read more...]]> The Fit2Play Approach to Fitness

So much of what we see online and in commercial gyms is redundant and non-specific to the individuals’ goals.  A program that works well for one may cause damage to another — Bruce Lee said, “Simply, Simplify”… I love that quote. You don’t need to become “okay” at twenty-five different exercises, simply become efficient in a few fundamental exercises and patterns and focus on movement quality— and then build on that.

Get Started with the Essentials

We created the Fit2Play Essentials which is designed to introduce you to the fundamental movements and lifts we use.  Each session reviews/teaches the proper form and technique used for various skills and functional movements and progressively increases your intensity. Each session includes a Combo involving what was learned that day. This will also make your Fit2Play experience more meaningful and enjoyable. How your fuel your body is also addressed.

How We are Different

Our approach goes beyond the workout, goals and the gym … we’re really building a Community, Tribe or Family of folks who all want to be better, today, tomorrow, next year and years to come. We have newbies doing their thing amongst experienced exercisers and even professional athletes — all respecting each others goals and path.
The commonality is “commitment and community.”  It’s kinda like, “kumbaya with an edginess”… does that make sense? That makes us unique. So does our initial meeting, the assessment and our training — we’re not for everyone…we’re not trying to compete with the big gyms, and we don’t want to.

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 Now is the Time to Add MovNat & Paleo to Your Life

When I left the 5-day West Virginia MovNat Reawakening workshop in July, 2011, I wondered how I would practice the the skills that had been ‘reawakened’ in me when I returned to the gym with my fitness coach back in Ohio.

The MovNat leadership team and peers had given me some ideas for practicing natural movement indoors … but I still needed to figure it out based on what I could do in the gym with my fitness coach Jeff Turner at Fit2Play, The Gym.

I like to work on skills that I can use in my everyday life … to be ready for anything. To participate in whatever endeavor presents itself … whether a serious or casual sport, home or yard project, playing with my dogs, just goofing off, or enjoying nature in my backyard or at a nearby park.

I maintain this practice because it is 1) it is fun and social, and 2) to continue to grow and be challenged both physically and mentally.

In fact, I enjoy it so much, that Jeff has agreed to help me build a community of like-minded people who want to move in new ways and make a commitment to a lifestyle of, healthy and delicious eating — while we meet some new people along the way.

So here are some MovNat-inspired moves that are excellent in combination with weight lifting and Kettlebell work in the gym. Join our Meetup and practice with us.

Duck walk, bear crawls, crab walk, crawling in general … this can be done anywhere once you’ve warmed up properly (with a MovNat warmup, of course.) Bear crawls sneak up your heart rate if you are moving along rapidly — add them into the middle of any circuit / combo as you crawl through and under things for an extra challenge.

Overs and under … really one of the easiest moves to adapt in a gym. Just place the weight bars at different heights and go over some and under some. I try not to touch the bar. Tip a tire on it’s side and jet through the middle. I did some unders beneath a bar while steadying a slosh log on my shoulder and stepping over a bunch of Kettelbells. Great fun!

Jumps up and down … got boxes? Got tires? Got stairs? Makes practicing jumps easy.

Long Jumps … laying rubber weight plates out on the rubber floor (they don’t slide on rubber floor) at varying distances is excellent practice for long jumps. Reminds me of crossing a creek stone by stone.

Lifting … lifting any weight and maintaining grip is one of the key skills we practiced outdoors with rocks, logs, picnic tables, benches and more. In the gym, The kettlebell swing is an excellent practice of lifting and throwing while maintaining a strong grip.

Climbing vertically … two 20 foot ropes hang from the rafters in our gym: one knotted and one not … take your pick depending on your fit level and your mood for a good challenge. No ropes? Poles are excellent to climb.

Climbing horizontally … some bars in the gym allow me traverse horizontally wrapping leg over leg … like we did on the large tree stand in W. Va. … or a horizontal tree branch like many of us practice in the 1- and 2-day MovNat workshops.

