Monday, August 13, 2012

There's More Than One Way to Build Explosive Power in Athletes!

One of the biggest concerns of strength coaches and athletes (whether they know it or not) is known as "rate of force development." Essentially this means, how quickly can an athlete activate their muscles to achieve maximal force output.  This amount of time can be shortened through training.  An offensive or defensive lineman can be trained to explode off the line of scrimmage faster, a runner in baseball can reach top speed on the base path quicker, and a basketball player can change directions and reach max height on a jump at a faster rate, if they are trained properly.
Usain Bolt--Triple Extension of the left leg
In most sports that require explosiveness, the lower body, especially the hips, are responsible for generating most of the power.  Therefore, the most important aspect of generating power and force is known as "triple extension."  Triple extension is the simultaneous extension of the ankles, knees, and hips, which is one of the most common and important movements in all of sports.  Consider this:  When a linebacker wraps up a running back to make a tackle, he is taught to shoot low and drive from the legs by exploding through the ball carrier.  When taught properly, the linebacker should extend at the ankles, knees and hips, and drive the ball carrier through the ground.  When a basketball player jumps, whether it be for a 15 foot shot, a layup, or a powerful drive and dunk, they bend at the ankles, knees, and hips, then forcefully extend all three, producing the force that allows them to leave the floor.  For that matter, what is running?  If you watch a world class sprinter, each step is an explosive extension of the ankle, knee and hip of the individual leg.  The point is, triple extension may be the most important movement to develop in sport!
Olympic Snatch--"The Finish"
1) Some strength coaches will tell you the only way to truly improve rate of force development through triple extension training are the classic olympic lifts.  These include the snatch, the clean, the jerk, and their variations.  There is no doubt, the olympic lifts will build incredible power and improve rate of force development.  The problem, and its a HUGE problem, is that the olympic lifts are extremely hard to teach.  They are unbelievably technical.  If you read enough interviews with world-class olympic lifters, you'll begin to see that even they admit, after decades of practicing these techniques every single day, that their technique still needs work.  So, with that in mind, I think that depending on the athlete, there are better ways to work the triple extension.

Elliott Hulse--Atlas Stone Loading
2) One such way to do this, is odd object training.  Some might call this strongman training.  Essentially, you take an odd object, like a heavy stone, atlas stone, sandbag, kettlebell, or other object, and perform exercises like loading, shouldering, or a variation of the olympic lift.  These are great because they force the athlete to adjust to the odd object which will improve grip and athleticism.  They are also much easier to teach than the classic olympic lifts.  Some of my favorite odd object exercises are kettlebell snatches, sandbag shouldering, and stone clean and press.  They build full body explosive power and muscle and it's just goddamn fun to throw around heavy shit!

3) Another way to build power is through throws.  Medicine balls are a great tool to build explosive power and speed.  Before your strength training, or on its own, medicine ball throws force the muscles to activate quickly through resistance.  However, the biggest advantage to medicine ball training is that you don't have to decelerate the resistance.  Anytime you're using a barbell, a sandbag, a rock, a kettlebell, a dumbbell, or any other object that will be staying in your hand or hands the entire movement, you have to decelerate the object even if its just slightly at some point.  That forces you to control the object which compromises power output.  With a medicine ball, there is no deceleration.  You throw the damn thing as hard as humanly possible!  Some of the best medicine ball throws are overhead medicine ball slams, broad jump chest passes, underhand backwards medicine ball throws, underhand forward throws, and twisting throws for rotational power.  Check out the world-class athletes at the great Defranco's gym training explosively with medicine balls!

4) The final, and most controversial way to build explosive power, is plyometrics.  Plyometrics is a big buzz word in the fitness industry today.  Everyone wants to do plyometrics, and the world of Crossfit has encouraged people to use plyometrics as a conditioning tool.  However, plyometrics ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE.  Originally developed by the Soviets, plyometrics are intended for well-trained, high level athletes, who already possess athleticism and a high level of technique in basic strength exercises like the squat.  Please, for the love of God, if you have been out of training for awhile, or are new to training, don't start by doing depth jumps, where you jump off one box and immediately onto another!  Now that I got that rant out of the way, here are the positives.  Simple jump training for athletes, or plyometric training for advanced athletes, is a great way to improve rate of force development and triple extension.  You can't jump slowly.  Try hard as you want, you have to contract your muscles quickly and explosively in order to jump. If done properly, jump training can be extremely beneficial for developing speed and explosiveness in athletes.  Some of my favorite jumping exercises are box jumps, hurdle hops, broad jumps, and kneeling jumps.
Ridiculous Triple Extension on the Broad Jump

