How to Get Ripped Abs

One question that is always consistent with new trainees is: How do I get those ripped abs like LL Cool J, Marky Mark, or Boris Kujo? Well I'm here to tell you that there's no magic pill that you can take at night and wake up looking like the national spokesman for rock solid abs of steel.

There are 3 things that you must understand in your quest for a six pack. One, doing 200 abs a day alone will not take you to a flatter stomach but it will strengthen your muscle underneath the fat. Which leads me to my next point, changing your diet by developing a weekly meal plan will help you lose weight and, most importantly, will help you loose FAT! The last thing is exercises, exercise, exercise!! You should stick to a cardio plan which includes walking, jogging, aerobics (variations), swimming, and/or dancing. To help fat to fall off faster mix cardio and strength training into one total body workout.

I bet you're asking what are the best exercises to do for my core section? Well, my personal opinion are rotational exercises. Why? At least 80% of your everyday movement consists of a twisting or rotational movement. Therefore, you should train these muscles so they can be strong and providing more stability in the body's core - which also includes the lower back. But that's another subject I will talk more about later in the year.

Now don't get me wrong, you still should do the traditional sit ups and crunches. But, when doing these exercises try to change your position from time to time so you can target the area you're trying to lose. With crunches you can put you're feet straight up in the air and touch your toes or even spead your legs apart and reach in between your legs. This really hits the midsection. FEEL THE BURN.

Remember, in order to lose that tummy you must do cardio workouts and weight train at least 3-4 times a week for at least 30 minutes for beginners. Last but definately not least, you must discipline yourself to eat healthy and count your calories. If you do these things you should start seeing results in 2-3 weeks.

Bootie Blaster Workout

Here's a routine that you can use to really target the Butt, hips, hamstrings and thighs:

Day 1:
Begin with a 15-20 cardio exercise (Treadmill, Elipticol, Stationary Bike jump rope or a walk around the track/neighborhood)
Next Begin the Ciruit Training!!! Here's the routine

Workout: Butt Blaster ( Use 5-10lb Dumbells)



Body Weight Squat

Unlock your hips, sit back, descend slowly, and make sure you're driving through your heels and not your toes. Go only as far as your body will allow.

Single Leg (SL) Bucks

Lay on back with one leg on the floor and one extended in the air. Slowley extend your hips (thrust in the air) and pause for 1 second. Do you feel that in your hamstrings?

Lunges with Twist

( Target areas-Glutes,Hamstrings,quads and Abs) hold one DB while arms are extended and twist only after you've done your complete lunge.

Sumo Squats

( Target areas- quads and Ab/Adductors- outside and inside of thighs.) Turn your feet out as if you are in second positon . Make sure your feet are about hip width apart, keep your chest up and squat.



Lying side leg raises

( outside leg)- Lay on your side and raise leg up and down at a slow and control tempo.



Fire hydrants Raises (hips and butt) Get down on your hands and knees while keeping your back flat. With your legs remaining at a 90 degee angle raise it up bringing it away from your body (abdcution) pause for a second and bring it back down.



For Circles: Same positons but you're rotating at your hips in a circlular motion as if your drawing a big circle with your knee. (remember keep your legs bent at 90 degrees) You will really feel this in your butt. Try not to stop when doing it. Go forward on right and backward on the right.

7. 20-30 minute Cardio: (you can do 15minutes on Treadmill and 15 minutes on the stepper) your choice.
8. Cool down- walk at a slow pace for 5-10 minutes and stretch afterward( see early post for stretching ideas)

Here's the workout.

1. 10-15 minute- Cardio Warm- Up
2. Bodyweight Squats 2-3 x 12-15
3. SL Bucks 2-3 x 12e
4. Lunges w/twist 2-3 x 8e leg
5. Lying Side Leg Raise 2-3 x 10e
6. Fire Hydrants 2 x 8e
7. 20-30 minute - Cardio (15 Stepper and 15 minute on Treadmill)
8. 5-10 minute cooldown/stretch

Try this out and remember just because it says 2-3 sets you can start off by doing one set and slowly work your way up to 2-3 sets. This will is called the butt blaster so you will feel it in your rear. Now your ready to back that that thang up! Have FUN.

