STACK MAGAZINE B MEYER TRAINING

See what Superman does to elevate his game with Coach B.

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Client Spotlight Ryan Dease

Ryan Dease, an 11 year old kid starting training with Coach B about four months ago.   He started racing motorcycles at the age of 6, signed with a sponsor at the age of 7, and continued racing until the age of 9.  His close  friend suffered a serious motorcycle accident during practice which ended up leaving his friend with brain injury and forced Ryan and his family to re-evaluate the sport. As a result, he gave up motorcycle racing for a new dream, baseball. He signed up with Maitland Little League at age 9, was moved up to the Majors Division (up to 12 year olds) the same season. In 2009, he was selected to the 9-10 year old All-Star team and also played on three different tournament baseball teams. In 2010, he was selected to the 10-11 year All-Star team which won the District and Sectional Championship as well as finished 2nd in the Florida State Tournament and 2nd in the Southeast Regional Tournament. He continues to play with Maitland Little League and is currently with the Maitland Pride, a 12 year old tournament baseball team who is comprised of the same players that were part of the 2010 All-Star team that finished 2nd in the Southeast Region. So far in 2011, they have recorded a 12-1 record and won two championships titles. Ryan plays an important role in this success as his primary positions are the two most physically demanding positions in baseball, pitching and catching. As a pitcher, he has averaged approximately two strikeouts per inning and as a catcher is referred to as “The Wall” who also has also demonstrated the ability to bring calmness and leadership to the pitching staff.



The Maitland Pride has hopes, as a little league team, to make it back to the Southeast Regional tournament and winning it this year to advance to the Little League World Series which will be only the second time in Maitland Little League’s history for a team to make it to Williamsport.

B Meyer Training looks forward to seeing Ryan reach even greater heights. 

Questions about training your hamstrings/hip region

I was reading this Sunday afternoon and figured I would just post some of my notes and thoughts about this topic.  This is in no certain order but I'm sure the knowledge will be useful if your a performance coach or athlete looking to train better.

I've been training an AAU basketball team this past month and as usually most of the boys lack ankle dorsi-flexion and proper eversion/inversion which I have addressed as part of their specific warm-ups.  The topic today isn't on ankles but I'll be sure to go back to this topic since its a concern especially with majority of my ballers.  Chronic ankle sprains and lack of proper hamstring/hip training just to name a few issues have been addressed with group.  Ok back to hamstring/hip training.

Hamstring group made simple

-You have 2 big hamstring muscles semitendinosus and semimembranosus that start at the bottom of the butt on the ischial tuberosity and go to the inside of knee

-You also this gracilis muscle starts between your legs and also goes straight down to medial side or inside of knee

-Another muscle the sartorius starts by iliac spine or kinda in middle of hip anterior part and wraps around leg and inserts into medial tibia

Summarize the above-You have 2 bigger muscles that stay on inside back of leg and stop by inside of knee.  Next you got this wrap around muscle starts middle of hip anterior part and wraps around and goes to inside of knee. The last one I mentioned was this gracilis muscle starts between your legs pubic area and you have one on rt. leg and one on left leg.  Lets keep going.

-Last two I'm gonna mentioned are short and long head of bicep femoris or hamstring guys.  Long head starts by bottom of butt or ischial tuberosity and short head starts about half way down leg on femur.  Both these guys go to outside knee by the lateral condyle of tibia or leg.    So to put it simple you got these bicep femoris muscles that go to outside of knee while the group mentioned above goes toward inside of knee. 

NOW TO TRAINING THESE GUYS

In most cases the most important role these muscles have is in braking or slowing your body down.  I already pointed out they cross the knee so don't you think you might want to train them in different planes or directions and not just on those leg machines (machines are good thou don't get me wrong) ?  As you can see they cross the knee and hip and not mentioned is they need to be trained in various velocities once range of motion and strength and good.

I hope you have learned something as I reviewed the posterior chain and will be sure to post more notes in the coming weeks on such topics.  Happy hamstring training athletes.

Coach B Meyer






 

More on the Core Part II

I know another article on the core I've heard it all before but trust me you haven't.  When you think of a tent what is really holding up the tent from falling?  A huge part that stabilizes the tent/spine is not the center pole its the guide wires of the tent/spine.  The better your guide wires are working the better your spine/tent will thank you.  The more effective our guide wires are working the less stress is placed on the main pole or spine. 

I'm not going to bore you with lots of muscles but instead show you a few exercises to progress through as you train your core.  Here are a few rules to go by when training your core.

1.  Start on the ground not standing up.

Dead bug Level 1-3

 -low back stays on ground opposite arm opposite leg drops then returns to top and repeat
 -add both legs both arms to progress and then add small weights to hands 3-4 X 15-30 seconds


2.  High to low stability chop level 1

 

Chop Series

-squeeze right glute keep posture neutral with back straight

-pull-push and don't go into rounded back

-perform on both sides and use as warm-up before every lifting session

-3-4 sets X 15-25 reps moderate to light weight

More chop progressions and core training in coming weeks.  Remember, most problems occur when the athletes can't maintain isometric tension in the core muscles.  Watch super Spencer performing a Level 3 warm-up core exercise.

