Our Boy Evan

Picture of Evan Wray walking into this weekend's game with the other Notre Dame football players.  Very proud, as I am of all my athletes.  Send pictures of you and your team, I'll post those too.

 

Interesting Thought on weight loss......

I just saw Valerie Burtinelli on Sunday Morning, she was talking about her weight loss, and her comment was, now that she lost the weight, she needs to figure out what things got her to that point (her high weight), so that she knows what situation in her life to avoid, so she doesn't get back to that point.

What's causing you to eat too much?

Debunking the myth of Women and Bulking Up

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/female_athletes.htm

Speed and Agility Camps at Power Athlete

We are working on the concept of an all inclusive speed/agility/strength/injury prevention camps for athletes from all sports.

The curriculum will include sprinting, jumping, agility movements, as well as the associated exercises necessary to product power and strength while participating in their sport.

As a positive by product of this training, we can improve the athlete's ability to avoid injury by improving their ability to safely accelerate/decelerate and jump/land under control.

Workout options will be 2 x per week, 3x per week, 4x per week and an unlimited/month program

Any interest in this type of training should contact Paul at (937) 414-0362

Question of Intensity

Reading on the subject of fitness, athletic enhancement, and strength and conditioning, will exhibit to you how many new and innovative programs there are.  Many are just fluffy, cookie cutter programs, but some are successful, very successful, and they all have one thing in common.  Wether the program is a complex mash of Olympic lifts, sprints and standard lifts, or solely Kettlebell or Sandbag based, the successful programs all have intensity at their root.

The famous quote about fitness programs is that everything works for a while, and I believe that is true.  To add to this, in order to make any program work well it must make your body adapt to a new stimulus.  This stimulus must be a higher level of ability that will therefore show improvement in body composition, oxygen consumption and maximal strength levels.

So what ever it is you do for fitness, doing "it" intensely is much more important than duration, or style.  Definitely error on the side of intensity with good movement form, it will get you where you need to be.

Super impressive display of athleticism

This one says it all

My new favorite fitness quote from coach Rip

Women who claim to be afraid to train hard because
they “always bulk up too much” are often already pretty bulky,
or “skinny fat” (thin but weak and deconditioned)
and have found another excuse to
continue life sitting on their butts.

Mike Overman's Firefighter Combat Challenge Workout

Here is one of five rounds that we recorded last Saturday of Mike's preparation workout

Combat Challenge Training from paul manfre on Vimeo.

Evan Wray is a Notre Dame Football Athlete

Our own Evan Wray informed me this afternoon that he made the squad at Notre Dame!  All this accomplished within months of some very serious personal tragedy.  Fantastic effort on his part from a great kid.

Evan and his family

Consuming Protein/Carb Pre Workout Aids Recovery

Recent work performed at the University of Texas Medical School in Galveston found that consuming a small preworkout protein-carb meal may help with recovery and muscle building.

The study focused on a small liquid meal taken before weight training. The researchers found that consuming a protein/carb drink before a workout can significantly increase the amount of muscle-building amino acids your muscles suck up during the workout and over the next few hours. The increase in amino retention amounted to roughly 150% more than when the same drink was consumed immediately after a severe one-hour leg thrashing. This is significant because amino acid retention is a major step in creating or enhancing the anabolic environment in muscle and in promoting better and faster recovery and growth.

The researchers used a drink composed of 6 g of essential amino acids and 35 g of sucrose, plus a small amount of artificial sweetener (containing aspartame), dissolved in a half-liter of distilled water. The same scientists had used this drink formulation in previous studies that demonstrated its significant anabolic effects on muscle protein synthesis when consumed one or even three hours after a hard training session.

Love it Love it Love it

This is a just a reminder we go heavy tomorrow children........

Spinning Wheels

I was talking to one of my clients this morning, and he was recounting a story about how he used to go to a big open gym here in town, and "spin his wheels?" 

I asked what he meant, and I was told that he would get dressed drive to the gym, and basically wander around the expanse of shiny chrome machines, occasionally sitting and doing a few reps at a random weight that "sounded doable"

I think more often than not, most people with gym memberships buy them with the intent to use them to their full potential, but then life gets in the way and allows for excuses.  Then, you keep paying the membership, telling yourself you will EVENTUALLY get back to your routine, that just happened to suck even when you were doing it.

