Time Flies

By Jim Bryan

I still remember when I started weight training. I was about 12 years old and had trained for a couple of years on a small weight set my Dad got me. Then I was involved in a serious Motor Cycle accident and was out of training for a while. That was when I was 14. The Dr. told me If I hadn’t been lifting I’d probably be pushing up daisy’s.

I got back into training as soon as I could and have been at it ever since.
I also remember the severe diets when I was doing Bodybuilding Contests. Don’t miss them at all. This was before Dr. Atkins. Funny thing is we were doing the Low Carb thing long before it got popular. It happens that way in Strength Training. Much of what is considered “New and Cutting edge” is actually old and recycled. We trained to failure back then without making a fuss over it. We also used free weights AND machines and never thought about the latest “Functional Training” smokescreen.

A little story about “Functional Training.” It seems the KING (That’s what he’s called) of “Functional Training” was doing a seminar and was going to demonstrate how to develop balance by jumping onto a “Swiss Ball.” He did and busted his ass…….right in front of everyone! I don’t know if anybody got their money back but this type of BS goes on all the time. Thank goodness in my day we were limited to basic training ideas and didn’t have to deal with as much BS as trainees today.

I also remember the Supplement Craze in my day, that has continued up till now. The idea that you can’t gain without supplements is still big business. Now you have Pro Hormones that companies are hawking that may only have bad side effects and none good. In my day There was the Body Building Camp and the Strength Camp. I did both and am happy I did. But Body Building back then wasn’t near as freaky as it is now. I don’t believe for a second that today’s top BB’s are healthy. AND they haven’t been “clean” in years.

Things have gotten much simpler for me now. I still try to train hard and often. I still try new things. I still read. But I don’t worry about all the small things. I have some strength left but I find it’s hard to stay lean as I want to. I just eat less most of the time. I don’t go to Internet Discussion boards much anymore for the simple reason that I’ve heard most of it…..several times. I don’t worry about TUL or TUT. I’m not looking for the latest get big drink. I filter BS pretty good but now and then I find some good Info or Friends to discuss it with. I don’t give a c**p about “what’s best Free Weights or Machines?” They both work. I also don’t care if “Failure Training” works for the masses. I know it worked for me and everyone else that I have seen. I don’t see anything wrong if you do or don’t want to train to failure. It’s your business. Why are you training? Is it for you or someone else? If it isn’t for you, you’ll fail. I also think you can enjoy training, most people won’t continue something they don’t enjoy. I also believe Safety should be an issue for your training. Without it you may be limping around someday.

Mahalo Nui Loa!

TAKU’s NOTE:
This article was originally written by Jim Bryan  on 03-28-04. I want to thank  Jim for sharing another one of his excellent, straightforward, no-nonsense articles with me.

Modern Athena

• Mod·ern [mod-ern] –adjective
  -Characteristic of present and recent time; contemporary; not antiquated or obsolete:
• A·the·na [uh-thee-nuh] –noun
  -The deity of the ancient Greeks worshiped as the goddess of wisdom, fertility, the useful arts, and prudent warfare.
• Mod·ern A·the·na [mod-ern] [uh-thee-nuh] –noun
  -A Renaissance woman. The ultimate combination of fitness, intelligence, and beauty.

Who Is Modern Athena?

She is everything. She is mother, wife, lover, caretaker, business woman, entrepreneur, gardener, chef, athlete and artist.

She is the culmination and combination of everything it is to be female. She is smart, sexy, and strong — all at once. She does not deny she can be all these things.

She knows she is worth it. She is proof that anything is possible.

TAKU’s NOTE:

This weeks post highlights a new web-site from a professional peer of mine named Becca Borawski. Her mission with this website is to bring together a community of women who are the Modern Athenas, the Renaissance women, and offer tools and inspiration. Visit her new web-site  HERE

DEVELOPING A SPORT PERFORMANCE PROGRAM

SPORT PERFORMANCE PROGRAM IDEALS
By Tom Kelso

The goal of a sports performance program is to maximize physical qualities needed for optimal athletic performance and injury prevention. Simply put, athletes want to perform at their best from start to finish each contest, over an entire season, and throughout their playing careers without incurring injury setbacks. Many programs that address this can be complicated, time-consuming, and unproductive, but a sound program simplifies the process by focusing on the alterable physical qualities to assure time-efficiency and measurable results. The bottom line is following a sound program makes sense and optimally prepares you for the rigors of competition.

Program components:

1. Progressive strength training. The benefits of increasing muscular strength are numerous. Increasing over-all body strength will improve your potential to exert maximum strength, explosive power and muscular endurance during competition. It will also assist in improving running speed, agility, body composition (body fat levels), and injury prevention. I utilize a variety of intensity-based protocols for both in-season and out-of-season programs.

