FAST YOUTH ATHLETE

How working at Vinny's Pizza at 9 Year's old turned me to an All Conference football player?

2011-12-01T17:15:00.001-08:00

Vinny's pizza was a small spot in Hollywood, FL. My brother and I were always thinking of ways to make more money as we saw our mother struggle to make ends meet. This was perfect for us...so we thought. Our good friend Tyrone introduced us to Vinny and the rest is history. Vinny offered us positions as flyer carriers for different neighborhoods. That is just a fancy word for Vinny dropping us in the neighborhood with a bundle of flyers to hang on every door we could.

I remember those days like it was yesterday. The sun was beaming hot and I would have done anything to be around my brother. I admired him because he was a natural born leader. He also was one of the best athletes I have ever been around. In fact, my brother was timed at a 4.39 40 yard dash in eighth grade. We had several private schools in the area who wanted him to play football for them. But my brother made some bad decisions that led him towards a different path.

Let's get back to the Vinny experience....the routine was to ride our bikes to the pizzeria. We would place our bikes in the back of the restaurant and someone would drive us to the neighborhood where we would work. We would split up and start hanging flyers on different doors. Our day's work would end three hours later. Vinny would pick us up and pay us about 20 bucks a piece. I think Vinny took advantage of us now, but back then at 9 years old it was as if I was a millionaire. It's funny, but we would always go to Popeye's chicken after work.

I guess that part has not changed as I still like it when my wife has a hot meal prepared after a hard day's work. lol! The point of the story about Vinny's was I loved the hustle because I enjoyed the reward of being paid. That is why I think some parents need to let their kids earn the training they desire with their trainers. I guarantee most kids will value it more when it took their own sweat to earn the dollars to pay for training.

I learn the value of hard work paying off when I worked at Vinny's. The drive to earn my reward kept me walking from door to door when I was tired. I did not need a reminder from my mother or anyone else. The bible talks about a man that does not work does not eat. I am paraphrasing, but that is the gist of it. How does this relate to being an all-conference?

Well, I learned that anything worth having will require me to put in work. Anyone that has played ball with me or hit the chamber with me know I lay it on the line. I always wanted to practice like there was no tomorrow. I wanted to win every sprint during conditioning because I was not afraid of set backs. This helped me when I realized that the last schools that were looking at me that I was interested in were not going to offer me. The schools I was looking at were Pennsylvania, Illinois State, and USF. They all said' I was too small.

The hard work mentality kicked in when I realized I was going to have to go to a D3. I was thankful that I had somewhere to go as some people do not get the opportunity to play after HS. I hit the campus at 5'9" and weighed 145. I vowed to myself that I was going to leave campus a stronger version of myself. It helped me make the difficult decisions I had to make later on. What were those decisions you ask?

Some of the decisions were training when I did not want to, drinking those terrible protein shakes, eating when I did not want to eat, going to the library when I did want to, and getting extra help at the Academic skills center. I wanted to succeed in every area of my life. I wanted to be a better player, better student, and a better Christian. God changed my life on that college campus.

I recall one football practice session that tested me mentally. I was having an off day and I was exhausted at the DB position. In fact, we ran close to 40 plays back to back that day. Coach would not remove me from the DB position because he said I was not playing hard. The WR kept changing and they were running deep routes. It did not help that it was raining and cold. This is when you find out what you are made of. That day I had a flash back of how hard it was to get here and the early days of Vinny's pizzeria kicked in. I wish I could say I kept the WR's from catching the ball. Coach stated that if I let one more WR catch the ball in front of me just to make a tackle the team would be sorry. Our WR caught a 15 yard stop route. We did 150 up downs that day. I could have folded that day because that was a tough day.

I took it as a lesson learned as I started demanding more from myself. In fact, I had an opportunity to be tested again. That is the thing about life you only fail if you stop. Some made that choice and quit that team. But that was not an option for me because I had a goal that I knew required hard work. We were preparing for our toughest opponent in the conference and coach made us run after each session. We would have individual drills and run two gassers right afterward. This sequence followed after 1on1's, team, etc...but I made up in mind coach would not break me. In fact, I was laughing as I made all my required times on every single one. I embraced this as just part of the process. This attitude followed me into the games.

You are who you are most consistently. I tried to be mentally tough and work hard in every area of my life. This way it would become a habit. The challenge came the week I faced the WR with the most receiving yards in the conference. It was like a rocky fight. I studied game film, hit the chamber hard, and practiced hard that week. The end result is that he had 0 catches that game. My hope is that you can see that the take home message is that hard work is something that can be developed and helps change every area in your life. It will take hard work to become all-conference in every area in your life.

High Knee Hug

2011-11-24T12:22:00.001-08:00

What is the Chamber?

2011-11-18T18:43:00.001-08:00

Many have asked me what the chamber is all about. They have heard us mention it when we are talking about training, so most thought it had to do with physical training. And you would be right. However, there is much more to it. The chamber is harnessing your God-given passion for training to change your mindset about training. I was a rookie to the chamber until I stepped on my college campus. Dan Helms and the example showed me what it really meant to enter the chamber.

The chamber has everything to do with overlooking your equipment limitations in the weight room or focusing on what you don't have. Our weight room was real old school. But, the more results I received the more I realized that fancy machines were not needed to get results. We had everything you need to obtain results. Let's take a trip down memory lane. We had some benches, rusty weights, bars, dumbbells, squat racks, and hammer machines. I can still remember the rust on my shirt when we left the weight room. There was something about that atmosphere that made me realize my only reason for being there was hardcore training.

We would challenge each other which made us push our limits. It would be rare that someone would want to give in. If Dan Helms or the example added another 25 lb plate to the bar they would have to drag me out of there for me not to attempt it. That was not the best program design now that I know better, but it helped me develop mental toughness that could not be touched on the field. It made me feel like there wasn't a receiver in the conference I could not punish. I reminded myself that these opponents did not train with Dan helms and the example. What a feeling it was to know that you strained, sweated, and bled to make it through those grueling sessions.

I think that is one thing we have tried to instill in our business Lamour Training Systems. We want you to know that you will work hard during the training sessions, but the inward as well as outward rewards will be well worth it. Life is not about easy DB curls and looking at the mirror. Life can be a tough grind sometimes but you must learn to appreciate being uncomfortable. I live by the bible verse faith without works is dead. You will not reach your fitness or athletic goals without learning to be uncomfortable. thisMany times I have heard others say that football players or professional athletes should look great since that is their job. Wake up...stop making excuses. They still have to make a decision to put in the work.

I have been around enough lazy athletes to tell you that the hard workers are to be appreciated. You can put forth that same effort to accelerate your results as well. There were many times I did not want to enter the chamber because I knew what was ahead would not be fun. What kept me going was having my goals in my room to remind me why I am taking my body through this. I knew that I wanted to be the best DB in our conference. It was a true blessing, but not a surprise that I made all conference for three years.I sowed the substance of what I hoped for. I spent my summer in training while friends were watching TV and going out. I endured the process because every step toward progress encouraged me.

Each goal I achieved was fuel to keep pushing. I would squat 315x10 while weighing 170. Maybe, that is why I enjoy fast fuel pre-workout. That small victory created a mindset that seeked adversity. I soon learned that though adversity is the road less traveled it is the road that leads to the greatest victories oftentimes. Some days I would have temporary set backs where I could not hit my numbers I wrote in my training books or missed my sprint times. Although, the setbacks were numerous I refused to allow them to be failures. Failure only occurs if you stop.

I fought until there wasn't any more fight. It is the same way I approach business and family life. You must be willing to leave it all on the field in every area of life. You can help develop that mentality if you stop seeing the weight room as just a place to train but start seeing it as the "chamber."I leave you with a story of another episode of the chamber.

It was one of those grueling sessions in the weight room during off season workouts. It was early in the morning and I did not want to be there. It was one of those stays where I had a big number of tests and did not get enough sleep. But like Mitch Jenk said, " You are here now." It didn't help that coach came in singing old West Virginia country songs. The switch was turned on...I ask God to help me as I knew I was going to lay it on the line. We were separated into our lifting groups and the chamber began. We started at the hammer squat. This machine was huge contraption that worked the legs. It might not have been the best leg muscle developer as the machine helped fix the plane of motion. However, we didn't know any better also our progress could be measured. It seemed I made tons of progress when I did not over think things and made sure I increased the weights weekly. Now a days we have so much information on the internet that we can over think our training.

Anyways, it was my turn and coach slapped 700 lbs. on the machine. I think I was weighing about 175 and there was no way I was going to let coach take off any weights. Remember, we are in the chamber baby... I lifted and lifted. Things started slowing down and this where you enter the grind zone. Do you run and hide or attack the weights. I chose to attack. Coach was saying things like, " Let's get one more rep for the playoffs, for the program, for the championship." There was no way I was going to let the team down. I ended up doing 23 reps and beat some of the linemen. The end result was they had to carry me to breakfast because I could not walk. Also, my jaw locked and I had to go see the emergency dentist. Some would say that was crazy, but I was will endure the pain to receive the promise on the other in. What are you willing to endure? How bad do you want it? Step into the chamber...See you all next time. Special thanks to Dan Helms and The Example who showed me how to get down in the chamber.

How to Stay in Shape as a college football or HS football Coach?

2011-11-12T18:45:00.001-08:00

This is something I have been wanting to address for some time. Coaches are in a great position to make a difference in a young man’s life. However, a coaching job can be very demanding. Many coaches are the first one there and often the last to leave. HS coaches sometimes have to teach a subject, manage students, manage athletes, study film, and the list goes on. I could recall when I coached leaving the office on game nights at 11 p.m. That is not exactly a formula for being chiseled. College coaches are also under tremendous stress to win and their schedules are hectic. I remember my college football coach sleeping in his office instead of his home during two a day practices. I also recalled watching a documentary of one of the best football programs in the nation and a coach saying he would skip lunch just so he could make it home by 10 p.m. I know if you don’t you don’t stay at the major programs, but there is no way I am sacrificing my family for football. You don’t get that time back and those programs have no loyalty. You are the hero one minute and the hunted the other. That is a whole other story.I think we as coaches have to be role models to the young men that we lead. We have to show them how they can balance their passion for football yet not neglect other areas of their lives. I am a firm believer in prioritizing life in the order of faith, family, and football. How can you tell them to stay in shape while you are overweight? There is nothing like a coach that sets the tone by living what he preaches. Don’t get me wrong I believe in working hard, but not over working. Here are some strategies to stay in shape while coaching effectively.1) Eat healthy snacks- Snickers is not a quality lunch. Keep fruit and nuts handy. These are easy to carry and does not require much planning. Also, all natural bars like Rise Bar, Pro Bar, Focus Food Bars, or Parr Bars. These bars should keep you full before your next meal and keep you from eating empty calories. Also, drink plenty of water which will keep you full and stay away from drinking your calories. That means the sugar laden coffee, soft drinks, and beer.2) Train with the team. Your workout may be different since you are not a spring chicken anymore, but the kids just enjoy the fact that you are willing to step into the trenches. I have been able to get more out of my guys when I step up to the plate benching, squatting, rowing, and doing pull ups. It shows them that you are willing to go to war with them and it will build camaraderie. They know you are not one of them, but you share enough in common to build a strong bond. I would even run with them as that is where it really takes mental toughness to complete the drills. However, you better warm-up so you don’t get hurt. 3) Enlist the help of another. Allow the athletes to see you submit yourself to another that knows more than you in an area. That will show them it is okay to ask for help and not know everything. Many college coaches have strength coaches on their staff and this is a great resource to build a quality training program. I would keep my workouts about 45 minutes long and go hard on compound movements. Also, have fun with some supplemental exercises that will ensure total body development. Don’t try to hold back…let them see you struggle as well as fail. That is part of life and will help prepare your athletes for adversity on and off the field.4) Read a book every day. It is unrealistic for you to expect your athletes to value education if you are unwilling to invest in that area. Also, read books that are not related to sports. The message must be clear that life is more than football. As coaches, we must help our athletes develop life after football because football will eventually stop. Please stop cussing coaches as it teaches the young men that they should limit expressing themselves and wrongfully deal with anger. How about correcting with passion, but also building them up. Coaches that cuss always looked like kids that did not know how to communicate effectively. All failures are opportunities to teach which is what coaching is all about.5) Take walks often to clear your mind and spend time with your family. There is enough stress in life. I can’t make it in life without praying that God guides me throughout the day. Find time with yourself and pull away for some relaxation. This could be your time to get away from football. 6) Travel is not excuse to keep you from exercising. Bring your travel kit like blast straps, trx, jump rope, and stretch bands. I also like to bring my jump rope and my running shoes. I like to run hill sprints and enjoy some bodyweight exercises. This will help relax you for the game.I hope these strategies gave you some ideas on how to stay in good shape regardless of your schedule while coaching. There are other tips, but I thought this would be a good start. Feel free to ask any questions you might have.

Warm-Up Fast Fuel Style

2011-11-08T17:47:00.000-08:00

Strength Coach Jason Spray from Middle Tennessee State talks about preparing for College

2011-10-05T08:49:00.000-07:00

What are common areas of weakness you see with incoming freshmen?

