The Spot Athletics Blog: April 2014

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Reflections on Learn to Train 8

This past weekend, I had the honor of attending the final Learn to Train seminar by EliteFTS. It was a wonderful 2 day event- the first day comprised of lectures and the second of the hands-on learning and training portion. As opposed to technical things I learned from the presentations and coaching portions of LTT (which were a lot), I’m going to focus on a few of the broader takeaways that I had.

The best approach to training is a holistic one. I don’t mean that in the crunchy way. The team at EliteFTS is comprised of individuals of a variety of backgrounds- powerlifters, bodybuilders, strongmen, PhD students, strength and conditioning coaches, etc. Everyone has a different specialty and a different way of approaching things. This all adds up to having the most expansive knowledge base that you can find on anything strength related. The same goes for your own training or finding a trainer. You need to draw from a variety of sources to make yourself the most complete athlete, powerlifter, or bodybuilder. Find trustworthy resources on everything from strength training to nutrition to guide you on your path. That’s why EliteFTS and LTT are such great resources- no matter your goals or experience level.

Legacy: Many times throughout the weekend, the idea of your legacy came up. Dave Tate talked about how important the longevity and legacy of EliteFTS is as well as individual coaches and participants discussing the impact they want to make on those around them. No one at that seminar is forced to help other people learn how to coach and lift. But so many people touched on the importance of passing on knowledge and helping those who are starting out. Whether you’re a newbie to training or you’re an established coach, it’s always important to remember those who mentored you or took time out to help you along. Most of us got to where we are because other people have shared their time and knowledge and everyone owes it to the rest of the community to help out those around them.

I learned so much over the weekend, both on the technical and non technical side of training. It was great to be around so many passionate individuals- both pros and newbies alike. I’m very fortunate to be able to attend events at EliteFTS to learn valuable lifting and life lessons. Whether you’re a coach or a lifter, jump on any opportunity to learn from those who know more than you.

Coach Lily

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Speed, Strength & Conditioning, Personal training & Fitness Class Training Video Montage 4/14-4/28

It was another great couple weeks here at The Spot. While some of our club volleyball athletes are finishing up their seasons, our Spring sport athletes are in full swing, and our youth athletes are becoming better and better each week. All of our Personal training and Met Con clients are working hard to reach their goals they set for the summer. Everyone of our clients is working towards becoming a champion!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Monday, April 21, 2014

Training with Tempo

I don’t know about you guys, but when training starts, I like music blasting in the background. I want to feel as though the music was made to be a soundtrack for my set. As corny as it sounds, loud music with a strong rhythm makes me feel like I’m on top of the world during training, so whenever I go to a gym that replays the same old top ten hits on repeat at quarter volume, I usually don’t have an excellent workout unless I pull out my own headphones. It could just be in my mind, and I might be lying to myself when I say that music gets me pumped, but according the American Council on Exercise, music really does help raise exercise intensity.

The American Council on Exercise offers three ways that music influences exercise: 1) It increases the tendency to step with the beat, 2) the desire to move versus remain still, 3) and it distracts from discomfort felt during exercise. There have been many studies that support the claim that exercise intensity can be driven by fast tempo, and think about it: we are a species that loves tempo. ACE uses the example of Roman rowers who had a drum beating in the background to not only synchronize everyone’s strokes, but to increase intensity as well.

So if you want to exercise with more intensity, think about getting a pair of headphones and jamming out to your favorite music. I’ve provided a short list of songs below that I really enjoy listening to during my warm-up to get me pumped. Enjoy!

The Blister Exists/Slipknot

I Wanna Be Sedated/ Ramones

Airplane Mode/ Flobots

Ugol Padeniya/ 2NRO8OT

Going Down in Flames/ 3 Doors Down

Nights Off/ Siriusmo

4 Minutes /Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland

Reptilia/ The Strokes

Savannah Steamer, Intern

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Are You Getting The Most Out Of Your Workouts?

So you have a great workout routine down, you’re committed, your spending lots of time in the gym, and maybe you’re even enjoying it. But how much attention are you paying to everything that goes on outside the gym that can make or break your results? Don’t underestimate the importance of what goes on in the hours you’re not in the gym and the impact it has on reaching your goals.

