Why Athletes Can’t Have Regular Jobs

My friend Keith McGrath sent this to me and it was too funny not to share. I have no idea if it’s true but, it’s funny. I also have no idea where it originated. WHY ATHLETES CAN’T HAVE REGULAR JOBS… with some notable exceptions of course! 1. Chicago Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson on being a role model: “I wan’ all dem kids to do what I do, to look up to me. I wan’ all the kids to copulate me.” 2. New Orleans Saint RB George Rogers when asked about the upcoming season: “I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first.” 3. And, upon hearing Joe Jacobi of the ‘Skin’s say: “I’d run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl,” Matt Millen of the Raiders said: “To win, I’d run over Joe’s Mom, too.” 4. Torrin Polk, University of Houston receiver, on his coach, John  Jenkins: “He treats us like men. He lets us wear earrings….” 5. Football commentator and former player Joe Theismann: “Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.” 6. Senior basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh: “I’m going to graduate on time, no matter how long it takes.” (Now that is beautiful) 7. Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach: “You guys line up alphabetically by height…” And, “You guys pair up in groups of three, and then line up in a circle.” 8. Boxing promoter Dan Duva on Mike Tyson going to prison: “Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter? He went to prison for three years, not Princeton.” 9. Stu Grimson, Chicago Blackhawks left wing, explaining why he keeps a color photo of himself above his locker: “That’s so when I forget how to spell my name, I can still find my clothes.” 10. Lou Duva, veteran boxing trainer, on the Spartan training regime of heavyweight Andrew Golota: “He’s a guy who gets up at six o’clock in the morning, regardless of what time it is.” 11. Chuck Nevitt, North Carolina State basketball player, explaining to Coach Jim Valvano why he appeared nervous at practice: “My sister’s expecting a baby, and I don’t know if I’m going to be an uncle or an aunt.”    (I wonder if his IQ ever hit room temperature in January) 12. Frank Layden, Utah Jazz president, on a former player: “I told him, ‘Son, what is it with you? Is it ignorance or apathy?’ He said, ‘Coach, I don’t know and I don’t care.’” 13. Shelby Metcalf, basketball coach at Texas A&M, recounting what he told a player who received four F’s and one D: “Son, looks to me like you’re spending too much time on one subject.” 14. In the words of NC State great Charles Shackelford I can go to my left or right, I am amphibious. 15. Amarillo High School and Oiler coach Bum Phillips when asked by Bob Costas why he takes his wife on all the road trips, Phillips responded:  ”Because she is too damn ugly to kiss good-bye

Treadmills and Stability Balls Don’t Mix

The stability ball has been in the news lately and it hasn’t been good. An NBA star recently broke an arm on the ball. Don’t get me wrong, we still use stability balls. However, we never allow athletes to use them in conjunction with weights. We may occasionally mix a ball and a weight vest but, never dumbbells. Years ago we did but, as the first anecdotal evidence began to come out about balls bursting, we stopped lifting on them. Word to the wise. A stability ball with a nick in it will behave less like a burst resistant ball. Always check your stability balls and replace them if they show signs of wear.

Another thing you haven’t read about yet is stability balls and treadmills. I should have written this up when it happened but, our “incident” was in the pre-blog days. Gyms now often have both stability balls and treadmills in the same space. Do not let your stability balls anywhere near your treadmills. 3-4 years ago one of my players inadvertently kicked a stability ball in the direction of a treadmill that was on. If you had asked me to guess what would happen next, I would have said the treadmill would tear the ball into pieces. Lucky for us the treadmill was running with no one on it. The ball went under the treadmill and tilted the treadmill up on a 30 degree angle. However, the treadmill kept running and the ball did not burst. Scary stuff. I hate to think what would have happened had someone been on the treadmill.

Word to the wise stability balls don’t mix well with weights or treadmills.

 

Reflecting on 50

Today is my 50th birthday. Where did the time go? On a day like today I can’t help but think that my Dad died at 62. Although it seemed so unfair then, it is really scary now. Don’t want to get all corny on you but, all the cliches about living life to the fullest are absolutely true.

