Moved around the Stuff

In a fit of spring cleaning, I rearranged all the crossfit/rehab equipment to open up more floor space, here are the results, alot more user friendly

Crossfit is for everyone

Annabelle is 87, we don't call it crossfit with her, but she still is kicking some butt.  We can scale workouts to any age, injury or fitness level

475 going to 500

As I posted earlier this week, I am working on my Crossfit total numbers. As one of my wise athletes, Danny Jasper, said last week, you can't bullshit a deadlift. Truer words have never been spoken, here is me with 475, doing sets of 5 at 405, so feeling good about the process

Perfect Pullup

We don't actually teach clients to chew the bar when doing pullups, but some people you can't tell anything to!

Little Issac, first attempt at an assisted pullup

WOD 4.18.09

warm up

5 rounds

front squat 205# x 6

24" box jumps x 6

push press 115# x 6

for time

Before you talk to me about your bodyfat do a couple of things

1. Are you eating a good breakfast?

2. Are you drinking water throughout the day, not just when you are thirsty, but then its too late

3. Do you have a ride on mower?  Go and get yourself one of these:

4.  Are you limiting carbs on non workout days?

5.  Are you eating to fuel performance, or for comfort?

Only Fat Ugly Girls Lift Weights......RIIIIGHT!

WOD 4.16.09

50-30-20

sit ups

jumping jacks

deadlift work up to 1 rm

pullups 3 sets of max

4 rounds

15 snatches 95#

500m row

Working on My Crossfit Total Numbers

 

I am going to start adding video and pictures of my workouts as well as athlete workouts.  I figure it is a good way to keep us honest and working as hard as possible.

My Crossfit Totals as of today are

Deadlift 445

Squat 455

Overhead Press 225

1125 total.  My goals are to maintain the press, increase the squat and especially the deadlift to 500#  I plan on a 1200-1250 total as a goal.

Met Con numbers steadying increasing, but still hampered with tendonitis in the elbows.  High rep pullups with long levers and 245# bodyweight is problematic.

So pictures to come..........

WOD 4.15.09

"Running With Scissors"

5 min AMRAP

jump rope 50 jumps

sit ups 10

push ups 10

5 rounds

Bodyweight Deadlifts x 10

Burpees x 10

5  rounds

10 box jumps

10 clap push ups

10 hanging knee ups

10 min  as many flips as possible team tire flips (LARGE tractor tire, take turns flipping)

Crazy Crap

This video is an example of the kind of shit that gives sports conditioning a bad name.  The saying "just because you can do something doesn't mean you should" comes to mind.  Working on strength and power are paramount for most sports, but this balance/"functional" exercise are a joke.  This is an example of a trainer trying to make a name for himself with flash and no substance.  The basic movements are hard, they hurt, you breath hard, they suck.  They work, but athletes don't like to do them, it is much easier to follow this kind of crazy crap.  Work hard and succeed.

 

WOD 4.14.09

"The Dark Side of Tom Cruise"

10 min AMRAP

mountain climbers 20

grasshoppers 20

jumping jacks 20

 

Db Swings 20 x 30# (women) 50# (men)

Box jumps 10

x5

3 way plank 30s each (side/front/side)

scissor double leg drops 12

x4

sprint 8 x 40 m (15s rest between each)

1 round max push ups

Spring Break Programs

As most of my Alter athletes are on spring break in almost the same place in Florida, I thought I would post some bodyweight programs to do:

#1

5 min as many sets as possible

20 bicycle crunch, 20 90 degree crunches, 20 scissor double leg drops

10 rounds:

sprint 40 yards, 10 burpees, 30 sit ups ( as recovery) then go right into the next sprint

#2

50-40-30-20-10

jump squats + bicycle crunch

as many sets as possible in 20 min

walking lunges 10 steps (5 each leg)

jump lunges 10 jumps (5 each leg)

broad jumps 5 jumps

Juvenile I know, but I had to share it…..

Coaching Good Kids from Bad Backgrounds

 http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/basketball/2002-10-06-st-anthonys-cover_x.htm

This is an interesting article about coach Hurley, from a catholic school in New Jersey, the school is falling apart, is in a horrible part of Jersey City, with kids that loose parents to AIDS, they don't have a basketball gym, but he has sent kids to ivy league schools, 200 college scholarships, as the school falls apart around them.

He says the key to his success is that he holds the kids to a higher standard, asking them to sign a contract when they play for him.

