Saturday, October 29, 2011

To better serve our customers

To better serve our customers we have launched Spurling Training Systems. Please be patient as everything is still under construction. We thank each and every one of you for your continued support. Please follow our new page, linked below, for the same great content, and much much more!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

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


Thursday, October 6, 2011

Appropriate time for cardio

I got a great question from a reader this week about cardio. The question asked what is the optimal time to do cardio, before or after a workout?

This question is very individual and depends on the persons goals. However, there are some guidelines that I hope to outline that will let you decide when the appropriate time to do cardio is.

Similar to the structure and design of your program, when you do cardio depends on your overall goal.

Let's first look at someone who is trying to cut or lose fat. Someone who is looking to cut usually focuses more on cardio and workouts that will increase the heart rate. So, for this person it would be okay to do cardio before a weightlifting session or on off days that you're not lifting. The reason for this is, you want to put most of your energy on the things that are focused on your goal. Your focus here is not to bench 500lbs or make the varsity football team, your focus is cardio. So, you want to do it when you have the most energy, off days or before a weightlifting session.
Now, we look at someone who is trying to gain weight or bulk. This person usually has a focus on gaining size, strength and power. They have increased their caloric intake and is gaining weight. They want to do cardio on a regular basis to maintain their cardiorespiratory fitness, but their goal is muscle gain. The optimal time to do cardio for this person would be on off days you are not lifting. This way, you can put all your energy into the lift on those days, and worry about cardio on off days. Also, if you are doing too much cardio while trying to gain size you are pretty much cancelling the two out. A second option would be after a lifting session, however your energy would be pretty low and your body is going to go to your muscles and glucose to get the energy, thus affecting your results of muscle gaining.

People must have a goal, and they have to stick with it. I can't stress it enough. If your goal is muscle size, stop running 6 days a week and start hitting the weights. If you need to drop 50lbs, then cardio is going to be your best friend.

I'm not going to go into what type of cardio is best, and the other key factor, nutrition. I will save that for a later blog. Both of these will affect your results more then the timing of your cardio.

I hope I was able to distinguish between the two options for cardio. If you have specific questions about how to organize your program, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.

Enjoy the weekend and the nice weather!

Best,

Doug Spurling
Spurling Strength & Speed
dspurling@une.edu

Friday, September 30, 2011

Back To Basics

Everyday I get a question on what someone thinks of a certain exercise. "Doug, what do you think of the 1 foot elevated push-up, on a bosu ball, with a dumbbell balanced on my back, during a thunderstorm, and the Beatles playing in the background.?" Too many people try to complicate their programs so much that they are no longer effective. That same person that asked the above question most likely skips half their workouts and has a double cheeseburger and a bud light as their post-workout meal.
Don't get me wrong, there is place in a workout for a 1 foot elevated push-up on a bosu ball, but for the average Joe or Jane they need to focus on the basics. If you have not consistently stuck to a designed program for 4-6 weeks you need to go back to the basics. What are the basics?
In my opinion, the most basic program you can do is a full-body program, 3 times a week, with a day off in between each workout. Before you start throwing in all these complex exercises, super-sets, negatives, and all the other things, you need to build a foundation. YOU WILL NOT SEE RESULTS IF YOU DON'T HAVE A GOOD FOUNDATION BUILT!
This full-body program is what I consider to be the most basic of programs, and for a beginner, does an excellent job at building a solid foundation that can be built on.


Program completed: Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Rest: 30-45 seconds
Tempo: 2/1/2
Sets/Reps: 3sets of 10reps

Exercises(In this order):

Squat
Chest Press
Back Row
Shoulder Press
Triceps Pressdown
Biceps Curl
Abdominal Plank

The science behind this program is simple. You take each muscle group, largest to smallest, and choose a fundamental exercise for that group. Keeping the rest periods short adds some endurance to the workout, and the tempo is a pretty standard tempo, nothing too slow or too fast.

Now, is this a program for a elite athlete, or a power lifter? Hell no! If you're EDUCATED on what you're doing, and have been lifting properly is this the appropriate program for you? Hell no! However, if you go into the gym with no plan, shoot the shit with your friends, and come out accomplishing absolutely nothing, this may be a good program to build your foundation. If you go to the gym less than the Red Sox beat the Orioles, then this may be a good program to build your foundation.

