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At some point during your exercise and training career you will probably have to deal with working around an injury. Below are a few tips to keep you pushing forward, improve things, and of course not make things worse. This is geared towards the average person whose goal is to look better and feel better. I did throw in a few tips for the athletes. If you have a specific joint pain or issue then send over an email and we can discuss things.

Focus on what you can do! — Most people with an injury can still do a lot  to help them reach their goals. Work around it and don’t just fight through the pain. Doing an exercise that causes pain is the opposite of smart.

If you have a shoulder injury maybe it’s time to remove some pushing and do more rowing. If you have a knee injury maybe its time to focus on more hip hinge movements compared to squats and lunges. Maybe you can add some more cardio, abs, flexibility, mobility, soft tissue work, or the other 98 million things that can keep you going!

Personally I have had to make a ton of changes over the years. Instead of all the barbell work I have had to add in more with dumbbells, bodyweight, landmine trainers, TRX, Hex Bar, Kettlebells, single leg work, etc. Things are different in year 20 of my lifting career compared to year one. There is nothing wrong with this.

“The goal is to keep the goal the goal”- Dan John — If you started your program with the goal to look better and feel better then make sure you stay focused on this. We need to find the exercises that work FOR YOU, and then get better at those exercises. There are 95 million different exercises and programs we can do to help you lose fat and  feel better. You don’t have to become an Olympic weightlifter, jump on boxes, do a burpee, or purchase some cool gadget to reach your goals. You just have to be consistent over time and getting injured does not help. Start off slower than you think you have to and gradually progress.

Look at what you are doing the other 23 hours! — I see some people who might confuse a certain pain with exercise when it’s something they are doing outside of the gym. Sitting at your computer for 16 hours with bad posture? Moving Furniture? Working in the garden? Be aware of your body position all day. Getting stronger and improving mobility with a solid program will help more than it will hurt.

You are not the person next to you! — You might not be the person you were 10 years ago either. This is OK!  If you are the person in the group setting who feels the need to compete with the person next to you, and not yourself, then you need to change your mindset ASAP. This is the main reason we created different programs in regards to Personal Training, Active Ageing, and our Semi-private training.

If you are overweight then stop it with the running!– This is controversial, but I am the person that is actually willing to say this. Lose weight to run, don’t run to lose weight. Not sure why people look at runners who are small and then think they will become them after learning to run. If your diet is not on point there is a better chance of me growing  to be 6 foot 6 because I started playing basketball.

Correlation is not the same as Cause and Effect. If you are overweight and constantly pounding your joints with running  then you will get injured. There is nothing wrong with a running goal, just don’t confuse it with a fat loss goal. You will also need to start off slow and have a well developed plan if your goal is to become a runner!

If you are an athlete then have a professional design your program! – A professional is not just a random coach that looks good,   genetic freak that played your sport well, or Tom Brady. There is nothing I hate more than seeing children getting abused with crazy programs. Yes, abuse.  There is no correlation between jumping on a box 5000 times and improving your vertical jump. There is no correlation between doing an Olympic lift THE WRONG WAY and developing power.

As parents and coaches you need to educate yourself so you can call these fake coaches out. See if they have a CSCS certification, experience working with people, and can explain what your child will be doing for the entire year. If you just want to choose the cheapest option to save a few bucks then save the rest for physical therapy. Anyone can make your child sweat and make them tired, but can they make them better?!

It happens over time, almost all the time!– Results always happen over time. Most injuries are not the cause of a specific incident. If you have been doing a repetitive movement or something wrong for decades it will come back to cause an injury at some point.

Have a professional look over your technique and your program– Maybe you just don’t know what you are doing and need someone to look over your technique and your program!

Detric Smith, CSCS, ACSM Exercise Physiologist

Whenever I sit across from someone at a consultation they want to know the secret to losing 20lbs overnight. The problem is they gained that 20lbs over the past decade because of one small negative habit. Maybe they have been slacking on their exercise routine. Maybe it’s one small thing in regards to nutrition they have to change.

The compound effect never fails. Whatever you do daily will show up over time. One small positive change will lead to massive results, over time. On the other hand, one bad habit will destroy you over time. The fitness industry does not acknowledge this because it’s impossible to sell. It’s also the reason people keep hopping on and off programs versus having patience and actually finishing what they started. The problem with everyone nowadays is we want results yesterday. Have patience! One of my favorite books on this topic and overall success is “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy

Below are a few examples of the compound effect….

There are 3500 calories In a pound of fat according to most text books(no this is not a perfect equation). When I sit across from people I always review their habits and do the math for them. Yeah, those 2 beers (take any habit) a night is the reason you gained 2lbs in the past month. Do the math for a year, or 2, or 10. You don’t exactly have to transition to a keto diet or the new sweet potato diet to see results people!!!

That one workout you miss a week will end up being 52 over the course of the year. If you get back on track it’s not a big deal! Maybe you don’t need the new workout craze or gadget. Just be consistent!

When I assess people I always look at hip mobility. We ALWAYS  do something to address improving this in our sessions. Most people don’t see the connection between this and their fat loss/performance goals so they slack on it. How many people in a commercial gym with no guidance address this? A small improvement with this and maybe your back pain goes away? A small improvement with this and maybe you squat a little deeper. Maybe being able to squat a little deeper allows you to enjoy a day to day activity you have not done in years.  The  hip mobility exercise might be the answer to a nicer butt, walking around with no pain, or whatever your goal is.

