Take the multivitamin like I keep telling you!

A new study in the journal Obesity, by Y. Li and colleagues, showed that compared to a placebo, a low-dose multivitamin caused obese volunteers to lose 7 lb (3.2 kg) of fat mass in 6 months, mostly from the abdominal region (4). The supplement also reduced LDL by 27%, increased HDL by a whopping 40% and increased resting energy expenditure

Tomorrow's fun

warm ups: 

anchored sit ups x 20 with 25% of bodyweight dumbbell on chest

Russian twists 40 seconds sprint

front plank 60s

x3

Main Set:

continuous tire flips x 10

tire jumps x 10

push press x 50% bodyweight x 10

rest 2 min

x5

should be a good time.

Keys to successful weight loss

1. Nutrition – This is so important, it is almost 90% of the importance of the rest of the list combined.  Whole natural foods, diet low in processed items (white flour and sugar), and high in lean proteins,  fruits and vegetables will always be the best course to long term weight loss.  Carbohydrate choices that favor whole fruits and vegetables over grain based carbohydrates should dominate your diet, but a small amount of whole grain carbohydrates will round out a sensible effective diet.

2. Intensive exercise – Intensive is a relative word.  Intensive to the average person isn’t going to be intensive to an elite athlete.  The key is to keep your average intensity scale in the “difficult be manageable”  category.   Interval training can be based on cardiovascular equipment like a treadmill or a airdyne exercise bike, or with circuited weight routines or bodyweight circuits.  All of these forms of exercise can be combined to elicit the same effect of a portion of hard work followed by a portion of rest.  15-45 seconds of work to 60-90 seconds of rest for 6-15 intervals is a good scale for setting up the exercise circuit.

3.  Hydration -  Water makes up a large majority of your body, so getting into a dehydrate state is very detrimental to your over all metabolic levels.  Water emulsifies fats in your system, flushes toxins from your digestive system, and allows for proper endocrine function.

4.  Sleep – study after study has shown that people that get inadequate sleep eat more and gain more weight than those that sleep more.  Enough said.

This is a short but important list of facts that will get you on the road to better body composition.

Box Jumps Pics

40” box jumps, caught a couple of jumps on camera.  Max L a breast stroke swimmer and Collin W a football player

Awesome example of power

Workout from today

- dynamic warm up and stretching

set 1

mountain climbers x 60

push ups x 30

dumbbell swings x 25  dumbbell weight  equal to 25% of bodyweight

rest 90 seconds

x3

set 2

overhead walking lunges 25#/45# weight plate 100 ft

dumbbell curl + shoulder press x 15 dumbbell weight equal to 15% of bodyweight

dumbbell squat + high pull x 15 dumbbell weight equal to 15% of bodyweight

x3

set 3

30 seconds of plank (side/front/other side) with 12 jump squats between each section of plank

x3

Took a few new pictures….

Intensity and concentration, he finally gets what it takes and it shows. added 30 lean pounds of muscle and took 2 full seconds off of his 40 yd sprint time. Congrats Adam.

Collin, 20 pounds of muscle gain, 2 seconds off of 40 yard sprint time – also gets it! 110 pound dumbbell single snatches, dropped into the catch!

Andrew, 140 pounds bodyweight, 225 pound deadlift for multiple reps, 8th grade. Work Hard, and Smart, results will come

I ask a great deal from all of my athletes. Those with poor work ethic tend not to last long surrounded by those battling everyday to better themselves inch by inch.

Children in sports under massive stress

Article from the NY Times about the level of commitment heaped on young kids playing sports today.  Scary stuff.  Let them play.  Learning to move through play is dead unfortunately, and it falls upon often under qualified sport coaches to teach those those skills as well as the sport’s skills.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/health/25brod.html?ref=sports

Current Programming thoughts

As I said in an earlier post, I have moved away from a "one size fits all" method, as started looking inward on what aspects bothered me about that approach.  First you can only "scale" a workout to any particular level.  A ring handstand push up can only be brought down so much before you change the specific demands of the program entirely.  I have recently read and watched several interviews a number of athletes that have championed  a "one size fits all" method to train athletes at their facilities.   When asked about their own training, they now talk about "working on your weaknesses" and such.  This points toward individualization for yourself, while still selling the "single system" to their clients, very peculiar?

Working on weaknesses would point toward individualized programming, or at the very least a multi pronged approach, where for example, smaller, weaker athletes work a larger portion of their time on strength based movements, and larger athletes work a majority of the time on bodyweight/metabolic movements and patterns to improve their efficiency.  The goal as always to produce a whole, productive athlete.

