Ten Best Strength and Conditioning Moments that Made 2011 Great

If you are like me you probably can’t believe this year has come and gone so quickly.  I usually get reflective this time of year trying to analyze if I have accomplished enough with the 365 days given to me.

Upon review, this year had some bumps but overall has been an incredibly successful year for Rise Above Strength and the strength and conditioning field in general.  In this article I will share ten of the best (in my opinion) strength and conditioning moments, articles and products that made this year great.

At the end of the article you can download a complimentary circuit training manual with workouts that I made just for my loyal readers.

Just a quick note: I do NOT make any money off of the items I endorse; they are just my sincere opinions of what I liked this past year.

Rise Above Performance Training 3^rd Anniversary Party

I have to admit this is the most stressful thing in the world for me to get off the ground but once it is over I am glad we did it.  I never thought I would be celebrating one year let alone three with such a great family of people here at Rise Above Performance Training.

From the food, the strongman contests, the awards presentations and all of the family and friends who came out to celebrate; it was a great day.  You can read more about the Anniversary Party here.

The Minimalist Shoe Movement

I am all about keeping everything simple; training, nutrition and lifestyle.  This new wave of shoes taking the market by storm might be the answer to many people’s foot problems.  They have personally helped me relieve the plantar fasciitis issues I had.  I still think finding the perfect multi-purpose minimalist shoe is a little ways off, however I would recommend people to try them out gradually and see if they are right for them.

One of My Favorite Articles Written By Me

This is my favorite article I wrote this past year.  It mostly had to do with some frustration I have with the cookie cutter workouts that young athletes get and the desire to push them too far.  You can read my post: Five Mistakes when Training Young Athletes here.

One of My Favorite Articles Written By Someone Else

I really enjoy reading articles by Eric Cressey.  He is spot on with his training analysis and is a constant proponent for quality training both in the weight room and in sports to maximize the longevity of an athlete’s career while minimizing injury risks.

Many players and coaches have their youth superstars do too much.  In this particular article Eric points out shortcomings of exhausting the talents of young kids as baseball pitchers.  Read: “Your Arm Hurts? Thank Your Little League, AAU and Fall Ball Coaches.”

Biggest Feat of Strength I Personally Witnessed

Aj and I went to a kettlebell seminar hosted by the Orange Kettlebell Club (OKC) where John “Wild” Buckley brought his 70kg (154lbs.) kettlebell affectionate called “The Nibbler.”  John was the only man up to this point to put it overhead until Aj gave it a try.  Prepare to be impressed as you check out this video: “Aj Makes History”

One-Hour Long Cycle Charity Event

Speaking of the OKC, these guys know how to put on a challenging and worthy event.  This is the second year I have participated in their One-Hour Long Cycle for charity.  This year we raised money for the Japanese Tsunami relief effort.  I was very thankful that the gym raised over $700 to contribute to the event.  I was a little disappointed that I was the only member from Rise Above performing the 1-hour event.  My goal for next year is to raise more money and get at least one person to participate with me.  Read all about the event: One-Hour Long Cycle Charity Event here.

Best YouTube Video

Every once in awhile I find a gem on YouTube that I like to save and go back to for inspiration or a good laugh.  This video was passed around face book and I really found it moving.  Perspective is everything and a huge key to either success or failure.

Best Piece of Equipment I Purchased

When I go for equipment I look for quality, simplicity and versatility.  The Econo Core Blaster from Elite Fitness Systems is all of those things.  It is small, portable and can be used for a variety of exercises in many different planes of movement.  Great bang for the buck.

My Favorite New Magazine

My Mad Methods Magazine is the magazine trainers and serious trainees were looking for.  Forget the popular health and fitness rags, this is a serious training magazine with more articles and programs than advertisements.  The articles are written by top professionals in the field covering everything about unconventional strength training methods.  If you get the magazine you might even see a few articles written by yours’ truly.

The Best Thing About 2011

The best thing in the strength and conditioning world are you guys.  All of my clients and readers of the newsletter are truly inspirational to me and you guys are the ones that get me up every day and allow me do what I love to do.

As a special thanks I have put together some of my favorite circuit training workouts just for you to download and enjoy.  Get your Circuit Training Programs.

Supporting the Troops this Holiday Season

Congratulations, we did it again! This holiday season we donated 10 boxes filled with food, toiletries, supplies, letters, books and entertainment for Rise Above’s own Anthony Bizzarro and his team in Afghanistan.  This is Anthony’s first tour.  While we don’t know exactly where and what he is doing we know he is doing our country and gym proud.

Rise Above is honored to support all the brave men and women, especially Anthony, who protect and serve our country.  The gym’s contributions could not have been successful without the help of our gym members.

