Observations from a Strength Coach....

Rachel Cosgrove's Female Body Breakthrough is HERE!

2009-11-11T23:00:00.000-08:00

Most of you know that I endorse only a handful of products and people in general. It's generally been Alwyn Cosgrove, Mike Roussell, Mike Boyle, Smitty and his Diesel Crew and...well, that's really about it! Until now that is. My good friend and better half of the well-known Scotsman, Rachel Cosgrove has an amazing book was released yesterday (November 10th) from my very own publishers Rodale Books titled The Female Body Breakthrough. This is a GREAT book folks....

I have always said that Rachel Cosgrove is the 'Real Deal' when it comes to training and getting results....not just in her own training and competing but with her hundreds and hundreds of clients who have seen amazing results on her programs. I also know of Rachel's expertise firsthand as we teamed-up to make our best-selling Ultimate Core DVD !

Here's where I really want to help Rachel with her book sales and her website launch.... TOMORROW on Thursday November 12th, if you purchase The Female Body Breakthrough through Amazon by going HERE Rachel will be doing some amazing bonuses for you! After purchasing the book you will go back to The Female Body Breakthrough web page and input your information....you will then receive a HOST of FREE GIFTS including a Fit Chick Credo Poster, 3 months of video coaching with Rachel, and 5 free e-books! Pretty solid investment Bonus for the book's Amazon price of $14.95!!!

While the majority of my followers are men, I KNOW all of you have wives, girlfriends, friends etc. who would reap serious benefits on Rachel's programs....so start your Christmas Shopping NOW...I know I am going to!!

Mike Boyle's Strength Coach 3.0 is here!!

2009-10-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

At 12:00pm Eastern today, Wednesday October 21, Mike Boyle is releasing his newest resource, Functional Strength Coach 3.0 - A Joint by Joint Approach to Training.

Mike Boyle has been a HUGE influence in my training since I got into this game over 20 years ago (remember that Mike write the foreword to my book!). He is a 'go to guy' if there ever was one! I will be getting my hands on this program ASAP....AND SO SHOULD YOU!

I don't want to waste a bunch of space breaking down the details of what's covered in Functional Strength Coach 3.0. Click on the above link to get the details. But I do know this:

The program launches at noon and Mike is offering a pretty cool bonus to the first 100 people who order. There are TONS of people who are excited about this program so if you want to be one of The First 100 to get access to the bonus Mike is offering, you better get to the site a few minutes before noon EASTERN and get ready to repeatedly hit that 'refresh' button so you can beat all the other coaches and trainers who will be jockeying for one of those coveted spots (in addition to being one of the first people on the planet to get Mike Boyle's newest resource).

It's a rare occasion that a program comes out that you can call a 'Game Changer'.

But this is one of those programs that you *know* every coach and trainer worth their salt is going to be using and talking about, myself included.

And that starts in a few hours.

GET YOURS TODAY!!!!

EPOC & Afterburn – Are They Real or Is It HYPE?

2009-10-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

Today I thought I would post a guest blog from my good Friend Mike Roussell. Mike is an nutrition expert and author of the nutrition chapters in both Men's Health Power Training AND my upcoming book Cardio Strength Training. The topic of EPOC is one of the main focuses of my upcoming book (due out January 2010) and I think this blog post sums things up nicely!

I talk a lot about EPOC, Afterburn, and the idea of burning calories and fat even after your workout is over. Over the past couple blog posts there have been some questions from readers about this concept. Is is real? Is it over hyped? How many calories are we talking about? Here is a question/comment from a reader, Jack , about this very thing:

You wrote that “Metabolic Circuits are essential to really crank up your weight loss because they have been shown in research studies to increase the total number of calories that you burn over the 38 hours following your workout.” Is this the same as when people speak of EPOC or a separate phenomenon? I ask this because I have read that EPOC is about 8-15 percent or so (depending upon activity intensity) of the total kcal expenditure during the chosen activity. As such quite a number of writers claim that any metabolic boost is not nearly as significant as it is made out to be. Not being engrossed in all of the research leaves me slightly confused as to which is closer to the reality of the situation.

Just curious if you can add some more clarity. I do not mean to come across as argumentative, I am just somewhat confused by what seems to be a back and forth between claims about significant metabolic boosts for 1+ days after certain types of activity and other claims that such impacts are largely overblown.

This is a great question. Yes, I was talking about EPOC or what Alwyn Cosgrove calls Afterburn.

What is EPOC/Afterburn? It is basically a phenomenon that occurs when you lift weights or do the metabolic type of training that I have been talking about the past couple of blog posts. The tabata protocol is a perfect example of something that elicits an afterburn effect. A very simple way of thinking about EPOC is that when you do this type of training you exert yourself beyond what your body is capable of handling (i.e. your body can’t keep up); it then uses the next 12, 24, or even 36 hours to ‘catch up’ metabolically. ‘Catch up’ = burning calories.

How many calories do you burn with EPOC? A bunch.

What is the reality of the situation? Is is 8%? 15% as Jack noted about?

