If I could only pick 2.....Top 2 exercises

Who would win, Superman or Flash?

Conan the Barbarian or Conan O'brian?

The Rock or Barack?

And the real question would be, The Incredible Hulk or Hulk Hogan???

Well that one's no contest. Hulkamania forever

But really, if it came down to a winner takes all exercise, what would I pick? Well this is very tough, and very general, and I actually consider it pretty stupid to boot. Who cares, you'll always be able to use other stuff. But anyway, just because I can I decided to ponder this query. Here you go.

If I had to only pick 2. They would be

1. Reverse lunge
2. Renegade Row

Both are ground based, compound movements that use a ton of energy (calories) and are completely functional. Both are great for the core and can be loaded to meet anyone at any level. Don't underestimate their difficulty either. They'll knock the shit out of you.

These two can meet Reggie Bush as well as your junior high athlete.

The reverse lunge is (if done correctly) post chain and hip dominant. Works through a large range of motion of which should stretch out the entire hip region, hip flexors and gluteals. It's unilateral so you're taking care of your bodies asymetries (problems caused over time by repeatedly using only one side of your body, or due to compensations). Balance is going to come into play as well here, of which will improve greatly with strength. Developing strength in this manner has been proven multiple times to improve balance and therefore also decrease injury rates and improve performance. This is why sitting on your wuss bosu ball isn't doing you any good.

This girl does a decent job. I don't enjoy her choice of shoes nor do I agree with the depth but you get the idea.

The renegade row is a true look at bracing through the core, but that's not all it's great for. You're also building strength through your entire back. The pulling motion is excellent for building strength through the upper back and healthy shoulders. Then there is also the stabilization that the opposite shoulder and arm is having to perform. Overall great exercise.

There you have it. Go try em out.

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Can you write me a Workout Routine??

To be honest this the reason why I have a Program Design service listed on my website. In order to spread good training habits further than one person at a time I enjoy the gravitation toward 'consultant'. This lets me train many more people, at a distance you could say, and it allows them to train with a program designed specific to their needs for a much cheaper price that they can sustain/afford throughout the year. Unlike the leapfrogging that usually happens with 1-1 training. But this situation happened to be a little different. It was my dad...d-d-d-d

So this is what I get from my mom,

"You're dad needs (I think she said wants but I'm sure she's full of it) a workout routine. His knees and shoulders bother him. Could you make a very short routine he could do that would help?"

At first three things came to mind.

1. If I write this program it'll never be followed. (stubborn, old farmer)
2. I'd be making this without a real assessment, and he wouldn't do that either. (stubborn, old farmer)
3. I wont be able to include any warm-up, or activation activities (cause he wont do them) and it's gonna have to be 3 exercises or less. What am I gonna pick?

Just these three alone are enough to make me puke. I get asked this kind of question daily, and I usually have many reasons why I don't just hand out programs anymore.

1. They are written with great thought and effort, but never get used. This took me about 10 programs to figure out and it hurt equally each time. Big waste of time.
2. People are much less likely to devote themselves to such a thing when they don't pay for it. Because psychologically there is no value to it, whether that be a subconscious or conscious outlook.
3. I spent alot of time, $, and effort earning the knowledge I have and a program should be valued somehow. In this case it's $ for a program that has the potential to help live a stronger, healthier, better life. (Make no bones about it, I'm not in this for the money. I'm in this to help people. I guess part of me would also really like to rid the world of all the a-holes that are the other.)

But this was my dad. So, with this all in mind, I went ahead and gave her the first 3 exercises that came to mind. I figured well, quick and dirty and they'll help. I said, everyday do:

1. Swings 1x15
2. pullups 1x5
3. pushups 1x5

This lady (Mom) is SO cool that she happens to have a whole set of kettlebells (respect) and a swing set outside where the pullups could be performed..............Equipment? Check and Check.

But I decided to change my mind. There was no unilateral work, which is way to important. I wouldn't be around to teach a proper lunge. Adam cannot stand improper lunges. Drives me NUTSO. Plus, 3 exercises was probably too much. So....

