TRIUMPH ATHLETICS

Kinetic Energy Accumulation Training

2011-12-13T14:43:00.002-05:00

Some hotness by Christian Thibaudeau.

We will now discuss a special form of strength training that I call“kinetic energy accumulation training” (or KEAT). It involves trainingmethods in which there is an important kinetic energy build-up duringthe yielding phase of a movement and the consequent use of this energyto potentiate the overcoming portion of the exercise. This type oftraining has been known under various names: shock training (in Russianliterature), plyometrics (by Western coaches) and powermetrics (a morerecent term by Dr. Mel Siff).I’d rather use the denomination kinetic energy accumulation training asit explains the nature and the reason for effectiveness of this type ofexercise. Namely, by increasing the amount of kinetic energy producedduring the yielding phase, and transferred into the execution of theovercoming phase, you increase power and force production and youimprove the neural, reflex and muscular factors involved in forceproduction.Most coaches limit this type of exercise to the classic plyometricdrills (depth jumps of various kinds) and regular jump training. Howevermany more methods are included in this type of training. Before Ipresent them and explain the reason for the efficacy you must understandthat KEAT is basically a form of accentuated eccentric training.However, instead of accentuating the eccentric stress by maximizingeccentric tension (lowering very heavy loads or lowering moderate loadsslowly) we are going to use a very fast yielding action. The objectiveis not to increase eccentric stress, but rather to build-up as muchkinetic and elastic energy as we can. To do so, the yielding action mustbe very fast and the coupling time (time between the yielding andovercoming phase of a movement) must be very short.The types of exercise that we will include in this category of methodsare:1. Depth jumps2. Altitude landing3. Overspeed eccentrics
Depth jumpsDepth jumping, also known as shock training, has been developed by YuriVerkhoshansky in 1977. The objective of this method is to increaseconcentric power and force output by stimulating the muscles andreflexes via a “shock stretching” action preceding the overcomingportion of the movement. This is accomplished by dropping from a certainheight (0.4m to 0.7m. Heights of up to 1.1m have been used but only byvery advanced athletes) to elicit a powerful stretch activation andjumping up as high as possible immediately upon landing.It has been well established in both Eastern and Western studies thatdepth jumping, or shock training, can significantly increase powerproduction and the vertical jump. This is mostly due to these factors:
1. An increase in reactive strength. Reactive strength refers to thecapacity to rapidly switch from an eccentric/yielding action to aconcentric/overcoming action. Lack of reactive strength will lead to alonger coupling time and consequently a lower force and power productionduring the overcoming portion of the movement (Kurz 2001).
2. Neural adaptations. Viitasalo et al. (1998) have found a differentneural response with in athletes doing a lot of jumping and regularindividuals when doing a depth jump: jumpers were able to activate moremotor units during the movement (greater EMG) and plan the motor commandfaster (higher and more rapid pre-action EMG). Kyröläinen et al. (1991)have also found that 16 weeks of depth jump training led to a betterjumping efficiency. Schmidtbleicher (1987 and 1982) found that trainedsubjects were better able to use the kinetic energy produced during theeccentric portion of a depth jump while in untrained subjects thiseccentric period was actually inhibiting instead of potentiating!Finally, Walshe et al. (1998) concluded that the reason for thesuperiority of depth jumping training over regular jumping was due to“the attainment of a higher active muscle state”, meaning that the fasteccentric portion of the movement increased muscle activation.
3. Structural adaptations. Depth jumps have been reported to cause somemuscle soreness and muscle damage (Horita et al. 1999). This isunderstandable since the eccentric force production is very high, albeitrapid. So this could indicate that depth jumps are a powerful stimulusto stimulate structural adaptations. Obviously, depth jumps do not leadto significant hypertrophy. So the nature of the structural adaptationsfollowing depth jumping is not quantitative in nature but ratherqualitative: an improvement of the strength and contractile capacity ofeach muscle fibers.Soviet literature gives the following guidelines when practicing depthjumps:
1. The joint position upon landing should be as close as possible tothat of an important sport action (Laputin and Oleshko 1982).
2. The amortization phase should be short enough to avoid loosing theelastic energy produced but long enough to allow for the shockstretching to occur (Laputin and Oleshko 1982). Research indicates thatthe elastic energy from landing is stored for up to 2 seconds. So intheory you have a window of 2 seconds between the landing and take-offphase, However to maximize the training effect, you should not spendmore than 1 second on the floor.
3. The height of the drop should be regulated by the preparedness of theathlete: the heels should not touch the ground during the landing phase,if they do the height of the drop is too high (Laputin and Oleshko1982). A height varying from 0.5 to 0.7 appears to be ideal for moststrength and power athletes (Roman 1986).
4. Depth jumps have a very powerful training effect so the volume ofwork should be low: no more than 4 sets of 10 repetitions (or 40 totaljumps spread over more sets), 2-3 times per week for advanced athletesand 3 sets of 5-8 repetitions (or 15-24 total jumps spread over moresets), 1-2 times per week for lower classes of athletes (Laputin andOleshko 1982). The problem with coaches and athletes is that they dofeel that depth jumping is hard: it’s not very tiring compared to othermeans of training. Because of that they do way too much volume of depthjumps.
5. Still because of the very powerful training effect of depth jumping,it is idiotic to perform this type of training systematically throughoutthe year. The shock method should be used in blocks of 3-4 weeks with atleast 4 weeks between blocks (Roman 1986). In fact some coachesrecommend no more than 2-3 such blocks per year (Medvedyev 1996) andthat these blocks should only be used when a rapid rise in power andreactive strength is needed to further performance gains. Remember thatevery training method, regardless of how effective it is, will looseit’s effectiveness over time. Shock training is no different. So if youuse it year-round there comes a point where you will get no addedbenefits from it. However by using short “shock” blocks you can give aquick boost to your performance and since you only use depth jumps for ashort period, everytime that you use such a shock training block youwill get the same performance boost.
Altitude landingsA recent paper by David Kerin (2002) concluded that it is the eccentricportion of a depth jump that actually has the greatest training effectas far as increasing vertical jump and lower body power. It makes sensewhen you think about it. It is during the landing portion that theeccentric stress is at its highest as all the kinetic energy accumulatedduring the fall is transformed into muscle loading. So this can greatlyincrease your capacity to break your fall and absorb this kineticenergy. If you are weak in the eccentric portion of the depth jump whatwill happen? The coupling time (time it takes you to switch fromyielding to overcoming) will be very high and the resulting jumpingcapacity will be low. The shorter the coupling time is, the higher willbe the subsequent jump. And to reduce coupling time you must increaseeccentric strength and the capacity to absorb the kinetic energy.Depth jumps obviously do this, but doing only the eccentric portion(landing) and practicing “sticking the landing” (i.e. immediatelybreaking the downward movement as soon as you hit the ground) canactually be more useful in that regard. And this way you can use higherdrop heights (up to 0.75-1.25m). Once again, the key point is to land ina position specific to your sport. For example football linemen andlinebackers should stick the landing with the knee bent at approximately90-110 degrees.Just like depth jumps, altitude landings have a very powerful trainingeffect and should only be used for short periods of time and at a verylow volume of work. While they can sometimes be used in the sametraining block as depth jumps, I don’t recommend it. Rather I like thefollowing progression:Block 1 (4 weeks)Altitude landingsBlock 2 (4 weeks)Low intensity jump trainingBlock 3 (4 weeks)Depth jumpsBlock 4 (4 weeks)Low intensity jump trainingThis progression will ensure for constant and rapid progress in verticaljumping capacity. You can repeat that 16 weeks cycle three times duringthe year for fantastic improvements.
Overspeed eccentricsThis type of exercise could almost be called shock training with weightsand it’s the brainchild of powerlifting coach Louie Simmons and isdescribed in his training videos “Reactive method” and “Specialstrengths”.Simmons explains that to take advantage of eccentric training formaximum strength gains in lifting exercises you should use it (theeccentric/yielding portion) to accumulate kinetic energy that you willtransform in elastic energy, reflex energy and ultimately a greaterforce production in the overcoming portion of the lift.To do so two things must be present:1. A fast yielding phase: by lowering the bar or your body faster youproduce more kinetic energy. There is actually some research to back upthis technique, not that the results from the Westside powerlifting crewdoesn’t already speak volume for the its efficacy! For example a studyby Farthing and Chilibeck (2003) found that “eccentric fast training isthe most effective for muscle hypertrophy and strength gain”. This is inaccordance with the findings of Paddon-Jones et al. (2001) thatfollowing a fast eccentric training program led to a decrease in type Ifibers (from 53.8% to 39.1%) while type IIb fiber percentage increased(from 5.8% to 12.9%). In contrast, the slow eccentric group did notexperience significant changes in muscle fibre type or muscle torque.2. A rapid switch between the yielding and overcoming phases. The bestexample of this break in the yielding/overcoming chain is the use of thebox squat. When you land on the box you immediately halt the yieldingportion of the movement, converting the kinetic energy into elasticenergy and reflex action.One doesn’t have to use the box squat. You can simply lower the bar asfast as you can and break it in a heart beat before lifting itexplosively.Using Jump Stretch elastic bands attached to the bar also have a verypositive effect because the bands will actually try to “blast” the bardown, bringing it down faster than if only gravity was acting on it.This is one benefit that you don’t get from using chains, chains areonly acting as additional weight, while the elastic bands increasekinetic energy.

The Ultimate Neck Training Exercises for Combat & Contact Athletes

2011-11-29T13:49:00.000-05:00

For the neck training lovers out there like myself, this is an awesome article.

The Ultimate Neck Training Exercises for Combat & Contact Athletes

TA Athlete Christian Stokes

2011-11-16T11:17:00.003-05:00

Congrats to Christian Stokes on her signing with the University of Kentucky to play softball. Christian is an amazing athlete and an even better person. It's a great day for UK.

Neck Training 101

2011-11-03T16:24:00.000-04:00

Neck Training 101

Stay Hydrated

2011-10-30T11:47:00.003-04:00

Below is a great article from Elitefts.com. When our performance starts to suffer, we often look at the more complex solutions rather than making sure we have covered the basics. High performace comes down to this: good training, good resting, and good diet. Proper hydration is an important component of diet. The guidelines in the article below are a great starting point, and will likely be all you will ever need to achieve optimal hydration.

DRINK UP

By Joe Giandonato, MS, CSCS

Is your performance lagging and your workout dragging? Well you might not be properly hydrated. Read up on these reasons why you should drink up before you jettison your training program.

Metroflex Gym is considered the modern Mecca of bodybuilding. Champion bodybuilders Ronnie Coleman and Branch Warren have trained within its walls, crafting physiques that earn the admiration of millions of fans and their fellow competitors. But we forget that Metroflex, which is located in the heart of Texas where temperatures during the summer can easily eclipse 100 degrees, isn’t air conditioned.

It isn’t like Brian Dobson can’t afford to install central air. It’s kept that way so only people with intestinal fortitude—hardcore bodybuilders, focused powerlifters, and serious athletes—stick around. The people who aren’t as dedicated and don’t appreciate training hard can drive down the road to Bally’s or 24-Hour Fitness, where they can enjoy daytime television between their sets of machine bench presses in a climate-controlled environment instead of seeing people with unshakable dedication regularly rip 600- and 700-lb raw deadlifts off the floor during their lunch break.

For the Metroflex brethren or for people sweating it out in their garage gyms, hydration is vitally important. They know this. People who don’t properly hydrate become quickly accosted by impeded performance. Dehydration, which occurs when fluid intake doesn’t sufficiently replete fluid losses, can cause decrements in performance as low as one percent of one’s body weight. The hulking 250-lb bodybuilder busting his ass off in the squat rack, literally, may notice decreased performance at a weight loss as little as two and a half pounds. It’s at this loss that the osmoreceptors, sensory receptors that detect changes in cellular fluid balance located in our hypothalamus, trigger the thirst sensation, which serves as an early warning to rehydrate. Things worsen beyond one percent, and everything with the exception of contracting a venereal disease can occur.

Here’s a continuum of the bad things that can happen to you—dry mouth, fatigue, thirst, headache, constipation, decreased focus/mental acuity, extreme thirst, extremely dry skin so devoid of water in the dermis that it sticks up when pinched, low blood pressure, increased heart rate, difficulty breathing (rapid and subcostal), fever, delirium, unconsciousness, coma, and death. In addition, your first fantasy football pick will shred every ligament in his knee on his first play of the season, which can spoil your workplace football cred and bragging rights. This can be worse than death. Dehydrated individuals are predisposed to rhabdomyolysis, hyperthermia, and heat stroke.

Let’s focus on not going beyond one percent unless you’re really stupid or decide to vacation in a developing nation and gulp handfuls of water in one of its tributaries and come down with cholera. Grab a pen, a piece of paper, pull up a chair, and take notes. Or more conveniently, print out this list of knowledge bombs.

1. Dress appropriately. If you’re training at Metroflex during the summer, it wouldn’t be wise to hit the stepper while wearing your winter garb consisting of sweats to hide the Tony Siragusa-esque fatness you’ve acquired over the holidays. Also, to the high school football players out there, “cold gear” is to be worn in the cold, not the heat! Read the tags of the compression gear you’re purchasing and save them. Refer to the instructions while you suit up for practice. Also, to all the Goth kids out there, you’re still going to sweat your pasty, sub-triple digit ass off while you chain smoke your cigarettes wearing a trench coat during the summer as you wait for mommy outside to pick you up from the mall. But the trench coat wearers may be good because they might have acclimatized, which brings us to number two.

2. Allow yourself to adapt to the heat. Someone who trains in an air-conditioned Gold’s Gym won’t be able to hit the ground running when training at Metroflex for the first time. The crowd there is used to it. You aren’t. Research indicates that it can take up to two weeks before getting adjusted to the heat.

3. Drink. This prudent piece of information is pretty straightforward. However, this is where most go wrong. People simply don’t know how much fluid they need to consume.
The amount of fluid that’s consumed depends on pre-workout hydration and urine output. A human’s average urine output is roughly 1.5 liters per day and should always be the color of slightly diluted lemon juice. Strength coach and fellow elitefts™ contributor Harry Selkow has stated that you “should be pissing clear by noon.” Darker colored urine usually, but not always, indicates dehydration.

The amount you should drink also depends on exercise intensity and duration. I know those two variables coupled together seemingly appeared as an answer to every question on the CSCS exam I took last year, but exercise that’s more intense produces more heat via muscle action. For example, let’s take Kroc rows and an exercise featured in a Curves’ circuit. The Kroc rows will be far more intense unless granny is strapping up for a 3-lb dumbbell row to failure at Curves.

Members at Metroflex already have the extreme temperatures working against them so their muscles are already warm—much warmer than the members doing the same exercises and same loads down the street at Bally’s. Obviously, exercise that is more intense, such as anaerobic training, will require carbohydrates. So unless you’re pre-contest, reach for a Gatorade instead of another bottle of water during your pre-workout stop at the convenience store. A carbohydrate mixture of 4–8 percent is ideal. Anything beyond that can produce flatulence or increase your chances of blowing out a batch of fecal tadpoles while grinding a 20-rep set on the leg press. Also, the amount you hydrate should be proportionate to the length of each session. If you’re hammering out a workout that consists of 20 or 30 work sets, it would be in your best interest to keep hydrated throughout the session. You should ideally alternate a carbohydrate containing, electrolyte-enriched sports drink with water throughout your workout.