Weighted throwing … varied weighted balls are great to practice lifting and throwing. Sandbags also work very well.

Throwing and catching while Balancing … balancing on a 2x4x8 and tossing a thin, plastic pipe to a workout buddy, while standing on one foot or squatting, is great fun and excellent balance practice.

Balancing in general .. a 2x4x8 gives me plenty of space to practice standing balance, one-legged, squatting, walking backwards, moving along holding something heavy without falling, hopping on one foot, changing direction quickly … and more.

Forward and backward roll … a foam pad is great for practicing rolls. Once you get the form down, I find that you don’t have to rely on a soft surface.

Kettlebell carry … deadlift a Kettlebell, walk and carry. Run and carry. Tip the Kettlebell upside down for a greater challenge (elbow in). Reminds me of the rock shoulder carry we practiced in the woods.

Balance a slosh tube on your shoulder … not as challenging as the real-log-on-shoulder-balance we learned in the wild, but it still forces a degree of mindfulness to keep the water-filled pipe from toppling over.

These are just a few moves I have been able to enjoy in the gym. What moves have you adapted to your gym?

Lori Crock is a marketing biz owner and MovNat workshop alum who lives in Columbus, Ohio and plays at Fit2play, The Gym where a MovNat 1-day workshop will be held February, 19, 2012. Join us!

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At some point in a fitness professional’s life, the idea of, “if I had my own facility I would …”

Many have tried, many have failed and some have succeeded.

We’re taking the Fit2Play brand, training and culture and giving it a home on Kenny Rd., in 4,000 square feet of space with everything you’ll need to get fit, have fun (what a concept) and progress at your own pace with a dedicated team of coaches at your service.

A few years ago a friend and mentor, Jim Wright, was listening to me rant about inferior training methods. He cut me off mid-sentence and said, “Shut-up and do something about it.”  It was that moment that we started working on powerful fitness solutions instead of just ranting about the problems — The Gym is where we’ll be able to share these solutions with you.

Along the way, a wise man said that two, three and four minds are better than one (thanks Fred).  Our methods come from many great minds — some we’ve known for years and others we’ve never met…we’re grateful for all of you.  Fit2Play is more of a “Way” than a program that encompasses the best of the best in fitness practices.  While we have a few main principles, we maintain flexibility on how these principles play out. There are many ways to reach your goals so consider us your tour guide.

There’s plenty of ego in fitness — in fact, many fitness pros think they have “the” program or “secrets” to six pack abs, athletic greatness or melting pounds of body fat off in short periods of time. We take a different approach.

A different approach to fitness is how Fit2Play came to life back in 97’.

We saw a need for a better way; there were gaps and holes in current methods — the status quo was sub par and although good information was out there, it stayed amongst top sports scientist and coaches and didn’t seem to trickle down to the masses.

Since day one we’ve always looked at the individual and worked a plan around his/her life — it just made more sense. Now with our Essentials program, we’re able to teach the proper movement patterns for lifts and movements that fit into your life … and progress along your timeline to meeting your goals.

Customer Service has been high on our list of “must-haves” for as long as we can remember.  We love it when we get it and hate when we don’t. At The Gym, it’s about providing the best Experience for you, our member, every time.

At The Gym, we focus on technique and movement. Make no mistake, we can and do some cool freaky things too, but we don’t think the more you sweat, the better the workout.

It’s about the Movement … “Indeed, it’s not about the kettlebell, or the log, or the boulder or the heavy bag (you can swing or clean and jerk anything you want), it’s about the efficiency of the movement so you can produce optimal performance and practical outcome.” – Erwan Le Corre, Founder of MovNat.

Pavel has said something very similar, as has Gray Cook … all of these guys are leaders (Yodas) and have influenced the way we assess, train, play and recover at The Gym.

