My time as a strength and conditioning coach at Averett (pronounced A-VER-ETTE)University has been invaluable. I feel that as a coach, getting on the court, field or weight room experience with athletes is the best way to learn how to teach. During my time I gained knowledge in the following areas:
- programming of in-season and pre-season athletic teams
- training programs that needed to be creative, due to equipment, size of the weight room, and number of athletes that needed to be trained in a timely manner
- working with coaches, discussing how their practices have been going to find the best times to hit the weights hard and when to back off a bit
- the cues and techniques that work best when teaching lifts
- proper progressions for athletes who have had little to no experience with strength training
Most importantly, the coaches trusted me in what I was doing and the teams bought in to the benefits of strength training.
There is no such thing as the perfect program, especially when your dealing with teams that numbered in the 30's. I know now that what I had the teams doing was ok, certainly better than nothing, and much more than other teams were doing. But as any coach should, I've continued to learn as much as I possibly can and my training style has changed accordingly.
I am still in contact with these coaches and continue to consult with them on their strength training. What follows is an outline of what I have sent to the women's soccer team at Averett. I was told that about half of the team will not have access to a weight room while they are home for the summer, so I will also be posting some training ideas of what I will give them with little equipment necessary.
Even though this is a program designed for female soccer players, I know it can be beneficial for men and women who are looking to gain strength, speed and athleticism.
"Warm-up" - This is not a traditional warm-up of jogging a lap and stretching, but works on areas that are issues with many athletes.
Foam Rolling
Stretching
Mobility work for the ankles, hips, shoulders and thoracic spine
Core work - exercises focused on anti-extension and anti-rotation of the core, upper back strengthining and glute activation
Strength work
Day 1
- hip dominant lower body
- upper body push
- knee dominant single leg
- upper body pull
- hip accessory - hamstring focused
- upper body push
Day 2
- explosive full body
- upper body pull
- hip dominant lower body
- upper body push
- knee dominant lower body
- upper body pull
Day 3
- knee dominant lower body
- upper body push
- hip dominant single leg
- upper body pull
- hip accessory - hamstring focused
- upper body push
There are 6 exercises in each day, and all of the strength work is done in an A1, A2 fashion (if you're doing 3 sets, you perform A1, then A2, then back to A1 for 3 total sets of each, then to B1).
Throughout the summer, intensity and volume increases, and then volume will decrease for another increase in intensity.
I will be posting some video's for the team so that they can get explanations of the exercises throughout the summer. Most of the exercise selections were based on those I have taught them, with a couple new ones, as well.
If you are interested in the specifics of the program, please email me. I would be more than happy to discuss the program with anybody who would like to know more.
Any questions or comments, hit me up on facebook. And be sure to check back for video's of new exercises!
Thanks for reading! Go Cougars!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
P90X: Pro's and Con's
The shake weight. The ab coaster. The thigh blaster. 8 minute buns. We've become overwhelmed with at-home workout contraptions and programs. I think we should all be skeptical of an infomercial that guarantees "only 10 minutes a day to the body of your dreams." These statements are followed by men and women who have the ideal body. Chances are, the only time they ever used what is being sold is the day of the photo shoot.
P90X is different, though. It's not a 10 minute a day program. It seems to have real people on its infomercials. Its good for those who want to and can train alone. When I say can, I mean that some people will skip days very easily if they are accountable only to themself. Getting a group together would certainly take care of that issue and I suggest it.
I don't think there is much doubt that when you actually do the full program, you can see results. I've known people to go through it and some had success and some didn't. Once again, much of the success is based on diet, which I believe the program covers.
You might think that because I'm a strength coach and personal trainer I will now go into a long list of reasons why I don't like this program. I'm not. I do have a few issues, though.
