Yuri Vlasov

This is intense! I was watching Steve Jeck's "Stonelifting" video the other day and on it Steve talks about the importance of building your mental arsenal, in this case it came just prior to Steve performing a set of 20 rep breathing squats, no-no-no style, with 415lbs on the bar! The quote he shared was from the great Russian weightlifter, Yuri Vlasov. Repeat this to yourself next time you are stepping up to the bar going for a PR!

“The blood of your fathers has turned to water in your veins. Not your lot is it to be strong as they were. Having tasted neither life’s sorrows not it’s joy, like a sickling you look at life through a glass. Your skin will shrivel, your muscles grow weak, tedium will devour your flesh destroying desire. Thought will congeal in your skull and horror will stare at you from the mirror. Overcome yourself, overcome yourself. I tremble, I seethe, I clench, I seize the haul.”

Training Articles and Internet Gurus

Sometimes I get the feeling some trainers just like to write to hear themselves talk. I know everyone is entitled to their opinions about training and many things work, but one of the biggest things that bothers me is when a trainer tries to act like the personal trainer, strength coach, physical therapist, ART therapist, massage therapist, exercise physiologist, head coach, dietician, podiatrist, orthopedic surgeon, general medical practitioner, and all around know it all. I don't care how many freakin' letters are after their last name or how many articles they've had published on the internet muscle zine'. There are some great trainers out there sharing info for sure, but it seems that there are a lot of people more interested in making a name for themselves rather than training people. It kills me when you see some internet famous trainer who pumps out articles on a weekly basis on why you need to train your athletes this way, then the only testimonials they have are from their network of trainers they work with. I respect trainers like Joe DeFranco, Jason Ferruggia, Alwyn Cosgrove, etc. who actually show who they've helped on their various websites, they include testimonials from real clients, real athletes and not just their buddies. If I see a trainer I respect and know does good work endorse another, that speaks volumes to me, however I want to see who they've worked with too. Anytime I see someone say they can't reveal their clients due to contract negotiations I put absolutely zero stock in their methods. I don't think you necessarily have to coach great athletes to be a great coach. Heck, anyone can take a gifted athlete and put them on a program and they'll still be great athletes. I respect the guys that can take no-names and underdogs and do great things. I think Joe DeFranco's "Miles Austin project" is incredibly motivating. This kid went from no-name university to making the Dallas Cowboys line-up through smart training and hard work. DeFranco is one of the few people in this industry who really does a great job, in my opinion. I don't care how much someone knows, experience speaks volumes to me. I trust the word of someone who's been in the industry for 30 years more than someone who's been publishing articles for 3 years. Take Mike Boyle, a great strength coach, probably one of the best. Some of his stuff I like, some I don't. This cat's been doing this job and doing it well for a long time. People should listen to Mike, you don't necessarily have to agree with everything he says, but you can learn a helluva lot cause' he has more experience in the field than most. Competitive experience is important, but isn't the be all end all. I've met some really strong dudes, who can't articulate how to do a bench press. A good trainer or coach knows what it's like to get under the bar and push themselves (they don't have to be a world champion though), knows how to set up programming for their clients and athletes based on the trainees INDIVIDUAL needs, can get around their egos and realize they can learn something from everyone, listens more than they talk, isn't afraid to refer a trainee to someone who might be able to help the trainee better, and doesn't try to be the final word on every sub-category in the health and fitness field.

Just a little rant before the weekend, I need a beer!

Q&A Post

I've been getting a lot of questions regarding how I train my athletes via email through my website recently so I thought I'd share some of them.

Q: Hi Scott,
What have you had the most success with when training your athletes, two lower body days a week or one lower body a week? Thanks.

A: It depends on where we're at in the training cycle. I structure all my athletes programs based on the annual plan. There are different considerations for different levels. The biggest problem I have are multi-sport high school kids. One of my star high school athletes NEVER has an off season. Football in the fall crosses over with school basketball in the winter which crosses over with AAU basket ball in the spring which crosses over with football pre-season camp at the end of summer. For athletes like this we work heavy legs once a week. Usually I go heavy one week (i.e. work them up to a heavy set of 3 or 5 reps in a squat or squat variation - for example front squat, low box squat, etc.) the next week we usually work 8-10 sets of 2 reps with approx. 60% of their 1RM in a parallel box squat with either chains or bands attached to the bar. The next week we're back to a heavy 5 or 3, etc. After the main lift we usually hit a 1-legged squat (i.e. Bulgarian split squat, step up or 1-leg box squat), then a posterior chain lift (we like romanian deadlifts, glute/ham raises, 45 degree back raises, good mornings and kettlebell swings and snatches), then we'll hit abs, neck and grip. If the athlete has a TRUE off season (for instance a college football player or a high school football player who plays no other sports) we will usually train legs twice. One day is the max effort day (i.e. work up in a squat or deadlift variation to a heavy 3 or 5 rep max). The other day is the dynamic effort day (i.e. hit 8-10 doubles off a parallel box with 50-60% of the 1 rep max with chains or bands on the bar). We always follow with a 1-leg squat variation, posterior chain lift, then abs, neck and grip. When we work jumps and various plyos we do them on the dynamic day and ONLY if it is an athlete with an offseason. Athletes who are in-season year round are jumping enough.

