Summer of Shred

My lungs heaved, legs “screamed” but within ten minutes remaining in practice there was no stopping and simply time to “punch the pedal to the floorboards” and leaving nothing behind. This very simple decision is one athletes in every corner of the world face each day and despite the endless scientific analysis there is no quantifying will, desire and the look of an individual who knows, “I can, I will”.

This is the mark of both my own sporting career where my failings have bridged with such an attitude that I have equally imparted upon my athletes. It is, the oldest of my speeches that revolves around the pillar of an athletes heart.

You must possess the resolve to weather the difficult tasks. Let me stress to accomplish great things in life you will need to navigate many trying challenges and your successful passage is made possible by possessing resolve.

You must be bold, audacious and confident to press on through the storms that vanquish others. Fear is our deadliest foe and as I did in my youth, once you rip it away from your thoughts you can accomplish much in your life. Be bold, be confident and attack.

You must be courageous in the face of adversity. Life will throw many a challenge at you, some remarkably more difficult that what you might be presently accustomed to be with the elimination of fear and with the breastplate of courage you will press forward. Be unconquerable.

Each of these traits must be mission driven and let me stress emblazoned with honour, commitment and loyalty. The tasks ahead are challenging but they will not be abandoned without completing and for that matter will be met in a manner the brings pride to your community, your family and your heritage.

To many considering, there might be a question of how this relates to physical conditioning yet in-fact this is the absolute “hub” of all training considerations as without drive, determination and dedication failure is imminent.

These four pillars are the hallmarks of success in athletics as well as many other facets of life and if embraced can be the mortar in the building blocks of attaining your goals. Pressing forward with these guiding principles will lead you through challenges in exercise but also provide you the motivation as “you can, you will” becomes, “I believe” and eventually “I did”.

As many face challenges in exercise, whether overcoming injury or managing pain, attempting to lose weight or build muscle, remember these four pillars and be bold, audacious and confident and attack.

Attack your goals, believe in yourself and yes, have faith.

Prepared by John Davies
Photo of Brad Neitzel

Tammy Bravomalo discusses her supplement regime.

 

John Davies is available on his personal page on Facebook , Renegade Training™’s, Google+, Renegade Training™ on Google+ as well as or Twitter.

 

John’s present supplement stack starts daily with the “athlete’s advantage”, Modern, Super Cissus, PowerFull and Prime, along with additional use of Recreate, Yok3d, Anabolic Pump and Pink Magic depending upon his training cycle

 

Disclaimer
The information provided in “Instant Training Improvement Tips”, as well as this web-site blog is intended for informational and educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as medical advice for any condition. Always consult a qualified medical professional before beginning any nutritional program or exercise program. By reading this disclaimer, you hereby agree and understand that the information provided in this column is not medical advice and relying upon it shall be done at your sole risk

 

An early spring provided a unique opportunity to accelerate my off-season training unlike years in the past and quickly I found my short-term goals being met with somewhat unexpected ease. Primarily to improve speed-endurance and work capacity, time in the saddle (cycling) has become my theme for April and May training as I am spending upwards of twenty hours per week “bringing the hammer down”.

Hack Squat

Moving past cycling as a sport, within athletic circles the activity can be a key medium in developing power, strength-endurance and work threshold. However, and from my observations, it is not used significantly enough in sport training sectors and typifies the often myopic vision within coaching.

Bulgarian Squat

Cycling, Trail running, swimming and any number of sporting activities are tremendous for the athlete for general conditioning and help alleviate the often monotony of day to day exercise. The list of sporting choices is endless but in the oddest of odd situations the last twenty some years has seen a funneling of sorts where the “fun” of participating in various sports has lowered.

Good Morning Squat

This has occurred primarily in wealthier nations and due primarily to a shifting approach in school physical education programs and a fitness industry that has convinced the public to drive to the gym to walk on a treadmill. This has resulted in a less rounded athlete, who may be sound of skill but the lower foundation of athleticism has severely limited their upside potential. Though your interests may not be in competitive sport, the lesson should ring out loud and clear as insufficient variation breeds a less rounded physique that will quickly hit the ceiling of growth.