I was emailing back and forth with Alwyn Cosgrove about this and here is what he had to say…

The “reality of the situation” is not going to be found in textbooks or papers unfortunately.

Basically it’s hard to truly measure caloric expenditure (during and post workout) of anaerobic activity and recovery when you are using a measure of aerobic work (traditionally oxygen debt).
Studies comparing the same volume of caloric work (ie same calories burned) from interval training or weight training to aerobic training, show a massive difference in total fat lost over a period of time?

Why? EPOC? Some other type of post workout change?

I don’t think we know the exact mechanism yet – we just know that SOMETHING happens post workout as a result of high intensity metabolic work that doesn’t happen with lower intensity work, even if calories burned during training are equal.

The numbers shown with EPOC don’t explain it completely. It would be nice to know exactly what happens, but more importantly we KNOW what happens — more fat loss.

Bottom Line - don’t be confused by “a back and forth between claims” – just do what has been shown over and over again to work.

Aside from all of this: – all the studies on EPOC are performed on aerobic work or standard weight training.

■The few studies on circuit based weight training show a higher effect.
■There has never been a formal study on the type of training we use. However – at 250 clients training 3 times a week for the past several years – I think I have more than enough “data”
■There aren’t any studies on an accumulative effect on EPOC (they all look at single workouts). If it’s even a 10% increase for 24 hours, is there an accumulative effect if you train every 24 hours? (there are studies showing an increased EPOC with two shorter daily sessions as opposed to one of the same total length) — the question is how long will the “between sessions” last?
We know that weight training increases resting energy expenditure and there is an EPOC effect. All we do is attempt to continuously ramp that effect up.

Again – in truth we don’t know the mechanisms behind this completely — I just know what results my clients get.
The research doesn’t disprove the results. It just looks at the mechanisms to explain the results.

(Mike again…) We talk a lot about EPOC in Warp Speed Fat Loss. As Alwyn said is all the extra calorie burning from EPOC? Not sure? Does is matter if we know exactly what it is from? Not entirely, as if you go on Warp Speed Fat Loss and lose 4 pounds a week for 4 weeks would you really care if it was EPOC or not? You’d just be happy you lost the weight right? So for now the jury is out but as soon as we learn more I’ll let you know. For the time being let’s just do what we know works —> This works

This article was written by Mike Roussell. Mike Roussell is a nationally renowned nutritionist and the president of the Naked Nutrition Network. He is currently a doctoral candidate in nutrition at Pennsylvania State University. Learn More About Mike Click HereShare and Enjoy:

Fun in he 105 degree sun!

2009-09-25T06:24:00.001-07:00

My short term intern Russell Holley from the U.K. had a chance to shoot some vid during his stay with us. Here are his two lastest clips he has posted on his Blog site.

Here is a 'finisher' to our outdoor strongman session with our men's basketball team....about 2 min. to complete this circuit.

Here is our women's softball athletes getting after it as well.....at 3pm, this was a HOT one folks and these girls really attack these sessions with a lot of enthusiasm!

Oh! and can't forget......it's September 25th....Official 'Hug a Vegetarian Day'!

The Real Biggest Losers.....the viewers

2009-09-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have never watched an entire episode. I can't name any previous season winners or tell you what they're doing these days (although gaining weight is probably a solid guess though...). So why was I watching the Biggest Loser Season 2009 season opener this week? Well, I was noticing all of the Facebook status updates of my friends saying things like "Biggest Loser tonight CAN'T WAIT!" or "OMG! Biggest Loser this season is going to be the greatest EVER!". How could I NOT take a peek at this car crash?!

What did I see? Well morbidly obese people....duh. More importantly I was really quite shocked at what else I saw. I witnessed people being put through the ringer pushing sleds, doing plyometrics, climbing on Jacob's ladder treadmills.....all this with people who would be hard pressed to make it up a flight of stairs. On top of this I was, well, shocked to see trainers belittling, mocking, screaming at, and basically motherf#*king these people ad nauseum. Don't get me wrong, anyone who has seen me with some of my athletic groups will often get a lesson in new and exciting vocabulary but this is apples and oranges folks. There is nothing wrong with hard work but after watching for 10 min. I could see through all the bullshit.....this is TV pure and simple. Not much reality to it when the goal is to make the clients puke, cry, quit for ratings, period. People have been saying to me "well, Dos...this stuff is inspiring....it's awesome to see people reach their goals and get their lives back". At the cost of what though?! Psychological scarring, dangerous diet practices, unhealthy living?

