Networking

Networking is one of the most important parts of any professional’s career.  I remember when I was a freshman in college; one of the first things they told me was to start networking.  When I was a sophomore I took a trip to the corporate wellness center in the Comcast building of Philadelphia.  When I was there they advice I was given was to “start networking!!”  My feeling is that college gives you a special kind of networking.  In college you become close friends with people of any and all professions.  Within Kinesiology there are several people who I would love to work with or go into business with.  This is a type of networking that is unique to college.  Since these people were your roommates or classmates, you know there background and work ethic.

Outside your own personal realm of friends is the entire professional world.  If you are a normal everyday person, (who is not well connected) like myself, than you need to begin networking and establishing some type of recognition with the different professionals out there.  Being an intern at FAU has helped me to do just that.  At FAU there are all different kinds of opportunities.  I now know head strength coaches and many different people in the field of strength and conditioning.  My internship experience has been unique in the fact that I was also exposed to the private side of the industry.  I have not only established good friends, but people who may be integral to some career move in my future.

This blog is another great tool.  Expressing my thought and ideas helps other professionals get to know what I am about.  When I contact a coach I will encourage them to check out this blog.  The internet has totally changed how things are done and how we are able to promote ourselves.  Networking is essential in the world today.  Some of the greatest people in the world never get the opportunity they deserve because they don’t know how to network.

Researching Shakes and Bars

As a strength coach, or any health professional, It is important to know about protein supplementation.  Recovery is one of the most important aspects of a program, and we want our athletes to maximize their potential.  There are too many options out there in the current market and we need to search out what is good and what is not.

In an article entitled, “Effects of Whey Isolate, Creatine, and Resistance Training on Muscle Hypertrophy”   they describe how, “Whey protein supplements generally contain a higher concentration of essential amino acids (EAA) than other protein sources and have rapid absorption kinetics.  The study looks at the effects of Whey Protein, Creatine and the combination of the 2.  In this study creatine seems to have to greatest effect on the athletes 1RM (compared to simple CHO replacement).   I found it interesting that this article points out that there was no greater increase between Creatine CHO and Creatine with Whey Protein.  This seems to mitigate the validity behind whey protein.  The science is iffy.  The end conclusion is that there need to be more research behind the effects of protein.  

We must realize that the average American gets more protein than they need and that the average America knows little to nothing on supplementation.  Athletes trust what their coaches tell them.  It is also out responsibility to not over supplement and to only promote recovery and proper natural means of supplementation.  I personally only believe in protein supplementation.  I am not a fan of the current trends of pre-workout shakes and so on.  I really feel that our athletes over supplement.  Do you really see a difference between athletes on creatine and the athletes not on creatine?  I believe that half of the game is mental.

A study titled, “Effect of Post Exercise Supplement Consumption on Adaptations to Resistance Training “ showed that, “Post-resistance exercise consumption of MILK and CHO caused similar  adaptations  to  resistance  training.”  This article concluded that there was not enough difference between the two to really claim one as more effective.  That being said, there are many high level lifters who will tell you otherwise.

When it comes to distribution of protein to the athletes I think that chocolate milk from the Café would be more than enough, but having a budget would give me more options.  I only wish it were possible to give every athlete a shaker cup and a scoop of Optimum Gold Standard, but that is not going to happen.  Since the research seems to point out that a combination of protein and CHOs is best for muscle protein synthesis and tissue repair I would choose a shake with both these qualities.  I am torn between two different options.  I would either give my athletes bottles of chocolate milk, or go with the new G3.  Although I have never been a fan of Gatorade (lots of high Fructose Corn Syrup), G3 is a drink that more athletes will be able to drink right after working out.  It drinks more like a sports drink and appeals more to the athletes.

A G3 has 16 grams of protein, 14 grams of carbs and only 120 Kcals.  Although I would like to see a greater carb to protein ratio in this drink, I still feel like it would be one of the better choices out there.  I found this drink for as low as .99 cents, making it extremely affordable for all the teams.

With 10,000 the basketball team could buy more shakes than they could possible drink in one year.  Even men’s Tennis, with a $900 budget could afford shakes for the year.  

I would consider bars for CHO replacement mid workout/competition.  I would choose Larabar.  Each larabar has only 2-9 ingredients.  I was always amazed that the twinkie has over 36 ingredients in it.  Larabar = unsweetened fruit, nuts and spice.  Larabars go for around or under a dollar a piece!