Sleep

Do you train hard only to go home and sleep for 5 hours? You could be sabotaging a lot of your training and diet. Aside from not having energy and undermining your body’s ability to heal itself after working out, numerous studies have shown that too little sleep can actually lead to weight gain, even when your diet is on point.

Nutrition

Diet is an important part of reaching goals, whether they are performance or body composition based. As they like to say, “you can’t out work a bad diet” (or something along those lines). But it’s true- even if your workouts are great, if you over eat a lot of junk, it will show. Likewise, if you’re not eating quality foods with sufficient protein, fats, and carbohydrates, it can severely affect your performance in the gym and impede your body’s ability to build muscle and heal itself after an intense workout.

Soft tissue/mobility work

Foam rolling, massages, and other forms of soft tissue work can help your body repair and feel better after a tough session. Mobility work plays an important role in your ability to move well and feel good- inside the gym and out. Yes, they take time and are kind of boring but they will pay off in the long run.

Time Spent in the Gym

You could be working out too much. Yes, that is a thing. Obviously working out too little is a problem but at a certain time, you hit a point of diminishing returns on the other end of the spectrum. In the gym for 4 hours? Benching every day and your bench isn’t going up? If you’re not making progress, this could be an issue you need to address.

Make sure you pay as much attention to what you do outside of the gym to ensure you get the most return from your hard work.

-Coach Lily

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/lost-sleep-can-lead-to-weight-gain/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951287/

Monday, April 14, 2014

Addicted to Exercise

In a previous post, I talked about the difference between training and exercise, and challenged everyone to hone in on their fitness aspirations. I suggested stepping away from the mindless exercise habits that many people have and create a plan that help you achieve your goals. But today, I want to discuss what to do when you have an addiction to exercise. We talk so much about getting people to invest in their health, but what about people whose exercise cuts into other aspects of their life?

First, it’s important to establish the difference between people whose training takes up a large volume of their day and people who are addicted to exercise. The former, though they may train constantly and do physical activity, has a plan and a method of sticking to it. When they are finished with everything for the day; they can clear their mind and focus on other things such as family, work, and a social life, because they have achieved their goal for THAT DAY.

On the other hand, folks who have no training plan, but are addicted to exercise are constantly looking for ways to feed their addiction. Since they have no plan to nudge them towards their goal, the exercise they are doing isn’t as efficient as it could be. A training plan is efficient, but a 1 minute made up plan before you step on the treadmill isn’t. They go to yoga for warm up, lift weights, and then do footrace training to cool down. They don’t have that feeling of satisfaction after a workout, so they go to the gym multiple times a day. They don’t see their physical activity as one facet of a long term fitness goal, they just want an adrenaline rush.

Of course, I’m not doggin’ on exercise; in fact, I do it sometimes, too. But I’ve also been addicted to exercise. Back in high school, I remember throwing fits when my dad wouldn’t drive me to the Y. But when I look back on all those workout sessions, I often think about how little I actually improved at what I was doing. I didn’t get faster and I sure as heck didn’t get stronger. I may have been the best conditioned athlete on every team I played on, but I wasn’t improving as an athlete.

So, if you find yourself sitting at the dinner table with your mind in the gym, think about what you’ve done to set yourself up for success. If you don’t have a plan, it’s likely that you don’t have a long term goal. Nobody approaches their true goals with apathy.

Savannah Steamer, Intern

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Keep It Simple!

Just like everything else in life, there will always be fads in training. Like bell bottoms, wallet chains, and velour track suits, there is also Zumba, paleo, and the Tracy Anderson Method. People need to keep writing articles, selling products, and making money so, consequently, there will always be hot new diets and methods of working out.

Certain things have been around for a long time and work. There’s a reason why people have been picking up heavy weights, sprinting, and eating “clean” for a long time. Because it works. Of course new ideas come out and we adapt to and incorporate new scientific information. No matter what workout tapes and diets come out that promise to the THE solution to your weight loss problems, there’s a reason they come and go. Diet fads are always changing; new exciting and unconventional workout routines promise you sculpted abz of your dreams. There’s a reason these products and ideas are hot for a few years then fizzle out and another trend takes their place. They’re not always based on scientific principles. They are easy, catchy, fun, and flashy. Easy and flashy usually don’t get results though. It’s hard enough to stay committed to losing weight or getting stronger- throw in an ever-changing variety of useless methodology and you’ll fall off the wagon in no time.