On the flip side

http://www.whas11.com/news/local/stories/whas11_topstory_090330-player-dies-lawsuit.87077991.html

A 13 year old middle school player dies of heart complications during a practice.

As coaches we need to get back to coaching kids, and not damaging kids.  We need to get back to helping parents challenge kids, no just concern ourselves so much with winning, and more about challenging kids and keeping them to a higher standard, so they can survive in the outside world.

Ask yourself why a 13 year old is being pushed so hard that he died during a middle school practice?

Ladies, how hard are you working?

Jennifer K. of  CrossFit HEL

Fantastic Quote

Although this quote is supposed to be directed to the fight against religious zealots and enemies of our nation, it should have meaning to all competitors and athletes alike

"Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.
Still want to quit?"
NousDefionsDoc
www.professionalsoldiers.com

This one is for you Theresa

And to all "Pilates Practitioners"  My feelings about Pilates are well known in my gym.

 

Disabled or Superhero?

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/aimee_mullins_prosthetic_aesthetics.html

very interesting video to change your perspective on disability.

A Truer Statement About Conditioning Has Never Been Stated

 

Training is a process, not the events of one day

-Mark Rippetoe

The best Rippetoe quote I have read

Mark Rippetoe for those that don't know, is connected with Crossfit and is a lecturer on powerlifting, great exercise quote

The question was –
“…is adding an hours walk as easy cardio helpful, detrimental, irrelevant to strength improvements…”
Rips answer
“Walking for an hour is not exercise. It's shopping.
If you count it at all, in any way, as part of your program ...well, I'll be disappointed

What do I do after the 45 day challenge

To recap, the 45 day challenge was to:

• eat less than 100 grams of carbs a day
• workout at power enterprises 3 days a week
• do at least an hour of exercise on 3 off days a week

we are coming to the end of the 45 days, and it has been successful in two ways.  For everyone exposed to the program, it has made all participants more aware of what, and when they were eating any carbohydrate throughout their day, and an important second, it has been a successful start to loosing some stubborn weight.  What to do next?

We will stay with the low carb theme, but now we have to talk about what made the 45 days successful.

Controlling insulin, that is the answer, high levels of uncontrolled carbohydrate intake, means that your body releases insulin from your pancreas in order to control your blood sugar.  From here the sugar is either used by the body, excreted or stored. 

I said uncontrolled carb intake earlier, there are ways to do that.  by eating protein and fat with the carbohydrate in appropriate balance (the zone for instance) helps control insulin release, slowing down the process, and allowing the body  time to use the sugars and not store as quickly.

Another way would be to increase the fiber content of the carbohydrate that you eat.  Fiber blocks the speed of the processing of the carbohydrate by your body.  This also slows the amount of insulin, and also controls blood sugar.

The last way, is understanding the Glycemic index of the carbohydrate you are eating.  The glycemic index or GI describes this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels.

The GI value of a food is determined by feeding 10 or more healthy people a portion of the food containing 50 grams of digestible (available) carbohydrate and then measuring the effect on their blood glucose levels over the next two hours. For each person, the area under their two-hour blood glucose response (glucose AUC) for this food is then measured. On another occasion, the same 10 people consume an equal-carbohydrate portion of glucose sugar (the reference food) and their two-hour blood glucose response is also measured. A GI value for the test food is then calculated for each person by dividing their glucose AUC for the test food by their glucose AUC for the reference food. The final GI value for the test food is the average GI value for the 10 people.

Foods with a high GI score contain rapidly digested carbohydrate, which produces a large rapid rise and fall in the level of blood glucose. In contrast, foods with a low GI score contain slowly digested carbohydrate, which produces a gradual, relatively low rise in the level of blood glucose

(www.glycemicindex.com)

What are the factors that affect the GI of foods?

Anything that will affect the rate at which carbohydrates are turned into glucose and pumped into the bloodstream will alter the GI of the food. These things can be identified as follows

• the size of the carbohydrate – the simpler carbohydrates are absorbed by the body quicker than complex carbohydrates. Short chain carbohydrates like sucrose will have an increased impact on GI as compared to starchy carbohydrates
• the manner in which foods are processed – porridge that is made from naturally raw rolled outs will have a lower GI compared to instant porridge
• the structure of the carbohydrate – the starchy carbohydrates like pasta and bread will have the same size but bread will have a higher GI because of its structure
• the manner in which foods are cooked – boiled potatoes have lower GI values than mashed potatoes
• the ripeness of a fruit or a vegetable – ripe bananas have higher GI values than bananas that are not yet ripe
• the length that the food stays in your mouth – the GI is higher when you break down the food more in your mouth and then swallow it

(www.medic8.com)

Glycemic index eating, encourages you to eat less white sugar and flour and potatoes, and start eating carbohydrate sources that are high in fiber, and are unprocessed from plant or fruit sources.