In my opinion, variety is key here.  Athletes should be able to explosively lift odd objects, throw medicine balls, perform jumps with just their bodyweight, and perform SUBMAX olympic lifts with good form.  This will provide a basis of overall athleticism and power through triple extension of the ankles, knees, and hips.  If you want to improve your speed, athleticism, and explosive power on the field or the court, you need to be training this way.  Learn to properly train the triple extension and watch your athletic performance improve like never before!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Breakin In the New Cleats With a POWER Workout

With only two days left until camp it was time to pick up some new cleats.  They looked way to nice and shiny so I had to break these suckers in with a quick but intense power workout.  Though brief this workout will help build anaerobic power.  For this workout, my explosive submax throw was done with a 100 pound stone I found on FDU's campus last spring.  However, you can use anything.  If you have nothing to throw, do hurdle hops, otherwise, stones, medicine balls, kettlebells, or dumbells will work.  Just make sure whatever movement you do it's with submax resistance and it's explosive!  Follow it immediately with a relatively short max effort sprint.

Warmup
Dynamic Warmup

Anabolic Power Training--8 Rounds
1a) Submax Throw--100 Pound stone from ground over shoulder x 2
1b) Sprint--Hill sprint

Gymnastics Static Strength/Prehab--3 Rounds
2a) Handstand Progression
2b) Single Leg Glute Bridge x 10 each

This is a great way to condition for most sports, (in my case football) because it trains your body in the glycolytic system.  In football each play is a burst of high intensity followed by an elongated period of rest.  This is why it makes absolutely NO SENSE for a football player to run long distances at a slow pace to condition.  When do you ever see a football player run two miles at a jogging pace?  Absolutely never.  This kind of explosive training increases your body's capacity to operate in the glycolytic system, which is your body's energy system of choice after the body's ATP supply (its first source of energy) is burned up.  It would take an entire book to explain the body's energy systems and specifically how they operate, so to put it simply, identify the movements and duration of movements in your particular sport and train for them.  Don't waste your time doing long slow cardio because you see everyone else doing it.  High intensity interval training and anaerobic power training is the best way build explosiveness, muscle, and increase work capacity without sacrificing power output which is EXACTLY what slow sustained cardio does!


Friday, August 10, 2012

Random Muscle Building Workout!

I woke up today at 10:45 am to a bitch black house.  Completely confused, I walked around to see if it really was morning.  It was, but some of the darkest storm clouds of the entire summer had moved in and dropped teeming rain and bellowing thunder.  This completely destroyed my plans to hit a bodyweight workout at the park or playground.  But, as in life and sport, things don't always work out the way you plan, and you just gotta keep grindin' and find a way around the obstacle.
Today's workout was a perfect reflection of this.  I asked my brother what reps and sets I should hit for my random muscle-building bodyweight workout after deadlifting heavy yesterday.  This is what he came up with...

Warmup
Dynamic Warmup

1a) Gymnastics Rings Dips--10, 8, 6, 8, 10
1b) Gymnastics Rings Elevated Rows--20, 16, 12, 16, 20

This up and down ladder concept was absolutely hellish.  However, it was a fantastic workout because it took me out of my comfort zone.  It increased my work capacity and endurance, as well as building muscle and mental toughness.  All I needed was my fucking awesome pair of gymnastics rings that hang from a pullup bar in my bedroom doorway.  I'd highly recommend searching them on Google and getting your hands on a pair of rings if you want to take your bodyweight training to another level.
Now, I could have stopped and gotten ready for work right then.  But in the spirit of this random and completely improvised workout session, I had to finish with some explosive training.  Most strength trainers would tell you to ALWAYS start your workouts with explosive training before strength and muscle building training.  I'm inclined to agree with them.  However, sometimes you need to get out of your comfort zone and push yourself when your sore and tired.  Your mind and your body must be ready even when things don't go your way, or your tired, or life laughs at your plans and throws you a curveball.  With that in mind, here's the second half of my morning session.

5 Rounds
2a) Kneeling Jumps--5
2b) Full Body Plyo Pushups--5

Embrace the Grind!