Most lineman and combos “linebacker, fullbacks, running backs, tight ends” typically come from a powerlifting style training program that are centered around the bench press “horizontal pushing strength” with less than adequate pulling strength, and poor shoulder mobility. This is recipe for a shoulder injury, and it’s amazing the number of 18 year old kids that have power lifting type injuries, like symptomatic labrum problems, also poor hip mobility is usually a given as well.

WR – DB types typically are good to decent in the mobility area, but lack in the strength department. So let’s take a look at the absolute strength and the absolute speed continuum. Skill position athletes in high school tend to stay more far right “absolute speed” sprinting, jumping etc. with just body weight exercises not truly developing their strength potential.

How can they better prepare themselves in HS to prepare for the rigors of college football?

First try and become use to strength training in season. Strength training isn’t just for the off season; its benefits are just as important during the season as well.

Try to report to their respective school in as best shape possible. The worst mistake an athlete can make is reporting to either training camp or the early period in July not being physically prepared. If you’re not responsible enough to follow the program on your own, hire yourself a qualified performance coach or ask a high school coach to help.

How important our grades and character in developing a quality football player?

Wow I had to learn that the hard way coming out of high school. I had to go the JUCO route out of high school for a semester, then PROP 48 for a year. Like the old saying goes “NO GRADES NO PLAY” If an athlete can’t meet NCAA requirements no matter how much a coach or coaches loves you as potential athlete, there is nothing they can do for you. Show me a kid with poor grades and I will show you kid with character flaws, whether its laziness or defiant it takes responsibility and effort to do well on the field and in the class room.

What services are available for improving test grades if you struggle with a particular subject?

This I am not sure about, but I do know colleges offer excellent academic aid “study hall, tutors etc” now a days

What can a HS football player expect during a junior day?

It’s a great way to meet potential coaches and gain exposure. Most Jr days consist of 40 yard dash, variety of agility drills and position specific work.

How can an athlete gain favor in a coach’s eye? What can they do to make a good impression?

Well coaches can say what that want, but the first thing that gets the coaches eye is what the player physically looks like, “passing the eye test”. Second standout on film, have that “wow factor”. If you do not have quality film “play on the field” its tuff to get recruited. When they meet coaches in person conduct themselves like an adult. Introduce themselves to the coach look him in the eye and shake his hand.

What are 3 exercises that every football player should master?

Well In the weight room I am going to say Olympic lifts and its variations, rear foot elevated split squats and chin ups. Field work 10 and 20 yard sprints, and pro agility drill.

What supplements do you recommend?

My response when I get asked this question is, do you eat 3 meals and two snacks every day? If the answer is no, then start there. If the answer is yes then multi vitamin, fish oil, protein supplement and maybe creatine.

What is ideal for preparing for two a day practices?

NCAA has limited schools to only two two a days during summer camp, so the grind is not what it once was.

How important is time management when dealing with a D1 athletic schedule? Can you walk us through a typical day for one of your football players from waking up, classes, meetings, study hall, eating, and leisure time?

The everyday grind and structure of the college athlete is just appreciated by the outsider unless you have done it! The typical Monday in season looks like the following.

Get their workout in between 6am – 2pm

Typical student athlete has 3 classes a day. 8am 10am and 1130am

Treatment 6am and 230pm

Study hall 2pm and 730pm

Team meeting 3 individual position meeting 330

Jason Spray has climbed the ladder of success rapidly in the sports performance industry, since his collegiate athletic career, and he continues to exemplify the tremendous work ethic that made him a decorated gridiron standout at Middle Tennessee State University. The durable and hard-working Spray played in 32 career games at Middle Tennessee. He was named co-captain of the 8-3 2001 Sun Belt Championship team.

Coach Spray is an expert sports performance coach whom writes for STACK and Premier Players Magazines. Coach Spray has been involved in sports performance at the collegiate level for nine years, and has worked with athletes from many sports who compete at various levels to improve performance, eliminate dysfunction and recover from injury. Coach Spray has published articles about his proven training program and innovative methods for many prominent strength and fitness related sites. Coach Spray has spoken in front of groups as diverse as honor students, salesmen, sport coaches, church groups, parents, military and sports medicine teams. Spray’s group of offseason pro projects has grown over the years, and the players often come to Murfreesboro on short notice during breaks in their schedule to train with coach Spray.

Upcoming Speed Seminar

2011-09-13T06:30:00.001-07:00

Please let us know of any topics you would like discussed and address any questions you might have. We are aiming at having a limited number, so the attendees can receive some targeted instructional time.

How do I eat if I have two games in one day during a tournament?

2011-08-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Answer provided by High School Sports Nutrition.

Great questions and parents are always looking for the right foods to fuel their children with before games or matches. Here are my suggestions.

Breakfast: Between 9-10 am and nice blend of complex carbs, lean protein, and a little healthy fat. Here are some examples. I don't know your kid’s food preferences but will give you a few examples to choose from.

1) 1-2 Whole Eggs (Eggland's Best or Nature's Harmony as they have more Omega 3) (if they want 1 egg, add 2 egg whites as well)
1/2 cup of oatmeal (Can add ground cinnamon and splenda for added taste) or 1 packet of Quaker Weight Control (it's low in sugar)
1 cup or piece of fresh fruit
1 piece of turkey sausage or 2 pieces of Center Cut Bacon

** If they are not a fan of oatmeal - use 2 slices of 100% whole wheat toast with a little real butter (1 tsp on each)

Hydrate with water

2) 2 slices of wheat toast with Natural Peanut butter or Almond Butter (I like Smart Balance or School Kids Cafe Brand). Jiffy, Jif, and
Peter Pan now have Natural PB options if she prefers those.
Fresh fruit
1 piece of turkey sausage or 2 slices of Center Cut Bacon (lean)
Glass of low fat milk, soy milk, or Almond Milk

3) Nutrition Shake (3/4 scoop of a Protein Powder, 1/2 cup of oats, 1 tablespoon of protein powder, and 8-12 ounces of low fat milk or
Almond Milk). Mix all in a blend or Magic Bullet with 3 ice cubes and serve. Water to hydrate.

I'm a big fan of a drink called Generation UCAN for her hydration and to sustain energy. This is the only product I recommend during activity and Half-time as it will stabilize blood sugar and insulin unlike typical sports drinks (Gatorade/Powerade). It also has 2-3 times more electrolytes than the commercial sports drink. Here's a link where you can purchase it.

http://store-812d5.mybigcommerce.com/

We are recommending young athletes drink a 1/2 packet before a match and the other 1/2 packet at half-time.

Post Game – They will probably not be too hungry because of the UCAN but will still need to eat around 2:30 or 3:00 pm. Here are some options. They may not want a full meal and may want a light snack.

Options
-Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich with Fresh Fruit (Polaner All Fruit Jelly is your best option for Jelly) - water to hydrate
-Turkey or Lean Ham Sandwich on whole grain bread with fruit or a small handful of nuts or trial mix
- 6 inch wheat sub from Subway (if nearby) - any low fat sandwich option, baked chips or apple slices, water
- Trail Mix with fresh fruit (apple, banana, orange)
- Turkey or Ham Wheat Wrap, green salad with light dressing (if eating from a restaurant)

In regards to preventing muscle cramps - the key here is to make sure they have enough sodium in their diet. I like including turkey sausage or lean bacon for added sodium. Cramping is more of a result of sodium loss than potassium and why bananas will not cure cramping issues.

2011-07-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

Why conditioning should not be the early focus of your Off-Season Football Program?

2011-03-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

This is a very controversial topic, but one I often encounter as a fitness professional. Some football coaches believe that if they start conditioning the team as early as possible the team will be better prepared for the season. This is not the case…we have to remember that most teams are attempting to become stronger and faster. The energy systems that most coaches use for conditioning are not applicable to football. Let’s take a look at the three energy systems and which one is used in the sport of football.

Adenosine Triphosphate, or ATP, is the immediate usable form of chemical energy for muscular activity. Any forms of chemical energy that the body gets from food must be converted into ATP before being used by muscle cells. ATP stores in muscle is limited and will deplete in 1 to 2 seconds unless restored. Resynthesis of ATP must occur immediately for muscular activity to continue. There are three systems available within the body to replace concentrations of ATP.

Anaerobic Phosphagen (ATP - CP) Energy SystemCreatine Phosphate (CP) is an energy rich compound foundin muscle cells. After high intensity exercise, creatine phosphate immediately restores ATP in the muscle without forming waste products (lactic acid). The amount of ATP that can be resynthesized from CP can last for 4 to 5 seconds. So, add that to the 1 to 2 seconds of original ATP stores within the muscle and you have about 5 to 7 seconds of ATP production from the ATP-CP Energy System.(Latif Thomas Article)

According to the USA Track and Field Level II Sport Science manual, to really challenge this system, you need workouts of 7 to 10 seconds of high intensity (sprint) work. This means running at full speed or near full speed, but with no fatigue present.'

Glycolysis literally means the breakdown (lysis) of glucose and consists of a series of enzymatic reactions. Remember that the carbohydrates we eat supply the body with glucose, which can be stored as glycogen in the muscles or liver for later use.
The end product of glycolysis is pyruvic acid. Pyruvic acid can then be either funnelled through a process called the Krebs cycle (see the Oxidative System below) or converted into lactic acid. Traditionally, if the final product was lactic acid, the process was labelled anaerobic glycolysis and if the final product remained as pyruvate the process was labelled aerobic glycolysis.
The oxidative or Aerobic system consists four processes to produce ATP:
• Slow glycolysis (aerobic glycolysis)
• Krebs cycle (citric acid cycle or tricarboxylic acid cycle)
• Electron transport chain
• Beta oxidation
Slow glycolysis is exactly the same series of reactions as fast glycolysis that metabolise glucose to form two ATPs. The difference, however, is that the end product pyruvic acid is converted into a substance called acetyl coenzyme A rather than lactic acid (5).

Let’s examine how long it takes to stay in these energy systems. The ATP + CP system lasts from 0-10 seconds, from 10 to 120 seconds glycogen is being used which may produce lactic acid(the sore feeling in the muscle), and the aerobic system kicks in from 120 seconds on. The average football play lasts about 5 seconds with 50 seconds recovery in between. However, most football coaches use gassers or sprints lasting more than 10 seconds with incomplete recoveries as their main conditioning movements, which produce LACTIC ACID.

Why is it bad to start conditioning early in the offseason? Most football players are banged up during the season and need time to heal as well as fix any muscle imbalances that might have been created during the season. We emphasize an 8 week block where we focus on bodyweight exercises, myofascial release techniques, medicine ball training, single leg exercises, low to moderate weight on main exercises, recovery methods, and balance. This block of training will help increase the cross sectional size of the muscles and help prepare the athlete for the following blocks of training ahead.

The next block of training should focus on strength & speed. If you want your athletes to be fast you must sprint maximally without being in a state of fatigue. Too much conditioning during this phase will make it hard to recover in order for athletes to lift maximally and sprint maximally. Thus affecting the overall speed development of your team. Due to time constraints, we favor sprinting maximally with complete recoveries twice during the week, and one day of general aerobic conditioning.

As you can see, we do believe in conditioning, but it has to be comparable to the sport played. Football is both anaerobic and aerobic which is why aerobic conditioning is needed. Every player must be able to recover quickly once they have made a play in order to restore their energy system and sprint again.

James Smith said, “I do see a value in increasing the cardiovascular capabilities of each athlete as it increases the mitochondria at the cellular level. This means more energy reserves.

Consider the biochemical fuel sources that mobilize alactic efforts (ATP/CP).

Those are the substrates which must be maximally replenished in order that all subsequent alactic efforts are as high in quality as possible.

Aerobic process of ATP synthesis (oxidative phosphorylation) is highly efficient and comes at a low physiological expense. This process occurs in the mitochondrion and, guess what, aerobic work increases mitochondrial density; hence more energy producing machines.

Note- the NFL players who routinely require oxygen on the sideline following drawn out interceptions, punt/kick returns, long runs, and so on. This is indicative of poor aerobic development.

Unfortunate for the athletes is that most coaches believe aerobic work will make you slow and, as a consequence, favor more 'challenging' lactic efforts to improve work capacity.”

The best way to condition the body football is to make sure the heart rate is low(130-140), develop movement efficiency & strength, enhance recovery abilities, and keep the intensity low. We favor jogging at 60 to 65% intensity about 50 yards performing a low intensity exercise, jogging again at 60 to 65% and performing another exercise, and continuing until you have completed 2 to 3 laps around the football field. This is a great filler in between speed or maximal effort lifting days as no lactic acid is produces, the aerobic energy system is being developed, muscles are being strengthened, and blood is flushing out any toxins in the body to enhance recovery. It’s a win-win in my book. As we get closer to the season we start to add more conditioning into our program and increase the intensity. The intensity and conditioning really becomes the focus of the program around 8 weeks before pre-season practice.

