Strong to the Core

Karma

2011-11-24T08:09:00.001-08:00

A Buddhist monk I know (yes I know a few monks) told me once that a way to know what you were in the past is to notice where you are in the present and the way to know what you will be in the future is to look at where you are in the present. While we are a product of our experiences we have the ability to change our reality and our karma by what we do and think NOW. Think about that when things are going well and when they are not going as you would like them to go.Thank you to Becca Lohman-Melton for always posting these cool pics on her facebook page.

Create Your Own Reality

2011-11-12T08:03:00.000-08:00

Everything that happens to us, whether good or not so good, is under our control. Let's all focus on what we want for our lives and NOT on what we don't want. The same is true for our fitness levels, our relationships or our financial freedom.
This is what Albert Einstein believed, I hope you will listen.

May you all be blessed with the abundance that you deserve. Believe it and it is yours!

Quick workout.

2008-12-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

To any of my friends/colleagues that have wondered where I went...things haven't changed a whole lot, but I am getting stronger. Those that know, understand a bit of what is happening. Those that don't, it doesn't really matter. Five years from now I will look back and smile. I still thank God every day for all my friends and family.

Lets get to it: A quick easy workout that you can get done in about 8 minutes following a good warm-up.

Go as heavy as you can to get the right effect.

Dumbell Thrusters (basically a squat to a press) x 50

Chin-ups (assisted or not) x 25

Break it up any way you want. Stretch at the end and add anything you feel you need to.

Gratefully yours,

JF

The Importance of Fun

2008-08-12T11:56:00.001-07:00

Anyone who read my last posting probably got the idea that things are a bit challenging for me lately. That would be accurate.

I was invited to a good friend's birthday party last month. I could not see myself committing even though I knew I should go. My life is very much "up in the air" right now.

About a week ago I decided that I should make it happen. This is a very good friend and he is a very good man. He has always looked out for my best interests in a very unselfish way.

Well I went. I actually put on slacks and a shirt (not gym clothes)and went.

It was wonderful. it has been a while since I had any fun, especially with friends. For the 3 hours I was there I forgot about my situation(mostly). I saw the possibilities that awaited me-even if the victories to come would be bittersweet.

Good friends and a support network are sooo importrant. I am grateful for those that I have.

I am not out of the water yet but I know that eventually everything will be as OK as it can be.

Thank you all.

PS. I may even start doing seminars again and promoting my book and DVDs. What a concept!!

Stay Strong

2008-07-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in quite a while. In fact I haven't done much of anything with regards to my blog, newsletter or website. I am in the middle of a life changing personal event. In fact it is one of the top 10 most stressful events that anyone can experience. I will try to write more on the topic in the future in the hope of helping others deal with their personal traumas.

This event has resulted in a 15 lb weight loss for me, along with other "fringe benefits". Friends and family keep telling me to take care of myself but it is a challenge at best. Finally I feel that I am getting my strength back. The most important "strength" is my inner strength, my core beliefs, my character and personal integrity. You get the picture.

Getting my control back has been tough because of the situation I allowed myself to fall into (with the best intentions I abdicated my personal power). I can say to anyone that has ever had a trauma in their life and felt a loss of control it is important to regain that control any way you can. Small steps over time are better than "no steps at all.

Rediscover yourself through prayer, meditation, a walk in nature, through the eyes and love of your children, your true friends and physical exercise.

I have slowly started to stretch, do some push-ups, some KB swings or whatever. It keeps my energy flowing and helps me refocus my mind.

I am eternally grateful to my friends and family who have come to my aid in this troubling time. Clients that I have been with for years are offering so much support that I feel that I will never be able to repay their kindness.

To all those hurting I say be grateful for what you have and who you have in your life. Focus on where you want to be and the strength that has always been inside of you. As my oldest friend wrote once.."people have gone through torture, war, interrogation, severe injury and other horrible circumstances.". Keep your perspective and have faith that you (and I) will survive.

God never sends more than you can handle.

Yours in strength and eternal gratitude.

JF

You are Never Too Old

2008-05-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

Ever watch "older" exercisers work out? It's usually light weights or sitting on the seated row machine. You can see the loss of balance, the loss of core strength etc. If you look close enough you can usually see what was...the strength, the tenacity, the courage that got them to where they are now.

Most of my current clients are over 40 (so am I so that's fine with me!). My goal is to get everyone to train like an athlete.

I wanted to share a sample workout that I recently had with a 75 year old client. We have trained together for about 6 months. He has a history of a hip replacement and bilateral rotator cuff injuries. While I always start out carefully(I was very conservative with his shoulders) my goal is to help him reach his goals.

Try this yourself-adjust the weight, rest periods, intensity accordingly.

Mobilizations and Dynamic warm-up

"4 point" hunting dogs(on hands/feet only) 2x4

1/2 Get Up 2x5/arm

Agility Rings-various patterns x 5-8 minutes

"Terrible 5" (check it out on my "martial arts agility" DVD) 1x10

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Kettlebell Front Carry Squat 2x10

KB Slingshots 2x20

KB Swings 2x10

Perform these three exercises consecutively then repeat

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Lunge with single arm dumbbell press 3x5/arm

Standing band row 3x10

DB Bench Press on Stability Ball 3x10

Cool down/Stretch

Enjoy and remember you are NEVER too old as long as you are alive.

As always, with gratitude

JF

Simple Workout

2008-04-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

Looking for workouts that are functional, fun, effective and efficient in the comfort of your own home??? "Strong to the Core" Training Solutions will help you reach and surpass your goals.

Think you don't have time for a workout?

Try this quick training routine. All you need are a pair of dumbbells and a will to improve your life.

It should take around 20 minutes. Don't forget to warm-up and cool down.

Squat to curl x 10
Lunge to Press x 10
Push-up to row x 10
Russian twist x 10

Perform 3-5 rounds

Keep the rest periods minimal

Modify as needed

Exercise sensibly

Have fun!

Sign up for FitcomXpo Now

2008-03-06T19:28:00.000-08:00

Sign up for the largest on-line fitness symposium in the world. Hear the nations top fitness professionals (including yours truly) present on topics ranging from weight loss to bootcamps to marketing and everything in between!

I will show you how to get in shape, improve your strength and get a killer core workout using a triangle and a stick. Intrigued?? Sign up now and see what it's all about.

No need to get a plane ticket or to even get dressed(at least wear a robe, please)!

Just click on the banner!

See you there!

JF

Mixed Martial Arts Conditioning For The Rest Of Us

2008-01-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

Martial arts have been around for centuries. Practically every culture has its own indigenous form of fighting. Most of us have heard of Bruce Lee, Kung Fu, and Karate etc. Recently a very interesting shift in our awareness has taken place.

I am speaking about the phenomenon of mixed martial arts. Now, it is important to understand that many martial arts have elements inherent in them that would make them “mixed”. But for the average “consumer” the term “mixed martial arts” (MMA) conjures up a very specific picture.

Mixed Martial Arts has become more mainstream. Most teenagers have heard of it, many adults are fascinated by it. From “Pay per View” to free TV, MMA draws in big crowds. In short, “mixed martial arts” is big business. It combines elements of boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and submission grappling in an exciting format. It can be brutal but often is less damaging than the average pro boxing match. Just watch the Ultimate Fighting Championships to see my point.

So what’s in it for the average man or woman that doesn’t want to be a fighter? What lessons can we learn from Mixed Martial Arts approach to training and conditioning? Well, we can learn a lot about training with intensity, passion and commitment. This article will shed light on principles that will benefit anyone trying to take their fitness to a higher level. I am providing general guidelines and tips, along with some specific modified workouts, that you can apply to your training. I have been a martial artist for 30 years and have trained many athletes, martial artists and military personnel. I hope that my experience will add to your experience.

Intensity

While many may fantasize about it, most people will not become pro fighters. The discipline, dedication and extreme pain tolerance is beyond what most people can endure. Most people will not compete in traditional martial arts events (karate, judo, Tae Kwon Do etc). So what will training like a martial artist do for them? First of all, the training is well rounded, integrated and intense. Most people don’t know that the secret to changing their body, and burning fat, is not more “cardio”, it is “functional” high intensity training that focuses on multi-joint, multi-planar and total body training. Training that mixes energy systems requirements (aerobic and anaerobic etc.) and changes the stimuli on the body will get results. Without the right intensity you will be wasting your time. Training like a mixed martial artist requires that you train with high intensity. (**Before you start pushing Pick-up trucks around the parking lot as a warm-up remember to progress gradually and be smart!)

The results include a decrease in body fat, an increase in muscle size and efficiency, increased power and endurance, improved flexibility, mobility, agility and balance.

Take up a Martial Art

As a person who has spent more than 30 years studying a variety of martial arts perhaps this step is the easiest and most obvious. If you want to train like a martial artist then study a martial art. The cross training benefits are remarkable. Mixed martial arts have elements of grappling and striking arts. The training for each respectively is different and so is the effect on the body.

Striking arts like karate or Thai boxing develop balance, speed, power, accuracy, core strength and endurance. The kicking and punching combinations require a great deal of fitness. Strikers like to stay on their feet and keep the opponent within striking range. Getting hit is not always so enjoyable but as one advances in training the pain is not so obvious. Over time reflexes improve, reaction time improves, you can throw multiple punches, kicks, elbows and knees in a flash, flexibility improves, you notice a definite improvement in core strength and your confidence level soars.

Grappling arts develop similar traits but go about it in a different way. The main emphasis however is on very close range fighting. There is always contact with the opponent, muscles are constantly firing. In the beginning the fatigue is immediate and obvious. Your muscles strain to hold on a little longer before the inevitable “tap out” ; the sign of one submitting to the opponent’s superior technique. This is a nice way to say that you could no longer withstand the pain of the joint lock or were about to pass out from a choke. As your skill improves you learn to relax, your technique improves and you won’t be so exhausted. The result is a stronger, more supple, powerful, and balanced body along with the confidence of knowing that you posses the ability to defend yourself at close range with little fear.

The bottom line is that to really train like a mixed martial artist you will probably need to experience a bit of sparring. If you have never done so you will quickly realize that this isn’t your gym’s fitness kickboxing or aerobic class!

Schools that teach mixed martial arts, as they are known today, will cover all aspects of unarmed fighting and in turn you will become more fit. When coupled with an effective strength-training program you will feel invincible.

If studying a martial art is not for you try to find a heavy bag to hit for three rounds of three minutes, twice a week. Use 12-14 oz. bag gloves and learn the proper way to strike.

Principles of Athleticism

Mixed Martial Artists, or any martial artist for that matter, are athletes. As such they must train like athletes. Bodybuilding should not be used as the main training approach for a mixed martial artist. While bodybuilding does work to put on mass, athletes need more than muscle mass to be successful.

Training must meet, what I call, the “Nine Principles of Athleticism”. Everything I do, no matter who I train, follows these principles or variations of them.
Learn more about them on www.real-strength-training.com(go to the "functional training" tab).

Training Tools

The modality is not nearly as important as the program design, after all it is just a tool, but some equipment is better suited than others:

The “usual” training tools are all effective. I am referring to dumbbells, medicine balls, resistance tubing and bodyweight training. These all have a place in your training regimen. The important thing is to use them appropriately. In addition to the training tools that every gym has I recommend some others that may not be so prevalent.

Kettlebells: Kettlebell training is tailor made for fighters or anyone interested in training like one. A kettlebell looks like a cannonball with a handle. They have been around for centuries and have recently made a big comeback. I have taught kettlebell conditioning all over the US so I know how much they can add to anybody's training routine. They develop functional strength, power-endurance, flexibility and an iron will. These are very important traits for a mixed martial artist. Learn how to use them and add even the most basic kettlebell swing to your workout. A classic kettlebell exercise like the Turkish Get-Up is tailor made for grapplers and in fact was mad popular by Turkish wrestlers.

Sandbags: Sandbags should have a place in any MMA athlete’s workout routine. They are oddly shaped when compared to a barbell and can be used like a kettlebell, medicine ball or barbell/dumbbell. They will develop overall body strength and endurance as well as great grip strength. You can squat, deadlift, press, clean, and snatch them. You can throw them also without worrying about breaking a toe.

Training Technique

Circuit Training is a great way to get a lot done without spending countless hours in the gym. Put the circuits together in the most “functional” manner possible. Don’t do a circuit that consists of knee extensions, biceps curls, dumbbell flyes etc and expect to win a gold medal. Choose exercises that are multi-jointed, multi-directional, speed specific, core dominated etc. I suggest performing exercises for a set time period i.e. 40 seconds of work, followed by 20 seconds of rest (a total of one minute per exercise station).

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Sample Circuit:

Work: 40 seconds

Rest: 20 seconds

Three to Four Passes

Five to ten stations

.................................................

Kettlebell Swing

Basic Push-Up

Dumbbell Squat to Overhead Press (“Thruster”)

Med Ball (or weight plate) Russian Twists

Lunge

Chin-Ups

Sit-Ups

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Sprinting: Long runs are a good way to build a fitness base but sprinting is a great way to build the endurance that a mixed martial artist really needs in a fight. I recommend interval training, hill runs and even resisted running (you will need a heavy duty rubber band for this). This type of training can be added to your workouts about two days per week. Don’t overdo it. When form suffers, you want to throw up or you feel your heart is exploding you must rest and recover.

Work Capacity Training is one of my new favorite training methods. This type of training has been made popular by Cross Fit gyms, but has been used by many others as well. I often train my clients this way at my facility.

The concept is to plan out a workout consisting of several exercises. A specific total rep number per exercise is then determined. It is your job to complete the workout as quickly as possible. This is self-paced; the number of repetitions that you do per set is determined by you. The goal is to keep the total work time low, speed is important. This type of training can be harsh but it works and the results speak for themselves. As your fitness improves you will be able to complete the workout more quickly and efficiently. The following is just a sample. The possibilities and variations are many.