On this special day I’ll get to do all the things I love. I’ll train some clients this morning and see my great staff in action. I’ll sit with my beautiful wife and watch my daughter play soccer and hockey while I watch my son play in the grass. After that I’ll take to take a nap. Then I’ll go and get my BU guys ready to hopefully sweep UMass Lowell.

I’ll finish my evening with a few beers with good friends in a house filled with kids. Life is good.

No More Squats Part 3

Depending who you talk to this week I am a genius or just an idiot. In case you have been under a rock Pat Beith, my partner in Functional Strength Coach 3.0, posted a video clip he called The Death of Squatting. The clip is the talk of the internet forums.  I just want to take a moment to clarify. As I said last week, I did not make this decision on a whim. I have been thinking about this concept for years. Look at the definition of the word transducer below:

Transducer- An element or device which receives information in the form of one quantity and converts it to information in the form of the same or another quantity

The conclusion I arrived at is that the back is a poor transducer. The back actually prevents the legs from being fully worked in the vast majority of the population. The act of squatting terminates when the lumbar spine can no longer effectively bear or transfer load. I have watched thousands ( maybe millions) of squats and rarely have I seen the legs fail. It is always the back. As a result, single leg work just makes sense. Take a minute and read the article if you haven’t already done so.

PS- We haven’t stopped doing bilateral exercises or, lifting heavy weights. We still Trap Bar Deadlift and Olympic lift. I also think that bilateral exercise is crucial for beginners. However, if you have experienced athletes and you want to keep them healthy and get them strong consider the Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat.

Flu Shot or No Flu Shot?

Flu shot or no flu shot? I have to admit I love the website www.mercola.com.  Is Dr. Mercola maybe a little out there? Does he push a lot of product? I’d have to say yes to both. However, my research also leads me to believe that much of what is posted on the site is accurate and well intended.

Dr. Mercola is clearly anti-flu shot. So am I. I have never had one and neither have my children. Take a minute and read the post on Dr. Mercola’s site. Do it before you get a shot. I think industries like the large food conglomerates and the big pharmacy groups may not always have our best interest at heart. Evidence still continues to prove this out.

If you doubt it, go back and look at this post about the actions of the food industry. I really believe that we now have to consider the motives whenever we deal with large public corporations.

This Week on StrengthCoach.com

This was a big week for me and a big week for strengthcoach.com. We released Functional Strength Coach 3.0 which was a big success. I also inadvertently created an internet sensation when we released a clip that Pat Beith ( he was in charge in marketing Functional Strength Coach 3.0) called The Death of Squatting. That clip will actually be Video of the Week on the site this week in case you were under a rock last week. The funny thing is that I have mentioned for years that I have teetered on the brink of taking conventional squats out of the program. Pat simply took one of the more controversial/ provocative clips out of the seminar to generate more interest. As always, it generated the same responses from the same internet hate mongers.

Like me or hate me, strengthcoach.com marches on. We are still the number one site on the internet for people with enough brains to question the status quo and there are more every month.

Our first article this week comes from site member and frequent forum contributor Tim Yuhas. Tim is the owner of Yuhas Sports Performance in Connecticut. Tim’s article is titled So You Want To Open A Sports Performance Facility- A Coaches Guide to Making Choices. I actually requested that Tim and a few other coaches write a series of articles as this is a frequent forum topic.

Next up is another article from Carson Boddicker called Alleviating Ailing Ankles. This one has lots of videos to help with clarity. I think you’ll like it.

Last up is an article from first time author Chris Kelly called Four Things a Personal Trainer Should Do (But Probably Doesn’t). This is another great “from the field” view. I really enjoy these type of real world articles.

Video of the Week

Video of the week as I mentioned is the now famous Death of Squatting clip.

Don’t forget to check out the StrengthCoach Podcast  at www.strengthcoachpodcast.com..

Also make sure you check out www.strengthandconditioningwebinars.com. Last week Anthony added a webinar with Alwyn Cosgrove. The site just gets better and better.

As a reminder, the articles and videos go up over the course of the week. Generally one each day. Also, you credit card statement will show a change from RylanLee.com, not StrengthCoach.com.  I received three emails this past week from new members that were confused. Hope you enjoy the week.

