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1RM Performance and San Diego Strength and Conditioning

There are three major avenues that we improve performance of our athletes:

1.  Movement

2. Mentality

3. Programming. 

In my opinion, these are the three most important aspects of training that must be addressed and improved in order to truly take an athlete to the next level. Together, each attribute raises the overall athletic potential of the individual, improving their short and long-term abilities. 

 

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What does it mean to be a strength coach?

In my opinion, the strength and conditioning world has shifted in a direction that has a strength coach believing they need to be more of a movement/prehab specialist; instead of being what the name says, a STRENGTH COACH. If you say you’re a strength coach, I ask you to read this article, and see if you really fit the criteria. 

 

The Bench Press is possibly the most popular exercise in the gym world. It is commonly know to train your chest and triceps, and nearly always done on a monday. Common pain associated with benching is shoulder and wrist. People that currently have back pain will also feel this pain in their lower backs (no kidding). But what if you didn't need to feel all this pain? The fix is rather simple, but will take a little effort on your part. All of this pain could be avoided with a little deeper understanding of joint positioning and joint centration. For the sake of time, I will be specifically addressing the issue of lower back pain during the bench press.

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This should be you when you lift!

Bench Pressing with your feet up has been frowned upon by most “elite” strength coaches through the nation. Reasons are often the lack of stabilization, lack of support, and the lack of drive into the ground which takes away from how much you can lift. Most importantly, coaches say it’s dangerous. All of these are true statments. And still, with all the bad press that benching with your feet up gets, I still bench that way and I attribute my personal successes on the bench to it. All of my athletes begin benching with their feet up as I progress them into a full bench press.

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Assessing Beyond The FMS

Assessing an athlete is the single most important moment between myself, an athlete, and the athletes parents for the first few months of training. A typical assessment goes like this… Step 1. Shake his hand and introduce myself. Step 2. Bring him to the training area and show him where the magic happens. Step 3. Sit him and his parent or parents on the couch and a life is changed forever. 4. Movement assessment 5.athletic assessment 6. Explain everything I saw during the assessment to the kid and parent. 7. Answer every single question 8. Begin making progress. 9. Sign the family tree. 10. Hand shake good bye, and a little message to let he or she know the journey we are about to embark on together.

 

Fear Of Failure

Athletes fear failure. I find it hard to believe someone who says they don’t. This fear will do two things; motivate you to never fail again or it will break you down and create a fear that holds you back and limits your potential. I REFUSE to let fear of failure break ANY of my athletes. This is not going to be a normal blog post here at 1RM Performance. I want to address the elephant in the room that so many athletes and parents have lost the ability to deal with and forget exists.

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Knee pain sucks. It's annoying, it can impair performance, and can be debilitating at times. At 1RM, we are seeing and hearing about tons of high school athletes who are suffering from chronic knee pain. It goes under the disguise of many names; some call it Anterior knee pain, others Patellofemoral pain syndrome, and still others know it as Jumper's knee. It's a tricky one to deal with, but we have some tips that can hopefully decrease your pain.

San Diego Baseball Performance and DNS

San Diego baseball is dominant. As a strength coach that works with baseball players that play year round, and at a high level, I must be able to keep my players healthy. That means it is mandatory for my baseball players to maintain proper movement and joint “centration” (joint position allowing maximal transfer of forces and efficient of movement). I can watch most pitchers and baseball players on the diamond, and pretty accurately diagnose where they are suffering pain. It has actually become a game with new clients. Knowing more detail about their pain than they tell me, and 99% of the time being right. What’s cooler than that is being able to eliminate the pain during movement sometimes instantly. It’s not magic; it’s Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS).

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The hardest part about growing a small business and being busy is trying to stay up to date with everything that is involved. For those of you that haven’t noticed, no articles have been written and published for the past few months. It’s been so long that I had to remind Melissa how to log on to the website! But with that being said, we have some exciting news at 1RM.... but you are going to have to wait (if you really want to skip what's been happening the past few months, just scroll to the bottom of this page). 

Goals and Motivation

At 27 years old, I am currently training to bench 450, have a 10 foot standing broad jump, have a 62 inch box jump, squat 500 lbs, and dead lift 600. Melissa is training to make the pro beach volleyball tour, touch 9’8”, and bench 135 lbs. Chris Gibson wants to bench 350 and lose 20 lbs, Brett Vulgar wants to have a 60 inch box jump, Krista Morrison wants to squat 170 lbs 10x, and Justin Page wants to throw 90 mph. Why am I telling you this? It holds these people accountable for their goals. Why do I care about goals? They keep me motivated as a strength coach and a person.