1. Sinlge Leg Box Squat: 1x5/leg (performed barefoot)
2. Pullups: 1x5

This is something almost anyone can do. Maybe you can't get five pullups that go through a complete concentric, eccentric and isometric contraction but almost everyone can perform the eccentric and/or isometric. Just jump up, hold and let yourself down slowly.

I should be honest though. If I had to pick two exercises based on every exercise that I know I wouldn't pick these, but they'd be extremely close to the top, at least top 5.

Soon, probably tomorrow, I'll give you my two top exercises. Don't be afraid to leave a comment below. I love to hear feed back and check in tomorrow. I'm sure you'll be glad you did.

Workout splits for High School Athletes

I told you I'd write on workout splits and here it is.

Truthfully if a high school athlete has any kind of off season he/she needs to be splitting workouts. In season is an absolute must for this as well, you don't want/need to be using valuable practice time on lifting and conditioning. I encourage almost every high school coach to split workouts. The athletes are on a set schedule everyday, and the timing works out great.

Typically when setting up a daily split you want 8 hours in between your workouts. In any case, when designing programs you always want your fastest movements first. This is a common error among high school and collegiate coaches, and I'm guessing it's due to time constraints, but that just means that they didn't plan well. The way I've found splitting to be most effective is taking this programming guideline to heart. Doing your speed work in the morning/before school and your strength and/or conditioning work after school.

For Example
Wk 1, Day1: Lower body/linear day
Am:
1) Warm-up: SMR (6min), Dynamic Mobility(2min), Activation+Dynamic Flex (6min)

2) Explosive ground work
3) Plyometrics
4) Movement based speed work
Finish) SMR/static stretching and post nutrition

Then go to school.

PM:
1)Warm-up: SMR (6min), Dynamic Mobility(2min), Activation+Dynamic Flex (6min)
2) Explosive post chain dominate movement (clean, KB snatch, swing, med ball work)
3)Unilateral/bilateral strength exercise: max strength, max speed, or max effort depending on macro cycle
4) Post chain dominate exercise
5) Unilateral lift: 1leg squat, 1leg RDL, or lunge variation
6) Core: bracing, antirotational, or compound (absolutely NO sit-ups or crunches)
Finish) SMR/static stretching and post nutrition

Some Strength Coaches advise literally cutting all the sets and reps in half and doing half in the morning and half after school. Personally I don't agree. Your athletes are gonna get bored, worn down and there are much better options.

Doing all the speed work in the morning means a shorter workout and allows the coach and players to not have to wake up insanely early. If you've ever coached a bunch of high school athletes early in the morning (especially junior high girls) you know how important that is. I heard a lot about cloths when I first started. It also means they're more likely to eat breakfast, which is a big deal.

It also gives there bodies time to rest between bouts. Allowing for increased performance in each. Rest is extremely important at this age and this will allow them to be fresh for the each workout able to put more in, leading to better results.

They are getting 2 very active sessions during a day. I'd say kids probably average less than one hour of activity a day. Can you say pathetic? You can only imagine the sources of food they're getting when most of todays' schools are ridden with sugar vending machines full of "psuedo-healthy" and truly "death" food. bye working out 2x/day they'd be in a carb storage state for a much longer duration of each day (storing less fat). Leading to a healthier, stronger, and less likely obese/overweight athlete. Less fat also means they're faster, due to less dead weight to carry.

In my humble opinion I can also see academic and psychological benefits as well. Getting up for something they want to do (get better as an athlete) vs. something they have to do (go to school). And I'm not saying all kids have this outlook on school but all the ones I've known do. They're also waking up and being active, getting the blood running. Therefore not falling asleep in class all day. Learning work ethic and the importance of preparation. Building pride in their sport and a healthy lifestyle through the work they've put in.

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.

