Heavy but fast = GREAT ATHLTES

    One of the major benefits of training with heavier weights is the increased recruitment of Type II muscle fibers.  These muscle fibers are also known as fast twitch muscle fibers and play a huge role in athletic ability.  These muscle fibers are able to generate much more force than their counterpart Type I muscle fibers.
    Any sporting event that involves speed, quickness, and explosion will rely heavily on these Type II muscle fibers.  By training with heavier weights we are heavily recruiting and training these muscle fibers.  We are also able to convert a small amount of non type II muscle to these fast twitch muscle fibers allowing us to become more powerful and explosive.
    When lifting heavy weights you also have to keep in mind move them fast. That means to use loads that are 50 to 60 % of your 1 rep max (RPM), AND NEVER LIFT TO FALIURE that teaches slow and athletes don't need that at all.  Speed training, as you can see, provides more than a training means to develop a fast rate of force development. On speed day for squatting, the percentage will jump roughly 5%, causing the bar speed to change slightly, which will also combat accommodation, sometimes called the speed barrier.
    I look at weights as fast weights and slow weights, not by the old fashioned terms “light” to build muscle mass and then later on “heavy” to build strength. Dr. Hatfield said no one can lift a heavy weight slow. Well said!
   In a 3-week wave, the total volume will go up somewhat, with adding weight or accommodating resistance with bands or chains.On max effort day remember that after 3 weeks of the same exercise your progress will be retarded, but by switching the core exercises each week, this can be eliminated and progress can continue. So the bar speed is constantly changed weekly, either becoming faster or slower. After all, at a meet the first, second, and third attempt will move at different rates of speed as well.
    Volume can be waved as well through special exercises for smaller muscles such as triceps, lats, and hamstrings. When starting a 3-week pendulum wave with new exercises, the unfamiliarity of these exercises will keep the volume somewhat small. But week after week they become easier, and bigger weights and of course more volume are attained. Again, this helps fight against accommodation. Training is very complex; it is not as simple as you may think. It must be well thought out to obtain your true potential.

Change makes athletes

“When lifters repeatedly use the same simple method of training to raise their strength level, they will eventually stall. Like the scholar who must utilize many sources of information to achieve a higher level of knowledge, the lifter must incorporate new and more difficult exercises to raise their standards. Many have the theory that to squat, bench, or deadlift more, you simply have to do the three lifts. If it were that simple no one would need special exercises, machines, or systems of training. But we know this is not true.”
-Louie Simmons

Jump to explosive strength

    -shortening action by the use of kinetic energy. Many believe that plyometric’ s are dangerous, they can be without the proper knowledge of general weight and jump training before engaging in depth jumps. While depth jumps build explosive strength, they also build absolute strength by using different heights to achieve a certain goal. How many drops are done in one workout for the intermediate or advanced. You will note Olympic lifting is never mentioned when the goal is developing explosive power or strength. Why?

Strength is not measured in heavy or light weights. What is a heavy 300lb squat for a female sprinter would be light for a world class shot putter. So how can one weight be heavy and light? It can’t, but rather fast or slow. Strength is measured in velocities.

Explosive = fast velocity

Speed Strength = intermediate velocity

Strength Speed = low velocity

Isometric = zero velocity

Hips in sports = total athlete

    Do you do specific exercises for your hips and knees? Do you work your hip through the entire range of motion and engage the abductors and adductor muscles? If not, maybe you should.
The abductors and adductors are critical for providing integrity of the hip joint and create a strong, balanced link between the lower body and the torso. They also need to be exercised through an entire range of motion. If you work these muscles only in one direction (forward and back) by walking, running or using common cardio machines then you are not building structural integrity of the hip, or the entire lower body.
   These muscles, along with the quads and hamstrings, play an important role in allowing the patella (kneecap) to track properly as the knee joint bends. If the abductor and adductor muscles are not strong, flexible, and balanced, knee pain such as patellofemoral syndrome, and injury is more likely.
    Strengthening and balancing the muscles that surround the knee can take the pressure off the joint and decrease the amount of total weight absorbed by the ligaments, meniscus and cartilage in the knee. Because the knee is a hinge joint and only moves in one direction, it's important to maintain both strength and stability.
  The hip joint, on the other hand, is a ball and socket joint that works best when it has mobility as well as strength. The hip is a much more complicated joint, and needs to be exercised in a variety of directions, including rotation, in order to increase overall stability. If the muscles that support the hip joint (quadriceps, hip flexors, glutes, hamstrings, and even the core muscles) are strong and allow appropriate mobility, the amount of pressure and wear and tear on the hip joint, as well as the knee joint, decreases.
   The soft tissues of the body (muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc.) help maintain proper alignment of the bones during movement. If bones aren't properly aligned when they move through a range of motion, there can be a great deal of friction, a lack of stability, decreased mobility and compromised function. This can set an athlete up for a variety of injuries.
   The best way to maintain biomechanical integrity during movement is with the proper balance of strength and flexibility around the joint. Muscles work in pairs (extensors and flexors) and maintaining the proper balance of strength in these muscle pairs can go a long way to prevent joint pain and injury.
 

Kids are the only thing in some coaches life they can control

What is wrong with a society that places so much importance on winning in sports that it blatantly neglects the needs and well being of the child-athletes that it’s charged with educating and protecting? Are we that out of touch that we’ve lost our perspective on what really matters in life? Are too many parents making a “deal with the devil” and turning their kids over to coaches with questionable methods just because these coaches supposedly produce “champions?”

