Go F yourself crowdfunders

ENOUGH ALREADY

I can't tell you how sick and tired I am of seeing these crowd-funding campaigns that are popping up like a mosquito bite at a redneck party.

Yes, there are some worthy causes. If someone is fighting for their life against a potentially terminal illness, or is trying to gain sponsorship to bring their daughter over from a war-ravaged country, I might consider (and have made) a contribution. But if you are starting a company, need money for a doggy spa, or would like a plane ticket home for Christmas...Go Fund Yourself!

I am continuously irritated by those who choose to hide behind a "social campaign" where they are literally asking for money from their friends...without ever asking for money from their friends, or intending to pay them back. Have the decency to grovel at your friend's doorstep, or at least to look them in the eye while you ask for their hard-earned money. Or how about going to your family the old fashioned way; hat in hand, not monitor in face.

I'll be honest with you, I am a sucker for helping friends. If you called me up and asked for help, or had a question about something I'd normally charge money for, or needed a loan, I will more than likely help you out, but disguising your desire for money as almost charitable is reprehensible.

Perhaps the biggest slap in the face to your friends, however is starting a business and asking them to fund you. Do the right thing, put together a proper business proposal and offer them a piece of the company as investors. Or, borrow the money with paperwork surrounding a method and calendar for reimbursement. Put your pride on the shelf.

Now, let's get something straight. I don't think you are a bad person if you have done this, and I don't want to automatically end our friendship (though you may like me less than you once did), but take a step back and look at this from an outside point of view. Not only am I not getting a piece of your company or potential for reimbursement, but more likely than not, I'm not even getting the satisfaction of helping a friend, because all I have done was move numbers from my account to your account...thanks for coming out.

And just for your information, there are many sources of funding: banks, the federal government, credit cards...but you'll have to pay them back...which is why you don't want to go there...and for that I say, Go F Yourself.

Intermittent Fasting: Build more muscle & lose more weight

[1]

At 6'4, 220lbs, I am a hungry hungry hippo. Every day. All day. So when I first read about Intermittent Fasting (IF), not only did I scoff at the notion with indignant arrogance, but I dismissed it with closed-minded ignorance. After reading a few journal articles about its benefits, and implementing it in to my life, however, I'm marching to the beat of a new drum.

"So you basically just eat like a teenager", exclaimed my wife with tongue firmly planted in cheek, after a lengthy discussion about IF and the techniques used. Yes...and no. She was referencing a routine of a 16 hour fast, followed by an 8 hour window where you can eat (and I say this very very carefully, because I am only referencing the manner in which your consumption is conducted) without structure (ie. there is no 3-meal strategy). Unlike the typical teenage diet, however, you still have to be mindful of what and how much you are putting in to your face.

Intermittent Fasting is not necessarily a new concept, however, given its growing popularity within the sports, fitness, health, and body-building community, more and more studies have been conducted on this method of nutritional practice. The fasting period is included in your time asleep, and fasts generally last from 12-24 hours (depending on your strategy). Those who employ this method still drink liquids during this period (yes, coffee is ok if the amount of milk used is under 50 calories) but do not eat anything.
 Studies have shown that fat-loss begins at about the 12 hour mark or a fast and plateaus at around the 18 hour mark. Taking this strategy one step further, it is recommended to make your last meal, before you begin your fast, a meal consisting of complex carbohydrates with proteins.

The Benefits (and there are A LOT)

1)   A massive boost in the production of Growth Hormone (GH). Studies have shown that GH production in the human body is at its greatest during fasts. A daily fast will help produce regular boosts in GH which aids in muscle growth and repair, ultimately assisting in fat loss! There is additional research illustrating the ability of the body to regulate its hormones more effectively during periods of fasting.

2)   In your body, blood flows to the areas it is needed most. Convention says that when you are exercising and recovering from exercise, blood should flow maximally to your muscles. BUT (big but!) if you just ate (and "just" can refer to eating within the last 12 hours, as some macro and micro nutrients can take this long to metabolize and digest fully) and you have food in your digestive system, the blood will be divided between your muscles and your vital organs. Exercising during a fast will give you more energy to put towards your workout and speed up your recovery period!

3)  Cancer cells feed on glucose; it's not a secret. The constant influx of glucose in a normal diet (of eating regularly throughout the day) will feed cancer and pre-cancerous cells. Studies have shown that intermittent fasting has been effective in starving metastasizing cancer cells and pre-cancerous cells. There is even some evidence to show that ketone cells released from fat during a fast can help protect against age-associated conditions like Alzheimer's as well as some forms of Autism and Epilepsy.