Maybe you are trying to get stronger. Add 2.5 to 5lbs on a lift for the next 52 weeks. Is that not a big deal?

When I get the question from interns about how I started a business or improved my training skills they are looking for one book, certification, or secret. I always make sure to tell them about the habit of waking up at 330AM, EVERY morning. Some of you don’t know me (yet:) but my staff and members can attest to this. The extra 2 hours per day is the equivalent of adding a 13th month.  I also point out the mistakes I have made and learned from starting back in 2001 when I became a trainer. I tell them how many people have said no, and continue to doubt what our team WILL accomplish.

Too many of you are looking for the easy route. There is no easy route. There is no magic trick that will allow you to be successful overnight. The answer is one small thing, that you do every day. If you need help finding that small thing in regards to your fitness goals send over an email and I can help you find it.

Some great books specific to behavior change for nutrition are “Why Me Want Eat” by Krista Scott-Dixon and “Fat Loss Happens on Monday” by Josh Hillis and Dan John. ” If you are offended easily then Krista is going to be a bit much for you:) I had a chance to meet her last week in Chicago and she knows a thing (or a million) about nutrition/behavior change.

Have patience! You have to focus on creating results that last. Stop it with the starting and stopping over and over again! You have to get started today and stop putting things off!

Detric Smith, CSCS, ACSM EP-C

Great weekend learning from some of the best at the Elite Fitness and Performance Summit in Chicago!  Writing a quick one today with a few things that might help you reach your fitness goals.  I Learned a lot, met a lot of cool people, and I also ate carbs. Yes, I ate carbs. And they were delicious.

My view on carbs are very similar to those of Nate Miyaki in his book “The Truth about Carbs”

Just like most of you I have played around with low carb diets and other variations. These diets define low carb somewhere between 30 grams to 100 grams, so it varies quite a bit. Like all diets, they can work, but it’s usually short term.  The diet mindset is what leads to failure. You need to focus on having patience and changing habits.

Below is a quick overview of how low carb diets work, why some people can’t stay on them, and why I will continue to eat carbs and not feel bad about it. The definition of low carb varies but I am just going to go after the very low carb (50 grams and below) diets. I know I already lost some of you to comments like…..”carbs made me gain fat!” or ” thanks for the green light to go to town at Dunkin Doughnuts D!” As usual the truth lies in the middle so my take away points are below.

*Fruits and veggies are carbs. Trust me, the reason you might have gained fat is not because you had too many fruits or veggies. They provide fiber, nutrients, and even water to help keep you full. This also makes it easier to stay on your plan since you are not hungry all the time. Your brain will not allow you to accept the truth so I hear people say “I had too much fruit” when it reality it was probably the sweets, wine or fast food.

*Very Low carb diets are absolutely terrible for those who train hard. Your training intensity will go down the drain, especially if you are a higher level athlete. Expect to lose some muscle if you stay on this long term without cycling carbs up a few days per week.

*Reducing calories from carbs, bad carbs, is a very good thing. Reducing Calories from fats, bad fats, is a very good thing. The reason all of the diets work is because you are reducing calories. They all get you to eat more protein, reduce calories, and eat higher quality food. They make it seem like there is some evil macronutrient causing all your problems, because it sells books.

*I have noticed that some people screw up lower carb diets and gain weight because they use it as an excuse to load up on the bacon, butter, cheese,  fatty meats, or even healthy fats. Yes, healthy foods, especially fats, can cause you to gain weight.  It still comes down to calories in, calories out.

*The first week of a low carb diet really messes with your head. I see people lose a ton of water weight, and some fat also. The second week they  continue to lose some fat, but the water weight goes back up if they eat a carb. They did not gain fat weight back, but the obsession with the scale causes them to start and stop over and over again.

*We surveyed 100 people (In my family feud voice) and the number one reason why VERY low carb diets don’t work is because………PEOPLE CAN’T FOLLOW THEM LONG TERM. It puts you in a position where you feel like a failure when you touch a carb. This usually leads to the swing from “eating perfect” to eating terrible. Most end up with a terrible mood, low energy, low libido, and just overall feeling like crap.

The truth is always somewhere in between the 2 extremes. Your carb level should fall right in between also. The studies clearly show that when calories are matched up there is no clear advantage to keto or low carb diets. They also show that low carb/keto diets are very hard to follow long term. If you are into all the geeky science stuff then respond and I can get this over to you. Below is just one of the well designed studies https://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/83/5/1055.full

The other big takeaway from this weekend is the importance of investing the time and money to building your network. You have to accept the fact that you don’t always have the answer. You have to accept the fact that if you have the answers you still need someone to hold you accountable. You also have to view it as in investment and not just spending money. You are nothing without the help of others.

Never Eat Alone

There is a reason our members get superior results. Everyone wants to think there is a magic exercise, super treadmill, or some gadget that is going to cause you to lose weight. This is never the case. It is because of that email that the members get when they are slacking. It is because you have mentors to provide education, accountability, home workouts when you miss, and much more. It is because we know when you need that push, or maybe you need to be held back. It is because the other members in the group become a family and also offer support.

Football and Fitness?!

It’s finally football season! You either love it, hate it, or could care less. I am going to write a few random thoughts on how football and fitness have a lot in common. Don’t worry, if you don’t know the difference between a quarterback and linebacker you will still get something out of this post.  I am also going to throw in a few tips on how to enjoy a few of those foods you enjoy while watching the game!

