Every client at SOAR starts their warm - up with a series of foam rolling exercises. Click the link below to see how it is done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r9jc5pdxrU
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Single Leg Strength
Check out this video describing single leg lifts done at SOAR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vKY1pLjETE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vKY1pLjETE
Monday, August 2, 2010
Get Jacked Up!
One of the most popular phone calls I get from new clients go something like this "My son is a good athlete, pretty fast, he just needs to get bigger. He lifts 5 days a week at Fufu Fitness Center and hes just not gaining any weight." This is a good call to get because I know that I can help the client immediately, if they show up consistently.
This is how the progression goes:
1. We first establish the client's training age and ability. Training age is simply how many years the client has been lifting......correctly. For my kids who are under 15, their training age is automatically zero unless they prove otherwise. Kids like this are going to gain muscle simply by performing total body lifts with correct techniques. We add load as strength improves. We change programs every month and sets and reps usually range from 6 to 10. NEVER are we doing a chest day, a leg day or the worthless arm day.
2. For my clients who are in the 16 - college age and have training experience, this is when we really step it up. Depending on how many days per week the client is training, we use a combination of heavy upper body lifts, heavy lower body lifts, explosive lifts, high rep lifts and some body building exercises. This is when my job of program design really comes into play. I know when to pile it on and when to take a step back. One week we might Squat heavy, the next week we might Dead Lift heavy. Its pretty simple - Get really strong in the right exercises and eat a lot of good food. Sets and reps can vary dramatically from week to week and even day to day. This is one of the main differences between training under professional supervision and going to the gym and doing your own thing.
Here is where the average skinny person goes wrong:
1. Diet. They either don't eat enough good calories or just don't eat enough period. You must take in 500 cals more per day then you are expending to gain 1 lb. of muscle per week. For some really active 16 year olds, that could be well over 3000 cals per day. Your protein shake must have calories from carbs and fat in it. Just a protein shake will not get it done. If the protein shake you are drinking says 200 calories or less, give it to your grandma because its not going to put mass on you. The shake we use at SOAR has over 600 calories per serving - we taper the servings for smaller kids.
2. They go to the gym and do 3 sets of 10 reps on every machine for 1 body part. They do chest on Monday, back on Tuesday, shoulders on Wednesday, arms on Thursday and then probably chest again on Friday. Maybe they squeeze some leg extensions in there somewhere. This is the number one way to not get strong in the weight room. Get off the machines and pick up some free weights. Change your sets and reps by the week. Do total body lifts or a reasonable split if you are training 4x per week. There is no need to lift 5 days per week under any circumstance. Also, there is no reason to lift for more than 60 minutes. If you are spending 2 hours in the gym, you are either wasting your time or wasting someone else's time by talking too much.
3. Lack of rest. If you do not rest, your muscles will not grow. Sleep at least 7 hours per night. Take at least 1 day, preferably 2 days off from strenuous activity per week.
This is how the progression goes:
1. We first establish the client's training age and ability. Training age is simply how many years the client has been lifting......correctly. For my kids who are under 15, their training age is automatically zero unless they prove otherwise. Kids like this are going to gain muscle simply by performing total body lifts with correct techniques. We add load as strength improves. We change programs every month and sets and reps usually range from 6 to 10. NEVER are we doing a chest day, a leg day or the worthless arm day.
2. For my clients who are in the 16 - college age and have training experience, this is when we really step it up. Depending on how many days per week the client is training, we use a combination of heavy upper body lifts, heavy lower body lifts, explosive lifts, high rep lifts and some body building exercises. This is when my job of program design really comes into play. I know when to pile it on and when to take a step back. One week we might Squat heavy, the next week we might Dead Lift heavy. Its pretty simple - Get really strong in the right exercises and eat a lot of good food. Sets and reps can vary dramatically from week to week and even day to day. This is one of the main differences between training under professional supervision and going to the gym and doing your own thing.
Here is where the average skinny person goes wrong:
1. Diet. They either don't eat enough good calories or just don't eat enough period. You must take in 500 cals more per day then you are expending to gain 1 lb. of muscle per week. For some really active 16 year olds, that could be well over 3000 cals per day. Your protein shake must have calories from carbs and fat in it. Just a protein shake will not get it done. If the protein shake you are drinking says 200 calories or less, give it to your grandma because its not going to put mass on you. The shake we use at SOAR has over 600 calories per serving - we taper the servings for smaller kids.
2. They go to the gym and do 3 sets of 10 reps on every machine for 1 body part. They do chest on Monday, back on Tuesday, shoulders on Wednesday, arms on Thursday and then probably chest again on Friday. Maybe they squeeze some leg extensions in there somewhere. This is the number one way to not get strong in the weight room. Get off the machines and pick up some free weights. Change your sets and reps by the week. Do total body lifts or a reasonable split if you are training 4x per week. There is no need to lift 5 days per week under any circumstance. Also, there is no reason to lift for more than 60 minutes. If you are spending 2 hours in the gym, you are either wasting your time or wasting someone else's time by talking too much.
3. Lack of rest. If you do not rest, your muscles will not grow. Sleep at least 7 hours per night. Take at least 1 day, preferably 2 days off from strenuous activity per week.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Speed and Agility Videos
I have had some time to shoot some video footage of our speed and agility instruction.
The first one is a multi- directional drill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-3OTCZBBCU
This next video is a linear speed drill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPF6GP3kbzs
The first one is a multi- directional drill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-3OTCZBBCU
This next video is a linear speed drill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPF6GP3kbzs
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
SOAR Fitness Update
The gym has been packed full of athletes since school has let out - the main reason why you have not seen any blogs lately. In fact, our morning sessions are completely full until August 1st. If you are looking to train with us, it will have to be in the evenings.