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Sample workout:

Single Arm Kettlebell (or dumbbell) Swings x 50 (per arm)

Pushups x 50

Lunges x 50 (per leg)

Chin-ups (can be assisted with a rubber band)

Box jumps

Alternating Dumbbell Presses x 50 (per arm)

Sit-Ups x 50 (for fun)

Total reps: 450

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Mobility and Flexibility Training: Don’t neglect this part of your training. Martial artists are very flexible for a reason. Make sure to perform a dynamic warm-up and movement preparation routine before training. Purchase a foam roller and “roll” your body daily. It should only take a few minutes. Make sure to roll your legs, gluts, shoulders and back. It may hurt in the beginning but will become more comfortable as you release the spasms and tension in your muscles.

Many MMA fighters train while injured. It is important to remember that they are modern-day gladiators that are paid to fight. We don’t have to do this. The most important thing is to train intelligently. Train for “balance” and listen to your body. If something hurts it isn’t necessary to “train through it”. Rest, re-evaluate and regroup so you can come back stronger the next session. It is often easier to prevent injuries than it is to treat them.

While this article is by no means the final word in mixed martial arts training it should give the beginner or intermediate exercise a better understanding of what is important. Remember that mixed martial art training requires speed, power, strength, flexibility, and a strong will. Take the time to properly prepare yourself and you will enjoy the experience. You can accomplish great things when you progress gradually and with common sense. Try the workouts, do some more research and find your own way. If you apply the principles outlined here you will reach new levels of fitness, guaranteed. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll see you in the Octagon!

Talk Your Way to Fat Loss

2008-01-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

a>

Here is a copy of an interview I did with Virgil Aponte of www.VirgilAponte.com that he posted on his Newsletter.
***********************************************************************************

Do you spend anytime talking to yourself about
how you will look with that new slim waist or
six pack?

Or do you ever look for pictures of how you want to
look?

These questions remind me of Rocky Balbo putting up
Ivan Drago's picture on his bedroom mirror so he
could easily see his goal each and every day.

More importantly for Rocky is that he saw Ivan Drago's
picture first thing in the morning and last thing
before bed.

Don't under estimate the power of these techniques.

These are things you really want to do so you
can reach your goals of fat loss,fitness and
optimal health as fast as possible.

Here is what Fat Loss Expert Jeff fields of
http://www.real-strength-training.com/ had to say
about self talk and positive affirmations in his
Exclusive report for http://www.FatLossExperts.net

====================================================
"10 Secrets of Fat Loss"

Jeff Fields:

Don't focus on what you don't want or like about
yourself. This may be the most important secret
of all. Too many people focus on the things they
don't like about themselves rather than focusing
on the body they want. This tends to perpetuate
those negative things. Instead of saying "I am
10 pounds overweight" or "I am so fat", say "I want
to be "xxx" pounds which I feel is my ideal weight".
Change your mindset. Start by being grateful for
what you have. Simply having access to weight loss
information and having the ability to do something
about it is more than many people have.
Be grateful for that and get laser focused on your goals.

Positive self-talk and affirmations are so powerful
but so underutilized. Every morning and every night
tell yourself that you are at your perfect weight.
Tell yourself that you have the body and the fitness
that you deserve. Say it and believe it. Put a
picture of the body that you want on your refrigerator.
Tape your desired weight over the numbers on your scale,
or just get rid of the scale. It will happen when
you believe it.

Here is what else Jeff goes over in his Exclusive Report

Why Hi Intensity Training Works

Circuit Training

Why you should Train like an Athlete

Why you should Focus on Total Body, Functional Training,
not Isolation Training

Why and when to mix things up

What foods to Avoid or eat in moderation

How to Set Specific, Challenging and Attainable Goals

Why you should Acknowledge the Small Successes

What type of support to have

and much more...

I spoke with Jeff Fields for 34 minutes as he shared
his tried and true fat loss tips that has helped so
many world wide.

Here's what Jeff Reveals:

Should you be adding more cardio to lose fat?

The secret to quick fat loss without doing any cardio at all

How to break through a fat loss plateau

How much weight should I use if my goal is fat loss

How one simple old school training tool will
sky rocket your fat loss

Jeff is a true gentlemen, International Selling author,
Nation wide presenter, trainer, family man and now add
Fat Loss Experts contributor to his resume!

Download Jeff's audio & exclusive report along with
4 more audios & bonuses for the same price today!
http://www.FatLossExperts.net

I've also just added 8 amazing free bonuses
worth over 200.00 from more of today's leading
health and fitness pros!

Everybody Can Do Something

2007-12-30T18:31:00.001-08:00

I heard a great saying not long ago: "Nobody can do everything but everybody can do something". I can't get it out of my head.

(This blog post will seem like my last post, so please bear with me.)

We all have an opportunity to start the new year off right. We have all used the familiar excuses for why we can't do something. Why we can't exercise, why we can't read a new book, why we can't write an old friend etc.

The fact is that we don't have to be perfect. We don't have to do it 100% or none at all. Just starting something can be enough to at least get some momentum going. Of course completing a task is essential but not starting because you don't think you can follow through is even worse. Starting something can at least present the possibility that you will follow through and complete a task.

For those that don't have the time or energy to start an exercise program, here's a "novel" idea. During a commercial do a few push-ups. During the next commercial do a few sit-ups. During the following commercial do a few knee bends. Whew, I'm getting sweaty already. You can even go back to slouching on the couch with the remote in between "training sessions".

Don't blow your chance to make some positive changes. Just do something!

I want to wish you a prosperous, healthy and happy new year.

Gratefully Yours,

JF

No Shoes, No Worries

2007-11-14T12:14:00.000-08:00

There is an old Persian saying that goes something like this..."I cried when I had no shoes, until I met a man without any feet". That saying really hits home. We all get caught up in our own "stuff" and tend to forget that other people go through much worse and don't even complain.

I have 2 small children and we have not had more than 3 nights of sleep(6 hours)in over 7 months. It has been very tough on the family. The problem is no one cares and it will not last forever. I am grateful that my kids are healthy and happy, so complaining that they don't sleep is actually ridiculous, when you look at the "big" picture.

I have made many mistakes in my life and have been "negative" for long periods of time. I am thankful that I am aware of this and have changed that part of my life(mostly!)

So what does that mean to you?

If you don't think you have enough time to exercise try to find 5 minutes and do a few push-ups and sit-ups, or just stretch.

If things are tough at work be thankful you have a job.

If you still hate your job, start your own business.

Be happy and grateful for the things that you do have.

Be grateful for all the good things in your life.

Be thankful that you still have feet, not having shoes won't feel so bad.

Gratefully,

JF

NEVER FORGET

2007-09-11T06:55:00.000-07:00

People that know me know that I can get a bit philosophical or dramatic at times. That's just the way I am. Regardless of your politics I would like to send you my thoughts.

Living in the mid east myself I have been affected by terrorism personally. I have lost friends, have had friends wounded and have luckily escaped injury myself. It is just the reality.

With the anniversary of 9/11 upon us again I just wanted to send a quick reminder to those of us that were NOT affected directly. For those that were no reminder is needed. They suffer with great loss every day.

There are many brave men and women in the armed forces that are in Afghanistan and Iraq fighting terror every day. It is a difficult fight that they are fighting courageously in near unbearable conditions.

The next time you order food at a restaurant and it comes to you late or cold remember that they are eating sandy MREs that they can't send back to the kitchen.

The next time it's hot out and you can go into an air conditioned mall, remember that its hotter in the Middle East and there are very few air conditioners to be found. Oh yea, and they wear full uniforms and flack jackets(not the most "breathable" wear)

Please be grateful for what you have. And keep good thoughts for victims of world terrorism and those brave men and women out there on the front lines.

Thank you for your time.

Gratefully,

Jeff

Make them Stronger

2007-09-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

My philosophy on training has gotten more simplistic over the years. I was always a bit anal about my training methods and in fact at times would plan out training cycles a year or more in advance. This was often at the request of coaches. I would always make sure that they understood that a program planned that far in advance would always incur last minute changes and adaptations, none the less it was my job so I indulged them.

I would plan out sets/reps, macro cycles, micro cycles etc. I was such a stickler for details and matching specific movements etc etc etc.

Now I realize that what really is important is making my athletes and fitness clients stronger. Very simple. Keep the movements functional, get as much muscle mass involved but ultimately just make them stronger.

Volleyball players need strength, housewives need strength, wrestlers need strength, retirees need strength, rowers need strength....you get the picture.

If you want to get more agile you need core strength, hip strength, leg strength and upper body strength.

I am not saying that everyone needs to be a power lifter and look like one, each individual needs appropriate strength for his/her needs. Given the choice, however, I would say that the stronger person(without neglecting mobility and flexibility) will function better in life and sport than the weaker one.

Refine the basics, teach the appropriate movement skills and body mechanics but never forget to make them stronger.

I will post future articles here and in my newsletter on the same topic, I welcome comments.

Thank you

Jeff

Sprinter's Extravaganza

2007-08-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

I have been into "challenge" workouts lately. They are a way to spice up a training cycle and increase power-endurance and strength-endurance (the two most important elements to sports performance).

I have logged in thousands of training hours so don't think that these are the only training programs that I use, I just think they are fun. I post the results on the bulliten board. Each month I change the workout. My clients, especially the athletes, love to compete against other clients doing the programs.

This workout I put together for a sprinter going off to college. I will post it on the board next month. Give it a try. He did it in about 31 minutes, he should be able to ut a few minutes off his time soon.

By the way, in case you were wondering, I love kettlebells. If you have them use them, if not use dumbbells.

2 KB squat (rack position) x 50
Cycle jump x 50 (lunge position, jump and switch feet)
Snatch x 50 each arm
Resistance band snap down (alternating arms) x 50
2 hand ketlebell High Pull x 50
Tuck Jump x 50
Sit Ups x 50
Alternating DB Press x 50 each arm

450 reps of unadulterated fun!

Time the workout from start to finish
Do as many as you like/can on one exercise and then move on to the next
Go down the list in the order I specified then start again until you have completed the session

Thanks for your interest

With Gratitude,

JF

Hard Work, Functional Strength and a Tan

2007-07-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

I struggled with gaining muscle weight my whole life.

When I was about 16 I got into power lifting and bodybuilding to supplement my karate training. I got pretty strong, and although I did put on some muscle, I never got really big.

Then it happened. I was 17 and fighting in a hard-core karate tournament. I got really messed up. Actually, I suffered a head injury and my heart stopped. Needless to say, I lost that fight.

A few months later, after going from being in the best shape of my young life to the worst shape of my life I left the country. I went to Israel where I stayed for quite some time.

I wound up on a kibbutz (a farming collective) that made its money from agriculture and manufacturing. I luckily was put to work initially in the avocado fields.

I spent over eight hours a day digging ditches, removing boulders and planting many hundreds of 30 lb. avocado saplings. I was partnered with a 65 year-old pioneer, ex-resistance fighter and partisan that loved to work and exercise. Keeping up with him was next to impossible. I felt like such a wimp.

I would come home tired, sore and smelly every day. I would try to go to the weight room, that my "partner" was in charge of, but I didn't have much left in me. I would also eat a lot just to refuel.

Then, slowly, work got fun. I loved the challenge of digging the ditches, of lifting all those boulders and getting those trees in the ground.

Removing the boulders and planting the trees required similar movement patterns. There was a lot of lifting, rotating and lowering, over and over. We used our legs, arms, back and core. There was no such thing as “three sets of ten” with a “rest between our sets”.

After about a month I noticed something. I had big shoulders and I packed on about 15 pounds of muscle. I also got a great tan and actually looked healthy again.

All those years of struggle in the weight room were over shadowed by about a month working in the fields!

Today there is a big movement toward functional training. Many strength coaches are coming to the realization that moving the way we did 100 years ago when we really had to work for a living is now one of the best ways to train. Go to any working farm and you will see incredible training sessions going on every day. Most of my friends that did this type of hard manual labor became elite combat soldiers. They transitioned into that role more easily than their counterparts from the cities.

Lifting heavy sandbags, carrying and lifting kettlebells, using super heavy medicine balls, climbing ropes, lifting kegs, training with only bodyweight, and using heavy rubber bands may seem extreme for some but I assure you there is a place for all that training if you are serious about getting strong, performing better and feeling great.

So get rid of the little weights for toning and start getting serious. You don’t have to start training for the “World’s Strongest Man” contest but go out and train hard, train “raw”, train standing up, use different movement planes and explore “new” (old) training concepts. There is a better, stronger you waiting to emerge.

Respectfully,

Jeff Fields

www.real-strength-training.com
www.strongtothecore.com

The Kettlebell Swing

2007-07-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

The basic kettlebell swing is one of the best overall conditioning exercises. This basic movement can be modified and made more intense. The potential variations to this movement make it a great exercise to help anyone reach his/her fitness goals.

Make sure to keep the chest up, shoulders back and drive through the hips. This is NOT an arm movement but rather a leg, hip and core dominated/generated movement.

Once the 2 handed swing is mastered try one hand at a time. You can also switch hands at the "top" of the swing. The swing can be done walking forward and sideways also. There are many more variations than that, so have fun but be safe.

Try 1-3 sets of 10-20 reps to build power endurance. You can train the swing almost every workout. use good common sense and don't overdo to much of a good thing. Try coupling the swing with a push-up, a chin-up, a band "snap down", or even a box jump. You can get a great workout by combining any (or all) of these movements with the swing.

Workout example:

Swing x 10-20 reps
Push-up x 11-20 reps
Chin-up x 3-10 reps

Repeat for 3-4 rounds. This will wake you up. It is quick and simple, but very effective.

