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Whats Inside Intro Membertalk - Rates and Fees Nutrition - 10 Protein Shakes Training - Training as a junior athlete               -  The Good Morning

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Intro

With one month left till we get the doors open things are heating up. In this newsletter I will be bringing up the issue of proper training for junior athletes – of course you can use the information within the articles to use towards your own training. Being in the Fitness industry for a number of years now I have seen athletes being trained in some really weird ways and being told to do things that have nothing to do with their goals, my focus for my junior athletes and athletes in general has always been to do things in regards to training that will help improve their strength, power and conditioning on the field and in the gym and not just taking them through the motions like alot of these “fitness professionals” do! My goal has always been helping an athlete take one step closer to their goal everyday.

 Train hard and enjoy the articles!

Joel Watson

Manager, PowerSports Club

We love feedback - website@powersportsclub.com.au

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MemberTalk - Rates and Fees

Open membership:

12 month $350 (everyone on the newsletter will pay $300) – No contracts, no joining or cancellation fees.

Group - Strength and Conditioning Sessions:

$10 per person

Coached group sessions are held each weekday, check website or whiteboard for sessions.

Sessions can be pre-paid in bulk but please be aware all pre-paid training sessions (both individual and group) are non-refundable with the exception of medical or health complications.

Sports Specific or Comp Prep - strength and conditioning sessions:

$30 each session – 1 hour

6 week prep - $250

12 week prep - $350

Includes all training programs, 24/7 contact with any questions, 1 face to face session a week.

Monthly Weekend Strongman Events:

$15 per person, Sessions generally run for an hour, or as long as you can last

On-site and Online training/nutrition advice:

Ask Coaches for prices

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Nutrition - 10 Protein Shakes to Live BY

Most of us have become accustom to having protein shakes pretty much everyday, if that be before and after training or as a meal replacement. But no matter how good the flavour of the protein is, you have to admit that it gets old after awhile! The protein shakes below will get some different flavours into your diet. The shakes will vary depending on your caloric needs and your training goals, plus you can always add and take things away depending on your goals.

Frozen Chocolate Banana:

• 500ml Water or milk
• 4 to 5 ice cubes
• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 2 scoops chocolate protein

Mocha Shake:

• 500ml milk or water
  4 ice cubes
  2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
  2-5 spoons of coffee
  2 scoops chocolate proteinpowder

Chocolate Peanut Butter Supreme:

• 500ml water or milk
• 4 ice cubes
• 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
• 2 scoops chocolate proteinpowder

German Chocolate Cake:

• 500ml water or milk
• 4 ice cubes
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon cream of coconut
• 2 scoops chocolate proteinpowder

Chocolate Banana Shake:

• 1 to 2 scoops of chocolate proteinpowder
• 500ml water or milk
• 4 to 6 ice cubes
• 1 banana
• Mix in a blender on medium for 1 minute.

Chocolate Strawberry Blast:

• 1 to 2 scoops of chocolate proteinpowder
• 500ml water or milk
  4 to 6 ice cubes
• 8 strawberries
• Mix in a blender on medium for 1 minute.

Vanilla Banana Creamy:

• 1 to 2 scoops of vanilla proteinpowder
• 500ml water or whole milk
• 6 ice cubes
• 1 banana
• Mix in a blender on medium for 1 minute

German Chocolate Cake: 

• 500ml water or milk
• 4 ice cubes
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon cream of coconut
• 2 scoops chocolate proteinpowder

Protein Almond – Raisins Blast:

• 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder
• 500ml milk
• ½ cup oats
• ½ cup raisins
• 12 shredded almonds
• 1 tbsp peanut  butter

 

 

Training - The importance of training correctly when you are a junior athlete:

By Joel Watson.

In January next year PowerSports Club will be running a Gridiron Clinic for some up and coming juniors, through the planning of the clinic I have been thinking to myself how junior athletes should really train to help them perform better at their given sport and it makes me somewhat frustrated to see junior athletes making really bad mistakes in the gym in regards to exercise choice, form and just the general template of their program – or lack there of. As a junior I had no real direction when it came to what I should be doing in the gym and nothing in the way of how I can improve my performance on the field – back then I didn’t know any better so it didn’t really bother me but now looking back at it I think to myself what I could of done better and what mistakes I made.

I have worked and trained at alot of different commercial gyms in my time and every where I go it’s the same thing in regards to junior athletes - they train exactly the same as your average joe! How can you expect to get better at your sport if you don’t do the right training? Natural talent will only take you so far!