Hydration guidelines:
Prior to exercise: The adage of ingesting a minimum of a pint of fluid two hours before exercise still holds true, but if you’re practicing in football pads in the 85 degree weather at sunset in Florida, drink a little more. Maybe up to 1.5 pints or greater at two hours out. Make sure you’re hydrated before you hit the practice field or gym. Exercise scientists suggest that individuals who are about to workout, especially in the heat, should be “hyperhydrated.” Studies show that fluid absorption rates range from 0.8–1.2 liters per hour, meaning that pre-workout hydration is crucially important.

During exercise: Sweat losses during one hour of exercise can easily exceed one’s daily urine output. So an individual should drink throughout the session, preferably in amounts of over 8 oz, as it empties from the stomach more rapidly, thus replenishing the body of fluids that are lost during exercise.

Following exercise: While it may make little sense to suggest this now because you’ve read what you should do prior to and during exercise, you should weigh yourself each morning upon awakening and before each session so you know exactly how much to drink afterward. Every client I train, including weight loss clients, is required to track his or her weight and be a part of a sweat rate test.

Here’s an example of what I use to figure out a weight loss client’s fluid losses and an ideal amount to replenish fluids following a session:

Upon waking, the individual was weighed using an accurately calibrated scale and registered a weight of 229 lbs. This weight was recorded at 8:48 a.m. by the client who was only wearing boxer shorts, which weigh 0.5–1.0 oz.

Prior to the workout, the individual, who is also one of my clients, weighed 231 lbs. This weight was recorded at 6:39 p.m. Because the weight was recorded in a busy gym locker room, my client again was weighed while wearing boxer shorts, which weigh 0.5–1.0 oz. The increase in weight is due to food and fluid intake throughout the day.

The individual will complete an exercise regime typical for him lasting 45–60 minutes. During the bout, record the amount of fluids ingested (if any fluids are ingested). Try to avoid the consumption of solid food during this bout.

During the workout, my client consumed 8.0 oz of lime G2 Gatorade diluted with 16 oz of water. My client also drank a 16.9-oz bottle of water. Though no solid food was consumed, my client ingested 15 BCAA tablets throughout the workout. The tablets weigh 1g a piece, totaling 15 g. The total fluid consumption was 40.9 oz. I should note here that my client was sweating profusely throughout the workout and between sets. We had to wipe the floor and/or equipment down.
Post-exercise, remove clothes, towel the sweat off, and reweigh to nearest half pound if possible.
My client, following a 60-minute session which included a 5-minute cardiovascular warm up, five minutes of dynamic stretching and foam rolling, 30 minutes of lifting (using alternating supersets), and 20 minutes of interval training, was weighed post-workout. The weight recorded was 227 lbs. Though the client was wiped down with a towel following the session, he kept his boxer shorts on. I should mention that he was drenched in sweat, which could alter post-workout weight.

Calculate fluid loss per hour.
For example, if the beginning weight was 231 lbs (60 minutes of varied exercise at varying levels of intensity, 41 oz fluid consumed), the ending weight was 227 lbs.
The fluid loss is 231 lbs – 227 lbs + 2.5 lbs = 2.5-lb weight loss or 40 oz of fluid lost in 60 minutes.

Then convert to a per hour value: 24 oz/60 minutes = 40.0 oz sweat rate per hour
What’s the main take away from this piece? Keep hydrated so your lifts—and health—won’t suffer.

Joe Giandonato, MS, CSCS, is a Philadelphia-area personal trainer, corporate health coach, and freelance writer. More of his content can be found at joshstrength.com.

Power and Rate of Force Development

2011-10-06T10:45:00.008-04:00

Yesterday I was watching some old UFC highlights and came across the clip below. Pay attention to the video at 1:38 forward. Look at Emerson's body position. Notice how he delivers the devastating left hand. I am amazed at the amount of power Rob Emerson displayed at such and awkward and unstable position. Not to mention he KOs his competitor with the same hand that was supporting the majority of his body weight. Looks as though Mr. Emerson has been programming some upper body pressing DEs into his training.

As many of you know I have a huge interest in Selective Recruitment as it pertains to DEs and rate of force development. THIS is a nice article on motor unit recruitment for dynamic tasks. Definitely worth reading.

Jim Smith and Joe DeFranco have recently released their new product called POWER. POWER is a manual and DVD comprised of content (over 90 exercises) specifically designed to improve RFD. The manual and DVD show how to properly design a program and incorporate the exercises. Something I noticed was the high number of athlete friendly exercises for developing power. By athlete friendly, I mean exercises that will help improve the athlete at their given sport while keeping the risk of injury to a minimum. I have seen several athletes come to my gym that have wrist injuries. They range from discus throwers to baseball pitchers. It makes no sense to have an athlete risk injuring their wrists trying to catch a heavy power clean when there are safer and more effective alternatives. Yet, their college coaches continue to Rx these high risk exercises. My advise, if you can't train at TA, get THIS to develop extreme power safely. Trust me, you will love it.

In other news, TA just got in some new equipment. All from the greatest equipment manufacturer in the world WILLIAMS STRENGTH. Got hella sets of chain, THIS and THIS. Very exciting.

I know I have been slack in updating the blog. Cameron and I are going to try to produce a new post at least bimonthly. Stay tuned.

Iron Radio

2011-03-03T18:15:00.002-05:00

Below are three links to the greatest podcast of all time...IRON RADIO!!!! Hosts Dr. Lonnie Lowery, Phil Stevens, and Rob "Fortress" Fortney bring tons of education and experience to every show. These guys are the best of the best. Best of all, it's FREE!!! Enjoy.

Remember, the episodes below automatically updated. So, below are always the three most recent episodes.

KB Ladders

2011-02-23T11:22:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was our vertical push/pull day. I have been reading Pavel's Enter The Kettlebell and decided to try one of his workouts. You perform 5 ladders of 5 rungs. Example: C&P the KB with left hand, then swing and switch hands, C&P with right hand. Then, perform one pull up. Next set is two C&Ps with each arm followed by two pullups. This continues till you reach 5 reps. That is one set. Do 5 sets.

5 x 1/2/3/4/5 C&P and pull ups. This was hard.

Chest Crank x 1

Prowler races x a lot. This was Jason's idea...

Then Matt challenged me to a nice little finisher of 50 DUs, 10 burpees, and 1 rope climb. And I'm done.

Later that day I got the bright idea to go play full court basketball. My HR was immediately through the roof. 45 min was all I could stand. Needless to say I was in the bed by 9:30.

Today is 5 min of KB get ups. Tomorrow is a mix up of things, but the highlight is the AMRAP KB swings in 12 minutes. Hope everyone is having fun with their training.

This guy is silly strong.

Hating Dan John Today

2011-02-02T09:53:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Shelby Starnes my weight is now down to 183 from 195 in 5 weeks. Diet is moving along steadily. The key here is that I have not lost any strength. So, my strength to weight ratio is steadily climbing.

Yesterday I did a workout that left me feeling as though I had been hit by a car.

Warm up with 100 DUs and some moves from Amped.

Deadlift 531 (this was my 1RM week) Yay fun I got a new PR (2.27 x BW) I know that is nothing major, but considering my body is the genetic toilet bowl I am happy with the improvement. Just a side note, if you are one of those weird people that is interested in continual improvement then I suggest you get 531 and DO EXACTLY WHAT THE BOOK SAYS!!!

Now the pain begins. This article is by the Legendary Dan John. In it he discusses the value of various types of loaded carries. So this was the progression for the rest of the workout:

Waiters carries for 100 yards each hand.

Repeat with 50 lb vest added.

Suite case carry for 100 yards each hand with 50 lb vest added. This hurt so bad that I did it twice.

Sand bag carry 100 yards with 50 lb vest.

Trap bar carry with 225, 275, 315 x 50 yards. And I'm done!

It was all pretty tough, but the suit case carry was by far the most painful. I encourage all of you to try it out. Just grab a 100 KB or DB in one hand and walk for 100 yards. Set it down and come back with the other hand. And no, you cannot use wrist straps. In the article, Master Blaster John talks about immediately recognizing an obvious weakness when you first try these carries. True! The suit case carry showed that I have a serious issue with midline stability, especially with laterally supported loads. Anyway, we are gonna continue to do these once a week. I have a feeling that my squat and DL will improve with this added stimulus. I heart you Yoda, I mean Mr. John.

This is a video of my boy Matt at the Strength Shop showing some serious athleticism.

Iron Radio

2011-01-21T15:52:00.002-05:00

We had an awesome session this AM at Triumph Athletics.

Dynamic Warm up

Weighted pull ups working to a 2 RM with a backoff set at BW

Unilateral KB press 5 x 6

KB snatches 3 x 5

Finisher was 10 KB swings, sprint 50 yards, 10 push ups, sprint back. We did this AMRAP 10 minutes. (As Many Rounds As Possible in 10 minutes) This was a hard finisher.

Everyone is encouraged to subscribe (FOR FREE!!!) to Iron Radio on itunes or at www.ironradio.com. One of my favorite strength and conditioning gurus is Dr. Lonnie Lowery. He is the host of the show. It is a wonderful source for intelligent discussion on all aspects of strength.

Below is a write up from a seminar Dr. Lowery recently attended. Very interesting! Enjoy.

Heretics in the High Country
Not all scientific conferences are of interest to strength athletes. Sometimes I find myself wading through oceans of obscure biochemistry or data with unsure applicability. Sometimes the topic matter veers too far into food and nutrition, or some clinical treatment, with no immediately apparent implications for those who are laser-focused on bigger guns or a broad back. But when I go to ski country in Barrie, Ontario in late January each year, I expect cutting edge science and an element of controversy that is sure to intrigue most bodybuilders. This year I saw some early data that seemed absolutely heretical; if the physiology and nutrition labs up there weren’t absolutely world class, I wouldn’t even have sat through some of the lectures. Some of the data and audience discussion flatly flew in the face of what many of us have long-accepted.

As a preview, here are some of the topics:
• Cortisol: friend or foe to body fat?
• New insight into satellite cells and muscle size
• The optimal number of sets beyond which one is wasting time
• The pros and cons of clenbuterol
• Why women are tougher than men
• Stacking stimulant drugs for maximal performance and alertness
• The importance of insulin compared to leucine in muscle gain
• The single best training intensity for muscle hypertrophy

If you’re interested, read on for a brief synopsis of some of the outside-of-the-box thinking I saw and what it might mean to scientific training recommendations in coming years. Of course, not every little study warrants an immediate change in your training or eating regime; nonetheless, I‘ll make some speculative or clarifying comments after each section as food for thought. Whether or not a particular study is revolutionary or game changing, having new knowledge is always good in my opinion.

Cortisol: friend or foe to body fat?
Glucocorticoids, as stress hormones, have long been known to increase lipolysis (fat breakdown and mobilization) and yet cause fat deposition on the torso. This study helped explain this seeming contradiction. It revealed how basal concentrations of corticosterone (think “rat cortisol”) enhance certain lipolytic enzymes in adipose tissue (which sounds good for leanness) but high concentrations induce fat cell hyperplasia (multiplication) over time. If the same holds for humans - and it probably does (consider the appearance of Cushing‘s Syndrome patients) - I personally don’t want high levels of stress causing new fat cells to slowly start appearing across my torso. Further, these researchers suggested that a high-fat diet (they weren’t specific about which type of fat) doubled corticosterone in rats. To me, this offers some insight into why stressed-out, fast food-swilling Americans (and Canadians) are sporting giant bellies and uni-pecs.

What this could mean to you: We now have even more understanding of why cortisol in excess (which is elevated by emotional stress, coffee, potentially diets high in total fat, and overtraining) is not the friend of the physique athlete. Keep in mind that the data above are from rats, not humans, but that this is indeed a valid model that offers solid information which is probably relevant to humans. It looks as though cortisol - although necessary at modest concentrations - could lead to more detriment than simply degrading muscle tissue or temporarily storing fat in certain anatomical regions; it could literally multiply one’s number of fat cells making future dieting attempts harder.

New insight into satellite cells and muscle size
Exercise, especially eccentric lifting (“negatives”) not only causes muscle soreness but is also great at activating satellite cells. Among other things, these are cells that lie among the mature muscle fibers and “wake up” to donate their nuclei to help maintain a larger muscle fiber. They can also fuse together themselves into a new entity. This research group was showing a new lab technique that can quickly count how many muscle building satellite cells get activated in response to a new anabolic stimulus. In a matter of hours this automation will offer valid results, eliminating the weeks and weeks of forcing a hapless grad student to physically count stained muscle samples under a microscope.

What this could mean to you: New training techniques can now be tested for this aspect of hypertrophy (increasing muscle cell number or muscle cell “permanent size” in a sense) at a realistic pace. This could mean less speculation and more rapid progress in the science of muscle gains. Cool.

The optimal number of sets beyond which one is wasting time
A graduate student from Stu Phillips’ noteworthy lab shared insider data that three sets appears to maximize the protein synthetic response in a muscle. Earlier work from a partner lab showed that six sets were no better than three and these grad students were taking it a step further: looking at three sets versus one. Using a 70% of one-rep max (moderately heavy weight) protocol, combined with 20g whey protein immediately post-exercise, their data was such that significant elevations in fractional synthetic rate (read “anabolism”) was possible at 5 hours post-exercise from either three sets or one set, but that only the three set protocol still had anabolism kicking at 29 hours post-exercise. Note that although they’re looking at just synthesis here and not breakdown, it is muscle protein synthesis that’s largely responsible for net gains post-workout.

What this could mean to you: If you are the kind of person who performs many many sets for each muscle group in the gym, it might be worth planning certain mesocycles to purposefully cut back on the total number of sets you do, perhaps down to just three per muscle group. This is strictly from a protein synthetic (muscle size) perspective. This is not to say that extra sets might not be good for overall leanness of other benefits. Also note that they used one particular, common intensity level (70% of max) and other intensity levels may alter the picture to some extent. I think this study does make one wonder how much time he or she might be wasting in the gym if strict bodybuilding (size gains) are the immediate goal.

The pros and cons of clenbuterol
Yes, there was actually a study on the usually taboo bodybuilding drug clenbuterol - in rodents. The inhumanly large doses often given in animal studies were again present here: 30mg per liter of drinking water. The study revealed a decrease in mitochondrial (aerobic) function, including less fat oxidation (“burning”). There was also a rise in glycolysis (carb breakdown) capability. It was all suggestive of a switch toward a faster muscle fiber type. What struck me during this session was a comment from the audience (to paraphrase): “So, this stuff is bad. If it is given clinically to patients, we need to warn them of the aerobic declines and risk of fatigue.” After witnessing hard data on increased muscle mass and a significant drop in body fat, the main conclusion from this attendee was “so this stuff is bad”? Maybe I’m biased toward bodybuilding but I for one saw a few pros among the cons.

What this could mean to you: If you are someone who has used clenbuterol or are considering it, this study suggests that you may shift toward a faster, more carb-focused muscle fiber type, possibly meaning less aerobic (endurance) capacity. Of course, this is an arena where self-administering bodybuilders and even Hollywood celebrities probably know more on a practical level than do the cautious scientists: At tolerable microgram (not milligram) doses, body fat can indeed decrease dramatically (for gross calorie expenditure reasons) and strength can climb significantly. (Sheer muscle mass is not altered very much at human-tolerated doses.) In any case, I sure hope researchers start giving clenbuterol a closer look in humans before any stigma creates a bandwagon of negativity that‘ll keep its possibilities in the dark forever.