Losing that Butt ...

I always get this question from women: How can I loose my butt, stomach or get rid of the flubber underneath my arms?

First of all, please step away from the fast food and stop eating cinnamon buns during late night hours! Its funny because it's true but I'm sure what I just stated will upset some individuals.

Well ladies the answer is exercise COMBINED with a proper diet. I know you're thinking: I know that, but ... What do I eat and how much should I exercise?

Meals are very important. You should have one at least 3 times a day. If you get hungry in between meals eat a piece of fruit, crackers, or some yogurt to curb your appetite. This brings me to a point that I really want to stress. DON'T STARVE YOURSELF BY NOT EATING OR SKIPPING MEALS THROUGHOUT THE DAY. When you do this you're actually shocking your body in to a state of emergency which slows down your metabolism because your system is trying to consume energy. Nine times out of ten when "starvation" methods are used the weight lost will return with additional pounds. This is when you look at yourself and say what amI doing wrong? Now you know.

Most of the time when you gain weight its usually due to not doing something that was done when you were younger or it could be a health issue. In either situation I believe you can still loose that extra 10-20 lbs by doing 10 simple things.

1. Study and research the food that you're consuming in your daily diet.
2. Set a long term and a short term goal on where you would like to be a by a certain date.
3. Don't get frustrated when you don't see weight loss in the first week. Be very Patient.
4. Try not to consume Carbohydrates after 6 pm.
5. Exercise! Exercise! Exercise! Start off by walking 1 mile every other day and work your way up to a mile 4 times a week and the eventually 1.5 miles and so on. In between your days of walking you should do a circuit of exercise that will increase your body temperature and your heart rate.
6. Calorie count so you will know how many calories your consuming, how many you actually need, and how much you need to reduce.
7. Log what you eat and how you feel throughout the day. This will let you know what gives you energy and what makes you feel sluggish
8. Be Strong and take control of your body and life.
9. Reduce your soda intake
10. Weigh and measure yourself day one of your journey. Re-measure yourself 4-6 weeks from your start day.

Something that I have used is the reverse meal concept. I eat my Regular breakfast but for lunch I eat what I would have for dinner and my dinner is my lunch. The reason I do this is because doing the day I'm moving around on a consistent basis and burning those calories away!! Now, this is something that works for me. I'm not saying that it will work for you because everyone's body is different. Find something that works for you and stick to it.

Good Luck!

Why Am I Sore After I Workout?

I'm sure many of you have experienced that excrutiating pain that comes after an intense workout. The soreness sets in the muscles 24-48 hours after training and can last as long as a week. This is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). The cause of DOMS is still unknown; however, inflammation is caused by abnormal accumulation of ions, extracelluar proteins, and myofibril fluid, which may be linked to the sensation of soreness (Pyne, 1994).
The burn you feel during the exercise is caused by the build up of lactic acid, a by product of exercise matablolism. It has been thought in the past that lactic acid build up was the primary cause of that next day muscle soreness but most exercise physiologist thinks the primary cause of DOMS is the tiny tears that occur in the muscle as a result of high intensity/resistance training (Venuto).

When you work out you are literally tearing down muscle tissue. During rest and recovery time, the muscle rebuilds itself and the process of creating new muscle begins. Now to clear things up the pain of DOMS is different from the burn you feel during the work out and its different from a pain from an injury. It is important that you can tell the difference between the two. If the pain is so bad that it prevents you from walking up stairs, getting out of bed or participating in your sports the next day it is a sign that you had a good workout.

Beginners or people who have not worked out in a long time will experience DOMS because training for the first time is a "shock" to the body. The good news is the more you work out the more your body adapts to the training stimulus and the less soreness you will feel. But one thing you must remember is you must repeat the same workout over an over again. The down fall to this is when your body adapts to the workout you will stop making progress. This is why you will hear good trainers tell you to do something for 4-6 weeks and then switch it up for the next 2-3 weeks with something different. You must continue to shock the body for continuous muscle growth.

Things you can do help alleviate DOMS:

1. Very Good Stretch/Cool down after workout
2. Light jog or Cardio after your workout
3. Massage
4. Decrease your intensity in your next work out.

