veteransdayrun

...

READ MORE http://ift.tt/1s0h2vx

View Infinite Prospects' Posts on Facebook: http://ift.tt/1me7Pu7

View Infinite Prospects' Website: http://ift.tt/1me7Q18

The End of Personal Training

I have owned a small gym Jackhammer Strength Training in Columbus, Ohio for three and a half years.  In that time I have trained over 1200 different people from all walks of life.  From sedentary moms to marathon runners, rugby players, and even Ironman Triathletes.  You might think that after 42 months I would have a ton of personal training clients.  However I have only one regular personal training client. 

Why do I only have one personal training client?  That is a great question and the best answer I can give you is that it is boring.  Yes personal training is boring.  In a one on one setting you truly get to know someone as well as all of the stuff going on in their lives especially if they do not have a filter. 

Why is small group training much better than personal training?  You can still have a personal training plan but with added benefits such as it being much more affordable like $8 per workout instead of $30-50 per session.  You are inspired and motivated not only by your trainer but also by the other people in the session. 

On the motivation front it is truly helpful to have an accountability partner someone to say get up, get your butt to the gym, we have work to do.  Almost everybody needs an accountability partner.  I know I do.  That is why I typically have 50 of them.

My goal as a trainer, gym owner, and user of the Fitranx system (the first standardized fitness training system in the world) is to make sure you are mobile enough to do all of the exercises that we use and if you are not give you corrective exercises so you can become mobile enough for said exercises.  Once you are mobile enough it is my hope that you will advance through the Fitranx levels.  I will help you do this by creating a personal training plan combined with complexes based on the level you are at.  We only do these plans when there are not very many people in our sessions.

If you want to know what kind of stuff we do check out our Youtube channel at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNa0JU1qH4P12B0EKSVQ5hw

When we combine our regular Metabolic Resistance Training (the best way to burn fat) with a strength training plan and complexes we get the best from three different training strategies, can level up, and get way better results than from most personal training plans.  If you would like to try us out I would be honored. 

Too Easy, Too Hard, Functional Movement, Progress

If you have taken years to get into horrible shape it is going to take a ton of hard work, many months, possibly years, and you are going to be incredibly sore afterwards sometimes.  If you just want general health running, swimming, and yoga might be sufficient. If you want to be strong and healthy though soreness is something you learn to live with.

I just got off the phone with someone who was sore after her first workout.  This is not uncommon.  She said it took her three days to walk relatively normal again.  That is unfortunate that she was in that much pain and that she could not walk normal.  I did not work her hard at least not in my mind.  She was perfectly fine during her entire workout.

I have a client who is 60 years old and can keep up with people in their mid 20`s with endurance and blow them away with her strength.  My system works for older people, younger people, people with no athletic background, all the way up to Iron Man Triathletes, and Muay Thai fighters.

It saddens me a little bit when other trainers say a trainer should not do something with someone on their first day.  Yes certain things should not be done on the first day but certain things should.  I want to have a baseline to show progress.

My general baselines are the Functional Movement Screen, weight, body fat, strength via 1 arm dumbbell rows, strength via pull ups usually with the help of not one but two resistance bands, speed via fast steps onto my 2 1/2 inch platform, and endurance via burpees unless they have horrible knees.

If someone can do 8 burpees but are completely gassed at 30 seconds and then a month later they can do 32 burpees in 2 minutes that is 400% progress.  These are the types of things that I can say look you did this now look what you can do.

I have had people tell me that it is too easy or too hard.  Usually in my professional experience and yes I am a professional this is what I do for a living people who think it is too easy are not pushing themselves hard enough.  Also most of the time when people think it is too hard they either do not let me know they are working too hard or more likely they want amazing results without putting in the work.  Maybe they bust their butts in the gym but do not know their way around the kitchen.  Sometimes someone will eat impeccably, train religiously, and still not get results because they drink like a fish every weekend.

I thought I was going to have 10 sessions today but I guess nine will have to do!

If you like this I would be thrilled if you would share it with your friends.

Thanks,

Nathan Jordan
Jackhammer Strength Training
Proud Member of Fitness Revolution Nation
Getting Better 1 month, 1 week, 1 set, and 1 rep at a time.