Why women are tougher than men
Many readers know that women exhibit less post-exercise muscle damage than men. Estrogen is a big part of this. These researchers went further, showing data that exercised women also exhibit less fatigue during recovery days than men do - at least when it comes to “lighter intensity“ (lower frequency) testing. The study had an almost comical title: “The effects of sex on human skeletal muscle fatigability” and used repeated bouts of electrically-stimulated isometric knee extension exercise as the initial stressor. They concluded: “These results suggest that females are more fatigue resistant than males and are able to recover force at an accelerated rate following an acute bout of intermittent isometric exercise.” Wow.

What this could mean to you: If you’re a woman, this talk provided evidence that not only do you resist muscle damage better than guys but in some respects, you outperform them. I’ve often wondered why we don’t see a sport designed around less intense but more punishing, ongoing demands. It looks like women would dominate such an event.

Stacking stimulant drugs for maximal performance and alertness
An ironically calm student was sharing a proposal to stack caffeine (in an extra strength military gum) with a drug called modafinil to max-out alertness and performance among emergency workers and/or military personnel. Earlier work from his mentor suggested 22% increased time to exhaustion with modafinil and other data suggest around 5-30% improvements on cognitive tests of memory, reaction time, etc. after sleep deprivation. We all know caffeine has similarly energizing effects. The researchers weren’t very concerned that a dose of caffeine typically peaks at 60 min. (entry into blood is fast, starting in about 5-15 min.) while modafinil doesn’t peak until 120 minutes; both drugs have lingering improvements for a few hours.

What this could mean to you: Although at the proposal stage, this talk offered information on the pharmacokinetics (onset of action, blood levels over time) of these stimulant drugs and how they might “stack“ (additive effects). I may live under a rock, but I haven’t heard much about modafinil before. It’s cognitive and physical performance benefits are intriguing. Stay tuned for future results.

The importance of insulin compared to leucine in muscle gain
Many of us know that insulin and the amino acid leucine both stimulate the protein synthetic “mTOR pathway” in skeletal muscle. This group wants to see just how crucial the insulin aspect really is. They compared the anabolic effects of leucine in mice with and without pancreases (surgical removal in half of the animals). What happened? The normal pancreas-sporting (and thus insulin-capable) animals responded as expected to leucine, with a full anabolic response. The muscles of the insulin-lacking critters were not uniform in their ability to respond to leucine, however. It looks like different muscle groups (probably due to slow- versus fast-twitch fiber differences) react differently to leucine when insulin isn‘t around. Some can respond (at least on some level) and others cannot. Particular aspects of the mTOR pathway responded well in slow twitch muscle fibers but not in fast twitch fibers. Of course, fast twitch (and moderately fast-twitch) fibers are what strength athletes typically value for size and strength, so this suggests insulin remains an important part of the picture for us.

What this could mean to you: If you’re an endurance athlete or just interested in maintaining slow-twitch muscle fibers, leucine in a fasted state seems like an effective strategy for you. Of course it’s very preliminary (i.e. new research) but it will be interesting to see if endurance guys or those trying to hold on to endurance muscle fibers can get away with leucine-only meals at otherwise unfed times of the day. (I realize some dieting bodybuilders already try this.) If you‘re all about fast twitch muscle fibers, however, it currently looks as though regular meals throughout the day maintain insulin levels that help leucine induce fast-twitch-specific growth. A final caveat: even in a fasted state you have basal (“single digit”) concentrations of insulin and not essentially zero insulin as in the pancreas-free animals; it’s an experimental model trying to tease apart mechanisms. I for one am very interested in how important leucine is versus insulin. Perhaps one day we’ll see a consensus that humans can get away with leucine-only meals during periods of fasting.

The single best training intensity for muscle hypertrophy
This presentation from Nick Burd in Stu Phillips’ impressive lab at McMaster University was almost blasphemous. Here’s the title: “Low intensity-high volume resistance exercise promotes greater anabolic signaling and myofibrillar protein synthesis versus traditional and work-matched resistance exercise paradigms”. Come again? I’m going to get bigger with light weights? It appears so, based solely on protein synthesis data. These guys compared heavy, 90% of one-rep max lifting (subjects failed at five reps) with a work-matched set at just 30% of one-rep max (subjects were stopped at 14 reps) and finally a set to failure with 30% of one-rep max (subjects failed at 23 reps). Although protein synthesis was up at four hours-post exercise in all groups, muscle protein synthesis was still elevated at 24-hours only in the 30% to failure group. Longer periods of lingering heightened protein synthesis sound good to me.

What this could mean to you: You may benefit from (at least considering) periods of the year in which you cycle-in light, 30% of max lifting exclusively to max-out muscle size. This may be doubly true if you’re an intensity hound like me and haven’t done a set over 8 reps in ages. I was so intrigued by the protein synthesis data and with subsequent talks with Nick on www.IronRadio.org, I’m trying a “two week light (30%) / two week heavy (85-90%)” type of periodization. (A recent and timely snowboarding accident sort of forced me away from heavy lifts for a couple weeks anyway.) I’m still trying to get my head around barbell curls with an empty Olympic bar and benching with 95-135. I’ve got to admit, this one is tough to swallow but a combined effort from universities like McMaster and Nottingham has me suspending my disbelief until their planned training study is completed. It’s then that we’ll know with more certainty whether the very light, roughly 23-rep per set protocol will be as effective or even more effective than the heavy training for mass gains.

Dr. Lonnie Lowery is a former regionally-competitive bodybuilder, exercise physiologist and nutrition professor who travels to scientific conferences often, looking for new data and new ideas that may progress the field of bodybuilding and sports nutrition. He can be reached and listened-to by way of www.IronRadio.org.

This guy is silly strong!

Whoa!

2011-01-08T11:09:00.001-05:00

No, I do not understand what they are saying in this video. But, I definitely know what I am seeing! House!

Everybody Needs a Coach

2011-01-06T14:11:00.003-05:00

No matter who you are, we all need coaching. As many of you know, I lost over 50 lbs. last year following the Troponin Nutrition Macronutrient Guidebook. I went from a fat 220 down to 165 at 7% body fat. Of course I was very happy with the results. The one problem is that I was overly restrictive and lost a lot of muscle in the process. This was the second time I had seriously dieted. For those of you who have dieted before, you know that it is a true trial and error process. Two weeks ago I hired the author of the book, Shelby Starnes, to design my diet and cardio plan. I can already see after just two weeks that my results will be much better this time. Sure, I am following a protocol similar to what I did before on my own, but now I can't get in my own way. Shelby has already Rxed certain things that I would never have thought of that are already making a big difference. Plus, it is awesome to have one of the best nutritionists in the world in charge of you diet. You don't have to think. You just do it.

I started this diet in a little better shape than last time. In the first week I went from 195 to 188. Now in the second week, I am really getting adjusted to the macrotation. I feel great and most importantly I am making very good progress without losing any strength or muscle.

Anyone that is interested in Shelby's services can contact him here shelbystarnes@troponinnutrition.com. His services are very inexpensive considering his expertise in the subject of nutrition.

As to how successful your diet will be, you must be willing to make some sacrifices. Vince Lombardi once said, “A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.” The price of success must be paid in advance.

The man doing what he does.

JR Joyner, CSCS

Shake Weight

2010-12-19T21:19:00.002-05:00

While getting groceries yesterday, an acquaintance approached me and asked if I used a Shake Weight as part of our training programs. He then we on to say that he thought it looked like it would give "a really hard workout" and that he had ordered one. Guess how the rest of the conversation went...

This is Insanity!!!

2010-12-17T10:30:00.001-05:00

I do my talking in the octagon

2010-12-10T09:15:00.001-05:00

GSP!!!!!

Anaerobic Circuit

2010-12-04T08:58:00.001-05:00

We do this exact circuit at TA sans the weight vest.

The Fuzz

2010-11-03T12:49:00.001-04:00

This is an amazing video! I wish this guy was my prof.

This is why you foam roll and stretch...to melt the fuzz.

2010-10-29T10:56:00.001-04:00

I want your blood...ALL OVER ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carb Cycling

2010-10-26T09:45:00.003-04:00

Been a while since my last post. I have been getting some great training in and all my lifts are moving up. The shoulder is also feeling much better. Over the past 4 weeks I have started increasing my calories, and more specifically carbs in my diet. Typically, I stay around 165 at approximately 10% BF. Recently I have been using Troponin Nutrition's Macronutrient Guidebook for designing my basic diet plan. The plan revolves around having low, medium, and high carb days. Each of these days are rotated depending on your goals. Basically, you eat fewer calories when you are expending less energy and more when you are training. I have arranged my high days for training and have put on some mass. I'm up to about 180 now and will continue to use this diet. I could explain much more about this diet, but the ebook can be found HERE for a very low price. I highly recommend this book.

This is Justin Harris (one of the authors) showing the results of the Macronutrient Guidebook.

This is the other author, Shelby Starnes (a national level bodybuilder) discussing what supplements he uses to boost his dieting success.

2010-08-30T11:53:00.001-04:00

These guys do not train at Triumph Athletics...

Prowler Love

2010-08-20T20:03:00.002-04:00

Today was hella fun.

Jerks 9 x 3

5 rounds of this couplet
2 pood KB swing to overhead x 10
40 yard Prowler push

And I'm done!

2010-08-12T08:10:00.002-04:00

My time was hella slow yesterday even though I got a PR. All the strength training with front squats and overhead pressing paid off. The weight was super light. Blew through the first round in 1:22. Finished in 5:15. Obviously my conditioning sucks. Now I am altering my training a little to focus on developing glycolytic and aerobic energy systems. I got the strength for a 3 min Fran. Now I gotta get the lungs to match.

After training I got to go back to my favorite place, Williams Strength! Got a new flat bench for using in the rack, aka banded benching. Picked up 4 x 45 lb. bumper plates and a box of chalk. Basically, any excuse will do in order to go hang out at the greatest strength equipment manufacturer on earth.

Deload is over Friday. Saturday will start a new linear periodization cycle. And of course, Saturday is skwaats, heavy. I'm trying to get like this...

Fran

2010-08-10T17:48:00.002-04:00

I am hella excited to get to do my most favorite session in the AM! It's gonna be on! I'm gunnin for a new PR this time for Fran. Trying to break 5 minutes. I'll check back in tomorrow since I know the millions of reader around the world will be in suspense over my time.

I'm trying to get like this...

SQT

2010-08-09T09:17:00.002-04:00

"SQT"

Three rounds for time of:
95 pound Ground to overhead, 10 reps
200 yard Shuttle sprint, 50 yards there and back twice

This had my HR through the roof! Took me 6:50 to finish. Although it took longer than Fran to complete, it is similar in that you are red lined by the end of the first set of ground to overhead.

This was the only thing I did today since this is a deload week. Thus, no heavy skwaats and what not.

This guy is a beast. Always ready to take it to the limit anytime, any place.

Jerkin

2010-07-29T12:03:00.002-04:00

Jerks 10 x work to 1RM
GHR sit up 5 x 10

10 rounds for time of

200 meter run
5 pull ups
10 1.5 pood KB swing
15 push up

And I'm done son!

TA has 1.5 inch 25 ft climbing rope. This is one of the hardest exercises ever. This girl is making it look so easy.

You are gonna love me for this

2010-07-23T09:33:00.002-04:00

Today's session:

Deadlifts 6 x 3

K rows 3 x a lot

AMRAP 15 min

pull up x 5
TRX atomic push up x 10
squat x 15

And I'm done son!

This is why you will love me. I give to you the greatest training video of all time. YEA BUDDY! AIN'T NUTTIN BUT A PEANUT! LIGHT WEIGHT BABYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!

Overhead Squats

2010-07-21T18:21:00.002-04:00

This was the AM session today:

C&J 6 x 3

AMRAP in 20 min
95 lb. overhead squat for max reps
ab mat sit up x 25

Got 101 today which is an improvement from the 95 last time.

In the PM did 10 x 100 yard sprints and some rolling and stretching.

Coach Rip giving great instruction on the overhead squat.

This is much harder than it looks.

Combat Trainer

2010-07-15T11:38:00.002-04:00

I invite everyone to check out Rob DeCillis A.K.A. Combat Trainer HERE. Rob is a very talented performance enhancement specialist for combat athletes. He is a professional strength and conditioning coach for many wrestlers, boxers, and mma athletes. I am honored to be doing a interview with Rob which will be posted up to his site. Be sure to check out his site daily for great material and info on how to maximize your ability.

Here is a little clip of some old skool.

The GOAT

2010-07-13T10:21:00.002-04:00

The Greatest Strength & Conditioning Mind Ever

Skwaats

2010-07-11T13:07:00.002-04:00

Front skwaats 6 x 5

GHR 5 x a lot

3 rounds for time of:

25 slamball 30 lbs

25 box jump 24 in

25 DU

And I'm done son!

I lost 7 lbs last week since I had a virus for 7 days. Needless to say, I was losing weight out of both ends. This virus made for a miserable vacation. Although it might have been a blessing in disguise since I have not deloaded in about 3 years. It forced me to do nothing but sleep for 9 days. Maybe it helped me to break my obsession with training. Maybe I will actually start a consistent deload?

I like the fresh Sambas my man is pullin in.

In much more important news: It has been a year since the King passed. I heart you MJ!

Pulling

2010-06-23T13:10:00.002-04:00

This AM was:

Deadlifts 6 sets working to 2RM.

Deads against bands 3 x 3.

KB standing press 4 x 5
GHR sit ups 4 x 10
DU 4 x 20

And I'm done son!

This is wild!

Skwaats!

2010-06-21T09:15:00.002-04:00

Hella rad session today. This is what got did:

Skwaats 6 x 3

GHR 5 x 10 with mini band for resistance

50-40-30-20-10 DU with 10 burpees between each set.

It's always nice to see the ladies go beastmode.

Skwaats

2010-06-07T13:33:00.002-04:00

I got 6 x 5 on skwaats today. Then GHR 3 x 10. Finishing off with this:

AMRAP 15 min

1 rope climb
5 ring dips
10 slam ball
15 KB swing
20 DU

It's gonna be supers!

This dude is beastmode!

McGee

2010-06-02T12:15:00.002-04:00

I did this today:

275 DL x 5
Push up x 13
24 in box jump x 9

AMRAP 30 min. I got 12 rounds. The DLs were hard. The box jumps were harder. I will improve quickly with this WOD.

Check these two videos of The Legend GRob and Mo Jo!

Yea, Mollie is SUPER DIEZEL!!!

The Most Noble Men

2010-05-29T12:44:00.003-04:00

This is what got did today:

Military 5 x 3 ss with
GHR sit up 5 x 10

4 rounds for time:

30 KB swings
15 burpees with jump over parallette x 2

Hammies are still bumpin from Wednesday's session. Other than hams, I feel great after gettin Nutts yesterday. Tomorrow will prolly be my favorite exercise in the whole world, weighted pull ups. I will likely also do some muscle ups and rope climbs ss with prowler pushes. I guess you could call tomorrow a favorites day. Can't wait!