If you’re having trouble committing to a program, pick a simple, tried and true method. Lift some weights, eat well, and do some difficult conditioning. Crazy idea, huh?

Coach Lily

CORE Basics Part 1

WE strongly dislike the word "core" here at The Spot Athletics. The reason being many people don't understand what the core actually is. People just assume that it's the 6 pack. Well I hate to burst your bubble but it goes much deeper then that. While the "6-pack" muscles are apart of the core there are many other muscles working together to help support and engage movement of the torso and also keep the torso stable and fixed when our arms and legs are in motion.

There are a few distinct components involved with the core. The first is the inner core. You will find within the inner core the diaphragm, the pelvic floor, the multifidi and the transverse abdomens. These muscles will usually fire first in most movements to help create stability. So think of these four muscles as a rectangle with a ballon filling the inside of the rectangle. The diaphragm would sit on top of the rectangle and the muscles of the pelvic floor would sit on the bottom of the rectangle. The diaphragm works antagonistically with the muscles of the pelvic floor. So when the diaphragm contracts, moving towards the pelvic floor this will then stabilize the top and bottom of the inner core.

So when we bring the diaphragm down towards the pelvic floor in our rectangle it pushes down on the ballon or our abdomen and it begins to become distended. This is what we call an increase in intra-abdominal pressure, which we need for bracing. So when you're at The Spot and we tell you big belly, in a round about way this is what we mean.

Now The transverses abdomens sits at the front of our abdomen and the multifidus sits at the back (along the spine). So when that balloon in our rectangle begins to get pushed down the only place for it to go if forward as it braces against the spine. Now yes there is more to it then this but in the most simplistic manner I think you get the idea.

My sweet drawing of the body!

Now a muscle that is typical overlooked in inner core is the QL muscle. QL is short for quadrates lumborum. Its a square muscle that sits in the lower back. It connects the last rid and upper four lumbar vertebrae to the iliac crest (Pelvis) Don't worry I'll draw another sweet drawing for you. Now this little guy is responsible for segmental stability of the spine, lateral flexion and anti lateral flexion. This muscle along with the contralateral (opposite side of the body) gluteus medius (fancy term for a butt muscle) are firing almost all day long to help our bodies maintain posture and gait especially when we are walking.

My sweet drawing of the QL muscle!

Thats enough for today. Next week we will move our way out towards the outer core.

If you have any questions just ask. We are here for you.

Coach B

Monday, April 7, 2014

Don't Let Junk Distract You

Everybody knows that kid; the kid who picks up a new hobby every few months and spends his whole paycheck on the latest gear. While the rest of are wondering what happened to his last hobby, he’s diving headfirst into a new one. Though there is a lot to admire in someone who approaches their passions with such gusto, sometimes the junk that they buy in the process is just a waste of money and frankly, a distraction.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I criticize consumerism every chance I get, so perhaps my point of view is slightly biased, but whenever a gym newbie shows off their new “stack” and workout gear to me, I make an internal bet with myself that their relationship with the gym will last but a few months. Call me critical, call me cynical, but with these types of people it’s like watching re-runs of Made, where nine times out of ten (hyperbole), the reality star is just interested in the glamour of whatever they want to be “made” into.

In a previous blog, I mentioned that sometimes setting goals means investing a significant amount of money into achieving that goal, but it’s important to distinguish between being enamored by how the goal looks from the outside and actually committing to that goal. Do you need the latest and greatest gear to achieve your goal? Absolutely not, and this rings true for any discipline. You wouldn’t buy your kid a Stratocaster the day they express interest in playing the guitar; you’d buy them a used little Starcaster (Fender’s beginner model) and simply upgrade to better quality guitars as they acquire skill. And unless your name is Harry Potter, you really don’t need a Nimbus 2000 on your first go.

