This Past Week (8/22-8/28)

This past week was my heavy triples week for SMS 10. I also finally took the time to tape all of the exercises for SMS 10 and upload them to my YouTube page and the Exercise Index.

Sunday was my squat day, and after doing a yoga class before my singles the week before, I decided that it would be better to lift first and then attend yoga. (As a side note, I love the flexibility, balance, and isometric aspects of yoga, but I really go to the classes for Shavasana, a.k.a. the time at the end of the class when you lie on your back and go into a deep relaxation.) My lift went really well that day as I hit triples at 405, which is the most I have done for triples without using a belt. Last summer I did triples at 415, but I was using a belt then. My weights for all of my supplemental lifts went up as well. After a very relaxing yoga session I spent some time in the steam room. The weekends are my time when I study for the CSCS exam, so I spent the afternoon reading for that.

Monday was bench day, and my bench struggled a little bit that day. I don't know if struggled is really the right word as I was hitting the weight easier than I was two weeks prior, but I was unable to complete my bench workout at a higher weight than I had used for three reps in week one. My dips felt really strong though, so I can still feel myself improving. I had a few sessions on Monday as well, and I was finally able to get a client to commit to buying a package, which felt really good.

Tuesday I had sessions in the morning and then did plyos after that. I really enjoy doing plyometric workouts because I see a direct transfer between how often I do them and how well I am able to move during pickup games. The sessions are short and intense, and also serve as a good conditioning tool for myself. The Self Made Plyo Program is still in the works, but the tentative release date is early to mid 2011.

Wednesday was my deadlift and back day. Do to circumstances two weeks prior I didn't feel it was appropriate for myself to deadlift heavy during the day without the assistance of a Smith machine. Now, let's get one thing straight, I hate Smith machines. I hate the feeling of being locked into a pattern when I use them and my mechanics always get messed up when I use them. But, being allowed to deadlift in a Smith machine is better than not being allowed to deadlift at all, so I used the Smith machine. Well, actually I didn't use it until Thursday because my schedule was pretty booked on Wednesday so I just did my back work. That part of my lift went really well though and all of my weights went up from the week before.

Thursday, like I said, was my actual deadlift day, and after hitting my sets in the Smith machine I did a bike sprint workout for 10 minutes. I was considering going for 15 minutes, but my legs were burning after 10 so clearly I need to keep working on my conditioning haha. Thursday evening I also began working with a new client.

Friday I had my second plyo workout of the week and then immediately followed that with Day 4 of SMS 10. Whatever rut my military press had been in for the past couple months, I think I have broken out of it. My presses felt GREAT on Friday and I was doing triples and weights that I don't know if I could have hit singles at during the first weeks of summer. After my lift I had another session and then went back to my apartment and read.

Saturday I had sessions all morning but afterwards I went to the beach and ran sprints in the sand. I got there around 2:00 in the afternoon and the sand and sun were hot. Nonetheless, I decided to run barefoot in the sand and planned on going for 20 minutes. Well after minute 15 I thought there was something stuck in my big toe so I looked down and my feet had two huge blisters on them. Tough. So, I washed my feet off and walked back to my apartment where I stayed inside and read the rest of the day.

My blistered feet didn't stop me from timing my pushups this week, however, so early in the evening I cranked off 100 pushups in 1 minute and 56 seconds. The previous Saturday I posted a time of 3 minutes and 20 seconds, so that is some serious improvement after 1 week of training. This would probably make a lot more sense if I had actually informed you all last week what was happening. So, my new thing is that every Saturday I time myself to see how fast I can do 100 pushups. My ultimate goal with this is to do it under 60 seconds and to be able to do 1,000 pushups in under an hour. Monday through Friday I train for this by doing two sets of 100 pushups each day. Each sets consists of smaller sets of 20, and I do the 100 over a 5 minute period. I figure this is a good pace to shoot for when training for the 1,00o in an hour. So yeah, that's my new training thing. Feel free to post your times here or on the Self Made Facebook Page if you want to join in!

One other thing that I forgot to tell you all last week is that I posted a new article to the site. Check out"The Big Three" in the articles section of the site!

Well, that's all for this past week. Now it's time to go live this one.

Get big or die tryin'.

