Here in part 2, I am going to go over a resistance band exercise that I call a Sprint Thrust.  In the video, you will see a Bucknell sprinter doing a series of sprint thrusts from her direct workout.  On this day we did 4 sets of 8 reps.  These are performed by placing anchored bands over the shoulders and pushing through the feet into a semi-horizontal jumping motion.  This is done very aggressively, while maintaining a braced mid-section, and triple extending through the legs.

When the athlete presses into the bands; the bands will stretch and get progressively tighter, just like a rubber band, as it is stretched.  This will cause the athlete’s muscles to recruit more muscle fiber stimulation as she presses  through the full range of motion.  This is called accommodating resistance.  This can be a very powerful way to train, but should not be attempted by a novice weight lifter or young athlete.

When in the extended position the bands will pull you back and your body will have to decelerate this backwards pull.  When she drops back into a deep squat position, the athlete will be required to reverse the direction quickly and explode with all their power back into extension.  This principle is very similar to the principle of plyometrics.   I believe this to be safer and more effective than high depth box jumps (jumping down off a high box and then exploding back up into a jump when landing on the ground).

This exercise will primarily benefit a sprinter by enhancing their power output out of the blocks for a race.  Let’s face it, sprinters are typically fast at this level.  If I can get them even just a fraction of a second faster out of the blocks, then this exercise would be considered successful.  Guess what….it is successful!

This is also a great exercise for swimmers and football lineman to train with.  Just look at the positioning and the application for use and you can easily see why.  Just make sure the bands are anchored securely and the feet can press off of something as well.  I am using a modified jump platform that we welded pipes onto.  I have seen it done in power racks with the bands anchored to the base of the racks and a 2 x 4 across the front of the rack for the feet to press into.  Just be safe in what ever set-up method you choose to use and always start off with light band tension when first learning.  Progress with band tensions slowly when increasing the width or number of bands being added.

Hope this helps,

To your health,

Jerry

That is basically exactly what we did with the weight room’s old sound system (if you even want to call it a sound system).  The CD player has not worked for years, the speakers were blown and would make a cracking sound if turned up to loud, and the receiver never really received anything and finally died a few weeks ago.

So you can see how a system like this can really frustrate you and a weight room full of athletes who just want to squat the house with some motivating tunes.  So we took it out back behind the weight room and took a sledge-hammer to it and the stress just melted away!  I highly recommend this type of stress relief treatment for anyone who has problems with electronics that don’t work.  There have been many times I would like to do this with my computer!!

Seriously though, stress can be an issue for a strength coach just like anyone else.  How you deal with your stress is up to you.  Here are a couple of examples that I do beside smashing equipment with a sledge-hammer.  I like to turn on some old school 80′s hair band music and hit the weights hard.  Sometimes I’ll just go to a local stream and fish for an hour or two.  Just hanging out with my family and kids is great!  I also love to go on back packing/hiking trips, sometimes for a few days at a time.  There is nothing like going out in the woods and hiking trails with no TV, radio, or phone.  Just soaking up all that nature that God provided for us.

Hey, you just need to know what works for you.  You must find time for yourself to de-stress.  It is important for both your physical and mental health.  If you want to share some ways you have found to de-stress, please do so in the comments section below.  It might help give someone else reading this a great idea.  By the way, I hope you have a great stress-free day!

Hope this helps!

To your health,

Jerry

The hang clean is an Olympic lift and many strength coaches use it in training athletes mainly because of the potential explosive power an athlete is capable of developing.  Just look at the picture here of an Olympic lifter completing a successful lift.  He is excited and jumps in the air.  Just look at the amount of space between his feet and the ground.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words; this picture just says AWESOME all over it!

The video above shows one of my Bucknell sprinters performing hang cleans.  On this day, I had them doing 7 sets of 2 reps.  I wanted to record her from different angles so you could see how she moved as she drove away from the floor to propel the barbell straight up and then received it in the clean catch position.