This gives the coach plenty of time to improve the conditioning levels of the athlete. What coaches must be careful with is to make sure they are decreasing the amount of maximal weight they are lifting and the amount of speed training they are doing? You cannot continue to make progress using one energy system if you also are raising the volume in another energy system. You must see the body as a see-saw. If one area’s intensity goes up the other’s must come down. Some examples of conditioning we do in this intense period are 30-50 yard sprints with low recovery periods, push the prowler, sled dragging, band resisted sprinting, etc…

April 2nd Football Assessment

2011-03-18T07:57:00.000-07:00

Preparing for College: Interview with Coach Jim Mora

2011-03-09T06:03:00.000-08:00

1. Hi Coach Mora. It’s great to have you hear at Fast Youth Athlete. Could you tell us about your background and how you became involved in coaching? My father was a coach so I grew up in the business. I can honestly say it is all I ever wanted to do. Being around the athletes as a youngster really made a positive impression on me; I respected the hard work, commitment, teamwork, and competitive drive they routinely demonstrated. My favorite time as a kid where hanging out with my Dad at practice, being on the sidelines at games, and spending time in locker room before and after games…I loved the intensity. When I ended my playing career at the University of Washington I became a Student Assistant as I finished my degree. Upon graduation I accepted a position with the San Diego Chargers working with the coaching staff, that job lead quickly to the position of Defensive Backs Coach at the age of 24.

2. Could you walk through the recruiting process when you coached in College? The recruiting process has changed dramatically over the past few years. The digital age and the influence of social media have had a major impact on how coaches connect with players. It is typical now for kids to commit to a school prior to their senior season, something that never happened when I was a player or college coach.

3. What were the top 5 characteristics you looked for in an incoming freshman? Personal Character, Football Character, Work Ethic, Commitment to a “Team First” Environment, Family Background and major influences in the young mans life.

4. What are some things that potential college freshman football players can do to better prepare them for college life and athletics? I would say that they need to connect with a counselor as freshman in HS that can help guide them through the process of taking the correct courses, help them as they prepare for the ACT/SAT test, and help them to prepare to write the essays they must write as they apply to college. Students need to understand that the chances of getting a scholarship are remote and should prepare to get accepted to colleges on their own accord. I was a Walk-on at the University after having been a pretty highly recruited player as a junior. I injured my knee and didn’t have the kind of senior season I expected to have. I had to get myself into school and earn my scholarship as a freshman.

5. Many young players see the glamour of the position of playing D1 football on national TV, but do not recognize the sacrifice that must be made. Could you give us a sample of a typical freshman’s daily schedule? The balance of school and sport can be overwhelming for an 18 year old away from home for the first time. Depending on the time of year, assume your day will begin with 6:00 AM workouts up to 3 days a week. Typically you will have 3 classes to attend during the day, afternoon meetings and practice, then study hall. It is imperative that the student athlete is very organized with their time and disciplined to stay on schedule.

6. How important are football camps, combines, etc… to the recruiting process? What is the most significant form of communication that lets a potential signee know that a college program is very interested in them? These forms of exposure have become increasingly important. Many colleges use camps and combines as a first look at potential recruits. However, the best thing you can do is play well on Friday nights. If you are a good player they will find you. It is important that your HS coach be an advocate for you and make calls to the colleges that you are interested in. I think a letter to the position coach at the school you have an interest in attending is an excellent way to get on the radar.

7. What is one thing that you have always emphasized to the athletes in your program that they want to leave the university with? A degree! Beyond that a Rolodex of connections in the business world that they can reach out to as they move into the next phase of their life.

8. What in your experience leads to the biggest downfall of young athletes when they arrive on campus? A lack of discipline in organizing their time and sticking with a schedule that allows for study, workouts, relax time, and sleep. Also, some youngsters start to believe they are special because they play ball and get lazy or cocky…don’t fall into that trap. As a student-athlete you have a rare opportunity to experience college like few others…take advantage of it. Find an area of study that interests you and apply yourself like you do in sports.

9. Thanks for doing this interview and where can we learn more about you. What projects are you currently working on? I am working for NFL Network and FOX Sports, as well as getting involved with the study of concussions. I also am the President of a charitable foundation, the Jim Mora Count on Me Family Foundation, www.countonmefoundation.org

James Lawrence "Jim" Mora (born November 19, 1961, in Los Angeles, California) is an American former NCAA defensive back and National Football League head coach. As of 2010, he is currently an analyst for the NFL Network.

On February 5, 2009, the Seahawks signed Mora to a five year contract to become the team's next head coach when then head coach Mike Holmgren retired following the 2008 season. Mora is the son of retired NFL head coach Jim E. Mora. To differentiate between the two, Jim Mora is often referred to as “Jim Mora Jr.”. However some, like Monte Kiffin, refer to him as “J.L. [Mora]”.[1]

Camdon's Inverted Row

2011-02-19T13:43:00.000-08:00

Strengthening the back can do wonders for your speed. Most people do not realize how important the upperbody is for sprinting. If your upper back is weak the body will not be able to stay straight while sprinting. If you can't stay straight it will take you longer to get to the end of the sprint. Guess what that means? You will be slower.

Don't neglect developing the upper back. It will help your posture which will make sure your foot strike is on point. Camdon is performing inverted rows with blast strap to balance pressing vs. pulling exercises. We started with 6 reps and continued until he could do 15 easy reps. There are many variations to add resistance. We could add a weight vest,etc...The main thing is to make sure you progress weekly, but do not compromise your form or safety.

Combine Clinic Video

2011-01-18T21:21:00.000-08:00

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Pick 6 DB Academy Radio Interview

2011-01-11T09:53:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the interview! Click Here

Why Year Round Sports Is A Bad Idea?

2010-12-30T13:35:00.000-08:00

Deadlift Progressions for Youth Athletes

2010-12-24T11:27:00.000-08:00

Deadlift variations are a great exercise to help young athletes learn how to recruit the powerful fast twitch muscle fibers. They are very economical in the sense that they affect so many muscles that are necessary for building youth speed. For instance, it strengthens the hamstrings,glutes, and spinal erectors. Let's just say it is a total body strength exercise because you have to have strong hip stabilizers,stomach muscle stabilizers, and upper back activation to get optimal stimulation from the exercise. There are many things to consider to affectively use this exercise.

Stance-

The stance we teach is to have the feet directly under the bar. The bar must also be as close to the shins as possible in order to minimize the distance the bar travels. That means less work for the athlete. The shoulders should be over the bar and back should be flat or slightly arched. We want the hips to be high enough that the athlete does not squat the weight up. But low enough that the movement is initiated with the glutes and hamstrings. The chest should be up, which will be much easier when the athlete pinches the upper back, and keep his head up. The feet should be flat and coaches should cue the athlete to drive through the heels to make sure the posterior chain muscles are recruited. Also, let the athlete know the elbows should be held straight without locking them out. The last thing you want is to have bent elbows to put the athlete in danger of bicep injuries and joint pain. The athlete must learn that the deadlift is a hip movement and not a squat. Cue the athlete to snap the hips into the bar.

Ideal Muscle Activation & Warm-Up-
The glutes must be activated as they are heavily involved in this movement. Many athletes try to avoid these activation drills as they think they look girly. But if your glutes are not activated your hip extension lockout will be done by the back. The back is meant to be stable, so the last thing you want is to make it mobile. I have had enough back injuries from poor form and lack of glute activation that I know better than to skip these drills.

Mobility in the hips is also crucial to be able to get in the proper position to perform the exercise. Execution is always better than quantity. Also, address hamstring flexibility if it is an issue as that can cause the athlete to have a hard time with bending low enough to make sure the posterior chain muscles are ready to explode into action. Don't take the warm-up lightly as it can be crucial in injury prevention. Make it fun by adding a new variation every once in a while or adding games into the movements. It does not have to be it's own workout, but make it long enough to get the job done. I have gone anywhere from 5 minutes to 12 minutes. It will depend on the restrictions of the athletes and what area they need help in the most.

Weight Progression -

Don't be too anxious. It is better to take your time and make consitent gains. Many times rushing the process can lead to injuries and plateaus as well as burn out. Personally, I tell my athletes a 2.5 lb increase weekly means at least a 100 lb increase by the years end. Trust me if you can deadlift 100 lbs more than you did a year ago you will increase your speed provided you are not fat. Let's think of the process being a crock pot instead of a deep fryer. When you cook in a crock pot you know it will be a long process, but you also know that you will enjoy the food more if you wait. We usually start the first week at about 65% of the new max that the athlete performs on a montlhy basis. I am not saying that you should have young athletes perform 1 rep maxes as their central nervous system is not efficient enough to do that. We do however, attempt 5 or 3 rep maxes on a monthly basis. It helps the athletes see their progress and trust the program which they often times is so boring. Results will always take care of that as it gives a reason to keep pushing themselves. We will go into more detail with how we progress in our upcoming Middle School Football Training Manual.

Attitude

I get amped when the young guys are doing deadlifts as it takes me back to the days that I prepared for my season and I know it will make them much better athletes. You must teach the athletes that this exercise is not meant to be gentle. We build their toughness by telling them to be aggressive with the weight without sacrificing form. Maybe, it is just the atmosphere. If you can't get hype with some second coming playing or Da truth on the speakers maybe you chose the wrong sport. Teach the young athlete to leave it on the field when it is team versus the bar. And the bar should never have a chance if you are training them right. I expect my athletes to get stronger and faster. Maybe, they see the excitement in my eyes when they step up to the bar or it might be the fact that I lift with them as well. The athletes should always see the coaches laying it on the line as well. It is not about always being able to lift the weight as it is your athletes seeing you grind just like they do. I am about to jump out off this computer screen thinking about it.

Floor Height-
The biggest mistake that coaches make is to think that because their athletes do not have the mobility or flexibility to perform a conventional deadlift off the floor they should not deadlift at all. That could not be further from the truth. We have mats that we use to help bring the bar higher up, so the athlete is able to perform the exercise until their mobility improves. We start taking off the mats one mat a time when we see improvement in form and mobility. Take your time as these young athletes can make incredible gains in strength even with the higher mats. We must remember that this is still a new stimulus that requires central nervous system effeciency and compund exercises releases a great amount of growth hormone. All you have to do is watch these athletes grow as they eat more. Let me know if I missed anything or if you have further questions.

Brand New Combine Clinic-----

2010-12-07T10:06:00.001-08:00

How to get off the bench? My personal story…

2010-12-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

This is an area I am very passionate about as I have experienced this myself. I do not believe anyone can prescribe a cure for something they himself have not been a victim of. How can they help restore you or help you believe that what they are saying can happen for you as well? I guess that is why social proof and testimonies are so effective. I started playing football when I was 8 years old with the neighborhood boys. We grew up in apartment complexes in Miami and Hollywood, FL where football is a very popular sport.

In fact, pick up football was mostly what we played as kids. I could feel the anticipation of scheduling match ups of our apartment complex vs other apartment complexes. Our bragging rights at school was why we practiced at the complex almost every day and had us timing our 40 yard dashes. How accurate were those times? It did not matter as long as everyone was improving and we had our game plan by game time. Anyways, many of the neighborhood kids went to the same schools and kept up with each others’ football careers.

You could imagine how painful it was to sit the bench on the JV team trying to be a RB at 5’0” 92 lbs. I still remember when Torrance hit me so hard in RB blocking Drills I flew 5 yards. He later went on to win a national championship at a D1 school at LB. It made me feel better to know I was not getting clobbered by someone that was not any good? But the pain of practicing as hard as I could everyday and not playing much was tough.

My mom, my brother, and I moved to Broward County my junior year. This was a new beginning, but I transferred after the football season. You guessed it…I did not play football my junior year. I think that hurt my recruiting big time. My senior year I went back out there, but was given the alternative of playing cornerback. It was not what I wanted, but we had two great running backs. It became a position I started to like the more I played it.

Again, I was forced to sit the bench for most of my senior year. But my weight room coach, which was also our DL coach thought I should be a starter. He asked our head coach to allow me to play our best WR’s man to man. I did very well in man to man coverage and I started the last four games of my senior year. It allowed me to make all-conference and we beat our rivals. It almost landed me a D1 scholarship, but they decided to go with a much bigger DB. I hope that you can learn from my time on the bench and draw encouragement from the tips I have listed below.

Tip 1: Go the extra mile
You must do more than the other players are doing to get noticed. It might be running every interception into the endzone, finishing first in sprinting drills, or watching extra game film. You are behind, so you must so your head coach that you want to do what it takes. Lift hard in the weight room and always be on time.

Tip 2: Don’t complain
Complaining never helped anyone. In fact, it will just make you more mad as you will just keep reminding yourself you are not playing. Speak well of yourself and steer away from those that do not help you move towards your goal.

Tip 3: Improve physically
If you come back more muscular, faster, and stronger you are going to improve your chances of getting on the field. That means eating differently than all your peers, maybe getting a job to pay for a strength & speed professional, getting more sleep. A coach cannot argue with numbers…it will not be an easy process, but stay focused on why you are doing it.

Tip 4: Make more plays
The eye in the sky does not lie. If you are making plays someone will take notice. I took every play on the field as a chance to impress the coaches. It is not about making friends and taking plays off.

Tip 5: Talk to your coaches
Don’t assume anything. Ask your coach what he expects of you in order to play more. Your coach will be more involved if he sees you are more involved.