Here is how to get started:

Step #1 - Make a list of the main carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits, breads, grains, cereals, pasta, rice, juices, beans, soups, baked goods, etc.) in your diet and note the number of times a week you eat that particular food.

Step #2 - Now look up the Glycemic Index for each food on your list. If you can't find a particular food listed, consider the foods ingredients. If they are all highly processed (refined white flour, sugar, corn syrup) rank the food HIGH. If the food has some processed and some unprocessed ingredients, rank it a MEDIUM. If almost all the ingredients are in their natural state, rank the food as LOW. This is a good rule of thumb, but it's not exact. Also, overcooked foods will tend to have a higher GI than undercooked foods. This is especially true for pasta, vegetables, grains, and cereals.

Step #3 - Identify the high glycemic foods in your diet, foods with a G.I. over 70 and try to eliminate as many as you can. Pick out some of the medium GI foods (GI between 55 and 70) you can do without.

Step #4 - Then, using the GI Food List on this web site, find low G.I. substitute foods you enjoy and start working them into your every day diet. If you're eating out and have to select a high GI food try to offset it by ordering something with a very low GI. Or, consider ordering a vinaigrette dressing on a salad to bring the average GI of your meal lower. Remember, this isn't an "all or nothing" diet. No one eats perfectly all the time. Just do the best you can and watch what happens.

(http://www.lowglycemicdiet.com)

Congrats to our resident swimmers

Sarah Andrews (Centerville HS, Div 1)
State Champion 500 Free (4:50.87)

Sarah Andrews- Central Division Swimmer of the Year

100 Backstroke and 500 Freestyle Champion

Molly Osterhage- Centerville Swimmer of the Meet

50 and 100 Freestyle Champion
Broke the Division record in the 50 and Conference record in the 100

Molly Osterhage (Centerville), Megan Davis (Miamisburg), district champions

Blaine Kincaid All American Honors

Aaron Buchanan (17), a senior at Beavercreek HS, earned Runner-Up State Champion in the 500 Free (4:28.78).

What is your excuse not to train today?

Tanya West of CrossFit North Fulton. Born with Spina Bifida and paralyzed from the waist down.

The most ridiculous hang clean I have ever seen

I ran upon this video on YouTube from a respected university.  If my athletes looked this bad doing an exercise, I wouldn't take video of it to show my skills as a coach, much less allow it to be posting it for everyone to see.  You be the judge

Then I found this video of an 8th grader who has near perfect form, taught to him I am sure, by a father, PE teacher or coach, that asked his athletes to worry about form not weight.  Why do we spend so much time asking Pro and College coaches for advice, when coaches at this level do all the hard work before they get to college?

Be an athlete first

This is an amazing video, about an amazing athlete.  It speaks to being an athlete first, and worrying about your sport after you have accomplished that.  Find every possible method to improve your basic athletic skills: strength, speed, balance. 

How Lazy does one person have to be

I bet this woman complains about the size of her pant too.

When you think you are having a bad day, stop and think

This is a bad day. 

Low Carb Diet and Serum Cholesterol

Here is a refereed article concerning improvements in serum cholesterol numbers in the absence of high amounts of carbohydrates.

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/133/9/2756

Paleo and MS

These articles are just popping up today

http://darwinstable.wordpress.com/2008/11/21/the-paleo-diet-and-multiple-sclerosis/

High Fat Diet and Cancer

interesting article for all the lovers of grains and a starch at every meal

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1662484,00.html

45 day fat loss challenge

Tomorrow starts the 45 day fat loss challenge at power athlete.  Non- competitive athletes and adults that wont to take the challenge only have one criteria, they must stay under 100 grams of carbohydrates per day for 45 days, that is it.  The majority of carbohydrates must come from sources low in carbs such as most vegetables.

