December 2014 issue by Daimond Dixon

December 2014 Issue:

The Year in Review

Did you get BETTER this past Year??

Did you get better this year? I asked myself that question last week. As 2014 comes to a close, did I do enough to get better? Did I run enough? Did I lift enough? Was I a better father or husband this past year than the previous year? Then I stopped myself; I thought about not looking backwards, but instead to look forward. Not worrying about whether I was better last year, but HOW I am going to get better THIS COMING YEAR. Did you get better this past year? Don’t worry---if you didn’t get better you got another shot at it in 2015. Ironically this issue is devoted to looking back. It’s a compilation of the 2014 Pro Power Issues. But rather then dwell on 2014, use these issues to find something in them to get you better for 2015. Getting better is a constant pursuit. Happy Holidays Daimond Dixon Editor, Pro Power Training

The Performance Training and Conditioning E-Magazine of Athletes, Coaches and Fitness Enthusiasts

preview issue

March 2014

Cross Train for Great Workouts Athletes, injuries and alternative therapy How to use foam rolling to improve your training

Benefits of Olympic lifts for performance

in this issue: Editorial: The evolution of sports performance training ProPowerMag.com features: core training, weighted vests and sports nutrition practices Training Tech: the gadgets that make training fun Training Tidbits 1: agility ladder, rotating and change of direction 5 effect Sandbag Training exercises and how to perform them

Training Tidbits 2: the push press, benefits of Olympic lifting and cross training video tip Athletes, injuries and alternative therapy How to use foam rolling to improve your training Use sports psychology for the development of mental toughness

Plyometrics for powering up your performance Training Video Session of the Week for Athletes: SAQ/Power

Train on One Leg to Maximize Sports Performance

pro power workout Should you participate in the tough murder or warrior dash? The Tao of Belly Breathing

Sport Teas for Athletes

The evolution of Sports Performance Training From the Editor

I have a huge passion for sports performance training, fitness, conditioning——the whole nine. When I was a teenager back in the late 80’s I remember working out for sports and always looking for the latest and greatest ways to train. This was before the advent of the internet, DVD’s, etc, so access to top training information was limited and you had to really DIG for it. Sure there was Muscle and Fitness and Flex magazines for the body builders, but finding top quality training information for athletes was tough. Then one day in a book store I ran across a book that changed everything in the training world for me—-Eric Dickersons Secrets of Pro Power. For those of you who may not remember Dickerson, he was one of the NFL’s best running back of all time, and in the 80’s he was the man. Explosive, fast, strong—-he was a human gazelle. These attributes helped him to become the first running back to ever eclipse 2,000 yards rushing in a season. And I was a HUGE fan. But what impressed me more then his football prowess was the dedication he had towards training. Here was a professional athlete who was constantly in pursuit of a competitive edge by finding the most innovative ways to train. In his book, he detailed training techniques from explosive movements and quickness drills to strength and power exercises. This book became my foundation for sports performance training and started my pursuit of better and better ways of training and conditioning. Fast forward to today;; training methods have evolved for sure. With the internet there is now a vast highway of training information via videos, blogs, PDF’s, etc. And information is king. There is a lot of good, a lot of bad and a lot of ugly when it comes to training information out there today. One mans innovative training technique/method is another mans fodder for his blog. Main stream non-competitive athletes have now jumped in the mix by scrapping the aerobic classes for intense workouts via cross fit or P90X. The evolution of training is ongoing and fascinating. I created this Pro Power E-Mag as a way to put out information about sports performance training, fitness and conditioning for the masses. Not necessarily endorsing one form over another, one method over another, but rather a way to help to con- tinue the conversation about training and how its not something that you have to DO, but more it becomes something that is part of WHAT you are. I still have that copy of Eric Dickersons Secrets of Pro Power. It’s pages are yellowed and worn, it’s binding has considera- ble wear. It sits on my bookshelf next to Robert Dos Remedios’s fantastic book “Power Training” and Todd Durkins “The IMPACT! Body Plan”. And every now and then ill pick it up an revisit it’s pages and think about how the evolution of sports performance training and conditioning has moved forward. And I smile. I hope you enjoy this premier issue of the Pro Power E-Mag and stay tuned for monthly issues to come. My goal is to help pass on some great training information, and help the evolution of training for all of us! Enjoy! Daimond Dixon Pro Power E-Mag

“Do or Do Not. There is no try.” -Yoda

ProPowerMag.com Here are a few topics we are currently featuring on our website online: The Ultimate Core Training Exercise Enhancing core strength reduces posterior weakness, injuries and deficiencies. Weakness in your abdominals and hip flexors can contribute to these problems, and the one exercise that can target your entire core is the Plank. (click here to read in full)

Agility Drills combined with weighted vest Want to enhance your current agility or conditioning? Use a weighted vest for great results. Weighted vests adds an entirely new dimension to your workouts! See how this one vest can change the way your workouts produce results! (click here to see the video)

How to Practice Good Sports Nutrition Sports nutrition is defined as the study and practice of nutrition and dieting as it relates to athletes and their performance. Check out this great article on how to practice good sports nutrition for you body’s needs. (click here to read in full)

Training Tech Tech that adds variety to sports performance and fitness training Adidas MiCoach app

Nike BOOM syncs your music to your dynamic training workouts, with the world’s most elite athletes and coaches motivating you along the way. Choose your type of workout, length of training, best workout music and favorite Nike athletes—then get to work.

With this app you can turn your phone into a personal coach. Uses GPS and real-time voice coaching in your ear to pace you through workout zones as you run. You can choose a training plan tuned for your sport to build speed and endurance. Track and share your accomplishments with the app or at miCoach.com. Available for iphone or Android

Nike+ app With this app, in-run audio feedback lets you know metrics at every mile, so you can stay focused on your run. No sensor or additional products needed, just grab your phone and go. Tag the friends you ran with and share a map of your route with friends and family. Set up “Power Songs” to give yourself a boost with the tap of a button. Add a widget to your phone’s home screen to show when you ran last, display your total mileage, and for even quicker access into a run. Available for iPhone or Android

My Fitness Pal App Lose weight with MyFitnessPal, the fastest and easiest to use calorie counter for Android. With the largest food database of any Android calorie counter (over 2,000,000 foods), and amazingly fast food and exercise entry, we’ll help you take those extra pounds off! Customized goals based on your specific diet profile – age, gender, activity level, etc. Enter your own goals if you’ve gotten specific recommendations from a doctor, nutritionist, etc. (also available for iPhone) ■ Track your weight, measurements and more ■ View charts of your progress over time for motivation ■ Daily nutritional summary with all major nutrients ■ View more detailed reports online at www.myfitnesspal.com

Using the Agility Ladder to increase foot speed Did you know that The agility ladder uses its rungs to step, hop using the agility ladder is one of the and jump through vari- best ways to Click here for ladder drill video increase an athletes speed, agility and quickness?

ous drills. Grab a ladder today and create sport specific drills!

Don’t forget to rotate! Training in one dimension is not enough to help gain that competitive edge! Training the body to be strong while pushing and pulling is one thing, but take it the extra step and make it stronger as you rotate as well!

throws and rotational cable movements helps the body learn to more balance in more than

one plane.

Click here for rotational video

Most sports and athletic activities involve moving in more then one plane;; by using rotational drills such as medicine ball

COD (Change of Direction) Training For Sports Performance Most sports require changes of direction that have to happen in order to create great plays. C.O.D. (change of direction) takes place best when you factor in a couple of things:

plant, get your head and eyes around to where you want to go. When creating your own C.O.D. drills, follows these simple tips:

Foot Plant: Land on your power pad (forefoot) and push off when changing directions, do not be FLAT FOOTED. Arm Action: Get your arms moving, pumping your elbows as you make the C.O.D. The more active your arms are, the more active your feet are! Head Turn: Athletes go in the direction that they can visually see FASTER. After your power pad

Keep distances short to emphasize explosiveness over endurance Combine moving forward with a plant then going the opposite direction, or to the left or to the right Combine the C.O.D. drills with plyometric and ladder drills (ex: high knee or jump through agility ladder, then sprint to cone, plant and sprint back towards ladder

S E E TH E V ID E O

5 effect Sandbag Training exercises and how to perform them A sandbag is a highly versatile

training tool that can be used to get a full body workout in a short amount of time. With a few simple exercises, you can be guaranteed to get a highly effective, head to toe workout. 1. Sandbag Squats- Exactly the same as a squat with a barbell, but using a sandbag. Lift the sandbag to one shoulder, or position on both shoulders behind the head. Keeping the toes pointed slightly forward, bend down until your knees are parallel to the ground, and return to the starting position. You may be able to squat lower;; do what feels comfortable to you.

as if you were putting a box on a shelf. Press the sandbag overhead, back down to chest height, and back to the starting position. Repeat for as many repetitions as necessary.

sandbag on your shoulder, post the other hand on the ground as well as the opposite leg. Now get up! This is supposed to be difficult, and you will very off balanced as you try to stand. Once you reach stating position, you have completed a sandbag get-up.

3. Sandbag Ruck- Pick up the sandbag, place it on a shoulder, or behind the head on both shoulders. Now simply walk or jog. This is a torturous exercise, depending on the weight or size of your sandbag. A treadmill can be used to monitor distance, or to increase the incline for added difficulty.

There are many more sandbag exercises that are very simple and highly effective. Fireman, military personnel, cross trainers, strongman, and combat athletes all use sandbag training as part of their exercise programs to achieve a high level of strength and fitness. For a free .pdf of many more exercises or information on sandbags, send an email to: keith@bruteforcesandbags.com

4. Sandbag Push-Presses- Pick the sandbag up to waist level, and maneuver the sandbag to chest height as in 2. Sandbag a sandbag Burpee burpee press. Presses- Bend the knees Holding the and come back sandbag at up as if to do a waist height, small jump while drop down pressing the with the sandbag over- sandbag with head and back your knees down to chest almost touch- height. The up- ing your el- ward momentum Caption describing picture or graphic. bows. Extend of your body will out to a assist in press- push-up po- ing the sandbag overhead. sition in one fluid motion, per- Repeat for the desired form a push-up, and return to amount of repetitions. the crouching position. Care- fully stand up while bringing 5. Sandbag Get-Ups- Place the sandbag back to waist the sandbag on one shoulder, level. Bend slightly while while carefully lowering your- thrusting the sandbag to self into a seated, then lying chest height, elbows down, position. While holding the

Keith, Brute Force Sandbags, bruteforcesandbags.com

Click here Find a sand bag for your training needs here at SKLZ!

Exercise Focus: The overhead push press Push presses are performed by holding a barbell at shoulder height, bending your knees slightly, then simultaneously straight- ening your legs, while forcefully pushing the bar overhead, until your arms are fully ex- tended.

Grasp barbell with over- hand grip, slightly wider than shoulder width.