Strong women strength train

I continuously hear how women wont lift at the gym because of the overbearing amount of testosterone coming from that area. Keeping the ladies from feeling comfortable in the place that is so vital to their success, health, and well being. What's the result? The majority of girls churning away on faulty training tools like ellipticals and treadmills, and joining spinning and aerobics classes right and left. Is it really that fun to step on a box and turn around repeatedly, I really doubt it. And I know people say they love to spin, but really? Really? You're not going anywhere. I guess I just don't get it.

I feel bad though. Terrible in fact, that women don't feel as though they should be lifting beside a bunch of men. Women need strength training just as much as men. This comes from a health and physique standpoint as well. This is a message to all women out there, I'm just gonna come out and say it. Strong girls are incredibly attractive and so is lean mass. Ask any guy you know, and I bet each one of them would jump at a chance to take a fitness competitor out on a date. and fitness competitors lift, and lift hard.

I guarantee you Jennifer Stano lifts weights, and good luck finding a guy that doesn't find her attractive.

I hear excuses like, "I don't want to bulk up so I stick with the elliptical." Yeah......Because gaining muscle is so easy (especially for women). Even for most men gaining muscle is difficult, and men's bodies are set up completely different and much more suitable for gaining lean mass. Most women are literally unable to gain large amounts of "bulk", but they do have an incredible ability to build a very nice foundation of strong, attractive, calorie burning lean mass.

In fact most women would benefit from this exponentially. Not only would they be that much more empowered and confident with the strength they've gained but in the long term their bodies will be much healthier. Increasing bone density and metabolism. Along with slowing down the aging process, including decreased skin wrinkles and more balance and strength retained over time. Nice! but I tend to find that most of the time people are more concerned with the here and now, and the here and now is what you see in the mirror and are capable of doing. So, do you look great in a backless dress and can you climb a rock wall or do squats with your best guy friend on your back? Good questions I think, and I know some women that it's true for cause they put in the work.

Here's a video of Donna performing a variation of a farmers walk working on core stability through the hips, trunk and abdomen. The walk creates and instability affect up the chain, the bells offset and pull the body in differing directions forcing the core musculature to contract in a way that will support itself and stay rigid, while also maintaining the change in breathing pattern that will occur.

Don't they look great?

In the background you can also see Janet performing swings, a more dynamic exercise working the core in a different fashion. During the swing the glutes (butt) and hamstrings need to kick on more to produce the force in order to create movement but she's performing them with one arm so the trunk muscles are having to work extra hard on stabilizing at the same time. It's also an extremely heart pumping exercises.

Here's another example of a great exercise being performed by two very in shape women, that have been taking my class 3 days/week for some time now. They really get after it and it shows.

This is a great exercise for the core. Holding the bell on one side forces the trunk to stay rigid and the elevation of the box allows you to lower the hips more than a conventional reverse lunge and use the glutes more. Great for athletes and anyone else that's trying to get their bodies into better shape.

Someday, I'm gonna walk in the gym and see a bunch of ladies doing deadlifts, squats, pushups, pullups and other functional strength training lifts and I'm going to ask one of them out on a date. Just kidding, but that is going to be a great day.

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Some Kettlebell Basics

Today I'm throwing out some kettlebell basics. This is a video of yours truly performing some very basic Kettlebell exercises. Kettlebells are great for the training affect you can get from them and versatility of how you can use them. 

First is the High Pull, then Cleans, and last is called a snatch. 

Notice the way the kettlebell travels back between the legs eccentrically (muscle lengthening) loading the hips and how you'd need to produce force in the opposite direction concentrically (muscle shortening) to overcome this. Perfect for corrective exercise and speed and strength development. Especially of the musculature through the core, which should include the hips, and the development of the posterior chain (low back, glutes, hamstrings).

I've written about the benefits of training the hips and the rest of the posterior chain before. But as far as tools to use this may be the most beneficial when it comes to hip and back health and posterior chain development. When I see an athlete performing a swing I see a ton of glute function, I see him/her building stability of the entire back but especially through the low back, I see the feet having to grip the ground, I see grip strength building through the hands as well, and I see a strong development of movement that they will actually use everyday as well as in competition.  

