I often get asked about supplements:

As most of you know, I spent a couple years while in school working at a Vitamin Shoppe in Los Altos. I learned a lot about what to look for in terms of supplements. I can confidently say that I wouldn't use over 90% of the stuff out there right now, and good nutrition and sleep is far more important than any supplement; but at the same time, there are supps out there that are good and can help you. I'm just going to cover some of the basics in this post:

To keep it brief (focusing on muscle building, maintenance, power, and strength)

All of the above have decades of research behind them, demonstrating both effectiveness and safety. There are some other products that I use occasionally, but these are the basics that I have on hand most often. I'm not going to get into dosing or the super fine details about each specific product but I will give an overview. These are not blanket recommendations for anybody, I am just communicating what I do and what I think. 

​Whey protein is a protein that is found in Dairy products, such as milk and cheese. Everytime you eat dairy, you consume some whey protein. What's great about whey protein is that it has an extremely favorable amino acid profile (very important) and it digests extremely quickly. Both of these things are important for fueling muscle growth and for taking advantage of the favorable hormonal environment (for muscle growth) that results after weightlifting. 


BCAA's, Branched Chain Amino Acids, or more specifically, (Leucine, Isoleucine, Valine) are amino acids that have been found to be particularly important. BCAA's are effective anti-catabolics; that is they help prevent the loss of muscle mass, even during prolonged periods of inactivity, or extreme prolonged endurance activity such as trekking, and  even during calorie restricted diets. Leucine has been found to be a stimulator of the mTOR pathway, which is an important muscle building pathway in the body. BCAA's are your friend if you are trying to minimize possible muscle loss and improve muscle growth. 

Creatine is a naturally occurring substance that is composed of amino acids. It is found in animal proteins such as steak. Everytime you eat steak, you consume some creatine. Creatine use results in increased power output as well as increased max strength. Creatine is effective because it has a lot of phosphates in it. The body uses phosphates to replenish ATP, the energy for work. 

Examples of products I typically have: (every one of below products has either NSF Certification, or Informed Choice certification, or both! - more on that below) 

You can find the exact products through my affiliate links below to support my business :)

Visit the NSF or Informed Choice websites for more info! In future posts, I'll get into why specifically each of these is an excellent product, and go into more detail about exactly what you are looking for when choosing a protein, BCAA, or creatine supplement. I'll also cover other supps that can be helpful as well in future posts :) 

​How to create a Smart Fitness Resolution out of the prior example:
"Get back in shape"  What does getting back in shape look like to you?

Specific: I want to build strength and improve my aerobic endurance. Specifically, I want to improve lower body strength, upper body strength, and core strength. I will measure improvement in my lower body strength via testing 5RM Back Squat. I will measure Upper Body Strength via 5RM Bench Press and Max Weighted Pull Up Reps. I will measure improvement in aerobic endurance via improving my 1 mile time, 2 mile time, and 5 mile time. 

Measurable: Every single one of those assessments is extremely measurable and easy to measure. Though to gauge effectiveness one would need to consider a time component which comes later. 

Action Oriented: In order to improve lower body strength, I will perform a 2x / week Back Squat strength program using progressive overload as the general principle to help build strength. In order to improve upper body strength, I will perform a Bench Press and Pull Up oriented strength program. I will perform bench press 2x / week, pull ups 3x / week, and other accessory arm exercises 2x per week. In order to improve my aerobic endurance, I will do a program consisting of steady state and interval training designed to improve running time in 1 mile, 2 mile, and 5 mile runs.

Realistic: Improvement in Back Squat, Bench Press, Pull Ups, and a concurrent increase in running speed are all very possible in a very high % of people. How much improvement is where this consideration gets individualized and tricky. A 4:00 1 Mile time may indeed be unrealistic for many. A 100 pound increase in back squat may be unrealistic for one person, it may be well within reason for a different individual. You have to know yourself and scale goals as you progress. 