I follow very similar clean guidelines that are based from the USA Weightlifting (USAW) organization.  Cleans can be done from various levels of the body.  Typically they range from the mid-thigh, just below the knees, or from the floor.  When I instruct the hang clean I do it with my athletes from the mid-thigh to just above the knees.  The following will be the USAW’s Clean guidelines:

• Feet hip width (Pulling Position) or (Jump Position)
• Toes turned out (slightly)
• Shoulder Width Grip
• Inflate chest; sit back
• Unlock Knees
• Moving from the hip only, lower the barbell to mid-thigh position
• The lifter then extends the body upward in a violent motion
• The shoulders shrug, the arms are straight and the weight shifts from the heels to the ball of the feet
• After the lifter finishes the pull, she pulls herself under the bar and catches it in the receiving position (Landing Position)
• The bar should rest across the shoulders and clavicles while keeping the chest and elbows elevated “Big Chest”

Now this is a generalized list and there are obviously more coaching ques that certain coaches can use when training their athletes.  Another point to be made here is Olympic lifts should never be rushed into.  There is a level of base strength and coordination that is required if you want to be successful and reap the benefits without high chances of getting injured.  All of my athletes must go through the following exercises first and be efficient at them before I ever start coaching them into the basic hang clean:  Back Squat, Front Squat, RDL, Military Press, Upright Row, Shrug, Power Shrug, High Pull, RDL To High Pull…..  As you can see, they will develop a good base of strength first and all of these exercises in one way or another will play a role in learning how to hang clean.

When learning how to hang clean, always start super light and make sure you are working with a coach who has a clue.  All of my athletes start with a broom stick regardless if they say they did hang cleans in high school or not.  They then progress to just the barbell.  By the way, not all barbells are created equal.  Learn the difference between an Olympic bar and a Power bar.  For hang cleans you want to choose an Olympic bar if possible.  The easiest way to identify an Olympic bar is there typically is no knurling in the middle of the bar.  A power bar typically has knurling in the middle.  A power bar would be used for squats, bench, etc..  Use an Olympic bar for all explosive lifts and when possible use proper bumper plates with the Olympic bar.  This might not always be possible and will be dependent as to what you have available.  Bumpers are preferred so you can drop the bar when it gets heavy.  In the video, the sprinter was using moderate weight and we were focusing on bar speed, so she was able to bring the bar back down to her thighs.  When she would go heavy, she would be instructed to drop the bar form the clean catch position.  This is to prevent injury when bringing the weight back down.

Another big issue that needs to be addressed is understanding what you are training for.  This hang clean training is for full power development.  You do not want to do high reps and you do not want to be fatigued.  We do not want the central nervous system taxed.  In a sense, we are trying to prime it for complete explosion.  This will not occur if you are fatigued.  So if you are training to develop and enhance power output, I usually will not go over 5 reps.  Remember, this is NOT cross  fit training.  I also promote a longer than normal rest period between sets.  Many times over 2 minutes.  I have found this to produce the best results.

Any Olympic Lift takes time to develop and learn.  Don’t rush it and progress within your abilities.  Most athletes are never going to be competing in the Olympics but technique is important, but it does not have to be perfect.  Be smart and safe with your training and chances are you will be pleased with your results.

Hope this helps!

To your health,

Jerry

I recently was sent the Fit For All Ball Core Workout System and was asked to use it with my athletes and provide my opinions on it.  Well after two months of these being in our weight room and them being used hundreds of times, my opinion is as follows.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well these targeted the core region and especially the stabilizers of the body, particularly in the shoulder complex.  As a strength coach, I liked that fact that it not only hit the mid-section but other areas as well.  The Spheerz (Fit For All Ball) are well-built and handled the punishment of a college weight room very well.  I also found them to be easy to clean when the ball got dirty.

If you have ever used an abdominal rollout wheel, the Fit For All Ball utilizes those same principles and movements but you are able to do it with independent 360 degree rolling balls under your hands.  This raises the intensity level up a few notches.  I think this is why the my athletes like using it so much.  They like to be challenged.

I would recommend this product to athletes looking to build up their core and much more.  I would be hesitant to recommend this to individuals who are highly out of shape or very over weight as this product is somewhat geared more towards individuals who have a level of strength and fitness.  For more information about the Spheerz Core Workout System you can go to their website: www.fitforallball.com .