Good Training!

Effects of Nutrition and the Injured Athlete

Until recently, people with sprains or strains had few options for relief other than massages, physical therapy, muscle relaxants, pain pills and traditional ice/heat therapy. So I can clear up any misunderstandings on the differences between a sprain and a strain they are defined below.

• Sprain- is a stretch and /or tear of a ligament, the firbrous band of connective tissue that joins of one bone with another. Ligaments stabilize and support the body's joints.
• Strains-is a twist, pull and/or tear of muscle and/or tendon. Tendons are fibrous cords of tissue that attach muscle to bone.

Many Nutritionist and athletes have found through past and present research that supplementation of certain nutrients can help speed up recovery. Injuries that respond quickly to nutritional support include muscle soreness, muscle and connective tissue damage, which consist of tendons, ligaments and cartilage, mild inflammation and moderate pain. Supplements can also ease injuries to the joints of the arms and legs.

One of the many key nutrients that have an impact on injury is Vitamin C. Vitamin C has many important functions. It is a building block of collagen, it helps to heal wounds and it stimulates the immune system. Research on vitamin C suggest that its effect on post exercise muscle soreness may be dose dependent. (Burke, 1997) In a most recent study a group receiving vitamin C for 21 days prior to the exercises had a better retention of force production than another group receiving vitamin E. Vitamin E has been reported to prevent muscle soreness in people unaccustomed to vigorous exercise. (Jakeman et al, 1997)

As an athlete I know that injuries interfere with training time and keep one from participating in sports and other recreational activities. Any reduction time in recovery would be a positive result for an athlete. Its strange that nutrients that are known to promote healing have barely been studied let alone used when training athletes. Knowing which nutrients have an impact on joint health and connective tissue recovery is important in preventing and possibly reversing long term chronic injury.

Coach, How Can I Run Faster?

I get tons of questions from parents and other people that come into my facility. The most common is: How can I, or my child, run faster? My reply: If you run more efficiently you will run faster.

Running Efficiently
Believe it or not, most people, including athletes, do not know how to run efficiently. That's why performance training facilities, such as Velocity Sports Performance, are popping up all over America. Their strategy is to train athletes on proper muscle recruitment, foot placement, and other speed enhancing techniques.

There are countless things that come into play when running efficiently and they include: proper foot placement, proper knee punch and recovery of your leg (buttkick), arm action, head position, and learning to relax the body - just to name a few. If I wrote them all this log it would turn into a dissertation and I really don't want to bore you with all that scientific information.

For all of you parents who have kids that want to run faster or even if you want to learn how to be a more efficient runner, here are some things that can be done:

Make sure you are driving your knees up when running but not driving up so high that you're driving up above your hip (that's wasted movement). You also want to drive your foot slightly behind your hip so you can fully extend that leg into the ground, absorbing the force. This will allow the body to propel forward. But one thing you must remember: make sure you keep your foot Dorsi-Flex (Pull your toe up towards you knee while running. It allows you to use your ankle and calf muscle as a spring board. What does a spring board do? It shoots you out like rocket.).

Good Training

For more information on Velocity Sports Performance, visit www.velocitysp.com. Its a nationwide franchise.

What Everyone Should Know About Water

What is Water?
Water is an important nutrient for you as athlete. Water makes up 60% of your total body weight and 70% of your muscles. Without enough water, you can't work at your top level of performance and you may even harm yourself. The most important thing you should remember about water is that it cools your body. As you exercise your body temperature increase (even when it's cold outside). As your temperature increases, you sweat. When the sweat evaporates from your skin, your body cools down.

DEHYDRATION
If you start a physical activity without having enough water in your body or if you sweat during practice and do not replace the water lost, you may become dehydrated even when you loose a few pounds as sweat. Once you become dehydrated, you can no longer sweat and get rid of the heat that builds up when you exercise.
Dehydration is very dangerous. The first symptoms of dehydration include thirst, clammy skin, chills, throbbing heartbeat and nausea. When you become more dehydrated, you may develop a headache, cramps, shortness of breath, dizziness, and /or dryness in the mouth. At most serious level of dehydration, you can experience hallucinations, deafness, visual problems, swollen tongue, and /or kidney failure.

