Trust your Coach...or find a new one

I am sorry for the delay I have three entries primed and waiting to be published but the old interweb was down at the house and quite frankly I was so annoyed at the router company that I was on my way to Pet Smart in search of a few carrier pigeons in order to spread the word out. I am now posting from the Toronto Airport on my way home to see my brothers graduate. I would like to quickly congratulate them on their accomplishment. I remember myself at my high school graduation, not realizing how big of a milestone it was. Bigger and better things are waiting for both of them as they move forward but ONLY if they work for it. As Abe Lincoln said, "Good things come to those who wait but only the things left over by those that hustle."  Without any further digression my post,

TRUST YOUR (STRENGTH) COACH

Trust your (strength) coach or get a new one. If you are trying to make a jump to the next level in a sport or in life you have to trust your coach one hundred and forty percent or else find a new one. You are wasting energy if you are constantly second guessing their decisions. No one has ever made it to the top without support and it is crucial that you trust your coach and their judgement. If they are the right coach for you they will have your best interests in mind and likely are able to perceive many of the things that you are unable to see. Let us be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that we have a pretty biased opinion in relation to our own performance. Our brains are biologically created to shelter our ego and protect it, which is sometimes a good thing, but other times it is merely a detriment.

This idea of highlighting trust came to me two days ago when we "caught" one of our players creating his own workout. The player's evaluation showed that he was super tight in his mid/upper back and hips as well as a exhibiting a pretty bad case of upper trap dominance (Spoiler Alert: upcoming post). The player was coming in 'on and off' but regardless I was a bit confused as to why he was not exhibiting any increased mobility in his lifts (a lot of mobility work was in his program). Two days ago after his workout he walked over to the YMCA that we share the building with for what I assumed was a bike ride or run on the treadmill after his lift. Walking over 15 minutes later I discovered our player in the corner supersetting barbells curls and shrugs. Two things that we had previously discussed NOT doing. In that one instant he had just make a bold statement that said, "I don't trust your opinion and think that I know better" 

The  relationship between a player and (strength) coach is deeply connected. The coaches ideals are often reflected in the player and the player's wants and desire are absorbed by the coach. If you come to me with the desire to make the starting line up on the football team that just became one of my goals too. I value your goal every bit as much as my own personal goals because it has become mine. On the flip side when you go out to tryouts and perform you are not only representing yourself but also me. The player repping curls is likely going to look back on his summer in 3 months and say that he didn't get stronger or faster on the ice and is just as tight as before. This means that we as strength coaches didn't do our job which is a pretty unfair assessment, but you and the player may be the only two people who truly know that. Results do not come easily or quickly, you have to work at it and TRUST in the program you are on, not for a week or two but 3, 4, 5, 6 months. If you can't make this commitment and place trust in your coach then don't start.

"You don't set out to build a wall, I am going to build the biggest, baddest, greatest wall that has ever been built. You don't start there. You say, I am going to lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid and you do that every single day, and soon you have a wall." - Will Smith

BJJ Update

I considered creating a separate blog for BJJ but I lack enough quality information to sustain it so occasionally I will toss a quick post in amongst the various aspects of fitness. Even if you do not practice BJJ (and you should) this may entertain you.

Alphy has really been working his game, got himself a blue belt

I have been unable to make any Thai boxing classes since arriving in Ottawa (hoping to starting in July) and have dedicated my time solely to BJJ with a sprinkle of MMA practice. It has been awesome learning new things and different view points on the same issue whether it is a position, pass or style. Several of the guys got promoted last weekend and it was great to see their hard work pay off, even if I was only around for a small portion of it. I am starting to understand the game more and realizing that trying new moves and getting crushed really is healthy. I have had the opportunity to roll with 25 new guys of all shapes and sizes and am excited to be able to bring some of this new knowledge back to the new Steel City MMA. I really feel that BJJ is a sport for everyone, it is so dynamic that you mold your game to your body rather than try to force your body into a game.  I will try and upload a few videos of guys at Ronin rolling over the next few weeks.

Where you invest your love, you invest your life. - Mumford and Sons

Humble Pie

Growing up our parents always told us to drink our milk, eat our vegetables, and make a big Zero on our plate. At least mine did because I had to do all of those things to get desert, and if I was lucky desert was pie. Now that I am older my parent's lessons have stuck with me, drink my milk, eat my vegetables and make a big Zero. My desert of choice has changed of late to something that is much sweeter and more bitter at the same time...Humble Pie. You are all probably wondering where you can pick yourself up this tasty treat and if you are not, well, you should be. The beautiful thing about Humble Pie is that there are bakery's everywhere and they all have their own personal twist on a timeless classic. 

