Critiquing The Barry Bonds Workout Program

With Barry Bonds back in the news again for his perjury trial (WHY CAN'T THIS JUST GO AWAY!!), I thought we could go back and take a look at his workout routine. You can look for it yourself. It is easy to find, but the following workout was published in the September 2003 edition of Muscle & Fitness. All I did was Google it. This workout was put together by his trainer Greg Anderson (currently rotting in jail).

This workout is designed for Barry for his off-season and on-season work. He works out Monday through Friday and during the season will try to maintain that as best as his schedule will allow. The only difference between off-season and in-season workouts is the total number of sets that he will do. He reduces the total for his in-season workouts. He usually does 12-14 sets per workout, doing 3 to 4 sets for each exercise. He'll warm-up then do 10 reps per set.

Alright, so here it is the Barry Bonds Workout:

• Monday: Chest and Biceps - Standing cable flye; standing cable biceps curl; incline hammer machine press; seated one-arm dumbbell curl; flat-bench dumbbell press; bench push-up; and an exercise-ball crunch.
• Tuesday: Quads and Hamstrings - Single-leg extension; two-leg extension; lying hamstring curl; adductor machine; abductor machine; single-leg press; leg press; barbell squat; walking lunge
• Wednesday: Back and Abs - Wide-grip pulldown; close-grip pulldown; seated row; pull-up; low-back extension; standing calf raise; seated calf raise; crunch.
• Thursday: Shoulders and Triceps - Seated rear-delt machine; one- or two-arm dumbbell lateral raise; one- or two-arm dumbbell front raise; cable triceps pressdown (with straight bar or rope); standing machine dip.
• Friday: Quads and Hamstrings - Single- or two-leg extension; lying leg curl; adductor machine; abductor machine; unilateral or regular leg press; barbell squat; stiff-legged deadlift; seated leg curl; standing single-leg hamstring curl; exercise-ball crunch.

This is my thought on this workout. I think this is made-up and that Barry didn't do this workout a day in his life. If he did, his trainer isn't that good. I used to have a subscription to Muscle and Fitness and the magazine is geared towards the body-building culture. All the workouts look generally the same regardless if it is for an athlete, a male bodybuilder, a female bodybuilder, a fitness competitor, etc. The reps might change a bit here and there, but that is it.

This program looks like a typical bodybuilder routine. It is very machine based and has a lot of single movement exercises. Meaning it does not involve a lot of muscles for each exercise. No athlete trying to get better in their sport would do this workout unless he/she was trying to develop the muscles for show not for function.

The only thing positive that could be said about this program is that there is an emphasis on leg development. Legs are key in baseball and generating the power from the legs is imperative. But the core is sadly being neglected. Core is huge in all sports, but especially baseball and I'm sorry but the ball crunch and standard crunch, just ain't going to cut it for athletes.

So, I'm afraid we didn't learn much from this workout. What is interesting is if you do read the article from M&F's website, it shows a breakdown of all the supplements Barry was supposedly taking. The list was given to M&F by Balco's founder, Victor Conte, who did serve jail time for soliciting steroids. Take a look at it purely for curiosity's sake.

Diabetes Shouldn't Stop You From Exercising

What do Jay Cutler, Gary Hall Jr, Adam Morrison, and Chris Dudley all have in common?

They are current or former athletes that competed at the highest levels who had diabetes. They didn't let their disease stop them from being active and it shouldn't stop you either.

This past Tuesday, March 22, was the American Diabetes Alert Day. It was basically a day to become aware of diabetes and for individuals to take the test to see if they acquired the disease. This type 2 form is spreading rapidly in our country due to the rising obesity epidemic. Hopefully, people took the day seriously because type 2 diabetes is something that can be controlled and potentially eliminated if discovered early in people.

Some signs of possible type 2 diabetes that I have learned from my clients is feeling unusually tired during the day where you nap for 4 or 5 hours and itchiness or blotchiness (some type of rash item) on your skin. If those sound familiar and you are overweight and don't exercise, please be safe than sorry and check to see if you have diabetes.

The athletes I mentioned all have type 1 diabetes. Basically, it was something they were going to get and it was beyond their control. You usually get it early in life and those athletes have learned to live with it and make the most of their physical gifts in their sport. Not letting diabetes be a hindrance.

A lot of people are getting the type 2 and this can be controlled because these people are acquiring the disease through a poor lifestyle. Eating foods that aren't good for you and high in processed sugars is the start. Combine that with inactivity and weight gain and you get the recipe for a type 2 disaster.

Once you acquire the disease, hopefully that is your wake-up call to change your life around (unfortunately for some people it still isn't). The diabetes can be controlled, not just a little, but a lot, with exercise and proper eating. Taking out those high calorie, processed sugar foods, will do wonders to your sugar level. It will keep it more even keel and then allow your body to burn more fat.