Time Constrained: You have to set time constraints that are broken up into the year, several months, 1 month, and weeks. 
Monthly Example: I will set a baseline test for every strength measurement, and put 5 - 15#'s on my Back Squat the first month, I will put 5 - 10#'s on my bench press the first month. I will increase my max rep pull ups by 2 - 3 reps this month. I will set a baseline for all my running events, and proceed to shave off :30 off my 1 mile run time within the first month, and to shave 1:00 off my 2 mile run time within the first month. My goal is to just complete 2 5 mile runs within the first month. 

What about the 5 W's and the H?
Who: check
What: We addressed what through selecting several specific, quantifiable metrics that will measurably and demonstrably improve strength and fitness.
When: We broke the year down into cycles, yearly, 3 month blocks, 1 month blocks, and week blocks. Otherwise known as the first steps to periodization. 
Where: We have not addressed this, I will perform my upper and lower body strength training program in my garage gym, or at Gold's gym (As example) and I will perform my aerobic training on the road near my house, at LAHS Track, or indoor, preferably on an AirRunner treadmill if available. 
Why: What we haven't done yet is determine why? Some examples: 

Logical reasons: Improve strength - higher capacity and preparation for physical activity in life - improve bone density - improve resistance to injury - improve heart health - reduce chance of cardiovascular and metabolic disease - lose body fat - build muscle - look better - feel better - more energy - not getting exhausted from walking up a flight of stairs - 

Emotional reasons: setting example for family and kids. adding years to quality of life so as I age, I can continue being active with kids and grandkids and avoid preventable disease. I've always wanted to be fit and I owe it to myself to be what I imagined. I want to stay in shape for my husband or wife. I want to stay in shape for myself. I want to be physically prepared to save myself, my family, or friends in any situation. I don't want to be the person that couldn't make it. I don't want to be weaker and in worse shape than a competitor. I want to build confidence, self-efficacy, and I want to be strong. I don't want to be weak and unfit, unable to keep up with my kids and unable to defend myself. I don't want to be a couch potato, and I don't want to be an out of shape person. My physical shape is a direct result of the shape of my brain. If my thoughts are strong and fit, my body will be strong and fit. If my mind is weak and lazy, my body will be weak and lazy. Do I want to be strong and fit or weak and lazy? 

How: This was already addressed via making everything specific, measurable, and time constrained. Cool huh. 

Remember, logic and emotions on their own fail, you need to use them as a team. When one isn't working, the other one covers. Use them as a team.

With all that in mind, especially with a very powerful Why, all you need is consistency and perseverance. Consistency and perseverance are far more likely to win over apathy when you have a powerful why, specific, achievable, and time-constrained goals. Goals that you really believe will result in what you want.

You have a fantastic opportunity right now, this instant, to change for the better. Take advantage, don't let yourself down. GET TO IT.

So the latest investment in the gym is the Rogue RML 3W Squat Rack. It's a rack that folds into itself when not in use, this means you can have all the stability of a high quality rack, while saving space when you are not using it. I like things that are versatile and modular, and this fits that description. This rack also comes with an attachable pull-up bar, so I have not only 2 Squat Stations now but also 2 Pull Up Bars :) 

This banner will tkae you straight to this Rogue Rack. Click through my affiliate link to support my business :)

Step 1. Check Dimensions of product online - Get your measuring tape and measure if it will fit - Find and mark studs that you may want to use. 

Step 2.  Unbox - Read Directions - Pencil - Measuring Tape - Level - Measure again - Mark studs - Mark precisely where you want stringers

Step 3.  Get out Ratchet, Sockets, Wrenches, or Adjustable Wrenches, and Attach Brackets to the Stringers using supplied Hardware

 Step 4. Now that the stringers are ready - and where precisely they will be placed has been marked - get out your drill. 
If you have a partner (i did not) have them hold up the stringer against the wall precisely where you want it, and begin marking your drill points for the pilot holes. This is really a 2 person job, but I was too impatient to wait and I knew I could do it myself. 