I mentioned a couple blogs back how I have reevaluated a lot of my life choices/ opinions and the biggest lesson I have learned is eat your Humble Pie, often. I was quite guilty of narrow mindedness in regard to certain aspects of my life, school and my career path in particular, and was so comfortable in my surroundings that my servings of pie came infrequently and in small amounts. I was starving and didn't know it, I thought I was full. 
In the last month however, I have had slices served almost daily and feel that I am growing exponentially as a person/professional. A slice each day reminds me the importance of learning and listening to everyone's opinions and more importantly that I need to strive to be better tomorrow than I am today. It's a slow process and you cannot be discouraged by the seemingly vast amounts of pie left in the dish for the next day, just keep chewing. Eventually, you may even be able to bake your own pie and like any good baker you want to have the best ingredients and best recipe possible. If not, who will want to eat your pie?

Death of a... Sit Up

Add caption

Throughout this post you will not find Willy Loman, or Biff, Linda, Happy, or Bernard. This post will not discuss the destruction/ attack of the American dream but rather my personal destruction of one the most common exercises in most individual's exercise arsenal. The Sit Up. I realize that not everyone will agree with this post and that's fine. My foray into the world of training started much like everyone else. A solid 5 day split, culminating in the weekly Superbowl of days. Friday = Biceps/Triceps/Situps = Awesomeness...There I admitted it, as painful as it was to say. I would give a sizable sum of money for a DeLorean DMC-12 to enter my room right now...now...now. Guess not but my point is that it's okay if you have followed a similar routine before, or are still on this sort of program it's never too late to change.
The idea of discarding the sit up in any of my programs was something that first occurred to me while on a wrestling mat doing hundreds of sit ups during practice. As I mindlessly worked I kept thinking that this was so useless for wrestling. Not core strength, that is one of the most important aspects but repetitive sit ups. This sparked a Google search, and a cup of coffee later I was overwhelmed with industry leaders that shared my view point. I have had time to sift through the data and create my own opinion based on personal experience and research. It is as follows (sub categorized into a few easily accessible areas)

Anatomy

In order to explore any concept we must first have at least a basic understanding.For example, I know my car goes forward when in the proper gear and I push the pedal, so we can now discuss the mechanics behind that. The same philosophy applies for your body, in order to understand why Sit Ups are not the most intelligent form of core training we must first understand the spine's (main joint of movement during the sit up) general make up. The spine is made up of a 7 Cervical, 12 Thoracic, and 7 Lumbar vertebrae. The spine has a natural curve (kyphosis (outward) in the thoracic section and lordosis (inward) in the lumbar section. Each vertebrae is composed of both hard and soft bone and they are essentially barrels with process protruding off the back/side.  Separating each vertebrae is a gel like disc. The spine is made up of multiple joints all interacting with each other and the bodies muscles to stabilize the spine and take it through different ranges of motion (ROM), flexion, extension, rotation etc.

Sit ups, and any exercise that puts repetitive stress on the spine through flexion or extension is causing negative effects. The spine's role is to support the bodies movement, both athletically and in everyday life, in a neutral position. It is not designed for repetitive flexion or extension and the motion is only causing tissue damage as a result of the stress. The idea of lumbar mobility as an important training objective is extremely outdated, and as a professional and practitioner the emphasis needs to be placed on stability.

Sport Performance

The act of performing a sit up or other exercise with repetitive flexion does not transfer to on-field performance. I am tough pressed to think of  a sport that requires you to perform that repetitive motion. Nearly every sport will require spine flexion or extension at some point but it is not repetitive motion. The athlete has entered that flexion in order to make make a play and will be returning to a neutral spine as soon as possible. IE. Loose ball on the basketball court, the athlete bends over via the lumbar spine to pick up the ball, but their spine returns to neutral immediately to make the pass down court. I spent some time watching gymnastics ground routines today to view the different ranges of motion. Although the athletes enter extreme flexion and extension during various stages I noticed, at least with the ground routines that their high impact moves both begin and end with a neutral spine.
Other sports will require constant flexion for a prolonged period of time, cycling for example, and the body can handle these stresses as long as adaptation occurs at a constant rate or faster rate than tissue damage. I would liken it to a tiny hole in your bike tire. As long as you pump more air in then leaks out your bike will keep rolling. But, if the hole enlarges (Increased load, or more more repetitions) and you forget the the pump one day, best buy a bus pass.