Earlier this year Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. wrote an amazing insight into the psychology behind this Biggest Loser Phenomenon on the psychcentral.com blog. Not only did she talk about the reality of the impact of this type of training, environment etc. on the human psyche, we also gained insight into the dangerous diet and weight loss practices the contestants went through in order to win. This is from the season I winner Ryan Benson's myspace page:

"What I now know is that the show was just a quick fix for me. …I wanted to win so bad that the last ten days before the final weigh-in I didn’t eat one piece of solid food! If you’ve heard of “The Master Cleanse” that’s what I did. Its basically drinking lemonade made with water, fresh squeezed lemon juice, pure maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. The rules of the show said we couldn’t use any weight-loss drugs, well I didn’t take any drugs, I just starved myself!
Twenty-four hours before the final weigh-in I stopped putting ANYTHING in my body, liquid or solid, then I started using some old high school wrestling tricks. I wore a rubber suit while jogging on the treadmill, and then spent a lot of time in the steam room. In the final 24 hours I probably dropped 10-13 lbs in just pure water weight. By the time of the final weigh-in I was peeing blood.

Was this healthy? Heck no! My wife wanted to kill me if I didn’t do it to myself first. But I was in a different place, I knew winning the show could put us in a better place financially and I was willing to do some crazy stuff. All this torture I put myself through has had no lasting effects on me (that I know of) and at the time it was sort of a fun adventure for me – but I am sure it reeked havoc on my system.

In the five days after the show was over I gained about 32 lbs. Not from eating, just from getting my system back to normal (mostly re-hydrating myself). So in five days I was back up to 240 – crazy!"

On Season III contestant Kai Hibbard ...

She recently wrote on a blog that in the two weeks before the finale she severely dehydrated herself using asparagus (a diuretic), colonics and six-hour stretches of hopping in and out of a sauna. She lost 19 pounds, which as she joked, 'rebounded to her rear end almost immediately.’

This is one of the most telling quotes from this blog post:

“If you give people enough money and put them into team environments, you can get them to do anything, even things that are painful and potentially harmful to their metabolisms. You can scream at them and walk on their legs and they will do it, even when you make them cry 14 times a day, they will do it. And you can trot out past winners and say, ‘Look, it works. See? It totally works.’”

Folks, this is NOT reality in any way, shape, or form!

More.....

"Aside from the harm the show brings its own contestants when they engage in drastic measures, The Biggest Loser can also shape viewers’ ideas about weight loss, perpetuating harmful myths and leading viewers to compare their results to the contestants’. In essence, The Biggest Loser shows that:

-Rapid weight-loss works
-If you aren’t dropping double-digits each week, you’re somehow failing
-The number on the scale is first and foremost
Eating well means depriving yourself (this resembles the crash diet mentality, something that isn’t realistic for your entire life)
-Willpower is the answer to weight loss"

Want more???

"Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, LD, director of nutrition for WebMD Health and the WebMD Weight Loss Clinic, writes: “The Biggest Loser competition might indeed result in big losses, but it defies all the professional wisdom about safe and effective weight loss. That’s because the contestants are not addressing lifestyle behaviors and eating habits that they need to change permanently, not just during a nine-week race. This approach is similar to a fad diet, and we all know about them: You can lose weight on just about any diet, but when it’s over you gain the weight right back — unless you’ve changed your behaviors.” (see her article on Medicine Net). "

Okay for all of you who have been uplifted and inspired by the multiple seasons of NBC's Biggest Loser I have a new show to pitch....."The Biggest Gainer". Yup, we take 20 anorexics and force feed the $hit out of them. We shove IV's in their arms and Pull their mouths open then dietitians shove food down their throat. When they refuse, vomit, or cry about it the dietitians will mock, belittle, and motherf$%ck them. At the end of the season we will have 'fixed' one of them and got them back to a 'normal weight' by all means possible. What do you think folks? Think people will dig this? Well? Well??? I thought so.....Sigh.

TRX, Ropes, & Bodyweight Circuit!

2009-09-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

Ran through a couple of tough circuits @ Frankie's lab Friday....thought I would share it with everyone. Each circuit was performed twice (2 rounds)....

Circuit #1:

TRX wheelbarrel walks - 2 times across 3 aerobic steps + 5 plyo push-ups
"Monkeying around" - pull-up and hang climbing variations two times across the bars
TRX push complex - Push-up, T's, and superman's 5 times each
Rope battle - 50 reps any style you choose

Circuit #2:

TRX feet elevated rows (with hinging hips) - 10 times
Hang leg raises - 10 reps of any variation of leg raise
TRX plank position pike + saw - 10 reps
Rope battle - 50 reps any style you choose.

Rest periods were up to the individual but the pace was emphasized....we normally just moved immediately to the next exercise with a quick pause between rounds. Enjoy this butt kicker!

Remember to pick up your TRX system from Fitness Anywhere right HERE . Not only will you get a free Fitness Anywhere $20 gift card, if you email me your order confirmation I will send you all 6 Power Training pull-down workout cards ($32.99 value) FREE!

"The Decree of Dos"

2009-09-01T08:24:00.001-07:00

Had an opportunity to do an interview with trainer John Izzo for his website.....good stuff! Take a peak here!
THE DECREE OF DOS

Last Day for CHAOS Sport-Speed DVD offer!

