Exercise of the Month: A Pull-Up Method

The following pull up sequence progresses from weakest grip (pronated) to strongest grip (semi-supinated) as you fatigue.

1. Perform a weighted set of wide-grip pull ups with a 2RM load using a pronated grip(palms facing away).




2. After a brief pause (just time enough to switch grips) switch to a narrower pronated grip (6 – 8 inches apart) and perform as many reps as possible, most likely 1 or 2.



3. After another brief pause, switch to a supinated grip (palms facing you) and do as many reps as possible, most likely 1 or 2.



4. And finally, after one last pause, switch to a neutral or semi-supinated grip (palms facing each other) and do as many reps as possible.



5. Rest appropriately, and then repeat the steps for the given number of sets. The number of sets will vary between 3 and 5, depending on the athlete’s work capacity.


This is a formidable upper back strength builder for grappling athletes (e.g., judo, jiu-jitsu and wrestling). Essentially, you perform an extended set with the same amount of weight while improving your mechanical advantage with each grip pattern as fatigue sets in. Since the inherent nature of grappling sports requires one to move rapidly from one grip to another, we have found this to be an effective method. This particular sequence is a modified version of a program developed by Charles Poliquin.

The Vertical Jump Case Study!

A young man's quest for more explosiveness and a higher vertical leap eventually led to an unlikely meeting with Coach Doyle of C.O.R.

"A couple of years ago an aspiring young basketball player was referred to me by a mutual friend. I was told very little about this young man other than the fact that he had been out of high school for a year and was very interested in playing for a college team. I agreed to meet with him to see if the services I provided could be of some assistance. We met one afternoon and after asking many questions and in turn answering some of his concerns we agreed to work together. Initially, there were several things I noticed about this young man. First, he seemed very confident within himself yet at the same time very frustrated that he wasn't playing for a college team. Generally I would describe him as being "hungry" and eager to show his talent. Physically, he was thin with little muscle mass. From what I could gather about his current workouts, he was doing an excessive amount of volume considering how many actual basketball games he was playing. His lifting regimen resembled a bodybuilder's split routine except with nothing included for his legs. So, after doing some initial testing with him he began a short 4 week program emphasizing what I felt he needed...."

Email conditioning4optimumresults@hotmail.com to learn more....

A Task In Self-Discipline

Here is something gleaned from Brian Tracy at a seminar years ago. It is a simple method we have found very helpful to all athletes looking to continually improve!

After any competition, practice or presentation that you are involved, reflect upon and review only 2 things! Those 2 things are:


1) What I did right!


2) What I would do differently!


Upon completion of this task you must move forward! Some coaches have called this "turning the page"! You simply move on and continue to improve without complaining or bringing yourself down in any way!

The point of this exercise is to create a positive kind of "self-dialogue" in order for your sub-conscious mind to carry through and help you to improve after each experience. If you focused on what you did wrong in the hopes that you will correct and improve upon your mistakes, your sub-conscious mind will fixate on the negative "self-talk" and potentially cause you to make the same mistakes again and again!

So, the key is to practice this method just as you train for your sport. Remember to review what you did right and what you would do differently and simply carry on from there!

In good training,
Coach

Lyle McDonald Attends a COR Seminar

- Read His Review

Charlie Francis Seminar Review: Layton, Utah 2008

March 27th, 2008

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m currently living in Salt Lake City, Utah training at the Utah Olympic Oval as a long-track speedskater. So imagine my surprise when I found out that Charlie Francis (along with Canadian strength coach Derek Hansen) were giving a seminar at a new training facility up in Layton, Utah (about 25 minutes north of where I live).

Now, I’ve been influenced heavily by Charlie, I read his book Speed Trap annually (and never fail to learn something new), his Charlie Francis Training System, outlining his system of sprint training also provides many many bits of useful information. Given that I’m currently in a sport that has some sprint component, I couldn’t miss it. And given that my coach has essentially developed a system of training similar to Francis’ but applied to speed skating, I took him with me.

The Facility
The seminar was held at CorPerformance in Layton, Utah. This is a brand spanking new facility dedicated to training athletes. And it’s just beyond amazing. The owner, Mike Doyle, clearly has a massive passion for training and has installed just about every training tool you can imagine to train athletes.

Full Olympic sets (including a beautiful Eleiko training set), powerlifting equipment (including boards, bands, boxes, etc), kettlebells, thick bars, punching mitts, some choice piece of selectorized equipment, a reverse hyper, two glute-ham raises, on and on it goes. He has a 30m track along with some turf for sprinting/running drills, plyo balls and rebounders; if it’s useful for training he’s either got it or intends to get it (Tendo unit).

It’s a training geek’s wet dream and just a flat out amazing facility. If you’re in the Utah area and need training for sport, contact Mike or Kim. They were amazing hosts and snacks were available all weekend long, along with a catered lunch on Saturday during the break. I ate a lot of cookies. . .

Read the Blog

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/blog/2008/03/27/charlie-francis-seminar-review-layton-utah-2008/

Welcome to COR

We are committed to providing full-service athletic and fitness programming. We accomplished this by utilizing and applying known scientific principles to identify and address the specific needs of each individual. Ultimately, the goal at COR is to produce the kind of results necessary for our clients to excel at any sport or event-based activity. By saving our clients time and frustration through well-balanced exercise and nutritional programs we will condition them for optimum results. We would like to take our services further by answering any questions you have about Conditioning for Optimum Results!

Mike Doyle and Kim Tulane