A house can't be built without a foundation. If you have your foundation built, then you need a more specialized, periodized program. However, I can guarantee you most of the population out there does not have their foundation built, and doing this program CONSTANTLY for 4-6 weeks will build a solid foundation.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

As always, any questions or comments shoot me an e-mail.

Best,

Doug Spurling, BS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Spuring Strength & Speed
Dspurling@une.edu

Thursday, September 29, 2011

What came first the chicken or the egg?

I wanted to share this article with you all one more time. I had yet another encounter of someone mentioning they are throwing away the yolks of their eggs and only eating the whites. Little do they know, all the nutrition is in the yolk. Read the article below and you will see why eating the whole egg is the better choice.

Click here for the truth about eggs

Best,

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

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

German Body Composition

Did you indulge in a few too many fruity drinks with umbrellas or friend clams on the beach this summer? Got a few extra pounds that need to be shredded for an upcoming wedding? Is your sport starting up and you need to get whipped into shape quick? If your goal is to get into better shape and shed some baggage I have a program for you.

German Body Composition, GBC for short, will rip fat off your body quicker then you can put a whoppie pie down. In a nutshell, the program is based on short rest intervals, super-setting different body parts, pushing you lactate threshold to the max, and increasing your growth hormone.



Here is what a German Body Composition program looks like:

Day One: Chest and Back

A1. 6 Incline Dumbbell Presses at 45-degree angle
Rest 10 seconds
A2. 12 Incline Barbell Presses at 45-degree angle
Rest 10 seconds
A3. 25 Incline Dumbbell Press at 30-degree angle
**Rest 2 minutes
**Repeat 3 times

B1. 6 Weighted Chins
Rest 10 seconds
B2. 12 Bent-over Rows
Rest 10 seconds
B3. 25 Seated Cable Rows
**Rest 2 minutes
**Repeat 3 times

Day Two: Legs

A1. 6 Squats
Rest 10 seconds
A2. 12 Lunges
Rest 10 seconds
A3. 25 Leg Extensions
**Rest 2 minutes
**Repeat 3 times

B1. 6 Leg Curls
Rest 10 seconds
B2. 12 Romanian Dead Lifts
Rest 10 seconds
B3. 25 Reverse Hypers/Back Extensions
**Rest 2 Minutes
**Repeat 3 times

Day Three: OFF

Day Four: Arms and Shoulders

A1. 6 Seated Dumbbell Presses
Rest 10 seconds
A2. 12 Seated Lateral Raises
Rest 10 seconds
A3. 26 Front/Posterior Raises
**Rest 2 minutes
**Repeat 3 times

B1. 6 Dips or Close-Grip Bench Presses
Rest 10 seconds
B2. 12 Skull Crushers
Rest 10 seconds
B3. 25 Cable Pressdowns
**Rest 2 minutes
**Repeat 3 times

C1. 6 incline Dumbbell Curls
Rest 10 seconds
C2. 12 Standing Barbell Curls
Rest 10 seconds
C3. 25 Standing Pulley Curls
**Rest 2 minutes
**Repeat 3 times

Day Five: OFF

REPEAT

Seems pretty simply on paper, but with the short rest intervals you will be panting more than a German Shepherd on a hot August day. If your up to it, give this program a try and let me know how it goes for you.

As always, any questions regarding fitness, sports, or nutrition please don't hesitate to contact me. I am always looking for blog topics.

I hope you're out enjoying the final few days of nice weather, because before you know it we will be digging ourselves out of that fresh white powder!

Best,

Doug Spurling, BS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT

Spurling Strength & Speed

Dspurling@une.edu




Thursday, July 14, 2011

Thursday Hodepodge

I finally got a day off from the craziness of the ICU, ER, and rehab center of the hospital. I know I am long overdue for a blog post so I made sure I took the time today to give you guys some good reading. Today is going to be a little hodgepodge of everything.

