12/27/2015 1 Comment What's Real?I've been intrigued and amazed for decades by the concept of PEDs. PED stands for Performance Enhancing Drugs. Somehow, even as a young competitive athlete who I will say built my self worth and very existence, based on how well I thought I did in my chosen sport, I never reached for a PED or took any. That said, I witnessed other athletes take them. I talked to them about it. I was amazed. Why?
I first learned about PEDs from a friend of mine back in 7th or 8th grade. His older brother was a star athlete and they told me that some athletes took steroids. "Steroids, what's that?" I asked. They also said that steroids made you big and strong. But the downside was that they also made parts a guy shrink. Baffled, I thought, "what, why would someone...?" So current day, I see full blown high profile cases of athletes using. In different sports, with both sexes relying on them for performance and paycheck, I ask what is real? I think athletes all have to ask themselves what is real and what do I want to do with myself. More so, we should look into the future and ask ourselves, when I look back on my athletics, what do I want to see? What do I want to learn from my experience? What do I want to say to others and what do I want to say about myself? PED use to me represents a short term outlook. An "I've got to get this now," and never mind tomorrow kind of mindset. But tomorrow when you are asked about that performance, what will you say? From what I see, athletes who win with drugs will usually lie about it - at least for a while, but maybe forever. That is something that goes against the very idea of personal search for exploring your own personal limits. Is that worth it? It also represents some kind of entitlement i.e. the "I deserve this" kind of attitude. Those who make the argument that they indulge to keep up with the other athletes in their sport who they believe are indulging is pure bs to me. As a coach, I say, go out and compete. Find out who and what is out there. But find our where you truly are in the arena. You will always have that piece of mind of who you really are and what you are truly capable of. That in itself is priceless.
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12/16/2015 0 Comments It's Got To Be "All In!"This past weekend my masters swim team (TYDE Endurance and Aquatics Masters - TEAM) had it's first meet here in North Carolina. Held at an exceptional facility, the Greensboro Aquatic Center, we got a taste of fast water. Masters National Championships will be held at this pool in April 2016 so this was a great chance for us to get accustomed to the facility.
TEAM had about 15 athletes attend and each athlete experienced something great. In viewing the athletes behind the blocks, in the water and then hanging out between events, I was very pleased with everyone. Pleased especially with the focus to step up go at it. Our mindset was "all in" when we raced. All in means we were focused and ready to fight for that great performance. Many athletes achieved best times. Every race is a highly valuable experience. In the good races, you need to look at what you did right. In the other races, you look where you can improve. There is NO BAD SWIM! We have our next meet in January '16 and I am looking forward seeing everyone out there again as we go "all in" and compete. I am proud of my group! Coach Dave Although, you can prepare for an endurance event it a matter of weeks, reaching a new level in endurance and performing well in endurance events is a year round pursuit. However, that doesn’t mean that you should try to hold peak fitness year round with high intensity, training volume and frequency. Being totally committed to the sport actually means that your annual training plan looks drastically different depending on the month.
This is a conversation that I am excited to have. In fitness and our chosen activities, I think that so many folks need to take a slow, but deliberate approach. ie build or progress slowly with consistency while building frequency, duration. Committing for the long-term is the only way. However, our entire social system is more geared to the opposite. More often I witness a get it now, get as much as you can and disregard everything else type of approach. Whether we are seasoned as athletes with years of training or whether we honestly just want to take our first try at a fitness or competitive activity (at any age) we will do best when we have RESPECT for our bodies. Most of the time it's the only body we have although there is such a thing as joint replacement. (OEM is really the best though) - however, I do have a dear friend who had a heart transplant at a young age... But I digress. You, yourself regardless of your current state of being, along with the way you move and the attitude you display in your fitness pursuit can be just as inspirational when exhibited in a thoughtful committed exercise program or to a chosen activity.
I ask of all my athletes to think about what athlete they are bringing to the practice. Whether it is strength workout, a sport practice or tactical training, I want them to be fueled, rested, recovered to the extent that the training stress that will be applied in that session will be constructive not destructive.
9/7/2015 0 Comments Goon Workouts...?This may come off as harsh maybe negative... But when you look at exercise, workouts and training, there are differences. However, all should enhance health, strength, performance, etc. All activity from casual to competitive can teach us something- provide valuable lessons and perspective. But carelessness, ego driven, "style" workouts where risk of movements performed outweighs the possible return (benefit) and when they increase the risk of injury, it is never good.
With no apologies, I believe we are in the age of the "GOON WORKOUT." Even the language used to describe the "workout system" brand can tell you something. The name alone might lead you to question whether you are in for an experience that is driven by a marketing hype campaign. I am all for over the top enthusiasm, creativity, even themes when they are safely applied as part of a sound program. But definitely, I stand against "brands" that unnecessarily put those who participate at risk. 1/23/2015 0 Comments S-K-I-L-L-SHere is what I preach...