The Zone

2007-06-19T06:18:00.000-07:00

The Zone, also referred to as the "flow state" is considered the ideal mindset for optimal performance,whether on the playing field or in the gym. These concepts have received attention from sport psychology in the past. Getting in the "Zone" is the “ultimate state” of consciousness for many, and for those that have experienced it, it is a feeling that cannot be forgotten. I clearly remember feeling this state during grueling karate sessions and heavy lifting days in the gym. After sessions like those I had a smile on my face for days.

Being in the “zone” is often characterized as follows:

1. Having no fear

2. Not thinking about the performance

3. Being very focused on the activity

4. Not feeling the need to try to hard, i.e. being part of the activity itself

5. Feeling increased personal control

6. Seeing the event in slow motion.

Ancient warriors, regardless of country or ethnicity, have known about this state for centuries. Combat, or sports like boxing, football, mixed martial arts etc., replicate the need to stay in this state. When you are out of sync and not remotely close to being in the “zone’ you often get hurt. When you are in the “zone” everything just flows.

The Japanese often call it “Mushin No Shin”, or “mind of no mind”. It’s funny; I was watching “The Last Samurai” and noticed many a reference to this state. In the movie Tom Cruise’s character is getting his butt kicked by a seasoned samurai during sword training. The head Samurai’s son tells him “too many minds”. In other words he was letting too many distractions into his mind when he should have only been focused on the main task. That means no “ego”, no “if I do this, he’ll do that”, “my arms are sore” etc. This is a very valuable lesson for sports and life in general, think about it.

Many of us have experienced these feelings during an athletic activity, but aspects of this are possible during a focused, serious training session. This state can be fostered by connecting the body and mind during each session. While this may sound very esoteric or mystical to some I am referring to a focused state of mind. It is the difference between smoothly moving from exercise to exercise while bracing the trunk and squeezing the muscles through each repetition of a heavy lift or talking on a cell phone while sitting on the hip adduction machine.

Fitness professionals can help facilitate this "Zone" state by preparing their clients both mentally and physically. Teach them proper breathing, proper form and guide them towards taking responsibility for their own health. Once you lay the proper groundwork it is possible to keep your verbal cues simple, positive and few in number. Let the client “get inside their own head” while you guide them to an empowering training experience. It does not help to talk about everything under the sun during training if you want to get in the Zone.

In the past I have trained athletes and soldiers with the intent of facilitating the Flow State. I can not say that my methods were based on pure Western Science but they were effective. My goal was to “break” the athletes physically and emotionally, to some extent (all safe stuff-I know you must be thinking that I am a bit cruel). I would have them push past their comfort zones physically and also try to confuse them a bit mentally. The only thing they had to do was to shut out what I was saying in my attempt to “off-balance” them mentally, and focus on the exercises and movement patterns. The results were often dramatic. Facial expressions became calm and focused. There were no complaints. Movements became smooth and flowing, and the sweat was flowing like a river.

While you will not have to get as extreme as I did you can still help your clients achieve great things with focused intent and a clear mind. Encourage them to focus on each rep for as long as they can. Often giving them a set tempo is very helpful. Instead of performing a squat quickly, use a tempo based approach, for example 313. That refers to three seconds down, one second hold and three seconds up. This will force them to focus. Choose a tempo that will suit your client and see what happens.

Experiencing the “Flow” or “Zone” can come with repeated practice or it will come like a lightening bolt landing on your head. Either way, the result is positive and worth replicating. It could mean the difference between someone exercising infrequently or making health and fitness a lifestyle.

Another War Perspective

2007-06-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

This article was written by my friend and colleague, Marty Mitchell. In a time when so many people are questioning what is going on in the middle east, with little thought about the sacrifices made by our armed forces, their professionalism, their commitment or even the opinions of our fighting men and women, I thought this was a nice article.

Recently I had the privilege of visiting Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, and the Army Ranger compound in Fort Benning, GA. In the process I met many service personnel and combatives instructors.

Having seen and heard negative media comments and views on the Iraqi and Afghanistan situations for so long, I was quite surprised at the morale of our troops. But what was really extraordinary was hearing an entirely different perspective on the progress of their mission, by those that have been there in action on many occasions.

I'm talking about the men and women on the front lines. The ones that are pulling the trigger while getting shot at. The ones that are in the face of the enemy.

My trip was strictly related to combative fitness and training. I could never have anticipated the eagerness and desire of these soldiers, men and women, to train to become a better fighting machine, and to get deployed again to finish the job.

I saw total conviction in that they are getting the job done. I heard specifics on kills, and destroy missions at terrorist breeding camps in Afghanistan and yes, in Iraq as well. I listened to their accounts of stomping out potential threats of existing and future attacks on American soil. These were totally unselfish, intelligent American soldiers talking, high on the fight for our freedom and safety.

I heard them question the role of the media that has portrayed their war as a failure. In a media circus that so obviously functions on a plane of political stance, it makes me wonder, what is truth?

I'm sure there are those serving with a completely different view than the one I am offering here. I am not speaking for the military community by any means. I'm simply saying there is another, entirely different opinion of our involvement than what we see on the six o'clock news. And I'd like to thank each and every one of our fighters, for my freedom to write about it.

Marty Mitchell

--

Lunge and Press

2007-05-23T09:14:00.001-07:00

This is a great compound movement that I use often. It will develop strength of the legs, shoulders and core, as well as balance, power and total body control. This is a movement that simulates (you will need an open mind) a punching movement and is helpful for fighters, i.e. karate competitors, boxers etc.

Go as heavy as you can so that you can accomplish your goal. If you want more strength or pure power keep the weight heavy and the reps low (3-5). If you want more power-endurance, or strength-endurance, keep the reps higher(10-15) and the weight a bit lighter.

Kettlebell Training for Beach Volleyball

2007-05-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

The following article was written by a good friend and colleague, Alex Franco, of Brazil.

I have spent an entire season around professional beach volleyball players. Because they knew that I was not just a spectator, but a strength and conditioning specialist, they would often ask me about the best ways to improve their performance.

Many of them subscribe to the notion that more is better. However, the idea of doing a greater quantity of exercises to achieve better results has been proven not be the most effective when we are dealing with athletic performance. There is one training tool that I feel is dramatically underutilized in the world of professional beach volleyball – kettlebell training.

I was amazed to find out that in all of my travels, not only were none of the players using kettlebells as part of their training program. None of them had even HEARD of kettlebells. This is a shame, because I believe that a properly applied kettlebell program is one of the best possible training tools available to the beach volleyball athlete today.

However, before jumping into any training program, proper assessment is key. One assessment that I recommend for any exercise specialist, strength and conditioning coach or personal trainer is The Functional Movement Screen, designed by Gray Cook and Lee Burton.

For those of you who are not taking advantage of this fabulous training tool, I am willing to bet that at best your athlete’s performance is not as effective as it could be. And at worst -- it may even be damaging your athlete's performance.

The FMS saves hours and hours on movement evaluation and packs them into 20 minutes of effective data collection. The screen gives the trainer all the information that he/she needs to know about how efficiently an athlete moves before they even think about putting a training program together.

The screen allows you to take a step back away form skill development in order to focus on the basics of human movement. Once these fundamental movement patterns are improved it is easier and more effective to develop more sports specific skills. Gray Cook calls it, “removing the negatives before adding the positives”.

I know from my personal experience as a coach, I have seen many accomplished athletes (even those who are competing at the highest levels) who have significant movement deviations based on either lack of stability or restricted mobility. The screen addresses these movement pathologies with corrective exercises that allow for better movement patterns

Once faulty body mechanics are improved -- there should be a notable improvement in the overall quality of movement.

As a couch, I feel very strongly about addressing these issues before taking steps towards improving the qualities needed for that particular sport, including: strength, power and speed.

If a considerable number of your athletes are spending a significant amount of time in the training room dealing with various nagging, aches and pains (unless due to a contact injury) – take a look at The Functional Movement Screen as a guideline to what may be going wrong. Your training program may actually be doing your athletes a disservice by reinforcing bad habits under increasingly intense conditions. I am a big advocate of focusing on the quality of training – not the quantity.

Once I know that all of the athlete’s basic movement patterns are solid the chances of something going wrong due to faulty body mechanics is much smaller. At this point I implement a lot of kettlebell training into my programs, because kettlebells are an effective training in the athletic performance development. I like kettlebell training for a number of reasons.

First of all, there are a wide variety of drills that can be performed with them. Secondly, they are inexpensive and take up very little space. And lastly, you don’t need to be in a facility to train your athletes. In the case of beach volleyball, you can train them right on the beach. And what better place to train your volleyball players? These athletes will get better transfer of training if they practice on the surface that they play on.

Players ask me how often they should train with the kettlebells, especially in light of the rigorous physical demands of their sport. I am a big fan of the training methodology employed by Steven Maxwell, a remarkable strength and conditioning specialist based out of Philadelphia. He once told me about the challenge he faced when training BJJ champions, Saulo and Xande Ribeiro for the brutal realities of a Jiu Jitsu or Grappling Championship.

Saulo had to fight two days back to back in two different categories. At the end of the first day, body was exhausted and he only had a few hours to rest until the next day. After that in order to provide greater specificity and transfer of training, Maxwell modified his training sessions from every other day to two days back to back, allowing the training stimulus to better match the specific to the conditions of his sport.

I think the beach volleyball community would benefit greatly by employing this same methodology. Consider that in professional volleyball, a world tour event, takes place over four to five days. During that competition the athletes will play an average of two or three times a day -- for four consecutive days. Moreover, they need to perform as efficiently on day four as they did on day one.

Therefore, it makes sense to me to give them a training stimulus that closely matches these conditions, thereby better preparing their musculoskeletal, neuromuscular and metabolic systems to these exhaustive demands.
I would categorize beach volleyball as a predominantly a power-endurance type of activity. Consider that a rally rarely lasts for a minute. Through that brief time, there is a mix of multi-planar motions, jumps, cuts, reaches, deceleration, reacceleration, absorption of impact – basically all the components of athletic performance.

One of the specific exercises that I suggest for beach volleyball athletes is the kettlebell swing. This basic ballistic drill allows the athlete to develop better ability to effectively generate and absorb kinetic energy through the body’s most powerful engine (the hips) in one single motion.

Another advantage of the swing is that it helps prepare the athlete for the more advanced kettlebell power exercises, such as: cleans, jerks and snatches. All of which are excellent, because they not only train the hips, but also the: shoulder complex, rotator cuff (more specifically the external rotators, teres minor and infraspinatus) which is so often neglected in athletic training programs.

It may sound obvious, but as strength and conditioning professionals we need to constantly revisit whether or not our training programs are as effective as possible.
Kettlebells are one powerful training tool that can help better match our programs to the true needs of the athlete during competition.

For more information on kettlebell training and Functional Movement please visit www.kettlebellbrasil.com or contact us at franco@kettlebellbrasil.com

Xande Franco

Observing the Masters

2007-05-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

I wrote this article to my newsletter subscribers in honor of my daughter's birthday. I hope you enjoy it.

I admit I have always been obsessed with the martial arts. Maybe it was the superhuman feats of strength and heroism that I saw in the movies. You know, watching Bruce Lee dispatch a few hundred bad-guys in a single scene. It was also the old myths and legends that I would regularly read about, especially the origin of various arts and their special training techniques. Animal movements always interested me. The stories of the great masters watching a cobra fight a mongoose, a crane fighting a tiger, or a praying mantis killing their dinner always made me think.

Today we can still observe natural movement and “steal” these techniques for our own training. The source may be right under your nose. I have a 3 year-old daughter(actually she just turned 4!). She has boundless energy that is incredibly strong. I have seen her do endless pull-ups on our ring set, perfect squats, wheel barrel walks on her hands and what seem to be thousands of jumps without a break. Oh, and she makes me play tag till I need oxygen.

I wanted to try her workout so, with her encouragement I jumped with her. After a few minutes I was ready for a nap, she just kept on jumping and screaming, “daddy keep jumping!” She then proceeded to do some multi-directional “ape walks”. She just keeps doing them forever. My athlete’s can’t last half that long.

One of my favorites to watch is her attempt at a handstand, which unfortunately for me was the next exercise in her “training routine”. She hasn’t completed one yet but the “trying” is great training. Try it. Perform a handstand and before completing it fall back onto your feet, this is sometimes called a “mule kick”. Do a few of those before you complain that you just can’t get to the gym!

I was very impressed by these “exercises” since I do these with my clients. Where did she learn that, I wondered? What we consider creative training toddlers do naturally. Next time you get a chance, really watch a two or three year-old play.

We can learn remarkable things about human movement potential in just a short time. Try a few of the movements for yourself; just be prepared to feel a bit inadequate. Hand walking, tag and simple jumps are all great general physical preparation techniques. They are excellent examples of fun and functional total body training.

You can tell your clients that you learned it at an expensive workshop, or that you started studying with a kung-fu master, or you can tell them the truth, that you are an astute observer of functional human movement at it’s source. Either way, have some fun. It makes the pain and the sweat more bearable.

With Gratitude,

Jeff

Interview

2007-05-15T04:40:00.000-07:00

This is a copy of an interview I did with Dan Furlong MS CSCS a few years ago. A few things have changed since it's publication. I will post the updates at the bottom of the page.

OUTtakes with this month's guest Strength & Conditioning Expert and Martial Artist Jeff Fields

Everyone is back to work or back in school, our schedules are back to being quasi-normal, so everybody’s re-dedication to better health and fitness can now officially begin!! Personal training packages will be selling like hot cakes and specially advertised offers for free weeklong memberships flood mailboxes everywhere. This is a busy time for the individual and strength & conditioning/fitness professional alike. So to get us ready for a new year of accomplishing our goals and objectives, Trinity Biomechanics caught up to Jeff Fields, an internationally known EXPERT in the field, to answer our questions and straighten us out!

Q: Jeff, tell us about your background. Not the same old resume stuff that we can pick up on your materials, but your experiences that maybe go by unmentioned, as well as your education.