So why do people feel the need to buy tons of gear that they don’t need when they start going to the gym? I’ll tell you why: because they need it to stay motivated. They need to dive headfirst into the lifestyle they’ve seen on Instagram or they won’t ever get themselves into the gym. Part of the problem is simply engrained in our culture of more, more, more and that’s a whole different topic. But the other culprit is social media. I follow many fitness gurus on social media, and I’ve always felt that there’s a certain theme of “Look what I have, look at this”, and though I don’t think this is inherently a negative thing, I think it’s important for beginners to consider that these fitness gurus eat and breathe the lifestyle.

So please, understand that the most important thing you can have for any goal is your motivation to achieve it, not the material goods that are constantly advertised by the fitness industry.

Savannah Steamer, Intern

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

What Makes A Champion?

At The Spot Athletics, we train a lot of champions. From junior high state champions to Olympians. All champions, regardless of age, gender or sport, share a few common characteristics.

First and foremost, champions are positive. As cliché as it sounds, it’s true. If an athlete comes in injured, they don’t mope or quit or complain. They get back to work- rehabbing, supporting their team, planning for their comeback. They don’t spend time pitying themselves or moping, they’re already making their next move. They are resilient and they look forward to the future- they don’t dwell on the ‘could haves’.

Which segues into the next point- no matter what they are doing, champions put 100% into it. Whether it’s helping out teammates or warming up, they put their total effort into everything they do. They don’t just get in and get out- they put their heart into all of it. They know that everything they do in training and games are integral to their success.

Champions are always trying to improve themselves and others. On and off the court. Whether it’s showing up to the gym early to do some mobility drills, training when everyone else is on break, or helping a teammate that’s having a rough day. They go above and beyond what’s expected of them.

These attributes have nothing to do with physical abilities. More importantly, these are all about attitude and effort. These characteristics can take an average athlete and make them great or make a great athlete even better. The aforementioned points apply to everyone- inside and outside the gym. Try to pick one or two points and make them a part of your life- at the gym, at work, or at home. Anyone can be a champion.

Coach Lily

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Exercise vs. Training

I like to exercise. It helps me remove myself from deadlines and obligations and just blow off some steam. It gets my blood pumping so I can feel energized for the rest of the day. Let’s be honest, nothing feels better than a hot shower to rid yourself of all the sweat, grime, and dirt that you accumulated after a grueling jog on the treadmill or a pick-up game. Exercise is great.

But other than that, mere exercise will not help you achieve long term success. It sounds weird as it rolls off my tongue: “I need to stop exercising”, I tell my sister and she gives me a quizzical look. But it’s true. Unless you have a structured plan that is aimed at your specific goal, you will eventually hit a plateau. And this is regardless of the nature of your goal: weight loss, strength, endurance, etc.

Just like any other ambition that you have, physical fitness goals require planning. You wouldn’t enroll in classes at a university with the intent to obtain a degree, and then pick random classes that you think will add up to a diploma. No, you’d follow the degree plan and work your way up. It’s a long term goal. So why don’t we treat fitness goals as such? I’ll tell you why: because fitness is often the last priority that we make. We don’t treat it as a long term goal because we aren’t sure if we will be able to commit to it. Conversely, most people who enroll in university do so with the intent to dedicate a few years to getting that diploma. We approach the two goals differently and we treat fitness goals as short term goals.

So today I challenge you to think of your goals and how you are going to implement a plan of action. Are you trying to build muscle? Get stronger? Get faster? Get leaner? Build a backside? Are you exercising? Or are you training? Having a plan will not only make your journey more efficient, but also more rewarding.

Savannah Steamer, Intern

The Spot Athletics Blog

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Reflections on Learn to Train 8

Top 10 Articles for April 30, 2014

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Speed, Strength & Conditioning, Personal training & Fitness Class Training Video Montage 4/14-4/28

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Top 10 Articles for April 23, 2014

Monday, April 21, 2014

Training with Tempo

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Are You Getting The Most Out Of Your Workouts?

Top 10 Articles for April 16, 2014

Monday, April 14, 2014

Addicted to Exercise

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Keep It Simple!

CORE Basics Part 1

Top 10 Articles for April 9, 2014

Monday, April 7, 2014

Don't Let Junk Distract You

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

What Makes A Champion?

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Exercise vs. Training