The push press involves the movement of more than one joint, and works multiple muscle groups. Push presses work your quads, glutes and hamstrings as well as shoulder and triceps. Your abdominals and lower back muscles also work to keep your torso stable. Quick, explosive movements like push presses activates your central nervous system, and this primes your body to begin to physically training

Position bar chest high with torso tight. Retract head back. Dip body by bending knees, hips and ankles slightly. Explosively drive upward with legs, driving barbell up , vigorously extending arms overhead.

Benefits of Olympic lifts for performance Complete power output in the weight room is a prime example of what the Olympic lifts can do for increasing your athleticism. It has been noted that the power output of a power clean is triple that of the bench press, squat, or dead lift. High resistance and high speed Olympic lifts rely pri-

marily upon power producing type II muscle fibers and improved activation of type II fibers improves power

output and continued exposure leads to power gains. Increase speed and strength with loads at high velocities, with movements such as the clean, snatch, and the jerk.

“Cross Training” for great workouts Today’s athlete trains very different than their contempo- rary’s did in the last decade. The cross over appeal of different training modalities has opened up big avenues into the realm training possibili- ties. Gone is the old school “upper body/lower body”

split, and in are complexes and plyos. Take a look at the athlete in this video using different strength training exercises combined together to make a great workout!

Sport Teas for Athletes We all want to be healthy. We all want to be active. We all want to have energy. We want our kids be successful and achieve their goals in sport. As a parents we are trying our best to support our kids providing good sport equipment, nutritional food, caring environment... Considering all these factors we've moved further. We did research and find out that a lot of athletes in Europe and South Africa drink tea as a sport drink. We've worked closely with nutritionists, herbalists, sport professionals and as a result we've brought on the North America market healthy and natural alternative to commercial sport drinks - special blends of Sport Teas. When we exercise our body looses water through perspiration and with it salts. Salts are combina- tions of electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, chloride, and bicarbonate. They are critical for the functions of cells and a proper balance of electrolytes is necessary for proper performance of the heart, muscles and other organs. It is important to replace salts as well as water for healthy rehydration. Sport drinks for athletes that are available on the market offer you electrolytes and carbohydrates. Sport drinks commonly contain lots of sugar and sometimes more than necessary. Also there are lots of artificial flavors and dyes to provide color to colorless beverages, or to mask unpleasant colors. Many vitamins, minerals and electrolytes are added in synthetic form. We believe that nature provides a better solution for athletes and the body responds best to nutrients obtained from natural food sources, and is well designed to respond to and utilize nutrients present in plants. We help athletes of all ages to RECOVER faster and have more ENERGY with our range of specially blended SPORT TEAS. Our carefully selected ingredients maintain ENDURANCE and HYDRATE adults and kids in a safe and natural way. Now we have the opportunity in North America to benefit from this product! Why Sport Tea for Athletes? Tea is very beneficial beverage for athletes of all ages due to the high content of antioxidants and potential to hydrate and support energy and endurance. Antioxidants, minerals and vitamins in teas help your body to protect itself from the damage during intense training and workout and recover more quickly after. Healthy Fluid and Electrolyte Replacement are necessary for all athletes during workouts. It is best to consume 3 - 4 cups of Sport Tea for Athletes a day to improve the endurance, keep up your energy, hydrate properly and increase the metabolism in your body. For an athlete to really benefit from daily sport tea drinking, it is best to brew your own sport tea with real tea leaves. This way there are no additives that may hinder your performance, and you will know exactly what is in your cup. We offer special Sport Tea blends of high quality teas full of vitamins and minerals with most benefits for athletes. The best way to enjoy your sport tea is straight up, with no sweeteners. But if you must, using stevia or even honey will be your best bet. Sport Tea for Athletes is a healthy, natural, gluten-free solution as a Sport Drink!

Get Kupa Tea HERE

Athletes, injuries and alternative therapy One of the most important lessons I can impart to you regarding the use of electromagnetic therapies, is to clearly understand the actions they have in the body. These actions happen in all bodies every time PEMFs are used. This is regardless of the underlying causes or conditions a person has. Most diseases or health conditions have very common components to them. The body has a somewhat limited repertoire of reacting to damage, injury or illness. The most commonly de- scribed actions of PEMF's include: pain reduction, reduction of swelling, decreasing the irritability of nerves, relaxing muscles, improving circulation, various metabolic effects, detoxification, cell membrane charge bal- ancing and stimulation of repair by stimulating RNA and DNA. PEMF's also have reflexology and acupuncture like actions in the body. I always ask myself for any given condition what components of these actions of magnetic fields exist in that condition or body. Of course we don't always know completely what may be going on. But, you can bet that there are many of these components present. You can't tune the specific actions using the kinds of magnetic fields I usually recommend. There are research devices available that will create changes in some of these individual actions while providing less change to other actions. In the medical model, you would have a specific device for each specific action. This clearly becomes impractical and way too expensive. For this reason I prefer devices that have general responses in the body and let the body decide what he needs and how it will respond. Using these concepts, you can begin to think about how athletes might benefit from PEMF's. At the very least athletes need to have their muscles working in an optimal fashion. This is important to maintain structural integrity and maximize performance of the body for their particular sport. Maximizing performance decreases the risk of injury, never mind winning a competition. The biggest health risk to the athlete is injury. So, PEMF's would be used by athletes to maximize function of the body and at the same time reduce the risk of injury and to help the body recover faster from any injuries. With these ideas, athletes should be using whole body magnetic stimulation before and after workouts, tryouts, and any level of competition. Using PEMFs before competition causes the body to be opti- mized in its function. This will produce better performance. It's been found that muscles work harder, longer and recover faster with magnetic stimulation. Also once used, muscles become sore and often tense or have spasm. A classic action of magnetic fields is to reduce muscle con- traction. Athletes often have to compete and work out despite their injuries, large and small. This is why regular use of magnetic fields is so important to any high level, or even weekend, athletes. I know of one athlete who is still functioning into his 40s at a world-class level because of his continuing use of PEMF's. I was also told a story by a physician friend who was a team doctor for a US Olympic team. He said it would typically Caption describing picture or take our athletes 2 to 3 days to recover from competitions. He noticed that the graphic. then East Germans and Russians would be back the next day like robots without showing any of the effects of wearing out. When he went past their camp he noticed that they were all using some sort of stimulation devices, most likely barrel type coils. These were not illegal and were not considered to be doping. Essentially they were therapeutic systems that help to wash the stress out of the body and reduce swelling and muscles and remove lactic acid. I have personally experienced similar sorts of results whenever I've had to work hard in my yard. Usually the next day my muscles are sore and stiff. I have started using magnetic therapy right after I finish my yard work. Virtually every time, the next morning my muscles are not stiff or sore. Research shows that PEMFs stimulate a process called myosin phosphorylation. This is the process of energy pro- duction in muscle. Phosphorylation produces ATP. ATP is essential for cell energy. Depleted ATP creates weak muscles. Workouts and a lot of strenuous muscle activity, deplete ATP. Rest restores ATP, assuming the body has the building blocks necessary to replenish it. PEMFs restore ATP by stimulating myosin phosphorylation.

Caption describing picture or graphic.

( c ontinued Next Page )

Elevation Training Mask is a patent pending "Resistance Training Device" that helps condition the lungs by creating pulmonary resistance and strengthening the diaphragm.

See the Training Mask Here!

Elevation Training Mask will help you regulate your breathing, increase lung stamina, oxygen efficiency and increase overall mental focus. Training Mask can help your over all performance in all sports and daily living.

(continued from previous page) Another aspect of muscle injury and tissue damage from exercise or athletics, is a protein called variably, heat stress or heat shock protein. Mus- cles that are very active are stressed and therefore need higher levels of heat stress protein. Heat stress protein is not just for heat. It was discovered that when you damage a cell by heating it, heat shock protein is produced. It was also discovered that if you induce heat shock proteins in advance of potential damage, using stimulation techniques that are very gentle, you will reduce tissue damage. There is now research going on to use magnetic devices to stimulate heat shock proteins in heart muscles prior to open-heart surgery. Open-heart surgery obviously causes heart muscle damage. Preliminary research indicates that stimulating heat shock proteins decreases muscle damage from open-heart surgery, improving results and postoperative recovery. Pulsed electromagnetic fields can also increase the uptake of oxygen into muscle. Research I've done with the MagnoPro shows at least a 1% increase in local tissue oxygen uptake. A 1% increase in oxygen uptake can significantly enhance muscle performance and endurance. In competitive sports a 1% edge may be all that is needed to win. With any injury, the body will take its usual time to repair. We know from the use of FDA approved devices, that fractures will heal in approximately half the time - so will open wounds, including surgical wounds. Even in massive trauma, animals exposed to PEMF's will often survive, versus those that don't get PEMF treatment. I have personally seen many times, that large bruises disappear rapidly with the use of pulsed magnetic fields. All injuries produce swelling in the tissues, as does exercise on its own. Swelling delays the ability of the tissues to be nourished with oxygen and nutrients. This is why you see athletes frequently being treated with ice packs. Ice packs reduce superficial swelling. Swelling or bruising deep in a quadriceps muscle will not respond as well to ice. To effectively ice tissues deep in muscle you would cause freezing of the muscle on the outside thus causing harm to those tissues. The risk versus benefit isn't acceptable . PEMFs on the other hand penetrate tissues deeply without risk to the superficial tissues to create their benefits. The PEMF's reduce swelling and speed removal of the blood in a bruise, leading to faster recovery and return to activity, competition or training. Obviously, if treatment is applied early in the injury, recovery will be much faster. Once a lot of the effects of damage are settled into the tissue it takes more energy and longer to heal the tissues. So, to conclude, I believe all athletes, professional, amateur or "weekend warriors" should be using daily whole body PEMF stimulation. In addition, the treatment of any injuries with PEMF's accelerates even subtle healing healing, allowing the athlete to be healthier, stronger and perform better.

Dr. Pawluk invites you to view his website, http://www.drpawluk.com to learn more about pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, as well as other holistic and alternative medicines. You can also research product reviews, schedule a phone consult with Dr. Pawluk himself, and purchase the PEMF system that will best serve your needs. Blog: http://www.drpawluk.com/category/blog/

For the more training info, articles and videos, check out our E-Mag website which is updated regularly!

