The Functional Athletic Training blog:
If you've read my blog before, you know that I am not a fan of isolation exercises. In my program, I have very little use for bicep curls, tricep pushdowns, etc. These exercises isolate one muscle and occur at one joint. There is very little function for these exercises in sports or in life. That said, I have started using some isolation exercises for one specific area of the body: the back. Due to the enormous importance of PULLING exercises, be it in sports or in life, I feel that developing a strong back is essential for everyone. Read More.
Have you ever been doing lunges and thought to yourself, "You know, I really wish there was something I could do with my upper body to make this exercise a little tougher?" Don't lie, we've all thought about it! Read More.
I'm sure my ever-compelling reasoning convinced you that you should NOT fear the weight room, but just because it's not going to hurt you, is it really going to help? Read More.
I cannot not even estimate how many times I've heard some form of the phrase "I don't want to lift weights because I don't want to bulk up," from females who are either interested in starting an exercise program, or who have an exercise program but aren't liking the results they're seeing. So is it true? Are you really going to bulk up when you do resistance training? Girls this article is for you, and I'd like to take some time today to explain why you shouldn't worry about "getting too big." Read More.
There is a very common belief that coffee, or more specifically the caffeine that coffee contains, is bad for your health. From cardiovascular risks to stunted growth, people have a lot of ideas about how caffeine is harmful. Today, I'd like to address these ideas, as well as show you some potential benefits that you can gain from consuming caffeine responsibly. Read More.
Here's a great full body circuit that Tommy DiMassa, a junior at Westlake High School, knocked out on January 6th, 2012: Read More.
From Functional Athletic Training, Merry Christmas everyone! Here's a quick full-body circuit that I did Christmas morning to help feel a little less guilty about the Christmas cookie consumption that took place later in the day. Enjoy! Read More.
In my last two posts, I've talked about training the core. First, I explained what core stability means and showed you a video of one of the most basic yet effective core stability exercises: the forearm plank. In the next post, I went over the difference between static stability and dynamic stability and how this can have an enormous effect on sports and life in general. I also showed you this video of a core reaction exercise: Read More.
The first thing you must understand in order to develop a dynamic core is what the phrase "dynamic core" actually means. In this case, the word dynamic refers to the ability of the core to react to varying levels of force at any given time. Take for example a football lineman. When a defensive tackle rushes for the quarterback, he gets usually gets blocked by an offensive lineman:Read More.
I have talked about training the abdominals before and how inefficient it is to do crunch after crunch and sit-up after sit-up in order to strengthen the abdominal region. For more information on functional ab training, check out my blog post. Today, I want to go a little bit further into what's called core stability. Read More.
The rules are simple: You have a choice to Subscribe to my blog (www.FunctionalAthleticTraining.com) using your email address, Follow me on Twitter @TrainFunctional, or simply Like Functional Athletic Training on Facebook. For your convenience, if you look to the left of this page you will see how to follow us on twitter, like us on facebook and subscribe to this blog via email. Read More.
Basketball is a game of explosion. There are very few, if any, slow and controlled movements that happen during the course of a basketball game. There's a ton of sprints, cutting, decelerating, accelerating, and jumping. For these reasons, a basketball training routine consisting only of free weights is going to leave a lot to be desired. Yes, you can create explosive movements through exercises like the power clean, clean and jerk, and the snatch just to name a few. But it is very difficult to properly train for speed, cutting, or jumping using only "dead" weight. Read More.
As all of my clients and regular readers know, I am a huge fan of exercises that involve multiple muscle groups. If you're a new reader, here's why these multi-joint movements are so effective: Read More.
One of the most ignored forms of movement is the rotation. Whether dealing
with athletic populations, or just the general public, I constantly
find that people do A LOT of pushing, a good amount of pulling, not
enough squatting, and NO WHERE near enough rotation. Read More.
Are
you looking for an extra edge over the competition? Coming soon to
Functional Athletic Training: Personalized, SPORT-SPECIFIC exercise
routines designed to help our clients get the absolute most out of
their training program.
Which training device produces the best results for
each client’s goal? As a high school football player, do I want
to be using free weights or machines more? As a middle-aged
professional, should I be doing body weight exercises or using
bands? Read More
Here in Cleveland, Ohio, we are running out of nice
days. I’m asking everyone who reads this blog to get outside this
weekend and do some physical activity! It doesn’t matter what
you’re doing, just do something- go for a run, take the dog for a long
walk, or…you could do what I did: Read More
I’ve received a lot of feedback about my recent 10-Minute Workout #1.
A lot of people have been asking how to perform specific exercises
found in this workout and what band is appropriate for them. I
want to try to address those questions today. Below, you will
find a tutorial video on each of the 6 exercises found in the 10-Minute
Workout #1... Read More
“I would start working out, but I just don’t have the time.”
“I don’t have the time to spend hours in the gym everyday.”
You wouldn’t believe how often I hear these phrases used as excuses as
to why somebody can’t start a training program. Well today, I am
here to tell you that “I don’t have enough time,” is simply not a good
enough excuse any longer... Read More
The athlete in this video is Tommy Dimassa, a junior
at Westlake High School in Cleveland, Ohio. Tommy is without a
doubt one of the strongest, most naturally gifted athletes I’ve ever
had the pleasure of working with. He came in and got through an
extremely challenging circuit on Saturday... Read More
The goal of this blog is to inform and teach.
When I started writing, what I had in mind was to help as many people
as I could achieve whatever fitness and lifestyle goals they may
have. That being the case, this blog is about YOU! Answer this poll to let me know what you're looking for!
Earlier tonight I made a post about a new class that I’m starting at Personally Fit Health Center, in Fairview Park. This is going to be a full-body flexibility class designed to improve flexibility using flex bands... Read More
Starting THIS SUNDAY, August 28th, join me at Personally Fit in Fairview Park for the Sunday Full-Body Stretch! Read More
Matty Geib of St. Edwards High School (Lakewood, Ohio)
had the best week of training that he’s had since I started working
with him. This kid is already an extremely gifted hockey player
and he has completely devoted himself to stepping up his game... Read More
Matty Geib was back at it over the weekend. We did
another upper body metabolic circuit that turned out to be a killer. In
general, I normally like to do two PULLING movements for every one
PUSHING movement in a circuit, so that’s what we see in this Circuit of
the Day... Read More
Some
exciting news: I’m fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take
part in an event this weekend that’s going to be a lot of fun and is
for a great cause, Girls With Sole... Read More
Today marks the beginning of my “Circuit of the Day” series. As anyone
who has ever trained with me knows, I am a HUGE fan of metabolic
circuits. The old-school style of working out – where one set is
performed, followed by a few minutes... Read More
Flip through any muscle magazine and you will find
dozens of ads and “experts” claiming that they have the secret to
amazing abs. Regardless of who you are or what you already look like,
there are not many people who would not like to have better abs... Read More
For my first blog post, I wanted to write something
that is somewhat different than what you will typically see here. In
most of my posts, you will find exercises, or videos, or nutrition
advice. This being the first entry, however, I wanted to address
personal training in general as well as give you a feel for my
philosophy towards training... Read More