Speed is in Recovery

2010-11-30T20:07:00.000-08:00

You will never make quality speed gains if you do not recover properly. You grow during recovery and make adaptations while you are recovering. Let's start off by defining what Recovery is...shall we? Recovery is methods used to help the body respond favorably after being stressed through various activities. In simple terms, when you sprint your muscles are broken down or produce micro tears. In the recovery period, the body regenerates and produces more muscle or speed as a result of the sprinting stimulus.

It makes perfect sense in the real world,we break something and we want to fix it. How many times has a car broken down and we take it to the shop? A better solution would be to have that car routinely serviced, so that it doesn't break down. Below, the servicing tool we are using is a foam roller. You cannot get a better and affordable tool for breaking up the knots after exercise.

Why is that important? It is easier to move or manipulate a rubber band that is not knotted up. In the same way, it is easier to move a muscle, have blood flow to nourish the muscles, and send signals from the brain to the muscle when the muscle quality is good. It allows for ease of movement and we all have seen how effortless sprinting is for a mobile runner. I recommend picking up a foam roller here

Breaking Down The Squat

2010-11-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

The Squat is an exercise that every youth athlete needs to be familiar with. It strengthens the muscles that help in developing speed. Of course, that includes the hamstrings, glutes, stabilizers of the stomach, and the quadriceps. A common mistake that is made is adding too much resistance too soon. This is why the first step in teaching the squat to young athletes is to teach the proper cues by using light resistance with a pvc pipe.

Cues:

1) Squeeze the elbows forward

2) Stick your chest out

3) Drive the Head up

4) Pull the bar down on the shelf of the back

5)Open the hips

6) Spread the floor

7) Sit Back on the box

8) Brace the Abs

9) Drive through the heels

What Cues do you use to teach the squat?

Are Coaches Making You Slower after Football Games?

2010-10-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

I thought about what we did in college after a game. Then again, that depended on whether we won or lost. We generally watched some film, which was equally as brutal as the run afterwards. We would get ripped apart about not being where we were supposed to be on different plays. But it did teach us a lot about the game of football. My problem was the coaches running us into the ground as their way of relieving the soreness from Saturday’s games.

It does not make sense now that I know better. After a game, most football players are sore from the heavy lactic acid build up in their muscles, the knots in the muscles from tissue damage, and mentally drained. The last thing you want to do is another conditioning session of gassers as that will produce more lactic acid in the muscles. Remember, the post game workout should be about RECOVERY. Speed work is out of the question as the athletes’ muscles are in a state of fatigue. And they would not be able to sprint at a maximal effort.

Furthermore, I do not see the point of trying to condition the athletes. The practice should be helping the athletes stay in shape, but if they are not in shape these after game conditioning sessions will not contribute much. Most coaches are doing what their coaches did without any rhyme or reason. The athletes do not question their coaches because they believe they are doing what is in their best interest. I am glad I learned from many coaches and by trial & error to teach me to find the best way to help our athletes.

Here are some suggestions to guarantee your team will be better prepared after the game.

1) Drink water to flush out the lactic acid, toxins, and keep the cells hydrated. You will be surprised how many athletes drink kidney smashers aka Sodas and cry about cramping.

2) Foam roll to improve the tissue quality of the muscle. A muscle will not move freely if it is knotted up.

3) A light jog w/ strength training circuit. Jog to 1 corner of the field do some bodyweight squats, jog to another corner do some push ups, jog to another corner do some reverse crunches, jog to another corner do some jumping jacks. Rest 1 minute and repeat three times.
4) Warm-up drills for 20 minutes, foam roll, and stretching. Example of Warm- Up circuit

*Jumping Jacks x 15
*Forward Skip x 10 Yards
*Side Skip x 10 Yards
*Backward Long Reach Skip x 10 yards
*Drive Knees Into Ground x 10 Yards
*Forward Leg Kicks x 10 Yards
*Side Squat x 10 Yards
* Spiderman Crawl x 10 Yards
*Hip Flexor Stretch x 60 Seconds each side
*Butt Stretch x 60 Seconds each Side
* Assisted Hamstring stretch x 2 Seconds
*Assisted Abductor/Adductor x 2 Seconds
* Assisted Glue Stretch x 2 Seconds
* Assisted Calf Stretch x 2 Seconds
*Fire Hydrant x 6 each side
* Hip Circles 3 Way x 6 each side
* Quick Forward Knee Drive x 10 Yards
* Quick Side Shuffle with hand movement x 10 Yards
* Quick Backpedal x 10 Yards
* Quick ten yard sprints x 4 times
* Finish w/ Foam Roll

5)30 Minute Medicine Ball Circuit

NFL Agent Josh Luchs & Paying Players

2010-10-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am sure most people have heard about former NFL Agent Josh Luch’s tell all story about paying many players as part of his recruitment process. You can find the story at http://tinyurl.com/27wkr98 . Luch speaks about many former and current NFL players who took money throughout their collegiate careers. The thing that is interesting about this story is the timing of this confession. It only occurred after he was no longer involved in the NFL agent lifestyle. Is that coincidence? I don’t think so…I think he exposed the scandal for his own selfish motives. Could it be he wanted to clear his name about the commission check he took from Keenan Howry?

Although, I have to commend Luchs for deciding to tell the story because there are still many agents that refuse to take responsibility for what they have done. I do understand the reasons many of these young football players took the money. Many come from impoverished families and sacrifice to play for these universities. However, I do not agree with the fact that they took money or special treatment as it is against the rules. They signed letters of intent that they would represent their universities and themselves with respect as well as abide by the NCAA rules. When a young athlete sells out for pot of gold they are saying that is all my integrity is worth. The bible says in proverbs 22:1, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”

Whatever you sell out for is what will have the ability to control you. The sad part is most of these athletes do not think about these implications until they realize how much their reputation will follow them. They will be constantly reminded of their poor judgement when they are being interviewed by NFL evaluators. This reminds me of a story where I work for a company that has a policy of not accepting gifts from vendors. A particular vendor was not receiving as much business from us as usual and they were concerned. Their remedy to persuade me to use their services in the particular region I am responsible for was to send me a gift. They sent me a large gift certificate for a very expensive steak house. My first thought was to call my wife and tell her we were going on a date. Don’t give me that look…You were thinking the same thing. But I thought about the risk of doing something questionable that would ruin my reputation.

I told my wife and she recommended I tell my boss first to make sure it would not conflict with company policy. She always keeps me balanced even when I do not want to here what she has to say. I love that woman. My boss told me that was against company policy and suggested I return it to the vendor. My pastor told me “Anything you take that compromises your integrity will put a price on your integrity.” Many of these athletes know the rules and if they were unclear about a situation they should have asked their coaches or their compliance directors at their universities.

Many of these agents are complete snakes with nothing but dollar signs on their minds. They think of these athletes as an investment that they hope pay a huge return. My advise to athletes that are being contacted by agents is to seek counsel from trusted advisors. Someone said, “ Never envy a man more than you study him.” What is the character or reputation of that Agent? Is he breaking the rules? I was fortunate to have experienced some great agents during my football career. Rich & Mike O’brien as well as David Wyatt really care about the development of their athletes off an on the field. Please leave a comment to let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

How do I gain weight for football?BUILDING MASSIVE FOOTBALL MUSCLE: Gaining 30 lbs with 5% body Fat

2010-10-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

I know many athletes will be able to identify with this story. I can remember it like it was yesterday.As a high school senior at Miramar high school—home of the Florida 2009 Football State Champions I was a 5’9” 145 lb cornerback. This isn’t exactly the body type that has D1 scouts knocking at the door. I know now if I had a better nutritional strategy and lifted differently I would have accelerated my size at a much quicker pace. Whether we like or not, It plays a factor when recruits make a decision to offer scholarships.

I was tired of being categorized with the group they referred to as the “pencil necks.” I attended Guilford College, a D3 school in NC, and vowed to myself that I would be dedicated in the weight room.Some of my teammates and I would research old strength training books from different universities to decide on what workout we would use during the in season or offseason. The process of designing our
own programs accelerated our learning curve as we practiced what we learned and made adjustments as necessary. For example, we quickly found out that squatting heavy on the day that we had a heavy conditioning day was not a good idea. The best teacher is experience with the methods that you use.

What we found was we had to decide what exercises we would use, our eating strategy, and what recovery methods we would adhere to. Our method was very simple we found what the most successful programs were doing and found what the similarities between them were. It is amazing how far that formula took us. Find someone that is doing well with what you want to do and study them. The commonalities between the winning programs were that they all taught compound movements, increasing your caloric intake, and proper recovery were included to gain mass. We will turn this into a
three article series on each part of the mass building story.

The first part is making sure you are in a caloric surplus. That means eat like eating is part of your job description. You will never gain mass if your body does not have the nutrients to build muscle. You cannot build a house without having bricks as your material. We designed a strategy on how we would get our nutrients in. It included eating multiple dishes at each of our main meals like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This worked for us because the college cafeteria was all you can eat. I can’t say it was healthy all the time, but we were in a caloric surplus. Protein shakes were also added in between meals to add more calories.

The amount of work performed during our football practices had to be accounted for as well. This simply meant we ate more on days we had three a day practices. You will not feel like it when your body is beat up, but you have to force yourself to eat. Those shakes will come in handy at those times. We played defensive
back so we ran the most out of any of the positions played, so we had to eat big to offset the demands of the extra running. How big is big? Let me detail a typical day of eating I had at the cafeteria. I do not advise my clients to eat like this as this was for my size and could include healthier options.

Breakfast
1 Large Belgian Waffle
4 Eggs
2 biscuits
1 Bowl of oatmeal
32 oz of water
32 oz. of orange juice

Lunch
Stir Fry Chicken and Rice
2 Turkey Sandwiches
Order of large fries

Small salad
64 oz. glasses of water
Dinner
2 6 oz steaks
2 Cups of Rice
Small Salad

Turkey Sandwich
2 Apples
16 oz. Milk
32 oz. water

* Shakes in between each meal
Post Dinner Meal
2 Grilled Chicken Pitas
Large Curly Fries
12 oz. Sweet Tea

The meal journey has to be fun. We started having eating contest periodically as some of the other guys also had to gain weight. Let’s just say I am still the pancake eating champion. There was a strategy to my pancake night. All the guys would order milk and eggs. But I knew that would slow my progress. I
ordered only pancakes with a small amount of water. I ate 25 pancakes that night. This boosted ourdetermination to gain weight as it was competitive and added a reminder that we were all in it for a purpose.

That year this style of eating helped me weigh 175 and my body fat was 4.7%. Our athletic trainer could not believe that I was eating the type of food I was. It is not optimal, but it worked. I would not have done this type of eating knowing what I know now about health & performance. But the truth behind this story is if you do not eat enough you will not get any bigger. It is just as simple as that.

LSU Strength Coach Speaks on Youth Training

2010-09-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

1. Hi Coach Moffitt. It’s great to have you hear at Fast Youth Athlete. Could you tell us about background and how you became interested in physical training? My older brothers all lifted and played sports so my dad built us a gym in the garage. He could weld so made us a bench, squat rack, chin-up bar and dip station. There was always someone down there whether we were home or not. After I left home for college I still had friends who lifted in the basement while visiting with my parents. Another reason and I’m sure that it’s like this for almost everyone, I played football and we of course did it for that reason as well. When I got to college, my coach, Mr. Jack Williamson instilled in me the work ethic to someday want to do it to make a living.

2. When do you believe is the optimal time to prepare a young pop warner player for physical activity? I often tell parents that their young man does not have to lift weights, but he can increase his chances of staying injury free by strengthening his body through bodyweight movements. I personally believe that you can start as early as you want teaching technique and developing an appreciation for strength and conditioning. Laird Hamilton, a professional surfer and phenomenal athlete stated in his book, “that the size of an athlete’s work capacity is developed when they are young.” What parents and coaches must understand that you must develop fundamental exercise technique, work capacity and an appreciation for physical activity before you focus on strength and power development.

3. I see a lot of coaches that are still confused on how to properly warm-up their football team. What would be your advice when training young athletes? Every place that I have ever coached begins football practice with an offensive, defensive, and special team’s walk-through of 10 to 15 minutes. I like this because it gets the team thinking about what they have to do and it gently warms up the working muscles. We then follow that period with 5 minutes of light jogging, dynamic flexibility drills and exercises to complete the warm-up process. After this we do a short 5 minute team stretch with quick calisthenics for moral and enthusiasm. We are now 20 to 25 minutes into practice and no one has come close to any contact or anything. Defensively we now go to a 5 minute pursuit drill and offensively our team runs 5 minutes of perfect plays, both groups going against air. After completing our team goes to individual drills and practice will now consist of contact/hitting other players.

4. What are the most common mistakes that people make when training youth athletes? The most common mistake that I see is related to overuse and or trying to do too much too soon. Sportsmen, young and old, require a certain amount of gradualness when planning work and the perfection of sporting skill.

