Sarah Walls 9/7/12 Sarah Walls 9/7/12

For Your Viewing Pleasure: Bringing Worlds Together

I'm running out the door to head out of town for my brother's wedding, so today is going to be short and sweet. And, I apologize, non-training related. I stumbled across this video a few weeks ago when some friends of mine showed it to me, and I think you all will appreciate that I am sharing it with you (if you haven't already seen it, that is).

Here is a guy, Matt, who's life used to solely consist of making video games and playing video games. Then, through a series of events (you can read the full story HERE), he took on a unique quest to share a message with the world that perhaps hadn't been realized by the many. What kind of message? See the video below for yourself, it will be well worth your time.

Sarah Walls 9/6/12 Sarah Walls 9/6/12

Back to School, Back to Awful Mobility

It’s back to school time which means it’s time to sit at a desk for long periods of time shortening your hip flexors and putting yourself into a kyphotic posture; ever so slightly changing you into Quasimodo. This is mainly for my high school kids who think that this unnatural posture is an inevitability rather than something they can fix. I’m reminded of the weirdness of Steve Reed when I think about sitting for long periods of time. For those of you who don’t know, and sorry Stevo for putting you on blast, but Steve does the majority of office work at a local coffee shop. Steve has set a reminder on his computer that lets him know when he has been sitting for too long. Once this reminder goes off he proceeds to do a series of exercises to counteract his kyphotic upper back position and his shortened hip flexor position, think band pullaparts and spider-mans with overhead reaches. I remember when Stevo first told me he did this and I thought what a weirdo. But is it really that weird? Or is it weirder that we are forced to be in this unnatural position all day long? Is the sky really blue or do we just perceive it to be that way? What if reality is a dream and our dreams are reality? Whoa, sorry about that; my inner Mike Boyle came out of me on that one. Anyways back to my point, I think Stevo is on to something here and I think it’s something our high school kids should consider, embrace the weirdness in between periods. Do these same type of exercises in between your periods throughout the day in order to stay long and strong. In fact because I’m so generous I’ll give you a workout you can do twice a day. Do the following workout after your first period of the day and then one more time after another period of your choice.

A1) No Money’s against Locker

1-2x6, hold 2 seconds

A2) Half-kneeling Hip Flexor Mob

1-2x5/side, hold 3 seconds

A3) Standing Y’s (thumbs face away)

1-2x8

A4) Spiderman with OH Reach

1-2x3/side

There you go something quick and easy to counteract the horrible posture of the day. As a side note to this don’t be “that guy/girl” and cause a big scene when you do this. The last thing I want or need is for an administrator to call me and tell me you all made a big spectacle out of yourself between 5th and 6th period. And let this be a lesson to all of us, just when you think Stevo is being weird for the sake of being weird he’s actually just being smart!

Sarah Walls 9/5/12 Sarah Walls 9/5/12

SAPT Exercise of the Week: Double-Arm KB Farmer Walk with Towel

As soon as I completed my first-ever farmer carry, the exercise was indelibly cemented into my memory as an all-time favorite, and one that I privately vowed to use on a weekly basis both within my own training and in that of our athletes and clients at SAPT.

You'd be hard pressed to find to find a better exercise that simultaneously develops core and hip stability, grip strength, shoulder health, structural soundness of the musculoskeletal system, promotes fat loss and lean body mass gain, gets you "yolked," and takes the cake for overall conditioning.

Not to mention (and stealing a phrase from my friend Tony Gentilcore), a heavy set of farmer carries will make any woman within a two-block radius spontaneously conceive. How about that one, science?

And, with large thanks to Dan John and his article, The Secret of Loaded Carries, the farmer walk has grown in popularity and an increasing number of people are appreciating how valuable they are.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of loaded carries is that they are SCALABLE. You can literally use them with anyone, for virtually any training goal:

An overweight client who's brand new to the weight room and seeking fat loss.
A football player looking to pancake some unsuspecting soul on the opposing team.
Wrestlers and MMA fighters desiring augmented grip strength and cardiovascular fitness.
A powerlifter looking to improve his squat, bench, and deadlift.
A fitness model preparing for a photo shoot, or college student fancying a sexy bod for the upcoming Beach Week.
A mother or father simply preparing for "Life"; wanting to better prepare for the ability to get through a day of yard work without crippling back pain.
And, while I have yet to find a specific research study on the matter, I'm convinced that a healthy dose of farmer carries, more than any other exercise modality, improves your sex life, along with making coffee taste even better than it already does.

I'm not kidding, you can use them for a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g. At SAPT we have 11-year olds carry 10lb kettlebells, practicing good posture and walking mechanics; some of our high school athletes carry upwards of 410lbs with the implements. You can see the video below for a boatload of kettlebell (or dumbbell) variations you can use as part of a warm-up or conditioning circuit:

And while I LOVE the farmer walk implements, which allow you to really ramp up the weight (and subsequently, superhero status), I realize that many of you reading train in a commercial gym, and don't have access to the wonderful world of farmer walk handles. Enter....

Double-Arm KB Farmer Walk with Towel

This exercise was invented by your fellow wizards at SAPT, when, upon opening the facility back in 2007, the power racks didn't arrive forfour freaking months due to the company being complete dunderheads delay in shipment. What appeared to be a curse quickly metamorphosed into a blessing, as it forced the coaches to be creative with exercise selection. The KB farmer walk with towel happened to be one of the offspring of this surge in forced creativity.