Thank God For Sumo Deadlifts!

Sumo deadlifts saved my ability to perform the deadlift.  I was never able to get my back into a proper position to do conventional deadlift, and I think that that played a role in the back injury I suffered in the spring.  I believe this has as much to do with my body composition as anything else.  So I began testing out the sumo deadlift, and it has allowed me to maintain a neutral spine position and utilize my hamstrings and glutes much more than my lower back which has saved me from further injury.  Deadlift like a freak!

I recorded this workout but unfortunately I cut off my own head so I'll just have to try again some other time.

Warmup
Dynamic Warmup

Heavy Barbell Lift--Deadlift
5x2--Started with 250lbs and used 40 pound jumps until I finished with 410x2

Conditioning--3 Rounds
2a) 100 lb Stone Walking Lunges--16 steps
2b) Band Resisted Pushups--15
2c) KB Carry--Variety

Finisher--3 Rounds
3a) Suitcase KB Deadlifts--5 each side
3b) L-Sit Pullups--10 (Varied Grips)

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

"Hey, what are you training for?"

"Hey, what are you training for??"
"Life, motherfucker."
KB weighted pushups

It's amazing to me every time someone asks me this.  As if to say, "you must be playing a sport or doing a grueling competition, otherwise why aren't you on the couch like the rest of us!"  I train because I love it.  I train to be strong.  I train to build my body, my mind, and my spirit.  I train because in life, as in sport, there will come a time when you can either push through or you can back down and quit.  What will you do when this time comes?

It's incredible what you can do with a 70 pound kettlebell, your bodyweight, and alot of pent-up anger towards the people involved in FDU enrollment and housing.

Alternating KB Plyo Rows
General Warmup --Jogging

Dynamic Warmup--Band pull aparts, animal movements, lunges, reverse lunges, lunges w/ twist, skipping, sprinting, pushups, divebomb pushups, bounding, etc.

Power and Strength Circuit--5 Rounds
1a) KB Snatch--3 each arm
1b) Consecutive Broad Jumps--3
1c) KB Weighted Parallel Bar Pushups--10

Conditioning--3 Rounds
2a) Single Arm KB Split Squat--8 each side
2b) KB Row Variation (Hand Alternating)--12
2c) Bound for 5 yards sprint for 10 yards

Finished with some quick lever training.  Short on time so cranked alot in the time I had.  Hit me up with comments about why you train and what you think of the workout.  Keep grindin'.


Single Arm KB Split Squats


















Training Around an Injury

If there is one thing I know, it's injuries and how to train around them.  Since 2008, I've had four major surgeries.  Not some little meniscus tear or getting your wisdom teeth out.  I had the labrum in my left shoulder repaired, then tore and had the ACL in my right knee reconstructed (as well as my MCL and meniscus the first time) three consecutive years, then last season I suffered a high ankle sprain with ligament damage, and then three months ago, I herniated two discs in my lower back.  All of these are considered serious injuries and in the case of the ACLs and disc herniations, some doctors and athletes might even consider them career ending.  Yet, I'm about to enter my fifth year at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where I'll continue playing football, and I haven't stopped training at ANY point in the last five years.
Bodyweight training less than two months after back injury
Now, I often talk to athletes and just regular gym-goers and will hear, "I can't train, I hurt my shoulder," or "my backs bothering me so I had to take a few months off," or "I have to get knee surgery I can't do anything."  I ask you, if your shoulder hurts, what's wrong with your legs?  If you knee is busted, does your upper body shut down?  If one of your ankles hurts, didn't God give you another leg?  The fact is injuries are just an excuse for lazy people to sit on their ass and get fat and out of shape, and then when people ask them why they're shrinking or gaining weight, they have a "legitimate" reason to help them rationalize it.
The fact is, there are NO legitimate excuses for not training when you're hurt or injured.  Only days after my ACL surgery, I was rolling off the couch to do pushups with my healthy leg as support.  If you have a serious shoulder injury, there is no reason you can't do bodyweight squats or lunges, or even do single arm training with your healthy arm.  If you have a bad back, there is no reason you can't use bodyweight training or tolerable weight training as I did three months ago when I injured mine.
Too many people hear their doctor say, "you need to rest," and think that is a free pass to do absolutely nothing for awhile.  When the doctor says that they mean rest your injury!  The truth is, studies have shown that the more active you are while injured, the faster your body will recover, and that if you continue to train your body or your uninjured appendage, that you will continue to make gains in strength and muscle in the injured area for a period of time.  You are doing your body and your mind a disservice if you use an injury as an excuse for not training.  I truly believe that my back healed much faster, (I'm back to squatting 355x3 and deadlifting over 400 pounds) due to the fact that I didn't take any time off, and began utilizing bodyweight and odd object training after the injury occurred.
The point is, stop making excuses because there are none and take action.  If you have suffered an injury and would like ideas about how to train around it, message me or email me.  If you still don't believe me about training around an injury, check out this video about a man who was given a bad break but has NEVER let it stop him.





