All 4 Sports and Fitness Blog

Off-Season Training for High School and Middle School Athletes, West Islip, NY

This time of year, as the weather gets nasty and it seems to get dark in the afternoon, local high school and middle school athletes start their off-season training programs for the upcoming Spring season.

Now is the time to get started for them to make sure they are fully prepared for tryouts and the demands of a competitive season.

Wednesday night we held a workshop for parents and athletes to know what was important when designing an off-season program.

We covered speed training, strength training, the truth about supplements, pre and post workout nutrition, among several other critical topics.

Yesterday I shot a quick video outlining the main points from the workshop.

Best Cardio Workout Ever!

That's right!! The best ever....

At least that is what members were telling me today as they stepped off the brand new additions to the club.

When I tried the new Precor AMT trainers a few months ago at a trade show, I knew our members would love them.

Now they are here!!!

I shot a quick video tonight to show you how to use them, and you can watch below.....

And don't worry....

I didn't forget to announce the new classes, nutrition education sessions, and what I am going to do with all those applicants that didn't get into the Body Transformation Contest.

I just got back in town and I will be working on gettting you all that info by the end of the week.

Video Coaching Episode Three

In the last two Video Coaching Episodes we uncovered the little known secrets of:

• how to increase mobility in your hips
• how to strengthen the muscles in and around the hips with simple activation exercises
• then how to work on movement patterns to ensure that you protect your lower back when you move in life and sport

In this next episode, I will show you how to work on upper back issues that lead to low back pain as well as alleviate some of that upper back tension that most people possess.

Getting rid of the stress is up to you...but I can help you restore your shoulder movement patterns....haha

Also please be sure to leave comments on the blog if you want me to address anything specific in future episodes of the Video Coaching Series!

If you have trouble viewing this video try the YouTube Version by Clicking Here

Video Coaching Episode Two

Last week, I got a great response from the First Video Coaching Episode.

This week we will follow it up with Episode 2 - "How to Train without Pain" - Low Back - Hip Activation Exercises and Core Strength Patterns to aid in taking stress off the low back and eliminating the incidence of future back pain.

Many of these exercises are based on the concepts developed by Gray Cook, a noted physical therapist in Virgina, who has been a pioneer in changing the way people think about funcional movement and how it relates to exercise.

Please post comments and feedback to help me decide on topics for future episodes...

If you have trouble viewing this video try the YouTube Version by Clicking Here

All-Star Week and Goodbye Shea Stadium

Monday night I was at the Homerun Derby....

Tuesday night at the All-Star Game....

and last night watching Billy Joel rock Shea Stadium for the last time!

I was so busy saying goodbye to the two stadiums in NY that I didn't have time to see all the posts accumulating on the blog from last week's newsletter!

Check out the recent comments on the July 10th post.  (below)

Cardio Stores Fat? Part III

Cardio Stores Fat? Part II

Although I am not a huge fan of looking at research, I think in this case it is appropriate.

Here are 2 studies that will not only support yesterday's email newsletter but may be eye opening for you to read.

Don't just take it from me....read the studies and make a change to your routine.

Study #1 - The Influence of diet and/or exercise on body composition and cardio-respiratory fitness in obese women.

Utter AC, Nieman DC, Shannonhouse EM, Butterworth DE, Nieman CN, Int J. Sports Nutrition. 1998 Sep;8(3):213-22

Conclusion:
The addition of 45 minutes of aerobic exercise at 78% Max Heart Rate 5 days a week for 12 weeks had NO EFFECT over dieting alone.

Study #2 - Regional body composition changes in women after 6 months of periodized physical training.

Bradley C., Nindu, Everett A., Harman, James O., Marx, Lincoln A., Gotshalk, Peter N., Frykman, Eric, Lammis, Chris Palmer, and William Kraemer

Conclusions: <br>
6 Months of resistance and aerobic exercise

Women lost body fat in hierarchy mode: upper body first, then trunk, then legs.

Overall, the women experienced a 2.2% decrease in body mass, a 10% decrease in fat mass, and a 2,2% increase in lean mass.

What does all this mean?