I have been doing Crossfit for six weeks now. During that time I have dropped three minutes off my Fran time. I don't look nearly as silly doing double unders. I can actually do 10 hand stand push ups in a row. And, I have gained about 10 lbs. in the process. I came into crossfit with 20 years of training under my belt. I'm certain the strength I had gained from so many years of training gave me an advantage that allowed me to improve so dramatically in such a short time. I know there are a lot of haters out there in the S&C world. In my opinion, Crossfit is the most fun and effective fitness program out there. For the general public, military, and combat athletes there is no better way to train.

All my times in the Crossfit WODs are slow compared to those great athletes that have practiced this type of training for many years. But as always, at Triumph Athletics we are after consistent improvement. That requires proper programming, nutrition, and adequate rest. Crossfit programming is perfect for coping with general adaptation syndrome. If you are not too proud, or scared, give Crossfit a try.

I'm also gettin hella excited about the the scraps tonight at UFC 114. Don't forget to tune in at 10:00 pm tonight!

It is important to give love to the men and women of the US Military. There is no more noble job than to lay down your life for those you love. Every member of the US Military have voluntarily chosen to live an uncomfortable life so that we can enjoy freedom. They choose to protect us from the evil that lurks in the world. 1 Peter 5:8says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." Terrorists perfectly embody our adversary the devil, as described by the apostle Peter. Thank you for protecting us from these terrorist. Thank you to the US Military for being smarter, stronger, and training harder than these evil men. Thank you for being willing to take it to the limit anytime, anywhere to protect us. You are wonderful people and we love you very much!

This is a fresh video of our boys doing work!!!

Rampage

2010-05-28T10:29:00.002-04:00

This is what I did this AM:

"Nutts"

For time:
10 Handstand push-ups
250 pound Deadlift, 15 reps
25 Box jumps, 30 inch box
50 Pull-ups
100 Wallball shots, 20 pounds, 10'
200 Double-unders
Run 400 meters with a 45lb plate

Lieutenant Andrew Richard Nuttall, 30, from the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI), based in Edmonton, Alberta, serving as a member of the 1 PPCLI Battle Group was killed by an improvised explosive device that detonated during a joint foot patrol near the village of Nakhonay in Panjwaii District, about 25 km southwest of Kandahar City on December 23, 2009. He is survived by his parents, Richard and Ethel Jane Nuttall.

It was hard. Took me 33 minutes. Everything was nice till the wallball. Anyway, I feel much better now that it's over.

In more important news, UFC 114 is this Saturday. There are a lot of good fights on the card. I wanna see Rampage blow it up! I'm also looking forward to seeing Todd Duffee. He is a physical specimen. I bet this fight goes longer than 7 seconds. This is the card:

Main card
Light Heavyweight bout: Quinton Jackson vs. Rashad Evans
Middleweight bout: Michael Bisping vs. Dan Miller
Heavyweight bout: Todd Duffee vs. Mike Russow
Light Heavyweight bout: Antônio Rogério Nogueira vs. Jason Brilz
Welterweight bout: Diego Sanchez vs. John Hathaway

Preliminary card (Spike TV)
Welterweight bout: Amir Sadollah vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Lightweight bout: Efrain Escudero vs. Dan Lauzon

Preliminary card
Lightweight bout: Melvin Guillard vs. Waylon Lowe
Light Heavyweight bout: Luiz Cane vs. Cyrille Diabate
Lightweight bout: Aaron Riley vs. Joe Brammer
Middleweight bout: Ryan Jensen vs. Jesse Forbes

Beastmode at the Office

2010-05-27T15:56:00.000-04:00

Anna blowin it up at the office! Whooooo!

Cindy

2010-05-26T10:32:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was Bench work and WOD was Cindy.

Bench 5 x 3

Cindy: AMRAP in 20 minutes
5 pull ups
10 push ups
15 squats

I got 19 rounds. The push ups destroyed me. Near the end I was having to suffer through sets of 3. It was a great session.

This is the WOD for today:

Three rounds for time of:
60 seconds L-sit
45 pound barbell Good mornings, 30 reps
60 Abmat sit-ups
25 pound plate Back Extensions, 30 reps

For the L-sit, accumulate 60sec. For the Good mornings and Back extensions, minimize rest over speeding the movement. For the Abmat sit-ups (substitute a rolled-up towel if needed), feet unanchored with soles together.

I like the video below. I Love Cristina Aguilera!

Diane and Disgrace

2010-05-20T12:42:00.002-04:00

I did Diane today. First I wanna talk about Disgrace. Professional sports are big organizations that involve big money. They have the very best athletes. They also have the very best doctors who happen to know how to detect performance enhancing drugs (PED) in athletes. If the test shows that an athlete has a banned substance in his body, it means that he is cheating. The drug test showed in 2006 that Floyd Landis was cheating by using PEDs. The UCI stripped him of his Tour De France title. Lands carried on for over 2 years about how he never took any PEDs and how he was innocent. He hired the best lawyers and doctors to help prove that he was innocent. The UCI never bought his lies. Why? Because the drug test does not lie. It has no friends to reward, and no enemies to punish. It was clear from the PED test that he cheated. Finally, Floyd Landis told the truth and admitted that he did in fact CHEAT.

The same is true about Brian Cushing. He failed a drug test. Now that the NFL has gone public with his cheating, Cushing is trying to cover it up much the same was Landis did. Cushing has hired lawyers and doctors to prove the drug test told a lie. First he said that having sex can make him fail a drug test. Really? Well why hasn't anyone else in the NFL failed a drug test? Are we to believe that all these young, athletic, rich men are not having sex? His latest excuse was that he has a tumor that caused the positive on the test. Cushing's excuses are sad. He is a 6'3 260 lb. line backer for the Texans and was voted NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year last year. The AP had a revote and still gave him the award. It's sad when the voters give an award to a person they know is cheating. This is all a DISGRACE.

In other exciting news, I did Diane today for the first time:

21-15-9 reps of

Deadlift with 225 lbs.

HSPU

It took me 9 minutes to finish. The DLs were pretty easy. The HSPUs were not. It got so bad that I had to break them down into sets of 2 and 3 to finish. It was still a fun session. It's always fun to go BTTW.

This is what I did today, only much slower...

JR Joyner, CSCS

Tommy V

2010-05-18T14:14:00.002-04:00

Today is a sad day. I finally attempted a WOD that I couldn't complete. This is the workout:

Tommy V

For time:
115 pound Thruster, 21 reps
15 ft Rope Climb, 12 ascents
115 pound Thruster, 15 reps
15 ft Rope Climb, 9 ascents
115 pound Thruster, 9 reps
15 ft Rope Climb, 6 ascents

The thrusters were not difficult. The rope climbs were. I got through the first 21 thrusters just fine. Then when I started the rope climbs everything went bad. Pull ups are my favorite exercise and I have no problem getting 25-30 at the end of a heavy pulling session. So, I thought that I would fair a little better with the rope climbs. Wrong! First, my grip was destroyed after 4 trips up the rope. My elbows were starting to hurt a little. My shoulders were bumpin and I was getting rope burn around my ankle from using my feet as a brake. By the end of the 4th trip my arms were useless. I got about half way up the 5th time before I conceded that this was a losing battle.

My new goal is to be able to finish this WOD. I'm gonna start throwing in rope climbs 2 or 3 times a week to build up the grip. Something else to consider is that going down the rope does as much if not more damage than going up it. I must make some big improvements in the eccentric portion of the climb if I am to ever complete this session.

You have no idea how Beastmode this guy is...

JR Joyner, CSCS

GHR Sit Up

2010-05-17T11:26:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was clean & jerk 8 x 2, 5 x 1 and GHR sit ups x 50. I was a little skeptical of GHR sit ups when I first saw them. I have changed my mind after putting in a little practice. Many of you know about all my low back problems from years of squatting. I had many issues till I got serious about flexibility, and more specifically hip mobility. Over the past three weeks I have been doing full ROM GHR sip ups. I first started just doing 5 per session. Then I increased 5 per session; now I am doing up to 50. I will say that this is a great rehabilitative/mobility exercise for those with low back issues. I have noticed less discomfort in my lumbar and improvement in hip mobility. I have also now made this a permanent part of my dynamic warm up.

My dynamic warm up is something like this:

400-800 meter jog

foam roll: 10 passes over back, teres major, hams, quads, IT bands, and glutes.

walking lunges x 20

24 inch box jump x 10

GHR sit up x 10

20 lb. wall ball x 10. By this point I usually have a nice sweat and elevated HR. Sometimes I will throw in a rope climb, pull ups, or muscle ups depending on the session. I always feel ready to GO after this warm up.

The next 2 days are gonna be a squat and bench session. I'm definitely gonna throw in some rope climbs on the bench day. Rope climbs are one of the most underutilized exercises out there.

The early result of the 3 on 1 off rotation I have adopted are good. By the 3rd day my shoulders are always begging for a rest day. I just finished my 6th rotation. It is clear that I am positively adapting to the increased frequency and volume. I'm feeling a little banged up right now, but after a intense PVC rolling/flexibility session tonight I will be ready to go in the AM.

Below is a video of a xfit guy teaching GHR sit ups and going a good job of it.

Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

JR Joyner, CSCS

Fran

2010-05-14T16:55:00.004-04:00

Everyone knows I love Fran. My first time was 10:20. I almost died. Second time, which was three weeks ago was a big PR of 7:59. Today my time was 6:01! WHOOOOO! I am amazed at a 2 minute PR in just three weeks of dedicated Crossfit training. The weight (95 lbs) felt like 65 lbs. It now seems that any further performance improvement will come from improved conditioning. The weight was never an issue. Keeping my heart rate below 6 million was. All the wall ball, KB swings, and box jumps have definitely helped to improve my conditioning in just three weeks. I'm already looking forward to doing it again in a month or so.

Of course, 6:01 is still super slow. However, its the consistent improvement that I'm after. I also hit a muscle up during warm ups to get that fuzzy feeling.

This is all I have to show for today's session...

Bench

2010-05-12T11:40:00.002-04:00

Today was bench and easy core work.

Bench: 6 x 5

Ab mat sit up/GHR sit ups: 20/5 AMRAP in 10 min.

If you are a logical person and believe that gun laws only take guns away from those of us who obey laws you will very much like this short POST.

Tomorrow is 400s for time.

Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

Deadlifts

2010-05-11T16:01:00.002-04:00

This was pretty fun.

Warm up with TGUs

Deadlifts 6 x 5

Farmers carry/Prowler x 5 set

That's all. I'm trying to get my deadlifts like this!

Helen

2010-05-10T16:55:00.002-04:00

I did this yesterday in 12:01. Much harder than it looks. Today I'm resting.

“Helen”
3 Rounds
400m run
21 KB Swings (1.5/1)
12 Pull Ups

This guy did it almost twice as fast as me...

Filthy Fifty

2010-05-08T11:37:00.002-04:00

I did this today. It was hard as ish!

Filthy Fifty

50 Box jump, 24 inch box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
50 Burpees
50 Double unders

I was at 20 min when I finished the back extensions. Then I hit a wall. I finished in 35:20, which is a 10 min PR from the last time I did it.

I also did a muscle up to make sure yesterday was not a dream.

I'm taking this guy over Shogun.

HAHA FOOL I BEAT YOU!!!!

2010-05-07T14:21:00.002-04:00

Yes it is ugly. But it's still my first. I heart TLC!

Today was a glorious success! Got to TA, warmed up, and then attempted some muscle ups. This is only my second time training muscle ups. I was pretty euphoric when I actually got one. Score!

Then I got into the strength portion of the session:

Front squat: 6 x 5 (I did a muscle up in between each set of squats. I was able to get 5 muscle ups before I failed.)

Military: 6 x 5

GHR: 3 x 10

On to the pain portion of the session:

Tabata: squats, sit ups, and push ups. And I'm done son!

This is the second muscle up of my life. It is ugly. I love it!

2010-05-06T12:40:00.001-04:00

I'm resting today. This guy is not...

Danny

2010-05-05T19:08:00.000-04:00

I did this today and it sucked. Tomorrow is rest.

“Danny”

AMRAP 20 minutes

30 Box Jumps (24/20)

20 Push Press (115/80)

30 Pull Ups

Oakland SWAT Sergeant Daniel Sakai, age 35, was killed on March 21, 2009 in the line of duty along with fellow officers Sergeant Ervin Romans, Sergeant Mark Dunakin, and officer John Hege. Daniel is survived by wife Jenni and daughter Jojiye.

Strength:
Weighted Push Ups 10-10-10

This is actually not a joke

2010-05-04T11:06:00.002-04:00

Great session today. 150 wall ball with 20 lb. ball and 3 sets of max rep pull ups. Time was 11:30. Yes, I am terribly out of shape. You have no idea how under developed your energy systems are until you start training Crossfit. Looking forward to tomorrow's session, whatever it may be. Then a rest day, then back on the structured linear progression I love so much. I can't wait!

Now on to the serious part of the post. The video below is comedy of course. Except it's not. I have been training since before I was 10 years old. I have been a strength and conditioning coach for over 12 years. The video below is not comedy. I can think of no better way to describe 90% of the people that ask me for advise about losing fat and getting healthy. It is sad but true. I have had this exact conversation literally hundreds of times over the past 12 years.

Enjoy this real comedy...

JR Joyner, CSCS

Triumph!

2010-05-03T13:11:00.002-04:00

I beat TLC at Fran this past weekend! Take that fool! However, he has closed the gap considerably. We both made big PRs. I had a 7:59, down from 10:20 three months ago. TLC had a 8:29, down from 17:25 four months ago! Our times are nothing to write home about, but the steady improvement is what we are after. It was a very successful weekend.

This AM I did a hard session. This is what got done:

Muscle Up: This is the first time I have ever trained them. I used the box for this session. Then, I tried to do them unassisted. I was so close. It is gonna happen very soon. I was very close to making a video titled, "HAHA FOOL I BEAT YOU!".

Then I did this metcon:

Push up: 50, 40, 30, 20, 10
Sit up: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50
Slam ball: 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
1.5 KB Swing 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
95 lb. PC 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

My goal was to finish this in 25 minutes. I did not. I only got through 4 rounds. This was my first time training with my new KBs. KB swings with 1.5 pood is hella taxing on my body. I'm pretty tore up right now.

It took me 8 minutes to do this...

The Legend is Back!

2010-04-29T21:07:00.003-04:00

My boy Captain Greg is back with another hard core squat video. Greg is a stickler for perfect depth. He was not happy with depth on this squat. I think he did pretty good under the circumstances. It is often debated what is proper squat depth. According to the USAPL the hip must break the plane and be lower than the knee. Achieving this depth can be easier or harder depending on body structure and flexibility. So what if you go to just above parallel like Greg in the video? Well, you get red lighted in the USAPL. Does that mean there is no benefit to the exercise? No! If your goal is to be more athletic or better a sport this depth is great. If all you care about is white lights then this depth is not so good.

It is very important to keep in mind these squatting cues: go as low as possible without 1) heels rising and 2) losing the arch in the low back. Many people wear Olympic weightlifting shoes for back squatting. I think it is more of a crutch to cover up poor flexibility in the ankle. As to losing the arch in the back, this is the most common technique flaw I see. It is very easy to spot. When you see a person go into the hole and their butt begins to tuck under, just before this tuck is the lowest safe depth. Anything lower risks injury. I have first hand knowledge of this fact.

So the question is how do you safely increase ROM on the squat? That is for the next post. I leave you with the Legend!

Filthy session this AM!