Monday, August 6, 2012

Squat 'Til You See God!

Finally back into moving some heavy weights in the squat and deadlift after working my way back from herniating two discs in my lower back in late April.  One week until football camp starts.  Gotta keep grindin'.  Still utilizing Elliott Hulse's very basic "Grow Stronger Method" template and putting my own spin on it's concept.  Get after it.  Feedback, questions, comments are all appreciated!

General Warmup--Jump Rope--1:30
Dynamic Warmup--Animal Movements, Prehab, and Soft Tissue Work
--Bear Crawls, lunges, reverse lunges, lunges with a twist, gymnastics rings face pulls, band pull aparts, squats, jump squats, etc.

Heavy Barbell Lift--Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 Program Week 3
1) Working Sets: 275x1x5
                            315x1x3
                            355x1x3

Conditioning--Primal Training Circuits--4 Rounds
2a) 100 lb. Overhead Stone Carries
2b) 70 lb KB High Pull x 8
2c) Anti-Flexion Resistance Band Walk Outs x 6 each side

Static Gymnastic Exercise Work
3) Hand Stand Progression--3 sets
  

Sunday, August 5, 2012

"WTF is an off day!?"

Young Herschel Walker
I was inspired today by a conversation I had with my friend Tom Massey, who is currently deployed in Afghanistan in the Navy.  He asked me why I wasn't out lifting heavy things and when I replied that today was an "off day" he quickly replied "wtf is an off day??"  HA!  I love it.  Tom has great drive and shares my passion for odd object lifting as well as pushing the mind and body through various training methods in general.  This response got me to thinking, what is an "off day" to me.  Now what I hadn't told him at the time is that I had spent my day doing prehab exercises like band pull aparts and that every single time I passed my gymnastics rings in the hallway that I practiced front and back levers.  I had also been doing pushups throughout the day.  Everything from plyometric pushups to self-assisted one hand pushups to band resisted pushups.  This is an off day.  I stay active and use bodyweight and prehab training to keep my body strong and healthy.
Now you might be saying, "But what about rest!  Doesn't the body need rest to grow??"  To which I say absolutely!  You need to sleep and eat properly, and you need to allow your body and your central nervous system to rest between high intensity and max effort sessions.  HOWEVER, too many people take this opportunity to say oh, I worked out three times this week, I can sit on my ass and do nothing the rest of the time.  This is wrong.  Listen to your individual body, but the fact is that the human body is capable of much more then most people will ever discover.  Too many times people settle for the bare minimum, and never push themselves to reach their full potential.

Don't believe that bodyweight training and staying active on off days can benefit you?  Herschel Walker has been known to do THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of pushups and sit ups every single day.  Once one of the best running backs in college football, and a great pro player, he is now trying his hand at professional mixed martial arts even though he's now over 50!
Yohan Blake, who finished with a silver in the Olympics tonight in the men's 100m race only to Usain Bolt is said to do countless pushups and sit ups while watching TV at home.  Even Laron Landry, one of the hardest hitters in the NFL has been known to train just hours before games in his hotel room using bodyweight training and a single resistance band.
Now there is no doubt that these guys are freaks of nature.  Is basic calisthenics and prehab training on your "off days" going to make you a world-class athlete?  Problably not.  But can you improve your physique, your athleticism, your strength, and your overall health by utilizing "active rest" as it's often called?  Hell yes!
So now that I've banged out this post I'm going to go rip into some more push ups and lever training before I head off to bed.  Do the same and I promise you will feel healthier and stronger then ever before when you'd sit on the couch all night staring at the TV.  Stay grindin'!

Top 5 Exercises For Building 6 Pack Abs That Are Functional Too!