If you are a parent of a young child, please read!

This article speaks to everything I tell parents of youth athletes.  Develop Gross motor movements, and worry less about their "sport specific training"  Build athletes first, specialize as they develop!

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

Over speed and High Speed Treadmills...For Clowns!

 

http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/the-biggest-gimmick-in-strength-and-conditioning/

One of our own makes the Dayton Daily News

http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/high-school-sports/chaminade-julienne/cj-football-player-finds-net-success-692151.html

Our very own John Buerschen made the sports page of the newspaper, due to his awesome singles tennis record

Amazing Physical Talent

Moving forward with training

The initial experiment with competition prep after evaluation, has shown a distinct lack of variety of planes of movement, almost exclusively linear motion, and an excess amount of hip extension exercises (deadlifts, Olympic lifts).  The use of these movements are unquestioned, but just to excess.  The on going plan is to have 4 heavy lifting days a  month and fill the rest of the work days with as much variety as possible, including all implements at my disposal (sleds, sandbags, slides, airdyne bikes, rowers, etc)  as well as multi directional plyometric drills.  The variety also includes a variety of loading and repetition ranges, in order to work all energy pathways though out the week.

an example of a non-weight day:

sprint through the list:

 

airdyne bike 5 minutes hard

lateral barrier hops (barrier set at 14") x 20

ring rows x 20

slide leg curls x 20

db swings x 20 x 60#

row 250m sprint

bar push press x 12 x 135#

row 250m sprint

dolly rollouts x 20

high pulls from the floor x 10 x 135#

rest 2-3 minutes

repeat 3 sets

4-14-09

warm up

5 dips

10 jump squats

15 ring rows

deadlift - dead tired after yesterday's bear complexes worked up to 405 x 5, Mike 405 x 1 x 2

metabolic:

1000m row

80 squats

60 sit ups

40 push ups

20 pullups

Paul: 8:57

Mike 9:25

Heavy weights, less reps, moderate calories = hard body!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/health/06real.html?src=sch

4-13-10

Warmed up to a semi maximal bear complex (power clean + front squat + push press + back squat + push press) stopped at 225

5 x 1 of the bear complex at 225

5 rounds

10 pullups

20 box jumps

Forgotten entry

Saturday 4-10-10

150 burpees for time

Paul 14:26

Mike 12:14 - awesome effort!

4-12-10

warm ups

50 sit ups

20 back extensions

x3

Squat Clean 3rm + 1 set (Paul 265# Mike 225#)

4 minutes of 95# thrusters - sucked

3 minutes of dumbbell swings 50# - get out of your head and push forward

2 minutes of  pullups - numb by this point

1 minutes of knee tuck jumps - don't think just do!

total reps:

Paul: 200

Mike: 190

Words to remember EVERY TIME you train.......

If you aren't breathing hard, and suffering at least a little, your probably wasting your time

Homemade power bars

http://www.dailycamera.com/food/ci_14647083#axzz0khKyWfvy

4-9-10

warm ups

10 push ups

20 mountain climbers

10 jump squats

x3

weighted pullups 1 rm + 2 sets unweighted pullups (90#)

4 rounds:

100ft walking lunges

12 squat clean + jerk

12ea renegade rows

40# dumbbells

Paul 13:25

Mike 13:27

4-8-10

warm ups

run 1 min

row 1 min

sit ups 1 min

x3

Total Weight Lifted

1 rm Thruster (front squat+push press)

1 rm Overhead Squat

1 rm Deadlift

Mike (Thruster 235/OHS 205/Deadlift 455) 895# 110 pound improvement - awesome

Paul (Thruster 265/OHS 205/Deadlift 495) 965# 50 pound improvement

Death By 10 yds

1 10 yd sprint the first minute

2 10 yd sprints the second minute

etc until you can't make the prescribed # of lengths within the minute. 

we made 15 minutes/lengths - sucked balls!

