Adding Resistance to Sport-Specific Skills

Image courtesy of http://www.ebay.com/

“It was correctly noted that heavier implements can have a positive influence on an increase in physical abilities and a negative one on technical mastery.”

--Anatoliy P. Bondarchuk, Transfer of Training in Sports

One of the biggest problems I see in sports performance today is the addition of external resistance to technical skills that are vital to an athlete’s success in his or her sport. Clear examples of this can be seen in the addition of doughnuts to a baseball player’s bat while he is in the on-deck circle or golfers swinging with heavier clubs than they are accustomed to while warming up. In the video below, you can see the danger of this from a performance perspective, courtesy of Sports Science.

While the bat and the club are great examples, I would also like to consider two movements that are found in almost every sport: running (or sprinting) and jumping.

Yes, both sprinting and jumping are skills and the performance of each movement can be improved by simply improving the technique of each respective movement. The problem from here on out is that for me to give actual recommendations regarding what you should do as an athlete, coach, or trainer would be both ignorant and futile. Instead, I would like to discuss what I see as the pros and cons of some of the more mainstream forms of adding resistance to the sprint and the jump.

Weighted Vest

Image courtesy of http://www.canterburysports.co.nz/

The weighted vest is one of the most common tools used when someone wants to add resistance to their vertical jump training. Rarely have I seen a weighted vest used as a tool to improve sprint performance, although it may be worn for conditioning, which is distinctly different due to the intended adaptation that is being trained for.

One problem I see from a technical standpoint is that most weighted vests are too heavy for the individual using them if technique is not to diminish. According to Bondarchuk, “The portion of maximum intensity training loads used in the process of mastering technique should be about 10%.”[1]

Now, as a disclaimer so as not to completely take the quote out of context, Bondarchuk wrote this book while studying track and field athletes and, in particular, this quote was referring to throwers using heavier implements. For the sake of this discussion, though, I know I have seen research elsewhere of the “10% rule”, but am failing to find said research to quote at this moment. Regardless, it is an interesting point to consider.

So, in terms of using a weighted vest for vertical jump training, what does this mean? Well, because you are just simply adding weight to the body it is fairly easy to calculate. Much like the increasing the weight of the implements by 10% in Bondarchuk’s research, it would seem that if you were to use a weighted vest that is less than or equal to 10% of your body weight the mechanics of jumping would not be altered, or at least would have the greatest opportunity to not be altered.

To dive into why this is would be to go outside of the scope of this article, so for now I will leave it at the specific sequence of muscular contraction that takes place under normal conditions of jumping with only body weight is altered when external resistance is added. According to Bondarchuk, this alteration is significant enough with resistances over 10% to deviate the mechanics of the movement from what would be considered optimal.

Resistance Bands and Tubes (Accommodating Resistance)

Image courtesy of http://www.diamondfitnesssystems.com/Page_Vertimax.htm

A resistance band, as I am defining them here, is essentially a big rubber band that provides increased resistance the farther you stretch it. Bands do not have a starting or stopping point and instead are basically a circle of rubber while a tube has a distinct stopping and starting point and is more of an elongated cylinder. From this point forward, when I refer to a band or tube, I am speaking to characteristics of both.

The accommodating resistance is a unique aspect to the resistance band when compared to the weighted vest or weights in general. Another variable of the resistance band that can be manipulated to your advantage is that you can easily create a line of force that is independent of gravity. You always have the force gravity pulling straight down, but with the resistance band you can have another force pulling in another direction, whether that be straight back (posterior), as is most commonly seen with sprinting, or at an inferior/oblique angle, among an infinite amount of other possibilities. An example of an inferior/oblique line of force would be connecting bands to a belt worn around the hips and then to fixed points on the ground lateral to the body, much like what can be seen when using a VertiMax Jump Trainer.

