The Awesome'st....

Lately I've noticed that at some point I started sounding like one of those meatheads that only uses about 3 different adjectives to describe everything: awesome, kick ass, and sweet (not my personal use). Mine happened to be awesome, beautiful, and nice with an heavy emphasis on the "n" and "i" of nice. So, I've started working on it. But it lead me to what are some of the things that I think are pretty awesome.

Design your own protein literally you get to choose your own concoction.

Vitamin D is a pretty cool little vitamin. There seems to be new research coming out on the benefits of extra intake all the time.

Meatcards.com What else can I say. It's simply awesome. Business cards made of beef.

Possibly the funniest video I've ever seen. Also one of the best uses of a stability ball that I've seen.

I also have to give massive props out to my pal Zach. We've been working together on and off for about a year now and he's shown up every time ready to do what's necessary to be his best. I'm really impressed with this kid. In the last year Zach has taken off a considerable amount of fat while still gaining twenty pounds. We didn't do body fat testing so there's no real way to know how much muscle he's gained. The best part is, he is now the fastest kid on his football team and still one of the biggest. So of all the receivers and backs he's now moved to the top and playing fullback and linebacker.

One of many things Zach's been doing this year to get faster and stronger.

And that's pretty good considering that last year he was just a big kid that moved okay, a good linemen on his 7th grade football team, and he was also only about the 2nd or 3rd fastest of all the linemen. So of the slow kids he was one of the fastest. He also couldn't do one single leg squat, or a pullup, and could maybe get 2 good pushups in. Pretty crazy. Now, just the other day he rack pulled 265x6reps on his last set. His single leg strength is great and can do pullups on the spot.

That's what happens when you show up, work and listen. He also has a great dad that really cares about what his kid is getting from athletics but doesn't push anything on him. Zach has worked hard, it shows physically and I have no doubt he's gonna really make some plays this year.

Sleds

I hope everyone had a merry christmas and is looking forward to a new year. 2009 will be upon us soon. This is the first change of year for High Impact Training and that is exciting. Thank you to all of those that have supported us so far. 

Something that comes to mind as I look out my window today is the snow. Right now we have more than plenty of it and I hear a lot of the blame game being played that you can't exercise outside with the snow. 

Now, I enjoy the cold even less than I enjoy long distance jogging. But the snow gives a great avenue that we can use to get some real exercise in. Best part you can get some real FUN along with it, even better if kids are involved. I'm talking about DRAGGING SLEDS.

 

Rocky does it.

Pulling a sled around is great for your body in numerous ways. We get a ton of work on our core, posterior chain, and I typically dislike the word 'cardio' for its common misusage but this is the perfect type of cardiovascular work. You get a total body workout in a very dynamic, safe, and physically taxing way. Nationally recognized Strength Coach Mike Boyle rates Sled work as the king of exercise. He labels pushing a sled as the #1 exercise if he could only choose one. When I look at someone pushing a sled I see a single leg squat, core and shoulder stabilization, I see huge force production and power development, I see dynamic effort and I could go on for awhile here, but this is a blog. 

Get outside, rip a sled around for awhile. If you have a partner take turns pulling each other around, if not throw something on the sled that will act like weight. You'll see what I mean very quickly. For an add exercise carry around a sandbag or some heavy at the end while pulling the sled this will get your body worked fast. Have fun, try it out. 

"Life is 10% what happens to you, 90% how you respond to it."