4-6-10

warm ups

12 squat snatch @ 65#

15 ring rows

20 dolly roll outs

x3

bodyweight bench press max reps x 3

row 20 x 20:40

much better showing on the rower.  all sprints less than 1:35/500m

4-5-10

warm ups

5 burpees

5 handstand push ups (bullshit move)

5 sit ups

x4

squat snatch 3rm +3

21 squat+push press 135# (paul 1:42 mike 2:40)

rest 2 min

15 squat+push press 135# (paul 1:06 mike 1:44)

rest 2 min

9 squat+push press 135# (paul :37 mike :58)

Catch Up From Last Week

Wednesday:

After Posted workout, planned to run a quick 3 miles of trails, took a wrong turn, turned into 6 miles of trails/roads/trails again. bad idea

Thursday: Off

Friday:

warm ups:

10 squats

10 lunges

10 jump lunges

10 jump squats

stretch for 1 min

x3

Push Press 1 rm + 2 (255#)

5 db burpees x 15# dumbbells

7 x deadlifts x 225#

100 ft broad jumps

x5 for time

Paul: 6:52

Mile: 6:10

Saturday:

warm ups:

10 burpee broad jumps

10 roman sit ups

x4

back squat 3rm +1 (365#) legs dead by this point in the week

3 rounds:

500m row

10 squat clean to overhead 135#

10 pullups

Paul: 13:42

Mike 13:55

Word to recovery:  Not enough to support proper growth/strength gains.  We will maintain this format for a couple of more weeks, but with no additional increases in strength over that period, there will be a change in programming in order to enhance both metabolic and strength gains.

Nuf Said

"When a warrior learns to stop the internal dialogue, everything becomes possible; the most far-fetched schemes become attainable." -Carlos Castaneda

3-31-10

warm ups:

-10 elbow to knees

1 length walking lunges

8ea side 60# sandbag get ups

x4 (yes, x4)

Strength:

-Front Squats 2rm +1

Metabolic:

-50 yd shuttle (2x25yds)

10 pullups

7 ground to shoulder 155#

x3

paul: 3:55

mike 4:06

30-3-10

warm ups:

10 dolly pike ups

10 pullups

10 roman hyper extensions

x3

3 max set of bar dips

for time:

500m row

12 bodyweight deadlifts

21 box jumps

11:24 mike

11:29 paul

9:51 sion

3-29-10

warm ups

decline knee ups x 15

pullups x 10

handstand push ups x 5

x3

As fast as possible:

15 thrusters (front squat+push press) 115#

run 100 ft

50 single snatches 50# dumbbell

run 100 ft

200 jump rope

run 100 ft

50 dumbbell swings 50# dumbbells

farmers walk the dumbbells 100 ft

15 power snatches 115#

3-24-10

warm ups

10 push ups

20 mountain climbers

10 jump squats

x3

weighted pullups 1 rm + 2 sets unweighted pullups

4 rounds:

100ft walking lunges

12 squat clean + jerk

12ea renegade rows

40# dumbbells

Interesting supplement usefulness chart....

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/snake-oil-supplements/

You want pulling strength, this is pulling strength!

3-22-10

warm ups

50 sit ups

20 back extensions

x3

Squat Clean 3rm + 1 set (Paul 255# Mike 205#)

4 minutes of 95# thrusters - sucked

3 minutes of dumbbell swings 50# - get out of your head and push forward

2 minutes of strict pullups

1 minutes of knee tuck jumps - the finishing blow!

Intensity

Thinking about this weeks programs for the individual clients of our facility, it always comes back to tempering intensity with recovery.  Anyone that has achieved any decent level of fitness will tell you, they had to understand intensity and stimulus before they made any headway.  No one got seriously, multi dimensionally fit by doing yoga breathing or pilates on its own.

Without adequate stimulus, the body has no reason to change.  I have said that more times that I chose to remember.  What this means is, you have to give your body a reason to use up its stored resources, in order to make you better, because it won't give those resources up without a reason.

Walking through the gym in your brand new gym clothes and shoes, stretching for 45 minutes and then walking on a treadmill for 10 minutes is not going to get it done.

Whatever you want to label/name (or not label) your method of multi dimensional intensive conditioning, it must include methods to make you breath hard, and lift relatively heavy stuff, preferably at the same time.  Just running, or just lifting is not gonna do it!

The other part is continuously escalating intensity.  Don't sit on your butt once you have reached a decent level and expect your body to maintain your levels of fitness.  You must progress in some manner, every time you train. 

This is where the art and science of program design comes in.  You can hunt and peck your way for a while, but a solid educational background in exercise physiology and its associated theory is a necessary key to continued improvement.

3-20-10

warm ups

5 burpee broad jumps

5 chest to bar chin ups

5 85# OHS

x3

Dumbbell Complex:

6 rounds:

6 x squat

6 x thruster (squat + push press)

6 x high pull

6 power snatch

6 jump squats

40# dumbbells

All 6 sets AFAP

By round 3 it becomes all mental, pushing the body when it is telling you to let it die!