I usually explain it in terms of jumping. When you watch the profile of an athlete jumping, especially during broad jumps, their arm action and hip action is incredibly similar to the swing. Coincidence? Not even close. 

This type of movement is unlike the affect you can experience with a barbell or even a dumbbell. The offset center of gravity being lower than your hand allows you to perform exercises differently than these other devices. Not that barbells are dumbbells don't have their place. They most certainly do, and they are used in almost every program I write, but so are the good old KB's and anything else that will be effective and useful. 

I'll get some more information on how to make these tools more versatile in the future and how you can incorporate them to get more specific to your goals. Until then thanks for reading. 

Where did the METTLE go?

Met⋅tle 

–noun

1.	courage and fortitude: a man of mettle.

2.	disposition or temperament: a man of fine mettle.

—Idiom

3.	on one's mettle, in the position of being incited to do one's best The loss of the first round put him on his mettle to win the match.

Synonyms: valor, pluck, vigor, ardor, nerve, fiber.

Aside from being one of my favorite words, it is also strong and having this can allow you to make massive changes in your life. But it has become lost in many lives. I see it all too often. The unwillingness to put in the time, the work, the effort. We are in the times of 'ready for you...". Ready for you meals, Home makeovers in under an hour, and all sorts of stuff similar. Success does not happen this way.

As a coach, I wouldn't have my quarterbacks practicing hail marry passes everyday or every week for that matter cause he might not ever get to throw one in his whole career. I will have them practicing the fundamentals everyday. Working handoffs, short outs and drags, things that he's going to have to perform every game. Doug Fluttie may be remembered forever for a hail mary but the rest of us are going to get it done one exercise, one lift, one practice, one play at a time. That is how it's done, and you're going no where without some mettle.

Whether you're losing fat, building strength, getting ripped, or having the life you dreamed of it's gonna take work and grunt work. That means mettle.

With all the promises you see all over the media it's no wonder we're in the mess that we are. Everyone wants the 30 days to lose 200lbs. Well what if that diet also makes sure that in the next 30 days you'll put it all back on again. Or, the vertimax, nautilus, hammer strength machines that are supposed to make you a better than ever athlete. I'll tell you the truth; most of this stuff isn't worth a penny. Those salesmen would have to pay me alot and I mean a shitload of money to use their stuff, and even then I'd sneak off to get an actual workout in.

Nothing is going to take a short time. Losing 200 lbs is going to probably take close to 2 years, and it's one workout, one meal, one pain stacking pound at a time. But once you get there you've created a lifestyle that you can continue to maintain and it'll lead to a much happier life.

It takes years to develop as an athlete. Tons of lifts, and running, practices and competitions, and many of them on days when you'd rather not do anything at all or when your body is just not doing as you'd like.

Wrestling may be the best example I can think of. There is no shortcut to victory, or success. Everything is earned. There is one wrestle off, then one match at a time, and one meet at a time. Emotionally and physically this is the hardest sport on the planet. (moral of this part. Don't mess with a wrestler, no matter what size they are.)

All those 6 am lifts and practices are going to prepare you for much more than your sports. They're preparing you for life. If there's one thing I can get across to an athlete it is to give him/her the greatest challenge there is....To do the absolute best that they can possibly do each and every time.

It's gonna be hard, it's supposed to be hard.

Get your mettle. Build it, make it as strong as your body. Because without that everything else will not matter. A strong body with a weak mind will crumble every time.

Test your METTLE!!!

References:

http://dictionary.reference.com/audio.html/lunaWAV/M03/M0376100" target="_blank"><img src="http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/speaker.gif

You think you know big? Lifting Approach

So I've hit on nutrition to a point. Now I'm gonna attempt to get you lifting and working to truelly make some big gains. As we've gone over, if you don't eat you will not get strong, faster, or larger. Same goes for lifting. Don't expect to have soft workouts and get anywhere. You know what lifting hard means? I'd say approximately 80-90% of people lift like complete panzies.

