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.

Splitting Short workouts, big gains

Okay, yesterday labor day activities happened to keep me away till late and I ended up with only a short amount of time to workout. I typically run a Monday, Tuesday-upper/lower split and then do full body workouts Thursday and Saturday, leaving Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday as recovery days. This allows me to get 4 good lifts in each week in a way that makes the anabolic stimulus much longer and to the point where it's almost constant, and allows me to eat in the manor that I like and not get fat while still allowing adequate rest so I can throw more heavy shit around. So that one day I can do this.

Labor day was this monday (lower body) and right now I'm increasing my amount of speed work (med ball work, plyometrics, sprints, etc...) so I was either going to be able to get an incredibly rushed full workout in, or......I could split the workout in half doing all the 'speed work' on monday and the rest of the 'lift' on tuesday. In the heat of the moment I decided to go with the split. Monday would be all of my speed work and tuesday would be a day devoted to the lift. I haven't split workouts like this in a very long time, and I gotta say, I absolutely loved it. Was able to get ample rest periods between sets, I also had time for extra mobility and activation work between sets. It was perfect, and the same goes for today. Felt fresh, rested, and ready to get after it.

I bet the first question I get on this is working the legs two days in a row. Well to be more specific the question should be, could working the legs and nervous system in this manor two days in a row not allow for ample rest between the two. Well, we're talking different things here. We are going to put a certain amount of stress on the body's soft tissues as well as the nervous system with both the lift and the speed work. But by seperating them we're in a way using their differences to create a stimulus that doesn't break your body. Plyometrics are the fastest force your body is going to have to deal with, but your nervous system is going to be able to recover enough to perform a lift the next day. Plus, stressing the nervous system is the point, that is what we are going for. This is how we create progress in strength and speed. Just like stress on a muscle builds muscle, stress on the nervous system (in specific ways) improves speed and strength.

I heard from a coach once, of how his intern had asked why he had his athlete do squats and deadlifts during the same workout, and wouldn't it stress the nervous system. Supposedly the coaches response was one word, 'exactly'.

It happened to be Eric Cressey.

Really, to high school coaches that come to me, I almost always advise splitting workouts (though not usually in this manor). They are usually the coaches that actually give a crap about their athletes so I don't mind helping, actually I love it. It's great to find a coach that has wishes the best for his athletes and will work hard to help them. In fact I wish more coaches would figure out that their kids need more than just handed a sheet with a crap workout listed and told to do it. It'd be better for those kids to just stay out of the weight room if that's the case.

I think This subject is gonna be enough for another post and I'll get into it soon. The main point is that you can get great results splitting workouts. Sometimes it just works out I guess. I really needed to split it this week too. Good thing it happened to work out like that.

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.

Response to my eggs

I guess my recipe is catching a little flack. I actually saw this coming but wanted to wait and see what people said.

The main problem seems to be that I ate 6 eggs in one setting. Well to be honest that's not that big a deal for me. In fact in high school I'd eat a full dozen sometimes, no problem. That was just me at the end of the day. I was actually way more active then than I am now, and I'd still do the same now without thinking about it. If I wanted to that is.

Okay, yeah, I get it. Most people don't sit down and eat 6 eggs at a time. It seems like a lot but really you need to stop and realize I weigh 230lbs and sit around 9% body fat. That means my body has around 209lbs of lean mass and all of that is metabolic, meaning it burns calories. So my personal diet is probably much larger than most people simply because I need more calories to operate. I also have a very active lifestyle and career. I'm lifting 4 days a week and working out with clients 5-6 days a week. Then on off days I'm typically off doing something else. So in order to function and maintain my body mass I need a high calorie intake. This was actually a pretty small meal for me.

Scenario:

Let's say Mr. X is a 38 year old banker that is 6' tall, weighs 180lbs, has a body fat of 18%, and works out 3-5 days a week. Not too bad. But, Mr. X has around 147lbs of lean mass that is burning calories and he sits behind a desk 5 days a week. The 3-5 workouts that he gets a week are going to need to be fed but for the most part Mr. X is probably not going to need to eat 6,000 calories a day, of which I probably do most days.