STEPS TO AVOID DEHYDRATION

• Drink Plenty of cool, plain water before, during, and after practice and competion as a preventive measure. Even if you feel thirsty. Drink 1-1.5 cups of plain; cool water 15 minutes before working out. Drink a half-cup of water every 10-15 minutes during the event.
• Don't rely on thirst alone as a guide to how much water your body needs. Weigh yourself before and after exercising. For every pound lost as sweat, drink 2 cups of fluid.
• Most of all aviod working out in plastic suits that can cause serious dehydration, limit your performance, and lead to possible heat stroke.

Bottom Line Drink plenty of water because it's the best vitamin that you can take and it's FREE!!

Body Weight Workout of the Week

Below is a simple body weight workout that can be done anywhere that has a chair and a floor. This workout can be done 3 times a week (MWF) in conjunction with cardio 2 times per week (T,Th). This program is designed to strengthen your core, tighten your glutes, and firm your chest.


Crunches (feet flat on ground) 3 x 10-15
Body Weight Squats 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Mod/Reg Push Ups 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Forward Lunges 3 sets of 8 each Leg
Toe Touches (Legs straight up in the air) 3 x 10-15
Backward Lunge 3 sets of 5 each leg
Dips with feet flat on ground 3 sets of 5-10 reps
Back Extensions (prone) 3 sets of 8 reps
Rest for 1:00 and Repeat 2 more times


For Beginners: you can opt to start with 1 set of the full amount of reps and then work your way up to three. Remember if you feel pain or have shortness of breath please stop exercising
Try it out for at least 2-4 weeks and let me know what you think. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please do not hesitate to hit the comments button to send me an email.

Stretching Techniques: Dynamic Flexibility

Dynamic flexibility stretching consist of functional base exercises that are sports specific and used to prepare the body for activity (Mann & Jones, 1999) . Dynamic flexibility utilizes natural ability to increase flexibility and rasie body temperature (Gambetta, 1997; Mora, 1990). Hardy and Jones (1986) indicated that dynamic flexibility stretching, rather that static stretching, may reveal more about potential performance in specific sports. According to Hedrick (2000), dynamic flexibility programs require coordination and balance, and athletes will experience muscle soreness for a short period of time when performing a dynamic flexibility program.

Dynamic flexibility has received more attention as an effective stretching technique for improving range of motion (ROM) decreasing athletic injuries (Gambetta, 1997; Mora, 1990) than static stretching. Out of the stretching techniques that we've discuss over the past week this is my favorite. Dynamic flexibility can be used by the most elite athletes and sedentary people for gaining core development, coordination and most of all flexibility.

Stretching Techniques: Ballistic Stretching

Its Monday morning, 8 o'clock gym class. Students are trickling in talking about all the fun they had over the weekend. Coach enters and all the students fall into place.

"Okay guys lets warm up first with our feet shoulder width apart," he shouts, " Lets get those hamstring. I want you to reach down and stretch those muscles good. Now make sure you bounce up and down so you can really stretch those muscles out. STRETCH!!!!"

This old practice is called Ballistic stretching. It is wrong.

Ballistic (bouncing) stretching consists of rapid jerky movements in which a body part is put into motion (smith et al., 1993; Hedrick; 2000) . Momentum carries the body part through a full range of motion (ROM) until the muscles area stretched to maximal physiological limits (Bandy et al. , 1997).

Ballistic stretching is not recommended because ballistic movements put the individual at greater risk for incurring injury and delayed onset muscle soreness. Delayed onset muscle soreness, which we will discuss in detail at a later date, is pain that may occur during the activity, immediately after the activity, or may be delayed for 24 to 48 hr after the termination of activity. Ballistic movements increase flexibility as much as static movements. Ballistic movements are more effective because these movements mimic parts of motor patterns such as start of the vertical jump (Smith et al. 1993) . Contrary to Smith et al. (1993), Hedrick (2000) found that ballistic stretching had negative effects. These negative effects occurred because ballistic movements are performed at high speeds and the rate of the stretch and force applied to induce the stretch and force applied to induce the stretch is very difficult to control (Hedrick, 2000) .