2010-04-16T07:35:00.002-04:00

I'm too tired to write a lot. This is what I did this AM:

Warm up

Pull ups: 9 sets working to a 2 RM with backoff on 9th set with 10 lbs. for 12 reps.

Military: 6 x 5 with backoff.

Band resisted push up: 4 x 15 with increasing tension.

Handstand push up: 4 x 5. I am super weak on this move. Thus, I have been training it twice a week now and seeing good results after only two weeks.

Now here is where the fun/pain of the session begins. I finished the session with this...

THE FILTHY FIFTY

For time:
50 Box jump, 24 inch box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood (Used a 55 lb DB for this since I don't have a KB)
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
50 Burpees
50 Double unders

The wall ball and K2E were hard since I did my strength component with those muscle groups. I'm kinda tired.

This is what I did. I just didn't look as hot as the girl in the purple while doing it.

Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

The Legend

2010-04-15T09:54:00.001-04:00

The greatest poser of all time.

Supertraining

2010-04-14T08:57:00.003-04:00

One of my first real education experiences was when I first read Supertraining by Mel Siff years ago. It was a mega enlightening experience for me as it relates to program design and understanding physiological responses to resistance training. This is the greatest book I have ever read. The NSCA's Essentials of Strength and Conditioning is another wonderful book; and it is much easier to understand. Yesterday, AK-47 dropped by the house with Supertraining. Thanks a million pal! To bad you are NEVER getting this book back!!!

I am often amused at the debates about which program is the best for strength. Some say Westside, some say Sheiko, some bloc periodization, etc. The thing that amuses me is that all of these programs are at least %96 alike. They all utilize heavy weight, rest, and a linear progression in either weight or volume. So ultimately everything comes down to train hard and heavy, eat right, and rest enough. That is all it takes. With that said, this was my session this AM:

Warm up: pvc rolling, mobility, etc.

Front squats: 6 x 5

GHR: 3 x 10 adding weight each set

Pull ups/push press/24" box jumps/push ups/sit ups/slam ball: 4 x 5/5/10/15/15/20 with no rest. This was nice for the ol' heart rate. This PM will be light cardio and pvc rolling. Below is one of my favorite lower assistance exercises.

However, this is my favorite demonstration of GHR...

JR Joyner, CSCS

Super Times!

2010-04-12T09:17:00.003-04:00

Things were lovely this weekend with the exception of my man BJ Penn gettin his temple touched. Went out and got nice with the DW 1911 and sighted in the new ACOG on the AR. Everything is shooting straight.

Had two nice training sessions yesterday and this AM. This is what I did:

Sunday

Warm up

Deadlifts 6 x 5 RM

GHR/walking lunge with bulgarian bag: 3 x 10/20

Farmers carry/prowler push: x 3 set. This had my heart ready to infarct.

Ab mat sit up/DU: 5 x 25/15

Monday

Warm up with pvc pipe rolling, stretching, etc.

Bench 6 x 5. This is the first time I have benched in a year because of the AC injury. It still hurts a little, but I can't wait any longer.

Incline DB 3 x 10

DB row/TRX push up: 3 x 10/10

Handstand push up/pull up/DU/ab mat sit up: 4 x 8/5/15/25

And I'm done. I have just started doing handstand push ups in honor of my long distance training partner G Rob! I am weak and they are hard. I am using the wall and only going down about half way. Luckily pull ups are still strong. They are the only thing that gets better as I drop weight. Down to 169. My goal is 165.

This girl is pretty beast. I do handstand push ups like this, but not really.

JR Joyner, CSCS, USAW

PENN!

2010-04-06T19:57:00.001-04:00

Penn will dominate as usual!

The Greatest!

2010-04-01T12:44:00.000-04:00

2010-03-26T18:53:00.002-04:00

I often talk to my athletes about rest and recovery. It is an essential part of a comprehensive training program. Below is a great article authored by Patrick Ward. It is a little long but definitely worth the read.

TRIGGER POINTS 101

By: Patrick Ward

Training hard comes with a price. That price is usually some sort of nagging pain or injury that we typically just assume will be with us for the rest of our lives.

“Oh yea, it’s just my bad shoulder. It always aches after I bench.” “You know how that knee is. There is usually a dull pain in there all the time.”

Oftentimes, these injuries can be alleviated by some soft tissue work and stretching. There are a variety of different types of soft tissue work including active release techniques (ART), myofasical release (MFR), and neuromuscular therapy (NMT). And the list goes on and on. I believe that all types of soft tissue work have their place, and what may be more important than seeking out a specific type of soft tissue work is just getting something done by a skilled therapist.

“Trigger point” is a term that gets thrown around by massage therapists, physical therapists, and chiropractors and has recently been making its way into the strength and conditioning world. Because people seem to be talking about trigger points more and more, I decided to give you a run down of exactly what a trigger point is, why we should care about them, and what we can do about them.

What is a trigger point?

While some may tell you that trigger points are tender areas in the muscle, this isn’t entirely true. One key characteristic of trigger points is that they are tender to touch. However, every tender area isn’t a trigger point. If an area of a muscle is just tender but doesn’t have the other characteristics of trigger points, the area is just a “tender point.” These tender points are areas of congestion where tissue may be ischemic (lacking blood flow) or fibrotic, or there may be a lot of scar tissue matted down in the particular area of stress.

Trigger points are areas of taunt, hypercontracted bands or nodules within a muscle. They’re tender to touch and have a predicted pain referral pattern. These hypercontracted nodules within the muscle are palpable and will often feel like little peas or semi-cooked spaghetti. For a visual example, take a look at this picture of some trigger points inside the sterocleidomastoid.

As you can see, there are a few small contracted nodules within the fibers that are at normal resting length. The trigger points can be either active or latent.

A latent trigger point means that it only sends its pain referral pattern when you touch it. For example, if you take a tennis ball and place it between your scapula and your spine, you may push into a trigger point in the rhomboids, which will give you this radiating or dull ache all over the upper back area. If you didn’t push into that area with the trigger point, you wouldn’t know it was there. This is a latent trigger point. It only refers when you press into it.

An active trigger point is one that is currently referring its myofasical pain response. A good example of this is if you’ve ever had a headache and pinched your upper traps. In doing so, you were able to produce your symptoms (i.e. the headache or that ache through the top of your head and behind your eyes). Congratulations! You found an active trigger point!

Trigger points usually can be found in clusters. So if you deactivate one (I’ll tell you how later), you have to search out and try to deactivate the others within that muscle. This may take some time and may be very intense, so you might want to do it over a few sessions.

Another thing to consider is that trigger points aren’t just located within the belly of the muscle. They can also be located in the tendonus attachment of the muscle, and some trigger point referral patterns have even been documented in the ligaments. A good example of this is the pain referral pattern for the sacrotuberous ligament, which refers a pain pattern down the back of the leg and into the calf (similar to what people may diagnose as or call sciatica). Another one is the pain referral pattern for the iliolumbar ligament, which can be felt in the groin or pain on the outside of the hip (what some may diagnose as or refer to as trochanteric bursitis).

What muscles can develop trigger points?

No man is safe! Any muscle can develop a trigger point, and there are several books documenting where these trigger point referral patterns are. Travell and Simons’ Myofasical Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual, Volume 1 (the upper extremity) and Myofasical Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual, Volume 2 (the lower extremity) are the most comprehensive and widely accepted books on the topic of trigger points.

Many times trigger points can be found in muscles that are antagonistic to muscles that are constantly contracted. An example of this is the infraspinatus. It’s always trying to exert an eccentric force on someone’s shoulder who sits at a desk all day, typing away in a chronically internally rotated position. After awhile, the infraspinatus gets tired and lengthens. However there are bands of that muscle that stay contracted (trigger points) to try and counteract the internal rotation force. Over time, these bands can present their pain referral pattern.

One of the pain referral patterns for the infraspinatus is the front of the shoulder where people will often say they received a diagnosis of bicipital tendonitis or impingement. It isn’t uncommon for someone to come to see me with pain in the front of his shoulder (near or around the biciptal groove) and say that they think they have impingement. Upon inspecting their infraspinatus, I can find the trigger points. When I push into them and ask how it feels and if he feels pain or sensation anywhere else, the person comments that he feels the pain in the front of his shoulders. It is the same pain that he feels throughout the day. On more than one occasion, I’ve deactivated trigger points in someone’s infraspinatus and he or she left totally pain free.

Trigger points can also be found in muscles that are under chronic contraction. A good example of this is the upper traps or the suboccipital muscles (or even the pectoralis major from the above example). Another common example is the psoas. People with this trigger point are always in an anterior pelvic tilt. The upper traps or suboccipitals may develop trigger points from being over contracted all day as individuals sit at their desks with poor posture. Both of these muscles have pain referral patterns that go up into the head and behind or just above the eyes. It is no wonder that people who work desk jobs get such frequent headaches! So basically, any muscle can develop a trigger point for any number of reasons (3).

Primary activating factors:

•Persistent muscular contraction, strain or overuse (emotional or physical cause)
•Trauma (local inflammatory reaction)
•Adverse environmental conditions (cold, heat, damp)
•Prolonged immobility
•Febrile illness
•Systemic biochemical imbalance (hormonal, nutritional)
Secondary activating factors:

•Compensating synergist and antagonist muscles to those housing triggers may also develop triggers
•Satellite triggers evolve in referral zone (from key triggers or visceral disease referral, e.g., myocardial infarct)
•Infections
•Allergies (food and other)
•Nutritional deficiency (especially C, B-complex and iron)
•Hormonal imbalance (thyroid, in particular)
•Low oxygenation of tissues
The key is to know where to look and what to do when you find a trigger point!

Why should we care about trigger points?

The first and obvious reason to care about trigger points is because they hurt! Anything that hurts is going to alter the way we move. In turn, this leads to other dysfunctions and problems and potentially more trigger point development. Aside from altering the way we move, we psychologically don’t feel good when we’re in pain. No one likes to be in pain or miss time playing their sport or training because they hurt.

Some common clinical characteristics of trigger points are:

•Pain upon contraction: Again, no one likes to hurt. If it hurts to contract, we don’t want to contract.
•Pain during stretching of the muscle in certain ranges of motion: If it hurts to take a muscle through a certain range of motion, we stop doing it or we limit that range of motion, which leads to more problems.
•Muscle weakness: This is a big one! If muscles are weak, they can’t optimally do their job. An example of this is trigger points in the psoas or the glute medius. If these muscles are weak, they can cause other problems down the chain. Often times, we think of weak muscles as muscles that need to be strengthened. However, what happens when you try to strengthen a muscle (causing it to contract more) with taunt bands that are already hypercontracted? Not a whole lot, that’s what! You may end up just chasing your tail trying to help that person.
In short, we should care about trigger points because they can negatively affect our performance.

What can we do about trigger points?

So now that we know what trigger points are, how they develop, and why we should care about them, most people are probably wondering, “How do I get rid of them?”

The method of getting rid of trigger points isn’t that difficult. You just have to know what muscles to check, how to access the muscle (not just how to find it, but knowing which direction the fibers run can be very helpful), and how to release the trigger point.

If you’re rolling on a foam roller or tennis ball or if you’re performing trigger point therapy on someone else, look for trigger points that refer to the area of the body the person is complaining about. A great book that I recommend often is The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief by Clair Davies. It is basically a “how to” book for finding trigger points and where their pain referral patterns are. Each chapter deals with a region of the body. The first page of each chapter has various places that people may feel pain (i.e. anterior shoulder pain) along with the names of the muscles and the page numbers where the reader can learn about which muscles could be referring pain to that area (e.g. the muscles that can refer to the anterior shoulder are infraspinatus, anterior deltoid, scalenes, supraspinatus, pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, biceps, latissimus doris, and coracobrachialis). It then tells you exactly how to work those muscles! It may be the best $20 you ever spent (assuming you already purchased a foam roller).

Once you have found and confirmed your trigger point, you need to set up a barrier, which breaks apart the actin and myosin (the contractile proteins within the sarcomere). Actin and myosin are bound together due to the chronic contraction in the specific band of the muscle.

This barrier can be created with your fingers (as in the picture) or with any one of the self-care tools available today (e.g. foam roll, the stick, thera-cane, trigger point ball, tennis ball). Many people like to take the foam roller and roll back and forth on it. This is okay because it helps to address the fascia, improves circulation to the tissue, and breaks up adhesions. However, if you want to deactivate the trigger point, you need to stop on the tender area that is referring pain and hold your pressure until it begins to release and the pain starts to dissipate.

The amount of time that you hold the trigger point has been debated over the years, but approximately 8–12 seconds is the accepted amount of time. It’s important to note that if you’re pushing and it isn’t releasing, you may be giving it to much pressure and just blasting through superficial tissue and/or more superficial trigger points. Also, if the trigger point doesn’t release after a short period of time, you may want to mark the area (with a pen or something that will wash off), work other areas of the muscle, and come back to it, as trigger point therapy can get very intense. This intensity may not allow the trigger point to release right away. The real key is to give the trigger point just enough pressure that you start to feel it release (and confirm that with a slight dissipation of the referral symptoms) and go deeper and work through the next barrier.

How much pressure is enough? A little bit goes a long way with this. In the past, it was suggested that you hold pressure on the trigger point at the individual’s pain tolerance of 7–8/10 (10 being excruciating pain). It is now accepted that even a 7–8/10 may be too high to get a proper release, so authors and researchers suggest holding the trigger point at a level of 5/10 until the individual experiences a decrease in symptoms. At this point, you can either go deeper into the tissue (look for trigger points that are in deeper muscles) or move to another location and search for trigger points (the trigger point clusters that I referred to above).

It is important to know that this sustained compression is what will help to alleviate the trigger point. If you only hold for a short period of time and don’t continue with the treatment, the shortened nodule within the muscle will return to its previous state and very little therapeutic benefit will be gained.

So to review:

•Find the trigger point.
•Hold pressure at 5/10.
•Wait for the tissue to release (you can feel it soften under your skin or you’ll begin to feel a decrease in the pain referral pattern).
•Once the tissue releases and the referral starts to dissipate, either go deeper into the tissue or move on and look for other trigger points in the cluster.
Once the trigger points have been deactivated and “order has been restored to the muscle,” you can go ahead and roll the muscle out to promote some blood flow to the area, stretch the tissue (if it’s a muscle that needs stretching), and strengthen the tissue.

Things to consider

Remember, not all tender areas are trigger points. They may be tender points where tissue is ischemic, scarred up, or fibrotic. This may require other forms of soft tissue therapy.

•Trigger points are not (usually not) the only problem. They are usually part of a bigger problem that has to do with other soft tissue dysfunctions. You should seek out a therapist who can work with you to determine what the underlying problems are.
•Self care is important. Make sure you’re foam rolling and working on your soft tissue. Make sure your training program is developed properly to limit tissue stress and overuse.
•Soft tissue work, foam rolling, and proper strength exercises are essential in making sure that your tissue stays healthy and that you stay pain free.
•Be aware of your activities of daily living and your posture so that you aren’t putting unnecessary stress on structures that don’t need it. So much of our pain and dysfunction comes back to how we operate on a daily basis. Altering activities of daily living, while difficult, is crucial in making lasting changes in your soft tissue.
•Just because you deactivate a trigger point doesn’t mean that it can’t return.
•Always seek medical attention if you feel there’s something more serious going on.
References

1.Simons D (2002) Understanding Effective Treatments of Myofasical Trigger Points. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies 6(2):81–88.
1.Chaitow L, Walker-DeLany J (2000) Clinical Application of Neuromuscular Techniques, Vol. 1: The Upper Body. Elsevier Limited.
1.Chaitow L, Walker-DeLany J (2002) Clinical Application of Neuromuscular Techniques, Vol. 2: The Lower Body. Elsevier Limited.
1.Davies C (2004) The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief. Second edition. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
1.Archer P (2007) Therapeutic Massage in Athletics. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

Check this video out for some tips on foam rolling.