5. What are basic principles someone should use to make sure their youth athlete is progressing? Be patient! I’m not really into testing young athletes due to the risk of injury. Sports are supposed to be fun if you’re not having fun “playing” sports then you’re not going to want to do it very often. Let’s take my son Clay for instance, when he was young, 8 – 9, he was big and didn’t run well and coaches never gave him a chance in any sport. He was the first kid that was put at catcher, guard and even sometimes sat on the bench and watched others play because, “he wasn’t good enough for this level.” I actually had coaches and parents tell me that Clay was the type of kid that wouldn’t make it in athletes and that he should probably try something different. I would always tell him to not worry, keep working hard and someday he would pass all those kids up. Now Clay is 15 and is 6’1” 200 and runs the 40 in 4.90 and can dunk a basketball! He was told in 10 yr baseball that he would never pitch and he was clocked at 90 this summer in a 60/90 tournament! He is absolutely the best “big athlete” in East Baton Rouge parish today. Now where would we be today if we worried about what he was able to accomplish when he was 10? I will attach some photos and videos of him for you to see.

6. Coach, we all know that you have trained some championship teams at LSU. What are the mental characteristics that you immediately recognized in some of your best athletes? Do you feel mental toughness can be trained? A successful athlete at any level must first enjoy what he’s doing. If they don’t like it and are not having fun, they will never try hard enough in order to be successful. A kid must also be very smart and have some “natural instincts” as well. Next I think that speed, change of direction and power is meaningless if they are not smooth and considered a good athlete. As far a mental toughness is concerned I think that it’s important to have but impossible to reinforce if parents don’t teach the same principle that the coaches are trying to instill. We have chores in our house that our boys do and some of the easiest tasks are always the hardest for them to do!

7. Many parents are over zealous in training young athletes like college football players. What do you think is optimal for training young athletes? How often, etc…? It all depends on how much they enjoy it. I have 3 boys and one of them could lift, run and practice 5 or 6 days of the week and the other 2 are burnt out after 1 session. Our boys are in a TOUGH academic school so they are limited when it comes to practice time. During school I would say from grade 5 to 6 probably 3 days a week would be max with one day on the weekend. For grades 9 – 12 I would imagine 5 or 6 days a week. Clay’s freshman team at Catholic High has 62 boys and they practice Monday, play on Tuesday, run and watch film on Wednesday, and practice Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He gets home every night except for Wednesday around 6:00 and spends the rest of the evening eating and studying. Our 6th grader plays for his school team and they practice Mon, Tuesday, and Thursday evening with an occasional scrimmage on Saturday morning early in the year. His games are on Sunday. My other son doesn’t play sports; he’s an artist and a musician.

8. What are your thoughts on parents that have players play some sport year round? Do you feel they need a rest? I favor the long-term approach, but many parents have their kids in an activity every month of the year. Again, this depends on the child and his academics. My oldest son play’s every sport that he can consisting of track (shot and discus), swimming (undefeated for 5 yrs in freestyle and butterfly, triathlon (was ranked #1 nationally when he was 12-13), basketball, USSSA baseball that can begin in November and go to July, and even competitive weight lifting and still begs for more! My other 2 boys have all played, football, baseball and basketball. The most important thing in our household is that we have always stressed fun over results and we have NEVER made them do something that they were not interested in doing. We have never focused our children on being the best, we always stressed participation in sports because competition is fun and it’s good for you.

9. What are pieces that must be present in every training program? How do you design your program? I look at the demands of the sport, the level of fitness that my athletes have and what the goals of the coach are. Of course everyone’s goal is to win but each team is different and there is always something that needs to be improved upon long before you can think of wins and losses.

10. What is the best way to build the stop and go change of direction ability that every youth athlete wants? First they must have a strong core, balance and body control and then and only then, strong legs. You can’t stop and change direction without these three components. We teach a series of “movement patterns” here to teach our guys to decelerate and accelerate from different positions that I think that helps but you have to be strong and powerful to do it with the best!

11. Thanks for doing this interview and where can we learn more about you. What projects are you currently working on? We have a website, www.lsupower.net that we are currently upgrading and I’m personally writing a book about my survivorship with prostate cancer.

Building A Speed Foundation

2010-08-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

Coach Andy Helper from www.heplerstrength.com and I were talking about how many athletes have goals of becoming faster. They are misguided in thinking that can be achieved by only incorporating speed drills or jumping drills. It is part of the equation-but will not happen if you do not have a proper strength foundation. How do you build a proper foundation and why is it important? I have never seen a fast athlete that was weak. In fact, I was told that Ben Johnson was squatting 675 lbs when he broke the 100m sprint world record at a weight of 175 lbs.

I am not saying that an athlete has to squat such a large amount of weight...but you have to be strong for your bodyweight. For example, two athletes can weigh 170 lbs, but if one squats 180 lbs and the other one squat 300 lbs the stronger athlete will most likely be faster. It is just how it is. If you can apply more force into the ground, send faster signals from the brain to the muscles, or activate the fast twitch fibers you will be faster. There are two sure fire ways to activate the fast twitch fibers and that is to get stronger or do explosive drills.

Don't tell me you need to work on speed drills if you cannot do 10 proper push ups, 8 pull ups, and can squat your own bodyweight. That is where I think fitness professionals go wrong. They attack 5 different goals when the athlete clearly needs to improve their strength foundation. Young athlete's parents must realize that the development process is a 4 year process while in high school. Why do you want your athlete to be at their best their freshman year? Build the athlete by teaching them proper nutritional habits, increase joint mobility, proper exercise technique, their 4 quarter capacity, and gradually increase their strength. I promise you as they improve their strength they will become faster.

I am a firm believer in keeping it simple. A young athlete that has just started weight training might be very limited in their exercise selection. It helps their brain to learn how to perform the movement quickly and efficienlty. It makes sense...the more you practice a movement the better you will be at it. Trust me at such an early training age they will not over train. Of course, as they get older the exercises will have to be modified so they do not create imabalances or have overuse injuries. The basic exercises we like to use is a squat movement, pressing movement, pulling movement, and posterior chain/core movement. For example, Box Squat,Weighted Push Up, Pull Ups, Hip Bridge. A stronger athlete with lower body fat will amaze you on how much faster they become. I guess keeping it simple actually works. Next time a coach tries to tell you that your child just needs to perform endless drills remind them of building a strength foundation.

The Right Strength

2010-07-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

Many young athletes envision being as strong as a famous athlete or body builders, yet they fail to realize the strength they need now is different from the strength they need for later. What is the purpose of the strength? Most youth athletes need strength to move the body’s weight in a specific direction. This is why it makes sense to master bodyweight exercises first before adding any resistance to the movement. Learning how to properly deliver signals from the brain to the muscle will improve strength at a rapid rate and help you avoid injuries. Learn the movement right the first time and you will not have to worry about injuries later. A fitness professional who knows how to coach youth movement to increase strength becomes critical. And remember that the length of an athlete’s limbs or structure also affects how strength is perceived. A tallerathlete has to do more work because of the distance that is traveled to do the same amount of work. For instance, it takes more work for a taller athlete to perform a bodyweight squat than a short athlete because they need to bend down farther to reach the same position. In the dictionary, strong is defined as “having or marked by great physical power.” The plan that has been most effective in increasing the strength of our youth athletes is to master bodyweight exercises, gradually increase resistance, and document the gains of each athlete.

Lower Body Strength Exercises
* Bodyweight Squat – Beginner
* Sandbag Box Squat – Intermediate
* Sandbag Free Squat – Intermediate
* Box Squat – Advanced
* Front Squat – Advanced
* Medicine Ball Squat – Intermediate
* Wall Squat – Beginner
* Rack Dead-lift – Advanced
* Kettlebell Dead-lift – Intermediate
* Weight Plate Dead-lift – Intermediate
* Sled Drag Backward & Forward – Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
* Growler – Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
* Tire Flip – Intermediate, Advanced

Former Camp Participant Kenzel Doe Commits to Oregen State

2010-07-02T10:52:00.001-07:00

The Band Man Interview

2010-06-21T07:53:00.001-07:00

1. Hi Dave. Good to have you hear to do this interview. I like referring to you as the band man because you do a great job with incorporating bands into your routines. Could you tell us what made you interested in the fitness industry and the bands? What is your background?

Jimmy thanks for this opportunity. I have been an orthopedic physical therapist since 1986. In the mid 90’s I realized how our body truly functioned and why certain injuries continued to occur. I also realized that we were not training our athletes to work the body was designed to work. Primarily teaching it how to deal efficiently and powerfully with gravity as well the big 2.. Momentum and ground reaction forces.

That got me thinking and to make a very long story short.. bands challenge our body to handle faster momentums, deal with ground reaction forces quicker and speeds up gravity. As a result neuromuscularly elastic resistance , specifically resistance bands, not only did this but allow us to train doing the same movements we did on the field or in the garage. The fact was we needed to train our body to be much more than weight strong. “We need to make it Reactively strong not just weight room strong”

How is that for a 20 year story in 100 words or less!!

2. Let’s jump right into the hot topics. Why do you think using bands can be very beneficial to an athlete of any age?

As I said above… it teaches the body several things neuromuscularly that weights can’t. For instance

1. How to deal with decelerating at higher velocities than what normal body weight would create
2. How to explode through the full range of motion .. not just through mid range.
3. How to handle horizontal vectors …. Weight can only create a vertical force vector and life is far more horizontal than we think
4. It can teach our body to become stronger at end ranges where most injuries occur
5. It improves dynamic flexibility by taking us beyond our normal body weight range of motion
6. It proprioceptively turns on the hips and trunk quicker than weights because of the speed factor that comes with elastic training.
7. Lastly it fits any body, any person and you can do it where kids love to train.. on the field outside

3. What do you say to people that say will bands give athletes enough resistance to make considerable gains?

Its not about the resistance. Its about the response that the body develops training with bands. But if you want me to bury you, I can. I have out pushed guys that are a 100lbs heavier than me and bench 2 times what I can. I do not say that arrogantly. Neurologically those guys do not know how to stabilize and recruit from the ground up. As a result they go to push a band and their trunk lets go. With out your trunk and hips stabilizing you are not going to push anything.

Now lets take that into running. Same thing is true.

4. What are the most common mistakes that people make when training athletes with bands?

#1 Mistake – They work with too heavy of a band and as a result make athletes compensate badly which leads to injury and poor performance.

#2 Mistake - Do not educate first. They think band training does not need teaching which results in bands being damaged or worse yet…athletes being injuried during training

#3 Mistake - Do not follow training progressions. 90% of fitness pro’s that use bands with their athletes, try to go right for the sexy drills without working on things like foot work, deceleration control or arm action.

#4 They use bands for only 1 aspect of training and do not take full advantage of all their capabilities. Stretching with bands will improve speed as much as running in bands.

5. What are some ways that you have been able to use bands that most people find surprising?

Simulating sled drags, tug of war drills and working on transition speed (going from deceleration to full out acceleration in 2 steps)

We can also do awesome hip dominate activation drills that get your butt in the party instantly.

Trunk reaction training that truly I feel is something no one knows about or consciously works on.

The best dynamic over pressure flexibility program I have every used to improve hip mobility.
Incredible foot quickness drills that get athletes faster in just a couple of sessions.

6. Can you give us the reason that bands can be so effective in making athletes faster?

Neuromuscularly it makes them better at handling momentum and dealing with gravity and ground reaction forces which is what they deal with everyday on the field. If you can’s stop and you can’t accelerate. Therefore you are going to struggle in a multi-directional sport.

7. How would you deal with a young athlete that is too weak to do one push up, but wants to use the bands?

I would teach him how to successfully do a push up using bands as an assistive device. Again something no one realizes about bands. They assist as well as resist. I would work on dynamic stability in short amplitude movements and gradually keep increasing the training distance. Interestingly I will be coming out with a brand new product the middle of february call Quick Kids – Training for a Fast Future. Its my exact 6 week program I use to train middle school athletes. Looking forward to seeing what people think.

Jim, I would be happy to let your audience know when it’s live.

8. I have used your bands with success when doing active isolated stretching. Can you explain why the bands help in stretching?

Inflexibility comes from 4 things.

1. Myofacial restrictions
2. Structurally shorten soft tissue – muscles and ligament primarily
3. Neurotension tightness
4. Poor Neuromuscular stability

Bands can and do address all but #1 by doing the band flexibility program. No other tool can do that and that includes static yoga straps

9. If I am an athlete that can only workout outdoors and only have bands as resistance can I get diesel?

I assume you mean strong Ha!… Yes you can but understand that dead weight training is still very important to gaining absolute strength. Bands are the key to putting that absolute strength into something amazing and productive on the field.

10. Who in the Industry has influenced the way that you train?

Gary Gray PT, Mike Clark PT, Dick Hartzel Coach, Greg Johnson PT, Shirley Saharman are the big ones. But honestly I have learned from hundreds of coaches, fitness pros and therapist. Everyone has something to offer you just have to watch.

11. Thanks for doing this interview and where can we learn more about you. What projects are you currently working on?

www.resistancebandtraining.com
www.askdaveschmitz.com

If you want to receive my weekly video series.. “RBT Live” you can sign up here
http://www.resistancebandtraining.com/rbt-live/

Jimmy Lamour is a former Guilford College in Greensboro, NC All South Defensive Back. He set the record for interception return yards at the school. Upon Graduation, he tested numerous philosophies on strength and speed through seminars, self-study, conversation with renowned strength coaches, and training of hundreds of athletes. This led him to develop a system that helped him improve his 40 yard dash from a 4.66 to a 4.30, which gave way to many professional football workouts. He later developed Lamour Training Systems with the help of his lovely wife Charlene to help youth athletes improve their performance and receive knowledge he missed out on as a child. He continues to consult with several division 1 , prep school, and high schools coaches. He is currently certified as a youth fitness specialist. He has two children Camdon (12) and Micah (7).Sign up for his newsletter at http://fastyouthathlete.blogspot.com/ or check out http://www.fastyouthathlete.com.