Here is a list of things I would have done differently if I had my time over and some mistakes that I see junior athletes making:

Core:

When I was a junior athlete in rep squads we would always do group core workouts, but the thing is no1 ever explained to me why we did this or what it was for – so naturally as a teenager once the squads finished for the season I wouldn’t train the core just because I couldn’t see any different and I wasn’t told why I should do it plus it was just a waste of time when I could be doing more chest. I can’t stress the importance of training the core to junior athletes enough – in all sports from junior to professional, male or female the posterior chain/core in the foundation of a good athlete.

Don’t train like a bodybuilder or an average joe:

As I said before I see this at every single gym I go to, junior athletes are just that they are athletes why do these “fitness professionals” (personal trainers) give junior athletes bodybuilding style programs, it just does not make sense to me and does nothing for there performance on the field! I’ve had this happen to myself as a junior and seen it go through to 1st grade teams. I’m not sure if its just laziness from the personal trainer or if its just a lack of knowledge, I can understand if its a lack of knowledge but if you don’t know how to train an athlete then pass them onto someone who can and stop trying to make that extra dollar. These junior guys are looking to get into A.C.T teams and Australian teams not looking to get the biggest chest.

Form:

Athletes need to learn exercise form before lifting heavy – simple as that. It’s very hard for a junior athlete to lift light and learn proper form just because as a teen your ego is normally through the roof and if your training with team mates it’s worse. So I really put this down to the trainer/coach to teach and train good form before lifting heavy – if the form is good then the heavy weight will come faster anyway. Noone will be impressed if you bench 140kgs but only bring it down 2 inches you’re not doing any favours for yourself or letting yourself improve! – Listen, watch and learn from your Strength and Conditioning Coach!

Building Glutes, Hamstrings and hip strength:

I don’t think I have ever seen a “fitness professional” teach a junior athlete to do a box squat, use the reverse hyper, glute-ham machine or teach them how to do a Good Morning – but I will see them teaching them how to use the leg curl machine, this is just not good enough for a junior athlete just like the core the Glutes, hamstrings and hips are of top importance for improving an athletes power, explosiveness and strength on the field.

Train the whole body:

You will find most uneducated junior athletes will receive a program from there “fitness professional” and then some will normally ignore the lower body and focus on the chest, triceps and biceps and sometimes that’s even reversed but normally its the 1st one – and all along think  1. It will make me look better and 2. This program was written for me for my sport so it must be helping even if I don’t do it all. Now this isn’t the athletes fault because they don’t know any better, I put this back on the trainer again to stress the importance of training the whole body and becoming a complete lifter/athlete and not just focusing on the body parts you want to.

Overtraining:

This is probably one of the biggest if not the biggest mistake I see junior athletes making – that is overtraining and thinking more is better. I’ve seen some guys train 7 days a week in the gym while going to football training as well and also playing a game on the weekend – yes even training either before or after a game!  It is easier for a junior/teen to make gains but they still need rest and if you’re training more than 4 times in the gym a week then re-look at your program and seek advice from a Strength and Conditioning coach.

Diet:

This is one of the biggest things for a junior athlete and really anyone who is training seriously – you need to eat to grow! Most juniors are looking to put on weight and most find it fairly hard because at that age your metabolism is going like crazy. I have worked with junior athletes before in regards to diet and 95% of them under eat and think they are eating enough and then question me why they aren’t gaining weight, you need 6-7 balanced meals throughout the day not 2 or 3. Do not underestimate how much you need to eat and also how important diet is to your overall training and performance.

Supplements:

I never go into to much detail in regards to supplements with my juniors because I really don’t see the huge importance for them if your diet is in check – of course take your multi-vitamin and some protein powder before/ after training, but other than that don’t fall for the crappy mis-leading adds you see in these bodybuilding magazines. The main focus for a junior athlete should be doing the right training and having the right diet and not looking for the next supplement which will give you skin bursting pumps and a six pack.

As a junior athlete listen to these simple yet effective pointers, I wish I had them as a junior! Educate yourself by surrounding yourself with knowledgeable people and not these so called “fitness professionals” if you are truly focused on going to the next level and playing A.C.T or for your country then you need to seek out training that will help you reach these goals and not limit yourself by training like the average joe this training will normally put you out of your comfort zone when you first start but as you start to see results and learn how the training helps you improve you will never want to train like an average joe again!  

The Good Morning:

By Joel Watson.

Primary Muscle:

• Hamstrings

Secondary Muscles:

• Lower Back, Glutes

Mechanics Type:

Compound

 

 

 

 

                                                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equipment Needed:

Squat rack, Power Rack, Olympic barbell
Depending of variation, bands, chains and
different styles of barbells can be used.

Info:

In my last article on training junior athletes I discussed the importance of developing the Hamstrings, lower back and Glutes. As I said conventional exercises for the hams, glutes such as leg curls just don’t cut it when it comes to targeting the areas a athlete needs for developing power, strength and explosiveness for on field performance and also for in the gym performance for such exercises as the squat and deadlift. You will need an a assistance exercise that will help you increase the strength in your Hamstrings, Glues and lower back...this is where the Good Morning comes into play! 

