The 1-Dream Foundation Basketball Team Doing Sprints at Athlon Elite
(see more training videos on our YouTube page, CLICK HERE)
From the New York Times last week:
The potency of interval training is nothing new. Many athletes have been straining through interval sessions once or twice a week along with their regular workout for years. But what researchers have been looking at recently is whether humans, like that second group of rats, can increase endurance with only a few minutes of strenuous exercise, instead of hours? Could it be that most of us are spending more time than we need to trying to get fit?
Read the full article here: (http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/can-you-get-fit-in-six-minutes-a-week/)
Important Athlon Elite Note:
While there is no question in our minds that the short high intensity intervals make you more fit than long, slow, boring cardio, if fat loss is your goal, (10+ pounds of fat loss), you will need to do more.
Short bursts of output make you more "fit" but by themselves do not create enough of a caloric deficit to significantly decrease your body fat.
This is where the Athlon Elite "Burn" system… a 7-component fat loss system that accounts for the above fact as well as the six other necessary components for amazing results… comes into play.
If you’re not already following our system… come in for a FREE private consultation to learn how you can implement it now: CLICK HERE.
Here’s a video and a couple pics from my recent trip to Yosemite. It was a great trip and one heck of a good workout… 18 mile hike up and down Half-Dome on Saturday!
Good thing I’m a good personal trainer because I don’t think I could cut it as a photographer! I have better ones on my other camera that I’ll try to get posted in a week or so.
Yosemite Falls
Nevada Falls
Half Dome from the Side (those little ants climbing up it on the left side are people!)
Vodka, gin, tequila and whisky rank zero in carbs and in recognition
("I in no way encourage alcohol consumption but if you’re trying to cut sugary carbs out of your diet and still want to have a drink over the weekend you might consider the below information…")
From HispanicBusiness.com
New York, NY—-(HISPANIC PR WIRE)–December 19, 2003–Most of the 35 million plus low carb converts in the U.S. are missing out on the party, according to a new study conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs.
The survey, which measured the public’s knowledge about the carb count of popular beverage alcohol options, found that 63% of people incorrectly believe that wine and beer are lower in carbs than spirits like vodka, tequila, gin and scotch whisky.
Spirits such as SMIRNOFF(R), JOSE CUERVO(R), CROWN ROYAL(R), JOHNNIE WALKER(R), and TANQUERAY(R) have zero carbs per serving, a fact of which low carb watchers are clearly unaware.
– Within the spirits category, 55% of people believe that tequila is high/medium in carbs, despite the fact that it has zero carbs per ounce.
– 52% of people believe that vodka is high/medium in carbs, despite the fact that it has zero carbs per ounce.
– When asked to rank which beverage options were lowest in carbs – given the choice between a regular soda, fruit juice or spirits – 67% of people incorrectly chose fruit juice and soda.
– With the low carb lifestyle continuing to grow in popularity, 58% of would-be hosts and hostesses would consider providing low carb food and beverages at their low carb party.
When it’s time to celebrate or socialize, these zero carb spirits - vodka, gin, tequila, and whisky - are the beverage of choice for those dieters following the low carb lifestyle.
The following are carb counts for popular beverage options:
– Vodka, gin, tequila and whiskey - zero carbs per 1.5-ounce serving.
*Wine – One gram of carbs per 3.5-ounce serving.
– *Beer – 13 grams of carbs per 12-ounce serving of regular beer and 2.6 grams per 12-ounce serving of low carb beer.
– *Soda – 38.5 grams of carbs per 12-ounce serving.
– *Fruit Juice – average of 25 grams of carbs per 8-ounce serving.
For carb counters who want to give spirits another try, the following are some zero carb cocktail recipes:
Smirnoff Citrus Twister
1.5 oz Smirnoff Citrus Twist vodka
3 oz club soda
Calories: 87
Carbs: 0 grams
Smirnoff Lean Martini
1.5 oz Smirnoff vodka
splash Vermouth
lemon peel garnish
Calories: 99.5
Carbs: 0.1 grams
Crown Royal and Soda
1.5 oz Crown Royal
3 oz club soda
Calories: 96
Carbs: 0 grams
Low Carb Mexi Cola
1.5 oz Jose Cuervo Clásico
3 oz diet cola
Calories: 96
Carbs: 0
Tanqueray and Tonic
1.5 oz Tanqueray
3 oz diet tonic
Calories: 114
Carbs: 0
Johnnie Walker Red Label and Ginger
1.5 oz Johnnie Walker Red Label
3 oz diet ginger ale
Calories: 96
Carbs: 0
Each of these cocktails contains a typical serving of alcohol, so please drink responsibly.