I am so sick and goddamn tired of seeing people do 10 million Bosu ball crunches and trying to spot reduce fat by rocking back and forth in front of a mirror with a weight in one hand.  Newsflash, that same bullshit bodybuilding mindset that leads people to spend their entire workout on arms is the same reason why you look at your stomach day after day and wonder why you don't have abs!  Now, I will always be honest about this, I have always been at least chubby.  The most important factors in having visible abs are nutrition and fat burning.  It doesn't matter how much you build your abdominals, if you're too fat, you won't see them!  Until this summer, when I finally learned how to build the muscles of my lower back and abdominals using functional movements, I NEVER saw my abs.  For those of you who've had the same problem all you life, here's what you might have been missing, (in no particular order).

Al Kavadlo Back Lever

1) Front and Back Lever Training--Front and back levers are advanced gymnastics bodyweight exercises.  The truth is, I can't do a perfect front or back lever at this point.  They're extremely difficult.  But in order to do anything that you can't do yet, you need to train for it.  With this in mind, front and back lever progressions are some of the best "core" exercises you can do. They require static strength and stability of the entire trunk musculature including the upper back.  In order to do a front lever, you need to keep your arms straight hanging from either a pull up bar or gymnastics rings.  Lift your legs keeping you entire body straight so that at the end of the movement, where you will hold your position, your body is completely parallel to the ground.  To progress to this movement, you first need to master the straight leg raise and the pull up, because this move requires both incredible abdominal and lower back strength as well as upper back strength and stability.  To progress, start by doing the movement with your knees tucked, then work to one knee tucked, then to legs straight but spread, and finally the full movement.  The back lever is the opposite.  An easier move then a front lever, you will need to flip you body over and hold the position so that your body is parallel to the ground with your chest and stomach facing the ground.  The progressions for this move is identical.  Soon I'll be taking some pictures and doing a video tutorial of the progressions and training for the front and back lever, in the meantime, check out some guys who can do it much better then I can.
Front Lever



2) Carries--Nothing builds your entire core musculature like carrying heavy shit!  It doesn't matter what it is, don't discriminate.  Rocks, dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, trap bars, sandbags, big boxes, anvils, logs, etc.  The list is absolutely endless.  You can carry these objects in front of you in the rack position, on the back of your neck, on your shoulder, or just hold them in your hand.  The reason this is so effective is because it forces you lower back, upper back, and abdominals to contract the entire time under tension in order to keep your spine, (which they are designed to protect) in line and safe.  Keep the volume low and the intensity high on these.  2-5 rounds in any one workout is plenty.  Vary the distance, weight, position that you carry the object, and the object itself to make this most effective.  To make this exercise even more difficult, carry two different objects or two similar objects that are different weights in order to force your body to further stabilize the weight.

Offset Sandbag and Kettlebell Carries



















3) L-Sit Pull Ups-- Don't think too far into these, they're extremely simple.  Instead of letting you legs hang or crossing them behind you, hold your legs straight out in front of you while doing pull ups.  This will make the pull up much harder, but it will engage you're abdominals and lower back tremendously.  Use them as often as you'd use any other pull up variation.

Parallel Bar Straight Leg Raises
4) Straight Leg Raises--The simplest exercise on this list, just hang from a pull up bar or hold yourself up on a dip bar or a pair of parallel bars and keeping your legs completely straight, raise your legs until they are parallel to the ground or past parallel.  Keep your back contracted and your torso parallel.  



5) Deadlift/Front Squat/Squat--If you want to build strength and muscle in your lower back and abdominals, there is almost nothing better then heavy compound lifting.  When you deadlift or squat or front squat, in order to complete the lift and prevent serious injury to your spine, you have to powerfully contract the muscles in your lower back and your abs, (as well as nearly every other muscle in your body which is what makes these lifts so effective).  Taking this concept a step further, in you want to progress on these lifts and be able to lift heavy weight, you have to build a foundation of extremely strong "core" muscles.  Your body is meant to function as a unit.  TRAIN IT THAT WAY.


These are just five of the best functional movements for building an incredible set of abs.  There are plenty other that could be on there, including other favorites of mine like the plank and its variations, and the ab wheel rollout.  Start including these exercises in your regular routine and build a powerful, strong core that looks damn good!

FINISH!