As a coach, just how important is winning to you? When your team or athletes win, does that mean that you are doing your job better? Does it make you a more effective coach? Similarly, when your athletes fail, does that mean you are failing? Are your athletes’ and team’s losses concrete evidence of your incompetence?

If you were brutally honest with yourself, could you look in the mirror and answer this question? “Is winning and all that it means to me, more important than the mental health and happiness of my child/athletes?” If you’re a coach reading this, then I couldn’t blame you for responding to my question with horror and righteous indignation. Who the heck am I to even suggest that you, an adult and professional, would place your needs to be successful over the needs of your young athletes? Of course youknow that the sport is supposed to be “all about the kids.” Certainly, you’re fully aware that “it’s only a game.” You also know that coaching is all about being a good role model, enhancing self-esteem and building character. Furthermore, you know that your number one priority is the welfare and happiness of the kids you coach. A coach doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to know all this stuff. But then again, who would ever answer “yes” to my question and admit to themselves and others that they regularly place their own needs as an adult and professional over those of the children their supposed to be guiding?

Here’s the problem the way I see it. Because winning has become so important to us as a culture, because being “numero uno” has been erroneously equated with coaching success and competence, some of our youth sport, club, high school and college coaches have forgotten what their real mission as a professional is. These coaches have come to mistakenly believe that the won-loss outcome of their season is far more important than the process of participation, character development and safety of their athletes. They believe that an athlete’s performance failure is reflective of a coaching failure. And why shouldn’t they feel this way when coaches at every level are regularly criticized and fired for not winning enough? When it comes right down to it though, isn’t the true essence of “good coaching,” winning? Isn’t that what NFL Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi used to say: Winning isn’t the most important thing. It’s the only thing?

Sports and kids is it still fun?

   Did you think that kids would say "winning is everything"? Think again. Most kids didn't think winning was all that important. Only 7% of girls said coaches should be most concerned with winning, whereas about 18% of boys said so. It sounds like kids think that too much importance is given to winning at all costs. And many adults are starting to think that changes are needed in youth sports. Why? Because as youth sports have become more intense and competitive, it has put a lot of pressure on kids.
   Wanting to be excellent at something is a great goal, but when coaches and parents push too hard, kids can get overly worried or push themselves too hard physically, leading to injuries. Some kids may even go on unhealthy diets to lose weight or gain weight to be better at their sport. With all this pressure in the air, there have been some awful incidents involving parents and coaches who have ended up yelling and fighting with each other. How uncomfortable for the players!

Little Steps are Big Results

Have you ever wondered how in the world can I look like that? You see in a picture of your former self maybe before babies or in high school. Maybe you look at the health and fitness section of Pinterest or in magazines and think where do I even start? I have let myself get so unhealthy and out of shape. Why can't I just exercise a little today and look like that tomorrow? Or maybe you think to yourself or outloud how much work and time did that take?? 

I can tell you nothing is sweeter than taking a before picture and putting some work in for 30 days and doing an after picture. It is such a great feeling to know you do see results!!! 

Here are some subtle changes you can make to see results. Downsize your portions and upsize your water intake!! Sounds simple doesn't it? I'm talking about getting a small or medium drink versus a large or extra large. Drink one glass of water for every soda or sugary drink you drink. It adds up quick but you are flushing your system out with that water, you are helping your body get rid of bloating factors. Instead of a fast good hamburger get a sandwich with veggies on it. Tell them to go light on the mayo and mustard so they don't put as much on it. Eat more meals you create at home. Try new recipes that are heart healthy and be open to them. I was very surprised the other night making a new recipe that I stuffed chicken with apples and spices. Substitute brown rice for white rice. Get a good protein shake that has vitamins and minerals in it and have that once a day for breakfast on the go. Increase your fiber intake to flush out fat!!! This goes with more water intake too. 

Then get online or with a personal trainer to pencil in 15 to 20 minute workouts. I am all about fast workouts.  Especially for us women that always say "I don't have time to work out!" Well trust me you can find 15 or 20 minutes a day to squeeze in something. If you don't call me and we will see where you can squeeze it in. On my busiest days you can find me doing squats while cooking. Do 5 to 10 squats after using the bathroom, wall sits while you brush your teeth, heck you could be doing a plank as you read this blog right now. There are tons of ways to fit in exercising your body everyday. The biggest result I have ever gotten especially after havin babies is sucking in my gut for 20 seconds at a time as many reps as I could. This helps bring your middle section in faster than any exercise I have ever done. Gets my abs ready for some serious work later on. 

Above all think of ways to positively influence yourself. For so long maybe you have thought of yourself as our of shape, I'm to embarrassed to go to the gym, people look at me funny well time to change that tune in your head!! It's time to drop some awesomeness back into your life!! Think of it this way. You do 5 squats after you go to the bathroom. You just dripped some awesomeness on yourself. You do calf raises while doing dishes again more drops of awesomeness. You actually walked a good distance, again more drops of awesome you can give yourself.  Soon the feelings of being awesome swirl inside of you. You did it, each time recognize your effort you are putting forth. You drank water instead of a soda more drops!!! These small steps will overfill your level of awesomeness. You will see results in a positive way and that's what matters my friend!! This is all about how awesome you feel about yourself everyday! 

Get that ball rolling and begin to drop awesomeness on yourself!!!