2009-08-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, today is the LAST DAY of the awesome 'special offer' when you by the CHAOS SPORT-SPEED DVD. When you purchase the DVD, you will also be sent the Sleds & Ladders DVD absolutely FREE ($34.95 value)! This DVD has all of our dynamic warm-ups, sled drills, and ladder drills that we use with our athletes. A lot of folks have take advantage of this one week offer but it's about to dissappear......

Go backwards to move forwards!

2009-08-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

I have a guest blog today from my good friend across the pond, conditioning expert Nick Grantham.

OK, this is not a post about taking a false step to move forward (we can do that another time!). A colleague sent me a clip of a coach with a nice, very polished video of some 'tennis specific' speed and agility drills. Knowing that I work with a group of young and talented tennis players, he thought I would be interested. I was...what I found really interesting was that all the drills were linear drills. There were some 'lateral' drills in there but the lateral drills were not lateral - facing forward at the start of the drill, then turning 90 degrees and running forwards is not a lateral drill, its just a linear drill in a different direction! I was also interested to see the distances covered (at least 20m)- the coach must have their tennis players playing on a huge court! Finally - there were no drills where the coach went backwards! This is one thing that really boils my P**S! The title of the blog post says it all, we need to coach our athletes to go backwards - but most books/DVD's are packed full of drills that go forwards, or left/right - maybe I just live in an alternate universe where people do have to move backwards from time to time!

It was a nice video but the content was lacking.

My advice for anyone wanting to develop tennis (or any sport really)specific speed and agility would be:

1. Work all multidimensional (that's one of Vern Gambetta's) - forward,BACKWARDS, left, right, up etc etc.

2. Keep the distances short - in tennis a point is played with between 3-7 changes of direction in a confined area - if your drills are in excess of 10m then you need to tighten things up.

3. Practice going BACKWARDS - everyone wants to get fast going forwards - everyone forgets that you need to be good going backwards as well!

Once again we have coaches taking 'track' drills that get people moving fast in a straight line (with the occasional left turn) trying to convince us that they will help with the performance of a multidimensional sport such as tennis! STOP IT!

Remember folks....only a few days left to take advantage of my SPECIAL OFFER FOR MY CHAOS SPORT-SPEED DVD!

Putting the 'sub 4.0 second forty' in perspective...

2009-08-25T19:23:00.000-07:00

It was only a matter of time before the 'what would Usain Bolt be able to do in the NFL?!" questions started to pop up. Well, the most recent article on his projected 40 yard sprint time has only served to fuel the fire. Seems that based on his world record 100 meter time he would have run an electronic timed 3.97 forty yard sprint or a 3.73 second hand-timed forty. This is even more impressive when we take a look at a short list of the 'fastest' NFL forty yard sprint performers....

Fastest NFL Combine 40-Yard Times
4.19 – Deion Sanders (DB), Florida State – 1989 (Hand Timed)
4.24 – Chris Johnson (RB), East Carolina – 2008
4.24 – Rondel Melendez (WR), Eastern Kentucky – 1999
4.28 – Jerome Mathis, (WR), Hampton – 2005 (electronic)
4.29 – Fabian Washington, (CB), Nebraska – 2005
4.30 – Darrent Williams, (CB), Oklahoma State – 2005
4.30 – Yamon Figurs, (WR), Kansas State – 2007

Ok, First off, why is it that when we hear that someone can flat out run in straight line that they somehow will automatically have success in the CHAOTIC game of football?? We are talking apples vs. oranges folks.....track athletes run in a straight line with occaional left turns, period. Football is about a 98% chaotic, change of direction sport where deceleration is as or maybe even MORE important than acceleration. Now factor in the fact that you will be, running routes against a defenders will and, oh...yeah....getting hit in the mouth, and we truly start to see the dissimilarities between these apples and oranges. Let's quit speculating how Bolt would do in the NFL.....this guys is sheduled to make over $10 million a year in endorsements soon so it is highly unlikely that he will be willing to let someone hit him in the mouth for NFL minimum $.

The demands of sports like football, soccer, volleyball, basketball etc. require SPORT-SPEED. This is speed in the real-world....the type of speed and strength that allows for quick acceleration and the ability to decelerate WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DECELERATE! This is what I call CHAOS.....training your athletes to be the most efficient at these demands. Here is a peek my CHAOS Sport-Speed DVD...check out this crazy special (below) that' I'm running for ONE WEEK ONLY!

If you pick up a copy of the CHAOS Sports-Speed DVD by August 31, I will send you the Sleds & Ladders DVD FREE! ($34.95 value) See highlights below

Pick up your CHAOS DVD NOW!!!!! All orders of this DVD processed by August 31 will have the Sleds & Ladders DVD automatically shipped out at the same time!

College of the Canyons Weight Room Tour....

2009-08-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

Had a chance to get a few more toys and tools for the old toolbox this past summer so I figured I would video a quick walkthrough of what might be one of the most versatile and useable community college weight rooms in the country! Not bad for a zero $ budget facility ey?!

Old School blog post but me Likey!

