Athletic Performance Enhancement

Athletic Performance Enhancement


Jason, next week you will be conducting a teleseminar entitled The Bad Boys of Strength & Conditioning. What is it that makes you one of the “bad boys?”

I think the reason I may be included in a seminar with that title is because I tell it like it is. I don’t care who I offend and am not shy about calling some one out on what I perceive to be absolute bullshit. A friend nicknamed me the strength and conditioning industry watchdog. Also, I own a no frills, hard core training facility where we play Rage Against The Machine and Slayer and lift heavy weights and get a little crazy from time to time.



What are some of the mistakes that you see being made by coaches?

One thing that stands out is that in order to be a good coach, you have to train. You have to know the finer points of what proper form feels like with heavy weights. You have to have some idea of what it’s like to do a farmers walk in ninety degree heat or thirty degree cold. You have to know what it feels like to get under a squat bar. You don’t necessarily have to do all of the things you ask of your athletes on a daily or even yearly basis but you can not ask some one to do something that you wouldn’t or haven’t done yourself at some time. Also, a coach who trains hard and actually does the same things he asks his athletes to do, always gets more respect. It seems simple yet many coaches overlook this point.



Along with training hard themselves, what are some other things some one could do to become a better coach?

Keep learning and keep training as many athletes as you can. You can read all the books and videos in the world, and that’s great and you have to do it. But nothing compares to experience. That is always the best teacher. Learn from your mistakes and constantly strive to improve and find a better way. There may not always be one, but keep searching.



As the “industry watchdog” what upsets you the most about our business?

The fact that it is not really regulated at all. I have spent the majority of the past twelve years trying to learn more about strength and conditioning and become a better coach. I have read books, watched videos, gone to seminars, done internships, and done every method of training ever invented with the battle scars to show for it. And even now the old cliché holds true, the more I learn, the less I know.
What pisses me off is that some kid can get a certification from some weekend course and suddenly he can do what I do. Parents take their kids into these big sports training centers and they think just because they are in a multimillion dollar facility the coaches must be great. Unfortunately that’s not always the case.



What are some of the biggest myths in the fitness industry?

Everyday I have to fight a battle against some one who read something in a mainstream magazine or saw it on Oprah and assumes that it has to be true. I wish we could some how eliminate all of the mainstream myths that girls shouldn’t lift heavy weights or the only way to lose fat is to cut out all carbs or high rep circuit training gets you lean. Sometimes people can not believe that what I tell them can be true, even though science and real world experience has proven it, just because the mainstream media says the opposite. Of course we can never change that and will always have to fight that battle but it would be nice.



When an athlete comes to you for the first time what do you do and how do you proceed with his or her training?

I usually have the athlete fill out an application and then talk to them to get some idea of their work ethic, prior training, and most importantly attitude and mental toughness. As long as they are willing to bust their ass and are fully committed to do everything I ask of them in and out of the weight room, I will work with just about any athlete.
After I have accepted them into our program I will put them through a series of strength and flexibility tests. I will also sometimes put them through a dynamic warm up to asses their level of conditioning and may also watch them run. After all of this I design them a program based on their needs and the particular sport that they play which will include weight training, flexibility, agility, and speed work along with a diet.



Could you give us a brief overview on how you train your athletes?

I have most of my guys lift weights four days per week and run two to four days per week. Weight training workouts are either full body for beginners and intermediates and usually upper/lower splits for more experienced guys. Flexibility work is prescribed for everyone at a minimum of one hour per week and up to five hours for extremely tight individuals. Workouts never last longer than an hour and we train heavy. I cycle training volume in two to four week waves and take advantage of the delayed transformation effect. I am very conscious of overtraining and do all I can to help my athletes avoid it. One of the ways I do this is by avoiding training to failure. With beginners we keep it pretty basic but as they advance I start to incorporate a lot of the Westside Barbell methods of conjugate periodization.



What kind of nutritional guidelines do you prescribe?

For skinny guys I basically put them on a “see food” diet, making sure they jam down as many calories as possible and eat every two to three hours. For guys who need to watch what they eat, I have them avoid mixing carbs and fats in the same meal. I also have everyone be sure to get at least one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily and take a post workout shake.



Do you recommend any supplements to your athletes?

Just a good multivitamin, pharmaceutical grade fish oil and maybe some creatine or extra antioxidants.



If some one were to register for your upcoming teleseminar what kinds of topics can they expect to be covered?

Basically every aspect of getting bigger, stronger, faster, leaner and more flexible. As much of that as we can squeeze into ninety minutes. It will be no holds barred and we will pull no punches.