JR Joyner, CSCS

A day of Triumph!

2010-03-17T10:00:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was filled with triumph for many Triumph Athletics' athletes. For starters Cameron dominated the discus in his meet. Later, the ten run rule had to be utilized as the Braves Baseball team dropped bombs. Ben had a nice game on the mound while Kam jigged one over the center field wall. But, the greatest triumph of all came with the Lady Braves Softball Team! Down by 5 runs in the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Braves were able to rally and send the game into extra innings. Down by one run in the bottom of the ninth, the Legend aka the Greatest aka the best athlete ever aka Tiffany Chapman stepped up to the plate with a runner on second. She got a pitch over the inside center of the plate and hit a bomb over the left field wall for a walk off home run! That was Tiff's second home run of the game! She and Tabitha had the whole left side of the field on lock. Tabitha was diving and making plays like The Wizard Ozzy Newsom! I was so proud of all the TA athletes! You guys have trained very hard this off season and it shows.

This AM Cam got in a nice DE lower session. This is what got did:

Dynamic warm up x 10 min

Power cleans 6 x 2

Box jumps 4 x 3 working up to 35 lbs.

Unilateral box jumps 2 x 2

Lateral bounds 3 x 5

Med ball slams 2 x 3

Front squats 6 x 3

This was a great session. Let's stay motivated and finish strong! Below is a short clip of a few of Cam's throws from yesterday.

We have a special slogan/belief that we live by at Triumph Athletics. This slogan, if lived by, will always produce an athlete that has consciously put himself in a position to succeed. This is the slogan we live by...

PRAY LIKE IT DEPENDS ON JESUS. TRAIN LIKE IT DEPENDS ON YOU.

USAW Performance Coaching Clinic and Harvey Newton

2010-03-16T12:04:00.013-04:00

This past weekend was a wonderful opportunity for me to learn from one of my heroes in the strength and conditioning field, Harvey Newton. Coach Newton is a former US Olympic Weightlifting Team head coach and former head of the NSCA's Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. He also wrote a great book entitled Explosive Lifting For Sports. He also is an expert in fitness for cycling. Since my time as a competitive collegiate cyclist I have followed Coach Newton's philosophies. Basically, this man has forgot more about training than I will ever know.

I was able to spend Saturday and Sunday with Coach Newton. He taught about the Clean & Jerk and the Snatch. We also learned about various power and strength assistance exercises. Coach Newton is a gifted teacher and made the two most complex lifts understandable for everyone. If fact, watching him hit a C & J is like poetry in motion!

You may be wondering why a performance enhancement coach like myself needs to know about Olympic weightlifting. If you remember some months back, I wrote an article about post activation potentiation and how dynamic efforts are the best way to develop a proficient CNS. This is a short portion of my article:

"The Dynamic Effort

Dynamic effort is best defined as lifting a non-maximal load with the greatest speed possible. Some examples of DE training are plyometrics, Olympic lifting, and shock training. DE training is important for one main reason: The Recruitment Principle.

The Recruitment Principle holds that the CNS can be trained to bypass the Size Principle and selectively recruit Type II fibers immediately rather than getting them involved only after the entire pool of Type I fibers have been innervated. This is extremely important in sports because of the need for immediate force production. Examples are a vertical jump, swinging a bat, throwing a punch, or even producing velocity on a fastball. DEs are how the CNS learns to produce immediate maximum force."

The Olympic lifts are a perfect example of dynamic efforts. If you are proficient at these lifts you necessarily must have a proficient CNS. Thus, your CNS can selectively recruit type II fibers immediately. Why is this important? Because rate of force development is EVERYTHING in sports.

Rate of force development is best improved through Olympic lifts. John Garhammer, PhD did much work concerning the power output of various exercises. For example:

Exercise Power in Watts
Bench Press 300
Squat 1100
Deadlift 1100
Snatch 3000
2nd Pull 5500
Clean 2950
2nd Pull 5500
Jerk 5400

The above chart shows that Olympic lifts, especially the 2nd pull (or the POWER POSITION as Coach Newton drilled home) produces over FIVE times the power as a squat or deadlift. It is clear that Olympic lifts are very useful to sports performance enhancement.

My goal is to now gradually introduce these lifts into my athletes' programs. My first goal is to introduce as many Power Position exercises as possible and gradually expand from there.

I encourage all of you to go HERE to learn more about one of the worlds best coaches, Harvey Newton.

This is a pic of Coach Newton and myself.

JR Joyner, CSCS

The beat goes on!

2010-03-10T12:46:00.003-05:00

Everyone knows I mostly like Crossfit. I say mostly because there are days like today when their programming leaves me scratching my head. Here is today's silliness:

Ten rounds for time of:
135 pound Deadlift, 15 reps
15 push-ups

It is unbelievable that anyone would suggest doing 150 deadlifts in a single session. I cannot imagine the low back pain. After this session you would be out of commission for a week!

In other news, I am going to a USAW Performance Coaching clinic this weekend. There will be members of the USA Olympic coaching staff on hand teaching the class. I am tre excited!

Had a super great ME Lower session today:

Warm up with jump rope, mobility drills, and foam rolling.

Front squat working to 3RM x 11 set.

GHR 3 x 8

Box jumps 3 x 5

Calf 4 x 10

Neck work 3 x 20

That did it for this AM session. All front squats were as deep as I could possibly go. I am focusing on these because I am trying to get ready to battle with The Logic Connection over Fran.

I will leave you with a Legend...Sugar is sweet and so is honey!

Losers make excuses. Winners make it happen!

2010-03-03T11:40:00.000-05:00

My boy Greg making hit happen!

G-S-P!!!

2010-03-01T13:27:00.002-05:00

Yes, March 27 will be a grand day indeed! GSP will destroy another opponent. Frank Mir will handle Carwin. I'm ready to see Lesner v. Mir 3! Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

ME LOWER

2010-02-25T19:54:00.002-05:00

This is a video of my boy Cam killin a ME Lower session. Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

Recent Triumphs

2010-02-24T10:27:00.003-05:00

This Saturday will be historic for the Mighty Wrestling Rams of Chesterfield. With 9wrestlers qualifying for Individual State Finals we are certain to see multiple Champions crowned. Elijah Burr will be going for his third Championship. Ian "The Dr." Harper aka The GOAT, will be vying for his fourth Championship. It will be an electric environment as thousands gather to watch The Dr. operate.

In the video below is The Dr., Matt Moore, and Tyler Alley. Matt and Tyler are in good position to win their first Individual State Championships. Let's go to WAR!

In other exciting news, Boom Boom Joyner recently won the 2010 National Milk Drinking Championship. Boom took top honors in the Quantity Class as well as speed drinking where he downed 8 ounces through a level 3 nipple in under a minute. Congrats son!

Boom celebrating with his Championship jersey.

I LOVE TIGER WOODS

2010-02-19T11:15:00.002-05:00

Today Tiger stood up and took it like a man. He took responsibility for his actions. I admire the way he handled this situation. Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer of all time. TA loves you Tiger!

Deficit Pulls

2010-02-18T11:41:00.002-05:00

So I have been focusing on my squat for the past 9 weeks. As a result, when I started back pulling last week my deadlift has dropped. I was really strong on my rack pulls, but weak at the bottom. As a result, my primary assistance exercise for the foreseeable future will be deficit pulls off a 3 inch box. I may vary the height of the box some, but the main goal is just to pull from a deficit. Below is a video of KK doing some "light" deficit pulls. That's pretty close to the weight I plant on using too...

JR Joyner, CSCS

USA Weightlifting

2010-02-11T14:47:00.002-05:00

USA Weightlifting is all about building beasts for the Olympics. They offer Level 1-3 coaching courses that are designed specifically for training competitive weightlifters. Recently USAW created a new Sports Performance Coaching Course. They teach coaches how to integrate the Olympic lifts into athletic training. I am going HERE to take the course. The course will be taught by members of the USA Olympic Weightlifting Team coaching staff. I'm hella excited to get to learn from the best.

Athletic Lab is a very nice facility. It will be nice to train in a non dungeon for once. Another great thing about this course is that it counts for many CEUs toward my CSCS recertification. That is always a wonderful thing.

Check out the videos below to see some beast mode Olympic lifting. Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

Dude at 1:15 (PD) is one of the GOATs.

Beast Mode

2010-02-08T22:52:00.001-05:00

This is all very nice.

Bull Strength Conditioning

2010-02-01T12:55:00.002-05:00

Bull Strength Conditioning is the latest addition in a two part series by Strength and Conditioning Specialist Joe Hashey of Synergy Athletics. I own both Bull Strength and Bull Strength Conditioning. I have implemented many of Coach Hashey's unique exercises into my athletes' training programs. Bull Strength was a huge success for athletic development. Bull Strength Conditioning is the final piece of the puzzle to take your athletes over the top. You can go HERE to read my review on Bull Strength Conditioning. In my opinion, it is the best book available on the subject of athletic conditioning and preparation. Below is a sample routine from BSC. Be sure to subscribe to Coach Hashey's Youtube channel for constant training updates.

Another unique aspect of BSC is that you are also given free access to constantly updated material and videos that detail the latest in strength training, conditioning, and homemade equipment.

Over the years I have built up a huge library of books and DVDs on science, training, conditioning, running, plyometrics, etc. You don't need to do that. Get Bull Strength and Bull Strength Conditioning and you will never have to purchase another book on the subject of improving athletic performance. Everything you need for total athletic development can be found in these two books.

Rundowns are a great way of conditioning for any athlete that competes in a sport with rotational demands such as baseball, tennis, golf, etc. Rundowns are one of my favorite conditioning circuits from BSC. In a future post I will describe how to perform Rundowns and why they are so effective. Of course, I got Rundowns from Coach Hashey's BSC.

Again, do yourself a favor, get these books and become a Champion.

Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

JR Joyner, CSCS

Some Quick Triumph

2010-01-28T22:08:00.003-05:00

Yea, I stole that title from The Logic Connection.

Anyway, I just took a couple ZMAs and am gettin ready for bed. This post is about some pretty rad stuff that went down today.

First, Boom is weighing in at over 21 lbs. His jowls make him look like a little baby Hoss Cartwright.

Second, I got a 26 second PR on Fran today. I have not done Fran in about 2 months. My conditioning is terrible. However, I have worked pretty hard on squatting and militarys. It showed today with a PR in spite of the fact I am in terrible shape. I'm here carrying on like I set the world on fire with my time. Not true. This HUGE PR was still only a 9:54. It probably could have been faster had I not fornicated at the Golden Arches with a Big Mac Combo...

Third, Me and Kellie ate at Carolina Steak House tonight. The Special Ribeye is magical. It was like 34th!

Fourth, I got a new roller. This makes the third one in about 4 months. I started with a mushy thing from a local sporting goods store. It broke down in a couple of weeks. Then I went to Elite and got an AXIS roller, which is supposed to be the hardest thing out there. It was much better, but still lacking something. Then today I went to Joyner Sales and got them to cut me a 3 foot piece of 4 inch heavy PVC pipe. O yes, I have found Heaven. It hurts so good! If you are able to go straight into the PVC good for you. If not, it is probably a great idea to work into it through progressions as I did. What ever the case, this thing is amazing. I hit it off with hams, IT, calfs, quads, all back, and really felt the pain in my teres major area. Now I feel amazing. Below is a pic of my new favorite recovery tool.

JR Joyner, CSCS

ME Pressing/DE Pulling

2010-01-26T20:53:00.003-05:00

My whole body is illin right now. JT and I got with a nice session today. This is the last week before deload. As a result, we are pretty much killin it with huge volume. This is what we got into:

Warm up and mobility x 5 min.

Bench 8 x 3.

Dips 3 x 10.

TRX press 2 x whatever I could get by this point.

Sandbag clean and throw/switch grip pull up 3 x 5/5.

Ladder climbs x 3.

Swings/hammer 2 x 10/10

DE sled row 2 x 8.

Then we finished off with some agility work outside. This is obviously more volume that usual. However, I'm gonna kill it this week, (overreach to be technical) so as to fully enjoy the benefits of my rest week.

This video has a few clips of today's session. Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

Tactical Athletes

2010-01-24T18:11:00.003-05:00

At TA we train athletes for many different sports. We train athletes for baseball, football, basketball, wrestling, judo, and many other sports. Each of the above sports have programs designed around the needs of the individual athlete and the demands of the sport in which they participate.

Our tactical athletes also have very specific needs. They require strength, explosiveness, endurance, and agility. In the video below you will see TA athlete Jason Toler of the SC Highway Patrol. Notice the necessity of agility and quick, accurate footwork. Law Enforcement Officers must be prepared for a wide variety of challenges.

As always, thank you to the military and other LEOs for double tapping terrorist. Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

JR Joyner, CSCS

The Link

2010-01-21T07:28:00.001-05:00

Below is an article in The Link about TA.

LEIGHTON BELL
Editor – The Link

After a year spent training wrestlers from Chesterfield, JR Joyner has returned to his alma mater of Cheraw to help Braves athletes get in tip-top form.
“I volunteered at Chesterfield because (assistant wrestling coach) Dallas Watson is one of my best friends, but my heart was always with Cheraw,” Joyner said. “I asked (Cheraw athletic director) David Byrd about working with the (Cheraw) football team, and he suggested I do a program for every sport.”
The Cheraw basketball team is the first Braves program to compete after working with Joyner.
“I can definitely see an improvement in the guys now that they’ve trained with JR,” Cheraw head boys basketball coach Tony Boyer said. “They’re in much better physical condition than in the past.”
Joyner said his goal is for Cheraw athletes to be able to run longer and harder than anyone they play.
“They’re also a little more injury resistant,” Joyner said. “Typically, by mid-season, the pounding has started taking a toll on players, but Cheraw’s guys seem to be holding up pretty good.”
Joyner is now working with the Cheraw baseball team.
“We work out four days a week,” Joyner said, adding the focus two days is on upper body and two days on lower body.
Joyner said he feels it’s beneficial for student-athletes to participate in a structured exercise program so they’ll learn to take care of themselves.
“They also learn there’s no such thing as immediate gratification,” Joyner said. “Everything takes time and work. But if you have someone to keep you motivated, and you commit yourself to the program, you will see results.”
Joyner said he’s been working out since he was about 8 years old, with encouragement from his dad, Frankie Joyner.
“I’ve always just enjoyed it,” Joyner said. “The more effort you’re willing to put into it, the better you’re going to be.”
Joyner, who owns Triumph Athletics LLC, a performance enhancement facility, has a degree from the American Counsel on Exercise and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
“I appreciate all the coaches at Cheraw who’ve given me free control to design programs for their teams,” Joyner said. “They’re support has been awesome, and it’s good to see it all paying off.”
For more information on Triumph Athletics, check out triumphatletics.com.