They all have a plan going into the game!— When you watch the game today realize the coaching staff has been game planning and studying film for weeks before they step on the field. I see so many people that are just winging it with their fitness plans! Half of them don’t have a time blocked out for when they will work out. They have no coaching, and then go into some big box gym with lots of choices and get overwhelmed.

Too Busy to Workout?!?!

Excerpted from an interview with Dr. S.A. Foster of honorabledistinction.com and author of “Woman of Honorable Distinction: Lessons of Lydia“

1. What is the number 1 challenge that women face with managing their weight when they come to you?

Detric: I find the biggest challenge my female clients face is the mindset going into their fat loss programs. They get so much media exposure that portrays images of the perfect body and women who seem to get it overnight that it creates unrealistic expectations. These women I work with often don’t realize much of this is simply done for marketing purposes and isn’t indicative of real world results. This often then causes them to ‘program hop’, as I like to call it, looking for one quick-fix after another. Instead, they need to be focusing on making permanent changes they can maintain for a lifetime.

There is just so much misinformation out there that women fall prey to it and wind up never sticking with anything long enough to see real progress. Couple this with the constant comparisons they are making with others and it’s a recipe for low self-esteem and lack of believing in themselves.

They need to start working with a trainer who will hold them accountable and view this as an investment they are making that will pay off in every area of their life.

2. Women have extremely busy schedules and may have difficulty finding time to fit in exercise. Are there two or three thins that we can do when we don’t have time for a true workout?

Detric: One of my favorite time-saving workouts that I often do with my clients is called met-con training. This type of training positions strength training in such a way that you’ll also reap cardiovascular benefits, so there’s no need to do additional cardio training on top of that. You can easily get in and out of the gym in less than 30 minutes when done properly.

That and start focusing on simply adding more activity. Remember that it’s not just gym activity that counts here. All exercise will add up and contribute to helping you reach your goal body weight.

3. For women that travel, what are the 2-3 things they can do on the road to stay in shape?

Detric: My biggest word of advice is to plan ahead. First, plan to bring (or buy) a few healthy snack and meal options that you can eat in your hotel room or wherever you are staying. This will help keep you on track as far as the nutritional side of things is concerned.

Next, always do your best to choose a hotel that has at least some exercise equipment. It may not be the ideal gym environment, but if you get creative, you can always fit in some type of workout in even the smallest of hotel gyms.

Finally, I’d say blocking off time to devote to those workouts is important. Again, plan this ahead of time. Figure out when in your day you’ll devote 20-30 minutes to getting in that quick workout. I find that for my female clients, doing it first thing in the morning is best. This way, nothing will crowd it out of your day. Schedules can be erratic when traveling, so you want to combat this.

By focusing on shorter time blocks – just 20 minutes say – you also combat the all or none mentality. If you ask a woman who’s traveling and busy to do 60 minutes of exercise per day, she’s more likely to just give up because it’s not realistic to find this amount of free time.

4. There are so many numbers out there used to define whether or not we are in shape. What should we really focus on? What should we target?

Detric: The best number to focus on is your body fat percentage, found using calipers. This should be done by a trained professional such as a trainer however for best accuracy. It’ll give you the breakdown of your weight in terms of muscle and fat, so is so much more helpful than just using the scale weight. I’ve seen many cases where a woman is actually gaining muscle and losing fat, but gets discouraged by looking at the scale and seeing it stay the same or even go up. In reality though, she is making great progress. Likewise, almost all women will have day to day fluctuations due to hydration, foods eaten, as well as hormones, so scale weight tends to be a very inaccurate representation of what’s really going on.

If you can’t get your body fat taken, measurements are also great. They’ll give you a good idea of whether your body is getting smaller, which usually indicates fat loss.

I want to mention that I’m not a fan of bioelectrical impedance scales however for body composition testing as these are heavily swayed by hydration status and are not very accurate. Likewise, BMI often results in a poor indication of health in those who have more muscle mass as it puts them in the overweight category despite the fact they may have a very healthy amount of body fat.

5. What are your tips for eating out at restaurants? Do we really have to push away the bread?

Detric: I’d say you should focus on portion control. Bread and carbs are all okay in moderation, because at the end of the day, it comes down to calories in versus calories out.

The reason lower carb diets work is because they cause you eat more protein, fiber, and foods with water like fruits and vegetables, all which fill you up. This results in a lower calorie intake at the end of the day without even trying. Then voila – you get weight loss.

I always recommend you stay away from extremes however such as very low carb or very low fat diets. You need to keep health in mind and all nutrients are needed to sustain a healthy body. Even high protein diets can be harmful if the protein is taken too high.

6. Some of us love both carbs and sweets. If we had to give up one to optimize our health/weight, what should it be?

Detric: Again, I think moderation is key. I always base my plans off the individual. Someone who is more active can eat more carbs and not see weight gain. One thing to remember though is that you are getting no nutrients in terms of vitamins or minerals from sweets, so your body wants to keep eating. The body knows it’s not getting anything of value from these foods as opposed to foods that have protein, fiber, water, vitamins, and minerals. Quality foods send a signal to your brain that you are full and therefore you eat less without thinking about it.