Keiser Core Training Level 3  

A GREAT END TO THE WEEK

Owning your own business is very rewarding and also very difficult as anyone who owns their own business knows.  I have the pleasure of working with Coach Mark and have a great support staff in play but making a difference and seeing athletes and clients reach a higher level in life is what keeps me going.  These past few weeks have been very busy and challenged me more than the every thought.  I make mistakes everyday but feel I'm improving everyday and this story made my month.                                                       
I have trained the Rush Soccer Girls the past 4 years and have seen many of them reach D1 level and even the professional level.  This past week Alika a very bright and hardworking girl just got into Harvard and I wanted to highlight her and what she stands for.  What she says about training with Coach B is great but this girl works so hard and is really a pain in the ass with all the questions she continues to ask at every session.  Alika, your the best pain in the ass and keep those questions coming.   I appreciate your questions and look forward to every time you enter the gym.  This girl is going to be someone to watch on the field and in the game of life.  Thank you Alika.  Here is what she wrote me the other day.
                                                                                                                                                                        

Harvard was really a last minute thing. Meg and her mom had been throwing in little hints here and there to convince me to consider it, but my initial thoughts were that there's no way I would get in and that the coach hadn't even seen me play before. Even when the email came, I was rejecting the idea of it because it's absolutely freezing in Boston and there probably wouldn't be a good balance of soccer and school. As soon as I met the girls, I realized I was so wrong and I fell in love. As far as majors, I definitely know I want to do some kind of research in the science field. Luckily Harvard has so many options available.
B Meyer Training has helped me so much. I've never felt as agile and strong as I did after I started training on a weekly basis. In fact, two days before we left for Vegas, I landed the wrong way and hurt my knee. Based on the way I've heard other athletes's stories on how they tore ligaments, I was so nervous. When I went in for a checkup, the doc said he thinks I just twisted it badly. I may have thought it was worse than it actually was, but I honestly believe Coach Bryan's training helped me avoid anything more serious.

Having Fun With D12

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=201657499863802&set=a.189117854451100.51417.107547505941469&theater

The Best Machine Ever For Core

Pretty much this is the worst machine ever.  I'm not a scientist or super smart like my boy Stuart McGill, a leading back expert in the field of fitness but I know a bad machine when I see it.  Most gyms still have these  machines along with those great crunching machine that are just waiting to tear up your lower back in time.  I'm always reading and learning  more about performanace training and love McGills studies. This isn't new to most in the fitness area but I still see these machines in most gyms and even in the so called high performance gyms. 

According to McGill who has studied the back for years and written many books he shows multiple studies on continued flexion/Extension exercises that harm the back in time.  Some may say I do crunches all the time and back extension and my back feels fine but trust me in time a minor accident will put you over the edge.  As a general rule maintain a neutral back when performing lifts to reduce the force and place it on the hips.  If your hips aren't able to move properly then your sure to use that back more than you should for certain movements.  I'm going to skip around a little and give you some random facts to help you train  your core better.

1. Your Latissmus Dorsi is a core muscle?  Its invovled in lumbar (low back) extension and stabilization because of its origin @ the lumbar and insertion on the humerus.  Its kinda like a weight belt to your spine but the good kind not like the Josh Phillips kind.  Lats as you know help in pulling and pushing and lifting.

2.  Rectus (six pack muscles) not made to create lots of force over a length change but still most people love the curl ups over a gym ball.  You don't generate power with your rectus for movements it comes from other parts of the body.  Does a baseball player throw the ball harder because he uses his rectus more?

Look for part 2 and continued information later this week or next.  Back to work.

What's in your Fridge - Part 2

In the last entry we discussed condiments, and some great alternatives to help keep you healthy, fit and ready to take on intense workouts in the gym. This entry is going to cover some other hidden pitfalls, and how to set yourself up for succes. Since we covered condiments lets put that to good use by making a sandwich.

Processed Meats - Yes, it's easy to go to the local grocery store and grab a package of lunchmeat however there is a TON of sodium, fat and other perservatives in processed meats. Some experts have even argued that perservatives in processed meats may change into cancer-causing compounds in the body. Instead try looking for minimally processed meats at your deli, or better yet, roast up your own meat slice and save the leftovers. It may be more time consuming but your body will thank you.

Breads - Instead of buying a loaf of plain white bread try using whole wheat, whole grain or even flax breads. Another great option is Pita or Roll-Ups but again always opt for the whole grain option. You can stuff them with tons of great ingredients and its great for a meal on the run. If you are taking the meal to work as your lunch, pack everything seperately and then just put it all together at your break.

Here are some Yummy Sandwich Options using all the tips we've given you:

• Natural Peanut Butter topped with fresh banana slices
• Home made Lunch Meat, Lettuce, Tomato with Mustard or Hummus
• Low Fat Cheese with Avacado Tomato and Sprouts
• Smoked Salmon, Low Fat Cream Cheese, Tomato and Red Onion

Another Great Lunch Option if you're not really wanting a sandwich are Kabobs. Use wooden skewers to to create a healthy alternative using bell peppers, meats, onion, and anything else you can think of. We also like fruit kabobs with melon, berries and apple slices. For dipping you can you use yogurt, hummus, sour cream or even tzatziki which is a Greek sauce made with yogurt and spices.