NEWS & EVENTS
|
About a month ago I started working with 6 new athletes, all high school students. Their Week 1 Dumbbell Reverse Lunge (my favorite lower body exercise) weights started at: Female 1: 25s for 6/side Female 2: 20s for 6/side Female 3: 30s for 6/side Female 4: 10s for 8/side Female 5: 12s for 8/side Male 1: 40s for 6/side Week 4 weights: Female 1: 35s for 8/side Female 2: 40s for 8/side Female 3: 40s for 8/side Female 4: 25s for 10/side Female 5: 25s for 10/side Male 1: 75s for 4/side (week 3!); 70s for 6/side (week 4) 100% increases in strength over 3-4 weeks may leave some people skeptical. So what's the answer to the question: "Are Endeavor Athletes Taking Steroids?" ABSOLUTELY NOT! In fact, I absolutely refuse to work with any athlete that takes recreational steroids (opposed to medically prescribed, such as those that are give to make up for a significant deficiency in some hormone or those found in some inhalers...which aren't anabolic at all). The truth is that YOU could get results like this too. Your unparalleled work ethic+ world-class program design + quality coaching = RESULTS! Click here to email me to find out how Endeavor can help get you in the best shape of your life! P.S. Do NOT wait until after the holidays to get started. The longer you wait, the harder it is to get started. Don't be a new years resolution drop out. Take action NOW!
Bookmark:
In my last post I mentioned that there were several other benefits to training to improve your maximum strength (in addition to the strength gain). Jared, who has suffered from back pain in the past, no longer has pain. This happens frequently in people that have weak glutes and improper movement patterns. By strengthening your glutes and hamstrings, and training a good pulling/lifting pattern (through exercises like the deadlift), you take strain off the low back muscles and minimize the likelihood that the person will use a dangerous movement pattern when bending in the future. Maximum strength training builds "functional" muscle. Most people I talk to have never heard of the concept of building "non-functional" muscle mass. I was first introduced to this concept in one of Christian Thibadeau's books. Non-functional hypertrophy (read: muscle growth), which is built through higher repetition training (8+ reps/set) means that different aspects of the muscle are growing that DO NOT contribute to force production. I like to think of this as putting the 4-cylinder engine of my saturn 4-door family sedan into a Ferrari. It's all fluff. I'm not sure why anyone would want this, but I guess some people want "the look" even if they're incredibly weak. In contrast, functional hypertrophy (increasing the size of the part of the muscle that DOES contribute to force production) is better built with moderate range repetitions (4-6), such as those in our Maximum Strength Program. Adding muscle mass increases your metabolism significantly. An increased metabolism means more calories and fat burned while you're RESTING. This is one of the most misunderstood aspects of weight loss. One of the keys to long-term fat loss is building muscle and letting it burn calories for you all day. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. -Kevin Neeld
Bookmark:
Yesterday we wrapped up the final Day 2 of the 4-week Maximum Strength Program we were all working off of. It was another exciting day, as ANOTHER personal record was set! Shamus was admittedly skeptical about whether or not my low volume, high intensity training program could improve his bench press. After this lift he apologized for his skepticism and said "apparently you do know what you're talking about." 2-Board Press: 340 lbs x 1 No PRs for me again, but I'll take 295 lbs. Keep checking back this week to learn how lifting heavy can also cure your back pain, help you shed body fat, and have you looking and feeling better than ever. Keep working hard. Keep training smart. -Kevin Neeld
Bookmark:
Today was Week 4 Day 1 of the Endeavor Staff using the Maximum Strength Program I wrote several weeks ago. I'll give you more details about the progress everyone made as the week goes on, but here are a few of today's highlights: Endeavor's owner, Jared Beach, hit a deadlift personal record (PR): 325 x 2. Not only did he hit a PR, but he hit it after several months of no training at all following a minor surgery. This means that after 4 weeks of structured training (with a swine flu interruption between weeks 2 and 3), he had a lifetime best lift! Jared setting a PR to hilarious music... Shamus Rack Pulled 425 lbs! Another personal best (up from 295 lbs on Week 1). I didn't hit any PRs this morning, but I was able to Front Squat 285 lbs, and Deadlift 405 for two. Neither are PRs (Front Squat PR: 315 lbs, Deadlift PR: 455 lbs) but after 4 months of not doing either of these lifts, I'm relatively happy that I'm getting the numbers back up again. 285 Front Squat Keep checking back this week. I'm excited to see what other PRs the Endeavor Staff hits throughout the week. -Kevin Neeld, Director of Athletic Development
Bookmark:
Over the Summer, I had about a half dozen athletes that I told to never come in with "those shoes" again. After talking to them about why, they all promptly bought new shoes. What's the big deal about shoes? Ironically my favorite shoe and least favorite shoe are made by the same company: Nike. Nike Shox are probably the worst thing you could train in. Nike Frees are probably the best. Starting with Shox: 1. Most training (speed, lower body strength, full body power, etc.) relies on applying force into the ground. Standing on springs will NOT improve your ability to apply force to the ground; it will actually inhibit it substantially. By nature, the "shox" have a cushioning effect on your heel, meaning some of the force you exert down is lost. This is why you never see extremely strong people wearing Shox (most serious powerlifters still wear Chuck Taylors because of their flat, hard sole). 2. Heel lifts in general aren't great for you for a couple reasons. The heel lift shifts some of your weight forward, making it more difficult to load the muscles on the back side of your body (especially the hamstrings). This is why you'll see our clients deadlifting barefoot, because it allows them to shift their weight back, and really load their "posterior chain". The other downside of having a heel lift is that, over time, you can actually lose "dorsiflexion" range of motion (range of motion pulling your toes closer to your shins). This isn't good for anyone, but is especially bad for athletes as high levels of smooth dorsiflexion are required for running. Why Nike Frees are the Greatest: 1. Nike Frees have a hard, relatively flat sole, which drastically improves the force transfer between your body and the ground (think stronger and faster). 2. The biggest benefit of Frees is the design of the sole. If you take your bare foot in your hand and move it around, you'll see that it bends and rotates in almost all directions. When you put your foot in most shoes, you can maintain your ankle range of motion (unless you're wearing basketball shoes, which I don't think ANYONE should wear EVER...even if you play basketball), but your foot is realtively immovable. Nike Frees have longitudinal cuts (separations in the rubber sole running from toe to heel) in functional places to allow your foot to bend and mold to the ground, similiar to how it would move if you weren't wearing shoes. This range of motion helps maintain the proper function of the small muscles within the foot. It's no surprise that when people first start wearing Nike Frees their feet are sore. 3. And lastly, people that wear Nike Frees are found more appealing by members of the opposite sex. If you aren't quite ready to make the Nike Frees transition, at least trade out your Shox (or other shoe witha big heel lift) for something with a flatter sole. To your continued progress, Kevin Neeld, Director of Athletic Development
Bookmark:
|
|
Search Posts
CategoriesEndeavor in the Media Athletic Development Nutrition Advice Weight Loss Golf Training Endeavor Training Maximum Strength Endeavor Athlete Success Back Pain Supplements Injury Prevention Hockey Training Quote of the Week Training Intangibles Power Development Core Training Sport-Specific Conditioning Monthly Archives |
| Translate: |