Once you have those, set the stringer down, pick a corner, drill the pilot hole, and then pick a corner on the opposite side, and drill the pilot hole there as well, then set the stringer back up on the wall where it goes, and start screwing in the lag screws with a ratchet and socket set, a wrench, or impact wrench - once they are snug, the stringer will be secure enough that you no longer have to hold it. Once you've got one stringer mounted up, then mount the other stringer. Make sure they are the correct distance apart and that they are plum and level!! Once this is done, install the rest of the lag screws :)

Step 5. Once the stringers are secured, you take the rack crossmembers, (the arms that pivot and fold) and secure them to the brackets that we already mounted on the stringers using the supplied hardware. Lock the arms in position perpendicular from the wall. 

Step 6. Take the uprights, and mount them to the crossmembers/arms using the supplied hardware :) This is DEFINITELY a 2 person job - you do not want a 90" upright accidentally falling on anyone or anything, I can assure you that. This DID NOT happen but the potential is very bad so do not be careless. I was not able to get pictures of this part of the process, but below are the uprights. Be careful to ensure that at least one of the uprights touches the floor when it is in the perpendicular position - this means you have to be precise with the position in which you mount the uprights to the crossmembers. The crossmembers have an inch or two of play up or down in the design, and you can also move the uprights up or down in order to ensure that this happens - it is an intelligent design that allows for a high likelihood that you can achieve this, even if your measurements were slightly off. 

If your floor is not perfectly level, but your stringers and rack are perfectly level, you may find yourself in a situation where only one side touches the floor, adjust the height of the flooring or measure and cut a wood wedge to slide under the upright so you can achieve support for both sides. This will take stress off the wall. Installed correctly, this is an amazingly sturdy unit :)

 Step 7. Attach Pull Up Bar with supplied Hitch Pins, and attach the J-hooks so you can start lifting!

So I've noticed the overwhelming majority of folks I talk to about their activity levels over Thanksgiving week all report little to no physical activity. So I've been inspired to talk a little bit about an experience I had on Thanksgiving day that relates to this. :)

The last few years on Thanksgiving Day I've participated in what's called The Turkey Bowl, it's a group of guys and we play Flag Football. I recently bought a Chest Strap Polar H10 HR Monitor in order to get more insight about what my HR is doing during various workouts, as well as things like recovery time and Heart Rate Variability and whatever else I can come up with. 

Several things stand out here:
The game made me work hard for about an entire hour! And it was a blast. This hour was composed of sprinting, jogging, short bouts of recovery, and tons of lateral and backwards movement - this covers a TON of bases as far as goes movement and energy system training. It's timing, coordination, balance, direction change, etc. My Hips and legs were sore for several day Lol.

The next thing is the Max Recorded HR at 174 - which I have yet to replicate during training in the gym, although I have come close, and I also have not deliberately tried. But that's the beauty of playing a game - it makes you try much harder than you would if you weren't competing! For me, I've learned 174 is quite high, and when I get into the 170's, recovery from such workouts takes more time and more carbs than recovery from workouts where my HR never gets into the 160's.

The next thing was the Estimated Calorie Burn for my size weight sex age activity level and fitness level and HR expenditure and activity profile. This came in at 874 and I was quite impressed. It would require monumental amounts of focus and dedication for me to match this on a cardio machine, I typically don't even touch the 400 Calorie mark on the Concept 2 or AirBike, although I am NEVER on there for an hour at a time, to be fair. This left me extremely impressed at how effective going out and playing sports can be, plus it's a good explanation for why I was STARVING after this!  Hence the Duck, Turkey, White Sweet Potato, and Veggies after this on Thanksgiving day :)

Another cool set of data points:
1:32 in the most intense, max performance and max speed zone (this level does not get reached often or for long, except during the highest intensity intervals in training)
23:11 in the increasing max capacity zone (this is quite good!)
28:34 in the aerobic fitness impovement zone (Interestingly this time must have been primarily the time between plays when my HR was recovering from the spikes that happened with the sprints during every play)

I could have learned a lot more data with a high level sports watch that was coordinated with the HR Monitor - this may be something that I'll look in to and share my insights about the data I learn in the future. I would have underestimated how hard I worked if not for this data tracking - it's true I was quite tired at the end and there were moments where I was utterly exhausted (HR 174!) but still, I would have discounted and minimized the overall work I performed. Cool stuff - excited to keep learning more as I go. 

