More Goods from the Mentorship

It was a good trip okay. I've still got lots to share.

The training and business end was most important, but I also went down there with a goal for myself in mind. I wanted to break the "washed up meatheads" (Not highschool or college athlete) Trap Bar Deadlift record.

I figured it would be pretty cool to get my name on the Defranco's Record Board. Hell, it's the board that inspired us to start record boards at our gyms.

So did I get on it? You're goddamn right I did! I beat the old record by 150lbs!

"Right there, above Zach Even Esh" and yes I pull a stupid face when I'm excited

Not be outdone by her ol'man, Sarah took a stab at the ladies Trap Bar Deadlift record too.
And hell yeah, she beat the old record by 90lbs.

"Look mom, I made it on the big board" (and with room to spare)

Alright, enough horn blowing and back patting. You already knew we were pretty awesome to begin with. (HAHA) We believe in walking the walk.

I'm really happy for Sarah this weekend and not because of the deadlift record, but because of the confidence she has developed as a strength coach. She knows her shit when it comes to training. It would be impossible for her to not know a lot. It's all we talk about, it's all we read, it's what we do. The mentorship and hanging out with Joe and 4 other great coaches from around the world has brought it out in her mind that she doesn't need to take shit from regular schmoes that walk into our gyms and look down there nose at her as trainer because she is a female.
The way I look at is that we should never blow off the opportunity to learn from everyone we come across. And Sarah is no exception. She has a lot to offer when it comes to training. And in addition to knowing it, she's also stronger pound for pound than about 90% of the men that train in our gyms. SO THERE!

I'm really getting geared up for the summer program again. I can't wait until hockey season is over and our guys get back. I love working with them and seeing them progress and get better.
I can't wait to dust off the prowlers and sleds. And I've also got a few new tools to get everyone stronger and faster this summer.

I actually got a call yesterday for an appointment to start working with a teenage girl that plays competitive hockey and fastball. We're ready and fully loaded to bring any athlete closer to their goals. You don't have to wait until the snow melts to get started. In season, pre-season, off-season, we're ready for it.

What does your wife do in her spare time?

Slackin ?

Well I hope this post will mark the end of my blog slackin'. I've now got a computer in both offices so there is no excuse.

Do you have any definative goals for 2009?

I'm not talking about some bullshit new years resolution. How about something measureable?

I'm assuming that if you are reading this blog you are at least slightly interested in strength. Why not figure out what your biggest weakness is and test it somehow?

Lets use grip strength as an example. You have a really shitty grip. You are the king/queen of the deadfish handshake and you have trouble holding 35lb DB's when doing lunges.

Lets test it out. How long can you hang from a chin-up bar? What's the heaviest gripper you can close?

So now we have a baseline. Get to work with a plan. Start with the end goal and work backwards to where you are now. Set out mini goals along the way and deadlines to achieve them by.

The same system can be applied to any weakness. Bench, deadlift, whatever.

The Big Four-OH

Hey it's my 40th post on this blog. Lets celebrate!

I want to let you know that over the holidays I will be posting a little less frequently but don't worry, I'll get you something to read for sure.

Here's a little ditty that I pumped out for some lat growth last night.
Chin-ups X 100 reps in as few sets as possible
It took me nine sets. I actually was hoping to do it in about 7 or 8 but I went too hard out of the gate.
x15, x12, x10, x10, x10, x10, x10, x11, x12

My back was blasted.

Give this a try. If you are not super duper at chins, start with a lower number. Try 40 reps, 50 reps whatever. Just make sure you work your ass off.

I can still remember when I could only do 1 chin-up. It was back in 2000. I was in college and me and my training partner got on a mission to get better at chins. So we used to do 1 set of as many as we could before every work-out. We even used to give each other a spot so we could do at least a couple of assisted reps.
It worked.
In what seemed like no time at all I was able to do 3, 5, 6 all alone with no assistance. Now whenever I walk by anything that I could do chins off of, I grab on and bang out at least 10 reps.
This same protocol (doing chins before each work-out) has also worked for another training partner that I had several years later. When he started trainig with me, he could barely do one rep. I got him doing them after the warm-up on each session and now I see him pound out 10 great reps no problem. We don't train together anymore but he still trains at one of my gyms.

I actually want to give him a shout out for also doing some great front squats and BB clean and presses. The tall slender bastard learned and listened and contiues to apply good training habbits. Nice work Cracker. (I don't think he reads this but whatever)

In the works of Cyrus; "Fuck off, I got work to do".