Training

I promised at the start of this article that I would not destroy the American dream, just the sit up. We have now briefly covered the anatomy and the poor transfer to on-field performance so like Willy Loman you may be a little lost on what type of exercises to perform. We just acknowledged that the body is required to enter these ranges of motion during competition so how should we best train for this action. Train the core for resisting motion (flexion, extension, rotation). The core needs to be able to stay strong despite dynamic activity. Emphasis needs to be put on the entire core not just the muscles in isolation, no muscle works in isolation and quite frankly if you have a six pack but can't hold a plank for more than 30 seconds it might as well be a six pack of beer for all the functional strength it is providing.
The focus is most often centered on the spine flexors, the rectus abdominis (six pack)  for both aesthetic reasons and for "sport" training. Constant training in this manner will lead to a tight anterior core and will cause the back to round as a result. The complete opposite of that strong neutral spine that is desired. Instead, focus on stability exercises. Prone planks and side planks are both great examples of a equipment free exercises that will challenge the core to maintain its stable and neutral position. If you have access to a cable or keiser machine I would suggest kneeling and split axe chops and lifts. Exercise such as Russian or Landmine twists are also good with specific emphasis on keeping our hips facing forward and controlling the weight through the full range of motion. There are lots of great exercises that keep the spine in a neutral position and have more on-field relevance than the typical sit up and its variations, most of which are very basic but challenging.

Summary
I am not saying don't flex your spine ever, I am saying be careful in how you do. It is designed to remain neutral and resist motion especially in the lumbar section.When you are thinking about the spine think stability not mobility As stated early I do not expect everyone to agree, and very few of you might but that's my philosophy, if you have any questions or want to talk further shoot me an email at avilaca90@gmail.com.

Coach V.

"Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts" Gable

Works Cited
-Stuart McGill , "Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance"
-Eric Cressey, "Low Back Savers"
-StrengthCoach.com

Walk The Walk

I apologize for the delay on this post, I have a second one in the works and I am sure it will interested you as well, I had a moment today while struggling through Overhead Squats (apparently analyzing your lifting tech. is great for writing ideas) and felt compelled to put up a quick entry. This is in reference to training and working with different individuals but it is a universal ideal that can be reapplied in any field. If your entire life was put on a movie reel and played for a Motto Board (fabricated entity-I think)  they could create a few motto's for your life. Single lines that can define you. No, it's not super specific and yes, we all wear various caps but on the whole there is generally a pattern within each respective area (home, work, spare time0. The great part about this is that WE control our motto based on our performance. WE have the ability to determine what lines the Motto Board give us in the afterlife. Why is this relevant? Because if you are going to have a career instructing people in the fitness/health industry one of the lines from the motto board better say "Walk the Walk". If I want to learn how to fish the man teaching me better be a fisherman, otherwise chances are I am not going to truly listen to his opinion and will be going hungry tonight. I don't want a dirt bike rider teaching me to fish or a fisherman teaching me to dirt bike. I want to know the person loves it and personally applies what they say to their own life.

Personal story time, recently I moved to Ottawa to perform an internship with Ottawa Athletic Conditioning Center. (The gym tour is on the video below) Since moving to Ottawa I have had a great opportunity to be selfish. Selfish in that I am the only person who I really need to worry about. Since being here I have reevaluated a lot of my life style and modified it closer to where I want to be. Essentially, I am doing my very best to Walk the Walk. I realized that I cannot motivate others to be disciplined and on task unless I am. My room is full of quotes on the walls and things that have special meaning to me, pictures of friends, letters of reference, cards from my grandmas, family, girlfriend, newspaper cutouts, and sticky notes. My brother calls it my shrine (I realize that most people don't think that it is cool or useful),  in a way it is. Not to make myself feel more important each day, but rather remind myself what is important and the value of hard work. The first thing I see when I wake up is a note on my ceiling that says "Feet on the Floor" This is something I read in Mike Boyle's blog, something he does every morning regardless of when he wakes up. No snooze button or roll over and fall back asleep, he puts his feet on the floor and gets to work. I have really taken it to heart. I have a notebook in my house and one in the car, in case of an idea worth remembering. I have been reading as much literature as possible related to my field and listening to audio books in the car. I am trying to better myself everyday. Every BJJ class I attend I make notes that night or first thing the next morning. I eat healthy and train hard in the gym. I rarely drink and when I do it is usually only 1 or 2 beers and I don't smoke. How can I try and persuade an athlete the importance of nutrition and no alcohol if they want to crack the OHL line up if I don't personally follow it. It is okay to go out and enjoy yourself, healthy even but be conscious of your actions and the frequency

The importance of 'walking the walk couldn't have been more clear to me then a few weeks ago when I went downtown with a friend. I had one beer while out. During that time I was introduced to a trainer from a different gym in Ottawa that works with the same type of clientele. The trainer in question was drunk out of his tree and swaying back and forth as he told me that they used only the most recent research in designing their programs. I asked him a little bit about what they do, genuinely curious but just received a slurred repeated answer. "We are cutting edggge, man"  Still not sure what that meant but I do know that if I was one of his athletes he would have lost some respect and I doubt the Motto Board would grant him "Walk the Walk"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oSFWvxQH5o

Side note, big shout out to the Catalyst crew for their hard work on the weekend, congrats. Also to the new Steel City MMA opening September 1. Real Excited.