The VertiMax V6

When you have two or more lines of force acting on a single point of application, you get something called a resultant. With a resultant, you are taking the relative pull of all the lines of force and creating one new line of force that is directionally somewhere in between the original lines of force. Take the VertiMax, for example. You have gravity pulling straight down and then you have tubes that are strapped to the knees, hips, and wrists pulling towards the ground at an inferior/lateral angle. Each one of these points where the tubes are strapped is going to have a separate resultant. Generally speaking, each resultant will be found somewhere between the medial aspect of the tube and the lateral side of the body, with the angle of the resultant unique to each point of application (where the tube is strapped). Not only that, but the angle of each resultant will change as you perform any and every movement due to the changing limb position and, in turn, the point of application relative to gravity and the tension of the tube.

Okay, so there is a lot of technical verbiage in there. Breaking it down, I am basically saying that by adding to a movement a band or tube that is not specific to each joint and the direction of the movement, you are now adding a resistance that is alien to the movement itself. Subsequently, the muscular recruitment must be altered in order to keep the mechanics the same as the original movement. If it isn’t, then mechanically you will not be able to produce the same movement because the forces that you have to overcome are different.

Putting this all together, I cannot sit here and tell you if it makes sense for you to add resistance to these movements that you use in sport. But, I can say that if you don’t understand how to properly apply forces to the body you are shooting in the dark when it comes to whether or not you will be able to create your intended adaptation. Understand that by adding something in, such as another form of resistance, you are likely giving something up in the form of technical competency from a neuromuscular and/or mechanical perspective. I am not saying that training with these tools will not help you improve the gross performance of the movement or that there isn’t a place for them in a training program, but rather that you may be sacrificing something along the way. Understand the individual you are working with, understand the risk to reward ratio of what you do, and choose your methods and tools accordingly.

Get big or die tryin’.

Charlie Cates, CSCS

Self Made_®, Owner and Founder

Charlie Cates is a strength and conditioning specialist and the owner and founder of Self Made_® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP’s. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.

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[1] Bondarchuk, Anatoliy P. Transfer of Training in Sports. p. 178

UTB: Top Training Tips For Advanced Lifters (Part 2)

Part two of Monday's post by Dave Tate.

Under The Bar: Top Training Tips For Advanced Lifters (Part 2) by Dave Tate

Get big or die tryin'.

UTB: Top Training Tips For Advanced Lifters (Part 1)

When Dave Tate writes about training, it is worth reading, and this article is no exception.

Under The Bar: Top Training Tips for Advanced Lifters (Part 1) by Dave Tate

Get big or die tryin'.

The Biggest Training Fallacy Of All

Perhaps the title is a bit dramatic, but there is still an important takeaway here. Read more from this article by Mark Rippetoe.

The Biggest Training Fallacy Of All by Mark Rippetoe

Get big or die tryin'.

Some Things Never Change

I can dig what this kid is saying as I have preached most of it already. Ignore the part about foam rolling and stretching, though. Ha!

Some Things Never Change by Andrew Choi

Get big or die tryin'.

Is Foam Rolling Doing What You Think It Is?

I used to foam roll all the time. Every day, sometimes twice a day. I had a whole routine for my lower back on down, and in my head I thought I was helping myself. I was told that foam rolling would break up fascial adhesions, releasing tight muscles and allowing me to recover faster. In fact, in one of my most highly praised articles on EliteFTS.com I made claims about how foam rolling after a training session would help remove the metabolic by-products of training, thereby allowing you to come back the next day feeling stronger and ready to go. Now I don't foam roll at all.

I am no longer convinced that foam rolling is doing what I once said it does. In fact, based on my current MAT studies, I now believe that if you roll out your IT-band, for example, you are only smashing your vastus lateralis into your femur. Are you pressing on the fascia as well? Yup, but tell me how that piece of foam is able to only target your fascia and not your muscle fibers. It itsn't, and therefore we are back to the same argument I wrote about in my post and article "Stretching to Improve ROM and Speed Recovery: Fact or Fiction?" because now you are applying force into the muscle tissue but have no idea what it's doing.

