High school workouts

I remember being in high school. It was about 13 years ago that I was in the weight room. And honestly, I hated every second of it.

Why?

Because there was only guys who were heavy lifters. So imagine how self conscious you would be if you were only able to bench press 115 lbs (the bar + 35 lb plates on each side) once while everyone else is warming up with 135.

WASTE OF TIME.

Do you think I wanted to go back? 

What would have kept me more enthused and motivated? How about some direction? How about some variation? How about some of the more experienced guys helping the younger guys out? 

Then I would wander around looking for some piece of equipment that wasn't occupied and I would do that. Even if it meant doing wrist curls. I know what you're thinking - Wrist curls? What an absolute WASTE OF TIME! 

So now that I am the one running the show, designing the programs and overseeing the lifting, what am I doing differently? Everything.

The programs are setup in 4-week cycles. Everybody has a weight lifting record sheet. Absolute weight is not relevant. Instead we prioritize the following:

1. Technique - it's everything. If you can't lift cleanly, you can't lift.
2. Body weight - If you can't manage your own body weight, why the heck am I going to ADD more weight?
3. Compound lifts take priority. Squat variations, bench press, pullups, lunges and rotational power exercises.

BETTER USE OF TIME: Strength, Balance, Flexibility

You see everything is done with a purpose here. We stretch between working sets, we alternate speed and agility exercises with core training to maximize recovery without STANDING AROUND. Our kids are ALWAYS DOING SOMETHING. 

There is no wasted time here. We get more done in an hour than some high school programs get done in a week. And it shows. Our younger athletes are getting stronger, their technique is impeccable and they are LEARNING HOW TO LIFT. 

They are getting what you and I didn't get: guidance, motivation, encouragement and supervision. And as their parent, they'll like to hear that you struggled with this stuff too. That you wish you had this growing up. Because the kids that are coming in here? They love it.

Want more information on our speed and strength programs? Visit our website at www.pairmarotta.com/fitness or email me at aaron@pairmarotta.com

1 out of every 6 youth athletes will have this injury

The general population believes that injuries are part of the game. You get them, treat them and HOPEFULLY move onto play again. I think in contact sports, yes, injuries will happen. Bruises, contusions and other collision type injuries will probably happen and there isn't much we can do about it.

But non-contact overuse injuries should NOT happen. Plain and simple. Let me explain why.

A non-contact injury means that the athlete had as much control in preventing the injury as anybody. Aside from stepping in a hole or off the side of first base (even that can be prevented by stepping evenly on the base) the athlete is in complete control. But the athletes feedback mechanism in his body or his muscular system could not handle the stress of running. Can you believe it? Somebody can actually hurt themselves running!!

Today I'll explain one of the most common youth injuries, how it happens and what you can do to prevent it.

Knee pain is one of the most common overuse injuries that afflict young children. Slow developing, overuse knee pain can have a slew of causes. But with just a few quick exercises to add to your day, you can prevent knee pain from slowing you down!

First off lets take a look at the anatomy of the knee.

The upper leg bone (femur) ends in the shape of two big knobs. These are called condyle's with the one to the inside of your leg being medial and the one to the outside being lateral. On top of these sit the patella (knee cap). The knee cap slides up and down the groove as we flex and extend our knee. It helps to think of the knee cap as a train and the femoral groove as the tracks.

Usually the patella runs smoothly up and down the track. However, as is usually the case with overuse injury knee pain, the patella gets pulled to one side or the other.

As you can see in the picture, there are quite a few muscles that affect the knee. If one of these muscles begins to tighten up due to overuse, or if one becomes weak, the patella will be pulled to the side of the stronger muscle. As a result it is very important to keep the muscles that directly affect the patella flexible.

There are also indirect factors that can cause knee pain. The two most common are immobile ankles (tight calves) and immobile hips (tight/weak glutes).

I'll start with tight calves first. Basically the muscles of the calf regulate the ability of the ankle to move. If the ankle cannot move into a dorsiflexion position (foot comes up towards the shin) then during squatting the knees will suffer from an increase in shearing force. Shearing force occurs when one bone (the femur) has energy moving in a sliding force across an adjacent bone (tibia). As a result the knees will suffer a lot of pain as the passive tissues attempt to prevent the shearing force from actually causing movement. Tight calves are a hallmark of knee injuries in youth athletes.

The muscles at the hips on the other hand control the rotation of the femur. If the muscles at the hips get weak they will allow the femur to rotate internally. When this happens, again the patella will not track correctly in the femoral groove. As a result the patella will get irritated as the added friction will begin to wear on the back side of the patella. Also if the glutes are weak, then the quadriceps will begin to over develop and over-recruit. When this happens there becomes an increased risk of Osgood-Schlatter's disease which is a painful swelling of the tibial tubercle.

Soleus Stretch

So what can we do to keep these things from happening?