Can’t wait for you to check out the “Un” Bootcamp.

It’s like personal training in a group setting. It’s fun, it’s very cool, and your results will be outstanding. Here’s why; we’ve screened you, taught you the Essentials, so you know how to move and now we know exactly what you need. We teach you everything you need to feel comfortable in a group setting working out and socializing with others. The only thing left for you to do is show up and give your best effort.  If you’re a member you’ve already told us you’re committed — so that’s it!

Now is the time. Come in and try The Gym Experience and see for yourself.  We promise you will look at fitness differently with Fit2Play, The Gym … Physical Preparation for Sport and Life.

read more...]]> guest post by Lori Crock

I have been thinking about that a lot lately because my idea of strength has been turned upside down recently.

I thought physical strength was how much weight one could lift, period.

Working out with Jeff Turner taught me that there is much more to it — moving well is achieved through a careful progression of supervised movements — which over time increase strength.

This new understanding of strength and movement led me to MovNat – moving naturally — and a 5-day trip to experience this movement teaching in the woods of West Virginia.

My key take-away from MovNat was what was holding me back from getting stronger was my lack of mental strength. That was a hard lesson for me because I am a former swimming athlete and I think of myself as a pretty tough chick.

But I realized that I lacked a focus, a deliberateness and what the MovNat team called a mindfulness … all necessary to progress with physical movement that helps one grow stronger.

Before the MovNat trip, I was focused on getting it done, doing more in the gym every time, doing it quickly and doing it with things that were easy and comfortable — even though Jeff was always teaching new moves, guiding and making sure I didn’t do too much too fast.

Now, I have a real understanding of strength.

Strength is the freedom to fully enjoy life. That’s right. It’s that simple.

Building strength for me is moving and enjoying activities that help me relax, refresh and renew.

Running around outdoors, climbing trees, swinging on beams, moving fast sometimes, playing on playgrounds, lifting heavy things in the gym and outdoors, balancing and jumping off logs in my own backyard — without pain, injury and fear is what I personally desire and need to feel good and get stronger. I have been able to do this recently and it feels incredible.

The surprising thing about a little strength is how much it improves other areas of your life.

This strength, achieved through careful, playful movement in the gym and outdoors, simply makes me happier. I  worry less because I am focused on feeling good and meeting some personal goals. I have confidence to try new things both physical and mental. I am eating Paleo (a lifestyle, not a diet) which includes a balance of natural foods from the earth.

I am trying to listen to my body to really learn and understand what it needs to function well — and when it needs the fuel rather than eating based on emotion, time or what our culture says I need.

The best part of this new understanding of strength is that is came with a dose of patience.

Patience is new for me too. I am now okay with patiently progressing. I am learning that pulling up on a branch enough times will eventually make me strong enough to pull myself up to sit on that branch.

I started out swinging a 25 lb. Kettlebell in training with Jeff many months ago and I am now swinging 50. I am thrilled with that … and hoping that patient progression in the area of strength carries over into other areas of my life. I have seen signs of it, but it will take some time for me to know for sure … and I am okay with that too.

What is your idea of strength and how do you live it?

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Thinking about “movement first” will pay off big time — over time.

To be ignorant of motion is to be ignorant of nature.  – Aristotle

You don’t need to be an Olympic athlete or compete with anyone other than yourself to benefit from using the methods of world class performers.  By focusing on movement, you’ll not only perform better, you’ll minimize injury and increase longevity and durability at the same time.

Think about driving your car from Columbus, Ohio to Malibu, California with your wheels way out of alignment.  That’s 3000 miles of uneven wear and tear on your tires — not good.  Now imagine you’re in the gym squatting, benching and using a few machines with poor movement patterns.  Just like the road trip, you’re going to have uneven wear and tear throughout your body — this is preventable.

