At the time of this writing, my body is on the mend since my knee surgery and blood clot last March, 2021. My knee is not 100% and as we get older, if you have had an injury or a surgery in the past, I believe it is safer to DOUBLE the length of "recovery time" to ensure you don't rush through the full healing process. So if the Doc says 6 months, I do not believe that in 6 months you have the green light to go ALL out. Instead, take months 6 - 12 to rebuild to greater heights. Use … [Read more...]
Program Design for Athletes: Are You Training for Sports or Powerlifting?
Last Friday an athlete I train pulled 500 on the trap bar. He is a 15 yr old high school Football player & LAX player. He was fired up that day and he said he wanted to go for it. On days when someone is ready emotionally AND physically to go hard, you Go for it. As long as the timing is right and safe, you go for it. In this Video I explain some context behind why I program the way I do for MOST athletes. Again, it depends on many factors and I never paint a broad brush, because times … [Read more...]
The “BEST Way” to Train & Develop Athletes for LONG Term Success
Is there a "best way" to train athletes? Many roads can lead to Rome, but the way America is operating with regards to training our youth, only the genetically gifted are thriving. The majority are getting injured and / or burning out emotionally long before they are at the age where they can achieve high levels of athleticism or their true potential . I'm saying this through experience, not guessing. I started training athletes in 1995. Every 5 years or so, I notice another decline in … [Read more...]
The POWER of Calisthenics for Athletes & Men – Training for Performance and Strength
Training for Performance – The Value of Calisthenics. Let’s dig into performance. Performance for sports and performance for life and work. Bodyweight training is a big component to improve your strength and muscular endurance for sports. In high school we see varsity athletes, both boys and girls who can NOT perform 1 proper push up. This is dangerous. The weaker an athlete is, the more likely he / she is to get injured. Weakness is a liability. … [Read more...]
BONUS: Early Days Underground Strength Gym, Strength Coach Influences & Success Tips
I had a great time going on The Rugby Renegade Podcast. In this BONUS of The STRONG Life Podcast we tackle some awesome topics: - Early days Underground Strength Gym / Warehouse Gym Start Up Days from the early 2000s - Influences from Louie Simmons and Dan John - Timeless books that I recommend to all Coaches - The type of work ethic I want to see in Younger Coaches - Special Strengths training methods for combat athletes Enjoy the show! … [Read more...]
Max Effort Training Tips for Athletes & Sports Performance
Athletes need to be strong, there is NO question about it. With all the fads and gimmicks, some athletes think they need a program of all speed or all agility, and they believe they are “strong enough”. This is not the case. Heavy lifting and struggling take guts. It is HARD. It requires a strong mindset and being ready to fight and never give up. Speed work does NOT require this ‘never say quit’ attitude. Don’t fool yourself, you are NOT strong enough. It's NEVER a case of JUST speed … [Read more...]
5 Reasons Why You Need Circuit Training
Almost every Friday and anytime I am busy and fighting the clock, I have a Go To system for my training. I often do this on Fridays as a way of "Earning my Weekend". However, I usually get in a Saturday morning training session but sometimes I take the entire weekend off. Below I will outline how to design these circuits and you can perform them with heavy or light weights, or, blend it all together depending on your goals. … [Read more...]
STRONG Life Insider: The Development of Muscular Bulk & Power
From Anthony Ditillo's Book, The Development of Muscular Bulk and Power There is something about bulk and power training that invades your very soul. It is extremely hard to put into words. The exercise movements themselves are quite simple to perform. The routines one must utilize in order to gain rapidly that much sought after strength are not especially interesting or dynamic in appearance. All in all, powerlifting and bulk training is a rather mechanical robot like procedure, which is … [Read more...]
4 Tips on How to Build Strength Endurance aka “Performance Muscles”
Strength Endurance or as my friend, Marty Gallagher calls it, Sustained Strength. STRENGTH ENDURANCE - This is simply strength that keeps on keeping on. Strength that ENDURES. Not just physically, but also Mentally. This is a crucial "special strength" that is beneficial to many athletes and adults as well. Just a few sports & careers: - Lacrosse - Football - Wrestling - BJJ - MMA - Military - Law Enforcement - Hunting Tip # 1: To acquire Strength … [Read more...]
Program Design Tips with Zach & Matt Wenning
There are MANY program design methods and variations that fall under each category of specific styles of program design and program organization. For example, we have the conjugate method, which is essentially an endless array of variations and options. We have progressive overload, aka linear periodization which many people talk down upon yet I have found this to work GREAT with athletes and even for myself. You can use linear progression with conjugate exercise selection. In the … [Read more...]