 

Web source that may help:

http://weightloss.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atkinsfriends.com%2Fcarbcounter.shtml

Gym Pics

Started playing with the camera on my blackberry today, not a bad little camera

Dr Vasilu before and after his 500m rower sprints

Brent Roth during squat bodyweight x 8 + ring pull ups x 8 intervals

Sandy Plunkett is a bad ass

Pictured below are teeth marks left after they made contact with the killer elbows of Sandy "kick ass and take names" Plunkett during the girl's basketball game this week  Nice Job Sandy

Alter Football Signing Day

Archbishop Alter High School today sent 5 players to division 1 football programs, two of our own Max Plunkett and Evan Neff both signed as part of this ceremony Evan is going to Ball State and Max is going to Kent State.

Evan and his parents Bob and Carolyn

Max and His family, Mom and Dad, Theresa and Gail, sister Sandy and brother Micheal

Congrats to all the boys we wish them well.

Found the Side Effects of Alli

the weight loss supplement Alli has certain side effects, that are compiled on the website http://www.thewvsr.com/alli.htm quite histerical really that anyone would rather do this to themselves, rather than exercise with any kind of intensity and watch their dietary intake.

Yet another interval endorsement, battling diabetes

Short fast sprints 'cut' diabetes

Short bursts of intense exercise every few days could dramatically cut the risk of diabetes and heart disease, according to an Edinburgh professor.

Rather than slaving away for hours in the gym, people should focus their attention on quick "sprints" with each workout lasting just a few minutes.

James Timmons, Heriot-Watt University professor of exercise biology has studied the effects of quick exercise.

He recommends 4 x 30 second sprints on an exercise bike three times a week.

He said people could reduce their risk of diabetes and heart disease substantially with short, intense workouts - with such "time-efficient" exercising appealing to busy workers.

In his study, published in the journal BMC Endocrine Disorders, 16 men exercised for three sessions a week for two weeks.

Each session was made up of 4 x 30 second sprints on an exercise bike.

This involved the men going as fast as they could for 30 seconds and then taking a few minutes of complete rest between each sprint.

After two weeks, Prof Timmons said the results were "substantial", with a 23% improvement in insulin function.

While his research focused on young men, Prof Timmons said it would work for people of all ages and for both men and women.

He said: "This study looked at the way we break down stores of glycogen.

"Think about diabetes as being glucose circulating in the blood rather than stored in the muscles where it should be.

"If we take out the glycogen from the muscles through exercise, then the muscles draw in that excess glucose from the blood."

Intense contractions

He added: "If you go for a jog or a run you oxidise glycogen but you are not depleting the glycogen in your muscles.

"The only way to get to this glycogen is through very intense contractions of the muscles.

"If we can get people in their 20s, 30s and 40s doing these exercises twice a week then it could have a very dramatic effect on the future prevalence of diabetes."

He said the effects were bigger than the traditional "one hour of running per day".

The exercise routine is known as "high-intensity interval training" or HIT for short.

Prof Timmons said current guidelines on how much exercise people should take may need revising.

Diabetes UK research manager Victoria King said short duration, high-intensity training improved insulin action in young healthy males but the research had only been undertaken in a small group of people without diabetes.

She said: "Whilst the improvement in the control of insulin action in those who undertook the training is interesting, it's limited at this stage as to what we can learn as only whole body sensitivity has been measured."

Story from BBC NEWS

Hybrid Training, GPP, Sports Conditioning

I have been, for 15+ years now, tried to get my head around the optimal combination of these three things, we didn't call it hybrid training back then, but that is what it was.  Coach Glassman, the genius behind Crossfit, has mastered the out of the box look at physiological adaption.  He recently made a comment during a speech that by experimenting with USA skiing, adding pullups to a downhill skier, makes them a better skier.  They don't know why, it just works so they have run with it.  Until recently, I have found it necessary to have concrete proof on why I was doing something, backed up by research, even though I already knew it worked through personal experimentation.  My programs now reflect the fact that I have increased strength levels with high rep jumping, heavy core work is key to lifting big weight, you can still build lactate threshold and still lift heavy, they aren't exclusive that need to be programmed separately.

It is my goal in the next year, and years to come, to continue to carve the fat off of the meat that is movements and programming, to expose only working aspects.

New Direction

We are trying to take Crossfit principles in a new direction.  Crossfit as a system is one of non-specialization.  We train a large number of athletes that need a certain portion of specialization in their training. 

While maintaining levels of intensity, we will swerve toward power output of some athletes, strength for others, cardiorespitory fitness, and intermittent anaerobic fitness for others.  While doing this, all athletes and clients alike will also train all the other modalities mentioned, just in different proportions.  The spirit of Crossfit is experimentation within an open source system, so that is what we are doing, opening Pandora's box!