Classic

You can use the massage argument if you want, but ask your massage therapist if you can train right after they work on you next and see what they say. Pressing on the belly of the muscle may feel really good, but it's probably not helping you as much as or in the ways that you think it is. And regarding breaking up fascial adhesions, please, fascia is adhesed to begin with! You aren't breaking up those adhesions any more than you are stretching your IT-band, which doesn't have the ability to stretch, by the way.

As far as removing the metabolic by-products of training, eh, it may be possible, but it's not the best way to go about it. In my opinion, the best way to ensure that you recover as fast as possible from your training is to make sure your muscle fibers are firing properly. The amount of force that is generated by the muscle fibers to move your body through space and time is SO much greater than you could EVER put into it with your fingers or a piece of foam or PVC pipe. If there is something that is able to move out of those muscle fibers through force, it will be moved out when they start contracting properly.

After I train, I no longer stretch and I no longer roll out. Instead, I check my range of motion in the relevant body area and perform low-intensity isometrics into any limits I find in my ranges of motion, as taught to me by Muscle Activation Techniques. I'm not sore or achy and my knees feel significantly better than they did in college. In fact, the only days they bother me are when I wear shoes too much. But alas, this subject is for another post.

Get big or die tryin'.

Charlie Cates, CSCS

Self Made®, Owner

Charlie Cates is a strength and conditioning specialist and the owner of Self Made® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP’s. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.

Genetics vs. Hard Work: Round 5

Steroids get a bad rap these days because of their use in sports. But what if there was something that could put the advantages gained from using steroids to shame? What if we went beyond messing with the endocrine system to messing with genetics. Check this out.

Genetics vs. Hard Work: Round 5 by Jason Colenzo

Get big or die tryin'.

Do You Train?

Who out there works out and who out there trains? Check out this list by Adam Spizman to figure out if your time inside the gym and out makes the cut.

Top Ten Checklist: Do You Train? by Adam Spizman

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (7/4-7/10)

This past week I began SMS 9. The biggest difference between SMS 8 and SMS 9 is that I have added complexes to the main lifts every day. So, for example, after performing a working set of squats I will immediately perform 5 box jumps. I have used complexes in my training for a couple years now and have experienced great gains in strength while using complexes so I felt it was very necessary to work them in to the SMS series.

Monday was my squat day and after my deload week the week before I felt very strong. After my lift on Monday I sent out the July issue of The Source. In this issue I wrote about the final three lessons I learned from the bike ride. To read part one, check out "The Bike Ride" in the articles section on my site!

On Tuesday I was definitely feeling the complexes from the day before. I went to the weight room and had my bench day, and the deload week most certainly helped my shoulder. I also had a plyo workout on Tuesday. Wednesday was my deadlift day, and it was a welcome switch back to Sumo style from the Conventional style I was using to pull in SMS 7 and SMS 8. After my lift on Wednesday I spent the day sending out resumes and cover letters to gyms in the Chicago area. I received a lot of good feedback and am very excite about what the future holds. Wednesday evening I played basketball for the first time in a three weeks, and unfortunately I rolled my ankle during the first game. It wasn't a major sprain, but it was enough that I stopped playing after that game.

Thursday morning I had my military press day, which contained some lower reps for the arms and some higher reps for my chest and overall it was a very good lift. I mowed the lawn when I got back and was able to move fairly well on my injured ankle.

That was all my activity for the week as Friday morning I left Wisconsin bright and early and drove to Cleveland. So that's all for this past week and now it's time to go live this one.

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (6/27-7/3)

This past week was my deload week for SMS 8. After going really hard for the previous three weeks it felt really good to have a less intense week in the weight room. Monday was my squat day and I used this session with the lighter weight to really push my range of motion on every set. Also on Monday I put up a new article on the site, "Timed Sets For Auto-Regulation", which explains the theory and method behind SMS 7, SMS 8, and SMS 9.