Let me start this post by saying that I, just like every other athlete who has ever played a sport at a relatively high level, has heard a coach or a parent screaming "Finish!" or "finish strong" or some other cliche like that.  I knew it was important to finish my sprints or drills as a young soccer player because if I didn't, coach would make the whole team run more.  I never wanted to be the one to slow down before the line and have the coach punish the whole team for it.  It wasn't until high school though, that I truly learned the importance of finishing.
Blizzard Bowl--October, 2011
#67 in Blue w/ Red Helmet
After taking a huge lead in the first half on one of the best Group 4 teams in south jersey, Washington Township, we went into halftime feeling confident and ready to close out a win against Township for the first time in at least the three years i had been at Lenape High School.  Unfortunately, we came out of halftime flat, and Township slowly crawled back into the game.  After scoring a touchdown to take the lead, I celebrated with the offense, then set up to take the PAT, (I was the teams starting right guard, defensive tackle, and place kicker).  I missed.  I couldn't believe it, I never missed PATs.  My confidence was shaken but I sprinted back to midfield to do the kickoff and get ready for defense.
The game continued to be a dogfight back and forth, and with only minutes remaining, we found ourselves down by a touchdown.  In a truly characteristic drive, we took the ball and literally ran it down Township's throat.  Eating a ton of clock and imposing our will on them, we finally scored with only seconds left in the game.  The stadium went wild, everyone was celebrating and going crazy.  Despite letting them get back in the game, we were headed to OT.  To this day, I have no idea if it was exhaustion, lack of confidence, too much or too little concentration, but I missed the PAT.  I'd never felt so sick to my stomach in my life.  We had lost by a point, and I could only blame myself.
The moral of the story is it's never enough to start something.  No matter what it is, you need to finish with the same passion, intensity and attention to detail that you began with.  From that day forward, I understood the importance of finishing, and it has been reflected in my training ever since.  Whether its finishing a block in practice as the starting left tackle at Fairleigh Dickinson University, finishing a set or a sprint, or doing just one more rep then I had planned to do, I finish just as strong as I began because I know when those Saturday afternoons in the fall come around, I'll never be the one to quit.
After being on vacation all week last week, and working eight hours the day after getting home, I was exhausted last night.  But I was fired up to get a workout in.  So I went to the park and cranked out a bodyweight workout with a focus on explosive speed.  No matter how tired I was, I made sure that each rep was better then the last, and that each hill sprint ended with me in full stride THROUGH the top of the hill, and when I was done, I sprinted back to my car, which was one more rep then I had planned.  Check out the workout, give it a shot and give me some feedback, and next time your training, working, or doing anything in your life, remind yourself to finish with everything you've got.

Warmup
General Warmup--Jogging
Dynamic Warmup--Various sport specific movements

Bodyweight Ladders
1a) Straight Bar Muscle Ups--6,5,4,3,2,1
1b) Split Squat Jumps--12,10,8,6,4,2

Conditioning
Bounding Hill Sprints--5
Staircase Sprints--5
Hill Sprints--5

Saturday, August 4, 2012

The Muscle Up

When I first discovered the muscle up, I thought it was nothing more than a gimmick.  It looked impressive enough, guy pulls himself from under the bar to over the bar.  But it was an exercise I only saw being performed by Crossfitters, and I was completely against Crossfit at that time.  Nevertheless, I began trying to do muscle ups on straight pull up bars.  I quickly realized, that even though I could do nearly 20 consecutive pull ups at a bodyweight of 235, I had no shot of getting a singe muscle up.  For the next four months, every once in awhile I'd try to a few muscle ups, failing over and over.  It wasn't until a few weeks ago, after plenty of research and months of training, that I was able to do muscle ups. Now they've become a frequent part of my bodyweight training.
In my eyes there are three main reasons that muscle ups are an effective exercise for building upper body muscle, strength, and power:
1) They force you to learn to be explosive with your upper body.  When performing a muscle up, especially when you're first learning, you have to pull your body back AND up simultaneously in an explosive manner in order to get your body high enough to get over the bar.  Then you have to quickly transition into a dip in order to lock out and complete the movement.  Some might say that bodyweight experts and bar athletes are capable of doing muscle ups slowly, but even they have to be fast and explosive at the moment when they transition from the pulling motion to the pushing motion.  Explosive movements are great for building muscle and power because they teach muscles to contract faster on command.
2) Just like the power clean, the deadlift, the squat, or the snatch (any variation), the muscle up recruits a large number of muscles.  In order to complete the movement with good form, the abdominals, upper back musculature, lower back, chest, shoulders, biceps and triceps must all activate explosively.  The more musculature activated, the more muscle building testosterone is released in the blood.  The more NATURAL testosterone in the blood, the more muscle will be built, the more fat you will burn, and in the long run, the healthier you will be as a man.
3) Simply put, muscle ups are fucking hard!  They take a practice, technique, strength and power.  Anytime you have the opportunity to push your mind and your body to a new level of strength and athleticism, TAKE IT!