No More Squats Part 2

Yesterdays post set a record for this blog. I have been accused of sensationalizing a topic. In fact I have anguished with the “to squat or not to squat” debate for years. Anyone who knows me knows that my athletes have not done a back squat in over a decade. We are a front squat only group, or at least we were. I wrote an article for t-nation called Build Bigger Legs One Leg at a Time that already addressed this topic.  Take a minute and read it so i don’t have to post the whole article here. The bottom line is this I have decided that the back is the weak link in squatting and that i can get more leg work and less back stress through a Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat.

We have modified this exercise by placing an Airex Pad under the back knee to guarantee depth on every rep without risking injury

The next video is Nashville Predator forward and former BU Terrier Colin Wilson doing 225×5. The technique could be better but, it gets the point across.

No More Squats?

Some people are mad at me. You might even be one of them. Join the list. It’s long.

Ever since I said not to do traditional squats anymore, traditionalists have been up in arms. I suppose I can’t blame them. Change can be difficult. Especially when it means you have to scrap one of the core lifts found in almost all your strength training programs.

Of course, I’m not telling you to blindly do what I say. I have concrete reasons (and results) for making this change to my programs. In fact most of you have already read about it on StrengthCoach.com.

Before you dismiss the idea at least take a look at this video clip where I explain exactly why I think you should cut squats from your strength training programs:

http://www.FunctionalStrengthCoach3.com/squats.html

Admiring Your Work

Oprah’s buddy Dr Oz is a pretty sharp guy. Yesterday AOL ran Dr. Oz’s 25 Greatest Health Tips and they are in fact, great. Although geared to men most make sense for everyone. The one that caught my eye was #4 which OZ called Admiring Your Work. I really think it would have been poetic justice if this was actually tip #2. Oz states

Don’t be so trigger-happy with the flusher. Turn around and take a look at your poop, which speaks volumes about your gut and overall health. Poop should be smooth and S-shaped, like your colon. If it comes out too lumpy, or drops into the bowl like marbles, you’re constipated. Increase your fiber and water intake. This happens to me when I travel, so I fiber-load before a trip to avoid getting irritable.

“Don’t be so trigger-happy with the flusher. Turn around and take a look at your poop, which speaks volumes about your gut and overall health. Poop should be smooth and S-shaped, like your colon. If it comes out too lumpy, or drops into the bowl like marbles, you’re constipated. Increase your fiber and water intake. This happens to me when I travel, so I fiber-load before a trip to avoid getting irritable. “

I know people don’t like to talk about feces but, this is really good advice. Checking the toilet bowl for the above as well as looking at urine color can tell you a lot about the status of your body. I remember hearing an old Paul Chek audio and thinking the same thing. Great advice. So, the next time you are going #2 stop and do #4. If you don’t meet the standard, go back and take a look at this post. Maybe you ned a little Sugar Free Orange Metamucil.

Functional Strength Coach on Sale Tomorrow

This past July I filmed a seminar covering my latest
discoveries on how to most effectively train my athletes
and clients.

It’s called Functional Strength Coach 3.0: A Joint
by Joint Approach to Training.

The official launch is this Wednesday, October 21
at 12:00pm Eastern.

There’s some other bonuses involved as well,
but I’ll explain more on Wednesday.

However, I will say this:

I am offering a Special ‘Bonus’ for the first 100 people
who order. So it’ll definitely be worth your while
to be online right at noon on Wednesday so you can
claim one of those 100 spots.

And the truth is, as you would imagaine, there will
be far more than 100 people jockeying for one of
those spots.

So click on the following link at 11:55am Eastern
on Wednesday, October 21 to be one of the very first
people to get my newest resource,
Functional Strength Coach 3.0: A Joint by Joint
Approach to Training *and* give yourself a chance at

at being a member of The First 100:

==> http://www.FunctionalStrengthCoach3.com

Mike Boyle

This link will not be live until Wednesday Oct. 21
so check back then:

http://www.FunctionalStrengthCoach3.com