Visit our official site at ProPowerMag.com

How to use foam rolling to improve your training A foam roller is an incredible tool for anyone who is engaging in intense training and workouts. Whether you are an avid runner, are involved in a regular strength training program, or a competitive athlete;; foam rolling is a great technique to improve performance. First let me describe how and why the foam roller works. Everyone has what is called superficial fascia, which is connective tissue located just below the skin. This is the stuff that connects muscles, blood vessels, bones and nerves in the body. Together with the muscles this creates the myofascia system. When people are training hard, have had injuries, or do not stretch enough, the fascia can become tight and bundled together. What this means in the real world is that everything feels tight and restricted, usually causing some discomfort or even a reduction in overall training performance. The work on a foam roller will actually release the tension and create space in the fascia, giving the area more movement. The foam roller can be used on most major muscle areas including the quadriceps, hamstrings, IT band, upper and lower back, and the shoulder girdle. When using the foam roller, the individual will place the area they want to work on the roller and roll slowly, even- tually moving through the entire muscle area, concentrating on the "tight" areas. When doing this, the individual will likely feel knots or a "pins and needles" type of a feeling. This is normal and regular foam rolling will reduce pain and discomfort. This self myofascial release technique is important for anyone with any training background and will improve performance, reduce the risk of injury, reduce chronic and acute pain, improve joint mobility, and improve overall movement quality. A foam roller is an incredible tool for anyone who is engaging in intense training and workouts. Whether you are an avid runner, are involved in a regular strength training program, or a competitive athlete;; foam rolling is a great technique to improve performance. First let me describe how and why the foam roller works. Everyone has what is called superficial fascia, which is connective tissue located just below the skin. This is the stuff that connects muscles, blood vessels, bones and nerves in the body. Together with the muscles this creates the myofascia system. When people are training hard, have had injuries, or do not stretch enough, the fascia can become tight and bundled together. What this means in the real world is that everything feels tight and restricted, usually causing some discomfort or even a reduction in overall training performance. The work on a foam roller will actually release the tension and create space in the fascia, giving the area more movement. The foam roller can be used on most major muscle areas including the quadriceps, hamstrings, IT band, upper and lower back, and the shoulder girdle. When using the foam roller, the individual will place the area they want to work on the roller and roll slowly, even- tually moving through the entire muscle area, concentrating on the "tight" areas. When doing this, the individual will likely feel knots or a "pins and needles" type of a feeling. This is normal and regular foam rolling will reduce pain and discomfort. This self myofascial release technique is important for anyone with any training background and will improve performance, reduce the risk of injury, reduce chronic and acute pain, improve joint mobility, and improve overall movement quality. Callie Durbrow is the owner of Durbrow Performance Personal Training in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her program provides fat loss training for busy women in Cambridge and Boston. Callie is a certified strength and conditioning specialist with dis- tinction and a USAW Sports Performance Coach. Her personal interests include training, snowboarding, basketball and reading. Blog: http://www.ultimateathleticfitness.com. Personal: http://www.durbrowperformance.com

Elevation Training Mask is a patent pending "Resistance Training Device" that helps condition the lungs by creating pulmonary resistance and strengthening the diaphragm. Elevation Training Mask will help you regulate your breathing, increase lung stamina, oxygen efficiency and increase overall mental focus. Training Mask can help your over all performance in all sports and daily living.

See the Training Mask Here!

Plyometrics for powering up your performance Plyometric training is designed to enable a muscle

effort, horizontal or vertical with recovery time

ping out from box and dropping to ground, then

to reach maximum strength in a short amount of

between each, and repeated

jumping back up to the height of the box

time. This in turn leads to muscles that propel

* Multiple Hops & Jumps---combination of the

athletes faster, higher and more explosive.

above, yet are done one after anoth-

siveness in all sports. Add the

er There are several types of plyometric training drills-or jumps-which are useful for developing athletic explosiveness. The following are some of the most widely used: * Jumps in place-a jump completed by landing in the same spot where the jump started. Low in intensity, yet it provides stimulus by requiring athletes to rebound quickly, jump after jump * Standing Jumps---stresses single maximum

Each type of jump is useful for developing explo-

* Bounding---exaggerated normal running, focusing on lifting and "floating" as you run * Box Drills-combines multiple hops and jumps with depth jumps using boxes to land on * Depth Jumps---uses athletes body

use of barriers such as cones and hurdles to increase training variety and intensity. Also, add a 5-10 yard sprint after each jump, or the use of a ball (catching, dribbling) to make it more sports specific.

weight and gravity to exert force against ground. Performed by step-

Training Video Session of the Week for Athletes: SAQ/Power

Train on One Leg to Maximize Sports Performance YES, two legs are better than one, but if you would like to increase the effectiveness of both of them performing together, train them with single leg drills! Try these athletic drills and exercises below on one leg:

Lifting Stand on one leg as you perform any type of lifting such as curls, presses and pulls Ladder/Hurdle Drills Perform various drills on one foot hoping forward, laterally and backwards

Boxes/steps Use a

ing and tossing the ball from a single leg as

mini box (6") or step to

your body balances and stabilizes throughout

perform single leg hops

the entire motion

both sideways and forward Jump rope This is

There a dozens more ways you can make

one of the best: put that

single leg training effective. The more innovat-

single foot in motion as you

ing and creative you are, the more efficient

spin the rope for quickness

your athletic movements become. Plus, throw

Medicine

in the use of athletic actions such as throwing

Ball Perform standing

or catching a ball or other sport related item.

medicine balls drills throw-

Be creative and make it sport specific

pro power workout Try this simple Total Body Trainer to add some variety to your training! Perform 4 sets of each with 8 reps per Plate Lunge Rotation

DB/KB Swing

DB Step Up

Incline DB Bench

Drop your hips BUT only take the DB to eye level NOT overhead

Drop your hips BUT only take the DB/KB to eye level NOT overhead

Keep foot on box and drive into box until your on top;; drive up the knee of the opposite leg

Use the incline an- gle of the utility bench;; keep feet flat into the ground as you drive up DB's over your chest

DB Squat ‘n Press

DB Bench Row

Quick dip your hips about 6 inches then stand up straight and press DB's over head;; lower and repeat

Feet square, bent at waist with your back flat;; good extension as you pull the DB to you side

Should you participate in the Tough Mudder or Warrior Dash? While you will find conventional athletic challenges such as running a marathon that numerous competitive athletes take pleasure in, you might not find this very exciting. You may want to engage in a high energy and extreme challenge which involves multiple athletic capabilities. There tend to be this kind of challenges that you could be part of such as the Warrior Dash or even the Tough Mudder. These 2 activities are serious challenges that involve going long distances via challenging obstacles that really must be climbed over and pushed through in order to succeed. What's the difference between these events? Challenges of Each Event: The Tough Mudder as well as the Warrior Dash are both tough to finish. The Tough Mudder is really a much longer race in terms of miles with relatively equivalent obstacles. If you want to try out one for the first time the Warrior Dash is smaller is length which makes it an easier challenge to accomplish.

Click here to visit site

Levels of competition: The Warrior Dash is really a competitive occasion. You possess a monitor which you bring along with you which measures the amount time it will take you to finish the entire course. There are winners as well as those that lose. In the Tough Mudder, time just isn't extremely important. There is much more of a focus on getting the challenge completed as well as helping those who might be having difficulties. Group effort is encouraged and is a component of the overall viewpoint of the occasion. If you want an individual task, the Warrior Dash far better suits you. Destinations: The Warrior Dash isn't quite as well-known so the majority of the events outside of just one in Australia take place in the united states. The Tough Mudder has a number of events all across numerous nations around the world although most are nevertheless in Canada And America.

Charities: Both events have a preferred charity that they aid;; the Warrior Dash supports Green Sneakers, which gives organizations environmentally friendly fundraising opportunities, and the Tough Mudder supports the Wounded Warrior Project, which gives assistance to U.S. war veterans past what the federal government can provide. Unique Qualities: While there might be some that do this at both events, you will observe many at the Warrior Dash that dress up in outfits for the race. This is not imple- mented to take it all less seriously but to include a bit of pizazz to the entire challenge. The Tough Mudder has a promise and mentality that you're to agree to before the race. This pledge and overall competition philosophy is something that you have to keep in mind the whole time. Roderick Meadows is actually a first generation nerd that enjoys to read and is a student of all the things dealing with technology, business, blogging, lifestyle design, and minimalism. To discover more in regards to the Tough Mudder event and the Warrior Dash, pay a visit to Ro- derickMeadows.com.

The Tao of Belly Breathing We do it every day, all day and night and we do not even think about it, should we? Air is pulled into our lungs, effortlessly bonding to our blood and replenishing our muscles with oxygen. Better breathing could lead to better health. The big question is: How are you breathing? Proper breathing can change how your body feels and can help prevent injury. There are two ways to breathe: belly breathing and chest breathing. Our bodies were made to belly breathe, as our diaphragm is the principle muscle for respiration and a secondary muscle for the core. The diaphragm is a dome shaped muscle and separates our upper and lower trunk cavities. When we inhale, the diaphragm ascends and pulls air into the lungs and forces our belly to expand. The diaphragm is also part of our core. The core activates with any movement as it stabilizes our trunk and upper body. When our obliques (primary core muscles) are weak, we tend to use our diaphragm to force pressure into the abdominal cavity, pushing the abdominal walls out. This leads to shallow breathing and increased possibility of injury. When we get in the habit of holding our breath to perform physical activity, the diaphragm is no longer acting as the main force of our core. The result is we unconsciously use our neck muscles for breathing which can cause them to be over worked and painful. Bad habits can be corrected;; the first step is to determine whether you are a belly or upper chest breather. This can be accomplished by sitting and placing one hand on your belly, and the other on your chest. Try to relax and breathe normally (not focusing on your diaphragm) and see which hand moves more. If your top hand is rising and falling more than your bottom hand, there is some work to be done. Next, see if you hold your breath while physically exercising. This could be as simple as getting up from the couch. Do you have a forceful release of air when you stand? Do you bend over to pick something up and find that you are holding your breath until you are upright? The key is to be conscious of this and after 3-4 days, you should be able to remind yourself to belly breathe before performing one of those activities. The trick is to take an easy, deep breath from your diaphragm and calmly exhale while you are getting up from the couch, lifting a heavy object and any other similar movements. By being aware of how you breathe and remembering to use your diaphragm, you can prevent a potential imbalance in your neck and shoulders which will keep you pain free. If you are experiencing difficulty with the aforementioned tips, you may need additional assistance with lengthening your diaphragm to retrain your muscle potential.

Dave Asselin received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Grand Valley State University in 2007. Owner and licensed physical therapist, Dave has extensive post-graduate training in manual therapy and consults exclusively with the Grand Rapids Ballet. He was All Big Ten 1991-1994 Michi- gan State University Water Polo and 1990 All American at East Kentwood High School in Water Polo. Dave is a native of Grand Rapids and served two years in the Peace Corps in Tonga. He and his wife Jen reside in Grand Rapids and have a son, Luke.

The Performance Training and Conditioning E-Magazine of Athletes and Fitness Enthusiasts

Spring April /May 2014

14” Med Ball training

Track your training with the Atlas Wearable

The latest sports performance book reviews

Eat breakfast to perform at your best

Elevation Training Mask is a patent pending "Resistance Training Device" that helps condition the lungs by creating pulmonary resistance and strengthening the diaphragm.