Tuesday morning I did plyos and then had to make a trip to Chicago. On the way back I listened to two podcasts by Sean Croxton of Underground Wellness. These podcasts can be found on iTunes, and if there is one source for nutritional and wellness information that I could point you to I would point you to these podcasts. Every time I am in my car I plug in my iPod and listen to this blogtalk radio show, and every time I learn new and exciting information.

Wednesday was my bench day, and because my shoulder still hasn't completely healed, the lighter day was much appreciated. Thursday I deadlifted, and once again the lift went really well. I was in a great mood after my lift, then I picked up my phone and found out that the job I was supposed to begin two weeks later had fallen through. This really sent me for a loop, and as much as I tried to not stress, I have to admit that I was out of whack the rest of the day. I tried doing a yoga session to de-stress, but that didn't work at all as my mind struggled to grasp my new reality.

Friday I finished out my deload week on a strong note with a solid lift despite my new-found unemployment. I had my second plyo session of the week on Friday as well. Later that day I put up SMS 8 for sale in the Store on my website. This program can be downloaded right to your computer for only $10!

Saturday I ran hill sprints in my court for 20 minutes. My current routine for hill sprints is to find a hill that I can sprint up in 6 to 8 seconds when I'm fresh. Then I sprint up and walk or jog down for twenty minutes, trying to get 30 sprints in during the twenty minutes.

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 (6/20-6/26)

This past week was a lighter than normal week for me. It was my heavy triples week in the weight room, and all of my lifts went really well. One thing I found to really help me as of late was to lighten the weight I was using for my working sets and just focus on hitting clean, powerful reps. This really reduced any chance of injury for me and also allowed me to not be completely drained for the next two days after my lift.

Aside from lifting, I didn't do any other form of training Sunday through Thursday. On Friday, however, I joined my dad and three uncles on a 60 mile bike ride around southern Wisconsin. Now, understand that I haven't ridden a bike for more than two minutes since my sophomore fall of high school, i.e., six and a half years ago. Not to mention everybody else rides semi-frequently, weighs at least 40 pounds less than me, and has these suped-up rode bike, whereas I was pedaling my mountain bike. Well, let me tell you, I was absolutely gassed by the end.

My quads started cramping a little before we stopped for lunch at the half way point, and after lunch they were cramping full on. I rode that way for about a mile and half and then had to stop to get some electrolyte tablets out of the sag wagon. After taking these tablets and massaging my quads I began to feel better, so I got back on and rode again, but the cramps started back up within the next two miles. I finished out the leg like that and then took some more electrolyte tablets at our next stop. Finally, the cramps went away at the beginning of the fourth and final leg. And despite all of that, I was still the first to cross the finish line haha.

This was an annual ride that my uncle puts on called "Ride To Farm". The main ride is done on a Saturday, with the first part of the ride being completed on Friday with a smaller group. The Friday ride is the one I did. It was a lot of fun, but I think once a year is enough for me right now. And by the way, I burned 4,230 calories in the 3 hours and 40 minutes I spent riding on that day. I know because I wore my heart rate monitor.

Nothing much else went on this past week. I'm trying to get the Self Made Discussion Board alive and kicking, so if you haven't signed up already click here to do so and join in on the conversation! Also, The Source comes out next week, so if you haven't signed up already make sure you do so! Here's a YouTube advertisement I just put out earlier today:

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 (5/23-5/29)

This past week was a short week for me. It was my deload week for my lifts, which was very much needed since both of my shoulders and my right hip were aggravated. It was also a short week because of the fact that Wednesday afternoon I left for Cleveland to watch my girlfriend run at the D3 Track Nationals. Because of this, I lifted Sunday through Wednesday. I also did plyos on Monday and Wednesday and I did hill sprints on Tuesday afternoon.

I recorded a couple videos as well. On Monday morning after my lift I shot a video for the Total Random X Challenge by Underground Wellness. The contest was to see who could use their TRX suspension trainer in the most random place. I shot my video in the library and was declared the winner for that week. Then, later that afternoon, I shot a video on how to get "squash quick".

