of play.  If I were to take a 35 year old untrained male and a 10 year old untrained

athlete and had them perform a heavy back squat not only would I be out of a job but each of

these individuals would be hurt.

To progress to a full strength and power training program, follow the guidelines below, which are based on the “Athletic Development the art and science of functional sports conditioning” ensure

proper progression for young athletes.

Learning to Train [males 9-12, females 8-11]
Young athletes can begin training at any age, but their program should be appropriate for their physical maturity,

training experience and athleticism. They should focus first on developing movement skills and coordination, then

move on to athletic skills through practicing their sport and performing skill drills. Athletes should be able to

perform sports skills with ease before allocating time to strength training.

Youth training programs should be designed to gradually increase strength through bodyweight and functional

exercises, like Push-Ups, Lunges and Squat Jumps. It’s important to strengthen the entire core with exercises like

Leg Raises, Supermans and Russian Twists. This prepares the body to cope with the stress of weightlifting and teaches

the movement coordination required for more advanced exercises.

Training to Train [males 12-16, females 11-15]
This is a critical period for young athletes, during which they continue to develop their skills while also improving

their conditioning. If strength and speed cannot be maintained during a training session or game, training will be less

effective and in-game performance will suffer.

As strength and coordination gains are made, athletes can begin weight training. Begin with weights that are light

enough to handle easily while performing three sets of 12 reps. This improves neuromuscular pathways, increases

muscle activation and size, and familiarizes the body with weight training movements before embarking on a heavier

strength and power program.

Training to Compete [males 16-23, females 15-21]
Once their bodies can handle higher intensity exercise, athletes should begin a strength and power program. This

incorporates lower reps with heavy loads to induce maximal strength and power gains. Below are the guidelines from

the National Strength and Conditioning Association for strength and power training:

• Strength – 85 percent max; <7 reps; 2 to 6 sets
• Power – 75 to 95 percent max, 3 to 5 reps, 3 to 5 sets

Finally, athletes should follow the fundamentals of strength training to ensure rapid strength gains and avoid performance sabotaging overtraining and injuries.

Source: Athletic Development, The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning

Photo: http://www.thewilltoprepare.com/youthathletics.html