Jackhammer 2013 in review

2013

Became a published author with my contribution to the Big Play Book of Training Programs

Developed an actual system for my training

Implemented Fitranx the only standardized fitness training system in the world and became a level 4

Started Smart Group Training and movement screen based on the FMS

Kicked the goal that clinched the MAAFL Mid American Australian Rules Football League against Chicago.

Squated 405 pounds!

Broke my pullup record twice (now it is 20)

Completed Tough Mudder

Helped a client finish 2nd in a half ironman triathlon, helped teach a young woman overcome her squatting deficiencies to squat perfectly, helped brides look awesome for their weddings,helped a woman lose over 19 pounds in 6 weeks, helped guys get leaner and stronger, helped empower people from all walks of life feel better and accomplish things they were scared of, never thought about, or thought they could never do like jump on an 18" box or do their first pullup.

Completed my International Youth Conditioning Association IYCA baseline training certificate to start training kids

Paleo Diet for Strength

It is time for a change.  That`s right it`s time for both you and me to make a change.  What kind of change you might be wondering.  Time to eat like our ancestors.  I have struggled with my weight at times in my life from being somewhat chubby in the 5th grade at 118 pounds to being in my late 20`s at 235.  I know what it is like to not be at the weight or in the physical condition that you want to be in.

I know what it is like to feel that you don`t fit in, that you are not young enough, skinny enough, fast enough, can not jump high enough, or just do not have enough endurance.  Notice I did not say strong enough.  I play a sport Australian Rules Football that requires all kinds of fitness disciplines.  One must be fast, have endurance, be able to jump, have lateral quickness, and be strong.  If you are lacking in any area you can and will quickly be left behind.

Earlier this year I lost 16 pounds and 5.8% body fat as tested by an Omron hand held body tester.  In the beginning of my season I was weighing in at 217 pounds and felt as quick as I have in the past 10 years.  However certain things happened such as two motorcycle accidents in 2 days, falling on my knee awkwardly in the first drill of our first game, and somehow finishing Tough Mudder in an 8 day span left me exhausted and not wanting to do any exercise whatsoever.  It also led me to consuming way too many empty calories through both food and beverages.

Here is how I lost 16 pounds in 6 weeks.  I cut out chips, cookies, crackers, colas, cakes, pizza, and alcohol.  I also limited my bread to roughly 2 servings per day.  Think about what you have had to eat in the last 36 hours how much of that food was actually good for you?  If more than 60% of it was good for you congratulations you are doing much better than most of America.

With Thanksgiving having just happened and me thinking of meat so much as well as having left over meat I figured now is as good a time as any for me to start doing Paleo.  I know it is huge in Crossfit circles but I find it strange that their is not much written on the subject in regards to strength.  My goal over the next 3 months is to change that.  I am going to do this by implementing a Paleo diet, recording my starting weight, my triple maxes for squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press, strict curl, and pullup record.  I will also record body fat percent, various measurements, and before and after pictures.

Once I am ready I will find my triple max for the above lifts, get measurements, and a picture taken.  I do not have my diet planned out or my workout plan yet.  One thing I do know though is that when I follow a plan good no great things happen.

This is what I expect to happen in the next three months.  I expect to lose 10% body fat and 20 pounds.  I expect my pullups to go from 20-25.  I expect my squat to go from about 345 to 405.  I expect my deadlift to go from about 315 back to 415.  I expect a 3 rep strict curl with 115 and expect to overhead press 155 for a triple.  I guess I plan on improving by a whole 25%.  I  have no idea what I will be able to bench as I have not really benched this year or done much overhead pressing due to 4 shoulder injuries.

Are these numbers attainable you might be wondering?  Yes they are.  Am I going to have to work for them? Yes I am.  Can I blow these numbers away?  It is possible but not probable.

Here is what I currently know about Paleo.  It consists of anything a caveman would have eaten.  This means I can eat meat :) I can eat nuts, fruits, and veggies.  I am thinking lots of chicken and lots of eggs will be the staples of this plan.  Since I want to lose weight as well as get stronger I am going to try to limit my fruit consumption to before 5 pm.  I will eat veggies  with my protein and I will eliminate the worthless calories until !!!

Who`s coming with me?

   

Fat loss, HIIT, and Lifting Tips

Hello,

I hope my two cents helps you out.