I also issued a challenge via the Self Made Facebook Page, which stated "Find a hill that takes you roughly 6 seconds to sprint up when you're fresh. Sprint up and walk down as many times as you can in 20 minutes. Get at least 30 sprints in." This was my hill sprint workout on Tuesday. I got 32 sprints in.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were days that I took completely off to let my body heal and to enjoy my time at track nationals.

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

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (5/16-5/22)

This past week was a HUGE week for Self Made!! In case you haven't seen, the site got completely redone, and it looks awesome! Maria Tucker, a student at Williams, helped me put it together, and she did an amazing job. There are still some things that are in the works for the site, but for now it is a significant improvement as far as the professionalism and individualization of the site are concerned. This was by far the biggest thing that happened all week.

The Self Made Facebook and Flickr pages were released as well, and I am very happy with the progress that has happened with both in such a short time. I was also able to finish uploading all of the videos for SMS7 onto YouTube and the Exercise Index, and the Exercise Index was completely reorganized as well so now exercises are listed by name and prime mover!

As far as my training went, this past week was my heavy triple week for SMS7. All of my lifts went really well as I was able to hit all of my weights for my main lifts and able to increase weight from Week 2 for my supplement lifts. I didn't do plyos or alternate conditioning at all this past week because it was also finals week, so I limited my cardio to my recovery sessions on Tuesday and Thursday.

That's pretty much it for this past week. The website was the biggest news, and I'm really excited about this new format and what it will allow me to do and what it will do for my business as well. Now it's time to go live this week.

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (5/9-5/15)

This past week was my filming week of SMS 7. I got all of the exercises taped and uploaded to YouTube and my Exercise Index. As far as the lifts themselves, SMS 7 proved once again that it's timed sets are a superior form of training, in my opinion, to a pre-determined number of sets. I'm not kidding you, these lifts I've been having have been ridiculous. Not only has my training volume and efficiency gone up, but I feel so much stronger as well. I can't wait until I am able to release SMS 7 to the public for you all to purchase and try for yourself.

On that note, another thing that happened this past week was I put up SMS 1 through SMS 3 on my website, making it the first public releasing of the S.E.L.F. Made Simple Series. I also made SMS 4 through SMS 6 available for purchase on my site. SMS 4-6 are selling at $15 a copy, which means you can get 6 months worth of training programs for only $45! And not just some random programs that I put together, but programs that I have put together for myself, programs that I know work, and programs that have all of their instructional videos up in the Exercise Index. Believe me, this is a SERIOUS deal!

This past week I also did my plyometric sessions twice and recovery cardio sessions twice as well. All of that work is going well, and I feel very fit and explosive. I also had two of my articles featured on Elitefts.com. "The Parasympathetic Secret" and "The Hills" were the two articles that were featured, and while there were a lot of people who expressed their doubt in the comments section of "The Parasympathetic Secret", I know from the experience of doing this training myself that it actually works. I think that's the biggest difference between myself and a lot of other performance coaches and trainers: while at one time some of the coaches out there may have been fit and active enough to actually use their training techniques on a regular basis, everything that I put into practice with any of my clients is something that I have already done and that I know works. So while some of the middle-aged or even early-30's coaches out there may have had accomplished athletic careers in the past, they are not using the same techniques or training methods that allowed them to have the careers that they did. Therefor, if you're not doing something yourself, how do you know if it truly works?? I'll let you ponder that.

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 (4/26-5/2)

This past week was my deload week of my strength training. I take a deload week every fourth week, as I have mentioned in previous posts. This deload week was much needed as I could feel both of my shoulders were starting to wear down and my body overall was pretty tired. I rehabbed my shoulders Monday through Friday with stim and ice, so we'll see how they feel tomorrow morning when I bench.

I did plyos twice again this past week, sticking to the Monday/Friday pattern. I also did plate pushes on Wednesday and recovery work on Tuesday. Thursday I had recovery work planned but became bogged down with sessions and class.

