Why is being in “game shape” or “conditioned” year around so important to trainers/athletes/coaches and parents?
How many times have you as a trainer heard from a parent, who brings you their kid 6 weeks to 4 months before the season starts, “Coach Smith says Jimmy has to train conditioning 3 times a week. Coach has given him a conditioning program; I just need you to make sure he adheres to it. I would also like to see Jimmy put some size on and get stronger. But he’s a, ________________ (Insert sport position: pitcher, short stop, goalie, line backer, quarter back, sprinter, jumper, point guard, etc.) so he HAS to be in shape to play. Coach said his conditioning was horrible last year.”
Download the full article: Game Shape (pdf)
March 24th, 2007
Posted by
bendearman |
Articles |
About a year ago I was at a conference at Mike Boyle’s facility where I heard Eric Cressey present on “The Art of Hardcore Corrective Training: Ten Lessons to Keep Athletes Healthy”. During the lecture EC touched briefly on something called the Law of Repetitive Motion created by Dr. Michael P. Leahy, the founder of Active Release Technique (ART). The Law of Repetitive Motion states:
I=NF/AR
I = Insult or injury to the tissues
N = Number of reps
F = Force, as measured as a percentage of one rep max
A = Amplitude of each rep
R = Rest between reps
I liked the equation because I think of training as one big equation. If you control all (or as many) of the variables, then you control the outcome of training:
R=D[(S+M)ST/(N+R)G]
Until recently my training was centered around full body workouts three times a week. However, it wasn’t until I switched to more of a WSB template and revisited this model that the full implications of it became apparent. As I lifted heavier weights I noticed something started to occur…I felt great! I would normally cycle front squats with back squats on 4-6 week rotations with variations of each. I cycled them because of various injuries I have had due to MMA and BJJ. I would also stray away from any type of benching, instead, favoring push up and pull up variations, again because of injuries. However, as I started to get stronger I realized that I was able to bench and squat pain free!
Download the full article: The Law (pdf)
March 24th, 2007
Posted by
bendearman |
Articles |
I am a trainer by profession and a powerlifter by choice. In the past I was also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts coach and competitor for 10 years, both by choice. I made my living by the results I got and the quality of my instruction in regards to BJJ and exercises. I no longer make my living through BJJ/MMA. Now I exclusively concentrate on training people and Powerlifting. However, what I learned in martial arts helps me do my job in training today.
Download the full article: Learn the Principles - The Press (pdf)
March 24th, 2007
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bendearman |
Articles |
Having used the conjugate system in my own training and with professional male basketball athletes I’ve found it quite easy to ― sell the idea of max effort, dynamic & repeated effort methods to experienced athletes and lifters. Following a move to another gym I was introduced to Applied Functional Science (more on this latter) by Chris Poljacik and Ben Dearman. The AFS training really supplemented the conjugate system in terms of injury prevention and prediction; however, I was having a hard time combining the two. Thankfully I met up with Ben who had spent the previous three years combing traditional strength and conditioning (full body work outs 2-3 times a week) and AFS.
Download the full article: AFS and the Conjugate System Applied to Female Basketball Players (pdf)
March 24th, 2007
Posted by
bendearman |
Articles |
I have never considered myself athletic. I never participated in sports in high school or college. My favorite pastime today is gardening. So imagine how strange it felt to find myself, at the age of 56, competing in my first ever national Powerlifting meet.
Powerlifting – huge muscle-bound men hefting impossibly heavy weights in smelly, dark gyms – that’s what comes to mind to most. It’s actually a real sport (totally different from bodybuilding and Olympic lifting, by the way), this meet sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and the 100% RAW Powerlifting Federation. Powerlifting is a strength event consisting of three events: the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift. You compete against others in your own weight and age class – but mostly you compete against yourself.
Download the full article: An Atypical Athlete (pdf)
March 24th, 2007
Posted by
bendearman |
Articles |
I am a power lifter. I love being strong. I get the greatest joy out of seeing someone bigger then me, try to move what I move. The funny thing is, I am not even that strong. I’ve only done one competition and I have only been training for 8 months. I like to think I have decent form in the bench, squat and dead lift. But, let’s be honest, I have only been really hitting the weights for 8 months, so how good can it really be?
But none the less, I have competed in my first meet.
Download the full article: My First Power Lifting Meet (pdf)
March 24th, 2007
Posted by
bendearman |
Articles |
So you want to get a personal trainer? You think you’re fat and out of shape, or maybe you just think you could get in better physical shape…and really who couldn’t get in better shape?
Download the full article: So You Want a Personal Trainer (pdf)
March 24th, 2007
Posted by
bendearman |
Articles |
Let’s start off part two with a good one.
5. “Crunches do not give you a six pack.” – Seriously, do I have to go over this one? As I am writing this article I am watching someone who is seriously overweight complete their 100th crunch (yes I sat here and counted it).
Sigh….ok
Apparently, I do have to go over this common sense mistake.
Crunches do not give you a six pack. If they did, it would mean that someone with 40% body fat would only have to do “5 minutes of abs, every other day” to “get the toned flat tummy of their dreams.”
Hmmmm…something smells fishy here, and yet there are thousands of people out there who still believe this common sense mistake. I live in a college town, and when I get a coed who wants to look good for spring break, I immediately tell her to stop doing crunches and save the effort for intervals, more sets/reps or to just up the intensity in their session. The same conversation ensues, with me proving to them that crunches do not in fact give them a six pack, but rather a good diet and low body fat.
Download the full article: 8 Common Sense Mistakes, Part 2 (pdf)
March 24th, 2007
Posted by
bendearman |
Articles |
In every gym, in every state, there are people doing stupid things. I know, I know, you were already aware of this; however, I’m talking about common sense mistakes. There is a difference between “sheer stupidity” and “lack of common sense”…or as I like to call it, “being a dumb ass.”
This article was spurred by a client who was “missing the boat” when I explained to her why we were doing an exercise a certain way. I had no idea what to write about, so while she was doing her vertical core work I was deep in thought when she asked me why we were working our core standing up. She was used to always working her core lying down, and she couldn’t understand my aversion to feet up crunches or toe touches, as they are sometimes called. I explained to her the three jobs of the core: stabilize the body, transfer power and acceleration/deceleration. She was a tennis player, so her core had to be especially strong. I asked her how she played tennis. She replied, “On my feet.” I then asked her, “If you play on your feet, don’t you think we should work your core standing up?”
Read the full article: 8 Common Sense Mistakes, Part 1 (pdf)
March 24th, 2007
Posted by
bendearman |
Articles |