Thank God, President Obama said it.

From his inaugural speech, President Obama said, "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin the work of remaking America."  Truer words have never been spoken.

Alter Lady Knights Basketball

Mary Driving to the basket against Beavercreek

Ali M Fighting for the Ball

Nuf Said

Theresa Plunkett is my savior

thanks so much for the coffee this morning after my alarm malfunction.  You are my hero.

Visit From Fellow Affiliate Owners

Mike and Lynne from Valley Crossfit were visiting Dayton, and dropped in to see how we do what we do.   Some nice pics of yours truly on their daily blog

Congrats to all my swimmers

congratulations to all the PowerAthlete swimmers that kicked butt this weekend at the Makos Swim Meet. 

Don't Follow Professional Athletes

I just received Laird Hamilton's new book, which documents his thoughts on how to live a productive and balanced life. 

I have huge respect for Mr.Hamilton, his spiritual connection to the water and the earth is truly inspiring, and the holistic way that he lives life is amazing.

When I was first looking for his book, I landed on a few forum sites, where different people where explaining how they were going to start following his way of life and his training, and how it would make them a kick ass _____ (fill in the blank, I saw everything from a better surfer to a better firefighter)

Where we common mortals make the mistake, is that these amazing human beings are the genetically the top one percent of all of us.  Laird could eat coco puffs and watch TV all day, and still be a much better surfer than most people, Michael Phelps could take a year off swimming, and still beat 99 percent of the population of this planet in the 400 IM.

The point that I am making is we should take inspiration from these people, not try and emulate their training or dietary habits.  I read that Michael Phelps ate nothing but pizza in Beijing, and still beat everyone!

The average person doesn't have the genetic make up to withstand their training or dietary habits and still be successful.

Two classic examples, my favorites are the young men that try and follow the "Nebraska football program" or the "Notre Dame football program" or those that find a "super hardcore special forces workout" on the web and try to follow it. 

Trying to excel is fantastic, but realism in the face of injury or other negative turns of events trying to follow such programs, is an indication to re-evaluate the intensity rather than push through the pain with some ideas of grandeur.

Gaining Weight

Football is finally over, my boys have done we, and we are back to the same questions, "how do I gain weight for next season?"

To anyone over the age of 35, this question seems silly, as weight gain seems to be what you are fighting, but to a teenage boy, who has a metabolism in over drive, it is a serious problem.

First of all junk food will do the job, but not in a positive way.  You will gain weight but not a the right kind.  Anytime you eat more, the weight you gain will be both muscle and fat, what is important is what percentage of fat and muscle you gain.

In order to keep the amount of muscle gained as the higher percentage of total weight gained, I suggest to my athletes that they stick to as much natural food as possible, and avoid processed foods the majority of the time.

The benefits of natural foods is they have natural controls built in, to control absorption of calories at a steady rate, high amounts of fiber help significantly.  Fiber is most prevalently found in natural foods, and not very often in processed foods.

I suggest a diet high in protein and good sources of fat, combined with high fiber carbohydrate sources, such as brown rice, whole wheat pasta, and of course all the fruit and vegetables you can eat. 

Good sources of fats would be from nuts, as in natural peanut butter, or cooking oils such as olive oil.

High protein is from any meat source, or eggs or milk (preferably whole, vitamin D milk)

A sample day would look like this:

• whole grain cereal with whole milk
• scrabbled eggs (whole eggs not egg whites)
• fruit (apple, orange, banana, etc)

 

• apple or banana with ample peanut butter 

 

• whole wheat bread lunch meat sandwiches with cheese
• whole milk
• fruit and ample peanut butter

 

• mixed nut and dried fruit

 

• meat  large portion
• whole wheat pasta or brown rice
• ample vegetables

 

• ice cream and fruit smoothie

Max Plunkett most improved

After one year with Power Enterprises, Max Plunkett won the most improved senior award for his state winning football team.  See what Power Enterprises can do for you.......

Congrats again Max Plunkett and the Alter Knights for their State Championship win.

This is a picture of Max Plunkett, Senior Offensive lineman at Alter High School.  Max barely played last year.  He came to see us at the end of last summer, looking for the extra push to jump start his football aspirations.  This year, with lots of work at Power Athlete, and lots of constructive encouragement from his coaching staff, Max had a starting position on the offensive line of a State Championship Winning Football team.