A: I have had the opportunity to travel and meet so many interesting people in my life. As a result I got the chance to do more than some, I suspect. I started training in the martial arts at 7 yrs old and got my first black belt at 17. After sustaining a serious head injury while fighting, which almost killed me, I left the country and went to school in Israel. I studied Middle Eastern History and Political Science, Hebrew and Arabic. This explains why I can hardly speak English any more! Most of my friends were combat soldiers and as a result, I was exposed to that “community” early on. I was asked to train many of them in conditioning as well as martial arts/hand-to-hand combat. This was done privately and was a very rewarding experience for me. I served as a combat medic and soldier and was blessed to have undergone much of my training with some of the best warriors anywhere.

As a Strength Coach and Athletic Trainer I have been able to work with members of several national teams, including the Israeli Junior National Swim Team and members of their National Swim Team, members of the US Karate team, a US Olympic medalist, a nationally ranked fencer and several other international competitors. I also worked as a clinical athletic trainer in an orthopedic/sports medicine outpatient setting.

After returning from Israel after the Gulf War I went to the University of Florida for grad school. In 1993 I was one of 13 US Athletic Trainers selected for the World Maccabia Games (Israel) where I was responsible for the US Wrestling Team. After suffering an early mid-life crisis I went back to school again and got a post-graduate certificate in Education. I was granted a NY State Teaching certificate to teach social studies. I also worked for a time as a hypnotherapist focusing on weight loss and spent a year and a half studying Acupuncture.

I have always kept the martial arts as a focal point of my life, and integrate into my training programs whenever possible. I try to learn as much as time and schedule will allow, and have studied various arts throughout the last 30 plus years. At 44 I am still getting beat up on a semi-regular basis.

My varied experiences have shaped me and I try to integrate every part of my background into my training and coaching.

Q: How did you come by transitioning from an athletic trainer – to a strength coach – to a personal trainer – back to a strength coach?

A: You know I have always been interested in physical conditioning. I love the feeling of helping someone get real strong, powerful and agile. Even when working as a student athletic trainer I got the most satisfaction from rehabbing and reconditioning an injured athlete, getting them back on the field. Even while a student and when I worked as a clinical athletic trainer I would always be training people on the side or teaching self-defense. I never thought I could actually make a living at it. Eventually I got tired of the health care system and took the plunge. I have always considered myself a strength coach (and Certified Athletic Trainer) even if I found myself working in the “Personal Training” setting. I approach all my training in an “athletic” and “functional” manner. Nowadays I may not have a whole team in front of me but the approach is still the same. I have a feeling that sometimes the results are actually better.

Q: Jeff, how do you approach a first time client? What is that initial evaluation process like and what “tells” do you look for in their form or gait?

A: I am usually pretty conservative in the beginning. I tell my clients that I would rather they left after the first session feeling like they could have done a lot more. I can always make them “suffer” later, when they are ready.

I have been doing this for so long that I start my evaluation while I watch them walk over to me, without even realizing it. I look for postural deficits (e.g. forward head tilt, kyphosis, hyperlordosis) and movement deficits. If they can’t squat, lift their hands over their heads, or balance on one foot this has to be corrected. I have had a star basketball player who couldn’t squat or lunge without looking like he was drunk. Watching him land from a jump was painful to see. After fixing the squat and adding some strength and balance his performance skyrocketed. He got a scholarship to a major university-the fact that he was brilliant probably helped as well.

Q: So what is a typical First Session With Jeff Fields?

A: It really depends on the client. Overall I do a lot of standing, ground-based, multi-planar, core dominated movements. I start by teaching a dynamic stretching protocol (such as inchworms, twisting rear lunges, airplanes, “spidermans” etc.). I use a lot of body weight exercises (like squats, split squats, reaches), medicine ball exercises, dumbbells and resistance bands. I like to progress to heavier weights and kettlebells for most that can handle it. I try to stay away from machines whenever possible. I start out easy-usually a few sets of eight per exercise at a moderate resistance. I monitor form and want to see what kind of control they have over their bodies before I increase the intensity. Overall I keep things basic-I focus on training people for life, not aesthetics. When the intensity is adequate and the program is effective everything tends to fall into place.

Q: Identify for me three qualities of a “Next Level” strength coach / trainer. What do they do that sets them apart from the other average-every-club-has-them type of coach / trainer?

A:

* A constant quest for knowledge and desire to learn.
* A belief system based on compassion, a desire to help people and positive thinking/actions. Not just the desire to make money. Put the right energy out there and the money will come.
* One who will take action to make their dreams a reality. This could be to write a book, produce a DVD, open a gym or hold athletic development programs.

Q: You’re on the Hot Seat now… list for me some of your trainer / coach Pet Peeves. Things you see done that you cringe at or just make you shake your head and take your client as far, far away as possible.

A: I hope I don’t have too many. Here is a partial list.

1. Trainers trying too “break” a first time client to show them how much they know. I wait at least 3 sessions before I do that!

2. Trainers overstepping their bounds as far as knowledge and practice. Don’t give medical or rehabilitation advice unless you are completely qualified.

3. Bad form. While there may be many ways to perform or modify an exercise bad form is dangerous and should be corrected.

4. Trainers that think that “functional training’ means juggling medicine balls while standing on a wobble board or stability ball. Train people to lift, push and pull things while controlling their body, because that’s real life and sport.

5. Trainers who think they don’t have any more to learn. I never think I know enough.

6. A personal trainer that bases his/her business on looks and genetics, with little substance beyond that. A good coach and teacher is one that can guide the client/athlete and knows how to help them achieve their goals based on the client’s abilities, strengths and limitations. It has little to do with big muscles, although it does make a good first impression.

7. In reality I believe there are many different ways to achieve the same goal. Each one is valid as long as it can be substantiated and will not hurt the client/athlete.

Q: What are your current projects?

A: I seem to always have a lot going on, in addition to seeing in home clients, as well as “gym” clients. I recently finished filming my third DVD. That should be ready for sale relatively soon. My DVDs are all based on this concept of applying martial arts training techniques for general fitness and enhanced sport performance. It works and I have used these techniques for years.

I have also been selected, along with my colleague Jason C. Brown, to provide a Kettlebell Certification Course for the Equinox Fitness Training Institute. The first course will be a basic one, (Kettlebell Conditioning Systems Level 1 Course for Fitness Professionals) and will later be followed by more advanced courses. We will offer these courses to Equinox Personal Trainers as well as outside fitness professionals. Our first course, to be held January 7 and 8, 2006 in NYC, sold out in 10 days. We will be offering it again this February in NYC as well as Los Angeles and Chicago in March. I also offer a kettlebell fitness program (“KettleBell Kaos”) for members at the Equinox Fitness Club in Scarsdale NY.

I will also be developing courses/workshops based on Martial Arts Conditioning techniques similar to the one you saw last September in Stamford, Connecticut at Ryan Lee’s Bootcamp (my “Warrior Secrets” series). These will also be initially offered through the Equinox Fitness training Institute.

I have recently been approached by a colleague to develop “sports conditioning and functional training” workshops in Brazil for coaches, personal trainers and athletes. That would be exciting for me because, despite the fact that there are remarkably talented athletes in Brazil, their training techniques are not always “up to date’ by our standards. I also have family there and have always wanted to visit. A dream would also be to hold seminars in Israel where I lived for several years.

Lastly, but most important, is that I hope to be revising my website to offer other products for sale as well as affiliate programs.

Q: What goals have you set for yourself for once you complete them?

A: I would like to sleep more and not get up at 4 am for a while. Going on vacation with my wife and daughter would be nice also. Unfortunately I have a feeling that I will be busy developing other products and workshops.

Q: Jeff, with all the latest trendy type of programming and assortment of exercise equipment on the market these days, what do you see as modalities or instruments that have proven to withstand the test of time and are usually a staple for success in your programming?

A: Really the things that withstand the test of time for me are the basic things: Barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine balls and bodyweight training. Those are the tools that work for me. Other “functional training” tools like wobble boards and stability balls definitely have a place in my programming, as do resistance bands. I use them frequently. While I think weight machines have been the downfall of real strength training and athletic conditioning they will always have a place in someone’s program. Some of the newer cable-type systems are pretty interesting but I’d rather have a set of Dumbbells, kettlebells, a sandbag, my body, some focus mitts and kicking shields. I can develop a pretty serious program with those low-tech tools.

Q: Do you have any New Year’s resolutions?

A: Be a better husband, father, son, brother and friend. I would like to train more (conditioning and martial arts), and be more successful in my business so that I can have more time for my family. Oh yeah, and to eat less chocolate. Maybe if I train more I can revise that one.

Q: Where can people find you?

A: People can find me though my website, www.StrongtotheCore.com. Hopefully you will always know where I am, so they can ask you also.

Q: And finally, how old is your daughter now and what was the first exercise you taught her?

A: My daughter, Sydney, is 2 ½ years old. Seriously she is incredibly strong, like my wife. I used to show her martial arts movements when she was an infant. That used to crack her up. Maybe it was just laughing at me? Before she was one she could do a full chin-up over a table. We have rings for her downstairs and she can swing in a full “L-sit’ with no problem. I try to exercise with her when ever possible even if that means just jumping and running around the house for what seems to be hours. We also do a bit of grappling. I can still beat her, best two out of three falls, but that is getting harder too do. As soon as she is old enough I will teach her self-defense, a general appreciation for strength and fitness and how to swing a kettlebell.

Jeff, thanks for taking the time to chat and I am sure that 2006 holds great success for you both professionally and personally!

Updates:
I now longer teach for equinox Fitness. I am currently revamping and updating my Kettlebell Certification Course to be offered to fitness professionals, strength coaches and Certified Athletic Trainers around the country.

My daughter is now 4 years old (time flies!) and we have another child.

I have a new business/facility located in Westchester County New York. We provide superior training services that combine cutting-edge functional training and "old school", "raw" training methods.

I have a new website (www.real-strength-training.com) and blog (which you are reading right now!)I was unable to post updates in a timely fashion which I feel is a disservice to my clients. I came to the realization that depending on a webmaster is not always the best thing.I now took control over the new site, which is a constant work in progress. I hired Allen Hill (www. fitnesswebsitedesign.com) as a computer coach which is unbelievably helpful.

I was honored to be a presenter at Ryan Lee's Second Bootcamp. The fitness professionals in attendance seemed to enjoy my newer presentation again.

I still eat too much chocolate!

Thanks for your interest.

Jeff

Jeff@StrongtotheCore.com

550 Reps of Fun

2007-05-09T12:46:00.000-07:00

I have have been adding a lot of "work capacity" training routines to my clients' training. Many of these workouts are "cross-fit style", workouts for those that are familiar with that group.

Perform 50 reps for each exercise, break up the reps any way you choose. Do all exercises in succession until 50 reps are completed. Time the workout. The faster the time the better the "score". We repeat this type of workout at a later date to compare the scores.

KB Swings (single arm)
Band Rows
KB Cleans
Clapping Push-ups
Lunges
KB Presses(single arm)
"Evil Wheel" Roll Outs from knees

You can substitute a dumbbell for a kettlebell, but I like using a kettlebell better.

This will develop incredible strength-endurance and power-endurance. As you are able to complete the routinme faster you will notice that you are in better shape.

Compete against a friend. It's fun and effective training.

Training the Competitive Youth Fencer

2007-04-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

This article will present an overview of the training methods I have used, and am currently using, with an elite youth fencer. Fencing is a sport that draws has roots from medieval European swordsmanship. Divided into three weapons; foil, epee and sabre, each weapon has distinct rules of engagement. Foil is probably the most well known weapon and is the category that my fencers have always competed in. Needless to say I personally would not make many changes in my training approach to the other weapons regardless of the differences.

I first trained cadet (youth) fencers while living oversees in Israel, and quickly developed deep respect for their sport and fitness levels. My passion is the martial arts, any martial art. Regardless of origin, universal rules of combat apply: hit the opponent before he hits you. All martial arts systems have to be effective as a means of armed or unarmed combat; they must be “functional” in the true sense of the word. Like other martial arts/combative sports, fencing is steeped in tradition. This is also true of the conditioning methods traditionally employed by fencers. Generally fencers practice blade work, footwork and general conditioning. When I first started to train fencers about 15 years ago the teams I worked with did not do any real resistance training other than using an old Universal machine. They did not use additional resistance to perform lunges, and never performed lunges with their non-dominant (non-blade) side. They never tried a push press or jerk. Interestingly enough their head coach was a two time Olympian. This all changed when I got there. The result was that at the next European championship, about four months later, the Europeans complained that my fencers were too strong to be only 16! The funny thing is that all I did was apply the same approach that any strength coach would use with any other sport.

I currently train a 16 year-old fencer that recently made the Canadian National team and is headed for the World Championships in April of this year. The same is true for him. Team conditioning usually consists of endless single side lunges, plyometrics, static stretching, and recommendations for some general aerobic work done on his own time. The coaches administer all the conditioning and, while they are incredible fencing coaches, as well as fencers, they often do not expose their athletes to current sports conditioning techniques. My approach, again, is “non-traditional” for the world of fencing. As anyone who knows me will say that that is “normal” for me.

Fencing is a sport that requires great strength, power and muscular endurance. It is an “anaerobic” sport that requires the athlete to train for many explosive bursts of action while maintaining a sense of finesse and a clear head. It is hard to say how long the average fencing bout is, since it can be over in two minutes or ten. For this reason I use a wide variety of stimuli to challenge his system and get the most out of our training sessions without risking injury or overtraining in his already hectic schedule. I train this athlete in his home and, while he owns a good quality home exercise gym, I have never touched it. Instead I focus primarily on bodyweight exercises, dumbbells, medicine balls, resistance bands, kettlebells and sandbags (and the occasional sledgehammer).