I was hoping to begin planning for the newest issue of The Source on Saturday and Sunday, but unfortunately my schedule got filled up again so that never happened. The May issue will be coming out later this week, however, so look for it in your inboxes soon! And if you haven't signed up for it yet, make sure to do so by following this link: http://selfmadefitness.com/?page_id=79

My weight has finally gotten up to a respectable level as I broke 230 for the first time since October this past Friday. I've definitely made a conscious effort to be taking in more calories throughout the day. I also have been drinking a ton of raw milk, and I think that has a lot to do with this weight gain. I'm feeling strong, though, and I think that as long as my shoulders stay healthy I will be able to get very close to the training goals to reach by graduation that I had set for myself to back in January: 500 free squat, 450 deadlift, 350 bench, 225 standing military press. I would say my deadlift is the closet to that goal right now, but I think all of them are within reach.

I wrote the new program for the Williams men's basketball team this past week as well, and I think they will see great results from it. They've progressed out of their GPP/Bodyweight phase and are now beginning to use external resistance.

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

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (3/22-3/28)

So this past week was actually a fairly productive week for me. My sickness was pretty much gone (yes!), just a few sniffles here and there, so I was back on the grind with my iron game. Considering I didn't actually get back home until Monday afternoon, all of my lifts were pushed back a day, but it was all good. I could tell the week off really helped as well. I squatted Monday evening and throughout my entire lift I felt as strong as I have all year. I was hitting my weights easily even though I had jumped up 5-10 pounds for all my lifts from the previous two weeks. This trend continued with my bench workout on Tuesday.

Wednesday was a non-lifting day for me, and maybe it was because I had watched Rocky II the night before, but for some reason I really wanted to do a boxing workout. So that's what I did on Wednesday. 10 minutes of heavy bag work followed by 5 minutes on the speed bag and 5 minutes jumping rope. Then I did plate pushes in my basement for 15 minute as my finisher for the day.

Thursday was my deadlift and back day, and instead of taking the day off from lifting on Friday I did my military press workout. Just like on Monday and Tuesday, my heavy weights were moving well so it was a really good week in the beast room. Saturday was another off day from lifting, and after mixing it up on Wednesday I decided to mix it up again on Saturday. I began that workout with incline walks on a treadmill for 5 minutes as my warm-up, then moved on to a 22 minute TRX total-body circuit where I'd go 30 seconds on 30 seconds 0ff. It was the first time I had used the TRX in that capacity but I really enjoyed it. One thing I will say though is that while the workout felt pretty intense while I was doing it, afterwards I recovered very quickly and there was almost no soreness the next day. I don't know what this means exactly, but I just wanted to make note of it.

This past week I also uploaded 16 YouTube videos to my Exercise Index. This current week is going to be a busy one for me as I'll have to write at least one program and two articles (one for the site and one for The Source). I'll also need to start planning for SMS6, which will either start Sunday or Monday.

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

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (3/15-3/21)

This past week was an interesting week for me. As predicted, I didn't get a thing done for Self Made. And to be completely honest, my lifts were not any more productive. The previous Friday I began sneezing and by Sunday I had a full cold. I thought I'd be able to lift through it, but after getting through my general and specific warm-ups, I hit my three warm-up sets for my box squats but the weight felt heavier than it should have. Then on my first working set I had to break the set up into 2x2 instead of 1x4. My second working set I hit all four reps clean, but on my third set I unracked the weight and struggled mightily with my first rep. That's when I racked the bar and decided to call it a day.

I planned on crushing my lift bench lift the next morning, but upon waking I realized that my illness had only gotten worse. Nonetheless, I made it over to the gym, got through my warm-up and warm-up sets, then struggled through four working sets on the bench. I did three set of core and called it a day. Actually, I called it a week. I decided to take the rest of the week to sleep, rest, and heal with the understanding that I would have multiple plane flights and a lot of other travel going on that week as we were headed down to Salem, VA for the Final Four. Realizing that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I decided it made a lot more sense to try to get as healthy as I could in order to enjoy the rest of the week as best I could.