Hedrick compared ballistic and static stretching techniques and found four disadvantages of ballistic stretching:

(1) there is an increased danger of exceeding the extensibility limits of the tissue involved;
(2) energy requirements are higher;
(3) muscle soreness may occur, which static stretching will not cause; and
(4) activation of the stretch reflex (2000) .

In other words, when you stretch - DO NOT BOUNCE!

Stretching Technique: Static Stretching

Static Stretching is a process whereby a stretch torque is slowly applied to the muscle and maintained at a lengthened position (Moore & Hutton, 1979; Ninos, 1995). Static stretching is the most common stretching technique used amongst athletes and individuals involved in fitness programs (Bandy, Irion, & Briggler, 1997) . Researchers investigating static stretching programs have utilized a stretching time between 8 and 30 s (Sady, Wortman, & Blanke et al., 1982; Sullivan et al., 1992). However, Hedrick (2000) stated that " static stretching involves passively stretching into a near maximal position and holding for an extended (15-30 seconds) period of time" (p.5). De Vries (1962), Godges et al., (1989), Moore and Hutton (1980) concluded that static stretching is the safest and most effective way to increase range of motion (ROM). However, other findings have led researchers to support the hypothesis that other stretching methods may in fact be more effective than static stretching (Sady, Wortman, & Blancke, 1982)

Static Stretching Program

An Effective Static stretching program should consist of techniques used to increase flexibility and range of motion. The emphasis of a stretching program should be on a slow progression. Athletes should stretch year round in order to optimize the full benefits of static stretching (Beaulieu, 1981). Those athletes who are unable to stretch on a consistent basis should attempt to begin stretching at least 6 weeks prior to pre-season training. Here's an example of a Static Stretching Program:

1. Standing Staggerd Hamstring Stretch

2. Groin Stretch

3. Standing Quad Stretch

4. Butterfly Stretch

All of these should be held for 15-30 seconds.

The Stretch Reflex

Your muscles are protected by a mechanism called the stretch reflex. Any time you stretch the muscle fibers (muscles) to far (either by bouncing or overstretching), a nerve reflex responds by sending a signal to the muscles to contract; this keeps the muscles from being injured. Therefore, when you stretch too far you're actually tightening the very muscles you are trying to stretch! ( You get a similar involuntary muscle reaction when you accidentally touch something hot; before you can think about it, your body quickly moves away from the heat.)

Flexibility

Flexibility is the range of motion about a joint or combination of joints. Lack of flexibility is frequently related to improper or poor technique as well as several injuries in athletics. The inability to squat, maintain a quality athletic position, or obtain an adequate arm stride length is influenced by poor flexibility, while tight hamstrings can injuriously affect the lower back.

Stretching the body's muscles, a method used to improve flexibility will assist in the preparation of an athletic workout or completion. This activity is non-strenuous, yet possible tearing when more vigorous exercise is performed.

Technique

Proper warm up prior to stretching is very important to ensure a quality and effective stretch. Warm-up may consist of any activity, which raises the core temperature of the body (i.e., warm up 5 - 10 minutes)

Stretching is easy to learn. But, there is a right and a wrong way to stretch. The right way is a relaxed, sustained stretch with your attention focused on the muscles being stretched. The wrong way is to bounce up and down or to stretch to the point of pain - which actually does more harm than good.

Your breathing should be slow, in rhythm, and under control. If you are bending forward to do a stretch, exhale as you bend forward and then breathe slowly as you hold the stretch. Do not hold your breath while you are stretching!!!

My Philosophy

My mission as a coach is to educate, enhance, and positively influence the lives of each athlete participating in my program. It embraces commitment to excellence, loyalty, selflessness, trust, respect, and faith in one another. I strive to build character, place accountability on each young man or woman and appreciate cultural diversity. I expect my athletes to not only improve physically, but to also develop a passion for training that is equivalent to their hunger for competition.

I hope that this site will help athletes, coaches, and parents work together to achieve maximum fitness for competition or overall health. At this point, I have not decided how often I will post training suggestions but check back periodically for new information. As with any exercise or training regimen, please check with your health professional before implementing or beginning a new work out plan.