Warm-Up

His general pre-workout routine consists of self-myofascial release on the foam roller for about five minutes, and dynamic stretching with exercises like inchworms, “spidermen”, lateral lunge stretches, standing quad stretches and “airplanes”(single leg standing ham stretches) etc. These techniques have become mainstream in the world of sports conditioning. In my opinion this type of pre-workout routine is crucial to enhance overall performance.

Agility

Agility work generally follows his warm-up. I use a variety of agility and change of direction techniques, some of which are uncommon for most athletes. He regularly uses the agility ladder and fitness rings, which help him with his footwork. In addition, I try to push him outside his comfort zone with regards to footwork drill. Since fencers still have to “drive” with the rear leg to execute a lunge and forward thrust we use a variety of band exercises to develop the glut/hip complex and proper mechanics. One exercise is to place a thick band at his knees and have him push laterally in the direction he needs to go, basically a side push-off. In other words if he is moving towards the right he will focus on pushing in that direction using his left foot. This exercise is fairly common for most strength coaches nowadays. Since he is notoriously imbalance because of the demands of his sport I have always have him work bilaterally. He will drive with his left and right legs even though this is not what he is accustomed to. I also use several martial arts based footwork patterns coupled with small resistance bands to develop quick direction changes and “power-endurance”. These techniques include forward and reverse “triangle” steps and “star” patterns. We do these techniques for his lower and upper extremities and they have proved themselves to be very effective conditioning exercises. (For a more in depth explanation check out my article in Sportspecific.com or my “Martial Arts Agility” DVD.)

Strength

Our sessions focus on the total body so that I can integrate leg, core and upper extremity training in a single training session, and often in a single exercise. Over the last several months I have focused on kettlebell and sandbag training, which has developed greater overall core strength and power-endurance. High rep kettlebell swings and sandbag lunges are usually effective ways to get his heart rate up as well. I wholeheartedly recommend kettlebell and sandbag training for any athlete that requires power-endurance or strength-endurance in his or her sport.

One of the areas often neglected in fencing conditioning is grip strength. Often after a grueling tournament a fencer’s grip and forearm musculature become very fatigued and it is difficult to maintain good blade control. With this in mind I have used small 4 lb. sledgehammers to train his grip and shoulder strength. I incorporate many movements traditional to various martial arts, as well as Indian Club swinging. These movements are both circular and linear in nature and are performed slowly with constant tension throughout the body. Kettlebell and sandbag training has been a tremendous help in developing a superior grip as well.

The following are sample workouts that I have used. Our training sessions vary. I use straight sets, “supersets”, “tri-sets” and circuits. As stated earlier my focus is on overall power-endurance and agility, increasing core strength, leg strength, upper extremity strength as well as functional flexibility. In addition, I must balance the large volume of lunges and multiple tournaments he must undergo on a regular basis in order to maximize results and avoid overtraining. Our training sessions last one hour including warm-up and a cool down/passive stretch.

Sample Workout

Dynamic Stretch: 10 minutes.

Forward triangle steps with small resistance band: 1 x 10 each direction

Star Pattern with small band: 1 x 10

Agility Ladder: 3x each pattern, half ladder: approx 10 minutes
Forward “quick-step”
Lateral “quick-step”
Quick shuffle
Shuffle wide with a “stick”
“Jumping Jacks”
“Hop Scotch”

Perform each Medicine Ball exercise in succession then rest. Perform twice.
MB Swings x 15
MB Trunk Twists x 20
MB Squat while pushing MB out at chest level x 10

DB Swing: 3 x 15

Forward Lunge with contralateral dumbbell press: 2 x 10 each leg

Resistance Band Standing Rows: 2 x 15

Resistance Band Standing Chest Press: 2 x 12

Single Leg Squat to Bench: 4 x 4

Jackknife on Stability Ball: 2 x 15

Hamstring Curl on Stability Ball: 2 x 15

Medicine Ball Russian Twist: 2 x 20

Passive stretch

Sample Workout For Strength and Power Endurance

This is a very challenging circuit. We are preparing for the World championships and will need to increase the power-endurance component. He also recently returned from a “camp” in France. Just prior to the trip he sprained his ankle and was wearing a brace when I saw him. This session was intended to stress his total body without aggravating his ankle; therefore there were no single leg exercises in this program.

Sample Circuit

Warm-up

Dynamic stretching
X-Walks with ½ inch super band
Lateral band walks
KB Slingshots-20 reps

The Circuit

1 minute stations, exercise to fatigue, switch stations at the 1 minute signal
4 passes
Front carry Ketttlebell Squat (hold KB by the "horns")
KB Swings
MB Slams
MB Push-ups (roll the ball after each push-up)
Band rows
"Evil Wheel" (for some reason he loves this exercise)

Stretch

Most conditioning professionals will see similarities between the workouts that I have presented here and ones they may have used for other athletes. Most “power based” sports can use a similar functional training approach. I have been fortunate to have a great deal of success combining modern concepts in functional sports conditioning with more “warrior based’ techniques taken from various martial arts traditions. For those conditioning professionals that find themselves training fencers for the first time I suggest that you become familiar with the general and specific movement patterns as well as the bioenergetics needs of the sport. Once you have done this you can easily adapt and apply the training principals that already work for you. Fencers are great athletes that will only get better once they are exposed to effective strength and conditioning methods on a consistent basis.

Could Tag Be The Greatest Game Ever Invented?

2007-04-29T19:26:00.000-07:00

The following article was written by a colleague and friend, Mr. Lee Taft. For those of you that do not know the name, Lee Taft is one of the best teachers in the field of speed and agility development. He is a pleasure to listen to and you will always walk away with useful information that you can put to the test immediately.

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When we are talking about kids, tag may just be the greatest game ever invented. OK OK, after you stop laughing let me explain. What elements or components are involved in a game of tag, just remember there are literally hundreds of different tag games. There is linear speed, lateral speed, angular take offs, moving backwards, avoidance skills, cutting, change of direction, faking skills, breaking down skills, reaching skills, body control skills, balance, flexibility, coordination, raising and lowering of the center of mass, setting up opponents, strategies, team work, I know I am missing some others-think, think, think- oh well, you get the idea. Basically tag will force you to reach deep into the movement bag of tricks you body has stored, or better yet, not stored and force you to use it or learn it.

If we as trainers, coaches, parents, and teachers are smart we will use the game tag to develop and help along the development of certain biomotor abilities during the sensitive developmental stages in children. For example; coordination can be developed in the game of tag by forcing the youngsters doing the tagging to only tag with his or her left hand. This, at times, will force the child to reach across the body while stepping with the same side foot as the opponent is avoiding being tagged. Just having a child, between the ages 6 and 9, attempting to tag with their non-dominant hand with force coordination to be developed.

The great thing about the game of tag is the flexibility you have as a coach to emphasis certain components of athleticism. For example; if you want to play tag with an older group of athletes (ages 14-16), you can emphasis teamwork and strategies; you may want to focus on linear acceleration or the ability to breakdown under control.

There is so much versatility with tag games in terms of how you organize the games. For example; if you want to emphasis individual athletic moves, the game can be played one on one as in box tag. If the goal of the coach is to teach young children (ages 7-9) how to work together to keep teammates in the game, a game of prisoner tag is perfect. If you know what your goal is or what “sensitive learning period” the youngsters are in, you can match the tag game to meet the demands.

Let me give you a small list of tag games I like to use in different situations. Keep in mind this is a small list of the many possibilities.

1. Box tag- This is a great game for teaching more advanced athlete how to make offensive moves and conversely how to counter offensive moves. The art of breaking down and reacting to the opponents moves. Simply use a large box, half of a volleyball court is ideal. Form two lines on opposite corners of the box. Name one line the “taggers” and the other line the “avoiders”. I like to use a stop watch and time how long the avoider can stay in the box before being tagged. The players will immediately go to the opposite line after their turn.

2. Knee tag- This game is great for teaching athletes to stay in an athletic stance while they move. They must be able to move in all directions from this stance. This game is also great for teaching awareness and recognition of the positions of other athletes. To play this game all players are “it”. The goal is to tag one of the other players at the level of the knees. If tagged, the player must go outside a pre-determined boundary and perform one push up and enter back into the game. All players in the game must be aware of the players coming back in. They will tag from behind if unaware of them. All players can use their hands to block an attempted tag. This teaches great hand eye coordination and timing.

3. Get up Tag- If you truly want to improve acceleration of young athletes this game is a must. It is fun and challenges the athletes not to get tagged from behind. Simply ask the athletes to get a partner. The first partner will get around 2 to 4 yards (you need to play with the distance) in front. The lead athlete will be asked to get into different positions (crab stance, push up position, lying supine or prone…) while the back athlete will always stand in either a parallel athletic stance or staggered stance. The back athlete will chase the lead athlete under varying signals. The signal could be a “Go” command or whistle from the coach to use an auditory command. The signal could also be the lead athlete taking off when they are ready, this is a visual command.

4. Kick the Can Tag- This is a great game to teach teamwork and strategy for young and old athletes. Athletes will learn how to accelerate, dodge, change directions, use awareness, and breakdown. In this game two teams are formed. One team is chosen to protect the can and capture all the opponents. The other team is to kick the can before any teammates are captured to win the game or kick the can to free captured teammates. This game needs to be played on a large field. There needs to be large center circle, as is the case in soccer, in the center of the field. The can gets placed in the center of the circle. Only the person chosen to guard the can be in the circle on the tagging team. The boundaries should be set large enough to allow the offensive team to run and spread the tagging team out. If a player gets tagged they will be placed in a designated jail. The only way a player gets out of jail is if the can is kicked by another offensive player. If all the players are tagged the game is over. If the offensive team kicks the can before any player is in jail the game is over.

I hope you enjoy these tag games and use many more. Tag is a great way to teach many skills and to motivate your athletes. Tag can be played with just about any age and ability level. Have fun!

Lee Taft
www.sportsspeedetc.com

Martial Arts Footwork for Enhanced Mobility on the Playing Field

2007-04-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

Agility can be defined as the ability to move in different directions quickly and efficiently. It is an essential quality possessed by today’s best athletes. Long before football or basketball were popular sports ancient warriors from varied cultures developed drills to improve the agility of their fighters. If an athlete stumbles he/she may lose a game.

Agility for warriors of the ancient Philippines, China, Japan or the Americas could mean the difference between being maimed, killed or going home to their families in one piece. It would make sense to introduce some of these battle-proven drills to the modern day warriors of the sports world. This is not to say that today’s strength and skills coaches are doing anything wrong. In fact through modern training methods, proper nutrition and better medical care today’s athletes are stronger and faster than they were fifty years ago.

My contention is that by providing additional methods not easily accessible to many coaches the athlete will benefit both physically by the “cross-training” and mentally by the break in his/her everyday routine. Martial arts are, by nature, multi-directional, multi-jointed, core dominated and require a finely tuned sense of balance. Martial artists kick, punch, grapple, use weapons and fight. Combat is chaotic and to survive in that arena one must possess all the qualities of mainstream athletes. For years I have trained athletes using martial arts concepts and martial artists using modern conditioning principles. The results have always been favorable. The trick is to know what techniques and concepts are most applicable.

I have successfully used many of these drills in training football, basketball and baseball players. The first time I taught these footwork drills to football players I could see a light going off in their heads, all they could say was that these drills would be great for defensive backs, wide receivers and even linebackers. In addition to their surprise, they had a fun time performing them. These drills will improve lateral movement, quick direction changes and balance.

The following sampling of drills draws heavily from the Phillipine martial arts. Philippine arts are often weapons-based so it is easy to imagine that they take their footwork seriously. Being agile and mobile ensures that the warriors don’t accidentally lose any limbs. The goal is to teach the fighter to quickly change directions but be able to attack and counterattack. Give these a try and watch your lateral movement and overall agility improve. If you really want to get serious about enhancing your overall agility, balance and core strength try actually studying one of the many martial arts styles. I feel that any martial art that matches your body type and goals is a great cross-training method that will enhance your overall performance, whether that is karate, kung fu, jujitsu or Thai boxing. Fillipino stick and knife sparring greatly adds to one’s agility, hand and wrist strength, eye to hand coordination and balance. You would be amazed at how focused, and winded, you can become when you are fighting with a stick at full speed.

"Make it More Fun"

To add to the drill’s difficulty try holding a medicine ball, dumbbells, wearing a weighted vest, or placing resistance bands around your ankles or waist. I have found that placing a small rubber band around the ankles greatly adds to the difficulty and effectiveness of these drills. I have had football players tells me that their hips and legs got a tremendous workout and they were able to move with greater ease as a result. To really challenge your athletes perform these drills as part of an obstacle course or circuit.

Skip up, skip back (forward and backwards shuffle)

Start by standing naturally with your left foot forward. Quickly move your right foot up to your left and step forward with your left. Immediately reverse direction by bringing your left foot back to your right and stepping back with your right. Shuffling two or more times forward and two or more times back can modify this drill. It is important to shift your body weight forward and back, do not simple stick your foot forward or back.

Lateral Shuffle

- Stand with your feet apart in a natural stance. Bring your left foot to your right foot and smoothly step out with your right. Quickly reverse the step replacing your left with your right. Stay low and don’t allow your head to bob up and down.

Broken Triangles

Forward Broken Triangle*

- Stand with feet together. Imagine that you are standing at the apex of an upside down triangle without a base. Step out with your left foot at a 45° angle, keeping the right foot in place. Bring your foot back and quickly step out with the right foot on a 45° angle. Repeat the steps. Make sure to replace one foot with the other; do not simply place the left next to the right. Increase the difficulty by performing a lunge with each forward step. Remember to shift your bodyweight forward then back.

Reverse Broken Triangle

- The forward version utilizes the same concept introduced with the reverse broken triangle accept now you are stepping back on a 45° angle. Make sure to bend the back knee and lean the torso back slightly with each step. Here you are evading a blow.