Heavily processed foods set you up on a cycle to keep eating more and more. If it’s man-made, it was invented to sell and is usually not the healthiest option for you. The best business model is a repeat customer and organizations that sell these fast foods and sweets are focused on you coming back for more, not on helping you live your healthiest life.

7. If we only have 10 minutes to workout, should it be weights or a quick jog?

Detric: When you’re short on time, strength training focusing on the core movements like push-ups, rows, shoulder press, deadlifts, squats, lunges, and so forth done without much rest in between sets is ideal. This gives you the benefit of strength training and cardiovascular exercise all in one. It’s the principle of Met-Con training I noted above and is how we structure our workouts for those who are busy.

People think of cardio as only being jogging, swimming, biking, elliptical and so on but this is not the case. While these may get your heart rate up for an extended time, they do little for your metabolic rate and can lead to overuse injuries in the long term.

8. Exercise frequency versus intensity – which is more effective in regards to weight loss? Maintaining weight?

Detric: Frequency is more important, but what I really mean here is that staying consistent trumps everything. You can have the best program in the world but if you aren’t doing it regularly, you aren’t seeing results.

High intensity exercise is beneficial if you have less time to workout but you need to be at the fitness level to do these workouts or they will only lead to injury. You need to gradually increase the intensity of your sessions as you go so that you are building up to the level you want to be at. If you rush the process and try a very intense workout right out of the gates, you’re likely to only wind up injured.

9. Last question – what is the one thing you want us to know about managing our weight?

Detric: I’d say go back to the mindset and really focus on having someone hold you accountable. This is key to results. Execution of your plan happens in the moment so don’t stress over the past or the future. Focus on the now – doing one thing right now that will get you closer to your goals. Your plan has to be set up to focus on building good habits that will persist over the long term.

The Issue Isn’t Your Lack of Technique

Let me set the scene.

I was on vacation in need of a training spot, so decided to make do at the nearest commercial gym. In between sets of split squats, during which I admittedly was taking too long, I look over my shoulder to see a trainer coaching a client through the overhead press. Obviously both flustered, the trainer tried fruitlessly to get his client to “press the bar all the way overhead” while this poor guy struggled to just get it past his chin. It wasn’t that the weight was too heavy; as he was just pressing an empty barbell, but that his elbows extended out, his shoulders were rounded and internally rotated, and he could functionally only get his right arm overhead. Therefore, the bar wiggled feebly out at an angle in front of his face, one side drooping as he struggled to stabilize the implement, back arching so far it mimicked more of a bench press than anything.

Now, after about three failed attempts at this exercise and the trainer finally giving up on “coaching techni            que”, this coach actually did regress the exercise to something manageable. Because the client simply couldn’t raise his arms overhead with proper scapulohumeral rhythm, and there was a clear discrepancy between shoulders.

This happens all too often. Trainees get so bogged down in trying to do certain movements – clean and jerk, deadlift, squatting “ass-to-grass”, and so on. Sometimes, even a simple bear crawl or body weight plank is too much for people. And that’s OKAY.

When we live in a society where an Instagram model is an actual thing, it becomes near impossible to try and “outdo” the person next to us. But just like that Instagram post was taken at a weird angle and edited a thousand times; the guy next to you probably has no idea what he’s doing anyway. Stick to your body, your exercise, and your training level.

Mobility – It’s not just a catchphrase

Mobility literally means our ability to move through different planes to a certain extent. It’s not just some kitchen sink, pre-workout solution to becoming a better lifter. Your ability to move might be limited by muscle tightness, sure. But it could also constrained by nervous inhibition, inflammation or injury, impingement, skeletal structure or any combination of the above.

The body is a system of pulleys built to move in certain ways. And no “body” is the exact same. So why waste time trying to do something not suited for yours? Regress the exercise to something you can manage and lift effectively. Then, proceed to tackle your mobility through soft tissue, dynamic stretching, traction, and body weight-based movement workouts.

For every lift there is an equal and alternate lift

If you’re not ready to do something, don’t do it.

Toddlers, while probably the most mobile of humans, can typically do a perfect body weight squat. However, they lack the strength and structural support to be able to hold 95 lbs. on their backs. Therefore, you shouldn’t force a toddler into a back squat. Not because of his or her mobility, but because of their lack of strength development.

Well duh. It’s obvious when you put a toddler in that scenario. But what about a 33 year old with the training age of a toddler? Or 25 year old gym rat nursing a back injury?

Often people who have only been lifting consistently for a few years forget that they are just that… young. Or those who have been injured in the gym feel like they have something to prove. No wonder you’re frustrated about your “poor technique”. You have to learn to walk before you can run. If your body doesn’t have the strength, or if it hasn’t been afforded time to learn neurologically, no amount of cueing is going to help. You’re going to heave the weight to try and force it, which is an injury waiting to happen.

Take the time to move through a progression. Learn to move well under body weight, challenge stability, add a lighter load consistently, and finally you can approach max strength or explosive movements. I promise, you’ll get there. Sometimes, less is more. Especially when weight and egos are involved. 

Okay, but, how do you really know whether or not you’re ready?

Assessments. You can’t get where you want to be if you don’t have an accurate starting point. Take, for example, a relatively novice athlete who wants to improve her snatch 1RM. Sure, she can get 65 lbs. from the ground to overhead in one movement, but anything above that is dropped immediately. Throwing more weight on it and telling her to go isn’t going to get us anywhere. So you have to figure out where your strengths and weaknesses lie.