Check out these masters of the muscle up








Friday, August 3, 2012

Rise and Grind! Kettlebell and Bodyweight Workout

LittleBeastM--Front Lever
Today was the last day of my family vacation down the shore.  Checkout was at 11 am, so I was short on time but was fired up to get a workout in.  I woke up and took my 70 pound kettlebell to the outdoor deck of the hotel where we were staying.  I found an overhang to do pull ups on, and used the stairs for conditioning.  This is the workout I cranked, check it out and leave me feedback!

5 Rounds:
1a) Kettlebell snatch + press combination--5 each arm
1b) Pull ups (mixed grip)--10

3 Rounds:
2a) Single Arm Kettlebell Carries--Up the stairs across the overhand and down the stairs
2b) Feet Elevated Pushup Variations--20

15-20 Minutes: Gymnastics Static Strength Exercises
1a) Front Lever Training
1b) Back Lever Training

You will never find a workout like this in a strength and conditioning textbook.  Strength coaches all over will tell you that this in many ways defies the scientific rules of perfect strength and conditioning.  However, sometimes you need to push the limit.  Life isn't perfect, sports aren't perfect, and nothing ever happens exactly as it should on the playing field.  Sometimes you need to get fired up and crank out workouts that push your mind and your body out of their comfort zones.  This workout will tax your body from head to toe, and build power and brute strength.
Give this workout a try if you're ready, and if you have any questions about this workout or anything else related to fitness, nutrition, or strength and conditioning, email me at skij333@comcast.net, message me on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/justin.moore.50702), or drop a comment on this blog!  Embrace the grind!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

The Grind

One thing you'll begin to hear me talking about a lot is what I like to term, "the grind."  The grind is what makes you get out of bed in the morning.  It happens when you chalk your hands in the gym.  Its why you dread hill sprints on a 100 degree day in the blazing sunshine.  You hate the grind.  But the fact is, the grind and how you choose to attack it is what defines you as a person.  I didn't realize this until a few years ago, but now...I embrace the grind.
I used to hate training when I was younger.  Hell I hated training in high school.  I didn't care about working out in the gym or doing sprints on the track.  That shit was a necessity to make me a good athlete, but when it was over I couldn't have been happier.  Growing up, I used to get so annoyed when my father, who was an avid runner and former college tennis player and coach, used to stand and announce to the family that he was going running.  He would do so at the hottest part of the day, looking for the steepest hills, longest course and least shade he could possibly find.  He'd tell me, as he walked out the door, that he loved training in the most intense heat, because it made a man out of you.  It toughened the body and the mind, so that when you're opponent, whoever it may be, is ready to quit, you'll still be at the top of your game.
I thought it was a load of bullshit growing up.  Why not just do the minimum to get by?  Why not just wait for the clouds or the rain, or for that matter just train with the least amount of resistance available, or take a couple days off when you're sore or tired or just don't feel like training.  Now, I realize, that my father was absolutely right.  I now love training outdoors during the dog days of summer.  I love running up the steepest part of the hill in the sunniest section of the park during the hottest part of the day.  I love pushing the intensity by hitting heavy lifts, constantly attacking new exercises, improving my body control with unconventional methods like gymnastics training and ring work.  It hurts.  My body hurts, my mind says "just quit, you've worked hard enough for today."  But the fact of the matter is, I keep going.  I get up everyday with a passion and I attack my workouts with ferocity.  I love what I do.  I embrace my grind.  I embrace the pain because I'd rather suffer the pain of hard work then the pain of regret.  I want to be the best version of myself in body, mind, and spirit.
The grind can apply to all walks of life.  It doesn't have to be strength training.  But you need to look inward and embrace your grind.  We all have goals we want to achieve, but too many people ignore the journey on the way to those goals.  Along the way, you'll learn more about yourself then you could possibly imagine.  Its the journey that defines us, changes us, makes us who we are and who we will be, not the end.  Embrace the grind.  Love the grind.  Don't ever look back and think, "I could have done more..."