I do want to be very clear with the following statements.  Everything stated in this product review is strictly my opinion and in no way, shape, or form directly implied by this company through me.  I also want to state, that I by no means am I affiliated with this product or receiving any commissions by any sales of this product.  I believe it is important for me to make these statements as some people will assume I only posted this to make money and that is clearly not the case.

I hope this helps!

To your health,

Jerry

First, I would like to thank you for watching that video and to keep good with what I said in my video, here is my email address for you to have: jshreck@bucknell.edu .  Please feel free to email me with your questions or requests for this website.  As always you can also leave comments with these same questions or requests.  Usually, this will get more people talking and asking questions and that is what I want to know-to provide you with answers and/or my professional opinion.

My next few posts will include a product review of new core training equipment and a three-part series on power training in the weight room with an over view from a sprinters workout.

I also will have my Core Training Manual that will be released soon.  This is everything I do with my athletes in the weight room that involves their core.  This training manual is geared for athletes and coaches who train athletes.  It is filled with exercises and proven programs.

I also teamed up with Jedd Johnson and we put to gather a training DVD & Manual geared towards a systematic approach to teaching deceleration training to prevent ACL tears.

I am so excited to be able to offer this information.  I truly have been working hard on this information to be released over the past 2 years.  This is a compilation of information that I have been doing with athletes for the past 13+ years.

So get ready to go for an awesome ride as this website is about ready to explode this summer with great information.  Remember, you hold the keys.  All you have to do is ask.  Just like the site is labeled “Variety Trainer”-I have experience in many avenues of training.  Predominately athletics, but also body building, power lifting, grip training, strongman, etc..

Again, thank you for being involved with this website and if you are not signed up for the newsletter, please take a moment and do that so I can keep you updated.  I promise not to over flow your email account with useless info and I would never jeopardize your trust by sharing your email address.

Talk to you soon,

Sincerely,

Jerry

There are many muscles located in the upper back region and I believe the Rhomboid muscles (major and minor) are the main culprits of much of this tightness.  In the picture (from Wikipedia) to the right, the rhomboid major muscle is highlighted in red.  The rhomboid minor lies just above it.  When these muscles get tight it is very difficult for many individuals to get a good stretch on those muscles.

Manual stretching in my opinion is by far the most effective method of stretching these muscles.  I want to point out here that you will be also stretching other muscles in the area as well, I just think the rhomboid muscles many times are the major problem.

There are various methods of positioning the body to perform this stretch.  Since I am usually in a weight room with the athletes, I am going to explain how to do it standing since I will not have a nice treatment table to have them lay down on and a weight room bench is not wide enough for the position they would need to be in (face down).

First, be very direct with your athlete and explain to them what the stretch is and how it will potentially help them.  If you already watched the video, you saw that this is very hands on and someone may not be comfortable with you pushing your fingers behind their scapula.  After the athlete verbally tells you they would like to have the stretch done, explain to the them that if the feel light-headed at any time to let you know.  An athlete might feel faint when you are doing the stretch and they are thinking about what you are actually doing.  In the 12+ years that I have been performing this stretch on athletes, this has happened only one time.

After you have completely explained how the stretch is done, tell the athlete to relax as he/she is standing there.  This is why a treatment table makes this stretch a little easier to perform because the athlete can lay down.  I will lightly tap the area where the rhomboid muscles are located.  This will help to relax the musculature in that area.

Locate the bottom point of the scapula.  You may have to poke around a little if you have a thicker athlete.  After you have located the bottom point, run your fingers up the backside of the bone until your pinky finger is just above the bottom point (refer back to the video for a visual explanation).  Keep your fingers straight and lay them flat against the back.  The back of your hand and wrist will be towards the spine.  Now take your other hand and place it on the front portion of the shoulder.  With this hand you will push the shoulder back and this will raise the scapula slightly allowing you to push your fingers under the scapula.  As your fingers start to go behind the scapula, continue to push on the front of the shoulder.  This will increase how deep you will be able to get your fingers allowing for a better stretch.  Hold it in that position for a few seconds.  Sometimes you will actually feel the muscles relax as you are holding the stretch.  The scapula is a “floating” bone and is attached and positioned by muscles so you do not have to worry about dislocating anything.

