Check out a few action shots at Pierce College.
Every program at Pierce College is designed with these training principles in mind (Training philosophies I and Training philosophies II). Every program is 3-6 weeks in length – depending on the training goal and phase of the program.
Dash is a great read with a positive message. The title stands for “Live with: Determination, Attitude, Success and Happiness”. The dash represents the mark on your tombstone between the year you are born and the year you die. Whether it’s sport or life you control your destiny, so make the most out of it!
Give it a read.
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I managed to find the only gym at Disneyland yesterday (went for my B-Day). The barbells were extremely heavy though.
I am pretty sure diabetes and heart attacks originated at theme parks. I couldn’t believe how many obese individuals we saw and all the crap everyone was eating all day. We did manage to find healthier options for lunch. Check it out – chicken salad and veggie gumbo (minus eating the bread).
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After the previous post about Myofascial Release I had a couple general questions. So I have decided to do an additional post to clear a few things up.
Here is some more information about this topic:
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The objective when using foam roller is to increase the quality of your myofascial tissue (muscle and connective tissue). The foam roller helps to aid in breaking up trigger points and muscle adhesions. Foam rolling also promotes blood flow to the area being worked on. In simple terms, it is a way to do self message. This is great for athletes to help prevent injuries who do repeated motions throughout the week. For example, baseball pitchers can throw a lot during a typical practice week. The muscles in a pitchers shoulders and upper back have to work to decelerate their arm. Over time these muscles will begin to shorten and even trigger points or muscle adhesions may arise. It would be beneficial for pitchers to foam roll their posterior shoulder and upper back muscles to help promote adequate muscle length and function. I recommend all pitchers lay their arm pit on the foam roller and follow the directions listed below at least a couple times a week.
How to perform self myofascial release with the foam roller:
You would start by identifying an area of muscle tension, tightness, or sensitivity. Then you would lay on the foam roller so that particular muscle group is pressed against the foam. The key is to find the area of sensitivity and hold that spot for 10-30 seconds. After holding it, then you can roll back and forth in that area. Once you release the tissue, then it would be recommended to perform range of motion exercises (stretches). Repeat this on a daily basis until the muscle tightness or sensitivity begins to subside.
Be sure to email with any specific questions regarding myofascial release techniques.
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Many times core resistance training looks like this:
However, it should look something like this:
Read my previous post on core training for other great functional core exercises with medicine balls. Notice how the cable and medicine ball exercises have something in common – you use your entire body and you are in a standing position.
Take a look at these athletic movements below and notice the commonalities between each movement. With exception to the volleyball player, they are all standing on either two feet or one foot (however, remember the volleyball player jumped off two feet or one foot to get in the air). It is important to notice the amount of torque (rotation) throughout their core during these movements. Their core is not working in isolation – the big powerful muscles of the legs and hips or working. The muscles in the back, shoulders, chest and arms are also involved in the movement. If you are an athlete or coach looking to strengthen or enhance the power of these movements, I would suggest the exercises I demonstrated in the video or the medicine ball exercises. The medicine ball exercises are great because the athlete must generate force throughout the entire movement – even during the release of the ball which is extremely sport specific.
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Congratulations to LA Angels starting pitcher Trevor Bell for his first career major league victory last night. Check out the press release. I had the privilege to work with Trevor when we were both with the Cedar Rapids Kernels (LA Angels minor league affiliate). He is a great kid and has worked extremely hard to get to this point in his career. One of the other great LA Angels prospects Sean O’Sullivan also got his first career win at the major league level about two months ago. Sean is another great athlete I got to work with in Cedar Rapids. When Sean was 12 years old, he was ranked as the number one 12 year old baseball player in America. He recently pitched a no-hitter in triple A.
Both of these individuals are extremely humble people (even though they were complete studs in high school and both drafted in the first couple rounds) and two of the hardest working players I trained while working with the Angels. Good job guys!
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I was trying to explain this concept to one of the regulars I see at the gym and the way he was looking at me, he must have thought I was speaking another language. It’s really not that hard to understand. When you perform a multi-joint ground-based movement such as a deadlift, you are developing more than just a few muscles in the legs. The core (not just the abdominals but the entire torso and hips) is working extremely hard to maintain spinal alignment to allow your large hip extensor muscles to perform the deadlift. Being able to maintain that rigid body alignment is critical for many multi-joint movements such as the bench press. During the bench press, you want your torso to be rock solid and you want to drive your legs into the ground to maximize leverage on the bar. It will be much easier to maintain core stability and lower body stiffness if you core and legs are stronger as the result of deadlifting.
Let’s have some common sense – I’m not saying that you only need to be doing deadlifts to improve your bench. It comes down to specificity of training – if you want a strong bench then perform bench press exercises to develop your horizontal pushing strength. If you want to improve your core stability and leg strength (which will help with your bench press), than do deadlifts or squatting movements.
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I just got back to LA last night from 9 days in Costa Rica. That place is awesome! Of course, I evaluated many aspects of the country with a fitness perspective. Here are a just a few observations….
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