Thursday August 5th will be our first ever Female Athlete Training Clinic. There will be a tremendous amount of information provided on how to train the female athlete. I highly encourage any parent or coach of female athletes to attend - for FREE of course.
We are right in the middle of football conditioning for the guys who can make it in. My next few video blogs will be dedicated to this topic.
Thursday August 5th will be our first ever Female Athlete Training Clinic. There will be a tremendous amount of information provided on how to train the female athlete. I highly encourage any parent or coach of female athletes to attend - for FREE of course.
We are right in the middle of football conditioning for the guys who can make it in. My next few video blogs will be dedicated to this topic.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
THE BEST WAYS TO BE SLOW AND JUMP LOW
I spend a lot of time talking and writing about ways to improve athletic strength, speed and power, so today I figured I would do the opposite. So if you recognize some of the things on this list, then you are not getting as fast as you can possibly be.
1. Run slow. If you have read my blogs before, you know my feelings about long distance running for the speed athlete. If you goal is to be slow, keep running slow.
2. A. Don't lift legs at all.
B. Just do machine lifts for your legs like leg extensions and calf raises. Don't ever squat or lunge.
C. Do your squats and other leg lifts with bad form.
D. If you have good form on your squats and other leg lifts, keep lifting with light weight and doing sets of 8 - 12 reps. Avoid lifting heavy at all costs.
3. Do speed training every day. Don't rest between days or between sets. Keep running until you puke and run some more. If your body is tired, don't listen to it.
4. Warm up only by jogging and then sitting and stretching.
5. A.Do an internet jump training program that has a mindless amount of volume to it. Jump until your knees and shins hurt.
B. Don't do any form of plyometrics or jump training.
6. Don't stretch ever. Completely neglect your flexibility.
7. Sleep 6 hours or less per night.
8. Eat no fruits or vegetables. Eat french fries for lunch and pizza for dinner. Don't eat breakfast.
Again these are the best ways to be SLOW! Follow these simple steps and you will be slow as molasses in no time!
Keep in mind that our football guys are shifting from true speed training to specific conditioning. Although we are never running slow, their volume of running will increase dramatically in the next 6 weeks. Never confuse speed training for conditioning .
1. Run slow. If you have read my blogs before, you know my feelings about long distance running for the speed athlete. If you goal is to be slow, keep running slow.
2. A. Don't lift legs at all.
B. Just do machine lifts for your legs like leg extensions and calf raises. Don't ever squat or lunge.
C. Do your squats and other leg lifts with bad form.
D. If you have good form on your squats and other leg lifts, keep lifting with light weight and doing sets of 8 - 12 reps. Avoid lifting heavy at all costs.
3. Do speed training every day. Don't rest between days or between sets. Keep running until you puke and run some more. If your body is tired, don't listen to it.
4. Warm up only by jogging and then sitting and stretching.
5. A.Do an internet jump training program that has a mindless amount of volume to it. Jump until your knees and shins hurt.
B. Don't do any form of plyometrics or jump training.
6. Don't stretch ever. Completely neglect your flexibility.
7. Sleep 6 hours or less per night.
8. Eat no fruits or vegetables. Eat french fries for lunch and pizza for dinner. Don't eat breakfast.
Again these are the best ways to be SLOW! Follow these simple steps and you will be slow as molasses in no time!
Keep in mind that our football guys are shifting from true speed training to specific conditioning. Although we are never running slow, their volume of running will increase dramatically in the next 6 weeks. Never confuse speed training for conditioning .
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Heavy Leg Workout
Since we are "technique guys" at SOAR, a lot of people confuse that with "we don't let guys lift heavy". That couldn't be further from the truth - if you have good technique and your training age allows you to lift heavy.
Today I had a junior linebacker in the gym who is one of the strongest high school kids I have ever seen. This is his workout.
1. After warm up - he did 3 sets of 8 multi - directional jumps over hurdles. The goal was to jump as high as possible with as little ground contact time as possible - a true plyometric.
2. Complex sets of Box squats with DB jump squats - Sets of 3 jumps squats were performed on the last 5 sets of squats.
135 - 8reps
225 - 6reps
315 - 4 reps
365 - 4 reps
385 - 4reps
405 - 4 reps
425 - 4 reps
3. Lateral squats with a 35 lb plate. 3 x 8 each leg. Lateral squatting is an often overlooked exercise for all athletes. If you play a multi - directional sport, you must lift in all planes of movement.
4. 1 Leg Straight leg Dead Lift. 3x6 We paired the first 2 sets with a single leg glute bridge for 30 seconds each leg.
5. Sled push for conditioning. He performed 8 10 yd pushes with 25 seconds rest in between.
Done. Saturday we will work on position drills and hit the upper body.
Today I had a junior linebacker in the gym who is one of the strongest high school kids I have ever seen. This is his workout.
1. After warm up - he did 3 sets of 8 multi - directional jumps over hurdles. The goal was to jump as high as possible with as little ground contact time as possible - a true plyometric.
2. Complex sets of Box squats with DB jump squats - Sets of 3 jumps squats were performed on the last 5 sets of squats.
135 - 8reps
225 - 6reps
315 - 4 reps
365 - 4 reps
385 - 4reps
405 - 4 reps
425 - 4 reps
3. Lateral squats with a 35 lb plate. 3 x 8 each leg. Lateral squatting is an often overlooked exercise for all athletes. If you play a multi - directional sport, you must lift in all planes of movement.
4. 1 Leg Straight leg Dead Lift. 3x6 We paired the first 2 sets with a single leg glute bridge for 30 seconds each leg.
5. Sled push for conditioning. He performed 8 10 yd pushes with 25 seconds rest in between.
Done. Saturday we will work on position drills and hit the upper body.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)