A True Leader

Eric Cressey is a leader in the field of exercise science and strength and conditioning. A good chunk of what I know today is simply from reading his work. It also is a tad ironic that we both attended University of New England. I highly suggest you follow his blog at the link below, and add it to your list of resources for great information on exercise science, strength and conditioning, nutrition, and sports rehab.

Check out Eric's blog here: Cressey's Blog

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Best,

Doug Spurling, BS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT

Spurling Strength & Speed

dspurling@une.edu

Art of the squat..Part 3

Tonight I want to talk about single leg movements. Now I know, single leg movements are not technically squats, but I like to group them together sometimes because you can do these in place of squatting and get the same, if not better results.

Like I mentioned before, not everyone is suited to squat, whether that be traditional, front, or whatever, some bodies just should not be squatting. The good things about single leg movements is that they put less stress on the whole body, the surrounding joint, and don't require a lot of weight to see results.

Some of the single leg movements I love and use often include:

Bulgarian split squat (rear foot elevated lunge)
Reverse Lunge
Lateral Lunge
Single Leg Deadlift
Single leg hamstring tuck

The Bulgarian split squat is my favorite. It allows you to isolate one foot at a time. It requires a lot of core strength and balance. It works your entire lower extremity while improving flexibility in your hip flexors.



The reverse lunge is similar, but doesn't require as much balance as both feet are plated on the ground.



The lateral lunge focuses more on the glutes, and can be a bit more awkward for someone who has not done them before. You have to think of sitting back on your but, not going to the side.



Single leg deadlift is another great exercise focusing a lot on the posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, lower back).



Finally, the single leg hamstring ball tuck. I am sure you all know the traditional hamstring ball tuck where your laying down on your back, lifting your hips up, and bringing the ball into your butt. This is the same thing, just know you elevate one foot, so you isolate one leg at a time. Again, similar to all single leg activities, this requires a lot more balance and core strength.

Unfortunately, not a lot of people do the single leg hamstring ball tuck so I don't have any pictures of it. I am however beginning the process of taking pictures of each and every exercise I can think of, so I am not forced to use cheesy, no shirted, google images.

I challenge you to give these single leg movements a try. They are a lot more challenging then they look. You have to remember your goals, and how your body works and reacts to certain exercises. There are some people who can squat great, and see great results from it, others not so much. You also have to look at program goals. If your goal is to develop power for a sport. You may see benefit from doing a single leg movement for some functionality and strength, but your not going to develop power.

If you have any questions on program design, and what exercises are appropriate for your goals feel free to shoot me an e-mail. Also, I am always looking for feedback on my blog, and any advice or criticism you may have, so please let me know.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.

Best,

Doug Spurling, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Spurling Strength & Speed
dspurling@une.edu

Interval Training and EPOC

After a amazing week in Florida completed with a long 26 hour drive home, I am in zombie mode right now as I write this. However, I wanted to check in with my viewers and give you guys some new reading.

High Intensity Interval Training(HIIT)

Today, HIIT is extremely popular, producing great results in fat loss and anaerobic capacity training, with plenty of research to support it. However, I still find several people just running/walking on the treadmill for hours on hours, while getting frustrated with their results.

Everybody has busy schedules and is lucky to get to the gym. So, when you are there why not make the best of your time. The benefit of HIIT is you can get the same results both metabolically and cardiovascularly from running on the treadmill for 60 minutes in 1/3 of the time.

HIIT is typically completed in about 20 minutes with about 5-10 minutes of warm-up and cool down. The intervals can be done on any piece of cardio equipment or even better, going outside and running. After a good warm-up beginners usually complete a 1:3 ratio. For example, you would sprint for 15 seconds, and then walk for 45 seconds. Continue that pattern for 15-20 minutes. As you advance you can work up to a 1:2 or 1:1 ratio.

There are extreme benefits to HIIT training in addition to saving time. HIIT training increases your Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). In layman's terms, by doing HIIT training you increase the amount of oxygen you take in after exercise resulting in burning more calories after the exercise bout.

So, by exercising at a higher intensity in a shorter time, you are able to increase your EPOC. Thus, burning more calories each hour after the exercise bout.

HIIT Training is intense. It should not be done everyday, and is not for beginners. If you have more questions or would like more information on programming HIIT into your program shoot me an e-mail.

Also, be sure to "Like" my Facebook page "Spurling Strength & Speed."

After being up for about 30 hours straight, the mattress is calling me.

Any questions or topic ideas please e-mail me anytime.

Best,

Doug Spurling, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Spurling Strength & Speed
dspurling@une.edu

Sprinters throwing fastballs and football players running marathons!!!???

If you want to be a better football player you train like a football player. You train for strength and power and the ability to develop max power for 8-10 seconds with 30-45 seconds rest. If you are a marathon runner you build up enough endurance to run 26+ miles. So, why doesn't everyone train that way? I recently saw a football player at a gym running on a treadmill for a good 30-45 minutes straight at the same pace. Sure, it is better then doing nothing, but is it going to make him a better football player? NO! He would get more benefit from running 10-15 30 yard sprints with a 30 second to a minute break in between. Same thing with a sprinter. Why would you run for multiple miles when in your race you are only running 100meters. You should train to best simulate a game like situation. What happens if you train like a marathon runner instead of a sprinter. Along with building endurance and a much more leaner build you are going to recruit slow twitch muscle fibers instead of fast twitch muscle fibers. As a sprinter it is crucial to have more fast twitch muscle fibers throughout your body then slow twitch muscle fibers. So, train the way you play. If you need to build endurance and run a marathon, run long distances. If you are a football player, lift heavy for power, and complete sprints, not triathlons.

The same thing goes with bodybuilders and power lifters. How your body looks depends on how you lift. I often say, a bodybuilder looks like he can bench 500pounds but a power lifter can press that 500 pounds with ease. A bodybuilder cares how they look, a power lifter cares how much they lift. If you want to look like a bodybuilder you must lift like a bodybuilder. You must complete isolation movements and relatively high reps(8-12) to get the definition. If you lift constantly with ONLY compound movements and low reps(3-6) you are going to look and perform like a power lifter. That is not to say that bodybuilder cannot perform compound movements such as dead lifts, squats and bench press. However, to get the symmetry the judges are looking for isolation movements must be completed. On the other hand, why should power lifters spend there time doing biceps curls? There time would be better spent working on the big three, squat, dead lift, and bench press. They also of course should perform other exercises to supplement the big three such as rack pulls and close grip bench press. However, there time should not be spent performing 1,001 reps of biceps curls.

So, leave with this. If you want to be a good sprinter, train like a sprinter. If you want to be a good football player, train like a football player. If you want to be a bodybuilder, train like a bodybuilder. If you want to be a power lifter, train like a power lifter. Don't forget that. A lot of people want to be a football player but want to look like a bodybuilder. You cant train for explosive power and have the symmetry of a bodybuilder. At the same time you can train isolation movements all the time and have the speed, strength, and power of a football player. Train for what you want to be!

Stay tuned for Wednesday! I am preparing to head down to Daytona, FL with the girlfriend and some friends to enjoy a spring break. I will be blogging about how to workout while your on vacation, and what kinds of things you can do!

Best,

Doug Spurling, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Spurling Strength & Speed