First Impression: This thing is a beast! It's sturdy as hell, and it's substantially bigger than the Assault AirBike. It feels way overbuilt. The main difference is the the drive train system, this one is belt driven whereas the Assault Bike is chain driven. The result is that the rogue bike is smoother and more quiet in operation, and it is very sensitive to changes in power application. The chain system of the Assault Bike is louder, but it feels much more like pedaling a real bike. It also seems like for the same level of effort, the assault bike displays a slightly higher wattage output than the rogue bike does. They're both awesome and you can't go wrong with either one. I'll do a more detailed review and compare and constrast the two in a later post.

Below are pics of the unboxing and install process:

Considering buying your own? My affiliate banner below will take you straight to the Rogue Echo Bike and clicking through will support my business and family :) 

QSC has a brand new Concept 2 PM5 Rower! :)  It's beautiful, and even has Bluetooth connectivity with the ErgData app, which will record your workouts and display additional metrics that you can't find on the regular display. I've been using it the last couple days and it's very technical and impressive. ​

Also we've got a new lighter slam ball, lighter wall ball, lighter KB's and a set of lighter DB's :) Reviews on all the gear and links where to purchase coming later - but in short, I love it all, excellent quality.  Plus there's more gear on the way! 

So with this brand new rower, we will see how you do on the Rowing tests! We'll be using to gauge your progress - 

100 M For Time: this is a max power, short duration, CPr (creatine phosphate) and ATP energy system dominant test - every 1/10th of a second counts! 

500 M For Time: this is a longer duration power event compared to the 100M test. It draws mainly upon the Glycolytic Energy System, also called Anaerobic Glycolysis, which serves as a bridge between the Creatine Phosphate (Phosphagen) system and the longer duration Aerobic System. 

2000 M For Time: this is an even longer duration test, drawing mainly from the Aerobic Energy System (Aerobic Glycolysis). This test duration is long enough that the Phosphagen system and Anaerobic Glycolysis systems can no longer be the main energy provider after a few minutes, so this is designed to place a large demand on the Aerobic System. 

No energy system works in a vacuum, you're always using every energy system, to an extent, to do any activity, the difference is which one is providing the dominant amount of energy. Let's find out how your energy systems stack up! Schedule at the link below or message me let's get you in here! 

In an effort to expand the wall storage options for all my gear, I finally managed to extend the pipe shelving all the way to the wall! This doubled the amount of shelving I have to keep organized and keep more gear off the ground. I needed 2 more Swiss Brackets from Rogue, 2 more 2 x 6 Stringers (Doug Fir) cut to 10", 6 3/8th's x 5" long stainless steel lag screws and washers, and 4 black steel 10 foot long schedule 40 pipe from the hardware store. Check out the photos below :)

There are a lot of different ways to put something like this together but I'll show pics of how I did it this time

Tools used:
Ratchet and socket set
Impact Wrench and Impact Sockets
Circular Saw
Drill and Drill Bits
Reciprocating Saw 
Level
Measuring Tape

1. Check where the wall studs are
1. Cut Stringers to 10" 
2. Trace holes for brackets, drill pilot holes for lag screws
3. Partially screw in brackets in with lag bolts
4. Run Pipe through brackets, find where the bracket wants so sit on the wall relative to height, check if it's level, adjust as necessary, mark spots to drill for lag screws
5. Drill pilot holes for lag screws in the studs 
6. Torque down brackets to the wall
7. Cut pipe to appropriate length
8. Install pipe through the brackets 
9. Attach fasteners around pipe to secure pipes. 

Common misconceptions about youth training:

1. "You're going to make my kids train too heavy."  
Everybody is always worried that as a coach, I'll load up the kids with weights that are heavy. For one, I don't really load up anyone with weights that are too heavy for them, whether youth or not. One has to build the proper foundation of mobility, stability, and movement patterns before one should load any movement. Usually it takes some time to properly address one of or all 3 of those categories, so you generally don't end up loading youth very heavy for quite You also have to build up their energy systems and core strength before they are even capable of lifting anything heavy properly. It isn't good to load up people with weights that they can't yet lift properly, whether young or old. So I don't do it. I meet people where they are at and work with them to improve from there. Sometimes that means mobility before strength, sometimes that means stability before strength, sometimes that means technique before strength, sometimes that means energy system development concurrent with high to mid rep range strength building. What I don't do is make kids lift weights they aren't prepared for.