Combine that with exercise and you will use any excess sugar for your energy for the workouts. As you develop more lean muscle and burn off bodyfat, research has suggested that this will control your diabetes about as well as medication. But, first you have to begin and get to that point. Just cause you are starting off doesn't mean all this will miraculously change. It didn't take you overnight to acquire diabetes, so don't expect it to leave overnight.

The biggest reason I wanted to name those athletes is because they perform at the highest level possible. They have managed to do what they need to do to control their diabetes. You can do the same thing. Don't let this be something that lingers on and on and you don't get better. If gone untreated, there are irreversible side effects such as blindness and poor circulation that could lead to limb amputation.

Diabetes is something that is touching more and more people. We all know someone who has diabetes. But, life is not lost at that time. Become aware and take the initiative to eating right and exercising. And maybe you can be as successful in your endeavors as those athletes are in theirs.

My Clients Give Me 5 GREAT Reasons To Do Speed Training

This has been a pretty good week for me from a client interaction standpoint. I received 5 emails from clients or their parents about how happy they are with the improvements they have seen since they started training with us. I thought I would share some of their comments with you. I'll be honest, I can't remember exactly how many of them have stated whether or not they would like to be used for testimonials, so I'm just going to keep their last names out of this and not give too many details about their personal information.

• "Great news. I ran a 4.55 at the combine today (in the 40) and I feel like the main reason I lowered my time so much was because of the training we do. I really appreciate all of your help. See you this week." - Jake R. Jake is a football player for one of Central Ohio's better football programs. He and his brother had trained with us a couple years ago and he started back with us to really fine tune his speed. He is a real hard worker and a good kid.
• "By the way- she did really well this weekend at the tournament. Her running was better technique-wise and her confidence was noticeably improved. Thanks for all the work you have done with Megan!" - Megan's mother. She is a soccer player that has been working with us all winter to improve her speed. A lot of her issues did come down to technique and she has really worked hard to drop her bad habits and develop new ones with proper running form. I really like the "confidence" statement. Yes, people sign with us to improve speed, but it is also about developing one's confidence to feel they can compete at a high level. Obviously, her mother felt this hard work has paid off.
• "Thought you'd like to know that Samuel made the 7th grade baseball team. The cuts were last Wednesday. He is very pleased and mentioned to us that he credits his work with you for a big part of what made him successful. Thanks for all you've done." - Samuel's father. Sam also worked with us all winter and made big strides in his improvement. He dropped some weight, improved his technique, and got faster and more confident with his athletic abilities. I hope he has a great baseball season this spring.
• "Hannah had a great meet last weekend. She hit 4 for 4. Her vault was amazing. She will be excited to tell you about it." - Hannah's mother. Hannah is a gymnast and came to us specifically to improve her speed on her vault. Our training carries over into other events for her, but she has been really happy with her progress this winter. Several weekends ago, Hannah told me she got first overall in her age group at one of her meets. Awesome!!
• "By the way, Mara had a terrific race this past Saturday. She competed in the 1600 and ran a 5:21 which qualified her for the State meet this Saturday in Akron. She is now ranked 9th in the State for the indoor 1600. Pretty cool!" - Mara's mother. Mara and I have been working online and skyping once a week to keep her progressing with her program. She doesn't live close to our Dublin location, so we met once and then have done the skype thing weekly. She has stuck to the program I created and we have adjusted it as her indoor season has progressed. She's looking forward to having a great meet this Saturday at states.
  
• "Thanks a lot." That is from Pickerington North coach Dave Butcher as I sent him a congratulatory note for making the state semis. I had worked with the Lady Panthers for 4 years prior to this year and my move to Dublin. So, I wish them well and hope they can take home the big trophy this weekend.

All these comments happened within the last week. It is pretty exciting knowing that you have helped an athlete accomplish some of their goals, that they maybe didn't think was possible a few months back. Each one of those athletes played different sports, came to us for similar reasons, and were ecstatic for very different reasons. I think that is GREAT! I'll be looking forward to helping more of you in the upcoming months.

Hope you enjoy St. Patrick's Day, the NCAA tourney, and cheering on your favorite team (go Bucks!) to the Final Four.

How Cam Newton Could Have Run A Better 40

Recently, I created a video that has become pretty popular in the last week. It was a critique of Cam Newton's 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine a couple weekends ago. If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch it by clicking here. What I wanted to do today was go over in a little more detail what I discussed in the video so that you could have a better understanding of how Cam Newton might not have maximized his full 40 yard dash potential.