Re-thinking Basketball Training

It is very common for the fitness industry and sports performance industry to follow trends for long periods of time. There is nothing wrong with relying on tried and true methods, so long as these methods are actually the best way to go about achieving the desired goals. One thing that is incredibly common today is for performance coaches to implement plyometric programs that focus heavily on jump training into a basketball player's training regimen. Specifically, this jump training usually consists of multiple sets of single box jumps where the athlete has time to load for each jump while on the ground. Does this really make sense? Check out this article by Jeff King, the director of basketball at Fitness Quest 10, to see why this really is not the best option in terms player development and what better options would be.

As a side note, be ready for the Self Made Plyometrics Program, set to launch in early to mid 2011.

"Plyometric Training for Basketball Players" by Jeff King

Get big or die tryin'.

Change

Albert Einstein said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." This can be applied to everything we do, from training to our daily lives. The only way to create change in our bodies and in our lives is to change our current actions. When it comes to training, sometimes we get into such a comfortable routine of doing the same thing over and over that we forget why we train in the first place--to induce change and progress.

Here is a great article by Ryan Burgess, director of football development at Fitness Quest 10, on stepping outside of your comfort zone in your training and in life.

"Embrace Awkward" by Ryan Burgess

Get big or die tryin'.

MMA Training

Since the end of my college athletic career I have been in limbo a bit, not 100% sure of the exact purpose to why I am training so hard. However, in the recent months, MMA has started to grasp my attention and the thought of training for such an event has crossed my mind more than once. Here is a great article by a colleague of mine, Doug Balzarini, on MMA Training. Doug works at Fitness Quest 10, where I was an intern in 2009, and is the trainer of Brandon Vera.

"My Top Five Strength Tools For The Combat Athlete" by Doug Balzarini

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (8/15-8/21)

This past week was my singles week for SMS 10 and it was also my first official week of work. While I had been working with one client for the previous week, I was unable to get booked to see any new clients until Monday the 16th. It was also my taping week for SMS 10.

Sunday was my squat day. It was also a day when I wanted to put time into recovery and relaxation. Because of this, I went to a beginner's yoga class from 11:00 AM to noon and then squatted after. The yoga class didn't tire me out for my lift, but I definitely felt that it would have been more advantageous to switch the order of these events, i.e., squat earlier in the morning and then attend yoga. Nonetheless, I still felt good during my lift and hit singles at 425. This is the most weight I have squatted without using a belt, something I decided to do at the beginning of the summer.

Monday morning I had a new member fitness orientation (NMFC), which is a free session given to new members. Basically, it is how we (the trainers) are supposed to get new clients. After this session I had my bench day, during which I hit singles at 295. I had a paid session that evening with my client from the previous week.

Tuesday morning I had another NMFC and then I did plyos after. After that I went to the sauna for a bit and came out feeling great. Plyos are going really well and I should have enough information by the end of the year to format the program the way I want to. After that I am planning on putting it up for sale in the store!

Wednesday was my deadlift day, and after my run-in the previous week with management, I decided that it would be best to wait until it was late at night to deadlift. I was packed with NMFC's all day and spent over twelve hours at the gym on Wednesday. My lift went really good though as I hit singles at 445 pulling sumo style.

Thursday was a more relaxed day for work than Wednesday, but I was still there eight hours. I decided to take this day off from working out so I could have a solid lift the next day.

Friday I had an NMFC in the morning and then I lifted after that. Then I got a free 60 minute massage from one of the therapists at FFC in exchange for a free training session in the upcoming week. After that I sat in the steam room and left work very relaxed.

Friday evening I received a call from my supervisor asking if I could be the FFC rep on a Kenmore cooking show that evening with Whole Foods. I jumped at the opportunity and made the 20-minute walk over to the studio, arriving right before filming began. The show went well and it was a lot of fun being on camera and answering people's questions.

Saturday morning I was once again the FFC rep, this time at City Chase Chicago, presented by T-Mobile. I was there for almost four hours and passed out all of my business cards, so I am hoping that those will turn into clients. After all of that I needed to unwind for a bit so in the afternoon I went for a 20-minute run along Lake Michigan.

Well that's all for this past week. Now it's time to go live this one.

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (8/8-8/14)

This past week I started SMS 10. SMS 10 is similar to SMS 9, with the biggest difference being that SMS 10 also manages to include the "Super Squats" program, with a Self Made twist of course.

Monday was my squat day, and after taking the previous week off my legs felt GREAT! I hit my weights cleanly and I moved through my workout very efficiently. This was also the first day that I worked with a client at FFC Gold Coast. I had a good training session with him Monday evening, and it felt great to be working with people again.