Learn from someone who is passionate about the subject that you seek to be better at.  Open gyms aren't for searchers, those looking for the best way to get fit, and maintain it, push its limits, those who look outside the box.  Open gyms teach us that if you are a mother of two, all you can do is stroll on a treadmill, or ride a bike while you watch the jumbo-tron TV or lift little pink dumbbells.  Our mothers, female executives, we all, train in as athletic a way as possible, jumping lifting, twisting, exploding, trying to produce the best "you" that you can.

Consider what you are trying to accomplish, just showing up, or improving everytime you show up?

Firefighter workout

Dayton fireman Mike Overman preparing for combat challenge competitions wit some snatches in gear. His metabolic set was in full gear




Combat challenge metcon

Sprint 200 m
6 95# clean grip snatches
6 95# squat + push press
6 pullups
Rest 2 min
6 rounds

Cover girl

Our own Claire Falknor featured on a Centerville Elks girl's soccer website, in the game she had an assist
on the first goal and scored the second one. Congrats Claire!

Technique for Show or Technique for Functionality

Over the last few months, teaching the Olympic lifts to executives, soccer moms and teen age athletes alike, it has come to my attention that the necessity of a full squat clean, or snatch, is mostly unnecessary.  In fact, I will go one step further, a traditional grip snatch, with a wide hand spacing, is also more of a hazard than a necessity. 

With the athletes we train, we are looking to enhance physical and psychological performance, while minimizing the chance of injury.

I don't agree with the non-Olympic training crowd, that says you can get the same effect with just plyometrics, or weighted jump squats.  The Olympic lifts are great, because as a coach, they have a finite end point to show success with the lift.  A jump squat can be 1 inch off the floor or 8 inches off the floor according to intensity of the athlete, but there is no finite end point.

Secondly, I have issues with the squat clean, and in some cases the power/hang clean in general, because of the racking or catching of the weight.  Even with talented athletes, this position can be a challenge, and thus takes away from the effort or intensity that the individual is putting into the explosive elements of the lift because of fear of the catch.

Are these lifts impressive and complex, teaching massive amounts of power, coordination and athleticism?  Absolutely, are there other ways to do the same thing?  Absolutely.  Dodging someone shoot arrows at you will teach you the same coordination, speed and athleticism, but should you do that just because that's one way to accomplish your goals?

Introducing the clean or narrow grip hang snatch.  Grip width is safer on the shoulder girdle, hang position allows for maximum power output from the hips and lower body.  Catch is in a natural and safe position.   It can be taught in 15 min to a novice, and has a finite end point.  Problem solved

Bad Ass Chick: Cristiane "cyborg" Santos

Not a lady you want to mess with.

Congrats to our own Eric Limekmann

Eric Limekmann had a great race finish this weekend and qualified for world championships, more info and pictures to follow

Heart disease and cholesterol, no connection!

From a poorly structured study came the famous, mythical connection between cholesterol and heart disease mortality….

 

Training athletes according to energy system needs

Power Enterprises trains may different athletes in the area, all with different needs when it comes to their training.  We attempt with every athlete, to train them for the specific needs of their sport.  Because of this I thought it would be a good idea to go over the 3 energy systems used in the body.

 

 

The graph above shows the different energy systems:

ATP/PC - The immediate energy system responsible for providing energy for activities lasting 1-12 seconds.

Glycolytic (Lactic Acid) - The short-term energy system responsible for providing energy for activities lasting 12 seconds - 2 to 3 minutes.

Oxidative (Aerobic) - The long-term energy system responsible for providing energy for activities lasting longer than 2 to 3 minutes.

From the chart above we can accurately predict the energy needs of athletes from many different sports, and train them according to those needs.  The goal of training within a target energy system is to make the athlete's body more efficient at using the fuel, and more efficient at getting rid of waste products left behind from burning that fuel, namely the H+ (hydrogen) that increase acidity in the muscles, that decrease performance.

For example a 50m freestyle swimmer should train a majority of his or her time within the ATP/PC and Glycolysis energy systems to make themselves as effiencent as possible in using these fuels.  That would mean a majority of the training would be work sets of between 0-2 min at high intensity, with low intensity work in between to flush acid out of the muscles, and allow the respitory system (lungs) to exhale as much of the acid as possible.  If these energy systems are not trained, when the athlete tries to engage them in a race, their inability to process acid out of the muscles impairs muscular performance, as well as causing breathing issues due to accumulation of acid in the lungs, which is the burning athletes feel in their chest when working at high intensity.

As the ability to flush the acid out of the body improves, rest periods can be decreased in order to continue to improve the body's ability to speed the waste products (acid) out of the body.

I hope this basic overview allows the athlete a glimpse in to how their body's energy is used .