S - Sport, could be any sport, could be Swimming K - Kid, be a kid, unrestrained, enthusiastic and don't be self-conscious I - Intensity, you've got to pursue your goals with some L - Love, love what you do, you don't have to be good at it, but do it for the love L - Laugh, yes, be ready to laugh at yourself and don't take yourself too seriously S - So long, once you are done with your passion activity/sport, say so long and get on with the other things in life. Makes it sweet to get back out there! 1/13/2015 0 Comments Trading Places As a practice, I love to switch my role from coach and being the one who gives instruction to the athlete and in turn, receiving instruction, coaching and maybe even as they say, "getting schooled." Eating a slice of humble pie now and then is always something that keeps our feet on the ground. I don't mind it one bit, never have and frankly, I like the taste...
As a professional strength coach and trainer, barbells, dumbbells, Kettlebells are all highly familiar objects for me and take up a substantial amount of space in my brain. I can imagine the feel well of my fingers curling around and Olympic bar and know the 45 pound weight of it instinctively. But ask me if I ever coached an Olympic weightlifter, (Snatch and the Clean & Jerk) and I'd answer no. Although I have a good understanding of the Olympic lifts and huge respect for the amount of technique involved, it's a whole different world when you ask yourself to perform these lifts. Especially under the watchful eye of an experienced weightlifting coach. For years, I have wanted to do the USA Weightlifting certification where coaches like me are taught the details and progressions of these lifts. USAW is the governing body for weightlifting competition. There certification is great (I have been told by peer coaches) but there are other schools out there. Somehow, I got insanely lucky. I found out that right here in my new city of Winston-Salem there is one of the best weightlifting coaches in the world right here. Actually it is in the town of Advance, NC, about 15 minutes from my house where Travis Mash has Mash Elite Performance. (mashelite.com) Travis just hosted a weightlifting seminar as he does throughout the US and I was eager to take off my coaching hat and get coached and learn these techniques on a whole new level. The seminar was very hands on with Travis taking the lead and his crew of coaches there were eager to step in and help throughout the day. My progression in technique through the day was as fast as it possibly could have been, (in my opinion) but don't get me wrong, I have a considerable amount of work that I am looking to put in before I can say that I can perform these lifts at a level that I'd like to. It doesn't come together in one day. However, the knowledge and understanding gained in one seminar coupled with years of understanding the lifts can immensely expand your outlook and ability. You have to start somewhere is what I always tell my athletes. I finished the day charged with huge enthusiasm energy, in spite of a few failed attempts in the Snatch lift. Why did I feel so great? Because I love to learn. I love to pursue new knowledge, skills and perspective. And I love to learn from great people like Travis and his crew. 1/13/2015 0 Comments Technique! Technique is everything. As a coach, I want to make sure that my athletes fully understand and execute the best technique possible. To train an athlete is to train their technique - in my opinion.
At my old pool there is a sign on the wall that reads "Practice makes permanent." I definitely agree with this statement. We develop habits in practice and we need to make sure that we are developing helpful habits in regards to our movement patterns. On a daily basis I observe athletes working out. Those who I coach and those who are merely working out in the same facility. I love the interaction with my athletes and seeing them achieve technical proficiency. All their hard work is productive. On the other hand, it's hard to hold back from offering some advice to those I am not coaching, especially when I suspect that a movement (exercise) or sport technique may result in some kind of injury. Importantly, I only intervene under certain circumstances. On the lighter side though, it's usually just optimal performance that is at risk when sub-optimal (maybe even bad) technique is repeated. As well, sometimes a good situation arises and a conversation starts and I find that the person is really interested in working with a coach! Every great athlete has a coach. A good coach offers objective feedback and guides his athletes in their movements and develops the athlete in terms of technique. Self-coaching is definitely a challenge. But so many folks choose this route. So I will offer this advice. Consider working with a coach. Your goal in working with your coach is to gain technical proficiency through good feedback. Program planning and workouts that develop your ability to compete with the highest level of bio- mechanical efficiency a.k.a. technique! We see so many new faces at the gym on January 1. Most of these new faces unfortunately won't be seen again in the gym after about two weeks. That statement is backed up by fitness industry research. These are our "resolution" people. Though these folks may have been sincere in their attempt to get fit, for some reason it didn't stick.
While these folks were at the gym though, my bet is that they work hard. Possibly harder than they should have worked. That is strike one. Doing to much to soon can destroy long term motivation and it can result in injury. Strike two, a abrupt change in lifestyle and and logistics shocks the system. Strike three may be the idea that we need to see progress immediately. Patience is key and people new to exerciser or working out would probably do better to place more emphasis on process goals as opposed to outcome goals. What we want to avoid is exactly what seems to happen, our well intentioned folks head back to the bench (or couch) not having realized anything but frustration. What can you do to make your resolution stick? Contact me - I'll show you the most effective way to safely get in fit and in shape and reach your goals! Coach Dave |
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