Perfect Form & Choices

2010-06-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

It is amazing to have the opportunity to be coached as you are allowed to learn through the experiences of another person. Experience can be the greatest teacher sometimes. It is hard to talk someone out of something they have been through. I cannot tell you about the numerous coaches I learned from over the years. An athlete can avoid so many mistakes if they listen and learn from their coaches.

Most of the lessons I learned from my coaches were off the field lessons. I can remember coach Lang in high school teaching us about how the character of a man is more important than his athletic ability. He was a great Christian man and told us about the value of abstaining from sex until marriage. At the age of 16, I can't say I was very receptive to that lesson. But I look back now and wished I would have listened.

What made me think about this subject was skimming through my college yearbook. It brought back some memories of how I had lived my life and some of the mistakes I had made. I thought about falling into pre-marital sex, being someone you are not, and making poor decisions. What I was lacking was an undeniable experience with Jesus, which could give us the power to live this life. It reminded of the time wasted as you do not know your purpose for truly being on this earth.

What we can't do is go back, but what young athletes can do is take my experience and make better decisions for themselves. I have the upmost respect for coaches who are willing to share their lives as well as their playbooks with their athletes. That is why I am so passionate about helping young men be the best athletes and people they can be. These young men are one day going to be fathers, husbands, and community leaders.

It is why I come to every performance coaching session with a purpose in mind. I see young men that are able change their lives along with their running form. I had the opportunity to talk to a group of young men and I could see lives unfolding in front of my eyes. I taught them about keeping your chest up, feet underneath your hips, elbows pushed back, and chin tucked. But my greatest hope is they make the right choice to serve Jesus with all their heart. That choice will not make live any easier, but will allow you to learn from coaches that have had experiences you do not have to have. Life is just a group of choices that take you closer or farther away from achieving your purpose in life.

Ultimate Forearm Training for Baseball

2010-06-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of reading an advanced copy of Jedd’s Ultimate Forearm Training for baseball book. At first, when I noticed that it was 400 pages long I thought it was going to be a long boring book. I was pleasantly surprised to say it was an easy read with a ton of images with every grip exercise a baseball player will need to succeed.

I was amazed at how much I learned about the benefits of grip training. In fact, I am going to include more grip training into the routines of the athletes that I train. I am not going to try to sell you on the fact that you need this book if you know any baseball players. You will either see the value in preparing your athletes in every way possible or not.

I will make a commission off of every sale. If you have been reading our material you know we do not recommend any products we do not believe in. Check it out and see what the hype is about.

Click Here!

How a Phys Ed Program Transformed One School

2010-05-04T07:06:00.000-07:00

At Naperville Central High School, west of Chicago, children who are having problems with math or reading go to gym class first. And exercise isn't just restricted to the gym -- there are bikes and balls in the classrooms, and the children are in constant motion.

The results are amazing -- reading scores have doubled, and math scores are up by a factor of 20.
Research shows that after 30 minutes on the treadmill, students solve problems up to 10 percent more effectively.

Keeping kids active at school is a superb way to increase learning, focus and even test results. As many of you reading this have likely experienced, if your mind is feeling cluttered or you’re having a mid-afternoon slump, a brisk walk or a quick workout can give you a renewed sense of clarity and focus.

This is true for kids, too, and the results of implementing a physical activity program at Naperville Central High School are nothing short of astounding.
Students who took part in a dynamic gym class at the beginning of the day had reading scores that nearly doubled, while math scores increased 20-fold. The school even has exercise bikes and balls in classrooms so that kids can stay moving throughout the day.

Although it’s becoming more widely known that physical activity has a direct result on your brain function, this type of phys ed program is still nonexistent at most U.S. schools. This means it’s up to parents to encourage their children to stay active after school and on weekends in order to reap the wonderful brain-boosting benefits that exercise has to offer.

Why Exercise is So Important for Your Child’s Brain

Exercise encourages your brain to work at optimum capacity by causing nerve cells to multiply, strengthening their interconnections and protecting them from damage.
Lab tests on animals have also shown that during exercise their nerve cells release proteins known as neurotrophic factors.

One in particular, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor or BDNF, triggers numerous other chemicals that promote neural health, and has a direct benefit on brain functions, including learning.

A new study published in Neuroscience also revealed that regular exercise not only improved blood flow to the brain, but also helped monkeys learn new tasks twice as quickly as non-exercising monkeys, a benefit the researchers believe would hold true for people too.

Further, exercise provides protective effects to your brain through:
The production of nerve-protecting compounds
Greater blood flow to your brain
Improved development and survival of neurons
Decreased risk of heart and blood vessel diseases
In fact, more than 20 percent of your body’s blood and oxygen go directly to your brain, and exercise increases this flow, not only improving your mood but also your brain power.

Physical activity is not only a boon for brain power, it also helps kids who may be restless or hyperactive, or who have been diagnosed with ADHD. Even emotional disturbances can be improved with exercise, as the activity provides an outlet for their energy and reduces the natural inclination of children to “act out.”
Beyond Gym Class: How to Make Fitness a Regular Part of Your Child’s Life
If your child is fortunate enough to attend a school that values physical fitness and encourages students to become and stay active, this is great. However, most schools in the United States do not require daily P.E. classes, and some are even cutting down on the time children spend at recess.

What this means is that many U.S. kids spend the majority of their day, both at home and at school, sitting … a practice that will not do them any favors on a physical or mental level.

Too much sedentary time is actually one of the forces driving the child obesity epidemic. About 30 percent of U.S. children are now overweight, and, childhood diabetes has increased 10-fold in the last 20 years.

If your child is in this group, it is imperative that you limit their TV, computer and video game time, and replace them with a regular exercise program. Overweight and obese children will need at least 30 minutes of exercise each day, and may benefit from closer to 60 minutes.

Even if your child is not overweight, you should encourage him or her to take part in physically engaging activities after school and on the weekends. There are plenty to choose from, from sports and dance classes to gymnastics, bike riding and playing tag with friends. Allow your child to choose activities that appeal to them, and remember that you need to act as a role model by staying active yourself.

It is important to lead by example. So make sure your kids see you exercising Fortunately, exercise is a habit that can benefit your whole family. If you need tips to get started, please watch my video Primary Principles of Exercise: Aerobic, Interval, Strength, Core.

You can also review our new fitness site, Mercola Peak Fitness, which is a treasure trove of fitness videos and articles by Darin Steen, the personal trainer that heads up our fitness site. It’s a wonderful resource to help you and your children become fitness savvy and make exercise a regular part of your lives.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/04/how-a-phys-ed-program-transformed-one-school.aspx

Why Should I Warm Up?

2010-05-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

The purpose of the warm-up is to lubricate the joints, increase the responsiveness of the central nervous system, prepare the body for the specific movements, and increase the body’s core temperature. The lubrication of the joints makes moving the joints easier. The bending of the knee is critical when sprinting, but will never be accomplished with stiff joints. The joints are better lubricated when the body is warm and able to produce fluid that easily flows to keep the joints moving. When a door has not been lubricated properly, it doesn’t function properly, doesn’t open and shut easily, and makes an irritating noise that confirms its problem.

The brain sends messages to the muscles to tell them to move. The central nervous system must be awake to clearly signal to the muscles, and quickly and efficiently recruit as much muscle fiber as needed to perform a specific movement. If the brain does not send the signal efficiently, the body can’t perform that movement with the required speed, which increases the athlete’s risk of injury. There are certain drills that excite the nervous system because they demand more muscle fibers to perform the movements. These drills must be progressive from slower exercises to faster exercises to avoid injury.

Preparing the body for specific movements by using exercises that activate the same muscles during the warm-up is essential. This method ensures the proper muscle groups are ready to move in any way they are needed. If you are going to use what is in a car engine to help the car operate, you don’t need to warm-up the tires to accomplish what only the engine is capable of. Sprints require the use of the glutes, hamstrings, hip muscles, and quadriceps, so, of course, it makes sense to warm-up the glutes, hamstrings, hip muscles, and quadriceps.

Increasing your core temperature also makes movement easier. Just like a warm rubber band can be manipulated more than a cold rubber band, a warm body allows joints and muscles to have a greater range of motion, so increasing the body’s temperature should be the first priority of a good warm-up. How can you tell if you are warm enough to begin exercise? A rule of thumb is to break a light sweat before sprinting or performing movements at high speeds. Most athletes start to warm-up their temperature within 10-20 minutes, depending on the level of preparedness of the athlete. Moreover, you do not want to turn the warm-up into a workout by making it too long. It will take away from your workout by using the energy reserves stored for the workout.

The warm-up must be versatile enough to be individualized because every athlete varies in mobility and the rate at which they increase their core temperature. The drills must have options for very mobile athletes and those who are less mobile. For instance, a mobile athlete might perform a spiderman crawl and a less mobile athlete might have to do a wide out. It is okay to vary the warm-up periodically because it will prevent the athletes from becoming bored. It will also challenge the range of motion of the athlete by making the body adapt to new positions.

Aaron Brooks Interview

2010-04-27T13:37:00.001-07:00

1. Hi Aaron. I am glad you chose to do this interview with us. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Thank you for having me. I have been in the health and fitness industry since 1991. I graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a BS in Physical Education / Exercise Science. Before starting my business Fucntion First in 1995 I worked at a couple of health and fitness facilities specializing in one on one posture correction as well as fitness. Eventually I sold half of the business and moved across the country and created Perfect Postures in 2002. I have worked with numerous Olympic as well as professional athletes; and the majority of my clientele are chronic pain sufferers.

2. We deal with a lot of youth athletes. Could you tell us how you improve the posture, joint mechanics, and muscle imbalances?
First we do a postural evaluation. Second we do a gait analysis, and perform functional testing. These three components complete the puzzle. From there we create corrective exercise programs designed to correct muscle imbalances and joint inefficiencies/dysfunctions. Then the youth athletes have more homework, seeing as these exercises should be completed daily.

3. What do you say to parents that are concerned about strength training harming their kids?

There are plently of other things to be concerned about. (Sitting at a computer for hours, playing video games or watching tv for hours) Only if kids are repeatedly lifting too much heavy weight would I woryy about strength training. Body weight exercise can be very beneficial. I feel that kids do not get out and climb trees or jump over obstacles or crawl under posts. They are too sport specific and end up performing the same movmenets over and over. Kids should be kids. Get them out and play.

4. What are the most common structural issues you see with youth athletes?
The most common structural issues seen with young athletes are as follows. Both boys and girls often exhibit valgus knees as well as internal rotation at the hip joint. Often times they have no lateral stability in the hips as well as poor squat patterns. In addition there shoulder and thoracic issues such as poor mobility and joint dysfunction. Poor movement patterns are a real issue because the young athletes are playing sports and strength training and are then strengthening their disfunctions rather than correcting them.

5. Are their any mobility drills or stretches that every youth athlete should include in their program?
Yes and the sequencing is key. Here are a few of my favorites.

ONE ARM COUNTER STRETCH – Kneeling with ball: Kneel with the knees directly under the hips. Kneel a little more than arms length away from your ball. Reach forward placing one hand on the ball, and the other hand (or elbow) on the floor directly under your shoulder. Rotate the thumb out on the arm on the ball. Use your abdominals to tuck your pelvis back and take the curve out of your lower back and hold. You should feel a stretch under the arm and along the side. Let the head drop. To increase the stretch, roll the ball across your body slightly. Hold for the desired time. (: 30) Switch sides and repeat.

3D KNEELING GROIN STRETCH: Start in the kneeling groing stretch position. Lean forward until you feel the stretch in your groin. Draw your abdominals in to help stabilize your spine. From here there are 3 positions in which you move your upper body. The movements should be slow and controlled. 10x each position.
1. Lift both hands up and overhead with the elbows straight as the pelvis comes forward.
2. With arms out in front of you, rotate your upper body, arms and head away from the back leg.
3.Lift the same arm as the back leg straight over head and lean forward and reach over the top of your head at the same time.

UPPER SPINAL FLOOR TWIST: Lie on one side with both knees together. Bend the knees so that the knees are straight out from the hips (forming a right angle to the body). Place extended arms on the floor at a 90 degree angle from your body. The palms are on top of each other and level with the shoulders. Slowly lift the top arm up and over your body toward the floor behind you. Turn your head so you are facing the ceiling. Keep the knees together. If the top knee begins to slide backwards place the bottom hand on the top knee to help hold them in place. Find the point where the shoulder feels comfortable. Breathe deeply, relax and allow gravity to slowly bring the arm towards the floor. Come out of the stretch by lifting the arm up and back to the original starting position. Roll over to the other side and repeat. (1:30-2:00)

CATS and DOGS: Begin in the hands and knees position with the hands directly under the shoulders and knees directly under the hips. Your weight should be evenly distributed and feet relaxed. Smoothly round up the back and bring the chin toward the chest. Next, smoothly sway the back down as the head looks up. Make it one fluid movement rather than holding any one position. Exhale as the head looks up and inhale as the head looks down. Keep the elbows straight throughout the movement. (10x)

6. How often should a youth athlete practice these drills to see some improvement?
Everyday or as close to daily as possible. The more the better.

