1)Action: Dynamic warm Up, Stretch 

Benefit: Proprioception development,  Increased Core Temperature for better training performance 

 2)Action:  Mechanical adjustments, sprint techniques evolving to very specific basepath and positional speed. 

Benefit: Beating out infield hits, stretching singles into doubles, better reaction and getting to infield hits and fly balls. Better mechanics means more EFFICIENT movement.  

3) Action: Overloading the athletic movements with resistance and assistance. 

Benefit: Contrast training provides better neuromuscular recruitment and power in movements. Example:  pre training athletes exhibit much less muscle recruitment than trained athletes. Contrast training and complexing a plyo and a resisted movement enhances recruitment leading to much improved getting out of the box and exploding to a space. 

4)Action: Progressing movements from closed(predictable) to open(random). 

Benefit: Better transference to the field. There is very little ready –set- go in sports and softball. Movement must be reactive, not on your own cue. 

 5) Power development in the body, including lower core education and activation and development of explosive rotational core power using med balls and plyometric drills 

Benefit: All movement originates in the low core. The low core is your anchor. A stronger educated lower abdomen provides an anchor from which an athlete can turn powerfully on a pitch or launch a fast pitch. All movement originates in the lower abdomen. Rotational core power provides greater velocity off of the bat, a stronger throwing arm and a more efficient consistent swing. 

6)Leg strength and stability and ground contact work 

Benefit: Reduced chances of cruciate ligament knee injuries 

7)Upper Body strength and power transfer 

Benefit: Increased bat speed and better power transfer from legs to hands 

Are you waiting until tomorrow? or maybe after the Holidays? Or maybe after the Holiday parties? The answer may be that you really don’t care enough about your journey and where it takes you. I bet if you worked out at 5 AM you would survive and also not interrupt your progress or your family and social life. Put down the phone or desktop and channel it into something productive for 30 minutes or an hour. The time we need is everywhere all around us.

When you transition and open your hips what part of your foot hits the ground first? (Should be ball)What does your shin angle look like?(should be positive) If not, why not? Is it a habit? Are your hips tight? Are you weak?

They’re in every break of the game, every minute, every second…….

Are you addressing your weaknesses or are you hopping through hoops and ladders without correcting your flaws?

On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch, because we know when we add up all those inches that’s gonna make the fuckin’ difference between winning and losing! Between livin’ and dyin’!…….

Are you willing to put your brain to work and get into the science of training? If you are already athletic will you hide behind that or do you want to get even better?

I’ll tell you this: In any fight, it’s the guy who’s willing to die who’s gonna win that inch. And I know if I’m gonna have any life anymore, it’s because I’m still willin’ to fight and die for that inch. Because that’s what livin’ is! The six inches in front of your face!!

Will you work smartly and effectively as if your life depends on it or are you going to muddle through? It’s all about you vs. you and becoming the best you can be. No matter what you are striving to accomplish.

**Italics quotes courtesy of the movie Any Given Sunday(The inches speech as delivered by Al Pacino)

You could use them on leg day maybe at the end of day. Or you could use them solo.

Here is the key. You must pick a weight that you can do for 10 failing at around 10. Then with 2-3 breaths between reps do 10 more reps with the same weight after that. 20 should be impossible but get it anyway. You should tease the body about survival a bit. This is the key.

Why do these work? Read On. It gets thick. Read it anyway.

GROWTH HORMONE

 Growth hormone(GH) is a peptide hormone that is produced in the anterior segment of the pituitary gland. GH has a role in the growth and development of bone, connective, visceral, adipose, and muscle tissue. GH may act either indirectly or directly. Directly speaking, GH may bind directly to a GH receptor on a muscle cell where it then exerts its anabolic effect. On the other hand, some studies show that GH exerts its effects indirectly by stimulating the release of somatomedins from the liver. Somatomedins bind to the plasma membrane of the muscle cell, where it carries out growth promoting effects. Regardless of how GH works its magic, it promotes the hypertrophic response by stimulating amino acid transport into the muscle cell and translating these amino acids into protein. GH output is obviously something we want to maximize, so what is the best way to do it?