More energy, more muscle, increased longevity, less fat, less recovery time...there is really no downside to intermittent fasting. Research has shown that those who already have a good diet (ie. low level simple-carbohydrate ingestion) have an easier time switching over to IF, however, barring medical restrictions, anyone can do it at any time, and the results can be staggering. The one major pitfall that proponents have highlighted, is that those who currently include many simple-carbs in their diet (white bread, wheat pasta, any processed foods with sugar, etc.) often reach for simple-carbs and binge on the them when the fast is over. The key is to go for complex-carbs and proteins. If your "eating window" is anything like mine, you will find yourself pretty full and not really intent on binging during your window at all.

The "Rules"

 

- It is recommended that you start with a 24 hour fast, for 2 reasons: 1) It cleanses the body 2) It gets you used to the feeling of hunger, and makes you ok with it (because nothing bad comes of it)

 

- You can choose when your "eating window" is (it doesn't matter how late you eat, a calorie is a calorie at any point of the day)

 

- For optimal weight loss, fat-burning peaks at the 16 hour mark of the fast and stops at the 18 hour mark. So if each day you did an 18 hour fast, followed by 6 hours of eating, that would be the optimal strategy for weight loss, however, a common fast is 16 hours, followed by 8 hours of eating

 

- Your first meal of the day should be high in protein and low in carbs. You last meal of the day should be high in carbs (because you and I love breakfast so much, I suggest eating breakfast then!). Anything in between is up to you

 

- Portion size is not important during your eating window, you don't have to restrict yourself, HOWEVER, you should still try to eat healthy foods (ie. lots of veggies, whole grains, fresh fruits, etc)

 

- Drink lots of water throughout the day. Start your day with a glass of water, and end your day with a glass of water. You can have coffee or tea if you wish at any time of the day, though it is recommended not to have anything with caffeine

 

- Get lots of sleep. This is more important than it sounds. When we sleep it gets rid of Cortisol (stress hormone) in our body. High levels of Cortisol have been linked to weight-retention

 

- You get one cheat day per week (I like to make it Saturday), and you can eat, literally whatever you want during your eating window. In fact, you are SUPPOSED to have something like a pizza, pasta, and ice cream, etc. This will help spike your metabolism

For more information on Intermittent Fasting, leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible, or tweet me @BrendanRolfe

Image Credit
[1] http://cdn.gymaholic.co/articles/nutrition/14-intermittent-fasting/empty-plate-intermittent-fasting.jpg

6 ways personal trainers will make more money (that everyone should know!)

Personal training is an attractive industry, especially if you are health-centric. The pay can be great (if you like never being "off the clock", the hours can be flexible (if you like sunrises) and if fitness truly is a lifestyle, you should love what you do (unless it's just a convenient hashtag). There are varying degrees of quality of trainers (from dangerously bad to amazing), and one thing I can say with certainty is that successful trainers all exhibit similar tendencies. Here's what makes them successful:

Stay within your current knowledge base and perfect those exercises.

- Do not experiment on clients and do not give clients exercises that they cannot perform properly and safely. This has two important implications: 1) Your client will not get hurt from an exercise that you've never even performed yourself, have never been educated on, or just made up, 2) You wont look like a bad trainer. If it's an exercise your client is not capable of doing or that they look out of control on, it reflects badly on YOU.

- Create programs with a purpose. A 65 year old doing snatches, a 14 year old doing 3 RM deadlifts, a 30 year old doing overhead squats on a BOSU ball. Why? I'm not saying don't do them, I'm saying stop and think for a second how the program you create jives with your client's abilities, and relate to your client's goals. If a program is truly personalized, you need to take everything in to account and weigh both the benefits and risks. They are trusting you, not only with their health and fitness, but with their safety.

It's ok to say "I don't know"

- It's an opportunity to learn. Tell them you will go look it up in a book, tell them you will take a CEC course on it next month, tell them to consult a professional who does know, but don't make up some bullsh*t and try to sound knowledgeable by using words like functional, dynamic, and metabolic. A blind man could smell your lies. If you don't know, don't say you do. Further, one of the greatest successes a trainer can have is gaining a client's trust. This is not given easily. Most people who have never exercised seriously are terrified of it. They are scared they'll look stupid, they are scared they will be judged, and they are scared they will be laughed at. Once you have gone though the sacred and often lengthy steps of gaining trust, losing it on a lie is ridiculous.