When kids do not pass the minimum standards in school, they don’t move to the next grade.  If someone cannot pass the minimum standards of movement they should not be able to move to more complex exercises.  We have a simple screen for this that only takes 10 minutes.  Move freely, without pain before you move on to the next level.

Are you performing the movement properly?

Proficient movement and technique — the core of a good strength, conditioning and fitness program.

One of the first goals is to increase body awareness in a slow progressive manner — we like to start with body weight exercises.  Think of this phase as “learning to move.”  Even those with more experience sometimes need to re-groove bad patterns.

Coaches, if your student athletes cannot perform a few perfect push-ups, why would you tell them to drop and give you 20?

If the trainee  performs 20 ugly reps (of any exercise), you’re going to get 20 reps of ugly, not to mention setting the stage for injury. Even worse, allowing kids to bench press and squat when they cannot perform these movements with their own body weight.  This sounds logical, but it’s done all the time.  Kids are resilient, but let’s build strong bodies, not break’em.

Does it have a purpose?

We’re told to have a plan — then work the plan.  When it’s time to train do you create something on the spot or have you spent the time planning?  Maybe you work with a coach or trainer — do they explain what you’re doing and the “why” behind your exercises?

The sets, reps, and circuits you do — the miles you run, should all have a reason for being in your workout — “purposeful training.”   Many people get their workouts out of a magazine, DVD or see something that looks cool in the gym.  That’ll work (sometimes), just make sure to check the gauges, meaning is it working…and is it safe?  Make sure nothing hurts (never train through pain).  Also, remember that everything works, and nothing works forever – - and some things work better than others.  And then tweak it till its right, if you don’t know how, ask me!

Is it fun?

Long-time friend and mentor, Jim Wright told me years ago, “if it ain’t fun, it ain’t done.”  Being a hard-core strength coach I used to kinda snicker at that.  Making sure my athletes were having fun was not a priority.  Many years and thousands of training sessions later, I get it.  So what’s fun to you?  The folks over at MovNat make fitness look more like play than work.  Friend and client, Lori Crock had a blast at MovNat telling us, “we were taught to jump, throw, catch, balance, run, hike, climb, lift, carry, crawl, swim, defend and generally move outdoors.”  Read more about Lori’s experience at MovNat.

To me, fitness is fun, especially when we combine movements from different disciplines or methods like MovNat, martial arts, Olympic lifting, Kettlebells, endurance sports — the possibilities are limited only by our imagination.

First and foremost, learn to move with proper form.  Set some goals and make a plan, and then work the plan — remember to be flexible, things change.  Progress slowly, make adjustments — learn something new and repeat.

Let me know how I can help -

JT

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…like a Zombie

This past week I’ve noticed people in the gym just going through the motions…literally like they’re asleep in the gym.  These “Gym Zombies” have always been amongst us — maybe it’s a full moon?

Or maybe it’s just workout boredom, being stuck-in-a-rut or not having the know-how to wake up their workout?

Changing it up in the gym is not only a good thing … it’s necessary.

Our bodies adapt to whatever we throw at them, so having a wide and deep workout toolkit not only keeps us moving, but energizes us for the day  — and can even be life-changing.

The cool thing is you don’t need a lot of money or time to get that jump-start you need to make it something you look forward to again. You just need some new ideas, you need ‘em personalized and you need ‘em now.

That’s where Fit2Play comes in.

Thinking about fitness outside-the-box means taking a whole new look at how to fit fitness into your life rather than fitting your life around boring hours in a gym.

Here are a few ideas:

• Do you like working out in the gym, but not seeing results? Get moving with a cool kettlebell workout. Just 30 seconds of swinging the bell (with the right form) and you’ll feel it in your glutes, abs, hamstrings and you can do it anywhere … office, kitchen, backyard, gym.  Adding this one exercise can create more positive changes (reduces body fat, increasing strength, power, and gives a wicked conditioning effect).
• Move it outdoors … there’s just something cool about getting it done outside.  If you have a tree, a few kettlebells, bands, and maybe a sledge hammer…BAM!
• Used to going from machine to machine at your favorite gym or corporate fitness center? Free-weights can make the same old gym new again with moves that will take in 15 minutes instead of an hour fifteen.
• Why should kids have all the fun? Jump rope, throw a ball, add sprints, stairs or a hill — just enjoy new movements.

