Untapped Personal Training Podcast

Are you lifting weights for your sport or martial art? Probably isn't helping, is it? That's probably because you're doing too much for it to be effective and following a routine that preaches balance and all that malarkey. Sport specific strength training is only as good as the athlete's ability to sustain it; full body and split routines really aren't going to be sustainable for the average athlete not using PEDs.

Some post-seminar thoughts about the "Nutrition for Athletes" seminar last night at WEphysio Performance and Wellness. The podcast still has a takeaway for you even if you didn't attend, so still give it a listen.

Getting injured is never a good thing. About the only thing worse, is re-injuring your original injury.

Maybe supplements and medications are useless for healing injuries, but food sure isn't. With a couple of minor tweaks to your diet, you can mend a lot faster than the baseline predictions would suggest.

Want to heal injuries fast? Don't we all.

How you divide your calendar will decide how well you perform in your sport. With a couple of simple examinations of what phase or season you are in, there are gains to be had.

Most of the people participating in sports don't know much beyond the rules and a couple of generations of teams, coaches, and players. That's leaving a lot of important information out, not the least of which is how we got here in the first place.

Starting a new workout or sport can be expensive. Not as expensive as regret, but still; it can get pricey. Figure out what your equipment needs are before you sign up or buy anything. Budget accordingly, but also, get the right gear.

Stretching sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, but also seems to be a question in the minds of athletes. Should you be stretching or can you skip it completely? Unfortunately, it depends. Just like everything in sports science.

Are you contemplating adding a personal trainer to your lifestyle? Listen to this first.

Squats are a key exercise for improved athleticism and performance, but which type of squats? There are dozens of variations and it can be difficult to choose the right one. Today's podcast removes the decision making for you.

Are you afraid to donate blood because you train and compete all the time? Neither of those are great reasons; actually, they're basically excuses. Donate blood. There are minor disadvantages but major advantages, not the least of which is you will be saving lives. Who knows, maybe even your own.

Burpees? Deadlifts? Squats? Chin ups? Sprints? Why are we doing all these exercises? Are they making us better at our sport? They better be or we're doing something wrong.

Dozens of studies. Pennies per serving. Documented benefits across multiple populations. Why aren't we all taking this supplement?

How many of you go for "shakeout" runs or do recovery workouts after a hard effort or competition? Maybe it's time to stop.

For the sake of 15-20 minutes a couple of times each day, you could be a lot healthier. Want to know what you should be doing? Give a listen, learn a lot.

You are probably changing your exercises too often. Too often for what? Too often to get good at them. There are lots of other ways to avoid stagnation; exercise variation is the least effective.

Do hardgainers exist or are they just doing everything wrong? Spoiler alert, it's the latter.

This is the "secret weapon" of fitness that rarely gets talked about when it comes to maximizing training recovery. Keep doing what you're doing, but do a little more; that's how champions are made.

If you're not doing this one simple exercise, you're missing out on some extra performance when it comes to your running or footwork.

Are you lifting weights to increase your punching power? Probably not a bad idea. But are you lifting the right weights for the right muscles? That's the real question. Once you get the technique right for a punch, you have to convince your body to let you throw that punch with maximum effort. We accomplish that with some targeted strength training.

What do super foods, the maximum amount of protein you can eat in a single meal, and frequent meals to speed up your metabolism all have in common? They have almost no scientific support. In other words, they're all myths. And they need to go away.

A lot of coaches and athletes make the mistake of ignoring the clues their sports leave them. By performing a "needs assessment" on your competitive requirements, it becomes much easier to design effective training that matches those needs. All in all, it will help the athlete perform at their very best when they work within the expectations of their sport. The good news is that it's quite easy to do and removes a lot of the guesswork that goes into day to day training.

What did you miss in the month of June? All the links, articles, and fitness news we shared contained in a quick review, with the dates included, so you can go back and read anything you missed.