NEWS & EVENTS
Blog - Training Intangibles
  Last week I was talking to a group of high school athletes that were all struggling to add muscle mass. Whether or not weight gain is a goal of yours (or your son, daughter or team’s), you’ll want to read this email. This really applies to every athlete. As is typically the case with athletes at this age, the problem was in their diet. The first question I always ask in this scenario is, “What do you eat for breakfast?”. When the answer invariably comes back as a bowl of cereal (or a pop tart), I point out that this relatively nutrient-less meal also only provides about 175 calories, setting them up for about a 1,500 calorie/day diet (less than half of what most high school aged males should be taking in). When I make other suggestions (e.g. steel cut oatmeal with peanut butter and a scoop of chocolate protein powder and a banana; a 4-egg WITH EGG YOLKS meat, vegetable, and/or cheese omelette), I get the same response EVERY time: “I don’t have time” The Truth About “Time” I love hearing this. The truth is that we all have 24 hours in our day; what we decide to spend them on is a matter of priorities. Time is not to be found; it’s to be made. If you need to improve your skill work, MAKE 30 minutes every day to work on skills. 30 minutes a day for 4 days per week (NOT a huge commitment) means you’d get an extra 26 hours (over 1 day!) in the first 3 months and an extra 104 hours (~4.3 days) in the first year. Do you think that would help you catch up to your competition that isn’t doing that? Of course it would. If you need to put on muscle (or clean up your diet in general), MAKE time to prepare quality food. It takes 30 minutes to prepare enough steel cut oatmeal to last 2 people a week. It takes less than 2 minutes to reheat it in the morning. It takes about 8 minutes to prepare a multi-ingredient omelette (e.g. more than just cheese). It takes about 2 hours on a Sunday to prepare enough food for most meals for the week, package (e.g. Ziploc bags and Tupperware) it up and clean the dishes. Brian Tracy (high school dropout turned self-made millionaire, best-selling author and international expert on goal setting) points out that whatever you’re doing at this very moment is a conscious decision you’ve made that the activity (or lack thereof) is more important than everything else you’re not doing. Relevant to our previous examples, if kids have time to play Playstation for an hour every night, but “don’t have time” to prepare a quality meal or practice their sport-specific skills, they’re DECIDING that Playstation is a bigger priority to them than their athletic development. I’m not suggesting that every second of every day be dedicated to athletic betterment; that would be mentally and socially unhealthy. I am saying that most people are AMAZED at how much time they can free up for things of ACTUAL importance when they view their daily activity as a choice of priorities. If it’s important to you, MAKE time for it. The results will be worth your dedication. Remember, we all have 24 hours in our day. It’s your choice what you do with it. To your continued success, Kevin Neeld P.S. Summer is here. Now is the time where most athletes are putting the energy into their training to completely transform themselves for next season. If you haven't yet, call me today at (856) 269-4148 or send me an email to get signed up for our Summer training programs. Remember, we offer special rates for athletes signing up with their teammates!
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Like many strength and conditioning coaches out there, I am all for a stimulating training environment. The facility or the gym where you train will be responsible for a lot of the progress you can make on a training program. You may be thinking, “I am motivated enough and I can train anywhere and probably get optimal results”. You couldn’t be further from the truth my friend! No matter how motivated you think you, a results-driven training environment will have an incredibly positive impact on your progress. Do you think that things like training next to a lady doing dumbbell curls with 5 pounds, trying to lift heavy weights listening to Lady Gaga, getting weird looks every time you drop your weights on the floor and standing next to Johnny Baloney who poses and flexes in front of the mirror are all factors that help you focus on what you have to do? Unfortunately, that’s the scenario in most gyms. If you are looking to improve your performance, increase your strength or any other serious goal you might have, you need to do yourself a favor and find a training environment that will stimulate you and challenge you at the same time. Here’s what you should be looking for in a good training environment: music that makes your blood boil, a gym/facility that allows chalk, people who are training for the same goals as you do and, of course, appropriate equipment. My personal experience: I have been training to increase my strength levels for the past 4-5 years. The time when I was the strongest was when I interned at Robert Morris University under Todd Hamer, where I was surrounded with very strong people. Since then, I had been working as a personal trainer in a commercial gym for 3 years where I was also doing my own training. Even if I was motivated and knew how to program in a smart way, I had a hard time getting my strength up for these past 3 years because my training environment sucked and I was not surrounded by strong people. This past winter, I made the move to Endeavor where I was back in a good training environment and surrounded by strong people who have the same goals as me. The result? In less than 6 weeks I broke my previous deadlift personal record and I just bench pressed my previous PR for 2 reps a few days ago. And all of this in less than 3 months! And I’m not the only one. I’ve heard dozens of stories of people who got stronger and improved their performances by switching to a good training environment. If you’re serious about your training, you owe it to yourself to find a facility/gym that will help you progress toward your goals in an optimal way. I may be biased, but Endeavor is a great choice! -David Lasnier
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