Strength training for a RUNNER???

Allison started training with me in August... at that time she was running a 32 minute 5K and was running 3-4 days a week. Since convincing her to try a couple of free training sessions, she got hooked and has improved her 5K time dramatically. Allison started training with me twice a week at the beginning of August and was forced to only be able to run 1-2 times a week. Within a couple weeks of her training program beginning she ran another race and had dropped her time by two minutes. At the end of two months her race time had dropped by just over 5 minutes.



What started happening with Allison was her body was better rested from not running as much and at the same time her full-body workouts were making her stronger and giving her more energy because of the extra muscle gained. Her stronger legs allow her to lessen the abuse on her joints from running by giving more muscle mass in the legs to act as shock absorbers. The full range of motion upper body and intense midsection work allow her to work more efficiently inhaling and exhaling more completely with longer respiration's. This also allows her to keep a faster pace throughout her races and give her more energy to end the race with a faster kick. Although I believe she was a bit skeptical in the beginning, Allison would be the first one to recommend "proper" strength training to any of her runner friends as well as anyone wanting to be the best they can be!!

No Gimmicks, No Fads, NO BULL!... Just good old-fashioned, hard work that gets results!!

Strength training for life!!!

Strength training is not... I repeat is NOT just for men, athletes, or superficial reasons. Strength training can and may save your life one day.

I was training a young man, a high school junior football player, who happened to get into a very serious accident. He ended up shattering one ankle and dislocating the other. He also broke his elbow, had a hairline fracture in his low back and two hairline fractures in his jaw. As if that were not enough, his car caught on fire and he had 3rd degree burns on the lower torso and legs. Why am I explaining all of this? Because his doctor's, nurses, and therapists have all told him that if he hadn't had as much muscle as he had, he probably wouldn't have survived.

I myself was once in an accident where I feel the only reason I wasn't more severely injured was my strength training, in particular my serious neck training. Over 10 years ago I was stopped at a red light, where I was rear-ended by a truck that pushed me all the through to the other side of the intersection and from the far right lane to the far left lane. The only injury I sustained was two bulging discs in my cervical spine. I don't want to think about what would have happened if I wouldn't have been training my neck for most of my life.

So in conclusion, EVERYONE should be strength training and trying to add as much muscle to their body as possible while eating a sensible diet... genetics will not allow most people, men and women, to get super bulky and "bodybuilderish." In fact new research being done on head and neck strength shows that women can gain great strength, but are not building great size. And I haven't even talked about any of the numerous other health benefits that a proper strength training program can do for YOU.

No Gimmicks, No Fads, NO BULL!

Spring Fitness: Cardio VS Strength Training’s New Research

Spring is here and it’s time for a lot of us to get back into shape. Some have decided to get into shape by start a training regimen. So what to do? Many believe that the way to lose weight and get back into shape is to jump into a lot of aerobic (cardio) training. Sorry, wrong answer! You can burn 60% more calories through strength training rather than doing your aerobic classes, running, biking, etc. Although Zumba, Jazzercise, spinning class and all the other fitness classes will tell you that you will lose weight and gain strength, which is true to a point, strength training will garner better results.

Losing Muscle
As we age we lose muscle mass, 5-7 pounds per decade to be exact. Losing muscle can create numerous problems, such as metabolic rate reduction, increased body fat (although you could still weigh the same as you did in school more of that weight is fat), decreased bone mineral density (osteoporosis), and decreased gastrointestinal transit time (bowel issues).

Benefits of Muscle
Strength training and exercise also play a very important role in brain function. The better shape a person is the more efficient their heart functions. The more efficient the heart the more blood being pumped. More blood being pumped means more oxygen and nutrients being taken to the brain as well as other areas of the body. Increased oxygen rich blood to the brain means better memory, alertness, and mood as well as other functions of the brain.

Interval Training
The latest research is showing that steady state exercise, i.e. running, biking, fitness classes, is not as healthy as interval training. The research is actually showing that years of steady state exercise has lead to scar tissue on the heart. So if you enjoy steady state exercise, that’s fine, but be sure to mix it up with some interval type training that allows the heart rate to increase and recover, then increase again (possibly higher) and recover. A great example would be to sprint a certain distance and then walk, then sprint, then walk!

No gimmicks, No fads, NO BULL!!
A Strong Mind in a Strong Body!!

MSU Strength Clinic

I had the pleasure of attending the Michigan State University Strength and Conditioning clinic again this year. I truly enjoy attending these clinics as to meet new people and continue to network and befriend the legends of the strength training industry. Once again this past weekend of February 11-12th, I was able to talk to and meet some great people that think and have a passion for what they do just like myself.

This year was a little different in that Friday evening MSU had a free session for anyone interested in attending. I obviously took advantage of being able to spend more time with friends and colleagues while trying to learn more about my passion. I also took one of my clients with me. While on our drive back to Fowlerville we were talking about the evening and I asked him what he thought. The great thing for me was that this person realized and told me, "Wow, you do exactly what all these strength coaches at the collegiate and professional level do with there clients and athletes." That was nice to see that someone got it, they got the fact that there is a difference between doing things properly and just doing things when it comes to strength training. The facts are that most people will not "get it", they go to the gym and do what they see others doing, or what they saw on TV, or they try and remember what they did while in school and really screw themselves up because what they did in school was wrong and the teacher or coach didn't know any better. I'm not saying people need a personal trainer or strength coach all the time, but they should spend the time and money with a good one to learn how to do things properly and prevent injury, while at the same time performing better in everything that you do.

No Gimmicks, No Fads, NO BULL!

Cracking another myth about Strength Training!

Thanks to the billions of money that is spent in marketing people believe that the best way to lose weight is to do some type of cardio, like aerobics or zumba. Sorry to say, but nothing could be further from the truth. The best way to lose weight is to be sure you are burning off more calories per day then you are taking in. The best way to do this is to gain muscle mass. Now I'm not saying you have to become a bodybuilder, who really wants to look like that anyways!! But you do want to gain muscle mass because for every three pounds of muscle the body adds our resting metabolic rate increases by 7%, and our daily calorie requirements increase by 15%. That is because of the nature of muscle.... meaning that muscle is an active tissue.

Now cardio does have its place for working the most important muscle of the body, which is the heart!!! But it is not what all those fitness instructors would lead you to believe. Like everything in life, there needs to be balance. Cardio is important, but no more important then strength training and building muscle mass. And remember building muscle mass does not mean that you will become a body builder.