This is a story of perseverance, fantastic coaches, and a true team of brothers.

If you have these kinds of aspirations, come see us at Power Athlete, you won't be disappointed.

Kettering Alter Wins State Championship

Congrats to Alter football with their win tonight.  Great athletic leadership with the athletic director Chris Hart, all the Coaching Staff, and of course parents.

Congrats to everyone.

Alter Knights Football Goes to war!

The Archbishop Alter Football team goes to war in the Division 4 state finals against Stubenville this Friday.

The boys have played some very impressive football this year, but what is most impressive to me is their mental poise.

After having to forfeit 2 games due to a rules oversight, they could have fallen apart mentally, and cried foul.  Instead this outstanding group of young men, and their coaches rallied their resolve and went after the stars.

I work with a number of players from  this years team, and I am very proud of them, but I am also very proud to be in anyway associated with a program that teaches kids to succeed through hard times.

Coach Ed Domsitz and his staff should be applauded for their life changing skills with these young men.

Visitor From Crossfit Verve

We had our first traveling crossfitter this week, Amy from Crossfit Verve in Colorado.  We exposed her to our version of crossfit, she took what we showed her and posted it to her coaches at home.  It was a great experience meeting Amy, an obviously well coached athlete.

This is what I love about Crossfit, it is all about the open source method of performance improvement, thousands of minds and ideas coming together to improve the system using the basic laws of exercise physiology set forth in the crossfit method.

We endeavor to become fitter in all the 10 elements of fitness, what ever way works, not just which ever ways are popular.

Wiener Deadlifts

I have had this since halloween, but have just got off my lazy butt to get it off the camcorder.  This is Ty B. who in passing told me he had a hotdog costume for halloween, we couldn't pass that up.

Post workout Recovery

I have told my athletes for along time that the commercial protein powders are second rate compared to the source of nutrition found in whole milk. 

British researchers recently found that "The protein and carbohydrates in milk appear to inhibit muscle-protein breakdown, and may also reduce inflammation.  This leads to quicker recovery.

A focused mom.

this video I found very interesting.  The kid is obviously phenomenal, but the most amazing thing about it is that mom is much more focused on his education.   Very refreshing

Which movement is more useful for athletic endeavors?

Not everyone that reads this blog is a coach or exercise Nazi,  but it doesn't take a genius to see how misguided our athletes have been when selecting exercises to improve athletic performance.  For example, pick which one looks the most athletic:

or this one, my favorite exercise to blame for athletic injury.

we ask our athletes to perform explosively on the field with their whole bodies, and then train them with exercises that support most of their bodies while they perform them. 

I guarantee you that an athlete that can perform a 210# thruster, as is shown in the first video, can do a 210# bench press, but not necessarily the other way around.

Congrats Kelly W. and the Alter Vasity Volleyball

Nice Job Girls with your win over Tippecanoe, keep it up!

the video to go along with swimmer gymnastics

It is a mobile phone video, but you get the idea of the movement and how powerful such movements can be to the sport of swimming

I have now seen it all

this is from a Hawaiian website, they are crispy creme bacon cheese burgers.

Action Shot, Sandy P

Paleo Diet Redux

this is the simplest explanation of the paleo diet I have ever found.

http://www.tbkfitness.org/TBKdiet.html

Crossfit Trains the complete athlete

I have preached in blog posts earlier that crossfit trains all athletes to be better athletes, not just better basketball players, soccer players, SWAT team or special ops team members, but better athletes.  This video is a prime example of that

Click Picture to see video of this amazing feat of varied athletic ability.

Swimmer Gymnastics

We are using some gymnastic movements to improve the water awareness/balance/position of our swimmers.  Here is Aaron B, working on an inverted position on the rings

Technorati Tags: swimming,conditioning,gymnastics rings,raiders

 

Athletes at work

The mental benefits of non specialization

I just read the summary of the interview Crossfit radio had with Strength Coach Mike Boyle, who up to this point I have had great respect for.

Mike Boyle's work, along with other prominent strength coaches, I was taught in college, is the only way to produce increased performance in athletes.

As I own a crossfit affiliate, it should be obvious that I have gone in a different direction.  The one factor that was consistently missing with the athletes that I trained in this manner, was a total lack of perseverance, and mental toughness. 

When one walks into a conditioning facility, regardless of the level of athletics, and you already know each set will be fully rested, perfectly timed and laid out, it doesn't take much mental fortitude to persevere.  