A proper diet, a periodized cardio program (change in intensity levels) and resistance training is not only the best way to get your weight under control, it may be the only way!

Go with the numbers and think about hiring our nutritionist, or get a cardiovascular assessment to design a specific periodized program just for you.

See you in the gym!!

Cardio Stores Fat?

Horrible but true.

Those nice leisurely walks and long bike rides may be a thing of the past if you are looking to lose weight. (unless you do it for fun, of course)

By no means am I saying that doing light activity is a bad thing. At this point, most of the American population is sedentary and any movement is good.

But what I want you to realize is that at some point you need to up the intensity.

After some time, light intensity aerobics makes you efficient at storing fat!

But wait a minute.

If you keep doing the same thing at a low intensity, wouldn't the same be true if you kept doing the same thing at high intensity.....hhmmmmmmm.

Can someone that runs 6 miles a day continue to gain weight?

If you take 4 spin classes a week can you actually pack on the pounds?

The answer: IT DEPENDS.

In our quantity driven culture it is always about how many and how long?

How far can you run?

How much weight can you press?

These are common questions when people are assessing someone's fitness level.

There is hardly ever any mention of quality.

At what intensity can you run?

How much power can you produce in your bench press (much more usable in life and sport, rather than just strength)?

These should be the questions we are asking.

When it comes to cardio training and weight loss you have to realize it is not how far or long you can go, but how hard you work.

What is the quality of the workout?

Someone who runs 6 miles a day for 10 years will continue to gain weight if they always run at the same intensity.

Intensity should increase over time with a proper periodized program to mix high intensity days, medium intensity days, and recovery days.

Just like a person who takes a spin class 4 times a week and refuses to strength train will continue to gain or stay the same weight.

It is very simple:

When you do the same exercise routine your body gets very efficient at that activity.

The body adapts and will efficiently store fat!

Cut Your Workout Time in Half

How can you cut your workout time in half and get better results?

Here are two ways:

• Pair, Tri-set, or Quadset Exercises
• Design an Efficient Cardio Program

Pairing, Tri-setting, or quadsetting exercises means that you are grouping exercises together to make the most efficient use of your time.

Instead of completting an exercise and sitting there waiting to recover, now you can choose 2 (pair), 3 (tri-set), or 4 (quadset) exercises and complete them together one after another.

This will give you enough rest between sets of one exercise pattern while you work on others.

For example a quadset might look like this: Bench Press for 12 reps, Plank Hold for 30 seconds, Cable Row for 12 reps, and a Shoulder Stretch for 10 reps on each shoulder.

This will either cut your workout time in half or allow you to do more with the same amount of time.

Another way to decrease your time in the gym and get the same result would be to design an efficient cardio routine.

Here is an example of a 3 day per week routine:

Recovery Day - Click on image to view full size version

   

Medium Intensity Day - Click on image to view full size version

Interval Day - Click on image to view full size version

The Yellow Zone is 65% of your max heart rate.

Green Zone is 75% of your max heart rate.

And Red Zone is 85% of your max heart rate.

To calculate an estimate of your max heart rate, take 220 minus your age.

How to Lose a Beer Gut...

Lots of sit ups, right?

Wrong!!!!

The key to fat loss (or beer belly loss) is a proper nutrition and exercise program.

Most people would say, "well my stomach is big, so I am going to work on my stomach".

This thinking will significantly slow down your results.

Think about surface area.

The more surface area your body has (lean body tissue) the more calories you will burn all day long.

I like to use the anology of a sponge....

If you had to mop up a large puddle and you had two sponges, would you rather use a sponge the size of your abs or a sponge the size of your body?

A balanced nutrition program and a proper TOTAL BODY exercise program will help increase your metabolism all day.

Due to the way fitness is advertised and spoken about in the media most people believe that when they feel fatigue, that is the fat burning.

Not True....

I would much rather use the 23 other hours of the day to get results, rather than burning a ton of calories in only 1 hour in the gym.

In the "Results Driven Orientation" that is exactly what we teach. How to set up a nutrition, strength, and cardio program to burn calories all day long not just in the gym.

If you are interested in attending on Tuesday night at 6:30 PM write me an email or call 631-321-1900.