Monday, February 09, 2009

New Diesel Blog

The Diesel Blog has been moved HERE

See you there!

Smitty

Monday, April 21, 2008

Athletic Performance from a Different Angle

Hey guys, this weekend I had a chance to sit down with my longtime colleague, John Alvino. John is a strength and conditioning specialist and an advisor for Men’s Fitness. I know firsthand that John gets amazing results with the athletes he trains. He is well known in the industry for getting his athletes completely ripped, and stronger than ever. I asked John to tell me a little bit about his fat loss protocol for athletes. Here’s what he had to say:

John, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions about fat loss and athletic performance. This is a topic I rarely address with our newsletter because we are typically so focused on building strength, power, agility, flexibility, etc…

Tell me, why is it important for athletes to maintain a lean physique and how can they do it without affecting their performance?

Most athletes want to become leaner to improve their sports performance. Unfortunately, most of the fat loss methods out there actually act as an enemy to athleticism. A typical fat loss program involves eating low calories, which significantly hampers the athlete’s ability to recover. Athletes tend to experience a decrease in performance as well as a lack of energy when they employ these fat loss protocols for too long.

For your body to function optimally, you must take in an adequate amount of nutrients in order to aid in recovery, prevent injury, and keep your immune system healthy. Fat loss training methods tend to completely ignore this fact about the human body. Thus, most fat loss programs end up making you weaker, slower, and less explosive. Moreover, typical fat loss methods actually encourage the fast twitch muscle fibers to take on characteristics of slower twitch fibers (for those of you who don’t know, it is your fast twitch fibers that provide you with explosive strength and quickness). These are very serious consequences to a high level athlete. Fortunately, there is a better way.

My fat loss approach actually encourages more athleticism, more power, and more explosiveness, as well as a higher level of anabolic hormones (testosterone and growth hormone). My athletes find that as they get leaner, their conditioning for their sport actually improves, as does their energy levels. They feel lighter on their feet, yet stronger and even more explosive than they were before. That’s because my program is specifically designed to burn fat while encouraging dexterity, speed, and a maximum maintenance of lean muscle.

I usually have only 12 weeks to train an athlete prior to their returning to camp for pre-season. Although their primary goal is to get stronger and faster, I also like to get them as lean as possible. In the 12 weeks they work with me, it is quite typical that my athletes lose 20 lbs of body fat, and yet they make great gains in their strength, power and conditioning. My athletes excel in the strength and conditioning tests upon returning to camp: exercises such as vertical jump, 40 yard dash, 225-lb for reps on the bench press, power cleans, squats, etc.

Here are a few keys to successful fat loss for an athlete:

Do not lose more 2 lbs per week.

Doing so can result in water loss, lean muscle loss, and rapid glycogen depletion. This is turn causes weakness, loss of endurance, fatigue, reduced mental focus, and increases the athlete’s susceptibility to injury.

Don’t cut carbs too low.

Carbohydrates are an athlete’s primary source of energy. It is essential not to restrict carbohydrates too much for too long. This will directly decrease power output and performance in general.

Emphasize cardiovascular activities that engage fast twitch fibers.

By doing so, you ensure that you will not lose power or lean muscle mass as a result of your cardio training. Also, by training this way, you will actually be better prepared for the rigorous requirements of the training regimen of your particular sport, as well as the demands of the sport itself.

Avoid working out exclusively in the high rep range.

High reps are a common prescription in any fat loss program. The athlete’s perception is usually that a high rep workout is a better and more thorough workout. They sweat more and the workout often feels more taxing; thus, they mistakenly feel that this means they are burning more fat. There is a big price to pay for this misconception.

The truth is that the high rep protocol is yet another reason performance can decrease. The weight that is used is just too light to adequately engage the neuromuscular system. This, in conjunction with the high volume of these workouts, this protocol often contributes to muscle wasting, and causes the athlete to become slower and weaker.

Thanks John – awesome information!

Just so you guys know, Alvino is not the typical “bodybuilding” trainer. All of his fat loss techniques have been refined and perfected on the top level athletes he has trained for the last 7 years.

Check out his program here – Click Here

Smitty
The Diesel Crew

Sunday, January 20, 2008

CNN Story

A Boot Camp Success Story

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/01/11/weightloss.lenczowski.a/index.html


Smitty
The Diesel Crew

Friday, December 21, 2007

New Exercise Videos

Just added some new exercise videos to the Elite Exercise Index

Explosive GHR's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE3WU_ojA2c


Smitty
The Diesel Crew

Thursday, December 20, 2007

New Exercise Videos

Just added some new exercise videos to the Elite Exercise Index

Dip Shrugs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYYEFHL44W0

Ultimate Two Minute Shoulder Warm-up Complex
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCp-YynBEvE

Straight Leg Sit-ups
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcHI2rQ04EQ

Jouka Ahola Hangs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-QqShelgLA

Band Resisted Press
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHpl9MxImps


Smitty
The Diesel Crew

Friday, November 30, 2007

New Elite Articles

Dynamic Sledge Warm Up

Core Statics—Quick Exercise

Knife Game

Corporate Strength—Knowledge Management

Static Postural Assessments


Here is a collection of 5 articles that I just got published at EliteFTS.com.

They just published them in their latest newsletter - check them out!.

Smitty
The Diesel Crew

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

New Exercise Videos

Just added some new exercise videos to the Elite Exercise Index

Banded Rack Pulls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMoZ5YvqRZo

Swiss Ball Push-ups
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gskj86_ksNc

45 Degree Shrugs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QAnEwP1lJ0

Plate Pinch Progression
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SySn0M-mC0Q


Smitty
The Diesel Crew