Star-Footwork

- This step is actually a combination of broken triangles and a side shuffle. The pattern resembles a star/asterisk. From the center of the “star” step out 45° to the left, step back then quickly step out 45° with the right. Quickly step back with the right and then step laterally with the left. Quickly shuffle over to the right. Bring the right foot back to the center and then quickly step back on a 45° angle with the left. Step back up with the left then step back on a 45° angle with the right.

Triangles

Forward Triangle

- Imagine that you are standing at the left corner of an equilateral triangle (and you thought high school geometry wouldn’t come in handy later in life). Start with your feet together and step up on a 45-defgree angle with your right foot. Bring your left foot up to your right and quickly place it where your right foot is. Quickly bring your right foot back on a 45-degree angle to the lower right corner of the triangle. Bring your left foot to your right and then step out to your left touching the lower left corner. Bring the right foot to you left (your starting position) and begin the drill again. This can be done in the reverse direction by starting at the lower right corner of the triangle. Make sure not to have both feet on the ground at the same time except in the very beginning of the drill.

Take the time to master these simple drills and you will reap the rewards.

If you are interested in seeing these and more drills in greater details then take a look at my DVD “Martial Arts Agility”. You will see these drills and more demonstrated in an easy to understand format. For those skeptics I had a friend of mine, Robert Sedlor CSCS, perform the drills with a MEDIUM strength resistance band. All I can say is that Bobby is a very, very strong man, an ex-college football player, strength coach, and personal trainer and is currently studying for his Chiropractic degree. The pain and sweat on his face is no act. Try it for yourself…if you dare.

Dan Furlong Q and A

2007-04-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

The following is from my newsletter that you can subscribe to at www.real-strength-training.com

Strong to the Core Newsletter Q and A

The following newsletter series will focus on innovative strength coaches that you should know about. I feel very fortunate to have met them. This issue will feature Dan Furlong MS CSCS. Dan is a conditioning coach currently based in Brewster, New York.

Dan, we have known each other for several years now. I have always considered you to be one of the most talented, and thorough, conditioning coaches around. I remember watching you teach an “Athletic Development” program and being impressed not only with your breadth of knowledge but by the fact that your athletes were working hard and having a great time doing so. I was laughing most of the time myself. Would you share some of your thoughts with our readers?

A. First off, I want to thank you for the generous introduction. So that your readers understand what an “Athletic Development” program entails, it’s not just a speed and agility clinic, or a weight training class (actually we have yet to approach the weight room). We build upon all the underlying components of athleticism. Speed and agility but also power, balance, coordination, ambidexterity, strength, the whole package. It would not be a stretch of the imagination to attend a class and see a group of athletes learning how to juggle for improved hand/eye coordination. I just try to make it fun while connecting with the athletes.

Q. Dan, tell us a little about your background.

A. I have a Bachelors degree from St. John’s University and a Masters from the University of Connecticut. But I wouldn’t have time to list all the people that inspired me in different disciplines along the way. I’ve taken the eclectic route. I started out going towards athletic training. I worked in the training room at St. John’s, with the NY Knicks, at UCONN and even was a tour trainer with the United States Tennis Association (USTA). But my second season with the Knicks I really connected with our Strength & Conditioning Coach, and eventually ended up switching my Masters program to Sports Biomechanics. I had left the field for a short time for full time Children’s Ministry and Youth Ministry and coming back into it I was fortunate to be hired in the Scarsdale Equinox. That club had an all-star caliber line-up of personal trainers, strength coaches, athletic trainers and physical therapists. I spent about two and a half or three years there training along side of you and some other really knowledgeable professionals that it felt like another Masters program! I then ended up back in the NBA as an Assistant Strength Coach under Greg Brittenham with the NY Knicks for another two and a half years and now I’m out on my own.

Q. How did you get started in the fitness/conditioning field?

A. Its all because I got hurt lifting (incorrectly) in the gym and tore my rotator cuff. The doctor I went to see was (and still is) a chiropractor who had a Masters in Exercise Physiology as well. Dr. Steve Brown. His demeanor, professionalism, knowledge, the whole package, was inspiring. I knew I didn’t want chiropractics, but that’s when I learned about athletic training. Eventually, I just felt that I was a better strength coach than a trainer so I stayed with this.

Q. What is your personal philosophy with regards to sports conditioning and general fitness?

A. Really, what I’ve found, is if you get your client moving and moving correctly, while working on gaining their trust, eventually you will come to a place where your steadfastness in wanting them to achieve more for themselves will inspire them. If your forty years old, but can’t play with your young kids because you just can’t, your body has lost the ability to “play”, there’s a problem. So I just start with a goal close to home, and we just keep adding incentives. Next thing you know, your client is running a half-marathon. What does that say about my philosophy? Mobility with strength for an improved quality of life, I guess.

Q. Does your strong commitment to your spiritual beliefs and your experience as a youth minister influence your teaching approach when working with young athletes (or vice versa)?

A. I think my relationship with God is the basis for my commitment to all my clients really. If He could be patient with me, I should be able to handle anyone. But when it comes to young athletes, it’s hard for me to discern what really helps me connect with them outside of a genuine enjoyment of wanting to help them tap into their potential. Which, obviously, is what I hoped to do when I was a youth or children’s pastor. They invest money, effort, and sweat, so I look at it as I’m now responsible to invest my efforts and knowledge in them.

Q. What would an initial session with you look like assuming you are working with an athlete?

A. My preference would be to get them on a field or turf, warm them up my way, then see how they run and check their balance. I’ve made up a test where they sprint 20 or 30 yards and I time them and count their steps. We do that twice. Then we get into breaking down running form and spend time opening up their stride length. Generally, you can knock off anywhere from 1-2 steps and more than half a second after just working with them an hour. If we were talking strength training, I’m just like anyone else. I have a certain routine I like to take them through to see how they move, how they manipulate the weight or their body, learn a little about their strength levels, watch their coordination, etc. But, with athletes, I like to get out on turf first and see what we can work with.

Q. What would a session look like with that same athlete one month later?

A. A lot cleaner. We go through drills a lot faster. I don’t talk as much except to say, “PERFECT!” “EXACTLY!” I tend to get more excited than my athletes when it goes right. In the beginning there is so much teaching involved. And sometimes, even a month later, their form may not be DVD ready, but it has improved so much from when they first started that you feel like, “okay, we can get started now.” From there small adjustments are made each and every time.

Q. What projects are you working on currently?

A. Too many, but I guess that’s good. Building a website for the other company I am involved in with my former boss, NY Knicks Strength & Conditioning Coach Greg Brittenham. It’s called Academy For Human Performance. Also, we are revamping a book/manual DVD series he had previously out on the market called Complete Conditioning For Basketball. Then a solo project of my own, a manual/DVD set called Going Mobile, which is pretty much what I do to take my clients to my “Base Camp” so to speak. Here’s what we need to achieve so we can get going.

Q. Where do you see yourself five years from now?

A. I think training less people, but mentoring other coaches. Still teaching Total Athlete, though. I can’t give that up. Probably back in ministry in some capacity. Why? Where do you see me in five years? It sounds and rings familiar, but I want more time for my family. My wife Lisa and my now 1 year old son Dan, The Sequel, and I have so much fun together and I greedily want more of it. Maybe even venture out over the Tappan Zee Bridge to visit a friend of mine and actually meet his wife and daughter.

Q. Dan, how can our readers contact you?

A. I’m just a mouse click away. I have a contact page on my website www.TrinityBiomechanics.com and soon to be up and running on
www.academyforhumanperformance.com.

Fun with Squat Thrusts and Kettlebells

2007-04-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

Check out this intense but strangely fun (in a sado-masochistic way) workout.

Don't forget to do a proper dynamic warm-up prior to starting. It's also a good idea to perform some core exercises and any other movements that you want to start with.

Time the workout

Try 3 passes of these "supersets"

Equipment: Kettlebell and your body.

Squat Thrust to Swing x 15

Squat Thrust to High Pull x 15

Squat Thrust to Clean and Press x 15 (each arm)

Most of my clients did each exercise with each hand. Drop the intensity down by doing the first 2 exercises with 2 hands. Raise the intensity back up by changing the press to a "lunge and press".

Have Fun.Stay Strong.

JF

War Against the Machines

2007-04-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

Functional Training advocates tend to shy away from training with machines. Whether you agree with that approach or not the topic deserves a look. The following article is by John Grady, a Functional Training and Performance Enhancement Specialist currently living in the Netherlands. About two years ago he e-mailed me and I checked out his website. He definitely seems to get the whole functional training paradigm.I hope you enjoy his article as much as I did.

The War Against The Machines – The Revolution will not be televised.

By John Grady

Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Just like a feature film. In a way there is sort of an ongoing war in the fitness/strength and conditioning industry; an untelevised war, fitness machines versus free weights. What’s better, what's safer? It's sort of parting the industry like Moses parted the red sea. On every issue there are pros and cons. So what's my take on this?

Those who know me know where I stand on this issue. I'm a born iron-head, and I’ve been lifting weights for as long as I can remember. While not being totally hard-core, I do love the feel of steel. Machines can give you a nice pump, but from a psychological and physical standpoint they just didn’t do it for me anymore. Basically, I became bored. I needed something different. Machine work just wasn’t challenging enough me anymore. So I would have to say; for sheer overall strength and power I have to go with free weights to get results - hands down (as long as you know what you're doing). Safety is always number one in my book. And if you train responsibly (using proper form and a reasonable load) weight training is very safe. Just respect yourself and the weights you’re using and you should be fine.

As far as function is concerned: that's so multifaceted. Leading fitness manufacturers would like to lead you to believe that their seated exercise machines are functional. I’ve even seen some marketing material from some top equipment manufacturers depicting professional athletes training on their so-called “new line”, using the seated leg extension, chest press, etc. Is that blasphemy or what? Then I would have to ask myself is this functional? If the answer is yes, then functional for whom? What I do know is that at least 90% of all sports are played in a standing position – except rowing, kayaking and wheelchair basketball to name a few.

When you use the typical machines found in most gyms or "life-style centers" you put your body in a position that doesn't even closely resemble how your body functions or operates (like Carlos Santana has said, it's like fitting your body with a cheap suit. It doesn't fit very well.) It's difficult to find a machine that perfectly fits over 700 muscles and 206 bones!

But for certain populations they probably are useful in very limited doses. I repeat – very limited doses, for example, for people with very little training experience (fitness novice) who is new to weight training, can’t control their own body weight and doesn’t like to perform bodyweight exercises, this might be a solution. And for the bodybuilder, whose primary purpose is to load a muscle group with a freakish amount of volume to increase muscle size. Trying to so-called pump and "isolate" a muscle group - which we all know is impossible and isn't a testament of true strength – but don’t try to tell them that! Useless strength is what it is (but no problem if that's their goal). These two groups are basically concerned about their appearance, not performance.

I still laugh to this day, because I was also sold on the same B.S. when I first started weight training. Hell, all I had for reference were all those muscle magazines (...no offence Joe Weider, but you know it's B.S.!) I had nothing but chronic injuries while trying to strength train. Performing pure bodybuilding routines (which I thought was true strength training back in the day) and play high level basketball at the same time. The two just don’t just don’t mix. Show muscle is not the same as performance muscle. But since I’ve become more involved with athletic performance, I’ve managed to eventually see the light.

There isn't a day that doesn't go by where I catch a client squirming in his seat (compensating) trying to push 80 to 100kg on the chest press or a behind the neck press on the Smith machine, and so on. I literally see the beginning of the end! These people just don't know what they're doing to themselves! And talking reason into them is like talking to a...a... Smith machine! We all know the types, with the unshakable, dogmatic mindset (almost cult like), that is not founded on fact or any functional or scientific principle...just gym science. They see Arnold and Coleman doing the latest muscle max routine using particular pieces of equipment, and they no doubt think that if it worked for Arnold and Ronnie Coleman, then it will work for me. - But anyway…

Bodies are meant to move three dimensionally through space (which is what free weight training allows). Muscles contracting, balancing and stabilizing and all three planes of motion (frontal, sagittal and transverse).The interplay of all these factors is what determines and creates human movement. Lack of this interplay is what causes injury. When you take a way the body's mobility to balance or stabilize, (which is exactly what machine training does) you've got a problem. You decrease the body's ability to protect itself during those dynamic, but rehearsed movements that we all encounter during a sporting event or while performing everyday activities.

Maybe you may not realize it at that very moment, but eventually it will come back to haunt you. Machine training causes movement pattern overload, placing unnecessary stress on your joints, tendons and ligaments; creating back, shoulder, and knee injuries of all sorts. For example while using the seated chest press; your transverse abdominus (part of your core musculature) which initiates all movement is basically asleep; while unnecessary loads are being placed on your wrists, shoulders and elbows, because you are forced to train in a certain movement pattern.

I'm not going to give machines a total thumbs down. They have their place in a training program... somewhere, in a rehab setting for example. Sometimes you have to try to isolate a muscle to improve its function, and then integrate later. But it seems that something has gotten lost in the way we prepare our bodies for sport/athletic movement. Somewhere between physical therapy and bodybuilding something has gotten misplaced. Ironic isn't it; the same machines physical therapists use to rehab an athlete are the very same ones that create most of the problems in the first place! I think we all have to make sure we give everything it’s proper place and know when enough is enough (e.g. too much volume, too much so-called isolation).

Like I said, maybe machines have their place in a program somewhere. But you'll never find them in any of mine. A good cable/pulley system is all I need (the Keizer functional trainer and Ground-Zero are good examples). I can’t imagine a coach or trainer telling me – with a smile on his face that their weight room injury rate is zero, is something to be proud of! - While half the team is on the injured list and their overall athletic performance sucks! I'm not an advocate of the sport safety for weight room safety trade-off -sorry. I can't count how many bodybuilders and athletes that have fallen to machine related injuries, myself included! Just out of pure ignorance. That’s a shame, because they're so easy to avoid.