1. EVERYBODY does the same program. No matter what your previous training looked like, or even if you haven't trained or exercised in years, everyone does the same program. That's obviously the easy thing to do when mass producing programs like this. Because of this, any tightness, pre-existing injury and faulty movement patterns will only get worse. Should a person who hasn't exercised in years and is 40pounds overweight be doing a "plyometric day"? Probably not. A way to fix your movement issues on your own is pick up Athletic Body in Balance by Gray Cook and perform the self assessment on yourself. Or find an FMS certified trainer (wink, wink). Then, do corrective exercises where you find necessary.
2. It can make you small and weak. If you don't have any amount of muscle mass to begin with, it will be fairly difficult to look all cut up. If all you want to do is lose weight, thats fine, but remember than muscle burns calories all day long. The guys you see with their shirts off on the infomercials had some muscle mass to begin with and lost the fat surrounding those muscles. Much of the program is high rep, low intensity to keep the cardio aspect in play at all times, so strength gains will be small. If strength and muscle is what your goals are, the basic barbell lifts and sprinting are a better choice.
3. When do you walk around with your shirt off? I like having abs, and I'm trying to get them back, without losing weight. I'd rather look like I lift weights for the other 9 months of the year when my shirt is on 100% of the time. That means I hit the big compound lifts week after week. For females, that toned look that many of you want are also gained by lifting weights consistently, not by running and aerobic work for days at a time.
4. Its not progressive. What do you do when you're done? I've heard people say that you just start over again after you finish. How is that progressive? I think the whole thing that people get excited about is "muscle confusion". So would a second run at it be "muscle re-confusion"? It leaves you hanging, back at square one. If it worked, you should be moving onto something better. If it didn't work, maybe it wasn't what you needed. Doing it again doesn't move you forward.
I'm not bashing this system. Its worked for people and anything that gets people exercising is ok in my book. However, its not for me personally for reasons I've already stated and its not for any athletes I train. For me, nothing will make you stronger, more athletic, and in better shape than the basics.
Thanks for reading! Leave questions and comments on facebook! I'd love to know what you think!
P90X is different, though. It's not a 10 minute a day program. It seems to have real people on its infomercials. Its good for those who want to and can train alone. When I say can, I mean that some people will skip days very easily if they are accountable only to themself. Getting a group together would certainly take care of that issue and I suggest it.
I don't think there is much doubt that when you actually do the full program, you can see results. I've known people to go through it and some had success and some didn't. Once again, much of the success is based on diet, which I believe the program covers.
You might think that because I'm a strength coach and personal trainer I will now go into a long list of reasons why I don't like this program. I'm not. I do have a few issues, though.
1. EVERYBODY does the same program. No matter what your previous training looked like, or even if you haven't trained or exercised in years, everyone does the same program. That's obviously the easy thing to do when mass producing programs like this. Because of this, any tightness, pre-existing injury and faulty movement patterns will only get worse. Should a person who hasn't exercised in years and is 40pounds overweight be doing a "plyometric day"? Probably not. A way to fix your movement issues on your own is pick up Athletic Body in Balance by Gray Cook and perform the self assessment on yourself. Or find an FMS certified trainer (wink, wink). Then, do corrective exercises where you find necessary.
2. It can make you small and weak. If you don't have any amount of muscle mass to begin with, it will be fairly difficult to look all cut up. If all you want to do is lose weight, thats fine, but remember than muscle burns calories all day long. The guys you see with their shirts off on the infomercials had some muscle mass to begin with and lost the fat surrounding those muscles. Much of the program is high rep, low intensity to keep the cardio aspect in play at all times, so strength gains will be small. If strength and muscle is what your goals are, the basic barbell lifts and sprinting are a better choice.
3. When do you walk around with your shirt off? I like having abs, and I'm trying to get them back, without losing weight. I'd rather look like I lift weights for the other 9 months of the year when my shirt is on 100% of the time. That means I hit the big compound lifts week after week. For females, that toned look that many of you want are also gained by lifting weights consistently, not by running and aerobic work for days at a time.