My plan worked, and after sleep 11 1/2 hours that Monday night I woke up on Tuesday feeling significantly better, and by Friday I was all but over my cold. So yeah, that's the big news for last week on the Self Made front. This week holds a lot of promise for productivity though, so I should have a good post for you in the near future.

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

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (3/8-3/14)

Wow. I've seriously been slacking this past week. I've hardly updated anything (blog, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook). Well, after this current week my schedule will have a lot more free time so no excuses then. Right now I'm just trying to get through this week of school so I will be able to enjoy this last week of basketball. But these thoughts are for next week, so on to last week.

Alright so last week was pretty low key for me. I uploaded all of the videos from Day 1 of SMS 5 to YouTube and my Exercise Index, but asides from that nothing much went on. I had a solid week of lifting, hitting all of my weights and leaving me feeling confident heading in to this week's training. I can tell that my working 1RM's are finally getting closer to weights that they should be because my core lifts are starting to become much more challenging, which is perfect timing considering the basketball season ends Saturday (knock on wood).

I was scheduled to start writing a new article for the site this past week, but that didn't happen as two midterms and preparation for the Sweet 16 took precedence over this, but, like I said, next week I should definitely find the time to write this article. So don't worry, it'll be up soon!

I did get a chance to get a little reading done and watch a training DVD as well. I'm working through the Parisi Speed School DVD series and have watched three of the disks so far. I look forward to learning and applying the information of their other DVDs as well. I am also, slowly but surely, making way through Jozef Drabik's youth training book. It's not a difficult read, but it contains incredibly valuable information. I highly recommend this book.

Well, that's about all I have for you for right now. That's all for last week, now it's time to go live this one.

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (2/21-2/26)

Alright alright alright y'all. So I have 20 minutes left in my shift at work and I'm really not trying to read anymore so I'll give you all an update of what has happened this past week, or at least whatever I can fit in during the remainder of my shift.

So yeah, this past week was my deload week for my lifting. I'm on a cycle of three weeks hard, one week deload where I use 70% of my weights that I was using in the previous week. (FYI, look for an article from me about deloading and its benefits in the next few months). Anyways, these deload weeks have been vital in allowing me to continue to lift for incredibly long periods of time without getting burned out. If you're not deloading in your current training regimen, I would highly suggest deloading every four to six weeks.

This deload week in particular was incredibly crucial because we've hit the point in the basketball season where you wake up sore every morning regardless of how much you stretch and ice the night before. In light of this, being able to take it easy for a minute in the weight room was a gift. I'm definitely ready to start lifting heavy again come Sunday though.

I was also able to start up this blog on Tuesday, which I'm still trying to figure out exactly how I want it formatted but am incredibly pumped about it nonetheless.

By far the biggest surprise of the week was that I had a new article published on EliteFTS.com on Tuesday. It was surprising in that the last article of mine they featured they e-mailed me the morning it was posted. This time I found out by seeing that the hits to my website had gone waaaaayy up in the last 24 hours, so I checked where they were coming from and saw it was EliteFTS. I checked the site, and sure enough my article was up. By the way, they finally e-mailed me yesterday to let me know it would be up haha.

This week was also really busy for me because I had a ton of one-time sessions this week, where I would walk people through programs that I had written for them, on top of my regular sessions. I got to work with the Williams Rugby team, which was an awesome experience because it was a large group of guys and they were all really excited to hit the weights. I love being around that type of energy.

New YouTube videos were added to the Exercise Index on my website as well, and there will be more going up in the next few days. Ummmm...yeah I think that pretty much wraps up my week. Now I need to start writing the next mesocycle of my training program (S.E.L.F. Made Simple) and work on the newest edition of "The Source", which will hopefully being going out some time this upcoming week!

Finally, my girlfriend ran her fastest time of the year today and is going to be really pissed if I don't give her a shout out. Congrats!! Haha I'm out.

Get big or die tryin'.