7. Do you feel that your Versus product could be used for youth athletes?
Yes absolutely. Versus challenges an individuals proprioceptive awareness which is critical in athletics. It also develops core stability and joint stabilization which is also very important for preventing injuries as well as proper joint function.

8. How important are assessments for youth athletes?
Very important. Without an assessment you don’t know where to go. Which means you are just throwing out exercises to the athletes and not understanding why you are giving them the exercises. When put this way, you can see how without an assessment training could cause more harm than good.

9. Can a youth athlete make significant improvements with bad posture and joint dysfunctions?
Absolutely. However the only way they are going to so is by completing their exercises daily. These corrective exercises are working on reprogramming the neuromusclular system. It starts with improving muscle symmetry, which is going to improve joint alignment, which in turn improves joint function.

10. Who in the Industry has influenced the way that you train?
All of the health professionals I have had the pleasure of working with. I try to learn something from everyone I meet or work with.

11. Thanks for doing this interview and where can we learn more about you. What projects are you currently working on?
www.perfectpostures.com
www.myoforce.net
I have opened a new facility in Newton, MA. MYOFORCE is bridging the gap between corrective exercise and strength training. I was also asked to lecture this year on the Perform Better Circuit. I will be speaking about correcting muscle and joint dysfunction. I have launched the Versus product as well as the Versus strength training programs and pain relief programs on www.myoforce.net.. In addition MYOFORCE has begun developing affiliate relationships with HealthClubs around the country as well as internationally.

The Equalizer & Big Boy Pull Up

2010-04-19T06:06:00.000-07:00

New article at the Equalizer http://tiny.cc/f9rd7

Snack Time- A Crucial Period

2010-04-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

U.S. Children Snacking More; Junk Calories Leading the Rise
Released: 3/2/2010 1:30 PM EST
Source: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Newswise — Children in the United States are snacking more than ever before on salty chips, candy and other junk food, according to a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study.

The increase in snacking, which now accounts for up to 27 percent of daily caloric intake, has occurred along with a rise in childhood obesity, a health problem that has put millions of U.S. children at risk of hypertension, heart disease and diabetes. The study, published in the March 2010 issue of the journal Health Affairs, is one of the first to look at long-term eating patterns in children, and suggests a trend in which some children snack almost continuously throughout the day.

“Our study shows that children, including very young children, eat snacks almost three times a day,” said senior author Barry Popkin, Ph.D., the Carla Smith Chamblee Distinguished Professor of Nutrition at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. “Such findings raise concerns that more children in the United States are moving toward a dysfunctional eating pattern, one that can lead to unhealthy weight gain and obesity.”

Popkin and Carmen Piernas, a nutrition doctoral student in UNC’s public health school, studied nationally representative surveys of food intake in more than 31,000 U.S. children from 1977 to 2006. The researchers zeroed in on snacking patterns and found large increases. For example, in the first survey from 1977 to 1978, 74 percent of children aged 2 to 18 said they snacked on foods outside of regular meals. By the most recent survey, conducted from 2003 to 2006, that number had jumped to 98 percent.

“Kids still eat three meals a day but they’re also loading up on high calorie junk food that contains little or no nutritional value during these snacks,” Popkin said.

The largest increase in the types of snacks children were eating during the three decade period: salty, fatty snacks like chips and crackers.

“Another surprising finding was that kids are eating more candy at snack time,” Piernas said. “That kind of snacking can lead not only to weight gain but to tooth decay.”

Between 1977 and 2006, children of all ages increased their caloric intake from snacks by an average of 168 calories per day, up to a total of 586 calories. The largest increase was found in children aged 2 to 6, who consumed an extra 181 calories per day during snack time compared to two decades earlier, a troubling finding that suggests an unhealthy eating pattern early in life, Popkin said.

Researchers also found that children are less likely to drink milk (which contains calcium and nutrients they need to grow properly) and are more likely to reach for fruit juice (which is almost all sugar) or other sugar sweetened beverages such as sports drinks that contain many calories.

At the same time, children today are less likely to grab a fresh apple or any vegetable at all at snack time. The trend toward more fruit juice and less fruit and vegetables is a dangerous one because fresh produce contains fiber and lots of valuable nutrients that children need to stay healthy, Popkin said.

Consumption of desserts declined from 1977 to 2006. However, children today still snack on cake, cookies and other rich foods, and such desserts still account for a significant source of calories, Popkin noted.

An increase in calories, especially from unhealthy snack foods, plus an inactive lifestyle that includes lots of TV and computer screen time can lead to weight gain and even obesity, he said.

“Kids are eating nearly three snacks a day and that’s too much,” Popkin said, adding that parents should:

• try to limit snack time to once a day for children six and older.
• make sure they stock up on plenty of healthy snack food items like apple slices, carrots and other fruits and vegetables.
• limit a young child’s consumption of junk food or candy and talk to older teens about the importance of a healthy diet, including snacks.

But the solution to the junk food problem might require broader action, Popkin noted. For example, he said, schools should eliminate junk food sold in school vending machines or on the cafeteria line, and lawmakers might need to step in and regulate or restrict advertising that sells unhealthy foods to children, a practice that has been shown to increase snacking behavior.

For more information, see www.healthaffairs.org.

Learning v.s. Weights

2010-04-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

Another Excelerate Sports & Lamour Training Systems production

The greatest benefit of training youth will be realized through patience. Do not be hasty with adding weight
to their routine if they are not mastering the movement. I tend to keep my reps in the 5-8 range when teaching a
young athlete a new exercise because I am after the neuromuscular adaptations from the routine. Our main aim as coaches is to make sure the brain is sending signals quickly and efficiently so that the young athlete can perform the movement correctly.

The hardest lesson as a coach for me is to allow the athletes to continue to reap the benefits of bodyweight exercises like pushups, pull ups, dips, lunges, and squats. I get excited when the young guys make progress and think they might enjoy some resistance. But is it necessary if they are getting stronger through these bodyweight exercises. They will go a long way with the master their own bodyweight and their connective tissue will adapt to the stress of the different stimuli properly. This could safe a youth athlete from injury down the road. Think about what you want the youth athlete to look like 5 years down the road.

It has been a long month. There is a lot going on.

Stay tuned for some big news in the coming week…

Coach J

Jump Training

2010-02-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

Every youth athlete should start jump training to work on absorbing force and learning how to be reactive. Progress slowly depening on the athlete's level of preparedness. Also, make sure you warm-up properly to avoid dysfunctions and injuries.

Teach the athlete to throw the hands back violently to create an apposite force reaction. Also, make sure the athlete has a slight bend in the knees and lands softly. The leg muscles and glutes should be absorbing the force not the joints. Let us know what type of jump training your youth athlete is performing.

Keep Working Hard,

Jimmy & Oliver

Youth Mobility Circuit

2010-02-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Mobility is very important in improving the athleticism of every youth athlete.

It is the ability of the joints that are intended to be mobile to move through the correct range of motion to achieve certain positions.

We would like to see more middle school programs and youth organizations address this issue as this can have a profound affect on the athlete’s ability to move properly and with speed.

How important is improving mobility in your opinion?

Those who reply to the blog and send their email address to comments@fastyouthathlete.com will receive a free video of one of our athletes performing a mobility circuit.

Keep Working Hard,

Jimmy & Oliver

It’s Here…Free Book Contest

2010-02-02T12:15:00.000-08:00

We are so very excited to announce that our manual is finally here at
http://www.fastyouthathlete.com

It has taken us many months to complete the manual and we feel
we have delivered an excellent resource that will help youth athletes
for years to come.

The feedback for the manual has been incredible and we want to thank everyone that has participated. We would like to over our audience another chance to win a free book
by telling us why you deserve one.

All you have to do is comment below this blog and we will pick the person we feel deserves it the most. Don’t miss your chance as this contest will last until 2/5.

We can’t wait to hear your stories. Take Care!

Remember, Hard Work Pays Off.

Jimmy & Oliver

Dr. Don Chu & Jump Training for Youth

2010-01-25T08:07:00.000-08:00

1. Hi Dr. Don. Good to have you hear to do this interview. Could you tell us what made you interested in the youth fitness industry? What is your background?
I have always had an interest in athletic performance. Obviously this has a “trickle down” effect to the level of youth fitness. The current trend to eliminate physical education in the school curriculums has placed an even bigger need for fitness among today’s youth.

2. Let’s jump right into the hot topics. What is your approach to plyometric training with younger athletes? What do you feel absolutely must be included to create a better youth athlete?
My approach to plyometrics for younger athletes is that they are a part of the “Triad of Fitness” that needs to be addressed when working with youth. Namely, the three parts of the Triad are Strength, Speed and Agility. Plyometrics should be a natural part of youth development and they will involve themselves in these types of activities until an adult tells them to sit down and be still. The emphasis on training for the Triad is to balance the skill training with FUN!

3. What do you say to parents that think that plyometric training will stunt their kid’s growth or damage their joints?
I don’t call our training programs for youth “plyometrics”. If I do, I have to spend a long time explaining what we are doing. We train using ‘jumps’ and ‘agility’ exercises. The kids don’t care what the exercises are called and this way parents can relate more easily.

4. What are the most common mistakes that people make when training youth athletes with jump drills?
The most common mistake is to think that they are little adults. Volume and intensity of the drills need to be reduced and the ‘quality’ of movement emphasized. Neuromuscular Learning is a large component of training utilizing plyometrics so the young athlete must be allowed to practice, and comprehend and mentally digest what they are trying to do during the activity.

5. Some people believe that their kids are either born fast or slow. What are your thoughts?
They are correct to a large extent. If you are the recipient of poor genetic material in terms of movement speed you are going to be limited. However, everyone has a certain potential and few of us ever reach our given potential. It is worth it to attempt to develop and strive for the limits, whatever they might be.

6. When in the workout should plyometric drills be included in the workout?
I am still a believer that most plyometric activity should be done early in the workout, particularly for beginners. Once they become more developed and understand the nature of their training they can do more challenging things like ‘complex training’, etc.

7. Do you feel that plyometric drills have to be included in a program to achieve results?
Not at all, there are certain situations or sports where everything you do is plyometric, i.e. gymnastics. These athletes do not need to pound their body even more with plyometric drills. There are athletes who have great gifts for speed and jumping ability without doing anything, these athletes need to emphasize strength development.

8. How do you determine if a youth athlete is ready to use plyometrics? Are their certain indicators that we should look for?
I think the biggest factor is the young person’s ability to comprehend what they are told. Will they focus long enough to take instruction and understand what they are being instructed on. You also have to figure out what kind of learner they are. Some youngsters can imitate what they see but don’t do well with verbal instruction. Taking advantage of the manner in which a youngster learns is paramount to their desire to participate.

9. How can someone make significant gains without ever stepping into a weight room with a youth athlete?
When youngsters begin training programs they can benefit tremendously from using body weight exercises; lighter weight implements such as medicine balls and functional movement activities much more than being in a weight room. Before physical maturity (pre-adolescence) and without the hormone levels the weight room doesn’t really make that much sense. Early development of athletic ability requires a large base of experiences even in physical training.

10. Who in the Industry has influenced the way that you train?
I have been influenced by a number of specific individuals; Yuri Veroshanski (former National Jumps Coach of the Soviet Union); Tudor Bompa (formerly of Romania and now Canada); Jim Councilman (former Swim Coach, USA) and Darryl Rogers (former college and NFL football coach) who was so far ahead of his time and didn’t even realize it. Al Vermeil and I have been close friends and constantly discussed training techniques throughout the course of our careers and I have never known anyone more knowledgeable, nor more devoted to training methodology than Al.

11. Thanks for doing this interview and where can we learn more about you. What projects are you currently working on?
I am continuing to lecture and speak on Plyometric training and have continued to learn new things. I am working on the 3rd edition of Jumping into Plyometrics and am trying to add information on injury prevention and training for all sports.

50 Cent's Trainer Talks Fitness with Fast Youth Athlete

2010-01-20T07:51:00.001-08:00

1) Hi Jay. Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this interview. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you were introduced to strength training? I am a Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach, as well as a Nutritionist. I have coaching since 1996-we're I started off as a Volunteer Assistant Track and Field Coach at Montclair State University. I began coaching after suffering a career-ending spinal injury, which occurred while I was competing as a Long Jumper at the University of Arkansas.

2) A lot of people know you as 50 Cent’s trainer and believe that he is able to stay in shape because he constantly has you around. I believe it still is the will of the person. What are your thoughts? It is fear and lack of self-confidence that usually keeps an individual from achieving any sort of success. We as coaches have to work with that fear, and turn it into belief. Once, there's self-belief-anything is possible.
3) I know that like my self you are a former track guy. How did that influence your style of training? I use a lot of the Training Protocols that I learned as an athlete to train my client. (Dynamic-warm, nutrition, cool-down and recovery). As well as, timing: in the sense that I have to know when to properly peak my client and maintain the desired conditioning.