On the other hand, if you are a little scared at the prospect of what is coming from a workout, you have to "man-up" to walk in the room.

Now other strength coaches, Mr. Boyle included will probably read this and cry foul.  What about periodization, what about tapering of endurance athletes/swimmers?

I would say to that, to all but the absolute cream of the crop athletes will any of those things matter.  I have had the honor of working with a number of very good athletes, maybe not the cream of the crop, but some very good athletes at the college and Olympic levels.  For them, I would say a little more mental toughness was and is, the limiting factor to their continued success.

We have gone from irresponsibly over training our athletes, to severely under-training them, especially concerning the mental aspects of athletics.

I believe the multi faceted variance of Crossfit allows for this mental training, as well as kick ass total athletic development regardless of sport, in a responsible manner.

Why Grains, Potatoes and Beans are Poison

Great post that answers all the questions I get about food choices and the modern diet.  If you are sick a lot, you may look to your diet as a cause.

 

Grains, Beans and Potatoes, more trouble then they are worth.

very interesting reading on good health and nutrition

Human Mistakes

 

bodies built on hunting and gathering

-courtesy of crossfit balboa

Amazing article on Human Potential

An interesting look at what makes us push our boundaries

http://barefootfts.com/blog/Human+Potential/

words to live by, this is how we live at power enterprises inc.

World-Class Fitness in 100 Words

Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.

from crossfit.com

Starting the zone diet?

Here is a good resource page for those looking to start zoning.

http://zoneperfect.com/nutrition.aspx

Great for Analysis of the Olympic lifts

Olympic lifts are my love and my hate.  Love to watch them, never really feel comfortable doing them, but we practice anyway, practice makes perfect

Technorati Tags: olympic lifts,snatch,clean,RDL,olymic training center

 

God Bless America. Never Forget.

To all the families of 9/11 victims we say a silent prayer for you today. 

Running and Reading

Here is an interesting video of the prospective of a very successful person on over coming adversity and advancing yourself.

 

Congratulations Matt Enouen

Technorati Tags: Matt Enouen,alter football,archbishop alter

why you shouldn't be a smart ass........

dietary advice, all or nothing

I had a conversation with a client today about dietary ideas, and I came to 2 points.

first of all you can't go into changing your lifestyle half way.  You can't half way quit smoking, doing drugs, or anything else you know for sure  is going to kill you. 

Eating poorly and acting like you are doing a good job will still kill you, even if you convince yourself otherwise.  Eating well Monday through Thursday, and eating every piece of crap you can find from that point on......will still kill you, and make you soft and pillowy, just a little slower.

Stop trying to fool yourself and blame everything and everybody around you, and make the commitment.  Full time

Please I implore you....read this and live by it.

ZONE DIET
* Eat at last three meals and two snacks a day to stay within the "zone" where you are not hungry and have a clear mental focus.
* Divide your plate into three equal sections. One-third should be enough low-fat protein to fit in the palm of your hand, and two-thirds should be fruits and vegetables, with a dash of fat such as olive oil.
* Eat plenty of leafy green vegetables and fruits.
* Eat less pasta, breads, grains and starches.
* Aim to get calories from protein 30 per cent, fat 30 per cent, carbohydrates 40 per cent.

for all those with excuses not to workout today....

Football Players leave us for the college year

This is the week that the college football players leave us to go to their colleges.  This year has seen an average of 150 pound increase in the back squat 100 pound front squat increase, and 125 pound deadlift increase.  Military presses have doubled, snatches and cleans too.  All in all a successful summer.  Good luck and a good year at school fellas!

On the topic of diet.....

I read an incredible thought process about the use of carbohydrate in the American diet.  As many of us don't do extended manual labor in our day, we should use grain or potato carbs as an accent or condiment rather than a main stay of the dinner plate.  These rules should obviously be relaxed for competitive endurance athletes, but vegetables and low glycemic index fruits should be the majority of the carbohydrate make up of our diet for optimum body composition and health.

zone calculator

for those looking for even energy levels all day, lower body fat, and higher lean muscle mass, you know, everyone, he is where to start.

 

zone calculator

I thought this was funny as hell

remember to eat your fruit and veggies.....

 

Happy Birthday Evan Johnson

Happy Birthday, and great job on the 535 squat.  Evan has made great strides this summer with a 500+ deadlift and squat, as well as great improvement in snatch, clean and push press.  Evan is an Arch Bishop Alter High School Grad, and is playing football at Brown University in the Fall.