The whole 2,000 calorie thing doesn't work for very many people. It's just a number the food label uses to calculate it's percentages.

The point is to eat for your body. Same as lifting and training. You don't need to be taking a diet plan written for someone else and try using it. It doesn't work. A 150lb woman going for fat loss isn't going to be successful using a diet plan written for Robert Gallery. She also wont be successful using his workout program. Just doesn't work that way. Just a side note, but she wont be successful athletically using that program either, cause it's not built for her and she's not ready for it because he's a professional athlete, and professional athlete's are the freakest of athletes.

Your typical 150lb woman is not this freaky.

Food industry crap, Probiotics, and a Total Eclipse of the Heart

I am in complete agreement. In every way he says it. Just watch.

This guy hits it right on the head, and as far as that goes pretty much anything that you buy from the store is going to be that way. In case you missed it in the video, I'm saying almost everything you buy from the store is shit. Shit with really good marketing.

I'm gonna throw out a number and say 1 out of 50 of a similar item in stores actually do what they are supposed to and are even half way good for you and even less likely are they to be worth your money. Sucks enough to want to rip the heads off all the top ass wipes of the food industry. Too bad the rest of them don't get the hate that the tobacco industry does. We'd be much further ahead that way.

I'm also gonna throw this in here. 1) to lighten the mood and 2) cause it's hilarious

Using what you have

Typically I buy groceries on Sundays, but I don't go until about 9pm due to the ridiculous amount of people shopping at the same time. See I'm one of 'those' people that goes grocery shopping and even though I don't have to I still find myself going through each isle. I'm also not the most patient person in the world when it comes to standing in line so for me it's a much better experience to go later.

Not a good time to go for groceries.

The trouble usually comes at the end of the week when I'm running low. Usually I have some back up plans and go to's for when I get in a bind but the past week food was running short for sure. For one of my last meals of the day I ended up trying to use what I had. Which happened to be: my last 6 eggs, 1 green pepper, 1 tomato, and the last of a bag of spinach.

This is what came out.

I ripped up the spinach, cut up the pepper, and scrambled it together with the eggs and about 1tbsp of evoo, some salt and a lot of pepper. I love tomatoes so I left that out of the skillet to add later. I actually planned this cause I like contrast and the cold tomato vs the hot eggs is really good.

I had this and after I was done happened to find some almonds to chew on. It was really pretty perfect for what I needed. I wasn't working out that day, and my activity level in general wasn't real high so I needed to take in fewer carbs, of which the tomato was my largest source. There's about 37-40 grams of protein and a solid micronutrient content. The only thing in question would be the amount of arachadonic acid (very inflamatory acid) intake from the eggs, of which is not a huge deal for me since I have a large intake of EFA's daily in the form of fish oils, Evoo, pumpkin and flax seeds, as well as a large vegetable and fruit intake. Plus, eggs are great. They're a very inexpensive protein source and have many healthy benefits.

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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Welcome back: Updates, Nicknames, and Shoulder health

Welcome back. You may have noticed the recent hiatus from the blog. Things are starting to come back to normal speed with High Impact and at NDAC. I truly enjoyed the spike in number of people we've been able to help, but it was fairly hectic to program and train that many hours.

To give you all some updates, we were able to help out some really great kids in West Liberty this summer, and at North Dodge Kettlebell classes and Personal Training went through the roof. It's been a blast working with everybody. There was quite a range as well. 35 athletes in West Liberty where the main sports were football and volleyball. At north dodge I've been seeing people needing help getting ready to hike mountains, lose fat and live healthy, some triathletes joined the Kettlebell class (very exciting), and even helping one female prepare to pass the physical tests for the army. It's been a great and challenging time.

Here's a few of the younger kids from the West Liberty camp. They were awesome. Tons of fun to work with.

By the end almost everyone at the West Liberty camp had a nickname. This is Sally, Amitha, and Goatcheese (from left to right). I wont go into how they earned their names.