So you have my answer. Machines use them sparingly and at your own risk. Free weights- you can't beat the carryover (e.g. balance and stabilization components), which is needed in every sport. Then there's also the creativity factor. The possibilities are endless. You can basically train your entire body with one or two sets of dumbbells, and build a nice one at that, (for those interested in only aesthetics) for a fraction of the cost of one of those multi-systems (you know the ones, with the chest press/ leg extension/ lat-Pulldown /leg-curl/ ETC, Etc, etc.) Name one piece of equipment where you can do so much with so little.

Free weights are definitely better.

Train intelligently, and remember – it’s about quality, not quantity.

John Grady

Specialist in Sports Conditioning

www.training-for-athletes.com

Medicine Ball Training for Throwers

2007-04-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

Check out this article from Mike Boyle,one of the best strength coaches around. He's also a nice guy that has taught me a lot.

Power development for throwers is often limited to Olympic lifting and plyometric drills. In recent years medicine ball training has made a comeback to become an integral part of training for any athlete interested in power development. The development of a wide range of both elastic and no-elastic medicine balls has re-popularized a long lost technique. For throwers the opportunity to develop rotational power is the primary benefit of medicine ball training. With both plyometrics and Olympic lifting, power development is uni-planar with no trunk focus. Medicine balls can be a tool like Olympic lifting and plyometrics for the trunk musculature. I often tell our athletes and coaches to think of medicine ball training as Olympic lifting for the core. The medicine ball as a tool for power development is unparalleled. No other training mode provides the specific strength and power potential of the medicine ball. Rotational medicine ball throws are the key to developing torso power for athletes involved in the throws. The new rubber medicine balls combined with a masonry wall are excellent for these applications due to the elasticity of the ball.

For overhead athletes like the javelin thrower the medicine ball provides great eccentric training for the rotator cuff while developing power in the core muscles. In addition for all throwers total body power can be developed through total body throws with heavy balls. Total body throws should be done in a large open area and are great to simulate the actions of the Olympic lifts. Total body throws are particularly useful for coaches who do not feel comfortable teaching Olympic lifts. Balls like the Dynamax Ball and the D-Balls are excellent for these applications as they do not bounce. The Dynamax balls are also great for exercises like Medicine ball bench presses. Medicine ball bench presses are excellent for upper body power for larger athletes since they do not stress the rotator cuff and shoulder like plyometric pushups and other bodyweight upper body plyometrics. The Dynamax ball can also be caught with minimal stresses on the wrists due to its soft feel.

The limit to the Medicine Ball is the limit of the coaches’ imagination.

For rotational throws it is best to find an area with a masonry wall. In rotational throws the athlete can throw as hard as possible against the wall with balls in the 4-5 kilo range to develop true power in the core and hips. Excellent imitative drills for throwers can be developed once the athlete masters the basics.

Rotation Progression:
The rotational progression begins with the athlete on both knees in what is called a “tall kneeling” position.

Tall kneeling is a position with the athlete kneeling and the hips extended. Beginning with kneeling eliminates the ankle and knee joints and exposes weaknesses and compensation patterns that may not be visible in standing throws. In addition “tall kneeling” teaches the athlete to use the glutes. For rotational exercises use heavier balls to force the core to work. Adult males can start with 4-5 K balls.

Rotation Progression:

1. Kneeling Front Twist: (facing wall, 2-3 feet away)
2. Kneeling Side Twist: (90 degrees to wall, 2-3 feet away)
3. ½ Kneeling: front and side. Half kneeling is a one knee down position. These throws can de done with the inside knee up or down.
4. Lunge Position: same throws as above. Throwing from the lunge position challenges stability, strength, and flexibility. In addition throwing from the lunge position develops isometric strength. Lunge position throws may in fact be may be harder than standing.
5. Standing: front and side
6. Standing with step
7. Single leg

In addition to developing rotary power, the same progression of positions can be used for overhead throws for javelin throwers. Overhead throws should be done with 2-3 kilo balls. Care must be taken when providing stress to the rotator cuff.

Total Body Power:
As I mentioned in the introduction, the medicine ball is also a great tool for total body power. This is particularly useful for athletes that are unfamiliar with Olympic lifts or have injuries that prevent them performing exercises like cleans or snatches. In addition total body throws allow coaches uncomfortable with teaching the Olympic lifts to get hip and leg power work in a resisted situation.

Some suggested throws are from a squat position forward, a scoop type throw from a squat position, and throws from the lunge position.

It is important that athletes not attempt to catch a medicine ball thrown by a partner. Catching heavy medicine balls can be dangerous to both the shoulders and the fingers of the athlete.

Medicine ball throws should be treated like any other strength and power exercise. 20-30 throws ( 2-3 sets of 10) of each type can be done twice per week. For rotational throws follow the progression above. As the athlete moves from tall kneeling, to half kneeling, and eventually to standing, the link between the hips and the hands will show rapid improvement. Throwers should perform rotational throws a minimum of two days per week but, a maximum of three days per week. Keep volumes low to moderate and tell your athletes to throw the ball like they want to break it. For throwers the medicine ball may be the most underrated tool to develop rotational power.

Michael Boyle is a Boston based strength and conditioning consultant. Boyle is the author of Functional Training for Sports and Designing Strength Training Programs and Facilities. In addition Boyle has just produced a Medicine Ball Training DVD. All are available from Perform Better website.

Movement is Life

2007-04-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

This article was written by my friend Giles Wiley. I hope you enjoy it.

By Giles Wiley MS CSCS

The Article

I’ve just returned from the Renegade-Athletic Training Workshop for sports conditioning and, once again, I was reminded that movement is life. In order to lead a high quality and dynamic life, we need high quality and dynamic movement.

We have to remember that the only time we’re ever totally still is when we’re dead!

I’ve got to tell you the amount that most people move in modern life is pitiful and leads me to the question: “Are we now in the Land of the Living Dead?”

I’ve seen a change over the last decade in the level of people's activity. People are literally forgetting how to move, their muscles are tight and becoming atrophied and their nervous systems are shutting down. They spend their entire lives sitting behind a desk, sitting in a car, or sitting on a couch and then, if they do go to a gym, they once again sit down.

For many people, the energy, passion, and fun have gone from exercise and with it their passion for life. Take a look around your local fitness club and you’ll see the majority of people sitting on a machine staring aimlessly into space. Very few people will even break a sweat; the majority will push or pull on some token handle for 30 seconds, then take a 5-minute rest to watch TV before the next exercise.

My background is in rehab and I still remember clearly my internship on an Orthopedic Ward. The majority of patients were elderly and in the hospital for major surgery. It was our job to get the patients up and moving again as soon as possible after surgery. The longer they stayed in bed the less potential they had for a healthy recovery. In fact, after a few weeks working on the ward I realized that the patients who spent much more than a few days without moving would start to deteriorate fast. I’d literally see some of them giving up hope and dying in front of my eyes.

It doesn’t have to be this way! We are all amazing creatures capable of incredible movement, power and grace. Refuse to be trapped in the rut any longer. Break out and start to think of each exercise session as a chance to fully express yourself and the sort of life you desire.

If movement is life – I’ll take a fun, dynamic, and flexible, life everyday!

About The Author

Giles Wiley has spent 14 years scouring the world, seeking out the best of the best in all aspects of peak performance in an attempt to improve his own performance and ultimately yours. This search came about through both his desire and his frustration - his desire to realize his full physical potential, and his frustration with the information that he was currently finding on human movement and the 'secrets' of power development.

With this in mind Giles set out on his journey of discovery, and what a journey it’s been! He's studied with, trained, and worked alongside world and Olympic champions, internationally renowned sports scientists and rehabilitative experts, masters of ancient systems and creators of innovative new physical systems. He's obtained numerous degrees and diplomas in exercise physiology, physiotherapy, human nutrition, sports restoration and massage, and strength and conditioning.

In addition Giles has trained with many of the top martial artists in the world, he's obtained black-belts and won national championships, he's represented his country internationally and sold all of his belongings (numerous times) to go on martial arts pilgrimages.

Currently, Giles is a Manhattan based Personal Trainer and Martial Arts Instructor. He is the author of a number of books and DVDs on combat conditioning and success in celebrity personal-training. Check out Giles at www.gileswiley.com

Baby Boy Added to Family

2007-03-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday March 20, 2007 my wife gave birth to a little boy named Mason. He is a tiny little man that looks a bit like Mr. Magoo. Apparently that is a step up from the way I looked at birth so it's all good. He is definitely my kid, so the delivery guy is off the hook. As the days go by he looks more like my daughter, who is quite a looker. She loves her little brother and is a great big sister.

My 3-1/2 year old daughter already loves to exercise with me so I hope someday he will join in the fun as well. Kids are awesome, the sleep deprivation is not. It's all part of life and we all get through it. Luckily, in the end, we forget about much of the tough stuff and remember all the happy moments.

My wish is that my children both have great lives, with all their dreams fulfilled. I wish the same for your children as well.

J.Fields

Diver's Workout

2007-03-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

I recently trained a 13 year old female diver that suffered a broken leg 4 months prior to seeing me. Once my partner and I determined the training and reconditioning approach I set out to fix her gait deficits. She made great progress and soon the limp was gone. Once we developed a good strength base, improved her core stability and ability to generate some serious power out of her legs it was time to have some real fun. This young girl was a pleasure to work with and was very willing to work hard in training.

Last week she took a Physical Fitness test given at her school. She came in first place out of all the girls, including all the other athletes! Not a bad pay-off for all the hard work.

Here is a sample of her last workout with me. For some reason she actually liked it.

She went pretty heavy for her age and weight. She first started with a warm-up and some core activation techniques.

Descending Ladder from 20-16-12-8-4

Swings-30 lbs.
Box jumps
DB Thrusters-10lbs. (till her butt touched a big medicine ball)
V-Ups
Band Rows-yellow JC bands

She completed the workout in under 20 minutes.

A good time was had by all.

JF

Get Ready to Sweat

2007-03-08T06:04:00.000-08:00

I want to post some sample workouts that I do with clients. The only general guidelines that I follow are that the workouts must be "functional", safe, appropriate and based on my clients needs and must be based on sound scientific conditioning principles.

Try this one for time. It should take about 20-30 minutes or so.

Warm-up: dynamic stretch, running mechanic drills etc.
Core Activation: Try two sets of bridges "super-setted" with straight arm plank "knees to chest".

50 Kettlebell Swings (each arm)

50 Push-Ups

50 Front Carry Kettlebell Squat

50 Chin-Ups (assisted, with rubber band,if needed)

50 Jacknives on a stability ball

50 Lateral Lunges (with or without added weight)

50 Dumbbell Curl to Press

Go as heavy as you can with out being "stupid". Pace yourself. These workouts are fun, in a strange way. Break up the exercise sets anyway you need to.

Try to beat your time the next time you try it.

I will post other workouts like this, and others, in the future.

Have fun,

JF

New Thoughts on Single Leg Training

2007-02-28T09:53:00.000-08:00

The following is an article by Mike Boyle. Mike is one of the foremost strength coaches in the US and has been influential in my career. He is not only a great strength coach but is also a great guy. Enjoy the article.

First let me start with a confession. I’m a thief. I regularly steal information. In fact, I think stealing and cheating are great coaching techniques. I like to say in my seminars that they should teach cheating in school. It’s the key to success later in life. They should sit you down and say, OK, look around the room. Figure out who you think will do well in this class and sit next to them”. This would be a great life lesson. Some call it modeling successful behavior. I just call it what it is, cheating. With that being said, I’m also an equal opportunity cheat. I steal from people that I like and from people that I don’t like. During my long career I have stolen from some of the best in the business. Charles Poliquin, Gary Cook, Mike Clark, Paul Chek, Mark Verstegen. I’ve stolen from every one of them. You know what’s even better, it’s all legal. Intelligent people call it research or gathering information. Really, why think outside the box when you can just look in someone else’s box?

With that being said, I’d like to steal an idea. I reread Charles Poliquin’s Structural Balance Training ( www.t-nation.com) and it made me think. Could we come up with similar numerical relationships similar to what Poliquin had done for upper body strength when we look at lower body strength? I’ve been working on this for a while and here is what I’ve come up with.

Posterior Chain Training

I’m going to be a bit of a heretic here. I’m not sure how much longer I will be doing double leg exercises like squats and deadlifts. I know this will make more powerlifters and bodybuilders hate me. Please get in line, the bus is getting crowded. In fact I have already eliminated back squats from my training programs (7 years of front squat only, big reduction in back pain). In addition we do almost no double leg deadlifts or straight leg/Romanian deadlifts ( by the way, I hate the term Romanian Deadlift or RDL, I heard a speaker say he had been doing that lift for years before he had ever met any Romanians.) What does this mean? Basically it means that once I can better calculate single leg loads in the squat, I may just stop squatting and use just the single leg versions. I’ve already done this with our Modified Straight Leg Deadlift.

Single Leg Good Morning Exercise

Figure 1 - Single Leg Good Morning: a great low-load teaching exercise

I use only the single leg version and base loads off the hang clean 1 RM (a lift I’ll never stop doing). We progress from a single leg Good Morning (a great low-load teaching exercise but a bad strength exercise) (see figure 1), to a Single Dumbbell Modified One Leg Straight Leg Deadlift (we abbreviate 1 L SLDL) (see figure 2).

When the dumbbells get too heavy to hold in one hand, we switch to a two dumbbell version or to a straight bar. I think the one dumbbell version is more functional but, somewhere around 80 pounds the dumbbell gets heavy to hold in one hand. When you suddenly switch from one eighty to two forty-fives the load increases by ten pounds on the posterior chain but seems significantly lighter.