2009-08-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

This is a blog post from Men's Health Editor Adam Borntein from a few months ago.....I think 'certified badass' might be my new nickname! HAHA! Check out Adams BADASS blog @ http://workingout.menshealth.com/

BEST OF THE BEST

The missing blogger returns…sort of. I’m sorry for the lack of writing lately. Between celebrating Passover (which is not fun on a specialized diet—read: hello weight loss!), and being in six different states in the last six days, you’ll have to excuse me for the dearth of updates. But if there’s one thing non-stop traveling affords, it’s a chance to check in on some of our top contributors.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: one of my favorite “perks” of my job is working with the best minds in fitness and nutrition. The good become better and the better become the best by being humble—which means having the patience and willingness to learn from others. Alwyn Cosgrove summed it up well when he recently discussed his willingness to learn from anyone—regardless stature in a given field (and there are few that know more than Cosgrove; together with his wife Rachel, they act as a walking book of muscle knowledge). While I can’t offer you the direct access I have, I can provide you with a way to become indirectly influenced by their wisdom. Here are some of the sites I rely upon for quality information. Each week, I’ll try to drop another favorite into a post. If I made this list any longer, it’d start to sound like a speech at an award ceremony. Prepare to be educated (and hopefully not put to sleep).

Alwyn Cosgrove:
If you’ve ever picked up an issue of MH, you’re probably familiar with Cosgrove. He’s one of our top fitness experts, author of several books (including the very informative, The New Rules of Lifting), and a man who backs up his knowledge with incredible results at his facility—Results Fitness. Cosgrove has worked with enough clients and reads enough research to qualify for my hall of fame. Plus, he’s always one of the best speakers at conferences I attend, and he frequently requests that I call him “sir’—which makes him that much cooler.

Bill Hartman:
Whatever you do, be wary if you ever become involved in a long conversation with Bill. Why? Because he has so much knowledge that it might make your head hurt (or your fingers cringe trying to edit his brilliance). Bill is a humble guy (like everyone on this list), but don’t be fooled by his modesty. He is as good as they come in terms of knowledge, and when it comes to fixing any imbalances/injuries, there is no one better in the industry. Along with Mike Robertson (who will receive his own mention at another time), Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training (IFAST) is a hotspot for anyone who desires knowledge on improving your body. It took me a while, but I finally found a reason to visit Indiana (note to self: still avoid Gary).

Alan Aragon:
Yeah, yeah. I know. Alan appears on my blog quite frequently. But when you spend more time with Pubmed than your wife (I’m kidding…kind of), you’re bound to learn something. Besides, Alan took me from a guy who suffered from TWC his entire life, and provided the tools for a 6-pack. If he can help me, I’m pretty sure he can help anyone.

Craig Ballantyne:
Ladies and gentlemen, I present Mr. Turbulence Training. Craig has been writing programs for MH for years, and has appeared in many of our exercises videos. Besides walking the walk (he oftentimes uses himself as a subject to prove the effectiveness of his workouts), Craig does an excellent job of developing programs that fit people of different shapes, sizes, and skill levels. And the biggest mista some people make? Underestimating his workouts. I promise you they’re more difficult than they seem.

Robert Dos Remedios:
Many people know Dos from his excellent book, Power Training. I know Dos because the man is a certified badass. In terms of strength and conditioning coaches, few can match his ability at creating functional workouts that will not only make you look good, but will improve your performance in most activities. His effectiveness and applicability is what separates him from many people who jumped on the functional bandwagon.

Tony Gentilcore (and the folks at Cressey Performance):
Tony is loaded with great workouts (and some allegedly large biceps) that blend multiple philosophies to improve strength and performance. But the best part about Tony is his blog, which is a mix of training knowledge and sarcasm at it’s finest. If you read my blog, you should check his out—simply because he does a much better job of telling jokes (and loving himself). And while I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting everyone at CP, that doesn’t mean I don’t admire their knowledge. These guys have a real gym that I hope to visit one of these days. Up until now I haven’t—but mainly because I’m afraid I’ll never want to go back to the commercial gym I’m left to attend.

Nick Tumminello:
I’ve dropped Nick’s name a few times recently, and that’s because he’s quickly becoming one of my favorite fitness experts. Nick is one of the better contributors I’ve found at creating original exercises that benefit your training without becoming too gimmicky. Plus, I have enough confidence to allow him to design a program for me (where the final result will include me removing my clothes—never a good thing for anyone). As Cosgrove taught me—the learning process should be continual, and Nick does a great job of adding to my knowledge bank.

Mike Boyle:
I like to attach the phrase “world famous strength coach” whenever I mention Mike. It doesn’t matter what I ask him about, he’s always quick with an answer that’s articulate and detailed. He's worked as a strength coach for amateurs, college athletes, professional, and Olympian. You name it, and Mike has probably covered it. Still wondering if he gets the job done? His BU hockey team just won the national championship. Trophies always say more than words.