2."My kid is going to have his growth stunted from weightlifting."
For one, that is a myth. There is no real evidence to be found about proper resistance training stunting growth. Proper nutrition combined with age appropriate resistance training will result in health and growth to their full potential, rather than the stunting of growth.

This myth probably originated due to fear of injuring a growth plate from weightlifting, which if this happened, could possibly interfere with the growth of that particular bone. The thing is that weightlifting does not often cause or result in growth plate fractures. Bone fractures are complicated as there are lots of classifications, and the likelihood of growth being stunted by a fracture depends on the severity and location of the fracture. Even with a fracture though, most do not occur at growth plates (only about 15%). And even if a fracture does occur at a growth plate, most cases result in good outcomes, with only extremely bad injuries resulting in long term growth disturbance (statistically very small). 

This is where it gets interesting though:
THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF GROWTH PLATE FRACTURES IN YOUTH IS FALLING, whether from falling off a bike, falling off a playground structure, or falling while playing a competitive sport, then accidents like car crashes. 
THE INCIDENCE OF GROWTH PLATE INJURY IS HIGHEST AT PEAK GROWTH IN HEIGHT VELOCITY. This means kids actively in growth spurts are more likely to experience growth plate issues than kids who are not, so it is wise to reduce high impact activities during their growth spurts, such as competitive sport with lots of jumping, landing, sprinting, and fast change of direction.

Training can help build up strength, balance, stability, coordination, technique, and being generally physically prepared can reduce the likelihood of some falls ever occurring, as well as improve their ability to land or absorb forces from the ground. In some cases this could reduce the likelihood of injury compared to an untrained person. The same is true for adults and elderly folks. In any case, kids generally don't fall when training with me under a controlled environment.

3. "What do kids need training for?"
For this, revisit part I of this series. There are many things that kids are not prepared for that they encounter in sport and life. The impact from jumping, landing, and cutting for example. The forces that they encounter doing these dynamic activities are very high, much higher than what they would even encounter in early stages of training - they should at least know proper technique and be trained to absorb some of the forces they will be experience in a predictable way - this will at least give them a chance to perform well and not hurt themselves. There are so many more benefits and things to work on - Mobility, Flexibility, Coordination, Balance, Speed, Agility, Strength, Power, the list goes on. Kids that have been sedentary for most of the year shouldn't expect to be thrust into highly competitive sport situations and expect to not have issues. Why not give your kid a foundation of fitness and mechanics from which they can more competently go and play sports or go do an activity? 

4. "It's best to train my kid in a sport specific, specialized way."
I don't believe in single sport year round specialization for developing athletes and youth. Single sports do not provide enough variety and training in all capacities, movement patterns, and energy systems. Year round participation in one sport is also likely to cause overuse injuries that could be avoided if kids rotated through sports in their natural seasons, it also encourages building a more well rounded base. Kids should learn and participate in a large variety of sports.

They should experiment and learn lots of new skills and build all the general characteristics. They should build their overall physical competency and learn lots of movement patterns, they can draw from those for the rest of their lives. As they get older towards the end of high school or college, they can start to narrow down and specialize if they want to become a pro. More and more high level athletes were dual sport athletes even at the college level before they went pro. It absolutely is not necessary to specialize your kid into one sport, even if you want them in the future to play at an extremely high level. In many ways it is way more inhibitory and problematic than it is helpful long term.

An easy hypothetical example to point out the problems with early sport specialization is talking to a parent about a child who is pitcher. They may ask me to work on throwing with their son so they can throw harder. They might mention working on arm strength or additional throwing. Meanwhile the kid pitches year round and has for years and already experiences pain in the shoulder and elbow. 