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Elliott Hulse "Grow Stronger" Inspired Workout 7/30/12


As football camp approaches on August 14th, I've really been amping up the frequency of my heavy barbell lifting in addition to the bodyweight training an odd object lifting I always do.  Today I cranked out a workout inspired by Elliott Hulse's "Grow Stronger Method."  It's a simple template that can be customized and changed to fit anyone's strength needs or goals.  Here was my take on this template:






1)Heavy Barbell Lift--Back Squat
--Using Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 Method (Google it)
--Week 2--Warmup, 1x3 at 260 pounds
               --1x3 at 295 pounds
               --1x5 at 335 pounds

2)Conditioning--5 Round Circuits, minimal rest, high intensity
   A) Offset Carries--130 pound sandbag shoulder carry, 70 pound kettlebell carry (one each side)
   B) Single Arm 70 pound kettlebell rows--10 each side
   C) Band Resisted Pushups--10

3) Gymnastics Training--10-15 minutes
    --Front and back lever progressions and practice on my gymnastics rings

The Most Important Bodyweight Exercise for Building Strength, Muscle and Athleticism (And How You Can Improve It)

There are COUNTLESS bodyweight exercises.  Just about any movement that your body is capable of can be considered bodyweight training.  I absolutely love bodyweight training because it can be so simple and so effective yet allows for such much creativity.  There are some schools of thought that might suggest that the squat is the most important bodyweight exercise.  Others might say burpees, pushups, or even lunges.  For me, the one exercise that will build an incredible foundation of strength and athleticism while taking your training to the next level...is the pull up.
The pull up primarily targets the lats and other musculature of the upper back, as well as the biceps.  However, many people don't realize that the abdominals, lower back, and other stabilizing muscles come into play when doing the pull up.  The reason so many people ignore pull ups is because they're hard!  They require great relative body strength, and because they're tough, most people just say screw it and walk over to the lat pulldown machine.  Simply put, if you aren't doing pull ups not only are you missing out on one of the best upper body exercises around, but you just aren't strong!
A main reason that pull ups are so overlooked is our society's obsession with a big chest.  People spend entire days in the gym working on the pressing motion, (the fact that they'd spend an entire day on one body part is the subject for another rant) which overdevelops this motion and the muscles involved in it.  These include the chest, triceps, and especially the shoulders.  The problem is, this leads to tremendous muscular imbalances.  Not only will your pressing motion be much stronger then your pulling motion, but this imbalance can lead to shoulder problems.  The point is, if you want a strong bench press or a strong deadlift or just want an athletic and balanced physique, you need tremendous back strength, and pull ups is quite possibly the best way to build this.
Now, because pull ups require more strength and bodyweight control then many other bodyweight exercises, many people who may be too heavy or too new to training can't do them.  If you want to improve pull ups, look no further then Pavel's philosophy..."Grease the groove."  This simply means if you want to be good at something, do it every single day.  This is an idea I first learned from Zach Even Esh and Elliott Hulse, two tremendous strength coaches I greatly admire, (http://zacheven-esh.com/ http://www.strengthcamp.com/blog/).  This concept may not apply to everything in strength training, but they can apply to pull ups.  For the past three or four years, I've had a pull up bar in my bedroom doorway, and every time i pass that doorway throughout the day, I do a set of pull ups. Over the years I've varied the grips, styles, leg positions, etc. as my strength has increased.  So, if you're trying to improve pull ups, practice them everyday.
The other important thing to remember when trying to improve pull ups is that if you haven't built up the necessary muscles involved in the pull up, you're not going to get better.  Therefore, you should deadlift, do barbell and dumbell rows, recline rows, elevated recline rows, band pull aparts, and other exercises that will help to build the muscles involved in the pulling motion.
I might be biased because pull ups are my favorite exercise, and because they've lead me to the bodyweight strength that I have today, which allows me to train creatively and do advanced exercises like L-sit pull ups, front and back levers, and muscle ups, all at a bodyweight of 235 pounds; but there is no exercise that has had such a tremendous impact on my training as the pull ups.  No more excuses, make pull ups a staple of your training!