I believe the best things you can do to lose fat in a short period of time are to intersperse days of sprinting with days of heavy weight training combined with Metabolic Resistance Training or MRT.  The key is to use compound lifts that use lots of different muscles e.g. deadlifts, squats, bench presses, and pullups.  Their are a couple of keys here first you need to use a weight that you cannot possibly lift more than 12 times.  Lots of people specifically women have trouble grasping this concept.  I have ladies tell me all the time it is too heavy and then they crank out 15 reps.  That is not heavy enough.  It needs to be heavier in the 6-12 rep max range to deliver the excess post oxygen consumption commonly referred to as EPOC results we are looking for. 

I would combine this with body weight cardio rounds of 50 seconds of work with only 10 seconds of rest a great example would be jumping jacks, mountain climbers, burpees, plank jacks, and squat jumps

Combining the two I would do 1 round deadlifts and bench then 1 round of cardio, 1 round of squats and pullups then 1 round of cardio, 1 round of all 4 lifts, and 1 round of cardio.

There you have it a 23 minute workout which will have you burning calories at an elevated rate for 24 to 48 hours and probably burning 300 or more calories during the workout itself.  Of course that is contingent on how hard you work and how big you are.

Adventure Racing Club

Run, jump, push, pull and mud should get you prepared for an adventure race.  Though dodge, dip, duck, dive, and dodge will prepare you for a game of dodgeball you need to do a little more for one of these unforgettable races..

Adventure racing has grown from a relatively little known sport to millions of people participating and it will continue to get bigger.  Probably the most common adventure race is Warrior Dash which started in 2009.  Other races include Mud Ninja, Ruckus, and Tough Mudder.  Here is a calender of adventure races in Ohio.

http://www.trifind.com/gs_adventure/AdventureRaces.html?state=oh

My own experience with Adventure racing is limited to the Warrior Dash which I did last year in Logan, Ohio and the Mud Ninja this sumer.  The Warrior Dash is a 5 k race with 10-12 obstacles.  In my mind I was not in very good shape at the time but when I was finished I was ready to go again.  It is very exhilarating to run down a big hill with hundreds of people in the mud and then have to climb over walls, jump over cars, and crawl in the dark.  The Mud Ninja is also a 5k race but it is an extremely challenging course with 20 obstacles and a very hilly terrain most people need to train for this one.
 
For next year I have set my sights on Tough Mudder which is a 10-12 mile adventure race with 25 obstacles designed by British Special Forces.  To get ready for Tough Mudder I have enlisted a training partner who has much more endurance and is stronger than I am.  I also play Australian Rules Football which combines lots of running with, kicking, hitting, and jumping.  Training with someone who is stronger and has more endurance than you do will push you farther than you could otherwise go which is something most people need to get in great all around condition and complete a race such as this. 
 
There is also an event World’s Toughest Mudder which has some of the fittest people on the planet doing a Tough Mudder course as many times as they can in 24 hours.  There are three ways to enter this race first be in the top 5 % of finishers for your Tough Mudder race, secondly submit a wildcard application, and thirdly return for more after having been in the 2011 World’s Toughest Mudder.

I talked to my friend (Sheepdog) about the worst obstacles and they were jumping into freezing water, being completely submerged in 40 something degree weather and getting shocked at the end of another obstacle.  He did not train specifically for the event but was in very good shape from the demands of his sport.

I think just about anyone who can run a mile can do a 5 k adventure race .  You should not be scared.  If I can do it you can as well.  If you like getting dirty and challenging yourseIf do yourself a favor and sign up for an upcoming adventure race.  If you feel you need help to get ready for an adventure race there are many ways to do so.  One of the best ways is to join a gym with a group training atmosphere where you will run, jump, push, pull, and run.  

The classes at Jackhammer Strength Training will help prepare you for your next race from your first 5k to Tough Mudder our staff can help you get to the next level.  Our Columbus, Ohio personal trainers will get you where you need to be.

Jackhammer Strength Training Proud Member of Fitness Revolution Nation will be starting our very own adventure racing club.  This club will have 2 extra workouts per week with a specific focus and will be outside when there is decent weather.  Also 20% of all profits will go into a fund for adventure races during the year.

For more information call Nathan Jordan
at 614 499-4633