Revelations

Lately I have been thinking a lot about my training philosophy, what I believe in, what I have learned. I take a bunch of things from different people, and different places, and I do not believe any one discipline to be "right." I thought I would let you get inside my mind, and see what I believe in on a daily basis. This is very, very random...be warned!

1.) Olympic Lifts are good lifts...BUT they take WAY to long to teach, and the principles of compensatory acceleration are applicable to ANY lift. In addition, I have found that OL's are very tough on the joints. I honestly feel as though intense plyos and band squats are a far better option.

2.) I really, really hate football testing. I mean really, really hate it. My kids bust their ass for me all summer, getting ready to play the sport that they love, and then are tested under a completely moronic protocol...such as running a 300 yard shuttle an hour before they are tested on squats. It is then up to me to calm them down and tell them why they didn't test as well. If you aren't going to test athletes properly..DON'T DO IT AT ALL!

3.) On a side note, we had a number of kids perform very, very well, so this pleases me.

4.) To get big, you need a very large caloric intake. If you have a fast metabolism, it doesn't matter much where these calories come from (lucky bastards). If you have a slower metabolism, the extra calories need to come primarily from protein and fats. If you are a guy with a slower metabolism, it is better to get lean first. Bulking when you are fat will just make you...fatter.

5.) After much deliberation, I have decided that there are 3 ways to train if you are drug free. Total body workouts, uppers/lowers, and metabolic workouts. If you train with any sort of intensity, that is all you need. If you need to lift 6X/week to get gains...you should go work construction part time, they'll even pay you to train. Get variety from volume and exercise selection, not training splits.

6.) There is no such thing as a "mass gaining" program and a "cutting" program. If you eat big, you'll get bigger. End of story. If you limit calories, you'll get leaner. End of story.

7.) The 40 yard dash is the DUMBBEST test in all of sports. No wait, the 60 Yard Dash in baseball is...but you get my drift. Watch a football game, and you will know why. A 20 Yard Dash is a much better option. If you are running over 20 yards in a straight line, then you are doing something really good...or something really bad, and at that point, does it matter how fast you run the rest? I think fast is fast, plain and simple. Start guys from a 2 point stance, and use the lasers. Enough of this stance bullshit. This isn't the Olympics.

8.) For upper body workouts, use all "big" movements (compound movements OR exercises that target your chest, back, shoulders, and traps), during your training session. Then, allocate 5-10 minutes and bounce back and forth between bicep and tricep movements...you won't be dissapointed.

9.) Metabolic training, with a Max Effort Upper Body and/or a Max Effort Lower Body movement preceding the workout is a very, very good way to train. have you ever seen a fat person doing a Metabolic workout? I haven't either.

10.) Having athletes train with parachutes is VERY beneficial...if the athletes are between the ages of 4-12 years old. Having high school athletes train this way is criminal if the goal is speed development...get them STRONGER. If conditioning is the only goal, that is a different story. Overspeed training is a much better option.

11.) RDL's should not be done IN season...ever. GHR's are much better, they elongate the hamstring less, and cause less soreness. On that note, never perform sprints or overspeed training the day after RDL's. It is an injury waiting to happen.

12.) If you can't touch your toes, performing speed training is the last thing you should be doing to get faster. Perform heavy RDL's, stretch, foam roll, repeat. 4 weeks later you will be faster for it.

13.) The Summer Olympics is a joke..Baseball and softball are eliminated, and yet we get to watch sports like...ping pong, air rifle, bmx biking...WTF?