1. P90x is going great. I have shredded about 30 pounds so far with about 5 weeks left in the program. Yes, I may have lost some muscle size, but I am in the stage in my workout life where I don't need to bench 400lbs and squat mountains. I would rather look good naked. Plain and simple. Once my football days were over, I realized that I didn't have to weigh 295lbs and be bulky, I had no use for it. So now, I am working on getting as lean as possible. I am hoping to get down to about 235 with my current weight being 260. The reason P90x is so challenging for me is because of the massive change. When you train for strength and power, like a football player, you train with real heavy weight. Rarely would you ever see me doing something for more then 6-8 reps. As a result, when Tony wanted me to do 12 reps + on everything, I was a bit thrown off. However, because there was such a drastic change in the program, it caused a drastic change in my body. I encourage anyone who has ever thought about doing P90x to give it a try. I am not selling it by any means, it is really nothing special. However, what got me was the drastic change in pure volume of reps for each workout.

2. I got a question from a viewer about what supplements to take. You hear kids today taking Jack3d and all these other sugar filled products that claim to help in every way possible. The truth is, most of them are crap. The saying that America has the most expensive urine has never been so true. Most of these supplements don't even get absorbed by the body, and end up just getting excreted into or toilet. Thus, that $45 dollar bottle of Jack3d ultimately ends up getting flushed down the toilet with your steak and corn you had last night. For the average Joe and Jane, you only need a few basic supplements. Now, yes a hardcore athlete or bodybuilder may need more, but for the weekend warriors who are just trying to look good this is what I recommend.

A. A good complete multi-vitamin-taken twice daily9(see previous blogs for why)
B. Fish oil
C. 100% whey protein

Those three things with a well balanced diet will produce any results you want as long as the diet and program are followed.

3. For those idiots who think its cool to drink and drive. Follow me around for a day and see the 19 year old girl in a halo brace, the 21 year old guy who has so much brain trauma he can't remember his own name let alone how to go the bathroom or even walk, the 45 year old who crashed his motorcycle after leaving the bar and now needs to spend the rest of his life in wheel chair because both of his legs were amputated above the knee, or the 18 year old girl who has a fractured pelvis and fractured C1 because she was texting and slammed into a tractor trailer. These are things that I see everyday at my job, and I love it. It has made me realize the true value of life, and to take each day as a gift. Finally, nothing is more rewarding then giving that 21 year old a handshake goodbye as he steps up into his moms SUV after receiving treatment for his injuries. Just please, do me a favor, never drive drunk and never text and drive because I can tell you first hand through hundreds of experiences, the outcomes are not pretty.

A little exercise stuff a little life lesson stuff. A little bit of everything on this Thursday. Send me an e-mail with any questions or topic ideas, I would be happy to write about them.

Now get your butt of the couch and go enjoy this beautiful weather!

Best,

Doug

Friday, June 24, 2011

Update on the P90X

Some of my loyal fans have probably wondered where the heck have I been? The others, well I'm going to tell you anyways.

So I am 1 month into P90X and I am loving the results. It was a large adjustment at first for me. The reason being I had always trained real heavy weight, low reps. My training was more for power, size, and strength. So very rarely would you see me do more then 8 reps per set. Well, when I started p90X, I was shocked. They wanted you doing 12-15reps an exercise, and sometimes maximum reps. Well, this was quite humbling. I may of been able to bench a mountain, but have me do max reps on push-ups, FORGET IT! So, I started off pretty slow. However, once my body got use to it, I started seeing some great results.

As far as the results go, I could not be happier. I started the program on Day 1 weighing in at 292lbs. My max push-up was about 34, and my max pull-up was about 2(yeah don't laugh, remember what I said about training style). On the last workout of Month 1, I weighed in at a slimming 274 lbs. I am up to about 48 push-ups and 6 pull-ups, and that number is increasing daily.

Now, you may look at those numbers and say that is pathetic. Well, it is slightly! However, you have to realize, like I mentioned above, I had previously only trained for power and strength, so my body shutdown and needed a break after about 6 reps. So, this high rep thing took some getting use to.