4. Its not progressive. What do you do when you're done? I've heard people say that you just start over again after you finish. How is that progressive? I think the whole thing that people get excited about is "muscle confusion". So would a second run at it be "muscle re-confusion"? It leaves you hanging, back at square one. If it worked, you should be moving onto something better. If it didn't work, maybe it wasn't what you needed. Doing it again doesn't move you forward.
I'm not bashing this system. Its worked for people and anything that gets people exercising is ok in my book. However, its not for me personally for reasons I've already stated and its not for any athletes I train. For me, nothing will make you stronger, more athletic, and in better shape than the basics.
Thanks for reading! Leave questions and comments on facebook! I'd love to know what you think!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Environmentally Friendly
How environmentally friendly is your gym? Is it a place that accepts you for who you are? Is it a place that makes you work hard whenever you enter?
I realize that everybody has different goals, but if you're going to a gym to exercise, should you really be inundated with pizza and tootsie rolls as you leave? Theres a very succesful chain gym that does this. Great business model, not exactly great at changing anybodys life for the better.
I suggest finding a place where the people and the overall environment of the place is in line with your goals. For example, are you looking to put on some muscle? You need to be able to squat or deadlift. Are you looking to shed some fat? You need to be able to jump rope, push something heavy and strength train with free weights.
If you dont have a place to hit your goals, figure something else out. Go to a playground and hit bodyweight and sprint circuits. Find an old tire, tie a rope around it and put something heavy inside it and drag it around. Throw a medicine ball, heavy stones or empty kegs around. All of these things will lead to better progress than sitting on the "strength circuit" at the previously mentioned gym, no matter what your goals are.
The best thing you can have is a group of people who have goals similar to you. This creates a brotherhood (or sisterhood, of course) type of feel. I know what you're going through and you know what I'm going through when were struggling to push out one more rep.
The take home points: Find a great place to train, gym or no gym. Find a group of people you can share your training ups and downs with and push them to get better every time you work together.
If you need any tips or pointers on finding a place for you or for ideas if you're making your own "unconventional" program, post on my facebook. I'm also now at twitter @BobbyFisk. Post comments on facebook as well. I'd love to hear about your training environment stories.
I realize that everybody has different goals, but if you're going to a gym to exercise, should you really be inundated with pizza and tootsie rolls as you leave? Theres a very succesful chain gym that does this. Great business model, not exactly great at changing anybodys life for the better.
I suggest finding a place where the people and the overall environment of the place is in line with your goals. For example, are you looking to put on some muscle? You need to be able to squat or deadlift. Are you looking to shed some fat? You need to be able to jump rope, push something heavy and strength train with free weights.
If you dont have a place to hit your goals, figure something else out. Go to a playground and hit bodyweight and sprint circuits. Find an old tire, tie a rope around it and put something heavy inside it and drag it around. Throw a medicine ball, heavy stones or empty kegs around. All of these things will lead to better progress than sitting on the "strength circuit" at the previously mentioned gym, no matter what your goals are.
The best thing you can have is a group of people who have goals similar to you. This creates a brotherhood (or sisterhood, of course) type of feel. I know what you're going through and you know what I'm going through when were struggling to push out one more rep.
The take home points: Find a great place to train, gym or no gym. Find a group of people you can share your training ups and downs with and push them to get better every time you work together.
If you need any tips or pointers on finding a place for you or for ideas if you're making your own "unconventional" program, post on my facebook. I'm also now at twitter @BobbyFisk. Post comments on facebook as well. I'd love to hear about your training environment stories.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Hill Season
The precipitation has turned from snow to rain. You can smell the grills on Saturday afternoon. The sun comes up before 8am. You don't need a winter hat, jacket and gloves to walk to your car. It can only mean one thing...
Yup. It's hill season.
The weather is nice enough to get your "cardio" done outside. Yesterday was day 1 for me and a training partner. It was brutal and awesome. We essentially did an hour of sprints.