3-19-10

warm ups

run 1 min

row 1 min

sit ups 1 min

x3

Total Weight Lifted

1 rm Thruster (front squat+push press)

1 rm Overhead Squat

1 rm Deadlift

Mike (Thruster 225/OHS 155/Deadlift 405) 785#

Paul (Thruster 255/OHS 205/Deadlift 455) 915#

Death By 10 yds

1 10 yd sprint the first minute

2 10 yd sprints the second minute

etc until you can't make the prescribed # of lengths within the minute. 

3-18-10

warm ups

12 ring rows

20 dolly roll outs

12 x 65# squat snatches

x3

bodyweight bench press (240#) x max reps x 3

row

20 x 20 seconds sprint 40 seconds slow - sucked the big one!

3-17-10

 

Off day

ran 7 x 2 min run - 2 min walk

2 kick ass quotes by Mia Hamm

"The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking."

"I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match."

3-16-10

warm up

10 burpee broad jumps

10 roman sit ups

x3

 

back squats 3rm +1 (365# - heavy after yesterday)

 

3 rounds AFAP:

500 m row

10 squat clean to overhead 135#

10 pullups

sucked!

Favorite New Shake

1 banana

1 cup orange juice

1 cup frozen berries

2 omega -3 eggs, raw (you won't even know they are in there!)

Blend 45-60 seconds

Enjoy!

3-15-10

warm up:

5 burpees

5 handstand push ups

5 sit ups

x4

Power Snatch 2 rm +2 sets (195#)

thruster x 21 135# + 21 pullups, rest 2 min

thruster x 15 135# + 15 pullups, rest 2 min

thruster x 9 135# + 9 pullups, rest 2 min

rest 10 min:

6 x 2 min run + 2 min walk

3-13-10

warm ups

10 kipping pullups

10 jump squats

10 roman sit ups

box back squat 2 rm + 2 (315#)

sand bag relay sprints

bags of various weights, 6 bags (up to 60#)

sprint with bag 25 yds

sprint back to get second back

rest 2 min at the completion of each set

3 rounds

3-12-10

warm up

mini leg circuit:

10 squat

10 lunges

10 jump lunges

10 jump squats

stretch 1 min

x3

Push Press 1rm +2 sets (worked up to 245#)

5 rounds:

5 dumbbell burpees 15#

7 225# deadlifts

100ft broad jumps

6 x 1 min sprint, 2 min walk

Really sucked!

3-11-10

Fried from the last three days.  Sore from head to toe.  Taking the day off, back at it tomorrow.

Workout

Warm Ups

10 elbows to knees

8ea side sandbag get ups (60# bag)

walking lunges 100ft

x4

Front Squat 2 rm + 1 set (worked up to 275#, not spectacular but they were very low with good form)

3 rounds AFAP:

10 floor to overhead 155#

10 pullups

50 yd shuttle (2x25yd lengths)

rest 15 min

6 x 1 min sprint 2 min walk recovery

A quote about perseverance

"Think about how long you spend starring at the pullup bar or barbell during any given workout.  If you can limit your need to open mouth stare at the bar/floor/kb...your performance will improve.  I feel like 90% of the time we stop during a workout to breathe we are just feeling sorry for ourselves.  It is time to realize it and move on.  Quit feeling sorry for yourself and pick up that bar and get moving!!"
-Dutch Lowry

Why?

On a undisclosed website today, I say a workout posted from yesterday that included a one legged overhead squat?  Are you kidding?  I have rarely seen an individual that can do a passable single leg squat, or pistol as they are known, let alone with a Olympic weight bar suspended overhead while doing it.  Super-fit or begging for injury?  You be the judge.

Today's sample

This started out phenomenally well, and ended in the fetal position and the dry heaves

warm up:

20 dolly pike ups

10 kipping pullups

10 back extensions

x3

3 x max bar dips

3 rounds AFAP:

500 m row

12 bodyweight deadlifts (240#)

21 20" box jumps

2011 Crossfit Games

I am at a cross roads in my own training.  I am training just to train, and it gets harder to stay motivated every year.  I am today starting to train for next year's Crossfit games, with some reservations.  As I have posted on this blog before, I have my issues with Crossfit doctrine, and methodology, but I do think the games themselves are the single most comprehensive fitness competition conceived thus far.  So because of lack of another close option, I have decided this is my only option.