My goals for this program are to be able to do 75 push-ups in a row, as well as 15 pull-ups. I also would like to weigh in below the 250 mark. Some of you out there might think of 250 as being heavy. Well for someone at my height(6'6"), and the build I have, that would have me pretty lean(abdominal definition lean). Also know that I haven't been below 250lbs since 8th grade! With 2 more months to go, I am more then confident that I will not only reach my goals, but surpass them as well!

As far as why I haven't posted in awhile. Well, on top of running my personal training business, I am also working some crazy hours at the local hospital. I am also in preparation of applying to graduate schools. So, life is a tad crazy right now. I will keep you posted as to how this is going, and look forward to some comments below.

All the best,

Doug Spurling, CSCS, NSCA-CPT

Thursday, May 12, 2011

What's the deal with P90X?

I am sure most of you have heard of the at home workout system, P90X. Now, I would agree that 99% of the programs/products sold on TV are complete junk. However, P90X seems to be one of the very few that produce true results. I have had several friends and clients transform their bodies greatly with the program. I have had several people ask me what I think about the program. Well, you know what I told them? I really don't know. I have always stuck to the philosophy that I will never have a client of mine do something unless I have tried it myself first. How could I recommend a program, if I have not done it myself?

A quick story. I had a client last summer who came to me for weight loss. We worked all summer long and saw minimal results. I consulted with some other professional in the field and they recommended giving him a colon cleanse. Well, I have never done a colon cleanse. So yes, you guessed it, I did the colon cleanse first. The cleanse consisted of only drinking cranberry juice for five days! Yeah, that's it! So as my girlfriend was shoving delicious food in my face, for five days I survived off cranberry juice. Well, I got a few things out of it. First, I will NEVER drink cranberry juice again. Second, I lose 18lbs! Finally, I felt re-energized and had an understanding of what it did to the body. So, I went ahead and had my client give it a try. He finished the 5 day regiment having dropped 20lbs and feeling great.

The whole point to that story? I will never recommend or prescribe something that I haven't done myself. So, as a birthday present my girlfriend got me the P90X package. I will be starting it on Monday, May 23rd. I will be keeping track of EVERYTHING! So, look forward to updates, before and after pictures, and much more!

Best,

Doug Spurling
Spurling Strength & Speed
dspurling@une.edu

Monday, May 9, 2011

How much Jack3d does it take to get Jacked!?

Every day I always can count on someone asking me two questions. The first one, how tall are you? The second one, which supplements can I take to lose weight or gain muscle? Well, I don't think I can control the first question, but maybe this blog will decrease the number of times the second questions gets asked. No, don't get me wrong, I am glad people are coming to me for advice before the go piss away their money at the drug store. One last pro claimer, I am not a dietitian nor a nutritionist. I simply have experience with supplements and have done a plethora of research on them to know what is good for the body, and what is not.

The first step is taking a look at the word supplement. A supplement is an accessory or something you add to your diet. Supplements CAN'T replace an unhealthy diet! So, before anyone goes off and adds any supplement to their body, they need to have a healthy diet. Once your diet is in check for several months in a row, consistently, then there may be some things that can be beneficial for you.

The first one we look at is a multi-vitamin. A multi-vitamin is just that, a pill that contains multiple vitamins. It is always a good idea to take a multi-vitamin twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. Your body can only absorb about 50% of the vitamins at once, so those one-a-day pills are junk unless taken twice a day.

Fish oil would be next on my list. Fish oil has shown several benefits including joint health, cardiovascular health, healthier skin complexion, and some fat loss. Each brand contains different dosages, so typically just follow the directions on the back of the bottle.

Next up is protein. There are several types of protein including egg, soy, casein, and whey. In my opinion whey is the best overall protein. It is fast absorbing and typically doesn't hold a ton of sugars. You should remember back from one of my previous blog posts that depending on your goal you should get between 1-2 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day. This can be done with the proper foods such as eggs, meats, nuts, and dairy. However, there will be days when a protein shake may be needed as a snack to give you that extra protein. Try to stay away from the premixed protein shakes. I suggest 100% whey protein that comes in a jug and you simply mix it with water.