See the Training Mask Here!

in this issue: Editorial: The evolution of sports performance training Training Tech: Atlas Wearable fitness tracker hits the scene later this year Book reviews: get motivated with Relentless, get fit with Cardio Strength Training, and psyched up with The Man Watching. Eat breakfast to perform at your best. When training, if you PUSH, you better PULL and ROTATE! Use sports psychology for the development of mental toughness To squat better and heavier think TORQUE! Your pre-game or pre-workout meal can be a big booster towards a championship season wsi sports wear puts tech in the your apparel Go with the 14” BIG BALLS for to add variety to your training When “Wanting it” just isn’t enough

What’s your training Philosophy? From the Editor

After years of workouts with athletes and main stream fitness clients

and helping them each reach their goals, I’ve come to learn a lot about not only training exercises, techniques, etc. but about human nature. We all have this inner compass inside of us that helps to keep us on our path, gives us a sense of direction, and helps plot a way forward in our life. At best, it serves as our life philosophy on how we see the world and how we function in it. The same should be said of how we train. Whether you are a competitive athlete in a team sport, into Crossfit, a P90X disciple, a yoga enthusiasts or into any other type of training methodology, it’s good to have a philosophy—-a training philosophy. Why a training philosophy? It helps to serve as your training compass as far as where you are in your own training and where you want to go. This philosophy doesn’t have to be rigid and un-yielding;; it can be flexible based upon our constantly evolving training goals and where we want to go in life in our fitness endeavors.

The Mission The Pro Power mission is to provide training information to athletes and fitness enthusiasts by sharing training and conditioning ideals from various sources helping individuals to reach their personal performance potential.

Publishing

There are as many ways to train and condition as there are ways to create a great meal. The key to success lies in having a training philosophy that works with your needs to help you reach your goals.

Pro Power E-Magazine is published monthly in an online viewing format along with an accompanying online web site and blog.

Contact Information

What’s yours?

Editor: Daimond Dixon Web: ProPowerMag.com Email: PerformanceSport21@gmail.com

Daimond Dixon Pro Power E-Mag

Phone: (616) 633-1883

Training Tech Tech that adds variety to sports performance and fitness training Atlas Wearables is reinventing how fitness is measured. The flagship product is a fitness tracker that identifies your exercises, counts your reps and sets, calculates the calories you burned and evaluates your form. Atlas measures your success;; all you have to do is work out. Name a sport and the athletes will tell you that strength training is critical to peak performance. Given it's nature, strength training is extremely quantifiable and yet athletes are still carrying paper tracking sheets around the gym. Why? Because building a wearable sophisticated enough to track those movements is significantly harder than tracking walking, running, cycling and swimming -- all of which already have their own dedicated fitness trackers. Gym goers want a solution and are turning out in droves to vote with their dollars for Atlas, currently available for pre-order on Indiegogo. Atlas is the first fitness tracker to automatically identify and track exercises. Atlas replaces manual tracking of which exercises you did, how many reps, which weights, etc. and provides beautiful and seamless data to help you fine tune your workouts. Find out why Gigaom, Forbes, TechCrunch, Fast Company and others consider Atlas the wearable for 2014

Book Reviews: Relentless, Cardio Strength and The Man Watching From Amazon: DIRECT, BLUNT, AND BRUTALLY HONEST, Grover breaks down what it takes to be unstoppable: you keep going when everyone else is giving up, you thrive under pressure, you never let your emotions make you weak. In “The Relent- less 13,” he details the essential traits shared by the most intense competitors and achievers in sports, business, and all walks of life. Relentless shows you how to trust your instincts and get in the Zone;; how to control and adapt to any situation;; how to find your opponent’s weakness and attack. Grover gives you the same advice he gives his world-class clients—“don’t think”—and shows you that anything is possible. Packed with previously untold stories and unparalleled insight into the psyches of the most successful and accomplished athletes of our time, Relentless shows you how even the best get better . . . and how you can too.

From Amazon: If you’re a guy with little time to work out and pounds of fat to burn, the thought of having to spend hours in the gym lifting weights and doing cardio can be a daunt- ing proposition. Now, Cardio Strength Training solves both problems with simple, fast, and effective workouts that incorporate challenging, muscle-building combination moves and fat-frying cardio exercises to help you kill two birds with one stone. Built on the same principles Robert Dos Remedios uses to train Division I collegiate athletes, Cardio Strength Training provides safe and innovative workouts and nutritional advice for anyone looking to drop pounds of flab and build a functional- ly strong physique. Every workout is no longer than 15 minutes and is built on the same training methods outlined in the highly successful book, Men’s Health Power Training.

From Amazon: As coach of the University of North Carolina women’s soccer team, Anson Dorrance has won more than 90 percent of his games, groomed far more AllAmericans, and captured more NCAA championships than any other coach in the sport ten times over. Author Tim Crothers spent four years interview- ing Dorrance and Tar Heels players from every era, along with players and coaches from rival college programs, to create the most comprehensive, inti- mate, and unfiltered look ever inside the most prolific dynasty in college athletics. Updated to include the story of the Tar Heels’s 2008 and 2009 NCAA championships, The Man Watching is the authorized biography of a fascinating man and the more than 200 young women he inspired to believe that anything is possible.

The books above are available in both print and tablet versions. See these great books here

Athletes: eat breakfast to perform at your best Skipping breakfast is a bad habit that can be detrimental to performance for athletes. The truth is that athletes skip breakfast for one of several reasons. Some have a queasy stomach in the morning and have trouble eating solid food early in the day. Some have simply formed the habit of not eating breakfast. Some are convinced that there are no breakfast foods that they like. Or the most common reason that athletes skip breakfast is that they just can't seem to find the time to fit it in. If you're like many athletes, one of these reasons is keeping you from eating breakfast in the morning and its hurting your performance. You've probably heard that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" since you were a kid. Well, it's true. Eating breakfast within one hour of waking up in the morning is really important to get you fueled for the day ahead. Break- fast gets your metabolism going and energy to your body and your brain. If you skip breakfast, your body will go into starva- tion mode and start storing fat and crav- ing carbohydrates.

fast ideas to get you started on the right track in the morning: 1. Make a smoothie. Smoothies are really quick to make and taste deli- cious. If you have a queasy stomach in the morning and don't like to eat solid food early, try making a fruit smoothie con- taining both carbs and protein. Liquid breakfasts are easier on the stomach than jumping right into solid food. 2. Prepare your breakfast the night before.If not having enough time in the morning is one of your biggest challenges to eating a good breakfast, try getting it ready the night before. You can pre-make a smoothie and store it in the fridge over night or soak some muesli in water in the fridge and simply add some hot water to it in the morning and it's ready to eat. 3. Make extra and store it. Some breakfast items store well so when you make them, be sure to make enough to have some later. Home- made granola stores great in a jar in the cupboard. If you're making some whole grain pancakes on the weekend, make a double batch and keep them in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days. Just pop them in the toaster when you'd like them during the week.

A healthy breakfast should include carbohydrate, fat, Caption describing picture or graphic. and protein. 4. Take it to go. High glycemic We're not talking index break- about take out from fasts like a bowl of sugared cereal, a a drive through;; it's all about take toaster waffle, or toast will spike out from your own kitchen. Smooth- your blood sugar and leave you ies and other simple breakfasts like hungry a couple hours later. In- cups of fruit and yogurt are easy to stead, add healthy protein and fat take with you. You can prepare sources to your breakfast in addition them the night before and just grab to carbs like Greek yogurt, granola, them and go, or make them in the and some fresh fruit. morning and take them with you. If time is tight, don't be afraid of taking Here are five quick and easy break- it with you-it's a far better solution

than skipping breakfast. 5. Commit to eating a healthy breakfast every morning for three weeks.More than anything, getting a good breakfast is all about creating the habit. It takes about 21 days to form a habit so commit to eating breakfast for just three weeks and it will become something that you do automatically and no longer have to try to fit in or plan for. You will just do it. Give these five quick and simple breakfast tips a try. Eating a healthy breakfast in the morning will make a big difference in your energy throughout the day and will provide you fuel to perform at your best Erin Harner, MS, CHC is a sports nutrition coach and certified health coach. Through her business Empowered Athlete Sports Nutrition LLC, Erin empowers athletes throughout the United States and abroad to perform their best in sports and life. She supports athletes to reach optimal performance through optimal health. Boost your energy today by claiming your free gift at [http://www.empoweredathlete.com/]

If you PUSH, then PULL too….. The body functions in a way that allows for a 3-dimensional lifestyle. We go forward, backwards, up, down, side to side—-we move in all kinds of directions. Athletes need to enhance this ability more in order to achieve optimal performance results. And this means getting stronger and more powerful in all of these different directions. When training, remember that whenever you push away from your body, whether its horizontal (ie DB Bench press) or Vertical (ie DB military press), also pull towards your body horizontally (ie DB bent rows) or vertically (ie DB high pulls). This helps to balance out your bodys overall strength and power in different directions!

...and don’t forget to rotate! Another great core strength- ener, rotational movements can be done with a variety of objects and training tools. These tools range from medicine balls, to plates, to dumbbells, to kettle bells. ...and while we are on the subject of multi-directional strength, don’t forget to rotate as well! Rotational movements strengthen and reinforce our body’s ability to move from one plane to another with stability and balance.

Find a way to rotate in your workouts to create more multi-directional power and balance to your program!

Use sports psychology for the development of mental toughness The role of sports psychology shows how crucial it is for coaches and athletes to practice psychological skills for peak performance. Top athletes around the world from basketball, football, baseball, hockey, soccer, tennis and golf will use sports psychology to gain their mental edge. Sports performance specialists play a key role in keeping up the emotional health of athletes. Often, athletes -especially the most successful ones -find it difficult to keep up their emotional health due to psychological stress. It's been observed that athlete's psychological stresses commonly include: imbalance, ranging from tiredness, injury due to gastrointestinal disorders, sleep disorders, and tenderness and muscle strain. Unfortunately, most athletes remain reluctant to confide themselves in a Sports performance specialist due to the alleged stigma. Nonetheless, many sports practitioners recognize the importance of consulting sports performance specialists, a psychologist, or a therapist for relief or to develop the requisite mental toughness. Working with a sports psychologist is the only way to help athletes become aware of the possibility of a causal psychological requisite for a complaint and investigate into their emotional status as an integral part of their medical history. A sports psychologist is, therefore, invaluable in conducting a non-judgmental ques- tioning, so as to unveil inter-personal issues that may exist. Such examples are with the athlete's trainer, team mate, family member, or stress with regard to a forthcoming competition. For concrete results, it is advised that psychological performance education should be integrated in an athlete's holistic competition preparation practice, performed correla- tively with other exercise tools. This will involve a teamwork effort among the training team, the athlete, and the sports psychologist. Consult a sports psychologist, who is capable of teaching skills to help you to improve your learning process and motor skills, deal with competitive stress, and adjust the requisite level of awareness for peak performance. Make sure that your sports performance specialist will design a training program that will help you to stay focused despite the many disturbances in a competitive setting. About Philly Hypnosis and The Smoking Solution - Todd Stofka is the Director of Philly Hypnosis. The Stofka Method has helped hundreds of athletes create the behavioral changes and peak performance they want from professional and Olympic athletes, PGA golf professionals, Division I athletes, high school athletes, weekend warriors and child-athletes from many sports. Philly Hypnosis uses the best of Neural Linguistic Psychology and Performance Hypnosis to assist you change your personal sports destiny. Call for your consultation 877-557-7409 or schedule online at Philly Hypnosis