Figure 2 - 1 Arm 1 Leg Straight Leg Deadlift: for loads up to approximate. 80 lbs

These single leg posterior chain exercises present two distinct advantages. For non-powerlifters, most of life occurs on one leg. As a result the single leg versions are more muscularly specific. In addition, by loading only one leg, the load on the back is decreased by 50%, another huge advantage. We can get great posterior chain loads; involve more muscles ( adding in hip rotators, and ab/adductors) with less back stress. Sounds like win-win-win to me. The problems that we initially ran into when switching from conventional straight leg deadlifts to the single leg versions involved technique and load selection. We made two critical mistakes.

1. The leg was too straight
2. The load was too light

The answer to the first questions came by way of Paul Chek. Chek has always contended that a straight leg (extended knee) over-recruits the hamstrings. I modified my technique as specified by Chek and voila, glute soreness. Chek recommends a consistent twenty degree knee bend and I would concur. I think many athletes are weak in the gluteus and synergistically dominant in the hamstrings and this leads to hamstring problems.

The second problem related to load. How heavy is heavy? Because we don’t do conventional deadlifts, I needed another parameter to base my formula on. As we test the hang clean, I decided to use a percentage of hang clean 1 RM as a starting point as the hang clean should give a reasonable estimate of the strength and power of the hip and back extensors. We began with twenty percent of hang clean max (55 lbs for an athlete with a 275 hang clean) which proved to be light, and progressed rapidly. I have found that most athletes will be able to handle 80-100 pounds in one hand in a 1 Leg SLDL if pushed. I have done 70 for 8 at 185 lbs and 46 years of age. Interestingly enough, we had to progress to a straight bar or a two dumbbell version because one dumbbell became too difficult. When the load was split, it was actually easy. I think that athletes will easily be able to work up to 50% of hang clean max with a bar or two dumbbells (a pair of 70’s for our theoretical 275 max hang clean).

Progressions Review

Weeks 1 - 3: Single Leg Good Morning - back must remain slightly arched, all motion occurs at the hip, knee is bent to twenty degrees. Loads need not exceed 45 pounds.

Weeks 4 - 6: Single Dumbbell One Leg Straight Leg Deadlifts - as the load increases, the load is now moved closer to the point of rotation. This results in less back stress. Works great up to approximately 80 pounds.

Weeks 7 - 9: Double Dumbbell One Leg Straight Leg Deadlifts - for loads 80 pounds and up.

Knee Dominant Single Leg Exercise

When you start to develop loading parameters for knee dominant single leg exercises things get really interesting. True single-leg exercise must take into account both the athlete’s body weight and the external load (dumbbells, weight vests, etc.). In the past many single leg exercise loads were either arrived at randomly or, calculated from a percentage of squat max. The reality is that in single-leg exercise body weight functions as the majority of the load. Because of this many coaches find it difficult to determine loads for one-leg squats. We have found it useful to follow the same process we developed for jump squats for many of our single-leg exercises. In order to determine an athlete’s load we first calculate total system weight Total system weight consists of the weight on the bar plus the weight of the lifter.

Total system weight = Body weight + front squat max

Example: A 200-pound athlete capable of a 400-pound front squat would have a total system weight of 600 pounds.

Why does this matter? In order to fully understand, it is necessary to look at two examples.

Athlete 1 400 lb Front Squat @ 200 lbs BW – Total System Weight equals 600 pounds
Athlete 2 300 lb Front Squat @ 300 lbs BW- Total system weight equals 600 pounds

Obviously, athlete 1 has a far better strength to body weight ration than athlete two. If we simply took a percentage of their squat max for single leg exercises, we would under-load athlete 1 and provide an inadequate challenge, while overloading athlete two and risking injury. Although most people don’t consider this aspect, it becomes critical in single leg squats. We generally begin at 40 percent of total system weight then subtract body weight and divide by two to get a dumbbell weight. Recently as the loads have increased we no longer divide by two we simply tell the athlete the total external load. The load is then accomplished through a combination of dumbbells and weight vests. In others words, 40 percent of 600 is 240. 240-200/2 = 20.

In this example, athlete one would begin single leg squats with 20 lb dumbbells in each hand or, a twenty pound vest and two ten pound dumbbells.

Athlete two would actually get a negative number due to the poor strength to bodyweight ratio. In our training system, negative numbers always get five lbs per hand regardless. Strangely enough, single leg squats are easier with five lb dumbbells than with bodyweight, due to the counterbalance.

Athlete 1 could use 20-pound dumbbells for sets of five reps. If the load progressed to 50 percent of total system weight, the external load would be 100 lbs (. 300-200= 100 lbs.) This might necessitate a 40 lb X-vest and 30 lb dumbbells.

I hope this article makes you consider loading patterns for single leg exercises. The knee dominant equation can also be used for exercises like Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats (I know Bulgarian squats. What is with our eastern European fascination anyway?) or for exercises like Slideboard Lunges or Back or Front Split Squats. If you are an athlete yourself, or train athletes give the math a try.

Motivation

2007-02-23T19:47:00.000-08:00

What motivates your clients? What motivates you? Knowing what motivates a client, whether and athlete or not, can often make it easier to retain that client and get them the results they deserve.

Motivation is an essential concept to understand in terms of a client’s mindset. In sport psychology terms motivation is often more than just one’s desire to try hard or endure the discomfort of difficult training routines. To really understand motivation you have to delve a little deeper. Motivation can usually be divided into “intrinsic” and “extrinsic” types.

I know what motivates me. I have always been driven to train and even compete for the way it made me feel on the inside. I’ve won a few trophies in my life but I can say honestly that when I lost I felt terrible because I thought I could have done better, not because I didn’t get the first place medal. Understanding this about someone you work with, or yourself, can be incredibly helpful when coaching someone towards a “win” or through a “loss”.

Intrinsic Motivation

An individual that is intrinsically motivated is a self-starter because of a love for the game or activity. This type of client is not driven solely by awards, praise or attention but rather by increased feelings of self-worth, confidence and the competence that the activity provides. These feelings should be nurtured through the training process with less of an emphasis on the result, but rather an emphasis on the process in relation to a favorable result.

Extrinsic motivation

An individual that is extrinsically motivated is usually drawn to sports or weight training by awards, trophies, and external praise. Winning a fitness contest or getting a prize for reaching a specific fitness goal are both great motivators and will help keep this client committed. In other words, give this client something to ‘shoot for”. “If you lose 10 pounds by June 8th I’ll give you a free session” would be a great motivator.

While it may be common for the individual to display aspects of both motivational models, intrinsically motivated individuals are more likely to continue in a given activity long after the praise and awards disappear. For this reason, it would be a good idea to help increase one’s level of intrinsic motivation.

There are several ways in which to enhance intrinsic motivation.

The following are just a few suggestions.

1.Allow the individual to experience a certain amount of success each training session. This is an important one that I try to include as often as I can.

2. Allow the client to have a greater role in goal setting and decision-making. Although many clients choose to surrender responsibility for their own training to the personal trainer, this can enhance their commitment to the whole process.

3. Give praise for a job well done. First focus on what the client did correctly and then give suggestions for improvement. Some clients may like to be yelled at and bossed around. If you know someone like that and are comfortable with that approach I can’t stop you. It doesn’t usually work for me.

4. Keep things interesting. Vary the exercise program where and when appropriate so that the client does not feel stagnant. This is important for getting results, both physically and emotionally. Keep doing the same program for weeks on end and see how that goes for you. My guess is that you will be looking for new clients to fill the void.

Keeping things interesting also refers to your teaching style. Being upbeat, optimistic, positive and caring is a whole lot better than being self-absorbed, pessimistic and negative (I speak from experience).

Understanding your client’s motivational leaning may help you design a more effective program, keep him/her excited, get better results and ultimately retain a satisfied client. If you have never given these things much thought perhaps now is a good time to start.

Warrior Training

2007-02-14T09:05:00.001-08:00

What does it mean to be a warrior? A warrior means many things to me. I have had the honor of knowing and working with many warriors in my life. They all share common traits.

Military organizations are made up of real warriors. Police and fire organizations are full of them. Many of todays martial artists would qualify for "warrior status".

Even though it may seem that I am only equating
fighting/military/police with a warrior I am not. Anyone regardless of profession can be one. It is a mindset.

First of all a true warrior is someone that stands by his/her principles and beliefs. It is someone that is committed to conquering his/her fears and self-limiting beliefs. It is not just about being positive but about waging the war against self-doubt and a negative mindset.

The combat soldiers that I have known have that mindset. They may feel fear bit it does not consume them or stop them from accomplishing their mission. A firefighter will go into a burning building, save a family, and then say "it was nothing". A police officer will put his/her life on the line everyday without giving it a second thought. We take these people for granted, unless we share the same mindset.

Parents that do anything they can to help their children live a better life are warriors in my book. My father never complained even though he worked an 18 hour day, every day for years. He never blinked any time we needed help in any way. He would do anything for his family. That is a warrior. Seems like no big deal? Well there are plenty of parents that would not do that.

I have been a warrior. I have also been the exact opposite. I am now on my way back from the abyss of fear, doubt and negativity. The difference is astounding.

Living like a warrior means conquering yourself. Being a master of yourself. Being a master of your own destiny and taking responsibility for it. Period.

Training like a warrior means taking on the challenge of working hard. Of pushing yourself to the limits. The methods should be integrated, functional and in many aspects, primitive.

Military-type training is designed for that. It is brilliant in its simplicity and awesome in it's functionality(for obvious reasons). Anyone that ever goes through any type of basic training develops those qualities. It happens by overcoming challenges that seemed insurmountable at the onset. When you accomplish something that seemed impossible it changes you. The more you do that the "stronger" you become inside and out. You develop the habit. There is nothing like obstacle course training without sleep for making a person tough.

Martial arts training also develops these qualities. The work is hard, the attention to detail is exacting and the inherent danger keeps you focused. I can't recommend martial arts training enough for anyone looking for a great workout and greater self-confidence. It is said that a man learns his true nature in combat. This is true whether you are in a combat sport or in the military.

Another question is whether or not warriors are born or made. I am not totally sure. Most people never see their true potential and are not willing to put themselves in situations that would force these qualities to emerge. I think that their is a warrior in all of us. The trick is in finding the motivation to find it, dust it off and put a shine on it.

This is why I have so much respect for anyone that serves others, thereby putting the greater good ahead of their own needs. Whether you are a pacifist or at the other end of the spectrum, we all owe so much to the brave men and women that serve their country. They deserve our thanks and gratitude.

Many of the training techniques and concepts that I am known for are based on martial arts training and are great whether you are a cop,an athlete or a stay at home mom. They will develop the mindset, the warrior spirit and the physical conditioning needed to survive the chaos of combat and the unpredictability of life. Everyone that has experienced this training has found something that "spoke"' to their inner warrior.

So are you a warrior? Are you ready to walk through life like a warrior? Are you ready to go through the tough training that it takes? If so I wish you luck and success on your journey. It will afford you a life time of happiness and pride.

A new prospective

2007-02-05T10:43:00.000-08:00

I had a nice afternoon with some new friends recently. The husband is a ranking officer with a major police department(one of the best in the country if you ask me). he is in pretty good shape, loves to run and cycle. We talked about his strength training. He said he goes to the gym does the same biceps curls, behind the neck lat pulldowns, triceps extensions etc. We did some kettlebell training. He immediately felt the difference in his entire body. He was winded after one set of swings. Now, this guy could probably run me into the ground if he had to. He also complained of knee pain from running. A few sets of swings felt like a few long wind sprints...with no knee pain. Get where I am going???

I then gave him a few different push-ups...twisting push-ups and push-ups with one leg raised. He loved it, never thought of those variations.

The points are: 1. add different versions of basic exercises to get a better training effect and 2. Cops should be training in the most effective, efficient ways possible.

This means compound movements with dumbbells, functional bodyweight movements(chins, dips, lunges etc), kettlebells, sandbags, agility etc etc. Sitting on a machine and doing the "high school workout" is short changing you and wasting much of your very valuable time.

To all the LEOs out there Thank you for all you do.

JF

Geting Back in Shape

2007-01-31T10:02:00.000-08:00

I train a lot of clients that used to be in shape back in the day. They come to me to reclaim the fitness of their youth. It usually comes back to the same thing-"I used to be in great shape but have let myself go. How can i get back into shape, lose weight and get stronger?"

Inevitably they tell me that they need more "cardio" (I hate that) or they talk about the bodybuilding workouts they used to do as if that is the only way they will get what they want.

First off, most of these guys (men and women) haven't moved in years, or they haven't been taught to move correctly, or their knees and/or back hurt and they are afraid to do anything that will really help them. Here is where we play a game of "selling them what they want, but giving them what they need".

My goal is to help them feel better, move better and eventually look better. I am completely interested in seeing that happen. If i can show them their deficits and offer a solution that will give them a great workout and not "incapacitate" them from the soreness they will usually listen.

The "cardio" statement always gets me, and this is something to look into at a future date. the short version is that more "cardio" does not equal more weight loss. Ever see an overweight runner? Ever see someone do only "cardio" workouts and not see their body change? Is it you?

Bottom line: Only do low intensity cardio-type training and the body will horde the fat as its fuel supply. Add some higher intensity interval training or better yet some strength training and circuit training and watch the pounds melt away. Try a functional, movement based approach to training. Leave the bodybuilding for a time when you have added real strength, power, balance and flexibility to your body. Then it's OK to train for muscle size for a while. Learn to move the way you did when you were a kid...naturally and effortlessly. You will be glad you did.

Welcome

2007-01-30T07:58:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Strong to the Core Blog.

I believe in taking a highly functional, integrated and innovative approach to physical conditioning. By incorporating elements of classic no-BS strength training, martial arts conditioning techniques, old-school tools like kettlebells and sandbags, along with modern functional training methods, agility training, stability training, and sport psychology we create a uniques training experience for our clients.

On this blog you will get workouts, insights (occasionally) and useful information if you are a fitness pro or just interested in real training.