Those three basic supplements can cover the general person. Now, my advanced lifters and athletes, they might need a little more. You might want to take a look back at my blog on creatine, a great supplement for advanced lifters. However, it doesn't matter who you are, you should not be taking any supplements until your diet is in check.

The important thing to remember is supplements just like everything today, is a business. All of these companies are just trying to make as much money as possible. So, they write things on their bottles like muscle gain, fat loss, and lose 100lbs in one month. The sad thing is, so many people each day fall for these gimmicks. Sadly, 99% of the time they are literally just pissing away their money. America is all about the quick fix, they want a pill to do all the work for them. Well, I got news for you. If you want good results, that will last a life-time, you need to work hard and have a good diet. There are no secrets!

Questions or comments? Shoot me an e-mail or comment below.

Best,

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

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Update on my adventures

Hello All,

As some of you have noticed, my blog has slowed down just a tad these past few weeks. Well, I do have a good reason for that. As of next week, I will be a Maine resident. Yes, you heard that right! I am packing my bags and moving to Orono, Maine. If you're not familiar with Orono, it is the hometown of Maine's only Division I school, University of Maine. I have several opportunities up here including an internship with UMaine Strength and Conditioning, a position at a veterans affairs health care facility, and a position at one of the largest hospitals in Maine. So, needless to say I will be pretty busy. I actually have been up here for about 3 weeks, and thanks to my girlfriend and her family, I have had a place to stay. I will be moving into my apartment next week, and I am looking forward to it.

Work with me for the next week or so while I get settled into my new place, but I promise the blog will be back in full swing with great material soon. My online business will see no changes with my move, so no need to worry about that.

As always, if you have any questions or would like for me to write about a topic, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Best,

Doug Spurling
Spurling Strength & Speed
dspurling@une.edu

Saturday, April 23, 2011

The truth about eggs

How many of you throw away the egg yolk and just eat the whites? The truth is, all the nutrition is in the yolk. I remember in college, I would consume upwards of 12 eggs a day. Why? Because I knew that they wouldn't raise my cholesterol, they had some awesome protein, I didn't have time to grill up some chicken or steak, and I could give the cashier a $5 bill and get change back! Here is an awesome article on why you should eat the whole egg! It is an easy read, and written well so that everyone can understand it. I suggest you share it will all your friends so we can work on getting rid of the myth that egg yolks are bad for you!

Click here for the article


Have a good weekend!

Best,

Doug Spurling
Spurling Strength & Speed
dspurling@une.edu

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Another great resource

As you have noticed, most of my posts have been fitness and strength and conditioning related. I know a lot of my readers are also interested in the rehab/sports medicine field, so I would like to share a great resource with all of you.

Mike Reinold is a physical therapist, athletic trainer, and strength and conditioning coach. He has an incredible website that has a plethora of information on everything from rehabilitation and injury prevention to performance and strength and conditioning.

He truly has information for everybody! I highly suggest you check out his website.

Click here for Mike Reinold's website!

I have some new and exciting news coming to Spurling Strength & Speed so be sure to stay tuned!

As always, any questions or comments let me know.

Best,

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

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Developing Power (jaw dropping video included)

What is power?

To some people it being able to bench press 400lbs. Some people may see it as how fast they can throw, or how high they can jump. There is one simply equation used when looking at power:

Power = Strength X Speed

So, broken down, power output is the ability to move something heavy with speed. Someone may be able to bench press 300lbs, but if it takes them 8 seconds to lockout, then that is not power. Power must have a speed component. An example of this is the vertical jump. Everyone knows the vertical jump it is used in all sports, and is pretty common in the commercial gym. When was the last time you saw somebody complete a vertical jump slowly? Vertical jump is testing power, it is your ability to push against the ground, release energy, and explosively jump as high as you can.


So how do you go about developing power? There are several ways, but I want to focus on the two major ones, which are Olympic movements and plyometrics.

Olympic movements:

Here I am talking about lifts like the hang clean, power clean, snatch, push press, clean and jerk, etc. The lifts you see done in the Olympics, hence the name. Look at anyone doing those lifts PROPERLY, they are done with a good amount of weight, and explosive. You need to develop power in order to move that much weight quickly. My professor always told me, if you want to be slow, train slow, you want to be fast, train fast. Completing lifts like the power clean and snatch well force you to move quickly and develop power.