Keep in constant communication with your athlete as you take pressure off the front shoulder and remove your back fingers.  Slide your fingers further up the scapula towards the neck.  Tap the area again to help relax the muscles.  Perform the stretch again in this location.  You will find this to be a little more difficult and tighter.  If it is the first time the athlete is having the stretch done, it may be difficult for them to relax so you may have to make a few attempts.

After you have completed the stretch, perform it on the other side as well.  Then have the athlete move their arms around and ask them how they feel.  The expression typically on their face will be priceless as they can not believe how much better they feel.  I am warning you now that once you do this stretch on someone, they will become a pain in your butt!  The stretch is so effective that the athlete will continue to come back to you every couple of days and ask for it again and again.  In the video, I explain how this stretch can be done with a tennis or lacrosse ball.  I typically show an athlete at this point how to do it with a ball now that they understand and have felt the stretch.

This is a great stretch to increase range of motion and scapular mobility but do not abuse this stretch.  I typically will only stretch the area once in each position.  Mobility in the scapula is a good thing but hypermobility (rarely ever seen) is not and is usually found in athletes with muscle imbalances.  Understand what you are dealing with and then you can make a good and sound judgement on how to fix it.

Hope that helps!

To your health,

Jerry

I asked Jay if he would mind sitting down with me for a non-scripted chat/interview and we recorded it to share with you.  Below is Jay’s bio that I stole off his website www.CVASPS.com .  I would recommend checking it out, it is full of good training information from a variety of contributing strength coaches and weight training professionals.  I am also going to ask Jay for a guest post that I will share with you when he is able to get us one during his busy schedule.

Jay DeMayo has been the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Men’s and Women’s Basketball at the University of Richmond since October 2005.  Jay is a graduate of the State University of New York College at Cortland where he was a two year starter on the Men’s Soccer team.  Prior to taking over the responsibilities of Men’s and Women’s Basketball at UR Jay worked with every team on campus as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach working.  During his tenure at Richmond, Coach DeMayo has worked with five All-Americans, and 10 Atlantic 10 championship teams.  Presently Jay is also responsible for the dry land training for NOVA Aquatics LLC, one of the top youth swim clubs on the eastern seaboard where he has coached over twenty athlete’s whom have qualified for Olympic Trials.

Coach DeMayo’s constant effort to better himself as a coach has brought him numerous certifications.  Coach DeMayo has his Level I coaching certification from USA Track and Field, is certified as an American Kettlebell Club Coach, United States Weightlifting Sport Performance Coach and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Coach DeMayo has also been a presenter for four consecutive years at the Pennsylvania State Clinic at Juniata College.  At the PA State Clinic Coach DeMayo has spoken on “Training Soccer Players, Developing a 3 Day Strength Training Program,”  “Max Effort Training for Sports,” and “Lift Preparation, The Next Evolution of the Warm Up,” “Developing a Progression for Auxiliary Lifts” and “Teaching the Squat and Deadlift.”  Coach DeMayo has also presented at the University of Richmond Sports Performance Clinic and with the Cal Ripken Jr. Baseball Academy.  Coach DeMayo has also been involved in developing the Basketball Strength Symposium in Raleigh, NC, and the Central VA Sports Performance Seminar.

I would personally like to thank Coach DeMayo for taking the time to sit down to have this discussion.

Hope this helps!

To your health,

Jerry

There have been some times that I have been particularly proud of my wife Trina.  The first, is when I dropped a knee on Sea Gull Beach and she said yes.  The second is when she showed up on our wedding day and said, “I do”.  The third, is when she gave birth to our daughter Aleyda.  Recently, for her to get out of her comfort zone and get on stage to compete in a figure competition.  By the way, there are many moments that I am proud of my wife-just in case you are wondering.  These are just some big ones!

Trina has made comments over the years about her interest in maybe trying to do a figure or bodybuilding competition, just for the inner challenge to see if she could do it.  Well a year ago she went with me to a competition to see a friend of ours, Dustin Rose, who I helped provide his weight training programs for his first bodybuilding show, and that got her desire going.  You can see Dustins pics and video here=> http://www.varietytrainer.com/dustins-journey-completed/  She kept talking about it and finally committed to a competition-the Mt. Rogers 36th Annual Drug Free Bikini, Figure, and Bodybuilding Championships to be held at Woodbridge, VA the weekend before Thanksgiving.    She had 11 months to prepare and train.