In my years training in gyms and also working in gyms I have only ever seen a handful of people doing good mornings consistently which is somewhat annoying for me because everyone who trains will benefit from this exercise, and I try and stress this to my clients. So many people have bad lower back due to a weak core which effects the lower back of course  and then effects the hamstrings which effects the quads – so I really can’t stress enough how important these assistance exercises are not only for athletes looking for that extra edge but also everyday gym goers. During my training to become a “fitness professional” we weren’t even taught or shown how to do a good morning! My simple question to these people is, why?

Anyway back to the point! As I said above I will give this exercise to all my athletes 1. To help them increase there strength in glutes, hams, and lower back for overall performance but also to help 2.to help increase their deadlift and squat. In the squat and deadlift, the hamstrings and glutes act to extend the hip as the erectors work to extend the spine. So it is important that athletes find assistance exercises that will use those three muscle groups in much the same fashion. As we all know if we can improve these 2 movements then we will even more so increase performance on the field, so it all ties in together.

For my athletes I will use 3 different kinds of good mornings, I will use the conventional movements – i.e Olympic barbell Arched back good morning, bent-over or round back good morning or seated good morning – these are the ones I will cover today –or I will use a variation of the conventional movements which will include, bands, chains, weight releasers, straight legs, bent legs, wide stance, close stance different kinds of barbells such as safety squat bar, cambered bar etc. I will always rotate the movement every 2-3 weeks.

The Arched Back Good Morning:

If an athlete has never done a Good Morning in his or her life I will start them on the style of movement. It’s the same set up as a normal squat, same bar position, normal stance (wider stance than shoulder width is the norm), feet straight and your knees forced out-ward. Stick your chest out/up and have an arch in your back. Bend your legs slightly, push your glutes back and lean forward. One thing I want to stress is stick your glutes out – as soon as a coach points this out then the trainee will normally correct their form people will naturally want to lower their ass which will put them into a bad squatting form, and not a good good morning form so really stress to stick your glutes right out and keep those knees only slightly bent. You should be feeling the movement mainly in your erectors and some what in your glutes and hamstrings. Do not drop those shoulders or bring that chest in or your back will round and could lead to injury! Keep everything tight!

To begin with start with the bar to learn proper form and then work up to anywhere from 50% to 75% of your max squat in the rep range between 3-5.

Bent-over or round back good morning:

This movement will isolate the lower back more so than the Arched Good Morning. Same set up as the Arched Good Morning but bring your feet/leg position in. You can either do the movement with a straight knee or bent knee. Pretty much the straighter the knee the more emphasis you will put on the erectors and once you bend the knee the more you will feel it through the hamstrings.

This movement is done with a rounded back, so lean forward as far as possible, you can pause slightly and then accelerate back to the top.

As I said above this movement will target/isolate the lower back more so than the Arched back Good Morning so I would suggest lowering the weight slightly and working in a rep range of around 8-12, with about the 40% - 60% of your max dead.

Seated Goodmorning:

I really like this movement but I really wouldn’t suggest it for a beginner its more of an advanced movement and when you 1st start take it light!

This form of Good Morning will be done seated on a bench/or box squat box. The movement will take out the hamstrings and glutes and really isolate the erectors. I would suggest (as I said above) take a light weight squat down to your bench or box squat box, really keep your body tight, lean forward as far as possible, pause slightly and return to the starting position. Your shoulders and back will stay rounded, like the rounded/bent-over Good Morning.

Again start light with this movement, work in around the 12 rep range and work your way up in weight.

As with all exercises, it is extremely important to use proper form and slowly work up to heavy weights. I would suggest that you start very light and eventually work up to 3 sets of 5 reps with about 65% to 75% of your best squat. I feel that this exercise is one of the most effective assistance exercises for building strength in the squat and deadlift.

So they are the 3 conventional styles of Good Morning I like to use with my athletes. As I said I like to start with the arched back Good Morning – I know some people are different but that’s the one I like to start with. I would normally give the arched back movement to an athlete who is just starting for around a month and then start using variations of it by using bands, chains. After I feel confident that the athlete has a good understanding of the movement I will move them onto more advanced movements such as the seated Good Mornings. As I said I will use a rotation system of different variations of the Good Morning and change every 2-3 weeks but depending on the athlete that could even be a change1-2 weeks.

I would suggest if you have never done a Good Morning before then seek advice from someone who knows how to do them – much like you would with a deadlift, squat or bench press.

As I have said Good Mornings will help increase your lower back, hamstring and Glute strength – which will in turn help you perform better at your given sport and also in the gym.