torque By Stephen Pruitt, MS Is it leg day? If you don’t necessarily have a leg day you should at least be squatting on a regular basis. Here’s the truth: A healthy dose of different squat forms in your training regimen will make you bigger, faster, and stronger. It’s science… Any form of physical stress on the body will cause the body to react in defense (i.e. the release of hormones). Whether you’re banged up in a car accident or sprint a 5:50 mile the same hormones are released in a specific order. Epinephrine (adrenaline) has many responsibilities in the body, but in stress situations it usually releases first to activate the sympathetic nervous system and your fight-or-flight response. The pancreas then increases output of glucagon to synthesize glucose (sugar) thereby increasing content in the blood, but it is usually countered a few minutes later with the output of insulin. Insulin comes along and forces the liver, skeletal muscles, and fat tissue to soak up that blood sugar. Insulin also increases cellular replication and protein synthesis. A few hours later your adrenal glands release cortisol to fight inflammation and again increase blood sugar. Finally, a day later the pituitary gland recognizes the damage that the body has experienced and it releases growth hormone and that is the good stuff that we want to get bigger, faster, stronger. All of that was a long way of telling you that loaded squats engage more skeletal muscle groups on a greater demand than any other physical activity and therefore result in more hormone activity. Now that reason is in place we should talk about how to squat with the most power, stability and safety. Your squat should consist of strong, complete flexion in the hip, knee, and ankle followed by even stronger extension of the same. We’re going to create that strong, stable squat by starting organized. Mark Ripptoe is a legend in weightlifting. He wrote the book Starting Strength among several other literary contributions. He explains very well the difference in body geometry for the different squat forms (i.e. high-bar, low-bar, front, overhead). We will discuss more on that in a later installment, but essentially you can’t expect to crush your strongest squat ever if your body is not set up for it prior to beginning the lift. (continued next page)

Coaching cues for low-bar back squat (getting organized): Approach the bar with your game face on;; many athletes talk themselves out of a lift before getting to the bar… OWN IT! Take position under the bar with the bar resting just below the apex of your traps (for high-bar back squats) Your grip on the bar should be as close to the shoulder as you can manage;; this will allow you to pull down on the bar during your squat, engaging critical upper body stabilization “Turn on” your butt;; you cannot squat without engaging the glutes, so if you tighten those huge power house muscles prior to starting then you give yourself a head start Position your feet to turn out approximately 5-12 degrees;; this will allow your femur to pass through your pelvis and will allow you to screw your feet into the ground creating torque in the knee and hip offering the safest position for ligaments Take a deep breath and hold it;; this fills the thoracic cavity with air and tightens the abdominals and thoracic stabilizers GET ANGRY AND SQUAT HEAVY! Keep in mind that friends don’t let friends squat shallow. Your hip crease should pass below the horizontal plane of your knee on EVERY squat. Full range of motion is essential to proper development of length-tension relationships with muscle groups. With respect to the long and large muscle bellies of the quads and hams those length-tension relationships are so crucial for athletic potential. Kelly Starrett, physical therapist and founder of Mobility WOD, has a great explanation of the importance of torque in the knee. Try this: On your right hand, wrap your middle finger over your fore finger as tight as you can get them. Now wrap your other hand around those fingers tightly to make a fist. Exter- nally rotate your hand and feel the torque placed on the fingers. Now rotate your hand internally and feel the fingers release and almost completely separate if you can go far enough. This example is an almost perfect model of the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments in the knee (ACL/PCL). When you externally rotate your hip in your squat (or any athletic movement for that matter) you provide that essential torque on the ACL/PCL that stabilizes the knee. This same position torques the collateral ligaments as well. If your knees cave in or your hip internally rotates then you create slack in the ligaments and open a huge window of awful opportunity for strain and tear. Stay tuned for more information on mechanics and good positioning for athletic movements.

Stephen Pruitt owns Kudzu CrossFit in Madison, MS. He has a Master Degree in Exercise Science, Health and Wellness with emphasis in Sport Rehabilitation and has recently been accepted to the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He is recognized by CrossFit as a Level 1 trainer with certifications in Olympic Lifting, Mobility and Strongman Programming. He is recognized by the National Academy of Sports Medicine as a Corrective Exercise Specialist. Prior to owning a gym, he was a active-duty officer in the Air Force and consulted with several private clients on lifestyle changes to combat the fat. Having been an obese youth himself, Stephen coaches and consults athletes and clients with a true passion that only comes from experiencing the bottom of the barrel. Although, he now focuses his coaching on enhancing the performance of youth and adolescent athletes, his heart still draws him to the fight against obesity. Stephen is married with two dogs;; his wife is also a fitness and nutrition specialist as well as a published fitness model. He can be reached at stephen@kudzucrossfit.com Kudzu CrossFit 113 Dees Dr. Ste B Madison, MS 39110 www.kudzucrossfit.com

the pre-game meal: it could win championships It’s about 4 hours before the game and I had a light lunch and I’m nervous about eating before the game but know I need to fuel my body in order to have energy. What should I eat? Determining what to eat before the big game or event can be challenging for many high school athletes and you may not realize it will play a critical role in your overall performance. Many high school football programs provide pre-game meals to their athletes but those athletes who do not have the luxury of being provided with a meal are often left to fend for themselves. This poses a major challenge as the type of meal chosen is based on several factors such as time, location, and finances available. Those with limited time and finances are more likely going to select fast food for their option which also limits the number of healthy options available. For optimal game performance, the timing and meal composition are the two important factors. Timing of the Pre-Game Meal Your last solid meal should be consumed 3-4 hours prior to the start of the game. This allows time for digestion and absorption. About 30 minutes before the start of your game, you should hydrate well by consuming a low sugar sports drink with sufficient electrolytes that does not cause a spike and crash in your blood sugar levels (i.e. Generation UCAN Pre-Workout). Meal Composition of the Pre-Game Meal The composition of your pre-game meal will play a major role in your level of energy and comfort. Below is a list of options to choose from depending on your food preference. Every athlete is different in their caloric needs so experiment during fall practice with what works best for you. Turkey Sandwich on 100% whole grain bread or 6” sub, fresh fruit (banana, orange, apple), handful of almonds, water to hydrate (16-20 oz). Peanut Butter Sandwich on 100% whole grain bread, fresh fruit, skim or low fat milk with additional water to hydrate (16-20 oz). 5-6 oz grilled chicken breast, 1- 1 ½ cups of pasta with a light red sauce, 1 cup of peas or corn, water to hydrate ((16-20 oz). Grilled Chicken Sandwich, fresh fruit, handful of nuts (almonds or cashews) green salad with light dressing, water to hydrate (16-20 oz). Grilled Chicken or Turkey Wrap, fresh fruit, green salad with light dressing, 1 wheat roll with a little butter, water to hydrate (16-20 oz). What to Avoid with your Pre-Game Meal Your pre-game meal can also impair your performance if you don’t choose the correct balance of nutrients (carbohydrates, fat, and protein). Be sure to avoid the following. High Fat Meals (Fast Food Burgers, Fried Food, French Fries) – these are foods that will sit in the stomach for hours making you feel sluggish and uncomfortable. High Sugar Foods or Beverages – Sodas, Candy, Desserts, etc that will cause your blood sugar to drop and increasing fatigue. High Fiber Foods or Meals – although very nutritious, foods like broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and beans may cause excess gas and stomach discomfort. Sports Drinks –Most sports drinks contain sucrose, maltodextrin, or dextrose which causes a spike and crash in your blood sugar requiring you to drink more. They also shut off your body’s ability to burn fat. In addition, the level of electrolytes are insufficient to match the volume of sodium and potassium you lose in your sweat. Energy Drinks – these are worse than sports drink because they may contain dangerous stimulants combined with caffeine that may potentially cause side effects during the game (i.e. rapid heartbeat, irregular heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, etc). New Foods – never try a food you have not had before as you don’t know how your body will react to it. Also experiment during the off-season. Spicy Foods – although you may tolerate spicy foods well when you’re not active, adding them prior to activity may not be a wise choice. You may increase your risk of heart burn and stomach pain. Raw Fish – there’s nothing wrong with a lean cut of sushi grade fish but in the event you don’t get the best quality, you may be paying for it during the game. Tavis Piattoly, MS, RD, LDN is co-founder, My Sports Dietitian and a Sports Dietitian/Nutrition Consultant for the New Orleans Saints, New Orleans Pelicans, Tulane University Athletics . His web site is www.mysportsdconnect.com and he can be emailed at tpiattoly@mysportsd.com .

Over 23 years ago, Joel Wiens, an athlete dissa sfied with uncomfortable sports equipment that seemed to dampen everyone’s performance, began to experiment with compression apparel in combina on with equipment. The first successful item was the compression short that had a pouch for the athle c cup, providing a be er fit with-‐ out the discomfort of the strap. With the purpose of making athletes more comfortable in performance, he asked some of his family to help him make the idea a reality, his Aunt Virginia, his brother Mark, his mother, and his grandmother all pitched in by sewing and developing his first products. His simple innova on ideas then grew to a successful JOC line of elite gear for many sports including baseball, hockey, football, and lacrosse. WSI is 100% made in USA. Being located in the USA gives WSI Sports the edge over big companies that pro-‐ duce products overseas, because they can get their products to the customer faster, and WSI guarantees that their materials are superior to products made in other countries, because other produc ons o en subs tute cheaper ma-‐ terials. Over the years, Joel and WSI Sports have developed many innova ve products, including the WikMax® and HEATR® fabrics, and they expanded their products to even more sports, like cycling, hun ng and skiing. They are even the official sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Ski Jumping Team. Today, WSI s ll prides itself on providing athletes with maximum comfort, maximum protec on, and maxi-‐ mum performance. Their passion for innova on has led to some cu ng edge base layer technologies: WikMax® One of Joel’s more recent inven ons is the WikMax® lightweight fabric. It contains hyper wicking and fast drying technologies that outperform the compe on every me. The WikMax® works to keep the athlete dry and comfortable throughout performance. The fabric uses a “T” technology to rapidly push all perspira on to the outside of the fabric, and then spreads it out to allow for rapid evapora on. This allows the wearer to experience a dry feeling no ma er how much sweat they work up. “We have found that players are wearing only one WikMax® shirt to get them through the en re game…This gar-‐ ment has done everything you told me it would,” says Mike Aldrich, Head Equipment Manager of the San Jose Sharks. The Pro WikMax® Performance Pants/Tights are a great op on for keeping your legs dry and comfortable in any weather. Worn by NFL pros such as Larry Fitzgerald and Ma Cassel, these pants use the WikMax® technology along with a 4-way stretch compression to allow for a full range of mo on. Next, we have the WikMax® Long Sleeve Semi Mock Shirt. This shirt will keep you drier than any other compe tor’s product. The WikMax® shirt has proven to be the fast drying and most versa le base layer item because it can func-‐ on in hot and cold condi ons. WikMax HEATR® is WSI’s most innova ve line to date. HEATR® is a fiber that expands and generates heat as your skin contacts it. This can be a huge advantage for any athlete, because the ability to absorb, store, and release heat in a base layer can serve many different func ons. The first is that it will get your muscles loose and warmed up much faster, this is great for preven ng injury, increasing range of mo on, and improved muscle performance. Another advantage of this technology is that it helps get Oxygen to the blood faster, and increases blood flow in general. The increased blood flow and Oxygen in the blood allows for a faster recovery me within the muscles. The third advantage is the heat. This can be beneficial in a few ways, if you are compe ng or working out in cold weather, the heat-absorbing fabric will be great for helping your core muscles stay warm and loose. If you are in moderate to hot temperatures, HEATR® products can be used to increase your core body temperature, thus ge ng your heart rate up and burning more calories throughout your workout.