To make this successful for Trina, she had to be more dedicated and focused then she has ever been with any workout she has ever done before and be surrounded with support staff that knew what they were doing.  Of course, I got the job of training her with the weights and cardio training.  Tanya Williams, certified nutritionist, worked with her weekly prescribing  a well balanced nutrition program-not a typical unhealthy bodybuilding diet.  Finally, friend and past competitor Venessa Smoley, met with her every Sunday to work on poses and provided her with all the positive feedback any one person would EVER need.

In the end, Trina was the one who made it the most successful.  She stayed dedicated and made sacrifices that most people would never have the discipline to do.  She followed directions (for 11 months) and did what her support staff told her to do, which ultimately earned her a second place finish as a first time competitor!!

Results do not come easy, but I am convinced anyone can get what they want if they are willing enough work for it!  I really admire Drug Free figure and bodybuilding competitors.  Just like sport athletes, they must stay focused and dedicated.  Hopefully, you can see a little clearer why I am so proud of my wife for her accomplishments.

To your health,

Jerry

Yes this is a clip of Bob Wiley, played by Bill Murray, from the movie “What About Bob,” where he lists the many problems he is having, both physically and mentally.

At first thought, you might not be able to see a connection between this movie clip and Gripper Training. Actually Grippers are probably responsible for creating more Grip Training Maniacs than any other form of Grip Training.

Just as marijuana can be considered a gateway drug, Grippers can be the catalyst for many other things down the road.

And who can blame people for enjoying Grippers so much? Grippers are awesome, after all. They go into your gym bag without taking up too much room. They can fit in your glove compartment or sit on your dashboard or front seat, and you can even fit most of them right into your back pocket.

Don’t try to take them through airport security though – LONG STORY.

Grippers are probably the most famous and alluring type of Grip Training tools on the market. In fact, once someone is bitten by the Gripper Bug, it is not uncommon for them to just go crazy buying Grippers.

For instance, check out some of the ways Grippers are used by some of the most extreme Gripper enthusiasts…

Warm-up Grippers: These grippers are on the lighter side and are used sparingly, just for guys to get the blood flowing and their hands ready to do damage later on in the workout.

Pet Grippers: Most guys have one or two grippers that they always squeeze, just about every workout. They may not admit to it, but they do. It might be a gripper that has a story behind it or maybe it took a while for the trainee to master, but they hit it every workout for that boost of confidence and that harkening of nostalgia.

Trophy Grippers: Grippers are sometimes given away at contests or may have been designed as gifts with cool images like skulls on the handles or personalizations like their names or initials stamped into them.

Guaranteed Closes: These Grippers are on the lighter end of the scale for the trainee. They are shoe-ins for a close. BAM – Easy Money.

Work Set Grippers: These grippers are in the middle of the pack in the gripper collection. The trainee may be able to close them occasionally, but perhaps not every workout, depending on the circumstances. Either way, these grippers take a long time to become guaranteed closes.

Goal Grippers: These are the grippers that are currently in the sites of the gripper training enthusiast. He has his cross-hairs focused intently on these grippers and most likely thinks about them when he wakes up in the morning, and may indeed sleep with them under his pillow, developing that deeper connection.

This kind of behavior is very common among the most serious of gripper training maniacs. It’s not uncommon for them to buy complete sets of grippers every time a new line of them comes out. They have the words “hand gripper” locked into their computer clipboard so that they can go to on-line auctions and web browsers and search with speed and precision in order to buy Grippers on the cheap when another gripster gives up on the Gripper Dream.

Unfortunately, along with the infatuation of collecting endless grippers in order to fill in the most miniscule gaps of gripper difficulty, there is also an obsession with squeezing them.

Some literally do stick them in their back pocket and squeeze them all day long when they first get them, especially when they are finally able close the Trainer or #1, and they are the only ones in the office who can do it!

In fact, there is a lot of misinformation out there that causes people to think that constantly squeezing grippers every single day is the only way to progress with Grippers.

