A huge Congratulations to my long-time client Josh Thompson.

Josh called me this morning from the road and let me know that he just won his first professional golf tournament on the Hooter’s tour.

He is now the champioin of the 2008 Touchstone Energy Open (Josh is in green)

Way to go Josh!!

Bill

Bigger Carrots… 

I competed in a powerlifting competition last weekend.

Talk about spur of the moment decision making.

I found out about on Wednesday and felt the competitive urge kick in.  The rationale side of my brain wondered what I was thinking.  It’s not like I had trained for the meet…at all.  I’ve just come off a fat loss protocol, I’m not nearly as strong I have been in the past, and I’ve got a few orthopedic issues that I deal with on a daily basis, but I couldn’t deny the desire to challenge myself.

I didn’t have expectations on winning, but as soon as I decided to do it (of course, I got permission from the lovely Diane), my whole mindset adjusted into competitive mode.  My preparations for the next couple days were effortless. 

I had to drop a few pounds which was “easy”.  I had to restrict a few carbs, water load, and sweat a couple pounds off, but it was a piece of cake (hold the cake). 

I wasn’t concerned about the process or the details leading up to the meet so much as I was focused on the outcome of being ready for the meet.

I’ve seen clients go through the same process in trying to achieve their goals of fat loss or performance.

It’s like the stubborn donkey that refuses to move until you hang the carrot out in front him to get him to move forward.  It has to be a big enough carrot to entice him to go get it.  Then he’s no longer concerned about the process of getting it and he walks forward in anticipation of the outcome…eating the carrot.

If you’re struggling to achieve a goal, hit a certain percent body fat, lift a certain weight, run a certain distance, and question whether you’re willing to do what it takes…Maybe you just need a bigger carrot. 

Then the rest is easy.

Text Messaging…

My cell phone doesn’t have a text messaging option.  I can receive them, but trying to answer them is a pain is butt.

That’s okay because I don’t really understand the whole text messaging “thing” (am I showing my age…have I become my Dad?).

To me text messaging is like saying, “I have something really unimportant that I want you to know right away, and it’s not worth actually talking to you, but I would like to distract you from doing something productive.”

I’d have to rank it up there as the lowest form of communication in a world of communicaton overload.

So get this.

There’s a new gym in town.  I don’t personally know the owners, but somehow they know me and got my cell number.

They’ve sent me two text messages asking me if I’m interested in working for them.  So now I have cell phone SPAM to deal with as well the usual crap in my email inbox?!

Uh…No thank you…and, uh…No.

How ’bout a little effort on your part…smoke signals, sky writing, singing telegram, or a lavish gift for my wife??

Oh, here’s a creative idea…how about an appropriate well-written introductory letter to start things off. 

At least I would have called you back, thanked you for the offer and turned it down respectfully in a personal phone call rather than including your total lack of class in a blog post.

Bill

The 2008 Indianapolis Performance Enhancement Seminar is set!

Here are the details:

When: Saturday, May 17th, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Where: Omni Severin Hotel, Downtown Indianapolis
Cost: $129 Before April 1st; $159 April 1st and after

For those of you looking for NSCA CEU’s, we’ve applied for .7 CEU’s for this event!

Mike Robertson and I will be heading up this seminar, and we’ve got some great topics at hand.

You can get the entire seminar brochure and sign up at Mike’s website:  www.robertsontrainingsystems.com

I’ll see you there.

Bill

Back in 1977, if you were interested in an exercise program directed toward fat loss, you’d have been told that you need to focus on long duration aerobic exercise. 

Why?

Because that’s primarily what was being researched at the time, Kenneth Cooper was “The Man”,  and the world was in the midst of the jogging craze.  (Unfortunately, too  many folks are still stuck in that mindset and remain frustrated with their fat loss attempts)

Funny thing is that we actually knew there was a better way to lose body fat even back then.  There was even research to support it.

In 1977, a group of firefighters were tested on their response to a high intensity exercise program.

The program consisted of progressive interval runs on a track (starting with only 18 minutes of exercise) and a progressive strength training circuit with incomplete rest periods.

The result?  Significant decreases in body fat and significant increases in strength, performance of functional tests, and limb circumference measurements related to increased muscle mass.  It should also be noted that there was no significant changes in body weight, so these changes were almost exclusively related to body composition.

Does this type of program sound familiar?  It should.

The same principles represent the foundation for the top selling fat loss program, AFTERBURN by my friend Alwyn Cosgrove.

Bill

Most general descriptions of muscle function are explained from a reference of anatomical alignment.

Anatomical alignment is much like lying on your back, arms at your sides, palms up, legs straight, toes up.

When you begin moving out of such an alignment, joint angles and muscular functions change.

For instance, gluteus medius is primarily known as a hip abductor and external rotator.

In standing and walking, it will resist the hip’s tendency to adduct and internally rotate at the hip. 

In a complex movement like a squat or a lunge, as the hip flexes its moment arm changes such that the muscle no longer abducts and externally rotates the hip but rather it becomes an internal rotator of the hip.

If you’re trying to correct someone’s lunge because their knee tends to “cave in” at 90 degrees of hip and knee flexion by strengthening their gluteus medius, best of luck because it won’t help due to the change in the muscle’s change in function.  Look for a posterior chain weakness in this case.

Learning more about how a muscle functions throughout a joint’s range of motion will help to assure proper corrective strategies and exercise selection.

Bill