 

 

 

Stronger Legs, Bigger Jumps-Jumping out of a Pool

 

Someone sent me the first video, and then I found the other video of the same athlete lifting very heavy squats and deadlifts.  As I preach constantly, you have to have a base of strength before speed or jumping ability improves.   This athlete has massive jumping ability, because he is extremely strong compared to his bodyweight, we call this power to weight ratio.

Build strength first, then worry about sprint/jumping technique.  Without the strength it is like a hybrid car racing a nascar, all the driving technique in the world isn't going to make up for the lack of engine power output.

If your in an exercise rut, your doing it wrong….

An exercise rut is like any other phase of your life that become monotonous.

The same distance and pace on the treadmill, the same walking route, the same routine of weight machines at the same weights.

The instant fix to an exercise rut is to change how you look at exercise.  If your view of the time in which you sweat everyday is that it is your sport, not just an activity, your perspective changes immediately.

A sport by definition is a competition of skills, that’s how you need to look at your exercise program.  Are there any skilled movements in your program that could use tweaking?  Are you just going through the steps of the workout blindly, or are you trying to perfect every aspect of every skilled movement?

We at Crossfit Powerathlete teach many skill based exercises, the Olympic lifts are a great example.  These movements are highly skilled, and never really mastered, much like a golf swing.

If you are in a rut, take down the intensity at which you are working at for 1-2 days, and spend some time working to improve your squat technique, your power clean or even your technique on the rower ergometer.  All of these skill practices will show positive results on future workouts, and remind you why you enjoy your sport so much.

French frys

At one time French fries where a special occasion food, there was no where you could buy them, so you made them at home. This undertaking meant prep time, mess, and generally a pain in the butt.

Ice cream had to be churned by hand at home, and was a multiple hour process.

Fast forward to today, and all these special occasion foods are readily avaliable 24/7. If you can't get behind a dietary system like the zone or paleo, at the very least try to minimize special occasion foods, cakes, pies, fried foods, ice cream to special occasions

550 deadlift

Evan Johnson deadlifting this afternoon

First Responders and Physical Preparedness

 

5'8 300#, unbelievable that this guy is going to protect anyone.  The original CNN video shows him unable to get up from a kneeling position, or exit the driver's side of the car with any kind of dexterity.  I don't think that all first responders should be supermen or women, but I do think they should be physically able to do the jobs the tax payers are paying them to do.  Prepare for the worse case scenario, so you don't become a casualty of that situation.

Evolving Fitness

As I work everyday with our own crossfit community, it always amazes me the compleities within the seemingly basic concept of fitness. This is only made more complicated when you speak to other "searchers" ( a term I have give to all if us who are looking for the holy Grail of fitness), troops in afganistan, fire fighters, and executives. I talk to as many people, as often as I can about their needs and perspectives about fitness. Crossfit answers many questions in it's present for, but it is the community's aknowledgement that it is an evolving model that is it's true gift

Public Apology

Just wanted to publicly apology to a certain Navy troop in Afghanistan.  Without thinking I used a non blacked out picture without his permission, and that was stupid.

so in his honor

"EOD Sacrifice"

45s side plank right side

continuous with 15 burpees

45s side plank left side

x4

increasing dumbbells: start at 25's to 6rm for the complex then do 2 more sets at that weight

single upright row 1 of each plus 1 double x 6

front lunges 6ea

reverse lunges 6ea

curl+press 6

squats 6

At the start of each min run  30 yards down and back + 12 jump lunges with 20# db's x 10

Squat technique

Loved this graphic, I apologize to my fellow affiliate owner who posted it, I can't remember where I found it, let me know it's yours and I will give you credit

Why I love the deadlift

The deadlift perfectly personifies my method of sports conditioning.  There is no gimmicks, you can’t do it half way, you make the lift or you don’t.

In the age of agility ladders, and endless sprint drills, the fact still remains that without proper strength, there isn’t enough power to move the athlete faster.

I am aware this isn’t sexy, strength takes hard work and effort, not just hopping around some cones, and running ridiculously complex patterns in agility ladders.  Blood sweat and tears in most cases.