Here it is in action:

(Note: If your gym doesn't have very heavy kettlebells, you can stack weight plates on top of the KB, as shown in the video.)

I really like this exercise because you can do it nearly any gym, and while it will provide nearly all the benefits of farmer carries (listed in the beginning of this article), this particular variation really, and I mean really, hammers grip strength. You'll literally have to "unpeel" your fingers from your palms when you finish. Not to mention, these really make for fun competitions among the competitive crowd, to see who can go the heaviest and longest before allowing the towel to slip out of the hands.

In fact, even though we now have the luxury of implement handles at SAPT, we still use this variation with near reckless abandon in our athlete's programs.

I like to do these for 2-3 sets of 30-80yds. (If you train in a gym without much walking room, you can just walk back and forth in a 5-10yd square. Who cares if you look funny.)

Give it a shot and hope you enjoy.

Sarah Walls 8/31/12 Sarah Walls 8/31/12

Stuff You Should Read 8/31/12: Things I've Learned, The Difference Between Coaching Men vs. Women, and Sport Training for Jumpers and Sprinters

Before I get to the list, I have to show you the greatest thing I stumbled across this past month, thanks to Ryan:

If Bane says you should understand good squatting mechanics, then you should probably understand sound squatting mechanics. Case closed.

Alright, moving on to the list:

10 Things I've Learned: Ramblings From a Mathematically Challenged Fitness Coach - Alwyn Cosgrove

This article holds a special place in my heart as it was the FIRST article I ever read that helped bring me away from the stupid with regards to training people.

At the time of stumbling across the article, I was working as a personal trainer down at Virginia Tech. While yes, I was at least preaching the importance of squatting, progressive overload, and good technique, I was still following a very "Muscle & Fitness" approach to training: You know, attacking all the angles of each muscle group, omitting warm-ups, performing at least 40 total work sets during a session, tons of machine and leg press work, along with other equally useful things such as placing screen doors on submarines.

And no, I had no clue what a foam roller was, and yes, #26 and #28 on the list gave me a particularly well-deserved kick to the pants.

Upon reading this article, I immediately thought to myself, "What the....!!! Where have I been for the past couple years; hiding under a rock? What have I been wasting my time with reading?"

For those of you who haven't read it, I highly encourage you to click the link above.

Coaching Women and Coaching Men: Two Different Planets - Kelsey Reed

If you work in the coaching or training sector, in the weightroom or out on the field, it (hopefully) undoubtedly didn't take long for you to realize that teaching a male a skill versus teaching a female a skill can require particularly different approaches.

I thought Kelsey did an excellent job elucidating a few of the not-so-obvious differences between coaching men vs. women, with a few tips to boot.

Progression and Periodization for Elite Sprinters and Jumpers - Sarah Walls

This is an old(er) post from Sarah that I thought provided some awesome insight into training jumpers and sprinters. Considering that she is the strength & conditioning coach for the George Mason team (a consistently top team in America), this is written from someone who actually "walks the walk" of working with high level track athletes.

For those of you who enjoy a bit more of the "geeky" side of training, this will be right up your alley, as well.

Sarah Walls 8/30/12 Sarah Walls 8/30/12

Try Adding Some Humor to Your Day

As of late I have been trying to purge negativity from my life. I am a pretty fun loving guy and joke around a lot but I still feel that I often focus too much on the negative. Most of the time its things I have no control over or things that are 10-15 years in the future that I worry about, stupid I know. With all that said I had the pleasure of listening to Ron Culberson speak the other day; taken straight from his bio "Ron Culberson, is a speaker, author and humorist who helps staff and managers achieve success through the philosophy of Do it Well, Make it Fun." His whole message is to not take life so seriously, especially at work. You can still be extremely successful at your job and in life while not taking it so seriously or being negative. Take a look at the video to get a feel for what Ron's message is all about.

It was funny that at the same time I heard this speech was at the same time I decided to make this change of eliminating as much negativity as I can from my life. One thing that really rang true when listening to Ron speak was he told a story of when he was talking to a terminally ill patient. The patient said "Where does the time go?" His point in telling this story was that time just doesn't fly when your having fun, time flies in general. I don't know about you but that really hit home with me. Our time on this earth is extremely limited and I plan on working hard but be assured I'm going to have fun and joke around while I'm doing it. So enjoy yourself at work today, there is always a day to make the journey funnier.

These guys have the right idea...

Sarah Walls 8/29/12 Sarah Walls 8/29/12

SAPT College Baseball Training Testimonials: Red Dowdell, Ryan Dickt, & Kent Blackstone

A number of our athletes are headed off to compete in collegiate sports this year, and three of our baseball guys were kind enough to take a couple moments in order to provide some insight into how training at SAPT has helped them to prepare for the high level of competition they'll be facing this upcoming season. I should also note that what they didn't say on camera is that they are some of the hardest working athletes I know, giving it their 100% each and every single time they walked in the door. A good training program is nothing without the athlete following it through no matter what "life" throws at them outside the gym walls, so I tip my hat to these guys for consistently training with conviction and purpose, and setting a shining example to everyone who's fortunate enough to work alongside them.

Take it away fellas!