Want more ideas?

Then we hope you’ll join us for our new Power Hour series that we are hosting at locations around Columbus starting Tue. July 12th.

Learn some new ways to fit fitness in, pick up tips for eating to fuel for workouts and life and meet other like-minded people who have the same questions and more.

Bring a friend or your favorite gym zombie and join us for what will be a frighteningly good time.

See ya soon -

JT

]]> http://www.fit2play.com/blog/2011/07/are-you-sleepwalking-in-the-gym/feed/ 0 http://www.fit2play.com/blog/2011/06/student-athletes/ http://www.fit2play.com/blog/2011/06/student-athletes/#comments Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:59:39 +0000 Jeff http://www.fit2play.com/?p=1820

read more...]]> Are You Physically Prepared to Play at the Next Level?

The question is applicable to middle school athletes, high school, and even college athletes preparing to go pro.

There’s a big difference between a 14 and an 18 year old athlete, but they can and do play on the same teams, facing the same opponents.  What about the 18 and the 22 year old…there can be a world of difference between them too — and this is not gender specific either.

How do you know if you are physically prepared?  Ask!  Ask the coach (s) you’ll be playing for.  What kind of lifting (if any) will I be doing?  What type of conditioning?  Long distance (ugh…), 100’s, a mix, a lot or just a bit (what’s a bit?).

If you know what’s expected of you, you’ll have a much better chance of 1) playing, and 2) playing well and minimizing injury.

Things coaches have shared with me over the years:

“Kids are running fast 40’s, but I want to see lateral speed and agility.”

“Know the lifts we do in the weight room.  Sometimes we spend a whole season teaching the lifts — they need to come in prepared.”

“They need to start on their summer packet when they get it…not three weeks prior to reporting.”

“Stay sharp, sometimes they think they can take the summer off and they report out of shape with rusty skills.”

Take Action — do these 3 things:

1) Know what your coach expects of you.  ASK!

2) Learn Proper form (both in the weight room and conditioning) from a professional strength & conditioning coach.

3) Ask what specific lifts you’ll be doing; getting strong on the leg press is not going to help you perform hang cleans.  Same thing regarding conditioning.  If you work hard and get a fast mile, but your coach is all about the ManU test (lot’s of 100′s)…you’re toast.

From middle school to Major League Sports I’ve witnessed athletes reporting ready to go and in top shape, and I’ve seen’em come in barely able to do what the coaching staff requires — be prepared!

Just like anything in life…if you’re prepared, you’ll do well.

Strength, Power, Agility...Athleticism

]]> http://www.fit2play.com/blog/2011/06/student-athletes/feed/ 0 http://www.fit2play.com/blog/2011/05/small-tweaks-make-big-changes/ http://www.fit2play.com/blog/2011/05/small-tweaks-make-big-changes/#comments Mon, 30 May 2011 13:30:02 +0000 Jeff http://www.fit2play.com/?p=1689

read more...]]> Corporate or Pro … see how Al Crock and Brian McBride got Tweaked

The problem:  Al was a Meathead…AKA, “Muscle-head.”  I can say this (and laugh) because I’m a former Meathead.  Getting bigger was priority one…function was an afterthought.

For the past 20 years, Al has pretty much stuck to the same routine in the gym and worked around his aches and pain.  He had a shoulder surgery a few years ago and while he’s had pain in the other shoulder, surgery was not on his to-do list.

Goals:  lose body fat, gain a little muscle, learn new lifts and methods that would help get him younger next year and years to come.