I've written on here in the past about running hills and how much I love them and all the benefits so I won't go through that again. All I will say is get a partner or group together and start sprinting up a hill. Set a number or a time and every time you hit the hill push yourself to get better and progress.
Having a training partner is a must. Its very easy to quit half way through if you're by yourself. When you're with somebody else its very difficult and the more people you have the better.
For those of you in the Ravena-Coeymans area, the hill behind the high school is perfect. I'll be going 2-3 times per week and I'll be posting what times if anybody wants to jump on board.
Hill season comes before beach season. Get your hill on for the next 2 months and you'll be happy with the results.
Yup. It's hill season.
The weather is nice enough to get your "cardio" done outside. Yesterday was day 1 for me and a training partner. It was brutal and awesome. We essentially did an hour of sprints.
I've written on here in the past about running hills and how much I love them and all the benefits so I won't go through that again. All I will say is get a partner or group together and start sprinting up a hill. Set a number or a time and every time you hit the hill push yourself to get better and progress.
Having a training partner is a must. Its very easy to quit half way through if you're by yourself. When you're with somebody else its very difficult and the more people you have the better.
For those of you in the Ravena-Coeymans area, the hill behind the high school is perfect. I'll be going 2-3 times per week and I'll be posting what times if anybody wants to jump on board.
Hill season comes before beach season. Get your hill on for the next 2 months and you'll be happy with the results.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
The Most Important Factor in Training
Training relies on many things, but there is one important factor that is head and shoulders above the rest. That factor is intensity.
No matter what program you're on, how much protein your taking in or how sweet your gym is, none of it matters if you don't train with intensity.
You may have noticed that I don't use the word "working out". Instead, I use the word "train" with clients, friends and myself. Training means you have a goal. Training means you have a purpose. Training means you have more intensity than others when you step foot inside of the gym or weight room.
You focus on what you're goals are when you train with intensity. Every set is done with perfection. You push yourself and your partners to get the weights, reps and sets you are supposed to get. You don't give in when it gets tough.
This is from dictionary.com - great energy, strength, concentration, vehemence, etc., as of activity, thought, or feeling: He went at the job with great intensity.
If you're not pushing yourself, you aren't getting the results you could be. If you're comfortable with you're training and you're ok with how your body looks and feels, good for you. But if you want to make a change in your body, your strength, your athleticism and your life, put your game face on when its time to move weights and train with intensity. Thats how you make changes. Not going half-assed. Thats not how it works in the weight room or in life.
How many of you train at a place that is in line with your goals? I will discuss the importance of this in my next post.
Leave questions and comments on my facebook fan page. Also, follow me on twitter - @bobbyfisk.
No matter what program you're on, how much protein your taking in or how sweet your gym is, none of it matters if you don't train with intensity.
You may have noticed that I don't use the word "working out". Instead, I use the word "train" with clients, friends and myself. Training means you have a goal. Training means you have a purpose. Training means you have more intensity than others when you step foot inside of the gym or weight room.
You focus on what you're goals are when you train with intensity. Every set is done with perfection. You push yourself and your partners to get the weights, reps and sets you are supposed to get. You don't give in when it gets tough.
This is from dictionary.com - great energy, strength, concentration, vehemence, etc., as of activity, thought, or feeling: He went at the job with great intensity.
If you're not pushing yourself, you aren't getting the results you could be. If you're comfortable with you're training and you're ok with how your body looks and feels, good for you. But if you want to make a change in your body, your strength, your athleticism and your life, put your game face on when its time to move weights and train with intensity. Thats how you make changes. Not going half-assed. Thats not how it works in the weight room or in life.
How many of you train at a place that is in line with your goals? I will discuss the importance of this in my next post.
Leave questions and comments on my facebook fan page. Also, follow me on twitter - @bobbyfisk.
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