After whipping myself into shape with some of the most bland foods imaginable I found myself very frustrated and desiring fast food condiments in bulk. I wondered how people stayed in such great shape all the time and never got tired of eating grilled chicken and egg whites. Although I have learned over time it is OK to eat a variety of different foods, it is crucial to interrupting the monotony of eating the same thing. Hot sauce will only get one so far. I was eventually saved by an unlikely source, the Middle East.

Hummus is a Middle Eastern dip filled with chickpeas, garbanzo beans, and tahini. Tahini is the spread type texture from sesame seeds thats gives the dip that paste quality. Chickpeas and sesame seeds are incredibly healthy, being loaded with protein and fiber. Hummus is a good source of fat and low in sugar. Hummus also contains Vitamin E, potassium, and other antioxidants. Not to mention it tastes wonderful.

Go to you local grocery store and check out some of the different flavors. I like the roasted red pepper and chipotle hummus best. Try putting it on one side of your bread and have a turkey, ham, roast beef, chicken, or basically any other type of sandwich you can imagine. You can even dip some vegetables in there like broccoli, celery, or carrots. Enjoy!

1. Strength Training

When lifting weights with the intent of gaining strength it is appropriate to perform sets of 2-6 repitions. It is important to note that this will not increase muscle size. Entering a strength phases of working out is necessary for a couple reasons. The first instance would be when you are beginning to workout or try new resistance training methods. It is important for the body to be accustomed to the movements in order for you to be ready to perform higher repitions at heavier resistance. An example of this would be a beginning lifter or an athlete in his first phase of preparing for his competitve season.

A beginner would not want to perform more than 2 sets and this intensity, while someone with experience with the movements can comfortably perform over 4 sets.

The appropriate rest time while strength training is at least 2 mins. It is necessary for your body to prepare again for the intense muscle contractions taking place.

2. Hypertrophy (Gains in Muscle Size)

This stage is where lifters experience gains in the actual size of their muscles. It is most affective following a strength phase of around 6-8 weeks. Hypertrophy begins with sets of 8-12 repitions. After two weeks of working out in this manner some less experienced lifters would notice strength gains as their muscles become more comfortable with the movements and recruit more motor units. Performing 3 or 4 sets at this intensity is appropriate.

When lifting to initate muscle hypertrophy use rest periods of 60-90 seconds.

3. Muscle Endurance (Increased Definition)

This phase is for lifters who have prepared their bodies to be able to peform many repitions of a given exercise without ever losing form. Most of the time these lifters have been through a strength phase to prepare for endurance resistance training. This is also a final phase for an athlete about to begin compeition.

Reptitions of 15-24 are appropriate with very minimal rest periods of 30-45 seconds. Sets ranging from 2-4.

Here are two great ways to blow up your chest and triceps in a very short amount of time. If you are not actively working out your chest in a gym you could do this every day and you will see results. Check out Push Up Progression for good technique.

1. Push Up Tabata: Get a stop watch ready! Start the clock and do as many push ups with proper from as you can in ten seconds. Keep a count. Relax for 10 seconds and begin doing push ups for another ten seconds. Repeat this pattern for until you have reached 100 Push Ups. It took me 4 mins 40 seconds, let me know how you do.

2. Push up max outs with partner: Very simple. Align yourself across from your workout partner in a push up position. One person begins performing push ups until they fail or break form. When this happens your partner will go until he fails or breaks form. Keep repeating this pattern until both of you have done 100 push ups. My first time doing this I did it will a Marine and he had done 210 before I did 100. He was not happy with me, but we both got better.

Wall Push Up

Simply get arms length from the wall and use your pectoral muscles to push yourself off the wall aggresively.

Knee Push Up

Rest on your knees to get rid of some of your body. Keep your back straight and your head forward.

Regular Push Up

I keep my back straight and my butt up. I lower my chest to the ground not my stomach. Keep your hands and chin pointed forward. It is better to do a few push ups correctly than a lot with bad from. Do not cheat yourself.

Elevated Push Up

Once regular push ups become too easy try this. The form of your push up does not change. Bring your chest to the ground and keep your eyes forward. Elevate your feet.

Push Up Catches

This type of push up focuses more on the triceps. Lower yourself into a push up position with a dumbbell under your chest (It should be at least 65 lbs). Explosively push your self up and before descending catch yourself with both hands on the dumbbell head. Do not do a push up from this position, simply return to the lowered push up position and perform another.

Push Up Crossovers

 Begin in a push up position with your right hand on the sand ball (a 65 lb DB will work as well). Perform an explosive push up forcing your momentum to the right. As your chest is passing over the ball and both hands are in the air place your left hand on the ball and allow your right hand to stabilize you on the other side of your body. Let the momentum of your body lower you down to the ground. You are now in the same position you started just on the other side of the ball or dumbbell. Immediately perform an explosive push and get your self to the other side. Continue these crossovers with no rest in between. This is a very advanced push up exercise and is meant only for people who can do all of these above push ups easily.

