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In-Game Adjustments: The "REAL" Strength of a Program

 

Solid program writing is one of the hallmarks of any good fitness program. If you plan on achieving the best possible results and want to maximize efficiency of your time, its critical to have a solid program in place. However, it's almost inevitable that at some point during any program there will need to be adjustments. This is truly when the program starts. Its safe to say that if you write programs for people, you will need to make adjustments to those programs. Why? Because people change, things change, circumstances change and all these problems can become quite complex when broken down into their various types & forms. I've seen it time and time again, people begin doing a certain program and then all of a sudden they stop seeing results. Weight stops coming off, strength stops rising and enthusiasm soon dips. Well, the life blood of any good program is not in the blueprint. That's right. Although a solid system is necessary to build from, its not the the thing that makes the program work. The true strength...

THE X FACTOR: ACTIVE REST! WHAT IS IT & HOW YOU CAN USE IT TO MAXIMIZE PERFORMANCE!

Active Rest is something many of the top sports performance coaches have been using for some time now. Active rest basically means just that, being active during rest intervals. The uses of active rest can be many and if done right can add tons of positive benefits to your training program.  

Active rest 1st came to me by accident

At Key 2 we have training times where we fit clients and or groups of clients into time slots. With in these time slots we have to get as much done as possible without overloading our clients with too much training content. A few years ago while working with a group of athletes we were doing maximal effort lifting for one of our training sessions. Now anyone who knows about true maximal effort lifting, there needs to be fairly long rest intervals between sets. This simply gives the body time to go through the different chemical phases necessary to lift at true maximal effort. Well, part of our business is...

Acceleration Running Rules of Engagement

  By now everyone knows when it comes to most field & court sports, acceleration is one of the most influential factors in athletic performance. Most sports are played at angles and require very short powerful bursts of what we call speed. Because of this, acceleration must be a major focus of any athletic training program. Here today we will discuss a few "rules of engagement" for approaching acceleration and how you can get the most out of your body to increase sports performance! #1 - Acceleration requires strength & more importantly, dynamic power! Here's a quick science lesson. Our bodies are constructed of a complex group of nerves muscles and bones ( as well as organs & other things.. etc). Our nerves are controlled by our brain. This brain sends signals to our nerve endings that, for the sake of time, communicate to our bones when movement is required. The speed at which are bones can move is affected by how strong our muscles are, because it is or muscles that move the bones. So.....if you have weak muscles, they wont be...

Do you workout or do you train? Many people sadly don't know the difference. By not knowing the difference, you therefore have your answer. Anyone who trains, knows it. But anyone can simply workout. Today I'm going to give some simple pointers detailing the difference between the two. However, I wont address workouts very often. The reason is because I shouldn't have to. When you want to know whats real, you don't study whats fake. I good older friend of mine used to tell me; "Bankers don't study counterfeit money as they learn whats real and whats not. They simply spend their time learning everything about real money. This way when they spot the fake, its recognizable." In like wise fashion I will address training, in hopes that if there are areas in question you can begin to move toward a more authentic approach. You may ask what is training? Here is a short list of what training is and how it's approached. There may be points not listed here, however, by maintaining these simple steps you can rest assured that you are training and moving toward the prize.   # 1. Training is about winning. Training is about having a serious set of goals...

   

In-season training for football arguably plays as big a role in performance as any other aspect of the in-season schedule. Football players have such a unique sport in that there is generally only 1 competition per week after many hours of practice, skill work, film study and other forms of mental and physical conditioning. Football requires great power, strength, aerobic endurance, mental focus, athletic skill and attrition. The nature of the game is explosively aggressive and takes a simple yet well designed in-season plan if athletes are to continue meeting the various demands required to play at high levels.

During the off season the training begins with a focus on building general work capacity, strength, mobility and endurance. Athletes enter into lifting programs that help build what we call GPP or general physical preparedness. This general approach is essential for setting the ground work for the demands that will be placed on  the athletes' later in the training year. Programs most likely start by focusing on building a good aerobic base, establishing sound joint mobility and tissue flexibility and good baseline strength. There is...

Watch this Video and LISTEN to the message! VIDEO HERE - How BAD do you want it! ...

5 REASONS YOU ARE NOT GETTING STRONGER! In today's world strength is a high priced commodity. People will go to great lengths and pay a big money to increase their strength and muscle size. Strength is being displayed all around us every day. We see it at gyms and through various media outlets. We also hear about it constantly. As a high school athlete it wasn't uncommon for 2 total strangers to share stories about their strength feats whether on the field on in the weight room. We'd ask about who benched what or who manhandled who on the field. In school you got respect for being strong. At work and in the gym and even at home strength always gives someone that little extra something,...... respect, attention or just flat out fear. So it's no wonder that of all the questions I get daily, 70% or more have to do strength. Read more

Look at any book, magazine or website relating to fitness today and you will undoubtedly see the ever growing popularity of Cross-Fit training. Cross-Fit training has literally taken the country by storm over the last few years and seems to be running away from its competition (if it even has any). Cross-Fit training for those who live under a rock and don't know, is exactly what it says, a cross between many different forms of training all meshed together @ seemingly torturous intensities to create what they believe is better bodies and better fitness levels. Cross-fit also garners world wide attention for it's "all-inclusive" approach. A statement from the website HERE says  The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. We’ve used our same routines for elderly individuals with heart disease and cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. We scale load and intensity; we don’t change programs. This statement is the hallmark of their program and their culture. The idea that "we dont change programs" says it all. Before I continue I just want to mention that I personally have NOTHING against cross-fit...

What is your training age? How mature are you when it comes to training? Regardless of if you've been in the iron game or cardio training game, you need to know how old you are in proportion to when you began. Why? Because if you arent growing you arent progressing and if you arent progressing you are simply wasting your time! I began training back at the ripe age of 15yrs old. I used to spend a bunch of time at the gym with a few high school buddies of mine. We frequently bumped into another guy who was always at the gym when we were there. He was obviously a body builder and looked the part. He would give us tips and pointers on how to workout and what kind of lifting to do on what days. It became a non-formal appointment that we'd meet him 3 days a week after school. There, under the watchful eye of this man who's name I cannot remember, we began our quest for strength and physical growth. After a few years I was well on my way with the basic knowledge I'd gained as well as other tings i'd learned from other male influences. I began training...

Everyday I get a ton of questions about building strength, increasing speed and programs for fat loss. However, there is probably no question I get more than, "How long should it take before I start seeing results?". Almost every time I get this question I cringe on the inside because the answer can depend on many different variables. The answer I usually give people is: "I don't know, it depends...". Clients don't usually like to hear that but it's the truth. I'm going to discuss a list of variables that all play a part in when you can see results in your training. Hopefully I can shed a little light on what factors play a part in most training programs. If you take a honest look at the list i'm going to share, and do a full self evaluation of your program, you'll then be able to reasonably predict when you can see results. But honesty with yourself is where it starts. Lets take a look at some of the actors who play vital roles in training and how we can use this information to our benefit.