Always be ON

- A coffee in hand, browsing on your cell-phone, chatting off-handedly with other people in the gym, says something about you. It says you don't give a flying f*ck about your client. I don't care if you've been training them for 10 years or 10 minutes and if you've established a buddy-buddy relationship where your client "doesn't mind" if you check your messages (they do, by the way), if I am a potential client, interested in your services, and I see you doing things unrelated to what your client has paid you for, you won't get my money, EVER.

Look like a trainer/Act like a trainer

- Practice what you preach. Fitness comes in different sizes and packages. People want to see that you not only talk the talk, but walk the walk. This doesn't mean you have to have abs and guns out (when the sun's out), this means that, in public anyways, you should exercise with purpose, practice proper nutrition, and generally be the role model that have to be.

- Look like the clients you want to attract. I cannot stress this enough. If you want to attract body builders, BE a body builder (big muscles, tank tops, high tops, etc), if you want to attract athletes, BE an athlete (compression clothing, cross trainers, athletic build, etc.), if you want to attract weight-loss clients, BE a weight loss professional (body-builder or athlete types can be intimidating, and quite honestly, not everyone wants to look that way). Like it or not, YOU are a role-model, and you will attract the clients who want to look like you.

- Dress professionally. The number of trainers that wear sweats and a casual t-shirt or tank top (cut off sleeves, worn and frayed, etc) blows my mind. Dress sharp. Unless you have so many clients that you don't need anymore, or that your reputation precedes you and your rags are your shtick, have a clean, well-fitting top with your logo or an identifying feature on it, and athletic shorts or pants that you might wear for your own workout. If people aren't sure if you are a trainer or a know-it-all workout buddy, they are less likely to approach your for your services.

Don't bad mouth other trainers, exercisers, methods

- Negativity, ANY negativity doesn't belong in the gym. If you criticize other people or methods in the gym, not only do you come across as a judgmental douche, but you bring a storm cloud of pessimism with you. CrossFit is dangerous...everyone knows that, but it has its merits too. When you speak about training styles, exercises, or trainers that you may not believe in, always be sure to present them with a balanced approach. If you see a newbie in the gym and want to approach them to offer assistance (also known as prospecting), lead with a positive, before a correction, for example, "I love that you are including deadlifts in your workout. It is one of the most important lifts to master. May I offer a suggestion...?"

Do not discount your prices

- Value yourself enough not to go on sale. This is one of the most common mistakes for trainers starting out. They want clients, and because they are not confident of their abilities or the service they offer, they drop their prices. But once you drop your rates, it is extremely difficult to raise them without losing those clients. Make no mistake, people are buying YOU. You end up attracting clients who want you because you are cheap, not because your knowledge is valuable. Value yourself, and clients will value you. If you want to attract new business, offer a complimentary session instead. And not a "half session" either where you try to sell them during the last half hour in a "consultation", give them a real taste of you and your style.

Personal training is a cut-throat business. Only the strong survive. If you come with professionalism and enthusiasm, your road to a full roster will be smoother. I always say, look not at the number of clients a trainer has, but at the number of years they have been training their current clients (I don't usually use the term "look not" when I say it, but it sounds more poetic that way). Rather than focusing on your next marketing pitch, focus on your own skills and presentation. They are watching you.

@BrendanRolfe

Image Credits
http://www.triiifitness.com/personal-training-slider.jpg

Learning Makes You Fat (3 simple things to avoid if you want to be fit)

"Idle hands are the Devil's playground" - God (I'm paraphrasing...and it may not have been him that said it...kind of like The Bible)

Society as arguably more worldly and has a broader knowledge-base than at any other point in history. Society is also fatter than at any point in history. I credit television for both of these revelations.

Obesity is not a solitary act; it is habits and tendencies and patterns, and if you want to lose weight, you best avoid these three (man)booby-traps:

Television watching - You want to talk about idle hands? The average North American watches an average 5 of hours of television per day...PER DAY! Never mind all of the trashy pop-culture and fast foods ads inundating impressionable minds, this is five hours of sitting on your butt. Rarely do most of us just sit and watch television, no no, that wouldn't be damaging enough. Not only do we sit, but we eat...and not only do we eat, but even worse, we snack. IF we just snacked on healthy foods, the calories would still amount to soggier backside meat, BUT at least we would get some food value. And if "ifs" and "buts" were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas. Once you body associates eating and TV watching, you're hooped. Instead, go for a bike ride, play a sport, or have a walk and take a picture of the sunset for your Facebook feed (the 'book eats that sh*t up).