In most studies it appears that GH release is related to intensity of exercise, volume of work performed, and shorter rest periods. In one particular study, a comparison between 2 different exercise protocols on evoked GH responses during and after weight training exercise was carefully observed.(10) One protocol consisted of 5 sets of 5 repetitions with a variety of basic exercises using a weight that was 80-95% of each movement’s 1 repetition maximum. A second protocol consisted of 3 sets of 10 repetitions with the same exercises using a weight that was 70-85% of each movement’s 1 repetition maximum. Rest periods for the first protocol were 3 minutes. Rest periods for the second protocol were 1 minute. Growth hormone levels during and after exercise were significantly higher using the second exercise protocol. Lactate levels increased during the second exercise protocol and not in the first, leading the researchers to believe that lactate may be the stimulus for GH increases. Other studies bear out the same contention.(11)

Diet also has important ramifications concerning GH release. During the first 1-2 hours of sleep, a significant pulse of GH is released into the bloodstream. The presence of glucose in the bloodstream, and therefore usually insulin,  has been shown to inhibit GH secretion. Therefore, theoretically it seems to make sense to avoid a high carbohydrate meal close to bedtime. A better option would be a high protein shake or snack coupled with some low glycemic index carbohydrates so as to minimize a large increase in insulin.

                                                              TESTOSTERONE

Testosterone is a steroid hormone that has an anabolic effect on skeletal muscle tissue. Anyone who has seen an athlete that supplements with anabolic steroids can see what modified testosterone can do.

Anyhow, under normal physiologic conditions a region of the brain called the hypothalamus secretes GnRH which stimulates the anterior segment of the pituitary gland to release LH(luteinizing hormone) into the bloodstream. LH then stimulates the Leydig cells of the testes to create and release testosterone into the circulation. At rest, 97% to 99% of this hormone is bound to SHBG(sex hormone binding globulin) or albumin. The rest is active and free to exert its effects.(2) Anabolic effects are due to the fact that testosterone increases protein synthesis and decreases protein catabolism within the muscle fiber. To delve a little further yet, testosterone binds with receptors in the cytosol of the cell which causes an increase in the transcription of the genes located on nuclear DNA that code for the synthesis of muscle proteins. The messenger RNA that results from this returns to the cell cytosol where actual protein synthesis occurs.(3) This is great but how do you get your testes to make more of this stuff? Several studies demonstrate that weight training induces elevated testosterone levels during and after exercise. It seems as if the most important factors in eliciting an elevated testosterone response are the amount of muscle mass used in a movement as well as the total work performed.(4,5) This tells us that for the most efficient testosterone release we want to be sure to include the squat, deadlift, and bench press in our routines. Doing higher rep sets of 10 and even 12 so as to increase total work performed may be advantageous in maximizing testosterone output. Sets of 5 repetitions still have their place in any routine, but they are not as efficient in eliciting testosterone secretion.

How about those old time 20 rep squat routines that were touted as being able to pack on lots of muscle mass and add to your vitality. Both criteria for maximizing testosterone secretion are overwhelmingly met. Maybe those old timers were onto something. Myself and many of my clients achieved personal best lifts in UPPER BODY lifts while on a 20 rep squat cycle. This implies that one must look not just at the effects of a specific exercise on a target movement or bodypart, but systemic effects of various schemes as well.

Enough said.

Ouch. That is probably the worst thing you could have ever had said about you.

This is from local sports writer Bob Labriola’s sports column and it references Hall of Fame Steeler Coach Chuck Noll views on self motivation.

“He would tell you, ‘My job is to teach you how to play this game correctly. I will never give you a motivational speech. If I have to motivate you, I will fire you.'”