Others to check out (who I’ll ramble about later):
JC Santana, Chad Waterbury, Charles Staley, CJ Murphy, Dan John, David Jack, Jim Liston, Joe Defranco, Joe Dowdell, Mark Verstegen, Martin Rooney, Mike Mejia, Mike Robertson, Todd Durkin

BTW, be sure to check out my TRX special deal @ coachdos.com ....free gifts!!
DOS TRX Special!

Olympic lifts REALLY DO help improve athletic performance....

2009-08-20T10:24:00.001-07:00

Just pulled up a couple of older studies looks at the effects of Olympic lifting on things like short sprint and vertical jump performance. The first study compares Olympic lifting to traditional plyometric training on vertical jump performance and sprint performance.

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Article: pp. 433–437 Abstract
Volume 19, Issue 2 (May 2005)

Short-Term Effects on Lower-Body Functional Power Development: Weightlifting vs. Vertical Jump Training Programs
Valmor Tricoli1, 3, Leonardo Lamas1, 2, Roberto Carnevale2, and Carlos Ugrinowitsch1
1. Department of Sport, School of Physical Education and Sport, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil, 2. Center for Sports Conditioning, Esporte Clube Pinheiros, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil, 3. Address correspondence to Valmor Tricoli, E-mail: vtricoli@usp.br
Tricoli V, Lamas L, Carnevale R, Ugrinowitsch C (2005) Short-Term Effects on Lower-Body Functional Power Development: Weightlifting vs. Vertical Jump Training Programs. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 19, No. 2 pp. 433–437 -->

Tricoli, V., L. Lamas, R. Carnevale, and C. Ugrinowitsch. Short-term effects on lower-body functional power development: Weightlifting vs. vertical jump training programs. J. Strength Cond. Res. 19(2):433–437. 2005.—Among sport conditioning coaches, there is considerable discussion regarding the efficiency of training methods that improve lower-body power. Heavy resistance training combined with vertical jump (VJ) training is a well-established training method; however, there is a lack of information about its combination with Olympic weightlifting (WL) exercises. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the short-term effects of heavy resistance training combined with either the VJ or WL program. Thirty-two young men were assigned to 3 groups: WL = 12, VJ = 12, and control = 8. These 32 men participated in an 8-week training study. The WL training program consisted of 3 × 6RM high pull, 4 × 4RM power clean, and 4 × 4RM clean and jerk. The VJ training program consisted of 6 × 4 double-leg hurdle hops, 4 × 4 alternated single-leg hurdle hops, 4 × 4 single-leg hurdle hops, and 4 × 4 40-cm drop jumps. Additionally, both groups performed 4 × 6RM half-squat exercises. Training volume was increased after 4 weeks. Pretesting and posttesting consisted of squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) tests, 10- and 30-m sprint speeds, an agility test, a half-squat 1RM, and a clean-and-jerk 1RM (only for WL). The WL program significantly increased the 10-m sprint speed (p <>

Pretty significant stuff when a weightlifting program can increase sprint and jumping performance more than an actual jumping program. This most likely speaks to the efficacy of the Oly lifts helping to possible develop a more "syncronized" firing and strength/power of the body to perform things like sprint and jumps.

The next study looks at a group of football players and compares Olympic weightlifting vs. powerlifting protocol on sprint and vertical jump performance.

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Article: pp. 129–135 Abstract
Volume 18, Issue 1 (February 2004)

Comparison of Olympic vs. Traditional Power Lifting Training Programs in Football Players
Jay R. Hoffman1, 2, Joshua Cooper1, Michael Wendell1, and Jie Kang1
1. Department of Health and Exercise Science, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, New Jersey 08628-0718, 2. Address correspondence to Dr. Jay R. Hoffman, E-mail: hoffmanj@tcnj.edu
Hoffman JR, Cooper J, Wendell M, Kang J (2004) Comparison of Olympic vs. Traditional Power Lifting Training Programs in Football Players. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 18, No. 1 pp. 129–135 -->

Hoffman, J.R., J. Cooper, M. Wendell, and J. Kang. Comparison of olympic versus traditional power lifting training programs in football players. J. Strength Cond. Res. 18(1):129–135. 2004.—Twenty members of an National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III collegiate football team were assigned to either an Olympic lifting (OL) group or power lifting (PL) group. Each group was matched by position and trained 4-days·wk−1 for 15 weeks. Testing consisted of field tests to evaluate strength (1RM squat and bench press), 40-yard sprint, agility, vertical jump height (VJ), and vertical jump power (VJP). No significant pre- to posttraining differences were observed in 1RM bench press, 40-yard sprint, agility, VJ or in VJP in either group. Significant improvements were seen in 1RM squat in both the OL and PL groups. After log10-transformation, OL were observed to have a significantly greater improvement in ΔVJ than PL. Despite an 18% greater improvement in 1RM squat (p > 0.05), and a twofold greater improvement (p > 0.05) in 40-yard sprint time by OL, no further significant group differences were seen. Results suggest that OL can provide a significant advantage over PL in vertical jump performance changes.
Keywords: athletic performance, football, resistance training, periodized training

This study is a little more telling. Now we get to see a direct comparison.....Olympic weightlifting based training vs. traditional powerlifting training. The results are quite significant, twofold greater improvement in 40 yard times and significantly greater improvements in vertical jump.