James Smith DVD

James Smith:

James Smith, assistant strength coach at Pittsburgh, gave a seminar where he went over a lot of his different philosophies.  James works with the skill players at Pitt.  Like many strength coaches, he admits to being a product of several different schools of though.  He seems to not have had the classic sports science education, but has done the research and really incorporated information on the energy systems of the body into his workouts.

James Smith begins his lecture by addressing the energy systems.  In Football, the Phosphagen system is the main system used.  Since 6 seconds would be a long play in Football, the athletes are mainly working in this system.  This being true, Smith points out that an overall greater level of aerobic conditioning is important for recovery between plays.  This will enable the athletes to maintain their level of intensity for the duration of the game.  In any sport I feel it is important to consider the energy systems that are in play.  A marathon runner certainly need to train differently than a football player.  Smith refers to bioenergetic sequencing, and describes how he has a different focus depending on the current stage in the annual cycle.

Smith describes strength coaches as physical preparation coaches.  He feels that GPP is a great amount of what we do and that everything else just falls under that.  I feel that it is more the reverse.  I think that we are strength coaches, and that the GPP is one small part of what we do.  If we only prepared athletes for physical activity, than they would never reach that next level.  I feel that a good strong base is essential, but that must also must be build upon. 

The last thing that I found interesting in James Smith’s lecture was his mention of Gymnastics.  He likes to incorporate gymnastics elements into his exercise programs.  He mentioned planches and ring skills.  I feel that planches are more difficult than any Olympic lift, but can still be beneficial.  The ring skills are also good for training the stabilizing muscles of the shoulder.  I would definitely like to get a few sets of hanging rings at FAU.  Gymnastics has been a huge part of my life, and I like to see a strength coach utilizing our techniques!

Buddy Morris DVD

Buddy Morris: 

Buddy Morris discusses the many facets of his strength and conditioning program at the University of Pittsburg in a lecture at he recently gave.  He seems to have a program that is much like what we do at FAU.  He stressed several points and gave a lot of good information.   In his lecture he tells of the evolution and future of strength and conditioning.    

The first thing that I found interesting was that Buddy does not do Olympic lifts.  Buddy gave the argument that plyometrics, med ball throws and sprints have the same motor unit recruitment as Olympic lifts.  I could not agree with this more.  I feel that the complexity of Olympic lifts often makes them a waste of time.   Like Buddy said, “Olympic lifting is its own sport”, and when you are trying to improve your football game, you cannot get too hung up on mastering lifts.

One thing that I really like that Buddy does is the fact that he does nothing but body weight movements for the first two weeks in the weight room.  When Buddy gets a new athlete, he is interested in seeing how the athlete moves.  Once Buddy gets a good idea of this, he is able to move forward with the athlete.  With gymnastics it was always important to get a simple baseline on technique, form and general physical ability.  I feel that manual squats are an extremely useful exercise.  Buddy says, “Simplest stuff is sometimes is the best”.  I feel that the basics are the foundation for everything else you will do.  This is also important for injury prevention.

One place where I disagree with Buddy is where he said that he is “Paid to be an A-hole”.   I don’t think there is ever an excuse for being an “A-hole”.   He continued by saying that we are paid to train athletes and get athletes to work.  I agree with the second part, but I don’t think the first part Is necessary.  I fell that in order to reach athletes and make progress that there needs to be a mutual level of respect.  Athletes can become unresponsive if they don’t like the way they are treated.  I think it is more important to educate the athletes and find other positive ways to reach them.  Having said that, Buddy has been doing this for 30 years, so he has much more knowledge with dealing with athletes than myself.

Buddy does not allow yawning in his gym.  I think that this is very interesting.  There are times when I yawn in the gym, but that is just me pushing myself when I should probably be sleeping.  He has a very disciplined approach and I feel that I would more than likely find a happy medium.  I like to be strict, but I would never be that strict.  Bending over in Buddy’s gym is a sign of weakness and results in extra reps.

Buddy seems to really emphasize the fact that we are all seeking the perfect program, but that none of us are going to find it.  There is always more to learn and a program will always undergo changes.  He does that same lifts that all the programs use, but he uses the programming to make his design different.  There are certain things that I disagree with Buddy, but not two strength coaches are going to be totally in agreement with everything. 