Tuesday morning I did my bench workout, and honestly, I felt pretty strong during this session and my shoulders didn't hurt at all. I ran sprints on the basketball court after I finished lifting for some quick cardio. I did 10 sets of sprints down and back from baseline to baseline and had to do each in 10 seconds or less with 30 seconds rest between each sprint. It was a short sprint workout but it definitely got my heart rate up.

Wednesday morning I did a plyo session for 30 minutes. I didn't lift at all this day, but got some good anaerobic training in through the plyos. I had my second session of the week, which was my first paid session, Wednesday evening as well.

Thursday was my deadlift day, and boy was I excited to deadlift again. I got through my warm-up sets and then during my first working set somebody from management comes over and asks me to stop as it is making too much noise and the people the floor below are complaining. I couldn't believe it! Seeing as I had just been hired on, I really didn't want to argue with the guy right then, but really?? I wasn't dropping the weight or anything. Well, I was not happy, to say the least, and I had a lot of adrenaline going in to my next exercises, so the rest of my lift went really well haha.

Friday was my military press day, and man I felt good! The past couple phases I have been struggling with my military press, but not this day. I hit my planned weights and I hit them clean. It felt really nice to finally have a Friday where I didn't have to drop weight or struggle every rep. Friday evening I had my third session of the week, too.

Saturday morning I went back to the gym and played in pickup games for two hours. The competition wasn't great, but it felt good to be out there running up and down. Assuming my work schedule allows for it, I am going to try to make it to these games every week, although I already know I'll have to work this upcoming Saturday haha.

That's it for my training update. Aside from that, I am all moved in to my apartment and liking it here in Chicago. I have been doing all of my grocery shopping at Trader Joe's, and I am loving that they have such a selection of grass-fed, organic beefs, although I do wish they could sell raw milk here in Illinois. Since my training of clients has been light as I get established, I have been reading a lot and studying for the CSCS exam too. In fact, I finished four books this past week on training and nutrition.

Well, that's all for this past week, now it's time to go live this one.

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (8/1-8/7)

This past week was my scheduled deload week for SMS 9. This was also the week that I moved into my new apartment in Chicago. Needless to say, my scheduled deload week became a week of not working out at all. I guess that's not really fair as I was constantly walking all day around Chicago, trying to figure out where things were and making multiple trips to the grocery store, etc. So I was getting some form of exercise in, but as far as any type of intense training, it was non-existent.

On Friday I did have to move all of my furniture though, with the help of my brother and his friends, so I did get some lifting in then. Also, on Saturday I went for a bike ride all around my area and along Lake Michigan to get myself better situated with where I am living.

On Wednesday I also sent out the August issue of The Source. If you are not signed up for my FREE monthly newsletter, you can do so by clicking here. I NEVER sell or give away your e-mail address, it is simply for the purpose of sending you The Source.

Well that's all for this past week. Now it's time to go live this one.

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (7/25-7/31)

This past week was my last full week in Wisconsin. After finding a new job at FFC Gold Coast and an apartment, I was ready to unleash in the weight room. However, on Sunday I did a plyo session and about 2/3 of the way through I felt a pop right below the knee cap. This was not what I wanted at all, so I stopped the session and iced.

On Monday I had my first lift of the week, and because of the knee injury the day before I decided to do my bench workout instead of my usual squat workout. I don't know what was going on that day, but I just did not feel strong with my bench. The rest of my workout went really well, but that seems to be a bit of a trend where my bench doesn't go as well as I would hope.

Tuesday I still wasn't ready to squat, and since I did a pushing workout the day before the only thing left to do was back. My back workouts are accompanied by deadlifts, but because of my knee I decided to skip the deadlifts and just work my upper body again.

Wednesday I did a sprint workout in the pool. It had been a while since I had done this, and even though it was a short workout I was still breathing really hard. I went to the deep end and used my running form to keep me afloat as I sprinted 15 seconds on 45 seconds off for 5 sets and then 5 seconds on 25 seconds off for 10 sets. I would highly recommend this workout for anybody wanting to mix up their training or looking for a low-impact, high intensity, anaerobic workout.

Thursday my knee finally felt good enough to squat, so I did, and I did well at that. In fact, my knee didn't bother me at all during the workout. At the end I did a ten minute bike sprint workout, going all out for 15 seconds and then going at 55 RPMs for 45 seconds for ten sets.

Friday was my military press day and, similar to my bench day, my main lift didn't go as well as I had hoped but my supplemental lifts went really well.

That's all for this past week, now it's time to go live this one.

Get big or die tryin'.