Casual drinks - Calm down boozy, I'm not trying to pry the sippy-cup out of your shaky fingers. I'm talking about cutting out a soda with lunch, a juice with breakfast, and a wine with dinner. Sugar, sugar, sugar, FAT. A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips (this statement is actually true, by the way. Researchers have found that once fat cells are created in certain parts of the body, the cannot be destroyed, only grown or shrunk...BOOM! SCIENCE). Juice = 100 cals (or more), Pop = 100 cals (or more), Wine = 150 cals (or more). You could cut out 350+ calories per day just by substituting water for these other drinks. Not only could you lose (or not gain) 35lbs per year by making this switch, your organs, muscles, and brain will function better...your choice though, but that's none of my business.

Eating out - News-flash, it tastes good because it's been pumped full of fat, salt, and sugar...much like your heart. If you eat out, order in, take out, or get delivery regularly, you are begging for a(nother) freshman 15. The point is, unless the chef's hands are attached to your wrists, you don't know what is being put in to your soup/salad/chicken/steak/fish/rice bowl. Chefs are paid to make your food taste good so that you will come back and spend your money, don't bet on the fact that they have your heart health and your handles (of love) in mind. In addition to knowing what's in your food, you will be surprised at how much money you save, and how many more drinks you can buy for girls at the bar, just so you can go home alone at the end of the night (like usual).

It's simple scientistic facts really, and is hardly rocket-appliances. Worst case Ontario? You don't find out about Miley Cirus' new pubic-haircut until you go on your Twitter feed in 3 and a half minutes, you pee more, and you get a Sciatic condition from sitting on a wallet with more nightclub drink-receipts in it.

@BrendanRolfe

Image Credits
[1]http://www.demotivationalposters.net/image/demotivational-poster/small/0911/yoga-belushi-yoga-cigar-demotivational-poster-1257459936.jpg

How to control anxiety: Applications in athletics

Is anxiety a performance enhancer or suppressant? Is it common? Is it even manageable?

The answer is YES.

Anxiety, of varying levels, is extremely common in every day life, and even more so in elite level athletics. The activation of your fight or flight complex can enhance your performance, or it can act as a barrier if it becomes overwhelming. There are a number of tried and true techniques recommended by professionals that you might want try, should you find yourself overcome by nerves.

First of all, it should be noted that your feeling of anxiety is how YOU interpret your state of arousal. Some athletes refer to this state as being "pumped up". It is when "pumped up" meets "self doubt" that arousal becomes anxiety. Techniques including visualization, establishing cue-words, and routine implementation, have all been proven to increase an athlete's performance, and decrease their anxiety levels. Here is a brief synopsis of what each method entails, they are simple, yet require absolute commitment and repetition:

Visualization - This method is one of the most well-known and incorrectly performed techniques in Sports Psychology. Rather than just sitting cross-legged in the middle of a quiet room with their eyes closed, the athlete actually needs to immerse themselves in the sounds, smells, and feelings of a game situation. For example, if you are a basketball player, take 10 minutes out of your day to sneak into the gym and turn up a recording of game sounds in your headphones. Hold a basketball in your hands, close your eyes, and start by just breathing deep, and inhaling the smells of the gym. From there, play a game in your mind, from start to finish. Imagine yourself succeeding in every facet of the game, over and over again. Enjoy your imagined successes and think about how it feels to perform at your peak. If negative thoughts creep in to your mind (and don't worry, at first, they often do), open your eyes, take a deep breath, and start again. Be conscious of your body and maintain relaxed muscles and a calm mind. It is always best to perform these visualizations on your field of play, and with the potential game sounds playing. Because you have practiced visualizing so much, you can do this mid-game, right before you perform a certain skill, and you can likely do it with your eyes open, as you are performing the visualization in your mind's eye.

Cue Words - DOMINATE. That is the word that was written on the palm of my baseball glove. Before every single pitch, I had to look in to my glove to get the grip for my pitch. I would see DOMINATE, and it would give me a mind-set to focus on. DOMINATE was the word I selected, because it made me pitch aggressively to hitters. Rather than chipping away for the perfect pitch in perfect spot, I challenged hitters. Consequently, I had my best season as a college baseball player. When selecting your word, make sure it is one that triggers an emotional rise within you. It should illicit a positive response, and should immediately snap you in to a "zone". If you are going to use cue-words, ensure that you put it in a place that you are certain to look. If you have to search for the word, chances are you are going to forget about it, and it will not be useful.