A good assessment from a trained eye will help the aforementioned athlete identify what exactly she needs to improve on. Maybe she’s struggling with the initial pull. Maybe her raw squat numbers need to go up. Or perhaps it’s poor shoulder stability or thoracic spine mobility.

The same applies to any exercise in any program. Sometimes, yes, if technique is failing, you might just need more coaching and practice. But more often, there’s another side to the story. Only with a thorough assessment can you really hammer down what exactly needs improvement and attack it.

Variations of different barbell movements

 Wondering where to go from here? Below are a list of common barbell movements where technique gets blamed. Find yours below, identify your issue, and choose a variation that works for you.

• Back/Front Squat
  • TRX- supported squat – if strength through mobility is your issue
  • Goblet Squat – your upper back is rounding or it’s too heavy
  • Landmine Squat – If you have trouble sitting back into the lift or a rack position in the front squat
  • Split squat – if you have lower back pain
• Deadlift
  • From blocks or Rack Pull – if you have trouble getting in to the bottom
  • Cable Pull throughs – If you have a weak posterior chain and hip hinge pattern
  • Trap Bar DL – if you have a lower back problem (tightness, pain, weakness)
  • Dumbbell RDL – lengthen the eccentric portion with lighter weight to challenge your hamstrings without adding too high of a load
• Overhead press
  • Dumbbell neutral grip Overhead Press – if you lack thoracic mobility, external mobility, have wrist issues
  • Landmine press- for those who struggle to get overhead range of motion or have unilateral weakness
  • Dumbbell Incline Press – if you lack core strength and struggle to get overhead, or are just learning to press through an open chain
  • Pike Push Up – if strength or coordination is the issue (i.e. you’re a complete newbie just learning OR just coming back from a serious injury)
• Barbell Bent Over row
  • T-Bar Row – if you lack lower back/hamstring flexibility to bend over
  • Meadows rows – if one arm is your limitation and/or you want to challenge your lats. Since these are done from a split stance, they help you get lower to the floor, so try these if you have issues getting parallel with a flat back in a BB row.
  • Barbell Inverted Row – For trainees just learning pulling, you should be able to move your body weight before trying to control an external implement
  • Single arm TRX row – barbell rows often cause lower back pain, and these will teach anti-rotation and keep your spine in line rather than putting it under an Isometric load
• Olympic Movements
  • Pulls/shrugs from the hang – if you have poor thoracic mobility, wrist tightness, knee problems, or any other issue with the “catch” phase
  • Hip Thrusts – if you have an upper body mobility/stability/injury issue
  • KB swing – to teach explosive hip extension
  • Med Ball Toss – For those JUST learning plyometrics and explosive movements, especially if you have a lower limb problem with impact (knee, ankle injury)
  • Broad Jump – If stability and body control is the issue, start here. Note – heavier athletes should be careful to progress to jumping as lots of impact can be contraindicated

Professional athletes were once kids themselves. They didn’t start throwing 60-yard touchdowns at age seven. While they might have been exceptionally gifted, every professional athlete grew from a novice by following a progressive training plan with great coaching.

It’s not news that your kid needs to work hard to become better. However, parents often don’t realize that some of these popular programs out there look cool but are the equivalent of going from first grade to 12th grade in a week. Really, just getting them stronger, while staying away from all the dumb stuff out there, will put them ahead of 99.9 percent of their competition. Sadly, the parents don’t even know that the “sports performance training” program they are coming from is injuring them more than helping. The coaches don’t put their sports performance coaches under a microscope, and some think they can do our jobs.

Teaching Technique First

Technique, technique, and more technique. A sports coach will often analyze sports skills and make their players execute a skill to perfection, and then not hold their sports performance training under the same microscope. Why? The difference between a master and a novice is an obsession with detail and perfection of the basics. Hours and hours must be spent on simple bodyweight movements until your kids are bored of them. We want them to be bored and to not have to think about it — that’s where unconscious competence comes in.

The learning process moves on a continuum. Starting with conscious incompetence, young athletes learning new skills are aware they’re not good at them. It’s frustrating, and this is where going too fast too soon might even cause them to give up. Give athletes exercises as simple as a push-up, bodyweight squat, or simple jumping to start. Really focus on things like depth, knee tracking, hand placement, glute activation, scapular positioning, and pelvic control.

Once they’ve got these down, they’re into the next stage of learning: conscious competence. They’re good at it, but still have to think, “Knees out, core engaged, shoulders down and back.” You can maybe add more reps at this stage but stick with the basics. You’re not ready to move on until they don’t have to think about it anymore —until unconscious competence is established. From there, add in new skills, such as resistance, instability, or higher-intensity plyometrics. Refocus on technique.

Establishing a good position first is like telling your kid to keep their eye on the ball a million times. You can’t hit a home run if your gaze is focused downfield. Focus on the ball, make good contact, and then worry about the distance.

Progression 

With every learned skill comes a progression that starts the process towards mastery all over again. Mastering a fixed bodyweight hip hinge leads to a kettlebell swing, a broad jump, jumps for height, and more. Focused, deliberate progression rather than skipping the steps pays dividends down the line. Even the pros train the basics every day. They’re the foundation for any improvement.

You can do all the agility drills, ladders, and cool exercises you want, but if you don’t spend the majority of your time getting stronger on the basics, you are wasting your time.