Zercher Squat

This issue must be pressed within resistance training, whether your goals are athletic, general health, bodybuilding or purely aesthetic, as variation is key to providing a broad base for continued growth. While it is true that all lifting is a Push, Pull, Press or Squat (add reach, lunge and extend for good measure), tempo, starting position and even mediums should vary to avoid adaptation.

Cossack Squat

The perfect example is within the “king” of resistance exercises, the Squat, which can vary within traditional barbell situations, varying stance, as well as bar positioning as in Front, Overhead, Hack or Zercher, start position as in a “deadstop” or equally considering suitable options such as Bulgarian, Lunges or one of my personal favourites, the Cossack, which further challenges range of motion. Each of the styles and many others, possesses many variables, tempo considerations and other aspect that will enhance stimuli and should be used regularly.

Olympic Squat

Prepared by John Davies
Photo of Tammy Bravomalo

 

John Davies is available on his personal page on Facebook , Renegade Training™’s, Google+, Renegade Training™ on Google+ as well as or Twitter.

 

John’s present supplement stack starts daily with the “athlete’s advantage”, Modern, Super Cissus, PowerFull and Prime, along with additional use of Recreate, Yok3d, Anabolic Pump and Pink Magic depending upon his training cycle

 

Disclaimer
The information provided in “Instant Training Improvement Tips”, as well as this web-site blog is intended for informational and educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as medical advice for any condition. Always consult a qualified medical professional before beginning any nutritional program or exercise program. By reading this disclaimer, you hereby agree and understand that the information provided in this column is not medical advice and relying upon it shall be done at your sole risk

 

As many grapple with higher than normal temperatures this time of year there will be a natural desire amongst exercise enthusiasts to try to accelerate weight reduction goals. This, as you may have guessed, comes under the heading of “foolhardy” as most efforts of this kind are based upon unsound principles and merely the flavour of year in exercise culture.

 

In my career I thought I had seen every possible error and though disappointed with the training frontier in 1995 say, I never believed it would get much worse. Of course that ante was upped at the turn of the millennium as ridiculous ideas became common place in the exercise community, yet once again I believe it could not get much worse. This story would be repeated in 2005 or so and then took a gigantic step forward in the present as through media players extremely poor quality technique and notions are now accepted in many circles. It has virtually turned the exercise sector, once so steeped in rock solid principles into an absurd series of “tests” where the most likely result is injury and disappointment.

 

Being “intense” in your workout is not a set of movements, strung together without any concept or idea of energy cycle or excusing horrible technical form as collateral damage of a “good workout”. An individual who allows poor technical form, particularly in multiple joint movements, has relinquished their role as a “exercise professional” and should not be in the position of mentoring others and forget the idea of a “hobby” as a coach. Unfortunately media players have allowed the viral spread of such nonsense and the long-term effect will only serve to lower quality of coaching and of-course service to the exercise going public who simply deserve better.

 

Stringing exercises together to the point of exhaustion does not prove a workout is effective but instead evidence that designer of said regime does not understand energy cycles and training principles and merely fooling users they are improving work threshold. The training effect of such an approach will be modest, in-fact can actually lower testosterone of males in long-duration sets and put the individual in a highly injurious situation.

 

Losing weight comes via a long term exercise regime that can be accelerated to a significant extent through a proper diet approach and further be jettisoned forward with supplementation. These three “prongs” of attack must at all times cater to recovery, which within exercise translates most commonly in RED2, Hurdles, DMC and range of motion work (see also “Modern Monday”) and supplying the body its necessary fuel within food choices and supplementation. By applying this very simple formula weight loss goals will accelerate quickly and in a manner that promotes long term health.

 

Prepared by John Davies
Photo of Matt Vincent

 

John Davies is available on his personal page on Facebook , Renegade Training™’s, Google+, Renegade Training™ on Google+ as well as or Twitter.