Push Up Drop Set (Savages Only)

This is only to be done with a training partner. The weight needs to be adjusted to accomdate strength but whatever weight plate you use you need to use a dumbbell of the same weight. Begin in an elevated push up position and have a partner place both the plate and the dumbbell on a comfortable part of your upper back (not lower). It is important to keep your back straight and have your partner close to adjust the weights if they are rocking back and forth or if the dumbbell is trying to hop off.

Perform a set of 8-12 elevated push ups and have your partner remove the dumbbell only. Perform 8-12 elevated push ups with just the plate on your back. Have your partner remove the plate. Finally do elevated push ups to fail. Three sets is usually more than enough.

Final Thoughts

Push ups are an awesome way to build up your chest and triceps. If you are going to follow this progression make sure you form is perfect and if you do some of the more difficult exercises have a partner to do them with you. Make sure you are bringing your chest to the ground to get the proper benefit from the exercise and preventing yourself from any back problems. Keep your head forward to strengthen your scapula. After all push ups are the best workout to improve posture.

Keep coming back for more push up workouts and savage challenges!

For the last several weeks I have had the priviledge of training some of the hardest workers I have ever seen. It was also an added bonus that they were all great athletes. They pushed each other and demonstrated phenomenal sportmanships during times they were competing against each other. They held each other accountable when improper form was displayed. Most importanly, they each strove to get better each class and I am happy to say I do not think any of them hate me! Believe it or not they were 12 year olds.

I am writing this to educate on ways to train young athletes. Weight training is not necessary although there is no evidence that kids around this age can’t lift weights just as long as they can demonstrate perfect form during low repitition work. Proper form is the most important factor to consider when working with youth. Early sessions should be devoted to good jumping and run form.

Form and Conditioning

Athletes need to be able to move and adjust explosively. Young athletes are no different. Cone drills are great for emphasizing this point. Whether they are sprinting, backpedaling, or shuffling from cone to cone proper form would consist of rotating the hips to the direction they are going, pumping their arms and keeping their chest and head up. This will help train them to become more aware of their body and get comfortable performing more difficult athletic drills. Cone drills also serve as a great way to condition athletes. As my 12 year olds began to tire is was important for me to emphasize form. What often separates athletes from achieving their goals is their inability to maintain form when they tire. This is a good way to train athletes to trust their form and trust their bodies to deliver a quality performance when they are fatigued.

Strength Training

As I mentioned earlier, weight training is not necessary for youngin’s to develope strength. I did not use one weight in 8 weeks of training my 12 year olds, but as they will attest they frequently worked their legs are arms to exhaustion. At this age, using their body weight is enough to challenge their tiny bodies. As with sprinting and agility work, it is imperative to carefully monitor their form to ensure that they are not developing bad habits or behavior that could lead to injury. We frequently did lunges, squat jumps, wall sits, mountain climbers, ski jumps, burpees, bunny hops, duck walks, bear walks, push up walks, one foot hops, and their personal favorite plate pushes. During these exercises I looked at several things. One of those was their feet. All of this type of strength work should be done with your feet and toes pointing forward at all times. Any deviation shows a weekness of the hip flexor which will handicap the ability to strengthen your legs and could potentially make you more susceptible to knee problems in the future. Another thing I watched was their knees when they squat and lunge. The knees should not rotate inward towards each other because it puts added stress on the knees which poses a threat to knee ligaments and will also compromise the intended benefit to your quads. Thirdly these exercises should all be done with your head and chest up. Any deviation will put added strain on the lower back which will hinder strength gain in the legs.

I do have many of my kids doing push ups, but only with perfect form. If you are training a kid who does not have the strength to do a push up there are variations that can be done to complete the exercise and eventually build up to normal push ups. The most basic form of push up would be doing a wall push up.

This will help build more strength to prepare the athlete to do push ups on there knees and eventually normal push ups. Emphasize exploding off the wall to maximize the effectiveness of this exercise.

Most Important

My group had amazing support from their parents. This is very important. Sports are meant to be fun and training is no different. My kids worked hard so we played hard. Stay positive, encourage them, and watch them work their tales off. This group was a joy to work with and I looked forward to every class. At the end of the day it is just a game.

If you are training a youth athlete or want your youth athlete to start training feel free to contact me at stephen0391@gmail.com for more information.

To my plate pushers, duck walkers, hoppers, sprinters, bear walkers, frog jumpers, and all in all complete SAVAGES in the training room thank you very much for your hard work and dedication.

For those of you that do not know me personally, I have always been a very successful athlete my entire life. I was gifted with natural talent and never had to work very hard, even at the Divison I level. I always assumed that I would make a living playing baseball. However due to injury and other misfortune my career was ended in college. Heard that one  before?

The fact that I had a chance to play baseball professionally but injury and bad luck prevented me is a complete load of crap. For some people this is a reality but I am calling myself out on this excuse. This excuse is abused in every area of people’s lives especially when it comes to not accomplishing the goal you wanted so badly your entire childhood and young adulthood. In my case, I only have one person to blame, myself.