Exercises like box jumps and Olympics lifts can be great for some people, but only once they are ready for them. And when their technique is perfect. If an athlete doesn’t have the proper landing techniques—just jumping in place or dropping from height—don’t force the fancy stuff. Teach to them to land before throwing in a million jumps. Sure, you’ll train towards something, but it’ll be a back injury. Don’t put your athletes at risk of injury by asking them to do something they don’t have the body control for.

Injury prevention comes first. I can’t stress this enough. If most teams just stayed healthy, they would already be at an advantage. Injury means forced time off, and too many youth athletes are getting injured from the program rather than making steady progress. It doesn’t matter how strong you are if you can’t play because you’ve got a knee injury.

Before beginning ANY program, get an assessment and set measurable goals. It’s like putting something in a GPS. There might be a few different routes, but you can’t go anywhere if you don’t know where you’re starting and where you want to end up.

Athletes are individuals. Treat them as such. Everyone will have a different starting point and different goals based on sport, position, timing, age, and more. Find the problems, get stronger, do mobility work, and follow a sensible plan with exercises appropriate for that particular athlete.

This is where a qualified professional differs in regards to writing program design: the details.

For the majority, if done correctly, the lower level and multi-directional plyometrics in the warm-up go a long way. Some basic single jumps, with an emphasis on landing/technique, such as vertical or broad jumps programmed at two to four sets of four to eight reps (2-4 x 4-8) goes a long way.

Demand quality over quantity to limit fatigue, and track their reps closely. To balance practices and games, the total intensity might vary during blocks of the year. In-season training should follow lower intensity, maintenance, and peaking towards important competitions. The majority are simply not even ready for the high level or even medium level stuff. Start slow, make each rep count, and track progress.

Too many “coaches” go straight to it when there are a million ways to get the job done — maybe because they don’t know better, or maybe because it looks cooler and sells. If they can barely hip hinge the right way, they need to be doing some more work with medicine balls, bodyweight movements, kettlebell swings, etc. These low-impact solutions get the job done without having to land a million times trying to hammer home one portion of the jump.

Balance Between On-Field Practice and the Gym

Often athletes spend practice time overtraining certain muscles and non-practice time sitting and tightening others. Think about it: running, cutting, jumping for a rebound, etc., are short-range ballistic movements. You’re essentially asking a very specific part of your body, whether it be the ankle, knee or hip, to repeatedly contract and resist force at very high intensities. And then they sit in a chair all day at school, further exacerbating the issue. Don’t you think that over time something is bound to wear down?

Coaches can manage overtraining/undertraining by emphasizing full range, light plyometrics and strength work through progression. How you program varies a ton by age, development, training age, sport, in-season, off-season and more. Train on the conservative side, listen to your athletes and watch them move. Even with a “well-designed” program, if athletes aren’t hitting their goals or have suffered setbacks, take a look at what you can do differently.

Common weaknesses are overuse of the upper traps, thoracic immobility, glute inactivity, lack of hip/hamstring range of motion, quad dominance, and ankle instability. Program mobility into every warm up — soft tissue work, foam rolling, and dynamic range of motion stuff that match the exercises you plan to train. Add in two to three sets of low rep, low-intensity plyometrics before the strength work with a huge focus on execution. Choose one to two core lifts for the day and periodize them along with your season and training age. Accessory exercise selection should reflect athlete’s areas of focus, such as resisted knee flexion hamstring exercises or internal and external rotation of the shoulder.

Less is More

Factoring in that kids today have no off-season and train incorrectly, they are weaker than they realize in crucial areas. The program they are coming from usually makes it so their training age is essentially zero when they walk in your doors, no matter what they tell you they have done. Combined with the fact that kids don’t even have PE or play outside, we are starting from the negative.

If you want to know exact details of how you should program your athletes’ season, all I can say is that it honestly depends. But in a general sense, given the cutthroat nature of youth sports today, go for less in quantity and more in quality. Make them so good at moving through the basics that practice seems easy. They should feel energized and fit to play, not beaten down and overtrained. Build the house from the ground up and it won’t crumble from a lack of structural stability.

The best part of any summer road trip is the sense of freedom to go where you want to go, do what you want to do, and eat what you want to eat.

Wait. Scratch that last part. If you’re killin’ it in the gym and working hard toward your goals, it’s important to keep your nutrition on track—even on a road trip. A little planning and prep is guaranteed to pay off by delivering healthy, protein-packed snacks you can eat on the road.

Laura Williams, ACSM EP-C

June 22, 2017 • 5 min read

The best part of any summer road trip is the sense of freedom to go where you want to go, do what you want to do, and eat what you want to eat.

Wait. Scratch that last part. If you’re killin’ it in the gym and working hard toward your goals, it’s important to keep your nutrition on track—even on a road trip. A little planning and prep is guaranteed to pay off by delivering healthy, protein-packed snacks you can eat on the road.

1. Roasted Chickpeas

When a craving for something salty and crunchy hits, you’ll be glad you planned ahead. Instead of filling up the backseat with chips, cheese puffs, and pretzels, make up a big batch of roasted chickpeas for a low-sodium, protein-filled alternative. Just cook the chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) in advance, pack them up in baggies, and chow down when you need a fix. No refrigeration required.

“Chickpeas are part of the pulse family—superfoods that are high in protein and low in calories,” says Natalie Rizzo, MS, RD, a dietitian and blogger based in New York City.

This recipe is pretty much perfect for summer cruising.

