Quicker, Faster, Stronger, More Explosive

The abdominal and lower-back muscles work as a team. The point guard is the transverse abdominis, which is the first muscle that's recruited each time you move. If you can keep that "TA" activated and your tummy tight, you'll be well on your way to optimum movement and preventing long-term deterioration. - Mark Verstegen

Here's a preview for Bigger, Faster, Stronger. This documentary is definitely going to turn some heads. Too bad for 95% of the gym rats out there that all that size doesn't mean a thing if you can't do something athletic with it. Strength is necessary, but not sufficient. It needs to be transferred into athletic movement. Forget bigger, faster, stronger. Think quicker, faster, stronger, more explosive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KzGfuFFSxA

Training secrets from Vern Gambetta:

http://functionalpathtraining.typepad.com/functional_path_training/2008/06/training-secret.html

Conditioning Research has had some really great posts recently. This one on proprioception training is especially pertinent to ultimate players because knee joint position sense is extremely useful when pivoting and marking as you often find yourself with your legs spread away from the body during footblocks, step-out fakes, etc. Proprioceptive training and proper landing mechanics should always be an important part of your program.

http://conditioningresearch.blogspot.com/2008/06/more-on-balance.html

Some proprioceptive training ideas. Expand upon these when you're ready, think outside the box and be progressive. Keep the body guessing.

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/proprioceptive-training.htm

Another CR post, this time on water consumption. The whole point of proper energy consumption for an athlete is to never be hungry, never be thirsty, and never be full. Never hungry, never thirsty, but never full.

http://conditioningresearch.blogspot.com/2008/06/water-is-heavy.html

An article confirming what you probably already knew: that eating a smart meal is 10x's better than those $120 post-workout nonsense hype shakes & any ripped/cut/stacked/jacked pills. The supplement industry is as lucrative as it is unregulated; anyone can sell anything at any price. As such 99% of the stuff on the market is pure fluff and will have no discernible difference on your training. Skip the hype, there's no "magic" pill (if there was, I'd would have found it by now), and as always, do your own research and find your own answers. If you really want to learn more about nutrition, read "Nutrition for Serious Athlete's" by Dan Benardot.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/health/nutrition/05Best.html?em&ex=1213243200&en=b265fe277e59fd2e&ei=5087%0A

My strength coach in HS always said a glass of milk had all the amino acids the body needs post-workout. Follow that up with a healthy meal and you're now smarter than 99% of the US population. (Turns out he was right, check out the study below).

http://insidefatburning.blogspot.com/2007/08/post-workout-milk-boosts-fat-burning.html

Mark Verstegen once again being The Man. Do yourself a favor and read anything this guy writes.

PILLAR STRENGTH Pillar strength is the foundation of all movement. It consists
of hip, core, and shoulder stability. (if you're having a hard time getting your
head around this concept, it might help to picture your body as a mannequin with
no limbs.) Those three areas give us a center axis from which to move. If you
think of the body as a wheel, the pillar is the hub, and the limbs are spokes.
We want to have the hub perfectly aligned so we can draw energy from it and
effectively transfer energy throughout the body. It's impossible to move
the limbs efficiently and forcefully if they're not attached to something solid and stable. There's a reason why parents are forever telling kids to
sit up straight. Without pillar strength, without what, I call "perfect
posture," you will significantly increase the potential for injury in a chain
that starts with your lower back, descends all the way to the knees and ankles,
and rises up to your neck, shoulders, and elbows. The reason we train
body movements instead of parts is because everything about the body's
engineering is connected. What happens to the big toe affects the
knees, the hips, and ultimately the shoulders. The muscular system is
both complex and simple, a series of muscular and fascial bands that work seamlessly to produce efficient movement. Many workout programs do more damage than good by producing muscle imbalances and inefficient movement patterns that sabotage this highly coordinated operating system that we're born with.
Remember the way that movement evolves in infants. They move on their backs
until one day this action allows them to roll over, initiating the hip crossover
movement. Soon they progress to crawling, standing, and, finally, walking. With
each step, they realize how to stabilize their bodies. Aging reverses that
process. Many people lose the ability to squat and maintain their balance,
creating poor posture. Eventually, they lose the ability to stand, surrendering
the core fundamental movement patterns they developed as toddlers. But instead
of conceding that devolution as an unavoidable part of aging, why not look at
getting older as a process of taking these movements to new levels? It's
possible to become physically stronger every day of our lives. Instead of
looking at movement as coming out of the arms and legs, remember this perfect
posture. If you can master the following three elements of pillar strength --
shoulder stability, core stability, and hip stability -- both while working out
and in everyday movement, you will go a long way toward a healthier life.

