Click, Click, Boom!!!
By · CommentsThe title of this blog post is not only the catchy tag line of a song that I have heard a lot, but also a really appropriate description of how something really “exploded” on me this week. Exploded in the best sense of the word. The concept just became really apparent and clear.
I have been a member of the IYCA for almost a year now and have used their system of Complete Athletic Development a lot in designing programs for athletes of all ages. This last week was when it really “clicked” though. I really kind of figured out what being a part of the organization actually meant and what WE (as a group of professionals working with youth athletes) really stand for.
This week I began working with an AAU basketball organization that has athletes ages 8-12. All 25 of the kids that came in to my facility seemed to have some apprehension about the program, I asked them what they expected to do and unanimously they said, “Well you are going to make us run and do drills”. They explained that their AAU team had previously worked with a Strength and Conditioning coach and very few of them enjoyed the program. I think they expected the same out of me.
I took the first 5 minutes to remember their names and find out who the best shooter is (all of them are the best shooter), who the best defender is (all of them, again) and who handled the rock the best (surprise! All of them have “the best handles”).
We began our program with a warm-up straight out of Complete Athletic Development and then spent some time playing some games with direction. An impromptu race between myself and the kids had them all dying with laughter and THAT was the moment where their expectations of an athletic development program changed forever. They no longer viewed it as “running and drills” (there were some drills, and some running, well a race, which I won), isntead they got to see that fitness and training are fun things.
Everyone one of them said it was way more fun than they thought they could have and couldn’t wait to come back.
I can hardly wait for them to come back again, this is exactly the reason that I got into this business.
Wil
How do you take your abs?
By · CommentsRock hard. Ripped. Shredded. Cut. Washboard. Anyway you slice it, everyone wants em. How the hell do you get em?
Nice Abs. How much do these studs clean??
It is essential to performance to have the strongest and most stable core possible. Sports put a tremendous strain on your core as it tries to help you maintain your balance against forces that come at it from all directions.
Think of a football game. rarely does something happen directly in front of you. Most likely you are going to have to change directions to get to the ball carrier, or a glancing blow will be placed on you as you try to block someone. So how are we going to prepare ourselves for this type of stress?
Sit ups. Not really gonna cut it.
Crunches. Yeah those won’t do it either.
We squat. We are doing abs. We warm-up. We are doing abs.
We focus first on stability of the core. We learn to maintain core stability while lifting as well and then we move on to moving rotationally in a dynamic manner. No time for lying on your back to do rotational work, no need either. It takes a lot to be a good athlete but it doesn’t take a lot of sit ups.
Be Force Fit
Wil
Setting goals
By · CommentsWith the New Year having come and gone already, a lot of people are setting resolutions for the tasks or goals they are looking to accomplish in the next 12 months. I am no different.
I like to set goals for every aspect of my life, from the business, to life, to my own training. My life is colored by the vivid hues of Post It notes (oddly enough none are yellow, all however are important). Each note holds one more item that has been, or needs to be accomplished. Long term, short term, today, each time frame has goals towards which I am working.
I am certain that there is a better way to organize what I am doing, but the post it notes are right in my face and that is just the way it needs to be. I want my goals to permeate all aspects of what I am doing.
Recently one of our athletes was reaching the last week of an 8 week training block that would culminate in his attempting a 3 rep max in the clean. He approached it the right way…
-He set out a long term goal
-He set out goals along the way, to accomplish in each workout.
-He worked his butt off in each workout to ensure that he was keeping up his progress.
And you know what happened when he went out to accomplish his long term goal in the cleanl??
HE BLEW IT OUT OF THE WATER.
Thats right he didn’t just pr in the clean he pr’ed by over 30 lbs. He did 25 lbs more than his previous record (that he did for a single) for 3, and he even got to attempt a single rep max at the end. You see there always seems to be an extra added bonus when your work your butt off to get to a goal.
So what are your performance goals? I hope to hear them and help you to get to them.
Wil
Welcome to the Force Performance Blog
By · CommentsThanks for taking the time to stop by Force’ful’ Performance, the home of Bloomington, Indiana’s premeire sports performance center, Force Fitness and Performance.
At Force Fitness and Performance we train athletes of every level, Jr. High to Olympians, all of them working hard and paying the price to be the best. The idea of Forceful Performance is that with the right training and a ton of hard work, your performance on the field or court will help you to dominate the opponents.
This blog will be a forum for me to discuss the most up to date training methods and share some personal stories from my life as formerly an athlete and currently a Sports Performance coach to dozens of athletes. Stop by often to hear what I am ranting on currently and to find out what will take you to the next level of performance.
Be Force Fit
Wil