Here is the HEATR® Pitching/QB Shirt. This is a great workout piece because it is body mapped with HEATR® over the core upper body muscles, and features ven lated WikMax® panels through the armpits and stomach to keep you dry. Finally is the HEATR® Volt Pant. Like the Pitching/QB Shirt, this product is intui vely body mapped with HEATR® through the core muscles, and WikMax® through the rest of the pants. For more informa on, please visit h p://www.wsisports.com/, or visit WSI’s social media: Facebook: facebook.com/WSISports Twi er: twi er.com/WSISports1 Instagram: instagram.com/wsisports1

Excel Training sell’s excel templates for personal trainers, strength coaches, weight loss specialists, as well as functional movement specialists. Not just any excel template, completely automated templates with dropdowns and user entered databases helping you store and control your information. The vast majority of the work that we do is custom, made to order programs that are designed specifically for you. If you do not see something on this site that specifically meets what you need, please let us know, as whatever it is, it can be made. Whether you have 5 clients or 500 athletes, we have tools to make help you organize your training today!

14” MmEeDd BbAaLlLlSs They are BIG and they come in a variety of weights to ac- commodate everyone;; what I am talking about is the 14” medicine balls that have stepped their game up into the world of not only sports performance, but have become a fan favorite of fitness enthusiasts everywhere. The uniqueness of these medicine balls and what sets them apart is their shear SIZE. The 14” diameter is a drastic difference from their smaller counter part, which means users have to use a little more core strength to use it effectively. The big 14” balls are even better when they come “bounceless” —meaning they don’t bounce. This is especially challenging when it comes to rotational or forward wall slams, but this forces the user to throw with more force and velocity. Types of throws with these monster balls include rotational, vertical, forward, floor slams—the list goes on and on and is only limited by your imagination. The balls can be used in your workouts when training for power, strength, core and explosiveness. See the video below of the 14” ball in action, and if your interested in grabbing your own, click the Rogue fitness link at the bottom of the page and order yours today!

SLAMS

ROTATIONAL THROWS

Wanting it is not enough Each and every time you step on the court or walk in the weight room, you have a choice to make. You can choose to work hard or you can choose to not work hard. Not working hard is actually a choice. You are 100% in control of your effort and your attitude. For this off-season to be as productive as possible, you need to choose to work hard consistently. You must choose get better every day… even when no one else is around. I want to jump higher. I want to gain 10 lbs. I want to be a better shooter. I want to play at the next level. Merely wanting it is not enough. Everyone wants it. You must make the sacrifices necessary to make it happen. You must train with purpose, train with effort, and train with consistency to make your goals a reality. Let’s say your goal is to gain 10 lbs. this off-season. If I weighed you on April 1st and told you on September 1st I would weigh you again, and if you were 10 lbs. heavier I would give you $1,000,000 in cash, would you accept my offer? Of course you would! Do you think you would achieve your goal? Absolutely! In fact, I guarantee you would. You would be so focused and determined you would probably gain twice that. You would be so passionate about achieving your goal that you would attract support from everyone around you. How can I be so sure? Because your commitment would be unstoppable! You would go beyond just wanting it and you would make it happen. You need to find a way to tap into this type of conviction even when there isn’t a million dollar prize involved. You need to approach your training with this type of mindset. Unfortunately, there is a little voice that occasionally tries to derail you… “I don’t want to work out today. I will get up extra shots tomorrow. I will lift weights tomorrow.” If you let that little voice win, you won’t be successful. Trust me.

Staying committed is not easy. It’s OK if you need some help. In fact, I recommend you get some help. You need to find someone who pushes you to be the best you can be. Someone that holds you accountable. Someone that motivates you, inspires you, and encourages you. Some- one that tells you what you need to hear – not what you want to hear. Someone that gives you energy. Someone who supports and strengthens your commitment. Do you have a person like this in your life? If so, make sure you tell them how much you appreciate you them. If not, you need to find a person like that ASAP. Train hard. Fuel smart. Get better. Alan Stein http://www.StrongerTeam.com

Alan Stein is the owner of Stronger Team and the strength & conditioning coach for the nationally renowned, Nike elite DeMatha Cath- olic High School basketball program. Alan brings a wealth of valuable experience to his training arsenal from over a decade of extensive work with elite high school, college, and NBA players.

The Performance Training and Conditioning E-Magazine of Athletes and Fitness Enthusiasts

October 2014 mid-month Issue

Train your eyes with Swivel Vision

Get athletic with Jump Attack

Power up with plyo box jump/Clean Combo

Elevation Training Mask is a patent pending "Resistance Training Device" that helps condition the lungs by creating pulmonary resistance and strengthening the diaphragm.

See the Training Mask Here!

in this mid-month issue:

Editorial: The evolution of sports performance training Training Tech: Swivel Vision Goggles Book reviews: get motivated flexible with The Supple Leopard, get your body explosive with Jump Attack, and mentally psyched with The Champions Mind. Training on a single leg and DB Clean Box Jumps Using Complex Training to get in fit and in shape

Plotting our Course From the Editor

There is something invigoratingly special about starting a new project. Starting the Pro Power Training e-mag last spring was a venture that was a long time in the making. And to be honest, it was a kind of a "wait and see" moment. The thought was l) launch a couple issues in the spring, 2) put up some stuff online during the summer, 3) cross my fingers and begin the monthly publication process this Fall. I am glad to say that I have had rave reviews and a good response from our initial issues, so the finger crossing is over lol. Time to hit the monthly publication trail! We are going to lead off with a mid-October "teaser issue". We'll throw a couple of articles at you, some cool ads, then come back in a couple weeks with the November issue. In a way, it's kind of like the trial and error of training. You dive in head first, but all the while making adjustments as you go. Once you find your personal performance formula in the way of exercises, drills, sets, reps, weight and distances, you plot your course. Our course is plotted in this way: for Pro Power e-mag to provide some of the best training, fitness and conditioning info in a usable format via e-mag, and social media. Of course there will be adjustments along the way-----that's how good projects become great endeavors. The formula for success often times has a myriad of ingredients. But as we plot our course and dive in, we hope that you will follow our lead and do the same in with your goals. Let's get started! Daimond Dixon

Publishing Pro Power E-Magazine is published monthly in an online viewing format along with an accompanying online web site and blog.

Contact Information Editor: Daimond Dixon Web: ProPowerMag.com Email: PerformanceSport21@gmail.com Phone: (616) 633-1883

Training Tech Tech that adds variety to sports performance and fitness training

Swivel Vision goggles allow athletes to utilize their optimal field of vision in order to achieve maximum focus and better hand-eye coordination. Our goggles will help athletes train to increase reaction times and develop superior mechanics. With repetitive use, our goggles seek to strengthen the core muscle memory of the eyes and the mind to help athletes become more successful. "TAKE YOUR GAME TO THE NEXT LEVEL" SEE THE TWO VIDEOS BELOW

Book Reviews: Supple Leopard, Champions Mind & Jump Attack From Amazon: Improve your athletic performance, extend your athletic career, treat body stiffness and achy joints, and rehabilitate injuries—all without having to seek out a coach, doctor, chiropractor, physical therapist, or masseur. In Becoming a Supple Leopard, Kelly Starrett—founder of MobilityWod.com—shares his revolutionary approach to mobility and maintenance of the human body and teaches you how to hack your own human movement, allowing you to live a healthy, happier, more fulfilling life.

From Amazon: Sports participation—from the recreational to the collegiate Division I level—is at an all-time high. While the caliber of their game may differ, athletes at every level have one thing in common: they want to excel. In The Champion’s Mind, sports psychologist Jim Afremow, PhD, LPC, now offers the same advice he uses with Olympians, Heisman Trophy winners, and professional athletes, including: Tips and techniques based on high-performance psychology research, such as how to get in a "zone," thrive on a team, and stay humble How to progress within a sport and sustain excellence long-term Customizable pre-performance routines to hit full power when the gun goes off or the puck is dropped

From Amazon: In Jump Attack, Grover shares the revolutionary program he uses to train the pros. A fitness bible for athletes around the world, this three-phase, twelve-week program has been completely updated with new exercises and workouts as well as cutting-edge information on training, nutrition, longevity, injury prevention, and more. Devised for explosive power, quickness, endurance, and agility, this intensely challenging workout pushes athletes out of their comfort zones, tests their capacity to go harder, and turns “I can’t” into “Just try and stop me.”

The books above are available in both print and tablet versions. See these great books here

One legged training Two legs are better then one— except when it comes to training! Unilateral training refers to training that is performed on one leg. Any training that can be done with only one foot in contact with the ground helps to increase overall balance, proprioception, stability and strength. With one leg doing all of the work, the body quickly learns to adapt to this type of training, making training and performing on to legs seam like child's play.

Power up with plyo box jump/Clean Combo Combination exercises is the act of combining two different exercises to elicit a great training effect. Combining two push, or two pull exercises has been common place, but lets take it up a notch--- combining two explosive exercises. DB clean + Box jumps. This fantastic combo provides the right kind of explosive training due to the fact that you have to recruit so many muscle fibers. Some prefer the "all at once method” where you perform DB hang clean and simultaneously explode to box. Others prefer performing the DB hang clean, catch the weight, then explode to the top of the because. Try out both methods and see which is bet for you!

complex training Complexes are a fantastic way to combine exercises together for a great training effect. One way to do this is by putting together a few exercises using the DB’s. The burn is fantastic, it cuts down training time, and elicits a great cardio strength training effect. In the video below check out the following exercises complexed together for a great effect using the exercises below: DB Clean + Push Press DB Reverse Lunge + Pull DB Plank Push Up + Row

Complex Training

Excel Training sell’s excel tem-‐ plates—-the #1 design program for personal trainers, strength coaches, weight loss specialists, as well as functional movement specialists. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

10 Tips to Increase Mental Toughness by Brad McLeod SealGrinderPT.com A question we get weekly is “Coach, how do I improve my mental toughness, my mental strength?”. The answer can be found in elite athletes. Want to know the #1 difference between the rest of the world and athletes like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Aaron Rodgers and Herschel Walker? It is not completely their athletic gifts. It is their mental toughness that caps it off. When the game is on the line all of these athletes seem to rise above the norm and perform at an extraordinary level. Mental toughness is their secret. Check out these tips to condition your mental muscle and improve your game like a champion.