My biggest concerns with the competition so far are bodyweight based.  I am 6'3 and between 240-250 pounds.  My strength levels are good, so that needs to be maintained, but I feel that a 20-30 pound weight loss is necessary for good performance, as well as some work in the distance running/rowing department.  So to keep track and keep things honest, 1 am starting to keep track today all workouts from here to the first competitions.

3-8-10

Snatch 5-5-5-3-3-3-1-1-1

worked up to  195# in a full squat catch.  Nothing to write home about, but a good starting position

21-15-9

squat+push press 95#

dumbbell swings 55#

broken sets

21 set: 1:31 + 3 min rest

15 set: 1:04 + 2 min rest

9 set :41

Ran 8 x 1 min track sprint + 2 minutes walking recovery

Seriously, why didn't I think of this?

http://lifehacker.com/5486920/foot+controlled-power-strip

Lack of sleep makes you chunky....

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/570653

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Role-Of-Deep-Sleep-In-Getting-Rid-Of-Body-Fat&id=736901

Interesting study on Diet and Resistance Training

http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/7/1/17

Got a hankerin' for a metcon?

This one sucked

60# sandbag

50-40-30-20-10

Sand bag step ups

95# push press (number divided by 2, so first set was 25 presses)

+ 15 inverted ring rows each set

AFAP

Fun!

Great Picture

I wanted to post this picture, because of the prospective you get of the bar position over head.  If you trace the path to the floor, you notice that it is a plumb line directly over his ankles.  As I continually say, all pulling, squatting and pressing is strongest from this position.  Keep the bar plump over the ankles for maximal strength position.  The picture is from the Chinese Olympic Training Center

 

Maybe the smartest posting about exercise ever.

Vern Gambetta has been at the athletic performance enhancement game for a very long time.  His approach is non-fluffy, big picture type training.  He recently posted this article on his blog, I couldn't agree any more.

http://www.functionalpathtrainingblog.com/2010/02/functional-training---where-to-start.html

Unbelievably scary statistic

According to the National Wildlife Federation, the average American child spends between four and seven minutes playing outside each day.

Here is how they are trying to fix the problem:

http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Be-Out-There.aspx

Warm Up 2-24-10

We did this little warm up today, it went rather well, so I thought I would share,

 

8 rounds

250 m row sprint AFAP coupled with:

30 seconds AMAP Bicycle Crunches and 30s of front pillar/plank/bridge (which ever you call it)

Squat for Mobility, Deadlift for Strength

While cruising through the strength and conditioning blogs and forums I frequent, I happened upon a discussion sparked by an article/video published by physical therapist Gary Cook.  The premise of the piece was that babies and toddlers get into a squat position as a means to move themselves closer to the ground, but when they pick something up they shift into a deadlift position.  The discussion continued into whether or not athletes should forgo the bilateral squat as a strength exercise and use it as a mobility assistance movement for the deadlift, as a prime exercise.  I am going to have to ponder on that one for a while.....In the mean time, here is a video by Gary Cook, PT explaining the deadlift

Vacation Workout 3

Last but not least:

db's equaling 12% body weight

10 upright rows

10   burpees (yes with the dumbbells)

10 alternate bent rows

10 jump squats

10 push ups (on the dumbbells)

10 curls

then 9/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1 of each exercise as fast as possible with perfect form.

Vacation workout 2

Db squat x10
Db squat + shoulder press x10
Renegade rows x10
Db jump squatsx10
Db lunges x 10 ea leg
Db RDL x 20
Db curlsx 10
Db Jump squats x 10

Start with dumbbells equaling 10 rep max db curls.

When you pick the dumbbells to start each set, you can't put the dumbbells down until the circuit of exercises is complete.

3-5 sets

Vacation workouts

Back squat x10
Hang clean x10
Military press x10
Bent row x10
Front lunges x 10 ea leg
RDL x 20
Front squat x 10
Jump squats x 10

Start at 40% bodyweight on a bar, add 10 pounds to the bar each set if you can perform all exercises in the circuit with perfect form.

When you pick the bar to start each set, you can't put the bar down until the circuit of exercises is complete.

Somewhere in China an 8 year old is warming up with your max.....

No really, this is video of an 8 year old Chinese boy clean and jerking 165 pounds!

Why?