• For one, the last thing one should do is add more throwing than the kid is already doing! 
• For two, the arm itself isn't what is most responsible for velocity, so it doesn't make sense to just build up the "arm strength" in the absence of building up anything else, as this wouldn't improve velocity.
• For three, throwing is a very dynamic motion, where most of the power is generated from the hips. To improve velocity for a young athlete, you'd likely have more success building transverse and frontal plane hip strength and power, as well as building core and torso strength by building the ability to rotate and resist rotation IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. They need to build the ability to generate force from the stance leg and hip and accept force on the landing leg and hip. If you succeeded at all of the above you'd see success in velocity change.

In this situation the kid needs core strengthening, mobility, stability, and hip and leg power training.  Some rotational medball throwing drills can help build power and convert the strength improvement to improved velocity; and general upper body strength building will be slightly helpful, but less so than previously mentioned factors.

What they don't need is ANY additional baseball throwing or arm strengthening when you view it in the context of how much they already throw in game and practice year round.  

Early sport specialization is generally a fast track to injury and extremely imbalanced and dysfunctional movers. 
General physical preparation and multiple sport participation reduces the likelihood of injury and results in more balanced and functional movers. They concurrently build more athleticism and skills from which to draw from in the future. 

5. "My kid will get bulky." ​
In youth, strength gains are largely neurological. You won't notice muscle mass increase because their hormones aren't right for it (unless they have already reached a certain physiological developmental stage), but you will notice neurological changes. Their nervous system gets better at recruiting and using the muscle mass that they already have, and this results in some respectable strength increases. One doesn't train kids to make little children Arnold Schawrzeneggers, you train them to just build better general physical preparedness. 


We still have the concept of periods of development sensitivity for various physical characteristics, training at various phyiological stages, as well as a detailed explanation of how I would go about building up youth athletes in the gym. 



some pubmed research articles on the topic of growth plate injuries and youth sport specialization and associated effects on injury rates
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2564388/
​www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28288281

Should my kids train at QSC? 
Without hesitation, the answer is yes. You just have to make sure of a few things: 

• Why are they training? 
  You have to make sure the reasons are appropriate for their age, development, and maturity level. Training for things like stability, range of motion, coordination, balance, basic movement patterns, endurance, an age and body appropriate amount of strength, and the like are appropriate goals. These are referred to as basic abilities. You want to build up general physical preparedness. It is good to build up basic abilities in the youth, so they have a basic reserve of capabilities physically and neurologically from which to draw upon when they enter sport, or other physical activities in life. We don't train the youth to make bodybuilders, or strongman/woman competitors, we train the youth to prepare them for their lives and activity. We have to prepare them for their sports, we owe it to them to give them a foundation and a physical literacy that as a society we are failing to provide. 
  
  
• Are my kids well prepared for the demands of their sport?
  Kids are not magically well prepared for the demands of sport if they have no training, period. There is a certain level of technique and force involved in all common movements across sport, whether it be running, jumping, landing, pressing, pulling, rotating, throwing, tackling, you name it. If kids go from sedentary, to suddenly jumping and landing very forcefully, will their movement patterns, muscles, and joints hold up across an entire season? Too often the answer is no. Kids need to be reasonably prepared and accustomed to what proficiency in their sport demands. Kids should learn the basic patterns, lunging, squatting, and hinging, pressing and pulling in all planes of motion, and core stability, anti-rotation, and rotation. 
  Think of the torso twisting that happens in baseball or basketball, or the forces that are generated cutting and changing direction in soccer. These forces are not to be taken lightly, bambi-legged athletes are at best going to be ineffective, or at worst, get hurt. Kids need stability and need to be aware of how their limbs and body are supposed to move. The better the foundation laid during youth, the easier time they will have as they advance and specialize with age. 
  
  
• What can training help my kids with?
  Training can help with a range of characteristics, whether mental or physical, ranging from self efficacy and confidence, to increased physical performance and injury resistance. One thing that's extremely valuable for them is this:
  Learning about movement mechanics and building proprioception, or where your body is in space:
  Learning how to run, cut, jump, and land are extremely important. So is building the range, stability, and strength needed for successful running, jumping, and cutting. Non-contact ACL tears happen most often in this context; a powerful change of direction, or a severe or awkward landing force. A violent knee-valgus force is the most common culprit. If we can teach kids that that particular movement is undesirable in a high force situation, and if we can strengthen their hips and legs, and drill proper technique for dynamic changes of direction and jumping and landing techniques, then we can reduce the risk of serious injury. We can give them strategies to make it much less likely that this will happen to them. We need to help them resist unwanted movement, and I know how to do that.
  