Routine - Two-time NBA MVP, Steve Nash, is a career 90.4% free throw shooter. This is good. This is VERY good. In fact, this is the best of all-time. And when he gets to the free-throw line, he performs the exact same physical routine, every time: He ghosts the motion of shooting a free throw, (with no ball) twice, he licks his fingers (gross), he bounces it three times, and then shoots without a pause. He made 3054 out of 3378 free-throws in his career...that is incredible. Nash's phantom free-throw shots (performed with no ball) are referred to as motor-imagery. You can incorporate this in to any sport where there is a stop in play, and you have a moment to visualize the next skill that is to take place. 

It is important to keep in mind that these techniques are not a one-off, fix-all, guarantee. To the contrary, you must practice them with regularity to achieve optimal results (sound familiar Mr. and Ms. Athlete? I'm talkin' bout PRACTICE). Remember, while emotions like stress and anxiety have physical manifestations, they are still emotionally controlled. Control your mind and you will control your body.

@BrendanRolfe

Anatomy of a Beast - Analyzing the bodies & minds of the world's best MMA fighters

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." - Mark Twain

I would argue that not all minds are equal in professional sport. Not every athlete in the upper echelon of their craft believes that they are the best at what they do. And at some point, doubt creeps in to the mind of every champion. Whether just a flash, or for weeks on end, no mind is an island and no ego impenetrable...except for fighters.

Recent news in the arena of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has been focused on Women's Bantamweight Champion, Ronda Rousey, after her 14 second dismantling of the latest fodder to step in the ring with her. Following the fight, discussion swayed to how Rousey felt she would do competing against men in her weight class, to which she replied, "I would have to say if you're just talking about what's in the realm of possibility of what's possible of who I could beat, well I could beat 100 percent of them." This response raised some eyebrows, and ridiculously, drew the ire of some of the more insecure carriers of the "Y" chromosome. But the reality is, in a fighting sport of any kind, if you don't believe you are the best at what you do, you've already lost.

Anderson Silva, before he broke his tibia, was widely regarded as the best fighter, pound for pound, in Mixed Martial Arts. Silva, while outwardly more humble than some of his counterparts, carries an air of superiority and an unflappable confidence. Accepting the vocal bravado of pre-fight interviews as fact; that every fighter believes they are the best at what they do, let's examine the bodies of Rousey and Silva, and the moethods that makes them the GOATs that they have become today.

"Rowdy"Ronda Rousey
5'7     135 lbs
Reach: 68"
Style: Judo, Boxing

Anderson "The Spider" Silva
6'2     185 lbs
Reach: 77.5"
Style: Boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian
Jiu-jitsue, wrestling, judo, taekwando,
Capoeira
 



Rowdy Ronda's Body
Rousey is a mesomorph with wide shoulders, powerful arms, and dense muscle bellies. She is 67" tall and has a 68" reach. Her arms are long, but not abnormally so (like Jon Jones). While her opponents enter fights at roughly the same measurements, it is clear that she overwhelms them with not only her skills, but her superior strength.

Spider Silva's Body
At 6'2, 185 lbs, Silva is a meso-endomorph. He has long limbs and lean muscle. A height of 74" and a reach of 77.5" gives him a significant advantage to strike at distance. Because he is so diverse in his attack, and uses his length extremely well, Anderson Silva is widely regarded is one of the best, if not THE best pound for pound fighter of all time.

The Skinny
For their respective weight-classes, both Rousey and Silva's height and reach are pretty average. Their spirit and confidence is indomitable, but most fighter's have these same traits...so what makes them so good? It's the size of the fight in the dog...or rather, the ability of the dog to recognize their strengths and to make their opponents fight their fight. Rousey has not lost in the UFC, and 9 of her 11 wins are by Arm-bar submission. You think she has a plan going in to her fights? You bet she does, and part of that plan is centred on how to get her opponent onto the ground, and in a position where she can apply that arm-bar. Silva finishes fights, often by knockout. Out of his 40 fights, he has 34 wins, 20 by knockout and only 6 by submission. Silva is known for his Muay Thai style which harnesses the power of knees, kicks and elbows. He strikes at a distance but finishes in close. While Silva has submission skills, he prefers to keep the fight on its feet.

The Anatomy of a Beast
So with two of the top fighters in the world weighing in with average bodies, and adopting the typical fighter mentality of "unbeatable", it would appear that a true beast is someone who can make others play in to their strengths. You wouldn't fight a snake in the grass or a shark in the water, just like you shouldn't fight Rousey on the ground or Silva in the clinch. If you want to be a beast in every day life, bring the "fight" in on your terms...where is your advantage?