I chose partying, video games, laziness, and stupid pride instead of determination, hard work, education, and most of the time a good night sleep. Now I am left with a regret that I only hope will be remedied by helping others understand how to be great. For me it was baseball, for you it may be your dream job or your dream girl/guy, or just simply being in shape. Ask yourself daily what decisions you are making that stray you from the path and goal you desire.

I have been able to accomplish through hard work an image and lifestyle that I am truly proud of and for now that is enough for me. It was not easy but it was worth it, and it will be for you. Surround yourself with people that make you better, and do not waste your time with things that bring you down. Enjoy your life and reward youself when you deserve it.

Everyone is capable of great things and everyone is capable of change.

The first thing I know you are saying to yourself is: “And I was doing so well, this year was going to be different.” Well I come bringing good news. This slip up is going to happen to everyone. Everyone has cravings and my advice would be not to ignore them but handle them intelligently. I handle my cravings with a simple philosophy: “IF YOU ARE GOING TO CHEAT, GO ALL THE WAY.” I love Dorritos more than almost anything else in my life, well almost anything. But  when I get cravings, which is often I do not grab a chip here and a chip there til a bag is gone, because they will soon become a part of my daily diet. I will pick a time and eat as many as I can until I am sick of them. This will handle my craving for usually about two weeks and after eating healthy for a week my body will just break that up and show no ill effects. However it is very important for me to get back on track the next day. Never miss meals because you think your last one had too many calories. You need to eat to lose weight. Have a nice bowl of oatmeal the next morning and keep that metabolism racing.

Beer Belly to this is 6 months!

 This workout that I have come to love for a few reasons. The first is that it is very quick and the second is that it really tears your abdomen up. There is no rest in between exercises so keep moving:

15 hanging leg raises followed by a 1 minute front plank (do 3 sets of this without resting)

Finish with one set of 10 Muay Thai crunches (10 each knee)

Hanging Leg Raise: While putting your body in a position where it is completely dangling raise just your legs into the air until they are parallel with the ground. Keep your legs straight. Perform these slowly so your momentum does not sway your hanging. If this is too difficult perform the leg raises while laying on a bench. Simply raise your legs until they are straight in the air and never letting them pass parallel to the ground on the way down.

Front plank: Lay face first on the ground propping yourself up by only your elbows and toes. Use your core to keep your body as erect as possible and keep your eyes and head forward. Do this for one minute.

Muay Thai Crunches: Get in a normal sit up position with your hands behind your head. Keep you feet suspended in the air and relax your knees as if someone was laying on top of you and you were using your knees you put them in a scissor submission move (Like a muay thai fighter). Crunch up taking your right elbow your right knee and hold it for 3 long seconds. Go back to the starting position and crunch your left elbow up to your left knee and hold for another 3 seconds. Perform 10 each leg.

Feel the burn!

I packed on a few holiday pounds and spent my New Years in Pasadena where I attended the Rose Bowl. Needless to say I did not work out once and I ate pretty much everything I saw. I will tell you the same thing I have to keep telling myself: DO NOT PANIC! So you have not been perfect the last two months and can no longer spell gym. The key is to not go on a gym and diet craze. I believe this will leave you burnt out and claiming it is not worth it by Valentines Day.

I am going to give a few simple tips on how to get started that will keep you in the mood and set you on the correct track.

1. Do not miss meals

2. No fast food

3. Start working out 3 times a week

4. Keep the weekends for relaxing

5. Do not work out more than 1 hour in a day

Come back soon and learn more about healthy eating habits and some great snacks that are both healthy and tasty!

Once you are capable of doing pull ups unassisted it is often difficult to increase the amount you can do. Pull ups recruit several different muscle groups to complete the motion and therefore insufficient strength in one of the groups will result in a failure to increase your total reps. Here are some ideas on how to strengthen your pull ups:

1. Analyze your form: Chin ups and pull ups are to be initiated from a hanging position. Many people begin with a hop up to ease into the exercise. This does not allow your muscles to get full benefit from the exercise. When you are performing the pull up you need to get your chest up the bar not just your chin. Emphasizing this motion will maximize the results you see.

2. Explode: The motion upward in the pull needs to be explosive. This will allow your body to recruit as many muscle groups as possible to help perform the pull resulting in a more complete exercise and ultimately greater strength.

3. Assistance: The next two require a parnter. Not only does a partner help provide that extra motivation sometimes required to push through the final reps but a partner can help aid in failed attempts. Once you have failed without assistance have your partner help raise you in the air as you pull yourself for 3 more reps with good form.

4. Negative repetitions: Perform a pull up or chin up and on the eccentric motion (going back down) go as slow as you can. Try to make this last at least 10 seconds. It may become difficult to pull yourself back up. This is where your partner can help you get back up to perform another rep. If you have a dip belt this exercise can be done with increased difficulty by adding weight.

5. Weight: Simply add weight to your reps. This should not be done until you are able to perform 3 sets of 10 pull ups unassisted and with good form.

6. Superset: Perform weighted pull/chin ups and immediately after you fail remove the weight and complete as many as can without weight. Have a resistance band securely hanging from the bar and immediately hop in with one or both knees and complete as many assisted pull ups as you can. This burn out set can help you get through your current plateau.