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.

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

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

This Week on StrengthCoach.com

This week we have two case studies that actually came about via email exchanges. First up is a Triathlon Training Case Study from Tim Crowley. This was actually a great email exchange that was good enough to publish in article form. Next up is Part 3 of Using the FMS in Team Settings. This is the final part of my look at using the FMS. Last up is Sports Hernia Case Study from site member Eric Krueger.

Bonus Posting- because two of the articles were relatively short case studies I’m also going to post the link to Andrew Paul’s The Coaches Guide to Shoulder Training. Andrew is the Assisiant Director of Strength and Conditioning at the University of Missouri and was nice enough to send this along.

Video of the Week

Video of the week again comes from Dewey Neilsen. This week will be lateral core progressions.

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

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

Last but not least, Functional Strength Coach 3.0 is due out Oct 20^th.  You should get an order link tomorrow. StrengthCoach.com members will get a chance to pre-order today.

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 charge from RylanLee.com, not StrengthCoach.com.  I received three emails this past week from new members that were confused. Hope you enjoy the week.

Michael

Subject: State of the Fitness Industry

You may have already seen this as many of

my industry friends have already posted it.

If you haven’t, I’d encourage you to read on.

Over the last 25 years I’ve seen the strength
and conditioning industry go through a lot
of changes.

And, like anyone who has succeeded in any field
over a period of time, I’ve changed a lot also

- from my philosophies, my approach, 
my programs, etc.

The other day I sat down with my friend

Alwyn Cosgrove and he grilled me
on my experiences in this industry.

We covered everything from the changes I’ve 
seen and made, what separates the good trainers
from the bad ones, what I think about kettlebells
and other pieces of equipment, the good and
the bad when it comes to marketing…you name
it and we talked about it.

I think it’s good information. I think it’s 
something you need to hear and I think, if
nothing else, it’ll change, for the better, 
the way you think about your own coaching and 
training.

So take a few minutes, listen to this interview
and, of course, let me know what you think.

==> http://www.thestateoffitness.com/

Thanks,

Michael

Shut Up, Stop Whining and Get a Life

No, I didn’t insult you. Believe it or not, Shut Up, Stop Whining and Get a Life is a book title. In fact the subtitle is “a kick butt approach to a better life”.  Trust me, this is a good book. The author, Larry Winget, bills himself as the worlds only irritational speaker. Not motivational, irritational.

I didn’t have a highlighter handy so I was folding over page corners. I must have marked 60-70 pages with great quotes and one liners. Here are a few samples:

” The three main reasons people are not successful

They are stupid

They are lazy

They don’t give a damn”

How about this one:

“You become what you think about?

If that were true most adolescent boys would be girls”

This book is full of common sense. I’m going to buy a bunch for my staff. Check it out.

This Week on StrengthCoach.com

First up is Part 2 of Using the FMS in Team Settings. I hope this clears some things up for some of you and get you to an FMS course. Next up is a great article from Buffalo Bills Asst Strength and Conditioning Coach Sean Hayes on metabolic conditioning for basketball called simply Basketball Pattern Runs- Metabolic Conditioning. Prior to joining the Bills Sean was responsible for Men’s and Women’s Basketball at Clemson. This is a great idea for specific on-court conditioning. Last up is another article from Bruce Kelly called Training a Golfer Using the TPI Template. Bruce wrote this in response to a forum post from site member Ray McCarthy. I really like this article as it shows how valuable the forum can be. Ray asked a question and it inspired Bruce to worite an article.

Video of the Week

Video of the week comes from Dewey Nelisen. In fact the next three weeks will come from Dewey. Dewey has been doing a lot of TRX work and has developed some excellent core progressions. This week will be anterior core progressions.

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 Gray Cook that I’m sure many of you will want to check out.

Last but not least, Functional Strength Coach 3.0 is due out Oct 20^th. I anm trying to arrange a one day special for StrengthCoach.com members.

As a reminder, the articles and videos go up over the course of the week. Generally one each day. Also, you credit card statement for StrengthCoach.com 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.