Coy Blair Joyner

2010-01-18T09:33:00.010-05:00

My grandpa's name was Coy Blair Joyner. One of my earliest memories was going to stay with him and my grandma in Isaban, West Virginia. Isaban is an old coal mining town. My grandpa Coy was a Baptist Preacher. His home and church was on the side of a mountain. Across the street were tall coal silos. There was nothing in this town. The houses were dingy. The roads were dirty and covered with coal dust. One of the scariest moments was always riding around and having to dodge huge coal trucks while looking over the edge of the mountain. As dirty as this small town was, the scenery was beautiful. The mountains were rugged. There were creeks and rivers everywhere. The landscape was awesome, especially for a young kid. This was one of the best times of my life.

This was also my first introduction to fitness. My grandpa Coy was an avid exerciser. Every morning he would take me on a walk up the mountain. There was a rough path that led up to the spring where he got the water for the house and church. After our mountain walk, he would do a series of exercises with these heavy pieces of iron.

They weight 17 lbs each. He would do sit ups, push ups, squats, shoulder presses, curls, overhead tri extensions, and thrusters. It is always fun to think back about him doing a squat into a curl and shoulder press with those weights! It is also great that someone that had no formal education relating to fitness still got in shape with odd objects and body weight training. Not to mention he was over 65 years old!

I now have these weights at TA. We use them for all sorts of things. Grip work, curls, laterals, and as added weight in our conditioning circuits. Our favorite is using them as a shot put and throwing them for distance in the grass. They are a very versatile tool that brings back great memories of grandpa Coy.

Unfortunately I did not get to know my grandpa as well as I would have liked. He passed away when I was 10. He was a wonderful Christian and a real man. I admired him very much. This is a pic of my son, the new Coy Blair Joyner.

My grandpa Coy was also a Redskins fan. So, in his memory, I just had to post the text below from Yahoo Sports:

"With 5:26 remaining and the Vikes holding a nearly insurmountable lead, runs to milk the clock were expected. But after an Adrian Peterson run on first down, Favre hit Bernard Berrian for 19 yards on the next play. Two Peterson runs followed, before Favre threw a short three-yard pass to bring up fourth-and-three after the two minute warning.

Here, the Vikes had four choices: 1. They could take a knee and give Dallas the ball back for the game's final two minutes; 2. Wave a partial white flag and run the ball up the middle; 3. Kick a field goal (which also could have been percevied as running up the score); 4. Drop Favre back to attempt a pass.

Minnesota went with option No. 4 and Favre hit tight end Visanthe Shiancoe for an 11-yard touchdown. This choice did not go over well with Brooking. The Cowboys' linebacker, presumably upset because he felt Minnesota was running up the score, stormed over to the Vikings sideline and exchanged words with coaches and players, including Favre. He had yet to calm down after the game:

"I thought it was totally classless and disrespectful. This is the NFL, that's not what this is about. I don't think there's a place for that ... I was looking for [Vikings coach Brad] Childress. I didn't think it was right, but they've got to see us next year.""

Wow Keith! I thought the object of the game was to score points? I thought your job on defense was to stop the Vikings from scoring? Just because you and your team decided to quit in a playoff game does not mean the Vikings have to lay down too. Talk about classless, being paid millions of dollars a year and quitting in a playoff game is the ultimate expression of classless. But, that is to be expected of the Cowboys. As to Keith's statement, "they've got to see us next year," I'm sure the Vikings don't mind.

Lower Training at Triumph Athletics

2010-01-13T22:57:00.003-05:00

This is a video of some recent training. In the video is Camron Griggs a high school senior and defending SC State Champion in the discus. He has had a great offseason and has thrown over 180 in training. More is on the way. Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

JR Joyner, CSCS

Beast Mode!

2010-01-13T12:20:00.000-05:00

This cat is an animal. I bet he can front squat a house!

The Greatest Body of All Time.

2010-01-12T17:16:00.001-05:00

Here it is.

Mayweather v. Pacquiao...

2010-01-08T10:03:00.002-05:00

is apparently not going to happen. The two sides cannot come to an agreement on drug testing. Mayweather wants urine and blood testing done up to 14 days from the fight. Pacquiao does not, claiming that having blood drawn two weeks before the fight will make him weak. Sounds to me like Manny is scared.

It's not like the testers are gonna draw a pint of blood everyday. The amount of blood drawn will be de minimus and have zero effect on athletic performance. Mayweather is actually being very reasonable with his request. I would want blood testing done up until the morning of the fight. With the advancements in science and medicine, there are bound to be some designer performance enhancing drugs out there with the ability to show no signs in blood after 14 days.

With the public eye so keenly focused on cheaters in sports, Mayweather's request is not only warranted, it is a necessity. At a time when boxing is no more than an afterthought, you would think that a fight of this magnitude could be worked out. Not to mention the fact that both fighters stand to make at least 25 million dollars just by showing up. My question for Pacquiao is this: If you are not cheating, why will you not agree to a drug test 14 days before the fight?

I'll leave you all with a video of the best pound for pound boxer alive.

JR Joyner, CSCS

This must be a joke!

2010-01-06T01:01:00.002-05:00

I am inviting all readers of Triumph Athletics to post any fitness or nutrition questions you may have in the comments section. I will post up the answers to these questions the following day. So ask away.

Having a great environment in which to train is extremely important to progressing and maximizing your potential. If TA does anything, we bring the intensity! At TA you will always find a special electricity in the air. Triumph Athletics is where you train to become a champion.

This is where you train to become a joke.

Again, don't forget to post any questions in the comment section. We look forward to your inquires.

JR Joyner, CSCS

CHRISTmas Stuff

2009-12-27T15:59:00.004-05:00

It has been a great Christmas having Boom around. Training has been awesome. I have been too slack in not uploading any training footage recently. Mighty G and I are training tomorrow and Tuesday. I will definitely get some nice footage of our sessions up at the end of this week when I get home to edit it.

I'm gonna copy the style of The Logic Connection and write about whatever comes to my mind. This will be the first and probably the last politically charged subject I ever write about. I have been without insurance for some time. Recently, I called Blue Cross Blue Shield to purchase coverage. Some of the questions they asked me are 1. how old are you? 2. what sex are you? Other than the prior history of injury or medical conditions this was all I was ever asked about my lifestyle. When the application representative finished, she said, "your premium will be $140.00 per month." I was shocked that health insurance was so inexpensive since all I have heard from President Hussein is how expensive and unattainable it is.

After finishing with me the representative concluded with the standard line: "Do you have any questions?" Yes I have questions Ms. Representative! Don't you wanna know if I smoke? If I am obese? If I use drugs or alcohol? How many times a week I eat at McDonald's? "No sir, by law, we are not allowed to ask those questions." This is an example of why our government is so stupid. Some bureaucrat thinks it is wrong to ask a drug user if they use drugs!? To ask a fat person if they are fat!? The problem with this is that these lifestyle choices require these people to receive more medical attention, therefor costing the insurance company more money. Why don't obese people have to pay more for insurance than me? They have a much greater risk of diabetes and heart disease? They will cost the insurance company much more than those of us who make a conscious decision to stay fit and healthy. Why is the cost distributed to me? Why don't the smokers have to pay more for insurance since their lung cancer will cost more to treat than my yearly check-up?

With our newly passed government health care obligation, it is more important than ever that we stay fit and healthy. Now the government is in charge of what our Doctor can treat. The best advise is to not get sick and therefor not put you life and well being in the hands of bureaucrats that do not have your best interest at heart. What is your option with this socialist government takeover? Exercise. Eat a healthy diet. Don't smoke. Don't use drugs. Basically, use common sense and keep yourself as healthy as possible. I have neglected my right to vote in the past. That right will not be neglected again.

Now on to some super happy stuff! My friend Joe Hashey at Synergy Athletics just experienced the happiest day of his life with the birth of his first son. Congrats Joe!

Since pull ups are TA's favorite upper body exercise, I am posting up this bangin new video from Pappa Joe!

Special Guest

2009-12-15T15:15:00.003-05:00

Hells yea! TA has a special out of town guest making an appearance today for ME lower. This man is truly a genetic phenom. We gettin hella deadlifts, rack pulls, BB lunges, GHR, etc. I am tre excited to be in the presence of greatness. Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE

When the pulling starts, it's gonna look something like this...

Jumping Rope

2009-12-08T18:27:00.002-05:00

TA has always used jumping rope as part of warm ups before training. Recently we have been having mini competitions with the rope. The included benefit of this has been improved coordination and agility. Although there are other contributing factors, I tend to think this is also the primary reason for our significant improvement in the hexagon test. The hexagon test is something we only test after each mesocycle. Depending on the sport that is every 4-12 weeks. As it relates to agility, we tend to rely more heavily on the T test, Pro Agility Test, and other sports specific tests created at TA. However, jumping rope has a very specific carry over to the hexagon test.

We are in the middle of a deload week here at TA. Tomorrow is ME lower. We are staying below 60% tomorrow on our primary move, the squat. The only assistance exercises will be jumping rope and a little time on the foam roller. DE upper/DE lower will be combined this week and will be nothing more than some recovery prowler work, stretching, and more foam rolling. I'm really looking forward to starting back next week with some great training.

Below are two videos of jump rope phenoms! Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

The Master

Building Champions

2009-12-03T12:03:00.006-05:00

All is wonderful in TA land. Forgive me for the lack of updates; work and training have kept me very busy. Training has been going great. Added some great new equipment to the facility. Got a new 3x3 power rack with pull up bar, top and bottom band attachments, weight storage, and a flashy Triumph Athletics logo. Also got a GHR, band pack, 3 new power bars, and tons of plates from Williams Strength in Columbia, SC. Next on the list is the new Sorinex ACME 2010 adjustable squat stands. They are super duty stands with adjustable J Cups and a pull up bar at the top. This is a monster stand and easily holds over 1000 lbs. The best thing about it is the wheels on the back. O yes, the unit is mobile. At TA we occasionally have our famous Twilight Squat Sessions. Basically we just move the gear out into the parking lot and squat under the security lights. With the Wu Tang bumpin the background, it is a great training experience for sure! Let me know if you are interested in attending.

Right now we have a great group of athletes. Everyone is making significant improvements. After analyzing the baseball team it was clear we needed to improve in overall strength and power. With that in mind I designed a program that is Ian King inspired with some dynamic efforts mixed in. The program is set on alternating days with focus given to deadlifts and squats. We also incorporate dynamic rotational movements to increase bat speed. Basically, we train for hip speed. We have seen dramatic improvements in deadlifts as some have increased their 3RM by over 60 lbs. in 5 weeks. This improvement is primarily due to improved efficiency of the CNS.

AK-47 has improved his deadlift in 6 weeks from 275 to 340 at a BW of 155. He has also become a prowler pushing legend x 2!

My son Boom Boom is almost 3 months old. This is a pic of him after only 8 weeks with Triumph Athletics.

In other exciting news, TA is very likely working with a D1 athlete and potential 1st round draft pick this summer. We also have a few new college football players signed up through the summer. The talent pool at TA is steadily increasing. TA is constantly studying and learning new scientific based programs and techniques so as to provide the very best training environment for our athletes.

Going to a National Strength and Conditioning Association meeting this month. Very excited about the opportunity to learn from the best.

I will leave you all with this wonderful video! GO COCKS!

My Heros

2009-11-23T21:36:00.001-05:00

Kipping Pull Ups

2009-11-22T20:49:00.002-05:00

These look easy. They are not. It takes a lot of practice to get down the motion. This guy is a beast. Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

Unique Pulls

2009-11-17T10:22:00.003-05:00

Some nice variations of TA's favorite upper body exercise. Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

Real Lifting

2009-11-09T12:37:00.001-05:00

The Best EVER!!!

2009-11-04T14:48:00.003-05:00

Reasons Ed Coan is the best ever:

1. The numbers
2. Unlike the pretenders of today he actually squatted. I mean, the top of his hip actually went below the top of his knee.
3. He did not wear a 37 ply suit! Yes, I know there is no such thing as a 37 ply suit.

Watch the video below. Donnie Thompson has the highest total of all time. If you watch the video at 1:40 you will notice that his depth is terrible. He is no where near an actual squat. None of those attempts should count. Maybe that federation defines a squat as going 3/4 of the way down? I just don't see how any judge could in good conscience call any of those squats good. Now, I do not want anyone to think I am saying he is not one of the strongest guys ever. He is arguably the strongest person to ever walk the earth. He just does not do full squats. It may be safe to say that Donnie Thompson is the best 3/4 squatter of all time.

Res ipsa loquitur. Coan's numbers are not as high as Thompson's, but he does execute all three lifts properly. Again, this is the greatest of all time.

EL CID!

2009-10-30T10:51:00.001-04:00

This is why The Citadel is the greatest institution on the planet. Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

Fran Killed Me!

2009-10-27T17:37:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was awesome. It started Friday morning when I got to go train with the Belmont Abbey Wrestling Team. They have got some beasts! We had a super hard session. There are many guys on the team that are physically gifted. I'm sure they are gonna have a great year. I will post up some video of their session later. Thanks to Coach Caudell for having me up.

Although TA utilizes many CrossFit methods in our athlete trianing, I had never been to an actual CrossFit facility. Later that day I went over to Ultimate CrossFit in Charlotte to try out Fran. Fran is CrossFit's benchmark workout to determine fitness. It is comprised of the three most basic moves in training: squat, press, and pull up. Don't let basic be confused with easy. This was the hardest 10:20 of my life. With Fran you do:

21 thrusters 95 lbs.
21 pull ups

15 thrusters 95 lbs.
15 pull ups

9 thrusters 95 lbs.
9 pull ups

This is all done for time on a continuously running clock. You just go balls to the wall and finish it as fast as possible. It looks so simple. It is so brutal. My heart rate was maxed out the entire time. I was sore for 4 days after this. I was sore for 4 days from a 10 minute workout!? For those haters out there that don't like CrossFit...maybe you don't have the heart for it? Sure it may have a few programming downfalls. However, as it relates to overall conditioning and fitness, nothing compares. I just have to say it one more time. I WAS SORE FOR 4 DAYS FROM A 10 MINUTE WORKOUT!

After I limped out of CrossFit I was on the way to Greensboro, NC for the Super 32. The Super 32 is one of the premier wrestling tournaments in America. There were some animals in attendance. One such animal was my boy Ian Harper. Ian trained very hard this summer to get strong and conditioned specifically for the Super 32. His hard work really paid off as he was much stronger and much more conditioned this year. I was really proud of his performance. I have some great video footage of Ian concussing domes. I will post it up as soon as I have it edited.

Again, this was a really great weekend of training and wrestling. Thanks to Lance at Ultimate CrossFit for allowing me to train at his awesome facility. If you are in the Charlotte area and want to be an ANIMAL go here Ultimate CrossFit.

Try Fran and you will understand why this guy is a freak of nature.

Deadlift

2009-10-19T11:09:00.002-04:00

The greatest lift is the deadlift. This is an article from Tnation. Attached are two videos of the greatest deadlifter of all time.

How to Pull 1,008 Pounds and Make it Look Easy
by Andy Bolton and Elliot Newman

If you wanted to build huge biceps, you'd probably check out what Lee Priest or Arnold had to say, right? If you were after the old "barn-door lats," you'd want to listen to Yates or Big Ron.

When it comes to building a seriously impressive deadlift — one of the most basic measures of total body strength and an indicator of sure-to-be-there size — only one person's word literally carries more weight than practically anyone else's: Andy Bolton.