4) I deal without a lot of former athletes who have families now and are looking for workouts that do not consume their time. What type of workouts to stay healthy, feel like an athlete again, and trim the fat? I train any everyone differently. But, I am a strong believer in that what makes the most difference in any program is what happens outside of the gym: Sleep, Stress and Nutrition.
5) I have a friend who is big on fasting and a grapefruit. It is very laughable when I talk to him. Some people favor intermittent fasting, some low carb, and some low calories. What kind of nutrition do you think is essential when fat loss is your goal? Again, everybody's body is different and one cannot answer a relative question with a general answer. All programs should be designed according to the needs of the person.
6) What are the best workouts for those that travel a lot and only have access to some stairs, a band, and their bodyweight? Yet, they still want to be lean and mean. If traveling is part of your job-I suggest focusing more on your sleep, water intake and diet.
My life is on the road, and my main focus is my diet. I can get to the gym everyday. But, if I'm eating poorly and not providing my body with adequate hydration and rest-than non of my physical goals will be accomplished. I always suggest, on the road to start your day off everyday with: 16 ounces of cold water, stretch for 5-minutes and make your room your gym (stand on one leg while brushing your teeth; dance while getting dressed, take a pillow and use it as a balance board to perform push-ups or squats on).
7) One of my good friends who is a music producer and lost a significant amount of weight has come to like what we call the “fresh” workouts. It is basically a workout with consecutive exercises for a specific amount of time. It seems for fat loss a quicker pace fires up the metabolic rate and creates that long lasting “afterburn.” What are your thoughts on the “fresh” training? It is a effective program that many MMA fighters and boxers use.
8) Is nutrition or strength training more important when trying to lose belly fat? Diet!
9) This interview would not be complete without talking some youth training since we deal with the youth quite a bit. What do you think are the critical components of a good youth training program? Instilling confidence, motor skill development and creating a positive experience.
10) Who have been your biggest influences in training and what type of workouts are you doing right now to stay in shape? I have Three:
1. My father
2. My High School Track coach: Mr. McBride
3. Principal and Friend: Joe Clark
I do a lot of MMA training. I was an International Martial Arts Champion when I was young. So, this art has the same intensity and is so much of an Art Form that I have so much repsect for these athletes.
11) What projects do you have coming up and where can we get in contact with you? Thanks for doing this interview. Be safe traveling around the world.
I am working on a lot of stuff right now and each day has been a blessing. People can reach me on Facebook at Jay Cardiello; or via my web page at Cardiellofitness.com

Jimmy Lamour is a former Guilford College in Greensboro, NC All South Defensive Back. He set the record for interception return yards at the school. Upon Graduation, he tested numerous philosophies on strength and speed through seminars, self-study, conversation with renowned strength coaches, and training of hundreds of athletes. This led him to develop a system that helped him improve his 40 yard dash from a 4.66 to a 4.30, which gave way to many professional football workouts. He later developed Lamour Training Systems with the help of his lovely wife Charlene to help youth athletes improve their performance and receive knowledge he missed out on as a child. He continues to consult with several division 1 , prep school, and high schools coaches. He is currently certified as a youth fitness specialist. He has two children Camdon (12) and Micah (7).Sign up for his newsletter at http://fastyouthathlete.blogspot.com/ or website of http://www.fastyouthathlete.com .

Parr Bars Have Arrived

2010-01-15T10:23:00.000-08:00

All Natural Food Producer Creates Whole Food Bars & Partners With Fast Youth Athlete Inc.

Parr Foods, LLC. Located in Boone, NC expands into the youth athlete market to make a national push to battle youth obesity
January 15, 2010 -- Jay Parr started making energy bars after graduating from Le Cordon Bleu, School of Culinary Arts in 2004. With his experience in the kitchen and his love of the outdoors, the creation of the Boone Barr was inevitable. In 2008, he went back to school to study entrepreneurship and sustainable development at Appalachian State University. With enough encouragement from friends and family (especially my parents and Uncle Mark), I finally decided to give selling them a try. After a short conversation with a local coffee shop owner, the Boone Barr was put in its first retail location. Since then, we have grown from a rental home kitchen to a small production facility with several great employees. The rest is history.
Parr Foods, L.L.C. is a sustainable local-run business located in Boone, NC. We produce the Boone Barr, a whole food energy bar made from all natural and organic ingredients. Each bar is handmade and vacuum sealed to keep it fresh without the use of preservatives. We do not add sugar or artificial flavors, and use 100% wildflower honey as a sweetener in all but our vegan bar, which is sweetened with molasses.

Quality, sustainability, and hard work are our driving principles. We hope to take this great local product and distribute it regionally to retailers with likeminded values.

The partnership with Fast Youth Athlete Inc. was a natural move as their mission is to teach as many youth athletes as possible the fundamentals of quality youth training to encourage a healthy lifestyle, quality character, mentorship, leadership, and improve quality of play. The company is co-owned by Jimmy Lamour and Oliver Jordan. They are two former division III football all stars who reach you athletes through speed manuals, performance training, seminars, clinics, and mentorship.

The two companies saw a need for better nutrition options on the field of play. It bothered us to see kids being given high sugar snacks to maintain their energy during practices or games. The result was always a quick energy boost and a quick energy crash as well. The Parr bars was a perfect option to offer healthy food choices and sustainable energy. We hope to offer Parr bars across the nation to every youth sport organization and school organization in the near future. Parr foods can be contacted through their website at
http://www.parrfoods.com and Fast Youth Athlete can be contacted through http://www.fastyouthathlete.com.

Why are kids quitting?

2010-01-05T19:59:00.000-08:00

We read a statistic that said 70% of youth athletes do not play sports or participate in activity after the age of 13. Why are we losing so many kids? There has to be something wrong with the way we are coaching or organizing youth sports.
Most organizations will tell you that are not playing to win, but to have fun.

But if you have ever been involved with youth sports you know that many coaches are all about winning. Either the parents or coaches are trying to recreate their athletic careers through their participation in youth sports. This is bad news for a young kid that is just interested in having fun.

We like to win just like the next coach but we believe that early on when kids are just learning the fundamentals it should be about having fun. Our whole goal is to make sure that every kid leaves with a love for physical activity eventhough they decide to not participate in organized sports when they get older. Maybe, we would not have as many obese kids if we taught them that activity is healthy and fun.

It really gets under our skin when we see a 40 year old man yelling at a 7 year old at a youth football practice. Are you serious? This is not the NFL and this kid may never play football the rest of his life. Don't ruin all his hopes of enjoying physical activity because your coach was a screamer. I hope that our book helps coaches go back to teaching and helping kids better themselves.

Jimmy & Oliver

2010 Predictions

2009-12-29T12:41:00.000-08:00

It is a time of the year that can really consume you if you let it. We came up with a list of where we think the youth fitness industry is going in the near future and we wanted to know what you thought and what your goals are for this upcoming year.

The first five people will recieve a free written beginner workout. Don't hestitate as you do not want to miss this opportunity. On your mark...get set, and go.

1) Youth Fitness Training will continue to grow at a rapid rate

2) Exercise companies will start making machines or instruments geared towards youth athletes

3) The market will be flooded with trainers that want to tap into this market without any expertise

4) There will be more books and DVD’s geared towards youth athletes

5) The hardcore gyms will become more popular for youth athletes as results will trump pretty gyms

6) Parents will start seeing the value of a long term plan for development as it helps to have someone that is very familiar with your child’s strengths and weaknesses

7) More youth coaches are going to injure youth athletes because of lack of knowledge

8) More parents will start noticing the difference proper training has in increasing performance

9) More youth speed clinics will be offered around the country

10) There will be an informercial about youth fitness

11) The supplement industry will start making more products for youth fitness

12) A youth fitness magazine will start publication

13) Someone will write a quality book about youth fitness- We already did this one. Lol!

Happy New Year

Jimmy & Oliver

The Nine Year Old NFL Draftee

2009-12-23T09:50:00.000-08:00

I was at the barber shop this weekend and while I was waiting for my sons to get their haircuts I opened a sports magazine. It was talking about what pro athletes were doing to get prepared for their season. These particular athletes were lifting a 300 lb wheelbarrow uphill, flipping tires, and using a sledgehammer. It got me thinking about how many parents or coaches look at these magazines and start using the routines in workouts on nine year olds. They think that if it is good enough for the pros it is good enough for their youth athlete. Trust me that every youth athlete is different and must have a program designed for them to maximize their potential. That is why we have a beginner, intermediate, and advanced program. Learn the #1 reason youth athletes do not improve their speed by signing up for our free eBook at http://fastyouthathlete.blogspot.com

There are reasons that the faster youth athletes are not very good at running long distances. Yet, many of today's youth coaches prescribe running around the field as their best means of conditioning. The madness has to stop somewhere and someone has to tell the truth. The truth is that many of the programs that you see in the recreational leagues are outdated methods that have never worked. It is important that parents realize that in order to receive quality instruction you must invest in quality instruction. We feel there are certain things that must be included in a good youth training program. Learn those keys to youth speed training at http://fastyouthathlete.blogspot.com.

The Starter Guide To Youth Fitness

2009-12-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the word starter? Most people we talk to think of something that is in the beginning stages. That is exactly the message we were trying to send. We wanted a manual that would help youth athletes learn the basics of what it takes to be a superior athlete.
Frankly, we were tired of seeing high school athletes that were weak as dish water and slow as molasses. Parents were so quick to accept the fact that their kids were slow, but what we found was that proper training can make a big difference. Before, you think little Johnny will always be slow, let us provide you with the fundamentals to enhance his nutrition, strength, agility, speed, mental prep, and recovery.
How is it that an athlete can play athletics for half of their lives without ever receiving proper instruction? We are not talking about difficult advance techniques that the pro’s use. We are talking about basic movements like squatting, lunging, twisting, crawling, and small jumping. The gap is that most youth coaches are volunteers and not professional fitness coaches. Most of the time out of lack of knowledge they just run the kids until they drop like their coaches ran them. If this mind set left those youth coaches injured and miserable what makes them think it will help the players they coach.
We wanted to offer a manual that would give step by step instructions on how to improve athletically. It is the next best thing to training with us at the gym or track. It makes absolute sense to have the best instructions as a youth athlete, so you will be better prepared for the sports the athlete chooses later in their career. This will make them have a better chance of avoiding injury. It will also provide the mind-muscle connection at a stage when it is easier to teach movement.
This resource should definitely be in every youth athlete’s library that is serious about being a better athlete. Don’t miss the upcoming news about the release of the book. Only those that have subscribed to the newsletter at http://fastyouthathlete.blogspot.com will receive a free quick guide with examples of youth workouts. Talk to you soon.

Jimmy and Oliver

The State of Youth Fitness

2009-11-17T09:55:00.000-08:00

The Youth Speed movement is in trouble because of the level of fitness of youth athletes. Youth athletes are more concerned with texting, watching television, and surfing the internet these days. This has caused a level of obesity that was unheard of in the past. Youth Speed Athletes in the past played outside more and participated in activities that involved jumping, twisting, running, and squatting more often. Society has decided to ignore this problem by decreasing P.E. classes and physical activity. Consequently, we have athletes that enter middle school or high school weak, slow, and unprepared physically. The lag in physical preparedness to develop speed is why we created the “Youth Guide to Fitness.” We want every athlete, parent, or coach that reads this manual to be empowered with the tools to create a better youth speed athlete on and off the field.

The first issue that needs to be addressed to improve youth speed is the mindset of the youth athlete. We are firm believers in you become what you believe. Many youth athletes believe in the notion that everything should be easy for them to obtain and should be done quickly. Unfortunately, the technological age has contributed to this mindset by making information available at lightning speed. We address the mindset in the “Youth Guide to Fitness” manual by finding out why athletes think the way that they do. If you do not find out the root of the problem you will be cutting limbs, but still have the problem.

Youth Athletes must understand why they are sacrificing their time and effort to participate in athletics. The worst thing that parents can do is to try to force a youth athlete to become an athlete. Maximal effort will never be obtained when an athlete is not passionate about the sport they are playing. The bible says, “ Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” Are you listening to what your athletes are saying? My coaches did not have to tell me to workout in the offseason because I knew it was necessary to achieve the goals I had set.

Goals are also of great importance because they constantly remind the youth athlete where they are headed. You cannot take a train to Kentucky and expect to arrive in Miami. The road or process is never easy for a youth speed athlete, but if you can see the reward you can determine to stay on path. We are firm believers in writing down goals for the year. The next step is to make sure the youth athlete assesses their progress with a coach or parent periodically to make sure they are in the right direction. Although, I do not like to ask for directions it is sometimes necessary to make sure I am in route to my destination.

We hope you enjoyed this small piece of information on the Youth Speed Athlete mindset and we will follow up with a series of information showing you what it takes to take youth speed to the next level. We would like to know what questions you would like to ask about youth speed, so please comment and we will answer the questions as quickly as possible.

Pre-Release Announcement

2009-11-16T12:41:00.001-08:00

Welcome to our official pre-release of our upcoming book “Youth Guide to Fitness.” Our E-book will offer an affordable way to be trained by coaches Lamour and Jordan. This book will destroy the myths of certain youths not being able to improve their speed. Please let us know if you have any questions as we look to launch in the next two weeks. Thanks.