Q: Do you find the dynamic effort being as beneficial for a pre-college athlete who needs to put on as much mass as possible?

A: Yes, athletes need to be explosive - once I have an athlete that can squat around 1.5x his bodyweight we begin dynamic work. However, for a youngster or someone brand new to strength training we do a LOT of BW squat variations and BW box squats with a broom stick to groove perfect technique. While we are doing this we are also doing slow negatives and altitude landings to teach the athlete to absorb force, VERY important for the later dynamic work and plyometrics and shock method training. We find that on the max effort day working multiple sets of heavy 5's is quite beneficial for gaining mass AS WELL AS strength, 5x5 with an appreciable load gives you the best of both worlds brother, provided the athlete is getting the appropriate calories in his system.

Q: Do you do any foam rolling, dynamic warm up, or Olympic Lifts?

A: Foam rolling - yes, I am a big believer in rehab/prehab methods, our favorites are: foam rolling, ART (I send people to Dr. Dave Radaszewski at the Soft Tissue & Chiropractic Center here in Atlanta), massage, contrast showers, ice, heat, some static flexibility work, contract relax stretching, etc.

Dynamic warm-ups - YES - HUGELY important, we use a variation of the Parisi School Warm-Up Method (Martin Rooney's stuff is incredible- www.parisischool.com).

Olympic Lifting - I don't do a lot of Oly-lifting or variations. Sometimes I don't have a lot of time to spend with a kid so we go for more bang for your buck exercises, I can teach a kid to box squat in 5 minutes but teaching a kid to clean properly takes longer. If I have a kid for a while and I know his coach is going to make him clean I will make sure he knows the lift well. I like kettlebell variations as in the swings, cleans and snatches the weight swings back behind the midline of the body and your limbs move more in a pattern that replicates a jump allowing you to display force through a greater range of motion, plus the kettlebells teach you to absorb, store and redirect a force - similar (but not the same) to the effect of plyometrics without the shock/impact - GREAT for athletes in season.

Q: Do you think athletes that are in high school, which are not as efficient with their CNS (central nervous system) are affected as much by not having an off season?

A: I feel everyone needs an offseason and if we trained our athletes properly they would be specializing in one sport by the time they are in high school. The early developmental years (up through 9 or 10 years of age) are the time for general skill development - kids should be playing a multitude of different sports and exposing their bodies/organisms to a variety of motor skill development activities. By 9 or 10 dominant traits should begin emerging (i.e. is the child showing traits of power, strength, speed, endurance, etc.) then optimally the child would be exposed to a few different sports in the vein of their dominant skill with the goal of specilization by high school age. I feel this would reduce the number of sport-related injuries, allow the athlete to peak later in their career, and increase the length of the athlete's career, not to mention contribute to optimal levels of preparedness and performance in the athlete's chosen sport.

Thanks for the questions!

Well, it's that time of the year again!

My phone has been ringing off the hook and my email box is getting slammed. Between the Jets getting knocked out of the playoffs, new years resolutionists, football players prepping for combines and pro days, my regular calendar of athletes and clients, and future clinics and seminars, as well as writing my magazine articles and book/DVD projects I'm working on, my January-June is pretty much slammed. I probably won't be posting on blogger much, but will do my best!

Since everyone is in the "goal setting" frame of mind right now, I thought I would use this post to share my 2007 goals. First of all, my business has been growing by leaps and bounds and my goal for this year is to get a trainer contracting some of my overflow and open my first satellite location, all this is currently in the works and I hope to have it up and running in a couple of months. My strength goals are as follows:

Gym Lifts (raw - no powerlifting gear other than a belt and wrist wraps):

Squat - 400lbs
Bench Press - 300lbs
Deadlift - 500lbs
Front Squat - 315lbs
Military Press - 225lbs
Pull Ups - 20 reps with no additional weight, 1 rep with additional weight equal to bodyweight
Rolling Thunder Deadlift - 200lbs each hand
Hub Lift - 50lbs each hand w/the Ironmind hub and an old York 45lb plate with each hand
COC Gripper - close the #2 and start working on the #3
Ironmind Head Harness Lift - 200lbs
Stone Lift - 280lb stone lift to chest, 190lb stone press overhead

Those are my goals for the year! Let's get to work!

Stay Strong,

Scott