Exercise Bank

Exercise Bank:

Dynamic Warm Up:

Jumping Jacks Seal Jacks Lounges Arm Circles Manuel Squats Mt. Climbers Groiners Handstands Leg Kicks Toe Touches – Hand/toe& Toe to hand

Gate Swings Fire Hydrants Butt Kicks Flings Gate Swings Single/Double Leg Glute Raise Straight Leg Kicks Fwd/Bwd Knee Circles Low box jumps

Hurdle Complex:

Lateral Step-over Linear Step-over Duck under

Horizontal Push:

Bench Press DB Flat Bench DB Incline Bench Incline Press Straight Arm Pullover DB Flies Pushups Planche Pushups Hammer Chest Press Standing Cable Crossovers

Vertical Push:

DB Shoulder Press Arnold Variation of shoulder press Seated BB overhead press Hammer shoulder press Hand Stand Pushup (can use wall)

Horizontal Pull:

1 Arm Row Inverted Row Hammer Row DB Push Up Row Hanging DB Row Bend BB Row/Landmine Row

Verticle Pull:

Chin up Pull up Hamm Row Latt Pull Down DB Shrug BB Shrug

Lower Body Push:

Leg Press Pen Squat Pro Box Step Up Squat Box Squat DB Lounges Front Squats Toe Raises Half Squats BB Lounges Weighed Hip Ups Sissy Squats

Lower Body Pull:

SB Leg Curl Band Leg curl RDL Reverse Hypers Deadlift Straight Leg Deadlift Glut Ham Raise Ham Iso Leg Curl Back Extention w/wo weight

Olympic Lifts:

Hang Clean Dead Lift Power Pulls Power Shrug

Neck:

4 way neck Manuel Neck Towel/plate neck lift

Biceps:

DB Curl Cable Curl DB incline Curl E-Z Bar curl DB Hammer Curl Seated DB Curl Lying Cable Curl Leaning Cable Curl Isolated DB Curl BB Curl BB Isometric on Power Rack Reverse BB Curls Lying Curls

Horizontal Push:

Bench Press DB Flat Bench DB Incline Bench Incline Press Straight Arm Pullover DB Flies Pushups Planche Pushups Hammer Chest Press Standing Cable Crossovers

Triceps:

Triceps Push Down Dips Super Dips Bench Dip Box Dip Swing Dip Handstand Dip Ham Dip Machine Band Triceps DB seated Extension BB “Skull Crusher”

Grip:

Gripper Grip Walks Dead Hangs Plate Pinches

Core:

V-ups Crunches Swimmers Russian Twists Side Crunches Full Leg Raises Half Leg Raises Hanging Leg Circles Hollow Body Holds DB Sit Up Planks L Holds L holds on Dip Bar Hollow holds with weight

Accessory:

Back Extension                      Band Chest Complex         Band Back Complex          Calf Raise Outer Inner Thigh        Pull-Overs                         Band Pull-Aparts Front/Lat Shoulder Raise         Cable Rear Delt               Ant/Post/Lat Shldr Tree

Jumps:

Squat Jumps Broad Jumps Vertical Jumps     Tuck Jumps Pogo Jumps Rebound Jumps Pike Jumps

Medicine Ball:

Sit Ups Russian Passes Standing Chest Pass Push Ups Kneeling Chest Pass

Upper Body Prehab:

Y-T-W Pulls To Face Band Pull A-parts Scapular Complex Hand Walks Int/Ext Band Shoulder Rotation Int/Ext DB Shoulder Rotation Band Rotator Cuff Exercise

Lowed Body Prehab:

TKE Iso Squat Hold Iso Lounge Hold Band Ankle Exercises Glut Med. Band Exercises Tip Tow walk Heel Walk X-Band Walks

Assignment 1

 10 Things I have recently learned:

1.      
Although I thought that I was training everything in the weight room, I have realized that I don’t train grip strength.  I have never really thought about the importance of training grip strength.  During my pulling exercises I often stop because my grip gives out rather than the targeted muscles.  An article from thefitcast.com explains how both “farmer caries” and towel pull-ups” are good for grip strength.  I am going to try to begin to incorporate some grip strength exercise into my routine.

2.    

   In a video titled, “ARM TRAINING: Advanced Multi-Contraction Methods” from the website t-nation.com I learned that when you are doing a unilateral movement (example: one arm preacher curls) you always want the opposite leg forward.

3.      
In a video titled, “ARM TRAINING: Advanced Multi-Contraction Methods” from the website t-nation.com I learned that occlusion depletes oxygen, increases metabolic waste and increases the release of growth factors in muscles.  This is a huge benefit gained through performing isometric exercises.