The survey was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Diageo, the world’s leading beer, wine and spirits company. Nationwide over 950 consumers of legal drinking age were polled via telephone omnibus survey.
("Please drink responsibly and if you’re trying to lose weight or improve your performance as an athlete it’s a "no-brainer"…
What is the key to becoming a successful champion…
… besides amazing "God-given talent, a great coach and great players around you?
I’ll tell you.
A perfect training and conditioning program that starts 11 months before ever becoming a champion.
On Sunday night the Lakers won their 15th World Championship title, and Kobe Bryant’s fourth. It was not the most exciting game ever but it was a real joy to watch Kobe Bryant put on another display of athleticism and domination.
Watching him leap into the air when the final buzzer sounded in the thrill of victory made me think back to an interview I read with him in Men’s Fitness last year about his off-season and in-season training programs. Like him or not, you have to give the man credit for being where he’s at (on top of the world). He has a work ethic second to none and has worked for the success he’s achieved.
His training program starts every year AFTER a season is over when he sits down with trusted coaches and discusses where he needs to work more and improve for the next season. He then creates and implements a rigorous training program that will last all the way until the next season is over (almost a year) and he’s wearing another championship ring!
In the off-season he trains a total six hours per day, accumulating two hours of running drills, two hours of basketball practice, one hour of weight training and one more hour of cardiovascular training.
It’s this kind of determination, dedication, work ethic that creates champions. What are you doing this off-season? If you’re an athlete, are you following a well-designed, rigorous training program that will give your body the ability to dominate your sport? If you’re not, if you’re just waiting until a month before your season to start getting into shape I can tell you that you’re not going to be successful (or at least not as successful as you could be if you were puting the time in early).
If you’re not an athlete but looking to be more physically fit, attractive, whatever, are you puting time in to get there. You don’t need to train six hours per day but you do need to be moving forward in a personalized training program.
This is where Athlon Elite comes in. Check out our off-season power development program for athletes: www.SLOSportsPerformance.com, or check out our specialized programs for non-athletes or weekend warriors looking to improve their conditioning: www.SLOFitnessResults.com.
When you plan ahead and put the work in you WILL accomplish everything you want, even when you’ve been unsuccessful in the past.
Until next time,
Ryan
P.S. Go check out the above websites and learn more about how you can truly accomplish your goals and achieve that which you dream of, www.SLOSportsPerformance.com and www.SLOFitnessResults.com.
There are debates amongst the sports performance training community as to whether resisted running, e.g., pulling a sled like the above & below pictures, actually helps improve an athletes sprint performance where it counts, in a game.
Run Dave Run…
Well the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (a well respected scientific journal) has published a few studies on this topic as of late…
Their findings…
Well, pulling a resistance while trying to sprint changes your mechanics (namely your stride length, which is the distance you travel per step; and your stride frequency, which is how many times you stride in a given period). No big surprise there, eh?
Some consider this a bad thing.
Rhett pulling a sled too slow!
But, they also found that you definitely experience an "overload" while doing it.
This means the resistance is greater than what it is normally there, thus, you’re body will adapt by improving its ability to tolerate that overload, i.e., get stronger and/or more powerful, build more muscle, etc.
So to the purists that say, "I don’t train with sleds because it changes my mechanics and its training me to move slower," I say… basketball players do heavy squats to jump higher, right?… yet that’s going to make them move slowly through the jumping motion when they’re doing it, right? But, after doing them and then "tapering-off" the volume of squats towards their season, they jump through the roof!
Well, the same goes for runners (which is all athletes)
Resisted sledding is going to make an athlete move slower and shorten their strides while pulling it, but it will also force an overload in a position as close to real running as you can get. That will no doubt have lasting gains in strength and power in that position, leading to a faster athlete when they get to their actual season or event.
You have to realize there’s a time and place to train slower and build a better tolerance to resistance; then there’s a time to train fast and lower the resistance. It’s called periodization, and we at Athlon Elite are experts in this…
…a real "think-tank" when it comes to this stuff.
There’s no better place in SLO County to get this kind of training.
Check out our Summer Elite Performance Camp at, www.SLOSportsPerformance.com, where you’ll be seeing quite a little bit of sled training.
Posted by John Cortese, Personal Trainer at Athlon Elite
Speed training is a hot topic these days… as it should be. Every athlete’s performance benefits greatly from a properly planned speed development program. But, unfortunately, when it comes to speed training there are so many gimmicks and “hottest new fads” out there that it confuses coaches, parents, and athletes on where to start. They make it too complicated and confusing…
Well, here’s the deal…
Simple Part:
Running speed is highly dependent on two variables, and can be laid out in a simple equation:
Speed = Stride Length x Stride Frequency
The distance that you can cover with each stride (stride length), and the number of strides you can take in a certain amount of time (stride frequency) will dictate the overall net gain in speed.