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Goals and Motivation

At 27 years old I am currently training to bench 450, have a 10 foot standing broad jump, have a 62 inch box jump, squat 500, and dead lift 600. Melissa is training to make the pro beach volleyball tour, touch 9’8”, and bench 135. Chris Gibson wants to bench 350 and lose 20 pounds, Brett Vulgar wants to have a 60 inch box jump, Krista Morrison wants to squat 170 10 times, and Justin Page wants to throw 90 mph. Why am I telling you this? It holds these people accountable for their goals. Why do I care about goals? They keep me motivated as a strength coach and a person.  

Why set a goal?

Setting a goal is one of the single greatest tools any athlete or individual can use to stay excited and motivated while they train.  It keeps you hungry and gives you a mark to shoot for.  I’ve had people tell me they weren’t goal oriented, that is impossible.  You are either suppressing your vision, or are just simply not motivated to live. And honestly, if that’s true, there is something else going on.

Pulling out yoru goals

When I’m not at my gym, I am at Naval Base Point Loma, working with soldiers dealing with PTSD. Every 4 weeks I meet with a new group of guys and girls of all different ranks. They come into the program, thinking they will have their own “personal trainer”. As anything strength coach would, because we all have egos,  the first thing I do is explaining the difference between a personal trainer and a strength coach.  I then show the group some magic so they know they will be seeing improvements in their movement quality fast, and letting them know I am not there rah rah 3 more, 2 more reps,  kind of guy. For the next 8 weeks that know they will be given a tremendous opportunity to change their lives, have kick ass exercise programs, they will experience real what real strength and conditioning is and feels like, see how they can actually lift without pain, and most importantly build friendships that I will never forget.

Finding Motivation

The single most important day I have with the guys, is when we meet 1 on 1 and talk about training, goals, and motivation. Some of the guys I meet with have zero motivation before we talk. I truly mean zero. No motivation to train and some have a lack the desire to get out of bed in the morning. 

Some guys initially tell me they have no goals and no motivation, while others have a clear vision to what they want to accomplish. Losing weight, bench 300, running an 18 minute 3 mile, look like a 19 year old porn star, I’ve heard it all. These guys make my life easy.

What do I do for guys without motivation, and have no trust or faith in me? Well that gets a little deeper, but motivation is often then found in their family, and kids.  It goes a little like this. “Are you married?” if yes, bam, motivation.  “Do you have kids?” If yes, bam, motivation. Once this motivation is found the goals start rolling off their lips.

As for the trust, that comes in time, by doing a good job, and showing my guys that I will do anything at anytime to help them along their journey here, and for the rest of their lives.

Sharing is Caring

The power of setting a goal grows over time. How? By sharing them. I tell my athletes, friends, and family what I want to do. I along with my athletes, write it down on the goal board in the gym in big letters. There is no running or hiding from your goals. Sharing your goals forces you to be held accountable for your actions!  Personally, I hate failing, I don’t know many who actually enjoy it. So make sure those goals are attainable.

Be S.M.A.R.T.

There is an age old acronym to help you set your goals, S.M.A.R.T. Tis simple acronym helps you create a solid goal. To help understand the acronym I will use my own goal of benching 450.

S- Specific. Bench 450

M-Measurable 450 is pretty measurable to me

A – Action oriented. My actions in the gym will allow me to reach that goal

R – Realistic. I have benched 400 in the past, and there are guys who bench 1000. Absolutely realistic

T- Time Based. I didn’t set a specific time line but the sooner the better!

Try it out with your current training goal. See if it fits. If not, maybe it should be adjusted.

Here are some other goals that fit the SMART acronymn. Hit 90 mph by the time the season starts. Lose 18 pounds within the next 24 days. Squat 465 by August 1. Play in, and place well, in an AVP qualifier by the end of the summer

Post Goal hang over

There is danger with setting and reaching your goal. Where do you go next? I have known a few people (myself included) to reach a goal, then carry on with their regular old life. 6 months later you realize you can no longer lift that weight, or that weight has crept back on.

 Goals are meant to be mile stones in your life. They are meant to be achieved. When you achieve a goal, don’t become satisfied. Continue to push, and set  new higher goal. Continue to raise the bar! (pun intended) Obviously, it is not realistic to bench 1000 pounds every day. But it is realistic to continue to train hard so it isn’t so far out of reach. The key is to stay hungry. If you pass a goal, celebrate the passing but then set a new one! A new goal that will keep you hungry, motivated, and training hard.

Conclusion

Find motivation and set a goal!  Goals are powerful and will keep you motivated

Make sure your goal is S.M.A.R.T

Share your Goal: the more the merrier! Write it down and share your goal with friends and family

Reach your goal: Get to your goal and don’t let anything get in your way!

Set a new goal and fight off the Post Goal Accomplishment Hangover: Celebrate your goal then set a new goal.

Continue to raise the bar!!

Have a strong day!