1. Focus on the Present It is hard for us to focus on the present. With so much chaos going on around us it is easy to see how we could forget our own names. Cell phones, texting, traffic, earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear disasters. You name it – there is crazy stuff happening all around us and it is tough to stay centered and focused. So how can we stay focused? By only focusing on taking the next step. Then take the next step and the next. Dont think about what is going to happen in 20 minutes. Or what happened in your past. Only focus on the present and taking that next step (or next putt or next free throw or next hand off with the football).

2. Have a Short Memory The number one job of a quarterback is not to pass the ball – it is to protect the ball. So what happens when a quarterback fumbles the ball in a big time game like the Super Bowl and the opposing team goes up by 6 points? A great quarterback that has made a mistake needs to have a short memory. Meaning they need to learn from the mistake and forget the past and move on. A great quarterback like Peyton Manning or Tom Brady will not dwell on the past mistake or let it shadow them. They move on. You must do the same. Learn to let go and move on quickly so that you can achieve your goal.

3. Stay Positive It is easy to become negative when a tough situation arises. If left to our own devices our brains will seek the easy way out and sometimes that means flight – instead of fight. A warrior who has command of their mind will take control of the situation. Mentally practicing the ability to drive out the negative and reinforce with the positive is an acquired skill. You can work on every day with tough physical workouts or being exposed to arduous conditions (swimming in cold water, running in heat). The easiest and best method is to control your thoughts. It takes 21 days to form a habit so start now and write down all negative thoughts you have in the day. On the next day begin to get rid of those negative thoughts and one by one replace them with positive ones. This is a great start to a new mind set.

4. Become a Ritual-aholic Everyone has a ritual. We get up in the morning on the same side of the bed and brush our teeth. We get a cup of coffee and read the news on our ipad (or newspaper). We go to the gym and workout and then go to work. We all have a ritual. Some rituals are good – some are bad. Top championship athletes also have rituals. Michael Jordan goes to the basketball court every day and shoots 1000 free throws. Tiger Woods putts for hours and hits 1000’s of golf balls. Herschel Walker does 1000 pushups every morning. They all have a ritual that has conditioning them to be tougher than the average athlete. Yes;; there is athleticism involved in shooting 1000 free throws but Michael’s mind has made him perform this task daily to condition himself for future success.

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CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE 5. Enjoy the Battle Currently I compete in the Masters division of CrossFit competitions. It may be one of the hardest things I have ever done. At my age I could go sit on the couch on a Saturday and know one would give me crap. But I want to progress and become a better athlete and warrior. So I go to battle on Sat- urdays. It is hard to keep your chin up in such awful conditions of heat and hardship while dragging tires on 100 degree Georgia asphalt. But I love to compete. I tell myself I love to compete – and I have grown to learn to love and enjoy the middle of the battle as much as the finish. Telling yourself that you love the battle is a start. Over time as you grow accustomed to this thinking you can embrace it on a more wholistic manner. But start out by telling yourself you are enjoying this tough competition and force yourself to “smile” inwardly. You can feel the paradigm shift right in that moment. It works. I dare you to try it.

6. Visualize your Future Self That’s right — get a mental picture of how you want to be in your future self. In order to get through this current tough workout or hardship you have to not only survive – but thrive. Think of your future self and how it will feel to stand on the podium with a medal draped around your neck. Think about the cool breeze flowing against your skin and you hearing the crowd cheering in the background. Use details to create a positively charged emotion that your mind will connect with. Mental visualization is key. Before the Championship game – athletes like Michael Jordan rehearse the winning shot, playing it over and over in their mind as they practice and shoot baskets. Michael Jordan pictures himself cutting down the basket from the winning game. Tiger Woods see’s himself putting on the green jacket at Augusta Nationals. What do you visualize that you will put in your mind to help carry you through the rough and bumpy road?

7. Hang Around Winners If your wanting to get great at basketball do you go down to the local playground and go for a pick up game with some first graders? Or do you go downtown to the courts where the big boys hang out and jump in the game? Do you head to the gym on a Friday afternoon or do you head out to the local bar for Miller Time with Joe and the boys? To get better – you have to workout with (and hang around) those that are at or above a level you want to be at. To get mentally tough you have to do the same. Get in an environment where only the tough survive and you will see your mental conditioning rise after the first day. Metal sharpens metal. So get tough by getting next to those athletes at the next level.

8. Repeating Affirmations Mental affirmations are a great method. Repeating words in your mind to help you focus on a task is an excellent way to cast off the extra chaos. It is harder for negative thoughts to enter your mind while you are chanting “I am a winner”, “I’m an overcomer”. Come up with a few affirmations. Write them down and use them when your out on your next 5k run or weight workout. You will be surprised how well they keep you on track, focused and keeping negative thoughts in the far back of your mind.

9. Reading Good Books You can create discipline by reading every night. Reading a good book is a form of ritual but it also helps to put great things into your mind. Most people go to sleep watching all of the violence and no good on the evening news at 11. Try reading 10 pages of a good book every night. A good book to help build your mind is “Lone Survivor” by Marcus Luttrell. Reading every night will build consistency and ritual in your life. It will also help to build mental muscle that you can use in your next tough workout.

10. Calm Yourself Have you noticed that the top championships are calm during the toughest of situations? They have learned to calm themselves through conditioning to be ready for the unexpected. Yoga and meditation are excellent methods to calm your mind and body. Stretching and long distance running are also great exercises. The key is to find the method that works for you and begin to incorporate that activity into your weekly routine (remember ritual?). For me – it is trail running, so I make sure to add this in to my weekly schedule to help me cruise at a higher level and to remain tough when the situation turns south.

"When I step onto the court, I don't have to think about anything. If I have a problem off the court, I find that after I play, my mind is clearer and I can come up with a better solution. It's like therapy. It relaxes me and allows me to solve problems." -Michael Jordan

"Nothing will work unless you do." - John Wooden

The Performance Training and Conditioning E-Magazine of Athletes and Fitness Enthusiasts

Track your training with the Fitbit

Training Zen: Be HERE now during training Take the high altitude training mask challenge

Mid-November 2014 Issue

Elevation Training Mask is a patent pending "Resistance Training Device" that helps condition the lungs by creating pulmonary resistance and strengthening the diaphragm.

See the Training Mask Here!

in this mid-month issue: Editorial: The Year Around Athlete Training Tech: Track training and conditioning sessions with the Fitbit Book reviews: get your core right with Condition- ing the Core;; challenge your body with High In- tensity 300;; and get tougher with The Encyclope- dia of Underground Strength. Athlete Zen: Getting better at being “here” NOW Athlete Fueling: Training Recovery Foods Training Tips: Training with a ‘twist’;; Front Squat or Back Squat—Choose! Workout of the Month: DB complex Series, nonstop from exercise to exercise Psychology and Motivation: Don’t wait for your ship to come in

also:

Pur Motion Wish Bone press variations for successful training applications 14” med ball snatch-slam-throw combo for maximum explosiveness

The Year around Athlete From the Editor

It’s a process. Getting up in the morning, grabbing that workout gear, putting one foot in front of the other, and starting that workout. Rep after rep, set after set, mile after mile—-it takes a certain will power. A will power fueled by desire and effort. Training takes a dedication that is a commitment the entire year. There really is no off season from training. Sure it changes throughout the year, depending on your goals, event you’re training for, the weather, what new training equipment you want to tryout, what new workout you want to sample—training does change throughout the year. But even though it changes, we still have become the “year around athlete” training 12-months a year. We take time off for those short spac- es of rest here and there, but throughout the year for the most part we are grinding it out in the gym, on roadways, or wherever we find our training bliss. I like to look at year around training as a goal. When I looking back at that calendar year in December of the previous fall, summer, spring and winter it’s a cool way to count up the number of training days and times I’ve had throughout the year. And then doing the math—taking the 365 days that year and seeing how many of those days were spent training. It feels like the best accomplishment. So as we close in on the end of the year look back and count up those training days. Quite an accomplishment being the year around athlete. Daimond Dixon Editor, Pro Power E-Mag

Publishing Pro Power E-Magazine is published monthly in an online viewing format along with an accompanying online web site and blog.

Contact Information Editor: Daimond Dixon Web: ProPowerMag.com Email: PerformanceSport21@gmail.com Phone: (616) 633-1883

Training Tech Tech that adds variety to sports performance and fitness training Take your training sessions and life to the next level with the Fitbit. This slim, stylish device can be worn all the time and gives you the motivation you need to become more active. It tracks steps, distance, and calories burned and shows you how well you’re meeting your daily goals. Even at night, it tracks your sleep cycle, helping you learn how to sleep better, and even wakes you “quietly” in the morning. Your stats can be accessed anytime on your computer, tablet or from smartphones. The Fitbit is idea for your fitness tracking, and a perfect gift for the holiday season!

The skinny on the Fitbit: Tracks steps, distance, calories & active minutes Monitors how long and well you sleep Wakes you with a silent wake alarm LED lights shows how your daily goals stack up Slim, comfortable and easy to wear Sold with both large and small wristbands included

Get your Fitbit here today!

What is the Competitive Caul- dron? A MUST use application for any coach. See it here

“Our compe ve cauldron is a player development tool. By making the player be er, it makes the team be er. We don’t use players’ rankings to determine star ng posi ons or playing me. The rankings are for the players’ informa on. Those that are ambi ous will want to climb and those that are content to be mediocre will also be content to remain in the middle to bo om of the rankings.”

Customize your own Categories. Filter by Categories and by Player posi on. Create a cauldron from our templates for Soccer, Lacrosse, Basketball, Football, Volleyball or create your own person-‐ alize cauldron. Create and enter your players stats for each training sessions online or via the app. Printout/Email individual players stats or the en re Team. Allow players to login online to view only their stats and progress.

Book Reviews: High Intensity 300, Conditioning to the Core, Encyclopedia of Underground Strength From Amazon: If you’re tired of the same old workouts and less-than-spectacular results, you’ll be excited to know you’ve found the remedy to your situation. In fact, you’ve found 300 of them! High-Intensity 300 is the ultimate workout guide. Featuring 300 of the most effective and challenging workouts, it’s packed with programs that push you to your limit and maximize results. Each workout includes detailed instruction, photos, and training tips as well as variations for types of equipment and difficulty level. Best of all, each workout is designed to be completed in 30 minutes. Chal- lenge yourself with a different workout each day, or take a more focused approach and target goals, such as increasing muscle mass, shedding fat, or maximizing performance.