What does all this mean? Well, if you are training athletes and are relying on heavy powerlifts or traditional plyos to improve vertical jump performance (which, BTW, is probably the #1 variable in predicting athletic ability) I want to make sure you're on our schedule!

If you wanna get better at Pull-ups get off the Lat-Pulldown Machine!

2009-08-18T09:40:00.001-07:00

Just read this research article in this month's Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. Practitioners have said this for a long time now but as I always say, it's nice when researchers confirm what we have found in our 'labs'.

Relationship of 1 repetition maximum lat-pull to pull-up and lat-pull repetitions in elite collegiate women swimmers.

Halet KA, Mayhew JL, Murphy C, Fanthorpe J.
Human Performance Laboratory, Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri 63501, USA.
The purposes of this study were to determine the relationships among pull-ups, lat-pull repetitions, and 1 repetition maximum (1RM) lat-pull in elite women swimmers and to assess the effect of various anthropometric dimensions on each exercise. Women members (n = 28) of an elite National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II swim team were measured for their ability to perform a maximum number of free-hanging pull-ups, 1RM lat-pull, and lat-pull repetitions at 80% of 1RM. Anthropometric dimensions included selected arm lengths, percent body fat (%fat), and lean body mass (LBM) estimated from skinfold measurements. The correlations of 1RM lat-pull with body mass (r = 0.38, p = 0.04) and LBM (r = 0.41, p = 0.03) were significant, whereas that with %fat (r = 0.13, p = 0.49) was not. The same variables had a significant negative pattern with pull-ups (r = -0.48, -0.43, -0.32, respectively). Pull-ups were moderately correlated with 1RM lat-pull (r = 0.34, p = 0.08) but not with lat-pull repetitions (r = 0.07, p = 0.73). The product of pull-ups times body mass (PU x BM) was a better predictor of 1RM lat-pull (r = 0.86, standard errors of estimate [SEEs] = 4.4 kg) than either measurement alone. The addition of %fat to PU x BM in a stepwise regression analysis raised the correlation (R = 0.90) and reduced the SEE (3.9 kg) only slightly. Addition of arm or forearm lengths failed to increase the multiple R significantly. These results confirmed that the seemingly analogous exercises of pull-ups and lat-pulls were not highly related and should not be substituted for one another in a training regimen.

The correlations showed that the lat pulldown and the pull-up were not very closely related. In addition, several factors seem to come into play when testing females on pull-up performance. The researchers stated that body mass was the main factor in the inability to perform pull-ups. Since the lat pulldown is in fact a different exercise than the pull-up, the researchers recommended not trying to substitute one of another in training. We can now see that moving to the lat pulldown machine in hopes of improving your pull-up ability is not a great strategy.

RECOVERY....The KEY to optimal performance?

2009-08-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

When you are dealing with athletes who push themselves in every phase of preparation it is IMPERATIVE that we stress the importance or rest and recovery. I found this tremendous resource in a Training and Conditioning Magazine article this month Called "The Rest of the Story" that we have just started implementing with our athletic teams at College of the Canyons. This is a very simple downloadable checklist that each athlete can tally themselves each day. At the very least it could open their eyes (and yours of course) and answer some serious questions about your training and their ability to take care of themselves. I HIGHLY recommend using this checklist for anyone working with athletes. This is ESPECIALLY crucial with our football athletes this time of year...I kick myself for not doing something like this years ago!

Click here for the downloadable file

The BEST Interval tracks on the planet!

2009-08-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

It was a little over a year ago when I first met BJ Gaddour or workoutmuse.com. At this time he and his partner in crime Topher Farell were just starting out creating MP3 tracks for various intervals like tabatas variations, 30:30 intervals etc. Well, the last year has been amazing for these guys.....their tracks are literally EVERYWHERE! Check us out DOING WORK with my fave 15:15 Tabata protocol variation at the Perform Better Summit in Chicago a few months ago!

We use the tabata tracks, the 30:30's and the 40:20 interval tracks a TON with our teams and I use them almost daily in my own training. In addition to coming up with custom interval tracks for me, workoutmuse has created tracks that enable you to perform CHAOSTM Sport-Speed Training by yourself...all you need is your iPod and voila! you have random verbal cues at your disposal. My boys have created an empire and it's only going to get bigger with the popularity of interval training for fat loss and fitness. In fact, Watch for the FREE bonus tracks that will be linked in my upcoming book Men's Health Cardio Strength Training due out January 2010 from Rodale books. CRANK IT now and get your tracks!!

Men's Health lists America's Top 10 Gyms!

2009-08-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

How cool is this guys? People ask me all the time, "Who do you go to for advice, ideas etc.?". Are you kidding me? I'm probably the most fortunate person in the world considering that Men's Health's recent rankings of the Top 10 gyms in America include a bevy of gyms owned by good friends of mine! Great job guys....and great job by Men's Health for sifting through the rubble to come up with 10 amazing training facilities. I'm proud just to be associated with some of these guys!