Now that I have mentioned all of that, please note Olympic movements are complex exercises and not for beginners. They can be dangerous, and correct form is critical.

Plyometrics:

Remember those days in elementary school where the PE instructor had you jumping over small hurdles and onto boxes. That my friend is plyometrics. Again, in order to develop power you must have a speed component. So, plyometrics are explosive movements, usually done with body weight. Some examples of these include vertical jump, squat jump and turn, broad jump, hurdle jumps, box jumps, plyo push-ups, etc. You can also incorporate medicine balls by doing a variety of slams for the upper body. Plyo's are good because they are pretty safe, and if taught correctly can be in anyone's program.

Please note, these two topics that I covered could each easily be a semester long course. So, don't go run to the gym tomorrow and start power cleaning and jumping off 5 foot boxes. Like anything, you have to learn it, practice it, and perfect it.

Now, for the video. One of my clients sent this to me, and I had to share it. I do realize that the video may be sped up a tad and the floor may have some spring to it, nonetheless this guy has a ton on power.

Check it out here

Hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know if you have any questions on this topic. Like I said, this is a HUGE topic that can take a whole semester to go over, but at least you got the wheels spinning in your head about power.

Once again, any questions, comments, or ideas please don't hesitate to contact me.

Best,

Doug Spurling
Spurling Strength & Speed
dspurling@une.edu

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Is the Bench Press Overrated?

The bench press. We all know it, and most of us love it. It is in every young mans weightlifting program, sometimes done everyday for ego boosting. However, is it really that beneficial? Well, it all comes down to what your body type is and what your goals are, like all other exercises.

So who should be benching? First of all, I must clarify, for this blog I am solely talking about the flat barbell bench press. As far as who should bench, there is no true answer. Like mentioned, it depends on several factors. If you have any type of shoulder injury, I would suggest not bench pressing. If you are looking for chest definition as a bodybuilder, I would suggest not bench pressing. There are several reasons that someone should not bench press, but it is all individual based.

Lets take a look at why we bench press. It a compound exercise requiring activation of the chest, shoulders, triceps, and more. You can add a lot of weight to the bar, and if done right it can help in strength and power development.


However, the bench press if easily the most over used exercise in the fitness field today. You have kids bench pressing every day to impress the girl on the treadmill, win a bet against their buddy, or simply thinking they will get stronger by doing so. What happens if you bench press to much is you become extremely "caved" forward. Your chest muscles are so tight and your back muscles are so stretched, you end up looking like Hunchback of Notre Dame. There should be an even split between horizontal pushing and horizontal pulling. Horizontal pushing includes any form of bench press whether it be dumbbell or barbell, push ups, etc. Horizontal pulling would be any type of seated row.

Another issue that comes into play with people who bench to much, is they cause deficiencies in vertical pushing and pulling. Vertical pushing would include overhead pressing. Vertical pulling would be a chin-up, pull-up, or lat pull down variation. Again, there should be a even split between vertical and horizontal pushing and pulling.

Think of the motion of the bench press. You are laying on your back pushing something off of you. Let's take a look at sports. Other then football and some field events what sport would you do that motion. So, baseball players, basketball players, tennis, etc might not see benefit to traditional barbell bench pressing. Of course they need to do some form of horizontal pushing so this may be a dumbbell press variation, a push-up variation, etc.

The bottom line is, bench pressing is over rated. Yes, it is an excellent compound exercise for developing strength and power. However, if not done properly it can cause a lot of injuries and deficiencies in the body.

If you have a question about your program design and if the bench press should be a part of it, let me know.

One last note, all programs should be individualized and periodized. So you should not be going to the gym every Monday and bench pressing. That may be fine for a couple weeks, but then it needs to change.

Any comments or suggestions let me know.

Best,

Doug Spurling
Spurling Stength & Speed
dspurling@une.edu

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

A True Success Story (must read)

You remember those days when you were in elementary school and the teacher asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up? All the girls said nurses and models, and all the guys said cops and pro athletes.