To get on with the rest of the blog I wanted to cover an issue/epidemic that I'm seeing more and more recently, and it has to do with PULL-UPS.

Okay, the first problem I see with pull-ups is that people are not doing them enough. Shoulder problems are one of the most common complaints and problems I see on a regular basis and I'm sure there are many dr.'s and physical therapists that would say the same thing. The prime mover (muscle that does the most work) during the pullup is the Lat (latismus Dorsi), and it has huge implications when it comes to shoulder and back health.

It attaches from the lumbar spine to the humerus (upper arm bone). I talk about depression of the shoulder all the time, and this is one of the areas where I see that people are the weakest and many times the tightest. So their shoulders are left out to the wind and anything could happen.

The Pullup also requires requitment of the mid and lower traps which are also huge with shoulder health and scapular stability.

The trapezius is another area I see that is incredibly weak and many times stiff (which is different than tight, and is not good for the area at all).

The last place of functional anatomy I'll get into is the aspect of the core. I already hit on the lower back but with the pullup you'll also see a synergistic contraction through the anterior portion of the abdominals. Mainly obliques and rectus firing. I routinely get feedback that this is the area that hurts worse the day after doing this exercise.

These are just three areas, really it works your entire upper body. How many people do you know doing bicep curls every time they go to the gym? I'm just guessing but they're probably trying to make their biceps bigger when really a pullup is going to do way more for them in less time, make them much stronger, and look tons better than that bicep curl ever will.

For those that don't know me or have ever seen me, I haven't done one bicep curl or isolated type exercise like that in years and I weigh 230 lbs and sit somewhere around 9% body fat.

To get to the point I wanted to make in the beginning. What I'm seeing in the few people who do pullups is the lack of range that they get. Depth is important. Going down half way is not doing you justice. You must go down to lockout, which is when your arms are straight at the bottom. Like this,

This is actually one of our West lib high school athletes doing a very good job of locking out

If you are unable to do this and return to the top that is not a big deal. The majority of the people I work with are unable to do this at the beginning as well, it just takes time and effort. So start by lowering yourself slowly and jumping back up to the top with your legs. Working the eccentric (muscle lengthening) portion of the contraction can actually be more effective and safer anyway.

A proper Pullup should start at the bottom with the arms locked out, and should end with pulling the body as high as you possibly can, most of the time to the lower portions of the chest. Otherwise the pullup does not count. just getting the chin above the bar does not constitute a proper pullup. Pulling as high as you can (or starting as high as you can) ensures you are getting to most out of all the muscles.

Give me a break

These are a few things that I've been running into lately where all I can do is think "Oh, give me a break". Sometimes they are funny and sometimes they're just downright annoying. I try and deal with them in a very nice diplomatic way, but typically I just want to squish it right there. But in all honesty if there's one person with a question there's usually many others as well so this is my attempt to be slightly entertaining and informative. Here you go. Enjoy.

100 calorie snack packs.

1 lb of nails and 1 lb of feathers weighs the same. Just like 100 calories of fecal matter is the same as 100 calories of anything else. Just cause it's 100 calories makes it no more healthy than anything else. How about 100 calorie packs of ice cream, syrup or bacon grease. Give me a break.

Les Mills systems

I honestly did get asked by a body pump instructor if I'd ever done 5 min of squats straight. I laughed in her face cause I thought she was joking. Turns out I'm a jerk on accident. Oops. But seriously. Give me a break.

There's no way that doing squats with a barbell on my back for 5 minutes is ever going to contribute to any goal I've ever had. As far as that goes the only goal it could possibly help with would be doing squats for 5 minutes. But doing technical lifts for extended durations is not going to be a good idea. Actually it's a very bad idea. I'm not saying the word 'never' but I've not come across a situation yet nor can I think of one. It would be hard enough for an experienced lifter with incredible body control to pull this off without breaking form, hitting depth, and holding good position let alone the random gym goer, of which almost 100% of them have some sort of joint, postural, or functional dysfunction.