I guess getting fired would motivate some to not get fired actually.

If you think about it why do you need kicked in the ass or screamed in your face? Motivate your own damn self.

How do you do it? Just do.

Step 1 as a Coach is to determine what buttons need pushed in order to teach this person or athlete how to motivate themselves.

“Today is the only day. Yesterday’s gone.” -John Wooden

Example: With fall travel season approaching I watched an advanced High School middle infielder doing a long duration lateral 2 in(why?) in a ladder at full speed(took 10 seconds burst is now gone) sprinting(can’t go 100% at this point) to a cone diagonal 10 yards away(this is all counterclockwise) cutting at 45 degrees to another cone and another ladder 2 in sprinting diagonal to another cone, to a predetermined site(happen much?) to catch a ball. This is a glorified conditioning drill without any relevance to the sport. Something to do about 1% of your time and definitely not close to a season

Take some time and think about what you are doing or are being told to do by youtube or a bad “trainer”.

1 solution for a middle infielder: Not crossing over into technique of any sort but providing a resisted drill that is very relevant for the athlete that had a season coming up shortly to enhance relevant lateral movement. Bungees each side with medium drag so as not to interfere with already nice movement. Ground balls provided randomly. Simple, effective, efficient.

I watched a “speed” drill for a DB in football that involved tiptoeing around an octagon shaped circle for about 5 seconds followed by a lateral 2 in in a ladder that led to some sort of a contorted bunny hop 3 times and into a sprint. What the hell?

Think about what you are doing.

There is something about training in the great outdoors that sets it apart from training in a gym. Maybe it is the air or the sights of the fog slowly lifting off of the ground in the early morning. Or maybe it is the sun blasting through the trees. Or just maybe it is the exhilaration that one experiences from odd object lifting in the middle of nowhere. Something just plain primal about it.

First up is the sandbag carry. The sandbag is bear hugged and carried for 120 yards. Warm ups should start out with a very light bag, followed by progressively heavier weights. The work set should barely be able to be completed. Progression should be cut to a brick or 5 pounds of sand per week or so when it gets really tough. Next is the log on the shoulder walk. Spikes should be driven into this log in the future for the purpose of adding weight to it.

 The farmer’s walk with Olympic barbells is next with no collars. This is one of  best grip and wrist strength builders that exists. I have worked some turns into my course which calls for some coordination as well.

The stone flip is up next. My stone is actually a four foot cube of irregularly shaped concrete foundation which is flipped end over end until exhaustion sets in. Outstanding form must be maintained in this movement to avoid injury. The day is finished off with pushing a Jeep Cherokee up a slight grade. The quadricep and calf involvement is intense. The hormonal and metabolic stimulation from this type of training is phenomenal. All criteria for eliciting maximum GH and testosterone release are present. I believe this augments standard strength and conditioning type moves both in recovery and stimulation.

This type of training program represents a radical departure for most athletes in type of training as well as a reduction in volume. One thing that will be accomplished, however is the addition of new muscle, extreme core strengthening, and metabolic conditioning. An interesting thing to note about this type of training is that a feeling of euphoria is experienced at the end of a session, rather than fatigue. One is energized for the rest of the day and sleep is very good at night. Although I have seen it get a bad rap lately, if this type of training is done sensibly and with good form and slow progression, the results are outstanding. In addition to the dense, new muscle tissue, one feels a difference the next time they go to move an awkward item like a file cabinet or a couch or a nose tackle. The awkwardness does not hamper one’s lifting of these objects when this type of training is done. This is because the trunk and supportive muscles discussed earlier are much stronger than when just hit with free weights. If you are an athlete or a bodybuilder/weightlifter who hasn’t seen gains in a while or are looking for a change, give it a shot, you may like the results.

Remember to proceed with caution using this type of extreme training. Good Luck.

You see, when you are a baby and you can’t speak, you babble like an idiot until you succeed. You fail over and over and over until it starts to come out right.