When I say lift I mean get after it in the weight room. You know when you're working and when you are not. Get some guts and GO HARD. You cannot use a few stupid machines, get a slight sweat going and then talk to your friends for 5 or 10 minutes come back and do more. 

1. Machines are not going to help you in any way: health, performance, strength, growth, etc... 
2. This type of training requires no work ethic.
3. Training like this does not create enough stimulus to make any changes. 

When I say lift I am also not even a little bit refering to mirror curls. As if staring at yourself in the mirror is going to help that bicep get larger. Lifting is also not using any machines, especially leg curls and leg extensions. It is definitely not a sweatless, slow paced, no grunt or grit excursion through some iron. Wimps lift like that. 

You don't want to be a wimp. You want and need to be that great big, amazing, dominating athlete, not some punk that's not willing to put in the sweat, blood, and tears that it takes to be great. That's part of the reason you're reading this right now. Right now, you're doing your part to make yourself smarter and that is called putting in the effort, and that will take you places. 

Wanna get big? 

• You gotta bust your butt 
• You gotta get off of stupid machines (which means almost all of them)
• You've gotta live it. Everytime has to be the best you can possibly do, the most that you can put in. (and by no means am I saying you should load the bar as heavy as possible each time, that is a very very different deal. Think 'HOW' not 'WHAT'.)

I actually used to write the word EVERYTIME on paper and pictures that would set me off to remind myself of where I've been and where I want to go. It was very affective. One picture was of me after the first time I had dislocated and tore up my shoulder real bad. It was my freshman year wrestling picture and I was tall and skinny and looked weak and useless, and the worst part was that I obviously had no fire or confidence to me. It was like looking at all the wanna be athletes that disgusted me. This drove me to make huge changes. After my shoulder was healthy, I was cleared to lift in June. I gained 40 lbs by the end of august and kept a consistent body fat percentage. When I came back to school some people were afraid to talk to me cause they didn't know who I was. Plus I looked scary as hell, cause I was on a mission. My freshman year of football I had figured out how to hit. My sophomore year people actually went down. It was a good feeling. 

You want to be a freak? You wanna be the best? You wanna get fast, strong, and huge? These are the money lifts that are going to take you there. 

1. Squat: It's number one for a reason. Yeah Yeah, everybodies doing them right? WRONG! Start squatting (and do it right: butt back, knees out) and you'll see big changes. Power, Box, single leg, split, cambered bar, whatever your variations are, get them in. 
2. Deadlift: You want massive weight put on while keeping your body healthy and anhilating your competition then it's time to get in some deads. 
3. Pullup: Speed, size, strength comes from the upper body as well and this is where you make big gains in each of those categories. Especially when you start adding weight. 
4. Cleans: For some reason I feel I need to justify doing each of these exercises, but really if you can't figure this one out you need help. the posterior chain is going to take you a long way and this lift is working it in a strong explosive manner. Figure out how to do this correctly and it'll take you far.   
5. Heavy pushups: I very rarely see a correct pushup but sometime kids are actually strong enough right away for these. Start them and they will soon be your best friend and wreak havoc in competition. 
6. Horizontal pulls: you want to keep your body healthy and strong then you need to pull like crazy, especially horizontally. Build your back and you'll notice yourself doing every other lift faster and stronger. 

And you gotta take it with a vengeance. There's a reason some guys get big, there's a reason some are good and some are great. Same thing here. If you're not wiling to put in, then you're not going to be the guy you thought you wanted to be. 

No one is gonna give you anything in this life. You want something you gotta take it. The best you have, EVERYTIME. Believe me you'll come out on top if you have the heart to actually do this. 