This is why most young athletes, that are exposed to gimmick filled programs, never get faster, or better at their sport, because they never build the base of strength to support the sprinting

10th Cav

From an email from Todd, a soilder in the 10th cav, we write this little gem

Section 1:

3 way plank 30 s (side front side)
Overhead walking lunges 45# plate 20 steps
X4

Section 2

Burpee broad jumps 10
L sit pull ups x 5
X 5 for time

Section 3

Deadlift bw x 12
Chest slap push ups x 12
X 4 for time

Had to share this article

This article: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/slim-down-tone-up-quick-tips-that-really-work-477521/  is the reason I will always have clients coming in the door.  As I have said in the past, whatever mode of exercise you choose to do, intensity is the key, not duration.  If the body is not stressed outside of its comfort zone, it has no reason to adapt to the new stimulus.  That being said, the fitness industry keeps pumping out bullshit like this article, doing bent rows with a 1 liter water bottle, and people believe they are going to change their shape following such crap advise.

WOD 6.24.09

6 power cleans 1/2 bodyweight
200m run
10 burpees
200m run
12 Thrusters 1/2 bodyweight
200m run
14 lunges 1/2 bodyweight
200m run
18 squats 1/2 bodyweight
200m run
20 jump squats 1/2 bodyweight
200m run

What we do

Explanation of Services

Our basic philosophy is just that, basic. We believe that every athlete regardless of of sport or position should be trained as an athlete.

All athletes of any designation should have some basic skills:

• running/sprinting

• jumping

• pushing

• pulling

• lifting

Our basic skill set is:

• increase strength

• increase endurance

• increase power

• increase flexibility

• increase coordination

Any athlete proficient in these movements and skills will succeed in there sporting endeavors, with minimal exposure to injury.

Specific training to a sporting position seems to be the road to which you would build the optimal player. The problem with this approach is that it leaves the athlete open to issues if for instance as so often happens, the individual changes field position (defense to offense for instance). A trained athlete makes these adjustments much quicker than a single faceted player.

Our pricing is structured in such a way that the individual can visit the facility as often as their schedule allows. This gives the athlete the ability to be exposed to as many skills and movements, as often as possible, maximizing their adaption to these elements.

By continually varying the combination of skills within a workout, the dangers of stagnation and over training are over come.

WARNING

All this being said, the glue that sticks all of these skills together is hard work, we are not a babysitting service, or a place for young athletes to hang out. We work with individuals that are driven to improve. The workouts themselves are structured to be very strict on exercise form, they are fast passed, and relatively difficult according to the present ability level of the individual athlete. What this means is all the weights and sprint times assigned to the individual will be made to be difficult to obtain, according to each athlete's present fitness

"WTF"

we did this workout yesterday, it started out being called "House on the Water".  Somewhere along the line, someone changed it to WTF, you decide

 

5 min warm up (bike, stretch, etc)

 

run lengths of gym (90 feet) for 60s record total lengths

10 burpees

10 back extensions

keep repeating circuit till you reach 50 total lengths of the gym

 

push ups for 60s

40-# of push ups each set = # of 50# db swings

3 rounds

 

versa climber 60s count strides (substitute mountain climbers /1.5)

200-# of strides = sit ups with a 35# plate on chest

Huge box jumps

Matt Dobson during a box jump challenge. 32 inch box + 30# dumbbells.






-- In Strength

Mental disorder

Row 500m
Run 400m
30m walking lunges
X3

Sit ups x 25 +25# plate on chest
Db swings 15 x 30/50#
squat+push press 15x20/30#
x5

30m broad jumps
Pullups 10
X 4

-- In Strength

WOD 5.25.09

"no, I not kidding"

Run 400m
Burpee pullups for the time it took to run each 400m

Rest 2 min

4 rounds


-- In Strength

One of the most impressive performances I have seen with Crossfit

Unlike the super fast Fran times, Grace can't be half assed with butterfly kipped pullups or any other technique modification.  It is deceptively simple in design, but an incredible test of anaerobic endurance and mental fortitude.  This video is from Crossfit Dixie, my hat is off to you Tycen

WOD 5.18.09

Warm up

6 rounds:
10 push ups
10 squats
10 sit ups

400 m walking lunges (1 lunge each leg + 2 broad jumps)
Rest 60s
Repeat



-- In Strength

WOD 5.15.09

Deadlift 3rm 4x1@3rm

10-1 ladder:
135# hang cleans
100 yd shuttle lengths

First set looks like 10 hang cleans 10 lengths of shuttles


-- In Strength

WOD 5.13.09

5 rounds

5 burpees
5 each arm renegade rows without the push up 65# db
5 deadlifts 315#

8:23 to finish


-- In Strength

WOD 5.11.09

Metabolic set

5 rounds:
Dolly pike ups x 15
Push press 95# x 15
Jump lunges x 10 ea leg

-- In Strength

WOD "baracuda nipples"