I was blown away by the amount of goods we collected.  I feel truly blessed to have such great clients who support each other and individuals like Anthony. Thanks to everyone who helped bring some holiday cheer to our troops.

Training for Winter Sports: Best Exercises for Soccer and Basketball Players

The weather is getting colder and the seasons are changing.  With these changes comes the beginning of new high school and college sports seasons with two of the biggest being soccer and basketball.

I have had the privilege of training both soccer and basketball athletes this past offseason and we have used many different training protocols to make sure they are strong, agile and more resistant against injuries going into their seasons.

Both soccer and basketball share similar movements in their sports; stop and go running, deceleration, cutting and acceleration and jumping components.  In this article I am going to share with you some of my favorite training exercises I use to get these athletes ready for their season.

Deadlift

There has been a timeless debate in the “strength and conditioning world” regarding which exercise is better to build strength, size and game speed; the squat or the deadlift.  Both exercises are great and should be used but if I had to pick one over the other for soccer and basketball players it would be the deadlift.

Like the squat, the deadlift is a highly effective movement to train the hips to extend.  Most sports are dependent on the athlete’s ability to extend their hips, whether it is to sprint, change direction or jump.  Being able to move and accelerate and object from the ground using one’s hips leads to great strength and power development essential in sports.

The one advantage that the deadlift has is the ability to train starting strength which is the ability to move the body quickly from a dead stop.  Many athletes, parents and coaches ask how they can improve their child’s “first step.”  This first step development comes from training to move deadweight quickly and effectively.

Forward Lunges

This is one of those exercises that I had used in the past, forgotten, came back to it while training at Cressey Performance.  When doing forward lunges again, I realized how weak I was at it and then realized the huge value it has.

I have had many of my athletes primarily performing reverse (step-back) lunges because I felt they were able to get into proper position easier and they could use the back foot explosively to train the first step.  This movement was great for that however I was neglecting one huge component necessary in both of these sports: deceleration.

Most deceleration during soccer and basketball comes when the athlete is moving forward and the front leg needs to slow the body down to change direction.

Forward lunges require the front leg to decelerate.  The forward lunge trains the hamstring muscle group to slow the body down through the eccentric contraction much like it needs to do when playing a sport like soccer and basketball.

During sports the body must decelerate loads greater than the body weight alone due to the acceleration of the body creating a greater force vector.  When doing this lunge variation with added resistance the body learns to deal with forces great than body weight alone much like what occurs when playing sports.

Kettlebell Swing

The kettlebell swing has several advantages when it comes to training for soccer and basketball; namely training the posterior chain (primarily hamstring and hip muscle groups) for power production, it can also be used as a conditioning tool.

Many strength and conditioning coaches utilize Olympic lifts (clean and snatch) to train the power element of sports; while these lifts may be great for power generation, they take much longer to learn the technique when compared to the kettlebell swing, and they are good for maximal power production whereas soccer and basketball are sports that utilizes repetitive bouts of sub-maximal force production.  Sports like soccer and basketball consist of a series of repeated sprints and stops; not an all or nothing explosive movement.

Kettlebell swings can be done within a strength program for repetitions if training posterior chain power production is desired or it can be done for time intervals if training for conditioning.

Core Stability

Core stability for soccer and basketball are crucial for the athletes to perform optimally.  Not only must the core be stable for the athlete to perform their dribbling and shooting skills effectively they also must have a strong core to be able to fend off all of the knocks and fouls that opponents will perform to steal the ball or disrupt a game winning shot.

Training the core for stability is quite simple and I recommend a variety of core stability exercises within a particular training program.  Plank variations, ball or wheel rollouts, strap fallouts, Pallof presses are all great exercises to train the core through stabilization.

Conditioning Circuits

This is one component that is not used frequently enough in strength training protocols.  It is one thing to make your athlete strong and perform well in the weight room, but if they cannot perform better at their sport then the job you’ve done is not complete.

In my article, Get with the Circuit, I touted the need for solid conditioning programs for athletes that needed both strength and endurance.  Adding a conditioning circuit into the program once a week will greatly enhance your soccer and basketball athlete’s strength transfer from the weight room to the field and court.  It is important that these athletes gain the strength endurance necessary to perform repeated measures of sprinting, stopping jumping, and cutting.  The athletes who are able to maintaining this strength endurance cycle will most likely be in better shape and perform the best at their respected sport.

Some of my favorite exercises to include into circuits are jump rope, kettlebell swings, pushups, body rows and the Prowler.  Time should be suited close to what would be done during a game situation.  I like circuits of 4-6 stations doing 20-30 sec. of work and resting for 10-20 sec.

Conclusion

Soccer and basketball players are just like any other athletes in respect to the fact that they need to be strong, stable and conditioned.  The details within a program should be tailored for each specific sport and specifically designed for the individual athlete for optimal success.