The Solution: We focused more on shoulder stability (the ability to control force or movement — which usually precedes strength) than bodybuilding sets and reps (3-5 sets of 8-10 reps) that he was accustomed to.  Al was introduced to kettlebells, learned the movements, grooved the patterns and then learned a little more about combining strength and endurance in one workout…this enabled Al to actually feel his heart pound a bit (sometimes quite a bit).

Results: Al lost inches around the waist, 17 lbs of body fat and gained lean muscle mass, in fact, his tailor has been taking his pants in for the past few months, and now needs to let the jacket out…and we accomplished one more thing; Al is now pain free.  He thought he was stuck with the nagging shoulder pain (in the good shoulder), or opt for surgery.  Not any more.

Eating clean was not as big of an issue as with most people.  Al’s wife Lori has kept him on track and leans towards a Paleo lifestyle which is what I suggest.

Al turned 50 this past week and is definitely younger this year.  Well done my iron brother!

The problem:  Brian was Overtrained and Undernourished.

At the end of 97’ I got the call from the team’s PT, ATC Amy Baer telling me that Brian was experiencing a lot of fatigue and wasn’t his normal self.  At the time he was training with a personal trainer that was a bodybuilder — and training Brian with similar methods.  While he looked good, he wasn’t performing well.  He also had his sights set for his first World Cup appearance in a few months.

Goals:  Get his energy back.  Get faster, stronger, quicker, and recover fast!

The Solution: No tweak here… we did a complete overhaul.  We focused on training movement patterns instead of isolating muscles.  We also worked on running mechanics, lateral movement (planting / cutting), speed and power.  The biggest change was food — the high protein, low fat thing wasn’t working.  We kept the protein up, added veggies, and the main thing was adding back the fat.  We made sure there was enough carbohydrates too.  McBride, like many wanted to know “how much” carbs, fats and protein.  My answer was, “I don’t know, we’ll find out by tweaking till its right.”  Kinda what Goldilocks did.  Aside:  I’m not a doc, dietician, or a nutritional biochemist.  In Ohio, you cannot prescribe a diet unless you hold the proper credentials…so I don’t prescribe, but I did / do share the most current research as well as consult with some of the most highly regarded sports scientists in the industry.  The “tweak till it’s right” statement still holds true today whether we’re talking about training, nutrition or recovery.

Results:  McBride was faster and quicker.  The fatigue was gone.  He had more strength, power and endurance…he was ready for the World Cup.  Actually, Brian represented the United States playing in three World Cup tournaments and had a great career in MLS, and the English Premier League.  He continued to make changes by consistently tweaking…till it was right.
Brian McBride retired from professional soccer last year, but has definitely left his mark and will continue to improve the sport through his academy.  He was one of (if not the) best athletes I’ve ever worked with on many levels.

Things we Tweak:

• Goals
• The warm-up / cool down
• Strength training
• Conditioning
• Recovery strategies
• Nutrition

Both Al and Brian proved that by making small tweaks you can achieve BIG results. What tweaks could you make?  Would you like a few suggestions?  Leave a comment below, and let me know what’s on your mind.

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Deadlifts, Push-ups, Swings,Turkish Get-Ups … functional training, really?

Absolutely!

Take my friend Judy, she’s over 60 and wanted to get fit.  She’s always been active and enjoys tennis, but not of late.  She wanted to know what she could do on her own when she made it to the gym — maybe how to use the machines in a circuit.

The first thing Judy learned was a Sumo deadlift.  Once she grooved that pattern she learned the kettlebell swing and then onto the push-up and a pull-up (assisted pull-up machine).  That’s only four movements, but its very time and energy efficient — functional!

One of the definitions I found online referred to functional training as a “classification of exercise.”  That’s kinda the problem, forget about “classifying” exercise as functional or not, I mean, if its not functional, you shouldn’t do it.  That’s why I’ve referred to the term, “functional training” as redundant.  Let’s just define it as: activities that are specific to your daily life that are practical and useful.