Beginning with the calves, simple calf stretching daily for a total of 60-90 seconds will help keep the calves flexible. Most important is stretching the lower calf. To do this we lean against a wall as if attempting to push it over. This will stretch the back leg. Then simply bend the back knee slightly while keeping the heel of the back foot on the ground. Hold this for :15-20 seconds and repeat 3 times on each leg.

To stretch the glutes you do a seated glute stretch by sitting in a chair and laying your ankle across the opposite knee, sit up with a tall posture and lean forward from the hip. You should feel a stretch in the hip of the leg that is off the ground.

Split Squats

For strengthening, simple hip bridges, single leg Romanian Dead Lift and split squats work well. Just be sure to push through the heel of the foot that is doing the work. 

Next week we will look at common back injuries in youth athletes and how they can be prevented.

Peak Performers

We have had quite a few great athletes come through Pair & Marotta Peak Performance over the past few years. And one thing that never fails is the outcome of the hard workers. Those that are the most consistent see the greatest results. The ones that are the first ones in, last ones out and always trying to get better will out perform those with raw talent.

But the really interesting thing is that the ones who are the most consistent, are the hard workers! Those who have a great work ethic won't be floating in and out, here for 3 weeks then out for 3 months. 

James Barragan pitches against Liberty.

And its tough to tell the talented ones that talent will only take you so far. It almost seems like talent can be a liability because it makes them think that their talent will steadily increase and their performance will improve because of it. But the less talented ones will always be the underdog that we at P&M love. These are the ones who we know that no matter where they go in life, they'll succeed because they won't give up.

Yes, some kids have greater potential because of their genetics, but natural talent has a ceiling - hard work doesn't. Natural talent will take you far, but hard work will take you further.


Another P&M athlete, James Barragan made the paper this past week as he had a stellar pitching performance against Liberty. James pitched a 3-hit complete game shutout the other night and gave Stockdale its first league win of the year.


Great job James!

What's the key to improved QUICKNESS and AGILITY?

Balance.

No, not stand on a single leg, close your eyes and touch your nose balance. But balance between strength and power training.

What is the difference? Well if I asked you to describe strength training, how would you describe it? Most have the picture to the left in their mind. Lift as much weight as you can, regardless of speed. Actually the heavier you lift, the slower the movement.

Now what is power training? Power the same but has a time component. Power is the amount of weight lifted x distance divided by the time taken to lift it, or (force x distance)/time.

Some people claim that if you lift heavy, you lift slow and as a result you won't get any faster or more powerful. This group tends to stay away from heavy lifting and focuses strictly on plyometrics, agility training and reaction time training. These are all good attributes to have in a sports training program.

But by leaving the heavy lifting out, they are missing a very crucial component to their programs!!

Which component?? STRENGTH!

See strength (or in other terms work) is simply a force x distance. So it is in itself a component of power! If you have no strength, then this will directly influence your ability to move fast. After all, its not simply how fast you can move nothing, but instead its how fast can you move your body weight (most sports aren't played wearing a weighted vest).

If an athlete weighs 180 lbs, well he better be able to move and control not only his own weight, but also the added force from the momentum/inertia created by his 180 lbs moving quickly.

Heavy resistance training is a key component to being able to prevent injuries because most non-contact injuries occur during the eccentric or deceleration part of sports. Strength training improves the ability of muscle to control weight external to a players own body weight. 

Look at the video below, as quick as he is, he's also amazingly strong for his size!

Do you think he was able to change direction multiple time by working on speed and agility alone? No. Strength training plays a huge role!!

Then there are some who say that strength is all that matters. This can be countered with the principle of specificity. Specificity states that a person will adapt specifically to the demands placed on the body. So if you teach the muscle to contract with high amounts of force, but it contracts slowly, you'll see a person who is slow, but strong. So you really have to find the balance. 

In sports, especially baseball, we need to find the balance between the two.

At Pair & Marotta Peak Performance do just this! During our FAST Forward workouts, we spend the first 45 minutes of our workout on speed and agility training and the final 45 minutes on strength and flexibility training. And we see some amazing results! Want to come take a look?

Send me an email and let me know you'll be coming by! We would love to see you.

1 Surprising muscle building trick for your YOUNG ATHLETE

There are many things that I have told you about on how to build muscle. First, you've got to eat enough. If you aren't eating enough, nothing else you do will matter. You'll just be a really STRONG skinny kid.

Dead lifts are a MUST for muscle building!

The second thing is you've got to lift heavy. Heavy lifting uses lots of muscle which increases growth hormones and testosterone, both of which are necessary for muscle gain. So skip the body part splits and start doing squats, bench press, deadlifts, cleans, pullups, rows.

And building on the second point, you've got to keep the reps under 8. Anything more and you're wasting energy with reps 1-4, because those first few aren't nearly as difficult as the last 4. So make it work. A great starting point is 5 reps for 5 sets. This keeps you lifting heavy and keeps the total workload low so that you're stimulating type II muscle fibers to grow (which by the way grow the biggest).