Drumroll Please!!!

Mike Boyle Strength & ConditioningWinchester, MA

Results Fitness Santa Clarita, CA

Peak Performance New York, NY

DeFranco's Wyckoff, NJ

Parisi Speed School Fair Lawn, NJ

The Institute of Human Performance (IHP) Boca Raton, FL

Competitive Athlete Training Zone (CATZ) Pasadena, CA

Fitness Quest 10 San Diego, CA

Philippi Sports Institute Las Vegas, NV

Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training (IFAST) Indianapolis, IN

Man do I love the fact that over the past few years Men's Health has really stepped their game up in terms of training and conditioning advice, programs, experts etc. If it wasn't for this, Men's Health Power Training would have never been published!

The Valslide Phenomenon!

2009-08-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

My Girl Valerie Waters at the IDEA show 'spreadin the word' about the Valslide!

Here's a pic of he entrance to my home office....a kettlebell, TRX, and a pair of valslides, all I need to a kick butt home workout. People are always amazed when I pull out the Valslides and put them through the RINGER during my hands-on presentations at the Perform Better Summits. Quite simply put, as part of a circuit, a workout, or by themselves, valslides can flat our BREAK YOU.I don't endorse a lot of products and/or programs but I had no problem doing one for my friend Valerie Waters. Here is one of my collegiate basketball players doing a demo of our favorite valside exercise, the spiderman push-up.

If you take a peek at my earlier blog video of our exploits at this year's Perform Better Summit in Long Beach, CA you will once again see us performing, alligator walks, pikes, spiderman push-ups, mountain climbers, and even sled pushes with the valslide. If you don't have some, get some today!

Snatches & Beer - On Location in Long Beach!

2009-08-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

Here is our latest installment of "Snatches and Beer" shot on location at this year's Perform Better Summit in Long Beach, CA. Okay, mostly beer this time but a great overall view at what goes down at these events = )

Great times folks....if you didn't get to it make sure to get there next year! Best fitness and conditioning summit on the planet, hands down!

Frankie's Lab, Valencia, CA

2009-08-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

There's a special little place located in our Local Health club here in beautiful Valencia, CA. Tucked away in the back corner of this pristine club full of cardio and weight machines is a spot we like to call "Frankie's Lab". The mad professor who runs this little slice of pain and anguish is Frank Addelia. Frank is a dear friend of mine and is a HUGE REASON why my tool box is SO FULL of great ideas and exercises. From Bodyweight to TRX to Ropes to kettlebells, Frankie comes up with some stuff that is right out of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein..... If you're on Facebook be sure to hit Frankie and I up as we have some amazing videos etc. of our exploits in the lab. If you're not on Facebook just click on Frankie's name in this post and you will get all the directions you need to join. You can also click on my Facebook link on the top left of my Blog page!

6am TRX circuit fun!

2009-08-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

Had a chance to givee our returners a break pull out our brand new freshmen football players at COC the past couple of days and do some teaching @ 6am. This morning we played with the TRX's, the kettlebells and some bodyweight exercises....take a peek!

One year since we lost our Boy....

2009-08-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

A year ago we lost a member of our family, Henry our English Bulldog. Henry led a full and awesome life and even though he passed away at 15 years old, we can't help but think that he still left us before his time. We miss you baby boy.....there will never be another Hen-Hen. This is for you son....

TRX Madness!

2009-08-04T19:35:00.001-07:00

Had a chance to meet the TRX crew including Jon Binder this weekend in Long Beach at the Perform Better Summit.....Watch for some vids and blog posts from me on the TRX site very soon. We have been using these bad boys like crazy with our teams and you will be amazed at seeing a TON of football players training and getting better on the TRX in our early morning workouts this summer. Had a great time incorporating them into my hands on with the help of my good friend (from 'Frankie's Lab' fame), Frank Addelia taking the inspirational crew of participants through some of our favorite explosive exercises on the TRX, if this tool isn't presently in your toolbox go get one NOW!

It's almost here! The Perform Better Summit, Long Beach

2009-07-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

If you are a trainer anywhere in Southern California and don't manage to make it to Long Beach this weekend you are MISSING THE BOAT to say the least! Perform Better has once again put on the most incredible contiuning education even the industry has ever seen. 3 days of some of the most amazing professionals in this field and to top it off, you also happen to be in one of the beautiful spots on So.Cal. Get on it folks......if you make it, be sure to say hello!

Some of the speakers this weekend....

Gray Cook, Mike Boyle, Alwyn Cosgrove, Martin Rooney, Brian Grasso, JC Santana, Robb Rogers, Mark Verstagen, Todd Wright, Todd Durkin, Don Chu, Eric Cressey AND MORE!!

COC Women's Volleyball...a reflection

2009-06-17T05:25:00.000-07:00

Just messing with my new computer and its movie maker....a little inspiration courtesy of some of my ex-female volleyball athletes. Enjoy!