Top 10 Programming pitfalls for ACL's

Recently I've been talking about programming nightmares in regards to the ACL and how common they are. Many athletes reading this will probably be able to empathize with some of these types of training. Programs right now should be better than they were 10-20 years ago and really they should be vastly better than they were 3-5 years ago. Yet I still see coaches and parents and even other athletes trying to implement these same type of programs. It makes sense though, they are just doing what they were taught in the endless circle of training under unqualified instructors. I realize most people mean the best but almost all the time it's better to leave it to a specialist (though some of those 'specialists' are still doing some of this stuff). Each of these could be books just within themselves, which is why I'm going to devote a full article on these later. So for now, I'll save you some reading time, but don't be afraid to ask questions.

1)Plyometric programs without a solid strength base
I probably see this one more than any other, and it amazes me. I still see way to many contacts, coaches having kids with close to zero training age doing Touches and even depth jumps. Over doing plyos is the quickest way to overtraining and injury. Plyometric or reactive type exercises like jumps, hops, box jumps, squat jumps, depth jumps etc. are all very very hard on your body, especially your nervous system. Your nervous system works everything, it is the strongest and most stable system in our bodies, if it is off we are off. But also if the body does not have enough strength and intra + intermuscular coordination your athletes are going to have some big problems.
If an athlete does not have enough strength than doing plyometrics will not lead to any gains, will most likely produce poor movement patterns and can be very harmful to his/her body.

2)Poor warm up, stretching and muscular activation techniques
-You are still the dumbass static stretching before training and competition. Wake up! You are literally weakening your athletes as well as dramatically increasing their risk for injury.

-You're the person that has athletes jog/bike for 10 minutes pre workout. Again, this significantly hampers an athletes ability to perform in training and competition. (I'll explain this further in the article.)

-You're not doing anything to active the muscles your athletes need, lengthen the others that are inhibiting them, or increase their efficiency before hand.

-You haven't figure out that your athletes cannot be leading their own warm-up

-You have no understanding of lung volumes, breathing, heart rates, and/or core temperature. You need a rise in core temp, the lungs need to expand by working, and the body needs to feel like it has already played for at least two minutes.

-And now for the worst one, You DON'T EVEN WARM UP!!
I should not need to say anything here, but coaches STILL DO IT. Ridiculous.

3)Low-No glute/hip dominant exercises
Your glutes have the ability to make you faster, stronger, larger, healthier and decrease your risk of injury. If you haven't figured this out yet it is time to either get out of training or open a book because you are either an idiot or you just have not applied yourself in too long. Either way, not good.

4)Too much static stretching of the hamstring
One of the functions of your hamstring works on the knee in almost the same way as your ACL does. To static stretch the hamstring you are decreasing it's ability to contract, and therefore decreasing its strength. For now, just stop stretching it all the time. Especially with female athletes.

5)Too much hamstring flexibility.
I know this is similar to four but they are different even though they run across each other.Too much length of the hamstring causes a decrease in function and can help your athletes go further into anterior pelvic tilt. Instead of working on flexibility of the hamstring work on it's strength but only in a functional way. ABSOLUTELY NO LEG CURLS.

6)Training in the same way you play. With ankles taped, knee sleeves on, while wearing high tops Bad Bad Bad.
During training is the most controlled environment you are going to experience. Take this time to strengthen the areas that are weak by not using these supportive cruches.

7)Too much attention to the knee itself. Look above and below the joint.

8)The VMO is not everything.
A program full of TKE's are not going to solve a knee problem.

9)Get off the isolated leg exercises

-Leg Curls: the hamstrings never work independently of the glutes in movement, so why would you train them that way. You also do not want to deal with hamstring dominance.

-Leg Ext's: I shouldn't need to explain this. How about, if you want knee and all other kinds of injuries keep doing non functional idiot exercises like these.

10) Not enough work on Dorsiflexion.
If the lower half of the leg cannot dorsiflex enough the rest of the chain will make up for it somehow, and many times it will result in the knee.


These are not all specific to just the ACL. They affect all kinds of things. More important is: Are you still doing stupid stuff? One weak link can damage the entire body through injuries and compensation patterns. Look at your programs, you might find some flaws. Replacing these flaws with good things can make a huge difference in your athletes success.