Join our Summer Speed Camp and you’ll move with explosive power by the end of Summer… Period!!
In order to facilitate gains in speed, an athlete should strive to:
improve movement efficiency, (think GRACEFUL)
the amount of force he/she can apply on each step taken, (think STRENGTH or torque in an engine)
and the rate (or speed) at which they can apply the given force (think POWER, being able to EXPLODE).
Develop a program that solves the above three issues and your speed WILL improve!
Now onto a bit more science and my firm beliefs in speed training… Get out your notebooks!
I firmly believe that the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) have a HEAVY influence on improving speed? Why, you ask? Speed is a motor skill; it must be learned just like crawling, walking, jumping, etc. As you progress and continue to refine technique, get better at MOVING efficiently, and learning how to express your strength QUICKLY, your nervous system adapts and learns how to do these things FASTER and EASIER, using a process known as rate coding.
When you get better at recruiting, turning on, and firing your motor units (a group of muscle fibers) through the practice of speed work, jumping, medicine ball throws, and heavy strength training, your body has no choice but to adapt and become better at CONTRACTING THE MUSCLES QUICKLY AND TURNING THEM ON MUCH FASTER.
In order to be fast, YOU MUST TRAIN FAST. Quality repetitions must be stressed over the quantity of repetitions in order to properly LEARN this important athletic skill.
And guess what?…
You’re in luck! This summer, Athlon Elite is offering an 8-week speed camp that will utilize the very principles spoken about above!
Some aspects that will be covered to enhance your athletic performance include:
Technique refinement (to enhance movement efficiency)
Dynamic Stretching and Mobility (makes moving easier and more fluid)
Jump training and explosive medicine ball work (to enhance rate of force development- POWER)
Proper sprint training (the skill of running fast)
Proper programming and periodization so that gains can be built upon one another from week to week
Supervision and coaching from an experienced authority on proper speed training for team sport athletics.
Strength (to improve the HORSEPOWER in our engine and improve stride length)
Now, the question is this… Are you ready to take the next step and commit yourself to one of the best speed training programs you will find on the Central Coast? I’ll tell you right now; this program will not utilize fancy gimmicks, elixirs, potions, and unproven methods that result in another failure!
You WILL see time tested principles and results, plain and simple.
After countless hours of scientific research, real-world experience training athletes (and MYSELF) with these simple yet effective techniques, and consulting with some of the world’s top speed training experts, I’m confident that this program will be nothing like you’ve experienced before.
I look forward to helping YOU achieve your goals this summer!
Posted by John Cortese, Personal Trainer at Athlon Elite
(we feel the Halloween photo is a little better likeness of him…)
In the world of sport (and I mean every sport), faster athletes have a huge advantage over their opponents. They move so efficiently they make running fast look EASY!
Their blazing set of wheels, known as their two legs, "drop the jaws" of their fans, their teammates and their competitors!
Have you ever caught yourself thinking “I wish I could move fast like that!”
or
“How are these guys so freaking fast?!”
I won’t bore you with the science of speed training… BUT…I will tell you one thing:
BREAKING NEWS…
SPEED/RUNNING FAST IS A SKILL THAT CAN BE TAUGHT TO ANYONE!
Yes, that’s right. The science and the art of sports conditioning proves this.
Just like any other skill in life, (such as climbing, walking, jumping, etc), "speed" is a trainable and learnable skill that can be taught to athletes needing to move faster, make the varsity, turn pro or just improve their athletic performance on the weekend!
How does one go about learning a skill?
Ever remember your old 3rd grade teacher telling you that "repetition is the key to learning?"…
That, "proper practice makes perfect!"…
SHE WAS RIGHT!
I firmly believe that training for SPEED requires constant learning, proper feedback (from a qualified coach), and QUALITY repetitions (NOT QUANTITY- BIG DIFFERENCE) to teach the Central Nervous System how to move with the utmost efficiency and enable YOU to be FAST, AGILE, AND EXPLOSIVE!
It’s often said that the fastest athletes in any given sport are the ones called upon to make the game changing plays; the ones who every time they step on the field are a threat to score; the ones who intimidate their opponents; the ones who step in the starting blocks and literally silence the crowd because they know they’re about to witness something special!
Do you want to take your game to the next level and take the next step in realizing your TRUE potential?!
Are you ready to take a huge step towards athletic DOMINANCE?!
Are you ready to turn yourself into a freaky fast, explosive, and agile athletic machine?
Well, my friend… You’ve come to the right place. Athlon Elite specializes in developing speed and:
Stay tuned for a big announcement coming next week on how Athlon Elite can turn YOU into the SPEED FREAK you’ve always dreamed of becoming.
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