2. Sport-related conditioning. Fatigue can inhibit maximum skill performance and increase the risk of injury, especially in the latter stages of competitions and important contests at the end of the season. Being in top condition is therefore vital. A good program addresses the energy demands required for your sport by using various interval runs, speed &, agility drills, and sport-specific activities to improve your ability to work at a high level the entire contest. Numerous methods can be used to get you “in shape,” but the closer you can replicate work demands of your sport during conditioning training, the greater the transfer to the sport.

3. Flexibility. All other factors being equal, applying muscular force over the greatest range of joint motion can improve power output during skill execution. Therefore, maximizing one’s inherent flexibility can be beneficial. One’s joint flexibility is contingent upon skeletal muscle origins and insertions, body composition, and to some extent activity level. Some athletes are quite flexible while others are not. Whatever your level, it can be maximized by emphasizing full range of motion strength training exercises and performing basic pre- and post-workout safe static-stretching exercises. An inordinate amount of time spent on static stretching is normally not necessary unless there is a specific need for it.

4. Nutrition. Nutritional intake can have a significant impact on your performance potential as it can both positively and negatively effect body composition, energy levels during training and competition, and the ability to grow muscle and build strength. Following a sensible nutrition plan is therefore very important. A sound program offers advice and guidelines for adhering to a proper food intake plan to optimize your training results. If one eats sensibly from healthy products obtained at the local grocery store, it will augment their training and recovery so expensive nutritional supplements are really not necessary.

Benefits of the sports performance program components:

Strength training:

> Increased muscular strength
> Increased muscular power
> Increased muscular endurance
> Increased muscle size
> Improved running speed
> Improved agility
> Assists in body fat reduction
> Reduced injury risk

Conditioning:

> Improved endurance
> Improved running speed
> Improved agility
> Improved reaction/quickness
> Assists in body fat reduction
> Reduced injury risk

Flexibility:

> Improved force production potential
> Improved skill execution
> Reduced injury risk

Nutrition:

> Maximizes muscle strength
> Maximizes muscle size
> Assists in body fat reduction
> Improved endurance
> Assists in recovery time

TAKU’s NOTE:

This weeks article courtesy of my friend Tom Kelso. Visit his newely updated web-site for tons of great information and some of the best books in the industry. 

1. THE INTERVAL TRAINING MANUAL:
2. THE STRENGTH TRAINING WORKOUT ENCYCLOPEDIA:
3. TRUTH, MYTH & REALITY

One and Done

Five Easy Steps to a One Hour Workout

Two of the biggest mistakes I see in the gym are people training too often, and not training hard enough. Most folks mistakenly believe that they can make up for lower quality workouts, by simply upping the quantity. Unfortunately this does not work.

Most of these people hit the gym five or six days a week, repeating the same old stuff over and over, like a hamster going round and round on his little wheel. The sad thing is they make about as much forward progress as that hamster does…they are basically going no where.

On the other end of the spectrum are the folks who feel they just don’t have time to train. They want to do cardio, lift weights, stretch, and still have a life. They look at the gym hamsters, and wish that they to could somehow find the time to spend 10-12 hours a week in the gym.

WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!

First, you will not make progress by doing the same thing over and over. If you expect your body to produce a change, than you must start by inducing that change with an unaccustomed stimulus.

Next,once the stimulus has been introduced, get out of the gym and let your body do it’s thing. The workout does not produce the change. Change happens during your recovery period.

Finally, 5-6 workouts every two weeks is enough to get the job done. Not only that, each workout should not take more than an hour to complete. That’s right, one hour. You will do cardio, weights, stretching…and all in one hour.

Here’s how it works:

Step One. 0-5 minutes. Warm-up = Easy cycling @ 60% Max Heart Rate

Step Two. 5-20 minutes. Endurance exercise (Cardio) = Interval cycling alternating 3-min @ 70% Max Heart Rate and 3-min @ 80% Max Heart Rate

Step Three. 20-25 minutes. Cool-down = Easy cycling @ 60% Max Heart Rate

Step Four. 25-55 minutes. Strength Training = One set each of 8-12 exercises covering all major muscle groups. Example: Leg Press, Leg Curl, Chest Press, Row, Shoulder Press, Pull-down, Triceps, Biceps, Ab’s, Low-back

Step Five. 55-60 minutes. Cool-down and Stretching = the Big-4: Hamstring stretch, Low-back Stretch, Shoulder Stretch, Calf Stretch

WOW…That was easy. Now, get into the gym and create your own workout using the above guidelines as your template. If you like free-weights, use free-weights. If you prefer running or rowing to cycling, DO IT!.  Try alternating three days in the gym the first week, and only two days the next. Mix things up, keep it fresh.

Before you know it, you’ll be having fun, getting fit, and still have time for a life outside the gym.

PAU for NOW

TAKU