Bolton has pulled over 900 pounds in more than 30 competitions. Pulling over 900 is something only 13 other men have ever been able to do, and only one of them exceeded 950.

Most impressively, however, is Bolton's title as the first man to break the 1,000-pound deadlift barrier. He initially broke it with a lift of 1,003 and eventually broke his own record with a beastly 1,008-pound pull.

To be clear, this is no one-trick pony. Bolton's also built his squat to over 1,200 pounds and he benches nearly 700. Calling him a "strong lifter" is like calling Jay Cutler "sorta big." Bolton keeps an Usain Bolt-like gap between himself and the nearest competitor, and at this point, it looks like his name will stay next to the deadlift records for a long time.

When this human forklift talks about how to improve your deadlift, it's best to sit back, pay attention, and prepare to pull big.

First, The Accessories: Shoes, Belts, and Chalk
Before you even approach the bar, the issue of what to wear must be addressed. Deadlift slippers or flat-soled shoes, such as Converse, should be worn. If you don't have either of those two, you should train barefoot (if your gym owner allows it, and if he doesn't, you should change gyms).

I always wear a weightlifting belt when I train around 400 pounds or heavier. Bear in mind, this is only about 40% of my max lift. Every powerlifter needs to learn to use a belt, as it should add pounds to the bar and help prevent a back injury. I suggest that bodybuilders and non-powerlifters wear a belt if going over 80% of their one-rep max (1RM).

I also believe in using chalk on my heaviest weights, over 80% 1RM. The exception to this is on really hot days—when my hands are extra sweaty or slippery, I may use chalk on every set.

The reason for generally not using chalk until my top weights is simply because it builds better grip strength. This is important for powerlifters and many other athletes. Believe it or not, in my early days when I trained with strongman Jamie Reeves, I'd often deadlift a bar that had no knurling at all, and I still didn't use chalk. This made my grip very strong!

Next, The Set-up
When it's time for the actual deadlift, the set-up is the most important part of the exercise. If you get this wrong, no amount of correction during the lift can compensate, so pay attention.

Your feet should be no wider than shoulder-width apart, with the bar nearly touching your shins. Your feet can point straight ahead or up to 45-degrees outwards. To pull the biggest weights, you'll need to use a mixed grip with one hand pronated (palm down) and the other supinated (palm up).

Your hands should be just outside your legs. Don't turn this into a snatch-grip deadlift by having your hands miles away from your shins because you'll greatly reduce the amount of weight you can use. Your arms should hang straight down from your shoulders, with no bend at the elbow. Your arms will act as hooks, connecting the bar to your torso.

In the start position, your lower back should be arched and your upper back should be relaxed. This provides a safe position for the lumbar spine, while minimizing the total distance of your pull.

To understand the importance of this, think about how many average gym rats you've seen injure their lower back while deadlifting as little as 225 pounds. I bet you can think of quite a few, maybe even that guy you see in the mirror a few times a day.

I've never had a lower back injury, despite handling weights more than four-times that heavy. The difference is that I understand how to keep my lumber spine arched, while too many people let their lumbar spine round. This is a dangerous and biomechanically-weak position.

While we're discussing posture, your head position should be neutral, neither looking up or down. For me, this means I'm looking about six feet in front of me at the start of my deadlift.

Finally, Moving the Bar
When you're ready to get the bar up with maximum efficiency and minimum risk of injury, the flex must first be pulled out of the bar before the plates leave the ground. To do this, think of trying to make the bar bend while it's still static.

You're applying some force to the bar, and then applying a whole lot more to actually get the bar moving. There should be no sudden movement or jerking. Focus on keeping your arms locked out, flexing the triceps, and generating total body tension. The bar leaves the floor with huge leg drive. Think of driving your heels into the floor.

Once the bar's moving, keep it close to your body. All good deadlifters have marks of pride on their shins. If the bar drifts out in front of you, it will put a lot of stress on the lower back. When you're using maximal weights, that can cause you to stall or miss. Even if you're using sub-maximal weights, the speed of the lift will be greatly reduced.

As the bar gets up to knee-height, the hips should push through to finish the lift. Again, the bar must stay close to the body. If you're doing it right, you'll be touching the thighs all the way up to lockout.

To transition from knee-height to lockout, really focus on driving the glutes forward and trying to get your shoulders behind the bar. The lockout position requires the legs to be straight and the shoulders back, but this doesn't mean hyperextending the lower back, like many people do.

At this point, you've completed a deadlift. If you're just pulling a single rep, take a gulp of air into your belly and drop with the bar to the floor. If you're pulling for multiple reps, you'll need to lower the bar more slowly so the start position for your next rep is the same as the one before.

Something else to remember: Your grip should be solid and you should squeeze the bar as tightly as possible throughout the entire lift. Some lifters think that once the bar gets to knee-height, the lift is done and they relax their grip. This is a huge mistake, and often leads to missed lifts.

Summary: The Conventional Deadlift in 8 steps:

1. Wear flat-soled shoes and a belt (for your heavy sets at least)
2. Shins an inch from the bar and take a mixed grip
3. Arch your lower back, relax your upper back and keep your arms straight
4. Take the flex out of the bar
5. Initiate the pull by driving your heels into the floor
6. As the bar comes past the knees, drive the glutes forwards
7. Try to pull your shoulders behind the bar all the way to lockout
8. Squeeze the bar hard throughout.

Another Option: The Sumo Deadlift
Compared to the conventional deadlift, the sumo deadlift is an interesting beast. The wider stance shortens the distance that the bar must travel from start to lockout. It's also a more technical lift and will take longer to learn for many lifters.

In general, athletes with stronger backs tend to favor the conventional deadlift and athletes with stronger hips prefer the sumo. Whatever your body structure, it's good to learn both styles.

If you're very good at one and not the other, it shows that you have weaknesses. Just like with anything else in life or lifting, if you put some attention towards the style you're not as good at, it will help to correct those weaknesses.

The Set-up
Finding your ideal set-up position for the sumo deadlift takes a bit of trial and error. Some powerlifters, like the incredible Ed Coan, use what's sometimes called a "semi-sumo" stance.

The hands are still inside the thighs, but the foot position isn't very wide. These lifters often lock out their legs long before the end of the lift, and rely on lower back strength to complete the movement. Their head position is usually neutral, looking about six to eight feet in front of the bar, or looking straight ahead.

In contrast, more flexible athletes and those with greater hip strength may set-up with a much wider stance. Some lifters, the Japanese in particular, will often have their feet almost touching the plates.

If you choose the aforementioned style, you've got to be seriously careful not to crush your toes when lowering the bar! Jarmo Virtanen, the great Finnish powerlifter, is a good example of someone who prefers this method of sumo deadlifting.

Whichever wider-than-conventional style you use, it's extremely important to make sure that your knees track your toes throughout the lift. If your stance is too wide for your body structure or flexibility, your knees will buckle inwards during the lift, you'll lose power and increase your risk of injury.

As far as toe position goes, you must have your feet pointed outwards, but exactly how far out depends on your body type and flexibility. Similar to the conventional deadlift, the set-up for the sumo requires that your arms are locked straight, your lower back is arched, and your upper back is relaxed.

It's important to fill your belly with air before the bar leaves the ground. Some lifters take a big breath while standing, before bending to grip the bar. Other lifters feel better setting up first, and then taking the breath just before the bar leaves the ground. Try both ways and see which feels stronger to you.

Moving the Bar
Once you're set-up and ready to lift, the first step is to take the flex out of the bar, exactly how you would with a conventional deadlift. One difference though: instead of feeling like you're driving your heels into the floor, you should feel like you're spreading the floor apart or pushing your feet out.

This will feel like the weight is on the outside of your shoes, and it's done to keep the knees out and tracking your toes. If you're in a sumo stance but feel like you're pushing your heels into the floor, your knees will come in and you'll lose some of that biomechanical advantage you took all the time to set-up for in the first place.

As the bar gets to knee-height, focus on driving the glutes forward and get the feeling of trying to get your shoulders behind the bar. The lockout position requires the legs to be straight and the shoulders back. And like before, the lower back is not hyperextended at lockout.

Summary: The Sumo Deadlift in 8 steps:

1 Wear flat soled shoes and a belt (for your heavy sets at least)
2 Stance-width and toe angle allow knees to track toes throughout the lift
3 Arch your lower back, relax your upper back and keep your arms straight
4 Take the flex out of the bar
5 Initiate the pull by forcing you feet out
6 As the bar comes past the knees, drive the glutes forwards
7 Try to pull your shoulders behind the bar all the way to lockout
8 Squeeze the bar hard throughout.

The Wrap-up
The deadlift is a primal lift that can build size and strength in the hamstrings, glutes, lats, and lower and upper back. Whether you're deadlifting to improve your powerlifting total or just to add some meat on your bones, you should study the lifters who do it well and focus on improving your technique. With great technique, you're laying the foundation for impressive strength, solid size, and injury prevention.

If there's any interest, we'll write a part two where we'll discuss how powerlifters, bodybuilders, and other athletes can train the deadlift to maximize gains for their chosen sport.

Andy Bolton pulls 1003

Andy Bolton's new WR of 1008

Lunges of Death!

2009-10-07T18:04:00.003-04:00

Today was one of the hardest sessions ever! Matt and I decided we needed a break from the norm. So, we decided to do the Diesel Crew's lunges of death session. Of course I was training with Matt which means he had to one up me on everything we did. This was our workout:

Dynamic warm up

200 yards of walking lunges with 40 lbs. sandbag

GHR/good morning/squat 2 x 10/10/10

Leg press 1 x max reps

Standing calf raise 5 x 15

4 way neck 4 x 20

My hams felt like they were gonna tear apart when we were done. This was definitely a shock to our systems'. Below is a video with some clips from the session. You will notice I was big talking before the session started. Obviously, I had no words when we were done.

Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

Complex Trainng

2009-10-02T12:25:00.002-04:00

Below is an article and video I wrote for Diesel Crew.

COMPLEX TRAINING

The beauty of complex training (CT) is that it’s simple and it works. CT is the blending of strength and speed. In essence, CT is nothing more than a ME exercise immediately followed by a DE exercise. This is an enormously effective style of training. To better understand why it is so effective we will first need to look at the science behind CT.

The Science Behind Complex Training

The Maximum Effort

Every muscle within the human body acts on a specific principle called the All or Nothing Principle. The muscle as a whole can produce varying levels of force, but an individual fiber is only capable of producing its own amount of force. If more force is required, then more fibers are recruited. The key is that when a muscle fiber is innervated by the central nervous system, the fiber is totally and completely activated. There is no varying degree of activation. It is all or nothing.

The Size Principle demands that small/slow Type I fibers are recruited first and as more force is required bigger/faster Type II fibers are recruited to complete the effort. Thus, muscle fiber recruitment is regulated by required force. In the unfatigued muscle, a sufficient number of muscle fibers will be recruited to supply the desired force. Initially, desired force may be accomplished with little or no involvement of Type II fast motor units. However, as slow units become fatigued and fail to produce force, fast units will be recruited as the CNS attempts to maintain desired force production by recruiting more muscle fibers. Consequently, the same force production in fatigued muscle will require a greater number of muscle fibers. This additional recruitment brings in fast, but more quickly fatigued fibers. In layman’s terms, if you want to lift a lot of weight you must teach your CNS to become proficient at innervating the biggest/fastest fibers. The best way to do this is by lifting near maximum weight. This is the primary goal of the ME exercise.

The Dynamic Effort

Dynamic effort is best defined as lifting a non-maximal load with the greatest speed possible. Some examples of DE training are plyometrics, Olympic lifting, and shock training. DE training is important for one main reason: The Recruitment Principle.

The Recruitment Principle holds that the CNS can be trained to bypass the Size Principle and selectively recruit Type II fibers immediately rather than getting them involved only after the entire pool of Type I fibers have been innervated. This is extremely important in sports because of the need for immediate force production. Examples are a vertical jump, swinging a bat, throwing a punch, or even producing velocity on a fastball. DE’s are how the CNS learns to produce immediate maximum force. The reason we do the ME before the DE is Post-Activation Potentiation.

Post-Activation Potentiation

The underlying principle surrounding Post-Activation Potentiation (PAP) is that maximum efforts induce a high degree of CNS stimulation, resulting in greater muscle fiber recruitment and force. Thus, you can produce a greater DE after your CNS has been “super stimulated” by the preceding ME.

Practical Application of Complex Training

CT can be scaled for use at any time in a program. We use this type of training most often as a transition between a strength/hypertrophy block and a specialization block. We increase the number and frequency of DE’s in our programs as we progress toward the specialization block (in season). As a result this is a great way to keep strength levels high while being able to incorporate more DE’s.

CT also provides a big bang for the buck for in season training. Because of time constraints during the season, athletes will often have time for only one or two sessions each week. CT allows athletes a time efficient means to maintain both absolute strength and explosiveness throughout the duration of the season. Below is a sample two day program using complexes for in season football players.

Day 1 (Lower)
1. Squat/BB squat jump 6 x 3/5
2. DB Lunge/split squat jump 2 x 5/3
3. Lateral Lunge/lateral bounds 2 x 5/3
4. GHR 2 x 10

Day 2 (Upper)
1. Bench/clapping push up 5 x 3/5
2. Pull up/DE sled row 3 x 5/5
3. Hang clean & press or jammer 2-3 x 3-5

In the video below I will demonstrate various complexes for all movement planes.

AARON!!!

2009-09-25T22:26:00.002-04:00

The title says it all. Aaron destroyed the 300 yard shuttle today with a time of 52 seconds. Tevin ran second fast with a 55. Thanks to Coach Boyer's emphasis conditioning everyone on the team ran a sub 60 second time. For a comparison, the average D1 basketball player runs a 60 second 300 yard shuttle. After finishing with the shuttle, we went out to the track and pushed the prowler over a mile! It was a super great session today. The team is very well conditioned with 10 weeks till the season starts. With all the consistent hard work we will continue to make big improvements. Can't wait to blow it up again next week! Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

Aaron's super fast time...

Cheraw Basketball - DE Lower

2009-09-21T21:08:00.003-04:00

Had a great session today. Our focus for this block is to develop explosive strength and quick feet. We have a great group of athletes that are really working hard. This is what we did today:

Ab circuit and dynamic warm up.

Squat/BB squat jump 6 x 5/5. This complex is really good for developing explosive lower body strength.

Unilateral box jumps 3 x 5.

Lateral box jumps 3 x 5.

Lateral bounds 3 x 5.

Finished with various forms of agility work and prowler suicides x 3. Very good session. Below is a video of some creative footwork drills with the ladder. Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

Super 32 in 40 days!

2009-09-18T11:16:00.002-04:00

Today officially ends block 2 of our Super 32 program. Now we are in our final block (specialization). The focus is now to get as much mat time as possible. We will key on getting as conditioned as possible while maintaining all the strength we have gained over the past 3 months. Below are some clips from this week's training. Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!

The Magic Man

2009-09-17T15:12:00.002-04:00

Super 32 Champion David Taylor

David Taylor The Magic Man Of The Mat: By Don Burrows | September 16, 2012 on Flowrestling

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Tiffany gettin money, Money!

2009-09-15T19:41:00.002-04:00

Triumph Athletics athlete Tiffany Chapman showed today that hard work pays off. She was floating around the court with ease. Watch your potty mouth Serena, you will need every point against Tiff. Awesome match today Tiffany!

Why do we do it?

FOR THE LOVE!