Main set # 2

50-40-30-20-10

Walking lunges total steps (20/30)
Renegade rows (no push up) (20/30)
Db high pulls (20/30)


-- In Strength

WOD 5.9.09

Standard, go to ass kickin'

10 bodyweight back squats
10 burpees
5 rounds for time


-- In Strength

WOD 5.7.09

Warm ups

12 back extensions
12 push ups
X5

Deadlift 3 rm + 6 x 1 @ 3 rm
Push press 5 rm + 4 @ 5 rm

Deadlifted well today 435 x 3

-- In Strength

WOD 5.6.09

"post cinco"

Warm ups + strength set

1000m row
Run 400m
Airdyne bike hard 5 min


Back squat 3rm + 6x1@3rm
Pullups 5x5

-- In Strength

Darcy these links are for you

WOD 5.5.09

Main Set

4 lengths (about 80 feet a length)

of "tight ass"

lunge on each leg + 3 RDL 20#/30#

AFAP

Success is all about failing, getting up and trying again…….

Use what works....but keep looking

It is very easy, once you have had success, to keep using the same sub set of exercises, or perimeters, but what is also important is the continued variability of stimulus. Yesterday I taught a group of football players to row, and used the rowing machines to do some sprint intervals. Although they are well versed in sprint intervals, the slight change in modality made a world of difference. If one method doesn't work, find a new way to achieve the goal. If the way you are doing something works, periodically change it up to force your body to adapt.


-- In Strength

WOD 5.3.09

third circuit:

5 rounds:

Front loaded walking lunge 1 on each leg plus 3 push presses 80 feet. 95/65


-- In Strength

WOD 5.2.09

Second Circuit:

5 rounds:

20 squats
20 lunges
20 box jumps
10 jump squats

60s rest between sets


-- In Strength

Not bad for a soccer mom with two kids

This is the last of 5 rounds of 10 jump squats and 10 dolly piked push ups for time.  This circuit was the finisher on an already tough main set yesterday, thought I would give Deb some props for the effort.

Abby Golden Action Shot

A great picture captures our very own up and coming high jumper Abby.  She is still in middle school, but we expect big things as we transition her from a cross country runner/high jumper to exclusively a high jumper.

Alli, eat well or shit yourself

I just saw the commercial for the diet drug Alli,and basically it removed fat from your colon and you crap it out, the idea is that if you eat less fat, you won't shit yourself! It's a reward system

-- In Strength

WOD 4.30.09

Run a little, row a little

1000m row
1 mile run
750m row
1/2 mile
500m row

Afap


-- In Strength

WOD 4.29.09

5 min amrap:

Sit ups 10
Jump lunges 5ea
Db push press 10 20/30#

50-40-30-20-10

Jump squats
Dolly pike push ups
Lying pullups (inverted rows)


-- Post From My iPhone

Nasty little sequence we call “Dolly Hell”

Watch the video, do each movement for 20 reps (the video shows sets of 5), and do the sequence 5 times without rest, killer core work.

WOD 4.26.09

5 min amsap

Sit ups x 20
Pullups x 5
Run 100m

3 min as many as possible burpees

5 rounds:

9 front loaded lunges x 135
6 front squats x 135
3 hang squat cleans x 135

In strength

A truly mesmerizing video

WOD 4.23.09

"Ticking Gift"
50-40-30-20-10
sit ups
lateral bounds
mountain climbers

3 min as many 24" box jumps as possible

5 rounds
hang clean 135 x 6
push press 135 x 6
front loaded lunges 135 x 6ea

sprint 30 m x 5 on 45 seconds

WOD 4.20.09

Spoiled Cheese Cake
5 min AMRAP:
burpees x 5
front lunges 5 ea
push ups x 5

10 min AMRAP:
Lateral bounds x 10ea side
Jump squats x 10
Broad Jumps x 10

10 min AMRAP:
Step Ups (tallest box you can manage) x 10ea (20#/30# db)
Push Press x 12 (20#/30# db)
Half Moons x 10 (20#/30# db)

Airdyne sprints 4 x 30s 60s recovery

Hang Power Clean Sequence

I love this sequence of pictures, catches the speed for which the olympic lifts are famous

WOD 4.17.09

warm up

5 min moderate pace airdyne bike

6 x 30s sprint/30s recovery peddle airdyne bike

5 rounds:

row 250m

12 burpees

12 dolly pike ups

for time

Assistant Trainers

You pay trainers and all they do is lay around and workout!

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).