Get the book here From Amazon:

Conditioning to the Core Serious athletes train for results—results that make them winners on the field, pitch, course, or court. And the key to getting those results, to improving performance in any sport and at any level, is no secret. A strong, well-conditioned core is the lynchpin to athletic success. Get the book here From Amazon:

Get the book here

Some of the world’s toughest—and most successful—men have endorsed Zach EvenEsh’s Encyclopedia of Underground Strength and Conditioning as a must-have, go-to resource for developing the supreme athletic durability, multi-functional strength and spiritual fortitude they most prize…Men like JOE DE SENA, founder of The Spartan Race, the warrior-athlete CDR MARK DIVINE, founder of SEALFIT, and revered strength coach and powerlifting world champion MARTY GALLAGHER. The inspirational life lessons shared in this book along with these training methods are what make this book powerful and timeless. If there’s a hardcore, super-functional tool or tactic for maximizing strength, speed or muscle, it’s here—bodyweight, kettle- bells, barbells, tires, ropes, sandbags, kegs and sleds. The bodyweight section alone is worth more than the price of the book—it’s a ‘must read’ for calisthenics fans. No book combines the old-school methods of strength training and muscle-building with the new science of performance enhancement and athletic conditioning better than The Encyclopedia of Underground Strength and Conditioning. And no author delivers his knowledge with more heart and passion than Zach Even-Esh.

The books above are available in both print and tablet versions in our Pro Power Bookstore

Athlete Zen Be here now for better results

Have you ever been in the middle of a tough lifting set of DB walking lunges, or a grinding run and began thinking about how you couldn't wait until it was over. Then all of a sudden it snow balls mentally into you looking forward to the workout being over, and not really enjoying the training session itself and treating it like work, just wanting to just escape it. How about just staying in that set of DB walking lunges and focusing on every set and rep? How about just locking in during that tough run and focusing on each step that you take, one foot in front of the other? Be here now. Stay in each moment, not looking forward or backwards. When the moment concludes. Move on the next one, and so on. The trick is not to spend so much time looking forward to moments into the future or looking backward into the past. Why spend the moment your currently “in” wasting it trying to be somewhere else? You life is more effective when you stay where you are, giving your all out effort and attention to what you are doing RIGHT NOW. When that moment is over, move on to the next. Your results will be much better, not just in your training and fitness endeavors, but in your entire life! BE HERE NOW

Swivel Vision is the ultimate vision trainer for athletes constructed from the finest American made rubber, premium elastic and high quality foam, with a total overall weight under 4 ounces to provide ultimate comfort while training. A perfect training device for athlete!

HOW THEY WORK FOR ATHLETES Swivel Vision allows athletes to utilize their optimal field of vision in order to achieve maximum focus and better hand-eye coordination. Swivel Vision will help athletes train to increase reaction times and develop superi- or mechanics. With repetitive use, Swivel Vision seeks to strengthen the core muscle memory of the eyes and the mind to help athletes become more successful.

Check out Swivel Vision’s Official Site HERE and see them in action HERE

Training Recovery Foods by Trevis Trevino (A.T.C., C.P.T., C.S.C.S., L.N.) You have been told countless times that your body is your vehicle and food is its primary fuel. However, not all fuel is created the same. Certain foods can set you moving and going for hours while others will stop you from moving in 15 minutes. So, what should we be eating to truly charge the body through its days of running, cycling, swimming, skiing, dancing, or any type of sustained workout? It's true that different things work for different people and eating a variety of foods is key. However, there are still scientific facts that focus on the properties of certain foods, and their reactions inside the body when it's "off the couch" for long periods of time. I have experimented with several of these foods using hundreds of very active people—from olympic runners to professional sports athletes, all the way down to your basic gym rat—and though the portion sizes differed depending on activity and duration, these three nutrient-dense foods are things all active people shouldn't go without.

Coconut Products Around 20 - 25 percent of an athlete's diet should include fat, but just like any therapeutic diet, nailing the amount is only half the battle. We must also pay attention to the types of fats we're consuming, and coconut oil stands out among the others. Coconut oil contains MCT's (medium chain fats) that get absorbed in the bloodstream more like a carbohydrate than a fat—making it excellent for endurance, recovery, and stamina especially when consumed in small amounts throughout the day. It can be added to smoothies or used for cook- ing. It can even be thrown into baked goods instead of butter. It can be purchased at almost any grocery store, and stored at room temperature. Another coconut product great for recovery is coconut water. Coconut water is perfect for electrolyte and carbohydrate replacement and can be consumed before, during, and after any activity. If you're going to sweat for more than an hour, take a drink! Or mix it with one part water and drink throughout the day.

Omega-3 Fats Redness, pain, heat and swelling are the four symptoms of chronic inflammation, the root cause of disease. Over-exercising can take its toll on not just the muscles and joints, but the organs of the immune system, and when combined with stress, illness and poor eating habits, you're left with a large recipe for inflammation. Because the typical American diet contains pro-inflammatory foods high in omega-6 fats, the body needs the anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats to maintain a balance. Because the body doesn't make them on its own, these fats are considered essential, which means we must get them on our plate. Fish like wild-caught salmon, sardines, black cod and herring are great sources for omega-3 fats. Algae and fish-oil supplements are also encouraged, since they contain the longer chain EPA/DHA fats. Also try ALA chain fats such as walnuts, flaxseeds and chia seeds.

Whey Protein Yes, runners;; it's for you, too! Just because you're not weight lifting doesn't mean the muscles don't need to be fed. Sometimes we focus way too much on the carbohydrates, and we forget what's responsible for not only maintenance and repair, but nearly every chemical reaction that takes place in the body. Whey protein is one of my favorite forms of complete bio-available protein—meaning it contains all of the essential and non-essential amino acids. These amino acids are in charge of preventing muscle tissue breakdown. They keep blood glucose steady when combined with a slow-releasing carbohydrate creating the perfect balance of stamina and energy. The best way to consume whey is in the form of a shake. One scoop should contain approximately 20 to 30 grams of protein. Feel free to add a small amount of fruit—1/2 to 1 cups—or one tablespoon of a healthy fat—ground flaxseed, raw nut butter or coconut oil.

Trevis Trevino (A.T.C., C.P.T., C.S.C.S., L.N.) is a sports medicine consultant who specializes in Sports Nutrition and has worked with Professional and Olympic athletes across the country.

Training—-with a twist! Athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike move and train in more than one dimension. Performing exercises and training drills forward, backwards, and up/down is one thing;; now do it with a twist. Twisting (or rotating) while performing certain movements en- hances the actual movements adding stability and balance training to the mix. It also increases the work load placed on the core, as you kill two birds with one stone. Try adding rotational movements with DB’s or medicine balls next to time you train

Front Squat/Back Squat—choose! The squat is considered to be the “king” of all strength training exercises according to many performance trainers, coaches and fitness enthusiasts. There are two ways to hold that load on your body—front or back.. Front squats require more athleticism since the bar must be placed on the front part of the body, and staying in balance becomes a challenge as well as lifting the actual load. Back squats require less athleticism as the load sits on the upper back where less balance is required. Although both have their advantages, athletes involved in performance sports should for sure include the front squats into their training since it will add another dimension (balance and stability) to their training efforts.

workout of the month: db complex training Last month we said that Complexes are a fantastic way to combine exercises together for a great training effect. Another way to Complex is by putting together a few exercises using the DB’s and then going from exercise to exercise non-stop WITHOUT PUTTING DOWN THE WEIGHTS UNTIL THE SET IT OVER. The burn is fantastic, it cuts down training time, and elicits a great cardio strength training effect. In the video below check out the following exercises complexed together for a great effect using DB’s: Lunge + Curl n Press/RDL/Bent Row/DB Bench Press

Don’t Wait for your Ship to come in by Brad McLeod SealGrinderPT.com Are you where you want to be in life? If you are comfortable – you are in decline. In nature it is a fact that you are either growing or dying. There is no in between. You must always be seeking to improve yourself – make your game better. If your satisfied with where you are in life then you are settled, you are comfortable. Comfortable is not good. Anyone that tells you that you need to be comfortable or that you should look for security.. you need to run from them. Never ever ever get comfortable. Some of you are waiting for a chance but you don’t want to get uncomfortable to go after it. You scared and don’t want to have to get in the cold water to face the sharks even though you know that you could possibly find treasure. Cathy Hopkins said ‘Don’t wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it.’ What the %&#$ are you waiting on? Don’t watch your ship sail off into the hori- zon. Tear your shirt off and jump in that cold water. Swim against those strong currents. Paddle hard around those hungry sharks and out into the deep water. Keep going and flag your ship down like it is the last ship that will ever pass your island. This is YOUR life we are talking about… why do you want to wait and stay comfortable. Do something…anything..other than what your doing right now. Make a stand and swim out and take control of your life – now.

Brad McLeod knows first hand about mental toughness after being kicked out of a top tier Spec Ops training unit. He failed out of BUD/S the first time after failing a math test (made it through Hell Week and Dive Pool Comp). He came back a year later and gradu- ated and served as an operator on the Navy SEAL Teams. Today he is one of the most sought after mental conditioning coaches in the world today having recently returned from Ireland, South- ern California, Pennsylvania and parts unknown in north Florida. SEALgrinderPT audios and Ebooks have been downloaded in 20 different countries around the globe. Contact Brad brad@sealgrinderpt.com Check out SEALgrinderPT Coaching to help you step up and take hold of your dreams and realize your goals.

pur motion clean and jerk tool for press variations Pur Motion created

a new training tool that is a game changer for athletes! The Clean and Jerk device allows users the opportunity to create an explosive exercise like the clean and jerk, but without risk to injury while moving along more natural body lines. Although the tradition- al lifts for power such as power cleans, snatches and hang cleans can’t be under- stated, the use of this new device allows for a faster learning curve in developing extreme explosive athletic power.

Wish Bone Push Press

Wish Bone Split Press

Wish Bone Squat + Press

See the three videos to the right on the different press variations that can be used with the Clean and Jerk device, then click the right link to visit Pur Motion and view their entire line of top notch training products.

Med Ball Combo move: ‘Snatch’-Slam-Wall Pass Medicine balls have such a wide variety of applications and your choices on using it for core training, power training, and strength training is almost limitless. One favorite is to use the medicine ball (14” big ball) in a combo explosive and push combination. In the video below you can see the big ball being used in an exercise first as an explosive tool (snatch and slam) and second as an “explosive-push” tool (push press) towards a wall. It’s a great way to create explosiveness “Up, Down and Forward”. If you like the drill and ball, check out our friends at Rogue Fitness below and grab a ball today!

Cardio Strength Circuit with the Training Mask for killer results As an advocate of Cardio Strength Training (combining elements of cardio training with elements of strength training) I wanted to see how well the Training Mask would do it’s job of high altitude training when combined with a kettle bell, dumbbells, jump rope and battle ropes. The results don’t disappoint! Check out the video below of this killer Cardio strength session!

See the Training Mask Here!