Well, here is a story about a kid named Tim Collins. He has an amazing story that I had to share with you.

This is a must read! Check it out the link here

Hope you like the story, and stay tuned for a new blog at the end of the week.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or topic ideas, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Best,

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

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The truth behind wraps, bands, belts, shirts, gloves, and all other assisting devices

Being forced to workout at a commercial gym these past few months, I have seen a ton of things. Some good, most bad. One thing I see a lot of is the use of assisted devices such as wraps, belts, shirts, etc. I see guys coming in wrapped up like a Christmas present from head to toe. The issue I have with that is nobody in my gym is a power lifter or strong man competitor.


A power lifter is someone who lifts extremely heavy weight usually for reps between 1-4. They focus on something called "the big three." The big three included the bench press, the squat, and the deadlift. Competitive power lifters are extremely good athletes moving upwards of 3-4 times their body weight at times. Since these men and women, yes women, are lifting this extreme weight they sometimes require assisted devices such as wrist wraps, knee wraps, belts, and more.

The issue comes in when the average Joe who is just looking for a good beach body starts using all these assisted devices for every workout. Things like wraps and belts and gloves, are doing some of the work for you, so you are not getting the full benefit out of it. Take for example the weight lifting belt. Some people use it for every lift. I once saw a guy use a belt for bicep curls. The issue with that is when you put the belt on your core does not need to be activated. So, you are never developing your core. You should have a strong enough core to stand their and curl without requiring a belt. The same applies with gloves and wrist wraps. Everyone complains that they don't have the grip strength to hold the bar. Well, you will never develop that grip strength unless you ditch the wraps.

Now, I want you to know, I am not suggesting that these assisted devices be taken off the market. There are select people who should be using these devices. However, if you want to develop a strong core, a strong grip, and a strong body, you need to lift the weight yourself, not with wraps, straps, and all that other crap.


Disagree? Let me know. Please let me know if you have any questions or blog topic ideas.

Best,

Doug Spurling
Spurling Strength & Speed
dspurling@une.edu

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

10 uses for a smith machine

Tonights workout was amazing. However, as usualy I saw kids messing around, thinking there doing their bodies good. Using the smith machine to bench 275lbs with 2.5inches of total range of motion does not make you look cool, it destroys your shoulders. Here is a throwback article that Eric Cressey did for T-nation a few years ago. He discusses 10 uses for the smith machine(none of them include bench pressing). Click here for the article

Saturday, March 26, 2011

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

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The art of the squat....Part 2

The first part of this blog discussed basic squatting and the box squat. Today, I want to briefly talk about front squatting. Like I mentioned, not everyone is designed to do a traditional back squat. For some, a box squat, front squat, or single leg lunge variations are going to be easier on their body.

A front squat is a great squat to work on maintaining proper back arch and not having too much forward trunk flexion. The bar is placed on your anterior deltoids, or right on your collarbone. When you do the squat with the bar there, if you bend forward too much, the bar will literally roll of your arms and onto the floor. So, you are forced to maintain good body position. Because the bar is supported by your shoulders, you are not able to do as much weight as a traditional back squat. So, the front squat is great for building leg strength, especially in the quads, but it also a great exercise for learning the proper squatting motion, assuring that the first motion is your hips back, not bending your knees.

There are two different types of grips for the front squat:

The clean grip:



The cross grip:



Whether you choose the clean grip or the cross grip, it doesn't matter. As far as my preference, I use the cross grip. With the gross grip the weight of the bar rests on your anterior deltoids, and you just have to assure your elbows stay at the same level of your shoulders.

The clean grip is also good, but tends to cause a lot of stress on the wrists. If you look at the picture, you can see how extended his wrists are. You have to have great wrist flexibility in order to do that.

So, remember this is a humbling exercise. You will not be able to toss around the same weight with this exercise as a traditional back exercise. But, this is a lot more challenging, requiring a lot of core strength and good body position.

Look forward to part 3, the final part of the art of the squat later this week when I talk about single leg variations.

Any questions, shoot me an e-mail.

All the best,

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