Ingredients

• Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), One 15-oz. can
• Vegetable oil, ½ tsp
• BBQ seasoning, 1 tsp

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Rinse and drain chickpeas. Pat dry.
3. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
4. Spray a baking sheet with cooking oil before spreading chickpeas evenly on the pan.
5. Bake until crispy, approximately 30-35 minutes.

2. Peanut Butter and Banana “Sushi”

Anyone can make a sandwich, toss it in a baggie, and call it road food. But holding a sandwich and a steering wheel when you’re navigating curvy highways and byways can be a challenge.

Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN, the owner of Nutrition Starring You, has a quick-and-easy solution: Wrap peanut butter and banana in whole-wheat flat bread, then slice it into sushi-like pieces. The result is mess-free, bite-sized slices you can easily grab with one hand, without taking your eyes off the road.

And, since Harris-Pincus’ recipe calls for powdered peanut butter, why not amp things up a little with a chocolate-infused variety? There are few flavor medleys better than chocolate, peanut butter, and banana.

Ingredients

• Whole-wheat flat bread or tortilla, 1
• Powdered peanut butter, 3 tbsp
• Water, 1 tbsp
• Banana, 1

Directions

1. Mix powdered peanut butter and water in a bowl. Stir, adding water a quarter teaspoon at a time until the peanut butter is your preferred consistency. You may want it a little more on the sticky side than the runny side to prevent dripping.
2. Spread peanut butter on the middle of the flat bread or wrap, saving about a teaspoon.
3. Place the banana on the peanut butter, then roll it in the wrap. Use the remaining peanut butter to help seal the open end of the wrap.
4. Slice the wrap into bite-sized pieces that look a bit like sushi. Store in a plastic container until you’re ready to eat. You may want to use toothpicks to keep the “sushi” intact and to make each slice easier to grab while on the go.

3. Bacon and Apple Egg Muffins

If you haven’t tried whipping up a batch of egg muffins yet, you’re long overdue. These little treats consist of eggs whipped up with other ingredients, then baked in a muffin tin to create protein-filled, hand-held snacks.

This recipe for bacon and apple egg muffins from Cate Ritter, a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner and owner of Cate’s Nutrition Kitchen, couldn’t be tastier. You get all the best snack-time flavors (sweet, savory, and salty) all in a single package.

Ingredients

• Bacon, 4 slices
• Green apples, chopped into ½-inch chunks, 3
• Cinnamon, 2 tsp
• Eggs, 9
• Coconut flour, 1½ tbsp
• Coconut milk (or heavy cream), 3 tbsp
• Baking soda, ¼ tsp
• Sea salt, 1/8 tsp

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sauté the bacon until crisp on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside, but leave the grease.
3. Add the apples to the pan and cook with cinnamon for about 5 minutes. When they’re golden brown, they’re ready.
4. Whisk the eggs, flour, coconut milk, baking soda, and sea salt in a large bowl.
5. Distribute the egg mixture and apple mixture evenly in a standard muffin tin. Crumble the bacon evenly into the tins as well.
6. Bake approximately 25 minutes—you want the center to set. If you insert a knife or fork into the center, it should come out mostly clean.
7. Set aside and let rest for about 10 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and refrigerate. When you’re on the road, keep them in a cooler.

4. Protein Nutter Butter Balls

When what you’re really craving is the sweet, chewy flavor of a protein bar, there’s absolutely no reason to shell out $3 on a convenience store bar that’s suspiciously close to its expiration date.

This recipe for protein nutter butter balls from Detric Smith, a strength coach, exercise physiologist, and the owner of Results Performance Training, tastes every bit as good, no baking required. Plus, it offers a balanced mix of proteins, carbs, and fats, which will help keep your energy levels stable.

Ingredients

• Vanilla protein powder, 2 scoops
• Natural almond butter, ¼ cup
• Raw oats, ¼ cup
• Honey, 2 tbsp
• Dried cranberries, 1 tbsp
• Dried coconut flakes, 2 tbsp

Directions

1. Set the coconut flakes aside, but mix all the other ingredients together.
2. Form the mixture into bite-sized balls.
3. Roll the balls into the coconut flakes, coating them completely.
4. Chill in the refrigerator, and keep stored in a cooler when you’re on the road.

5. Creamy Tuna Dip

Another one of Detric Smith’s favorite protein snacks offers a twist to your typical tuna salad, and it’s a whole lot more appealing than eating forkfuls of tuna straight out of a can.

“Rather than using traditional mayonnaise to make tuna salad, I use fat-free cream cheese. It adds a unique taste and packs in more protein without the fat,” Smith says.

The trick, of course, is storage—this is one recipe you need to keep cold! Prep it and store it in your refrigerator until it’s time to leave, then keep it packed in an ice-filled cooler on the road.

When you’re ready to chow down, use it as a spread or dip for your favorite crackers. Of course, if you’re driving let someone else do the dipping and spreading for you.

Ingredients

• Tuna, one 3-oz. can
• Fat-free cream cheese, 3 tbsp
• Green onion, sliced, 1
• Dried onion flakes, 1 tsp
• Dried garlic (or garlic powder), ½ tsp
• Whole-grain crackers, 5-10

Directions

1. Mix all of the ingredients together—except for the crackers. Really work to break up the tuna into smaller pieces so the dip is smoother and easier to spread. Chill in the refrigerator.
2. When you’re ready to eat, use it as a dip or spread on your crackers.