  There are also neurological changes within the nervous system that give them better control, stability, and muscle recruitment which can translate into better performance. They can become better movers, learn upper and lower body mechanics, learn bracing techniques, build and maintain range of motion, build stability across joints and movement patterns, build muscular endurance, aerobic endurance, and some strength. All of these things are very important and will pay big dividends as they continue to participate in activities that demand physical preparedness.
  
  
• Does my kid understand lower body movement mechanics? 
  Can your kid avoid the valgus collapse of the knee when preparing for a jump from a stationary position? If not then can they avoid it during a dynamic jump?
  Can your kid avoid the valgus collapse of the knee when landing from a jump from a controlled drop? If not, can they avoid it during a jump where it is dynamic and lateral?
  Can your kid lunge and avoid the valgus collapse of the knee in that pattern? If they can't can they avoid it when running and turning?
  Can your kid cut and change direction without valgus collapse of the knee? If not can they even safely change direction quickly?
  Does your kid have the single leg stance stability needed to support the forces of running safely?
  Does your kid have appropriate hip mobility for running to be safe?
  Can your kid squat properly? If not, when they sit and stand, or pick something up, are they setting themselves up for problems?
  Can your kid hinge at the hip and brace? If not, are they prepared to be picking things up off the floor safely? 
  Can your kid do all of the above while in a fatigued state?

I could do this for hours. YOUR KIDS NEED BASIC PREPARATION FOR LIFE SO THEY CAN HAVE A CHANCE TO GO OUT THERE AND NOT HURT THEMSELVES. We need to give them a good foundation from which to draw upon during specialization of athletics as they get older. You build generalists out of the youth, and then if needed, start specializing them later. 

They say the youth is the future, so the question to ask yourself is this:

• Do we want our youth to be physically literate and prepared for life, or do we want them to only be physically prepared enough to play video games? 
  ​

The next posts about this topic will be about common misconceptions of youth training, the concept of training age sensitivities, and the difference in training youth at various biological/physiological stages.

We've all been there - we were traveling for a few weeks, we had a really bad sickness; somehow the fitness program got derailed. 

So it's your plan to get back on the fitness program, but you find yourself with absolutely no motivation. You feel apathetic about it. It's like Newton's first law: "objects in motion tend to stay in motion, objects at rest tend to stay at rest." You find your mind is trying to tell you to stay at rest. So you're rationalizing about why it's hard, and accepting excuses to procrastinate.  You are so focused on other aspects of your daily life that you try to convince yourself that you don't have time.

Then the decline in fitness gets real as you lose control over your fitness, health, and decision making process. When you don't take care of yourself physically, combined with less than great decisions about what you eat, you get some pretty bad results. Now, instead of re-establishing your fitness from a point where you had only dropped 5 - 10%, now you might have to start from a point that is much farther away, as your fitness and health have fallen off a cliff. This happens to people all the time, and it's always a grind re-establishing the routine after things like business trips, international travel, sicknesses, or the like. 

So how the hell does one get back to it? I'll share what I did after my international trip. 
When I got back, I was jetlagged, and found myself unmotivated to push hard in the gym at all. I could feel that I had lost some fitness, and had lost some leanness. I was excited to help all my clients get back to all their training, but personally I was struggling to get my own program in gear. It was just sheer discipline that I got myself doing anything for basically the entire first week.

I record all my workouts on TrainHeroic, I mention this because even just the act or recording can be a motivating force, as I do not like to see on the calendar that I did nothing to get fitter. This establishes accountability. I could share every single workout I did over the last 3 and a half weeks since I got back, but I'll just share the basics for the purpose of communicating how I did it:

- I had to start with what I considered "extremely" easy conditioning - a few 5:00 intervals on the AirBike at a very slow pace - I had zero energy or motivation for anything harder at that moment, and I remember being very frustrated that such an easy workout, didn't feel that easy. 