 

John’s present supplement stack starts daily with the “athlete’s advantage”, Modern, Super Cissus, PowerFull and Prime, along with additional use of Recreate, Yok3d, Anabolic Pump and Pink Magic depending upon his training cycle

 

Disclaimer
The information provided in “Instant Training Improvement Tips”, as well as this web-site blog is intended for informational and educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as medical advice for any condition. Always consult a qualified medical professional before beginning any nutritional program or exercise program. By reading this disclaimer, you hereby agree and understand that the information provided in this column is not medical advice and relying upon it shall be done at your sole risk

 

The modern exercise field is a mighty confusing lot when compared from its historical past. At each turn of the page the present-day is a pale shadow of itself from my memories as where once was the bastion of mighty men who lived life to the fullest and a group more concerned with marketing and simply “looking fit”

 

Where this leads us in the modern iron game must resurrect the lifelong athlete who is fit, strong and physically active outside of the gymnasium, as well as accomplished in their physique goals. This requires men and women who possess the physical and moral strength that will help shift society to a better way of life of which participating in healthy activities is a key component. The lifelong athlete is strong, capable, honest, hard-working, looks you in the eye for believing in the nobility of what they have accomplished and show pride not merely in their immediate work but building a better tomorrow.

You can be the lifelong athlete and simply takes a proper elixir of will, desire and plan of attack. The route, though many will make it sound complex, is simple.

 

• Consume the correct food with pride but not as complex idea of dietary guidelines but of “simplicity” and resurrecting the fellowship of the meal with family and friends.

 

• Respect your body with the correct choice of nutritional supplementation. As a lifelong athlete myself, I demand a great deal of my athletic performance but know with my diet and supplemental choice (see bottom of article), I will fuel my body for what it needs.

 

• Enjoy fitness training and revel in the daily challenges. Exercise is and always is fun. Embrace the challenges, the trials, the tribulations, the aches and pains and know, you will never be vanquished.

Once you make that step into the realm of the lifelong athlete you will bring that hammer down, crush obstacles that lay in your way and “out want|, out last” adversity. I have seen the toughest life can throw and want each reader to understand, you can, you will, if you want and believe.

 

This is where I leave you with a final charge.

 

Believe.

 

Believe in yourself and instead of tapping on the door of opportunity, kick the damn thing down. Have faith.

 

With that said I must address a physical standpoint as a lifelong athlete as you need to maintain flexibility and grace well beyond the time where others creak like old oak trees. Along with my hurdle mobility program and tumbling, the daily use of RED² is a daily must. This will enhance range of motion, tactile response, body control, strength endurance and movement generation. RED² is brutally challenging but as noted previously, the type of challenge that quenches your thirst.

In the opening, developmental stage of RED² a series of basic lunges must be mastered, both forward and backwards.

• Forward
• Sid
• “Toy Soldier”

Each commences with high knee lift, as in Rx1 (top left), whereby you “draw” the leg up without any shifting of the overall body. The plant leg locked, “|rooted” into the ground (a notion those from the MA community will recognise) and movement, whether forward, backward or sideways is projected with the big toe driving into the ground.

This movement pattern is crucial and absolutely no error can be tolerated (please note this is the developmental phase and will become very complicated in the future and hence, disciplined movement is critical importance).

After a period of accommodating to the workout, perform each movement such that the entire RED² section is three to five, six-minute segments.

Prepared by John Davies
Photo of Ashlyn Olivas. Please add Ashlyn’s page on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. Photo Credit: Larry Hernandez of “Just Shoot Me 808”

John Davies is available on his personal page on Facebook , Renegade Training™’s, Google+, Renegade Training™ on Google+ as well as or Twitter.

John’s present supplement stack starts daily with the “athlete’s advantage”, Modern, Super Cissus, PowerFull and Prime, along with additional use of Recreate, Yok3d, Anabolic Pump and Pink Magic depending upon his training cycle (workout log 1, 2, 3, 4).

Disclaimer
The information provided in “Instant Training Improvement Tips”, as well as this web-site blog is intended for informational and educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as medical advice for any condition. Always consult a qualified medical professional before beginning any nutritional program or exercise program. By reading this disclaimer, you hereby agree and understand that the information provided in this column is not medical advice and relying upon it shall be done at your sole risk

Understandably as many focus upon losing weight they lose track of the ultimate goal of exercise which is to improve the quality of life. Quite naturally this is a natural habit to fall into given the lack of commentary from the industry itself and focus upon quick fix solutions to weight loss goals. However make no mistake as a well planned exercise regime, diet and supplementation plan will not only help you achieve your immediate goals but stretch into never every facet of your life throughout your days. Continue reading →