The first thing I want to discuss, which I didn't go over in the video, is running a 40 yard dash at a combine is different than breaking away and running 40 yards in a game. Speed is trained completely different in those two instances. For the combine, you are trying to learn all the "tricks" you need to know to get as fast a 40 as possible. It is a controlled environment. Tons of money is on the line. During a game, you are just trying to run as fast as you can so the guys don't crush you.

I mention Cam Newton's start first in the video. Remember, this is a start for a 40 yard dash, not a track meet. There are no starting blocks. You need to get the best start possible for this time. I think Cam did a couple things wrong with his start and that sets the stage up for the rest of his 40. First his back foot was way too far back. I understand he is a tall individual, but it needs to be a little closer. You want to explode out of that start, putting your body in an almost uncomfortable position.

The other thing with that back leg is that he barely has it touching the ground. It is twitching and tapping throughout him holding the position. He needs it down a little bit so he can explode off of both legs. Think about it. If you are standing still are you going to jump higher off of two legs or one leg. Two. The same applies to this start.

Finally, his left arm is way too high. If I had one of my high school athletes running at a collegiate combine, a lot of those timers are reacting to the first movement and I don't want them to see that left arm moving and start the time too early. Cam should have tucked that arm into his side so the first movement was him exploding out.

The first 10 yards are key. Keep your head tucked for the duration, get a good, big first step, and make the 10 yards in 5.5 to 6.5 steps. Cam did all those things pretty good. Now the remaining 30 yards is getting into proper position and using your power to get down the runway.

At this point, I think his technique failed him. Being a long guy, I wanted to see a little longer strides with the same turnover. I think he got upright a little too quick and his leg stride wasn't as long as I would have liked to have seen. Surprising as it may sound, he might have needed a little strength/power development to allow his legs to get out in their fullest range of motion possible. Meaning, I don't want him trying to extend his legs out there longer, because then he might be slowing himself down, but to have the power to allow his legs to naturally get out there longer in full stride and full stride rate, so as not to lose any speed.

Despite the few minor things he could have worked on, he still ran a 4.59. The third fastest at the quarterback position. Not too shabby. I just think with those few minor adjustments I discussed, he probably could have got the fastest time for QB's which was a 4.52. Although, I don't think it is going to hurt his draft status too much. Lucky him.

Grocery Store Savings In Columbus This Week

Here are some savings at some of your grocery stores on healthy food items.

Meijer
Strawberries 1 lb container (5 for $5)
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast 64 oz. at $7.99
Organic Apples $1.29/lb
Pineapple 2 for $5
Almonds 1 lb for $4.99

Kroger

Tyson Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast $1.88/lb
Oranges 3 for $1
California Cuties 3 lb for $3.99
Seedless Grapes $1.48 lb

Marc's

Strawberries 1 lb packages 3 for $5
Red Seedless Grapes $1.29/lb
Granny Smith Apples $.99/lb
Canned Veggies 4 for $3.00

Easy Nutritional Tips for National Nutrition Month

I bet you didn't know this, but March is National Nutrition Month. I suppose it has something to do with trying to eat healthier or something like that (positive thinking from mister fitness here). Anyways, let's go with it. Here are some quick tips you can utilize today to make sure you are eating as healthy as possible:

1. Keep A Food Log - It's amazing how better people eat when they see all the junk they are cramming down their mouth. Keep track of what you ate, what time it was, how you were feeling before and after you were eating to get the best results out of your food log.
2. Plan Ahead - I don't know how many times I tell my clients to do this, but if you plan ahead then you have a much better chance of sticking with your healthy game plan.
3. Shop Smart at the Store - Eat something before you go, so you don't start grabbing every little thing in sight. Take a list and stick with it. I'm sure you have heard this as well, shop the perimeter of the store and avoid the crap down the isles (or as best you can).
4. Try To Eat Healthy Away From Home - This is tough, but pack your own lunches. Take healthy snacks with you so you don't give in to any cravings. If you are eating out, try to avoid fried foods.
5. Save Time - Kind of goes along with planning ahead, but if you make dishes that can be refrigerated and reheated again during the week, that would be ideal. Make these when you have down time, like the weekend.
6. Be a Healthy Family - Don't be that person that says, my kids don't like eating healthy or my husband refuses to eat well. Get everyone on board. Sure you can't be perfect all the time, but eat well most of the time and you'll do alright. So when you have that pizza with the family, you will know that your other meals throughout the week will be healthy and you can enjoy the pizza guilt-free.

Eating healthy is important for everyone. Whether you are trying to lose weight or gain weight. Trying to lower your blood pressure or get control of diabetes. Whether you are an athlete looking to have a good game or building muscle, eating healthy is a must and can truly be to your advantage. Learn more about healthy nutrition this month.