- The next day I slightly increased the total duration on the bike, and slightly increased the pace, and added some core work. 

- The day after I worked on some light and technical drills for the Snatch. I felt surprisingly good and moved well, but just felt less powerful than I'm used to. I added some upper body weightlifting after, and I increased the intensity on the AirBike intervals again. I felt great after the workout, and then was totally caught off guard by the ensuing soreness for DAYS. I could barely believe it. Before the trip, that wouldn't have made me sore at all, but at this point it was like I had done a REALLY tough workout. That left me extremely frustrated. 

- The day after that I went into some light to medium intensity Plyo Drills and some light running intervals, more core work, more strength work, and more AirBike with gradually increased difficulty each day. I had to do a lot of foam rolling and flossing of the calves and hamstrings to get away with that and recover from it.

- Took the weekend off, then got straight back into a similar pattern the next week, except I added more volume and frequency for upper body strength, and added more frequency for olympic weightlifting while keeping intensity and volume relatively low. I added more deliberate recovery methods for my legs - this made the recovery faster and the thought of doing lower body strength movements more bearable. At this point my progress was improving and it was starting to get motivating again, but it was still a grind. 

The next week I followed the pattern similarly again, but with a particular variable raised; either volume, intensity, or frequency of everything.

Circling back to Newton's first law "objects at rest tend to stay at rest, unless acted upon by an outside force." You've got to use your head to impart that force (strength of will + physical training) to get yourself moving again and building momentum on your program, even if the force is barely enough to get moving in the beginning. It gets easier as you go. 

​These are photos from some of the Snatch work I was talking about, and then a photo from one of the first times I was getting back on the Bike and I was barely able to get myself onto the bike at all haha. You gotta overcome that resistance to train. You run in to a lot of barriers and difficulties, both physically and emotionally, when attempting to come back like this. Just expect them and accept that there will be difficulties, just keep showing up and putting the work in. 

​SO here I am now, 3 and a half weeks later
- my cardio is probably only 0.5 - 1 week away from where it was before I left.
- my strength is probably 1 - 2 weeks off from where it was.
- my ability to handle the volume of strength work for the lower body may still be 2 - 3 weeks away.

It may take 2 - 5 weeks to get back to where you were, depending on initial fitness level, and that's if you're dedicated and you do a good job! That's ok, just accept it and keep moving forward. 

The point is this:

• Don't listen to your crappy rationalizations about how you don't have time!
  
  
• ​Find a way to motivate yourself, or just use sheer discipline and dislike of the consequences of continued neglect of your fitness, literally use any strategy you need to use to just get yourself in the door of the gym!
  
  
• Start back up with something, even if you feel that it's pathetically easy. It won't be that easy for your body at that moment, and just accept that you won't be performing at a high level yet. Just do the work anyway.
  
  
• Be patient, and reduce your normal volume. You'll have a harder time recovering from what you consider routine volume for a few weeks. It's extremely frustrating for those of us that are performance oriented, but it's ok. Just accept it, and gradually build up your tolerance again, it will work. 
  
  
• String together consecutive days of conditioning, this will really help your aerobics, your ability to recovery, and your ability to push in your conditioning. When you feel that you got your wind back, your motivation level to workout gets higher. 
  
  
• Be patient with your strength and plyo's, after a few weeks, things will get back to the way they were, and you'll recover and be able to handle all the volume you were accustomed to before. Just accept that there will be a period of time where you won't be able to express strength and explosiveness the same way that you think you should. It's ok. Just give it time.
  
  
• Avoid the "all or nothing" mindset. Just because one day, your workout performance was not what you expected, does not mean that you have to get so upset about it that you give up on the whole thing. Just prepare for the next day and try again. Giving up gets you going backwards. Trying again gets you going forward. 

​Everything is cumulative in fitness, so put down more days that you did enough to get fitter than days where you got less fit. Have faith in the training process, give your body time to adjust to the stimulus. It will, and after a few weeks, you'll be killing it just as you were before the break! ​