“Functional training involves activities that are specific to your daily life that are  practical and useful”

As Bruce Lee said, “absorb what is useful, reject what is useless.”  This makes sense to us and more importantly the above definition is simple and easy to wrap your mind around.  It also gives you a foundation from which to create training strategies.

So try not to think about functional training as a “working the core” thing or Cirque de Sole Le type balancing stuff like the fitness industry has for over two decades.  Instead, think about what you’d like to achieve and apply a strategy that will move you toward YOUR goals…purposeful training.

We usually find working with competitive athletes and general fitness enthusiasts differ by degrees, not methods.

Functional for Sport

Functional for Bodybuilding

If you’re a bodybuilder, you train for muscle size/symmetry as do fitness figure competitors. Your training will be different than a college lacrosse player, but you’ll have similarities — the foundational stuff.  You’ll both need strength, power, endurance, muscle mass and symmetry.

Body weight exercises are a great place to start.  Make sure you can control your own body weight first, or you have no business being under a bar.  Sadly, we see this quite a bit with high school athletes.  They’ll squat, bench and deadlift without first grooving the proper movement patterns and end up with a whole lot of ugly (and pain).

Get on a functional path — Do this first:

• learn the push-up before a bench press

• learn the sumo deadlift on a bench or with light weight before the squat with a bar on your back

• learn how to press overhead with a broom stick or dowel before using weight

Become proficient at the fundamentals…groove the right movement patterns and be consistent.

Even if you think you’re good to go…have a coach look at your form.

Are the exercises you do specific to your Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)?  Or do you go to the gym and grind through a circuit of 10 machines, 20 minutes on the cross-trainer and call it a day?

If that’s you and you’d like few suggestions on what to tweak, leave a comment — or ask me.

read more...]]> Ever heard that before? Ever thought it applied to you? I never did. I have lived in the gym working out and training athletes and normal folks like you and me for 25 years. But now, I have to work at it too.

After a couple of injuries took me out of my normal routine consistency for a little over a year, I looked in the mirror one day and saw the result of the “Use it or lose it” principle.

After cutting my workouts by 70 percent, and not adjusting my caloric intake, things began to change. In a nutshell, I gained body fat, lost lean muscle and strength …and I’m the Fitness Coach.

It’s different now: The weights I once used became heavy and awkward. I realized that I was now part of the de-conditioned over 40 demographic…I was my client.

The weird thing was that I was okay with it. Not that I was accepting it, but I knew that to get where I wanted to go, I needed to take away the negatives before adding the positives. I needed to become pain free before getting to my goals.

What this means for you: Everything we share with you on this website has been done in the trenches by one of my athletes, clients, or me, as well as clients and patients of other sports scientists I know and work with. It’s real life stuff that’s worked for years and I know it will work for you too.

Quality over quantity: Be a perfectionist. By being the best at the basics and doing the simple things better than anyone else — this will, by default, help everything else you do to improve.

Too many times we hear, “just get it done” and while just getting it done has merit, it’s my belief, and the belief of other professionals, that strength is a skill and the mother of skill is repetition. If your workout calls for 15 – 100 yd sprints, and the first five are perfect, and the last ten are poor, you’ve just grooved 1000 yards of ugly. ALWAYS opt for quality over quantity.

Don’t forget to: Use it all. From your brain to your biceps – everything must be challenged and worked. Nothing is “status quo” in nature … you’re either moving forward or rotting, so let’s move forward together.

Coming up …

How do you know if you’re doing too much? Do you get sick a lot? Are you frustrated and unmotivated or feel like you’re in a rut? Next week we’ll talk about how to stay fresh, how to train often and how continue to make gains and feel good doing it.

Make sure to sign up for our Monday Morning Lift so you don’t miss any or our insights designed to inspire, motivate and entertain.

Visit our Blog Archive.