Then you've got to sleep and allow your body to recover. This includes drinking plenty of water and sleeping 8-10 hours a day.

But there is another little trick that has been discovered to indirectly increase muscle building: Fat.

A study done by Dorgan, et al. (1996) found that those who had a fat intake of between 20-40% of their total calories had elevated testosterone levels. They also found that higher cholesterol levels were associated with higher testosterone levels. Granted this study had a pretty small sample (10 people) the outcome can still be used, but with caution. 

So how do you increase fat intake? Start eating more tree nuts, avocados, and eggs. Heck that could make a pretty good omelet right there! Grate some cheese and throw it over the top and you've got a muscle building breakfast that is high in protein, moderate in fat and low in carbohydrates!

The take away from today's lesson??

Don't be afraid of fat. Instead embrace it. But not the kind on your hips or around your belly. But rather the kind you eat. Because by boosting fat intake, you boost testosterone, and testosterone builds muscle!!

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Dorgan J. F., Judd J. T, Longcope C.C,, Brown C.C., Schatzkin A.A., Clevidence B.A., Campbell W.S., Nair P.P., Franz C.C., Kahle L.L., Taylor P.R. (1996). Effects of dietary fat and fiber on plasma and urine androgens and estrogens in men: a controlled feeding study. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 64, 850-855.

The Forgotten Part 4: The WORST thing for gaining muscle

If there is one thing that skinny guys are almost instantaneously afraid of when they start trying to gain weight, its gaining fat. 

At the first sign of their skinny guy 6-pack disappearing, they make a mad dash for the treadmill. But this is THE WORST THING they could do.

Go back to the first part of this series and see how many calories you've got to eat in order to gain muscle. What do you think happens when you hit the treadmill after a workout? Or if you spend 2-3 hours a day playing basketball with friends?

Using even more calories is counterproductive to muscle gain.

You have to eat that many MORE calories! 3 hours of basketball can burn up to 2000 calories. So now not only do you have to eat 4500 calories just to gain weight, but now you have to eat an additional 2000 calories because of what you burned playing basketball!

So what should a skinny guy be doing when he's not working out?? 

Stretch, sleep, eat. That's right. Until you start gaining weight, you need to back off all that extra curricular activity that is chewing up calories you COULD be using to gain muscle.

So unless you enjoy going crazy because you aren't gaining weight despite the dump truck worth of food you're eating, then you need to BACK OFF the extra curricular activity.

But at that point, the question becomes which do you want more: muscle, or the extra activity?

The Forgotten Part 3: Build muscle WHILE YOU SLEEP!

During your gut busting, avalanche of testosterone causing, muscle building workout, your body is going through a lot. You are breaking down muscle so your body can rebuild it in a stronger form. This is called adaptation. 

However, there is something that all young athletes and even coaches think when they are working out. And it's completely backwards. The idea that more is better or that muscle is built DURING the workout is the greatest fallacy in the weightlifting world! Muscle is not built during the workout. Muscle is built while you rest. 

So to go to school, practice for sport and then lift weights only to stay up until 11pm is the golden road to frustration. You see after you workout, you need to recover. You need nutrients, minerals and vitamins to fuel and speed up recovery. Because the faster you recover, the sooner you can lift heavy again!!

So here is what needs to happen in order for skinny kids to recovery quickly so they can get back to their muscle building workouts.

Sleep. Preferably at home.

• Sleep. A lot. You need to get AT LEAST 8 hours a night, and more is better, if you want to build muscle. Which means if you wake up at 6am, the latest you need to be crawling into bed is 10. Your body can't rebuild if you are still breaking down.

• Vegetables. Your body needs more than just protein to rebuild. Vegetables provide a lot of the smaller nutrients that allow your body to recover faster! So every meal should have at LEAST 1 handful of vegetables AND 1 handful of fruit.

• Fat. Your body needs fat. Certain fats, such as those found in fish, seeds and nuts help prevent and minimize inflammation of muscle, which occurs after a hard workout. However, these fats should not be eaten immediately after the workout. Instead its best to have them right before bed so your body can put them to use. So eating fish oil capsules, up to 6 per day, as well as having almonds, walnuts and cashews over the course of the day will speed up recovery as well.

Muscle is 70% water. More water = more muscle.

• Water. Muscle is about 70% water. Plus water is necessary to flush waste products out of your system so repair can happen quicker. In addition, water is necessary for certain vitamins to be absorbed. These are called water soluble vitamins. So drinking up to a gallon of water over the course of a day, is certainly NECESSARY if you're looking to add muscle.

Recovery is often the MOST OVERLOOKED aspect of building muscle. But look around at the meatheads who are walking around with slabs of muscle. They're usually carrying a jug or bottle of water of some kind.

Stay tuned tomorrow as we wrap up "The Forgotten" series on building muscle for skinny athletes!!