Understanding your blood test results

I just found this very interesting site for all of those that have had blood work done, and are trying to understand the results.

http://www.amarillomed.com/howto.htm

Keeping a diet journal/diary can be a powerful tool

check out this article about the power of writing it down.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080708/hl_nm/diet_diary_dc

Work Harder To Succeed.

Hard work works

For about the nine hundredth time I recently read an article about a new top secret rep scheme that is guaranteed to increase your lifts 600%.  The truth of the matter is that there are some simple truths to fitness and athletic performance, and they are as follows:

1.  everything works for a while.  Everything will improve your performance for some period of time, then you will adapt to it

2. Hard work beats all.  If the exercise is hard, brutally hard, you are going to improve.  Pushing the stimulus boundaries of your body, will make it change and improve

3.  If you aren't a little scared of the program, write a new one.  This one follows the one above, if you go into your workouts calm and collected, and you don't have to convince yourself you really should be doing this, it isn't hard enough to make changes in your body or how it moves.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Girls of Alter High chalk up!

Alter Alumni  Louise V. squatted deadlifted 235, Megan S squatted 180, Sandy P, a junior, squatted 160, Ali M made a great showing at a 145.  All have made significant improvement.

Great Week for the Ladies

Megan S box squatted 180 x 3, Mary B box squatted 135 x 1 and Louise V. deadlifted 225 x 1, all three under 150 body weight!  Didn't have my video camera, but I will get video from here on out. 

Just can't workout today, just too tired?

check out this little boy, what an inspiration.  If you can watch this video, and still not get your butt off the couch....something is seriously wrong with you.

 

Great Week of Football Strength

My boys from the area football teams are starting to put some great numbers up in the major lifts. 

Notables this week are a 485 deadlift from Evan J, a 300 front squat and a 150 military from Matt P (155 pound bodyweight)  Max P put up a 190 military press and Evan N and David K broke the 405 squat barrier. 

Keep up the good work fellas.

Fast like the wind

Took some pics at the gym today.  These show the speed necessary for Olympic lifts to take place with proper execution.  I didn't have the sports setting on the camera turned on, but I think it makes the effect that much more dramatic

 pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

 

Also Mary B. working on her chin ups,  and Ryan S. working the lower body triple extension with the dumbbell jump squats

Nice Squat Matt P.

Matt P. DB for Archbishop Alter High School's football team squatted 350 x 1 at a bodyweight of 154 this morning . Very nice job Matt!

chasing a 5 year old

As many of you know, I have a 5 year old child, Joe, who is a very active child.  we were at the park today, and as an experiment I mimicked him around the playground for an hour.  It was quite an eclectic workout.  Adding variety and new challenges to your program with keep your metabolism guessing and therefore ramped up.

Scholarship Congrats

Congrats to Arch Bishop Alter's Evan Johnson on his  scholarship to Brown University, and Fairmont High School's Evan Wray on his scholarship to Butler University.  Both Are great students and athletes.  We are happy to have them as part of the Power Enterprises family.

Welcome Isaac Michael Manfre

I would like you to meet my son Isaac, all 8.9 pounds and 22 inches of him.  Obviously a very proud dad.

 

Isaac 1

Isaac 2

Isaac 3

Native Eating

This Article is very interesting.  It basically documents how native people in this country, but also documented cases in Australia and South America, have gone back to their native diets, and have seen massive weight loss, Higher energy levels and a decrease in depression and diabetes. 

Congrats to Jenny Forster and the Arizona Swim Team

The Arizona Wildcats are the newly crowned national champion swim team.  Our own Jenny Forster is a contributing member of this team, so I thought I would mention it. 

We can no longer take credit for Ms. Forster's conditioning, as it is obviously handled by the excellent strength and conditioning staff at the University of Arizona, but she is Power Enterprises Inc alumni, so she gets the mention.

Congratulations to our own Sarah Andrews

Our own "little fish" Sarah Andrews got her Olympic Trial Cut time in the 200m bk.  Congratulations to her, her family and the Dayton Raiders Swim Coaching Staff.

Congrats to the Alter Girls Basketball Team

We have had the privilege of being associated with the Alter Girls Basketball team for a number of years now.  We wanted to wish them luck in the Ohio Girls Basketball State Finals, this Saturday March 8th in Columbus. 

We were mentioned in the local Dayton Daily News in an article, third paragraph.  This is the link to the article about the very talented Ms. Waterman

Waterman Article