4.     
  An article titled, Functional Hypertrophy by Todd Wilson, from dieselcrew.com of discusses the difference between functional and non-functional hypertrophy.  I have always had a feeling that something like this was true.   If you have ever talked to a bodybuilder, you may notice that they are not that eager to tell you their 1RMs. They are huge athletes, but they don’t seem proportionally strong.  This article tells how there are two types of hypertrophy and that one type is beneficial to strength and the other is actually detrimental to strength.  The high volume style workout performed by bodybuilders creates hypertrophy to slow twitch muscle fibers rather than fast twitch muscle fibers.  These slow twitch fibers create friction with the fast twitch fibers….slowing them down and decreasing speed and power.  I found this very interesting.  Classically we relate muscle size to muscular strength.  

5.      
Wrist strength is something that is important for many sports.  In gymnastics it is particularly crucial.  In an article titled, Armwrestling—Pulling Big 1 by Jim Smith, CSCS, I learned some new wrist exercises.  One exercise that I am going to teach to my gymnast friends is the “thick rope pull-ups”. 

6.    
   On a list of things titled, “20 things everyone who lifts should know”, it describes creatine as a “staple supplement” in the fitness world.  I did not know that it had become so commonly used.  I have personally never been a fan of it.  In several talks with nutritionists and dieticians I have learned that there is little research behind any supplement found on the shelf at GNC.  Personal experience with these supplements may be very positive, but I am interested in the science behind the supplementation.  I also know that there is more protein toxicity occurring than we tend to realize.  I can only imagine where young lifters are going to go wrong with the creatine.  What I have noticed recently is that creatine is very easy to find these days.  During my early years in high school I never saw creatine, and not I can find it at WalMart.

7.      
On johnberardi.com he gives some tips.  One of these tips is to eat more protein.  He suggests that this is imperative for changing body composition.  I found this interesting.  People in public health tell us that the average American gets more protein than they need.  This Doctor believes that “everybody needs more protein”.

8.      
An article, titled “Red Drop Theory and Talking to Nine Year Olds” by Kyle Newell, explains the “Red Drop Theory”.  This theory uses the example of a glass of water and a drop of red dye.  One drop a day will not immediately turn the water red.  The water will dilute the dye for the first several days.  Over time the entire glass of water will be red.  This is used as an analogy for fitness and the body.  The article tells how “99 percent of the people will never get started on their dreams because they think their dreams are going to just happen” and that realizing this gives us “a huge competitive advantage over them”.  Our glasses will become red, because we know that it just takes time.  I think this theory is a good analogy.

9.       
 In an article titled “Gym Class Core” by Jeremy Freisch (sbcoachescollege.com) it tells how “Crawling engages virtually all of the muscles of the body, from the arches of your feet to your abdominal and neck muscles, all of which are used in the process of moving your body forward across the floor.  Arm, chest, and back muscles are utilized in pulling the arms forward and then pulling the body forward. Quads, hips and hamstrings are worked during the leg movement.” The two go on to highlight that, aside from the military; hardly anyone has utilized a crawling movement since the age of one”   You never tend to think of the physical activity involved in crawling.  Perhaps crawling should be included in more training programs?

10. 
an article from sbcoachescollege.com  titled, “Squats: Superior to Leg Presses for Muscle Hypertrophy and Athletic Prowess by Josh Bryant”,  I learned that the leg press in not more safe than doing squats.  Although a person may be able to push more weight on the leg press, the leg press is manufactured for the “average person” and is not specific to any one individual.  Despite what people tend to assume, the leg press is not safer than the squat machine.

2. Short Term Professional Goals

                1. Become more knowledgeable with Power Exercises

                2. Successfully perform my duties as a FAU intern

                3. Learn and become confident as a strength coach

                4. Expand my knowledge of alternate exercises and preventative exercises used in S&C

    5. Learn sport specific exercises and programs for all sports.  I want to become better at training athletes outside of my own sport.

3. Long Term Professional Goals

                1. Get my Masters in Strength and Conditioning

                                a. Complete my internship successfully

  b. Attain 3 letters of recommendation

                                c. Get and assistantship

                                d. Continue to expand my knowledge and expertise

        e. Apply what I learn in my internship to my future education and work with other programs

        f. Become fully confident in myself

                2.  Become a head strength coach at the college level

                                a. Get my CSCS certification

                                b. Continue my education

                                c. Network and get to know other professionals

                                d. Keep up with current literature in the field

                                e. Build my resume and continue my blog