SHOULDER STABILITY Anyone who participates in a sport involving hitting
or throwing understands the importance of the rotator cuff. It's even more
important in everyday life. We tend to think of the hands and arms as carrying
the workload for the upper body, but it's really the shoulder, or at least it
should be. After all, we think of someone shouldering a burden. The shoulder
"girdle" consists of the humerus, scapula, and clavicle. It's engineered for a
remarkable range of three-dimensional movement. From the shoulder, it's possible
to rotate, press, and pull. We can raise our arms to the side or across the
body. We can rotate shoulders by holding the elbows in and by moving the hands
up and in -- or in a 90-degree angle to the torso. Our natural instinct is to
drop the shoulders forward, especially after long periods of sitting. But you
want to do the opposite, bringing the shoulders back and down, which will give
you proper posture. Remember The Karate Kid? Mr. Miyagi, the wise martial arts
instructor, made his young student Daniel LaRusso paint his fence and wax his
cars. For days this went on and Daniel wondered if he was ever going to learn
karate. When he confronted Miyagi, the old man asked him to demonstrate the
various motions of painting and waxing and then attacked Daniel from all angles.
Using the same motions, Daniel easily defended himself and quickly realized that
he had not just been painting and waxing but stabilizing and strengthening his
shoulder muscles and mastering these vital, functional movements. If you're
involved in martial arts, this program will help by stabilizing your shoulders
-- and I won't make you wax cars and paint houses. Even if you have no desire to
become the next Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris, you must strengthen this area to
perform everyday activities from cleaning to passing objects to filing to, yes,
waxing and painting. Most of us don't realize how hunched over we are from
sitting at computers and traveling in cars and airplanes. People tend to think
that this affects only the elderly, but that's not the case. The next time
you're people-watching at a mail or airport, pay attention to the position of
their thumbs. If they're rotated in, pointing toward the body, that means their
heads and shoulders have moved forward. Unless those people do something, I
guarantee that they will soon have rotator cuff and back problems, which will
limit their ability to participate in the daily activities of life. As
people age, they tend to flex forward, as if the chest is caving in. We want to do the opposite, almost as if there's a fishhook inserted under the sternum, pulling us up. This will allow the shoulders to fall into place and
help give perfect posture. We're not trying to be military cadets, standing at
attention. Instead, think of this as standing or sitting tall in a comfortable
position, always elevating the sternum. To make lasting change, we want to
lengthen the chest and strengthen the muscles of the upper back. Think
of pulling your shoulders toward your back pockets. This posture is the exact opposite of the shoulder shrug, the same motion that you make when you say, "I don't know." That's what a sitting lifestyle does to you. If you create a habit of bringing your shoulders down, you'll be amazed at the results. People will find you more confident and think you've lost weight because you're no
longer slouched over. They might even think you've grown. There have been
instances of adults following this program and gaining up to an inch of height
from standing tall and bringing their shoulders back, as well as improving hip
and core stability.

CORE STABILITY The middle third of our pillar is the
"core," which consists of the muscles of the abdominals, torso, and lower back.
It's the vital link between shoulder and hip stability, and it includes such
muscle groups as the rectus abdominis, transversus abdominis, internal and
external obliques, lats, the erector spinae, and many small stabilizer muscles
between the vertebrae of the spine. These are the tiny muscles that often get
shut off because of a back injury and never become reactivated, causing
long-term back problems. These small stabilizer muscles cannot function alone;
they must be helped by training the muscles of the core to become strong and
stable with the right types of recruitment patterns that will enable them to
work in tandem with the shoulders and hips. Core training is not just
about the abs -- abs are less than a third of the equation. Countless
books and magazine articles promise great abs, and though many of them have
terrific exercises that we believe in, they're of little use unless done in
conjunction with exercises aimed at integrating your shoulders and hips. Instead of just focusing on the abs, we want to create the framework for all
movement. The aim isn't just a well-sculpted midsection; it's a high-performance core. In order to maximize the benefit of the exercises in this book,
it's important to keep your tummy tight, not just while exercising but all day.
Think of your tummy flat against the hip bones. Keep your tummy tight, as if
pulling your belly button off the belt buckle. This isn't the same as sucking in
your gut and holding your breath. Keep the abdominals in, but still breathe. The
abdominal and lower-back muscles work as a team. The point guard is the
transverse abdominis, which is the first muscle that's recruited each time you
move. If you can keep that "TA" activated and your tummy tight, you'll be well
on your way to optimum movement and preventing long-term deterioration. - Mark
Verstegen

Workout:

Movement Prep: standard stuff, also mixed in dynamic plyos

Med-ball: standing throws, overhead throws, downward slams, sumo squat-to-throw, front-squat vertical toss, 1-leg chest & overhead passes, twisting throws, throws-to-sprint (these are awesome and killed me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtpgLMmDyPU )

Plyo skills

Twice through resting only when necessary

1A: 50 double-unders on jump rope
1B: hanging leg raises

2A: sitting box jumps
2B: cable punches

3A: Hang snatches (15)
3B: 1 leg'd squats (12 each leg)

4: thrusters for 30 seconds focusing on moving as fast & elastic as possible with proper form
(3 sets, 30 seconds on: 1 minute rest)

5A: GHD's w/swan dive
5B: GHD lockout 1-arm bench press (from mark twight's video)

6: push-press focusing on moving as fast & elastic as possible with proper form
(3 sets, 30 seconds on: 1 minute rest)

7A: row machine (1 minute max intensity)
7B: Box jumps with different takeoffs/landings (ex: two footed jump w/1 foot landing, 1 foot'd jump with opposite foot landing, etc)

Core Circuit:

3x's through resting only when necessary

-Jumping tuck pullups
-Standing twists w/weight
-Reverse crunches w/weight
-Leg raises locked out at top of dip position

Quicker, faster, stronger, more explosive,
#40