This goes under the heading, "just because you can doesn't mean you should!"  At some point you have to question why you are doing what you are doing.  Just coming up with craziness just too push the envelope and make a youtube video won't be as cool to you if you end up paralyzed from the neck down from falling on your head doing some stupid crap like this.  Consider what you are trying to accomplish, and accomplish these goals in the most productive manner possible.

 

If you needed a reason to get to Power Enterprises....

Crossfit Finally Imploding

Well gentle readers, it goes to show you that you should listen to your gut.  We ended our affiliation with Crossfit earlier this year due to serious philosophical differences concerning program design, and the cult like aggressiveness when it came to open dialogue about training within the community.  It seems the shit has finally hit the fan, and the in-fighting at Crossfit has spilled into the public light.

http://www.cathletics.com/...mp;dailyID=1016

http://robbwolf.com/?p=976

http://robbwolf.com/?p=981

Extremes of any sort are non productive, and you can't be right about everything all the time, you must listen to other's observations, or you will eventually fall to your own pride.

4 week results

The retest of the big three lifts (bench, clean and squat) were very encouraging. The younger kids (8th grade and up) showed great improvement. An average of 30 pounds on a bench, 20 pounds on a clean and close to 50 pounds on the back squat.

Our older athletes also showed great improvement, but with experience comes slower progress. Some elite litters go years with only a few pound improvement.

That being said, with the adults we showed an average of 15 pounds on the bench, 20 squat pounds, and 20 clean pounds. Over a four week period, that also includes some very tough conditioning routines, I am very happy with the results.

As far as the population that is working on my program, I don't discriminate for anything other than injury. By that I mean, everybody lifts, jumps and sprints regardless of background, soccer mom, to football player, to tennis player, to executive. The movements are taught in a safe manner, and we have demonstrated good results in all groups. That we work with.

I am looking forward to seeing what my high school football players can do with this the SAS program. They are presently starting on week 2, they have just finished there season, so I will keep you posted.

Week 4 is upon us

Week four of the first cycle of the SAS program starts tommorow with a retest of the big three lifts. Regardless of result, the program will continue to be an ever improving entity. The program's main objective is to produce athletic excellence by constantly being open to necessary change, and adapting to an ever changing sports needs enviroment.

Ladies, Build a Better Butt

Enough Said!

Super Oatmeal

Breakfast from the Olympic Training Center's Dietitian Bob Seebohar

Flipping out at 0530

Congrats Mike Overman

Congratulations to our own Mike Overman who scored the best time on the obstacle course at the  2009 Police and Fire Challenge held last week.  He and his team mates also won the team event which was the combination of a 5k run and the obstacle course.

Why?

This picture is taken from a gym blog that celebrates this kind of injury as accomplishment.  This to me is not, in anyway accomplishment, this is a mistake.  I will concede that with enough high intensity, sports performance based training, injuries are going to happen, no athlete stays 100% healthy 100% of the time.  On the other hand I battle everyday to safeguard with every means possible, to prevent such injuries from happening.  If your sport is fitness, then great, go ahead and hack up your hands.  I work with  athletes that train with my to improve their sport, not their "Fran" score.  If this athlete plays golf, is a quarterback, plays tennis or baseball, and you have caused such an injury because you are doing workouts containing nine thousand swinging pullups, that athlete can no longer practice their sport, and you have failed as a coach.

We have experimented with many training protocols over the 15 years we have been in business, and I will admit, we have done workouts that result in this kind of stupidity.  The only difference is we figured out these practices were stupid and ultimately unproductive and moved on to research more productive methods to produce athletic improvement, in as safe an environment as possible.

Brochure is finally done

Here is the link to the brochure for the SAS (speed/agility/strength) program.  We are happy to add Emily Hackert to our coaching staff.  You will see from her biography that she is an accomplished coach, and we look forward to adding her skills to the mix.

Brochure

series of jumping pictures

Took these pictures of Katie B Broad Jumping this summer and just found them on the memory stick. Great showing of power production and triple extension, hip-knee-ankle

SAS (speed/agility/strength) program

It has finally happened! 14 years of development has led us to the start of the SAS program, with a goal of developing elite high school athletes with college scholarship prospects.

The regiment is a 4 day a week commitment by the athlete, that will include all the necessary elements of athletic performance. This combination of speed, agility, strength results in fast paced highly intensive workouts, that will bring your best to the surface.

In order to produce the best results, we have creates an environment that is highly intense and competitive. If this scares you, don't apply, if you see this as a challenge to better yourself, you are who we are looking for

Call Paul at 937-436-2110

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