@BrendanRolfe

Image credits
[1]http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/405149/file-2323911186-png/Ronda-Rousey_241883_right70-3.png?t=1429706674717
[2]http://media.ufc.tv/generated_images_sorted/Fighter/Anderson-Silva/Anderson-Silva_753_LeftFullBodyImage.png

Jump higher, move quicker - Beach Volleyball Performance Enhancement

Everybody wishes it was bigger.

And when it's time to use it, and it's smaller than everybody else's on the beach, it is most definitely a cause for embarrassment. In fact, it can be such a source of anxiety that it creates a psychological complex, inhibiting potential for future performance.

Your vertical is small, and ignoring that fact won't make the problem go away.

Your lack of ability to get it up and out of the sand may come down to one of, or a combination of the following 3 reasons:

1. Lack of power
2. Joint instability
3. Mechanical sequencing issues

Power Outage
While a greater strength-base offers potential for increased power output, you don't need to be able to deadlift a car to have a 40 inch leap; strength does not directly equate to power. My definition of strength and power (which is admittedly controversial) are as follows: strength is your ability to move objects around your body, and often includes added resistance incumbencies; power is that rate at which you can move your body through space, and the force per interval that your muscles generate. Rather than focusing on how much weight you can move through a power exercise, focus on the speed and efficiency with which you can move the weight. The greatest determinant in power output is muscle-contraction speed, and you would be wise to dedicate half of your power-based workouts to improving your rate of contraction.

Here are 2 exercises to include in your workout program that contribute to an accelerated muscle contraction rate and will almost certainly contribute to more speed in the sand and a higher vertical leap:

1. Knee Jump to Tuck Jumps

2. Resistance Band Hip Flexor & Shoulder Drivers

*You should never perform power exercises to fatigue if you are trying to build power. Once your rate of contraction slows, you are effectively de-training yourself!

Jellyfish Joints
You may have carefully periodized your workout routine over the year, tapering down from 15 reps, to 6, building from endurance to strength, and you have started you power phase...but you aren't jumping any higher...what gives? The problem may be that you neglected to strengthen the muscles that are in charge of joint stability. Your vertical is a product of a transfer of kinetic energy, from your feet through your neck, and is a direct measurement of the downward force you apply to the ground. Accepting the laws of physics, the ground exerts the force back on to your body, which propels you off the ground. Before this force can reach its maximum effect, it must pass through your ankle joints, knee joints, hip joints, and spinal column. Any force that is displaced laterally (anything that is not vertically linear) is wasted potential. In beach volleyball, the sand already creates instability, the last thing you need is to contribute to that instability with weak joints.

Add these 2 exercises to increase hip stability and knee stability:

1. Thera-band Hip Matrix, Forwards/Reverse

2. Lateral/Medial Resistance Band Lunge (front knee)

I Before E, Except at Your Knee
The last reason your vertical is impotent and your first step to dig a line shot is flaccid, is because your mechanics are horrendous. Ok, perhaps "horrendous" is a little aggressive, but improper muscle sequencing not only saps you of power, but actually contributes to chronic injuries like Patellofemoral Pain Syndrom (PFPS, aka. Jumper's Knee). To break it down to its most basic level, PFPS can be the result, in part, of the Vastus Lateralis (outer quad muscle) firing before the Vastus Medialis (inner quad muscle). Proper muscle sequencing, when jumping, is supposed to be medialis first, lateralis second. In addition, some of our strongest muscles, are our laziest. Our Gluteus Maximus (butt muscle) has the potential for great strength and power, but it is extremely lazy if we allow it to be, and it does not like to work when our Quadriceps are capable of taking the load.

Here are 2 extremely easy to do exercises, that will help create proper muscle sequencing within your body:

1. Vastus Medialis Obliques (VMO) activation

2. Gluteal firing sequence (independent of quads)

If you are a few weeks deep in to your power training or don't even do power training, are 3 months out of season or are mid season, you can add these 6 exercises in to any program to enhance your results. In addition to boosting your power and increasing your speed, agility, and vertical jump, they can help keep you from injury and will contribute to better all around body function. Don't find yourself on the beach this summer suffering from leap-ness envy, start these exercises today and watch your confidence grow!

@BrendanRolfe

Image/Video Credits
[1]http://sportfoto.ca/