Flaring your elbows while doing pushups.

This is another les mills exercise that I can only describe as FUBAR. Seriously, if you have an instructor/trainer/coach that tells you to do pushups with your elbows at 90 degrees to your torso don't say anything just walk away, check that, Run away and fast. Why? Cause it's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard of in my whole life. Unless your goal is bombed out shoulders and pain for the rest of your life.

With the body form follows function always. The shoulder girdle sits in a position relative to the humerous and thoracic spine that allows the muscles to track in a very specific way. Go against that and it causes problems. You're looking at impingements, GIRD (gleno humeral internal rotation deficit), rotator cuff fraying, etc...all are bad bad bad.

I explain this one daily! It's ridiculously annoying. People, PLEASE pass the word along about this and Give me a break!!!

How about that diarhea yogurt stuff?

Yeah Jaimie Lee Curtis used to be hot back in the day, but biffidus regularis??? Give me a break. Any yogurt has cultured bacteria (that's what makes it yogurt, so does cottage cheese) and yogurt is healthy as long as it isn't chalked full of sugars.

This container is just a gimick sales pitch so they can make it more expensive. Of which seems funny considering they're selling you on pooping more. You want something that'll actually help you, eat more celery. You can even toast to it,"Here's to pooping".

EasyCurves.com

This might be the most funny one of all, but in all actuality it holds about as much water as any of the others. This stick somehow performs miracles. Give me a break. Click here and you'll see what I mean.

Breast Cancer 3-Day

I've actually wanted to promote this here for awhile now but was not quite sure how to give it justice. I'm not the best writer in the world and this is a big deal and it needs a certain amount of seriousness along with a certain amount positivity and fun as well. See this is a life threatening deal, at the same time it can leave a woman lacking part of herself. I don't care who you are or what you lose it's going to affect you. A very small portion of men actually develop breast cancer so I am not writing this because I myself am worried, but I have 5 reasons that I'll list here.

1. It doesn't just affect that woman. It affects everyone around them. Every friend, family member, and loved one. It could be someone close to me or you.                  
2. The process they must go through is horrifying and terribly painful. Not only is there a fear of death and loss, but even what is supposed to make them better is wreaking havoc on the body. The stories I've heard are nothing I want someone close to me going through.
3. Because without something 1 in 8 women will continued to be diagnosed, and that's way too many.
4. I'll attempt to say this delicately, and I mean it in the best of ways. Women are made beautiful just the way they are, and I appreciate it deeply. (nicest way I could say it. If anyone is offended than you are lying to yourself cause you know it's true.)
5. The number one reason: My brother's significant is on a mission. A mission inspired by her loved ones that were diagnosed with breast cancer and she's going to raise $2,300 for research.   This is Sonja

For those of you that have the money this is a good deal. You can truly help not just one person but many. I encourage you all to pass the word, forward this link to your friends and family. I live by having reasons for everything I do so here's a few reasons to donate. 

This is the link to Sonja's personal page. Give her some props.

http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/SeattleEvent?px=3283391&pg=personal&fr_id=1300&et=koXLKJTK8mLZ-uRpA4M6fw..&s_tafId=199522 

Picture of Sonja and Joe

• Girls, you have all the reasons in the world to donate. You have a Mom, Grandma, possibly daughters and that's enough of a reason

Sonja and her daughter Hannah

• Guys: You all have a mother.
• Girls: Those things do serve anatomical significance and function.
• Guys: I know you appreciate the female form. If nothing else. donate to prevent breast cancer from taking this away.
• On Sept. 11th, 2009 bunches of people are going to feel strongly enough to walk for 3 days straight and work their butts off to raise money for this.
•  
• The last reason is not a reason because I really don't think any of you actually need me for that part. You can come up with your own. 

Here's the link again. Help a girl out.

http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/SeattleEvent?px=3283391&pg=personal&fr_id=1300&et=koXLKJTK8mLZ-uRpA4M6fw..&s_tafId=199522