6. Prosciutto Chips

This is one of my favorite recipes for a quick snack that’s part chip, part beef jerky, and all meaty goodness. Simply bake a couple batches in advance, throw them in a baggie, and hit the road.

Ingredients

• Prosciutto, fresh, thinly-sliced, 6 oz.
• Fresh ground black pepper, ½ tsp
• Cayenne pepper (optional), ½ tsp
• Crushed red pepper (optional), ½ tsp

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent the prosciutto from sticking to the pan. Evenly place the prosciutto slices on the pan.
3. Dust the prosciutto with spices, as desired. Do your best to distribute the spices evenly.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until crispy. Transfer the prosciutto slices onto a cooling rack, and let cool.
5. Break into smaller, bite-sized pieces and enjoy.

There are two inconvenient truths about pull-ups. One, they’re a standard marker of fitness. Two, just performing a single pull-up is extremely difficult without upper-body strength — making them a real pride-killer to practice at the gym. But it’s not impossible to master this tough exercise, and you don’t need a gym membership to learn it. As long as you have a pull-up bar and the tenacity to keep trying, you’ll be lifting your own body weight before you know it. Here’s how.

Nothing Preps You for a Pull-Up Like a Pull-Up

Anyone who’s spent months working on their lat pull-down and row strength only to discover they still can’t do a pull-up is bound to feel confused. Don’t these other exercises work the same general muscle groups? Well, yes and no. They certainly target the major muscles of the upper back, but the pull-up is unique in that it requires significant grip and core strength along with scapular control. Even assisted pull-ups don’t require the same full-body control and engagement as the real deal, so nothing can prep you for a pull-up like a pull-up.

That’s why the best possible modifications to help you nail your first pull-up are those that break down the full movement into bite-sized elements, developing strength through each part of the exercise so you can eventually piece them into a whole.

Just Hang There

“If you can’t hold onto the bar, your pulling strength won’t really matter,” says Parker Condit, a personal trainer and the Program Director of the Performance Center at The Aspen Clinic in Colorado. One of the best ways to develop grip strength that translates naturally to your pull-up is a basic bar hang. And yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like — simply hang, with arms extended, from your pull-up bar.

But grip position is important, too. “You want all of your knuckles closest to your wrist to be pointing toward the ceiling when you’re hanging,” Condit says. It’s this position that engages your hands and forearms in the same position they’ll need to maintain while doing full pull-ups. Condit suggests doing three sets of hangs to failure (just hanging there until you can’t hang anymore), with one minute of rest between sets. Do this two to three times a week. Once you can perform three hangs for 60 seconds each, add weight to make the exercise harder by wearing a backpack full of heavy things from around the house.

Start With a Band or a Buddy

Band and buddy pull-ups are a great way to work through the full range of motion of the true pull-up, but with a little added assistance. Detric Smith, strength coach and owner of Results Performance Training, suggests starting with partner pull-ups if you have someone you can work with. Ask your partner to lightly hold your legs or hips to give you an extra push whenever you hit a sticking point. The trick is communication. Don’t let your partner give you too much help. The move should be challenging to complete.

If you don’t have a partner around, band pull-ups are a nice alternative because they’re an inexpensive way to mimic the gym’s assisted pull-up machine. Using extra-strong resistance bands, loop one band around your pull-up bar and string it through its own loop to “lock” it in place. Place a knee or foot inside the hanging loop, grasp the bar in a standard pull-up position, then perform a pull-up using the band’s elasticity to get you up to the bar. Just keep in mind that banded pull-ups don’t translate perfectly to true pull-ups, so while it’s a good way to acclimate your body to the feel of the exercise, you shouldn’t rely on them too heavily.

Perform three sets of band or buddy pull-ups to failure. Do as many reps as you can per set, even if you’re only doing singles. Allow one minute of rest between sets.

Add Negatives

Negative pull-ups work you through the eccentric, or lengthening phase of the pull-up exercise. And because the eccentric phase works the same muscles as the concentric phase, just in the opposite direction, it’s a great way to develop pull-up strength without having to execute the “pulling” portion of the movement.

In theory, negatives look easy. Simply stand on a chair and position yourself at the top of the pull-up bar, your hands gripping the bar and your chin above it. Lift your feet from the chair and, in a slow, controlled fashion, extend your arms, lowering yourself to the bottom position of the pull-up.

When performed correctly, negatives are extremely taxing. Nick Collias, a Progressive Calisthenics trainer and a senior editor at Bodybuilding.com suggests doing three to five sets of three to five slow negatives, so each negative takes at least five seconds to perform. Add this series to your workout twice a week and it shouldn’t take long for you to transition to full pull-ups.

Try a Neutral Grip

Every time you work on pull-ups, you need to actually try a pull-up. Collias suggests starting with a neutral grip, so your palms are facing each other. “You’re stronger in this grip than other grips,” Collias says, adding that it’s also easier on the shoulders.

The initial pull to lift your feet from the ground is often the first sticking point you’ll experience. Try to work past it for a second or two. If you can’t pull yourself up on your own, relax, then try again — but this time add a little hop to get past the first sticking point. Do as much of the pull-up as you can, then slowly lower yourself back down in a negative-like action.

It shouldn’t take long — between a few weeks and a few months — to see significant improvements in performance. Once you’re able to nail a single, full pull-up, work your way up to at least three sets of five or more reps.