Train Sane for the New Year

Suddenly everywhere we look the workouts have gone insane. What’s that all about? Anyone who has read my stuff regularly, knows that I believe in hard work. However, just because a workout is named something that sounds tough, and or gets you out of breath, does not mean it is a smart or viable way to train long term.

The truth is the number one type of exercise we can do for our health is strength training, And the number one reason folks don’t feel that they can workout is lack of time. With this in mind,why choose a program that says you need to confuse your muscles and workout 5 – 6 – or 7 days per week for an hour or more? The truth is that anyone from the elite athlete to the un-fit office worker can get all they need from two or three well thought out 30 or 45 minute workouts per week.

What’s that saying about a fool and his money? I’ve noticed that the “insane” workout folks are now trying to sell agility ladders and other tools to make folks more athletic etc. Don’t fall for the hype. Unless you want to be a world champion at using the agility ladder, don’t bother buying or using one. No matter what anyone tells you, it will not give you better footwork for your chosen sport.

If you are a soocer player, what do you think will be more beneficial:

A: 30 minutes of agility ladder drills.

B: 30 minutes of extra time spent practicing skills with a soocer ball for improved ball mastery?

Let’s talk science for a moment.

1. Purported “speed drills” that do not replicate exact sprinting body mechanics (same speed, muscle contractions, angles of force output, etc.) may not transfer to improve speed. Again, the principle of specificity states that to become proficient in any activity, the activity itself must me practiced exactly. Anything “almost” or “close” is NOT exact. Therefore, general drills such as high knees, skips, bounds, box jumps, or other slower-moving actions (relative to all-out sprinting speed) can be used, but more as a part of a dynamic warm-up routine.

2. Straight-ahead sprinting and change-of-direction agility drills elicit a “plyometric” (stretch-shortening) effect. Therefore, whenever you’re sprinting and doing agilities, your doing plyometrics. No need to spend an inordinate amount of time jumping on and off boxes.

3.  Speed gadgets and gimmicks such as parachutes, rubber tubing, sleds, weighted vests, and the like are nothing exceptional. They by themselves will not make you “run like the wind” after their use. They can be used
for variety in a conditioning program (repeated use can create fatigue), but that’s about it. It is a fact that running with weight or against resistance alters running mechanics from those used in unweighted sprinting you’ll experience during a game (sport-specific). Therefore, keep your running both sport and energy system-specific by replicating the situations / runs you’ll face in competition.

To find out how intelligent athletes train, check out this article from last August: Strength Training for Athletes

So to sum up, it’s not about feeling tired, sweating profusely or earning a T-shirt…It’s about consistent and progressive hard work on brief, intense, and infrequent programs designed to support your goals.

Remember Train Smart, Win easy.

Pau for Now.
TAKU

THE IMPORTANCE OF STRENGTH TRAINING DURING MENOPAUSE

By TAKU

At Hybrid fitness we recommend brief, intense, infrequent strength training workouts as the foundation of a total fitness program. This style of training is safe efficient and effective for everyone.

Often women will avoid strength training with weights for fear of bulking up or sometimes because they just don’t realize the benefits to be gained. With this in mind I offer the following information with regards to the many benfits of strength training before and during menopause:

Reverse Genetic Markers of Aging –It’s a generally established medical fact that the benefits of brief effective strength training are a practical fountain of youth. Strength training delivers the health benefits that no other form of exercise will.

 

Reduce Risk of Osteoporosis – As we age our bones naturally get more porous and less dense. That makes them more brittle and prone to breaking. Brief effective strength training reverses this process and adds density to bones.

Improves Cholesterol Profile – Brief effective strength training exercise lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol and increases HDL (good) cholesterol. These are two key markers of heart disease that are improved by Brief effective strength training exercise.

Positively Impact Hormone Profiles – Brief effective strength training causes your body to produce more of its own, natural growth hormone. Increased HGH is known to boost libido, improve your sleep, improve memory and decrease the wrinkles in your skin!

 

Boost Metabolism and Increase Fat Loss – Adding muscle to your body increases your Basal Metabolic Rate which means you will naturally burn more calories and lose fat 24 hours a day. Adding just 5 pounds of new muscle will burn off 20 to 30 pounds of fat annually.

 

More Energy – Having more muscle means that every activity throughout the day is less taxing. That means having extra energy left over to enjoy life more.

Look Better – Strength training changes the composition of your body in two very positive ways. It increases lean body mass and decreases fat. In short, strength training makes you look younger and more fit.

Positive effects on depression – Regular strength training exercise improves cognitive function, enhances mood and promotes daytime alertness and restful sleep. Brief effective strength training will increase endorphin levels which are the bodies’ natural pain relievers.

A high intensity, no momentum workout program is the safest and most effective means to achieve muscle strength and endurance, reduced body fat, higher metabolism, increased bone mineral density, and improved cardiovascular fitness.

Now imagine getting all those benefits by performing perhaps one or two brief, effective strength training workouts a week. The point is that greater strength equals greater health. Now is the time for you to become your best. So what are you waiting for, get started on your strength training program today.

PAU for NOW

TAKU

COMING SOON!

I Wanted to take a moment to let folks know that one of our founding members Mike Suyematsu, will be creating a new series of original content on personal protection, self defense, combat sports, etc.

For those who have not yet heard of Mike, here is a little background on him:

Mike Suyematsu

Mike Suyematsu is a fitness and martial arts instructor with over 38 years of experience. His extensive and diverse martial arts resume includes such styles as Kempo, Kajukenbo, Goju Karate, Northern Style Shaolin Gung Fu, PFS Jeet Kune Do, Cabales Serrada Escrima, boxing and wrestling. In addition, Mike is a Certified Principles Coach in Tony Blauer’s PDR (Personal Defense Readiness) Program and is extremely well versed in close-quarter combat and weapons training.

Mike’s list of clients is as diverse as his experience. They include police and S.W.A.T officers, business executives, retirees, college students and combat athletes, among others. Mike brings a unique mix of fitness knowledge with years of self-defense training. He’s “walked the walk” so to speak. Mikes wealth of knowledge make him an important member of the team and what he teaches can literally mean the difference between life and death.

PAU for NOW

TAKU

Product Spotlight: Maximize Your Training

Maximize Your Training is a collective effort of more than thirty leading experts in the strength and fitness field. These respected professionals share their insights on a variety of topics and issues related to training and exercise, including:

• The history of strength training
• Program design
• High intensity training (HIT)
• Motivation
• Strength training for specific populations (including women, older adults, and prepubescents)
• Bodybuilding
• Powerlifting
• Flexibility
• Nutrition
• Steroids

Maximize Your Training is for fitness enthusiasts who want to gain the knowledge, understanding, and insight necessary to achieve a competitive edge. This book is an important tool for anyone who takes bodybuilding, sports performance, and athletic training seriously.

This awesome book is edited by Matt Brzycki, who is the coodinator of health fitness, strength and conditioning at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. He has authored more than 175 articles that have been featured in 33 different publications and has written three books—A Practical Approach to Strength Training, Your Strength and Conditioning, and Cross Training for Fitness—and coauthored Conditioning for Basketball with Shaun Brown, the strength and conditioning coach of the Boston Celtics.

Matt Brzycki

TAKU’s NOTE: I own several books by Matt Brzycki, and they are excellent. Maxmize your training should be on every Strength and Conditioning coaches top-10 book list. It is loaded with valuable information on evidence based exercise programs, and will assist those interested in how to design, implement, and update comprehensive strength programs for any goal. Although this book has been around for some time, I highly recommend that you get yourself a copy today.