As you grow and you get up the nerve to try and walk, you fall on your butt about a million times and gather a wide assortment of cuts and bruises along the way. You fail over and over and over until one foot goes in front of the other.

As you continue to grow and decide that running might be a good idea to get places faster you do serious face plants, cry and cut and bruise and sometimes get stitches. This happens repeatedly until suddenly you are getting places much faster. You fail over and over and over until you are covering some ground in a hurry.

Somewhere along the way some people start to think of failure as an endpoint. What happened to the kid that looked at failure not as that, but as a result or as a clue or an event? Somewhere along the way we began to take failure much too seriously.

Failure is only an outcome that gives us evidence as to how we might want to change our approach.

To get on the right path we need to start behaving like babies again!

They could have accomplished more with a 1 hour session and even better recovered from it. Recovery is the limiting factor. Max out your sleep, diet, water intake, mindset and let nature take it’s course.

The right amount of training is the most you can do in a sensible training cycle that you recover 100% fully from. Otherwise what you have is a terrible waste of time where you regress instead of progress. Almost better off doing NOTHING.

A lot of athletes try to follow the latest and greatest that they see online or on media. Problem is some of these authors are let’s say…. chemically enhanced and can recover with the best of them. Some athletes jump on their routine and make great gains. Others gain for a bit then plateau quickly since they can’t recover. Others get instant tendinitis or other problems because they are doing 5 times as much work as their genetics will tolerate. There really truly is no one right way to train for a specific goal. Some generalities exist with rep ranges and rest periods and such like sets of 15-25 will certainly get you more enduring but nor truly stronger.

Does speed and sprint work factor as one of your “leg days” ? If it doesn’t it should. Watch your gains increase.

The simplest most overlooked way to get stronger for most athletes is simple linear periodization. I know many athletes who spend 8 months in the weight room and then tell me they did not get any stronger. Start keeping records now. Work harder, not longer. Try overtraining every 3rd or 4th week of a 4-5 week strength cycle, then backing off the following week. Keep your total work volume low, intensity of effort high, eat well, sleep much and gain. You need to be concerned with when and how much weight you add to the bar, not how long you are in the weight room.

Reality: Running endless steps will shorten your stride length, ruin your fast twitch
composition, and foster recruitment of slow twitch fibers when the athlete thinks of
“sprinting”.

Myth: It has to feel “hard” and burn to make you faster. You should not be able to walk
when you are done.

Reality: For athletes that train with us, “Do you ever notice a theme of 3s and 5s during
your training here? Do you notice that usually the stuff that makes you dead in the legs
happens more towards the end of your session when freshness is not critical?
Here is why. Explosive movement requires an immediate recruitment of fast twitch
fiber. Let’s look at resisted sprinting. First rep feels good, second rep feels decent, third rep
pretty good, fourth rep a little drop off, and fifth rep has you about 80% of your fresh
effort. In addition to depleting CP energy storage, this drop off corresponds to the fatiguing
of your FT(fast twitch fibers). The intermediate fibers, which can be trained to become FT
or ST(slow twitch), are ready to learn what they are going to do in the future. Do we stop
here for a break or do we continue for another 5 reps? Depends.
If you are conditioning, want to recover better at half time, or are looking at distance
related events, roll on. If you want to get more explosive and faster a break in the action is
warranted. Let’s look at what happens from reps 6 to 10. Your fast twitch fibers are
essentially toast at this point. You will now be “teaching” the key intermediate fibers, which
can adapt to become good at explosion or endurance, to become good for marathons or
distance related events. Your brain will also be learning to recruit slow twitch fibers to help
you sprint. Again: YOUR BRAIN WILL BE LEARNING TO RECRUIT SLOW TWITCH
FIBERS TO HELP YOU RUN FAST. Bad idea for speed development. There is an
expression: “Train slow, be slow. Train fast, be fast.”