Before you know it, guys who have never trained for grip strength before are blasting out 100 reps per day and they end up sounding like Bob Wiley in the movie clip above, reporting issues such as: tired hand muscles, raw hand skin, sore knuckles, fingernail sensitivity, confusion, and frustration.

This kind of thing doesn’t have to go on anymore. It’s OK to obsess about finally closing that Goal Gripper. It’s cool to obsess about them and lurk on forums and Craigslist looking for entire lots of grippers to buy in order to bolster your collection, but Gripper training itself should be fun, not some mysterious journey into the unknown labyrinth, not knowing whether the next turn you take or the next workout you do will get you closer or further from your goals.

There are now nearly double digit companies out there who produce hand grippers and the number of sites and other businesses that market grippers is unknown. More and more pop up every day in order to capitalize on the Gripper Training Craze, just like with kettlebells in the early 2000’s.

But not a single gripper is sold today that comes with instructions on what the best way is to train on them. No operator’s manual. No guidelines.

That’s where I come in.

I have designed CRUSH: Total Gripper Domination to help everyone from the leisure interest gripper trainee to the hardcore gripper-holic to show them how to go about gripper training the right way in order to accomplish their specific goals.

CRUSH just became available this week. If you want to make gains in your Gripper Training, this is something you’ve got to get your hands on.  Check it out here=> http://tinyurl.com/GripperDVD

All the best in your Gripper Training.

Jedd Johnson
Grip-aholic

Guys if you have any interest in grip training or you might be considering looking into getting this DVD, you will not be disappointed-Get it!  It is amazing how much information Jedd provided.  It is well worth the small investment.

http://tinyurl.com/GripperDVD

Hope this helps.

To your health,

Jerry

Block weight training has been around for years and you can buy grip training devices or get really creative by simply picking items up and holding them.  Competition grip events are gaining in popularity and the importance of training grip for sports has become more of a priority than ever before.

Let’s face it, grip strength can make or break you.  Even female soccer players should be training grip.  Their limiting factor for training with weight is usually not leg strength.  It is usually how much weight they are able to hold in their hands for exercises like the dead lift, RDL, Lunges, Step-ups, etc..

I really like putting posts like these together to help athletes, coaches, and anyone else looking to improve and that is why I want to share with you how to build a simple block weight for great hand strength.

First, find a few scrap blocks of wood.  These can be of different lengths and thicknesses.  Look for new house construction sites.  They always are throwing away the ends of boards.  Just make sure you ask first so you don’t get in trouble for stealing.  Trust me they usually will not care about giving you what you are looking for-it is less for them to throw out.

Next, you will need a sturdy wood threaded eye bolt, spring clip, and a small length of chain that you can pick up at any hardware store for a few bucks.  Drill into the wood a little bit with a drill bit that has a smaller diameter than the threaded part of the eye bolt.  Place the eye bolt into the hole and start it with your hands until it bites into the wood.  Then take a screw driver into the eye of the bolt to use as leverage to twist it into the wood.  Make sure it is anchored into the wood very well.  Take your clip and attach it to the eye bolt, loop the chain onto the clip and place the other end of the chain through the hole of a weight plate and attach to the spring clip and you are ready to start pinch training.  If your wood has any splintered or sharp edges; sand it down a little bit with some sand paper.  There you go, it doesn’t get any easier than that!

Try holding the weight plate off the floor with your arms extended for time.  You should shoot for 30 seconds and you can progress from there.  You can also go heavier and dead lift the weight up and down for reps.  Typically, I will try to aim for 6-10 reps.  Another method to try is to  set weight for yourself and just hold it for time until failure and keep track of your time and watch how your it will improve as your endurance increases.

If you are a coach, try to make it competitive between athletes.  Have them face off for timed holds for bragging rights!  This will get heated and the athletes love the competitive spirit.

Remember, you can make single or double hand blocks and blocks of different thicknesses for progressive training cycles.

If you are serious about taking your grip strength and game to the next level then you NEED to checkout this information that Jedd Johnson has about training with grippers.  The information is top notch!  You can check that out here=> http://tinyurl.com/GripperDVD

Hope that helps!

To your health,

Jerry